#harry potter discourse

[werewolf-cuddles]

Honestly, everything about J.K. Rowling is fucking depressing these days.

Imagine being a multimillionaire, a successful author, the creator of one of the biggest and most profitable multimedia franchises of all time...

and instead of making the most of your fame and wealth, you spend all your free time on Twitter whinging about trans people.

It's just so... pathetic. Trans people are just living rent free in her head at this point, the bitch is obsessed.

#jk rowling discourse #harry potter discourse #transphobia

[vyrid]

Hermione does not, in any way, overpower Tom Riddle, in any field. 

For evidence purposes, I'll use all of their achievements from book one to book 7. Instead of going on a long, disorganized tangent, we'll cut them down into 3 categories: studies, wit, and talent/strength. (I swear theres a difference between wit + studies.)

Studies --

During school, Hermione:

Was referred to as the brightest witch of her school year by Lupin

Got 10 OWLS (2 less than Bill and Charlie)

Prefect

She did get Slughorn's favour to an extent

During school, Tom Riddle:

Was referred to as the brightest kid to step into Hogwarts (possibly ever) by Albus Dumbledore

His grades are never revealed, but it is implied time and time again that he was a model student with a spotless record

Prefect and Headboy

Got a Special Award For Services to the School (hes a rat 😭)

Slughorn's favorite despite being Muggleborn and broke

There is not much I can work on in the studies department, because there isn't much text to support their performances involving the school directly, but it's obvious that Tom Riddle takes the cake. With every bullet point presented, Riddle's side of achievments is always 3x more impressive. I would like to add that he thrived in DADA and didn't shy away from any dark subjects, while Hermione was too scared to put thought into DADA + was too impatient with Divination (which I don't blame her for.)

If I had to compare them involving other characters, I would say that Tom Riddle is right up there with Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, while Hermione falls below tier near James Potter and Severus Snape.

If Severus Snape is no match for Tom Riddle (atleast when he was sane), then Hermione isn't a match for Severus. Snape was the BEST potions boy to go to Hogwarts -- it could be argued that Lily was also up there but yk shes dead so we don't care about that -- and he wasn't scared to apply his studies in the Dark Arts to real life. He was a smart kid, and even though he was below Tom Riddle in terms of brilliance, he was pretty darn smart. If Hermione cannot even reach his level, it's kind of silly to compare her to Tom Riddle.

Wit --

This one is a no brainer. The thing that sets them apart is their ability to think outside of the box.

Tom Riddle believed in a world of magic. He believed there was not a limit in which magic could be stopped. He achieved GREAT things simply by letting his trust in his own magic and the wonders of the Wizarding World lead him to his goals.

Hermione is close minded. She believes what she wants to believe, and most of her information comes from her precious, reliable books. She was too close minded to believe in divination. She was too close minded to sit back and think that, perhaps, house elves were made a certain way in which they ENJOYED labour (which is a whole other discussion), she was too close minded to believe in the Death Hallows. She was too close minded to think that there could possibly be a better, alternative recipe to a potion that didn't come straight from the school book. Her refusal to simply believe held her back from many opportunities.

Hermione is studious. Tom Riddle is BRILLIANT. Most of Hermione's knowledge comes from what she's been taught at school, but Tom Riddle went out and learned his own knowledge. And that's not a bad thing. Being studious and smart already sets her apart from many, many people.

But Tom Riddle wasn't just a studious guy. He was a genius, a prodigy, kind of a psychopath. He learned at a young age how and exactly when to use his strengths to get what he wants. He carried himself up as social ladder reserved solely for purebloods before even finding out his heritage as the descendant of Salazar Slytherin. He made a grown adult women scared of him as a child. He didn't use his wit for good, no, but was he pretty damn smart? Yeah.

Talent and Strength --

When Hermione was a kid, she learned to utilize what she had around her to catch up with other kids. She taught herself the syllabus before even getting into school and even learned spells without being taught by Professors! She was always the first one to get the spell right and was quick on her feet in an argument. She had a lot of brewing talent in her. It is not easy to be thrown into a whole new world but she took all of it with grace.

She was amazing at spells. When the trio ran away during the 7th book, she was their rock to lean on--for strength, for protection, for guidance. She knew every spell in the book to hide them away from Voldemort.

Her duelling skills, while not on par with Harry's, were pretty darn good, too. She could hold her own in a duel if she really needed to get out of their alive, using her quick thinking and sometimes, deception. Ex. (When she changed Harry's face to not resemble him when they got caught by snatchers.)

I give Hermione a lot of credit in the book. She was stronger than she needed to be at a young age, and she handled it better than most people did.

Tom Riddle on the other hand...

His talent is unmatched when it comes to anybody else.

He learned to get a hold on his magic and command it like the king that he is at the baby age of one digits. Because of all the instances at Wool's Orphanage, it isn't crazy to assume that this wasn't just a case of accidental magic. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew exactly how to call onto his magic to do his bidding. I don't think even Dumbledore could have said he was able to do that.

He was a parselmouth. It's less a talent and more a skill, but he used his hereditary trait to manipulate and use another type of magic to do what he wanted. Speaking to snakes is one thing--getting them to actually listen to you has to count for something.

He made horcruxes at the age of 16. That is a type of deadly, deadly magic. It is so forbidden it doesn't even fall under Forbidden magic because it's blasphemous to even think to do it. The fact that his magic was so strong that he could go through that process and come our alive is actually crazy.

He made a whole persona for himself, under Lord Voldemort, and got a whole race of people to follow him blindly. He wasn't even a pureblood and he still had them down on their knees. That's talent.

He could perform all forbidden curses with ease and not get drained. Moody says that you have to mean your intent and that nobody can *just* cast the curses. You have to have the willpower and strength to cast them--the fact that Voldemort could cast dozens of them at a time without thinking about it already sets him apart in strength from Hermione. I doubt even Snape, as he brilliant as he is, would dare push his limits like that.

I don't want this to get SUPER long, but here are some things I left out about Riddle and didn't know how to add on the list.

He found the long lost Chamber of Secrets during his time at Hogwarts. It was there for millions of years--he can't have been the ONLY descendant. It's safe to say he was one of the first people to open it and actually use it for his own gain.

He acquired the Elder Wand. I mean, so did Harry and Dumbledore, but it doesn't change the fact that he did. He was kind of dumb when he grew up and became all insane but that's impressive, too.

It is implied that he was at the brink of winning the war before Harry killed him on Halloween. If he hadn't taken the bait, maybe we'd see a world overrun by his power.

He didn't inspire fear in just Britain. He inspired fear across the world. Harry Potter was known across every wizarding community, such as Bulgaria. That means they must've known Voldemort too. There was lots of foreign people at the world cup, but every single one of them ran at the sight of the Death Eaters--which means they recognize his sign in some sort of way. The Gregrovitch family recognizes him, as does the German witch does when she sees him in folds in fear.

Sorry, this became a long rant of Voldemort's powers and not just a comparison, but it does go to show that Hermione being even near his level. It's just not plausible.

You're welcome to argue with me or correct me on my oversights! I haven't fact checked everything and I won't be offended if you correct some points. (Also there is a lot of typos and I have a cut on my finger so please dont kill me for my grammar 😭)

#Tom Riddle #hermione granger #tom riddle vs hermione granger #harry potter #harry potter and the deathly hallows #severus snape #?? #in a way #he always shows up in these for some reason lmao hes just that iconic #power #comparison #harry potter discourse

[queerasaurus-rexx]

STOP COMPARING JK ROWLING TO HP LOVECRAFT

LOVECRAFT IS FUCKING DEAD AND BECAME A SOCIALIST IN HIS LATER YEARS - HE BECAME MORE PROGRESSIVE AS HE GOT OLDER

JK ROWLING IS VERY MUCH ALIVE, GOING THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE DIRECTION POLITICALLY AND TAKING EVERY DOLLAR YOU GIVE HER TO MAKE SURE TRANS PEOPLE SUFFER

I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE TO YOU

LIKE BESIDES USING THE OBJECTIVE POINT THAT LOVECRAFT WAS A BETTER WRITER TO BOOT -

#harry potter discourse #harry potter fans dni #anti jk rowling #anti jkr

[sparkling-pink-lemonade]

It is morally okay to like Harry Potter. It is not a bad thing to still enjoy the fun wizard franchise that saw such wide levels of success, it revolutionized an entire genre and made a permanent mark on popculture.

Yes, you should boycott it. You should pirate everything, and make sure any merchandise is bootlegged. Your money, however big or small a contribution, is affecting reality in a negative way. Your forums, your fanfictions, your opting to indulge in the franchise in a penniless way, that Etsy bought keychain made by someone who does not have merchandise licensing, none of that benefits the author in her political crusades.

Anyone who claims that even pirating or merely creating fanworks supports the author by giving her a platform is far too wrapped up in the virtue signaling, attempting to claim moral superiority through hatred. All that does is support the author's own delusions that anyone who enjoys the funny wizard series, also supports her as a person and her stances. Which has been proven to be outright false multiple times. Including the one time Rowling got herself banned from a fan forum shortly after secretly joining it, for supporting herself and her views.

Stop villainizing people for the thought crime of enjoying fiction.

Period.

#profic #proship #harry potter #harry potter discourse #anti jkr #i don't even go here #i never got into harry potter #but im not gonna scorn others who did and still like it

[frog-0n-a-l0g]

Is the chamber of secrets guarded by a snake because normally the gossip bitches that know everyone secrets are snakes?

#guys I’m so smart #harry potter #Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets #chamber of secrets #hpatcos #tom riddle #harry potter theory #harry potter thoughts #harry potter universe #harry potter discourse

[theangelyouknew]

The amount of people who are offended by miriam margolyes going off about how Harry Potter fans need to grow up.. is frustratingly hilarious.

Like I’m not preachy about my disconnect from the franchise, cuz people don’t fucking care. Jk hates people like my brother and me and nobody gives a fuck. They make up excuses and keep watching. And you know what? I’m not gonna tell them to stop.

But then miriam margolyes comes along and tells them to “grow up” and suddenly people in the fandom are freaking out. A friend of mine messaged me about how she’s adding prof sprouts to the trash pile because she can’t stand the woman who played her anymore.

If you didn’t have to listen to us tell you why we can’t stomach Harry Potter anymore ??? Then why does it matter what Miriam is saying? You’re ok with the transphobia but you draw the line at insulting your childhood story? Miriam was right. Grow up.

This franchise was my safe place too, and it was taken from me. I’m not telling anybody they can’t enjoy it because who the fuck am I at the end of it all? I tolerate my friends sending me memes and vids and shit. I tolerate my stepmom putting it on every time it’s on tv. One of the actors is one of my favorites for sure. But to be so fucking bent out of shape because one HP actress is just done with it all? I don’t fucking want to hear it.

#miriam margolyes #harry potter #harry potter discourse #trans women are women #trans men are men

[rogue205]

Read a little article about fictional characters that people idolize by entirely missing the point and saw this:

Hell yes. Say it louder for the people in the back. Snape is NOT a good guy and there is also a reason that he is Neville Longbottom’s worst fear. A child is so petrified of his teacher and whose fault is that? Yes, it’s Snape’s fault. He terrorizes children/teenagers because he can and if it was the real world, he sure as hell wouldn’t be teaching for long.

It’s also Snape whom Harry only noticed upon his arrival at Hogwarts because Snape was glaring at him. What on earth did Harry do to warrant this? Nothing. He just happened to look like his dad is all. The same dad, might I add, that Snape owed a debt to for saving his miserable life even if James probably did it more to spare Lupin the consequences than to help Snape. The point stands.

And no, Snape did NOT “love” Lily. He was obsessed with her to the point that he even copied her patronus for gods sake. Lily, whom he drove away by being the Magical equivalent of racist. Lily, whom was put in mortal danger partially by Snape’s own actions then he tried to get Voldemort to spare her but not her husband and child regardless how LILY would feel about that. It’s only because he helped get her killed that he switched sides and became a double agent. Too little, too late.

Also, can we PLEASE STOP trying to link Snape and Credence Barebone together?! Sure, I get it’s because Credence has long black hair and wears dark colors in FB3 but STOP. Snape is a jealous, racist, condescending prick among other things while Credence is an abuse survivor with a pure heart despite being gaslit and groomed by the bad guy. YES, he did help Grindelwald for awhile but only because Grindelwald lied to him about his family and Credence left him after he learned what he was told wasn’t true. So no, these two aren’t anything alike.

This is an anti-Snape rant. Arguing with me is not going to get me to like the man because I just don’t. (Even if I love Alan Rickman. I do wonder if he is part of the reason people like the character.)

#anti snape #anti severus snape #Severus ​snape discourse #harry potter rant #harry potter discourse #credence barebone #i love this man #please STOP claiming Credence is ‘young Snape’ because NO

[prismolovesfanfiction]

i think this fandom forgets that Death Eaters would not have stopped at murder

most probably have more atrocities under their robes than just "murdering a muggle uwu"

#Harry Potter #death eaters #harry potter discourse #pottermore #potterhead #harry potter fandom #draco lucius malfoy #voldemort #lucius malfoy #regulus black #severus snape #professor snape #regulus headcanon #lucius malfoy headcanons #snape headcanon #draco malfoy headcanon #draco malfoy #bellatrix lestrange #barty crouch jr #peter pettigrew

[dirkification]

You know I would have been more likely to be able to mourn my childhood and young adult life and step away from thinking about the problematic wizard series if everyone didn't start accusing people of being evil transphobes for not dropping it and burning all the memorabilia the second the author started spouting her shit

I know being this spiteful and contrarian is a fault but I just got over people calling me an evil transphobe for other perfectly harmless fandom stuff and then suddenly rp'ing dramione got you accused of the same shit

Like it took me years to process my feelings about the Homestuck fandom and how to interact with even just the og content and I wasn't in the Homestuck fandom as long. And like the situation is obviously different. Direct and personal vs indirect and broadly affecting entire demographics but my switch didn't get flipped overnight like it did for a lot of people because it takes time for me to work through things and it sucks

Like I understand trans people not trusting HP fans since it is used as a dog whistle by some but like

It's one thing to mourn and move away from your love for a thing yourself and it's another for people to come after you with pitchforks trying to burn it all down themselves

I'm exaggerating

I dunno man I just hate having a new thing to feel nervous about having opinions or content about

#jax yacks #fandom discourse #ugh i dont want to tag this for people to find but i want people to be able to avoid it #harry potter discourse

[maruke2003]

Y'know what I find fucking hilarous. Marauder stans and their ideas for "better names" for Harry's kids. Well except James Sirius, they like that.

For Albus Severus I've seen many different ideas.

Remus Regulus Potter (a common one)

Remus Cedric Potter

Cedric Remus Potter

Rubeus Regulus Potter

Y'know any kind of variant to those. I've even seen Fred, Arthur, Colin (that one is low-key good) and even fucking Dobby.

Oh and I've seen someone say that Lily Luna should have been named Lily Marlene. Like, Harry has no idea who the fuck Marlene is. He's never even met her before in his entire life. Heard about her once. We know nothing about her. She may not have even been friends with the Potters.

Honestly the discourse surrounding Albus Severus's name is stupid and I'm not here for it.

#albus severus potter #james sirius potter #lily luna potter #harry potter #pro snape #harry potter discourse #marauder stans are legit stupid

[werewolf-cuddles]

There are people calling JK Rowling a mediocre children's book author and the Harry Potter books are bad actually.

I don't know why this upsets me. I didn't read all the books. I hate this woman's views and how she is using her money and influence to go after vulnerable people, making their lives significantly harder, and then cry about how she's the victim.

So why am I upset that people are calling the Harry Potter books mediocre? I don't think I would be this upset if they were talking about those shitty detective novels she wrote.

Is there something wrong with me?

No. That's actually a perfectly normal and valid reaction to people shitting on something you like.

I don't get this feeling with Harry Potter specifically, because despite this franchise having a death grip on my childhood nostalgia, I'm fully aware of the flaws of both the books and their subsequent film adaptations.

But I've been there with a lot of movies recently. It can feel pretty bad being really into something, while everyone else is going off about how bad and cringe and awful it is.

There's nothing wrong with you, anon. You just don't like it when people talk shit about stuff you like, which is totally normal. Nobody likes to hear people talking shit about stuff they like.

#harry potter discourse #jk rowling discourse #tagging as those for filtering purposes

[wolf-tail]

Swinging a bat at a hornet's nest here but I care so much more about trans and jewish ppl who grew up loving harry potter than abour your performative ass "anyone who ever looked at a harry potter book deserves the death penalty" bullshit

#harry potter discourse #obligatory fuck jkr #swinging a bat at a hornet's nest

[tsuyoshikentsu]

Blog post: I write a review of a game with zero subtext for absolutely no time-specific reason.

#rpg #ttrpg #indie ttrpg #ttrpgs #tabletop role playing game #roleplaying game #harry potter #harry potter discourse #jk rowling #jkr discourse #wait what are those last few doing on here

[the-lady-writes-what]

Warning: Long essay below the cut

Real talk about Harry Potter for a second. As a millennial who was into HP when I was younger, I have to honest and say that I did not see the problematic shit the J.K. Rowling put in her books. For a lot of us, growing up as a white kid in the early 2000's, we were not educated enough to see the anti-Semitism, racism, and lukewarm feminism that wasn't really feminism because Rowling made fun of Hermione for it. Watching the spiral of Rowling into TERF territory and aligning herself with people who reference Hitler in their TERF speeches and literal fascism breaks my heart. HP played a huge part in my childhood, as it did for many people. Sadly there are HP adults who continue to enable Rowling to use her platform for evil. Instead of looking back and dissecting the literature that formed our current mindset, there are people who grew up to be nasty people indirectly because HP taught them that anyone who complains about the system is doing progressive social justice wrong. Harry Potter became a wizard cop for the system that helped put Voldemort in a position of power. Hitler didn't rise to power out of the blue. He worked the current system in his favor and won support. He wasn't just some manipulative well spoken mastermind, he was using rhetoric that already existed. The criticism about the politics in the HP universe came far too late. We currently have numerous adults who are now currently voting to repress Black and queer history from schools, LGBTQ+ education, and criminalize being trans and gay in several states in the USA.

Not every adult who read HP became a fascist, not every adult who is fascist read HP. I'm certainly not saying that HP is solely the reason why anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes are currently on the rise again and legislations are trying to get passed. What I am saying is that this is what happens when you don't think critically what you read. Critical analysis about what books are produced and by whom can help deter or enable the kind of ideas that Rowling associates with. Her brand of "progressiveness" is seen through the lens of an upper middle class and upper class white British woman. She largely benefits from a system that will come to be the shoulder for her to cry on when the internet "bullies" her, i.e when the internet and former fans try to hold her accountable for the inflammatory things she's said and written about trans people, women, Jews, POC, etc. I am not a saint in all of this either. My first book that I wrote which will never see the light of day again contained an Indian servant because I thought about historical "accuracy" which looking on it now was a load of shit. What I should have done in the first place was do critical research and properly acknowledge the racism and discrimination and imperialism of the British Empire. That character should not have existed and I deeply regret writing a story like that, even if my intention was not to further enable a white-washed history of the relationship between the British aristocracy and the people of India. Whether it was my intention or not, the fact that I wrote it was not okay. I am sorry for that. That book is no longer available and the remaining physical copies will stay with me. They aren't going anywhere. Moving forward, I will do better research and listen to the voices of people of color when it comes to writing characters outside of my own race.

Rowling has yet to learn that lesson towards trans people and keeps using the debunked conspiracy theory that "men dressed as women" will sexually assault someone in the ladies' room and take up female-dominated spaces. Transwomen are women. End of story. It seems that the more she is criticized for upholding anti-trans beliefs and conspiracy theories, the deeper she digs her heels in. She doesn't want to be corrected or told she's misinformed. The die hard fans of hers follow suit. Adult fans of HP have gone to assault and abuse transwomen, forgetting the soft-spoken message of the books they claim to love so much, that you should not hate people for who they are. I say soft-spoken because HP's message of anti-bigotry can hardly be called as such. It is spoken through the lens of upper class wealthy white woman's perspective of social justice and feminism. I say soft-spoken, and even limp-wristed, because its anti-bigotry message falls flat when discussing the numerous problematic and racist undertones in her writing. She wrote house elves as sentient creatures who want to be enslaved and made fun of Hermione for fighting for their freedom. She wrote the main characters to be all straight, white, and cis who later become part of the very system they fought against as children. The magical races in the Wizarding World universe are frequently looked down upon as if they're lesser than the human wizards and nothing is done for them. She did little to no research on non-European naming conventions and named the one East Asian character Cho Chang, combining a Korean and Chinese name as if the cultures are synonymous, named a black character Kingsley Shacklebolt, and allowed the Fantastic Beast franchise make Nagini (a South Asian name with cultural and religious significance) an Indonesian woman played by a South Korean actress. As if insult wasn't enough, Nagini is portrayed as a submissive Asian woman (stay classy Rowling!) who later dies at the hands of a white character to move the plot forward.

I wrote this fucking essay because Rowling is hurting so many people. Her kind of rhetoric which is a pandemic of hate towards trans people is hurting those I know. Two of my dearest friends are transwomen and I would fight tooth and nail for them. Hearing the author who wrote the books that got me interested in reading say things that accuse my friends of being men and wanting to assault women hurts them more than me and it infuriates me. She is one of the many reasons why diversity in reading is important so her mistakes don't get repeated and regurgitated. When you're a dumb white kid in the 2000's, you don't see the problematic stuff because you're not personally affected by it. Nobody can be racist against a white kid. And when authors like Rowling get praised in spite of the insensitive stereotypes and problematic shit in their books, it really is no wonder that we have a resurgence of hate crimes and rhetoric against LGBTQ+ folk and POC. The books didn't materialize out of thin air. There were so many editors who have had to go through the books and said, "Yep. That's fine" when she was writing offensive names for POC characters, anti-Semitic goblins, and having the white main characters join the system that put wizard Hitler into power.

It hurts to let something like HP go and die a slow painful death. It was a huge part of my childhood and got me into reading books. I might not be the reader I am today without those books. Because I will never be affected by the system in which people of color, trans folk, and the Jewish community are oppressed and I admit to being very privileged, I did not recognize the numerous red flags in J.K. Rowling's body of work until it was too late. For that I am sorry. The damage is done, but I'm trying to do better by listening and protecting my friends, trans or otherwise. J. K. Rowling can go fuck herself.

#i'm here once again writing an essay nobody asked for #lady writes what runs her mouth again #this blog is anti TERF #transwomen are women #end of story #harry potter discourse #HP #why i left the HP fandom for good #writing discourse #authorship discourse #another fucking essay

[classicslesbianopinions]

Yes but "erasing" the books of a person because of their personal beliefs sounds a lot like something fanatics would do and I am not sure I understand why we should take such a stance against JKR. I know it's a sensitive issue but I find this utterly unreasonable.

i'm not erasing anything, i'm one person with boundaries about what media i choose to engage with. i encourage everyone to find and set their own boundaries about what media to engage with, and i encourage everyone to stand behind those choices, whether or not i agree.

jkr's beliefs are not the only reason not to engage with harry potter. the harry potter books perpetuate ideology that i do not support, and it saddens me that they perpetuate that ideology to an audience of children. and on top of that jkr herself is directly harmful to trans people. i'm not usually one to run from "problematic media," but in this case why would i engage with media and a creator that i know to be both directly and indirectly hurtful? especially on a large platform such as this is (or, i don't know if this qualifies as large, but it's the largest platform i have). harry potter is massive-- i have no power to erase it. but in fact it's important not to erase harmful media, because that runs the risk of downplaying and dismissing the harm. i am just not engaging in the fandom, because the less relevant harry potter and jkr become, the less power they have to do harm.

it surprises me that you say it's something a fanatic would do when it's like... really not something i make a big deal out of most of the time. but also, like, i'm happy to be fanatical about like... supporting marginalized people.

anyway, you are not the first person to find my takes unreasonable, and you won't be the last. i'm always happy to discuss and reevaluate, but here i'm just not trying to do what you say i'm trying to do-- i'm not trying to erase harry potter, and i'm not so disillusioned as to think i could force other people not to engage even if i wanted to. like i said, everyone has to set their own boundaries. i've set mine, and i've got plenty of justification for it.

#mod felix #i'm so sorry to the people who follow this blog for classics content #harry potter discourse #<- blacklist this. i guess