#Harry and the fandom

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Hi India, sorry if this comes like I’m looking for reassurance or anything… I’m just going through the first stunts after being away for a long time.

When McDomilson started, it was a little rough, but I brushed it off pretty quickly and didn’t give it more weight than it deserved because I was like, “Louis is gay, this isn’t real.” And it’s always been that way with Louis, even when bng happened, I’ve always felt sure about him.

But with Harry, it’s different. Like, when I saw that recent video, I swear it hit me harder. At first, it just felt like an emotional ouch, and then my brain went straight to, “maybe he is with her, he looks happy dancing,” “maybe he’s not gay,” stuff like that. And I know it sounds absurd, especially because I’ve been around since at least 2014.

And I thought it was just me — but I’ve seen a lot of people express this kind of doubt specifically when it comes to Harry. I guess it’s because a big chunk of Louis' fandom is queer and sees right through the bullsh*t, but Harry’s public image is so shaped by the media — 90% of people either project the “boyfriend fantasy” onto him and see him as a womanizer. That image holds more weight, and now that Harry’s gotten so famous, it creates even more distance between the people who’ve been here a long time and him.

And I just feel really bad for doubting him, India.

So I wanted to ask: why do you think that happens ? And have you ever had doubts about Harry? And what would you recommend I do when I feel like this? Thank you for your time💛

Hey, love!

I've written about half a novel's worth on think pieces regarding the perception around Harry - both by the public and by the fandom - but I'm a terrible archivist so of course I can't link anything, so I'll make this short and sweet. (Famous last words.)

You said you've been away for awhile, and I don't know how long that is, but personally, after having lived through Olivia Wilde, I'm pretty numb to Harry stunts. That was suuuuuuuch a shitshow, and she was so infuriating, and the narrative around them was so cringe that my tolerance for anything less than whatever that crapshoot was just skyrocketed.

But, if you're asking for a more wholistic answer (which I think you are), I think you and I fundamentally disagree on two things:

1) Harry didn't look like he was having fun to me, and honestly, he never does. That kiss - faces as distanced as humanly possible and completely upright to make sure everyone got a clear view of who he was, and eventually, who she is - screams 'sigh. Another day at the salt mines.' That is not how you kiss a budding romantic interest. That's not even how you kiss a drunken one night stand. He looks like he's a breath away from counting Mississippis out loud.

And that's the thing - the only time I've seen Harry truly enjoy his time with women is when they're clearly in a platonic relationship. Family, friends, co-workers, creative collaborations, artists he looks up to... I mean, the guy bought a dulcimer to be more connected to Joni Mitchell. With that amount of passion, you'd think he could muster enough strength to cross a bridge in Civita without looking like he wanted to fling himself off it.

The truth is, we've seen Harry be so interested and in the moment with so many women, just not the ones he's supposedly in relationships with or the ones the tabloids/GP are interested in. And that's what sets us apart from the GP -- we actually have fifteen years of data, and it should mean that it's easier for us not to have such difficulty with object permanence when it comes to Harry.

Which leads me to:

2) Harry is so steeped in queer culture, it's hard for me to even fathom him as straight. From the dedication to flying the rainbow flag at his concert every single night, to wearing a rainbow pin in his off time, to the people he chooses to spend his off time with (Alessandro Michele) to his taste in art (David Hackney) to his fashion references (Keith Haring, Christopher Kane) to his collaborations and investments (Harris Reed, SS Daley) to the movie he actually fought to be in (My Policeman) -- and these are only surface level, because I, myself, am not as knowledgeable in art and queer culture as he is -- I just can't view Harry the way the GP views him anymore.

There's so much context to who he is and what he chooses to do with his free time and how he interacts with queer culture that to view him as straight is to take him so far away from fifteen years of context that it flattens him to a one-dimensional person. A snapshot in time, which, incidentally, are what all his stunts are: one-dimensional.

Because, let's face it, at the end of the day, all those stunts have one thing in common: they ended. Always. No matter how many tabloid articles talk about how serious he is, and whether he's met their family, this, that, and the other, all those women end up in the same place -- the past.

You know what never ends, though? Talk of him being queer. That is continuous - whether it's debating his fashion choices or whether or not he's queer-baiting (he's not, real people can't queer bait) or who he's dating or his songs (hi, Medicine, miss u so much girl) or whether or not he's with Louis - his proximity to queerness, the questions around it, is what always pops up and stays present. Sometimes, it gets drowned out by the GP and the tabloid articles about the female orgasm or whatever, but it never really goes away, does it?

Because Harry doesn't let it.

So, yeah. I think this fandom has always had an object permanence issue with Harry specifically, and I have no idea why that is because I don't share in that issue. I look at him, and I see a guy with a pretty solid sense of self, who has matured over the years and made concessions for his circumstances like all adults have to do, but who has only become more and more himself in his art and his queerness, and that's why the stunts don't bother me. Because I don't think they're reflective of his values, the same way I don't think Louis' stunts are reflective of his values.

I trust them both to be good people, not because I'm blind or I can't adjust to nuance or change my mind, but because I have fifteen years of context and data, none of which has ever led me to believe they're not good people, even after all this time.

And no one has to agree with me on that, but if you're asking how I keep sane, it's that. I trust them. That's all.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Me at age 13, exhausted at school after staying up all night to read fanfic: I can’t wait until I’m an adult and I can stay up reading without any consequences!

Me, an adult, exhausted at work after staying up all night reading fanfic: Fuck.

[transbian-stoner]

"I don't like JRK but I still love Harry Potter"

You have blood on your hands

Burn your fucking Harry Potter merch or be burned with it.

I'm fucking livid.

[color-ns]

Sometimes tweeter people know their stuff- this is the right kind of toxic angst I want to read.

[ten-rats-in-a-trenchcoat]

me, seeing a fic writer I like in the comments of an random fic

[blueberrycasanova]

i think dumbledore was growing weed in the forbidden forest the whole time and that’s why it was forbidden. that’s also why he acts the way he does.

[andr33yy]

Being in fandom spaces is so surreal-

Bc once your age hits a 'serious' number, you start to think - "damn, I should probably stop geeking and get more serious." But then you scroll and see a 34y/o woman writing fics after driving her kids to school, a 40y/o dude making fanart of his fav super heroes and you realize - "nah, I'm actually good"

[peatbogpirate]

very much enjoying watching my friend play disco elysium for my first experience of the game

[miryum]

does anyone else get, like, jealous when a fictional character dates or has a crush on another character?

... no? just me?

[prokopetz]

Is there any petty sorrow more infuriating than finding a fic on AO3 that sits at the exact intersection of your most obscure ship and your most oddball kink, checking the author's profile to see what else they've done, and discovering that the piece you've just read is the sole outlier in a solid wall of Harry Potter fanfic?

[robinismywifesworld]

Why are all the 'x reader' fics I see mostly smuts? Don't get me wrong, they're great and all but I barely see any fluff or angst around here. I literally just want to feel things without the character lusting over the reader 😭

[justaleafinthewind]

If any one of my posts is to break containment, make it this one.

Before January 2025, download your favorite fics, especially those with smut or queer content.

If Project 2025 goes into effect (which it very likely will now that we have three red branches of government in the US), they may attempt to restrict the use/sharing of media on sites like ao3.

This particularly applies to fics with smut or any type of queer content, because the official Project 2025 document states, "Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance... has no claim to First Amendment protection... Pornography should be outlawed."

Now, I don't expect ao3 to disappear or go anywhere without a fight, but it's best to be on the safe side these days.

To download your favorite fics:

Go to archiveofourown.org and open the fic you want to download.

At the top right corner, to the right of the 'subscribe' button, is a button that says 'download'. Click it.

A drop-down menu will give you the option to choose the format of your download. Choose your preferred format (.epub and .pdf are my personal favorites -- .epub lets you open a fic in the apple books app and .pdf is compatible with like every device and program out there).

When you click the button for your preferred format, a pop-up window appears confirming your choices. The title of the document will default to the title of the fic, so be aware of that and consider changing conspicuous titles to something ignorable, especially if you share the computer.

You're done! Now do this with all your favorite fics!

Stay safe out there, your favorite characters are rooting for you <3

[siriuslylu]

Remus: okay Harry, can you spell “blue”?

*5-year-old Harry*: B-L……-E…-U

James: no sweetie, that’s not-

Regulus coming from the kitchen: THAT’S FRENCH!

James: love, I don’t think he-

Regulus: MON PETIT GÉNIE!

[hmyrine]

in another universe where peter had balls 💔

sorry yall just a sketch this time 😔

[that-bitch-kat3]

Remus: Yeah, I’ve decided I’m un-diagnosing myself. I’m fine now.

James: You’re un-diagnosing yourself from… being a werewolf?

Remus: Yes.

James: Interesting. And when the full moon comes and you turn into a wolf?

Remus: I won’t. I just told you, I’m fine now.

James: Well, that’s a relief.

Remus: I know I should’ve done it ages ago.