#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

[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

[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

[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. 

[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. 🥰

[cochart]

Here’s my Hogwarts Legacy OC.

And here are some impressions of the game. I like it fine by the way.

Here are HL friends in Persona style btw.

I bought this game on sale recently and so far have been enjoying it. It’s a fun enough game even though I was never obsessed with Harry Potter except when I was like seven.

Here are some of my thoughts, some good and some a bit critical I guess.

1. Good but not memorable

Maybe because I was never obsessed with Harry Potter series the way some people are, I found the game decent but not memorable (e.g. Zelda or Persona level). It’s decent; in other words, it’s a bit bland. I don’t have any particular complaint about the game mechanics, but I don’t have anything particularly nice to say either. The exploration is fun enough. The battle can be a bit repetitive but overall okay. Collecting trinkets and doing puzzles can be amusing. But none of this all comes together to leave a strong impression. I think it’s a decent RPG for weekend fun though, especially if you’re a Harry Potter fan. That it’s not too memorable also means that it’s average a.k.a. you likely won’t have to ragequit this game. The gameplay is pretty easy, so it would be perfect for casual gamers who don’t want no Dark Souls taking over their weekend.

2. Character design matters

In an RPG, having a good character design matters. This is partly due to the fact that I don’t really enjoy the “realistic” rendering that so many western games employ, but I found the overall character design less than charming. Customizing my own character feels so much less fun when it’s hard to find a charming build. I’m sorry, but why does every option for my character make her look like she’s thirty-five? I feel like a damn PhD candidate in Hogwarts already without my character looking like she’s thirty-five years old. By the way, I also considered making a male character, but the male characters look equally old and not that charming. I think it’s partly the hair. Almost every hair option makes your character look thirty-five.

The NPCs don’t fare much better either. Yeah, they’re nice and I find Natty pretty cute. But that’s about it. They all have their stories and stuff, but something is just lacking.

It’s not like I want anime character design either. A style like Arcane would have been awesome.

3. I feel like a Mary Sue

I’d say being a Mary Sue might be better than being an emotional support character for dev’s Mary Sue, but it still feels weird to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing too much Atlus games recently and in their games, everyone’s out to kill you. I’m not used to characters fawning over me. There are many moments including when you’re taking a class that you’re blatantly praised for your abilities. The Ravenclaw boy gushing about how you must be a part hippogryph during your flying lesson is one of them.

Everything about the plot makes you a Mary Sue as well. You’re this mysterious new kid with ancient magic powers who excel at everything. I know it’s somewhat necessary in an RPG, but this game makes you feel like you’re playing some “Modern Girl in Hogwarts” game. I don’t hate it that much, but it still feels weird.

4. Missed opportunities

I’ve played old EA Harry Potter games and loved them, but I don’t know if it was a good idea to make an original Hogwarts game a solo exploration game. To me, one of the charms of HP series is the focus on the friendship and the adventures of the trio. In HL, you’re alone most of the time. I know a lot of modern players don’t deal well with turn-based games, but I think an original Hogwarts game that is turn-based where you can build your party of Hogwarts students would have been quite fun.

I also feel like there are a lot of missed opportunities with the school life content. Cramming in classes and having afterschool adventures would have made it feel more like life and Hogwarts where you’re not a graduate student.

Here, so you can get stressed thinking about crammed scheduling!

For an open exploration game, I’d rather have preferred something like Fantastic Beasts where you’re an adult. The game taking place in 19th century London would have been awesome. You’d be a recently graduated wizard who’s working both in wizard and muggle world solving some crime or something. This could have also made a better opportunity for the stealth element in the game as you can try to be discreet around the muggles.

[livinonlaketime]

So I’ve seen some posts recently from PJO fans who are really upset about the new books. And I completely understand, and to some extent agree with them. Rick should pay more attention to his own canon and keep his characters consistent.

However, I’ve also seen some people saying he’s turning into JKR, and as a trans PJO and HP fan (tho mostly PJO) that doesn’t feel great to me. Yes, he’s retroactively changing canon and that’s annoying. But he’s not a bigot. He’s not using the money he gets from the books and the show to promote bigoted beliefs and spread hate.

It’s okay to feel hurt and mad that he’s changing things that are important to you, but please don’t conflate him with someone who purposely uses the media they created to harm marginalized communities.

And if you’re having a really hard time with the changes, it’s okay to stop reading. It’s okay to say “no, actually, my version of canon ends after BoO” or whenever. Find a fanfic that follows Percy and Annabeth’s senior year of high school (im aware they shouldn’t be seniors right after BoO but I feel like most of us have gotten over that one by now) (I’ve linked my personal favorite senior year fic, Senior Year Cliches by No2Ticonderoga on AO3 at the bottom of the post) or even write your own! If you’ve never heard of it before, look up death of the author. It basically means that once an author puts something out into the world it is no longer just theirs and other people will have other opinions and thoughts about it

Seriously, if it’s really bothering you, just decide that in your version of the story that’s not what happened. Hell treat the new books like a fanfic if you want. Even if it’s just in your head, have your own version of what happens next and how they get their happy ending. I promise you’ll have a much better time engaging with PJO if you do

[cvlutos]

“I like to Write”

| Repost: 02.18.23 | 1.1 K | Rated PG |

Malleus D., Rook H., Idia S., Azul A. X GN!Writer!Reader

| Characters18+ | Headcannons | Super Sweet | Suggestive w/ Idia | Fluff | Platonic/Romantic Relationships | Proceed with Caution, Beloved. |

T.Manor.Requests: For the Lovely @sidra-29 Thank you for the request!!

I was WAITING FOR THIS-

Ahem… Can I request Malleus, Rook, Idia and Azul with a Gn!Reader who writes stuff. Like books and all on the internet and sometimes they even write some special things for our boys

Take your time and stay healthy dear !

♡ Malleus Draconia ♡

Malleus Draconia is a lot of things, and one of them is being super supportive.

♡♡ Whether you’re his partner or simply his friend, he is guaranteed to be your biggest fan. Even if all you write is dribbles or short little things, nonetheless he’s reading. If you write fanfic, he will take it very seriously and be highly entertained by it. If it makes you happy, it makes him happier. If you want tips or constructive criticism, he’ll give it. If you just want his genuine reaction, he’ll do that as well.

♡♡ He keeps all of your work. Even if you hate it, he keeps it and stores it away, so that later you’ll see your progress, he’s super encouraging and won’t ever call your work badly, but he might allude to something not being your best piece, but he doesn’t fault for it. Anything your write for him, he wont stop talking about it. Like will casually bring it up, and if you dont write something for anyone else, he is so smug.

♡♡ He also likes to stand over you when you write. Sometimes he’s doing his own thing while you type. But when you write with pen and paper, he likes to stand over you. Silently watching your hand move back and forth. He likes your handwriting and likes seeing how you write. How your ‘a’s curl and how you dot your ‘i’s. For some odd reason, he enjoys it, and no matter how messy it is, he can read it well. [100% guarantee Lilia’s handwriting half the time is horrendous and unreadable.]

“Whatever you write, it is an absolute pleasure for me to read. Always.”

══════ ♡ ══════

♡ Rook Hunt ♡

Rook is somewhat of a writer himself, though he only sticks to poetry. Though finds beauty in longer length stories.

♡♡ If you write, he’s considering this a time for you and him to get snacks and read each other’s pieces. Aloud or silently, though over time, it changes into Rook wanting to act out scenes with you. Scenes with the slightest hint of romance. Whether you’re romantic or platonic, he’s going to want to act out scenes. He does love a good tragedy. But Rook is also super supportive and loves sharing your story ideas. If your write fanfic, Rook likes it too. A little too much to the point he’s subconsciously shipping people. He finds it so much fun, he won’t play matchmaker, but he loves watching it unfold naturally.

♡♡ Just like Malleus, he’s keeping all your writings. Each and every single one, half of which you aren’t sure how he found or got, but he has them. Heavily protected. But let you write him something specifically for him. He’s reading it every day, before bed, when he wakes up. He won’t tell anyone about it, but Vil knows, cause he accidentally mentioned it.

♡♡ Rook, also like Malleus, likes your handwriting. But oddly enough, has it memorized and if he wanted to, he could easily replicate it. Wouldn’t, but if he wanted to impersonate you, he could. Casually mentions it all the time. If you have a blog or any socials, he’s always in your comments sections acting up. Writing full poems and paragraphs.

“Oh ! Ça doit être la meilleure histoire écrite à ce jour~ Je dois en lire plus !”

══════ ♡ ══════

♡ Idia Shroud ♡

You and Him fanfic when?

♡♡ He’d never ask. He would rather let his HP drop to zero and face the final boss with low-grade weapons. In fact, Idia would never talk about you writing, and would simply leave you be. Not out of not caring but more out of fear that if he tries to talk about it, he’ll seem like some normie who knows not a damn thing.

♡♡ Idia had read fanfiction, that’s it. Has tabs saved, so if you do “official writing”, he’s going to be unsure of what to do. If you write fanfic though and post online, he’s sending in anonymous requests, anonymous commissions of his favorite characters. If you write for a fandom he doesn’t know, he’ll binge it.

♡♡ If you write anything for him, he’s done for. K.Oed. Zero Health, and he lost all his EXP. He’s at the beginner level and has to mass farm everything back before he can even read it. He’ll thank you, but won’t touch it for days before he forces himself too while screeching. If it’s cute and sweet, he’s a mess, snot bubbles and tears. If it is remotely sexual—well—he might need a new copy. Though unlike the first two, he doesn’t really care for you handwriting, it’s yours, but he likes to see you type, especially if you type hella fast.

“—YOU WHAT—I mean… Thank you for the… For the… Mm—Thank you for the story….”

══════ ♡ ══════

♡ Azul Ashengrotto ♡

*Cue him thinking of ways to make money with your writing*

♡♡ He views it as an admirable talent. Azul only writes essays, reports, documents. And a lot of contracts, so idle writing really isn’t his thing. He’s tried, but most of it comes out messy, so he sticks to reading. So if you write, he’s requesting something to pass the time. He also enjoys it when someone, especially your friends, asks what he’s reading. He will brag and be like “[Name]’s work. Oh, you haven’t read any.. Well then…” He’s an instigator.

♡♡ He will definitely mention your writing to his mother, especially if it was a gift from you for him about him. He’s rambling to his mom about how talented you are. He refuses to tell the twins about it, but they undeniably know and tease him about it. Any chance they get, they’ll use it as ammunition. But it won’t be just Azul, but you, too. I mean, you wrote it for their dormleader. You must love him~

♡♡ Other than that, Azul won’t interfere. If you want to share and write in his presence, you can. If you want to tell him your ideas and plans, hell gladly listen. Hell gives critics on overused ideas, views him as your personal editor. He will host events in the Mostro Longue for you, to give you more exposure. [A third of the event was the twins giving out threats if they didn’t support you.]

“I mean, you are, uh, dear to me. So your success is mine of course I would and will provide all I can.”

ⓒ 2023 love-thanatopsis — all rights reserved. Any sort of plagiarizing, copying, modifying, translating, editing of my works are strictly prohibited.

[annabtg]

Anna, you’re so right(i love you). It’s so annoying that all these woke yaoi-shipping sjws have taken over the fandom. You cannot put characters like James and Sev through modern lenses(“Snape was a child abuser” teachers were allowed to hit students with rulers at 90s british schools but being a little mean to a troublemaker makes you satan🙄) and understand them fully. You also cannot make James Potter into a bisexual adhd-having MOC and keep true to his character(everything about him relays on him being very privileged in society)

Love, an old man.

I don't know how you can read this post and conclude that my problem is "woke, yaoi-shipping sjws"? My problem is, like I said, the complete lack of reading comprehension skills, of creative and analytical thought and of the ability to empathize with the characters.

Indeed, modern social media seems to favour performative activism, but that's not what fanfic suffers from. I've engaged with fandom enough to understand that the prevalence of non-nuanced takes comes from younger fans who have grown up in a world massively different from the one I grew up in as a millennial with boomer parents.

Nevertheless, I don't think you're doing it right either, my love. Teachers might have been allowed to hit students with rulers in the 70s (they weren't allowed in 90s Greece, though, and I have been informed neither were they in the UK) - and an example of a strict but good teacher in the books is Minerva McGonagall, who would dole out harsh punishments and use her sharp tongue on students, but still gives you the feeling that she cared about them and loved them. That kind of "tough love" was how boomers took care of their kids. Not Snape, who had beef with a student because he didn't like his father. That's fucked up. But the thing is that Snape is supposed to be unlikeable and mean and come off as the villain, to make his arc all the more surprising and impactful. He's supposed to be a fucked up dick who works for the side of good, because the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters.

As for James, I don't think his portrayal as a bisexual ADHD-having MOC is inherently incompatible with his character, even if it's not the authorial intent (indeed, James is supposed to be the picture of privilege). For instance, one aspect of HP I find fascinating is how being a POC doesn't descend into racism in the books - I think there's one single instance of it, where Pansy tells Angelina she's got worms on her head, but that's obviously Pansy being a dick, and other than that there is no casual racism thrown about to people like Dean or Lee or Cho or the Patils. Whether their portrayal is nuanced or stereotypical is a different discussion, but I think it's obvious that we're supposed to take out that if you're a racist wizard, it's not colour that matters, it's blood. James Potter could reasonably be a POC and it wouldn't matter at all in the world he lived in.

That he would struggle with ADHD or sexuality is also not implausible, and in fact I think it makes for very compelling portrayals of him to be going through that in an era-adequate way. Have people around him be annoyed because he just won't sit still, show him confused by his attraction to Sirius and downplaying it with semi-homophobic remarks. I'm personally not so much a fan of a Hogwarts that reads like you're at Pride, but it was the era of hippies, after all?? I think that Hogwarts would be on the conservative side of things, but at the end of the day it *was* the time when queerness started to gain visibility and I understand how people feel at liberty to use that. Everyone seeks to connect to these characters through fic to some degree; for me, who grew up as a gifted (and probably undiagnosed autistic?) kid in a conservative society, the canon portrayal of people like James and Lily and Sirius at Hogwarts resonates enough to keep me intrigued.

I don't lament people trying to project their own struggles with queerness or mental illness or idk just the fun conversations they have with their friends on the Marauders and Hogwarts; what bugs me is when it's being done in a way that cancels canon aphoristically, and you're suddenly idk toxic for shipping Jily because "James was an abuser and Lily had Stockholm Syndrome" - that's not what happened. Showing off like a peacock was the men's standard flirting technique, and playing hard to get was the women's standard flirting technique, and even with that Jily contains a LOT of nuance - and frankly, even through a modern lens I find it very difficult to miss if you have the first idea of reading between the lines. Which is why I keep saying: lack of reading comprehension skills and critical thinking beyond understanding straightforward text messages and cheap quips is the bane of these readers' existence (or, you know, our existence, for having to put up with it).

[thealogie]

I'm curious to know your opinion on this. When it comes to JKR, she's obviously been cancelled for years. I saw people pressured to throw away old copies of her books, encouraged not to talk about the characters anymore or even not to buy unofficial merch, because even if she wouldn’t gain any financial benefit from it, her name and the story she wrote will still be relevant. For years it has been said that you’re a horrible person if you don’t completely detach yourself from HP. So why is the reaction into the good omens fandoms exactly the opposite? Why are there hundreds of posts in the Gaiman tag saying “remember you can still love GO”? Or even “even if Gaiman turned out to be a horrible person, he still made the world more beautiful with his works”? I don’t get it. I would never support a potential rapist and I’d expect the fandom to cancel him. And instead? For many fans the main concern seems to be to reiterate that people are still allowed to enjoy GO. I’ve seen people concerned about season 3. Why? Is it because Gaiman literally did the bare minimum in terms of representation? It’s ridiculous because Gaiman isn’t a great ally, he never was. Why are people so willing to give this man the benefit of the doubt?

I do think it’s because all of his shows were filled with gay, trans, and racial diversity that people are more hesitant to cut ties. And in the case of GO specifically people feel conflicted because I t’s also Terry work and half of us came at it from being Terry fans and never liked Neil lol.

In any event, I HAVE seen those “you can still enjoy the work” posts but I have also seen some people saying they will disengage and don’t want to give him money, and that’s heartening. And even the majority of the people saying “you can still love this thing” (as much as it honestly rubs me the wrong way and makes me go “NOT the point right now”) do also say they believe the allegations and I truly believe people are just young and having very emotional reactions right now.

I think once we let the worst of the discourse play itself out, we will get to a point where we can all agree that AT MINIMUM we cannot be causing him to make any money or boost his work.