#it was a mwpp fan of all people

[padfootastic]

just gonna rant about fanon sirius real quick don’t mind me & my rapid descent into incoherency. everything’s under a cut bc this serves no purpose.

i fucking hate when he’s conceptualised as this dramatic, over-the-top-angry, unreasonable manchild. actually, no. even one of those traits for him annoys me so much. people can write him however they want but atleast have the decency to slap an ooc tag on it if ur gonna butcher him that badly because he’s !!! not !!! like !!! that !!!

the only time he shows an ounce of ‘melodrama’ (and i have issues w that term) is during the shrieking shack which he waited over a dozen years for in hellish conditions. he’s probably starving, half delusional, and definitely a combination of angry and terrified out of his mind. he’s been single-mindedly focused on one task, has probably used it to fuel himself through all material and psychological obstacles, and now that it’s in front of him, of fkn course he’s not gonna wait around for tea and crumpets to be served.

every other instance we have of sirius is him being cool, collected, logical, and rational as fuck. i recently read the ‘padfoot returns’ chapter in gof for mc purposes and by god, i fell in love with him all over again. he’s so terrifyingly competent?? the way he’s gone through some of the most horrific trauma in the entire series, and his mind is still so sharp? his memory is impeccable? the way he joins dots and comes to conclusions? not just that, but he’s one adult who listens to and trusts the trio, treats them like children with the weight of the world on their shoulders, actually seems to see them without rose tinted glasses on.

and his entire speech about crouch/the ministry/snape???? this is not someone who mindlessly hates slytherins. fucking hell, he was giving snape the benefit of the doubt in that chapter. ‘i don’t think dumbledore would hire him if he was really on the other side’ (paraphrased) and this is where he makes the point about observing how someone treats their inferiors. sirius has so many layers and he’s such a complex character and he’s so wonderful in his own right it annoys me sm to see him dumbed down into this- not even 2D but massively ooc version of him. and again, like, i don’t mind ooc at all. i read tons of ooc character fics! it’s great and super fun! but for the love of god tag it that way.

and back to the being dramatic thing. this man lived in the same set of tattered robes, in caves, feasting on rats, generally not giving a single fuck. he tore chicken straight off the bone. lived on the run, breaking into people’s houses and roaming around as a dog. he’s not going to freak out over a broken nail or shriek or jump around for anything. when faced with a hostile molly weasley or a curious harry asking about his family (a sensitive topic) he chose to rely on cool answers and clipped tones, not outward explosions of anger. ugh. so much nuance, and it’s all gone just like that.

also adding on to this to say—he doesn’t even show that much anger or bitterness. my man literally forgave everyone who turned on him in a second. he literally didn’t blink before hugging remus. where are people getting some ideas of him from 😭😭

[impishtubist]

Factually, I know that there are a bunch of younger people in the marauders/wolfstar fandom who haven't actually read the books, but the thing I just can't wrap my mind around is: WHY??? And I don't even mean it in the sense of "these kids are ruining the fandom and should read the canon before they start writing fics" (well... at least not entirely). I mean that I utterly don't get it as a choice for them. Like, there is SO MUCH media out there that (a) has way better canon, (b) has canonically queer characters, and (c) wasn't written by a racist TERF. For example, Young Royals. In itself, a really good show. And if these new MWPP fans' fics are anything to go by, it has the exactly the kind of character archetypes, character relationships, and story lines that these folks are actually interested in seeing/reading. There's also Good Omens, OFMD, the (small but great) the Old Guard, etc. The options are abundant these days!

Now, for all I know, a lot of these folks might be in a few of these other better-suited fandoms in addition to MWPP. But why do they bother with MWPP at all? I get that MWPP & Harry Potter in general is a bigger, older fandom with a lot of existing content. But I feel like this newer pack of MWPP fans could really help build up more vibrant communities in the fandoms that genuinely suit them if they just invested their time & energy on that instead of on attempting to shoehorn characters & story arcs that they don't even (canonically) like into a form they enjoy.

I have many thoughts about this, actually! It's an interesting thing to discuss.

(I'm going to start out by saying that if you're a newer/younger fan here and you are reading this post...cool, you do you. I understand that the hyperfixation brain worms sometimes lead you places you didn't expect and you can't extract yourself very easily. But I'm still going to talk about how it 'tis a bit puzzling to me.)

This is not going to be universal at all, but I find personally that the fandoms I'm more active in are the ones where the queer relationships aren't canon, or are only hinted at very very slightly. Like, I wrote 18 fics for Good Omens before the romance was confirmed, and after that I wrote...1. I've written one fic for Maurice and 130 for Sherlock. I think that once the couple I want to get together is actually confirmed in canon, there's nothing left for me to do, you know? No more writing sandbox to play in. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that Aziraphale and Crowley kissed and I cannot wait for season 3. I'm just not as compelled to write fic for that fandom now as I am for, say, Temeraire. So I can see people being more drawn to write for MWPP, with so many possibilities to play with and so many characters/couples, as opposed to Young Royals, which was a fun show to watch but I am not compelled to write anything for because the romance already played out on screen! Same with OFMD and Old Guard - LOVED watching them, don't really feel compelled to write for them.

Obviously this is not universal because those fandoms are thriving, but it's just kind of how my brain works.

Also, there must be something about the way that Sirius's and Remus's characters have been watered down/changed entirely for TikTok videos that is compelling to the younger crowd. I don't know, because I don't go there, but I've heard so many younger fans say they started shipping Wolfstar because of what they saw on TikTok.

So...yeah. I am as baffled as you! With the abundance of queer content out there not written by a TERF, it is definitely surprising to see the fandom gain new members. I am only here because Sirius Black grabbed me by the throat when I was 7 years old and hasn't let go since. If I hadn't been seized by the series at a formative age (and before her TERFness was known), I don't know if I would have gotten into it as an adult. But I can't speak for those fans! I can only speculate, like you.

[elvendorx]

Hi! I really like your blog! I was just wondering, how do you manage to find canon-based marauders content? I’m pretty new to Tumblr and while I follow the main tags, I’m tired of the short and shallow Siriuses, activist Jameses, and naive Lupins that don’t seem anything like the marauders I fell in love with. And the hatred for Snape and the condescension towards his fans makes me super scared to interact with blogs since I have posted Snape content on my main blog and I feel like I’d be eaten alive. I’m so overwhelmed! Do you use filters to help you? Or is it just finding and following the right people? Thanks for any and all advice!

hello and thank you! <3

a lot of it honestly is just finding and following the right people. the exact balance of that is personal that it will take a while to feel like you're consistently seeing things on your own specific wavelength but it's definitely doable. i think once you find one blog you really align with, see who they interact with regularly, check out those blogs, then check out who those blogs follow, etc etc. i used to systematically go through likes and reblogs on posts i liked, but once you find a few blogs you really enjoy, you'll end up finding more like-minded people quite naturally. and honestly, anyone who expects you to have the exact same tolerances for different characters as they do is probably not going to be much fun to interact with anyway.

i use filters for things i absolutely never want to see but not everything gets tagged/not everything that is tagged is the thing you don't want to see (so much sirius solo art/gen marauder stuff is tagged wolfstar) but it works and i would recommend it for absolute no-gos.

the main tags unfortunately are not safe spaces anymore and tbh if there's anything worth seeing in there, someone else will reblog it so it ends up on your dash anyway. sometimes i look in the prongsfoot tag but if anything look at anti (ship)/anti (character) tags lol and sometimes finding people who dislike the same things as you is also a good way to find like-minded people - hating can work, kids.

specifically for mwpp stuff, in my broad experience, snape fans are often more comfortable with the morally grey thing so they have solid views on snape AND sirius, james and remus, tho obviously you get the ultra protective stans too. but def follow snape fans if you are even slighty interested in snape, it's a great way of seeing how other pockets of hp fandom function. also, you could have identical views on a character as someone but you love them and they hate them, for the same reasons, and i feel like the joy is in finding the same interpretation, it's very fun and just in life it's good to see different perspectives. i got unfollowed a while back for a snape post i can't even remember but it was like 5 people and honestly the right people will probably be cooler than you think about it :)

so really my advice boils down to:

know what you do and don't want to see

know what you can and can't tolerate seeing (things that annoy you or more serious triggers)

find connections through sources you trust

try finding a mix of people who like the same things as you do/people who dislike the same things you do/people who you might not always agree with in judgement but whose analyses and approaches are objective

and eventually you'll have a great balanced lil circle <3

anyway a few recommendations of people i follow who i think offer great hp ideas:

@remus-poopin @narcissa-black-supermacy @ashesandhackles @urupotter @act-more-like-a-dog-sirius

but also consider anyone i follow/interact with a lot an endorsement! hope u have fun exploring :)

[maybebabyplease]

what is your opinion on mwpp writers who have only read atyd?

hello anon!

i mean. i don't care what people do. and i know it's cool to be an ATYD hater, but i actually enjoyed the fic! even tho i didn't like grant the OC (see prev opinion on OCs). it's a really fun canon divergent (or like, canon adjacent?) fic imo. i don't see it as the end-all, be-all, of course, but i didn't hate it.

re: writing fic after only reading atyd, i do think it's not really....fanfiction? if you're not a fan of the original media? idk this is an interesting topic because so much of fandom is built together, esp in a fandom as big as HP. people pick up each other's HCs and build on them and change them and create something so far from the original text. but if you're just reading fanfiction, and making fanfiction of that fanfiction, what do you call it? i'm not sure. maybe someone who's studied this (where are my academics! i know there's a few of you around here!) has a better idea than me. does it stop being a transformative work, if you're not transforming the original text? and where does it stop being a transformative work? to me writing 'fic of fic' like that is much more derivative than transformative, but am happy to hear other people's opinions in the comments/my dms/whatever :)

(opinions, courtesy of me)

[annabtg]

Ohhh hi, can I jump in and say I’ve only been here since 2016 and I already feel like a fandom granny sometimes lol. How have the mwpp & jily fandoms changed since 2005? Favorite “era”? 😄 I’m especially curious abt how the release of DH changed things around here, like people’s reactions to Snape and Lily’s friendship? Iirc that wasn’t canon before DH

Hi there! ❤️

I may not be the best person to ask, because my interest in HP fic rapidly dwindled in 2007 - between DH coming out and rendering my massive WIP obsolete (it was a continuation of book 6), starting uni, and getting into an abusive relationship which gave me all sorts of depression and issues, I wasn't into fandom with any consistency after that. Meanwhile, my fandom friends migrated from LJ to Facebook and their involvement in fandom slowly died down, so I also lost my connections with active fandom. I would come back on occasion, maybe write a fic for an exchange or post old stuff I'd found, catch up with my friends, but not with the broader fandom.

I can tell you what things were like between 2005-2007 (at least in my circle of friends and according to my reading experience), right before DH came out:

Marauders fan = Jily fan. You were interested in the boys' shenanigans and James/Lily getting together. Maaaaybe into Wolfstar (The Shoebox Project was a big thing) but Sirius was as likely to be with Remus as he was to be a heartthrob who changed girlfriends every week. None of that Regulus, Barty Crouch, Rosier & Wilkes stuff. They were literally nowhere in any fic I'd ever read.

The stories were almost exclusively set in Hogwarts, or maybe you'd find some fluffy married Jily. People were more likely to come up with a way to make cellphones work at Hogwarts than they were to write a Muggle AU.

The fics were full of magical whimsy and teenage shenanigans. Perhaps that's because we were younger - at 19-21 during that time, I was one of the oldest in my circle of friends.

We didn't hate Snape. He was an antagonist, sometimes even a villain, but without his DH obsession with Lily amping up the ickiness factor, he was more a necessary evil rather than someone to abhor.

James would constantly pester Lily to go out with him. He was - maybe not exactly stupid, but IMMATURE LIKE WHOA. Sirius was usually more of the same.

Head Student dorms. That was so prevalent I had to write a rant on it not being canon. :P

I markedly don't remember DH reactions. I don't think any of us must have liked it very much. :P

That's all I can think of right now!

[soloorganaas]

re: jkr and bigotry, not really about class but. i remember when the whole 2020 wave of anti jkr happened and i was torn somewhere in-between bc i didn't know what was happening. and then i watched contrapoints video about jkr and it was so eye opening i think it kind of changed the course of my life lmao. the bigotry that's seemingly unaware of itself - taking advantage of the more compassionate. wild. thank you for that meta post it was sooo great i will be thinking about it for days now.

ahh ty for sharing this!!! writing about this stuff is so hard and i used to feel like i was the only one who felt this way and maybe making it up in my head, so all the comments and responses have been so validating 😌

bigotry that's unaware of itself sums her up perfectly. i never watched the contrapoints vid (i've pinned it for later) and honestly i can't even remember how i found out about this, bc i guess it wasn't really finding out? i just became more and more aware of it through queer and/or jewish communities (bc of how antisemitic she is as well)

i started re-reading the books bc i went to hp world and got super nostalgic, and obvs i came in with 30 years of learning and growing, as well as everything i understood about her by then, and was v aware of the more obvious problematic tropes in her books. but it wasn't until i got involved in wolfstar that i was able to unpack the subtler things that are woven into her writing

i remember reading some great meta right when i joined wolfstar tumblr about her reaction to wolfstar and the fandom after the books became popular, and that sort of alerted me to how deliberately she clapped back against her fans when her characters ran away with her. then the more fic i read the more i saw how bipolar sirius was presented as, and how much class was woven into his story and wolfstar and MWPP generally. and i've just been mulling it over for months and months slowly putting it into words bc it is SUCH a real experience for me and kids i grew up with. i've seen dumbledores and mollys and had the same insults and "expressions of concern" thrown at me, and it literally haunts you for your entire life. and its bc of the same subtle bigotry woven passive aggressively into social dynamics that jkr follows, which gets fucking reemphasised every time we see read/see stories like this

and as it still happens today and me and people like me still face this shit and basically no one understands its happening (in fiction or irl) unless we carefully explain it, im gonna keep doing that. and im v grateful for everyone who's been so receptive, and v happy (in a bittersweet way) that so many bipolar people i've seen in the comments got their experiences validated too

[xslytherclawx-writes]

i've pretty much always found my HP fandom home in some sort of marauders-era niche - my first published fanfic was marauders-centric (it was bad but i was 11 so). even when i write lightning gen like i do very much prefer the mwpp era

and i just do not like how it's become like "let's make all of them whoever we want because fuck jkr" like y'all she doesn't care but you know who does? the fans who actually love these characters for who they are.

i feel like there are plenty of people my age and older in mwpp fandom but there's a clear divide between us and people who are like gen z tiktokkers who write wildly ooc fic because if they ever did read the books it was 10+ years ago and why would they ever revisit the source material?

[wolfstarlibrarian]

hey this might be a bit of an odd ask, but i was wondering if you haven’t already if you could possibly compile a list of recommendations that are a “must read” or “fandom favourites” for wolfstar?

Hello friend! Not an odd ask at all, but a difficult one to answer. No matter who you ask, everyone will give you a different set of fics that are their “must reads” or “fandom classics”, so I appreciate your “favourites” option which is much less daunting. 

If you’re looking for canon-era/MWPP era fics as an intro to the wolfstar fandom, start with this list: 

Wolfstar Starter Kit

Now onto the fics the Librarian finds themselves reading over and over again. If you also like fics with adults, sweet romance vibes, maybe some comedy and happy endings, then you might like these as well! Also check out Favorite Fic Bingo: 1-4.

The Librarian’s 12 Favorite Fics 

Modern Artists: Celestial Bodies by @remus-john-lupin

This feels like the best of all of the Librarian’s favorite ideas wrapped into one beautiful fic. Modern get together, crazy prongs, sexy chaotic painter Sirius, cute nerd Remus, loving parents and an issue with timing all come together in the most lovely prose. It’s a visual feast the way the words leap off the page and paint a picture in your mind, making the entire romance feel like a magical movie. 

Canon-Era Get Together: Unknown Pleasures by @kattlupin

So, Remus moves in with a PLANT BABY OKAY, and there are scenes where Sirius gives him his hoodie to wear, and there’s so much pining and the two of them trying to be kind to each other in a scary situation it’s just...ugh. This soft and tender fic pulls at the heart strings and was immediately Librarian’s favorite canon-era fic. It’s coming to terms with who you, and who you can be, and leaves the reader comforted in the face of the unknown.

Finding Love w/Anxiety: Roma is Amor spelled backwards by @aryastark-valarmorghulis

Too often, characters mental health struggles are written into a partnership where one of them “saves” the other from their insecurities. While romance is powerful, it never saves us from our anxieties, and thankfully this fic doesn’t shy away from the realism of finding love with anxiety. It’s incredibly relatable and will leave you with a feeling of hope and peace. Beautiful prose and lovely descriptors round out a quiet story that sneaks into your heart.

Modern with Great Banter: How Remus Got His Groove Back by @theprongsletthatlived

The Librarian paused for full two minutes trying to categorize this fic and still failed, but don’t let that stop you from reading this fic. If it was a book, it’d be the Librarian’s favorite. It can stand on its own, but the characters are still true to their canon selves, despite being thrown into need and complicated situations. Deep emotions juxtaposed against witty banter and modern shenanigans may ruin you for another modern fics, but it’s definitely worth it. 

College Comedy + Magic: A Supplementary Story by @elixirsoflife

Sassy college student Remus meets Vampire Sirius? At first its sounds too silly to be good, but this one always gets the Librarian laughing and is reread repeatedly to chase away bad nighttime thoughts.

Battling Insecurities/Smut: A Pair of Brown Eyes by @hp-shessocold

This features a Librarian’s favorite trope: older wolfstar! They’re realistic and still so in love with each other that you’ll swoon. And if that doesn’t do it, the way that Sirius helps Remus while getting him off? Well, it’s a fantasy and wholesome moment combined. 

Customer Service Fluff: Let's Go Out With a Bang -orphaned account

Most people can relate to the woes of customer service, but this one gives the reader a fluffy fantasy of what could happen. Cotton candy fluff. 

Coffee-shop AU: Finest in Fairford by @bluepeon-y

There may be tens of thousands of coffee shop AUs, but this one has a quiet magic to it that sets it apart. Also, Sirius as an author is underrated and it compliments  the way this fic this features each of their nerdy sides in this author-meet-cute fantasy.

Modern Teacher: Signs of Affection by @kittycargo

Do you wish there was a comfort fic that was soft without all the angst? A fic that taught you new ways to express love or find a family? This is that fic. It’s a gentle journey to the heart where they’re both teachers, and both learn a little something from each other. If a fic could hug you and tell you it’ll all be okay, this would be the one to do it. 

Awkward Magic: A Black Dog by @toyhto

This is maybe the strangest premise on the list but it’s so good. It takes a flower shop au and twists it sideways in an awkward situation where Remus isn’t magical and Sirius is still under his spell. A short and sweet delight that you won’t be able to forget. 

Wartime Wedding: Young Hearts Intertwined by @goodboylupin

What’s better than a look into James and Lily’s wedding? Getting a surprise, impromptu invitation to Remus and Sirius’s happening at the same time, that’s what! And just like being at a real wedding you’ll laugh at the ridiculous, smile at the warm moments, and maybe even shed the happiest of tears watching it all go down. This fic is the funnest wedding you’ll ever attend, and as a gift for attending you’re rewarded with the simplest of common sense canon fixes. Grab some champagne and enjoy!

Love Online: You've Got Love by @cruisinwritealong

The Librarian is a sucker for romcoms and this fic is the best. Emails filled with love and tenderness against a backdrop of retail rivalry will make you yell at your screen with glee and frustration. It’s a total escape that shows that the best kind of love is the one that makes you feel like you’re home. 

Well, those are all the fics that the Librarian has been rereading over the past year, but the list feels incomplete since there are just too many fics to choose from. This is why there’s an ENTIRE LIBRARY dedicated to this fan’s faves. Anyway, hope you find a few love on this list, and happy reading! 

[mariekavanagh]

Re your post about the new Harry Potter series, considering you're such a Sirius Black fan would you not want a Marauders series?

lol nope.

You'd think I would want this, and I'm aware that there are many many people who do want a "Marauders" era prequel. But there are many reasons as to why it wouldn't work. Here are some.

This fandom is hella divisive and argumentative at the best of times. This can be a good thing, don't get me wrong. Different opinions are a good thing. But so often this fandom fails to discuss them respectfully, often resorting to just insulting the other side or shouting insults. The fandom surrounding MWPP has so many sides with people very devoted to their side - whichever side a potential TV show decides to portray, there will only be a small amount of the fandom satisfied by it.

Now lets get into the more detailed issues with a MWPP series.

1) James Potter vs Severus Snape.

If we end up with a show that outright depicts James + his friends bullying Snape (or other students), we'll have an argument about whether or not Snape deserved it, whether it's bias against Snape, MWPP fans complaining about showing their shady side, and arguments on posts that I can already see myself hastily scrolling past in which both sides are shouting at each other over who is right. It's exhausting enough already, without an official on-screen depiction to squabble over.

2) Wolfstar

Ships are great. Ships are fine. Ship who you want. You have that freedom. But there are people who like to declare their ship as canon simply because they like it so much or because there is a slither of canon "evidence". Wolfstar is one of those ships. If a prospective TV show decides to stick with canon and not confirm wolfstar, or worst still, give either character a potential love interest other than each other, there will be uproar from some areas of the wolfstar ship. Likewise, if they do push the boat out and decide to go for wolfstar, or perhaps just hint at it, there will be uproar from the anti-wolfstar community. Once again, it just comes down to the fact that this fandom so often fails to have a polite debate or conversation.

3) Casting

The lack of official on-screen material on the MWPP era means that there is a lot of fancasting for characters from that era. Which is a good thing! I do it myself, sometimes. It's a great feeling when you find an actor/person and think "Omg it's *insert name here*!" There are some very popular fancasts for the MWPP characters (Off the top of my head, Ben Barnes for Sirius, Andrew Garfield for Remus, Timothee Chalamet for Regulus and that other guy who is always shown as James in the same group whose name I cannot remember), but the reality is that these actors are extremely unlikely to be cast in these roles in any official movie/series. Aside from the people in charge perhaps just not seeing them as the right fit, the images and clips that people use for these actors as their characters are from films that are about a decade old. The actors are not young 20-somethings who can get away with playing teenagers anymore. This is perfectly logical, but I can already see it fuelling criticism about whoever is cast in the roles that fans are so loyal to seeing their fancasts playing. Endless "This actor isn't right, THIS actor should have been cast instead!" posts incoming.

4) Abusive Blacks

Oh boy. The cherry on the cake. You all know how much I dislike the headcanon that Sirius's parents were physically abusive towards him. That's just my persona preference. If a potential show or film decided to roll with this angle then I would not be the biggest fan for sure, but oh well. But this is just yet another example of an area of the MWPP fandom which is so divisive. If they show the Blacks as beating Sirius or cursing him til he's almost dead, then there will be people in favour and people against. Likewise if they don't show this, there will be people either saying this is a good thing or saying they're "going against canon" (abusive Blacks isn't canon, deal with it). Posts on the matter will quickly dissolve into name calling and shouts of "abuse apologist". Fun times.

5) Peter

I personally have a bit of a thing about people who deliberately erase Peter from works on MWPP. Yes he turned out to be a traitor and a bad guy, but you can't deny he was there all together. He was there, he was their friend, and he was very much a part of the story. But that's just me. Ultimately, Peter's divisiveness means that any characterisation in any prequel movie/series will surely be judged harshly depending on how people choose to view him, regardless of canon. The writers will have a nightmare of a time trying to satisfy an audience which all share very differing opinions as to how a younger Peter should be portrayed on screen. I would not envy their task of trying to get the balance right.

In summary, there are so many reasons as to why a MWPP would just be far too divisive to be successful, in my view. Too many topics that the fandom can never agree over, too much potential for outcries of "This angle/actor/storyline is wrong", "The writers are being disloyal to canon", "This is basically canon why are you refusing to acknowledge it?", the list goes on. I feel like any potential enjoyment to be gained from a show would ultimately be tainted by how much arguing every little aspect would trigger. And for that reason, I feel like we never will get any official on-screen prequel from this era. What production company/producer/writer/actor/literally anyone involved would want to take on such a project?

*drops mic* *sips tea* *stands up* *leaves room* *closes door*

[thistlecatfics]

How do you feel about James threatening to take off Snape's underwear in front of a group of fellow students? And using that to try and coerce Lily into a date with him? I've seen different takes which included sexual assault (which isn't wrong by our standards, per se, including showing underwear in the first place) to teenage antics. Basically, how do you feel this action reflects on who James is as a person - ignoring the arguments of Marauders vs Snape being "justified" or not. 1/2

2. An aside, where does it say in book text that Mulciber used Levicorpus against Mary Macdonald? (I think I saw that in a discussion on meta here.) I can't find any part of the book that confirms what was actually done to her. For what it's worth, I tend to think of the characters all fighting a small war during the marauder era, and find "who bullied who" discussions pointless, especially in the later years.

First off - I cannot be entirely sure I did not send this ask to myself in a fevered state because this is exactly what has been bubbling around in my head for the past week. (so, uh, that is to say, thank you for the ask, anon.)

Second - everything we get about the marauder’s era is through 2+ unreliable narrators which is why it’s so fun! I just reread SWM and am going to offer a few potential interpretations. I’m very much open to more.

Rereading “Snape’s Worst Memory” right now, the first thing that stands out to me is that it is Snape’s memory but the details around James Potter and co are almost absurdly clear given that Snape is “as deeply immersed in the OWL paper as ever, which left Harry free to sit down on the grass between the beech and the bushes and watch the foursome under the tree.” It’s a little difficult for me to understand how everyone is situated but why are the details of MWPP’s conversation intelligible to him?

A few questions right from the start:

To what degree is Snape’s pensieve memory reliable?

To what degree should we see this as a school-based proxy war vs bullying?

To what degree is this moment an aberration vs typical?

“Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack.” (hyper-vigilance, trauma-response, training, situational awareness, been listening in - lots of ways to read this)

“Students all around had turned to watch… some looked apprehensive, other entertained.” (everyone assumes something is about to happen)

The initial dialogue (grease marks on the parchment) feels super schoolyard bullying.

Scourgify - choking him, seen described as “waterboarding” very cogently though I’m still iffy on that, but we do know it’s very much the lizard brain not the thinking brain that reacts to that - you’re terrified of drowning like that, wizarding or not. It's quite a cruel thing to do.

“Leave him alone.”

“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” said James quickly. “Go on… go out with me and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.”

“Quickly!” is such a useless adverb! There are still so many ways of interpreting that! Quickly as in - he’s said this so many times he doesn’t have to think about it? Quickly as in - he’s not thinking and he says a stupid 16 year old thing which he regrets soon after? Quickly as in - this is fun, almost mutual banter? (doubtful as her earlier statement was said “coldly.”) But also like... what the fuck, James? What the actual fuck?

Ok then Sirius says “bad luck, Prongs” briskly, and Snape reaches his wand. Snape curses James with a spell that leaves a gash across his face “spattering his robes with blood.”

(to be fair to Snape, faces bleed super easily, and a shallow cut on the face will bleed just horribly as any rugby player will tell you.)

Then James sends him upside down. Everyone laughs, and even Lily’s “furious expression” “twitches.”

Then we get the Lily/Snape/James interaction bits - they’re fighting, James undoes the Levicorpus and then the Patrificus Totalus at Lily’s insistence, and then, famously, Snape says, “I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!”

Sirius gently mocks James “who looked furious now.”

And the scene concludes with:

“There was another flash of light, and Snape was one again hanging upside-down in the air.

‘Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s pants?’”

Honestly rereading the chapter I was hoping for some clear insight, and my main reaction is that I have a renewed understanding for why there’s so much debate about this memory!

Without any context, the concluding moment, that James feels humiliated over a rejection by a girl, and he then physically restrains another man, shows off his underwear and threatens to take them off in front of a crowd, feels like standard issue sexual violence (in the sort of hazing/bullying type.)

In context, given that we know Snape and his friends are about to be (or already have been) inducted as Death Eaters, a process that involves murder, this feels like a school-based proxy war in a larger fight and while it might be sexualized violence, it’s not so outside the pale as it would be in our own high school context.

Alright now that I have thoroughly confused myself and gotten nowhere, let me focus on the actual questions given.

"Basically, how do you feel this action reflects on who James is as a person"

Badly! It reflects badly!

To me, I see him as your typical Social Justice Bro - he’ll say the right words, fight against the Baddies with genuine fervor, but he still very much sees women as prizes to be won in exchange for his good behavior.

This is SUCH a common type of person and the idea that Quidditch star, wealthy only child, brilliant Jame Potter falls into that trap is not surprising.

I see there being three options fans can take here:

This memory is accurate and representative: James Potter, like many men, fights on the good side but harbors misogynistic views and treats the women in his life like objects and is willing to use sexualized violence against others as a means of asserting his own masculinity.

This memory is accurate but not representative: This is the worst James Potter ever acted. He never behaved this way again. He apologized to Lily. He did his feminist reading. He worked on his own shit. (I think this is the one JKR wants us to take? But who knows and who cares with her.)

This memory is not accurate: Snape, being very smart and very highly motivated, like many people like him, has slowly and steadily edited his own memories to better fit into a narrative he feels comfortable with. (This explains why his recollections of the MWPP conversations are so accurate and unflattering and also why he seems to have done zero healing or maturing in the past 10 years and bullies children. He has been stewing in his own edited memories rather than healing and moving on.)

I can vibe with all of them, depending on what kind of story I want to write/read/imagine.

where does it say in book text that Mulciber used Levicorpus against Mary Macdonald?

It doesn’t. I think I remember the meta you’re referencing (I remember it being very good and interesting!)

“Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he’s creepy! D’you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?”

…

“It was Dark Magic, and if you think that’s funny-”

It’s super vague in canon. I interpret it as an act of sexual violence, because that’s where my brain always goes, but it’s incredibly vague!

Anon, I hope you don’t think the fact I managed to write 1,000 words and weasel my way out of answering your questions means I don’t deeply appreciate them! I hope you have a stupendous evening <3 <3

[jassmarie19]

Favorite Fics List

Here is my list of the best fics I have ever read regardless of fandom and in no particular order

Twist and Shout by gabriel, standbyme - Supernatural, Destiel - I’M LEADING WITH THIS BECAUSE IT’S GETTING TURNED INTO A BOOK AND THEREFORE WON’T BE AVAILABLE ONLINE ANYMORE SO READ IT WHILE YOU CAN Summary: What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea. If you were part of the SPN fandom and you didn’t read this fic were you ever even a part of it? (COMPLETED)

A Thousand Beautiful Things by superpotterlock (fvalconbridge) - Supernatural, Destiel - Summary: Accidents happen everyday, like someone accidentally hitting you in the face with a ball and then you mutually getting off with them in the school showers. Now Dean’s not saying he’s gay, but the thing he has going with Castiel isn’t exactly straight either and he isn’t even sure if it matters any more. Basically Cas is a rebellious teenager instead of a goody-goody like in most stories (UNFINISHED but worth it imo)

A Hole in the World by AnnelieseMichel - Supernatural, Destiel, A/B/O - Summary: Dean Winchester never wanted to go home again. Going back to Lawrence meant people who knew what he was, who didn’t buy into the lie. But with a tragic accident, he’s back and dealing with the death of his father, the social stigma and objectification of being an out Omega, and the lingering aftermath of a long-ago crime. (COMPLETED)

Fingers Tap Into What We Once Were by 2ofacrime24 - Supernatural, Destiel - Honestly, I read this fic so long ago that I don’t really remember what happens, but it left such a lasting impression on me that when I saw the title again I had a physical, not just emotional, reaction to it. So it makes the list. Summary: Human!AU. Castiel never expected to see Dean again, the man from one marvelous one-night stand. However when Dean walks back into Castiel’s life on the arm of his twin sister, Anna, a year later, Castiel’s world is turned upside down as he realizes just how much Dean affects him. (COMPLETED)

Out of the Deep by riseofthefallenone - Supernatural, Destiel - THE MERMAID AU TO END ALL MERMAID AUS! Honestly though, I consider this is seminal piece of Mermaid AUs. Summary: Stay away from the light-beds. Stay in the deep.It is the first thing hatchlings are taught the moment their fans unfurl and they can swim without their parents to buoy them along. It is the first rule, the first law. It is the beginning of every boogey-monster bedtime story told when they settle against the cliffs to sleep. Castiel should have listened better. This was also the first fic I experienced that had its own culture and fandom surrounding it. (COMPLETED)

Shootin’ You Straight by rockstarpeach - Supernatural, Destiel - I started reading the first chapter of this fic to remind me what it was about and then I just read the whole thing because it’s that good. Summary: AU. Dean Winchester is in a band and Castiel is a fan. Not of the music, of Dean. An opportunity presents itself one night after a concert and Castiel can’t pass up the chance of a lifetime. Neither of them is happy to leave things at just one night, though, so they start up a romance troubled by long distances and Dean’s rock star lifestyle. It’s not perfect, far from it, but this is their story. (COMPLETED)

Vita Nuova by worldaccordingtofangirls - Supernatural, Destiel - Summary: AU. Dean Winchester takes a job as a teaching assistant to get his little brother into a prestigious academy. He doesn’t quite expect such long nights and snobby kids, but the real surprise is professor Castiel Novak: or falling in love with him, that is. Excuse me while I go re-read this whole fic because I forgot it existed and really need to back in my life. (COMPLETED)

Blue Lips, Blue Veins by romanoff - Avengers, Stony - This is a LONG FIC (145 chapters) but WORTH IT Summary: Tony Stark is Iron Man.Before that, he was an man with bigger heart than brain. Before that, he was an asshole with a bigger mouth than sense. And before that, he was was a scared little boy. Not that it matters. Stark’s always have had iron in their backbone. Basically, it’s Tony’s life story. (COMPLETED)

Born from the Earth by venusm, Avengers, Stony, A/B/O - This fic takes world building to a whole nother level, like I am telling you! Summary: Tony Stark’s born an omega in a world where that means he’s supposed to follow certain social rules. He becomes Iron Man anyway: Fuck biology.If only his biology (and the world) would quit fucking him back.Note: This is a multi-pairing fic; this world works very differently; not all pairings will be tagged until work is complete. Read with caution. At 81 chapters this is also long and very complicated. There’s also LOTS of trigger warnings and stuff but the author tells you what’s gonna be in each chapter (in a code! which is cool). (UNFINISHED)

Go Ugly Early by just_another_tinker - Avengers, Stony - Summary: He’s The Captain?This was not good. This was so not good.There were theories of course, of what The Captain would look like. Most followed the typical Hollywoodesque belief that he was some version of the Godfather, sitting in a dark room with a cigar, commanding his forces with a flick of his wrist. There were even some that even thought that The Captain was not one person, but a whole network of people with eyes and ears everywhere.The blonde Adonis in front of him was definitely not what Tony was expecting.Of course, in the end it didn’t matter.There was a reason no one knew what The Captain looked like.Because anyone who saw his face never lived to tell the tale. It’s a Mob!AU!! (UNFINISHED)

Liquid Lunch by romanoff - Avengers, Stony - Summary: Tony’s turned into a vampire. It’s very sad for everyone involved.Especially Steve. Not just because Tony keeps trying to eat him alive. There are other reasons too.“Just let me try a little bit,” he pleads “I won’t take all of it, oh, just a little taste—” He presses his palms flat against the glass and tries to scrape his teeth down the window “I can, I can control myself, promise.” And then he turns those eyes on Steve, looks him straight on, and they’re pleading, and innocent, and really, it’s selfish of him not to give Tony his blood, why would he not, he can’t see any justifiable reason, so he just starts rolling up his sleeve and nodding as Tony salivates into the glass. This fic is a WILD FUCKING RIDE OKAY but like, you gotta read it it’s just too good. (COMPLETED)

Playin’ For Keeps by Artemis_Day - Avengers, Jane/Loki - I’m putting this fic here 1) because I think it is a fantastic fic but 2) because I want more AUs like this Summary: The year is 1987. Jane Foster is just another struggling grad student, trying to reach her dreams and resist the urge to kill her crazy metal loving best friend. Until said friend drags her along to her favorite band’s concert, and one very mysterious and sexy guitarist throws her whole life out of order. (COMPLETED)

Power and Paradox by The_Kinky_Pet, Avengers, Stony, A/B/O - This has all the world building of A/B/O fics and puts it right up there with Born From the Eart IMO. Summary: “Billionaire, genius, engineer, philanthropist, submissive.  Yeah, submissive.  Any questions?”OR Yet another BDSM-AU.  (UNFINISHED but might start being updated in April of this year)

Standard Deviation by jennagrins, karengrins - Avengers, Stony - Summary: Okay, so maybe Steve isn’t Professor Stark’s biggest fan at the start of term but first impressions can be mistaken.Now Steve doesn’t care what Clint says, Tony is not his boyfriend. Another fic that gave me a physical reaction when I saw the title even though I vaguely remember what it’s about (COMPLETED)

Nothing Like the Sun by Lomonaaeren - HP, Drarry - Summary: Harry finally realizes that he has trouble keeping lovers both because of his looks and because he isn’t very good at sex. He does what he can to alter that, but it seems he’s never going to be good enough to satisfy a wizard lover. When Draco Malfoy offers, Harry thinks a casual relationship with him might be the solution to his problems. But he should have remembered one thing: when it comes to Harry, Malfoy has a problem staying casual. BRB have to go re-read this fic because it’s so good (COMPLETED)

Pricking the Velvet by Teland - HP, MWPP Era - This fic is…I don’t even know how to describe it honestly. It’s an experience. But completely worth it. If you think you’ve read everything, you need to read this fic. NOT FOR BEGINNER Summary:  It starts with James being a right twat. Okay that’s not helpful here’s some stuff from the AN on the first chapter: This happened because, back in September, on hir way to dreamland, Jack muttered sleepily ‘if James Potter went into velvet, it would be like him having a period on his *head*’. At which point we riffed on the concept for the next two hours while snickering like twelve-year-olds. I began writing the next day, even though I was already working on Plenary. Jack came up with the title immediately, too, bless hir. Pfft. (COMPLETED)

Nox by penceyprat - HP, MWPP Era, Wolfstar, Jily - Summary: The Marauders are starting their fifth year at Hogwarts; Remus is starting with a massive scar across his face - a byproduct of the increasing severity of his furry little problem, which is a definite cause for concern despite his insistence that it it’s fine.Sirius is starting with the memories of a certain morning at 12 Grimmauld Place in August: memories that he might not ever forget, yet is desperate to cloak underneath the facade that every is fine at home and that he and his parents just sometimes encounter minor disagreements.James is starting his fifth year, yes, but more importantly, he is starting phase five of his plan to woo Lily Evans: somehow his friends seem doubtful that he might succeed, but James, being James, is in no lack of confidence.And Peter, well, Peter is starting to wonder just why he puts up with these people, and if he should really be feeling sorry for Lily Evans, and maybe if he should have asked to have been sorted into Hufflepuff. The title of the first chapter is “ohmygod i am so in love with this fic already” and that is how you will feel after reading that first chapter. (COMPLETED)

Alone on the Water by MadLori - Sherlock, Johnlocl, Probably THE Sherlock fic that everyone has to read. This is the first fic that ever made me cry. Summary: Sherlock is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Warning: angst like whoa. (COMPLETED)

Stronger Than This by Laiquilasse - Sherlock, Johnlock, A/B/O - I wound up re-reading this whole fic while I was making this list. Summary: Sherlock is convinced John is stronger than his Alpha instincts, and he stronger than his Omega. So when Sherlock goes into heat, this is the first time John remains at Baker Street with him. There is MPreg in this but like not actually? I don’t like MPreg usually and I was fine with this. It’s also part of a series. (COMPLETED)

A Cure for Boredom by emmagrant01 - Sherlock, Johnlock - WOW is all I can say about this. Summary: They’d never talked about sex in the year they’d known each other. Well, that wasn’t quite correct: Sherlock had never said a word about sex; John had bemoaned his personal dearth of it on many occasions. (COMPLETED)

Sherlock: Give Me A Label (I’ll Make Confetti) by IBegToDreamAndDiffer - Sherlock, Mystrade - Summary: Gregory Lestrade is the local badboy. He drinks, he smokes, he has sex, but that’s what a lot of seventeen-year-old boys do. Not Mycroft Holmes, of course; that posh git wouldn’t know what to do with a bloke. That’s what Greg thinks until he sees a new side of Mycroft, and every label he’s ever used is torn down in seconds. (COMPLETED)

how the mighty fall (in love) by braveten - Yuri!!! On Ice, Viktuuri - Summary: Every Victor Nikiforov fan has three things in common. 1. They have unrealistic expectations for romance. 2. They mark their calendars with the dates of his newest book releases and the premieres of his latest movie adaptations. 3. They either passionately hate or love his greatest rival, a mysterious author whose pseudonym is only two letters: “KY.” It’s an authors!AU! (WIP)

You Can’t Plan For Everything by RivDev - Yuri!!! On Ice, Viktuuri, A/B/O -  Summary: Yuuri forgets that he has a scheduled heat coming up until it’s just a couple weeks away. He scrambles to get everything ready in time, including deciding whether he’ll spend it alone or with someone. Victor only wants to help. SLOWBURN like you don’t understand how slow this burn is. (WIP)

Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by Reiya - Yurri!!! On Ice, Viktuuri - If you’re in the YOI fandom and you haven’t read this I don’t know what to tell you except go read this. Summary: ‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be. (COMPLETED)

Execute Order 69 by imgoingtohellforthis - Star Wars, Obikin - THIS IS A CRACK FIC but honestly this is just as important to me as My Immortal so its going on this list. Summary: Palpatine ditches the whole idea of “Make Anakin evil” and decides to open up a strip joint instead! Glitter, money, drunk Obi wan, and whole lot of madness. (COMPLETED)

Love of the Second Star by SteeleStingray - Captive Prince, Lamen - I don’t think I can ever say enough good things about this fic. Summary: In the book series, Laurent and Damen thought aloud about what life might have been like if their countries were at peace and Auguste had lived…In THIS story Vere and Akielos are allies and 17 year-old Damianos is spending four months of every other year in the Veretian Court. It is there, he begins to feel attracted to the prince of Vere and discovers darkness hiding under the surface of court. Spanning nearly 8 years, Damen, Auguste, and Laurent are embroiled in bittersweet feelings and intense passion.“I would court you with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve. There’d be no lies between us. We’d have time to be together.”(TW FOR LATER IN THE STORY: Implied CSA; Implied Sexual Assault; Sex) (COMPLETED)

The Veretian Flytrap by Just_Another_Day - Captive Prince, Lamen, A/B/O - HOLY SHIT THIS FIC. Summary: The court treated it like a joke. His uncle told him it was a weakness. Laurent chose to listen to what Auguste had said it could be: an advantage. You know that posts that’s like “I went into this expecting Yaoi and I got Risk” that’s what this fic is like. (WIP)

In The Same Candlelight by Like A Dove - ATLA, Zutara - Summary: In a world where there is no war, Zuko and Katara spend their summers together. Growing up is messy, embarrassing, and at times sad, but they think it might be okay because they have each other. One of THE Zutara fics. (COMPLETED)

The Black Games by Mrs Pettyfer - ATLA, Zutara - This is an EPIC journey that is in three parts and still being updated. This is the first story in this EPIC Summary: Once bound by ice, now bound by fire. 12 provinces. 24 tributes. 1 winner. Let the games begin. (COMPLETE)

The Sparrowkeet Series by audreyii-fic - ATLA, Zutara - Summary: Ba Sing Se has fallen and Katara has been captured by the Fire Nation; a more adult take on the potential progression of S3. AU series of interconnected one-shots. Zutara. Rated for lemons and general darkness. (COMPLETED)

His Majesty Prefers Blue by ShamelessLiar - ATLA, Zutara - Summary: A year after the war’s end, the gaang returns to the Fire Nation for a week of diplomatic meetings. There, they hear rumors about a vigilante who wears a blue mask and Katara finds herself digging deeper into his identity and motives. Blue/Zutara Lemons (COMPLETED)

If any of your favorites are missing let me know!

[padfootastic]

Unpopular opinion time! I'm queer and super here for queer rep always, but the newest/youngest wave of MWPP fans needs to understand that there just wouldn't have been 5-15 openly queer/trans/gnc students running around Hogwarts in the 1970s. Even if one or all of them had the wherewithal to understand that about their identity in the first place, it wouldn't have been safe to be openly out in that context. Hell, it was illegal to be gay in Scotland until 1981.

So this unpopular opinion is a 2-parter, which is also that fic is way more interesting when it depicts queerness as understanding its context. Sure it can be there, it always has been, but this is a conservative boarding school in 1970s Scotland and is so much more interesting when that's acknowledged.

oooooh okay, so. we’re really getting into it, huh?

i think i’m gonna go with…neutral on this. not because i don’t have opinions, but bc i have too many of them.

so, for one, funnily enough im not big on realism in fiction (esp set in other universes like hp’s wizarding world) and that translates into a lot of freedom to move around in terms of identity hcs. one of my favs, for eg, is that homosexual relationships aren’t a big deal bc say, fertility potions & pregnancy spells, yeah? another longstanding hc i have that i staunchly believe in is complete gender equality/lack of sexism in the WW. so, if u hc it as being open to all sexual/gender orientations bc, magic, then u completely (and happily) sidestep the whole ‘queerness in 19th ce britain’ yeah? the whole illegal thing is also a bit iffy too bc i personally consider the WW to be a v distinct society with its own everything but that’s a personal hc tbf.

having said that—i get so annoyed by some representation lol

i mean, people write what they want as they should but sometimes it comes off so fkn hollow. like they’re doing it because they should, not bc it’s their wish. and there’s all sorts of sociological reasons behind it and why i’m so annoyed by that but the baseline is this: queer rep becomes more virtue signalling that robs itself of all its virtue and i don’t…vibe with that.

Send me unpopular opinions!

[impishtubist]

Oh wow, I was way too young back then but I find this fascinating - i'm referring to that post about the mwpp fandom in the early 2000s. Can I just ask you: what was people's initial reaction to SWM? And Sirius's family background? I mean, was there discourse around, did people generally like it / hate it? Were people upset about their hcs being ruined? I can't even comprehend interacting with the mwpp canon when it was still changing so much. Really really cool, I would like to know more!

Oooooh these are all GREAT questions! And I'm going to tag @broomsticks and @twentysevensummers here, because I think you're better suited to answer these historical questions than I am.

For my part, I was heavily heavily invested in reading Sirius & Harry fics (like I still am now lmao) but that meant having to read a TON of Sirius/OFC fics to get my Sirius & Harry fix. I was way less picky back then about the fics I read, because I had to be, lmao. There were SO MANY stories about Sirius having had a secret wife and kids when he went to Azkaban, and Harry then got adopted into that blended family after POA. Or, if Sirius was a single man when he adopted Harry in a fic, he usually then fell in love with the pretty, young Healer who took care of Harry post-Dursleys. I know, I know. Gag me.

Anyway, all that to say, the headcanons I ran into regarding Sirius's family usually involved him being very straight and having a secret family lmao. I didn't run into much that covered his parents/siblings. At least, not much that I remember anymore, 20 years later.

I don't remember much of a reaction to SWM, mostly because I noped out of the fandom entirely after OOTP. I read a few fix-its, and then HBP came out and ruined any hope of Sirius being resurrected, so I just.........left, lmao.

I also didn't run into much discourse, but then, social media sites where you can talk about headcanons/fics (like Tumblr and Twitter) weren't around. So basically it was me reading fics on fanfiction.net and then screaming internally about them hahahaha. I'm sure there was discourse on LiveJournal, but I spent my LiveJournal years squarely in Sherlock fandom, so I didn't see any of that.

I'm so sorry that I'm the worst person to ask this question of, lmao. I am putting this post in the Wolfstar tag, in hopes that other elder fans can actually answer your questions!

[cinematicnomad]

D, Q, X?

D a pairing you wish you liked but just can’t i mean, most canon pairings? but if we’re looking at fan ships that have a lot of content, it’d be nice if i could ship st*cky. but oh man I CAN’T. i DON’T KNOW WHY. i think it’s bc i just find b*cky to be the least compelling character...he’s basically a blank slate. and if i were into it! oh man that’d be great! there’s so much good fic out there about them! so much angst and hurt/comfort and happy endings! i would love it so much! but i just. do not care about his character at all and cannot get invested in them as a ship to save my life. 

(at the very end of black panther when b*cky shows up during the credit sequence, some girl behind me was like “who the fuck is that?” and i truly felt that question in my soul).

Q - a fandom you’ve abandoned and why ABANDONED? um, i mean technically i gave up on supernatural the show, kind of? like, still in the fandom, still reblog all the gifsets and meta, still read all the fics, but i stopped watching the show after trying and failing to get invested in s6. i really wish the show had ended with s5. i think sometimes the ending of a story is the most important part of the narrative, and knowing when to end it is so fucking difficult. a lot of shows get cancelled before they’ve reached their ending, but just as many (if not more) know that there’s still money to be made so they just keep churning out content until the story dies a sad death of exhaustion? 

like, chernobyl (VERY DIFFERENT SHOW) is so great bc the showrunner KNEW the story he wanted to tell and knew how he wanted to end it. so like, HBO and SKY gave him 6 episodes to work with and he came back to them with 5 scripts and was like “i don’t need that 6th episode.” WHICH DOES NOT HAPPEN. and all the execs were like “but??? you don’t have content???” and he was like, “no i 110% have content, but it wouldn’t add to the story, it would just take away from it.” like it would destroy the pacing and mess up the narrative arc and it would just be extra content for extra content’s sake and he was NOT HAVING IT and there is so much skill and talent in being able to make that call and having the balls to do it and recognizing that just bc you COULD feasibly tell more story doesn’t mean you have to. 

like, on the other end you’ve got JKR and the HP world that just keeps churning out content nobody is asking for (hello JKR, please stop telling people wizards shit themselves until muggles invented the toilet oMG) and you’ve got the mcu that just keeps making more and more movies that are all basically the same and star wars just keeps coming out with new trilogies and you’ve got supernatural which was originally planned to tell a story in 5 seasons and end with the biblical apocalypse and then instead the execs were like, ‘oh shit we’re making money’ and now the show is on s15. 

and like. OKAY I’M SURE THERE’S GOOD CONTENT IN THERE! i really enjoyed what i watched of s8. but over all? personally?? (again: PERSONAL OPINION!! LOTS OF PEOPLE DISAGREE WITH ME) i think the stronger, more cohesive story ended in s5. so again, i donno if i would call it me “abandoning” the fandom, but i definitely stopped watching the content. 

but you know, whatever, bc i think i’m gonna keep watching with my coworker after we finish s5?? we’ll see. 

X a trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom. TIME TRAVEL!! there’s not enough of it in fandoms?? i was introduced to it with harry potter fics where harry or someone traveled back in time to the MWPP era. and like, there were lots where harry just straight out admits he’s james and lily’s kid, etc etc, but my FAVORITES were where he had to be all angsty and secretive and couldn’t admit to anything for fear of fucking up the timeline. like, i read one where he traveled back in time but he was an adult? so he was the marauder’s defense against the dark arts professor for the year. THAT WAS SO GOOD! i wish i could find that fic again. 

and like, fics where stiles goes back in time and meets the hales before the fire?? *chefs kiss*

(seriously, if people have time travel recs, PLEASE SHARE. i can never find good quality lengthy time travel fics that really deal with the complexities and ethics and angst of time travel) 

OTPs and Fandoms from A to Z

[impishtubist]

Take on why prongsfoot is rare: because most of the fandom sees romance as this dramatic thing and friendship as lesser. There's no drama with two lads who hit it off right away and felt so deeply connected and comfortable with each other. They are both too similar to produce any of the usual troupes. So both of them naturally are just besties, and that all-encompassing madness that fandom calls love is kept for other relationships.

Plus heteronormaive stereotypes pushed on homosexual relationships, with an obvious top and bottom, power dynamic, and body difference. Amazing, that gays would find people physically similar to them attractive. This is why people bend out of shape with top/bottom discussions. Whice are, btw, as old as human writing probebly since we have evidence of top/bottom discourse about the iliad, written by ancient greek philosophers.

With no 'clear' roles, no drama, and other more traditionally appealing candidates for homoerotic vibes, prongfoot gets robbed.

They were soulmates, and they loved each other. I honestly think that even if they were plantonic and had other romantic partners, they were incredibly important to each other. They were a package deal no matter what.

They could be in a wonderful, boring, healthy relationship. But 'All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' And fandom lovessss them unhappy families.

Sooooooooooo I kind of agree but kind of disagree?

It's true that fandom (and original fiction, tbh) prefers the getting together story over the established relationship story. They are way more interested in watching the journey of a couple getting together rather than reading about one that has been established before canon starts. And Prongsfoot gives off huge established relationship vibes, so I can see people not being interested because of that. And that, by extension, means that you don't get the getting together drama that you were talking about. They just click so naturally, there's no drama in that, and people find that boring (it's not, btw. I think more stories need to focus on established relationship couples tbh, getting together stories are really boring after a while).

But as for the unhappy families part...I actually think that MWPP fandom prefers the wholesome relationship over the toxic one. (This stems from the puritanical mindset a lot of younger fans have that lots of people have written about and which I will not get into). But in their minds, they have written off Prongsfoot as toxic and they think that Wolfstar is wholesome, so that's what they gravitate towards. I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen Wolfstar people call Prongsfoot toxic and codependent and unhealthy...but then put Wolfstar on a pedestal as a healthy, wholesome love story and #relationship goals.

I'm not touching the top/bottom discourse lmao but....yeah.

And you're right, Sirius and James are a package deal no matter what. Even if they end up romantically with other people, those people will always be the third wheels in their own relationship. 🥰

[padfootastic]

Wolfstar stans always say that Remus was OOC IN Canon!!! I mean wtf?? delusional lol. Fanon Remus is a mary sue who suffers and pines after cruel hottie Sirius and then Sirius comes to his senses and runs after his moony, begging for scraps of his attention and ofc James is completely ignored by sirius or they fight over poor hurting remus lmao their Fanon is what is so OOC. I think they self insert into Remus so they can catch the popular Hot bad boy who they can "cure of his bad ways"

hello anon 💜 i see we have awoken to choose violence today (nice) so i’m putting this under a cut so remus fans can skip this one.

yeah i’ve seen that too and i always have to scroll past while making faces because,,,im not here to start shit lol but oh god it’s such an annoying position. like ok, i’ve called canonical behaviours ooc too (cough harry in CC cough) and it’s entirely possible i was wrong, but the remus thing is just. wilfully ignoring everything we know about him? (again: caveat here is if you don’t care about canon, then go for it w/o trying to do critical canon analyses. no harm, no foul)

but here’s the thing, right? remus as we know him in canon is a serial manipulator, liar, gaslighter, and coward. like, this has been shown multiple times. i’m not making it up. in my mind, his actions in dh were absolutely not ooc. they just followed the pattern that had already been established so far. and i feel like so much of his characterisation comes from not wanting to engage with that kind of darkness (because even acknowledging it means your dynamic is changed). i’ve read a few excellent fandom analysis posts on here, actually, about how characterisation of wolfstar has changed over the years (decades?) as the average readership/writer ship has gone from middle aged to younger. apparently, it used to be much more dysfunctional and grittier earlier, dealing with the darkness on both sides. it was interesting. but anyway, yeah, i see it happen with regulus/jegulus too sometimes (even if i can’t comment on it since i’ve barely interacted with that content) where you deliberately turn a blind eye to things because if remus is a coward or bad at relationships, then u can’t actually write that fluffy AU u want. which…isn’t fun. because fanfic is about writing all the fluffy AUs in the world ykno?

but what that’s ended up doing is completely transforming his character into someone barely recognisable to those who aren’t in that particular niche (although,,,it’s not exactly niche is it?) and just. idk. i’m rambling now lol but it just really frustrates me because i cannot escape it. and it always treats sirius so badly. remus is just the most sympathetically written character, even when he’s being an absolute asshole, and sirius can’t breathe without being whacked over the head with it. i hate how much he’s scapegoated, honestly. like, i think i’d be fine with the mary sue-fication of remus if sirius wasn’t so defanged in the process but alas, it isn’t to be.

also that’s such an interesting point because i’ve often thought the same about remus being a self insert tbh. i was talking to someone and they said something along the lines of ‘james & sirius as the hot, rich, privileged characters aren’t relatable as much as remus, who’s poor & tortured & misunderstood, so u have people flocking to the latter’ and that combined with the ‘i can fix him’ energy just,,,really shines through sometimes lol. not so much on tumblr (where i barely interact) but i’ve seen it so much in the mwpp fandom on twitter, and a bit on tiktok. it’s very projection-heavy imo (which like, not a judgement. i’m clearly a projection heavy writer too)