Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (ish) favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!
Why am I nervous for this? I’ll tag @ladykenz347 @frumpologist @farmulousa @quintalon @kyonomiko and anyone else who would like to join. Apologies if you’ve been tagged already! Thanks for the tags, @indreamsink and @pacific-rimbaud!
Secret Pairing, Rated M, 8K, one shot written for Sing Me a Rare Spring 2020
This is honestly the piece of writing I’m most proud of. One of my favorite parts of fanfiction is fleshing out the world of canonical characters and imagining how their interpersonal relationships impact the events we see through Harry’s eyes. In this story, I really leaned into the theory that the literary villains we most revile are often humans who have been damaged by a past we don’t get to see, and to craft a believable origin story, I took over 10K worth of notes and background information that didn’t even make it into the fic haha. I had to be really precise with pronoun usage while interweaving bits of canonical details to create a bread-crumb trail until the character reveal.
Dramione, 63K, Rated M, complete multi-chapter
One of my favorite tropes is when Draco has a kid with Hermione he doesn’t know about, but I wanted to know what would happen if Hermione was the one who didn’t know. Thus began my trip down the rabbit hole of magic, lovers to enemies to lovers, and angst that this story was. It was really fun to give a character almost universally despised by fandom a redemption arc of sorts, and I enjoyed getting to write the dynamic between Hermione and Draco a lot! Plus, playing with magic is always fun :)
Rowena Ravenclaw x Salazar Slytherin, 3K, Rated M, one shot written for the second round of Death by Quill: Charms
Death by Quill was the single most challenging writing experience I’ve ever undertaken, but I’m immensely grateful that I did. Like with Page Ripped Out, I wanted to fit a story into the dark, craggy parts of canon that we just don’t know much about, and so I chose to write a Chamber origin story. It’s not my strongest piece technically, but I enjoyed experimenting with fairy magic, basilisks, and legacies. If you haven’t read the other fics in the competition, go now!
Field Notes of the (un)Dead
Theodore Nott x Myrtle Warren, 2K, Rated M, one shot written for Dumbledore's Armada: Wheel of Death Flash Fiction Comp
Okay clearly I just want to write rare pairs all the time now lol. I have no explanation for this one, really, other than that I wanted to write something random and play with style a bit haha. It’s a bit more lyrical than what I normally write, and it definitely volleys somewhere between serious and silly. It also made me want to write a hundred more stories of stoned Theo and badass Myrtle. And somewhere down the line write a triad with stoned Theo, obliviously queer Draco, and badass Myrtle.
Neville Longbottom x Pansy Parkinson, 8K, Rated E, one shot
Okay, can I just be honest that writing these two characters scares the shit out of me? Pansy because she just has such a particular fanon voice and Neville because he’s my absolute fav (and I need more Neville in my life, so throw me any recs you have). This was a gift for a friend, and I really enjoyed writing a soft Neville who just wanted his witch back but didn’t push her into it. Something about Neville just speaks of such a strong, enduring presence, and I really tried to capture that in this fic. And even though they both intimidate the daylights out of me, I’m really happy with how this turned out.
So! That’s it. This year has been foundation rattling and confidence shaking. I posted some stuff I wish I could rewrite, but other stuff that I go back to sometimes just because I’m really proud of. I got to compete in some events that made me better, made friends with authors I really admire, and wandered a little less aimlessly down the path of my own writing journey. So thanks, everyone, and cheers to 2021! <3