#you know how the marauders era in hp started with fanfics???

[theroundbartable]

Prequel idea:

In a land of chaos and a time of dragons, the fate of a great Kingdom, rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name?

Uther

(a series in five seasons)

[galaxostars]

If you had to choose your top five favourite marauders era characters and ships, what would they be?

This question was actually so hardddd haha and I feel like you could ask me again in a month and my answer would be different bc I’m such a multishipper that… yeah xD but for now here it issss :

Fave characters :

1. James Potter : mhm I love myself an arrogant goofball who’s actually smarter than people give him credit for, who’s got so much love he’s impulsive with it and hurts the ones he loves, who doesn’t know what to do with the loneliness that grips him sometimes, who defines himself by his ability to help people, who rarely allows himself to express himself negatively (ex : sadness/anger/frustration) because if there’s one thing that he fears the most, it’s hurting people. Plus, he hasn’t got any trauma or anything so why should he complain, yk?

Basically I love a good flawed James, and the sort of character where you wouldn’t expect him to have issues yk

2. Sirius Black : I mean… cmon do I even need to explain? ‘Cause if I start idk when I’ll stop, like literally. Ive had a crush on this character since I was eleven and never grew out of it, its almost embarrassing if it wasn’t completely justified (and the only reason he’s not number one is just because I write him less than James so I feel like I know him less intimately but like if you’d have asked me before I started writing I’d have put him number one for sure)

3. Regulus Black : !!!!! sorry but indoctrinated younger ‘abandoned’ (in between quotes bc he was not Sirius’ responsibility and Sirius was right to save himself but it’s also very normal for regulus to feel that way etc etc… we know the drill) sibling who’s faced with sudden delusion about this superior figure he’s followed/served, everything he’s lost in the process, and who redeems himself by going on this suicide mission that ends up being useless? (And unknown by Sirius AHHHH.) The guy is literally so smart and technically such a loser bc he doesn’t serve much for the plot and that’s what compelled me so much the first time I read hp 😭 he’s so tragic I love it

4. Narcissa Black : younger sibling; once again similar pattern to regulus but she survived, she’s so smart I’m, like, shaky in the knees, (esp i love female characters who do what they have to do to survive), she’s powerful too, and jkr is shit at writing female characters and I will never not be pissed abt it but I do think cissa was very compelling (+ Helen McCrory’s acting game was sooo perfect), very protective of her family and will stop at nothing to protect them, and that’s a value I respect so much. I will say, in general, any member of the black family is very compelling to me. Bellatrix would come right after narcissa in terms of fave from that family.

5. Barty Crouch Jr : listen if you know me, you know I’m… idk how to define myself actually, but I like unhinged stuff so. This is like. Peak unhingedness. Paired with intelligence bc we know canonically that man was smart af, and daddy issues? Dark hair, too? You just described my type. He’s even more compelling in tragic storylines (like past bartylus and barty joining Voldemort for regulus and then faced w the delusion and the grief? Gut wrenching) so yup.

Favorite pairings :

1. Moonshine (remus/james) : I know this sounds weird but a certain fanfic re wrote my brain chemistry and ever since then I’ve been obsessed. I just think they’re so tragically beautiful together. They’re both very selfless beings that just give and give and never prioritize themselves and together it’s a mess. They keep hurting each other because they’re so selfless, they’re not very good at reading each other and they let their insecurities get the best, they’re both frightened of how much they love, of the other not wanting them, of needing to « tame » their emotions. I love them.

2. Prongsfoot : FUCKING FOAMING AT THE MOUTH ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Together they’re. They. Just. I hate them bc of how much I love them if that makes sense. They’re everything. A law of the universe and whatnot. I love everyyyy fucking version of them. They make me cry they make me scream they make me smile they make me laugh, they’re literally my comfort ship.

3. Jegulus : they’re kind of the pairing that made me join the fandom, and though I don’t read them as much as I used to, they’ll always make me so soft. Enemies to lovers? Yeah, well I’m not immune yk. Best friend’s brother? Even better. Tragic and doomed? Yeah sign me the fuck up. I will say I like them just as much when it’s jegulily, but that’s also because I think poly relationships are so complex and compelling.

4. Moonwater : and not platonic haha, i have to say that basically i ship anyone who’s very smart imo with regulus, and Remus passes the test. Plus he’s also introverted, a book nerd, done with James and Sirius so i feel like they could bond very easily. I prefer them in a non canon sitting tho for some reason, but yeah I’m. So fond of them. They get into heated debates. Even their ship name is so dear to me because, that’s like both their biggest fears and pairing them in one name feels like they can overcome them if they’re together ? 😭 it’s so sweet (plus, it allows me to ship prongsfoot on the side lmfao)

5. Regulily : same reasoning as up there but like they’re probs the only het pairings that I really really love. i never expected them to be so important (but *cough cough* disintegration happened…) but honestly they make a lot of sense? I feel like Regulus would be more confident with Lily, and Lily would feel more calm with Regulus? They’re that scary hot powerful quiet couple yk. Anddd they can bond over siblings angst lmao.

[lulublack90]

About Me

Hi there, Lulu here.

I do have a real name but I prefer to go by Lulu on here and Ao3 so please use that.

I go by she/he/they. Call me what you want I don't mind. It changes day by day for me in the real world, but my friends and family don't know that.

I'm pansexual but again only a few people know that.

I'm in my 30's but have the maturity of a teenager unless I'm in parent mode when I have to pretend to be a grown-up (It does not last long!).

I am a huge huge huge Harry Potter fan (Fuck JK, she's a dick!) My house is full of so many HP-related items. In fact, I think every room has something in it, thank the gods my husband is also a massive nerd.

In case you can't tell I am Neurospicy. I am in the middle of getting diagnosed with ADHD and by that I mean I am procrastinating actually starting the process.

Now where was I?

Oh, yeah I like so much stuff I can't think what else to put here but yeah Harry Potter, mainly Marauders era but I love anything really.

My fav ships are Wolfstar (I've loved them since I was a young thing and didn't even know it was a thing." Jegulus (My new love.) Dramione (Lord have mercy) Drary (Lord I need more mercy) Pandalily (Meep!) Dorlene (Squeek!) I like Marylily as well but not as much, but I love them when I read them.

My asks are open and you can send me whatever you want, no hate please no one needs that in their life and Tumblr is my happy place don't spoil it.

Things that make me happy

You guys. Honesty it's Tumblr, I've only just really found this and all you amazing people who like my silly stories that I've only been writing regularly since December 23 when I found you all. My husband and son make me happy and so do my dogs and cats. I love watching storms and autumn. I read a lot, I crochet, I knit, I write. I am a huge fan of chocolate. If you give me chocolate I will be your friend.

Music

Bowie. Nuff said.

But yeah I like a lot of different stuff, it depends on my mood as to what I listen to. I drive my husband mad because I like songs by lots of people but I can't remember what they're called or who they're by.

Books

My all-time favourite book will always be Prisoner of Azkaban. It is my happy place.

My house is full and I mean full of books. I don't actually know how many I have but last time I estimated I had 300 in my bedroom alone. (There are piles of books in every room 😬)

ACOTAR!!!

Shows/movies

Harry Potter, The Martain, The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Hunger games, Twilight (Don't judge me they got me through a dark time.), How to train your Dragon, Disney anything, plus others there are so many and I'm bored of listing.

Good Omens, Schitts Creek, Parks and Rec, Bake off, Handmaids tale, It's always sunny, community, Harbin hotel, archer, vampire diaries. Plus more but yeah typing.

Okay I think I'm done but who knows I might add more if I remember.

Love you all

Lulu

xxx

My Ao3 List

These are my fanfics on my ao3

Bitten M- Remus, Sirius and James head to the forest for a fun full moon. Everything is going great until one of them has an accident. (This was the very first fanfic I wrote. It's okay.) Wolfstar. Complete.

The Prisoner T- Sirius Black has been wrongly imprisoned for 12 years. He's bided his time but now its time to escape and right the wrongs of the past.

The Prisoner of Azkaban as told by Sirius Black, filling in the gaps starting with his escape from Azkaban. Wolfstar. Complete.

The Cupboard E- Hiding from Filch and awaiting rescue things get a bit close in the cupboard between Remus and Sirius. Wolfstar smut one shot. Complete.

Birthday E(I think, I'm not good at telling) Sirius finds Remus alone in their dorm room instead of enjoying the party downstairs. Wolfstar. Complete.

The One That Got Away E- James agrees to throw a party at his house. Sirius asks to bring his little brother, how could that possibly affect James at all? Based on the micro fic series I wrote in January. Jegulus. Backcould Wolfstar. Complete.

Jegulus Prompt Series All the prompts I've written on here in one place.

Wolfstar Prompt Series All the prompts I've written on here in one place.

The Way They Were T - While Harry is clearning out Grimmauld Place he discovers that Wolfstar were a thing.

Love Hate and the Ability to Change M - Sirius is taking Remus to the hosital wing on the full moon and Regulus catches them kisses. After some rather nasty words Regulus tells Sirius something about himself.

The Way They Are M - Part two of The Way They Were. Harry and Draco spend more time together and Draco finds another box for Harry, this time from Remus.

[letthelampburn]

So I got into HP fanfics again and I started All The Young Dudes (yes, I live under a rock). I decided halfway that I will learn how to bind books just so I can bind them never mind that I own a Kindle because you know, I am extra and an ADHD-crafter with an impulse buying vice. (Thankfully there is a small overlap with my abandoned sewing supplies)

I was pointed to the massive binding FB group but it’s mostly Dramione, I will get there eventually but let me bask in my Marauders era first. There are very few typesets available so I guess I am learning how to typeset too lol.

(And I will not share my works yet bc I’m very noob and just winging things)

[hallowsnothorcruxes]

I feel the same way tbh, I’m a og wolfstar shipper but they (the current marauder stans) kinda ruined the marauders era for me lately. The wolfstar tag isn’t even remotely related to them any more 💔 Fanon and headcanons that I don’t vibe with have taken over everything it feels. idk just don’t like the vibes lately :(

I’m sorry you’re experiencing this, it can be really frustrating and sad! 🫶🏻

I have to admit I this started out as a marauders blog 10 yrs ago, too (love remus!!) but quickly turned into a general hp blog, because I was never a big wolfstar shipper or anything, so it was really just the name that stuck. (Everyone knows I’ve always been Dumbledore’s man anyway lol)

But I can imagine how alienating it must feel to be an og in today’s marauders fandom. I also feel like it has gotten a little out of hand with fanon taking over canon and like if most people in the tag enjoy that, they should, but as you said I don’t vibe with that either. (Literally came back on here after hiatus and was so confused to see regulus/jegulus in like almost every post??)

I feel like maybe a lot of it is due to a new generation of marauders fans that have decided to ditch canon altogether (or weren’t even HP fans to begin with) and simply focus on fanon - fueled ofc by some popular fanfics and absolved by JKR’s increasingly problematic online behaviour.

But I also feel like, while it’s sad, there’s no point in being bitter or seriously annoyed about it. It’s still media, people may enjoy whatever they enjoy and if so many people are vibing with it, well they can have their fun. Perhaps there’s something I don’t get about it and this is really just the musings of an old fan, too long in the fandom already. I don’t know. But since I’ve come back, I made my peace with the fandom. I won’t argue with bashers anymore, I won’t get annoyed at canon-ignoring takes anymore, I craft my small bubble and stay in it and only engage with the stuff I enjoy. (Took me the hiatus to do that tho - was necessary because I feel like the grindeldore fandom shortly went through what the marauders fandom does, too, when FB came out. Just on a smaller scale and it was really overwhelming for me who was used to the grindeldore fandom having like a handful peoples in it for more than 10 years.)

Anyway, sorry for rambling - all that is to say I feel you and I’m sorry that it sucks!

[thebestofoneshots]

have you always written for the marauders or did you stumble into it or got inspired or ??? i’m just so curious ☺️

story time with Lils.

I could give a simple answer to this, very short, and all, but I feel like telling the story of how I got into fanfiction so you’ll get a whole textbook instead.

It must have been like 2009 (catch me speaking like an old person), when I was laying in my grandma’s bed, fantasizing about a self insert into Harry Potter (actual Harry Potter mind you I didn’t know the Marauders, nor was my 9 year old self in love with a Sirius yet) and thinking “Gosh wish I could write that… but I can’t because copyright and it’s illegal.”

Fast forward do 2011-2012, THE FACEBOOK ERA, and your girl stumbles into a fanpage that *literally* was all about reader inserts with certain YouTubers I had an unhealthy obsession with at the time. It was then that Lilly discovered ✨the fantastic world of fanfiction✨. And it didn’t stop.

I love reading, but I had always been one to write stories, poems, songs, you name it, I probably wrote it. And so I started writing fanfics as well. First I think it must have been the YouTubers. I also remember reading a Percy Jackson fanfic once, and omg it’s been so long, I don’t even remember the webpage I read it at, but it was like it’s own little blog with its own little colors and stuff, cool shit tbh.

Must have been around 2012 that I started a fanfic of Jack Frost. Yes ladies and gentleman, Jack Frost, he was too cute for 12 y/o Lilly. That one, is absolute cringe if I go back and read it now, but also kinda funny? The reverse harem was so heavy in that one I swear I didn’t even know that was a thing but EVERYONE was inlove with the MC.

Either way, writing longer stories really wasn’t for me back then, so I started writing oneshots. And boy-oh-boy did I love them. I must say “Thank you Bucky Barnes for existing and having me obsess over you.” I must have over 30 one shots written for him. Or more, I have never counted. Some still sitting on my drafts lol.

Then I started writing for Loki and made a small follow along fic of the series, called Time Variant 30578, and I was so proud I finished it (-ish, season 2 just came up and I still have to write for that).

Not that it’s the only thing I’ve finished, I actually wrote a book, it’s a book about a serial-kiIIer, but even if we see his life, the actual unaliving parts are told from the perspective of the victims. Pretty gory, certainly something. But I liked it. That one’s done and sitting in my computer. I still want to find time to edit it and maybe publish it one day, but who knows? Off topic.

Anyway I rewatched SPN and wrote a few shots for one of the loves of my life Dean Winchester. And I have pondered on writing a series for a gender-bend spell type of thing. A short one (but actually short this time, not like GC).

And then, somewhere in between me starting a small business of HP stuff and watching Tick…Tick…Boom! (Which had me obsess over Andrew), and the already smoldering obsession with Ben, I started reading Marauders fics. Discovering the magical world of ✨Poly!Marauders✨

And then I wrote the first part of Gilded Constellations (march this year, probably) and then the second and then the first 12 parts and then I decided to post it and then people showed actual interest?!?! And I kept writing and writing and then I wanted GC to have smut. But I was shit at smut and wanted to practice so The Five Senses was born. After a LOT of research, I kid you not, so much reading fics and even YouTube tutorials lol (on writing guys, that kind of content is NOT allowed on YouTube!). Anyway, writing just solidified my obsession with my boys. And then there was Maraudween, more smut practice but also, I kind of like writing smut at this point? And scary action filled stories??? Right up my ally.

So yeah, in short; I’ve always been a writer, I have always liked Harry Potter and I have been writing fanfics for a while and just recently started writing for the Marauders, but you’re not gonna stop me any time soon.

I like living in my own head, and I love writing stories, and I adore our boys so, you’ll be seeing so much of me you’ll get sick of it lol

Did that answer your question? I feel like one of this teachers that students ask a question to and then tell the entire story of their life. But I feel like I did answer the question.

[siriuslystarbucks]

Genuinely curious and not trying to cause/stir up trouble, but what makes you think Peter would be as popular as Regulus if he'd been described as thin?

So I do want to start this out by saying I don't think anyone is thinking of it in exactly those terms. Fans/Readers didn't go "Peter is fat therefore I will not like him". I am 100% not trying to accuse anyone with that opinion and this response.

Good? Good, let's start. First, a couple things to set the stage for why I think this way about Peter.

Fatphobia is one of those things that is not only everywhere in society, but it's baked into the HP books. Vernon, Dudley, and Aunt Marge are the most obvious examples of that where them being fat is directly used to describe them being bad.

Neville Longbottom is the best example of no one really caring about him when he was chubby, but once he lost weight, he was not only a minor hero at Hogwarts, but he was much more liked by the fans. I cannot tell you how many posts/jokes I saw after the last 2 movies came out talking about Neville's 'glow up' and how he 'beat puberty' by the actor looking the way he did. I don't want to claim all of that is fatphobia, but I think it was a contributing factor. In the book OotP, even though Neville is a more important character and part of Dumbledore's Army, he still didn't get the kind of attention that, say, Luna did. (quick disclaimer again that I know there are other factors going into this) Neville is described as fully coming into himself and being strong in the book DH because of everything going on at Hogwarts, and one of the details I remember being included is that he looked a lot happier. I also remember that they'd been having trouble feeding everyone in the Room of Requirement, so they mention that Neville's lost weight.

Now, the Marauders fandom in general has a long history that I don't care to really get into for this, but let's hit the high points. Originally, it was just Sirius and Remus that were cared about because they were 1. easy to ship together and 2. the only ones of the Marauders that were good and also alive. Peter was assigned asshole at first look, and with good reason! He betrayed his friends, he framed Sirius, he made it impossible for Sirius to adopt Harry, of course we all around hate him.

However, fandom has more recently changed a lot from that (recent meaning the past, oh let's say 10 years?). It's not Sirius and Remus being popular within the canon timeline, it's including James and Lily when they were actually in Hogwarts-- Marauders' Era, No Voldie AU ftw. Even more recently, this has expanded to include Regulus, but Peter is very often left out.

(quick pause again to say that I'm not blaming any fanfic writer or reader for their preferences. It's fanfic, we're all here to have fun and play in a sandbox)

Here are the few Marauder truths we know post-Hogwarts

Sirius is still very close with James, definitely his best mate, and the person he trusts the most.

Peter has become more distant in recent weeks, but was still definitely their friend

Remus was largely not involved with any of them anymore, except being a member of the Order

Based on these facts alone, it would make sense if Marauders' Era fics included Peter as much more involved and Remus more on the outskirts.

Peter wasn't secretly evil the entire time they were friends, he was scared into it during the war. I guess what this entire post boils down to, is that I think people would be far more understanding if he'd been described as 'thin with a round smile' instead of as 'chubby' in SWM.

Regulus has received 'was secretly good the entire time' treatment from the fandom-- including me, lol-- despite us knowing for a fact that he believed in what Voldemort was doing and only betraying him at the very end, when Voldemort's MO affected Regulus personally.

Putting Peter and Regulus side by side with canon info, Peter should be the more popular one, imo. He was friends with James and Sirius all throughout Hogwarts and in the years that followed. When he betrayed Lily and James in the war, he was scared. He was 20 and terrified, and I think there would be more redemption-style fics for him than Regulus.

Tl;dr This is all personal opinion and less fact based, but I think Peter would receive babygirlification from the fandom if we thought of him as attractive the way we do Regulus

[bartletslesbians]

for never have i ever asks: college/university AU, or a hogwarts AU of some other canon? link me if you’ve written/curious to know how you’d do these, if you haven’t!

Never have I ever... (still accepting)

College/University AU

I was so convinced that I had written this and I was so ready to link to it but? I haven't? I used to be in an RP about the marauders era characters where they were in college though, and it was so much fun. In the Narcissa server I also remember talking about a narlily college AU except it's Narcissa starting uni later in life and Lily is her professor? Which I lowkey wanna see someone write bc !!

For a more classic college AU, I always think Narcissa would make an excellent Law or Classics student. Depending on her motiviation for university and what she plans to do with her life. And I think for her specifically, college opens her up to more different ships by simply putting them together in class and seeing what happens. I think she'd be hilarious to watch interact with a roommate (mandatory campus housing anyone?).

I also think that a college and thus modern AU lends itself very well to exploring the way the Black cousins might interact and grow up when pureblood society isn't as much a thing. If Narcissa doesn't grow up with the expectations of being married with a pureblood baby at 20, what does she do with her life while away at university, yknow? Without a war to tear them apart, how do the Black sisters interact? How does narlily or dorcissa work when they're not dying young?

I think it'd be so much fun to write a fic about Narcissa studying Classics, seeing the interactions between her and my headcanons for Rodolphus and Rabastan, and then pairing her with begrudging roommate and Criminology student Dorcas Meadowes. I wanna watch them grab a starbucks and seeing Narcissa dress in way too expensive dresses for 9am classes.

Hogwarts AU

This one I have way less thoughts about because I don't really write fanfic of other fandoms that much and when I do, I've never really considered placing them in HP? The one exception I can think of is that I did once say I would love to write Cersei Lannister/Narcissa Malfoy being Slytherin bitches together, and I stand by that. I think that'd be fun. Jaime would be a gryffindor, obviously, and it'd be a whole mess.

[slayingqueenchal]

Slayingqueenchal / ladorischl writers guide

How to write, about my account and I, and more!

This contains :

About my account

Rules

Character I write for

Get to know me

Writers supports writers

Report a copycat

Writing style

Book recommendations

How books can effect your works

Writing journey

Opinions about j.k rowling

How to write, a guide from slayingqueenchal

You and writing against a busy world

About my account :

Heyy, maybe you're confused on why I'm posting this, but it's just a bit of a heads up for my account.

As some of you know, I've lost my email for this acc and somehow I still have access to it. I've decided that, I won't make any backups, and if I do lose this acc my writing style, and name would be similar. (If I do make another acc)

But feel free to unfollow since I have a lot, I mean A LOT of things to do, like uni, work, and a lot more stuff more relevant than this.

I won't stop posting! But I'll post less, and I'll be active too.

Rules :

Im not the kind to set up rules, but here it is

Always taking requests, but if they don't follow the rules, i won't make them

I now do smut fanfiction.

If you already asked another person in Tumblr to make a fanfic about the same character with the same idea, either tell me who they are (so I could tag them) or don't request it

Im not writing a fanfic about anybody ( as in irl) who are uncomfortable with fanfic

I accept requests of characters/person of any genders!

Maybe those are the rules for now, but thank you for being here this far! I want to show you the characters that I write for

Enola holmes

Tewkesbury

ST

Steve H (unpopular)

HP (MARAUDERS, GOLDEN TRIO ERA)

Sirius b

Regulus a.b

James f.p

Remus j.l( most popular)

LOTR

Draco l.m

Ronald w.

Frodo b (least popular)

MARVEL

James b.b

Marc s., Steven g., Jake l.

IRL

Timothee c

Avatar

Loak

Neteyam

Hunger games

Finnick o.

Feel free to tell me if you want to take a fanfic down, (though you have to tell me why, example : you made a similar fanfic and you're not okay with mind, etc)

I occasionally take a week or two breaks so, don't be surprised if I'm gone and suddenly appear, but other than that, thankyou for reading this, I hope you enjoy my writings!

Get to know me :

My name is Doris, hello, I'm a delusional 21 y/o who writes fanfic for herself and other delusional people 🤗

Writers support writers :

If you want a little help, if you think you wrote something really interesting and you think you want more people to see it, send me the link through 'ask' and I'll reblog it.

This doesn't mean all of the posts I reblog are requested, all of them are amazing requested or not requested, I just have this idea and thought this was amazing and helpful <3

Report a copycat :

If you notice someone's fanfic is mine, I would appreciate if you send it through 'ask' or tag me, but if you see a similar one, but not the same, let it slide

And this is not just for me, all writers appreciate if you tell them someone copied their precious works

Writing style :

Personally, I could rarely read first person perspective, and many people have that same problem.

I write with second person perspective, I can't write third person, but, I read both, and reading actual book and other fics

Book recommendations :

First of all, for a person who writes fanfics I barely read books, but there's are my favourites.

Chronicles of narnia, harry Potter series, lotr series, the picture of dorian gray, and a lot of classics.

How books can effect your works :

Books can make a huge difference in your writing.

Like I said I couldn't read first person perspective, but, surprisingly, I used to always read first person perspective.

But one book, or, well, fanfic, could change it. A long book could change what you're used to, you just have to get used to it!

Writing journey :

Draco malfoy. Draco started my writing journey, started from cringe worthy stories I write in my notes app, to actually publishing it here.

Draco malfoy was an asshole, I thought, then I thought of the boy who lived. One faithful day I decided to read a fic in wattpad. Changed my life.

It started with 'The boy who loved By ScribblingQuils' that was long. But that was and always is the best fic I've ever read.

And, because it was long, and it took me like, almost three months to read it (slow reader girlie) it changes how I read other fanfics, and I think that's a good thing, a new era isn't it.

Opinions about j.k rowling :

I'm gonna play devils advocate, and go to both sides

J.K side, for me, she's a hard working women, and she's more of the older side of the spectrum and I get why shes not that open minded about trans.

Our side, just because she's old, that doesn't mean she has to hate them, and she's just quite controversial, and sometimes money grabbing

How to write, a guide from slayingqueenchal :

So, there's so many ways to write. But, I like a more poetical turn. A classic-yet modern writing style.

Like, some times not using very, ex : very angry to enraged, said to chatted, big to tremendous.

Even though these big words some times are hard to understand, it just makes anything you write less dead.

Imagine reading a book

Lucy walks into the big castle, only to find her brother very angry. "You're very angry! You're not thinking straight! " Said Lucy. "Oh I'm not mad, lu" Said the boy.

It's so boring, well, not so, but it's just less interesting to read. Compare that to this.

As Lucy walks through the dark tremendous castle, anxious at what might comes next. Her breathing became faster, Her sword in front of her hand ready if anything tries to attack her. Nothing. Silence. Absolute silence. Until, she heard a laugh.

"Mason? Mason? Mason is that you" Lucy gasped, dropping her sword. Mason stood up, and walked closer to her, getting closer to whisper in her ears "Hello, sister". That voice, haunted Lucy for years. Lucy finally met his dead brother. "Alive, and well" Smiled the long haird boy.

"You left me there, ALONE! " Mason screamed, his veins showing. "I didn't mean to! ", " Of course! of course! " The boy laughed. Out of the blue, Mason slapped her on the face. "You're furious, this is mad! You're not thinking straight! ". Slowly, the boy grins " Oh, I'm not mad lu, this is just the start"

Might not be the best, but it still has more dimension than the first one. The trick is to imagine that you're actually in that world. Is it cold? Is it a small place or a big place? Is it dark? Is there magic in your world? Does everyone have magic? Does the magic hurts those who uses it? Potions? Can magic backfire? Whole loads of things to imagine.

Now I'm not going to explain everything but, these accounts on Instagram might help.

anyawritess, sophieporaykowrites,leewritess,selenewritess,schoolofplot, writing.storyteller

These accounts make writing way more aesthetic and less boring, so enjoy!

You and writing against a busy world :

Managing time can be tiring. But it's fine to take a break. Both one day break, or one year break. It's fine. Take a break. If you need some fresh air out of a fandom or writing, take a break, and if life seems a bit too hard, take a break. Readers will respect your decision, and you can comeback any time you want. The key is taking a break, and don't worry about it too much. For a lot of us writing is not a job, it's a hobby and a gift, and don't you dare exhaust your self because of this.

[bewires]

fandom and the criticism paradox: an essay

So there was recently some twitter drama about a thread where people were supposed to post "cancelable" opinions about fanfic. unsurprisingly, someone saw something in that thread that applied to their own fic and then deleted all their fics off AO3.

there was some backlash to this incident in two specific ways that I saw:

(a) criticizing the author for being so sensitive/looking at this thread in the first place

(b) rejecting criticism of fanfiction bc fanfiction is not forprofit

to be clear, I have no particular stake in the fic trope in question being criticized or the author who deleted, they are specific to a fandom I am not in. what this makes me think about more than anything is the uneasy role of fanfiction as an art form. (if you disagree that fanfic is art you can stop reading here, that is my central premise).

I've been involved in fandom in one way or another for ~15 years, and I can still recall that in the days of yore on fanfiction.net, people would add "concrit welcome" or "read and CC!" in the notes if they wanted to receive constructive criticism. Actually, when I went back to delete my fanfiction.net account several months ago, I discovered also that I as a 13-year-old was exactly the kind of asshole who GAVE constructive criticism, in a tone that would make me furiously angry if someone left that kind of comment for me on AO3.

I can also recall that as a 13-year-old, I received some dismissive commentary that made me discontinue a fic entirely. It was a terrible fic, it was marauders-era HP fanfic about Sirius Black falling for an OC who was best friends with Lily Evans structured around Beatles lyrics. I shudder to think of it and am thrilled it is lost to the sands of time and internet decay. But when someone left a comment making fun of how unoriginal this concept was, it hurt my feelings and made me move on to a different fandom. (This was literally at least a decade before the two cakes meme).

When I moved over to livejournal, it quickly became clear that this was a safer space to experiment, the worst that would happen there was that a fic would go ignored, not that people would leave condescending criticism. Maybe sometimes someone would message you to point something out, or fix a typo or something, but any sort of criticism was happening in private where I couldn't see it. Livejournal is where I really started challenging myself to write interesting concepts or experimental styles (all of which I also shudder to think of now).

Fast forward to AO3, and it is entirely impolite and not the done thing to leave any sort of criticism on a piece of fanfiction. What's more, AO3 is an archive. The author appears far more as an author rather than as a lowly blog runner among many; it's only when you follow them to tumblr or discord that you get to know the person behind the story, otherwise they appear to you only as an author.

There's still a much greater familiarity than there is on, say, goodreads. Published authors have access to their goodreads pages, they can see everything you say about their books there and some of them do check, but the comforting distance of a publisher and a for-profit book makes us more okay with that than with an ao3-review that lands directly in the author's inbox or the snide remark in the bookmark tags that the author will also see. (although I see y'all out there creating goodreads pages for my fanfiction and that....my dudes that's just weird why are you doing this?)

At the same time, though, the fanfiction author did not invent being sensitive about negative feedback. Authors being butthurt about bad reviews has been around for about as long as books. And I get why! Writing is personal. You put a lot of yourself into each word, and having it be rejected, or even mildly criticized, is uncomfortable and unpleasant. There's something to be said for the fact that it's a lot easier to leave negative feedback than positive. It's much easier to pinpoint what you don't like about something than to praise specific things you liked - I actually think ao3 comments are a great practice arena for giving praise and valuing what's done well, a thing I know I don't do enough irl.

So we can say that one arena which separates the fanfiction author from the published author is the directness with which criticism is received. Critical comments go straight from one user to another. In most cases when I've received them, they have been anonymous, probably because the user knows they're breaking fandom norms. Sure, criticism is hurtful for published authors as well, but they have two benefits: one, they are spoken ABOUT and not TO. And two, which leads me to the second point, at least they're getting paid.

The other big issue people raise is that fanfic authors aren't being paid; they are contributing their fanworks out of love, often in spare time as students or while working full-time. Fanfiction is not a commodity, you aren't buying a service and as such you have no right, as a reader, to complain.

This is not a point I can or want to argue; fanfiction is a labor of love and to see the work someone put in and decide to tear them down over not being great at dialogue or whatever is just a dick move.

But.

The thing that gets to me, the white-hot burning core of this argument to me, is that it can't be absolute. And this is where I run up against the central issue of debates about anything substantive on twitter or tumblr, and also why this post is so fricking long - these points are made briefly and succinctly and when you do that it sounds like you're making an absolute statement about whether fanfic should be criticized at all, ever, and I don't think that works.

See, I happen to think a thread asking for "cancellable fanfic takes" is an easy way to stir shit - it's bound to step on some toes and if you're posting in that thread, you're going to have to be okay with stepping on toes.

However, I also think that people should be allowed to have opinions on fanfic tropes in general without authors taking it personally immediately. Like, here, let me out myself: I don't like high school AUs. At all. Don't read 'em. Sometimes I filter them out on AO3 because I don't want to see them!

What a hot take. If some seminal author of high school AUs in any of my fandoms happens to see this, I sure hope they don't take this as a personal affront and delete their fic, because I'm talking about the trope in general and I have not even read their fics because like I said - I don't like this trope! And I happen to think I should be allowed to say that without being criticized for criticizing!

I even, and this is where I'm being controversial, think I should be allowed to go on at great length about why and in what ways I dislike this trope (I think it often destroys adult characters' agency and I also think most high school AUs are wildly OOC). This is not personal towards writers of this trope in my opinion. I do understand why someone might take it personally and/or disagree, and if they do, it's my responsibility to be clear that I'm not saying this to be hurtful but to express my own issues with the trope, but I still think I can say this on my personal blog in my corner of the internet.

So why is it important that I can lay out my issues with high school AUs? Well, because a lot of the time, the criticism of fandom tropes in general that get the kind of "authors are doing this for free how dare you express criticism" response is not innocuous, it's criticism of fandom tropes that further racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia etc. And I don't think it's a coincidence that this particular case, where a fandom trend for this specific fandom was being talked about in general and an author took it personally, is being used to restate and enforce "no criticism in fandom spaces".

Like...no, fanfic authors are not being paid. Yes, this is a labor of love and doesn't deserve to be treated like published work, lacking both the time and attention from an editor. But at the same time, if you put something out there into the world and let people read it, they can think whatever they want about it, and if they think you are hurting people with it, that should be something they can say. One last anecdote to exemplify this point: A few months ago, I clicked on a fic featuring what was, to me, very clearly a situation of dubious if not entirely lacking consent. The fic was not tagged as such at all. I found it pretty upsetting that the fic did not acknowledge the consent situation at all, and left a comment asking for a dubcon tag. In order to do so, I felt like I had to praise a fic that had upset me wildly so the author wouldn't be hurt by me asking for a tag, and afterwards, I was annoyed at myself for basically grovelling in order to get an appropriate tag I could filter for.

Fanfiction is populated by people who love art so much they want to make more of it, they want to think about it and meta and create. Of course fans think about the art created in their own spaces, and of course they have takes about it!

But I think that when we are discussing the role of criticism in fandom spaces, we must crucially differentiate between

Personal, individually-given criticism

Criticism of craft, i.e. solicited, friendly and clear suggestions to improve pacing, dialogue, whatever

Criticism as abuse, i.e. unsolicited and abusive critical commentary

Meta-criticism, i.e. commentary on tagging/fandom norms (which can easily also be abuse

General criticism

Criticism of craft, i.e. criticism of fandom trends like the way anal sex is often written in ways not at all like it's practiced irl

Criticism of norms, i.e. criticism of structural oppression being recreated in popular story beats

Criticism of tropes, i.e. "why I personally don't like high school AUs" (this can blend easily with criticism of norms)

Why is criticism of norms not part of individually-given criticism? Well, because fandom keeps showing over and over that when racism within a fandom is called out, it ends up with the people doing the calling out being harrassed and threatened and the people creating racist content portraying themselves as victims because "you don't criticize fanfiction".

And that's why I think we need to talk about fandom's uncomfortable relationship to criticism.

[ashesandhackles]

Hello! I’m rewriting the HP series, starting from the Marauders’ Era.

I’m an Anti-Snape, but I don’t want to portray him as wholly bad like most people who think like me tend to do. I want to have reasons for Lily to stick with him and defend him for so many years other than him just being her childhood best friend or something. Really, I’m asking for some headcanons? Little moments that Snape and Lily treasure? Little quirks that Snape might have (he likes spicy food, loves bugs, literally anything) to help me humanize him more? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(To everyone who messages me or replies: if you’re respectful of my views on Snape, I’ll be sure to be respectful of yours!)

Thank you! @ottogatto suggested I come here for help, so I decided to give it a try.

Hello! First of all - best of luck! Rewriting the series from a specific era involves a lot of love and labour. ❤️🌻 Secondly, I appreciate you reaching out to humanise Snape a bit :) It's usually my pet peeves in Marauder fanfics that you really can't see what Lily was holding onto while her friend is being radicalised. There is something complex and dsyfunctional here and it says a lot about both of them. The fact that you want to put effort into characterising him instead of making him one note vessel to be bashed is commendable ❤️

Anyway - things I see Snape and Lily do that lends some complexity to the friendship:

1. Snape is the one who told Lily she is a witch and is the one giving her the background of wizarding world (Azkaban conversation, wondering how Dumbledore sent the letter to Petunia etc etc).

Lily, when we first see her, has fairly good amount of control over her magic and is also a bit reckless with it (jumping off swings to float in air). I can see both her and Snape experiment with magic a bit. They are also both very good at Potions - so I can imagine child Snape and Lily practising a lot of wandless magic together and also have Potions bonding time as they grow older.

A fic that does this wonderfully and I recommend with my whole heart is Check the Spindle by @copper-dust

Here is an exchange from the fic that captures how I see the dynamic between 9 year old Lily and Snape, and why I see teenage Lily having difficulty letting go of him:

'Being in a place isn’t playing,’ Lily laughed. ‘Playing is playing. You have to pretend to be something and that everything is something else, like you could be the conductor, even, and pretend the trains are still running.’

Severus bit his lip. ‘I don’t normally...do pretend things.’

‘Well, that’s silly.’

‘It’s not silly!’ His voice sharpened like a pencil tapered to a point. ‘Being silly is like… doing things that aren’t real. I can do real magic, so I don’t have to play pretend.’

‘Well, so can I!’ Lily was offended by the implication that her special gifts were in any way less real than his. ‘I make stuff move all the time without touching it. Just because I do make-believe doesn’t mean I can’t do…’ She lowered her voice, though there was no one around the deserted field. ‘Magic.’

‘I didn’t say you couldn’t...couldn’t do magic. I know you can. I was the one who told you!’

She followed him out into the wheaty grass, away from the rails. He had turned away from her to face the gingerbread-coloured bricks of the distant foundry. ‘Why don’t you want to play anything?!’ insisted Lily, to his back. ‘I thought you wanted to be friends!’

‘Because I don’t know how, alright?

2. I usually take the cue from Harry's relationship with the Half Blood Prince textbook as a mirror for Lily's own friendship with Snape. When Harry is shocked by Sectumsempra ("he felt like a beloved pet had gone savage"), I see a more intense version of this playing out between them. Harry thinks of the Prince as a "clever boy who had helped him" - and I definitely see Snape's cleverness as part of the draw for Lily.

The volatility and ambiguity of her friendship with Snape and when she loses him to his bigotry and radicalisation, in my head, plays a part of why she is drawn to James, who is so vocally militant about his progressive politics. She feels safe with James - James won't hurt her by something that is a part of her identity, in her head. There is a wound in Lily - with regard to both Snape and Petunia.

(I also recommend work by acciosalmon - she captures the bittersweetness of the friendship without toning down any flaws. And although Snape only appears in a cameo, I thought @izzythehutt also captured the dynamic well in her Sirius-centric AU)

I also talk about a more flawed Lily here

3. Snape loves his mother, but hates his father. He identifies as half a "Prince" - his mother's maiden name. We also see him wearing her clothes - I read this as a defiance against his abusive father (and also the Snapes are dirt poor, so if Snape wants a hand me down, he will only take his mother's). I go back and forth on whether he takes Lily home at any point - but I personally see him as too ashamed of his home, compared to a more well off Lily. I do see Lily pushing a bit to understand her angry, sullen friend more. I talk about breakdown of their friendship here

4. I can see him hoard rare Potion ingredients and be super enthusiastic about Lucius Malfoy's dark objects collection in his manor. (he will think Lucius taste in peacocks is garish and kinda funny - which I think he will unthinkingly bitch about to Lily, and Lily won't like the implications of him hanging out with Malfoy). She may share his enthusiasm for rare Potion ingredients too. And yes, I think he will love bugs too. (btw, the Malfoys genuinely regard Snape as their friend and Snape reacts unconsciously when Harry names Lucius as a Death Eater, Narcissa knows where he lives and asks him to save her son's life - there is a relationship there, even though Snape is technically betraying their ideology by being in the Order)

5. He smokes ( he is self destructive, and doesn't take care of himself, so his habits are combination of depressive neglect and outright destruction). He enjoys reading - especially rare academic journals. If he wasn't radicalised and went down the path he did, I can see him turning into a reclusive researcher as an adult. So I tend to give him reclusive researcher interests. Snape hyper-identifies with magic and is very interested in expansion of his understanding and knowledge of it. I talk about Snape's draw towards powerful men with regard to his attachment trauma here

Also recommend The Atoners by @copper-dust for difficult teenage Snape interactions, but still in keeping with his humanity and guilt.

6. He is very, very aware of his social standing and class! @floreatcastellumposts captures this in a wonderful paragraph in her fic Phyrric:

She’d let Potter call the baby Harry, he’d heard, and he was sure, somehow, that it was Potter that had come up with the name. It felt like a Potter name - on the surface common and friendly and non-threatening, but when you stopped and thought about it, it was usually still just posh boys that were called things like James and Harry and Thomas and William and John and Richard and David and Edward. Kingly sort of names, princely - royal. Just as pretentious as Latin, but with the added sanctimony of an attempt at approachability or equality.

Also the quote that best sums him up is "a child weaned on poison considers harm comfort"

Feel free to chat with me in case you have any more questions. And good luck once again! ❤️

[naveyistrying]

JKR is a transphobic fuck. If you look in the "sub"text of her work, you'll also see racism, anti-Semitism and fatphobia.

Unfortunately for me, I actually like Harry Potter.

Fortunately, I like fanfics the best because really? Harry as an auror? He was meant to be a DADA professor! And don't get me started on snivellus!! Slytherin's hero my ass

Basically: jk bad, hp good, ao3 better.

So I decided to draw the main Marauder's Era characters because I'm a sucker for wolfstar and the 70's aesthetic.

Starting with a couple that I adore and that deserves more love: the future Mr and Mrs Longbottom!

Right now just the Mrs though. I present thee, Alice Fortescue! I was going to draw at least the upper body but apparently I forgot how. So just the head it is!

And now some headcanons, as a treat (I completely disregard canon so you may as well read this as an original character sheet)

Alice's mom is a half-french muggleborn, so she Alice considers herself both French and muggleborn at heart

Her dad is a retired auror and she wants to follow in his footsteps

She is quite gifted at charms and is a great duelist, so Flitwick is her favorite professor (she is also his favorite student but don't tell anyone)

She is an absolute disaster in herbology. If you ever need to get rid of plant, just leave Alice alone with it for five minutes. It'll die

She loves baking! It's a tradition for her and her mom to bake a lot of sweets to bring to Hogwarts (her mom doesn't trust any food that you buy on a train or any other form of transportation)

She's a terrible singer

She always takes a shower in the morning

She may seem shut off at first but her friends know that she is the friendliest person alive

In The Squad

Boyfriend: Frank Longbottom

Main hoes: Dorcas, Lily and Remus

Roommates: Lily, Dorcas and Marlene

Friends outside the squad: Mary and Emmeline

I don't remember if each dorm room is supposed to have 4 or 5 students, but to me 4 just makes more sense

#FriendsFacts

Remus is her very willing pastry guinea pig

Alice and Sirius exchange make up tips in French to confuse their boyfriends

Mary, Emmy, Dorcas and her are the Divination Bitches (Marls and Lily make fun of them endlessly)

The Squad always goes to her for love advice because she was the first of them to get her shit together (she asked Frank out on a date on their fourth year after almost 2 years of mutual pining. The bar is low)

[itslucyluna]

Fan Fic Tag Game 2020

Thank you @ailec-12 for tagging me! 

Ao3 Name: Lucy_Luna

Fandoms: I was active in the HP, Spider-Verse, and ATLA/LoK fandoms this year.

1. Fic that was the hardest to write/you spent the most time on: The fic I’ve spent the most time on is Long Way From Home, the eighth story in my Severus has a little sister AU series. It’s not really been difficult to write per se, just time-consuming. There’s just been so much I’ve had to write to tell the story.

2. Fic you spent the least time on/easiest to write: I think it’s no surprise the stories I’ve spent the least time on this year are the one-shots I’ve written. Like My Ancestors Behind Me, Names, The Sky is Wrecked and Full of Rotting Clouds. However, I would say my easiest to write has been To Make The Bridge. Once @ailec-12 gave me the idea for it, the story just really came together in no time. It’s essentially all written except for an epilogue I’m still deciding on.

3. Longest fic: The longest fic I have worked on this year is They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds. I haven’t really written a lot for it this year though. I would say the longest story I’ve put the most work into this year is Long Way From Home.

4. Shortest fic: My Ancestors Behind Me. It’s 836 words.

5. Fic you were nervous to post: I really don’t get nervous before posting. However, I think the story I felt most uncertain about before posting was The Prince's Return. I wasn’t sure what kind of audience there would be for it. However, now that I’ve posted, there does seem to be a small amount of intrigued readers, so I’m happy!

6. How do you choose your titles: I really don’t have a set way of doing it. Like, I guess I just try to find something that sort of tells what the story is about. For example, with my Spider-Verse stuff, there’s one story called An Unexpected Visitor. Surprise surprise, during the story someone unexpected visits. Lots of the stories written in that fandom have uncreative titles like that.

7. Fave fic you read: I think I’ll pick a one-shot and a multi-chapter. I discovered and really enjoyed pretend you don't have one by TheTartWitch. It’s an AU nonlinear one-shot about Severus Snape from the start of his time at Hogwarts until I wanna say shortly before Harry becomes a student. My favorite multi-chapter is Salvage by MuffinLace. It’s an atla AU where Zuko ends up on Hakoda’s ship and ends up basically being adopted by him. I absolutely loved and am loving seeing Zuko become his kid and a part of the crew.

8. Fave fic you wrote: That’s hard. I don’t think I could say I have an all-time fav. I liked writing everything, but To Make The Bridge was especially enjoyable. It’s been a really relaxing story to put together actually.

9. Fave comment: This one from @ailec-12:

“AHHH, the feelings of this chapter! Finally, Sirius realises that Severus's odd behaviour is a consequence of the abuse he suffers (suffered) at home. I like that we have the same headcanons regarding how Sirius reacted when arguing with his parents. I think it fits him a lot that he felt better for "earning" his punishments without giving up on doing something to fight them.

Snape had never taken anything from him or James or anyone else lying down. Why would he do the same with his parents? What made them so different? Just because they were supposedly authority figures he let them belittle and hurt him for no good reason? That didn't sound right. Sometimes, even with the professors, Severus would row with them over detentions and lost points.

Ohhh, but this quote. I, too, think that the reason why Severus never backed down from a fight at Hogwarts is to regain some control. Whether it was fighting the Marauders even outnumbered or confronting professors, he was convincing himself he was not a coward, he could start some fights and win them. As always, this is my headcanon, since we hardly have any information about day-to-day affairs in the Marauders' Era. It's so fun to try and guess, though! Especially when you see some of your guesses reflected in a fic.

Also, Sirius realising that he's behaved somewhat similarly to his own parents with Severus and, right away, feeling crushed by guilt is everything I needed to read today. His apology is another big step to improve their relationship further. I love reading character development and I wonder how sixteen-year-old Severus would react to it —whether he would still be willing to accept that apology or would firmly believe it's all a trap.

The scene with the chocolate frog card was adorable and just the cherry on top Sirius's apology needed. It also reminded me I'd sorta forgotten about them in my fic, hahaha. I'll have to introduce them as a tribute to your story!

He'd have to find a way to make the friendship he made with this boy-Snape stick and pull him over to the right side of things when they were the same age.

Yesssss. Now, I can't stop picturing the Marauders (plus Lily) introducing Severus to Remus's parents. So freaking adorable.

And that cliffhanger after all the wonderful feelings!!! I can't wait to keep reading!”

Without it, To Make The Bridge would not exist. And as I said before, it’s been a lot of fun writing it. So this is my fav comment this year :)

10. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: I won’t, but I guess if there’s any story I’d rewrite ever it’s They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds. It’s a hundred chapters. I think I could definitely go back and combine a lot of chapters and practically halve the length as well as just improve what’s there to be more fleshed out. As for what I could definitely expand on, it’d be my Severus has a little sister AU series. I already have plans for a story after Long Way From Home, but that story has already got me thinking about even more stories for the series. 

11. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: Ah so many choices. I’ve been writing a little bit here and there for all of my WIPs lately. Here’s a little something from what will be the second chapter of The Prince's Return:

“I can’t say I know what happens after this for you, but it seems to me whatever negotiations Jinora and Tenzin have with the spirit world on your behalf will end well and everything will be put right again,” he concluded, smiling in reassurance at the nonplussed boy.

Zuko stepped back and out of his grip. “Nothing ever goes that smoothly for me,” he declared like a threat — or, maybe, a warning.

Iroh showed his palms to the boy. “I don’t know what to say to that,” he said. His grandfather had never seemed that unlucky to him. In fact, Iroh had thought he was always very lucky. Against all odds, he’d changed the world for the better.

12. What was your goal for your fics this year? Did you meet it?: I didn’t have any hard goals really. I wanted to finish a few things, which I did. However, I also started a few things, so, I’m not really writing less. Which is actually okay. That was also something I hoped I would do this year. Write more than I didn’t. 

13. What is your goal for your fics next year?: Finish Long Way From Home, To Make The Bridge, and The Prince's Return.

14. Highlight of your fandom year: The new season of The Umbrella Academy? That was fun and I liked checking out the new fanfics that came out after it too. Also, The Haunting of Bly Manor was fun to binge around Halloween.

15. Highlight of your personal year: I finished a couple of traditionally published books, as well as a cross-stitch and am halfway done with another.

[glove23]

ALL OF THEM

AIGHT LETS GOOOO

1. If you’re an author, how many WIPs do you currently have? (Be honest!)

7

2. What’s next on your ‘to-read’ list? (Fan fiction or otherwise)

i just downloaded all of the kane chronicles books and i’m finally gonna read thru all of them

3. Do you prefer canonverse or AUs?

i guess AUs bc canon doesn’t matter

4. What fandom’s/ship’s fan fiction do you read the most?

harry potter. specifically hp time travel/dimension travel

5. What’s a crackship you love?

that i LOVE? ummm i don’t know honestly i’m pretty basic but i guess i’ll say tom riddle/draco malfoy 😂😂

6. What’s the last thing you read that made you laugh?

UNTIL THEN by Val_Creative on ao3 (THATS RIGHT ITS U) and there’s specifically like one funny paragraph that just hits my funny bone

7. What’s the last thing you read that made you cry?

plz refer to question 6

8. Bed sharing or roommates AU?

bedsharing

9. Fake dating or arranged marriage?

fake dating

10. Mutual pining or enemies to friends to lovers?

enemies to friends to lovers

11. Kid fic or childhood friends?

childhood friends

12.friends with benefits or secret dating?

secret dating

13. Exes or established relationship?

establishes relationship

14. (For authors) Post a line of dialogue from one of your WIPs without context.

“We can bring them back! I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to think of it!”

15.Post the last line you wrote without context

Harry screamed.

16. Describe your WIP that currently has the highest word count.

Your Makers Meet (Figuratively) is currently at 24k and is the sequel to my fic Meeting Your Maker (Literally) and it’s a classic Harry Ron and Hermione jump back in time to the Marauder era to try and prevent the massive casualty of the second wizarding war. if you have read the most recent chapter of ymmf that sentence will probably hurt a bit and i apologize but only a little

17. Describe a fic that is still in the ‘ideas’ stage.

got a percabeth in the ideas and oh my god they were roommates and percy, son of poseidon, burns his hand in some [REDACTED] water

18. Do you have a fic reading/writing routine?

reading: consume consume consume read it all in one night, comment on every chapter

writing: try to not be distracted, get distracted, get upset bc i haven’t written anything, write one paragraph, be proud of self for paragraph, be angry it’s only one paragraph, finish fic, cry

19. What’s your favorite character headcanon?

lord that’s broad uhhhhh tried and true my boy HP in honor of dobby after the war he starts wearing just absolutely ridiculous socks, but his favorite pair remain the pair dobby made him 💕💕

20. Do you have a favorite fanfic or author? If so, tag them/post a link and share the love!

I do, they are Val_Creative on ao3 and ffn and @nooowestayandgetcaught on tumblr AHA ITS U!!! UR MY FAVORITE!!!! no one is surprised, i will read anything and everything u have written, regardless if i know the fandom or not. i love your style and the way u describe things just!!! ahh!!!! i love it SO MUCH anyways plz everyone go check out their fic it’s amazing thank u

[padfootagain]

10 things I wish someone had told me when I started to write fanfictions

 To start this little series of posts where I will attempt to gather the best advices I can give you concerning writing, I'm going to go through a list of 10 things that I wish I had known when I started to post my first fanfictions on the internet. The first few are more about being a fanfic writer on this hellsite, but then I drift towards more writing stuff.

This might also be interesting for people who don't write, if they're curious about the whole process, I hope some of them read this as well.

I do not pretend to be right. I will never dare to pretend to be right about anything. But from my personal experience, here are a few things that I feel like you should know if you are writing fanfics and want to share your work.

This post is long, sorry. Feel free to pick up the bits that you're the most interested in.

Also, if you want me to treat a particular subject in one of these posts (that should be shorter in the future), please, do tell me. I'll be happy to (try to) help :D

Word count : 4914

Alright, let's go!

1. Spread love, spread love, spread love and spread even more love

 If you are around here, it means that you love these silly characters beyond what is reasonable. It's okay, we are all in it together. Then, do not bother with people you find annoying or spread negativity through a fandom. Block them. Avoid them. There is enough negativity in life without it spreading to stain what makes you happy. Do not hesitate to block people. You will find your stay around here much more enjoyable then.

Be kind to people. No matter if they message you on or off anon, no matter what they are asking, be nice. Listen to them. Some are very shy and clumsy with words, some make tons of mistakes while writing in English, it doesn't matter. Be kind. Make them feel welcome on your blog. Show them that you are a safe place around here. You wouldn't want people to dismiss you after you try to be nice to them right? So don't do it to other people. There are many people around here who keep on telling me that they were hesitant in messaging me because they were nervous. Don't be nervous. Talk to each other. Talk to me, I want to talk to you. Be nice with each other. If we have created this kind of fanfiction blogs, it's because we love the characters we write for. We will always be up for a chat about them.

 2. Wisely use your tags, you shall.

 Because it is extremely annoying as a reader when you are looking for a Sirius Black x Reader fic and you end up with some Jily angst. Make sure to tag all your stories, but do it accurately. Do not tag something as wolfstar if it's a Remus x reader imagine. It's just so annoying when the results don't match what you are looking for. Personally, it doesn't make me want to read the imagine, on the contrary, it just annoys me, and I will not visit the blog where it was posted.

To tag your stories, try to think about these three things :

- Who is the main character in my story ? Are there other characters that are really important in the plot?

- Which fandom am I writing for ?

- What part of the fandom is this character involved in?

If several characters are involved, try to determine which ones are the most important and tag them first. You can tag a character using both the full name or just the first name, so think about including both versions.

So, for a Sirius Black x reader story some Jily, you will have the tags:

#sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius black imagine #sirius black fanfiction #sirius #sirius x reader #sirius imagine #sirius fanfiction #hp # marauders era #marauders #marauders imagine #marauders fanfiction #jily #jily fanfiction #jily imagine #james potter #lily evans potter

See? Then your imagine will come up first if people are looking for Sirius. It might appear for Jily too, but the order of the tags indicate that they're not that important in the story. You can also tag if you are writing fluff, angst… it's up to you. If you don't really know which tags you should use, try to check the tags used by fanfiction writers that you like, it might help.

 3. Comments are rare, but it's not because it’s you

 As a writer, you have put all your energy and soul and emotions into this piece of writing you have just posted. Fasten your seatbelt. You will then experiment the rollercoaster of emotions that goes with it:

- First, the excitement of posting something new

- Then, the long wait for any form of feedback or validation

- Refreshing the page every five seconds to see if your story has a note

- "Oh! A little heart! Someone read it!!!!"

- The slow realization striking that you're not getting much notes

- Going to bed asking yourself a thousand questions and thinking that you are the worst writer on tumblr, as your post didn't get more than 5 notes for now

- Waking up in the morning to find ONE comment on your fic

- Blessing that person with your whole being and worshiping this wonderful human being for a long while as you keep on re-reading the five-words long little message that was written on your post

- Noticing a few reblogs and looking at them all one by one to check if a comment was left in the tags

- Disappointment washing over you every time you see no tags

- A bright grin when you see a 'good fic' in a tag

Yes, this is the usual fanfic writer rollercoaster. You are not the only one experiencing it. Every single writer here does experience the same.

Yes, it is, sadly, normal to receive very few comments on your stories, it doesn't mean that you are a bad writer.

Yes, OCs are not as popular as reader inserts on tumblr. You will get even less notes for these stories. Again, it is, sadly, normal, and it doesn't mean that your OC sucks.

Yes, you will probably get more notes on the first chapter of a series than the rest of your story, especially if you take a few weeks to update. It doesn't mean that your series is less appreciated or is a disappointment.

Some characters or ships are less popular than others in a fandom. You will get less notes for them. It's normal, and again, it doesn't mean that your story is bad.

No, you don't have a psychic link to your computer that tells you if people liked your story without them actually telling you. I know you don't. But there are few people around here who seem to get that. So be patient. Be kind. And don't take it personally, because it's the same problem for everyone here.

Getting just a few notes does not mean that you are a bad writer. We are all struggling to get comments. You are a good writer, even if your story has just a few notes. I didn't get more than 30 notes on my last chapter for my Dr Who fic. My Rose Tico fic struggled to get 10 notes. One of my Poe fic reached 650 notes. There is not always a logic. Do not let the number of notes describe you as a writer. You are a good writer. Getting just a few notes must not stop you from writing. It's not because you don't get many notes that you are not skilled at writing.

 4. Make life easy for your readers: make a masterlist and some taglists

 Make a taglist where you can store the url of people who want to follow your stories. Keep it organized. If you write for several characters/fandom, accept to make different taglists for each character/fandom, and if you are brave enough, for individual stories as well. These people want to follow what you write, so it takes a little time to you, but people that are tagged might read your story more easily and not miss an update.

You can also add links to the previous part of a series or a link to your masterlist in a text post. I don't do it, because I reckon that my masterlist is pretty easy to navigate through, plus, I'm lazy as fuck… but you can be better than me and do it.

Make a masterlist that can be open on mobile. Lots of people (me included) read fanfics in the bus, or during breaks at work, or when they travel… and they don’t have a computer then. So, if you want them to find your stories on mobile, you will have to make a masterlist that they can open on the app. We will take all the steps to create such masterlist one by one. Perhaps there is an easier way to do it, but no one ever told me how to make a masterlist, and that's the only way I found by myself, so I can't help you more than that I'm afraid. If you can't do it that way, ask me for help or ask another fanfic writer who has a link to her/his masterlist in the blog description and try the method he/she used.

To create your masterlist:

1. Create the text post that will become your masterlist. Nothing more than a very normal text post, and publish it on your blog. On this post, you will put your stories and the links leading to them.

2. Open this brand new post and copy the full name of the page in the toolbar at the top of your screen (the full https://ww.tumblr.com/... thing)

3. Go in the settings of your blog and choose the edit appearance menu (the same that you used to decorate your blog and make it pretty).

4. Choose the 'edit theme' menu (website theme section). You arrive in the edit theme page where you can change the theme for your blog, the colours…

5. In the first section called 'appearance options', you can enter the title of your blog, a short description of your blog and choose your avatar. This section also holds the information that are showed on the app. It is in this 'Description' section that we will put the link to your masterlist.

6. In the description, after you've added the text that you wanted, you will have to enter the whole bit of coding that I am writing here. It will allow you to put a link to your masterlist using the link you've copied to a word written in the description. So, you have to write : <b><a href="Insert the link to your masterlist here "> Enter the name of your link here</a></b>

You have to paste the link you have copied in the bit that I have written in italic. The part written in bold is where you type the words that will appear in your description for the link (I stayed traditional, and wrote Masterlist, for example).

7. Don't forget to save your changes, and in theory, if you go to the page of your own blog, the link has appeared in your description, and when you click on it, you have access to your Masterlist!

After that, it's up to you to keep your masterlist updated! If possible, try to make a masterlist as soon as you start writing (or as soon as you have read this post and realized that you desperately needed that damn masterlist), and try to update it everytime you post a new story, or else you might forget a post, or look through your own blog for a while to find the right post again.

Some people use a tag system instead of a masterlist. I find it less reliable. Everything is in your masterlist, I find it easier for readers to find stories and navigate through your writing. But then, it's up to you. I can't help you with the tag system though, as I don’t use it.

Also, do not hesitate to reblog your fics a couple of times after you've posted them. It's not just about promoting your own work, but you have followers from all around the world. When it's night for you, it's the middle of the day for some of them. So reblogging your story to make sure that every time zone has a chance to see it is actually for your followers, not for yourself.

 5. Requests are open, but not everything is okay

 An advantage of tumblr for both readers and writers is that requests are so easy to make. For readers, it's wonderful because someone else is going to write a story they are dreaming of but can't write themselves. For writers, it might stir your imagination and make you think of new stories that would have never crossed your mind otherwise.

Now, that being said, as a writer, you have the right to refuse a request. Do not feel guilty about it. This idea doesn't ring a bell? It sounds weird? You just don't like it? Then refuse it. Stay kind with the person who requested it, but refuse. You are the one who is going to spend hours and hours bringing this story to life, you need to like the idea that is proposed to you.

Make sure that all the requests that you have accepted are either in your askbox, or in a google doc, or in a note book… but anyway, all at the same place. It's easier to go through them all when you are looking for something to write then.

You do not have to write them in a specific order. Don't feel guilty for writing a request straight after receiving it when another one has been sitting in your askbox for several weeks. Your imagination is not something that works on demand. Write what inspires you the most, and if a request that you like doesn't inspire you enough to write it for now, then wait, until it inspires you enough to write it.

Most people open their requests and close them once they have received a few. Then they write them all, and re-open the requests later. It's a very good way to do it and to keep control on your requests.

Me? My requests are always open. Why? Because, if a new follower of mine wants to ask for me to write something, I want this person to have the opportunity to ask. Also, if someone just has a wonderful new idea, I want this person to be able to send a request too. It's one way to do it. Then, you will drown in an ocean of requests that you will never be able to get out of. But as long as you accept the fact and warn your followers that their request will take a long time to be written, I reckon it's pretty fair too.

Never feel obliged to open requests. If you don't feel like it, then don't. You are the one who will have to write the whole thing, don't do it if you don't want to.

Do not imagine that the person who sent you a request will leave you a nice comment to thank you. It is extremely rare. Especially for anons. Here again, don't take it personally, it's not about you, you didn't screw up their request, it's just that no one receives this kind of message.

I remember an anon who asked me to make a part 2 to a request that I had written for her/him. And so I asked in my answer to his/her message if he/she liked the first part. He/she said 'Well, of course I liked it! It was wonderful!'

But dear anon, if you don't tell me that you enjoyed the story that I wrote for you, I actually can't know that you liked it…

But dear writer, if you never hear of this anon who sent a request ever again, it's not about you, I'm pretty sure this anon loved your story. He/she just assumes that you know how brilliant you are. Here is the misunderstanding between readers and writers.

 Right, now, let's get to the writing stuff…

 6. Experiment, experiment, experiment and experiment again

 Especially if you are starting to write fanfics, you will need to find out the best process that fits your personality to write. There is no magical way to do things that will suddenly makes it easy for you to write, and writing keeps on evolving as you grow as a person and also in skills. Don't expect a nice little thing you will do to pass the time. If you really get involved in it, writing is tough. Writing is crying on your own as you write a sad scene. Writing is spending hours looking for tiny details and vocabulary to make sure that you are accurate. Writing is forgetting a thousand plot twists between the moment when you are under your shower and you sit down to write. Writing is waking up at three in the morning to write because you suddenly had the best idea ever.

You will suffer. But you will also find the most addicting feeling that exists in this world, if you manage to completely lose yourself in your story. Bye bye debts, responsibilities, family problems, work… if you manage to get to the orgasmic trance of writing, you will forget the whole world, and get lost in your story. And that is worth everything that makes the life of a fanfic writer shitty.

As I mentioned, to get to this fabulous state of mind, there is no perfect recipe. Because it's different for everyone. You need to try different things to find out which process fits you best. So here are a few things that you should try:

- Try to write different types of stories : adventure, angst, fluff, AU… you will find out that there is a kind of writing that you like the most. For me, it's mainly fluff, with some angst to get it tastier…

-Try both reader inserts and OCs. Both have advantages and drawbacks. You can write both. I do write both. Sometimes though, if you have a very clear idea of your character, it's better to make an OC. For a short one-shot, reader insert is much simpler, and will allow you to not spend two bloody hours looking for a name for your character…

-Try to write with 'I', 'you', 'he/she'… You will soon find one that fits you better. Personally, I hate that bloody 'I' for example.

- Try different tenses. Some people prefer to write using present, others past tenses. It's up to you, just try to be consistent once you've settled for one, or it can be quite confusing.

-Try to plan a story, and try not to plan a story. Some writers need to have the skeleton of the story already written down before really writing the whole thing. Try to make little notes on the characters you create then too. Personally, I can't do that. I hate planning fics. I just write the first things that come to my mind. Do not be ashamed of either process, they are both valid, and trust me, they will both get you to writing full fics. My longest fics are more than 500 to 800 pages long. 0 planning. It works for some people. A friend of mine is unable to start a fic if he doesn't know every single plot twist in it. It just depends on how your brain works. Try to apply both techniques, you'll quickly find out that one is better for you than the other, or perhaps you'll just plan a few things but not everything... it's up to you.

Finding your process of writing is personal. That being said, don't hesitate to ask for advices to writers that you like. You can ask for people you trust to read your fic before posting it as well, you can get good advices then.

 7. Make sure your comfy

 No matter for how long you plan on writing, make sure you are comfortable. In your bed, at your desk, outside… write where you are comfortably sitting/lying down. Take your favourite candies, keep a bottle of water and some coffee/tea near at hand. If it helps, turn on the music. Make playlists for writing with your favourite songs. You will have to experiment the effect of music on your writing too: with music, without music, with lyrics, without lyrics… here again, it's up to you.

Make sure you have the internet too. Because you will often need to check a random fact about the world you're writing about, or some vocabulary… or because after a little while you won't be focused anymore, and you'll probably end up reading fanfics on tumblr before getting back to writing, so be already prepared.

 8. Find your own pace

 I am here talking to fanfiction writers. We are not paid for our writing. We have no deadlines. Therefore, there is no rush. I think that the worst advice that I have ever seen for writers was a post that explained how to write a thousand words a day. Basically, it was explaining that you had to force yourself to, step by step, increase the number of words you would write before stopping and doing something else. To me, this is the WORST ADVICE EVER!!!

DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO WRITE!!!

You are spreading love about characters for free, the last thing you want is pressure coming from it! If you force yourself, you'll start not enjoying it, and that's the last thing you want, trust me.

Here again, you have to experiment. Perhaps you are the kind of person who writes a paragraph every day. Perhaps you only write once a week but then you vomit ten pages in one sitting. Perhaps you write once in a while. Perhaps you are like me and can't go to sleep without having written at least 1000 to 2000 words that night. It depends. Do not force yourself to write. You will find your own rhythm. You just need time to find it. Just write when you want to for as long as you want to.

Also, do not rush your brain to create a story, especially for complex stories like series. Some people are fast, between the moment they have the idea for the fic and when they actually write it. But some people need to think about this idea for a while. Personally, 90% of the time, an idea is going to be brewing in my brain for days, weeks, sometimes months or years before I write it down. It's okay, take your time.

An advice to writers with minds twirling with ideas constantly like me: if you have so many ideas, some will be better than others. Wait for a bit then. Some of these ideas will disappear by themselves after a few days or weeks. Write the ones that remained in your brain, no matter if you waited. They are the best ones you came up with. Write the ones that you still have in your head a month later.

Your pace will also determine how often you post your fics, obviously. Do not put any pressure on yourself to write faster because you haven't posted any story in several days. Take the time you need to finish your story. Take your time. You're in no rush. No matter if people are asking you to update soon, you're the one who's writing the damn thing, so go to your own pace.

Wisdom would make me tell you to try to focus on one story at a time. But wisdom is not a fanfic writer. If you have checked my blog, you know that I write many series simultaneously. It's just because my brain is unable to focus on only one story at a time. So I just start many. If you feel like you need to finish this story before starting a new one, then finish it first. But if you feel obsessed with this new idea, let it out and put it down on paper. It won't leave unless you write it anyway, so better get rid of it before it drives you nuts. Here again, updates for new chapters and beginning of new series must be done at your own pace.

Also, wisdom would make me tell you to finish a story before posting it. But wisdom has much more self-control than I do. You don't have to wait to have finished the whole series to post the first part, unless it works better for you. Once again, your own pace.

If you are facing a writer's block and you need some time away from writing, do not feel guilty about taking that time. Take a few days, a few weeks, a few months if necessary, until you can go back to your story. You can also try to write for new characters/fandoms, sometimes it helps, but sometimes you just need time. So do yourself a favour, and take it.

 9. Your story, your words

 How many posts did I see on this hellsite telling you to not use 'say', to not use this type of words, but rather that type of words…

Do yourself a favour. Write whatever you want.

If a word exists, it's because it describes something. An emotion, an action… and if you need to describe that precise thing, then use the damn word for it. And use 'say' as many times as you want.

There is no stupid reaction for your character. I do giggle in real life. I do blush a lot. I do cry easily. I do feel better around some people for no logical reason. Do not listen to the cynical bunch of fake intellectuals who are pretending that these actions don't exist. They do. You can describe them the way you like. And if you want your character to smirk, then make that boy smirk.

You have to apprehend writing like a freedom. There is no one controlling you when you write a fanfiction. There are no standards to respect, no limits to your imagination. You can use any word that you may like. You can write the stories that you want, the way you want to.

There's no need to aim for a vocabulary that you don't master. Especially if you don't write in your native language (like me). You can use a few fancy words, but sometimes it'll be clearer with a vocabulary that is considered like simpler. There's no reason to overdo it.

Try to include both descriptions and dialogues in your work. Dialogues are dynamic, they carry a lot of weight in your narration. They are also very important to carry emotions. But you also need descriptions to get the reader in a certain atmosphere, and to make the actions clearer. If a character picks up a knife, but you have never indicated that he was in a kitchen, it may be a bit confusing. But then, the balance between descriptions and dialogues depends on you, here again, no magic recipe. Just try to get both in your story, you'll find out that it'll be easier to carry out emotions and to make the plot advance then.

Ha, and one more thing, because I said that it was your story. There is nothing wrong in writing a very bold fic with an idea you've never seen anywhere before. But there is nothing wrong either in using a popular AU, a popular idea, a popular OC… there is nothing wrong with that. Because no one has ever written that AU the way you are going to write it. So write it. With your own plot twists, and your own words, and your own feelings. Do you know how many coffeeshop AUs I have read? I have lost count. Do I still want to read more? Yes, please. Because it's cute, and I want cute. How many readers were made a fellow pilot in the resistance and fall in love with Poe Dameron? Here again, I have lost count. Do I still want to read more about that? Yes, please, I do, bring me the angst and the fluff! And please, write it, because I've never read this story written by you, and I want to read it.

 And now, my last piece of advice for this very long post, but the most important piece of advice that I can give you:

 10. If you do not like tips, do not take tips.

 Tips are written by people who have one way to look at a problem. They look at the problem, and they find a solution (sometimes, I am not even sure that they have faced the problem themselves to be honest…). But it is the solution that would fit them, not fit you. Now, you may come across some advices that are very good for you and help you get better at writing. Then cherish these pieces of advice and use them. But if you realize that an advice is not working for you, then leave it behind and try something else. Writing is too personal to have golden rules that need to be followed to reach your goal. It's a slow process. You will never stop learning and improving. Here again, try to experiment the advices that seem interesting to you. Abandon the ones that don't fit your personality.

I have never followed a single advice that I have seen on this website. I write rarely less than 2000 words a day. Not respecting tips that you encounter does not mean that you are a bad writer, or that you'll never manage to finish a story. It just means that you don't write like the person who gathered these advices does. And there's nothing to feel guilty about. You are still a valid writer, you are still creating amazing stories, your process to do it all is just different.

Writing will bring you such a feeling of freedom, do not let yourself be trapped in stupid rules that someone else invented out of the blue.

 And if nothing that I've written helps you, then it's okay. It just means that we don't see the same thing in writing, and we don't write the same way. But you're still amazingly talented, and I think I'm not that bad either. Just enjoy writing. Enjoy sharing your stories. Enjoy reading the stories that are shared by other fantastic writers that we are lucky to have around here. Just enjoy it all, and be kind, to both others and yourself.

[andy-loves-corgis]

The Eyes, Laugh and Lies of Anneliss York - Part 1 (Lily)

Hey guys, I know this is mainly a Choices blog, but my lazy ass doesn’t want to create another blog so you’ll get some Harry Potter fanfics too!

Book: Harry Potter - Marauders Era

Pairings: James x Lily, Sirius x OC, Remus x OC

Notes: So, this fic is from 2015, when I just wrote for HP fandom, and @drakewalkerrosenberg wanted to see a little of my HP fics, so here it is.

It’s basic centered on my OC Anneliss York, her life will be told through the eyes of her friends and lovers now that she’s dead. Each chapter will be someone’s POV, and they will complement each other. Tell me if you want to be tagged.

***

Lily Evans

The house was cold, my husband’s family manor used to be full of joy, but now it was empty. His father died first, his mother couldn’t bear to live without him,passing right after, and now she was gone too.

Anneliss was dead.

I just couldn't stare at her portrait anymore, she was my best friend, the one who lived my ups and downs, who was with me every bloody time that I needed. She couldn't be just gone, a person like her cannot die! Life was beaming out of her fingertips at anytime. It hurt so much to remember the times that I've spent with her, mainly due to the fact that her gorgeous 7-month-old daughter is right here, smiling on my lap, playing with my son. Looking one more time to her smile, I can’t help but chant the words we’d always said to each other, even though she’s not saying it back. Never again.

“I love you like a sister, Liss"

November 11th, 1972

I was sitting at the far corner of the library studying potions, Severus was serving a detention due to Potter bullying instincts and couldn't be there with me. I had already written two parchments of our potions essay (even though the professor had said it could be only one and a half) and was checking the information when I felt someone's stare on me, when I looked at my side I saw a girl not much taller than me, with long brown hair with the sides pinned with bright red hair clips, eyes that I couldn't figure out if they were blue or green and some freckles spread on her face. I knew her, she was Anneliss York, Gryffindor; same year as mine. Somehow she was related to Potter and the talk was that she was the adoptive daughter of our Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dumbledore. She was a bit of a loner.

"Hi" she started shyly "Could you lend me the potions book when you're finished? There is no other available and I haven't started my essay yet. Besides, I really suck at this subject"

"Sure" I answered awkwardly "Humm... Do you want some help?" her face lit and she nodded.

That day she would become my best friend.

February 8th, 1974

"Why can't you go with me to Hogsmeade?" I ranted looking for my brown jacket in my drawers, the brunette on the bed beside me sighed.

"Lily, I've already told you, I'm going out with Sirius". She didn’t even bother to look at me.

I was dazed by her answer "I thought you got over your crush on that neanderthal", she sighed once again.

"And I did, he and James made a bet, fifty chocolate frogs on who would take a girl to a date and kiss her by the end of the day, he promised me half of the prize and I said yes".

"Wait. That's why that toerag you call cousin was screaming in the halls 'Evans, go out with me'?" I stopped my search for a second, really irritated.

"Probably" She said carelessly scraping the dirt out of her nails.

I had finally found my jacket and looked judgingly to her "You sold yourself short, and you're going to lose a perfect day with me and Sev", she snorted putting a red Every Flavor bean on her mouth, muffling the sound of her next words.

"Yeah, like I would go out with the couple".

"We're not a couple!" why everyone thought we were? She raised her brow and said:

"Sure" she said going in the bathroon's direction "I'll pretend he's not drooling over you every bloody minute, now if you excuse me I have to get ready for my first kiss and lots of chocolate frogs later on. I'm really a lucky girl".

I laughed at her remarks, she was really a girl of attitude.

June 21st, 1976

Mudblood

I couldn't believe he had said it, he could not have said it! He was my best friend, long before Hogwarts, when magic was just a silly daydream of mine. He said that word, that piercing word that would haunt me forever in the wizard world. It doesn't matter that he came to apologise, why would I be different from every other muggle-born that he called that? I was beyond second chances with him and that hurt me more than I could imagine. I was crying my eyes out in the dorm, so immersed on my own self-pity that I didn't hear her coming.

She sat on the edge of my bed and hugged me, I started sobbing "Why does my blood matter so much?" my body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Shhh" I heard her next to my ear, her hand was caressing my disheveled hair and I started to hear her voice filling my head. "It doesn't mean anything to those who really matter" She laid me on my bed and I heard her melodic whispers.

"Don't lose it all,

in the blur of the stars.

Seeing is deceiving,

dreaming is believing,

it's okay not be okay.

Sometimes is hard,

to follow your heart,

but tears don't mean you're losing,

everybody's bruising.

Just be truth to who you are."

And she lulled me to sleep, so I could wake up a new person. I would be a better friend to her, that was always there for me whenever I needed.

January 10th, 1977

The night was silent, the ones who couldn't find a place near the fireplaces went to sleep early because the cold outside was as imposing as the dark figure that was slowly starting a war on the wizard world, I was wide awake in my bed, thinking that I would be an adult ‪in 20 days‬, a mudblood adult, who could be killed at any moment.

"Lily, are you awake?" I heard Liss calling me, and the apprehensive tone she used worried me.

"Yes" I answered, but silence met me on the other side, I knew she had not fallen asleep so she was probably thinking about what she was going to say, "spill it" I almost ordered, the other girls in the room were sound asleep (Mary was too soundly for my taste).

"IsleptwithSiriusontheholidays" she said so fast that at first I couldn't understand, I guess it was the shock, because when I could figure what she said I choked on my breath.

"You did what? Merlin, Liss, haven't you dumped Edlor Thomas because he was only thinking about sleeping with you? How could you sleep with your bloody best friend?! That's crazy Liss, how did it started? Are you two dating now? Does Potter know? He's gonna kill him..."

"Lily, calm down please" she whispered pleading "It just happened, it's your fault actually, no one wanted to go with us to Tenerife! It happened, it was nice, we're still best friends, nothing has changed... I guess" I tried to calm my breath, but Liss' confession was making me uncomfortable about keeping my own secret .

"I kissed Potter yesterday, under a mistletoe" I confessed in a small voice.

"YOU WHAT?"

I couldn't even answer, since her exclamation had awaken all of the girls in the dorm, but I got the feeling that I wouldn't hear the end of it on the next day.

September 2nd, 1977

"Liss, wake up! It's first day of school, our last first day. I need to run or I'll have a heart attack" I was shaking a peaceful sleeping girl who started mumbling really pissed when awake, but started to dress up anyway. It was our tradition, actually it was my tradition. I would wake her up at dawn and make her jog with me on our first day of school, and she would be grumpy and snarl at my comments. That's just how we were.

"So, how are you?" I asked when we stopped by the Herbology greenhouses."Is Remus talking to you again? I couldn't find him yesterday at the banquet" she looked at the grass, she had been like this for two weeks now.

"No, no word since he broke up with me" she answered in a small voice.

"I think he's right you know, if you're battling feelings for Sirius you should just let them out, I think he likes you too. Of course you made a mess by dating Remus, but if he's giving you the chance to be happy, take it"

Her stare was lethal and I could study those eyes which sometimes seemed green and other seemed blue, she was really pissed.

"Well, Lily, I think it would be just polite of you to know your heart like you know mine. James won't chase you forever you know" that said she just started jogging ahead of me.

Touché.

October 13th, 1977

We were laying on the gardens, it was past the school curfew but we sneaked out anyway, it was our last year and I could afford some rule-breaking (I could cover it anyway by being a Head Girl). James Potter, the new Head Boy, had kissed me this afternoon, the Gryffindor lost the first game of the season to Ravenclaw and James was frustrated, I felt really bad for him. I was studying near the windows of the Common Room and saw him marching towards me, still in his quidditch uniform full of mud and sweat with a determined look on his face, we had become friends over the past few months and I never saw him like that. It was fast, he didn't even stop in front of me, just put both hands on the sides of my face and kissed me. 'You are going out with me next weekend' he said to my blushy face and I would have kissed him again if it wasn't for all the students around.

"Liss?" I asked the girl by my side, who turned her face from the sky to look at me. "I'm in love with James Potter"

And she would take my hand, smile at me and say "I'm glad you finally noticed it"

September 17th, 1978

"HE PROPOSED!" I screamed entering her flat as she jumped frightened in fear with her hand on her wand, those were dark times and for a flick of a second I forgot that.

"OH MERLIN'S ARSE!" she exclaimed after the information sank in "You are going to be married! I'm so so so happy for you" she was hugging me tight, I could feel her happiness and that made me feel alive, she was the sister that my own could never be.

"Will you be my maid of honor?" I asked drying the tears that I didn't even knew I was shedding. "If you didn't ask I would possibly slice your throat!" she said smiling fully.

"How about you and Sirius? When are you two tying the knot?" she started to laugh openly.

"Can you imagine Sirius Black getting married? He surely prefers to mess around in my kitchen and complain about the amount of drawers that he has here"

January 3rd, 1979

"I feel like we have to be afraid all the time" Liss told me while we were having tea at my place, I had to agree with her, those were dark times, but I knew something that she didn't.

"Let's do something stupid for once!" I said with a mischievous smile, I was becoming more and more like my husband, "Let's go to some shop, you buy me a dress and I buy you one, and we aparate in some beach and just pretend we don't have any worries! Just for today, please?” she laughed like I was crazy but went on anyway. We stopped by a muggle store that I loved, spent half an hour looking for the dress, actually she did, I already knew what to buy to her.

"Oh Lil, white? You know that when I use white it seems like my freckles multiply" she said when we were back to her flat and she tried her treat, I snorted, she looked amazing on the long strapless dress.

"You don't even have a hand full of freckles, don't let Sirius comments get to you. Besides the deal was: I would choose you a dress and you would do the same to me, now cheer up. It's time for the beach"

I was so excited to see her face, we stepped on the warm sand and we both smiled, she had her back to the sea and I was trying not to focus on what was behind her. "Here" I said taking a sparkly little head piece of my purse and putting in her hair "Something borrowed... hum, the dress is new"

"What's going on, Lil?" when she turned her eyes grew wide, as she took it all in her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. There was a small tent decorated with flowers, a strange man behind an altar and Sirius Black wearing a white tunic on the right side, while James was wearing a black one on the other.

"You need something blue" and I conjured a bouquet of blue spring star flowers "As for something old, you would have to go for our friendship".

"Oh, Lil" there were tears in her eyes, I felt honored to take her to the altar, so she could be forever happy, like I was.

November 15th, 1979

We were surrounded by Death Eaters, they were large in numbers than us and I was truly scared for the first time, Sirius was on another mission and Liss was at home feeling frightened all the time, the pregnancy taking its toll on her, I emitted the help signal to the Order's members, we needed back up, but I could never think that she would come, that she would risk herself and her baby for us. But she came, she came because I called, she came because we are her family and she wouldn't let anyone harm us, that's why when she was attacked and started bleeding near a dumpster I felt my heart sink.

"We will take you to a safe place, Liss" I assured her while James and I headed to the hospital "Everything will be alright"

But it wouldn't. I had to gather courage to enter her room in St Mungus, and when she looked into my eyes she knew, and that broke me.

"No" she said in a small voice, "no, no, no. no. NOOO!" she started screaming in her bed, she grabbed the sheets in her fists and cried. "My baby, not my dear baby! No, Lily!” she sobbed and collapsed on the bed when nothing more could hold her awake. And I was there the whole night when Sirius didn't appear, I held her hand because her pain was my pain.

January 14th, 1980

"I'm leaving the house by the end of the week" she said behind her tea mug, her eyes ,always so bright, were dead "It's been long since we stopped looking at each other's face. I think it's just better"

I couldn't meet her gaze any longer, my lie filling the space between us, I felt sorry for her, it was so unfair to have it all and see someone you love so much lose everything, she finished her tea and stood up "I will write you to tell where you can find me. Oh... by the way, this is for you" she said taking a little package out of her purse, when I opened my breath was caught in my throat, it was a comforter with little broomsticks on it. How did she know?

"You will be a wonderful mother, Lil" she said opening a genuine smile and I could see a flick of light in her eyes.

June 21st, 1980

We were laid on her backyard, feeling the grass on our backs, just like we used to do at school, our swollen bellies side by side, I was so happy for us, for how her life was back on tracks. We spent an awful lot of time together making plans for our babies, how they would be intelligent, and brave and would be best friends like all of us, and her light laugh would fill up the warm air, her eyes would light up and she would say:

"I love you like a sister, Lil"

.

Tagging: @ehkw1989 (Hey girl!)