ablackmoonrises

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Call to action: Tell me your Wolfstar origins!

Tl;Dr: My first reaction to Wolfstar-exposure was completely ridiculous, and now I'm collecting other people's stories so I can feel better about myself.

Ps. If your first reaction is more ridiculous, I'll bake you a pity-cake.

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The longer version:

Okay, so I kinda live under a rock and I'm not much of an internet person, which means, most cultural phenomena tend to pass me by without ever coming to my attention, unless it's literally knocking down my walls or lifting my rock or whatever, you get the point.

This is probably why I went for nearly 30 years of my life without ever coming across Wolfstar as a concept, or even the idea of shipping really (which is probably why I ended up going to Halloween as Tonks with my partner August's Remus 3 years ago, painfully unaware of the missed opportunity... The bastard never even told me!! Yeah, we don't talk about that...).

Skip forward to the moment of first exposure, we are sitting at home, and August is showing me this absolutely brilliant CMV, and I'm confused af because A, it's made by a 3-people group, two girls and a guy, and they feature full Marauders plus Lily plus extras, so everyone is playing multiple parts, and B, I just cannot identify who's who and what I'm even looking at, so August kinda just throws it out there, like "oh yeah, in their AU Remus is with Sirius, so they are the other couple next to Jily", and I'm just gawking at this gorgeous, adorable pair and I'm mesmerised.

The video ends and August is looking at me all expectantly, so, did I like it, and I'm gushing all over the place, and he goes "I can't believe you never heard of Wolfstar" and I'm like, "I wasn't aware that this was allowed..."

August laughs and I get a crash course on the subject of fandom and shipping and long story short, I'm running my own fandom blog now, and I realise that I cannot throw a stone without hitting a handful of excellent Wolfstar-themed fan content and I keep wondering, how on earth did it take me so long to come across this?

But also, I keep thinking about how other people get into this? Like, do they just wake up one day and go "wouldn't it make so much sense for X to be with Y instead of *whatever happens in canon*?" And then do they Google it? Or just start producing their own independent fan content and at a point realise that there are TONS of other people who came to the same conclusion? How does it happen?!

So if anyone would be willing to share their own experience, I would love to hear your stories!

Love,

Julien

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As y'all might have noticed Julien and I ended up making separate wolfstar related blogs too! You can find me August @remixloonylupin and Julien can be found at @wolfstar-therapy . When we remember we might still reblog to this blog, but it is phazing out a bit.

Love y'all!

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LILY: What's your costume for tonight's party? REMUS: I figured I'd just go as myself. SIRIUS: That's a bit bored, isn't it? REMUS: Are you calling me boring? SIRIUS: No, I'm calling you uninspired. REMUS: I'll show you how inspiring I can be.

[Cut to the party, where Remus is wearing a "werewolf" costume, complete with fake wolf ears, a snoot painted on his nose, gloves that are fashioned to look like paws with claws and thick fur, and a t-shirt that reads "I AM A WEREWOLF"]

RANDO (probably Frank): Cool costume! REMUS: Thanks! ~~~

I just really wanted to do some art. I know it's not Halloween yet, but this wouldn't let my brain rest until it was out of my head, so here we are. I hope this tickles y'all the way it does me!

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Wolfstar portraits in watercolor (drawn in tayasui sketcher)

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Introducing: The Wandering Witch AU

(With transgirl!Remus, questioning!Sirius and endless conversations about the metaphysics of wandless magic)

This is the latest installment of our various Wolfstar AU's with August, one we came up with while we were on a mini-holiday, celebrating our third anniversary.

In this universe, pureblood-supremacy is rampant, keeping the Wizarding World in the permanent dark ages. Muggle-born wizards are only allowed a wand upon being accepted at a magic school, and most institutions favour pureblood children over half-blood, or muggle-born students. Wands are registered and heavily regulated, including tracking-spells and random spot-checks for counterfeit, or unregistered wands by Ministry officials.

After a werewolf-attack at age 4, Remus Lupin’s father tries to teach her magic using his own wand, knowing she would never be allowed into Hogwarts. However, performing magic with someone else's wand is not only dangerous and illegal, but also extremely difficult. Remus — a savant, who can sense magical currents in a way none of her peers can — realises that she doesn't need a wand to focus her power, and instead develops her own way of casting — or spell-weaving, more accurately —, tying an intricate web of knots between intent and the ambient magical currents to shape reality to her will. While admittedly crude and volatile, her technique turns out surprisingly potent, which makes her more than capable of protecting herself against the many dangers of a transphobic, werewolf-hating world.

Because her condition places both her and her family in a vulnerable position (the "werewolf-issue is an ages-old favourite talking point of mainstream wizarding politics, including a fearmongering campaign designed to marginalise intelligent magical creatures and eradicate non-human magic users), the Lupins decide to avoid registering their child after the attack, relying on the help of muggle medicine and corrupt healers to nurse her back to health after the transformations. They move frequently, bouncing Remus from school to school, but once Remus has gotten a basic education, they settle down in an isolated cottage on the Scottish highlands, and her mum takes on the duty of homeschooling her.

Having been brought up in a mixed family and lived the majority of her life as a muggle, Remus is well-versed in the matters of 21st century life. Once they settle into their new home, she starts transitioning, takes up Luna as her middle name, but keeps Remus as her first name, refusing to abide by arbitrary societal rules about names being connected to certain genders, rather than the people wearing them. After both her parents meet a tragically early death in a car accident, Remus finds herself alone in the world, with both a house and a large sum of money to her name; she sells the cottage and spends her parents' life insurance settlement on getting bottom surgery, then sets out to travel the world, looking for someone, or something to find a meaningful connection with.

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On a glance, Cassandra Black is everything her most ancient and noble house could want for an heir. She is brilliant, powerful and a downright genious when it comes to magic; the only problem is, she's a bit too smart for her own good, and no amount of discipline can keep her from asking too many questions. The only thing her bewildered parents achieve with their constant, increasingly violent punishment is that young Cassandra stops asking them, and starts looking for answers of her own.

By the time she's 11, she's thoroughly disillusioned, worlds away from the conservative, blood-supremacist doctrines she was brought up with. Upon entering Hogwarts, she spends the first free breath of her life on convincing the Sorting Hat not to place her in Slytherin, a decision she pays for with the world as she knew it. In return, she gains a new, brighter one, full of friendship, adventure and budding romance — although dark secrets, stomach-turning injustice and bitter heartbreak too. When it comes to her parents' attention that she is sleeping with a witch, their treatment turns from toxic hostility to open abuse, severing all emotional ties between Cassandra and the House of Black. She spends five years as a proud Gryffindor, but by the time her 16th birthday rolls around, she feels like she'd learnt everything Hogwarts had to offer — the good and the bad alike. She decides not to return to the castle for the sixth year: instead, she uses the start of the school year to orchestrate an elaborate escape plan, that would make it impossible for her family to find her. She breaks her wand and vanishes into the night, never to be seen again.

British Wizarding society erupts in chaos, because even one as scandalous as the Black heiress, the mysterious disappearance of a 16-year-old, pureblood-aristocrat (and a witch, for that) brings the Ministry's messaging about public safety into question, and the story keeps the tabloids busy for the better part of a year. The family puts out an enticing bounty on their firstborn's head, but regardless of the spectacular reward, no one can locate Cassandra, and without a wand to track, she proves to be impossible to trace. Eventually, the tabloids move on and the story slowly fades into the background, although, en lieu of a body, they never officially assume her dead, and the family never gives up the secret search for their wayward, blood-traitor daughter.

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Three years later:

Somewhere, hidden in the mountains of Scotland, there is a halfway-house, for magical folks who need to get off the grid, for one reason or another. Remus is a regular visitor, using the shelter's reinforced cellar for the full moon, and taking her time to recover at the quaint little house for a while thereafter. Nobody bothers her there, and while people do use the retreat — it's always clean, stocked with food, healing items and clean bedding, among other obvious signs of habitation —, she'd never encountered any other guests during her visits. This time, however, an unpleasant surprise welcomes her, in form of a backpack and a half-drunk bottle of wine on the porch, and soon, she finds the owner of the items as well, lounging on her favorite sunning spot.

The stranger looks ragged; unkempt and malnourished, and when they speak, their voice sounds hoarse, like they haven't used it for a long time. Remus is immediately weary, even though the stranger looks very young and rather unimpressive, expect for the very posh accent and the fact that despite their extremely strong magical aura, they did look startled, almost terrified when Remus walked up behind them — and yet, their hand never even twitched to draw a concealed wand.

"I’m armed!" the stranger warns — maybe they expected a muggle? —, but still doesn't move to reveal any weapon. Remus is quite certain she could take them on in one-on-one combat regardless, should it come to that, but she finds it alarming that this runaway teen would survive alone in the wilderness for what seems like a considerable period; a feat that requires a number of skills and the kind of training that does not come with the elocution training the stranger's speech suggests. Not just the accent, the face too... Under the layers of dirt, severe sunburn and a fading black eye, there is just something eerily familiar about them.

She introduces herself as Remus — it's one of her favourite ways to quickly size up a person, based on their reaction to her obviously masculine name. She does the whole cheeky, "whatchagonnado" act she perfected throughout the years, expecting anything from a spiteful comment to a confused eyebrow-raise in response, but the stranger just nods and gives her a polite "hello, Remus", like this was the most normal interaction between two people who just met at a shelter for magical misfits, in the middle of fucking nowhere.

The stranger, however, is less forthcoming about their identity, and Remus has to openly ask for their name after 10 minutes of tense, but idle chitchat. The stranger blushes a deep red, and once again, there is that flash of panic in their eyes, before they blurt out "Sirius... Black."

"Oh."

Of course, Remus thinks, wondering how she missed it before. She knows exactly who Sirius is, or who they used to be — she'd seen this face a million times before; a younger, smoother version with fewer sharp angles and without the haunted look in their bloodshot eyes, but the very same face was once plastered all over Britain — on missing flyers, in front page news, later on wanted posters... 10.000 galleons are a fine bit of money for a head like this. She gives the stranger a sideways glance, and they glare right back at her, with a defiant expression that might have betrayed their famous origins, even without the esteemed family name. The Blacks, they do all look the same...

"Well, that answers the question whether you're a muggle" Sirius remarks with a bitter chuckle. "Look, I know what you're thinking. And yes, they do have the funds, but just so we are clear on this, if you move to draw, I'll attack you, and it's gonna be over before you ever reach your wand. You will lose, most likely die, and then I'll have to spend this lovely evening digging a hole for you in the woods instead of sharing a bottle of crappy wine. So, just don't, okay?"

Remus can't help but admire the kid's bravado — they aren't stupid, she can tell that much, if from nothing else, the fact that they somehow successfully evaded one of the most powerful magical families, and their countless footmen, for over three years without ever leaving a trace; and yet, they seem to know when they're outmatched.

"Who says I'd need to draw?" she smirks, hoping to provoke a quick duel out of the youth. She likes to get the power-struggle out of the way early on, just so nobody gets ideas while she's sleeping or in recovery. The young Black might turn out to be a reluctant ally, but they could mean real trouble after the full moon, if they were to follow family tradition in wanting to rid the world of a monster like herself. Three days left until the next transformation, which means she's at the height of her power, so taking Sirius out here and now would be the wisest, and she thinks she could do it without harming them too badly. Nothing she couldn't fix in a blink afterwards.

Sirius measures her with a curious squint, slowly raising their left hand into the air. All five fingers are adorned with a variety of silver rings, from plain, thin bands to heavy signets with rune-engraved stones. A web of glowing lines flare up on the back of their hand, spreading out from an intricate magic sigil on their wrist. They emit a faint, blueish white light, running along each finger to the tip, as Sirius charges up for a wandless spell. Flashy, but creative, Remus thinks, truly impressed for the first time. She's used to wizards relying on their wands to do the work for them, and she knows seven different ways to dismantle the connection before they ever get to fire off. The stranger's magic is different — it's raw and unpolished, but brutally powerful, and very complex, in a geometric sort of way. This would be more difficult than she initially thought, and she's unsure if she could immediately disarm Sirius without having to literally dis-arm them.

To avoid confrontation, she raises a hand in front of her too, conjuring a harmless little will-o-whisp in her palm — a trick she developed as a child, tied up on the bare cement floor of her parents' basement, waiting for the curse to take hold. There was no light in the basement; she was lonely, cold and terrified, so she made herself a friend, a cold flame to keep her company while she was waiting for the moon.

Sirius' eyebrows disappear somewhere under their tangled fringe, but their face lights up with a huge, mischievous grin:

"Remus, the girl raised by the wolves... You're not boring at all, are you?"

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@remixloonylupin pointed it out to me, how he is dissatisfied with the amount of gendy-bendy, non-comforming, soft & femme representations of Remus out there. As it stands, I LOVE ME some soft, floral Moony, so here we go...

Ladies, Gents and All Sorts of Rainbow Kids, meet the love of my life 😍

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TW: sexual content under the cut

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"Dog Days of Summer" ft. Canis Minoris

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My fiance is writing a fanfic, I enquired what the guys look like in it, and ran with the designs :)

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'The Darkest Timeline' AU Remus and Sirius for your viewing pleasure.

(in this instance Sirius is a pretransition trans guy and Remus is afab and non-binary, but you can read them however you want)

Also chubby Sirius is the love of my life.. 🥺

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Ok y'all can have some softly confident early transition trans!Remus. As a treat.

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Ohh I have a bunch of different AUs with different kinds of trans!Remus

The latest of the lot is a transfemme Remus, known as the Wandering Witch.

-Her parents died in an accident when she was 21, she used the insurance money for bottom surgery, bc fuck the universe

-she never went to Hogwarts, and as a result was denied access to a wand. She taught herself wandless magic, and her wild and improvised magic is surprisingly potent

-she still uses the name Remus bc fuck convention, she likes her name

-she's butch, and a lot of people assume she's transmasc

-she's on the run

-believes wands are essentially a conspiracy designed to keep magic folks docile

-dabbles in magical philosophy

-uses a touch of illusory magic to hide the facial hair she could never quite get rid of

-when she meets Sirius (who is also on the run), Sirius still identifies as a witch, but when he learns about wizards who become witches, something clicks

Oh, these are lovely headcanons, we love them! Remus here sounds amazing - and we love the little trans!Sirius headcanon there towards the end!!

The use of magic in the process of transitioning is something very interesting and that gives us so many possibilities to explore our gender(s), right? so the inclusion of that here was amazing!

Thank you so much for sharing your ideas, we would love to see more of this/read more trans!Wolfstar, so if you or anyone else wants to explore this, go for it!

Remember there are a lot of resources if you are not trans yourself, including @magicaltrans discord and blog.

Colorfully,

Moth~

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Once upon a time a weremerman who lived in captivity with a fisherman, got a Real Merman in the net.

The newly caught merman turned out to have powerful allies..

The weremerman cried out to the strangers, believing they would leave him to the fisherman

Eventually the wild merman and the weremerman fell in love. The wild merman even came to love the weremerman's uncanny, humanlike eyes.

The End

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I kinda dislike the line of thinking that Remus being a werewolf has to be either woe be him and he hates every aspect of it, OR it's actually really cool to be a werewolf and he is out and proud, like ....

Both are valid takes ofc, but like something sucking AND being out and proud about it does not like .. exclude each other?

In disability theory Gill (1998) talks about the stages of disability identity integration. An important stage (the third for anyone interested) is called "coming together", and references the internal integration of the disabled and non disabled parts of your identity. Growing up in an ableist society, we are taught that we are good in spite of our disability, and we are split down the middle into good and acceptable parts of our self and bad and harmful parts. When we "come together" internally, it is a liberation and a rebellion against a society telling us that we should hate the disabled parts of ourself.

The final and fourth stage is "coming out" and includes living proudly and openly as a disabled person.

I very much do read lycanthropy as a disability, and in that light, as a disabled person, I object to the idea that being a werewolf has to be awesome for Remus to embrace that part of himself.

Ofc there can be cool things about being a werewolf, but they don't have to outweigh the bad things in order for Remus to face his internalized ableism and embrace himself as a werewolf.

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We been doing a bit of casual roleplay on the wolfstar server, I'm playing James! This fuckwit!

I love him to pieces though.

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Transcript from the image of an ask from @wanderingbandurria :

August I can't send an ask in your other blog so I'm sending it here 💜 this is a micro story inspired in the url there!

The cave should be empty - but it's not. All that time and pain and August never wondered if wolves left ghosts behind.

Now, the wolf looks back at him, sad eyes, soulful stare. Its bright tail shines, and August wonders - can ghosts be lonely too?

The wolf sighs. August stays. Under the big, fat moon, they walk in silence, just the crunch of leaves under their feet.

Transcript end.

@wanderingbandurria thank you so much for this lovely, evocative piece of fiction!!! Based on the url @august-n-the-big-sad-wolf

I can really feel this in my bones, i love the idea of walking alongside the ghost of a wolf, questioning everything yet accepting everything. It feels very reminiscent of some dreams I used to have.

Thank you so much for sending this <3

August

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Ok so. They are there on mobile, but not on desktop, and I get an error message when I try to publish an answer. This fucking site, I swear to God .. xD

ahhhhhhh I received two mini-fics based on URL, I swear I saw them both and I loved them sm, but now tumblr somehow ate them before I got around to answer????

Cruel, tumblr. Cruel and unusual :( -August