#lightning wave

[aesthetic-otd]

Today's aesthetic is lightningwave

[sacrifices-blogging]

was talking to tumblr user @asexualayato today about pre-tumblr fandom and how the sacrifices arc contrasts with the typical narratives of abuse that were common in fic at the time.

basically, the sacrifices arc handles the topic of abuse REALLY WELL comparatively -- fic from this time mostly relied on abuse as a sort of thing to elicit pity/protectiveness for the character subjected to abuse and hate for the character doing the abusing. usually these narratives involved very obvious/typical examples of abuse, such as physical abuse from the parents or the significant other, often employed for the sake of demonizing a particular character.  and when abuse showed up in different forms, it was often not identified as such and, if not excused by the narrative, at least not obviously a bad & damaging thing.

the sacrifices arc does the exact opposite of this.  the narrative of abuse is, for one thing, initially told from the perspective of a child who does not know he is being abused -- and even after he realizes this, he is unable for a long, long time to escape the way he’s been conditioned to behave, and has a tough time sorting out what parts of who he is are the product of the abuse & what parts are him.  the sacrifices arc presents a much more complete and accurate picture of what abuse and recovery from abuse are like...which was pretty damn rare for the time.  and considering the number of young people in fandom, i think that having accurate representations of abuse (even in entirely fictional universes, surrounding around entirely unrealistic world mechanics) is important.

it also does (to a degree) go against the convention of demonizing the abusers -- james does get a sort of redemption arc (iirc, i haven’t reached that point in the series this readthrough) that mostly involves him making an actual attempt to understand harry, be a present and reasonable parent despite obstacles to that, etc.  he realizes his past mistakes & tries to love and care for harry as he deserves & as is practical for who he is.

[draconispotter]

Starting book two of the Sacrificies Arc today.

So far I'm really impressed. Even if you're not a Drarry shipper, I highly recommend this series to you. None of that starts happening until the later books. It's an AU story of all seven books where Harry has a twin brother that everyone believes to be the Boy-Who-Lived. Well written, charming, adventurous and done by an ambitious author. This is probably the longest fanfic series you'll ever read. They only get longer as you get through each story, but so far it's worth it. Go for it!

http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=10622&chapter=1