And lastly, it's time for Reader's Digest.

So, this week's fanfic is a suggestion sent in by Katherine Prewett: All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 on Ao3 (Archive of Our Own). I'm sure many of you have heard of it. All the Young Dudes has the most hits and bookmarks of every single fanfiction on Ao3 and the second most Kudos. It's by far the most popular Harry Potter fanfiction on Ao3. In fact, it's so popular that Slate, a magazine that really has nothing to do with Harry Potter or fanfiction, wrote an article about it (https://slate.com/culture/2021/11/all-the-young-dudes-harry-potter-fanfic-wolfstar-tiktok.html)! So, what's ATYD about?

ATYD is a very long Marauders Era fanfiction detailing the Marauders' lives through the first Wizarding War. It's told from Remus's point of view and is entirely canon compliant, other than that Remus was raised in a children's home. It has an astounding 526,969 words, which is about half of the entire Harry Potter series, so buckle up if you're planning on reading this! 

One of the things that makes ATYD great is how real it feels. It's pretty historically accurate, as far as I'm aware, though do take that with a grain of salt as I wasn't alive during the 70s (when this is set). It also describes different feelings and emotions in a way that feels very real. Also, the dialogue sounds real, which is hard to find in any piece of media, not to mention fanfiction! I was honestly blown away by how genuine the dialogue was. 

Another thing I love about ATYD is the way Peter's character is treated. So often Marauders Era fanfics hit the mark on everything except for Peter, either making him too obviously evil from the get-go or lovable to a point where it's just really out of character. But MsKingBean89 finds the perfect balance between the two, making him a good enough person for it to be believable that the other three would be friends with him, but also giving him a few offhanded comments about Muggles that shows us that, actually, he was pretty privileged and ignorant. 

Another thing I like about this fanfic--and I can't say too much about this without giving spoilers--is the way other werewolves are portrayed in a sympathetic light. That's about as much as I can say as the werewolves are brought up later in the fanfic, but I did really enjoy that aspect of this fanfiction. 

And, oh boy does ATYD make you feel things! I know I wasn't alone in crying my eyes out several times reading this. But it also makes you feel sympathy, joy, fear, love, understanding, anger, and pretty much every other human emotion. Emotions are captured beautifully in this fanfic, and I know there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who would back me up on that. 

I do feel complied to warn you that this fic does include some more mature aspects; such as cussing, smoking, drinking, and sexual references (nothing explicit); as well as some heavier topics like trauma, mental health, and homophobia.

All in all, I really love All the Young Dudes, and I encourage any and every Harry Potter fan to read it. This fanfic is truly a work of art, and MsKingBean89 is a gift to this world.

Well, that concludes the second ever issue of A Gay's Gaze at Hogwarts! I hope you enjoyed. If you want your favorite LGBTQ+ Harry Potter fanfic, LGBTQ+ Harry Potter headcanon, or LGBTQ+ historical quote to be featured in A Gay's Gaze, owl me or post it on A Gay's Gaze's new club, AGGatH Readers! Speaking of which, make sure to check out said club here: https://www.hogwartsishere.com/groups/70203/ for updates and input about A Gay's Gaze. 

And with that, have a fantastic day/night and I'll see you next week!