#back on my hyperspecific fandom bullshit

[and-fishing-equipment]

okay so this is important

[princesssarcastia]

2021 Harry Potter Fanfic Primer

im here to point fingers at the incredible authors that have enabled my new interest in HP content.  im still conflicted and upset about it, tbh, but for now we’re leaning into the curve.  we’re getting out our shovel and finding out just how deep we can make the hole we’re in.  hand in unlovable hand my beloved <3.  anyway, these fics are wonderful, their authors are wonderful, and you should go read their stuff. if there’s a star next to it that means im losing my mind over it and always will be.

Creatively Maladjusted, by elumish on AO3, 101k  (they also have a wonderful writing advice blog on tumblr, @elumish, which I recommend following if you are a writer) 

A very excellent re-telling of harry’s first year at hogwarts if he were sorted into Slytherin, plus some more not!fic or piecemeal re-tellings of his second and part of his third year.  Harry, in this, has a slightly different trauma response to growing up with the Dursley’s.  He’s a bit quieter, and the signs are a bit more obvious to the people around him, and I enjoyed that immensely. 

Honestly, if you’re going to get sucked into something you have absolutely no business getting sucked into, elumish is the way to go, their fic is incredible. their teen wolf fic is also immaculate, if you’re so inclined. 

Dissonance, by ImpishTubist on AO3, 2.5k (@impishtubist on tumblr)

Set during fifth year.  Oblivious!Harry has always been a delightful trope when well executed, and this is well executed.  Plus, some angst between Remus and Harry over what Umbridge has been doing to him.

I would certainly recommend a lot of ImpishTubist’s other hp work on AO3, like Lacuna.

blow us all away, by rexcorvidae on AO3, 23k (@rexcorvidae on tumblr)

In progress (like, updated last week in progress).  Currently in the beginning of Harry’s first year.  Fem!Harry, Indian!Harry.  Hagrid puts Harry in touch with Remus when she has questions about her parents, and they become reluctant, traumatized, angst-ridden pen pals who keep missing each other’s true intentions like ships in the night.  hot DAMN do I love this fic.  there’s hints of the way the dursley’s treat Harry peaking through in her letters, and I appreciated the attention to “hmm, her experience as a girl of indian descent in britain under the thumb of a bunch of white people who like being Normal may not have been gucci”

Definitely comb through the rest of their HP fic, too, I may or may not have gone feral over it.

Where the Heart is, by silver_fish on AO3, 15k (@kohakhearts on tumblr)

Woof.  This one said, “hey, harry was probably SUPER depressed in the summer after fifth year.  like, clinically.  maybe someone should do something about that.”  Fuck yeah.  Then this one said, “that someone was Snape.”  You all know my opinions on Snape; generally, Bad.  But damn if this fic didn’t wholly convince me by the end of it.  I thought it was a very realistic way for Snape to start seeing Harry as a person all on his own, and not a proxy for Snape’s angst over James and Lily, respectively.  The angst is wonderful, the ending is even more so.

*bernie sanders voice* I am once again asking you to read through the rest of the author’s HP fic.  a lot of them have similar themes; there’s actually a great one with Molly that i’m not reccing here, Wonder.

☆Bindings, Bindings, by Quietlemonhush on AO3, 60k (@quietlemonhush on tumblr)

WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS TO YOU HOW MUCH I ENJOYED/AM ENJOYING THIS.  If I had to pick a single fic and say “you, it’s your fault I’m stuck here,” it would be this one.  Anyway Lily in the afterlife is So Very Angry about how Petunia is treating Harry, and how Sirius is rotting in Azkaban, and how Remus is alone, that she literally brings herself back to life and drags James and Regulus with her.  All three of them are there to chew bubblegum and fix everything that went wrong after they died—and would you look at that, they’re all out of bubblegum!  There’s only Fury left.  That inciting premise is very crack, but every moment after that is very much not crack.  Lily and James love harry more than anything, the way a child should be loved; James and Sirius have the epic friendship of a lifetime; Sirius and Remus have staggering amounts of resolved sexual tension and take turns keeping each other in check; Regulus, though he realized that Voldemort and his family were shit before he died, is still unlearning all his racist bullshit and, also, years of trauma.  Actually, they’re all traumatized, but hey: now they have one another again and not a damn one of them seems inclined to let go anytime soon.  Quietlemonhush went, “hey, HP has a lot of Awful people in it, and a lot of Righteous people in it, and many of them are Very, Very Powerful; also, love is the most powerful force in the universe” and i said “hell yes tell me more right now.”  And then they did!

Quietlemonhush writes Sirius/Remus in a way that makes it sooo much fun to devour, so the rest of their HP fic is most certainly worth a look, if that’s your thing.

Rebuilding, by Colubrina on AO3, 113k (@colubrina on tumblr)

Hermione/Draco (*shrug emojis into the abyss* yeah, yeah, like none of us have ever been there before).  Takes place during Hogwarts 8th year, and while the beginning is, IMO, a little unfair to Ron, it gets much better.  Tells the story of Hermione and Draco clearing the air, learning to like each other, having some hormones over each other, and then falling in love.  Also tells the story of Hermione and Theo Nott becoming friends; the story of how every single 7th and 8th year student is fucked to hell by the war and the Carrows; the story of how they start an emotional support group about it and all become friends; and the story of, what the hell do you do with yourself after that kind of trauma?

I’ve been dipping in and out of Colubrina’s HP since before I was even on tumblr; I actually found them in those dark yesteryears when the only fandom interactions I had were on fanfiction.net.  Of such fame as Green Girl, which is an HP fic staple, and has also written a lot of wackier, crackier, and darker things than that.  If you don’t take yourself too seriously, I highly recommend many of their big HP works, though I imagine it’ll press some people’s buttons.  Colubrina’s work really does take up a corner of my mind whenever I’m in an HP mood, and will take up yours if you let it.

☆ all waiting is long, by shuofthewind on AO3, 149k ( @shu-of-the-wind on tumblr)

This is so well written that I can’t stop thinking about it.  It is occupying my mind when I lie awake at night, you know?  It’s one of those.  Hermione messes with something she probably shouldn’t have in Grimmauld Place, so when Sirius is sent through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, she gets thrust into an alternate universe...in 1975.  Instead of handwaving it away, shuofthewind actually gets into the mechanics of it in a way that makes sense, to emphasize that hermione is never going home.  ever. The world she finds herself is shifted slightly to the left, quite a bit darker, but in a “the author is treating the idea of a society-wide conflict over blood purity much more seriously than JKR ever did” way, not a sensationalist way.  Now, Hermione has to grapple with all her grief at losing everyone she’s ever loved or known, the moral/ethical/magical implications of sharing what she knows about her future in an alternate world, and, you know, a goddamn war with people who want to murder her for being who she is.  This Hermione is smart, and she’s kind, and she’s powerful, and she’s making real friends.  If you hate JKR’s guts I’d go read this right now, because it delivers in all the ways she failed us.  It’s plotty, its got great world-building, and it pulls back the white curtain on the wizarding world to show you that, like real life, it’s multicultural and full of queer people...and the discrimination that comes with both.

shuofthewind write epics, mainly for the MCU, and I’ve read some of them a looooong time ago, so this fic kinda seemed out of left field for me but im SOOOO GLAD it exists.  If you want MCU fic you can sink your teeth into, go for it, but alas, they do not have any more HP fic (.......yet?)

Speak Now [+] Listen Now, by mrsfrizzle on AO3, 33k altogether

Harry reaches out to Remus for support because Umbridge is getting to him with her literal torture.  Remus, being a former professor, former mandatory reporter, person who loves Harry and has since he was born, and all around good man, tells Harry he has to tell someone, or Remus will.  It’s everything any adult looking back on that time in HP canon ever wanted, which is for an actual adult to say “what the fuck, those are literal chidlren” and then do something about it.  Then, a far more dangerous task: Harry trusts Remus enough to go to him about the Dursleys.  Harry and Remus’ relationship develops SO WELL, and there’s a bit of exploration about how Sirius may not exactly be guardian material, because he did in fact spend 12 years of his life getting tortured instead of growing up.  I think I’m actually going to go reread this right now, because it speaks to my id.

they do have some other HP fic which did not appeal to my hyperspecific wants, but may appeal to some of yours.  I think they’re also a published author, there should be a link on their profile page.

chase the stars, by Duskglass on AO3, 101k (@felix-duskglass on tumblr)

When Harry is five years old, a picture of him ends up in the Daily Prophet, and Sirius Black, Terror of Ministry Officials Touring Azkaban everywhere, gets a hold of that issue.  He then, in order: breaks out of Azkaban; crosses the countryside to Surrey; Finds Harry: Kidnaps Harry; Breaks Into Remus’ Apartment; starts processing (or maybe just acknowledging) his trauma from Azkaban, the war, and his childhood; and pines after Remus.  It’s a little plotty, and deals a lot (sometimes through flashbacks) with the specific awful things that happened to Sirius—largely because, after years in the constant presence of Dementors, those are nearly literally the only memories he has left.  It’s a wonder he’s got the strength to love Harry and Remus at all.  But then, maybe it isn’t.

This is a Very Serious Fic, but the rest of Duskglass’s HP work is actually just cracky enough to tickle your funny-bone, while still making you think “okay but why couldn’t we have done that in the first place.”

So!  That’s it for recs, for now.  These are all things I’ve found and read in the last month; if any of y’all are interested in my old HP recs, let me know and I can make a post for that, too.  While I’m still very conflicted about my choice of current fandom, I am not in ANY way conflicted about my taste in fic and authors.  Send these guys some love, read their fic if you’re so inclined, and leave some nice comments at the end of it.

[jlf23tumble]

Birthday recap: the wind makes nice waves

Hey HEY, three of my very favorite people on this hellsite have birthdays this week, so buckle up for a variety of visual gifts in their honor! Let's kick things off with the tail end of leo season and a very happy birthday to this fandom's best graphic artist, Sam (aka @thewindmakesnicewaves​). Her talents are simultaneously a burden, a curse, and a gift, but she's the unsung hero of the Harry Styles hydration alert when all I can find are scraps of text. She's also one of my very favorite taggers because she consistently makes me choke on various beverages, and for that ALONE, she should be saluted and feted throughout the land. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM!!! <3333

I hemmed and hawed about what this present should be (various members of the D carrying far too many things? lots of hydration moments??), and then it hit me: a recap of the iconic interview that birthed Sam's URL, the moment when Liam Payne's hyperspecific nonsense about being scared of helicopters while surfing prompted Harry Styles to observe that he should (in essence) get over it because the wind makes nice waves and Louis "you do talk some shit in interviews" Tomlinson to respond with a seemingly genuine, "That is true." GOD fucking BLESS. Let’s check it out under the cut!

Like all of One Direction’s interviews, this one's fairly short (12 minutes) and well worth your time if you're bored and/or truly want to ponder spray tans versus real tans (Harry is code-orange GLOWING). Somewhat unrelated, is there only one French man who can interview them whilst in France? It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that Cauet is a PERSON, not a media conglomerate, and maybe they were interviewed by other French journalists back in the day, but he was there for some pretty key moments, like this:

and this

and this:

and considering that he WAS there the day of the Paris interview, his question about Harry having a wife and a dog sometime soon during HS1 promo was extra hilarious (clearly Harry still has lots of gimmicky bullshit to do, lmao, help me, Jeffrey):

As ever, you can read a transcript, but I always vote for taking a kit-kat break and watching it for your own damn self: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ5sI0vgO3U. Here are some highlights to look out for:

There's a bunch of randomness about the French guy's pronunciation of “Made in the A.M.” and his opinions about “Perfect,” the new single that he's not too keen on (bastard), but he can't resist the face of tan!Harry prodding, “C'etait fantastique?” and who COULD? Mon dieu!! He's using past tense perfectly well, so stop it with this “the only French I know is me and my boyfriend went to the cinema” bullshit, my god, do I wish I had the power to gif anything, Harry's smart-ass face when he asks, the host's bashful response, sigh

Twin flames, y'all...the amount of times Niall tries/fails to follow Louis's lead, so...close!

But i feel for Niall because Louis low-key edges him along the entire time, what with the quiet asides, inside jokes, nudges, etc. (curse these lack of giffing powers!!)

The French guy wonders aloud how he can directly get the hot goss about when they'll be in France next (or in French-speaking regions), and petty Virgo Niall sarcasts that he'll give him his direct line [nail chew, chew]

“Five albums in five years, has time flown by? Or are you just taking your time?" Harry blathers on about how it feels like a long time ago, but it feels really quick and they're proud etc. etc., and I truly wonder if any of them ever wake up in a cold sweat about any of it, like, answering the same questions day in and day out

This is my vision of a sequel to one of my fave fics, “One day to believe in you,” by Mediaville; they’re together now, and Harry wears Louis’s cursed necklace during interviews as a low-key joke since it doesn’t have the same effect on him:

“Can you tell if a song is a hit?” Liam likes really strong album tracks, which earns him a really strong look from Louis and Harry lmao...Harry “doesn't really know, music changes so much, what people like changes so much, but that's what makes it so exciting” (I sincerely hope ”Medicine 2: I Blue You” comes through for me and Rubia)

With the crazy pace, “Do you wanna just chill?” and of course they do, my god, next question. “Where are you gonna go?” There's mention of the south of France, but another quiet aside provokes a Harry scold, so did they actually do it?? (no...yes...we’ll never know):

There’s a lot of talk about tours, money, the sound of the album, the fans, but it’s kind of boring to type compared to the rest of the exciting bits here, so I’ll spare us all

Next up is an awkward segue into how much French they know, the tee and the swing, mouth along if you know the words, and the truly funny bit is Harry acknowledging that the sentence itself doesn’t make much sense, really, but someone’s there with a solid assist:

MAYBE A BIRTHDAY OR SOMETHING

But then we get to the main event, what they’d do if they had an hour of not being famous, and Liam talks about going surfing alone because of how scary it was in Australia with all the helicopters in the air, and this whole moment is such an ASIDE, like, you'd never hear it on first blush, you'd be way more focused on Harry and his boyfriend’s cinema date, yet here we are, the helicopters kick up a lot of wind, the wind makes nice waves, and that is certainly true:

(Fwiw, Niall would go to a football game and sit in his regular seat; ditto Louis)

What interview in this era doesn’t mention Zayn’s departure? We all know the script, this time delivered by Liam, and the host makes his case for joining as the fifth member (Louis thinks the jacket works in his favor; I think they need to hire someone who can use better pictures than what’s in the 1D calendar):

There’s a contest to speak some French and win a snowglobe, and they’re all so in need of ANY kind of challenge to stay awake during this type of rote interview that they all perk up and move into competitive mode. Liam’s actually the most worked up about it, but he loses to Niall...no worries, though, Harry’ll buy him one (I have better ones in my bathroom, I’ll just give him one, what is this budget on this show???):

...and in the words of triumphant snowglobe winner Niall Horan, I “hope you have fun,” Sam!!