We’re in the last ten chapters of the story now, so I thought it might be finally time to give my take on the age-old discourse over whether this fic is trolling or genuine. Here goes.
I think it’s both. “Tara Gilesbie” is probably a pen name, the beta reader “Raven” is likely the same author using a different account (hence why she barely seems to exist outside the context of this fic), and boyfriend “Justin” was likely fabricated entirely (hence why he’s almost never mentioned). The author’s real identity has never been uncovered, which leads me to believe the accounts used related to this fic (Tara’s and Raven’s) are sockpuppets and that Raven and Justin were invented to give credibility to the Tara account. However, I think this was probably done not because the author had an Epic Trolling Plot in mind but to afford them some privacy when posting on the internet. Raven’s account had also been used to post fanfiction previously, including one that was similar to this minus the insane shit (as I mentioned before), which could indicate the author behind all of this had some sort of reason to want to write Harry Potter mall goth AU fic. So what’s that reason?
One thing I want to be clear about is that Fanfiction dot net in the mid-00s was already full to the brim with this kind of stuff. Emo teens writing self-insert characters into their favorite franchises probably accounted for a solid third of the site. I’ve made jokes about doubting Tara’s goff cred but I think it’s clear that she, or the person posing as her, has a genuine familiarity with and affection for the music and movies she references. My guess is that the author is or was a teenage mall goth and has read a lot of fanfiction involving gothic self-insert characters. One could assume from that that “My Immortal” was written completely genuinely at its start, but I lean towards thinking it may have been intended as a sort of parody already. There’s basically nothing going on in the fic initially besides the flirting and emo concerts — no plot to speak of. We’re only just now getting an actual plotline. However, I think to most readers on the site in 2006, the first few chapters of this fic would be hard to parse as satire given how many genuine fics were like this. And so “Tara” snapped, got rid of “Raven” as the beta reader, and used that excuse to turn it up to eleven. Now, people may not have been sure whether or not the fic was serious or trolling, but with things getting crazier every update, did it matter? The story exploded in popularity, encouraging the author to continue to escalate… and now here we are.
Of course, I have no proof for any of that. It’s just a guess at what might have happened here, and my way of reconciling the at times weirdly earnest tone of this story with all the insane shit happening in it constantly.
Recap: Not much happened last time around; Trevorly asked Ebony to find her a cure for her “Voldemortserum” addiction next time she time travels, we learned that Snape and Lupin are being held captive and tortured by Sirius, and then Ebony and Draco had sex.
AN: SHOT DA FOK UP PREPZ!1111 hav u even red de story!11 u r proly al just prepz nd posrs so FUK U!111
Tara does have a point here — the prepz are probably all just prepz. Most likely.
fangz 2 raven 4 da help!1
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I wook up in da coffin de next day. Draco waz gone. I got up and put on a blak tight sexah drsss that was all ripped at da end. There wuz red korset stuff going up da fornt and da bak and it came up 2 my knees. There wuz a slit in da dress lik in mr & mr simth. I pot on ripped blak fishnets and blak stilton bo-ots.
Outfit description is choice as always. That dress actually sounds pretty cool.
Suddenly…………………. Sorious cocked on da door. I hopened it.
Great typos. Many jokes I could make here but I simply won’t.
“Hi Ibony.” he said. “Gezz wut u have 2 cum 2 Profesor Sinistor’s office.”
“Ok.” I said in a deprezzd voice. I had wanted to fuk Draco or maybe lessen to MCR or Evonezcence. I came anyway.
“So what the fuck happened 2 Snipe and Loopin?” I asked Sorious flirtily.
I… flirtily? Has she got a bit of a crush on Sirius? It’s not that I don’t buy this — Sirius is supposed to be a handsome fellow in canon, plus here he’s goth for bonus points — but, at the same time, this is Vampire’s godfather, so it feels weird.
“I fucking tortured them.” he answered in a statistic way. “They r in Abkhazian now, lol.”
Typo here suggests they might have been sent not to wizard prison but to an autonomous territory in northwestern Georgia.
I laughed evilly.
“Where r Draco and Vampira?” I muttered.
“Dey are xcused form skool 2day.” Sodomize moaned sexily.
Ignoring the typo — hi, what the fuck is going on here? Why is he moaning?
Also, I take it the boys got the day off because Snape threatened to rape one of them in an attempt to force Ebony to murder the other, which seems reasonable on the part of the administration. Does Ebony also get the day off? Seems unfair if she doesn’t.
“Rite now they are watching Da Nigtmare b4 Xmas.”
Oh fuck yeah, boys night!
We went into da office. Proffesor Sinister was there. She was wearing a goffik blak dress that was all ripped all over it kinda lik da one Amy Lee wears in this pic
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Alas, another link removed by Fanfiction.net, preventing us all from seeing the exact picture of Amy Lee in a ripped goffik blak dress that Tara had in mind.
She wuz drinking some Volximortserum.
She took out da Pensiv and the time-torner.
“Enoby, you will have to do anozzer session now. Also I need u to get me da cure 4 being adikited.” she said sadly. “Good luck. Fangz!”
I might have spoken prematurely when I said I thought Trevolry’s arc about being addicted to “Voldemortserum” was over, but, then again, I don’t recall Ebony ever getting her that cure.
And then……….I jumped into the Prinsive again. Suddenly I looked around……………I was in da Grate Hall eating Count Chorcula. It was mourning.
What was, the cereal?
I was sitting next to Satan. On a table was a tall gottik man wif long blak hair, pail skin and blue eyes wering a suit and blak Cronvrese shoes. He looked just like Charlyn Manson. I noticed……he was drinking a portent.
“Whose he!11” I asked.
“Oh, datz Profesor Slutborn.” Satan said.
Professor Slutborn. Professor fucking Slutborn, baby! What a story.
Anyway, I might as well do the usual thing and fill in everyone lucky enough to be unfamiliar with Harry Potter. Professor Slughorn, who taught Potions before Snape got the job, is one of the few Slytherin characters who isn’t outright evil; however, despite that and his jolly disposition, he’s still pretty sinister. Slughorn’s main pattern of behavior is surrounding himself with as many famous, rich, and talented people as he can win favor with. He’s slimy. Like a slug. Get it. Boy I love when characters have Clever Meaningful Names. Regardless, none of that matters here. He’s a goth twink now. Let’s accept this and move on.
“He’s da Portents teacher…………..Ebony?”
“Yah?” I asked.
“Did u know dat Marylin Mason is playing in Hogsemade tonight? And they r showing The Exercise at da movies b4 dat.”
“Yah?”
“Well…...want 2 go 2 da contort and da movie wif me?”
This is literally just the same date setup that was used to kickstart Ebony and Draco’s relationship at the beginning of the fic. So at least I feel confident it will work.