The seventh and last Sunshine prompt, Zephyrus made me look for fics set in spring. I've written one which includes some literally flowery descriptions of details in nature, and this story is also a sweet portrayal of my Remus and Sirius in the springtime of life, both of them vulnerable but hopeful.

If Not Brothers

There are two alternating first-person voices and 7780 words. In the opening scene you'd meet the other two Marauders, too, and learn something about my takes on the Animagus and the map projects, but in case it's all too much, you can just look at some wonders of spring from each perspective in a short excerpt
( right here )

I just have to respond to the fourth prompt again, since eldritcher has now published something that's a perfect fit for the bonus prompt Typhon.

Typhon by eldritcher (T, PG-13, no warnings apply, ~1.5K words, Charlie Weasley/Rubeus Hagrid)

In this amazing fic you'll find a gorgeous tale of love, and more – a lot more than you might expect on the basis of the unusual pairing and the summary, unless you know the brillliant writer's other work.

For the fourth prompt, finally, I've made something new to be posted on AO3. I was inspired by the bonus prompt, Typhon and particularly by a painting of Zeus aiming his thunderbolt at a winged and snake-footed Typhon.

My bright watercolour version of the duelling scene is HP & Greek Mythology crossover: Harry Aiming at a Monster. :) (That link is to AO3.)

The second Sunshine Challenge prompt is here.

Since I've seen others, too, do self-recs, I can't resist posting an old 100-word drabble. This part of my series titled Sketches for a Portrait was written in 2006 and posted on AO3 here among those "self-portraits" of my Remus (who tries to be an artist besides a werewolf) that show him in his drifting years in the 1980s.



Her wrinkled hand lifts a cup full of warm milk to his lips. Now the hands are joined beside her cheek, and the sharp gaze of her beady eyes leaves him for a moment: she closes her lids to make sure he can understand the sign.

While her potions start nourishing his new skin, in his dream he is able…

I am able to hold a paint brush again. I don’t need parchment, paper or canvas. The figures are leaping across the walls. Dolphins. The Prince of Lilies. The monster turns a human face to me and builds the palace.

I've been struggling to find something violet in my fandom life.

Violet is a wizened, pale old witch in a portrait at Hogwarts, a friend of the Fat Lady's. And Yennefer of Vengerberg has violet eyes. Here's a scene from the video game Witcher The Wild Hunt: Geralt listens to Priscilla sing a song featuring the violet eyes - ( under the cut )

I've read all the Witcher books by Sapkowski and played that third Witcher game through twice (and it's the only video game I've ever played) and seen the first season of the show, but I still haven't got active in the Witcher fandom. And I think that besides Harry Potter, the Witcher is the only canon I'm truly familiar with among popular fandoms.

What could I offer as gifts? I wish I could share more of such things that you lovely Sunshine people enjoy.

Still hopelessly devoted to writing in a single "universe" – about one reality of some HP characters' lives – I'm not good at crafting fanworks as gifts. I have participated in some exchanges and recently written a tiny piece as a retirement present, but never asked for wishes. When signing up for a fest, I always check that there's a self-prompt option or a prompt fitting for such a fic which – while working separately – can be meaningful as part of the broader story.

On the other hand, I've realised – and repeatedly mentioned, too – that after returning to the fandom, I'm willing to read any fanfic: any characters, pairings, ratings, genres. I'm interested in writing comments on fic – and on any other type of fanwork, too – particularly when I know that the creator appreciates feedback. I guess I can simply assume that everyone likes comments, but I love getting self-recs. I've asked for some before, but perhaps through the Sunshine Challenge I'll get more.

Please tell me if you'd like me to read (or otherwise receive) and comment on a fanwork by you. It doesn't have to be in HP or in Witcher. I've already read and commented on some fic in fandoms where I don't know the canon at all. I'm a slow reader (and composer of comments), and it'll probably take several days before I comment in case I get several self-recs and/or recs of fics longer than 5000 words or so.

Once again, The Sunshine Challenge makes me do something new. This is the first time ever I'm embedding a video. Before the prompt was posted – while I could see what the next colour would be – I'd already thought about sharing some music for a change. And the blue song that came to my my-fic-centred mind was Blue Motorbike by Moto Boy.



I'd never heard about this singer before I picked the song among the prompts when signing up (almost too late) for my second fest after an eight-year hiatus from the (HP) fandom.

Countless times while listening I've been – instead of writing – staring at that blue picture. There's something eerie blue about it as well as about the singer's strange voice. Something so mesmerising about the music that I kept listening to the song after the fest was over, even though it's not the kind of music I thought I'd like very much. And now that I listen to it, I feel it's not only about the characters in my fest fic (Truly Travelling Towards Someone), but also about me trying to connect with people in the fandom.

I came to ask you out/ Been wanting to for days/ I know a secret place/ ... Will you go there with me tonight?/ ... I like the sense of you/ Maybe you like me, too.

Prompt 3: Yellow
Yellow is a bright color that is associated with a variety of things including: joy, enlightenment, enthusiasm, alertness, danger, clarity, summer, expression, deceit, cowardice, confidence, satisfaction, and optimism.

When I saw the prompt, my first thought was that ever since I enjoyed seeing the 2017 film Tom of Finland at its premiere in Helsinki, I associate the colour yellow with Touko Laaksonen's courage.


“I’d like us to have an apartment together. Big windows with light-yellow curtains.”

“Only sissies like yellow,” Touko says.

“I’d like the curtains to be open when we dance with friends. I want you to hold my hand in broad daylight. I want the curtains to be open.”

“Nice idea, but totally unrealistic.”


Yes, yellow is for courage and for freedom to express your identity and your love.

These quotes are links to two articles about the film.

[Touko didn't] allow prejudice and discrimination to keep him down.

Tom of Finland is more than a history lesson about gay men who dressed up in leather and denim. It’s an invitation to continue fighting to express sexuality and love in whatever way one deems important.

Prompt 1: Red
Red is a strong color that is associated with a variety of things including: courage, power, glory, love, passion, inner strength, romance, sensuality, defiance, tenacity, violence, life, pleasure, fire, and revolution.

This challenge has made me do something outside my comfort zone. I've never before posted a picture on DW. (EDIT Or on AO3, where I've managed to get this a day later./EDIT)

And I've never shared (or made) a piece of fanart. This is just a sketch based on a scene I've been composing when rewriting an old fic about Remus Lupin in Paris in 1984. My Remus is an artist, and just yesterday I wrote about him painting with red, wearing this red jumper borrowed from a lover.