Introducingthe H/D Mistletoe Exchange 2020

Introducing the ❄️ H/D Mistletoe Exchange 2020 ❄️

A Harry/Draco winter anonymous gift exchange hosted by the GWB Discord server. 

Sign ups have already taken place and assignments handed out, so fest posting will soon begin over on ao3! Stay tuned for cosy snow-filled fics & fanart for these wintery months.

Assignments due: December 31st 2020 Posting begins: January 6th 2021 Creator reveals: January 31st 2021*

FAQ

Rules

*This is our first annual winter exchange, so the reveals schedule might get extended slightly, depending on if we’re still waiting on any extensions granted. The very latest we will push reveals back is to February 12th.

- From the mod team: @triggerlil​, @bronwenackeley​ and @zzledri​ ☃️

Banner art by @chuckalart!

On female characters being held to a higher standard

I want to discuss something I've seen in fandom that applies much more broadly, and it involves internalized misogyny toward fictional characters.

Fictional characters often do some shitty things. In fandom, we often explore the shitty things they've done in canon or introduce new shitty things! I can't even begin to list the number of shitty things I've read characters do. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I love moral ambiguity in fiction! I think we humans have lots to learn from thinking about the inherent messiness of life and of relationships.

I write mostly mlm fic. Which means I write mostly male characters and have mostly female readers. (Another whole thing but not focusing on that right now.) And what I've found is this: in fics where I have prominent female characters who are exactly as messy and complicated as the male characters I write, the comments I get are much different. I can think of maybe one or two comments EVER in which I've been criticized for a male character doing something wrong. But Hermione and Ginny? Lots.

I wrote a fic in which Hermione is literally under attack by men's rights activists because she got love potions outlawed. The fic spends a lot of time exploring the complexity of the issue, and in the fic Hermione is challenged by allies with more and less robust challenges and by men's rights activists who are trying to sexually assault her in retaliation. I have received DOZENS of comments (many extremely impassioned) telling me how wrong Hermione is, how can she think outlawing them is the right answer?!, etc.

I wrote a fic in which Harry and Ginny get pregnant almost immediately after the war and Ginny has an abortion without telling Harry. Harry is triggered and gets super upset, etc etc. I recently got two very serious comments telling me that Ginny should've talked to Harry about the abortion, that her behavior wasn't healthy, and that girls shouldn't do that.

I don't care about the comments. But I do feel like we need to have a conversation about this double standard we apparently have wrt fictional characters—because I'm not writing these women any differently than I write men, and the comments are wildly different.

Why are we expecting so much more of female characters? Why are we expecting what amounts to perfection? Do we not see that this contributes to really poor female representation in books and fandom?

Why are we expecting that fanfiction is offering life advice? And if we are expecting that, why are we expecting it more when it's female characters on the page? Fiction isn't life advice, even if sometimes we get amazing life lessons from it.

Both of the fics I mention above are Harry/Draco fics. My most fundamental question, then, is why it's so easy for readers to redeem Draco when they can't do the same for female characters WHO HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING NEARLY AS BAD AS HE HAS?

Draco was a bb nazi. Draco joined a hate group that sought to genocide ppl including Harry's bff and mother and his father was the lead torture. Draco idolized that father's actions until the whole thing got too close and bummed him out.

Listen. I am all for redemption stories. I think Draco is a fantastic character (as should be obvious from my fics). But why is it that we as readers can forgive that type of behavior, but not Hermione having a radical political position on love potions? Why is it that we can handwave bigotry and torture but not a 17yo girl who is traumatized and grieving for getting an abortion without consulting a man?

So first, fictional characters do not always behave in ideal human ways. An author writing that isn't condoning any of the behavior.

Second, if you find yourself outraged by a female character's behavior, maybe take a moment to ask yourself whether your internalized misogyny is showing. Are you excusing much worse behavior in male characters?

Exothermic

prompt: warmth

~~~

Your laugh wraps around me like a blanket, warm from the heat of our bodies in sleep. I could live the rest of my life within the circle of your arms, happy and safe. Your eyes pierce through me, and your hands burn across my skin, lifting me ever higher.

~~~

Also on AO3.

Hello! As the solstice draws near, it’s always good to reflect and remember that there are warmer days ahead. What does warmth mean to you?

Happy Microfic-ing!

bea  📜 🎄

This was inspired by two things: 

1- I’m a bisexual woman dating a cis straight man. That doesn’t make me straight, and that doesn’t make my relationship a straight one. That doesn’t mean I belong less in the LGBT+ community than a gay person. 

2- The fourth example was not a joke. I’m in a fandom where two genderless entities with a temporary human shape are paired together. I’ve seen artists get hate because they drew them “looking straight”. The characters are still non-binary, still in love, STILL NOT STRAIGHT. Do not allow this toxic rhetoric in your fandom. Protect artists. 

**Note– Forgot I meant to add aro and ace in there, sorry, but this TOTALLY INCLUDES ARO AND ACE PEOPLE.

THERE IS NO HIERARCHY OF WHAT IS MORE ACCEPTABLE IN THE LGBT+ COMMUNITY. 

Wedding Night ~

What's ur opinion on the 2005 p&p?

FUCK THIS MOVIE. I HATE THIS MOVIE. There is so much whack shit in this film:

the five sisters are KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, amy dunne, johanna mason, carey mulligan of ‘drive’, doctor who episode ‘blink’ and being the future mom of a mumford’s son fame, and the main girl from st trinians???? WHAT KIND OF WHITE PEOPLE PERFECTION their dad is president snow and their mum was vera in noted television procedural vera???? OKAY

DARCY IS 6’2

MR BINGLEY WAS OCTAVIUS IN ROME AND ALSO HAS THE CHEEKBONES OF A TOLKIEN ELF

JUDI DENCH 

this movie is just Joe Wright Period Period Piece but it is THE EPITOME OF THIS VERY SPECIFIC GENRE. HE’S NOT GONNA TOP THIS AND HE NEEDS TO STOP TRYING the panning shot of the peak district??? ‘Liz On Top Of The World’ plays in the bg it’s the ULTIMATE. 

HOT LIZARD KING WICKHAM

and okay i love how this movie shows the bennets as an actual FAMILY

like they’re messy and tactile and they talk over one another it’s so genuine

AND I LOVE THEIR HOUSE WITH THE CREEPING VINES

and okay the COSTUMES IN THIS MOVIE OH MY GODDD

everyone’s white gowns in the netherfield ball scene? YOOOOOO

honestly the production value of this movie is nuts

it’s the AESTHETIC

alright so jane austen novels are awesome and they show a lot about society and relationships in the regency era

and the thing about 2005 pride and prejudice is that it doesn’t only show the verbal sparring/tension between lizzie and darcy

but the sexual tension as well

THE SEXUAL UNDERTONES OF THIS MOVIE

OH MY GOD

IT’S SO FUCKING MUCH

like every interaction is loaded with like sexy LOOKS and body language

and like they don’t even kiss but it’s so obvious they wanna bang

THEY WANT TO BANG

SO

BAD

it’s like raw magnetism

it’s something people would write ridiculous articles in cosmo about

like that bit where darcy helps lizzie into the carriage???????

HE HELPS HER UP

(IT’S THE 1800S, PEOPLE DONT TOUCH)

she looks at him, scandalised

HE WALKS AWAY, FLEXING HIS HAND AS IF IT’S BURNING

ROMANCE

there’s this scene where lizzie and darcy are dancing in a crowded room but they’re so focused on each other the other people LITERALLY MELT AWAY

LIKE THEY’RE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE IN THE GOD DAMN UNIVERSE

(sidebar: HER HAIR IN THIS SCENE. GOD DAMN.)

also THE TRACKING SHOT THROUGH THE PARTY OH MY GOD 

and okay, like

let’s not even GET INTO the declaration scene

after a heavy dose of SEXILY AVOIDING EACH OTHER’S GLANCES IN CHURCH the sexual tension crescendos

UNDER THE AWNING OF SOME ANCIENT RUIN

IN THE POURING RAIN

he advances; he admits his love

she REBUKES him

affronted, he insults pretty much everything about her

she responds but rebuking him again but WORSE

but the sexual tension’s still there

there’s just the noise of the rain

the air between them is so charged it could power like

a small city probably

THEY’RE SUPER CLOSE

NO TOUCHEY

AND THEN

HE LEANS FORWARD, EYES LOCKED ON HER LIPS

HE’S GONNA KISS HER

SHE WANTS HIM TO KISS HER

HE DOESN’T KISS HER

THE 

FUCKING

TENSION

I CAN’T EVEN WATCH THIS BIT HONESTLY

and she regrets it immediately after and then he DROPS OFF THE LETTER AND SHE’S JUST SITTING THERE IN SHOCK REALLY

I KNOW BABE. I KNOW

and it’s the kind of movie you can rewatch a hundred times and it’s still as amazing as the first time and you pick up all these little things you missed

it was like my 20th watch when i realised that mary is in love with mr collins

and ok THE LIVING SCULPTURES OF PEMBERLEY SCENE

all the pemberly scenes really like when they show up and lizzie sees this bomb ass house that could’ve been hers and she’s just like, ‘hahahhahahahaha i fucked up, i fucked up. i fucked up so bad im sorry, im trash’

AND WHEN SHE MEETS GEORGIANA AND SHE LOOKS AT LIZZIE AND DARCY LIKE SMIRK.EMOJI

she knows

and the scene where DARCY AND BINGLEY PRACTICE WHAT HE’S GOING TO SAY TO JANE

REGENCY SOFT BRO AF

and the scene before when the bennets rush to make themselves look presentable and it’s sooooo awkward and forced HONESTLY THEY ARE THE BEST

AND JANE AND BINGLEY LOWKEY OTP FINALLY GETTING TOGETHER

AND JANE STANDING THERE IN THE SUNBEAM LOOKING LIKE A LITERAL ANGEL AND TEARS IN HER EYES AS SHE SAYS YES

and then

DARCY

LOOKING LIKE SOME FABIO SHIT

WALING ACROSS THE MOORS

TO HER

WHAT THE HELLLLLL

THE MUSIC SWELLS

HE’S RUGGED

‘YOU MUST KNOW… SURELY YOU MUST KNOW IT WAS ALL FOR YOU’

s t o p

and lizzie is standing there with her artfully messy hair

‘YOU HAVE BEWITCHED ME, BODY AND SOUL, AND I LOVE YOU

I LOVE YOU

I LOVE YOU’

good BYE

and she kisses his hands? NOOOOOOO

THEY GONNA BANG SO MUCH

i keep this movie on every device i have in case i need an emergency pick me up

once i watched this with dinner at night and when it finished the dvd was on a loop and it started playing again…. and i watched it again… twice