#evil phenomenon series

[the-blossica-fan]

Bonk once said about two particular "evil" versions c:

Vertin: Cowardly, skittish, lack of any charisma: "Get in the suitcase quickly please oh god--"

Sonetto: Lazy, doesn't follow orders: "Whatever, Vertin." (<Doesn't call her by her title)

They took Vertin's Rizz away (I can't believe I said that)

You know the entire suitcase Is going to be hellishly worried, this multiplies when a disheveled, tired Sonetto walks into the room with clothes that are not ironed.

Her hair's a mess, she probably forgot to eat and laid on the sofa all day, acting unfriendly and lazy. The Evil Phenomenon (Silly Edition) has claimed another victim.

No one has an idea of what to do since Vertin is usually the one to take care of these things, but Vertin has been hiding behind any surface, avoiding contact and near the verge of tears every time. She just joined the pitiful girl gang.

So Madam Z had to take good care of everything alongside Tooth Fairy, her job is to watch over Team Timekeeper which is usually pretty easy because of Vertin's skills. Her work is accumulating and she has to figure out a way to designate someone as a temporary leader for Team Timekeeper.

Which would rely on Sonetto if she wasn't... Evil Sonetto.

Back to those two. Their relationship is just so... Weird, to say the least. Sonetto is pretty lazy and isn't doing anything other than lay around, when Vertin (stuttering and trembling) asks her to do something, she receives an "Ugh, why do I have to?" And then she (Vertin) backs away.

And Vertin is only talking to Madam Z and Tooth Fairy because she considers them reliable and trustworthy (they're her mothers basically)

A bit silly but people low-key got used to it, they just treat Vertin like they would treat Poltergeist while she's in this state.

As for Sonetto... She got into a fight with Pavia for taking his place on the sofa for two days straight. She's been doing nothing, saying mean-spirited comments and fucking up the Rules.

Regulus likes her this way, unfortunately for her, Sonetto goes back to normal rather quickly (call it the never-ending struggles of her normal self because oh boy would she hate this version of herself)

[guillotine-drop]

Kirby is actually such a funny series because a lot of the games follow a structure that’s like

Part 1: Oh no! King Dedede has stolen all the candy in Dreamland, and he’s keeping it all for himself! Quick, help Kirby get it back so everyone in Dreamland can have sweets!

Part 2: Uh oh! That cool knight Meta Knight is back with a vengeance! Run through a crazy gauntlet of enemies and obstacles to make your way to him, and have an epic sword fight!

Part 3: The Great Evil known by the name ‘Caedes the Unwavering’ has cast his shadow over Dreamland. Only a star warrior capable of breaking through his veil of nightmares by destroying his 100 legions of darkness can defeat him. Do you have what it takes?

Ending: And so Kirby and his friends sat down and had a scrumptious shortcake together, to celebrate their victory! The camera pans over to reveal Caedes’ helmet lying in the grass, charred beyond recognition, as a small plume of nightmare energy emerges and is immediately stomped on by King Dedede running over for cake

[carlyraejepsans]

the thing about sans and cecil both getting to the finals is that they're both the platonic ideal of what a tumblr sexyman is, but on opposite sides of the scales, covering the entire spectrum as a result.

on one hand you've got cecil, who is chronologically a classic. his lack of a canon appearance, his charming voice and his semi-fancy job allowed the tall white + suit twinkification phenomenon to run rampant. as the series progressed, he was actually revealed to be more of a babygirl (eat your heart out, arataka). he was drawn with tentacles. and he was sexy, sure, but the amount of porn generated for him was overall pretty standard.

sans, on the other hand, is a complete outcast in the classical definition of sexyman. he's chubby, short, charismatic not like an evil villain, but like some random guy with the local bar wrapped around his finger, constantly dressed casual. sure, there were white haired anime boy gijinkas, but that's not who people were here for, right? they wanted to jump his bones (literally) as he was. despite (or maybe because of...?) all this, the mind boggling amount of porn that resulted from him is a still gaping wound in the internet to this day. oh and he also got the tentacle treatment.

perfectly balanced. polar opposites. there isn't really a better candidate here. as far as I'm concerned, they both won tonight. but at least sans can finally break his curse. who knows! maybe we kill someone this time too.

[merwgue]

You thought I forgot? @naravelia

The Tamlin Mandela Effect: How Fandom’s Misremembering of Key Events is Turning into a Haters’ Anthem

There’s a peculiar phenomenon in the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) fandom that echoes something you might find more commonly in conspiracy theories or internet forums. It’s the Mandela Effect, named after an odd cognitive twist where people collectively misremember or distort facts—like a whole generation swearing that Nelson Mandela died in the 1980s, despite him actually living until 2013. But we’re not here to talk about Mandela (no, this is not that essay). We’re here to talk about how Tamlin, our misunderstood High Lord of the Spring Court, has been subjected to this exact effect. And it’s spiraling into disastrous consequences for his reputation in the fandom.

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on any ACOTAR discussion board, you’ve probably seen it. Tamlin haters, pitchforks in hand, rattle off the same tired arguments, claiming that he’s the worst villain in the series. “He sold Feyre’s sisters to Hybern!” they say, even though that literally didn’t happen. “He sexually assaulted Feyre Under the Mountain!” they continue, though that scene plays out very differently if you actually read it. It’s becoming a Herculean task to correct these misconceptions every single time someone drags Tamlin through the mud, but here we are, doing the Lord’s work.

Let’s dig into the mess, piece by piece, shall we?

The Non-Existent Sale of Feyre’s Sisters to Hybern: The Misinformation Continues

Here’s a hill people are dying on that is as fictitious as it is frustrating. There is this collective belief that Tamlin, in all his "evilness," sold Feyre’s sisters to Hybern in some dramatic betrayal. Let’s be real: if Tamlin were a sleazy car salesman in another life, he wouldn’t have any buyers. Because he didn’t “sell” anyone.

Let’s revisit the facts. Tamlin teamed up with Hybern in A Court of Mist and Fury out of desperation to get Feyre back. Was it the smartest move? No. Did he expect things to go smoothly without Hybern’s penchant for destruction taking the reins? Probably. But nowhere in the text does it indicate that Tamlin knowingly offered up Feyre’s sisters on a silver platter.

In fact, Tamlin seemed to have absolutely no idea that Elain and Nesta would be dragged into the mess. The King of Hybern double-crossed everyone, Tamlin included. Feyre’s sisters being thrown into the Cauldron was Hybern’s decision—not some malicious masterstroke from Tamlin’s end. This narrative where Tamlin is painted as the orchestrator of their suffering is wildly inaccurate. It’s like saying a passenger in a car crash is guilty of the accident. Was he complicit by being in the metaphorical car with Hybern? Sure. But did he plan for it to happen? Absolutely not.

And yet, despite this being pretty clear in the text, people still treat it as canon that Tamlin personally wrapped Feyre’s sisters up in pretty bows and delivered them to Hybern like Christmas gifts. The Mandela Effect strikes again.

The “Tamlin Assaulted Feyre Under the Mountain” Lie That Refuses to Die

This one is probably the most egregious example of people twisting canon to fit their own narrative. Now, look, I get it—Under the Mountain was a dark time for everyone. Emotions were high, trauma was rampant, and it was one hell of a mess. But this claim that Tamlin sexually assaulted Feyre during her time there? That’s not just a stretch—it’s an Olympic-level leap of inaccuracy.

Here’s what actually happened: Amarantha had Tamlin under her thumb. He was powerless, trying to bide his time and keep himself (and others) alive. Was he the best emotional support system for Feyre during this period? Absolutely not. Did he make questionable decisions? Yes. But at no point did Tamlin assault Feyre or take advantage of her.

The argument stems from a scene where Feyre, reeling from her third trial, is given a brief moment of respite with Tamlin. They have a charged, emotionally heightened interaction. It’s not comfortable, but it’s also not what people are accusing it of being. Tamlin is desperate, Feyre is desperate, and they’re both stuck in a situation with absolutely no control. If anything, it’s a moment that reflects the trauma of being trapped Under the Mountain—not a moment of assault. The fact that this narrative continues to be twisted into something more sinister is a disservice to both characters and to the complexity of trauma and survival.

Moreover, Feyre doesn’t feel violated by Tamlin in this moment. She doesn’t reflect on it later as assault. If Feyre, who narrates the entire series, doesn’t see it as such, why are we putting words in her mouth? The Mandela Effect here is just baffling—people are conflating Tamlin’s flaws with things that never actually happened. It’s like misremembering the plot of Titanic and insisting that Jack could have survived if only he’d kicked Rose off the door sooner. Except, you know, worse.

The Constant Gaslighting Narrative: Feyre’s Love for Rhysand Suddenly Erased All Else?

Perhaps the most absurd consequence of the Tamlin hate train is this retroactive gaslighting of Feyre’s own character. By the time we get to A Court of Frost and Starlight, Feyre casually drops that she’s loved Rhysand since Under the Mountain. Excuse me, what? Let’s go back to the text, shall we?

In ACOTAR, Feyre is doing everything in her power to save Tamlin—not Rhysand. In fact, Feyre hates Rhysand for most of that book (and rightly so). She is willing to sacrifice herself for Tamlin, to endure Amarantha’s torment because of the deep love she feels for him. The entire climax of the book hinges on Feyre’s determination to free Tamlin, not Rhysand.

But suddenly, we’re supposed to believe that she’s been in love with Rhysand this whole time? Yeah, no. That’s like claiming you’ve loved pizza your entire life but spent your formative years swearing you couldn’t stand the taste of cheese. It doesn’t add up. The revisionism here is frustrating because it attempts to erase Feyre’s complex feelings for Tamlin, reducing them to some passing crush while elevating her relationship with Rhysand to an almost predestined love story. It’s not only inaccurate; it’s unfair to the nuance of Feyre’s journey.

And for those who claim that Tamlin was manipulating Feyre from the start: let’s not pretend Rhysand wasn’t manipulative as well. Rhysand, for all his brooding High Lord charm, was hardly honest with Feyre at first. He didn’t tell her about the mate bond until after she’d fled the Spring Court, allowing her to suffer through an emotional tailspin in the meantime. If we’re going to talk about manipulation, let’s talk about it on both sides of the equation.

Tamlin’s Villain Arc: When Did Fandom Decide He’s the Devil Incarnate?

Let’s get one thing clear: Tamlin is not perfect. He has anger issues, control issues, and makes some boneheaded decisions. But turning him into the ultimate villain of the series is not just a misstep—it’s a full-blown mischaracterization.

Tamlin’s actions in A Court of Mist and Fury—his attempts to lock Feyre in the Spring Court, his alliance with Hybern—are not the actions of a villain, but of someone who is deeply flawed and unable to cope with the trauma he’s experienced. He is desperate to hold on to the one thing he thinks he can still control: Feyre. Is it right? Absolutely not. Is it a classic case of toxic masculinity and overprotection? Yes. But that doesn’t make him an evil character—it makes him a tragic one.

The fandom has somehow turned Tamlin into a one-dimensional antagonist, ignoring the deep trauma he’s endured and the complicated reasons behind his actions. People seem to forget that Tamlin genuinely cared for Feyre—enough to let her go at the end of ACOTAR. That’s not something a villain would do. Villains don’t sacrifice their happiness for the well-being of others, but Tamlin did. He wanted Feyre to be happy, even if it wasn’t with him.

But thanks to the Mandela Effect of the fandom, Tamlin’s complexity has been erased, replaced with a caricature of a monster. Every time someone falsely claims that Tamlin sold Feyre’s sisters, or assaulted her, or that he’s some irredeemable villain, it becomes harder and harder to pull the conversation back to reality. The narrative has been hijacked by misinformation and misremembering, and the truth is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

The Lord’s Work: Fighting Misinformation One Comment at a Time

At this point, defending Tamlin’s character feels like doing the Lord’s work. The sheer volume of misinformation being spread about him is staggering. And every time someone presents an accurate, well-reasoned argument about what really happened in the series, they’re met with a wall of denial from those who have bought into the Mandela Effect narrative.

It’s exhausting, and yet it’s necessary. Because if we don't keep correcting these misconceptions, the narrative only gets more distorted. The truth gets buried under layers of fan-driven exaggeration, selective memory, and willful ignorance. It’s as if every time someone tries to present a factual argument, they're drowned out by a chorus of “But Tamlin sold Feyre’s sisters!” or “He assaulted her!”—as though saying it louder makes it more true.

Yet, here we are, repeating ourselves like broken records, diligently doing the work to remind people of the actual storyline. Is it thankless? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Because when the truth is at stake, when a character as complex and tragic as Tamlin is being reduced to an easy-to-hate villain, it’s our responsibility to keep the conversation grounded in fact.

Why Do People Cling to These Misconceptions?

Here’s where it gets a bit more philosophical. Why, despite the evidence in the text, do so many fans persist in demonizing Tamlin and clinging to false narratives? The answer, I think, lies in the very nature of fandoms themselves.

Fandoms are not just about the source material—they’re about how people feel about the source material. And feelings, as we all know, are not bound by logic or facts. For many readers, Tamlin represents a particular archetype of toxic masculinity—one that they’re all too familiar with in the real world. When they see Tamlin’s controlling behavior, his anger, and his mistakes, it triggers a visceral reaction. He becomes, in their minds, the embodiment of every harmful, controlling man they’ve encountered or heard about.

Rhysand, by contrast, is portrayed as the perfect “feminist” male hero—someone who respects Feyre’s autonomy, who lifts her up instead of controlling her. It’s easy to see why readers gravitate toward Rhysand and against Tamlin, even when the actual story is far more nuanced.

The problem, of course, is that Tamlin isn’t just an archetype. He’s a fully fleshed-out character with his own trauma, motivations, and flaws. But once a fandom has decided that a character is “bad,” it’s incredibly hard to change that perception, even with cold, hard facts.

The Real Tragedy: A Missed Opportunity for Redemption

What makes this whole Mandela Effect situation even more tragic is that it closes the door on one of the most interesting possibilities in the ACOTAR series: Tamlin’s redemption.

Tamlin is a character who has made mistakes, yes—but so has every major character in the series. Feyre herself is no saint; Rhysand’s hands aren’t exactly clean either. Yet these characters are given the chance to grow, to learn from their mistakes, and to become better versions of themselves. Tamlin, on the other hand, is left to wallow in his misery, largely abandoned by both the narrative and the fandom.

Imagine if the fandom allowed Tamlin the same grace they allow other characters. Imagine if, instead of reducing him to a one-note villain, they embraced the possibility of redemption. Tamlin’s arc could be one of the most powerful in the series—a story about a broken man learning to rebuild himself, about a leader who learns to lead with compassion instead of fear. But as long as the Mandela Effect continues to distort his actions and his character, that possibility remains out of reach.

Conclusion: The Battle Continues

In the end, fighting the Mandela Effect surrounding Tamlin is an uphill battle. It’s frustrating, it’s repetitive, and at times it feels hopeless. But it’s also necessary. Because Tamlin, for all his flaws, deserves better than the treatment he’s received from large swaths of the fandom.

He didn’t sell Feyre’s sisters. He didn’t assault her Under the Mountain. He’s not the devil incarnate. He’s a deeply flawed, deeply human (or, well, fae) character who made mistakes but also showed moments of love, sacrifice, and growth.

So here we are, doing the Lord’s work, repeating the same truths over and over again, hoping that someday the message will finally stick. Because Tamlin’s story is not one of villainy—it’s one of tragedy. And it’s time the fandom started treating it that way.

[silvermoon424]

Wuxing and Its Influence Over Sailor Moon

NOTE: if I get anything about wuxing wrong, please correct me! I did research for this post but I'm sure I greatly simplified things.

I don't recall seeing a post about this on Tumblr, so I figured I'd be the change I want to see!

Anyway, something I don't see discussed often in the Sailor Moon fandom is the fact that much of the Inner Senshi's powers and personalities are based on wuxing, or the Chinese system of Five Phases. Well, okay, technically wuxing influenced the Japanese naming system of the 5 planets known since antiquity (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn), as wuxing was originally used to refer those planets in ancient Chinese scholarship before it took on a broader meaning. But I still think Naoko Takeuchi was influenced by wuxing and not just the Japanese names of the planets themselves!

Anyway, you can kind of think of wuxing as similar to the Western idea of the classical elements, but it's far broader in scope. In traditional Chinese fields, it's used to explain a wide range of phenomenon, such as cosmic cycles and the succession of political regimes.

However, this post will only be exploring how wuxing is used to classify the planets and how that influenced Naoko Takeuchi when she created Sailor Moon. The elements and their planetary matches are:

Water: Mercury

Metal: Venus

Fire: Mars

Wood: Jupiter

Earth: Saturn

There are also certain mental/emotional qualities assigned to these elements:

Water: Wisdom, wit, intelligence, flexibility, resourcefulness, softness, anxiety

Metal: Determination, strength, ambition, self-reliance, strength of mind, rigid, leadership

Fire: Passion, intensity, resolve, spontaneity, dynamism, restlessness, hate

Wood: Warmth, generosity, idealism, cooperation, courage, kindness, anger

Earth: Patience, thoughtfulness, nurturing, honesty, stability, agreeableness

So yeah, I think there are some clear parallels here.

Sailor Mercury: Ami Mizuno means "Asian Beauty of Water" and Sailor Mercury has powers over water in all its states of matter (fog, water, and ice). I've sometimes seen people be confused over why Sailor Mercury has water powers when the planet Mercury is so hot and devoid of any semblance of water; well, it's because of wuxing! Anyway, Ami herself is also known for her intelligence and wisdom as well as for her soft heart.

Sailor Mars: Rei Hino means "Spirit of Fire" and Sailor Mars commands control over flames. Sailor Mars is known as the "Senshi of Flames and Passion," and lives up to that name by being one of the most passionate and intense Senshi in the series.

Sailor Jupiter: Makoto Kino means "Sincerity of Wood" and while Sailor Jupiter is commonly associated with electricity, her powers really encompass nature as a whole. In the manga/reboot anime, she has a number of attacks that involve plants. Mako is loved by her friends for being incredibly warm and generous, and Sailor Jupiter is known as the "Senshi of Courage."

Sailor Venus: Minako Aino's name ("Beautiful Child of Love") and her powers overall take much more inspiration from the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus, than from wuxing. However, she does still incorporate metal into her attacks, especially in the manga and reboot anime. In the manga/reboot this is done via her trusty chain, which is utilized for most of her attacks. Regarding personality, Minako is very self-reliant, ambitious, and determined, and of course is the leader of the Inner Senshi.

Sailor Saturn: There's not much to say here, because I don't think Naoko Takeuchi was inspired much by wuxing for Hotaru. However, "Earth" is reflected in Hotaru Tomoe's name- "Firefly Sprouting From Earth"- likely because the planet Saturn follows the wuxing naming convention in Japanese (it's called “Dosei," or "Earth Star"). That being said, Hotaru is very patient, thoughtful, and honest (I would not list "stability" as one of her qualities though, considering the whole "possessed by an evil alien and then reborn as a rapidly aging baby" thing lmao).

Anyway, that's it from me! I hope someone out there learned something new!

[featherstorm2004]

All For One and the power of context

I tend to drift alongside the BNHA fandom as a somewhat casual enjoyer so I haven't really made much posts about the series even if I do like it. Mostly because the things I want to say have already been stated by someone else so, I never felt a need but with these latest chapters I wanted to mention what I believe is Horikoshi"s biggest strength "context".

What I mean by that is his ability to turn seemingly boring or one note characters into some of the most fascinating by showing how these characters upbringings and living situations made them who they are today. And I believe we can all agree this is shown most strongly with the villains, are most recent example being All For One who has made the transformation from a pure evil one note villain to a complex human being within just a few chapters, even if All For One himself would refuse to admit to such humanity.

This can also be seen with other examples such as Mr Compress, Dabi and Toga with the later being the most demonised by the fandom until recent chapters. But for now I wish to focus on All For One as I find his situation to be the most fascinating because unlike the other villains who desperately want to be seen as human and accepted by the world around them, All For One seems almost afraid to admit his humanity and the cruelty of his circumstances.

Ever since All For One was introduced we have been lead to believe by the narrative and All For One himself that he is simply pure evil, that there is no complex reasoning behind what he dose or why he dose it he was simply "born arrogant". But I don't believe that and I don't think Horikoshi wants you to believe that either, it has been displayed to us multiple times in the series that there is no such thing as people who are born evil. I would argue that nature vs nurture is one of the key themes of BNHA.

One key example of this is Endeavour and Dabi, where in the early arcs of the series we are led to believe Endeavour to be this pure evil abusive monster who tormented his family and whilst he was most certainly an abusive prick, Endeavour can't be simplified so quickly with his atonement arc being a clear sign of that. And then there's Dabi who was hated for not caring about his family or friends because of the way he tried to deflect and hide any emotions that weren't pure anger or disgust, then his complete backstory that wasn't from Endeavour's point of view we see almost immediately after the fire he rushes back home to apologies to his family.

The reason I bring these things up is because it displays seamlessly how the lack of context to Dabi and Endeavour's stories led to them to be demonised and simplified into pure evil characters when that is far from the truth.

And I believe a similar phenomenon has begun to scour with All For One, as with the most recent chapters, where we have been allowed to peel back to mask the demon lord just a little bit to see the real man behind the mask of evil. Now dose this mean I am implying that All For One is simply misunderstood or that he can be redeemed? God no but that's not the point, that''s never been the point.

We aren't meant to like All For One or think that he deserves forgiveness but we are supposed to understand him, to deconstruct the layers of the number one villain and understand how he has gotten to this point. To understand that he was a child born in what was essentially an apocalypse with no parents, no name and no one willing to help him because of his quirk, where him and his brother where hunted by hate groups and the government for simply being born different, where he had to not only find a way for himself to survive but also his sickly twin who couldn't help him much due to his illness.

It is this very important context that allows us to understand how a man like All For One came to be. But we must also understand two very important things and that 1) All For One is a liar and 2) he is very childish. At first I thought it was strange how juvenile he acted during these recent arcs and even stranger when he started de-ageing but now I understand why, because the truth of the situation is that All For One never truly grew up from his days as a young child reading comic books with his brother.

In many ways all of this conflict, pain and destruction is merely an extension of that, he is quite literally a child playing at being the big bad in his favourite story. It also explains why he doesn't understand why his brother wants to stay away from him because it's just a game why are you getting worked up over me breaking a few toys? This also would explain all his tantrums first with All Might and now Hawks because they're ruining his game and his story.

Now that's not to say that I think All For One doesn't understand all the pain he's caused or that what he's doing is wrong. But like early Shigaraki he's distance himself to it, it's a similar phenomenon where people in a video game are more willing to do more messed up stuff like murder or bulling a character because they are distanced from it to a point they feel comfortable acting that way just to see what happens.

That's also why I believe All For One clings to his demon persona so much, because if he is truly a demon if he was simply born evil with no ability to feel love or empathy then that also means that he doesn't have to take accountability for his actions because that was simply how he is.

But it's not just about accountability.

I also think the demon persona is a form of self defence for All For One, a way for him to take back control from a world that denied it to him. Like most victims of trauma he is trying to create a way for him to have agency in a situation he originally had no control in, this can be seen in many children who place themselves in the positions of the hero's in the stories they are exposed to, so they too can feel that sense of power and control in they're own lives.

So, that's simply what All For One did only instead of mimicking the hero he decided to mimic the villain. And I think his reasons for doing so are fascinating, at first he relays to the audience and All Might that it's simply a power thing or his desire to rule the world but it's not that simple.

The real reason is surprisingly more human, All For One wants to be loved, to be relied on and trusted. Essentially, All For One desires a family, a community to call his own after being denied one his entire life and this explains a lot about his earlier actions, hell in one of the first vision's Deku receives about All For One he refers to his minions as his "dear friends" and when he is fighting with All Might one of his biggest grievance is how All Might forced his "dear friends" to go under ground.

He even refers to Aoyama as his nephew and gets him and his family to call him uncle, this man is obsessed with the idea of family. Which in turn explains his absolute rage and hatred to all the barriers of One For All as in his eyes they stole the only family he's had since birth, the only person who loved him unconditionally, until he went too far. It's probably the reason All For One chose to fixate on Tenko so much despite having an army of children who could be his successors as not only did he get his revenge by stealing a family member of one of All For One's holders but he also gets to have a child who appears close enough to him and his brother that he could pretend he is actually family.

However, I don't think All For One can admit this to himself, that he is in fact a human being. A human that desires to be loved and love in return because if he dose admit that to himself then he would shatter and he'd have to face all the emotions and consequences that he's been running from for over a century. It would essentially be an ego death for him as everything he's convinced himself he is and what he was taught to be by the world who fears him would suddenly be a lie and he can't handle that.

So, he lies to himself and to the world desperately trying to convince everyone that he is in fact the demon lord, and not a child who desperately clings to fiction. It's tragic in a way as ultimately I believe Yoichi was correct, if given the right care and upbringing All for one could have been the kindest ability in the world, but alas they were not so lucky.

As, for where his story is going I honestly have no idea, he may be killed, he may De-age into nothingness. But I think it's important to remember this context whenever we discus the story of BNHA with all it's flaws it is ultimately about broken people desperately finding a place in the world.

But that's just my opinion.

[clotpolesonly]

ya know, i spend a lot of my time watching various youtubers react to watching A:TLA for the first time, cuz i love the show and i love being a voyeur to other people's fangirling over pieces of media that i love lol, and one thing i've noticed is a pretty consistent fundamental misunderstanding of the fire nation's imperialism

everyone's first reaction is to 1) look for a reason for the fire nation's expansion and 2) both simplify and aggrandize it into "taking over the world"

no one i watch ever seems to recognize this as just.......a real political phenomenon that happens on a constant basis. that it is continually happening and being perpetuated in real life. like, this is just what most of the wealthy nations currently in our political landscape have done and are still doing. "taking over the world" is such a cartoonishly evil concept that there's a disconnect between that and the reality of it, which is bizarre because it's portrayed extremely realistically within the show, the magical powers involved notwithstanding. this is political conquest, it's economic exploitation, it's occupation and annexation and colonization.

it just feels so jarring to me to watch these reactors scramble for an explanation to something that is fundamental to the way most wealthy countries in the world function by default. and it would be one thing if these were kids, like idk how well i understood the premise when i was 12 years old watching it air on tv for the first time, but they're not. these are grown people in their mid 20s, these are adults presumably participating in society in the year 2024. they have to have heard of the concept of imperialism by now.

and i'm not trying to shame anybody. all of these reactors otherwise show great insight and understanding of the characters and the themes and the messages of the show. it's just such a consistent thing i've noticed across, what, like, 7 or 8 different reaction series? the shock and confusion displayed at the fire nation's imperialism, like they cannot think of a single reason that a nation might do something like this. as if greed and economic gain isn't enough of a motivation, or nationalism and racial superiority. as if we didn't all learn about various real-life countries "sharing their prosperity with the world" through violent occupation in school.

was everybody absent that day?? or is it just somehow harder to recognize when there's firebending involved??

[madara-fate]

This is ridiculous it's 2024

And there still trying to claim the curse of hatred is gaslighting propaganda or a theory somehow tobirama wasn't the only person who mentioned the curse of hatred not only did obito mention the curse of hatred so did hagoromo

And not one person not even hashirama denied the curse of existence infact hashirama added on to the conversation and mentioned madara love for izuna

How the hell do these people not see the absurdity of accusing the concept of the Curse of Hatred, of minimising the experiences of those who have been abused or racially discriminated against?

How? Where is the link between the two? Kishi gave a very clear reason as to why Uchihas specifically fell victim to the COH. What has women suffering mental breakdowns due to social neglect or abuse got to do with anything? They're stupidly trying to insinuate that giving the COH as a reason for the Uchihas hatred is minimising their trauma in the same manner as diagnosing women who have suffered abuse with hysteria, but there is no correlation. Again, because a very clear reason was given as to why it affects specifically the Uchihas. It began with Indra who hated his father and brother for the former's decision to entrust the future to Ashura. And as Indra is the progenitor of the Uchiha's, his hatred was passed down. That's all there is to it. What the fuck is all this nonsense about minimising people's traumatic experiences in reality?

No one tried to "confuse" anyone, Tobirama literally described the Uchiha to be a clan possessed by evil. That, and he didn't even say that they were inherently filled with hatred (or "hysterical" as this person likes to claim), he explained that very specific criteria have to be met in order for the Uchiha to fall victim to the Curse. It's not as if every single time an Uchiha feels hatred or gets "hysterical", it's automatically because of the COH. So this just further debunks this persons already feeble point. Because they're acting as if the story indicated that whenever an Uchiha gets hysterical, it must be because of the COH, showing how little they paid attention.

Because in this situation, it is their particular group's problem.

Scientific proof? It's a fucking supernatural phenomenon. There's nothing scientific about it. That's like asking for scientific proof for the existence of chakra. Do they not see how stupid that sounds? It's fictional. These people are ridiculous. The only scientific part about it is the part where chakra gets released inside the brain and reacts with the optic nerves which leads to the emergence of their Sharingan. But again, chakra is fictional.

Then they bring up Shikamaru's revenge mission against Hidan and Kakuzu in attempt to support their point, when not only does that again ignore both why the curse only affects the Uchiha as well as the specific criteria that must be met for the Uchiha to fall victim to it in the first place, but it also indicates that they think that the manner in which they sought revenge was in any way comparable.

Let's test that out.

Shikamaru wanted revenge on Hidan and Kakuzu and only Hidan and Kakuzu, as they were the ones who were directly responsible for Asuma's death, that's understandable.

Sasuke - He didn't only want revenge on those who did him wrong, his hatred extended to the entire village, the vest majority of which did him no wrong whatsoever.

That would be like Shikamaru's revenge extending to everyone in Hidan and Kakuzu's villages too, there's no comparison.

Madara - Much like Sasuke, his revenge extended to the entire village too, the vast majority of which again, did him no wrong.

Again, no comparison with Shikamaru.

Does Obito even need any explanation? He's the one who caused by far the most shit in the entire series, but let's just stick with the theme from Sasuke and Madara. Much like those two, Obito's carnage extended to the entire village, who did him no wrong.

The series made it exceedingly easy to distinguish between a regular person wanting some measure of revenge, and when an Uchiha who has fallen victim to the Curse of Hatred, wanted some revenge.

[s12-kittie]

Imprisoned feelings: the fullest analysis of the Trix I ever wrote

For the sake of writing normal fanfiction, I've given the Trix a lot of thought and now I'm preseting you my thoughts about why they're... the Trix. I'll try to observe only the facts given in the series (I'm not taking the facts from the comics, bc firstly, I didn't read all the comics and secondly, some info in the comics is right the opposite from the info in the series and movies) and not my headcannons, but it's going to be really hard XD

Actually, I think that the Trix are kind of a phenomenon among other witches. Griffin once mentioned that witches don't work in groups and here we have... witches working in the group, which acually rarely splits up. But I don't think it's because they experience some sisterly (or any other kind of) love, bc they are way too selfish for that and when the situation gets dangerous, none of them would risk her life to save the other. (Okay, Darcy and/or Stormy might do that for Icy, but I'll explain that possibility later.)

Yet they think about each other. In season 5, Darcy and Stormy left Icy, putting their comfort in the first place, but before that they kept trying to make her change her mind (stuff about Icy and Tritannus is in my other article) and came back for their sister in the very end. In season 3, Valtor (as I believe) tried to break the Trix up, but in the end they were still working together as a group. So, the Trix are mentally attached to each other, though they care more about themselves (or about Psychofish (sorry)).

To me, that attachment means two things. Firstly, they've spent a lot of time together, bc I believe that such a firm bond simply can't be formed during the 2.5 years they've been studying at Cloud Tower. And sevondly, they didn't have a loving family/families, which could show them a good example of how people should communicate. That moves us to the next conclusion.

Although all three of the Trix are different, they have something in common. They all are sadistic and very naive. I think that it all comes from their childhood. As I said, no-one of their family members/caretakers actually loved them. Also, I think people who raised the Trix, prepared them for what they've accomplished, I mean stealing the Dragon Flame and ruling the world. In season 1, when Icy was explaining it all to Bloom, I had a clear impression that she was repeating the words the had been told. So, yeah, I think the Trix were constantly told about their future mission, smth like "you're the future and the only hope of this world/our ultra evil community/etc", apply puberty to that stuff and you'll get the "we are the baddest people here" POV, bc for real, these three didn't even take headmasters of the schools seriously, which, btw, were powerful and experienced sorcerers, who fought Valtor, Darkar and other ☆amazing☆ people. So, the piont is, the Trix were made naive and cruel. Aaaaand here we move to the "imprisoned feelings" thingy.

(Another fact that confirmed they were raised to carry out the mission of world domination: they are used to be the right-hand. They easily team up with Darkar, Valtor, Tritannus, Serina (okay, in the last case, Serina was the right-hand, but they still worked with her instead of taking her book for themselves, which, btw, I can't explain). So, it may be possible that since the very beginning of the story, they tried to fulfill the task they were given by their parents/caretakers)

So, the Trix were raised as the killing machines. I believe that it also ment they should've been heartless. But they're still human beings, who do have some feelings inside them. So, what do they do? Right, they suppress these feelings.

Remember how quick were Icy and Stormy to laugh at Darcy bc of her feelings for Riven (season 1)? Or the reaction of Icy and Darcy when Stormy mentioned them as her 'friends'(season 3)? I think it all happened because they were taught that positive feelings are ridiculous and make one weak. And that's why they never tried to show it.

Cloud Tower made things even worse. This is where we should thank Griffin (no), who always mentioned aloud about her how much she dislikes "those fairies who always care about the others." (Not a quote, but she could've said smth like that.) So, the Trix get a clear pic: on one side, there are fairies, disgustingly-glittery creatures who are always caring cheerful and therefore weak. On the other side, there are cruel, heartless and cool witches, who will win this rivalry in the end, bc they're not afraid to play dirty (why are they nit afraid?? BC WITCHES DON'T KNOW WHAT FEAR IS- oh sorry, I got a little too carried away XD)

There also might be one more aspect. Icy, who is obviously the leader type, seeing the relationship between them and their parents/caretakers, began to treat her sisters the same way, so Darcy and Stormy were really afraid of her, even though the three of them might've had equal powers. And because of this fear, they would do anything for her. That's why sometimes they risked their lives for Icy (the end of season 5 and the end of season 8).

I wanted to write about each of the Trix here as well, but this shit is already way too long, so another time :)

P. S.: sorry if there're any mistakes, I'm done checking this

[the-blossica-fan]

And now here's my pitch for Evil Kaala Bunaa.

She's be a geologist.

NOOOOO MY ASTRONOMER

"I have no interest in studying the celestial bodies in the sky" (studies the floor)

Kumar: 😦

Kaalaa would probably just be this extrovert person that studies the floor, she's determined and very sure of herself to the point of probably being low-key egocentric, doesn't rely on anyone and brags about her findings.

Kumar would not be proud, wdym you're not looking up and instead are looking at a rock

This Kaalaa is more active than her normal self but more self centered as well. Sure she's a lot more sure herself and more extroverted, but we all miss old Kaalaa Baunaa that would nerd about this one random star she read about 5 mins ago.

Kumar specially.

[glitter-stained]

More Batman Magical Girl AU lore: list of transformations

Everybody:

-Semi-transformation: this one is easy, takes little energy out of the Star and doesn't require a transformation sequence. It only triggers the emergence of some star traits, like bat ears and little bat wings for the constellation of the bat, wolf ears and a wagging tail for the constellation of the dog, translucent boxing gloves for the constellation of the clenched fist, etc. They enhance physical prowess and regeneration, though not to the level of Wonder Woman or Superman, as well as semi-flight through the ability to jump from building to building.

-Classic: the classic transformation which is accessible without too much struggle (aside from the concept of awakening) by everyone and probably the only one used for the first three seasons of the show, it's cool and has a transformation sequence but has to still be easy enough to draw. It grants flight, enhanced speed, strength and regeneration as well as access to Basic Moves and Special Moves.

-Meteor: after a Star gives themselves away to the Night of Gotham, if their heart is open enough, the crystal core can channel the pool of star dust inside their heart to grant them access to that transformation, which is objectively cooler and prettier than the classic (for example after someone loses a hand, someone takes a bullet for a civilian etc.). This grants them the ability to make Meteor Special moves, as well as an additional increase in physical abilities.

-Ultimate Starlight: when the Villain Conglomerate kidnaps Batman to try and syphon the power of the Bat, the other Stars come to rescue him. During the fight, the Stars' different attacks overcharge the machine meant to absorb the bat's star magic and use it to permanently mind-control the Gotham population, the Ultimate Transformer of Starlight (UTS), and it basically explodes in a bomb that hits everybody with the very powerful Ultimate Starlight transformation. They can afterwards channel this transformation at will, which is so pretty, and powerful in specific scenarios that require the use of the Starlight Avalanche power it grants: if someone good is brainwashed, possessed or committing evil through some fort of coercion, like some of the key characters used by the villain conglomerate in that arc, this magic frees them of that control and can even make them into allies; one Star's Starlight Avalanche is enough to free an entire mob of people.

-Aurora/Galaxy: The Galaxy is the final arc of the series, in which all the constellations join hands and all the fragments fuse together to summon the Night Sky, which is to say they summon the spirits of the Night Sky Constellations through a phenomenon called Aurora Borealis that opens the gateways and leads to the Stars and the constellations sharing a body moving together in complete symbiosis, in an all powerful costume that shows both ethereality, specificity to the constellation and full power glitter and detail. There are actually two costume changes in that epic final scene, the Aurora where as they hold hands and summon the Nightsky they are in uniformish galaxy/northern lights colours emitting and pastel neon light, and then the Galaxy when they merge completely with their constellation.

Twisted:

-Jason (Constellation of the Wolf): Unleashed: During this Under the Red Hood inspired arc, Jason is grappling with severe trauma and pain and rage, which all bubble to the surface as he tries to figure out what's happening. In an access of pain and grief, Jason decides to flood his crystal core with energy with the goal to implode, but instead the core is damaged and defaced (it will be healed at the end of the arc), leading him to take in an alternate transformed form that showcases his grief, rage and pain to the world and half-controls him, leading to an extreme increase in violence.

-Bruce (Constellation of the Bat): Dark Heart: Bruce's plummeting mental health leads him to attempt to shield his heart and accidentally leads to the corruption of his core by the Dark Spirit Zurr' En' Arr, who turns on his family and, among others, kidnaps Jason and tries to deactivate his crystal core to avoid a reiteration of the Unleashed Arc, which leads to consequences similar to the Gotham War storyline (though Jason is later healed through the waters of the fountain of the Astral Lost).

Star Fusion:

When two stars enter complete partnership their fragments might fuse temporarily, leading to both having costumes and powers that share traits of both. Examples of this phenomenon are the Stephcass fusion fight or that time the We Are Robin movement triggered by Duke induces a fusion between all of the Robins.

[ohmyplasticstars]

HI

If you couldn't tell

I adore Izaack, and since he was unlucky enough to catch my attention.

I have a fuck ton of HCs for him. Some very normal and nice. Others unhinged let's go❤️

1. He's German!

→ Yes I got that hc because of his last name Gauss having German roots. I like it, it fits him, he's lovely. I haven't decided on which part of Germany he hails from though. Maybe somewhere very green, hilly and open

(if Germany has places like that, I don't know much about Deutschland 💔)

2. He can't swear

→ He can swear, he has the knowledge and ability for it, but he is unable because there's some other worldly phenomenon that's specifically targeted him so every time he swears it gets censored in real life, it gets BLEEPED out, offensive gestures also get BLEEPED out like he's on some TV show.

Got that government censorship brain chip on him fr/j

And yes everyone can hear the bleep. It freaks them out every time. Sometimes he'll swear just to make series of BLEEPs because it's funny

Though in general he prefers to not swear at all, because he wants to keep a good reputation. Especially around kids and women. He might swear sometimes if he's trying to add a comical effect to a funny story. His swears get bleeped out still.

3. He's a friend of Dorothy xD

→ Being a friend of Dorothy, is a slang for being gay. Basically people would ask if you're a friend of Dorothy, if you said yes, you're gay. It was a good way to find fellow queers.

He loves Agnus :), they're secretly dating. Gotta keep reputations up you know! Love is nice but being able to pay bills is also nice and not something you can skip on xd. They'd get so bullied and hated for being gay back then augh poor meow meows.

4. He doesn't blink much

→ I like thinking that maybe he doesn't blink a lot, he doesn't need to perhaps. He definitely blinks but people don't ever catch him blinking, even if they did it's probably bumped out of their memory. So there's some small town rumor/joke that Izaack doesn't blink. He does blink if you look at him closely during one of his reports, it's just no one notices because they're just so focused on his blue blue eyes

This is where we get a lil goofy mc silly a little evil if you will

5. He's a paparazzi

→He likes stealing photos of famous people, depending on if he isn't attached to the person (doesn't care for them) and how much money he gets, he is willing to pick doors and climb into windows for that illegal snap.

He mainly just exposes people's secrets for cash. He never reports the secrets himself because that's mighty Sus. He sells his collected data to other reporters who are struggling to find a scoop.

No lock is too much a match for him!

He has had his bad lucks however, sometimes he gets mistaken for a dopple ganger when intruding in a house, which is a good thing otherwise his reputation as a good man would be ruined! Usually he's absolutely seamless, but sometimes he gets caught and even shot (A lot of neighbors own guns for self defense) but he lives he always does

It hasn't stopped him yet

There will be more for next time!!!

[not-poignant]

u seem like the kinda person who'd know about this? apologies if u dont want these sorta asks, my sole source of fan stuff is ao3 and this specific page but i will totally understand if u dont wanna answer !

u know the trope where like. little evil guy goes thru horrific traumatising event and/or everyone discovers they previously went thru horrific traumatising event and then everyone feels sorry for them and, yknow, feels and redemption and whatnot (kinda like falling falling stars except im not expecting anything else to be as good as that <3<3<3<3)... is there an ao3 tag for that? and/or like... a collection (honestly not sure how collections work)?

sadly ao3 has not yet learned to read my mind and scrolling thru every fic tagged with 'angst' has been Not Fruitful. sincerest thanks if u do decide to answer!! and have a good day/night regardless!

Hi anon!

So, the term is probably closest to something like 'woobification' or turning a villain into a woobie (terrible things happen to them, everyone feels sorry for them, and they get accepted etc.)

However, this tag is often viewed negatively in fandom so almost no one tags with it. It's very hard to find these kinds of fics and you'll be much better off actually targeting specific villains in fandoms and then looking via tags like angst and hurt/comfort.

For example, these sorts of fics have happened a lot with Loki. You'd be looking for long wordcount Loki angst fics with hurt/comfort as a tag. And then having to weed out specific ones. You might want to start with Lise's series re: Loki and Steve Rogers here, called Remember This Cold. This is nearly a million words long, so it's a good place to start. Loki goes through many traumatising events, and it's nice watching everyone slowly come around to him (some faster than others).

Unfortunately there's no universal tag though, along the way people got shamed for doing this to villains, and so at best you might be able to search for 'redemption arc' but that's not really going to give you the kind of woobification you're probably looking for. I know it happened to Loki a lot, if you go into my bookmarks and search via Thor + Marvel fandoms specifically for longer fics re: Loki, most of them will be like this though.

There are other villains people love to do this to, but none are immediately coming to mind for me. Other folks can add them in the tags! Some villains are more appealing for this than others, so often targeting a character is more fruitful than searching like...all fics for this phenomenon. It's important that the fics be generally longer than about 20,000 words, because that's long enough to establish a decent turnaround redemption narrative. And you'll probably want the hurt/comfort tag as well (though not everyone will have used it.)

Also, Lise does this with other villains too! So that's an author I think you can find a ton of great fics out of if you like her style! (if living can be this, is also very good).

It might not always be villains you know well, but the stories are often very worth it regardless of how familiar you are with the fandom!

It's one of my favourite genres to read (and write), so I appreciate how frustrating it can be to find them!

[genderisafuck]

Honestly like as someone who used to like Harry Potter and had like 98% of my taste for it ruined by JKR's bullshit (all the stuff I still have any attachment to is fanon) I get...so weirded out by the way people insist that even still TALKING about it among friends is somehow LITERALLY KILLING TRANS KIDS-

But also, on a weird, irrational, emotional level, I get it - or at least, I can sympathize with...what I know is one of the less fair motivations for it. Because I also have that feeling of, well, this series was important to me. It was a gateway to fandom for me. I did so much cringey shit with it when I was younger lmao - those are some really important memories. And now I can't look back on them without remembering how that money went to someone who wants me dead and is willing to spend the money I spent on those books to make it happen. Disgusting.

It's easy, emotionally, to look at someone who manages to still enjoy it and be angry. A little jealous, a little erased - how lucky one must be, to be so unaffected by it all, I find myself tempted to say, voice dripping with scorn.

Similarly, I understand and sympathize with the emotion of where a lot of people who were never fans are coming from, in a way that makes me resent the actions even more - "HA! Vindication! You mocked me for being the weirdo who never like the cultural phenomenon, but I was right all along, I have the moral high ground!" Sure can be an enticing feeling.

I hate it all that much more because I understand it. It's certainly not the only motivation that exists, of course, but it really does come off as...this isn't actually about our lives and rights on the line. It's fandom drama with a righteous sounding excuse. It's a game to so many of you - not all, but far too many.

tl;dr ALL emotions are morally neutral - yes, including liking things - but the way some people act on them sure as hell aren't and that's NOT just on the "still liking the wizard books" side and thank you for acknowledging it <3

I was never all that invested in harry potter. I watched every movie with my first girlfriend a few years ago and back then i still considered them pretty average. Definitely not worth rewatching or buying the books over.

But yea there is a certain kind of puritanism as in "if you still like the books/movies now, youre a bad person". I agree you shouldnt be spending money on any of that stuff anymore, obviously, but its fine to like it. Harry potter is a big part of a lot of peoples lives and childhoods and just because JKR decided to come out as an idiot doesnt mean that those feelings arent still there, i totally get that.

In that way, if you can access the media without helping JKR in any way, then you should be morally allowed to do that. Its not like the books or movies are evil (there are problematic themes in them, but i trust in peoples ability to critically engage with media).

The question is just how to do that best. Piracy obviously. Not engaging in the fandom as to not draw more attention to JKR, to not give her any new fans? Its not like i have the answer to that

[mask131]

Vampires before they were cool... (1)

Before talking about Dracula, before talking about the first vampire in literature, why don’t we talk about the first vampires in beliefs and folklore?

Everybody is convinced that they know what vampires are. And yet they don’t. People were so influenced by the literary and then cinematic depiction of the vampire as the undead seducer, as the demonic aristocrat, as the tortured soul who just looks like a human with some pointy teeth… They forgot what vampires started out as, and the “original” vampire is. Which is actually something quite close to the modern idea of what a “zombie” is today – with some elements of evil ghosts and murderous wraiths thrown in. A ghostly zombie, how cool is that?

Let’s start at the beginning of it all (and maybe we’ll even go before the beginnings): when did the figure of the vampire per-se appeared in Europe? (I won’t talk here of all the proto-vampires and all the beliefs that led to the apparition of the vampire, I’ll keep this for another time).

[Also just to specify, again, because people are going to raise their fingers: this is by no mean an extensive, well-researched, definitive scholarly work. I'm just scribbling notes here and there in case people didn't heard about this stuff or wish to discover new roads to explore]

As I am using the chronology established by Jean Marigny, I will begin with the 11th century. It was in this era that the first rumors about dead people whose corpse was repeatedly found outside of their grave, and untouched by rot, started spreading around. The bishop of Cahors shared a story in 1031, during the second Council of Limoges (it was later relayed by Collin de Plancy in his “Dictionnaire infernal”): according to him, a knight of his congregation who had been excommunicated before dying had his body found several times outside of his grave, as if he kept coming out of it. The blood-sucking or “life-stealing” element would come later: a mix of old “paganism” from the Norse and Celtic beliefs, and of the superstitions of medieval Christianity, the image of the vampire as we would know it today first truly appeared in the British Isles, in Iceland, and in other Scandinavian countries. As early as the 12th century, we find in England stories of dead people (usually excommunicated) who each night leave their grave to either torment their loved ones, or cause a series of unusual deaths. When upon investigation the graves of the deceased were opened, their corpse was found unrotten and covered in blood – to end the “curse”, people usually burned the corpse after piercing it with a sword. Tales of the sort can be found in works such as “De Nugis Curialium” (1193) by Walter Map, or the “Historia Regis Anglicarum” (1196) by William of Newburgh. Since there was no real terminology or word for these creatures, the chronicles usually described them as “cadaver sanguisugus”.

These early cases of vampirism were a recurring thing throughout the following centuries – similar stories can be found all the way up to the Renaissance, though they were usually so episodic and isolated that they did not leave a lasting impact on cultures or beliefs.

It would only be by the 14th century that vampirism would start to exist as an “epidemic” – with manifestations of mass phenomenon in areas such as Bohemia, Silesia or Eastern Prussia. This generalization of vampires, and the sudden “spectacular” nature of their manifestations, is easy to explain: it all coincides with the great plagues epidemics. It was well known that, out of fear of contagion, the dead were very quickly and hastily buried – sometimes before they were even dead… Just being sick and disease enough could lead you to get six feet underground. Of course, as a result, if the graves or vaults were opened a few days later, one would find the body untouched by rot but covered in blood – as the poor people probably tried to claw their way out, or actually died after their burial. These grizzly tragedies, in a 16th century filled with superstitions and tormented by many diseases, resulted in a true boom of the vampire belief. An interesting case showing how even the upper-class of society could not escape is the one of the Prussian baron Steino of Retten. After dying of the plague, he was buried in grandiose funerals with all the honors due to his rank… But the following days, many people claimed to have seen the baron outside of his graves, walking around as if he was still alive. This led to the baron’s grave being opened, and his body pierced many times with a sword to “allow his soul to go to rest”. Numerous similar cases were reported in Bohemia around the same time.

In Western Europe, meanwhile, vampire cases stayed sporadic and episodic… Until 1484. On 1484, the pope Innocent VIII approved the publication of the “Malleus Maleficarum” – while most known as the “witch-hunter manual” which turned the medieval persecutions into an absolute horror, this book by the Dominicans Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer (who notably got into a lot of troubles and fighting with authorities of the Church precisely due to some of the beliefs in this book contradicting the Church teachings) was also an investigation and study of cases of succubus, incubus and undead. When it was said and shared around Europe that the pope had accepted and “sponsored”, so to speak, this book, it was a HUGE wave of shock with lasting effects: it meant the Church was officially recognizing the existence of the undead…

Then, the Reformation would too strengthen the legend of the vampire, during the second half of the 16th century. You see, there was a belief going around (and born during the times of the great plague) that the dead in their graves would devour themselves, as things looking like bite marks or self-devouring appeared on corpses dug out after their burial (again, very likely result of hasty funerals). This led to an entire belief that the dead, when in their grave, would “chew” and “masticate” (many people claimed hearing the jaws of the dead work when passing by their grave), and that they would eat dirt in their grave, their own shrouds, or their own flesh. (The theory of the “masticating corpses” was notoriously illustrated by a 1728 work by Michael Ranft, “De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis Liber”). Soon the belief came that, when the “masticating death” started eating things like shroud or flesh, they would gain evil powers, dark abilities to cause the death of the living being. This led to the tradition of placing things inside the mouth of corpses to prevent them from “chewing”. Luther himself knew and had talked about these cases – he had been told of them by the pastor Georg Röhrer. From 1552 onward, in Prussia and Silesia, it became common to put a stone or a pfenning in the mouth of the dead – and since, again, the term “vampire” did not exist per se, they were called by the German name “Nachzehrer”, a term which was equated with both “predator” and “parasite”.

However, the Protestants taking over these early cases of vampirism is fascinating because it led to a complete change of doctrine as to the origins of vampirism. You see, up until now the “cadaver sanguisugus” were treated by a Catholic angle, and under the Neo-Platonician idea of a “life after death”. The body was deemed a physical vessel, a container of flesh who after death corrupted and dislocated, while the soul kept on living in some afterlife or otherworld awaiting the End of Times. Through redemption, the soul of the sinners could be saved – and these souls were also protected if they received the Christian sacraments before their death. However, those that did not receive the sacraments, or those that simply did not receive the final sacrament (the extreme unction, the sacrament of death), or even those that were not buried in a holy ground (excommunication, death by suicide) were doomed to never know salvation. From this belief came the idea of the “undead”, of the “unresting souls”, of “those that return in the flesh” – dead people who did not belong in this world anymore, and yet had no place in the afterlife. These cases of vampirism were considered as souls who came back from the Purgatory or the afterlife, and inhabited again their earthly bodies. But Protestants? Protestants had a whole other way to see things (for example, for them Purgatory did not exist) and this whole thing of “the souls coming back in their bodies” as nonsense. Instead, they explained these Nachzehrer by… witchcraft.

This was mostly the work of the Reformation theologians of Switzerland, Calvin or Louis Lavater. In 1581, Lavater wrote a treaty about “wraiths and spirits of the night”, and in there he claims that the undead are not the dead coming back to life, but rather demons that take the shape of those that once were living. This idea actually came from 1597, and from the king of Scotland James VI (later James the First of England) – a studier of occult sciences, he had written about these “face-stealing demons” in his work “Demonology” (another work which also greatly strengthened and hardened the witch-hunts and witchcraft-justified persecutions). This Reformation concept led to the cementation of the vampire in European culture as “the servant of the devil”.

[dayscapism]

So JK Rowling is shit, read this instead of Harry Potter - part 1/3:

Part 2 - Middle grade/children's books

Part 3 - Young Adult (YA)

This is a list of fantasy books (and some sci-fi) for people who no longer want to support a transphobe & bigot but are still having a hard time finding something that fills the void of Harry Potter. This is a LONG list, with adult, middle grade, and YA recs, divided into 3 parts, one for each age range. Most of these books are far better than HP anyway.

You can still enjoy your merch, books or movies you already own, no one is telling you you can't like or love Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, but please consider diversifying your media so you don't wrongly assume this franchise is the best fantasy ever and nothing can top it when that is simply not true.

As a guide, these are the things I associate with Harry Potter: wizards & witches, magic school, horror elements, mythical/magical creatures, mystery, nostalgia, magical trinkets & artefacts, themes of friendship, family & love and discussions of death/death imagery. Dark forest, ghosts, gloomy aesthetic, medieval castles, cosy reading rooms, libraries, very British, Christmas & Halloween, dark forests, a relatively modern world combined with magic/alternate world, astronomy/astrology, divination. Also tropes like magic politics & bureaucracy, prophecies, the chosen + dead parents, coming of age, discussions on discrimination and outcasts (sort of), good triumphing over evil, overcoming childhood trauma, school-bullying, and also the protagonist is sort of a celebrity for reasons they can't control which others them from society.

These recommendations are based on that, but of course, each recommended book is much more than its similarities with harry potter, a world in itself. This list is NOT comprehensive.

Let's go then!

If you take anything from this post, let it be this series because it is the perfect alternative:

The Nevermoor Series by Jessica Townsend!

This really should blow up worldwide, be the new fantasy phenomenon. It honestly pains me to even put it beside or compare it to Harry Potter. It feels disrespectful to Nevermoor, but it has everything and more you want out of HP. Traumatized kid protagonist who gets whisked away into an alternate world of magic, finds out she's special, meets a wonderful magical mentor/father figure (who isn't actually awful like Dumbledore is to Harry), lots of school friendships and found family, a wonderful setting including a magic school and a magical city with all kinds of fantastical landmarks and alleyways; with magical markets dark and whimsical both. There's magical trials, witches, oracles, fantastical giant creatures, sentient magical animals, and so much more. And it has good discussions on themes of discrimination, school bullying, and mental health. If you like Coraline or The Adams Family, this is perfect for you, too. Plus, this series is written by a queer author who has shown active support to social causes like Palestine.

The series is still releasing, so if you have kids in your life they could grow up with the series as it comes out.

Books in the series:

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow

Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow

Currently waiting on Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow

Adult book recommendations under the cut:

Adult books: Great alternatives to the later HP books and for readers who don't vibe with middle grade or YA anymore.

★ Books I've read myself.

★ The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (trilogy): A dark-skinned, low-class provincial orphan enters a military academy, and must prove her value as a soldier. She discovers she has a hidden, lethal power. High fantasy, based on the Chinese wars and history of the 20th century. Has a magic school/military school setting in the first book. Discussions on the horrors of war and a person's loss of humanity under extenuating circumstances. Excellent character work.

★ Discworld by Terry Pratchett (YA/Adult, different series set in the same world). In particular, the Witches, Death, and Ricewind sub-series have similarities to HP in subject, characters, setting or themes. These books have lots of British humour and excellent commentary on social issues, and a little bit of a magical school and magic learning too.

★ T. Kingfisher books: Nettle & Bone, What Moves the Dead, Thorn Hedge, Paladin's Grace, A House With Good Bones and more. The author does mostly fairy tale retellings and horror. Great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

★ The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (standalone): You want magic? Well, this is, I think, the most magical book ever written. It's so atmospheric, whimsical, historical, and dark. It's about two magicians duelling each other, showing off their magical abilities, under the wishes of their families/mentors (Dumbledore, anyone?). The competition takes place in a magical circus that only opens at night. It's full of magic, romance, betrayal, and wonderful prose. Perfect if you like The Goblet of Fire but you would want a more quiet, aesthetic version of the tournament.

★ Dead Djinn series by P. Djeli Clark (series, mystery, novel + novellas that can be read in any order): This is about supernatural detectives in an alternate history of the city of Cairo, a city full of otherworldly creatures. There's a Ministry of Alchemy, LGBTQ+ rep, discussions of colonialism (especially committed by the British), lots of cheeky humour and cool magical artefacts or magic mixed with technology. It's also set in the 1910s, so it's great for fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (ongoing series): This has a highly-praised magic school setting. It's about a notorious wizard who narrates his story; his childhood, years being a feral orphan, his school years and then life as a fugitive of the law. This series is hailed as one of the best ones in fantasy right now. Great prose too.

Black Prism by Brent Weeks (series): We all know HP is not applauded for having the most coherent magic system. Well, in this book you get a really inventive magic system based on light: in this world, some people can use different colours of visible light to do magic. The people who can use all of them are called Prisms. We follow this one magician who is the current Prism, most powerful man in the world, high priest and emperor, and also a man of wit and charm. He knows Prisms never last though... Great for people who would like a book about a powerful, high-achieving magician, like say, Dumbledore.

★ Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (duology): A young librarian is convinced of the existence of the mythical city of Weep, which was cut from the rest of the world two hundred years ago. He is obsessed. No one believes him. One day an opportunity to travel to said city presents itself and all his dreams come true. But the city hides a dark past, and not all the inhabitants were always human: some were gods with blue skin. Beautifully written, whimsical at every turn but also full of complex, deep subjects.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (ongoing series): It's dark academia in Yale but if Yale had a bunch of occult secret clubs. A freshman, Alex, is the sole survivor of a multiple homicide and still searching for answers herself. She arrives at the school tasked to monitor the activities of the secret societies full of rich students. But the occult activities are more sinister and extraordinary than what she imagined.

Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (standalone): Magic school but now the protagonist is the witch teacher instead of the students, and who comes to teach magic to three young witches. Her coworkers are all a little eccentric, and the love interest is the grumpy librarian. A wholesome, cosy fantasy romance set in alternate contemporary times. Also with the found family trope.

★ Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (multiple series): Hobb is one of the big names of fantasy. This is a low fantasy medieval world, with dragons, assassins, animal familiars, royal courts and backstabbing politics. If you like Game of Thrones, you'll probably like this series too. These books are character-centric to Fitz, the protagonist and bastard-born to the late crown prince, and the court jester, the Fool. The first trilogy is about Fitz's apprenticeship as an assassin to the royal family, his coming-of-age discovery of multiple hidden magic abilities that connect him to his family and the world of beasts, and his journey to save his uncle and country. So basically a non-formal magical school. Hobb has some problematic LGBTQ+ representation, though; she couldn't write a good queer character if her life depended on it. She seems to have the biases of her time ingrained in her and it shows in her writing. So there's that to consider.

★ The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (trilogy): You want a series that you will be thinking about for the rest of your life?? This one. This one is it. This trilogy is about a world where every certain time, there's a worldwide cataclysmic seismic/volcanic disaster. Humanity has evolved strict tactics to survive this, but some individuals are born with the ability to affect seismic movements. These individuals are feared and are put as children into a school where they can learn to control their superhuman abilities and later be in service of the government. One of our protagonists is one of these children. It's about motherhood and community, and has LGBTQ+ with in-text trans, bisexual, and polyamory representation. It discusses subjects of technological advancement, society and discrimination.

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (duology): This is often called "the anti-Harry Potter book". It has elements of mystery-thriller, plays with time/time loops, a magical university, post-soviet culture in Ukraine, metamorphosis, and it's very atmospheric. It's also recommended for fans of The Night Circus and The Magicians. It's best if you go into it not knowing much.

Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (series): For fans of Charlie Weasley and Newt Scamander, set in a world where dragons are real. The protagonist and narrator is the world's preeminent dragon naturalist, who is set to bring these creatures of myth into the light of modern science. It's a coming-of-age story, about learning, and expeditions in search of magical creatures. It's more historical fiction than fantasy though.

The Chronicles of Between by L.L. Starling (ongoing series, romance, cosy, witches): The protagonist starts dreaming weird things when she accepts a position as a substitute teacher in a charmingly witchy village, and soon realizes they're not dreams, but magic. She gatecrashes a fairytale kingdom with drunken unicorns, bored dragons and sorcerers in leather pants. She accidentally performs a supposedly impossible feat and ends up tethered to this world by marriage and a title, but she forges an escape plan...

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey (standalone, mystery, urban fantasy): About a private investigator who never wanted to be magical. Not like her estranged sister, who is a magically gifted professor. But when she is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member in her sister's academy, the detective starts to lose herself in the crime and the life she could have had.

★ House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: LGBTQ+ rep, boarding school, perspective from the teachers/caretakers PoV, and feral, traumatized magical children. Edit: This book has been criticized for being anti-indigenous, in particular with the boarding school plotline being a parallel to residential schools, thus being insensitive and trivializing the history of erasure, violence, genocide and forced assimilation done by the colonizers towards the indigenous people of Canada.

The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas (non-fiction): Exploration of race in popular youth & YA speculative fiction. Analyzing popular media including Harry Potter. Explores radical imagination & Afrofuturism in Black feminism, books and fan fiction to reveal new possibilities.

Disclaimer: I'm just one person/reader, I haven't checked the political or moral views of all these authors or if they're a shitty person. Anything I know or majorly problematic stuff is considered and accounted for, but it's not realistic for me to deep-check each author I ever read. But anyone is welcome to chime in if you know of something we should be aware of about these books/authors.

Always remember to check for trigger warnings (TW), especially for adult books.

Happy reading!

Supporting Sources:

https://www.aspiraldance.com/middle-grade-and-young-adult-books-to-read-instead-of-harry-potter/

https://missprint.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/back-to-magic-school-harry-potter-alternatives-booklist/

Goodreads for synopses.