Had I as many souls as there be stars

it's been 6 years since j.k rowling started doubling down on her transphobia. (if we mark her mask off moment as her 2020 posting)

people have had six years to come to terms with it and find alternatives, there have been multiple video essays podcasts and written journalism about all of this, there are so many lists of alternatives including contemporary to the series and current fiction. even as early as 2022 people were renaming real world social groups/sport formed around their hp fandom to distance themselves from her work.

i wasn't even particularly negative, i said "stop spending money here" that's neither critical to the source material nor the fans. and not spending money isn't even an active action it's passive inaction, very easy to do.

also as someone who grew up with the book phenomenon and the films, you cannot reproduce the phenomenon that it used to be. you can find other things that give you joy but that was a very specific pop cultural time and event. the new show not only funds the cultural relevance of and bigoted political actions of rowling, it's also just inherently flawed in conception as a work of nostalgia that will always fall short in both quality, phenomena, and fandom culture.

I'm not coddling adults or teens who are tempted to engage with hp because i respect that they have the capacity to change their minds and expand their own tastes. it's not my responsibility to spoon-feed people alternatives.

I'm saying stop giving her money

i'm saying stop giving the franchise cultural currency via streaming attention

i'm saying the real people who are being made unsafe due to the transphobia and racism of j.k rowling are and always will be more important than nostalgia and fandom

I sound harsh because i was being blunt, if that comes off as negativity that puts some people off then that's okay.

there are much more hand holding options out there, (i myself watched a few video essays years ago deconstructing the bigotry of the novels and the messy relationship between fandom on identity and fiction versus personal ethics. because i needed discussions to process my own personal emotional response to letting the franchise go)

but with my own post I would hope that at least some people go "actually yeah this isn't worth my time and money" about the new show.

because it's okay to feel some negative emotions if it reminds you not to do something you actually feel is wrong.

ultimately @thewickedbohemian it's okay that you don't like my two sentence post as an approach to addressing the entire harry potter fandom. I would encourage you to visit/revisit any works that make you feel the same kind of magic that people are looking for and compile a list yourself to share, it's a good exercise and does help give people a place to start. it's not something i did with this post, it can be something you do with your own post, feel free to tag me in it and i'll reblog.

but again, i'll say it:

"STOP GIVING THE WORKS OF JK ROWLING TIME AND MONEY" "DO NOT HATEWATCH"

here's some places for people to donate

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/?form=donate

https://transactual.org.uk/change-actions/ https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/donation/support-transactual

https://www.thenational.scot/news/26277881.jk-rowling-urges-gender-critical-groups-sue-amnesty-international/

Thank you, anon, for this opportunity to blather. I’ve broken your ask down into two distinct questions, for the sake of organizing my thoughts:

How does Hux relate to children?

Does Hux want children of his own?

Let’s dive in.

Hands down the hottest General🔥

So for many years there was a crippling sense of shame in him when he did it. Even when his father was dead, Starkiller built, and Hux is at his best (in his opinion). When he sits on his chair holding his boots, there is something bitter in his mood. Something telling him that it's the only thing he is good for.

https://ew.com/carrie-tv-series-first-look-mike-flanagan-modern-twist-exclusive-12015053

Like..........

She's not even naked or bleeding, the fuck are these girls even recording???

Just make an original story and gooooooooooo. Carrie snaps after years of bullying, because as a kid she started preaching the gospel at the lunch room and they laughed at her. She was ALREADY a long standing target when the story opens. And also, her main bully was at home, but suddenly the iconically unhinged Mrs White is. Not abusive?

Hi, anon! I’m guessing you also submitted this ask about Hux’s body insecurity, so I’m going to dedicate this answer to things I didn’t mention there.

Three (3) headcanons for you:

Hux is extremely sensitive to accusations of hypocrisy. He considers himself one of the few true believers in the First Order’s cause, having been raised without the “excesses” of the Empire or the “frivolities” of the New Republic, so the notion that he makes political decisions purely or even primarily for personal gain is anathema to him.

Hux spent very little time with the Commandant during his early years at the Arkanis Academy and was instead looked after by DDM-38 and his stepmother Maratelle’s* ladies-in-waiting, all of whom belonged to the Arkanisian upper class. Because the bulk of his early childhood was spent around native Arkanisians, he developed a slight accent, which his father was quick to “correct.” Though Hux has now spent the bulk of his life speaking “perfect” Galactic Basic, he still takes great care with his diction.

Hux occasionally catches himself wondering whether his birth mother considered him a blessing or a curse—and what she might think of him now. He tells himself the answer doesn’t matter. (He’s lying.)

Empire is not just my favorite Star Wars film, but very likely my favorite movie of all time. I've posted it before but I absolutely love this little scene. Quite eerie but with a sense of pathos, the full orchestra temporarily dying out from the grander scene of The Falcon escaping Bespin into these faint woodwinds as Vader calls out to Luke, macro to micro. Looking at the music: The Imperial March played on that tiny flute in the background is quite curious, because it is the softest and most emotionally resonant that the cue has in the entire film. It is usually played strongly with gravitas or with impending doom, quite Wagner-esque, so there is significance of it being so quiet and gentle - it is clear to me that Williams definitely believed that there was no lie, Vader was Luke's father, and this little sound was the connecting line that echoed what came before: if it were a lie, it would be stronger and more sinister, but this is gentle, somber, like a haunting lullaby.

George Lucas has stated that Luke losing his hand is specifically meant to be a castration analogy, where the man tries to prove his worth and fails and is cut back down to boyhood, having to start over in his quest. Which connects quite well with how this cue of The Imperial March is used in the film, the boy in Luke instinctively calling out for his father, despite his adamant and tearful denial only a few minutes prior.

We don't really get to see a ton of how the ramifications of all of this effects Luke in the movies; we are definitely told some and get hints but much of it happens off screen. We see Yoda confirm what he already knows to be true (although, imho, mainly for the audience) and some brief anger with Obi-Wan. We see that he has grown with a new demeanor and confidence. The 2020 comics go into it somewhat more, but on screen, I think that this is where we get to see some hints of that; the despair, pain, longing, and confusion. But also, this is one of the few times where we do get to see a hint of father and son speaking plainly to one another. The stakes are high in the overall scene but it is conversational and natural, a strange juxtaposition.