Claiming my collab(s!)

[birdsofshore]

Reveals are up at hd_collab and I can lay claim to the two pieces I was lucky enough to have a hand in. There's also a load of waffle about them so feel free to skip it unless that kind of thing interests you.

Title: O Sinners, Let's Go Down
Team Members: birdsofshore and raitala
Word Count: ~32,000
Rating: NC-17
Hogwarts Subject: Muggle Studies
Warnings: Mild religion bashing, fetishising the rituals of Catholicism, mild homophobia
Summary: It seemed like such a straightforward plan ‒ a trip to Suffolk to research his mother's family tree and spend a few days relaxing by the seaside. Harry wasn't looking for anything more than that. He certainly wasn't looking for Draco Malfoy.

I was wildly excited to be collaborating with raitala. However, we hit some bumps in the road almost immediately and it became obvious we were going to have to come at it from a different angle. Rai suggested that she draw a sketch and send it to me in the hopes it might spark something. I thought this was a great idea. This is what she sent:


Honestly, I nearly died. I have SUCH a kink for priests and confessionals and whatnot - which Rai knows full well - and this was absolutely irresistible, but, at the same time, I felt horrified at the thought. Was I actually going to do this? Was I really going to write Priest!Draco seducing Harry, in church, wearing his priest's vestments? REALLY?

Well, 32k later, I still haven't quite got over my shame, but I really, really did do it. It was a struggle for me, and a few times I thought I wasn't going to get to the end, but I'm glad now that I stuck with it, and that I managed to write the story that rai's art started telling in my head. (Which, as it happens, wasn't the story rai had in mind at ALL, but apparently my muse is a contrary swine sometimes).

I worried that people who were religious would be offended by the fic, and that people who were not religious would be turned off by the subject. I still don't know, but people who read it have been awfully encouraging about it. Now I'm not anon any more, I wanted to say that if anyone was considering reading it but felt dubious about the subject matter, please do feel free to ask me anything that would help you make your mind up about it. I wouldn't want anyone to be upset by a story of mine if I could avoid it.

I'd also like to say a massive thank you to lumosed_quill and who_la_hoop, who were wondrous betas, and the several lovely people who I whined to about how fucking hard this story was to write. *blows kisses*

So, this was all a bit angsty. My second collab, by contrast, was a complete breeze. :DDD

Title: The Morning After
Team Members: birdsofshore and capitu
Word Count: ~5500
Rating: R
Hogwarts Subject: Muggle Studies (because probably none of this would have happened if Draco had taken Muggle Studies in the first place).
Warnings: Cruelty to toasters?
Summary: This is what happens when you stick your wand in places where it really shouldn't go.

I somehow managed to convince capitu that writing a fic together would be fun and easy. And, somehow, it WAS! I have to take the blame for the ridiculous concept of Draco fighting with Harry's toaster, but, my god, did capitu run with the idea. She's a comedy genius! You probably worked out, if you read it, that capi wrote the toaster and I wrote Draco. I still have no idea how anyone could characterise a fricking toaster and make it adorable, hilarious, feisty, lovable, touching and preposterously believable. HOW? The way it worked, was, I would send her a bit of Draco, then get her piece back via email, and I'd be alternately hooting with laughter, and gnashing my teeth because her bits were FUNNIER than mine.

lumosed_quill also betaed this for us. She deserves a medal!

Oh, and yes, I did comment on this one while it was still anon. I was trying to throw certain guessers off the scent. :D I only commented on the parts that I didn't write.

So, to sum up. Lessons I have learned from the whole experience:

1) Never collab with raitala. She will send you evil, gorgeous art that makes you write 32k of priest!smut.

2) And on no account EVER collab with capitu. She's just too bloody funny and it makes you look bad by comparison.

♥

Comments

[birdsofshore]

Oh, my god, you're too good to me <3333

I'm in bed, I'll reply properly tomorrow. This is the BEST. Thank you!