I Have To Laugh At The Two Dunderheads On Reddit Who Made A Separate Server Called "snapewasanincel."

I have to laugh at the two dunderheads on reddit who made a separate server called "snapewasanincel." I think they forgot about Instagram and Twitter being perfect niches for them. Bonus: They are the sole commenters on the others post in that sub. The jokes truly write themselves.

I wish BCJr being a Ravenclaw were canon. Then it would provide balance to where DE come from and the students in canon who were considered smart in each house. For example we have Hermione in Gryffindor and then the Marauders+Lily who were described as “bright.” In Slytherin we have Snape and Voldemort, Hufflepuff (Hermione said Cedric is a good student), but none for Ravenclaw even though they are the ones who value knowledge.

I guess BCJr being a Ravenclaw is my headcanon now.

@ashesandhackles here’s the convo.

How do you think Sirius stacked up to Hermione in talent--comparing them both at the same age obviously. Which subjects do you think one would be better at, worse at, or the same?

Oh anon. Any answer I will give to this one will rile my very dear @bluethepineapple and I am on a mission to make her like Sirius a lot more, so no 🌟

I will say what they have in common is that they have an astute eye on politics. Blue and I came up with how Sirius would affect Hermione's arc in canon (not what you asked, but I am going to seize the opportunity). Here are our notes:

- Hermione's ongoing arc through the books is her relationship with rules and institutions. Her arc moves from experiencing personal injustice to minority (muggleborns) in CoS to seeing ministry's and their sham trials (or lack of it in POA) to seeing slavery in GOF and then outright creating a rebellion group in OOTP and Sirius' story is very important to that.

- advocacy: Sirius is probably Hermione's first experience with human advocacy, and she was Sirius's first advocate. While Harry was understandably too emotional, and Ron was confused - Hermione directs the conversation in POA and covers all bases (how did that happen? how did this happen? she ensures the story is air tight, and it an intuitive indication to Harry to lower his defenses). It opens up the conversation that really allowed him to express his innocence.

- the Sneak jinx: Hermione has no experience with guerilla fighting you know? But she does know betrayal, and she knows Sirius who was falsely incarcerated for 12 years and is still suffering in his childhood home despite being innocent. And it informs so much of her approach to the SNEAK jinx, how much it focused on revealing the real traitor so that there would be no fall persons. It exists so there would be no repeat of Sirius, and it works exactly like that!

- Hog's Head vs Three Broomsticks: after their first Dumbledore's Army meeting got overheard, Sirius points out that they would have been harder to overhear in Three Broomsticks. She takes his advice - her meeting with Luna and Rita for Harry's interview is in Three Broomsticks. She really respects his opinion even here when she was doubting him so much!

- house elves: among all people who turned Hermione down in SPEW (Hagrid calling it "doing them unkindness") in GOF, Sirius is Hermione's biggest supporter in that argument. He agrees with her ("She has got a measure of Crouch better than you have") along with his famous - "If you want to take a look at what a man is like, take a look at how he treats his inferiors". This is exactly why she was so upset with him about Kreacher - his support in GOF is why Hermione expects so much from him. Even then, she trusts him to go and ask for Kreacher's den and give the elf christmas presents and he answers her and it doesnt sound like that was a disparaging convo at all.

He is the odd mix of the eye-opener but also the mentor. He was the clearest evidence she had of inhumane injustice, but his insight was also so vital in directing her and helping her refine her advocacy.

Grayness in HP: Author Pet Peeve

Recent pet peeve of mine: I hate when authors whitewash their favorite characters or 'revert" complex characters to being static, and keep emphasizing stereotypes especially in books where we are supposed to embrace the grayness in people and situations.

Addressing the whitewashing of characters: One of JKR's favorite characters Remus Lupin received a sanitized profile on Pottermore which in essence downplayed some of his glaring flaws as seen in canon and attributed characteristics to him which contradict events seen in POA. The characteristic I refer to is the notion of supposed "respectful politeness" displayed to Severus Snape. Sure, Remus may appear pleasant on the surface, but he frequently shows the audience and his students how he views Snape as an authority figure by dressing his boggart in an old woman's clothes (a trans-misogynistic action depicted as humorous), gaslighting him about the Marauder's Map even while withholding crucial information about supposed mass murderer Sirius Black, and reducing the extent of the Snape-Marauder relationship to one of a "schoolboy grudge" and claiming that "Snape was jealous of James's quidditch talent." Granted for the last one Lupin didn't know Snape was there, but how one talks about people especially behind their back reveals their true nature. Whitewashing one's favorite character not only reveals one's blind spots but also sets double standards in objectively assessing the grayness of all characters, regardless of an author's personal feelings.

Snape: He was a victim of some gruesome acts and had a primary redemption arc working behind the scenes of his vindicitive behavior. However, when analyzing him after the books were written, her takeaway is that he "smells of bitterness and old shoes" (Twitter 2015), thus re-emphasizing his unsavory aspects.

The Prince's Tale Memory: The "I think we sort too soon" line from Dumbledore to Snape. This is extremely problematic, especially coming from a character known for his sage advice, in that it is implied that good or brave people cannot be Slytherins which in turn sends a damaging message to people in real life that the stereotype of the group/school you associate with defines you even if you possess and act on other good qualities.

This notion is backed up by JKR when conducting a Q&A with fans on Twitter:

"@RainDragon182 Not all Slytherins think they're racially superior. But all those who do are Slytherins" (JKR Twitter, 2015).

Going back to my example of schools, there are some high schools in my city with a fantastic reputation, but that doesn't mean that every person in a "good school" is an exemplar human being. It would be naive to think that in a superb school there aren't kids who constantly get into fights, truant, or are underachieving students in standardized tests--all hallmarks for a "poor school."

In a book series which emphasizes that people's flaws are to be acknowledged and ascertains that people aren't wholly wonderful nor irredeemable, the author contradicts this notion with her subsequent words on public platforms which will undoubtedly reach a much wider population than those who are solely fans of Harry Potter.

Unperceptive Harry is definitely coming thru! Also if he were Hermione he’d have probably connected the dots solely based on the “small, cramped” handwriting seen in SWM and once again in the book.

the half-blood prince literally wrote “just shove a bezoar down their throats” in the antidote section of advanced potion making, like how did harry not know it was snape for even a second

This!

I'm not sure why people fault Snape for refusing to teach Harry Occlumency (and I've noticed that some do). I mean, all right, he might've done better, but the fact remains that:

1- Harry invaded his privacy. And no, that wasn't justified in the slightest (Don't get me wrong. Harry's one of my favorite characters. But he's also done some not-so-cool things, which shouldn't be overlooked).

2- Harry wasn't learning his lessons properly, despite Dumbledore's injunction that he should.

The memory Harry had witnessed was very personal and painful for Snape. I've even found people arguing that he'd wanted Harry to notice it because he'd left the Pensieve out in the open.

Did Snape have to insult Harry during the lessons? No.

But is he a bad person for not having continued to teach someone who clearly wasn't interested and disrespected his instructor's boundaries? No.