KIROKAZE
YOU ARE THE REASON
Cosimo Galluzzi
trying on a metaphor
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Jules of Nature
One Nice Bug Per Day
ellievsbear
if i look back, i am lost
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
ojovivo
Misplaced Lens Cap
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Game of Thrones Daily
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$LAYYYTER
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@lunamagix
Lily: Muggle children get a visit from Santa, not Santa and a bunch of eggnog tipsy animals.
James: I guarantee Rudolph will be perfectly sober.
Lily: That I can believe, it’s the dog I worry about.
James: Oh trust me, that Sirius doesn’t want on Santa’s naughty list.
Lily: I take it Remus is the Santa.
Gryffindor, to Slytherin: fight me
Gryffindor: *gets down on one knee and pulls out a ring*
Gryffindor: fight me for the rest of our lives
Communal 2018 Drarry Rec List
IT’S HERE, EVERYBODY!!! And it’s long! Thank you so so much to everyone who sent in their favorite fics written in 2018! To make this easier to navigate, I’ve created categories that make sense to me based on this collection of fics — obviously many fit into multiple categories, but I tried my best to place them accurately! I had so much fun looking through these and talking to everyone about their favorite fics, and I’m already super excited to do this again next year!! :D
Note that all recs were written by the person who submitted each fic, and they are in no particular order within their categories :)
ENJOY!
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EIGHTH YEAR
The Nightmare Club by Elle Gray (85K)- Hermione and Ron are going back to Hogwarts to do N.E.W.T.s, Ginny isn’t. Harry hasn’t decided, until he has, in front of the Wizengamot and now he’s responsible for Malfoy as well. A tale of enemies who learn to get along, get it wrong and get it on. Everything is purple, some things are on fire and no-one is sleeping properly. But don’t worry, there’s tea! Wishing you could curl up on a purple couch in an eighth year common room stocked with hundreds of varieties of tea and eavesdrop on our favorite Hogwarts kids as they attempt to adjust to a normal school year? If you love awkward miscommunications, snuggling, open minded acceptance, kind-hearted friends, and—of course—mutual pining, this fic is for you.
Sex and The Art of Castle Maintenance by birdsofshore (15K)- “Come on, boys,” Zabini drawled. “You’re only delaying the inevitable.” Trouble always had a way of finding Harry, and eighth year was obviously going to be no exception. The antagonism, tension, and heat leaps off the screen, and I could NOT put this story down.
To Hurt and Heal by @cassisluna (21.5K)- They say that everybody who gets out of Azkaban comes out a little mad. After the war, Draco Malfoy spends three months in Azkaban. He just wants to go insane in peace, but Harry Potter finds that he, inexplicably, still can’t leave Draco alone. I went into this expecting angst, but by the end I got Eighth Year fluff and a whole lot of eating breakfast. Can’t say I didn’t love it.
Orbit by HenryMercury (52.5K)- “The classical problem of celestial mechanics, perhaps of all Newtonian mechanics, involves the motion of one body about another under the influence of their mutual gravitation.” *They don’t like each other. They’re not friends. There’s not even a ceasefire of any sort because they’re fighting as much as ever—but there’s definitely something different about it. An added layer of self-awareness they don’t dare identify, but which colours every Scared, Potter? and Do your worst; each You wouldn’t dare and Then prove it. 8th year fic that does such a fabulous job of bringing Harry and Draco together, that makes their pairing so realistic, even non-drarry shippers would be able to see the appeal.
Once Upon a Time by @fantom-ftnoise (12.5K)- This is the story of Hansel & Gretel - er, that is, Harry & Draco. A wonderful retelling of Hansel and Gretel, with amazing (and delightfully creepy) sensory descriptions, humour, nail-biting tension and a glorious happy ending.
Eighteen Kisses by tigersilver (10K)- Harry is being targeted by a very determined and wily Malfoy, a Malfoy with sly hands and a sweet, sweet mouth. The story features adorably fluffy Draco and insanely flustered Harry, with chocolate and sweet kisses
It takes 36 Questions to fall in love by @gnarf (14K)- After returning to Hogwarts for their 8th year, Harry and Draco can’t seem to stop fighting, much to the irritation of staff and students alike. Their last fight escalated and Harry and Draco are forced to room together by a pretty angry Headmistress. They will have to stay in their new quarters until they overcome their differences. But it wouldn’t be McGonagall if she didn’t have a plan. To help them achieve this goal (and to save everyone else from going crazy because of them) she gave them a charmed parchment that will ask a series of personal questions. Over the next couple of days they’ll learn much more about each other than they could ever have imagined. A precious they-finally-start-understand-eachother story that left me feeling fuzzy and happy
Oblivious by lealamalfoy (@gregqoyle) (17.5K)- Harry doesn’t believe his Amortentia’s scent is correct, and starts questioning the potion and his feelings. Of course Malfoy, of all people, is the one to answer these questions Harry’s lack of communication with the female population and Draco’s lack of communication with Harry is infuriating to new levels
Heart of Silver/Heart of Gold by @lettersbyelise (54.5K)- Draco Malfoy, a young demon specialising in school bullying, has lived hundreds of uneventful lives. Until his world is turned upside down by his newest assignment a few days before Christmas: to get rid of 8th year classmate Harry Potter, Defeater of Dark Lords and thorn in the side of all things evil. Trouble is, Draco’s world has been upside down for a while… ever since he started having very human feelings for a certain bespectacled Gryffindor. It’s a slow burn fic where Draco is a demon sent to torture and kill Harry buuuuut feelings are involved; also there’s a Niffler names Jeff and some very amusing Ron moments!
AUROR(S) / CURSE BREAKER(S)
Ten Thousand Reasons Why Not by @lqtraintracks (8.5K)- Harry and Draco are stand-ins for the usual witch who gives the workplace harassment and sexual consent talk to the Auror trainees. Amazingly funny and sexy fic, featuring public UST, great dialogue and banter, and smut to die for.
Changeling by Obscurus343 (86K)- The assignment seems to be an excuse to get the Boy Who Lived away from the press for a while – Head Auror Savage is human, after all. But when they arrive to Barebone Castle, Aurors Potter and Malfoy realize that something sinister may indeed be going on. It’s terrifying. It’s cursed. It’s some next level freaky shit that nobody can explain. But not to worry! Two lovestruck idiots are on the case. warm and funny, with a wonderfully crafted cast, spooky mystery and more handholding and cuddling than your heart can take
Cold Like Fire by @queenofthyme (12K)- Head Auror Harry Potter had no problem with mandatory consent training for his team. He’d actually been looking forward to it, that is, until he discovered who the teacher was. Now, he had no idea how he was going to get through the training without throwing a hex at Draco Malfoy. Or a punch. This fic is absolutely hilarious and full of so many wonderful drarry-y moments!
The Partner, the Rival and the Very Big Case by oceaxe (24.5K)- When Harry and Nott are paired up to go undercover as fake boyfriends, Draco is disappointed not to get the assignment. It’s just professional jealousy that’s making him feel so upset. Obviously. He’s engaged to be married to Astoria, after all.But when he walks in on Nott kissing Harry for ‘practice’ and has a wild magic outbreak, he starts to think that something else might be going on. Is Nott right? Is Draco a homophobe? Or is there… just possibly… another explanation? Funny as hell and sexy too, it features a Draco grappling with his attraction to Harry, his jealousy regarding him, and his own sexuality, when their partnership gets split up for a case.
Cabin in the Forest by @justdrarryme (23K)- Of course Harry would get partnered with Malfoy when Ron leaves the Aurors, nothing in his life could ever be easy. What he hadn’t counted on though were his feelings for the other man. Or, Harry and Draco get trapped in a Bundling Bed and are forced to work their shit out. The art that this fic is based on (by ano-ka-ba) is incredible, and the way these two get out of their predicament is hot as hell.
Still Catch The Tide by @dwell-the-brave, art by Razielim and Apriicat (57K)- When a ravaged body is found on Blackpool beach front, newly partnered Aurors Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are sent to investigate. This is a make-or-break case for Harry - solve the case and not scare his partner away, or risk his career. But when another body appears, and another, this mystery goes far deeper than either of them could have imagined. from Big Bang, this Auror partners casefic has suspense, rich writing with a thread of melancholy, and gorgeous art.
In Our Blood by @secretsalex (38K)- Draco is an accomplished pure-blood curse breaker, and Harry is tasked with accompanying him on his latest job—cleaning up the Van Boer mansion, which has been under a devastating fertility curse for seven generations. reading this is like watching a gorgeously shot, terrifying horror film. Don’t let that scare you off - it’s compelling and will leave you thinking about it long after you close the tab.
COMING OUT / LGBT+ THEMES
Little Compton Street (One Rainy Night in Soho) by @writcraft (65.5K)- Draco is lonely, Harry hates the press and it won’t stop raining in London. Harry discovers a magical street that’s close to disappearing forever and Draco realises he’s one rainy night in Soho away from finding everything he’s been searching for. This fic is a BEAUTIFUL ode to LGBT culture and community, and was so so moving in addition to being an extremely entertaining read with a great relationship between Harry and Draco
Rookie Moves by Elle Grey (60K)- So the war’s over and Harry’s a Rookie Auror, and everything seems… fine? I mean, he’s single, his life is mostly work and he hasn’t been out in ages and he’s tired and annoyed most of the time, and he should probably be a bit more social, but the last time he kissed a girl he had to Obliviate her… but that’s normal, right? And then Robards throws him a file, yells at him a bit and he finds himself guarding Malfoy of all people, and maybe that little feeling in his gut he thought he’d disproved as indigestion once and for all…. maybe was something else. Something lots gayer. A tragically under appreciated coming out fic that legit made me laugh so hard I cried.
Around You Moves by ignatiustrout (29.5K)- Harry knew Draco was gay when he invited him to move in. He’s never had a problem with this. So why does he feel so weird about Draco bringing men home all of a sudden? a fabulous fic in which Harry thinks he’s homophobic when he hates seeing Draco with other men … and then he realizes a few things about himself ;)
Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening by @writcraft (23K)- Harry is perfectly content being single, heterosexual and living in Godric’s Hollow with his very clingy rescue dog, Snitch. When Draco Malfoy turns up on Harry’s doorstep demanding that Harry teach him how to drive, things quickly become a lot more complicated. Funny, sharply-written and sexy, HPatBA has everything I love about reading drarry (snark and UST, fantastic prose, emotional connection and hot sex) but brings an awesome new perspective to coming out, in queer fic.
When You Kiss Me (What a Lovely Way to Burn) by @femmequixotic (22K)- A drag fairytale of New York in which Draco wears red lipstick and Potter can’t get enough A fantastic piece of writing that explores a genderqueer Draco, working at a drag club in New York, where he sees Harry for the first time in years. (note from chibi: THIS FIC IS SO BEAUTIFUL IT WILL GIVE YOU A SEXUAL AWAKENING AND I WANT TO HOLD IT CLOSE FOREVER)
DANCING/CLUBBING
Kill, Fuck, Marry by @lettersbyelise (12.5K)- Malfoy leans toward him with a baleful look. “I do believe Pansy Parkinson, my best friend, paid you to spend the evening with me. It’s my birthday, Potter. So you’re going to get off your Gryffindor arse, and you’re going to dance with me. I want to dance. I want to win. I want that bloody trophy on my shelf before the end of the night.” Harry and Draco unexpectedly meet again on Draco’s birthday, years after their last encounter. Incredulity, banter, witty conversation, gin and tonics and impromptu dancing ensue. It’s only natural, of course, that Draco would expect his birthday night to finish with a bang… Perfectly in-character dialogue and great heat during what starts as an awkward, unintended date between Draco and Harry. Two Truths and all those Hidden Lies by @keyflight790 (7.5K)- It didn’t matter whether Draco knew about the Polyjuice or not; nor did it matter what face Harry deigned to hide behind in the club. Draco could spot Potter a mile away. Polyjuice could change his face. It could change the way his hair sat along his scalp, and the color of his eyes, and the shape of his lips. It could change his height and the way his muscles rippled beneath his shirt. It could change the swell of his arse, the length of his… Not that Draco was thinking of that. The fact that Draco can recognize Harry even without his awful glasses and stupid scar warms my heart every time.
Brick by Brick by @agentmoppet (8K)- There’s something between the two of them, something that builds beneath the smoky lights of the club and grows stronger during midnight conversations held on a rooftop high above the streets of London. But Draco wants to wait. deals beautifully with consent and all the waiting the two men go through to build something that is not just sex.
Keep reading
me writing dialogue: “what is man but a vessel through which a higher entity may see? what is his purpose? must he find a purpose? we are but stardust; the universe comprehending itself.”
me writing action: they ran real fast from the bad men aand legs hurty
me writing action: Her legs pounded against the earth, the familiar jolt grounding her like nothing else could. Magic, gods, royalty—she didn’t know anything about that. But running? That’s something she’d been doing since day one.
me writing dialogue: “I dunno man whatchu wanna do” “I dunno. What do you think?” “Hey man I don’t know”
me writing action: room go boom
me writing dialogue: noppity nope, that ain’t dope
The holy trinity of writing
Why are Kiss Cams at professional Quidditch matches not a popular HP fanfic trope yet????
IMAGINE THE CHAOS WHEN INSTEAD OF PANNING TO THE CROWD, THE KISS CAM FOCUSES ON THE TWO OPPOSING SEEKERS
BECAUSE THE CAMERA WAS MAGICALLY FIXED TO SPOT THE PEOPLE WITH THE MOST CHEMISTRY
IT GOT BETTER
BUT IMAGINE IF THE TWO SEEKERS STOPPED AND STARED AT EACH OTHER, FIGURE ‘FINE. FUCK IT’ AND THE CROWD GOES WILD AS THEY START LEANING IN, THIER LIPS THIS FREAKIN CLOSE TO EACH OTHER THEN SUDDENLY ONE OF THE SEEKERS THROWS HIS ARMS OUT BARELY MISSING THE OTHER’S EAR, PULLS BACK, THE SNITCH IS IN HIS HANDS. HE WINKS, AND FLIES AWAY.
WERE TALKING ABOUT DRACO AND HARRY RIGHT? THERES NO WAY THAT IT’S NOT THOSE TWO. AND I FEEL LIKE HARRY WOULD BE THE ONE TO CATCH THE SNITCH AND DRACO’S JUST LIKE ‘FUCK YOU, POTTER, I’LL GET YOU BACK’ AND HARRY’S LIKE ‘OH GOOD I WANTED THAT KISS STILL’ AND DRACO JUST GOES GRYFFINDOR RED.
Oh Draco would be so PISSED. And pleased at the same time. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself.
Drabbles
Just want to show my love to all my fans out there by writing a few drabbles! Pick a character or a ship along with a number from the list and send it to me! Those who follow me get gifs with Drabble^-^
NO MORE REQUEST FOR AWHILE THANKS
1. “Look at me - just breathe, okay?” 2. “You don’t have to stay.” 3. “Don’t fucking touch me.” 4. “Please I just… really need space right now.” 5. “I’m sick of being USELESS.” 6. “Shit, are you bleeding?!” 7. “It’s okay to cry…” 8. “Just leave me ALONE.” 9. “Please listen to me-” 10. “You can trust me.” 11. “I just really need to have you here right now.” 12. “Wait a minute. Are you jealous?” 13. “Don’t you ever do that again!” 14. “Kiss me.” 15. “Hey, I’m with you, okay? Always.” 16. “So, I found this waterfall…” 17. “Just once.” 18. “You lied to me.” 19. “I wish I could hate you.” 20. “You did all of this for me?” 21. “Hey, have you seen the..? Oh.” 22. “No one needs to know.” 23. “Boo.” 24. “Well this is awkward…” 25. “Have you lost your damn mind!?” 26. “Remember our first date? When you took me to Starbucks and it took me 15 minutes just to choose a flavour of Frappuccino? I was never sure about anything, never. But I was so fucking sure about you!” 27. “You know, it hurt when I realized that you’re not in love with me. But nothing can compare with the pain I felt when I saw you fall for her…” 28. “They say it’s hard to let go. But with you I find it impossible.” 29. “I just wanted you to know that when I picture myself happy… it’s with you.” 30. “I know, but… I love him/her. You can’t give up on a person you love.” 31. “But… you’re my home.” 32. “Come over here and make me.” 33. “Have you lost your damn mind!?” 34. “Please, don’t leave.” 35. “Do you…well…I mean…I could give you a massage?” 36. “Wait a minute. Are you jealous?” 37. “Is there a reason you’re naked in my bed?” 38. “I almost lost you.” 39. “Wanna bet?” 40. “Don’t you ever do that again! 41. “Teach me how to play?” 42. “Don’t you dare throw that snowba-, goddammit!” 43. “I think we need to talk.” 44. “So, I found this waterfall…” 45. “It could be worse.” 46. “Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…” 47. “This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.” 48. “The paint’s supposed to go where?” 49. “You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.” 50. “We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?” 51. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.” 52. “You’re the only one I trust to do this.” 53. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.” 54. “I got you a present.” 55. “I’m pregnant.” 56. “Marry me?” 57. “I thought you were dead.” 58. “It’s not what it looks like…” 59. “I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.” 60. “Please don’t do this. 61. “If you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to a bed.” 62. “You heard me. Take. It. Off.” 63. “I wish I could hate you.” 64. “Wanna dance?” 65. “You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” 66. “Hey! I was gonna eat that!” 67. “Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me? 68. “I swear it was an accident.” 69. “YOU DID WHAT?!” 70. “If you die, I’m gonna kill you.”
OKAY I have been meaning to do this for MONTHS but hey, there’s no better time than the present so buckle up, here we go! THESE BOOKS ARE A GODSEND. I am ALWAYS on the lookout for writing aids that ACTUALLY HELP. If you’re like me, and occasionally venture out to buy books on, let’s say, showing vs telling - you will always get the same rehearsed speeches on what that means. -summons pretentious writer’s voice- You’ve got to shoooooow what’s happening in the scene, not teeeeeeell~~ BAH! What you NEVER get, however, is how to do it, or how do it better.
THESE BOOKS ARE THE STUFF OF DREAMS
Each of these is so freaking helpful, I can’t even convey. They all follow the same format as the pictures I’ve shown above, so you get one detailed page of descriptions followed by tons of more in-depth, thought provoking concepts. I’ll do my best to lay out the five that I have and if you are interested, hop on over to Amazon and buy these suckers up because they are AMAZING; I have NEVER used a writing resource more than I use these. Negative Trait Thesaurus & Positive Trait Thesaurus -gives you a definition of said negative trait -gives you similar flaws also found in the book -gives you possible causes of WHY the character might have this trait -gives you a list of other behaviors the chara might have -gives you examples of the chara’s thought process -gives associated emotions -gives positive aspects of the trait, as well as negative -gives examples of well known chara’s that have this trait -talks about how the chara might overcome it -gives traits that, when combined with this one, might cause conflict How I use this information: Chara building, or when I get stuck on what I want a character to do. Man, I just can’t decide what they WOULD do. Well, awesome, I have a little guide to help me think through the character’s possible motivations. Also, I get help building a potential backstory because I get a framework of which to think, why is the character this way? Urban Setting Thesaurus & Rural Setting Thesaurus -gives a whole lot of examples of sights, smells, tastes, and sounds -gives examples of textures and sensations (ie at an ‘antique shop’ you may encounter chipped paint, distressed wood, etc) -gives you possible sources of conflict (ie at a ‘hotel’ you might have noisy neighbors) -gives list of people you might expect to find at said location -gives related settings -gives tips on this type of setting -gives a setting description example How I use this information: IMAGERY IMAGERY IMAGERY Emotion Thesaurus (aka MY FAVORITE) -gives a definition of the emotion -gives physical signs and signals (ie chara may look pale, might fidget, etc) -gives internal sensations (aka, blood pounding in the ears, dry throat, adrenaline rush) -gives mental responses (ie fight or flight) -gives cues of acute or long-term impacts of the emotion -gives ‘may escalate to _______’ and directs you to other emotions -gives cues of suppression (ie cues of suppressed rage) -gives writer tips How I use this information: I love this book so hardcore, it’s so helpful with internalizing. It’s great because I get to step outside of that box of using the same five responses to a certain emotion and start really thinking about, what can a character do instead to show that they are feeling this, rather than me using adverbs or his adrenaline pumped fifty gazillion times. These books are all co-written by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (bless their souls) and if this sounds of interest LOOK INTO IT!! I get such buyer’s regret after buying writing guides but these are legit the best ones I have found and I reference them so, so, so much. Hope this helps anyone out there looking for something life-changing!!
I have these books and the emotion thesaurus is my favorite writing aid.
How to Plot a Complex Novel in One Day
Now first, I have to say, that the plot you’re able to come up with in one day is not going to be without its flaws, but coming up with it all at once, the entire story unfolds right in front of you and makes you want to keep going with it. So, where to begin?
What is your premise and basic plot? Pick your plot. I recommend just pulling one from this list. No plots are “original” so making yours interesting and complicated will easily distract from that fact, that and interesting characters. Characters will be something for you to work on another day, because this is plotting day. You’ll want the main plot to be fairly straight forward, because a confusing main plot will doom you if you want subplots.
Decide who the characters will be. They don’t have to have names at this point. You don’t even need to know who they are other than why they have to be in the story. The more characters there are the more complicated the plot will be. If you intend to have more than one subplot, then you’ll want more characters. Multiple interconnected subplots will give the illusion that the story is very complicated and will give the reader a lot of different things to look at at all times. It also gives you the chance to develop many side characters. The plot I worked out yesterday had 13 characters, all were necessary. Decide their “roles” don’t bother with much else. This seems shallow, but this is plot. Plot is shallow.
Now, decide what drives each character. Why specifically are they in this story? You can make this up. You don’t even know these characters yet. Just so long as everyone has their own motivations, you’re in the clear.
What aren’t these characters giving away right off the bat? Give them a secret! It doesn’t have to be something that they are actively lying about or trying to hide, just find something that perhaps ties them into the plot or subplot. This is a moment to dig into subplot. This does not need to be at all connected to their drive to be present in the story. Decide who is in love with who, what did this person do in the 70’s that’s coming back to bite them today, and what continues to haunt what-his-face to this very day. This is where you start to see the characters take shape. Don’t worry much about who they are or what they look like, just focus on what they’re doing to the story.
What is going to change these characters? Now this will take some thinking. Everyone wants at least a few of the characters to come out changed by the end of the story, so think, how will they be different as a result of the plot/subplot? It might not be plot that changes them, but if you have a lot of characters, a few changes that are worked into the bones of the plot might help you.
Now list out the major events of the novel with subplot in chronological order. This will be your timeline. Especially list the historical things that you want to exist in backstory. List everything you can think of. Think about where the story is going. At this point, you likely haven’t focused too much on the main plot, yeah, it’s there, but now really focus on the rising actions, how this main plot builds its conflict, then the climactic moment. Make sure you get all of that in there. This might take a few hours.
Decide where to start writing. This part will take a LOT of thinking. It’s hard! But now that you’ve got the timeline, pick an interesting point to begin at. Something with action. Something relevant. Preferably not at the beginning of your timeline - you want to have huge reveals later on where these important things that happened prior are exposed. This is the point where you think about what information should come out when. This will be a revision of your last list, except instead of being chronological, it exists to build tension.
Once you’ve gotten the second list done, you’ve got a plot. Does it need work? Probably. But with that said, at this point you probably have no idea who half your characters are. Save that for tomorrow, that too will be a lot of work.
Disclaimer for this post.
on fanfic & emotional continuity
Writing and reading fanfic is a masterclass in characterisation.
Consider: in order to successfully write two different “versions” of the same character - let alone ten, or fifty, or a hundred - you have to make an informed judgement about their core personality traits, distinguishing between the results of nature and nurture, and decide how best to replicate those conditions in a new narrative context. The character you produce has to be recognisably congruent with the canonical version, yet distinct enough to fit within a different - perhaps wildly so - story. And you physically can’t accomplish this if the character in question is poorly understood, or viewed as a stereotype, or one-dimensional. Yes, you can still produce the fic, but chances are, if your interest in or knowledge of the character(s) is that shallow, you’re not going to bother in the first place.
Because ficwriters care about nuance, and they especially care about continuity - not just literal continuity, in the sense of corroborating established facts, but the far more important (and yet more frequently neglected) emotional continuity. Too often in film and TV canons in particular, emotional continuity is mistakenly viewed as a synonym for static characterisation, and therefore held anathema: if the character(s) don’t change, then where’s the story? But emotional continuity isn’t anti-change; it’s pro-context. It means showing how the character gets from Point A to Point B as an actual journey, not just dumping them in a new location and yelling Because Reasons! while moving on to the next development. Emotional continuity requires a close reading, not just of the letter of the canon, but its spirit - the beats between the dialogue; the implications never overtly stated, but which must logically occur off-screen. As such, emotional continuity is often the first casualty of canonical forward momentum: when each new TV season demands the creation of a new challenge for the protagonists, regardless of where and how we left them last, then dealing with the consequences of what’s already happened is automatically put on the backburner.
Fanfic does not do this.
Fanfic embraces the gaps in the narrative, the gracenotes in characterisation that the original story glosses, forgets or simply doesn’t find time for. That’s not all it does, of course, but in the context of learning how to write characters, it’s vital, because it teaches ficwriters - and fic readers - the difference between rich and cardboard characters. A rich character is one whose original incarnation is detailed enough that, in order to put them in fanfic, the writer has to consider which elements of their personality are integral to their existence, which clash irreparably with the new setting, and which can be modified to fit, to say nothing of how this adapted version works with other similarly adapted characters. A cardboard character, by contrast, boasts so few original or distinct attributes that the ficwriter has to invent them almost out of whole cloth. Note, please, that attributes are not necessarily synonymous with details in this context: we might know a character’s favourite song and their number of siblings, but if this information gives us no actual insight into them as a person, then it’s only window-dressing. By the same token, we might know very few concrete facts about a character, but still have an incredibly well-developed sense of their personhood on the basis of their actions.
The fact that ficwriters en masse - or even the same ficwriter in different AUs - can produce multiple contradictory yet still fundamentally believable incarnations of the same person is a testament to their understanding of characterisation, emotional continuity and narrative.
So I was reading this rumination on fanfic and I was thinking about something @involuntaryorange once talked to me about, about fanfic being its own genre, and something about this way of thinking really rocked my world? Because for a long time I have thought like a lawyer, and I have defined fanfiction as “fiction using characters that originated elsewhere,” or something like that. And now I feel like…fanfiction has nothing to do with using other people’s characters, it’s just a character-driven *genre* that is so character-driven that it can be more effective to use other people’s characters because then we can really get the impact of the storyteller’s message but I feel like it could also be not using other people’s characters, just a more character-driven story. Like, I feel like my original stuff–the novellas I have up on AO3, the draft I just finished–are probably really fanfiction, even though they’re original, because they’re hitting fanfic beats. And my frustration with getting original stuff published has been, all along, that I’m calling it a genre it really isn’t.
And this is why many people who discover fic stop reading other stuff. Once you find the genre you prefer, you tend to read a lot in that genre. Some people love mysteries, some people love high-fantasy. Saying you love “fic” really means you love this character-driven genre.
So when I hear people be dismissive of fic I used to think, Are they just not reading the good fic? Maybe I need to put the good fic in front of them? But I think it turns out that fanfiction is a genre that is so entirely character-focused that it actually feels weird and different, because most of our fiction is not that character-focused.
It turns out, when I think about it, I am simply a character-based consumer of pop culture. I will read and watch almost anything but the stuff that’s going to stick with me is because I fall for a particular character. This is why once a show falters and disagrees with my view of the character, I can’t just, like, push past it, because the show *was* the character for me.
Right now my big thing is the Juno Steel stories, and I know that they’re doing all this genre stuff and they have mysteries and there’s sci-fi and meanwhile I’m just like, “Okay, whatever, I don’t care about that, JUNO STEEL IS THE BEST AND I WANT TO JUST ROLL AROUND IN HIS SARCASTIC, HILARIOUS, EMOTIONALLY PINING HEAD.” That is the fanfiction-genre fan in me coming out. Someone looking for sci-fi might not care about that, but I’m the type of consumer (and I think most fic-people are) who will spend a week focusing on what one throwaway line might reveal about a character’s state of mind. That’s why so many fics *focus* on those one throwaway lines. That’s what we’re thinking about.
And this is what makes coffee shop AUs so amazing. Like, you take some characters and you stick them in a coffee shop. That’s it. And yet I love every single one of them. Because the focus is entirely on the characters. There is no plot. The plot is they get coffee every day and fall in love. That’s the entire plot. And that’s the perfect fanfic plot. Fanfic plots are almost always like that. Almost always references to other things that clue you in to where the story is going. Think of “friends to lovers” or “enemies to lovers” or “fake relationship,” and you’re like, “Yes. I love those. Give me those,” and you know it’s going to be the same plot, but that’s okay, you’re not reading for the plot. It’s like that Tumblr post that goes around that’s like, “Me starting a fake relationship fic: Ooooh, do you think they’ll fall in love for real????” But you’re not reading for the suspense. Fic frees you up from having to spend effort thinking about the plot. Fic gives your brain space to focus entirely on the characters. And, especially in an age of plot-twist-heavy pop culture, that almost feels like a luxury. “Come in. Spend a little time in this character’s head. SPEND HOURS OF YOUR LIFE READING SO MANY STORIES ABOUT THIS CHARACTER’S HEAD. Until you know them like a friend. Until you know them so well that you miss them when you’re not hanging out with them.”
When that is your story, when the characters become like your friends, it makes sense that you’re freed from plot. It’s like how many people don’t really have a “plot” to hanging out with their friends. There’s this huge obsession with plot, but lives don’t have plots. Lives just happen. We try to shape them into plots later, but that’s just this organizational fiction we’re imposing. Plot doesn’t have to be the raison d’etre of all story-telling, and fic reminds us of that.
Idk, this was a lot of random rambling but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.
“fanfiction has nothing to do with using other people’s characters, it’s just a character-driven *genre* that is so character-driven that it can be more effective to use other people’s characters”
yes!!!! I feel like I knew this on some level but I’ve never explicitly thought about it that way. this feels right, yep. Mainstream fiction often seems very dry to me and I think this is why - it tends to skip right over stuff that would be a huge plot arc in a fanfic, if not an entire fanfic in itself. And I’m like, “hey, wait, go back to that. Why are you skipping that? Where’s the story?” But now I think maybe people who don’t like fanfiction are going like, “why is there an entire fanfic about something that could have happened offscreen? Is anything interesting ever going to happen here? Where’s the story?”
Yes! Exactly! This!!!
This crystallized for me when I taught my first class of fanfiction to non-fic-readers and they just kept being like, “But nothing happens. What’s the plot?” and I was so confused, like, “What are you talking about? They fall in love. That’s the plot.” But we were, I think, talking past each other. They kept waiting for some big moment to happen, but for me the point was that the little moments were the big moments.
“I only want to be a princess if the dress comes with a matching sword and pen both sharp as my tongue.”
— Kristen Costello
Sometimes I wonder if I might be insane because I still hope that fictional characters are real and that at some point in my future I will find someone who loves me the way Jace loves Clary, and Draco loves Hermione, and Alec loves Magnus, and Elyas loves Emely ...
I can’t handle my malec feels … *screaming*
But imagine the new Beauty and the Beast movie though instead of Dan Stevens, Tom Felton plays the beast
Hogwarts Houses as The Hunger Games Characters
for anon
Gryffindor: Katniss- brave to the point of impulsive, willing to sacrifice herself, acts on her thoughts
Slytherin: Foxface (real name unknown)- cunning and willing to do what it takes to survive, and good at finding patterns and tricks
Ravenclaw: Cinna- puts deeper meanings into his work, wise enough to know when to rebel and when to stay silent, willing to be different from his peers
Hufflepuff: Prim- stronger than she's given credit for, determined and patient, and good at dealing with people who are upset
Me: *walks into library*
Me: *heavy breathing*
Me: *sings* Hello...
Me: *whispers* ...it's me.
