ronanwazlib

[ronanwazlib]

hi jay! i almost forgot to send you a message, because of your fantastic blog! like keep on doing what you do! i love your hp related txt posts!!! they're so funny, there's too few of them these days, understable since jk rowling sucks a bunch, but hp's still so precious to me. anyway, i love your blog! and you seem like an awesome person!!!! <333

also here's a pic of a lil doggo with a way too big toy.

WAIT OH MY GOD THIS IS SO SWEET IM??? 🥺🥺🥺🥺 thank you so much, i’m so pleased to hear my stupid goofy silly little thoughts are bringing someone joy and i appreciate this oh so much <333

[ronanwazlib]

Hello, all!

We find ourselves at a funny little crossroads today. There is officially an HBO television adaptation of Harry Potter in the works, one with a clearly stated commitment to open casting that could create an inroad to character representations aligning with a great many fans' longtime hopes and dreams for Harry and Hermione especially. Ten years ago, this would have been everything we could have ever hoped for in this fandom. Today, news of this new television show cannot bring joy.

The movie adaptation has brought many book fans a great deal of frustration over the years (hence the creation of this blog); while being greatly beloved by an entire generation, it simultaneously dropped the ball in many areas focusing on characterization and worldbuilding. And yet the faces of that film franchise - the actors of the main trio especially - have been invaluable voices in the public struggle to push back the flood of anti-trans rhetoric free flowing from JK Rowling's social media accounts.

On the other hand, we finally have a long-form adaptation of the series on the horizon, but it comes less than fifteen years after the end of the original movie series and therefore inevitably falls into the exhausting position of being yet another franchise remade too soon. And most importantly, of course, the main and inescapable effect of its creation will be lining the pockets of a woman who has been actively and enthusiastically supporting bigotry against women - both trans and cis - in society and in politics.

There have been rumors that Warner Brothers is trying to buy the rights to the entirety of Harry Potter from JK Rowling, and if true, it has to be admitted - ironically, given the nature of this blog - that I hope they succeed. If the choice is between lack of artistic fulfillment in the portrayal of a fictional world or real-life financial support of a woman actively making the world a more dangerous place for vulnerable populations, there is only one choice to support.

A few years ago, I started writing a detailed post that was a general post-mortem on our collective fanship of JK Rowling, and never completed it due to general feelings of exhaustion, disgust, and feelings that it was redundant. But briefly:

Many years ago, JK Rowling made a post on her personal website about her portrayal of Aunt Marge's bulldogs. She was dissatisfied with how she had written them, because she hadn't known a lot about bulldogs at the time and hadn't taken the care to portray them in a way that did them any justice. While she meant no harm, she's since learned better and wishes, in retrospect, that she had portrayed them differently.

When I think about JK Rowling, I think about that post a lot.

Even before her newest and most outspoken TERF era, even prior to all of the issues involved in the Fantastic Beasts spinoff series, JK Rowling wrote a beloved children's series that was seen as highly progressive upon publication but also contained a number of elements that have aged, shall we say, very poorly. Some of these were markers of the time when Harry Potter was originally written - many things from the 90's have aged badly - and some of them are down to the personal ignorance of the author, whether or not you assume that ignorance came hand-in-hand with malicious intent.

She could have spoken out about this if she wished - you know, like she did with the fucking bulldogs, to say that she had no ill-intent at the time but that would write these elements differently today if she had the chance - but as far as I'm aware, she has not. In fact, despite having endless wealth and resources at her disposal now, as opposed to the original start of her writing journey as a single mother scribbling ideas on cafe napkins, her portrayal of delicate issues of things like race, gender, and sexuality in her writing has only gotten worse.

The 'JK Rowling was always a secret conservative' rhetoric is strong, especially on Tumblr, and while I understand it, I genuinely think that it is misguided. The woman spent most of her life voting in favor of and speaking out for leftist and progressive politics. We (progressives) are not immune from propaganda, radicalization, or being raging fucking bigots. However she votes now, whatever idiots she is friends with now, the call very much started from inside the house on this one.

So, to circle back to the original point of this post:

This new HBO television series, in a best-case scenario, could take all of the tone-deaf sociopolitical issues with the original novels and fix them. It could take all of the creative issues with the movie franchise and fix those too. It could give us a diverse cast and tell an emotional story that does credit to what so many people held dear about the book series while growing up.

(I doubt it will, but it could.)

And yet this would still be a thing that on some level brought me no joy, because at the end of the day, it would also be putting pallets and pallets of cash into JK Rowling's pocket as she continues to dig her way down the conservative rabbit hole instead of fixing any of the mistakes of her early writing career.

Gross.

xoxo

[ronanwazlib]

GUYS GUYS GUYS!!!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ariana Jasmine Afshar (@arianajasmine___)

FREE PALESTINE. FUCK JKR + OTHER GROSS BILLIONAIRES. BE SAFE. BOYCOTT.

Especially WOLFSTAR fans. A lot of guys are leaning towards the hbo reboot and showing your loyalties were never with the queer people.

We can DEFUND these A-holes and criminals. Take the genocide money away. Make that terf lose millions.

[ronanwazlib]

I keep seeing people on the clock app talking about their dream casts for the HBO HP series, particularly people in the marauders fandom. And I just...????

I thought we all collectively agreed not to watch it...

Our fandom is supposed to be a safe place for queer and trans folks. What do you mean you're supporting she-who-must-not-be-named's latest money grab??

[ronanwazlib]

It's been confirmed, so once again -

I find it interesting that production thinks it is a good idea to cast a handsome Man of Color as a canonically unattractive, prejudiced, perpetually antagonistic, former hate group member who essentially joined the Wizarding version of the KKK and who is mainly remembered as an incel who regularly bullied children, including the child of the (presumably white, though this casting is yet to be seen) woman who was the object of his unwanted affections and for whose murder he was partially responsible.

Severus Snape, of course, is a complex character who deserves (if any of these characters 'deserve' anything when HBO HP will, again, be funneling money into the pockets of the anti-trans movement in the UK) to have his story told in a nuanced way. He is still a character who signed up to be a Death Eater, which has always been Harry Potter's allegory for a violent white supremacist hate group.

Time will also tell whether James Potter and company will be cast as actors of color, or whether the bullying flashback in OotP is about to take on a wholly new implication despite, and I cannot reiterate this enough, Severus Snape being the one who eventually joined the genocidal hate group.

We have yet to see whether the remaining Harry Potter fandom at large reacts to this casting decision with any more grace than racist Lord of the Rings fans did on release of the Rings of Power TV series or Star Wars fans did at any point within the last decade. I hope for Essiedu's sake that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, and wish him peace and protection in the face of the potential onslaught to come.

With the creation of this show obviously already stirring controversy from LGBT advocates, I can't help but wonder if this news has been dropped as a distraction, or even a sacrificial tidbit, so that the ensuing backlash from awful fucking people will allow production to decry any criticism of the new show without having to re-address JKR's ongoing opposition to both science and basic human rights.

Once again, I hope that this is not the case, because Essiedu specifically and indeed all actors from marginalized groups generally deserve much, much better.

[x]

[ronanwazlib]

i know harry potter is fucking awful and for good reason but like. good FUCK have yall seen this????

[ronanwazlib]

yapped about this so much on live today that i need to form it coherently but like,,,, the changing behaviour towards fancasts is so detrimental. bringing the fancasts to the fandom? beautiful. bringing the fandom to the fancasts? bad.

whether we like it or not, we are promoting jkr's universes by being in this fandom. even if you're only posting fanmade content and even if you're posting anti-jkr content consistently, talking about her universes is promotion.

and there's ethical ways to do that! fanmade content, being outspoken, educating, deleting pro-jkr speech, not showing official merch no matter how old etc etc - but we still do it. it's still promotion.

and when high profile celebrities comment sections get overrun with marauders/harry potter references? it's a recipe for disaster really. not only is it just,,, weird. so weird. but you're talking about this universe on a high profile page without any of those things mentioned above and it can encourage more people to support her.

not just that, because that's hypothetical, but it's undeniable that it's given her more coverage. ben barnes has mentioned harry potter on stage numerous times and we don't know where he stands with trans rights. we have no idea. andrew garfield? we know where he stands. he is so so so pro-trans and so politically correct and he's put in a situation where he has to dodge questions. he has to give calculated media answers on red carpets/panels when he's asked about the fandom, and suddenly the comfort that so many of us had that someone as beloved as him will always defend us gets frayed a bit?? because media trained or not, it's not an outright rebuttal against transphobia.

and then we see people on tiktok who are so attached to these fancasts fall for it. the references, the hints, the media playing. pair that with the official hp tiktok account upping the amount of marauders content?

yeah. it's sad. and it's frustrating.

because on one side, fancasts are bringing attention to it because you brought it to them and it's good for their image/bad for them to refute it. they bring more attention to her universes without any of these discussions about ethical engagement.

and on the other side you've now got a bunch of people falling for pandering techniques and so publicly and shamelessly saying that they'd watch the reboot if these people get casted and it's like,,,

yeah. we knew. we knew and yet it still sucks to see it. and they know it.

hbo max know it. jkr knows it. warner bros know it when they released that statement saying that jkr's views haven't influenced the amount of support the reboot has gotten. they knew it when they upped the marauders promotion on their socials because they KNOW that so many of you are hanging on by a thread and you'd jump ship if you got what you wanted and it's so frustrating because !!! you won't !!! they won't make wolfstar canon. they won't make it diverse. they won't add your fun headcanons and all the things you want to see and even if they DID (which they won't), it would still be a transphobic, misogynistic, racist bigot that profitted from it. so would it even really be inclusivity? (no)

and idk man. it sucks that no matter how ethical you are in your engagement with this space, there will still be people that are so flippant about inclusivity and so flippant about jkr support that it doesn't really matter. you're complicit either way and it sucks that you then boulder the guilt of something you're actively working against.

and don't even get me startedddd on bringing it to random comment sections. not every indian man on your fyp is james potter and yall are so weird for that but that's an entirely different conversation.

[ronanwazlib]

Quick reminder that the wolfstar bait on the official Harry Potter TikTok is actually really bad news. Block the account. And block anyone giving them their attention. Don’t let one penny of the money she’s using to do harm come from your pocket. I’m so for real right now I’m on the verge of pulling my hair out

[ronanwazlib]

The official Harry Potter tiktok account posting a picture of wolfstar with the caption "I love their FRIENDSHIP" on top has reminded me that no matter how much segregation there is amongst the marauders fandom, at the end of the day we all have one common enemy- jkr and canon.

[ronanwazlib]

wait could you imagine if they did a harry potter reboot for millenials except it was supposed to be dark sexy and edgy like riverdale or sabrina or wednesday or whatever else they’re doing now like powerpuff girls apparently??????? like JUST IMAGINE HARRY BEING A BROODING SEXY TWINK MAKING OUT WITH BIG BOOBED GARNIER HAIR MODEL GINNY AND VOLDEMORT IS PLAYED BY LIKE SOME DILF B LIST ACTOR KDJFRKDKSKDN I WANT TO SCREAM

[ronanwazlib]

Hey! So, I’ve read all the wolfstar fics that you’ve recommended so far and we have the same taste. :) I’m wondering if you have any more? Thanks!

i definitely have more fic recs for you. :)

1) good old fashioned lover boy

@evermoreremus is a fucking genius. professor r j lupin returns. sirius becomes professor black. wolfstar raising teenage harry. i'm over simplifying because i don't want to ruin it for you. I LOVE THIS FIC, I LOVE IT SO MUCH. lots of wolfstar fluff and some angsssst?

(rating: T - status: complete)

2) more than three words

another @lumosinlove piece! sirius cheats on remus. this is honestly just pain and if you're a masochist like me, you'll love it.

(rating: not rated - status: complete)

3) a taste of honey

@biremus combined two of my favorite things: the marauders and the great british bake off (the great british baking show for my fellow americans who are confused). this was so fucking cute and fluffy. there's some angst but its fairly minor(read the tws). i feel like this is a really good one to read if you've just read something that broke you (see fic rec 2) and you need happy back in your life.

(rating: M - status: complete)

4) we were infinite

from @wewereinfinitelywolfstar. this was the first wolfstar fic i ever read. I LOVE IT. its a long ass fic(currently at 107 chapters) slow burn. ANGST, SMUT, and some fluff. its better than atyd (don't fucking come after me okay its my opinion). i've reread this about 50 times now thats how much i love it.

(rating: M - status: incomplete)

5) relic keel

@lumosinlove back at it again with her stellar writing. this is an island au. it kind of has an outer banks feel? but not? i have no idea how to explain this but its fucking good and totally different from any other wolfstar content i've seen so far. lots of angst, you also get some jily, dorlene, and o'kuntzy (which are haz's ocs and I LOVE THEM)

(rating: M - status: incomplete)

6) waves of magic

this is from @xivz. only 3 chapters so a quick read, modern/non-magical au, partial texting fic. reg asks sirius to come home for christmas and remus doesn't let him go alone. agh this is sad and cute and there's smut so there you go.

(rating: E - status: complete)

7) no mum, he really is my boyfriend

fake relationship fic. smut smut smut angst angst angst. also lily is a terrifying pregnant lady and i love that for her.

(rating: E - status: complete)

8) solntse

guess i'm in the mood to hype hazel(@lumosinlove) today, huh? sirius is a russian billionaire. remus is a part time call boy. there is angst and pain and some fluff and smutttttttt. i mean what did you expect when i said remus is a call boy?

(rating: E - status: complete)

9) clandestine

SPY AU?!?! soooo this is not strictly wolfstar... in fact wolfstar is more in the background here however ITS SO GOOD. it's mostly o'kuntzy, i don't feel like you have to have read sweater weather/coast to coast to understand this, and wolfstar is still there i promise okay i'm not totally hijacing this post for this fic, okay maybe i am but just go read it, okay? i binged all 14 chapters in 4 hours today. @heyitssmiller is amazing!

(rating: not rated - status: complete)

(also, if you don’t know, @wolfstarlibrarian has basically a million fic recs for wolfstar. it’s actually a legit operation… unlike me where i just say things like ‘this is fucking good i cried’ and then spam you with random other shit 😅)

bonus round: look, not to suck my own dick or anything, but if you enjoy long fics and slow burns, check out it doesn't change anything. it will cover the marauders time through hogwarts, and the first & second wars with voldemort. (rating: M - status: incomplete)

[ronanwazlib]

hbd hazza

[ronanwazlib]

love the trc plot

[ronanwazlib]

I love it when there's a couple but then there's a third guy who's also there and he's part of it but not like romantically he's just a part of the couple but like....platonically

[ronanwazlib]

Happy Halloween! 🐺🐾🎃

[ronanwazlib]

Happy Hallowe’en everyone 🧡

[ronanwazlib]

“Opal, could you get Adam? He’s working on his car.”