#poa remus' version

[lettersfromthewindmill]

Remus hesitated, studying him. This boy in front of him, a perfect mix of his two best friends, looking at him like he had all the answers. While his face was so familiar, it was apparent that they didn't know each other at all. Aside from his appearance he wasn't really that much like either James or Lily, and clearly no one had ever mentioned Remus to Harry before. He had no idea that Remus had been the fourth person in the world to hold him. Oh, the ways things had turned out.

Chapter 6 - the one where Harry and Remus have tea with the Grindylow... And the Halloween feast

[neverenoughmarauders]

In defence of Remus Lupin

On behalf of James Potter who is unable to come to his aid on account of being dead.

I don’t for a second believe James would blame Remus for not checking in on Harry.

Firstly, Sirius proves in the way he questions Harry in POA that he believes Harry to be reasonably happy with his aunt and uncle (which is odd given Sirius sees him run away but nevermind). Why would Remus think any differently? He will have believed Harry to be well taken care of. Remus also trusted Dumbledore like nobody else. If Dumbledore believed Harry to be taken care of, why would Remus doubt it?

Remus should still have checked you say, and yes, had he been healthy, I’m sure James would have agreed.

Which brings me to secondly. Throughout the series we see how little Remus values himself. He doesn’t truly seem to believe it worthwhile to fight to keep his position as DADA teacher, when Harry and his class does. Remus believes that his wife and unborn child would be better off without him. And I’m sure he believed Harry to be better off without him too.

I’m sick of people not understanding how real this feeling of people being better off without him feels like to Remus. He’s shunned all his life for what he is. Even the more progressive people don’t want their children or loved ones around werewolves (as proven by Molly in OOTP at St. Mungo’s). Tonks becomes a target to the woman who does eventually kill her because she married Remus. (There’s a real question whether Tonks could have survived the battle of Hogwarts if Bella hadn’t been so set on murdering her). Would running away have helped Tonks or Teddy? No, but that’s missing the point. Remus believes it would. And Remus would have believed Harry was better off without him.

I can’t possibly know what James would have felt but from what we see of James and Sirius’ friendship with Remus, I think they knew better than anyone how inferior Remus felt, how dangerous and contaminated he believed himself to be.

This assertion is not completely unfounded because so did everyone else. As much as I hate the HBP scene when the whole room talks Remus into marrying Tonks, and as much as JKR does an awful job at selling their story as anything other than a doomed, random and forced relationship - the idea is meant to be that they are both in love with each other. The idea is meant to be that the other adults aren’t pressuring Remus into doing something he doesn’t want to do. It’s meant to be them knowing how much Remus will not date or marry the person he loves because he does not consider himself worthy of it. It should have been a scene that was one more data point on how much Remus’ condition affected his self-worth and life choices. A scene in which in the absence of Sirius and James and Dumbledore, the other people in Remus’ life step up to remind him he’s good enough!

In my view it fails to deliver this completely (and it’s a real tragedy as JKR finally takes time to elaborate on just how affected Remus is by his condition), but ignoring the execution for a second - if Minerva, Molly, Arthur and Tonks could see how much Remus would never believe himself good enough, then James and Sirius would know it a thousand times more.

Of course the confident fanon version is a different story. He should have and would have checked up on Harry. But hating canon Remus for not checking up on Harry shows a lack of empathy in my view. Rewriting the story so that Remus was forbidden to see Harry takes away from the tragedy that is Remus’ life: this idea that he believed the world would be better without him - when so many people know it would be infinitely worse.

[forestdeath1]

The willpower and resilience of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin in canon and fanon

The main conflict in the characterization of these characters or why those who love the canon Sirius and Remus get so irritated by their fanon versions?

The primary difference between the canon and fanon Sirius and Remus is their willpower and resilience. Not masculinity, femininity, intelligence, beauty, or height. But specifically willpower, resilience, psychological strength, and typical coping strategies.

Canon Sirius

Sirius in the canon has remarkable willpower. Even in Azkaban, after a decade, he looks and speaks like a normal person, whereas other prisoners are insane, sitting in darkness, muttering. Dementors patrol Sirius's door around the clock in Azkaban, but it hardly affects him. Yes, he transformed into a dog, but what primarily helped him, why he didn't lose his mind, is the thought that he was innocent. This thought could not be sucked out by the dementors, but it preserved his mind and self-awareness, and he maintained this thought for many years. He had no strength, no wand, but still, when he saw Peter in a photograph years later and recognized him (good attentiveness even after years in Azkaban), he found the strength to finish what he started.

He retained his sanity in Azkaban for 12 years to make the right conclusions and then find the strength to escape from that prison.

Moreover, he didn't recognize authorities, even years later. He opposes Dumbledore in PoA, stands against his family as a 16-year-old teenager. Moreover, he was the first of the Blacks to be sorted into Gryffindor. He didn't even know if he wanted to be there, but on the train, he thought it would be nice to break the tradition. This was a deliberate act.

Tradition for the Blacks is not an empty sound. Constantly going against traditions is not just impulsive rebellion; it's the ability and willingness to withstand backlash, aggression, abuse towards oneself for disobedience.

Sirius didn't stop at being sorted into Gryffindor. He went further - made "wrong" friends, hung up nude posters, refused to accept family traditions, and eventually ran away. In a closed, strict, and dysfunctional family like the Blacks, it's quite difficult to withstand the constantly looming threat - primarily existential - to your life.

Yes, he lived 10 months a year at Hogwarts, but the threat remained always - he was always the one who was "against", they tried to bring him back, teach him, in Slytherin were his family and childhood friends, who surely interacted with him on a closer-farther level, trying to influence him. Sirius still found the strength to resist. This is a very high level of resilience, and most likely, his psyche always mobilizes in conditions of stress and conflicts. It's as if he gets a second wind.

In OotP, he's locked at home and left to fight not a real external enemy, but his memories. This is a different battle, and in it, he indeed becomes noticeably weaker. For such an active and proactive person, actions are needed; he can't just sit back, especially being locked in a house associated with many traumatizing youth memories. He's trapped in a system that formed beliefs in him that he's worthless by himself and only has value as an heir and representative of the Blacks. And now after Azkaban, he:

couldn't kill Peter,

again does nothing, just "chills" in his house, with Snape, Molly, and even the twins pointing this out.

In this situation, his enemy is within himself, and thus, fighting his internal demons is harder than confronting any external adversary.

Sirius's main enemy isn’t the external foe. The main enemy of Sirius is within himself.

Fanon Sirius

Fanon Sirius is considerably weaker. He's depicted as constantly crying in fanfictions, rebelling for the sake of rebellion (with a dash of sarcasm and odd jokes), and exhibiting teenage snarkiness rather than the ability to intentionally stand up to forces far greater than himself. He cries under parental abuse, breaks down, cries on his friends' shoulders, cries after the Prank, and this is labelled as moral growth.

This isn't moral growth. A person like Sirius doesn't develop morally in this way. It's an attempt to break him within the narrative. The silent treatment after the Prank is also an attempt to break his spirit. Firstly, canonical James would never have given Sirius the silent treatment as punishment (this is a literal fact from the canon). Secondly, canonical Sirius would have taken such "punishment" very poorly, exacerbating his childhood trauma and thrusting him into a vicious cycle of reactivating and manifesting his sense of worthlessness and attempts to conceal it. Why do this to him? Why hate Sirius so much? Why break him when there's another way, a real opportunity to help him?

Canon Remus

Meanwhile, Remus in the canon is entirely different. He too harbours a belief that he's not valuable in his own right. This sense of inadequacy. While Sirius chose a coping strategy of action, which is quite productive, Remus opted for avoidance. Remus consistently avoids, agreeing that yes, he's inadequate. Whereas Sirius prefers to prove that he can indeed be useful, valuable, needed, and important (to those he loves).

Remus stays silent during Snape's bullying, though he doesn't particularly like the situation. He doesn't throw a tantrum after the Prank ("you might" - quite a weak self-defence), while in fanon, Remus reacts like a true drama queen, being offended for half a year and punishing bad-bad Sirius. Remus in the canon avoids! In PoA, he avoids telling Dumbledore the truth because Dumbledore's opinion of him matters, though it's a false opinion since Remus essentially betrayed his trust. That is, Remus is prepared to pretend to be someone else just to avoid disappointment—again, avoidance. The situation with Tonks is the same kind of avoidance. And even when he explodes at Harry, he immediately runs away. Where was Remus after James's death? Unknown. He was roaming the world, perhaps struggling with alcohol (which is also avoidance), not trying to contact Harry. In his interactions with Harry, he also constantly maintained a distance, never emotionally opening up to him.

This doesn't make Remus a bad person, but it's his coping strategy. He avoids. He's not prepared to face a real conflict head-on. He often can't accept it, it's hard for him, he lacks strength. He's willing to die, yes (which is also avoidance), but when it comes to relationships and complex moral experiences, he closes off, dims down, and gets lost. He's quite weak (though sincerely kind and empathetic) in terms of willpower and resilience, fitting well into his secondary role within the Marauders. Again, this isn't bad, and such people are needed in any group; they're softer, they smooth some edges, they're often pleasant, Remus has a good sense of humour, and he's a sweetheart overall. But he's not a strong person in his own right; his coping strategy is not to fight but to retreat into his shell.

Fanon Remus

In fanon, however, Remus has a very strong will, readiness for conflicts, punishments, rescuing, finding solutions. In general, his resilience is increased, roughly speaking, from five to nine. As I've already said, in canon Remus reacted very weakly after the prank, but fanon Remus reacts like a true drama queen, being offended for six months and punishing bad-bad Sirius. That is, in addition to becoming the most important "alpha male" of the pack, he's also the main drama character of their pack, who literally throws passive-aggressive fits for several months waiting for Sirius to realize how bad he is. (The way the Prank is represented in fanon is an excellent example of how NOT to do it)

Conclusion

And it's precisely this difference in resilience, moral and psychological fortitude, and strength that causes the main problems in characterisation and people's attitudes. It's not so much whether Sirius is more feminine and Remus masculine. The main difference lies in their resilience. Sirius has become weaker. He could be feminine, short, and anything else, but remain strong and quite tough morally and psychologically. Remus might be tall, handsome, look masculine, but still remain less resilient.

But gender norms permeate everywhere, and if the fandom wants to see a feminine Sirius, they endow him with a conditionally "feminine" character. Though canonically, Sirius and Remus definitely even physically match their stereotypically gendered psychological characteristics—Sirius more masculine, and Remus more feminine, subtle, and short, as if wanting to disappear and blend in.

Many people's favourite characters have completely swapped places. And while this is interesting to develop and explore, providing additional fuel for the fandom fire (masculine resilient Remus + feminine Sirius = new relationship development options), I personally understand why this irritates many.

Because the primary characteristics, the very foundation of these characters, have been swapped.

Essentially, their very essence has been changed.

[casurlaub]

Things fanon and I don't agree on #1

Fanon: Huge fight after "The Prank", Remus hates Sirius, doesn't talk to him for months, James adrift, dynamics of the whole Marauders destroyed, friendship possibly ruined forever until Sirius suddenly realizes what he's done and/or Remus takes pity on him after ages of him applogizing

Canon: No hint in that direction whatsoever. The opposite, more like

Please go for your "big fight after 'the prank'"-fanfictions, I love a good deal of them. But it's not canon.

There was no big fight and Sirius did not realize the wrong of his actions, at least not until after PoA

Hear me out:

Remus wasn't all that sensible a teenager as fanon makes him out to be

In PoA he says: 

"Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did…[...]"

[...]

“That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you’d given the others the slip and bitten somebody?”  [Hermione]

"A thought that still haunts me”, said Lupin heavily. “And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless - carried away with our own cleverness."

So even if adult Remus is all reasonable, teenage Remus obviously had no qualms roaming around a freaking village as a werewolf? (And is adult Remus really that sensible? Let's not forget he did neither tell Dumbledore about an alleged mass-murderer being an animagus, nor the secret passages that led into the castle, even AFTER said mass murderer had already broken into Harry’s dormitory, supposedly with the plan to kill him.)

No, Remus basically admits he wasn’t all that bothered that he, a werewolf, almost gave the others the slip (As an adult, yes "A thought that still haunts me", but not as a teenager). And I think it’s sort of 'understandable‘ if we remind ourselves that Remus says he was  more human-like with them ("Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."), plus that a werewolf isn’t a threat to animals ("A werewolf is only a danger to people.") They became reckless because Remus was no danger when with them.

What I take from this is: Remus was running around Hogsmeade, where people lived ("roaming the school grounds and the village by night") as a werewolf. Even though he almost slipped away more than once ("And there were near misses, many of them."). And Remus was - as I said - okay with it ("We laughed about them afterwards."), calls himself "thoughtless". 

So I think our view of Remus (whom I love by the way if that wasn't clear already, I LOVE flawed characters, don't take them away from me!) is a little contorted because we only know him as an adult (and even then he isn't always that reasonable as we make him out to be).

 

2. With that 'version' of Remus in mind him dismissing the prank is not that big a stretch

Remus might as well have gotten away from his friends and bitten/hurt another person. And if Remus was at the very least sort of okay with roaming Hogsmeade, I can see why the whole 'trick' was not that big a deal to Sirius. Because if Remus, who ought to know the risks best, whose life was at stake every time they left the Shack, didn't seem to think any of it, was acting that reckless, how was Sirius supposed to think it through, assess the possible dangers? (Don't get me wrong, I'm not making excuses for Sirius - he should have thought it through. I'm just trying to trace a poasible reasoning here)

3. Even if Remus was angry with Sirius after the prank, there was no big argument about it.

Adult Remus still speaks incredibly indulgently about the whole thing in PoA ("He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me-” [...] Sirius thought it would be - er - amusing, to tell Snape [...]").

This, I think, is a pattern, because he continues to do so in OotP, when Harry confronts him and Sirius after having seen Snape's worst memory (""Look, Harry, what you’ve got to understand is that your father and Sirius were the best in the school at whatever they did - everyone thought they were the height of cool - if they sometimes got a bit carried away-""). He's obviously quick to find excuses for his friends -even if he doesn't agree with their behavior (he doesn't agree with what they did in Snape's worst memory).  

Of course you could argue that  twenty years had passed between the prank and Remus's statements in PoA and that Remus has had time to get over it. But for me it doesn't add up, because of Sirius's response in PoA:

“"It served him right”. he sneered. “Sneaking around, trying to find, what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…” 

So Sirius says that "It served him right“. Now, I fully agree that Sirius doesn't give a fuck about Snape's emotions or even his life (which is also true the other way round), but I just can’t picture him acting like that if said 'trick' had caused a huge fight between him and Remus. 

Say fanon got it 'right':

After the prank Remus is furious with Sirius, so furious that he doesn’t talk to him. For months even. It’s unsure whether they'll be able to go back to being friends. Now, Sirius might not be the most observant person (debatable, but not the point here), but even he would have picked up on the fact that this was a really big deal for Remus if they had had such a huge fight, if he had almost lost his friend over this. And in that scenario I just can not see him dismiss the whole thing with a throwaway comment like that - even after twelve years of Azkaban fucking with his head. Not if that whole incident was such a big deal as people seem to think, not if it put a serious strain on their relationship. It'd be like deliberately twisting the knife, it'd be a testimony of him not giving a fuck about Remus's feelings on the matter, it'd be like screaming "fuck you" at Remus. I'm sorry, but I don't see that. He wouldn't say that if the prank had almost destroyed their friendship. Because there's no doubt Remus was important to him, he never intentionally wanted to hurt him. And Sirius might be reckless, but he's not stupid. He's described as very bright more than once. He's not stupid enough not to realize what his statement would do to Remus had there been a fight.

So here's what happened in my opinion (Of course my opinion isn't inherently 'right' and I'm not some kind of Harry Potter expert, so feel free ro disagree with me - but that goes without saying):

Snape is following them for ages, trying to uncover Remus's secret. We know from Snape's memory in "The Prince's Tale"  that James/Sirius and Snape have been 'enemies' since the very first Hogwarts train ride (were the nickname was born). For all we know Remus never engaged in the bullying (even though he did nothing to stop it, either). Apart from the disgusting incident in Snape's worst memory (we don't have to talk about it, they were far out of line), it sounds to me like Snape and James were evenly matched. ("“Well”, said Lupin slowly, “Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?”")

Sirius stumbles into Snape, who has been snooping around again: Scenario A: He actually wants to hurt/kill Snape in a spur-of-the-moment thing, because he 'deserves it'. He just snaps. (He comes from a family who loves Dark Magic after all, I can see him having a 'dark side' that he usually has under control ("We've all got both light and dark inside us"). Ironically, I think that Sirius's drive to be 'good' is his biggest weakness, because it leads him to stupid decisions).  

Scenario B: He only wants to scare Snape. He doesn't think (because he's Sirius Black - there are multiple occasions where he doesn't think things through). To him Remus is not dangerous. Yes, he has seen the wounds Remus has inflicted on himself. But Sirius has never experienced Remus as a threat to others. He isn't to them, they are having a great time every full moon ("And they didn’t desert me at all. Instead they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi.”). He didn't think it possible that something bad could actually happen to Snape, because he doesn't see Remus that way. As a danger. (Cleary, he didn't think)

Maybe Remus is angry about the prank, maybe he isn't. Either way he doesn't start an argument. Maybe he genuinely doesn't care much. Maybe he realizes how dangerous the whole thing had been (he certainly has as an adult), but doesn't bring it up nonetheless. Maybe because he blames himself (because, how are his friends supposed to see the danger, when he himself, a werewolf, runs around the village with them). Maybe he is afraid of losing his friends if he speaks up (we know he is incredibly grateful to have them in the first place). Maybe he finds other excuses for Sirius's behavior (he didn't mean it / he never thinks so it wasn't personal / nothing happened / he is stressed out because he has to go back home soon (although we don't know whether that's the case, he might as well already have lived with the Potters at that point). I, personally, can totally see Remus make excuses for him, we know he also did it with the Snape-bullying. 

At some point Remus realizes how dangerous it all was. Maybe still as a teenager, maybe as an adult. He hates himself for letting any of that happen. 

Sirius obviously doesn't realize any of that or he wouldn't say what he said in PoA. 

Then, and this is just my personal theory: 

I think that at some point between the end of PoA and OotP where Harry discusses Snape's worst memory with Remus and Sirius they talked about it. 

There seems to have been some introspection on Sirius's part and I don't particularly see him having that reached on his own. And the way they are interacting with each other hints to me that they had a chat. 

So, Harry retells Snape's memory, says James only started to torment Snape because Sirius was bored  and then:  

"“I’m not proud of it”, said Sirius quickly.

Lupin looked sideways at Sirius, then said, “Look, Harry, what you’ve got to understand is that your father and Sirius were the best in the school at whatever they did - everyone thought they were the height of cool - if they sometimes got a bit carried away-”

“If we were sometimes arrogant little berks, you mean”, said Sirius. 

Lupin smiled.

[...]

“Of course he was a bit of an idiot”, said Sirius bracingly, “we were all idiots! Well - Moony not so much”, he said fairly, looking at Remus." 

As I said, that's just my personal opinion, but to me it sounds as though -maybe- they talked about their past in the meanwhile. I mean . Sirius is sent to stay with Remus after GoF ("lie low at Lupin's") and then in OotP Remus is staying with him at Grimmauldplace. They surely have some time to talk about things. And if the whole prank/running around Hosgmeade thing is bothering Remus as an adult (and he just let it slip in PoA because it wasn't the place and time to address it in the Shack with Sirius trying to murder Peter), I can totally see them having that talk. Because as an adult, Remus doesn't seem to have that much of a problem to stand up to Sirius anymore ("Sirius, sit down!")

Do I think this course of events is 'right' or makes perfect sense? No. I think it would make more sense for Remus to be angry about the whole thing, even back then, as a teenager. But I don't see Remus roaming Hogsmeade either and he obviously did that. So, as I said before, please go for your "big fight after the prank"-fanfictions, I love a good deal of them. There's so much potential in the "big fight-thing.

And of course we don't have to stick to everything Rowling wrote (and sometimes definitely shouldn't!). But...

What bothers me is I rarely ever see a different approach.

[shivstar]

I have a guilty pleasure of reading Jegulus fics. Despite I shouldn't because of reasons-

#1 They are repetitive in their characterization. James is never shown as canon James that is cruel, arrogant and intelligent. Regulus is changed to diluted version of Sirius but with some self preservation because the dude went to Slytherin.

#2 I am majorly into Prongsfoot (obviously into romantic James and sirius for all those requiring clarification). So I feel like I am cheating on my babies for reading this fic where james is with sirius's brother.

# I hate wolfstar and Lupin with a passion. And if you had read a Jegulus fic, you will know that that pairing doesn't comes without wolfstar. Like ever. Ever. So, even though I have to suffer through this painful thing, I read it.

Why?

Because of the drama available there. Obviously. You get fluff. You get black brothers, you get strong women characters, you get different tropes and what's ifs, you get an ending where first war has better result as compared to canon.

But I hate it too because -

#1 James will never even look towards Regulus when he has the better black brother sirius right in front of him 24*7

#2 Sirius will never give a damm about remus when James is right in front of him for 24*7

#3 These fics forget that besides from the Wizarding war being about blood purity, it was also about dark wizards fighting for their rights. And Regulus black was a dark wizard. So okay maybe he does not want to be killing people for their status but if he also didn't want to be a dark wizard then you are making him sound like a very disfigured imitation of sirius but only more coward version who is a spineless, worthless follower.

I mean let the dude be a person who does not give a damm about whether other people are killed for their blood as long as he and his people are safe. Let him practice dark magic because he is a proud dark wizard unlike sirius who is a closeted dark wizard and has to hide his affinity to that part of magic just to fit with his friends.

#4 Every single Jegulus fic shows walburga and orion as physically and emotionally abusive parents. When I think it was never the case. I believe that with war on the horizon and with strong personalities, sirius and walburga clashed all the time because of their belief system. Walburga distanced herself when she felt that sirius was lost case and started focusing on Regulus who up until the point was not paid much attention.

Regulus was too happy to make his parents pay him attention, became even more malleable to their belief system in search of that affection while sirius thought that nothing he could do would be any better than Regulus so why try. He was jealous of his own brother. Like any normal child he resented his brother for getting his parents love. It was crystal clear in ootp if people dared to pay attention. {No but we were all busy paying attention to that brotherly hug in poa to have any brain cell remaining to pay attention to other books. Lol}

Why the reasons for sirius running away need to be exaggerated. Look around yourself. Have seen some parent child relationship in which there is no abuse involved, but still miscommunication, expectation, circumstances and belief were the reason of their estrangement.

#5 That point where you are reading form Regulus's pov and he has these abandonment issues because of sirius leaving him alone and not taking him away too and you feel for the guy because he is laying his heart out for his audience to see how much he suffered. He blames sirius and James. I feel that bullshit. First of all I think that Regulus was supper happy that he got to be having the sole attention of his parents. Again my version of his parents were not abusive people just two people who didnt know a thing about parenting. The guy was Slytherin, he liked winning. But he was also hurt by his parents still not being as concerned about him like they are of sirius, even when he is disowned. He hated his brother for having that concern in his parents' mind even now. He wanted to be better. He wanted to make them forget that sirius ever existed. He overcompensates by joining DE, he was not forced. He wanted to be make them pleasantly surprised when walburga never wanted that of her sons. She just wanted them to be bigots like her.

She absolutely despised the idea of her youngest bowing to someone. When Blacks are supposed to be the topmost. Practical royalty.

Regulus when he found out that his parents are in fact not happy with his decision, felt betrayed first and then lost. When he got the actual reality of death eating business, it was too late and he felt that he had no one in his corner. His only friends were all DE and quite happy in it. His parents were silently disappointed.

So when he found out about horcrux. He thought that he can make it upto his parents. But also he did not want to seek their help in his embarrassment. So he seeked to do it by himself and met his tragic end. Also I head canon that he could have fought to survive but his will to survive was lost because he felt adrift with no one to confide the complexities of his life, he felt alone. And he accepted death quite quickly with a relief because he was lonely in the world full of opinionated people.

So the bottom line is that I read Jegulus and then I hate myself for reading it. Because it is bullshit. But it has drama. And fanfics are their to entertain us even if it makes me pull my hair out and gauge own eyes.

[fiendishfyre]

So, since you found your way into wolfstar lately I would like to know what did change your mind? What's so compelling about them for you?

I have always shipped it. I just have a burning dislike of the popular fanon version people act like it's canon or that everyone agreed that it's the 'best version'. But I have chosen to ignore them and ship them the way as the gods intended, ahahahhahahahaha. XD I also REFUSE to let anyone taint a ship to the point where I can't ship it. No one gets that right. What has always been compelling but I've just found peeps to talk with that has made it all more interesting. Like unrequited Prongsfoot, Sirius pining over James, Remus over Sirius or not even. They get together out of convenience. They are both in the same friend group. But are NOT best friends. Like canon we get how Sirius and james are the besties of the group. I really like that being explored. Sirius and Remus never close so no pining. It's more something that comes later, they take a chance on each other. This is all thoughts on late school, or right out of school wolfstar. If I include the canon suspicion of each other, they def don't get together. Won't romantically fall for each other. Maybe still be fuck buddies. I do like them just getting together cuz Remus doesn't feel he can ever even make new friends and Sirius sees Remus as a safe choice. Doesn't need to go out and risk getting with someone who might fall for him. They feel easy to each other. The thing is, they are NOT easy for or to each other. They kinda rub each other wrong. Remus nature of people pleasing and fleeing, sirius more brash and direct to borderline cruel way. I love them just fumbling and being a messy ass couple. Struggling to adjust to each others needs. To understand each other. Neither letting the other completely in, esp Sirius since he refuses to let anyone get as close to him as James has. Remus knowing Sirius loves James so he feels inadequate. Remus' insecurities really taking a hold of him, to Sirius' frustrations. He can compliment Remus yet Remus will do some self deprecating comment.

Imagine POA Wolfstar (The best), I won't ramble on. I already have to stop myself now or I can keep going. This was already a mess and I don't think I even answered the question. XD

[chdarling]

I can count on one hand when snape has lost his cool in canon . in poa when harry saved sirius , in OOTP when sirius vs snape , when harry saw his memories . In hbp when harry called him a coward . And that's about it . While majority of time he is composed , confident and insults people with coolness and sass . The list is too long . Like he has coolly sassed Bellatrix , peter , sirius , harry , Ron , hermione , james , lockhart etc .

I love and deeply appreciate your talent but imo snape's behaviour is reversed in TLE , he is just too angry here to think coherently let alone insult or attempt at sarcasm .

I mean Remus has more sarcasm and wit than he has in canon and i have no complain there as i am a sucker for wity banter and humor , but it feels like injustice to Snape's personality to me .

I’m sorry you feel that way! I emphatically (and amicably) disagree.

I think for me it comes down to the fact that I am not trying to replicate the characters exactly as they were in the books. TLE is a prequel, and thus for all the characters — but especially Snape because he actually survives — this is a story of becoming. They’re not meant to be perfectly reflected versions of who they were in the '90s, but rather versions of themselves that could feasibly grow into the characters we see in canon.

The Snape in canon is a 35ish year old man who has survived a war and had years and years to master his emotions and become a top-notch spy who, as you say, sasses the likes of Bellatrix, not to mention lies to Voldemort's face. The Snape I’m writing in TLE is a 17-year-old boy who has done none of that yet but is raw and bitter and wrathful enough to be convinced joining a fascist hate group is a really swell idea.

To me, the moments you point out when Snape loses his cool in canon are the entire point of his characterization, not an occasional aberration, and these scenes were crucial to me when building his character. Rage is crucial to his character. It’s notable, I think, that almost all of these moments are related to the Marauders/Lily in some way. It’s the moment the mask slips and the wounded teenager comes out.

A few examples, just for fun (emphasis mine).

(This got a little long, but I was distracting myself during some severe weather that was stressing me, so I hope you’ll take this in the spirit of fun discussion, and not anything else. 🙂)

From POA, after Sirius escapes:

“THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!” Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. “Calm down, man!” Fudge barked. “You’re talking nonsense!” “YOU DON’T KNOW POTTER!” shrieked Snape. “HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—!”

“Fellow seems quite unbalanced,” said Fudge, staring after him. “I’d watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore.” “Oh, he’s not unbalanced,” said Dumbledore quietly. “He’s just suffered a severe disappointment.”

From OOTP after Harry sees his worst memory:

“So,” said Snape, gripping Harry’s arm so tightly Harry’s hand was starting to feel numb. “So…been enjoying yourself, Potter?” “N-no…” said Harry, trying to free his arm. It was scary: Snape’s lips were shaking, his face was white, his teeth were bared. “Amusing man, your father, wasn’t he?” Said Snape, shaking Harry so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose. “I—didn’t—“ Snape threw Harry from him with all his might. Harry fell hard on to the dungeon floor.

From Half-Blood Prince, after Harry calls him a coward:

“DON’T—” screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them— “CALL ME COWARD!”

These are all such extreme reactions that, rare as they might be, they definitely suggest an undercurrent of deep rage and, I might add, a pattern of losing control when provoked with certain memories.

And then, of course, there are the flashbacks in which we actually DO get glimpses of young Snape:

“Tuney!” said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet. “Who’s spying now?” he shouted. What d’you want?”

(Interesting, I think, that his first instinct is to shout. Petunia hasn't said anything yet.)

There was a crack: A branch over Petunia’s head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. “Tuney!” But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape. “Did you make that happen?” “No.” He looked both defiant and scared. “You did!” She was backing away from him. “You did! You hurt her!” “No — no I didn’t!” But the lie did not convince Lily: After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confused…

Snape’s whole face contorted and he spluttered, “Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to — I won’t let you —“ “Let me? Let me?” Lily’s bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once. “I didn’t mean — I just won’t want to see you made a fool of — He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!” The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. “And he’s not…everyone thinks…big Quidditch hero—“ Snape’s bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily’s eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead.

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. “I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.” “No—listen, I didn’t mean—“ “—to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?” He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole…

This to me does not read as a composed, confident boy. This is (in my opinion) an extremely angry, troubled boy who is buffeted around by his emotions, who hasn’t yet learned to articulate them fully, let alone control them. Learning to conquer these emotions and be the cool, calm, and collected double-agent-man we see in canon is a big part of his journey, but it's certainly not something he's mastered yet at 17.

.......But, at the end of the day, this is just a fanfic and everyone has different interpretations of these characters. Which is fine and fun! TLE Snape has always been somewhat polarizing, but I'm pretty set in my interpretation of him. I'm looking forward to exploring more of his journey as he grows into book Snape. He's just not there yet. :)

[thebibutterflyao3]

Listening to Speak Now TV is so different as an adult. My thoughts:

“Mine” went straight into my Nobleflower playlist

“Sparks Fly” is Dorlene (inspired my Fairytale Sweets version of them actually)

“Back to December” feels like Wolfstar to me

“Dear John” and “Mean” have platonic Snape and Lily vibes

“The Story of Us” is Nobleflower

“Never Grow Up” is Pandora to Luna

“Enchanted” will always feel like Jily (James POV) to me after I included it in Tigerlily & Wolfsbane

“Better Than Revenge” screams Jegulus (Regulus POV)

“Innocent” is Pandalily

“Haunted” is Wolfstar (Remus’s POV) in POA

“Last Kiss” is Wolfstar in 1981

“Long Live” is Sirius to James

“Ours” is Marylily (Mary’s POV)

“Superman” has Jegulus vibes (Regulus POV)

“Electric Touch” is Dorlene

“When Emma Falls in Love” is Lily (Mary’s POV)

“I Can See You” is Nobleflower

“Castles Crumbling” is Wolfstar (Sirius POV)

“Foolish One” is Barty/Evan

“Timeless” is Jily

[elvendorx]

I’ve noticed a lot of Wolfstar fics ignore that Sirius and Remus truly and fully believed the other was a spy. Remus was unaware of the switch because Sirius (and likely James and Lily as well since this whole thing would be their decision as the ones actually affected by it) did not believe Remus could be trusted. Remus spends 12 years wholeheartedly believing Sirius betrayed everyone he claimed to care about and everything he believed in, only changing his mind upon spotting Peter on the map; up until that point, Remus believed Sirius was guilty. I can’t recall off the top of my head if they ever say if Remus also suspected Sirius of being the spy in the First War or if it only happened post-Halloween, but it is entirely possible he did (which would help explain why James goes along with keeping Remus ignorant of the switch. If Remus has fallen so far to distrust Sirius and believe Sirius could ever hurt James, then I could see James thinking Remus never knew either of them at all). Regardless, I’ve never really seen Wolfstar fics address that Sirius and Remus did not have any faith in each other with the First War

(Tangentially related, do you know if they say if Remus distrusted Sirius during the war or if it was only after that Halloween?)

the distrust is a MASSIVE part of remus and sirius' dynamic and i think the fact that they could be part of a close group at school and still suspect each other of murderous and extremist ideals is HUGE. it suggests to me that they were never really that close or that their trust of each other was on the floor - or both. you don't just know someone for seven years and think "yeah they're probably spying for the other side" if you have a generally good relationship. especially if you're suspecting a friend over other members in the order that you don't know as well. this is why wolfstar, especially hogwarts or first war wolfstar, is absolutely wild to me. it crumbles. there's nothing to stick it together. i'm open to like a complex friendship between remus and sirius (because that's what it was) but there's quite an easy to reach line of how far their actual intimacy and endurance of each other's company goes.

and yeah, remus CONTINUING to believe that sirius betrayed james for thirteen years is another layer to this. i can see why he would, given the supposed evidence. but he didn't once question it? also remus perpetuates james and sirius' closeness when he talks about their teenage years so it's extreme to see and acknowledge that kind of bond and to still think that sirius would betray james. like how low is his estimation of sirius? i know that sirius and remus get on post-poa but i really think thats an "everyone else is dead or a death eater" situation. they're united in their lost years post james' death but i think they're still very much personal versions of that loss that they don't resolve or deal with together.

i don't think that james or lily directly suspected remus or truly believed he was a death eater but i think james definitely trusted sirius enough to go with his word, and i don't think either of them would be like "i trust him 100%" but i also don't think they'd be as far convinced that he was the spy as sirius was. i just think that they unequivocally trusted sirius and they put their son first.

also yes, this exchange in poa suggests it was a mutual suspicion at the same time during the war but it's not as explicit or as established as sirius' distrust of remus (which stands alone even if remus never suspected sirius imo):

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this, wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?" "Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrews head. "Forgive me, Remus," said Black. "Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

the use of 'the spy' is significant here i think because remus wouldn't have believed that sirius was the spy if he had had no suspicion towards him prior to halloween 1981, he would have said 'traitor' or 'for believing you betrayed james and lily'. 'spy' suggests a longer standing trajectory of suspicion.

so maybe remus had a hint of suspicion that he felt was vindicated when james and lily died or maybe it was fully realised but i always got the impression that remus was more distant from sirius & james (and lily) post-hogwarts and this distance let things fester. idk whether i got this from suggestions in the text tho or whether i just think that's a likely occurrence that allows for james to go along with the suggestion that remus might not be completely trustworthy.

[lettersfromthewindmill]

An elaborate one for Chapter 10. In this story, Remus is in that wedding photo too, and so Harry confronts him... Leading to an awful lot of looking at old photographs...

'Well, erm,' Remus paused and cleared his throat, it's ok, it's ok he thought himself, 'Well, there's your dad and your mum,' he pointed to where Lily had leapt back onto the sofa, mostly obscuring James who was laughing, face poking through her hair. 'This is Mary,' his finger moved down to where Mary was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a paper crown perched on her head, 'and sitting here next to her is Marlene.' He paused, finger just below the grinning face of a blonde witch, her arm slung around her friend's shoulders.

'And this is you,' Harry prompted, pointing to where Remus sat, also smiling, a bottle of butter beer in the hand he was resting on the arm of the sofa.

'Yes, yes that's me.' He really did remember this picture - it was the evening before they'd gone home for Christmas. He'd been due to go back to Wales briefly and then to the Potters to join the others. There was going to be a party and the girls were coming. They were all so excited. Sirius was squashed between him and James but turned towards Remus, his arms wrapped around his torso. They'd been so happy.

Remus inhaled, aware how long it was taking him, 'And that's Sirius,' he said pointing only briefly, 'and that is Peter.' His finger moved once more, to Peter, sitting on the floor beside Marlene, leaning back against Remus' legs.

'Pettigrew.' Harry breathed.

Remus looked up at him in surprise. 'How did you know that?'

[neverenoughmarauders]

The thing that frustrates me with the fanon ships is that I’ve slowly come to realise I’d happily ship any combination of the Marauders, if they stayed more true to their canon selves…

What if Sirius and Peter dated (and James and Sirius were the co-dependent mess they were in canon)? Was Peter jealous of James? How did someone like Sirius start dating someone like Peter? How does the betrayal play out (as in it’s now obvious why Sirius trusts Peter, but why does Peter betray Sirius and James). How can Sirius live with the guilt knowing it might have been his feelings for Peter that blinded him to the betrayal? How did this fuel Sirius’ anger towards Peter in PoA?

What if Remus and James dated (and James and Sirius were the co-dependent mess they were in canon)? When did they start dating? Why did James leave him for Lily? Or did Remus leave him (maybe he saw how much James enjoyed Lily’s company now they were starting to become friends and knowing James wouldn’t leave him)? How does this affect the betrayal? Does Sirius suspect Remus because he’s an ex of James and have been withdrawn since James and Lily started dating?

What if Peter and James dated (and James and Sirius were the co-dependent mess they were in canon). Was their past relationship what fuelled Peter to betray James and his family? How did Peter feel about being third to both Sirius and Lily? Was James and Peter’s past relationship why Sirius trusted Peter?

What if Remus and Peter dated… when did the start dating? Did they start dating because they felt like slight outsiders to Sirius and James? Did it continue during the war? What was Peter’s end game in the betrayal? Did he plan to keep Remus safe? Was their relationship why Remus was so stone cold towards Peter in POA (because the betrayal hurt a thousand times more)?

What if Sirius and James dated? Well this is where I struggle as I do love an AU prongsfoot, but sticking to my rules… when did their unhealthy co-dependent relationship shift to a romantic one? Why did James end up with Lily (and let it be a good reason please)? Why was Sirius so happy at their wedding? (How) did they continue their relationship (platonic or otherwise) after Lily and James got married?

I’ve left wolfstar off for the sole reason that there are some good metas out there on what a more canon-compliant version could look like (given it’s the most popular fanon ship). But you get the idea by now… what if we more canon versions of Sirius and Remus’ relationship!!

None of these are necessarily happy stories, nor do they paint our characters in a nice light, because these characters are flawed. But all of these ships have so much to offer and far more than this brief post can get into. And here’s the deal: we’re lacking all of them - especially the more niche ships!

We don’t need to create new versions of these characters when there’s so much left to explore !!

And maybe I will explore some of this, once I’m done with my long fic!

[ashesandhackles]

Yeah, I also struggle to imagine Severus and Remus becoming friends in canon. Remus is extremely passive aggressive and way too loyal to James, while Severus is very open about his disdain for certain people, including Remus and especially James. If I were Severus I would also find it extremely hard to trust Remus given their history. Remus is also the kind of person who’s willing to do anything to fit in and be liked, while Sev is comfortable with his own company. Both make sense given their circumstances. Contrary to popular belief, Sev did NOT hate Remus because he was a werewolf - he hated him because he was and quite frankly remained one of his bullies. Yet at the same time, I love both characters and I’m fascinated by their dynamic. I do think there is a version of reality where under different circumstances, they could have gotten along. Now, I’m wondering, do you think there’s any version of reality where Severus and Sirius could have been friends?

I have answered this somewhere before - but I am going to quote my friend @dragonlordette on this and explain why they are incompatible:

"Snape is unafraid to be himself to the point of being bullied and disliked his whole life, while Lupin is avoidant. These two characteristics don't lend themselves to complementing each other, they just lead to Snape disrespecting Lupin. As an alternative example of a more "complementary" case of opposites attract, Tonks is sociable while Lupin is avoidant. This means she can help him out his shell, but she is not so committed to "staying true to herself" that she would find lupins tendency not to speak up to his friends weak (like snape would). It's a more complementary strength.

I just feel like nearly every trait of Lupin and snape is mutually exclusive, rather than complementary. "

My own take is that, "Remus enjoys being around people who are aspirational - someone whose life he can live vicariously through (James, teen Sirius, Tonks) or someone he can look up to (Dumbledore). Severus is aspirational in a way that won't speak to Remus."

In canon, from the way I read it, Snape is on backfoot by what he considers is Remus' dishonest civility. He cannot effectively argue with Remus when Remus is polite but inwardly hostile/oppositional - see, here: Verbal Fencing Between Snape and Remus , Neither Likes Nor Dislikes Severus

He tries to avoid Remus the best he can, because one, there is genuine fear there from the teenage brush off of the Whomping Willow incident and he is constantly wary and hypervigilant. My reading of Remus is harsher than a lot of the fandom, but I really don't see a scenario of them getting along. (I'm sure other interpretations may make that feasible, but it's not my vision of who these two characters are)

Also, it's clear to me that Remus, while acknowledging that his friend's behaviour with Snape wasn't great, isn't too fond of him himself. (he will try to lighten how James' behaviour looks - see end of POA, OOTP chapter post SWM). He disapproves of Snape as an authority figure - as demonstrated by the Boggart lesson (Snape's jibe about Neville pissed him off - he raises his eyebrows at him, which in Remus language, is "ticked off"), and the fact that while he agrees with Snape that Harry shouldn't be in Hogsmeade, he will not let Harry be in Snape's power to deal with.

Sirius, on the other hand, as hot take it might be - but as my friend @saintsenara pointed out, Snape enjoys baiting him ("how is the cleaning going?"), engaging with him because Sirius is upfront (the entire kitchen scene). Snape knows how to deal with that kind of language, it's batting in a language he knows, whereas with Remus, he is never sure of what he is getting.

Sirius and Snape are narrative mirrors, explicitly in canon. Sirius and Remus are narrative stand-ins for when James is important for Harry's development, while Snape's story becomes more important when Lily is important to Harry's development:

They have much in common:

- people who lost their best friends and the most damaged by it.

- Sirius punishes himself for James' death by staying in Azkaban for 12 years, Snape atones for his own guilt by being a spy.

- Snape and Sirius both live in their childhood homes, and they both act as prison. For Sirius, it is imposed on him, for Snape - it seems to be self inflicted.

- anger issues, to put it lightly.

- intensely loyal, and very very brave. But great capacity for cruelty.

- Snape spent his teenage years running away from his Muggle roots, Sirius spends his teenage years running away from aristocratic pureblood house

As my co-writer and friend @thedreamermusing pointed out: "Also: Snape has father issues; Sirius has Mommy issues. Their lives run parallel more or less- Sirius and Snape both form a formative best friend friendship in their childhood, are both drawn sorted in their houses in an effort to cement their own family complexes (Snape and his mom, Sirius and his family), both base their identities om the basis of belonging to a community (Snape-DEs, Sirius- Marauders), both form their moral complexes by becoming the opposite of their roots (Snape loves the dark arts and blood supremacy, Sirius hates the dark arts and hangs muggle posters), both have a cruel sense of humour (Snape thinking dark magic is just a laugh, Sirius thinking feeding Remus Snape a la Carte being a joke), both of them joining a group to further themselves away from their roots after school, both of them risking their lives to protect their bestfriends, both of them making a terrible mistake by trusting the wrong person that leads to their best friend dying, both of them punishing themselves for the next 12 years to atone, both of them using the memory of their bffs as the one shining light in their miserable lives to keep going on, both of them forced in their childhood homes in the last part of their lives, both of them finally dying for Harry."

Essentially, they have a capacity for understanding each other in a way because there is an intense projection involved in how they interact with each other. I have answered bits of that dynamic here and how their dialogue flows, where they throw words back at each other whereas the one with Remus involves Remus taking the rug from under his feet. So yeah, basically I don't see it with Severus and Remus - but like I pointed out, the way I envision the two characters might not align with others :)

[lynxindisguise]

um. Gilderoy/Remus/Sirius post poa

ooh okay um... yes... and... it's a bit messy given what happens to gilderoy at the end of chamber of secrets, but I'm going to go ahead and say that they both have some history with him, or at the very least, remus does (wandering with werewolves, anyone?), and it's not exactly a positive history, but maybe they meet him while sirius is trying to get treatment for his own memory issues post-azkaban, and they feel a bit bad for him? like dude is all alone and has no idea what's going on, and he desperately craves companionship, and so they reluctantly take pity on him. at first it's just friendship, but soon he starts coming onto both of them, and listen... he's hot, and this version of him is far more likeable, and they've done far more ethically questionable things before.

send me your cursed thoughts

[blitheringmcgonagall]

Du you think Sirius was aware of just what horrible abuse Harry had suffered from the Dursley? He didn't seem to be in POA which is understandable, but when when he was around the Order In OotP he must have been after speaking with people like Hagrid, Moody and Tonks and Remus. But if so, why do you think he didn't talk to Harry about it?

Sirius had no idea.

There is no evidence in the books that anyone told him! Certainly not Harry, who doesn’t like worrying adults especially people he cares about and he is already worried about THEM. Sirius seems surprised and pleased that Harry wanted to live with him so readily and I’m sure would have prodded for more info if he had been able to stick around. He’s unhappy his relatives won’t sign his leave for Hogsmeade form and happily does it, paw print and all! But doesn’t hear more.

Remus and Tonks are not up to speed, Harry treats him as Professor Lupin, not as a father-figure like Sirius? There is no evidence that Harry confided him him, in either of them, they did not have a full idea what had happened in his early years? Neither did Moody. Hagrid knew his family didn’t look after him properly but bear in mind most adults treat Hagrid like he is not a proper adult and seem to dismiss him, in the same way people with intellectual disabilities are treated by many others?

There are other adults who absolutely DID know about Harry’s early life - Dumbledore and McGonagall.

There is no way Dumbledore would have risked telling Sirius. Sirius clashed with him as it was and likely would have (rightly and appropriately!!) lost the plot with him if he found out.

McGonagall could have and probably should have told him but we see no interaction between them in canon. Was it because she felt really guilty for not believing he was innocent and not fiercely demanding a trial??? That’s my headcanon!

The Weasleys also knew but Molly is seen clashing with Sirius numerous times and most likely thought he wouldn’t be able to handle that info and might do “something rash”. Arthur wasn’t going to go against Molly’s wishes, he comes across as eager to keep the peace.

Do you know who I think would tell Sirius? Harry’s friends!

PS I don’t believe in all this Azkaban lark, that’s a stupid overly-dark AU written by that eejit-who-must-not-be-named.

For the ACTUAL, factually correct version of the marauders story please read here…!

[casurlaub]

Currently on mental health break

(Look after yourselves!)

Hi!

I feel the need to make one of those intro posts because recently a few blogs started following me that seem to be more into the fanon interpretation of things, and I don't want anybody to get the wrong ideas about what to expect from this blog.

About me... I'm 29, she/her, pan/bi (I don't care which label), and demi (my, it took me so long to figure that out).. I used to be a judge but dropped out because of a myriad of reasons but mainly because of... well, depression. I cannot, for the life of me, remember how many letters there are in the alphabet, I love carrots but they make me nauseous, and my socks always have holes.

So... let's move to the important stuff.. JK sucks, and parts of the canon suck too - like the house elf stuff and her naming "skills" which are very telling, her fat shaming, and the anti-trans shit that is even written into the original source material. But for the most part, the characterization isn't one of them. So on this blog, I will defend the canon version of characters, flaws and all.

To make myself clear: hc characters as trans and writing characters as gay etc is great and I fully support that. What I mind, however, is the heteronormative, mysoginistic cliches we keep seeing under the guise of 'progressive' queer ships. If you not only change their gender or their height but also their personalities so that they fit heteronormative stereotypes that's problematic. Same goes for the casual racism going on in this fandom. Portraying non-white people as huge, buff guys with anger-issues is - you guessed it - problematic!

What to expect from this blog:

Me applauding the many great people out there. Do you even know how great you are???

Me geeking out, especially about the characters and ships I love most (and sometimes writing/sharing anti-posts about my own favs when I'm too fed up with the fanon version of them).

Me writing long-ass metas at two in the morning because that one post was the final straw.

Me brain-vomiting stuff into the void of the internet that really no one asked for and no one cares about.

Me ranting and contradicting myself.

Nuance - or at least, I try. But I'm just a person with biases, and I read the books through the lens of my own experiences, so yeah. And of course there's always a range, even when sticking to canon.

(I say I care about nuance, but you'll find me swaying to full-force apologetism the next second - get used to it, I'm a hypocrite).

Some writing. I shared some microfics/one-shots already (soulmate microfic, over 30 microfic, fix it one-shot, wolfstar raising Harry one-shot (sort of), drabble collection), but I'm working on a long wolfstar fic starting in 1971 and carrying all the way through to 1998. It's solely from Remus' s POV and I'm trying to pay attention to everything (!) in canon so that it makes sense with all the scenes we see in the books - although I wouldn't call wolfstar canon. I think itl'l be around 900k-1 million words in the end. Right now I'm at 950k but I need to add stuff, cut stuff and just generally work through it. I plan on starting to post it before I turn 30 (which will be in mid-December).

Remus/Sirius will always be my OTP, and I've made a post about why I think they make sense even from a canon perspective and with their canon personalities (not saying they are canon, but don't tell me I haven't read the books). But I do feel the need to point out that I disagree with most of the depictions I see nowadays in this fandom as the characters I fell in love with are barely recognoizable. I prefer post-PoA wolfstar (or AUs), but I think Hogwarts wolfstar can work. It's just indefinitely more difficult to make it work with their canon personalities. Btw, me loving wolfstar doesn't mean I negate the co-dependency James and Sirius have going on - which is obviously canon. I also love James and Sirius so much.

As for other ships... I love Scorbus, Jily, Hinny, Romione and Grindelore. And I love a whole bunch of characters regardless of any ships, including but not limited to Ron, Dumbledore, Ginny, Fleur, Luna, McGonagall, Hermione and Scorpius. And I'm not anti Tonks - I'm just anti Remadora because I think they both deserve better. But it is what it is, jk wrote that and for what it's worth I do think Remus loved her in some way.

I can get very passionate about fictional characters, but I'm an adult, and I know they're fictional. And I believe I can take criticism, so if there's anything on your mind...

It's always my personal opinion I'm talking about; I don't think I'm some kind of hp authority, but that goes without saying.

What not to expect from this blog:

Art (I reblog, of course, but you don't want me to draw, believe me).

Dumbledore hate / Remus hate (don't confuse with criticism, I'm all for criticism). No ATYD hate either. I have my issues with it, but it's not the author's fault it has become the fandom's new rulebook.

Me dumbing down James and Sirius, etc.

Me abandoning James and Peter. But, sorry not sorry (and wolfstar aside), I will keep pushing my "Remus and Sirius were close friends at Hogwarts" agenda (but as were Remus and James, obviously, and Remus and Peter, and so on, with James and Sirius being inseparable).

Jegulus/Slytherin skittles stuff. If that's your thing, that's fine, but it isn't mine.

Me keeping it short.

I'm always happy to discuss stuff! :)

Most important information for last, right? If I speak ill about Remus, it is always with the most love possible. I keep saying Sirius is my favorite character, but he has a lot of fans out there, and avoidant, self-loathing, passive-aggressive, manipulative, ruthless, but also smart, brave, kind, loyal, empathetic, thoughtful and selfless (yes, you read that correctly) Remus holds a special place in my heart.

[shivstar]

The shack incident... Feat Marauders fandom being anti Sirius Black....

Honestly, I would really like to know how come it has become so prominent head canon to call it the Prank? I don't think the marauders referred to it as such canonically.....

Anyways, just thought of something.

Hermione, a muggleborn student in her third year, who didn't even have daily classes with Lupin, somehow became suspicious and within the span of a year unearthed Lupin's oh so big secret.

So, can it be possible that any decently observant person who has studied year 3 Syllabus at Hogwarts will know what he is....

Snape had been incessant about his want to know what Lupin does every full moon. Lily says that snape has a theory.

So can it not be that Snape got the final piece of puzzle from Sirius. BUT IT IS NOT ABOUT WHAT. IT IS ABOUT HOW.

Because if we believe lily, his bff, he already has pretty serious conviction on as to what Lupin is doing.

He just thinks that it is marauder as a group who is doing it behind everyone's back and he thinks that only he knows. As teen kids often view themselves as smarter than adults..

He just needs to get a proof about his theory and Sirius handed it to him on silver platter.

So if this is true then the incident was never about Sirius being murderous because he too knew along with other marauders that Snape has a correct theory about Moony.

With all of snape's insistent following around, Sirius must have gotten frustrated and told him that if he is really so desperate to know, he should come see with his own eyes. Both knowing that Snape has come to the correct conclusion about Remus being a werewolf.

So, isn't Snape venturing into the shack not a murderous intent as all of the party has sufficient knowledge but a suicide mission to get Lupin and if possible the other three expelled....

James coming to save Snape is more about the animagous finding that Snape is that dumb and desperate to try his theory...

And people who say that Sirius betrayed Remus. No he didn't. Snape already knew. He was pretty adamant too. He just got no proof. But at the end of the day, I believe that all the marauders were pretty tired of Snape nosing around. And Lupin must be scared to death.

Infact, Lupin must have been relieved that Dumbledore barred Snape from revealing it. If before shack incident, Remus asked Dumbledore's help, what could the headmaster do? Because he is going against rules himself to make this happen. But this series of event gave Dumbledore the upper hand only because Snape entered a place the school has forbidden to enter, and risking his own life for getting proof of something he already knew about...

I can understand how Snape stans will use this against Dumbledore and Sirius and marauders. But how come the marauders faction began giving this incident so much of bad light to Sirius. Was it the wolfstar faction who wanted betrayal of a lover to up the angst in their story?

I don't see it as a betrayal of trust at all. So there is no food for conflicts within marauders. James coming to save Snape means Sirius tells James. Possibilities are that all the marauders knew Sirius sharing this little info module of the shack with Snape. And James just being on the right place at the right time to stop Snape when the dude actually showed up.

It can also be possible that Snape waited for 2-3 full moons after learning this and the marauders were like yeah he is an ass but at least a smart one. They maybe relaxing that he is off their back, only to one day realise that he can be that stupid when he is being petty...

We have the story about the prank but it was a basic version from Lupin who doesn't go into details. And i know that Sirius in poa makes some statement about how if Snape were to die it would have been good riddance----

BUT we are forgetting that here he is pretty much bullheaded. Maybe he is saying it as this post azkaban Sirius whose only goal of escaping prison was his godson. Maybe pre azkaban Sirius was not so callous. Maybe he made this statement in the heat of the moment....

And before Snape fans spam my post and comment section, this post is not to make you believe that my interpretation is correct and your is wrong. My beef is not with you... You live in your Snape la la land and hail him to the heavens...

I am not white washing Sirius. I know he can be cruel when he wants to. What James and he did in swm, I don't condone these actions. They were mean boys who wanted to show who is the boss by any means possible and in that scene I truly sympathize for a teen Snape because he may have given as good as he got, but no one deserves to be publicly humiliated and targeted in such a way only because you are bored. And to be said something so cruel by their bff to add cherry on the top.

I also believe that though his intent was never to kill Snape and use moony. That he believed snape as an equal in terms of his intelligent, so he never wanted this incident to reach the point it reached but i think he would have been okay if Snape was badly injured or died, IF only it let his friends go scout free AND that includes no emotional impact on lupin. He would be fine and dandy.

But he knew the mental toll it had on Remus so i don't believe his intent was what now broader population of fans make it seem because he cared for his people.

This post is about how come marauder side of fandom, who call themselves a fan and supporters, can actually see a complex character they claim to love as simply a person who showed murderous tendency as sixteen year old. Or that he was so vindictive piece of shit who paid no mind to others. Or that he was a clown with nothing for brains and can't keep a thing a secret.

Are you guys only Remus fan and not marauders fan?

I mean the biggest thing Remus Lupin achieved in his life is getting pity-ed. Not only from the characters within story but fans too. Poor Remus, he had it so rough already and add to that an evil friend who made him a murderer just so he can kill his teenage enemy....

It feels so watered down version of an actual incident which had grit to it and so much complexity and teenage angst.

Also if it is about him becoming a murderer because of Sirius then let me tell you that he was already pretty close to achieving it on his own free will when he had nightly adventure and close calls which Sirius with the other two prevented.

So it would have been okay if some nameless and faceless villager had died ? And it is betrayal when Snape despite knowing the truth enters shrieking shack, on his FREE WILL WITH A GOOD IDEA ABOUT WHAT HE WILL SEE.