bluestwitch

[bluestwitch]

After their first kiss, James definitely just stood there like: “…” Hands still hovering like he’d forgotten how arms worked. Eyes wide. Glasses crooked. Brain completely empty. Lily Evans. Had just. Kissed him.

Lily pulled back half an inch, tilted her head, and said flatly, “That’s it?”

James made a noise that might’ve been English once. Lily didn’t wait: just rolled her eyes, grabbed the collar of his robes again, and kissed him again. Longer this time. Slower. More certain.

When she pulled away, James blinked like he’d just been hit by a rouge Bludger.

“…Okay yeah,” he breathed, cheeks now tinted pink. “ That’s definitely it.”

Lily grinned, looking like she’d just discovered magic all over again. “Try to keep up, Potter.”

[bluestwitch]

[bluestwitch]

Fanfic is a free hobby.

It's one of the last few things we can have as a society that's free. You can engage, for free. People give you things (art, stories, etc), for free.

Don't buy into the consummerism just because it's everywhere else.

You don't have to consume everything you interact with. You don't have to use things, just because they exist.

You're allowed (still, for now), to have things that are enjoyable for free.

Do you realise how insane the world is? We don't have many places where we can just be, for free anymore, but ao3 is. Did you notice we don't have ads in ao3? We don't have pop ups? Where ELSE do we not have that?

Where else can you just go and not have to wait for a commercial to be over or for ads to be on the sidelines?

I don't think the younger people understand, but the whole of internet used to be like this. YouTubers would do Youtube for free, just because. You couldn't monetise your internet presence before.

Ao3 is like a little preserved corner of the internet where the old internet used to be, and it's being attacked by people who do not understand that free things are allowed to exist without judgment.

Please don't ruin this for us.

Some of us need it.

[bluestwitch]

sometimes she’ll tuck her wand behind her ear, and then lose it in the frizz

[bluestwitch]

[bluestwitch]

@jilymicrofics — June 19th: Surreal — Word count: 346

Surreal. That was the best word for it, James determined. He never imagined— or well, yes he had imagined it. He’d thought through every single moment of this day, almost certain it would never come to fruition.

The thing was, James had made it blatantly clear he would like to date Lily. He'd like to marry her, have a family with her, spend the rest of his life with her. He'd practically proposed to her a few times over the years— just to be met with the sharp sting of rejection.

Recently though, they’d been living in the state of “just friends”. James dropped the constant attempts to win her affection and Lily had started to spend time with him. It was nice, it wasn't exactly what he envisioned but spending time with someone as spectacular as Lily Evans was all he truly needed. But now—

Lily had asked him to go on a date with her, he was tempted to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

“James? Are you listening?” Lily asked, looking at him with a small frown.

James blinked, coming out of his slight trance, “Sorry, sorry— I just want to make sure I heard you right, did you ask me on a date? Like a date where we go and hold hands and stuff?”

“You should stop talking before I change my mind,” Lily teased, a small smile on her face, “Come on, I know where we should go.”

In an instant, it was like all of his prior fantasies that he had spent years and years planning to perfection didn't matter. Lily could point in a direction and he'd go in an instant, no hesitation. All he needed was her.

“Why?” James couldn't help but ask, clarifying once she gave him a quizzical look, “I just mean— after everything, why would you want to go on a date with me?”

Lily offered him a small smile, nudging his side a bit, “Because as much as I tried not to, I couldn't help but like you."

[bluestwitch]

emails suck. unless they are from ao3, then they are the best thing to ever happen to me

[bluestwitch]

💡👑⚡

[bluestwitch]

Yes. I’m over fifty and I’ve won the right to like and enjoy whatever I want and be proud of it 😎

how are you gonna be 31 and posting fandom content bro leave it to the teenagers

People 10 and 20 years older than me are writing your favorite fanfics, and drawing your favorite characters. You'd have no fandom without the people you think are 'too old' to have hobbies.

[bluestwitch]

do you guys think he likes her 😳

[bluestwitch]

why do you and others like vaccines so much?

not dying of preventable diseases is actually one of my favorite hobbies

[bluestwitch]

‘Come on, Ginny’s not bad,’ said George fairly, sitting down next to Fred. ‘Actually, I dunno how she got so good, seeing how we never let her play with us.’ ‘She’s been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren’t looking,’ said Hermione from behind her tottering pile of Ancient Rune books. 'Oh,’ said George, looking mildly impressed. 'Well, that’d explain it.' 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve.

[instagram @potterbyblvnk] 

[bluestwitch]

Smooth

[bluestwitch]

Hinnyweek: anniversary of Hinny's first kiss

[bluestwitch]

Hey Bianca, what’s the hardest piece you’ve ever drawn? Something that’s feels like it took you forever, or something you redid multiple times before you liked it? What body part and facial expression do you find the hardest to draw? I love all your art, you’re incredibly talented 💕

Oh this is such a nice question! I really took my time to thought about that. And it has to be Hinny's kiss in Ginny's bedroom.

It was quite a challenge to draw them kissing as though she never kissed him before, while making his posture a bit heavy because of the weight of the world on his shoulders. Basically the scenes from the books are the hardest.

Thank you so much!

[bluestwitch]

Wholeheartedly agree with this.

Times are a-changing...

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well and that April has been good to you :) Today, I have some important updates.

First, let's talk about the elephant in the room. JKR and her bigotry. To be completely honest, I was unaware of how far her hatred towards the Trans (and in extension the LGBTQ+) community goes. I knew enough not to support her financially, but the extent of her evil was, until recently, something vague in the distance. By now, we're all aware of how much of her fortune she has been donating to this so-called feminist organisation 'For Women Schotland', and how they have succeeded in legally redefining the term woman to be the sex you've been assigned at birth. Meaning; if you have a vagina, you're a woman. What a load of shit.

Technically, transgender people are still protected by the discrimination laws in the UK. Still, now they can be denied access to certain 'women-only' places, like changing rooms, public toilets, domestic violence shelters, hospital wards and more. If that's what a government calls protection, then they need a good, firm shaking. How can you be so ignorant to believe that you're capable of keeping people safe if you're turning them into people who don't fit in, who are other? The consequences are enormous. I'm very scared for everyone affected by this new ruling. This is one more step towards our descent into far-right, fascist politics, and it is wrong...

There has been a lot of talk in the fandom community about what it means to still be in the Harry Potter fandom, whether that means you support J.K. Rowling or not, if you can still call yourself an ally, etc. It is... very difficult to make up my mind about the issue. I don't agree that not being able to let go of Harry Potter is immature or weak. There are things in life we can love, and that doesn't mean we're bad for enjoying them. It sparks the age-old debate of art v/s artist... something that has been on my mind for a long time now, especially because of JKR. I believe we can do both. We can hate the artist and still enjoy what they've created. However, we do not get to stick our fingers in our ears and sing lalala. We have to look the problems in the eye and speak up. It's good to feel uncomfortable. It is good to be torn and to feel guilty. It means you're human. It means you have a conscience. If the goals of this fandom is to take this made-up world and make it our own, more inclusive, more tolerant world, then we should do it with conviction. Wasn't that the point all along? Isn't that what fandom is? Filling in the gaps, changing the story for better or worse, but making it ours.

We live in a world that gets scarier by the day. Our phones try to numb us, and our leaders install fear in our hearts and make us feel inferior. But this is not true. We have more power than we are made to think. There will always be strength in community and in beliefs. I believe art has the power to change minds and thus the world. So, our art will be our weapon in the war against bigotry. Empathy is our biggest strength.

I want to use my art to make people happy, and yes, Harry Potter is a part of that, but it won't be forever. For me, Harry Potter has always been a story to fall back on when I needed a pick-me-up, and these past two years, I have been sharing that with you. It warms my heart whenever someone tells me my art makes them feel like a kid again, and that makes me feel truly privileged. It is important to me that everyone feels like they have a place in this little world, in this community. In our little space, you'll always be safe, you'll be accepted. Be yourself, I wouldn't want it any other way.

We get to spin the story to fit our modern beliefs, and to make sure everyone feels included and safe in this online space. I understand why people are stepping away from contributing to this fandom. I seriously considered the same thing, and I don't blame anyone for doing it. At first, I thought there were two options: step away or keep going. I've chosen to create a third option: Keep going, but doing it my way.

I have always been able to put my joy and passion into my art. It's imperfect, and I'm still learning every day, but it's mine. I hope, if you want, you can find a little joy in it as well. It would be my honour <3 There are a few things that are going to change:

My social media channels will still be called The Colourful Witch, but they will feature a wider range of art. This will include traditional, personal art, fan art from other stories, paintings, clay work, collage, etc. I won't limit myself to just the Wizarding World anymore; I want to share more of my own artistry here. Only my Tumblr will remain a WW blog, because I feel like this space suits that really well. It's a fandom platform, more than any other platform :) The core of my work has always been playfulness and exploration of different topics and styles. I still want to keep doing that, because I feel I've grown a lot while posting my character art online, and I'm amazed by the support and enthusiasm I've found here. Thank you for that, you're truly the best! <3

The Owl Post Club will be shut down. There is definitely a possibility of continuing the club in the future, but I can't promise that right now. I'm afraid I simply can't financially support the club, and thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has been a part of it. You're the best, most supportive people I have had the pleasure of sending mail to! If there are any postcards you'd still like to collect or get an extra copy of, you can find them in my shop. Or shoot me a message and I can help you with any questions or requests :)

I will be spending less time on social media, to focus on my art practice and health. I've gotten a little too addicted to scrolling, so it will be good for me to take a step back. Expect fewer updates for the foreseeable future.

If you've made it this far, hi! I hope we can all keep creating art and find a little bit of sunshine in the shadow of a big and scary world.

Sincerely, Fleur (a.k.a. The Colourful Witch)

[bluestwitch]

Harry and Ginny VS James and Lily