#jilyss

[jilyarchive]

OCTOBER AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: MISSGRYFFIN

Q: Where can we find you and your stories?

A: @missgryffin​, AO3

Q: How would you describe your writing style?

A: Intense, sexy, snappy, and fast-paced. I have a rampant imagination and love a good sexual tension build-up, so my fics usually include a lot of plot, drama, and (of course) smut.

Q: How do you come up with ideas for your writing?

A: It’s such a grab-bag. A pretty substantial number of my fics have originated from prompts, actually! I also draw a lot on TV shows/movies I’ve seen, novels I’ve read, tropes I see that I’m inspired to try, etc. Also, I find that a lot of my ideas actually form while I’m writing. I’ll go in with a sense of direction, but it’s not until I’m writing and really in the thick of it that the details take shape, and then new ideas begin to spout off from there, based on what I learn about what the characters and story need.

Q: When and why did you begin writing fanfiction?

A: Technically, during the two-year wait between the releases of books 5 and 6, because I was utterly HP obsessed, my imagination was in overdrive thinking about what could happen in the final two books, and I had discovered MuggleNet fanfiction / FFN by that point, so I’d been devouring all of that early era of HP fanfic. I actually have a giant binder of my own fanfic writing from that period; I would type up stories in Word, format them with fun fonts and fan art covers I found online, and print them out for myself. (Which, I still do this!) Fun fact: there’s even a Marauders story in there that I had completely forgotten about that has a striking resemblance to the bones of Eternal Summer. It genuinely freaked me out a little when I found it, ha! 

 But even though I wrote creatively through most of my childhood/school phases of life, I had taken a pretty substantial break in early adulthood and didn’t “return” to writing until the pandemic in 2020. Life was bizarre, Netflix had gotten boring, and I was craving a creative outlet or hobby that could make lockdown bearable. I randomly stumbled my way back to fanfic / fandom, and here we are!

Q: What’s one thing you’d tell someone who is considering reading one of your fics?

A: Buckle up! 🎢 Also, I hope you are either i) at home, or ii) have a really great NSFW poker face 😅 But to give a more serious answer, I’d say that I write a wide range of tones, and I really lean in to what that tone is. If a fic is tagged for fluff and crack, it will be so adorably sweet and cringe-funny that your face will hurt from smiling. If a fic is tagged for angst and darker themes, it will feel like a knife to the gut. (If it’s tagged for all of the above—cough Eternal Summer cough—you’re at the front of a line for a wild rollercoaster, my friend!) Since I write both extremes, I’m never offended when readers skip fics or prefer one “genre” to another. But please know that Jily is always endgame in all of my stories—that’s the whole reason why we’re here 💗

Q: What are some of your favorite Jily tropes?

A: Enemies to lovers is my #1, even if it’s more of that “enemies-ish” rivalry at the beginning. There’s just nothing more quintessentially Jily to me than the process of them discovering more layers to the other person and slowly realizing that the other person is so much more than the antagonist they’d built up in their head. (And that they -gasp- actually…like them! Worse, they like them like them! A lot!) Gets me every time. 

Other favorites include There Was Only One Bed, Hurt/Comfort, and Forced Proximity/Stuck/Trapped. 

Q: What do you like most about the Jily fandom?

A: That we celebrate how much of a power couple Jily is. I’m going to quote @jilyss’ answer for this because it’s so true: we understand James has an arrogant streak but grew up, we celebrate Lily for the intelligent, strong, cool, bamf woman she is, and we appreciate how they’re true, complementary equals finding real, raw love with one another. (And also all the wonderful reader and fellow-writer friends I’ve made! 😘)

Q: Pick a favourite Marauders era character.

A: My man JP. From only the few hints we get about him in the books, we know he’s such a dynamic person, and I really love bringing him to life. Also, his growth/redemption story deserved more air-time, so I’m glad fanfic is here to fill that gap.

Q: Self-promo time! List the fics that you are most proud of writing.

A:

Eternal Summer – My first born! Even though it’s far from being finished and needs a lot of work, I’m really proud of the world-building I’ve done thus far. 

Vindicated – This was thrilling for me to write because it’s a total departure from what I’d previously written: second chances, canon-divergent AU, American settings, original characters, more adult relationship, etc. I have more planned for this universe and I’m really excited for it. 

for the hope of it all – My latest completed fic. I challenged myself to write a softer, friends-to-lovers, mutually pining kind of summer fic, and this came together in a flood. But what makes me proud is that with this fic, I could really see how much my writing has evolved and improved from those early ES days. 

Q: Fic rec time! Could you recommend a few of your favourite Jily fics?

A:

Of Chrysalism by @maraudersftw​ – It’s only a short one-shot, but the way this fic haunts me!! Exquisite. 

The Wedding Ring by @mppmaraudergirl​ – Lauren is the Nancy Meyers of Jily, and this fic is the epitome of that. A total comfort fic for me; I want it to be a movie that I can play in my living room over and over again until I know it by heart. 

Eighteen Again by @scriibble-fics​ – If I didn’t know scriibble was getting her PhD in History, I’d think she was a screenwriter. The world-building in this fic is like no other—I’m in a constant state of chills when I read it. The emotional depth, the heartbreak, the romance, the political intrigue…it’s one of those fics that never leaves you.

Thank you @missgryffin​ for letting us ‘interview’ you and for sharing your fics with us! ❤️

[theroomofreq]

wip game

I was tagged by @narukoibito and @ashotofogdensoldfirewhiskey thank you both xx

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!)  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!

oh my friends, oh my dear friends, there are so so many - with half ideas and just absolute chaos all around.

jily

utter nonsense - bday

jealousy wip

fem jily feb

feb challenge - twiggy

as one does

today

exes to lovers

hinny

the train station

texting fic

pen pals

i tried to get over you

scuff up our shoes

angst wip

the idea is that its chatting and flirting

romione

venmo wip

tagging anyone who wants to & @harryissuchalittleshit @liiilyevans

@zephyrcove @thegobletofweasleys @abby10fanfic @resilientlittlething @wearingaberetinparis @joyseuphoria @chierafied @hogwartslivy @sirenicc @mlw10 @isahorcrux @jilyss @jilyism @firefeufuego @bellmel @secretkeeper13

[jilyss]

Undercover Chapter 6

Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can't say no. Even though this time, she's working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

read from the beginning

“Ms. Evans? Mr. Potter?”

Lily looked up from her work to see Captain McGonagall gesturing for the two of them to join her in her office. They stood in unison, each wondering if they’d done something wrong, but unwilling to talk to the other about it. 

She knew their argument three days previous still bothered her, and she guessed he felt the same. It wouldn’t have bothered her so much, except she had plenty of time to think about it over the weekend, and it didn’t take her long to realize it was her fault. She’d been rude and cold to all her friends when they were just trying to help her. But that didn’t mean that she was ready to apologize, especially to James.

He had been watching her closely all morning, as if she was about to explode at any moment again, and it was grating on her nerves. She didn’t need him constantly checking up on her, and honestly, it surprised her that he even wanted to be around her after the way she’d treated him since she returned from her undercover work.

As they walked into the office, Lily took in the unusual state of Captain McGonagall. Normally orderly and conscientious, today, McGonagall’s lips were pursed in a thin, tight line and strands of hair were falling into her face. Her desk, usually very tidy and neat, had post-it notes and spare papers scattered haphazardly across it. James and Lily shared a confused look as they stood down across from her. 

“Is something wrong?”

McGonagall sat down on the edge of her sheet and cut right to the chase, shuffling through a stack of manila folders. “Rosier escaped three nights ago.”

continue reading

[jiilys]

22&25!

Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them?

oh shit! am about to slightly Expose myself! I do reread stuff sometimes, every once and a while when im on a bus or something i go on a spree and read the last like four things I posted. sometimes when someone interacts with something I wrote years ago I go back on my activity page and read it over, just to see what I was thinking and if it works now. stuff from years ago I truly struggle to reread, like from 2014-2017 is kind of just a pit for me that I find it hard to touch, the cringe is to all consuming. but I dont take it down still. I remember hearing dan howell say in like 2017 that he keeps his old stuff up so people can look back on it and see that he got better, and thats kind of how I feel about all that stuff now.

like. a lot of the writing I cannot stand now i was so pleased with at the time and just proud to have finished. i remember when I was writing ‘heart scope’ in bed over the summer holidays when I was around 15 or so, trying to imitate the style of another fic writer I loved, and being so glad to have just finished the whole thing. i think it was the longest thing id ever written at the time. don’t get me wrong I think parts of that thing still hold up! the end I think is actually almost good, but it isn’t the same thing i’d write now, and thats good. you’re meant to move past things eventually, its how you get to where youre going.

mainly i’m just really grateful to my old stuff, and i’m really glad that through the internet i can still have it all and read it back if I want. i can see all the blood and guts of everything i wrote, still remember parts where I cut something or added a line from somewhere else, and I love that writing is like that. like publicly its this finished thing when really I can see all the gears behind it, and for that I can never really hate anything I wrote when I was 15. she was trying so hard and i’m really glad she was. she got me here.

What part of writing is the most fun?

The part when ur on a train/walking somewhere/in a waiting room/bored in line for something/in a movie theatre bathroom/ getting coffee with a friend and suddenly youre just struck by a line or a conversation or a premise, and you have to get your phone out to write it down before you forget. the part when your normal life is just always getting interrupted by stuff. i remember walking to uni in the wind and being struck by “marry me” / “don’t joke” / “im not. I really want to marry you” and knowing for sure it was james and lily, covered in blood, getting engaged

im doing this ask game to avoid writing & cleaning the kitchen

[fiirelords]

Not to be annoying or anything but I’m always looking for new ppl to follow / mutuals bc this site is the only place I enjoy making friends and I just love my mutuals ok?? If you post any of the things listed below please reblog this post and I’ll check out your blog!! (You ofc don’t need to be following but it would be really nice if you could check out my blog and then we could be mutuals/friends💕) so my blog can be a little all over the place at times but mainly I post about:

harry potter

disney/pixar

atla

mcu (specially spidey)

star wars

b99 (though I’m not posting rn bc it might trigger some people)

the office and parks

criminal minds (would love to find more of these)

gravity falls

I’d love to follow more aesthetic blogs falls

The comfort films get me

If you have a fandom blog that’s not listed here please reblog and put in the tags your main fandoms so I can check out your blog also

it would be super nice if you guys could send some blog recs (pls)

[thejilyship]

september and tomorrow? :)

September: Share a comment or review which still warms your heart - 

‘Oh shit. OH SHIT. OH SHIT’

Tomorrow: Favorite way to write fluff? - I like fluff that has no plot and a lot of banter. Fluff that just makes you smile a like a goon and you can’t hide it and then you comment telling me how people are giving you funny looks because you were reading it in public. 

Thank you!!

[ofmermaidsandmarauders]

wednesday :)

name a fic which you have posted which you think is underrated?

I don’t know if I necessarily have anything I think is underrated, but one that I think doesn’t get looked at as much as the others is the very first fic I posted that was actually for a Jily Challenge. It was a Game of Thrones inspired AU

Strings that were connected is loosely based on Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s relationship, but I really only kept the cute parts and left out a lot of the triggering/NSFW content

[dirtycomputermp3]

time for a new url gaydies!

help me choose here pls

[highqueen]

HI ZEBRA!!!

HI NAT!!! ❤

How are you doing? I hope you’ve been enjoying the holidays!

[jilyarchive]

SEPTEMBER AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: JILYSS

Q: Where can we find you and your stories?

A: @jilyss​, AO3

Q: How would you describe your writing style?

A: Not really sure how to describe my writing style but I try to keep it somewhat informal and punchy - with lots of action. I'm not the best at writing prose and lyrical writing, but I love writing action and plot!

Q: How do you come up with ideas for your writing?

A: My ideas literally come from everywhere - the shower, right before I fall asleep, subplots in other books, prompt generators on tumblr, and real life experiences in college!

Q: When and why did you begin writing fanfiction?

A: I'm sometimes shocked how long ago I started writing. I've been writing in notebooks since I was 8, and then I think I started writing on computers when I was 12/13 ish. I've just loved telling stories and when I realized I could use characters that were already developed, I could just focus on the plot. Now I just love coming up with my own stories!

Q: What’s one thing you’d tell someone who is considering reading one of your fics?

A: If you're looking for plot, this is the place!!! I throw in fluff occasionally but I definitely like more action with a heavy side of romance.

Q: What are some of your favorite Jily tropes?

A: Enemies to friends to lovers, which is so broad but there is nothing better than them going from enemies to tentative friends to good friends to in love but not telling each other to an explosion of feelings and love.

Q: What do you like most about the Jily fandom?

A: I love how we just agree on certain things - Snape sucks, James is arrogant but grew up, Lily is bamf and so intelligent, etc.

Q: Pick a favourite Marauders era character.

A: Lily Evans. I just imagine her as someone who is so strong and powerful but needs to let out a little emotion sometimes but is literally also cool.

Q: Self-promo time! List the fics that you are most proud of writing.

A:

on the run – When the Order of the Phoenix falls, James Potter and Lily Evans are stuck in hiding together after not talking to each other since their 7th year. They're just kids, but sometimes, Lily feels like she's much, much older.

Undercover – Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can't say no. Even though this time, she's working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

about time – 'sure, yeah, I can accompany you to that black tie event for your work tonight. wait. why are we on a red carpet?'

Q: Fic rec time! Could you recommend a few of your favourite Jily fics?

A: 

Salmon Fishing in the Olympics by @ghostofbambifanfiction​ – one of best fics ever. I go back to read this once every couple of months.

And the Wolves All Cry by monroeslittle – super sad, but I've never cried harder while reading a fic. and has a mostly HEA.

All This Time by @thejilyship​ – and this one!

Thank you @jilyss for letting us ‘interview’ you and for sharing your fics with us! ❤️

[theroomofreq]

5&22!

hi there! 

5. What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

I have so much Ginny in me, I love to write her. I only have one work in her POV, mostly because I love to write Harry. And I am also a fair amount of Ron, who I’ve also only written once! 

22. Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them?

Yeah. When I first came back to Tumblr after my 4 year break I told myself I WAS NOT going to write, HAHAHAHA. But then I reread Personality before punctuality and thought I could make it better so I rewrote it. 

I have reread 2am a couple times, mostly because it’s self-indulgent and I like it. 

I haven’t reread Are we on a date right now? but I have reread some of my smaller fics. Which I like, it’s good practice. 

[jilyss]

on the run

When the Order of the Phoenix falls, James Potter and Lily Evans are stuck in hiding together after not talking to each other since their 7th year. They're just kids, but sometimes, Lily feels like she's much, much older.

read on ao3

“What the fuck happened?”

Lily’s hands were on her hips as she gagged, trying to fight down the nausea that was threatening to overwhelm her.

“What the fuck happened?” James repeated, twisting around to face her. He spat on the ground and swiped at his mouth angrily. Her throat constricted and she quickly spun away, putting her hands on her knees. From behind her, James groaned as she heaved up the contents of her stomach. Thankfully, she had hardly eaten in the last twenty-four hours, and a few seconds later was able to straighten up, using the hem of her shirt to wipe her mouth.

There was a loud bang behind her, she spun back around, throwing up a shield instantly. A wave of heat washed over as she tried to get her bearings, fully expecting another attacker. Her stomach was still heaving, and the taste in her mouth made her want to gag again. Instead of an attacker, she saw James firing spell after spell into the forest surrounding them. His entire body was covered in sweat, and he was using his entire body to cast spells, grunting with the effort. She was too tired to stop him, knowing full well how stubborn he was, but the death eaters would find them soon if he kept it up.

Grabbing his hand tightly despite his protests, she twisted on her heel, apparating them to a beach, where a gust of wet wind greeted them. Dropping his hand, she twisted on her heel again and returned to the forest. The sucking sensation of the double apparation made her heave again, emptying out anything else that might have been in there. When she finally recovered, she restored the forest to its original state - dousing fires, transfiguring a boulder back into a bunny, and filling in a crater from a particularly strong ‘reducto’ spell. It took her a few minutes, but when she had done the best she could, she twisted on her heel again and arrived back at the beach.

James was sitting on a piece of driftwood a few meters away, but Lily didn’t move to join him. They were both in a state of shock, and she was in no mood to talk. Not even an hour ago, they had been talking to Peter about his upcoming birthday. There wasn’t much time to celebrate, but James had planned on throwing a small party with everyone who could make it. And then, not even ten minutes later, Peter had betrayed them. Death eaters had shown up at the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters, Alice was dead, and the Order was finished.

Despite the temperature, Lily slipped her shoes off and rolled up her leggings enough to walk out into the ocean. The freezing water was biting, but it seemed to numb the pain and pull her out of her head, at least for a moment.

When the death eaters had arrived, Lily couldn’t believe her eyes. The order had various hideouts scattered about, and members knew about only a few at a time. The location of the headquarters was one of the more carefully kept secrets, and Lily had only been told about it three months ago. A few weeks later, Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter had all joined her. It wasn’t so much that they were all the Order’s best - they were young, and made lots of mistakes, but there were now fewer and fewer members.

Lily glanced down at her hands, finally noticing the various scraps she’d gotten. She took care of them in a few seconds, then glanced over at James. Earlier, she’d noticed a large cut above his eye, and now, she could see that he’d thrown a shabby patch over it. But it needed to be fixed, and James was shit at healing charms. Grudgingly, she made her way over to him.

He was seated in the same position, uncharacteristically still and staring at the ocean. Lily didn’t even say a word at him, jutting her chin towards his head and pulling out her wand. She removed his patch within a few seconds, and then slowly moved her wand over the wound as the skin stitched itself back together. When she was done, her hands dropped to her sides, and she moved a few steps away, sitting down heavily on the sand.

There was a gruff “thanks”, from behind her, but Lily didn’t even acknowledge it.

“The order is finished.” James’ voice was hollow and hoarse.

continue reading on ao3

[incandescent-creativity]

hi! i loved your bit on transition scenes - do you have a reference or can you talk a little about conclusions to a story? I can wrap up the story plotwise, but I struggle to actually end the writing without being cheesy or boring. thanks !

I’m a little confused about the difference between wrapping it up and ending the writing, but let’s see what I can do for ya.

Tips on Writing the End of a Story

Figure out what your last sentence will be, so that you have something to aim for while writing the scene. This doesn’t necessarily mean the exact words, the last line of your wip, but nailing down the type might be helpful. Is it going to be dialogue? If so, who will say it, who are they talking to? Is it narration? A question? A thought?

Figure out what the tone of your conclusory piece will be. Whether this is your last chapter, paragraph, or line, the tone will be the last thing your reader is left with. Make sure it conveys what you want to, whether or not that’s the same tone you’ve kept up for the whole story or not!

In my experience, the best endings wrap up what happened in the story, but leave the reader feeling like there could be more in the future. It’s a difficult balance to strike, and might take you a couple tries, but I think it is what will give readers the most satisfaction out of a story.

The best way I can think to demonstrate this particular tip to you is by linking you to a short story I wrote about mermaids. The ending of this feels right for the story I’ve told, but the world and character I’ve built up could have more to it.

Don’t be afraid to change your ending, or write multiple endings. Like any part of writing, it might take a few tries and/or a lot of time to get it right. Not getting it right the first time is okay. 

Similarly, cheesy is okay for an ending, too. At least for the first draft. Getting words down on paper is always the most important part. You can change stuff and fine tune it later! That’s the beautiful freedom of working on a story. 

…

I hope that helped you out a little bit; endings are tough for me, too, but I can’t help too much more without knowing some specifics for your story. I wish you the best of luck, and if you ever need help with anything else (or you just want to chat), my inbox is always open!

[kctiebell]

lily evans —  gryffindor headgirl

“one of the brightest I ever taught. vivacious, you know.”

url edit for @jilyss

[thejilyship]

1&18!

Thank you!

1. Favorite fic you wrote this year

How am I meant to pick just one? I just remembered that I wrote Impossible Things this year! Which is a cute little one shot I wrote back in March. 

And I can’t pick between Fighting the Odds and Let Me Love You.

I think I had the most fun writing Petalpocalypse! 

That’s not a good answer to the question, but that’s what you get I guess

18. Current number of WIPS

Oh no. So many. 

I think there are five that I’m actively working on and then a few ideas that I’m not letting myself start until I finish some stuff. 

[likeawildthing]

the YouTube channel ‘yes theory’ has some amazing inspirational videos!

very cool! here’s a link of their playlists in case anyone wants to check it out!