#viridianvalor

[swaps55]

Hi! Sorry if you have already answered this somewhere, I love reading about your writing process for Opus and was wondering if you would talk about how you pick and choose which missions to assign Sam and Kaidan, like Kaidan taking on the Project Overlord mission? Also, lol, will Sam ever have the misfortune of driving a Hammerhead and how much would he hate it?

Hahahahaha, Sam would hate the Hammerhead so much. I will probably spare him that displeasure, given how much else he has to deal with.

This is such an awesome question; thank you so much for asking it, and I am so sorry this answer is probably far more involved than you were looking for.

Stories like Cantata, Fugue, and Kaidan's portion of Mezzo necessitated missions that weren't main plot for the trilogy. But since the codex is so rich and there are so many side missions across the three games, I made it an unwritten rule that I wouldn't make up a mission from thin air if I could help it. Instead I'd pull something from canon and twist it into a new shape. That put less pressure on me to invent something from scratch, and it meant fun Easter eggs for the reader.

This has taken different shapes. In Cantata, the mission where Sam experiences a blood sugar crash in mid-combat was going to be heavy on action, which meant a fairly elaborate "combat chess board." Designing a visual setting is one of my big weaknesses as a writer, so I set it on Benning because I could then use the ME3MP map as a template to craft the rest of the mission around.

The underwater mission Sam does on Proteus is what it is because the codex states that combat diving is part of the N program. I thought that was cool, and while perusing planets in the codex, the description for Proteus included an underwater colony. "Great!" I said to myself. "What if I broke it?"

Virtually every place the Yang Gang visits in Cantata is pulled straight from canon, as well as what they find there. It's something I'm pretty proud of.

(The big exception is the thresher maw on Sharjilla, which is pure artistic liberty, but I am beyond delighted that people have played that mission expecting to find one because of Cantata. At one point I had planned a really great joke where Sam nukes the thresher maw from orbit out of pure spite, so when they come back to Sharjila in ME1 and Kaidan mentions threshers, someone could go, "wait, there's thresher maws down there?!" and Sam would growl under his breath, "not anymore." But I couldn't fit it into Cantata, lol.)

As for all the side missions I've woven in, they provide a neat opportunity to spread the love. They are Shepard's responsibility in the games because Shepard is the player character, so the entire world revolves around them. In fic, I don't have that constraint, so I am free to take missions that have some good narrative potential and give them to other characters.

Side quests like Bring Down the Sky don't offer much to the canon plot, but for Opus it provided an opportunity for some pretty sharp character development while also advancing my reimagined plans for ME3.

In the case of Overlord, I loved the complexity it would add to something like Horizon: if Kaidan got a first hand glimpse at the terrible things Cerberus does right before discovering Shepard on Horizon, suddenly his distrust and anger take on new meaning.

Kasumi became Kaidan's partner in crime because the cast of ME2 is so dense that I went looking for ways to weed down the cast without having to just leave people out or inflict mass casualties. Kasumi's skillset as a thief never made sense to me for something like the suicide mission, but Kasumi herself is a delight. And like Kaidan, she has experienced the death of a partner. They seemed like such a natural fit for each other, and Keiji's role as a double agent with the Alliance also worked narratively in my favor: I got to use him to answer questions like, "how the hell does Cerberus get their hands on the Normandy design docs?"

Fugue also incorporates a few ME2 side missions that, again, just dovetailed nicely into what I was trying to do. Superimposing Keiji over the Cerberus agent in N7: Lost Operative just worked well for what I wanted to do, and N7: Imminent Ship Crash gave me a good segue into it, while also giving me the chance to explore how Kara and Aslany dealt with the loss of the 'Yang.

So how I choose what missions I use comes down to what I need for the story. I have a vague idea of what I need to accomplish, then look for a side mission or DLC that can help me get there. The Hammerhead DLC missions are utterly terrible to play, but there is just enough of an interesting story to them that I was able to weave something useful to future Opus plans while also letting Kaidan grow into his role as a leader.

The DLC and side missions are really fun to work with, and one of my favorite parts of Opus, even if I almost went bald tearing my hear out over N7: Imminent Ship Crash. XD

[thehoneybeet]

Hi! :) I saw your post about your alpha/beta reading treatment and wanted to see if you would be interested in looking at my fic. I am about (maybe?) 50% of the way into writing a drarry (background wolfstar) slow burn 3rd year AU. It's called Trouble Takes Many Forms and 35k is already posted on AO3 (username ViridianValor). I would love advice especially about reader experience, consistency, resolving plot, and where to end the story. Thank you! If interested, I'm happy to give more details!

I took a look at the summary and it sounds incredible!! Would love to! (Posting this so people can check it out if they want)

[lcdrarry]

1 May | LCDrarry Double Feature | Fic

Of Stars in Infinite Universes

Prompt: "Everything Everywhere All At Once", 2022, Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert Prompted by: @viridianvalor  Author: Anonymous Word Count: 21,792 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: Suicide ideation, passive-aggressive homophobia (aka not explicit hatred, just concern-trolling about ~continuing the family line~), mild body horror

Notes: EEAAO made me cry like a baby. Naturally, when the chance to write an AU for it came up on this year's LCDrarry prompts, I had to take it. I've always wanted to do a genre-hopping piece, and, well, Malfoys dealing with their post-war trauma through multiversal travel felt fitting. Thank you to LF for beta reading, and to the LCDrarry mods for organising such a chill and wonderful fest!

Summary: Harry Potter is asked to find a missing Draco Malfoy. (Or: Draco Malfoy is hiding from an omniversal entity. In searching for him through their other lifetimes together, Harry Potter begins to wonder what his former archenemy truly means to him.) (An Everything Everywhere All At Once AU.)

Read it now on AO3.

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Creator reveals are on 15 June.

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2023.04.06

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. along each garden wall by @oflights [E, 61k]

►Draco has to have a baby (or have one on the way) at the time of his fast-approaching 35th birthday, or he's going to lose his home to his vile cousin. Harry offers to help, but their complex past—even beyond Hogwarts—prompts Draco to set out on a long journey of friendship, kittens, gardens, motorbike rides, and more.

2. i crumble completely when you cry by Kendra_Storm [G, 3k]

►After Cedric's death, Harry feels like he's the only one truly grieving the boy. He keeps his feelings bottled up until one day, Draco Malfoy catches him crying alone in the Astronomy Tower. Who knew his enemy could be so kind?

3. Wedding guests by Witch1511 [?, 37k]   *typo

►It's wedding season! Or so it seems, because everyone's getting married. So what happens when Draco and Harry are the last ones that are single?

---

Fest/Exchange

1. Brandishing The Wand by @ladderofyears [M, 2k]

►When four Eighth Year boys overhear Draco and Harry having sex in the dormitory bathroom, each jumps to a very erroneous conclusion. ★ Draco Tops Harry Fest 2021 | @dracotops-harry

2. only you, only us by @viridianvalor [E, 3k]

►Years into their marriage, Draco and Harry share a fantasy: Draco watching as Harry gets fucked by another man. Now they’ve come up with a plan to make it happen, but with a twist - and they’ll need magic to pull it off. ★ Draco Tops Harry Fest 2021 | @dracotops-harry

[omgkatsudonplease]

Of Stars in Infinite Universes, a @lcdrarry 2023 fic by @omgkatsudonplease for @viridianvalor

“Long story, Muggle Harry,” said Hermione quickly. “But for what it’s worth, we’re dreadfully sorry.” “The fate of the multiverse sorta requires us to borrow you for a bit,” added Ron, expression apologetic.  Mr Potter had no idea what they were talking about. In fact, as far as he was concerned, they’d both completely lost their minds. “Are you mental?” he demanded, trying to shove himself loose, but Hermione waved her stick at him, and his arms locked up at his sides. “Sorry,” she said again, before taking out another stick and tapping the side of Mr Potter’s head with it. “Inducto.” The last thing Mr Potter heard was the sound of his mobile pinging, and then his head was flooded with memories from another lifetime: the musty darkness of a cupboard under the stairs, the elation of a letter from Hogwarts delivered in a shack by the sea, the warmth of a holly wand in his hands, the burning of a scar on his forehead.  Draco, extending his hand on the train to Hogwarts. Harry, brushing his hand aside. The two of them flying against one another on broomsticks, clad in red and green. Pain erupting in his knuckles as they connect with Draco’s face. Crimson rivulets flooding a bathroom drain, with the cries of “Murder! Murder!” in the air. A tattoo of a snake and a skull curling along Draco’s forearm. The smell of smoke and the warmth of wild flames, as he and Draco fly together out of a raging inferno— A towering, familiar stately home strangled with vines. An abandoned bedroom hung with dusty green velvet, its floor covered in vines.  A single, glowing origami crane.  “There you are, mate,” said Ron, as Harry polished Mr Potter’s glasses with his shirt. They were square-framed, wire-rimmed. On the wall beside the door to the storeroom hung a poster for a rock band called The Demiguise, which sent a shiver down Mr Potter’s spine for no apparent reason. “Get a load of this—you’re married to Malfoy in this universe!” Harry Potter is asked to find a missing Draco Malfoy. (Or: Draco Malfoy is hiding from an omniversal entity. In searching for him through their other lifetimes together, Harry Potter begins to wonder what his former archenemy truly means to him.) (An Everything Everywhere All At Once AU.)

Read HERE on AO3!

[goldenbi]

Thanks for the tag @citrusses !! I don't do these often so this is kind of exciting!!

.

Current time: 1:42 pm

Current activity: just got back from costco and now I want to nap because costco on a sunday is The Worst.

Currently thinking about: at what point does something become a kink rather than purely an interest?

Current favourite song: I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges I am making my way through the 500 Greatest albums of all time and this song is my favorite so far

Currently reading: Rookie Moves by peu_a_peu because of this comic

Currently watching: Criminal Minds & my annual Avatar: The Last Airbender rewatch with my little brother

Current favourite character: Harry James Potter, I will always love this fucked-up surly man. But I am also loving Laurent of Vere (Captive Prince) and his plan-revenge-10-steps-ahead-oops-fell-in-love-with-my-brothers-killer insanity.

Current wips: okay. I am technically writing a wolfstarbucks fic. it is mostly pwp. I have 2 chapters written but idk really how to string it together. overarching plots are not my strong suit. honestly writing is not my strong suit. I hope I can get better over time but I will have to submit to the horrifying ordeal of publishing something imperfect.

Tagging @mallstars @vajazzly @viridianvalor and anyone who is reading this!!

[viridianvalor]

I'll shamelessly rec my own WIP ♥️

Trouble Takes Many Forms by ViridianValor (30k, WIP)

In third year, Harry discovers that Draco Malfoy is related to Sirius Black, the escaped Voldemort supporter that's hunting him, and corners Malfoy in an attempt to get some answers. But when they narrowly avoid a run-in with Filch, Draco turns the situation to his advantage, and soon the boys reach an uneasy agreement that might get both of them what they want.

Do you also follow some Drarry WIPs? Its very hard to find stories like that on recs. I am reading Tales from the Special Branch /by femmequixotic) and its amazing and very worth it and feels as satisfaying as reading a complete fic: do you have any recs of other uncompleted stories?

I would say Tales from the Special Branch first, you took it from my mouth! I’m new to reading WIPs but I know a few,

The Same Sweet Shock by @xiaq (20k, WIP)

One day, Draco Malfoy is going to get his life together. One day, he will be a respectable citizen. He will have a respectable job and his last name will no longer be a scarlet letter and people will no longer try to hex him in the street. One day, he is going to live a good, honest, ordinary life.Today, however, is not that day. Because today, he is driving a stolen police car and will likely be responsible for murdering Harry Potter.

survival is a talent by ShanaStoryteller (471k, WIP)

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they’re soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone. Their best isn’t perfect.

In The Dark by @bixgirl1 (102k, WIP)

In the aftermath of an apocalypse, Harry receives an order to find and bring Draco Malfoy nearly a thousand miles, to the tenuous safety of Hogwarts. But more than distance separates them from their goal. The world has fallen, and death is hungry.

Close Behind by oflights (91k, WIP)

To rescue Draco from the Underworld, Harry has to look forward. Unfortunately, Draco has to look back.

Leo Inter Serpentes series by Aeternum (902k, WIP)

Just one conversation between two eleven year old boys goes slightly differently, and the world changes. Just how much will be different with Harry being sorted into Slytherin, and how much will stay the same?

The Dementor's Child by @xx-thedarklord-xx (119k, WIP)

Curiosity—the kind that got him here—was the reason his mouth opened and out came, “What is it you get out of stealing life from people?” The creature floated closer and all common sense that should have told him to step back was non-existent. Instead, Harry took a step closer. It was obvious what the creature wanted. He only stared for a moment, no hesitance before his eyes slipped closed and he took. Or the one where Harry encounters a Dementor as a child and doesn't flee, no he sticks around and mimics what he sees.

A Knife to the Throat by deluminatormischiefmaker (127k, WIP)

Draco Malfoy has always been the boy without a choice. When he finally gets the chance to switch sides, he picks The Chosen One. Set in Deathly Hallows. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione get caught by Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, Draco decides to join their cause. The usual camping trip, but with a few tag-alongs, several detours, and quite a bit more romance.

Most Favourite Bedtime Story by SasuNarufan13 (42k, WIP)

Scorpius' most favourite bedtime story? The story of how his parents fell in love. And his grandmother tells it the best!

At the End of All Things by @quicksilvermaid (91k, WIP)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are real and Harry starts dreaming of them.

Mutatum series by Vichan (298k, WIP)

In the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is drawn to a room in Grimmauld Place. Like the Gryffindor he is, he enters the room without fear. The room is a library, and Harry is surprised to find that he’s eager to learn. Then he gets the bad news: he’s been accidentally expelled from Hogwarts, and he needs to be sorted again. Everyone is confident that he’ll go straight back to Gryffindor, but with what he's been learning, Harry’s not so sure.

Whatever You Want, Draco Malfoy by DorothyAnn (92k, WIP)

Draco lost his home and the only society he knew after the war. He ended up living in the muggle world, making new friends and new connections and maybe some sort of peace. Even if that peace was usually found at the bottom of a bottle. It was enough for him. He was content to just exist. Then Harry Potter decided to ruin everything.

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of great on going fics. Open for call any Drarry writers to add on their WIPs!

[swaps55]

Replaying ME3 as a vanguard with a Piranha (my first time trying either!) is helping me get through election week and it's all inspired by Sam <3 thanks haha and this shotgun is amazing

VANGUARD/PIRANHA MY BELOVED.

I AM SO HAPPY YOU ARE ENJOYING MY FAVORITE SHOTGUN.

There is no problem that cannot be solved by shoving a Piranha with incendiary ammo down its throat. NONE.

[thehoneybeet]

first lines!

Thank you for the tag @wolfpants (here) @andithiel (here) @lumosatnight (here)! I loved all of your first lines, so much. Since I do not have 10 first lines without giving away anon WIPs (or even with, tbh), we're going with 5.

Would love to see your first lines as well @viridianvalor @violenttulips @the-starryknight @teledild0nix @nv-md @kbrick @the-fools-errand @tackytigerfic if you want!

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

Harry hadn’t wanted to be a part of it. wild with all regret (draco/ron/hermione, E). Despite appearances this fic is not at all from Harry's point of view.

Death sounds like a heartbeat. Everything is Relative to You (drarry, E)

The first time Harry went to the Love Room he was fifteen, trapped in the Department of Mysteries, pulling uselessly against a locked door. Euphoria (drarry, M)

Harry’s first transformation was lonely. Hey Moon (drarry, M, WIP from 2021)

Malfoy falls asleep in herbology. plant me in your garden (and watch me grow) (drarry, T)

So it seems I have a pattern: the fact that 3/5 of these have exactly five words is... I swear my actual writing is more interesting 😂

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2022.08.27

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. Band by @drarrily-we-row-along [T, 1k]

►Draco's band needs a substitute guitarist. Cue: Harry Potter. He had no idea what happened to Potter after the war, all he does know is that Harry is a really good guitarist.

2. Ferrety Little Mouths and How to Snog with Them by @fluxweeed [M, 4k]

►“I don’t think the size of your mouth has much to do with how good at kissing you are. People with ferrety little mouths can be good snoggers too.” “You’re clearly an expert. You’ll have to teach me.”

3. His wife has filled his house with chintz by @viridianvalor [E, 1k]

►To keep it real, he fucks me on the floor

---

Fest/Exchange

1. Chilly Feet by Anonymous [E, 13k]

►It all starts with a pair of chilly feet under Harry Potter’s bum. ★ HP Soulmates Fest 2022 | @hp-soulmates

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2022.07.06

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. All you have to do is breathe by @anxioussquirrel [T, 12k]

►[...] The woman says something more, but Draco doesn’t hear it, already Apparating before the crash of his cup hitting the floor even reaches his ears.

2. Fire At the End of the World by Lomonaaeren [T, 3k]

►Years ago, Harry Potter absorbed a Dark power that threatened to doom the entire magical world, and he has since fought that power to a standstill in his own mind time and time again. Now he is losing his battle to it, and he’s come to remind his former Auror partner, Draco Malfoy, of an agreement they made: when the Fire grew to be too much for Harry, Draco promised to kill him.

3. The Water Break by ViridianValor [E, 1k]

►In the summer after the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco is allowed out of house arrest to help rebuild the castle under Potter's supervision. But Potter's muggle attire and the heat of the sun are getting in Draco's head. How is he supposed to explain that he wasn't listening to Potter because he was too busy thinking about what his sweat tastes like?

---

Fest/Exchange

1. You Know the Feeling by Anonymous [M, 12k]

►Harry’s not sure why he’s started hooking up with Malfoy. Boredom, or the heat of the summer, maybe. Whatever it is, it’s nothing too complicated. Right? ★ HD Wireless 2022 | @hd-wireless