#stop taking every decision these characters make and blaming it on dumbledore

[atlasdoe]

"Dumbledore raised an army of children TWICE"

y'all do know that WE were the ones who made the order of the phoenix so young right??? The Marauders and Lily were the only ones with cannon ages

AND YOU HAD TO BE AN ADULT TO JOIN!!!!

we can't make all of the characters young and then hate Dumbledore for making an "army out of children"

for all we know marlene and dorcas could've been elderly women! we were the ones who hc them to be the marauders age

and again. THE MARAUDERS WERW ADULTS WHEN THEY JOINED

[harrypotter-imaginess]

Part 1 Here! / <This is part 2!>

Commission info for a Love Letter from a HP character here!

A/N: This part is shorter but deff expect a part 2/3/15/ and 20 lol. If you would like to be added to the tag list, it will be open until tumblr limits my tags, comment that you want to be added!

Also something I forgot to add a lot of the house decision part of this post was inspired by another post I read on tumblr where Harry belongs to all the houses. I couldn’t find it, so if it’s your post (or you know who it is) lmk so I can give you credit!

- “Their mother was in my house-“ McGonagall starts

- “And their father was in mine, I have equal claim” Snape cuts in

- “Let’s not forget that before that, historically, they came from a long line of Ravenclaws” Flitwick adds

- “Oh tosh, this is a kind child if I ever saw one, did you see the way they were reassuring the other children- even Cedric apparently-“ Professor Sprout adds

- So she’s heard about that

- “What has that got to do with anything?” Snape snaps

- You’re not sure what’s weirder

- The fact that the sorting hat couldn’t decide where you belonged

- Or that all the heads of each house are fighting over who gets you

- Honestly with how well the whole situation was handled in front of everyone else you didn’t think something like this would happen

- Dumbledore silenced everyone, and said it would be discussed afterwards

- You watched each child get sorted in their appropriate house

- And afterwards, while everyone was feasting, you were lead away by Dumbledore and his four house heads to his office

- You’re not really sure what’s there to fight about-

- Honestly they should probably be fighting over who has to take you with how much trouble you’ll be.

- “Enough!” Dumbledore shouts and the four are immediately silenced

- And then he looks at you and you feel your hair stand on end

- “I believe it only natural, in this situation, that they get to choose which house they wish to be apart of”

- Snape blanches at the mention

- “But sir-“

- “That is my decision” he says with an air of finality and none of the others protest when his attention sweeps back to you

- “So which will it be?”

- You Blanche

- “Isn’t there some sort of quiz - or test I could take instead headmaster-“

- “There is not”

- You feel yourself sweating

- “Well-“ you start

- Ravenclaw was your initial choice, it’s the safest

- But then, if you were in Gryffindor you could be friends with Fred and George

- And if you went to Slytherin, you might be able to knock some sense into those blood obsessed freaks, not to mention Blaise in there

- But then- Hufflepuff isn’t looking too bad either, and Cedric seems to like you. It would be nice to have someone older looking out for you

- “How am I supposed to decide?”

- The words escape you without realizing and you see all the professors flinch at your words

- “What do you-“ Snape starts with a hiss, but Dumbledore stops him with a wave of a hand

- “And what do you mean by that child?”

- You gulp

- “Well-“

- You take a deep breath looking into his twinkling eyes

- “I want to be brave-“ you see McGonagall swell from the corner of your eye

- “But I also want to to be kind-“ she deflated and professor Sprout stands a bit taller “And wise and ambitious”

- “I want them all, how am I supposed to pick just one trait and make it my defining characteristic? People are nuanced, they’re more than just one thing”

- Everyone in the room stiffens at your words, and feeling as if you might have said something terribly rude you rush to make amends-

- “So if there’s some sort of trial, or-“

- “Alright we’ll do that then” Dumbledore says with an air of finality and you feel baffled

- “Do what sir?”

- “A trial period of course, a month in each house.”

- .

- .....

- .........

- (Y/N).exe is broken

- “Headmaster that’s completely-“

- “What kind of impression will-“

- “-nothing like that is stated in the handbook”

- “Think of the other students Albus!”

- They’re all shouting over each other, but you understand the basic sentiment

- This is pretty out there, even for a magic school

- “I have decided” Dumbledore doesn’t even say it all that loud, but the other four immediately clamor up

- “We’ll start alphabetically, with Gryffindor and work our way through”

- Huh?

- You’re mind is only just start to repair itself, assessing the situation

- Well it’s not exactly a bad deal now is it?

- In a way you’ve gotten exactly what you wanted

- But the anxiety of having to make a choice looms over you

- “Well, come now I’ll show you the way-“ and so you chase after the strict lithe woman as you follow her to the Gryffindor Common Room

- The other two shuffle out, but Snape stays

- “You’re just doing this because you’re bored aren’t you?” Snape asks

- Dumbledore shrugs

- “Can you blame me? It’s been so long since anything interesting has happened”

- “You say that like one of the Weasley boys doesn’t cause trouble every other week”

- You follow McGonagall down several poorly lit hallways, making mental note of the a few choice paintings, hoping to remember them for later

- “The password this year is “chartreuse” “ she tells you

- And just like magic the portrait swings open, and several hands emerge from the inky depths to grab onto your arm and pull you inside

- The portrait door shutting close

- McGonagall sighs

- “Children will be children I suppose”

- A small smile curling onto her mouth and walked to her chambers

- You would have half a mind to be afraid, if the second you made it inside you didn’t see fireworks and pert poppers popping

- “Welcome to Gryffindor,” the boy on your right, Fred says

- “We knew you’d end up here” George finishes

- Everyone is i the common room, and they all congratulate you, happy to have you in their house

- The room is as big as a banquet hall, full of dark red rugs and gold tapestry’s

- A little gaudy if you’re being honest

- Like something out of a Harry Potter themed room in a pottery barn catalogue

- But that’s probably the point

- “So how did it all go down?” Fred asks, sitting on your right side on a red couch in front of the fire

- “Did Minnie manage to convince you?”

- “Oi they didn’t need convincin’ Fred, we’re clearly the superior house”

- “Well you see, it’s not quite official”

- They look at you with wide eyes as you recount the tale

- You almost feel bad bursting their bubble, especially when they’re being so nice to you

- But when you’re done they both sport identical grins, twinkles in their eyes

- “That’s wicked” they say in unison

- You grin

- You think you’re going to like it here

- The twins basically monopolize the rest of your night, asking for your input on pranks

- “If it were me-“ you start, their eyes on you with rapt attention

- “I would brew some amortentia and give it to Filch-“

- “And make him fall in love with Snape!” George says like you’ve just said the most brilliant thing

- You shake your head

- “I would give it to the cat- Mrs. Noriss, And make her fall in love with something crazy, like a dog- it’s that subtle annoyance that makes it all the more satisfying”

- The both grin

- “So when are we doing it?” Fred asks

- “Doing what?”

- “Brewing the love potion of course”

- You grin

- Yeah, you’re really going to like it here

Tag List:

@parascape​ @imdoingathingmom​ @smileygirl08​ @awesomebooklover17​ @taferris​

[ninjas-and-coffee]

WU SUCKS but not the reason you think

I'd like to preface by saying Wu has made a lot of mistakes and should be held accountable. But like the main arguments against Wu be like.

1: Morro

2: Traumatizing kids

3: Keeping secrets

4: Mot treating his nephew like is damn nephew.

5: Flirting with his brothers wife.

And the thing about that needs talked about. 1:Morro. First off getting kids hopes is not cool. It can be detrimental to development depending on the age of the child. BUT. Not a single soul told Morro to train tirelessly for 60+ years after his death to take revenge and be the green ninja. Absolutly no one. Wu had compassion for his failings and wanted to show Morro he could still he great without being the green ninja. But the little brat ran tf off and got trapped and died. And he got cursed, how- we dont know. But its implied that it's either intentional entrapment or you have to be a terrible person, guess which category he probably falls into. Mind you Wu also told our OGs that they could also be the green ninja and none of them went off the rails to settle some invisible score. Morro made his choices and he made shit ones. Wu was an influence but not the problem. Morro is unstable, dramatic, and holds grudges Wu didnt cause that.

2: the traumatic experiences the nina go through are also not exactly his fault. He didnt just pick them off the streets. THERE WAS A PROPHECY. Ok? Yall with me. Fate isnt uncontrolled by anyone the ninja needed to be trained to help Lloyd fight the Overlord. That wasnt his decision. And yall act like the ninja couldn't leave whenever they wanted to. He didnt gaslight them or belittle them in anyway that wasnt for teaching. Please bring me receipts if you think otherwise. I do admit he could help a little more, be more clear, but when has a old magic teacher character ever been straightforward. With that logic fuck Dumbledore, and Gandalf, and any wise old teacher that goes to find chosen one who once again are chosen by fate not the master himself. Yall literally cant blame Wu for Child's Play and you cant blame Wu for their experience with Nadakhan either. The enemies that go out of there way to attack the ninja are not a direct cause if Wu himself. Usually. It be like blaming Garmadon for Chen. Yes they had history but it's still not his fault

3: Secrets. I will admit there is next to no reason for keeping secrets from the ninja. Considering history always has kind of score to settle. But considering his age and the apparent imprisonment or death of his past enemies there no way to predict every problem that comes back to screw him over. The Time Twins for example. Yes they came back for Wu. But he did remove their powers and separated them over 20+ years ago. They were not exactly threats to his new students now were they? Again with Aspheera, who was literally locked in a tomb why take the time to educate the ninja on a problem he had no idea was going to come back for him. Same with Morro to a more confusing degree. MORRO DIED. How was he to prepare the ninja for that? Yes please tell me how they were supposed to prepare for a dead guy. I'll wait.........k. he should be more forthcoming with the ninja, about things he knows could harm them, like the Serpentine after Lloyds released them, Chen, the Overlord, the effects of Travelers Tea, Tomorrow's Tea, Oni, Etc. But most of the time the ninja go and do it first then wonder why Wu didn't warn them.

4: His nephew. Wow his parenting sucks. Morro is not his damn child let's start there. Comparing their relationship is unfair. Wu cared for Morro the way he cares for Kai and Nya. He never accentuates a paternal relationship with then. Cause they are students, students he has to train with he intent to send them out onto dangerous battle fields and mind games. He was alone so yes it looks different but it's also a leap to just assume that Wu viewed Morro as his own despite treating him the exact same way as his 6 other students. Now back to Lloyd. Why didnt he get his nephew from Darkleys where it was known he ran away from multiple times? I DONT KNOW. No one does. That is a bad move I can only theorize about. Maybe Misako said something about staying away, maybe he wasnt kept in the loop about his nephews whereabouts due to idk KICKING HIS FATHER INTO HELL. C'mon yall. Now in the later seasons my best guess is that he doesnt know how to differentiate his nephew from the chosen one side and the goofy child side. Hes never had a child and his early relations with Lloyd were scarce and when Lloyd came to live with him. It's not due to some familial obligation, destiny literally called for it. Putting some definite strain on their relationship. I'm not excusing it he should try better, but he'd have to build a relationship from nothing and most people know their immediate family upon birth or during childhood which is not the case here. Wu treats his nephew more like a vessel of power than a person which isnt cool but knowing that the kid might not come back after every fight is a good damper on happy relationships is it not?

5: Misako. Good lord I don't have to explain this one. No excuse. It shouldn't be happening. BUT. After Garmadons death she was a free woman as gross as it is. It's more a flaw on her than it is him she chose to have a baby with one brother and still try to get with the other. And I know it takes two to tango but dont get mad at the idiot that the cheater is cheating with. Be mad at the cheater. The thing people really dont get about love triangles. The "other guy" brings on the questions/options but the person who cant choose or screws with both parties is the one in the wrong. Lloyd seems ok with it. Because Tommy said so. I dont particular give two shits about his take on the show half the time. If Lloyd were actively against it the Wu would probably stop. If the Fsm family acted like a normal ass family we probably wouldnt be here. But their priorities are a little screwy compared to typical nuclear families. Not an excuse just some perspective

NOW, why he is a bad character despite all of those arguments. he chooses to train soldiers rather than care for impressionable teens. Yes the situation called for it but the pressure could he alleviated if he decided to actually help before the world was on fire. He chooses to teach by experience than be upfront. Which works sometimes but not when actual lives are at stake. His trial by fire teaching works but the possiblity it could go wrong is to big to be brushed aside. His seemingly unreachable vault of empathy is hard to swallow. He rarely actually feels things for other people, his lack of enthusiasm when they pull through something hurts to watch. His lack of empathy about raising his nephew to attempt to kill his father is frightening. The pride he demonstrates by choosing not to disclose his past until it's too late is dangerous. He doesnt directly put down the ninja unless he has to and its more implied than anything and is on his students and this fandom for taking it so harshly. He trusts them a lot because he doesnt see them as kids anymore. They are warriors and it was necesary. He should have more compassion. He should be more straight forward, he should try to act like a person and not some ethereal being of elsewhere that doesn't have time to appease feelings or care about people until after hes wronged them. His values are off kilter sometimes which is whatever until it starts to hurt people

But yall need to stop blaming him for other people actions. Morro was a mess to begin with. His problems are in the past because he took care of them already. Misako came onto him. (He should have resisted but he didnt start shit she did). He needs to try to be an uncle alongside being a teacher. He needs to act like a fucking person more than the infinite cache of wisdom and unforeseen unused power that he acts like. And also it's a kids show. How many children think the way yall do?, we're teens/YAs we're reading into things. A LOT which makes everything more complicated. Comments rebuttals open. There's a collection of little mistakes hes made along the way that dont fit into these categories but these are the main reasons I know people hate him and the little things add fuel to the fire. I will legit talk about anything Except for the morro thing I am so tired of seeing it Morro made his choices hes a fucking Villain Wu didnt make him that way being a bitter asshole did that. Thanks for reading!! :3

[fandom-thingies]

My Complicated Feelings Toward JK Rowling

I think everyone who’s read Harry Potter and likes to talk has written something like this by now. It makes sense, right? She wrote possibly the most influential book series to come out in the last century. For me and many others, those books are an unforgettable part of our childhoods, and it hurts for the person who took us on such a journey of magic and wonder to be so unmagical herself.

So, here’s my take.

I think the thing I hate most about JK Rowling is how close she came to greatness.

There’s a reason her books became so popular, after all. For all her faults, (and there are many) she’s an amazing writer.

Every one of her characters feel like they could walk off of the page at any time and into your life. 

Dudley Dursley with his absorption of how his parents treat Harry and how his friends treat him, with his slow growth throughout the books into a person beyond who he was raised to be.

Molly Weasley with her overbearing mother henning, sometimes harmful but oh so clearly coming from a place of love, and her complete willingness to adopt any child that stands still long enough for her to do so. (Except Fleur)

Narcissa Malfoy with her belief in the horrible things she’s doing, without that stopping her from being entirely willing to do anything for her child.

Sirius Black with his tendency to unintentionally echo the sentiments he was raised with, and the tragedy of him losing his chance to ever truly grow as a person after being thrown in Azkaban for twelve years and then dying so soon after, and his complete, unconditional love for Harry.

I could write essays on any of them, and my point is that while JK’s treatment of certain issues and characters makes me want to hate Harry Potter, her characterization itself is both consistent and magnificently human.

Her world, too, is beautiful.

I first read Harry Potter before I turned eleven, and I was one of many across the nation who awaited my letter with eager anticipation. 

Can you blame me? The world she created filled so many children with wonder, made so many of us want so badly for magic to be real, to be ours- 

It was beautiful, and I hate her for what she could have been.

She had this fully realized system of prejudice that canonically created genocidal maniacs and put them in power every two generations or so, and she had this very realistic way of writing horribly flawed people that pronounces them as people without exonerating them for the awful things she’d have them do, and I can’t help feeling like “the horrors of war”, as well as she wrote it, wasn’t the story her world deserved.

But that’s a big idea to tackle, and I think it will be tackled best if I start small. I’ve spoken now of the beauty of her world, of her characters. Now I’ll speak of what marrs it.

Like I said, I want to start small.

So, let’s talk about the house elves.

TL;DR? Hermione was right. They’re indoctrinated from birth into believing the only thing they’re good for is housework, as well as being raised to abhor any elf who chooses to do otherwise. It’s a neat little self perpetuating system that bears absolutely no similarity in ideology to the mythology JK built it off of, and as such loses the aspect of choice that’s so significant to brownies.

Add to that the socially acceptable abuse, and you’ve got something that looks far more similar to slavery than it does little fairies who come to clean your home and get mad if pay them because they’re doing it as a favor.

And that’s why it’s so concerning, when JK brushes Hermione’s campaigning off in canon so casually.

It’s honestly hard to say when I started to be leery of JK Rowling, except that it was several years before the TERF scandal occurred. I think this was probably one of the earlier areas, though.

The first time I remember wondering if Harry Potter’s greatnesses were in spite of her intentions, rather than because of them, though, wasn’t the house elves.

It was, rather, a different contentious issue in the fandom, and one I’ve always fallen quite firmly to one side of, as someone who’s been bullied myself.

The first time I remember being suspicious of JK’s beliefs was when I realized she didn’t write Snape with the intent for him to be a villain.

Snape is not a person anyone in the fandom seems to be able to agree on. Some see him as a flat, cartoony villain, while some see him as a tortured soul who only did all those terrible things because he was hurting inside, don’t you see? 

Personally, I drew the line at him being a child’s boggart, as well as the time he attempted to kill Neville’s toad, Trevor, because seriously; what the fuck.

It had always been my belief that while him being obsessed with loving Lily motivated him to work on the side of good, it was more like Narcissa’s willingness to betray her cause for her son than anything else, being a sympathetic trait without absolving his cruelty.

Then I realized that a bunch of people (likely including JK) view Narcissa similarly to how they view Snape, seeing both as people who do bad but are good, rather than people who do good but are bad, and I honestly don’t know what to say to y’all.

You know having good traits doesn’t make a person good, right? Being capable of affection doesn’t absolve people of cruelty or make it your responsibility to forgive them and try to get them to change, it just tells them that they can do bad things without being punished for it. 

Do you guys need an abuse hotline? 

Anyway, that’s when I stopped liking JK, since I’ve been bullied myself and seeing her treat such a horrible bully as a good person kinda soured me on her. I’m not mad at her for letting her bullies grow and change- I love Draco’s and Dudley’s character arcs. I’m just mad at her because unlike those two, Snape is an adult and she kinda wrote it like forgiving him was an expectation of Harry, rather than a personal choice (and not an easy one either! Forgiving bullies is hard and it’s not always healthy!)

I’m getting off topic, but I genuinely believe that discussing this kind of thing is important, so I’m leaving that in.

Getting back to what this is actually about, I’m the kind of person who sees potential in things, often before I see the work itself, (it’s why I write fanfiction) and Harry Potter has so much potential it hurts, because so much of it is just wasted.

I said, earlier, that “the horrors of war” wasn’t the story best suited to this world, and I stand by that.

The first reason I believe that is because I don’t think that the black and white morality this kind of narrative often creates was well suited to JK’s writing style. JK has a tendency to put her characters in boxes of “good” or “bad” and as someone who doesn’t really believe in inherent goodness or evil, this will always feel unrealistic to me.

Because in the end, it’s JK’s minor villains, the ones not directly involved with Voldemort’s war, that really shine.

My favorite villains in the series were Umbridge, the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy, and Cornelius Fudge, because they were the villains who felt real, who felt like flawed people making flawed decisions because we’re all fundamentally products of our environment-

These are the villains who stuck with me, who I still want to take and shake because they were the kind of cruelty we’ve all faced.

Voldemort, as the main villain of the story, would have been more powerful if he’d been an amplified version of these people. In fact, the story would have been better in general if Fudge or Dumbledore had been the villain, because the problem with Voldemort is that unlike the good villains in this story, who feel real because we’ve all met people like them, Voldemort is and will always be larger than life.

A genocidal maniac is a villain few of us have faced societally, and one none of us have faced directly.

Also, rather than being a worse version of Umbridge or Fudge, Voldemort is more akin to a worse version of Snape. He’s a tortured soul who does bad things because bad things were done to him, rather than being cruel through his choices, his own agency.

That’s the first reason why “the horrors of war” wasn’t the best choice of a narrative for this world.

The second is that I don’t think JK sees anything wrong with her muggle hating characters.

She clearly thinks killing muggles is wrong, of course. She’s not that bad.

But, well, the muggle characters in Harry Potter are consistently kind of awful.

First there’s the Dursleys, selfish, entitled, egotistical, and cruel to anyone different from them. Then there’s Snape’s muggle father, who was horribly abusive, as well as cruel to anything different from him.

Then there’s the muggle prime minister, who despite being an important figure, is left completely out of the loop for anything concerning wizards, pretty much only used when the ministry needs the muggle news to say or do a certain thing, like when Sirius Black was declared a criminal.

There’s also the family at the quidditch world cup, of whom who only meet the patriarch, a somewhat stupid man who remarks uncomprehendingly on the oddness of wizards trying to assimilate into muggle society, a man who is canonically obliviated ten times a day.

And that’s it, that’s all the muggle characters I can remember. Aside from the Dursleys, none of them are given more than a page or so of screentime, and none of them do anything significant.

No, wait, I did actually forget two.

Hermione’s parents, who are obliviated and sent to Australia when the war starts, because the only thing they could ever do in a war is be victims.

Muggles in Harry Potter are consistently stupid, ineffectual, and cruel to anyone different from them.

Out of the entire massive cast of Harry Potter, there are few enough muggles that I can list them all off the top of my head without googling and the only muggle in the story ever given the all important chance to be kind is Dudley Dursley, who is taken out of the story the moment he stops being an awful person.

I’m sure you see the problem.

The issue with Harry Potter is that JK acts like the problem is solved when muggles are no longer being actively persecuted, when in reality that’s only the beginning of solving the prejudice that plagues her world.

Voldemort is frequently called “wizard Hitler” and I think that’s more accurate than people realize, because as with Hitler, people easily see the problem with Voldemort committing genocide, and they’re fine with working to stop that, but the moment they’re asked to examine their own biases, their own small cruelties and exclusions, the ten thousand cuts they’ve inflicted with their own hands…

The moment people are asked to examine themselves, to look close at the mirror and point to what allowed someone like Voldemort to gain a following in the first place, they turn away and go back to turning a blind eye to the fact that if you don’t address the societal issues that made him gain a following in the first place, there’ll just be another when it’s been a few years and people have forgotten.

In the end, Grindlewald is wizard Hitler. Voldemort and the death eaters are wizard neo nazis.

I’m not Jewish, though, so I’ll let them be the ones to expand further upon this, as many have.

My point here is that JK’s story would have been more powerful if it had been about addressing the issues that underpin the death eaters, rather than killing their leader and acting as if that’ll solve anything.

JK Rowling is antisemetic, racist, and a TERF, among other things, and while I’m glad it shows in her work as little as it does, it does show, and I’m not going to cover that in this because a thousand other people have covered it better than I ever could.

Suffice to say, I’m nonbinary, and I’m glad I was disillusioned with her before I knew she was prejudiced directly against me, because loving her before she said the things she said and did the things she did would have hurt.

The fact that her world shows so clearly the consequences of her beliefs, even in the context of a prejudice that doesn’t exist in our own world…

I guess she’s always been too good a writer for her own good, in the end.

[takerfoxx]

In response to JK Rowling and Joss Whedon, my (former) idols

I really didn’t want to have to do this.

So in addition to…=gestures vaguely=…all of that, the last few months have been kind of sucky when it comes to learning some really unpleasant things about artists that I looked up to, admired, and was in fact inspired by. I’ve already spoken about the Speaking Out movement revealing a lot of ugly behavior from various wrestlers, some of which I was big fans of, and then later we got Chris Jericho being a full-on MAGA. Yeah, that all sucked. But those were just performers whose work I enjoyed watching. The one that really hurt were writers who I deeply admired, whose stories I love, and who I was heavily influenced by.

The first, of course, was finding out that JK Rowling, the author of perhaps the single biggest YA fantasy series of all time Harry Potter, is a TERF. This really sucked for a number of reasons. Firstly, I really like Harry Potter! I mean, I’m not a super fan or anything. I came into it when things were kind of dying down, like the whole book series had already been released and there were only a few movies left, but I still really enjoyed it, have all the books and movies and a fair amount of merchandise swag, including a nifty wand I got at Universal Studios. Shit, I got two replicas of the Sword of Griffyindor, thanks to them screwing up my order in my favor and sending me a duplicate! They’re on my wall right across from me as I type this!

But in addition to writing a book series I really liked, JK Rowling was supposed to be one the good guys. She’s been vocally progressive, often openly comes down on British right-wing nonsense, has supported various persecuted minorities, and is on record as being one of the few self-made billionaires to actually stop being a billionaire for a time because she donated so much money to charity. And while we mock it now, her revealing Dumbledore as gay was a huge deal at the time. Plus, she cultivated this reputation as Auntie Jo, that cool, supportive aunt we all wanted.

But for a while her stock has been dropping. Her preference for confirming “representation” via tweets instead of explicitly putting it in the text of her stories has raised the question of queer-baiting, especially with a whole-ass movie with a young Dumbledore and Grindelwald to make their relationship explicit but failing to do so. The whole Nagini thing from the latest Fantastic Beasts movie was pretty gross. And re-examination of various problematic elements from the original novels has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Now, none of these really looked to be intentionally malicious, of course. Just about everyone’s early work will have problematic elements; that’s just how people work. And the later stuff smacked more of ignorance than anything. But after all this time, it’s like, c’mon. You should know better by now.

But the biggie came when her transphobic views finally came to light. Now, this one had been brewing for a while, due to some questionable likes and statements on her twitter. But then she decided to just go public and published what essentially amounts to a TERF manifesto, one with a very “love the sinner, hate the sin” condescending attitude and had a real persecution complex air to it.

Now, I’m not going to go into detail about what the manifesto was about, what the circumstances surrounding it were, or how wrong it was. It’s already been raked over the coals, dissected, answered, and debunked in detail by people far more qualified than me, so odds are, you’re already well aware of its contents and the subsequent rebuttals. But the gist of it comes down to her basically believing that transwomen are actually cis men claiming to be trans so as to infiltrate and invade female-only spaces.

Yeah.

Okay, that’s gross, but…why? Why is someone so noted for being progressive and wanting to foster an inclusive environment making this the hill of exclusion that she wants to die on?

Well, that’s where things get tricky. She mentions that prior to Harry Potter, her first marriage was highly physically and sexually abusive, and when she escaped from that, she had no place to go, leading her to be homeless for a time.

Oh.

Well, that makes sense. Someone goes through a highly traumatic experience with a member of the opposite sex, has no support structure when she escapes it, is left to fend for herself, only to suddenly get rocketed into fame, fortune, and influence, which in turn leads to a Never Again mentality. She was hurt, no one was there to help her, and now she’s afraid of men invading women-only spaces to victimize others like she was victimized. So…literally transphobic. Literally a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist.

Guys, this is so fucked up. Like, how do you even approach something like this? She’s a victim in every sense of the word, so of course she’s going to have physiological damage and a warped view of things. I mean, if I found out that a close friend of mine went through the same thing and had the same prejudices, I would be nothing but sympathetic! I mean, I’d still do what I can to convince her to overcome those prejudices, but I’d still show sympathy and support for what she went through.

Abuse warps people. There’s a reason why so many abusers are abuse survivors themselves. It makes you terrified of being hurt again and often causes people to adopt toxic behaviors, beliefs, and reactions to protect themselves. I’ve already talked about it at length while discussing She-Ra and its own handling of the cycle of abuse, which included franks discussions of Catra’s horrible behavior, why she was the way she was, while never losing sympathy for her and rooting for her to overcome it. So if JK Rowling is an abuse survivor, is it really right to come down on her for having warped views because of that abuse?

But that’s the problem. See, she isn’t your troubled friend that you’re trying to help. She isn’t your cousin Leslie who’s a really sweet person but unfortunately adopted some bad ideals due to trauma suffered. She JK freakin’ ROWLING, one of the most famous, wealthy, and influential women in the world. She has a platform of millions, if not billions, which means her voice lends credibility to her bigoted beliefs. Alt-righters and other TERFs have already swooped upon this for giving validation to their awful beliefs, which puts trans people even more at risk. And as horrible as Rowling’s experiences might have been, the trans community is often the victim of far worse, and they don’t have a mountain of money and an army of defenders to protect them like she does. I’ve said it time and time again: just because you’re a victim, that doesn’t give you the right to victimize others! And bringing things back to Catra, as much as I loved her redemption in the final season, she was still a TERRIBLE PERSON for a huge chunk of the show, one that needed to be stood up to and stopped.

So yeah. That’s the messiness that is JK Rowling.

Now, let’s talk about the one that really hurts. Let’s talk about Joss Whedon.

I’ve made no secret of what a huge Whedon fan I am. Unlike Rowling, I was a HUUUUUGE superfan. Seeing Serenity for the first time in theaters was akin to a religious awakening to me as a storyteller, making it one of my top three movies of all time. Firefly is my favorite show ever. And I adored Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse as well. I love Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. The very first fanfic I ever wrote was a Firefly fanfic that disappeared along with my old laptop. I know his style isn’t for everyone, but I cannot understate how much of a personal inspiration he is to me as a writer.

And like Rowling, Joss was supposed to be one of the good guys! Buffy was monumental in pushing the needle when it came to female empowerment. Will and Tara were groundbreaking as a gay couple. He’s been outspoken for years about his feminist views and beliefs and was seen as one of the most prominent and influential feminist voices in Hollywood!

And then things started to go bad.

One day he was on top of the world, the mastermind behind the first two Avenger movies. And the next, it seemed like he was in freefall. It’s hard to really pinpoint exactly when the change took place. Some would say him being brought in as a last-minute substitute for Zack Snyder to take over on Justice League after Snyder had to leave due to family tragedy, and the subsequent awful critical reception to that film tarnishing his image, even if those were very unique circumstances that couldn’t really be blamed on him. Others might point to Age of Ultron’s less than stellar reception, as well as criticism of some questionable jokes and certain creative decisions regarding the character of Black Widow, which then led to a more critical examination of how Whedon continues to write female characters, as while his work might have been revolutionary in the 90’s, his failure to evolve with the times had meant that many of his portrayals are now woefully outdated and problematic, with his vision for a Batgirl movie getting hit with a lot of backlash as a result.

Again, I’m not going to go into too much detail, as this is all public knowledge and can be easily looked up, but overall it seemed that Whedon entered into a period where he was getting criticized more than he was celebrated, and his image of a guaranteed hit maker was now in doubt.

But all of this wasn’t the big problem. All creators go through rises and slumps, and everyone hits points where they get hit with a barrage of criticism; that’s just part of being a public creative figure, especially a progressive one. And had nothing happened after, it would have probably faded, got forgotten, and Whedon would have moved onto the next project with no fuss.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t just a minor slump in his career. Instead, it was the priming of the pump.

In 2016, Whedon divorced his wife of sixteen years, Kai Cole, and in an open letter, Kai Cole accused him of being a serial cheater, who would have affairs with a great many women, from co-workers, to actresses, to friends, to even his fans. And in addition to raising questions of him possibly abusing his position as showrunner to elicit sex from those working on his projects, there also is the ugly question of how could someone who speaks so highly of women then go and backstab the person who was supposed to be the most important woman in his life, as well as lying to her and denying her the autonomy of deciding whether or not she even wanted to continue to have a relationship with him?

Furthermore, Whedon himself has not explicitly denied these accusations, and comments made by him seem only to confirm them.

Now if you’ll recall, I reacted publicly to this news, and despite my admiration of Whedon’s work, I came down on Kai Cole’s side, and stated that while things like marriage issues and infidelity were no one’s business but that of the couple’s, it did raise a lot of uncomfortable questions about how Whedon treated the women in his life and he really needed to get his shit in order.

But hey, a messy private life and a guy falling into temptation isn’t that big of a deal, right? Plenty of creators also go through multiple marriages and have problems staying faithful and still continue making great art. We’re all human, it’s a stressful job, and this shit just happens, right? Sure, it’s gross and a shitty thing to do, but ain’t no business of ours, right?

In late 2020, actor Ray Fisher, who played the role of Cyborg in Justice League, openly accused Joss Whedon of fostering a hostile work environment, claiming that the director’s behavior was abusive and unprofessional, and that Whedon in turn was protected by DC executives.

DC and Warner Bros. came down against Fisher, claiming they had done an internal investigation that turned up no evidence of wrongdoing (yeah, sure they did), and soon Fisher was out as Cyborg, apparently for rocking the boat.

But then Charisma Carpenter, noted for her important role as Cordelia Chase in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, then spoke up, claiming to be inspired by Fisher in doing so. She described Whedon did indeed foster a hostile work environment on his projects, that his often acted in a toxic manner, from asking incredibly invasive and inappropriate questions regarding her pregnancy to insulting her on set. She said that she made excuses for him for years, but after undergoing a lot of therapy and reading what Ray Fisher had to say, she felt compelled to speak out.

And this just open the floodgates. Other actors and actresses also came forward, some with stories of their own, others to offer support. Even Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, confirmed Carpenter’s stories and said that she no longer wanted to be associated with Whedon. Michelle Trachtenberg, who played the character of Dawn, stated that she also experienced toxic treatment from Whedon despite her being a minor at the time, and says that the set had a rule that Whedon wasn’t allowed to be alone with her again, which really raises some sickening questions of what happened the first time. Even male stars have spoken out, from words of support and apologies for not speaking up earlier from Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz, to an earlier interview with James Marsters, in which he described being terrified of Whedon, mainly due to an instance when Whedon was frustrated with the popularity of Marsters’s character of Spike messing with his plans and physically and verbally taking it out on the actor. There have been many corroborating stories of Whedon being casually cruel on set, on seemingly taking delight in making his fellow show writers cry, and even the man himself admitting to enjoying fostering a hostile work environment during his director commentary of the Avengers. We’ve joked about Whedon’s supposed sadism for years, but that was in regards to how he treated the characters in his stories, not the people helping him make them!

So yeah. That’s the problem with Joss Whedon.

So, do I think that Joss Whedon is somehow some kind of sociopath who lied about his feminist principles and deliberately put on a progressive façade specifically to get into a position of power so he could torment people? No, of course not. I think he was sincere about his beliefs, and I do think he didn’t realize the wrongness of his behavior. But that’s kind of the problem. See, it’s one thing to have kind of a trollishness to your nature, a sort of sadistic side. No one can help that. But when someone with that quality gets put into a position of power in which they are protected by both the higher-ups and their legions of fans, they are allowed to mistreat and continue to mistreat people. And by never suffering any consequences, that sort of toxic behavior becomes internalized, becomes a habit, becomes their moda operandi. And when you’re constantly getting praised as a creative genius and a wonderful feminist voice, any self-criticism just gets wiped away, and you think yourself above reproach, leading to what Joss Whedon became and went on being.

And you know what scares me the most about this particular issue? It’s not that I am a fan of his stories. It’s that I can so easily see myself turning out the same way.

Look, I’ll be upfront about it: I’m kind of a sadist myself. You’ve seen it in my stories, you’ve seen me gloating after a particularly dark plot twist makes my readers freak out. That sort of stuff is fun to me. There’s a reason why I have a much easier time in the dark and violent scenes, because I’m channeling something ugly within me. We all have a dark side, and this is mine.

But UNLIKE Whedon, that doesn’t carry over to how I treat people in real life (unless Monopoly or Mario Party are involved, then it’s fair game). Maybe it’s because I wasn’t given the sort of power and praise he did so early, and I was always taught to be considerate of other people’s feelings, but if I ever find out that I hurt another person or went too fair, I feel TERRIBLE, and it just throws me off all day until I apologize. Even if I don’t notice right away that what I said or did wasn’t cool (autistic, remember?), when it’s pointed out to me and I have some time to think on it, yeah, the guilt is on and I make a point to apologize to whoever I’ve hurt. I’ve even made a point to apologize to members of my family for inconsiderate stuff I said years ago as a little punk kid because it wouldn’t stop bugging me.

So maybe Whedon got too big, too fast. Maybe putting people on these sorts of pedestals, especially progressive ones, is ultimately a bad thing.

So where does this leave us? How are we to treat JK Rowling and Joss Whedon, one who developed a lot of transphobia due to abuse suffered while the other became a toxic individual due to unchecked control and a lack of consequences? Can we still enjoy their stories despite them now being colored by their creators’ falls from grace? Can we separate the art from the artist, or do we have to do a clean split?

Honestly, I feel that has to come down to the individual. I can’t remove the influence Rowling and Whedon have had on me as a storyteller, and I still highly respect both of their talents despite taking major issue with their problems as people. And I’m not going go throw away all of my Harry Potter or Firefly stuff. Because that’s my stuff. It has value to me, it doesn’t represent the issues with their creators, and a lot of it was gifts from people who are dear to me. Though I do think it’ll be a long time before I return to either of their work, as I just don’t have the stomach for it now.

But I will be avoiding any projects they have in the future. I don’t want to put money in their pockets that might go on to support their toxic beliefs or behavior. And as for royalties for their past work that would also support the cast and crew of the Harry Potter films or those who worked on Whedon’s shows who do not deserve to lose money because we don’t want any of that money going to the creators? Er, that question is a little above my paygrade. I don’t know. You’ll have to all decide for yourselves. As for me, I still have a lot of thinking to do.

Regardless though, if I or anyone else is still able to enjoy their work, then it’s important to not divorce what these people said or did from the art they created, even if it makes enjoying that art less fun. It’s important to be critical about what we enjoy, to acknowledge the bad aspects along with the good, and open up discussion of those elements, because that’s what mature adults are supposed to do. 

And as for JK Rowling and Joss Whedon, whose stories I love, whose talent I admire, and whose past good work I’ll happily acknowledge, I do hope they both experience some sort of realization and enter into a period of self-examination that leads to them getting help for their issues, for Rowling to get help in coming to terms with her trauma and realizing that she’s wrong about the trans community and a full apology, and for Whedon to also come to terms with his toxic behavior and how he treats people, for him to make no excuse for what he did and sincerely apologize to those he hurt and work on bettering himself, as well as them both examining some of the more problematic tropes still present in their works. Because despite everything, I do feel that they can still be a creative force of good, and it would be a shame if they let themselves self-destruct.

But if not, then if it comes down to choosing between Rowling and the protecting the trans community, if it comes down between choosing between letting Whedon continue to make shows and protecting actors and writers from his abusive behavior, then I know who I’m siding with, and it ain’t the two individuals this whole essay is about. No story, no matter how good, no matter how creative, is worth letting sacrificing vulnerable people in order for it to be made.

[dramionediscussion]

I honestly believe that antis don’t know what dramione is actually about, and believe we just ship a bully with his victim–and refuse to deviate from their reasoning.

But dramione is NOT about that, because literally NO ONE in the dramione fandom (except a few bad apples) would ship a childhood bully draco with hermione. We understand that yes, doing that would make it toxic/abusive. 

draco’s racism was taught to him, just like the weasley children were taught that muggles and wizards and muggleborns were equal. the first eleven years of his life, he grew up with lucius malfoy as a role model–one of the chief blood supremacists. we know that canonically draco worshipped his dad. he learnt that muggleborns were scum of the earth. why would he question that? when we’re kids, we don’t question what our parents teach us–we just assume they’re right and that’s how the world works.

the same concept applies to his classism. the first thing he said to ron was “red hair. hand-me-down robes. you must be a weasley.” now, keep in mind that this is the first time draco is meeting ron. how is an eleven-year-old who’s never met the other child before, know exactly who the child is, and how the child would look?

again, the parents. lucius malfoy worked with arthur weasley in the ministry. he would obviously go home and complain about the “blood traitor and his poverty” to narcissa, and draco would probably overhear, and assume that that’s how you treat the weasleys, because they’re “bad people” in his father’s book, and by extension, his. 

the second book: at the start, lucius puts draco down because his marks were lower than hermione’s. draco is obviously put off, but he understands why–he’s a pureblood. he’s a malfoy. he’s supposed to be doing better than the muggleborns, because according to his father, they don’t deserve to attend hogwarts. later, he calls hermione a mudblood–again, where would he learn that type of language? definitely not the internet, because that didn’t exist. that takes us to his parents. 

now, the question probably is why wouldn’t draco see other non-racist people in school and change? because he didn’t hang out with other houses. slytherins are very isolated, and usually pitted against the rest of the school. draco’s friends, children of death eaters, were probably raised in the same way he was. if his parents taught him pureblood supremacy, and his friends’ parents taught them the same thing, why would he think to question it? 

draco malfoy was taught right from wrong, but those values just happened to be the opposite of what everyone else, like the weasleys, was taught. but just as the weasleys went in knowing that draco was wrong for believing in them, draco went in knowing that the weasleys were wrong for believing in theirs. 

in the third book, I think the whole buckbeak incident was realistic. if a child provokes a dog, and the dog bites it, the dog is the one that’s put down no matter what the child did. I’m not saying it’s “right”–I definitely thin draco 100% deserved to be punched by hermione–but it’s how the world currently works–maybe it will change later but for now, it’s reality. 

and as for the slytherins’ hatred towards hagrid–I’d say it was justified, because hagrid himself was no sweetheart to them. don’t get me wrong–I love hagrid, but he didn’t like the slytherins–you can see this when he talks about them in the first book. again, the books are from harry’s pov, so even if hagrid didn’t like the slytherins and said something about them, it would be biased. but yes, the slytherins often took it too far. 

the fourth book–draco’s bullying wasn’t even that bad. he actually warned hermione to get away at the world cup, in his own twisted way. he accidentally hit her with a curse meant for harry. he made “potter stinks” badges–juvenile things. 

now for the fifth. let me get this absolutely straight: I hate umbridge. I hate the inquistorial squad. I hate that the slytherins joined them. 

but we have to go back to slytherin inequality for this. the slytherins are booed at quidditch matches. the whole school, including most of the teachers and their headmaster, are against them. in fact, I could say that the only teacher that favoured the house was snape, and have canonical evidence. it’s basically the slytherins vs the rest of the school. 

now, comes along a lady that actually seems to favour slytherins. for the first time, they’re made to feel important. she wants to form a little group to catch their worst enemy in an illegal act. who would say no? 

but again–the golden trio was no less. they purposely excluded the slytherins from the DA. forget malfoy and his cronies. not EVERY slytherin would be devoted to umbridge/malfoy. but the trio didn’t invite ANY of them–and not all their parents were death eaters. 

now, put yourself in their place. imagine your school formed a club excluding your house. why would you protect them, instead of catching them? they had no reason to protect the DA, so they didn’t. 

in the sixth book–I think at this point, draco’s grown out of his blood prejudice and realised that it isn’t a game. his father, probably the person he expects the most to protect him is in azkaban. voldemort has his mum, and will kill her if he doesn’t murder the wizarding world’s most powerful wizard. but why did he continue his discrimination? 

do you really think that draco malfoy, bully and blood supremacist for five years, suddenly stopped bullying muggleborns, that word wouldn’t reach his house? his friends/housemates would tell their death eater parents, and somehow, it would reach his father, or worse–voldemort, who would just find it an excuse to kill his mum. 

but admittedly, he didn’t bully the trio that much that year, and I think he called hermione a mudbblood only once–at the top of the astronomy tower, when he was trying to kill dumbledore. 

also dumbledore KNEW that draco malfoy had been ordered to murder him. he knew who had been making those attempts the entire year. and then five minutes before the death eaters got them, he offered protection. draco was expected to make a life-changing, life-threatening decision in five minutes? when he didn’t even know whether he could trust the order? for all he knew, they could hold his family hostage to draw voldemort out. 

but even then, he began to lower his wand, but it was too late. 

IMHO, I think draco only referred to her as “mudblood granger” at that time as a last-ditch attempt to constrain to his father’s beliefs–which would be VERY advantageous to him at that point, because then he would be able to find a reason to murder dumbledore. but we all know he wasn’t able to do it. 

in the seventh book, he refuses to identify harry, even though it’s obvious he recognises him and his family could gain EVERYTHING–but that’s a flimsy redemption arc at best. he stands by while hermione’s being tortured, yes, but that’s because it’s bellatrix lestrange–probably the most feared death eater of all time. would you do anything? I think not. 

draco malfoy was brought up in a different way, having different beliefs ingrained into him. do you actually blame a child for doing what his father said, when the child should have been old enough to make his own choices? do you still blame that child for having been exposed to only one sort of right their whole lives, and having a biased opinion because they were never taught to see from a different perspective? and do you still blame that boy, despite everything he’s faced, that he never went through with it? 

people who say “draco had a choice and he made the wrong one” are just wrong. what kinda choice would they make if a genocidal maniac was sitting at their dinner table, holding their mum hostage, until they killed the president of their country? 

 to me, I think draco and ron were both very insecure people, though for different reasons, and just had different ways of showing it. ron cut people off when he thought they were going to succeed without him, and draco made comments about the other person’s insecurities, probably to make himself feel better. ron was insecure about harry’s fame, but since he was harry’s best friend, he just had to put up with it (until the 4th book). draco had no such obligations. 

and to say that draco malfoy isn’t redeemable, is saying that people who mess up when they’re kids, will remain that way for the rest of their lives. it’s sending a message to all young people out there telling them the consequences of making a mistake–no one will like them. 

I’m not “excusing” draco’s racism. he was a piece of shit, plain and simple. but I’d say 98% of that is because of the way he was brought up. 

also isn’t it the whole point that we want people to wake up and realise their mistakes? half of america would have LOVED for donald trump to get up one day and realise that he’s a racist misogynist. ofc it wouldn’t change the past, but it would change the future.

now, onto the dramione argument. 

first off, saying that hermione wouldn’t forgive draco for the past is going against every aspect of her character. she had a soft spot for kreacher, the house-elf that grew up in a racist household and was therefore racist and called her and ron “mudblood” and “blood traitor” (quite similar to draco, actually). she understood where he was coming from, and why he was the way he is, and ultimately didn’t care. after that, how can you say that she wouldn’t forgive draco for having beliefs and values ingrained into him from when he was a child? 

second, who is the real enemy in HP? yes, you could say voldemort, but it’s more about what he represents, which is prejudice. having draco, a former blood supremacist and the son and nephew of death eaters, getting together with hermione, a muggleborn girl, would show that he’s thrown his beliefs out of the window. it’s his character growth and how he matures through the war and its aftermath. 

putting draco and hermione together as kids without any change to their characters is toxic and abusive, no doubt about it. but that’s not what dramione is about.

even in hogwarts fics like isolation, what the room requires, and clean, the authors make sure that he repents. they make sure to explicitly write his character arc, and to show that he is no longer a bully or blood supremacist. 

hermione is NOT draco’s redemption, since canonically he shows signs of awakening, if not actual repentence. she’s the conclusion of his redemption. it’s officially showing the world and society that he is no longer a blood purist. 

dramione isn’t about crazy fans thinking it’s adorable for a bully and a victim to fall for each other.

dramione is about change. and if you believe that people can’t change, that’s on you.

———-

Edit:

I agree with most of the points you’ve made except for the second paragraph. The majority of Dramione fans do indeed ship Hermione with redeemed Draco, but there’s nothing wrong with reading fics in which their relationship is toxic (I do that every once in a while) because neither Hermione nor Draco is a real person and you can put them in all types of circumstances. They’re both fictional characters and thus can’t be hurt.

- AgnMag

[readingsoyoucanavoidlife]

In Denial

Sometimes I just want everyone to be happy and alive, so here is my headcanons for if Tom Riddle never existed. 

~James and Lily never have to fight in a war, so James becomes a professional quidditch player and he became the longest reining Captain before he quit, bought the club and became the manager for it, as well as the coach for the players. Lily becomes a healer at St. Mungo’s and was able to invent a cure for dragon pox. When James’ parents died as a result of the disease she worked tirelessly researching it and came up with and affective cure. She has a portrait hanging in the hospital and after a long day sometimes has conversations with it (it the only way she can have a decent conversation in her current state). James teases her about it a lot.  

~They get pregnant at a later age, because their relationship doesn’t move as fast since there is the lack of war pressure and not knowing what will happen to them. Same goes for the Weasleys and Andromeda so they all have their children later. (Canonly Molly and Arthur got married quicker because of war) And I’m just going to say that the Grangers had fertility problems, so had Hermione later. (this way the ages and relationships stay the same)

~After Harry they have three more children; Grace Iris Mia Potter, Sophie Lily Potter and Danial Charles Monty Potter. (In that order) (Iris and Charles are Lily’s parents names and Mia and Monty are shortened from Euphemia and Fleamont). Remus becomes Godfather to Grace, Peter (since he couldn’t betray them) becomes Godfather to Sophie, and Marlene becomes Godmother to Danial. Grace is two years younger than Harry (the year bellow Ginny), Sophie is one year bellow her and Danial is two years bellow that.

~They don’t see Dudley or their actual Aunt and Uncle often, they tend to meet up to have a tense cup of tea once a year. The Potter’s always send them birthday and Christmas gifts but the Dursley’s never do. They hardly heat from them until Dudley reaches out saying that he thinks his child is magical. James laughs a lot at this and more specifically the looks on Petunia’s and Vernon’s faces. They do agree to help him and his family understand. 

~When McGonagall becomes Headmistress, the sorting becomes more based on personality and not character and bloodline. Thus ending the prejudice towards the houses. This is the thing that she brings to Hogwarts like the other Heads have done before her. (Dumbledore's was giving people, like Remus, chances) However this is before Minnie’s time so they are all in Griffindor. She becomes Headmistress in Harrys 6th year when Dumbledore leaves to retire in a tropical country, there is no imminent threat so why should he stay at school? His only problem is that sometimes it’s too hot to wear socks.  

~Grace works for the ministry and falls in love with a guy who went to Durmstrang but now works in England, named Eric Luka. They end up having a daughter together, Scarlett Luka. Although when Scarlett is a year old, he walks out on them. Grace becomes a single mum for four years before her co-worker Aiden Murphey asks her out. They had always been friends as he had been a year above her at school, although he was in Ravenclaw. They get married and Scarlett changes her name to Luka-Murphy. They have three children together Liam, then a year later Finn and a year after that they have Owen.

~Sophie become a wizard robe designer and manages to bring some more modern and muggle aspects to the wizarding world. She starts her own clothing brand and falls for some one in Danial’s year. Zoe Phillips, they get married but don’t have any kids. They are perfectly content with spoiling their nieces and nephews.

~Danial is the perfect child of the family and people try to not like him because of it, but end up giving in because he is so nice. He is an architect for the wizarding world and marries a Hufflepuff in his year called Audrey, she is also an architect. Again they are the perfect couple that is so sickening but you can’t help liking them. They have two daughters, Emily and Olivia, who is four years younger. 

~Wolfstar is a thing (as it always has been), they are together up until Harry’s 7th year. They are facing difficult struggles and are always shouting at each other, even though they still love each other. They decide to take a break and they each are set up on dates. Sirius with some guy and Remus with Tonks. On this date Remus gets very drunk because he misses Sirius and they sleep together. 

~ A week later they promise to be better and stop their break. Although after three months, Tonks contacts Remus to tell him that she is pregnant, and it is his decision whether he wants to be part of it or not. Remus has his freak out about whether the baby will be like him and what Sirius will say. 

~Sirius understands what has happened and doesn’t blame Remus because they were on a break, but is upset that he was with someone else. After a talk with James, Sirius feels better and is by Remus’ side the whole way and becomes excited for a baby when Remus calls Tonks to say that he wants to be a part of it (secretly he had always been jealous about the way his nieces and nephews look at James and Lily). Tonks knows how in love the boys are.

~Wolfstar begins to miss out on baby stuff and Sirius complains that its not how its meant to be when the kid arrives, so Tonks come to live with them. Tonks love the arrangement because she doesn’t have to be alone and the boys dote on her and the baby once he arrives. James becomes a Godfather. They continue living together until Teddy a bit after Teddy turns one. Tonks moves to London to be closer to her work and they co-parent using floo network all the time. Sirius normally watches him during the day since he is a wizarding writer and Remus is a professor at Hogwarts (floo’s into work) and Tonks is an auror.

~Harry and Ron become Friends with Hermione when they save her from trouble with Filch for being out after bed (she was in the Library for too long). They help her with the invisibility cloak and she lies for them when McGonagall reveals them from under the cloak when she stepped on the end of it.  

~Neville has a happy childhood and is coated in his parents love, by the time he gets to school he is much more confident. He still takes a toad but his parents gave him an owl. Alice and Frank support all of his choices and are proud of every accomplishment he makes, even if his Grandmother says that it’s a waste of their time and effort. He and Harry are close friends from a very young age because of their parents, although they never really were best friends. When they went to Hogwarts and Harry went off with Ron they still looked out for each other and laughed together.

~Ron and Hermione (Ginny when they got older) came over to the Potter’s for some of the holidays, like they would go to the Weasleys for some before parting for a week before September 1st for “family time” and so their parents could see them off. Because of this Sirius and Remus become close with Ron and Hermione, so when Mrs. Weasley hosts a party (when Teddy is around three) they are invited too as part of the Potter family. Tonks comes along too as a family outing with Teddy. Teddy and Victorie hit it off and begged their parents to have play together more. Tonks sees Charlie at the party and starts talking to him as they were in the same year at school, though in different houses. He introduces her to his friend who works with him and is recently moving to London to lead the organization for dragon well-fair in England, protesting to let the Gringotts dragons free. In short Tonks and the person get together. (still unsure on what her partner identifies as but they are from a Greek pure-blood family with the surname Samaras).

~Charlie never marries or truly settles down but treats his dragons like children and is the best uncle ever.

~Bill comes to England not because of war but because he accidentally got promoted and had to move back. Him and Fleur still get married quickly, and have Victorie a year after that, Dominique come after two years and Louis three years after that. They pretty much lead the same lives other than the fact that their wedding isn’t crashed by Death Eaters and Fleur insists they have it in France (since they don’t have to stay in England for it)

~Hemione and Ron get together in 7th year in a similar sort of way. Ron is caught by Hermione tell off some kids for playing pranks on the house elves and teaches they about their history and situation. She can’t help herself, so she snogs him in the deserted corridor after the kids have gone. 

~Ginny and Harry break up after his 7th year, she wanted more independence especially since this was her last year and the only year attending the school without her family there. Harry was also going to auror training and starting his own path in the world and wanted to experience being by himself in the world, with new responsibilities. They both date a few people whilst broken up and remain close friends, they were each other’s firsts (Harry’s 7th year) but were with other people too. After four years, Ginny made the Harpies first team and one the match for them. Like before, Harry and her ended up kissing in front of the entire stadium, they have been together ever since. 

~ Ron and Harry both became aurors but shortly after Remus retires (he was getting more tiered after the full moons with his age and Sirius’ book became a best selling novel in the muggle and wizarding world so he could support them comfortably), he became the DADA professor. After joining the aurors he never felt like it was a good choice for him and didn’t know what he wanted to do, so he just stuck it out. That was until Remus mentioned he was retiring early and that they were struggling to find a competent professor. 

~Ginny does take maternity leave with each of her children (Jake, Samuel and Lyra - because no one is dead) but still play for the harpies until she is forced to retire. After retiring she writes sports articles for both the Prophet and the Quibbler, becoming chief editor of both. Harry is able to take care of the kids whilst she is away, with the help of a nanny. They both couldn’t see a reason to put either of their careers on hold. 

~Ron revolutionized the strategies that were used and as a result far less people were harmed and more people joined the force. He still took a 7 year break to be a stay at home dad whilst Hermione was being a boss, but practically worked part time since everyone respected his opinion and always asked for his advice (he got paid half time wages because of this). When Rose and Hugo both went to a muggle primary school, Ron worked for them officially again, but because of all the work he had done he rose quickly through the ranks and when the old head of the aurors retired, he became head of the department.

~Fred didn’t die so him and Angelina became a permanent couple (they never wanted to or could be bothered with getting married). They always had an on and off thing since the Yule Ball, they were the only people that they ever were in love with, despite their previous inconsistency. They only had one kid together. Joseph Weasley. Fred wanted him to have a sibling like he had but Angelina only ever wanted one and he had many cousins, George had his second kid at the same time and the boys were practically twins. (Fred II is renamed to Luke Weasley, since Fred didn’t die)

~George married Katie Bell after running into her at Diagon Ally whilst locking up the shop (Fred was out with Angelina that night). They agreed to catch up and it resulted in them having an amazing time, which ended with Katie giving George her contact details. They got pregnant with Roxanne just after George had proposed, so the wedding was preponed until she was there. Unfortunately Katie got pregnant again with Luke just when they started planning the wedding. two years later they finally got married and their children walked down the isle (it was the cutest thing, Molly was weeping).  

~Percy and Oliver fall in love ( how do you expect two guys that are the definition of opposites attract share a room for 7 years and have nothing happen) Oliver stops Percy from being a complete prat as there is no ministry fall out with his family to get him to that point. Oliver makes him realize that his family are the greatest gift, especially with all their flaws. They have a small ceremony with only family and close friends and adopt a little witch naming her after Molly, three years later they adopt another witch and name her Lucy. 

~Snape and Lily still fall out with him calling her a mudblood, just because there wasn’t an group to kill those like her doesn’t mean he didn’t hang around with prejudice people and have those views. He still become potions professor when Slughorn retires. Though occasionally he will get howlers from the Potter’s and Longbottom's shouting at him for his behavior towards his students along with some howlers from Marlene and Dorcas, Emmeline, Mary, Sirius and Peter with use of his old nicknames they had for him. (because how dare he disrespect their friends kids)

~Peter still is friends with the marauders, but he moves away from them and distances himself every year to the point where they only write to each other to celebrate special occasions. He never finds a partner or has children but does become a pub manager and lives comfortably.   

~Draco and the Golden trio make their peace at the end of 7th year. They never become friends, they just forgive each other ( for the most part, him calling Hermione a mudblood is not forgiven). They act civilly towards one another, especially when Scorpius and Samuel announce that they are dating. They learn to tolerate but nothing more.  

[dogbearinggifts]

Protect Vanya. Stop Pretending She’s Innocent.

Because she’s not. 

She’s not innocent. She’s not a sad woobie who is buffeted about by larger and larger acts of cruelty until she inevitably snaps. She’s not the only blameless victim in a family of monsters. 

She is a victim, make no mistake. Robbed of her powers, excluded from family life by her father, ignored by her siblings—terrible things were done to her, and she neither deserved them nor brought them on herself.

But she most certainly is not blameless. 

It’s common to want to downplay or ignore the flaws of a character you identify with, and Vanya is nothing if not identifiable. Who hasn’t been left out of the group? Who hasn't felt like their voice was muted, their story ignored? Her story resonates with fans, and so it makes sense that they would want to defend her. It makes sense that they would want to ignore her flaws, focus on the moments when she’s victimized and not when she victimizes others. But do you know who suffers the most when we pretend she’s completely innocent of any wrongdoing? 

Vanya. 

Pretending She’s Innocent Disregards Her Agency 

Vanya has agency, and she uses it. She makes her own choices. The results of these choices wind up pushing her further and further away from her siblings and closer to her future as the White Violin, but that does not make the choices any less hers. 

Again, not everything that happens to her is her fault, but it’s important to acknowledge that the choices her siblings make regarding how they treat her do not come out of the ether. Allison chooses to ream her out for trying to sympathize with her painful divorce and custody battle; but because she brings up Vanya’s book in her lecture, it’s safe to assume that her anger is in part a result of the things Vanya wrote. Her siblings choose to hold a meeting without her, but Vanya was the one who chose to stay at an address where she could not be reached by phone rather than at the Academy or even her apartment. Allison chooses to try and Rumor her, but this is in direct response to Vanya’s threats and screaming rage that left her with no other defense. 

Luther chooses to choke her unconscious and lock her in an anechoic chamber, but he would not have done this if Vanya had not allowed herself to lose control of her anger and nearly kill her own sister, making herself appear to be an immediate threat to everyone currently under that roof. 

I’m not trying to downplay the awfulness of her siblings’ actions toward her. I am simply pointing out that Vanya’s behavior toward her siblings is no less deplorable, and part of the cycle in which she suffers. She had a choice in all of those situations I mentioned. She didn’t have to write her autobiography. She didn’t have to jump to conclusions upon seeing her siblings gathered without her, or upon hearing Allison’s confession. Vanya made perhaps the worst choice possible in all of those situations, but you can’t deny she had a choice simply because the result makes her look selfish. 

Pretending She’s Innocent Downplays Her Trauma

I know that seems counterintuitive. Current trends in trauma talk tend to make victimhood an either/or: either you are a victim, or you are a perpetrator. This is ridiculously simplistic and so wrong I could spend quite a few words explaining how, but I’ll sum up my rebuttal instead: 

Hurting people hurt people. 

I’ve seen this notion called by many names. The chain of pain. The cycle of abuse. Generational curses. Generational sin. (I grew up in a very religious household.) Call it whatever you like, but the principle remains the same. People who are hurt by others make self-centered choices to protect themselves from being hurt in the same way again; these choices hurt others in new ways, who go on to hurt others, and so on and so forth until someone breaks the cycle. 

Vanya was hurt as a child. There’s no way around it. She was deeply hurt, and excluded, and treated as if she was unwanted. Being told by her parent that she was ordinary, being forbidden from taking part in the family photos, hearing from her parent that he doesn’t think her existence is even worth mentioning—all of that is damaging and it’s no wonder Vanya has such deep scars. 

But not all of these scars can be romanticized. It’s easy to feel sympathy for a lost little girl who plays her violin while her siblings learn to be heroes; it’s far more difficult to muster up the same pity for a young woman who flies into a screaming rage because she refused to believe the truth of her sister’s soul-searching confession. It’s easy to cheer for a wounded woman as she finds the courage to tell her story; not so much when we learn that this act of empowerment harmed six people who neither asked nor wanted to be written about. 

Vanya is selfish. She is bitter, she is vindictive, she jumps to conclusions and she lacks empathy. All of these traits are a direct result of the trauma she suffered. She is selfish because she felt as if she got far less than her siblings as she grew up, and now she feels she must cling to the things she wants before they are taken away. She is bitter because she felt she had to watch her siblings be spoiled while she suffered; she is vindictive because she felt she had to sit and take whatever ill treatment she was given and now she is overcompensating. She jumps to conclusions because she didn’t know her siblings all that well, and so the only means she had to explain their behavior was to construct narratives in her head; and she lacks empathy because being excluded from and presented with a distorted picture of family life gave her few reasons or opportunities to practice empathy. None of these personality traits are attractive, but none of them would exist without her trauma. 

Ignoring these traits might make Vanya look better, true, but it also denies some of the most insidious effects of a childhood spent on the outskirts of her own family. 

Pretending She’s Innocent Lessens Her Importance to the Story

A common refrain in this fandom is that Vanya went on a rampage because she lost control of her powers. Every negative action she committed using her powers, every thing she did that harmed someone, is chalked up to a lack of control over the powers she just recently discovered. And she did lose control—but not of her powers. 

When I vented to a friend of mine, they said that “Vanya lacks control over her powers the same way somebody with anger issues lacks control over their fists.” Her powers aren’t the problem. They’re an extension of her emotions, and that is what she lacks control over. Watch her during her rampage. She actually exhibits very fine control over her powers—fine enough to flip a car that honked at her, fine enough to kill Pogo in a very gruesome way. She also has control over when those powers activate; if she lacked control of those powers, she would have instantly shredded Pogo the moment she saw him, rather than being able to wait until after she’d bullied him into a confession. 

When Vanya’s rampage, and the resulting apocalypse, are made into a result of powers she can’t control, those powers become more important than Vanya herself. Her choices no longer matter if her powers are in control. Her trauma, her background, her motivations—none of those matter. She is simply a vehicle for her powers. She is innocent of wrongdoing, but she is no longer important to the story. 

Vanya makes choices, as I’ve demonstrated. They’re awful choices, but they drive the story and influence what her siblings do. However, the corners of the fandom that wish to absolve Vanya of all blame portray these choices not as decisions on her part, but as inevitable reactions to negative stimuli. Of course she flew into a screaming rage when Allison confessed to Rumoring her; it’s not like she could have taken a deep breath and asked a few more questions. Of course she destroyed the Academy; it’s not like she could have simply broken out of her prison and moved on with her life. None of those were choices. None of those were Vanya. Those were simply results of what others did to her. She doesn’t matter; only her powers drive the story. 

When we acknowledge that Vanya’s harmful and self-destructive actions were the results of choices she made, Vanya becomes a character. She becomes a fully realized person with motivations and flaws, virtues and vices, whose decisions drive the story to a tragic conclusion. She is integral to a story that would not exist without her to drive it. 

When we pretend that her harmful and self-destructive actions were inevitable reactions to negative stimuli—or worse: her powers taking control of her—Vanya becomes little more than a MacGuffin. She is no longer a character; she is a walking plot device that will end the world if handled improperly. She is no longer vital to the story; her powers are the important thing. At this point, we might as well replace her with a nuke or an unusually volatile houseplant. 

Pretending She’s Innocent Perpetuates Toxic Narratives

In literature, especially Western literature, there is a narrative that abuse is a sort of purifying agent. Dumbledore expresses it most explicitly, when he says Harry “needed” to be abused by his aunt and uncle in order to develop strong character; but it’s far older than that. Cinderella often falls into this trope, what with the abuse victim being sweet and kind while her spoiled stepsisters are cartoonishly horrid. (I will say, though, that one thing I appreciated about the 2015 Cinderella remake was that “Have courage and be kind” was something instilled in her by loving parents before her father ever remarried. Cinderella’s sweet nature is something that managed to survive the abuse, not a result of it.) 

It is disturbingly common in this fandom to pretend that Vanya’s only flaws are a lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem. Her selfishness, her bitterness and lack of empathy are all downplayed or ignored; in some fanworks, she is even portrayed as kind and empathetic, a result of being left out as a kid and not wanting anyone to suffer the way she suffered. Not only does this deny Vanya’s canon characterization, but it plays into and perpetuates the notion that child abuse results in better children. 

I don’t think anyone in this fandom does so on purpose. I have yet to see a single fan attempt even a flimsy defense of the way Reginald treated his children, and Leonard is roundly condemned as the emotional abuser he is. This fandom is good at recognizing abuse, and it’s good at recognizing how harmful it is. Where it fails, though, is recognizing that the effects of abuse cannot and should not be romanticized. 

Vanya is a deconstruction of the broken bird, the unfavorite who was never in the limelight and always ignored. A child who grew up under the circumstances she faced would almost certainly not become kind and empathetic; they would become bitter and self-centered, resenting every moment they were not the center of attention, hating the siblings who stole their limelight. This is not pretty. It is not the sort of thing that lends itself to sweet fanart or beautiful poetry. It is not a tale of resilience and persistence; it is a tale of brokenness and perpetuation of the chain of pain. Vanya is hurting, and in her hurt, she hurts people. This is not the sort of story we like to tell ourselves, but it is the sort of story that happens far more often than we will ever care to admit. Vanya is not a romanticization of the unfavorite; she is realism. She is a result. 

Pretending otherwise does a disservice to very real people who share Vanya’s background. Child abuse does not result in better children; it results in broken adults who must learn how to function in society all over again. Depression and anxiety are not the only outcomes of abusive childhoods; adult survivors of child abuse also suffer from an inability to form and maintain relationships, poor social skills, aggression and violent behavior, and many other effects that would not lend themselves to a pretty piece of art. Child abuse is ugly, and the results are ugly. Romanticizing a character who exhibits that ugliness makes it that much more difficult for people to admit they see themselves in that ugliness, that this character’s most horrid traits remind them of their own behavior and made them realize what changes they need to make. 

The Umbrella Academy is not a tale of empowerment. It’s a tale of pain, and brokenness, and slowly but surely recovering yourself. It’s a tale of how abuse breaks children, and how that damage is turned on others. The Academy is a perfect mirror, a place where real survivors can see themselves in the characters they meet. It’s a place where it is okay to be messed up, where it’s okay to admit that the shit you went through as a kid turned you into a bully, or an addict, or a person who can’t take responsibility for anything, and where it’s okay to admit that you’ve hurt others. The Academy is where survivors can face their inner demons through the lens of fiction, where they don't have to pretend their demons made them better people. 

None of this can happen if we continue to romanticize one character’s abuse. 

[fragilemxnds]

Was that [JODIE COMER]? Oh no no, that was just [POPPY MCKINNON], an [OC] from [HARRY POTTER]. They are [TWENTY FOUR] years old and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

How long has your character been here?

poppy has been in d.c. for about a year now...

What is your character’s job?

poppy just recently started her own business. she owns a pr and marketing firm, this is literally a baby business. brand new. but she is doing her best, so be nice.

Where has your character been pulled from in their fandom?

poppy was pulled the night of her and her families d*ath.

Has any magic affected your character?

no, poppy remembers everything but chooses to have selective memory about certain things… (like the death of her entire family.)

And any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know:

poppy mckinnon was beautiful by anyone’s standards, she had long blonde hair, high cheekbones, soft round lips. she could look at any magazine or ad and see herself in it. she was surrounded by this beauty her whole life, being one of six girls that all held similar features. being in a large family never really bothered poppy when she was young, she always had someone to play with and someone to compete with. she blamed kit for that last part, maybe it was a process of elimination or maybe it was because poppy was just around at the wrong time but she constantly got pulled outside and was forced to stand and be the keeper. it was in situations like these that poppy started to take note that she didn’t have her thing. something to call her own, something that made her different than her sisters. 

It didn’t get annoying until she started noticing it in school. she remembered the first time one of her professors called her abi, then corrected it to kit… before laughing and giving her a half assed apology. she can still recall the scorching heat that rose to her cheeks, the feeling of her stomach clenching in embarrassment. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be her sisters, it’s just that she wanted to be her own person. she had spent so long being one of seven, and more importantly one of six girls. she learned to hate the feeling of not standing out, learned that her fixation on finding her own identity wasn’t childish but necessary. 

when she finally got to hogwarts nothing made her more excited than the sorting ceremony. she was convinced she would be the first of her family to be a ravenclaw. she had incredible marks and was learning and self teaching concepts above her year even before she started her first year. she perched herself on that stool with such an attitude and the hat barely touched a hair on her head before it shouted out ‘ slytherin’. she cried herself to sleep that night, tear drops staining the parchment she wrote to natalie on. she hadn’t told anyone of her wish, wanting to rub it in their faces that they were wrong about their predictions after she had her blue and bronze robes. and she continued to keep it a secret, putting of a fake smile when she joined her sisters at the table, writing to nat that those were the stains of happy tears. clearly the sorting hat didn’t think she was good enough for ravenclaw. she set out to prove it wrong.

poppy always had a sharp tongue, needing to defend herself against her sister’s tempers or the resident class bully ( although in laters years that may have been poppy herself). and her way with words only seemed to increase surrounded by the other slytherins, she made friends quickly and climbed the social ranks of her year as well. got in trouble quite a few times, talking back to professors, sneaking out, messing with prefects. nothing serious enough for her to be expelled and most of it was in good fun, well her good fun. she excelled in her classes, always producing one of the highest marks of her year consistently. the more time she spent at school, the better she felt about herself the more confident she became in the person she was. the less people compared her to her sisters, or mistook her for one of them. the quest of self discovery and self-importance did come with a downside though, and that was growing further and further apart from her sisters. when she was at school, with her friends, the world seemed to revolve around her and she started to expect that in other places in her life. when she would go home and fall back into just being another one of the kids or siblings she retaliated. she’d spend her nights sneaking out to see her friends, or locking herself in her room, complaining every possible chance she got over family charades games. she’d prioritize herself and her wants over her families yet they all still loved and looked out for her… even when she might not have done the same.

although in her 4th year at school kit went missing for five days. she couldn’t even tell you who was the first person to let her know, she blacked out in a panicked rage. she tore through the halls demanding to speak to professor dumbledore ( or dippet depending on time lines ya girl tried to research and did her best okay?) to know why they haven’t been scouring the forest to find her sister. those five days her sister was missing, poppy was a force to be reckoned with. she practically bit off anyone’s head that tried to talk to her, console her, or tell her what to do. yet, kit was found and poppy simply responded by hugging her sister before quickly saying “took you long enough” and strutting out of the room. 

things settled down as well as they could with a war raging around them. but hogwarts was always a well protected space and poppy was rather naive about it all. It wasn’t until her 6th year that she met him. poppy had never been in love before, she had crushes and childish “romances” but nothing serious before him. In the safety of the wall of school she had no idea what his life outside of them consisted of, had no idea what side his family had aligned themselves with. because none of that really mattered when they were together, they were happy and in love and just … perfect for each other. but then they were forced into reality after graduation. she was so sure that he was the one, that one of these days she walk into her house and flash the ring on her finger to all of her sisters and bask in all of their jealousy and awe. he took her to meet his family and she politely refrained from uncomfortable conversations. his mother loved her and would give her gifts, pull her aside and talk about how she could continue their family name with a line of great wizards. and part of her did want that, she wanted to settle down and start a family with him. she’d fight with him constantly about it, begging him to not follow in his family’s footsteps. that they could be happy as just the two of them. but eventually he didn’t choose her, she wasn’t good enough for him or his family and the expectations he held for them. the break up nearly broke her, she nearly lost her job at the ministry of magic over it, and somehow she got meaner. but as time went out, and the things in her world seemed to get worse, she pierced herself back together. determined to show him and whoever else doubted her that she was good enough, in fact she was better.

she was on track to do just that, she was promoted quickly in the ministry of magic’s department of magical accidents and catastrophes. if any one could spin a disaster into a non story or flip the narrative it was poppy mckinnon. her life was in a good spot so naturally that meant the universe had to shove her back down again. she was leaving work when she passed him on the street. he looked very different, stressed and tired, and he was in a hurry nearly pushing down people as he passed. just as she saw him, he saw her and they shared a quick glance and something in his eyes didn’t sit right with her, but she couldn’t place it. looking back now, that quick glance told her everything… it was a warning, but at the same time it was guilt, sadness, an apology? she couldn’t be completely sure, but as he continued walking she saw it on his left hand… a simple band. and she felt herself crashing all over again. she ended up in a pub soon after, attempting to drink away the image of him, to drink away the pain.

before walking into her house on that fateful night poppy made sure that every tear was wiped away, the stench of smoke and alcohol gone with a hefty perfume spell, and the widest smile she could muster. for once she didn’t complain when marlene asked for them to play charades, and for the first time in a while she had fun...welcoming the distraction. she was secretly thankful that marlene was leaving, she worried for her sister of course, but her own selfishness knew that her family was too preoccupied with marlene to notice how out of sorts poppy was. the events of that night happened all too quickly, poppy couldn’t spell them out for you even if she tried. all she remembers is her wand being thrust into her hands and shouting out spells as best she could. she knew they weren’t landing, and if they were they weren’t as strong as they once were. she was very quickly losing this fight, her emotions and intoxicated state winning over her as she continued to fight against them and the death eaters that stormed her home. she felt the hot, wet, tears trickle down her cheek as kit dropped next to her. she put her absolute all into the last curse but it wasn’t enough and she soon joined her sister on the floor.

poppy wished she could forget, wished she could wipe the guilt from her soul of failing her family. wished she could go back and do it all differently, to stop him that earlier that day and demand the truth from him. to be able to save her family and herself from making such a poor decision. but she couldn't because she was stuck in d.c. and now had to figure out her new life here. she thankfully found a job pretty quickly, at a small public relations firm. she outgrew their business though and without many places to grow, she decided to venture out on her own. she started her own marketing and pr firm. she is nervous and insecure but she is still determined to prove to others that she is good enough, and now on top of that she has to prove to herself that she is good enough. she still can be quite nasty (esp. since she is stressed out with starting a whole new business), and still isn’t the closest with her siblings or parents but part of that has to do with guilt and the pain of losing them. she is starting her new life over but whether that new life comes with a redemption arc … is solely up to her. 

[erenevune]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Plotholes

So, obviously there will be spoilers for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in this post/rant. If you have no wish to be spoiled, stop reading now and scroll away.

First off I would like to preface by saying that I've seen the play twice now so I have a pretty good idea of what happens in it. Once in London (2017) and again in Melbourne a couple weeks ago (2019), and though I own the script I haven't read yet. However I have read this lovely version of it. They took the script and wrote it as a novel without removing any of the original script and incorporating somethings in to connect the scenes ad plausibly as possible. Go read it, it's great. https://archiveofourown.org/works/7666957

Anyway, I like the play. It's fun to watch and the music and sound effects and such are amazing. Scorpius is the best and I adore him. That isn't to say I don't have major problems with the story itself. We all know there are many many many plot holes and that Rowling didn't write it herself, but she does consider it canon to the series which is annoying because it breaks rules set in the previous Harry Potter books. I have a few points I have the most issues with.

I dedicate this rant to @onehealer to whom I ranted with about this for an hour through DM's.

So firstly: Fidelius charm who?

In the final act, Scorpius and Albus can see the potters house even though it's under the fidelius charm. They've never been there before, Harry tried multple times to take Ablus it seems but was turned down, and only read about it in books at most.... does that count as them knowing the Secret? No, it doesn't otherwise people who knew the address of the home before the charm was cast they would know. It can be excused that Delphi technically was never shown to have known where the house was, only knowing they were in Godrics Hollow... which also goes with the fact that knowing the address in the future meant nothing. Imagine Voldemort pulling out a phone book to find their address and suddenly being able to see their home. It also seemed like she didn't want to go after the Potters herself, she was only there to get to Voldemort first. So that's fine.

The issue is that somehow the two boys were able to see through the charm. And going with this vein, how did Ron, Hermione and Draco see as well? Literally only Harry should be able to see the Potter home because he was part of what the charm was protecting and thus knew the Secret, even if he was only a baby at the time.

Time travel should not negate the charm, why would that work? The charm is still active in the time they currently exist in, and this is an ancient, powerful and complex spell too.

"Maybe they knew because Harry told Albus about it." Sure, that could have worked, but it doesn't. When the Secret Keeper dies, anyone who was told the Secret becomes a Secret Keeper (Because you can originally choose more than one), so when Peter Pettigrew died, at the very least Harry would have the Secret. Probably Dumbledore and Sirius too, at least. But the problem with that is that the Fidelius charm was broken the night Lily and James Potter died, thus there was no longer a Secret. How else would the location become common knowledge in the Wizarding World? There's a monument to the Potters for crying out loud. People visited to pay their respects to them. So, Albus was never told the Secret because there wasn't one any longer.

There's literally no way anyone but Harry should have been able to see the Potter home. Even giving it some rope, they shouldn't have been able to see the house until Harry points it out to them, aka tells them where it is, because it could be argued that he could technically give out the Secret, having been part of it originally, but even then he wasn't a Secret Keeper and from how I understand it, just because you knew the secret didn't give you the ability to tell anyone unless you're a Secret Keeper.

The worst part about this plot hole is that not only is it massive, the plot of the story relies on it's existence to progress. Sometimes plot holes can be forgiven, but when the story relies on their existence? Especially such an enormous one? No, just no.

(As a little aside, I just want to bring attention to the fact Scorpius and Albus somehow made their way from Hogwarts, in the Scottish Highlands, to Godrics Hollow in less than a day. That's a long way, not to mention they had no wands, no food, no money, no sleep, no warm clothes and probably not wanting to risk talking to any wizards for fear if changing the timeline or accidently finding a Death Eater. There's also the fact Scorpius had just been Crucio'd at least 3 times in the last hour. Kudos to Scorpius for managing to get there with Albus, hot damn.)

Second, Wtf Albus?

Seriously, wtf. Don't get me wrong, I do like Albus but he's definitely a spoiled/ungrateful little brat at times, with as Scorpius puts it, a chip on his shoulder.

The thing I, well I wont say hate because i do like his character but it's close enough, most about him is his decision to go back and save Cedric in the first place. Like its a nice thought, but dude, why?

Why does Cedric deserve to live more than literally anyone else Voldenort killed? What makes him more deserving of you risking everything to go back and save?

Why does a 17yr old who signed up for a tournament that is known to have resulted in the deaths of its competitors many times in it's history, deserve to live more than all those 11-17 year olds killed at Hogwarts trying to flee or fight? All the adults who fought and died in the battle? All those people killed during either war? A lot of people who died because of Voldemort didn't sign up to put themselves in danger.

If it's about some semblance of a connection, of which there really isn't any in this case, what about Fred? Your uncle? Someone your uncle George probably still dies inside over? I mean he even gave up their joke shop to Ron, possibly to avoid memories of the twin brother who died?

Why does some kid you have no connection to other than his dad blaming yours for killing him when he literally had no way of knowing what the fuck was going on until he was already dead?? Why does he deserve to live more? I don't get it.

And then he blames Harry for Cedric's death like he had any chance to prevent it? Dude, seriously, he was the SAME AGE as you are now when this happened, I'd fucking like to see you do better??

Another thing I dislike is that Albus is never really able to experience the consequences of his actions and what could have happened. Because, you know, he stopped existing and Scorpius had to deal with it on his own.

There's also the way he treats Harry but I'll get to that in a sec.

Harry was doing his best, honestly he was. He sometimes seems a little out of character, but even still. I understand why he could be seen that way. We know he's under a lot of stress from his work at the Ministry, especially since it's to do with creatures that sided with Voldemort that are going missing or whatever. Then there's the nightmares involving Voldy and his scar hurting again after years of nothing. Stress, lots and lots of stress.

Then there's Albus. Harry has trouble understanding his son, he's not easy like James and Lily. Which is fine. But the problem is that Harry tries his best to reach Albus but he's never met halfway.

Albus seen my to refuse to believe anything but hero propaganda about Harry and his life at Hogwarts, and seems to have ignored literally anyone in his adult family who says differently. He doesn't seem to grasp to suffering and trauma that Harry has and grew up with, and scoffs in the face of it. Harry isn't perfect, but he's a good dad trying his best with a child who is frankly quite ungrateful.

Albus was being a little fucking spoiled brat to Harry and the poor dude was probably at his wits end with the one kid of his he didn't truly understand and who went out of his way to hate on everything Harry did and went through in his life. Like I said, Harry was under lots of stress from his job and so of course he would snap, anyone would, and say something they regret when provoked. Especially when you're trying your best to connect with your kid, even if it's not going great it's still an effort to do so, and then your kid just out and out says he wishes he wasn't your son? I think a lot of people would retort with something similarly hurtful. Harry immediately regrets it but both parties have been hurt so Albus storms off.

It's very annoying that everyone else in the play seems to be blaming Harry for Albus hating being his son and running off / running off to do something stupid. He was very obviously doing his best even though Albus was giving him nothing to work with. And for some strange reason people seemed to think Harry was in any way popular in 4th year? Like seriously people, where the fuck did that idea come from? Everyone hated Harry in his 4th year lol. Albus must be getting his info from a source as credible as Rita Skeeter if that's the case, that or every character magically, ha, forgot what really happened.

I also get annoyed at how they deal with the first alternate timeline. The first time they mess with time, Hermione and Ron never get married, Ron marries and has a son with Padma Patil and Albus ends up in Gryffindor. Harry proceeds to force a separation between the two boys for Albus safety, having been told there was a "black cloud" around his son. Of course the only person Albus hangs out with is Scorpius, and assuming events happened the same they had just jumped off the Hogwarts Express and gone missing for a bit, and assuming they had the same argument where they both say they wish they weren't the father/son of the other person, then it makes some sense what Harry does. Also, it's an alternate timeline.

But Scorpius tells Albus none of the events in Harry's life changed, so it seems like their meddling didn't change him. At all. I'm sorry, what the actual fuck? Scorpius I love you but no.

Just because the events stayed the same doesn't mean Harry personally wasn't changed in many small ways. There are people and life changing events erased from his experiences. His two best friends never got married and had kids, because Ron never got jelous over Hermione being Krums Yule Ball date. You trying to tell me that Ron and Hermione becoming different people with entirely different personalities didn't have any effect on Harry what so ever??? Bullshit. Like this was a direct and very significant change in his personal timeline and history, I refuse to believe this didn't change him. Hell, he might not even enjoy his job. Hermione isn't Minster for Magic so who knows whether the Ministry was properly freed of corruption and what polices and changes no longer exist, and what new ones might. So many little things that build up and shape someone's personal experiences and shape their personality.

I don't remember if it was ever directly addressed, but I think it was mentioned at the end of the play, but it says/implies(?) that Harry would have separated them and launched an investigation into Scorpius' parentage in the original timeline as well as the alternate one? I don't know if I believe that, and it's unclear if certain things still happened for everyone other than the boys because the changes the boys made were prevented later on when Scorpius is in the alternate universe where Harry was killed.

Another small aside, thank fuck for Scorpius. When he snapped and said something along the lines of "Oh poor little Albus Potter with his chip on his shoulder. At least your dad will always be your dad, mine won't be because everyone wants to tell me it's Voldemort. They want to tell me my poor sweet dead mother was such a monster to have a kid with him." Like damn someone really needed to tell Albus to stop whining about how apparently horrible and selfish his dad is.

Lastly, how the Time Turners function. Yes, I get these are new and one of a kind Time Turners designed and created outside Ministry regulation and designed to go back years at a time. However, it was originally established that time travel in this world with them works as a closed loop. They travel back in time because they already did. Harry survived the Dementors because he cast a patronus charm, and then went back in time to cast that charm because he already did, and if he hadn't he wouldn't have survived to go back in the first place. Closed loops.

In this however, they did actually do things that never happened. They probably even changed how Ron and Hermione got together, because it's unclear if they also prevented Albus casting the fireworks into the air above the second task declaring "Ron loves Hermione".

The only benefit of this fuckery with how Time Turners work is that it would then make sense why time travel fucks everything up so much it creates alternate timelines and alternate universes. It's still annoying that they casually fucked with how it's supposed to work but it's not as big an issue as the Fidelius charm thing. Also why did Hermione of all people keep the fucking thing??? Like I understand to an extent but seriously, and then to have such lax security on it? For fucks sake, don't you remember being 11 and getting past all the security put on the philosophers stone??!?! You might as well have put the time Turner in wrapping paper in comparison, because at least those ones had the potential to seriously maim or kill you.

Scorpius was a great character, I adore him and he was actually really well written. He's the sweetest thing and needs all the hugs. His relationship with his dad (Draco) is also amazing and a well written dysfunction of different personalities and effects of grief, but Draco loves his son no matter what and constantly tries his best. Despite my rant, I also like Albus and I adore their friendship and their dynamic. I don't mind character flaws, but sometimes they do get over the top and annoying like they did with Albus for a while there, mostly because of the way it influenced the plot.

I dont know, I probably missed shit I wanted to say and maybe got a little harsh sometimes but eh, it's a rant for a reason lol. I love the play, but once I start thinking about things that's when it goes a lot downhill from there haha.

Also Scorpius is amazing and I adore him. :)

[frasier-crane-style]

Let Me Tell You About The Bad Opinions of OthERs

Who doesn’t like Bender? (note: since this reaction is going to come up a lot, I’m just going to use a gif for it.)

Still, you’d have to be a pretty churlish asshole not to realize Bender is both a great example of a ‘jerk with a heart of gold’ character as well as being a deconstruction of that trope at the same time--making him often times just as bad as he says he is instead of an undercover sweetheart.

Really the opposite in my experience. McGonagall, who co-signs most of Dumbledore’s decisions, is seen as some huge badass while Dumbledore is seen as the Midget Hitler to Voldemort’s Wizard Hitler. Still, I think a deconstruction of the ‘wisely old wizard mentor’ trope where he is also a ruthless chessmaster (without just doing a straight-up heel turn) is worth some credit.

Who doesn’t like Gandalf? The Hobbit movies as a whole are largely worth it solely because we get Ian McKellan back as Gandalf, making all these Tolkien adaptations a unified whole before his death. Even if the movies were better, shit just wouldn’t be the same without McKellan.

Maybe we can chalk this one up to a lot of Tarantino wannabes clogging up the works, but at the time, sociable crooks like Vincent and Jules, who had well-written conversations about random pop culture bullshit, were not really in the public eye. It’s a somewhat overused trope these days, but imagine if a longish segment were about the Wolf. He’d just quietly, efficiently go about his work. Would that really be as fun to watch as two charismatic performers carrying on debates and occasionally making a mess of things?

I’m imagining the crime movie equivalent of Abed’s horror story where the two teen lovers hear about an escaped serial killer and immediately stand back to back holding kitchen knives for the whole movie.

Is Wolverine overrated? I think there are people so tired of him being overhyped that the overrating wraps around to him being underrated. Regardless, he’s been in a number of good movies, had iconic vocal performances in the cartoon, and even had some decent videogames. That’s worth a high rating, isn’t it?

(If we really wanted to get ballsy, we’d say Storm is overrated. Just as many creator’s pet moments as Wolverine, her performances in adaptations are usually campy, and oh, did I mention every villain wants to seduce her?)

But Shadowcat is underrated? She’s one of the most popular X-Men! Most male comic book writers are in love with her. She’s been in relationships with Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and has lesbian subtext with every X-Woman there is. C’mon, people.

While it’s subjective whether Skylar is a fun character to watch (which I would think is at the root of her being ‘underrated’), she’s hardly as accomplished as this makes her out to be. Whereas Hank managed to take out the Twins, Skylar became an accomplice in Walt’s crimes, only avoiding prison time because he took all the blame. Her strategy for “getting concessions” was offering herself up as a sex slave. 

Again, who underrates T’Challa? If anything, people ignore that:

A. He psychotically pursued vengeance against the man he blamed for killing his father.

B. Managed to inspire so little loyalty in his subjects that a huge number jumped onboard a coup, including a personal friend.

C. Agreed to a boxing match with his cousin that lost him his kingdom and almost destroyed the world when he could’ve ended the movie right there simply by saying “Fuck no, you’re under arrest.”

D. Failed to successfully apprehend Klaw, which again would’ve stopped the movie right there.

Qui-Gon spearheaded Plan “let’s train this clearly traumatized and emotionally maladjusted boy as our Messiah, but not bother to free his mother from slavery or anything.” Boba Fett is an interesting side character who tracks down Han Solo (which is kinda important to Empire’s entire third act, dontchaknow) and exuded enough menace and mystery for fans to want to see more. 

And we’re really not going to go to the Sequels for any of the ‘Most Overrated’? Hell, Kylo Ren at least deserves a Most Underrated for being a compelling character despite being written like the bad guy in a Three Stooges short.

[comprosedreviews-blog]

Sweet Black Waves by Kristina Perez (with Monica)

In the end, I gave it a two out of five stars on Goodreads, though I’m feeling like it should be closer to one and a half. 

I feel kind of bad for this story because I think part of the reason I ended up not enjoying it as much as I otherwise would have was that I didn’t know it was a fairy tail// legend// folklore retelling. Had I known that--and the story itself-- I think I would have enjoyed looking for the connections and differences between the original myth and the story the author chose to tell. 

But I hadn’t known, so I didn’t. 

I ended up finding out this was a retelling right at the entrance of the third act, and AS SOON AS I KNEW I googled the story, read a few different iterations, and tried to forgive the bits that I really disliked using this newfound knowledge and the (admittedly) skilled weaving of original story and imagination showcased in the debut. 

As you might have gleaned from my rating, however, this didn’t work out so well for me. WELL, MONICA--you might be saying--WHY DID YOU EVEN BOTHER TELLING US ALL OF THIS? 

Well readers, I tell you this because if you do know the story of Iseult and Tristan, then you very well might LOVE this telling of it and I really really do not mean to ‘yuck your yum’ as I am inclined to say. My initial ignorance and dislike of some of the tropes utilized in the book definitely affected my feelings for it and in the interest of being fair, I wanted to inform you of my bias. 

K? K. Now for my (mostly unspoilery) review. 

Firstly, here’s the summary included on Goodreads for your reference: 

“Two proud kingdoms stand on opposite shores, with only a bloody history between them. As best friend and lady-in-waiting to the princess, Branwen is guided by two principles: devotion to her homeland and hatred for the raiders who killed her parents. When she unknowingly saves the life of her enemy, he awakens her ancient healing magic and opens her heart. Branwen begins to dream of peace, but the princess she serves is not so easily convinced. Fighting for what's right, even as her powers grow beyond her control, will set Branwen against both her best friend and the only man she's ever loved.”

The weird thing about me as a reader is that I usually like to read the first or second paragraph of the blurb and then dive into a book because SO OFTEN now, events halfway through the book are spoiled in the blurb. In this case, it bit me in the butt. Why? Because in paragraph NUMBER 3 (which I never ever read) the fact that this is a retelling is made blatantly obvious. 

How. 

Stupid. 

Am.

I?

ANYWAY, from the bit I’ve included, I wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of this book. I was pretty sure it was going to read like a lot of other books I had picked up earlier in my reading life and I was definitely right. I almost DNF’d this book several times just because it wasn’t anything special. Don’t get me wrong, the writing was okay, the story was okay, but it just felt like it was a regurgitation of a lot of tropes I’d already seen and one that I really, really hated. 

Enter my rant about insta love. Because, yeah, that trope is in here. 

Enter mild spoilers. If you don’t want to see them (even though they happen in the very first few pages of the book) then go ahead and skip until you see a gif of a frustrated monkey)

The romance of the story starts almost immediately and it starts because of this sequence of events: main character sees pretty boy drowning. Falls in love with pretty boy’s abs. Realizes pretty boy is from a place she hates. Pretends that she hates him because of this but I as a reader didn’t buy it since every other sentence she was already convincing herself that maybe she didn’t hate this country because OH YEAH, this guy is pretty. 

I’m sorry, but if you really hate a place and a people that much, one handsome face isn’t going to change your mind in the course of A DAY. I mean, she basically blames this huge group of people for the demise of her parents... and we’re supposed to believe that she’s already changing her mind? She did like literally zero things to tell me she ever hated anyone. And sure, it takes her like, a week of going back and forth between the cave to FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM, but she kind of throws away a hatred we’re supposed to believe is super strong after thinking he was hot. 

No. I’m sorry. I hate hate as much as the next person, but I would have liked to see it devolve because of his kindness, or her realization that her misconceptions of his people were wrong, not because he was rocking a killer tan. 

In spite of the insta love, however, there was a day that I was reading this where I couldn’t put it down. Idk, call me a sucker for a romance or whatever, because that’s what kept me reading. I really like seeing love begin and all the stuff that comes in hand with it. Plus, earlier into the story I kind of liked our main character. She was responsible, a good healer, just nice to root for. And the friendship between her and Essy was done really well. 

But then things started to change for the worse for me. The main character kind of began to devolve and make decisions I thought didn’t allign with who she was and the story began to drag. I felt like whole sections of the book took me years to get through and could have been cut. I also think that-- maybe for the first time ever-- the story didn’t begin early enough. 

*gasp* I know. I just said that. 

If we had gotten the chance to at least see Branwen believe (or not believe) some of the things we were told she did/didn’t, then it might have been easier to feel close to her as a character. As it is now, it feels like I was info dumped too much and not shown enough.

(Again, minor spoilers.. so if you don’t want to read them, skip to the gif of Dumbledore. Everyone loves Dumbledore.) 

This is what the book did:

BOOK: Magic crap happens

Branwen (all of a sudden and out of nowhere): Oh yeah, by the way it’s kind of important that you know that I totally don’t believe in the Old Ones at all. What is religion? My parents are like dead and nothing saved them so yeah. No way.

Queen Alana (who has presumably always been very vocal about her Old Ones belief): Girl, they’re real.

Branwen: I HAVE BEEN ENLIGHTENED!!!

Me: ... ... ...

My other problem was that the climax didn’t feel too climactic. Stuff happens (WHAT A SPOILER OMG) that might appear climactic, but you honestly don’t even know some of it happened until all the action has stopped. And at that point, you just don’t really care. I’m thinking of one thing in particular and if you have read the book you likely know what it is. That was a shame to me because I feel like that moment could have really added to the feelings felt in the climax and brought this book up a peg. As it was I was left feeling like... this is it? That’s... all I get? 

All that being said I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I predicted it like half a book before, but the way it was written really made me consider wanting to read the second. I’m a sucker for a good cliff. 

I feel like I just basically spat on the whole book, so before I say goodbye I just want to add this: there was nothing problematic in the book as far as I could tell. There wasn’t anything that made me think WOW this is garbage, it just wasn’t for me and that’s okay. If there’s an insta love moment in a book A LOT has to happen to win me back to that book’s side, and this book just didn’t make the cut.

Let me know what you guys thought if you did read it, and as always if you have any questions feel free to ask them on the blog or leave a comment below!

Thanks,

Monica

[acciotomriddle]

You know, I caught myself thinking that I wish Deathly Hallows was never released, if only this constant wank on Snape and Dumbledore wouldn't have happened. It's fucking ridiculous. Snape wasn't a nice guy, but also wasn't An Absolute Evil Ever. Dumbledore was shady AF, but he also wasn't the absolute evil people are painting him as. I'm just tired of that, and it resulted in me resenting DH.

The thing is, when DH first came out people loved the thing with Severus, thinking it was a brilliant twist. People adored him, he was featured in so many fanfics, and fans acknowledged his nastiness while still respecting his potential and his good points

It’s only tumblr that has that toxic mindset where Severus has become a scapegoat for hate. Like yes, he was cruel to his students and there’s no excusing that, but doing bad stuff doesn’t cancel out your good deeds (and vice versa). Severus is literally a grey character so he isn’t all good and he isn’t all bad, but tumblr folk can’t seem to wrap their heads around that. Like sure, call him out for not being kind to students, but there’s no need to make up shit about how he was an obsessive stalker who never did anything good ever (plus the people who go one further and claim the Marauders were entirely innocent and young Severus deserved to be bullied)

There’s valid reasons to dislike Severus, and valid reasons to like him. I don’t get why people struggle to say “Yeah, Severus was good in the end which I appreciate because he helped  stop Voldemort, but also I can’t forgive him for bullying students.” Like that’s literally all there is to it

And don’t get me started on Dumbledore. The shit people make up about him is even worse than  Severus, like claiming he should have known everything and that he manipulated every single character for his own gain, and that he somehow had incredible foresight into the future and how dare he not use that ability to prevent character’s deaths

Like, Dumbledore is smart and powerful but it isn’t a god. He was literally trying to stop a Dark Lord killing everyone and taking over, and yeah he made some shady decisions, but he made those decisions considering them the lesser of the two evils. In war there’s sometimes no choice but for bad things to happen, and Dumbledore was just trying to limit the badness 

Literally all the arguments against Dumbledore would backfire. People are quick to criticise him but never offer any solutions of their own (because they know there’s no other option that would work.)

Anyway, you’ve set me off on a rant lol. I understand your resentment of DH, but I personally blame the toxic tumblr community that spreads hate and runs by people spreading lies until enough people have convinced themselves it’s the truth

[prophet-of-troy]

Believe in Me Severus x Petunia

Wrote this as an odd pairing idea. I love odd pairings, but don’t usually have pairing ideas that can be considered odd. I love Sirius x Severus. Any ideas or something you think I should write? Let me know what you think.

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, he thought to himself as he stared at his arm. He had known they weren't the 'good guys' in this impending war that was descending upon the Wizarding World, but that had mattered little given the fact that they were the only ones who ever treated him like a fellow human being. They cared about his opinion of things, seemed to find him interesting, and actively sought him out for discussions. But, after tonight, after seeing the monstrous light in their eyes at the prospect of torturing someone- Muggle or no- he decided that perhaps that wasn't a good thing. And what did that say about him, about his character, if these were the only ones accepting of him? If everyone else insisted upon grouping him with them?

Looking down at the grotesque image on his forearm, that writhing thing that seemed to be an outward tell of this black imperfection he felt marring his soul, he knew exactly what it said of his character. How apt that it should be called the 'Dark Mark'. It had been the worst pain he had ever felt, both physical and mental- the so called Dark Lord forcing his way into Severus' mind with a sharp, unyielding pain that lingered even now. What had he done?

Maybe the self proclaimed 'Marauders' had a point, if this is what he had let Lucius lead him into. That wasn't fair, to blame his fellow Slytherins and now fellow Death Eaters- though he shivered at the term. They may have led him to the Dark Lord, but he had let them.

What would Lily say? He flinched at the thought. She hadn't said anything to him since fifth year when he called her that stupid word. She'd looked at him- glanced from her new found place at Potter's side, each time with a betrayed heartbroken look that made him hate himself all over again. Then, Potter stood up in front of the entire school at their last Leaving Feast and asked her to marry him. He was sure he'd never hated anyone so much as he hated Potter in that moment. Then Lily, his sweet Lily, said yes. And he hated her too.

He rubbed the heels of his hands hard into his eyes, trying to grind away the image of the poor Muggle girl being raped and tortured by those he might have once called friends. That was before their Master announced what was to be their entertainment for the night. He had still felt sick from being Marked, and every one else had this evil gleam lighting a fire in their eyes. No amount of pressure on his eyes burned away what he'd seen. No volume of music or television drowned out the screams he still heard ringing in his ears. Nothing could take away from this immense loathing he felt at himself. At Lucius and the Slytherins. At Dumbledore and the Marauders. At the world.

Severus shot out of his chair and bolted from the house, not sure where he was going until he got there. This had been their place, equal distance between both of their houses. She hadn't come, that he could tell, since fifth year. But he had come every day that summer. He had stood in the pouring rain and the killing damned heat. But she never came. So why was he here now?

Around the tree, their tree that they'd climb together, he heard a noise and almost called her name- but he knew she'd leave and he was desperate to get even a glance at her. It didn't matter, it wasn't her anyway. It was her sister; her long dark hair and long horse-like neck hard to mistake for anyone else.

“What are you doing here?” He demanded harshly. Didn't she understand this was their place?

The girl jumped, whirling around automatically on the defensive. “I can be anywhere I want, Snape!”

He almost made a comment, bring up her desperate attempts to follow them to Hogwarts. He wanted- needed- to see the pain in her eyes that he felt in his heart. But when she turned around, he already saw the pain there, hidden not too well behind the red from recent tears- and he stopped. She held her left arm tightly and he vaguely thought about his own. Maybe she'd broken it.

But he saw the familiar purple stain of a bruise that seemed to be climbing her skin, and he pulled her arm to look at it. It was in the shape of a beefy hand, too big to be anyone's he knew. Except that whale of a person Lily said her sister had been courting. Victor?

“Did Victor do this?” He asked, somewhere in his mind replacing her with the abuse his mother had been forced to suffer.

Something flickered in her eyes and he had his answer, but she jerked her arm back. “Vernon loves me, freak. He'd never do anything to hurt me.”

“Really?” He sneered. “Because your arm tells an entirely different story. A man should never raise his hand to woman.”

Petunia glared. “Accidents happen. And don't give me that high and mighty speech. We all heard about what you said to Lily!”

Like a switch, he didn't care anymore and she was back to being Lily's insufferable sister. “Fine,” he snarled. “It means nothing to me if he kills you! But, remember, it was only an 'accident'.”

He stormed off towards his house, and her to hers, and he'd forgotten what he came to forget. * It had been a week since his encounter with Petunia Evans. A week since he'd made his final decision about his allegiance. A week of making excuses and avoiding the other Death Eaters. It had been a very lonely week, even if he would never say so. That still didn't excuse him as he stood near the front door, coat on and glaring at the door knob as if it had personally offended him. He kept telling himself that there was no way Petunia would be there again, and Lily definitely wouldn't be. It was a place he could be alone. He told himself that the Bruise Paste in his pocket was for emergencies- just a handy thing to have on him- and not for that stupid Muggle girl.

Finally, after another reprimand to his person, he grabbed the door knob and yanked the door open to make the walk to the park. It was good, he told himself, that she wasn't there. He could think to himself in peace. Thinking, though, was rather boring here in this grassy area alone with no sound but the whistling wind. So he had made up his mind to go home, when her voice cut through the breeze.

She was walking up the hill to the tree, her hair blown in the wind around her face and her arms crossed to shield herself from the chill. Typical, useless Muggle- not wearing a jumper in this weather. “Still waiting here for her? She's not coming, and you're just being pathetic now.”

His nostrils flared at the slight. “I'm not waiting for anyone,” he insisted. “Especially not for the likes of her. Can't someone come here to get some peace and quiet? Or do you just ruin everything?”

“You're the one here after seeing me come to the park. If you were so hard-pressed for being alone, might you try the library or your own home? No one asked you to be here.”

Her arm was still bruised, but there was a new one peeking under her shirt on her shoulder. And she was calling him pathetic? Severus glared, digging into his deep pockets for the Bruise Paste and throwing it lightly at her face. It was a pity she caught it.

“Cover yourself up, will you?” He scoffed. “It's disgusting.”

He walked off, in a slower stride than the last time. Damn her, he thought to himself. That was for emergencies.

Lucius was waiting for him when he returned home, a pinched look on his face and looking around with an expression of repulsion. He tried to hide it when he saw Severus approach.

“Severus,” he drawled. “I heard you've been sick.”

Dragon Pox, was the exact excuse he gave Mulciber. “Yes. Today is the first day I've felt myself this week so I thought I'd take a stroll. Won't you come in?”

Lucius' nose wrinkled further. “That won't be necessary,” he said. “Cissa just wanted to be sure you weren't too sick to attend her annual Christmas party. I hear it's going to be even grander than last year's.”

Severus forced a smile. “Please assure her that I wouldn't miss it.”

“She'll expect you to bring a date, Severus. Remember what happened the year before last when she tried to set you up with that friend of hers. I doubt Merlin himself could stop her from trying again if you come alone. It's time you get over that redheaded Mudblood once and for all.”

There was a warning tone to his voice and that sentence that Severus forced himself not to react to. “I was a fool,” he said. “Rest assured, the chit means nothing to me anymore.”

Lucius' lips twisted into a small smirk of satisfaction and he tipped his head ever so slightly. “Very well. I shall try to restrain Narcissa come time, but it would still do you good to bring someone.”

He turned around gracefully and straightened his robes in a swift and officious motion Severus had seen the blonde's sire make and walked off. Severus waited until he heard the crack of Apparition before going into his house. Yes, it was time for him to forget about Lily. She was, after all, meant to marry Potter the next summer. He would not allow himself to pine. It was beneath him. Especially for one who obviously cared nothing for him. What did Petunia call it? Pathetic.

Well that made two of them. * “Don't you ever get tired of stalking me?” She asked imperiously, her nose turned up, her hair hidden under a bright red beret and her cheeks and nose a shade of pink from the cold. At least she was wearing a coat this time.

“If I was stalking you,” he said, “You wouldn't know it until it was too late, I promise.”

She scoffed. “Like you would do anything. You're all talk, Snape.”

“And you?” He asked. “I remember you writing letters to the headmaster, begging to be accepted into Hogwarts. What you be able to do there with no magic? I suppose you could have been a target. Everyone needs something to practice on, and I'm sure you'd scream so well when they hexed off your head.”

He wasn't sure there was actually a spell or curse to do that, but it gave him the reaction he wanted- the pale pink darkening into a bright red to match her hat. Her lips pursed and she stomped over to him, shoving him hard with both hands. She was somewhat pretty, he thought, when she was really angry. Though, not the same way as Lily. Lily looked like a defending heroine when she was angry. Petunia looked something of a harpy.

“Why don't you go run off to your freaky little friends? Don't you have someone to torture with something that isn't your presence?”

Severus pulled his wand from his sleeve, making a short crackle of magic form at the tip with a sinister smile. “As a matter of fact....”

He wasn't going to do anything, but she didn't have to know that. She shoved him again, her eyes narrowing. “You, you, Death Eater!”

She had to have heard that term from Lily, and he wasn't sure what made him more angry- Lily saying it, or her sister repeating it most likely without the knowledge of what it actually was. He harshly grabbed her wrists and twisting them away from him. Her eyes widened with a touch of fear that he felt sick for taking pleasure in.

“Don't. Call. Me. That.”

Petunia struggled to get her hands away from him, rubbing them absently when she did. And he watched her leave hurriedly, looking back with a scared face that made him agree with her.

Death Eater.

[verdisketch]

Reply for @minutia-r and @polar-night-scout, minu first bc i was drafting as scout appeared, this is a lot of scrolling sorry guys

MINU:

The thing I would take issue with is that Tuuri never ever says she shouldn't have gone.  She says that she thought it wouldn't happen, and one might infer that therefore if she had known it would happen she wouldn't have gone and now that it has happened she regrets going, but she never actually says that and I don't think that's the only possible way to understand what she says.  In fact, when she does say something on the subject (albeit before she knows for sure that she's infected) she says she doesn't regret going.  Not because she is still holding out hope that she isn't infected (although she is at that point) or because she considers the journey worth it even if she is infected, but just because it's in her nature and she couldn't have done otherwise.  So in that sense, yes, tragic hero, because her doom is inevitable and the only way she could have avoided it is to have been a different person.  But I don't think that it's necessarily an indictment of Tuuri's character traits?  Which you could describe as flaws, or even tragic flaws, but part of what makes Tuuri such a great character is that she has the flaws of her virtues and the virtues of her flaws.  The same traits that get her into trouble or cause her to harm others are the same ones that make her such a joy to be around and give her life direction and purpose.  And, in the end (if this is the end of Tuuri's story, which it might be, but it's also possible that it's not, one way or another) I think it's important that she lived and died on her own terms.  I don't even see her suicide in terms of giving up; it was an active step she took in order to avoid the fate of the voices she was beginning to hear.  It might have been an impulsive, emotion-fueled step rather than a rational and considered decision, but then, so many of Tuuri's choices always were.

I personally don’t know how the scene could initially be read in other ways, though I concede the earlier scene is in fact Tuuri stating pretty firmly she doesn’t regret going. The thing is, there’s really only a few ways to read Tuuri’s final words. My initial reading, where Tuuri is regretful, and blames herself (if only I had wised up in time - if only I wasn’t so naive -) or just a general ‘well, fuck, this is how the chips fell, my life wasn’t perfect but i got to live it’. Maybe even just bewilderment, because she’s still in shock over the Rash. In my view, I prefer my initial reading, maybe without the regret, but definitely Tuuri blaming her own worldview. This is because of very small details (Tuuri’s downturned head in the last panel, the way the swan swoops ominously, straight for her, and the fact that the narrative to this point is, well, I see this as an indictment of her virtues, but that’s something I’ll talk about in a sec.)

The thing is, killing a character is always killing their flaws AND virtues. I absolutely agree Tuuri was a vibrantly interesting character who had more than enough flaws that fed into her good points, because where she was ambitious she was overreaching, and where she was smart she would put down people. She is very flawed, and so interesting with it. Here, I’m moving away from in-text reasons why Tuuri has to die (she has the rash and she wants to die clean) and more towards how this works on a meta level. Because for me, personally, if this doesn’t work on a meta level, I can’t take the in-text reason as a good substitute. So yes: Tuuri died on her own terms, but it’s important to examine why it is that the author chose to make Tuuri die, not how she decided to portray it. Example: I understand that a lot of Game Of Thrones makes perfect logical/in-text sense, but a lot of it is so unsatisfying I don’t give a damn.

 Killing a character kills what they stand for. In the case of Dumbledore, and a lot of Harry Potter’s parental figures, he dies because he symbolizes protection, wisdom, and a fallback Harry can always turn to. Harry needs to do shit on his own, so mentors need to die. Protection dies. To return to Game of Thrones, Ned Stark dies because he’s the last uncomplicated/nonambitious person of power left. He symbolized moderation, or at the very least, decency. In order for Game of Throne’s plot to proceed, and its worldview of everything sucks, he needs to go.

This isn’t to say that every single character death in all of media is a specific punishment for specific people. Death =/= this character is bad and dies because they’re bad. Those two examples above are examples of characters who die because they’re not bad, because the narrative needs it.

The reason why I say Tuuri’s death is an indictment of her character is because the reason she dies is explicitly tied to her character, by her own admission, and the contrast between her and the other characters (I will address this). Like you said, that exchange basically sums up that she would have gone anyway, because who she is is an explorer, and she’s not immune, and she couldn’t have done otherwise. The flaws of her personality (very emotion-driven thinking, doing things without telling anyone because she’s right all the time Isn’t She) gets her to the beach, but it is specifically the virtues of her personality (her curiosity and drive to explore) that land her on the mission, that put her at risk, that means that she will die and she does. So why does the narrative need Tuuri to die? What does her death serve? Her death is cheap as chips if it’s just to darken the tone of the comic or for shock value.

Remember that Tuuri is the only one enthused about exploring the outside world. Lalli doesn’t give a shit, Emil wants money and prestige, Mikkel is....there, Sigrun wanted a holiday and money, and Reynir as the only other non-immune who wanted to explore the outside world and is summarily backtracking on his worldview pretty much immediately, with no signs of stopping. Tuuri’s death? haha, good luck prying that kid out of Iceland. Tuuri’s death is the death of exploration and the death of curiosity, because god knows none of these other characters were supplying any of that, and the only character who did (Reynir) is actually explicitly blaming his worldview of curiosity and exploration for his current predicament.

This is why I am saying that this is an indictment of Tuuri’s character, and more broadly, that the message of the comic is one I don’t like, because it is broadly saying that it’s better to stay at home and take no risks. It’s an Icarus message, turned up to eleven. It’s trying not to be that, but the author is basically reinforcing that message through Tuuri and Reynir over and over again, and through the complete and utter disinterest the other characters have in anything that’s not money or fighting. This mission is supposed to be an official factfinding/exploration mission for the government as a cover, with illegal books on the side, and yet we have only seen the looting aspect. No one even seems particularly interested in the knowledge inside the books except for - you guessed it - Tuuri. Mikkel a little bit, for the cure, but Tuuri eclipses him in enthusiasm. Will Mikkel turn out to harbor the spirit of adventure? I don’t know, but at the moment it looks like he’s focused on surviving and only surviving, to the point where he just shuts down any negative thing Reynir says.

The comic is basically reinforcing ‘stay still stay silent’, and Tuuri embodies the exact opposite of that message. Her dying only fuels that.

So I acknowledge my reading of the comic was incomplete and I do appreciate that you’ve brought that to my attention, but I really do think that her death was a writing move that reinforces a message I find...unsatisfactory.

SCOUT:

I strongly disagree that the death of a character means the death of what they stood for. Look at V for Vendetta (the comic) for a work that explicitly states the opposite, though there are many others. Even in SSSS, Reynir is almost a clone of Tuuri's core intentions and personality (something that's bugged me for a while, but now I see the reason behind it) so it's not like the comic punishes all adventurousness and innocence.

Personally I think Tuuri died because we need a character in the afterlife for a solid reason (maybe explicitly a Finn/Hotakainen) so her death was necessary to advance the plot somehow, and not intended as shitting on her world view. It still sucks that she had to be "used" like that, I think her character had a lot more potential alive, but I'm not the one writing the comic. So I hate that she died but I read very different things into it than you do.

The thing is, I usually read that death thing because a lot of the times its how death as a tool is used in stories, but I agree - a lot of the time death can be a triumphant/noble thing. Sacrificing yourself for a cause carries a lot of weight, and immortalizes you. The entire point of Rogue One is that they give their lives over for hope, and that sacrifice enshrines their death in meaning, etc. If you die doing what is right or good or important, then yes, death is absolutely not something that’s gonna ‘cheapen’ a good character. It’s not a defeat if you go down advancing your cause, helping to make the world a better place, or, hell, just doing something you know in your heart is right.

But in this case Tuuri’s death doesn’t really...advance anything. Because Tuuri isn’t dying doing something that people think is noble or good. Tuuri’s drive to explore is treated as eccentric at best, and downright suicidal at worst. She even acknowledges herself it’s kind of incredibly dangerous, but she never sits up and says it’s something she’d absolutely die to do because she thinks it’s just - personal to her. From her own perspective, you could argue she set out to explore, she did, she got to breathe air without a mask, case closed, but I think you and I both know that’s a weak argument. Exploration is not presented as important in either a good or bad way in-comic. It’s just kind of ridiculous. Hell, the government doesnt think it’s important, and neither do the organizers, who are in it to make money. 

And Reynir isn’t really looking to explore right now either! I pointed it out in my reply to Minu, but he’s basically backtracked on all exploring. He says in that conversation with Tuuri when she says ‘yes I wanted to explore’ that he wants to go home and never leave. Reynir is supposed to be the clone of Tuuri exploration and curiosity-wise, and yet right now he’s uh. He is deeply regretting setting foot outside of Iceland, and Tuuri dying sure as hell isn’t going to help with that. Kid’s depressed. And has also explicitly blamed his own mindset for being in this situation.

So that’s my opinion, and if it turns out that Tuuri has use in the afterlife, that would be great, but as the comic stands right now at the time of writing, it looks like Tuuri just died and is definitely not coming back. So. If she resurrects or happens to be able to exercise her adventure-y worldview, and if Reynir does an about face and decides he wants to keep exploring, I’ll eat my hat, but I dont think I gotta reach for my beanie anytime soon. I seem to have read very different things into her death than you guys did, which is interesting. 

[dramioneficindex]

Title: Six Degrees of Separation Author: justamuggle Rating: PG-13 Genre(s): Drama, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 7,544 Summary: How many chance encounters will it take before Ron founds out Hermione’s secret? How much farther can he keep being pushed away? Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Alternate Links: ff.net Holiday: Christmas/New Year’s Published: January 15, 2008 Relationship: Forbidden Love/Secret Relationship, Friendship Themes: Adultery [Hermone cheats with Draco], Jewellery, Muggle Life, Presents/Gift Giving [Draco and Hermione exchange gifts] Draco: Redeemed Hermione: Ministry Employee Locations: Draco’s Flat/House, Grangers’ Home, The Burrow Side Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Hermione/Ron Characters: Grangers, Ron Weasley

Title: Sixteen Going On Twenty-Seven Author: firesorceress1 Rating: PG-13 Genre(s): Angst, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 7,032 Summary: “Malfoy!” Her eyes narrow. “What are you doing here?” // Her voice is oddly soft yet firm and cold. “Get out.” (and every year as christmas gets closer, she is reminded of why she hates him. because she’ll always remember the pain and she’ll always have the scars. and she’ll always blame him.) Status: Complete Timeline: Hogwarts Years, Post-Hogwarts/Post-War AU Holiday: Christmas/New Year’s Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: January 9, 2006 Relationship: Breakup/Together Again, Engaged/Married (at some point) Themes: Co-workers/Office/Partners, Dancing, Events/Celebrations [Parties], Presents/Gift Giving [Draco and Hermione exchange Gifts] Draco: Ministry Employee, Redeemed, Snarky Hermione: Emotional, Feisty, Ministry Employee Locations: Hermione’s Flat/House, Hogsmeade, Ministry of Magic, The Burrow Side Pairings: Hermione/Ron Friendships: Hermione & Harry, Hermione & Ron Characters: Harry Potter, Molly Weasley, Ron Weasley

Title: Skeeter’s Lies Author: frostykitten Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 4,955 Summary: “This is utter nonsense!” Hermione grumbled. Harry and Ron nodded their agreement, looking at the paper with twin expressions of disgust. They all missed the pair of grey eyes on the opposite side of the Great Hall staring at Hermione calculatingly. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 4 Published: February 26, 2012 Hermione: Blushing Virgin, Feisty Characters: Viktor Krum

Title: Slave Author: Eternity85 Rating: M Genre(s): Plot? What Plot?  Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,496 Summary: Draco knows the perfect way to unwind after a long day at work…. Contains a twist.  Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War Published: July 4, 2008 Relationship: Already Married Themes: Baths/Showers, Roleplay [Slave/Master]

Title: Sleeping Beauty Author: Inell13 Rating: K+ Genre(s): General Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,356 Summary: During the events of Chamber of Secrets, Draco thinks about his life, his future, his Father, and Hermione Granger. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 2 Published: November 4, 2004 Character Point of View/POVs: Draco

Title: Sleeping Beauty  Author: garden-of-proserpine  Rating: G/K Genre(s): Drama, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,806 Summary: Hermione finally agrees to go on a date with Draco, but she insists that he take her to Muggle London.  Status: Complete Timeline: Year 8  Fest/Exchange: dramionelove Adopt-A-Prompt 2015  Published: June 9, 2015   Relationship: Boyfriend/Girlfriend Themes: Dancing, Dates, Head Boy/Head Girl, Illness/Sick, Muggle Life Draco: Broody, In Love, Redeemed, Sweet Hermione: Feisty, In Love, Silly, Sweet Locations: Muggle London/Muggle World  Warnings: Slight OOC

Title: Sleeping Beauty Author: Craft Rose Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Drama Chapters: 36 Word Count: 65,535 Summary: The Dark Lord has won. Harry is dead. Draco is tasked with the protection of Hermione Granger, and somehow manages to catch feelings along the way. A dark twist on the classic fairytale. (Warning: Graphic Violence, Sexual Content, and Coarse Language). Timeline: War, AU Published: October 18, 2013 Completed: February 21, 2014 Themes: War AU, Curses and Spells, Fairytales [Sleeping Beauty], Ancient Magic, Elder Wand, Hiding, Abuse and Assault, Based on Other Book or Movie Plot, Kidnapping and Imprisonment [Draco & Hermione], Injuries [Draco], Memory Modification [Draco], Accidental Pregnancy Draco: Death Eater, Turncoat, Protective and Possessive Hermione: Know-It-All, Compassionate, Powerful Characters: Bellatrix Lestrange, Original Characters, Severus Snape, Voldemort, Ronald Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, Fenrir Greybeck Character Deaths: Harry, Lucius, Narcissa Pro-Characters: Pro-Snape Warnings: Torture, Sexual Assault, Attempted Rape, Sexual Situations,

Title: Sleeping Hermione Author: Coral Candy Rating: T Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,334 Summary: Hermione is caught in a duel between Harry and Draco she is put in a sleep of which can only broken by her one true love…  Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7, AU Published: July 10, 2005 Themes: Fairytale [Sleeping Beauty], Head Boy/Head Girl Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Poppy Pomfrey, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape

Title: Sleepless Nights Author: inamamagic Rating: G Genre(s): Romance, Angst Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,139 Summary: Draco tries to get Hermione to come back to bed Status: Complete Timeline: Post Hogwarts/Post War Published: April 6, 2015  Relationship: Already Married Themes: Muggle Life, Sharing a Bed Draco: Redeemed Hermione: Potions Mistress, Emotional Locations: Malfoy Manor Characters: Harry Potter Character Deaths: Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Ron Weasley

Title: Slowly Toward Desire Author: phlox Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Humor, Angst Chapters: 1 Word Count: 12,358 Summary: Hermione decides then and there to stop thinking she has any idea whatsoever of what to expect from Draco Malfoy. She hasn’t a clue. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 4, Year 5, Year 6, Year 8, Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: Otter and Ferret Alternate Links: ff.net  Published: April 16, 2013 Themes: Apologies [Draco], Baths/Showers, Co-Workers/Office/Partners, Kidnapping/Imprisonment [Draco is captured], Travel [Germany] Draco: Auror, Redeemed Hermione: Auror, Campaigner, Feisty, Head Girl Locations: Hogwarts Library, Knockturn Alley, Ministry of Magic Characters: Harry Potter, Original Characters, Ron Weasley

Title: Smack Author: Nutty Ashah Rating: T Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,121 Summary: What happens when Hermione Granger, top student of the school has to hide away from a troll in a broom cupboard with Draco Malfoy. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 6 Published: January 2, 2012 Themes: Trapped Together Draco: Snarky Hermione: Feisty Characters: Cormac McLaggen, Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson Warnings: OOC

Title: Small, But Powerful Moments Author: RZZMG Rating: MA Genre(s): Angst, Drama, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,073 Summary: To love in this life is to do so in small, powerful moments. Draco’s about to learn that lesson at the hands of the one witch he’s wanted for years… and he’ll lose not only his virginity in the doing, but his heart as well. 2012 Deflower Draco Fest entry! Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7 Fest/Exchange: deflower_draco Published: August 30, 2012 Relationship: Forbidden Love/Secret Relationship Themes: Head Boy/Head Girl Draco: Broody, Virgin Hermione: Blushing Virgin, Feisty Side Pairings: Draco/Pansy Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations, OOC, Strong Profanity Sequel: Breathe - MT, one shot - One night was all they’d had, and then they’d parted ways… Eight months after their painful break-up, Draco runs into Hermione in Diagon Alley, and receives the surprise of his life. That encounter will force him to make a life-altering decision: to honour his family’s obligations, or to find the courage to turn his back on centuries of tradition, his inheritance, and his parents all for love.

Title: Smiles to Hide Me, Crosses to Bear Author: vegetasbubble Rating: NC-17 Genre(s): Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,112 Summary: After a summer of counseling from her own personal psychiatrist and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger finally goes and does something about her pent up anger and frustration from the last seven years with the help of Draco Malfoy.  Status: Complete Timeline: Year 8 Fest/Exchange: hermione_smut Published: October 29, 2009 Draco: Snarky, Witty Hermione: Feisty, POV, Virgin, Witty Locations: Hogwarts Library Side Pairings: Hermione/Ron, Harry/Ginny, Harry/Ron [Implied] Friendships: Hermione & Ginny Characters: Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley

Title: Smithereens Author: strawberrykait  Rating: MT Genre(s): Action, General Chapters: 2 Word Count: 16,979 Summary: Seven years after the defeat of Lord Voldemort, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are assigned to scope out a possible location for the Carrows in Bristol, England. Undercover as a Muggle couple, the former enemies must overcome their personal history and prejudices to utilize each other’s strengths to capture the escaped Death Eaters. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: Reverse Challenge 2010 Alternate Links: AO3 Published: July 6, 2010  Themes: Adultery/Cheating [Draco and Hermione cheat with each other], Alcohol, Cruciatus Curse [Hermione is tortured], Forced Partnership/Together, Injuries [Draco and Hermione], Working Undercover Draco: Hit Wizard, Snaky Hermione: Auror, Feisty, Know-It-All Side Pairings: Hermione/Ron, Draco/Astoria Characters: Alecto Carrow, Amycus Carrow, Ron Weasley Warnings: Mild Profanity, Mild Violence Sequel: Moonlight Between Us - MT, 10 chapters - A string of gruesome homicides forces Hit Wizard Draco Malfoy and Auror Hermione Granger to pair up once more to determine who, or what, is behind these Full Moon Murders. Sequel to Smithereens

Title: Smitten Author: eilonwy  Rating: MA Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 5 Word Count: 24,101 Summary: The plan had seemed perfect. Foolproof, in fact. But Draco should have remembered what is so often said about the best-laid plans… Written for round 2 of the Dramione Couples Remix, Spring 2012. My chosen couple were Oberon and Titania, from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Status: Complete Timeline: Year 8 Fest/Exchange: dramione_remix Published: March 19, 2012  Themes: Alcohol, Apologies [Draco], Betrayal/Deception, Bets/Wagers, Curses/Spells, Head Boy/Head Girl, Jealousy [Draco], Magical Items, Potions Draco: Broody, Manipulative, Snarky, Snob Hermione: Blushing Virgin, Feisty Locations: Heads’ Common Room Side Pairings: Hermione/Goyle Friendships: Draco & Goyle, Draco & Blaise, Draco & Theo, Hermione & Ginny Characters: Blaise Zabini, Ginny Weasley, Gregory Goyle, Millicent Bulstrode, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Pansy Parkinson, Seamus Finnigan, Theodore Nott Featured Holidays: Valentine’s Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations, Implicit Sexual Situations, Mild Profanity, Strong Profanity, Unresolved Sexual Tension

Title: Smittenly Bitten Author: lezonne  Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Adventure Chapters: 31 Word Count: 153,364 Summary: When Draco’s failing marriage causes his son to run off and become hurt, he can’t seem to get past the fact. Now with something unknown lurking in the woods behind his home, one would think people would only wish to help. But not everything is as is as it seems. Rated for language/possible lemons/violence. Dramione in future. Not fluffy. EWE Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Published: December 6, 2012  Completed: July 20, 2013 Themes: Alcohol, Apologies [Draco], Magical Creatures [Vampires] Draco: Business Man Hermione: Bossy, Feisty, Healer, Know-It-All Locations: Hermione’s Flat/House, Malfoy Manor, St. Mungo’s Side Pairings: Draco/Astoria, Blaise/Pansy, Harry/Ginny, Marcus/Daphne, Ron/Lavender Friendships: Draco & Blaise, Hermione & Harry, Hermione & Ron Characters: Astoria Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, Hannah Abbott, Harry Potter, Original Characters, Percy Weasley, Ron Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe Anti-Characters: Anti-Astoria

Title: Snape’s Situation Author: scarlettcat  Rating: MA Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,065 Summary: Someone thought it would be funny to slip the Head Boy and Head Girl a lust potion, and now they can’t keep their hands off each other. Unfortunately for Severus Snape, it’s his job to see that they do. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7, AU Holiday: Valentine’s Published: March 1, 2013 Themes: Head Boy/Head Girl, Potions, Trapped Together Draco: Snarky Hermione: Feisty Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape Character Point of View/POV: Snape Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations, OOC, Strong Profanity

Title: Snatched Author: cleotheo Rating: T Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 4,426 Summary: It’s a normal day at the Order headquarters when Draco suddenly disappears with Hermione. While Ron is worried that Draco has kidnapped Hermione no-one else is bothered by the pair’s disappearance, they just think they have finally acted on their obvious attraction. Is Ron right to be worried, or are Hermione and Draco making the most of some privacy?  Status: Complete Timeline: War Published: January 27, 2014 Relationship: Forbidden Love/Secret Relationship, Revealing Their Relationship Draco: Order Member, Redeemed Hermione: Order Member Friendships: Hermione & Harry, Hermione & Ron Characters: Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black

Title: Snow Author: Aiden Rating: NC-17 Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,393 Summary: Draco is of Veela blood. He’s spent a year searching for her, and now he’s run out of time… Status: Complete Timeline: Hogwarts Years Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: October 14, 2008 Themes: Apologies [Hermione], Snow Draco: Veela

Title: Snow Angels Author: lucca4 Rating: T Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,163 Summary: This Christmas season, Hermione isn’t fussed with gifts or wrapping paper. A drunken snog has forced her to rethink her feelings for Draco as she makes the ultimate decision between her mind and her heart. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War Holiday: Christmas/New Year’s Published: January 18, 2011 Themes: Co-workers/Office/Partners, Snow Locations: Hermione’s Flat/House, Ministry of Magic Characters: Harry Potter Character Deaths: Ron Weasley

Title: Snow Angels and Roses Author: FreeSpiritSeeker Rating: G Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,478 Summary: Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are back to complete their studies at Hogwarts. Draco, finally free from all the stresses of being under his father’s thumb, has become a good friend to Hermione. Can he get up the courage to become more? Status: Complete Timeline: Year 8 Published: August 21, 2014 Themes: Head Boy/Head Girl, Snow Draco: Redeemed

Title: Snow Day Author: pokeystar Rating: G Genre(s): Family Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,432 Summary: It’s a snow day for the Malfoy clan. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War Fest/Exchange: dhr_advent Published: December 9, 2013 December 18, 2013 Relationship: Already Married Pregnancy/Children: Children Names [Sev, Jane, ZuZu, Sal] Themes: Family Activities, Snow

Title: Snow in Mid-Summer, Spring in Mid-Autumn Author: Campy Capybara Rating: G Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,770 Summary: Draco Malfoy has a Byronic soul? And just who is his muse? Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7 Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Alternate Links: ff.net Published: October 4, 2004 Themes: Autumn, Events/Celebrations, Literature/Poetry, Not Head Boy/Head Girl Locations: Diagon Alley, Great Hall, Hogsmeade Side Pairings: Harry/Ginny Characters: Ginny Weasley

Title: Snow Ploughed by Lurve Author: witchiepooh Rating: PG Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,697 Summary: Draco and Hermione play a game of dating one-upmanship. Hilarity (hopefully) ensues! Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, AU Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: January 20, 2006 Relationship: Boyfriend/Girlfriend Themes: Snow Draco: Redeemed

Title: Snowed In Author: GrandeVanillaSkimLatte Rating: M Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,638 Summary: Draco takes Hermione away to a remote cabin for her birthday and they end up snowed in. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War Published: June 17, 2008 Relationship: Established Relationship Themes: Trapped Together, Travel Character Birthdays: Hermione

Title: So Much For My Hogsmeade Weekend Author: Denise/prettymama Rating: PG-13 Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 8,736 Summary: Renaissance costumes, a fair, Polyjuice Potion, and our favorite prefects. What could possibly go wrong?  Status: Complete Timeline: Hogwarts Years Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: September 28, 2004 Themes: Amusement Park [Fair], Autumn, Detention, Polyjuice [Draco] Draco: Prefect Hermione: Bossy, Campaigner, Feisty, Prefect Locations: Great Hall, Gryffindor Tower, Hogsmeade, Visiting Opposite Hogwarts House [Draco visits Gryffindor Tower] Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall, Parvati Patil, Ron Weasley

Title: So Much Like Being Naked Author: tamlane  Rating: M Genre(s): Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 7,312 Summary: Draco was in his first Potions class after Christmas holidays when he snapped. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7 Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Alternate Links: LJ Published: June 8, 2005 Themes: Injuries [Draco] Draco: Prefect Hermione: Feisty, Head Girl [Head Boy: Ernie] Locations: Hogwarts Hospital Wing, Potions Class Characters: Poppy Pomfrey, Severus Snape, Theodore Nott

Title: So Much to Lose, So Much to Gain Author: hathorx Rating: R Genre(s): Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 4,345 Summary: Hermione goes to a Ministry party and wakes up the next day in a hotel room with Malfoy unable to remember anything about the previous night. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: November 23, 2008 Themes: Apologies [Hermione], The Morning After Draco: Business Man Hermione: Ministry Employee Locations: Hermione’s Flat/House, Hotel Characters: Ginny Weasley

Title: So sleepless, too restless  Author: quixotic-star Rating: K+ Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 4,496 Summary: Not very sleepy (no thanks to his dorm mates of course!), Draco sneaks out of the common room one night. To his surprise, he isn’t the only one out of his common room..  Status: Complete Timeline: Year 6 Holiday: Valentine’s Published: February 11, 2004 Draco: Draco’s Feelings Hermione: Emotional Locations: Astronomy Tower Characters: Blaise Zabini, Gregory Goyle, Peeves

Title: So Stupid Author: SexciTibby77 Rating: M/R Genre(s): Romance, Hurt/Comfort Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,154 Summary: Hermione comes in crying and for some reason, Draco wants to know why. Cute little fic, rated for language. Sorry guys, no sex. Timeline:  Published: January 28, 2010 Themes: Head Boy/Head Girl Hermione: Emotional Locations: Great Hall, Heads’ Common Room Characters: Minerva McGonagall Anti-Characters: Anti-Lavender, Anti-Original Character

Title: So tonight that I might see Authors: rafiki_tiki Rating: R Genre(s): Adventure, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 9,476 Summary: It was unthinkable that Mundungus Fletcher, the Great Drunk Arse, could have stumbled upon something so important. And borderline miraculous that they’d been able to work together to find it. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: April 21, 2011 Themes: Camping, Curses/Spells, Fiendfyre, Forced Partnership/Together, Magical Creatures, Magical Items, Zombies/Inferi Draco: Curse-Breaker Locations: Ministry of Magic Characters: Original Characters

Title: Soar Author: lezonne Rating: T Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,310 Summary: Draco always enjoyed taunting Hermione about one thing; flying. She’s tired of his jokes and negativity, and decides to take matters into her own hands, even if it does possibly involve giving him a heart attack. Eighth year. Boot camps inside! Implied romance Status: Complete Timeline: Year 8 Published: October 23, 2013 Themes: Games/Challenges/Dares, Head Boy/Head Girl, Quidditch/Flying [Flying] Draco: Snarky Hermione: Feisty Locations: Astronomy Tower, Quidditch Pitch Characters: Rolanda Hooch

Title: Social Justice and a Straw-pricot Sizzleberry Smoothie Author: turkishangora Rating: R Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,899 Summary: They have nothing in common, except that they both like the same flavor of smoothie. And that they both like social justice. Except only one of them likes that. (Insane fic! Run away now!)  Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, AU Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: July 4, 2006 Relationship: Forbidden Love/Secret Relationship Themes: Summer, Sweets Draco: Redeemed Hermione: Campaigner, Feisty Locations: Diagon Alley, Hermione’s Flat/House, Malfoy Manor, Other Restaurant Friendships: Hermione & Harry, Hermione & Ron Characters: Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy, Original Characters

Title: Solid Ground  Author: twin-v Rating: K Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Romance Chapters: 2 Word Count: 16,447 Summary: Hermione travels to Australia on a search for her parents. Neville offers to accompany her and, much to their surprise, so does Draco. Written for the dmhgficexchange Status: Complete Timeline: Post-war, Year 8 Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Alternate Links: LJ Published: November 25, 2007 Completed: November 25, 2007 Relationship: Friendship  Themes: Travel [Australia] Draco: Snarky, Snobby Hermione: Feisty Friendships: Hermione & Neville, Hermione & Harry, Hermione & Ron Characters: Grangers, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley

Title: Some Kind of Magical Author: aviddaydreamer Rating: PG-13/T Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,141 Summary: Draco’s found the perfect woman, but he needs his best friend’s help to get her. EWE, Fluff, based very loosely on the movie “Some Kind of Wonderful.” Oneshot. Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Published: March 14, 2011 Relationship: Friendship Themes: Co-Workers/Office/Partners [Unspeakables] Draco: Unspeakable Hermione: Emotional, Unspeakable Locations: Ministry of Magic, Other Bars/Pubs/Clubs Characters: Astoria Greengrass, Harry Potter, Original Characters, Ron Weasley

Title: Something Beautiful in Return Author: smithandbarrowman Rating: M Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 27 Word Count: 112,966 Summary:  A betrayal of the worst kind has Hermione Granger seeking a place of solitude, where she can leave the world behind and be by herself. All Draco Malfoy wants is privacy, and his name to be forgotten. But is that the only thing they both want? Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War Alternate Links: AO3 Published: November 27, 2017 Completed: September 19, 2018 Relationship: Getting Together Pregnancy/Children: Child [Charlotte] Themes: Running Away, Cheating [Ron cheats on Hermione], Travel, Dreams, Secret Feelings, Cooking and Baking, Music [Draco plays the piano], Draco is Hermione’s Boss, Co Workers Office Partners, Jealousy [Draco], Pregnancy Difficulties, Proposals, News and Gossip, Hurt and Comfort Draco: Business Man, Potions Master, Redeemed Hermione: Herbologist, Vulnerable, Side Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Blaise/Katie, Charlie/Pansy Friendships: Hermione & Pansy, Hermione & Ginny, Draco & Blaise Characters: Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Narcissa Malfoy, Original Characters Character Point of View/POV: Hermione, Draco Anti-Characters: Anti-Ron Additional Notes: Fast Romace Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations, Kink