#golden trio analysis

[sparsilees]

Harry is a clever and competent wizard

A recurring theme in fandom I find endlessly tiresome and disappointing is the portrayal of Harry as an academically struggling student who’s lamentably hopeless at Potions and middling in all other subjects aside from DADA, and who, alongside Ron, is in constant need of Hermione’s guidance. It’s present almost everywhere. It’s reinvented canon. And it’s shoved down new readers and non-fans’ throats alike. Please, there’s an HP wiki available for your perusal. Don’t go about consulting popular fics and the Hermione-biased movie director’s visions to draw your ideas of Harry and Ron’s psyche!

It’s doubly aggravating when this depiction is used to highlight Hermione, Draco, or so-and-so classmate’s magical Einstein-levels of genius and reinforce the false narrative that Harry’s singular claim to brilliance lies in Quidditch, and that he’s got nothing more than fluff and snitches between his ears on top of being oblivious to the point of idiocy. That apart from excelling in Defence, he doesn’t have much upstairs... (And even then a minority of the fandom portray DADA as akin to gym class where it’s all honing muscles, muscle memory, and reflexes, with Harry framed as an archetypical gymbro on top being a himbo. What?!)

So we’re just going to overlook his devastatingly biting wit and clever asides? Or brush aside how he repeatedly demonstrates his ability to perform well under pressure? His keen intuition and how he carefully retains seemingly insignificant, misfit puzzle pieces until the eureka moment strikes and he seamlessly integrates them into the bigger picture?

Take these two examples from Philosopher’s Stone with an intrepid tiny Harry:

Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn’t have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy . . . never . . . but — Harry suddenly jumped to his feet. “Where’re you going?” said Ron sleepily. “I’ve just thought of something,” said Harry. He had turned white. “We’ve got to go and see Hagrid, now.” “Why?” panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up. “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd,” said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, “that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it’s against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don’t you think? Why didn’t I see it before?”

Quirrell cursed under his breath. “I don’t understand . . . is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?” Harry’s mind was racing. What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it — which means I’ll see where it’s hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I’m up to? He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself. “What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!” And to Harry’s horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. “Use the boy . . . Use the boy . . .” Quirrell rounded on Harry. “Yes — Potter — come here.” He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet. “Come here,” Quirrell repeated. “Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.” Harry walked toward him. I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what I see, that’s all.

Bravery alone wasn’t enough to overcome his troubled upbringing with the Dursleys, or Quirrelmort, or Diary Tommy, or the final leg of the Horcrux hunt — it required a combination of mental agility, resourcefulness, and cunning to evaluate the situation, outsmart his opponents, and tip the odds in his favour. Harry needed to survive. To survive, he needed something other than mere guts. Harry’s ability to think on his feet and leverage his intelligence to gain the upper hand in challenging scenarios remains a testament to his brilliance and his remarkable presence of mind. He isn’t the foolhardy, impulsive Gryffindor who leaps into danger headlong without prior planning everytime.

(For that matter, Gryffindor are more than their “bravery” which has somehow been twisted into being synonymous with “reckless” — Sirius being a prime example of this, when in GOF he was urging Harry caution in their communications, despite the fandom conveniently only zeroing in on the depressed, cooped up version of him in OOTP, sigh. Bravery is fortitude, pluck, tenacity, strength of moral fibre, resilience, and heart as well.)

Some other less-mentioned examples of his quick mind: Harry wondering about Snape and Karkaroff being on a first-name basis; remembering Nicholas Flamel just from a long-ago glance, and again, Stan Shunpike despite their single encounter; Harry coaxing out Slughorn’s secret (no, it wasn’t all the Felix Felicis); Harry putting himself in Voldemort’s shoes, and Ron and Hermione deferring to his superior, albeit scary, knowledge; and Harry frightening Ollivander with his deductions about the wands. (It wasn’t solely Hermione’s brains that enabled their chances of survival in DH, let’s ditch that false narrative.)

The most laughably contrived bit in fanon is the unfounded notion that Hermione lets the boys cheat off her work to coast by in class. Fanon is wrong on both counts. Hermione would sooner report the boys for cheating than allow them to copy off her, and Harry isn’t anywhere close to scraping the bottom of the barrel in class, and neither is Ron. The handful of instances in canon where she looks over their assignments and helps correct mistakes isn’t cheating. Her input is akin to getting a second pair of eyes or a beta reader to ensure their work is up to snuff — heaven forbid a student help out a friend by suggesting some tips and tweaks. (Or attend tuition or retain a personal tutor or three.)

The ‘that’s why Harry isn’t a Ravenclaw’ jokes get pretty stale once you realise a large portion of the fandom genuinely think he isn’t a smart kid or has never read a book of his own volition/interest in his life. But Harry enjoyed reading his new books late into the night before starting Hogwarts (he found Hedwig’s name in A History of Magic, after all). Admittedly, studying is a feat in and of itself when you have zero access to books, but some cunning can turn around your luck!

Nevertheless, Sirius had been of some help to Harry, even if he couldn’t be with him. It was due to Sirius that Harry now had all his school things in his bedroom with him. The Dursleys had never allowed this before; their general wish of keeping Harry as miserable as possible, coupled with their fear of his powers, had led them to lock his school trunk in the cupboard under the stairs every summer prior to this. But their attitude had changed since they had found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather — for Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.

‘Oh, Potter can’t differentiate between a salamander and newt’s eyes.’

‘Asking him to skin shrivelfigs is a tall order since he can’t wield a dagger properly.’

‘He used shredded jobberknoll feathers when the recipe called for a fine powder. Poor Hermione will have to take over yet again to save his stupid arse.’

It’s these many variations and renditions of Harry’s alleged, often exaggerated, ineptitude in fandom content and making a monkey out of him, which I come across more often than not, that are an instant turn-off.

The widespread idea that Harry’s success in the subject can be attributed solely to the Prince’s book is misguided and further undermines his intelligence — and this jaundiced belief that’s crystallised itself as canon, of Harry and Ron putting on a double act as stupid slouches in class and therefore deserving of Snape’s derision and the Slytherin’s put-downs, is a far cry from the truth. Snape’s opinion of Harry’s intelligence or ability should be taken with a grain of salt, given that Harry has been described as a bright and talented child since his first year, by the Professors, Dumbledore, and the Sorting Hat. Even the resident megalomaniac described him as “not unintelligent”. You know what’s actually canon?

1) Snape’s biased approach towards Harry and Neville caused them to have an unwarranted fear of failure and reprimands. The Potions classroom was a hostile and unwelcoming learning environment for these two boys.

2) Harry is pretty confident when left to his own devices in class in OoTP before Snape flushed his effort down the gutter.

Exhibit 1:

Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have decided to act as though Harry were invisible. Harry was, of course, well used to this tactic, as it was one of Uncle Vernon’s favourites, and on the whole was grateful he had to suffer nothing worse. In fact, compared to what he usually had to endure from Snape in the way of taunts and snide remarks, he found the new approach something of an improvement and was pleased to find that when left well alone, he was able to concoct an Invigoration Draught quite easily. At the end of the lesson he scooped some of the potion into a flask, corked it, and took it up to Snape’s desk for marking, feeling that he might at last have scraped an E. He had just turned away when he heard a smashing noise; Malfoy gave a gleeful yell of laughter. Harry whipped around again. His potion sample lay in pieces on the floor, and Snape was watching him with a look of gloating pleasure. “Whoops,” he said softly. “Another zero, then, Potter . . .” Harry was too incensed to speak. He strode back to his cauldron, intending to fill another flask and force Snape to mark it, but saw to his horror that the rest of the contents had vanished. “I’m sorry!” said Hermione with her hands over her mouth. “I’m really sorry, Harry, I thought you’d finished, so I cleared up!”

Exhibit 2:

“After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me,” Snape went on. “I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye.” His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry glared back, feeling a grim pleasure at the idea that he would be able to give up Potions after fifth year.

Exhibit 3:

Ron found it quite easy to ignore as they spent most of Saturday and Sunday studying for Potions on Monday, the exam to which Harry was looking forward least and which he was sure would be the one that would be the downfall of his ambitions to become an Auror. Sure enough, he found the written exam difficult, though he thought he might have got full marks on the question about Polyjuice Potion: He could describe its effects extremely accurately, having taken it illegally in his second year. The afternoon practical was not as dreadful as he had expected it to be. With Snape absent from the proceedings he found that he was much more relaxed than he usually was while making potions. Neville, who was sitting very near Harry, also looked happier than Harry had ever seen him during a Potions class. When Professor Marchbanks said, “Step away from your cauldrons, please, the examination is over,” Harry corked his sample flask feeling that he might not have achieved a good grade but that he had, with luck, avoided a fail.

Whereas in Ch 15 of OoTP, Snape had marked Harry’s essay on moonstones as Dreadful and claimed it to be a realistic expectation of OWL grading:

“I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your O.W.L.,” said Snape with a smirk, as he swept among them, passing back their homework. “This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in your examination.” Snape reached the front of the class and turned to face them. “The general standard of this homework was abysmal. Most of you would have failed had this been your examination. I expect to see a great deal more effort for this week’s essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall have to start handing out detentions to those dunces who get D’s.” He smirked as Malfoy sniggered and said in a carrying whisper, “Some people got D’s? Ha!”

And yet, Harry did very well on his OWLs before he even got a whiff of the Prince’s book.

Astronomy A

Care of Magical Creatures EE

Charms EE

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Divination P

Herbology EE

History of Magic D

Potions EE

Transfiguration EE

Harry and Ron studied (!) both days of the weekend before Potions OWLs (!) without Hermione (!), and still Harry wasn’t sure he’d secure a good grade yet ended up scoring an EE. Exceeds Expectations, which y’know translates to: Surpasses Expectations, So Much Better than Expected, Rather Brilliant.

Unless you believe that anything less than the top percentiles is rubbish, Harry is not a ‘certifiable dunce’. There’s no denying he’s a competent and clever wizard and easily punches above his weight when he’s properly motivated and applies himself. Intelligence is a genetic trait, and Harry comes from nerdstock.

If he could achieve those grades whilst serving 7-hour torture sessions with Umbridge, suffering from Voldemort and Snape tearing into his mind, and putting up with the government slandering him in his second most important school year, running on fumes and sheer will (constantly disruspted sleep routine? Ugh!), then yeah, remove all those crutches, and he’d be raking in straight Os for most of those subjects. (It sort of sounds like ‘excuse our mental health and and anxiety’ for us if we perform poorly in exams, but not for Harry ‘he’s an idiot throwing teen tantrums’. Someone give me a hammer.)

“You’d need top grades for that,” said Professor McGonagall, extracting a small, dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it. “They ask for a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under ‘Exceeds Expectations’ grade, I see. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It’s a difficult career path, Potter; they only take the best. In fact, I don’t think anybody has been taken on in the last three years.”

Did he earn the grades? Yes. The Auror program ran aptitude tests, too, and only took the best, yes? Not because he’s a hothead with a daredevil streak and impulse issues, yes? Not because his dream was to be an Auror since his third year, or that he was only exceptional at fighting, or some such nonsense. After all, Barty Crouch Jr, he of the impeccable OWLs record, saw something worthy of Auror material in Harry and planted the seed in his mind. (Reminder: Barty also said Hermione should consider joining the Aurors too because her “mind works the right way”.)

And Moody thought he, Harry, ought to be an Auror! Interesting idea . . . but somehow, Harry thought, as he got quietly into his four-poster ten minutes later, the egg and the Cloak now safely back in his trunk, he thought he’d like to check how scarred the rest of them were before he chose it as a career.

If Harry was incapable of telling up from down in Potions, the Prince’s annotations would have been like casting pearls before swine. Worse still, Harry’s supposed lack of know-how would have caused more harm than good. The book only helped to refine the skills and knowledge he had cultivated over five years of study. Having a comfortable learning environment, an encouraging teacher, and superior instructions allowed Harry to maximise his potential and excel in class. (This phenomenon of underachiever-to-star pupil can happen in real life and is not unique to Harry. It happens with neurodivergent students with slightly different needs, students who require a more personal teaching style, and students stunted by an unhealthy learning environment. When their needs are met and supported, they tend to thrive and reach their potential.)

To put it into perspective, imagine taking an average kid whose expertise in cooking extends to making beans on toast and putting them in a professional kitchen. Imagine asking this kid to fillet a salmon and very finely slice lemons for garnish, tasks that require careful hands, finesse, and patience. If the kid can’t distinguish between a paring knife and a boning knife, they don’t stand half a chance. They’re liable to mess up the fish from the get-go. They might use a petty knife for everything and present a terribly executed dish; or they might cleverly choose a smaller knife but misuse it, not knowing that the flexibility and sharpness of a blade vary depending on their purpose, and end up seriously hurting themselves. Either way, filleting a fish is best left to seasoned home cooks and the pros.

In contrast, Harry is identical to a proficient home cook who knows the ropes but lacks some finesse and the fancy carving and plating skills of a trained culinary student. He has a firm grasp of the necessary theory and techniques and knows how to prep ingredients correctly, but may fumble the ideal application of said techniques, lacks an inborn zeal for the craft that lends to creativity, and overlook the finer details, particularly when he’s weighed down by fear of censure and humiliation. His level of success hinges on variables such as his confidence, familiarity with a recipe or method, and the type of environment he’s in. Talent is like a little seed; when nurtured, it will flourish.

Slughorn’s NEWT class was small, admitting twelve students out of a fortyish-student batch. No Gryffindor apart from the Golden Trio made the cut, and they were joined by the lone Hufflepuff, four Ravenclaws, and four Slytherins. Essentially, only a dozen students achieved an EE or O to qualify for NEWT Potions. Fanon will tell you most of the Slytherins have been tinkering with cauldrons in their diapers, but canon shows that only two other Slytherins, besides Draco and Blaise, made the grade. So, how are we still perpetuating this incorrect interpretation that Ron and Harry were barely keeping up academically when they’re more adept than half their year?

Harry and Ron aren’t academically inclined or driven by an obsessive urge to pore over books most hours of the day for fun, so what? Let them joke around and play chess and cards and broom race in the rain without bringing their brains and academics into the equation. Let Harry be a proper child/teen when he’s not busy hunting clues and crushing evil plots. Stop making the sum of HJP be “Powerful Himbo” or “Saviour Complex and Running on Luck”, which is pretty disrespectful towards a character who has shown himself to be so, so competent and well-rounded.

It’s such a huge thorn in my side that both Harry and Sirius (of all people, when he’s twinning with James as the insultingly effortless mavens during their time at Hogwarts!) habitually have their intelligence questioned and maliciously devaluated, or blown off entirely. So I had to sit and get this chaotically demonstrative commentary off my chest. Thank you, if you’ve read till the end!

[sevilynne]

"Snape was a b-tch because he outed Remus for being a werewolf." But when Sirius used Remus to make him a murderer concealed as a 'prank' to kill Severus, it's excused because he didn't know it would've gotten 'too far'? Severus outing Remus does not compare to Sirius trying to get Remus to kill someone. The double-standards is insane.

[welcometogrouchland]

I feel like for the first few years of guardianship Darius and Hunter really struggle to figure out how to refer to each other.

Like it's easier for Hunter, he pretty quickly settles on "guardian" for explaining their relationship to other people and just referring to Darius by name when talking to the man himself. Overtime the phrasing gradually warms, becoming "foster parent" and eventually, once Hunter's already an adult old enough to move out, "Dad".

(Sidenote: he doesn't move out til he's in his mid to late twenties, bc he's under no obligation too, Darius low-key doesn't want him too, and the two of them want to make up for lost time in a sense, since Hunter only had 2 years of legal dependency on Darius before aging out of the system. Darius adopts Hunter retroactively as an adult)

Darius on the other hand has a real conundrum on his hands for those first few years. He has a lot of options! But "ward" is too formal and makes it sound like Darius picked him up off the street like after his parents were murdered, "apprentice/student" isn't really accurate considering the focus of Darius and Hunter's relationship has less to do with Hunter learning magic and more to do with Hunter being housed and fed. "Kid" and "foster son" are there...but...

Look, Darius isn't going to refer to Hunter more familiarly than Hunter refers to him! He's not gonna make it WEIRD. He's not a dad, because Hunter doesn't want/need him to be (and also parenthood is scary <3). Darius doesn't know the first thing about being a dad, despite how his friend group teases him.

Eda and Eberwolf are the two who are worst about it. They torture him with how 'fatherly' he's allegedly being (allegations Darius will DENY til his GRAVE!!!) And Eda specifically compares his journey to hers, saying it always starts off with you referring to them as your apprentice (again, Darius doesn't plan on doing that), as your roommate (...kinda weird in Darius' opinion? But okay Eda), or even your pet (????HELLO???). But eventually, they always become your dumb kid when you least expect it.

She's had a couple cups of appleblood by this point, but Darius knows on some level she's right and he's steadfastly ignoring that fact, even as Eber continues to refer to Hunter as his "cub" (kinda cute but Darius doesn't know how Hunter would feel being compared to an animal). The only people who are even remotely reasonable about all this (besides Lilith who's a bit disinterested in kid talk) is Raine and Alador, who both sort of neutrally, a bit awkwardly refer to Hunter as Darius' Boy.

Darius referring to Hunter as "my boy" is funnily enough what sticks the longest before it evolves to son boy. Hunter's crushing it at a derby match? Darius is whooping and cheering, yelling "THAT'S MY BOY!!!" At the other parents in the stands. Hunter is doing something dangerous or inadvisable where others can see him? "Darius, your boy-" "AHH! MY BOY". Hunter, a year into his stay with Darius finally comes clean about everything to do with him being a grimwalker, and is afraid that he's going to go back to seeing him as just an inferior replacement for Darius' beloved mentor? Darius (who has just had to process some of the most bonkers, emotionally heavy information in his life) gently, hesitantly puts a hand on his shoulder (the 'good' one Hunter doesn't mind people touching), and says that Hunter's much more than that. He's Darius' Boy and he's not going to kick him out or get angry or love him any less for things out of his control. It's good. They're good.

Like I said, it evolves over time and 'boy' becomes somewhat obsolete as the two get caught up in the joy of finally feeling able to explicitly refer to each other as family. But unlike "guardian" or "ward" the word never gets fully retired. Even when Hunter is 30 and is arguing that he's more of a man than a boy now, he is still getting referred to by Darius as "his boy", the way some parents never really stop calling their adult kids baby or kiddo (Camila and Eda respectively btw).

Hunter makes one of those corny matching shirt sets at some point for a father's Day gift when he's 17/18, where the two shirts say "if lost, return Boy to me" (Darius) and "I'm Boy" (Hunter). Hunter mostly did it so he could own a funny shirt that says "I'm boy". Darius openly weeps upon seeing them. Like Oh my Titan he's boy. He's my boy. Oh wow

[wafflinglumos]

Lily and Petunia have such an interesting and complex relationship and there aren’t enough fics that delve into that.

From what we know from canon, the two were relatively close before Lily’s magic was discovered. We can assume that Petunia’s resentment ramped up when Snape and Lily started to become friends, which was partially because she just didn’t like him and thought he was a weird but if you look at it from a child’s perspective it paints it in a different light, children are easily possessive of things and people, siblings especially, sisters especially.

Her resentment was furthered with their parents treatment of the two. Petunia was the eldest sister, between the two she was the less remarkable, from what we know and can assume from canon, Lily was the golden child, when she received her Hogwarts letter and their parents reacted positively and from what we’re told in the books, ecstatically even, which furthered her resentment even more when she even wrote to Dumbledore asking if she could go to Hogwarts too, but he had told her, though kindly, that because she was a muggle she could not.

Petunia lashed out the only way she knew how to, with resentment and envy, which makes sense really.

If Petunia was already envious of her sister, and their parents put Lily on an even higher pedestal after they found out she was a witch, adding Dumbledore’s words about Petunia not be able to go because she was a “muggle”, then it’d make sense that Petunia would resent Lily, to make her a “freak” in her eyes.

Petunia’s jealousy and resentment came from many things with Lily’s odd abilities, with Lily spending time with Snape, with Lily discovering she was a witch and their parents praising her for that, with Lily’s acceptance into Hogwarts and Petunia’s rejection from it, with pureblood James Potter.

That’s not to say that Lily is at fault or that she didn’t care, we KNOW Lily loved her sister. We can safely assume that she wrote to Petunia throughout Hogwarts, her letters probably getting more scarce as they grew and Petunia had stopped responding, but Lily still sent Petunia a letter when she gave birth to Harry, she still felt that her sister was important enough to her to send a letter announcing Harry’s arrival.

Petunia’s resentment even caused her to marry Vernon because he was everything that Lily was not. He was a boring regular man with a boring regular life. (Which we learn from this part in the books below)

“Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.”

However, even with all that envy and resentment, Lily was still her sister, we see this when Vernon and Marge are laughing about Lily being a bitch and Petunia isn’t, we see this when Petunia tells Harry that he didn’t just lose a mother that night but she lost a sister(it’s in the movies explicitly so not book canon but it’s still a thing to note)

Petunia treated Harry the way she did because he was attached to the wizarding world and her sister, yeah Harry was a wizard but he was also the spitting image of James, Petunia must have resented him that much more because Harry was the embodiment of the two things that took away her sister, magic and James Potter. More over, Voldemort killed Lily to get to Harry, Lily died for Harry, it’s not an insane thing to think that that added even more to Petunia’s disdain.

Harry was the embodiment of everything that took Lily away from Petunia, magic, James Potter and the very reason her sister was dead. In Petunia’s mind at least.

To add Petunia treated Harry horrifically and no this isn’t an excuse for her inexcusable gross actions, but an unnecessary long look into the reasoning for it.

[mymanyfandomramblings]

i think i figured out the reason why i hate robbie valentino so much...

it's because he reminds me of severus snape.

both are sad, greasy, slimy jerks who never managed to properly get over being dumped/friendzoned by their redheaded love interest who they treated mediocrely at best and who could 110% could have done better (exacerbated by the fact that in both cases the love interest in question gave chances, and only lost the loser after the most egregious case of being horrible), and as such, said sad, greasy, slimy jerks have decided to take out their feelings on Literal Children, who are already in enough mortal danger as it (thanks to compulsive heroism and a need to solve every mystery and problem that comes their way).

[sparsilees]

For the Love of Chocolate Frogs, Harry’s Handwriting isn’t Chicken Scratch!

harry’s handwriting is not illegible. it isn’t terrible, or incomprehensible, or childish, or untidy, or untrained. it isn’t chicken scratch. it isn’t a messy scrawl. it isn’t griffonage. it isn’t something resembling hieroglyphics.

this “chicken scratch” take is pure fanon or some lame headcanon that has absolutely no support from the books. and it genuinely bothers me to see this portrayal so prevalent in fanworks, whether it’s through other characters urging him to improve his writing skills or taunting him for it, or harry himself admitting to his lousy penmanship.

it sort of comes across as ‘oh, poorly educated poor orphan boy’, especially when combined with the other fanon favourite dumb harry concept. y’all love to dumb him down any chance you get, huh? (i have such aversion and loathing for both, if you can’t tell...)

point me an instance where someone, anyone, ever so much as hints at harry’s handwriting in the books. go on. i’ll wait.

you think any of the many people he frequently corresponds with via letter, or the assortment of professors who are most familiar with his written assignments and tests, wouldn’t bring attention to his “chicken scratch” for the sake of better understanding and better marks? hmm?

you think snape, who doesn’t shy away from criticising harry’s classwork, wouldn’t pounce on his less than desirable script? you think hermione or ron wouldn’t have made a passing mention of his scribbles?

harry, however, does remark on everyone else’s handwriting throughout the books, and here are his observations on ron, hermione, and hagrid’s:

in cos, harry dedicates hours to handling gilderoy lockhart’s fan mail. and this is my personal theory, but i feel that an ugly scrawl would’ve reflected badly on the peacock himself, especially since he takes great pride in his fans, their admiration, and, most importantly, his appearance and personal image. (imagine the horror of his cherished fans being confronted with unsightly handwriting from their fave celeb.)

canonically, the only clue we have about harry’s own script is that it resembles lily’s to an extent, most notably their ‘g’s:

with harry’s low self-esteem, he barely makes mention of his personal strengths and accomplishments, so it’s not as if he’d comment postively on his own handwriting. but he’d probably be embarrassed by a deficiency in it had those around him brought up such an issue. so i’d venture to say his handwriting is quite acceptable — perfectly alright and readable.

it’s bewildering how this misconception has taken such a strong hold that it’s treated as canon. the boy grew up in a cupboard, which may have stunted his social skills and self-esteem — nothing to do with his handwriting! he attended kindergarten and primary, practising his writing for years before hogwarts. harry’s handwriting is definitely okay, and it's time to set the record straight on that.

[the-mighty-e]

I finally managed to understand V's entire "mission" (and consequentially J's and N's) in the Solver's plan.

So, starting off with, I still have two doubts, and that is when each dd discovered that Tessa was already dead.

So basically this analysis might be wrong if my order of knowing is wrong :')

We start with J, I'm positive that she was the first one to find out, working with Tessa and adoring her so much probably made her the first to find out she died. As J said "it tricked me too." So let's assume she didn't find out in the best way ever, but already knew when she and "Tessa" met with the trio.

Second to find out was V. N was last, and he, of course, found out when we also did, in Mass Destruction, so as we see here he's still pretty traumatized to see her

Now onto V. Throughout the whole show, many fans started off with disliking her, only to slowly learn more about her reasonings, that were made 100% clear with the finale.

V's main objective was to keep N safe, away from the Solver. He was still the nice golden retriever robot that V adored back in the Mansion. She wanted to protect him.

But we thought that was simply a thing she decided on her own. We thought that she was the only one with her memories and that she simply decided to hide everything from N and protect him from the sidelines

And just to note, I'm pretty sure she thought that N remembered everything. That's why she was so shocked here, not simply because he snapped

She realized he didn't have his memories so went even more on defensive mode.

With the new episode, it's actually revealed that V wasn't the only one with her memories, but instead, N was the only one WITHOUT.

Even J knew about it. And V thought that the original plan was doing their jobs and living a good rest of life. Not helping it and risking their life in the end.

When V saw the N projection, she decided to tell the truth

As the second image suggests, she had no idea about his memory being bad or good, she didn't know how much of his memory about the past remained. Sadly though, she wasn't supposed to say all that.

What we all thought was V's own decisions, was actually the Solver's. It gave V the option to stay quiet and in exchange she and N would be safe.

That's why V wanted N to stay away from Uzi. She was a possible Host and V didn't want it to kill her and N. Because him going against the orders wasn't in the plan.

A bit more proof that V knew who "Tessa" was:

She gave Tessa a lot of dirty looks in episode 6 for someone who was literally saved by her. She already knew that she wasn't Tessa and she was extremely wary of her.

TLDR: V's plan to keep N in the dark wasn't hers, but it was a bargain with the Solver. And N was the only one without memories and knowledge of Tessa's death.

[mellosdrawings]

Twisted boys worst to best, GO!!

I'll make it my fav to my meh if thats fine with you. I fear I would spend hours on a detailed analysis for what I consider to be perfect chara design and motivations otherwise.

-Azul (perfect, 12/10, makes my autism go brr, I still need to do that full analysis for him because I love him too much and have too many thoughts, must pull)

-Jamil (perfect, 11/10, someone please give this man freedom and his weight in cookies, must pull)

-Cater (perfect, 10/10, flashy guy with completely dead eyes, reminds me of Childe, pull if possible)

-Rook (perfect, 10/10, makes my autism go brr, perfect world view ideology, rewired my brain chemistry, pull if possible)

-Idia (perfect, 10/10, peak brother, family angst makes my heart go brr, insufferable asshole, pull if possible)

-Jade (9/10, creepy, would go mushroom hunting with him so we could see who's the most autistic about fungi, sometimes pull)

-Vil (9/10, perfection, made me fall in love instantly during his chapter despite me expecting to dislike him, fawn whenever I see him, pull if possible)

-Leona (8/10, absolute asshole, insufferable dick, wish his flashback was done better so we could see how horrendous it could have truly been, plan on rewriting something someday about that, should be on the pull if possible list but I have no self control for this fucker so I always pull for him)

-Riddle (7/10, made me fall in love with the game, used to kin him in all the wrong ways lol, would've overblotted too in his place, no pull)

-Ruggie (7/10, freaky evil little guy syndrome, has the funniest synergy with Leona, love him, would pull for him if I was rich)

-Kalim (10/10, best character ever and people underestimate him and his potential too much, would smother him in kisses, despite being perfect he is still low on the list coz I'm a mess, sometimes pull)

-Floyd (7/10, creepy asshole, love his mood swings and how everybody just works around it, perfect trio with the two others, sometimes pull)

-Deuce (6/10, lovely little mama boy, doing his best, I want to cheer for him, no pull)

-Trey (6/10, perfect house husband, love how hard he tries to be normal even though he's just as much a freak as everybody else, no pull though was tempted once)

-Sebek (5/10, I see potential but I'm not yet familiar with him, golden retriever vibe, would give him a smooch, no pull though I was tempted once)

-Silver (5/10, not familiar with him yet but he has very interesting themes, no pull)

-Epel (5/10, little dick, needs to learn to move past his misogyny and I love that theme for him, but keeps being done dirty by the story who refuses to have him learn the lesson, no pull)

-Lilia (4/10, should be one of my fav coz I absolutely love the "retired war god who settled down to become a father" trope, but I just can't get the spark with him for some reason..., no pull though I was tempted once)

-Ortho (5/10, best baby bro, has a lot of potential, but rarely ever used properly, no pull)

-Jack (4/10, best tsundere boy but kinda boring in my opinion, no pull)

-Ace (5/10, very good character but I would've blocked him so hard coz I can't stand that kind of behavior lol, no pull)

-Malleus (3/10, just like Lilia his trope is usually one I love but I seriously can't care about him no matter how hard I try, no pull)

Others:

-Crowley (10/10, peak character, would punch him in the face if he was real, must pull)

-Sam (9/10, very interesting, would love to see his card or have him more often on screen, would pull)

-Crewel (9/10, dom daddy, gives a mix of Vil and Leona vibe lol, must pull)

-Trein (9/10, father and widower, cat dad, would make him tea and scones, must pull)

-Vargas (3/10, surprisingly one dimensional when the game is so good at fully fleshing its characters, waiting to see more)

-Rollo (9/10, absolute asshole, desperately needs a hug and therapy, should also probably go in prison lol, very interesting fodder for Idia, would have pulled if I had any extra gems)

-Fellow and Gidel (10/10, brothers, assholes, completely out if it and loving them for it, still need to read their stories but I already love them, must pull)

-Skully/Skelly (10/10, looks like the weirdest little shit, super cringe, already loving him but still need to see, must pull)

[starrylayle]

This!! Everything that OP said !!!

This reminds me of a time when I was thirteen watching some hp analysis video. It basically stated that the Marauders + Lily and Snape were foils for the golden and silver trios, and where their characters fail the other succeeds. Here, I'll just write it down so it makes more sense lol.

Peter -> Neville : Like OP said, Neville represents the potential Peter could have been, had he not been so much of a coward.

Lily -> Harry : They both had issues with their family and relationship with oppressors. Both were smart, snarky people who risked their lives for mankind. Lily did the best she could at the time, butnHarry ultimately stopped Voldy once and for all.

James -> Ginny : Both cocky, sporty popular kids who were close friends with outcasts, and were super loyal. James's loyalty and blind trust of his friends became his downfall. Ginny's careful trust and loyalty however, made her stronger.

Severus -> Luna : Both a bit weird, social outcasts. For Sev this eventually led him to become radicalised into fascist right-wing group, whereas Luna embraced the quirky part of herself and eventually fought for the 'good' side.

Remus -> Hermione : Both hardworking and knowledge-seeking individuals from marginalised backgrounds. Where Remus was ashamed of that part of himself and lived the rest of his life in solitude and self-hatred, Hermione was empowered and fought for herself and others, and aspired to make a change.

Sirius -> Ron : This one I think is the hardest point of comparison, so I'm just going to list similarities. They both had issues with family (tho with Sirius it was waaaaaay worse) and they both were super close to their friends and a bit prideful. With Sirius, his pride became his downfall as he switched himself for Peter as the secret keeper, whereas with Ron, although he also had a lot of pride, ultimately, he did not let that distract him from being a good friend (and some may disagree) and strategist.

Again, I watched the og video ageessssss ago and I doubt I'm relaying the information right (especially as I'm sure that the og creator made a comparison point between James/Harry and Lily/Ginny -- but I think the other way around make more sense). Anyway I love how the Marauders Era characters are foils for the Golden Trio Era characters. I think it's especially symbolic that all the Marauders Era characters died tragic deaths while the Golden Trio Era characters mentioned lived on happily as hereo. I like to think that the GTE represent the solution, or alternate way to the mistakes of the past.

The Sorting Hat // Peter Pettigrew & Neville Longbottom Being Foils *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Recently, I saw someone say they don't understand why Peter is a Gryffindor... and this made me want to talk about how the Sorting Hat possibly works. Harry tells Albus that the Sorting Hat takes "your choice into account", but I think the best descriptor is that the Sorting Hat takes what you value into account. For example, some people think Hermione should've been a Ravenclaw because she's intelligent and quick-thinking. But here's the thing- I think it'd be fair to say Hermione valued bravery over intelligence. She's passionate and outspoken with her beliefs and was determined to remain strong in the face of her adversaries. We see this in First Year and she only grows into these traits as she faces difficult situations. At her core, Hermione values traits like courage and determination, and happens to have a passion for learning and pursuing knowledge. And here's how Peter Pettigrew and Neville Longbottom play into this. Both were sorted into Gryffindor despite not really having been described as brave when they were 11 years old. However, I think it'd be fair to say that both valued bravery. We see Neville step out of his comfort zone and as the series continues, he grows more confident and (you guessed it) brave. He goes from being a nervous, shy 11 year old to being a leader in Dumbledore's Army while Hogwarts is under Death Eater reign. Peter, I imagine, had a similar start to his years at Hogwarts. He has these friends who are just so cool and do whatever they want and he loves that. He admires the courage they have to be able to do that. But, where he differs from the other Gryffindor students is that he never achieves that bravery himself. He remains a coward. He can't find it in himself to be brave and instead does what he thinks will keep him safe. That's what makes him a bit tragic, in my opinion. He never becomes what he values.

Just my thoughts on the matter, but I wanted to share because I like talking about this kind of stuff. I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts or ideas :D i wrote this at like 1 am so sorry if it doesnt make much sense lmao

[wafflinglumos]

Number one Astoria Greengrass lover over here

ZERO disrespect shall be had towards my girl, ZERO!!!

[mercedesdecorazon]

The Push and Pull of Cas and Gabe (1/2)

(Okay, these guys live rent-free in my head so bear with me. Also this analysis has spoilers and headcanons, be warned.)

So pretty much everyone has been saying that Cas is being sidelined in this book and I think there's a reason for that.

Cas and Gabe are polar opposite people. Gabe is friendly, kind and warm, while Cas is snarky, mean and cold. (That's why people ship them together because opposites attract.)

At the end of Book 1, if you chose the poly route, essentially you're stringing them both along which they both are aware of and so they're competing even more.

While Gabe is competing by pulling you in closer and closer, Cas is sort of distancing themselves from you and I think there's some reasons for that:

They think MC is better off with Gabe in some way. Because if you choose the poly route in the end of Book 1, Cas says "I know you like Golden Boy/Girl but you like me too." Cas thinks that they're MC's second option.

They were hurt when the Venandis thought they were a traitor. When the Crimson Beech trio were on the run in Book 1 and they almost ran into the three of the Venandis, they overheard them saying that "Cas had been spending too much time with that human." Mind you throughout Book 1, Cas has been defending the Venandis to MC and Gabe and to hear that they thought so low and so little of him... it hurt them deeply. Cas thought that the Venandis were the only family they had and Venandis just accused them of being a traitor with no reason or evidence.

This is my headcanon here so bear with me: Cas is used to be abandoned all their life. They thought that the Venandis would have their back but they were wrong and since MC is with Gabe most of the time, they're worried that MC would abandon them next. So they distanced themselves first so that if MC does choose Gabe, it won't hurt so bad.

That's what I think is going on with Cas. The Canon story may not go into it like I did but us Fanfiction girlies can use these reasons. (And if you do decide to use this analysis for your fanfic, let me know and I'll read it 😊)

Gabriel(a) is next!

[justaghostingon]

God Games: A master class in Character Depth

An analysis of God Games from Epic the Musical

Handling Characters is hard, especially when u have only a few lines in a song to establish an entire personality, while sharing it with five other new characters. Where most would result in sterotypes or flat characters, Epic the musical manages to make its gods seem developed and three dimensional, and act it does by deliberately playing against audience expectations.

In the modern era, Greek mythology is fairly mainstream, thanks to works like Percy Jackson. The gods in god games, Apollo, Hephestis, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hera, are all well known, with established canon. Even if u don’t pay attention to greek mythologu if u can help it, u prob know thr basics like Hera getting mad at Zeus and his (often unwilling) affair partners, Aphrodite as the goddess of love who is always causing problems, or Ares as the brash god of war. Epic the musical knows this. Its expecting you, who have listened for this long, to be familiar with the core myths, and so builds off what you already know by subverting expectations.

Beginning at the first solo with Apollo, famous for music and the sun, we see this begin. Now arguably Apollo is the least well known of the bunch, so he has to establish himself in the opening “you all know im a fan of catchy songs.” But what fasinates me is what he doesn’t say. Now im not a hundred percent certain if Apollo and Helios have been merged in Epic the musical, since in Mutiny they don’t to my knowledge mention the sun god’s name, but its implied to be apollo. Apollo’s friends, the immortal cows, have been killed by Odysseus’s crew, but Apollo doesn’t hold a grudge against that. He doesn’t even mention it. Instead he focuses on the sirens, who most would consider monsters, and argues for their personhood by denouncing their massacre: “with so many siren’s gone, i think ody’s in the wrong” Athena backs up this personhood established by Apollo by never once acusing them of being less human than Odysseus, only arguing that they struck first. She even claims it will teach the other sirens to be more cautious, which ultimately wins Apollo over. Taken together, this paints Apollo as far more than a flippant singer, but rather someone who does not hold the actions of others against Ody, and instead sees personhood in those who are often denied it. He is just and compassionate, and it is through appealing to both his sense of justice and compassion that Athena wins.

Next is Hephestis, blacksmith of the gods. Although his birth of being thrown off olympus by Zeus for being ugly and subsequently working his way back up is fairly well known, his most common myth is his marriage to Aphrodite and her subsequent cheating on him. Hephestis in god games shows signs of being burned by this betrayal, focusing on thr work it takes to trust someone. “trust is not given its forged” In asking why he should help someone who “sacrified his own cohort” he is essentially asking why he should help someone like aphrodite and Zeus, who were willing to turn their backs on those that trusted them for their own petty gain. Athena then refutes this by reminding Hephestis of the differences in Odysseus’s story and his own. Odysseus was betrayed first, and thus has thr right to act, as Hephestis once did when he literally caught Aphrodite and Ares cheating in a golden net and left them that way for all the gods to laugh at them. To close the deal, Athena reminds Hephestis that Odysseus still has people who trust and miss him, and he has thr opportunity to rebuild, just as Hephestis himself has had to do, thus winning his support.

Aphrodite marks the beginning of the most famous trio introduced in this song. Most listeners already know her as the frivolous god who pushes romantic above everythinf, even to the people’s own detriment. Just look at the mess she made with Helena and Paris! Aphrodite herself is well aware of her reputation, calling Athena out for judging her, “little miss high and mighty.” But her beef with Odysseus is not for his rejection of Calypso or even Circe, but rather his mother’s suffering. The focus on the platonic love between mother and son reveals another side to her character, that she is representing other types of love as well, especially that of women who are so often forgotten in the grand scheme of things. Even Athena overlooks Aphrodite’s point, claiming that Odysseus’s war was a justifablr reason to overlook it. However Aphrodite stands her ground, pointing out how his proud snd unnecessary actions are the reason he could not get back to his mother in time “more like busy spiting the cyclops” Athena seems to realize this in the end, switching her tune to a gentler one to match Aphrodite’s before she is intrupted. In the end, it is the reminder that “a broken heart can mend” and i suspect the mention of Odysseus’s son that sway her. Unlike his mother, Odysseus has a chance to mend his son’s broken heart, a goal Aphrodite is willing to release him to meet.

Ares interuption establishes two things about him right up front. First that he is every bit the brash, dangerous god he’s known as, and to establish he has his own sense of honor, which disaproves of Athena changing her tone to sway Aphrodite “really athena? These old tricks.” His following rant about Odysseus leaving his friends to die without even trying further establish his worldview. He’s not mad at Odysseus for failing against Cyilla, he’s mad he “held back” his power and “didn’t even try.” Much like Uncle Ben, Ares believes with great power comes great responsibility. By Odysseus “holding back” he fails in his responsibility as a leader anf a warrior. In Ares eyes, every fight should be fair, face to face instead of using tricks, a proper test of skill and power. To hold back power or to resort to trickery is in his mind the same as having none leading to the comparison with Odysseus’s son. It is here he makes his misstep. By calling someone Athena values as weak, he is escentually calling Athena weak, giving her the opportunity to call him out This briefly gives Athena the upper hand, “hold your tongue now, his son’s my friend!” Which she uses to both finish her arguement with Aphrodite, “tell your lover,” and remind Ares that despite his actions in the past, Odysseus in not going to hold back anymore, not against the men camped out in his palace harrassinf his wife and kid. This ultimately causes both Aphrodite and Ares to agree, though nether is fully convinced.

The final battle of wits is against Hera, the queen of thr gods herself. In most common myths, Hera comes across as bitter and petty, lashing out at the unfortunate women her husband takes advantage of (and their hero children) instead of her husband. But God games hera instead stands aloof, almost omnipotent. “So many heroes, so many tales” she reminds Athena that to her, Odysseus (and even Athena herself) is mearly a story character, one of thousands of stories she has seen. Why should she interfere? What makes this story different? “Give me one good reason why yours should prevail.” Hera isn’t impressed by any of Odysseus’s accomplishments or skills: “he’d got the mind of a genius, try harder.” What matters to her, (and what i suspect Athena knew from the getgo would be her trump card) is the marriages she is the goddess of, and the faithfulness even her own godly husband is incapable of. “Never once has he cheated on his wife.” In bringing up this fact, in making it personal, Athena turns Odysseus from a character in a story hera is tired of, to one she is rooting for, thus winning her support.

All in all, i think god games did an excellent job of handling these five gods’ introductions. The depth of character is truely impressive.

And if u don’t know what im talking about, look up god games on youtube, they’ve got some beautiful animatics.

[vivithefolle]

Honestly, I didn't think of Ron bashing in this context since these fics always portray him as a completely out of character type of mean.

I mean, fair, and I am very wary of anything that could be construed as bashing when it comes to Ron. But fandom has long been used to declaring Ron "a jerk", even while they praise him. The number of times I've had someone say "I love Ron, even though he can be mean" as if Ron's meanness is so overwhelming we should apologize for liking him... meanwhile the first "heroic" thing Hermione does is choose violence and set someone on fire but that's just "queen" behaviour apparently.

(and he makes attempts to curse Malfoy, for example, it's not that he never follows through)

Oh yes, he does, and the number of times he tries to punch him only to be restrained by his friends requires multiple hands to count; it's just that Ron won't go overboard. He has a hard limit. Harry has canonically succeeded in using Crucio and Hermione has, as you pointed out, the Marietta stuff and some more; I'd say Ron is more of a "talk shit get hit" knee-jerk guy while Harry and Hermione can be much more calculating - and Hermione is the only one we saw who calculatedly attacked a friend (multiple times even, as she did curse Neville in PS, long before the canaries).

Hermione takes a bit longer in DH, but forgiveness comes pretty quickly to her, too.

Eeeeehhh not really? It might be due to her romantic feelings for Ron but she is quite harsh on him. It takes him almost dying of poison to forgive him in HBP after she iced him out for months, and in DH she gets distracted by Harry becoming obsessed by the Elder Wand. Even after Malfoy Manor, when it's pretty clear she's forgiven Ron after yet realizing their mortality, she's still quick to get on her high horse and act precious when he suggests double-crossing Griphook before he can double-cross them.

Like, Golden Trio fans sometimes like to paint their friendship as just that: "golden," but that's not what their friendship is.

Heh, that's pretty much how I see it too but to me, there's a clear pecking order: Harry is above it all, due to being "the guy whose name is on the cover". Hermione is nearly on Harry's level and sometimes above him, especially with how much the narrative tends to coddle her and excuse her worse actions (and even when it doesn't: Rowling specifically mentions Hermione saying "you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon" "nastily", yet how many cutesy Romione edits do we have treating this line as a harmless funny quip when the text itself pointed out it was an insult?). The one who isn't given any breaks, who always has to bear the full force of the blame and doesn't get to deflect his behaviour because he is the deflection for the Hs to look "not as bad as he is", it's Ron. In the food chain of the Golden Trio, Ron is at the very bottom and when he dares try to stand as an equal to the other two, he's quickly slapped down and told he's immature for daring to want better from the people supposed to be his friends.

Ron starts a lot of the fights the three have because he is taken for granted by his friends and there's only so long one can go being called "immature" and "stupid" for completely innocuous things without going apeshit. His fight with Harry in GOF is due to Harry not being honest with him and Ron picking up on that; in DH Harry's incompetence as their leader and his dismissal of Ron's fears prompts Ron's outrage at Harry's seeming indifference to all the sacrifices and help the Weasley family made for him - something that would doubly hurt Ron as we saw his mother treat Harry better than her own children, which would hurt Ron who already feels neglected but he'd be able to bear it as long as he sees Harry enjoy a "normal" childhood. For Harry to reduce Ron's problems on the Horcrux Hunt as "mama not here to feed you", that's fucking low and I don't blame Ron for blowing a fuse.

Anyway, that is my own view of their friendship. Ron is the biggest loser here, contrary to what most of fandom seems to think because they assume he profits from Harry's status and fame - lolwut when does it ever happen in the book that Ron gets recognition based on knowing Harry? Harry uses his authority as Quidditch captain to keep Ron on the team in HBP, but no student or teacher gives Ron any kind of special treatment based on his closeness to Harry. Hermione also gets taken for granted by Harry a lot, but given how often Rowling uses her to dispense punishments to bad guys or solutions to a problem it's difficult for the reader to forget about her importance.

I definitely don't think the Golden Trio's friendship is one of equals, not as it is written in the books. There's too much dumping on Ron and dismissing his issues as "ugh when is he gonna get over it" for me to believe it's all good and well. They're all pretty damaged, even without Voldemort hanging over them, and sadly as the "quiet kid" of his family, Ron is a little more used to not rowing the boat, only taking a stand for himself when he's really feeling betrayed (Scabbers, GOF, HBP and DH) but every single time he ends having to say he was wrong even when he wasn't (Hermione may be the one apologizing in POA, but Hagrid first came along saying it was bad of Ron to prioritize his pet over his friend... but Hermione prioritizing her pet over Ron's boundaries and feelings was perfectly ok of course).

Bleh. Anyway. That's my own view and opinion of things, colored by my own experience of life and fandom.

We don't talk enough about Ron's mean streak

Like, I saw a lot of people talk about how funny Ron is (which is true, he's genuinely one of the funnier characters in the series), how loyal he is when it counts, he's brave as hell, and he is really smart, just not book smart. But what I don't see talked about enough (maybe it's just me though), is Ron Weasley's mean streak.

I talked about how Harry most definitely has what it takes to be a Slytherin, can be scary, and is willing to kill when push comes to shove. I also mentioned Hermione's ruthlessness, but I didn't discuss Ron's mean streak which is a joy when I see it crop up in the book. When it comes up, it always reminds me of the twins, and I feel like that's where Ron got it from.

So I'm just going to bring up a few quotes I had in my notes showing Ron's mean streak, I'm sure I missed some from the earlier books, but I find it a fun aspect of his character.

Snape cried: “Expelliarmus!” There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor. Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. “Do you think he’s all right?” she squealed through her fingers. “Who cares?” said Harry and Ron together.

(CoS, 178)

This type of reaction is seen with Ron pretty often. He really doesn't care when someone he dislikes is hurt or injured and he is very vocal about it. He and Harry kinda share this trait, as seen above.

Later in the other quotes I bring up, I show that Hermione is the one usually playing morality police for Ron and Harry even if she herself isn't as innocent as she likes to act.

He raised Ron’s Spellotaped wand high over his head and yelled, “Obliviate!” The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. Harry flung his arms over his head and ran, slipping over the coils of snake skin, out of the way of great chunks of tunnel ceiling that were thundering to the floor. Next moment, he was standing alone, gazing at a solid wall of broken rock. “Ron!” he shouted. “Are you okay? Ron!” “I’m here!” came Ron’s muffled voice from behind the rockfall. “I’m okay — this git’s not, though — he got blasted by the wand —” There was a dull thud and a loud “ow!” It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the shins.

(CoS, 280)

I love this, Lockhart explodes the cave, obliviates himself, and Ron's reaction is to kick him in the shins. I don't know, I just find it hilarious.

“Don’t talk to me,” Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. “Why not?” said Hermione in surprise. “Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,” said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. “Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret . . .” Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. “He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,” she said. “It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it —” “Hermione!” said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, “you’re ruining the best moment of my life!”

(GoF, 207)

Here you see Hermione the morality police crop up, but I'm talking about Ron here.

Hermione is definitely right in that Draco could've been seriously hurt, but Ron is just glad he saw Malfoy suffering. Actually, in the scene before it, Ron was the one who wanted to curse Malfoy and was held back by Harry and Hermione (as well as in the eat slugs situation in CoS), like, with as much as Harry calls Draco his nemesis, it really feels like Ron is the one that hates Draco and thinks of him as his nemesis.

“She’s an awful woman [Umbridge],” said Hermione in a small voice. “Awful. You know, I was just saying to Ron when you came in . . . we’ve got to do something about her.” “I suggested poison,” said Ron grimly.

(OotP, 324)

I love you, Ron.

This is one of my favorite quotes for him. Hermione shuts down the poison idea, but I think they should've given it a shot, I think it could've been fun.

It would've been cathartic for them at least.

“You take Remedial Potions?” asked Zacharias Smith superciliously, having cornered Harry in the entrance hall after lunch. “Good Lord, you must be terrible, Snape doesn’t usually give extra lessons, does he?” As Smith strode away in an annoyingly buoyant fashion, Ron glared after him. “Shall I jinx him? I can still get him from here,” he said, raising his wand and taking aim between Smith’s shoulder blades. “Forget it,” said Harry dismally. “It’s what everyone’s going to think, isn’t it? That I’m really stup —”

(OotP, 528)

I love how Ron always has Harry's back and is ready to fight anyone (including Sirius who he thought was a mass murderer when he was 13 with a broken leg) for Harry's sake. It's a real vibe the Golden Trio has that they're just ready to drop everything and curse out anyone for each other's sake. They are just so protective of each other and I love this for them, how they are all just each other's people, yk.

It's also another example of how Ron is the one of the trio that offers violence as the answer the most often.

“Reparo!” said Hermione quickly, mending Ron’s cup with a wave of her wand. “That’s all very well, but what if Montague’s permanently injured?” “Who cares?” said Ron irritably, while his teacup stood drunkenly again, trembling violently at the knees. “Montague shouldn’t have tried to take all those points from Gryffindor, should he? If you want to worry about anyone, Hermione, worry about me!”

(OotP, 679)

Again Ron doesn't care for the injury of people who he considers deserving.

“Madam Pomfrey says she’s just in shock,” whispered Hermione. “Sulking, more like,” said Ginny. “Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this,” said Ron, and with his tongue he made soft clip-clopping noises. Umbridge sat bolt upright, looking wildly around.

(OotP, 849)

Like, regardless of whether Umbridge was SAed or not (for the record, I don't think she was) it's not a nice thing to do. Umbridge is awful, but this is Ron literally spreading salt on the wound. but like I mentioned above, she's in the "deserving it" category.

“will you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? She’s driving me mad as well.” “Oh,” said Ron, looking sheepish. “Yeah. All right.” “If you don’t want to go out with her anymore, just tell her,” said Harry.

(HBP, 411)

That is honestly so mean. Like, I'm not Lavender's biggest fan, I find her annoying, but she's a teenage girl in her maybe first relationship and she did nothing really wrong. I feel truly sorry for her for how Ron treated her, it wasn't really her fault. It's just mean that he pretends to sleep instead of talking to her.

“Same as he wanted at Christmas,” shrugged Harry. “Wanted me to give him inside information on Dumbledore and be the Ministry’s new poster boy.” Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then he said loudly to Hermione, “Look, let me go back and hit Percy!” “No,” she said firmly, grabbing his arm. “It’ll make me feel better!”

(HBP, 650)

Like, this is peak sibling behavior, but as I mentioned earlier, Ron tends to want to resort to violence more often than Harry and Hermione do (especially in the earlier books, as Harry does grow angrier after Sirius' death). He is usually the one to bring violence up, and I find it an interesting aspect of his character.

And Ron is correct in the fact hitting Percy would make him feel better. Not saying if it's the right thing to do, but Ron really would experience it as satisfying because Percy would deserve it in his mind.

“What are we going to do with them?” Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, “Kill them? They’d kill us. They had a good go just now.” Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head.

(DH, 167)

As I mentioned in one of the Harry posts, Harry is calling the shots, but Ron is the one who offered to kill the Death Eaters. He put that idea on the table. He was relieved when Harry said they shouldn't kill them, but if Harry said it'd be better if they killed them — Ron would've backed him up and done it, while Hermione might've preferred to pretend it wasn't happening.

“That treacherous old bleeder.” Ron panted, emerging from beneath the Invisibility Cloak and throwing it to Harry. “Hermione you’re a genius, a total genius. I can’t believe we got out of that.” “Cave Inimicum. . . Didn’t I say it was an Erumpent horn, didn’t I tell him? And now his house has been blown apart!” “Serves him right,” said Ron, examining his torn jeans and the cuts to his legs, “What’d you reckon they’ll do to him?” “Oh I hope they don’t kill him!” groaned Hermione, “That’s why I wanted the Death Eaters to get a glimpse of Harry before we left, so they knew Xenophilius hadn’t been lying!”

(DH, 424)

Again, Ron not caring/enjoying when people who deserve it suffer. Xenophilius wanted to help them, he tried to persuade them not to come into his home at first so he wouldn't give them in, he tried so hard even though the Death Eaters had his daughter! Harry rightly feels bad for Xenophilius and Luna, it's easy to understand why he did what he did.

Hermione and Harry hope he is fine, but Ron is the one who thinks he has it coming. That he deserves to have his house blown up for betraying them, regardless of his reasoning.

I think Ron is the most black-and-white in his thoughts about people among the trio. There are those who deserve anything that comes to them and those who don't. Specific circumstances and context don't really play a part in what bad people deserve coming to them.

I don't know, I just find this interesting.

Harry has the compassion to understand people, even ones who harmed him or the people he cares about, he is capable of forgiving Voldemort and never really hated Draco.

Hermione is pretty black-and-white in her view of people, having the people she trusts and those she doesn't. She trusts Snape because he's an authority figure trusted by Dumbledore (and Hermione is the one who is truly Dumbledore's woman true and true in the books). Her view on people has less to do with their actions, but who they are endorsed by. She is compassionate to Xenophilius because he's Luna's dad, and Luna is good, therefore, she wouldn't love someone who is bad.

Ron is black-and-white in how he sees people in a very different way than Hermione. He looks at actions, and if you do anything to try and harm him or people he cares about, you get on the shit list. Getting out of Ron's shit list is probably not easy, he doesn't strike me as one who forgives easily and readily the way Harry does, but he does forgive. Like actions can get you on his shit list, actions can get you out. But once a person is on the shit list, they deserve any harm that comes their way.

But Ron is really loyal, and there are people he loves who are basically immune from going on the shit list (like his family, yes, even Percy. While he wants to hit him, I don't believe Ron ever really wished death on Percy). And there is just something interesting about Ron, with his mean streak and everything, being the glue that holds the trio together. Like, in Deathly Hallows once he leaves, Harry and Hermione barely talk to each other, they are barely friends without Ron there.

I don't know, I just love Ron. I love how he is loyal, and friendship glue, but has just as much of a mean streak to him as Harry and Hermione can pull. I just feel like he's sometimes left out of the discussion of how ruthless Harry and Hermione could be. Like, it's true, both of them can be ruthless, but don't leave Ron out. He can be ruthless and actually offers violence as a solution more often than Harry or Hermione do.

[winxbutbetterimo-ovo]

Alfea Overview v2

i drew out a layout for Alfea i will use for specifications of my overview. did i make alfea a smidge taller? Yes but oh well, anyway lets begin.

The Alfea College for Fairies is a girls' boarding school in Magix for Fairies and the oldest (established 9000 years before the start of the story) and most prestigious educational institution for fairies. 

The education in Alfea lasts 3 years, one for each Fairy Form in the journey of an aspiring full-fledged fairy. Base form, Charmix, Enchantix.

The Alfea students are mostly in training ages 16-18 (unless they have been held back a grade like Stella, so in her case, 17). Fairies here learn how to control their power, fight evil, learn new spells as well as learn how to be their realms' queens and guardian fairies. In this way, Alfea is a little like a military boarding school for the elites.

In the Past

The Alfea Champions were an ancient trio of legendary fairies who were believed to be the most powerful fairies in all of Alfea History. Their feats have been known to be passed down through generations, immortalised in statues that stand in the Alfea Museum, and had been recorded in Legendarium. Ress of the Flame, Chevonne of the Water and Farcelia of the Wind. They were real fairies, but it has been so long that their legends outlived their actual story of their lives.

When Mavilla was headmistress of Alfea, owning and exhibiting the strengths of one's Fairy Animal was considered a vital part of a fairy education. Everything taught was a reflection of the contents of the Tome of Nature. Eventually, Mavilla changed this. 

Alfea used to have a crest which was a curved golden "A" on a purple and blue flower with a golden outline at the top of the school gates, just above Alfea's gate. The "A" of the crest is also seen on what used to be the school's uniform, consisting of a burgundy long-sleeved and knee-length dress and mary janes. The neck part of the dress has white lace and a dark burgundy loop.

At another point in time, Eldora was the keeper of the Alfea Greenhouse and taught floral magic.

School years

First Year

Freshmen fairies learn how to master their own source of power, as well as their base fairy form, and learn basic spells they can use in their daily life and in battle if necessary. Metamorphosymbiosis, Potionology and Survival Training are part of the first year curriculum. Fairies also learn how to explore diverse environments in the Simulation Room as part of their survival training. 

Second Year

Second Year fairies have the goal of earning Charmix. Their classes include, magic invocation, magic self-defence, applied convergence and cognitive analysis class, where fairies learn technical incantations, and spells requiring accurate pronunciation.

Third Year

Third Year Classes include, History of Magic, and those who achieve Enchantix will participate in Battle training to hone their skills. The fairies also have a final thesis, also earning Enchantix is more like an extra credit thing.

Graduation

After earning Enchantix, the basic fairy education is completed and they will graduate with Honours and receive the titles of Guardian Fairies of their respective homeworlds on the Day of the Gift. Without Enchantix, the girls still graduate, but they don't become guardian fairies. In this case, they return to their home world and can decide if they want to work towards being a guardian fairy by being an apprentice to one until they earn their Enchantix, or they can do something else. Alumni can also decide to extend their studies and do their masters here at Alfea in any Subject already offered, being mentored by any of the current staff

Winx After Graduation

They taught for a short period of time, before choosing to take their masters here in various subjects in addition to being substitute teachers from time to time.

Architecture and Layout

Outside

The Alfea Natural Park, which is a refuge for Fairy Animals, is found in the forest. It is unknown if parts of the forest close to the school belong to the school or not, but they are also used for classes and tests.

There is a bus stop where students, guests, and staff members can take buses from and to Magix City and to other places in Magix.

Protective barriers meant to keep non-magical creatures, non-fairies, and bad weather out are seen many times in the series.

The School Gates are the only access to the school compound. They consist of a large pink archway with two wing-like doors that move to open or close the gates.

Its campus is a large castle with pink walls and blue roofs built around a courtyard.

Ground / First Floor

Most of the Classrooms are found on the ground floor around the central courtyard. The side buildings have corridors through which the classrooms can be accessed and it has stairways from which the upper parts of the school can be accessed.

Namely: On the East Wing, Applied Convergence Classroom, Technical Incantations Classroom, Magic Invocation Classroom, Magic Defence Classroom, and on the West Wing, Potionology Classroom, Metamorphosymbiosis Classroom, and the Survival Training Classroom. Each classroom also acts as storage for whatever items the subject requires.

The School Kitchen, where Chef Sfoglia works, Students may also be assigned to do the cooking as chores or as punishment. Located in the West Wing

In the North Wing, The Entrance Hall is a large room found opposite the School Gates, and it is accessed by a set of grand stairs.

The Cafeteria / School Hall is a large room found on the ground floor. It has a large dome of glass as its outer wall and there are long tables where the students have their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It has a special tier for staff members. Parties and balls are often held there and during such occasions, the tables are removed to make a place for the festivities. It is found below the Headmistress' Office and behind the Entrance Hall, in the North Wing.

The West Wing also contains The School Infirmary where students are treated in case of health problems and injuries. It is composed of an office and a resting room with many beds. It is managed by Nurse Ofelia and her assistant.

The West Tower is where the Magic Archive of Alfea is found. Precious and rare books and scrolls about many things can be found there and the school's Codex used to be kept there. A Pixie, named Concorda, is the keeper of the Secret Archives.

The first floor of the east tower contains the Applied convergence Classroom which also acts as the School Amphitheater for formal gatherings required by the Headmistress or otherwise. the students sometimes attend the school assembly and it is also where general meetings are often held, especially in crisis times. There is a table with chairs around it where staff members sit. Exams may also be held there.

The Central Courtyard is a large open space at the centre of the school. It contains:

Benches where students can sit and spend their free time. The Well, with underground tunnels that connects Alfea to the other magical schools, and contains various rooms and obstacles to go through in order to obtain the Star of Teamwork. It functions as a gathering area for celebrations such as the beginning of the year and graduation ceremonies are done. It also serves as a landing space for Red Fountain ships.

Around the sides are the Gardens of Alfea. A place where students can relax and study and even practice their abilities with the accompaniment of nature.

And around the back is an open space mainly used for classes with a practical component.

Second Floor

The student Dormitories (enchanted to be bigger on the inside). Located in both the East and West Wings.

The North wing’s first floor’s ceiling is very high, taking up 2 floors, and therefore technically there is nothing here.

The Simulation Room is where virtual simulations take place. It can also be used to teleport people to other locations. Professor Palladium is the one who is in charge of the Simulation Chamber.

There is technically nothing here in the West Wing because the Archive Room Ceiling is the tallest in the entire school, taking up 4 floors. (Tho it can still be accessed from here as well but the platform is small so people usually dont.)

Third Floor

The student Dormitories (enchanted to be bigger on the inside). Located in both the East and West Wings.

The History of Magic Classroom in the East Wing Tower

And in the North Wing, the staff and Faragonda’s offices. Outside of which there is a small seating area.

There is technically nothing here in the West Wing because the Archive Room Ceiling is the tallest in the entire school, taking up 4 floors. (Tho it can still be accessed from here as well but the platform is small so people usually dont.)

Fourth Floor

The student Dormitories (enchanted to be bigger on the inside). Located in both the East and West Wings.

The Dance Studio/Gym in the East Wing Tower.

In the North wing, Faragonda and the Staff Quarters. Only accessible via the offices.

There is technically nothing here in the West Wing because the Archive Room Ceiling is the tallest in the entire school, taking up 4 floors. (Tho it can still be accessed from here as well but the platform is small so people usually dont.)

Fifth Floor

Only contains the Viewing Decks atop the two Towers of Alfea. Only accessible by Flight or Teleportation.

Basement

The basement of Alfea is sprawling. It contains what will become Musa’s Music Cafe, the Alfea Museum, the Hall of Memories (formerly: Fairy Animals), the magical Entrance to the Alfea Greenhouse, the Library (containing the Research Lectern with Miss Barbetea as its Librarian) with its Restricted Section, and finally the Hall of Enchantments (It contains the hall of infamy, where the portraits of all the enemies of the Magic Dimension can be found, the entire history of the magical universe and contains the Heart of Alfea), only accessible through the Headmistress’s Office.

The rest of the images here include a Key, a Compass and a small sketch i did to plan out how many floors Alfea actually has.

Finally staff:

Headmistress Faragonda (Applied Convergence)

Miss Grizelda (Magic Defence/Applied Convergence)

Professor Palladium (Potionology/Survival Training)

Professor WizzGizz (Metamorphosymbiosis/Technical Incantations)

Professor Avalon (s3 new) (Magic Invocation)

Professor Daphne (s6 new) (History of Magic)

Chef Sfoglia, In the Kitchen

Nurse Ofelia and her assistant. In the Infirmary

Pixie Concorda, the keeper of the Secret Archive

Miss Barbetea the Librarian

Knut the Janitor (s2 new)

Dorm Assignments

The students use all three levels of the student dorms. And where they go rotate every three years. So if you joined the school and are assigned to the second floor dorms, you stay there until u graduate then the freshmen after you will take over it.

Once again all dorms are enchanted to be bigger than they seem.

For the Staff, (All dorms are enchanted to be bigger than they seem from the outside)

Faragonda and Grizelda (daphne in future) Share a dorm, the North Wing, central Dorm.

Palladium, Wizzgizz, Avalon share a dorm, the North Wing, East (left) Dorm

When the winx become teachers, they will insist on sharing a dorm, the North Wing, West (right) dorm.

The non teaching staff usually have a built in dorm at wherever they are working, so Miss Barbetea has a room in the library, and Nurse Ofelia and her assistant share a room in the infirmary and so on. Their rooms are also enchanted so they are bigger on the inside.

Sketch Dump:

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Character Analysis

I want to reorganize my pinned post a little, so this is one of the masterposts I'll be posting to link at the top of my blog and continuously edit.

Harry James Potter:

Harry James Potter Masterpost

The Rest of the Golden Trio:

Some rumbling about Hermione's character

Hermione's and Ron's Animagus forms

Ron Weasley's Mean Streak

Romione Thoughts

Hermione and her parents

Tom Riddle/Voldemort:

Tom Riddle/Voldemort Masterpost

Mauraders Era:

General Marauders + Snape Opinions

Sirius Black:

Sirius Black was a good godfather to Harry

I don't think Sirius saw Harry as a James stand-in

Harry and Sirius' dynamic

Sirius' Animagus form actually is the Grim

Sirius and Dumbledore's Dynamic

Barty Crouch Jr:

Justice for Barty Crouch Jr: Part 1/2

Justice for Barty Crouch Jr: Part 2/2

Severus Snape:

Snape, his abuse, and his dynamic with Lily

Snape and his treatment of his students + abuse in the Wizarding World

Thoughts on Snarry & Severitus

Regulus Arcturus Black: Character Overview

Lily Potter:

Sev, Lily and Petunia

Evans Sisters & Black Brothers Parallars

Lily Potter is not Mediocre

Lily & Ginny don't look the same at all

James Potter: Character Overview

Remus Lupin: Remus & Harry's dynamic

Black Sisters: General thoughts

Other:

Theodore Nott:

Character overview & Nottpott

Some other Headcanons

Luna Lovegood:

Character overview

Pandora Lovegood and her death

Neville Longbottom:

Harry & Neville's Friendship + Being a True Gryffindor

Draco Malfoy:

Some Draco and Drarry thoughts

About Dramione

Blaise Zabini: General thoughts

Weasley Family Dynamics:

The Weasleys Aren't Great Parents

General Weasley family thoughts

Ginny Weasley:

Ginny & Quidditch

Is Ginny a pick-me-girl? Yeah, kinda

General thoughts on Ginny

Thoughts on Linny

I don't think Hinny is a great relationship

Albus Dumbledore:

Did Dumbledore care for Harry?

How powerful was he?

Dumbledore, Tom Riddle, and what makes a psychopath

The Dursleys:

My thoughts on the Horcrux made them evil theory

Harry & Dudley's Dynamic

Kingsley Shacklebolt: General thoughts

Dolores Umbridge: General thoughts

Misc:

Top characters I think have textual evidence for being not straight (other than Harry)

Assigning magical jobs to various characters

Some character accents

Some character handwriting

Some NPC Hufflepuffs thoughts

[anunfortunatekinlist]

no one wants this but imma expand anyway;

right so most of us know the characterisation of drarry, it is mostly similar to the characters we saw in the books and movies, with some adaptation depending on the au or how old the characters are supposed to be. This has worked with the characters since the books came out, with the redemption of Draco, and seeing harry grow up has been very interictal to most who follow the ship, and i feel that a lot of people are very well-versed in this trope of theirs as we probably came from the Golden Era.

Now for my observations about jegulus, a ship that i have seen develop in its popularity throughout the fandom time, and also saw the re-characterisation of James and regulus to fit this "drarry-type trope", which seems weird to me liking both of the ships at some point. A lot of the new characterisation of James is very similar to Harry's canon character, they very much made James into a forgiving and understanding character, which is something that Harry is due to how he was treated all his life (site the dursley's, dumbledore manipulation, and saving draco and countless others and not wanting to kill ANYONE, despite them all trying to kill him), James would never had this development, as he never had the upbringing Harry had and would never be that forgiving of a literal blood- supremacists.

AND, regulus never had this redemption, and never had a reason for a redemption like other characters had, the death-eaters had always served regulus in the way he wanted, and he never physically stood up against it, meanwhile Draco was officially the youngest person to get a dark mark, being either 15, or freshly 16 when taking it, and most likely having Voldemort, and/or rampant supporters of Voldemort living in his house at the time (such as Bellatrix), seeming being naïve and forced to take the mark, and terrified if he doesn't fulfil the orders, not happy to follow the orders but terrified about the consequences (site dumbledores death scene). We never see any of these actions from regulus, his "betrayal" being out of pure selfish motivation (site: he was angry kreacher was nearly killed, he had posters of Voldemort in his bedroom (Seventh book)). So draco's redemption never would work either for regulus.

A lot of what you are trying to achieve through jegulus, is already there through drarry, and you do not see it, if you want this kinda trope, its already there, in a different era, but idk if you find golden era cringy or whatever, but what you want has been written for yearssssss.

i don't care if you want to write jegulus, write is how you want, if you like this trope, you can write this trope to ANYONE, but this is not the only way to write jegulus, and drarry is not copying jegulus, and drarry is an older, and more popular ship. a lot of the time, to make jegulus a likeable ship, i see these characters projected onto jegulus, regulus is not draco, and james is definitely not harry. thats all.

jegulus is shitty drarry, send tweet