Legilimens

Welcome to my blog.

Fair warning: There will be profanity. There will be unfounded opinions. There will be baby blood and puppy tears. There may or may not be cake. There will also be unforgiveable narcissim.

Squibstress’s Apologia Pro Ship Sua (Or: Why I Like Albus/Minerva)

Fandom Musings
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Britpickery for Americans: British Currency

On Writing
One of the biggest mistakes Americans make when writing fic that brushes up against the British medical system is that, generally, British people don’t struggle to pay their healthcare bills.
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Britpickery for Americans: British Medical System

On Writing
One of the biggest mistakes Americans make when writing fic that brushes up against the British medical system is that, generally, British people don’t struggle to pay their healthcare bills.
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And Just Like That …

Epithalamium Series, Fic
With the completion of Come Autumn, Sae Pensive, the Epithalamium Series is (finally!) complete.
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Britpickery for Americans: British School System

On Writing
Each country in the UK has its own system, but here I’m going to focus mostly on the English system, as this seems to be what Hogwarts is based on.
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Britpickery for Americans: What is “British”?

On Writing
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Britpickery for Harry Potter Fic (for Americans)

On Writing
This is a discussion of things I use when I’m attempting to make my HP fic sound less glaringly American.
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What I’d Like to See in the New Harry Potter Series

Fandom Musings
What with the main cast (with the notable exception of Voldemort) now announced for the HBO Max Harry Potter extravaganza, I got to thinking a bit about what I’d like to see the series do
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How to Make a Style Sheet for Your Fic

On Writing
A style sheet records the decisions you’ve made about your story so you don’t give Harry and Draco’s son black hair in chapter one and blond hair in chapter ten. Here’s how to create one for your fic.
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Paapa Essiedu Will Make a Good Snape, and Other Musings on Harry Potter Casting

Fandom Musings
Casting rumors abound for the upcoming HBO reboot of the Harry Potter series. I’m weighing on the casting and the fan reactions to the rumors.
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Pride Month Recs: Minerva/Rolanda

Recs
Minerva/Rolanda was my first “OTP” femslash pairing for Minerva (a misnomer, of course, because I have many “OTPs” for her), thanks largely to Kelly Chambliss’s fabulous “What a Lovely Way to Burn”.​
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Pride Month Recs: Augusta/Minerva

Recs
Augusta/Minerva is always fun because of the canon hints at backstory between these two very opinionated (ahem) and formidable ladies. Neville’s potential reaction to a relationship between them is a lovely bonus.
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Pride Month Recs: Amelia/Minerva

Recs
In honor of Pride Month, I thought I’d do some recs based on my favorite femslashy pairing for my favorite witch.
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New Fic: Cailleach

Fic
I wrote a Minerva/Sirius for the 2024 Rarepair Shorts Summer Wish List.
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Fic Recs: Unusual Characterizations

Recs
Today’s rec is for a trio of older fics that feature great and somewhat unusual characterizations.
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Fic Recs: Even After All These Years and Purple Lace

Recs
I love Alastor/Minerva, and this pair of fics demonstrates why.
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New Fic: Fools Rush In

Fic
At nearly 100, Albus is surprised to find that he is, very improbably and most inconveniently, in love.
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Fic & Art Recs: Year of the Thestral & Five Kinds of Love

Recs
Two new favorites added to my list recently. One, a searing portrait of an uncompromising Minerva McGonagall forced to make intolerable compromises; the second a series of pieces showing the joys and sorrows of one Severus Snape over his lifetime.
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My Writing Process

On Writing
I’ve been writing for a living for a few decades, and my process has gone through a few iterations, but in the end, I tend to do it the same way I’ve always done it: blood, sweat, and tears. Plus whisky and Oreos.
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New Fic: Severus Snape and the Unbelievable Postwar Outcome

Fic
I wrote this for the 2024 Salt & Pepper Fest at HP_Goldenage.
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New Fic: Hag Tales

Fic
I had the great honor of closing out the very last HoggywartyXmas fest with my new story.
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Recs from HoggywartyXmas + Bonus Art Rec

Recs
This year marks the final HoggywartyXmas fest, and a banner year it was.
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My Selections from the 2023 HP Rec Fest

Recs
The 2023 HP Rec Fest just concluded on Tumblr, and I managed to do almost all the days. I thought I’d share my selections here.
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New Fic: De Aegypto

Fic
This short piece was my contribution for the 2023 Ladies of HP Monthly Minifest.​
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Till A’ the Seas Gang Dry (Finally) Complete

Fic, Epithalamium Series
The second novel in the Epithalamium Series is complete in nine chapters.​
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Wattpad Featured Story & Interview

Shameless Self-Promotion
Hey, here’s a nice thing that happened: WattpadPotterverse featured A Slant-Told Tale for February.
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Don’t Quit Your Day Job, AI

On Writing
Or: How Squibstress Fic Would Sound If It Were Written by a moderately skilled but very dull twelve-year-old.
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Recs from HoggyWartyXmas 2022

Recs
HoggyWartyXmas 2022 has finished posting, and once again, I find myself in the difficult position of selecting just a few from the bounty of wonderful works the fest has offered up.
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Fic Recs: September 8, 2022

Recs
Phew. It’s been a hot minute. (And I do mean hot—as I write, it’s over 100 °F/80 °C for the fourth consecutive day chez Squibstress.)
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Secrets of Dumbledore: Magical 3-Card Monte

Fandom Musings
Let’s get this out of the way: Fantastic Beasts – The Secrets of Dumbledore is a hot, hot mess of a film.
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Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Fandom Musings
This weekend, I finally saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
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It’s a Retcon. Nothing but a Retcon.

Fandom Musings
Apparently, the second trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore dropped last week, and Minerva McGonagall is in it.
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Squibstress’s Shipping Manifest(o)

Fandom Musings
I ship whoever I want, and I don’t care what you think of it.
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February 2022 Recs

Recs
This year’s Snapecase fest yielded, as usual, a crop of terrific works.
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January 2022 Recs

Recs
I’m slowly working my way through a huge backlog of fics I’ve wanted to read.
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New Fic: Rest with Your Dream in My Dream

Fic
My contribution to this year’s HoggyWartyXmas fest was this story.
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Recs from HoggyWartyXmas

Recs
For anyone who doesn’t know, HoggyWartyXmas is the Best Xmas Party of the Year™.
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Tom Riddle

Headcanon, Epithalamium Series
Tom Riddle is both an open book and a mystery.
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It’s That Time of Year Again

Recs
The preparations and shopping are done, the friends and relations duly toasted (and gotten toasted) and chivvied off into the frigid December night (or not so frigid, if you live in ParadiseTM, as I do), and Mr Squib and I settled down with a cup of eggnog and an improving book.
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Wizengamot

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
Have you ever wondered how the Wizengamot worked in Harry Potter? Well, here’s my take.
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In Which Squibstress Weighs in on an Authorial Dogfight

Mind Droppings
I rarely get sucked into literary drama; the circles in which the Jonathan Franzens and Jennifer Weiners of the world exchange barbed bon mots are just too lofty for me to flitter around in for long.
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A Slant-Told Tale Wins Golden Snitch

Shameless Self-Promotion
A million thanks to the folks at the Seeker Awards on Wattpad for honoring my story with a Golden Snitch Award for 2021.​
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September 2021 Recs

Recs
Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve done a recs post.
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The Best Xmas Party of the Year Is Coming, and You Can Be Part of It

Pimping
Yes, I know it’s only September and most of you haven’t even had your first Pumpkin Spice Latte yet (I’ve already had two, but only because Mr. Squib presented them to me, and far be it from me to hurt his feelings by not drinking them), but Fest Season is nearly upon us, so it’s time for fandom folk to think about what they want to create this year.
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Welcome to the New Website

Shameless Self-Promotion
I’m baaaaack.​
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Castle Isleif

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
In the Epithalamium Series, Castle Isleif is Minerva McGonagall’s family home.
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Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart — Revised

Fic
I’ve finally done something I’ve been meaning to do for years: I revised my Epithalamium series story Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart (Epithalamium Book #4).
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New Fic: Mind the Gap

Fic
Severus never thought he minded the gap. Until he did.
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Writing Resources — Dictionaries & Style Guides

On Writing
Over my mumble-mumble years of writing and editing, I’ve collected a toolkit of resources to help me not screw things up too badly, and I’m constantly discovering more.
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Why You Need SPAG (or, YOU Get a Style Guide, and YOU Get a Style Guide …)

On Writing
I’ve seen lots of complaints about the “terrible quality” of lots of fanfic.
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April 2021 Recs

Recs
Recs!
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Filius Flitwick

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
Filius Flitwick has always been one of my favorite characters in Harry Potter.
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Desert-Island Art

Recs
It was a busy month, chez Squibstress, and I didn’t read much completed fic, but I thought I would harken back to my post on desert-island fic and present my desert-island fan art.
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My Reading Compulsion

Mind Droppings
Hello. My name is Squibstress, and I’m a compulsive reader.
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February 2021 Recs

Recs
This month, a mix of new and older fic and art featuring Minerva and her colleagues.
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Poppy Pomfrey

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
In honor of Poppy’s birthday, here’s my heacanon for Poppy Pomfrey from the Epithalamium series.
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My Top 10 Harry Potter Ships

Fandom Musings
Ships ahoy!
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I Got a Gift Fic!

Recs
How lucky we are, dear peeps, how lucky we are!
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New Fic: Within a Forest Dark

Fic
Now that the HogggyWartyXmas reveals for 2020 are up, I can reveal that my contribution was a short-ish Minerva/Severus story, “Within a Forest Dark.”
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Severus Snape

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
In honor of his sixty-first birthday, I’m posting my backstory for Severus Snape in the Epithalamium series.
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HoggyWartyXmas 2021 Goodness

Recs
Along with tinsel and latkes and eggnog, the holiday season brings with it other good things, including the best party of the year: the fabulous HoggyWartyXmas on LiveJournal.
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January 2021 Recs

Recs
A new year, new (to me) Harry Potter fic and art.
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Thank Merlin That’s Over

Mind Droppings
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty glad to see the tail end of 2020 in my rearview mirror.
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November 2020 Recs

Recs
This month’s crop of recs comes from a pair of fests focussing on short works, HP_Halloween on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, and Minvember on Tumblr. In between shopping, decorating, baking, and other holiday deeds, give yourself a few small treats and read these.
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How Editing Works

On Writing
Editing is like tasting a dish for salt before serving it: You can skip it, but you’ll probably be sorry.
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Einar McGonagall

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
Minerva McGonagall always struck me as the quintessential older sister.
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Bonus Story! One to Keep an Eye On

Fic
“One to Keep an Eye On” is a new short story I did for Minvember, currently running over on Tumblr.
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Thorfinn McGonagall

Epithalamium Series, Headcanon
Since my new story in the Epithalamium series, “From Jupiter’s Head,” is largely written from the point of view of Minerva’s father, I thought I’d share my bio of him.
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New Fic: From Jupiter’s Head

Fic
“From Jupiter’s Head” shows us young Minerva McGonagall through the eyes of her father as she grows, and he learns what an unusual witch he has on his hands.
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October 2020 Recs

Recs
This month, I’m reccing two Minerva-centric series, one older and one new, plus an older stand-alone fic that will give you a much-needed smile in these troubled times.
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How Not to Not Write a Fanfic

On Writing
Trolling around Wattpad, I’ve run across a number of stories titled “How Not to Write a Fanfic,” or some variation thereof.
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Why I Hate the Pottermore Backstory for Minerva McGonagall

Fandom Musings
So, I have problems with JKR’s Pottermore biography for Minerva McGonagall.
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Desert-Island Fic

Recs
Since 1942, BBC Radio 4 has been doing a program called “Desert Island Discs,” in which famous guests are asked to name several music recordings, a book and a luxury item they would take with them if they were stranded on a desert island.
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September 2020 Recs

Recs
This month, I found two new Minerva McGonagall fics I really loved.
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Squibstress’s Rules for Writing

On Writing
I have only two rules for my own writing.
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Interview for the Petulant Poetess

Mind Droppings
I recently ran across an interview I did in 2013 for The Petulant Poetess on their Facebook page.
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Printable PDFs & Ebooks Now Available

Fic
Print files and ePubs and .mobi files, oh my!
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More Recs from Hoggywarty

Recs
Hoggywarty Xmas has ended over at LiveJournal, and, as usual, there was a fabulous set of stories and art.
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Art Recs

Recs
To distract you from the sad news about Notre Dame de Paris, I’m posting links to a series of fanart works I found while rolling around Pinterest.
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The Best Xmas Party of the Year

Recs
The HoggyWartyXmas fic and art fest has been running since 2010 and has produced some of the best Harry Potter fanfic and art around.
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Squibstress’s Hierarchy of Canon Sources

Fandom Musings
Harry Potter canon is a lot like the Judeo-Christian Bibles. No one really agrees what belongs in it, and people will get in the most God-awful fights over it. But, as with the various versions of the Bible, I find I’m not too fussed about any of it.
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COG WTF?

Fandom Musings
First off, I didn’t hate it. I didn’t exactly like it, but I didn’t hate it. It seemed very much an interim story that was just setting up plot points to be explored in the future films.
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Fic Recs from the Fabulous HP Beholder Fest

Recs
The HP Beholder (as in, beauty is in the eye of) Fest on InsaneJournal (mirrored on LiveJournal), for anyone unfamiliar with this fabulous entity, was created to showcase characters not considered “attractive” by the general population and give ’em a little lovin’.
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Fic Rec: Death Becomes Us

Recs
As Hogwarts grows quiet after the events of HBP, it’s left to Poppy to make the trek to the Hog’s Head and speak to Aberforth.
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Fic Rec: The Thing About Travelling

Recs
It’s a rare fic that makes me believe Minerva and Hermione could become romantically involved, but if there were more MM/HG fic like this, written for the 2012 HoggyWartyXmas fest, I could begin to buy it.
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Fic Rec: The Headmaster

Recs
Decent human beings couldn’t or wouldn’t do the things the Headmaster was required to do — ergo, he couldn’t be decent.
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Fic Rec: Once Burned

Recs
This very short fic (from 2002) is an atmospheric, bittersweet moment between Albus and Minerva after his hand is cursed.
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Fic Rec: June Week

Recs
This fic (from 2002) is an angsty but sensitive coming-of-age story for Minerva McGonagall with detailed and insightful charactarisations, an engaging plot and exciting action scenes.
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Fic Rec: All Too Well

Recs
There are a few spelling and grammatical errors in this fic, but not so many that you should avoid this 2007 story that fits the relationship between Minerva and Severus into canon corners.
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Open book with two pages curled up into a heart shape

It’s That Time of Year Again

The preparations and shopping are done, the friends and relations duly toasted (and gotten toasted) and chivvied off into the frigid December night (or not so frigid, if you live in ParadiseTM, as I do), and Mr Squib and I settled down with a cup of eggnog and an improving book.

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Spoiler Alert!

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