#even if you’re not hp fan

[alagaisia]

Hey if you’re still enjoying and engaging with Harry Potter in any capacity you can unfollow me 😊 please and thank you

Like. I get it. I was super into it as a kid too. I did not have the social context to pick up on the antisemitism or transphobia or sexism or fatphobia or bioessentialism or racism or anything else. I also picked up on surface-level language of Fighting Back Against Evil and ascribed my own values onto what that meant and thought we were all on the same page. I remember when the original kids who grew up with the books started becoming adult fans and picking up on the (blatant!) antisemitism and everybody was still mostly willing to give JKR the benefit of the doubt on it. (“She was writing kids books!” They said. “She didn’t know she was penning a global phenomenon! She picked a common literary trend in European fairy tales (antisemitic caricature) and didn’t examine it closely. It’s a mistake anyone could make,” we said. “She would probably do things differently now. After all, she word-of-god confirmed the vaguest hints she dropped that Dumbledore might be gay,” we said.) There was actually a span of several years where biases inherent in the actual real content of the Harry Potter series were coming to light and even the people pointing them out still seemed mostly to think it was an unfortunate accident.

That time has passed. Years ago! We are long past the first months of “maybe she doesn’t realize this seemingly-feminist tweet she liked was made by a noted TERF” and then “how could she not realize that these many veiled TERF-y things she’s retweeted have implications for the many queer fans of her work” and finally “oh wow okay JKR just dropped an entire transphobic manifesto on twitter. I guess the transphobia was the point.”

Yeah, there were a few months after that where people were still processing and still working through how they felt about Harry Potter and all of its flaws with the context of the now open transphobia of the creator. I was there for that. Remember how I was one of the kids who built it up into something noble and worthwhile based on my own beliefs about what messages it was probably trying to convey? Turns out it wasn’t trying to say any of those things, and when you take the time to examine all of the terrible shit that made its way into the text whether JKR intended it to be there or not, the whole series falls apart. It’s weird to discover that there’s a room in your house that’s rotten to the core, but eventually you figure out you can’t live like that, still going in there and holding your nose and pretending it’s still the same room you thought it was when the termites were only inside of the walls and hadn’t yet started chewing their way through the furniture. Because what’s going to happen is that they are going to infest the rest of your house. If you decide you can ignore transphobia and antisemitism and everything else just because you liked the color of the wallpaper, the rest of your principles are going to crumble too. You get rid of that fucking room. You put those books on a high shelf in the back of your closet behind other outgrown clothes and interests and you move the fuck on.

JKR uses the money made from her transphobic antisemitic children’s books to actively funding hate groups and to lobby for legislation that will and has actually affected the actual lives of trans people in an entire country. We are past the point of grieving something you were wrong about in childhood. Kids are wrong about a lot of stuff. You grow up and you learn new information and you change your behaviors based on it. You have to choose. It is transphobic to pretend there is not transphobia where there is. It is transphobic to support the work of someone who is using those funds to take rights from trans people with every fucking dollar. It is hateful to continue to engage positively with a story that at its very core is rooted in hate and bigotry and prejudice. You can choose to do all of those things but you cannot claim ignorance of them and you cannot choose those things and still pretend that choosing them upholds the values we convinced ourselves that Harry Potter stood for over a decade ago as uninformed children. You cannot choose to do those things and pretend to still support your trans and queer and Jewish neighbors. I do not want you in my neighborhood. Leave.

[strawberryshortpace]

I know it’s not very nice of me, but I’m honestly having so much fun watching the chaos of the whole fanfiction binding and selling debacle that’s happening

Cause while I read fanfic I usually stick to 2 main fandoms

Spider-Man, which has so many different creators and versions that I don’t think there’s any feasible way for them to put a complete ban on fanfic of the character

and

All For The Game, which I still consider a small fandom and I doubt anyone would even consider selling bound fanfics of the series cause 1) there’s not gonna be many people who would even buy it 2) the author would find it so quickly cause it would spread through the whole fandom so quickly and people would make sure she saw it

[dykebeckett]

this post isn’t about fnaf I couldn’t give a shit about whatever story gametheory whiteboy told you it has the dev is a wretched homophobe. fuck off

sometimes a video game with a bad story has a good secret story that you can unlock if you pretend the bad parts aren’t there and make up a bunch of stuff

[rosie-posie1313]

Luke Hughes Fic Recs 🏒

not a fan by luvhughes43 (social media au) (zegras!reader)

Secret by ^ (zegras!reader)

Puppy by ^

our song by ^ (zegras!reader)

make up  by ^ (zegras!reader)

how many drinks?  By eyesthatroll

Airport blurb! By babydollmarauders

IF ONLY TO SAY YOU’RE MINE  by ^

Caught by ^

Go blue  by marnerparty (McCarthy!reader)

go blue pt. 2 by ^ (McCarthy!reader)

CHANGE MY MIND by andreburakozy

blushing  by hearts4hughes

Soothing by ^

Green by starsandhughes

pretty like a devil by starry-hughes (hischier!reader)

summer aches by ^

Short Stack by letsgetrowdy43

I’ve never known someone like you by ^(musician!reader)

You have a fat ass? By ^

R U Mine?  By fiapartridge

“my michigan boy” by bordysbae (zegras!reader)

“Frenemies” by ^ (fantilli!sister)

“sour truth” by ^ (fantilli!sister)

“Nuisance” by ^

“Forty-three” by ^

are they…just friends?? By matthewkniesys (zegras!reader)

Doubts by alwayshughes

eight letters by ^

five more minutes by eyesthatroll

You’re mine by delayed-affection

LUKEY BOY’S GONE SOFT!  By ghostfacd

EVEN AT THEIR WORST, THEY KNOW THEY’LL STILL BE OKAY  by ^ (HP au)

Dance with me by darkeralmond

Lucky by ahonice

In Between by girlylukehughes

Better Off in New York  by sc0tters

PAPER RINGS by snuggerudsz

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 by bbrissonn

Hair by iheart-urmom

“no way, it’s my turn to be the little spoon!” by uluvjay

Here now  by heavenlyhischier

[thebibutterflyao3]

HP Fandom Harm Reduction

As much as I wish it were possible, you cannot “separate the art from the artist,” when the author is alive and currently causing harm. If you’re unable to abandon your comfort characters (which is particularly difficult for neurodivergent people), the best we can do as a fandom is withdraw any and all financial support in protest. Avoid licensed merch, The Wizarding World in Orlando, and buy the books used.

For those of us that continue to create fan works, we know that subversive interpretations of the characters infuriates her. Which is part of why many in the Marauders fandom have added significant racial, ethnic, disability, and LGBT+ representation to our stories.

Another important thing to keep in mind is the publicity that our fandom gives to JKR. If we share content in a public forum like TikTok, X, or even here on Tumblr, we are giving her a platform. To undermine that impact, make your feelings about JKR known as loudly as possible. Encourage others to avoid giving financial support to her (she also gets royalties from anything Disney or Universal makes with the Harry Potter brand).

Instead, support Transgender Rights organizations (particularly those that are directly impacted by JKR’s TERF donations in the UK) and trans people seeking healthcare or support:

Organisations and Charities:

TransActual UK

Gendered Intelligence

Mermaids

Galop

akt

Gender Identity Research & Education Society (GIRES)

Consortium

The Outside Project

The Good Law Project

[hellincarnation]

A Possible Theory on Why Some Fandoms Are More Popular And Long Lasting Than Others

So i was thinking the other day, why the hell are some book/movie/game/etc fandoms lasting for 50+ years and others die in a year?

I was comparing some of my favourite fandoms, the Percy Jackson fandom and the Harry Potter fandom and what I noticed and discovered is to make a good fan base, you HAVE to create a good organisation in your story/game/movie/book etc.

What do I mean?

In Percy Jackson for example, we have our main character’s home base. Camp Half Blood. It’s developed in the background throughout the whole series, there is a companion book on the Camp itself, and the whole area is relatively fleshed out and utilised throughout the whole series. It’s described in detail, there are official maps released, people love the camp.

In Harry Potter, we have, of course, Hogwarts. It’s by far more developed than Camp Half Blood, with detailed classes, architecture, art, story, lore, founders. And our main characters spend majority of their time in the building itself. Hell, even the villains of the story used to attend Hogwarts

Why does this matter? Why does world building matter?

Aha. Here’s my hook. Fandoms stay alive as long as fans stay connected to the community. And how else to develop the strongest connection possible than fans being able to build their own original characters or ocs and imagine they’re in the story?

Human imagination is a powerful thing, as soon as they have a world (Hogwarts and Camp Half blood) to build off of, they can create their own characters and imagine more stories building off the Canon to keep their love for the universe alive.

This is why role play communities are so popular, in addition to having your original character and developing a story for them, having a community to showcase and use your character greatly increases your attachment to this community.

Once you make your fans feel like they are part of your world, it’s the strongest connection. Because by default, humans are selfish, they feel more close to something if it’s like they have involvement in it.

Characters VS World Building.

It’s the age old question, what’s more important?

Neither.

No one is more important than the other, it’s just a matter of what you’re trying to accomplish.

With focusing on world building, you almost confirmed yourself a space for your fans to imagine themselves in. And you can have a lot of fun with world building! Creating your own original words, terms and concepts. Your own take on real world events and items and applying it to your story.

However you can’t focus on both so your characters might need to be limit to 2-3 main ones, to balance out your complex and intricate world.

With focusing on characters, you build yourself loyalty based on attachment to characters. This may not yield as much original characters/fan led creation as focusing on world building, but the perks are your characters explode into main stream. Art will be drawn of them, fanfictions will be written about them, headcanons, adaptations etc. By pouring effort into your characters, you create deep and meaningful bonds with specific characters that people will remember.

Maybe 10 years down the line, your fans may not remember everything about the story, or the environment or the world you created, but they will look back one day and go “Good lord, that was an AMAZING character that I still love to this day.” And that’s amazing for you.

This is exactly the case with Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. In my opinion, Hogwarts is wildly more developed than Camp Half Blood for obvious reasons. Hogwarts is a school and CHB is a homebase. Most of the time PJO characters are on quests away form their home base but HP characters are almost always in Hogwarts.

So how do you world build?

1. Of course create your organisation, base it off maybe a real life historical organisation with your own twist.

2. Build a rich and complex backstory, with specific historical figures that contributed to the creation of your organisation.

3. Build ROLES. Build divisions and department in your organisation. Think houses in Hogwarts and cabins in Camp Half Blood. Build specific roles your fans can imagine themselves as. Prefect, Head Girl/Boy, Head Counsellor.

4. Describe describe describe. You have all this amazing lore in your arsenal, now weave and intertwine your characters with them. Make your characters attached to the organisation and want to protect it. Mix your plot and story with it, make it so your organisation MATTERS to the story.

TL;DR

World building is hella important.

Heyyy, this isn’t proofread. Reblog or like if you enjoyed it. Or don’t.

Tags: ask to be added or removed

@lovely-rants-alot @shinchansbitch @jeahreading @totally-not-castor @unhinged-as-hell @sunshinerainbowsandlollipops @zeherili-ankhein @cafffeineconnoisseur @schrodinger-ka-billa @mireyaaaaaaaaa @your-dazzling-sun @daonedaonlyskh @iamgayforyourmom1510 @the-lying-heavens @abyssmita @mentallyunstablequeen101 @debacleofdaemons

[headful-of-worms]

It crazy how it’ll cut to a particular shot and I immediately know what iconic line is coming up or remembered how a thousand artists redrew this particular scene. It crazy how involved in this fandom I was lmao.

Oh my god I started rambling in the tags and I maxed out limit of tags. I guess in higher than I thought

I can’t believe I forgot about the hot lesbian squad in season 3 of Voltron

[hp-hcs]

Hello there.

Since you're taking a request, then maybe some poły relationship with Theo and Mattheo. Preferably male lub gn reader

Thanks and have a good day

aaaaaa a non-monogamous relationship with my two favorite boyos??? abso-fuckin-lutely!!!

polyamorous theodore nott & mattheo riddle x gn!reader headcanons

(lovely pictures from @demieyesore)

since it wasn’t specified if the boyos were dating each other as well or not, i made it ✨up to reader interpretation✨

❕gender-neutral reader❕

TWs: violence (it’s theo & mattheo, what do you expect?), brief sexual harassment/attempted sexual assault (?)

requests open (please for the love of god)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

general headcanons:

mattheo is little spoon and i will take no arguments

(he’s almost always in the middle <3)

if you call theo literally any pet name he will die on the spot

same if you call mattheo any variation of ‘pretty boy’ or ‘cutie’

(extra bonus points if you compliment something unrelated to his physical appearance, like how well he did on a test, or how perceptive he is. homeboy will have no idea how to respond. he’ll just be like 🧍‍♂️🥹👍🫶)

the poly thing actually only happened because there was a very aggressive love triangle thing going on and then they were like “wait this is dumb”

plus, it makes a bunch of the teachers uncomfy, + both of their fathers, so really it’s ideal

they r possessive as F U C K

they can share with each other, that’s it. no one else.

i dare anyone to try to bully or harass you

or actually, even just look at you

OR IF SOMEBODY TRIES TO ASK YOU OUT

someone call an ambulance for the poor fuck 💥🚑🚨🩹🪦💀

lil oneshot thing? idk man:

you go to one of enzo’s stupid parties without your boys

“i’ll be fine guys, promise”

y/n was, in fact, Not Fine™

someone tries to hit on you but just DOESNT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER

let's say it’s cormac mclaggen cause mf is creepy asf

(i know everyone makes him like ‘the bad guy’ but yk what if you don’t like it go write ur own headcanons. they’d probably be better anyways)

anywhore, cormac is like, getting a lil too close for comfort

just kind of haranguing you the whole night

offering drinks, complimenting how you’re dressed, telling you that your boyfriends are “so lucky to have someone as sexy as you”

🤮🤮

you are OBVIOUSLY uncomfortable

but shit hits the fan when he grabs your waist/hip area and tries to kiss you

✨surprise!✨

your mancandy was here the whole time 😌

(not cause they don’t trust you, they just don’t trust anybody else)

💥👊😡🩸🩹🔪🗡️💣

cormac: 🥊🦷😵‍💫🩸🩹🩼☠️⚰️🪦

(lowkey hot to watch em defend you but yk)

((y/n for literally no reason: 👁️🫦👁️)

(((if you tell mattheo you think it’s hot, he’ll just go 🥺🫶💋😚🫂)))

misc:

expounding further on my earlier mattheo x reader headcanons, a scientific study i’ve conducted has found that mattheo riddle is, in fact, a himbo

from the new partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional english, a himbo is “a man objectified by his good looks and presumed lack of intellectual qualities, a man who trades on this image, a gigolo”

objectified by his good looks? have you met tumblr? ✅

lack of intellectual qualities? well, he thinks violence solves everything and thinks with his dick instead of his brain so i’m gonna say yeah ✅

but let’s keep it going, shall we?

a himbo is also defined as the “human version of a golden retriever—beautiful, incredibly well-intentioned, and dumb.”

…yep

beautiful ✅ well-intentioned (in his own mind) ✅ & dumb (lovingly) ✅

additionally: buff 💪 ✅ & respects his romantic partner(s) ✅

“but hp-hcs,” you bemoan. “what does that make theo?”

well, my dear delusionists, theodore nott is a hunk—not quite a himbo, but close

hopefully this venn diagram i made of some of the himbos & himbo-adjacents in the hp world will help illustrate this for you

[maxdibert]

Apart from the blatant classism, the amount of sexual assault defenders in the HP fandom is horrifying. First, they claim that the incident in SWM wasn’t SA because Snape invented the spell himself, so he should have expected something like this to happen to him. Then, when you point out that 1) this is straight-up victim blaming, and 2) when people talk about SA in SWM, they’re usually referring to the 'Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s pants?' line, implying that James removed Snape’s underwear while he was already suspended in the air, they shift their argument. They insist that James surely didn’t strip Snape completely, even though he loudly announced it just before Harry was pulled out of the Pensieve, because 'he would never do something like that'.

Saying that Severus was to blame for being humiliated because he invented the spell is like telling a stabbing victim it’s their fault for carrying a knife to protect themselves. It’s absurd. Having defense mechanisms doesn’t make your abuser any less culpable. But, of course, people will twist reality in any way possible to defend the problematic actions of a white, heterosexual, wealthy bully. It shouldn’t surprise us how many people defend James, when the real world is full of cases like his that go unpunished precisely because of who they are and their privileged circumstances.

The irony is that these same people are the ones who racialize him or headcanon him as non-heterosexual. Folks, you’re looking at a textbook case of white rich male privilege, and you’ve fallen for it. Sorry, but J.K. Rowling and the establishment have won with you.

I honestly don’t care whether James stripped Severus completely or not. Just leaving a classmate in their underwear is already a terrible act of violence. It reveals a narcissistic and sociopathic personality, capable of dehumanizing someone to the point of using them as an object of public ridicule. It’s the same mentality as someone who thinks humans are their property and can be used as public entertainment. Stripping someone of their humanity like that—viewing them as a toy rather than a person—is horrifying.

I could understand people defending James if the bullying had been limited to throwing a few insults his way once in a while. But what James (along with Sirius) did wasn’t just calling him “greasy hair” or giving him a nickname. What they did was torture a person because that person existed, treating him as a punching bag to amuse themselves when they were bored.

What’s the difference between that behavior and the actions of people who bought, sold, or exploited other humans? Or the factory owners who viewed their workers as beasts of burden to be worked to death? Or the aristocrats who made their servants sleep in inhumane conditions because they saw them as property? It’s the same despotic mindset, stemming from someone so privileged and detached from reality that they can’t see all humans as beings with rights. Instead, they selectively decide who deserves basic dignity, treating anyone outside that group worse than animals.

I don’t care whether Severus ended up completely naked or not. Just taking off so much as his shirt in front of others would have been enough—it already crosses every line. Now, imagine Severus had been a girl and reconsider the scene. Maybe then the fans of that sociopath will finally see the light.

[runin-reads]

James/Lily vs James/Sirius: a case of accidental queer coding

Jily (James/Lily) is a pairing central to the HP universe in the sense that had they not been married, Harry Potter, the main character, would cease to exist and neither would his story as we know it. Yet we are left with only a few brief glimpses of their relationship in canon whilst other pairings are textually far more fleshed out– take Prongsfoot (James/Sirius), for example, who are frequently portrayed as The Duo, not just by those closest to them (Lupin) but by many others too such as McGonagall, Flitwick and so on. Harry himself could see how close they were during SWM in OOTP and this is someone who had a very limited time with Sirius and close to none with James. 

Queercoding is described as “the subtextual coding of a character in media as queer. Though such a character's sexual identity may not be explicitly confirmed within their respective work, a character might be coded as queer through the use of traits and stereotypes recognisable to the audience.” One character comes to mind when I think of “queercoding” and that’s Sirius Black. He’s estranged from his family, goes against the norms associated with his upbringing, there’s no mention of any ex-girlfriends and most notably he has intense love and devotion for his male best friend; James Potter.  At first glance, James had led an incredibly hetero-normative life by virtue of his wife and son, but through his relationship to Sirius there’s leeway to reach a queer reading of him as well. 

As recognised by countless characters and even Sirius himself, Prongsfoot come in a two-for-one deal:

“Do you remember who his best friend was?”  “Naturally,” said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. “Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here — ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!”  “Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course — exceptionally bright, in fact…”  “You’d have thought Black and Potter were brothers!” chimed in Professor Flitwick. “Inseparable!” 

The use of the word “brothers” in the above quote is one reason why fans don’t interpret Prongsfoot as queer-coded and/or romantic. However, it’s important to note that Sirius never referred to James as a brother, and there’s no canonical proof to suggest that Flitwick was close to James and Sirius– he was their teacher, not their friend or confidant. He isn’t calling them “brothers” either but rather he’s saying that word to express how strong their bond was. Hence why I believe an exclusively fraternal reading of their relationship doesn’t hold much weight. 

They are, however, established as each other’s closest friend and most trusted confidant. 

“Harry had the distinct impression that Sirius was the only one for whom James would have stopped showing off.” “Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was the best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry.  “I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me.”  “Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it,” Black hissed

On multiple occasions James and Sirius were described as a unit– The Unit– within their friend group. Lupin said they were “the cleverest students in the school.” They were the “ringleaders” of the Marauders; always on the same page and in agreement with each other.

“Then, with identical fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets.” 

Even during their very first encounter, they quickly and effortlessly become a team. 

“Got a problem with that?”  “No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy–” “Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” interjected Sirius.  James roared with laughter.

This excerpt from DH also neatly sums up the Marauders group dynamic:

“To Sirius’s right stood Pettigrew, more than a head shorter, plump and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much-admired rebels that James and Sirius had been. On James’s left was Lupin, even then a little shabby-looking, but he had the same air of delighted surprise at finding himself liked and included” 

Lily herself acknowledged Sirius’ importance in James’ life in her letter to Sirius, where she all but says that only he could lift James’ mood whilst the Potters’ were hiding from Voldemort’s forces. 

“James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell — also, Dumbledore’s still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much.” 

On the other hand, Jily is portrayed in a less compelling way for lack of better words. I spoke about this in my other meta but to summarise it briefly: Lily is James’ wife, the mother of his son and… that’s pretty much it. In the books they’re barely spoken about as a couple, unlike Prongsfoot who are always mentioned together as if they were a package deal– which they were, as recognised by practically everyone. That’s not to say Jily has zero textual backing, though it is far and few between.

“How come she married him?” Harry asked miserably. “She hated him!”  “Nah, she didn’t,” said Sirius.  “She started going out with him in seventh year,” said Lupin.  “Once James had deflated his head a bit,” said Sirius.  “And stopped hexing people just for the fun of it,” said Lupin. 

Conclusion

What we do know about James and Lily’s relationship is limited to the following: Lily disliked James because he and Snape were enemies, James developed feelings for her first, they began dating in seventh year once James had matured, they got married when they were nineteen to twenty years old, had a child together. The end. 

On the contrary, James and Sirius are constantly implied to be each other’s closest, most loyal friend; each other’s most trusted confidant. They are equals in every conceivable way. Both were popular, from wealthy backgrounds  and intelligent. Throughout the entire series Sirius’ only priority was Harry, James’ son. He went through unfathomable lengths to protect Harry: he was the first to escape Azkaban, he snuck into Hogwarts with all the dementors around and lived off rats during the GOF so he could be close to Harry, the last piece of James he had left. 

There’s also evidence to suggest Sirius was a narrative parallel to Snape. There are two adults in Harry’s life who sought to protect him due to their respective relationships with one of his parents. Snape was a double agent for Dumbeldore out of love for Lily; Sirius escaped Azkaban to protect Harry out of love for him, an extension of his love for James. 

All these factors are  why I believe that by not fleshing out Lily as a character and Jily as a couple, JKR accidentally queer-coded Prongsfoot. 

[pizzarink]

Meet my Pressure OC, my son, Winston Pyjama! He is a Pyjama shark if the last name and appearance doesn’t make it obvious! He’s a very shy and timid person, gets mad easily, and isn’t the biggest fan of Sebastian…

He follows you from time to time to make sure you’re safe. Rattling can be heard, which means he’s hiding from being seen. A rare “Owie-“ can be heard when he hides.

Since pyjama sharks tend to steal and tear apart things, Winston does the same! He can steal your items, or even some of your currency.

There could be a room where he usually stays when he’s not following you, where you can interact with him!

Possible interaction:

You open the door for the next room, and search around the drawers and lockers for loot. Winston hears the commotion.

“Hey!! What are you doing here?!” He picks you up from the wrist, bringing you a liiiittle close to his face. “Keep your dirty paws off of *my* stuff!!”

He takes what you have taken back, then drops you.

(As you’re getting up from the fall)

“Sorry about that… Did I hurt you? I have bandages!”

You decline.

“Okay. I’m Winston.”

You begin to recognize his voice. You squint at him, an expression that would ask ‘Are you the one that I’ve been hearing clatter from??”

Winston takes a while to process the look, then realizes, and jumps up. “What! Noo!!”

“….Yes. I was just making sure you’re safe! A-Anyways!- You should get going now!”

(2 options: Go, or stay.)

————

Stay:

Winston watched you just STAND THERE after he warned you to go. This pissed him off.

“Euurrgghh- WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE?! GO!! GET OUT!!”

He picks you up by below the arms, and brings you to the door, triggering it to open, and throws you out.

“GOODBYE.” He says while pointing for you to get going.

He heads back inside of the room.

————

Go:

“Bye now, friend! Good luck on the rest of your exploration!” He says cheerfully, sheepishly waving you on as you leave.

Since you went along and complied with him, whenever you almost die, Winston will protect you! (Only 3 times though) When you deal damage significantly, he will heal you +35 hp. He also stops taking your items and currency.

————

Now, if you stayed, then got kicked out, Winston does not protect you. He steals your items more often, especially when you need them, along with your loot as well, especially batteries. When / if you die, the cover of your document will have a stamp with Winston on it, that says “Better luck next time, thief!” as he’s giving you a smug look.

Well, there you have it! There’s Winston for you! :)

[the-lion-guard-88]

Happy New Year 2025!

Since this is the start of a New Year, I wanted to acknowledge a few people who I hold dear and appreciate

@blue-doofus

Thank you for being a friend of mine! I always love watching your stupendous works and I just wanted to thank you for sharing it. You have made me smile so many times and I thank you so much for that.

@valentinbelleyh505 @spinnysocks @devilsrecreation @tired-lamb

Thank you for sticking with me in 2024. Although we haven’t talked that much, it was nice to be friends with more Lion Guard fans on Tumblr because I barely saw any.

@astro350 @lego-man75

I just wanted to say thanks for helping me throughout 2024. As you know, this year was very chaotic and challenging for me, but you two got me through it and I am forever grateful.

@hplonesomeart / @hp-lonesome-actual-art

I’m happy we met in 2024 after you signed up for the MAP. I always love watching and viewing your amazing art pieces of Mr. Puzzles and I have saved almost all of them, haha! But thank you for making such amazing art, so I can look at and appreciate.

@fenicearts420

We haven’t talked that much, but I wanted to say thank you for sticking with me throughout this year and making great Mr. Puzzles art that I have kept.

@gdlol83

Thank you for listening to me when I made my vents and thank you for accepting me in Richard’s server.

@scimagic

Thank you for making amazing art of Mr. Puzzles for me to view and enjoy throughout the year, it’s helped me through tough times like all these arts I have seen of Mr. Puzzles and thank you for being a kind person.

And now…the one who has influenced me the most this year…

@jelloapocalypse

First off, if you’re reading this, I apologize for the numerous number of times I have pinged you and apologize if you have been annoyed, but oh…I just have so much to say

I just wanted to thank you…so so much…for voicing an amazing character that has gotten me through this disdainful year. This year was incredibly challenging for me to deal with, but thanks to all the talent you have put in to voicing the beloved Mr. Puzzles, it’s helped me cope with mental struggles. Just hearing Mr. Puzzles or even seeing him has made me smile throughout the whole year and has been my way of coping through the struggles, especially since the vibes you give off with voicing him reminds me of someone who was very dear to me who passed away this year. I know it sounds extremely weird, but it just reminds me of him so much. I just wanted to thank you. Thank you so much for helping me throughout this year by voicing Mr. Puzzles, it’s helped so much, I really appreciate it and will forever be grateful for your talent in the character that has helped me cope throughout the year. I can’t thank you enough for this. Just…thank you for being amazing. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you weren’t voicing this beloved character. I’m just so thankful for everything you did for voicing Mr. Puzzles, because of that, I have been more indulged into your channel such as watching Epithet Erased and playing In Stars And Time

I apologize if this is too much or if I’m being weird.

Just…from the bottom of my heart…thank you…I wish I could tell you in person…

Happy New Year to everybody!

[bloodydeanwinchester]

So... I hope to phrase this very delicately because I don't want to seem like I'm dismissing or minimizing how dangerous and horrible JK Rowling is, and I definitely don't support people continuing to contribute money to her in any way, shape, or form! But... I'm also wondering if I'm missing something here about HP fanfic so, I figured it hopefully couldn't hurt to ask... Is there a particular reason why you're against even HP fanfic? Is it just a personal boundary? Are you thinking about the fact that there are also bad stereotypes within the books themselves that can continue to affect the fanfic? (which yeah I've seen when reading fanfic in the past) It's just that... as much as I hate JK Rowling and every word out of her mouth, the HP series---or at least, the headcanons and relationships and messages people interpret from it---still means a lot to so many people, especially, tragically, queer people. Including myself. So, in my view, people can read and write HP fanfic while absolutely not supporting JK Rowling. But I'd like to hear your opinion in a little more detail, if you're okay with sharing that, in case I am not considering something.

so. the biggest thing for me is that by participating in the hp fandom you are helping to keep that fandom popular. that fandom staying popular leads to more people joining the fandom who have no issue spending money that will go to jk rowling. it leads to people who otherwise might have lost interest, staying in the fandom and spending money that goes to her. and the fandom staying popular is what ultimately leads to things like new tv shows and theme parks and merch which not only put money directly into jk rowlings pocket to fund more of her anti trans agenda, but it also helps continue the popularity of that book series. jk rowling doesn’t care if she’s hated so long as she continues to make money and have power.

i used to be a huge harry potter fan and it sucked having to give up a fandom that i grew up with and loved. but trans people’s lives are more important than a fictional book series always. period. she is actively working to spread ideals and pass legislation that will cause trans people to die. participating in that fandom, and in turn helping to keep it alive and making her money, signals to me (and her) that you’re okay with that (whether you personally agree with her or contribute money to her or not).

and if this series saved someones life i think it’s fine to acknowledge that and be happy for that. but i think it’s also important to move on from it now because is IS hurting other people.

[olderthannetfic]

Unfortunately the store I work at in Canada does have HP merch. It’s usually only for holiday stuff like our toy aisle usually has one or two Harry Potter toys, and the candy we sell for Halloween and Christmas will also have some HP themed candy there as well. Though last year, the HP stuff wasn’t bought that often and did end up in clearance in greater amounts than other candy. Same trend this year with the HP Halloween candy getting snubbed by customers.

I also see it somewhat regularly at bookstores, other places they sell toys, even occasionally on shirts in the window of Hot Topic.

But it’s still a lot less than there used to be and hardly as expensive. The toys are cheap, the candy is gimmicky stocking stuffers, and the clothes are infrequent and usually outnumbered by t shirts with anime on it. Apparently the HP game was well received as it’s consistently on my recommendation page or best sellers list on Steam or Ps5 store or the Nintendo Switch shop, but I don’t see much discussion or recommendations from actual gamers. I may be biased by my social group, but there’s been very little fandom activity about any newer usage of the IP after the first Fantastic Beasts, and while fandom isn’t the same as the mainstream it’s still a sign that its current presence in the mainstream culture probably isn’t the type to last long in people’s brains like the OG books did.

It seems almost like companies are pushing HP by stocking merch and making shows, but people aren’t really asking for it anymore. If you’re a diehard HP fan, you’re probably better served by focusing on the self contained fandom economy. Reading fanfics, buying fan-created merch, and going to fan events. If you’re a casual, you might watch Fantastic Beasts but it won’t stick in your head and you’re not buying official merch for it. I’m not saying there’s no market who’d pay for the overpriced official merch or whatever, and the casual fan watching whatever new HP spin off that comes out while doing the dishes still at least communicates to companies that there’s still interest, but it does seem like Harry Potter’s cultural and economic power is fading. Perhaps to a greater degree than the merch on shelves and upcoming spin-offs suggests and like always the execs making these decisions are slow on the uptake about a dying trend as they always are.

--

[kittarts]

Hey. I’m a trans nonbinary person who is a HP fan, and thanks for being transparent and acknowledging that JKR sucks while also still holding a space in your heart for what HP was to you in your youth. It feels so difficult to find people like that online? The common consensus has become to condemn entirely and while that’s understandable, there are people who still love this series because it helped them through tough times and made them feel less alone. I think that’s worth noticing. Not everyone who still likes HP is automatically transphobic, nor are they someone who condones JKR’s awfulness on the many other things she unfortunately has an opinion about, and it seems like people forget you can separate the art from the artist—yes, even if said artist is still alive and kicking. Sorry if this ask is a lot. I don’t mean to start or engage in discourse. I just wanted to thank you, so again, thank you. Love your art.

I really appreciate you sharing your feelings on it! :) you’re not the first one to send me something similar actually. 

Social media really shrunk my worldview, and it wasn’t until I started having these conversations outside of the internet that I realised those condemning others are actually the smaller majority haha. They’re just loud, and therefore they’re scary. 

I can go to a friends house right now and have this discussion without fear of them hurting me. 

I think it’s important for people to be given the space to decide how they feel about these things. To set their own boundaries.

To be an adult and say “Jk did this. And I’m not okay with it. Therefore I won’t be consuming any more Harry Potter” or to say “Jk did this. And I’m not okay with it. But I grew up with these films and they’ll always mean a-lot to me”. These two things can co exist, and neither side is evil lol. It’s literally just about deciding what is and isn’t okay for you. 

Adding on; I'm referring to enjoying the films from your youth, don't financially support her in any capacity. I would like to think this goes without saying, but just to make sure.

[smehur]

Drarry fic recs #6

[podfic] Kill, Fuck, Marry written by @lettersbyelise and read by @timothysboxers

Malfoy leans toward him with a baleful look. “I do believe Pansy Parkinson, my best friend, paid you to spend the evening with me. It’s my birthday, Potter. So you’re going to get off your Gryffindor arse, and you’re going to dance with me. I want to dance. I want to win. I want that bloody trophy on my shelf before the end of the night.” Harry and Draco unexpectedly meet again on Draco’s birthday, years after their last encounter.

A delightful fic and a phenomenal reading! There are few things I love more than ex-rivals Harry and Draco discovering they actually enjoy each other's company, especially when it's done with such humor. The game of kill, fuck, marry was hilarious, and so was the dancing. And Draco's final birthday wish, well. 🔥 A phrase seen in many stories but rarely delivered with quite that much cheek. I'm all smiles and biting lips just thinking about it. 10/10 would read/listen again.

ready, able by @garagepaperback

“Well, even if we went through with it, it wouldn’t work. But thanks for the grand heroic rushing in. A certain element of purity is needed to break it." Malfoy licks his lips, "You’d have to be a virgin.” Harry keeps every muscle on his face particularly still, hoping it looks to Malfoy as absolutely blank as it feels to him. Half a minute passes. “No,” Malfoy, already doing a poor job of sitting normally on his chair, bends in half, nearly falling out of it. He’s laughing. “No, Potter, no. No- don’t- you’re twenty-five years old!” “And?” Harry asks, heat staining his face. - Malfoy has a problem, Harry wants to help.

Apart from being captivating, tantalizing and touching, this story is also an interesting (and, for this reader, unique) take on the fuck-or-die trope, which I'll generally read "for fun" but will only take "seriously" if it's somehow challenged and reshaped till choice reasserts itself. Like in this fic! Which, on top of everything, (spoiler alert!) ends with one of the hottest sex scenes in my HP reading so far. Truly exquisite. 👌

Savage by @marguerite26

In a post-war world that lives in fear and ignorance of werewolves, Draco Malfoy has taken every step to keep his condition hidden. When the delicate balance of his life shatters in a single moment, it is Harry Potter alone standing in his defence.

Another instance where excellent fic managed to sell me a trope I'm not a fan of: werewolves! It's a phenomenal story, with an interesting, political plot, excellent pacing, flawless characterization and steaming hot sex. What more could one hope for?

Virtuous by @heyjude19-writing

Draco is only sin inverted.

I loved this short piece down to the last word. It's so multifaceted! At face value, it's a confession of an unredeemed Draco, but is he? Is he really? Or did "fake it till you make it" work a little better than he expected? I'm fascinated by this because it touches on the question of whether a person can really change, which is, obviously, central to Drarry. Does a selfish motivation behind an act of kindness make the act less kind? I don't know the answers. But I do so enjoy fic that asks the questions!

Draco in Darkness by plumeria47

Following an accident in his seventh year, Draco loses his eyesight. After Harry elbows his way into Draco's dark world, both boys find themselves in a strange new friendship, and they each learn new ways to see each other … and themselves.

This story is very old and predates the canon ending of the series (thus missing out on a lot of canon Drarry content that would've made it even better). It's also a bit old-fashioned, compared to the fic I mostly read these days, and it triggered some of my technical pet peeves. Yet it hooked me within the first few paragraphs, and I grew to love it with a slow-burn passion. Draco's sudden disability is depicted in a very straight-forward, matter-of-fact, incredibly effective yet sensitive way; and his manner of coping with it is perfectly in character. Meanwhile, Harry is blind in his own way, which helps build the tension but never crosses the line of being too contrived. I had so many feels reading this. It's just beautiful, warts and all.

As always, my heartfelt thanks to the authors of these, and all other lovely stories shared within this amazing fandom, and to the readers helping spread the word. 🥰