#aligned with wizard values

[remus-poopin]

The “A very frosty Christmas” chapter in HBP is so interesting to me in terms of understanding Lupin’s relation to the werewolf community. The standout line to me is this:

“‘I am not complaining; it is necessary work and who can do it better than I? However, it has been difficult gaining their trust. I bear the unmistakable signs of having tried to live among wizards, you see, whereas they have shunned normal society and live on the margins, stealing — and sometimes killing — to eat.’” (HBP, 334)

The framing of this is interesting, he didn’t say: “wizards have shunned them from normal society therefore marginalizing them so they have to steal and sometimes kill to eat”, no he puts the werewolves in the active role as if they are making a sort of choice. It effectively takes the blame off of the wizards that oppress them.

I think he might feel that it is a choice they are making. He has tried very hard all his life to fit into wizarding society. Everything he does is in an attempt to appear non threatening. He has made a choice to not live in the werewolf colonies, he’s made a choice to hold jobs, he’s made a choice to socialize with other wizards, he’s made a choice to appear civilized, he’s made a choice to conform into wizard society-

yet he is still not accepted.

The issue is not the werewolves disregarding society but a society that fundamentally disregards their humanity.

On some level he must know this yet the way he speaks about his community is dripping with a sort of self loathing that pushes for a drive for assimilation (something you can find in most groups of marginalized people).

He holds these views of achieving social mobility through the appearance of civilization while being walking proof that werewolf assimilation is futile, so he has to construct mental barriers to avoid being crushed under the weight of his own hypocrisy.

[o-wild-west-wind]

While I’m still a bit bummed that they didn’t go with a more book-aligned POC Fiyero for the Wicked movie, I’ve been thinking (heheh) about how his being white highlights the really interesting foil relationship between him and Glinda (and, in many ways, the audience yourself).

At its core, Wicked is a cautionary tale about propaganda, (literal) scapegoating, and what it means to uphold the status quo. The audience is watching through Glinda’s eyes—it is through her, arguably the most beautifully tragic character of the show, that we learn how lonely life becomes when you forfeit your values in favor of systemic power and likability (“No One Mourns the Wicked” is, in many ways, about HER).

Now, this is where Fiyero’s whiteness can get interesting—if you consider him and Glinda to share roughly equal footing at the beginning in terms of privilege/how much they have to lose (applying our real-world lens of race and power here, where whiteness is the apex), his storyline essentially represents what could have happened if Glinda had made the brave (and arguably wise and loving, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down 👀) choice to go with Elphaba and fight the good fight (this is also why I feel like a queer reading of G&E’s relationship is almost implicit to the story, but I digress).

As the POC/marginalized allegory, Elphaba has much less of a real choice in her curtain-pulled-back turning point. But Fiyero and Glinda—both representing privilege—get to choose. So in Act II, we see the consequences of both the choice to stay (Glinda) and to go (Fiyero). In Fiyero’s case, his ultimate rejection of his own power, privilege, and even beauty leads to immense physical loss—including his own body—but that is then compared to the loss of love, community, and identity that we see Glinda left with by the end. And this brings us to the question that the audience is left grappling with: in an unjust system where loss is inevitable (a.k.a. our own world, as the Wizard himself represents), which of these things are YOU more willing to give up?

It’s important that Glinda is an empathetic character because, in reality, most people are going to be Glindas (obvi this is nuanced among us Elphabas of marginalized identities, but I’d still argue that there’s some level of Glinda in us all)—and it’s important to be rattled by the end of the show when you realize that she is the one who has the sad ending. But it’s also so important that Fiyero is empathetic (which I’m SO glad this movie leaned into)—because he’s ultimately who Glinda—and thus we, as the audience—should have been.

And especially given the state of US politics right now…this is just all more relevant than ever.

[pawthorn]

It’s kind of funny how certain Ashton is that knowledge of what really happened at the fall of Aeor is going to overturn society.

I think that expectation comes from the classic Taliesin PC Pride (affectionate.)

Ashton has always mistrusted authority. Ashton has always believed the gods weren’t really interested in helping the little guy. They figured it out a long time ago, because they understand the world better than all these normies.

And now, here’s proof for all the normies that the gods don’t care about mortals as much as they care for their siblings— even the evil ones. And Ashton thinks it’s totally gonna blow their minds and rewrite everything. People won’t know how to handle it!

Which, even within their group is demonstrably not the case.

Ashton is so certain of his unique perspective being truer and clearer because of their trauma (and that’s… not really how trauma works) that he can’t fathom that people of faith may have already grappled with the fact that the gods are messy. That seeing what happened in Aeor might be heart wrenching, terrifying, but ultimately will likely still fit into most people’s view of the gods.

After all, the fate of Aeor and the gods’ role in its downfall (lol) has never been a secret. The new information is how oppressive Aeor was, how much the choices of its wizards contributed to the total loss of life there; the flight of the Cognoza and Selena’s Wish, specifically.

But Ashton has a deep sense of superiority toward the faithful, as well as a very specific value system that doesn’t take into account the values of others. (Hell, of the ten gods whose will was active in Aeor, only three were even “Good” aligned. Saving people was never gonna be this group’s priority.)

Not everyone in the world is concerned with individual freedom and wellbeing first and foremost. Many will see the collective good that came from Aeor’s fall and conclude that the ends justify the means.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

sugar sugar rune x twst au word salad

“The heart is yours to take, but you must not allow yours to be taken.”

The concept of this AU borrows a lot of ideas from the animanga Sugar Sugar Rune! ^^ It’s an older shojo series that I always think of when Halloween season arrives. Sugar Sugar Rune is about two years witches who are best friends, Chocolat and Vanilla, who compete to capture the most hearts in the human world. Whoever is victorious will become queen of the Magical World—but with love comes danger. If their own hearts get stolen, then they can lose their lives.

I should add, I currently don’t intend to write a fic based on this, I just wanted to braindump my ideas out and speculate on how this AU would work.

And now, without further ado…!

I think a good place to start is to explain the key points about the world and other relevant lore! Then we will get into the characters. (No story spoilers though, this AU won’t follow the original plot of Sugar Sugar Rune to a T!)

So the Magical World of Sugar Sugar Rune is where all magical creatures, including witches and wizards, reside. In the Magical World, ecure (or hearts), crystallized emotions, serve as an energy source and currency. Mages must frequently venture into the Human World in order to "harvest "pick up"/harvest ecure since humans have the unique ability to regenerate their hearts even when already stolen. Contrasting humans, mages only have one heart. That means if a mage's heart is taken, they will surely die. When mages fall in love with one another, they exchange their hearts during their wedding vows. They have to be careful who they fall in love with, as they can literally "die of a broken heart" if their partner betrays them. It's ill-advised for a mage to fall in love with a human, as while humans lack the ability to "pick up" hearts, a mage has to voluntarily hand their heart over if they reach a certain point (the color red)

Speaking of red!! Ecure/hearts can come in various colors depending on the emotion associated with it. Each color (and thus emotion) is associated with a different value, which roughly aligns with the value of the Japanese yen. The values are, as follows:

Yellow or Jaune - surprise, fear (5 ecure)

Orange - love at first sight, crush, infatuation (300 ecure)

Green or Vert - friendship (350 ecure)

Rainbow - happiness, delight, amusement (500 ecure)

Pink or Rose - the beginning stages of love, sweet love (1000 ecure)

Purple or Violet - lust, forbidden love (2500 ecure)

Blue or Bleu - respect (3000 ecure)

Red or Rouge - passionate love (5000 ecure)

Black or Noir - hatred, jealousy (no known value, hurts mages) I think this works really well with the concept of Blot in Twst—

White or Blanc - innocence (no known value, purified black heart; has restorative or healing properties)

Besides serving as energy and currency, ecure are also a way of counting points for Queen Candidacy. In the Magical World, the ruler is determined not by birth by through a competition in which candidates compete to see who can collect the most ecure (I believe over the span of a year). In the original Sugar Sugar Rune, the two candidates are Vanilla and Chocolat. The former is shy, sweet, and sort of a crybaby, with her mother being the current queen. Chocolat is the daughter of the queen's former competitor and comes off as more of a brash tomboy.

So what I'm proposing for the Sugar Sugar Rune x Twst AU is :DD basically keep all the lore but replace the two protags with MALLEUS (as Vanilla) AND LEONA (as Chocolat). They won’t be besties like the original MCs were, but more like traditional rivals because it would be funny lmao

Malleus is the more regal and composed of the two (he is literally a crown prince), so he has that obvious parallel with Vanilla. Not only that, but he's more withdrawn and has deep insecurities about being alone (also similar to Vanilla). I think his reputation could play well into the AU as well; in the Magical World, everyone fears him so he’s used to being alone—but in the Human World, he’s beloved for being awkward and mysterious (reflecting the international Twst fandom’s adoration for the guy). Malleus would feel obligated to win to carry on his family’s legacy but also because he feels like if he doesn’t, he has nothing left. No friends, no people to keep at his side—but if he has the status of King, then he’ll have a whole nation looking to him. Since his mom is uh… “with the stars”, the current Magical World queen could be his grandmother, and Malleus may feel like he has that legacy to live up to.

Leona, like Chocolat, is the underdog. What he lacks in status (as crown prince) he makes up for in intelligence and charisma, which nets him many followers in the Magical World. He comes off as tough and hard to approach to humans who aren’t used to his demanding attitude though, so it puts him at a disadvantage in the competition. He’s very much the “bad boy” similar to how Chocolat wasn’t a traditionally girly girl, but it’s ultimately the heart of gold buried underneath his hard edges that will eventually put him toe-to-toe with Malleus. I think Leona’s reasoning for wanting to be King would be similar to what he expresses in his original source material—to prove himself worthy, regardless of the family or order he was born in. Maybe he was almost not considered to be a candidate at all and his brother Falena was supposed to compete? Or alternatively, Falena is Malleus’s real competitor but Leona snuck into the Human World as an upstart/self-imposed third entry 😂

Chocolat and Vanilla have a mentor mage in the Human World named Robin (who is a famous rock star fjsvwisnksks). He’s the one who explains things to them and serves as their guardian figure while they room together and study at a human school for the Queen Candidacy.

What I’m thinking is that Leona and Malleus will venture into the Human World under the guidance of… Crowley 🤡 LISTEN, IT WOULD BE FUNNY Crowley does a lot of the exposition in Twst, so he could reprise that role here. He is also vain and thinks highly of himself (but ultimately cherishes his students) like Robin. Picture Crowley having to mediate between Leona and Malleus fighting every second of the day while living together—

That’s honestly all we need to replace to get the AU rolling. If we want to, we could expand the Queen (King now I guess) Candidacy to have more candidates. Then maybe the other Twst characters could also participate but the story could still center on Malleus and Leona as the two to “keep an eye on”/audience favorites.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this 🤔 but I do think this could be a fun AU for like. Yume/self insert scenarios so you can angst about whether your feelings are real or fabricated so [insert mage of choice here] can harvest ya like a plant… Or angst about not being able to be with [insert mage of choice here] because they might literally perish… Many possibilities!

[talenlee]

4e: The Power Of Love

If you listen to me talking about 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, especially when I talk about building characters and Owlbear Traps, to come away with the impression that the game was reasonably balanced and presents players with an even grouping of choices that mean it’s hard for a character to make a character that doesn’t work.

This is not fair; after all, for all that 4e is a lot more even and more balanced than 3e was, for all that you can in fact grab any class, any heritage, and any basic combination of the components the rulebook tells you to use — like, if you make a wizard it tells you to grab a staff, orb, or wand, and get a good intelligence — that higher floor does not change the fact that the game is full of some absolutely pants choices made for weird reasons that bely a strange thought underneath them.

Huey Lewis & The News - The Power Of Love (Official Music Video)

Watch this video on YouTube

For example, there’s the Power of Love:

When you use a power associated with this feat (Radiant Vengeance, Recovery Strike, Sun Strike, Virtuous Strike) and hit one or more enemies with it, you grant 5 temporary hit points to one or two allies within 5 squares of you. The temporary hit points increase to 10 at 11th level and 15 at 21st level.

I’ve spoken in the past about the way that Dungeons & Dragons tries to regard ‘love’ in a sort of soppy way. Largely, gods of love in conventional settings are afterthoughts, and the love domain back when it got its own identity in 3rd edition was just a healer’s toolkit. There’s a ton of stuff wrapped up in that, which is either so obvious as to be boring to you, or really needs a ton of bedrock explanation to help you understand it, and therefore, I will provide a bulleted list:

Traditionally, fantasy narratives gender power and agency, with typically, masculine roles, including the most valorised role being the most masculine one (a prince, a king, some variety of what you might call a sigma male or whatever).

This led to a void of women in these stories, and that presented a problem for the storytellers who wanted to fulfill the wholeness of the masculine gender fantasy of putting their penis in something high value.

Therefore, women were added to fantasy genre media.

Since these women needed things to do, there were two options; you make her do the thing the man does but worse (because like, she couldn’t be better) or you find something unrelated she can do that makes her desireable and useful but not like, inconvenient for the man.

The solution was to present her with the task of healing, which served double duty, because now she was important and worth protecting, she should be present in the battle to do her job, but also, she couldn’t do her thing until he does his thing and that means that she’s literally there to serve him,

And all this just coincidentally and for no actual reason at all, aligns with pre-existing assumptions about things women are for and therefore must like to do?

Fastforward through this a few thousand times as people continually assert that they’d know if they had any societally induced biases in their relationships to the media they enjoy, and you wind up here, where we are and have been for a few centuries, because it turns out that dudes have been really good at setting up and propogating a system that asserts their job is to be the main characters and it’s just the natural order, after all, look at all this long history of dudes telling them exactly the same thing. There’s all this other feminine stuff (as said by dudes) gets lumped together.

I’m joking, but not much.

This means that Love is one of those things that girls are allowed to do, and therefore, Love is essentially, healer shit. It’s not about helping people forge bonds, it’s not about being better at learning about people long term. Bear in mind that this is a pretty sucky bag of deals for the prospective Paladin of Love (or Avenger of Love, which sounds sick as fuck, shame the game doesn’t back it up) but it’s actually better than previous iterations on the idea that sometimes thought that it was even better to put ‘mind control’ effects under love.

You know, remember what we said about love potions?

The feat isn’t just bad because it’s timid about what you can do with love, though, no no no. It’s also really weak. Because, hey, guess what, I lied to you. You see up there? Where I said what the Power of Love feat did?

When you use a power associated with this feat (Radiant Vengeance, Recovery Strike, Sun Strike, Virtuous Strike) and hit one or more enemies with it, you can choose to deal no damage and instead grant 5 temporary hit points to one or two allies within 5 squares of you. The temporary hit points increase to 10 at 11th level and 15 at 21st level.

That’s right, you don’t get to do this as part of your attacking. You get to do this instead of attacking. At that point you have to measure the math of whether taking an enemy out with the attack prevents more damage than these temporary hit points represent. There are places this works! There are absolutely places where that math is easy to do!

But god what a miserable choice! Hey, Paladin of Love, you can give up doing the thing everyone is doing, and instead turn yourself into a hit point dispenser for other people. It’s proactive damage prevention, rather than healing, so we circumvent part of that awful paradigm of Girls Do Heals, but it’s still fundamentally rubbish because, remember, you spent a feat and a god choice on this!

Here’s the thing, the punchline such as it is. Power of Love is a terrible feat. It’s a feat that you shouldn’t bother taking. But, for whatever reason, this feat is capable of extending its protection not to one person, not to your love, but to two people. And lords knows I love when I can take an existing game feature and draw a connection from that to something else, something that was probably never intended but also obvious if you’re aware of it.

See, if the feat let you give someone temporary hit points, that’s easy. That’s you protecting someone you love. Easy. But seemingly to address the way this feat isn’t good enough for what it’s asking of you, it let you split, and boost two people.

… So…

You’re extending your love to two people.

Polyamry win! This Paladin has a girlfriend and a boyfriend!

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[maxdibert]

Your previous anon hasn’t understood how prejudice works.

James *is* prejudiced. He’s a classist bigot. He’s also, despite fighting on the anti-Voldemort side of the war, got an ingrained sense of superiority based on his blood status. Yes, he marries a muggleborn and befriends a werewolf. But he picks his victim knowing Severus is an easy target who won’t be defended by his blood supremacist housemates because he’s the son of a muggle. He’s not going after the pureblood Slytherins, because he knows he wouldn’t get away with it so easily if he went after people with important families. He never unpacks what this says about his true attitudes towards blood status.

Severus is prejudiced as a youth, but it’s internalised self-hatred because he too is part of the marginalised class as somebody with a muggle father. As a teacher, he doesn’t dislike Hermione because she’s a muggleborn. He dislikes her because she’s a uniquely insufferable student who isn’t as clever as she thinks she is.

Many people in this fandom don’t seem to understand what classism is, nor do they grasp class dynamics or how they shape power structures. The globalized, neoliberal, Americanized perspective has led to a cultural misunderstanding of class as the foundation upon which all other social inequalities rest. By ignoring class issues, people tend to focus on individual trees rather than seeing the forest. So, let’s break it down:

James Potter comes from a wealthy and respected pureblood family, which places him in a position of privilege both in the wizarding world and within Hogwarts. Although he opposes Voldemort’s ideology and the explicit blood supremacy of the Death Eaters, he still benefits from a structure that grants advantages to those from old, wealthy families. His choice of Severus as a bullying target is not arbitrary; it aligns with the implicit social hierarchy at the school: Snape is the son of a Muggle, comes from a poor family, and lacks the protection of a powerful lineage.

James’ behavior can be analyzed through Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony, which argues that ruling classes maintain power not just through coercion but also by instilling norms and values that reinforce their status. James, while rebelling against the most extreme version of blood supremacy, still operates within the values of his class: he despises and torments a peer who represents marginality within the wizarding world.

Furthermore, his friendship with Remus Lupin, a werewolf, can be interpreted through the theory of “tokenism,” which suggests that elites often include a few marginalized individuals as a way to justify their own position as Rosabeth Kanter said on her sociology studies. His friendship with Lupin does not dismantle the system of privilege in which James operates, just as his marriage to Lily Evans does not force him to question the wizarding world's class structure as a whole.

Severus, on the other hand, embodies a different kind of prejudice. His initial alignment with Death Eater ideology does not stem from pure supremacist conviction but rather from a survival mechanism within a society that despises him. In terms of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory, Severus seeks to accumulate “symbolic capital” by associating with Slytherins of pureblood status, as his “social capital” (his family and connections) is practically nonexistent. However, despite his desire to belong, his lineage relegates him to an ambiguous position: he is not fully accepted among the blood purists, but he also finds no protection within the broader wizarding community.

His resentment toward Hermione Granger, therefore, is not because she is a Muggleborn but because she represents the kind of student who has always been valued by Hogwarts society in a way that he never was. In terms of Bourdieu’s theory of reflexivity, Hermione embodies the institutional validation of academic talent that Snape himself never received.

The relationship between James and Severus, then, is not just a school rivalry but a manifestation of class struggle within the wizarding world. James, the benevolent aristocrat who never fully questions his privilege, represents the dominant class—one that opposes extreme ideologies but does not challenge the system that benefits him. Severus, on the other hand, is the outcast who desperately seeks upward mobility, even if it means aligning himself with ideologies that ultimately despise him.

Rowling presents the characters through a lens of individual morality, but if we examine their actions from a structural perspective, we can see that Hogwarts' system perpetuates inequalities that go far beyond the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin divide.

[forestdeath1]

One of the interesting aspects of Tom Riddle is his attitude towards humiliation. For example, the existence of Horcruxes placed him above others and inherently humiliated them.

However, Tom himself is not susceptible to social humiliation because he has his own value system, where humiliation is defined differently. Despite spending seven years in Slytherin, he still chose to work in a shop because it aligned with his goals, even though his rich classmates would likely have considered it humiliating. Social approval and status are not his goals. He skillfully uses his past at school in front of the teachers, not trying to hide it — on the contrary, we see he "flaunts" it before Slughorn. Manipulating, flattering, etc, things a proud person (like Sirius Black) would not do, Tom did easily, and he saw no humiliation in it.

Horcruxes represent elevating himself and humiliating ordinary mortals. Only he should have Horcruxes. Only he can be immortal.

The Dark Mark also humiliated "pure-bloods" because pure-bloods are essentially no different from Muggles.

A Lord is a form of humiliation. Wizards don't have lords, so they must have a Lord. Pure-bloods bow to no one, and bowing to a Lord is a form of humiliation.

He is aware that he is a half-blood, and this also gives him satisfaction — to see how pure-bloods call him "My Lord". He skillfully creates the image of someone obsessed with blood purity. He doesn’t care actually.

When someone succumbed to his influence, he saw it as their humiliation and a confirmation of his superiority. With Hepzibah Smith, he felt no humiliation because, in his eyes, he was humiliating her.

Taking a life is the ultimate form of humiliation for him.

[thewritetofreespeech]

Can I request a veryyyy submissive Gale, veryyyy sensitive and very very reactive to his female s/o touch ? Calling him such a good boy + his body and his reaction to that !!!

---------------------------🟣----------------------------------

It was an inevitability in the use of magic that, sometimes, you were going to have a bad day. The stars would not align. The elements shift. And it would seem like even the most basic of cantrip was beyond your comprehension.

That was how Gale felt today.

Every spell he tried seemed to fizzle right in his hands. He couldn’t get the gestures right. Nor the effort needed to help slay their enemies. The only person he did end up hitting was poor Shadowheart, who was understandably giving him the cold shoulder back at camp; even though her actual shoulder had thawed out. “How are you feeling Gale?”

The wizard turned to Tav, who was looking at him with a soft expression of concern. Gale offered her a sad smile and closed his book. “Fine. Or at least fine for being a complete failure today.”

“Don’t say that!”

“What? It’s true.” He reasoned. “You would have had more success out today if I had just been a rock in your pocket. At least then you might have hit an enemy. Our lives are in peril and the one thing I’m good for I can’t even provide to our company. Pathetic.”

“That’s enough Gale Dekarios!”

Gale’s back went straight and his eyes went a little wide at Tav’s snap. Her eyes were as fierce as they were in battle. Those beautiful orbs he admired so greatly pointed at him with such disdain. Gale felt lower than an asp’s belly now.

Tav lanced her hand out and took hold of his. Practically dragging Gale away from the camp as it took him the first few steps to get his footing right. When they were far enough away Tav dropped his hand and turned to him again. “Why would you say something like that Gale?”

“Something like what?” He asked as he straightened his robes. Thoroughly confused.

“That your ‘pathetic’ just because your magic was a bit off today. Or that the only thing you’re good for is magic. Why would you say that?”

“Oh…” That’s what this was about? “Well, it’s true, isn’t it? My magic is my one true skill to the group. Besides being able to manage the cooking pot. We all have our strengths, and mine is managing the Weave.”

“But it’s not your only thing of value Gale.” The wizard looked surprised again and turned his head down, but Tav stepped forward and placed her hands to the side of his face to turn it back up. “You’re more than your magic Gale. You’re smart, funny. You care about people and want to do the right thing, and you’re the man that I love!” They were sweet words but they almost sounded like a threat. “Say it!”

“I…I am more than my magic.” He repeated after her. Feeling his knees quake a little. His heartbeat race as he locked eyes with such fire.

Tav huffed through her nose and pulled him close. “That’s my good boy.”

Gale was embarrassed but he actually mewed a little when she called him that. Petting his hair like a cat or a weak little doll. He felt himself coil into her. His arms coiling around her to hold on. Not even aware she was bringing them to the ground until his knees hit it. “We’re going to sit here and repeat until you start believing it.”

“Yes ma’am.” Gale said, without question, and started to repeat his affirmations at her command.

[artemisia-black]

I actually do think Sirius would hate Cho, but not because she’s a weeping girl!

Sirius was very brave to cut ties with his family and fight for what he believes in, he values loyalty, and appreciate risk-taking. He would have had an issue with Cho worrying more about her mom’s ministry job than fighting “the man” - and he would have thought she chose the wrong side by sticking to Marietta the snitch.

Sirius can be quite dismissive of people’s problems and limitations. I think as an adult he’d be more understanding of her grief (teen Sirius sounds harsher), but not very forgiving about the fact that she doesn’t want to risk security or reputation.

I completely disagree.

Firstly, hate is a very strong word to use for a grown man towards a teenage girl he’s never met. Especially given the misfortunes he’s lived though… he’s not going to survive Azkaban just to make a burn book about Cho.

Second, yes he cut ties with his family, but he didn’t go off the grid; he still lived within wizarding society, and he understood the constraints of that society (he didn’t burn it all down- he was rebelling against being a certain type of wizard not against being a wizard). And for clarity it’s Marietta who’s concerned about her mum’s Ministry job, not Cho. But even if Cho had been worried, that’s still a valid concern. There are people well into their thirties who make decisions based on job security and family survival. Even, when Harry asks why the Order can’t do more, Sirius himself says it’s because Tonks and Kingsley need to keep their jobs. Part of that is strategy, yes, but it’s also an acknowledgement that people need to eat.

“Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off,” said Sirius, “and it’s very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them.”

Cho joins the DA despite the Ministry’s smear campaign against Harry. She believes him and publicly dates him (that is a public alignment with the most controversial figure in school at the time) She goes to Madame Puddifoot’s with him while the Daily Prophet is calling him a fantasist and the Ministry is painting him as unstable. Teenagers are usually obsessed with how they’re perceived, but Cho chooses principle and affection for Hqrry over her reputation and Sirius, of all people, would’ve recognised the courage in that. Also she’s grieving for her murdered boyfriend. And given that he was murdered by Peter-and I think Sirius would have extreme sympathy for this (as she is yet another one of Peter’s victims).

Yes, Cho and Harry had misunderstandings, but they were teenagers. Harry even wants to ask Sirius’s advice about girls- and given that Sirius later acknowledges that he and James were ‘arrogant little berks’ when questioned about their behaviour and tells James (in Snape’s worst memory) that Lily thinks he’s conceited, I reckon he would give Harry solid critical advice that definitely wouldn’t be the “Bitches amirite?” Type of advice that fanon Sirius would give.

And let’s be honest; Harry wasn’t exactly the most emotionally available boyfriend at the time due to his Grief, trauma and inexperience, But by the time of the Battle of Hogwarts, Cho shows up to fight. It’s clearly water under the bridge for them both as neither really did anything wrong they were just wrong for each other.

And Sirius can be dismissive,but that’s usually toward people in his own peer group: Snape, Peter, Bertha Jorkins, Crouch Sr., etc.

Also while Sirius can be reckless with his own safety, he actually urges caution with Harry throughout GoF. He’s not some reckless adrenaline junkie trying to drag everyone into a fight. He can be calculated, sometimes even too restrained for Harry’s liking. Also he listens to orders and does stay in Grimmauld for the most part.

[sonicranger1]

I'm in a rambling mood so I’m gonna talk in more detail about Blinky X Kanjigar (Kansas) and why i think it’s neat so PLEASE HEAR ME OUT-

Okay so this entire thing started because of The Secret History of Trollkind, one of the tie-in comics for ToA, and while yes i know there’s controversy around the legitimacy of the tie-in books that is a separate discussion that I’ve already had (tldr: they are actually aligned with canon pretty well, Wizards just retconned a lot, didn’t watch the source material and people blindly nod along with it)

Anyways this all started with a certain panel near the end of the comic, this one specifically.

This panel is actually such a good demonstration of their dynamic as a whole now that I’m thinking about it.

With Blinky praising Kanjigars skills and showing his admiration for him (something I will get into more later and throughout) while showing concern for his well-being.

To Kanjigar putting an odd emphasis on specifically not failing and protecting Blinky before clarifying the rest of Trollkind as well.

to finally the hand placements going on in this panel, How Blinky is reaching out to Kanjigar as the latter doesn’t make a move back, Blinkys hands being opened while Kanjigars are closed off in fists.

Their dynamic in the comic (and overall) is just so fascinating to me, especially with how it shows just how much Blinky values Kanjigar, because you know his destiny speech? That iconic one said in the second episode of Trollhunters? That has lines ripped straight from things Kanjigar said during their journey across America to what would be Heartstone Trollmarket.

And unlike the similar moments in Wizards or ROTT it’s done so well and given such a good narrative reason. it’s to show just how much Kanjigar has helped change Blinkys world view, how he’s given him courage to not be as cowardly, to fight alongside Kanjigar and the others (Draal and Arrrgh) Like guys this spider of a troll admires this guy so much it hurts, especially with the rest of the info we’re given on their dynamic.

They’re described as Best Friends, Kanjigar was a Scholar before becoming Trollhunter, Blinky had to watch as Kanjigar died unable to do anything to stop it and one of his first reactions is to blame himself and say he could’ve done more to prevent it.

Which is where I get to ramble about the elephant in the room around these guys being so Doomed by the Narrative-core.

Okay quick context but the prologue in the first tie-in novel establishes how The Amulet tells the Trollhunter when they’re going to die right before it happens, so Kanjigar knows he’s going to die a day before it goes down, which gives us lines like

“-With his remaining time, the Trollhunter knew that he must say good-bye to those who were closest to him.”

”Kanjigar sat down beside the pair at the large reading table covered with open volumes and research scrolls and sighed, "For that, I apologize, my friends. I have been distracted of late. The burdens of the Trollhunter weigh heavily on my mind. But now. . . now I'm finally remembering what is most important to me."”

And a chapter or two later

“Blinky cried out at the top of his lungs to try to distract Bular. But the bridge was too far away. And so the two Trolls watched in horror as the Trollhunter plunged off the bridge and smashed against the canal floor into thousands of shards of rock.”

“"Why?" Blinky uttered in a hoarse whisper. "Why would Kanjigar not accept our assistance when we offered it earlier? Perhaps if I'd been more forceful in my-" "No," grumbled AAARRRGGHH!!!. "Kanjigar wanted it this way." "But... why?" Blinky had to ask again.”“

The slow progression of Kanjigar distancing himself more and more from those he cares about is something that i don’t see talked about much outside of Draal, people seem to not bring up how Kanjigar did it for all his loved ones, not JUST Draal.

(And even if it’s something that’s only really delved into in the books I think it’s still something that’d be a given? like why would he only do it with Draal but not others yknow?)

He used to bring Blinky and Arrrgh with him on patrols, Blinky has several memorabilia from their past adventures together, they were best friends I can’t emphasis this enough and watching as Kanjigar distanced himself from all of them makes me think about how differently him and Blinky go about protecting the other and their other loved ones overall.

Blinky doing so through being there, being present and willing to give advice or a helping hand ect.

which you can say is attributed to how both Dictatious’/Unkars deaths happened when he wasn’t there or present at the right time and later the same would happen to Kanjigar. I point back to my earlier reference of Blinky wondering why Kanjigar didn’t let him and Arrrgh join and help him with the added detail that Blinky was the one to initiate the request to accompany Kanjigar on his patrol.

”Kanjigar closed his eyes, exhaled, and stood up. "The sun has set above," said Kanjigar. "I had best begin my patrol." Blinky began, "Then let me gather my supplies so that AAARRRGGHH!!! and I might join -"”

And whenever Blinky does “fail” at protecting/helping a loved one, he puts the blame on himself, acting like he didn’t do enough or should’ve tried harder.

There’s also something to be said on how he doesn’t let himself truly feel many negative emotions and how there’s an argument to be made that he pushes down feelings like sadness, grief ect.

Like what was his reaction after Dictatious’ betrayal? Angrily burning his books, hell after his initial shock of seeing Dictatious alive and now sided with Gunmar Blinky quickly turned to anger.

When he thought Jim died at the end of season 3 of Trollhunters? Bro let a single tear fall from his eye and that’s it girl I know this is affecting you more than that.

Kanjigar and Vendels deaths? After the initial heartbreak bro just never addresses it after (which is totally not because of lack of episodes and poor writing no guys this has a deeper meaning I swear).

Moving on though with Kanjigar, he goes about protecting his loved ones by distancing himself from them, emotionally and physically (about the opposite of Blinky) and while yes you could say that’s just because of the pressure being Trollhunter has put on him, and I definitely do think that’s part of it, he’s always kinda been like that even before becoming Trollhunter?

He was worried/didn’t want Draal to pursue the path of the warrior, as he knew just how dangerous and deadly something like that is and while he had valid reasonings to be wary of such a career path, it resulted in him being dismissive and not engaging with Draal.

“But there was Draal the Deadly training in the pit, sparring with automated blades, dodging blasts of flame that shot from the floor. Off to the side, Jim saw another Kanjigar-this one also very much alive-paying more attention to the scroll in his hands than to Draal's practice.”

“"Father, did you see? I cleared the trials in less time than it took this morning—a new record! Are you not proud?" Jim watched the living Kanjigar pull himself away from his scroll long enough to say, "I'd be prouder if you'd put even half as much effort into your studies."“

It all just boils down to Kanjigar having good intentions but going about them in the wrong ways that ends up hurting his loved ones more than not.

Anyways back on track to what this post is supposed to be about and why I brought this up, I should mention now that while I love Kansas and think they should hold hands and frolick in the fields and be happy together, it just wouldn’t happen “canonically” aka what I think would realistically happen which is neither of them ever confessing to the other for several reasons.

One being wow! Kanjigar is- was- a married man! Draal needs to exist!!

And by the time Kanjigar does get divorced and separates from Ballustra that’s close to the time Deya dies and he becomes Trollhunter.

I do not think a recent divorce combined with becoming Trollhunter makes a good headspace combo to log back onto Grindr personally speaking.

These same reasons are why i think Blinky would also hold back on confessing anything because outside of him being a pansy loser- i doubt he’d try and confess to a guy who recently got divorced and with Kanjigar newly becoming Trollhunter which is already stressful enough, the last thing im sure he’d need is a friend of his walking up to him like “🌹🫦hey~” who he may possibly not even feel the same for, atleast from Blinkys pov.

and even after Trollmarket is established and time has passed, by then Kanjigar has probably dived further down into the mindset of “as the Trollhunter i have to distance myself from all of you” and being with Blinky would be the exact opposite of that.

And it’s hard to even think about trying to confess to someone who’s actively avoiding you and can’t even look you fully in the eyes.

Then of course the amulet starts ticking down to Kanjigars death, showing there isn’t anymore time to go back and truly reconcile or realize maybe this isn’t the best way to go about protecting the ones he values most, that maybe all he’s been doing is hurting them further.

So yeah neither of these guys are holding hands, all you are getting is yearning glances and the briefest of touches.

unless of course we bend “canon” which im not doing in this post so moving on-

Now that my foundations are layed i will finally bring up stuff from the actual series so do not fret, i have more to say about these guys outside of the tie-in book material, it’s just that the tie-in books give good background material.

At this point I think? I’ve established how Blinky praises Kanjigar but man dude, literally everytime Kanjigar is brought up in the series Blinky has something positive to say about him/praise him for.

One example being: ”Kanjigar was perhaps the most alert and able of all the Trollhunters.”

“But not the best, I'm betting.”

”Oh, the very best. Many songs and sagas have been written about him.”

Yet flash forward to Gnome Your Enemy and For The Glory Of Merlin and he says “-and our great Trollhunter, Deya the Deliverer-“

“Deya the Deliverer was the mightiest Trollhunter that ever lived.”

Blinky, my wonderful little Bi disaster, i need you to pick a lane. 💖

from KanjiAAARRRGGHH (which that episode I’ll get into more in a second) you have this “Kanjigar, why don't you simply talk with Vendel and the Tribunal? Surely, one of Trollmarket's greatest champions could persuade-“

KanjiAAARRRGGHH also showing Blinkys likely memorized all of Kanjigars moves is like the gayest thing you could ever do with someone who’s your “friend” can I be blunt about that ?

“Kanjigars creeping spider! A signature move.” Like gurl..

This next thing I talk about is definitely going into theory/delusion territory but isn’t that any fanon ship?

Okay so this

Blinkys reaction to Claire holding Jim’s hand in E14 I always found odd tonely, because they play such somber music over the scene once we land on Blinkys reaction and the way he looks at them? Like while yes I’m sure it’s him realizing “oh shit this kid is definitely gonna go into the Darklands for this girl” what if i inserted some delusion into this and said it’s also because he’s reminded of Kanjigar.

Like oh Trollhunter that would go to any lengths to protect and help his loved ones even if that comes at the cost of his well being.

And also from Claire’s side, even if Blinky has faith in Jim’s abilities I doubt Trollhunters are known to normally live long, atleast by Troll standards, so the fact Jim is a human child? there’s always a high possibility he could die at any moment, and leave Claire inadvertently heart broken.

And hmmm who else cared deeply for a Trollhunter who suffered an untimely death, one where he, himself had to watch without being able to help because he didn’t get there in time?

I’m just saying i think Blinky is reminded of himself and Kanjigar briefly in that scene that is all.

Honorable mention to this line because what did he mean by this I can't be the only one who thinks this has more meaning than just the current conversation happening, he’s just so strange dude.

And now finally.. KanjiAAARRRGGHH, oh KanjiAAARRRGGHH my magnum opus, my Roman Empire, one of my favorite episodes, the things I have to say about you..

The Flare, The Flare Kanjigar gives Blinky, an insignificant thing to anyone that isn’t an over analyzer/thinker but if this post hasn’t shown already, I am one of those so just wait and give me a second to explain the significance.

This Flare was grabbed from Blinkys library, which means Blinky likely bought it himself, that’s already his Flare yet when Kanjigar gives it to him later this sixed eyed freak holds it like it’s the most precious thing in the world and looks at it so longingly you’d think he wants to marry it.

quick derail to have you look at how he reaches for Kanjigar and his receding touch on two occasions with only a minute or two inbetween scenes, it’s relevant.

the last scene above, I want you to see just how- pathetic and sad- for lack of a better word, Blinky looks at Kanjigar turning away/The Flare he was given before Toby tries to reassure him with saying atleast Kanjigar will be accompanying them into the Darklands and how a smile spreads on Blinkys face before Kanjigar butts in saying “sorry nah I can’t 🚬”

Can you see how much this man craves Kanjigars presence back? like he misses him so much and clings to whatever he can that’s left of him or was gifted to him by Kanjigar like The Flare.

It doesn’t matter that he likely originally got The Flare himself, it’s the fact Kanjigar gave it to him, entrusted him with it and how this is likely one of the last times he’ll be able to interact with Kanjigar now that he’s dead and it’s under the circumstances where they can’t properly talk or get closer because they’re on such a time crunch to save Jim.

It’s like there’s always something stopping them from maybe finally getting their feelings out there.

for closing commentary I’ll say that I guess the reason i find this ship (and their dynamic in general) so fascinating to think about is the major miscommunication problem or moreso the lack of it in general, the fact that as long as Kanjigar is Trollhunter the chances of them working out or even happening in the first place is so low if not impossible since Kanjigar ultimately HAS to die or we don’t get the story we get, even if we’re doing something Post-ROTT. they’re always deemed to fail in one way or another, and I personally find that so fun narratively and I think that’s one of the main reasons I'm drawn to this ship alongside everything I’ve listed above and more.

If you read this far I'm genuinely impressed youd take the time and highly appreciate it! (I put far to much effort into this)

And if I somehow convinced you about this ship to any degree that'd also be a plus as these guys are my current fixation at this point please ask me about them I could ramble more im being so honest as there are things I didn’t bring up in here as I thought they were too minor or unnecessary to the overall point (also tumblr image limit)

[welcometotheravenclawcommonroom]

(South) Indian Harry Potter Headcanons:

Harry knew he was Indian (mostly because the Dursley’s used to say racist shit to him) but he didn’t know where in India the potters were from until he went to Hogwarts. He finds out from the Patils, who were close with the potters because desis stick together.

The Patils are from the north and use Hindi to speak to each other. Neither of them knows Telugu/Tamil/Marathi/Malayalam/insert Southern language of choice here (I personally headcanon Telugu because it’s the only Indian language I speak and because there’s a huge diaspora of telugumandi in the west, but feel free to choose whatever you’d like). So Harry has to rediscover his heritage language on his own.

He also studies Sanskrit, and it opens up a HUGE world of spells that they don’t teach at Hogwarts (because of course Indian wizards don’t do spells in Latin). He and the Patils know a bunch of spells that nobody else does.

Harry’s pleat game is ON POINT. It makes sense, since he had to do all the chores at the Dursley’s and that includes perfectly folded and ironed laundry with the edges aligned neatly, or else he would risk being punished. But the result is that if you want your saree drape to pass the inspection of even the most judgemental auntie, you go to Harry to help with your pleats.

Even when they’ve graduated and all have their own homes, it’s a pretty regular sight for the Patil twins to come through Harry’s floo, half dressed, to have Harry pleat their sarees or their lehenga dupatta for them.

Harry LOVES spices. The dursleys only liked bland food, but Harry has always liked flavorful foods, and has no problem with (hot) spicy food either. He uses lots of spices in his own cooking now. His food is very flavorful, but when he’s cooking for himself, it’s too spicy for all his friends (even the Patils). So nobody can eat his leftovers unless he was specifically cooking with other people in mind. Ron learned this the first time he rummaged through Harry’s fridge after a night of drinking. Now Harry labels all his food as to whether or not it’s “Harry spicy”.

James LOVED to buy Lily sarees. He’d order them with custom, wizard-themed designs from weaving villages in south India. The women who made them assumed he was just very imaginative, so he wasn’t violating the statute of secrecy since saree patterns are often vibrant and unique. Harry finds some of them in the old potter manor, and they still smell like the perfumes and scented oils his mother would wear when James took her to the local temple for Hindu holidays.

Indian witches often store extra magic in or enchant pieces of their copious jewelry with spells that can keep them safe if they’re ever in a situation where they don’t have their wands. stuff like, each bangle can function as an emergency portkey that can take you to different safe locations if you say the activation word, or ones that create an instant magical shield when you tap them. Harry finds some of his mothers gajulu, gives them to his female friends.

He ties Rhaki on Ron and Neville, and all the weasley boys. Ron was the first person he ever tied it on, because Ron was the first person who he ever bonded with, and his closest brother.

Harry always cooks idli sambar or dosa for his friends for breakfast the next morning after a night of drinking together, and it’s the perfect hangover food because it definitely brings you back to full alertness/knocks the last bit of post-hangover grogginess right out of your system.

Harry’s parselmouth abilities are valued in his native culture because of the sacredness of snakes in Hinduism, and it comes to be something he’s really proud of (personally I think the ‘parselmouth connected to the horcrux’ thing is dumb, so I’ve always imagined Harry was just naturally a parselmouth).

As the number of Indian immigrants/expats continues to grow after they graduate, Harry helps some of his students (he’s the DADA teacher) start the Hogwarts “South Asian Student Union”.

He always has snacks out for his students when they come to visit his office hours, and they’re all Indian snacks and sweets. His personal favorite is kaju barfi, but he always has a good variety of both sweet and spicy treats, especially for stressed out owl and newts students.

He collaborates with Hermione, who works in the ministry, to make it mandatory for Hogwarts students to a “foreign magical language” course so they can broaden both their minds and their spell repertoires. Padma Patil becomes the “Sanskrit Spells” teacher, and Seamus teaches “Irish Gaelic”. (It took him a little longer to get his course started, since it turns out that at least 40% of Gaelic spells are just increasingly complicated and violent ways to repel the English).

Hermione and Harry also work together to make sure there are employees in the international magical cooperation department who specialize in post-colonial relations, because the magical world also has its issues with that colonialist mindset towards countries that were formerly part of the empire.

Just south Indian Harry embracing his heritage, learning about what was ripped from him, and using it to enact meaningful change in a multicultural magical society.

[alsmediadissection]

˗ˏˋ wicked symbolism for beginners ´ˎ˗

!! i want to preface this by saying i'm not a professional critic, and this is not a guide to anything either. do not take anything i type online to absolute heart, this is simply my personal interpretation of this piece of media !! (i also want to mention that i did not read the Wicked novel/series by Gregory Maguire)

! CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ACT 2 IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE WHOLE MUSICAL !

so anyways, to begin!

many people are now recently stumbling upon the new movie adaptation of Wicked ; the musical. This is amazing knowing how many new fans this can bring to appreciate musical theatre! however it's important to understand the messages of Wicked, whether they are obvious or not.

˗ˏˋ ELPHABA ´ˎ˗

I would first like to start this off with the obvious main character Elphaba. Elphaba Groff is known an the wicked witch of the west due to the fact that she was ostracized by the Wizard of Oz after she found out that he is the one behind the laws regarding the discrimination of animals.

Elphaba's story starts as early as from the moment her mother cheated on her father. It is believed that Elphaba's skin is green due to the green elixir that her mother drank whilst she was sleeping with Elpaiba's father. Since the day Elphaba was conceived, it was already predestined that her father would eventually resent her. Whether it was the fact that she was another man's baby (not saying that it's her fault, but as we noticed Elphaba's father isn't necessarily the most loving and accepting father...) or the fact that her skin was green.

Anyhow, Elphaba's skin is firstly a symbolism for 'Otherness and Alianation'. From birth, Elphaba faces rejection and prejudice, even from her own father, making her green skin a constant reminder of her perceived inferiority and unacceptability. Elphaba’s green skin marks her as visibly different from everyone else in Oz. This physical distinction mirrors how marginalized communities are often judged and excluded based on superficial traits such as skin color, ethnicity, or cultural background.

Her green skin is also a metaphor for racism and prejudice. The discrimination Elphaba experiences parallels the experiences of individuals subjected to racism. Society in Oz does not see past her skin color, and she is reduced to stereotypes and assumptions about her character based on her appearance. Her treatment reflects systemic biases, with individuals and institutions in Oz upholding a hierarchy that devalues those who are different. (If you want to argue that Madame Morrible didn't treat her differently though, by the end of Act 1 Madame Morrible turns on Elphiba the second she cannot manipulate her anymore). Elphaba’s story critiques a society that values appearance over substance. Despite her intelligence, kindness, and strong moral compass, she is judged solely based on her skin color. This critique calls for audiences to look beyond surface-level attributes and value people for their character and actions.

Elphaba's character is a good representation of internalized shame turned into empowerment. Initially, Elphaba struggles with the stigma of her green skin, internalizing the shame imposed upon her by society. This represents the internalized oppression that many marginalized people face when subjected to constant discrimination. Over time, Elphaba learns to embrace her uniqueness and channel it into defiance against societal norms, transforming her green skin from a source of shame into a symbol of strength and rebellion, hence her title of "Wicked Witch of The West".

However, besides the messages regarding racism and prejudice, Elphaba's green skin can be a symbolism for environmental and political themes as well. The color green may also evoke themes of environmentalism and natural beauty. Elphaba’s alignment with nature and her opposition to industrial and political corruption in Oz reflect her role as a force for justice and harmony. Her green skin can symbolize the natural world fighting back against exploitation and greed.

Even the title, 'Wicked Witch" is a symbolism and can be used as a critique of Modern Society. In the original Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is defined by her green skin and evil demeanor. Wicked subverts this narrative, showing that her “wickedness” is a label imposed by a prejudiced society. Her green skin thus becomes a symbol of how society vilifies those who challenge its norms and refuse to conform. The title of "Wicked Witch' is a similar meaning as to how we call people who speak out "crazy' and 'divas' etc.

In essence, Elphaba’s green skin is not just a physical trait but a multifaceted symbol that encapsulates themes of discrimination, empowerment, and societal critique. It challenges audiences to question their own biases and reflect on the ways society marginalizes those who are different.

˗ˏˋ GALINDA/GLINDA ´ˎ˗

Glinda Upland, also known as Glinda the Good, and formerly referred to as Galinda is the deuteragonist in the Broadway musical, Wicked. Glinda is obviously a very bubbly, perky, and popular girl. She is basically the embodiment of privileged and one may argue, bratty, girl.

Glinda's growth in Wicked is significant because it represents the complexity of privilege, the potential for personal transformation, and the importance of allyship in the fight against systemic injustice. Her character arc provides a nuanced exploration of how individuals in positions of power or societal favour can evolve to confront their own biases and contribute meaningfully to change.

It is firstly important to note Glinda's growth throughout the musical. At the beginning of Wicked, Glinda is preoccupied with appearances, social status, and popularity. She see's herself as 'good' whilst being shallow. Her desire to be admired blinds her to the deeper injustices and struggles faced by others, including Elphaba. She often prioritizes self-interest and conformity over doing what is right.Over time, Glinda’s experiences with Elphaba challenge her worldview. Her exposure to Elphaba’s resilience, integrity, and passion forces Glinda to see beyond her superficial concerns and recognize the depth of her own moral responsibilities.

It is important to note that Glinda is also a good character to note when it comes to a study of privilege. Glinda’s privilege is a central theme in her growth. She initially benefits from a system that favors her beauty, charm, and alignment with societal expectations. Her privilege shields her from the discrimination and hardships Elphaba faces. Her transformation involves becoming aware of this privilege and choosing to use her influence for good. By the end of the musical, Glinda seeks to enact change within the system rather than merely enjoy its benefits, symbolizing the importance of using privilege to uplift others.

However shallow Glinda may seem, she can also be redeemed through allyship. Although Glinda initially fails Elphaba by prioritizing her own ambitions (Defying Gravity) , her growth is marked by her eventual commitment to Elphaba’s legacy and ideals. Glinda’s decision to stay in Oz and work toward systemic reform, even after losing Elphaba, shows her dedication to making amends and standing up for what is right. Her arc highlights the importance of allyship need for individuals in positions of power to listen, learn, and act in support of marginalized voices.

Glinda is as well a complex and redeemable character due to the burden of complicity. In modern society, it is often seen how the privileged understand the injustices that happen around them and yet they do nothing about it. Glinda’s journey also reflects the emotional weight of complicity. Her role in propping up the Wizard’s regime and the injustices against Elphaba weighs heavily on her as she grows more aware of her own failures. Her decision to confront the Wizard’s legacy and strive for justice serves as a redemptive act, demonstrating that growth often involves acknowledging and addressing one’s past mistakes.

Even though Glinda's dynamic and character change happened due to her friendship with Elphaba, it is still important to note how friendship and empathy can be catalysts for personal growth and change. Glinda’s relationship with Elphaba is central to her transformation. Despite their differences, their bond forces Glinda to confront her own assumptions and prejudices. Elphaba’s unwavering integrity inspires Glinda to reexamine her priorities and become a more empathetic and principled person. The complexity of their friendship underscores the transformative power of genuine connection and understanding across societal divides.

In the begging of Wicked, we see Glinda as a perfect character, or rather a character who believes they are perfect. However, by the end of Wicked, Glinda can be viewed as a symbol for hope and imperfect progress. By the end of Wicked, Glinda is not portrayed as flawless but as someone who is actively working to be better. Her journey reflects the idea that growth is an ongoing process, and even those who have made mistakes can contribute meaningfully to positive change. Glinda’s decision to stay in Oz and assume the mantle of leadership offers a hopeful vision for reform, suggesting that systems of power can be challenged and reshaped from within.

Glinda’s growth in Wicked is a testament to the power of introspection, empathy, and courage. Her transformation from a superficial socialite to a principled leader highlights the complexities of privilege and the potential for change. By embracing her flaws and striving to do better, Glinda becomes a symbol of hope, reminding audiences that growth and redemption are possible for anyone willing to confront their biases and take responsibility for their actions.

˗ˏˋ FIYERO ´ˎ˗

Fiyero’s character in Wicked is rich in symbolism, representing themes of privilege, transformation, and the courage to break free from societal expectations. Though him and Glinda are very similar characters, it's important to note that Fiyero is aware of the societal injustices. His journey from a carefree, superficial individual to someone who embraces responsibility and deeper truths reflects broader societal struggles with ignorance, authenticity, and the quest for meaning. It's infact refreshing to see privileged and shallow people being held accountable and infact changing for the better.

Fiyero is actively the obvious symbolism for superficiality and priviledge, even more so than Glinda. At the beginning of the musical, Fiyero embodies privilege and detachment. His carefree attitude, encapsulated in the song “Dancing Through Life,” symbolizes the unchallenged ease that comes with societal privilege. Lines like “Life is painless / For the brainless” reflect his belief that avoiding deeper thought and responsibility leads to happiness. His song is quite literally about how it is infact better to stay ignorant about life. Fiyero’s initial persona critiques the way privilege often allows individuals to remain ignorant of societal injustices, choosing comfort over confrontation.

Though Fiyero's ignorance is real to some degree, it is also used as a mask, his own personal mask of carelessness. Fiyero’s superficial charm and detachment act as a mask, hiding his inner dissatisfaction with the shallow life he leads. His eventual willingness to shed this mask symbolizes the journey toward self-awareness and authenticity, representing the courage to confront uncomfortable truths about oneself and the world.

He's as well a good figure for representation of the 'if he wanted to, he would' due to his transformation through love. Fiyero’s relationship with Elphaba acts as a catalyst for his transformation. Her passion, integrity, and strength inspire him to question his values and take action. Fiyero’s love for Elphaba symbolizes the rejection of societal expectations and superficial judgments. By choosing to align himself with her, he embraces vulnerability and authenticity, defying the norms of Ozian society. Elphaba is a standing symbol of the defiance of societal norms.

Fiyero as well is a character which symbolizes sacrifice. Fiyero’s willingness to risk his life for Elphaba demonstrates his complete transformation from self-centered to selfless. His arc symbolizes the idea that true love and integrity often require personal sacrifice. His transformation into the Scarecrow also serves as a metaphor for resilience and reinvention. Fiyero’s eventual rebellion against the Wizard’s regime and his support of Elphaba symbolize the power of personal freedom and defiance in the face of oppression.

More importantly, his song "Dancing Through Life" is a reflection of societal values. The song “Dancing Through Life” is not only an expression of Fiyero’s initial mindset but also a critique of societal tendencies to prioritize pleasure and ease over substance and responsibility. I think it's important to note as well how up beat his song is. His song is upbeat to add to the message of tricking you into thinking how much better life can be as long as you are ignorant, how not 'doomy and gloomy' life is whilst being ignorant and superficial. As the story progresses, Fiyero’s actions give new meaning to his earlier words. By the end of the musical, his life is no longer “painless” or “brainless,” but it is far more meaningful. This evolution reflects the human capacity for growth and the importance of choosing purpose over passivity. His journey reflects the idea that true freedom comes not from avoiding responsibility but from embracing one’s values and acting in alignment with them, even when it’s difficult. Accountability over pleasure.

Fiyero's character is someone who also can represent the duality and complexity of human beings. He represents the duality of human nature—the conflict between shallow desires and deeper values. His arc serves as a reminder that even those who start out as seemingly superficial can grow into individuals of great depth and courage. He embodies the archetype of the reluctant hero, someone who must confront their flaws and make difficult choices to become their best self.

Fiyero’s character is a multifaceted symbol of transformation, privilege, and the courage to embrace authenticity. His evolution from a carefree aristocrat to a selfless ally of Elphaba underscores the potential for growth and redemption. Through Fiyero, Wicked explores the importance of shedding societal expectations, confronting one’s flaws, and finding deeper purpose and connection in life.

˗ˏˋ POLITICS OF OZ ´ˎ˗

Think of Wicked as a documentary of Oz. How Oz truly is and how the Wizard of Oz manages to manipulate the public. The politics of Oz in Wicked serve as an allegory for real-world systems of oppression, exploring themes of discrimination, propaganda, and the manipulation of power. One of the most prominent political messages in the story is the systemic discrimination against Animals (with a capital “A,” denoting sentient, speaking creatures), which parallels various forms of marginalization in human society.

The discrimination of Animals in Oz is an obvious message for dehumanization and discrimination. The mistreatment of Animals in Oz reflects systemic oppression, such as racism, ableism, and other forms of prejudice. As sentient beings capable of speech and intelligence, Animals are gradually stripped of their rights and freedoms, forced into silence and servitude (such as putting them into cages). The banning of Animal speech and the curtailing of their roles in society mirror historical and contemporary practices of marginalization, where specific groups are systematically silenced, excluded, and dehumanized. As an example, Dr. Dillamond, a Goat who teaches at Shiz University, experiences direct discrimination and is ultimately removed from his position, symbolizing how even highly respected members of marginalized communities are not immune to systemic oppression. His plea to Elphaba, “Do you think the Wizard knows?” underscores the complicity of those in power in perpetuating injustice.

Wicked also explores the political propaganda and manipulation. The Wizard’s rule is built on lies, propaganda, and fearmongering, reflecting the tactics of authoritarian governments. By spreading the idea that Animals are dangerous or inferior, the Wizard manipulates public opinion to justify their subjugation. The Wizard uses propaganda to consolidate his power, portraying himself as a benevolent leader while demonizing dissenters like Elphaba. This mirrors how oppressive regimes frame marginalized groups as threats to maintain control and suppress resistance. The Wizards regime can be compared to facism.

Wicked includes even more real life situations such as silence of dissent. Elphaba’s opposition to the Wizard and her fight for Animal rights position her as a symbol of resistance against tyranny. Her transformation into the “Wicked Witch” illustrates how those who challenge oppressive systems are often vilified and discredited. The silencing of Animals, both figuratively and literally, highlights the consequences of unchecked power and societal complicity in the face of injustice. It also serves as a metaphor for the erasure of marginalized voices in history and politics.

Even though it is quite common in media, Wicked as well has representation of moral ambiguity of power. The Wizard’s character shows how leaders may justify oppressive actions under the guise of maintaining order and unity. He is not inherently evil but represents the dangers of wielding power without accountability or empathy. The Wizard's rule is a good representation of how fear-mongering and manipulating the public can easily happen with enough power and influence. Glinda’s eventual rise to power suggests the complexity of leadership within a flawed system. Even with good intentions, leaders can become complicit in upholding oppressive structures if they fail to challenge the status quo.

It is also important to note the themes of intersectionality of oppression. There are often parallels such as Elphaba’s green skin and the discrimination she faces align her with the Animals, creating an intersectional commentary on how various forms of oppression often overlap. Though Elphaba is human, both Elphaba and the Animals are judged for their inherent traits (race), rather than their actions or character. The connection between Elphaba’s fight for justice and the plight of the Animals emphasizes the need for solidarity among marginalized groups to combat systemic inequality.

It is important to understand how we should critique the concept of blind conformity. The citizens of Oz largely accept the Wizard’s propaganda without question, illustrating the dangers of complacency and the human tendency to conform to authority. This critique serves as a call to action for individuals to question power, recognize injustice, and resist complicity in systems of oppression.

Though politics in Wicked are unjust and cruel, it is great to have a strong voice for hope and resistance against the government. Despite her vilification, Elphaba’s defiance represents the importance of resisting oppression, even when the odds seem insurmountable. Her fight for Animal rights and justice reflects the idea that small acts of resistance can sow the seeds of change. As well as Glinda, by the end of the musical, Glinda’s choice to remain in Oz and work for change within the system suggests that reform is possible, even in deeply flawed societies.

The politics of Oz in Wicked reveal a scathing critique of systemic oppression, propaganda, and societal complicity. The discrimination against Animals serves as a powerful metaphor for real-world injustices, emphasizing the need for awareness, resistance, and solidarity. Through its nuanced portrayal of power dynamics and moral ambiguity, Wicked challenges audiences to confront their own biases and responsibilities within larger societal systems.

Anyhow, i know that this was a long analysis and i hope you enjoyed it! (if i'm being honest i don't think anyone is gonna read this anyways but... whatever). I truly adore Wicked because even though it's a Musical mainly for children (or well clearly not really the adult audience necessarily) i think it's a good message for many semi-subtle messages and symbolism.

[greenerteacups]

I think "the problem of house elves" is really interesting in that it reveals an issue with what I suppose can be broadly categorised as "urban fantasy"?, that is to say fantasy in a modern real world setting, which nonetheless uses magical creature lore. Inevitably, as an author, you're going to purposely or inadvertently draw parallels to real world "stuff" that's ladened with baggage... and it can be really hard to make it work because readers will be raring to pick apart these kinds of analogies.

House elves are a great example of this, in that, there really are creatures called house elves (or brownies) in English folklore and they really do, in the stories, seem to enjoy doing housework and chores in exchange for things like food and shelter (and shouldn't be given clothes or they'll never come back).

However, by initially drawing a parallel to slavery with House Elf labour (a real-world very dark baggage laden issue) and then not having the time to really delve into the history and complexity of her wizard / house elf relations you end up with the narrative seeming a bit confused as to how we should feel about people having house elves as servants / slaves. On one hand, we only see "bad" families having elves, on the other, we're told Molly Weasley would like one, then we're shown that Hogwarts uses them and that they, mostly, want to work for wizards without pay or holiday. People that grew up in the wizarding world seem to view Hermione's concerns with the kind of bemusement I encountered as a vegetarian kid explaining why I didn't want to eat animals to most of the people around me. This says a lot about the way House Elves are viewed there.

House elves are not viewed as being akin to human and therefore do not fit neatly into human parallels. Dobby is presented as an anomaly because, unlike most houseelves, he does not dream of labour and being bound to a particular wizarding family. I think JKR tries to represent this through Hermione's ineffective activism, but it's clumsily done because Dobby's our first and most poignant introduction to House elves and he was being seriously abused without any protections in place. There's also the Black family situation which.... yeah.

I think a couple of paragraphs of explanation from, maybe, Dumbledore outlining, perhaps, the symbiotic magical relationship of wizards and elves, and how the Malfoys / Blacks were somehow unusual in their cruelty and disrespect to this relationship, would've done a lot to smooth at least some of this over.

The issue, I think the books very quietly imply, is actually more aligned, although not perfectly of course, in a real world sense, with animal abuse / humane treatment of animals than with human slavery, as house elves ( as folkloric creatures) crucially do want to do house work in their nature and their treatment by wizards is therefore what needs to be monitored through the introduction of protections (older Hermione will surely be championing these kinds of reforms). Not perfect of course as House Elves are sentient, talking creatures... but they're also not human beings and it does make some kind of sense that they wouldn't have the same values... it's just, slavery being OK sometimes, is really not the sort of message you want to imply through an inadvertent and imprecise parallel.

Just chiming into the house elf convo as I find this issue in fantasy writing endlessly fascinating and as an aspiring fantasy writer myself, quite frightening!

This is so well-put, I almost can't bring myself to add anything to it — really excellent and considered treatment of the ways that the elf relationship was probably intended to read differently than it did in the text. More attention to the elf/brownie legend would have gone a long way for me in fixing my unhappiness with S.P.E.W., because it would have given a canonical basis for thinking Hermione's actually just wrong about this relationship, and that she's somehow missing an important historical context. That's a great point.

Staging elves as an intermediary between humans and animals whose treatment mirrors animal rights conversations is a really smart way of talking about it, too, as it captures the moral dimension of Hermione's quest without making everyone else look abjectly terrible for not supporting it. Staging her as, say, the PETA of the Wizarding World, where everyone thinks she's campaigning to Give Copyright to Monkeys, etc., makes Ron especially seem much more reasonable. I'm going to think about your interpretation a lot in how I write house-elves in the future.

[littleevil0ne1]

✨️💙🩷 Solène Clair 🩷💙✨️

My oc!!! Backstory below the fold!

Pronouns: She/her Race: High Elf Class: Wizard Alignment: Neutral Good Job: Floral shop clerk/seller (not a florist though) Sexuality: Bisexual

Personality: ENFP-T, ADHD, Romantic, Girly/Feminine, Passionate, Forgetful, Insecure, People Pleasing, Sweet, Sincere/genuine, Kind, Happy

Back Story: Raised among High Elves, Solene stood out. Talkative, messy, loud and very sincere, without a bit of malice. She struggled immensely with school due to undiagnosed ADHD. Elves teach primarily through oral histories and song, and highly value debate and discussion. This made it very difficult for Solene to keep up, with her ADHD linked auditory processing disorder. High elves do not believe in "learning disabilities" and feel that their students just need to "focus" "try harder" or are simply dumb. Because of this attitude, Solene's teachers did not believe she was worth teaching. Adults around her frequently said things like "It’s a good thing you're pretty" "Well you're not the sharpest tool in the shed but at least you're friendly" "you're certainly not going to be a scholar so that'll be adequate."

Solene was further ostracized by the other children who found her annoying, long winded, loud, brash, and "weird". They also thought her dumb, due to their teacher's remarks, her lackluster participation in class, and her struggle to keep up with conversation. As a result, she grew up with a great deal of insecurity and the firm belief that she is stupid, unworthy and un-friend-able.

Solene found solace in reading. She became a passionate study of fairy tales and romantic folklore from all cultures, hoping to be loved as they were. This interest was dismissed by others as frivolous and overly romantic. However, she became very well versed in history, mythology, folklore, and religion; So much so she could be considered an expert on the topic. As she got older, her love of fairy tales transitioned into a love for romance novels, in particular the Lords of Passion series, an ongoing, 30+ book, historical romance series set in a particular era of history (to be decide by the dm). Her curiosity about the historical setting of the book, and subsequent research, has led her to become an expert historian on this era. The Lords of Passion series also sparked an interest in, and study of, lockpicking, thieves' cant, gardening (badly) and very recently- wizardry.

Solene is completely unaware that she is an expert in anything, continuing to believe that she is dumb, incapable of becoming a scholar or wizard or anything "of value" and that her interests are frivolous, shallow and useless.

She now works at a flower shop as a cashier, assistant and saleswoman. She wishes she could be a floral arranger or gardener but she's quite terrible at growing things and clumsy with the pots. The proprietor, while fond of her, doesn't quite trust her to be on time, and not destroy everything.

She wants friends and needs a journey of self-confidence.

[maxdibert]

Your canon takes are AMAZING!!!!

Say, what do you think teen Barty was like? Or any other Slytherin from the Marauders era. I absolutely hate how he's made into a crazy, spunky, weird caricature by the fans- he's giving too much Pinkie Pie from that old Smile video iyky and for no good reason. Like??? Wasn't everyone shocked to learn he became a death eater?? Implying he didn't show his crazy side??

What little we know about young Barty is that NO ONE expected him to be a follower of Voldemort. His father had him completely under his thumb—or at least, that’s what Crouch Sr. thought. In fact, Crouch Sr. boasts about what a great student he was and the incredible grades he got. It was a shock to everyone to learn that the son of one of the wizards who despised dark magic the most and pursued dark wizards relentlessly was part of Voldemort’s cult. So clearly, Barty wasn’t an eccentric twink flaunting his psychopathy with witty, sassy, and sharp comments, because that image has absolutely nothing to do with what we’re told about Barty prior to Azkaban.

I think Barty was actually quite an introverted kid who got along well enough at Hogwarts because of who his father was. He was very focused on his studies and always tried to avoid drawing attention to himself. He was terrified of his father, who didn’t inspire respect but fear, being the patriarchal figure of the family with a terribly dominant character. Over the years, he probably accumulated a great deal of resentment towards him. He didn’t feel loved or supported, and no matter how hard he tried to please him, it was never enough because, for Crouch Sr., nothing ever was. So, one way to get back at him, so to speak, was to take an interest in what Crouch Sr. hated the most: the Dark Arts.

It’s common for people who grow up in oppressive environments with parental figures who are more of a threat than a source of protection to develop anxious and obsessive behaviors. It’s likely that Barty learned his lack of empathy from his father, who never showed any understanding toward him. As Voldemort’s influence grew at Hogwarts, I think Barty gravitated toward some kids involved in the movement. Voldemort probably saw him as an asset: the son of a high-ranking Ministry official who could be used to extract valuable information. So Voldemort essentially gave him everything Crouch Sr. never had: attention, validation, and affirmation. Voldemort didn’t show him affection, but he didn’t reject him either, and he even valued (or at least pretended to value) his loyalty and talent. That was something Barty had never received from a male authority figure, so he saw Voldemort as a substitute for the father who had always intimidated and rejected him. This explains his unwavering loyalty and devotion to Voldemort: Voldemort gave him a purpose, but more importantly, he gave him value.

Barty likely kept a low profile, avoiding being seen with Slytherins or people who might be connected to the Death Eaters, and collaborated with Voldemort in the shadows. I don’t think he was ready during his teenage years, no matter how radicalized he became, to confront Crouch Sr. He wouldn’t have risked rumors about the people he associated with reaching his father’s ears. So all those silly notions about him being part of a Slytherin gang are absurd because they don’t align with what we know about him in canon.

No, not at all—Barty waited for his moment to graduate, and that’s when everything he’d been bottling up came out. At some point, I believe he developed psychotic behavior combined with a compulsive need to prove to Voldemort that he was worthy, that he wouldn’t fail him, that if Voldemort trusted him, he would repay that trust by being his most loyal follower. Voldemort had given him the security his father never had, and that was the most valuable thing in the world to him. So he was willing to do anything to repay Voldemort for the sense of recognition he made him feel. And all of this came with the added (whether conscious or not) satisfaction of destroying Crouch Sr.’s reputation and hitting him where it hurt the most.

And, well, the rest is history. I think this version is much more coherent and consistent than the cheap caricature the fandom has made of him.

[dinarosie]

Still, to appease the more radical purebloods and future death eaters, Snape must have internalized some of that anti muggleborn propaganda that Voldemort was spewing and the hatred his Slytherin friends were spreading. Although I'm aware that majority of the wizarding society held some superiority over muggles and I even believe many of the so called good purebloods (like the Potters) were condecensing to muggleborns sometimes, tho unknowingly, there is a difference between quiet prejudice with no ill intent and the radical bigoted beliefs that some of the wizards held. The death eaters clearly believed that muggles were human sickness and muggleborns were no better and Snape was around that rhetoric every day and later became part of its circle. I always just saw Snape as a selfish person who tried to gain more power and a sense of belonging and he was insecure enough to believe many of the bigoted beliefs that was part of Voldemort propaganda or just the overall hardcore prejudice. He called muggleborns mudbloods even when he was Lily's friend. I always imagine him as someone who would dismiss Lily's feelings about slytherins and even gaslight her about Voldemort's propaganda and her worry behind anti muggleborns rhetoric. Like he downplayed it while participating in it at the same time. We can see this with any real life prejudice existing in our world. Many people who are homophobic try to create reasons for disliking gay people and when gay people complain about their hatred, they just downplay it, make it seem like its not that big of a deal or just continue with their excuses. I can see Snape being like that. And even if his reason for joining death eaters had nothing to do with violence and hatred, he became part of it anyway and being part of something like that influences the way you think especially if you wanted to be part of it. He also became part of it during the time the violence was already known and that certainly did not stop him so he must have had some prejudices or highly ignorant beliefs towards muggleborns.

It seems like you're very determined to apply a strictly logical, real-world mindset to a fictional, fantasy world. I get that imagining a Severus Snape with deeply ingrained, extremist, anti-Muggle biases would make more sense in a real-world context and may feel more "realistic". But that wasn’t the point of Snape’s character. This is a story, and not everything needs to follow real-world logic exactly. Even in reality, not everything unfolds as expected. Snape’s character is, in many ways, an exception—he surprises audiences frequently and makes choices that don’t always align with his past actions or logical expectations. Some of these contradictions seem deliberate; Snape has to exist in this gray area for the story to hold its depth and ambiguity.

So, while Snape does associate with future Death Eaters and, at times, seems to justify their actions, that doesn’t mean he fully internalized all of their views or intended to act exactly like them. Lily did a similar thing, in a way: she mentions that she often tried to excuse Snape’s behavior or overlook his mistakes. But we wouldn’t conclude that Lily agreed with or had adopted Snape’s beliefs. Another example is Peter Pettigrew, who is almost Snape’s opposite. Peter was sorted into Gryffindor, the very house that upholds Dumbledore’s ideals and values. He surrounded himself with people destined to be future Order members, yet look at what he became. Peter didn’t just reject his friends’ beliefs; he betrayed them completely and was loyal to Voldemort for years, even plotting his friends' deaths and stayed loyal to Voldemort for years afterward, to the point of risking Harry’s life for Voldemort's return.

I don’t deny that Snape held biases and some prejudiced views, whether as a teenager or a young Death Eater. But, as I mentioned in my previous post, there’s no solid evidence that he was an extreme racist, a torturer of Muggle-borns, or someone who delighted in the idea of “cleansing” the wizarding world.

As a personal opinion, I also feel that comparing real-world homophobia to anti-Muggle sentiment in the wizarding world isn’t quite the same. Muggles and wizards have a long, tumultuous history, and at one point, Muggles persecuted wizards to the extent that they had to hide their world to ensure safety and survival. This isn’t a distant past—Hagrid even mentions in Philosopher’s Stone that Muggles would likely exploit wizards if they discovered their powers. So, while homophobia is irrational and baseless, anti-Muggle sentiments in the wizarding world, however wrong, are somewhat rooted in historical fear and survival. It’s no surprise, then, that the wizarding society hasn’t fully let go of its anti-Muggle biases, even after the wars.