goldenromione

[goldenromione]

The symbolism behind James and Lily being deer (from someone who grew up hunting)

1.) The Hunt

Autumn is hunting season. This is when game is more plentiful as the animals are preparing for the colder months.

This is when Voldemort learned of the prophesy, and this is when he made the start of his hunt known. Everyone was fair game.

James and Lily died in October, forced to cower in their home, and helpless to do anything but stare down the barrel of Voldemort's metaphorical gun.

(Because if you want to get further into it, the killing curse is the equivalent of being shot point blank. No chance of defense. Not for the animals being hunted, and not for James and Lily.)

2.) Spirituality

Deer represent fertility, renewal, and regeneration. Stags are symbols of fatherhood. Does are motherhood.

James and Lily were the parents of the prophesied child. This is why Voldemort came to kill them personally.

They may have died, but their legacy lived on (renewed itself) through their son. Harry would be the one to finish what they started.

3.) Hanging the Head

Their deaths marked a new beginning. Voldemort was gone. Hope was returned to a world shrouded by darkness and fear.

In their honor, James and Lily were held up and lauded as martyrs. We kill a stag and hang its head on a mantle.

James and Lily were killed in cold blood, yet their deaths were perceived as a sacrifice for the greater good. Figureheads for the Order. Nothing but a trophy of good faith.

4.) Dissociation

Deer heads are treated as props. Similarly, James and Lily were spoken of as concepts and less as people. Great wizards who met tragic deaths. Again, martyrs.

Harry knows nothing of his parents but the stories people have told. They are pictures on the wall and a false image in a mirror.

The first time life was breathed back into James and Lily was with the introduction of Remus, Sirius, and Peter. Further, Snape's memories were used to humanize them.

#self reblog

[goldenromione]

I'd like to add that there is such a thing as going so far left in the opinion of "women don't have to be mothers" that it punishes the women who are or want to be mothers.

People's disdain towards mothers is so severe that they fail to understand that Lily's role as a mother in the story isn't significant because she birthed Harry, it's because she PROTECTED HIM. Harry could have been adopted and she would have done the same thing. Her sacrificing herself is an intrinsic part of her story and character– that's what she passes on to Harry. The whole point of the blood thing is that Petunia, who shares Lily's blood, is a terrible mother to Harry (and Dudley) whereas Molly, who shares no blood with him, takes care of him. Narcissa saves him, risking her life to protect her own son. Lily's sacrifice, her act of protection, is what lives on in Harry, when he sacrifices himself to save the world. That's what makes Lily an incredibly important character in the narrative of HP. It's not "reducing" her to motherhood in the biological sense, it's recognising that this act is fundamentally inseparable from her character. Even in an AU where she's not a mother, she will always be a character who would sacrifice herself for her child.

#forgot to add my commentary #reblog #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

I'm convinced that the next talking point is going to be that omegaverse doesn't actually make a mockery of women and doesn't sexualize the very same power dynamics that are still prevalent in today's society between men and women, but rather it was created by benevolent fujoshis fans who had women's best interest in mind and use it to protect our beloved female characters from being sexualized and reduced to mothers.

#been holding this in since someone said gay fanfiction was for women to feel liberated #I need a break from this blog #general #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

I have been mulling over this conversation about feminism, motherhood, and transphobia and I have a few things that I'd like to add, if you'll hear me out.

I don't think the OP was trying to discourage discussing sexism or police what anyone is saying. I think they were trying to raise a discussion about how when we discourage people from writing female characters (and especially Lily) as anything BUT a mother, it treads on this idea that a woman's value is intrinsically linked to motherhood.

And that is, unfortunately, a tactic that many individuals (including JKR) use to fuel transphobia. It might not make sense on the surface (it didn't to me at first) but transphobia is sometimes disguised as feminism. As something "protecting" women.

This is something that JKR specifically does. I'd highly recommend reading a bit on it. ContraPoints also has a really great video breaking it down on YouTube.

Please know that this is coming from someone who is a book HP, canon character fan, but one who puts the very real life impact that the author is having on very real life people above that. In the books, she has inextricably linked the "goodness" of characters to motherhood. And that's something that in real life, she has linked with feminism and then wielded against the LGBTQ+ community.

Look I understand where this is coming from, but I'm just extremely tired of this conversation being dumbed down to "should these characters be allowed to be mothers, or would that be anti-feminist/transphobic?" That was never the talking point.

We're talking about the ease in which fandom ignores and/or rewrites female characters into obscurity, and the reluctance for them to acknowledge and/or include them at all.

Framing it as us only wanting them to be included because they are meant to be mothers does this topic an incredible disservice.

#feminist talking points being used to fuel transphobia is not the fault of the feminist talking points #its the ones who use them that way #ask #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

Nobody is purposefully misunderstanding your point. You are just doing a piss poor job of explaining yourself.

You are discouraging people from talking about sexism because you are correlating that with being a terf. It's an inappropriate comparison to make. Point blank.

It may be coming from a good place, like you claim we are when we talk about these characters, but what you are ultimately doing is policing what we should and shouldn't be allowed to talk about by making us fear becoming unintentional "mouthpieces" of "very harmful ideas" - again, inappropriate.

at some point, we as a fandom need to have a discussion about terf and alt-right pipelines, and the way specific language and talking points are tools used to get people down those pipelines.

if you find yourself arguing about a female character and her value as MOTHER and as someone who can (and should) give birth, and you spend a lot of time calling other people misogynistic if they remove that female character as MOTHER, then i think you should pause and examine how that language fits into the terf ideology.

#and making the point of “its not real” does not change anything #we all understand that #i hope you understand that the way you immerse yourself online has the capacity to translate into how you behave in actuality #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp #reblog #hiding all the reblogs is a choice #you said let's have a discussion

[goldenromione]

Writing Lily out of your story by saying she became a lesbian and left to go "find herself" is the new version of telling your kid that their dead dog moved to a big ol' farm with lots of grass and room to run around.

#you wanted her out of the picture didn't you squidward #lily evans #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

We need to discuss how some of you would rather jump through hoops and make up these woefully malicious reasons for why someone would ever possibly care about advocating for a female character than acknowledge the actual problem at hand.

The real issue is how you and many others are more than willing to remove and/or dramatically alter the position these female characters have in the story, whether it's for a reason you've deemed to be "good" or not, yet put no extra thought in how to maintain their significance narratively.

at some point, we as a fandom need to have a discussion about terf and alt-right pipelines, and the way specific language and talking points are tools used to get people down those pipelines.

if you find yourself arguing about a female character and her value as MOTHER and as someone who can (and should) give birth, and you spend a lot of time calling other people misogynistic if they remove that female character as MOTHER, then i think you should pause and examine how that language fits into the terf ideology.

#we are not content with letting them be fodder in your story or another tag on your post for clout #if you are going to change something then be a writer and be earnest about it #there are excellent ways to approach an AU where Lily never becomes a mother #while not erasing the very real impact she had on the rest of the characters AND the story #reblog #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

Wait so it's a problem if straight women ship gay couples and no lesbian couples? Or is it a problem when you write about them? Or only when you claim you're being progressive doing so? Bc I ship a few gay couples, also hetero couples or poly bi. But no lesbian couples. And this is not bc I'm a mysogonist, but bc I'm just not interested in a lot of the female characters. And I am also not attracted to the male characters, they were either my favourites since I was a child or they are more interesting to me. And being in fandom for me has nothing to do with starting a revolution to support the lgbtq+ community and fight for their rights. I'm not saying that I don’t support them, and I absolutely agree that this should be a safe space. either way. I just don't think that it's my duty to use the fandom for that. I'm here for fun. So... Am I'm not allowed as a straight white cis woman to ship only men? Or did I misunderstand that?

Y'all quit sending this dumb shit to my inbox. You know the answer. The problem has never been the ship, and whether you prefer them to be het or gay. The problem is the way you approach the content you consume.

You don't need me or anyone else to coddle you and reassure you that you're doing it with good intentions. You figure that out. If there's not a problem, then you aren't the one we're talking about. Congratulations!

#ask #harry potter #hp #jk rowling #anti marauders fandom

[goldenromione]

Ron and Hermione at the Yule Ball

#lol this one is just for fun #romione #ron weasley #hermione granger #harry potter #viktor krum #hp

[goldenromione]

Fandom: Sirius was such a good friend, he was so sweet and supported the other marauders

Canon Sirius whenever Peter breathed:

#SCREAMING #reblog #hp #harry potter

[goldenromione]

You can like Peter and want to bring more attention to his character (especially since the majority of the Marauders fandom insists on writing him out of existence) without then ignoring everything he has canonically done.

He betrayed his friends. His actions got people killed. He was a coward from start to finish. These are his flaws. It's written into his character. The version of Peter you have created in your head is not the same Peter from the books/movies.

Somewhere, maybe in an another universe, Peter Pettigrew became a spy and a betrayer, but for the other side. Gained the trust of Voldemort and others, because be honest, what can he even do? How can he even try betray them? He's just small and scared, like a mouse. So he was almost like Snape, minus being a git to the Order.

Because, fight me on this, but Peter would never, EVER betray his friends. Never in his life. Marauders were all equal in each other's eyes. He would have rather died, than betrayed James, the one, who saw potential in him first. The one, who always stayed with him through the years, and Lily, who always made sure he was alright. Never would have framed Sirius, because despite having arguments, Sirius always was so very protective over him, almost like two brothers. Never would have left Remus alone like that, because he spent so much time with him together when Sirius and James went for Quidditch or just other jock things.

Rowling did Peter so dirty. He was brilliant. And he would never betray his friends' side.

#reblog #anti marauders fandom #hp #harry potter

[goldenromione]

People criticise the teen and younger members of this fandom for their toxic behaviour.

But I never see anyone call out the bloggers in their 30s and 40s, who are frequently the first to bully people for writing things they don't like and lead the charge of calling people homophobic for disagreeing with them.

There's too much blame placed on younger people when some of the older ones are so cliquey and self-righteous that it's almost pathetic.

Here's the thing: this fandom has been active for so long - literal decades - that there are literally no original talking points. We're all just saying the same things in different ways.

If there's a new post circulating that's a regurgitation of an already exhausted point (ex: snape discourse), older blogs might see that as an affront. Why dig up old drama?

On the other hand, younger blogs aren't really interested in debate. They just want to say whatever they think and see who agrees with them. Any kickback seems aggressive.

That's the problem. We're all sharing a space. It's impossible to "stay in your lane" - you are going to find people who disagree with you.

#ask #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

what would you say is the root cause of why the Harry Potter fandom high-key sucks?

The fans, and it's because we have three types - book fans, movie fans, and fanon enthusiasts (aka the Marauders fandom) - trying to coexist under one tag.

#constantly stepping on toes yet pretending we're innocent when the question of who is more toxic comes up #ask #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

That's not at all what I said. I'm actually not even sure how you came to that conclusion in the first place.

What I said is that you can't write off James and Lily's relationship to being nothing more than a fluke (or a "wartime" marriage) because it would do a disservice to their characters and to their development.

The point of the post is not the ships. I could care less who you ship Lily or James with. I'm talking about their characters. I'm talking about how fans will sacrifice everything we know about these characters in order to make their ship more plausible.

They will significantly reduce the importance of Lily's role in James' life (specifically when it comes to his self-improvement) in order to artificially inflate the importance of another character (say, Regulus) and to essentially replace her in the story.

Suddenly, James and Lily's relationship was a mistake. A high school fling. Compulsory heterosexuality. It was pressure coming from outside forces (the war, society, etc.) that forced them into each other's arms. Not love.

Again, this does the characters a disservice. Not because they have to be straight. Not because James has to be with Lily, and not because Lily has to be with James.

But, no, you're right. I, a lesbian, would only ever care about a wlw relationship if it existed for men. My bad.

I get it, you want more fuel for J*gulus, or to make Lily a lesbian with some background female character so you can keep her out of the way, but diminishing Jily to just some "wartime" marriage is about the most ridiculous thing you can do.

#reblog #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

I'm going to go on a little rant here but this "let people have fun" mentality isn't as healthy as some of you like to advertise. There is a real problem with changing everything about canon. And, contrary to belief, it's not for petty reasons.

It's not because you've made Sirius shorter or dumber than Remus. It's not because you've made James gay. It's not even for the atrocities you've committed - and continue to commit - against Lily and Tonks. (Though I admit this factors into my own vendetta).

It's because you are actively, and unabashedly, turning off a whole group of people from reading the series themselves. We now have a whole lot of "fans" that aren't actually fans, and it's a problem.

Regardless of your opinions on JKR, media literacy is important. People should be able to read and form their own opinions before being told what to think. Scaring fans away from canon because you've convinced them that fanon is somehow better is bad.

And when these "fans" come on here to share opinions that they've based off of the misinformation they've been fed, they will be wholly unprepared to handle any kind of backlash they may face.

And because they can't argue their case, they will start to associate disagreement with hostility. They will go on the defensive - use the excuse of "well that's just my opinion" - and thus the cycle continues. No room for healthy debate. No room for conversation.

TLDR; "Let people have fun" completely shuts down the chances of any kind of productive discussion. It's ruining fandom.

#it would be easier if we had a clear separation #a fanon tag and a canon tag #but we don't #and it's creating a lot of misplaced anger #anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

Dumbledore is not the root of all evil, despite what the Marauders fandom wants you to believe. The world is not black and white. He was a good person who did great things; his flaws don't negate that.

Blaming everything on Dumbledore only makes your favorite characters look incompetent. The fact is they were fully aware of what they were doing. War is not cut and dry. Sacrifices will be made. If you truly believe in the cause, which they all did, then you must be willing to do that.

And that's exactly what Dumbledore did - with his own life, nonetheless. It wasn't power he was after. It was good.

#anti marauders fandom #harry potter #hp

[goldenromione]

Luna's crush on Ron is so cute 😋

#I can't believe I never noticed this #ron weasley #luna lovegood #reblog #harry potter #hp