(in which I was about to post this one when tumblr ate the whole fucking thing and now I'm starting over. Sorry if this doesn't come out as wonderfully eloquent as it was the first time, LP)
master of runes, minister for magic and/or headmaster, all around purveyor of good conversation: @lunapwrites
I don't recall how LP and I started talking, but I presume it was something akin to me sliding into their DMs one day and saying 'HARD agree' about something they'd reblogged—and look at us now!
(aka look at me bothering LP at all hours of day because that's what friends do, no?)
One of the things that I think is fascinating about fandom friendships—and particularly ones that are built entirely online—is how quickly and deeply they can be established. One day you're nearly strangers, the next you're confident that the person you're talking to would be a good candidate for the godparent of your firstborn.
Fortunately (unfortunately?) I'm not bequeathing that title to LP today (one, I'm childless; two, a tumblr post would be a HELL of a way for them to find that out), but our friendship reminds me of that in the best of ways. Our conversations have gone from current/former pets to our jobs to analysis of popular fics to burnout to pretty landscapes to allergies and back again, and somehow, they (LP and the conversations) always leave me feeling lovely when I walk away from them.
One of the more selfish reasons I'm such a big fan of LP is also just...their intentionality. I'm lucky enough to say that a few months back, they read through not one but both of my current long WIPs and provided play-by-plays as they were reacting to my writing, and friends? It was such an honor, and such a delight. Not only did the feedback make me know that someone was actually reading my work (vs me tossing it into the void and running), but the way LP analyzes things and the care with which they approached my stories validated the work I'd put in as an author, and I truly hope that all authors have a reader treat their stories with that level of veneration and respect.
Ironically, I assume that trait comes from LP also being a brilliant writer. I'll never shut up about how much Ouroboros hollowed me out inside when I first read it, and it's been such a joy to hear some of the backstory as LP's been working on open my heart (let it bleed onto yours) before diving in and getting to appreciate the work that's been put into it. I love the way LP crafts a narrative, which is why half of their stories have left me wide-eyed and slack-jawed, while the other half are on my end-of-semester TBR list.
That's not even to mention the work they've done with HPFC and HPWG. I'm not a group chat person myself, and truly, I can't imagine managing and wrangling either of these groups with the tact, grace, and good humor that I've seen LP employ. While rarely the loudest in the channel during discussions, I've only ever seen LP be unfailingly kind and patient—and in doing so, they and their team have created these brilliant spaces for folks to go and find community. What a treat to have them here on tumblr, on ao3, and in discord too!
I love you LP, (please) never stop teaching me new ways to look at the world—I aspire to your do no harm and take no shit energy.
💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?
previously said amicus to this question, but the other one that i didn't really expect to have many fans was love potion no. 9? that story was, respectfully, a shit-show from start to finish and i have no clue why people were invested in it at the time nor why they're invested in it now.
notably, i say this knowing full well that i love it as a story. i just don't...understand...the response...
💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language
Lmao in all but one, characters. [spooks] is the only fic I've ever had where the plot came to me before certain elements of the characterizations did, and as a result, I think that one always feels more plot-focused to me. even when we learn more about the characters, it's not a romance in a traditional sense, so it doesn't feel quite as steeped in 'YES MUST GET THIS CHARACTER RIGHT OR ELSE' energy as some of my others.
Beyond that one, though? It's the characters. Occasionally, I moonlight as a poet and will have a good line here or there, but I think my writing works best when the magic happens in its realism and less because of a particularly flowery turn of phrase.
🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?
To be honest, any time I write about anyone leaving their family behind (sirius, regulus, and in one notable case, remus) it takes a bit out of me. I've avoided going into detail on the subject matter in amicus thus far, but I know it's coming and I know it's going to be a lot of me reliving when I've done similar things and figuring out how to write that in a way that isn't...trauma-porn-y. (No qualms with folks who enjoy that, it's just not how I want to depict what's happening in my story)
Anyway. the worst of that's been Fearless Liabilities, by far. I've definitely alluded to this in the past, but accidental-slip-up of a coming out scene that Remus has with his parents is based on my own fuck-up that led to my coming out that led to...that conversation, obviously with some abridgements for my own sake. I've found most other sensitive topics that hit home for me to be relatively easy to write comparably, but the idea of leaving your home—you family—because they don't think you're [insert adjective here] enough is too close for comfort sometimes.
