greenerteacups

[greenerteacups]

“let’s run away together” trope fucks me up bc it’s almost always doomed. but what if it’s not this time.

[greenerteacups]

Half of the kingdom for Angelina, Fred and George dynamic! I shan't pretend I understand it but I sure as hell enjoy it!

You and Fred both!

Fred and Angie are the type of FWB couple whose reasons for not dating, inter alia, center on both of them just... not really caring that much. Romance isn't a priority for either of them; I think that when they started liking each other, it was a gradually developing case of mutual attraction under circumstances where neither one had time for a relationship. Angelina is busy trying to hold a quidditch team together, and it's hard enough without this doofus beater eating up more of her time than he already does. As for Fred, he's diligently preoccupied trying to put Minerva McGonagall in an early grave, and I think deep down he probably has a 17-year-old boy's healthy terror of commitment, too. But he does respect Angelina a hell of a lot, and he makes her laugh — something that she, as a generally serious person, could do with a bit more of. When he's not making a fool of himself, and she's not busy with the soul-eating job of being the following for Oliver Wood, I imagine them having a comfortable, lowkey, no-strings FWB arrangement. Like, they were teammates before they were ever involved, and when you've seen someone's ass platonically, it takes the edge off seeing it in other contexts.

George is also here. The twins are such a social unit that anyone dating one of them sort of gets a two-for-one special, but the fact that Angie doesn't take it seriously helps to make things un-awkward. In fact, I think she's actually quite fond of George — he's more chill than Fred is, and a little bit sweeter, easier to get along with — and having known them both since first year, Angie probably understands that if you're involved with Fred, George is going to Be Around. It's like a love triangle where only one leg is romantic, and also everyone is eminently cool and happy to hang out with each other.

#unrelated but in canon angelina marries george and it's an insane dynamic but I actually like it for its realism #because on the one hand. ABSOLUTELY do not expect that marriage to be healthy at least to begin with. #i do not trust those people to start seeing each other without Trauma motivations. but also #pretty realistic! actually! I buy that would happen. #but also Angelina and George in canon are different people than they are in Lionheart #I'm not even saying that because of a deliberate difference it's just natural if you have different authors writing them #they'll draw out different threads #anyway. F and A are addressed a little bit in a future chapter but I wanted to add the stuff that I couldn't fit in the book itself #which isgenerally what these lil posts are. I don't write anything I think will be communicated by the text #that way the paratext remains its own thing #anyhow! thank you pal! <3

[greenerteacups]

-Two Women Asleep in a Punt under the Willows-

[greenerteacups]

“I loved them all,” she repeated, with a thin and acrid dignity. “Every one. And they left me. Do not ask me to say their names.”

By God if that did not break me. I have officially moved Lionheart!Narcissa into my "things to be kept safe and protected at all times" mental trinket box. This is my transition point, now Narcissa is my cinnamon roll, and until and unless she performs supreme atrocities of the most unforgivable nature in future chapters, I will defend her right to grieve and trauma-respond to my grave.

I know you started book 5 with the foreword that this one will tackle the Black family shenanigans and skeletons quite head on, and I didn't think I'd be invested but you've got all my attention. I love seeing the tackle happen in slow motion.

Also the Draco-Hermione teenage shenanigans take me back to my teen years: this is exactly how insecure 16 year old girls can be, and I'm there with you, Hermione my sweet.

PS: congratulations on the halfway point!

Maybe Narcissa can have a little supreme atrocity of a most unforgivable nature? As a treat?

Seriously, I love that the Black Family Obsession is infectious. I think their dynamics are so deliciously messy, and I've always wanted to explore Narcissa as the Penelope figure of the whole wretched group, whiling away the years while her son grows up, far away from everyone who (she thinks) rightfully should have been at her side. She wears black because she's still grieving! Always has been! The lady's in love with her ghosts. A madwoman's love song, etc.

#and thank you for the kind words!! #<3 #greenteacup asks #lionheart spoilers

[greenerteacups]

I know you like to leave the interpretation of the text to us, but I was curious about Hermione's reaction to Draco's new overt flirting... twice now when he's tried to address the "something" they share, she's first run off and then actually told him not to try to be flirty with her... it's a good thing Draco's pretty confident she likes him back because, tbh, if he were my friend and asked my advice on this as another girl, I'd tell him she probably doesn't like him that way and to stop pushing or risk the friendship. Does Hermione just think he's joking around? Surely she doesn't think he flirts with any other girls?

That's a good question! Perhaps someone will write a story that answers it, someday.

#greenteacup asks #lionheart spoilers

[greenerteacups]

i simply need to express the !!!!! i felt while reading the latest update.

i, like you, am a slave to the slow burn; so while i'm dying for them to KISS ALREADY i am absolutely here for every lingering touch and pining look.

i especially love the insight this chapter gave into hermione and her feelings for draco. she is obviously sooo down bad (crying at the gym if hogwarts had one) but, despite (or perhaps because of) her genius, is still an insecure teenage girl who has a crush on the fittest boy in school who just so happens to be her best friend and she is afraid of getting played! or losing her friendship! or both!

(as someone who knows what it's like to be in love with your best friend and for it to be a momentary fairytale only for it to eventually fall apart, i relate, girl)

The burn hurts so good! That's the fun!! I've brought you all here today to watch this little Victorian shit pine, and by God, I will do as I have promised.

I love your read here, though, and it made me really happy. I especially like the observation that Hermione's intelligence isn't necessarily helping her out when it comes to things like her feelings, because she's put all of her trust and self-confidence in her intellect — charisma is her dump stat — and so she's neglected building it up in other areas. Meanwhile, Draco is very much A Presence in Gryffindor, and she's known for being Hermione, the Tower Brigadier-General. That's not exactly the kind of reputation that makes you view yourself as desirable.

And, of course, she's also just fifteen. I never met a fifteen-year-old girl who had a normal relationship to the way she looked, and I knew a lot of them. Hermione, who is both canonically and extracanonically teased for her appearance, is not the exception to the rule.

#greenteacup asks #lionheart spoilers #trying to keep my author dead etc etc but sometimes you see a comment and go :D #'okay thank fuck the scene worked'

[greenerteacups]

this chapter’s favorite quote for me - “I deny them the privilege of knowing you, of being known by you. That is what they have to suffer for their wrongs”

LOVE

also Hermione guarding herself from Draco’s charm offense because she doesn’t think it’s him being genuine just for her but he is!!! teenage misunderstandings galore i love

loved it and looking forward to next week!

Teenage misunderstandings come with the territory! I can't write about fifteen-year-olds falling in love without indulging a little. Besides, Hermione very much has her own Shit To Deal With vis-a-vis: intimacy and trust. She's certainly going to jump into Draco's arms just because he's had the temerity to get over himself a little and flirt.

I think it's a breakthrough that Draco's not deterred by it, though. It's more of a "well, this is a new thing that I need to figure out about her," rather than a "well, time to give up and have a breakdown" reaction (as it was a few chapters ago). Progress!

#<3 #by which I mean I said this was my favorite stage of the friends-to-lovers arc and I meant it #I meant I am going to INDULGE #lionheart spoilers #greenteacup asks

[greenerteacups]

Just want to throw out there that I never knew how very very much I needed to understand the Blacks family dynamics and Narcissa's backstory until you began delighting us all with this wicked intrigue, you absolute master of the craft thank you for another splendid installment. I am nearly as transfixed by the Black family drama as the Dramione drama at this rate thanks to your incredible world building.

Ta <3

Oh, I'm so, SO glad. The Blacks are my favorite non-D/H subplot in Book 5. I'm incredibly excited for what comes next. <3

#TA #greenteacup asks #prognosticating #trust. trust I cannot keep my hands off this wonderful horrible family

[greenerteacups]

Friends by Philipp A. Urlich

[greenerteacups]

saw the chapter note about this being a sort of halfway mark for your longform tale! congratulations <3 so so thrilled for everything that’s coming up next!!

I may read many different things in my life, but the real estate lionheart occupies in the Zone 1 of my heart will always be distinct & important & sincere. I love you for writing this GT, truly. It’s an honour to be a reader of your work.

Thank you so much! The current (extremely rough) outline has her at 130 chapters, so Ch.65 is the halfway point, technically. I hope that it won't take as long to write the last volume, because all the major story beats have been set up, and what remains is the execution; however, "this time it'll be shorter, I swear" has been the running theme of my writing career, so.

It's an honor to occupy such a precious plot of land, and I appreciate you tremendously. <3

#greenteacup asks

[greenerteacups]

Your Hermione (through Draco's loving, rose-tinted glasses) has been one of my favorites to read. He doesn't shy away from her faults but sees her qualities (intelligence! an appreciation for the rules but creativity around them! confidence! a touch - a gallon - of bossiness!) as strengths instead of the annoyances they sometimes appear to be through Harry's eyes in the original books.

You once wrote on your favorite and least favorite tropes for Draco. I'm curious, what are they for Hermione? Was she the character you saw yourself in in the books, or was that someone else?

And a million times over - thanks for creating such a rich, beautiful text. I've been reading fanfiction for 10 years, and this is one of my favorites.

Thank you so much! Hermione was my favorite character, and as a bookish, socially challenged kid, most definitely the one I saw myself in the most. She made it seem cool to work hard and try, which was not the vibe of my school at the time, and she was the character that I imprinted on. Honestly, it's cheesy, but she probably changed my life.

My favorite version of Hermione is probably "loving hierophant." I like her bossy, righteous, imperious, book-smart but stupid about people, and most of all, a wonderful, wonderful hypocrite. Hermione holds everyone to incredibly high standards, including herself. That means she believes in people intensely and gets cross at them easily when they disappoint her. She's sensitive about certain topics, especially the "not having friends" thing, but she hates the vulnerability it brings up, so she responds by getting defensive and redirecting attention to things she's good at, i.e. books and rules. This is also her reaction to vulnerability in general; Hermione needs to be In Control, and intimacy is the one area where that's literally impossible.

She's capable of observing her own faults in others much more easily than she is of observing them in herself; she'll criticize Harry and Ron for being tactless and then turn around and say something incredibly rude without blinking. This also applies to Harry's inability to pick his battles; Hermione's a little better than he is, but they both have different triggers, and she's not necessarily less bellicose than he is. (This doesn't stop her from lecturing him about a need to "be the hero" in OOTP, one of my all-time favorite Hermione Hypocrisy moments, because. Babygirl. Doctor, heal thyself.) She's scrappy and once she's engaged someone as an enemy, she fights with no holds barred; rules are for people who choose to play by them, and once someone breaks them, she's willing to open the umbrella of what she can do to deal with them. She doesn't have the most consistent moral code in the world! She's often inconsistent, and that's what's wonderful about her. She's a realistic depiction of a fifteen-year-old girl who cares just so fucking much, about everything, all the time, and is furious and desperate and passionate and brilliant, and wants to solve every problem, even when it means contradicting herself. She's still figuring herself out, and I love that about her. I love that she's wrong sometimes. I love that she's rude and messy, and she isn't good at expressing her needs.

In my view, the core tension of her character is her desire to be righteous and her absolute determination in pursuit of her goals. She is an ends not means type of person, and that's a decent philosophy when your enemies are dragons and dementors, but the minute you start dealing with people, your moral bets are off. This is the place where I think canon leaves her, and it's the place where the best fanfic takes her up.

#greenteacup asks #hermione granger #thank you sm ;_; #<3

[greenerteacups]

to feel love

fulfilled hopes on the seashore

[greenerteacups]

guy who makes a spreadsheet to figure out if his crush likes him back

[greenerteacups]

do you have recs for urban fantasies!!

Oh, depends what you're into. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman (and its spinoff, Anansi Boys) is generally my gold standard for good urban fantasy. Delicious worldbuilding, good plot, good character. Good Omens is also technically urban fantasy, mostly because of the witch stuff, but I'd sooner classify it as Bible fanfiction. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is urban fantasy for a Napoleonic-Wars-era definition of "urban," and is also excellent, but also a slow-burn book and it's not your average adventure story. Discworld is fucking immaculate.

Holly Black is a good author if you're segueing between Y/A and N/A or fantasy, because she starts writing solidly in the realm of paranormal romance (human world with fantasy LI) and ends up writing a really cool "urban fantasy" that takes place entirely in the fae realm, which is a straight-up high fantasy feudal system, except it coexists with the mundane world so the MC knows what an iPhone is. Great. Love that. The textbook "medieval fantasy" world is horrendously ahistorical anyway, so why not set it in the present? Drop your anachronistic quasi-British fantasy smorgasbord right in the middle of 2010's America.

I think everyone into urban fantasy has read or tried the Mortal Instruments series, which is a great starter drug if you like to read Y/A. In a similar vein, Artemis Fowl is an urban fantasy children's book series that fucks supremely hard, and growing up I adored it with the passion of one thousand suns.

#greenteacup asks #I'm so basic I've just given you the like all-time greatest hits of urban fantasy #that being said. i would recommend nothing but the best #because my god is this a genre with a lot of schlock #easily one of the schlockiest genres by volume. easily. and i read high fantasy and paranormal romance

[greenerteacups]

Re reading the most recent chapter to settle in for the arrival of today’s, and I’m quite caught by something Daphne says about Theo that I hadn’t noticed before.

Describing how Theo had convinced Astoria to lie about the fact that she’d been tied to a tree for hours, Daph says: “And somehow — to this day, I’ve absolutely no idea how — he convinced Tori to back him up. She claimed she’d lost track of time. Never mentioned the fiasco again…. Teddy was always like that, though,” she said absently. “He made our problems go away. He’d smile all pretty, and snap his fingers, and everyone did what he wanted, especially Tori…”

So I’m struck by this, because I’m realizing that what Teddy and Astoria alike had been hurt by older family members they looked up to, and asked to lie for them. What Draco’s perspective and Daphne’s anecdote hide from us is whether or not Theo related to Astoria, and if he used that commonality to convince her to lie for her sister. I don’t think Teddy denied the harm done to Astoria — when Draco confronts him in Hogsmeade, Theo acknowledges his dad’s abuse but excuses his own support for him in the headmaster’s office by saying, “he’s my Dad.” So I think what Theo may have said to Astoria was, “she’s your sister.” In times of danger, you have to protect her.

And maybe Astoria is now rebelling from that.

This is completely delicious.

#greenteacup asks #lionheart spoilers #biting my nails about this because i want to respect the Dead Author #but it's delicious!! so delicious.

[greenerteacups]

The Bakkhai, Euripides (Trans. Anne Carson)

#needed this today

[greenerteacups]

Writing tips for long fics that helped me that no one asked for.

1.) Don't actually delete content from your WIP unless it is minor editing - instead cut it and put it in a secondary document. If you're omitting paragraphs of content, dialog, a whole scene you might find a better place for it later and having it readily available can really save time. Sometimes your idea was fantastic, but it just wasn't in the right spot.

2.) Stuck with wording the action? Just write the dialog then revisit it later.

3.) Stuck on the whole scene? Skip it and write the next one.

4.) Write on literally any other color than a white background. It just works. (I use black)

5.) If you have a beta, while they are beta-ing have them read your fic out loud. Yes, I know a lot of betas/writers do not have the luxury of face-timing or have the opportunity to do this due to time constraints etc but reading your fic out loud can catch some very awkward phrasing that otherwise might be missed. If you don't have a beta, you read it out loud to yourself. Throw some passion into your dialog, you might find a better way to word it if it sounds stuffy or weird.

6.) The moment you have an idea, write it down. If you don't have paper or a pen, EMAIL it to yourself or put it in a draft etc etc. I have sent myself dozens of ideas while laying down before sleep that I 10/10 forgot the next morning but had emailed them to myself and got to implement them.

7.) Remember - hits/likes/kudos/comments are not reflective of the quality of your fic or your ability to write. Most people just don't comment - even if they say they do, they don't, even if they preach all day about commenting, they don't, even if they are a very popular blog that passionately reminds people to comment - they don't comment (I know this personally). Even if your fic brought tears to their eyes and it haunted them for weeks and they printed it out and sent it to their friends they just don't comment. You just have to accept it. That being said - comment on the fic you're reading now, just do it, if you're 'shy' and that's why you don't comment the more you comment the better you'll get at it. Just do it.

8.) Remove unrealistic daily word count goals from your routine. I've seen people stress 1500 - 2000 words a day and if they don't reach that they feel like a failure and they get discouraged. This is ridiculous. Write when you can, but remove absurd goals. My average is 500 words a day in combination with a 40 hour a week job and I have written over 200k words from 2022-2023.

9.) There are dozens of ways to do an outline from precise analytical deconstruction that goes scene by scene to the minimalist bullet point list - it doesn't matter which one you use just have some sort of direction. A partial outline is better than no outline.

10.) Write for yourself, not for others. Write the fic you know no one is going to read. Write the fic that sounds ridiculous. You will be so happy you put it out in the world and there will be people who will be glad it exists.

#the rare writing advice post on this site that is 10/10 practical useful and actionable advice #i write on white background but I can confirm I've used the off-white/other color hack to beat writer's block before #usually when I'm tweaking about how to start a piece or stressing about making a passage perfect #when it's just text in the aether the associated expectations diminish