#author: xiaq

[a-gay-old-time]

Way Down We Go by @xiaq 

I was so happy to get to make another copy for an author! This fic drew me in immediately with its unique setting and the dynamic characters. Hurt/comfort but really heavy on the comfort, this fic felt like a big hug and I loved watching Harry and Draco’s relationship evolve throughout this beautiful story. Plus it’s got lots of my favorite things–down-and-out-Draco, cool magical theory, bonding, roommate shenanigans, etc.!

I had a lot of fun typesetting this one–I’m trying to be a little more creative with that as I grow more comfortable typesetting in Word and this is something I want to keep experimenting with. This fic felt very green to me with its setting and the amazing description of Harry’s magical core: “His core is green–a deep emerald that takes Draco by surprise–it fills up most of Potter’s torso and a massive, intricate, spiderweb of sparkling, pulsing veins extends from it…” so I tried to choose some bookcloth and paper that evoked that. I’m really excited about how these turned out and also really happy to be able to share a physical copy with the author!

[navigatorwrongway]

Ahaha so remember like a month and a half ago when i promised yall ( @milozephir @some-random-trash ) a rec list? Yeah, I made like 80% of a list and forgot it in my drafts rip

BUT i found it again AND updated word counts and stuff so like?? Points for effort pls ty

In no particular order, im pleased to present

Mari’s Non-comprehensive Dinluke Fic Recs

ni kar'taylir gar darasuum sosol by @coffeecatsme

T, 8.7k, complete

A really really sweet 5+1 about Luke making sense of the Mando’a Din uses.

say it as you will by HiddenEye

T, 3.8k, complete

Ahsoka and Rex teasing the living daylights out of everyone. Because they deserve it.

Willfully Oblivious by @needlefrost

T, 6k, complete

Force-sensitive Din my BELOVED, with bonus Ahsoka-training-Din!!

To Each According To His Need by MadameReveuse ( @weepylucifer im 90% sure that’s u but correct me if im wrong ^.^’)

G, 4.7k, complete

Definitely one of the best fics in the ship, this is one part sickfic, one part thoughtful exploration of the effects of background and expanding horizons, and one part *excellent* dialogue.

he feels like home by coffeecatsme (again!)

T, 6 chapters, 13.7k, complete

Wherein everyone but Luke can tell that the pining is mutual.

Star Light, Star Bright series by snapdragonpop007

T, 7 works, 19k, WIP

Din gets Luke off of Tatooine a little earlier, and this changes things.

Kir’manir by plantyourtreeswithme

T, 3 chapters, 23.7k, WIP

Bo-Katan shoots Luke as he leaves, and we go from there. Top notch.

parry, parry, strike by AlchemyAlice

T, 18.9k, complete

Excellent dinluke, excellent din & leia, excellent all around.

Thaw by @andthepeople spqr

T, 6.3k, complete

Vader gets Luke on Bespin, and Luke later gets Grogu back to his buir. Very very very very good.

Christ in Repose by spqr again!

T, 7.7k, complete

I limited myself to two recs from this author!! Arent you proud!!! Honestly I recommend all of this author’s work, but that would make this list even longer. OP Luke (affectionate) and some in-universe new/media funsies.

Where There’s a Will There’s a Way by xiaq

M, 8.8k, WIP

Best banter on the list imo. Seriously the dialogue is *chef’s kiss* and the rest is very very good as well.

listen, there's a hell of a universe next door by storm_petrel

M, 12.9k, complete

BAMF luke, BAMF din, one of the best written action sequences I’ve ever read, and a look at Luke’s role as a Rebel pilot. Read it.

through the deep dark valley by @ace-din-djarin

T, 3 works, 21.9k, WIP

Soulmate AUs aren’t everybody’s cup of tea but if you have even a passing interest this is SO GOOD. Not even speaking from bias as a beta, this is objectively a joy to read.

staring down the barrel of the hot sun by magneticwave

G, 25.7k, complete

If you read one fic on this list, make it this one. AU where the Jedi are still around, Din has just become Mand’alor, and Knight Luke Skywalker is sent to help mediate. Once you’ve read this, read all the author’s other work too. Mari’s orders.

I have many many many more recs but these are some of my faves! Sorry again about taking so long 😭😭

I’m also morally and legally obligated to shill the dinluke discord server, where cool cats like the intended audience of this post (all of you) can hang out and talk various star wars and dinluke-related shiznaz

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes.

DC

The Startling Secret Identity of The Batman by Nokomis

Good evening, super-sleuths! Boy, do we have a treat for you today. We’re delving into one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of the modern era. The million-dollar question. The billion-dollar question, if one of these theories holds water.

That’s right. We’re gonna risk life, limb and sanity by asking the question… who is The Batman?

[In-universe Buzzfeed Unsolved accidentally stumbles on Batman’s secret identity. The Batfam reacts.]

sweet child o' mine by Nokomis

Steph said cheerfully, “Bruce, from now on, consider yourself in possession of one Steph-mom.”

“Absolutely not,” Bruce said.

Steph took a bite of her cake, undeterred.

Wayne Manor: Extended Edition by notquiteaghost

Bruce       9:17PM I miss when you were small

Dick       9:17PM No you don’t I yelled at you just as much I just also sometimes did it from atop the light fixtures

Tim       9:18PM i miss when we didn’t have this chat and if i didn’t want to know about the yelling i could just leave

Dick       9:19PM If you want the cat pictures and the play by plays of JL meetings you have to suffer through the conflict resolution

Crossover: DC/Miraculous Ladybug

Bad news, Paris by BlueTee

Part 1 of Paris vs Gotham

Tim: @notTHATtim Are you parisians all right??? #onlyinParis

Nathaniel Kurtzberg: @nathanielkart Replying to @notTHATtim

hahaha no.

(In which Nathaniel only wanted to pass some information but shenanigans issues and he ends up starting a twitter war.

Or: The author just wants to play around with some favorite fandom cliches and this fic is not to be taken seriously.)

The Umbrella Academy

The Five Whistle by I_Logophile

“What the hell was that?” Five tried to demand, but his breathlessness ruined the effect.

The Handler grinned. “What? This little thing?” she asked innocently, pulling a long, thin device from within the folds of her coat. “This is just a little something I had cooked up back at Headquarters just for you.”

The Handler twisted the end of the device. In response, the fabric of space released an unearthly howl of agony, making Five’s legs collapse beneath him.

Untamed

This Is The Way by musicmillennia

Five memes Lan Zhan sends Wei Ying to try and woo him and one time it actually gets through.

Clone Wars

Learned Men by Trixree

It becomes the Question—the one every vod is talking about from the bridge of the Negotiator to her dark bowels where the laundry rooms churn and chug along: who takes care of the General?

(In which Obi-Wan is touch starved and his men take notice.)

We Threw Our Hearts Into The Sea by carryaworld

Obi-Wan touches an artifact he really shouldn't have and gets turns into a five year old. Luckily, Cody is very capable at many things, including child-wrangling.

The Mandalorian

The People by musicmillennia

Din is used to being a faceless bounty hunter no one listens to. Being Mand'alor is...an adjustment.

Or, 5 Times Din Djarin was Surprised at his Position as Literal Ruler of a Planet...while accidentally winning the affection of said planet.

Star Wars/The Mandalorian

Where There's a Will There's a Way by xiaq

Luke walks straight to Din and Din suddenly feels like he should be doing something with his hands.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” Luke agrees, grinning. “So. I didn’t get your name, before. Grogu just calls you ‘Daddy’ in his head but I’m assuming I should call you something else.”

Din chokes a little.

(This is basically an Accidental Warlord Din Djarin fic in which Din plays the role of reluctant DILF leader with a heart of gold and Luke plays the role of initially distrusted twink who quickly becomes beloved by all (especially said warlord). The Mandalorians are like, "we've only had Luke Skywalker for a day and a half but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.")

[sitp-recs]

hi! i love your fic recs. i was wondering if you had any recs for long drarry fics with like little to no smut or like where it's more implied and not really explicit

Hi anon, I certainly do! Here are some amazing T-rated long fics, can’t rec them enough 🙌🏼

Like Lightning at your Fingertips by potterwatch (2019, T, 43k)

The problem with living with another insomniac is, eventually, they find out you’re an insomniac, too. When Harry and Draco return for their eighth year, they think they’ll see very little of each other. Then McGonagall assigns them to room together. And the castle starts breaking. And there’s that thing with Potter’s magic.

A Piercing Comfort by talithan (2013, T, 44k)

When Harry Potter hits the lowest point of his life so far, it is not his friends who keep him honest. With Draco Malfoy's patience and guidance, Harry learns to stand on his own. The thing is, after the fact—he's no longer sure he wants to.

Turn From Stone by @harryromper (2019, M, 45k)

Harry knows there’s nothing he can do to stop Hermione (war hero, historian, author of the reissued “Hogwarts: A History”) once she sets her mind to something. Even an extremely risky last-ditch effort to restore the ancient castle and lay its newest ghosts to rest. What he wasn’t counting on was her insistence that Draco Malfoy be part of the plan.

A Room Up There (And You In It) by @the-starryknight (2020, T, 59k)

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit.

A Young Radical's Guide to Love by @blamebrampton (2013, T, 66k)

Memories of the war are still fresh, which is all the excuse Decent People need to do appalling things. In this quietly waged conflict, Draco Malfoy is happy to be on the right side of things for once, and even happier to find he’s not alone.

Running on Air by @tinyhistory (2014, T, 75k)

Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects.

Dwelling by aideomai (2017, T, 83k)

Curses, James and Lily Potter ride again, several Ministry balls, a teenage Summer of Love, a grim young adult dystopian winter, a few different Draco Malfoys, secrets and the problems re: not having any, alternate lives, impossible lives, real lives, allusions to Dirty Dancing, and just because it's not called the Mirror of Erised doesn't mean you shouldn't know better.

Hermione Granger's Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi (2016, T, 93k)

‘You're a wizard, Harry' is easier to hear from a half-giant when you're eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you're seventeen and late for work.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose and dustmouth (2018, T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Way Down We Go by @xiaq (2019, T, 109k)

In which Harry and Draco both run away from their pasts and conveniently choose to hide in the same tiny American town. It's super.

By the Grace by @letteredlettered (2020, T, 140k)

Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.

Away Childish Things by lettered (2018, T, 154k)

Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

Twist of Fate by Oakstone730 (2012, T, 302k)

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness.

[drarrymybeloved]

for the romance

i’ve been toying with the idea of sharing a few fics i've read for easy access to my faves + author appreciation, and i finally decided to just get off my ass and do it!

this is, in no way, a comprehensive list (it is also very subjective-not a rec list although you're welcome to use it as one!) & i’m sure i’ll be making a part 2 to this at some point in the future. also, these are my interpretations of the fics, so maybe for u it's not the romance that pops out in these & that's okay!

as the title suggests, these are fics i read for the romance <3

1. Turn by Saras_Girl

you knew this would make it onto the list. of course it would. i think we’ve all wondered at some point or the other what would happen if we had done that one thing differently & Saras_Girl explores this concept of actions and their consequences so intricately, i could lose myself in it (and i have. multiple times) the characterisations too are original yet spot on- blaise was such an ebullient surprise! i thought about putting it on my 'for the plot' list too for sheer length + fleshed out plot, but at the end of the day, i come back to this when i want to read a soft familiar romance

2. The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by @cibeewastaken

read this fairly recently and what a treat!! two idiots pining after each other, a relationship-but-not-really, super earnest draco & a harry that is so completely gone on draco- what more could you want?

3. Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy’s Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by dustmouth, nerakrose 

a soft & sweet fic i’ve revisited so many times. featuring harry working in an archive & draco researching death (ways people have died not the actual concept, it’ll make sense i swear) in said archive. i loved the exploration of draco’s anxiety & the way he deals with it & harry understanding his asexuality. also really appreciated the underlying emphasis on communication & consent between partners. 

4. The Kisses Don’t Count, If No One Else Knows by oldenuf2b

friends with benefits to fake lovers to actual lovers?? delicious smut streaked through with aching tenderness?? sign me tf up. featuring quidditch player draco, minister for magic harry, under secretary hermione & (scarily competent) head auror ron. this fic gave me everything i could ask for & then some more. 42k has never felt shorter.

5. Right Hand Red by @lqtraintracks

a classic drarry fic, this was one of the first i read and i was immediately enamoured. the slow build up of tension between draco & harry eventually reaching a fever pitch- not quite a slow burn but the effect is the same- keeps you on the edge of your seat, just waiting for the collision you know is coming. the balance of fluff & angst is ideal, with the angst leaving you yearning for the sweet ending more than aching through the angsty bits, if that makes sense.

6. A Song, Incomplete by RurouniHime

this is a fic with layers to it- it features middle aged draco & harry and is essentially placed in present time. it’s left to the reader to pick up on the information given by the author & piece together the backstory of the characters post-war, something i thoroughly enjoyed. the relationship between draco & harry before the events of this fic is hinted at so you know the basic outline of what happened but it’s not so thoroughly fleshed out that there’s no room for subjectivity (again, something i love). the characterisations are so rich, albus especially was so interesting to me, both as a character & the nature of the relationship he shared with his father. the balance between plot and romance is fairly even, but the slow build is just so intense & rife with emotions, it really feels as if the plot is background for draco & harry’s relationship. this is an achingly sweet fic as opposed to a feel-good fic, but definitely one i've revisited many times.

7. Good to Me (And I’d Be So Good To You) by AWickedMemory (TeddyLaCroix)

such a sweet 8th year fic with harry determined to make friends with a subdued draco & then falling for him along the way. i love how well both boys know each others tells & draco’s reluctant acceptance of harry’s attempts at friendship is so endearing. special mention to an apparently oblivious hermione who was (in true hermione fashion) not oblivious for a second & was in fact the reason harry confessed his feelings for draco. definitely a fic that’ll make you smile!

8. if you've changed your mind by warmfoothills

mamma mia au!! need i say more? though i suppose it's not so much an au as it is draco just going full donna-from-mamma-mia post-war. complete with an island, a son, and an embarrassing diary found by said son. 

9. Way Down We Go by @xiaq

(this is going to go on my 'for the plot' fic list too because Reasons) this has all of my favourite tropes oh my god. i love xiaq's take on werewolf!harry; it's so refreshing to see were!harry that isn't like, a big dramatic thing. less beast of the night, more cuddly silly large dog. on that note, draco figuring out that harry is a werewolf in like, 1 second, is so spot on lmaoo. the slow burn is so good (so much domesticity!! so! much! also hurt/comfort). it has a dash of angst which is balanced out so well by the fluff. i've read it recently so i'm waiting for it to settle into my memory a bit (do y'all do that? is it just me??) but this is definitely a fic to revisit.

[xiaq]

Chapter 5 is up!

A man who sits in the front row and to Nile’s great amusement is actually named Chad, says something about the romance of the song, and that he imagines it was written for Chopin’s lover Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin.

Joe scoffs just loudly enough that Chad notices.

“What?” Chad says, half-turning in his seat so he can see them a few rows back. “You disagree?”

“Only with the notion that Frédéric would write anything romantic for a woman,” Joe answers.

“He was engaged to a woman at one point.”

“Ah yes. Compelling evidence of heterosexuality.”

“Well,” Chad argues, “there are all kinds of books that have been written about him that don’t say anything about him being gay.”

“Mmm. I cannot imagine why that history might be lacking,” Joe says. “When to this day Frédéric’s country of birth holds the dubious honor of being titled the worst country for LGBTQ rights by ILGA Europe. I can’t imagine why Polish authors might partake in a bit of revisionist history––a revisionist history that has, indeed, been noted by well-known scholars. I can provide sources for you, if you wish.”

Chad crosses his arms. “Regardless, I’m not sure what your point is. He’s dead so you can’t prove it either way. Why damage his reputation now?”

“Ah,” Nicky says and Nile gets goosebumps. “I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood. Are you saying that being gay is damaging to a person’s character?”

Nicky opens his laptop and the movement seems dangerous.

“No,“ Chad says, “That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying you can’t prove it.”

Nicky’s fingers are staccato and loud on the laptop keys.

“Did you know,” Joe says conversationally. “That there is an extensive archive online of Frédéric’s personal letters?”

“So?” Chad says.

“So, in not one of those letters does Frédéric express romantic interest in a woman. He even states in one letter that he—”

“Here, my love,” Nicky murmurs, passing Joe the laptop.

“Thank you, habibi,” he says, accepting it. “Ah yes, here we are, he even says in one letter that he ‘used rumors of his affairs with women’ as a ‘cloak’ for his ‘hidden feelings.’” Joe raises an eyebrow at Chad. “Conversely, he often wrote passionately, romantically, even explicitly to and about male companions.” Joe slides his fingers over the trackpad. “For example, he opens nearly every letter to his lifelong friend Tytus Woyciechowski—of which there are dozens— calling Tytus ‘My Dearest Life,’ and closing the same letters with ‘Give me a kiss, dearest lover.’ Joe scrolls, “In this one he says to Tytus ‘You don’t like being kissed. Please allow me to do so today. You have to pay for the dirty dream I had about you last night.’ There are others that, I assure you, are much more risqué.”

Nile loves taking classes with Nicky and Joe. She should take all of her classes with Nicky and Joe.

“Ok, fine,” Chad says. “Whatever. But even if he was gay, it’s not even relevant. We should be talking about his music, not his personal life.”

“You seemed to think his imagined love for a woman was relevant,” Nicky says, examining his fingernails. “I’m curious why you no longer believe his affairs are relevant if they involve men.”

“Homophobia aside, of course his sexuality is relevant,” Joe says. “Hiding an intrinsic piece of yourself incontrovertibly impacts your creative work. Frédéric’s efforts to keep his proclivities from the public influenced both his mental health and his work.”

Joe sketches out a stanza in the air with one hand.

“You can hear the joy tempered by uncertainty and fear in his music: the happiness and the despair. There are these holes—these terrible absences—in his compositions. Like in the Scherzo in E major, where the surrounding of the A part is so sunny and uplifting, and in the middle, there's one of the most depressing, melancholic passages.”

He recalls his hand, dipped low from where it started, and runs his fingers through his hair.

“Imagine you could only spend stolen moments with the person you loved and then you had to return to a public facade that did not represent your true feelings or self. Then look at the music he created and tell me it’s not, potentially, representative of his lived experience.”

“He said to Tytus one day,” Nicky murmurs, reading from his laptop, “‘I confide in the piano the things that I sometimes want to say to you.’ I think, if anything, that demonstrates the influence of his personal life upon his work.”

Chad takes a breath to respond but the professor, who has been leaning against the podium, chin resting on her folded hands, interrupts. “They’re not wrong, Chad. I think it’s also worth noting that Chopin explicitly attributed the adagio in one concerto to Woyciechowski. Chopin called him an inspiration who he ‘faithfully served’ with his musical talents. It’s undeniable that his relationship with Woyciechowski, at least, impacted Chopin’s work, whatever their relationship was.”

Chad hunches down in his chair a bit as the professor clicks on to her next slide.

“Alright,” she says, “moving on.”

“So,” Nile says lowly, as they’re packing up at the end of class. “I take it you knew Chopin?”

Nicky’s ears go pink.

“He was a dear friend of Andy’s,” Joe answers. “But yes. We knew him. And Tytus.”

“Yusuf.” Nicky mutters. “Nile is making assumptions.”

Nile is definitely making assumptions.

[bittlicious]

mari’s omgcp fic reqs (:

some fics i’ve read lately and that i’m totes in luv with <3

— zimbits

i. you’re my amen, zimbits, by @/julibean19 https://archiveofourown.org/works/12801069/chapters/29218386

this crazy, 100k+ word zimbits fanfiction is just absolutely amazin. it has all of its highs and lows, and an insane plot twist that left me speechless and broken. but don’t be frightened! it has a happy ending, because that’s what our gay hockey boys deserve. also bitty is so absolutely amazin in this fanficion, my face hurts from smilin at him all of the time (: ps. shitty in this fic is just, like, absolutely hilarious and a friend that you just need in your life. he calls jack “mon petit fromage” (my little cheese) and i couldn’t breathe for like ten minutes after first readin. 

ii. bitty of goose lake, zimbits, by @/itsybitsybitty https://archiveofourown.org/works/17622797/chapters/41548541

this totally awesome and interestin 37k word au is everythin i love in a fanfiction. without givin away spoilers, jack is.. kind of in a honked up situation, and bitty jus loves his emotional support goose that eats all his pies and sometimes hugs him when he’s feelin sad. i’ve reread this fanfiction religiously and it never gets old. 

— patater

iii. put on my shoes and run away, patater, by @/maraudeer https://archiveofourown.org/works/27466612

YOOOOO KENT PARSON GETS THERAPY MOTHERFUCKERSSSSSSS!!! i’d call that a fuckin W. this 7k word oneshot is the cutest soulmate au i’ve ever read! and i LOVE soulmate aus, let me tell y’all. alexei and kent are jus the cutest together and along the journey of realization that their shared dreams have been with each other, alexei is the softest human being ever. did i mention how much i love alexei? gosh!

iv. two feet in front of me, patater, by @/maraudeer https://archiveofourown.org/works/17665718/chapters/41664608

i mean, babes, it’s a 19k word bachelors au. what else is there to say? alexei’s a gay mess and we’re ALL here for it. also i jus really love kent parson in this story, don’t know why. (we alr know i’m a kinnie,, movin on-) 

— nurseydex

v. everyone wonders what it’s like to be loved by you, nurseydex, @/jennycaakes https://archiveofourown.org/works/29450085/chapters/72342033

okay!! so i don’t really know what hang the dj is or what the au is inspired by but it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things (: basically it’s an incredibly angsty (i mean what do you expect with nurseydex, dudes?), cute story!! EESH CAN I BE ANYMORE BLUNT UHH it’s cute and fuCK IM BAD AT THESE THINGS !!!!! 

vii. love finds you, nurseydex, @/hockeysometimes, poindextears https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089940/chapters/52718095

i searched through 29 out of the 45 pages of my archive of our own history to find this fuckin book and anyways. OKAY this 200k+ word fic (please it’s worth it) is amazin nd i know the entire plot nd have read it more than thrice and please it’s so good. basically nursey loses motivation and goes for a nice drive and OOPS he ends up 60 years in the past and meets closeted cutie dex. kent parson is my favourite thing about this fic please and the side zimbits is absolutely fuckin adorable. i think abt this fic religiously.

— pimbits

viii. the camera tells secondhand lies, bitty/kent/jack, @/summerfrost https://archiveofourown.org/works/11199471/chapters/25011333

HOLY SHIT IT’S A BIG BROTHER AU SIDUFHG. i. love. THIS. i think about it ALLLLL of the time!!! kent’s super swag and i absolutely love jack’s character in this. bitty’s also rlly horny but like it’s fine cuz i would be too if i was near kent parson for longer than an hour.

— honourable mentions

all hail the underdogs, nurseydex, @/xiaq https://archiveofourown.org/works/15446814/chapters/35854725

do i even need to explain?

and i’m so furious (at you for making me feel this way), nurseydex, @/dharmainitiative https://archiveofourown.org/works/15194981

nurseydex hogwarts au WHICH!!! i don’t agree with the houses. dex is a slytherin and that is FINAL.

crossed wires, nurseydex, @/lecrivaineanonyme https://archiveofourown.org/works/8258459

another fic i think about religiously. bro it’s a dex!best buy au. he works at BEST BUY!!! i agree

love and insomnia, zimbits, @/wrathoftthestag https://archiveofourown.org/works/25391977/chapters/61573672

it’s a 2020 fic where zimbits meet during quarantine and it’s just adorable. also it makes me sad cuz the author wrote like an ending without covid-19 anymore and it made me sad cuz like,,, i need an ending pls

<3

[the-lincyclopedia]

🔁📚💖

Thanks for the ask, @jonsaremembers!

🔁 A fic you’ve re-read several times

Okay, I answered that here, so I feel like I should pick a different fic, and I will. I also feel like I should pick a different author, but . . . see, angsty fics by @fozmeadows have somehow become my comfort food. When it comes to the Scar Tissue series, the recordings by @khashanakalashtar have specifically become my comfort food. My phone doesn't keep track of how many times I listen to downloaded audio tracks, at least not anywhere I know how to access, so I don't know how many times I've listened to the end of "Scar Tissue (That I Wish You Saw)" or the middle of "Lick Your Heart (and Taste Your Health)," but please know it's many, many times.

What the series is about: Kent Parson was abused as a kid (it's really bad; mind the tags). Now he's in his mid-twenties, sort of maybe kind of coping, and a bunch of things happen in quick succession that turn his life upside down but ultimately lead to him facing his demons and getting to a much better place. That's super vague because I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but Foz does such a good job (here and elsewhere) at going from very heavy angst to very earned hope and goodness, and I also appreciate Foz's choices in this series about where to write a redemption arc and where to definitely not. (In case you're worried by abuse and redemption arcs being mentioned in the same paragraph, the redemption arc is not for the abuser, I promise.)

📚 A fic you wish you could display on your bookshelf

Okay, this feels a bit like cheating, because I someday WILL get to display this on my bookshelf, but: "Like Real People Do" by @xiaq. This fic is fantastic, and I am so proud of xiaq for finding a publisher and writing an original version! (The link will take you to the AO3 page for the fic, but the text of the fic is no longer there because a version of the fic is being published. If you haven't read it, I, uh, definitely can't help you with that. Nope.)

What it's about: The story follows an OC named Eli who was Bitty's childhood best friend and is now attending college in Las Vegas, where he meets Kent Parson. After quite the meet-ugly, Eli and Kent become friends, fall in love, etc., etc.

💖 A drabble that made you want 100K more words

I take it we're using "drabble" here to mean anything short-ish, rather than something that's exactly 100 words (since the Check Please fandom isn't, to my knowledge, abounding in true drabbles). I've got three answers to this one:

Anything @weneedtotalkaboutfic posts on Tumblr but not on AO3, including all those headcanons and bullet-point lists. (Maybe literally not every single one, but most of them, by far.) I'm including @parvuls in this list item as well, because Lau and Pav seem to feed off of each other sometimes (and Pav has excellent headcanons of their own!), particularly when it comes to those soft dom!Bitty ideas. (Note to anyone who likes the soft dom!Bitty idea and likes/doesn't mind PB&J: the series you're looking for is Directionverse by Khashana.)

"all i need is a life in your shape" by @zimms. It's a short Olliewicks fic where they're both NHL players (and didn't go to Samwell) and they get together during the 2020 COVID pause, and I told Abby in my comment that I would read the fuck out of a companion piece from Wicks' perspective. But also, the fic is basically made up of several vignettes that take place over the course of a few years, so there's plenty of room to flesh it out even more.

"Without Expectation" by @alocalband. It's a short Zimbits fic about Bitty's checking issues translating into issues with physicality in his relationship with Jack. It's so painful and lovely (Jack, especially, is so lovely) and I'm not sure what a much-longer version would look like, but I would read it.

Get in on the ask game!

[cancerbiophd]

Why am I so afraid of professors? They're all so smart and cool and I always feel like I'm not good enough, especially when they appear to be irked or treat me coldly/with hostility. It makes me feel stupid and unadequate and unworthy. I'm terribily uneasy every time I have to interact with them. Even if I studied hard and I know I'm saying something correct i tend to get unsure and submissive, like in a very 'i-hope-i'm-doing-this-right' and 'please-don't-hurt-me' way. Of course this affects my exams because it looks like I'm not sure of what I'm saying... and the professor gets irked even more because they obviously think I haven't studied and I'm wasting their time. I hate myself for it. Please, do you have any tips to overcome this?

Hi Anon, ohh I know that experience very well. I also used to be absolutely terrified of professors when I was in college. Raising my hand to ask a question in lecture? Nuh uh! Going to office hours? NUH UH. I had huuuge anxiety regarding all that. 

But it slowly got better (though it took longer than I--and my grades--would’ve hoped), so I have some ideas on how you can also become more comfortable around professors. Feel free to try any you feel comfortable doing, and also keep in mind this is in no way a comprehensive list of ideas, and that everything will take baby steps and most importantly, time. 

Firstly, know it’s not your fault. I’m not a therapist or anything so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to me that something traumatizing may have happened in your past/still happening in your present to create this current feeling of fear around authority figures, especially if one of your constant fears is being physically hurt by them. If that seems to ring true, I highly recommend seeking the advice of a professional therapist, as they can help you find more permanent solutions through these types of obstacles. I think seeking a therapist would be a very kind thing you can do to take care of yourself because, most importantly, you deserve to live a life free from fear, and secondly, it’s affecting your day-to-day life (ie. your grades and mental well-being).

Secondly, I really hope you have a really good experience with a professor one day. A professor who is so kind and so passionate about helping you that it’s a huge step in healing and growing. To get you started, I highly recommend following one of my favorite blogs and professors on tumblr @xiaq. They’re seriously amazing and just, an all around good person. 

Sit near the front of the classroom/lecture hall. Not only will this help in paying attention/retaining information during class, but just by being closer to your professor will help slowly ease you into being more comfortable in their presence. You may also feel more comfortable asking questions in class, as you won’t have a wall of students turning around to look back at you as you speak (I know this gave me huge anxiety). 

Have a study-buddy for each class who you can go to office hours with. Experiences are always less intimidating when you’re with another person. Another bonus of a study-buddy is that you can also ask them any questions you have, and thus possibly skip having to interact with the professor all together (which would be a good thing if the professor really is being unhelpful and rude).

Going off of that, surround yourself with people who inspire you, specifically those with are very comfortable around professors. As social creatures, we oftentimes will passively pick up the mannerisms of those around us. I used to be suuuuper timid and shy, but my confidence grew during high school and college after I became friends with more confident people. 

Seek out a TA first (if possible). TAs are students too (they’re just in graduate school), and they may come across as less intimidating. Heck, I could’ve been your TA :) 

Spend more time with professors or TAs, even passively. Regular exposure is the fastest way to having something feel “normal”, after all. Ideas of doing this include: volunteering at a research lab, getting a part-time job on campus somewhere that has regular interaction with professors or TAs, volunteering at university-sponsored events with professors, hanging out at community learning centers where TAs volunteer as free tutors (if your university has them), signing up for smaller-sized classes (more professor interaction), or even doing homework in public study lounges near professor offices (these areas have the bonus of usually being more quiet than libraries). 

Do something even more intimidating than interacting with a professor. Ok here me out: Once you accomplish something that’s even scarier, your newly gained confidence will be like, “Wow, if I could do something that’s so much more intimidating, then talking to my professor isn’t so bad in comparison!” What you do is up to you, but it should be something that’s obviously safe, but challenging enough so that it’s just a little bit scary, and in the end you’ll be more confident for having accomplished it. Like performing in public, or running for a leadership position for a club you’re in, or working a part-time job/volunteering opportunity that gives you the chance to interact with lots of diverse people.

Know you are not being a burden when you ask a professor for help. A) It’s their literal job to teach. You are no more a burden asking a professor for help on their class than you are going to the doctor’s office when you’re sick. As a student who is paying thousands of dollars in tuition (or someone is paying that for you), you are the reason why that professor has a job and a salary. So they need to do their job well, right? B) Teaching is also their passion. There are a variety of career paths they could’ve taken (especially for those with a PhD), and staying in academia is usually by far one of the hardest and most competitive paths, so the fact that they’re still there means that they really do enjoy what they do. 

But know also that professors are human. Sometimes they may be having a bad day that’s unrelated to their students, and may seem a bit more tense and terse. We’ve all been there, right? If a professor or my boss seems a bit snippy that day, unless they explicitly say to me “Julia, I am so mad at you right now”, I chalk it up to something else happening in their lives that has nothing to do with me. My mental wellbeing has greatly improved by adopting this way of thinking: “never assume another person’s intentions and only accept what they explicitly tell you.”

Say more “thank you”s instead of “I’m sorry”. This moves things away from erroneously putting all the blame on you towards being appreciative of the other person’s time and energy. Instead of “I’m so sorry I don’t understand this from class” try saying “Thank you for taking the time to teach this again to me”. See how different the vibes are? And how much more positive you feel by saying the second one? The other person will also feel more positive about the interaction too. If you catch yourself instinctively saying “I’m sorry” (because I know it’s a habit that’s hard to shake), quickly follow up with a “thank you” as well: “I’m sorry I don’t understand this from class but thank you for taking the time to teach this again to me.” 

Lastly, be patient and kind with yourself as this will take time. Overcoming something that gives us anxiety takes exposure, patience, and time; it won’t happen overnight. Take baby steps at first, and it’s ok if you just can’t do something today. That’s alright, you can try tomorrow. 

Also, if anyone who has gone through something similar has any advice or words of support to share, please feel free to reblog or leave a reply! 

Good luck anon, I hope things get easier for you ❤️ 

[ternaryflower53]

you know what, i feel like doing fic recs, so i'm gonna fill out that fic rec bingo i reblogged a while back. under the cut bc this got. very long

a fic you love without knowing the source material - i mean. quite a lot of them, actually, i do a lot of fandom hopping. however the Henrietta: without magic, with medical careers series (The Raven Cycle) by @avalonjoan is excellent and only of the only trc fics i've ever read

a fic with a premise that shouldn't work but does - probably and the universe said you are not alone (Les Miserables) by alonsos, aka the les mis martian au. i don't know i just never would have thought of it but it's GOOD

a fic you've read several times - again...many. the first one that comes to mind is the Carry On For You series (Avatar: TLA) by @sword-and-stars but that may be because i just saw her posting about it. also

a fic you still remember years later - Paris Burning (Les Miserables) by @thecitysmith, aka one of the first fics i read on ao3. i need to actually get around to reading their novella at some point shhhh

a comfort fic - did you mean half my bookmarks? okay, we can go with our turn to carve windows (Star Wars) by @notquiteaghost. idk it's just soft. also has the tag "if youre trans and also a nerd then boy do i have a fic for you" and i mean i mean. you sure figured out your target audience

a cathartic fic - Always Gold (Star Wars) by @happygiraffe made me cry and it's just. excellent. one of the only major character death fics i've thought really nailed the ending

a fic you'd print and put on your bookshelf - hm. perhaps All Hail the Underdogs (Check Please) by @xiaq. in my head fics i'd print out also work as published books bc i am not really a physical book person, idk

a fic you associate with a song - i don't have tons of music associatons, unfortunately, but i DO associate @stillneedsmorekissing's Stellarverse series (Percy Jackson) with les mis solely because of interactions we've had lmao

a fic that inspires you - Asynchronous Circuit (Star Wars) by @jessepinwheel has EXCELLENT characterization and i want it. just makes me want to write things so i can be like that you know. anyway

a fic that brought you on board a new ship - tbh, i have ver little feelings about ships, i just read whatever is there, but hunting toward heartstill (Star Wars) by @blackkatmagic got me into mace/cody, i guess?

a fic that you wish could be a movie - none? i have never actually thought that before. but also i'm not a huge movie person, so. whatever

a fic that led to you making friends with the author - there's been a few, but gonna give a shoutout to @quillium's fic not afraid to fall (Into the Spiderverse) bc it's Excellent and quill is awesome

a fic you've gushed about irl - SO MANY, this is what happens when your irl friends are also into fandom. but i'm pretty sure i've rambled about @batsutousai multiple times, especially her Make A Brand New End series, so. that one.

a fic you associate with a place - tbh none?? not huge on location associations either

a fic that made you gasp out loud - there's probably been some but i cannot think of any??? i'm not super reactive when i'm reading lol

a fic you found at the right time - i remember reading All's Well (My Hero Academia) by goatman_entrapment and there was a note in one of the fics where they said something about how parents can love a child but still hurt them, and tbh i really needed that

a fic you would read fic of - *gestures* the answer to all of these is either "lots" or "none", i guess. anyway, lots, but i was reminded of the Hammer to Fall verse (Voltron) by @codefiant and i'd love to see more of it, just bc i think it's SUPER cool.

a fic that made you laugh out loud - my friend sent me Grow Up So Fast (Batman) by InsaneTrollLogic and i about died, it's excellent

a fic with a line (or two) you've memorized by heart - i don't think i have any of these :/

a fic that gave you butterflies - i don't think i have any of these either??? i don't read that much shippy fic, idk

a fic that embodies something you value in life - not sure i understand this one, tbh? but perhaps when we are loved we are afraid (we were never meant to survive) (Harry Potter) by @aletterinthenameofsanity.

a favorite au - i love reincarnation AUs a normal amount, i swear. anyway The Rest of Their Lives (Attack on Titan) by folaigh has some really cool explorations of identity and i just like it a lot

a fic you stayed up too late to finish - hm, one of the more recent ones was Bruised Words (Harry Potter) by @starknjarvis27, very good had lots of excellent emotions

a fic that made you feel seen - i have a very strong memory of reading @cuubism's fic Let In The Rain (Shadowhunters) and feeling seen. it doesn't actually depict my personal experience at all but it's just??? good?? excellent ace fic 10/10

[a-gay-old-time]

📖 A Gay Old Library 📖

An updated list of my completed projects:

Grounds for Divorce by Tepre

GallaPlacidia Anthology by GallaPlacidia

the call of sweet things by softlystarstruck

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy’s Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose [author copy]

Way Down We Go by xiaq

Sweeten to Taste by bigblackdog

you bring me home & other stories: a trans drarry collection by softlystarstruck

Chasing Dragons by The_Sinking_Ship

The Claiming of Grimmauld Place by bixgirl1

Heart Like Neon by lq_traintracks

Finely Drawn Lines by The_Sinking_Ship

Nor All That Glisters by sweet_s0rr0w

Loverboys by corvuscrowned

Tit for Tat by mintaminta

Among Ancient Pines by Theartfulldodger

The_Sinking_Ship Anthology by The_Sinking_Ship [art]

In the Shape of Things to Come/Preserving Lemons by academicdisaster and saintgarbanzo

what husbands are for by softlystarstruck

Mist-Robed Gate by Shreyas Sampat

Kept in Cages by sweet_s0rr0w

The July Tree and Eager for the Sky by oknowkiss

[nottooldtodream]

Thank you for tagging me @devilrising

Rules: Answer 10 questions, come up with 10 questions, and tag 10 people

1. Who do you look up to the most right now?

I have a friend who I was having dinner with three years ago, and we were talking about some volunteer work she was doing, the conversation evolved into identifying what needs weren’t being met in our community and what we wished we could do about it. Three years later, she will be opening a community center serving our neighborhood and more on June 1st, it has programs for preschoolers to senior citizens. She literally spoke her vision and with a lot of hard work, meetings, and perseverance made it happen. She is in her late 50’s, it’s never too old to dream!

2. What are you excited to do after this is over?

Just to go out to dinner and travel to see family

3. What languages do you know/are you learning/do you want to learn?

I speak English and also I know some German but I haven’t used it in so long it would take me a bit to get up to steam.

4. How are you keeping busy?

I am so good at wasting a day away! I have done some writing, read tons of fanfic, I’m slowly crocheting a baby blanket. My guilty pleasure this quarantine has definitely been watching TIK TOK videos, there are so many creative funny people in the world. I have enjoyed listening to music, and zooming with my family and friendsi

5. Why do you enjoy tumblr/the fandom?

Wow well I love some drarry fanfic, and honestly tumblr is just a wealth of drarry creatives and fans. I love drarry fanfic because most of all it just makes sense to me, who doesn’t love some enemies to friends to lovers angst??? Plus the magical world that Harry and Draco live in offers so many possibilities and it’s a world I’ve been reading about for 20 plus years. I feel so connected. At my most stressful times in life the wizarding world has offered me distraction and comfort. Plus is there any better feeling than finishing a beautiful piece of fiction that’s ripped you apart and put you back together again, and then realizing that the same author has written 17 other stories about the same characters?!

6. What is on your to read list?

The fanfic I am most eagerly waiting on another chapter of is “Way Down We Go” it is a wip by @xiaq It’s just a great story. I love powerful!harry but this story is so much more, and very different from a lot of fics I’ve read before.

7. Who is your favourite artist (interpret this however you like)? My favorite artist is Singer/Song writer Troye Sivan. The man is an angel. I love all his songs. Lyrically they from such an authentic place, he is a vulnerable song writer, with a beautiful voice and a wicked sense of humor. I didn’t discover Troye until about 18 months ago, maybe a bit more. He was on a talk show, this is when he was blond, and I literally said out loud Draco! I thought here is the redeemed Draco of every fanfic I’ve ever loved. They have the same birthday by the way, June 5th. But he is not Draco he just looks like him, and has a nice posh South African mixed with Australian accent. I spent the next few weeks listening to every song he ever wrote or sang and watching every YouTube videos interview, concert footage etc I could get my hands on. I’m a bit obsessed not only because I could listen to his music 24/7 but also because I just want the best for this man, he deserves all the best this world can give.

8. What is your favourite food to cook?

Pasta. Love to make pasta with a yummy sauce.

9. What skill would you like to learn next?

I would love to become a better writer. Really it’s my dream, but it’s so hard to do it right.

10. When do you think your childhood ended? Very early, my father died when I was 9 months old, and my mother was a very immature 21 year old. I was blessed with loving grandparents but they passed in my early teens and it’s been up to me ever since.

My Questions:

1. Three words that make you happy when you get to use them.

2. What is the HP character you most identify with? ( it doesn’t have to be your favorite character)

3. Do you consider yourself an intervert or an extrovert?

4. What is your comfort food?

5. Name something you’ve done that you are proud of.

6. What is something that is hard for you to do, but you do it anyway.

7. Do you consider yourself a sexual person?

8. Favorite candy?

9. Are you neat or messy?

10. What is your most valued treasure?

Tag: @oronka @big-draco-energy @irrelevantdrarry

@funhb @parkkate @strandr @sassy-gay-draco @chinike @dracoharrylove @dragontamerdrarry

[sitp-recs]

Hello! Do you have any starry recommendations for draco with a serious condition/illness? Examples I’ve seen (and savored) from your blog would be “on one’s knees” and “you’ve got the antidote for me”, which I love, and want mooooore. Thanks as always for the fabulous work 💖

Hi anon, thank you! This trope breaks my heart so I haven’t read much, but I hope you enjoy these fics. Some feature disability and/or mental health issues so pls check the warnings and stay safe ❤️

Under the Ivy by coffeejujkii (2006, PG-13, 4k)

It is impressive how much you can learn about someone by simply sharing a few rooms. They don't spend time together, not really, but Harry still knows that Malfoy prefers raspberry jam over strawberry, that he hums along to the Wireless when he thinks no one is around, and that his leg is bothering him more than usual when the temperatures drop below freezing.

Blind Faith by orphan_account (2013, Mature, 21k)

Don't think of it as losing your sight. Think of it as gaining an Animagus who never quite learned the meaning of the word 'boundaries'.

To Hurt and Heal by cassisluna (2018, Teen and Up, 21k)

They say that everybody who gets out of Azkaban comes out a little mad. After the war, Draco Malfoy spends three months in Azkaban. He just wants to go insane in peace, but Harry Potter finds that he, inexplicably, still can't leave Draco alone.

Vale Sanare by RurouniHime (2011, Mature, 23k)

Draco’s world gains a new component just when he thought he’d sorted everything out.

Come For Me by Frayach (2012, Explicit, 24k)

After Draco is paralyzed in an accident, he and Harry discover a new way to make love. Please read Author's Notes!!

Somebody to Love by khasael (2015, PG, 31k)

Draco's life after the war is quite different than it used to be. When he finds himself cursed, with little hope for lifting the spell, he sets out to make the most of the time he has left. Getting to know his Aunt Andromeda and his young cousin Teddy feels like a good thing to do, even if it can't help him in the long run...or can it?

The Bucket List by GallaPlacidia (2020, Not Rated, 32k)

Draco will die in six months if he can't get Harry Potter to fall in love with him. Since that's not going to happen, he might as well spend his last days working through his Bucket List. Tap-dancing lessons? Rock climbing? Poetry-writing? Threesomes? Cocaine? Getting to know his adorable cousin, Teddy Lupin? Draco will try them all! Feat. Cheerily pessimistic Draco, devoted bitch queen Pansy Parkinson, and a Harry who can't help but notice that something seems DIFFERENT about Draco, these days.

Draco In Darkness by plumeria47 (2003, Teen and Up, 34k)

Following an accident in his seventh year, Draco loses his eyesight. At first he completely withdraws, avoiding any hint of pity, as well as any assistance; he is determined to succeed on his own. But after Harry elbows his way into Draco's dark world, both boys find themselves in a strange new friendship, and they each learn new ways to see each other ... and themselves.

Bitter Transmutation : Cruel Transformation by @dorthyanndrarry (2019, Mature, 103k)

The terms of Draco’s probation require him to finish his final year of schooling, he just wants to survive with what little dignity he has left, in face of students that hate him, falling behind on his school work, and all the strange fevers and weakness and changes… that only seem to be getting worse.

A Thousand Beautiful Things by geoviki (2004, Mature, 104k)

Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.

Kiss Me (Under the Light of a Thousand Stars) by Iwao and Sophie_French (2015, Explicit, 114k)

Harry rescues Draco Malfoy from Azkaban, where he has been imprisoned for three years after the war. Draco is not as Harry remembers, as Azkaban leaves its mark on even the strongest of wizards. With no memory of who he was or how he came to be in Harry's care, Draco needs Harry's help if he is to have any hope of making a full recovery. But Harry has his own demons to fight and together with saving Draco, Harry must also discover a way to find himself.

There Is Always the Moon by firethesound (2016, Teen and Up, 159k)

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time. (A remix of If the Sun Goes Black by pasdexcuses)

I’m also linking the fics you’ve mentioned in case anyone wants to check them:

you've got the antidote for me by Kandakicksass (2018, Mature, 20k)

When Harry Potter unintentionally severs their soulbond before it can fully form, Draco Malfoy resigns himself to a slow death and decides not to burden Harry with a soulmate he's made it very clear he doesn't want. He's never been selfless before, but for Harry, he can try.

On One's Knees by pir8fancier (2008, Explicit, 33k)

The war is over and to the victors go the spoils. If you are triggered by infidelity, this is not the fic for you.

Way Down We Go by @xiaq (2019, M, 109k)

In which Harry and Draco both run away from their pasts and conveniently choose to hide in the same tiny American town. It's super.

[labelleizzy]

Q & A Meme

I got tagged by @wrathofthestag​ who knows I love stuff like this. :D

Rules are: answer these questions and then tag people.

1. Name: Liz, sometimes Lizzie, occasionally Izzy. You can call me a Silver Fox if you want to. =DDD

2. Zodiac Sign: Scorpio on the cusp of Sagittarius, with (apparently) Aquarius rising.

3. Height: 5’ 4″, according to my drivers license.

4. Hogwarts house:  when i was 11 i would have said Hufflepuff. Nowadays I generally think Ravenclaw, because now i actually understand I am both smart and clever. There’s a vote in for Griffindor as well, because I’ve been impulsive my whole life but have taught myself to be brave.

5. Last thing I googled: “define corybantic” I was reading this insanely good Sherlock/John fic by MirithGriffin (Control, Alt, Delete) and she actually used language i had to look up? vocabulary I didn’t know?? it was the BEST. and such a deep rich emotionally congruent story...

6. Song stuck in my head: Sound of Silence, cover by Disturbed. Yummmmm

7. Number of followers: 657. I do block the bots, so I’m proud of that number

8: Amount of sleep: 8-9 works best but i keep forgetting to go to bed. fortunately it’s only 2-3 times a week i have to be functional for anything before 10.

9. Lucky number: 13, 7, and 3. Also any age I am at which is a prime or a square.

10. Dream job: One that I’ve held is as a junior high librarian. Books and booktalking, teaching (informally, in small doses, without having to do grading), bookshopping, book repair, supporting and helping young teens to figure things out.

11. Wearing: Today was a workout day. I actually think i look cute for a change: silver sketchy flower on a dark heather grey dolman tshirt, my new black yoga pants from Duluth Trading company (recessed zippered pockets!) mismatched smartwool socks from REI, and my workout/walking sneakers. Piled my hair up in a bun on top of my head... see? cute!

12. Favourite Song: This is my impossible question.  I will never be able to answer this. It cycles, sometimes every week, sometimes every day. Different songs are evocative for different moods, soothe or stimulate. I love music that moves me to dance, but my favorite thing to do is to dance to live piano playing. We did that for eurythmy class in the waldorf teacher training, and there’s nothing like it: the rush, the calm, you’re living out to your fingertips and the ends of your hair.

13. Favourite Instrument: I played violin for awhile as a kid, and even though I haven’t been able to pick it up again so it stuck lifelong, it informed my aesthetic appreciation of music. Remember Come On Eileen? a fiddle player working with a pop band is always going to get my attention, and a good violin-piano piece can break my heart or send me soaring.

14. Aesthetic: wait, i wrote this down in my planner when i first got the tag-youre-it: AH. Witchy Hobbit Cleric!

15. Favourite Author: Again, too many to nail down to one.  Ngozi Ukazu, Robin Mckinley, LM Montgomery (The Blue Castle), Mccaffrey, Heinlein, Charles DeLint! (Moonheart, Svaha) Lois Mcmaster Bujold (Vorkosigans), Seanan McGuire, R. Cooper (@sweetfirebird), Patricia Kennealy (Celts in Spaaaaaace), Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman. Urban fantasy, supernatural adventures, a little humor and romance yes please! Kedreeva, Xiaq, PorcupineGirl, Tiptoe39 ... Cakeisnotpie, shit. I wish i could organize all my bookmarks by author and give better credit where credit is due!

16. Favourite animal sound: the little huff that the cat makes when she settles down on me to nap... she’s 16, I indulge the fuck out of her.

17. Random: I met Kenny Loggins once in college when I was working a clerical gig for the music department. One of our profs was working on electronic sound design (this was like 1989, it was a new field of study and development) and the prof was like, “he wanted to use my sounds! no way am i gonna give up my sounds!” =) also, like david tennant, I can pronounce llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch if i get a little warmup. (lived in Aberystwyth for a year)

Tagging... let’s tag some new followers! @lucyintheskywithpasta97​, @insecure-whisper, @aethelflaedladyofmercia​ (hi by the way!) @shortorange76​, @shyocean​, and @fckthishitrn​ (very fun handle, btw)

[xiaq]

Q&A:

Hello! Sorry for the belated question-answering. My concussion symptoms got a lot worse for a hot second, but I’m feeling better now and ready to tackle my inbox. So I have over 30 academic-related questions and they mostly fall into these groups:

Can I read your dissertation/are you going to publish it?

Yes! And hopefully. The plan is to publish it as a book once it is complete, but even if that doesn’t happen I’ll share it (maybe even on AO3) with anyone who wants to read it.

What is your dissertation about?

That is a dangerous question. The shortest possible answer: my dissertation is essentially an ethnographic study of the interconnected online platforms that facilitate transformative digital fan culture and the people that use them. I consider fic literature and fic archives repositories for both this textual literature but also the metatextual and paratextual elements of fan culture. My focus is on the AO3 as a groundbreaking archive that has changed how transformative fandom operates, is treated legally, and is viewed publicly.

How are you getting a PhD in fandom? Is that a thing? Did you take classes for it?

Fandom studies is a thing! When you get an English PhD you specialize in certain things, and fandom studies is one of my specialties. Alas, I did not take classes in it, though I did do a significant amount of directed reading on my own/in preparation for exams. PhD coursework prepares you for the broad range of English classes you may be called upon to teach as a professor. So I took multiple courses in my primary fields (see below) but only took classes for my first two subfields. I also took Victorian lit, British lit, American lit, etc.

What did you take your quals in?

Primary Fields: (these are things that make colleges want to hire you)

Book history/archival (focus movement from print-digital)

Feminist/queer theory

20/21st century lit

Subfields: (these are the things that you think are neat if not included in the things that will make colleges want to hire you)

disability studies

minority literature

comics studies

fandom studies

Where do you go to school?

SMU. In Dallas. We have great libraries and lots of white people who wear Vinyard Vines apparel.

You’re the xiaq that wrote LRPD/AHTU/Strut! Are you going to talk about your own fic in your dissertation? Yes. And yes! I’ll speak as a 3rd party academic observer in chapter 1-3 and 5, but chapter 4 will be a case study/interlude where I speak in depth about my experience writing and posting LRPD (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11304786?view_full_work=true). I’m doing this for 2 reasons: 1. The project asserts that there is nothing shameful about participating in fandom and fan works/archives ought to be shown respect and appreciation. I want both fandom folks and academic folks to know that I’m “all in” as it were. 2. When I sat down with my chair to plan my case study chapter, we decided I needed a “top-ranked” work within any moderate to large fandom with over 50,000 hits and over 5,000 comments, and I needed to ask the author detailed questions about their writing, editing, posting, sharing, and comment-answering/interactive habits. LRPD fits that criteria and I don’t have to ask anyone else invasive questions.

Who all have you interviewed?

Cesperanza/Astolat and a couple other AO3 founding folks. Several people currently volunteering for the OTW, one of the volunteer coordinators, communications staff, and a LOT of fan writers (over 50 at this point)—including BNFs like Kryptaria, Earlgreytea68, Emmagrant01 and (much) more. And then a bunch of academic folks too—Karen Hellekson, Abigail De Kosnik, Francesca Coppa, Rukmini Pande, Suzanne Scott (who is on my committee as an outside reader!) and more. Every single person I’ve spoken to was very kind and generous with their time and I love everyone in this bar.

And these were three specific questions that didn’t fall into those categories:

You look so young—is that just good genetics or did you skip a few grades?

Thank you! Well. I skipped getting my masters. Sort of. Most PhD programs require an undergraduate and a masters degree before you can apply. SMU is one of the few that does not and has an extended program that essentially gives folks straight from undergrad extra intensive coursework and a masters upon completion of 2 yrs in the program. It’s difficult to get accepted without a masters, so consider me an outlier and not the standard. I’m also on course to (hopefully) graduate a year early—which means I’ll have my doctorate before I turn 30! You too can be an overachiever with the help of OCD, anxiety, and sleep deprivation (not an endorsement, tho).

what does otw mean in your ao3 post about academics being assholes

Organization for Transformative Works! The OTW formed before the AO3 did. You can read more about it here: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Organization_for_Transformative_Works

Concerning your post on AO3 and the pettiness of academics - you mentioned the real, serious negative issues concerning AO3. Might you expand more on that? What do you find to be the negative aspects of AO3?

Ah yes. So there is one “big” thing that occasionally came up as a negative in my interviews and research. Fandom has a long and storied history of racism. It’s not isolated to the AO3, but several of the POC I spoke to said they dislike the fact that there’s no way to mark a work as racist, or warn others about it (usually, if an individual points out that, say, an author has treated Finn as a Big Black Dick and not, you know, a human being, the author isn’t particularly interested in noting that their own work is problematic. See also: slave AUs. Where Finn is a slave.Yikes.). While the majority of POC I spoke to didn’t advocate for some sort of censure of these works in the terms of use (some did), what most wanted was a way of being able to warn others, or receive a warning, that a work is racist. Implementing something like that is, obviously, complex (if not impossible) however. Personally? I doubt it will happen. Related, and perhaps more important, when POC tend to speak critically about the erasure or infantilization or animalization of non-white characters, white authors often 1. police tone rather than engage with the criticism, 2. focus more on defending themselves rather than actually examining their, maybe accidental, biases/stereotypes or 3. cry bullying or kinkshaming instead of actually listening to what POC are saying. Again, not an issue isolated to the AO3, but an issue nonetheless that we, as a community, need to recognize (for more on this history, check out, for example, https://fanlore.org/wiki/RaceFail_%2709). There’s also the whole “should illegal sexual things--like underage or pedophilia-- be allowed,” which I don’t have the energy to dissect right now, but the overwhelming majority of folks I spoke to were of the “if you don’t like it, don’t read works with that tag. If it’s not tagged correctly, close the tab” school of thought. The AO3 has always purported itself as a hosting, not a policing, organization, so I doubt that will ever change. 

[the-lincyclopedia]

For the fic reader meme, 4, 6, and 7. But I’d also love it if you answered 7 for something *you* wrote as well!

4. A fic with a premise you’d never seen before

There are so many! I guess the most recent fic where I commented about loving the premise was “A Pseudonym Is Just Another Word for a Secret Identity” by @shitty-check-please-aus. The premise is that everyone in the Haus is secretly a published author/illustrator and Bitty, Ransom, and Holster have formed a book club that is inadvertently reading the books of everyone on SMH and only books by members of SMH. It’s hilarious. 

6. A fic with a favorite trope

According to my AO3 bookmarks, the most recent fake relationship fic I bookmarked was “Land of Wishing Wells” by @darkenednights. I’ve become very fond of that trope since joining this fandom, and darkenednights uses it to great effect. 

7. A stylistic choice that worked really well for you in a fic this year

There are so many! How about everything ever in “Like Real People Do” by @xiaq? Specifically things like the way Eli and Eric’s friendship was handled, everything about Eli’s abuela, the way Kent and Eli get really good at handling disagreement but it takes some trial and error, the timing of Eli finding out about Kent’s DUIs, etc., etc. Actually, are any of those stylistic? I guess Eli’s voice is more of a stylistic choice, and that’s also great, so. 

7 for my own fics

It can be hard for me to try to figure out what works about my writing, because that’s not always the same as what’s fun for me--see the bit of Swedish in “these people raised me (and i can’t wait to go home)”--but luckily @themeaningoflifeischeese reads most of my fics and gives me very detailed positive feedback, so I’ll give you one of their assessments. Namely, they think I really nailed Jack’s voice and perspective in “One of These Nights Jack Needs to Get Some Sleep.” 

Thanks for the ask, @doggernaut! Everyone else, feel free to send me asks from this list!