Harry Potter is one of those things where I don’t care how important it was or is to you sentimentally or whatever. I insist you find another fucking thing. There are so many things. Other things. Better things. Literally anything.
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I remember when I first discovered The Worst Witch and my immediate thought was "This is Harry Potter if it were competently put together and not written by a ghoul. How do more people not understand that HP is a wholesale ripoff of its entire premise?!?"
Don't forget the look of HP himself looking not unlike The Books of Magic protag who even has his own owl. But I grew up with TWW and can definitely see what you mean there.
I'm sure she never saw Troll (1986) Starring a father and son both called Harry Potter (Jr and Sr) who fight a troll. The best part was WB later trying to sue them for wanting to make a sequel/remake because how dare they make a movie with people called Harry Potter in it after the wizard movie!
I honestly hate that I wasted time on it when I was younger and still haven't decided how to get rid of my books now that I've retrieved them from storage. I don't want to Goodwill them because that'd keep them in circulation so tbh I'm thinking of trashing them and calling it a day
Yea, I'm a donate to charity kinda book owner and I had a similar (though arguably more serious) conundrum owning all the Rouroni Kenshin manga. I'm pretty sure I chucked them into recycling. They're stationary or Amazon boxes now.
Same when it comes to donating. Recycling is honestly a good idea. I dont have a recycling station near me that I know of so when I get to that box I guess its time to do some local research
Would you say it’s a safe series for a younger audience? I desperately want to phase HP off of the library shelves and give students some GOOD FUCKING FOOD.
I've not heard anyone say a bad thing about them. The books are pretty old but they're always brought up as an analogue to HP and if you read one or even see the show or the movie you can immediately tell why.
The first few books seemed okay when my daughter read them a few years ago, but they're also pretty old so I'm wary of giving a full recommendation without having read them all.
Glad my subconscious told me "wait, maybe this sucks" when I read the fourth book as a teen and just decided to stop there forever. Sadly, a friend's kid is into HP but we're hoping it's a phase she'll grow out of... would hate to pry her away from it with a crowbar if she doesn't walk away herself.
"what people like is similar to their sexuality in that you don’t decide what you like"
incorrect. reading and fandom and, most saliently in this context, buying shit are not on any level comparable to basic human needs like love & sex; it is trivial to set aside one fandom and focus on another.
Nah I’m good, just because people disagree with me doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I could definitely be wrong, but other people disagreeing with me doesn’t make it so.
Yes, I’ve been told extensively for hours last night that I’m wrong and I still disagree, I believe I have a better grasp on the subject than those disagreeing with me, not a worse grasp. And I know exactly how conceited that sounds with is why I’m backing up what I say.
I do that often but I’m being serious here. I understand completely why I’m pissing people off but I’m not just doing it to be an asshole in this particular situation.
I was in my 20s when the first one came out. Never understood adults reading it. Kids I can see, but its something you should you know stop worrying about at 14
I kinda just lump all the Disney properties together as a collective brand as their adult fans are just the same insufferable people with different hats.
But Harry Potter fans are just worse versions of all the above.
It's weird, I got sort of turned off HP early by some reading experiences (thank you Diana Wynne Jones) and it was recently brought back to mind by a Princess Weekes Tik Tok and now I can't get my brain to stop thinking about ways Draco Malfoy could have been written better. Brain won't let go of it
My family members are some of the ones still obsessed with HP. I've had to explain to them multiple times why I, as a trans person, am not interested in engaging with the franchise ever again. That still doesn't stop them, they just act like it's a haha cute guilty pleasure. I fucking hate it.
There are SO MANY OTHER BOOKS. Tolkien, Percy Jackson, literally anything by Ursula LeGuin. Its the only thing they want to talk about and I'm so tired.
Like, it's great that it was formative for you, or you have fond memories, or it was the first movie you and your boyfriend/girlfriend watched together (that one for me). All of those wonderful memories still exist. Doesn't mean you have to continue to support Joanne and her TERFy empire.
The more I see replies from people feeling defensive, the more evident it is to me that it’s the first time a lot of people found community in fandom, so literally they just miss community! Which suggests to me they can find other ways to meaningfully connect with people and share things they love!
Tastes do change. You're allowed to change what you like. That's one of the great things about fandoms. There are always other ones to enjoy that can also grow to mean a great deal to you. 👍 Chaining yourself to one for the rest of your life is just depriving yourself.
And to those people: Toughen up, kiddo. It's happened before and it'll happen again. Ren & Stimpy. Buffy. Everything WEllis did. hahahaha... wait no. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna say the thing.
Cerberus
I Y K Y K
Fortunately shadow makes light shine etc etc & you appreciate decent creators more
its so terribly written that even I, a fan of absolute dreck, couldn't stand it back in its heyday. and that was before the author turned out to be a terf.
WB is trying to make more things to continue milking that transphobic cash cow. which makes sense from an unethical business who presumably made bank off the shitty game last year.
Looking back and staring at all those people who ate up that HP game while it's author was full on paying for bills that hurt people within their own community was insanely bewildering
It was extra bewildering for me seeing trans people in a trans Discord peddle the game, and when pressed, so many were defending it. Absolutely unhinged. (I left that server, lol)
Honestly the books were never good, and I tried to read the first book as a kid. I always found it to be over hyped. The movies were better than the books but still not worth watching ngl
I got the box set and read the first 3 books when in a very bad MH state and they were a cute enough distraction in a, this is clearly a kids book way. 4 dragged on a bit, I gave up the entire series at 5, the writing was fucking terrible.
"Oh my god I'm from house griffindor"
"God no, I'm such a slytherin"
SHUT THE FUCK UP WHIMPS, I AM KNIGHT BASTERBOLD HARRIC, HONORED KNIGHT OF HOUSE GRIPPHIT, DEFENDER OF THE STRONG AND BULWARK OF THE WEAK, BY MY BLADE HAVE TRAITORS KNOWN DEATH AND DEMONS MET OBLIVION, I AM WHAT STANDS BETWEEN H...
That shit was always boring. Her world building is pretty solid but the dialogue is trash. Was happy when my kids grew out of it, though it did get my daughter to read a lot so points for that.
TBH, I think that's the only value of the Harry Potter books - as a gateway to get the kiddies onto the good shit fast. I could have died when my personal stash of Diana Wynne Jones elicited a judgement of "Better than Harry Potter". Well, quite.
Absolutely - and I think children are a damn sight more astute and emotionally intelligent about what they read (even if they're not that great at cleanly articulating it) than their elders and betters generally give them credit for. And in my experience, they ask questions. So many questions.
I agree! And if a kid wants to read it, I largely don’t care because they will go on to read other things. There are comparably terrible things they have access to, and they have no money to spend on it. Also a lot of the fanfiction was bizarrely compelling lol
Me, I came to Potter as an adult, read the first few books just to keep up with my kids (this is before all her trans cray-cray), wasn’t impressed, never finished the series. And holy shit are the movies dull too.
I was given the first 5 books as a gift, around the time the 5th book had come out. I never cracked any of those books’ spines nor did I ever get the rest of the books. Saw the movies with friends and family, but though I’m a fan of fantasy, the movies didn’t do anything for me.
I was the exact right age to grow up alongside the characters and read most of the books and saw all the movies. I think I sort of outgrew it before I had any mature objections to it, so I don’t well understand the length of its tail in the culture (it’s money, frankly, but still)
They came out when I was wrapping up college so I was past YA stuff and off fantasy in general for a while (which I’ve now come back to). I was the exact right age to not give a shit 🤣
I was the ideal age it was focused at but I just thought it was kind of bland shitty basic bitch fantasy and never got into it. I was more into reading people do alternative takes on Arthurian mythology at the time, like Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles and Jack Whyte’s Dream of Eagles.
honestly when i found out that her books most likely pulled heavy duty from this neil gaiman comic so not only is she a shitty person she probably didnt even come up with her own concept
like other wizard school series existed before HP and folks still cant let it go
My love of magic and my feeling of betrayal when JKR finally showed her true colours led me to making this project, and whilst I’m a bit slow on it because of how my brain is, the determination is there 🙏
Potter-heads are officially too old to care and have moved on, and GenZ canceled it because jkrowling is a terf so I don’t know who this is directed at. It pretty much organically fell off the culture plane already.
I'm back on dating apps, and I immediately reject you if your profile picture has something with Harry Potter in it. In twenty-fucking-four, you should know better.
I find it is just so easy to....not talk about a decades old book and film series? Like, it is not that hard. Anyone at this point is being either openly transphobic or obstinate in a transphobic way.
Right?! I wrote an entire worship service liturgy and sermon on hp. It's so possible to be like, "welp, I will feel sad this is hurtful instead of fun now but I will be an adult about it."
It’s a red flag not only for all the real political issues, but because it speaks of adults with a critical lack of taste. A sin less heinous than bigotry but nearly as cringe
there was one the other day where the woman was wearing a Ravenclaw sweater and posing in front of a WALL of HP merch. Like, you are a queer woman in 2024! I'm going to assume you're a terf if you're doing this shit.
Yep! I see this with gay men too - instant rejection, esp considering millennials are all but 30 year olds who should know better/have better taste by now.
The only thing that I ever got out of the Harry Potter series was a very comfortable pair of owl slippers that I got off the clearance rack at a local drugstore for a buck.
I think what makes HP so hard for many to give up isn't the books, but how they sparked a sense of community for teens who were just learning their identity in the early 2000s when the internet was still new and growing. For a moment, it was beautiful.
Thank you for the kind words!I understand the intent of the original post is good, and I agree people should stop giving The TERF money, but I still ache when it is framed as "Just move on/grow up" with no space held for how this is a painful transition and loss of an identity marker for many folk.
It's more about *how fucking long it's been* since she started on her bullshit. "It's hard to give up this thing that's special to me" is where they should have been 4 years ago. It is well past time for people to deal with that
Logically? I get that, I even agree that is plenty of time to pull away.
But empathically? I also get why people reject or go into denial, and I can't timetable other folk's grief. It's not as simple as replacing a book, it's replacing a childhood experience/community.
It's about a guy living in the early 20th century having to struggle to survive because big nosed men took all the wealth and now he has to live off scraps, and tries to get into politics.
Good book, someone should make a movie out of that one.
every time I see something about Harry Potter I’m glad that I was a Guardians of GaHoole kid instead of a Harry Potter one. GaHoole has more owls and is blatantly antifascist
I was 11 when it hit the bookstores in my country. I still thank my lucky stars I was raised to be literate enough to realise by the fourth book that it's not even written that well and from there my interest kinda fizzled out. Helps that I already read The Hobbit and the LotR trilogy by then, too
I was not and am not a fiction reader really, but I can recommend getting hyper into the history of witches so you can be furious at everyone all the time. Takes up like 100% of my brain, great hobby instead
Ooh good idea!! These aren't remotely similar to HP but. . .
Annihilation is really good
So is Dune (and very politically relevant)
I just recently read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and WOW it's amazing. This is coming from someone who didn't know anything about her
Harry Potter adults need to pivot to Percy Jackson. Has the personality based sorting system that they love, and the magical whimsy they could ever want with none of the terfs! Win win!
It HAS to end. Anyone who's read it can make up a better wizard school story of their own!!! Just do that instead!
Also, it's fucked up that my poor nb partner has to get jumpscared by an entire goddamn brick & mortar merch store every time they happen to get off the train near Broadway and 22nd.
I also can't think of anything that I'm obsessed with to the same level as Harry Potter adults. Like I have many varied interests. If I found out like. Akira Toriyama was a terrible person it might be hard to part with my DBZ stuff but... there are Many Other Things?
Like, pick a worse thing if you want. Get really into Twilight! Stephenie Meyer may have written a vampire C-section, but she’s not publicly identified with the desire to eradicate a vulnerable class of people.
The part where Rowling is very public about it, and very notably is donating lots of money towards it is really the main issue. If it came out that Stephanie Meyer were awful in private it wouldn't be nearly as big a deal
Also though, Ken Jennings is Mormon but is apparently pretty chill
I imagine Ken Jennings is like my mom: since she thinks so many people are going to hell, she’s not out there calling out individual sins. Just keeps it to herself.
I truly don't believe that people liked Harry Potter THAT much, it's just that it was so marketable. Like, it's a "I must love Harry Potter, I have so much merchandise from it!" kind of thing. They just don't want to get new stuff.
Which, it's fine if you don't want to throw out your stuff but put it in a closet or something and stop plastering it all over your social media. Just stop buying more and doubling down. STOP.
I know several people, SEVERAL, who treat Hogwarts houses like zodiac signs. They present their worldviews around the fact that they're a Hufflepuff or whichever, and if someone else does/says something, then "omg that's such a Gryffindor thing to say."
If you love HP so much, then just ignore posts like this and enjoy it silently. No need to make a fuss about it - what exactly are you trying to prove when you respond like this?
Genuinely, if you enjoy it silently- then people won’t know about it! Nor will they judge you for it. But if you insist on publicly displaying your admiration / arguing with people who are against it for clear moral reasons, you’re not going to have a fun time online
I agree with the original sentiment, but growing up sucks. People should be able to enjoy things regardless of their age. Fun and entertainment should never be gated by age...
Just support things that don't end up with people being harassed or even killed. That's something most can agree with.
I mean, I think most adults know people can like troubling things, and that doesn’t mean they’re spending money on it or defending its honor to their last. That’s a pretty normal boundary, I think!
My main point of contention was with the words "grow up" being used as though their interests being childish is relevant to the broader issue. There are plenty of people, myself included, who don't simply outgrow interests formed in our respective youths. And that's not a problem in and of itself.
It's more important that people are able to be socially aware enough and empathetic enough to let go of something despite their attachment to it than for them to just "grow up" from that interest. Also a lot more meaningful if they can show that human life matters more to them than their attachment.
Well, I got a turtle named Alfie when I was a kid. Every couple of weeks I'd take him outside so I could clean his tank, during which he'd always try to run away. One day I looked away for too long & he had vanished. I spent the whole evening tearing up the yard to find him but had to stop by night.
The next day I finally found him, he had dug a hole beneath the shrubs and buried himself. During later cleaning I'd sometimes put him in a temporary container, but he got strong enough to flip it over and break out.
I have that, art of Discworld, and the sketch portfolio, nanny ogg’s cookbook… I really really recommend the art of book though it’s so delicious and has almost all the main characters! I also have an official little Death of Rats statue that’s one of my prized possessions lol
Back in the day, I referred to HP as "the gateway drug to Discworld". I am now very much of the opinion that one can get 'em hooked on the good stuff straightaway instead.
I unfollowed yet another ASMR youtube channel - honestly my FAVORITE by a country mile - for posting a Harry Potter roleplay. not to make a grand statement, it’s just something I decided to do for myself. But man I was like “AUGH NOT YOU TOO”
Like I'm even willing to table, for now, reading a fucking book for a grown up. Even among Brit fantasy YA there are things like the Prydain books or The Dark is Rising series, The Snow Spider trilogy, still reading her is a choice.
I love the Prydain Chronicles and I wish I knew more people who have read them. I used to go on author sprees as a kid and read everything available at the library. Lloyd Alexander's books were some I was/still am most fond of.
Like. I get it. It's the millennial star wars. You grew up with it, it's special sure. But why the fuck is your personality based on your Hogwarts house, read God bless you Mr rosewater or something fuck.
Or at the very least, pirate it. Pirate it and refuse to promote or buy any more products from it. At most, buy stuff only made by fans. JKR has made it abundantly clear she will use the profits for her hateful agenda
Even Hermione was maybe accidentally a cynical caricature of political bleeding hearts, and you can’t tell how much of a caricature she actually is because 1) I can’t tell if JoAnne actually believes in anything or 2) if she’s competent enough a writer to work through that intention 😆
oh for sure! and it’s weird cause she is to a certain extent a self insert, for someone who talks a big game about bigotry jk seemed completely uninterested in exploring it in any depth except for the oppression of “mud bloods”
and like HP realising that this amazing world he has found a home in is actually shit abs grappling with that cause he might know a thing or two about mistreatment would have been an actual growing up moment for the series cause it’s a perfect metaphor for adulthood but jk didn’t have that in her
there are literally so many better things out there. I like a lot of stuff from my childhood but i am under no illusion that it’s particularly deep or “good” legit i don’t know why people aren’t embarrassed to be associated with the biggest TERF on the internet
I have a mug that I got at the Harry Potter experience in London when I was still a fan. I was thinking of breaking it but now I think I want to make a candle out of it with the most “Fuck TERFs” scent I can think of. Any ideas?
You can find a sage scent! It all just depends on the candle maker. I just found out there’s a special workshop where you can make your own candle and am trying to keep some scents in mind
me, blurry in the background, halfway in the shot, yelling whenever someone is lamenting the loss of HP: WITCH HAT ATELIER. WITCH HAT ATELIER IS RIGHT THERE. IT'S RIGHT THERE. LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA IS ALSO THERE. LITTLE WITCH HAT ATELIER ACADEMIA COME OOOOOOOOOOOOON
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Also, when it comes to relationships and your partner gives you an ultimatum, you don’t choose them.
incorrect. reading and fandom and, most saliently in this context, buying shit are not on any level comparable to basic human needs like love & sex; it is trivial to set aside one fandom and focus on another.
sometimes people love abusive toxic trash and if they do they should dump that abusive toxic trash.
@trans.bsky.social can we put this in the "Transphobes" list?
I can't help it
But Harry Potter fans are just worse versions of all the above.
It's really, really, *really* not that hard.
Go read Discworld by Terry Pratchett
Cerberus
I Y K Y K
Fortunately shadow makes light shine etc etc & you appreciate decent creators more
"God no, I'm such a slytherin"
SHUT THE FUCK UP WHIMPS, I AM KNIGHT BASTERBOLD HARRIC, HONORED KNIGHT OF HOUSE GRIPPHIT, DEFENDER OF THE STRONG AND BULWARK OF THE WEAK, BY MY BLADE HAVE TRAITORS KNOWN DEATH AND DEMONS MET OBLIVION, I AM WHAT STANDS BETWEEN H...
like other wizard school series existed before HP and folks still cant let it go
I do feel badly for all the actors who aren't transphobes, but I think all the major ones are on board with not being good to terfs.
It hurts to have a TERF steal that from you.
I let it go, but as pitiful as it may sound, I mourned it.
In a shitcan cruel world, I can understand why a lot of folks don't let go. And it's why I'll never judge a Disneynerd, heh.
It's more about *how fucking long it's been* since she started on her bullshit. "It's hard to give up this thing that's special to me" is where they should have been 4 years ago. It is well past time for people to deal with that
But empathically? I also get why people reject or go into denial, and I can't timetable other folk's grief. It's not as simple as replacing a book, it's replacing a childhood experience/community.
It's frustrating all around
It's about a guy living in the early 20th century having to struggle to survive because big nosed men took all the wealth and now he has to live off scraps, and tries to get into politics.
Good book, someone should make a movie out of that one.
Annihilation is really good
So is Dune (and very politically relevant)
I just recently read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and WOW it's amazing. This is coming from someone who didn't know anything about her
Also, it's fucked up that my poor nb partner has to get jumpscared by an entire goddamn brick & mortar merch store every time they happen to get off the train near Broadway and 22nd.
I'm a grown ass adult. I'd be a grown ass wizard.
Also though, Ken Jennings is Mormon but is apparently pretty chill
I don't think he's wildly progressive or anything, but definitely moreso than most Mormons
Some people are genuinely REALLY into HP.
(This is a joke post. Harry Potter is derivative, antisemitic, fascist-leaning drivel)
Vehemently.
Just support things that don't end up with people being harassed or even killed. That's something most can agree with.
It even has a witchy YA series! AND a magic academy for wizards! BUT BETTER
I have the Kidby-illustrated “Last Hero” and it’s amaaaaazeballs
I did not read them as a kid, but they always felt like ones I would read to a child if I had one