JAFF Resources
(the reddit thread of the same name by RoseIsBadWolf)
Does anyone have some invaluable resources for writing that they
would like to share? Here are some of mine:
Budgets that show the cost of living near Jane Austen's time
Every named character in every Austen novel (made these myself, excel and PDF format)
Comprehensive timelines for:
Sense & Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey,
Persuasion, Emma, and Pride & Prejudice (and another)
Mollands for public domain illustrations:
https://www.mollands.net/etexts/index.html
And of course, I always have the Gutenberg project version of
every novel open on my computer for reference!
Online Etymology Dictionary for checking language use.
I like to use the searchable copies of the books on The Republic
of Pemberley, which also has a lot of other resources, if you
look around.
The Regency Encylopedia, alas, has been down for some time, but
Jane Austen's World often has good information, and an old,
little-known blog that's great for historical research is the
Regency Redingote.
I use https://idiomsorigins.com to check whether an idiom or turn
of phrase would be era appropriate. However, I've been surprised
sometimes by idioms that aren't there.
https://Georgette-heyer.com/slang for regency cant and
expressions.
I also have Louise Allen's book “Regency Slang Revealed”
that organizes and indexes Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar
Tongue. This book is so interesting and kind of hilarious!
I write in British English, so I use
https://dictionary.cambridge.org to check British spelling if I'm
unsure.
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The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet
(my comments on “The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet” by HelenaMira, originally
published on Reddit)
I really wanted to like this story. The beginning of the story
promised a good plot and I like neglectful!Mr Bennet and evil!Mrs
Bennet as a fresh alternative to otherwise generally boring canon …
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Geeky Mary Bennet
I have originally commented on “Mr. Collins, a male lead??? Is
this possible?” by u/JenniferRAKim on That Site, but now I
think I would just leave it here as a prompt:
That’s one way, or of course if it leads to my preferred ship Mr
Collins/Mary Bennet …
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Was Lisa Turpin descendant of Dick Turpin?
(my reddit thread of the same name)
That is Lisa Turpin and Dick Turpin. I am not sure where to
go with it, just a thought. Perhaps just that not everybody at
Hogwarts is so boringly middle-class bland?
Also Harry and Theodor are descendants of Dick Turpin's partners
in …
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Molly Weasley, the Potion Mistress?
(a record of discussion about the topic on the Reddit thread
“Could Molly and the ‘Love Potion’ incident be a communications
misunderstanding?” started by u/varrsar; more discussion on
that thread)
The biggest problem with Molly Weasley and Love Potions is that
everybody seems to remember something completely different than …
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Broken Dumbledore
(my comments on “Anger and Albus Dumbledore” by u/HorseLaw14)
I think he doesn’t understand emotions at all. Yes, I will say,
he knows nothing about love. And, no, I don’t care whether he is
gay or straight, there is absolutely no evidence anywhere for
Dumbledore/Minerva (or …
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Soul bonds and arranged marriages
Comment on the Reddit thread “Soul bonding fics with depth?”
by ZappyFence discussing “Error of Soul” by Materia-Blade)
Can you elaborate? As someone who read it, I'm still not sure
what people mean when they say this.
In the end every soul-bond fanfiction story is a story of
imposed/unintended …
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On Technology of Horcrux creation
(my comments on “Diary Horcrux Murder” by berkeleyjake)
It may be possible that the result of the ritual sacrifice can be
somehow stored and the ritual creating Horcrux can be done later.
What’s more important is this:
“Well, you split your soul, you see,” said Slughorn, “and
hide part …
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HP fanfiction as sci-fi
(my comments on the Reddit thread “What if there's no magic gene?” by 15_Redstones)
Concerning your thoughts about “The magic system is so whimsical,
I don’t think it should be susceptible to manipulation by
scientists.”, I am a bit torn. The one thing I really like about
the HP …
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Why to drop fanfiction story immediately
pink-pipes asked on Reddit
What Tropes or Scenes Have Made You Drop a Fic Immediately?
I have prepared this list:
- harem, Ménage à trois, polygamy, fluid sexuality, PWP,
Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamic
- creature inheritance … an immediate hard drop
- adult/child + Death Eater/normal romantic relationships (yes,
I am certain there …
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Historical Harry Potter stories
(my comments on the reddit thread “Fics like Starnlicht?” by
BallZealousideal2109)
It is strange how little fanfiction authors investigated the
whole area of the historical stories, a life of the magical
community outside (and before) the canonical storyline. Aside
from replants of the normal fanon stories to the past (“Prince …
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Horcruxes and Unhappy Dark Lord
Originally published as “Quest for Immortality by the Unhappy
Dark Lord” on Reddit.
I was thinking about this very unhappy adept for the Dark
Lordship, Tom Riddle:
- Hufflepuff’s Cup — while Tom Riddle was still travelling after
leaving Borgin and Burkes, and he considered dropping it into
The Mariana Trench …
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Overall post on “Breakfast in New York”
(cover letter for presenting my reviews of “Breakfast in New
York” by Radaslab; the first post and the second post)
I was rereading again “Breakfast in New York” by Radaslab and
I don’t know for certain why it aggravates me so much. Certainly
there is the conflict between generally …
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One more on “Breakfast in New York”
(second round of my comments on “Breakfast in New York” by
Radaslab; the first post)
There is this author’s note:
Eros Syndrome was not named or defined back then, but it was
there. Eros Syndrome was needed to explain certain things.
Namely, how could Hermione have let that happen …
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Working class Snape?
(my post “All Our Kin: Snape and Evanses flight from the urban poverty of early 1980s”)
Discussing the character of Severus Snape in other thread, I was
made to think about the class structure behind the story. We know
that Severus Snape was a son of a jobless worker in …
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Good Petunia Stories
(my Reddit post “LF: Petunia is a witch afterall”)
I know about these:
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How not to use your character as a mouthpiece
(my contribution on the thread “Using your character as a mouth
piece” by Snoo)
If you are interested in the theory of writing, then I have to
suggest to you two very obscure and old books (yes, old books are
quite often better than the new ones): “The Mind of …
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Foundations of The Dark Magic
(my comments on “The Light and the Dark” by Uncommonality)
One of the many issues with the universe of the Harry Potter
books, which has never been fully resolved in the books by Ms
Rowling is the true nature of the Dark Magic. It is really not
explained. Dark Magic …
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On Vampires
(my comment regarding vampires on AO3)
Technical question of the day. Would the Homonum Revelius
spell reveal a hiding vampire? I figure it will reveal
a hiding werewolf but they’re still sort of human. Aren’t
vampires supposed to be “dead” and so would such a spell
reveal them …
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On Faith after Witch-hunts
(my comments on “Doesn't it make sense for wizards to be
Christian? A Historical Perspective” by u/PhantomKeeperQazs)
Of course, all Europeans almost without an exceptions were
Christians well into the 19th century. It was traditionally
unacceptable (or perhaps only unfashionable) not to be Christian
in Europe well into the …
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Werewolf stories
(my entry on “What are you reading? Weekly Post for 2021-01-06”)
After the discussion on other
thread,
I was given reference to three Harmony+werewolves stories (Lupin bites
somebody in the end of the third year). I found them surprisingly good:
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Magicians’ Realism
(thoughts after listening to the episode “Victorian Realism”
of the BBC’s In Our Time, originally developed as a review of
“Strangers at Drakeshaugh” by Northumbrian and also a possible
commentary on “Everything Wrong With HARRY POTTER Fanfictions”
by Purplemist14, which is HIGHLY recommended reading for any
hopeful fanfiction writer …
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Micro review of “Grow Young with Me” by Taliesin19
(my reaction to the published review of “Grow Young with Me”
by Taliesin19)
Except the quality of this review is on par with those on the DVD
box. This is not a review, it is a promotion by a fan. There is
not one weakness found, and although I like …
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Muggles-centred Harry Potter fanfiction stories
(my comments during the thread “Stories where Ginny is actually
nice to Harry’s girlfriend?” by /u/AcerbicOrb)
Let me add here a dump of my “muggles” folder (for later
reference):
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One More Anti-Harmony
(my comments on the thread “why does almost everyone hate the
Harry/Hermione ship?” by patriot_man69420)
I don’t hate the ship, although I generally prefer Hinny,
I could admit that Ginny is extremely poorly written by JKR,
and fanfiction has to add a lot of her personality to make …
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