#US magical culture is different from the UK mind you

[kay9leo]

It's hard being the new kid...

Sort of "modern" HL AU

Meet Iñaki "MC" Martinez Cariaga! She's the new transfer student from the United States. She was late for the sorting ceremony so she's currently houseless right now, hence the gray tie. Unfortunately for MC, her ancient magic is a magnet for attracting trouble and getting her into situations she rather not be in, sort of like Percy Jackson.

Fun Facts:

Normally her eyes are brown, but ever since she ended up in the UK, if she's around the presence of high Ancient Magic activity, her own ancient magic activates, turning her eyes a magical blue. They also turn that color when she's using it. At the advice of Prof. Fig, she tries to keep a small flow of it running consciously if she's not at a nearby ancient magical source.

She's also big runes fan! Since her family comes from both Central and South America, she has a big love of studying Mayan glyphs and Incans quipus (they use that instead of runes to conducting their magic). She also knows some indigenous words in Kaqchikel and Quechua; some for fun and some for spell casting. Seeing Norse runes in person was the one thing she was definitely looking forward when going to Hogwarts.

While she doesn't originally goes by MC back in the States, it became her deferred nickname/shorten version of her double surname Martinez Cariaga to use at Hogwarts. She's gotten tired of both professors and peers taking too much time to say it or have them accidently butcher her surnames (or first name even). Her nickname of MC is used so often that it gets to the point that barely anyone remembers that her name is Iñaki 🤣

Ancient Magic & Hogwarts Castle

I headcanon that the Hogwarts Founders were ancient magic users who build Hogwarts and never told anyone about their abilities. Since the place is humming with Ancient Magic, MC's eyes are always a constant magical blue. It's when she leaves Hogwarts grounds that she has to focus on maintaining that magical flow.

The Big Move, Fourth Year & the Reserved New Girl

Unfortunately, Iñaki's dad lost his job during the first layoffs of the Great Recession in early 2008. Thankfully, he had a buddy who hooked him with a new temp job in London, causing the Martinez Cariaga family to move across the pond from New York to London during the end of summer. While she loved the idea of traveling and going to Europe (and maybe even learn more about the different ancient runes used there), she wasn't too pleased at the idea of moving abroad and leaving everything she knows and loves.

Instead of starting her freshman year with her close friend group at Excelsior (NYS magical school system, Ilvermorny is the New England private magical prep school - the most famous, oldest and only school most people know outside the US), Iñaki is starting 4th year at Hogwarts.

Note: The words between "< >" is spoken in Spanish. MC comes from a Spanish-speaking Latino household. If the words are not in between "< >" assume she's speaking English.

6: At the end of MC's first week:

MC:

<¡Hola Mami!>

< I'm fine. ¿And you? >

< Nothing interesting happened this week. >

< ¡NO! ¡It wasn't like I fought a dragon or a troll this week. >

< ¡Just because I faced the Jersey Devil in 6th grade or the Headless Horseman in 7th OR befriended Champ at Lake Champion in 8th doesn't mean weird things always happens to me! >

<¡I'm fine Mami! Nothing happened...>

<¡I had to Mami! ¡He told me he wanted to give me a "proper Hogwarts welcome" before we started! I told him "That's how we say 'Hello' in New York." Made it too easy for me by saying his spells out loud. The prof said I was a great example of how magical duels are different in the New World with our non-verbals...>

<He was cool with losing. ¡Sebastián even gave me a tour of the magical village nearby and introduced me to the "dueling club" the school has! >

< We dueled together…¡It was fun! I almost forgot how much I miss home… >

8:

MC:

< I still want to go home. >

< No Mami. I don't mean visiting you guys back in London. Home as in New York. >

< ¿Why should I make friends if we're only going to be here for a year?>

< ¿It's only a year...right? >

< ¿Right? >

< I gotta go...I promised my classmates I'll study with them for our exam next week. >

< I love you too. >

"Bye."

*Flips phone closed*

*Ends call*

......

MC's trying...but she is rather homesick.

She's now stuck in Hogwarts and isn't too keen on making friends since she has no clue whether she'll be there for a year or not - it all depends whether if they extend her father's work contract and she's isn't keen on making friends if she's only there for a few months in her mind. It gets to the point where Sebastian trying to friend her is like an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable object. (He ends up winning though when she accidently slips up and calls him her friend later on in the year).

For now though, MC is a very angsty teen right now and had her world flipped upside down.

At least she can take out her angst in dueling club 😅

I want to thank @myokk for listening to my ideas about my MC and to my sibling who needed to borrow my laptop for work (leading me to doodle and actually make a digital drawing on my tablet -that I use as a second monitor for work- since I couldn't edit some papers on those days). Without them this drawing wouldn't have happened.

I'm never doing this ever again because I a bit too perfectionist for art and I hated the number of layers I needed. It was supposed to just be a SIMPLE digital doodle!!!! Instead I made this 😭. Never again. I'm sticking to my pen doodles. I was bored out of my mind and I was either reading or doodling while my sis was testing out her new laptop and I was on stand by in case she needed me.

[ggadtomarry]

I say it again because I like repeating myself.

Evil!Albus doesn't make sense. Even worse, it actively destroys HP's story.

If Albus wanted... Idk, to kill Harry? He would have done it.

If he wanted control of UK he would have entered in politics.

If he wanted to destroy magic world's traditions he would have done it, and instead he's one of the most powerful and knowledgeable wizard alive, and he deeply respect magic culture.

If he wanted muggles to conquer the magic world, he would have helped them to.

If he wanted to rule muggles, he would have allied to his husband.

Like, I feel like not even writers who write bashing fics with evil!Albus know what they want him to do. They just want a cardboard villain for LV to destroy, no question asked, not answers given.

And that's a damn shame. Because LV and Albus have such an interesting relationship. Like, LV hates Albus, but he also respects him because he respects strength (he only understand brute force?).

Albus admits that Tom was the best student ever in Hogwarts, and he still doesn't want to kill him.

And the Phoenix core! Albus' Phoenix.

Also, they are both incredibly powerful half-blood in a world where pure bloods (more often than not inbred and variously ill and cruel) hold political and financial power and despise the not-pure ones . And still, against all the odds, against all the prejudice, Albus and Tom rose to highs no one wouldn't have ever believed.

So much alike. But no matter, it's their choices to be dramatically different.

And Albus intimately knows Tom. He knows how his incredible but twisted mind works. He knows that under his supervillain title, his edgy cult, his monstrous mask he's still the hurt angry manipulative boy who enjoyed hurting people. Who was rejected and abandoned by everyone, who reacted to suffering with violence, unable to heal himself. Who hated the world enough to be willing to see it destroyed. Who killed without an ounce of remorse, because human life is nothing for him. Who didn't stand for any ideals, just his power.

I really would like to praise how well Albus anticipated Tom's moves and manipulated him, and in the end defeated him from the grave.

1- he knew Tom was not dead, he knew he would have tried to kill Harry as soon as possible. So he protected Harry with the only magic Tom didn't disturb himself to learn. And it worked, as confirmed by LV himself in GoF.

2- he knew Tom wouldn't have been able to resist the call of the philosopher's stone and Harry in Hogwarts. He also needed LV to see the devastating effects of Lily's protection. He needed Harry to defeat him. Everything in order to push LV to desire Harry's blood for his great resurrection. It worked.

3- as he thought, LV went to insane lengths to use Harry's blood. And this was the only way possible for Harry to live. He needed to die for the horcrux to get destroyed. But lily's protection, now living in LV too, would have protected Harry even more formidably. Harry couldn't die until LV was alive. What a genius move!! The only way to save Harry, damned by the prophecy, and to defeat LV.

4- Tom was obsessed with fate, destiny. He truly thought he was chosen by higher forces to rule. And so Albus knew he would have wasted many energies to hear the damn prophecy. And LV did. And in doing so he made stupid mistakes such as appearing personally in the Ministry. It was stronger than his rationality (already compromised by his edgelord lifestyle).

5- he accurately guessed the identity and the location of most horcruxes.

6- he anticipated LV's plans: allying himself with creatures despised by Wizards. Because LV, in spite of his so-called ideology, doesn't really care who you are, just if you can be useful to him.

7- he knew well the neuroses and the twisted way of thinking of LV. He knew he wouldn't have researched on Lily's love sacrifice to better understand the implications of his rituals. He knew he wouldn't have reflected on domestic elves' unique magic. And this was his downfall.

8- in the end, everything worked out. Harry was saved. LV got defeated (mostly by his prevedibile mistakes).

I think Albus' genius in dealing with LV and still saving Harry is not recognized. Like, never? When it's one of my fave things in the series.

When Albus cries after Sirius' death? He admits his mistake: loving Harry. Because if he hadn't loved Harry, he would have killed him. One horcrux less. But he couldn't, he didn't. And he was right.

When LV possesses Harry and tries to tempt Albus to kill him? Foreshadowing. This was the path Albus was tempted (supposed?) To take. One life to save thousands. But he resisted temptation, and he was right in doing so.

Awesome. Inspiring. Such a great character. Such a great foil to LV. How I wish I could meet real Albus more in fics!!! He would enrich immensely Tomarry stories.

And not let me start on GGAD. What a great addiction to him being a foil to LV. The fact that GGAD and tomarry are not often paired together is a betrayal.

Last but not least: he never kills on screen. The implication is that he never killed. Fantastic!!! In fantasy story often the general idea is that a Real Hero/Man Kills. Albus doesn't, and he teaches Harry not to do it. And they still win.

Albus was an internationally renowned, admired, feared wizard. Tom was a genius, but he mostly funded his fame on his ability to murder people. Wow. Like, Tom was clearly able to do other things, not just murder and torture. He invented the incredible magic that allows you to bloody fly. But not, almost all his fame is funded on "great but terrible" things like murdering and torturing people. What a waste.

I think Albus pitied this broken beautiful cruel brilliant boy. And he was right.

[jeannereames]

Cut the Old Queers Some Slack

This post brought to you by a review of Sandra Boehringer’s Female Homosexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome, which recent translation I posted about earlier with no little excitement. The BMCR review annoyed me for a couple reasons.

First was an assumption that when a book is translated, the author should retool it to modern terminology.* In the end, the reviewer said maybe just the forward from Boehringer should have addressed trans issues—which isn’t an invalid point—but other parts of the review seem to slam Boehringer for not doing more revisions for the new English translation (from a French original published in 2007). This leads me to….

Second issue: this assumes a uniquely Angliphone understanding, and even more, a British one (the reviewer teaches at Leeds), where the issue of TERFs is more pressing than in the US. Here, transphobia and transmisogyny is rooted more in religious objections than a subsect of radical feminists (who may not be religious at all). It’s not that the US has no TERFs, but it's not nearly the issue (ime) as in the UK.

Every country has its own quirks of bias. And the author is French. If I’ve learned anything about Queer culture in my almost 60 years on this planet, it’s that the pressing issues in one country are manifestly not the pressing issues in another—particularly across language lines. To assume they are (or should be) centers Angliphone culture in a way that annoys me.

OTOH, yes, especially US English-speakers have poor linguistic skills to read non-Anglophone scholarship as a result of bad public-school language education. But access to good language education is a matter of MONEY, which gets us into issues of social class, et al. That’s a different kettle of fish (which deserves its own post about wealth gate-keeping in academia).

But I do my best to remain cognizant that the ways we talk about queer culture and concerns differ even in Anglophone countries, never mind those of non-English speakers.

So that was my second big issue with this review.

The reviewer acknowledges that the original came out in 2007, and queer scholarship about the ancient world has moved on, particularly as regards recognition of non-binary ancient figures. But she can’t seem to keep from knocking Boehringer for not magically keeping up.

Folks, grant the Old Queers some slack here? When I was young, it was just LGB. Then LGBT. Now it’s an alphabet soup. I’m quite sure young queers who read “An Atypical Affair: Alexander the Great, Hephaistion Amyntoros, and the Nature of Their Relationship,” could take exception to my phrasing in places. Hell, I’ll revise portions of it for my bio on Hephaistion and Krateros.

But it was published in 1999! And I actually wrote the thing in 1996 as a class assignment, then revised it in 1998 for that 1999 publication date.

Remember, some of us have been in this fight a while. I do my best to keep up with current terminology—and do genuinely want to do so—but it’s kinda gauche to slam authors for material previously published, especially in such a rapidly changing field.

To expect an author to substantially retool a prior publication for a translation is uncool. Real revision takes a lot of time. Not something I think many people fully understand. It’s not a matter of a couple weeks’ tweaks. If she were to produce a revised/second edition, that might take years. I’d rather have the book translated than wait five years for Boehringer to revise it. I can take it in the spirit of its original publication date: 2007. Could she have been more straightforward in her new forward? Perhaps. But French concerns aren’t British ones.

——

*Let me also say—as someone whose work is currently being translated—we may not have as much control as readers assume. I sent a letter to the Italian publisher, all but begging them to PLEASE keep the Greek transliterations of names and Greek words with Dancing with the Lion. They said they would, but I can’t force them to do so. For all I know, the Italian translation could be a dumpster fire. I hope not, I trust not, but translations are dicey. And if academic translations are quite different from fiction, be aware of the limits original authors face with translations.

[eccentricphilosoph]

The idea that objective Truth is “white” is ignorant. That’s a close-minded assumption because many cultures had such intellectual ideas as objective Truth before any “white influence” and even came to similar conclusions on the same subjects

Things like astronomy, mathematics, engineering, medicine, etc. were all practiced independently by different ancient cultures in the West, Africa, and Asia. All these cultures have shared practices and understanding of these scientific factual concepts. As a first generation US Asian, I take offense to this idea. Sure, maybe I shouldn’t take offense because perhaps the idea of “objective truth” “shouldn’t be taken so seriously”. Yeah. Idc.

The biggest differences in such scientific endeavors were the methods used and the overall belief systems of each culture. Furthermore, another difference is how much emphasis was put on each facet of society such as empirical evidence.

Some may not have held such things in as high a position as other parts of the culture. That is the main difference. However, even in native cultures, they still had such things as justice systems and sciences.

It’s short sighted and close-minded, and dare I say, bigoted, to assume that other ancient and native cultures didn’t independently come to similar conclusions of objective fact as the rest of the world. The only difference was the general cultural importance of such things and the methods used for get to the same objective Truth.

Carl Jung poses the idea of the Collective Unconscious where the whole of human kind is connected through a large uconsciousness (some people may refer to this as God or spiritual energy) whereby common ideas may be shared by all cultures, independent of influence from one another.

So, no, the ideas of objective Truth and logic and critical thought are not “white”. The methodologies seen in European countries, the UK, US, Australia, etc. are “white”, but not the conclusions nor the practices.

Not to mention, postmodernism as we know it, was posed by white people studying other cultures. The hypocrisy knows no bounds in the idea that objective fact and knowledge doesn’t exist at all. Even the ideas of magic and science are not as dissimilar as we may believe.

We aren’t living in a virtual world where we can do anything we want or change anything we want at our own whim without any repercussions either from others or from the natural world, but even in a video game, for example, there are still boundaries that are objective facts put in by the developers. Sure, you can go in and change the game code, but you’re still working within the frame of the game itself unless you want to make an entirely new video game, which can only be done when you have the boundaries of who, what, when, where, and how to get it done.

Nothing is boundless. If you want no boundaries, good luck. Even if you managed it, you’d spiral into oblivion. And yes, I do mean the kind of spiraling you do when you are anxious.

Logic and reasoning to come to objective truths are not inherently white and those who pose postmodernism are almost all white people appropriating an amalgamating other non-white cultures into one school of thought framed from a white perspective.

So, within the postmodern framework, what I said is “my Truth” and is “valid”.

[sarenhale]

Howdy there! If you don't mind me asking, could you tell us more about The Order? Either about the OC's and where they come from or what they're doing, or what the Order itself is? Honestly, anything about it, I'm very curious.

👁_👁 my time has come...

"The Order" is an original story setting I'm currently working on, inspired a story I wrote when I was in high school!

It's the story of this secret order of exorcists called "The Right Hand of God". They fight demons and demonic entities/corruption everyday in the world. Their order has existed since the beginning of time, through the middle ages, the renaissance, the two world wars, and now where the story is set, around 2030 ish.

The people that get recruited in the Order are called Exorcists, they're all military trained to fight demons and perform as best to their abilities in various missions, and work together in groups. Each one has a different speciality and strong/weak points, and they generally work worldwide and get employed in the many different Order bases that exist all around the globe.

Here's a picture of the possible logo I made for the Order. 'In Deus Nomine' means 'In god's name' in latin.

The main story is set in the Glasgow base in the UK!

Most of the characters you see me drawing work in that base and eventually meet and work together, even if they originally come from other bases around the world.

Exorcists use military weapons/training, but there's A LOT of magic fuckery involved- they're all reactive and compatible with this mysterious substance called Essence, that is used during the sacred rites and rituals to ban Demons. Every Exorcist knows how to channel it to at least perform the base banning and purifying rites.

However, those rare individuals that have a higher affinity with Essence, are called Mages: they're able to go beyond the simple ritualistic use, and use Essence to their will to aid their teammates during fights, heal injuries, and perform actions that would be impossible for normal human beings.

Not every Exorcist is receptive to Essence, and this makes Mages rarer, and highly valuable in the Order. For example, Hannes is a Mage, and a pretty powerful one!

There's also a lot of implications of what using this mostly unknown essence and being in contact with demonic energy everyday does to an Exorcist... and some were literally changed from it, going through physical and psycological changes, that some define 'loss of humanity'. Wolfgang and Jacek are an example of two Risen Exorcists.

"You stared at the black abyss that is death, and the abyss stared back. But then, you came back.

Something has shattered within you, and your connection to your humanity has been forever damaged.

The Order allows you to live and gives you tools to control your impulses, but you’re painfully aware that you’re living a life forever on the balance of oblivion."

Aand I think that's a pretty good summary of the current setting and story! There's still a lot to add and say, but I didn't want to make it overwhelming in this answer. If you're interested in something more specific like a character, feel free to ask me about it! I love answering questions about my oc projects, honestly!

I'm currently working through fleshing out the main cast, their stories, their designs and also slowly work my way through the main story! It's based on the very rough draft I had in high school, but with a lot of things changed/improved (i had good ideas but i was a little scrub that got stuck on stupid tropes too much lol), and generally trying to have a very slow but studious approach to it- I really love this project and I want it to be the best it can be, with no rush at all. It's a product of love and my interest for the supernatural, religious history, history of art, different cultures and countries and their stories, and I want all of this to shrine through my work, and not feel rushed. I don't want to leave anything to chance, I'm taking my time to study as much as I can about all these different countries the main characters come from, their histories and cultures, and getting inspired by them.

I LOVE travelling so ideally I'd also like to explore many of the places in Europe these characters are from myself, to really get a chance to see these settings I'm writing about first hand. For now, I'm lucky to have a lot of international friends that come from different European countries and being able to shoot the shit with them and ask them questions and things about these countries to have a better idea of where these characters come from. It's honestly one of the things I enjoy the most about this project!

I'm really glad you're interested in it and decided to ask more about it- it makes me really happy to share any information with people. It's been really fun and liberating to share my drawings and ideas for this project here, and I couldn't be happier about it :>

[littletoyworld]

Exploring the World of Stuffed Animals: A Delightful Journey with Little Toy World

Welcome to Little Toy World (littletoyworld.com), where we are passionate about bringing the magic of toys into your life. As a dedicated platform for toy enthusiasts in the UK and USA, we pride ourselves on offering a diverse range of high-quality toys that cater to every age and interest. Today, we’re taking a deep dive into one of the most beloved categories of toys—stuffed animals. From the classic teddy bear to the quirky Plague Doctor Plush and the trendy Skzoo Plush, we have something for everyone.

Also explore - Stuffed Animal

The Enduring Appeal of Stuffed Animals

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Skzoo Plush: The Trendsetting Stuffed Animals

In recent years, the world of stuffed animals has seen the rise of new and exciting trends, and one of the most popular is the Skzoo Plush collection. Inspired by the characters from the globally renowned K-pop group Stray Kids, Skzoo Plush toys have taken the toy world by storm.

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The Joy of Gifting Stuffed Animals

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At Little Toy World, we cater to collectors of all ages and interests. Our collection includes everything from classic stuffed animals to trendy and unique plush toys like the Skzoo Plush and Plague Doctor Plush. Whether you’re just beginning your collection or are a seasoned collector looking for that rare and special piece, we have something for you.

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As a professional toy platform, Little Toy World is committed to providing only the best toys to our customers in the UK and USA. We’re passionate about toys, and it’s this passion that drives us to offer a carefully curated selection of stuffed animals that are as dependable as they are delightful.

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We hope that you enjoy our toys as much as we enjoy offering them to you. Explore our collection today and discover the magic of stuffed animals with Little Toy World.

Also see -

Plague Doctor Plush

Skzoo Plush

[titaniamegalomania]

Part I: Being a POC while in the Harry Potter fandom

This was supposed to be a happy tumblr. Just my art work for fanfics but no one's reading this so I'm going full scorched earth. I remember when I was a kid and I read about Hermione. She had unruly curly hair and my mind thought she's black like me. I loved Hermione despite her many flaws in the book and trust me. She had a lot none of that movie Mary Sue business. When I saw her in the movie and she was white, it broke my little heart. But I love Harry Potter. I can live with it I with it. I can watch it. 

In the stage play that everyone hates, Cursed Child, she was black. My brain went there is hope. Then I read a blog on here can't remember the name of Black Hermione. I thought it added climaxes to her character being black in the UK in the 90s dealing with racism then going to a magical world and dealing with that too the layers. She thinks she escapes, but it's worse and now the kids that hate you have magic. And the way she dealt with S.P.E.W. would hit differently, but that would require nuance that JK Rowling doesn't have unless it's a white person being treated like a minority. I mean look at the house elves. 

I probably wouldn't have looked deeply into any of this without Princess Weekes. I haven't even gotten to poor Cho Chang. In the books Cho Chang is that cool sporty girl. She's Scottish Chinese. But to others, she's not really Scottish and to people from mainland China, she's not really Chinese. She is SBC Scottish Born Chinese. It doesn't really affect her character at all, which is nice. She's Chinese just to be Chinese. She acts like a typical teenage girl whose boyfriend dies, then dates Harry, who saw it happen and she wants to connect with him about it. But Harry is not very emotional, and it's his first girlfriend. He fumbles the ball. Then Cho's best friend, Marietta Edgecombe, snitches to Umbridge. Harry and his friends are like nope if it was over before it's over over now. Not to mention that horrible date on Valentine's Day she had to make Harry go to, and he talked about meeting Hermione later. Read the room, dude. But the movies oh they assassinated her character. 

Cho has less screen time and personality. She is more reserved. She is the one that tells Umbridge about the group but because of truth serum. And that ruined her to the point the actress was bullied, and she wasn't allowed to talk about until recently. And yet people deny that she was bullied. This poor girl. The racist came out of the woodworks and it was a child actor. Why were they bullying a child, it's just sad? 

And Padma and Parvati’s dresses were dreadful. Like they could have easily asked the actresses for input or even for one of their dresses or used one as an example. Or get a consultant something. Atleast Cho's dress was traditional, showing her culture and still cute. Were they trying not to upstage Hermione or did they just not care? I mean, they had the budget. 

Part Two: Coming because of stupid character and word limits.

[education-cube]

HERE ARE THE TOP TEN REASONS TO THINK ABOUT STUDYING ABROAD

There is a cause for the large number of students from India and other countries who relocate abroad for higher education. Studying abroad is regarded as a transforming experience because of the diverse student body, internationally recognized degrees, and top-notch education.   

Here are the top 10 reasons to think about studying abroad:

1. Leaving your comfort zone

Even if you're not aware of it, visiting a new nation always changes the way you think. As a result, you get greater adaptability and versatility. You can navigate a new school, city, country, and social environment. Your method of problem-solving will alter. Your intellect will be even more expanded by studying overseas. You'll learn fresh approaches to problems and the most effective strategies to deal with unusual situations.

2. Being exposed to different environments and situations

One of the advantages of studying abroad for many international students is the chance to immerse oneself in a totally different environment.

This educational journey will allow you to meet people who have grown up in a different culture and see and experience things you never thought possible.

For instance, when living overseas, you'll have the chance to try out different foods, take in the local music, play local sports, and explore all that your host country has to offer.

Looking at your own culture through someone else's eyes can teach you a lot about yourself and your home country.  

3. Superior Education Quality

Living in India, we have encountered numerous situations where we have questioned the quality of the educational system, yet in many other nations, you will find a good standard of education and a plethora of growth chances.

Germany, Ireland, France, the US, the UK, and Canada are just a few of the nations that annually invest a large amount of money in a variety of research projects. Germany has created various sustainable research techniques over the years.   

4. Extend Your Perspective

When you decide to study abroad, you automatically become a part of a significant network of other international students at your university. Universities frequently plan special events for their overseas students to give them the chance to meet new individuals in their host country.

You may thoroughly immerse yourself in other cultures when studying abroad. It could be difficult to find a balance between your lifestyle and theirs, but it's doable if you're willing to try new things.

No. 5 The Magic Place Is The World,

If you are passionate about studying abroad, there are countless possibilities available to you. It is entirely up to you whether or not you choose to study magic in this world.

Although you would select the country in which you would study, studying abroad gives you the chance to go to many other parts of the globe. You now have access to a variety of places that would normally be challenging for you to enter.

Utilize your semester breaks to the fullest. Visit lesser-known places or sign up for internship programs that will let you travel. Everybody travels in some capacity in their daily lives. It allows us to respect the perspectives of others and enables us to recognize the weaknesses in our own 

6. Now is the time to experience independence

As you age, you usually grow more open-minded to different points of view and informed about a wide range of subjects. You will, like everyone else in the world, at some point in your life ponder what makes you the person you are.

Everything, including your expenses, spending, rent, and other obligations, must be managed by you alone. Studying abroad will change your life since it will show you what it's like to live in the real world.

 

7. Additional Career Possibilities

Students who have studied abroad have a definite advantage over the other applicants in terms of employability. Those who have been exposed to different cultures typically handle interviews with more maturity, confidence, and practical experience than other applicants.

 You can develop your language abilities, gain an understanding of many cultures, learn how to deal with the challenges of living abroad and widen your worldview by studying abroad.   

8. Improvement of Language Competencies

Your ability to study abroad has the potential to enhance your language skills 10 times more than you would have otherwise. This might potentially create job opportunities.

Depending on how long you stay, you may or may not learn the language quickly. However, you can be sure that your hosts will appreciate any effort you make. Even a tiny quantity of local language learning helps with immersion.

9. Developing Leadership Talent

Good leadership skills depend on having clear thinking. If you are capable of making judgments on your own, you can do the same to assist others. Studying abroad is advantageous in this regard because it trains your ability to act freely and critically.   

10. Discover How to Make Money While You Study

In contrast to India, students abroad are allowed to work a few hours each week to support themselves. Students are exposed to business when they are still in school, learning the basics of how and what money is made of. One needs to learn how to work independently.

[gurusoundz]

Exploring the Melodious World of Harmoniums: Finding Your Perfect Instrument at a Harmonium Shop in the UK

The harmonium, a captivating musical instrument known for its soul-stirring melodies, holds a special place in the hearts of musicians and enthusiasts alike. Originating in the 19th century, this keyboard instrument has found its way into diverse musical genres and cultures. For those seeking to embark on a musical journey with the harmonium, the United Kingdom offers a plethora of options through various harmonium shops. Let's dive into the enchanting world of harmoniums and discover how to find your ideal instrument at a harmonium shop in the UK.

Harmoniums: A Musical Marvel

The harmonium, often referred to as a "pump organ," produces sound through air being pushed through reeds when its keys are pressed. This unique mechanism gives the harmonium its distinctive warm and resonant sound, making it a favorite in devotional music, classical compositions, and even contemporary pieces. Its portability and soulful tones have made it an integral part of various musical setups, from solo performances to accompaniments in larger ensembles.

Exploring Harmonium Shops in the UK

If you're captivated by the harmonium's sound and wish to own one, the United Kingdom offers an array of harmonium shops to cater to your needs. Whether you're a seasoned musician or a beginner, these shops provide a diverse range of harmoniums to choose from, ensuring that you find an instrument that resonates with your musical aspirations.

One quick online search using the secondary keywords "harmonium shop UK" will reveal a treasure trove of options. From brick-and-mortar stores to online platforms, these shops offer harmoniums in various sizes, styles, and price ranges. Whether you're seeking a traditional harmonium with intricate woodwork or a more modern, compact version for convenience, these shops have got you covered.

Factors to Consider

When venturing into a harmonium shop in the UK, there are several factors to consider before making your purchase. Firstly, determine your budget to narrow down your options. Harmoniums come in a range of prices, so having a clear budget in mind will help you find the perfect match without overspending.

Secondly, consider the type of music you intend to play. Different harmoniums have varying tonal qualities, so if you're inclined towards classical compositions, you might prefer a harmonium with a more traditional sound. On the other hand, if you're exploring contemporary genres, a harmonium with a versatile sound palette might be your best bet.

Lastly, don't forget about portability. If you plan to move your harmonium frequently or take it to performances, opt for a model that strikes the right balance between sound quality and portability.

Bringing Harmonious Melodies Home

In conclusion, the harmonium is more than just a musical instrument; it's a vessel of emotions and artistic expression. Exploring the options available at harmonium shops in the UK allows you to discover the perfect harmonium that aligns with your musical goals, preferences, and budget. Whether you're drawn to its rich history or its soulful sound, the harmonium is ready to accompany you on your musical journey. So, dive into the world of harmoniums, visit a harmonium shop in the UK, and bring home the magic of harmonious melodies.

[centrally-unplanned]

Obviously this is going to depend on your topic of focus, so I am not saying any of your point is strictly wrong. America invented the comic book superhero, their history and legacy is tied up in our own cultural history, for sure.

But I do question if any of this like actually matters for the point in this thread? Like you mention the UK with its Queen thing, like how the US has meritocratic and egalitarian values, but those values are widely held in the UK. France literally has equality/egalite in its national motto. The UK comic industry is massive, and has dozens of superheroes. Avengers: Endgame made $2 billion dollars overseas, more than twice its domestic box office (which includes Canada).

The entire cast of Sailor Moon are super heroes! They have magic powers, and they fight crime and protect the earth. Every one of them is "just a kinda ordinary person who develops superpowers". Is this because Japan is filled with an ethos of egalitarianism and meritocracy? Well sure, it is these days actually. Because liberalism is global now. But I don't think that is why Sailor Moon is like that - I think that background makes the Sailor Scouts relatable to its teenage audience. Its consumers are the median teen, so the protagonists are the median teen. And then other superheroes target different markets, from edgy alt teens to adults. China now makes Xianxia shows that are globally popular? They are superheroes, they fly and have super strength and cast fireballs. And they do have different values, China is different...except all those values are totally secondary to those superheroes having hot gay sex with each other. Is one of China's cultural values gay sex, that they have exported to the US and more?

Again, like for sure Captain America is pretty American, not really blowing minds on that one. But I think people actually oversell these things. Who tf is Captain America? He is everything! He has been anything authors want him to be, including switching sides and fighting against America in the Vietnam War. Why does he change like this? Certainly to reflect changing American values, but also to reflect the changing demo of the comics; a commercial, niche product on a competitive & global marketplace. And the way those comics gain appeal are via aesthetic values that define why media works for people, which are affected by culture, for sure, but are also universal beyond it (and also are part of a culture that does not align with national borders).

In the end I think the logic of art & commerce transcends the locality that births it. For sure superheroes narrowly defined as the American ones are in part a showcase of American culture. But that is just a part of who they are, and they are just themselves a small part of what superheroes are. Depending on your topic you will focus on one part or the other - for the original fascism topic, those universals seemed more relevant.

This is probably a dumb question, but do you think that superheroes are an inherently fascistic idea? I was reading an anarchist essay that described the police as "militarized groups with coercive authority and a closed, bureaucratic structure. Not developing out of a social necessity to protect people, but rather as a means to give the ruling class greater control over the population and expand the state’s monopoly on the resolution of social conflict." That sounds uncomfortably like a superhero team.

See here.

And no, that doesn't really describe a superhero team. They generally don't have coercive authority (or any authority), they are almost never bureaucratic, and they often have quite tense-to-hostile relationships with the state. I also question the extent to which they're militarized (at least in the sense of a strict chain-of-command, formal rules of engagement, professional training, etc.).

I find that quote particularly ironic, in that superhero groups arguably most closely resemble anarchist self-defense organizations if they had a lot more power but were less actively engaged in trying to overthrow the government (but I repeat myself).

[absolutebl]

Takara, Amagi, Communication Used to Subvert Seme/Uke plus some stuff about Ask v Guess cultures 

Takara might just have jumped to the top of my list of BL’s best communicators (post in progress).  

Still, I can’t wait, I haffa talk about this sequence now, okay? It’s from Episode 2 of Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (GaGa & Viki). 

Look it’s so important, what was said in these two scenes (capped above) - whether the translation is strictly accurate or not. 

First of all, how Takara expresses his frustration in the expectation that he be able to understand what Amagi is thinking (and wants) but ALSO that he expresses that having to ask about Amagi’s erratic behavior makes him feel unmanly.

ARGH. SO good.

Here’s why: 

I’ve talked about this before with the issues behind seme/uke dynamics and that one of those things inherent to that dynamic is that the seme is expected to read the uke’s mind and understand what he wants. He has to do this so he can make the decision for the uke (especailly with regards to sex) so the uke is not made impure by desire (because the uke is associated with pure virginal innocence). 

This results in the idea that a manly man just “knows what his baby” desires. (And it being romantic to glorify this aspect.) 

Also it is unmanly for the seme to have to talk about feelings, his own confusion (is a feeling) but also his uke’s over emotional reactions to situations = more feelings (gasp). 

This is a huge issue with romance in general - in fiction AND in real life. That women, primarily, expect men, primarily, to understand what they want (in bed or out of it) WITHOUT talking about it.

Honestly if you want to do a thing, or have it done to you, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT IT FIRST.

This fatal flaw in het and seme/uke dynamics, is what leads to some serious issues like romanticizing dub-con (he "just knows” that she “wants it” so he doesn’t have to have consent) which discolors BL and Kdramas, (see frustrations with Mame’s currently airing Love in the Air). Not to mention so many narratives driven by willful miscommunication.

The fact that it’s Japan in a high school BL that’s tackling this issue head on shouldn’t be surprising - but that they did it so openly and so early on in a series we’re led to believe is going to be all about willful miscommunication?

Brilliant.

Takara is defined by his unwillingness to act initially because he is afraid of the depth of his own feelings, acting on them (and what he really desires) but also talking about them and expressing them to the object of his desire. 

It’s kind of magical that he is such a communicator, but that was because he almost lost Amagi through misunderstanding already and his fear of losing his boy is greater than his fear of expressing his feelings and asking about Amagi’s. 

ALSO! 

Conflating manliness with being diminished by having to ask/talk about feelings is touching on the difference between an ask culture and a guess culture. (Most, but not all, western cultures are ask cultures and most, but not all, Asian cultures are guess cultures.) 

The intrinsic social differences between ask/guess also contributes to wide scale misinterpretations of narrative from western audiences especially around familial and friendship involvement and intimacy in each others lives. There’s an essay in there somewhere but I don’t have time or inclination. Still I rec reading up on the difference when you have time, it’s truly fascinating.) 

Finally, since this series is using voice over to peek into BOTH character’s heads we are being shown constantly that “guess” is not going to work. Takara does not understand Amagi (that’s part of why he likes him, I think) so we know he MUST get up the courage (and go against his seme nature to) ask. Also Amagi doesn't understand Takara, so he’s going to have to LEARN to ask. Hopefully that’s his character arc. 

This is exactly the opposite of Love in the Air where we only get VO from the uke’s perspective, and it’s being used as an excuse to exacerbate the damaging idea that a good seme knows what his uke wants, and takes without asking, because that’s just “so hot.” 

(source) 

[gendercensus]

On fae/faer pronouns and cultural appropriation

HOW IT STARTED

I had a handful, a very small handful but more than two, responses in the Gender Census feedback box telling me that fae/faer pronouns are appropriative. The reasons didn’t always agree, and the culture that was being appropriated wasn’t always the same, but here’s a selection of quotes:

“Fae pronouns are cultural appropriation and are harmful to use“ - UK, age 11-15

“I’m not a person who practices pagan holidays but, my understanding is that pronouns like fae/faeself are harmful because the fae are real to pagans and is like using Jesus/jesuself as pronouns“ - UK, age 11-15

“I know you've probably heard this a million times, so has everyone on the internet, but the ''mere existence''of the fae pronoun feels really uncomfortable for some of us. I'm personally not against neopronouns like xe/xim, er/em and the like, I am a pagan but apart from the, imo most important, reasoning of that pronoun being immensely disrespectful, I worry as an nb about people who banalize the usage of pronouns ''for fun'', and I'm quoting what some people have told me.“ - Spain, 16-20

“I don't agree with fae/deity pronouns just from a pagan perspective it's very disrespectful to the cultures they come from. Like Fae are a legit thing in many cultures and they hate with a fiery passion mortal humans calling themselves Fae to the point of harming/cursing the people who do it“ - USA, age 16-20

“only celtic people can use far/ faers otherwise it’s cultural appropriation, many celts have said this and told me this“ - USA, age 16-20

So that’s:

❓ Someone who doesn’t say whether they’re pagan or Celtic.

❌ Someone who definitely isn’t pagan.

✅ Someone who is pagan.

❓ Someone who doesn’t say whether they’re pagan or Celtic.

❓ Someone who doesn’t say whether they’re pagan or Celtic.

So, just to disclose some bias up-front, I am English so I’m not Celtic, but I do live in Wales so I am surrounded by Celts. The bit of Wales that I live in is so beautiful in such a way that when my French friend came to visit me she described it as féerique - like an enchanting, magical land, literally “fairylike” or thereabouts. Coincidentally I have also considered myself mostly pagan for over half of my life, and I can’t definitively claim whether or not the Fae are “part of paganism” because paganism is so diverse and pick’n’mix that it just doesn’t work that way.

To me the idea that fae/faer pronouns would be offensive or culturally appropriative sounds absurd. But also, I am powered by curiosity, and have been wrong enough times in my life that I wanted to approach this in a neutral way with an open mind. Perhaps what I find out can be helpful to some people.

So since we only have information from one person who is definitely directly affected by any cultural appropriation that may be happening, the first thing I wanted to do was get some information from ideally a large number of people who are in the cultures being appropriated, and see what they think.

~

WHAT I DID

First of all I put some polls up on Twitter and Mastodon. [Edit: Note that this post has been updated with results from closed polls.]

I specified that I wanted to hear from nonbinary Celts and pagans, just so that the voters would be familiar with fae/faer pronouns. I asked the questions in a neutral way, i.e. “How do you feel about...” with “good/neutral/bad” answer options, instead of something more leading like “Is this a load of rubbish?” or “are you super offended?” with “yes/no” options. I provided a “see results” option, so that the poll results wouldn’t be skewed as much by random people clicking any old answer to see the results. And I invited voters to express their opinions in replies.

Question #1: Nonbinary people of Celtic descent (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany), how do you feel about non-Celtic people using the neopronoun set fae/faer? [ It's good / No strong feelings/other / It's bad ]

Question #2: Nonbinary pagans, how do you feel about non-pagans using the neopronoun set fae/faer? [ It's good / No strong feelings/other / It's bad ]

The Twitter polls got over 1,100 responses each, and the Mastodon polls got over 140 responses each. With a little bit of spreadsheetery I removed the “N/A” responses to reverse engineer the number of people voting for each option, combined those numbers, and recalculated percentages.

Obviously this approach is not in the least scientific, but thankfully the results were unambiguous enough and the samples were big enough that I feel comfortable drawing conclusions.

Celts on fae/faer pronouns being used by non-Celts (561 voters):

It's good - 42.5%

No strong feelings/other - 44.0%

It's bad - 13.5%

Pagans on fae/faer pronouns being used by non-pagans (468 voters):

It's good - 47.2%

No strong feelings/other - 39.5%

It's bad - 13.3%

Here’s how that looks as a graph:

The limitations of polls on these platforms means that we have no way to distinguish between people who have more complicated views (”other”) and people who have “no strong feelings”, so we can’t really draw conclusions there. If we stick to just the pure positive and pure negative:

Celts were over three times as likely to feel positive about non-Celts using fae/faer pronouns than they were to feel negative.

Pagans were over three and a half times as likely to feel positive about non-pagans using fae/faer pronouns than they were to feel negative.

So Celts and pagans are way more likely to feel actively good about someone’s fae/faer pronouns, even when that person is not a Celt/pagan. That’s some strong evidence against the idea that fae/faer pronouns are appropriative, right there.

~

CORRECTIONS

To be clear, I haven’t done any research about the roots of fae/faer or the origins of the Fae and related beings, but my goal here was to get a sense of what Celts and pagans think and feel, rather than what an historian or anthropologist would say.

On the anti side, here were the replies that suggested fae/faer either is or might be inappropriate:

“I only worry that not everyone understands the origin of the word outside of modernized ideas of fairies.“ - pagan

“As a vaguely spiritual Whatever (Ireland), I think a mortal using "fae" as a pronoun/to refer to themselves is asking for a malicious and inventive fairy curse (on them, their families and possibly anyone in their vicinity, going by the traditions). I have not heard of this term before, so this is an immediate reaction from no background bar my cultural knowledge of sidhe/fae/term as culturally appropriate. My general approach is people can identify themselves as they want.“ - Celtic

So we’ve got a pagan who’s wary that people who use fae/faer (and people in general) might not have a fully fleshed out idea of the Fae. And we’ve got a Celt who doesn’t mind people using fae/faer personally, but based on what they know of the Fae they wouldn’t be surprised if the Fae got mad about it. No outright opposition, but a little concern.

There were not a lot of replies on the pro side, but not because people weren’t into it, judging by the votes. There were a lot of “it’s more complicated than that” replies, many of which repeated others, so quotes won’t really work. Here’s a summary of the Celtic bits:

“Fae” is not a Celtic word, and Celts don’t use it. It is French, or Anglo-French.

“Fae” can refer to any number of stories/legends from a wide variety of cultures in Europe, not one cohesive concept.

There are many legends about fairy-like beings in Celtic mythologies, and there are many, many different names for them.

The Celts are not a monolith, they’re a broad selection of cultures with various languages and various mythologies.

And the pagan bits:

Paganism is not closed or exclusive in any way. It might actually be more open than anything else, as “pagan” is a sort of umbrella term for non-mainstream religions in some contexts. A closed culture would be a prerequisite for something to be considered “appropriated” from paganism.

From my own experience, pagans may or may not believe in the Fae, and within that group believers may or may not consider the Fae to be sacred and/or worthy of great respect. (I’ve certainly never met a pagan who worshipped the Fae, though I don’t doubt that some do.)

And then we get into the accusations. 🍿

“this issue wasn’t started by Celtic groups or by people who know much about Celtic fae. It was started primarily by anti-neopronoun exclusionist pagans on TikTok.“

“[I’m] literally Scottish [...] and it’s not appropriative in the least and honestly to suggest as such is massively invalidating towards actual acts of cultural appropriation and is therefore racist. Feel like if this was actually brought up it was either by some people who seriously got their wires crossed or people who are just concern trolling and trying to make fun of both neo-pronouns and of the concept of cultural appropriation and stir the pot in the process.“

“It wouldn't be the first time bigots falsly claim “it's appropriative from X marginalized group" to harass people they don't like, like they did with aspec people when they claimed "aspec" was stolen from autistic language (which was false, as many autistics said)“

“It's been a discussion in pagan circles recently ... People were very quick to use the discussion as an excuse to shit on nonbinary people.“

“I think it would be apropos to note that the word "faerie/fairy" has been a synonym for various queer identities for decades, too. The Radical Faeries are a good example.“ (So if anyone has the right to [re]claim it...)

A little healthy skepticism is often wise in online LGBTQ+ “discourse”, and some of these people are making some very strong claims, for which I’d love to see some evidence/sources/context. Some of it certainly sounds plausible.

~

HOW DID IT START?

I had a look on Twitter and the earliest claim I can find that fae/faer pronouns are cultural appropriation is from 18th February 2020, almost exactly one year ago today. Again, tweets are not the best medium for this, there was very little in the way of nuance or context. If anyone can find an older claim from Twitter or Tumblr or anywhere else online, please do send it my way.

I have no idea how to navigate TikTok because I’m a nonbinosaur. (I’m 34.) I did find some videos of teens and young adults apparently earnestly asserting that they were Celtic or pagan and the use of fae/faer pronouns was offensive, but the videos were very brief and provided nothing in the way of nuance or context. For example:

This one from October 2020 with 29k ❤️s, by someone who I assume is USian based on the word “mom”?

This one from December 2020, that says “I am pagan and i find it rather disrespectful. It’s like using god/godr or jesus/jesusr.” That’s probably what inspired the feedback box comment above that refers to hypothetical jesus/jesusr pronouns.

If anyone is able to find a particularly old or influential TikTok video about fae/faer pronouns being appropriative I’d really appreciate it, especially if it’s from a different age group or from not-the-USA, to give us a feel for how universal this is.

For context, fae pronouns were mentioned in the very first Gender Census back in May 2013, though you’ll have to take my word for it as the individual responses are not currently public. The word “fae” was mentioned in the pronoun question’s “other” textbox, and no other forms in the set were entered so we have no way of knowing for sure what that person’s full pronoun set actually is. This means the set may have been around for longer. The Nonbinary Wiki says that the pronoun set was created in October 2013, as “fae/vaer”, later than the first entry in the Gender Census, so I’ll be editing that wiki page later! If anyone has any examples of fae/faer pronouns in use before 2013 I would also be very interested to see that.

~

IN SUMMARY

Obviously I can’t speak for everyone, as the Twitter polls are not super scientific and they only surveyed a selection of Celts and pagans within a few degrees of separation of the Gender Census Twitter and Mastodon accounts, but I can certainly report on what I found.

For a more conclusive result, we’d need to take into account various demographics such as age, culture, location, religion, race/heritage, etc.

As far as I can tell based on fairly small samples of over 400 people per group, a minority of about 13% of Celtic and/or pagan people felt that use of fae/faer pronouns is appropriative.

A much higher number of people per group felt positive about people who are not Celts or pagans using fae/faer pronouns. The predominant view was:

It can’t be cultural appropriation from Celtic cultures because fairy-like beings are not unique to Celtic cultures and Celtic cultures don’t call them Fae.

It can’t be cultural appropriation from pagan cultures because paganism is not “closed” or exclusive in any way, it’s too broad and open.

~

If your experience of your gender(s) or lack thereof isn’t described or encompassed by the gender binary of “male OR female”, please do click here to take the Gender Census 2021 - it’s international and it closes no earlier than 10th March 2021!

[dippedanddripped]

Old Nollywood aesthetics and fashion may be considered trendy today, but the films were not always so well-regarded. In the 90s and early 2000s, when these movies were made and watched in parlours across Nigerian homes as they were shot, straight-to-video, they were considered as bad entertainment, or ‘low culture’. To watch and enjoy Nollywood films was to celebrate mediocrity. But today, nostalgic young Millennials and Gen Zers are overlooking the jarring audio, grainy pictures, and sometimes hammy acting, to appreciate not only the grooming and style of the actors, but the original and diverse stories that reflect unique Nigerian experiences.

It was for this reason that sisters Tochi and Ebele Anueyiagu started Nolly Babes, a nostalgic Instagram account dedicated to celebrating the cinematic period’s women. Started in December 2017, their first post was of Nollywood’s biggest star Genevieve Nnaji; a still taken from 2004 film Sharon Stone In Abuja, directed by Adim Williams. Nnaji plays the titular character, a sexually liberated young woman who uses her beauty and charm to ensnare unassuming men into doing her bidding.

The account is an ode to the female characters of old Nollywood who were often portrayed as warning examples. The storylines were steeped in moral principles rooted in the patriarchal culture and the dominant Christian religion of Southern Nigeria. A large number of the female characters were considered immoral because they kissed other women, challenged men, smoked and drank, or wore mini skirts. Today, Nolly Babes and similar accounts are reimagining these women, taking their scenes out of the moralistic context of the films, and turning them into iconic feminist personas.

The first time Nollywood content seeped into the mainstream internet consciousness can be traced back to 2017 when videos of Nollywood’s favourite comedic duo Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme, better known as Aki and Pawpaw, rose to popularity due mostly to the influence of a now-defunct Twitter account @nollywoodroll ran by Nicole, a woman based in Brazil.

Their memes became the go-to reaction videos for expressing a wide range of emotions: joy, disappointment, sadness, frustration. The appeal was in seeing children making mischief or in adult situations – drinking beer and smoking cigars, wooing bigger women, or in oversized suits shouting instructions at people twice their size. Although both Ikedieze and Iheme were in their 20s in the early 2000s when most of the films were made, they mostly played children because of their body stature. By 2019, the memes had achieved such virality that brands like Rihanna’s Fenty would use them for social media clout.

Theodora Imaan Beauvais is the curator of Yung Nollywood, another archive of clips and stills from old Nollywood paying homage to its controversial female characters, after screenshotting moments from Nollywood she found “appealing or inspirational”. Yung Nollywood is remarkably distinct from Nolly Babes for its subtitling of the films’ stills from Nollywood films, something she attributes to Tumblr. While the idea to give witty captions to the actors’ facial expressions came from watching Netflix. “I thought, ‘If someone could describe Nollywood reactions in short phrases it’d be an art form on its own,’ and I became that someone.’”

In December 2019, Tochi and Ebele hosted a Nollywood-themed party in Lagos. Nollywood actor and musician Nonso Bassey attended the party dressed in a two-piece jean set and bucket hat, a signature look of the bad boy/alpha male archetype, and a role reprised multiple times by older actors such as Hanks Anuku, Emeka Ike, and Jim Iyke. Since that party, Nonso has attended social functions and premieres in outfits that make a nod to the fashion choices of that era of Nollywood. He insists, though, that he isn’t cosplaying Nollywood characters of that era. “I’ve always been attracted to the idea of merging old world charm with a new school approach,” he said.

The party caused a cultural stir amongst Nigerians and Africans both at home and in the diaspora – every other week, there seems to be a Nollywood-themed party held either in Lagos or London. Take for instance friends and business partners Imani Okunubi and Aseosa Uwagboe, two Nigerian-British kids who grew up in the UK. Nollywood was one of the ways they could connect back to their roots. That experience informs their event brand, Lasgidi to London, targeted at Nigerians living in the UK. “We wanted to create events that were reminiscent of the Naija hall parties (Owambe) we attended as kids, as we don’t want to see that culture die,” Aseosa said. Their next owambe is a Nollywood-themed party and guests are expected to come dressed in their “best nolly Y2K aesthetic”.

Below, the Nolly Babes sisters talk about creating and hosting the first Nollywood-themed party and the cultural moment it has inspired.

How did that first event come about – please take me through it, from the planning to how it turned out?

Nolly Babes: From the inception of Nolly Babes, we knew we had to throw a party. Fashion is a huge part of what makes Nolly Babes different from other Nollywood-themed pages and we knew we were the only ones that could set Nolly Babes as the dress code and have people commit as they did. There are many iconic Nollywood scenes and scenarios. The daughter meeting her evil mother-in-law, the ominous visit to the Babalawo, the campus stroll – just the mere mention of these scenes evokes images that have been embedded in the minds of our fellow Nollywood enthusiasts. The party scene is probably the most iconic of them all. Whether it’s in a club, a mansion while mum and dad are out of town (but coming home early to crash the whole thing) or poolside, the Nolly Babes party scene has its staples: mad music, dancing, and sick outfits.

December in Lagos is notoriously hectic. On each day, there are day parties, beach hangouts, concerts, and we just knew we had to be a part of it. Our flyer was the first thing we made sure was done right, and that has been replicated (but never duplicated) many many times. We went through at least six drafts of that until we got the flyer to be a realistic replica of the home video covers from the golden era. The DJs Kemi Lijadu and vIVENDII Sounds understood the assignment and played music from the Nolly Babes era. We’re talking Tony Tetuila, Mo Hitz, Wande Coal, Plantation Boyz… We curated a special cocktail menu: Genny Colladas, Jim Iyke’s Hard Lemonade, MargaRita Dominic, and our Lagos Island Iced Tea, in tribute to Nollywood stars Genevieve Nnaji, Jim Iyke, and Rita Dominic respectively. We had a video projection on the famous red wall at Nok showing a mashup of emblematic scenes. We were partying while seeing images of a young Jim Iyke dressed just like many of the attendees were dressed. It was magical! We have an event we’re planning in New York for the summer – it’s going to be a madness.

Did you envisage it becoming the cultural movement it’s now become?

Nolly Babes: We really didn’t. We hosted the party because we knew people were taking inspiration from our page for styling jobs and music video treatments, and wanted to give everyone a chance to recreate some of their favourite looks. Now every week we see people planning Nollywood-themed parties and sending people to our page for references. It’s awesome. Toke Makinwa even recently attended a Nolly Babes-themed party and she was dressed as a character we have immortalised – Regina Askia in President’s Daughter. She killed it! Even though the character wasn’t referenced, it was clear as day and it was awesome to see that she pulled it off! Honestly, when we see people really pay attention to detail and execute the theme well it’s so, so dope.

How has TikTok helped grow Nollywood's influence? You posted a scene from Girls Cot, the famous “you stink with poverty” clip on TikTok and it went viral and birthed these recreations even by non-Africans.

Nolly Babes: We’re just happy to see that another aspect of Nollywood that we champion – the iconic scenes and one-liners – is also resonating across the world. We see Nolly Babes as an archival work and as much as we focus on beauty and looks on Instagram, it’s nice to be able to point people in the direction of the scenes that are forever embedded in our brains. These are scenes we recreated in jest ourselves before there was even a Nolly Babes to begin with, so to see it catching on TikTok is exciting and a new frontier for us to fully explore. I think what distinguishes Nolly Babes from other Nollywood pages and what contributes to our TikTok success is that we really watch Nollywood movies. We grew up watching these movies and continue to do so now so we can capture those moments in films that the casual consumer or poster of Nollywood content might not.

What are your thoughts on Nollywood’s influence on the Alté scene? Music videos of artists such as Lady Donli and Odunsi nod to the aesthetic and fashion styles of that era.

Nolly Babes: Nollywood, and specifically the aesthetic we have shone a spotlight on, is probably one of the biggest influences in terms of visuals in that scene right now. I have never seen so many Eucharia (Anunobi) eyebrows on TV and we love it! It’s awesome to see our images and scenes being used in treatments and storyboards. If we’re being candid, we think it would be great if we got the chance to step into our stylist/creative direction bag and help with the execution of the aesthetic.

“The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens” – Nolly Babes

How far do you see Nollywood's influence on pop culture, beyond Nigeria and Africa?

Nolly Babes: When we moved to New York we found our Dominican and South American friends had also grown up watching Nollywood films. The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens. Nollywood clips were online everywhere – but it was always in a comedic way. Aki and PawPaw are meme gods now, and that’s because their expressions transcend cultural boundaries. Black Twitter eats that stuff up.

Nolly Babes chooses to center the beauty, style, and iconic imagery, even the home decor with our #NollyDecor hashtag of the golden era of Nollywood. We share the makeup, accessories, fashion, iconic phrases, and scenes in a way that isn’t just comedic but inspirational and aesthetically groundbreaking. I see Nollywood being at the centre of this Y2K resurgence that is happening all over the world, from TV to runways and fashion collections. That era is coming back around and, this time, the Black experience is being revisited and centered in a way it wasn’t back in the late 90s and 2000s. (Black people) were always the originators of the trends and this time they’re tapping into the source and Nollywood, particularly the era we celebrate as Nolly Babes, is a great resource for that.

Follow Nolly Babes on Instagram

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I get why you prefer to think wizards aren't homophobic, I often decide to ignore what canon implies and go: wizarding world is chill with same-sex relationships and they have a magic way to create babies, I think it's a fun and viable fanon. But when I'm thinking about canon, I don't think that's how the wizarding world operates. To each their own interpretation, but a society like we see that barely tolerates muggleborns and has laws in place against employing werewolves and giving wands (that might function as their IDs) to other humanoid creatures is likely not a tolerant one.

Obviously, everyone can headcanon anything they want, and I don't mean to come off as aggressive or anything, I'm just stating what I think is likely based on what we see in the books.

I mean, sure, Harry doesn't meet all the couples in the Wizarding World, but I don't think the Yule Ball, for example, had a single same-sex couple dancing together, at least, not one Harry mentions. Considering Harry grew up in the UK in the 90s with the Dursleys who are likely homophobic, I think he would've made a passing mention of it in his mind if he saw it.

The high level of education at Hogwarts doesn't mean much, the wizarding world is an incredibly bigoted one when it comes to creatures, muggles, and part creatures (like Hagrid or Flitwick), not to mention house-elves slavery that is treated as the norm. So education isn't helping them there. Also, considering Binns has been teaching history for who knows how long, that class isn't helping anyone. Also, from what we see of the Hogwarts curriculum, they don't seem to be taught much critical thinking if at all. Most of what they study is based on memorization and following instructions instead of theory and logic according to which spells work.

And even with Dumbledore and Grindelwald's alleged romance Rita wrote about, she actually never mentions them being in a relationship. She consistently refers to it as a friendship in her book:

Albus Dumbledore, shortly after his mother's death, with his friend Gellert Grindelwald.

(DH, 353)

Barley two months into their great new friendship, Dumbledore and Grindelwald parted.

(DH, 358)

’Course, if things were different, it’d be huge news, Dumbledore being pals with Grindelwald, but now it’s just something to laugh about for people who didn’t like Dumbledore, and a bit of a slap in the face for everyone who thought he was such a good bloke. I don’t know that it’s such a big deal, though. He was really young when they — ”

(DH, 390) - Ron about what everyone is saying about the relationship — they're pals, not lovers.

If same-sex relationships were common enough or something her audience would find easy to believe, I don't see why she wouldn't write about them being romanticly involved, considering the point of her book and her desire for sales. But if the Wizarding World treats homosexuality as a dirty, unspoken thing like Lycanthropy, it makes sense she wouldn't write about it, it might be taking it a step too far even for her audience (and even more so if she wants to break into a wider market).

As for women's rights, the first woman minister of magic was elected in 1798, so it's possible the wizarding world is more equal in its treatment of men and women, and magic actually explains that. Magic is an equalizer when it comes to gender since it means everyone has access to this same skill that is used for their wars, and everyday life, where gender doesn't matter. Because magic is part of their culture, it makes sense there would be less of a difference in rights between men and women, but it doesn't necessarily imply the same for homosexuality or anything else. I mean, even wizards/witches that can do magic aren't necessarily treated as having the same rights (again werewolves and muggleborns) and creatures have it even worse.

Now, I'm not saying it's impossible to have a magical way to produce children, but whether it's magically viable or not doesn't immediately correspond to whether it's acceptable or not. You mentioned children born from wizards/witches and goblins or giants, we see they are referred to by some of wizarding society as filthy half-breeds, they aren't without their stigma. Madam Maxime refuses to acknowledge she is a half-giantess because of how unaccepted it is and she doesn't want to deal with the discrimination that comes with it. Now, I don't think the entire wizarding world has the same level of intolerance, but, personally, I don't think gay marriage is legal, for example, and I'm sure some circles see it as more scandalous than others.

I get why you'd prefer to see them as more tolerant, I often do it too, and you can choose to interpret a fictional world however you want, I just don't see the wizarding world like that from what the books show us.

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 polyjuiced 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.

[littlemixnet]

To me, a good ally is someone who is consistent in their efforts – there’s a difference between popping on a pride playlist or sprinkling yourself in rainbow glitter once a year and actually defending LGBT+ people against discrimination. It means showing my LGBT+ fans that I support them wholeheartedly and am making a conscious effort to educate myself, raise awareness and show up whenever they need me to. It would be wrong of me to benefit from the community as a musician without actually standing up and doing what I can to support. As someone in the public eye, it’s important to make sure your efforts are not performative or opportunistic. I’m always working on my allyship and am very much aware that I’ve still got a lot of unlearning and learning to do. There are too many what I call ‘dormant allies’, believing in equality but not really doing more than liking or reposting your LGBT+ mate’s content now and again. Imagine if that friend then saw you at the next march, or signing your name on the next petition fighting for their rights? Being an ally is also about making a conscious effort to use the right language and pronouns, and I recently read a book by Glennon Doyle who spoke of her annoyance and disappointment of those who come out and are met with ‘We love you…no matter what’. I’d never thought of that expression like that before and it really struck a chord with me. ‘No matter what’ suggests you are flawed. Being LGBT+ is not a flaw. Altering your language and being conscious of creating a more comfortable environment for your LGBT+ family and friends is a good start. Nobody is expecting you to suddenly know it all, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect ally. I’m still very much learning. Even recently, after our Confetti music video I was confronted with the fact that although we made sure our video was incredibly inclusive, we hadn’t brought in any actual drag kings. Some were frustrated, and they had every right to be. You can have the right intentions and still fall short. As an open ally I should have thought about that, and I hadn’t, and for that I apologise. Since then I’ve been doing more research on drag king culture, because it’s definitely something I didn’t know enough about, whether that was because it isn’t as mainstream yet mixed with my own ignorance. But the point is we mess up, we apologise, we learn from it and we move forward with that knowledge. Don’t let the fear of f**king up scare you off. And make sure you are speaking alongside the community, not for the community. Growing up in a small Northern working-class town, some views were, and probably still are, quite ‘old fashioned’ and small-minded. I witnessed homophobia at an early age. It was a common thought particularly among men that it was wrong to be anything but heterosexual. I knew very early on I didn’t agree with this, but wasn’t educated or aware enough on how to combat it. I did a lot of performing arts growing up and within that space I had many LGBT+ (mainly gay) friends. I’ve been a beard many a time let me tell you! But it was infuriating to see friends not feel like they could truly be themselves. When I moved to London I felt incredibly lonely and like I didn’t fit in. It was my gay friends (mainly my friend and hairstylist, Aaron Carlo) who took me under their wing and into their world. Walking into those gay bars or events like Sink The Pink, it was probably the first time I felt like I was in a space where everyone in that room was celebrated exactly as they are. It was like walking into a magical wonderland. I got it. I clicked with everyone. My whole life I struggled with identity – being mixed race for me meant not feeling white enough, or black enough, or Arab enough. I was a ‘tomboy’ and very nerdy. I suppose on a personal level that maybe played a part in why I felt such a connection or understanding of why those spaces for the LGBT+ community are so important. One of the most obvious examples of first realising Little Mix was having an effect in the community was that I couldn’t enter a gay bar without hearing a Little Mix song and watching numerous people break out into full choreo from our videos! I spent the first few years of our career seeing this unfold and knowing the LGBT+ fan base were there, but it wasn’t until I got my own Instagram or started properly going through Twitter DMs that I realised a lot of our LGBT+ fans were reaching out to us on a daily basis saying how much our music meant to them. I received a message from a boy in the Middle East who hadn’t come out because in his country homosexuality is illegal. His partner tragically took their own life and he said our music not only helped him get through it, but gave him the courage to start a new life somewhere else where he could be out and proud. There are countless other stories like theirs, which kind of kickstarted me into being a better ally. Another standout moment would be when we performed in Dubai in 2019. We were told numerous times to ‘abide by the rules’, which meant not promoting anything LGBT+ or too female-empowering (cut to us serving a four-part harmony to Salute). In my mind, we either didn’t go or we’d go and make a point. When Secret Love Song came on, we performed it with the LGBT+ flag taking up the whole screen behind us. The crowd went wild, I could see fans crying and singing along in the audience and when we returned it was everywhere in the press. I saw so many positive tweets and messages from the community. It made laying in our hotel rooms s**tting ourselves that we’d get arrested that night more than worth it. It was through our fans and through my friends I realised I need to be doing more in my allyship. One of the first steps in this was meeting with the team at Stonewall to help with my ally education and discussing how I could be using my platform to help them and in turn the community. Right now, and during lockdown, I’d say my ally journey has been a lot of reading on LGBT+ history, donating to the right charities and raising awareness on current issues such as the conversion therapy ban and the fight for equality of trans lives. Stonewall is facing media attacks for its trans-inclusive strategies and there is an alarming amount of seemingly increasing transphobia in the UK today and we need to be doing more to stand with the trans community. Still, there is definitely a pressure I feel as someone in the public eye to constantly be saying and doing the right things, especially with cancel culture becoming more popular. I s**t myself before most interviews now, on edge that the interviewer might be waiting for me to ‘slip up’ or I might say something that can be misconstrued. Sometimes what can be well understood talking to a journalist or a friend doesn’t always translate as well written down, which has definitely happened to me before. There’ve been moments where I’ve (though well intentioned) said the wrong thing and had an army of Twitter warriors come at me. Don’t get me wrong, there are obviously more serious levels of f**king up that are worthy of a cancelling. But it was quite daunting to me to think that all of my previous allyship could be forgotten for not getting something right once. When that’s happened to me before I’ve scared myself into thinking I should STFU and not say anything, but I have to remember that I am human, I’m going to f**k up now and again and as long as I’m continuing to educate myself to do better next time then that’s OK. I’m never going to stop being an ally so I need to accept that there’ll be trickier moments along the way. I think that might be how some people may feel, like they’re scared to speak up as an ally in case they say the wrong thing and face backlash. Just apologise to the people who need to be apologised to, and show that you’re doing what you can to do better and continue the good fight. Don’t burden the community with your guilt. When it comes to the music industry, I’m definitely seeing a lot more LGBT+ artists come through and thrive, which is amazing. Labels, managements, distributors and so forth need to make sure they’re not just benefiting from LGBT+ artists but show they’re doing more to actually stand with them and create environments where those artists and their fans feel safe. A lot of feedback I see from the community when coming to our shows is that they’re in a space where they feel completely free and accepted, which I love. I get offered so many opportunities to do with LGBT+ based shows or deals and while it’s obviously flattering, I turn most of them down and suggest they give the gig to someone more worthy of that role. But really, I shouldn’t have to say that in the first place. The fee for any job I do take that feels right for me but has come in as part of the community goes to LGBT+ charities. That’s not me blowing smoke up my own arse, I just think the more of us and big companies that do that, the better. We need more artists, more visibility, more LGBT+ mainstream shows, more shows on LGBT+ history and more artists standing up as allies. We have huge platforms and such an influence on our fans – show them you’re standing by them. I’ve seen insanely talented LGBT+ artist friends in the industry who are only recently getting the credit they deserve. It’s amazing but it’s telling that it takes so long. It’s almost expected that it will be a tougher ride. We also need more understanding and action on the intersectionality between being LGBT+ and BAME. Racism exists in and out of the community and it would be great to see more and more companies in the industry doing more to combat that. The more we see these shows like Drag Race on our screens, the more we can celebrate difference. Ever since I was a little girl, my family would go to Benidorm and we’d watch these glamorous, hilarious Queens onstage; I was hooked. I grew up listening to and loving the big divas – Diana Ross (my fave), Cher, Shirley Bassey, and all the queens would emulate them. I was amazed at their big wigs, glittery overdrawn make-up and fabulous outfits. They were like big dolls. Most importantly, they were unapologetically whoever the f**k they wanted to be. As a shy girl who didn’t really understand why the world was telling me all the things I should be, I almost envied the queens but more than anything I adored them. Drag truly is an art form, and how incredible that every queen is different; there are so many different styles of drag and to me they symbolise courage and freedom of expression. Everything you envisioned your imaginary best friend to be, but it’s always been you. There’s a reason why the younger generation are loving shows like Drag Race. These kids can watch this show and not only be thoroughly entertained, but be inspired by these incredible people who are unapologetically themselves, sharing their touching stories and who create their own support systems and drag families around them. Now and again I think of when I’d see those Queens in Benidorm, and at the end they’d always sing I Am What I Am as they removed their wigs and smudged their make up off, and all the dads would be up on their feet cheering for them, some emotional, like they were proud. But that love would stop when they’d go back home, back to their conditioned life where toxic heteronormative behaviour is the status quo. Maybe if those same men saw drag culture on their screens they’d be more open to it becoming a part of their everyday life. I’ll never forget marching with Stonewall at Manchester Pride. I joined them as part of their young campaigners programme, and beforehand we sat and talked about allyship and all the young people there asked me questions while sharing some of their stories. We then began the march and I can’t explain the feeling and emotion watching these young people with so much passion, chanting and being cheered by the people they passed. All of these kids had their own personal struggles and stories but in this environment, they felt safe and completely proud to just be them. I knew the history of Pride and why we were marching, but it was something else seeing what Pride really means first hand. My advice for those who want to use their voice but aren’t sure how is, just do it hun. It’s really not a difficult task to stand up for communities that need you. Change can happen quicker with allyship.

Jade Thirlwall on the power, and pressures, of being an LGBT ally: ‘I’m gonna f**k up now and again’

[weelittleweasley]

Transfer Student | Draco x Reader

Prompt: After transferring from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to Hogwarts, all of Hogwarts’ eyes is on the new girl. An American Gryffindor? Everyone wants to be your friend, steal a glance from you, or ask you on a date. Can Draco resist the hype or will he end up all for the new girl?

Warnings: None! Just some fluff and longing looks from bitch boy Malfoy

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: My requests box is very full oh my LORD. I’m trying to churn them out as consistency as possible, so if I skip a day with no imagines, it’s mostly for me to take a breather and catch up on my actual work for my job and school.

America was home, no matter where you were in the world. You grew up an American and lived your life with that culture and their customs. Going to school at Ilvermorny was a treat. Tucked away in the mountains in Massachusetts, it was your happy place, full of other kids from across America, studying magic. But things changed drastically when your father was offered a position at the Ministry of Magic overseas in London. Your parents were thrilled, a prestigious job in a new country; your father accepted the position, no question. You on the other hand were more nervous than anything. Moving meant new school, new friends, new start. Not to mention, if you moved within the country, you would still attend Ilvermorny. But now that you were moving overseas, it really meant a new start with a whole different school with a whole different body of students. 

Your mother was insistent that you would be just fine starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. “Mom,” you insist, “I’m an American among a sea of people from the UK. I’m going to be a fish out of water. They’ll know the moment I open up my mouth!” 

But there was no changing their minds. You were moving to London whether you liked it or not. So you had to say goodbye to all of your friends at Ilvermorny. Although you expressed your anxieties about moving and switching schools, the rest of your friends were jealous of your move. Saying how London was a beautiful city and they were so jealous of all the culture and events happening. It did seem exciting, you always wanted to visit Europe, but not like this. 

Soon enough, you were on a plane to London from America, your things packed up and ready to ship you off to Hogwarts. When you arrived, your heart raced with excitement and nerves. London was a little grey and stormy, but it was still beautiful. People most melodically and dressed neatly. Men in suits, carrying around briefcases, heads tilted down as they ran to work. Women dressed cleanly and beautifully, walking to work, in and out of shoppes. Your mother gave your hand a squeeze as your father insisted you took the Tube to your new home.

London was very different from your hometown. Much more hustle and bustle with busy people, but its people were much kinder than Americans. Strangers offered you small smiles as you looked at your surroundings. As you arrived to your new home, you couldn’t help but feel out of place. Everything was different. Even the oven. You couldn’t think about how long it was going to take to get you adjusted to this life. You drag your suitcases into your room, flipping open the latches. “Don’t bother unpacking, honey,” your mom calls. “You leave for Hogwarts tomorrow, remember?”

Your stomach sinks. You couldn’t even get used to your new home because tomorrow you had to get used to your new life at Hogwarts. 

The next morning, you arrived at the train station, confused as ever. Your mom and dad walked with you through the station, interrogating you on what to tell the Professors when they asked for your information at arrival. “My name is (Y/N), I’m the transfer student from Ilvermorny, I’m going to be a junior,” you start.

“You’re a sixth year student,” your father corrects. You look at him, confused. ���The education system here is different, sweetie. You’ll technically be going into year six at Hogwarts.”

Sighing, you know that this was going to take some getting used to. 

----

You watched your parents wave goodbye to you, your mother with tears in her eyes. Your heart drops, not wanting to leave your parents to go off to somewhere that was completely foreign to you. As the view of your parents fades, you walk through the train, looking for an empty stall to sit. People sat with groups of friends, laughing, picking up right where they left off. Why couldn’t you have been a first year student? This would have made things so much easier. As a sixth year, everyone had friend groups and you would have to wiggle your way into one. 

Finally, you find an empty car and plop yourself down on the seat, laying your head back. Here’s to the start of a miserable year, you think to yourself. You play with the charm bracelet on your wrist that your mother gave to you when you started school at Ilvermorny. The bracelet had a Thunderbird charm on it, the mascot of your house at Ilvermorny, and the same house as you parents. You were a proud Thunderbird, but now you had to be sorted into a new house with a new breed of people. You only hoped that whichever house you were sorted into had the same type of people as Thunderbird did. 

As you mindlessly play with the charms on your bracelet, the car that you sat in’s doors slid open. “Are you alone?” a blonde haired girl asks you, noticing you amongst the chaos of the cars around you. “Would you like some company?”

“That would be nice, actually,” you offer her a thankful smile. 

The blonde haired girl sits down in the booth across from you, pushing all of her thick hair to one shoulder. “Your accent,” she notices, her eyes widening. “It’s American,” her dainty English accent points out as you blush in embarrassment. “It’s lovely.” You slightly smile and blush, silently thanking her. “Are you a transfer student from Ilvermorny?”

You nod, “Yeah, actually. My name is (Y/N), by the way. I’m a jun-I mean a sixth year student.”

“I’m Luna,” she shakes your hand politely. “I also a sixth year. Look! You’ve only been here for five minutes and you’ve already made a friend in your year!” Your heart swell at the word friend. At least you at Luna to tag along with. The two of you talk for a while, you telling her about America and why your family moved to England, confiding in her about your nervousness about the new school and making new friends. “I’m sure you’ll have no trouble making friends, (Y/N). Everyone at Hogwarts is very friendly. Besides, once you get sorted into your house you’ll make a ton of friends that way!” Your stomach churns. “Do you reckon what house you’ll be sorted into?”

Shaking your head, you reply, “Nope. Back at Ilvermorny I was a Thunderbird. But I don’t know if that means I’ll get sorted into a specific house at Hogwarts.” You reach into your backpack and pull out a pack of Fruit Roll Ups. “Want one?” you open the box to her as she gives you a hesitant look. “It’s good I promise,” you giggle. “If you don’t like it, you can force me to eat a gross British snack,” you tempt as she laughs before taking one from the box.

The two of you sit in the car, peeling open your Fruit Roll Ups, munching on the sticky snack. As you laugh at Luna getting it stuck in her teeth, another person comes to the car door, sliding open, making you yelp out scared, them surprising you. “What’s that?” the red headed boy asks, referring to the snack you munch on. You just look at him, bewildered that he just burst through, no introduction, no hello, no nothing. “Oh, hi Luna,” he smiles as Luna waves. The red headed boy looks at you. “You’re new,” he states as if you didn’t know. “I’m Ron Weasley,” he smiles at you warmly, making every bad thought about him leave your mind. 

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you reply before tossing the ginger a Fruit Roll Up. He catches it, eyes wide with excitement as he tears it open. 

Ron sits next to Luna as he peels his Roll Up. “Your accent. You’re an American,” he points out as he looks to Luna who smiles sweetly. 

You tease, “Really? I didn’t notice.” This makes Ron let out a chuckle before eating his Fruit Roll Up in two bites. “I’m a transfer from Ilvermorny.”

“Ron! Where did you go?” a voice calls from the hall. Suddenly, a girl with brown hair, wrapped in a stripped cardigan appears with a worried look on her face. It instantly relaxes when she sees Ron sitting next to Luna and you, wrappers in his hand from the Fruit Roll Up. “Ron, you can’t just interrupt two people’s conversation and then eat their snacks.”

Ron puts his hands up in defense. “She offered it to me!”

The girl rolls her eyes at his antics before walking into your car. The booth was getting awfully full very quickly. “I’m sorry about him. He has the mental capacity of a teaspoon,” she says, making Ron let out an offended hey! “I’m Hermione Granger. You are?”

You shake her extended hand with a smile. “(Y/N), I’m a transfer student fr-”

“Ilvermorny! I heard we were getting an American, but I didn’t believe it! Wow! It’s so nice to meet you,” she exclaims, scooting closer next to you. “Are you excited to be here? Which house do you think you’ll be sorted into? From what I’ve heard about you, you were a Thunderbird, correct? I reckon you’ll be a Gryffindor by the looks of it,” Hermione fires away. You were little taken aback by how forward she was, but you had to admit it was sweet. 

All of your fears of not being able to make any friends slowly faded away.

----

It has been a week since you arrived at Hogwarts. As Hermione had predicted, you were sorted into Gryffindor, making her cheer out in delight. “Yay! More girls!” she hugged you tight when you entered the Gryffindor common room. “They can be much,” she refers to Harry and Ron behind her with a little giggle. 

You had to say so far, you adjusted well to Hogwarts. You did miss your friends back home, but whenever you started to miss them, you found Hermione or Luna and they would always cheer you up and make you feel right back at home. Your classes were interesting, but hard at Hogwarts. Your Professors were all brilliant, some more intimidating than others. Regardless, you worked hard for your grades, doing study groups with Hermione, quizzing yourself with Luna, and spending countless nights in the library. 

However, much to your surprise, you were the talk of the halls at Hogwarts. Whenever you were in the hallways, you would feel people’s eyes on you as you walked beside Luna, whispers throwing your name around. Your anxiety grew. What did people think of you? Did they think you were strange? Did they hate that an American was in the school? 

It was actually quite the opposite. People were fascinated by you and how charismatic you were. You were kind to everyone, offering people smiles, making conversation in the Great Hall during meals, offering help with studying. You were the it girl of Hogwarts. 

That was a new concept for you since you always blended in at Ilvermorny. Maybe it was time for a change. You were getting invited to parties, asked to hang out on weekends in Hogsmeade, and not to mention, you were a few people’s crushes. “Hi (Y/N),” Seamus waved at you with a shy smile.

“Hey, Seamus,” you smile back, brightly, unaware of his blossoming crush on you. His cheeks turned beet red as you wiggled your fingers back at him. Hermione laughs next to you as a bunch of Gryffindor boys in your year watch you walk down the hall, you tossing your hair over your shoulder. “What’s so funny, Granger?” you ask, pushing her shoulder lightly. “Is it so strange that I say hi to everyone in the halls?”

She just shakes her head. “Are you that blind?” she laughs. “(Y/N), nearly every boy in our year fancies you.” You furrow your brows. Hermione groans, knowing you didn’t understand her slang. “The boys all think you’re cute. They’ve got crushes on you.”

Rolling your eyes is disbelief, you enter your History of Magic class. “Yeah, right, Hermione. The day everyone has a crush on me is the day pigs fly,” you plop down in your chair, grabbing your book out of your satchel. “Besides, I’m sure it’s just the new girl crush. It’ll be over within the next week, I’m sure of it.”

Hermione looks at you knowingly. “(Y/N), you’ve been here for two months now.” You just ignore her comment and continue getting ready to take notes for class. “There’s no denying that you are the popular girl,” she teases you as you fake gag. “I’m serious. I dare you to flirt with anyone in here and see their reaction,” she whispers to you.

You look around the room to see who would be the person most likely to shoot you down if you flirted with them. Two desks over was Blaise Zabini sat next to Draco Malfoy. You smirked and nudged Hermione as if to say watch this. “Blaise?” you ask, his head shooting up to look at you. “I think I forgot my quill. Do you have one I could borrow?” you bat your eyes at him.

A cheeky grin comes across his face as he hands you the one in his hand. “Forgetful today?” he smirks as you giggle. “You can borrow my quill any day,” he winks at you as Hermione fake gags, making Zabini rolls his eyes.

“Why don’t you ask Granger for one next time? The mudblood is always prepared,” Draco speaks from behind Zabini. 

Anger rises in your chest as Malfoy laughs about your best friend. “Why don’t you just keep your fat trap shut and cry to daddy about how much you hate this school, Malfoy? No one wants to hear it out of you, least of all me,” you spit before turning away to do your work. Hermione smiles as you, squeezing your hand. “See? Malfoy doesn’t have a crush on me!” you tell her, making her laugh.

Meanwhile, Draco glares at Zabini. “Don’t tell me you fancy the American girl too.” Zabini keeps his mouth shut, knowing what’s best for him. “What is everyone’s obsession with her? She’s American, not from outer space.”

Blaise shakes his head. “Come on, Malfoy. She’s proper fit, isn’t she? Not to mention, she’s quite cheeky and has good banter.”

Draco just slaps Blaise upside the head. “Oh, please,” he huffs. “There’s plenty of girls like that in this school. She’s not the only one.”

Throughout class Draco thinks to himself about what the entirety of Hogwarts’ student body saw in you. He ignored the lecture going on in the front of the classroom and dreamily watched you during class. You sat there, biting down on your lower lip gently in concentration, scribbling down notes as your nose scrunched up when a question came to mind. He could see the wheels churning in your head when you asked a question and then the lightbulb flick on when it was answered and it made sense. You let a small dance play on your lips when you answered a question correctly faster than Hermione. You hair flopped on head perfect as you pushed strands back as they fell. Your eyes twinkled with curiosity and playfulness like a child. Draco’s heart thumped a little louder when you let out a giggle when the professor made an awful joke. His heart nearly stopped when you looked over at him and caught his gaze, your cheeks taking a rosy hue as you looked away shyly. Draco didn’t look away for a second. He wanted you to know he was observing you. Shit, he silently thought as he felt his heart rate pick up when you sent a cheeky wink his way. He was caught.

You left class that day, a little pep in your step. You didn’t think much about people having a crush on you, but something about Draco Malfoy staring at you during class made you giggly. “What are you on about?” Hermione pokes your side. “I know you aren’t happy about that lecture, so spill.”

“Nothing,” you smile as you walk down the hall. “Can’t I just be happy?”

Hermione rolls her eyes. She had a feeling she knew what was happen, but rather than embarrass you about it, she kept to herself. “Alright,” she sing-songs.

------

The more time passed the more Draco found himself thinking about you and itching to get to class just so he could tune the professor out at steal longing glances at you. Sometimes you would catch him as he sent a little wink your way as you blushed. Sometimes he would catch you staring at him which gave him way too much satisfaction of knowing you liked him just as much as he liked you. 

You had no problem talking to boys, but Draco was different. You didn’t talk to him much because you were too scared you were going to embarrass yourself in front of him.

But Draco on the other hand found any excuse to walk right up to you in the halls and strike up conversation. He would see you walk down the hall, his eyes zeroing in on, dismissing his friend group as he made his way up to you. He didn’t care who you were with whether it was Luna or Hermione. Draco just slid himself next to you with a sly, “Where are you off to, American girl?”

You did not try to stop the blush from appearing on your cheeks. “What’s it to you, Malfoy?” you tease as he laughs.

“I’d walk you there if you let me,” he suggested as you glanced to Luna or Hermione as they would fall behind to walk to class with Ron or Harry. “Ah, alone at last,” he’d tease as your friend walked away, earning a teasingly slap from you. “Don’t worry, I won’t try and pull anything on you.”

As you sat in another class of History of Magic, you doodled in your notebook. When the professor turned his back to write on the chalkboard, you see a small origami dove fly over to your desk. Curiosity gets the best of you as you peel it open to see a little note scribbled on the inside.

American Girl,

I need to ask you a very important question.

You look to your left to see Draco staring straight ahead at the board, but his eyes look towards you with a sneaky smile on his lips. You shake your head, a grin teasing your lips as you write back, And what would that be, Mr. Malfoy? 

When the professor turns back around, you send the note back to him. You watch him scribble for a while, your curiosity eating away inside of you. Finally, he folds the note back up and send it your way quickly.

The note lands back on your desk as you ravenously open it, dying to know what the question was. 

You. Me. Hogsmeade. This Saturday.

Your heart flutters and you want to giggle, but you hide your smile and scribble back coyly, That’s not a question, Malfoy. 

Again, you send it back his way, watching him open it as you bite your lip to contain your smile as you pretend to pay attention to the class. From your peripheral vision, you watch him scribble back. The note lands back on your desk and you let it sit there for a second, making Malfoy sweat. You let a solid ten seconds pass before looking at the note, pretending to be shocked to see it on your desk, before peeling it open slowly as Malfoy lightly laughs, watching you do so.

So it that a yes?

You smile and write out as slowly as you possibly can. It’s a yes.

The note makes its way back to Draco’s desk as he catches it from the air, ripping it open. He smiles impossibly wider and laughs a “yes,” a little too loud for your professor to hear. 

“Mr. Malfoy? Would you like to share something with the class?” your Professor asks.

Draco realizes that everyone’s eyes on him, including you as a deep shade of pink rises to your cheeks. Draco sends you a wink before standing up from his seat, your heart beating fast. What is he doing? “Actually, yes,” he retorts. “I’ve got a date with the new girl,” he declares. Girls all turn to you before immediately whispering to those around them as some boys groan and others cheer Malfoy on. 

You just sit there, blushing like a fool. Hermione grabs your arm. “No way,” she speaks.

“You better believe it,” you whisper, eyes not leaving Draco’s as Zabini high fives him. Saturday could not come quicker.