#racial rep

Fic: Love & Blowjobs & Other Sacred Things by @bubbebruja

Rating: Explicit

Genre: modern, non magical AU, characters’ study/development, identity conflict, hurt/comfort and smut, hopeful ending.

Word count: 77,180, 26 chapters (25 of the story and one of resources), completed.

Summary: Two strangers meet in a loud and dingy club. It's love at first sight, except the few mitigating circumstances. Namely, that Sirius is married to God, Remus is a minister, love is complicated, and religion is even more so.

OR, In which Sirius is a priest, Remus is a preacher, Lily is a badass, and James is confused.

Major CW: religious themes, including religious conflict, trauma and taboo, past childhood trauma, including child abuse and neglect, internalized homophobia (or is it? it can be read as that so be mindful if that triggers you), polyamory (if you don’t like reading about your faves with other people then this isn’t the fic for you!), sexual content (including specific kinks included in each chapter summary, some of them under negotiated but where consent is discussed. Kinks include daddy kink, priest kink, dom/sub undertones, humiliation kink), drug use, sickness (HIV/AIDS), minor characters death.

Mod Moth thoughts: Oh this fic - this fic made me feel so many things, as a religious(ish) person, but also as someone in general interested in people’s beliefs and the history and entanglements in different contexts of the queer community. This fic is so complex and the characters are so full of life - which in this case, it means they are struggling with conflict and their own contradictions. The “translation” of the characters’ experiences and fears into this universe is a work of art in itself. Please be mindful if some of the themes are not something for you, but if you are interested in a niche AU that leaves you with a thousand questions about ethics, meaning and life, then I recommend you this fic with all my heart.

Fic: (just like) starting over by @dejaentends

Rating: T

Genre: Hurt/comfort, angst, first war with Voldemort, there was only one bed

Word count: 6,537, one-shot (with potential future chapters if we are very nice!), complete

Summary: It's Christmastime 1980 and Remus and Sirius are the only candidates for a dangerous Order mission into the woods of west England. A bad winter storm forces them to stop in a small town and sit with their break-up after six months of avoidance and anger.

Major CW: Very slight implied/referenced homophobia and racism

Mod Theo thoughts: Oh, this is a CLASSIC case of a fic having far fewer hits than it deserves. I imagine most of us are - at this point in *gestures vaguely* everything going on - looking for comfort in light, fluffy fics, but sometimes you need a classic first war/there was only one bed fic? The great thing about this one is how seamlessly and gracefully it communicates complex concepts (racism? family trauma? codependency? being 21 and realizing love isn’t what you thought it was? the complex balance of hating ABBA and loving it at the same time?) without bashing you over the head with them (like, even a little bit). It’s the type of fic where you’re reading, and then you have the classic italicized oh. moment of realizing how much depth is being communicated below the surface. A+ work, author, can we please have more?

Fic: A Whole Queer Country Fair by @bigblackdogfic

Rating: E

Genre: Non-magical, college/university AU, identity exploration, mild hurt/comfort. 

Word count: 4,792 words, one-shot, complete. 

Summary: Two queer Mexican kids talking, having sex, and feeling their feelings in Arizona.

Major CW: Discussion of complex racial/ethic identity, mild daddy kink.

Mod Theo thoughts: I cannot get enough of queer Latino love stories lately, fic and non-fic alike, and this is a classic. I came across this fic during the first couple weeks of my foray into HP fanfiction and realized that I CAN find myself in these stories, which was a pretty darn incredible realization. In this fic, newly-dating Remus and Sirius discuss the complexities of their identities, eat Mediterranean food, flirt, fuck, and let us explore a specific and beautiful world through their eyes. Check it out, and then tell us your favorite queer Latino love stories! And if you want to hear more from bigblackdog, check out the creator spotlight we did here!

Fic: but in time all the flowers turn to face the sun, @the-crownless-queen

Rating: T rated

Genre: Fix it, found family, wolfstar rises Harry, gender bend, trans Harry Potter.

Word count:  23520, one shot, completed.

Summary: An act of kindness can change a lot. :: In which Harry is a girl and wants to become a Healer, but neither of these really matter as much as the family she builds around herself.

Major CW: Mentions of transphobia and racism (nothing directly portrayed), acculturation issues, mentions of slavery (house elves) and references to prison violence.

Mod Moth thoughts: This fic has brought me so much joy. I don’t usually read Harry-centric fics, and so you should know that Wolfstar is just a side pairing here, but this fic really stole my heart. Harry gets everything she deserves here, without major drama about her journey to come to terms about being trans: it’s just one fact about her, and that’s it. We get to see her beautiful friendship with Ron and Hermione, but also bonding with the girls in the dorms and god, but her relationship with Madam Pomfrey - who’s her mentor here - is absolutely amazing. And while I really, really appreciate adults acting like adults for once here, and really protecting Harry, more than anything what made me fall in love was the rhythm of this fic, the way it flows and works the fanfiction genre by playing with what we already know and what’s new. A fic that had me pacing myself  to read it over a week, because honestly, I just didn’t want to leave this universe.