#so sorry to any fandom elders that I’ve aged with this post

[kissmypoets-hp]

@oknowkiss asked me fantastic question — what drarry fics would you recommend to your boss? 

and i took that SERIOUSLY... literally thought about this the entire day and i have some Answers

first of all, i feel like i need to clarify that my boss is not much older than i am, haha!! sorry if any of you thought i suddenly found myself in the presence of a legendary fandom elder who participated in paving the way for today’s fandom — though she is a legend in her own right, of course: her vibe is very much 🎀✨put-together corporate tech girlie 🎀✨(the kind with impeccable taste in fashion, kitchen knives, and interior design) .... at this point in time, everybody’s got fannish hobbies, and i already knew we both grew up on the internet and liked YA during its prime, but not everybody writes fanfic and actually posts it online, which is why i was literally so floored at this REVELATION i immediately logged into tumblr and had to Post about it…. 

that being said, she is STILL my boss and i’m pretty sure she hasn’t thought about the hp fandom in a long time, so. if i were to HYPOTHETICALLY give my boss a drarry fic rec list, i would start off with something relatively family-friendly 🤣 (also i apologize in advance for inconsistent link formatting)

first off: Hermione Granger's Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi.... this is actually the first drarry fic i read, ever, so i’m being Nostalgic and biased because this is the fic that convinced me back then. but i think this as a first rec works, too, because she was a dramione shipper, and hermione and draco are here, too (only, what if hermione was lowkey a fujoshi instead....)

since i’d HYPOTHETICALLY be trying to Win Over somebody already familiar with the hp books + the fandom — i feel like i’d have to start with fics that confront canon first, whether it means addressing plot holes or flaws in jkr’s writing and then subverting the shitty parts (the epilogue… lol) OR fics that are deeply rooted in the source material, so reading them would be like a refresher course on the hp world while also proving how compatible drarry are together in Situations, lol

i would also recommend Heal Thyself by astolat … in no particular order, some more classics: Dwelling by aideomai…. Away Childish Things / By the Grace by lettered… What We Pretend We Can’t See by gyzym… Running on Air, of course (the drarry fandom classics)… as visual people i truly think she would be charmed by dustmouth’s comics — i’d start with Going Postal and Harry Potter Gets a Job … 

so okay let’s say she’s getting convinced and i can now branch out to fics that are more TARGETED towards her specifically… i’ve never actually talked to her about fandom/trope preferences or fanfic prior to this day so i am definitely playing it safe ahahaha BUT we have bonded over rom-coms, coming-of-age stories, and lorde’s discography and email newsletters…. here are fics that give off That specific feeling to me:

Harry Potter and the Future He Doesn't Really Want, Thanks. (this was actually the first fic i thought of recommending tbh... something about loneliness in the city, hanging out with friends, it's time to play Ribs... HYPOTHETICALLY i wouldn't lead with a rated E fic though 🤣 also, as mentioned, i have a Strategy)

Faint Indiscretions by ignatiustrout

before a fall by eleadore

fics with rom-com references!!

you’ve got mail: Pages of You by wolfpants

mamma mia: if you’ve changed your mind by warmfoothills (orphan_account)

jane austen-esque references: amid this warm and steady sweetness by warmfoothills (orphan_account)

no specific rom-com as it's technically disney, but in here THE KIDS PUT ON A PLAY and it’s hercules…. we both enjoy musicals so this goes on the drarry syllabus: Falling for a Golden Boy by OTPShipper98

clueless au: Tis a Far Better Thing by The_Sinking_Ship

other recommendations i would give if i were able to successfully sell drarry to her:

Can I Tell You Something…? by Gallaplacidia (as drag race fans…)

we’re both designers who loved art first, so i NEED to recommend Truth to Materials by toomuchplor and lately. it's my duty

kylie minogue shade… the premise reminds me of an inside joke so INSTANT RECOMMENDATION: moonflower_rose’s Nothing But You On My Mind

fanfiction that would be appreciated by somebody who stanned one d*rect*on during their peak in the 2010s + the height of 1/D, 5sos fics on wattpad: Star Quality by who_la_hoop / Rich Friend by iota

fun fact, though: i roped another friend with very little prior knowledge of hp (apart from a few movies) into becoming a drarry shipper 🤣 so the moral of the story is there is a drarry fic for EVERYBODY even the non-believers… and drarry writers are so TALENTED they can convince just about anyone to come to their side...

this is so fucking wordy and self-indulgent!!! i took this WAY too seriously but i feel like tumblr is THE platform for long text posts anyway, lol. now if you've made it this far, i need to know: what drarry fics would you recommend to your boss?

just finished my 1:1 chat with my manager at work and i just found out she used to write DRAMIONE FANFICTION omg…. i wonder if i can get her to read drarry fanfiction in the year of our lord 2024…

[nitronine]

Weird Al fandom history tidbits for new(er) fans:

I kinda realized a lot of people on here may not know some of the stuff I’ve found out from my deep dive into the history of the weird Al fandom, and I would really like to just share it.

Alcon 98: Alcon 98 was the first ever weird Al convention! It was set up and run entirely by fans who had met on a yahoo group online, and it was a MAJOR success. Activities at Alcon included a Look-AL-like contest, a lip sync contest, and a general costume contest. Some of Al’s old shirts were auctioned off for charity, and fans set up booths to sell handmade merch and rare collectibles. The guest of honor was Bermuda (Al’s drummer), but he brought Al along too (unbeknownst to the con organizers)! The con went on to have two more iterations (ALCON 2000 and ALCON III) before dying off, unfortunately. If you want to learn more, Dysequilibrium has made a really good documentary about it!

The WOWAY forums: the World of Weird Al Yankovic forums (WOWAY for short) is a general forum for weird Al fans that’s been running for well over 20 years now. While it’s pretty dead nowadays, it’s still up and you can still read all the discussions! Everyone from fans to Al’s band (Bermuda especially) to Al’s college buddies have shown up on the forums, and reading through them can be a really fun experience.

The Yankochicks/Drooling over Al: The Yankochicks were a group of people, primarily women, who were infatuated with Al. The group was a lot more active before he was married, but they didn’t die out after it happened. They had their own forum initially but they moved over to the WOWAY forum to post under a topic called “Drooling Over Al”.

We Got It All On UHF: This website is probably the last remaining “active” Weird Al fansite from back in the day. It’s run by one of the WOWAY mods, Dave Rossi (who also uses the screen name Elvis). Dave is undoubtedly the biggest big name weird Al fan. He has tattoos of all the band members, a GIANT collection of Weird Al tchotchkes and oddities, and co-hosts a Weird Al podcast, one that’s had weird Al on several times. He’s been on TV with Al, as well.

That’s really all I can think of right now, I’ll make another post if I think of anything and if ppl are interested.

[lucky-katebishop]

What I Read in July 2021

Oh, man, this is gonna be a long post. I bookmarked 33 fics, all of them Harry Potter related, with a few cross-overs.

Forget-Me-Not by Lomonaaeron *favorite*

Plot: Harry isn’t the Boy-Who-Lived, but his parents still died, and Albus Dumbledore, concerned that Death Eaters might seek the boy’s death, cast a powerful charm on him to make wizards ignore him before Harry was left with the Dursleys. Except, with the Elder Wand in play, the charm was far too powerful, and made others essentially forget Harry existed when not directly interacting with him. Sorted into Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, Harry lives a contented life with no one either loving or hating him…until the charm breaks on his seventeenth birthday, and he’s suddenly plunged directly into the middle of a living world at war.

Characters: Harry, Theo Nott, Dumbledore, Neville, Ollivander, Lupin, Rabastan Lestrange, Ron, Hermione, Draco, original non-human characters, Peter Pettigrew, Umbridge

Relationships: Harry Potter/Theo Nott

Warnings: none apply

Tags: ancient runes, socially awkward Harry Potter, Ravenclaw Harry Potter, Harry Potter is not the boy-who-lived, angst, romance, horcruxes, muggleborn registration commission, blood magic

My Notes: I inhaled this in one sitting and then cried for like 10 minutes afterwards, it’s so beautifully written, it became an instant favorite

*complete*

He Turned Around by ChipOfftheOldSoul *favorite*

Plot: When the Goblet of Fire spit out Harry's name that Halloween night, he was told to join the other champions. Instead, he turned around and walked away.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Victor Krum, Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, Fred & George, Marcus Flint, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis

Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter; Harry Potter & Severus Snape; Draco Malfoy & Severus Snape

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, mentioned homophobia

Tags: book 4, good Severus Snape, good Draco Malfoy, good Slytherins, smart Harry Potter, Dumbledore bashing, manipulative Dumbledore, past child abuse, runes, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, Slytherin Harry Potter, Hogwarts House re-sort, no Ron bashing but he’s not great for a while

My Notes: I’ve already read this twice in less than a week period and I cannot wait until it’s updated (hopefully it’ll be updated) and I absolutely love the way it’s written and Harry’s characterization. I also very much appreciate that there won’t be Ron bashing, I’ve read too many Ron bashing fics, but I am here for all of the Dumbledore bashing!

*incomplete* [last updated June 2021]

Stars by LilyIsAwesomerThanYou

Plot: When Snape discovers Harry's abusive past during an Occlumency lesson, Harry panics. Snape is forced to take care of him in the aftermath. Mentor/guardian fic. As always, no slash.

Characters: Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione

Relationships: Gen

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, depression

Tags: Severitus, angst, drama, past abuse, hurt/comfort, mentor Snape, guardian Snape, occlumency

My Notes: Snape is a dick in this one, and so far he has not gotten any better, just a warning, but there’s some great Harry angst going on here (that’s why I bookmarked it). Yeah, Snape is pretty evil in this one, there’s some victim blaming and just straight up verbal abuse from him.

*incomplete* [last updated 2018]

violet hill by rejectedreality

Plot: Where Harriet Potter is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes’ soulmate.

Fandoms: Harry Potter & MCU

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Harry Potter, Steve Rogers, Hermione, Ron

Relationships: Bucky Barnes/Harry Potter; Steve Rogers/Harry Potter; Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers; Bucky/Steve/Harry

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, emotional/psychological abuse

Tags: fem!Harry Potter, soulmate-identifying marks, age difference, angst with a happy ending, it gets worse before it gets better

My Notes: this is so, so, so fucking beautiful! I am straight up in love with this fic, and I am so sad that it hasn’t been updated for a few years because there was so much potential. There are some hints at underage couples, as Harry’s 15 while Bucky and Steve are adults, but nothing actually happens.

*incomplete* [last updated 2017]

trapped in a blue haze by MourningElegance

Plot: “And in that moment, Draco knows. He knows that all his deep-rooted suspicions about Harry’s childhood are terribly, horribly true.” As their relationship grows, so do Draco’s misgivings about Harry’s past.

Rating: Explicit!!!

Characters: Harry, Draco

Relationships: Harry/Draco

Warnings: explicit sexual content, implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: established relationship, smut, porn with plot, explicit sexual content, fluff and angst, hurt/comfort, cuddling, post-war, post-Hogwarts, auror Harry Potter, POV Draco, character study, sickfic, epilogue what epilogue, injury

*complete*

From the Dungeons by huntersg1rl

Plot: One conversation goes slightly differently. How much does it change? Features a caring Snape, supportive Malfoys, strong friendships, and Slytherin Harry.

Characters: Harry, Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Snape, Narcissa, Lucius, Sirius, Remus, Pomfrey, Dumbledore

Relationships: pre-Harry/Draco; Severus Snape & Harry Potter

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: Slytherin Harry Potter, Good Severus Snape, good Lucius Malfoy, good Narcissa Malfoy, manipulative Dumbledore, POC Harry, animagus transformation, wizengamot, politics and culture

My Notes: YA’LL! This one is so cool! It’s going under some major maintenance at the moment, so it’ll be a bit of a wait until it gets going again but I recommend reading it immediately before the changes get enacted. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Harry’s a BAMF in this series, especially when we get to book 3

*incomplete* [this is a series, first three parts are completed, last updated February 2021]

Fighting for Freedom by dreamsofmermaids

Plot: At the end of a horrific fourth year, Harry overhears something on the train back to London that sets in motion a series of events that will reveal truths, change decisions, and send Harry on a path to true freedom. But nothing comes without a fight.

Fandoms: Harry Potter & Criminal Minds

Characters: Harry, Snape, Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid, Jason Gideon, Emily Prentiss, Sirius Black, Voldemort

Relationships: to be announced (I know, I’m sorry, I hate this too)

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, major character death, attempted sexual assault, implied/referenced child abuse, suicide attempt, kidnapping

Tags: Dumbledore bashing, Weasley bashing, Hermione bashing, Harry runs away, Snape bashing, not so evil Voldemort, trouble magnet!Harry

My Notes: this one is really good and it features a Harry and Dobby friendship. I’m gonna spoil it right now, Hotchner is Harry’s dad, I hate it when it doesn’t state it in the tags

*incomplete* [last updated February 2021]

From Grace by silver_fish *favorite*

Plot: From the top of the Astronomy Tower, the stars always look brighter. Funny, how Harry can’t seem to find them at all anymore.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Hermione, Ron

Relationships: Harry & Snape

Warnings: suicidal thoughts, implied/referenced child abuse, attempted suicide

Tags: set during Ootp, insomnia, nightmares, teenage angst, emotional hurt/comfort

*complete*

A Beautiful Lie by Panis_fluvium

Plot: Harry receives his letter while the Dursley's are on vacation. Harry takes it upon himself to find out if the letters he receives are true or if someone is playing a massive joke on him. What happens when he journey's to Diagon Alley alone? What happens when he finally gets to school? Will he finally fit in? Will he finally escape the abuse?

Characters: Harry, Draco, Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Blaise, Pansy, Ron, Hermione

Relationships: Draco/Harry; Pansy/Blaise; Snape/?

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: Severitus, Slytherin Harry, bullying, shy Harry, slight Ron bashing, fairly good Voldie, misunderstood darkside, manipulative Dumbledore

*incomplete* [last updated June 2021]

The heir of something or other by diregewithoutmusic

Plot: When kids in the Slytherin Common Room tossed jeers at the pudgy feet of Millicent Bulstrode, Harry rose up to do something about it. This Harry, now one of Snape’s own, got fewer House points lost but many more detentions– it had never been the colors on his hem that Severus hated. This was not wishing Harry an easy path. This was not wishing the boy a warm House. This was Harry, three weeks in, sleep deprived and considering running away and going back to Privet Drive. This was Harry in the back of Potions class, blank-faced under Snape’s disdain the way he’d perfected under the Dursleys’s torments. When Quirrell shouted “troll in the dungeons, thought you ought to know,” and Harry overheard that there was a girl in the bathroom crying, he still ran off to make sure she got out okay. He hesitated first, at the back of the little pack of Slytherin first years (at the back so that no one could get behind him)– he hesitated. And Millicent Bulstrode, who could never quite keep her tummy tucked in enough, could never brush all the cat hair off her robes, never quite keep her temper in check, hesitated, too.

Characters: Harry, Millicent, Colin Creevey, Hermione, Dennis Creevey, Luna, Ron, Draco, Astoria, Daphne, Pansy, Neville, Susan Bones

Relationships: gen

Warnings: major character death

Tags: Slytherin Harry, canon typical violence

My Notes: this made me cry. It like actually made me cry. I don’t cry when I read fanfiction, but this one actually made me cry, it’s been two weeks and I still feel like crying thinking about this fic, but that being said it’s written so beautifully.

*complete*

Conditionally by Lomonaaeren

Plot: Harry finds out that he's Snape's son. It goes as badly as possible.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Dumbledore, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, Seamus, Umbridge, Rita, Neville, Voldemort

Relationships: minor Lily/Snape; Harry & Snape; Hermione & Ron & Harry

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, suicidal thoughts, minor character death

Tags: Severitus, present tense, powerful Harry, Snape is Harry’s biological father, unhealthy coping mechanisms, independent Harry

My Notes: wow this one made me so mad for Harry. Sirius and Remus are not Harry’s friends, nor Dumbledore. Be warned, as good as this fic is, you will be very angry at all the adults in this fic. Snape isn’t a loving father type, and their relationship isn’t the greatest but it’s better than nothing by the end.

*complete*

Harry Potter and the Secrets Within by WhoWroteThis

Plot: Harry Potter is a very special, but very abused little boy. When a giant drags him into a world unknown, he'll need all the help he can get to understand his newfound belonging. Lucky for him, he has a snake, a dragon, and a horde of protective allies on his side.

Characters: Harry, original animal characters, Snape, Draco, Lucius and Narcissa, Portrait Salazar Slytherin, Basilisk, Blaise, Hogwarts ghosts, Quirrell, Voldemort

Relationships: Harry & Voldemort; Harry & Draco; Harry & Snape

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, internalized homophobia, implied/referenced alcohol abuse, suicide threats and thoughts

Tags: Harry Potter needs a hug, parseltongue, Harry Potter has a pet snake, powerful Harry, metamorphmagus Harry, good Malfoy family, Slytherin Harry, slow burn, Slytherin politics, Hagrid bashing, Hermione bashing, Ron bashing, Dumbledore bashing, rituals, centaurs, dragons, cats, snakes

My Notes: I will literally never be trustworthy of the basilisk after reading Antithesis but I have to admit the basilisk in this fic is pretty great

*incomplete* [last updated August 2021]

The Tainted Blood of the Father by StarLight_Massacre *favorite*

Fandoms: Supernatural & Harry Potter

Plot: Harry has broken away from his chains after the Dursleys go too far. A simple desire to make a withdrawal from Gringotts leads to something much larger and exposes more than he ever knew about himself. A rushed, impulsive trip to America changes his entire life as he might have just found himself a true family to call his own.

Characters: Harry, John Winchester, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Bobby

Relationships: Gen

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, implied/referenced child abuse, attempted sexual assault

Tags: Awkward Winchesters trying to deal with Harry, cinnamon roll Harry

My Notes: The dynamic between Harry and the Winchesters shouldn’t work this well, but they absolutely do. Harry is a little Sam, he acts so much like him it’s so cute and everyone finds it so cute. Really great amount of angst and hurt/comfort. Doesn’t deal with the wizard side of things that much but I expect that’ll change in the upcoming chapters. Author has stated they don’t know if the Winchesters ever will find out that Harry’s a wizard, however, so keep that in mind

*incomplete* [last updated April 2021]

On a Pale Horse by Hyliian

Plot: When Dumbledore tried to summon a hero from another world to deal with their Dark Lord problem, this probably wasn't what he had in mind.

Characters: Harry, Death, Dumbledore, Hermione, Remus, Voldemort, Ron

Relationships: Gen

Warnings: none

Tags: master of death Harry, dimension travel, summoning rituals gone horribly wrong, godlike Harry, Dumbledore bashing, crack treated seriously, does major character death count as a tag when the major character is Death?

My Notes: so absolutely creepy, I love it so much, our Harry is not really all that much like Harry at all because he’s an immortal eldritch being of horror

*incomplete* [last updated 2018]

tell me whether he is dead by LullabyKnell *favorite*

Plot: Harry suffers a few side-effects of dying but not dying. “Hey, can someone help me with this? The mirror in the bedroom’s stopped working for me. “What do you mean ‘the mirror’s stopped working’?”

Characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione

Relationships: Harry/Ron/Hermione

Warnings: none

Tags: post-canon, epilogue what epilogue, post-battle of Hogwarts, post-Deathly Hallows, haunting, implied/referenced character death, gen or pre-slash, fluff and angst, oblivious Harry, master of death Harry

My Notes: so fucking brilliant, this author literally never misses, the relationship between the golden trio is so fucking cute and I love them so much

*complete*

A New Place to Stay by DebsTheSlytherinSnapeFan *favorite*

Plot: Harry Potter is called up to Dumbledore's office and told he was being moved elsewhere to keep him safe. He no longer has to stay at the Dursley's, but Dumbledore tells him he has to stay with Severus Snape. For a few days it seemed like a bad idea. Until Severus Snape uncovers the truth of who Harry Potter really is and what he's been through. Watch as Severus does as nobody else has done before him. He takes care of Harry. Watch him flourish into who he was meant to be, a boy with the heart of a Gryffindor and smarts of a Slytherin. The Dursley's, Umbridge and Dumbledore had better watch out Severus is out for revenge. Spy or no spy, Severus is not allowing anyone away with hurting Harry.

Characters: Snape, Harry, Dumbledore, Neville, Luna, Hermione, Ron

Relationships: Gen

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: Severitus

My Notes: I’ve read so many of these types of fics that even though this is more than 300k words I can’t remember a single thing about this but it must’ve been good because I labelled it as favorite, so

*complete*

Silver Lining by BloodyRed_Queen

Plot: Harry has a disastrous Summer with the Dursleys and is brought to Hogwarts early. In order to protect him, drastic measures are taken and Harry finds himself living with one Severus Snape.

Characters: Harry, Blaise, Draco, Snape

Relationships: Harry/Blaise; Harry & Snape

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: animagus, father-son relationship, severitus, Snape adopts Harry, good Slytherins, Ron bashing, Dumbledore bashing, therapy, manipulative Dumbledore

*complete*

truth’s like blood underneath your fingernails by Choices_We_Make, questionsthemselves

Plot: "Slytherin would do well, help you on the path to greatness," the hat seems to be coaxing him, but for something that can read his mind, it sure doesn't seem to know him very well. Harry doesn't want greatness. He doesn't need his name in lights and on everyone's lips. He wants meals, hot ones, whenever he wants, with people that he likes and that like him. Friends he can have adventures with, huddle under the blankets with at night and laugh with. People who might think… think he's worth something. In which Harry is sorted into Slytherin, and Snape deals with the fallout.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Draco, Theo, Blaise

Relationships: Harry & Snape

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: Slytherin Harry, Severitus sort of, angst with a sort of hopeful ending, Snape discovers abuse

*complete* [part of a series, incomplete but first two parts are finished, last updated 2018]

Harry Potter and the Immortal’s Playground by May_May_o_o

Fandoms: MCU & Harry Potter

Plot: Living forever isn't all it's cracked up to be. Harry Potter learns the meaning of immortality when everyone he loves dies again and again after becoming the master of death. After millennia of love lost, Death sends him to "Elsewhere" in order to give his master something new and different. Harry emerges from ash in New Asgard. What's a man like Thor to do but offer the traveler a home?

Characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Death, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Clint, Natasha, Loki, Thor, Bruce, May Parker

Relationships: Harry/Ginny; Thor/Harry; Harry & Avengers

Warnings: PTSD, suicide attempts

Tags: master of death Harry, magically powerful Harry, panic attacks, hurt/comfort, post-snap

My Notes: I don’t usually like Harry paired with any of the Avengers other than Peter, but Thor and Harry are so soft and written beautifully, I love this author so much

*incomplete* [last updated June 2021]

Another Mind Game by May_May_o_o *favorite*

Plot: Harry’s occlumency reveals his disturbing home life which sets off a chain reaction that cannot be undone. Snape finds himself begrudgingly caring about the bespectacled boy, Harry discovers what it's like to have adults who care, and Hermione finds herself becoming an accidental crime lord. Draco Malfoy is very much along for the ride, in all senses of the word. A ridiculous blend of hilarity and tragedy, Another Mind Game is the multi-faceted fanfiction you didn't know you wanted but will absolutely adore. Featuring a sassy Harry Potter, good friends, and a great deal of sarcasm.

Characters: Harry, Neville, Hermione, George, Fred, Snape, Ron, Luna, McGonagall, Dumbledore, house elves

Relationships: Draco/Harry; Hermione/Ron; Snape & Harry

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse; presumed suicidal (it makes sense when you read it)

Tags: mentor Snape, strong Harry, sassy Harry, slow burn, fluff and angst, Dumbledore bashing, crack treated seriously, Snape adopts Harry, protective Hogwarts, magically powerful Harry

My Notes: favorite, absolute favorite, read it three times already and it’s only been three weeks! The endnotes are so funny and add a lot of levity to the story

*complete* (unfortunately, I wish I could read more)

Not Just Pretty Words by LullabyKnell

Fandoms: Harry Potter & The Addams Family

Plot: On an unexpected holiday to America, Harry Potter meets a strange girl at a zoo, finds out that he's a witch, steals a snake, and is cordially invited to the Addams mansion for dinner.

Characters: Harry, Wednesday, Morticia, Gomez

Relationships: Gen; Addams Family & Harry

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: Harry needs a hug, worldbuilding, happy ending, found family, light angst

*complete*

Bruised Words by starknjarvis

Plot: After Harry blows up Aunt Marge, Dumbledore decides it's not safe for Harry to spend the rest of the summer at the Leaky Cauldron, and instead sends him to stay at Spinner’s End with Professor Snape. It's tense, awkward, and teeming with misunderstandings...but it might be the best thing that's happened to either of them. They're both been without a family for a very long time.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Dumbledore

Relationships: Harry & Snape

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: traumatized Harry, miscommunications, Snape adopts Harry, sickfic

*complete* [part of series, incomplete, last updated 2020]

The Freak Who Lived by DeviantHufflepuff, Zaharya

Plot: When Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, he is kicked out of Gryffindor Tower by those he thought of as friends. It isn't until Snape finds him that the truth comes out about The Boy Who Lived.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Pomfrey, McGonagall, Viktor Krum, Fleur, Cedric, Draco, Neville, Blaise

Relationships: Sirius/Remus; Harry & Snape; Harry/Blaise

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, implied/referenced child abuse, PTSD, trauma induced age regression (not intense), suicidal thoughts

Tags: book 4, Severitus, Snape adopts Harry, panic attacks, seer Luna, Harry needs a hug, McGonagall is basically Harry’s mom, manipulative Dumbledore but he’s not evil, big brother Draco

My Notes: Snape is pretty cuddly in this one, he’s not shy with feelings and showing Harry that he’s loved which is nice and a nice change from other Severitus fics. Don’t be off-put by the age regression tag, it’s super low-key, there’s only a couple throw-away lines about it.

*incomplete* [last updated February 2021]

Dudley Dursley’s Most Unexpectedly Fortunate Flower by aTasteofCaramell

Plot: Dudley Dursley is leading a perfectly normal life, his contact with his odd cousin limited to Christmas cards and peculiar memories. Until his daughter sneezes and sets the curtains on fire.

Characters: Harry, Dudley, Dudley’s children, Petunia and Vernon Dursley

Relationships: Dudley & Harry; Harry/Ginny

Warnings: none

Tags: humor, Dudley has a magical child, redeemed Dudley, post-series, Petunia and Vernon still suck, Harry Potter Next Generation

*complete*

Unexpected Consequences by Siebenschlaefer

Plot: The Ministry letter after the Dementor attack has far greater consequences than everybody could have anticipated and at the start of his fifth year in Hogwarts Harry has to be sorted again. And this time there is no negotiating with the Sorting Hat.

Characters: Harry, Snape, Draco, Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius, Lupin, Blaise, Ron

Relationships: Snape & Harry

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: Slytherin Harry, resorting

*incomplete* [last updated March 2021]

Stinging Nettle and Milking Pails by Oceanbreeze7 *favorite*

Plot: Are you a witch or / Are you a fairy? / Or are you the wife / of Michael Cleary? “The fairies will do wicked things sometimes,” Harry murmured gently, “Steal the milk when they get a chance, or skim the cream off the milk crocks.” “Do they ever steal anything more?” Luna asked him rhetorically. Harry couldn’t answer.

Characters: Harry, Luna, James, Lily

Warnings: author chose not to use warnings

Tags: wrong-boy-who-lived, Harry has a twin, dark fairy tale elements, fairy tale style, druids, fae and fairies, James and Lily live

My Notes: Oceanbreeze7 should straight up be a horror writer. This is the writer who wrote Antithesis, the fic that I was literally unable to finish because I was too heartbroken, and they did not disappoint with this one! It’s so good! It’s so horrific! It’s so heartbreaking!

*complete*

Sarcasm and Slytherin by orphan_account *favorite*

Plot: After ten years of misery with the Dursleys, Harry Potter learns that he has magic. Except, in this story, it's not a surprise-the only surprise is that there are others like him. Including his twin brother, Julian Potter, the savior of the Wizarding world. This isn't the Harry you think you know.

Characters: Harry, Theo, Blaise, OMC, Hermione, Ron, Neville, James Potter, Luna, Daphne, Snape, Dumbledore

Relationships: none

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: wrong-boy-who-lived, Slytherin Harry, Harry has a twin, Slytherin politics, no pairings before 4th year, potential Dumbledore bashing, James bashing, potential Snape bashing, Draco’s still annoying

My Notes: I’m not sure why it’s now an orphan account or if it will ever be updated, but I’ve seen a lot of people on reddit compare this with Prince of Slytherin (a series I haven’t read because I chose this one over it) so be cautious of that. I straight up want to murder James Potter, though, so that’s a nice thought. I finally finished it! I started this back in early June and I miss it a lot, I spent many hours reading this.

*incomplete* [five parts, last updated 2019]

The ones that seek and find (six years in the relationship of harry and luna) by Terapsina

Plot: By chance of fate Harry Potter meets Luna Lovegood in his second year instead of his fifth. It doesn’t really change anything for the magical world at large but it changes quite a lot for the young witch and wizard themselves. Here are six glimpses into their relationship from the moment they meet until the end of the war.

Characters: Harry, Luna, Ron, Hermione

Relationships: Luna/Harry; Harry & Ron & Hermione

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, canonical character death

Tags: fluff and angst, blood quill, angst with a happy ending, no character bashing, epilogue what epilogue

*complete*

Blame it on the Nargles by Pixiestick_cc

Plot: One kiss under the mistletoe changes everything for Harry and Luna.

Characters: Harry, Luna, Hermione, Ron, Lavender Brown, Xenophilius Lovegood, Fred and George, Percy

Relationships: Luna/Harry

Warnings: none

Tags: fluff, romantic friendship, kissing, book 6

My Notes: this one is so cute, I’ve read it five times already, Harry’s able to see the creatures Luna can when he kisses her!

*complete*

Finders, Keepers by Magi_Silverwolf

Plot: “I’m here to kidnap you,” Luna said. “Will you be so kind as to get in this trunk, please?” “I’m fairly certain that kidnappers aren’t supposed to politely ask you to go with them.” “Duly noted,” Luna commented before gesturing to the trunk again. “Get in, Harry. We have a schedule to keep.”

Characters: Harry, Dumbledore, Luna

Relationships: Luna/Harry

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse

Tags: book 5, fairy Luna, werewolf Remus, magically powerful Harry, manipulative Dumbledore

*complete*

Not Right For Him by JJ Rust

Plot: How will Hermione react when she learns Harry and Luna are together?

Characters: Hermione, Luna, Harry

Relationships: Harry/Luna

Warnings: none apply

Tags: romance, drama

*complete*

The dreamy one by Levi Snowfractal

Plot: Harry finds himself thinking about Luna Lovegood while in detention.

Characters: Harry, Luna

Relationships: Harry/Luna

Warnings: none apply

Tags: romance

*complete*

She Made Him Feel Silly by ArtemisRoseShadow

Plot: The hero usually fell in love with the ever-so-loved princess. It still felt like that to Harry.

Characters: Harry, Luna

Relationships: Harry/Luna

Warnings: none apply

Tags: romance, drama

*complete*

Oh thank god I finished that, that took three hours. Alright check out more of my recs, I have more! Thanks for reading, let me know if you read any of them :)

[empressxmachina]

Is THIS what will push me to make an AO3 account? (not clickbait) (surprising)

[See this journal in a better layout on my blog site or on DeviantArt.]

I’ve fallen so down abysmal for the Help, I Shrunk My… series – “…Teacher“, then “…Parents”, and finally (?) “…Friends” – especially the last movie and its scenes between peers, that I have such an uncharacteristic urge to write a fanfic.

Yep, fanfic. I did say uncharacteristic. But with the cuteness and quality, especially at certain scenes in “…Friends” like below, I don’t think you can blame me.

“Holy shit, I’m going to pass out/die/shit myself/etc.” -me, at nearly everything in this series

(Post?) Pubescent Pairings

A. The Classic Couple.

I’m already, because I’m a serial romantic that loves a good self-insert, thinking to name the whole story “Help, I Shrunk My Lover/Girlfriend” or something cheesy like that (maybe even in German?) for Felix and Ella to be stuck together and have to deal with (post?-) pubescent awkwardness. I mean, I feel so honey-dicked that we got cute shit like this and its amazing scene…

God, look at that FOV, the (lack of) focus, the size difference, the subtitle, that face… Fuck.

…but it had to be ruined because – SPOILER – the dumb, lusting teen boy couldn’t see what was literally right in front of him for years until the end of the third movie! Plus, being steps away from a married couple of hotheads, who knows what kind of fights or arguments they’d get into? Are you telling me you wouldn’t want a scene like this again?

That stick is actually way too big to really be a toothpick (or is it?), but I’m not mad. We stan a brave queen.

B. The Will-They/Won’t-They Duo

I’m thinking of making Mario and Melanie into each other, too, as irony based on how much they hated each other for most of the last movie. She stole his phone (and everything else) and then his heart. (lol, I’m so sorry.) Maybe she’d still have some fancies for Felix but then sees that Mario has redeeming qualities of his own, on top of a rich background (not that it matters, but money is cool). My main focus in mind was just for Ella to be shrunken, with Melanie being the supportive gal pal, but given she’s new and hasn’t yet been small herself, maybe this would be the time.

I think Mario would’ve totally gotten over the prepubescent power drive from the first movie by now and certainly no longer has even the slightest grudge over Melanie causing and/or catalyzing chaos that could be played with if he had to deal with a small her. Surely.

C. The Bros in the Back

Would it be too presumptive to make Chris and Robert maybe gay for each other… or even absolutely the opposite? I respect a strong friendship and/or bromance, and LGBTQ+ representation is always a win, too. But for either, I don’t want to do anything “just because” or because it’s “(not) woke;” it should add to the story and have meaning. After all, a situation like “Dude, I love you, and I’ll love you forever, but not like that” could be just as cute. We stan supportive introspection between men. Bros before hoes, you know?

Though, maybe they’re likely the great masterminds to figure out what/why the plot thickens. They seem like the most intelligent of the squad, even if they were only henchmen at the beginning.

D. The Elders

I guess it would only make sense for Schmitty or Felix’s parents to get shrunk again, as is tradition. Maybe the former would be due to considering retirement from teaching/being principal.

I’d do anything to get Hausmeister Michalsky protecting her with his hat again.

As for the parents, it’d likely be a wrong place, wrong time situation. I don’t know.

Unless Sandra and Peter were snooping again, I doubt Felix would willingly do this to them.

Overarching Themes

Aging for Innuendo

Regarding all this, I do know that I’d like to make the story time-skipped a bit, making the kids at least U.S.-adult-aged for my own sake. I am a fan of double entendre, cheekiness, and raw emotion, so I’d love to spill them all over a story or characterization if fitting. However, I couldn’t bear to see or write any kiddos explicitly going through with any entailed implications – that shit’s illegal, lmao. Plus, why even risk something like that when an age-up takes away all the trouble, thus not make any innuendos or ideas awkward?

In a fun way, small or not, wouldn’t seeing the gang party together with real man’s drinks or whatever be cool? What about someone getting turnt on a thimble’s worth or a gummy bear’s paw?

The cups have been used. That’s adorable. +10 points for realism.

In a trash way, if a greater trust was built between Felix and Ella to wear one would suggest taking a bath with the other, and a small Ella floating in the soap ocean bumps into something on her back, only to realize all of Felix’s (normal) limbs are out of distance, in view, and/or just not able to touch her yet he’s blushing, then what would that imply? (It could be nothing, but it could be something.)

Why, Though?

I just can’t figure out a supposedly new catalyst for the ultimate shrinking plot point, mostly due to the main chaos causers, aka the ancient magic users that tackled the school, being sent to the Shadow Realm in the last movie. I do have some ideas, but I’d always love to hear more.

*Oh, Hulda Stechbarth… Bless this crazy bitch, lol.

Throughout the series, people going to our wanting to go to America was frequently brought up. Maybe, like Ilvermorny is to Hogwarts, maybe there’s a (maybe American) (college?) counterpart to the Leonhard school that is interested in the kids. Could the sudden shrinking be a part of the admissions or entrance exam process, such as figuring out how to reverse it? I can’t imagine someone still wanting to go to a school that risked its prospective students’ lives, but who knows? Still, I’m sure the friends would debate whether going overseas for any school is the best idea, especially with the ridiculous costs. Could differing views cause tension?

What if one between Felix and Ella considered it, but the other didn’t, and a coincidentally timed dream for them to stay together – not unlike Minami-kun no Koibito, if you know it – made one of them small with no way for Felix to turn the affected back to normal (due to the tests)? What if people start believing that Felix is intentionally not transforming people back, despite not being at fault but trying his best the whole time?

I suppose another villain is cool, too, but what would be their spite? Would Felix getting all of Leonhard’s power be enough to spark something?

***

I want to do this, but I rarely finish anything now. I can’t even think of a proper plot! Maybe putting this out into the world will inspire myself or even someone else to give a fanfic a shot or at least expose this series to our fandom more (like when I found Dwarfina and blushed at every scene, despite not knowing a lick of Tagalog)!

The third movie pretty much just released, so I only see it (legally) able for streaming (via renting or buying) via Vudu and Amazon Prime Video (in the U.S.). It maybe more widespread in Germany where it was made. (Though, VPNs do exist…) But the first and second movies can be bought or rented from multiple sources, surely.

In any case, let me know what y’all think, and feel free to share your thoughts!

[dgcatanisiri]

So... something kinda hit me abruptly and pushed me to feeling about ready to snap, so... Have a word vomit. Kinda feels like a greatest hits compilation of  my “another angry queer rant” tag, but I need to get it out, so...

I know I’ve been over plenty about how I don’t feel represented even when I have something with gay representation. How I’d give dozens of Dorians and Iron Bulls to get even one run of Inquisition that properly has my male Inquisitor romance Cullen. How when I look at Mass Effect - this franchise that I love - I can only see how much it hates me for being a gay man who dares to seek content for me. How godawful it is that Gil’s story, a story that is explicitly a story centered on a gay man and the difficulties he faces BECAUSE of being gay, was written by a straight person who ABSOLUTELY does not GET. IT. And how fandom as an entity sucks, because so often it feels like the attitude of the people in it comes across as telling me that my desire to be represented in my media somehow comes in second to celebrating the advances solely for women, that my needs as a queer MAN (the emphasis usually theirs) are less important, because I can still see myself AS A MAN in other characters throughout media.

But... That doesn’t change the fact that this is a very real, very tangible THING for me to grapple with. And sometimes it feels like no one ever, EVER talks about this.

I mean, my go-to example is that after Inquisition dropped, you could not say A WORD in criticism of Dorian without people jumping down your throat, chomping at the bit to call you a homophobe for it. No matter what reason - but ESPECIALLY if you thought he was “too stereotypical” - you got hit with that label. Even if you were gay yourself, it was just your “internalized homophobia” that made you dislike him, or even being biased against the people who genuinely do lean in to the stereotypes, don’t they deserve representation too?!

Well, yeah. It’s not like I was saying they don’t. But that it’s a stereotype means it’s often still in media, still often THERE. It’s not always good representation, but it’s something. Meanwhile for those of us who AREN’T? It just meant further exclusion from the narratives. A continuation of our invisibility.

And sure, one queer character cannot represent every queer person, one individual who embodies one letter of the alphabet soup cannot be everything to everyone under that individual label. But, again, it still means that I don’t get to see myself.

If media representation is a life preserver, then I’m getting pulled out to sea while the lifeguards are busy with people who are closer to them than I am. Which, you can call it triage, cast the widest net to hope to get the most people, but when you’re one of those who are not even able to grab on to the net and use it to pull yourself closer, it’s not helping. And, because they’re focused on those who have grabbed on to the net, your struggle continues to be ignored.

Worse, sometimes they aren’t factoring you in the net they’re throwing (yes, I’m aware my metaphor is getting increasingly strained, just work with me here) because they think you’re not in the trouble they think others are - if you can “pass” as cishet, if you can exist without actively fearing for your safety, if you are the kind of person who can walk down the street and not expect to be harassed because you “present” gay, then you’re not as in need as those people who can’t, who are going to be threatened for existing while visibly queer.

But the truth is that you’re still suffering. I’m not gonna get in to the whole oppression Olympics nature of it all, but there is an element that those of us who “pass” as being “straight-acting” (and, for the record, I think these terms are bogus and bullshit, but I’m using them for the sake of simplicity in getting my message across, because I’m stream of consciousnessing this post instead of going to bed so you’re getting babble and word vomit so that this isn’t playing on a loop as I try and sleep) suffer that... I’m not going to say that it makes it worse, but it does have this level of SOMETHING that is a unique pain that you aren’t going to find from the people who are visibly and noticeably queer at a glance - it’s not just isolation, because this is something that you end up not talking about because no one around you realizes that you are queer, but also this voice in the back of your mind that starts questioning “are you REALLY queer? Are you queer ENOUGH?”

And that’s why it hurts that little bit more, is that much more a twist of the knife, when I see these people who push the “joke” of like “why did they even HAVE male Shepard?” or “the only way to play is as Kassandra.” Because it does reinforce this idea - that there is this attitude of this thing, this character that I was seeing as representation doesn’t matter. So that I take strength in that character, well, that’s just me latching on to REPRESENTATION AS A MAN, and we’re not here to protect your fragile masculine ego.

When all I’m looking for is a queer man like I am.

And sometimes, I don’t even feel like the other queer men I can look to get it. Like, there was that time about a year ago that I looked up issues of queer men in video games, and the three videos I found all got an “...and NOPE!” reaction from me - the first argued in math about how “queer people are a small portion of the population, we can’t realistically expect to be represented equally,” even though we’re talking about FICTION, which is, by definition, NOT reality, the second was clearly a cishet who compared not being represented as a queer person to not being represented as a Swedish person, and then a third who first had a thumbnail on a video of “good and bad representation” and Kaidan was the example of bad (so a negative mark against this video to begin with, but I was desperate), only to lead with Dorian as a good example, which... *vague motion above and at the “dorian critical” tag* I staunchly disagree with this stance.

Like... I have to struggle to think of who my role models in being a queer man are. It’s not just who fits my story, but who do I look up to, who inspires me. And, admittedly, the luster for any personal hero seems to inevitable wear off at this point, I’m in my early thirties, and most of the media I consume will have characters who are my age or younger PERIOD, so my queer heroes would have to be people I’d consider either peers or even someone who I am older than...

But then, that’s kinda the thing about being queer period - we lost a generation to AIDS, and for those who followed that generation, we’ve had to live in this world where our heroes don’t exist like us, while trying to pave the way for those who come after us, and who can’t conceive of what it is like to age - as in “go from adulthood to middle age to elder,” not just the matter of growing up from childhood to adulthood - and so even as they’re the one who we want to give all of this to... It still means we suffer because no one is there to offer US that hand.

And yet, try to explain this to media creators, and you get ignored or even shut down. Like, I about a year ago, I directly replied to tweet from Patrick Weekes, explaining how Inquisition failed me, how all bi LIs actually HELP me feel more represented as a queer person than the mix of sexualities that BioWare on the whole has said that they intend to do (re: the difference of LIs in DA2 and Dragon Age Inquisition). It got no response, not even a like to indicate that it’d been read by them. I could form in my head the response I’d have inevitably gotten from David Gaider when he still had an active Tumblr of what would amount to, nicest, “we cannot please everyone, enough people were moved by Dorian’s story to make it worthwhile, sorry.” Given some of my cynicism, I can’t help but believe that it would also have come with a “sorry you feel that way.” Particularly considering some of the comments he’s made about Cullen and Kaidan as LIs, both of whom being characters I connect to more than others in their respective games...

And like... Gaider is a gay man. Weekes is nonbinary. But they are from that generation who view being able to exist openly as queer as a revolutionary statement, which... It’s a statement I want to make, sure, but it’s not a revolutionary one to me - “existence” is the bare minimum. To me, focusing on existence as a queer person is to say that the queer character must justify existing as queer in order to be a part of the narrative. But what is revolutionary to me is to give the queer person a story in the narrative that has NOTHING to do with their queerness.

Like... Fantasy world here, Inquisition drops with Cullen and Cassandra as same-sex exclusive LIs, while every other aspect of their stories are the same. Women can’t romance Cullen, Men can’t romance Cassandra. Other than that, we have Cullen with his addiction/redemption arc and Cassandra not just struggling with her faith but even getting the chance to be Divine. Yes, fandom would FLIP. THE FUCK. OUT. But here’s what it says - the things that these characters go through in the course of the game are not defined by their sexuality. Hell, with these characters specifically, you get characters with MASSIVE relevance to queer stories that AREN’T exclusive to being queer - addiction is a real issue in queer communities, given how many of our safe spaces are bars or clubs, places where alcohol (and thus alcohol abuse) is easily obtained, and, by extension, drugs as well. Meanwhile, there are SCORES of queer people who struggle with the question of faith in the wake of their queerness manifesting.

THAT is revolutionary. To take these stories that straight people get all the time, that certainly have meaning as queer stories for the queer audience... And yet, when they go to these (hypothetically) queer characters, it has that subtext without making the story ABOUT their queerness, while still making it clear that, in this version of things, they are queer - players couldn’t pretend that it’s only in some parallel universe that they are queer, they would only be attracted to the same sex PC. THAT is revolutionary.

Or, y’know, take it back beyond BioWare for a little bit here - all the characters I feel the most connection to emotionally in TV shows are straight. All these men who are my role models only ever get shown being involved with women. At most, they’ll get queerbaited as MAYBE being queer, if you just keep watching! Inevitably, of course, they are not queer by the end of the show - the closest to date is the debacle that is Supernatural.

Yeah, there’s representation for ya.

And then there are those who end up looking at what I see as thoroughly inadequate and... They’re happy. They praise it. They look at this thing that hurts me, that excludes me, that can, when I’m in the bad headspaces, even make me question myself... And they have found something they like with it.

Which, for the record, good for them, genuinely and sincerely, I really am glad that someone is getting something out of this, but... Well, see above: life preserver, isolation, “sorry you feel that way.” Everyone else is getting what they needed, but what about me? When does my representation get to appear? Why am I always being left, scrounging for the scraps of the scraps? Why does other peoples’ representation always seem to get shoved to the front of the line, leaving me languishing in the back.

That’s the real thing about all of those lines of “if you don’t like it, go make your own!” At this point, even if I did manage to get something in my to-write folder cleaned up and ready to go, in reality... How am I supposed to feel like anyone other than me WOULD proceed to read it? That the audience would exist? Because... no one seems to care about this audience. Hell, how would I get anyone to publish it if it is only going to appeal to me?

I feel on the margins of the margins, where no one really cares. Hell, even here in my own blog, I feel afraid of backlash - I’ve had the assholes show up in response to like little brief comments that are off-the-cuff rambles, not worded in a way that makes them a full, detailed accounting, and either take them as evidence that I, personally, represent all that is wrong with fandom at large, or that I am a target for their trolling. Because saying that “I find the jokes about male Shepard not mattering to be diminishing of me as a queer person, can we please stop this?” is somehow not just lesbophobic, but VIOLENTLY lesbophobic. Or that saying that I don’t care that bad things happen to a fictional species is somehow advocating for violence against actual women. Or even explicitly calling out BioWare for lovingly lingering the camera on Miranda’s ass is slutshaming her. And of course, there are the assholes who responded to me saying on the BioWare Twitter announcement post for the Legendary Edition that, if it didn’t have a full trilogy male Shepard/Kaidan romance, I wasn’t buying it, and proceeded to a) call me entitled for it (like, read a dictionary, the very fact that I have to call for this content that doesn’t exist in the game proper is the OPPOSITE of entitlement...), b) tell me that I “shouldn’t deny [myself] a great story just because it doesn’t have gay people in it” and c) just generally be homophobic. Even in rolling with it on the basis of “the trolls are gonna show up period if you make it clear that you care about something, especially if you are trying to get representation for some group that is in the minority... It gets exhausting. It can be harmful. It makes it clear that you’re not welcome, even when you’re supposedly united by the fact that you and these people supposedly love the same piece of media.

I mean, among those examples, I’ve given the statements that inspired those responses no tags other than my own organizational tags, but SOMEHOW they find me anyway, so it wouldn’t surprise me if I got accused of like being another White Gay™ with this post, that I simply want to center the conversation wholly on myself at the expense of all other intersections of queerness and other identities or something for saying all of this, even though this is, and it says so from the start, a vent post, which, by definition, is centered on myself because it’s about me and my experiences and emotions. *sigh*

Anyway...

And, y’know, when BioWare actively refuses to even ACKNOWLEDGE that the absence of a full trilogy M/M romance option is a bad thing, it just ends up saying that the trolls are actually the audience they’re willing to court. That Supernatural ending with a brothers only focus that doesn’t even allow Cas to be mentioned other than offhandedly while suppressing ANY kind of emotional fallout to his admission of love says that they don’t care about the queer people who at the very least the actor was trying to be respectful and representative of. That every piece of media that says that to have a queer person in it, their presence must be explained and justified is saying that there needs to be a REASON for queerness, a reason that is not “because people are queer, and queer people come in as many stripes as cishet people, and so media should reflect that spectrum just as much.”

Even when the numbers of queer characters in media goes up, it doesn’t really move the needle. And that’s not even getting to the difficulties when you are any mix-and-match combo under the queer umbrella, or any other identity that intersects to marginalize someone in our society. It just...

Y’know, it doesn’t feel like “it gets better.” Rather it just feels like being stuck in position, just with a changing backdrop. Sure, things look different by the end of the day, but that doesn’t change that you’re not getting anywhere.

[queenborhapreaderships]

Promise - Geralt/Reader

Hey guys! I did a thing! And I’m gonna post it here because I reaaaallly don’t wanna make another side blog for anoooother fandom, so feel free to completely ignore this if you followed me for Queen and Queen only. Anyway! Here it be. 

“Goddamnit, Geralt. We’re a fucking team, why would you do something so stupid? This was a two-person job and you know it.” You huff and turn your back, exasperated. 

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but we fight together, strategically, or not at all. I haven’t known you to be so stupid, that was entirely unnecessary.” The more you think about it, the madder you get, spinning around to face him again. He won’t meet your eyes. Quite frankly, he looks awful. There’s a long, angry gash down his right cheek and his hair is muddy and sticking every which way. 

You sigh and step towards him, placing your hand on his shoulder. You feel him let out a breath you didn’t know he was holding. Sure, he can be an idiot, but you don’t like seeing him hurt, especially when it could’ve been easily prevented. If he would’ve let you help. 

You’d been traveling with Geralt for decades by now, he knows you’re a powerful enough witch to hold your own, so why he had suddenly diverged from your established battle routine was beyond you. 

He finally looks up to you and the look on his face is indiscernible. You can usually read him, having been so close for so long, but this is different. He looks… different. Something’s wrong. And knowing him, it’ll take the force of an entire cavalry to get it out. Or the patience of an elder, but that has never really been your style and Geralt is more than aware of that fact. 

You decide to drop it for now and instead focus on the seeping wound that’s a little too close to his eye for comfort. You lead him to a tree and softly usher him down, he sits and leans against it without any resistance and you crouch in front of him. He knows the drill. 

He’s been hurt before, quite often actually considering his line of work, but that doesn’t mean you’ll ever get used to it. He’s a gentle soul, despite the, well, everything about him. It hurts your heart to see him in pain, no matter how good he is at concealing it. You know if he were alone we would simply rub a sub-par balm on it and go about his day, but luckily you were trained in several facets of magic, healing being one. It comes in handy. A lot. 

You reach out and gingerly place your hand on his unharmed cheek, keeping his head still and bracing yourself for the magic that was soon to be flowing out of your other one. The second you feel his rough skin under your palm, his eyes flutter closed and your heart surges in your chest. You swallow the feeling you’d been ignoring for so long because this was more important. Taking care of him is more important than any childlike fantasies that you do your best to keep under lock and key. 

You feel your thumb stroke the apple of his cheek and see him bite his lip. You weren’t even aware that you were going to do it until you had and you smile softly at his reaction. He seemingly subconsciously leans into your touch and you can’t help yourself, you lean forward and plant a soft kiss on the top of his head. His eyes open and you raise your other hand, pausing for a moment before he gives you a small nod indicating that he’s ready. 

You take a deep breath as you feel the energy collecting near your chest and your eyes narrow as you focus it in towards his cut, hovering your hand above it. Instead of closing his eyes to prepare for the process, he keeps his eyes glued to you, silently observing the intensity of your power. It would be easy to get distracted, to get lost in those beautiful fucking eyes of his, but you know you’ve gotta keep your attention on the task at hand. 

A yellow glow surrounds the wound as it slowly stitches itself back together, leaving nothing but a thin line where his skin was once torn. You gently remove your other hand from the side of his face and pull up your sleeve to wipe the remaining blood off. 

“There. As good as new. Almost.” You say, the twinge of sarcasm not lost on Geralt. He reaches his hand to feel the small indent left and looks to you once again with that strange expression you still can’t pin.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” He says, softer than usual. “I’d apologize for what I did out there, but I’m not sorry. My first priority is and always will be keeping you safe.” He starts to get up, but you forcefully shove him back down, your hand pushing the center of his chest and keeping him up against the tree. 

“No. That’s bullshit, Geralt, and you know it.” You spit out, feeling the anger bubbling back up again. “I would almost get it if I were in any immediate danger, but I wasn’t. What you did was reckless and you’re lucky you didn’t come out looking any worse, otherwise, I would’ve left your sorry ass on the ground where it fell” 

You turn to storm off but you hear him grumble under his breath.

“No, you wouldn’t have” you look up in frustration and just stare at the colors painting the sky for a minute, taking a deep breath to ponder. You know he’s right. Of course he’s right, but what he did was just so senseless and you can’t have him thinking risking his life like that is in any way acceptable. You can’t wrap your head around why. 

“Like I said. We’re a team. We’ve always been a team. Don’t insult me by second-guessing my abilities.”

“Y/N, that’s the last thing I’m doing. I just…” He trails off and grunts. 

“Geralt, for fuck’s sake, what? Then what exactly are you doing? Why couldn’t you have let me take him on when he came for me. I could’ve done it. I could’ve protected you. I could’ve prevented this.” Your anger dies out as you look to the blood still somewhat smearing his face. 

“It shouldn’t have to be your fucking job to protect me. I can protect myself.” He stands up and barrels towards you, voice as cold as ice. You stand your ground, not intimidated by whatever hissy fit he’s decided to throw today. 

“Oh really? Can you? Then what have these past seventy-odd years been? Because the way I see it, I’ve been protecting you and you’ve been protecting me. It’s a two-way street, man. What changed?” 

You’re face to face now and his demeanor practically crumples at your statement, knowing the truth it gleans. He swallows his pride, for the first time in ages and decides, hey. What the hell?

“I can’t,” he chokes on his words, “I just can’t lose you.” His forehead falls forward and he rests it against yours. “And if I do, and there’s something I could’ve done to save you, I don’t think I can live with myself.” Your heart shatters at his words, not underestimating how significant this moment of vulnerability is to him. To you. To the both of you. 

“Oh, Geralt,” you say and move your hands up to his cheeks, keeping him close but moving his head away to get a good look at him. If he went for it, you might as well too. “You think the same thing doesn’t paralyze me with fear as well? You’re all I have in this world and you mean everything to me. But I trust you to take care of yourself. All I ask is that you trust me with the same. I would never do anything to get myself fatally injured, to get myself taken away from you. Okay?” He doesn’t move a muscle, only his shaking breaths can be heard over the pounding of your two hearts. 

You can’t take it anymore. You can’t deny it any longer. You love him. You love him so fucking much, damn the consequences. You never believed the gossip that Witchers don’t feel and you can place it now, that look in his eye. It’s admiration, fear, wonder, and love all wrapped up into one. At this moment, Geralt is more human than anyone you had ever encountered. 

You move in closer as his face nears yours. You feel a grin begin to form as he wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you in tight, foreheads touching once again. You can feel his breath ghosting your lips. It’s you who takes the final leap, closing the gap. Your lips meet his in your final moment of bravery. It’s soft at first, trepidation pumping through your veins, but when you feel him kissing you back eagerly, all your inhibitions are gone. 

When you finally break apart, remembering to breathe, you see the most beautiful look upon his face. A smile to rival the gods. You let out a laugh and he kisses you again, just for a second before pulling away and taking your hands in his. 

“Promise?” 

“Promise”

[oh-mother-of-darkness]

asks (26)

@spickerzocker​ said:

hey there! just a heads up that i tried to click on the "why i don't ship" explanation link in your faq and it says that there is no post with that url/it's generally broken. also your "a conversation about recovery" thing is beautiful and hurts in the best way and i love it. have a nice day!

Yes, I intentionally took that link down awhile ago, and last night I went and updated some of the tabs on my blog. Here are my basic thoughts:

I wrote that link years and years ago, while I was first navigating the internet and while I was still figuring out important things about my own identity and opinions. I ran my blog differently back then, but by the end of the first few months, I knew I was uncomfortable with shipping. 

As people began to interact with me and my work, I told them over and over again no, I don’t want to talk about that, and I don’t want to write about it, and it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t think that was a common position to take at the time, so it wasn’t what people expected from me. 

During those years, I felt like I had to justify myself and give a valid explanation. I wrote that post explaining why I had that boundary, and I put it in a place where anyone could find it.

I said no when people asked, let them make jokes about it, and made jokes about it myself in response. As time went on I got more and more exasperated when I had to repeat myself. I wrote definite rules into my ask box, request tab, and FAQ. People still asked. I wrote it into my description. People still asked. 

The truth is yeah, there’s a pretty simple explanation for my discomfort. It makes sense. It’s easy to understand, and most folks think it’s a “good enough” reason to leave me alone. The difference between young-me and current-me is that I no longer feel the need to justify myself. 

None of y’all need to know why I set the boundaries that I set. My explanation isn’t relevant, and I’m not obligated to give it. I said no. That’s enough. 

I think a good number of folks remember my explanation from the past, and I don’t mind that at all. There may be a time where I talk about it again, in a more appropriate context, so I guess we’ll see.

That’s a lot of information in response to a very helpful ask. Thanks! The link is gone now, and I’m so pleased that you enjoyed the fic :)

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Anonymous said:

U suck

Kenza sent this anon as a joke. She’s right, and I thank her. 

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Anonymous said:

I'm a doctor and ive seen it all.....but the milk fic made me gag

Excellent

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@wingedskyes said:

Ah. Wait. I wasn't on anon....uhm. oh well. It's fine. I like milk and am not ashamed. 😆

I don’t think I received another message from you actually, but I too like milk and I’m glad we’re on the same page

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@thelittleredheadedmusician said:

To add to the milk discussions: my best friend from home and best friend from college have each finished a gallon a milk by themselves within 2 days.

I do that too, every once in awhile. When the milk craving hits it’s a gallon a day

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Anonymous said:

"TIM! POUR HIM. A GLASS OF M A L K!"

Hold on I have to google some things

Yeah this is funny

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Anonymous said:

I have read that milk fic three separate times and every time I’m laughing just as hard as Tim and dick by the end it’s just so excellently executed and builds so perfectly that by the time dick cracks I’m ready to go too and I just lose it it’s amazing I love it

Awww anon I’m so pleased :)

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@the-smartass-under-the-mountain said:

Just wanted to drop by and say your recent fic with Tim antagonizing Damian with increasingly outrageous milk concoctions had me giggling. It was so cute and refreshing to see Dick enjoying Tim's little prank. And Bruce's reaction to just... walk away was fantastic!

Thank you! I’m always so thrilled when y’all think the jokes hit

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@njtheboywonder​ said:

I havnt really enjoyed a fic in years, but i stopped to read ur fanfic with tim drinking milk just to fuck w dami amd it made me smile. Thanks, for writing it.

Oh that warms my heart <3

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@bruciewayneisbatman​ said:

Tim Is totally the guy who would drink ridiculous amounts of dalgona coffee to annoy damian, according to that fic.

Had to google that one, but I guess so huh

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Anonymous said:

(diff anon) but that birthday fic was so good oml and you have opened my eyes as to the batfam in quarantine this is such a Concept

We’re all here dying..... together...

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Anonymous said:

Happy birthday! 🎉 or belated! 🎂 thank you for being in the fandom. 😊

&

Anonymous said:

To anon! Sorry. I forgot to add that! Anyway, thanks to them we get a lovely fic. I hope you have many more birthdays! 😊

Message for you anon

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Anonymous said:

Your writing gives off good vibes

Hear that guys I “passed my vibe check.” Is that what the youth say these days? I am an elder now and I do not know

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Anonymous said:

finding your blog while being relatively new to batman fandom is such a bliss. your batfam content especially is *chef's kiss* amazing.

Thank you my darling :) I’m glad you’re here

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Anonymous said:

Best line in a fic? Hard to pick just one, but this particular one from "Just Desserts" by fyeahbatmanandrobin on Tumblr is one of my faves: “Anyone else would be hard-pressed to provide the particular brand of excitement you bring to my life, Dami.”

&

@noisypaintersong​ said:

For the line thing: "I don't doubt it. Bruce Wayne, the unexpectedly normal guy wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a superhero wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a fake socialite wrapped in a businessman wrapped in a secretive billionaire." He paused. "…You're the seven-layer burrito of Gotham," he pondered. - Barry to Bruce in 'Of Friends and Foes' by Paganpunk2 on FFN. It's one of the funniest things I've read someone say to Bruce LOL

& 

@kirakats​ submitted:

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Anonymous said:

“I do know that according to everyone else, there is no chance, no future, no universe where I stay a hero.” Describes my frustration with the way DC treats Damian so accurately. Let the kid be a hero dammit.

Thanks! That’s really helpful. I’ve got a decent answer to my question now. 

@kurawastaken​ submitted:

So this is Kenza retaliating against me for the milk fic. I very much hate tomatoes and specifically ketchup. This photo (1) is a nightmare and (2) fulfills its intended purpose.

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Anonymous said:

I love your blog!!!

And I love you 

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Anonymous said:

quick question: how do you think jason reconciles with the fam?? i think in the comics they kinda just reboot and now he’s on better terms. but like what conversations happened, yknow??? (you’re doin great work by the way, it rips out my heart but it’s great)

This is an amazing question, and I’ll be thinking about it for the next bit, I think. That would be a really interesting topic to explore in depth

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@angel-gidget​ said:

*hugs you real tight* would you please send this to the first 10 people in your dash? Make sure someone gets a hug today and stay safe!

Oh thank you for the hug <3

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Anonymous said:

I hadn’t been aware of that Memphis petition, but I live in Memphis too (Altho I know you said you just grew up there so you may not be living here currently haha) so ig I just wanted to say thanks for bringing it to my attention!

!!!

I’ve been in Texas for six years now, ever since I started school, but I’m still in and out of Memphis for family purposes. Love the trash heap of my birth 

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@damianwaynerocks​ said:

hey! any chance you know of any other dc heroes around damian’s age?

Sure! You could try Billy Batson, Jon Kent, or Maya Ducard

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Anonymous said:

hi! i don't know if it's okay to leave anons like these but ive been feeling down because my country has passed a bill that deprives us of lots of human rights freedom and i want you to know that i just found your blog through the damian/bruce + justice fic and it comforted me. im slowly going thru your works and so far they are all comforting. i love your stuff, thank you.

Philippines? I’ve heard some things, and I’m real sorry y’all’re going through that. I don’t know that there’s anything I could say about that to help, but I hope you’re finding joy somewhere

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@awesomeness-ofgaybitches​ said:

Tumblr hates you. The links in your bio and to your fic masterlist don't work on mobile. I'm sorry.

FUCK

[kuriquinn]

Dear Mr. Kuri, thank you so much for your recent post concerning the young artist who was effectively censored from sharing his/her/their art on a particular subject (just... so sad). I was hoping to get your thoughts on how adults might navigate interactions with minors in this space. Specifically, extending our support for their work w/out necessarily... engaging with them. I know this sounds crazy stupid but before tumblr I wasn't really active on any social media and I had no idea (cont'd)

there were so many users under the age of 16 on this site. I've even come to learn that some identified users I had interacted with early on were as young as 13, and as someone in my 30's - tbh that scared the shit out of me. I totally agree that someone that young and impressionable would be crushed by the kind of criticism that poor artist faced, and would likely never create or share again... to their detriment. The thing is though, I feel really hesitant following any creator (cont'd)

that isn't 18 or older... What are your thoughts on following/reblogging/interacting with minors in fandom? I fully agree that they need support, especially from older users who don't care what some stranger on the internet has to say... but I just feel... like I don't know how to go about that the right way. I really REALLY don't want minors on my blog at all... sorry to bother you with this, just wondering how you'd suggest handling this. I didn't comment on the post bc I didn't (cont'd)

want to risk that young artist reading my inquiry and feeling even more alienated. As always, thank you for your time and insight. - Birk

I may go a bit off-topic here, but let me give this a try:

I think in, In the end, it all comes down to communication and mutual respect.

Adults have this pervading mentality that until a child hits 18, they need to be infantilized and sheltered, but once they pass that magical number, then it’s a free for all. So, for eighteen years, it’s all about sticking a Potemkin village in front of any idea, person or situation that a child might find uncomfortable (read: they don’t like the feelings it gives them; very different from actual harmful ideas/persons/situations). Then, these sheltered almost-adults enter public spaces and expect society to keep doing that…when it turns out that’s not how it works, they become toxic.

This is how poisonous movements like purity-culture develop online, or new fans who demonize older fans and adults as being perverts for enjoying the very same pastimes they have.

For those of us interacting with these people, the automatic reaction is to “cancel” that person, thereby alienating and isolating them even more in their bad behavior. Instead of taking the time to talk with and try to show them through actions that the world isn’t limited to what they know.

As adults in fandom, we know that a large majority of the fandom is younger, because we were them once. We were that 12-year-old discovering fanfiction existed or sharing drawings we made of our original Harry Potter characters or quoting our favorite movies and televisions ad infinite. We got shit for it in real life, so we had to create spaces of our own online.

We, in effect, built fandom so that it would be more welcoming for the generations that came after us. And while a lot of us stick to that unwritten knowledge, as the years pass, a lot more become gatekeepers. They set a standard of what a fan must know or do to be considered a “real” fan, and they’re mean about how they do that.

Is it any wonder that new fans coming in experience this behavior and then jump on the “adults in fandom is creepy” bandwagon?

These new fans coming in, especially tweens and teens, they still live in this false reality where they only get to enjoy themselves and be kids for a limited amount of time, and once they Become Adult they have to give it all up—and can’t figure out why all those old creeps online are still a part of such “childish” things.

That fault lies squarely on our society, which pushes kids from a young age to be thinking of what they want to do when they grow up so they can get out there and start producing, producing, producing for the state and becoming a “useful” member of society.

We as fandom veterans, need to do our best to teach them differently, and that comes right back to my point: communication and mutual respect.

Older fans need to respect newcomers, as much as the new baby fans need to learn to respect their fandom elders. There is no maximum age for fandom; there’s no minimum age, either, although the younger the fan, the more their parents should be keeping an eye out for the truly damaging stuff and teaching their kids how to avoid that stuff on their own.

Now, obviously, people don’t always announce online how old they are (though it does happen more frequently now than when I started writing), but regardless, there should be a certain etiquette to it.

When you interact with someone online, you don’t know if they are 15 or 50. And the way you interact with them shouldn’t change based on knowing their age. We should maintain the same level of respect for the new fans as the older fans.

So, as to how adults might navigate interactions with minors (especially when you know they’re minors)?

Treat them as any other intelligent human being: with respect.

Because how else are they going to learn?

My mom always used to say to us, “I’m not raising children, I’m raising adults,” which basically meant she was teaching us how to be adults. Kids don’t pop out of the womb magically knowing how to interact with the world, they take their cues from the adults that are already there.

Fandom babies learn how to be active participants in fandom from the people who are already there. And they’re more likely to listen to and look up to someone that treats them as a mature and capable being, than someone who dismisses them as too young or too green, or dismisses their knowledge and experience because they haven’t earned their metaphorical stripes.

Remember, a lot of these kids are coming to fandom because they need an outlet. In this age of helicopter parents, this is the only place where they get to be treated as an individual adult-in-the-making instead of the overly protected child or student that must be shielded from the world. A lot of them are trying to figure out how to deal with the horrors that happen to them or around them every day. That 16-year-old girl writing a rape/non-con fic under a pseudonym? She could be exorcising her own demons through the only way she has because no one in her life is listening to her. That 14-year-old writing about homelessness might know more about it than someone twice his age.

Expertise and experience knows no age, and as adults, we need to not fall into the trap of thinking it does. There are some kids out there that have seen and endured more than I can even imagine.

In recent years, there’s been this trend of treating kids like sexless beings until we, the adults, deem them capable of having a sense of sexuality. When the reality is, once kids start puberty, they’re developing that sexuality, and are trying to figure out what it means to them and how to navigate it, and the world. It doesn’t matter if adults are uncomfortable with it, this is what our human biology has decided for us.

And chances are, as much as adults try to curate the world and keep kids from seeing the darker, less safe stuff? They’re already doing it. I saw this when I was teaching, the kids are already accessing and interacting with stuff like sex, drugs, relationships… Whenever a faceless censor tries to block that sort of thing, they find a way around it. Humans are funny like that—we want the things that are kept away from us, whether harmful or not.

It’s our responsibility to help them think critically about what they’re seeing, and teach them to express themselves about it in a respectful manner.

So by all means: follow that amazing artist even if they are only 15. Their age doesn’t negate the fact that they have talent that needs to be nurtured and encouraged. Reblog the images and the fics that strike you, even if you find out the person writing it isn’t 18 yet. Send a shoutout via DM or review or comment to someone that you admire whether you know they’re age or not.

Unless you’re being actively creepy and offensive (and seriously, don’t do that, it’s gross whether the recipient is a minor or not), chances are these creators are desperate for some assurance that the medium they choose to express themselves in is having an effect on people—and that they have the power to make even adults sit up and listen.

So…TL;DR:

When interacting with younger fans, do so with respect. And if they say something problematic, don’t automatically cancel them and write them off as “obviously too young and immature to understand”. They understand more than you think and will seek out their interests whether adults think it’s appropriate or not. That’s how freedom works. But if we’re going to nip bad behavior like purity culture and agism in the bud, we need to start by treating minors in fandom as adults developing their worldview, not as infants to be sheltered.  

[worldcakecakecake]

On Deutschland and Italia by Lovino Valenti

Lovino writes a series of blog entries on the relationship between Germany and Italy as he deals with a move to Hamburg, his brother’s wedding, and his budding romance (which he denies) to the infuriating Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Hahaha…hahahaha…hahaha…as you can probably tell, I have absolutely no control. Here, have yet ANOTHER new story that I have had here in the works for a while too. Another new pairing, prumano, which I admit is another of my favorites in the fandom and this is my diving into it as well.

This is done as a gift to a dear friend, Nikki, one of their accounts here at tumblr being @ask-the-icelandic-little. She has helped me several time with the stories, especially with the German in them and even helped me to write a letter so I could get my year visa here in Germany. She has been a great follower and friend and thus I honor her with this story. It is set in Hamburg as it her home and the place we managed to meet and spend some wonderful time together.

I hope this story is a well enough gift and hope other readers enjoy it as well.

Fair warning: Lovino is incredibly biased in writing these articles and can write very negatively about Germany. Things can even come as negative even for Italy and I apologize incredibly if you are deeply offended or you do not agree with the mention. I do admit that Lovino is MEANT to be this biased about Germany and I’m just exploring his thought process during the situation. But, I am extremely willing to hear better accuracies and how I can improve Lovino’s blogs. So please have no fear in messaging.

When it comes to updating, same as some of the last stories I’ve posted.

                                                     Chapter 1

On Deutschland and Italia.

Germania and the Roman Empire.

Aldrich Beilschmidt and Augusto Valenti.

 The Roman Empire shared a northern border with Germania. Both groups trained and lived to fight, one making wars and pillaging enough to be considered one of the strongest empires in our history, the other the very one that brought this power its end. But before that, the Romans and Germanics lived in relative peace. Although the Romans kept trying to push into their land, Germanics themselves kept seeking entrance into the empire, wanting to live as Romans did, joining their armies, even seeking marriage. At first, the Romans denied many of these chances and it took many years of fighting and other casualties for the Romans to start giving them these permissions. Germanics talked often of the Romans, wanting to be like them, getting their items that they used for their own. And it was shared, for Romans were just as wondered by their brightness of their hair, eyes and skin, their own forms of battle, even their culture, which was extensively written about and it’s the reason we have information of the Germanics in the first place. The downside is that it’s all written by Romans.

 These Germanics settled well in the territory, some even reaching high positions to lead even their own groups. Sadly, it was throughout this that they managed to get enough men to sack Rome, a dwindling of the empire beginning since then.

 Aldrich Beilschmidt, esteemed for owning the famous ‘Beilschmidt Services’, the high demanded mechanic shop with the best state of the art technology that can get your car fixed like new. Augusto Valenti, founder of the restaurants ‘Antico’, the most acclaimed Italian restaurant in all of Hamburg, perhaps even Germany and I’m not writing that simply because he’s my grandfather.

 These two figures hold a friendship that many have watched for years. They went to school together, traveled across Europe and even Africa and Asia together, they were the best man for each other’s wedding and each is a godfather to one of their children.

 Who better to begin on this special series of articles about the relationship between Germany and Italy than two men of experience and stories that can well represent this great empire and these proud tribes.

 They met in 1949, through a still reconstructing Europe after the second world war, in Denmark, where they were both attending a specialized boarding school. They formed a peculiar friendship, a shield to all the insults of ‘Nazi scum’ or ‘Mussolini mafia’ that they were shot at everybody, bonding over honey buns and which kid was bullying them more.

 As the years passed, they managed rooming together, even took respecting trips to Germany and Italy to know their countries and even their families. Each adopted the other, both growing a relationship that was more like brothers each day.

 On 1962, Aldrich wedded Louis Oelberg and Augusto, Helena Stefanidis, only by a mere month apart. Although Augusto and Helena only had a single daughter, my mother, Renata Valenti, Aldrich and Louis had three. The two elder boys, Marcellus and Karl Beilschmidt, and their youngest daughter, Monika Beilschmidt, who was born around the same time as Renata. Aldrich became Renata’s godfather, as Augusto to Monika, these two little girls continuing well that friendship, uniting the families through feasts, dinners, chats over the phone, their balconies, their front doors, through every step of their children’s growth, through the death of Helena, for when Marcellus left to Austria and Karl to Switzerland following love, trips, graduations, weddings and any other new births. It was following this friendship that Augusto established himself for some years here in Hamburg, Aldrich offering help to get Augusto opening that restaurant he often spoke and even dreamt of having outside of Italy. It is the reason why I came here when I was three and lived for about two years, before homesickness attacked well my family and we were once again brought back to Italy for many years before…once again, Hamburg, Germany, called us back…because there’s nothing in the world that can stop my grandfather’s ultimate epic romance with Aldrich Beilschmidt.

 Now you must be wondering if I, Augusto Valenti’s eldest grandson, heir to the family’s power, has continued well this long family friendship to the great Beilschmidts. I’m sorry, but this is one of the many things I disappoint my family in.

 To be honest, I can’t stand any of them, but if there’s one that takes the throne of holding my ultimate hatred, it’s Gilbert Beilschmidt.

  There was Monika Beilschmidt and Renata Valenti, exchanging gossip, snacks and any new events happening in the city. Their two youngest sons, Ludwig Beilschmidt and Feliciano Valenti, both two years old, played in a sand box, trying to build castles or pretend foods with their toy molds, a corner just for them which both the mothers could watch them from. Lovino Valenti, Renata’s eldest, chose to sit by his mother, bored, pouting, hands wrapped on his chest angry and even vengeful. The four-year-old kept his heavy stare on the monkey bars, on the big slides and high levels to climb on, with countless games or fake horses to ride, and yet he was not part of it, as any boy his age should.

 “Lovino, carino, go on, play,” Renata had tried to usher him, but Lovino would just pout more, wrapping his arms more strongly around him, as if trying to chain himself to the bench.

 “Gilbert is out there. I’m sure he’d love for you to play with him.” It was just at the mention that a loud laugh echoed across the playground, said albino boy having found a way to climb the biggest pole, hanging himself from it and waving around a large toy sword, seeming to claim the entire area as his own.

 Monika groaned and hid her face in shame in her hands while Renata giggled.

 Lovino didn’t want to mention that he was the real reason he refused to stand up, so he just remained as silent as he had arrived to the park.

 “Or you can play with Antonio and Francis,” Renata continued to suggest.

 Both these boys kept a further slide and small climbing rock to themselves, taking rounds and finishing by picking some of their dolls and action figures they brought to play, all laid across the sand just for them.

 Lovino sighed, guessing they will do, finally standing and making his reach. He kept out of eye sight from the raging albino, hiding well until he reached Antonio and Francis’s playing domain.

 “Hi,” he shyly introduced himself.

 Antonio perked and gave a large smile, running over and even embracing Lovino tightly, something the other was already used to, so he didn’t bother in pushing him off as he usually did, especially when he was trying to avoid getting a lot of attention…thus getting Gilbert’s attention.

 “Hi, Lovino! Are you okay? You look kind of scared,” the young Spanish boy worried.

 “Can I…can I play with you and Francis?” He asked yet with that very fear.

 “Of course, you can! Right now we’re trying to solve a murder mystery! Someone killed Dusky the mime and we think it was Dawny the clown!”

 And Lovino joined, partaking in all the action they imagined, using well the slide, the rock climbing, the toys, creating an array that had even others joining. Many began to notice, adults thinking it sweet, other children wanting to partake, even those that played along with Gilbert.

 “So, it was Ernest the bat this entire time,” Elizabeta wondered as she saw from one of the top levels of the jungle gym.

 “They shouldn’t have interrogated Spotti like they did,” Sadiq added.

 “What are you guys staring at anyways?” Gilbert finally dropped from the ceiling, getting between them and wanting a better watch. “What are they doing?” He demanded to know.

 “Solving a murder.”

 “They just finished interrogating Ernest the bat and they’re going to arrest him.” Sadiq pointed to Lovino, who for now, did the guard that was taking the bat plush away, meant to be hidden under the slide as the pretend prison.

 “Oh look, Lovino is playing,” Gilbert grinned evilly.

 “Leave him alone, Gilbert,” Elizabeta warned, but Gilbert scoffed.

 “I think someone should break in and free Ernest,” he decided, jumping over the rails, sliding down a pole, reaching the ground and running off to the scene.

 Lovino had just placed the plush, pretending to close an imaginary cell. “And you’re staying there forever!” He declared, thinking he could turn to deal with the injuries Justin the bear had suffered in the heist. He was completely unprepared for when a new presence slid well under the slide, arising dust into the air, making Lovino cough and wave his hands trying to get clearance. When it all settled, Ernest was not in his prison anymore, instead, in the high arms of Gilbert Beilschmidt at the other side of the slide.

 “It is not over! Ernest is free again! And he will not rest until he has his vengeance,” Gilbert shouted.

 “No! He has to stay in there!” Lovino went to get it back, but Gilbert was taller and could keep the plush high in the air, not a reach for Lovino no matter how hard he jumped.

 “Give it back! Give it back!”

 “No, I want to keep him!” Gilbert even went and embraced the plush.

 “He’s not yours!”

 “Not yours either!”

 “You weren’t even supposed to play!”

 “I can if I want to! You can’t boss me around!” They kept turning and jumping across the area, Gilbert even beginning to laugh loudly at Lovino’s continued attempts that were foolish now.

 “Why can’t you ever leave me alone?!” Lovino was getting furious, his grasps now more harsh, dangerous, his nails seeming to grow into claws now.

 “Cause, it’s fun! You always get so funny when you get like this!” And there was that laugh, evil and haunting in Lovino’s mind, annoying, and there was nothing more that he wanted than for it to stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

 One of those grasps became a push. It wasn’t hard, it was only a little touch to Gilbert’s stature, but it created an instant halting, Gilbert staring at the area he pushed for some sort of marking. There was nothing, but to Gilbert, the fact that Lovino dared touch him, was mark and insult enough. The glare he grew was predatory-like, his grip on Ernest the Bat harsh, Antonio and Francis fearing he would break it from where they stood staring.

 “You’re not…supposed…to touch me!” He shouted, throwing Ernest to the sand.

 “Then just leave me alone!” Lovino dared come forward with another push, but that very extend of his arms, Gilbert used them to throw him to the ground, beside the plush. The other kids scurried back in fear.

 Before Lovino was given a chance to stand, Gilbert was on him, kicking, punching, scratching and Lovino answered the same way. Children called, the scene one that began to take attention, Monika and Renata noticing, having to jump instantly to stop both their sons’ fighting. By the time both the mothers had departed them, both the boys were already covered in new cuts and bruises, Lovino sending a kick for another, Gilbert his own, both trying to break from their mothers’ hold to continue.

 “Gilbert! Gilbert! Stop! That is enough!” Monika shouted commandingly, having to embrace his whole body to get him to still any angered movement.

 “Lovino! Lovino! Calm down! Calm down! Stop this!” Renata in turn had to pick him up, hold him to his shoulder, rub his back, a lulling that always made its effect.

 They were causing a large stare, one that the mothers were beginning to find intrusive, and so both, with shared glances of apology, decided that it was best to leave and talk about this with their sons back in their own homes. As to not have anymore interactions, they quickly picked their things, having to pull apart Ludwig and Feliciano and leave hurriedly. Both the toddlers complained and cried, making it more difficult with their elders glaring and pouting as they made their way to their respective cars.

  Renata lived with her father, husband and two sons in the apartments above the restaurant, a pretty active street in the city almost as lively as it had been in Rome. Renata greeted the waiters and workers she knew worked this shift before taking the brightly red painted door that led upwards, the three meeting the delightful scent of freshly made lunch that even coated the stairs. Renata placed Feliciano on the ground, the little boy confidently, although with some difficulty, making the rest of his climb up.

 “Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!” He shouted as he ran towards the kitchen, crushing into the hold of his grandfather, who smiled, taking him up in his arms to kiss and blow raspberries on his stomach.

 “Yes! I have made lots of pasta for you and your brother to stuff yourselves!”

 Feliciano celebrated and Augusto laughed, expecting the same smile and eagerness from his older grandson, but he entered the room maddened, looking away from even all the tomatoes he had placed on the table.

 “And what’s with that face, piccolo pomodoro?” Augusto neared, wanting his embraces and kisses now, but Lovino huffed and moved back.

 “I hate Gilbert!” He proclaimed loudly.

 Augusto sighed, gazing over to Renata to hear a better explanation.

 “The usual,” she rolled her eyes.

 “What did he do this time?” Augusto picked up Lovino to sit on the counter, so he could tell his story at eye level.

 “I was playing with Antonio and Francis, we were solving this murder and had finally caught the culprit! We send him to prison, but Gilbert wanted to get him out! I told him he wasn’t supposed to, that he wasn’t even supposed to play and that he had to leave me alone. He pushed me and then we started fighting. Look what he did!” He raised the sleeve of his jacket to reveal his new bruises, which made Augusto lament, getting some ointments and napkins to help cure the area.

 “Well…at least I know you’re perfectly capable of protecting yourself,” Augusto sighed, even if it meant that he was fighting with one of his best friend’s grandson.

 “I gave it to him good, Nonno! He’ll have marks for days!” He exalted.

 “It’s not something to be proud of, Lovino. I would much prefer if you two actually…sat down and played nicely. Is it too much to ask?”

 “Yes it is! All Gilbert does is make fun of me and call me mean things,” Lovino pouted.

 “You’re right, but then you continue in his game and it just gets worst. How about next time, you compliment him or suggest something you can both do together,” he tried to create peace.

 “No!” Lovino decided, sure.

 “Come on…” Augusto wanted to convince him.

 “No! No! No! No! No!” Lovino shook his head fiercely, turning so harshly he began leaning to the side, almost falling from the top of the counter if Augusto haven’t gotten him right.

 “If you’re not going to, at least try to behave more whenever were with the Beilschmidts.”

 “I don’t like any of them, Nonno, not even Ludwig!”

 “He’s only two years old!”

 “Still don’t like him!”

 “But were all such good friends with them. We can’t just stop seeing them because you don’t like them.”

 “I would make me really happy if you did…” he saddened, looking down.

 “Lovino, mio caro.” Augusto took his chin, raising his hazel eyes back to his bright brown ones. “You don’t have to like them if you don’t want to, but you have to understand what they mean to us. When you’re older, and you’re no longer living in this household, you can do whatever you want and not see any of their faces again.” Lovino glowed at such wonderful days far in the future. “But for now, bare what you can, and try not to start a fight with Gilbert every time you’re in the same room.”

 And Lovino remained silent, adverting his eyes in a way that made Augusto know that no such things was happening any time soon. He sighed, he would just have to repeat this speech on and on until he could finally understand.

 “Go wash up and then we can have lunch, all right?”

 “Mhm!” His smile and energy was true as he got down from the counter and headed quickly.

 Augusto sighed and wondered on about what he could do.

  On Deutschland and Italia.

Union and Betrayals.

Leaving Hamburg.

 Yes, Germany and Italy have a vast history together that could might as well start with Ancient Rome and the Germanic tribes. Something that constantly repeats between these two countries is incredible moments of union…and then those of ultimate betrayal. Sure, both were in the ‘I hate Austria’ club and parts of Italy were part of the once Holy Roman Empire and the German confederation, but we can’t forget that in both world wars, they would begin allied…only to end betraying each other in massacres. Despite this, they formed an alliance during the cold war and now they are both leading members of the European Union.

 Such a thing to ruin the relationship with the Beilschmidts and the Valenti has not happened, but the closest that came to it was when we had to leave Hamburg about twenty years ago.

  Such departure was celebrated, in a fine dinner that both Gilbert Beilchmidt and Lovino Valenti were forced to wear tight suits, fitted for their small figures. They both spent much of the celebration trying to remove what they could…only to have their mothers tighten or put back whatever they left in the tables or chairs. With whatever fun they tried to find, they still ended spending much of the celebration just sitting in different tables, pouting and talking about how they wanted to leave.

 In the three years Lovino had lived in Hamburg, Aldrich and Augusto had constantly repeated the advice to both their grandsons, yet neither had done fair to their words. Their fights, problems and hatred only increased in number, in fact, they only glared at each other whenever they had to meet during the feast. At one point it seemed like a competition, since they would sit for minutes just sending hatred with their eyes. Aldrich and Augusto couldn’t keep their arms off from each other, Monika and Renata couldn’t stop talking, and Ludwig and Feliciano wouldn’t stop crying. Gilbert and Lovino wanted to get away from each other.

 Finally, at deep late hours, Renata had come to place her hands gently on Lovino’s shoulders, after having them clean the tears that fell down her cheeks. “Ready to go?”

 For once in the entire dinner, did Lovino actually smile, sure that that glare would be the last he would give to Gilbert Beilschmidt, as well as the last time he would see his annoying white hair, viola eyes and ultimate paleness.

 On Deutschland and Italia.

The Eurozone Crisis.

Returning to Hamburg.

 Germans like to believe that they are the knights in shining armor coming to save a damsel in distress Italy from some far-off tower in our current crisis. If you dare tell me that, you’re earning yourself an easy punch in the face or an ultimate cursing that will be felt across your entire lineage.

 This is incredibly untrue, in fact, Italy has been helping countries like Greece, Spain and Ireland more so than Germany has done. I believe the Germans made all this ploy to get cheaper shopping sprees and take our companies for themselves.

 Let me make this clear, I hate Germany, and I could easily make an entire new blog dedicated to my desire to burn the place to the ground. Then why return? Why after twenty years did I decide to return to the city that all I can remember about is nightmares, cold, bad food and an annoying albino making it worst. Easy, because Germany could give me an opportunity that Italy tragically could not. My story is not the first to happen to an Italian, it is a constantly repeated tale that you can find in any other Italian blog, or you can hear any young Italian say.

 Germany is not only taking our goods and money. They’re also taking Italy’s brightest minds. Why does this happen? Easy…because Italy is falling apart and we are left with no other choice than to leave for England, or the U.S., or of course, Germany.

 Italy owes more than two trillion euros and whenever we think we have that money, it just suddenly disappears (corruption, obviously).

 So I’m left with no other choice than to come back and accept this barbarian country as my new home.

 I’m twenty-five, independent even when living above my grandfather’s restaurant with the rest of my family in the same building, my own job, my own car, my own wishes, plans…which means I at least don’t have to face those disgusting Beilschmidts again.

  He kicked the door open, finally bringing in the last box, dropping it to the floor and then pushing it to join the others. He groaned knowing he had to unbox and organize. He had just arrived and was in no mood to deal with anything else, wondering if he should just take a nap. When he heard the exciting and rushing steps coming up the staircase, he knew that chance for rest was not going to occur at all.

 “You are finally here!” His grandfather just crashed into the apartment, hands all over the place, his body seeming to bring an entire parade with him.

 Lovino rolled his eyes but readied his opened hands to take and accept the hug Augusto always greeted him with. He was spun, with a couple of bones cracked before he was placed back on the ground.

 “So, have you started?” Augusto was too wondered as he gazed about the apartment, empty but for a couple of appliances.

 “No, and I don’t think I want to today.” The only thing Lovino settled on taking out was a bean chair, throwing it in what would be the center of the living room, then falling upon it, closing his eyes and settling himself already for a nap.

 “Don’t be such a lazy ass!” Augusto scolded and clapped his hands to keep him awake. “Come on, I’ll help you! Where do we start?” He went ahead and opened the nearest stacked box, a fragile one with a lot of flower decorated plates Lovino had gotten in Sicily.

 How his almost eighty-year-old grandfather could so readily take a pile and place them already in their cabinet with energy to continue was beyond him, he was still not moving from his spot. He took out a pair of sunglasses and decided he would settle no matter what his grandfather would do. Augusto was not accepting it though, and as he turned around to get to the other boxes, he kicked the bean bag until Lovino was tumbling over to the ground.

 “What the hell?!” Lovino shouted in his usual angry fires.

 “Come on! Let’s get to it! The sooner you have everything, the sooner you can get to taking all the siestas you want.” Augusto had learned to be unfazed by it all.

 Pouting, Lovino stood, angrily kicking the bean bag himself, throwing the sunglasses and opening harshly a box of decorated cups.

 “You know, when Feliciano had first moved here, he couldn’t keep still. He had his whole apartment ready that weekend to accept guests,” Augusto recalled as he found some vases that could be used at the counter to decorate.

 “Nonno, it was extremely obvious he did it to impress Ludwig and to end up getting fucked that night.”

 “Your younger brother is an angel who will not do such things. He told me he was going to wait till marriage and I’m sure of his word.”

 Lovino rolled his eyes and didn’t bother continuing forward. “Whatever. Feliciano was excited to come here, I’m not.”

 “Yet you’re here.”

 “Because I had no other choice. If it was up to me, I would still be in Naples right now.” There was such sadness in his voice as he picked some books to place on a nice shelf in the living room.

 “And I’m sure that there will be many other chances for you to return. Hamburg has a lot to offer you as a beautiful young Italian man.”

 To be honest, Lovino loved it when his grandfather complimented like he did, as if he was presenting him to an important crowd. For a moment he could forget about that weigh of stress, happily moving about boxes now, trying to get more kitchen related items.

 “After you have everything you need from here, something bright will await you once again in Naples,” Augusto was sure as he placed jars now.

 “I want to be back by the end of the year,” Lovino had promised himself.

 “And you will, but for now, try to be happy here. All will work well, you’ll see.”

                                                                                               next chapter >

[written-in-sunshine]

Don’t Be Scared - Michael/Firkle Smith - SFW

Title: Don’t Be Scared Author: Donnie Fandom: South Park Setting: Michael’s House Pairing: Vague Michael/Firkle Characters: Michael, Firkle Smith, Michael’s Stepmom, Firkle’s Parents Genre: Friendship/Hurt/Comfort/Spiritual Rating: T Chapters: 1/1 Word Count: 1240 Type of Work: One-Shot Status: Complete Warnings: Canon Ages, Child Abuse, Mentions of Alcohol Abuse, Obsessive Behavior Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Summary: Michael knew he had to say and do something. Firkle hung on every word. AN: Alright, hey, guys! I’m excited to get back to writing for South Park, I’ve taken too long of a hiatus. Get ready for more goth kids stuff, I guess. xD I hope you guys are ready for this! This is vaguely based off of a song, called Don’t Be Scared by Andrew Bird. Here we go! EDIT: This is mega old. Sorry. I have sixteen fics to post and seventeen that need edited. If you’re someone that can edit for all kinds of fandoms, please message me. I really need some help. Fandoms needed for betaing what I have so far: Saw, Insidious, Insidious/Saw Crossover, Fallout 3, Heathers, Heathers/Dismissed Crossover, South Park/TheVVitch Crossover, Assassin's Creed, Kick-Ass, Left 4 Dead 2, Dragon Age and Until Dawn.

South Park Fic Masterlist Don't Be Scared ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Head hung low, Firkle stood in front of the door that seemed to tower over him like a looming nightmare. Usually, he hung out with all three of his friends, but Henrietta had been drug off for “family time” and Pete was firmly burrowed beneath eight blankets at home with a good book. That left him running to Michael's house alone.

Even Michael's crazy step-mom didn't deter him as much as actually staying alone with his idol did. She hadn't questioned the bruise on his cheek, had barely noticed the child slinking into her house without knocking. But Michael would be alone with him, and might as well have been omnipotent in the eyes of the child suddenly terrified of him. It stilled his small hands on the door frame, slowed the extension of his body to reach the knob, but when he finally turned it, the fear in him drained. Michael lay on his bed, the room dark save for the clumps of pillar candles arranged randomly about it, hands on the electric guitar that he insisted he’d learn to play someday. It rest in his lap, and he tapped along to the Concrete Blonde song currently creeping from his speakers, and the whole scene brought out an odd side of the kindergartener before him. With the light dancing on his already sharp features, the fifth grader was transported from this realm and straight to the stars, to the time in history when there was none other to speak of.  Suddenly so confused as to why he’d been confused, the boy took a few steps in, reverent of entering his graven image’s sacred space. With a cigarette perched between his lips, the elder male shifted dark chocolate eyes to him and snorted a little through his nose.  “Hurry up and close the door.” His stepmom would kill him if she had to hear the opening to Jonestown again today, and the door was a better buffer than Firkle’s small body. While Michael didn’t see it as an order, so much as an expectation, Firkle nearly leapt to do just as he was asked, before shyly skirting around the bed. He didn’t often sit on the same plane as Michael, if only because of his own twisted need to keep him on a pedestal. There was no need to sully a God’s presence with that of a sunken mortal. The silence stretched between them, filled only with the beat to the song adjusting for the chorus and Michael’s occasionally louder thumps against the guitar. Between the two of them, three cigarettes ended up crumpled in the ashtray beside one of the elder goth’s already long legs, and those ever observant eyes found the younger boy’s face. Suddenly, everything seemed sharp and too bright, too quick to focus on everything at once. Firkle found himself pinned down beneath Michael, the elder goth’s hands holding his jaw and head respectively, and his oceanic blue eyes never left the elder’s. There was a dark look in them, the kind of primal anger that came with upsetting someone that should have been able to call down death on anyone that required it. “Who did that?” He asked, voice bordering on a shaky almost-whisper. When Firkle’s gaze faltered and his purple stained lips parted, closed and parted again, he shook the smaller’s head a little. “Who, Firkle?” Much as he was a new part of the group, the youngest member and definitely the craziest, it didn’t stop Michael from feeling an odd protectiveness over him. If someone was giving him shit and going so far as to leave him bruised and silent, well, that person was going to get a cane up the ass. “My… Mom.” Firkle finally squeaked, his voice unnaturally high and perhaps slightly more cracked than he had expected. The look the two boys shared in that moment conveyed so many things at once that Firkle was dizzy with the revelation that his God must have accepted him as part of the flock.  “Why.” It wasn’t a question, and Michael could tell he probably sounded harsh. How many times had his own stepmother reached out and popped him one because he wasn’t what she wanted? It wasn’t a secret that Firkle was no more a pariah than when he was at home with his family. Even Michael found it to be tense, and he wasn’t the best at gauging social situations he wasn’t in total control of.  “I don’t know.” That seemed to be what broke him, however, and a tear slipped down his cheek. It burned when it hit the taller male’s hand and he nearly recoiled with a hiss as he shook his head. No, tears were for pussies, and Firkle was the most hardcore kid he’d ever met in his life. Tears wouldn’t work here, he had to do something. “Sh, sh, hey. No. We don’t do that.” Tears showed weakness, and if there was anything that Michael knew well, it was that weakness wasn’t tolerated in any society. Pulling back and tugging the smaller form along with him, he held him against his chest. “What’s got you so scared? I didn’t think you knew how to cry.” “I… Don’t want to die.” When Firkle finally said it, finally articulated all of the thoughts that went through his head because his parents couldn’t be trusted with him, well, Michael knew better than to be an ass. If nothing else, Firkle’s loyalty meant that Michael wouldn’t be at the wrong end of a knife, but the kid had already started to grow on him.  “Don’t be scared of something like that.” Michael’s voice was quiet, calm, suddenly, like the first few notes of a song before the drums crashed in, “Don’t. You don’t have to worry about something stupid like death.” Maybe putting these thoughts into the head of an impressionable five year old was dangerous, but what else could he do? The kid needed something, anything to hold onto, and if he clung to Michael’s button-up any tighter he just might rip it in half, “Death is a beginning, not an end.” Sometimes, the tallest goth could be more eloquent and profound than anything Firkle had ever heard. The smaller goth’s body melted from a tense line to the simple clinging of an insect to its current mode of travel. He closed his eyes slowly and meditated on the words, it seemed, focusing on Michael’s breathing and syncing his own with it. The elder goth hummed softly, a rumble in his chest that seemed to calm the savage beast still using him for a seat, and he pet his hands through the other’s hair. “Death is a beginning, right, Michael?” Firkle finally asked, after what felt like eons of silence, even after the Concrete Blonde CD had finally spun its last track.  “Right.” Absently kissing Firkle’s head, Michael sighed. “Your parents won’t miss you tonight, right?” Considering his mother had been neck deep in a bottle of wine and his father had been half out of his mind with whatever he’d been yelling at upstairs, Firkle was safe in thinking he’d be better off here. “Right, yeah.” “You’re staying.” And when someone like Michael told you something in that tone of voice, even if you could have ripped out his throat with your teeth in a second, you listened. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AN: Man, it’s been a while since I wrote for my boys. And I don’t know that I have written for them all that much as actual kids, so this was… Refreshing. I hope you guys enjoyed!

[meggannn]

(based on your previous ask) do you mind if I ask how you feel about lok? is there a general consensus if it's good or bad? youre really insightful and just wanted to know if there were any major issues you had with it

yeah sure, i’ll do my best. if you want a quick answer to your question, here is a link to some of my other korra posts where i say pretty much the same thing as i do here, just in fewer words. cause this post will be mostly an unhappy summary of my experience watching the show. this post will contain spoilers, and disclaimer, i am a really biased, disappointed asshole, so i’ll just admit that now. 

short answer: i liked the concept of lok more than the product we got. a lot of that is because you had a physically buff brown wlw protagonist written mostly by cishet white men and, as you can imagine, it wasn’t handled great. when i think of lok now i tend to fluctuate between bittersweet nostalgia and quiet, simmering rage.

if you don’t care about the show summary, skip at the middle paragraph break down to my tldr.

so for those who don’t know, LOK was really my first “big” fandom on tumblr. when it was announced, a bunch of ATLA purists were already hating on it because 1) brown woman, 2) it was unrealistic to go from ATLA’s technology to streampunk in 70 years, and 3) it wasn’t ATLA, basically. it was my first big interest that i got to participate in as it was airing, and i was really excited about it. i defended it, i wrote meta, i liveblogged, i wrote tons of fic and spammed theories/wants before the damn show even had a release date. all that is to say, i was Invested, and i believed in it before i even saw it. people called me a bnf, i’m not sure if that’s true, but i did gain a lot my followers in my first few years on tumblr by posting korra stuff. a lot of them – hello – i think are still around today (i’m not certain how all the video games hasn’t scared them off yet)

i should say at this point that my opinion of LOK the show has been really wrapped up in the ugly stain left by the fanbase. korra the character has been the subject of tons of racist, misogynistic criticism since the moment we saw her back; when she showed up on screen as a proud young woman who fought with authority and stood up for herself, that was the nail in the coffin for her reputation. i agreed that she had a bit of growing up to do, because ATLA/LOK have always been stories about coming of age and maturing, but i disagreed strongly with this notion that she deserved to be “humbled,” which is what a lot of fans were looking for.

the overall consensus on if it’s “good” depends on who you ask. most people agree that ATLA is better overall: it was better plotted because it benefited from more writers in the room and more episodes to flesh out the world. opinions on LOK specifically range based a lot on their opinions of the K/orra/sami pairing, if they were involved in or what side they were on in any of the fandom wank, and also just complete random chance.

i’ll go more in depth into my ‘history’ with the show below, but i just wanted to mention that all the while the show was airing, korra was being hit with waves of criticism by so-called fans for basically being a confident brown woman who were calling for her to learn her place, respect her elders, etc. another common theme was fandom’s brilliant fucking idea that asami, a light-skinned feminine non-bending woman who was more polite and reserved than korra, would’ve made a better avatar. because you know why. (korra was often described as brutal, rough, unsophisticated, next to pretty, perfect asami. and asami is a fine character, to be clear, but that’s what she was – fine. nothing really stands out about her, which is a fault of the writing, because she had a lot of potential too.) so anyway all of this did sour my mood toward engaging with other fans outside my friend circle.

–

it was around maybe the middle of book 1 that i realized the writing for the show was simpler than what i was expecting – not that it was childish, which it was (because it was written for children, i understood that), but i felt like the plot meandered and the twists came out of nowhere. it felt like they were making it up as they were going, and it opened threads it didn’t answer. one of the biggest threads was the equalist revolution, which was a very sensitive topic that got jettisoned when the leader was revealed to be a fraud, and that devalued the entire movement in an instant. really disappointing, because i was looking forward to seeing that addressed. for a lot of people, this was a dealbreaker, and they started walking. i stuck with it, but loosely.

book 2 aired, focusing on the spiritual world and some really cool history. it still suffered a lot from awkward b-plots and loose threads it didn’t know how to tackle. korra lost her memory and then regained it 2 episodes later with no consequences, mako flip-flopped between korra and asami because bryke don’t know how to write teenage romances without making it a love triangle, and at some point bolin kissed a girl against her will and they didnt acknowledge that at all? i honestly don’t remember. anyway at the end of book 2, even though korra saves the day and prevents the world from descending into darkness for ten thousand years, due to events beyond her control, korra loses the spiritual connection that ties her to all of the previous avatars – aang, roku, kyoshi, wan, everyone. and people hit the fucking ceiling. “korra’s not a real avatar if she lost her connection to the old ones! that’s the entire point of the cycle! this show is bullshit, it’s not canon anymore!” (the entire point that finale demonstrated that korra’s power alone was enough to save the world and she didn’t need anyone else. but people found that ~unrealistic~ i guess). as you can imagine, being a fan of LOK is starting to get a little tiring by now.

books 3-4 is where the korra haters got to love the show again, because they were both straight-up torture porn. after everything she did saving the world, this is the arc where korra got beat down, tortured, dragged into the dirt, swallowed and spat back out. book 3 is a lot of people’s favorites because it was the first book that felt fully plotted out before it was put on air, which is why i enjoyed it too. but for me it was difficult to see a girl, whose identity revolved around being the avatar after being raised and sheltered to think it was all she was good for, effectively abandon her life and even her name by the beginning of book 4 because the events of book 3 were that traumatizing for her. somehow this was character development. we were encouraged to stick with it because we hoped korra would find herself again. and she did, sorta.

but it makes me furious that people who had quit in books 1-2 came back during 3 because they heard these books were better – aka book 3, the book that featured korra the least, and books 3-4 in which korra got her ass handed to her in some of the hardest fights vs some of the cruelest villains of the series. (nevermind that the book 3 villains suffer from the anime villain curse: they quickly went from “cool character design” to “wait, how does this rando group of villains show up with powers literally no one in the universe has ever heard before?” – questions no one ever answers)

anyway book 4 is a mish-mash of… i’m not sure. i’ve rewatched all the books but i don’t know if i’ll ever touch this one again. the culturally appropriating airbender wannabe, zaheer (a complete rando who somehow masters airbending enough to fly, which was a huge middle finger to airbending masters aang and tenzin for no reason) a guy who literally tortured korra one season before and put her in a wheelchair, is the one who the writers send korra to for her spiritual awakening that lets her save the day. not tenzin or jinora, her spiritual teachers with whom she has positive, healthy relationships – they send her back to her abuser who terrifies and degrades her a bit more before deciding to help. this was a pattern: the writers made both korra and asami face their abusers (in asami’s case, her father) for catharsis instead of gaining peace over their trauma another, healthier way because…. i’m not sure why. there is no reason why. and then there’s the guilt tripping nonsense of asami feeling as if she had to forgive her father, who tried to kill her, because he said he was sorry and sacrificed himself for her in the finale. it’s angst galore, if you like that kind of thing, which i normally do, except this is less angst and more just the writers trying to hammer in torture porn, grimdark, and poor attempts at morally gray nonsense into their finale season.

anyway at the end of her journey, korra, our buff brown woc, learns that she had to suffer to learn how to be compassionate and relate to her enemy. i’m not exaggerating, she literally says that. which is lovely.

–

tldr: i wasted a lot of emotional time and energy into this show and was extremely disappointed when some of the ending’s notes were “you had to suffer to become a better person” and “forgive your abusers/villains because aren’t we all the same in the end?”

but also on a strictly narrative level, LOK also bit off way more than it could chew both emotionally and thematically. it had an amazing premise, but it was not committed to

utilizing the steampunk genre to its best potential in the bending world (after the creativity in the rest of the worldbuilding, the LOK series finale was literally fighting a giant robot – seriously?)

giving its hero the respect and character arc she deserved. and i don’t say that because i think korra had no growing up to do in b1, she did, but she didn’t deserve for it to happen like that.

so basically i realized that a lot of the writers that made ATLA great weren’t brought back for LOK, and it showed. i realized that the LOK writers, when they listened to fans, were listening to the fans that whined the loudest, or (more likely, since they plan seasons years before we see them) they thought from the beginning that it was a good idea for korra to go through years’ worth of pain just to be spat out a humbler, “better” person

the reason i told you all that about me defending LOK in the beginning is because i need you to understand that i believed in LOK longer than i probably should’ve. i wanted it to be everything i was expecting in a diverse children’s show with an unorthodox female protaganist. but just because they had a brown wlw heroine doesn’t mean that they deserved to be praised for it when they treated her like garbage.

and korra and asami walk into a beam of light together in the last second of the show and i’m supposed to applaud the writers for their bravery or something

[riverdalefandomlove]

tumblr url(s): @oleekingcole Name or nickname: My name is Amanda Teenage, college-age or Tumblr elder: A young Tumblr elder? I’m 30. Location (vague or specific): Northeast Ohio (USA) Non-English languages that people can contact you in(if any): Eh sorry. I’m only fluent in English. Favorite Riverdale characters and ships: I really love all the characters, but my ships are just Bughead and Varchie. Oh, and Cheronica.  Favorite Moment in Season 1: Probably the entire episode of 1x10. I love the dynamic and the cinematography. Also, the kitchen counter scene obviously. A hope for/something you want to see happen in Season 2: Exploring the RiverParents dynamic. I think we’re going to get a little bit of this at least and I’m super excited. Also, Kevin. I know he gets his own storyline this season and it’s going to be dark and scary. I’m totally into it. Main/Current Other fandoms you’re into: Supernatural was my other big fandom. I’m not really involved in it now though. I like all sorts of things. I loved Parks and Rec, the Office, New Girl, Lucifer, Arrow, etc. and so forth. Something non-fandom you love: My family. Reading. COFFEE. One of your fave movies/music/books (type or specific): Movies: I like a ton of movies. It’s hard to choose just one. But right now I’m gonna say Practical Magic. Music: I love everything. LITERALLY EVERYTHING. Books: My favorite series ever written is by Elizabeth Hunter and it’s called The Elemental Mysteries series. Read it. So fucking good. I think I’ve read it like 6 times all the way through plus a few of her novels which accompany the series. How do you participate in fandom? (i.e do you squee, make or consume fandom content, etc.): I add my two cents onto any given post on any given day, I make Cole Sprouse Appreciation Posts, I write sometimes. For content creators (ficwriters, fanartists, etc.) are you open to collaboration?: Absolutely and always. It’s hard to stay on track sometimes and having someone there to force you to continue is really awesome. What you want to get out of your time in Riverdale fandom: Friends and fun! People should totally message you about these things: Jughead Jones, Dylan Sprouse, Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, Daddy Skeet, literally any other actor or character on Riverdale, Supernatural, life in general, whatever I don’t care I’m really open to discussing whatever :)

[wolfieonatypewriter]

Bayojeanne Week 7 - Dancing With You

Fandom: Bayonetta

Ship: Bayonetta/Jeanne

Summary: The world upstairs was filled with music and dancing witches but Cereza's world had been lit with something altogether much more special.

A/N: Fact of life: this fic has been written for 3 years and it has a lot of other friends sitting in my files, for reasons I cannot comprehend. The missing prompts are furiously being written and I *really* wanna post up my AU prompt today. So here goes prompt 7, hope you like!

There was a faint sound that filtered through the upper levels into the moonlit training room down below. The skylight was the only source of illumination at that hour, the torches had long since been put out and the full moon provided plenty of light into the ring.

If Cereza strained, she could almost hear the music of the Winter Ball and imagine the worthy denizens of their home as they danced and twirled with their respective partners. The joy and laughter upstairs must have been something amazing to see.

She slumped further down the pillar she was standing on, the ice cold ground hitting her legs suddenly and making her flinch a little.

It was cold like Inferno and her breath misted, settling uncomfortably on her lungs. At fifteen years of age, she had enough magic in her that she most likely wouldn’t get sick but when she was younger, her birthday always meant sickness and fever.

Cereza, not for the first time, wondered what would be like if she was allowed to attend all the balls, dances and nice things the witches did.

Jeanne tried to describe them as best as she could, finding her books with illustrations of glittering coats and flowing dresses but she was sure the reality had to be so much more stunning.

It was a silly thought, that she would ever be able to go to such an event but didn't stop her from dreaming of attending.

Dreaming of going down the crystal steps Jeanne talked about, being announced to the whole room, like she mattered, like she was important and everyone would stare in awe at her during her descend.

She’d meet her partner, Jeanne of course, in a stunning midnight blue dress or perhaps a finely tailored suit and just...dance the night away. At the end of it, like in mummy’s stories, she’d lead her out into the gardens and maybe even finally find the courage to kiss her under the moonlight.

She snorted in self pity and hugged herself closer. Dreams were nice but they did nothing to fix her more pressing issues, like winter was coming into full swing and the keeper of the laundry room was paying way too much attention lately. If they’d just give her the old things…

She sighed and rubbed her arms, the chill making her back contract painfully. She'd have to fashion herself a new sweater with the old covers she had found the other day or else she’d freeze in the coming months.

That’s what she got for taking time from doing clothes upkeep to train with Jeanne but their afternoon had been so good. Except when Jeanne had accidentally grabbed her boob to push her away and they both had stumbled into each other which had led to lots of awkward apologies.

Maybe she should go see her mother, at least that way she'd forget the cold for a bit and maybe mummy would tell her of the balls she used to go to.

The sound of heeled footsteps, light but decisive and commanding, the cadence of someone who knew exactly where they wanted to go broke the distant sounds of music and Cereza panicked.

Who on Paradiso would be down here at this hour?! If they caught her in here again, they’d shove inside a cell for who knew how many days. Upside of that would be actual decent meals guaranteed three times a day but the scorn and hate were too much for her and also, most importantly, no Jeanne.

She was halfway through her bolt hole, a well hidden latch that led to the sewers, when a very familiar and rather welcome voice called out.

"Cereza? You here?" Jeanne said, striding in all the glory of the heir to the throne and Cereza was breathless at the scene.

Her hair was down in a loose braid, glittering jewels and gold woven in to make it look like she was sparkling all on its own and the red silk dress fit her so well, layers of white and golden ribbons adorning the cloth so perfectly Cereza couldn't but think of her as the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.

"Yeah...you kinda scared me. I was thinking it was one of the guards." She approached her friend and Jeanne looked so ridiculously out of context in the dimly lit training room, a beautiful princess adorned with the most precious jewels, ready to grace the masses with her presence, it was almost a sin.

Though Cereza, lowly pariah whose clothes were mostly all patches, was so very glad she was there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought..." Jeanne blushed a bit and looked down, kicking some dirt around bashfully. "Just thought the party was not the same without you." She smiled at her and Cereza’s heart sped up

Oh… Had the guest of honor of the most important social event of the year just sneak away to be with her?

"So I decided to mix them both. You and the party." With those words, she fished a small blue gem from her Umbran watch and laid it over her palm.

Pouring a little magic into it, the jewel levitated into life and a soft melody started playing. Cereza instantly recognized the tune but her joy was short lived when a gloved hand extended her way.

"I, er, I don't know how to dance and I've no clothes and..." Jeanne shook her head and chuckled, approaching her slowly and laying her hand on the small of Cereza's back. "...my butt is cold" She finished lamely, her cheeks burning a bright red at their closeness but she didn’t fight her friend’s invitation for a dance.

"That is most inconvenient. Maybe a spot of dancing will fix points one and three?" And before Cereza knew it she was being led around the circle with only minimal clumsiness on her end, though certainly she owed that to the expert dancer seeing her through the paces and not any inherent talents on her end.

After a while, she had gotten the hang of about part of the rhythm, enough that she wouldn’t be too foolish at it. All of her newly gained skills evaporated and she fumbled again when Jeanne brought her that much closer to her body, the distance between them now pretty much nonexistent.

Wow, up close her lips had the most attractive shade of red and Cereza found she couldn’t stop looking at them. She wondered how she had failed to notice how pretty Jeanne's lips were up until that very moment.

They looked so soft and silky and all she wanted to do was lean in and see if they actually felt like that too...

A boom cracked in the night and the teens looked up, spell seemingly broken. A shower of glittering fireworks filtered through the skylight, signaling midnight.

"Seems we've danced the night away, just like in the books." Jeanne said in a husky whisper, breaking their silence and biting her lower lip as she looked into Cereza’s blue eyes.

It was basically now or never.

"This was so much fun. I didn't even tell you, you look beautiful...I mean! You are always beautiful but that cleavage, wait no the necklace...the necklace goes well with the dress..." Cereza would have done better headbutting the Elder at that moment instead of opening her stupid, dumb mouth.

Before she could further embarrass herself, a soft pair of lips were on hers and all rational thought fled her that very second.

It was fleeting and altogether too short, no more than closed eyes and a press but it left them both slightly out of breath.

"Thank you. I picked it out just for you."

They were a hundred times softer and silkier than they looked.

In the cells nearby, Rosa smiled softly.

Her little Cerecita was growing up.

[onceuponamirror]

tumblr url(s): onceuponamirror Name or nickname: sarah Teenage, college-age or Tumblr elder: are these my only options??? college or elder? i’m in my early-mid twenties, let me cling to my youth a bit longer Location (vague or specific): california Non-English languages that people can contact you in(if any): sorry, my grasps on french and spanish are so limited like  Favorite Riverdale characters and ships: betty n jug, both together and separately. cheryl too. as far as ships, beyond bughead, i’m pretty much interested in anything---i like both varchie and cheronica, but i’m feeling very optimistic about cheryl x toni (teryl? choni? my cheroni sung to the tune of my sharona?) Favorite Moment in Season 1: i thought from the bughead fight through till their make up at pop’s later in the ep was really important and beautiful, and part of what made such a fundamental difference in other ships, where they argue about their insecurities and then consciously work towards moving past them.  A hope for/something you want to see happen in Season 2: i just want the serious topics introduced (mental health issues, predatory sexual abuse, parental abuse, opioid crisis to name a few) to be handled with respect and open up a positive dialogue within the show tbh Main/Current Other fandoms you’re into: i mean i watch a lot of other shows, wouldn’t say i’m necessarily within those fandoms per se? but i’ve done a few meta posts for agents of shield, and obv a lot for ouat.  Something non-fandom you love: i’m an art girl  One of your fave movies/music/books (type or specific): i like art/sociology/psychology/city planning books, or just nonfiction that explores cultural/societal issues. i do like fiction, particularly good, healthy romance, i just haven’t read one i liked in a long time. music wise. right now i’m really interested in people that are exploring sound. really into 80s synth at the moment, but i always love folk music. and fleetwood mac. always always fleetwood mac. How do you participate in fandom? (i.e do you squee, make or consume fandom content, etc.): i do meta/analysis and write fic. occasionally i do a bit of doodling but much less so.  For content creators (ficwriters, fanartists, etc.) are you open to collaboration?: i’m currently collaborating with @jeemyjamz​ on a fic, but i’m open to it! the fic war game that @stillscape and @lessoleilscouchants are doing looks cool, where you trade off chapters in response to the one the person before you wrote. beyond that, i think i’m prob a bit too much of a control freak to share a story-story.  What you want to get out of your time in Riverdale fandom: escapist exploration of self, through heavy analysis and storytelling!  People should totally message you about these things: meta!! analysis!!!! i love talking shop in terms of structure of stories and character arcs or intentions. i also love talking writing and process. i also love talking. period. so 

y’all should do this, also!!!

@riverdalefandomlove

[kipaia]

2016 Writing Review

Tagged by @zombolouge​, whom I blame for half of this (in a good way, I swear) ^.^

Total number of completed stories

Lmao this is assuming I actually finished one

Total word count

121,713 for 2016 O.O I’ma be completely honest, I did not realize I’d written that much

Fandoms written in

Dragon Age, with a small dabble into Cosmere and I haven’t posted anything for it yet but there’s a Mass Effect fic on the horizon

Looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?

I only just started writing right at the end of 2015, and I don’t think I ever expected to end up loving it this much or definitely writing this much *pats self on back*

What’s your own favorite story of the year?

Lyrium’s Bane, though I have a definite soft spot in my soul for Tiny Miracles.

Did you take any writing risks this year?

AHAHA I WROTE????? That felt like a huge risk-thing for me, and then people apparently like stuff I write and that was like ??????? Nah but I planned out and am in the process of writing a huge freaking long fic with a modern character in thedas from first person POV and idk what I was thinking with ANY OF THAT but it is somehow turning out ok???? XD

Best story of the year?

Lyrium’s Bane. It’s my baby.

Most popular story of the year?

ALSO LYRIUM’S BANE mwuahaha though What Lies Where Sight Denies is a fairly close second

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

Tiny MIracles. It’s relatively simple and it has a premise that a lot of people probably feel has been done to death (Cullen x Childhood Friend) but Annabelle is amazing and what she goes through is amazing and the way she realizes that things don’t have to be that way and starts throwing shit around (which . . . none of you have seen because I haven’t actually posted any of that XD ) IT’S ALL JUST AMAZING OK????

Most fun story to write:

Lyrium’s Bane. It’s been great because I’ll get somewhere and write something and be like “Hmm you know that could totally have something to do with Thing A” and then suddenly I have a subplot connecting Thing J to Thing A that completely skips Thing D but will greatly affect Thing P down the line and SOMEHOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE I SWEAR

Story with the single sexiest moment

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA idk. I don’t think I have any particularly sexy moments, but if you think I’m wrong feel free to correct me XD

Most sweet story:

THIS FLUFF WHICH IS THE BEST FLUFF IN THE ENTIRE GODDAMN UNIVERSE AND NOBODY FUCKING APPRECIATES IT

“Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you!” story:

The as yet unpublished Trespasser Sequel to LB. I have all the worst parts written, and I am so, so sorry T.T

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:

Everything? All the time? I HAVE NO IDEA. Ok no there is one that totally caught me off guard, but I feel like it’s cheating a bit because it was with Ila but I was writing a scene and like her natural reaction caught me off guard and I was like “Why did she do that?” and then I realized she has horrible separation anxiety and I pretty much cried. Ok wait no one more I was also writing interactions with Ila and the elder Hawke Twins and got some different perspectives on the Hawkes and how the events of DA2 could affect them, especially moving forward O.O

Most unintentionally telling story:

Tiny Miracles. Not for what happens to Annabelle, specifically, but because she is me and her reactions are my reactions and her mentality is my mentality and her stupidity is my stupidity and the way she holds back from the things she loves is the same as I do and . . . yeah. Tiny Miracles.

Hardest story to write:

LB because it’s complex, TM because it’s me, and TU because it’s me at my absolute worst.

Biggest disappointment:

That nobody seems to love the above fluff the way I do ^.^ No but for real, probably that I didn’t write more, but honestly everything else has been so over the top. I never really expected anyone to read my stuff, let alone for several people to apparently freaking love it. It’s been amazing.

Biggest surprise:

The people who I’ve met and grown to love through writing. I had none, absolutely no idea how important some of y’all would be to me. You guys are here and so kind even when I’m an absolute shit and even when I am not in good places (like now) and it’s not something I’m used to and it’s a bit overwhelming but I would never in a million years trade any of you for anything <3

(not tagging people but you can say I tagged you ^.^ )

[kepesh-yakshi]

I’ve been tagged!!!

I was tagged by @wyndx (you’re awesome!) great questions in this one!  I’m going to answer yours, my fair tumbling friend!

Rules:

a) Always post the rules, answer the questions, then write 11 questions of your own.

b) Tag 11 people.

1. Do you have a hobby outside of gaming?

I have a few, though gaming has been taking up most of my recent time.  1) I am a writer by both hobby and pseuo career (aka, I do not yet make enough to cover any bills, but I get something for it sometimes).  2) I love archery, and thus play an archer in most of my games.  My favorite bow is my newest:  a Bear Cruzer, it’s blaze orange, though I don’t count it as one of my “required orange” wearables. To be honest, I like to deck out in all blaze, so other human hunters can see me while most animals can’t discern my orange from actual camo.  3) Most of my work life has been devoted to security of some kind.  I spent ten years with the TSA, and now am in retail security, and though it is my job, it’s also a major interest, and in a way, hobby of mine.  Enough so that I read and chat with others in the field about it.

2. What Dragon Age companion could you see yourself actually hanging out with in real life?

Honestly?  Cassandra.  In real life, my closest friends (I have three) are all tall, strong, beautiful women, all but one are of culture aka, they choose a non-mainstream lifestyle and are proud of their heritage or path or belief(s), yet are still welcoming, open-minded, intelligent, forthright, and forgiving.  Great role models.  I stand 5′8″ - shortest on mom’s side, tallest on dad’s.  Cassandra would be one of those three.  I could see her in modern day calling me for a cuppa coffee and talking about her newest discovery in classic romantic literature.

3. What is your favorite movie?

Shawshank Redemption, hands down.  But...Dumb and Dumber is my favorite laugher.  Arlington Road pisses me off to tears, so it is among my favorites because it moves me so much.

4. Which DA game did you play the most?

Inquisition.  It was my “welcome to DA” game.  I am on Windows 10, and the other games don’t play well with this OS. and that sucks. But I am working on it. Origins, so far, has been a blast to play, so far!  I have not really started DA2.  But I can’t wait to get into it.

5. Would you ever move somewhere else to live?

Yes!  I lived in Durango, before, back in the late 90s.  I’d definitely do it again!  Beautiful place with great people!

6. Do you have any new year’s goals for 2017?

Two:  one is recurring and doesn’t count because I do it every year.  “physically” get back in season.  Enjoy the summer months in a great body, then throw it back to the fat hell in the winter months.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  But this year, my goal is to not have to explain myself for what makes me happy.  I am me, I do me, and if people don’t like it, that’s their shit.  I just dropped a long time friend of six years because she took my self-deprecative humor personally.  Tired of that shit.  I am not a doctor, psychologist, etc, and i don’t want your family drama, and i should not have to explain in detail why i do not wear makeup when YOU KNOW I am transitioned to male.  UGH.  I do not and will not explain myself.

7. Do you have any pets?

One cat.  I rescued her over the summer.  She was five when I met her.  She actually picked me out.  We’ve been best buds ever since.  Her name is Crackers.

8. Where in the world of Thedas would you a)live b)vacation c)avoid?

Live:  southern Marches or northern Fereldan.  Close to water (fishing!!!!) and seems to be a nice easy community gathered around the area.

Vacation:  Nevarra or Western Approach.  Culture and food for the former.  Hunting and endles beauty of the sands for the latter.

Avoid:  seheron.  Stories like what comes out of there kinda push me away.

9. Are you a reader? What is your favorite book?

YES!!!  Classic Lit.  Favoite book is The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.  A pro hockey player friend gave me a copy.  I’ve shared it with many.  I also love The Count of Monte Christo (Dumas) and The Idiot (Dostoyevsky), but I can’t limit to just three.  I have so many I love and so many I have yet to read.

10. Any secret talents?

I am left handed to a fault -- I crook my hand when I write.  So my secret talent is that I can sign my name upside down, right side up, top to bottom, left to right, and even backwards.  I can also blow bubbles out of my left eye (dog attack severed my tear duct when I was 13). And I was a goalie for an inline hockey team in an all-mens league between 2001-2005.  Once held 6 records before it got popula.  1) most shutouts in a season (36).  2)most wins in a season (36), 3)first female goalie to make it to regionals (lost 2-1 in triple overtime, other goalie bought me dinner, I thought I had a husband at that point LOL)  4) longest game ever played (still in the record books at 4 hrs 36 minutes)   5) hottest game ever played (126* outside)  6)coldest game ever played (-20 outside) -- last two records were october 2003 in Texas within three weeks of each other.  the last three still stand.  LOL.

11. Do you ship any rarepairs?

Rarepairs?  OH like leliana and sera?

My questions:

1. If you could pick any superpower to have what would it be?

to be able to see 5 minutes into the future. 

2. What is your preffered race and class in the DA games? human rogue archer

3. Favorite food? Grilled chicken breast.

4. If you could choose to live in any fictional universe which would you choose? Either Dragon Age or Elder Scrolls

5. Anything you really want to see in DA4? Nevarra

6. Are you in any other fandoms? Elder Scrolls

7. Biggest fear? Death :(  it’s something we all will deal with, but I fear it.  I have heard that fear of it means we have much more to live for, and we need to be stronger in our own personal convictions.

8. First Video Game you ever beat? Legend of Zelda (Adventures of Link) or Shadowrun (on Genesis), I forgot.

9. What’s your hogwarts house? (if you know) Slytherin -- which is funny, because I hated that house in the first movie.

10. Are you a night owl or a morning person? All-nighter, baby!!!

11. What’s the best advice you’ve ever recieved? Don’t give up on you!!!! My 11 Questions (answered) : 1.  Who is your hero? Me, first and foremost.  I’ve been through shit that people often write books about. And I’m still here and still enjoying life. But I also love my life coach, J, who guided me through the process of dropping all hindrances and learning to love my inner child. 2.  Have you ever met someone you looked up to and were happy about it? YES!!!   She left me with some keen advice.  Sylvia Browne is her name. She passed into the next world, so to speak, but when I met her, I was working the walkthrough at TSA, and she was in a wheelchair.  I was pre-transition (I am ftm), and she complimented me on my kindness and asked if she could give a reading.  Of course I agreed, after complimenting her on her books.  She said to me, “you are going to change.  A metamorphosis.  It will be painful but worth it to you.”  Almost exact quote, that was back in ‘08.   She also said that I would be a beacon to others who need to grow out of their boxes if I overcame my own obstacles.  She’s been right so far. 3.  What are your three current favorite songs? Sorry - Justin Bieber (the kid is good, I have to give props here  -- I jam to this) Can I get a - Jay Z (high school favorite, still a favorite) The entire Under Reprisal CD by Threat Signal -- I kill workouts to this CD Anything at all from Fear Factory -- because again I KILL my goals with their music blasting. 4.  Favorite pizza topping? Meat. 5.  Favorite obscure movie? Hmm...The Upside of Anger (Joan Allen and Kevin Costner).  Joan is my favorite actress. 6.  Are you a sports fan at all? YES to almost everything.  I played goalie in roller hockey. 7.  What tumblrs do you follow and love but haven’t given love to? (tag the person) @meridok and @customhawke ... and @my-mother-mercury

damn fine tumblrs, there. 8.  Any crazy bad habits? I bite my nails almost religiously, though they’re quite healthy, despite this. 9.  What career do you think you had in a past life? A scribe or bard.  I love to sing and write, now. 10.  What is your best feat ever?  Ran 2.6 miles in an airport terminal to exchange switched laptops between two high-up people in two major and well-known companies.  Both offered jobs to me afterward.  Hmm, perhaps I should contact now for career purposes. 11.  What is your favorite motivational quote (or one you made up)?

“The ability to not know is an essential quality in learning anything.” -Jeff Brooks  (article here)

My 11 Questions (for those I’ve tagged) : 1.  Who is your hero? 2.  Have you ever met someone you looked up to and were happy about it? 3.  What are your three current favorite songs? 4.  Favorite pizza topping? 5.  Favorite obscure movie? 6.  Are you a sports fan at all? 7.  What tumblr do you follow and love but haven’t given love to? (tag the person) 8.  Any crazy bad habits? 9.  What career do you think you had in a past life? 10.  What is your best feat ever?   11.  What is your favorite motivational quote (or one you made up)?

I’m breaking the rules and tagging less than 11 people (sorry). Tagging:  @meridok @archievement @customhawke @cuddlingcassandra @fereldan-dog-lord @my-mother-mercury @solasofficial @dragonageconfessions @dawriting @earthen-soul @fantasyartwatch