Welcome to the August edition of In the Spotlight, where we feature interviews from sitewide award winners, such as the Order of Merlin and Head Student, and share some House and Prefect news! 

Our Order of Merlin for August when to the fantastic @grumpy cat, who is one of our Gamekeepers and Professors and does a lot around the site!

G R U M P Y   C A T
| I N T E R V I E W |

If you had a job in the Wizarding World, what would it be and why?
a wizarding architect because wow what fucking madness could you design with magic ??? it would be glorious. (i'm an architect irl and it's basically the only thing i could've ever seen myself being so there's that) 

What is your go-to snack?
spicy chilli tortilla chips - i really love hot, spicy food so that's the type of snack i enjoy. sometimes with a hot dip but not necessarily.

What genre (excluding fluff) do you find the most difficult to write and why?
ahahahha fluff. but no, really, besides fluff i think humour? i'm not funny and i don't think i ever wrote anything funny/humorous in my life. i mean i love reading funny fics because i like things that make me laugh but actually writing it? uhhhhhh yeah i'm not that witty. 

As the Earworm thread is a favorite of yours, what's a song you frequently put into your rotation that puts you in a good mood?
can i cheat and say nothing puts me in a good mood? no? fine fine. i don't listen to happy/good mood songs but! heathens by twenty one pilots somehow vibes with me in a way that someone could possibly describe as ahahha ................better. and b.i.g. by caitlyn scarlett.

Got any TV or film recommendations?
feel good! i feel like i raved about this tv show both on site and on discord but it's just ,,,,,,,, so good i love it. i relate a lot to mae's addictive-personality-intense character it's such a fresh show. mae is a recovering drug addict who very quickly gets into a serious(ish) relationship with george, a girl who up until then never dated other girls and is afraid of coming out. mae is very intense (and relateable to me) and throws herself into the relationship, but things are hard because of george's reluctance to come out and because of mae's addiction. it's kinda fucked up and romantic and realistic when it comes to some things and idk, i couldn't stop watching. it's not all sad and angsty though, like at all, there are funny moments (mae martin is a canadian comedian) and arghashskdjha it's great.

You wear a few staff hats; what do you find most enjoyable about each of those roles you hold?
i've actually been taking a break these past few weeks from staff roles because there's a lot of chaos in my head right now  and i miss it all - i like modding because it's interesting and i'm curious and i end up learning new stuff from reading posts i probably would've missed if i weren't modding. but honestly, gamekeeping is the thing i've found myself really really really loving - it's super fun thinking up new games and events with the rest of the gamekeeper team and then seeing it all unfold and people having fun makes my poor lil' cold heart warm up a lil' bit.

 

| A D V E R T I S E M E N T |

Story Title: feral heart
Link: here+
Pairings: Bellatrix Black/Rodolphus Lestrange
Summary: 

Quote

i found the devil
i found him in a lover

August's Story of the Month was a dream you can touch by @something wicked.

R E V I E W   C O L U M N
| A   D R E A M   Y O U   C A N   T O U C H |

Deni writes about the transition Lucy Weasley watches her father, Percy Weasley, go through as an adult and how she helps Percy through it even when her sister and mother refuse to accept this change. The second person point of view style combined with the tiny snippets of time gives this story even more depth and emotionality. It's a carefully crafted tale, but one that really resonates in the topic at hand and the idea of children only being able to do so much for their parents, especially on a journey as personal as this. 

I N T E R V I E W   W I T H   T H E   A U T H O R
| S O M E T H I N G   W I C K E D |

What was the inspiration for a dream you can touch?
so the entire story is based on the relationship i had with my dad over the time when she was transitioning. there was a lot of emotion to unpack so it's taken me a LONG time to be able to get it all down. it wasn't an easy time for anyone involved, and i guess it was all the difficult moments and magical moments mixed together that played as a lot of the inspo, that and the bizarre memory fo teaching her how to do winged eyeliner lol. 

What three songs would you put on a soundtrack for this fic?
i have... never actually thought about it. which is super bizarre. and now i'm drawing a blank. so instead please accept three songs from the p inspo's "songs my children must know every word to by the time they can speak otherwise i've not parented correctly" list.

• rhiannon - fleetwood mac
• no compassion - tallking heads
• starman - david bowie

The styling of the prose in this story is quite unique in its tiny fractions; was it a conscious decision to frame it in this way?
the whole vibe was lucy having this mental conversation with p of things she'd never actually tell her. the second person just came naturally. 

How did you choose which characters/parent & child relationship to use for this fic? 
so p as she appeared in the books was a control freak, she was stressed and liked order, liked control and liked everything to be done by the book. it's like she found comfort or at least peace in it. this just... idk it screamed to me that more was going on. i guess as time and the headcanon developed she just became p in my head. it wasn't a "the obvious choice" sort of idea just... for years now thats who that character has been for me. 

What are you currently working on?
more angsty, miserable romance  i'm not saying it's all i know how to write but... 

Is there a genre you tend to read about but not write in?
fluff... love to read it but wow i would have no idea how to even go about writing it. 

 

Head students this month on the site were the lovely @magnifique and @RogueSlytherin!

I N T E R V I E W S
| M A G N I F I Q U E |

What is your favorite place to visit on HPFT?
So I haven't commented in enough of them,  but I love the writer's journals area - I really enjoy reading summaries as well as ideas people have, and the bonus where some of them have pretty graphics is just /chef kiss! It's a really fun way to see what people have created and what they're working on and the whole thought process behind it and I've found some really wonderful stories via my snooping there!

If there’s one story of yours you would like to tell us about, what would it be and why?
Ooh, this is hard ahaha I'm really torn between Crossing Stars and On My Own  but I think if I had to pick I'd go with On My Own solely because it's something that was very far out of my comfort zone, I don't usually write male characters in a Main role, but OMO features two main male characters and it also goes into some harder and more complicated topics while being balanced (I hope) with the more 'coming of age'/friendship aspects!!

What's a comfort TV Show/Film you enjoy watching over and over again?
I watch animated movies from when I was younger like nobody's business when I need some comfort - Lilo & Stitch, the Emperor's New Groove, Sinbad, The Road to El Dorado, I'm sorry that's more than one but they all have the same vibe so it kind of counts!!

If you had to pick up a brand new hobby immediately, what would it be and why?
I would like to pick up fencing because it has always seemed really cool and really fun and you get to pretend you're in medieval days for a minute.

What is the least Hufflepuff quality of yours?
haha oh man, I do not generally consider myself to be a tolerant person tbh I get very frustrated when people don't see a certain perspective or don't want to put effort toward something, so a lot of the time I have to take a step back there and remind myself that it either doesn't matter that much or I'm not going to help the situation by getting upset! 

When reading multichapter fic, what aspect do you usually find the most compelling to keep reading?
characters characters characters haha this is true of everything I read tbh if I don't connect with the character within a paragraph or two, I'm out lmao but especially with multichaptered fics, I just want to want to root for the characters, so if I can do that, I'm even more encouraged to keep reading. Plot and nice prose are cool/good too, I just care the most about the characters I guess! :'D

 

| R O G U E S L Y T H E R I N |

What is your favorite place to visit on HPFT?
Does the discord count? I mean even if it doesn't I'm gonna bend the rules and vote for it anyways  I love seeing insights into what everyone's writing, or creating. Getting inspiration, talking about the Prince of Egypt and politics. The AIM nostalgia is strong in that chat and I'm here for it.

If there’s one story of yours you would like to tell us about, what would it be and why?
Quick Bright Things! AHHHH This whole series has been a blast, but right now this one's my fave. It's a Lily/Lysander fic and their relationship is just adorable and frustrating and all over the place. Lily doesn't trust anyone, Lysander trusts everyone, at one point Lily has to white fang him to leave because he's just so damn loyal. Hopefully you want to shake Lily by the shoulders, but then wrap her in a bear hug because you get where she's coming from.

What do you find most appealing about writing Next Generation fic?
My favorite part of storytelling is characters even more than the plot in most cases. I just love writing and reading characters that feel like real people, who are flawed, but relatable. Next-Gen is great for that because it has a framework set-up, but with freedom to grow without hitting existing canon. So writing it means you're more world-extending rather than world-building and I can focus on characters and their emotions and their conflict. 

Favorite ship to read about, go!
I don't know if I have a favorite ship to read about. I think what I read most of is a canon Next-Gen/OC match up. I've been reading a lot in August and the pairings are all over the place to be honest. James/Lily, Dramoine, Rose/Scorp, Lily/Oc, Albus/OC, Lily/Scorp the list goes on.

You've been here for just a few months, so what's been the most fun thing to participate in so far?
Challenges! These have helped push me into writing out of my comfort zone so much! And I love to read the other entries and see how one prompt can generate so many different stories. Honestly, I need to stop entering so many, but they're addictive as hell and I love them.

What is the most Slytherin trait of yours?
Probably bending rules again, but the idea of chaotic good is what's coming to mind. I follow my own set of morals and beliefs and don't really concern myself with other people's expectations. Thus the rule-bending  

 

Now that the 2019-2020 House Cup Finale and full results are out, the Prefects would like to congratulate Gryffindor House for winning this year's cup, and want to commend everyone's participation in events throughout the year! The 3rd Annual TOADS awards blog post is coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

The Prefects are also going to be running the 2020-2021 House Cup Opener, so get ready to play a game or two early next month  

| G R Y F F I N D O R |

It's been a relatively quiet month for the Gryffies, recovering from last month's finale and celebrating our House Cup Win. There's still time to join in the Gryffinclaw Take Flight Event with our Claw friends and pick a team to leave some reviews. Pop into the +Take Flight Subforum to pick a team and leave your reviews! Our Featured Fic this month was physical fatality by @grumpy cat and our Leading Lion was @nott theodore! Congrats to our winners!

| H U F F L E P U F F |

This month Hufflepuff welcomed two new badgers into the den - @schoolgirl shamus and @Chayenne who have already begun getting stuck into the archives and getting to know their fellow Puffs! We also welcomed @singmetothesun to the staff as Hufflepuff Prefect. 

For our monthly winners: Story of the Month went to @sinnersandsapphics for "What Landon and Peters Missed", @victoria_anne won Review of the Month and our Hufflepuff of the Month went to @just.a.willow.tree 

This month sees our fact-matching game Who’s that Hufflepuff returning. All sign-ups are in and we're excited to get the game started very soon! It went down such a storm last time and it is sure to keep our badgers on their toes once again  

| R A V E N C L A W |

This month the Eagles are collaborating with our Lion friends in the Gryffinclaw 'Take Flight' Review Event, in lieu of our usual Blue vs Bronze review battle. It's not Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor, exactly -- members of both Houses join forces in Team Gryphon or Team Tressym (google it; it's adorable). If you haven't already, pop into the special Gryffinclaw subforum (available to all Claws and Lions), join a team, and get reviewing! Fics by any Ravenclaw or Gryffindor member on the HPFT archives count for this event.

Recently we welcomed @dottie-wan-kenobi to the site and to Ravenclaw Tower! She's started a WJ, so drop by to ask her some questions, leave a friendly post on her wall, or find her on Discord to say hi!

Our Claw of the Month for August is @Raspberry_cordelia, and Story of the Month is rozar by @blackballet. Check out the August edition of The Ivory Tower to read all about them. Get your votes in for September's COTM and SOTM -- voting runs through August 24!

| S L Y T H E R I N |

Slytherin House would like to give a warm welcome (back) to prefect @MalfoysAngel! We're also welcoming back the former Noelle_Z as @la_topolina  to the Basilisk Bodega this month. Remember to retrieve your baskets, plushies, blankies and pillows from the pile. This month's special beverage is iced southern sweet tea (sugar, splenda or unsweet - your choice) served up with in season fruits beside the Black Lake. It's a bring-your-own-towel event.

We also would like to mention that the winners for September's Story of the Month is Beyond the Hedgerow by @juls and our beloved Slytherin of the Month is @pookha, author of Growing Up Lovegood-Potter (AKA GULP). Carl also masquerades as kittenknife  on the archives for all of your revenge needs.

New OtM nomination threads will be posted soon for (gasp) October , so keep your eyes  on the lookout!

The Review thread will be reappearing soon with some changes.

Sadly, The Dead Poets Society Book Club is being retired indefinitely. We want to thank all those who participated in the fun.

And that's the    news for this month.

 

credits:

graphics: branwen
oom advert, sotm review column: madi
interviewers and writers: madi, kate, melanie, juls, sarah
blog compilation: madi