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sitp-recs · 2 hours

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HP Triad Fest 2023/4 Anonymous Master List

An act of love

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54771832

Summary: AU where the war goes on longer. Harry appears on the doorstep of an old friend, asking for help.

Building Bridges

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/53607814

Summary: Harry and Hermione have been together since the Tri-Wizard tournament. When Hermione goes back to Hogwarts for 8th year, she falls in love with Pansy Parkinson, who was a spy for her father, Severus Snape. Meanwhile, Harry is in the process of turning 12 Grimmauld Place into 'The Bridges,' a place where everyone is welcome. Harry and Hermione welcome Pansy into their relationship, home and bed.

Clearing

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54782968

Summary: In the face of Lily's death, James finds healing in familiar faces.

Fates Temporal

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54751654

Summary: The fates were kind to Hermione during summer solstice

Flavours and Expectations

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54319912

Summary: Ernie Macmillan once thought he’d lead the wizarding world into a golden era. That was before he grew up and before he’d resigned himself to a future of running errands for his office like a delivery boy. A chance encounter with a former classmate reminds him that not only can people change, but that they’re also capable of affecting change in others. She’s sexy and confident and everything he’s ever wanted in a lover and for himself.

With Ernie a bit of a mess at work and at heart, the chances of finding love this late in life seem low. Can a saucy chef and the serpent slayer who guards her prove him wrong?

Follow the Pawprints

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54154915

Summary: A man is sitting on the toilet in Victoria Park. Well, he’s also dead, but more importantly, he’s covered in pawprints. Luna and Susan go to poke the body. Cho tries to track down the culprit. You know, normal Tuesday things.

Harry’s Terrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Day

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54387730

Summary: A terrible day has not-so-terrible consequences.

-----------------

Harry hurled his bag in the general direction of his desk and threw himself face down on…a...person?

He exhaled all the air in his lungs and even over the pounding in his ears, he felt the exhale and heard a groan from the man beneath him. His forehead dropped in mortification for a moment before he inhaled, smelling the lemongrass scent that means that Nott’s boyfriend has been around.

Sagging even more, he mumbled into the chest he faceplanted into, “This IS my bed, right?”

---------------

The Imperfect Art Of Taking The Piss As A Love Language

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54718363

Summary: What better way to reveal your possibly very controversial but very happy relationship than just stopping hiding it and betting on which of your friends is the most oblivious and will take the longest to notice?

in the bend of your elbows.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/53482153

Summary: Hari doesn’t feel like he deserves his soulmates but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have soulmates.

The Missing Mate

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/53427460

Summary: Regulus can't seem to stay away from the lonely werewolf when he knows his brother is away. It's as if his animagus form is drawn to Remus.

pity the living

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54032410

Summary: When moving into a new flat, it's normal to check the bedrooms for space, the bathrooms for mould and the kitchen for that indescribable thing that will drive your loved ones in even when nothing is cooking on the stove. Harry, Ron and Hermione, though, should have been much more concerned about the state of their living room because, whether they knew it or not, all of the important bits are going to happen right in the centre of a space they may yet to grow to call their home.

or: a look into the Golden Trio surviving their first year after the end of the War

Show me the constellations in your eyes

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/53646349

Summary: “I don’t need to look into your eyes to know my brother is fucking dead,” Sirius shouted, and his face was so cold, a futile attempt at hiding his sadness. “You need to leave.”

“I have Regulus’ eyes, don’t you see?” Regulus asked — begged.

“They look…” James began, walking closer to them now. “They look like his, Sirius.”

“They look like a Black’s eyes,” Sirius spat.

James shook his head. “Regulus had these little black flecks at the corners that always reminded me of a constellation… These are the same, Sirius.”

When Regulus is reincarnated, the first thing on his bucket list is to make his way back to the two most important people in his life. For answers and for love.

They are yours, you are theirs, it’s that simple

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54917875

Summary: They make it out like agreeing to live with someone is such a life-altering decision, such an adult thing to do, that when the moment comes you start to doubt yourself. It’s a war and I might only live so much, but do I want to? Do I really? Then someone dies, or someone’s house gets blown up and the only thing you think about is what if it was me? I’d have- they’re so- Why doesn’t in end already?!? And you realize that this big decision is you basically stopping drifting by and taking the reins of your life at least this one time.

The Unexpected

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54926353

Summary: “The most beautiful love is the one that’s kept hidden, like a precious secret. A secret love is like a rose, delicate and beautiful, cherished and protected.”

Hermione has to go undercover for a mission because of poisoning and attacking of both wizards and muggles. What was thought to be a simple mission turns into more then bargained for.

The Beautiful Unexpected

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPTriad5/works/54798061

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Please don’t forget to leave our Mystery Authors some love and join us in the Discord to have some fun

Discord link: https://discord.gg/xnvYazKBxE

#signal boost!#hp triad!fest #to read

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sitp-recs · 3 hours

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harry potter is very cool

#looking good sir!#Harry art #instant fave

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sitp-recs · 4 hours

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How are you able to enjoy toxic/unhealthy/“problematic” ships/characters without feeling weird (for lack of a better word) about it?

I ask this because I want to be able to do this myself as it seems like a much more enjoyable way of engaging with fiction to me. I can get over some ships just being toxic and the characters not being good together and still enjoy their dynamic but I have trouble with the other ships that feel morally wrong. I know it’s just fiction but I can’t seem to get over the ick feeling I have when I think about those ships/characters. I feel like I’m being too puritanical about these things but I don’t know how to stop feeling like something is gross when I feel it’s gross…

Do you have any tips to stop jumping to moralizing ships/characters?

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

i'm going to be upfront that this reflexive gross feeling isn't something i've ever really struggled with - both in fic and more broadly. this is due to various personal idiosyncrasies, above all the fact that i've got disengaged boomer parents who didn't police our media consumption [my favourite book when i was eleven? lolita...] and that i'm a doctor, which is a profession which requires you to develop a very high threshold for what you find disgusting. the human body - at all stages of its life-cycle and its cycle of decomposition - produces a lot of different fluids... and it's also the case that [just as if you can think of it, there's porn for it] if an inanimate object exists, somebody somewhere has got it stuck inside them...

and so the situation that i find myself in is that i consider it infinitely less weird that i enjoy the odd bit of hot tomarrymort action than that i actively enjoy cutting through bone with a saw...

but, obviously, "get a medical degree" isn't particularly helpful advice...

i am a ride-or-die fan of the concept of stepping outside of your comfort zone. this is why i'm such an avowed multishipper - i think it's good for us as fandom citizens to examine the potential of our faves in relationships [romantic or otherwise] which are either not their canon endgames or which aren't our preferred pairings, and in situations which don't align with their canon experiences [whether that means making them suffer or giving them full-on fluff]. it draws out the multiple aspects of a character to consider them from these different angles - and it prevents us from getting so stuck in one interpretation of a character or configuration of a ship which means that it puts our backs up to stumble across stories which approach things differently.

but stepping outside of your comfort zone doesn't mean that you have to go enormously far. it may be that a reader decides - having only ever read teen-rated fics where characters' sex lives don't extend beyond hand-holding and forehead kisses - to take the plunge into an explicit piece filled to the brim with watersports and age play. it may be that a reader decides - having only ever read teen-rated fics for one canon pairing - to read a teen-rated fic for a non-canon alternative. both of these are entirely valid approaches.

by which i mean, our comfort levels and our thresholds for discomfort are subjective, they're personal. if there are ships or themes or characters you don't want to read about because they don't feel good... you're not doing something wrong if you avoid them. exposing yourself to fics you expect to make you uncomfortable can be useful - and fiction is certainly a way to explore discomfort which gives you much more control over the experience than encountering it in real life - but it's not something you're obliged to do to be active in fandom.

the thing you are obliged to do to be active in fandom is to be nice to other people, no matter what their tastes in fiction. this means, at its fundamental level, that when you see people who ship pairings or like themes which make you think "ew"... you keep it to yourself/the group chat rather than putting it on the timeline.

but, once this is something you've got the hang of [which takes a bit of time! but practice makes perfect!], something i feel can be a really useful way of overcoming a tendency towards knee-jerk moralising reactions is to just vibe in the vicinity of people you know like the content you instinctively feel is gross.

this doesn't mean you have to read any of this content - but you'll learn just by hanging out near them that the people who do are just... normal. one minute they might reblog a rec for a pairing you think "absolutely not" about, the next they might reblog a cat picture which makes you squeal with delight. you'll like some of their content, but not all. you'll agree with some of it, but not all. you might like progressively more of it as you spend time in their orbit - maybe they'll explain why they like the pairing or character in question and you'll think "huh, i've never looked at it like that" - or you might not. this is absolutely fine.

all of us - at one time or other - have made a black-and-white moralising pronouncement: people who think x are gross; people who like y are fucked-up, you'd never catch me doing z. and these pronouncements are different from our wider, societally-influenced moral codes - which are good things, otherwise we'd live in the purge - in that they're fundamentally ways for us to feel good about ourselves and our families and our friends by defining ourselves as better than a faceless other. we say "you'd never catch me reading that, it's foul" when we know [or think we know] that the friend we're talking to would agree with the statement. we are far less likely to say it if we know that the friend - whom we see as a human being who is beautiful in their imperfection and inherently worthy of love simply by virtue of being alive - was reading and enjoying that just the other day.

and so the best way to train yourself out of reflexively moralising ships or characters or tropes is to put a face to the faceless other who likes them. be intentional in sharing a space with fans of the stuff you feel uncomfortable with and, eventually, it just becomes background noise. you'll scroll on tumblr, say "well there we are, jane's written some more of her sirius/harry piss kink fic - although i'm not interested in clicking on it" and go on with your day.

because the other thing i think it's really useful to do is to train yourself into reframing your disgust as disinterest. there are plenty of things which i don't seek out to read - and some of these topics are completely benign and some are darker [i don't enjoy reading explicit non-con, for example] - but this is because i try to frame it as that i don't think these things would interest me.

this is still the maintenance of a personal comfort zone, but thinking of the content outside this zone as something you are disinterested in turns it into something neutral. when you think of it as something to be disgusted or grossed out by, it naturally provokes a visceral response which makes you look through a moral lens. thinking in terms of disinterest, instead, gives you sufficient detachment from this visceral response to recognise, interrogate, contextualise, and control it.

and - in time - this neutral reframing may result in you feeling more interested in taking the plunge into the ships and characters and stories you currently don't vibe with, once you don't have an instinctive disgust response as a barrier.

or it may not. and this is absolutely fine.

#great answer!#this fandom life #long post

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sitp-recs · 4 hours

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Not an ask. Just wanted to let you know how much you are appreciated. We see your time and effort. Thank you so much for everything you do. The community is a better place because you are part of it.

That’s so sweet, thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to send this, it means a lot ❤️

#thank you so much #I miss the blog’s early days when I was able to post 3 recs a day #seems wild tbh #but we’re adapting!#asks #lovely anons

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sitp-recs · 5 hours

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Hey liv, I hope you're doing well and if you're not, may you be well. Last year I saw you sharing Pansy and Neville's ship and I was like, "I don't even care." BUT today I find the concept of the Slytherin-level bitchy woman Pansy and the sweet calm plant caretaker Neville interesting. For that reason, could you recommend their fics or any lists you've made, please? Thank you and I wish you a good weekend, take care.

Hi Triz! hehe I love how you gave the perfect description of this meme and honestly, isn’t that all of us with rare pairs 🌝

Tbh although I like Panville conceptually, I’ve realized that I’m not particularly interested in reading fics about them (maybe as a side or background ship?). I rarely read straight ships (my few exceptions are on the problematique side 🌝) so maybe that’s why! I’ve only read A Dress With Pockets by PacificRimbaud (which is great fun, highly recommend!), so I hope my followers can share more recs :)

#asks #triz-serpent #panville

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sitp-recs · 6 hours

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Weather Warning by @sweet-s0rr0w

Draco/Albus (2022, Teen and Up, 1.7k)

This is everything, Scorp had said earlier, still giddy from the ceremony. I love you two, you know that? He had one arm around my shoulders, tugging me into him, and the other around Rose’s waist. Everyone I love, right here in one place. He turned to me, then, pressed a smacking kiss to my cheek, Rose giggling behind him. I hope – Al, he said, ardent as ever, I hope one day you get this lucky. You deserve it. Everything you want.

Everything I want. If only I knew what that was.

Happy happy birthday darling sweets! What a joy to find a friend in you and share this fandom space with your talented, creative and generous self. As a reccer I’m always looking up to to you, and I’m so happy we get to share our love for fics and creators, exchanging recs and planning sneaky gifts 😈 Today’s your day and i couldn’t celebrate it any other way. It took me a while to decide which fic to highlight - there are so many hidden gems on your catalogue but I knew Tacky had the reclist format covered so I decided to scream about your recent brilliant venture into rare ship territory.

This Dralbus fic is so very special to me: not only it was written for Liv’s Day (!!!! Still can’t believe that happened) but it has the most brilliant title and it’s a perfectly crafted new take that I haven’t seen before or since. I have a big soft spot for Dralbus as one of the sexiest, most self-indulgent age gap ships in this fandom so naturally I was both touched and excited when I saw that L felt inspired enough to try her hand at them. And holy shit, did she deliver. I can’t start this review without saying how absolutely genius and successful choice the first person POV is. I was impressed by how easily L explored it, as if she wrote Albus every day! This is a relatable and fascinating look into his character, covering a myriad of emotions within 2k - it goes from fun, light and innocent to nuanced, melancholic and contemplative in the ways just a 23-yo can experience. On that note, to me this fic had strong“coming of age” vibes, as watching his best friend’s wedding makes Al let go of certain things and consider who he is and what he wants.

That change of tune is so interesting I gasped out loud at L’s brilliant way of going into a self-reflection track while still maintaining the light, exciting tone. And here comes Draco, pushing 50, openly queer, 100% comfortable in his own skin. He’s both confident and attentive, and we share Albus’ sense of wonder and curiosity for this smooth DILF who goes from playful flirt to life advisor to first class kisser 🔥 it’s so fun to see all those sides of Draco in just a few scenes. For such a short fic this is still very well-paced and full of character and possibilities. The open ending is the perfect way to leave us longing for more while being deeply satisfied with what we got at the same time. As every fic L creates this one is a gem, both hopeful and heartbreaking in a very soft, delicate way. If you’re looking for a refreshing take on this ship with delicious characterization - cunning yet gentle Draco, bashful yet bold Albus - this is a must read!

Come celebrate the birthday of this wonderful, thoughtful friend with me and make sure to go through her amazing catalogue. And while at it, go check @tackytigerfic’s top notch selection of five faves and other recs here!

Read on AO3

#a brilliant fic with one of my fave rarepairs!#sweets always kills it #also love that banner go Liv 😌#Dralbus recs #cheeky self reblog

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sitp-recs · 6 hours

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do you know any good 8th year drarry fics that feel written in a style and characterization reminiscent of canon?

Hi anon! I haven’t read the books in ages so I’m probably not the best person to discuss canon-like characterization. But two fics that come to mind are Reparo by Amalin (characterization) and At Your Service by FaithWood (storytelling). I hope my followers can share more recs!

#asks #anon #8th year fics

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sitp-recs · 7 hours

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Hello hello!

I was wondering if you knew any fic where Drarry and the vibes are like "fuck everyone else, I love you" and/or Us Against The World type of vibes?

Thank you so much for all your recs, your blog is truly a blessing!! I can't even count how much fics I've read that you've recommended and enjoyed❤️ thank you thank youuu!!!

Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoy the blog! This was a lovely ask to wake up to ❤️🙏🏼 I have a couple lists along these lines:

Drarry against the world

Drarry against the odds

Power couple Drarry

#asks #Drarry against the world #azulaschild

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sitp-recs · 8 hours

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“harry, malfoy’s looking over here… well, he was.”

#adorable!#love a blushing Draco #drarry art

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sitp-recs · 9 hours

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thirsty thursday

I got tagged by @squintclover and as soon as I saw the name of the game I ran to take part, because it just so happens the last thing I wrote was a smut scene for my upcoming Dron fic!

Here's a little snippet (satan behind the cut)

“Did we do that too fast?” Ron asks him later, when they’re half-naked and half-asleep.

The chill from the gaps in the window is making the little hairs on Draco’s arms stand on end. Or maybe it’s just the way Ron is stroking his stomach, rubbing at the fair hair where it disappears under the waistband of his pants.

Draco’s hand is sticky. He imagines he’ll remember the sound of Ron’s climax for the rest of his life; the way he pressed it into Draco’s neck. The way he’d choked on it as Draco’s hand moved with awkward enthusiasm between them to stroke his cock, large and thick and wet in his palm.

#👀🔥🔥🔥#okay I’m already obsessed #sexy domesticity my beloved!!!!#dron wip #wolf 🐺

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sitp-recs · 9 hours

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Liv, vi sua respista do Ask sobre coisas que vc tá passando por agora.. se precisar de alguém pra desabafar distante o suficiente da sua realidade pra não ter skin in the game mas com contexto cultural de família e etc, manda DM tá? (Não que minha vida esteja ótima rs, mas as vzs Internet friends é o que a gente precisa )

🥹 muito obrigada meu bem, essa mensagem significou tanto! Morar longe facilita na hora de estabelecer boundaries, mas às vezes também atrapalha a comunicação e traz algumas outras questões. Há dias bons e ruins como em tudo na vida. Muito obrigada pelo carinho! Feeling very grateful right now. Have a lovely weekend!

#asks #lovely people #my fellow 🇧🇷

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sitp-recs · 23 hours

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no matter how terrible my day is. i can always end my day in bed imagining fictional characters making out sloppy style and fucking raw. and that's beautiful. there's some good in this world mister frodo and it's worth fighting for

#🤣😌🤌🏼

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sitp-recs · 23 hours

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being a multi-shipper is so fun you guys should try it instead of arguing about which ships better cause it’s rlly not that deep 😭🙏

#thank you friend that’s what I’ve been saying 🤌🏼#love galore #the multishipper life

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sitp-recs · 24 hours

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Draco: Potter.

Harry: Malfoy.

Ron: The whole point of you two getting married was that I wasn't supposed to have to see whatever this is ever again.

#perfect trope is perfect #almost canon at this point tbh

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sitp-recs · 1 day

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#dirty minds worldwide

#🤣#where’s the lie?

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sitp-recs · 1 day

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What parts of canon do you find the most frustrating/that you are dissatisfied with/wished that was handled better/explored more? Mine is the inconsistency of Voldemort as a character. How he is described as being perhaps the most talented student that Hogwarts has ever seen and so powerful and intelligent but regularly made such dumb decisions e.g. in the final battle where he still uses Avada Kedavra despite seeing it not work before. I like the explanation that Horcruxes rotted his brain

thank you very much for the ask, @sarafina-sincerity!

the parts of canon which i find the least satisfying all have the same thing in common: their morality is individualist.

the harry potter series has - at its core - a really profound and very black-and-white belief that good and evil not only exist but are rooted in the individual. and while i understand why this is the case - the later books in the series are governed by the genre conventions of folkloric epic and, especially, of christian folkloric epic, which means that the whole seven-book narrative arc ending in a battle between christ and satan after which all is well is only to be expected - i don't like it.

so here we are... ten things i hate about canon, for fanfic writers to win my heart by interrogating in their work...

i hate the series' insistence that everything is fine once voldemort is dead

the middle books in the series - especially goblet of fire - do a really interesting job at hinting at the endemic rot in the ministry of magic, and the ways that the state and its enforcers perpetuated harm during the first war that was indistinct from that perpetuated by the death eaters - above all the use of internment without trial for suspected death eaters [which is a reference to something the british state actually did in the 1970s!].

they show how widespread blood-supremacy and magic-supremacy is, even among people who don't openly support voldemort; how the wizarding population is kept deliberately ignorant by what appears to be state-controlled media; and how no serious efforts have been made to eradicated the conditions which enabled voldemort to attain such power.

this is then forgotten completely in deathly hallows, where the fact that almost the entire civil service keeps working for a government which is committing genocide is hand-waved away with "oh, people are scared", and both the epilogue and jkr's post-series writing take the view that kingsley manages, as minister, to preside over a government which easily sheds all its old prejudices and starts working properly.

i don't like this! i think it's just much more interesting for corruption to be impossible to fully eradicate from the government, for blood-supremacy to have long-standing causes which actually take a lot of very hard work to untangled [especially the fact that the wizarding world not appearing to have a welfare state means that those whose lives are poor or unstable are prime targets for radicalisation], and for kingsley to have the same capacity for leaning on the prophet and worrying about his polling numbers as any other politician...

i hate that the series changes how the death eaters are written between half-blood prince and deathly hallows

connected to this shift from the series hinting at the broader issues in the wizarding world to a flat battle between good and evil is that the death eaters, their aims, and their modus operandi are written very different between half-blood prince and deathly hallows. in the former, the death eaters can be situated very easily as anti-state sectarian terrorists who have all sorts of complex analogies within british history and politics. in the latter, they're just caricatures of pure evil - which is why the death eaters introduced from the latter stages of half-blood prince onwards, especially the carrows, are considerably less interesting as characters than those, such as lucius malfoy, barty crouch jr. and bellatrix lestrange, who are introduced earlier.

it's also why the voldemort of deathly hallows feels so uninteresting. i don't like the fanon that the horcruxes render him insane at all - when he's shown outside of the epic battle between good and evil in that book, he's shown to be as lucid and cunning as always - but he ends up having to flop because his only purpose in the overarching narrative is to be killed. in the earlier books, in which he's a paramilitary kingpin poisoning and corrupting a society which was designed to exclude him because of the fact of his birth in revenge for its treatment of him, rather than satan and hitler's lovechild, he is so much more interesting.

i hate the series' belief that slavery is fine

obviously, one of the biggest examples of state malevolence in the series is that wizards own slaves. like many readers, i loathe that the house elf plotline ends up being reduced from its potential for radicalism in chamber of secrets - in which dobby mentions whisper-networks of elves who decry their treatment at wizards' hands - to what we see from goblet of fire onwards - in which elves love being enslaved and think that any attempts to free them from their subjugation is cruel.

i also hate that elves' freedom is then hand-waved away as part of the general race towards "all was well" with the implication that hermione found it easy to undo what appears to be centuries of state-sanctioned oppression without any pushback at all.

the house elf plotline is one of the clearest distillations of the series' individualistic morality. harry abhors the treatment of dobby at the malfoys' hands entirely and only because he doesn't like the malfoys. he abhors voldemort's treatment of kreacher, but sees absolutely no issue with sirius' because he likes sirius - and he clearly sees no issue at all with his own legal mastery of kreacher, seeing as, literally minutes after the end of a war in which the good guys fought for the rights of muggles and muggleborns to be seen as fully human... he is considering ordering his slave to make him a sandwich.

i hate that the series doesn't show the realities of resistance

the reason i think the whole "why does voldemort keep using avada kedavra, isn't he supposed to be clever?" question arises is because the series is incredibly resistant to the idea that the good guys must have to kill as well, which makes it look like it's only the death eaters using it while the order use lots of clever magic that the stupid terrorists are too thick to think of.

this is idiotic - not only because the killing curse is canonically flawless unless the thing you're blasting is your own horcrux and so the order would use it for efficiency's sake alone, but because the reality of being a resistance fighter is that, even if you're on the "right" side, you are going to have kill people or they will kill you.

lupin is completely right in deathly hallows that harry is breathtakingly naive to avoid shooting to kill and that - without the protection of genre conventions allowing him to be preternaturally merciful - his resistance to killing is going to result in him being destroyed by the enemy. it is inconceivable that the rest of the order don't using the killing curse - and the question of what this does to their souls [is it murder if you believe yourself to be justified in your actions?] and their senses of self post-war is so interesting to think about - and i wish we were shown this in the text.

especially because molly absolutely blasted bellatrix with it.

but i also hate that the series thinks that violence is fine when the good guys do it

this is primarily another example of the black-and-white "this is fine because harry's good" theme which runs through the series, which we see in things like harry using sectumsempra on draco malfoy in half-blood prince or the cruciatus curse on amycus carrow in deathly hallows. harry's overarching response to committing attempted murder is to sulk that the incredibly minor punishment he receives is reducing the time he could spend hitting on ginny, and his response to torturing amycus is "lol. lmao."

the series thinks - again and again - that cruelty and violence are completely fine when the person they are perpetuated against "deserves" it, and it does not bang.

and that the series allows the good guys more complexity in characterisation

the role played by the house system in the story - and, above all, the fact that our heroes are all connected to one particular house with straightforwardly admirable associated characteristics - means that the villains receive less opportunity to also have positive traits intermingled with their negative ones - and, therefore, complex and interesting personalities.

i also dislike that when non-gryffindor characters - especially slytherins - do reveal themselves to be brave and loyal etc., instead of recognising that this is because bravery can be multi-faceted the series suggests that they should be recategorised as "belonging" to a "good" house.

or, in other words, me and dumbledore's "i think we sort too soon" line in deathly hallows are enemies for life.

i hate that the series blames merope gaunt for dying

and - of course - the main way a villain isn't allowed as much complexity as a hero is that the series never examines the impact of voldemort's childhood on his adult self. while we see hints throughout canon of just how profoundly affected he is by his institutionalised childhood and the weight of his grief over his parents [his mother especially] - such as him learning as a baby never to cry for attention because it's futile - this is hand-waved away throughout the series by dumbledore-as-the-voice-of-god as irrelevant. the eleven-year-old tom riddle is straightforwardly evil, that he grows up in an orphanage is used as nothing more than narrative colour to underline how creepy he is, and dumbledore's spectacular mishandling of their relationship is viewed by the series as undeniably correct right up to the very last moment [when harry imitates dumbledore by - and we should call it what it is - deadnaming voldemort in their final confrontation].

but the most egregious thing that dumbledore does when discussing the course voldemort's life takes is blame merope gaunt for her own death in childbirth, by implying that witches are immune to one of the most common causes of death throughout human history if they just try hard enough and then saying that a nineteen-year-old girl whose life appears to have been nothing more than unrelenting abuse and misery [perpetuated both against her and by her] lacked the moral fibre to try hard enough.

and this infuriates me.

i hate how the series treats female characters who don't fit its narrow spectrum of "correct" womanhood

merope is but one victim of the series' general issues with treating women who aren't its heroes - all of whom are exactly feminine and beautiful and clever and talented enough that we know they're good people, but not any of these things in an extreme which could make them vapid or arrogant or defiant of social norms or so on.

the series takes a very low view of women who exist outside of narrow boxes - whether they are interested in a hyper-feminine aesthetic [lavender brown, rita skeeter] or a more masculine one [marge dursley]; conform to stereotypes about being bitchy, flighty, or vapid [pansy parkinson, romilda vane] or refuse to adhere to social expectations to be polite, meek, and demure [fleur delacour]; are unmarried, are not inherently maternal, and/or are cruel to children [bellatrix lestrange; petunia dursley; dolores umbridge]; are unrestrained emotionally [cho chang; moaning myrtle] and so on. and i don't like it.

and i also hate that - connected to this - the series uses physical appearance - especially weight - as a shorthand for [female] characters we're supposed to dislike.

what it says on the tin, really - if the series doesn't like a character, especially if the character is a woman, you can almost guarantee that they will either be fat or be unusually thin.

and finally...

i hate that the series prioritises one form of love - love as suffering and as sacrifice - over all others

part of the series' march towards the epic two-person showdown between good and evil is that harry is made to endure trial after trial - including his death for the salvation of mankind - in the name of love. obviously this is because he becomes, by the end of deathly hallows an allegory for christ, but it also fits into the series' view - articulated most frequently by dumbledore - that love, suffering, and sacrifice are all synonyms.

the acts of love the series foregrounds - snape's willingness to endure anything because of his love for lily; sirius' willingness to rot in azkaban and caves and grimmauld place because of his love for james and harry; harry giving up a love that's like "someone else's life" with ginny so he can go die - are all sacrificial, and the series generally takes a dull view of love that is fluffy, silly, carnal, selfish, soothing, transformational and so on. lavender and bellatrix's open adoration of their lovers is mocked; dumbledore's sexual desire for grindelwald is punished by his sister's death; tonks and lupin's uncomplicated happiness in the birth of their son is not to last.

but happy endings and silly jokes and forehead kisses are love too. and the hill i will die on is that they have even more potential to bring about the salvation of the world than constant suffering and abiding.

#music to my ears #everything about this post 👆🏼#the good x evil houses characterization and the double standards on violence drive me up the wall!#hp meta #long post

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