i agree with this. i'm not attacking fanfic writers (since i write fanfiction in my free time as well), but a lot of times, 'desi james potter' just becomes golden skin/doe eyes/biryani??? let me go on a rant, i cannot not do that when it comes to desi characters LMAO sorry:
first off, the word desi originated from Hindu texts. it comes from Sanskrit, where the word used was desh, which means country. nowadays, the word desi is used [in india] to say that the thing we're talking about originated indigenously. for example, if i say that a tomato is desi, that means it was produced in india [in the country. yk what im sayin'?]. desi has evolved to mean made in India or in broader terms, made in south asia [which really means made in india, given that most if not all south asian culture comes from the indian--or specifically, hindu--civilisation. but thats a whooole other can of worms, i assure you. pls dont argue with me about this on a harry potter post🙏🏽🙏🏽].
desi james potter is a fucking goldmine. because i personally hc him as half indian, there is a lot to do with him. even apart from his usual canonical personality. because hindu civilisation is so old [5000+ years], indian/desi culture has evolved much intertwined with hinduism [or as i like to refer to it, sanatan]. did you know sarees had been used as praying garb by the hindus because sarees were just one continuous, unstitched [albeit very long] piece of cloth? [ofc they do so now too, but you get my point] or that most, if not all, "indian" jewelry has hindu significance?
there's the concept of karma in sanatan. i'm sure youre aware of it, but its much more than just "you reap what you sow". its a concept of cosmic balance that spans multiple incarnations of one soul. its a soul not attaining moksh [freedom from the endless cycle of birth and death and birth again; of going to the paramatma: the supreme self] until everything you did or had done to you is repaid. i hate the phrase "karma's a b*tch" because its so fucking disrespectful and flattens a concept literally thousands of years old into a punchline. imagine james bullying snape and internally thinking that this is all snape's karma; thinking himself the tool for dispensing it. imagine james--arrogant, narcissistic james--thinking that surely he'll attain moksh because he's doing all the "right" things for the "right" side. the actual teachings of sanatan being completely skewed in his head by the good vs bad, light vs dark, gryffindor vs slytherin rhetoric; [falsely, at times] equating it all to the teachings of the Bhagvad Geeta--not even having read it, and no one to scold him or tell him otherwise because he was a miracle child. he was beloved. he was james fucking potter.
the identity problems that come from being desi in england; however, i feel like the magical world cared more about his blood. the dynamics between the potters and the shafiqs [because come on, shafiq sounds pretty arabic to me].
he'd likely dress very english, though, since he was an english wizard after all. no spicy indian food because fleamont couldn't handle it. being intensely british, but looking at him mum wearing a specific type of shoes weirdly, because what is that???
at this point im just throwing around headcanons, but do you see it? there is so. fucking. much. to do with desi james potter. so much, outside the usual "james calling his beloved jaan" or things like that, though they, also, are wonderful hcs. the way desi james potter would live his life itself is something delicious in how beliefs can be twisted and turned in all the wrong ways to support one's biases and prejudices, and how [this is about euphemia] being oppressed [by the british] can result in not taking any criticism about a family member, and that resulting in catastrophe [james' behavior towards the hogwarts populace that didn't completely align with him].
its so much more than brown skin and big eyes. hell, you can even hc him as being a light skinned desi person! from like, northern india! or the eastern states! or he can be incredibly dark skinned, from the southern states! or olive skinned! if youre saying "desi james potter" just because you like the aesthetic of it, thats lowkey fine, but i promise you you'll have a lot more fun if you look into it a bit more.
PS: i would also like to say "people will stick nationalities on characters for shits and giggles (and to meet a diversity quota, I guess)" about stamping sexualities onto the characters without actually thinking about what kind of person that would make them into. obviously, that doesnt mean that gay man = frilly pink, but please dont hc them as being of different sexualities if youre not willing to commit to the bit properly.
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