#given all of rowling's bullshit

[where-our-stories-start]

Rest in peace, Robbie Coltrane 30 March 1950 – 14 October 2022

#robbie coltrane #hagrid #rubeus hagrid #rest in peace #my relationship with harry potter is... complicated to say the least #given all of rowling's bullshit #but this man played a central character of my childhood #and he did it so well

[joannerowling]

God I’m so fucking tired

JK Rowling screenshotted a comment someone made under one of her Tweets that said: “The Nazis burnt books on trans healthcare and research, why are you so desperate to uphold their ideology around gender?”

And she responded with: “I just… how? How did you type this out and press send without thinking ‘I should maybe check my source for this, because it might’ve been a fever dream’?”

And she’s being called a Holocaust denier for this.

I just. I’m. Okay.

First of all, as a Jewish woman, I’m so fucking sick of people comparing everything to the Holocaust and comparing anyone who hurts their feelings to Nazis.

Second of all, no they fucking didn’t. This bullshit gender cult wasn’t a thing back then, and if anything, mutilating genitals, removing breasts, flaying arms to make “penises” and permanently sterilizing patients actually sounds like something Josef Mengele would’ve done.

Third of all, homosexuals were indeed sent to the camps but no, it wasn’t because of their “gender identity”, it was because they were homosexual. And considering how the gender cult LOVES conversion therapy (since they’re constantly telling homosexuals to “unlearn their genital fetishism” (aka trying to tell them that their same-sex attraction which is innate and unchangeable is bigotry)), the Nazis would absolutely have loved to do what the cult is doing today.

I’m sorry but my thoughts are rambled, I’m just seeing red so my brain is too outraged to function.

I've seen. You read my mind, i don't have much to add.

The Holocaust is the name given to the genocide of Jews during WW2. Period. Any individual or political group seeking to deny this is actually engaging in Holocaust denial, which is to say, the denial of a Jewish genocide specifically. Even IF the modern version of trans people had been targeted by the Nazis in the way these tweets imply (which as you said did not happen; the trans victims then were mostly gay men, unlike today's trans activists), that wouldn't make them Holocaust victims.

#replies #anon #antisemitism

[lady-wildflower]

I have some thoughts to articulate.

I reckon the absolute best example of how JK Rowling has devolved into an utter bigot is the sexual abuse shelter she’s founded that explicitly excludes trans women.

Because prior to her being infected with TERF kool-aid, I might have given her the benefit of the doubt and say she was just a badly informed privileged white woman who REALLY needed to unlearn a LOT but was otherwise not an awful person. I would have been able to say that the bullshit present in all her writing, all the prejudice and offensive stereotype, was her genuinely not knowing what she was doing and not realizing what she was doing was wrong and that she had space to unlearn those things and grow.

But not anymore. I’d outright say no, she’s fallen down the pit into unequivocal evil now. And in regards to the aforementioned sexual abuse shelter, the very experience with sexual assault she loves to point to as justification for her beliefs is exactly why she’s gone full fucking evil. Because she no longer has the plausible deniability of just being a misinformed white woman who needs to unlearn some things. JK Rowling knows the horror and trauma of sexual assault. She’s been through it. She knows. And now, because she has sacrificed so much of her basic fucking humanity to attack trans people, she will actively turn away someone who has gone through the same trauma she knows, gone through the same horror, because they may currently or at some point in the past have superficially anatomically resembled her abuser.

JK Rowling has experienced sexual abuse, and don’t mistake me: that’s fucking awful. Much as she’s an evil person now, no human being deserves that. But she has gotten to the depths of disgusting inhumanity in her crusade against us that her sympathy for others who’ve gone through it is conditional. Conditional upon irrelevant anatomy, upon her hate.

And really, it’s just sad. One could have held up JK Rowling as a feminist, a mediocre one but one nonetheless. But not anymore. One could have held her up as a flawed person who needs to grow, just like many of us. I know I’ve unlearned a lot of things. But she has gone so far off the deep end that there is no other word for her than evil. Before, one could have called her failings unintentional. She knows now. JK Rowling knows the harm she is inflicting. I guarantee you she knows the pain of being turned away from help after trauma. But despite that, she now inflicts that pain upon anyone who doesn’t fit her exact criteria for sympathy. It’s a level of unabashed disgusting inhuman cruelty that I straight up cannot fathom.

There was a time when she could have been called misinformed. But she isn’t anymore. JK Rowling knows exactly what she is doing now. And that is why she is so disgustingly evil. She knowingly uses her platform to inflict unimaginable harm. She has given so much of herself to a hate movement that she’s lost sight of basic humanity.

#tw: transphobia

[aeondeug]

1, 10, and 19 for the book ask?

book you’ve reread the most times? - The Lord of the Rings probably. I used to reread the thing on a yearly basis. I should get back to doing that because I do genuinely really love LotR. I don't have a copy of it here though...Granted I guess they're super easy to come by given that every bookstore has like a dedicated Tolkien section. do you have a guilty fav? - The Horse and His Boy remains like. One of my favorite books. Despite the fact that it is like. Awful??? On a number of fronts. With only more being revealed the older I get. But like I do really like the thing, especially Aravis. most disliked popular books? - Harry Potter kind of shot right to the top over the years due to just the ever compounding amount of bullshit. Also like as I've looked back on the books they're just...Extremely mean? Like the books are just very cruel all of the time and I just don't know why we have to be so mean! And even if there wasn't just the issues the books themselves have I can't in good conscience read them again because of the kind of person Rowling is and what she's currently supporting. Another thing though because like that feels kind of like an easy and obvious answer is...I don't really hate or dislike Brandon Sanderson's books per se but I do kind of get really tired of them being viewed as like The Best Magic Systems Ever. Because while they are really cool and I do like them, I just kind of hate that there are people that use the books to be shitty about other ways of handling magic systems. In particular the sort of derision towards the very concept of soft magic just. Gets to me. Because it's very often framed not as like a subjective opinion based thing but like objective fact and Sanderson's books get propped up as examples of what is objectively good. It's soured me a bit to his books even though I know that's not fair. Also as much as I love Mistborn the romance in the series is handled so horribly that I'm not sure I could ever actually reread the books. I loved them. They were fun. But that romance takes up such a large part of the series despite being boring at best until the very, very end when Elend dies that I just can't see myself going through them again. Because if I did I'd have to read through the Vin/Zayn/Elend love triangle again.

[unlicensed-un-proffesional]

Please help raise awareness of Scarlet Blake, a trans woman of color with mental health issues who was turned into the authorities in the UK alleging she committed a murder 2 years ago. She was turned in by an ex who may have fabricated some or all of the evidence especially as a nazi sympathizer but nobody is looking at that. Whatever you think of the allegations they are sending Scarlet to a male prison and there needs to be outrage about it. Nobody will be brave enough to do this alone we need to do it collectively.

Anon this is some heavy shit to spring on me, on the one hand I'd honestly not like to interfere with what looks like a personal affair or gossip, but on the other this seems intense and in particular could be targeted case so yeah. These articles have very sensationalist headlines and seem to paint a clear picture that I take for granted as 100% not indicative of the whole truth because, it's media news outlets. I honestly don't want to look into this but, you're right, it is a fucking, yeah a fucking outrage for such a sentencing, regardless of her innocence.

So you know I guess I'd rather encourage anyone seeing this to do some research on it, I've personally got my own things to attend to but if anyone else is willing to look for resources to use to protest the sentencing and find more information on the particulars of what seems to be a very brutal case I highly encourage you to do so. Just from glancing at this I'm pretty sure she is at least guilty of something, (but what you say, and the fact that it hasn't been talked about from what I see, leaves me open to the possibility it's all a farce as the UK is transphobia and specifically transmisogyny central as of late (OF FUCKING COURSE ROWLINGS GOT HER GRUBBY PAWS ALL OVER THIS. FUCKING CUNT CANT LEAVE BE) although I'm sure it's not quite the picture that's been painted of her that is honestly unbelievable to me, seems made to fit a widely accepted narrative of spontaneous insanity and danger that apparently comes out of nowhere and means nothing. I've personally seen some horror movie level people in my time, been the target of some, crazy bitches, but I don't accept the narrative being spun about Ms. Blake here. The fact that it is a trans woman's name being dragged through the mud like this has me more suspicious, especially concerning recent events.

Regardless of how heinous her crime may have been, it is an injustice to have her thrown into a mens prison, while not surprising and I agree something should be done about that. The conditions of her sentencing to seem incredibly just, ugh fuck it makes ME want to kill somebody. Given that the parameters of this brutal murder are true, this is obviously a case of mental health and going so far as to say she'll never be released, even for parole, is so bullshit and is purely just torture for the sake of satisfying a government and society standard. But here's the thing, I live in Alaska, quite a ways away, so besides educating myself I have very little ways of interacting with this. So if anyone from the UK perhaps wants to research and speak of this, do so! If you don't want to, I guess don't but I hope you change your mind. Everyone else I guess just spread the word, perhaps try to get to the bottom of this and track down what anon is talking about, I can't find any of it but haven't seen anything that counteracts these statements which leads me to believe it is information that has been unsurprisingly disregarded.

So yeah, that's quite something. I hope I'm not the only person you messaged about this anon, I am least capable of anything and don't have a large following, I thank you for bringing this to my attention though.

#anon ask #ask answered #scarlet blake #long post #hexacles.txt #pentacles talks

[emeraldrcse]

’ - susanna thompson, cis woman, she/her ’ did you hear wyvern is allowing ESMERALDA ROSIER on campus? the 60 years old HEAD OF DISICIPLINE? they’re here to teach DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS … that’s what they say at least, but i wouldn’t believe them, everyone knows they’re a member of DEATH EATERS. they even brought a RAVEN to wyvern, i wonder if that has anything to do with them drawing the HERMIT during the opening ceremony. only time will tell what it means.

Name: Esmeralda Rosier Nee Rowle Meaning: Emseralda: Emerald Nicknames: Ez, Esme, Emmy, Z, Age: 60 Ethnicity: English Height: 5′5″ Eye Colour: Blue/Green Hair Colour: Blonde Faceclaim: Susanna Thompson Gender: Cis-Woman Pronouns: She/her Sexuality: V gay but not very open about it unless you are someone she fancies. Parents: Atticus and Seraphina Rowle Siblings: 2 baby siblings Children: 1 biological, 2 adopted. Fears: Disappointing her father. She’s starting to fear she has lead her children down the wrong path.

Quick fire facts

Please do not fuck with any of her children. Just don’t 

Does not have time for your bullshit

Loves music and singing. Learnt to play the piano as a child and finds it still brings her great comfort to this day.

before becoming a professor she worked as an investigator in the auror department but would also occasionally sing gigs at high end bars (mainly ones her father owned) 

More fleshed out info!

Married right out of Hogwarts to Alexander Rosier. His family had connections her father wanted and she wouldn’t do anything to make him upset with her. 

Has 3 children, 1 biological daughter and 2 children she adopted. (all wanted connections)

Alexander and Esmeralda’s relationship was cold at best. Neither cared for the other and often outsourced their affection. They both kept it a secret from the world and especially their children who grew up thinking their parents were very much in love. Alexander worked for the Ministry and Esmeralda worked in the Auror offices as an investigator. Which worked in Alexanders favour as he often required his wife's help to be helped out of situations and investigations he often found himself in 

Esmeralda followed her husband into the death eaters when Voldemort came knocking. It wasn’t much of a choice really if he went in it wasn’t like she could say no and when her father and siblings were given seats at the table she didn’t see any other choice. She would follow her father wherever he went if necessary. It didn’t matter if she agreed or not, this was how they worked.

DEATH TW Alexander wasn’t the brightest man, that became obvious to her when in 2018 he got involved in a deal that went very sour. He panicked and became an obvious target for the black market thugs he thought he could outsmart. When said thugs attacked their daughter in an attempt to get to him, Esmeralda made a deal. His location for the safety of her children. What they did with him when they found him, Esmeralda didn’t care. His stupidity hurt their child and that was the final straw.

She played the part of a grieving widow well. Comforted her children as they mourned the loss of their father but truly felt nothing. DEATH TW END

Esmerelda signed on as DADA professor as a spy for the Death Eaters. However she has been having second thoughts about it all, about the way she raised her children. Maybe they weren’t simply better because of their status, Alexander had proven he wasn’t? Maybe there were things more worth fighting for than something as silly as blood status?

#ANYWAY HAVE THIS #afm: intro

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

No.

I made a post about how the community as a whole excused the blatant colonization of indigenous cultures, but transphobia was where you drew the line.

I'm not getting off my goddamn high horse about this JK Rowling bullshit.

To clarify, I never said indigenous people have it worse.

I said no one gave a shit about the anti-indigenous bullshit she put in Ivermory, and they only cared to boycott her when she started being transphobic.

I'm calling people out on their bullshit because no one gave a shit when she was being racist, but oh the transphobia. That crosses a line.

Native Americans and Native Hawaiians don't have access to clean water because their treaties are continuously being broken to build oil pipelines and fuel storage containers over clean water.

Native Americans DIED because they weren't given medical supplies for the pandemic.

Indigenous women are going MISSING. And the correlation of missing women and treaty breaking oil pipelines hasn't gone unnoticed.

And you know what directly impacts these issues? Celebrities like JK Rowling treating indigenous cultures as if they're the culture of some long-gone ancient peoples.

The continued colonization of indigenous peoples cultures by JK Rowling only exasperates these issues by minimizing and erasing their issues through the erasure OF THEM.

And I'm going to need to see some goddamn people STOP with the "not all white people" and white guilt bullshit over this.

This isn't an individual problem. I don't give TWO SHITS where you were during JKR's colonization of indigenous cultures. I don't give TWO SHITS about the people that didn't know. This isn't about you or the individual person.

This is about the ENTIRE DAMN LIBERAL AND LEFTIST COMMUNITIES not giving A SINGLE SHIT when indigenous people were talking about her appropriation of their culture. This is about how NO ONE GAVE A SHIT and CONTINUED TO SUPPORT HER when she was blatantly appropriating other cultures, but when she's transphobic THAT is what crosses the line.

THIS IS NOT A GODDAMN CONTEST.

I DIDN'T FOR ONE GODDAMN SECOND SAY THAT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAVE IT WORSE THAN TRANS PEOPLE.

I SIMPLY POINTED THE GODDAMN DOUBLE STANDARD.

If YOU think I was making this a contest, then THAT is on you. That tells me that all you were thinking about when reading my post was why you should prioritize YOUR issues.

Because ALL I WAS SAYING the community as a whole didn't give a shit. The colonization of indigenous cultures was okay, but transphobia was where you drew the line.

AND NO. I'M NOT GOING TO SHUT UP AND BE NICE ABOUT IT. STOP YOUR GODDAMN TONE LOCOMOTIVE AND GIVE A SHIT ABOUT SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF FOR FIVE GODDAMN SECONDS.

HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TELL ME I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE PISSED THE FUCK OFF HERE.

-fae

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Hot takes about Severus Snape are a wierdly decent glimpse into how a person with progressive values analyses things. Literally every time someone talks about Snape, it’s like this tiny window into how one-dimentionally people actually think.

Recently saw a twitter post that was a fantastic example. Here’s how it goes (paraphrasing):

Person A:“Snape is POC and Queer coded, that’s why you guy’s hate him uwu lol.”

Person B: “Actually I hate him because he was mean and abusive to children under his care uwu but go off I guess lol”

Both of these takes are designed to be dramatic and/or reactionary. They each use partial truths to paint very broad strokes. These are get-em-in-one-hit quips. This is virtue signalling, if you’ll excuse that loaded phrase. Nobody had a substantial conversation, but now everyone who sees their statement knows the high ground they took.

At least a hundred other people chimed in to add their own little quippy hot takes into play, none of which add anything significant, but clearly made everyone feel very highly of themselves.

So many layers of nuance and complex analysis is completely lost in this kind of discussion. On tumblr, you get more of this kind of bullshit, but you don’t have a word count limit, so you guys just spew endless mountains of weak overblown evidence backing up your bullshit arguments, none of which was really about engaging in a real conversation anyway.

Here’s the thing about Snape.

He is a childhood domestic abuse victim. His abuser is a muggle.

He becomes a student at a magical school that takes him away from his abuser and immediately instills in him the idea that being a part of this magical world is a badge of self-worth, empowerment, and provides safety and security - provided that he keeps in line.

There is a war is being waged in that world over his right to exist (he is a half blood).

He is a marginalized person within the context of the narrative, forced to constantly be in the same living space as the children of his own oppressors who are being groomed and recruited into a hate group militia (the pureblood slytherins). They are in turn trying to do the same to him.

He is marginalized person bullied by children who are also part of his oppressor group, but who have “more liberal” leanings and aren’t direct about why he’s being targeted (the mauraders are all purebloods, Sirius, who was the worst offender, was raised in a bigoted household, the same one that produced Bellatrix.).

He had a crush on a girl who is a muggleborn, and therefore she is considered even lesser than him and carries a stigma to those who associate with her. That girl was his only real friend. In his entire life.

For both Snape and Lily, allying themselves to a pureblood clique within their own houses would be a great way of shielding themselves from a measure of the bigotry they were probably facing. There would have been obvious pressure from those cliques to disconnect with one and other.

Every other person who associates with Snape in his adulthood carries some sort of sociopolitical or workplace (or hate cult) baggage with their association. Some of them will physically harm and/or kill him if he steps out of line. He hasn’t at any point had the right environment to heal and adjust from these childhood experiences. Even his relationship with Dumbledore is charged with constant baggage, including the purebloods who almost killed him during their bullying getting a slap on the wrist, the werewolf that almost killed him as a child being placed in an authority position over new children, etc. Dumbledore is canonically manipulative no matter his good qualities, and he has literally been manipulating Snape for years in order to cultivate a necessary asset in the war.

He is a person who is not in the stable mental state necessary to be teaching children, whom has been forced to teach children. While also playing the role of double agent against the hate group militia, the one that will literally torture you for mistakes or backtalk or just for fun. The one that will torture and kill him if he makes one wrong move.

Is the math clicking yet? From all of this, it’s not difficult to see how everything shitty about Snape was cultivated for him by his environment. Snape was not given great options. Snape made amazingly awful choices, and also some amazingly difficult, courageous ones. Snape was ultimately a human who had an extremely bad life, in which his options were incredibly grim and limited.

In fact, pretty much every point people make about how shitty Snape is as a person makes 100% logical sense as something that would emerge from how he was treated. Some if it he’s kind of right about, some of it is the inevitable reality of suffering, and some of it is part of the cycle of abuse and harm.

Even Snape’s emotional obsession with Lily makes logical sense when you have the perspective that he literally has no substantial positive experiences with other human beings that we know of, and he has an extreme, soul destroying guilt complex over her death. Calling him an Incel mysoginist nice guy projects a real-world political ideology and behavior that does not really apply to the context of what happened to him and her.

Even Snape’s specific little acts of cruelty to certain students is a reflection of his own life experiences. He identifies with Neville; more specifically, he identifies his own percieved emotional weaknesses in his childhood in Neville. There’s a very sad reason there why he feels the urge to be so harsh.

Snape very clearly hates himself, in a world where everyone else hates him, too. Imagine that, for a second. Imagine total internal and external hatred, an yearning for just a little bit of true connection. For years. Imagine then also trying to save that world, even if it’s motivated by guilt. Even if nobody ever knows you did it and you expect to die a miserable death alone.

There are more elements here to consider, including the way Rowling described his looks (there may be something in there re: ugliness and swarthy stereotyping). These are just the things that stand out the most prominently to me.

J.K. Rowling is clearly also not reliable as an imparter of moral or sociopolitical philosophies. I don’t feel that her grasp of minority experiences is a solid one, considering how she picks and chooses who is acceptable and who is a threat.

All of that said, this is a logically consistent character arc. Within the context of his narrative, Snape is a marginalized person with severe PTSD and emotional instability issues who has absolutely no room available to him for self-improvement or healing, and never really has. And yes, he’s also mean, and caustic, and verbally abusive to the students. He’s also a completey miserable, lonely person.

There are elements in his character arc that mirror real world experiences quite well. If nothing else, Rowling is enough of an emotional adult to recognise these kinds of things and portray something that feels authentic.

In my opinion, it’s not appropriate to whittle all this down by comparing him directly to the real world experiences of marginalized groups - at least if you are not a part of the group you are comparing him to. There have been many individuals who have compared his arc to their own personal experiences of marginalization, and that is valid. But generally speaking, comparing a white straight dude to people who are not that can often be pretty offensive. This is not a valuable way to discuss either subject.

Also, I believe that while it’s perfectly okay to not like Snape as a character, many of the people who act like Person B are carrying Harry’s childhood POV about Snape in their hearts well into their own adulthood. And if nothing else, Rowling was attempting to say something here about how our perspectives (should) grow and change as we emotionally mature.  She doesn’t have to be a good person herself to have expressed something true about the world in this instance, and since this story is a part of our popular culture, people have a right to feel whatever way they do about this story and it’s characters.

The complexity of this particular snapshot of fictionalized marginalization, and what it reveals about the human experience, cannot be reduced down to “he’s an abuser so he’s not worth anyone’s time/you are bad for liking him.”

And to be honest, I think that it reveals a lot about many of us in progressive spaces, particularly those of us who less marginalized but very loud about our values, that we refuse to engage with these complexities in leu of totally condemning him. Particularly because a lot of the elements I listed above are indeed reflected in real world examples of people who have experienced marginalization and thus had to deal with the resulting emotional damage, an mental illness, and behavior troubles, and bad decisions. Our inability to address the full scope of this may be a good reflection of how we are handling the complexity of real world examples.

Real people are not perfect angels in their victimhood. They are just humans who are victims, and we all have the capacity to be cruel and abusive in a world where we have been given cruelty and abuse. This is just a part of existing. If you cannot sympathise with that, or at least grasp it and aknowledge it and respect the people who are emotionally drawn to a character who refects that, then you may be telling on yourself to be honest.

To be honest, this is especially true if you hate Snape but just really, really love the Mauraduers. You have a right to those feelings, but if you are moralizing this and judging others for liking Snape, you’ve confessed to something about how you’ve mentally constructed your personal values in a way I don’t think you’ve fully grasped yet.

I have a hard time imagining a mindset where a story like Snape’s does not move one to empathy and vicarious grief, if I’m honest. I feel like some people really just cannot be bothered to imagine themselves in other people’s shoes, feeling what they feel and living like they live. I struggle to trust the social politics of people who show these kinds of colors, tbh.

But maybe that’s just me.

[seek--rest]

I've noticed the way the Irondad Fandom treats aunt May is similar to how Draco stans treat Draco in harry potter in that they make them the complete opposite of who they are in Canon.

May is an amazing parent, kind, caring and compassionate in Canon but gets made into an abusive woman who should never be allowed around children in fanon.

Draco is and awful person, he's racist, wishes for the death of fellow students/kids and joins a cult dedicated to killing people based solely on blood status. In fanon he is given a tragic backstory and made out to be a victim of child abuse but is somehow also kind funny caring and compassionate the complete opposite of who he is.

They are so OOC that they are essentially OCs with the same name as and replacing Canon characters.

You’re not wrong but I also think there’s something to be said here about characterization and what people choose to prioritize.

May Parker in the MCU is an imperfect parent, written by misogynistic white men who prioritize the people who look like them. Recognizing who is writing her matters just as much as trying to explain her actions in-universe does.

In what universe would it be okay for a rich celebrity superhero to come into your apartment, dazzle you with his charm enough to let you talk to your child alone with the door closed behind them, and then allow him in ANY capacity to take him away for the weekend? We don’t know what Tony told her and let’s be clear— Tony was canonically a blackmailer, manipulative and seeing Peter as an asset, not a person from Civil War and all throughout HOCO.

This isn’t a hot take. This isn’t a criticism. This is just literally what he did. Happy has more of a connection to Peter than Tony ever did pre-IW but you wouldn’t know it from the fandom— especially considering IronDad was essentially BORNE from people seeing Tony constantly yell at Peter for the entirety of the run time and decided “yes that is Peter’s dad now”. But that’s a conversation for another day.

But rather than IronDad reckoning with the blatant and consistent use and abuse— a term I do not use lightly— that Tony gave to Peter, it seems as if fandom latched on to May’s (1) bad parenting mistake and extrapolated that… compared to literally every other instance of her both within Civil War and HOCO of her being a good mom.

Compare that with how Tony canonically was to Peter in Civil War and HOCO— not even with a negative lens but just actually watching the fucking movies with your own two eyes— I call bullshit on the idea that the fandom wide interpretation of May Parker from 2016 and still to this day being most written as abusive, dating an abusive partner or DEAD isn’t anything more than misogyny. Full stop.

Especially when the number of fics from 2016 and still to this day of Tony Stark being the best, sweetest, kindest, loving DAD to Peter Parker are endless.

Canonically, May made a bad move that could— in a just world— actually be used to explore the complications of raising a superhero. Some of my favorite fics of May don’t make her this flat, perfect, has never done anything wrong character (which is just as much of a disservice and shallow reading of the woman who raised Peter) but actually dives into her regrets and her insecurities and her mistakes.

With Draco, you can 100% make the argument that he’s a child of abuse raised in a shitty, racist and sexist family— made even more clear how that was depicted in that way with the real world shitty TERF that JK Rowling is.

There’s canonical basis— if you squint, tilt your head to the side and stand really still— for some of the crumbs people take with these characters… but by and large, it’s the woobification or demonization of characters for the purpose of 1) self-projection and 2) internalized racism and misogyny.

I’m all for creativity and fanfic is supposed to be fun but if you can only be creative by constantly and completely rewriting characters to fit your “vision” —a vision that’s always positive for the white dude you’re projecting on and always negative for literally everyone else— maybe you need to reconsider how much your creativity isn’t actually creative and just plays into the same tropes that are not only squicky because of “preference”, but actually harmful / steeped in internalized racism and misogyny.

Or maybe just start writing original fiction cause these aren’t the same characters at all.

#seek speaks #fandom racism #fandom misogyny #an absolute displeasure to know

[thessalian]

Thess vs JK Rowling

So let’s talk about JK Rowling for a minute. Yes, I know that you’re probably sick of hearing about it for one reason or another. I get it. I just ... have a distinct need to vent here. So I’m sorry for bringing it up again, whatever side of this argument you’re on. Just ... come on. Hogwarts Legacy comes out on my fucking birthday. The only thing that’s saving my birthday at this point, given the mess the internet’s going to be Friday over this, is sushi dinner and a little Legend of Vox Machina watch party.

The summary basically goes as follows: JK Rowling is a TERF and a horrible human being, and she underlines that fact every time she opens her virtual mouth, and now Hogwarts Legacy is coming out and it’s been an internet slap-fight ever since. The reactions I’ve seen so far have been as follows:

“I’m buying multiple copies to own the libs!”

“I’m buying a copy but I’m donating twice as much to trans organisations so it’s fine, right?”

“SUPPORT THE DEVELOPERS OMG!”

“It doesn’t really deprive her of that much money anyway given how rich she is, so a boycott is pointless.”

“I’ll just pirate it and you should too!” (bonus points for talking about the cracker who’s making it a point to crack Denuvo over this, and that’s about the one good thing coming out of it because Denuvo is bullshit)

And then there’s me. I’m trying not to ascribe hateful intent to anyone who wants to buy Hogwarts Legacy. I really am. The only reason I can manage it is - and I’m sorry to put it this way but there’s literally no other way I can phrase it - US news is basically the centre of the media universe and a lot of people only hear the very basics about how JK Rowling is a TERF and a horrible human being. You combine that with nostalgia goggles and it’s a recipe for what I can only really call quasi-deliberate cognitive dissonance in people with the best of intentions. Sorry for doing this; I just need to pull this apart.

We’ll start with the nostalgia goggles. I mean, I was a ... sort of a fan when I was younger. Looking back on it, I can see why “more or less average kid from a household that treats them unfairly is suddenly elevated to popularity, wealth, a stable emotional support network and ADVENTURE!” had appeal. Thing is, looking at it with a more critical eye? It was racist as fuck. Not that much better on the sexism. Not any better on the antisemitism either. Apologetic of slavery (”No it’s okay because they like being slaves!” my entire oversized ass). Don’t even get me started about the “lycanthropy as AIDS” thing that she actually admitted to, and literally highlighting how she killed her gays when she stated that Dumbledore was gay after the last books were already out instead of actually showing any of that in the text. On top of all that, I can’t say with any honesty that it was even that well-written. While I don’t think a lot of people are forgetting that book 7 epilogue any time soon, the rest of it ... just ... doesn’t hold up to me. The wizarding houses that sold a few billion pieces of merchandise were just an excuse to legitimise bullying within the text. Her portrayal of Snape had her confusing “doomed love” with “incel”. Dumbledore was sold as a benevolent sage but came across to me as a fucking maniac and a horrible educator. Most of all, half of this series was held together with plot glue, communication fail, and having a non-omniscient, highly distractable POV character throughout. I have things to say about the pacing, particularly as regards the introduction of the Horcruxes and the Remus / Tonks relationship (which, given the “bad man spreading this AIDS-analog to people deliberately” the still somehow existing view of AIDS as “a bad gay’s disease”, and Remus’ bond with Sirius, feels like an attempt to “de-gay” Remus somehow, but all that did was code him bi and she killed him anyway, apparently to tug on heartstrings in a really clumsy-ass way, so eh). But we’ve got colourful houses coded by desirable personality traits (EXCEPT SLYTHERIN, like cunning and ambition are somehow inherently evil) and Quidditch and Every-Flavour Beans, so that’s fine, right? Egh. Sorry; I was never one to hang onto the nostalgia goggles for very long. I love poking the Jenga Tower of Logic too much.

(Also, frankly, if she’d taken Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and turned them into a Steve Irwin-type nature series instead of the racist imperialist pile of garbage that series turned into, she’d have been a lot better off. Though I’m not sure I like her rooting around in the cultural heritages of others because she handles this shit like a moose handles a Ming vase.)

Of course, Hogwarts Legacy is a different kettle of fish. It’s not in the modern era or anything so it can’t be that problematic, right? It’s set in ... *checks* 1890. So the height of British imperialism. Oooooooh yeah that’s going to be a Thing, isn’t it. Let’s see ... Super Special Student thrown into Hogwarts in their fifth year, Possessed of Ancient Secret Magic ... Chosen One. Got it. Wikipedia won’t even go into the full plot but what I seem to recall is “Evil (and Jewish-coded) Goblins Attempt Wizard Genocide”. So that’s nice. And its lead designer is ... Troy Leavitt, Gamergate supporter and creation of such videos as “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”. Which, given Rowling’s history with same, is on brand. So how about we not go too far into the “But SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPERS!” argument? This man does not need support; he needs a good swift kick in the balls.

So, back onto Rowling, because I really can’t talk about the game much as it’s not technically out yet. Yes, TERF and horrible human being, but there are examples of this that go beyond the shit she spouts on Twitter. As far as the TERF shit goes, here’s an example: a little while ago, the devolved Scottish Parliament wrote a law - only applicable to the Scots, incidentally - that said that people age 16 and up should be able to decide what gender to put on their identity documents. It’s called the Gender Recognition Act. Now, the UK government at Westminster didn’t like this at all, and - in a move they’re not actually supposed to make - blocked Scottish Parliament from being able to enact that law within its own borders. This kicked the Scottish devolution movement (already pretty heavy because of the end results of Brexit) into even higher gear, because fuck the English government wanting to uphold their terfitude so much that they’d dictate what Scotland can do in its own borders. Rowling is on the English government’s side here, and is very against Scottish devolution. The money she has doesn’t only go to that LGB Alliance that leaves out the T so very deliberately; it also goes to blocking Scotland’s attempt to unstaple itself from this hellscape, just because she agrees with blocking the rights of people to choose whether an M or F goes on their official documentation instead of basing it on their assigned gender at birth.

And then there’s her most recent book, written under her (ironically male) pseudonym. Yes, it’s a TERF manifesto with chapters, but it’s more than just “Evil Mass Murderer Hides Behind Woke Transgender Propaganda To Gain Access To Women’s Bathrooms And Murder Them”. That book also includes a “poor influencer accused of being ableist being murdered by disabled people because they consider said influencer too ableist to be condoned” plot. Fibromyalgia is mentioned (dude, I have fibro and even if I wasn’t a decent human being, I hurt too much to be able to actively murder someone). Also autism, which is pretty telling when you consider that she also says that “poor confused autistic girls are being forced into gender conversion because they’re too autistic to understand what they’re doing”.

If you honestly want to own anything with this woman’s name attached, that’s fine. That’s your prerogative. I am probably going to judge you, though. It’s not the money, or at least not just the money - it’s the platform this is giving her, and the validation. Even piracy says “I don’t care about your behaviour because you’re giving me what I want”. Not even need; want. I don’t get why anyone wants it, but people are allowed to have different tastes, so that’s a whatever-thing. But I live in the country where her voice has the most influence on things that aren’t entertainment. She is defended by so many of the wealthy and powerful because she thinks the same way they do. And the more she’s lauded for anything she does, the more they’ll point to her as something good about this country. She is not a good thing about this country, and no amount of flying broomsticks and jelly beans that taste like earwax can change that, in my mind.

(Also, I’ve seen some of the preview pictures - the game looks like hot garbage anyway.)

#Thess has opinions #Thess plays video games #But not that one #Not ever

[lady-wildflower]

See, Rowling is pulling some very deliberate bullshit in her most recent TERF-dump. By positing her transphobia as ‘if you disagree you support rapists,’ she gives herself a very easy angle to punch back with, without actually addressing what the issue with what she supports is.

Nobody is saying that rapist trans women aren’t rapists. Nobody is saying that. But the fundamental truth is that if a trans woman rapes someone, she’s still a trans woman. We don’t want that ignored, why the fuck would we? Unlike TERFs, we don’t think we’re angels who can do no wrong. Because the other fundamental truth here is that just because someone’s awful doesn’t mean they’re not trans and doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to self-ID. What she is supporting is the idea that one’s own identity is a privilege given by cis people that can be revoked at any time if they decide they don’t like you, or like she does in her very first TERF-manifesto, if they decide you’re not the right kind of trans. What she is also supporting is the idea that rapists should be stripped of their legal rights, and attacking the rights of a marginalized group in the same stroke. No, we don’t support rapists, nor will we ever support rapists. But the fact is that criminals of all strokes must still have rights, because a government that says they shouldn’t have rights is a government immediately inclined to jail its political opposition and strip them of their rights, and we have a word for that. It’s fascism.

No, I don’t support rapists in any way. But fundamentally, any convicted criminal must have rights, no matter how icky and wrong it feels to say a rapist has rights, because if the state can take away your rights for one crime, it can take them away for any crime it likes. Rowling promoting this instance of revoking rights based on criminality (as assessed by the state for good or for bad) is completely in line with a rise in nationalist and fascist stances in the UK, which literally introduced legislation that will allow their government to revoke citizenship without warning, even to people born in the UK, and deport them to the country of their parents’ origin. Criminals and prisoners must have rights and standards to their treatment, otherwise you live in a fascist state.

Rowling’s bullshit promotes the idea that trans women are men the moment we fall out of line, be that for a rape conviction or for, again as she posits in her first essay, not being the right kind of trans for her, and anything inbetween. She promotes the idea that one’s identity is a courtesy she should be allowed to revoke at any time. Does this TERFstain understand that cis women are just as capable of rape as trans women? No, because her position is based on the idea that women are fluffly little fairies who can do no wrong, which is frankly an insult to women both cis and trans.

Yes, trans women can be rapists. Trans men can be rapists. Nonbinary people can be rapists. So can cis women and cis men. At no point have we ever pretended we are incapable of criminality and abhorrent behaviour, and at no point would Rowling ever link the gender of a cis woman rapist to their crime. In fact, I’m fairly sure she’d ignore it if the rapist was a cis woman, because it doesn’t fit her TERF worldview. But the fundamental issue here is the precedent of revoking our rights as a population because of it, and the fact that cis TERFs like Rowling want to paint the picture that criminals among us are criminals because they are like us. It is identical to the bigoted idea that lesbians want to rape women, that gay men want to rape men, because they are homosexual.

#rant #tw rape #tw terfs #tw terf #JK Rowling #trans #trans rights

[butchbarbieagainstterfs]

This has been bothering me for awhile, and I know what I'm about to say is controversial, but I hate posts that shame Harry Potter fans.

The main reason I hate posts like that is because people are shaming others for enjoying something they grew up with. The majority of the Harry Potter fanbase still found comfort in those stories with being outcasts and black sheeps of the family themselves. Ironically, many trans Harry Potter fans found themselves through the Harry Potter franchise. Not to mention, I hate the ridicule given to those who can separate the art from the artist who also even go as far as making spiteful trans headcanons(honestly spite can be a great creative motivator). Also hate how they shame those who just look back fondly on the story itself, flaws and all but it's still enjoyable to them. I still enjoy older Dan Schneider shows like All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, iCarly, and to a lesser extent Victorious, it doesn't mean I support Dan Schneider or Drake Bell. I grew up on these shows, they still hold fond memories to me, I can separate the art from the artist.

I'm basically saying, hate and criticize JK Rowling, you have the right to, just leave the Harry Potter fans who wanna enjoy their childhoods separate from her bullshit, alone.

Also, Hufflepuff Enby for the win. The Hufflepuff House hates JK Rowling.

I mean, it’s difficult because I do understand people not wanting to let it go / it being a massive part of their childhood, but I also do understand trans people being uncomfortable.

Personally for me it was a massive part of my childhood but I’ve since thrown out all my Harry Potter stuff and never looked back. It made me feel better to do that. I know that’s not everyone though and in my experience, most trans people only really judge you if you are still giving her money. I do understand the ones that feel uncomfortable too in general however because of her.

Trans folk, if I stepped over a line with this, let me know and feel free to reblog and add your view 🥰

#anti terf #my stuff

[nihilisme]

As someone who suffers from BPD, which is really discriminated against and incredibly misunderstood, I understand why the trans community would feel seething rage towards Dave Chappelle right now. Such a divisive, hot button issue does not deserve to be used as a toy by famous people who are just trying to get clout. Trans people still get hurt and killed by bigots and Netflix allowing someone to put out a show where someone literally says they're "team TERF" is disgusting.

The term "gender is a fact" is JK Rowling's (and in turn Chappelle's) incredibly ingenious way of rebranding transphobia. If any of y'all have read Rowling's treatise, it's basically, in my opinion, a deeply misandrist (obviously on top of being transphobic), thinly veiled guise of her trying to get over her own traumas.

In her own words, "The more of their accounts of gender dysphoria I’ve read, with their insightful descriptions of anxiety, dissociation, eating disorders, self-harm and self-hatred, the more I’ve wondered whether, if I’d been born 30 years later, I too might have tried to transition."

Really? You THOUGHT about possibly transitioning? Maybe you're just in denial about your possible trans-ness Joanne? Or maybe this is your way of coping that's so maladaptive that it's burgeoned into very eloquently worded bigotry? Better yet, just DABBLING in the thought of being trans would've completely turned you trans?

Look, I get that Chappelle just did this for what is equivalent to gold in today's currency - controversy and attention. So for anyone who might say, "he's doing this to get a reaction out of you. He wants you to discuss this and to get mad about it." I fucking get it. I get it and I don't appreciate it. It's lazy, demoralizing, and worst of all, harmful. He put WAY too much faith in people to think that HIS words don't affirm THEIR OWN individual bigotry.

Someone like JK Rowling, as harmful as her words are, don't want to physically harm trans people, as she says so herself in her treatise. BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO DO. And Chappelle, a ridiculously legendary, famous, influential, formerly funny comedian had the platform to just SAY WHAT HE WANTED TO SAY WITHOUT INVOLVING TRANS PEOPLE. Just say that cancel culture is bad Dave! Just say that social media, in its attempts to pivot and manipulate all of our primal, tribal warfare-oriented ape brains, are ruining all of us! Because it is! But guess what Dave? YOU'RE JUST PARTICIPATING AND PERPETUATING THE ENDLESS WATER WHEEL OF GENERATING CONTROVERSY WHILE ALSO JEOPARDIZING TRANS LIVES AT THE SAME TIME.

Dave Chappelle is a fucking hypocrite. Just open the show and tell us you want some money man. We would've given it to you regardless of how funny or unfunny it was. At least it would've been more direct and honest, than all this bullshit "Gender is a fact" nomenclature.

The gender is a fact argument is dishonest in how it's presented by the way. Comparing it to another movement - Black Lives Matter - we know that it means to protect black lives and that they don't deserve to be brutally murdered by cops because of racism. Gender is a fact is trying to emulate BLM by stating a very simple statement that is WAY more nuanced than it presents itself to be. But it just doesn't work on the same level at all. It's demeaning to state this shit thinking trans people don't understand their own plight or what they're going through. And as someone who has BPD - who gets told that all my feelings are just IN MY HEAD all the time from people who have no idea what it's like - trans people are trans for a reason and it's not just in their goddamn fuckin heads or them being "dramatic children". Why don't people who argue about trans rights argue in good faith instead of throwing around bullshit nomenclature that doesn't amount to anything? Because they don't understand what the fuck they're actually saying.

People who side with Chappelle and Rowling can easily say gender is a fact without batting an eye because they don't understand what it actually means to be trans. It's demeaning to trans people - do people REALLY think trans people, people who deal with their gender identity on a constant basis, really not know what the fuck gender means? What the fuck sex means? It's more nuanced than just saying "gender is a fact". You don't get to shut down somebody's entire gender identity and/or their trans-ness just by saying something that is deceptively simple, when in reality it's just a convenient dog whistle for transphobia. JK Rowling desperately tries to assert that her transphobia does not equate to her hating trans people - but what does it matter when you coined an entirely new hashtag EXACTLY DESIGNED to hate on a minority, and you don't even understand, at all, what they're going through? Joanne, on top of all of this, you are a misandrist without wanting to say you are. The fact that feminists only care about trans men because "they were originally born women" leaves a GLARING implied hole of not caring about men. Of how patriarchy HARMS MEN TOO. Yes, feminism still has a fucking long way to go. Yes, women still need to fight for rights and you hoped to have had a better future for your daughters at this point. But you're pointing the gun at the wrong enemy. Saying trans women wearing female clothing is equivalent to them wearing a "costume" is dehumanizing an entire group of people and their identities; implying that they are just "men" playing dress up is incredibly belittling for people who struggle with their identities. It's pretty equivalent to how homosexual people used to be belittled for their "lifestyles".

Back to Dave... It's ultimately just disappointing. If I ever talk to you as a person, Mr. Chappelle, I KNOW that you wouldn't want trans people harmed. Obviously you are still mourning your friend's death. I KNOW that the point of your special was so that "cancel culture" can stop being a thing and you're trying to open discussions on that. But at what cost? At what fucking cost? When you could've approached it in a different way and still would've gotten engagement. You still had a chance to change our poisonous internet culture without participating in discourse you barely fucking understand. You could've snowballed a movement that could have eventually dismantled Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, and Instagram - poisonous social media culture in general - in literally any other way.

In your own words, you said you can become famous, but you can't become unfamous. You can become infamous, but you can't become unfamous. Why would you choose the latter path?

[animentality]

listen, transphobic author aside, you have to respect that Harry Potter was probably the last story in collective memory that actually bothered to tell a story instead of “subvert the audience’s expectations.”

Harry Potter was predictable as fuck. 

Before the 7th book even came out, I knew RAB was Regulus Black, I had an inkling that Harry was the last Horcrux, and I had a feeling Severus Snape wasn’t the bad guy.

Even my mom who’s...and Mom I’m sorry for this...even my Mom who’s terrible at predicting stories and noticing basic details could see that coming.

But regardless of how you feel about the author, Harry Potter has a clear ending.

Bad guy is defeated, and with a reasonably grand ending, a final battle at Hogwarts involving all of the characters you loved, and references to all of Harry’s teachers, all of his classes, all of his adventures in Hogwarts.

You see Trelawney throwing her glass balls, Madam Sprout smears the walls with Mandrakes and Tentacula shit and what have you. You see Flitwick and McGonagall doing their charms and hexes and shit. 

You get to see all these students you grew to know showing their bravery and loyalty to Harry by dying for a better future. 

And then finally, you get to see Harry doing what he does best, sacrificing himself for others and then getting the opportunity to “kill” the guy who hurt all of his friends. 

LISTEN i don’t agree with J.K. Rowling as a person at all, I think she’s a transphobic cunt in fact, but as a writer myself, I fucking admire the Harry Potter series as a whole. 

You have to be completely in denial to try and insist they’re “poorly written.”

Like no offense, but unless you’re a writer yourself who’s written a long serial story, how can you really say that and expect me to believe you without evidence? 

So many elements of those books came back into play later, it felt like Rowling planned out every step and every important plot point was referenced far before it was relevant.

Like the diadem, for example, in the Room of Requirements.

The Room of Requirements itself was even mentioned by Dumbledore before Harry even needed it for his DA meetings, the room full of “chamber pots.” 

 Tom Riddle’s diary, of course, always had significance. The “twinkle” in Dumbledore’s eye in the fourth book when he realized Harry was a Horcrux. Bathilda Bagshot, magical historian. The sword of Godric Gryffindor imbues itself with magical properties that strengthen it. 

The Vanishing Cabinet at Borgin and Burke’s. 

Sirius’ broken mirror comes back into play in the final book. 

The Bloody Baron and Ravenclaw’s daughter, both of whom were referenced and absolutely had backstories the entire series, but you never noticed them until Rowling pointed them out. 

Harry’s Invisibility Cloak never losing its magic. 

And of course, the fucking Deluminator. 

A cute little device Dumbledore used in the very first book, completely useless and mostly ignored until the final book, given to Ron (and given completely arbitrary bullshit magic, but whatever). 

You can criticize Rowling’s writing, and her personal views, and they’re all fair game.

But all of that shit is evidence of good writing, I’m sorry, it’s just true. 

A story that has pieces that all fit together and brings it all together for a final conclusion that not only makes sense but gives  you an emotional and decisive ending to the whole adventure. 

She wrote a coherent story that was predictable, sure, but god FUCKING damnit I’m so tired of stories not making sense because the popular thing of today seems to be shock and awe.

Like I get it, you need your story to trend on twitter so you do something so astronomically stupid and weird that you force fans to talk amongst themselves to figure out wtf you were doing.

But for me, as a writer and a reader, I will always treasure the stories that know where they’re going.

I would rather read a story that makes sense, and could be predicted if any reasonable person could put together all of the pieces, than some zigzagging corporate product catered to shock gratification. 

Harry Potter, for all of its flaws, wrapped up its story. The epilogue was unnecessary, maybe, but the actual story of killing Voldemort, of destroying all of his souls, and the magical adventures sprinkled in between, it created a legacy that’ll last for a long time.

you can re-read Harry Potter books, they have a lot of re-readability.

Stories that rely on shocking you don’t because when you re-watch them, all of the “red herrings” just look fucking dumb.

I don’t know a single person alive who’s re-watched Game of Thrones after that shit season 8 ending. 

How can you, you know it’s all going to shit?

Write stories with a purpose. You don’t have to know every single plot point, stories are allowed to evolve, but know where you generally are going, and what themes you’re trying to convey. 

Your story will last much longer if you remember that “shock and awe” might surprise an audience for a week, maybe even a month, but will fade from public consciousness much faster than a story with a strong structure. 

Think of like Romeo and Juliet.

Everyone knows the fucking end of that story, and it’s even said in the fucking beginning of the play, but we all re-read it anyway. 

Because the story being told has to be interesting on its own, it has to have something to it worth re-visiting. 

All of our classics, in fact, do not rely on people not knowing what’s going to happen. 

I’m sick of this modern trend. 

Controversial opinion but writers who rely on surprising their readers with pointless deaths or weird thrown in drama rather than simply telling a story with unbelievably good twists here and there are fucking terrible. 

#harry potter