LGBT Fest and Ficlet: Because
For a few weeks now I've been mulling over a rant about recent posts on the queerness of slash and about my frustration with the limitations and normative aspects of the romance and PWP genres.
Then I ran across a better idea: lgbtfest, a multi-fandom fest run by penknife and mireille719 for stories about the experience of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Interested in seeing more fics that deal with these issues? Sign up! Prompt submission runs through tomorrow; claiming runs from March 8 to March 15; posting begins April 10. Even if you don't have time for another fest, skim through the prompt submission post, which has several hundred wonderful suggestions for fic about queerness in more than a dozen fandoms. If you're interested in participating, the introductory post and FAQ are here.
ETA: Follow the links to lgbtfest for: prompt claims post!
Prompts: Any fandom + Fandoms 0-D Fandoms E-P Fandoms Q-Z + Crossovers
Need convincing? Harry and Hermione have assembled a few of their friends to talk about why these kinds of stories are important. (Truly, folks, I have no idea where this ficlet came from, but since I haven't been able to write much lately, I'll just be grateful for inspiration where it comes.)
Act 1
The scene:
Fifteen or twenty characters are sitting on folding chairs on a broad, bare stage. The theater is quiet. The house lights are on, as well as a single, weak spotlight, shining on a thin young man with glasses. A woman with frizzy brown hair nudges him with her elbow.
Queer!Hermione: Ah, Harry?
Queer!Harry (clears throat): So you've heard about the fest, then? Good. Well. Er. It's quite nice that I get, ah, so much action in your stories--don't stop, please (laughs nervously)--but we thought this fest would be a good opportunity to, er, talk about other issues, as well.
Queer!Ron (sniggers): You've finally tired of being a sex god, you mean? The fic finally wear you out?
Queer!Harry (reddens): Shut up, Ron. That's not what I meant.
Queer!Hermione: What Harry means to say is that there are a lot of stories out there to tell, about being whoever it is we are.
Queer!Luna: And sometimes those stories are about being in love, or having sex, and sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're about hunting snorkacks.
Queer!Hermione: Not Snorkacks, Luna. Queer issues. What Harry's life is like as a gay man. Or any of our lives, for that matter. These stories need telling.
Queer!Neville: Why? (bites lip) I'm happy to be here, Hermione, I am, but...I...well. I don't see how I can be of help.
Queer!Hermione (beams): That's why we're all here today, to explain why it's important.
Queer!Ron (slumps in chair, covering his face): This is not what she told me we were going to do.
Queer!Hermione: What do you think, Neville?
Queer!Neville (anxious): Because it's not always easy, being who you are?
Queer!Sirius (snorts, leans back, crosses legs): A hell of a lot easier and more fun than any other option.
Queer!Harry (shyly): Really?
Queer!Sirius: Look, Harry, you've probably only read about the row with my parents, but believe me, no one had more fun than I did at your age.
Queer!Remus (mutters): That's because you didn't have to live with the drama you created.
Queer!Sirius: You love the drama, Remus, admit it.
Queer!Remus (ignores him): These stories need telling because we don't all want the same things or lead the same lives. I can't keep up with Sirius, for instance, but I also have no desire to settle down and get married. (glances around defiantly) To anyone. Even if it were legal. A note to all writers.
Queer!Lily: Because getting married isn't the final word on anyone's love life. Or anyone's life, for that matter. Things change. People grow.
Queer!Severus (with a sidelong glance at her): Because only fools think sexuality is an uncomplicated thing, or even primarily about sex.
Queer!Remus: Although, ah, surely the sex is important, Severus?
Queer!Severus: Later, Lupin. Later.
Queer!Narcissa (haughtily): I'm not sure I want my stories told. We don't all flaunt it.
Queer!Draco (slyly, tilting his head to imitate her): Some of us do.
Queer!Albus (looking at Draco nostalgically): Because things haven't always been the way they are now. (shakes head) You have no idea what Hogwarts was like when I was a boy...well, someone will have to write that one.
Queer!Sibyll: Because we haven't always been the people we are today. That's an interesting story on its own.
Queer!Minerva: Because we've managed to hold on to our jobs and our...ah, close friends...in spite of some rather hardened attitudes and difficult situations.
Queer!Hooch (nodding at Minerva): For more years than we'd care to admit.
Queer!Moody (even more shifty-eyed than usual): Because families come in all shapes and sizes.
Queer!Tonks (jumps up, hugs him impulsively): Mad-Eye!
Queer!Moody (disentangles himself): Vigilance, Tonks, vigilance!
Queer!Kingsley (squeezes Tonks' hand as she sits back down): Because we watch out for each other. And fight like kneazles over who has to clean up after dinner on Sunday nights or listen to Tonks here complain about her lack of a love life.
Queer!Alice: Because...well, you know Frank is a sweetheart, he really is, no one loves him more than I do, hell, I married the man, but he hexes like a girl, and Neville ought to know. Someone write that story, please.
Queer!Frank (laughs): Alice! Mind the stereotypes, love.
Queer!Alice: Neville, the Death Eaters were frightened of someone bigger, stronger, and more butch than they were. And I don't mean your father.
Queer!Frank (smiling): Because Augusta Longbottom shouldn't have the last word, as much as we all love her.
Queer!Neville (flustered): Really, Dad? Mum?
Queer!Alice: Go on, then, Neville.
Queer!Neville: Ah. Right. Well. (stares at feet) Because there's nothing wrong with liking Herbology more than Quidditch?
Queer!Hooch and Queer!Charlie (together, indignant): There's nothing wrong with liking Quidditch!
Queer!Ginny: Or being a woman who likes women who like Quidditch.
Queer!Draco: God, I've always hated Quidditch. Three or four bloody hours of flying around for ten or fifteen minutes in the showers afterward. A fabulous ten minutes, though. Someone write that one, will you?
Queer!Hermione: You're missing the point, Draco.
Queer!Sibyll: When I was a boy, I loved Quidditch.
Queer!Luna: Why are we talking about Quidditch?
(A collective gasp; chaos breaks out on stage. Shouts of "Wasps" and "Cannons" are audible.)
Queer!Hermione: Quiet, everyone. We're almost done. Colin hasn't spoken yet. Colin?
Queer!Colin (shyly): Because I acted like a lovesick teenage girl when it came to Harry, and I'm proud of it.
(Pause. Harry blushes.)
Queer!Colin (warming up): A diary and pictures under my pillow and everything. Dennis had to listen to me talk for hours. You don't forget the first time you come out to yourself and fall in love. It's not all angst. It's wonderful. I knew Harry would never be interested, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Queer!Hermione (beaming): Thank you, Colin.
Queer!Harry (in a strangled voice): Did it just get very quiet in here?
Queer!Luna: No. That's what happens when you're embarrassed, Harry. We all knew how Colin felt about you a long time ago.
Queer!Harry (tentatively): Really, Colin?
Queer!Colin (smiling): Wasn't it obvious?
Queer!Harry (curiosity piqued): I suppose...I mean...you did take a lot of pictures of me. I guess I've just never read that fic.
Queer!Colin (curiosity also piqued): Would things have been different, if you had?
Queer!Charlie (defensive): Don't get any ideas, Harry. Colin and I been together since the rarepairs fest, a few weeks ago. He's thinking about coming to Romania with me and opening a bar for the queer expat crowd, if a writer will oblige.
Queer!Ron (indignant): Colin! You never said! What about our plans to go to London and get a flat?
Queer!Neville (glances at Colin, then at Hermione): I thought we were all going to join the Ministry and campaign for gay rights.
Queer!Severus (offended): Creevey! You were going to....er, mentor gay students at Hogwarts. At least that's what I was going to suggest. You know how important it is to have role models.
Queer!Minerva (shocked, under her breath): Severus! He's less than half your age.
Queer!Severus (shrugging): The fans never mind.
Queer!Colin: Ah...
Queer!Harry (bewildered): Wait! What about me? Ron? Neville? Severus?
Queer!Dumbledore (laughing): Did I say things had changed since my youth? Forgive me. Some things never change.
(More chaos on stage. Amidst cries of "Colin!" Minerva and Hooch sneak off, hand in hand.)
Queer!Hermione (turning toward the audience): That's okay, everyone! This is the wonderful thing about fic! It's all possible! Pick your favorite character! Go, write!
End Act 1. Act 2 is up to you.
Then I ran across a better idea: lgbtfest, a multi-fandom fest run by penknife and mireille719 for stories about the experience of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Interested in seeing more fics that deal with these issues? Sign up! Prompt submission runs through tomorrow; claiming runs from March 8 to March 15; posting begins April 10. Even if you don't have time for another fest, skim through the prompt submission post, which has several hundred wonderful suggestions for fic about queerness in more than a dozen fandoms. If you're interested in participating, the introductory post and FAQ are here.
ETA: Follow the links to lgbtfest for: prompt claims post!
Prompts: Any fandom + Fandoms 0-D Fandoms E-P Fandoms Q-Z + Crossovers
Need convincing? Harry and Hermione have assembled a few of their friends to talk about why these kinds of stories are important. (Truly, folks, I have no idea where this ficlet came from, but since I haven't been able to write much lately, I'll just be grateful for inspiration where it comes.)
Act 1
The scene:
Fifteen or twenty characters are sitting on folding chairs on a broad, bare stage. The theater is quiet. The house lights are on, as well as a single, weak spotlight, shining on a thin young man with glasses. A woman with frizzy brown hair nudges him with her elbow.
Queer!Hermione: Ah, Harry?
Queer!Harry (clears throat): So you've heard about the fest, then? Good. Well. Er. It's quite nice that I get, ah, so much action in your stories--don't stop, please (laughs nervously)--but we thought this fest would be a good opportunity to, er, talk about other issues, as well.
Queer!Ron (sniggers): You've finally tired of being a sex god, you mean? The fic finally wear you out?
Queer!Harry (reddens): Shut up, Ron. That's not what I meant.
Queer!Hermione: What Harry means to say is that there are a lot of stories out there to tell, about being whoever it is we are.
Queer!Luna: And sometimes those stories are about being in love, or having sex, and sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're about hunting snorkacks.
Queer!Hermione: Not Snorkacks, Luna. Queer issues. What Harry's life is like as a gay man. Or any of our lives, for that matter. These stories need telling.
Queer!Neville: Why? (bites lip) I'm happy to be here, Hermione, I am, but...I...well. I don't see how I can be of help.
Queer!Hermione (beams): That's why we're all here today, to explain why it's important.
Queer!Ron (slumps in chair, covering his face): This is not what she told me we were going to do.
Queer!Hermione: What do you think, Neville?
Queer!Neville (anxious): Because it's not always easy, being who you are?
Queer!Sirius (snorts, leans back, crosses legs): A hell of a lot easier and more fun than any other option.
Queer!Harry (shyly): Really?
Queer!Sirius: Look, Harry, you've probably only read about the row with my parents, but believe me, no one had more fun than I did at your age.
Queer!Remus (mutters): That's because you didn't have to live with the drama you created.
Queer!Sirius: You love the drama, Remus, admit it.
Queer!Remus (ignores him): These stories need telling because we don't all want the same things or lead the same lives. I can't keep up with Sirius, for instance, but I also have no desire to settle down and get married. (glances around defiantly) To anyone. Even if it were legal. A note to all writers.
Queer!Lily: Because getting married isn't the final word on anyone's love life. Or anyone's life, for that matter. Things change. People grow.
Queer!Severus (with a sidelong glance at her): Because only fools think sexuality is an uncomplicated thing, or even primarily about sex.
Queer!Remus: Although, ah, surely the sex is important, Severus?
Queer!Severus: Later, Lupin. Later.
Queer!Narcissa (haughtily): I'm not sure I want my stories told. We don't all flaunt it.
Queer!Draco (slyly, tilting his head to imitate her): Some of us do.
Queer!Albus (looking at Draco nostalgically): Because things haven't always been the way they are now. (shakes head) You have no idea what Hogwarts was like when I was a boy...well, someone will have to write that one.
Queer!Sibyll: Because we haven't always been the people we are today. That's an interesting story on its own.
Queer!Minerva: Because we've managed to hold on to our jobs and our...ah, close friends...in spite of some rather hardened attitudes and difficult situations.
Queer!Hooch (nodding at Minerva): For more years than we'd care to admit.
Queer!Moody (even more shifty-eyed than usual): Because families come in all shapes and sizes.
Queer!Tonks (jumps up, hugs him impulsively): Mad-Eye!
Queer!Moody (disentangles himself): Vigilance, Tonks, vigilance!
Queer!Kingsley (squeezes Tonks' hand as she sits back down): Because we watch out for each other. And fight like kneazles over who has to clean up after dinner on Sunday nights or listen to Tonks here complain about her lack of a love life.
Queer!Alice: Because...well, you know Frank is a sweetheart, he really is, no one loves him more than I do, hell, I married the man, but he hexes like a girl, and Neville ought to know. Someone write that story, please.
Queer!Frank (laughs): Alice! Mind the stereotypes, love.
Queer!Alice: Neville, the Death Eaters were frightened of someone bigger, stronger, and more butch than they were. And I don't mean your father.
Queer!Frank (smiling): Because Augusta Longbottom shouldn't have the last word, as much as we all love her.
Queer!Neville (flustered): Really, Dad? Mum?
Queer!Alice: Go on, then, Neville.
Queer!Neville: Ah. Right. Well. (stares at feet) Because there's nothing wrong with liking Herbology more than Quidditch?
Queer!Hooch and Queer!Charlie (together, indignant): There's nothing wrong with liking Quidditch!
Queer!Ginny: Or being a woman who likes women who like Quidditch.
Queer!Draco: God, I've always hated Quidditch. Three or four bloody hours of flying around for ten or fifteen minutes in the showers afterward. A fabulous ten minutes, though. Someone write that one, will you?
Queer!Hermione: You're missing the point, Draco.
Queer!Sibyll: When I was a boy, I loved Quidditch.
Queer!Luna: Why are we talking about Quidditch?
(A collective gasp; chaos breaks out on stage. Shouts of "Wasps" and "Cannons" are audible.)
Queer!Hermione: Quiet, everyone. We're almost done. Colin hasn't spoken yet. Colin?
Queer!Colin (shyly): Because I acted like a lovesick teenage girl when it came to Harry, and I'm proud of it.
(Pause. Harry blushes.)
Queer!Colin (warming up): A diary and pictures under my pillow and everything. Dennis had to listen to me talk for hours. You don't forget the first time you come out to yourself and fall in love. It's not all angst. It's wonderful. I knew Harry would never be interested, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Queer!Hermione (beaming): Thank you, Colin.
Queer!Harry (in a strangled voice): Did it just get very quiet in here?
Queer!Luna: No. That's what happens when you're embarrassed, Harry. We all knew how Colin felt about you a long time ago.
Queer!Harry (tentatively): Really, Colin?
Queer!Colin (smiling): Wasn't it obvious?
Queer!Harry (curiosity piqued): I suppose...I mean...you did take a lot of pictures of me. I guess I've just never read that fic.
Queer!Colin (curiosity also piqued): Would things have been different, if you had?
Queer!Charlie (defensive): Don't get any ideas, Harry. Colin and I been together since the rarepairs fest, a few weeks ago. He's thinking about coming to Romania with me and opening a bar for the queer expat crowd, if a writer will oblige.
Queer!Ron (indignant): Colin! You never said! What about our plans to go to London and get a flat?
Queer!Neville (glances at Colin, then at Hermione): I thought we were all going to join the Ministry and campaign for gay rights.
Queer!Severus (offended): Creevey! You were going to....er, mentor gay students at Hogwarts. At least that's what I was going to suggest. You know how important it is to have role models.
Queer!Minerva (shocked, under her breath): Severus! He's less than half your age.
Queer!Severus (shrugging): The fans never mind.
Queer!Colin: Ah...
Queer!Harry (bewildered): Wait! What about me? Ron? Neville? Severus?
Queer!Dumbledore (laughing): Did I say things had changed since my youth? Forgive me. Some things never change.
(More chaos on stage. Amidst cries of "Colin!" Minerva and Hooch sneak off, hand in hand.)
Queer!Hermione (turning toward the audience): That's okay, everyone! This is the wonderful thing about fic! It's all possible! Pick your favorite character! Go, write!
End Act 1. Act 2 is up to you.