Countdown to Small Gifts 1/5: Introductions

[smallgiftsmods]

Welcome, folks! Every year at small gifts, we start off the holiday season with a week's worth of discussion posts. It's a chance to get to know other participants (or say hi again), meet our readers (hi, readers! we love you!), and while away the hours before the fest begins. We'll have one topic per day everyday until Friday, November 30. Posting begins Saturday, December 1.

Discussion is not limited to participants! Please introduce yourself if you're a reader, too.

Today: introductions.

1) Leave a comment letting us know who you are as a fan. (Leave your Tumblr name/AO3 name as well as your DW name, if they're different.) How long have you shipped R/S? Are you a reader? Writer? Artist? Crafter? Do you participate in any other parts of Harry Potter fandom? Are you active in any other fandoms right now?

2) Say hi to someone else! We're friendly around here like that.

Comments

Aaaaaaaah!!! Hi Small Gifters!!!!!

[museinabsentia]

I'm Muse. Museinabsentia pretty much everywhere... here, tumblr (as of last week, damn you all for sucking me in :P ) and AO3... well, okay, AO3 is muse_in_absentia. I've shipped R/S since I read PoA, but I didn't actually decide to come out of the closet as it were and join in the fandom until about 2014. I'm a late bloomer. I'm an avid reader and I'm writing more these days than ever before. R/S is definitely my only ship in this armada, but I am in a few other fandoms, to varying degrees of participation.

I'm so excited to be back! I adore this fest every year!!! HI EVERYONE!

Re: Aaaaaaaah!!! Hi Small Gifters!!!!!

[blanketed_in_stars]

Hi there! I'm so excited you're participating this year, I love your work!!! Condolences on giving in to tumblr lmao :D

Re: Aaaaaaaah!!! Hi Small Gifters!!!!!

[wild_flame]

High five for late bloomers! Thanks so much for persuading me into this fest again muse- I actually had so much fun working with my prompt! Who cares about all the others I haven't even started haha!

Re: Aaaaaaaah!!! Hi Small Gifters!!!!!

[magnetic_pole]

Hi, hi, and welcome back! Great to see you here again this year! M.

Re: Aaaaaaaah!!! Hi Small Gifters!!!!!

[maraudersaffair]

Hi!!

You leave really great comments on fics! I appreciate how you pick out actual lines that you've enjoyed! :D

Re: Aaaaaaaah!!! Hi Small Gifters!!!!!

[musingsofmaura]

Hi Muse!! Yay to getting into fandom kinda late. I loved the fic you wrote for the Sirius Black fest earlier in the month. And I really loved writing for your prompt & wildcard!

Heyyyyy!!

[blanketed_in_stars]

I'm Nicole (blanketed_in_stars on AO3, blanketed-in-stars on tumblr). I've only shipped R/S since about 2015 because I did a write-a-oneshot-every-month challenge with my friend and kind of randomly picked a pairing to write for. I definitely didn't foresee how important R/S (and the fandom!) would become to me! I'm mostly a writer nowadays, but I still read when I find the time :) I'm pretty active in the Marvel fandom as well, and in the POTC fandom (which is tiny) because of one fic I wrote years ago.

Re: Heyyyyy!!

[museinabsentia]

Well hello there yourself!!! I know, R/S sort of takes over your heart, don't they???

POTC? I'm clearly out of the loop, I don't even know what this one is!

I'm fairly sure we have at least a FEW Marvel people hanging around here. It seems to be the other fandom these days. :)

Glad to see you back as well!

Re: Heyyyyy!!

[wild_flame]

Hi Nicole!! Haha randomly falling into ships is the best- I only ever read my first rs because I liked lupin as a character and figured why not?... And now here I am...

Re: Heyyyyy!!

[magnetic_pole]

Welcome back, N! I definitely didn't see how important R/S would become to me, either. :) It's one of the nice things about fandom--you can just follow your heart.

I think there are a lot of Marvel folks around--perhaps we'll see a crossover? M.

Re: Heyyyyy!!

[maraudersaffair]

Hi!! I'm surprised the POTC fandom is small. The movies were so popular a decade ago . . . IDK, folks find ways to keep things alive lolol

Doing a writing challenge with a friend sounds so fun!

[wild_flame]

Hi everyone! I'm wildflame and actually quite new to fandom - I started reading fanfiction about 4 years ago and then inevitably began writing my own a couple of years later!

I'm on AO3 as wildflame and Tumblr @wild-and-flammable. Harry Potter is my only real fandom, and RS my main ship although I have also dabbled in Jily and remadora... I also lurk in the Snape fandom from time to time but have never really participated.

[museinabsentia]

WILD!!!! Welcome back!!!

Hi :)

[lanna]

Hello everyone :)
I'm lanna here on DW, but I'm on Tumblr as aryastark-valarmorghulis, and on Ao3 as aryastark_valarmorghulis. (I like Arya Stark from the Asoiaf books, what can I say?)
I occasionally read in the Marvel Fandom - mostly Stucky - but the HP fandom is the only one I'm active; I started shipping R/S in the early days, but I'm quite new to the English language fandom. I started reading a year ago and then this summer I started writing too. I occasionally read Jeddy, but R/S is my one true love.
I'm excited to be a part of Small Gifts! :)

Re: Hi :)

[museinabsentia]

Hi there!!!! Glad to see you here!

[shaggydogstail]

Hi, I'm Shaggy and I'm shaggydogstail everywhere (AO3, tumblr, pillowfort etc) I've been in fandom, on and off, for about 13 years, though it was Small Gifts which lured me back into created after a lengthy hiatus three years ago. I'm a writer. Not really active in any other fandoms currently, though I'm slightly involved in Doctor Who fandom.

[museinabsentia]

OMG, Shaggy, I ADORE your icon!!! And glad to see you here. You always produce such good stuff!

[magnetic_pole]

Hi, I'm Magnetic_Pole (or Mag or Maggie) here and on AO3. I've been a co-mod of this fest since 2006, which is starting to sound like a long time ago, with Mindabbles (and earlier with Sambethe, and much, much easier with Busaikko). I think I've written something or created some art every year, and I love the fact both you and I keep coming up with new stories about these two.

I've been in HP fandom since first discovering fandom and fanfic in general back in 2006, and while I love a lot of the characters, especially the older, professor-age ones, I've shipped R/S since I first realized I wasn't the only one who saw that pairing in the books. In addition to R/S I love gen fic and femslash.

I'm a life-long fan of the Sherlock Homes stories and sometimes dabble in the various SH fandoms. Right now I'm also deep into the cute puppy fandom, since it's the only thing that makes me feel better after reading the news. (Their cute little furry faces! Their tails! Their enthusiasm!)

Glad to see some familiar face and some new folks here! Looking forward to hanging out with you this month. M.

[maraudersaffair]

Which femslash pairings do you like? :D

Also, there's a fandom for strictly cute puppies??? lol

Thank you for organizing this fest again!!

[maraudersaffair]

I'm Linsey! My username is Maraudersaffair on Tumblr/AO3/LJ. I just realized that I wrote for this exchange back in its first year (2006 through 2009)! My requests were very teenager lolol

I've shipped R/S since joining fandom in like 2005, but I never liked the shoebox project. Sorry! lol

I'm a writer and I write for so many different HP ships. I have a soft spot for Remus/Severus, though. A lot of my recent stuff is Drarry, but just because that part of fandom is so popular right now. I wouldn't say Drarry is my OTP.

I'm also sensitive about how much femslash is overlooked. I'm really into Ginny/Pansy and Ginny/Millicent atm.

Also, I'm not really active in any other fandoms. I left the HP fandom for a few years when I got really obsessed with the soccer USWNT, but I consider that time my dark ages lmaoooo. I just wrote a fic for the tv show Killing Eve, though!

[magnetic_pole]

Aha! You know, I knew you're written for this fest several times, L, but I have no idea it was as long ago as 2006-2009! Not more recently? (Forgive me, I'm so forgetful sometimes.)

YAY! for Ginny femslash! She's such a great character to slash for some reason. (Sometimes you can pinpoint why a character's good for certain pairing, sometimes it's just a feeling. Here, Ginny's just got a great, undefinable queer vibe about her.)

YAY! for Remus/Severus, too. *shifty eyes* R/S is my best and favorite pairing, but I've always enjoyed Remus/Severus, too. Snape is just such a great character.

Welcome back! M.

Hii

[musingsofmaura]

I'm Maura, and my DW/Tumblr/AO3 are all musingsofmaura. I read a lot of HP fic (of all sorts of pairings) when I was a young teenager, but I was never really an involved participant in the fandom. I got back into hp and started actively reading and shipping R/S in 2015ish, I think. I'm a really voracious reader, but I've only been writing fic for the past year and a half. My small gifts entry is my second ever hp fic, which is really exciting! Hopefully there will be many more in the future :)

I am also in the 1D fandom on Tumblr, and have written some fics for that as well, although I mainly just reblog pictures of Harry Styles.

Re: Hii

[greywolfandmoon]

haha nice to meet a fellow directioner here ;)

HI

[greywolfandmoon]

Hi I'm @half_blood_malfoy on instagram (I make fanart and write!) and @greywolfandmoon on both tumblr and AO3. I'm a new shipper, I just started shipping them last year because i stumbled upon an essay arguing why RS works and I was like what the heck was this nonsense I've never seen them in such a way and I read it and there's no way back.

I'm also in the 1D fandom and I'm a Larry shipper, though I'm much less active there and i just exist without contributing anything lol

Re: HI

[magnetic_pole]

There's fandom on instagram?!? (I didn't know that, though it makes sense.)

I just started shipping them last year because i stumbled upon an essay arguing why RS works and I was like what the heck was this nonsense I've never seen them in such a way and I read it and there's no way back.

I love this story! They're so shippable that you can be logically argued into it.

Welcome, welcome! Hope you enjoy the fest. M.

Hullo!!

[scarheadedferret]

Im tal- or scarheaded-ferret (without the dash for ao3) i wont share my age but i havent been in the fandom as nearly as long as some other people, but wolfstar was one of my first ships and i love it with my actual soul lmao. Ive written wolfstar before but this was my first ever writing-thing (like of anythig) so i hope i did all the stuff right :,) so excited to see everyone else’s work!!

Re: Hullo!!

[magnetic_pole]

Hurrah for your first ever writing-thing! No "right" way to do it (though I should warn you that generally folks at small gifts like to see Remus and Sirius get together. :) Welcome! M.

hi!!!

[gothzabini]

Hi! I'm Ivy, and I'm girl412 on ao3 (though all HP fic is under the gothzabini pseud), and on tumblr I have two HP blogs because I'm extra like that. the one that's Wolfstar & Marauders focused is @ screamingforsirius

I love this fic exchange so much and it blows my mind a little that I'm participating this year, haha.

I don't know how long I've shipped them tbh, like I think I always thought of them as being in love or whatever, though I will admit that I started out shipping Sirius/James, and still do have a special fondness for them.

I read a lot of fic, and I love writing fic as well! I can draw, but Remus & Sirius, not so much, because the way I view them somehow just never translates to art the way I want it to :(((

I actually got into the HP fandom because of next-gen stuff (I love Albus & Scorpius, and let's be honest, who doesn't love Teddy Lupin) and I do love fics, art and headcannons that focus on Harry's generation as well.

still a little nervous tbh but super hyped about being here!

Re: hi!!!

[magnetic_pole]

Hi, Ivy! We're glad to have you here!

I think there are a lot of secret (or maybe not-so-secret?) Sirius/James shippers around these parts. Anyone else out there care to admit it? :)

Hope you enjoy the fest! M.

[secretsolitaire]

*dips toe back into fannish waters*

I'm secretsolitaire on AO3 as well -- no Tumblr. I've been reading R/S since the mid-2000s, though I've taken numerous detours into other fandoms (Queer as Folk, Star Trek, hockey RPF, and others I'm not remembering right now). I read/comment and used to rec a lot of fic and art back in the day. Maybe I will do so again this December if I feel inspired. :)

[magnetic_pole]

YAY, readers! :)

I remember your QAF days. I think you were the way I discovered there was an American version, actually. It's amazing what you learn by osmosis in fandom M.

[myprettycabinet]

I'm Jamie! I was around constantly in 2011 as mypretty_art on LJ. I entered the fandom in late 2010. I'm a fanartist. I did about 70 arts in one year - that's more than one a week, lol. During that time I created and moderated the Shaggy Dog Swap over at Livejournal.

I'm American, and My mom worked at a local bookshop in 1998, and they got a small stock of the Sorcerer's Stone because Harry Potter was supposedly taking the UK by storm. I was 11, and have been reading Harry since then. Harry, et al have been my best friends longer than anyone else in my life, so when, 3 years later, the movie came out, all of a sudden Daniel Radcliffe's face was replacing MY Harry's face. My best friend was disappearing in my head. So, I swore to not watch any of the movies, and still haven't. I'm a books 1-7 only fan through and through. I don't want to know more, what's canon is what's in the 7 books, IMO. I draw my characters as I see them.

Sometimes I wish it were just a matter of hating the movies (which I do, they get SO much wrong, and change things, etc). Because if it were just me getting mad at the movies, I'd still watch them. But they ruin something so much more important to me, you know?

Hi mindabbles! Min participated in Shaggy as the author for my drawing Flirt . She wrote Washed on the Shore of a Second Chance, which I thought was so lovely, that I then illustrated another scene from it: Stay The Night. She also wrote a fic for my art of R/S as men at Grimmauld Place, Same, But Different*, The More Things Remain.

*The title came from the French phrase, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" – "the more things change, the more they stay the same, and I love that she continued that with her title of the corresponding fic!

I could wax poetic about Min for ages. I'll just say that the first fic I read of of hers was among the first R/S fics I read that lead to me leaving lurker status, Anticipation. It's so good.

Hello!

[aimforthedogstar]

My Tumblr name and my Ao3 name is Aimforthedogstar.

I haven't shipped R/S for a long time actually. I have always loved the marauders, so much potential there and so little is known and it's so sad. I knew about wolfstar before but didn't give it much thought, then I read a fic and I can't look back now. After that I read so much wolfstar fanfiction that I can say I am obsessed.

I write. It was a way to deal with anxiety and finding a productive way to spend time. I am not very good though.
I draw and doodle but I am not an artist.

Crafter? I have recently taken up knitting and crochet. I like crafts.

I don't participate in other parts of the HP fandom, just the MWPP era.

Another fandom would be Supernatural. But I am not as active as I am in HP.

Intro!

[letsdothepanic]

Hi, everyone! I'm finally getting around to do this, hey!

I'm GG or Gigi and I'm letsdothepanic here, on Tumblr & AO3!

Long story short, I've been shipping Wolfstar for a good ten years, though in a more private/lonely way! Remus has always been my favourite character and when I realised how magical these two boys were together, they became the center of my HP shipping activities, hahah

As of now, I've been writing Wolftsar and some Next Gen pairings like Jeddy and Scorbus. I'll read mostly anything though, as long as the text is good enough to sell me the pairing/trope (:

[luminousgloom]

Hello! Sorry a bit late to this party... I'm Luminousgloom here and on AO3, theluminousgloom on tumblr (though who knows for how much longer?)
I've been a fan for ages (ten years maybe, off and on?), and I've been actively writing stuff for a few years now