okay big talk time. in light of the UK Supreme Court ruling, i'm seeing a lot of posts about fandom spaces. i woke up to see a tiktok that says "if you write fanfic, there's blood on your hands too",,, so let's talk about it.
because there is no refuting that fandom spaces keep JKR relevant. there is no refuting that by producing any kind of media based on this franchise, we are engaging with her and we are keeping her universe relevant. we cannot deny that.
we often see people turn around and say "jkr would hateee what we write!" and that's true. that's so very true, but it isn't enough. your headcanons and your stories and your art Are Not Enough. particularly over on tiktok: if you post HP content over on that platform, you are promoting JKR. my existence in this space as a trans man is NOT an act of protest. everything else i do is, so what do we do about that?
we NEED to be talking about these things. about jkr, about her money, about her actions, about the bigotry in the source material, and if you are not in a position where you can have those conversations, then you need to be listening. because engagement with jkr is infact life of death.
and we carry that guilt. we do, of course we do. if you are somebody who hasn't yet been able to let go of this series like me, then we carry that guilt. even more so if you are a member of any of the communities that jkr has harmed - the guilt is heavy.
but,,, let me make one thing clear: this is not your guilt.
if you are not profiting her. directly, then you are carrying guilt that is not yours to carry. that guilt is hers to bear, and the lives we are about to lose are on her conscious. we have been forced, time and time again, to carry the weight of her bigotry.
but,,, we're carrying it. and i think there's a certain amount of guilt that makes us better. i think there's a certain amount of guilt that makes us more conscious human beings, and that makes us more receptive to these discussions.
you can use that guilt, you really can. you can talk. you can listen. you can educate. you can step away if the guilt gets too much. you can use that guilt for something good.
do NOT push it away. whilst it isn't ours to carry, we are not in a position where we can throw that guilt away and wash our hands of it - we are here, we are engaging, we have to accept that. if we simply pretend as though we are not, then all we do is cause harm.
because fandom spaces can do a lot of good, especially for those that jkr has harmed. fandom spaces can do so much good, but only if we are conscious of the ways in which we are engaging, and we are willing to sit and have these difficult conversations.
if i were not in the position i am in now, i would leave. i would leave this fandom space and at this point? i am in fact urging those of you are able to, to go. for your own sakes and the sakes of everyone around you.
but as someone who has been having conversations about JKR for ages? i am in no position to step back. i'm in no position to turn away and give up. not when there are so many people who benefit from these discussions and who benefit from safe spaces.
and the reason it's a safe space? it's because I Talk. because i Have These Discussions. and no matter how much i do, i am still promoting her when i go on to post a headcanon or update my fics. i am still promoting her when i engage in this space.
and there's still guilt.
don't chuck that guilt aside, let it fuel you in making safe spaces safe again.
there is absolutely no refuting that by being in this space we are causing harm. so if you are not in a position to leave this space, here's some things you can do to make it easier for everyone both in and out of it:
Listen. if you are not in a position to talk about JKR, then actively listen. actively listen, understand, process, and adapt.
Merchandise: stop posting your merch, secondhand or not. you know that you get comments asking "where did you get this!?", stop posting it. makes that small adjustment for wider good
Keep educated: on the bigotry in the books so that you aren't perpetuating it, on jkr's actions, on politics. keep educated as much as you can to make sure that you are not unwillingly causing harm in what you are doing
Block: block those who are going to the studios, who are posting merch, who are talking about the reboot, who are doing ANYTHING to support her. if you see a video? comment on it. the continued relevance of people in this space who have supported a bigot is Immense. do not allow for complacency - bigotry is bigotry no matter how many views it gets you.
and above all, hold that guilt. hold it. feel it. utilise it.
and if you are in a position where you can leave this space? then i encourage you to do so. i encourage you to Move On, and find new ventures. i encourage you to do that if you can. and if you can't, then i'll still be here to guide you through it all and keep having these difficult talks.
working on secret fics is So Hard omg i’ve written so many things im sooo proud of and want to share!!! 😭
also something i will say but obviously i am one voice here and i am one person and you do not need to take anything i say into consideration if you do not want to but,,, wait with your initiatives in this space.
i know i'm a massive hypocrite, i am in this space. i write for this space. i've also lost many trans friends for being in this space.
and i get the sentiments, i get that these come from a good place. but right now, Harry Potter fandom initiatives aren't what we need.
we don't need a fundraiser where people pay for a prompt and the money is donated - share the donation link on your fandom accounts and pray that, if this fandom is as inclusive and supportive as it claims to be, people will donate anyway.
i'm one person you do NOT have to listen to me, but there is a Pit in my Stomach at the idea of trying to combat this ruling by producing more art for this space.
what we need right now is discussions about reach. what we need right now is discussions about tiktok. what we need right now are big, heavy, uncomfortable discussions about what we are doing within this space, if we are going to keep doing it, and what we need to do to reduce further harm if we decide to stay.
the wounds from this ruling and so raw and even as someone in this space, seeing initiatives designed to help raise money for trans charities being rooted in the creation of fics and art? something that gives her even more traction? salt salt salt.
and i cannot imagine how heartbreaking it would feel to be a trans person NOT in this space and see that this is how people decided to combat it.
people are allowed to hate us for being here. we can't argue against the fact we keep her relevant or give her traction. we can do the best we possibly can, but people can still hate us for being here. they are completely within their right to. and trans people outside of this space? they will not feel supported by this. not at all. heck, even i don't.
i just,,, again. one person's opinion. but,, share donation links absolutely! but right now my efforts are entirely focused on formulating and eventually having discussion about what we do from here on out, and not on the creation of a wide-spreading initiative in which people need to receive Harry Potter art to donate.
donate anyway:
switchboard donation
amnesty international donation
trevor project donation
gendered intelligence donation
all out donation
hey so those of y’all in the marauders fandom who are saying you’ll watch if ben barnes plays sirius and andrew garfield plays remus… better take those anti-JKR disclaimers out of your bios!
i have chosen violence on reddit tonight & i feel great about it bc y’all are insane.
The way house-elves speak with their exaggerated, broken syntax, subject verb disagreements, and deferential tone bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the way enslaved people have been depicted in film, particularly in movies that glorify the antebellum south.
Take Winky’s syntax :
“But I knows Dobby too, sir!” squeaked the elf. She was shielding her face, as though blinded by light, though the Top Box was not brightly lit. “My name is Winky, sir — and you, sir — ” Her dark brown eyes widened to the size of side plates as they rested upon Harry’s scar. “You is surely Harry Potter!”
Then there’s Dobby:
“Dobby has traveled the country for two whole years, sir, trying to find work!” Dobby squeaked. “But Dobby hasn’t found work, sir, because Dobby wants paying now!”
Even Kreacher, who has a slightly different speech pattern still broadly speaks in the similar affected way.
“Kreacher did not see Young Master,” he said, turning around and bowing to Fred. Still facing the carpet, he added, perfectly audibly, “Nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is.”
This linguistic pattern is not unfamiliar. Compare it to:
Mammy from Gone with the Wind: Miss Melly, this here's done broke her heart. But I didn't fetch you on Miss Scarlett's account. What that child got to stand, the good Lord give her strength to stand. It's Mr. Rhett I's worried about. He done lost his mind these last couple of days
Or Uncle Remus in Song of the South. “Oh, I knows. I knows. I’m just a worn-out ol’ man what don’t do nothin’ but tell stories. But they ain’t never done no harm to nobody.”
The same tropes are at play. Stilted, infantilising speech. These films, particularly Gone with the Wind and Song of the South, glorify the antebellum South by presenting enslaved characters as devoted, content, even protective of their oppressors.
This is where the argument that house-elves aren’t slaves but brownies falls down. If house-elves were truly just magical beings with their own culture, their speech wouldn’t so closely mimic the linguistic markers of servitude used in films that softened the horrors of slavery.
Also intended or not this is a racialised coding that was once used to uphold and justify the absolute abomination of slavery and we should be critical of it.
reblog with a spoiler for your wip with zero context. no context allowed.
every time someone says they don’t like fem sirius i will just put him in more little dresses and skirts and give him more leg hair and chest hair and big chunky jewelry and messy makeup and make their shoulders broader and the straps on their tank tops thinner and their heels higher and hair shorter and
the intimacy of sleeping together, but not in a sexual way. the intimacy of feeling the warmth of their body in a cool room. their hands hugging you tightly. the intimacy of synchronized breathing. sleepy half-kisses. feeling safe. feeling warm. waking up and realizing how much you love them. how precious this is. finding the happiness on the tip of your fingers, brushing their hair. closing your eyes again. pulling closer. falling asleep.
not every sentence needs to be perfect. not every sentence needs to be perfect not every sentence needs to be perfect not every sentence needs to be perfect not every sentence needs to be perfect not every sentence needs to be perfect not every sentence needs to be perfect
also, while we’re talking about PoA -
I always forget how subtextually gay Lupin seems in the text
I think Wolfstar is so established now (and it’s so firmly a Marauders-era-centered ship now) that a lot of people don’t engage very much with the canon. but I’d ship these two if all I ever got was PoA, because Lupin behaves like he’s being interrogated by the police every time Sirius comes up in casual conversation and it’s hilarious