My problem with the Marauders fandom
I usually say that ATYD was the worst thing that ever happened to Potterheads ("Harry Potter" fandom) and specially to Lupin Lovers (Remus Lupin fans). I don't actually think it is the worst, but you know what I mean. And it's not just ATYD, but most of Marauders fanfiction (well, they're mostly ATYD fanfics, to be honest).
It really disturbs me, because that's NOT Remus Lupin at all:
Lyall Lupin being an abusive father and Remus being raised in an orphanage or whatever that was? No!! Absolutely not! Lyall and Hope were loveable parents, who did everything they could for their son. They became outcasts because of his lycanthropy, and that's the reason behind Remus putting people at arm's length and feeling unworthy of love. He knew what would become of anyone who was too attached to a werewolf.
Remus being assertive and exploding at his friends. Uh... Nope. He was a boy who'd never had friends. Having friends had always been his biggest dream. So, he didn't agree with many of the things they did, but he cut them an awful lot of slack because he didn't want do lose them. It was the only time when he felt happy before "Prisoner of Azkaban" - when he had friends. Dumbledore made him prefect so that he would control them, which he didn't! He even remained friends with Sirius after he used him as a weapon against Snape! (Well, maybe he wouldn't remain friends with him if it didn't mean losing James and Peter's friendship too, but that's just a theory.)
āRemus being a walking time bomb before the full moon. Remus? Really? Remus Lupin, the most self-controlled of all "Harry Potter" characters?! The guy always tamed his human form because he couldn't tame his wolf form. The moon only affected him when it was actually full.
āThe whole Wolfstar thing... Okay, I admit I don't like non-canon ships in general, except when one of them is an OC (most people hate OCs, but I love them, I read most anything Remus/OC - and write it). And as a woman, I mostly have no interest in Slash (M/M) - I do love Grindelore, but that's because it's Canon and their story fascinates me.
But my problem with Wolfstar is more than just a personal inability to like non-canon pairings. It's the fact that I can't get pass the fact that Sirius never cared much for Remus. He was his friend, sure, but he didn't act as a person in love, not for a second:
1. He wished for a full moon when he was bored. Of course Remus answered "darkly". He felt bad for him wishing it. And he suggested that he studied with him, but Sirius dismissed him.
2. The so-called prank (the biggest problem of them all): okay, I can't even begin to say how problematic this is even for a friendship, but for a couple... It would be extremely toxic, don't you think? Do you really think that a teenager in love would reveal his love interest's biggest secret to their worst enemy? And that was the least of it. He didn't care about what would become of Remus had he attacked Snape. The least that could happen would him being expelled (and knowing how society felt about werewolves, probably Remus would end up being executed). Of couse Sirius didn't think of it. But he definitely would if he was in love with him. It was something really cruel to do with a friend, but with a boyfriend... I don't even have the words to describe how toxic it would be to use your significant other as a weapon and expose their biggest secret.
3. He didn't leave him anything in his will. Anything. Even knowing that he was living in extreme poverty because of Umbridge's law against werewolves working. Sirius knew about that. It was Sirius himself who told Harry about it - and Harry was mad, because Lupin looked more ragged than ever. Now, I can understand that Sirius would forget about his friend - it's bad? It is, but it's on character. -, but about a lover? Never! Sirius was too intense for that. He loved James with all his heart and would do anything for him. But nor for Remus. Oh, by the way, James helped Remus financially when he couldn't work after finishing Hogwarts. Yep. He did it. Sirius didn't even leave him anything in his freaking will!
4. They didn't trust each other. They were supposed to be friends, but Sirius literally told James not to trust Lupin and to trust Pettigrew instead. Again, would he do that if he was in love with Remus?
- Sirius was always much closer to James than to Remus. They are always described as always being together (even by the teachers and Madam Rosmerta. Not once is Remus mentioned.) and Harry had the impression that he was the only person who could make James change his mind;
- Dumbledore referred to Harry as the person Sirius loved the most. Harry. Not Remus. Harry.
- Sirius was the walking stereotype of the "bad boys" from the 80's/90's: long hair. motorcycle, ignoring the girls who were swooning for him, posters of girls in bikini in his bedroom (even when he grew up and Remus was actually a guest in his house), arrogant, popular, reckless... Totally "alpha male" and "heterotop" vibes.
- It's stated in Lupin's biography on the official "Harry Potter" website that he had never fallen in love before falling for Tonks.
- It's also said there that Sirius "always got the women".
But it's not just Remus. They made everyone act off-character: they made Sirius feminine, James soft and Peter a sweet boy who was forced to betray his friends. Not to mention poor Lyall Lupin and even Dumbledore. And what's with the obsession about making everyone queer? It was the 70's, for Merlin's sake! Not the 2020's!
My biggest problem is not the fanfiction per se. Fanfiction exists to make fans happy, I also read and write them. The problem is the fandom, trying to shove it down everyone's throat, pretending it's canon and even spreading fake news about the actors who played Sirius and Lupin, being aggressive to anyone who doesn't agree with them, and saying things like: "Lupin and Tonks had a lavender marriage" (yeah, because in lavender marriages one gets depressed over the other's rejection, leaves her newborn baby and runs into a war because she couldn't stand not knowing if her husband was dead, or - this is awesome - an unplanned pregnancy! LOL), "Tonks morphed into Sirius" (really? She never morphed into a man in the books, the furthest she went was disguising herself as an old lady, do you really think she even could morph into a man?), or - this is my favorite - "J. K. Rowling accidentally wrote them as a couple"! LOL This is hilarious. How can anyone "accidentally" write something?
And then, there are the people who choose to ignore canon. Okay, that's a valid option. Just don't go around saying that you like "Harry Potter". You don't. Your fanfics are about ATYD, not "Harry Potter" at all, because those characters are NOT from "Harry Potter", they only share the same names.
I could go on forever about this. But I won't I can't afford a lawyer. :P
The thing is: Marauders fanfiction is not "Harry Potter" fanfiction anymore, it's ATYD fanfiction. Only the names are the same, but those characters are definitely not from "Harry Potter", they're just all OCs.
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