Author: fforsythiaaa
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 7,314
Type: Non-magic AU
Summary: Sirius had put his hand under Remus’s chin and kissed him gently on the mouth as though they had done it a million times before. “See you next week.” Just like that.
That week between Christmas and New Year’s always feels a little disorienting, with no real attention paid to the exact time or the day of the week. But for Remus, with hardly a word between them while Sirius was upstate with the Potters and Lily, it was dizzying.
Trigger/Content Info: alcohol use, marijuana use, cigarettes, non-explicit sex.
There's a scene describing the support of friends/professionals after a sexual assault. No details about the assault are given and it's not brought up during/in the context of sex. The scene is marked out in italics so you can skip it.
Comments: A journey through Remus’ loving, worrying thoughts. There was a beautiful, gentle tone to it that was soothing to read.
August colorful column: AUgust special - The World Needs Your Highly Niche AU
During August, here in Wolfstar in Color we decided to celebrate AUgust - or, the existence of Alternative Universes in fandom. Because of this, we invited @fforsythiaaa to talk a bit about AUs from a literary point of view - and let me tell you, folks, we are beyond amazed and inspired by her words.
So we invite you to read the column that follows. If you want to know who @fforsythiaaa is, here’s a primer from herself: “I post about wolfstar, fanfiction as an art and experience, and whatever words, fanart, thoughts, tips, or anecdotes that I can't let go unshared.”
Read under the cut for the full column!
The World Needs Your Highly Niche AU
@fforsythiaaa
I don’t remember when I found out that fanfiction came in AU flavor, but looking back, that was definitely the moment I fell head over heels for the fandom. Reading wolfstar come together, fall apart, orbit around each other, or weather the storm in a thousand different settings is amazing. It’s romantic to think that they would find each other no matter which plane of reality they’re on, and it’s satisfying to see their core traits manifested in so many different contexts. And considering JKR’s harmful views and actions, as well as how her views make it into the text, I’m finding myself much less inclined to interact with fics that are even canon-divergent.
That said, there’s one thing that gets me so, so excited, and that’s when I see someone refer to a fic as a “highly niche” or “weirdly specific” AU. Stories that are specific to time, place, culture or identity are my favorite kind. It’s Remus and Sirius as scientists doing fieldwork together in a fellowship program in the mountains! It’s Remus and Sirius as communist organizers in 1920s Chile! It’s Remus and Sirius in a rural town impacted by the opioid epidemic! It’s Remus and Sirius as an architect and a contractor at odds on a very important and difficult project! (I made that one up, but if you write it, please, please tag me.) You’re telling me I get to read about these two starcrossed idiots and learn stuff at the same time? Count me in.
“But no one will want to read this,” the author will post. “It’s too specific, no one will be able to relate, and people won’t be interested in this kind of premise.”
To which I say, unequivocally, I WANT TO READ YOUR HIGHLY NICHE AU. And what’s more, I think your highly niche AU is going to make the fandom a better place.
Let me start by saying that I completely understand why you think no one would be interested. People like stories that they can relate to; fewer people can relate to a very specific setting; therefore, fewer people would like a very specific story. Right?
The main problem with this logic is the assumption that people can only relate to stories that they have some prior experience with. With every story, the reader is learning about the time period, the place, the norms and rules and societies, and the characters. As readers, this learning is what makes reading fun, and as wolfstar fans, learning about these characters is the reason we read fic in the first place. So my logical conclusion is that the more we get to learn about Remus and Sirius and the world they inhabit, the more we enjoy reading. And in a highly niche au, there’s a lot of learning to do.
Full disclosure, I did not make this idea up. There was one post that made me think of Viktor Shklovsky, a literary critic who coined the term “defamiliarization.” They wrote something like: “I’m worried that all the details would be distracting for the reader and interrupt the story.” Shklovsky basically says that that’s the whole point.
For extra credit, you can certainly read “Art as Technique” in its entirety, but I’ll dig up my literature degree and give you the gist. When you think you know something, you don’t really see it or perceive it. Think about a stretch of sidewalk you walk on every day. How much time do you spend noticing weeds growing up through the pavement, or where the concrete was repaired with a different material, and how much time do you spend just walking to work? Your brain skips right over the details to be more efficient. Art is meant to make us perceive the world instead of skip right to knowing it; it’s meant to make us notice those weeds and that concrete. Shklovsky says that the technique of art is to make objects unfamiliar so it takes us longer to perceive, to understand. In poetry, each unfamiliar word or detail is a rock in the path that makes us walk more slowly and look more carefully at a road we thought we knew.
In your super specific AU, that niche setting that your readers aren’t familiar with is part of what makes reading enjoyable. You’re making us walk more slowly through Remus and Sirius’s story so we can perceive their character and conflict differently; that gives us more time to enjoy the story. You’re making us think differently about what the human experience can look like.
That’s where I start making my argument that branching out from coffee shop and college AUs (which I also love dearly) is a positive step for the whole fandom. We know that representation of people outside the dominant culture is really, really beneficial (that’s another post, and also the whole point of Wolfstar In Color; if you want some Cliff notes to share with the class, check the classic Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TED talk). When we’re in the habit of hearing lots of different stories instead of only one, we’re in the habit of being curious about each other; it’s much easier to build compassion, understanding, and solidarity when we genuinely want to know more about other people.
But my push for highly niche AUs is not about filling AO3 with a thousand million stories that perfectly represent the lived experience of every individual reader (unless…?). It’s more about filling the fandom with enough different types of stories that people start thinking, “you know what? If their story belongs here, so does mine.”
That’s how we make this space feel safe enough for people to participate, whether as writers, readers, or tumblr posters. It’s a much more effective way of demonstrating that the fandom values diverse voices than just saying platitudes about how everyone’s voices matter. Sometimes your existence is radical enough. We need it, and we want to hear about it.
So the next time you think about writing “literally no one asked for this highly niche au,” come back to this post and think again. I’m asking for you to give me an opportunity to learn new things. I’m asking for you to add one more reason for a budding author to think that maybe their fic belongs here, too, and maybe their experiences are more valuable than they thought. I’m asking for you to give me an opportunity to discover new facets of human experience with this painfully tragic and romantic pair as my companions. Here it is: I’m asking.
Re-entry into civilian life, as it were, had not quite gone according to the script Remus had played hopefully in his head. So he accepted this attachment to common weeds as part of Sirius’s process and let it happen.
Volunteers on ao3
Just a little one-shot glimpse into the future that they deserved. Featuring Hope Lupin, gratuitous references to stuff in my own garden and at least one Mitski song, all in a rambly style that’s just a little too - there’s no other word for it, I’m sorry - floral.
happy wolfstar okay: when they get their little house in the countryside, sirius gets very excited about growing muggle plants. they walk around together to see what’s already growing before they get new things. every few feet sirius crouches down like “omg what’s this it’s beautiful” and remus, hope lupin’s child for sure, is like “that’s a weed but if you like it we’ll keep it.” they (read: sirius) can’t bear to take out anything that’s already there, so they plant coreopsis and mountain laurel and parsley and chamomile, but also their entire property is covered in asters and goldenrod and garlic mustard and motherwort, and the mint & thyme have completely colonized the whole damn place. sirius is so proud like “this is my garden” and remus is like so proud like “this is my husband.” hope comes to visit and remus has to pull her aside to tell her that the weeds are Not To Be Killed and of course she finds this wonderful and teaches sirius the names for all the weeds in his lil garden
oh my god i’m gonna cry remus takes good care of sirius...
i love a wild natural garden yard tbh it’s great for the environment even if it is a little messy hehe :) i rlly love remus being like mam i need u to be cool he doesn’t get it. no don’t explain it to him he’s so happy.
this reminds me of the conversation with @bleiddiaidsiocled last night (? i think?) about how remus and sirius can cultivate plants when they can’t have kids. you know, nurturing and feeding and keeping them safe all the while thinking they don’t want a big family lol
OK SO @fforsythiaaa made a really fucking cool list of @lumosinlove ‘s Sweater Weather as cards of the Major Arcana & I was like 👀 “Moon Logan” and then I Did Not Stop. And now I’m really enjoying making these, they’re great practice & I cannot describe how much I love not having a deadline.
SO HERE WE HAVE:
XVIII | The Moon : Logan Tremblay Tremz back from all stars in his suit about to go on a feelings rollercoaster circa C2C Ch5 because Changing and Phases and Hiding and Truths Surfacing.
IX | The Hermit : 36 Missed Calls SW Ch14: “Call me when you’re ready to talk.” Almost like he’s literally,,, in the dark (😬)
VI | The Lovers : Coops There are lots of moments to choose from for this, but I picked something from before they actually dived in because Moving Forward Together. So, from SW Ch6′s cutie hotel hangs part 2: “They each had their fingers around each other’s wrists, not holding exactly, but close enough.”
IV | The Emperor : Orion Black Okayy I deviated a little, but tbh my NHL knowledge is still only enough to follow these stories, so I didn’t feel like I had enough of a grasp on it to abstract it in an effective way. Also Orion is everything I hate about the Emperor whoops.
XVII | The Star : Remus Lupin First of all, “Mon vœu.” and second of all “You’re my wish, okay? This happened because we’re each other’s.” and finally, a soupçon of “God, Remus, when I look at you how could I wish for anything else?” and like maybe he’s shirtless here for my own wish related reasons don’t worry about it
I have a bad habit of abandoning passion projects & I am determined to finish these so I’m posting a few to keep myself accountable but also FIVE DONE so i’m like allllllmost 25% there 🎉
In the stream of light from the open door Sirius could see dark red blood smeared on the bricks, like someone wounded had thrown themselves at the wall to try and get out.
AND
“It’s too noisy here, let’s find someplace more quiet.”
