J.K. Rowling is one of the most famous authors in the world, but she’s got a backup gig in case she gets bored working on Harry Potter spinoffs.
As any fan can tell you, Rowling is slightly obsessed with otters. We’re not saying she’s Kristen Bell/sloth level, but the woman clearly likes her clever marsupials.
First she turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret. Then she gave Hermione an otter for her Patronus (that’s a magical protective animal totem, for you non-Potterheads).
Then, in September, she responded to a question from a fan on Twitter about what her own Patronus would be:
.@acciowandspells It's a pine marten.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 10, 2014
What do each of these animals have in common? They’re all from the same family of marsupials, the mustelid family, which also includes badgers, minks, wolverines, weasels, and a few other furry creatures.
Today on Twitter, Rowling revived her otter obsession with an adorable picture from the Shedd Aquarium:
'What would you like to be if you weren't a writer?'
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2014
An otter weigher. pic.twitter.com/Tc7TwevoN7
Naturally, the Shedd Aquarium perked right up.
.@jk_rowling You'd make a great otter weigher! Let us know if you're ever in town to give it a go! #sheddpup
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) November 24, 2014
.@shedd_aquarium That's the best offer I've had all year!
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2014
There you have it, folks. If Rowling never finishes the third book in her Cormoran Strike mystery series (written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, words whose origins mean “famous stranger”), it will be because she was seduced to the Cute Side and will be moving to Chicago to play with adorable otters.
The 49-year-old author, who was last seen snarfing a few in a pub, has been busily promoting the latest fund drive of her children’s foundation charity, Lumos. The campaign, hosted on IndieGoGo, aims to make it easier for children with disabilities to receive education.
In other Rowling-related fandom news, fans of the Cormoran Strike novels will be happy to know she’s also been tweeting about the possibility of romance between her two series leads, Cormoran and Robin:
.@MudbludGranger No, it makes me very happy that you do! They are my very favourite non-couple, but ship hard enough and who knows?
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 22, 2014
That’s right: you just saw J.K. Rowling use “ship” as a verb for getting two non-canonical people together. Fourth wall of fandom, you are verily and truly smashed.
We just have one question about this otter-related business:
Does that mean Rowling’s favorite actor is Benedict Cumberbatch?
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
