#I ship her with Cho Chang

[votapublica]

Ginny Weasley

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Can you talk about your thoughts on hinny? I have no problem with people shipping it but to me personally it just doesn't work. It feels like Rowling tried too hard or maybe just wasn't good at writing romance and messed it up. Maybe it was too rushed? The ship doesn't work for me but I'd love to hear your views.

Okay, sorry it took a while to answer this, I actually have a lot of thoughts and I have posts on some of them that I hope to get out soon-ish. I also wanted to go back to the books to make sure I'm not talking out of my ass. But I don't like Hinny, never did. And my reasons are kinda divided into three categories.

Disclaimer: I don't have anything against anyone who ships hinny, it's just really not my thing and I don't see it working with the way I see their characters.

And that's like the core of it. I just don't see Harry and Ginny as compatible on a character level. That and their relationship never really read as believable to me in the books.

The 3 categories I mentioned are:

Harry's character

Firstly, I think Harry is gay. Not bi, but gay. I think he was never actually attracted to a woman and I have a whole post to prove it. So, because that's how I read his character, I just can't really see him with any girl.

(Now, I don't think JKR intended for Harry to come off as gay, but he did)

Secondly, he never thought about Ginny, like, up until book 6, and even during large portions of book 6, he just isn't thinking about Ginny as a potential romantic interest. And when he does think about Ginny in the final two books it never reads like he really likes her. It reads like they decided they are dating, but I don't think Harry knows why he supposedly likes her. He just decided he does, but doesn't know why. It was kind of the same with Cho, where he said he had a crush on her and was nervous around her, but if you asked Harry what he likes about her, his answer would be: "Ehh...."

Like, Harry doesn't really seem to know why he's dating Ginny, and neither do I. It's just how it's written.

2. Ginny's character

So, this is again my opinion, but I don't like Ginny. I just don't like her character. I wish her off the page whenever she talks.

And, when it comes to shipping, for me, I need to find both the characters involved interesting and fun for me to explore to ship them together and care about the pairing. As I don't like Ginny and don't really care for her, I can't really ship her with anyone, not really. It's not even like I hate her (not the way I hate Dumbledore), I just find a lot of her actions and behavior iffy and she annoys me more often than not.

I'm not going to list everything I don't like about Ginny (some of it appears in the rest of this post). But her treatment of Fluer, for example, really soured her character to me. Like, sure, Ginny's young, but, she's 15, and by that point, I think she should take responsibility for being awful to Fluer who was nothing but nice to all of them. Envy is not a good look for Ginny.

3. How they are portrayed together

Like I mentioned in the Harry section, their romance just never really felt there to me. The descriptions were off and left me feeling annoyed at their scenes together more than anything else.

Again, I'm writing a more comprehensive post about it, but the gist of it is that Harry's thoughts about Ginny in books 6 and 7 are weirdly detached for a supposed crush at best or outright uncomfortable for me to read at worst.

Now, we know Harry can describe characters he finds attractive in greater detail. There is none of that detail with Ginny. He only mentioned her hair color and that her hair is long and smells nice. Like, he doesn't talk about her eye color, her facial structure, eye shape (like he does sometimes with characters he does find attractive) — nothing. He doesn't even call her pretty once! At least he referred to Cho Chang as pretty twice in the series.

In the books there is never a scene (not even one) that convinces me they should be together. Like, they have no chemistry. They kinda remind me of Ron and Lavender tbh. They make out and are present in the same space often, but they never talk. Not really. I don't think Ginny actually knows Harry all that well because he never honestly talks to her about anything real. They don't really have chemistry or a relationship, they're just together. At least, that's how I always saw them.

And yes, Harry has his jealousy moments (that are portrayed so weirdly I always narrow my eyes at them to make sure they were actually there, but that's a whole other post about Harry's chest monster of jealousy), but he still doesn't really explain what he finds in Ginny. He doesn't mention she's attractive or pretty at any point, nor does he mention anything he particularly likes about her personality (except that she doesn't weep like Cho and is good at Quidditch. Neither of which are particularly good basis for a relationship).

Like, Ginny mentions why she likes Harry and that she does multiple times. Harry by contrast, just feels so incredibly uninvolved in his own relationship, to me.

Also, personally, I just find the setup of their relationship iffy. Like Ginny outright says she never gave up on Hary and always knew they'd end up together. It means, that since she was 11 (or earlier), she was crushing on Harry, never gave up on her crush, and considered them ending up together fate. She dated other guys to make Harry jealous and pay attention to her, and that's just really gross. I don't like her long obsessive crush on Harry or her treatment of the other guys she dated on her way to get Harry.

Proof of that, for those wondering:

“I never really gave up on you,” she [Ginny] said. “Not really. I always hoped. . . . Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more — myself.”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 647)

She literally said she dated other guys so Harry would take notice of her. That just grosses me out.

So, no, I don't like Hinny (or Ginny).

[ashboilol]

The Marauders: Bullies who sexually assaulted a person. Basically Draco Malfoy and his cronies who were shown the Light.

Fandom: Such feminists, I love them!

Draco: Human equivalent of garbage who bullied anyone with lower social status, and mocked an orphan. Also gladly joined the DE.

Fandom: So tragic! He had no choice, we love him! He deserved better.

Dursleys: Gross, shallow human beings who abused the orphan they were in charge of, and even starved that child (and only because Vernon's promotion was cancelled).

Fandom: They have a reasonable hatred, and Petunia is sympathetic!

Dudley Dursley: Actually apologizes for his behavior and abuse, unlike oh-so-great James Potter.

Fandom: Bad!

Ron Weasley: Brave kid who has commited countless selfless acts and protects his friends.

Fandom: Bad! Hermione deserved better! Wife beater! Predator! Hermione should have cheated on him with Harry!

Severus Snape: Also does brave, selfless acts, and is known by HIS ENEMY'S SON as the bravest man Harry ever knew. Proves he really loves Lily.

Fandom: Bad! He was obsessed with Lily and a creep and he stole Lily's patronus! He also bullied Neville!

Lavender Brown: Nice and caring, and gives Ron the affection he deserves. Also does countless brave acts, helps to round up Skrewts, and fights in the DA despite the danger.

Fandom: She should go, she is ruining our ships!1!1!1! (Side note: I do ship Romione, but this anti-Lavender bullshit should stop.)

Cho Chang: Cares about and loves her boyfriend, and simply wants to know how he died because she loves him. Also offers to take Harry to the Ravenclaw common room, and fights in the DA.

Fandom: So annoying, can't she stop crying about Cedric?

[crvngefrvll]

Okay so some Harry Potter opinions/hot take

I love Wolfstar, Deamus, and Scorbus (and TBH WE ALL KNOW WE ONLY READ THE CURSED CHILD SCRIPT BECAUSE OF THEM?!!??) Too much and if you want to fight or criticize me about go argue with the wall 🙂‍↔️🙏

Deamus is very canon in our eyes. Don't fight with me 🙇‍♀️

I didn't like the TCC plot itself (idk who does tbh) but I like the fact that Albus and Scorpius are like two outcasts I relate to them a lot personally...sorry.

Ron wasn't dumb, really. Well he isn't the book smart kind, but he knows how to get his way in most situations 🙂‍↕️

Lavender Brown DESERVES better and I don't understand why she is so hated (probably because she was dating Ron, BUT LIKE c'mon guys weren't they just teenagers? Don't act like you don't have crushes too 💀💀💀- well unless you're aromantic 😅)

OH AND ALSO CHO CHANG. I feel bad for her because she hasn't moved on but Cedric but still she is so hated for some reason????

I couldn't really understand why Ginny dated Dean? I assumed she did that for casual dating, for fun, or to make Harry jealous(?) Idk (oh and also off topic but I have read many fanfics about jealous! Seamus towards Dean and Ginny's relationship and I love them lollll)

But I personally think if Ginny still likes Harry but still dated Dean anyway- I don't know why she would do it just for her and Dean to break up? NOT BECAUSE I think Ginny shouldn't date Dean, but Dean probably thought him and Ginny were in a serious relationship and stuff-

I haven't picked up the books for a very long time but did Harry use the Felix Felicis only to make Ginny and Dean break up? Or are any other factors to that? (Because if so, I think it's kinda mean but I understand the jealousy)

HERMIONE DEFINITELY KNEW GINNY HAD A CRUSH ON HARRY/VICE VERSA BEFORE ANYONE ELSE DID 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

Everyone in the fandom IS a real fan and no one is lesser of a Harry Potter fan than the other

The movies lacked a lot but I enjoy it anyways..

People mostly ship drarry, dramione, Blairon, etc not necessarily because they HAVE chemistry, but because of what they could have been or become and the amount of "tension" that they have (which is not necessarily a good romantic tension but rather about their obsession with each other?)

I don't ship these ships above but I can kinda understand (?) Why people do?

You can be anti drarry, anti dramione, drarry shipper, dramione shipper, wolfstar shipper, jegulus shipper and more (anti) ships WITHOUT personally harrasing...yk...the PEOPLE who ship them. Some of you cyberbully real people over fictional characters...sorry

That's it for now...if you all like this I will make a part 2 of opinions

Okay have a great day :D

[ginnyw-potter]

It makes me laugh that people are so salty about Ginny being endgame for Harry. If he didn’t love her he wouldn’t have thought about her before he sacrificed himself 🙄

Harry barely spoke to Hermione when Ron wasn’t there and searched for Ginny’s name on the map, while Hermione cried about Ron. Whenever Ron and Harry fought Harry was grinding his teeth because Hermione was always in the library, and you want him to marry into that? Maybe you need to put your feelings aside and see who the characters like.

Love they mentioned Ginny getting jealous of Cho but nothing about Harry getting jealous of Dean.

You’re not changing our minds anon, in fact you just encouraged me to read some more hinny fics and for me to write my first hinny fic, thanks boo 😘

I mean Harry and Ginny are canon... you can argue against it but it is canon.

anyone can ship anything else but why is anon coming into my ask box telling me I'm wrong?

Harry often doesn't know how to handle Hermione's emotions even if he means well. With Ginny he is much more natural about it, he does it without hesitation

Harry is sooo jealous of Dean even if he's a friend and a good guy. Dean is suddenly the worst. And most of all in that encounter when he and Ron find them snogging, Harry albeit confused, is just trying to protect Ginny from her own brother lol

Go read some hinny fics, enjoy!

[lostsoulaltair]

Owari no Seraph - Chapter 143 Thoughts

Well, the official english chapter came out! Gotta say it was pretty good. Of course, such opinion might change depending on context and interpretation.

6 days ago, I shared an analysis about the chapter and since I've seen two special people sharing an update, why not join the fun?

If you want to check the analysis, go take a look. But let's focus on the english version, shall we?

P.S: As usual, thoughts, theories and analysis always remain neutral. Ships are excluded.

1. Ky Luc

The first question that pops thanks to the chapter is why Ky Luc's fingers remained. This is actually easy following the logic on how vampires become demons or are bound to cursed gears.

In contrast to other vampires who usually wield swords to attack and make their attacks stronger; let's recall that there are exceptions to this rule. Those being Queen Krul Tepes whose sword was Arukanu

And Ky Luc, being the 5th progenitor. What do I mean?

Let's recall how Ky Luc made his sword, shall we?

Back in chapter 55 when Ky Luc's powers were displayed, he relied on his ring to draw blood. But in contrast to what could be believed, the sword he used was all formed thanks to his own blood instead of other vampire weapons that heavily rely on physical swords. Ky Luc's attacks always were directed on his own blood. Such fact is visible in the cover.

Therefore, as it may sound grim, that's the simple reason as to why there were two fingers left to become cursed gears. (How exactly will they work, mayhaps they'll be fused with Mitsuba's current weapon, I'll detail that later).

2. Reincarnation or Memory Mix

Another detail that cannot go dismissed is how the squad appeared during a flashback...or was it really a flashback?

What do I mean?

First of all, let's retake one thing Shinoa states as Ky Luc's flashback starts. She states she's absorbing his memories, which means said memories are becoming part of her. As she keeps devouring those memories, Ky Luc's most prominent memory is when he discusses with Urd about Urd's dream, then several kids that resemble the squad pass by.

But, are they the previous lives of the squad or substitutes as Shinoa keeps learning about Ky and Urd?

For this, let's remember one special detail. Yuu couldn't be there given that he was made through the homunculi Shikama kept. The last time we saw about Shikama, the third progenitors as demons, the corpse of Mikaela and Yuu was back in chapter 105.

And considering that the events of the flashbacks between Urd and Ky take place in Europe at an unknown time like the moments of the First with his demons, are at an unknown time. A former Yuu can't be the one running there, meaning that the kids running are images or NPC taking the aspects of the squad given that Ky Luc's memories are becoming part of Shinoa.

3. Humans and Vampires

As @nono-uwu and @distinguished-slacker mentioned on their respective posts (make sure to read their post!); let's not forget the difference between humans and vampires. During the beginning of the current story (after the LNs and very first arcs of OnS) there was a heavy grudge between humans and vampires, it was seen how vampires would kill humans out of fun or for drinking them way before they were caught and taken to the Vampire Capital.

Thus, it's not that Shinoa is being just evil or that she's a sadist; but it's a fact. Vampires and humans were in a constant war until the Vampire Progenitors managed to take control of Shibuya, beating Kureto Hiragi and Shinya easily until they managed to escape.

It was well known that one would be the last day for a soldier, other, the day a vampire would meet its end.

Furthermore, let's remember something else, what could it be?

Humans given their grude, the way then perceive vampires is one sided, which means, they are prone to believe vampires chose such path out of joy when it's the latter. How can I say this?

Easy, this lies the very moment Shinoa cries after keeping with Ky's turning.

Given that Shinoa is constantly letting her human emotions flow, she's experiencing more, she's experiencing that the Vampire Progenitors that were their enemies in such an endless war; they too, when they were humans suffered and endured a lot of pain. Hence why when she cries, she sees that Ky's human side is filled with too much grief. Hence why not just her but her teammates are learning that even their enemies were once humans that carried their battles.

5. Mitsuba

One of the things that wasn't expected was that Mitsuba's cursed gear would be upgraded to a Black Demon. Plot wise it may seem weak and of course, I can't justify the author given that there were many opportunities that were sadly dismissed. Nevertheless, the very fact that Mitsuba will receive her own black demons leads to a possibility, what do I mean?

Do you remember the requirements for Black Demons?

Correct. Only the candidates to wield black cursed gear, must have gone through special experiments.

This opens the possibility for Mitsuba to have actually been another test subject for unknown experiments.

Furthermore, given that Mitsuba and Ky Luc have one thing in common, what could it be? Correct. They haven't found a reason to live yet. But in contrast to the vampire progenitor, Mitsuba will likely find one for her own.

What do you think everyone? Let me know!

[hp-soulmates]

💞 HP Soulmates: R3D String Edition - August Weeks 1 & 2 Roundup 💞

Sorry for the delay! Here’s the Roundup for Weeks 1 & 2. We will be trying to post a Roundup every two weeks, so there will be another one coming this weekend. Please enjoy the first set of some amazing fics!

~ HP Soulmates Mods 💞

💞 [Fic] Invisible String (Tying You to Me) by MidnightStargazer | @midnightstargazer 💞 (T, Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, 2.3k)

Week 1: Red string | lightning era | fate

In the aftermath of her breakup with Ron, Lavender uses a divination ritual to reveal the red strings of fate and find her soulmate, desperate for a partner who can be trusted not to break her heart.

💞 [Fic] Clear The Clouds (& Your Doubt) by SquibNation10 💞 (T, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, 3.7k)

Week 1: Red string | lightning era | fate

Ron was proud of his girlfriend. Hermione Granger was among the top researchers in the Department of Mysteries. But then he finds out what she's researching...

💞 [Fic] Ink Stained Heart by GimletSour | @gimletsour 💞 (M, Pansy Parkinson/Harry Potter, 5.4k)

Harry’s got a one-way portkey to California and a date with a pretty girl lined up. Who knew finding your soulmate, even fourteen years late, could work out so well? ~ This is a direct sequel to Ink Stained Skin, and will feature Harry’s POV. I highly encourage you to read that one first!

💞 [Fic] Tied To Me With Crimson Knots by DrWhoIsGinnyHolmes | @drwhoisginnyholmes 💞 (M, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 2.4k)

Week 1: Red string | lightning era | fate

Harry’s fingertip laid bare, an unconnected hand, a silent thing, no red string in sight. Draco’s was bound, to a Muggle, once bright. But darkness came, and shadows spread. Voldemort’s hand left the Muggle boy dead. In that moment, fate took a twist, A red string formed on Harry’s wrist. From enemy to friend, perhaps to lover, Their destinies entwined, one to discover. Poem written by p0intless_p0et

💞 [Fic] Expelliarmus Red by Poljupci | @poljupci 💞 (T, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, 1.3k)

Week 1: Red string | lightning era | fate + Wildcard: Cross gen ship

Harry could have figured it out sooner if he dared to pay more attention. Maybe things could have ended differently, then. But like this, when the realisation comes while looking into Voldemort's eyes and waiting to be killed, the only thing he can do is accept that they've doomed themselves from the beginning.

💞 [Fic] Catch The Snitch (& Win Me Too) by SquibNation10 💞 (T, Cho Chang/Ginny Weasley, 3.5k)

Week 2: Rival Soulmates | rare pair | second chances

Ginny Weasley wished the world would stop bringing up her past. She just wanted to play for her favourite Quidditch Team. Cho Chang feels the same.

💞 [Fic] midnight train by prima_vera | @girl-with-goats 💞 (M, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, 6.5k)

Prompts: Fate | red string | second chances | soulmarks

Onboarding the midnight train in search of his client's soulmate, Harry Potter doesn't expect to find his own childhood friend—and soulmate.

💞 [Fic] The Thousand Acres Between Us by MarinaJune | @sailtomarina 💞 (M, Marcus Flint/Hermione Granger, 8.3k)

Week 1: Red string | lightning era | fate

Reunited after years apart following the war, Hermione can immediately see there’s something different about Marcus Flint. The boy she thought she knew came back a man, one she’s more than willing to reconsider. He’s older, obviously, broader, mysterious as always, and, most baffling of all, interested in her?

💞 [Fic] Seeker Practice by Poljupci | @poljupci 💞 (E, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 1k)

Prompts: Rival soulmates | soulmarks & tattoos | snitch

Harry Potter is a good Seeker. The fact that catching their snitch of a soulmark gets both of them all hot and bothered is just some extra incentive.

[beanieable]

I decided to dig up my Naruto AU again! I called it Family AU on my old account. I also have a few fics in the universe I called it Odd Family.

I want to change things around a little. The main plot in the AU were different ships and some new kids. Also Obito and Neji surviving the war somehow.

The new ships are:

Obito and Kakashi

Naruto and Neji

Sasuke and Suigetsu

I’m debating if Sakura should be with Hinata or not. On one hand it would be cute on the other I like the idea of them being strong independent single women. But at the same time it could be very cute. Maybe they could get together later.

Then since I got rid of two canon ships, Sarada, Boruto and Himawari don’t exist anymore. Instead we have some new kids!

Uzumaki Kento and Kiku

Uchiha/Hozuki Mako

Sayuki (later Haruno Sayuki)

Again, I could see myself adding one more kid, maybe someone Hinata takes under her wing, like Sakura has Sayuki.

There’s two more changes regarding the canon kids. Mitsuki and Kawaki. Mitsuki kind of gets adopted by Sasuke and Suigetsu. It was an accident but it happened anyway. Kawaki doesn’t go down the path he did in canon. He still gets taken in by Naruto (and with that Neji) but he just kinda grows into being part of the family and having two younger siblings. And I’m getting rid of the whole chaos afterwards. I might bring in Eida and her brother but if I do I’ll change her powers a bit.

Now a little lore for and fun facts for everything!

Kento and Kiku are twins, Kento is slightly older than Kiku. Naruto is trans and have birth to them.

Kawaki likes to cook with Neji. Growing up the way he did, being able to cook something to eat means a lot to him.

Neji has a few lasting issues because of the war. It wasn’t all that bad when they were younger. It got worse with age. He had some bad days where he is in a lot of pain. By the time Kiku and Kento start going to the academy, he had to be taken off active duty. He handles diplomatic issues nowadays.

Neji doesn’t say at least out loud that he loves his kids (and his husband) a lot. He shows it more often than not. He always makes them bentos and gets them little gifts and showers them in affection. When he does say it it’s still very special. Even if all of them know how much he love them.

Kiku sometimes reminds Naruto of Kushina while Kento reminds Neji of Hizashi at times. And much to their surprise Naruto sometimes sees Minato in Kawaki.

Growing up Kento and Kiku were really close to Inojin, still are. Obito sometimes babysat the three of them. Inos mom did too.

With Kento taking Borutos place, he is Mitsukis sun and the reason be comes to Konoha.

Mako is a testtube baby. Sasuke and Suigetsu asked Orochimaru for a favor.

Mako is a few years younger than the rest of the kids.

He travels with his dads around the world.

Instead of the arc with Sarada, there’s one with Mitsuki.

Sasuke, Suigetsu and Mako invested something, run into Mitsuki and some stuff happens and they have a new son/brother. Mako loves his new big brother.

With Mitsuki attending the academy, the three stay more often in Konoha. When they do have to leave, Mako likes to stay with Mitsuki. The other adults look after them and invite for dinner a lot.

As Mako and Mitsuki grow closer, Suigetsu and Sasuke see themselves and their older brothers in them. It’s bittersweet.

Now Sayuki, she has a strained relationship with her biological parents.

She looks up to Sakura and dream to be trained by her.

She’s the same age as Iwabee and similar to him also repeated a bit.

She’s put on team 7 alongside Kento and Mitsuki under Moegi.

With that, Team 10 gets to have Konohamaru as their Sensei, keeping the Ino-Shika-Cho and Sarutobi thing going.

And I’m sorry to say, (not really) but Denki will be pulled from team 5 and Kiku will be in his place.

When Sayuki eventually does starts getting trained by Sakura, the two grow closer.

Sakura finds out about her situation at home and works towards adopting her. She succeeds and presents Jun the adoption papers and her name is now Haruno Sayuki.

Since Sayuki dyes her hair pink and she has dark green eyes already, she can pass as Sakuras biological child.

Obito is a glorified housewife. He got his chakra sealed and only in chase of emergency can use it. Well the seal can only then be broken.

Since Neji is alive at the time of the last, he’ll join the team to save Hanabi and the story would change to be a story about the three Hyuga and their relationship.

Hanabi is a kid and her siblings are growing up and Neji is moving out, she’s worried about losing them.

Hinata got over her feelings for Naruto but trying to find herself. She pulls away from her siblings.

Neji is handling his new circumstances and new relationship with Naruto and unintentionally pulling away from his sisters.

In the end they know things will change but they’ll always love each other.

The big wedding at the end of the show is Kakashis and Obitos. Obito takes Kakashis last name. He’s Hatake Obito now.

I want to redo the references of the kids sometime in the future.

[angstigone]

get to know angsti's selfships

low key feeling more comfortable with this type of things (so, pls do tell me if I am growing annoying), so here's a brief summary through tropes of my ships.

(again: I use ocs, but it's my in a wig each time)

aki x naoko -> apparent optimist who is a pessimist/apparent pessimist who is optimist - smoker boyfriend/non smorker girlfriend who makes fun of his stamina - 'you are the sole good thing that happened to me'/'I'd hold you through everything'.

katya x nagumo -> boosting their love and devotion/showing it through acts - 'I hate myself for still love you'/'you are the sole thing that I don't hate myself for' - 'the past is in the past and it stays that way, but I need to act like a bitch to protect you'/'the past weighted me down and even after apologies I think about how much I hurt you'.

kaiser x anna lena -> footbal prodigy/chess prodigy - 'everything about me is about football'/'I never want chess to be the sole thing that I am good at' - 'my mother left me but I still want to chase after her'/'my dad left me but I still want to chase after him'.

oikawa x sara -> grumpy/sunshine - 'I have been your biggest fan but your terrible attitude aggravates me'/'oh so you are my biggest fan?' - 'I'll never be enough for you'/'I'll never be enough'.

souya x cho -> just slightly more social introvert/extrovert - class president/social outcast - 'I can't truly express myself because others would take offense'/'other will take offense no matter what' - 'people pleaser'/'sweetest angel on earth'.

rindou x kiara -> 'we have known each other since we were children'/' and yet we aren't children anymore' - 'somebody wants to beat me up'/'I'll hold you down for them' - 'you are the sole person that gets it'/'and you are the sole one that I can talk to like this'.

baji x hime -> black cat gf/rotweiller boyfriend - 'let me ask my girlfriend... she said no'/'I never said anything like that he just doesn't want to go out' - 'don't burn his car down... mentally torture him i's best'/'oh my love... such sweet words'.

kazutora x kara -> baker/eater - 'this guy at work looked wrongly at me, do you think he hates me?'/'well, either way he's about to be beaten up' - 'I think you idolize me in your mind, I am pretty normal'/'oh no, I don't, my goddess' - 'you should have some principles'/'... I should have what?'.

gris x ardua -> mommy/daddy - 'you are literally the sole one I can think about, but fuck it if I am ever going to tell you'/'I literally love her so much but she doesn't see me that way' - 'I'd take a bullet for you'/'not if I take one first' - 'you make me want to do things out of my comfort zone'/'you make me want to do my best'

mr. chang x liz -> old married couple (they were in an arranged marriage) - younger girlfriend (of ten years) who teases her older boyfriend - 'is it the old age or your shitty smoker lungs'/'...I honestly shouldn't enjoy it as much we you are so mean to me ugh'

if you have any questions/curiosity on the ships, pls just drop in my ask box

[watermelonsloth]

Alternative Canon Ships

I think something that annoys me and a lot of other people about the canon ships is that they weren’t the only options by a country mile. So I wanted to finally put my money where my mouth is and take a crack at pairing the Konoha 12 without changing the manga.

Anyone I didn’t mention here should be presumed single in my AU because I either think they’re better single or I don’t care about who they end up with.

Option 1

Naruto and Sasuke - The entire series is about them learning to understand each other and ending the cycle of hatred by coming together (in holy matrimony). Naruto wouldn’t have a character arc without Sasuke and Sasuke’s character arc is incomplete without Naruto. I don’t think I need to explain how they act as foils and compliments for each other or how they’re willing to go to great lengths for each other or how they show time and time again how much they value each other.

Sakura and Rock Lee - We really went through the chunin exams for nothing. They have very little screen time together, but what we have is good enough for it to at least make sense. Rock Lee is clearly willing to both wait and die for her and Sakura has a mini arc about learning not to judge people on appearances and to respect him that culminates in her giving him flowers in the hospital. Worst case scenario it needs to get the NaruHina treatment and have a movie made about why they came together in the end.

Shikamaru and Choji - I’ve already said that I don’t care for any of the inter-Ino-Shika-Cho ships, but they interact with too few characters for me not to bring them up here. They’re childhood friends, they obviously care for and respect each other, they have complimentary personalities, and Shikamaru stands up for Choji on multiple occasions. They don’t get too much attention in shippuden because Choji and Ino were shafted, but they at least continue to support each other when they are shown interacting.

(This is where we start losing a sturdy foundation because the characters don’t have enough screen time spent interacting with anyone unmentioned. From here on out the bar is in hell and I’m only pairing the characters off because it would’ve been expected.)

Ino and Sai - A lot of people shit on this ship and I get why (Ino is caught in Sakura’s shadow and Sai was literally Sasuke’s replacement in team 7, so it’s easy to see them as discount SasuSaku). However, the ship isn’t the most unbelievable in canon. Ino has shown that she has genuine feelings for Sai and they at least interact with each other.

Hinata and Shino - Hinata would make sense with either of her teammates, but I’m choosing Shino because he makes more sense. They’re similarly introverted types, they get along, Shino has been shown to have faith in her abilities (I’m not saying Kiba doesn’t, but Shino’s more consistent about it), and I think it would be fitting for Shino (who’s insecure about being unnoticeable) to end up with someone who would prioritize him if he ends up with anyone at all.

Option 2

Naruto and Sakura - These two would’ve made more sense, “red herring” and “pursued her for rivalry” my ass. Both are ready and willing to make sacrifices for each other, they interact a lot and most of it is positive (we aren’t mentioning the slapstick because I’m not having that asinine argument), there were hints throughout shippuden of Sakura returning his feelings, they have complimentary personalities, Sakura ending up with Naruto is beneficial to her character, Naruto ending up with Sakura is in-line with his character arc and theme, both stop to consider each other’s feelings on multiple occasions, Sakura attempts to help Naruto in any way she can on a regular basis, (even if I hate how often this is mentioned) Sakura is explicitly compared to Kushina, there are more hints at their relationship than I care to list here, and there’s symbolism for a flower under the sun/heaven and earth.

Sasuke and Karin - SasuKarin is the sister ship to Naruto and Sakura because of its parallels (the Uzumaki has feelings first, the girls are both compared to Kushina, the girls both act as support and medics to the boys who take on leadership roles, the Uzumaki wants to protect/see their love interest’s smile, etc). As for reasons: Sasuke has been shown to respect Karin and her abilities, Karin loves Sasuke because he was the first person to show her kindness, Karin has put her life on the line for Sasuke on multiple occasions, both are willing to go to great length for the other, and both unlocked abilities for the sake of saving the other.

Ino and Sai - I’ve already explained this.

Shikamaru and Temari - This ship isn’t perfect, but I think it makes enough sense for most people to not be upset (the only people I’ve seen complaining about it are people who hate Shikamaru or ship something else). They always share at least one scene when Temari enters the story, there are hints about it being romantic, and makes more sense in canon than many of the other options.

Choji and Hinata - This is, admittedly, a stretch, but it isn’t as much as a stretch as ChoKaru so I’m considering this still in the safe zone. The two both have shy and sweet personalities that make it easy to imagine them getting along, both struggle with overcoming their low self-esteem and taking action themselves, both care deeply for their friends, Hinata fits with what Choji wanted romantically in his infinite tsukuyomi dream, and both have the shared idea of maintaining kindness even in a ruthless shinobi world.

Bonus

Naruto and Hinata - This ship was fine, even with its lack of screen time, but the Last and Boruto ruined it, so we’ll just pretend that didn’t happen. Naruto learned to not judge and respect Hinata, Hinata has multiple scenes where she snaps Naruto out of spiraling (the proud failure speech is still peak NaruHina), Naruto stands up for Hinata, Hinata takes a lot of inspiration from Naruto and his determination, and Hinata cares about Naruto’s wellbeing and feelings so much it’s a near irrevocable part of her character. With nothing changed it would still be just as flawed and clumsy as in canon, but it wouldn’t be unforgivable.

Hinata and Rock Lee - Again, I’m stretching canon for a Hinata ship, but I think there’s enough ground to stand on to at least mention it. That ground being a weird amount of parallels. They both have experience being in Neji’s shadow, both of them are untalented and make up for their shortcomings through hard work, both care about the people they love to a self-sacrificial degree, both are true to their word, both of them admire Naruto (join the club), both of them has a teacher that acts as a parental figure, and both of them have unrequited love because the target of their affection has feelings for someone more conventionally attractive than them(though Hinata gets more conventionally attractive as the series goes on so…).

Ino and Choji - It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done. They support each other as teammates, Ino could help Choji be more confident, Ino getting with Choji could symbolize her getting past her superficiality, and they don’t have opposing personalities or beliefs as far as I can tell.

Sasuke and No One - I’m just putting this here to remind everyone that there’s an argument to be made about Sasuke being better off without a relationship. I absolutely get why he was paired off and I probably would too if I was in charge of the epilogue (it can be an indicator of him and the clan healing, plus an Uchiha child/the sharingan is a fun idea to mess around with), but him remaining single also makes sense. He states how he’s disinterested in romance and he just doesn’t have that many working potential love interests in canon. Yes, there’s Sakura but more than a movie could cover would have to change before the two of them could reasonably work together and it might still ruin her character.

[varganardi]

Yume intro!

Figured I might do a new intro, since a lot of things have changed since my last time!

I'm Espresso, and I'm a 21 year old Audhd yumeshipper! 💕

I officially joined the selfship community last year, but have been a selfshipper and/or OC x canon-shipper for a big part of my life.

I am genderfluid and use they/she pronouns.

For me, I selfship mainly for comfort and as a coping mechanism.

I am very protective of my fictional others, and view them as my real life partner.

I am non-sharing, meaning I'd rather not interact with doubles to my f/o's.

Of course, no offense! It is just to protect my mental health and there's no shade if you happen to share f/o with me. <3

You can still interact if you have a platonic/familial selfship with my f/o ofc - or if you're a fan of them! Just don't be weird about it please.

Apart from selfshipping, I am an aspiring author and a hobby artist! :3 I love writing, reading and drawing.

BYF/DNI

Due to anxiety and lot of doubles on Tumblr, I am more active on Instagram currently. Feel free to follow me there at @/varganardi!

Interactions is done from @/espresso-life

Basic DNI criterias! Also DNI:

Pro/comshippers

Homophobic people and terfs

Racists & zionists

If you ship my f/o's with someone but me, or if you're an canon x canon ship account. Please. <3 *glances ar L*cho shippers*

My f/o's

Nacho Varga

Aka my husband <3

I've selfshipped with him since the start of 2024 and he means the world to me! My s/i has been married to him since 30 November 2024. I love him dearly.

Please DNI if you selfship romantically with him, or if you ship him with someone that isn't me!

Nacho is shipped together with my self insert Laura.

Haymitch Abernathy

I've selfshipped with Haymitch since 2022 and he probably is my first f/o. He is my biggest comfort character and the love for him helped me deal with some personal struggles in 2022. He means the world to me. <3

I’m very uncomfortable with Haymitch doubles. If you selfship with him romantically or with another canon character please do not interact.

Haymitch is shipped with my self insert Atlas!

(my sona is genderfluid anduses they/she pronouns)

James "Sawyer" Ford

I recently started watching Lost, but damn I like Sawyer! 😭

He reminds me so much of Haymitch, in personality, appareance, attitude and way of talking...

OFC I have to f/o him! Lol

He is shipped with my self insert OC Nova Cliff! <3

This is pretty much a Haytlas variant ship

I'm selective sharing!

No-eul

What can I say? She's so damn badass and gorgeous. I hope we see more of her in Season 3.

So in love with this woman <3

I don't have any art yet but she is shipped with my self insert OC June!

Selective sharing

Secondary f/o's

Ágata Jiménez/Nairobi - LCDP (non-sharing)

Elaine Benes - Seinfeld (selective sharing)

Domingo Molina - BrBa/BCS (selective sharing)

My strawpage!

Other social medias

Instagram: varganardi & haymitchswife

Characterhub: varganardi

That's all from me, thanks for reading and I hope we can be mutuals! <3

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! Curious as to your headcanons on how Harry would realize he’s gay/come out? I like to imagine him not realizing it until he’s blundered his way into a relationship with a man, but surely he would be to clever for that 😆

Lol, I mean, yeah, Harry is clever, but not when it comes to relationships as he so adequately demonstrates throughout the books. That being said, I think it has more to do with his hectic situation rather than his intelligence. He just has other priorities — like, not dying. I saw someone suggest that by book 7, Harry is somewhat aware of his orientation with his: "not my type, but he'll do" comment to a transfigured Ron asking how he looks.

Like, I think Harry was aware he finds men attractive since 4th year, but he didn't really know what it means because he had other priorities. Like, he'd think he just finds guys attractive but it's normal, he has eyes, after all. But in general, I think the moment Harry is not in immediate life-threatening danger, he would figure it out. Just give him a moment to relax. It might take another failed relationship like Cho, but I really believe that he would get there on his own.

It probably wasn't anything big or grand either, just, kinda like a gradual understanding of: "huh, I guess I don't like girls" that eventually leads to "huh, I always thought guys are hot". (If we ignore the epilogue we can say he had this moment of epiphany while camping in the woods, I mean, there was a lot of silent time for introspection there, or maybe through a talk with Hermione/Ron)

If we go with canon-divergence for fic purposes when he's younger and is still wrapped up in, like, 3 plots to kill him a year, he might just blunder into a relationship with a guy and only realize it's a relationship later. But, Harry is smart enough to know that if he's holding hands and cuddling with someone that isn't a usual friendship for him. Especially if this is after his disaster date with Cho where he dreaded her wanting to hold his hand or kiss him again. Harry would notice if he was interested in that compared to with Cho, that he actually wants to spend time with this guy and likes looking at him and being close to him, but it might take him a while still. It's also very possible [male Harry ship of your choice] would be the one to basically tell Harry what they have is a relationship, but it really depends on the specific canon divergence. In general, it's less likely Harry would start this relationship as he is in a quest to be normal (which is part of why he decided he has a crush on Cho), she's a safe option — pretty, good at Quidditch, and appearing unattainable when he chose her. Point is, I don't see the Hogwarts-aged Harry pursuing a relationship with a guy without certain changes to get him there (the guy of your choice might though).

Alternative to this situation, it could be Ron or Hermione who bring it up to Harry, with Ron being the more likely of the two to bring it up. I think Ron has known since 5th year that Harry is gay, Hermione doesn't seem to really know, but by 7th year she probably figured it out (I mean, even in the muggle world this is the UK in 90s, it's not like being gay was overly accepted). So, they could also bring it up to him.

As for coming out, I feel like he would accidentally joke about it a bunch, like in that book 7 comment and most people would think it's just a joke, but I think Ron and Hermione would clue in early he actually means it. Ron at least would have already known and both I believe would be supportive of Harry. I think a bunch of others would be told as well, I think most Weasley kids won't have a problem with it at all (Ginny is likely to be disappointed, but I don't think she'd be mean about it to Harry). I think Molly and Arthur might struggle a little, due to ignorance rather than malice, but they would definitely be kind and try to be supportive. Arthur would probably mention some Weasley cousin who's gay as a way to connect to Harry because I'm sure there is one. Sirius would support everything Harry does and chooses (and he himself is likely, not straight) so, yeah.

Beyond that, coming out more publicly would heavily depend on the Wizarding World's approach to homosexuality. I personally believe they don't treat it great and it's kind of an unspoken thing — considering we don't see any gay relationships in the books, their focus on legacy and producing children, and the characters that are mentioned to be unmarried seem to live like confirmed bachelors (Dumbledore, Aunt Muriel, Alphard and Cassiopeia Black, etc.). Also, considering Harry's dislike of the Prophet and the attention he receives, I don't see him choosing to ever make it public knowledge since it's none of their business.

I imagine Witch Weekly keeps placing Harry in number 1 their Most Eligible Bachelors list years after he has already moved to live with a "close male friend" of his (choose who to your preference). And like, everyone knows, but no one would really acknowledge it. Whenever Harry is asked about "when he's gonna settle down" by some interviewer or random ministry personnel or some foreign ambassador he needs to be held back from throwing hands when younger. Later in life he probably gets used to it, besides, the older he gets, eventually the questions would stop, I imagine. It's also possible eventually attitudes in the Wizarding World would change, but that's something that takes time and depends on a lot of other factors.

[drarry-soulmates]

HBO remake... my thoughts! (Hagrid was STICK-THIN in the books & misc.)

I think people need to separate the movie from the show. The show is trying to do book-accurate actors/actresses, right? I heard that they are trying to be more faithful to the ages of the characters too (THANK GODS). i really want them to show that Hagrid was NOT fat. he was tall, sure (11 feet). But nowhere in the books did it say he was necessarily 'fat' or 'round' unlike Molly Weasley and Neville. I write a lot of fanfic & i always try to portray my characters as book-accurate as possible and all my Hagrids are never fat because I can't find book proof of that. In fact, he seems pretty thin, when his weight is factored in. He is 11 ft but weighs only 289 lbs. He's a walking stick.

But i fear a bunch of non-book readers will have issue with certain book aspects in the show bc it doesn't match the movie versions.

Like, please give us BLACK-haired GREEN-eyed Harry. Give him a wig and contacts. Those bright green eyes were mentioned way too often in the books to be glossed over. And Harry was supposed to be a hot jock like his dad. Daniel Radcliffe isn't ugly by any means, but he didn't turn heads in the same way Tom Felton did. I know this isn't something that can be controlled though /:

The movie versions did a very poor portrayal of the book characters IMO, including the ages. Idk what they were thinking with casting 30-40 yo ppl to play Harry's 21 yo parents... Adrian (James Potter) who played his 21 dad was 43 in first movie...... I think JKR purposely made all the characters (Potters, Sirius, Lupin, Snape) younger so they could be a bit more relatable to a younger audience. PLEASE MAKE THEM YOUNGER HBO!!! Age really reflects A LOT in the perception of characters! Esp now that most HP fans are around the age of these adult characters.

Also, as a POC, I want them to keep all the ethnicities the same. Unfortunately, the book characters were mainly white (as shown in various pictures throughout the books--like JKR's hand-drawn picture where Hermione was drawn with Dean and only Dean was shaded in since he's black and she's not. It's notable that Harry doesn't look Indian either & his hair doesn't have curls). As much as we wish these characters were different ethnicities, JKR clearly never intended for them to be:

In the late 90's (at the time the books were written), no one was 'woke' like we are now. JKR had no incentive to try to be diverse in her story. Any POC was glaringly obvious by their names. 'Cho Chang' or 'Patil.'

I believe her comments on a black Hermione for HPCC was to support the black actresses that played Hermione, likely because she knew the backlash that those actresses might receive.

As far as I know, the only canon POC characters were the Patil sisters, Cho, Dean, Lee Jordan, and Kingsley. Why don't we as a fandom prop those actual POC characters up? Include them as part of the main ship in more fanfics rather than side ships, make more fanart, etc., rather than try to turn white characters brown?

I don't want any ethnicity changes just for diversity's sake, as that is a bit disrespectful to us POC. The hope is that future stories will be more ethnically diverse from the start, rather than have token characters thrown in just for diversity's sake.

Changing Snape to black (like the rumors I've heard) would look so bad--a skinny black kid who straightens his 'greasy' hair, targeted for bullying purposes by James, a pureblood white wizard. Umm. See how godsdamn awful that looks?

Snape official book drawing (not black at all--he actually looks kinda Asian in the first pic):

Not to mention:

"Snape’s sallow skin had gone the color of sour milk." -Harry Potter & the Prisoner Of Azkaban

Indeed, even Dumbledore's sexuality was so subtle it was never explicitly mentioned because JKR didn't write the books with the intention of being 'woke.' She just wrote an epic kid's adventure for children ages 9-12, and I truly believe it's the fans who have made the books more meaningful than JKR intended them to be!

—Just a fan that wants CORRECT portrayals (ages, ethnicities, looks).

HBO promised a book-accurate show. GIVE US WHAT YOU PROMISED.

[saintsenara]

ship ask, if you're up for it: harry/parvati, ginny/cho, ginny/draco

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

parvati patil/harry potter

these two were one hundo into each other at school. parvati was definitely thrilled to be asked as harry's date to the yule ball [and she hurled padma under the bus of terrible vibes named ron weasley in order to seal the deal, which isn't exactly giving nonchalant], while harry spends one of his owl exams canonically staring at her shiny hair - which is a physical feature he definitely seems to have a thing for.

it flopped because parvati cottoned on pretty quickly that she didn't want to have to deal with ron's bullshit - which is tough if he's your boyfriend's best friend - and that she could also very much do without harry spending their entire first date staring longingly at cedric diggory.

cho chang/ginny weasley

that quidditch final - cho bursting into tears when ginny snatches the snitch from under her nose - is an enemies-to-lovers concept for the ages, as is the fact that cho can fully humble ginny by demonstrating what it's like to not embarrass everyone by simping for harry to the detriment of your own characterisation.

draco malfoy/ginny weasley

i have a real soft spot for it, as i've gone into more detail about here:

[theerurishipper]

Okay so like. They speed ran through all options in the love square in season 5 only to end on Adrinette. There’s 3 seasons left at minimum. How are they going to make the audience invested in this bland high school romance? Are going to cycle through the options of the love square again? I genuinely have no idea how they can possibly make me root for this couple after the finale of season 5

I honestly don't have any idea. And you're so right about the bland high school romance thing. Like, it's cute and all, but Adrienette has fuck all to do with anyone's character arc and absolutely nothing to do with the overall plot. Ladynoir was the side of the square which had all this going for it, and they took it out back and shot it in the face. You can literally see how inconsequential Adrienette is for the conflict, because they had to contrive all sorts of ridiculous plot points like retconned in trauma and Gabe's sudden obsession with shipping Adrigami in order to give it any sort of story weight, and it just felt so forced to me. Adrienette has nothing.

Like yeah, they're the same person, sure. But by virtue of the writing and how their relationships with each other are portrayed, Ladynoir is the dynamic that will enable character development and story progression for both Adrien and Marinette. Marinette's greatest struggle is now that she's lost the Miraculous and is carrying a heavy burden of being the Guardian. Who is the one who can help her with this? It's Chat Noir. Not Adrien Agreste, the guy who should have no fucking clue about any of this. Adrien is stuck with an abusive father who is also a supervillain. Who can help him? It's Ladybug. Not Marinette the high schooler.

Ladynoir have been supported each other from day 1. They've been through it all, they've seen each other at their lowest and they've trusted each other with their lives. They have a secret that they can't tell anyone else in the world and have a struggle that only they can understand (until Season 4 made Alya Marinette's greatest confidant and started killing Ladynoir, but we don't talk about that).

On the flip side Adrienette... is there. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it. But it has no story weight the way Ladynoir does, and the biggest conflict in Adrienette is that Marinette can't talk to Adrien. There's no development here. Adrien legit has nothing going on in this dynamic, he's just there. Adrienette is one-sided in who needs development. The dynamic is one-sided for most of the show, and only Marinette really needs to undergo a change because Adrien already knows and appreciates her for who she is. And that's not a bad thing, but making that the main canon ship lets the writers flake out on writing meaningful character development. Marinette didn't have to learn squat. Adrien did all the work, and apparently, he learned to take accountability for Marinette's inability to speak to him. And tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that a ship that I like becoming canon and the characters confessing that they love each other a la the fanfics I ravenously consumed over the years should make me go "no you fucking don't!"

And I was a LS shipper. I wanted Adrienette to get together. But not a pre-reveal, bland and ultimately inconsequential Adrienette who have nothing to do with anything. Why did they even become canon? What purpose did it serve in the story? Nothing! They had to manufacture these ridiculous conflicts like Marinette's trauma because Adrienette had fuck all to do with anything.

And it didn't have to be like this, because Adrienette actually had one storyline with minimal story weight that could have had it be important too. The Lila plot. That was a thing. Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting Monarch while their civilian selves fight another threat together? A threat that is in cahoots with their supervillain? Adrienette could have had story weight. They could have bonded over this; they could have developed. But instead, the writers chose to give Adrien's place at Marinette's side in the fight against Lila to, wait for it, Sabrina. Yes, Sabrina. The fuck??

Adrienette has no story weight or interesting conflict. They literally had to contrive some enmity between Gabe and Marinette so that Adrienette could have any kind of relevance by making Gabe an Adrigami shipper outta nowhere. Adrien doesn't need to grow by virtue of Adrienette, yet he's somehow the one who does. Marinette does have to grow, and instead, she gets her trophy handed to her without doing any work. And they killed Ladynoir for this. Now Ladynoir are just work buddies who don't care if they never see each other again so long as they can get with their high school crush. They only talk about their new GF/BF and the "rest of the team." Done is the Ladynoir conflict, done is the yin-yang symbolism, gone is the "it's us against the world." They killed Ladynoir for some shoddily developed generic romance.

And if they had to contrive conflict in the very season that had Adrienette become canon, what hope does it have of being interesting for three more? Ladynoir is dead, if Adrien and Marinette reveal their identities, it's not going to fucking matter because they're already together and Ladynoir don't even care about each other anymore. And they're already dating, so they aren't going to look at any other boy/girl again, and I genuinely have no idea how they're going to develop the Love Square any more. You can bet your ass that they aren't going to deal with the parallels Marinette now has to her boyfriend's abuser, so Adrienette has legit no ground to stand on and nothing of value to contribute. It's just a drag at this point. Whatever.

Thank you for your ask!

[t1oui]

so recently, for some reason, there have been a lot of people and accounts on my dash who are arguing against race-swapping - making white characters poc specifically - in the hp/marauders fandom and usually i stick to the mindset of "ship and let ship, headcanon and let headcanon" but oh my GOD, guys

there are some main arguments i've seen for why making white hp characters poc is "bad", and i will try my best to debunk all of them in a way that makes sense considering how done i am with this whole problem

i would also like to preface this by saying I AM WHITE. i am a white person who thinks race-swapping is a good thing in the hp fandom because it adds representation. anyways, onto the arguments:

1: what if a canon poc character was made white in fanfic/art? how would you feel then?

i'm sorry but when have you seen anybody doing that? there's a reason this argument starts with "what if" and not "remember when". if people are race-swapping, it's because they're looking to ADD representation.

2: but we already have so many amazing canon poc characters!

yeah, there are canon poc characters. remind me how many of them directly effect harry's life in a significant way? sure, there's cho, who he likes and goes on a date or two with. there's pavarti, who he went to the yule ball with. there's kingsley shacklebolt (just for the record, naming one of few canon black characters shacklebolt is a choice, but that's not what this post is about), who is a member of the order and the eventual minister for magic. there's lee, who runs potterwatch. there's angelina, who plays quidditch with harry, and there's dean, his roommate.

yes, there are canon poc characters who have speaking lines and help harry and make him feel things. but who are the main characters in the story? harry, ron, and hermione. who are harry's mentors? sirius and dumbledore. who does harry marry? ginny. who teaches him the patronus charm? remus. who's the mother of his godson? tonks. who's he fighting? voldemort.

see the problem here? none of those people, not ONE OF THEM, is a person of color. the point of race-swapping is not to undermine preexisting characters of color, it's to make the main cast - aka the people getting the most attention - more diverse. if you make even a few of those people poc - harry, hermione, remus - you're making a story that a lot more people can relate to, which is potentially a story a lot more people want to read. how many characters did i suggest changing? THREE. three. i am not going to go through and make sure there are no white people bc white people are evil. i am saying that it's not fair to argue for the already-existing poc characters when they're often going to be left on the sideline, as people making this argument well know.

3: it's just not necessary.

isn't a big part of fanfiction - and writing as a whole - to make characters you and others can relate to? if someone can relate more to hermione if she's black and this doesn't change the story drastically, all it does is attract more people, how is that a problem?

newsflash, people, jk rowling did a lot of things wrong. i'm not just talking about her own transphobia and sexism and etc etc, i'm talking about in her writing. if someone holds bigoted views, those will translate into their stories.

all poc characters exist to move the main white trio's story forward - cho is harry's first girlfriend and she barely gets a mention when they break up, pavarti goes to the yule ball with him and is rarely seen after that, lee is always in the background until he's doing something (running potterwatch) that benefits people. even characters like mary macdonald and dorcas meadowes are only mentioned in passing in relation to death eaters or voldemort.

harry potter is not a story about a white guy and all the poc people who stand by his side and are actively part of him saving the world, it is about a white guy and his white friends, family, and mentors who occasionally have character development because of an interaction with a poc. changing this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

4: but REALISTICALLY, this number of poc people makes sense because...

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT MAGIC PEOPLE. PEOPLE CAN TURN INTO ANIMALS AND FLY AROUND ON CARPETS AND BROOMS. why do you only care what's "realistic" when it's about non-white people?

5: every race deserves respect!

this is true. idk if you've noticed, but white people have been very respected throughout... idk, most of human history? this gives off the vibe of people who say "all lives matter"... that's true, but let's focus on the lives being threatened, right? that is to say, yes, all races deserve respect, but let's focus on the ones that aren't already respected (aka non-white races)

6: you have to COMMIT to it! if you're just changing their skin tone and/or saying "they're x race", that's lazy representation and they might as well be white.

so i've seen this one a lot, and i do agree that if there's going to be poc representation, it should be good! and yknow what? i've seen a LOT of good poc rep. sure, sometimes it's just a passing mention of harry or james's skin tone, but i've also seen stories with mentions of culture and food and even different names that are from their culture. i've seen people who focus on improving the minimal representation of canon poc characters while ALSO adding good rep for non-canon poc characters.

another thing about this argument: let's take a look at canon, shall we? when, in any time other than what the patil twins wear to the ball, is there a mention of a poc's culture? pretty much nowhere. if this is your argument, you have to realize that this "lazy representation" is EXACTLY what happened with canon poc.

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you don't have to agree with everything i said, and i know some of this was probably incorrect or not quite right since i haven't read the books in a while. that doesn't change my argument, though, which is that race-swapping when it means adding more representation is not a bad thing.

if anybody has anything to add on or anything to say about my comments on canon, feel free to comment/reblog with that :)