#I wish I knew more about queer history outside of america as well honestly

[cherry-pop-soda]

since its almost pride month im just coming to say if I see one more american acting like our queer history is universal I will be biting and killing. we are but a small fraction of all queer history and if people here dont get that thru their fucking heads i might go insane. this is not to say that our history is unimportant its just to say that it is not NEARLY all of queer history and I am tired of people here acting like that is the case. there is so much other queer history out there and even though I dont know a lot about all of it I do know that I dont want it to be erased.

source: i am also american

[friendoftheelves]

People, what is somethings you wish writers knew about your culture, I'll start (I'm English):

If you say British-English I will riot. It's standard English, American English is just the most commonly spoken version of English, being the dominant culture

Nobody cares about sports at Secondary school, I didn't realise my school had sports teams until like year 11 when I saw them leaving and it was just a casual observation

Also Primary school = reception to year 6 or ages 4 to 11, Secondary school = years 7 to 11 or ages 11 to 16, Sixth Form (attached to a secondary school) and college (independent from a secondary school but otherwise same thing) = 16 to 18. Primary school to Secondary school is compulsory, after that you have to attend some form of further education whether that be an apprenticeship or sixth form/college is up to you. It is common to have a compulsory uniform for secondary school and less common for both primary school and sixth form/college. Primary school and sixth form/college uniforms are noteworthy whereas a lack of compulsory uniform in secondary school is noteworthy

American culture is the dominant one, we have watched and read a lot of American media

If you're poor, you live in a council flat and probably have free school meals, "trailer trash" isn't really a thing because trailers just aren't a common occurrence, the only group I can think of that commonly lives in "trailers" is 'gypsy' who are their own community and live in motorhomes. Discrimination against them is common but not in your face, which I will explain in a bit because that is its own point

People care a lot about both rugby and football and if you call it soccer and act all superior about you will make a lot of people mad because British football officially came first and a lot of languages call it something that sounds very close to football in their language and American football is closer to rugby in how it looks to us so it is a very sore point

Also, in case you haven't gathered, Britain is subtly anti-American we had an empire and we are bitter we lost it so seeing America get to where we were is something Britain does not react well to

British culture is all about pretending everything so normal and subduing, ignoring and otherwise refusing to acknowledge what strays from that "normal" so unless we are forced to openly acknowledge it we will not and then we will passive aggressively snipe at it. American culture is all about being in your face, British culture is all about pretending we don't see what's wrong. We refuse to acknowledge we even had an empire

Class is a big deal. The elites in our culture have historically been their own one and this is still seen today. Class divide is what defines us. We have things like the house of commons and the house of lords. Rather than the rich ending up in positions of power due to society falling to prevent their privilege, British culture and actively encourages elite power. There is still discrimination but because of the importance of class divide and the British refusal to acknowledge our own faults, it presents differently. Race is seen as it's own class below working class and there is discrimination between the white classes. The working class are seen as beneath the rich and the rich are seen as 'upperclass tw**s'. The middle class are then seen as traitors and having abandoned the working class because the elite government has purposefully drafted policies to ensure that happens

Also,all of the above applies to English culture. There are three countries in Great Britain and 4 countries in the UK. England, Wales, Scotland and North Ireland and the divide between these countries is clear. Scotland actively hates England, Wales passive aggressively hates us and Ireland is a mess we created (I would suggest waiting for someone who is Irish to explain that because I don't know enough about it and it is an incredibly complicated topic which plays a significant role in politics)

Also we dislike the French, Britain and France are rivals because we have been fighting on and off for centuries but the French are still seen as equals. We dislike them but we will fight alongside them if if comes to it

Also accents are important, because of the class divide, if you have a working class accent you are being discriminated against, if you have a posh accent you will be hated but people will respect your 'authority', no matter how much they hate

Oxbridge is elitist but there are so many other great Unis across the UK

To American media specifically, stop romanticising British culture, I have never seen the academia aesthetic you are portraying and it irritates, we are not just the rich upper class, look at our history people you portray and because of the class divide it hurts to see that as our only representation

Also London is its own thing, Britain does not recognise London as representative of Britain and London does not like everywhere that is London, it is the most diverse and the biggest city in the entirety of England by a large margin, it does not feel like the rest of Britain

On that point, there are many, many other cities and other towns outside of London, please acknowledge them (having never been to a lot of cities I can't explain them to you)

London does have divides within it such as the divide between North and South of the river, the South does not want to be part of London and the North refuses to acknowledge it. The Northern edge of London is also up for debate, for me it is the edge of Zone 3 (on a tube map) and the other side of the North circular by car but for others it might be further in or out so be aware of that. There is also divide between the post codes for example Wood Green and Tottenham, both have the same council (Haringey) but there is a clear divide between them only further emphasises by Haringey having two MPs one for Tottenham (David Lammey) and one for Wood Green and Hornsey. Both Wood Green and Tottenham have bad reps but the Wood Green half of Haringey starts drifting into middle class at its edges with Hornsey being solidly middle class so be aware of the variation in boroughs

And, London has no centre. It is a city that grew with its country and absorbed the surrounding towns. So if you say the centre of London people will assume you mean a specific part in zone 1 but will not know which part you are talking about and will assume you are talking in a generalisation. If they are traveling with you though, they will expect further clarification, don't say the centre and expect me to know where

Also, there is no space between houses in England, they are mostly semi-detached. I once watched an episode of escape to the country where someone tried to find a detached house and just struggled massively. You either have to pay loads of money or be in the middle of nowhere before your house is fully detached and it will still be only the same distance away from another house as the average American house is. We have one of the highest populations in Europe but a small land mass

Going on from that, Britain is definitely European and has a lot of shared culture whilst still obviously being it's own thing (like every single other country) but Britain acts like and will get mad at the suggestion that they are European like any other European country because 'we are entirely seperate and on an island and how can we not have become our own thing' the actual variation is because Rome (contrary to what the school system will teach you) had very little impact on Britain so we aren't as similar to the other Latin speaking countries as is expected, the main reason we are still similar is because of the impact of Norman conquest. Also everyone underestimated the effect of Scandinavian and Germanic culture on Britain because we act like all they did was pillage when in fact they settled down and where embraced by Briton (unlike Rome which did actually pillage and subjugate Britain without being widely accepted) so that's why there is variation. We are very European but not in the way people expect so Britain refuses to acknowledge it

Honestly British culture is a lesson in tolerance versus acceptance. But there is still active discrimination as people of colour and the LGBTQ+ can attest

Also Christianity is baked into Britain to the point that even atheists follow Christian customs without questioning it but significantly less extreme than France which just stops on Sundays (but is acknowledged as a Christian country so you know) and 'pagan' - so, in this case, Celtic, anglosaxon and Norse - culture has effected us being carried down in fairy tales and witchcraft

Some of this will be upsetting to many people as it should be because British culture hurts, it discriminates without acknowledging it and I want people to know that. I want people to see that when they write about it because the alternative is writing about Britain as if it has faults and that would be so much worse. So writers, please bear all of this in mind when talking about Britain, even and especially, the ugly parts

This has been a white, middle class, Londoners, perspective on Britain and no I will not call myself English because the divide between England and London means that being a Londoner rather than just English matters in this context

I would recommend listening to the perspective of Brits from other groups, such as England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, working class, upper class, Brit of colour, non-passing queer folk, Muslim, Hindu, Indian (the largest immigrant group is actually Indian and that's just immigrated in their lifetime rather than born British and Indian), Jewish (especially Jewish I can talk about that on another post but let's just say the Jewish have never been accepted but always been part of Europe) and so on, to get a more comprehensive view of Britain

[hp-fanfic-archive]

an introductory rec list (that no one asked for) to some of my favorite ships: wolfstar [1/10]

First fic I read for the pairing: Where Rain And Smoke Mingle by smallestbird [1k,T] It doesn't matter if they've disowned you, they're still your family. It doesn't matter how often you walk away, it still hurts. [it’s a bit dreary, but the writing style is so nice and i’m a big sucker for hurt/comfort]

Fic that really sold me on the pairing: Of Brothers and Boyfriends by Amuly [38k,E] There’s no summary on the fic, but, essentially, Remus and Sirius’s secret relationship gets found out and things get… complicated. (warning for homophobia) [My note on my ao3 bookmark pretty much sums up how I feel about this fic: Honestly one of my favorites (and one of the stories that really got me hooked on Wolfstar tbh) and I've read it at least eight times. However, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the homophobic James Potter (even though he does come around).]

Absolute favorite fic(s) for the pairing: Text Talk by merlywhirls [141k,Not Rated] Sirius is in boarding school, Remus is in hospital, and they don't know each other until Sirius texts the wrong number. (warnings for homophobia, mentions of abuse, and homophobic language) [One of the earlier fics I read and it’s always just been one of my favorites, even though it’s been 3 years since I read it for the first time.] Harry Potter and the Live Laugh Love Sign in the Basement by loudestfandomsoftheworld [24k,T] Harry spends his summer with his fugitive godfather and his former professor who is a jobless werewolf. It's probably the best summer he's ever had. [The humor, the characterizations, their relationships, it’s all so fucking perfect!!] Go East [+Podfic] by xinasvoice [84k,E] Remus has been running for a long time. Eventually, he runs into a strange castle built by a wizard and his young apprentice. The longer he stays, the more secrets he uncovers...and the less he wants to leave. This is a novel-length adventure story that loosely follows the plot of Howl's Moving Castle. It does not require knowledge of the HMC book or movie to enjoy it. [it made me laugh, it made me cry, and it’s plot is based on one of my all time favorite movies? 11/10] Of Queries and Quarantines by MoonCat457 [51k,E] LUPIN.RJ: James, WHY? POTTER.JF: Because you’re the one currently doing the job, so it makes sense that you’d be the one to train the person hired to take your place. LUPIN.RJ: No, I mean why is Monty hiring a new editor in the middle of a fucking pandemic? POTTER.JF: An old friend of mine is in a tough spot and needs a job, so of course, dad is helping him out. - - - - OR A story set in the middle of the pandemic in which Sirius is hired at the Potter’s publishing company and Remus is responsible for training him. Lots of texting, lots of video calls, lots of mutual pining, and a lot of really bad literature quotes. [i’ve largely avoided quarantine au fics, but sometimes they’re so well-written and hilarious and also a texting fic and i accidentally fall in love with them, so here we are.]

Most recent fic I’ve read for the pairing: There Is No Man, However Wise by enigmaticblue [87k,T] It’s 1988, Sirius has Harry, and possession is nine-tenths of the law. [i adore a good raising harry au and i also adore the premise of the series this is in and i also adore the writing story and characterizations. 10/10]

Favorite AU(s) I’ve read for the pairing: High School AU: Likewise Variable by ssstrychnine [28k,T] James has plans, Peter is the nurse, Sirius keeps fake blood up his sleeves, and Remus just tries to stay alive. [i first read this fic in 2017 and it still lives rent free in my mind. it’s hilarious, a perfect characterization of the marauders (even tho it’s a muggle modern high school au) and adding shakespeare? just icing on the fucking cake. it’s excellent.] University AU: Wannabe Your Lover by Maraudererasmut & shadow_prince [15k,M] Somewhere in America, Fall of 1997 - Returning to University, James refused to room with Sirius in the wake of The Great Cheez-it Battle of '96. They must adjust to living with someone new, Mr. Potter worried they'd both get scurvy, James unsuccessfully continued trying to court one Lily Evans, Snape got what was coming to him, and Sirius was the most confused of them all. [this is the university experience we all wish we had, lowkey. aside from the hilarity that comes from having the marauders in a fic, it’s just cute and well-written and i love it (and southern remus??? it’s everything i never knew i needed.] Alternate Sorting AU (Slytherin Remus): Half Agony, Half Hope by Barry_Manilows_Wardrobe [21k,E] A tale wherein Sirius Black loses 750 House Points for Gryffindor. But it’s totally worth it. [listen, if, before i read this fic, you asked me if remus could’ve been a slytherin, my answer would have been “perhaps but probably not.” now, however, yeah. 100%. it’s hilarious, it’s novel (which i love to see), but it’s still the same remus and sirius and it’s excellent.] Haunted House AU: Another Day in the Sun by REwrites [19k,T] Is it haunted? I suppose that depends on who is telling the story. [really really excellent and a little haunting (pun entirely intended). it’s romantic and sweet and a little bittersweet but i adore it.]

WIP(s) I really love for the pairing: We Were Infinite by WolfstarPups90 [336k,E] “The Marauders aren’t something that will just go away once we graduate.” James continued, taking a more serious tone and addressing not only Remus, but the fear that they all had found recently in the back of their minds about what may become of them outside the walls of Hogwarts. “We’re a family. We’ve proven that again and again, haven’t we? We’re forever. Unstoppable. We’re infinite.” The full story of The Marauders from September 1st 1971 - October 31st 1981. (Heavily centered around Wolfstar and Jily in later chapter) [the first WIP i ever read (usually i stick to completed works, but this was being pretty regularly updated when i started reading it and also it’s fucking iconic so what can i say?)] Of Leaves and Stars by irrationalmoony & LadyAmina [273k,T] Almost a year out of Hogwarts, Lily finally manages to convince Sirius and James to get more acquainted with muggle technology and buy phones. Sirius, of course, texts the wrong number. [everyone is queer! (as they well should be). also: is it complete? no. has that stopped me from reading it twice? also no.]

Favorite Series for the pairing: TransVerse by picascribit [30k,E,2 works] Canon-divergent AU in which Remus is a transgender boy instead of being a werewolf. (warnings for underage, transphobia, internalized transphobia, bullying, self-harm) [i am a trans remus stan and this series is iconic, but also heed the tags kids.]

Longest fic I’ve read for the pairing: Once in a Blue Moon by FullMoonDreams [408k,M] In a world where Remus never received his Hogwarts invitation and Sirius wasn't accepted by the Gryffindors the two lonely boys become friends. A story beginning in their first year, and continuing right through Hogwarts and beyond. RLSB. [this fic emotionally ruined me,,, but like,,, in a good way, you know? i will probably never reread it because i cried for hours the first time, but the plot does live rent free in my mind (and i do have a playlist of songs that remind me of it).]

Fic(s) with some of my favorite tropes: Matchmaking: Pining, Parchment, Plotting, and Pranks by KayBee1762 [12k,T] “Idea parchment,” James said. He unfolded it and smoothed it out. “You want to get them together, right? That’s why you came to me?” “Yeah,” Lily huffed, which was ridiculous because he was right, that’s why she came to him. But it was supposed to be her idea, because she wanted to help her dear friend Remus, not James or Sirius. But it was so nice to be able to talk about this with someone, and James looked so pleased and excited. “Good,” James said. “Good, because they need to get together, they would be so happy and so good together, and Sirius will stop sighing like a lovesick puppy and just snog him instead.” In which Lily considers changing Houses, James blushes a lot, Sirius is his usual dramatic self, Remus mopes, and Peter knew everything all along. [the marauders (especially james and lily) trying to play matchmaker is one of my favorite instances of the classic matchmaking trope.] Road Trips + Bed Sharing: Of Comets and Counter-Examples by Woldy [5k,T] If the past is a foreign country, can travel help to resolve a troubled history? Dumbledore assigns Remus and Sirius a mission to explore three European cities, or perhaps to find each other. [a lovely tale of travel, reunions, comfort, friendship, and self-rediscovery. plus, travel, bed sharing, and friends to lovers??? yeah] Matchmaking (again): In The Middle by Blossomwitch [3k,Not Rated] James is the natural confidant of both Remus and Sirius. When they both swear him to secrecy on the same topic, James is stuck watching his friends pine for each other without being able to say a word to bring them together. A lesser man might shrink from the challenge of finding a way to break his promise without breaking his promise, but not James Potter! [i already did a matchmaking trope fic i know but what can i say other than the trope fucking slaps and so does this fic.]

[asheasexualvampire]

The Making of... Myself?

Today I think we’ll talk about a thing that many people always want to know, once they’re aware that the mortality-inept exist and have come to accept that we’re here, some of us are indeed queer, and we’re most definitely NOT going anywhere. How was I made? I have been asked this by many a being, both human and otherwise. Apparently the making of vampires is interesting. I am not an expert! None of what I know makes me so, I can only tell you what I was told, as it was told to my Maker, and on into the annals of history. First off, I was made in the 1800′s. 1827 to be quite exact, tho I don’t remember when in the year. I know it was after May, because I had turned 35 by then. But that is about as exact as I can get. Somewhere in the middle to later half of 1827. I had been regularly going out with friends, all of us dressed as men, going to clubs and such as a group and having a good time. This was the Victorian era, wearing men’s clothes was quite inappropriate, but so was being queer. We were all LGBT+. Some of us were male, some of us were women dressed as men. Honestly, we just liked being in one another’s company, and the only way to do so without someone asking if one was engaged to one of the others, was to be innocuous. And men’s clothes are simply more comfortable and have infinitely less layers. I believe it was somewhere between taking a series of hackneys from a dinner hall to a boxing match, when a gentleman slipped into the cab I was in, along with a couple of other chaps, and he apologized for intruding but it was late, and he would pay for the cab if we would allow him to ride with us, as he was going on after we would get off. Since it wasn’t a big deal for us, as we weren’t going anywhere special, and we would be out before him, we let the gentleman ride in our cab. At some point in the ride he had chatted with us enough that we were comfortable telling him where we were going, and he was quite polite. He was a gentleman, he had the natural bearing of a born lord of the empire. We arrived at our stop and we left him in the cab. It was the first meeting, and he seemed perfectly ordinary, a bit older, perhaps my uncle’s age, but not particularly suspicious or standout. The next outing we had, I was staying over with a friend, we were supposedly going to the seaside to take the air, but honestly, we were going to a house party with our clique. We would play cards, gad about the woods, ride horses, and have a generally good time. As we were out for a couple of weeks, we ran into a younger man, who said he lived near by our friend’s family estate, with his uncle, and that we were welcome to call, or to make use of the lake on their property if we liked. It turned out that his uncle was the gentleman we had met a few months ago. He seemed surprised, but he was quite welcoming and invited us to dinner a time or two with himself and the younger man. So we included the young man, as he had no idea that a great deal of the “men” who he was out riding with or climbing cliffs with, were in fact women! We had all been doing this for many years after all. When the end of our trip was coming upon us, we had a last bash, a party where we could have a good time, and we invited the younger man and his uncle out of courtesy. At some point the party felt a bit much, and I cried out on the game of cards so I could go get some air. I had anxiety even then, and sometimes I would just need a break. My friends knew and were quite okay with it. The older gentleman joined me for some air, and we left the house for the gardens. I thought I had separated from him when I nearly walked into him around the curve of a hedge, out of sight of the windows and open patio doors of the house. That was the point at which he caught me by the arm, and he apologized, and said he had lost sight of the house and was a bit lost. As I turned to point out the path that would take him back, a hand clamped on my shoulder and a sharp, burning pain struck me! I couldn’t see what was going on, but I quickly caught a breath and was about to shout, when his other hand covered my mouth. Yes, this seems quite violent, and a bit like assault. It was. I was assaulted. I had no idea what was going on, but I started to feel faint and I sagged in his grip. Then he shoved a slashed wrist into my face. If I was going to survive to see the morrow, he said, I would drink the blood welling up. I refused, but he could easily manipulate me, as I had been quite drained. I ended up drinking. I had no wish to die. He scooped me up and took me inside, and said he’d found me outside, fainted, and asked if he should take me to my rooms. He did so, and tucked me in, but when he had pulled my coat and such off to make me ready for sleep, he said something in a language I don’t know, and I can only assume that he hadn’t expected me to be a woman. Hah, shows how observant he is! The vector for becoming a vampire is a combination of some sort of blood infection, and death or near death. One must be weakened, mostly by blood loss, and then ingest the infected blood, giving it chance to take over the weakened host body. I slept for nearly 24 hours, and when I woke I was ravenous, but water made me vomit. Then there was a knock on my window and it was the younger of the two and he said that his uncle (it was not his uncle, if you haven’t surmised that yet) would like to see me. I was taken to the neighbouring estate and given a cup of something that basically smelled like the most delicious of wines, and after I drained it, it was explained that I had been turned, and he actually apologized for assaulting me, as he hadn’t known I was a lady, he’d thought me a fine strapping lad, and thought I would make an amusing and interesting companion. Turned out he was a lonely old gay man, quite old. The other young man was his previous lover but, was ready to go out into the world on his own to see what was to be seen. The younger man was already well into his 90s it turned out. He apologized several times in his explanation. But what was done was done, there was no undoing it. I had the expected reaction. I was furious, I didn’t believe him, I said several angry and unkind things about what he had done too me without my consent. And I stormed home. That was an extremely poor choice of ideas. I nearly attacked a sibling, at which time the younger man called on me, and said that our Maker had tasked him with keeping an eye on me, in case of emergency. I was still pissed, but I couldn’t put my family in danger. I “married” him, and we left for the Americas. We remained “married” for about 15 years, at which point we had an unfortunate accident and “died”. I then recovered my masculine persona, and began my own life, with occasional support from my Maker. He did feel bad, and while I no longer hate his immortal soul, I also have no desire to keep contact with him. He made a decision that was not his to make. Also, about the blood infection that causes the vampirism effect, apparently it does not react to any currently available treatments. Many have been attempted, even those for cancers of the blood. Nothing. The best that vampire science can tell is that it is some sort of blood pathogen that affects ones DNA in some subtle way, and then replicates itself. It is resilient and rejects any treatment of medical science. We even tried radiation therapy. We suspect it has some element of magic too it, but it cannot be proven. We’ve had magic tried. No dice. If there’s a vampire out there who knows where it comes from, they are keeping it to their damn selves. But that is what happened. A lonely old man thought I would be a good companion, but ended up with someone who was officially female, which didn’t suit. I have never Made anyone, as I found the process unpleasant and vile. I wouldn’t do that to another person. I’m very much of the “Live and let live, so long as no one is harmed and you respect other being’s boundaries and lives” set. The right of others to live their lives as they see fit is important. so long as they live with integrity and don’t cause harm to others, you do you, boo. I remain -Ashe, the Asexual Vampire