#writing about HIV

[dufferpuffer]

Adding up to that Severus has a not-so-secret daughter au! Some good nasty drama

Since the lycanthropy is based on the AIDs and they can be passed down to offspring, let me introduce you to:

After the Prank, Severus did get infected but never went through the actual transformation, so he just carries it in his blood with some side effects (maybe he eats raw meat now and has sharper senses, who knows). But even if he's not a werewolf as such, he still has the infection in him...and his daughter is born with it, turning into a full werewolf each moon and overall suffering all the regular effects of the curse.

Just one more reason for them to dislike lupin (and the marauders in general)

I REALLY hate Lycanthropy being tied to HIV/AIDs. I know the author said so, but she says alot of things that suck, and that's one of them. It's a real stinker.

In any case, Lycanthropy isn't actually passed down from parent to child - that's a myth, perpetuated by the fact so few Werewolves ever have children. Remus was worried - but its just another point on his list of "things he is anxious about that aren't real/don't matter as much as he thinks they do" He has nothing to fear about sex. He would have more to fear about kissing - but even then, that isn't how Lycanthropy works.

It doesn't change your genes. Its a magical disease - you don't become a non-human, your DNA isn't changed. You're only contagious at the Full Moon, about 12 hours a month and ONLY via saliva, not blood or sexual fluids. Even if Severus was partially infected with cursed wounds, like Bill Weasley - as he doesn't transform he cannot pass it on.

Same with HIV/AIDs. A father doesn't pass it to their child. The DNA/RNA in his sperm does not have HIV - just the fluids it is carried in. A mother can pass it down through the pregnancy, childbirth fluids or breastfeeding - but not necessarily.

In order to have a child infected with Lycanthropy Severus would need to be fully bitten by Remus and then also bite his own child - or pick up a child from somewhere that has already been bitten.

And that's cute. Why is Severus so good at brewing Wolfsbane...? He's been doing it for his daughter for years already. But I don't really see how, even if you HC that Lycanthropy can be passed down to children via the fathers DNA, that it is something to 'dislike Remus' about...? Remus wasn't a part of that prank. He was a sick boy who did everything right. He wasn't wandering around, he wasn't being reckless - he was hiding in the shack. He was as much a victim of the prank as much as Severus was.

The Ministry has shifted whether they consider Werewolves as 'Beings' or 'Creatures' for years - and in either case, whether they are considered 'people' or 'animals' - they don't have human rights. Just being found out is a danger to Remus' life.

Remus would be mortified to know he had even partially infected Severus... even more so that his Lycanthropy had been fully passed onto a child. He would be DEVASTATED. He would be torn between feeling some responsibility over the child, to teach them how to manage their condition... and wanting to run as far away as possible, hide in a hole - and die from shame.

[llycaons]

lying about your identity to win arguments online and justify questionable fanfiction is honestly the natural conclusion that tumblr's specific culture and arguments tend to encourage. like of course this happened. of course it did. it's definitely happened before AND since. someone was unmasked several years ago for rakefacing on here too, tho I don't think it was fanfic related

[mhaccunoval]

one of my red flags is that sometimes i'm a bitch who will go back and find the research that i'm citing in making my argument

[stainlesssteellocust]

While Alex is obviously besotted with Cassie it is interesting that he, uh,

went on a whole-ass rant about how he’s somehow internalised an extremely conventional, heteronormative idea of what life should be like, wherein he’s expected to find a girl, get married and have kids as part of living ‘properly’, except he’s realised that lifestyle is impossible for him, partly because he’s infected with what he continually calls ‘magical AIDS’

My closeted bisexual alarm bells are ringing, is what I am saying

[rigginsstreet]

I feel like sex in fics is very much colored by our modern day perspectives when it comes to anything set in the past like… at a certain point in the 80s/90s people literally had to be encouraged to wear condoms I think you all underestimate how much your blorbos realistically would be counting on the pull out method 😂

[cemetery-blooms]

FIRST EXAM DONE TWO MORE TO GO!!!!

[vixvaporub]

Working in healthcare reminds me on the daily that the US medical system is fucked up but a recent example that hasn't escaped my mind for weeks is that a patient with a new diagnosis for HIV was trying to get his medication... but his insurance rejected it and said that they don't cover any HIV meds

[unliikelylovers]

also i think often about the fact that into the woods was written by gay men in 1987 and is some of the very best writing on grief ever

[foxmulderautism]

experiencing novella visions

[woundedearth]

i have COMPLICATED feelings about a little life like as much as i honestly abhor that novel for many reasons, i struggle with the gripes of Unrealistic Trauma--like for ex. that article i just rbed talks about the many chronically ill and dying characters in the periphery of yanagihara's novels, how miserable everyone is. i don't think that's the problem! i think the issue is refusing to engage with the material consequences of trauma, pain, sickness, etc bc it very often feels like she's writing from a place of economic privilege. a little life is the only book of hers i've read, but personally i was frustrated with how fucking ungrounded it felt. like you present a Relatable queer character, a deeply traumatized disabled gay nerd who struggles to open up in fear of being hurt again........and then you remove all the structural problems in his life by making him a rich corporate lawyer with a famous movie star boyfriend and his own custom accessible flat in NYC......and then you have to add conflict back in by contriving these fucked up situations like, the most evil love interest in the world or a horrible accident. contrived it just feels so contrived

[weirdwriter69]

[liminalweirdo]

"We all deserve the right to protect and keep ourselves safe. Implementing a mask ban is not only an infringement on our human rights but also extremely ableist and inconsiderate of those disabled or immunocompromised.

. . .

About 1 in 5 adult New Yorkers have a disability. If a mask ban were to be implemented, spaces such as stores and restaurants might ban masking or set up mask-removal policy. That’s 1 in 5 adults no longer able to shop in public along with others, or participate in gatherings.

Forcing immunocompromised people to remove their face masks would likely violate the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York State Human Rights Law. As a member of ACT UP NY, it’s always my goal to fight for human rights such as healthcare.

Those that are HIV+ are 8% more likely to be hospitalized due to COVlD than those that aren’t and are also at an increased risk of developing Long COVlD.

Masking SAVES LIVES. Masking is community care.”

Behind the Powecom KN95 is Serita @_seritasargent_ and her friend Bri’anna @lanoirede.jpg holding the #StopMaskBans sign.

MaskTogetherAmerica encourages everyone to speak up and write to elected officials to demand they oppose the anti-mask bills S9867/A10057 and S9194! We need to defend our right to masks.

[ebenelephant]

Look, I think you're misconstruing some of my points and since this is reaching way farther than I wanted I would like to clarify for a second. This was kind of a bit of a rant post which I didn't expect people other than like 4 mutuals to... see? So as you can imagine I wasn't exactly my best articulated. Some of my points have definitely come across wrong, so to try and explain what I mean a little better:

I'm not saying we should see more flashbacks to Tom's life. This is a criticism I have of this plot point not being thought through, more than anything. It tells us something other that what was probably intended because you get the impression that Rowling didn't really consider the wider implications of what she was saying in the time period it was set. I'm not suggesting this should be delved deeper into, I'm just suggesting that it wasnt the best thought through.

With the Weasleys I just messed up the timeline on this one. I do genuinely have issues with some of the portrayal of the Weasleys which I won't get into, but this one is my mistake.

The Snape one is more of a personal gripe. My tongue in cheek remark about being "surprised you caught onto that" is in reference to the fact that I have heard/seen multiple people just glossing over that context to his life entirely - either because they missed it of because it was too minor for them to care.

My issue with the Hermione thing isn't actually that she obliviated her parents – as you say, this makes sense with her character – but rather how underutilised they are. We meet the parents and guardians of other, less important characters when they're thematically and narratively relevant, and given how important Hermione's status as a muggleborn is in the books you would think they would be both. It always seemed a weird choice to me that her parents are practically non-entities, spoken of occasionally but never seen. It's the show-don't-tell thing: we are told that Hermione loves her parent a lot, and of course we know this to be true, but the biggest time they are really relevant is when she obliviates them. Even if Harry had just seen them once, maybe sending Hermione to platform 9¾, and had seen them in contrast to the Dursleys this would have given them more weight. Hermione is distraught, but we as the reader are much less emotionally involved because we have no idea who these people are.

The Lily point honestly feels like a bad faith arguement, because she was never just 'the main character's long dead mum', she was the person who saved him, who made him the chosen one, who is referenced throughout the series, and who is directly related to the actions of multiple characters. I would literally just like consistent characterisation for her, because the way she is spoken about doesn't align with the ways we see her acting in the few scenes she has, and even in those scenes she is somewhat contradictory. This is never addressed by Harry the way it's addressed when he learns the negative qualities of his father – though in a book targeted at a 9-12 audience you would certainly expect it to be. This makes me think, again: oversight. Kids books have to guide the reader somewhat, and this aspect doesn't really do that. Could've been a great addition to that "nobody's perfect" theme JKR had going, but wasn't executed in a way properly accessible to a nine year old as opposed to other points in the series.

thinking again about jk rowling being a bad writer. like, we all know about the massive flaws in her worldbuilding and i hope by now it's clear she's a bigot on basically every front. (hello, regular reminder that she doesn't even actually like women.) but like. she's especially good at dropping bits of lore and then those not being relevant in the fucking slightest. riddle was told to go home to his orphanage in london during what would have very much been the blitz? whatever. the weasley's are so strapped for cash that they're sending their son to school with a potentially dangerous broken wand? of course they're spending their lottery winnings on visiting their adult son in egypt, what else would they do. snape grew up in what was likely a dying northern industrial town with abusive/neglectful parents, largely cut off from the magical world? almost impressed you caught on to that, with how little it's expanded on. yes hermione has a supposedly good relationship with both her parents, no we're not going to show you it at all, yes she's going to wipe they're memories like it's nothing. lily evans is the moral compass of james and basically the most important person in the series but fuck you if you want to actually know anything about her lmao. even what little we see is wildly inconsistent.

[genderqueerdykes]

genuine piece of advice for punks, activists, and everyone else honestly: any form of leftist infighting is a waste of your time.

focus on the task at hand: improving living and quality of life conditions for your community. unionize. donate to food banks. cooperate with organizations like food not bombs to distribute free hot meals. volunteer at libraries. participate in homeless outreach. give people access to resources in your community. organize and participate in protests. create organizations, groups, and gathering spots for queer folk in your area who need safe places to go and find community.

help people find access to HRT, surgery and other gender affirming care. carry, hand out, and administer narcan (naloxone). help recovering people get to rehabilitation, methadone clinics and so on. help addicted people practice harm reduction and use safely. help give out menstrual kits to homeless and low income people who have periods. help people get into housing programs. help disabled people apply for disability (SSI and SSDI) and disability lawyers. help disabled people find work or income resources that are accessible to them. donate blood and/or plasma if you can. care for people with HIV and AIDS.

help people apply for food stamps, medicaid, bill and rent assistance. help disabled people find case managers and caregivers. call local lawmakers to voice your opinions on current events. advocate for disadvantaged queers in your area. establish and participate in mutual aid funds. spread awareness and advocate online. write about and share your experiences with disadvantages, abuse and other problems you've faced in life for who you are. gather and organize with people with shared experiences. start or volunteer at a community garden. deliver meals to the elderly. volunteer at a homeless shelter.

organize fundraisers for, spread awareness of, and donate to:

Palestine

Sudan

Congo

i don't care if someone's activism looks different from yours: there are a TON of ways to improve and make change in your and the global community. doing ONE of these is enough, finding a singular way to improve your community is a better use of your time than arguing. everyone can find ways to be good to each other.

rehashing the same talking points, reading between the lines, accusing someone of identifying with politics they've never advocated for, and making baseless accusations isn't helping. it's not fixing anything. mobilize. advocate. stand up for your community and its rights. take action. now. i mean it. we must.

help each other.

[nothorses]

"the public education system is intently evil and all teachers are abusive because it was the worst experience ever for me personally"

guys, look, I'm legitimately sorry that happened to you. that's fucked up. it shouldn't have happened, and it shouldn't be allowed to happen again to you or anyone else. I'm sorry.

public school was hard for me too, at times, and I'm still suffering the consequences for the harsh grading, the arbitrary deadlines, the hours of completely useless-to-me homework. I could name a few teachers who have been pretty fucking terrible. the fact that nobody considered getting me evaluated for ADHD has had an impact on my self image and academic success that I can't erase.

and also.

I grew up in an area where education, in particular, is incredibly progressive-leaning. educators are working really hard to create and try out education philosophies and practices that prioritize kids and their learning, rather than teachers and what they think kids should learn.

My sex ed was comprehensive, and came entirely from school. My gay sixth grade teacher taught me about HIV/AIDs in a useful, accurate way. In high school, I learned about the way orgasms work & I was prepared not to feel shame for normal stuff.

I learned that Communism was not what the USSR actually practiced, and what it really means. I learned about atrocities and, specifically, the genocide of indigenous people committed in/by the US. I learned about the military industrial complex, the school-to-prison pipeline, and I learned about manifestations of racism specific to my local area. I learned about Stonewall, and the intersection of the civil rights movement with gay rights and disability justice.

My creative writing teacher taught us about LSD, and the real reasons we shouldn't do it, after a hilariously ineffective assembly run by some local cops. He spoke gently, carefully, and emphatically about his friends and his own experiences. Later in the semester, he read us a story he wrote about two gay men finding each other in a deeply homophobic environment.

My sci-fi teacher made me feel safe & seen as a kid with "weird" interests. My US History teacher helped me research and put together a 10-page paper on the modern relevance and mission of Feminism. My government teacher made me feel appreciated for the work I put into the class, and the thought I put into what I said in it, even though he disagreed with a lot of it. My sixth grade teacher bought me books to read with his personal money, whichever ones I asked for. My third grade teacher made me feel safe. My science teacher in middle school made me excited for and passionate about science, and saw and nurtured the effort I put into her class.

A lot of stuff sucks, absolutely. But I am seeing new teaching methods being tried out all the time, and I am watching teachers get really excited when I teach their students about the roots of modern graffiti in US black history & to question property laws, and just...

There's hope. there are so many people doing so much work to make things better. so many people agree with you on what education should be, and are trying so fucking hard to put that into action, and so many public schools- not just teachers, but whole schools and even districts- are really doing that work. so much is getting better.

I had more to say, about necessary childcare and trusted adults and outside contacts and time away from abusive family. But like. Please just sit down and listen to more people on this, and please talk to educators and education professionals about what's really going on in this big huge world of philosophy, science, and practice.