As a bit of a special treat, and to celebrate their one year anniversary, I sat down with my good friend, the @wolfstarlibrarian. We recorded our conversation to share it here with you, our favorite patrons. I’ll be DL, in bold, and the Wolfstar Librarian is WL. I hope you enjoy this sweet peek into our friendship, and the wonderful insights that they had to share with me.
DL: First of all, congratulations on a whole year! In that time you've created a lovely and welcoming fandom space for authors, both new and established, lots of helpful guides and explanations for readers, and over 300 rec lists. What's been the most rewarding part of being "The Librarian"?
WL: Oh thank you so much! It’s been a wild year, made all the better for having this blog. As for the BEST part? Hmmmmm 🤔 This is difficult to answer because there have been so many unexpected gifts, but probably the most rewarding and surprising part is how much support the fandom community has come out with. I hoped that, at most, people would enjoy some of the lists, but beyond that they’ve given personal support as well, whether I’ve needed time, or someone to help find a fic, or just general support, the community has shown up, and that’s been an incredible gift that helps to keep me motivated and feeling special.
DL: I love that! I love how you describe fandom as a community. I think the real fandom isn't just the content, but the friends we made along the way! 😂
WL: YES! I agree! Fandom is just people connected by passion.
DL: Absolutely! And I think something really unique that you've done with The Wolfstar Librarian is encouraging others' passion as well.
WL: I was not prepared to feel this soft! 🥺
DL: Sorry, not sorry! Lol. I think something that's very unique to your blog specifically is the way that you are always giving "new" recs. A lot of the recs are ones that I haven't read before and I think that's very encouraging to authors and creators to keep writing and creating. It's not the same old "classics" over and over. That’s something I’ve tried to emulate on my own blog as well. I search for a mix of old and new fics.
WL: Oh yes, I'm always on the hunt for new fics. I check @ao3feed-wolfstar at least once a week and go through all of the new fics, picking out things I think I might want to read, and even when searching for lost fics I oftentimes end up adding a dozen new fics to be TBR list. I'm fascinated with the new, and am always looking for fresh takes on old tropes. Of course I also have tons of subscriptions for my favorite authors, but just like with food, I have comfort items I know I'll like but then I also enjoy new things just as much.
DL: Out of curiosity, how long is your TBR list?
WL: (after a significant pause) Oh goodness, I had to check. It’s currently 15 pages long and at 20 fics a page…
DL: Hold on, I’ll pull up a calculator. Um...300. So as many rec lists as you’ve made. You mentioned comfort items. What are some of your favorite tropes?
WL: Oh my goodness, yeah I hadn't done the math! 😂 I think what I find the most comfort in are things I can relate to the most? So lots of modern AUs with happy endings, and I'm also a sucker for soulmate or a good texting fic since they tend to include some fun humor that I can use as a counterpoint to real life.
DL: I love modern AUs!
WL: Me too! And fix-it AUs. JKR did them dirty 😉
DL: Who hasn’t JKR done dirty? Lol. Okay, and do you want to spill some tea? What are your pet peeves in a fic? The things that make you immediately click that red x and think "not for me". To be clear, I’m not saying things that you think are wrong — we’re not making any moral judgment here! Just your specific pet peeves that irritate you personally.
WL: The first thing isn’t so much a pet peeve as something I get asked a lot and feel bad about. The question I get asked the most is "how do I get rec'd on WL", and it just makes it clear how infrequently people read the pinned FAQ, where I encourage people to send in recs. Probably 4/5 people who send in their own fics as a rec actually end up on a list, but so few people do! So just remember that the Librarian is just one person who can easily miss a lot of things, but genuinely wants to read and share lovely fics. But actual pet peeves? I definitely can't handle MCD, or anything that's too dark just because it takes my mental health somewhere I don't want to go. I also tend not to like....imbalanced relationships? I know that's vague, but anytime there isn't mutual respect, it just feels weird and unnatural to me so I tend to just click out. Also, I need fairly standard formatting. I've seen a few posts about it, and it's definitely true that my brain struggles to read anything written outside of standard formatting (correct punctuation and capitalization). It's not even a judgement, just something like math where my brain goes "no thank you!" 😰
DL: That's definitely something that makes me hit the red x too. And I know what you mean about lack of mutual respect. I think that there's stories about relationships where someone makes a mistake and with work and apologies, they can come back from that and still have a solid relationship but there's other's where one person just completely disregards and breaks any trust or respect that they've built in the relationship and an apology can't fix that. It's a fighting together/fighting each other kind of thing. And I think that's an interesting point you bring up because I feel like with Drarry, Harry and Draco are set up to be adversaries and part of the story is them overcoming it. But that's not really part of Sirius and Remus' story.
WL: Yes, exactly! And I definitely read fanfic for comfort, for romance, and I feel like you can't have true love without mutual respect, without equality. Of COURSE that can take time and work to get to sometimes, but as long as they end up on the same page, I'm game. 😊
DL: Exactly. And again, I just want to say that it doesn't mean we think those fics are inherently bad or anything. It's just our personal preferences as readers. So, it's obvious that I also read Wolfstar in addition to Drarry. Do you ever read Drarry?
WL: Honestly, I rarely read outside of wolfstar, but sometimes I do read Drarry because it's so much bigger and tends to cover a wider variety of stories. I also read Dorlene, Jegulus, Jegulily, and a host of other smaller ships like Fleur/Tonks that end up in wolfstar fics.
DL: Can I put you on the spot and have you give us a Drarry rec?
WL: My favorite one is actually one you rec'd! It's the Christmas one that's just SO soft I can't help but read it each year as the weather gets cooler.
DL: Ohhhh! The Christmas Tree by @cottonpadenthusiast. I love that one! It’s a Drarry + Remus/Sirius get together! Just a sweet, happy family dynamic.
WL: Yes! It's half wolfstar, half drarry, and totally sweet.
DL: With families....we often joke in private that you and I have "sibling" blogs. Did you ever mind that I joined you in being a librarian?
WL: Oh, of COURSE not! Running a rec blog like this is so much work, there's no way I could do more than one, and I truly love having you, and other rec blogs, because they inspire me so much! I love finding new fics, new ways to share content, and new people to share with. Rec blogs inspired me to make my own, and hopefully I inspire people to find their own style as well!
DL: That's definitely something I've tried to do as your "little sibling" blog. I feel very lucky to have such a cool "older sibling" and mentor librarian that I can always come and ask a question or advice from, but I've tried to be thoughtful in making it my own too, with my Happy Hours and stuff. And I try to be mindful as well that I'm not copying exactly what another Drarry rec blogger does either. We all get our own niche, and I think that makes the recs we give more rich. And in true younger sibling fashion, I started my blog because I saw you doing it and thought it was such a neat idea that I wanted to join you. What made you start your library?
WL: When I first made the library, and imagined what I wanted it to be, I wanted more than anything for the library to be a place that I had searched for when I was new to fandom. I was so desperate for someone to show me fics for my exact mood, or comfort tropes, or just introduce me to something new the way librarians have done all my life. With this blog, the library, I'm trying to provide that comfort, that answer that we're all seeking. Hopefully, other people find the same relief and comfort here that an old wood lined library, full of wonder and hope, offers them in real life as well.
DL: Oh, now you’ve made ME soft. I think that’s such a lovely statement that we’ll wrap it up there. Do you think people are going to judge us because neither of us can do math?
WL: Ahahaha, honestly, if that's my worst feature, I'm okay with it. 😂
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A single moment in time altered, two lives spared, and four lives changed forever. What would have happened if Euphemia and Fleamont Potter had lived?
A wolfstar/Sirius raises Harry fic
I’m updating on A03 every couple of days so I haven’t posted here since the first couple of chapters. Currently up to 16 chapters, one kiss, one precocious 4 year old, the start of a Wolfsbane trial at St Mungo’s, a trial for Peter and two drunken nights.
My A03 link
It took almost a week to get him released, but he never had to go to Azkaban. By the time he was free there were wanted posters for Peter Pettigrew posted. He was not found, which troubled Sirius in the middle of the night, but during the day he was busy with Harry. The difference between playing godfather when the whim suited him and raising a child was overwhelming, and for his sanity as well as Harry’s protection he moved back into the bedroom that had become his long before he officially moved into the Potter home at the age of 16.
Three lives, other than Harry’s, dramatically changed because of one owl. Sirius was home once more, escaping the fate of Azkaban and Dementors. Peter, hunted by the Aurors, never to know a moment’s rest. And the third? At the moment Remus Lupin was in the basement of his old family home in Wales, recovering from the full moon. In another time he was destined to spend the next 127 full moons alone, certain that two of his best friends were dead, the third was a murderer, and that the safest thing for Harry Potter was to stay as far away as he could. His fate in this time was less certain than the others and rests in the hands of Sirius Black.
Rec Blogs are an important part of every fandom. They help navigate hard-to-find ships, and usually have helpful tips and tricks scattered in between. To my knowledge, there are different kinds of rec blogs. There are Ship Rec Blogs, or rec blogs that focus on a specific ship, such as the Then there are whole-fandom rec blogs. Now, I haven’t been able to find any of the whole fandom blogs, but I’ve heard a few people say that they do, in fact, exist.
Ship Rec blogs are more popular, because it focuses on one thing and is usually easier to find what you’re looking for. I wish I could tell you exactly where to find them, but the truth is that I don’t know myself.
HOWEVER
If you have the mobile app! There is a feature that makes group chats available! There are so many different ship-based group chats on the app, and it’s easier because you aren’t waiting for someone to hopefully answer the ask you send. It’s extremely easy to find them, and you can literally just type the ship name into the Tumblr search and at least a few group chats should pop up.
For example, there is a group chat called DEH Shipping Safeplace for all the Dear Evan Hansen fansens. They don’t always talk daily, but if you text it, you are more likely to get an answer than you would be sending an ask to a rec blog.
That’s not to say that rec blogs don’t work or aren’t important. On the contrary, they help immensely. To give a good example, The Wolfstar Librarian (@wolfstarlibrarian ) has separate lists for their different genres, and is pretty consistent in answering fic recs from others. (I use their library quite often.)
It’s up to you what to use to find your fics, but it’s always good to know you have options, right?
TL;DR: Rec blogs and group chats (mobile app only) are really great for finding what specific fic you’re craving.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
@wolfstarlibrarian contacted me for a collaboration list!
Here’s some fics I’ve enjoyed that feature both Wolfstar and Drarry!
Life Is A Little Bit Perfect by somniumfelix
Life wasn't perfect. But Sirius Black was so perfect that Remus Lupin wondered if he ever deserved him at all. Sirius - his best friend, his fellow Marauder, his housemate, his co-parent - was so perfect it made Remus forget about all those not so perfect things in his life. He never expected he and Sirius to be raising their best friends child at twenty-one years old, and it was all a little complicated, but it was also just a little bit perfect. Just a bit. [Voldemort dies on Halloween 1981, and Harry is left in Sirius's care.]
Love In Slow Motion by orphaned account
Harry flushed. “I’d like to do that again.” Draco threw his head back and laughed. “Would you, now?” Blinking up, Harry reached up with a shaking hand and brushed a bit of Draco’s blonde fringe away from his forehead. “Yeah. I would. Unless you’ve got someone better to get home to.”
The Christmas Tree by @cottonpadenthusiast
Remus has spent his Christmas alone for the past ten years, celebrating the holidays in his remote, little cabin. He works his days in his Christmas tree shop and spends his nights trying to ignore the loneliness. And he's fine with that. Or that's what he tells himself. Draco Malfoy would rather be anywhere than at the Malfoy Manor during Christmas, which is why he loves selling Christmas trees with Remus during the holidays. But something is missing, something not even he can understand. A tree delivery to the Potter mansion on Christmas Eve will change everything for the two friends, in more ways than one. Christmas is full of surprises, after all.
The @wolfstarlibrarian and I are sitting at our desks and getting ready to open the doors for the party! Here’s how it works:
Send an ask and tell us if you want to be on the Naughty List (smut/angst) or the Nice List (fluff) and then choose from one of the prompts below and we’ll rec a holiday fic just for you! We’ll pick the first 12 people who send us asks and answer them throughout the evening!
Prompt List: mistletoe, present, candle, music, tree, sweets, party
We can’t wait to hear from you! Our inboxes are open and ready!
