⋆｡˚“You’re the whole bloody sky”⋆｡˚

Remus lupin - tcoptp by motswolo.

June Creator Spotlight: BigBlackDog

Hello, colorful cuties, and welcome to our first creator spotlight!!

Each month, we will highlight a different creator in our lovely fandom who features diverse characterizations. We will invite you to get to know them better through questions and answers, Fandom Discourse(tm), and a featured prompt created by our guest!!!

For our first spotlight, we are more than pleased to highlight the incredible work of bigblackdog!!! See a little snippet of this wonderful interview below, along with bigblackdog’s prompt! Look below the cut for our complete interview. Don’t forget to share and interact with this post, and if you have anyone you’d like to recommend for a spotlight, shoot us an ask! You can find our first guest’s Tumblr here.

“I've experienced ups and downs in the wolfstar fandom. It often feels like the wolfstar fandom is willing to engage in discussion about every political issue but race. And the few people who are trying to talk about race consistently encounter this silence.”

bigblackdog’s prompt: I want to see more latino characters who are not impoverished or criminalized. Give me a joyful latino/e remus!

Hello, I'm bigblackdog! I'm almost 30, and I've been active in fandom on various platforms for about seven years now. I'm latina/e and live in the u.s. with a small white dog.

Q: How did you start creating in the fandom? What did you wish to bring into the fandom? 

A: Like a lot of fans I started with self insert fic as a middle schooler. Sometimes the practice of self-insert gets ragged on in fandom, as if you're not doing real character work, but I think it's really cool. And if you're an under represented identity in the traditional western canon of literature, self insert is a radical practice. Making space for yourself in a story that refuses or ignores your identities is a radical act. And that's what i want to bring to fandom-- disruption and self care.

Q: What things about s/r as characters or in their relationship inspire you to create around them? 

A: Wolfstar was the first queer ship I was introduced to. I wasn't someone who arrived in fandom with my own robust queer reading skills, I needed other queers to hold my hand and introduce me to queer ships and how to find them and build them. My interest in r/s was simply a clinging to queerness I wasn't finding in other places. I really think it could have been any characters, as long as they were queer.

Q: What things would you like to highlight about the Wolfstar fandom and your experience in it? 

A: I've experienced ups and downs in the wolfstar fandom. It often feels like the wolfstar fandom is willing to engage in discussion about every political issue but race. And the few people who are trying to talk about race consistently encounter this silence. It's hard not to feel bitter. But i've also met some amazing people and overall feel that fans really are trying their best to be welcoming and inclusive.

Q: What type of content do you wish you saw more in the fandom? 

A: I want to see more discourse that aims at amplifying underrepresented voices like wolfstar-in-color. I want to see more fans of color joyfully and irreverently writing themselves into the magical world!

Q: What is your favourite wolfstar fancontent (fic/fanart/gifset/etc) and how does it inspire you? 

A: I love dontthinkonithermione's rp. Not only does she do an amazing nerdy know it all Hermione, she envisions Black characters in every corner of the hp world. Have you seen her Hogwarts p.e. professor rps? i love the space she creates for herself, and the joy she does it with.

Q: Which of your own identities inform your creative processes? How has that process been for you? 

A: I started out in fandom really trying to feel out the nooks and crannies of being queer. As i've spent more time in fandom and become more confident in my queerness I've started looking closer at some of my other identities-- Latina, mixed, adhd-- and how i can squeeze them into the hp world. For a long time it was hard, especially with being Latine and mixed, to envision how that identity could belong in a 90s British boarding school in the Scottish wilderness. I also really struggled with the feeling that i would get "diversity" wrong. I’ve also struggled with feeling like I have to write diversity because i'm an underrepresented voice. Brown people are often pressured to do the work of educating white people about racism and in fandom spaces that often means pressure to write the reality of racism instead of the fantasy that white writers get to play with. And sometimes i just want to write a pwp without worrying about the revolution, you know? But i really love fandom for its refusal to play by the rules of capitalism and canon, eventually i started to feel like putting more of myself into my writing was another rule i could break.

Q: What advice do you have for other content creators with diverse backgrounds in the fandom? What would you say to people that might feel they don’t have the “right” history/experience/characteristics to participate in the creation of content related to Wolfstar? 

First, there's a lot of content on tumblr that aims to silence your voice, learn how to recognize the difference between cancel culture and encouragement. Sometimes content that seems well meaning still presents writing diversity as a list of black and white rules (and virtue signaling) instead of encouragement for underrepresented voices to share their own messy experience. Set those rules gently aside. Second, fandom is built on the idea that the author isn't the only person who gets to play. we all get to play. It doesn't always feel like we were invited, but the great thing about fandom is there is no barrier to entry, no prior experience or publishing hoops to jump through. This is our playground too. If canon is dead then why can't our stories be brown and queer and neurodivergent? Third, find your people. i've found that having just one other person to talk about race with has made the whole space feel more welcoming.

Q: How could we build a more diverse fandom? 

A: We have to stop prioritizing white and cis male voices. We recognize that policing irl is a problem inextricable from whiteness and maleness, but we don't see that fandom policing online is also a problem deeply embedded in whiteness and maleness. White and cis male people frequently use their discomfort with difficult topics to change the subject from a critical discussion to one that prioritizes their white and/or male feelings. The same thing happens online when personal discomfort is used to cancel or undermine content that's challenging to a white or male voice. White and cis male voices are used to having their needs met above others. And we still cater to that in fandom spaces when we privilege 'fetishization' discourse over racial discourse. When we lift up bipoc and women/trans/nb voices and the issues they're concerned with we'll make fandom a more welcoming place for underrepresented voices.

Q: What’s your favourite thing to modify in Sirius’s or Remus’s characterizations to bring new perspectives to them? 

A: It really depends on the story i'm writing and what issue i'm trying to figure out. Sometimes i need Sirius to be Adhd to come to terms with my brain, sometimes i need two brown boys to fall in love and be happy against all odds.

Q: What does diversity mean to you? What does that encompass in fannish spaces? 

A: This is a hard question! I tend to think of diversity as those voices that are disenfranchised or pushed to the margins. And fannish spaces have all the same hierarchies and blind spots as other spaces. In fannish spaces there's the idea that you can curate your experience to some extent, but for marginalized voices, at least in my experience, no matter how much you curate the marginalization is still there.

Q: What are your ideas about the notions of culture and ethnicity? How do you relate to those notions? 

A: There was a time in my life where relating to my ethnicity was largely a process of recognizing larger systems of oppression and how they worked against my various identities. And for a while it was a really helpful way to frame my experiences. Now I feel a little less attached to ethnicity as like, a monolithic concept threaded through my whole life and more attached to the small things that I enjoy about my ethnicity and culture-- making a really good pot of beans, for example.

Q: Leave us with a quote or work of art that always inspires you. 

A: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." Audre Lorde

hey mango! how would you say the boys fit into the five man band trope? not just in their current group, but in the two trios they were beforehand. i'm really curious, and I have a hard time figuring out what patton is in either combination

Well, that is an interesting question, with some interesting answers >:)

First, let's make sure we're working on the same definitions:

Leader — Center of the team! Rallies the other characters around them without too much difficulty, tends to take charge of the team and give orders, often also makes the plans. Usually the defacto protagonist, but not always; they can also play a mostly support role, complimenting the rest of the team by finding ways for them to bounce off of each other.

Lancer — A foil for the leader, and usually their second hand! They contrast the leader, and typically have a complicated and/or deep relationship with them, since they must have opposing characterization. They must challenge the Leader, but don’t have to be antagonistic. Often, they are allowed to be more evil/morally dubious than the Leader, since they function as a contrast. Just as often, the Leader and Lancer can switch roles back and forth depending on the situation!

Heart — The emotional glue of the team! Responsible for keeping everyone else grounded and bound together. Compassionate towards their teammates and aware of their needs and feelings, but not always nice. An advisor to the Leader, and the most common second hand, if it’s not already the Lancer.

The Big Guy — Tough, loyal, reliable, and notably impressive in a specific martial/combat skill (usually strength). Don't have to be physically "big," just more individually powerful/capable than the rest of their teammates (though the Leader can be an exception here). Usually a tank or one man army, and sometimes a point man, but not always. Usually a foil for The Smart One, though they can be the same character.

The Smart One — Notably the most intelligent member of the team! This intelligence can be specialized or general, but it is a defining part of their team role. They give exposition, make plans, and usually are better at predicting the enemy's plans. Usually a foil for The Big Guy.

The Sixth Ranger — A semi-wildcard who usually joins the party later than others. They are not as tightly knit into the team as everyone else, and are usually Lone Wolf types, or were previous to joining the band. They function as a powerhouse ally, who can step in as an additional Big Guy or second Lancer. More morally dubious than the rest of the team (even more so than the Lancer), and generally one of the most capable individual fighters, which also makes them prone to the Worf Effect and/or late game betrayals.

Tag-Along Kid — The small child that somehow joins the party and is dragged into their shit! Can function as a primary or secondary Heart, Smart One, or Big Guy if they are competent, but they can also be dead weight and/or a potential repeat captive of the villain’s.

Ok, so now that we’ve got that down, lets start from the beginning! (Only doing groups of 3 or more people, no duo dynamic analysis here)

      When Remus and Virgil semi-forcefully adopt Janus into their group, Remus acts as their Leader (used to playing the role for Virgil and Roman), Virgil as their Big Guy, and Janus fell in as Remus’s Lancer. Remus tended to do whatever he felt like in the moment, impulsively start fights, and let Virgil engage on the surface as if he was still working under Underdark rules, while Janus liked to plan his every move, rely heavily on diplomacy, and tried to reel Virgil back. This combination was clearly not the best for them, and made them a very ineffective team.

      Janus leaves the team for a while to handle some personal mission. When he returns, Janus demands to be recognized as the team’s new Leader. The other two have no complaints, and quickly fall in place behind him; Remus becomes the team’s Heart, and Virgil becomes Janus’s Lancer while still being The Big Guy. In opposition to Janus’s scheming (often, at first, making plans without telling anyone what they are), patience, and total lack of battle prowess, Virgil is in no way a talker. Instead, he’s fiercely protective, brash, violent, and incredibly capable in battle. Virgil and Janus switched Leader/Lancer positions whenever they ventured into the Underdark, and Virgil slowly but steadily taught Remus to be an incredibly skilled warrior, allowing him to be a second Big Guy. With Remus to keep their emotions in check, Virgil’s dedication to honing the skill of their team, and Janus’s emphasis on leaning the party towards patience and diplomacy, the three quickly grew to trust each other absolutely.

      Markedly, they do not have a Smart One. To the shock of absolutely nobody.

      Then, Logan and Patton meet Roman! Logan is instantly recognized as their trio’s Leader and Smart One, at least by onlookers, with Roman as his primary Lancer, and Patton as a secondary Lancer / their Heart. Logan is somewhat challenged by Patton’s distaste for professional diplomacy, Patton’s higher emotional intelligence, and Patton’s refusal to be open with his feelings (Logan is much more of an open book and Patton frustrates him), but he’s much more challenged by Roman’s refusal to ever use his brain when he could instead go apeshit and play Protagonist. Logan is well aware that he functions best as a team player and supportive coordinator, but Roman likes to think himself a Lone Wolf Hero, and refuses to defer to Logan when he thinks his own plan is better. Which is all the time. Patton tends to listen to Logan’s instructions out of respect, but also isn’t afraid to defect from Logan’s careful plans when he sees fit. 

      Unlike J/R/V, they do not have a foundation of trust: Logan doesn’t trust Roman or Patton to listen to him (because they don’t) or to keep themselves safe without him hovering over them. Patton doesn’t trust Logan and Roman to have his back when he needs them (because they haven’t), or to not claw each other’s faces off while he’s not looking. Roman is afraid that Logan and Patton don’t really respect him (because they don’t), and doesn’t trust Patton and Logan to work well with him anyway, so he would rather they just sit back and let him do his thing. They stick together because they are best friends, and Patton and Roman are certain Logan will get himself killed without their protection, but they don’t actually function as a cohesive team.

      Notably, they do not have a Big Guy. But, then they are joined by Virgil, their Sixth Ranger! Virgil refuses to be absorbed into their team at first, keeping himself at a distance, but still does his best to protect them with his superior battle prowess. Eventually (largely due to the Whisper’s and Patton’s meddling) he starts to feel more comfortable engaging them as actual teammates, and he is starting, very slowly, to lean into a new role as their Big Guy. Then Aninsliee joins the group, and, of course, she is their Tag-Along Kid!

      Then, finally, Remus and Janus join the party! But, this causes some problems...

      Remus joins as the team’s Big Guy, but Janus is still determined to be the Leader. Remus seconds this, and still acts as if Janus is his leader, refusing to respect Logan. Virgil is still functioning mostly as a Sixth Ranger, but the more comfortable he grows with the return of Remus and Janus, Virgil will fall into his old role as their Big Guy, also deferring to Janus over Logan. 

      Patton refuses to engage with Janus and Remus quite the same as he does with Logan, Roman, and Virgil, so Patton is quickly being edged out as the team’s Heart, being replaced by Roman, who has fully embraced Virgil & Annie, and also trusts Janus and Remus (though Remus is on a very fine line with him). Patton is now a sort of tertiary Big Guy.

      Janus is Logan’s new primary Lancer, as someone who both contrasts his characterization in almost every way and explicitly challenges him all the time, on purpose, for fun. Logan is still the defacto Leader & Smart One, though Janus is pretty transparently attempting a party coup under his nose...

~

So, TL;DR 

Remus, Janus, and Virgil pre-breakup:

Janus — Leader

Remus — Heart, Big Guy

Virgil — Big Guy, Lancer

(No Smart One)

Logan, Patton, and Roman pre-Virgil:

Logan — Leader, Smart One

Patton — Heart, Lancer

Roman — Lancer

(No Big Guy)

Present Time:

Logan — Smart One, Leader

Patton — Big Guy?, Heart?

Roman — Heart, Lancer?

Virgil — Sixth Ranger

Janus — Lancer, Leader?

Remus — Big Guy

Ainsliee — Tag-Along Child

AO3 stats tag

*dodges left, then right, then--*

ACK, nope, it's a direct hit! I've been tagged by the fab @wanderingbandurria 😘

come hang out in the readmore for this deep dive....

How many works do you have on AO3?

28! Two pages! That blew my mind the other day. Am I a Real Writer yet, then??

What's your total AO3 word count?

311681, and it's going to go up about 200k once I post the two WIPs that are currently in edit/record mode. Scary!

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

AHhahahaha, this question was written for another kind of person. ONE. Harry Potter, Wolfstar, with a nice little sprinkle of Starbuck & general polyamory.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. The Ridiculous but Overall Enjoyable Consequences of Silencing Sirius Black

2. An Explicit Truth

3. Problems with Narrative Structure and the Rules of Manly Engagement

4. A Continuation Involving Powdered Donuts and Fits of Erotic Panic

5. Of Barnacles and Mermen

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Hell yes! I used to save them up, but that started to get out of hand, so now I usually respond right away. The more delicious the comment, the longer I wait and reread it first lol.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending

How dare you. I would never. They are all happy endings, and always will be. I think the closest to an angsty ending would have to be The Best Medicine and that is a 1k fluff fic about Remus getting pampered by James.

Seriously, get out of here with your angst, my world is on fire and constantly on the verge of pandemic-y apocalypse, I don't need more reasons to be unsettled.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really, but one person took issue with the way I was reinforcing negative stereotypes about saunas. I was so flattered. I was DELIGHTED. Like, "Enough people are reading my stuff that someone doesn't like something? I've hit the big times!" And one other time a person didn't agree with a characterization. Which, okay. But I still like my way better, so there.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I would never.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so? Hey, young cool kids, if you see bootlegs of my stuff being hawked on a street corner, please let me know.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah!!! It's not complete yet, but you can read the first bits of Of Barnacles and Mermen in Russian! Which is so cool!

What's your all time favorite ship?

So it's definitely wolfstar all over the place over here. But I've gone so rogue with the AUs that Remus/Sirius are really just a template for the idea of the week. They could be almost any pairing in some of my stories. I also really love making them little polyam families. Starbuck can actually be SUCH a fun, loving ship, and I am happy to help sail it.

What's a WIP that you want to finish, but don't think that you ever will?

How DARE you. I am nowhere even CLOSE to accepting that I might not finish all my WIPs.

What are your writing strengths?

Oh, I think I answered this in a tag game recently. Let's see: Podfic. Smut. Pranks. Humor. Found family. First times. idk, does that sounds about right?

What are your writing weaknesses?

Of course I don't have any of these. Jk. I write slow, which is very annoying (for you and for me). Hmm. I'm sure there is more, but I can't see it. I'm sure others can. I try not to stress about that. I love writing, and I get better by practicing it. But practicing something by definition means you are imperfect at it.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

Whoa, this question feels like a curveball compared to the others! I haven't done any of this, but I might at some point if it's the right story for it. I don't like the idea of putting things in other langauages just for the *mystique*, that seems a little icky to me. I think I would, instead, just say that the characters are switching languages. Example for clarity: "I would never do that," he said with a sniff, and then turned to Lily, adding in French for her ears only, "What is with this guy?" Thoughts on this approach?

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

It's all one big wolfstar here.

What is your favorite fic that you've written?

I answered this a few tag games back, so I'll just let that answer stand 😘

You can't stop me from tagging my squad again: @remus-lupin-is-my-type (I don't care how inactive you are on tumblr AT ALL), @champagneandliterature @femme--de--lettres

Who is Orange?

Disclaimer: Please enjoy?  Accept?  Beware?  This… Thing that started out as character analysis and turned into a deranged fanfic, because I experienced a literal revelation mid-way through free writing.  I did not clean this up much because I’m still reeling from the theory implications myself.  I cursed a lot.

~

What does Orange Side represent?

What do we know?

Orange is a “Dark Side”, defined as being one of the Sides hidden from C!Thomas.

The other Hidden Sides were Janus, Remus, and Virgil.

All the Hidden Sides were hidden due to a key aspect of their character that C!Thomas had to first acknowledge and then accept.  Virgil required C!Thomas to acknowledge that he had heightened anxiety and accept that anxiety isn’t inherently wrong, just a different form of information that can be processed.  Remus required C!Thomas to acknowledge that he had intrusive thoughts and accept that those thoughts don’t make him evil; they’re just thoughts.  Janus required C!Thomas to acknowledge that he was capable of lying and accept that acting “selfishly” sometimes isn’t just okay, but actually critically important to managing stress.

 What are the common themes here?  

Confronting the reality about ourselves instead of pretending some traits don’t exist.

Understanding ourselves to be more complex than ‘good’ and ‘evil’.

Addressing mental health.  

Orange Side is still hidden, but we can expect him to be something C!Thomas doesn’t want to (or isn’t ready to) acknowledge.  Something that would be difficult to accept about oneself.  All Hidden Sides fall under the jurisdiction of Janus, so let’s take another look at him.

In “Can Lying Be Good?” we get a lot of information about what Janus’ purpose is:

Roman: It you really don’t want to know something, he… can keep our mouths shut.

Logan: You don’t want to believe it.  That’s where his power comes from.  Things that you want to believe.  Things that you wish were true.  And things that you wish weren’t.

Deceit: What you don’t know can’t hurt you.

This all means that Orange Side is something that would cause C!Thomas distress to learn and something he subconsciously wishes weren’t true.  This is not new information to most of you: the spin-off interpretations of Apathy and Pride are widely popular fandom theories, traits that are typically viewed as negative in large doses.

But the Hidden Sides being seen as something negative isn’t their only defining characteristic.  They typically involve an aspect a mental health, involve societal expectations, and... what is it...

Janus is the umbrella over all the other Hidden Sides, sheltering and obscuring them from view. He is the gatekeeper in a very literal sense.  What is he gatekeeping?  

What is it?  What is it what is it, why?  What does he do?  What seems bad but isn’t?  What can he do?  What issue is actually useful?  What’s useful what’s useful WHATS USEFUL WHATS USEFUL?!  WHY DOES IT HAVE TO USEFUL?

shitshitSHITSHISTHISTSTs

I KEPT ASKING MYSELF, WHAT’S USEFUL?  WHAT TRAIT COULD IT BE THAT APPEARS BAD, BUT ISN’T BAD, IS ACTUALLY USEFUL.  ANIEXTY WAS OKAY BECAUSE HE WAS JUST LOOKING OUT FOR US.  LYING WAS OKAY BECAUSE HE JUST WANTED TO PUT C!THOMAS FIRST.  INTRUSIVE CREATIVITY WAS OKAY BECAUSE DARK IDEAS OPEN UP NEW PATHS.

But the whole GODDAMN POINT is ACCEPTANCE!  

You don’t HAVE to be useful to be accepted.  You – yuo just BE.  YOU BE!

PEOPLE don’t have to prove their Usefulness to you before you can treat them with respect.  Our WORTH does not depend on what we PRODUCE. YE GODS, THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE I JUST BROKE-

~~~

C!Thomas comes back from his self-care stay-cation.  He’s ready to start production, he is rested and refreshed.  BUT JUST LIKE EVERY PREVIOUS DILEMMA, it isn’t Good enough, Original enough, Fast enough.  He’s done everything right, why is it still wrong?  He’s accepted his anxiety, he’s accepted that things aren’t just black and white, he’s Accepted That It’s OKAY to have Dark Thoughts, he Has ACCEPTED SELF_CARE.  Why Isn’t IT ENOUGH?!

“Fuck it.”  

C!Thomas spins in his chair, looking at a man that looks just like him, but not quite.

“What?”

“Fuck it.  Fuck them.”

“You sound like Remus,” Thomas jokes.  He’s lying, of course.  He’s nervous. The Side looks like a normal guy, but something about him is unsettling.  The unidentified Side just presses his lips together, unimpressed.

“Um, ef w-who, exactly?” Thomas asks, but part of him already knows.

“All of them.  Every person who isn’t you.  Every person who expects something from you.”

“Now, you sound like Janus.” Thomas looks back at the computer screen, but the Side’s retort has him spinning around again.  

“Janus is a short-sighted pseudo-rebellious minion of a capitalistic society, just like the rest of them.”

“Uh, excuse me?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? They’re all obsessed with Success. Whether they want to play by the rules, or manipulate them, or break them, whether it’s making money or pumping out good deeds, they’re still just trying to make you be successful within the framework of a system that prioritizes production over a human life.”

Thomas just stares for a moment before he can find his voice.

“Who are you?”

“Dude, seriously?”  He waves his hands, palms up and presenting himself.  “I’m Achilleus.  I’m your motivation.”

~~~

Take a deep breath and follow me down the research black hole, where every topic I looked up was more and more terrifyingly appropriate: 

Freedom

noun

the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Self-Determination

noun

the process by which a person controls their own life.

Autonomy

noun

(in Kantian moral philosophy) the capacity of an agent to act in accordance with objective morality rather than under the influence of desires.

Autonomic Nervous System (because i believe each Hidden Side is closer to the subconscious)

noun

the part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes.

Inherent Value

“inherent value in the case of animal ethics can be described as the value an animal possesses in its own right, as an end-in-itself” – Animal Rights – Inherent Value, by Saahil Papar

Intrinsic Value

“Intrinsic value has traditionally been thought to lie at the heart of ethics. Philosophers use a number of terms to refer to such value. The intrinsic value of something is said to be the value that that thing has “in itself,” or “for its own sake,” or “as such,” or “in its own right.”” – Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Value, by Michael J. Zimmerman and Ben Bradley

“Finally, his sense of respect for the intrinsic value of entities, including the non-sentient, is the Kantian notion of the inherent value of all Being.  This is based on the notion that a universe without moral evaluators (e.g. humans) would still be morally valuable, and there is no reason not to regard Being as inherently morally good.” – Technology and the Trajectory of Myth, by David Grant, Lyria Bennett Moses

Motivation

“Another way to conceptualize motivation is through Self-Determination Theory … which is concerned with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  Intrinsic motivation happens when someone does something for its inherent satisfaction.” – Second Language Acquisition Myths: Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching, by Steven Brown, Jenifer Larson-Hall

Capitalism

“The flowery language of the United States Declaration of Independence would have you believe that human life has an inherent value, one that includes inalienable rights such as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But in America, a major indicator of value is actually placed on being a productive member of society, which typically means working a job that creates monetary revenue (especially if the end result is accumulated wealth and suffering was inherently involved in the process).” – The Diminished Value of Human Life in a Capitalistic Society, by Seren Sensei

Religion

“At the heart of the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism lay the insurmountable chasm between God’s sovereign election versus human self-determination.” – Sovereignty vs. Self-determination: Two Versions of Ephesians 1:3-14, by Reformed Theology

Mythology

“In Classical Greece, Achilles was widely admired as a paragon of male excellence and virtue. Later, during the height of the Roman Empire, his name became synonymous with uncontrollable rage and barbarism… He chooses kleos (glory) over life itself, and he owes his heroic identity to this kleos. He achieves the major goal of the hero: to have his identity put permanently on record through kleos…

“But is this really an accurate characterization of Achilles' pivotal decision? Is he really driven to sacrifice his life by an obsessive quest for honor and glory? One scene in the Iliad suggests the answer to both questions is no.

“When Achilles leaves the battlefield after his dispute with Agamemnon, the Trojans gain the upper hand on the Greeks. Desperate to convince their best warrior to return, Agamemnon sends an envoy of Achilles' closest friends to his tent to persuade him to reconsider his decision. During this scene, Achilles calmly informs his friends that he is no longer interested in giving up his life for the sake of heroic ideals. His exact words are below:

“The same honor waits for the coward and the brave. They both go down to Death, the fighter who shirks, the one who works to exhaustion (IX 386-388)…

“Not only does Achilles reject the envoy's offers of material reward, but he rejects the entire premise that glory is worth a man's life.” – making sense of a hero’s motivation, by Patrick Garvey

Achilles (/əˈkɪliːz/ ə-KIL-eez) or Achilleus (Ancient Greek: Ἀχιλλεύς, [a.kʰilˈleu̯s])

Achilles realizes his own inherent self-worth, thereby freeing himself from the expectations of others; societal or otherwise.  Only once we are free can we find the balance between our own needs and the needs of others in a way that breeds neither anger nor resentment in either.

~~~

But that’s... that’s just... a theory.   Huh.

Just some fic recs (part 2)...

It’s been a while since I’ve made a rec list and that seemed tragic to me as I’ve spent most of my quarantine surviving off fic. So here we go! The popular fics are hidden away for today and there is more Wangxian on here than I’d care to admit, but I Hyperfixated. Still, the ships are numerous and various.

Promises We Make -- Mayarene Rose; Wangxian Lan Zhan has taken to visiting the Yiling as often as he can, bringing as many rabbits as he can carry. It is not against the sect rules so there's no reason for him to feel guilty about it. And after all, he made a promise. Or the one where Lan Zhan sneakily moves into the Burial Mounds and this may or may not have helped stop a lot of bad things from happening. **If you’re feeling sad, this is the fic for you. It can take any bad day and make it better. Lan Zhan brings every goddamn rabbit in Cloud Recesses to the Burial Mounds a few rabbits at a time just as an excuse to visit Wei Ying. Then he kind of just stays? And everyone loves him? And Wei Ying is an absolute dumbass about the whole thing? Which tracks.

Screw Poetry, It’s You I Want -- intertwiningsouls; Pynch Adam tries to navigate a crush on his best friend, his first time having a group of friends during the holidays, and the mysterious notes that keep showing up in his locker. **Fair warning this fic is not finished and on hiatus, but I still think it is absolutely worth reading anyway. I reread it often and then get sad it’s not updated, but, you know, fic writer’s lives are hard. I know this deeply. Anyway, it’s soft, it’s cute, and Ronan is perfect.

apastron -- kissmesexybatman; Shatt "This was the mission: three people were set to travel half a year out to the edge of the solar system, traversing space no human eyes had ever seen, to explore the possibility of life in the most extreme of conditions." The first six months of the Kerberos Mission. **This fic is quiet and meditative and a little lonely, but it is so, so beautiful. I loved it the first time I read it and I love it now. There’s some very good ace representation and love just pours from this fic. Love for people and love for space.

How Fragile We Are, Between the Few Good Moments -- nineandthreequarterrs; Wolfstar By the time it’s dark, there’s a fire crackling before them. The tent is set up. There are two chairs propped up by the fire. They have cooked and eaten dinner, and they are sitting in silence. It reminds Sirius of the dinners at home after he got sorted into Gryffindor, or after his mother found the letters from his friends, or lately, whenever he dares to show his face around the house at all. What lives in that space isn’t actually silence. Silence is absence. This thing that hangs between him and his mother, now between him and Remus, is the presence of something suffocating and cutting. It doesn’t serve as a placeholder for noise, it serves as a punishment. It cleaves him to the bone, flays him until he wants to cry. The soft, knotting feeling in his chest he feels when he wants to let tears out but can’t is rising in him. Sirius doesn’t know how to kill except to hiss, “Well if you’re mad at me just fucking say so.” **This takes the moment where Sirius lures Snape to the Shrieking Shack and nearly gets him killed by Remus in his werewolf form-a scene that should be utilized like this more frequently-and creates something absolutely lovely with it. The fic is quiet and subtle and deals with the abuse Sirius suffers and Remus’ rightful anger in a delicate and true way. I adore it.

Likewise Variable -- ssstrychnine; Wolfstar James has plans, Peter is the nurse, Sirius keeps fake blood up his sleeves, and Remus just tries to stay alive. **One of those classic Marauders fics where everyone is batshit crazy except Remus, who ends up doing batshit crazy things because he loves his friends. And Sirius. Especially Sirius. He ends up playing Romeo and Sirius plays Juliet and the pining and angst is unreal. A trope I’m trash for and very well executed.

flowers boldly blossoming over withered grass -- LilyMaxwell; Wangxian It’s in the dawning years after Jin Guangyao’s death that Wei Wuxian learns what it’s like to live and love without a second thought. **The first fic I found in my endless search through pages and pages on ao3 where I saw a characterization of Lan Zhan that resonated with me in the same way he did in the show. I have a thing for soft and quiet fics and this one is no exception. Lovely and beautifully written. 

Like Knives -- All_My_Characters_Are_Dead; Bakushima Bakugou was disappointed in him. Bakugou thought he was weak, thought he was useless. Bakugou knew he’d broken, and Bakugou was mad at him for it. **I love this fic a lot. It takes Bakugou’s anger and uses it to full angst advantage. Kirishima overhears Bakugou and misinterprets Bakugou’s intense worry for anger. And then emotions happen.

Garden War -- Cibee; Drarry Harry and Draco are quarantined in their houses, a lake across from one another. What better ways to spend this time than to annoy each other with letters and attempts to prove that their garden is better? **I did my best to avoid quarantine fics, but you know, easier said than done. This one is super cute. Mostly epistolary, Harry and Draco just make fun of each other and garden and then get together. Like, what the hell else do you want?

light fires at night (to push back the void) -- inthesea; Andreil The first time Andrew realizes he wants to hear the words, Neil isn’t even doing anything. He’s just sitting there, staring at the horizon with that stupidly dramatic faraway expression of his, and letting the cigarette burn down between his fingers all the way to the filter — an outrageous waste of good nicotine, if you asked Andrew. (Or: 20+ times Andrew and Neil say I love you, and one time they say it out loud.) **One of the two truly popular fics that shows up on here. This fic changed my life. It killed me and then brought me back to life. It’s essentially a series of vignettes starring Andrew and Neil and like...it hurts and it heals and it loves. I would die for this fic to continue existing even when I don’t.

the hidden source is the watchful heart -- sombregods; Wangxian Wei Wuxian comes back to the Cloud Recesses for the winter months. He and Lan Wangji learn that emotional intimacy and physical intimacy are not (yet) quite synonymous.They have time to figure it out. **I have the biggest soft spot for relationships where sex and romance aren’t intrinsically intertwined and take some time to navigate. And in my mind, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying have exactly that kind of relationship, so this fic was all I ever needed. If that’s your thing, this is a must read.

A Heart’s a Heavy Burden -- idratherhaveyou; Wangxian There was fire and magic and death, screams and blood, but rage was Wei Ying's song at night, the beast he became taking control, protecting what it could and destroying those that did harm.Years ago, when Wei Ying had newly discovered this particular power of his, when he’d picked his side—to simply fight everyone who didn’t fight for those weaker than themselves—he’d remembered more.To him, this was better. Better to forget things best forgot. **A Howl’s Moving Castle AU **A shameless self-promotion, but I love this fic to pieces, so I thought it seemed fit to add. Not quite finished, but I promise it will be. I just take two of my favorite pieces of media and have a real good time. There’s magic, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying love each other a lot, and A-Yuan does god’s work.

Siren Song -- Becky_J_1022 When Damen is cursed by a Siren in exchange for the revenge his heart desperately desires, his life is thrown into chaos, and betrayal lurks around every corner. Despite his better judgment, he allows a beautiful young man to seek berth on his ship, not knowing that he has granted refuge to the one man who has every reason to want him dead. Laurent may be the key to breaking Damen's curse, and Damen could help restore Laurent to his throne—but if they have any hope of helping each other, they will have to untangle their bitter pasts first. **Listen, man, this fic is balls to the walls fun and also everyone should read Becky’s fics. Not enough people do. She makes sentences beautiful. Just so beautiful. And she loves to and you can tell.

Theory time!

(I don't remember who made this title. Please, someone, let me know so I can credit them)(warning essay post)

Is no one gonna talk about how investing the personifications of Thomas’s sides have gotten? No talking about the expansion of the Sanders Sides’ as personas? 

I feel that they have been getting textured in a far more believable manner, namely Patton. We have learned of the character’s identity in regards to Morality and in being its embodiment, the strict and oppressive nature of it. 

Personally, I love the layering of doubt, stubbornness, and dejection going into the representation for them all.

Virgil and his past erasure, denying the essence of who he used to be and whom he used to affiliate with.

No one listening to Roman.

Also, can we all just accept that Deceit is dismissed way too easily by most of the sides? He suggests lying even once (always after someone else considered it) and everything else he says is lobbied out the window. (Yes I know he’s my favorite so I hAvE a BiAs)

I’m. So. Pumped! I have so many theories. 

You know what?  I’m about to get into it. Warning Long post!

FULL ESSAY MODE ENGAGING!

First: Let’s talk about the general character’s representations.

Within the realm of the series structure, we have learned about the weight of Thomas's opinions of his sides and their personifications. We’ve seen this with the Duke’s arrival, Marking him as the unwelcome side of Thomas’ creative thoughts. 

This representation style for the character Doubles as a ground for individual motivations as well as the metaphysical repercussions of a side’s role, mentally for Thomas. Much Like how Thomas questioning his own good natured-ness being a discussion by Deceit and Morality, but also “Patton” and “whatever Deceit’s name is”.

Which means that a Side might make a decision or an appearance-based upon either a character choice-- which tends to be personal, or their supposed position in the ’Thomasphere’. 

For example, Virgil is an anxious character who seeks to protect Thomas from poor decision making.  However he also compulsively brings up information that he is aware is troubling to Thomas. Because in that regard he cannot separate himself from the role he plays in Thomas’s mind. Virgil could also make decisions based squarely upon personal bias. Such as avoiding telling Thomas about the “others” despite Thomas asking directly. 

I mention this because Thomas’s general opinion regarding a set of traits dictates the representation of the characteristic when embodied. Take for example if Thomas looked more harshly on the idea of repressed thoughts. Morality’s character could have just as easily been called “Denial”. This still would have played into the character’s person being both stubborn, dismissive, and childish. A line like “where do babies come from?” despite being a dad could have been a reinforcement into the idea that Thomas couldn’t trust that voice in his head to be rational.  

This simple implication leads me to leave that due to Thomas’ view on selfishness, that he too was erasing the potential contributions to be offered by a character like Virgil at the beginning of the Series. If Thomas valued vigilance more, then Virgil would have been seen as something like ‘Caution’ or ‘practicality’. 

What I mean when I mention this is, Thomas is not an inherently reliable narrator, and thus the representations of characters framed by his opinion should be under scrutiny as well. We all can very easily see the value of a character like ‘Anxiety’ now that Thomas’s morality has taken the time to paint it in a positive light. 

But why his morality and not Character Thomas alone? Because these ‘sides’ are all facets of Thomas. So there must be a part of him that is making these decisions about himself rather than just him as a whole. That part, in my opinion, is Patton. 

Why does this distinction matter? Because the sides are also Characters. They have individual wants that--though they are not separate from Thomas, are separate from each other. They don’t inherently know each other’s names, they don’t know their memories, and they very specifically don’t know all they contribute. What they do know is how they interact with each other from their perspectives and experiences. 

Does it seem like Deceit and Morality disagree? Well of course they do. One relies on self-sacrifice and the dismissal of negative identities, the other can spot lies and dishonesty, and functions on self-preservation and self-honesty as a priority. Of course, they can’t mix. But, whose claim to power would affect the other the most? Tell me, which of these two do you believe would cast the other to a forgotten part of Thomas’s mind? The direct selfish one, or the repressive, abnegatious one? (i may have made up that conjugation) 

So by character and characterizations standpoint, there is reason to believe that the side with the most authority is Patton, Thomas’ Morality. This stands to reason why Thomas has spent the last few episodes questioning whether or not his ‘goodness’ is intact whenever he has to face off his own “banished” dispositions. Because if there is any part of Thomas that should dictate who he chooses to identify himself with, it is his Morality. (I believe)

It is for this reason that I have ‘Beef’ with the response Thomas has to Deceit, an entity who ‘by Patton’s own words ”acts with the one intention of self-preservation.” ( CLBG => 23:54) and Remus a literal stream of consciousness.  

With deceit, I think there is more to the character than a personification of being untruthful, but instead, there is the willingness to be untruthful and the recognized deceit in others. He knows when any character is misplacing the truth and urges them to honesty, as though it is fine for Thomas to lie as long as it's not to himself (though deceit himself doesn't follow that rule). Which Is why I find it telling that he appears after the ‘Moving on’ episode (if we dismiss the Christmas episode). Patton--Thomas’s morality and framing for the rest of his thoughts, was lying to himself, and by association, to Thomas.

Second: The Deceit Character response

(I separated this from the first bit because I get VERy lost in the sauce when I talk about my Snake son.)

I’m gonna start off talking about the internal perception of deceit from the characters. Then go into the personification of the sides Dark sides included. This will include timestamps to the Selfishness v. Selflessness Episode.

Let’s look at the beginning of the episode (3:53) "so I can't join in and give my honest opinion"

It’s bizarre that should Deceit directly say that Thomas wanted to go to the callback, the core sides would have said he was lying. This character has to LITERALLY disguise himself for anyone to listen to him. He then continues to go out of his way to show the rest of the group Evidence as to why Thomas felt this way. That seems to be what it takes for them to even think about it. 

He tries to be straight forward at (5:25) "do you want the part in the movie or not" no lies no tricks. But when Thomas won't answer, Roman does. Then this happens.

(6:26) "maybe Mary and Lee will understand" - Roman

(6:28) "Roman, this is their big day. We have to be there for them" - Patton

(6:32) "We don't have to do anything" - Deceit

What the literal Frick Patton? He can't even ask? Roman suggested a non Deceitful option for Thomas to make and you slapped it down. But now that Deceit suggested lying, Roman had to throw that whole decision out the window?

Also, you wanna hear toxic self-talk? "But what about us? What about us?" Think about if someone else said that.

"but what about me" "what about you?" That's horrible! You Fricken matter dude! Sure it's not ideal, but you weren't born to be a doormat for your friends.

There is a point where Patton’s opinion on Thomas’ friends exceeds even the suggestions of said friends. Apparently, Thomas is to throw away his chances at happiness for the sake of his friends’ without even knowing if that would make them happy. I can’t see how this is a fruitful way of thinking. 

Plus as an added bonus, there is as much disregard for Thomas’s say on the matter as his friends. Anything that doesn’t align with a perfectly selfless gesture is thrown out, outright. Even Thomas’ own decisions. 

(7:16) "you don't mean any of this" Patton that definitely doesn’t sound a little gaslighty. But to be fair, he acknowledged that much at the end.

Then a bit later, when Patton is telling Thomas how he feels. You could see that Deceit knows No one would believe him should he call mortality dishonest, though his character can literally tell. (7:21)

Ughhh I can't wait for this thread to be resolved. It is literally killing me.

I feel that this is more than enough reason to at least consider: Deceit is trying to be helpful. He is self-preservation, (though with more plots of deception) and serves a purpose in Thomas’ thoughts. Just. Like. Virgil.

Though Virge isn't exactly the best at fully accepting himself either. He didn't want to tell Thomas that he was a dark side and refuses to associate with his past. Though he knows he was doing it for a good reason. Isn't it telling that even when Virge is doing it for self-preservation reasons, he doesn't think Thomas will think it's ok? And who determines what Thomas thinks is ok?

(30:58) “If Thomas wanted to be seen as a good friend more than he wanted the role of a lifetime, well then I’m all for that. but I just don’t buy it.”  

He is instinctual and Thomas' views on self-preservation seem to be what makes Deceit unwelcome to the group in the first place. Like Remus. Like Virgil. How do we know Thomas’ views on things like self-preservation? His morality shouts it out.

(29:52)

"acting in your own Self Interest" - Deceit

"but that's wrong" - Patton

Only later do we find out in Intrusive thoughts that Patton’s repressive and strict nature can be potentially harmful to Thomas. Just as high expectations for one’s self can negatively skew one’s self-sense of worth and decency. This is something I get and absolutely value in Patton’s characterization. 

Morality in itself is a strictness with our thoughts, actions, and beliefs. To truly encourage good deeds there must be either a reward or a punishment. They can be small but the choice to obey must be an indispensable resource. For the sake of good deeds coming to action, It is necessary that Morality behaves this way. Granted that there are Checks and Balances for its authority. But again, there can be too much strictness, as Intrusive Thoughts portrays.

I feel that this is important to keep in mind for Deceit's personification. He has to exist in a way that still protects Thomas while under Patton's stronger ideals. So how must he guide Thomas? 

When he actually had to make Thomas say what he wanted himself, He asked about four times. And interestingly enough all he did was make Thomas be honest. It was at this point where I wished I could have gotten to hear what the scenario was for. Because I find it very telling that Deceit only hurt Thomas by making him be honest about his wants. Thomas looked so defeated. Not about wanting to lie about it. But about the actual truth spurring on the lie. Why did it hurt him to want to follow his dreams?

I feel that this representation of the character is more conducive to expressing Thomas’ unhealthy expectations for himself. 

This is terrible working conditions as a voice of self-gain to be heeded. How is anyone meant to look after Thomas when their intentions are so actively misinterpreted? Deceit works to make Thomas Happy and seems to be the only one doing so consistently (out of the only two and a half episodes he was in).

If there is anything more telling of this, it is the fact that Thomas “taking care of himself” went from Patton (Way Too Adult) to Roman(Growing up) to Logan(WDWGOoBiTM). No character has been able to sustainably take care of Thomas in this way despite their role in his life. Even Roman is willing to dash his dreams if met with enough opposition.

Thomas’ morality does not dictate his self-care or his general wants, neither does his logical side or Fanciful one, unfortunately. If they did, Deceit would not have to be the one making the rest of the aspects listen to Thomas’s Wants.

Roman is literally Thomas's ego. Hence why Deceit mainly shows up for him, both times. Deceit is internal maintenance while Patton is the external (intercommunication-al) maintenance, it would seem.

Finally: A Resolution

I think "Discovering Balance" would be a great addition to this series, by having Virgil and Deceit come to an understanding as much as Deceit and Patton.

Plus Deceit must have been in a similar position to Patton when Virgil was a dark side, encouraging him to keep Thomas alert, for Thomas' preservation. Seeing as the character also hold s the reins over Remus. But it's fairly important to note that Virgil's external worries come from logic and internal ones come from perceived moral failure. Such as ruining friendships. 

Which means Patton's inability to see the worst in people (even Thomas) and strong values would make a character like Virgil particularly susceptible to wanting to both protect and gain the favor of him. This might mean washing away his past, a thing he has yet to resolve. 

I have no doubt that Patton can come around to any of the dark sides. He’s been pretty open to understanding things, (if presented the way it is destructive to Thomas to avoid). But I think having Virgil lead him and Thomas through it, would be far more valuable. Thomas needs to learn to love himself and he can’t do that by hiding from difficult truths. I think a chance to have the dark sides accepted openly and directly would help put Thomas at ease with himself.

But again there needs to be balance. Thomas must keep his behaviors to others in mind, but also his own self-care. 

At the current state of things, The fact that he isn't allowed to seek out external opinions on his behaviors (like not talking to Lee and Mary Lee) is a sign that there isn't balance on this side either. And he's not seeking any reinforcement for his wants being VALID. That just won’t do.

He needs to talk to his friends. I can't stress this enough.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

P.S. I do love Patton, but I think it is irresponsible for the character not to acknowledge the pressure he’s putting Thomas under. He seems to be getting around to it, so I still love him. But that does not mean I have lost any love for my Snek boi.

then we dance

Warnings: mentioned kidnapping (changeling), ambiguous moral compasses, implied human-eating and drinking, fae, Chaotic Neutral! Remus, Chaotic Good!Deceit, Morally grey!Sides, blood, this fic honestly felt like a fever dream whilst I was writing it.

Ship: LAMP

Plot: As the summer solstice approaches, Patton, prince of spring and Roman, prince of summer, await their partner's approach to their party; Logan, a changeling child, and Virgil, a Witch. The solstice also happens to be Logan’s birthday, meaning he is about to have his initiation ceremony

--

It was dark inside the forest, the fireflies buzzed and danced amongst the swirl of creatures that smiled, little laughs on their sharp smiles. Patton grins as the flowers bloom into his hair, shades of pink and red and yellow; happy colors, as he is. “Will the changeling be joining us?” He hums quietly, an elegant hand on a wine glass that is not filled with wine, it’s crystal casing and golden stem shimmering in the moonlight.

“As he always does,” His companion responds, pressing a quiet kiss to his partner’s cheek, hair as red as fire, eyes blood colored and cheeks decorated with vermillion lines, akin to tattoos. “He can rarely resist a summer solstice,” Patton giggles and bounces with joy, he loves the little changeling, a funny boy he is. “And Virgil?”

“As broody as ever, the storm approaches,” Patton hums as he tosses a grape into his mouth, running his tongue against his teeth to release the squashed fruit from it’s pointed prison. “I do miss him, and it is about time they met, Virgil is more of a winter person you know,”

“I do know,” Of course he does, Roman knows Virgil all too well, his lovely little witch. His ever-changing storm, he has a lot of titles for Virgil and they are never quite the same each time, Patton keeps a list somewhere because his memory is not all that sharp. But he always remembers his lovers, as strange as the other two are. 

The ground is disturbed in a cloud of black, a crackle of electricity like a small, hovering storm at the edge of the solstice party. Patton squeaks and jumps up, his bare feet against the ground. A few of the other fae, who know that the two princes keep such strange company, raise their glasses at the familiar entrance of the witch. “Virgil!” As the man steps from the storm, violet hair damp, and curling, black horns glittering from the damp in the starlight, he opens his arms out to the smallest of them all and easily lifts him off the ground. “I missed you,”

“I missed you too,” His crackling, rumbling voice, a voice like a tempest runs down Patton’s spine as the elder buries his face in his immortal’s shoulder, a small smile on his lips. A glass of not-wine is offered to him and he shakes his head “It would almost be cannibalism for me to drink that,” He chuckles darkly and steps forward, his long black coat moments behind him as he grins warmly to his second prince. “And you, Princey,” A warm kiss is pressed to his lips and he can only grin in response. “The small one isn’t here yet?”

“Not yet, but soon,” Patton giggles “And he’s taller than all of us you know,”

“I meant his magic, not his height,” Virgil presses the tip of his finger to Patton’s nose, watching the fae giggle, freckled and tattooed cheeks flushing a light blue. “Although, he was born on the solstice was he not, is tonight his birthday?” Roman nods “Ah, so that’s why you wanted me here, his coming of age party, you want me to give him his blessing,” An excitable nod. “A witches blessing for a changeling child, now you’re really stretching my talents,” A grin.

Witches, half demon, half human, usually characterized by a witches mark, which is for Virgil his horns, are the only ones who can baptize a magic child, and not all of them can do that. But Roman and Patton always manage to make friends in high places, and no, not just Roman’s bed which is on the top floor of the castle, but in this case...the son of Satan. 

Who really isn’t as bad as he seems. 

Very few changeling children get their blessings because very few of them find out they’re fae, being unexposed to magic their entire life they will be unable to seek it’s wisdom or understand their powers, and they remain unlocked for their lives. But Logan had always been a curious child, had felt the woods calling to him, where he met Patton and very quickly fallen in love. Tonight is Logan’s 21st birthday, his coming of age party, a time where he can receive his blessing and receive tutoring for his powers. Making him more powerful. 

“He better be pretty,” Virgil sighed.

“The prettiest,” Roman sighs in a different way, lovestruck as he smiles and leans against the table, plucking at strange meat that has Virgil wrinkling his nose; he has little love for humans but even that is something he doesn’t want to see. 

The reason fae cannot give the blessing is that their powers are only bestowed by nature, the power it takes to unlock one's full potential comes from deeper within that elements...way down under the ground, through the center of the earth and on another astral plane completely. Hell. Demon blood is needed as part of the ceremony, something which Virgil has quite a copious amount of. 

A hushed amount of chatter as the ways part for another, a tall man with deathly pale skin, lines of red around his neck in long patterns of ivy. “The Changeling, I presume,” Virgil hums as people step back. A changeling born on the solstice, an unlikely occurrence that makes a fae very, very powerful. “This better not bite me in the future,” He mutters “The things I do for pretty boys,”

Virgil could see, as he tosses a grape into his mouth, the fear in some of their eyes as they look at the changeling child. With a satisfied hum, he agrees silently that he is rather pretty. His skin was quite dark for the usually pale-skinned fae, his teeth human but with sharper canines, features pointed and made up of straight lines. And he positively glows in the moonlight, like stars could shine and collapse for him. 

“Are you sure he’s fae and not an incubus?” He mutters to Roman, who snorts lightly. 

“I have wondered sometimes,” He claps his hands and the fae return to their party-going, eating and dancing, the soft music playing through the woods. “Happy birthday darling,” Roman opens his arms to his lover as Patton fawns over him. The Changeling, Logan, gives a small smile, quiet, as his cheeks flush a soft red. “And this is Virgil, our little half-demon,”

“I’m as old as this town Roman,” The witch leans up from the table he’d been plucking fruit off and places his tattooed fingertips under Logan’s chin, the boy stays very still as he lets the witch look at him, trailing his bony fingers along the boy's jaw. “And believe me, there’s nothing little about me,”

“I have heard many stories about you, I never quite wondered what it would be like to meet you,” Logan’s voice is soft but deep, Virgil muses quietly to himself “They were not exactly underestimating the use of...enchanting when they described you,” Virgil’s lips quirk into a smile and he nods slowly. Yes, he likes this one. “I understand you are the one...” he rolls his eyes a little “Blessing me,”

“You don’t like the tern?”

“It’s a little contradictory is it not, a blessing? Isn’t that more of a...God worshipper sentiment, isn’t this the opposite, a blessing from Satan? A dark baptism of sorts?” Virgil grins, oh yeah, he definitely likes this one...a little anarchy resides in his soul. 

“I’m keeping this one,” He hums “Will your chaotic brother be joining us?” Remus, the Duke of Summer, Roman’s twin brother who really does not know the difference between chaos and order and he probably will “And...”

“Yes,” Roman sighs a little “Remus, Dee and Thomas will be joining us,” Dee, the Serpent Prince, the Prince of Winter and Thomas, the King of the seasons. The last person to be born on the solstice and is likely to be Logan’s predecessor. See royalty in the fae world is not inherited, it is earned...fought for. The best and most powerful duel for princes. But when it comes to people like Thomas and Logan there is never a challenger, and it’s rare for someone to be born on the solstice once any more than a couple of centuries. They are crowned King the moment the last King takes his last breath, the last rules are inherited by the next King and usually, the one to take the throne spends most of their lives, and lessons, with the King. 

Thomas had been an unusual one, he was the first King in five centuries to be born on the Summer Solstice, and Summer and Spring fae are notoriously passionate as well as soft-hearted, kind in their own way. Possibly not to humans, but Thomas does rather find Humans to be remarkable. 

Roman, Patton, and Dee all fought to be princes, as did the Autumn prince. But Autumn fairies are quiet, calm creatures who don’t find much fun in parties, they are reclusive and do their job in secret and in the quiet. They are also the smallest of the Fae, hiding in burrows and streams. Remus had gone along with Roman for the ride really, he likes to be a little wild and being a Duke meant no one really kept track of him. A lot of Humans tend to go missing in the forest because Remus is a little peckish. 

But it had been Roman who had won the battle once the last prince had died, he’d fought tooth and nail for it, as did Patton. And although kind-hearted on a good day, when it comes to battle the two can be a little bloodthirsty. 

“Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get ready, shall we?” Roman takes Virgil’s hand whilst Patton takes Logan’s. The two Fae princes are always so excitable, but today moreso than ever; Logan can see flowers pushing through the dirt that he barely been born yet, blooming where Patton’s feet had touched the soil. 

“It’s a very simple process,” Virgil hums as they reach a much quieter clearing, “You’re lucky you’re Fae, the Witch induction process is much more gruesome, lamb guts and all,” At the center of the clearing there is a stone alter that looked older than anything Logan had ever seen. “Patton, if you may?” 

The curly haired Fae skips over to the table, placing his hand over the stone surface “Old friend, it’s time to wake up,” He whispers “Be alive,” Logan can never quite tire of his partner’s ability to breathe life into anything, living or dead; moss grows over the surface, as Ivy breaks through the earth’s soil to entangle around it. Vines reach up the sides and roses bloom in the corners; everything about Patton is beautiful, but this ability most especially is awe inspiring. 

It’s hard for anything to feel dead in his hands, Logan muses quietly. 

Roman beams a little, as he steps forward. “It’s a good job I always travel with my things, you didn’t have to just spring on me that you wanted me to do this,” Virgil chastises lightly as he moves to the other side of the alter, placing a knife, a cup and a book down. 

“But you’re oh-so hard to get a hold of, darling,” Roman trails an affectionate hand over the other’s arm. 

“And in general,” Comes the sort of voice that spells mischief with a capital “M” “I’m up here,” An exasperated sigh as Logan looks over into the trees to see a man that could easily be Roman’s twin, if it weren’t for the mustache and inverted colors. His eyes are dark and playful “I’m just here for the fun, don’t mind me,”

“If you ruin this, I will kill you brother,” Roman waves a hand, his brother falls from the tree, he huffs as he stands but seems otherwise unharmed. “Logan, Remus, Remus, Logan,”

“The changeling boy who stole my brothers heart,” Remus gives an exaggerated bow “I don’t suppose there’s more where that came from,” Roman smacks the back of his head with a glare “Yes yes I know, behave,” 

“That would insinuate Remus can behave,” Two more people approach, one wearing a red shirt and gold cloak, a crown perched neatly on his head; the second with a black cloak and yellow shirt. He can recognize the second without meeting him, due to the green and gold scales that disappear under his collar. The Serpent Prince. 

The second, by proxy, Logan must assume is the King of Seasons. The first mutters a “Play nicely,” as Dee moves to stand next to Remus, looking far more elegant next to the Fae embodiment of a trash can. “Logan, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” He holds out a hand and Logan shakes it “Not need to fuss, or panic, I’m not going to have you executed for screwing something up or anything,” He talks so calmly, but with a reassuring smile that has Logan’s panic easing up. “All you have to do is say yes, drink, and then sign your name,” He squeezes Logan’s shoulder before standing next to Roman. Patton was on the other side of the alter with Virgil. “Nice to see you again Virgil,” Thomas beams, the Witch gives a little wave, but his concentration is on the book in his hand and the cup in his other. 

“Demon blood,” Virgil mutters absently, which Logan just catches. The Witch sighs and shrugs off his coat. Logan’s mouth runs a little dry, as his forearms are put on display; black ink runs signs and sigils all the way up his arms, disappearing under his shirt sleeves, they reappear around his neck and Logan can’t help but wonder where else these beautiful patterns lead too. 

The sharp blade runs across Virgil's palm and he lets blood drain into the cup. Patton seems to lean a little, his eyes watching the process a little too hungrily. “Fae blood,” Logan squeaks a little as Patton does the same, “A thing of the earth,” He plucks one of the roses and pulls the petals out one by one, a slow process but looks so aesthetically pleasing “Dee? If you wouldn’t mind?” The Winter Prince steps up and hovers his hand on the glass, it seems to fill with water as he does so, or some form of liquid anyway; Logan can’t quite see. 

Patton moves from the alter and stands next to Thomas, from the corner of his eyes, Logan can see people starting to gather, wanting to watch the Changeling child get his induction. Virgil mutters something under his breath and the cup sparks, he watches the liquid change, the rose petals no longer floating in the mix but turning into something else. “Okay, are you ready Logan?”

Logan nods as he stands on the other side of the alter. “Yes,”

“Do you, Logan, to the best of your knowledge and intentions, agree to follow Fae law, upholds it’s law, and protect the natural world to the best of your ability?”

“I do,”

“Do you, Logan, swear to protect the Fae and all of their creations to the best extent of your power?”

“I do,”

“Do you, Logan, promise not to hold onto the Human world, it’s creations that harm us, and the attachments you may have there?”

“I do,” He hadn’t ever had a single attachment. 

“The powers that will be bestowed on you, revitalized with these promises can be stripped away if you break any law, cause any harm to the Fae, or refuse to renew them at the point inw hich it is asked of you, do you understand?”

“I do,”

“With the power invested in me by the Fae courts and the Dark Lord, I permit you to drink to finalize your promises,” He hands the cup over, Logan wonders when his hands had started shaking but there are so many eyes on him. He drinks, then grimaces a little, and finishes the cup in one swift movement. The Changeling wipes his mouth. A rush runs through him, and his eyes blow wide open as the wind becomes unsettled around him. 

He catches Patton’s grin and Roman’s smile as they watch him. Logan has never quite understood what it meant to feel bigger than your own body before, but he supposes now he does. “Sign these, and you’re free to go,” Logan takes the pen and paper and signs it. It’s strange how a ceremony can so quickly become a business transaction. 

And just like that it’s over. Virgil smiles at him as people clap and Logan looks around to realize just how many of them turned up for this; some look a little hesitant, shifting slightly. It’s funny how not even the Fae want a changeling. 

Except of course Roman who is now scooping the other off of his feet, and Patton who is gushing “Look at you! You’re simply vibrant!” Virgil approaches silently.

“Is...something different?” Logan asks, a little unsure of what the fuss is about, exactly. Virgil hands him a mirror, and Logan hesitantly holds it up. There are little summer flowers growing around his temple, as he runs his tongue against his teeth he realizes they were sharper, and the iris of his eyes had turned red. “Oh,” He whispers.

“You look so much like one of us now,” Roman hums, pleased as he leans to kiss the youngest. “Look at you, all Summer, he’s mine now Patton,” Patton whines a little and nuzzles against Logan for affection, Logan places a gentle and reassuring kiss to his forehead as he hands the mirror back to Virgil. 

“You did alright kid,” He chuckles. Logan bounces a little on the balls of his feet, the Human world had stunted him too much, his body was adjusting to the changes that the potion had given him, he has way too much energy. Is that what it feels like to be Roman? He leans up and kisses Virgil softly, by way of a thank you, and watches the Witch as he begins to stutter a little in surprise.

“You made Virgil blush!” Patton gasps “Oops, now we’re all in trouble,” He giggles as he races off, Virgil running after him. He doesn’t get far before the Witch is scooping him up bridal-style. Roman places his hands on Logan’s hips from behind, pressing soft kisses to Logan’s neck. 

“So, shall we all go and celebrate somewhere a little quieter?” Roman mutters softly “Seeing as you’ve taken a liking to Virgil,” Logan’s eyes flutter closed. 

“I suppose I rather have,”

--

@analogical-mess // @unikornavenger // @mycatshuman // @creativity-killed-thekitten// @theresneverenoughfandoms // @charmingprincey // @heck-im-lost//@k9cat//@stilljittery//@romansleftshoulderpad// @sanderssideslibrary // @max-is-tired //@therealmoshar// @punsterterry // @trashypansexual// //@demigodnamedathena//@sevencrashing// @misunderstood-shadow//@aphriteblack//@jemthebookworm//@sandersandthesides//@penguinkool//@georganabanana // @ao-koshka// @dangerous-doodle // @river-waterfall // @hell-or-high-waters // @no-sleep-gang-posts//  @wxlcomxtothxjunglx //@marshmallow-the-panda// @flix-net // @omni-hamiltrash // @an-absolute-failure // @mason-does-a-thing

–

Ko-Fi

FAQ

In General

Do you take requests? My guy, without requests, this blog will go dry very quickly. We are high maintenance and require a lot of attention.

Will you write all requests that you receive? We reserve the right not to write a request if we don’t vibe with it. We will explain why we won’t, and whining won’t change our minds. Otherwise we will do our absolute best to see that all requests get written.

What if I don’t like something in your fics? If you see something wrong in our fics, feel free to let us know politely. If you are rude, we will make a note of what annoyed you and we will feature it prominently in our following fics until you (or someone nicer than you) asks nicely for us to change it. If it is a trigger we won’t do that, obviously, but we will do our best to tag so that doesn’t happen. Don’t read things if they have a trigger warning for something that triggers you. I shouldn’t have to say it, yet here we are. If you dislike the characterization, we can open up a dialogue and maybe we’ll write you one with a characterization that you prefer. Or maybe we’ll tell you to shove it. Depends on how things go. If you dislike the things we write about (e.g. Death Eaters from Harry Potter), then don’t f***ing read that fic. Blacklist it, whatever. We know why and how they are problematic, we just dgaf. It’s for fun.

Why don’t you have a masterlist/other Tumblr things? We are new to this whole writing thing, Midnight to Tumblr in general, and Serpentine has never written her own post before, so be patient. We are learning this whole thing as we go, and it was meant as more of an experiment than a job anyway. We will do our best to make a masterlist and make the blog easy to search, but it has a learning curve, so don’t be surprised if we don’t manage right away (or ever)

Do you have a tag list? We could try?

How often do you update? Depends on how much love and attention we get. If we get a lot of requests, we’ll be doing a lot of writing, Real Life™ allowing.

Can I reblog? If you make sure our names are still on it, you do what you like, my guy.

Can I tag you in things? Can I give you an internet hug? Ofc. Remember what I said about attention?

Can I message you? If it is for requests, we’d prefer you keep it in the asks, but if you wanna say something, then sure. Keep it PG for Serpentine’s virgin eyes tho. (Serpentine can deal with it, don’t be a wuss - Midnight) (You’re a wanker - Serpentine)

What don’t you write? Incest, non-con, A/B/O (bc Midnight will die), m-preg, underage anything ever, etc. Just keep it level guys. Don’t make it weird.

What happens with any original fiction that you post? I won’t post much of it, and it won’t be anything that I ever have intentions on making into A Thing™ so it’s basically just like our fanfics, go ahead and reblog if you feel just keep our names attached. Also, try not to write anything based off of it or anything like that, but if it sparks something, you do you. We’re reasonably chill until you’re a dick. (Then we’re chillier than a frost giant’s cold shoulder - Midnight)

What happens if I want to be a prick about your writing while on anon? Come at me, bro.

What types of requests do you take? We’re going to try to have a prompts list, or borrow some from fellow writing accounts that are okay with others using their lists, but prompts that you come up with are definitely great! Imagines, multi-chap fics, one-shots, drabbles, headcanons, it’s all fair game.

Serpentine

Name/Nickname: Serpentine, Holly, Andy

Age: 18

Pronouns: she/her/My Lady

How would you describe yourself: I would not

Are requests open: Yes

What do you like writing most: Fluff. I love it when everyone is peaceful.

What do you like writing least: Character bashing. Sometimes I have to for the sake of the plot, but it hurts.

Who do you write for: Marvel - Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Loki, Thor, Dr. Strange, Clint Barton, Pietro Maximoff (he didn’t die hmmm nope), Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal only), Brock Rumlow (don’t say anything Midnight, I know he’s a dick, leave me alone), Anatoly Ranskahov, Vladimir Ranskahov. Harry Potter - Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Charlie Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov, Thorfinn Rowle, Rodolphus Lestrange (although I characterize him as fatherly more than anything), Rabastan Lestrange (although don’t expect mental stability), Fenrir Greyback, Corban Yaxley, Evan Rosier, Lucius Malfoy (if we go AU), Lucissa (Narcissa Black nee Malfoy + Lucius Malfoy), Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Regulus Black, Jily (James + Lily), Sily (which is my take on Sirius + Lily, though mostly they are platonic sometimes I think hmm). I have a lot of my own personal headcanons for nearly all of these characters because I have spent many years of my life ‘living’ in the Wizarding World when I should have been doing my homework, so if something doesn’t vibe for you, I apologise, but I am very specific about my Harry Potter. 

POV & Other Characters: These can be OC or reader, platonic and romantic or unpaired accepted. For Harry Potter, I can also write them as Hermione Granger (like most HP fics are tbh). As for other characters, it’s all negotiable, but with Harry Potter fandom Slytherin characters are much more likely to get the OK bc I’m House biased (Go Snakes). The ones marked as couples are only written as couples, so don’t try to make me pair dear James Potter with anyone other than his Lily.

How long does it take to write a request: If I’m inspired, maybe an hour or two. Now when I post it...

Open to ask memes: Absolutely the hell yes. I love talking about myself.

Special Rules: I do not write smut (yet, bc I am innocent in the ways of the flesh), but I will yeet those to Midnight and I’ll do my best to take any other requests and if y’all wanna drop nasty imagines into the ask box or something, we’re all ears (eyes?). I will write poly ships, though again I reserve the right to decide how (e.g. M/M or nah) and there will be no sin.

Midnight

1. Name/Nickname: Midnight, Kai, (Barnes)

2. Age: 19

3. Pronouns: she/her/Soldat

4. How would you describe yourself: I... am basically a less intimidating Winter Soldier (memory problems, depression, anxiety) and an MCU genderbent Loki because I can be a sneaky little shit

5. Are requests open: YEET

6. What do you like writing most: Fluff. Any time I get to make scary assassins do domestic things... I am there for that

7. What do you like writing least: Death. Why y’all gotta do me dirty like that? There’s more than enough in the MCU alone guys. Can’t we just pretend we live in the Everybody Lives AU?

8. Who do you write for: Marvel - Loki Odinson, Thor Odinson, Tony Stark, Doctor Stephen Strange, Bucky Barnes, Peter Quill, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, T’Challa, Peter Parker (aged up), Pietro Maximoff, Wade Wilson (Deadpool), Gamora DC - Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Clark Kent, Connor Kent, Dick Grayson, Steve Trevor, Tim Drake, Wally West, Barry Allen, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Damian Wayne (aged up), Kaldur’ahm, Jaime Reyes, Bart Allen (aged up), Roy Harper (if you want YJ’s Red Arrow, please specify, otherwise my default is Arsenal), Hal Jordan Assassin’s Creed - Altair, Ezio

9. POV & other characters: I prefer reader inserts, however, if you would like an OC I would recommend naming the OC with a nickname so it makes it nicer for other readers to enjoy it. I will do specific ships if I ship them or I know enough about the ship. (eg WonderTrevor, SuperWonder, Stony, Stucky, IronStrange etc) I am also pretty okay with writing smut, but I may not be able to for specific characters/ships due to lack of experience in writing the sin, lol. (and yes, I will take your smut requests for Serpentine’s characters, and work with her to achieve the correct characterization, so long as time permits us to work on it in a timely fashion)

10. How long does it take to write a request: Depends on how busy I am, the alignment of the stars, the weather… jk, in truth, I can be very busy and also have to manage my own health so it can be from a half hour (if I’m really inspired) to up to a week or two. (I will try my best to turn out work in a decent time though, and if I have to ask Serpentine for help I will)

11. Special Rules: Already covered, I guess? Just bear with me on getting things out on time.

Please note; most of this was written by Serpentine at 3 am, I (Midnight), only wrote my own FAQs, also at 3 am. If none of this makes sense, that would be why. Serpentine rarely makes sense without supervision, so feel free to ask for clarification if the wording is awkward.

Five favorite HP characters? Five least favorite? Yur top five HP Otps, five HP notps, and five favorite HP brotps? And five unpopular opinions about the series? Have fun!

Things sounds fun! And hard :P

Favorite HP characters:

1. Sirius Black: I love this dude for many reasons. I think the major one is his love for Harry. He was just Harry’s godfather, knew him for a year, yet his sense of loyalty and responsibility (yes, he is capable of that) made him escape Azkaban for Harry’s safety. Sirius loved Harry with all his heart. I also love how wildly dysfunctional, or bitter, or angry he can be. He’s still a good person, who grew up and realized his mistakes, but he’s one of the most realistic characters. Plus, he’s fun too, and charismatic and compelling.

2. Remus Lupin: Remus is just a patient, kind, intelligent person that faces life’s challenges with grace and dignity. He’s forgiving and capable of smiling and being decent even in the darkest of times. The backslash from that is that he’s often too forgiving (for example, of Snape) and doesn’t stand up for himself. But his self-loathing make him relatable. He also walked away from Harry and his previous life (Sirius, for example) without once glancing back, apparently, which is perhaps his worst, and very human, flaw. 

3. Nymphadora Tonks: this girl is my newest addition to my fictional girl squad. (Don’t ask me how that happened.) Tonks is bright, young, energetic, fun, badass. She’s Moody’s favorite and that guy doesn’t like people easily. She’s a young Auror and McGonagall said they hadn’t recruited a new Auror in years! Tonks’s favorite hair color is bubblegum pink! Who doesn’t love a girl who likes her hair pink? And who’s clumsy and adorably excited to be married and to have a baby? Tonks would’ve been a great wife and mother had she lived and her death is the worst one, because she was so young and had Teddy. 

4. Dobby: he’s just the sweetest okay? He loves Harry, proves that elves can be independent and make their own choices even if limited by their magic. He was a hero who was kind to wizards and fellows elves. Ps: Have a Harry Christmas!

5. Harry Potter: he’s my fictional son. I love Harry so much. In terms of characters, I’d rate him higher than Dobby, except that Dobby never annoys me. Harry is brave, smart, loyal, strong, kind, witty, a tad angry and ruthless. I relate a lot to him sometimes, especially in the Order of the Phoenix. I can’t understand his blinding loyalty to Dumbledore (which can be said of all the characters), nor can I understand him in the Half-Blood Prince. And let’s not discuss how he named his children… Still, Harry’s a wonderful person, a great main character. 

Least Favorite HP characters:

1. Albus Dumbledore: I know he’s not as evil or manipulative as people might think. And it’s easy to blame him for most things considering his many responsibilities in the wizarding world. Dumbledore often had the best intentions, was forgiving and compassionate, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t a terrible headmaster who endangered his students, often for no good reason. He put his interest in defeating Voldemort (a worthy cause) above his duties as headmaster. He abused the power he had many times. He should’ve many a decision between dedicating his life to defeating Voldemort or to being a responsible headmaster. I find it hard to forgive people that fail children and teenagers like that. Also, the blind loyalty people bestowed him is perhaps the worst thing about HP to me.

2. Severus Snape: while his arc from late OotP to DH is compelling, his character is severely overrated. Snape is the classic children’s “villain” throughout most of the books. His attitude is tiring and monotonous. I fail to see the good writing of his character for the most part. We’re told over and over again, via Harry, that hating Snape is wrong, because he’s “good”. I find this immensely disturbing and upsetting. Harry should’ve been allowed to hate Snape, always. None of his sob story erases the fact that he was abusive to children and unfit to be in a position of power. I will never respect a person who hates and hurts children. Period.

3. Voldemort: I think he’s a boring and ineffective villain. Rowling’s strengths as a writer never rested on the bad guys.The writing for Voldemort was always weak, and the message “power is wrong” is unoriginal and overly simplistic. While some of this backstory may have been interesting (his family’s history was compelling), Voldemort’s evilness resides in him having never been loved, which is the story of every villain ever, and not something to base half a book on. 

4. Bellatrix Lestrange: for someone who kills most of my favorite characters, she isn’t anything to write home about. Bellatrix isn’t a rich villain character and she is very hard to root for. She’s pure evil, unlike her sister Narcisa whose love for her son make her interesting and sympathetic. Bellatrix seems to care a bit about her sister, and Voldemort, but she kills two family members, and doesn’t seem to care at all about her husband. What are her motivations? How did she come to worship Voldemort? She’s also not the wittiest character. 

5. Molly Weasley: could’ve chosen other characters, but Molly is an important one that I don’t love. She’s amazing in the beginning. Until book 4, she’s warm, loving and kind, particularly to her son’s best friend. However, it becomes clear with time that she favors some her children, like Percy or Ginny, over others, like Ron or the twins. She also sometimes cares more about Harry than her own family. She listens to Daily Prophet rubbish and snubs Hermione even if she knew (from a previous article about Arthur) how much Rita Skeeter lies. She didn’t even write to Harry at all, despite her apparent concern. This would’ve been fine (she’s only Ron’s mom after all) if she didn’t like to consider herself Harry’s mom (she even attacks Sirius over this). If she’s Harry’s “mom”, she isn’t a good one. She doesn’t treat him like her other children and she doesn’t ever talk to Harry and show that she’s there for him, emotionally. Feeding someone isn’t enough. Molly also yells all the time, and is very unsupportive and impatient with her less than “perfect” children. She shows them no respect too, like in the DH when she’s trying to keep the Trio from communicating… 

OTPs:

1. Sirius/James: I’ve fallen in love with these two. I don’t necessarily ship them within the books, but Sirius and James were perfect together. They knew the other best and respected and loved each other until their very last breath. If Sirius was ever in love with anyone, it was obviously James. 

2. Remus/Tonks: Tonks is fiery, young and more carefree. Remus is the opposite. They balance each other. And have a cute baby together… 

3. Fleur/Bill: No one took Fleur seriously, but she loved Bill wholeheartedly. She tried to befriend his family, had the wedding in their house, and didn’t even think twice after Bill was mauled by Greyback.

4. James/Lily: Not an OTP but I’ve run out of HP OTPs. James adorably doodled Lily’s name in his exames, and was in love with her for a long time. They seemed to be the definition of domestic bliss, which is nice. 

5. Arthur/Molly: their dynamic was unbalanced, but their love was genuine. 

NOTPs:

1. Minor character/Adult character: Be it Sirius/Harry (gag) or Snape/Harry (gag) or any other pairing like that, I’m disgusted. I honestly don’t even care if it’s one of those time travel fics, whenever I see any HP student (in the 7 books) paired with an adult, I throw up a little. 

2. Harry/Tom Riddle Jr: like, what??? I can’t even… 

3. Draco/Hermione: honestly, what’s with the Draco obsession? He really isn’t that interesting. Draco and Hermione dislike each other, and that’s it. 

4. Draco/Harry: I guess this pairing makes a tad more sense but I still don’t get it. Sometimes, I dislike you means just that. 

5. Sirius/Remus: I’ve read a lot of fanfiction on them, but, in reality, they’re not that great. We’re talking about two characters that turned on each other, and barely seemed to reconnect post-Azkaban. It’s not like Remus was of any help to Sirius in OotP. His input was exclusively to tell Sirius to shut up or stay put. And who lets a loved one go to jail without a trial or some kind of confrontation? 

BROTPs:

1. Sirius/James: duh. They had the best friendship. They finished each other’s sentences, pretty much, were best friends until they died, were almost always together, and trusted each other absolutely. Even if you combine Harry/Ron with Harry/Hermione’s friendships, James and Sirius were better friends. 

2. The Weasley Twins: the strictly platonic version of James and Sirius. They had an amazing dynamic. Still makes me sad to think of George without Fred. People couldn’t even tell them apart!

3. Hermione/Harry/Ron: the trio was pretty flawless when it came to unconditional support and love. 

4. Harry/Luna: there was something really sweet and reassuring about their friendship, especially after Sirius died. 

5. Padfoot/Crookshanks: when you nearly burn yourself trying to get your face up close to someone’s face who is in a fireplace, that’s real love. 

Unpopular Opinions:

1. Order of the Phoenix is the best HP book. It has great, realistic characterization, a great villain (Umbridge), badass activist organizations (Order and D.A), great new characters, suspense, action and drama. 

2. Half-Blood Prince is very overrated. The whole book is mostly a set up for the next book, while ignoring the previous book and containing terrible teen romance.

3. Hermione’s a hypocrite. Frequently breaks the rules when it suits her (like when she unleashed a flock of birds on Ron), tries to force house-elves to be free, despite their loud objections, while claiming to respect them, etc. 

4. Molly Weasley is not a great mother. As I said before, she plays favorites, overcoddles her children, neglects their emotional well-being, etc. 

5. The books are often political and preachy and best be read by people who are capable of critical thinking (and often not children). I would personally not let my children read past the first 3 books. I find myself disagreeing with a lot of HP’s morality lessons and think children lack the ability to see J.K. Rowling’s flaws and the flaws in some of her characters, like Dumbledore or Snape who are romanticized in the end. 

Thanks for the ask! This took a long time. If anyone has any followup questions, feel free to ask!

The Way Things Have to End

I'm a person who's often deeply torn about fanfic in a way I'm not about other stories, and I can't even defend it. Usually when people have strong feelings, they try to justify them, but I don't feel I have an excuse. Even so... honestly, the very existence of a fic where Ronan and Adam break up for fifteen (15) years and Adam gets married (to a woman), and they only get back together 'cause the wife dies and/or is dying.... How do I put this. It's a wrongness in the universe. It's not wrong like murder is wrong, or like people I disagree with may claim writing about 'bad things' is wrong, or like how bad grammar is wrong. I can try to say it is about characterization-- and it is that, because there's no way canon Adam and Ronan would end up like this-- but that's not why it strikes me as so wrong.

The fact is, this conviction of the wrongness of this scenario coexists with my firm conviction that self-expression is hugely important, and fiction needs no boundaries. If someone wants to do something new for its own sake (and that long of a separation is definitely new in Pynch fics), then that's a valid motivation. It's great to experiment and flex one's writerly muscles and come up with unnecessary drama because said drama allows you-the-writer to write about the things that seem interesting or important. Why not? What is fanfic for if not stretching said muscles and seeing whether one can write a long story with all the fixings? I remember how important finishing my first long novella via fanfic was for me. It felt momentous. And of course, I tried to make it as canon-friendly as possible, but then again Harry Potter was in love (and lust) with Draco Malfoy in it, so I can't throw stones even if I wanted to. Which I don't.

That said, I *have* found that people who say they're 'exploring' things (particularly new things) via the medium of fanfiction end up writing things that jangle and jolt my fannish and/or shippy sensibilities. Ultimately, the thing is, that sort of ambition is suited much, much more to original work than fanfic. I read fic to meet with old friends and feel good. Even angst feels good when the pleasure of character recognition exists. That ability to think 'here I am with Adam Parrish, my dear boy'-- that's what fanfic is for. And sometimes I like to worry about my boy, because bad things happen, but there's different kinds of worry. I don't want to worry that I no longer recognize him, that he's become something other than the boy I care about while I wasn't looking.

There's different caveats there, of course. I remember an AU Adam who grew up without Ronan or Gansey, who became a rather cold, manipulative criminal sort. Mr. Grey and Adam always had more than a bit in common. It's not even unlikely, given Adam didn't know them growing up. It'll be different once that changes; it's OK because Adam *will* change. While I don't want that for Adam, I'm not as dismayed by the idea as the notion that he had Ronan and threw him away-- and for fifteen years. That's pretty permanent. That's a life lived without the other person already. That's proof Adam doesn't need Ronan, more or less, and vice versa, even as a good friend. Like I said, it's wrong. It destroys what was so beautiful about them, about all of the Raven Boys. The way they were all so deeply connected, so intertwined. Even if Ronan and Adam get back together after that, it doesn't matter. This means what tied them wasn't as deep as the books suggested, so it makes the whole thing rather pointless and sad. They're just another couple. My point here is that it's the *constancy* of the relationships that are important with fanfic rather than any exploration of the new and unusual.

A lot of people seem to write fic just to use material they love, and play in the sandbox they enjoy, rather than as an *homage*. And it doesn't need to be, certainly. There are no rules. My point is just that-- for example, imagine a Peter Pan story where Peter decided to grow up, to become a banker in London, married to a woman who's not Wendy. OK, let's imagine Wendy and Peter may still secretly pine for one another, but Peter is married and his wife is dying, and Wendy herself isn't a young woman anymore. She can barely believe she once thought she flew to a make-believe magical island where no one ever had to grow old, or stop having adventures. She doesn't think she'd enjoy it the same way anymore, anyway. After all, she's thirty-something now and has gotten used to running water and coffee down the street. Thinking of Peter makes her a bit weepy, still, but she tells herself it's better this way, and most of the time she even believes it. So of course, it's quite a shock when Peter waltzes back into her life, over thirty and as handsome, urbane and charming a finance guy as you could imagine.

Now, maybe this story could have a happy ending (say, Peter and Wendy end up adopting a dog, and actually have very good sex sometimes, and sometimes they take a vacation to the Bahamas, which isn't Neverland but at least it has running water and coffee). But surely that happy ending wouldn't matter. More importantly than anyone's happiness, Peter Pan would have been thoroughly destroyed by this. In fact, the old, real Peter Pan wouldn't piss on this man if he were on fire, so to speak. No 'happy ending' is actually possible at that point, no matter how happy anyone is eventually, because it doesn't *matter* anymore.

As a matter of self-expression and experimentation (say, as a parody or a commentary on our lost childhood or the excesses of capitalism or what have you), one could see why a person would actually write this story. On an individual basis, there's no need to justify it. However, as a story-- as another story in the world of stories, existing in the ether of dreams and nightmares rather than stuck as a product of a particular person, time and place-- this would be an abomination. Not because it depicts any nasty or unfortunate acts, but because it's the antithesis of its original truth and beauty. No fan of Peter Pan who really cares about the character and his world could enjoy or appreciate a future where everything is in ruins. In this sense, Barrie's original bittersweet ending-- where neither Peter nor Wendy ended up happy, per se-- suddenly seems like the height of satisfaction and good sense. The characters remained themselves. They weren't happy in the tritest possible sense, true, but that doesn't matter, because they were themselves. Nothing was lost, and an adventure was had. A story was told and then finished, nothing and no one harmed, with only character growth as a result.

It's not the *sadness* of Adam and Ronan's long estrangement that bothers me in the break-up fics. Similarly, I don't consider it a 'fix' to know they end up together again in the end. Happiness isn't the point. Happiness isn't the *goal*, not even of love stories. It's not about happiness: it's about being, *becoming*, your best self. It's about how love becomes a part of you. It's about how another person is *necessary*, even if you don't need them on a basic level. This isn't something you can lose or give away. To deny it is to deny that love even existed.

I realize that it's just that other people don't see it that way, obviously. Generally, the point here is that in 'real life', all sorts of unfortunate and sordid things happen, even if they shouldn't. We lose things we never should've lost. We end up places we never expected, for reasons that just kind of... made sense at the time. No more and no less.

I get that this kind of 'realism' is why some people feel motivated to write fiction, but I'm talking about writing fanfic for a genre work that is much more abstract, much more idealistic and much more of a Romance (in the sense that Peter Pan or The Raven Cycle are Romances, nothing to do with the genre). In the case of such romantic, literary works, you have heightened realism at best and idealistic romanticism as an average. To translate such characters to some kind of sordid realism requires a deft hand and an understanding of just what counts as central underpinnings of the original text, not to be messed with.

In some ways, you could even argue the Harry Potter books are more amenable to gritty realism than The Raven Cycle, because JK Rowling is always trying to reference and comment on social issues (just indirectly). So I dunno, it's not a stretch if Harry's actually seriously abused as a child and never gets to Hogwarts at eleven, or Remus actually had AIDS, and Sirius has all sorts of things that happen in and after a stay in prison. Harry's a heroic character-- he's smart, brave, and true-- but you can do all sorts of things to heroes and still have them end up heroic. Harry was pretty messed up in the actual books, too. Love stories aren't quite so resilient, or resilient in the face of the same things (abuse, abandonment, or even being focused on something else entirely and having no extra time or effort to spare). There's a reason Harry only got together with Ginny (and Ronan got together with Adam) at the end. It's OK when you're friends/lovers who're going through tough times that require plenty of patience and forgiveness-- like Remus and Sirius, for example-- but it's not OK if your tough times are your own fault, and they happen after you're supposed to have figured it all out. At that point, it's not the same story anymore, essentially.

I honestly think that stories have their own flavor of 'reality', and don't benefit from the introduction of any improved airs of 'realism' if it's not native. Note, this is separate from something like a non-magic AU. I mean 'realism' as in the philosophy that just about anything can happen, just because. Why not? Well, it's fiction. There's actually plenty of reasons why things had to happen just how they did and that's it. Fiction isn't random, and good endings (happy or otherwise) are the most rational and inevitable things of all. In a good story, things end up how they're supposed to be, on a very, very deep level. Ignoring all that to say 'well, it could all go poof tomorrow!' seems to ignore the underlying nature of stories entirely. That's the sense that I mean when I say this is 'wrong'. It is definitely very wrong to argue with the way stories *want* to be, the way they are meant to be.

As a writer, if I know anything, it's that.

RULES: List ten of your favorite characters (male versions bc i’ve already done the female one) in ten different fandoms (in no particular order), and then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @frosttrix!

Favorites are so haaaaaaarrrrrd... And in ten different fandoms? Do I have favorite male characters in that many fandoms? Only one way to find out, I guess. Let’s see...

1. Very nearly any of the Caretakers from Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen would easily make a favorites list, but I think Fred the Badger edges out just ahead of the rest of them. He’s just so sweet, and so eager to help in any way he can, and I love him. Fred Protection Squad. 2. Marco Alisdair from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. He’s that reserved kind of intelligent, but no less capable than a louder person of kicking ass. Except he doesn’t kick ass physically--he does it with magic. Get you a boy who will build a magical circus for/with you. 3. Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Literally nothing against Frodo--I love him, too--but Sam did everything Frodo did and wasn’t corrupted by the Ring, despite his proximity to it for so long. And the whole time, he did his best to keep Frodo’s spirits up by reminding him of the home that he believed would be waiting for them when they finished their task. Also, the whole Shelob thing. Sort of important. Read: if it weren’t for Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins would definitely have died before getting to Mordor. 4. Remus Lupin from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Listen. Give a character a tragic backstory, and I’m immediately drawn to them and want to protect them. Give a character self-loathing issues and the resulting angst, and that protective instinct multiplies a hundredfold. Give that character a child they love who outlives them, and you’ve hit the Sympathetic Character Trifecta. Also, even if Lupin didn’t have all/any of those things, he’d still be the best DADA professor Harry’s ever had, and just an all-around cool guy. Remus Lupin Protection Squad. 5. Héctor [last name??] from Coco (dir. Lee Unkrich). So, Coco’s still relatively new, so I’m gonna avoid spoilers as much as I can, but Héctor’s got a tragic backstory, too, and it’s fucking heartbreaking. But it’s all the more heartbreaking because he manages to put on a cheerful, playful, lovable-scamp façade for almost the whole movie, and when the backstory is revealed, the façade drops, and my soul shatters. Aside from the tragic backstory, Héctor’s just such an endearing character. He’s so funny, and clever, and sweet, and don’t think I missed when he went from calling Miguel gordito, chamaco, etc. to m’ijo. Don’t think I missed it, Disney. 6. Giles Corey from The Crucible by Arthur Miller. So this one’s kind of cheating, since Giles Corey was a real person, but I have no idea what he was like in real life. I know what he’s like in the play, and it’s amazing. He’s a bit bumbling, but he’s still got his wits about him, and he’s contentious as all hell, but it’s understandable in his situation (as he says, “I know my rights, and I’ll have them”). He’s another Comic Relief Turned Tragic type, and it’s super impactful when he turns tragic. You see this can-do, independent, cantankerous old man break down and weep on stage because of a mistake he made, and that decision affects his choices for the rest of the show, and it’s so fucking sad, guys. 7. Neil Perry from Dead Poets Society (dir. Peter Weir). I love the whole cast of Dead Poets Society, but I’m drawn to Neil in particular because he wants desperately to be an actor (rather like someone we all know--nudge nudge wink wink), but his father won’t let him (thankfully unlike that same someone). So what does Neil do? He forges a permission letter from his father to let him audition for a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where he ends up being cast as Puck. And on top of that, he does well in school but also breaks rules and is a large part of the driving force behind the Dead Poets Society being (re)started. He’s got huge amounts of wit and spirit and he (SPOILER) gets a sad ending, and my heart cries. Also, he’s played (expertly) by Robert Sean Leonard, which means he’s not exactly hard on the eyes. 8. Mercutio from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Listen. Listen. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read/seen R&J, so forgive me if I don’t remember most of Mercutio’s characterization, but his wit is my favorite thing about that whole Godforsaken play. His last words are a pun, people. He gets stabbed in the chest, and as he lies dying, he says, “If you look for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man.” A grave man. Fucking--Mercutio, y’all. 9. Again with the whole male cast being awesome (the female cast kicks ass, too, but unfortunately that’s not the question): The West Wing (written by Aaron Sorkin). It’s really tough to choose from among these guys, too, but I think I’m going to go with Charlie Young. This boy (I’m allowed to say boy--he’s, like, my age) is personal aide to President Bartlet, and he’s the quintessential Hufflepuff. The hardest worker you’ve ever met in your life, loyal as all hell to his loved ones (including his boss and the rest of the White House staff), and incredibly humble. Plus, he’s one of, like, two people in the country who gets to sass the President with minor to no repercussions. And he does it spectacularly, maintaining a polite facial expression and tone of voice the whole time. 10. Christopher Belling from Curtains (book: Rupert Holmes, music: John Kander, lyrics: Fred Ebb). Most of the guys in Curtains are guys I’d love to play, but Christopher Belling, British Sass Master, wins this time. He’s the director of the show-within-the-show, and literally the only thing he cares about is his show. Case in point: Curtains is a murder mystery, and when asked about how he feels about being in the same building as a murderer, his response? Oscar: “You can’t sleep either? Belling: “Knowing that someone in this company is going to change my blocking?!” This man. Completely and utterly shallow, but it’s hilarious. Another golden line is when he first learns that his leading lady (who wasn’t very good, nor was she popular with--well--anyone) has been murdered, his knee-jerk reaction is to ask, “And what are they going to do with her killer? Does he get some sort of trophy, or a Pontiac convertible?”

Are you sensing a few trends? I’m sensing a few trends. Oh, well.

I’ll tag @alienjack, @sublimegentlemanalpaca, @teabooksandsweets, @ofbadgersandblueberries, @fluffybishenanigans, @onedragontorulethemall, and anybody else who wants to fill this out!

@apolloniae Okay, first: skffghfk, omg wow, thank you!! That means a lot, especially since this passage is all still early-ish in the writing process for me (like… it’s not as early as the borderline stream of consciousness first-person POV stuff that I was writing with this project last summer, but it’s still fairly early), and I consider it pretty rough still

THAT SAID. omg, dialogue is actually something I both love and dread writing, because I never feel like I have the best gauge on how much is enough or if I’m shoving in too much exposition with it or what, but! I have a couple things I rely on

Not-so-fun secret first: that particular section might be a pretty early draft, but I’ve still revised it something like four times, from jotting the initial idea down longhand, through the different typed versions of this scene that I’ve written (which have gotten changed around pretty significantly), and revisions help a lot with dialogue, in my experience. They can be anything from small stuff like figuring out a better word order but mostly keeping things the same, to taking a really sketchy outline (e.g., “A says something about B’s shoes, B thinks A is being rude and what is up with that, and C is just happy to be here, why can’t we all get along” or full on snatches of dialogue, but written in a way that doesn’t fit the characters) and building the scene up from there. Either way, revisions are a writer’s friend.

But, okay. Speaking more generally: the best place to start is just getting familiar with dialogue, both in real life and in fiction. You really do need both of these influences to write dialogue, because getting more familiar with how people speak IRL can help your dialogue feel realistic — and in some cases, it can be really important to have that verisimilitude, e.g. when you’re writing a bilingual or multilingual character and don’t want to fall into some of the more tired, unrealistic tropes of how multilingualism can manifest in people’s speech; and when you’re writing a deaf character (disclaimer that I’m not deaf, and this fic isn’t the be-all and end-all of how to do this well, but I really like the portrayals of Steve and Clint in, “Trump Diet” by caloriebomb on AO3, and they’re pretty well-researched and well-written portrayals of deaf characters).

On the other hand, though, only listening to how people talk IRL isn’t enough. You can learn a lot from that, for sure — especially when it comes to things like how people present themselves from situation to situation, and how their speech patterns or word choices can change in different contexts (from full-fledged code-switching, to more simple things like swapping in child-friendly substitutes for swear words when you’re with your godkids/younger sibling/grandma/whoever) — but you also need to look at how different techniques for writing dialogue work or don’t in order to figure out how to best present the dialogue so that it helps tell your story.

Different writers also have different strengths that you can learn from, e.g. JKR is really good at blending summaries of things the audience already knows into new scenes (like Harry witnessing the, “Snape brings Remus his Wolfsbane Potion” scene, then immediately running and telling Ron and Hermione), vs. Neil Gaiman’s ability to make dialogue read as realistic and natural even while his characters are talking about patently non-realistic things like magic and whatnot (which I think especially comes out in American Gods, but I’m biased because I’ve been rereading it in honor of the TV series starting), vs. the way that the late, great Terry Pratchett had of really making the dialects, accents, and so on a part of his characters, rather than something pasted on (JKR can also be good at that, but sometimes she goes a bit overboard). So, reading as much as you can is good, and paying attention to how the different writers use dialogue will help you write your own.

Unfortunately, a lot of dialogue-writing ends up being a, “play it by ear” sort of thing. You can easily overdo it with flowery dialogue tags, or repeating, “said” too much. Having too much action between bits of dialogue can bog down the scene, but not having enough can make it feel like nothing’s happening while these people talk (plus, what characters do or not during a conversation can help characterize them as much as, or arguably more than, what they say and how they say it).

One of the biggest pitfalls for a lot of writers is that we put too much dialogue in, usually focusing on the parts of conversations that don’t do anything to help show who the characters are or tell the story. Like, unless your characters have a particularly unique way of saying, “hello” (and showing that to the audience helps establish the characters for us), or there’s something important about how they answer questions like, “Nice day, isn’t it?” (e.g., the, “Wonderful weather this morning” / “Yes, but I always carry an umbrella” exchange from CATFA, because it’s not actually about the weather, but is the password into the secret SSR laboratory), or, “How’re you doing?” (e.g., your character is someone who doesn’t actually respond to that question with some variation on, “Fine, and you?”), then there’s a lot of dialogue that you can probably skip.

However, it can sometimes be difficult to tell where the too much/not enough line is, once you get past that — which really just goes back to the, “Revisions are your friend and you shouldn’t be afraid of them. They don’t mean you’re a bad writer; they’re a part of making your work stronger and telling your stories in the best ways for them” point.

Finally, though, the best rule of thumb is just knowing your characters. Knowing at least a few baseline things about where your characters come from and how they present themselves are helpful for finding their voices and keeping true to it in different scenarios. A character who excessively tries to mold themself according to what other people want them to be, or who unconsciously mirrors those around them, probably won’t have the same speech patterns as a character who doesn’t give a fuck what other people think of them, or who might give a fuck but is too tired/upset/intoxicated/whatever to censor themself effectively. Characters’ upbringings and backgrounds can also come out in their dialogue, so being (more or less) clear on them can be helpful.

One pretty classic example of these ideas is the trope where someone who’s going about in unfamiliar circles may be able to emulate other people’s behaviors, pick up the common speech patterns, verbal tropes, and lingo pretty well, and so on…… but still has a particular verbal tic or cadence to their speech that they can’t shake.

For instance, my Sebastian, from that passage, grew up in a wealthy family that would be minor nobility if the U.S. acknowledged that we totally have a de facto system of nobility (and his paternal grandparents often make a big deal out of how they’re descended from a legit, “Our ancestors earned their title as knights in the service of the King of France before certain well-to-do members of the Third Estate started buying their way up into our ranks, back before the glorious Ancien Régime was even a Thing” noblesse d’épée bloodline). He’s been around folks from a mix of different backgrounds during his time in school, and more so in his adult life, which has involved a lot of hijinks in places that would make his Grandparents go, “Good Heavens, why are you slumming it with the lower classes” before focusing on the actual issues like,, “Why on Earth were you dating an ecoterrorist” and, “Oh dear, our grandson who wanted to join the priesthood when he was a boy seems to have developed a serious problem with opiates”

Like, real talk? Roland and Cecile love their grandchildren, they really do. But when Sebastian went to rehab, they tried to push for sending him to a ridiculously expensive inpatient clinic in California with a huge, pedigreed list of celebrity clients because they thought of it as Rich People Rehab. The explanation, “No, okay? If I’m doing this, then I’m going to this place in Minnesota that exclusively hosts LGBTQ clients because I really don’t feel like I’ll be helped by potentially being around homophobic fellow patients and/or staff”…… was mostly met with blank stares that were the human equivalent of the, “buffering… buffering…” spinning wheel of doom, and the response, “…But going there will put you in treatment with the common rabble, why on Earth would you want that.”

Thankfully, Abe and Marceline, Seb’s parents, were nowhere near this bad — but that classism and the emphasis on how We Are From A Distinguished, Noble Bloodline, So Act Like It were still part of the atmosphere that Seb and his siblings were raised in. Their experiences in schooling moderated it a bit (though less so for, say, eldest brother Max, who went to Posh Boarding School for all four years of high school, then did his undergrad at Columbia and grad school at Harvard), and Seb got a lot of moderation by learning the hard way that sounding too posh in a decidedly not-posh environment is a dead giveaway that you don’t belong there and might get you mistaken for a Federal agent. But it’s hard to completely shake that posh upbringing, and it comes out sometimes in his phrasing, his word choices, etc.

On the other hand, though, Seb is also a human disaster in ways that affect his speech (…and he’s multilingual, but that doesn’t fall under the heading of, “human disaster things”). The trick with those parts of him — like his anxiety and how it kicks into overdrive in certain situations (like, when he’s talking to Stephen, his sponsor’s curatorial assistant, who Seb is crushing on) — is finding a balance where it’s part of his characterization but also doesn’t get completely impossible to read (like the mistake that some people make when writing characters with stutters, where they overdo it to the point that you can’t tell what the characters are saying, but because the writers didn’t do this on purpose, you’re expected to know what’s being said).

Anyway, I’m sorry this got kind of long, but I hope it helps a bit! Dialogue can be tough to work on, but you can learn a lot from experimenting with different ideas and techniques, and just continuing to work on it, even when you hate what you’re writing. ❤️

Rules: Tell me your favorite character from 10 fictional works (Movies, books, TV shows, video games, comics, etc.) and tag 10 people!

Tagged by @jazthespazz​, one of the best mutuals who tagged me in this and I’m only now seeing it after looking at my activity. Thank you so much! 

Remus Lupin from Harry Potter (book/movie)--I love my professor who was also a marauder who completely helped changed the series from “aww a poor magical orphan” to “oh crap your parents were martyrs and they had friends who loved them and protected them and you never should have had this life your life was meant to be so much better”. Remus helped usher in a whole new level of meaning for the series. Not to mention he’s a kind, selfless character who does his best.

Belle from Fairytales (books/movie)--So I’m a sucker for every Beauty and the Beast adaptation to ever exist. I just love the idea, I love the stories, and I love Belle/Beauty in every one of those. 

Rose Tyler from Doctor Who (TV)--Rose was my first companion and my favorite. She’s just a random shop worker, a nobody off the streets, who is sucked into the Doctor’s world. But, as we see again with Martha and Donna, she’s more than that. She’s compassionate, and caring, and stubborn, and determined. She learns how to get through dimensions because she’s so stubborn/determined. And I’ll admit I’m a shipper of Doctor x Rose, which just barely keeps Rose above Donna for me. 

Steven from Steven Universe (TV)--this little kid has been through so much and has so many expectations but he continues to smile and be kind to people. He gives people the benefit of the doubt when he has every reason to be distrusting. He’s hope, plain and simple, & I love that.

Rey from Star Wars (movie)--Alright so I love Star Wars, I love Obi-Wan, I love Chirrut, I love lightsabers and Jedi and Sith. But I have to pick Rey, because despite how much I loved Obi-Wan’s sass and his and Anakin’s relationship, I go to theme parks a lot. And I see a lot of kids there and over the past couple years I’ve been able to see little girls who now have an option beyond ‘princess’. Without fail I’ve seen mini Rey’s every time I go to the park, and, on Halloween, I saw a bunch of older women, including a white haired grandmother, dressed up as Rey. Rey showed that we can be the mythical chosen one who the lightsaber flies toward. We can be sandy and grimy, AND help pilot the Millennium Falcon. It didn’t just give me a well known female Jedi, it gave it to all those children, all those older ladies. They don’t have to genderbend Anakin or Luke to be ‘the chosen one’ they get to be Rey, and that’s amazing.

Persephone from Mythology (various)--just, yes.

Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn (video game)--what’s that? A video game protagonist who’s a believable person? Who has ‘choice options’ but each option still directly lines up with her characterization? Yes, it’s true. Aloy is a witty, slightly jaded protagonist who proves females aren’t too hard to render! She’s been shunned her whole life by her tribe and then is the savior of the very people who shunned her, and instead of just going “this is great! Okay I’ll help!” she’s BITTER, and more importantly SHE’S ALLOWED TO BE BITTER.  SHE’S ALSO ALLOWED TO HAVE CROOKED TEETH AND I’M SO ABOUT IT. But overall, she doesn’t let that bitterness stop her from helping others; she cares about strangers. She’s curious and when she discovers things she reacts to them. She gets overwhelmed and sad and confused. Aloy is wonderful.

Sophie Hatter from Howl’s Moving Castle (book/movie)--she’s bold, brave, kind, and has a “do no harm but take no shit” attitude. And she grows (literally) into her boldness, into her bravery, into a wonderful self-love that I’ve really tried to take to heart myself.

Kvothe from Name of the Wind (book)--here’s a guy who struggles, and it’s not pretty, it sucks a lot of the time, it’s humiliating more often than he’d like, but he uses that to make beautiful music, he uses it as fuel to continue to drive himself forward and oh god he’s still hopeful but he’s also not and the final book is going to destroy me and whyyyy isn’t it out and I just like him :)

Andrew Minyard from The Foxhole Court (book)--alright this sucker is last because he’s one of the most well developed characters I’ve ever come across. Andrew is an asshole, you finish the first book HATING Andrew, loathing him even. He’s a dick and the book makes no apologies for it. Then you continue to read and you find out why he’s a dick. And it doesn’t excuse what he does, but it helps you understand him, it softens your anger into understand and does so masterfully. Because yeah he’s an asshole, but he’s fiercely protective and loyal, which drives a lot of his asshole actions. He’s just a wade of messed up that, in the end, is only going because he cares about other people so much. 

(so I wasn’t supposed to describe why I love them but I had to)  Tagging, if you want to: @jedirangerpenguin, @chrysalis-bows, @master-lorren, @sparkseptic, @idioticlines, @ecoald, @gingercaptainamerica