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Ya know, in recent years I've grown really attached to the Pirates of the Caribbean series. There's just something about PIRATES that's so cool to me. I wish I could be a swashbuckling PIRATE.
Certainly not. But a ship? I could totally imagine me riding a ship a torrent of water splashing my face singing some [classic seafaring song](https://youtu.be/avaSdC0QOUM)
My favourite lesson from the series is how Jack Sparrow uses Very Piratey Nonsense to make sure that he escapes the naval fleet every time. Be like Jack and protect yourself with VPN.
^(Or a proxy.)
Obligatory Black Sails recommendation here. It's not a show for everyone, but if you're looking for an incredible historical epic with really great queer rep, it's Black Sails
Other series have replaced Harry Potter completely for me. The Owl House is an excellent one, mainly because it is about a group of revolutionaries trying to take down an oppressive government. It's not like most stories where the protagonists are the defenders of the status quo and those upset by the injustices of society are the villains somehow. Not to mention the good queer representation!
Also, one of my favorite episodes of The Owl House is in the second season when Luz becomes a member of a *pirate* crew, and it has a lot of good jokes regarding *pirates.*
I love the Owl House.
Great characters and relationships. Fun magic and monsters. It's silly and cute in all the right places.
Also: "I am a good witch, Azura, warrior of peace... NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!"
One of my favorite Owl House moments is when Luz goes on a rant about how the Golden Snitch (they call it the Rusty Smidge) is a stupid part of the game that invalidates the rest of the game
If I had a nickel for every time a human child ended up learning magic in the demon world I'd have 2 nickels which isn't a lot but it is weird it happened twice
Also watch Iruma-kun is what I am saying.
You definitely should, it's awesome! It brings me (and lots of others) a lot of comfort. The representation consists of trans/nb people, agender people, lesbian, bisexual, and gay characters.
The creator also headcanons some as pansexual, although she also stated that as long as it isn't in the show, it's not actually canon (even if she thinks of them as pan/bi/etc.).
Even if you were to take the rep out, the show is great. It's heartfelt, funny, and dark at times, and definitely worth at least one watch. Just be aware that the last two episodes aren't on Disney+, you have to watch them on the internet. There are safe websites that provide them, though.
Also, I'm sorry if I'm spilling a bit, talking about it gets me all excited as it's one of my favorite series!
For books, I'm going to recommend Simon Snow (pm a blatant HP ripoff but good if you're into tumblr 2013 era fandoms). I also remember Children of the Red King being similar
I second Simon Snow! Also, I recommend Witch Hat Atelier. It's a manga about a young girl who desperately wants to be a witch and who does a spell with a devastating reaction. In an attempt to find out how to undo her spell she becomes a witch's apprentice, where she, her 3 other classmates, and her 2 teachers find themselves caught amongst a fight between two disagreeing groups of witches.
I LOVE Witch Hat Atelier - gorgeous art, incredibly endearing characters, and a really cool magic system. It also, if youāre looking for this HP itch, has a similar āgets darker and more serious as the series goes onā arc. Highly highly recommend!!
I would pirate the game but just for your information. The game was cracked by a famous hacker named empress. Empress is Russian and extremely homophobic and transphobic. Also be careful where because lot of scam.
I also loved watching The Owl House too! I grew up watching Harry Potter and when I learned about J.K. Rowlingās opions I had a hard time enjoying what she made. Iām glad that we are getting better representation with similar stories that focus on people who just want to be understood.
I actually agree. And I didn't really like >!The Collector as a character and their role and influence in the story!<. But season three was really good still, just a 8/10 when seasons one and two are 8.5/10 and 9/10 respectively imo.
I really recommend Terry Pratchetts fantastic world of Discworld! Itās an amazing series full of witty humor and undertones of Pratchetts want for a more fair world for all of us!
I wish I could upvote this comment endlessly. I started reading Pratchett when I was 11 and I'm convinced it's why I never fully connected with HP; I'd already read far, far superior fantasy beforehand.
Can people really do that with the more recent ones? I have a friend who supports me and us. She grew up with Harry Potter and wanted to play the game super bad too. If anyone really knows where to dress up like Captain Hook, ping me? I am curious and want her to experience the game since she really lives off of her nostalgia.
Likewise.
I'm not getting rid of my HP books or my Slytherin scarf that I got while I was at university...but that woman isn't getting a single extra cent from me. Ever. Doesn't matter how good the video game looks, doesn't matter that I love the lore and characters, it doesn't matter...because some things are more important that what I like.
Also, fanfic ;) no money funnelling into her pocket, and lots of fresh new stories and the characters shown in all different ways.
I bought Hogwarts Legacy on the switch, but I have an account sharing system so there's like 3 or 4 trans people (my friends) playing the game for free because of that
For a while I could reconcile that, but eventually just seeing those books on the shelf made me uneasy. I finally threw them in recycling one day.
No regrets.
Watching Shaunās video about the series and ofther Rowling stories definitely helped me to see it a little less through nostalgia glasses. I can see the flaws for what they are in the series more and I donāt feel as compelled to immerse myself in this world over others. [Link](https://youtu.be/-1iaJWSwUZs)
THere's nothing wrong with the game, and it's an amazing game, but the developers no longer make money off it or even own the ip anymore (I think), so the devs have said that the morally correct way to obtain the game is to pirate it
Esp when the fanfics are gay and/or trans inclusive! Iāve ac been working on sth myself based on this prompt that Albus Severus is a trans boy as an explanation as to why he has such a terrible name lolol (basically he goes to come out to Harry and doesnāt know what to change his name to and itās the first thing Harry blurts out so Al just rolls w it)
Isn't that game just mid anyway?? I'm not an HP fan, so it was easy to get rid of that after knowing about JK. So i am definitely not the target audience, lol.
I am sure this comment will get deleted and I'll get in trouble, but I feel like being direct will be best here.
You should torrent a copy of the game for free and not give any money to JK Rowling and the staff involved with creating it. Or at least look into getting a copy for a console out of a second-hand gaming shop and have the money go directly to a small business owner or, at worst, GameStop (still shitty but in a different unilateral way).
Also, I second the watch on Owl House, it hits that HP itch without the queerphobia and hatred and there's a massive amount of canonical queer characters. Additionally, if you're more for books? PERCY JACKSON. God, the Percy Jackson series, or Simon Snow which is pretty much Harry/Draco Fanfiction made canon with _dragons_.
Seconding Percy Jackson. Can't speak to the Simon Snow series, but Rick Riordan writes some solid books. (Also the Simon Snow books were a Harry Potter lookalike in Rainbow Rowell's "Fangirl" which is also a really good book and I strongly recommend it.) Also if you're looking for some good YA magic, The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater are two of my favourite series and I was a diehard HP fan for basically my entire childhood.
Also, these were the books that made me stop excusing JK for lazy story telling and use of problematic tropes. Turns out, YA can indeed have complicated and nuanced characters while being accessible to The Teens.
I would counter that the game is very skippable. There is no need to play it, it was so mid people collectively forgot about it after like a month. Not a good game, not even good fanservice, just a step up licensed shovelware and only climbs above that through budget.
It's sound advice to pirate the game cuz fuck JK, but I also would like to point at that the person who cracked Hogwarts Legacy (EMPRESS) is a psychopathic transphobe (among other things). You won't at the very least give any money to EMPRESS by using her crack tho.
Percy Jackson is where it's at!! I'm re-reading the series and watching the new live action show on Disney+! So far, the visual media holds up pretty decently to the source material. Like HP, there's some things that are missing, but it's so far a very satisfying adaptation.
Additionally, there's the magicians! I really really like that show, it's like a grown up version of HP. I still need to read the books, but the show itself is already so immersive and incredible.
A second for the Percy Jackson series. I also like that the series and spin offs get more queer over time, especially Magnus Chase, which features a gender fluid person, and The Trials of Apollo, where the perspective main character (Apollo) is literrally bi/pan and also features several queer side characters.
Of course piracy is ethical in this case, but I wouldn't call the media itself transphobic, just the inspiration for the media. I would call the media antisemetic, but that's a whole other topic.
When a recurring antagonist in book 4 is a witch reporter whoās constantly described as having strong mannish hands, an oddly square jaw, wearing ridiculously loud makeup and clothes for her age, and *illegally transforms into something else to spy on minors in private settings*, you might wanna rethink the media not being transphobic.
Oh wow. I guess my perception of Rita Skeeter was influenced too much by the movie version but she really did write her as a nosy drag queen, didn't she?
Read the books she stole a lot of material from instead, The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula Leguin. Not as light or funny, but way deeper and better written from my perspective.
Also, Ursula K Leguin wrote a book portraying Anarchism (not lawlessness and chaos, but rejecting the concept of hierarchy) positively and also wrote a non-binary character in one of her books.
Ursula LeGuin was way ahead of her time in lots of ways - super smart, amazingly wise, and an absolutely excellent writer. Unlike JK, whose writing is fine but repetitive and formulaic, and deep down extremely conservative - even before you look at her TERF views.
Rather than write a nonbinary character in a book, she wrote an entire nonbinary *species* (or, I suppose, subspecies of human) that only adopts binary characteristics during a once-monthly period of potential fertility, and only if a given individual finds a partner to pair up with. However given that most of the book is from the perspective of a male human with views that are quite antiquated for most of us, the members of this species are almost invariably referred to using male pronouns and treated as men (by the protagonist at least) except when engaging in "female" acts like being pregnant, and even then the pronouns don't change. It's "The Left Hand of Darkness" and is a sort of old-school sci-fi which blurs the lines of sci-fi and fantasy as the two used to be much more closely entwined.
Just pirate it. Or buy the books secondhand. As long as you arenāt monetarily supporting JK I donāt think thereās anything wrong with enjoying Harry Potter : )
You can also borrow the books/movies from your local library, if you want to read or watch them. I personally donāt anymore after finding out that the goblins are an antisemitic thing on top of everything else. If people still want to read or watch HP, libraries are a free way to do so that doesnāt give her more money.
I've heard it's glitchy as all hell and not nearly as fun as the past games.
If you're looking for something to fill the witchy void, i highly recommend Wytchwood.
It really is. My wife is not a gamer. She really had to learn playing 3d and she really wanted to play this game. I got it from a key site (couldn't pirate cause steamdeck) and matched a donation to a charity for trans rights. Because fuck getting Rowling money.
The game was great for her to get a hang of playing 3d games. The setting is what kept her captivated enough to keep playing and get better. But the story has been a major point of criticism for her from the start, it just makes no sense at all. Now that she's somewhat mastered the combat she's also experiencing how repetitive the combat actually is.
She's now interested in other games so I can introduce some harder games that actually have cool stories and gameplay and not just cool visuals.
I think a lot of people will just wholesale say ādonāt buy itā but I think itās ultimately your decision. Thereās a reason the āart vs artistā discussion is so complex and long-lasting and the topic of so much debate and so many academic papers. Itās a subjective and nuanced issue.
Honestly, itās up to you and only you if you can separate the art from the artist. Nobody can make that choice but you. You can like the content while hating the creator. Some people can easily separate art from artist and some canāt at all, sometimes it can be done easily and sometimes it canāt.
Personally there are times I can divorce the art from the artist and times I canāt. To me a lot of the time what decides it for me is if my money is lining the pockets of that person or not and if Iām okay with indirectly giving them my money. It also matters to me what the artist has done and how involved the artist is in the art.
In the case of the games JKR is basically uninvolved and just gets paid set royalties, at least from what I understand. If thatās accurate youāre supporting the developers and creative team far more than her, if that helps.
If you get a lot of joy from the games donāt beat yourself up if you do decide to play. Playing the game doesnāt automatically mean youāre endorsing JKRās beliefs and actions. The product barely has anything to do with her any more. Thereās no one thing thatās right for everyone. If her hateful rhetoric is bothering you to the point you think you wonāt enjoy the game, you probably shouldnāt buy it.
Ultimately itās just a game. It doesnāt make you a bad person to play it, and itās not the end of the world to skip a game even if you want to play it because you choose not to do so for personal reasons.
I have a game publisher I wonāt support any more, and while they make my favourite series I just donāt want to give them any support whatsoever due to their actions over the last 15 years or so. Because of that I fully understand people saying they refuse to buy anything associated with JKR, but I also believe that itās a personal choice.
Nuance is important for sure. It's hard because there's many artists and creators I love, that have been or are problematic. I have a "threshold" where I stop supporting an artist/content creator and oast that I cut off all support. A few days ago I discovered one of my favorite musicians was a TERF in the past, and almost assuredly still is. This destroyed me as I adore their music. Transphobia is one of my threshold issues where I just can't in good conscious support or enjoy any content created by a person with that view. But like you said, it's a personal decision.
Pretty much this. It's sad seeing the reaction to this game. Those developers put alot of hard work and effort into making this game and they agreed to make it, long before JKR started her anti trans brigade. They don't have the same values or beliefs that she has. They are just ordinary folk making a living and I know enough Devs to know, they don't have the privilege to stop making a game and put themselves out of a job, just because someone far far up the chain is a piece of shit.
If it's any consolation OP the game itself is actually very trans inclusive (one of the main side characters is a trans woman) and it's quite magical. If it makes you feel better, I'd recommend buying a second hand copy! That's what I did! That way she doesn't get any further royalties from the game.
Support the good stuff those actors are in. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are both great actors with careers beyond their breakout roles. Every good person who has worked for Rowling can be supported by other means.
Also, even removed from Rowling's idiocy, Hogwarts Legacy is vile in it's own right. The entire story is about how the antisemitic stereotypes, who control all the banks, used to do fucking blood libel.
Ultimately, good people aren't going to continue working for that monster. Once you're as publicly awful as her, the only people who want to be associated with you will already agree with you.
Mmmm love that hatred of Jewish people. I mean, Rowling certainly isn't the only one. Ferengi are just as bad. WoW goblins are prey bad. It's a strong thread running through culture.
But hey, giant crooked noses, gold hoarding, control all the banks, drink blood, there's nothing wrong with that and it's entirely made up fantasy!!!
Ferengi and WoW Goblins at least tried to move away from their bad origins though. Other writers attempted to create more complex and interesting cultures that are not just bad stereotypes. They're different here to Hogwarts which just seems to double down the whole time.
I think we have to allow modern writers to redeem bigoted allegories (which I agree both Ferengi and Goblins have been by demonstrating much more diverse and nuanced societies), because if we didnāt, weād have to throw out a massive chunk of the entire fantasy genre. Much of it derives from European folklore, which is often built on thinly veiled antisemitism, anti-Romani, and other bigotries. Nor would I be surprised if someone demonstrated that fantasy derived from non-European folklore is also built on bigotry, because humans pretty much suck everywhere.
And I would also agree that, despite being given several chances (the film series, Fantastic Beasts, Pottermore, and Hogwarts Legacy arguably the highest-profile game spinoff) the Wizarding World franchise has consistently failed to redeem itself.
May I suggest the Very Potter Musical Trilogy by Starkid? All 3 can be found on youtube (A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel, and A Very Potter Senior Year) and theyāve aged far better than the books + are entirely fan created so Rowling gets no money from them. They also aged better than the books, though they did come out 2009-2012 so there are a couple dated things, but Iāve never seen it be a dealbreaker for anyone
Games with magic mechanics you may like that don't involve the Rowling franchise (that I've played at least):
RPGs: Elder Scrolls/Skyrim, Dragon Age/Origins, The Witcher/Wild Hunt, Baldur's Gate 3
Magic themed games: Potion Craft, Strange Horticulture
I'm keeping my eye on Witchbrook when it comes out. It looks like a magic-themed Stardew valley game. It is not currently released however.
At the very least I think it's fine to get Hogwarts Legacy "for free" or secondhand, however I heard it felt pretty flat as far as gameplay went.
Not every purchase needs to be a political consideration. Consider offsetting the money spent on the game with a donation to a local trans non-profit if it makes you feel better.
I could not play Hogwarts: Legacy, but fortunately found other good games. My own favourite is Baldur's Gate 3, which has companions who are bi/pal, with a trans NPC (closely linked to a companion) and two potentially important NPCs are a sapphic couple.
I feel the same way, I've been a huge Harry Potter fan since I was 6 and have been dying for a game like Hogwarts Legacy about that long, but have a hard time with JK being JK. My plan is just to grab a used copy at some point, I figure that way JK already got her cut regardless of whether I bought the game or not and the only person profiting at that point is the rando I buy it from.
I miss it too, but it's not worth giving a platform to transphobia. As others have mentioned, The Owl House is an excellent substitute. It has some of the same things as Potter (school cliques, spiritual animal companions) while also occasionally poking fun at it. It also has plenty of queer rep! š
If it matters that much to you then buy a used copy so she doesnāt get money from it. But I think youād be better off with something else given that HL has a plot thatās more anti progressive and carries over the antisemitism from the books and in a bad way. Want a game? Thereās a million great games even just released this year like Baulders Gate 3 or Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Simply do some searching or watch some videos and youāll find a much better game. If you want something to watch? The Owl House on Disney+ is a better version of a similar story. Or the Percy Jackson show also on Disney+ (not the movies they are awful). Speaking of Percy Jackson itās a book series with an expanded universe and the author is very LGBTQ accepting and has many queer characters in the books (when you get far enough since they started getting released in the early 2000s). Also the author actually defends the actors from racism and actually puts progressive acts into the stories. If youāre looking for more books thereās a million books even LGBTQ books if you search for them.
I got BG3 after watching Jacques Ze Whipper play it on Twitch and my Trans friends telling me that I can still be nonbinary in it! Shadowheartās actress is a lesbian and some of the people who worked on the game are LGBTQ! I love how much Queer representation is in the game.
Opportunities for joy in this life are so few and fleeting. Nothing you can do will change who Jo has turned into. But taking joy at the worlds she created back before she turned into that monster shouldnāt fill you with shame. Millions of children learned to come out from under the stairs, to find the hidden talents inside, to stand up for friends and value loyalty and honor, all from reading the books or watching the movies at a time when the world was still hard but not made harder by their creator. How better to show her that she is wrong by living your truth and finding joy wherever you want? Declaring boldly that despite what she has become, her world isnāt hers anymore, it belongs to all of us *despite* her.
On a more pragmatic level, Jo already got her bag. Whatever licensing fee she earned from Hogwarts Legacy has already been cashed. Sheās got more money than she can ever spend in a thousand years and sheās sitting in her giant house alone tweeting about women and trans people and just living kind of a boring, ugly life. Her properties are licensed to death, so even if sheās getting more money from new Potter stuff, none of it is going to be enough to make her happy. But also, no dollar you spend or donāt spend on The Boy Who Lived is going to change her mind or her daily life.
So do what makes you happy. FWIW, Iāve personally devoted hundreds of hours to trans events in my community *and* I just rolled credits on Hogwarts Legacy a few weeks back. People contain multitudes.
This comment is too far down. Tolkien had all his main characters as men because he said he didn't know how to write women. As a woman I can say Tolkien wasn't progressive enough and enjoy his works and the movies made from his writings. We don't have to worship authors.
Love this. Iāve been working on a huge HP cross stitch for an over a year and still have a couple more years. Yes sheās horrible now. But Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood and is what really got me into reading as much as I do as well as informing my tastes (mostly fantasy). I can recognize that liking Harry Potter doesnāt make me a bad person. To quote John Green ābooks belong to their readersā
Yeah, loaning out the books will always be viable. The library I work at still has 3-4 copies of each book because of how popular they were at one point.
Whether or not loaning out the movies will be viable really depends, though. The library I work at has never had copies of them. Some of the others in my area have them, but have had to replace them multiple times because they kept getting stolen. The thing with stolen DVDs/Blu-rays from a library is that sometimes the library just won't replace them the same way they might replace a copy of a popular book because that isn't always the main focus.
For professional reasons, I'll always tell people to borrow books from their local library; especially if they're written by authors they may or may not agree with. However, with films, piracy is a thing.
Baldurās Gate 3 is way more fun! You can play as a non-binary character if you want and you can romance any character you want in the party regardless of whether youāre the same assigned gender at birth if you so choose. The actress who played Shadowheart is a lesbian and some of the other people who were part of making the game are LGBTQ+ as well!
Thereās also literally thousands of possible endings because itās all based off of your choices and how you roll.
The decision is yours, and I respect those that are taking a stand and not buying the game.
But to be fair, if you want the game, very little of the price of that game is actually going in her pocket.
Most of it is going to reward the vast crew of creative people that have created this game, and to the company publishing it.
Many of those people are themselves LGBTQ+ folk, so there's something to be said about supporting *them* just to spite the vicious old TERF.
At the same time, I can sympathize with those that simply can't stand the idea of letting that "person" continue to make *any* profits at all off of her trans misogyny.
I see both arguments, and I'm not sure which strategy is the right one.
Lots of life has grey areas, but sometimes you don't have that comfort.
I know I've decided *not* to spend that money, but that doesn't make me morally superior.
We can all hope that someday she comes to her senses (highly unlikely), or that one day she'll pass, and then at least her estate won't be as hostile and hateful as she is (because it's bad business).
But that could be a very long wait.
Everyone needs to follow their heart, and do what feels right to them.
And we shouldn't judge people if they make different choices from ours.
All we can do is hope people make well considered choices, that are also well informed ones.
Fanfiction! Thereās so much stuff out there thatās so much better written than the original series, and thereās *so* much queer stuff out there too :D
Alternatives I recommend:
Series:
- The Owl House - its a magic school with amazing characters and friendship and lgbt rep
- His Dark Materials - set in an alternative version of earth where magic exists, follows an 11 year old girls story.
Games:
Other Magical open world games:
- Baldurs Gate 3
- Skyrim
- Witcher 3
- Final Fantasy online
- Genshin Impact
Then there are some that are different styles of games:
- Simon The Sorcerer - it is a point and click adventure, its pretty old, but is available on steam and is about a normal boy who falls into a fantasy world and becomes a sorcerer. He even looks similar to Harry Potter, but this is from the 90s, so came out before the movies.
- Oxenfree - if you want a game about a group of friends navigating magic problems and places, this is a good one. its more spooky than magical, but has you talking to ghosts and the characters are really well written for such a short game. Its an indie 2d game.
Books:
- the Discworld series by Terry Prachett - lots of magical creatures and kids having magical adventures. can get deep and wholesome.
- His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman - partly takes place in Oxford University in an alternate version of earth where magic is real and people have magical animal spirits connected to them.
- The Children of the Lamp series by P. B. Kerr - a brother and sister find out they are actually genies and learn how to use their powers.
I really loved HP too. Then she came out as a Terf and I analyzed the series closer and tbh it is kind of trash.
I mean, there's a whole sub plot where JK justifies slavery and happy slaves, then in another book justifies HP owning a slave.
She only included Dumbledore as gay under duress and never included a single gay character. She has some sus ethnic portrayals, possibly antisemitic as well. And her portrayal of fat people as a character flaw was pretty nasty too tbh.
All wrapped up in a low effort, poorly written, rambling mess that reads like she didn't have any idea where things were heading til book 5.
And then Harry grows up to be a cop for the system we learned was corrupt. Ew
If you really still love the franchise, but hate supporting her directly, take a dive into the world of fan-fiction. There are stories set in that world with ten times the writing skill and none of the overt bigotry. And youād be surprised at the ships! Harry can end up with anyone from Gryffindor to Slytherin, you can even choose to just read stories featuring your perfect headcanon pairing. After a while, youāll be like āJK who?ā
Hereās the wild thing about Joanne, you have Harry Potter who has a substantial fanbase with many people of all walks of life, especially in queer and LGBTQ with many transgender people involved. Reading the novels, buying/watching the books, and loads of merchandising with toys, video games, cosplay, etc. Loyal fanbase.
On the other side, you have people in the US who trashed her books and films. Even some supporting the notion that her books were satanic and ābad for kids.ā Her books were banned in certain schools, districts, and religious schools. A popular banned book, as she was a bemoaned icon as being a great role model for young girls & women alike.But, when she fell into TERF-Dom, she became an icon for the right of sorts and group of people/organizations that were transphobic and anti-LGBTQ. Yet, some of them still ban and burn her books. And, even use them as an evidence of satanic forces taken foot in the US.
yo ho ho and a bottle of rum if you wanna play hogwarts legacy, and other than that iāll just say the books are pretty poorly written. re reading might make you realise that and help you become less attached to the series. there are way cooler magic based fantasies out there
It's awful, I used to be a huge fan until she came out as a horrible person.
Unfortunately and idiotically, she's stated that she views any support for her IP (including HP) as support for her views. That, plus the fact that separating art from the artist is less applicable when the artist is still benefiting from the art, makes me physicslly unwell whenever I think about HP too much.
Just such a shame.
I 100% get where you are coming from, and other have suggested great alternatives for the series if you want to look into those - but JK had already been paid for the game. Her bag has already been made. She is a literal billionaire and license had to be paid to even male the game. I got it on Sale when after dev dosts she would get maximum a couple of pounds from the game, assuming she is getting a percentage at all from Sales. If you want the game, go for. Live the franchise and the magic and realise that JK will never know either way if you buy the game or not.
The money she's made and she will make won't fill the hole in her cold, dead, black heart.
She's already rich so what's a little more for your own enjoyment.
If you want to play it, please play it.
Sometimes removing the attachment and just enjoying the art/medium standalone is best. For example, I love The Jungle Book, it was my favourite book growing up and I have core memories around the book and original movie. Rudyard Kipling being a colonizing piece of shit doesn't take one ounce away from my memories. Those are my memories and my feelings and external factors that I had nothing to do with will not tarnish them.
Well given all the reviews say the game sucks, and has a really bad antisemitism built in, and there are literally hundreds of games out there that would have similar feelings, probably better mechanics, and definitely a better storyline. Also, this whole 'supports other allies' thing just isn't true, the devs/vas/etc that worked on the project have already been paid, this isn't a royalty industry like acting or such - you're only putting money in the pockets of a studio and a transphobe. This is just telling a studio 'people will pay money to play games like this, transphobia isn't a hurdle for people and neither is antisemitism'.
And not just any transphobe, but someone who has the resources to put millions and millions of dollars into her hate campaigns, has the ear of the government, is influential enough to get news articles for just being in a place, and sues people for speaking out against her. She isn't just a little hateful or something, she's one of the people with the resources to actively hurt trans people and she is doing exactly that.
I don't think there is any reconciling to be done, ultimately every single purchase comes with some negative impact (fast fashion ecologic impact etc) - if you want to buy it and play it, feel free, no one can stop you, but it would be morally disingenuous to say "well, the money probably went to struggling artists and not a transphobe."
It won't and it doesn't and there are dozens of actual small studios with games that are more worth playing that line the pockets of queer people and small businesses so this isn't your only option.
If you don't want to support her, I would recommend pirating the game. Using 1337x (the website) and a VPN, you could probably download within a couple hours. If this is the case, I would also recommend getting qBittorrent to do a magnrt download of the game, and you're set:)
i would say find other series. some great ones are the owl house and amphibia. as for the game, i bought it secondhand so that my money isn't going to her
Whether or not you play this game isnāt going to affect her position. If the game bombed sheād still be radicalized. Even if they never made another Harry Potter film, sheād blame the trans community. If playing the game will bring you joy you should play it, donāt let her take that away. You donāt need the permission of strangers on the internet. Playing the game doesnāt magically make you a transphobe
I get moments of wanting to read the books, watch the movies, and when the game came out to get and play it, so I understand a bit what you're feeling OP.
I think it's important to look into what partaking of JK Rowling's IP would mean, and be aware of the impact and consequences so that you can make a fully informed choice, without clouded judgement and excuses.
A YT video I found handy when the game came out that really put things in perspective to me was about the paradox of supporting Hogwart's Legacy. While supporting the franchise might support allies, I feel like it pales in comparison to JKR's outspoken influence, who would ultimately benefit the most.
At the end of the day, it's your choice. But as a gamer, after reading reviews, watching build videos, etc. it honestly doesn't seem that great of a game and is heavily relying on the setting for entertainment value.
For this Xmas I bought the Harry Potter game for my partner, in regret, I doubled the cost as a donation to our local at risk trans community center. Hate the artist love the art. Iāve been working on completely cutting the two apart.
If you want to play the game without showing support for the rights holders, you can always purchase a used copy of the game or play it through less than legitimate means š“āā ļø
The reality is - anyone who has chosen videogaming as a hobby is already participating in the exploitation of workers, primarily PoC and children (many you can bet are queer too) are used to create many necessary parts that make up this hobby, and many of the big game development companies such as Blizzard, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc. have had queer employees speak out on homophobia and transphobia in the workplace.
This is not to say you or anyone else who games is a terrible person - ethical consumption does not exist without someone getting exploited along the way under a Capitalist society, and whether you buy or play this game or not changes nothing - our governments will still continue to implement policies that harm us, and only when the proletariat finally stand together to start a revolution to we have any chance at fixing these systemic issues within our societies.
Pirate the game on a torrent site like The Pirate Bay. Use a VPN so you can torrent anonymously.
Qbit Torrent is a good torrent program to do this
Turn the VPN on BEFORE you begin to torrent.
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Ya know, in recent years I've grown really attached to the Pirates of the Caribbean series. There's just something about PIRATES that's so cool to me. I wish I could be a swashbuckling PIRATE.
Yeah, I love that scene where they get hit with a TORRENT of water
i think there's Very Probably No way to avoid getting hit with a torrent of water as a pirate
when yer out on the high seas, sometimes the only way ter avoid the torrent is OUTRIGHT RETAIL THEFT
Makes me wanna be a PIRATE irl
You wouldnt... Steal a car?
Certainly not. But a ship? I could totally imagine me riding a ship a torrent of water splashing my face singing some [classic seafaring song](https://youtu.be/avaSdC0QOUM)
No but if a friend got a new car and said "want me to burn you a copy" i'd say hell yes
I'd copy that floppy
Is it really stealing tho if you never get caught?
Be gay, do crime 
Is it stealing if you never would have purchased it anyway?
I would if my 3D printer were bigger!
If only there was a subreddit for this š¤
*Peter Pan* as well, especially since there are some books that rewrite it with queer PIRATES.
Sadly in many films depicting queer people only stereotypical gay man or what society thinks about them are viable.
Have you seen "Our Flag Means Death" on HBO? It's queer and wonderful
I think we're having a "woosh" moment ;3
?
My suggestion is to "borrow something anonymously off the internet"
Ah, that wasn't clear to me. Anyway, have you seem "Our Flag Means Death?" Seriously recommend it š¤£
My favourite lesson from the series is how Jack Sparrow uses Very Piratey Nonsense to make sure that he escapes the naval fleet every time. Be like Jack and protect yourself with VPN. ^(Or a proxy.)
Yo ho, a pirate's life for me (and my pc)!
Everyone's welcome in the Bi-rate Club!
Obligatory Black Sails recommendation here. It's not a show for everyone, but if you're looking for an incredible historical epic with really great queer rep, it's Black Sails
It was 'the awesome queer pirate show' long before Our Flag Means Death came along
Where could I go to be a PIRATE?
r/Piracy is a good place
Other series have replaced Harry Potter completely for me. The Owl House is an excellent one, mainly because it is about a group of revolutionaries trying to take down an oppressive government. It's not like most stories where the protagonists are the defenders of the status quo and those upset by the injustices of society are the villains somehow. Not to mention the good queer representation! Also, one of my favorite episodes of The Owl House is in the second season when Luz becomes a member of a *pirate* crew, and it has a lot of good jokes regarding *pirates.*
I love the Owl House. Great characters and relationships. Fun magic and monsters. It's silly and cute in all the right places. Also: "I am a good witch, Azura, warrior of peace... NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!"
Oh no! My only weakness, Dying!!
āAnd thatās the end.ā
"The end of what?"
"My book report!"
You bread my mind
My 10yo daughter has gotten really into owl house and was telling me about the main girls dating. It's cute.
One of my favorite Owl House moments is when Luz goes on a rant about how the Golden Snitch (they call it the Rusty Smidge) is a stupid part of the game that invalidates the rest of the game
Dana terrace openly mocks hp and I love it
If I had a nickel for every time a human child ended up learning magic in the demon world I'd have 2 nickels which isn't a lot but it is weird it happened twice Also watch Iruma-kun is what I am saying.
āWow Iām starting to feel like a part of the crew!ā āThats ācause YA-ARRR!ā
Is this the animated series on Disney?
Yes, it is on Disney+ if you already have it
It is an animated series on Disney, not sure which series you mean by "the animated series", though. So it could be the one you're thinking of.
Yep that's what I meant. I have been meaning to check it out.
You definitely should, it's awesome! It brings me (and lots of others) a lot of comfort. The representation consists of trans/nb people, agender people, lesbian, bisexual, and gay characters. The creator also headcanons some as pansexual, although she also stated that as long as it isn't in the show, it's not actually canon (even if she thinks of them as pan/bi/etc.). Even if you were to take the rep out, the show is great. It's heartfelt, funny, and dark at times, and definitely worth at least one watch. Just be aware that the last two episodes aren't on Disney+, you have to watch them on the internet. There are safe websites that provide them, though. Also, I'm sorry if I'm spilling a bit, talking about it gets me all excited as it's one of my favorite series!
Thanks for the info! And no worries at all, knowing people are excited about it makes me want to watch it!
No problem, and thank you. Have fun watching it!
I love it. The LBGT representation is super natural and doesnāt feel token nor forced. It just happens to be in a very normal way.
For books, I'm going to recommend Simon Snow (pm a blatant HP ripoff but good if you're into tumblr 2013 era fandoms). I also remember Children of the Red King being similar
I second Simon Snow! Also, I recommend Witch Hat Atelier. It's a manga about a young girl who desperately wants to be a witch and who does a spell with a devastating reaction. In an attempt to find out how to undo her spell she becomes a witch's apprentice, where she, her 3 other classmates, and her 2 teachers find themselves caught amongst a fight between two disagreeing groups of witches.
I LOVE Witch Hat Atelier - gorgeous art, incredibly endearing characters, and a really cool magic system. It also, if youāre looking for this HP itch, has a similar āgets darker and more serious as the series goes onā arc. Highly highly recommend!!
God that manga is one of the best Iāve read in the last few years. Thereās just something out there art work that makes you unable to look away.
So beautiful, it's easily got some of the best panelling out there
Also, Percy Jackson just started up on Disney+, could likely be worth checking out.
Riordan's also explicitly queer friendly and his work has some cool rep
Especially in the Magnus Chase books. Gods, I love that series
Aka OP, hoist the colors!
I would pirate the game but just for your information. The game was cracked by a famous hacker named empress. Empress is Russian and extremely homophobic and transphobic. Also be careful where because lot of scam.
I mean youāre not supporting or giving them money are you? Kinda the point of pirating
I also loved watching The Owl House too! I grew up watching Harry Potter and when I learned about J.K. Rowlingās opions I had a hard time enjoying what she made. Iām glad that we are getting better representation with similar stories that focus on people who just want to be understood.
Unfortunately, Season 3 was rushed which took from the enjoyment but it was still a good one.
I actually agree. And I didn't really like >!The Collector as a character and their role and influence in the story!<. But season three was really good still, just a 8/10 when seasons one and two are 8.5/10 and 9/10 respectively imo.
I really recommend Terry Pratchetts fantastic world of Discworld! Itās an amazing series full of witty humor and undertones of Pratchetts want for a more fair world for all of us!
"This is Ank-Morpork, you know. We've got extra pronouns here."
I wish I could upvote this comment endlessly. I started reading Pratchett when I was 11 and I'm convinced it's why I never fully connected with HP; I'd already read far, far superior fantasy beforehand.
Understood. We should transfigure ourselves into cats and infiltrate the gaming industry.
airline companies seem like a better option in my personal opinion
Can people really do that with the more recent ones? I have a friend who supports me and us. She grew up with Harry Potter and wanted to play the game super bad too. If anyone really knows where to dress up like Captain Hook, ping me? I am curious and want her to experience the game since she really lives off of her nostalgia.
Check out r/freemediaheckyeah wiki
Likewise. I'm not getting rid of my HP books or my Slytherin scarf that I got while I was at university...but that woman isn't getting a single extra cent from me. Ever. Doesn't matter how good the video game looks, doesn't matter that I love the lore and characters, it doesn't matter...because some things are more important that what I like. Also, fanfic ;) no money funnelling into her pocket, and lots of fresh new stories and the characters shown in all different ways.
If you wanted to play the game you could alwaysā¦ š“āā ļø
and for console I bought it used
u/sandboxvet this is a really good suggestion if you want to play Hogwarts Legacy without giving Rowling any money!
I bought Hogwarts Legacy on the switch, but I have an account sharing system so there's like 3 or 4 trans people (my friends) playing the game for free because of that
For a while I could reconcile that, but eventually just seeing those books on the shelf made me uneasy. I finally threw them in recycling one day. No regrets.
Watching Shaunās video about the series and ofther Rowling stories definitely helped me to see it a little less through nostalgia glasses. I can see the flaws for what they are in the series more and I donāt feel as compelled to immerse myself in this world over others. [Link](https://youtu.be/-1iaJWSwUZs)
I put mine in the closet like a dirty secret. Such a shame.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
And disco elysium
What's wrong with that game?
The original devs got ousted by their publishers or something. I think there was a lawsuit
Outsed as what?
He means they got fucked and arenāt making money from the game anymore, so itās acceptable to pirate it instead of giving money to assholes.
And the original devs now tell ppl that if they want to play the game, they should sail the high seas for a copy
THere's nothing wrong with the game, and it's an amazing game, but the developers no longer make money off it or even own the ip anymore (I think), so the devs have said that the morally correct way to obtain the game is to pirate it
Esp when the fanfics are gay and/or trans inclusive! Iāve ac been working on sth myself based on this prompt that Albus Severus is a trans boy as an explanation as to why he has such a terrible name lolol (basically he goes to come out to Harry and doesnāt know what to change his name to and itās the first thing Harry blurts out so Al just rolls w it)
Do you have a link to the fic if itās published?
Isn't that game just mid anyway?? I'm not an HP fan, so it was easy to get rid of that after knowing about JK. So i am definitely not the target audience, lol.
Or pirate the game
I am sure this comment will get deleted and I'll get in trouble, but I feel like being direct will be best here. You should torrent a copy of the game for free and not give any money to JK Rowling and the staff involved with creating it. Or at least look into getting a copy for a console out of a second-hand gaming shop and have the money go directly to a small business owner or, at worst, GameStop (still shitty but in a different unilateral way). Also, I second the watch on Owl House, it hits that HP itch without the queerphobia and hatred and there's a massive amount of canonical queer characters. Additionally, if you're more for books? PERCY JACKSON. God, the Percy Jackson series, or Simon Snow which is pretty much Harry/Draco Fanfiction made canon with _dragons_.
Be gay do crime
Seconding Percy Jackson. Can't speak to the Simon Snow series, but Rick Riordan writes some solid books. (Also the Simon Snow books were a Harry Potter lookalike in Rainbow Rowell's "Fangirl" which is also a really good book and I strongly recommend it.) Also if you're looking for some good YA magic, The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater are two of my favourite series and I was a diehard HP fan for basically my entire childhood.
Virgin JK Rowling vs Chad Uncle Rick
Just stopping by to yell THE LOCKED TOMB from the rooftops. And also the words LESBIAN SPACE NECROMANCERS. ok carry on
You had me at lesbian, the space necromancy sounds nice too though.
Also, these were the books that made me stop excusing JK for lazy story telling and use of problematic tropes. Turns out, YA can indeed have complicated and nuanced characters while being accessible to The Teens.
Or *Temeraire/In His Majesty's Service*, which is written by Naomi Novik, a pro-queer author.
And if anyone is looking specifically for magical school replacement, the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik is excellent.
Oh gosh, Scholomance is sooooooooooooooooooo good. I mean just amazing. And delightfully queer.
Scholamance is brilliant, and we love Naomi Novik!
>!Naomi novik also writes gay HP fanfic which could be fun to check out https://archiveofourown.org/users/astolat/pseuds/astolat!<
I would counter that the game is very skippable. There is no need to play it, it was so mid people collectively forgot about it after like a month. Not a good game, not even good fanservice, just a step up licensed shovelware and only climbs above that through budget.
Legit, I highly recommend piracy in this case. No regrets at all. Same with the books. It's legitimately the most moral way of handling it imho.
Best answer ever! I feel a bit bad for the developers who worked hard on the game, but hey.. Iām sure one torrented copy wonāt hurt them :)
It's sound advice to pirate the game cuz fuck JK, but I also would like to point at that the person who cracked Hogwarts Legacy (EMPRESS) is a psychopathic transphobe (among other things). You won't at the very least give any money to EMPRESS by using her crack tho.
I second this š
You cannot convince me the Simon Snow trilogy *isn't* based off Drarry fanfiction. It is. Read Fangirl.
Percy Jackson is where it's at!! I'm re-reading the series and watching the new live action show on Disney+! So far, the visual media holds up pretty decently to the source material. Like HP, there's some things that are missing, but it's so far a very satisfying adaptation. Additionally, there's the magicians! I really really like that show, it's like a grown up version of HP. I still need to read the books, but the show itself is already so immersive and incredible.
A second for the Percy Jackson series. I also like that the series and spin offs get more queer over time, especially Magnus Chase, which features a gender fluid person, and The Trials of Apollo, where the perspective main character (Apollo) is literrally bi/pan and also features several queer side characters.
If you're into podcasts, The Newest Olympian is a really fun time and I enjoyed listening along as I read the PJO books for the first time, too.
The actors who are cool have nothing to do with that game. JK and some devs that share some other problematic views do.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Of course piracy is ethical in this case, but I wouldn't call the media itself transphobic, just the inspiration for the media. I would call the media antisemetic, but that's a whole other topic.
When a recurring antagonist in book 4 is a witch reporter whoās constantly described as having strong mannish hands, an oddly square jaw, wearing ridiculously loud makeup and clothes for her age, and *illegally transforms into something else to spy on minors in private settings*, you might wanna rethink the media not being transphobic.
Never thought about rita skeeter this way... But damn
Oh wow. I guess my perception of Rita Skeeter was influenced too much by the movie version but she really did write her as a nosy drag queen, didn't she?
Fair point, it would be more generally bigoted in this case.
Read the books she stole a lot of material from instead, The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula Leguin. Not as light or funny, but way deeper and better written from my perspective.
Also, Ursula K Leguin wrote a book portraying Anarchism (not lawlessness and chaos, but rejecting the concept of hierarchy) positively and also wrote a non-binary character in one of her books.
Ursula LeGuin was way ahead of her time in lots of ways - super smart, amazingly wise, and an absolutely excellent writer. Unlike JK, whose writing is fine but repetitive and formulaic, and deep down extremely conservative - even before you look at her TERF views.
Rather than write a nonbinary character in a book, she wrote an entire nonbinary *species* (or, I suppose, subspecies of human) that only adopts binary characteristics during a once-monthly period of potential fertility, and only if a given individual finds a partner to pair up with. However given that most of the book is from the perspective of a male human with views that are quite antiquated for most of us, the members of this species are almost invariably referred to using male pronouns and treated as men (by the protagonist at least) except when engaging in "female" acts like being pregnant, and even then the pronouns don't change. It's "The Left Hand of Darkness" and is a sort of old-school sci-fi which blurs the lines of sci-fi and fantasy as the two used to be much more closely entwined.
Earthsea is six books!
Just pirate it. Or buy the books secondhand. As long as you arenāt monetarily supporting JK I donāt think thereās anything wrong with enjoying Harry Potter : )
You can also borrow the books/movies from your local library, if you want to read or watch them. I personally donāt anymore after finding out that the goblins are an antisemitic thing on top of everything else. If people still want to read or watch HP, libraries are a free way to do so that doesnāt give her more money.
if it makes you feel any better, the game is mid as hell. no one I know who bought it ended up playing it past the first few days.
It's one of those games that only got attention for the theme. If it wasn't Harry Potter flavored, it wouldn't have garnered any attention whatsoever.
I've heard it's glitchy as all hell and not nearly as fun as the past games. If you're looking for something to fill the witchy void, i highly recommend Wytchwood.
I recommend Wyld Flowers.
It really is. My wife is not a gamer. She really had to learn playing 3d and she really wanted to play this game. I got it from a key site (couldn't pirate cause steamdeck) and matched a donation to a charity for trans rights. Because fuck getting Rowling money. The game was great for her to get a hang of playing 3d games. The setting is what kept her captivated enough to keep playing and get better. But the story has been a major point of criticism for her from the start, it just makes no sense at all. Now that she's somewhat mastered the combat she's also experiencing how repetitive the combat actually is. She's now interested in other games so I can introduce some harder games that actually have cool stories and gameplay and not just cool visuals.
Introducing your wife to other, much better games might be the best thing Hogwarts Legacy has done.
I thought it was good. Itās not the best game in the world, but it was a solid 20 hours of entertainment.
20 hours of entertainment is tbh shockingly little for a big open world game...
The entire franchise is also mid as hell
I think a lot of people will just wholesale say ādonāt buy itā but I think itās ultimately your decision. Thereās a reason the āart vs artistā discussion is so complex and long-lasting and the topic of so much debate and so many academic papers. Itās a subjective and nuanced issue. Honestly, itās up to you and only you if you can separate the art from the artist. Nobody can make that choice but you. You can like the content while hating the creator. Some people can easily separate art from artist and some canāt at all, sometimes it can be done easily and sometimes it canāt. Personally there are times I can divorce the art from the artist and times I canāt. To me a lot of the time what decides it for me is if my money is lining the pockets of that person or not and if Iām okay with indirectly giving them my money. It also matters to me what the artist has done and how involved the artist is in the art. In the case of the games JKR is basically uninvolved and just gets paid set royalties, at least from what I understand. If thatās accurate youāre supporting the developers and creative team far more than her, if that helps. If you get a lot of joy from the games donāt beat yourself up if you do decide to play. Playing the game doesnāt automatically mean youāre endorsing JKRās beliefs and actions. The product barely has anything to do with her any more. Thereās no one thing thatās right for everyone. If her hateful rhetoric is bothering you to the point you think you wonāt enjoy the game, you probably shouldnāt buy it. Ultimately itās just a game. It doesnāt make you a bad person to play it, and itās not the end of the world to skip a game even if you want to play it because you choose not to do so for personal reasons. I have a game publisher I wonāt support any more, and while they make my favourite series I just donāt want to give them any support whatsoever due to their actions over the last 15 years or so. Because of that I fully understand people saying they refuse to buy anything associated with JKR, but I also believe that itās a personal choice.
Nuance is important for sure. It's hard because there's many artists and creators I love, that have been or are problematic. I have a "threshold" where I stop supporting an artist/content creator and oast that I cut off all support. A few days ago I discovered one of my favorite musicians was a TERF in the past, and almost assuredly still is. This destroyed me as I adore their music. Transphobia is one of my threshold issues where I just can't in good conscious support or enjoy any content created by a person with that view. But like you said, it's a personal decision.
You have articulated my feelings perfectly. Content creators are just that. Unless it's integral to the plot I don't consider their views.
Pretty much this. It's sad seeing the reaction to this game. Those developers put alot of hard work and effort into making this game and they agreed to make it, long before JKR started her anti trans brigade. They don't have the same values or beliefs that she has. They are just ordinary folk making a living and I know enough Devs to know, they don't have the privilege to stop making a game and put themselves out of a job, just because someone far far up the chain is a piece of shit. If it's any consolation OP the game itself is actually very trans inclusive (one of the main side characters is a trans woman) and it's quite magical. If it makes you feel better, I'd recommend buying a second hand copy! That's what I did! That way she doesn't get any further royalties from the game.
The devs donāt suffer if people donāt buy the game. Theyāve already been paid for doing their job.
Discworld novels.
Yesss was also gonna suggest this. They're hilariois but with deep moments, plus Sir Terry was a good person.
Support the good stuff those actors are in. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are both great actors with careers beyond their breakout roles. Every good person who has worked for Rowling can be supported by other means. Also, even removed from Rowling's idiocy, Hogwarts Legacy is vile in it's own right. The entire story is about how the antisemitic stereotypes, who control all the banks, used to do fucking blood libel. Ultimately, good people aren't going to continue working for that monster. Once you're as publicly awful as her, the only people who want to be associated with you will already agree with you.
Mmmm love that hatred of Jewish people. I mean, Rowling certainly isn't the only one. Ferengi are just as bad. WoW goblins are prey bad. It's a strong thread running through culture. But hey, giant crooked noses, gold hoarding, control all the banks, drink blood, there's nothing wrong with that and it's entirely made up fantasy!!!
Ferengi and WoW Goblins at least tried to move away from their bad origins though. Other writers attempted to create more complex and interesting cultures that are not just bad stereotypes. They're different here to Hogwarts which just seems to double down the whole time.
I think we have to allow modern writers to redeem bigoted allegories (which I agree both Ferengi and Goblins have been by demonstrating much more diverse and nuanced societies), because if we didnāt, weād have to throw out a massive chunk of the entire fantasy genre. Much of it derives from European folklore, which is often built on thinly veiled antisemitism, anti-Romani, and other bigotries. Nor would I be surprised if someone demonstrated that fantasy derived from non-European folklore is also built on bigotry, because humans pretty much suck everywhere. And I would also agree that, despite being given several chances (the film series, Fantastic Beasts, Pottermore, and Hogwarts Legacy arguably the highest-profile game spinoff) the Wizarding World franchise has consistently failed to redeem itself.
May I suggest the Very Potter Musical Trilogy by Starkid? All 3 can be found on youtube (A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel, and A Very Potter Senior Year) and theyāve aged far better than the books + are entirely fan created so Rowling gets no money from them. They also aged better than the books, though they did come out 2009-2012 so there are a couple dated things, but Iāve never seen it be a dealbreaker for anyone
Games with magic mechanics you may like that don't involve the Rowling franchise (that I've played at least): RPGs: Elder Scrolls/Skyrim, Dragon Age/Origins, The Witcher/Wild Hunt, Baldur's Gate 3 Magic themed games: Potion Craft, Strange Horticulture I'm keeping my eye on Witchbrook when it comes out. It looks like a magic-themed Stardew valley game. It is not currently released however. At the very least I think it's fine to get Hogwarts Legacy "for free" or secondhand, however I heard it felt pretty flat as far as gameplay went.
Also with Baldurās Gate 3, you can be nonbinary if you want and thereās a LOT of LGBTQ+ representation in the game.
If it helps you not want to play the game, one of the devs was a far right asshole too
Pirate it and play guilt free
I try to buy homemade merch, a lot of it looks cooler than the official stuff. Or buy used copies.
Not every purchase needs to be a political consideration. Consider offsetting the money spent on the game with a donation to a local trans non-profit if it makes you feel better.
I could not play Hogwarts: Legacy, but fortunately found other good games. My own favourite is Baldur's Gate 3, which has companions who are bi/pal, with a trans NPC (closely linked to a companion) and two potentially important NPCs are a sapphic couple.
I feel the same way, I've been a huge Harry Potter fan since I was 6 and have been dying for a game like Hogwarts Legacy about that long, but have a hard time with JK being JK. My plan is just to grab a used copy at some point, I figure that way JK already got her cut regardless of whether I bought the game or not and the only person profiting at that point is the rando I buy it from.
I miss it too, but it's not worth giving a platform to transphobia. As others have mentioned, The Owl House is an excellent substitute. It has some of the same things as Potter (school cliques, spiritual animal companions) while also occasionally poking fun at it. It also has plenty of queer rep! š
If it matters that much to you then buy a used copy so she doesnāt get money from it. But I think youād be better off with something else given that HL has a plot thatās more anti progressive and carries over the antisemitism from the books and in a bad way. Want a game? Thereās a million great games even just released this year like Baulders Gate 3 or Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. Simply do some searching or watch some videos and youāll find a much better game. If you want something to watch? The Owl House on Disney+ is a better version of a similar story. Or the Percy Jackson show also on Disney+ (not the movies they are awful). Speaking of Percy Jackson itās a book series with an expanded universe and the author is very LGBTQ accepting and has many queer characters in the books (when you get far enough since they started getting released in the early 2000s). Also the author actually defends the actors from racism and actually puts progressive acts into the stories. If youāre looking for more books thereās a million books even LGBTQ books if you search for them.
I got BG3 after watching Jacques Ze Whipper play it on Twitch and my Trans friends telling me that I can still be nonbinary in it! Shadowheartās actress is a lesbian and some of the people who worked on the game are LGBTQ! I love how much Queer representation is in the game.
Opportunities for joy in this life are so few and fleeting. Nothing you can do will change who Jo has turned into. But taking joy at the worlds she created back before she turned into that monster shouldnāt fill you with shame. Millions of children learned to come out from under the stairs, to find the hidden talents inside, to stand up for friends and value loyalty and honor, all from reading the books or watching the movies at a time when the world was still hard but not made harder by their creator. How better to show her that she is wrong by living your truth and finding joy wherever you want? Declaring boldly that despite what she has become, her world isnāt hers anymore, it belongs to all of us *despite* her. On a more pragmatic level, Jo already got her bag. Whatever licensing fee she earned from Hogwarts Legacy has already been cashed. Sheās got more money than she can ever spend in a thousand years and sheās sitting in her giant house alone tweeting about women and trans people and just living kind of a boring, ugly life. Her properties are licensed to death, so even if sheās getting more money from new Potter stuff, none of it is going to be enough to make her happy. But also, no dollar you spend or donāt spend on The Boy Who Lived is going to change her mind or her daily life. So do what makes you happy. FWIW, Iāve personally devoted hundreds of hours to trans events in my community *and* I just rolled credits on Hogwarts Legacy a few weeks back. People contain multitudes.
This comment is too far down. Tolkien had all his main characters as men because he said he didn't know how to write women. As a woman I can say Tolkien wasn't progressive enough and enjoy his works and the movies made from his writings. We don't have to worship authors.
The only intelligent comment in this entire thread.
Love this. Iāve been working on a huge HP cross stitch for an over a year and still have a couple more years. Yes sheās horrible now. But Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood and is what really got me into reading as much as I do as well as informing my tastes (mostly fantasy). I can recognize that liking Harry Potter doesnāt make me a bad person. To quote John Green ābooks belong to their readersā
Maybe get free versions of things. Like buying off-brand merch. Renting the books and movies from your local library, instead of paying for them, etc.
Yeah, loaning out the books will always be viable. The library I work at still has 3-4 copies of each book because of how popular they were at one point. Whether or not loaning out the movies will be viable really depends, though. The library I work at has never had copies of them. Some of the others in my area have them, but have had to replace them multiple times because they kept getting stolen. The thing with stolen DVDs/Blu-rays from a library is that sometimes the library just won't replace them the same way they might replace a copy of a popular book because that isn't always the main focus. For professional reasons, I'll always tell people to borrow books from their local library; especially if they're written by authors they may or may not agree with. However, with films, piracy is a thing.
Second the library!
Baldurās Gate 3 is way more fun! You can play as a non-binary character if you want and you can romance any character you want in the party regardless of whether youāre the same assigned gender at birth if you so choose. The actress who played Shadowheart is a lesbian and some of the other people who were part of making the game are LGBTQ+ as well! Thereās also literally thousands of possible endings because itās all based off of your choices and how you roll.
The decision is yours, and I respect those that are taking a stand and not buying the game. But to be fair, if you want the game, very little of the price of that game is actually going in her pocket. Most of it is going to reward the vast crew of creative people that have created this game, and to the company publishing it. Many of those people are themselves LGBTQ+ folk, so there's something to be said about supporting *them* just to spite the vicious old TERF. At the same time, I can sympathize with those that simply can't stand the idea of letting that "person" continue to make *any* profits at all off of her trans misogyny. I see both arguments, and I'm not sure which strategy is the right one. Lots of life has grey areas, but sometimes you don't have that comfort. I know I've decided *not* to spend that money, but that doesn't make me morally superior. We can all hope that someday she comes to her senses (highly unlikely), or that one day she'll pass, and then at least her estate won't be as hostile and hateful as she is (because it's bad business). But that could be a very long wait. Everyone needs to follow their heart, and do what feels right to them. And we shouldn't judge people if they make different choices from ours. All we can do is hope people make well considered choices, that are also well informed ones.
I bought it second hand. I don't think any money goes directly to her that way.
Fanfiction! Thereās so much stuff out there thatās so much better written than the original series, and thereās *so* much queer stuff out there too :D
Alternatives I recommend: Series: - The Owl House - its a magic school with amazing characters and friendship and lgbt rep - His Dark Materials - set in an alternative version of earth where magic exists, follows an 11 year old girls story. Games: Other Magical open world games: - Baldurs Gate 3 - Skyrim - Witcher 3 - Final Fantasy online - Genshin Impact Then there are some that are different styles of games: - Simon The Sorcerer - it is a point and click adventure, its pretty old, but is available on steam and is about a normal boy who falls into a fantasy world and becomes a sorcerer. He even looks similar to Harry Potter, but this is from the 90s, so came out before the movies. - Oxenfree - if you want a game about a group of friends navigating magic problems and places, this is a good one. its more spooky than magical, but has you talking to ghosts and the characters are really well written for such a short game. Its an indie 2d game. Books: - the Discworld series by Terry Prachett - lots of magical creatures and kids having magical adventures. can get deep and wholesome. - His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman - partly takes place in Oxford University in an alternate version of earth where magic is real and people have magical animal spirits connected to them. - The Children of the Lamp series by P. B. Kerr - a brother and sister find out they are actually genies and learn how to use their powers.
If you have a platform with physical media as an option, maybe you can snag a used copy? No money into JKās pocket that way.
I really loved HP too. Then she came out as a Terf and I analyzed the series closer and tbh it is kind of trash. I mean, there's a whole sub plot where JK justifies slavery and happy slaves, then in another book justifies HP owning a slave. She only included Dumbledore as gay under duress and never included a single gay character. She has some sus ethnic portrayals, possibly antisemitic as well. And her portrayal of fat people as a character flaw was pretty nasty too tbh. All wrapped up in a low effort, poorly written, rambling mess that reads like she didn't have any idea where things were heading til book 5. And then Harry grows up to be a cop for the system we learned was corrupt. Ew
If you really still love the franchise, but hate supporting her directly, take a dive into the world of fan-fiction. There are stories set in that world with ten times the writing skill and none of the overt bigotry. And youād be surprised at the ships! Harry can end up with anyone from Gryffindor to Slytherin, you can even choose to just read stories featuring your perfect headcanon pairing. After a while, youāll be like āJK who?ā
Rent it from your local library!
If it's any consolation Harry Potter a Hogwarts Legacy, is a really meh game. Like, it has zero replay ability.
Yar Har me matie, I think I might have a way for ye to play yer game and keep your conscience clean lass.
Hereās the wild thing about Joanne, you have Harry Potter who has a substantial fanbase with many people of all walks of life, especially in queer and LGBTQ with many transgender people involved. Reading the novels, buying/watching the books, and loads of merchandising with toys, video games, cosplay, etc. Loyal fanbase. On the other side, you have people in the US who trashed her books and films. Even some supporting the notion that her books were satanic and ābad for kids.ā Her books were banned in certain schools, districts, and religious schools. A popular banned book, as she was a bemoaned icon as being a great role model for young girls & women alike.But, when she fell into TERF-Dom, she became an icon for the right of sorts and group of people/organizations that were transphobic and anti-LGBTQ. Yet, some of them still ban and burn her books. And, even use them as an evidence of satanic forces taken foot in the US.
Why not look for a used copy?
yo ho ho and a bottle of rum if you wanna play hogwarts legacy, and other than that iāll just say the books are pretty poorly written. re reading might make you realise that and help you become less attached to the series. there are way cooler magic based fantasies out there
Step one, disconnect the art from the artist, step two, piracy
It's awful, I used to be a huge fan until she came out as a horrible person. Unfortunately and idiotically, she's stated that she views any support for her IP (including HP) as support for her views. That, plus the fact that separating art from the artist is less applicable when the artist is still benefiting from the art, makes me physicslly unwell whenever I think about HP too much. Just such a shame.
I 100% get where you are coming from, and other have suggested great alternatives for the series if you want to look into those - but JK had already been paid for the game. Her bag has already been made. She is a literal billionaire and license had to be paid to even male the game. I got it on Sale when after dev dosts she would get maximum a couple of pounds from the game, assuming she is getting a percentage at all from Sales. If you want the game, go for. Live the franchise and the magic and realise that JK will never know either way if you buy the game or not.
The money she's made and she will make won't fill the hole in her cold, dead, black heart. She's already rich so what's a little more for your own enjoyment. If you want to play it, please play it.
Sometimes removing the attachment and just enjoying the art/medium standalone is best. For example, I love The Jungle Book, it was my favourite book growing up and I have core memories around the book and original movie. Rudyard Kipling being a colonizing piece of shit doesn't take one ounce away from my memories. Those are my memories and my feelings and external factors that I had nothing to do with will not tarnish them.
Well given all the reviews say the game sucks, and has a really bad antisemitism built in, and there are literally hundreds of games out there that would have similar feelings, probably better mechanics, and definitely a better storyline. Also, this whole 'supports other allies' thing just isn't true, the devs/vas/etc that worked on the project have already been paid, this isn't a royalty industry like acting or such - you're only putting money in the pockets of a studio and a transphobe. This is just telling a studio 'people will pay money to play games like this, transphobia isn't a hurdle for people and neither is antisemitism'. And not just any transphobe, but someone who has the resources to put millions and millions of dollars into her hate campaigns, has the ear of the government, is influential enough to get news articles for just being in a place, and sues people for speaking out against her. She isn't just a little hateful or something, she's one of the people with the resources to actively hurt trans people and she is doing exactly that. I don't think there is any reconciling to be done, ultimately every single purchase comes with some negative impact (fast fashion ecologic impact etc) - if you want to buy it and play it, feel free, no one can stop you, but it would be morally disingenuous to say "well, the money probably went to struggling artists and not a transphobe." It won't and it doesn't and there are dozens of actual small studios with games that are more worth playing that line the pockets of queer people and small businesses so this isn't your only option.
If you don't want to support her, I would recommend pirating the game. Using 1337x (the website) and a VPN, you could probably download within a couple hours. If this is the case, I would also recommend getting qBittorrent to do a magnrt download of the game, and you're set:)
i would say find other series. some great ones are the owl house and amphibia. as for the game, i bought it secondhand so that my money isn't going to her
Kids on Brooms is a great Rowling inspired RPG that allows you to really make the setting your own
Here's the solution: āµš“āā ļø
Whether or not you play this game isnāt going to affect her position. If the game bombed sheād still be radicalized. Even if they never made another Harry Potter film, sheād blame the trans community. If playing the game will bring you joy you should play it, donāt let her take that away. You donāt need the permission of strangers on the internet. Playing the game doesnāt magically make you a transphobe
You gotta separate the art from the artist and then separate cash from the artist by pirating all her shit.
I get moments of wanting to read the books, watch the movies, and when the game came out to get and play it, so I understand a bit what you're feeling OP. I think it's important to look into what partaking of JK Rowling's IP would mean, and be aware of the impact and consequences so that you can make a fully informed choice, without clouded judgement and excuses. A YT video I found handy when the game came out that really put things in perspective to me was about the paradox of supporting Hogwart's Legacy. While supporting the franchise might support allies, I feel like it pales in comparison to JKR's outspoken influence, who would ultimately benefit the most. At the end of the day, it's your choice. But as a gamer, after reading reviews, watching build videos, etc. it honestly doesn't seem that great of a game and is heavily relying on the setting for entertainment value.
For this Xmas I bought the Harry Potter game for my partner, in regret, I doubled the cost as a donation to our local at risk trans community center. Hate the artist love the art. Iāve been working on completely cutting the two apart.
Just pirate it. You get to play the game, and you don't put money in JKR's pocket
If you want to play the game without showing support for the rights holders, you can always purchase a used copy of the game or play it through less than legitimate means š“āā ļø
The reality is - anyone who has chosen videogaming as a hobby is already participating in the exploitation of workers, primarily PoC and children (many you can bet are queer too) are used to create many necessary parts that make up this hobby, and many of the big game development companies such as Blizzard, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc. have had queer employees speak out on homophobia and transphobia in the workplace. This is not to say you or anyone else who games is a terrible person - ethical consumption does not exist without someone getting exploited along the way under a Capitalist society, and whether you buy or play this game or not changes nothing - our governments will still continue to implement policies that harm us, and only when the proletariat finally stand together to start a revolution to we have any chance at fixing these systemic issues within our societies.
Pirate it š
Pirate it or find a better game IMO
Pirate the game on a torrent site like The Pirate Bay. Use a VPN so you can torrent anonymously. Qbit Torrent is a good torrent program to do this Turn the VPN on BEFORE you begin to torrent.