#I don’t want a retelling of harry fucking potter!!!!!!!! think of something new!!!!!!

[prideprejudce]

the fact that reboots used to be like thirty or forty years apart and are now instead like 3-10 years apart is absolutely ridiculous. like are we so trapped in a capitalist hellscape that instead of us naturally cherishing a beloved piece of media like it deserves and looking forward to NEW stories with NEW universes we have to watch the same thing over and over and over again with reboot after reboot after reboot until that media has been so sucked dry that us as an audience are literally sick at the mere mention of it

[gallifrey1sburning]

Hi 👋 a prompt you can take or leave: Draco is very unsure whether he is being flirted with or this is an extension of their office rivalry that he doesn't understand (or the reverse!) Ty!

@skeptiquex and @ihavesomeideawhatimdoinghere, I read both of your prompts back to back, and they worked really well together, so I squished them into one. I hope you enjoy! Thank you both for sending me things, and thanks to @mxmaneater for the fast beta ❤️

—

The Tally

“One more for me!” Harry crowed, scratching a new tally mark next to his name on the chalkboard behind Draco’s head. “Better luck next time, Malfoy.” The board had a partner behind Harry’s desk, and the tallies recorded on one would reflect on the other, but Harry took great joy in invading Draco’s space and rubbing his victories in his face at every opportunity. Not that Draco was any better. It was part of the fun.

“Please, that one hardly counted,” Draco objected reflexively. “You only caught him because you tripped, for Merlin’s sake. Hardly an impressive arrest.” 

Harry shrugged and grinned, perching on the edge of Draco’s desk. “An arrest is an arrest.”

“Whatever,” Draco grumped. He and Harry had been playing this game for over a year now, and the margin was always extremely close. Harry was just barely ahead, at the moment, but Draco would catch up to him soon. He and Parvati had a potions ring bust coming up that Harry and Weasley weren’t involved in. Once that was done, he’d have overtaken him, and the smug expression currently gracing his colleague’s face would disappear along with his lead.

“So, any big weekend plans?” Harry asked, ignoring Draco’s pout.

Draco dropped the expression when it failed to produce the desired reaction. “Nothing too exciting. Yourself?”

“I’ve got tickets for the Puddlemere game on Saturday, actually. Ron was supposed to come, but something came up, so I’m trying to find someone else who might want to go. It would be a shame for the ticket to go to waste.” Harry was biting his lip and looking hopeful, and for just a moment, Draco thought— but no. If he’d wanted to ask, he would have asked, he told himself firmly. 

Taking care to keep his expression light, Draco pondered for a moment before saying. “I think McCutcheon is a Puddlemere fan. Maybe try him?”

“Oh, right.” Draco almost thought that Harry looked disappointed for a moment, but on second glance, his expression was clear and friendly. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll see if he’s free. Have a great weekend, Draco. Parvati.” He knocked his knuckles against the desktop twice before straightening and walking off, hands in pockets. Draco watched him go, sighing as he rounded the corner. It really was a pleasure watching him walk away.

He was brought back to reality by his partner smacking him in the back of the head with a stack of paperwork. “Ow! What the fuck, Patil?”  

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed, looking even more exasperated with him than usual. “Every time he’s over here, you spend the rest of the day mooning, and he finally asks you out, and you say NO?!” 

“I do not moon!” He did moon, and he knew it, but he wasn’t about to say so. He still had his pride. “And he didn’t ask me out, either.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“He didn’t! He just said he had an available ticket! He very clearly had an opening to invite me, if he wanted to, and he very clearly didn’t.” There had been a number of moments like this, in recent months, and Parvati kept insisting that Harry was flirting with Draco. For his part, Draco kept insisting that she mind her own business, because she obviously could not read Harry Potter at all if she thought he was interested in Draco.

“You are an absolute moron.” Parvati shook her head in disbelief, but let it drop.

— 

They made the bust on Tuesday. Monday had been a rush of preparations and contingency planning and final logistics, and the stakeout had lasted all day, but in the end, it had been worth it—they’d brought in six players in one sweep and were confident that at least one of them would give up the rest in exchange for sentencing leniency. Draco had dropped into bed exhausted but elated.

He was still riding high when he sauntered into Harry and Weasley’s office on Wednesday. He leaned ostentatiously over Harry’s desk, stretching almost directly over his perpetually-tousled head to grab a piece of chalk and carefully add six perfectly straight tally marks to his own side of the board, giving him the lead by three. 

“And that’s how you do it,” he gloated as he straightened, smirking smugly down at Harry. “Suck it, Potter.”

Across the office, he heard Weasley groan and mumble something that sounded suspiciously like ‘he wishes’ under his breath. Harry looked a bit pink, but still smirked right back up at Draco, so it was probably just the heat. “Played that one close to the chest, didn’t you? But don’t worry, I’ve got something in the pipeline. I’ll be back on top before you know it.”

In Draco’s peripheral vision, he saw Weasley bang his head against his desk. “I’m getting tea,” he announced, stalking out of the office. Draco raised an eyebrow at Potter, who shrugged. 

Now that he was here, Draco didn’t quite want to leave yet, so he searched for something else to talk about. “How was the game?” he finally asked.

“Huh? Oh, the Quidditch game. Yeah, I didn’t end up going, actually.” Harry rubbed the back of his neck, not making eye contact. “Wasn’t really in the mood.” 

Draco wrinkled his brow, not really sure what to make of that, but then Harry asked a question about the potions bust, and Draco forgot about it, instead focusing on a dramatic retelling of his glorious victory.

— 

Harry’s next arrest came after a particularly brutal double homicide. It was all anyone was talking about when he arrived that morning, but, despite Draco’s expectations (and perhaps anticipation), Harry didn’t appear at his desk to brag about it. He was feeling a bit anxious by the time he finally saw him passing by his door in the late afternoon, and the feeling only grew when he did. Harry had bags under his eyes, and his usually confident posture was slumped. He didn’t look as though he had slept. He also didn’t look like he was going to stop.

“Hey,” Draco said, rising from his desk to catch him before he passed by completely. “Haven’t seen you today.” Are you okay?, he didn’t say, but he thought it was probably audible in his tone anyway.

“Oh. Hey, Draco.” Harry looked up at him, seeming a little lost. He looked hollow behind his eyes, and Draco could feel his eyebrows furrowing in concern. “Yeah, I’ve been…” he trailed off and glanced past Draco, into his office, to where the chalkboard hung prominently on the back wall. He seemed to curl even further in on himself. “I don’t want to count this one, okay?” he said, finally. “It doesn’t really feel like a victory.”

“Yeah, of course,” Draco said immediately, and he suddenly felt completely helpless. “Can I—” he hesitated, and then put a tentative hand on Harry’s slumped shoulder. “Do you need anything?”

He was half sure that Harry would pull away from his touch, but he didn’t. If anything, he seemed almost to relax into it. “I’m okay,” he said, and it wasn’t convincing, but Draco didn’t want to push it. “Thanks, though.” He reached up and gripped Draco’s hand where it lay on his shoulder, so briefly that his hand was gone before Draco could even fully register it, and then stepped back, continuing on his way.

Draco stood and stared at the chalkboard for a while when he got back to his desk. Then, he picked up his eraser and carefully removed one tally from his own side.

— 

Their next bust, they were on together. A small Neo-Death Eater group that the department had been keeping an eye on, but who hadn’t done much of anything until now, had suddenly decided to make a grand statement by threatening a large-scale attack on Diagon Alley if their (entirely insane) demands weren’t met. Needless to say, the Ministry was not interested in negotiation, and the whole Auror force had been called out en masse. 

Somehow, Harry and Weasley had ended up working in tandem with Draco and Parvati, and now Harry and Draco were back to back in a dead-end alley, dueling a pair that seemed to be the last desperate stragglers, while Parvati watched the street, ready to block anyone who might try to interfere, and Weasley stood to the side, clutching his ribs and sweating but still managing to hold a fairly steady shield charm. There was an unconscious, Incarcerous-ed body on the ground near him; his Stunner’s aim had been true, but the assailant had gotten off one last hex before it hit. He wasn’t in imminent danger—Draco had been hit by the same spell before, and it was extremely painful but didn’t cause any lasting damage once reversed—and although that would be easy enough to do, they didn’t have a wand to spare at the moment.

Harry and Draco worked together like they’d been born to it, and if their respective partnerships hadn’t been working so well for so long, Draco might have considered it a waste that they weren’t paired together. Spells flew around them like fireworks, and they cast and dodged and shielded and attacked without speaking, without pause, until, suddenly, it was over. 

“Ron!” Harry cried as soon as his wand dropped, but Parvati was already by his side, countering the spell, and Ron’s body relaxed almost immediately.

“I’m fine, mate. Great work.” 

Harry breathed out a sigh of relief and then turned to Draco, chest still heaving with exertion. Draco couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face even as he tried to catch his breath. He could feel sweat tracking down his face, his neck, his back, and he was streaked with dirt and—he suspected—blood; but they had won, and no one had died, and he was almost high on the rush of it. “I’m not sure who those count for,” he said, half laughing. “It happened too fast. Did you catch who took them down?”

Harry was grinning now, too, the buzzing energy of their win almost visibly coursing through him. He beamed at Draco, and he looked so fucking beautiful, even though he was just as dirty and dishevled as Draco was, that Draco couldn’t help but glance, just for a second, at those lips that he’d surreptitiously observed for so long as they stretched wide with joy. When he snapped his eyes back up, however, it was clear that Harry had seen, because the smile had morphed into something that Draco couldn’t put a name to, and his eyes were searching Draco’s for something. And then— 

“Fuck it,” he heard Harry say, and then there were hands on either side of his head and he was being—quite thoroughly—kissed, right there in the alley. He melted into it immediately, pulling Harry closer to himself almost instinctively. There was an iron tang of blood as their tongues met, and Draco wasn’t sure whose it was, but he didn’t particularly care. He didn’t care about much of anything, right now, besides Harry’s hands, and Harry’s lips, and the press of Harry’s chest and hips against his own, and whether Harry might want to reenact this moment later but somewhere with a bed and a lot less clothes.

“I TOLD YOU!” Parvati yelled triumphantly in the background.

“Fucking finally.” Ron sounded both amused and exasperated.

Draco ignored them in favor of sliding his hands into Harry’s birdsnest of hair, pulling lightly and making him groan into the kiss. He supposed this one counted as a win for both of them.

Also on AO3

[theewildflowers]

dramione fanfic recs

I’ve fallen into the Dramione fanfiction hole lately due to a friend’s recent obsession with Dramione and Draco Malfoy tik tok, so I wanted share some favorite stories I’ve read, especially with those who are also new to the pairing. Many of the fics below are pretty popular within the fandom, but maybe there will be something new as well for those who come across this post.

I’ve included the rating and word count in parenthesis, and the fics are set in the magical universe unless otherwise noted. Please mind the tags when you click through—many fics may have triggers. Happy reading!

wait and hope by mightbewriting (M, 95k) “Harry,” Hermione began, voice very controlled, but she could feel the blade of panic slicing at her vocal cords. “Why was Draco Malfoy just screaming bloody murder about his,” and the word almost strangled her as she said it, “wife?” Harry's green eyes blew wide. Healer Lucas pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly displeased with the recent series of events. “He was referring to you, my dear,” she said. “That was the other question you got wrong. Your name is Hermione Jean Granger-Malfoy.”

Part of the Wait and Hope story universe. Draco’s POV, Beginning and End, is a WIP. (I’ve read and reread Wait and Hope multiple times in a few weeks span, so it’s safe to say that it’s my favorite Dramione story universe.)

the politician’s wife by Pir8fancier (M, 66k) This story is set twenty-three years after the fall of Voldemort. Our main characters are Ministry employees, middle-aged, and the majority of them not very happy. (This was the first Dramione fic I’ve ever read and is still one of my favorites)

the right thing to do by LovesBitca8 (E, 176k) Hermione felt the pounding in her ears again. She would see him for the first time since the Great Hall, gaunt and stricken at the Slytherin table with his mother clutching his arm. She hadn't meant to look for him. Not in the corridors, not beneath the white sheets of the fallen, not on the way to the Chamber of Secrets with Ron, but she was a stupid girl. Part of the Rights and Wrongs story universe (highly recommend Draco’s POV, All the Wrong Things, as well).

remain nameless by HeyJude19 (E, WIP) The monotony of Draco’s daily routine had become both a lifeline and a noose. But this new habit of grabbing coffee with Hermione Granger is quickly becoming a reason to get out of bed and is unfortunately forcing him to re-evaluate his inconsequential existence.

seeker fit by selinyu and etlithien (T, 2.6k) “Will the Head Girl grace the pitch with her presence for today’s match?” The timbre of Malfoy’s cool lilting drawl slid down Hermione’s spine. I recommend all the fics in the SenLithien Dramione Collaboration collection.

breath mints / battle scars by Onyx_and_Elm (E, 148k) For a moment, she's almost giddy. Because Draco Malfoy's been ruined by this war and he's as out of place as she is and — yes, he has scars too. He's got an even bigger one. She wonders whether one day they'll compare sizes.

apple pies and other amends by ToEatAPeach (M, 76k) It’s not until she’s brought a basil and strawberry sponge cake to Neville Longbottom and his new girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, a dozen rhubarb hand-pies to Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood, and another basket of ganache-covered muffins to Dean and Seamus, that Hermione admits to herself what she’s actually doing:  she’s making a thing of this. It’s a veritable PTSD tour. With pastries. And hand-skimmed clotted cream. And she has no idea why she’s doing it, but it’s becoming very apparent that she is.

clean and marked by olivieblake (M, 118k and 178k) Malfoy's handsome face was contoured into a condescending smirk. "No faith in that giant brain of yours, Granger?" She looked up at him defiantly. "Maybe I don't have faith in you!" she said, raising her voice. Malfoy only looked at her. "You'll find I'm very surprising." Basically a sixth year retelling.

the best of me by MrsRen (E, 148k) Officially, Hermione Granger was killed in action during the Battle of Hogwarts. Unofficially, Draco Malfoy has never stopped searching for her. Years after the war during a mission in France, his salvation comes in the form of a little blond boy and a familiar half-Kneazle.

fortuitous by MrsRen (M, 93k) Recently divorced Draco doesn't believe in the ideology of having one true love. He certainly doesn't expect to meet his match in a Halloween themed coffee shop, but fate has a peculiar way of giving you just what you need.

bring him to his knees by Musyc (E, WIP) Draco is on the case of a murderer, but to investigate, he needs a fake relationship - and a kink club play partner. When Hermione volunteers to take the role, both do their best to maintain the lie without letting each other know the truth: neither of them are acting.

looking glass by kyonomiko (M, 99k) No one knows what happened to Draco Malfoy in the final battle, but, when his portrait shows up at Harry Potter's house, it's readily assumed he didn't make it. Hermione's perspective on the wizard starts to change as she learns more about who he really was. The more she knows, the more tragic his apparent demise seems to be.

isolation by bex-chan (E, 264k) He can't leave the room. Her room. And it's all the Order's fault. Confined to a small space with only the Mudblood for company, something's going to give. Maybe his sanity. Maybe not. "There," she spat. "Now your Blood's filthy too!"

thirty-five by raven_maiden (M, 2.3k) It's Draco Malfoy's birthday, and you'd think he'd have some say in the matters concerning his birthday. Then again, the will of four other Malfoys is hard to overcome. Part of Meet the Malfoys collection.

apples & cream by LovesBitca8 (E, 1.4k) She could have taken her things and gone through his Floo without a word. She could have ignored him on Monday morning, as though last night had been no more than a fever dream and too much Firewhisky. But she’d come back to bed.

universal truths by scullymurphy (E, 145k, pride & prejudice inspired AU) Hermione Granger is a woman of intelligence and spirit. Draco Malfoy is a man of wealth and privilege. When they meet again, a decade after the second great wizarding war—they are not impressed. But when circumstances throw them together, dislike turns to attraction, attraction turns to passion and passion may turn into something more... If they can stay out of their own way and let love take its course.

my brown-eyed girl by PacificRimbaud (M, 2k) "Give it up, Granger. We've had our N.E.W.T. results for a week. What can possibly have earned your continued academic devotion in the last four days of term?" Draco and Hermione have a lazy snuggle in the grass behind the Quidditch pitch.

bite marks by provactive_envy (E, 19.4k, muggle AU) Draco’s mouth falls open. He clutches his cookie and ignores the shower of crumbs littering his grey cashmere fingerless gloves. He can’t decide if he wants to fuck this girl or fight with her. Maybe both? Maybe at the same time?

thirteenth night by Nelpher (M, 78k) When Hermione is assigned to keep tabs on a memory-charmed Draco, she is faced with a decision that could change her life forever.

familiar faces, worn out places by LovesBitca8 (E, 7k) “You are at St. Mungo’s. You were in a coma.” He looks me over again, taking a pause. “I am a Healer here now,” he says, like it explains something. My fingers stretch, drifting across his sleeve. He looks down, like I’ve thrown mud at him. Forcing my vocal chords together for the first time, I whisper, “What’s your name?”

bone mortar by mightbewriting (M, 10k, muggle AU) Draco clenched his teeth, forcing sharp, shallow breaths through his nose as he ripped open the door to his usual lecture hall only to find— someone at his desk. Well, he supposed it was technically less his desk and more the desk as he didn’t actually own this particular classroom. But since he’d taught in it for the last four semesters in a row he at least felt like he’d earned common law ownership of some sort.

of mongolian fireflies and russian sharpclaws by barnettdidit (T, 37k) As colleagues for the F.A.U.C.E.T. (Fetching And Uncovering Creatures Experiencing Terror) department, Draco and Hermione have had their fair share of arguments. When they face their hardest case yet, mixed with an odd swarm of fireflies that glow in the colour according to how they feel about each other, Hermione is struggling to keep a straight mind.

a muggle-born magic by Musyc (M, 50k, regency era AU) Physician's daughter Hermione Granger finds herself in need of a way to pay off her father's debts after his death. Draco Malfoy, retired from the politics of the Isolationists, a group of pure-bloods bent on separating 'true' magic from lesser folk, finds himself in need of a tutor for his son, Scorpius, who appears to be incapable of magic and must learn to survive in a world without it. Draco also needs a wife and mother for Scorpius, to satisfy a promise to his unwell father. After she saves his son from an attack by Isolationists, Draco hires the Muggle-born Miss Granger for the former, and after a riot in Vauxhall Gardens and a scandalous discovery made by his mother, weds that selfsame Muggle-born for the latter. While making the best of her marriage of (in)convenience, Hermione discovers that Scorpius' history of wild imaginings and dreams is more than just imagination. As she attempts to teach him about magical abilities no one expected he would ever have, she and Draco work together to raise Scorpius and learn to trust each other.

aurelian by BittyBlueEyes (T, 255k) Two years after the war, a young stranger pays a visit to the burrow. His arrival alone is baffling, but the news he brings of an upcoming war turns the world upside down. Hermione's quiet, post-war life will never be the same.

malfoy shrugged by uselessenglishmajor (E, 11k) February 14th is just another day at the office for Hermione Granger. Shame no one else got the memo.

distance by In_Dreams (T, 138k) She’s a novice Unspeakable trying to earn her stripes. He’s a shafted Auror desperate to prove himself. When they end up forced together on a shared assignment, neither is willing to back down. But when the mission pulls them into an ancient world of mystery and adventure, they find themselves depending on each other in a race against time.

nonscents by In_Dreams (M, 10k) Granger's Amortentia smells like him and Draco can't understand why. More importantly, he can't let her figure it out.

correspondence by olivieblake (T, 5k) Every year, Draco insists that Hermione take a picture for their Christmas card. Why? Hell if she knows, but if it will make him happy, so be it.

sandalwood and gardenias by secondbutton (E, 9k) A balanced fragrance of sandalwood and something musky and earthy followed him like a shroud. Draco Malfoy smelled like a magical forest’s best kept secret. Like the moment following a storm when the sun peeks back over the clouds and living beings stop what they’re doing and pause to marvel at being able to roam outside again. It was a crisp top note with more robust undertones, and just a hint of sweetness. She thought she might love the scent if it lived on anyone else other than him.

[sparktoafire]

2020 fic recs

thank you to all the fic writers who kept me afloat and more or less sane during this weird, fucked up year. literally don’t think i could have done it without you. to pay it forward, here are some recs. it was really difficult to pick what to put on this list, but these ones did stand out the most in the end. still, my thanks goes to literally every fic writer ever, and especially everyone whose fics i read this year, even if they aren’t on this list.

disclaimer & some notes: a lot of these are older fics, because i discovered a new fandom and returned to ones i’d been taking a break from. but all were read during 2020. (did some maths and i seem to have read approximately 2.5 million words of fanfic this year?.....). also, tried to add warnings the best i could, please heed them and check the author’s warnings as well, just in case.

ok, recs are under the cut!

MARVEL

we could jump the state lines (we only get the one life) by @notcaycepollard | Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson | 33k |  warnings: PTSD | Comment: a very unpredictable, intimate and complicated story of recovery and finding each other.

Covert Coffee & Flirtation Special by @glittercake | Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson | 5.5k | warnings: none | Comment: so much fun! i was cackling half the time and the identity porn really works.

Like Soldiers Do by @glittercake | Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson | 8k (ongoing) | warnings: canon-typical violence | Comment: there’s a lot of jokes and fronting here, but the intimacy and passion are what makes this fic so compelling.

There Is No Shortage of Blood by @albymangroves @dsudis | Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers | 246k | warnings: (a lot, including but not limited to) rape recovery, rape aftermath, rape fantasy, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, etc. please read author’s warnings | Comment: a harsh, desperate, gruesome path through recovery, shot through with a lot of love, care and community. there are no easy answers here, but the little wins are all the more awarding for it.

Just Stay Alive ‘verse by @dsudis | Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson | 85k | warnings: dissociation, ptsd, mentions of child murder | Comment: a really interesting story (almost a theory, I want to say) of how Bucky finds his place in Steve and Sam’s lives, the different ways they all connect with each other and what they become together.

Comedy Jokes by @softsams | Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson | 77k | warnings: suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, car accidents, body image issues | Comment: this was one of the first fics I read in the mcu fandom. a lot of regular, non-Hollywood appropriate aspects of human life are made visible in this story, and there is just so much humanity and compassion and holding space that happens here, that it blew me away.

Alexander Pierce should have died slower ‘verse by Lauralot | mostly no pairing, some Bucky Barnes/Alexander Pierce in the first few parts | 301k | warnings: literally so many. including but not limited to rape, rape recovery, ptsd, violence, etc. please read author’s warnings. Comment: a very different, more trauma-heavy take on age-play than usual. complicated, well-written, often also funny and sweet.

VENOM:

Drawn into Something ‘verse by Nonymos | Eddie Brock/Venom, Eddie Brock/Dan Lewis/Venom/Anne Weying, etc | 101 k | warnings: graphic descriptions of violence, vore(ish), consensual non-consent, alien rape fantasy, rape roleplay, etc. check author’s warnings. Comment: not really sure how to describe this one. it’s got all the elements of a good Symbrock fic - aka weird alien significant other stuff - but also polyamory with your ex and her current bf + a lot of really good (and fairly disturbing) kink. this description doesn’t do it justice, just read it (or the author’s summary at least).

came all this way (to hold our hand) by @alakeeffectgirl | Eddie Brock/Venom | 651 words | warnings: none | Comment: possibly one of the strangest things I’ve read this year? A strange mix of not-quite-porn and fluff. short and very satisfying (to me).

HARRY POTTER:

Chrysalis by starcrossedgirl | Harry Potter/Severus Snape | 85k | warnings: mental health issues, depression, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, reference to child sexual abuse, etc. please read author’s warnings. Comment: a really well written account of Snape’s traumas and Harry discovering them and trying to find the balance with their combined traumas . there can never be enough Snape whump. 

Pacify ‘verse by Chickenpets | Harry Potter/ Severus Snape | 500k (ongoing) | warnings: again, so, so many. graphic descriptions of violence, underage sex, ptsd, torture, panic attacks, etc. please check author’s warnings. Comment: this is both a very interesting and extremely detailed retelling of the last two books (and beyond), as well as the greatest love story ever told, as well as a lovely description of a (morally extremely dubious, of course, but that goes without saying) hardcore bdsm relationship. I like bdsm fic where the bdsm serves a psychological or practical purpose and isn’t merely a kink, and this very much hits the mark with that. it also isn’t as simple as you might think. very, very creative and well-written.

Quid Pro Quo by anonymous | Harry Potter/Severus Snape | 88 k (ongoing) | warnings: past child abuse | Comment: a really nice account of a marriage of convenience turning into something deeper. love the sparse and obscure way Snape is written.

Under the Same Sky by @writcraft | Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter| 37k | warnings: none. | Comment: what I said about psychologically motivated bdsm applies here too – not bdsm, but kinky in a very compelling and casual way. don’t know if it’s romance with a side of kink or kink with a side of romance, but very nice either way.

[cibeewastaken]

Hi! Still doing the way I say 'I love you'? If so, #27 please 😊

hi! this is the last of the I love you prompt, Thank you to everyone who sent prompts and liked how they turned out! There are a few more prompt lists I would like to try, I’ll reblog them when I have time to write more! Thank you all.

27. A taunt, with one eyebrow raised and a grin bubbling at your lips

“Good grief!” Malfoy said when he sauntered (sauntered, who the fuck actually bothered to ever saunter?) into the room. “So it’s true.”

“Don’t you have some hospital gowns to be washing, Malfoy?” Ron asked.

“Don’t you have errands to run for some real Aurors?” Malfoy retorted as he came to a stop next to them. “So, what is it this time.”

“I was cursed!” Harry said as indignantly as he could while immobilized. 

“What else is new,” Malfoy said.

Ron looked sympathetic. “You are the only Auror trainee that actually gets cursed. Sucks to be you, mate.”

“Why bother feeling bad? It’s probably like a spa treatment for him at this point,” Malfoy sat down next to Harry on the bed. Malfoy claimed it was only because he refused to sit in St Mungo’s visitor’s chair. Harry had made a joke about Malfoy’s sensitive arse the first time, and had spent the remaining hour blushing like an idiot, while also thinking about Malfoy’s arse and how sensitive it could be. 

“Wanker,” Harry said, but he was grinning. Getting sent to St Mungo’s had become less and less of a nightmare each time, because Malfoy would always find some excuse to slip away from his own Healer apprenticeship and “hang out” (Harry’s words), or “make fun of Saint Potter” (Malfoy’s words). Now three years into each of their training, Harry hadn’t stopped being sent to St Mungo’s and Malfoy still hadn’t stopped coming.  

“What’s the curse?” Malfoy asked, using this chance to poke at Harry’s waist and make him yelp in a very unattractive way. 

“That’s not fair. I can’t move!” Harry said.

“Some girl cursed him to stay like this until someone confesses their true love to him. She thought she would be the one.”

“You should see her face when she realized her confession didn’t work,” Harry said.

“Yeah, because true love means cursing the person you love,” Malfoy said sarcastically. 

Harry laughed his awkward laughter. He wanted to say something like, “I want to hex you all the time but I’m also in love with your rude and sensitive arse.” But he was sure that wouldn’t go down well. 

And it wasn’t like he really wanted to hex Malfoy, it’s just the only option Harry had beside the other . . . more . . . pleasurable one . . . . 

Ron laughed at something Malfoy said and Harry realized he had zoned out thinking about kissing Malfoy (again). 

“What?” Harry asked.

“I was just saying it’s funny that she cursed you to sit like a princess as you wait for someone to confess their undying love to you,” Malfoy smirked. “Truly a masterpiece. You should get your portrait done in the meantime and hang it in Hogwarts.” 

Malfoy was right. Harry was cursed to sit looking like a traditional princess: legs slanted together at an angle, ankles crossed. Hands folded together in his lap. It was the most uncomfortable position Harry ever had to endure.  

“I feel sorry for princesses,” Harry said. “I think I’m going to die from muscle cramps.”

“Keep this up and you’ll take away Malfoy’s Drama Queen title,” Ron said. 

It showed how much Malfoy grew that he only snorted and said, “He couldn’t take that from me even if he becomes a real princess.” Then a grin stretched his face. “Let’s put a crown on him, Weasel.” 

“I already shoved some chocolate frogs down his shirt,” Ron said, (“Oh my god, is that what it was?” Harry said) He kicked his feet up onto the bed and let his head hung back, closing his eyes. “Keep up, Ferret.”

Malfoy waved his wand and conjured a silver crown filled with various green gemstones that Harry had no hopes of naming. Harry grunted when it was placed on his head. 

“This crown is fucking heavy,” Harry said.

“It’s a coronet, you imbecile,” Malfoy said, taking a step back. His face went still, then very red. Harry glared at him. 

“Go on, make your little jokes,” Harry said, doing his best to look stern. “See if I come hang out with you anymore.”

Malfoy squeaked. His face now red to the point where Harry was starting to worry. 

“Ron, is Malfoy about to pass out?” Harry asked. “It’ll probably not look good if a Healer in training passed out.”

Ron opened one eye. “Nah,” he said. “He just short-circuited. He’ll be back in a few seconds.”

“Huh?” Harry said. 

“Shut it, Weasley,” Malfoy hissed. “Isn’t anyone going to break this stupid curse! What are the Healers doing! Just! Letting him sit there looking like that!”

“You’re the one that put the crown on him, mate,” Ron said. 

Malfoy seemed to shook himself out of it. His snotty expression came back, although somewhat wobbly. “Weasley, you can do it.”

“It has to be romantic love,” Ron said. Harry blushed.

“Then say it romantically,” Malfoy said. He looked down to Harry, the beginning of a grin at the corner of his lips. “Just say, ‘Harry Potter, I love you for who you are. Truly, I love—’”

Harry kicked out a leg and landed right on Malfoy’s shin. “Shut it!” 

Malfoy hopped back. His mouth agape. Face very, very white. Harry looked from his face to his shin apprehensively. 

“I didn’t kick you that hard, did I?” Harry asked.

“No,” Malfoy said. His face edged with disbelief. “No, I don’t—I do not lov—I just—” 

Worried, Harry turned to Ron for support, only to find him also in shock. 

“I mean, I knew,” Ron stuttered. “I knew you had a crush, but I never thought—” 

Harry turned back in time to see Malfoy stumbled out of the room with his eyes on the ground. The door slammed shut behind him. Harry stared. 

“What the fuck?” Harry said. A little hurt that Malfoy just left like that.

“Harry,” Ron said, sounding very pained. “Please tell me you got what just happened.”

“No!” Harry jumped up, upset. “I was just joking with him! We play-hit each other all the time!”

Ron groaned. “Harry. The curse is broken.”

Harry went still. He looked down to find himself standing in a decidedly non-princess manner. 

“Oh,” Harry said. He looked at Ron, then to the coronet (now on the floor), finally to the door. “Oh, my god.”

“Why are you still here!” Ron yelled at him. “Malfoy is probably halfway to Spain by now!”

Harry jumped to action. His legs—unsurprisingly—ached from the abuse that was the princess sit and he stumbled the best he could after Malfoy.

“Malfoy!” Harry shouted, not caring that this was a hospital. People turned to glare at him and that just made him run (away) faster. “Malfoy, you bastard!”

Harry spotted him quick enough, stuck in a crowd of visitors. Malfoy glanced back, panic clear in his expression, and Harry whipped out his wand. 

“Accio!” Harry shouted. 

Malfoy squawked as his body lurched back, crashing into Harry. Harry spun them to lessen the momentum and they both stumbled to a stop. Malfoy glared up. Harry tightened his arms, heart pounding. 

“Did you just summoned me?” Malfoy said. “The insolence! My goodness!”

Harry could tell that Malfoy was gearing up for a full-blown strop, so Harry blurted out the only thing that was on his mind.

Malfoy reared back, staring at Harry with wide eyes. 

“Yeah,” Harry said. “You didn’t hear it wrong. I love you.”

“If this is your idea of getting back for the crown—” Malfoy started. 

“It’s a coronet,” Harry said, and kissed him. 

Malfoy jerked in Harry’s arms, then melted into it with a moan that dissolved all of Harry’s past and future resolve. Simply obliterated it. There was nothing in this world that could keep Harry from Malfoy’s mouth anymore—just nothing—Malfoy cradled Harry’s jaw, no doubt feeling the way it moved as Harry worked his tongue into Malfoy’s mouth—they will just have to die like this— 

They were thrown out of St. Mungo’s for indecent behavior not long after, and years afterward from that day, Ron would retell that story with absolute merriment at the Potter-Malfoy wedding, much to the guests’ delight and the grooms’ mortification. Not that it stopped them from making out in the storage room and getting caught by Mr. Weasley a few hours later. All was well.

[hh-rose]

James Potter and the Retelling of the True Story  Chapter Seven: Death

ao3

masterpost

That's an aggressive chapter name, I know, but at the end of the day, that's what happened, and that's something that I have to talk about. I wish that I could sit here and tell you that it's not true, and they all lived, but I can't. It shouldn't have happened. They were just getting happy. They were fucking happy, and then they weren't.

I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen. I mean, sure, I was worried when they all went to the Ministry that night, but I most certainly wasn't expecting death. They were all working in such tandem, and I was so proud of them for a fleeting moment, but then I saw it happen.

I was a little more focused on what was happening on Earth to notice anything new happening in the afterlife. I watched as Harry screamed and screamed and screamed, and all Remus could do was stand there and hold him. Remus had lost the love of his life for a second, and more permanent, time.

"Harry!" someone screamed as the door to the afterlife opened. "No, Remus! No, let me back! Let me the fuck back!"

"Sirius," I breathed, stepping closer to his turned back. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Pads."

"What?" he asked sharply, whipping around. I can't blame the guy for not recognizing my voice; he hadn't heard it for fourteen years. His breath hitched when he saw me.

"Gorgeous as ever, aren't I?" I joked. Sirius didn't waste any time and he just enveloped me in the tightest hug ever. I grasped him back just as hard. I felt like I got a missing limb back. "I missed you, Pads."

"Missed you so fucking much," Sirius said into my shoulder. We hugged for far longer than was necessary, but it was necessary, wasn't it? "But, I miss him already."

"I know," I whispered. "I know, but you'll get to watch him, and then he'll come here."

"I don't want him to die," Sirius sobbed. I rubbed his back and tried to make it better even though I knew it wasn't. "Where's Lils?'

"Right here, love," she said softly from behind him, and he turned around to hug her instead.

"I, um, I'm here too," Regulus said from behind me. I squeezed his hand, not having any idea how this was going to go.

"Who's that?" Sirius asked, turning around and seeing his brother for the first time in many, many years. He immediately punched him in the face. I pushed him against the wall (I also reminded myself that I should ask him what it looked like for him).

"Calm down," I said, in between gritted teeth. "He's on our side. He changed."

"Is that true?" he asked, it was directed more at me than Regulus. I looked him in the eyes, nodded, and let go. He took a step toward his brother and immediately hugged him. "I'm sorry."

"Me too. So fucking sorry," Regulus whispered. "I love you."

"Oh, Merlin," Sirius sobbed. "I love you too, bud."

...

When Harry and Remus returned to Grimmauld Place after the incident, they were both utterly destroyed. Harry still had a few weeks of school left, but Remus took him out of school immediately. That was the last straw between him and Dumbledore.

"Harry, why don't you go up to bed? I'll be up soon if you want to stay in my room tonight," Remus told him. Harry nodded, completely numb. He walked up the stairs.

"You're back," Walburga's portrait groaned. Remus saw red. "Where is my blood traitor son?"

"He's dead," Remus said through gritted teeth. He looked Walburga in the eyes. "He's fucking dead. Are you happy now? Are you fucking happy? After your years of abuse, he's finally dead, by the hands of your niece no less. You did this. This is on you. I'm sure that you don't feel any remorse about that, but I'm telling you right now, if you ever, ever, ever mutter a word about him again I will be this fucking house down."

Sirius stood next to me smiling slightly as the tears rushed down his face. I squeezed his hand. Walburga's portrait never spoke again, and Remus went upstairs.

"Harry?" he asked when he walked into his (and Sirius's) room. He saw Harry under the blankets and he sighed. "Oh, H."

"I can't, I can't," Harry sobbed. Remus climbed into the bed with him and let him sob into his chest. "Moony, I can't do this, any of it, but especially not without him."

"We're gonna be fine, H," Remus whispered into his hair. "I promise that everything is going to work out. Sirius, uh, he, he wouldn't want us to stop. What do you think he'd say right now?"

"Uh, he would say um," Harry said with a thought and then he laughed. "He would say, 'Haz, it's not like I was going to kill Voldemort for you. The only thing I could offer was my rugged good looks.'"

"Wow, you really nailed that impression. That's exactly what he would say," Remus replied with a laugh. "It's going to be hard, H, and we're going to miss him every second, but it's not like he's not here with us."

Sirius sobbed silently next to me. It was going to be hard for them, but it was also going to be impossibly hard for us.

[fromthemouthofkings]

10 Favorite Characters

Thank you @wisteria-lodge​ for tagging me!!

1. Grand Admiral Thrawn (the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn)

I stan 1 (one) blue alien Sherlock Holmes

[image description: the cover of The Last Command by Timothy Zahn, showing Thrawn as a blue-skinned humanoid with blue-black hair and glowing red eyes, wearing a white Imperial uniform. end id]

So I’m specifically talking about the book character here; I have no idea what’s going on in the Star Wars TV shows. But Thrawn of the Star Wars Legends universe (and the newer canon book, Thrawn) is hands-down one of the best and most interesting characters I’ve ever seen. He’s brilliant, creating battle strategies by studying his opponents’ cultural art to understand their cultural psychology and look for weaknesses in their thinking. And despite being a morally grey character, he’s not unduly arrogant and is actually extremely likeable--he has to work hard to get into the Imperial command structure that heavily discriminates against non-humans, his motivation is the best interest of his people, the Chiss, and he is always willing to explain his thinking to his close allies and friends. And who else would respond to being stabbed by smiling and saying, “But it was so artistically done?”

2. Beren (specifically, from Philosopher-At-Large’s script/screenplay adaptation of Tolkien’s story of Beren and Luthien, A Boy, A Girl, & A Dog: The Lay of Leithian Dramatic Script Project, which can be read in full here: https://rustbucket.net/leithian/index.html)

Do we not all want to yell at the gods about theodicy until they answer our questions to our satisfaction? I specifically pick Beren not from the original Silmarillion, as much as I love Tolkien’s work, but from Philosopher-At-Large’s script retelling, because A Boy, A Girl, & A Dog might just be my favorite work of literature of all time--fanwork, original fiction, or otherwise. I stumbled across it via a fanart of Beren on DeviantArt, like, six or seven years ago that referenced it, and my life has never been the same. It was hard to pick a favorite character, since literally all of the Script’s characters hold a special place in my heart, but I love Beren’s gentle, dry humor and his grim, determined, reckless stubbornness. His relationship with Luthien is of course the driving point of the story, but I thought that his relationships with Finrod and the other members of their company, and his backstory in Dorthonian and his interactions with the Valar were spectacularly done as well. This story is full of the grim determination to at least try and keep loving people, to keep throwing yourself at a problem and refuse to back down until you find a satisfactory solution, and Beren is right there at the heart of that, and I think that makes him pretty hopepunk.

3. Hamlet (Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

What is there to say about Hamlet that hasn’t already been said a thousand times by people significantly more learned and eloquent than me? I love him. He’s a genre-savvy protagonist trapped in a world where nothing! Fucking! Makes! Sense! My poor emo boy. I feel so much for him, being trapped in a situation where he needs to learn the truth in order to move forward and finally act, but there’s no way for him to get at the truth, so instead he just spirals further and further into fey, frustrated, erratic “madness.” Such a disaster bi. Definitely in love with his tired functional gay bf Horatio. Drama queen and Pretentious Asshole TM. In any decent modern au, he loves Hot Topic and gets all his clothes from there. I don’t even really do theater, but I’d love to have a chance to play him onstage.

4. James Dunworthy (the Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis)

The Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis ranges from hilarious (To Say Nothing of the Dog) to heartbreaking (Doomsday Book) and Mr. Dunworthy is right in the middle of all of it. For those who haven’t read it, the premise of the series is that time travel has been discovered, but we can’t use it to change the past, so instead it’s mainly just used by historians going back in time to study history, and Mr. Dunworthy is the head of the history department at Oxford University in the year 2060. He might be strict, but he has strong dad vibes, and, just, cares so much for all of his historians. He basically adopts Colin when Colin is stranded in Oxford over Christmas during an epidemic, he regularly puts himself in danger to look for lost historians, he helped invent time travel, and he knows that the point of studying the past is caring about the people who lived there. I want him to be my dad.

5. The 9th Doctor (Doctor Who)

Okay, I love 10 and 12 and 13 almost as much as I love 9, but 9 has to be my favorite Doctor. He was my first doctor, and what really got me hooked on the series was his kindness--hard-won and hard-clung to after the trauma of the time war. It isn’t always easy for him--the time war took everything away from him, and you can see how he’s tempted to be angry and bitter and harsh--but even so, he insists on helping people, on atoning for his mistakes, on nonviolence and using kindness and cleverness to fix things instead of violence and hate. He says, guns are bad and bananas are good, and every person is important, and when asked if he’s a coward or a killer, he says, “Coward. Any day.” And that philosophy, that choice, has left a deep impact on me.

[image description: gif of the 9th doctor saying “Who said you’re not important?” from New Who Season 1 episode 8, “Father’s Day.” end id]

6. Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

The whole premise of a group of thieves, criminals and con artists getting together to take down corrupt people in power is great, and Eliot is my favorite. He may have done some seriously bad shit in the past, but now he’s just devoted to taking care of the team, and particularly his hacker and his thief. I don’t know that he believes he’s worthy of their love, but he’s still somehow the most mature and emotionally stable member of the team; he knows how to control his anger and live alongside his regrets, and despite his grumbling, he dives headfirst into protecting the rest of the team and keeping them safe. Bonus points for being in an almost-canon ot3, and for the passion that he brings to his cooking. Also, I headcanon him as gray aro and transmasc, because I can.

[image description: gif of Eliot standing back-to-back with Parker and Hardison. end id]

7. Jon Sims (The Magnus Archives)

I’m only on season 3 of TMA so far, but I love Jon with all my heart. Working at a supernatural research institute, after having had a supernatural encounter of your own, and still choosing not to really believe in the supernatural until it knocks down the door to your office and riddles you with worms? Big mood. He’s a stubborn workaholic disaster ace, and I relate because I too struggle to interact with people and tend to get lost in obscure research projects for hours at a time. Somebody give this boy a hug and then a nap.

8. River Taam (Firefly)

Once again, there are a lot of good characters in Firefly, and I was hard-pressed to pick just one of them to put on this list. But River is a sweet summer child slowly overcoming trauma to find the joy and delight in the world around her that she had before the Academy, and I want all the best things for her. Bonus points go to Simon, who gave up everything he knew to save his sister, and Mal, who stubbornly sticks to his own code of honor even after loosing the war and much of his faith.

9. Lancelot (The Once and Future King by T. H. White)

A splendidly complex and morally grey take on our favorite legendary hero. T. H. White writes a Lancelot who struggles deeply with guilt and pride and imposter syndrome--who struggles desperately to do what is right and to channel the traits he finds in himself--both strengths and flaws--into doing the right thing. His scrupulosity is sadly relatable, and the lines “It is so fatally easy to make young children believe that they are horrible” and “ You could not give up a human heart as you could give up drinking. The drink was yours, and you could give it up: but your lover’s soul was not your own: it was not at your disposal; you had a duty towards it” are both absolutely haunting. It’s only implied in the book, but T. H. White admitted in letters that Lancelot enjoys pain, and is probably bi as well, and a bit in love with Arthur, and that he feels very guilty about it, and I just want a fluffy modern adaptation where Arthur and Guenevere and Lancelot can be in the kinky ployamarous triad that they deserve and just be happy together.

10. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)

While I have some problems these days with the Harry Potter series and the transphobia of its author, it’s possible to like something without minimizing its flaws, and this list would not be complete without Luna Lovegood. I spent significant portions of middle school pretending to be her. She taught me how to embrace my own unabashed weirdness, and I wouldn't be the same without her.

@a-nerdy-shade-of-purple @conan-concocting-chaos @one-supportive-august​ @the-lyra-cal-trans​ @the-eleftheria​ @dumpstertrash​

[turquoisewave]

hey sira ..... about that post with the time periods with sinbad and treasure planet and all that ..... WHAT WAS GOING ON? you said you wouldn't rant about it in the tags so i sent this ....... i need answers ..... TT_TT

Alrighty so the main way I know about it is because I learned about the decline of mainstream 2d animated films in the US so I’m gonna be covering both, partially using a copy/paste of a rant I made months back. All info under the readmore:

HOKAY SO, this isn’t all the factors and it’s not everything it’s just what I remember. I tried to fact check this mess and I think I changed any inaccuracies but I COULD BE WRONG.

So, animation in the 2000s, why it was the way it was and why a lot of films went under-appreciated. One thing you gotta remember is that while animation is a creative field, the companies in charge of them are businesses. And businesses will almost always go for low risk/high reward shit. This means, if there’s something tried and true they’ll stick with it. This is why studios often modeled works after other studios (funny talking animals, white gloves, black eyes with that lil white slit, musical shorts like Silly Symphonies, Happy Harmonies, and Merrie Melodies which yes were all by different studios), or in direct opposition of other studios (don bluth going darker with themes to contrast disney’s cuteness, bugs bunny’s trickster personality to contrast mickey’s nondescript Good personality, etc).

But there’s only so long you can do the same stuff before people get tired of it. Most animated feature length films had the same formula: a retelling of an old tale with musical numbers and cute sidekicks. And they started not doing so good.

However, animation at this time had grown in leaps and bounds. Digital coloring and compositing, merging of 3d effects, big studios run by huge companies, and a track record for being profitable as fuck. At the time the companies didn’t want them to go under so they decided to try to get Innovative. Cause that’s how they’d stayed afloat when things went bad before.

They weren’t going to stray from adapting though, too many unknown factors in original stories (which would also require more workshopping and pre-production). So, they’re still adapting old stories. However, they’re pulling from different sources, and in the case of Disney giving them a twist.

Atlantis was inspired by Journey to the Center of the Earth mixed with the myth of Atlantis, Treasure Planet was of course Treasure Island but Pirates in Space (which is one of my favorite nonsensical aesthetics), Dreamworks SKG (their 2d animation dept) went super old school with myths and legends (Sinbad, Prince of Egypt). And both studios went ham on trying to be innovative with the tech at their disposal.

There’s another reason why they went so hard, besides of course being artists. I said before that at the time companies didn’t want their 2d departments to flop, but as time progressed a new alternative began to become prevalent: 3D animation. And this became a huge threat to 2D studios.

Important to note in this regard is the advent of Pixar in the mid 1990s. 3D animation had come a long way from its clunky, surrealist roots. And with the success of movies such as Toy Story and A Bug's Life, it proved itself to be an upcoming profitable medium. It wasn't just the animation though, Pixar had amazing storytellers and directors. And this shit was new, not directly based on an old Grimm Fairy tale or something. In short their whole package was amazing. Dreamworks started being active around this time too and added fuel to the 3D animation fire. Granted Shrek was based on fairy tales, but in a way that was a subversion and became incredibly iconic for it.

At the time Pixar was independent from Disney but working in contract with them. And the success was more than welcomed. As always in capitalism, the question of profitability comes into question. Traditional 2D animation, especially at the high framerate disney was known for, is expensive af to make. Often if directors and producers are not careful, a budget can really run away from you. For example, Toy Story only cost 30 Million USD to make. Treasure Planet cost 140 Million USD. (granted that's because of the combination of 3d and 2d elements. But Lilo and Stitch was almost strictly 2D and still cost more than Toy Story at 80 million USD.) Also, Disney also kinda oversaturated their market. They released a fuckton of straight to dvd sequels (which Disney himself was avidly against) which kinda degraded the overall quality of the Disney 2d animation brand.

There was also competition from other factors. The early 2000s saw the Harry Potter boom, and Lord of the Rings came not soon after. Those of course siphoned off a lot of attention. They were part of pre-established series. The experimental stories that Disney was doing at the time, i.e. AU versions of literary classics, fell flat because the target audience was not familiar with the origin sources, and those that were weren't interested in "kids movies" They had no fucking clue how to market them, and the target audiences didn’t know to look for them.

Lilo and Stitch actually met with success, because 1) they marketed the hell out of it and capitalized on Stitch's mascot-like status and 2) it was more rooted in the kid demographic rather than that awkward kid/teen straddle the other two had. But even Lilo and Stitch couldn't save the Orlando animation studio when Disney finally decided to shut it down. They concentrated the last of their 2D animation studios in Burbank, California. Pixar's contract with Disney ended in 2004, and Disney tried to capitalize on the success of 3D with their own films, Meet the Robinsons and Chicken Little. Both were uh...the Meet the Robinsons wasn't too bad but Chicken Little was like...trying to hard to be a hacky version of a Dreamworks movie Ratatouille was released by pixar independent of Disney which is a neat thing to note. And of course met with success Meanwhile 2D kept falling behind, and whenever it flopped like with Home on the Range it was just another nail in the coffin. Disney renewed its contract with Pixar, and after the release of The Princess and The Frog they switched gears to focus solely on 3D animated feature length films, relegating their 2D staff to tv shows. Granted there's some great shows like Gravity Falls etc but, the fact that they've given up on films is disappointing. But the numbers don't lie. Tangled was its biggest success in a long time. And then Frozen came and blew it out of the water.

tl:dr - People were tired of seeing grim fairy tales stories retold with musical numbers and sometimes talking animals. - Studios tried to use different sources for adaptations and put cool spins on them and incorporate new technology.

But it didn’t end up working in their favor and 2D animation declined because:

- success of studios that were using 3D animation (though credit can also be given to their pre-production staff/writers/storyboarders) - competition from other growing franchises, in some cases Disney cannibalizing its own profits (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean) - Cost effectiveness of 3D vs 2D - Changing of fads and appeal to audience - Inability to market movies properly to target demographics - Studios actively sabotaging their 2d studios to have an excuse to tank them and focus on 3D work.

So yeah, that’s all I got. I’m definitely missing some nuances here though feel free to correct me whoever sees this.

[phoenixagent003]

In Defense of Fanfiction

So, fairly recently (at time of writing), a fellow writer decided to disparage authors who cut their teeth writing fanfiction which, in their words “actively teaches you to write worse.”

Now, as someone who did cut their teeth writing fanfiction, my gut instinct to seeing this tweet was to angrily quote tweet it with the reply “Oh fuck off.” But that much as a I wanted to do that, I didn’t for several reasons. For one, I just generally try to be restrained and selective for who I get that angry and confrontational with online, reserving it mostly for politicians, celebrities, and DC’s Titans. Entities at once morally bankrupt, and largely immune to any kind of damage that I personally can inflict due to an absence of actual humanity.

And that all being said, this person was… well a person. A person with a narrow-minded and incorrect opinion, but still a person. And a fellow writer. So then I thought about refuting their bad-take, but that felt too much like swooping in to mansplain writing to someone who by all accounts seems to have been doing it at least as long as I have, and who’s been considerably more professionally successful at it.

Plus, like I said, I got my start in fanfiction. My origins are quite literally being targeted and attacked here. And feeling targeted can make people say and do some really stupid stuff if they don’t stop and think beforehand.

Basically, I didn’t want to start a Twitter beef over this because quite frankly the internet would be a happier place if we all just did that less, but I still saw a lot of bad arguments and missed points, so I couldn’t just say nothing. And so here we are, at a compromise between Twitter arguing and saying nothing—blogging about it.

The writer in question turned her single tweet into an entire thread that brought up a lot of very different, very unrelated issues, some of which I want to touch on as well, but before I do any of that, I want to answer the central argument, taking it as much as I can on face value and inferring as little else as possible: that fanfiction “actively teaches you to write worse.”

Does it?

Twitter is a terrible medium for communication. It rewards broad, inflammatory statements and its character limit leaves little room for nuance. Some people attempt brute-force circumventions of that limit, but most don’t, and the site isn’t suited to it. So it is unsurprisingly difficult to parse out exactly what they meant, but I can take a stab at it by covering as many bases as I could think of.

Does the medium of fanfiction inherently teach poor writing fundamentals, like prose, plot structure, or character development?

No. Writing, like most skills, is honed by practice. Every time you think about the best word to put on a page or the best way to structure a sentence or story, you are getting better at writing. You start a sentence, and think to yourself, “Hang on, there’s gotta be a better way to word that.” And that moment, where you reflect on your craft and look for ways and spots to improve it—that is you learning. Developing. Maybe you think of a way to word that sentence better, maybe you don’t. But the act of thinking, of searching, of even just acknowledging that it could be better is still work towards improvement. Doesn’t matter if it’s dialogue written for Harry Potter or for your original character, do not steal.

90% of fanfiction is crap. But 90% of everything is crap. Fanfiction is perhaps more famous for being mostly crap, but it’s really not hard to understand why. First off, the only barrier to entry for writing is basic literacy. If you can read this sentence, you can try your hand at writing. The difference between fanfiction and say, traditionally published works, is that fanfiction kind of keeps that low barrier to entry, whereas to get traditionally published you typically have to impress at least two other people—your agent, and then the editor you agent sends your shit to. And even then, that’s not a insurmountable barrier to entry. A metric butt-ton of people do it all the time.

In short, with fanfiction, the “slush pile” is open and visible, whereas with most other stuff, the only people who have to read that garbage are agents and editors, God have mercy on their souls. But rest assured, there is just as much shitty original fiction as there is shitty fanfiction.

In addition to the low barrier to entry, fanfiction is where a lot of people first dip their toe into this gig. And unless you are an unparalleled prodigy, when you’re new at something, you are bad at something. Which is fine. Doing something poorly is the first step to doing something competently. Practice is practice.

Now, you can practice something incorrectly and do yourself wrong—anybody who knows about proper weight lifting form can tell you that. But for the most part, a writer working on fanfiction is no more likely to do this than someone writing anything else.

The two exceptions I can think of are character and worldbuilding. Somewhat unique to fanfiction (we’ll talk about that in a minute) versus original fiction is that in fanfic, the characters and world are already established. Depending on the kind of fic you write, you may very well not get practice or experience making characters or worlds, since you’re using someone else’s work to basically cover that for you. So, sometimes, in this one specific area, fanfiction does feature something of a crutch that could theoretically lead to deficiencies in a writer’s fundamentals.

That said, that is very much dependent on the type of fanfic. Some works feature entirely original casts, telling a new story with new characters in an established setting. And even in fics which predominantly focus on the established cast, fanfic writers are downright notorious for adding new, original characters into the mix. Most of them are… awful. But we already covered why that is. Remember, bad writing is not the same thing as bad practice.

Ditto worldbuilding, where we’ve got plenty of fanfics that outright replace the world of the established story. The Alternate Universe concept is a very popular one in fanfic.

I will say in a closing than with worldbuilding and character, fanfiction does typically replace only one of these while keeping the other. Mainly because if you changed both, you’re liable to have left the realm of fanfiction altogether.

Does fanfiction, by its nature, leave you unprepared for making the transition to the professional writing world?

Let’s pretend for a moment that we didn’t just shoot down the idea that writing fanfiction means you never honed your ability to create your own original world and characters. That’s nonsense, but let’s say for purely hypothetical arguments sake, that if you start out writing fanfiction, your character-creating muscles will atrophy and you’ll only be able to work with pre-existing concepts, worlds, and characters. Does fanfiction leave you unprepared for making it in the world of professional writing?

For your consideration, I present: the very concept of episodic television. TV shows regularly bring on writers who did not originate either the show or its characters. TV writers craft stories borrowing a world and characters that somebody else came up with. The only difference between them is fanfiction is they got paid and get to be stamped as canon. Same muscles getting used. Same kind of exercise.

The spec script, the method by which most people showcase their ability to write for TV, is literally just fanfiction.

Then we have adaptations and retelling of both licensed and public domain properties, where once again, we have scores of writers, taking characters and concepts that they did not come up with, and using them to tell their own stories, or even just put different spins on the originals. What if Hades and Persephone, but without the whole “against her will” thing? Hey Marvel, can I use your Norse god character to tell a story about how societies built on the back of colonialism are inherently flawed and shouldn’t be preserved at the expense of the people?

The skillset of playing with other people’s toys to make something compelling is an incredibly valuable one for a writer to have. If anything, I’d argue that fanfiction is even better suited to teaching this skillset than writing original fiction.

And as a quick aside, that practice of playing with other people’s characters and constantly asking “Is this in character for them?” is a very useful practice that actually translates very well to writing your own characters. When you invented a character, it can be tempting to declare anything you write “in-character” since, well, you wrote it, and they’re your creation. But that thinking can easily lead to disjointed characterization.

I routinely ask “is this in-character?” while writing for characters I created. It makes me a better writer, and I learned how to ask that question and how to identify the answer from writing fanfiction.

Does fanfiction distort your sense of good taste?

This is the closest I could possibly come to agreeing with the original argument. The last time I was actively involved in it, the fanfiction community had pretty low standards, actually? I say this, because when I was writing fics, I was actually heaped with praise and attention, almost all of which was near universally good.

But I was not good. I was bad. I was very bad. Because I was in junior high, and an idiot, and those fics were the first thing I ever wrote that was longer than seven pages. But I updated my fics daily over the summer, in a very popular fandom that predominantly targeted people my age. So I got lots of fans and praise, and I started to think I was a good writer. Even worse than that, other people thought I was a good writer, and told even more people that I was.

Which is an affront to good taste.

That having been said, even though I do hold fandom and its nature partially to blame for the single most humbling aspect of my entire life, I also just hold adolescence in general to blame? Maybe? I like to think that much as I grew beyond my poor grasp of my own woeful incompetence, so too did my audience grow up and get a better understanding of what actually good writing is.

But then again, EL James and Reki Kawahara have made more money than I’ve ever seen in my life. So maybe neither fanfic nor adolescence is to blame. Maybe sometimes trash just sells.

As an aside, I hope this doesn’t come off as me trying to be mean or make fun of all those people who liked my old stuff. I know I’m embarrassed by it, and the only reason I haven’t deleted it all is because I need an ego check every now and again (and they’re also how I met my wife). But whether you also did a 180 on my old stuff as you got older or you still unironically think it’s good… thank you for the support. You are my humble beginnings and I would not be the person I am today without all of you.

…and that’s enough getting sentimental and making this about me, let’s go back to debunking opinions that are objectively wrong because I disagree with them.

The Other Stuff

I feel I’ve thoroughly said my peace on the original argument put out by my colleague. Namely, that they are wrong. But I’d also like to very quickly address the everything else they spewed out. My takes on this are considerably less long winded and probably could have been sanded down to a Twitter reply, but I still figure their inbox is getting enough shit already, and I want to make this more about the arguments than the person.

I’m not going to cover everything in detail, especially since I am super not qualified to speak on some of them—there is only so much I as a cishet dude feel comfortable giving my opinion on—but I will cover the bits that stood out and ground my gears.

EL James and Cassandra Clare are “fucking terrible”

No disputing the EL James part. Her character work is atrocious, her understanding of actual kink and BDSM dynamics and lifestyles is woeful, her plot bears clear evidence of serialized work that was not properly cleaned up prior to publication.

I haven’t read Cassandra Clare’s work. I have heard both good and bad things about it, but let’s say for argument’s sake she’s also not great.

This comment shows a distinct lack of knowledge of just how many authors, many critically acclaimed, write fanfiction on the side or got their start in it. Neil Gaiman writes fanfiction—and usually manages to get paid for it. I could go on with a long and yet still non-exhaustive list of authors who have done or still do it. Bottom line, there are some very high profile, not good writers whose start in fanfiction has been effectively weaponized against them to further underline their badness—“Of course EL James is bad. What did you expect from someone who started in fanfiction—while simultaneously many good writers have their connections to it downplayed by either choice or their own profile.

“Low effort formulaic lowest-common-denominator writing is bad actually”?

I almost brought this into main discussion, but I said I would infer as little as possible and on its own, this tweet didn’t directly say it was talking about fanfiction. I would argue it heavily implied it, and I very much doubt the author of the tweet would disagree with me, but I made the no inferring rule and I stuck to it.

I’m actually still going to take this argument on its own for a moment. I’ve already covered how and why fanfiction is generally seen as bad—low barrier to entry and the bad stuff is as easy to find as the good stuff—so I want to talk about something else. “Low effort writing is bad. No real arguments. I could jokingly say Neil Gaiman could drunkenly scribble something on a napkin that would outclass my best efforts, but I actually don’t have that low an opinion of myself.

Lowest-common-denominator writing is probably bad. In general, I think trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator is a good way to make uninspired trash, but on the other hand…fuck it, I’m liable to be included in that lowest common denominator most of the time. That’s the whole goddamn point of the LCD. It casts a broad net. And there’s a place for that. I don’t think it should be a big place, but still a place.

“Formulaic writing is bad” though? That I also just straight up disagree with. Formulas are a tool. And like every tool, they can be used really well, or really poorly. Used well, a formula can provide a solid structure around which to build interesting stories or ground the audience in otherwise unfamiliar settings. Don’t call a hammer a bad tool just because you’re hitting the nail wrong.

Several arguments discussing fanfictions relationship to queer and female audiences/writers/identities:

Nope, not touching that.

Oh fuck off.

Fanfiction isn’t collaborative or about community because “it's all corporate IP” and “Ultimately, someone else legally owns it, and you are choosing to give a corporate entity your creative energy.”

And this is actually something that’s been bugging me a while, specifically regarding the relationship people have with corporately owned IP and how it being owned by a corporation doesn’t automatically invalidate it as a source of emotional investment or cultural symbolism. But quite honestly, that really deserves its own post, so I’m just going to put a pin in this that and say we’re done here.

Glad I got all that off my chest.

So that was a thing. If you’ve got your own experiences with fanfic, good or bad, I’d love to hear them in the comments or over on Twitter.

If your curious about my history in fanfiction, like I said, it is all still technically out there, and very bad, but I’m not so much of a masochist that I’d link it here. I wouldn’t read it if I were you.

I write newer, much better stuff now. Some of it is here on this website, and some of it is in a novel coming out Fall 2021! Check that out instead! I promise it’s a much better use of your time.

[iamasphodelknox]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

*All answers should be about works published in 2017. 

I was tagged by @haloeverlasting

1. List of works published this year:

Hot damn, here we go. This list includes fanfic and other things... 

Fanfic

Sounds Happy to Me

Guinevere the Ginger Squirrel

Where We Are

Give Up the Fight

A Glimmer of Light Flickers In

Insatiable Desire

Moments Make Great Love

The Art of the Giants

My Heart Lies With You

Finding Us in Our Atmosphere

Gem and the Hunters: The Treasure of Babylon

Put Some Records On

Define Dancing

Original Work

The Leila Chronicles (a novel in three parts that started out as two short stories and ended up surprising me by becoming a novel in the last three days of NaNoWriMo... I’ll be self-publishing it soon!)

Blog Work

The Lexicon Writing Blog (I write about writing, productivity, prompts, and inspiration... 59 posts this year!)

Two ebooks on POV and finding time to write which you can get for free by signing up for my email list here.

Why I Refuse to Be Afraid (my reflections and thoughts after the Inauguration)

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

I’m proud of so much of what I wrote this year, but most of all I’m proud of two in particular: The Leila Chronicles and Define Dancing. Both started out completely differently from how they ended up and both of them feature my strongest writing, the strongest world building, and my best efforts. 

I’m insanely proud of The Leila Chronicles because it’s a culmination of everything I’ve done all year... the writing, the stressing, the planning, the panicking. Everything I’ve learned shows up in this incredible story that took me by surprise and ran with me to places I’d never anticipated going. 

I’m proud of Define Dancing because I never in a million years would think I could write a magical realism but I did. And I think I did it rather well... I was able to paint probably my absolute favorite relationship in a way that really resonated with me. I’m immensely proud because this story stretched me and challenged me and had me asking hard questions about my writing. It showed me I already had the answers to all of them.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

Most of my earlier works but Insatiable Desire sort of... left something to be desired, in my opinion. It’s a fun story but not my best writing or my best storytelling. But it was an important part of building up to writing my first smut scene so I’ll take it as a learning experience.  

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

“Louis, it’s in the high 30’s!” Harry said, following Louis as he marched back and forth across the ridge, marking out potential places he wanted to dig first, his purposeful step followed by Harry’s more clumsy lumber. “Someone will get heatstroke and die, and I thought we’d agreed that we’re all going back to London in one piece!”

“I don’t think dying of heatstroke will cut me into a few pieces, Harry!” Louis cried, sporting a ridiculous pout that had Liam, Gemma, and Niall all snickering. 

“This is my life’s work! My magnum opus! My greatest accomplishment! I can only go down from here.”

“Louis, you’re only thirty.” Harry deadpanned. Niall laughed out loud.

“Exactly!” Louis threw his hands in the air. “I’m practically an old man!” He was grinning and eventually, Harry started laughing, his wide grin forcing his dimples to show so much that Louis paused his pacing to grin at him.

- Gem and the Hunters: The Treasure of Babylon

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

Oh there’s no way I could pick just one... but one of my favorites came from my friend @haloeverlasting:

I know I've told you over and over and over again that i love this fic but i just needed it immortalized right here.

I LOVE THIS STORY. i love how you put your characters first, and you honor their stories and don't rush them into things it isn't the time for. ;) I love how much the history is a part of the story, and how much your characters love it. it makes me love it too. i love all of them as individuals and together. and really i just love everything about this wonderful story you've created, where past failures don't define you, and it's never too late to find new love in your life.

ugh. i love you. <3

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Oh man... writing is always a composite of hard things but the hardest thing I’ve had to write this year was a scene in The Leila Chronicles where two characters have a very intense discussion about how their actions influenced so much more than either of them expected. It was exhausting and hard and left me feeling like I’d run a marathon and experienced emotional trauma all in one day. But I’m also incredibly proud of that scene so it was worth it. 

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Literally, every single story I wrote this year (and my husband can attest to this) started with me pacing back and forth in my apartment saying “I’ve never written anything like this before. I don’t know if I can.” But every single story, I did and I could.

I never thought I’d do a retelling of the Hades/Persephone myth. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written though.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

This is an extension of the previous question. I never would have guessed that by the end of one year I would have written a mythology retelling, a magical realism story, three fairytale retellings, an abo fic, two sex scenes, a whole novel, an Indiana Jones-style mystery, or a story about my hometown, Seattle. I learned that I can write a variety of things, and I learned that I can surprise myself with what I’m really capable of. 

I also started this year with a completely different set of goals and resolutions, almost none of which actually came to pass. But I spent the entire year writing stories I loved, stories that impacted people on spiritual and emotional levels, making writing friends, and learning millions of new things about my writing. I never could have written the Leila Chronicles a year ago... the journey was worth it.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I just want to keep getting better. I have the Gem sequels coming up (I’ve never written a series so I guess that’ll be something for 2018), I have a few new aus and crossovers, a Harry Potter retelling that I’m very excited for, and a few personal projects that I’m keen to start. I’m just hopeful that I’ll keep writing, keep learning, and keep seeing every story as a stepping stone to making me a better writer. I’d also like to publish The Leila Chronicles and a nonfan version of Gem and the Hunters.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

At the beginning of the year, I had no writer friends to speak of. Now, at the end of the year, I’m friends with some of my favorite writers and get to gush every day about different projects. 

@hlficpraise - My darling Viv, I would be completely lost without you. You’ve been the best beta a girl could ask for and a wonderful, encouraging friend. You read everything I write, you know grammar inside and out, and you are always there with a listening ear and a timely joke. 

@indiaalphawhiskey - My twin soul. If I wasn’t for you Indy, I never would have met the people I know now. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have signed up for challenges, tried new things, taken so many risks, or put myself out there. Your constant encouragement is priceless. 

@haloeverlasting - Sunshine, I wouldn’t be the writer I am without you. You encourage me, challenge me, inspire me, and urge me to write the hard things, tell the hard stories, and are always there when I panic or freak out. Your feedback and listening ear are so important to me. And I love that we gush about writing and reading. :)

Additionally, for their encouragement, excitement, and exuberance:

@theficwritersblock @suddenclarityharry @hrrytomlinson @briannamarguerite

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

I leave little pieces of my soul in every story I write. @hlficpraise pointed out my main themes in all of my stories a few months ago and they ring true of my personal life as well: redemption, equality in relationships, second chances, hope.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

You don’t have to write in a vacuum! Friends will help you immeasurably. 

You already have everything you need. All you need to do is get your ass in your chair and just fucking do it.

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’ve got the Gem sequels that I can’t even wait to share with you all. I have  Harry Potter retelling that is probably going to be bigger than I’m anticipating but still an incredible ride. And I’ve got a Dunkirk au coming up... I’m so in love with it, I can’t even tell you. 

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read.

@indiaalphawhiskey @suddenclarityharry @theficwritersblock

[howlsmovinglibrary]

All of the question tags!!

Damn, it seems that this is what happens when you run out of phone data and are away from wifi for a while. The 11 questions tags take over.

Imma gonna answer every tag that I can find in this one long post, and sweet jesus I’m not tagging anyone in this particular chain, for fear of starting some kind of infinite loop that eventually becomes sentient and takes over the world.

So, time to seriously overshare!!

From @books-are-portals​

1. Favourite mythological being (of any kind)?

It’s a tie between dragons and unicorns, and you know what that means…..FIGHT!

2. Least favourite drink?

I hate coke/diet coke/pepsi/cola. I’m quite intolerant to caffeine in large doses, so the last time I drank a glass of coke, at like 4pm in the afternoon probably about 8 years ago, it kept me away until 3am D:

3. What book(s) do you recommend for everyone?

The Wicked and the Divine comics. It’s hella diverse, the art is amazing, and it’s about insanely powerful magical pop star gods. EVERYONE SHOULD READ.

4. Can you touch the tip of your nose with your tongue?

No – I have both an incredibly small nose and a very stubby tongue.

5. Least favourite book protagonist?

Ummm, bar all the protagonists from classics that I could endlessly moan on about all day and all night (I’m looking at you, Pamela), I’m going to say Zoey from The House of Night series, for all her toxic slut shaming, double standards, and just generally horribly written narrative voice (‘bullpoopy’ is a word that will forever be branded on my mind).

6. What TV show/film makes you happy?

Brooklyn Nine Nine is my go-to happy tv show, Spirited Away/Howl’s Moving Castle are the film equivalent.

7. Favourite trope?

Anything where a platonic friendship (particularly between two women) gets prioritised above a romantic relationship.

8. What piece of fictional technology would you like to have?

An alethiometer from HDM – it tells you the truth, but not enough to stop you from being in control of your own fate (the beauty of a book about free will, I guess.)

9. Finish sentence: I didn’t get enough sleep last night because…

…my back aches from lugging all my books to storage.

10. Favourite food to eat when you’re feeling down?

To be honest, it’s probably toast (with peanut butter if it’s been a really bad day).

11. Can you knit?

I can, but I can’t knit well. If you want a scarf, I can, in theory, do that. Anything that isn’t just one uniform band of the same stitch and I am not the person for the job.

********

From @heretherebebooks

1. Have you ever fallen out of love with a book? Why?

There are a lot of standard answers: ACOTAR, Twilight, etc. but my most recent is Borderline by Mishell Baker – I really like books with ‘unlikeable’ protagonists so I gave this a very high rating on first review, but I didn’t realise how damaging this representation of BPD is until I read multiple own voices reviews on the subject.

2. What’s the strangest book-related dream you’ve ever had? 

I have a lot of book dreams which feature me as the protagonist in my favourite fantasy novels, but then when I try to use magic to defend myself my brain goes ‘but Emma, magic doesn’t exist’ and so I’m suddenly facing down a demon hoard with no powers whatsoever.

3. Have you read a book that you didn’t really appreciate until later on? 

Ash by Malinda Lo is the main one for this, because  I didn’t appreciate that Ash is not supposed to get with the unbelievably hot fairy prince…until I reread five years later and saw that the hot fairy prince is a dick.

4. What book would you like to see a musical adaptation of? (Bonus: any ideas for song titles?)

To be honest, I just want Starkid to do a ‘A Very Potter Musical’ version of Cursed Child and watch the fanfiction of the fanfiction.

5. Have you ever thrown a book across the room? What was it? 

Ms Marvel Volume 4 (my ship was sunk…for now, anyway).

6. What book cover do you absolutely hate? How would you redesign it?

The Falconer and Dark Days Club UK covers are just super tacky – I’d take the Falconer US covers, and replace the Dark Days standard ‘pretty woman in fragile looking pose’ covers with either ‘plain looking woman fighting a fuck tonne of demons’ or just ‘fuck tonne of demons’, which is what the story is about anyway.

7. Have you ever cosplayed a character? Who?

I’m read this question at a con while dressed as Newt Scamander, so…. (last year I was Violet from the Rat Queen comics).

8. What’s the last book that made you want to scream from the rooftop? 

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (the thing I screamed was “MURDER. IN. SPAAAACEEE!” when my housemate asked me what it was about, although I was not on a rooftop at the time.)

9. What’s your favourite subgenre? 

My new favourite is ‘geeky contemporary’, bonus points if it’s ‘geek convention contemporary’ (Queens of Geek, Geekerella, Unconventional)

10. If you could bring an author back to life to write one more book, who would it be? 

I think Angela Carter could write one hell of a feminist YA fairy tale retelling, so I’m gonna bring her back.

11. Mug full of tea on your bed - yay or nay?

I just….I don’t live life this dangerously xD

*********

From @bookcub:

1. Who was the last character you related to and what were they from?  

Luca from The Burning City by Amanda Foody – he was basically the reason I kept reading that book, which otherwise wasn’t really my cup of tea, despite being a perfectly good book. He was the love interest, and was explicitly demiromantic. Although I’m not entirely sure where I place on the ace spectrum, and also felt that his portrayal was a little bit too cut and dry – with no sexual attraction until the MC shows up and then all the sexual attraction immediately at once with not really any grey area – his indifferent attitude towards sex as a general concept until those feelings latch onto a specific person, and his hesitation surrounding how to handle a relationship when it’s not something he’s has to consider before that point, were both very relatable for me. It certainly fitted my experience a little better than Tash Hearts Tolstoy.

2. What’s your favorite genre of music? 

Hmmm…there’s a wide range but I guess singer songwriter covers it? I care more about a song’s lyrics than what genre it’s in.

3. Which tags on tumblr do you follow and why? 

*whispers* I still don’t really understand how following tags works…..(someone plz explain)

4. Do you have any book related jewelry? 

I have a necklace of an owl delivering a Hogwarts letter, and Howl’s earrings from the Ghibli movie.

5. Thoughts on booklr being dead? 

I think the parts of booklr that were active a few years ago might be dead, but that’s just one specific group of people and they’ve probably moved on for a reason. Given it’s only in the last year or so that I’m getting notes and making friends, if booklr truly is dead then it seems that I’m either a necromancer, or having one hell of a party in the graveyard.

6. What are some of your favorite picture books from when you were a kid?

We’re Going On a Bear Hunt is the classic (my parents used to sing it to me to get me to go on hikes). When I could read for myself, Varjak Paw. 

7. What’s the first book you remember reading or being read to you? 

My dad read me the first and half of the second Harry Potter books on the Eurostar train from London to Disneyland Paris.

8. What’s your favorite dystopian novel and why? 

Hmmm, I’m not really a fan of dystopias all that much (more of a fantasy person), but I really like the Wolf by Wolf series, which I think counts due to it being alt. history, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The first because a) it has fantasy elements, and b) A* character development over the duology. The second because it was the first ‘literary’ book I read for school and enjoyed, and because the TV show has been one of my favourite things this year.

9. Where do you get/buy most of your books? 

Truthfully, Amazon. I’m trying to do better now that I’m no longer strapped for cash.

10. Favorite animal? 

Cats. Fluffy, smooshy faced cats in particular ^^.

11. What book release are you anxious for (one you know the release date for) (yeah that means not Doors or Stone) 

It’s a toss-up between The Stone Sky by NK. Jemisin (which is out like, next week!!), Provenance by Ann Leckie, and Warcross by Marie Lu.

**********

From @accidentalspaceexplorer:

1. What do you think of science fiction?

I think it is good when written well, where the focus on world building doesn’t leave the characters one dimensional. Unfortunately I also think it is coded masculine in a number of ways - the focus on a ‘logical, technological’ world rather than ‘illogical’ femme coded magic  -  which means that sometimes I find it quite an frustrating and alienating genre. 

2. What’s one of your pet peeves?

Mansplaining. Currently there’s this really horrible man at my book club who keeps trying to explain narrative to me and I’m like, dude, I’m an English Literature graduate.

3. If you could pick one magic system to exist in real life, what would it be?

Oh, fuck. There’s so many that would be amazing, but I think the main I always gravitate back to is Elemental magic a la the Avatar universe, because that was the first type of magic system I fell in love with.

4. What is your favorite tree?

Cherry blossom

5. Do you have any plants around the house?

I do not own any personally, but my housemate has like fifteen spider plants to which I like to think I am a caring godmother figure.

6. What is the book with the weirdest premise that you’ve read and would recommend?

The Jane Austen Project - time travellers go back to Regency era Britain to befriend Austen and try to steal one of her lost manuscripts.

7. Have you loved books for as long as you can remember, or was there a particular event that sparked you becoming a reader?

As long as I can remember - I remember giving a presentation in class about how I was going to be any author at age 9.

8. What is your favorite recipe?

Lemon meringue cake - cake, lemon curd, a fuck tonne of meringue, what’s not to love?

9. Do you reread books? If not, why not? If so, what’s one that you reread again and again?

Yes. Always reread. My three main ones are The Dark Days Club, Uprooted, and (of course) Howl’s Moving Castle.

10. What’s your favorite weather?

Cold sunshine in winter. 

11. Do you read every day?

Pretty much (I read on my lunch break at work).

I think that’s every outstanding question answered - sorry if I’ve missed anyone!

[vampire-himbos-of-santa-perdita]

I’m doing The Thing, which @ingridlake posted, because evidently I inspire numerous people with my writing insights or something...  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

So here’s some Wisdom™.

What made you first start writing? Do remember anything specific that made you start or have you always “just wanted to?” For as long as I could hold a pen, I’ve been a writer. When I was like, 5 or 6, idk, I was making picture books with like, dozens of pages. But I remember when I read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time series and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I thought to myself, “omigod, I wanna write that!” and then I was like “...I can write that! I’m gonna write that!” So I did.

In grade 5, I wrote my first complete story, and I initially wanted to write it as a short story I could give to my parents for Christmas, but then November turned into March and I had a 75 page novella on my hands. I’ve been writing 500 page novels ever since. 

What was your favourite childhood book? Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I’ve read it about a dozen times at this point? Also, shout out to Ella Enchanted and A Ring of Endless Light, which I also read multiple times.

Have you read a book or story that you would say stuck with you “the most” either as a reader or as a writer? Wuthering Heights haunts every single thing I write and I don’t realise I’ve written another version of WH until AFTER it’s finished... 

Music! Do you use it at any point in your writing process? Lots and lots. I’m obsessed about putting together playlists that perfectly match every detail of every scene or characters’ development for each project. Time, Regardless currently has about half a dozen playlists with about 20 songs each. I’ll listen to specific playlists when I go out for walks if I wanna get in the zone to plot a certain scene. How do you feel about fairy tales? Love them, hate them, read them all the time, think they’re childish or is it something else? LOVE! I’ve always been fascinated by the original Grimms and Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales because they’re so dark and gothic and do so many clever things as cautionary tales and allegories. In high school, I had to read Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, which is a really dark, fucked up feminist take on fairy tales, and it changed my life. I have yet to really find another fairytale retelling that holds a candle to that. Though I continue to search for it nonetheless, because fairy tales are so timeless, retellings are constantly on trend. There’s always new stuff. It’s like Shakespeare, there’s countless ways to adapt any number of them, and we get new stories every time. What kind/sphere of knowledge tends to influence your writing the most? (i.e. if you know a ton about music, does that show up in your work? Are you a mythology buff and pull a great deal from that knowledge? Or maybe you’re into science and use that a good bit!) I am a Victorian gothic nerd. I fell in love with Wuthering Heights and Dracula in high school, and then went on to do my undergrad in Victorian literature and criminal history, so I have an inordinate amount of grim, gruesome facts stored up in my brain and that comes out a lot whenever I write anything. My writing’s always very dark and gothic, even in ways you wouldn’t expect. I also happen to have an MSc in Publishing, and I’ve done a lot of work in the industry, and researched what it’s lacking, so I’m always working with that in the back of my mind when I make important decisions for my characters. I know that the YA market is in desperate need of more diversity, so I’m very conscious of adding in diversity of gender, sexuality, and race. And in extension, making sure I’m speaking to Own Voices in order to ask the appropriate questions that’ll invite an accurate portrayal of these experiences.  Have you had/do you have one person that you would consider your “writing mentor?” Not for a very very long time, because I think I came to a point in my life even back as a teen, where I sort of became my own mentor, but I really do owe my writing “career” to my grade 4 teacher, who saw a spark in me and lit it up. We had this assignment to write this Gold Rush era story and I wrote this horrifying tale about this man whose donkey was murdered, and instead of calling my parents in and saying “your daughter is Concerning”, she pushed me to write more. She urged me to enter this essay contest, which I won (I had to read it in front of 300 people at Sea World, so if you ever wonder where that occasional over-confidence about my writing comes from, it was instilled pretty damn early...), and that was what kinda gave me the permission I needed to pursue writing. I love her and she’s the first person getting a signed copy of  Regardless when it’s finally published. <3

Have any books made you want to travel to a specific place (in the real world of course!) SIMPLY because the book really brought it to life? I remember The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants made me obsessed with Greece, and Harry Potter made me obsessed with the UK, to the point where I Knew I was meant to be an honorary Brit. (I’d love to strive toward dual citizenship one day).  Have you ever named a pet after a character from a book you read? Have you named a pet after a character from a work that you wrote? Our cat came with the name Oscar, but I like to think he’s named after Oscar Wilde, because duh. I also occasionally call him Ozymandias, because Shelley, and he’s an asshole who thinks he rules All the Land ™. Our dog is named Pippin, after arguably the best hobbit in Lord of the Rings. I very seriously consider naming my first future cats Rosie and Hugo after Ron and Hermione’s kids, because why not? I’d never name any pet or child after any of my characters though because they’re all assholes. Do any specific settings crop up repeatedly in your works? Are those settings pulled from where you currently live or have lived in the past? Regardless and Undone are both set in San Diego, where I lived when I was first developing the series. I love a good beachy setting... <3 Victorian Crime Novel is set in London, which is my favourite city in the entire world. I like to think my heart is just there, constantly. It never left. And Moonage, once I get to rewriting it, will be set in a fictitious amalgamation of Canadian tourist mountain towns like Jasper, Kelowna, and Banff, with a touch of Vancouver Island, because that’s the area of my home country I feel remotely connected to. I really just needed a suitably foresty backdrop for Moonage to replace Cabeswater, and I feel that makes the most sense to me. I’ve spent so long on one project, I’m super psyched to branch out to all these different places beyond California, especially since I’ve been to so many places that deserve to be immortalised in print.

I tag whoever wants to answer these questions! :3

[ibijus]

tagged by @weeping-detective AW YISS LETS GO

20 facts about me:

1. People assume I’m The Quiet One™ and god knows how many times I've used that at my favor... I’m The One With The Awful Ideas That’ll Get Someone Hurt And Yet Everyone’s Onboard.

2. When I was 8 I had a liiiiittle accident while playing at school that ended with a cut at my wrist that bled everywhere while I, no joke, ran and screamed around WHIT MY EYES CLOSED. The scar is giant yet nobody ever asks about it probably fearing to trigger me lol

3. Had my vesicle removed when I was 14. Recovery time is super quick and the surgery is very easy so when I told people at school I had surgery not long before classes began some people didn’t even believe me because I waited over half an year to actually mention it (it was a new school and stuff.

4. Me and my brother share a room, there’s a wood divisor and I even have my own door but he gets the window. Lil shit will listen to music and play games at full volume but I need to listen to my pop garbage with headphones on or he laughs at my music taste, the absolute ass.

5. Growing up people would assume me and my cousin where twins.

6. We had this house with a pool at the back and one day mom call’s everyone for lunch and I show up dripping and she’s like WTF CHILD turns out I jumped the fence to the pool and got inside. I was… Less than 4 years old? At best 4 years old. Mom and dad had to leave the pool only half filled from that point forward because they didn’t trust me to not fricking drown myself. THAT WAS A WISE CHOISE, I ALSO WOULDN’T TRUST CHILD ME.

7. So, when I was born we had this HUGE dog, Leo, and my parents were afraid that he’d eat me lol but tbh he’d be able to eat newborn me in one bite TURNS OUT he loved me to bits and once I rode him and he was like “wtvr tiny human lets go” and I was freaking out because I’m not a cowboy tnks but it was only a few steps and he sit down and I slid from his back and fell on my bottom on the floor behind him

8. I had 9 hamsters.

9. I HAD LITTLE CHICKS. Funny story, there were two of them and one day they were gone and my mom told me she gave then to a friend of my brother whose uncle had a little farm where they would grow up happy and healthy. Few years forward family is chatting and brother turns to mom and say “remember those chicks you gave to some random guys? Lol I bet they ate them” and I immediately turned to them like EXCUSE ME I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THAT and they froze and I still remember the way my mother looked at my brother like he had betrayed her…

10. Once my brother hid a giant screw driver in my school bag and I sat right in front of the teacher’s desk, so I’m fishing for my books and suddenly pull that huge stupid things and everyone around me is silent and the teacher does a double take on me and say “now is not woodwork class” and I didn’t talk to my brother for a few days because of that (to this day he’s very proud of that and adores when I retell him what happened that day in class)

11. My grades where atrocious until right before high school.

12. My grades at high school were great then good then “yeah it’s passable” but that was the time I met my BEST FRIENDS.

13. Somewhere in the house there’s a Harry Potter notebook where I used to write poetry. I’ve been searching for it for years because it needs to be BURNED.

14. Once as a child I cried watching the Care Bears. (there was one bear that was sad because he was alone but it turns out everyone was planning him a surprise party and I cried SO HARD, I bet I’d cry again if I saw it now)

15. A lot of people assume I do drugs?? Mostly weed. It happened SO MANY TIMES I just find it funny now but for f cks sake no I don’t smoke weed, I’m very against drugs to the point even I find myself annoying about this topic LET ME BE CHILL WITHOUT ASSUMING I’M HIGH PLS I ASSURE YOU ON THE INSIDE I’M SCREAMING

16. When I was a kid I thought that if you lost an arm or leg it would grow back, but it only happened until a certain age, because I had seen adults without a member but never children so I never feared that one day I’d do something stupid and lose an arm or leg. GOOD THING I NEVER PUT THAT ONE TO TEST.

17. I wear glasses since I was 5 and I really want to do the surgery to get rid of them.

18. There are two things I’d love to say on a fight but the opportunity never shows itself: 1. The only reason I’m not your father is because your mother didn’t have change for a 50; and 2. Smell my balls. I don’t even know, it makes me GIGGLE just thinking about it.

19. I think I threw up in every school trip I even went…

20. I’m VERY proud of this one: my brother is kind of a germaphobe and when we were kids and I got REALLY MAD at him I’d wait for dinner and when he turned around I’d sip from his cup. I wouldn’t tell him anything or act any different, just take tiny sips… A few years ago I finally turned to him and told him “when we were kids and you were an ass I’d wait for you to turn around and I’d drink from your cup.” His face. His fucking face. It made it worthy waiting all those years to disclosure my villainous acts. I’m proud.

TAG TIME! (if you want to, of course) @emeraldonyxdragon @earl-of-221b @dulcetailurophile @thegreatkitto idk guys if someone else want to do it and tag me I’ll love to read and like ;D

[fangirlingabout]

Sometimes A Masterpiece Can Be Appreciated by What it’s Not

So, you might’ve heard that Netflix dropped a teaser a few days ago for their new film adaptation of the legendary anime Death Note. Or you might not have, in which case, I’m sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but... it’s bad. But maybe not in the way you’d think when I told you that.

I think you could guess the main issue that’s causing such an uproar just by watching (namely, the white-washing of characters that are Japanese), but what I meant is that the execution isn’t bad.

Director Adam Wingard clearly has a style and atmosphere in mind that he wants to bring to life, and for what it wants to be, it looks like an intriguing action movie.

But the problem was there from day 1 of the story meetings: the ideas driving this adaptation are totally off-base. The execution on those ideas might be fucking rad for all we know, it’s just that from what we can see, they missed the point in fundamental ways.

And obviously we can debate about the white washing and race-changing (it’s not seen here, but another beloved character that’s Japanese originally, L, was changed to black) and how it steals potential roles from Asian-American actors, and whether or not it effects the narrative (I mean, why would Light be nicknamed ‘Kira’ if this isn’t set in Japan? And if it is, well, it’s not like Japan is completely one race, but it just begs the question: ‘why make the change at all?’)---but I feel like that’s already been well-covered. If not by other analytical sources and entertainment news hubs, then by comment sections and forums all over the internet.

Instead, I’d much rather focus on what a fantastic series the original Death Note was, because aside from the white washing issue, that’s the reason people are so up in arms over this adaptation missing the point---They were very good points to begin with.

So, what do you say we go over what this movie seems to be getting wrong that the original anime got so incredibly right?

1. Death Note is Not an Action Series

To me, it seems like both the series and the movie are trying to be a thriller, but the ways in which they go about it are completely different.

The big-budget action scenes in the Movie’s trailer look impressive, but that’s not at all where the vast majority of the tension came from in the original series.

What makes Death Note truly outstanding is the gripping descent of its main character and the brilliant back and forth between Light and the forces of the law, in particular, of course, L. The tension came from the fact that these characters were often several steps ahead of each other, and remarkably, even the audience. The game of cat and mouse couldn’t be more satisfying to follow step by step as it unfolds in perfect time to when we figure out what’s going on.

2. Death Note is Complex

In adapting anything to a 2 and a half hour format, you’re usually going to lose a lot of the nuance and subtlety when the source material was something much longer, like a book series or a manga. There’s just a lot more time to pace things out.

It can be done and done well, but it’s extremely difficult to communicate all those important elements without rushing the pacing.

That’s why it’s hard to understand where they want to take the Movie’s story. It’s not impossible for it to be good, but it’s... perplexing. It’s clearly got scenes that weren’t in the original anime (I never read the manga, so I can’t say for sure it’s not something from there), so changes will be made to adapt to the time limitation, it’s just hard to say where they’re going to take it.

It also makes me wonder why they wanted to re-adapt Light’s story instead of setting this in the same universe and centering it on a different character. That would at least give a narrative reason to the white-washing, even if it’s still not great in my opinion, and it could be cool to revisit Kira’s world in a different continent. Like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was to Harry Potter, except instead of magical whimsy and wizardry, there’s just more death.

But whatever, that in itself is a derivative idea, I’m just saying that with all these changes being necessary to fit this story into a 2 hour time-frame, at some point you do have to ask why retell this story instead of a new one?

Because Death Note’s story was paced so well. I mean, my favourite part will always be the arc with L and Light facing off---I can sort of understand the impulse to find a way to wrap it up there somehow and make that the movie---but there’s still a lot of great elements all the way up until that legendary ending.

I would hate to lose any of that methodical, well-thought out story or the subtle symbolism worked around it, so that’s just another aspect the Movie makes me appreciate more in the anime.

3. Characters and Atmosphere

I’m jamming these sections together because it’s hard to talk about both of them when all we have to compare to is a small teaser.

But my point is that I’m a bit bummed not to hear that classic Death Note score yet. You could argue that they’re adapting the manga, not the anime, so they don’t have to draw any elements from the anime if they don’t want to. And hell, they might even benefit from trying to differentiate themselves.

But... nostalgia goggles are blinding, you guys. It’s just hard for me to feel like I’m watching Death Note without a score even at least a little reminiscent of this. Maybe that’s just me, but when you’ve got some iconic music already attached to the property, why not use it? 

Granted, the trailer music might just be the trailer music, and they might even have the kind of musical nod I’m hoping for, but until then, I’ll stick to the original. The tension and dark, Gothic style can’t really be beat.

And speaking of things that can’t be beat, here’s to hoping we’ll get something even remotely similar to the character depth we got in the show. There’s so many iconic characters that have stood the test of time to come from the show, losing any of that richness would be such a shame.

Overall, there’s a lot of elements that I would miss from the show if we lost them in translation to the movie. And for the record, yeah, you can tell I’m someone who does consider this white-washing, so even though I’d love to see Nat Wolfe try a really challenging role just to see what he can do, I don’t love the premise I’ve seen in general.

I guess that means I’ll be rewatching the anime this summer, huh? Fine with me. It’s truly one of the classics, and nothing can ever really take that away.

[aledethanlast]

7 writing tips to keep in mind for science fiction and fantasy

1. We can get to the plot right after I run some errands

“We must defeat Voldemort, save the wizarding world, and finish our homework.” -The plot of every single Harry Potter book

In general, the main plot of the story will not be the sole focus of your characters’ attention. They have relationships to maintain, personal goals to achieve, and sometimes just plain rest. Most of the tension in the story will likely evolve from moments where the characters must address both plot problems and personal probblems at the same time. This is doubly important if the characters are trying to keep the facade of normalcy.

There needs to be a certain level of balance. Too much plot, and we don’t get a good sense of character. Too much routine and the plot feels forced.

When designing a character, be mindful of what their lives looked like before the story, how that life would be disrupted by the story, and what would the character do with their life after the story (assuming they live).

2. Murphy’s law of obstacles: If it’s not your enemies on purpose, then it’s your friends by accident.

Character: Frodo Baggins. Objective: Get the ring to mordor. Superficial obstacles: Sauron’s dark army, giant spiders, various douchebags he meets along the way. Actual obstacles: The ring is corrupting Frodo’s mind, gollum is trying to screw them all over at every turn, Gandalf is a cryptic piece of shit, Aragorn needs to help them raise an army to distract Sauron, which is hard enough becuase the guy isn’t even sure if he wants to be king, Saruman is acting like your cousin who took a political science course last semester and now thinks he’s fucking Machiavelli, etcetera, etcetera.

Adventures are complicated because there’s always multiple things going on at once. This quest would be simple, except this supporting character has a completely different goal and has no issue with screwing everybody over. This friendship would be awesome, except their mutual crush just died violently and each of them blames the other. This character could leave the town, if only the war he thought of as far away hadn’t come right to his doorstep.

This is how good plot twists happen. Storylines that have up until now run separate meet in the worst/best way possible. This is often combined with the infamous what could possibly go wrong.

3. Inflation of the competence economy.

“Because he’s Batman” -Fake nerds everywhere

You have your characters. They’re badasses, the best in the business, absolutely unstoppable, every single one of them. They’ve so far beaten everyone who’s tried to stand in their way. Yet somehow they’re also the underdog.

Your problem is simple: you have no frame of reference of what is within or outside of your heroes’ capabilities, and since their gains are more frequent than their losses, the reader will just assume that the protagonist is going to pull the victory out of their ass like they always seemingly do.

Coming back to the Batman example: Batman follows this rule very closely, closer than many other comic heroes, but he appears to be invincible because he’s tirelessly worked to build that reputation. Batman get the shit beaten out of him all the time, but he’s known in pop culture to be unstoppable because he does his job so well that it often seems effortless.

The solution, naturally, is to give your characters limitations. Scenes where they’re expected to preform some amazing feat but instead take one look and say “Not happening.” Scenes where they underpreform at what they’re supposedly good at. You can stretch the boundaries of what is possible, but don’t break them.

4.  Limitations > Powers

“We’ll use the force!” “That’s not how the force works!” -The Force Awakens

The title of this one is actually Brandon Sanderson’s second law of magic, and he explains it much better than I can, but I’m summarizing anyway.

This is where a lot of writers trap themselves by creating a scenario that’s meant to be dramatic or a major obstacle, but the tools at the character’s disposal make the obstacle trivial, and so there’s no tension. Some try to solve this by pretending that the tool doesn’t exist, but that only serves to make your character look like an idiot.

The formula above can be applied in multiple ways. Lets say character A is in scenario Z, and has the use of ability X. Character A may not want to use ability X becuase:

Using ability X would be a temporary measure, and scenario Z could become something even worse.

Using ability X would go against character A’s code of ethics.

Ability X has limited uses, and scenario Z is just not imporant enough to bother.

Ability X is volatile and unpredictable, and the risk of doing more harm than good is too high to be ignored.

Ability X is useless in scenario Z and using it would at best do nothing and at worst expend precious resources.

These kind of situations force your characters to come up with more creative (and more interesting) solutions to their problem.

5. The internal consistency test

Hogwarts has moving staircases, living pieces of art, and a telepathic hat that makes judgemental comments about little kids? Fine.

The Ministry has access to time machines and has no problem giving one to a 13 year old girl, but don’t use it to punch out Voldemort? The fuck.

Readers won’t care if your explanation boils down to a handwave and “It’s magic” or some sciency jargon, but they will absolutely care if you contradict yourself, or if your rules leave giant holes in them.

A good way to check yourself with this is to ask “would a knowledgeable and competent character find this decision/explanation/occurance to be reasonable or absolute bullshit.”

That said, if you leave out the context that would explain this seeming plot hole because you want it to be a big reveal later, then you need to lampshade the plot hole. You have to promise your reader that yes, I am aware this doesn’t make sense, but bear with me here.

6. Genre is a suggestion.

Lasers + spaceships + aliens + exotic planets = classic Sci Fi

Magic powers + wise old mentor + princess rescue + ancient order of mythical knights = classic fantasy

Lasers + spaceships + aliens + exotic planets + Magic powers + wise old mentor + princess rescue + ancient order of mythical knights = Star Wars

This one is the core principle of AU fanfiction and retellings. Taking a bunch of different elements from unrelated sources and letting them interact to create something new.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is sci-fi fairy tales. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a fantasy heist novel. This Savage Song by VE Schwab is an urban fantasy/crime noir story. The possibilities are endless.

But in terms of actively writing, remember this one when you feel pressured to add or remove a certain element from the story because of the genre. Not every space story needs laser guns. Not every high fanstasy needs a monarchy. Elements can be played with as you wish.

7. Originality = fun > logic

"Why?” “Becuase that would be fucking awesome.”

This is primarily a world building tip, but it can easily work for plot too. As a writer, you’re looking for something that is unique and entertaining. Creating something unique is pretty challenging, but something entertaining? So much easier.

Forest scene feels bland? The trees can now scream in pain. Which they do. Constantly. Let’s see your characters have a boring old conversation when their chairs are begging for death.

Another example: Stabby the space roomba. It’s literally just a vacuum cleaner with a knife duct taped onto it that goes around stabbing people. Why is so popular? Becuase it’s ridiculous.

Logic is still important, naturally. These awesome things need to make sense. But that’s dependant on context. That screaming forest? Just establish beforehand that it’s a thing that exists. Stabby the roomba? I mean people are posting pictures of their actual real-life roombas to which they taped knives, so yeah, context allows for Stabby. 

From a plot standpoint, the trick lies in creating context for a moment of pure awesome which would make zero sense otherwise. Example: this page of Ms Marvel. How in hell does any character land themselves in a situation like that? Well if you read the comic you’d know.

It’s good to keep in mind that while this is a good way to generate ideas, the “awesome” things that you start out with won’t necessarily stick around as the world and story evolves. You may realize that your “awesome” doesn’t gel in with the rest of the story, or it can be improved upon, or that you only needed it as inspiration for a different awesome moent that you do use. But don’t ride or die for all of these ideas, it will only hold you back.

[hh-rose]

James Potter and the Retelling of the True Story Chapter Six: Afterlife

ao3

masterpost

I don't want to talk about the sad parts. I don't want to talk about Remus being alone thinking his husband killed me. I don't want to talk about my son being abused. I don't want to talk about Sirius being tortured. I don't want to talk about Peter being that close to my son for more time than I ever had with him. I don't want to talk about those things, and I don't have to because this is my book.

Remus's life got a little bit of happiness when he started his teaching job. Sure, it wasn't great, and the reason he was there (to protect Harry from his murderous godfather) wasn't great, but Remus got some happiness, I got some happiness, and Harry got some happiness.

Hogwarts was the first place Remus ever felt safe and loved and like he wasn't a monster. It was never his home. His home was always Sirius, and it almost destroyed Remus to be there with Sirius, but he had to. He had to be there for Harry.

I don't know how he did it. Honestly, I don't know how he survived those twelve years. I certainly do not know how he was able to look at Harry without breaking into a million pieces. He did it though, and he did it well. He was the best teacher that boy had ever had. He should've been more. He should've been the one who raised him, but I really don't want to think about Dumbledore and his horrible plan right now.

Harry got his hands on the map that year, and I could not have been more proud of him. I cried for a while, actually. Then, Remus got it, and it was heartbreaking. He sat there for hours just putting in the wrong password to get us to say our little messages to him, and it broke my heart. My personal favorite was "Mr. Padfoot would like to remind Mr. Lupin that he created this map and his gorgeous ass should remember the password." That, however, was when Remus put the map away for the night.

I'm not going to lie to you, I was on the edge of my goddamn seat when Sirius and Remus met in the Shrieking Shack. It was so beautiful, them finally reuniting and Harry learning the truth. I was also pretty grateful that they didn't fuck in front of my child because I wouldn't have put that past them.

Now, this part is different than what you were told. I'm sure that you all thought that Sirius flew Buckbeak into the mountains and lived as a hermit for a year. Obviously, that didn't happen. That's just what they told Harry. Remus brought Sirius up to his office, very careful as to not be seen (which was something they were well versed in). They didn't say anything for several minutes.

"I have to go. I'll be right back," Remus told him before turning to leave the room. He quickly turned around when he heard Sirius whimper. "I will be right back, my love, and then I'm never going to leave your side again. I promise."

Sirius still hadn't said anything, but he nodded, satisfied with the promise. Remus quickly left his office and went to Dumbledore's.

"Ahh, Mr. Lupin, I was expecting to see you tonight," that horrible, evil, old man said.

"Don't you dare talk to me like I'm a child. How could you?"

"Remus, nobody could have known the truth," Dumbledore said, and I know that he knew he was lying through his teeth.

"I knew!" Remus shouted. "I told you! I told you to investigate. I told you he was innocent, but you didn't listen to me. Do you know how many lives that ruined? How many lives you ruined? We were married. He was Harry's legal guardian. He's broken. He's never going to be the same perfect man that he was before you ruined him."

"Mr. Lupin."

"I quit. I'm taking Sirius, and we're taking Harry this summer. You want to put us in hiding? Great. We'll go, but we're staying together. All three of us. Got it?"

"You'll need to live at Grimmauld Place."

"Oh, of bloody course, that's where you're going to send us, you fowl old man."

With that brilliant little speech, Remus left Dumbledore's office and went back to his to find Sirius still sitting on his desk. He was right, Sirius was never going to be the same, but that doesn't mean that he was any less beautiful than he was before.

"Alright, let's go," Remus said, pulling out his wand and packing the room up in seconds.

"What? Where are we going?" Sirius asked, following Remus over to the Floo.

"I'm really, really sorry, but we have to go to Grimmauld Place," Remus informed him, looking him in the eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

"If you're with me, then yes," Sirius breathed out. Remus held his trunk in one hand and Sirius's in the other before stepping into the Floo.

They took a few hours to settle in and board up the paintings that were yelling at them. Remus then took Sirius upstairs.

"You said you weren't going to leave me, right?" Sirius asked when they stopped in front of his childhood bedroom. Remus bit his lip.

"If you want me to stay with you tonight, I will, but we're going to have to talk in the morning," Remus stated. Sirius nodded, and they both filed into the bedroom.

They started out on opposite sides of the bed, but obviously, in Wolfstar manner, they gravitated toward each other. It wasn't long until Remus heard Sirius begin crying. He grabbed Sirius and pulled him to his chest.

"Hey, shh, it's okay, love," Remus whispered. "It's alright. I'm here now. We're together. How about I sing to you? Alright. Anybody could be that guy…"

The next morning was awkward, and it almost pained me to watch it. Remus woke up first, obviously, and went downstairs. He was going to make breakfast, but then he remembered that there was a very angry house elf who worked at the manor. He sat down at the dining room table and waited for Sirius to come downstairs. Eventually, he did, looking somehow like his childhood self with his messy bed head. He yawned and sat down across from Remus.

"Kreacher is making breakfast," Remus said, not looking up from his daily profit. "I sent an owl to Harry this morning. He'll be coming here at the end of term. I should probably pick him up from King's Cross."

"Are we just going to pretend everything is normal?" Sirius asked. Remus finally put down the paper.

"I don't see a part of it that isn't normal, well besides our obvious new trauma. But, everything else is the same," Remus explained. "We're married, we live together, we love each other. Right? Am I wrong about any of those things?"

"No," Sirius breathed out. "But, Remus, I have to apologize for everything that happened before. I thought the worst things before everything happened."

"You don't need to apologize. We knew there was a spy. I'm not going to pretend like I didn't suspect you for a moment. That's all it was for both of us. Just a suspicion. Neither one of us thought the other was capable of doing something horrible, right?"

"Of course not. I was just scared," Sirius told him. "But, then… then I left you alone for all those years."

"And that wasn't your fault. I left you alone too. We both suffered enough, Sirius. If you still love me, I don't see the point in not being together. In not being happy."

"Of course, I still love you. I never stopped, and I never plan on stopping. You still love me? Even after everything?" Sirius asked. Remus's eyes softened.

"Of course, I do, and I'll tell you that as much as you need to hear it for the rest of our lives," Remus assured him. "I know that things aren't going to be easy, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try for the best."

"I miss them," Sirius said, a tear falling down his cheek.

"I do too," Remus replied. "It's going to hurt a lot to be around Harry, but he makes it so much better. He's so much like them."

"This isn't the future we were supposed to have. We were supposed to have kids."

"I'll settle for any future with you."

...

They just had sex for a few days, and I don't really need to talk about that. I guess they were getting it out of their system because Harry was going to live with them at the end of the week. Remus, as promised, went to King's Cross to get Harry from the train.

"Harry!" he exclaimed when he saw my son get off the train. Harry jogged over to him with a huge grin on his face. "Ready to go home?"

"Home," Harry breathed out, and Lily and I both cried. "This is the first time I was excited to leave Hogwarts. I've never been so happy to get off the train."

"Oh, Merlin, please don't say that to your Godfather. He's going to sob for hours, and that's something I really don't want to have to deal with," Remus joked. He then helped Harry with his trunk before apparating them both to the outside of Grimmauld Place. He did all the hoopla to open the house, and then led Harry inside.

"Hazza!" Sirius yelled as he bound down the stairs. He crushed Harry in a hug. Then, he pulled away with a shy look on his face. "Sorry, I used to call you that when you were a baby."

"I like it," Harry stated. "I never really had a nickname."

"Oh, well that's not true," Remus said, as he levitated Harry's things up the stairs and into his room. The three of them began walking to the dining room. "We used to call you loads of things. Sirius called you Hazza or Haz. I called you H. Your dad called you fawn and planned on calling you Buck as you got older. Your mom mostly called you darling, which isn't technically a nickname."

"Oh wow," Harry replied, as they all sat down at the table. Sirius at the head, and Remus and Harry on either side of him.

"What else do you want to know about your childhood? Our even ours?" Sirius asked. I knew that it was going to hurt for them to talk about it, but it was something that they needed to do.  

"Were you really that close to my parents?" Harry asked, shyly. Remus and Sirius both smiled at him.

"I lived with your dad for five years, I think. He was my brother," Sirius stated. "And your mum, I wasn't as close with her, but she was amazing and brilliant and I loved her very, very much."

"I was your mum's man of honor," Remus stated, causing Harry to look at him with wide eyes. Remus chuckled. "Yep. A very good one at that. And, Sirius was your dad's best man."

"So were you closer with my mum?" Harry asked. Remus shook his head fondly.

"No. I was close with her for sure, but James was my best friend. He knew all of my moves before I even thought of them," Remus explained. "Sirius and your dad were brothers, but me and your dad were very, very, very close."

"So, why aren't you my godfather too?" Harry asked, causing Sirius to smirk at Remus. Remus just blushed.

"I am actually."

"What?" Harry asked, completely shocked.

"It's pretty typical for wizarding families to select a married couple to be their baby's godparents, and typically that couple is a man and a woman," Remus said. He looked at Sirius for a moment. Sirius nodded with a smile.

"As it happens Harry, I was in fact married to someone, and it was very fitting that that person was just as close with your parents as I was," Sirius told him. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Wait."

"How familiar are you with gay couples?"

"Um, well, I grew up in a very bigoted household," Harry explained. "But, I never…I mean I would never judge--"

"Oh, Haz, don't worry. We know you're not homophobic," Sirius assured him. "It's just a real fucking shame that both purebloods and muggles are homophobic. You'd think being polar opposites, one of them would get it right."

"That is so not the point right now," Remus told his husband. "So, yes, Harry, I am your Godfather too. We're your Godparents, and we are very happily married."

"Actually, we had a double wedding with your parents," Sirius explained. Harry loved that and wanted to hear all about it, so Sirius told him.

"Alright, loves, I have a very early Order meeting tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed," Remus said, placing a kiss on Sirius's lips before standing up from the table. He walked over to Harry and stood awkwardly for a moment. "Harry, if you ever want to know anything, if you ever want to talk, please just ask. Goodnight."

"Thank you, Remus," Harry said. "Do you mind if I call you Moony? I feel like that's what I'm supposed to call you."

"Oh, of course. You, um, you used to call me that when you were a baby," Remus explained. He kissed Harry on the top of the head before walking up the stairs to his and Sirius's bedroom.

"You're not ready for bed yet, are you?" Sirius asked him. Harry shook his head. "That's my boy. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Actually, yes," Harry whispered. Sirius looked at him expectantly. "I never told anyone because of my upbringing. I didn't know that people would react kindly, so I just thought it would be best to keep it in. But, I'm pretty sure that I'm gay."

"Oh, love," Sirius breathed. He was very well aware that Harry was gay. We all were. I mean, I knew two eleven-year-olds on the train were gay the moment I saw them. Of course, I knew my son was gay and in love with that Malfoy bloke. I always thought the whole Hinny thing was disgusting. That girl looked just like his mother. Despite all of us knowing about Harry's homosexuality, we had no idea he knew. I mean, the kid was as oblivious as they came.

"My mum and dad, they would still love me if I was gay, right?" Harry asked, and my heart shattered. I wanted so badly to hug him and tell him that I would love him no matter what, but I knew Sirius would do just fine with that.

"Your dad knew that I was gay years before I knew," Sirius explained. "He would try to get it out of me all the time. He would say 'Sirius, I'll love you no matter what,' but I still wouldn't tell him because I was stubborn. But, your dad loved me and Remus more than anyone on the planet. He was our biggest supporter, and your mum was a very close second. Also, your parents would love you even if you were a horrible, terrible, vile death eater. They were the most loving people, and they would love you no matter what."

"Thank you," Harry whispered. Sirius grinned at him.

"So, any blokes you have your eye out for?" Sirius asked, ever the whore, Merlin love him.

"Um, yeah?" Harry said, but it came out as more of a question. Sirius nudged him, and he blushed. "Draco Malfoy."

"My cousin Draco Malfoy?" Sirius asked, and Harry just nodded. "Well, you're certainly talking to the wrong Godfather. If you need advice about being in love with a Black, you need to talk to Moony."

I wish I could say that that moment was the first of ones to last a lifetime, but it wasn't. It didn't change anything. That should have been their happy ending. It should have been Dadfoot, Moomy, and Harry for the rest of time, but it wasn't. But that doesn't mean that it was all bad.