#But I am contrasting that with Harry Potter:

[saint-starflicker]

As noted in the comments, Dalton's actor does KNOW yk but that was on the pre-Musk bird app

Tom Schulman (screenplay writer) based a lot of it on his life, unfortunately I can't find the specific interview that I'm going by, and to my knowledge he didn't mention that dimension nor did Peter Weir (director) with whom they discussed significant changes—such as not having Mr. Keating die of cancer at the end of the movie, that sounded like it was an argument as much as it was a collaboration.

But at the same time, the main poet that the whole movie kept referring to was Walt Whitman...who the internet tells me snogged Oscar Wilde back in the 1882.

And a musical motif of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky.

Sure, real life people can just so happen to like a famous 19th century poet or composer and that's not necessarily signaling that they like these gay artists because they're gay...but fictional characters are a narrative construction, and these decisions to reference these specific artists in this fictional world they're constructing is...a fine coincidence that it happened twice.

It could have been by accident because back in the 1980s or even the 1950s mainstream culture and education did take the artistic works of gay people and apply plenty of erasure. Schuman could have written it in, Weir could have conceptualized and shot a scene, and not known that aspect of who they were referencing.

But then if separation of an artistic work from the artist's personal life and the artist's intentions can operate against representation in that way, then why can't it also sometimes maybe operate in favor of—academic term incoming—queer readings?

The screenplay writer and director might not have intended it, but the movie by itself (that is, between the movie and us-the-audience, instead of between a creator and us-the-audience through a movie) bears an abundance of fruit.

All that said, I think discussion around it near the time of the movie's release was not as direct as compared with... a specific other Dark Academia intellectual property that emerged a few years later whose creator, for many other reasons, is too controversial to name.

But if I did name that other intellectual property's creator, it would demonstrate how even somebody that puts the gayness in there intentionally maybe should not say it out loud. Not because representation is bad nor because that would get a creator harassed by bigots or anything, but more that...this specific creator in my humble opinion kept on doing it wrong. And then kept finding more ways to continue doing that specific thing so very wrong, like, stop already Jo, stop it stop it he's already dead.

... It's from that moment in that fandom that I actually learned that sometimes it's good if some people that created a work that invites queer readings or intentionally/canonly has gay characters do not actually address it. By "some people" I meant that specific one. If it stays fanlore or interpretive and nothing more, that's fine. It's fine. This is fine. We'll be fine. It's fine.

I wonder if the people involved with dps, like the making of it, know that it's a media cesspool for homosexual children/young adults on the blogging website tumblr dot com

[mandg-readings]

Last spam of the day: I'm also a co-host with PaperCraneAudiobooks for a crackfic podcast where we read live and blind fics about obscure pairings or bizarre events. We're due to release Episode 6 later this week so you've got plenty to fill your boots with. It is an extremely NSFW listen! Being that we are British and swearing is a sentence enhancer here and we read some messed up stuff. Just realised I've mentioned this on my instagram but not on here😂 Also, if you follow my FB page, it won't let me post text... so if I've been quiet on there, that's why. I got Silencio'd. 😔

[dinarosie]

Re-Reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Snape’s Moment of Unyielding Bravery

The scene I want to highlight in The Goblet of Fire is one that carries so much weight, and each time I re-read it, the gravity of the moment only increases. Imagine the setting: the hospital wing. It’s packed with people—Cornelius Fudge, Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, Bill and Molly Weasley, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. All eyes are on Snape as he steps forward, pulls up his sleeve, and reveals the Dark Mark burned into his skin.

“There,” said Snape harshly. “There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff’s too.

Let that sink in. Snape isn’t just showing a Mark; he’s exposing the deepest, darkest secret of his life. He’s standing in front of his students, his colleagues, and—let’s not forget—Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, and he’s admitting something most people would bury forever.

What makes this even more remarkable is that the choice to do this wasn’t something Dumbledore told him to make. This isn’t part of some grand plan discussed beforehand. Snape makes this decision on his own, in the moment, fully aware of how it will tarnish him in the eyes of others. Why?

Because Snape understands the stakes. Fudge’s denial of Voldemort’s return endangers the entire wizarding world. By exposing the Dark Mark on his arm, Snape hopes to convince Fudge to take Voldemort’s return seriously. His goal is clear: to push the Ministry into taking precautionary measures and preparing the wizarding community for the battle ahead.

And then there’s this haunting line:

“…We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord’s vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold.”

What Snape doesn’t say, but what we understand, is that he knows he’s facing the exact same fate. When Snape goes back to Voldemort, he knows he’ll be met with pain, torture, and humiliation and even death. Where Karkaroff sees only a way out, Snape sees his duty—a stark contrast that underscores Snape’s resolve.

Here’s what makes this even more powerful: Snape is so determined to convince Fudge that he uses the suffering he knows awaits him as evidence. He stands there, knowing that returning to Voldemort will mean enduring unbearable torture, and he uses that as proof of Voldemort’s return. Snape essentially says, “I know what’s coming for me, and I’m still standing here to tell you the truth.”

Then we reach the next turning point in this scene:

“Severus,” said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, “you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready . . . if you are prepared . . .”

Look at Dumbledore’s approach here. He’s cautious, almost hesitant. This is a sharp contrast to Half-Blood Prince, where Dumbledore gives Snape direct orders about killing him. Here, Dumbledore knows exactly what he’s asking of Snape: to return to Voldemort, to put himself in unimaginable danger.

And Snape’s response?

“I am.”

That’s it. Two words. No hesitation, no complaint. J.K. Rowling describes him as pale, his cold, dark eyes glittering strangely. Dumbledore, too, is described as watching Snape leave with a trace of apprehension on his face. Both of them know that Snape might not come back. Both of them know he’s walking into the lion’s den. And yet, Snape doesn’t waver.

This moment is a masterclass in bravery, but it also completely dismantles the argument that Snape’s good deeds are purely motivated by guilt over Lily or his promise to Dumbledore.

This scene also shows us that the promise Snape made to Dumbledore after Lily’s death wasn’t just about protecting Harry. It was about choosing a side. Snape made the decision to fight against Voldemort, no matter the cost. From that moment on, he dedicated himself to sabotaging the Dark Lord’s plans, enduring unspeakable pain and danger in the process.

And let’s not overlook this: Snape doesn’t just fight when Harry is in danger. He fights Voldemort at every opportunity because he knows it’s the right thing to do. He does it not because of guilt or obligation, but because his own moral compass demands it.

This scene in The Goblet of Fire encapsulates everything that makes Snape such a complex, fascinating character. It’s raw, vulnerable, and incredibly brave. Snape isn’t perfect—far from it—but this moment proves that he is so much more than the sum of his flaws. He’s a man who chooses to stand and fight, even when it means sacrificing everything.

[will80sbyers]

Byler endgame parallels GIFs masterpost:

Byler & Rovickie parallels

Byler Vs. M*leven - Stupid & Crazy code + Jopper

Byler & M*leven contrasting parallels

Mike reacting in the same way for El & Will

Byler, Lumax, Jancy find their lovers + El saves herself

M*leven/St*ncy/Boyce/Tedren kiss at the start of the season = not compatible enough

M*leven/St*ncy parallels -> it's not true love

St*ncy & Mil*ven fight "What is wrong with you?"

Mike/Ted/Steve parallels

Byler & Jopper parallel in s3

Byler & Jopper parallels

Byler/Jopper/Rovickie looking at the love interest

Mike and El don't understand each other anymore

All the couples holding hands in the show

Byler & M*leven: Understanding each other Vs. Not

Mike grieving for Will & El in the same way

Mike hearing Will & El on the radio when they are missing

Mike thinks Will & El died and then gets a hug from his mom

Will & El lose consciousness and Mike is worried for them

Mike fights someone to defend Will & El

Mike is worried for Will & El after something UD related happens

Mike makes the same love expression looking at El & Will

Byler & Jancy: the Byers make the Wheelers smile

Byler & Jopper: Joyce and Mike romantic moment + guilt

Byler & Jopper: Hopper and Will look at Joyce and Mike from a distance

M*leven & Stancy: something romantic happens to you when your best friend is being killed

Byler/Jancy/Jopper: roadtrip together looking for someone

St*ncy/M*leven/Boyce: make out at the start of the season because they are not compatible long term

Mike & others trying to change themselves and seem cool for their partners -> not true love / not working out

M*leven/Jancy/Lumax/Jopper/Byler: denying a romantic implication

The interruption trope being used for all the romantic couples

Willelmike love triangle framing

Byler & Jancy parallels part 1

Byler & Jancy parallels part 2

Byler/Jancy/Jopper/Lumax talk about killing the monsters

Love triangle framing + El breaking free from it

Byler/Jancy/Jopper/Lumax sharing a nice moment together... near a vehicle

Byler & Lumax parallels part 1

Byler & Lumax parallels part 2

Byler/Lumax/Jopper thinking they lost someone they love

El choosing to leave Mike behind

Steve/Dustin/Mike idealizing someone they think they love

to continue...

BYLER PARALLELS WITH OTHER SHOWS & MOVIES :

HEARTSTOPPER

Byler & Nick X Charlie parallels

Mike is trying to look cool for El and not being himself like Tao was briefly

Nick's speech about heteronormativity fits Mike and his behaviour on the show

HALF BAD

The same framing of the queer love triangles

I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS

Byler parallel to Sydney x Dina: 3rd wheel at the date

Possible parallel

Another byler X sydina parallel

PARALLELS FROM THE IT SAGA

Byler & Benverly

PARALLELS WITH EMMA 2020

Best friends to lovers

PARALLEL WITH HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

The awkward hug

THE LAST OF US

Ellie X Riley & Byler in the crazy together scene

[myfandomrealitea]

That post you made about Harry Potter and how to not financially support and fund the franchise and put more money in Joanne's pockets felt like a lie because I swear I got the impression that even that wasn't allowed when the whole thing started

To be clear; I stopped. Completely. I compartmentalized it all and just stopped interacting with anything Harry Potter online whatsoever. But I always wished it would be fine to still be able to do certain fandom things without supporting her, but people were saying that even using the tag or reading the fanfiction or making fanart was still supporting the ip and not letting it die completely as a topic on the internet was indirectly putting money in her pockets.

It wasn't until I came across a post from a queer woman from somewhere in the global south with heavy OCD and intrusive thoughts or something like that, commenting on how hostile of a thing it became for someone of her affliction; the way people were treating it like do or die. Pointing out that no matter how much trans people and allys cut off their support of her, she has other large means of income that we won't be able to touch, and there will still always be transphobic homophobic Harry Potter fans that will continue to support her actively, putting that money in her pockets. Another thing she mentioned was the treatment of Harry Potter and Joannes bigotry in contrast to the treatment of FNAF and the creators bigotry. And lastly something about the USAmericanized nature of it? I don't really remember that part but I think I understood it at the time I read it (maybe it was something about all the other countries the IP is popular in who are probably more conservative and unaware or caring of the issues with her who will still put money in her pockets, or maybe it was something about American fans fixating and posing the support of her as the ultimate battlefield of Trans Rights to other queer and trans individuals trying to be quiet fans who are facing Much Worse in their countries)

Anyways after that I briefly started reading ao3 fanfic again, just put a filter for anything before 2019 or so, and then my interest more gently fizzled out.

I can't remember what my point is anymore, maybe just to bring these arguments to your attention(also I am not arguing against the financial boycott or ending of support for this woman through her ip).

Harry Potter will never stop earning money. That's just the flat reality of it; I mean, look at the likes of Elvis and the original Sherlock Holmes books and every other 'dead' media that's still earning money. Short of making Harry Potter an illegal piece of media, yes, there will still always be a number of people giving her money.

The goal is to give her less money. To turn Harry Potter from a prominent, profitable cashcow into a defunct piece of media that only select groups are still clinging to. To make it so that JK Rowling has to choose between paying her bills and funding anti-trans movements.

When something stops bringing in a certain amount of profit, studios start looking elsewhere. When a cashcow starts drying up, they stop trying to milk it as hard. Which in turn means less productions for JK Rowling to collect her pocketmoney from.

What would you rather; JK Rowling getting $100,000 or JK Rowling only getting $10,000?

Something is better than nothing. Damage reduction is better than open exposure. If everyone just rolled over and gave up because "things will keep happening anyway" the world will literally be a rancid, fetid wasteland of bigotry and violence.

I'd much rather watch JK Rowling fizzle out into a bitter old wench sustained only by the dogged support of other stubborn bigots than watch people willingly disregard and condone bigotry because its "easier" and "she'll be a bigot anyway."

I'd much rather JK Rowling only have $10,000 to donate to shitty movements over $72,000. Shitty movements can do a lot less with a lot less money.

[marinettesaltprompts]

The Maribat deconstruction got me thinking: am I the only one who thinks Adribat is a more....plausible (??is that the word) concept than Maribat? Like, not even in a romantic sense but a familial platonic sense.

Think about it, he's :

got the tragic backstory & suffered from neglect

canonically been abused waaaaay beyond school bullies

taken for granted by adults (primarily his dad & Master Fu) and by his peers (LB)

dealing with the existential crisis of not being human if we go the sentimonster route.

Look, I get that trauma & suffering should NEVER be a competition but when you think abt it, Adrien's suffered just as much, if not more so than Mari ever did even with Chloe & Lila in the picture. You could argue that some of what she suffers in salt fics (isolation, no support system, emotional suppression, harassment) are ALSO things Adrien goes through bcz while he's a superhero like her, UNlike her, his home life sucks.

So if there's either hero the Bat Fam would empathize with more, it's him. Yes, they can hold him accountable for screw ups but if we go the Good Parent!Bruce route, he can give Adrien the physical & nuanced emotional training he needs to spot red flags & deal with them beyond passivity. The training is harsh but at least he doesn't play favourites, giving Adrien no excuse to slack off & proper motivation to mature. Plus, in the Bat Fam, everyone has clear roles & secrets aside, nobody strings anyone along, offering him a reliable structure to fall back on.

He doesn't come into the Bat Fam expecting to be in charge. Instead, the nitty-grittiness would push him to be more independent & decisive instead of impulsive.

If LB tries to call him out, he could point out how for all she claims to be the 'responsible professional hero', she REacted instead of acted & if real IDs are thrown in the mix, he can call out how she just went with the 'woe is me' route, resenting that everyone didn't jump on her call for a witch hunt when she could've communicated to them privately.

Sorry, this turned out longer & less explicitly mari salt-centric than I thought but I tried to stay objective. I hope you don't mind.

Technically everyone would have their own opinion about whether a Miraculous/Batman crossover could actually work. In my opinion however, I believe that the best bet for a good crossover would be through Adrien more than Marinette, in part because of the reasoning you gave, but also because Adrien would fit the idea of a Batfamily member more thematically than Ladybug ever could. If anything, he's like Catwoman but without the whole stealing bit.

Keep in mind that the whole Maribat AU was created with the goal of creating a salt fic (albiet with a crossover), and the OG creator even took a character that was no way romantical and turned him OOC to make their convoluted idea work, ironically in a method reminding me of the "My Immortal" Harry Potter fanfic. Regardless how it later developed, the original idea was pure salt, albiet one that took off because of everyone's hate boner for any character that wasn't Marinette, with people later trying to justify it for one reason or another. It's an idea that should have never worked in the first place outside of this context. In contrast though, Adribat would actually work because of a genuine commonality connection.

Also I don't mind talking about Adrien on this blog. In my mind, Marinette salt and Adrien sugar are the one and the same on this blog, because the salt of one character is usally sugar of the other due to how these prompts go.

Hell, my entire blog was made in opposition to the more well know Adrien Salt Blog made by another individual, which has both plenty of Adrien salt and LOTS of Marinette sugar, though I would call the latter justification for Marinette's own bad behavior as it never discusses her own issues, it just let's her go off scott free by pinning the blame all on Adrien.

In any case, I like your idea! If you or anyone else want's to share any Adribat prompts that you got, feel free to send them here!

[piscesmoonpress]

Choices by MesserMoon (@sophsicle)

People make mistakes, but they also make choices. It’s important to James, that difference. He does his best not to confuse the two.

Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing (s): Regulus Black/James Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans, Remus Lupin/Sirius Black

AHHHH I am SO excited to share this bind—but first, I want to say thank you to Soph for letting me make (my first ever) author copies for this story. I'm definitely a beginner bookbinder but I truly hope I've done this fic justice <3

The design process for this bind was probably one of my favorite parts. I decided to go with some really simple design elements in comparison to my other binds, primarily because I felt it was more fitting for the story, and I was inspired by some of the design choices made in my personal copy of Song of Achilles.

Photographed here are the author's copies, so I've held off on posting about them until now:

(The dedications are all pulled from Soph's playlist for the fic, and each quote reminds me of that particular volume, given that there are three. Pictured above is the dedication for the first volume.)

624,188 words | 1,945 pages

Title Font: Cinzel Decorative Body: Crimson Text Headers/Capitalization/Dedication: Palatino Nova

Some elements of this bind were entirely new to me, such as the fact that it was an in-boards three piece bradel binding. It was also my first time painting edges, as well as rounding spines. Neither of these things turned out perfect, even after completing personal copies, but i did learn a lot of don't's.

One of the things that I did in the process of this bind that I LOVED was combining two different decoration styles. I've done covers that are either completely foiled, or completely HTV—but not both. For this cover design, I was struggling to figure out the best way to make the upside-down antlers on the cover pop. Adding HTV over a full foil cover was the perfect way to get the look I wanted:

(The contrast/shininess is best pictured in the process photo on the left.)

Special thanks to both @maybebabyplease for listening to my rants about this bind since July, as well as the @renegadepublishing discord server.

As large a bind as this was, it was so so much fun to bring to life this incredible story that holds such a special place in my heart as well as the fandom's.

[doodlelover]

Harry Potter fans on tumblr after finding out she's a TERF: Stop consuming her work/making fanart, because it means you support the legislature against Trans youth that she's endorsing

In contrast...

One Piece fans on tumblr after finding out Oda Eiichirou supports two convicted child predators: Stop making it everyone else's problem! Stop telling me! Making fanart and liking OP doesn't mean you support his decisions!

Is it the hypocrisy of tumblr? Or are anime fans numb to pedophilia because of all the lolicon (CSEM) in Japan? Or are they spoiled brats that can't find new hobbies?

You tell me! I am genuinely asking

Article about Oda supporting Watsuki, so you all shut the fuck about me apparently lying about your precious One Piece author:

Oda did this interview, saying he considers Watsuki a "comrade," AFTER WATSUKI'S CONVICTION.

If you don't consider this man vile enough to find a new show to watch, you genuinely disgust me.

[sitp-recs]

HP Rec Fest 2024

day 9: a wip

so very excited to be reccing two of my favorite authors for @hprecfest today! what a privilege to have WIPs from both of them this year. it feels like an early Christmas gift and I’m so hyped up. I’ll try to keep this short & sweet (LIES) and not give too much away, but I’d love to scream about these with anyone else who’s following them!

First Watch of Night by @tackytigerfic (E)

Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2nd, 1998. But what if he didn't?

Tacky’s FTH started posting a couple days ago and it’s already consuming everyone’s hearts and minds (as it should). this is the Voldemort wins AU meets time travel multiverse we’ve dreamt about and deserve. the tags were clearly crafted to meet my cravings and paint the most exciting scenario: wartime politics, magical theory, undercover, the list goes on and up to perhaps the most important tag of all (This Fic Asks the Question Would Harry Potter Have Sex With Himsel ‼️) and I am ready to inhale this in an obsessive frenzy. Tacky is my reference when it comes to Drarry romance and gorgeous prose, so I just know this is gonna be epic, heart-wrenching and potentially ruining in the most satisfying ways. I’m extra excited bc (don’t ask me how) I was able to avoid all excerpts posted this year hoping to stay in the dark and I’ll save the experience for my birthday as a lil treat!

I will also say (this time as a personal note) that having been friends with T for some time now, I know what this accomplishment means and how much this journey took from them over the last few years - there’s a renewed sense of pride and appreciation you develop watching your friends achieve something massive like this, I couldn’t be prouder of them!

Little Gods by @the-starryknight (M)

The Ministry claimed that the restrictions on magical education were for the good of wizard-kind, but it doesn't feel like that when Harry works his dull machinist job. With a new mission and the advent of a snowy winter season, Harry and his compatriots might find a way to keep their underground organization alive and plan for future teachings one banned artifact at a time.

my second rec is Starry’s advent fic, which caught me completely off guard and made me scream at my phone in excitement for about 5 minutes. their Christmassy fics have a little altar in my heart and figure in all my comfort lists (see also: A Room Up There). something about the tender and unhurried slow burn, quiet contemplation and wistful tone hit a deep personal place for me. this fic opens up with such an intriguing vibe it got me immediately hooked and in love with this melancholy Harry. I wanna learn everything about his post-war life, his mysterious job and this grim corrupted world that Starry crafts with such impressive detail in about 3k (so far), contrasting with the merry holiday aesthetics. the mood is tense and enthralling, the world building perfectly executed and the hints of a complicated Drarry relationship got me at the edge of my seat yearning for more. now excuse me while I go check ch 7 and you should be doing the same 🫡

[celestialseawitch-ff]

Alternate Interrogation Scene

There were SO MANY alternate scenes from this story. It could have gone so many different ways. I originally always planned for Hermione to meet alternate Harry in her office and them to make out for a minute. But while I was writing the interrogation scene between Hermione and Frank, it all sort of derailed. This almost changed the entire direction of this part of the story, but I decided to retcon where my imagination took me. I did keep the scene in it's very bare bones state. So here it is!

*note: I never finished this scene. There is very little description and there are other obvious notes that it's an unfinished scene

“Oh, bugger it. I'm not your Hermione Nott.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“I'm from an alternate reality.”

“I'll admit, I've never heard that one before.”

Hermione groaned and looked up. “God, you're much more of an ass than your son.”

Frank snorted. “Now that, I believe. How about you tell me what you were doing in the DoM now?”

“I was trying to go home!”

“Miss Nott-”

“-No, see, I know it sounds crazy. I know it looks crazy. But it's true. I'm not a Nott. I'm a muggle-born. I'm not related to the Notts. My parents are Hugo and Helena, they're muggle dentists. They live-”

“-squibs.”

“what?”

“Your parents. Hugo and Helena are squibs. They're dead. Your grandfather took you in when you were eight.”

“No. That's not- that's not true. My mother is a squib, yes, but not my father. He has parents. Grandparents.”

“Charmed, according to your grandfather. They gave him a happy home in the muggle world. They kept tabs on him. They didn't know you were magical until you used magic to save yourself in the accident.”

“I- no. No, my parents raised me. I went to school as a muggle-born. Nott Sr never would have done that for my father. He's a Death Eater.”

“Is that an accusation?”

“What?”

“Allegations have been made but no evidence has been found since the… end of the war over twenty years ago. Are you claiming your grandfather is a Death Eater?”

“In my reality, yes. But he's not my grandfather. He's in Azkaban.”

She did not like the emphasis he had put on the word ‘end,’ as if the war wasn't actually over here. 

“Do you have any proof of this? Of any of this?”

“How would I prove it? I'd have to tell you something I couldn't possibly know, but I don't know you well enough to do that. But-” a thought occurred to her. She leaned forward. “-in my world James Potter and Sirius Black were Aurors. True?”

“Correct.”

“They're here. On the other side of that mirror, I bet.”

“That's not exactly impressive. They are high level Aurors.”

“Yes, but I know something that they know that they haven't told you.”

“And what would that be?”

“See, Harry Potter of my world was blood adopted by Sirius Black at fifteen. Harry is the head of both houses. And as his wife, I am also a part of both houses. They can both feel me in their family magic and knowing those two, they never disclosed that to you.”

The door slammed shut behind him as he stormed out.

Hermione smirked.

<>

They returned an hour later, Frank, James, and Sirius. Hermione swallowed down the overwhelming emotions she felt at the sight of James and Sirius. James was far older than he'd ever lived to be in Hermione’s world and Sirius, by contrast, looked leagues younger than her own Azkaban worn version.

“Mrs. Potter-Black?” Frank greeted tightly.

She smiled widely. “I take that to mean you believe me now.”

“You're inhabiting the body of this world's Hermione,” Sirius stated.

“Yes, and I imagine the other Hermione is inhabiting my body. Do we have any idea how this happened?”

“We were hoping you'd have answers,” James stated. “Walk us through yesterday.”

“It was Friday, so I spend the day at home with Lulu, my daughter. She's three. We dropped her sisters off at school-”

“-Where do they attend?” Frank interrupted.

“NAME. It's a muggle private school. I took Lulu with me while I ran errands.”

“What errands?”

“Uhm, groceries. I went muggle. We stopped by the town square in Tetwell. There have been issues between a few business owners so I went to make sure things were smoothed over. We picked Rose and Izzy up and went to dance class – muggle. They take ballet. And then we went home. Harry came home, we had dinner and spent some time in the backyard. I put the babies down and then Rose went to bed later.”

“Did you leave the house again? Did anyone else come over?”

“No. Harry and I sat by the fire and then turned in for the night.”

“Did Harry leave at all? Go anywhere? He's a bit of a night owl.”

“Uh, I'm not sure I'd say the same for my husband. He gets grumpy when he's forced to work late. He likes tucking the girls in and retiring together. What?”

“Sorry, just… doesn't sound anything like my son. He's not really the settling down type.”

“I've been a bad influence,” Sirius teased.

Hermione shook her head. “My world is different. Harry, my Harry, is an orphan. All he's ever wanted is a family. We got married after the war ended and got pregnant barely a year later. Harry was still in Auror training and wasn’t supposed to be able to see anyone from outside the training program. His supervisors were displeased to learn he'd figured a way around that. They were even more displeased when he refused to explain how he did it.”

Sirius snorted. James smiled sadly. 

“Harry is going to figure out something is wrong immediately. He won't be fooled by any alternate version of me.”

“He'll figure out she's from another world?”

“Someone will. Maybe not him, but he'll know the moment he wakes up. We had security measures during the war. Mistaken identity was a real risk. And I doubt a pure-blood princess could ever get away pretending to be me.”

“That's the second time you've mentioned a war. Ours ended in the 80s.”

“The First Blood War. The Second Blood War ended the summer of 1997.”

“Another dark lord?”

“Voldemort came back.”

“How?”

“I know how it happened in my world, I can't say the same for here. Too much is different. I don't even know how your first war ended. I mean, mine ended with the deaths of the Potters. Clearly, that didn't happen here.”

“No!” James exclaimed, alarmed. 

Hermione gestured to him. “Right, so I don't know. But I do know that Harry is going to come after me. You should warn the DoM so they don't attack him.”

“Why would they attack him?”

“Because they won't be expecting him.”

 “I'll go!” Sirius offered and dashed from the room.

“How do we fix this?” Frank asked, gesturing to her.

Hermione shrugged. “No idea. I didn't do this. I assume it was your Hermione or something someone did to her. Hopefully, Harry will think to bring her with him and we can sort this out because I really don't enjoy being a blonde.”

[star-eclipse-se]

❝𝐀 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬❞ photo art based on the Harry Potter books, Looters photoshop

On a quiet, snowy night, Hogsmeade shone with its lanterns and shop windows, their lights glistening on the snow in vivid colors. The air was rich with the scent of gingerbread cookies and hot butterbeer drifting out of the local tavern. However, the four friends known to the world as the Marauders were enjoying the evening in their own way.

Sirius Black, confidently holding the Marauder's Map, was muttering quickly under his breath as he plotted another incredible route. His coal-black hair shimmered with snowflakes, and the mischievous smile on his face promised something grand. “If we sneak through the basement of the Three Broomsticks, we’ll definitely avoid Filch… and end up at the Ghostly Tower. It’s brilliant, right?” he said, pointing at the map.

"Brilliant, if you’d just skip your habit of turning everything into a spectacle," James Potter countered, standing to the right. He laughed, adjusting his scarf slightly and peering at the map. “Padfoot, you’re glowing so brightly any portrait could spot you.”

To Sirius's left, Remus Lupin calmly gazed at the map. His composed posture and attentive look created a strange contrast to his friends' impulsive energy. “Don’t forget that your last brilliant plan ended with a sprint up the stairs and a screeching Filch. So maybe tonight we should be as careful as possible,” he advised, raising a brow.

“Hey, but that was a great escape!” Peter Pettigrew chimed in, standing next to Lupin. He rubbed his hands together, trying to keep warm. “And anyway, you dragged me into it. I wasn’t ready!”

“Oh, sure you weren’t,” Sirius smirked, thrusting the map right in front of Peter. “Wormtail, we’ve got you figured out: you’re the one who can win anyone over with a pitiful look and get anything— even the keys to a secret basement.”

“Me? Why me?!” Peter protested, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Because Moony covers for us when we mess up, Prongs designs the plans, and I execute them. You’re the logistical key!” James teased, winking as he lightly draped an arm over Peter's shoulder.

Remus sighed, suppressing a smile. “Do you two ever stop to think about just how reckless all this is? Or am I going to have to drag your robes out of the fire again?”

“No fire tonight!” Sirius declared cheerfully, unfolding the map and jabbing his finger at their route. “Just glory, great discoveries… and maybe a bit of butterbeer.”

They all burst out laughing, and for a moment, the street was filled with the warmth of their friendship, as if the frost didn’t exist at all.

“What if we get caught?” Peter asked nervously.

“We’ll say we were helping Mrs. Norris look for kittens!” James replied, adjusting his glasses.

This statement triggered another wave of laughter so loud that curtains in several houses began to twitch. But who cared about that when a new story was waiting ahead?

And yet the snow continued to fall, coating the streets in a light, fragile layer, as if trying to remember this moment— the laughter, the glow of shop windows, and the voices of four friends ringing out in the frosty night. The map would show them new paths, and time would leave behind memories that, sadly, would one day be touched by the chill of another winter.

[greenerteacups]

Hi! Just wanted to say the latest chapter is lovely & amazing & sweet & had me smiling the whole time! I absolutely love your characterisation of everyone, especially Draco, so it was so so lovely to return to this world & to his thoughts!! with his best friend and crush at malfoy manor no less! All the yearning is already off to a great start hehe I am so excited for the rest of book 5!

Wanted to ask you how has it been for you to write this new book and volume? Has your writing process changed since when you’d first begun taking on a long form project like this?

& also are there any moments or surprises in this book that you’re especially excited about?

sending so much love & gratitude for you and your incredible works 💓

Thank you so much! This is really encouraging, I so appreciate it.

Inasmuch as I can use this metaphor without having kids myself, I sort of see each of the books as a different child. The first one flew out in basically a few weeks of very intensive writing, and it was a total dream — plot, pacing, symbolism, major beats, all fell into place basically without effort. The character stuff was the hardest, as I've written about before, but even then, the glorious part of writing beginnings is it's the most energy you'll ever have for a project, so the lows were pretty soft lows. Book 2, in contrast, I had to drag kicking and screaming by its ankle from under the bottommost mattress of my brain. It's one of my least favorite books (tone problem; COS has killer plot/setting/ingredients for a YA novel, but it's stuck in the doldrums of Harry Potter's well-documented Early-Installment Weirdness, before Cedric Diggory slams the gas and upshifts the whole series into its correct age bracket). More specifically, once I'd gone through and picked out everything in the book that happened because of Lucius, I didn't have a plot — hey alexa how do you rewrite Chamber of Secrets when We Got No Fucking Chamber Of Secrets — and oh by the way, even if you want to do a moody tone/political setup book, remember that your protagonists are still twelve, so if you go too dark or too intense, you'll risk torpedoing your readers' suspension of disbelief. Good luck, Charlie.

Book 3 felt the most like its own novel, if that makes sense? It's the last truly feel-good book of the series; it's a great stand-alone mystery novel with relatively low stakes. Plus you get a bunch of the big series icons: patronuses, dementors, werewolves, Hogsmeade, the Marauders' Map, and time turners arithmancy. It just felt like a good old-fashioned motherfucking romp of a mystery/adventure story, before any of the complex character work and major stakes of the late books come in.

Book 4 was the most fun I've had writing anything maybe ever. I don't even know what it was. Maybe the tournament arc, honestly? Love me a tournament arc. But in any case, I opened every new chapter feeling a tingle of excitement for what I was gonna get to do. Oh, and the romance started, finally, Jesus God (if it feels like a slow burn reading, just imagine what it felt like writing it, when everything takes ten times as long, and you have to figure out how to word the fucker.)

Book 5, in contrast, has felt much less like that tingle of "here we go!" and more like "oh, man, this is gonna be cool." Because this is the arc of the story that composed the original idea for Lionheart, literally years ago, and to be honest, I didn't think I'd get this far! If you'd asked me "do you know that it's going to take you 500,000 words of backstory before you can start writing that concept you're thinking about, and you're going to do it anyway?" I would have said: "absolutely not, strange mind-reader!" But like... I'm here! Finally! And it's... real now? Like, this isn't just a bunch of clips of scenes in my head anymore! That's rad!

That being said, it's definitely been slower than Book 4, because I kept switching back to my outline document to make sure that certain things were set up properly, and that I hadn't lost any of the plot threads or forgotten a minor beat that was vitally important for the story three chapters later. And I had a minor crisis about three months ago when I ripped out about 8 chapters in the first third of the book — basically everything from September to December — because I'd done a readthrough to check pacing (big mistake! never edit while drafting, that's satan talking) and realized I had a missing storyline. Like, there was a whole layer of the story that was just. Missing. Not there. And the existing text really couldn't fit another thread, so instead of taking weeks to pore through and try to sift out what I could save, I needed to factory reset and start over. And I didn't want to! I vividly remember sitting there with my head in my hands, trying not to weep, because I'd decimated 90,000 words of work in a single edit. But it had to be done. Because the story wasn't going to work. And now (hopefully) it will.

And of course, there's still that sense of excitement and exhilaration from before. Always. But whereas Book 4 felt like a delicious chocolate pudding, Book 5 is a medium-rare steak.

(Book 6, so far, is four shots of espresso and a whiskey chaser. FWIW.)

[hanakou-often]

I just happened to stumble upon your blog.. and I never really thought about HanaKou before, but these posts are very compelling. I love seeing other people’s ships in things and would love to be convinced into them.. heh. I’ve sort of fallen out of tbhk recently because the most recent arc hasn’t been compelling to me PARTLY BECAYSE KOU AND NENE AND HANAKO DONT KNOW EACH OTHWR?!?!? Which is really depressing, because I like them a lot. Ermm idk where I’m going with this I just was scrolling through the blog like “heh.. they’re cute I want to know more..” and now here I am. Please excuse my nonsense blabber idek if this makes sense 😔

Oh boy. Despite Hanakou being my hyperfixation for around 3 years, I still don't feel equipped to salesman my way into convincing someone 😭 most of my love for them has just come from PURE brainrot so I'll try my best to actually formulate more logical reasons why I like this sinking ship as much as I do. Long ass spoiler-filled rant incoming!!

1. Narrative Foils

A narrative foil is a character that contrasts another character, often the protagonist, to highlight certain aspects of their characters. Think Kabru and Laios from Dungeon Meshi, Sayaka and Kyoko from Madoka Magica, Draco and Harry from Harry Potter, etc.

To begin, Kou is a 'weak,' naive exorcist who always fights for justice and to protect the people he loves out of his own volition. Since he is the underdog of his family clan, the mediocre middle child next to his eldest exorcist extraordinaire brother, Kou is willing to do anything to prove his worth. This is primarily exhibited by his first meeting with Hanako as he recklessly plunges into a battle with the most powerful ghost in Kagome despite his inexperience with his weapon. When he's confronted about such, Kou states, "I don't care what happens to me as long as I can protect everyone!" and if that doesn't sum up his ideology, I don't know what does. He is shown to be the type of person to put everyone's safety, happiness and livelihood above his own, ultimately leading his selflessness to be his own detriment.

Contrarily, Hanako is a strong, knowledgable apparition who is given the role to protect students of Kamome, regardless of his detachment from the student body, as a way of atonement. As the long standing executive leader of the seven mysteries, Hanako has grown largely apathetic towards everyone, easily taking the cold, calculated and unconventional routes to reach the outcome he deems best no matter who it would hurt in the process. This is exemplified many times in the manga but to pick a lighter one: The time Hanako confessed to Nene under the kodama tree without telling her before hand that it wasn't real, leading him to hurt her feelings. It's clear that Hanako is the type of person to value his own goals and interests above everyone else's input, making him the more selfish antithesis to Kou's "selflessness."

Their differences in philosophy are really striking at times. Kou is endlessly optimistic while Hanako is more pessimistic, seeing the grimmer aspects of reality that Kou usually neglects. For example, Nene's lifespan has been a divisive topic between them for a while. Hanako had known about it from the start, originally intending to keep the poor girl in ignorant bliss for how much time she had left. At the point of the reveal in the clock keeper arc, he had no plans on trying to change her fate, solemnly stating that "there are things in this world that must not be changed...It's better for Yashiro this way." This is a direct contrast to Kou's more 'human' perspective as he immediately protests Hanako's claim of "There is nothing you can do," passionately asserting that he won't give up, he'll do whatever it takes save her and that is final. In the face of a dark reality, Kou completely rejects it, choosing to believe there's hope, like the naive son of a gun Hanako knows he is. From personal experience, Hanako knows it's stupid, it's idiotic, it's downright suicidal to go up against fate but somehow he ends up hoping Kou is right, trailing "I'm counting on you" as they settle back into a world that will never be the same after this revelation between them. (Something something Their differences are key to propelling the plot forward since Kou is the one to inspire Hanako not to just let Nene's life go by!!)

All of this is not to say they don't have anything in common. In fact, they are united by their desire to save the people they care about, grounded in their ruthless determination to see out their goals and are self sacrificing to an extent. I would love to go deeper on this topic but I'm afraid my brain is already starting to fry lol. In short, their differences are what make them interesting as a duo!! Each of their qualities can compliment the other's contrasting attributes and as people say, opposites attract!!!

2. Pivotal Roles in each other's Narrative

Hanakou are very important to each other's story since they are a key player in both their humble beginnings and tragic ends. Respectively, they are each other's gateway to a new life. Much like Nene, Kou is a symbol of hope for Hanako, his spunky attitude and determined nature igniting a humanitarian spark that Hanako lacked in the sixty years he lingered Kamome. For Kou, Hanako is the first apparition he meets, the one that sets off his rocky journey with navigating the world of supernaturals as a lackluster exorcist, and the second person to fuel his fire by believing in him. Specifically, Hanako tells Kou he looks forward to the day he can expel him with ease, a statement that foreshadows their distant future. In order to complete their whole character arcs (Hanako going from stubbornly clinging to the near shore to repent to accepting he's done every to atone and ready to pass on; Kou starting off weak and naive then ending as a stronger exorcist capable of understanding both the supernatural world and humanity) they'll have to do exactly what Hanako anticipated: Exorcise him once and for all. This aspect of their relationship is something intricately intertwined with their fates and while AidaIro may have forgotten about it, I can only hope they'll deliver so that they can bring their narratives full circle.

Now in the context of a romantic relationship, there are some absolutely soul crushing implications here. The hands Hanako loves to admire, intertwine his fingers with and adore are the same ones that will ultimately be his demise. Kou is Hanako's deathbed. That’s what they’ve known all along. It’s something that looms over their heads with a lingering heaviness neither boy wants address: Kou wanting to silently avoid his crushing responsibility while Hanako is just trying to savor whatever time he has with Kou. It's doomed just like everything else in TBHK <3

3. Young Exorcist arc

This one goes hand and hand with the second point but I felt that this needed to be discussed on its own since it's where many Hanakouers (ME) really took interest in their relationship. The arc begins with Kou being pulled aside by Teru, the two having a conversation about how Kou was supposed to immediately exorcise any seven mysteries he encounters. When Kou fumbles around him, insisting that he can't find it in himself to see Hanako as a bad supernatural, Teru is quick to remind him that "There is no such thing as a 'good supernatural'" and promptly takes him off the case. He was going to take matters into his own hands but the moment Kou looks at him with pleading eyes, Teru decides to give him more time to carry the duty out.

This is where Kou sets off to find Hanako, get some irrefutable proof that he's not evil like the generalization Teru makes. The effort he puts here into defending Hanako is absolutely adorable, if not a testament to their potential then a testament to Kou's sweet character. The suspicion he's built as he spies on Hanako who saunters around with a sack of stolen items is broken once the ghost explains that he's gathering them to return to their rightful owners. As stated previously, Hanako’s noble deeds are done more as a way to atone rather than out of his own good will so to see that he went out of his way to return stolen items to students, one of which being Kou’s safety earring, without being obligated to do so is great evidence to support Kou's idea that supernaturals can be good. Given this, Kou decides right then and there that he won’t exorcise Hanako after all. Now, Hanako here could have reveled in this decision, his kind act successfully manipulating Kou into compliance with his schemes, but instead, Hanako shows him exactly why he shouldn’t give up.

He cares for the kid. He does. Which is why he has to show how wrong he can be. It’s a downright dangerous thought because it lures Kou into a false sense of security that all supernaturals can be “good” like Hanako.

Cue Teru's dramatic entrance where he immediately apprehends the offending apparition and tries to execute him (for good reason). Blah blah blah Teru is condescending towards Kou because he made the wrong call again, something something Kou is trapped in Teru's bead bracelet and question his view of Hanako once more. For a moment, Kou almost gives into despair, letting Teru exorcise him without another word. After all, what does Kou know about the supernatural world? He's a weak link to Teru's infinite knowledge, power and experience. Maybe he should just let him do what he deems best.

However, as Hanako objects to his sentencing, screaming that “death would only be a release” and he still has so much to do here, it reminds Kou that Hanako is here for a reason. Sure, he’s an apparition, something that’s synonymous with evil, but all that time they spent together has to mean something, right? Hanako indulges Nene and Kou, joking around, Hanako has indulged Kou when no one else believed in him, he's saved them when he easily could’ve left them to their own devices. That definitely means something. Suddenly, Kou breaks free from the beaded prison, charges in the middle of the battle field and grips Teru's blade with an iron fist, all to save Hanako.

Just look at that. Kou slit his own palm trying to protect Hanako, someone he vowed to erase just weeks ago, because he's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He defies his brother, someone he highly admired for the past fourteen years of his life, for Hanako’s sake. Kou’s change in attitude towards his exorcist duties is largely attributed to Hanako. The sole notion of Hanako, the not so evil supernatural, has turned Kou’s world completely upside down.

I'll never forgive the anime for omitting this arc, not only because it excludes a pivotal moment in their relationship but also because it deprived an enriching detail to their development!!! Oh my god. Kou finally stands up for himself and owns up to his naivety. He knows he’s stupid for jumping from one extreme conclusion to the other before he has fully understood everything Hanako has to offer but he can no longer side with Teru’s one note view of him or supernaturals in general, lest more decent apparitions be erased without cause. He brings a level of nuance to the function that Teru does not appreciate!! When Kou decides to vouch for Hanako, undertaking the massive responsibility to watch over him all on his own, it shows a lot of growth in his maturity and his perspective of the ghost.

So yeah. A lot to say about the young exorcist arc. Not only has it deeply impacted the Minamoto brothers relationship, but it has brought a significant change within Kou’s mindset. He’s no longer trying to label Hanako as a definitive good or bad but trying to deepen his understanding of him and decide what to do from there. As for Hanako, he seems to respect Kou more now, giving credit where credit is due, and feels as though their bond is strengthened by the vulnerable state they saw each other in. He even acknowledges this in the first chapter of ASHK when Teru comes in to “help clean" by immediately taking cover behind Kou and questioning the commitment he made to keep Teru at bay. It's also weirdly sweet to see Hanako taking cover behind Kou here!! It really goes to show how much trust they've built for each other and how safe Hanako feels around the exorcist C:

To sum it all up, the young exorcist arc was an important part of showing how Hanakou work together and cement how their views of humanity/supernatural world are shifting because of each other!! I didn't get to talk about it too much but they also have a bunch of cute moments here which sorta feeds to the next point.

4. Classic Bromance to Romance

A bromance is defined as a quote en quote "close, friendly but non-sexual relationship between two men" and that's more or less what Hanakou brings to the table!!! First and foremost, they are complete opposites in a lot of their personality traits which makes it fun to see how they interact. Hanako's pervyness to Kou's disciplined innocence, Hanako's mischief to Kou's gullibility, Hanako's love of teasing to Kou's fiery denials, it's all just so entertaining to watch!!! They bounce off each other sorta like a coke and mentos relationship where on their own, they're absolutely fine but when they're together BOOM explosions, dumb arguments, rough housing 24/7, etc, etc. Just take a look at the shenanigans they get up to in this panel.

How? Just how did they get here? They used to be enemies, they're still supposed to be enemies but here they are, a hopeful descendent of a powerful exorcist clan and an executive leader of a important supernatural group, just play fighting with a mop and broom like they're no better than two clumsy best friends goofing off on their free time. I love their little bromance so much because it's the result of their growth during the many adventures they've had together. URUGHH After they've been through, it's deeply endearing to realize that they really are just boys being boys at their core!! C:

Now moving onto the romance part, I want to preface this with how I do believe men should be allowed to have intimate platonic relationships with each other without having to get accused of being gay but alas, I fear Hanakou's closeness as friends can easily pave the way for something more as they blur the line between friendly and flirty banter.

It's already been established that Hanako feels safe enough to be his usual self around the exorcist, knowing that no matter how mischievous, touchy and downright despicable Hanako can be, Kou won't ever hurt him. It's a sweet sort of trust that can be explored further with some typical bromance shenanigans, IE Hanako gets bored and decides to test Kou's boundaries just for the hell of it. At first, it's only joke flirting and some harmless teasing here and there. Maybe a lingering touch or two (only to push some buttons of course). Most of the time, Hanako finds this endeavor to be deeply rewarding since Kou reacts in a way that Nene doesn’t, his responses leaning into his more physical, boyish volatility as he either bashfully pushes Hanako away, chases him off or just straight up punches him in the arm, visibly flustered. The reactiveness encourages Hanako to keep upping the ante to the point where it's more unusual for him not to mess with Kou. It's grown into a bad habit of his: snaking his arms around Kou's shoulders, fiddling with his fingers with reverent fascination, sneaking glances at the boy and making funny faces in the hopes he'll look back and laugh, etc, etc. As Kou gets used to Hanako's antics overtime, his extreme reactions gradually diminish and it's becoming increasingly clearer that Hanako isn't (wasn't?) just doing it because "he's bored" anymore. No, it's something worse. With a sinking clarity, Hanako realizes boredom isn't the driving reason for being around Kou anymore, it's fondness of the cute (flustered) expressions he makes, it's the giddiness that swells in his chest when Hanako manages to make him smile, the electricity that floods his system when Kou flirts back, it's...something else he does not want to dissect. And so, Hanako will bury this revelation under the belief it's due to his unfamiliarity of friendship. Fifty years of isolation has to do a number to your perception of romance vs friendship, right???

Meanwhile, Kou is committed to the promise he made in the young exorcist arc so he's usually admiring from afar watching over Hanako to make sure he's in line and keeping an eye on Hanako isn't hard as of late; they're spending more time together before, during and after school and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he genuinely enjoys the company. Kou likes what they have, it's good that they can rely on each other and still leave room to joke around but to be honest, Kou has some...weird feelings towards Hanako. Every time their eyes meet his heart skips a beat, whenever he lets his mind wander it usually finds its way back to Hanako, their friendly banter stuck in his head, and for whatever reason, Kou's body can't seem to forget the ghost's touch, even long after he's fucked off to who knows where. There's something different about it. It's not the detestation he had when he first met Hanako, nor is it the quaint glee he had when he decided to not exorcise him. It's something completely new, something foreign that has his stomach doing flips every time he sees Hanako's bright smile or hears his stupid laugh. Kou tries not to think about it too much, lest he gives Hanako exactly what he wants, so he just chalks it up to his view of supernaturals being challenged. After all, going from believing all supernaturals are dangerous, evil vermin that need to be exterminated to voluntarily hanging out with such a friendly one is bound to stir up some mixed feelings, right?

Do you see my vision now? The bromance to romance pipeline would be unreal with these two confused idiots!! There's so much room for the internalized homophobia, the confusion of trying to differentiate friendly feelings from the clusterfuck of emotions the other boy evokes and the funny fumblings of two teenage boys letting the joke flirting go a bit too far like a game of gay chicken gone wrong. Their relationship speaks to me in a way that can only be described as the entertainment you get from mixing two reactive substances and waiting for the inevitable chaos that proceeds. Even if you don't ship Hanakou romantically, you gotta admit their dynamic is super fun to explore!! C:

5. Other characters reactions

I swear I’m taking this somewhat seriously but I really enjoy the more wholesome aspects of this ship!! Nene being the third wheel to her two guy best friends, the LEAST romantic people she knows, is something that is deeply entertaining to me <3 She came into Hanako's life wishing for a boyfriend, failed to get one and then had to watch him get one himself. She would be so happy for them but at the same time, she'd be fighting demons trying to figure out how these two IDIOTS got more rizz than she does. (How much aura do you lose for this LMAOOOO)

Then you got Teru which if you liked this aspect of Mitsukou where Teru disapproves of his brother dating a school mystery then hooo boy YOU’LL LOVE HANAKOU!! Whatever apprehension he has towards Mitsukou it's increased tenfold because it’s one thing to date a school mystery, it’s a whole other thing to date not only the ghost of a murder but the LEADER of the seven mysteries??? Teru would absolutely flip his shit, wasting no time to charge into Hanako’s bathroom and expel him right then and there the SECOND he finds out (AND I DON'T BLAME HIM!! he just doing his job fr). I’ve been told it’s sorta like a Romeo and Juliet situation where two star crossed lovers are kept apart by a long-standing feud between their opposing houses (Montagues and Capulets WHO? I only know the Minamoto clan and Seven Mysteries) and I think that can just about sum it up!!

6. Hanako-San (ASHK)

This post is already as long as it is so I’ll save you the trouble of attempting an analysis and copy and paste my ramble from another post: “In regards to HanaKou discourse, I've always seen people say 'Kou's into Mitsuba!!' or 'they're just platonic besties! Plus Kou rejected Hanako!!!' and sure, maybe Kou doesn't have a thing for Hanako but has anyone REALLY stopped to consider Hanako has a thing for Kou??? And just. Didn't process it because of internalized homophobia AND his crush on Nene overshadowing his feelings for Kou??? Because THIS chapter had NO RIGHT to be so fruity on Hanako's part” and yeah why is the first thing Hanako decides to do when he turns into a girl is flirt with Kou??? And an even better question is why did he genuinely sulk when Kou rejected him??? If you didn't mean it why were you so butt hurt then huh??? Hanako really is the type of guy to passively think "if Kou was a girl or if I was a girl, I'd date him 100%" and it definitely shows!!!

7. Fanfiction. So. Much. Fanfiction.

This one doesn't have much to do with canon but it's more than likely why some people (ME) began to ship Hanakou!! My personal experience was I thought they were sorta interesting and I checked on ao3 to see if there were any others who thought the same. To my surprise, there were a bunch of fics lovingly written for them already and out of curiosity I started reading one. One became two, two became three, then suddenly I was tumbling down the rabbit hole feverishly consuming whatever I could get my grubby little hands on. As you've stated, seeing others' passion can be pretty compelling reason to start shipping something and I totally agree!!! Exploring the dynamics in such a freeing medium like Fanfiction can be much more invigorating than just reinterpreting canon so do give it a try if you're interested!! I promise Hanakou nation is a welcoming space and we'd be delighted to see more people on board with these two idiots C:

END

AUGHHHH I struggled to find the right words to express my thoughts but I hope it gave you a better understanding of Hanakou!! These two really are my Roman Empire and despite how much I floundered around this post, I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to share my visions!!! Thank you so much for asking C:

[characterfoilshowdown]

Hello everyone! Welcome to the character foils showdown. Character foils are an excellent narrative tool and go painfully unappreciated. So this is meant to give them some love! 

Character foils are two characters who parallel each other in the narrative. They contrast each other, highlighting their similarities and differences to strengthen the narrative. Are they two people who react very differently to the same situation? Are they a reflection of what the other could've been? Are they people who are extremely similar but were shaped by their different situations? Are they two incredibly different people with one or two key similarities that the narrative uses to parallel them? They can be executed many many different ways. And often, they add to the story very well. This is all about them. 

RULES:

1. I will not be accepting submissions from Harry Potter or South Park. 

2. Be civil with the other voters! Do not say "why would you vote for [x]", "[x] doesn't deserve to win", etc. Also, do not attack the media the contestant is from. Nobody wants to hear you talking about how that show sucks and is horribly written and anyone who likes it deserves nothing (Yes, I've seen that shit on other polls. I wish I was joking.) Seriously guys, be civil. This is a poll on the internet. 

3. You can submit more than one pair, but please don't submit the same pair more than once for the sake of my sanity /lh

4. This is gonna take a while because A. This is my first poll, and B. I am kinda busy, sorry. Please be patient!

5. Please do not tag adult and minor or familial foils as ships. No thank you.

6. Propaganda is encouraged,  but please be civil to others in your propaganda. Again, remember rule two! If I feel like you're being particularly toxic, I have the right to block you. 

7. NO REAL PEOPLE.

The link to the form is right here:

Y'all have two weeks to submit your foils!

Apologies for the ping, tagging other polls but: @besties-breakup-poll @hauntthenarrative @top-teacher-tourney @cartoon-character-competition @badass-queer-couples-battle @bestanimatedmovie

Would also like to say that this is my first time making a poll so might not be the Best at it, sorry in advance. Hope y'all enjoy!

[froidefille]

Day 14: a fic rated T

📚 Five Little Things by @bixgirl1

Draco/Harry, 6.2k, T

Summary:

Harry was supposed to be good at this.

That was so just so delightful! Poor Harry!! Poor Teddy!!

I absolutely loved the moment when Harry asks Teddy what he needs and then does everything he can to provide said reassurement (which in this case is „Draco punk-anshoo” 😭). I think it is so so important to give kids autonomy, hear them out and enable them to analyze their own emotions and then make their choices.

I was also absolutely captivated by how Draco calms both of them down. It just seems so lovely to have someone there with you to ground you:

“Hello, Edward,” he says. He holds out his arms and Teddy almost throws himself from Harry’s to the floor trying to get into them. A Quidditch magazine, Teddy’s purple plastic cup, the Wireless, and Teddy, and Malfoy.

The scene of Draco telling Teddy a goodnight story (Teddy thinking of Harry when Draco reaches the fairy godmother part of the story 😍) is very fluffy but do not fret: we have Harry to angst about it so the balance is saved 😅 I have to admit that there is something special about tucking little kids to sleep that is just so primal and soft all at once – like, you just want to give the kid everything. I don’t have my own but I am the Goodnigt-Stories Reading Aunt and that’s how I always feel. This scene have ttoally transported me to the warmly lit colourful room with soft blankets and cartoon-printed sheets 💜

And this exact domestic emotion of comforting a child, contrasted with Harry’s absolute lack of such experience – ouch.

So yeah, this fic will make you hurt and then will comfort you about it 😅

Thank you for today’s prompt @hprecfest and your superb writing @bixgirl1 <3

See you in the next one!

PS. THERE’S ALSO ART by @gaeilgelupin (which also hurts a little, you've been warned xd)

A few of my fav quotes under the cut <3

After only a few seconds, Malfoy strolls in, still fully dressed in smart grey trousers and a white shirt, a slightly puzzled look on his face. He’s missing his ever-present tie, and has folded his sleeves back to the elbow, but if Malfoy was on his way to bed, it’s clear he was only just.

Not the sleeves folded back to the elbows (can someone pls draw this tho? 😂)

Leaning further into the flames, Harry lowers and hardens his voice. “Malfoy,” he says pointedly. “Why don’t you come over? And say goodnight to your cousin. Right. Now. I know he would love to see you.” Malfoy blinks several times, then adopts the same cheerful tone Harry attempted; Harry tries not to feel sour when Malfoy pulls it off better. “Of course! You know, I’m rather glad you let me know he was with you, I haven’t spoken to him in a few days. I nearly firecalled him at home tonight. I’d certainly have felt silly then, wouldn’t I? Move aside, Potter, and I’ll come right through.”

When you try to stay calm for child's sake (and usually they call you out anyway xd)

As glad as he is Teddy has so many people who care about him, there’s something about seeing someone else meet his needs so easily that throws Harry’s inabilities into stark contrast. Something about it that makes him ache, deep inside.

And isn’t that every carer’s deepest secret, this feeling right there!

“—stood holding the ruins of the dress she had so diligently crafted with her tired magic, and watched from the Manor steps she had scrubbed that very morning as the carriage rolled away to the ball with her stepmother and stepsisters in it, and then she sat down and put her face in her hands, and began to cry.” “‘cause iss o-ay?” Harry hears Teddy mumble, probably around his thumb. “Yes, precisely,” Malfoy says. “Crying is always okay when you need to, no matter what anyone else ever tells you, and especially when you feel disappointed after having worked so hard to master something and finding that you haven’t yet, or when you’re scared, or for any reason at all if it might make you feel better.”

Finally some delicious, delicious emotional education and allowing boys to cry.

Last but not least: All of Harry’s lists he uses for grounding throughout the story and how they change. (not me only realizing the title is five little things because Harry uses the five things technique as I write those very words 😶) And then:

Harry lets his hand fall away and stops counting. Smiling, he closes his eyes.

[welurklate]

In defence of Ron Weasley - or: why Weasley is our King!

I have noticed that in the last decade so-called Ron-bashing has almost become a sport in the Harry Potter fandom, or at least in certain corners of the fandom. And that makes me quite sad, because in my eyes it is unjustified and a product of circumstances that have nothing to do with the canon character. People depict Ron as a laughing stock, a truly incompetent wizard who is nothing but jealous and petty. Even in fanfics where Ron is an adult he rarely outgrows his teenage character. I believe this has to do with a few thing I will get into here.

First and foremost, we have to take a stance and decide if we believe that redemption is possible or not. If you think that once a fruit shows signs of rot it is better to throw out than to salvage it, stop reading here. If you think there are parts that can be saved and possibly restored, you are probably a Draco fan as well 😉 and you're welcome to read on.

So first of all, everything we see the characters do in the books they do as children and teenagers. Adolesence is a time of great changes, physically and psychologically. The prefrontal lobe of our brain still develops until our mid-twenties. It is a time to experiment and to make decisions, even if they are objectively the wrong ones, and to learn from that and to evolve into well-adjusted, open-minded and self-reflecting adults. So it isn’t even necessary to ‘redeem’ oneself for what you did growing up, it is just imperative to evolve. I have been working with teenagers my whole professional life and I am always amazed by what happens between the ages of 10 and 20/25.

So Ron is a child in the first books and an adolescent in the final parts and we actually see him grow and evolve. Not everyone is as perfect as Hermione and we sometimes forget that people can be flawed in small ways (not only in big ways such as ‘oops, I’ve taken the dark mark and commit war crimes’). I think people tend to hate on Ron because of this. He is so normal in his jealousy and his envy. We see a lot of ourselves in him and that is uncomfortable. We turn to fiction to experience the extraordinary in both good and bad, but we rarely want to see our very common shortcomings reflected in the characters. Because then we could just read self-help books and do something about it. But we don’t. We just want to escape reality and enter into worlds where everything is starker in contrast, emotions are deeper and stakes are higher.

And Ron is not such a character. He is a mild grey. He is not the hero, but he is also not the villain. Ambiguity and nuance have very little place in fantasy. But I think that is exactly what makes Ron such a great character and the books (despite JKR’s bigotism) so fascinating.

So what I see people do in fanfiction is to push his character to the extremes – mostly make him an antagonist. Interestingly, this usually occurs in in Dramione or Harmony fics. In Drarry fics or others where Hermione and Ron stay together, he usually gets to grow up into a reasonable and well-adjusted adult. And I get it. I love Hermione and I get what she sees in Ron (stability, a deep understanding, loyalty, common values, a wise mind that complements her academic one etc.). But in stories where we pair Hermione with other people we need to get Ron out of the way. Because we cannot, for the love of Merlin, make Hermione be the problematic one in the relationship (she is the queen of the books - she cannot be touched). So of course we have to make sure that Ron is the reason why their relationship fails. And to make their breakup believable, we antagonize Ron so that there is no chance for them to get back together. From a storytelling viewpoint this makes absolute sense. But it does not do Ron’s character justice. Canon Ron is a truly amazing character. The movies did him dirty and depicted him as the slightly stupid one with the punch lines and this has often clouded our image of him. Book Ron holds much more power in the trio's friendship. He is the one who introduces Hermione and Harry to all things in the Wizarding World. He is smart – even though he is not as zealous as Hermione, he is a good student and a brilliant wizard’s chess player. He is genuine, kind and loyal. I won’t reiterate all the smart things people have said about his character before. If you are interested you can check some good arguments here:

here, here or here

Everything he is and everything he goes through makes him a hero in his own way. He is the character with the biggest development and the biggest potential. He overcomes his own shortcomings again and again to stay by Harry's side. Especially in the last books he struggles, makes decisions he deeply regrets and faces his insecurities.

I could go on and on about this… but leave it at this for now. I hope this makes you see Ron in a better light! Fight me in the comments or sing along my praise of Ron!

tl;dr: Ron is a truly interesting character but the movies and fanon have skewed his image in a negative way.