Update February 2017: once again, I've left this to sit far longer than I ought to have. I wish I could say when I'll have more stories to upload, I've been struggling with writer's block for far too long (and at the moment I am too transfixed by the horror that is American politics, to be frank).

About Me (if for some reason you care):

I am 27 years old, male, and live in the eastern United States. I have a Master's degree in electrical engineering, which I've made depressingly little use of. I am an atheist of Jewish descent, a firm proponent of rational scepticism, and a general cynic for good measure; I oppose supernaturalistic belief in all its forms (I should also add that, lest this lead you to believe I have any sympathies for the reactionary elements of those communities, I do not, and moreover I am proud to wear the SJW label). Nevertheless, I am a great lover of fiction as long as you don't ask me to believe it.

People have been calling me a crotchety old man since around the age of eight. I've since come round to viewing that as a point of pride.

I created this account primarily for the convenience of using the "favourite stories" feature to collect links, and to write the occasional review. It was not my intention to write stories myself, and I will probably not upload much more than the occasional brief one-shot, if that (I am honestly not much of a writer when it comes to fiction, and am more than willing to admit that).

My current tastes in fanfiction (yes, I'm a bit eclectic):

Harry Potter:

I am actually not a huge fan of the Harry Potter series itself. I enjoyed the books when I was younger and read them less critically, and they have their points; however, by and large the plot has more holes than a hunk of Swiss cheese, almost all of the characters are unpleasant people with no moral compasses (if you don't take the narrative at its word and consider their actions), and they are laced with Christian subtext.

I mainly read Snape/Granger although I can occasionally be persuaded to look at other fics (I find it difficult to stomach other pairings for those two, but can occasionally manage it if the story is good enough otherwise). I also enjoy stories featuring the Dursleys (although there are few good ones), and the Malfoys (although I'm rather picky about these; it's very easy to write the Malfoys in ways I don't like, for instance by making them either too good or too evil, among other things).

I used to be a fan of Snape/Evans, although I no longer find those stories realistic and have almost completely stopped reading them (I can't imagine her being interested in him, and frankly I think he can do better; also, I think his feelings for her are a textbook case of limerence and it wouldn't be a healthy relationship). Even the well-written fics about this couple I find tend to have (narratively unacknowledged) creepy and unhealthy elements.

Oh, and there's "Methods of Rationality", if you are somehow unaware of it. (Now that it's been finished, I would like to add: I do have misgivings about some of the storytelling and messages later on, as well as the author's work in general, and am not nearly as enthusiastic as I was years ago, but all else aside it is still a brilliant piece of writing and well worth reading.)

Video Games:

I enjoy the occasional video game fic, although it's extremely frustrating trying to separate the wheat from the chaff; there are so few of any measurable quality. It's difficult to pin down exactly what I look for in these, so the best I can do is to invoke Potter Stewart: "I know it when I see it".

Jane Austen:

Mostly Pride and Prejudice. I haven't found much worthy of favouriting on here, but there are some decent ones elsewhere on the internet.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica:

I am embarrassingly obsessed with this fandom, I have to say. And "To the Stars" is brilliant.

Although I must admit that I utterly hated "The Rebellion Story", found its themes and characterisation utterly at odds with everything that came before it, and do my best to pretend it doesn't exist.

Magic, the Gathering:

I've played Magic since 2001 and have loved the game for a long time. That said, my interest in the storytelling thereof has waxed and waned over the years, the quality has varied pretty wildly. In recent years, though, they've been doing a lot of good work, both in terms of story/worldbuilding and inclusivity (not to mention, increasing accessibility by telling most of it in publicly available serial format rather than novels that are difficult to track down) and it's been really fantastic to see. Even if you're not familiar with the game or its story, I now feel entirely comfortable recommending taking a look if serial fantasy fiction interests you.

I wish it had a larger fanfic community, actually, because there have always been myriad compelling characters in its mythos and the official stories don't have the space to do all of them justice. I want to read more about these people! Whether I myself will write further stories remains to be seen.

What I write here:

Most of what I write tends to be Harry Potter fiction, which takes the form of "spitefics" or "antifanfiction" - explicating things that irritate me in the source material. I may branch into other types of stories eventually as inspiration strikes, but that's where things stand at the moment.

"Political Expediency" is a work in progress (though the first chapter was written to stand alone), but it is not my top priority at the moment and I will make no guarantees as to when the next chapter will be posted. It has not, however, been forgotten and I will finish it someday. (Still true despite everything, though this has been stalled out for a few years now. I haven't quite given up yet.)

Alea Thoron (http://www.fanfiction.ws/u/1207743/) has asked and been granted permission to translate several of my stories into German. Many thanks to her for doing this. You can find those at the following links:

"A Logic Puzzle": http://www.fanfiction.ws/s/9647079/1/A-Logic-Puzzle
"Et Tu, Brute": http://www.fanfiction.ws/s/9653035/1/Et-Tu-Brute
"Overdose": http://www.fanfiction.ws/s/9659428/1/Overdose

r.triss (http://www.fanfiction.ws/u/3250385/ ) has asked and been granted permission to translate "Tabloid Journalism" into Czech. You can find that here: http://www.fanfiction.ws/s/9803909/1/Bulvárn-žurnalistika

For the record, my partner Loten is a better writer than I am, and you should check her stuff out if you have any interest in things Harry Potter (and have somehow found my writing without already being familiar with hers).

Other "published" works by me:

I have written two guides for Diablo II which are hosted at GameFAQs (under the same alias, although I believe I am not the only person on the internet to use it). Sadly, they are of dissertation length.

My partner Loten and I blog at "Point Stick, Vent Spleen" which you can find on Wordpress (no links because FFN doesn't like them). If you have any interest in general cantankerous nerdery and Harry Potter analysis/deconstruction, please do drop by and have a look.

I am also a published poet, as of March 2016.

Contact:

Please feel free to contact me by PM if for some reason you have something to say to me. I welcome story recommendations, and enjoy discussion and/or debate as long as you are grammatical and have something interesting to say.

If you leave a review on one of my stories, I will do my best to reply (especially if you say something that looks like the beginning of an interesting discussion). I do not, however, make any guarantees as to the punctuality of those replies, and I reserve the right not to do so at all if I so choose: fanfiction is for entertainment purposes, and I'd prefer it didn't come with homework deadlines.