Our Shadow Artist In Residence - Абрикос Абрикосовый – Continues Series Of Drawings

Art by Essi Välimäki

Your thoughts on wolfstar? I did not find anything in your marauders master post on it. It's just... such a weird pairing for me. I don't understand why it is weird for me, and at the same time I don't understand why people ship them.

I address them somewhat here.

As for asking me about pairings, well, I'll give my two cents but keep in mind that you're better off asking a shipper. If you want the how's and why's of someone loving this pairing, then it's best to go to the source.

I'm just here for the heresy of it all.

Thoughts on Remus/Sirius

Regardless, I don't see it. Or, rather, if I do see it then it's a toxic wasteland of a relationship that is terrible for all parties involved. (I'm about to get flogged for this, I'm sure.)

So, what's the trouble?

First, Sirius never seems all that interested in Remus. Throughout canon, and the glimpses we have in the past, he is far more interested in James. Remus is... the charity friend, it was James who was actually Sirius' best friend by far. This, obviously, is a big obstacle for the pairing.

Second, the werewolf incident. Sirius uses Remus, nearly causes him to become a murderer or else ruin Severus Snape's life against his will, and isn't sorry about it. Remus, had Dumbledore not covered for him, would have been expelled and likely imprisoned if not executed/banished. And Sirius did this for a laugh, because it was funny.

Remus knows all of this, and I imagine he never truly forgave Sirius for it. Certainly, when it looked as if Sirius betrayed the Potters, Remus didn't question it. Because, in retrospect, Remus could say he wasn't that surprised. Look what Sirius did before.

I doubt Sirius and Remus could ever truly be friends again after this. Oh, they pretended, but the friendship was broken. Shortly later, Sirius and James believe Remus is a spy. Remus has to live with everything that has happened. Given friendship's not on the table, romance certainly isn't.

Third, and somewhat related to the werewolf incident, but Sirius doesn't take Remus' condition seriously. He and James treated it as a joke, a cool quirk Remus has. And yeah, it's great they're so accepting, but Remus is living with a chronic condition that leaves him in agony every month, that will deny him employment for the rest of his life, and leave him destitute. And there's James and Sirius calling it his 'furry little problem'. There's this self-congratulatory air about it, that the Marauders thought they were so progressive because they were friends with a werewolf, without ever having to understand what it means to be a werewolf. And then, of course, Sirius using said chronically ill best friend to nearly murder a classmate.

And then of course there's Sirius. He spent ten years in hell on earth, comes out a broken and barely functioning man, and one who has to confront that his best friends are either dead, traitors, or believed he was the scum of the earth. I don't see Sirius ever truly forgiving Remus for believing he was a Death Eater, never mind Sirius thought Remus was a spy, but to me Sirius would never truly be able to forgive that. If Remus had fought for him, then perhaps Sirius never would have been sent to Azkaban. Remus didn't, and what does that say about how Remus views Sirius?

There's nothing left between them by the point we reach canon except barely restrained hostility, bitter feelings, and empty nostalgia for a time that will never return to them.

And if they did have a romantic relationship on top of all of this? It would be to make the other suffer, to take out all the rage over lycanthropy, the imprisonment, the werewolf incident, every little thing that stands between them after all these years. It would be thinly veiled hatred in the form of sexual intercourse.

Why Does Everyone Else Ship It?

They're Harry's cool gay uncles. The movies softened Sirius a lot and made him a lot less unhinged, they also made Lupin generally more pleasant, which makes them easier figures to ship. And with them you get the idea that Harry can have his found families (without the Weasleys).

He can have these two cool uncles who were his parents best friends and they can have breakfast together and eat waffles and wouldn't it be wonderful? They can tell Harry it's okay to like Draco Malfoy, not everyone's like those repressed muggles, and everything can be jolly and good in the world.

People adore this and they desperately want to fix Harry's situation, fix his world and his family life. More, everyone loves Sirius, he's the funny character, and Remus having such history with him, being a friend, is the obvious character to throw at him.

Which is why we get Remus/Sirius in many fics, even as just a secondary pairing to whoever Harry's chasing after today.

PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST THIS! RUSSIA HAS BLOWN UP THE KHAKIBKA HYDROELECTROSTATION DAM AND IS FLOODING COUNTLESS UKRAINIAN TOWNS AND VILLAGES! THIS IS THE BIGGEST ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE IN EUROPE SINCE CHORNOBYL! Post written and provided by @ohsalome: Now, the situation is desperate. I know I've bothered you with donations recently, but this is a time-sensitive matter. I've collected several organisations that are currently helping to evacuate people from the territory that is/will be soon flooded. Please, please, send them any cent you can and signal boost this, the things are really BAD and we need as much help as we can get: Vostok SOS helps people evacuate from dangerous territories, since the beginning of the war they've already helped 46 000 people. Elderly and disabled people are of an extra need of assistance. Helping to leave is another organization that has been helping evacuate people from occupied territories, and is currently gathering funds to help people in Kherson region.

Denys Fedko is a volunteer who currently collects money for fuel, which is always in short stock during war; and general evacuation needs.

PEOPLE ARE DROWNING, THE ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ARE BEING WIPED OUT! THIS IS SOME OF THE MOST FERTILE SOIL ON THE EARTH, WHICH HAS BEEN GROWING GRAIN FOR EXPORT TO HUNDEREDS OF COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE ONES MOST DEPENDANT ON FOREIGN EXPORTS!

Piotr Makowiecki

🇺🇦 I wanted to share for anyone wondering what all the fuss is about.

🇺🇦 This invasion is a HUGE deal and will have worldwide repercussions.

🇺🇦 For those who ask: “Why does Ukraine matter?”

🇺🇦 This is why Ukraine matters: It is the second-largest country Europe by area and has a population of over 40 million, more than my homeland, Poland.

🇺🇦 Ukraine ranks:

🌐 1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores;

🌐 2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves;

🌐 2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves);

🌐 2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons);

🌐 2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves;

🌐 3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)

🌐 4th in the world by the total value of natural resources;

🌐 7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)

🇺🇦 Ukraine is an important agricultural country:

🌐 1st in Europe in terms of arable land area;

🌐 3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume);

🌐 1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil;

🌐 2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports;

🌐 3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world;

🌐 4th largest producer of potatoes in the world;

🌐 5th largest rye producer in the world;

🌐 5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons);

🌐 8th place in the world in wheat exports;

🌐 9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs;

🌐 16th place in the world in cheese exports.

🇺🇦 Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.

🇺🇦Ukraine is an important industrialized country:

🌐 1st in Europe in ammonia production;

🌐 Europe's 2nd’s and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system;

🌐 3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants;

🌐 3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km);

🌐 3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment;

🌐 3rd largest iron exporter in the world;

🌐 4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world;

🌐 4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers;

🌐 4th place in the world in clay exports;

🌐 4th place in the world in titanium exports;

🌐 8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates;

🌐 9th place in the world in exports of defense industry products;

🌐 10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons).

🇺🇦 Ukraine matters! That is why its independence is important to the rest of the world!

🇺🇦 Praying for the people of Ukraine and it’s land.

🙏🇺🇦 #Ukraine #StandWithUkraine

Ok, since you really liked my meme I decided to share this trivia with you.

In Poland the woman who voiced Maleficent, named Zofia Mrozowska was an actress and educationalist. In 1948 she played a role in a war movie called "Ostatni etap" (eng. "Last stage").

Why am I telling you this? Because she was casted ... as a ✨gypsy✨

And with recent Glorious Masquerade event I hope you find this fact as funny as I do.

Bonus, (Zofia Mrozowska while playing the role):

Just a normal Monday morning in Ukraine:

- a nation wide attack at night with russian drones and missiles

- over 40 missiles in the morning, with many explosions in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk

- russians have damaged a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Not just any hospital - this is Okhmadyt, one of the best hospitals in the country, and this how it looks right now:

That’s very close to where I live, by the way

- There are at least 11 injured people in Kyiv, the number may increase when the debris is cleared

Finally some good fucking news

Russia preparing for a ww2 victory parade

https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1520477877204045824?s=21&t=dOUMi8CAeoWjFfStK_8wDg

https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1520466096662405120?s=21&t=dOUMi8CAeoWjFfStK_8wDg