#and she was worshipping jk rowling too

[im-yotsu]

Just saw a TERF interact with one of my posts. Just so we're clear, dni with this blog if you're a transphobe/TERF.

This is a safe space for trans people.

[child-of-peace]

No one asked me for my opinion on why I think JK Rowling is a hypocrite, but I’m gonna give it anyway.

(This is something I’ve been thinking about for well over a year, and it’s something I have struggled to put into words until now.)

Harry Potter, and hear me out here, is the perfect allegory for transgenderness (I know, that’s not a word). To explain this, let me draw the parallels between types of wizard/witch and genders.

Purebloods: Cis women, born into the wizarding world, entirely magical.

Muggles: Cis men, born into the muggle world, no magic to speak of.

Halfbloods: Non-binary folk (like me!) or intersex folk, either raised in the muggle world like Harry (AMAB) or raised in the wizarding world like Tonks (AFAB).

Muggleborns: Trans women, born into the muggle world, entirely magical.

Squibs: Trans men, born into the wizarding world, no magic to speak of. (This one works too well, since, just like squibs, trans men are often forgotten about in conversation.)

So, by these standards:

Blood traitors: Trans allies (the Weasleys, the Potters, Sirius Black, Andromeda Tonks).

Pureblood supremacists: Transphobes (Bellatrix Lestrange, the Malfoys, in Rowling’s opinion the entirety of Slytherin house).

And now, onto the reason why JK Rowling is a hypocrite: Hermione and Lily are both “the brightest witch[es] of their age”. And yet they are muggleborns. At no point did she deny them their witchhood. In fact, she went as far as to say the people denying them their witchhood (pureblood supremacists) were bigots who were actively making the world a more dangerous place. The pureblood supremacists were spreading misinformation, claiming that muggleborns weren’t real wizards/witches and wanting them out of Hogwarts and out of the Wizarding World. Sound familiar?

Muggleborns are magical beings, that can’t be denied. They may have been raised in muggle society, but they aren’t muggles. And she points out that the Wizarding World is kept secret from the muggles because of past violence, but she shows a lot of muggles who are supportive of magical beings (Lily’s parents, Hermione’s parents, Jacob Kowalski, literally any muggle who willingly married a magical being). And in spite of that past violence, she still points out that muggleborns belong in the wizarding world. And as for our squibs, not much is said about them, but Filch is the caretaker of Hogwarts and Arabella Figg is a wonderful person who always looked out for Harry. They understand the struggles of magical beings, but they aren’t magical themselves. They look after their peers. JK Rowling tells us that these people are (for the most part) good. They may not have been born into those worlds, but they aren’t actually wrong for it. And yet it is our antagonists, the pureblood supremacists, who see them as wrong. The muggleborns “don’t belong” in wizarding society (neither do the halfbloods really) and the squibs are “defective”. Sound familiar?

Rowling is upset at being “cancelled”, when she raised us to do just that. Pureblood supremacists belong in Azkaban, right? And even the children (Slytherins) who are just spewing the hate their parents taught them belong in the dungeons, right? And everyone else (the blood traitors, the halfbloods, the muggleborns) is supposed to cheer on as they’re taken away, right?

Draco gets punched, turned into a ferret, flung around by a hippogriff and we’re supposed to see it as justice. We’re supposed to laugh. That’s what she taught us to do with bigots. But now that she’s the bigot, we’re supposed to continue to worship the ground she walks on? Not likely.

To be clear, I don’t want people doing to her what her characters did. She is still a human being deserving of basic human respect (even if she won’t afford us that same respect). Don’t buy her books or her merch (and if you have to, don’t buy it firsthand). Don’t give her more of your money. But don’t send her death threats or hate mail or turn her into a ferret either.

All I want is for her to acknowledge her role in our story. I want her to admit that she is the very villain she warned us about. That she is the monster she taught us to be wary of hiding under our beds. Because how else are we supposed to interpret her actions?

[romanogers]

I always found Ginny and Draco to be a pretty fascinating character study of “forbidden love” between two warring families a la Romeo & Juliet. But I also understand it’s far more popular to pair Ginny with Susan Bones or Luna or something; many believe her to be queercoded in the text.

I don’t care much for her character in general to care either way tbh, just don’t put her with Harry because ugh it’s the hero worship for me — she never fully understood Harry as a person and we were never shown that she does in canon at any point.

Wait, because I like the idea of Ginny and Draco being a thing. Just reading about how Lucius would react would make it all the better. Draco hanging out with the Weasleys would be hilarious, too, because I can imagine him hanging out in The Burrow and trying to accept that these people will be his family if he ends up marrying Ginny. I say that Ginny was a bit more queer-coded, and then I would put her hero-worshipping crush on Harry as an annoyance of what is expected of a straight girl. Yet that also gives JK Rowling more credit for writing a queer-coded character without acknowledging queerness on her part. I do say that Ginny could be bisexual. I dislike that Harry ended up with Ginny and the lack of build-up. There was a mutual attraction there, and I won't deny that cause it's in the books, but it wasn't fully shown what led to their love and relationship. We needed to be shown how their connection was truly built out. I just knew that Ginny had a crush on him since she was 10, and then joined them at school, still had a crush, then she was around for certain things, and then she got a boyfriend, and then somehow Harry became jealous, and then bam kisses happened. Like I always say, I don't acknowledge the epilogue, I didn't back in the summer of 2007, and I still don't to this day. Thank goodness for fanfiction.

[lostandfem]

Do you seriously think trans people all are gender conforming? Lol gnc trans people exist lmao. I know a transfem who is a butch bisexual who I'm happily married to. She has short hair, loves wearing long sleeved plaid shirts and some jeans. You transmisogynists love talking about trans women as men in dresses without considering how people can also be GNC. Being transgender is also not innate. I'm a genderfluid bisexual person who often identify as a cis woman but sometimes I identify as a binary man. To say transgender is innate erases the identity of multigender people, who falls under the nonbinary umbrella, which also falls under the trans umbrella. Lol even as an AFAB identifying as a man, I sometimes wear skirts cause I'm GNC. Trans people I know also acknowledge GNC cis people. I know lots of GNC cis women who identify as woman and don't like skirts or dresses and even know some women who take part in masculine activities like boxing, basketball and etc. I don't know much about GNC cis men but I have a friend who is a GNC cis man. He loves to cosplay as his favorite anime characters. He cosplays as anime characters who are not only men but women and still identify as a man. See? Trans people acknowledge that GNC cis people exists too. Do better in discussing trans people and our ideologies, you radfems. Also, as a trans person of color, it's funny how you radfems love JK Rowling, the woman who is transphobic, racist, antisemitic and orientalistic when writing Harry Potter. Oh and JK Rowling also associates herself with conservatives. Associating yourselves with such a bigoted woman, how are you going to use that to explain your feminism that is supposed to liberate marginalized people?

Never said gnc trans people dont exist, I was trans long enough to know that and considered myself one of those because I wasn’t particularly masculine but rather androgynous (in clothing anyway). My post questioned the application of the label ‘trans’. What I did say was that for males it seems to be an opt-in scenario. Option 2 in the post I assume you saw mentions the “take my word for it” self-id, which includes trans women who in no way look feminine/conforming to female gender roles. It’s up to them to tell you how they feel about their gender. Even your friend can dress up femininely in cosplay and not be accused of being trans. However, I’ve noticed the opposite for women. If you’re a gender noncomforming ‘cis’ woman, you are questioned if you’re actually a woman at all. The label of “trans” is seems opt-in for males but not for females.

The incompatibility I mentioned was about incompatible philosophies on gender. No where did I say there was a hatred for them or you couldn’t be friends with them.

What on earth does JK Rowling have to do with this conversation? You assume I worship her or something. JKR isn’t the founder of radical feminism, and I personally feel pretty neutrally about her, and I do feel kinda weird about some of the aspects of her writing. It’s like how nonbinary people have been like “man i hate that I’m in the same category as ezra miller”— you can be in the same group as someone but still not really be associated with them personally or even like them. But it feels to me like you needed to let off steam so I hope you got it all off your chest.

[papirouge]

I don’t have much money but I will bet all of it on black women being the face of ultimately destroying the trans agenda. Maybe a few figures like JK Rowling sprinkled in but mainly, it’ll be us. White liberal feminists will cry then cry then play victim to the patriarchy for their acceptance of it but we shouldn’t ever accept them or their business, ever. They worship men so they can go fuck themselves for continuing to push perverts, misogynists, and pedophiles so hard onto us in public. Because get them in private and even most of them admit they don’t even believe half the shit they promote out loud like cowards. But I just know the movement to end the nonsense will fall on us, again, we’re just that powerful but im honestly fed up with the foolishness of it all.

meh I actually think Black women are actually very smart of letting White radical feminist do the job in fighting the trans cult💅🏾 I am sick and tired of people considering us as the mule of every activism. Let us be unbothered🧖🏾‍♀️. Black women don't mess with trans anything but they are not doing the most like these whitefem do. These White women are doing the most against trans because their femaleness is the only identity aspect where they can leverage their victimhood and they will NOT let it go like that🥴

JK Rowling is Queen though👑. I think the reason TRA are losing their sh*t so bad on her is that she's got that fuckyou money that makes her uncancellable😎 She's too big to be bullied into silence like they do radfem on most social media. Truly a solace for women's rights 🌞

[generalchelseamayhem]

1-40... 7 On detransitioning :-)

I got distracted and lost this in my drafts for a while, so please forgive my lateness.

1. Who is my celebrity crush?

Way back when I used to have a list, then I rapidly became disillusioned with the whole culture of celebrity worship, so now I don't have any. And a lot of the ones I did have turned out to be bad people.

2. Am I single or taken?

Single but, due to psychological issues, largely unavailable.

3. Rant.

I won't say that I've been abused but I really resent the way that my parents, particularly my mother, have controlled me for my entire life and well beyond what my generation reasonably expects of a parent. This whole goddamn house transaction is finally over and all it's done so far is land me in crippling debt, to my OWN PARENTS. Contrary to popular belief, being in debt to your parents is worse than being in debt to the bank, because the bank doesn't care what you do as long as you make repayments on time, but parents will phone you up every day and offhandedly mention that your eating habits are too expensive with the obvious implication that anyone who can't get their weekly meals from grocery shopping should just starve instead. This will happen whether you can afford the repayments or NOT. Right now they're overseas for several months and I am in the process of cutting them out of my life in every way except, for legal reasons, treating them as a bank. One day I will make regular contact with them again, but only when I am finally me.

4. What do I think of separating art from artist?

I think that great art and great scientific innovation often happen at the hands of people who are a little bit messed up. It is the nature of the beast. To innovate, you generally have to do something or in some way that nobody has ever thought of before. Often in art this is a result of trauma, and sometimes it seems like it's just the result of being a pretentious narcissist. Great art doesn't excuse terrible artists, but the trick is to know when to separate them. For example, it is possible to separate JK Rowling from Harry Potter insofar as her slide into TERFdom appears recent, and doesn't necessarily inform any of the book's contents other than that she remains ignorant of them, and we shouldn't judge the books on that basis. However, it is definitely relevant to consider her perspective on education in British boarding schools, because that does have a direct effect on the characters, attitudes, setting, and what minorities DO appear in which contexts.

5. How many accounts do I have?

Two, this one and @duran-duran-less-official .

6. How many pairs of shoes do I have?

Two, these ones and a pair for more formal occasions which, to be honest, I never use.

7. Opinion on detransitioning?

I don't have a well-formed opinion, but I think we're at the point where we're dealing with a very small subset of an already pretty small subset of the total human population. If nothing else, at least their desire to detransition validates the existence of dysphoria and its damaging psychological effects? But personally I'd just rather let them get on with it. Ideally we'll reach a point where detransitioning and transitioning alike are considered unexceptional but necessary procedures.

8. How many accounts do I follow?

112. It seems like a lot less than that.

9. Favourite brand of clothing?

Gazman, for no other reason than that their stuff is comfy to wear and relatively good value, and for that reason somehow half of my wardrobe has ended up as them.

10. Name a dog.

Laura.

11. What unusual talent do I have?

I have perfect pitch. I can't do complicated chords very well (if you ask me to decipher the chord at the beginning of A Hard Day's Night I will explode) but I can for sure pick an individual note or an overall key signature.

12. Most interesting school gossip I ever heard.

I went to an all-boys school, so the gossip I remember is characteristic of that. We all resented mandatory sports, which we had to do for 4 1/2 out of our 6 years of high school, so one day after cricket practice a boy snuck up behind the head Sports Coordinator and pulled down his pants (in Australia we call this "dacking"). I wasn't there to see it but it became legend in the school for the weeks afterwards. He got very expelled, by the way.

13. Ever prank called a store?

Nope.

14. What's my coffee order?

I don't drink coffee, so in its place I would likely order a milkshake or a smoothie.

15. What's a question I constantly get asked?

"Did you break your leg/sprain your ankle?" No, it's the cerebral palsy.

16. If I had to get a tattoo right now, what and where?

I am not a huge fan of body art and even less a fan of needles. I was once forcibly assigned a tramp stamp of an Australian flag in celebration of Australia Day, and I think that's about where it peaked for me.

17. Top song from the year I was born.

I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meat Loaf. I am not proud.

18. Rant about my favourite musician

I'm not really feeling it right now, sorry.

19. My favourite teacher

Would have to be the one I had in Year 4. He didn't just understand how to relate to students, he understood how to gamify the learning process better than any other teacher I've ever seen.

20. Describe my blog in 3-5 words

Kindhearted MRA, conflicted but learning

21. What's a conspiracy I believe in?

I need to go over my notes again about what's a conspiracy theory and what is a confirmed activity of the CIA that nobody cares about enough to protest. I believe at the very least that there are a lot more paedophiles and child sex traffickers in the upper echelons of society than have been and maybe ever will be uncovered. We haven't even scratched the surface on Epstein and Maxwell, and I for SURE don't believe theirs was the ONLY major trafficking operation of its kind.

22. If I could see a concert tonight what would it be?

Duran Duran in support of their 15th album. I don't think they've been to Australia in about a decade.

23. If I could break a bad habit, what would I choose?

[ANSWER REDACTED]

24. Can I dance and sing?

I need that picture of Tuvok and Kim saying Yes and No at the same time.

Everyone can dance. I cannot dance a formally recognized dance with steps and patterns. I also need considerable warming up to be able to sing, which is a shame because I used to be a lot better at it.

25. What's something I can't stop buying?

Delivery food, especially food that is too spicy for me.

26. Crowds or small groups?

Small groups hands down. Otherwise I can't hear you.

27. How long before a trip do I start packing?

About 2 days, honestly.

28. Which celebrity is a 10?

Hey. Look at me. No celebrity is a 10. It's all fake. There is nothing beneath the glamour. Trust me on this.

29. What quote or inspirational setting do I think is bs?

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

Rubbish. It's the people who stand for something too hard who get radicalised. It's the people who stand for something too hard who end up believing the absolute stupidest things you can imagine. The people decried as centrists who stand for nothing are the ones who stood back and said "Hey that might be a little bit stupid."

30. If I had to dye my hair an unnatural colour, what would I choose?

I look pretty good in purple, or blue and silver.

31. What one thing am I changing about my life right now?

More social life, no question.

32. How old do I get mistaken for?

Right now, much younger than I am. This has to do with shaving my beard.

33. What do I think about a lot?

I don't often buy Magic the Gathering cards anymore because all two of my commander decks, Kresh the Bloodbraided (Jund) and Reaper King (Scarecrow tribal) have reached approximately peak What I Want Them To Do-ness (at least until power creep kicks in again). That said, I do check the spoilers pages every so often just in case they're releasing a new, better scarecrow card. Good Jund creatures are abundant and it's a matter of arranging them in the optimal combination, but a good scarecrow is very hard to come by.

34. Do I like my Hogwar-

No. Skip.

35. What does home mean to me?

Home is where the bed is.

36. What do I think I'd be arrested for?

I'm a law abiding citizen whose limits have never been tested. I don't have a 3rd Amendment in my country but I would absolutely refuse to suffer one of the Axis of Evil style billionaires in my house (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Chapek and so on). I like to imagine that if they pressed the issue on whether they deserved to be in my presence, hands and maybe knives would be thrown.

But that's not likely to happen is it? So as far as I can tell where my limits are, I'd probably be arrested for conscientious objection. If World War 3 is coming then I refuse all participation in it.

37. Have I ever been called to the principal's office?

I don't remember specifically, but if I have it was probably for the crime of not doing homework on time.

38. Post a picture of the outfit I would have chosen if I could choose anything.

I'm on mobile, someone add a picture of just like, the most hideously mismatched set of clothing you've ever seen. I'm talking oversized bunny slippers or ugg boots with a tuxedo jacket. I'm talking pirate hat and steampunk-looking monocle with track-pants.

39. Describe my aesthetic.

Boring.

40. Respond with a meme from the schoolyard.

Welp, I'm too old for this ask meme.

I don't want to dox myself, but a famous entertainer who shall remain nameless once went to my high school and founded a comedy newsletter. After he attained popularity in the wider world, the next generation of students decided to revive it. The cover of the first issue I remember proudly advertised itself as the "Man of the Year Edition", but the face of the Man was covered by a Windows notification we were all familiar with from the classroom presentations we had to sit through: "Have you cleaned the projector filter recently?"

[thornybushybrambles]

💩 🦸‍♀️ 🧑🦕💻 🌄 !!

💩 it gave me the complete works of Franz Kafka so today I am coining and assigning myself Kafkagender : a kafkaesque gender identity defined by oppressive and nightmarish qualities (:

🦸‍♀️ gosh…I’m realizing now I’ve got a “no heroes, they’ll always disappoint you” philosophy to life so I don’t really have a sole feminist I look up to because I end up disagreeing with them all at some point lol. Maybe I’ll go with the easy route of our lady of twitter JK Rowling for standing up for women in the face of public backlash, and because I did a presentation on her and bonded over her books with my lesbian feminist grandmother

👩 I think this one was name any woman? Ummmmm…. Alison Bechdel. If I could make a name for myself drawing lesbians, I would die happy

🦕 if my blog was an animal it would be some kind of scurrying creature. Like a badger, or a weasel. I am small but will absolutely bite and maim you

💻 oh man, see the -fem stuff takes me back lol. I doubt anyone from 2017 would care about me now, but I had nicefem in my description for a quick second before I deactivated my radblr blog and subsequently my brain to go ID as stupid shit for the next 4 years. Nowadays I think it’s silly but good fun, I hope I’m horny enough on main to one day be bestowed the freakfem title 👑

🌄 my original peak was a classic case of “wow I really don’t like dick, why are you trying to make lesbians like dick??” but I had the wonderful privilege of going to a liberal high school (kin drama regarding doubles and shifting was IRL, like…that’s how bad it was….) and walking into my GSA for the first time, only lesbian in school mind you, and the discussion was about how a lesbian could date a man if she wanted because actions =/= identity 🤡

I’ve been called biphobic, transphobic, terfy, and exclusionary to my face, more than once in my life just for being a lesbian. Unfortunately, the tragic story is actually that I unpeaked for a bit when my mental health got super fucking bad, spiraled into an ED, rejected all forms of womanhood, made my dysphoria worse, and stopped identifying as a lesbian. Everyone around me was some kind of trans or genderqueer and kept telling me I was too and I just got sick of fighting it. I wish I knew exactly what got me out of that fog, but I can’t pinpoint a single moment. I think a combo of researching veganism and realizing how we exploit female animals, roe v wade being over turned, recovering from my eating disorder and learning to accept my body, and having reoccurring dreams about specific goddesses that I used to worship as a teenager was enough to make me resolidfy the fact that I cannot run away from being a homosexual female, so I might as well liberate myself. And if I deserve liberation, every other woman does too

Thank you for the ask! 💚🦡

[yarpharp]

I think about how magic is represented in mainstream media a lot.

Like, by and large, fantasy in literature has always been inherently couched in Euro-centric concepts of magic. And not always even the oldest roots of Euro-centric magic, like the very diverse range of folklore and ceremonies that altogether form Paganism. It feels like most of the time it's based entirely on Victorian era witchcraft or Christianized ideas of "power outside of the purview of God."

And when you do see supposed "varied types of magic across the world" in stories or fantasy flavor text, they aren't well researched or well-represented. I constantly think of JKR's shitty world map of the magical world and her insanely reductive view of Natives. "Oh no, they don't USE wands. And they rather shapeshift and be secretive assholes than really share their knowledge. They worship magical creatures too!" She might as well just say Natives are all uneducated savages, which WOW that is such a fucked up Colonial Racist British thing to say. Then again... JK Rowling.

But I do have some hope. There's POC authors out there writing some lesser-known but expertly crafted trilogies based around African concepts of "magic" (I put that in quotes because magic is a very European word. You'd be surprised how many cultures actually rather refer to it as "speaking to the world" or "personal power" or something along those lines). I've read awesome short story compilations from independent publishers in Canada about Natives and "magic" and tradition. Discussions of what Open Practice vs. Closed Practice is. Mexican traditions on female healers and how much Catholicism in Mexico has evolved into its own unique sub-religion mixed with a lot of Aztec/Mayan references and traditions. Day of the Dead? That shit was not a European thing.

Idk the fantasy genre should continue to diversify. I'm tired of haphazard rehashing of the same European magic shit. It's not invalid, but I personally think it's stale. And reductive. Gimme the variety!

[vivithefolle]

Why do ship Romione if you dislike Hermione so much (no hate, I'm curious)?

I've already answered this question, here and here.

Long story short, I resent the portrayal of Hermione as this do-no-wrong goddess of perfection that has its origins in the movies, then eventually got validated by the books, and ended up being brought to its logical conclusion by the fandom that started to worship her and decided such a goddess "deserves better" than Ron, who's a pretty damn great guy but who's been distorted and twisted into a caricature of himself by judgemental assholes. Ron, one of the most if not THE most relatable character in this series, who's not a super special ultra rich orphan or doesn't get everything right on the first try because ~books~ but instead struggles and tries again, again, and again until he does a little better each time; but to those who worship the Goddess Of Perfection that's too human and worthless to matter so they'd rather ship her with other special folks like the rich orphan or the rich aristocratic bigot or the ~intellectual~ teacher who's old enough to be her father.

That's this part of Hermione I can't stand. I can relate to her - hello thinking I'm smarter than most because I've read stuff, hello being socially awkward, hello hating injustice, hello being super emotional - but the way the movies, eventual books and the whole fandom decided that those problems Hermione had weren't problems, or if they were, well they're other people's problems! How dare Ron be upset when Hermione is being mean to him, it's his fault in the first place for calling her a nightmare all the way back in first year I guess. How dare people say Hermione did problematic shit, maybe THEY'RE problematic because everything Hermione does is Pure and Wise and The Smartest Course Of Action anywhere anytime. If you criticize Hermione or make an underhanded jab at her it makes you just as bad as the folks who wrote 1000 Ways To Kill Ginny Weasley and say Ron was unworthy of life because of his being inferior (read: his being a normal human being and also having his author dumb him down to make Harry and Hermione look better in comparison).

That's what I hate. That's what Hermione has come to represent. A bunch of elitist, judgemental, wouldn't-know-empathy-if-it-kneed-them-in-the-nuts coproliths who believe that when Hermione is half-killing herself via homework in POA she's being a "normal student" and that whoever isn't putting in as much effort as she does in her studies is essentially a lost cause that will never amount to anything.

That's what Hermione has come to represent for some, and I have an inkling that she'd be horrified by it.

Anyway, why do I still ship Romione in spite of that, well, because I'm a nostalgic ass and I still think it's a great ship... just, not in the hands of JK Rowling.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Twitter Rants

I need to not get into Twitter arguments. But seriously, sometimes it’s just wanting to smack people so much that I forget how much I hate arguments where people move the goalposts. Or try, because I treat arguments like chess matches. It’s my ADHD superpower.

Look, JK Rowling’s in the shit again because of transphobic bullshit she’s said. Transphobic bullshit in general tends to slam my rage button. And then someone tweeted asking about “If it’s so easy to name cultures where trans / gender fluid (they said ‘intersex’ but I’m ignoring, for the moment, the fact that ‘intersex’ doesn’t mean what they think it means) people are deified, name five”.

Knuckle-cracking. I’m here for this. Five minutes on Google later, I have Shinto, Australian Aboriginal, several South Pacific cultures and pantheistic Greek (specifically Dionysus and Aphroditus in the Cypriot way of worshipping Aphrodite), as well as too many First Nation tribes to name (though granted there’s a whole thing where pertains to Two-Spirit and not necessarily just being gay or being trans, but I was asked for cultural elements and wasn’t touching on appropriation).

Then I went off Twitter to get some shit done - trying to update my GP surgery about the fact that I had the Covid booster at work over two months ago, getting taxi quotes as requested from the Access to Work people, stuff like that.

Came back about an hour later to two people on the transphobe side of Twitter - the individual I replied to going, “I was talking about people being deified, not faiths!” and immediately after, “I’m an atheist, so ... still waiting!” Plus someone with a Deathly Hallows icon immediately after that posting a .gif of a tumbleweed and going, “Of course, no reply”.

I think it says more about them than about me that they’re relentlessly refreshing Twitter looking for something to scream about. So my response started with, “Or maybe I’ve got shit to do and can’t sit around refreshing Twitter all day?” and then went on to flag up that in all of those cultures (except for the First Nation tribes, who just say as how those identifying as two-spirited or any of the tribe-specific terms often perform a social and ceremonial role in their cultures because there aren’t specific deities in a lot of those cultures), those who transition or will not be bound to one gender are considered special because they are seen to reflect the nature of the gods they worship. That would be the point. Hell, it’s only Christianity at this point who wouldn’t go batshit crazy with worship if someone who represented their deific figure’s ideals turned up (because seriously, a la Kris Kristofferson’s song Jesus Was a Capricorn, “Reckon may just nail Him up / If He come down again”).

I know these people don’t want to get the point I’m making here, and the goalposts will have moved a solid fifty yards when I next check, and if they really wanted an answer to the question they asked they’d have spent the same five minutes on Google I did. Still, sometimes you just have to slap a transphobe. I just do it with facts because I really don’t want to get arrested.

[ace-t-rex-in-space]

Do You Ever Think About How JK Rowlings racist and transphobic ass makes sense when you think about how she's always treated Hufflepuff and Slytherin houses?

like, it's no secret that Rowling has made horrible digs at Hufflepuff and Slytherin is basically the "evil" house.

Hufflepuff's traits are kindness, fairness, and loyalty. Rowling basically shits on all three of these traits by tweeting about how stupid the house is. After all the entire fandom used to make fun of hufflepuffs to the point where hufflepuff was an insult.

But think about what house would be most accepting of all people? Hufflepuff.

Now think about Slytherin and its traits. Ambition, cunning, and brotherhood. They look out for their own no mater what. You think any LGBT or minority sorted into Slytherin and not have the entire house protect them from bigotry?

What about Ravenclaw? They're way too smart to start trivial arguments over whether or not a transwoman is a woman. All woman are woman and your uneducated ass would be schooled so fast.

Now Gryffindor? You don't think they would have the strongest minority members? Brave transformed and courageous POC youth would storm this house no question.

Sorry Rowling, your houses would support minorites over your Voldamore worshiping ass any day.

[theweaverofworlds-official]

what are your personal losers' hogwart houses headcanons? :D hope that makes sense ah :')

Oh boy. I’ve thought about this a lot, and tbh I have some mixed feelings about the HP universe rn because JK Rowling is actual garbage. Raises a lot of questions on whether you can separate an author from their work, but that isn’t the conversation we’re having. Here are the Losers in their respective houses with some reasons why, and some things I think might occur. Hope you enjoy. xoxo

Bill is 100% a Gryffindor. Courage and bravery without much thought for the consequences, sign Billiam up. Gryffindors know how to make hard choices that will ultimately serve the group even if they aren’t popular. Loyalty is everything; loyalty to each other and to the cause. It’s something that Bill can inspire in others, but sometimes its lonely being the leader. That’s why Bill is the only one in Gryffindor. (Also red-haired, first year, Bill Denbrough in scarlet and gold is just too precious. His parents were so proud.) (Also also he’s probably the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.)

Stan is a Ravenclaw. He is intelligent, and kinda does his own thing. He’s okay being independent, and just vibing with his books, but when his friends need him he’s there. And because he has spent so much time in the library he knows how to solve all their problems. His wisdom has saved many of the Losers from heartache, lost house points, and detention. (He also has a beautiful barn owl named Pliny. iykyk... hint: “apparebat eidolon senex” appears in IT)

Richie probably teased Stan about wanting to be in the same house as him after their sorting, but he and Stan could not be more different. Richie is the sort of Ravenclaw who knows that wit beyond measure is actually a dick joke, and he makes sure everyone around him knows. He doesn’t have to try for his good grades, which annoys Stan infinitely. (Richie represents the wit and intelligence, if you get what I’m saying, while Stan is more of the wisdom part of Ravenclaw.) Richie is the seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and jokes that it’s because of his glasses that he is able to see the snitch so much better than the other seekers. (The other teams ignore him, and know Stan is the reason Richie is even able to keep his glasses on while zooming about. Without Stan’s spell, the glasses would have fogged up or flown off ages ago.)

Mike's in Ravenclaw too. He’s much more relaxed than the other two, less competitive about grades. He just loves learning things, and always has a fun fact to cheer his friends up. His notes are meticulous, and while Richie and Stan’s (friendly?) bickering end up losing Ravenclaw hundreds of points on any given day, Mike is always able to win them back by just being his charming self. He becomes Head Boy his seventh year. The first years adore him.

Ben is a Hufflepuff. He cares more about the group than the cause, and is always concerned with making sure everyone feels included. He just likes being part of something, and doesn’t much care what it is the Losers are up to on any given day. He spends his days talking to the portraits in empty hallways, checking in on their subjects, ensuring that they aren’t forgotten. His professors all love him, not because he gets good grades, but because he is kind and he tries.

Every Hufflepuff has a Slytherin, and Ben’s is Beverly. Beverly wants so much from the world. She wants to show everyone that she isn’t like her father, that she is better. She is ambitious and has dreams of taking over the world. She is resourceful, and quick thinking. She respects Bill’s leadership, although she doesn’t always agree with how he goes about things. She isn’t afraid of being the only girl in a group of boys, even if there are others who talk about it behind her back. And whenever the world becomes too much, Ben is there with open arms and scones.

I couldn’t decide where to place Eddie for the longest time, but finally I figured he would be a Slytherin. Like Beverly he has dreams of proving others expectations of him wrong, particularly his mother. He values his independence, and resents that when he is home for the summer he has none. When he was younger he worshiped Bill, and he wished that he was in Gryffindor just because Bill was. But as he got older he grew fonder of his house. He learned that others’ expectations of the house could be wrong too. He became the Slytherin seeker. Games between Slytherin and Ravenclaw were always tense as Eddie tends to get exceedingly pissed off when Richie is around. And by seventh year he becomes a head boy. He welcomes the first years, comforting those who are worried about being placed in the “bad” house. He tells them that there is no such thing.

[dont-offend-the-bees]

A Rambling Yarn about JK Rowling

TW, obvs, for non-in depth talk of transphobia, misgendering, and cancer

So, storytime: when we were both kids, about 7 and 5 respectively, my brother and I spent a lot of time in hospital. He had an uncommon strain of cancer in his leg and knee and I, having no one else to stay with, had to come with my family to the specialty hospital in Birmingham for the majority of his stay there. And it was a traumatic experience, for him because he was enduring a cancer that killed the two other children admitted around the same time, and for me because at the tender age of 5 I was surrounded by kids dropping like flies, and had nowhere to go or be besides my own sick brother’s bedside. It stuck with us both in very different ways- now he is a restless person who can never stop or slow down because he feels he owes it to his survival and to the other kids who didn’t make it to wring every drop of life he can out of every given moment, and I... Well, I sort of forgot that most people live to adulthood and never planned ahead to do so myself. It was around GCSE when I realised I was very much alive, probably going to stay that way, and I had no clue what to do with it. Slight mental breakdown that year, but we’re not getting into it, that’s not my point.

My point is, as badly as that experience affected me, it affected my brother worse. And two things kept him going that time in hospital. One was Pokemon- he got given a Gameboy Colour, played Pokemon Blue til his hands went numb, all that jazz. And the other was Harry Potter- or, more specifically, JK Rowling herself. Turns out someone- and I can’t remember who it was, someone we met on the ward I think- had a connection to her. And when they sent her a message about this poor kid in hospital with the 2 in 3 chance of dying, she picked up her pen and she did something nice. She wrote him a letter, and sent it to him in the hospital with a whole box of that sweet, sweet HP swag. Pretty great, right? He was over the moon. So was I- even though I was also jealous because I was 5 and didn’t really grasp that maybe my brother who might be about to die deserves some toys and VHS tapes more than I do. I got over it though, and throughout his chemo and recovery and the years of homechooling afterwards when we were both too damaged in our own ways to handle primary school, we watched and read Harry Potter non-stop. I even won a Waterstones costume contest by dressing up as Fawkes the pheonix. Not super relevant to the story, just a lil brag, felt very vindicated winning my own box of Harry Potter swag that my brother had no claim over.

So, needless to say Harry Potter meant a lot to us both. For me it was just about a book/movie series I liked. For him, is was the creator too- it didn’t last forever but for a while, he and ol’ Jo actually had a little pen pal thing going. He wrote back thanking her for the stuff, she wrote back congratulating him on his recovery, and on it went. It would be months, even years between replies sometimes, but it meant a lot to him and it was nice of her to keep it up- if it was her and not a specially hired letter-writer, I guess, but whatever. She even invited him to the launch event for the final book, he got to hang out with Evanna Lynch, I wasn’t jealous at all no ma’am. Shush. But yeah, he was grateful to her, inspired by her, more or less worshipped the ground she walked on, and who can blame him?

Harry Potter has been a staple of our house ever since; even with the controveries about JK racking up in recent years, there’s still a fondness there. In fact, me and my parents were about halfway through a staggered re-watch of the movies a couple of days ago, when Ms Rowling looked at her timeline, saw a world in chaos over a global pandemic and the senseless murders of black people by police with too much power, and she said ‘I am uncomfortable when we are not about me?????’

You all can probably guess what I think about her comments. I am an AFAB nonbinary person, who has been the target of misogynistic harrassment, who experiences dysphoria whenever I have to think about my boobs or periods, and who has maybe a 20% chance of being correctly gendered in my own home at any given time and who is scared of wearing skirts/dresses even though I love them because when I do, that chance drops to 0%. I find her stance reductive, tired, easily debunked, and an insult to the feminists who came before her who rallied for women to be seen as people beyond their parts. And I find her delivery of said stance childish and careless.

I’ve always loved the series, but I can see its flaws, see how many of them are clearly fed by the biases and negativity of the author. And while seeing a person who wrote something I loved fall from grace and turn hateful is hard, it’s not hard for me to decide I can keep the things I liked, look at the rest with a critical eye, and see its author for who she really is and decide not to support her in future. Done, dusted, simple, right?

I’m starting to realise now, that my own feelings on the matter are the least of my worries.

I should start out by saying that my family aren’t abusive, or bigoted. In many ways I’m very lucky, I grew up with a lot of support, opportunities and freedoms that others did not. And while my parents have not always understood me, or necessarily been in favour of who I am or what I do, they’ve never told me I can’t. Dad will grumble and say it’s not feminine when I cut my hair, but he won’t stop me. It’s not a perfect situation by a long shot. Neither of my parents tends to acknowledge my nonbinary identity or my preferences for they/him pronouns. My brother does, although has confessed to me relatively recently that he doesn’t understand why it’s necessary for people to label themselves as nonbinary at all. I tried to explain, still unsure if I was successful. Basically, I’m not in an ideal quarantine situation, here, am I? But I’m lenient with my folks. I’ve learned to shrug it off and move on when I am misgendered, because it rarely feels like there’s any point to arguing it. I’ve learned not to talk too much about queerness with them because most of it falls on deaf ears and blank stares. But when last night Dad asked if we were carrying on the Potterathon after dinner, I took a chance and said I’d rather not; I’d spent enough time looking at the shitstorm of her transphobia and I’m done with it for now. I’m in a pretty delicate mental state at the moment right now, I’m sure LOTS of you can relate, and I have more important things to think about than unpacking my own feelings about the transphobia of a lady I’ll never meet.

He looked confused, and off-put by my frankness, but gotta give him credit, he didn’t push. ‘Til tonight when he suggested the exact same thing. And he and mum decided to watch it in the room next door anyway when I wasn’t keen, so it’s not like I have to see it! Just hear it through the wall. And at least my brother didn’t join in! Granted, that’s because he’s busy on a film set today, but. Well. I’m sure he’d stick by me even if he wasn’t. He’d just grumble a lot about it. And maybe say he doesn’t really get what the big deal is.

I don’t think my family would turn their back on me completely. I think, if push came to shove, they would be on my side. But the pushing, such as it is, has not been enough to dissuade any of them so far from maybe giving the Potterathon a rest for a week or so. Or, in the case of my parents, learn to use a slightly different pronoun for me than they’re used to. And maybe if I stopped fucking around being timid and afraid of causing discomfort, if I put my foot down and said you guys are gonna learn something and this time you’re not allowed to get bored, defensive, or pay more attention to the cat, then they would actually give a shit. But advocating for my own self-worth has never been my strong suit. I can’t do it when people use homophobic slurs around me and my brother doesn’t say anything, and I certainly can’t do it when people are consciously or unconsciously reinforcing a gender role they placed on me.

Suffice it to say, I’m not upset by JK’s opinions themselves, as such. I saw them coming, I don’t agree with them, I think it was a cheap ploy for attention from a middle-aged has-been desperate to stay relevant at all costs.

I am, however, in the back of my mind, perhaps a tad concerned that when it comes to a choice of me or her, my words, my existence against her point of view, the people who raised me will choose her, because in many ways she’s been ‘part of the family’ as long as I have, a constant presence in our lives since I was small and not obviously a confused deviant predator queer yet. And unfortunately, I know I’m not the only one with that same worry. Creators like her have clout, the highest platform and the biggest voice, and to parents and siblings of queer kids, teens, young adults who are on the fence about the topic anyway, that kind of voice carries a lot of weight. Creators like her who’ve been around for the last twenty years of peoples’ lives can fill a seat at the table from miles away, and have their voice preside over the dinner table like a loud, xenophobic uncle. I may be my brother’s sibling, my parents’ child, but she is the voice that helped him through the hardest time of his life, and like it or not they will occasionally choose her and her worlds over the kid they never quite got a handle on.

I don’t think I really have a point to this. Idk, maybe I did when I started writing it, but I got pulled into the yarn and lost the thread. I suppose all I’d say is don’t underestimate the effect even under-researched and transparently debunkable statements can have from people with power and a platform. If you’re not trans, if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, please do your own research, from a variety of sources and form your own opinions, because I guarantee you JK feels comfortable enough in her following now to tweet whatever the hell she wants. And please, don’t invalidate the feelings of the trans people, old and young alike, who this hurts. The UK is already a cesspool of harrassment and restrictive practices for trans people, and it’s hard not to see that disgusting national mindset mirrored and amplified by one of our most famous and culturally impactful living authors and feel like the answering #IStandWithJKR hashtag (which is still trending two days later) is the final nail in the coffin.

Trans, enby, agender, etc. friends- it is not the final nail. Even if the entire word turns against us, I am on your side, I see you, I love you, I understand you. I’m not always in the best frame of mind these days, I can’t guarantee fast replies, but if any of you just need someone to talk to for a little bit, my DMs are always open. Be excellent to each other <3

[art-as-a-weapon-blog]

The Potterless Podcast I’ve been listening to brought up this idea during Snape’s OWLs memory that Harry has a low level crush on Sirius and that it’s natural bc James did too.

Which isn’t something I’ve noticed but can’t really argue against bc who wouldn’t, Rowling has mentioned multiple times that Sirius was handsome.

But I also think overall Harry saw Sirius, and to certain extent Lupin, as an older brother/father figure which comes with its own hero worship/complex feelings.

I still have a grudge against JK because *spoiler* not only did she kill off Sirius but Lupin as well. Lupin’s was worse bc it seemed like she was trying to give Teddy Lupin a second rate Harry storyline

[gayfrogs03]

CURSED CHILD RANT

I am honestly at a complete loss at how the Harry Potter fandom just is in suck an outrage about the Cursed Child.

The thing about how they don't accept it as canon. I can understand that somethings are different from the original books, but there are SEVEN books, do you think JK Rowling can remember EVERYTHING she put in seven books, she can't, she's a human being. What I don't understand is how people can seriously believe it can't be canon because Albus is a Slytherin and shit like that, all I have to say to that is get your head out of your ass, it is 100% possible for him to be in Slytherin. Or how Harry was completely "Out of character" Is it that hard to believe that he is human too, and can have a mean streak when he's under stress? If you actually read the books, when Harry got stressed and always snapped and said things he didn't mean, don't say you're saying this with facts from the books when you're not.

And Albus' name, I swear to God you all better shut the fuck up. You hate that he was named after Snape because he was a bully to others, and yet you worship the ground Sirius and James walk on when they were also bullies. Hogwarts is supposed to be a second home to the students, somewhere to feel safe and welcomed but Snape wasn't safe or welcome there all because James was a jealous bitch. Those to pushed Snape and broke him, and no one would defend him but Lily Evans, and she fell in love with his bully. And Draco, you all love him and say he's just misunderstood when he bullied Harry every year and became a Death Eater. But, for a reason I can't seen to figure out, you all hate a broken man who gave his life for Harry, all hate a man how was just heartbroken and was never accepted, a man who sent seven years of his life trying to keep this boy alive while being reminded of how he was rejected every god damn day he saw Harry. So yes, Harry had every right to name is some after Snape, and had ever right to see him as one of the bravest men he's meet. Because Snape was brave and strong and does not deserve the hate he gets.

If I offended anyone, I don't care.

[junhaoshua]

The Great Collie Crossover, 3/10

A/N: I own none of the characters, being neither JK Rowling nor @colubrina. This is just a chance for me to play in the sandbox they have created.This is a birthday/get well soon present for the lovely @colubrina, whose work has been such a joy and inspiration to me.

***

2: Pygmalion

“You’re this world’s Hermione Granger?” Hermione echoes, disbelieving.

“So to speak,” other-Hermione says, sounding like she’s having a laugh at her expense. “Walk with me.”

The walls ripple, and they find themselves in the halls of Hogwarts as a dark-haired boy dressed in an ancient suit closes a door behind him. She stifles an exclamation. He’s -

“Beautiful, isn’t he?” the witch asks lazily. “Ogle all you want. He’s mine.”

The boy is handsome. Handsomer than any she’s met. He walks like the ground yields to him alone. “Who is he?”

She startles when the other witch laughs, long and hard. “You mean you don’t know? Oh well, no matter. You’ll know soon enough.”

The handsome boy goes to the Headmaster’s Office - and for an instant, Dumbledore’s warm smile falters and there’s something like hate and terror in his eyes. They’re halfway through speaking when the office door pushes open and there she is, a self who looks no different from her, bushy-haired and wearing robes with a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck.

“I forgot how dowdily my younger self dressed,” other-Hermione remarks. “The others didn’t want this to come so soon. But really, this is hardly the last world you want to remember when you awake.”

Time moves. Hermione dueling with this boy, lobbing dark curses at each other with ease and grace. Studying with Draco and Theo. Talking to Neville. The boy threatening Ron. Harry, then Luna joining their little group. The other Slytherins, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle. The boy crucio’ing Goyle for calling Hermione a mudblood.

“Too slow,” other-Hermione murmurs, and waves a hand.

Images flash past. Duels. Harry looking at the boy and then killing Blaise. Studying. Hermione avada’ing Marietta Edgecombe after the witch eavesdropped on a conversation. Graduation. The Potters and Longbottoms alive. Moving into Draco’s castle. Using the imperius on Muggles. The boy, with Harry and the others, torturing a dark wizard - a powerful wizard - who’d cursed her. Draco and Harry. Draco and Harry. Other-Hermione making a horcrux from Lavender Brown. Marrying the boy naked under the moonlight, drinking the blood of a human sacrifice.

Hermione stumbles away from this other woman - this dark, dark, Hermione - away from the sight of herself doing all these horrific things. “You’re not me. You can’t be me.”

“But I am,” the dark-Hermione purrs. “You could be too, with the appropriate motivation. He contributed, of course, but we all have that inside us.”

More things. Ginny there to spy, killing Muggles to prove herself. Harry as dark as Voldemort. Luna being served with worshipful devotion by both the Slytherin goons of Malfoy’s. Pansy and Theo marrying. The Potters and Longbottoms regarding their sons with concern and uncertainty. Neville and the daughter of Regulus Black. How can Harry and Neville turn out so evil when their parents are alive? When Sirius and Remus are alive?

Their parents are alive and whole.

She looks at Harry’s unscarred forehead and screams.

“Took you long enough,” dark-Hermione sighs with an eyeroll.

She turns away, covering her face and willing to wake up. “No, no, no, this is just a nightmare -”

“I assure you, it’s a dream for us.”

“You’re telling me in another life, I could be corrupted by Voldemort?”

The other Hermione smiles. “Tom fell through time. Into our time. He didn’t corrupt us. He just… nurtured what we already have.”

She whirls back around. “Why are you showing me this? Voldemort was Voldemort in my world, not some pretty time traveler. Why show me a world I’ll never have?”

“Because we are queen enough to rule any world,” the witch says with sudden intensity as fog starts swirling again. “That is who we are, that is who we can be, and you must never, never settle for any less.”

***

This time, when the fog clears, she falls on her hands and knees and throws up. Another Hermione, this one in a tailored black suit with a pretty little crystal pin shaped like a peacock feather, hovers over her like she’s uncertain whether or not to touch her. “I told them not to let her see that world,” other-Hermione mutters to herself, extending a hand down.

Hermione takes it and pulls herself to her feet, and she feels other-Hermione shiver before relaxing. “So we are the same person,” the other witch says softly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

***

Thank you to the lovely @sulisaints for pre-reading! Crossposted on AO3.