#jkr related nonsense

[cordycepsfem]

Today in “we get it, you hate JKR” or “is this really activism?”:

Oh no! The community - like most - enjoys Harry Potter?! Better slap that nonsense out of their mouths ASAP. Don’t they know how bad that is? Librarians should always go against their community’s needs and interests, it’s how they stay open!

This man goes on to say that the library actually experienced a run-in with a conservative group that attacked the library through legislation, nearly got it shut down, and sent death threats to library staff. So obviously the best thing to do is write them a self-serving letter about how Harry Potter Bad:

Some brain trusts in the comments point out that their communities are not Woke Enough and continue to enjoy an engaging book series for young people. One even claims to minimize Harry Potter’s presence as much as possible at their library, like any honest librarian would.

Oh no! Children enjoy reading?? What should we do to shut that nightmare down??

Further intellectuals let us know that JKR Has Always Been Bad and Why Does Thing Need Theme At All If Not Woke:

“Surely something that’s generic and shows that we are Firmly Against That Woman would be more fun to organize?”

Harry Potter is hanging on because it is a good book series, a good movie series… it’s games and a theme park and people like it. It has nothing to do with money being “tied up” in it, that’s just called “people talking with their money” or “being normal consumers.”

I love the lengths these people will go to in order to find any fault with the series or events around it, just so they can virtue-signal how much they hate JKR.

Nick the Geek: leave your fucking library alone. Or start doing activism for it that isn’t performative. Donate books. Tutor ESL learners. Offer to give your time teaching hobbies to others. Help seniors with computers. Those all take work, but they are things the library actually needs, not another bearded man whose profile says he’s “trying to be nicer” writing them useless letters. Their programming was probably already bought and paid for, with a specifically allocated budget, and you demanding they change course does nothing but add onto the pile of nonsense they don’t need.

[sneppu]

Hello! Welcome to The Sneep Zone

You may call me Nagi

Main blog: @nagoo (I'm also on Bluesky! absolutely NO MINORS on the bluesky, no exceptions. nsfw art will be going there.)

@headmasterseverussnape and @sevsbestfriend are my beloveds

u better be able to tell fiction from reality i stg.

first and foremost: fuck jkr. i do not endorse her. i do not agree with her. we dont do that weird shit here.

we do different weird shit instead (bask in the decadence of The Sneep)

This sideblog is for me to post all my Snape art and Snape related ramblings! I am addicted to snape fics, and have found myself needing to make fanart for some of my favorite writers. such things will be posted here!

Severus Snape is my favorite guy!

I am known to refer to him as: Sneep, Snorp, Sneb, The Sneberous Sneb, The Snebulous One, He Who Sneeps In The Dark, SneepSnorp, Mother, Sneppu, El Sneepo, Snorpo, Snib, The Best One, The Only One That Matters, The Community Boyfriend, Babygirl, etc.

rest assured, I am talking about Severus Snape every single time

I ship him with everyone! yes, even [insert character]. I always tag ships so block the tag or w/e if theres one you dont like.

I truly and genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, do not care even a little bit about The Grievances u may have about my ships or my sneeps. I cannot stress enough how much that is not my problem. If you're the type to throw a tantrum over ships and fictional content I'm just gonna block you tbh.

Dark/Fucky content WILL be found on this blog. Snape was practically MADE for that shit and I like to project my traumas onto him so like. ykno. I expect ppl with critical thinking on here ONLY.

in my ideal world, everyone would love and cherish Sneep. I tend to focus on marauder's era Snape

not to be rude, but i kind of only care about Snape really. the slytherins are cool and chill too (especially Lucius, Rosier, and Mulciber), but i mostly care about how they interact with and potentially fall in love with The Sneep. the marauders are rat bastards and i ship them with Snape in a "grovel eternally for the scraps of his affection" kind of way. I am not sorry.

dont expect nothing serious from me unless im waxing poetic about Snape or heavily projecting my own Tragic Past onto him tbh, and even then...

i have zero interest in any debates whatsoever. i cannot emphasize this enough, my thoughts are disjointed and nonsensical. The mere thought of having a serious debate about anything is stressful and unpleasant. I mean it as kindly as possible when I say it makes my eyes glaze over.

i am just here to draw Snape and shitpost about my favorite little guy.

i dont care that he's mean.

he shouldve been meaner, actually.

he's better than me and he's probably better than you too, because i wouldve absolutely lost it big boy style.

Art tag: #nagi nyart

Have you ever written a fanfic about Severus Snape? If so, please PLEASE read this post Here

this shouldnt even have to be said but please do not??? take me stuffs and completely re-upload it without credit or permission?? dont do that to anyone, actually? like idk basic courtesy towards artists or w/e. you know better, i know you do.

BUT that said.. using my stuff for your header or profile pic is fine with credit somewhere easily visible, like the profile description, or pinned post!

[oh-my-bindery]

I clearly had a little late night rant to myself so I decided to share it…

Drarry and how I see them and why they are SO IMPORTANT to me

Draco

Draco is sheltered, an only child, he is spoiled, he has been fed blood purist nonsense all his life by his family and those around him. Which is so relatable to me as I am an ex-catholic who not only had extremely clouded beliefs about race, but also sexuality and religion. I said awful things to people, I was being fed that by teachers, parents, newspapers, Catholic Church, school classmates and teachers. Everything around me was that way. I was a very closeted trans gay man who eventually lost it and wanted to burn all those beliefs down once I figured out what I his deep down about myself and became more aware of people, suffering and prejudice.

I used to use my words to protect myself and even being nasty to people, wanting to hurt them so they couldn’t hurt me. I was a very closeted gay and transgender person. I really relate to Draco.

Draco’s humanity/ vulnerability

The turning moment for me seeing Draco differently (or having a chance of change) as it was for Harry in the books, was seeing the humanity to Draco.

We never truly see Dracos humanity or how he is on his day to day basis (we do get some scenes that shape him as a person and present wider outlook on his character) as the book is written from Harry’s perspective and JKR really hates Draco.

Which is awful, she never gave him a true redemption despite hinting at it, building it up over the 6th, 7th book. Draco stops eating in his 6th year (it’s not directly stated but it is said that he looks “sick” which could be taken is such which addition to not sleeping and overwhelming stress and pressure clearly visible on him), he is forced to become a Death Eater and given the mark as a punishment to his father, he becomes panicked and miserable and acting out of paranoia and not doing a great job. He cries so much so, he becomes friends with Moaning Myrtle and even she says how sad and depressed he is, how lonely he is. Which leads me to conclude that either a) he distanced himself from his friends b) his friends are not his real friends but only friends with him bc of his high up status as a Malfoy or they have been family friends for years due to their parents being friends. c) both. At first maybe Draco felt like he could restore the good family name to his family. He was proud. But then he realized what all of it meant it meant that he would have to kill and he is truly not capable of it.

Draco’s wand working for Harry very well/ being a light side wand

Let’s take a look at what Harry Potter Wiki says about it first.

“Draco Malfoy's wand was 10" long, made of hawthorn wood, and had a unicorn hair core. “

“Hawthorn wands are said to be "most at home" with a wizard passing through a period of turmoil. During the last couple of years of owning this wand, Draco Malfoy was under enormous pressure to murder Albus Dumbledore, and immediately afterwards suffered through Voldemort occupying his family's home. Harry Potter claimed mastery of this wand at a time of great turmoil as well, undergoing a robbery of Gringotts Bank and the Battle of Hogwarts within a short time of gaining this wand.”

What can be told about Draco from it is that he not only was going through some turmoil when he was chosen by his wand at 11 but also continued to do so in Dracos darkest time in 6th year.

What we can gather from this regarding Drarry is that they are both going through the worst. They would understand each other.

Then we move on to:

“Wands with unicorn hair as its core are the hardest to turn to Dark Arts. Although this would seem ironic at first, as Draco's inclination to Dark Arts during his early to middle years (and his success at casting the very dark Imperius Curse) his last years at school led to a change of his lifestyle that made him realise he had gone further than he expected, and henceforth turn away from the Dark Arts.”

Draco was opposed to Dark Arts from a young age even though his father was most certainly very into them. Which is extremely interesting. What was Draco like before he came to Howarts? I can only assume his mum was a good and living influence on his life (she’s definitely flawed and believing in blood purity, but she will give up her own life and happiness if it means Draco is alive and happy).

And yeah Draco was always a terrible Death Eater because his heart was not truly in it. He wanted to save his family and himself from dying.

Draco’s wand in Harry’s hand (GET YOUR MIND OUT IF THE GUTTER)

“Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased, to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione's had done.” - Deathly Hallows

IM SORRY BUT DRACOS WAND CHANGING ALLIANCE TO HARRY IS THE GAYEST THING EVER.

Wands to tend to have difficult time switching masters. Yet Dracos wand doesn’t. It works great for Harry despite Garry not winning it fairly.

Draco’s wand is one that is the least likely to turn into dark arts. The wand chooses the wizard. On the topic of wands Dracos wand felt the most friendly to Harry and he defeated Voldemort with it. Dracos wand also is said to have a very hard time to switch owners/ sides yet there was no problem of it when Harry took it from Draco. Draco didn’t even fight back enough for it. Almost as if he wanted Harry to have it. Which would make sense that the wand worked so well for Harry as Draco wanted it to work for Harry. It only makes sense that way. It may have not been intended by JkR to write that but it’s what she wrote.

Not Identifying Harry in the Malfoy Manor

Draco lies to his family risking his own and his family’s lives to give Harry time to escape the Manor. He knows Harry is Harry but instead says he “can’t be sure” which is the only response he could go for in order for Harry and his friends not to be killed. If Draco said that Harry was not Harry, him, Hermione and Ron would have been killed because they are useless to the Death Eaters and Snatchers.

Draco is top student in some of his classes from what we know. He is smart, he must have known how to deal with this situation. He also was terrified when he saw Harry as Harry noticed.

“… Draco… approached.

“Well, Draco?” said Lucius Malfoy... “Is it? Is it Harry Potter?”

“I can’t—I can’t be sure,” said Draco….

“But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!… …Draco, come here, look properly! What do you think?”

“…Draco’s expression was full of reluctance, even fear.

“I don’t know,” he said, and he walked away…”

-Deathly Hallows

Harry noticed so many of Dracos emotions, more than anyone, they both read each other so well. Know each other by their breath, by their slight movement (main piece of proof is the emotive HBP). They know what the other is going to say or is thinking. Harry knew Draco was terrified and didn’t want to torture Rowle as his punishment. He could see it on Dracos face in his visions after the Manor escape. So far so Harry felt bad for Draco, it hurt him to look at it and he had to cut off that connection it hurt him so much.

“

“More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time. . . . You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure. . . . Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!”

A log fell in the fire: Flames reared, their light darting across a terrified, pointed white face — with a sense of emerging from deep water, Harry drew heaving breaths and opened his eyes.

He was spread-eagled on the cold black marble floor, his nose inches from one of the silver serpent tails that supported the large bathtub. He sat up. Malfoy’s gaunt, petrified face seemed branded on the inside of his eyes. Harry felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort.” - Deathly Hallows

Also going back to Draco, he had to live with Voldemort since his fifth year. Terrified, watching people die in his house, terrified that his parents or himself will be tortured or killed. And let’s not lie he probably was tortured himself by letting Harry get away. Draco is a skilled at occlumency so he could probably hide his feelings towards Harry from Voldemort or his father.

Harry saves Draco from the Room of Requirements and then again even tho Draco is talking to a Death Eather saying he is on their side. Harry cares about Draco not dying. He risks his own and his friends lives to save Draco. I’m pretty sure Harry would not to that to other people he hates and he didn’t- not Crabbe or Goyle. All he cared about was Draco. This boy is not just a noble Gryffinor and his Harry-self who is adamant about saving lives. He cares about Draco more than he does for other people that are not his friends or family.

I can definitely continue but if people want to add to it, please feel free as I WOULD LIVE IT!

[maxdibert]

Hi again!! so I was that anon that asked about Draco, but I loved reading your opinion on him :)

I think I'm slowly warming up to him as a character because he seems more realistic/complex compared to how Harry is treated like this Chosen One with unrealistic traits in the earlier books/movies. And ur right, he did certain questionable things but people forget that he was raised/fed propaganda about the Death Eaters and Voldemort's ideology, shaping his worldview and his Dad being the main giver of this propaganda. Plus, once he realizes what he did he shows guilt and reluctance, like in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, hinting at his internal conflict. Unlike Harry, whose heroism is idealized, Draco’s growth is more nuanced and flawed.

And idk why but Snape seems to be a better father figure, he seems to be the most likable teacher in the story— like, everyone else like everyone else like Dumbledore or McGonagall, while "great" in their own ways, feel distant or overly idealized + Dumbledore is way too cryptic. Teachers like Trelawney are sympathetic since all magic is controlled/dumbed down by a stupid Ministry. Snape's complexity, despite his flaws, makes him feel more relatable and grounded + Harry's dad did bully him.

I am developing an idea (for a larger multifandom story arc) where Draco ends up being fully sick of the whole wizard conflict, and Snape too- so they end up running away from the HP world, through a disappearing act right when Harry tries to retaliate after Dumbledore died. Now, this isn't to spite JKR or anything but an idea I came up with if Draco ended up choosing neutrality and rejecting the war's ideologies.

Anyways, I'd like to hear ur thoughts ^^

Helloooo! Good morning btw hahahah

Well, I’ve always seen Draco as a modern version of Regulus (which isn’t surprising since, after all, they’re family). Both are boys raised under a set of ideas they never questioned, but when the moment came to confront what it truly meant to put those ideas into action, they realized it involved doing things they didn’t like. This is something that happens a lot in real life and feels very realistic to me. I don’t think Draco completely let go of his own prejudices or conservative ideas, but there’s a huge difference between having problematic thoughts and actually wanting to exterminate people. A 12-year-old like Draco might spout off absolute barbarities he heard at home (like wishing Hermione would die), but he’s a 12-year-old kid who has no clue about the nonsense he’s saying. He doesn’t understand what death means or what it’s like to see someone dead. Once he experiences that years later, it horrifies him terribly.

Draco is an incredibly realistic character, and that’s why I find him likable.

Now, Harry is a much more complex issue because, in general, he’s an unrealistic character. His way of dealing with trauma—pretending everything is fine—is unrealistic. The fact that he doesn’t suffer from PTSD after living with the Dursleys is unrealistic. The way he conveniently holds grudges against certain characters but forgives Sirius overnight for attacking Ron in PoA while trying to catch Pettigrew—without even a proper apology—is also unrealistic. But in the end, it’s just Rowling deliberately and conveniently ignoring the consequences certain characters’ actions might have on Harry because it doesn’t suit her for readers to question whether those characters are morally dubious. She also doesn’t want to delve into Harry’s internal conflicts regarding them. It’s the same with Lupin being a total piece of crap to Tonks. It’s completely glossed over because Rowling wants to keep portraying him as a saintly, good guy. So, abandoning his pregnant wife gets resolved in two pages, and then we all move on as if nothing happened, lol.

I’m not sure I fully buy into Snape as a father figure, but I’m also not sure I completely reject it. I think Severus was very childish due to his traumas and the emotional immaturity they caused. This is evident in how he interacts with his students. The jabs he throws at them often reflect an adolescent mindset—he’s stuck in that stage because he couldn’t overcome a series of events. And then there’s the added layer of being “trapped” in the place where all those things happened to him. His reactions when triggered are those of a teenager who hasn’t yet learned to control himself.

His moments of camaraderie with the Slytherins clearly echo what his adolescence must have been like—encouraging the strong in his house. Except now, he’s the strong one, the one with power and authority. This creates a stark contrast and a strong dissonance with his other role, which is protecting the students—something he takes very seriously. Honestly, Dumbledore is a cynical, negligent jerk who doesn’t give a damn about his students unless they serve his future plans. McGonagall seems to have stayed out of all the plots Dumbledore and Severus had going, so we can’t really blame her. But Severus was tasked with protecting the children, and he genuinely protected them. In that sense, he might be the most responsible adult at Hogwarts, maybe even the only professor truly concerned about ensuring none of them ended up dead. However, this contrasts heavily with the way he treats them, which is hard for readers to understand if they don’t look beyond his image as a mean teacher.

What I do believe is that he cared about Draco. Just as his treatment of Harry reflected his unresolved issues with James and his guilt over what happened with Lily, I also think Severus projected onto Draco the gratitude he felt toward Lucius for probably being the first to accept him into Slytherin, opening many doors for him. In fact, I think Severus must have been quite close to the Malfoys on a personal level. Narcissa trusted him enough to ask him to make the Unbreakable Vow and to place her son’s life in his hands, knowing she would do anything for Draco. That suggests a close relationship behind the scenes.

Anyway, I don’t think Draco ever left the wizarding world. I could see him keeping a low profile, wanting to stay out of the spotlight, and focusing on managing his inheritance or pursuing activities that didn’t require him to go out much. But I don’t see him leaving the magical world entirely. He received a very specific type of education, and while his ideas about exterminating Muggle-borns likely vanished after the war, he was still an aristocrat with no reason to reject his lifestyle. I do see him adopting a much more moderate and cautious outlook, though.

Severus, on the other hand, would’ve left. Severus would’ve locked himself away in some remote place where no one would think to look, dedicating himself to his studies and potions, and telling everyone to go to hell. Severus was utterly fed up, but he didn’t have any options.

[violivs]

NMTDaily: Q&A (Bea and Hero’s first Q&A video)

- Okay, I took a brief break from my rewatch liveblog, but I’m back. Let’s do this.

- “But first, tea!” Cute little teacup cheers animation and sound effect!

- Wait, also, this is another moment of Bea’s hypocrisy and the things she has in common with Ben being exposed! Miss No One Needs Tea actually IS a tea-drinker! (And Ben is still watching her videos at this point, I wonder if he noticed that…)

- Sigh. Content warning: Harry Potter. I continue to be aggressively furious with JKR. Ten years ago I would have never thought HP would become inextricable from a vitriolic hate group, and it breaks my heart every time I think about it. How trans people are suffering at the hands of that woman, most importantly. But also how she took away my ability to enjoy the series that got me through a bleak early adolescent onset of my anxiety disorders, AND she’s retroactively corrupting my comfort media by association now too. Boo. Hiss. Let’s move on.

- There IS some good character work in this Hogwarts House discussion section though. More foreshadowing of Pedro failing to live up to his brave, heroic image. Meg being a Slytherin. Bea thinking Ben would be a Muggle. It is interesting to think about what could replace this discussion today in terms of media references. I really don’t know.

- Hero being uncomfortable when Bea brings up Claudio and her being matching is interesting. I guess they aren’t officially official yet. And then she gets revenge by bringing up Benedick, lol. Perfect.

- Bea makes fun of her a bit again about the holidaying in the South of France, not really sure what to make of that.

- Bea catching that question and refusing to be tricked into saying Ben is her friend, and still refusing to watch his channel. Hilarious and plot-important.

- Arch-nemesis, what a strong word! Remember the fanart transforming Kate Beaton’s Nemesis comic to be about Ben having a photo of his nemesis Beatrice above his bed? I loved that, but now I think Beatrice should’ve been the star of her own version of that, lol.

- I love her making fun of Ben’s channel icon, because I still think that icon was a perfect character choice. Exactly the kind of deeply cringe nonsense that Benedick MuchAdo would and should do in a modern AU, I love it. And I love that Beatrice hates it. Perfect.

- “You have to pick a side, you pick my channel or you pick his!” “You do know you’re not the only two channels on YouTube?” Lol get her Hero!

- Just hollering again because Ben is definitely gonna watch this video and see Bea talking about their past I’m!!!!!

- I know what it’s like to be a kid and have a group of kids you only see during summer but who all see each other year-round, and you never feel as close to those people as they are to each other. So I understand why Bea might feel resentful that all her Auckland friends are still friends with Ben year-round, especially after she had such a falling out with him.

- “Like he does with his newest most bestest friend thing, he latched on to me as the other new kid in the group” MY HEART.

- Ben was clearly still struggling with being the new kid, and saw someone who related a bit to that and wanted to bond over it! Oh my GOD he is just the embodiment of the Puss-in-Boots-being-a-cute-kitten-with-huge-wet-eyes gif to me and I cannot help being absolutely in love. Protect this lonely baby!!!!!

- HE KNEW SHE WAS LEAVING AT THE END OF SUMMER. He was ripping off the band-aid early by pushing her away. We know he genuinely didn’t know his feelings for her were romantic at all at the time, so all Ben knew was Bea was trying to get closer to him right as he was about to lose her, and he was giving them both an out because it already hurt too much to lose her!!!!! (A HUGE parallel to his behavior of pushing her away ahead of losing her to travel in Lovely Little Losers by the way.)

- And poor Beatrice. She’s already used to maintaining friendships from eight hours away. She would have just taken for granted that she and Ben were going to stay in touch after she went home to Wellington, like she always did with Hero and Pedro. But she also knew she had a crush on Ben, and as soon as she tries to put herself out there in a messy 14-year-old way and create more situations where they’re alone together, Ben starts saying friendships die in three days. Because he doesn’t believe it’s possible to be friends from eight hours away, so why try? And Bea thinks he doesn’t care about her at all and she’s heartbroken.

- If Ben had only been able to communicate that he was scared because he liked her so much and insecure because he’d never had a friend who actually bothered to stay in touch before. If Bea had been able to listen without having her feelings hurt, and actually communicate her own feelings. If they both weren’t terminally fourteen years old about this, they could’ve been friends this entire time.

- Beatrice is SO heartbroken by Ben’s rejection that in the past 3 or 4 YEARS since this went down, she never talked to Hero about it before this video. Not once. And she tells Hero everything. That’s huge.

- “You know my life story now.” That’s how she phrases it. This friendship breakup is a defining event in Beatrice’s life so far. It’s the heartbreak of her life. No wonder she’s so adamant about hating him.

- “Traveling is going to be on the agenda in the next few years” and we already have the setup for Lolilo, not even halfway through NMTD.

- Like really, Lolilo is basically Ben and Bea having the same fight and making the same mistakes as they did when they were fourteen, and yet again finding their way back to each other, finally mature enough to never make the same mistakes a third time.

- Art Curator and Queen of the World. These precious girls.

- Beatrice wants to do something that challenges her and makes her think. She doesn’t want easy street. I love that. (Enjoying a challenge, enjoying learning and thinking, another thing that also applies to Ben.)

- Bea and Hero get along because they have the same sense of humor and they grew up together, they have history. Shows what they value in any kind of relationship, platonic or otherwise.

- I love Hero being sad at the idea of a world where she doesn’t know Bea, she’s so sweet. And Bea finding that emotional stuff gross is also perfect.

- “I think you have more in common with Ben that you do with me.” “Hero I’m going to kill you right now.” Perfect.

- Godddddd the pale blue dress I’m already in pain. Knowing what’s coming just ughhhhhh

- The beaded necklace! I love these two so much, we love sisterhood (cousinhood, you know what I mean)

- Ohhhhh St Miranda’s! I just got it, that’s a The Tempest reference and the magician principal is Prospero, or more likely Prospera a la the movie. I don’t think I had seen or read The Tempest yet when I first watched NMTD, so that went over my head. I knew it was a Shakespeare reference but it’s only now that I understand it.

- (About Pedro) “I can be myself around him, we just know each other really well” and again I’m in PAIN augh the foreshadowing

- Do we think Bea really doesn’t know that her name means Blessed? Interesting. Love that they worked that detail in.

- Saying goodbye in German? Well Hero is clearly a Sound of Music fan, lol. Well, that or Cabaret, but she strikes me as a Sound of Music girl.

- Reminding the audience that we don’t really know her outside of this channel, thanking everyone for their kindness and good questions, backhanding the ones who asked about Ben with “MOST of the questions were really good and not annoying at all”. Lol, way to model a mostly healthy relationship with your audience, Bea! I mean that genuinely. Boundaries are important. Even though you’re fictional.

- “Why are you watching us? We’re not that interesting.” This line will be paralleled somewhat in Bea and Hero’s final video.

- And all their favorite YouTubers in the description box! Mostly OG British YouTubers I haven’t thought about in years. That was a blast from the past!

- Thank you comment section for pointing out that Hero chose to include a question sent in by Benedick! She left out his name so Bea wouldn’t notice, but he’s the one who asked “how much of yourself do you put in your videos” and Bea said it was an interesting question. I love that.

- He wants to know how genuine the things she says in her videos are and he wants advice as a fellow YouTuber at the same time, and she lets him know that she’s for real. That has to hurt given the things she’s said about him, but he could also take from this video that he matters to her, or she wouldn’t still be so upset about their falling out. Whether he does understand that from this video is another question- probably not. Not yet.

- Someone in the comments, AlashiaTuol, is a genius, pointing out that Bea jokingly telling Hero to pick a side between herself and Ben is a direct parallel to a much more serious “pick a side” conversation Ben is going to have. I love that call.

- Another commenter said what I’m always thinking when I rewatch this series: “I’m so glad this exists!”

💖🥭🦩

[pebblysand]

Hello Pebbly,

Firstly I wanted to say sorry for the the hate you’ve been receiving lately. I just don’t understand why people would go out of their way to send death threats because they have a different opinion. It would be a different story if they weren’t allowed the option to be anonymous.

Secondly I wanted to ask a question about the new chapter of Castles. It was said Ginny only started her nightmares after Amycus died. Why do you think that is?

Lastly I’d like to say I adore your writing. Fan fiction or not, you truly have a gift and I’m so honoured that I get to read your beautiful stories

aw thank you anon, you're very sweet ❤️. although to be honest, i do think the issue goes beyond having different opinions, here. because the strangest thing is: i agree with these people 🤣. i fundamentally do also believe that trans rights are human rights. but i don't think that a) sending hate to people on the internet who do disagree with that affirmation is the solution to bigotry, and b) completely disengaging from fandom because of JKR's opinions is the way forward.

firstly, i agree. the fact that these people go on anon is evidence itself of the fact that they know what they're doing is idiotic. i understand being angry (i'm a gryffindor and an enneagram type 8, trust me, i really do), but obviously, all this does is relieve these people's urges for violent speech. it doesn't actually help any of the issues. and, that's fine, i guess if they feel better after dropping me these anons, then i'm happy for them. but, i doubt they do. i think a big part of being a gryffindor is learning where to take your outrage, and how to use it in ways that can make the world a better place. or else, the frustration just ends up eating you from the inside. this is not it.

additionally, as @copper-dust pointed out, fanfiction (and fandom in general) is one of the main ways to get the representation of marginalised groups that may be lacking in the source material. telling people to disengage is nonsensical. and, on a personal level, i must admit i don't relate at all with this trend we're seeing online of disengaging with any form of media (be it tv, books, etc.) that we, as a society, deem "problematic." if i had to cut out everyone i disagree with from my entertainment regimen, there wouldn't be much left. i mean... wait until these people find out like eminem, 🤣. it's hard to do more controversial than that.

personally, i think life is much more interesting when you engage with media critically and are able to use your brain to question the things you might see or read. i love eminem when he talks about fame and his daughter. i hate him when he talks about kim. there's a duality there that i find essential to my experience as a human on this planet. it's about understanding people are complicated and mostly exist on a spectrum. to tell you the truth, i don't necessarily believe in the idea of separating the art from the artist, but i do believe in engaging with art while remaining aware of who the artist is. reading things in a more educated and nuanced way.

i also must admit that i find this way of telling people: 'you mustn't read/watch/etc. [x] because the author is problematic' bizarrely moralising, and it gives me the ick. i grew up catholic and i find this attitude of 'i'm better than everyone else because i don't engage with problematic content' strangely reminiscent of saints and sinners. like: i claim the moral high ground. i am the saint. you are the sinner. and, well, good for you, i guess. i find sinning more interesting. i don't strive to be a role model, and i don't strive to live a perfect life. i'm not really keen on curating my experience of the world to the point that i end up living in a sterile echo chamber. that wouldn't be very interesting to write about and also, if we acknowledge the best in people, we must also acknowledge the worst - or else the good loses its gravitas.

by that same token, this also ultimately makes me "kid of fine" with the fact that these anons exist, in a strange way. they're not nice to get, of course, but i suppose they're allowed to disagree with me. i wish they wouldn't send me death threats about it, and it does make me angry that, doing this, they ultimately harm the people they claim to defend, but it is what it is. i don't think it's for me, as a non-elected individual representing no one but myself, to tell people what they should or should not think, and do or should not do. i do believe in the right of governments, through elected democracies, to regulate speech as a collective (the way certain countries have made racist speech or holocaust denial illegal), but i guess that's a different matter altogether. i wish people would get fined for expressing racist, transphobic, homophobic, murderous, hateful, etc. "opinions," but that is sadly not for me to decide.

.

anyway, apologies for this digression, now onto your question.

It was said Ginny only started her nightmares after Amycus died. Why do you think that is?

i recently re-read this letter from robert and michelle king, the showrunners of the good wife (do not click this link under any circumstance if you have not watched TGW and intend to watch it someday, major spoilers in that letter) where they said:

'We’ve always taken as a guiding principle of this show that drama isn’t in the event; it’s in the aftermath of the event.'

i find this quote incredibly interesting, and it really resonates with me. i suppose as someone who basically 'grew up' (as a writer) on the good wife, it's probably a vision of drama and creative endeavours that has influenced me more than i had realised. after all, i am currently writing about the aftermath of a dramatic event (the war), and to be, that's where the fascinating material is.

i think there's a lot of that in the way ginny's trauma manifests in castles. a reference i also always think of (for castles as a whole, not for this specifically) is series four of peaky blinders where tommy goes on this shootout situation with the italians, manages to come out of it alive and arthur joke-warns him about the fact that he'll get the shakes later, when the adrenaline comes down. i'm interested in that: what it feels like when the shakes come and the adrenaline comes down.

i think for ginny, there's a lot of that: during the war, when she was being assaulted, she was in survival mode. keep your head down, try to survive, do what you have to do, worry about it later. then, she comes out of it and it's like: all that stuff that she's trying to ignore is coming back to haunt her. i actually headcanon that with the chaos of the aftermath of the battle, the press, the way the weasleys were sort of ushered out of hogwarts, having to bury fred, etc. it took her maybe a couple weeks to find out for sure that amycus was dead. i can sort of picture her trying to ask around (people in the order, the DA, etc.) without raising any suspicions and not being able to get a definite answer until the list was confirmed in the press. i think that's when she realises it really is over, you know?

first of all, she realises he is dead, that he won't talk, and that no one will ever find out. she's very worried about her parents, about hurting them, about how other people might see her, about harry - so that's a big relief. and, secondly, she realises that she is free. that he won't come back. and, i think, that is of course a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, but paradoxically it also allows her to let her guard down a little (let the adrenaline come down), and that's when the nightmares come crashing. i think she only get them then because it's the end of war-mode and the start of healing-mode.

.

anyway anon, thanks again for your kind words, i'm so glad you enjoy my writing, and my apologies for taking advantage of your message to rant about Stuff. i hope you have a wonderful day ❤️

[violet-varicoseveins]

Intro post because why tf not 😎

Block don't report - reporting me is not going to help me.

Hi, I'm chloe (she/her). I'm 26 and live in the USA. Formally diagnosed with a slew of mental health nonsense since I was around 13, and it's gotten better and worse over the years.

Formally diagnosed EDNOS, anxiety, depression, adhd, and autism. Suspected BPD???? But it could just also be the autism???? I'm not sure. Also I have fibromyalgia and that shit fucking hurts.

I will post whatever the fuck I want to because this blog is for me and not for thee. Been on tumblr on and off since the beginning, rage deleted my heritage account about a year ago, but I'm back again because.. well..

Things I post:

Eat!ng di$order content (pro for me, not for thee)

Sometimes porn

Horror movies and shows

Various TV shows and movies

General hornyposting

Weed related shit

Tags:

I generally don't tag many things. I just don't care enough to, again, since this blog is for me. There are some exceptions.

Porn is usually tagged as #hornyposting

Gore/blood is usually tagged as #tw gore or #tw blood

DNI if:

Just kidding. I'm an adult and have used the internet since like 2003 and am keenly aware how stupid DNIs are. I don't care if you interact with me. If you're a minor and you choose to follow me, that's on you.

A note: Harry Potter has been a part of my life since before some of y'all were born. This does not mean that I support JKRs view on trans people in any way, and I really shouldn't have to defend liking something to rabid internet audiences, but I am because I really just can't be assed to have to explain myself over and over again. I have 0 problems with trans people, and support them. I just like Harry Potter. As far as I'm concerned, JKR didn't write it, it wrote itself. If this is a problem for you, alright, then we can agree to disagree and have a nice day.

[brazenautomaton]

The problem is that the terms are often conflated, and not in the 'I have a right for you not to be a dick to me' kind of way.

Anecdotal, but related was a discussion I read a month or so back, when someone claimed that JKR's wizardry nonsense had magical cures for all ailments. The response to that was that this counted as 'genocide' because, and I am not joking here, if they cured disabilities, then there would be no disabled people, and that was the same as if they had been murdered in the womb.

To some people, the thing being 'treated' (giving the huuuugest benefit of the doubt that the shit that right winger and his friends would pull could count as 'treatment') is the whole and the core of the person, and removing it is the same as killing them.

It's why the issue gets so damn messy because *I* don't want people harassed by right wing fucktards who get off on abusing trans people, but others want to treat even the theoretical concept of a 'cure' as the exact and same thing as mass slaughter.

My statement of 'Trans people have the right to exist unmolested' is not identical to their position of 'trans people have the right to exist'.

oh those people are fucking insane, no doubt

but I don't believe that sentiment to be the majority opinion of what people refer to as fighting for the right to exist

if you want to prevent cures, you're not fighting for your right to exist, you're fighting for your right to dictate the lives of others to fit an emotionally flattering narrative you tell yourself

[apottergeek]

God, you were so right about Ginny now that I am thinking more about her! Someone recently pointed out on Tumblr that Sirius is mentioned two times more than her in the books and she's the main character's love interest... Everything about her is told rather than shown and I like some fill-in-the blank moments but barely appearing in any book except the second and sixth is a huge blank for someone who is supposed to be such a major character.

Bellatrix appears in seven scenes but all her scenes are so intense and layered that I think it's much easier to deduce the rest of her life and personality. It's something I love about her, because she still makes a strong impression while being mysterious. Ginny isn't even mysterious because we aren't given enough for the mystery to actually be solvable like satisfying mysteries tend to be. She's also not the main character's love interest and Voldemort has no point of view chapter other than some scenes from Harry's perspective where he looks into his mind.

Even Ginny's 'stolen moments' with Harry at Hogwarts are referenced later in his thoughts rather than actually being shown! I don't think Rowling liked writing her. She doesn't relate to her as much as she does to Hermione or Luna.

Yup, I agree that Rowling didn’t like Ginny as much as she liked Luna or Hermione even if she would claim she does. Ginny’s character is not too well developed aside from her being ”feisty” which in my opinion is an annoying character trait especially when not backed up by any particular skill. Ginny is also the only main young character who isn’t involved in any Horcrux destruction which further shows how JKR liked to keep her in the background and limit her to her role to being a love interest. I like Ginny in the movies which is often the case with people who don’t like her in the books. Whereas those who do like her in the books think the movies destroyed her character.

PS: I’m not indulging in any nonsense like censoring Ginny’s name or posting anti-tags because 1) I don’t consider this post to be bashing and 2) we’re all mature enough here to accept that we like different characters.

[ren3gade]

i accidentally set up my blacklist for "jrk" instead of "jkr" (which i guess demonstrates how little i know or care about the author in question) and i kept it up just because every time ^^ this happens it's like a puzzle trying to figure out how the post got filtered by a seemingly nonsensical string of letters

so far most of them are star trek related. (and usually reference james kirk, but his middle name is tyberius)

[lookwhatilost]

i’ve been trying to ply myself with as much stimulus as possible tonight, which hasn’t been great for my productivity, but i can’t see myself sleeping tonight, so i make it work.

so while i’m trying to avoid letting my brain burn, let me talk about a tweet i wasn’t fond of. to paraphrase what it said, the OP wasn’t fond of people playing devil’s advocate for the ~~gender critical~~ crowd by pointing out that they have trauma, people it ignores the trauma that they inflict through their behavior.

my main objection to this is that it’s responding to a premise that i don’t think is applicable any longer as of 2023. you have your flagship example of jkr, who’s weaponizing her baggage, but i don’t really get the sense that she’s a representative sample. in my time poking around on the darker corners on the internet, it seems to be an ideology that takes all kinds, ranging from people with philosophically bankrupt utopian ideals of gender abolition to people who don’t even have a premise outside of vitriol for the sake of it.

(side note: if we were to throw out my point and say, sure, it is all because of open wounds, this is also an extreme example of why “my trauma” is an unworkable justifying mechanism for anything. intense emotion isn’t a reliably perfect and proportional response to pain, it manifests in nonsensical areas sometimes, and the same can be said of what lingers and what doesn’t. even if you could transpose consciousness, it isn’t an argument. none of us are valid! none of us are free of sin!)

but my other one is that it seems incredibly uncommon for anyone to really dig into how this ecosystem works, that there’s an entirely separate news media ecosystem that directly feeds into this.

i’m digging out an ancient example from the annals of my memory, but around 10 years back, there was some really stupid incident that came out of a college in florida related some professor allegedly writing the word “jesus” on a piece of paper and telling the students to step on it. if you haven’t heard about it, congratulations on being young and/or not lurking in the atheist ratsphere when some meta-discussion was happening about this. predictably, it was more complicated than that, but whatever.

this didn’t get a lot of mainstream press coverage because it’s not a story, but there were christian-specific news outlets who circulated this – and reliably did the same with similar stories like that. jury’s still out on whether the stop on jesus thing inspired a whole series of christian propaganda films, or if it was that old chain email that follows this story nearly too a tee. but what i’m getting at with this tangent is that the kind of people getting a lot of news from sources like this are going to walk away of the opinion that christians are an oppressed minority in the united states, even though it’s completely ridiculous to suggest that as the case.

reduxx and 4thwavenow basically function in the same way, serving up a new pile of “stomp jesus” style shit each day, directly to your laptop. people talk about social media radicalization constantly, which of course can play a role, but this backchannel has an established history of turning people insane in the past, and it’s doing it again. sleek front-end web design and sorta kinda maybe true stories in intense concentration is the skeletal system of this whole shit.

[transgenderer]

People saying you shouldn't consume any Harry Potter related media, even if you pirate it or it's fan works or whatever, because it's indirectly supporting jkr by promoting her work, are just...well I want to say they're dumb, because that's utter nonsense, but it feels less like dumb and more like a weird neurotic desire to control what media other people consume. Imo Harry Potter sucks (I've had this opinion since way before the terf thing cuz I'm a hipster that way) but if this is the sort of reassurance you need, I, a trans woman, think there's absolutely nothing morally wrong with consuming Harry Potter media you're not paying jkr for. (I mean, even if you did pay for it it's an immeasurably small drop in the ocean so it still doesn't super matter)

[heretekadept]

In my reading, the "I have personally experienced" caveat at the front of the post in question joined to the explicit statement that you're seeking a wider sample size tell me what you're doing here.

It scans as vicious and unnecessary to extract multiple rounds of apologies from someone who's very explicitly trying to expand their horizons for making that attempt in a somewhat clumsy way. I'm going to recommend that OP look at some of the old threads @glumshoe on here used to get into where they (I don't know their current pronouns) would repeatedly extend good faith to critics who, from everyone else's perspective, were very clearly just exercising power and delighted to find someone who'd play along. That would sometimes go 5-7 rounds and it gave me a very similar feeling to the exchange here.

To paraphrase some Twitter discourse I've seen going around, "Is it more important to do something right or to avoid doing anything wrong?"

To respond generally to the actual question, I think a lot of what you'll encounter around this issue is fundamentally the same problem we contend with when we try to dig the Harry Potter out of people's heads now that JKR has fallen to the dark side: For a lot of people this isn't a set of conceptual ideas they think of themselves as using or interacting with, it's a system of identity formation that they either see as part of themselves or see as something they were pressured to conform to and have pushed away from.

Neither of these perspectives is conducive to mellow exchange of ideas. The chill people you'll find around this stuff are the ones whose communities and families weren't particularly interested AND who themselves chose different systems for self-definition when they were young.

Globally, that one two punch is relatively unusual.

Finally, my personal perspective on astrology is basically Carl Sagan's:

1) The inverse square law means that the only real force the planets could exert on you from solar orbital distances (gravity), by virtue of being so much closer, the body of the midwife or doctor delivering you would be exerting a stronger pull by virtue of being so, so, so much closer.

2) The night sky has been slowly drifting since the heyday of the Roman Empire when what we think of as the sun signs were first laid down, and has by now actually "drifted" everyone more than halfway into the "next" sign from where the Romans would have put them. If astrology actually had any basis in reality, you'd expect practitioners to have noticed the changes in personality/destiny that this was causing, looked at the actual sky, and updated their birthdate ranges to follow along with the actual constellations the sun is rising and falling in during different parts of the year.

Since this hasn't happened, we can infer that Astrology is primarily a human ideological construct rather than something that actually relates to the stars and/or universe at large.

...but again, just because something is a social construct doesn't mean it isn't "real".

Finally, you may benefit from some one on one dialogue with @cryptotheism or intro resources they might point you towards if you're interested in exploring further. He's a really solid scholar of the history of the occult with what is IMO the most important quality in an intro teacher: an extremely sharp eye for any whiff of later revisionism in general and Esoteric Hitlerism in particular.

Speaking of traps you can blunder into, the historical facts around the state-sponsored project in the mid 20th century to turn this stuff into a state religion for the Third Reich, including most of the people involved having fallen out of favor with the Fuhrer by the end of the war and therefore getting off pretty light in the ensuing crime and punishment era (leaving them free to spew exactly that nonsense all over the post-war zeitgeist) is ASTONISHINGLY under-discussed.

Sorry for the novel. This thread seems to have touched a couple of nerves.

a lot of queer people i know in real life are either into or open to talking about astrology but online i think ive noticed a lot more people who dislike astrology and im super curious to see if that holds up.

please reblog for sample size and elaborate in the tags if you want!

[babooshkart]

hi!! i have loved harry potter for so long but i get sad and mad thinking about jkr and her ignorance. i don’t know how to separate the books from her. like i don’t want her to take away what i love so much

Hello!! 💕 First of all, you’re entirely valid!! I feel like it's very normal for us to be feeling angry and sad about the hateful things that JKR has said, and the unhealthy rhetoric she has spouted throughout the books and post-publishing (ie the books’ overwhelming whiteness, and “Albus Dumbledore is gay but only when you’re not looking directly at him” nonsense). I feel like fandom can be such a safe, loving, and beautiful space to create the kind of content that we wish we could have had in actuality--I’ve been seriously loving drawing Harry and Hermione as POC, and have plans to work on some trans illustrations as well. Artists and writers in fandom have done a lot to reclaim the Harry Potter universe for ourselves, I think, and for me, that has overcome any hold that JKR has on Harry Potter. The author is dead, etc etc.

But you gotta do what feels good and healthy to you!! And if that is stepping away from HP fandom for a little while, go for it!! Go sink all your love and appreciation and talents into what you enjoy--maybe you’ll circle back to HP in a couple of years. 💕💕💕

If you want to get involved in more inclusive art and writing, here's an itty-bitty list to get you started!

UpTheHillArt has some gorgeous trans art

Grounds for Divorce by the lovely @tepre is a heartbreakingly beautiful fic that digs deep into the feelings of displacement and identity, especially related to race.

This perfect Hermione x Luna x Ron art by the amazingly talented @dragontamerdame (there is a NSFW panel, so mind your screen 💕)

The Girl Who Lived (Again) by @ink-splotch is one of my absolute favorite Trans!Harry fics--such strong friendships, and such a beautiful depiction of what could have been that it brought some serious tears to my eyes.

@hptransfest is a really great resource for beautiful fic and art, as well!!

TL;DR: I love you, you're valid and welcome here in this space, fuck you JKR, fuck you racists, fuck you transmisogynists

[evesaintyves]

Salty ask #17?

#17 - Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

There are so many, but I will stick with the most relevant to my lil corner of fandom: Lupin and Tonks's wedding. Why does it happen so soon? Why does it happen at all? Especially since the Pottermore Lupin bio implies, to me, that they weren't romantically/sexually involved prior to the end of HBP (also dumb and nonsensical given their hospital wing interaction). It bothered me so much IT MADE ME WRITE AN ENTIRE EIGHTY-THOUSAND-WORD MULTICHAPTER FIC ABOUT IT.

The timeline makes no sense, and the pregnancy/abandonment storyline with Lupin and Tonks could certainly have happened without it. I really think it's all about JKR'S weird prudish sensibilities:(almost) nobody gets pregnant out of wedlock or gets divorced or has blended families or any of that kind of extremely normal, common stuff. That kind of thing isn't out of the scope of children's or YA literature. It's just the author's dumb hangup. Have the hospital wing scene (another thing I dislike and would change tbh), then a few weeks later Lupin turns up having abandoned pregnant Tonks out of terror. Her "outcast" status, if that's not just Lupin being an unreliable narrator, could just as easily be related to her unmarried involvement with him. Getting abruptly, secretly married after like a week or two of being (back?) together is out of character for both of them.

I'm gonna go ahead and plug my fic here! In it I try to craft a sensemaking arc between the end of HBP and the Lupin-Tonks wedding in which all their recent and latent trauma, bereavement, instability, etc. informs their decision to get married. Plus they investigate a wizard cult! It's called The Last Mission:

If, like me, you have embarrassingly strong opinions about this, I would be happy to internet-wrestle with you. So let me know!

[serpenteve]

I've been thinking a lot about @kallypsowrites's post on want vs need in Alina's character arc.

At the start of their journey, the hero usually wants something but as the story progresses, they realize that what they actually need is something else entirely. And sometimes--though not always--when the hero finally goes after what they need, the story rewards them by giving them what they originally wanted in the first place.

Spoilers for Ruin & Rising below the cut

The problem with Alina's character arc is that while we know what she wants, the story actively punishes her for going after what she needs. So in the end, Alina gets what she wants but it feels wholly unearned, incomplete, and unsatisfying within the context of her character's journey.

Ignoring JKR's nonsense for a moment, a proper example that most readers will be familiar with would be in Harry Potter.

At the start of the first book, what Harry wants most is a real family and a place to escape from the daily abuse he faces at the hands of the Dursleys. But what Harry needs is to learn to stand up against bullies and to help others stand up against their own bullies. Harry enters the wizarding world and at first it appears like a typical childhood escapist fantasy but over the course of the story, we realize that even the wizarding world is not all sunshine and roses and they have their own problems and bullies of their own, from the juvenile Draco to the main villain, Voldemort. Eventually Harry learns to stop relying on the adults in his life to fight his battles and begins to rely on his own strength to stand up for himself. It's not coincidental that as Harry learns to fight back against magical threats that he's also able to push back against the Dursley's treatment of him. And in the process of coming of age in this way, the story rewards him with what he originally wanted: a family. In the epilogue, there are no more bullies to fight. Harry is surrounded by his own family and friends and "All is well".

Compare that to the Grisha trilogy. At the start of Shadow & Bone, all Alina wants the most is for Mal to love her. But what Alina needs is to love herself and to discover her own inner strength. And sure, that sounds cheesy, but it's so obvious from the way Alina narrates the story and the way she relates to herself that she suffers from terrible self-esteem and is looking for Mal's love to validate her. So when Alina discovers her powers, the most obvious and intuitive route her character arc should have taken would have been for her to love herself, accept her new powers, and finally come into her own----and in the process of doing so, get rewarded by the story by having Mal fall in love with her. Perhaps even employing the trope of the love interest loving the heroine once she learns to love herself to really drive the moral lesson home.

But Alina's quest for what she needs (self-acceptance) gets punished and thwarted by a misplaced corruption arc. Every step she takes towards owning her powers and the amplifiers get villainized and tied back to the antagonist. She can't be confident in leading the Second Army without the narrative implying her newfound ambition is evil. She can't go after the firebird to level the playing field of her own conflict without the story claiming she's greedy. She can't accept the darker parts of her personality without the implication that this makes her just as bad as the villain.

Alina's journey to self-acceptance is incomplete and when the story strips her of her powers at the end of Ruin & Rising, it further emphasizes the inherent "evil" of Alina accepting herself. Then she gets "rewarded" with a happy ending with Mal but it feels unearned and deeply uncomfortable.

There could have 100% been a satisfying ending to the Grisha trilogy where Alina still ends up taking care of the orphanage with Mal, but there would also have to be some major changes to Alina's characterizations and/or plot points in order for it be a satisfying ending (which I wrote about in this post).