Hi! I'm a Disneyland Cast Member who loves and reblogs Disney (of course), Studio Ghibli, musical theatre and movie trivia, anime, history, art, politics, and much more! I'm also the author of this way-too-long Harry Potter/Gordon Ramsay fanfic called Harry Potter and the Lack of Lamb Sauce, which if you agree with JKR's trans-exclusionary nonsense, sorry, was not written for you.
I am always up for a discussion or for writing a deep analysis, so feel free to submit questions, my lovelies! My ask box is always open.
+ Female + Redhead + Curly Girl + Liberal + INFP + Melancholic + Capricorn + Kid at Heart +
Summary: Inspired by a post on Tumblr, this is a AU story set during Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, with one big, foul-mouthed difference. Instead of Horace Slughorn, the position of Potions professor will be taken on by...Gordon Ramsay.
Thank you so much for tagging me! And for including this fic of mine on your blog in this poll 💛
However long ago I wrote this fanfic (finished it five years ago now!! Yikes!!), and however much the world and its view of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has changed, I will always have a very soft spot in my heart for this project, not just because of the wonderful, kind, and constructive feedback that I received while working on it and that I still continue to receive for it even now, but because it was such a blazing spark of inspiration for me during a rather dark period that I never could've expected. It helped me cope with a scary time, and I learned so much both about writing and myself while working on it. It really reminded me all the more how much I love writing, and without this fic, I don't know if I would now be so passionately trying to work on original projects that I can hopefully someday publish under my own name.
I read the Lack of Lamb Sauce recently, and I freaking loved your fanfic. My question: was Ramsay a mouthpiece for your own thoughts on Dumbledore, and did he become a fun way to criticize Dumbledore without bashing him in a juvenile way, or are your views on Albus different from those of Ramsay? I enjoyed those parts even though I like Dumbledore, because it was a good way to criticize him without making the OC Dumbledore Improved 2.0. Also, would you ever post any sequels? like next-gen, etc.
Hi there! Well, first things first, I'm really happy you enjoyed Lack of Lamb Sauce! It was such a whirlwind adventure to write, and a very rewarding one at that! 💚
As to whether or not Ramsay was ever a mouthpiece...nope! He never was. Though I know there are many readers who presumed he did speak for me. I've had several pro-Snape fans, in particular, think I hate Snape after reading LOLS, even though I'd say Snape gets just as many hits in on Ramsay as Ramsay does him. *shrugs with a smile* If anything, I wrote Ramsay as speaking for a lot of the Harry Potter fandom, voicing a lot of the common criticisms I've heard against Dumbledore and Snape, to serve as a contrast to the much more favorable view of both characters that Harry (and by extension Jo) has of them.
If one wanted my real opinion, honestly, I see both Snape and Dumbledore as very gray. Yes, Dumbledore was a shady, manipulative chessmaster who prioritized the so-called "greater good" over individual lives and feelings, but he also was a mentor to Harry who saved his life multiple times and inspired a great many people to fight against Voldemort. Yes, Snape was a vindictive, unpleasant man who bullied his students, singling out his best friend's son in particular just because he resembled the guy who bullied Snape at school, but he did also deceive and betray arguably the greatest Dark wizard of all time, all for the sake of the memory of that lost best friend, who was likely the only real friend he'd ever had in his life. And yeah, even if I do strongly think Dumbledore loved Harry as if he was family, and even if I do think Snape truly loved Lily, I also strongly believe both of them didn't fully understand everything love entails...and yes, those two things can co-exist. Plenty of people care about others without knowing how best to express that caring. If Dumbledore knew everything love entails, he would've trusted Harry with the truth. If Snape knew everything love entails, he wouldn't have felt that terrible impulse to rip a family photograph sixteen years after Lily's death just to keep a piece of her. And really, depending on who you are and what you're likely to forgive, I think one can have a variety of reactions to these two. Some people are able to forgive Dumbledore's machinations because he ultimately helped Harry defeat Voldemort and live happily-ever-after -- others aren't. Some people are able to forgive Snape's treatment of Harry, Neville, and the rest because he was a neglected, bullied child who ultimately realized he was on the wrong side and fought for the side of good -- others aren't.
As for sequels, no, I'm afraid not. As much as I loved writing LOLS, I think 99 chapters is enough. 😂 But I remember my mum saying when we read the fic together that if I did ever write a sequel, she'd want it to be about Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco coming to grips with their changed position in the Wizarding World, post-War.
Hello! I finished the Lack of Lamb Sauce recently, and I really, really enjoyed the world you created. And I wanted to ask if maybe I could translate it to Spanish? Only with you permission, of course. Anyway, have a great day! I love your work!
Hi there! I would be so touched if you wanted to translate Lack of Lamb Sauce -- as long as you include a link to the original fic and give credit, then yes, totally, I give my permission, 110%. If nothing else, the thought that you liked it so much that you want to share it with others is so gratifying!! 😊
I had been thinking about how you made Ron into a chef. Would you allow other people to give that trait to Ron in their own stories if they asked you first?
I wouldn't claim ownership of that idea anyway, as I'm quite sure I'm not the first one who's written it in the long history of Harry Potter fandom, nor do I dream of being the last -- so I wouldn't even expect credit for it. 😅 Chef!Ron is public domain as far as I'm concerned -- if anyone wants to use that idea, they should just do it! 💗
Re-reading Lack Of Lamb Sauce just now, just wanted to ask - what Hogwarts Houses were Jengu and Enrouge in? If you have any headcanons for that :D
It's a wonderful story!
I saw both as misguided Ravenclaws -- idealistic to a fault and seeing the world as they think it should be according to their own personal "logic," rather than how it truly is. I actually actively decided to develop original villains in Lack of Lamb Sauce for the other houses besides Slytherin, just to show how evil can come from more than just ambition: Enrouge and Jengu for Ravenclaw, Uric Cuffe for Gryffindor, and Etienne Montmercy for Hufflepuff. 💙
One of the things that stood out to me the most about your Fic Harry Potter and the Lack of Lamb Sauce was when during Zabini’s rant on the train was when he said “we’re more scared then ever”. Could you expand on that? Was he afraid of muggle-borns in a similar way to Lucius Malfoy?
The way I saw it when I wrote Blaise’s thought process is how much more there is to be afraid of than before.
In the beginning, the Purebloods were afraid of Muggle-borns, yes, but only in the sense of being prejudiced against them -- not liking that they were “replacing” them. Their lives were still relatively stable, financially speaking, and the world was still relatively calm even during the War, at least for those Purebloods like the Zabinis. However much they liked to play the victim, they weren’t actively targeted and killed by Death Eaters like Muggle-borns were or persecuted and made the subjects of surveillance by their government like the Guilders were. (Rather like evangelical Christians in America love to act like they’re being forced to sacrifice their religious convictions when people expect them to respect LGBT+ people, when of course LGBT+ people are the ones still getting fired and targeted for hate crimes based on their identities, not American Christians.)
As much as Purebloods subliminally dreaded the thought of obsolescence and losing political power, it’s not the same thing as being actively terrorized -- and once the Death Eaters took over the Ministry and Muggle-borns and political dissidents got arrested, imprisoned, and killed by the Ministry itself, it soon became clear that anyone who did take a step out of line could be next, just like Julien warned earlier in the story. The “Mudbloods” and “Muggle-lovers” were rounded up just like the Zabinis and others wanted -- but instead of making them feel safer, they’re more paranoid than ever. Prejudice of all degrees isn’t about fearing and hating another group for logical reasons -- it’s about fear in itself, and scapegoating a group so as to give some sort of twisted order to a chaotic world we can’t control. White supremacists claim that they can’t get ahead because “the Jews” control the banks and that the media won’t report what they “know” is true because it’s controlled by “the Jews” too. It’s a simple, if not completely ridiculous and ignorant reason to explain their personal unhappiness, which makes it so they don’t have to consider that there are more complicated or multiple answers to life’s big questions, or even that there might not be any good answer at all. And worse -- if the government can round people up without a proper trial and kill with no checks or balances...well, once they have that kind of terrible power, what might stop them from using it on anyone? It’s like the plant Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors -- in the beginning, it’s beholden to you and offers to help you with your problems...but once it gets to a big enough size and becomes monstrous enough, it will inevitably turn on you as well.
Once his child was out of sight, Etienne’s smile slid off his face so cleanly it was as if he’d wiped it off with a handkerchief. The lack of warmth completely transformed his face – it suddenly appeared so unapproachable and cold that even the light in his eyes seemed as hard as stone.
He raised his arm, lifting up the right sleeve to reveal the pitch black Dark Mark emblazoned on the pale skin. Then, withdrawing his wand from the inside of his robes, he traced the Mark with the tip.
“Thorfinn,” he murmured softly to the Dark Mark, as it glowed a sickly yellowish green, “kindly follow my darling Lydia, will you? Make sure she goes straight home…and alert me if she doesn’t.”
8. What’s the biggest “challenge” for you as a writer?
Action scenes always need more of my time, just to get the pacing juuuuust right. I end up reading and rereading those scenes the most, and I usually need some good music in my ears when I’m writing it.
Should I be flattered that my way-too-long Harry Potter fanfiction has gotten enough attention that I now have people reading 83 whole chapters just to leave a comment about how happy they are that one of my POC OC’s is dead and how much they hope that my transgender OC dies too?
Gotta say, that takes a unique kind of dedication -- one that speaks to an astounding void. I’m almost impressed, considering I didn’t know one could even exist in this mortal plane without a life.
my dad–also a writer–came to visit, and i mentioned that the best thing to come out of the layoff is that i’m writing again. he asked what i was writing about, and i said what i always do: “oh, just fanfic,” which is code for “let’s not look at this too deeply because i’m basically just making action figures kiss in text form” and “this awkward follow-up question is exactly why i don’t call myself a writer in public.”
he said, “you have to stop doing that.”
“i know, i know,” because it’s even more embarrassing to be embarrassed about writing fanfic, considering how many posts i’ve reblogged in its defense.
but i misunderstood his original question: “fanfic is just the genre. i asked what you’re writing about.”
i did the conversational equivalent of a spinning wheel cursor for at least a minute. i started peeling back the setting and the characters, the fic challenge and the specific episode the story jumps off from, and it was one of those slow-dawning light bulb moments. “i’m writing about loneliness, and who we are in the absence of purpose.”
as, i imagine, are a lot of people right now, who probably also don’t realize they’re writing an existential diary in the guise of getting television characters to fuck.
“that’s what you’re writing. the rest is just how you get there, and how you get it out into the world. was richard iii really about richard the third? would shakespeare have gotten as many people to see it if it wasn’t a story they knew?”
…
How you live with a problem that has no solution.
And how you rebuild after everything around you has been destroyed.
flintsredhair
Well. That’s… that’s something I needed to hear.
I think what I’m really trying to write about is how you take something awful you endured and use it as motivation not to let anyone else have to go through what you and your family went through.
salt-of-the-ao3
My first fanfic was about dealing with loss of perspective and a crumbling sense of self, depression, and how to accept when life takes you in another direction than what you thought it’d be and finding happiness in unsuspected places. Fun thing is, I realized it was about these things only after i’d finished it. It took me a year writing my existential diary as a “what happens to this anime protag after the show ends” to realize what I did and how it had helped me.
My most recent complete (and easily longest) fanfiction was about rediscovering joy and hope in the midst of a fascist takeover of our government by connecting with others.
As someone who read your entire Lack of Lamb Sauce theory, you were one of the first people I thought of when JKR's hurtful transphobic comments came out. How do you think characters like Bridget, Julien, and Noel would feel about her opinions?
For those of you who don’t know what theory Anon means...a few years ago, while I was first writing Harry Potter and theLack of Lamb Sauce, I’d replied to a comment by a reader saying that I’d written the Potterverse with the thought that J.K. wanted people to be included, even if she didn’t write it in. Her social media posts at the time had certainly suggested that, from how she’d said there was no homophobia in the Wizarding World and gay students would be welcome at Hogwarts to her coming out in support of black!Hermione. I’d simply ascribed the lack of written representation to J.K. simply not knowing how to write good representation for groups she wasn’t a part of, even if she didn’t actively want them excluded -- and so I decided to write in that inclusivity as much as I could, rather than directly reflect the lack of representation from the original text in my work. If nothing else, for someone who identifies as ace, comes from a biracial family, and has found so much camaraderie in the LGBT+ community, I wanted to write a story set in a world where people like me and like people I know could live happily ever after, just like Harry, Ron, and Hermione do. I wanted to write a story for people like me who found solace in the world J.K. had created, even if we were not properly represented in it.
Needless to say, when the whole kerfuffle surrounding Jo’s support of Maya Forstater hit the presses last year, I wasn’t happy. I’ve never really felt betrayed exactly, not just because I have encountered way, way too many people from J.K.’s generation that are just woefully ignorant about gender identity and sexuality and for some reason see no reason to educate themselves -- but also because, let’s be honest, we learned from J.K.’s own books, through characters like Sirius, Remus, James, and Dumbledore, not to put people up on pedestals.
J.K. is a human being and nothing more. Her books gave solace to many, many people, children and adults, including members of the LGBT+ community...and her public statements have also caused a lot of actual harm, as well. I certainly don’t feel the need to support her at present, at the very least until she takes the time to self-reflect and maybe reconsider her own fallibility -- but I’m really more disappointed than angry with her. I’m disappointed because I know she’s smart; I know she has this image of herself as someone who values acceptance and equality, and I know she champions the thought that people should live their lives however they see fit. The problem is that she refuses to acknowledge the inbred prejudices she has been raised with and has not yet had challenged by the experiences of others. She sees the pain of groups she’s a part of and seems to think that pain must be awarded more importance than that of other groups and, worse, seems to think that those other groups also wanting civil rights will rob the groups she’s a part of of their rights.
I have known several people who have difficulty separating the way they see the world from the way things actually are, and for people like that, it can be very difficult to see your own opinion as anything other than “the truth” and anyone else’s view as anything other than “wrong.” Perhaps that’s the issue here -- I don’t know. I’m not in Jo’s head. But in Jo’s own words, it’s much easier to forgive someone for being wrong than for being right.
As for my LGBT+ HP OCs like Bridget, Julien, Noel, and such...yeah, I’m sure they’d be hurt, at least a little. For Julien in particular (being a “person who menstruates”), I had to doodle something just to express his displeasure on the matter. I guess one small mercy is that those characters weren’t created by Jo -- she only created the world they live in, though of course I added my own flourishes onto that too.
Hi guys! So I had been chatting with my friend @jcmorrigan, who expressed interest in some additional content for my Harry Potter OC, Julien Montmercy...so I decided to draw some of my LGBT+ kids from my fanfiction Harry Potter and the Lack of Lamb Sauce for Pride Month! (Don’t be misled by the silly title -- the fic may start with Gordon Ramsay being the Potions professor instead of Horace Slughorn in sixth year, but it is not as cracky as the premise sounds, not by a mile. XD)
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