#blamebrampton

[hephaestiions]

day 2 for @hprecfest — a fic rated G

on the turning away by @blamebrampton (blamebrampton) (G, 25.7k, 2014)

It's one thing to be good at not making a besotted fool of yourself over a man when he's busy being the most famous wizard in the world and you're tucked away quietly in Wiltshire. It's quite another when you have to see him every morning.

blamebrampton's oeuvre features some excellent G-rated fic (see also: welcoming voice & marginal notes) but i chose turning away for this prompt because it has the slow-pulled, cosy-stretched wintery vibe perfect for december.

a prank goes wrong, and draco, now a potioneer in salisbury, must report daily to deputy head-auror harry potter for a few weeks to satisfy expectations that he is no longer given to tendencies putting wizarding peace in jeopardy. features harry, who hasn't grown out of his own tendencies to risk personal safety for the greater good, draco, who for lack of better phrasing, did a great deal of growing up, much tea drinking & a big-hearted young auror who is a gloriously enjoyable oc.

i loved this take on draco— older, quieter but still sharp and distinct. the dynamic between harry and draco builds slowly until the crescendo is upon you, entirely believable with a satisfying thrum of surprise. at 25k, i hesitate to class it a slow-burn— it's more of an even simmer, glow of a hearth, gently rising dough.

h/d fic & fandom sees an immensely corrugated post-war terrain & most writers bring their own spin on the quality of post-canon atmosphere. in brampton's works, turning away especially, these contours are rendered with care and comfort: politically imperfect without being bleak, suffused with fresh blood and a striving towards better living without being utopian. redemption & reckoning are fostered through painstaking, mundane efforts; the shape of hope emerges as the slow build of dawn into day. it makes for work that's strikingly mature yet warm and comforting, slow breeze in the afternoon.

i read this for the first time about when it posted, a decade ago now, and returning to it was a delightful trip. a brilliant feel-good bedtime/holidays read, check it out & show some love!

[drarry-reccage]

Little Red Courgette by blamebrampton (31k, T)

Tags: politics, bureaucracy, comedy, office romance

'Technically we've been on the same side for the last decade, though I will grant you that my contribution has consisted of bureaucratic excellence, which may have escaped your notice.' 'Not at all, I have a private collection of your finest memos.'

This fic was so funny, I was giggling from start to finish. I loved Harry's dry sense of humour and the combination of genuineness and crack at the end, and in between all that it was very sweet and clever and exactly what I needed to feel lighter in a time of need.

rec by @dontthrowsticksatme

[lostdrarryfics]

hello, i'm looking for a fic that i really thought i bookmarked, so it's possible the author deleted and i'll just have to suffer, but i thought i'd try anyway:

it's post-war, harry works for the ministry, and so does percy weasley. percy is spearheading an overzealous roundup of basically anyone who was in slytherin and might have known death eaters, and ignoring due process. the fic starts with aurors coming to question pansy and draco trying to help her escape, but they are intercepted by harry, who tells them that along with hermione and neville and some others, they are attempting to fix the problem with percy, and they'll hide pansy (they hide her with hermione's family). then kingsley announces he's going to resign and they get the idea to introduce democracy to the wizarding world, and harry campaigns for minister just to be a counter to percy until they find someone better. the fic follows the campaign mostly and ends with a capture of actual death eaters, with draco's help. i don't remember it being very graphic, just funny and sweet. (as you can see, i remember Almost everything... but the name)

anyway it would make my day to find it again. thank you!

We believe you are looking for A Young Radical's Guide to Love by blamebrampton (66k, T)

Don’t forget to bookmark, leave kudos and comments!

[elizabethminkel]

😍 thank you so much, @blamebrampton. This is such a lovely (and flattering!!) response. And it also made me think about a few things.

In the first draft of this piece, I had a paragraph about the range of genAI tools out there—because peoples' bright lines vary on this stuff. Is text generation via ChatGPT really the same as Grammarly, or an AI translation tool? We wound up cutting that part to tighten the focus, but I personally was torn on this point. Anyone can write fic, no matter their skill level, but if you want to publish in a language you don't speak? It's not like fandom is crawling with fan translators. As anyone who's had a fic translated by a fellow fan knows, it's partly such an honor because it's so rare.

But your section about unexpectedly beautiful images via self-translation is extremely well-taken—and it makes me think of the times I've used some kind of software with grammar checking when I worked at The New Yorker. Towards the end of my decade there, I was mostly digitizing old pieces: basically, when you pull text from OCR (scanned pages), a lot of errors get introduced. Dashes vanish. Letters get rendered in weird incorrect ways. So you need to clean them up, have a proofreader compare to the original, etc, which would involve popping text into various word processors.

And I would totally lose it whenever the stuff I was digitizing, literally some of the best writing of the 20th century in English, was flagged with grammar suggestions. We were changing nothing; the point was to match how it ran in print. But seeing the way these tools utterly flattened prose—the writing of people who are described as "great stylists," edited by legendarily fussy editors—into something deeply boring legit bummed me out. Like, I can look at grammar suggestions on my own writing and sort between "good call, I did make a mistake" vs "why are you trying to boil this down to the lowest common denominator??" But I have an English degree and nearly two decades of working as a journalist and editor. If I was younger? New to English? Not a professional writer, and/or not confident in my own skills? I'm sure I'd hit accept no matter what.

All this is heightened with fandom stuff—it's supposed to be you, expressing something fannish, not a piece of software. I hope that people can see all the posts about this stuff swirling around fandom right now and know: we want to read you, not the machine.

For the wonderful folks at @ellipsus-writes, I wrote a guest blog post about fanfiction and generative AI!

"Where the Wild Stories Are"

If you outsource the act of being a fan to AI, what does that leave you? Fan creators are powerful because they’re deeply participatory media consumers—they don’t passively absorb a work, but grab onto it and reshape it to their will. Large tech and entertainment corporations prefer the passive: they want us sitting there, clicking a button, as stories wash over us like the automatic scroll of a video app. Next, next, next.

On the AI forces swirling around fanfiction—but especially people using AI to generate fic. (Why?! The writing is the fun part!!)

(Also if you're unfamiliar with @ellipsus-writes, definitely check them out, especially if you're looking to get off gdocs as Google bludgeons the product to death with useless AI features. This post was editorially independent—not sponsored content—though we were very happy to do a sponsored segment for them on @fansplaining a while back. Their values strongly align with much of transformative fandom—and they even have an export-to-AO3 button!)

[bridenore]

Drarry fic recs - from A to Z

Every week, when I do these lists, I sort everything in alphabetical order. Somehow, I kind of hope I'll end up using every letter of the alphabet, but I never do. So this week I decided to do something a little different.

At Your Service by @faith2wood [95k]

Hogwarts students are in danger; Harry is determined to save them all. There’s only one thing he knows for certain: Draco Malfoy is somehow involved.

By the Grace by @letteredlettered [139k]

Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.

Collect Your Courage by mervab [44k]

Potter needs control; Draco needs forgiveness. They shag; Lavender gives advice; they yell; Seamus makes muffins; they fight; and everyone else drinks far too much coffee for their own wellbeing.

Doing the Lambeth Walk by @blamebrampton [26k]

There are only three traditional choices for the cashed-up hero after victory. Harry Potter is too young to settle down and provide the wizarding world with a happy ending, and has too acute a sense of humour to spiral downwards into a spectacular flame-out. That leaves a life of good works. Choosing to lead it in Muggle Brixton comes with its own set of challenges, including Malfoys in the biscuit aisle.

Every You, Every Me by daftfear [49k]

I thought I had already hit the lowest point in my life, but as the universe seems intent on proving, I was wrong. The only thing that could possibly make this worse is Potter. And more Muggles.

Freedom to be by @quicksilvermaid [169k]

Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived. 12 years after the war, he’s become the Boy Who Lived For Everyone Else. He has the perfect wife. The perfect house. The perfect job. The perfect friends. Only nothing feels perfect. Until one day he stumbles across a club called Release and begins a journey of self-discovery that takes him to a very different place.

Grounds for Divorce by Tepre [122k]

Malfoy finds a coin. Harry finds a letter. A story about histories, a story about families. A story about a lemon tree somewhere in Upper Egypt.

Here’s The Pencil, Make It Work by ignatiustrout [49k]

Harry thinks “Why is Malfoy working in a coffee shop in muggle London?” is a much simpler question than, “Are you going to accept that auror offer and, if you don’t, what will you do?”

It’s No Great Mystery by @agentmoppet​ [57k]

Who on earth decided that bringing back the Yule Ball for their eighth year would be a good idea? It feels like the worst day of Harry’s life, watching everyone get glammed up like the war never happened, like the last Triwizard Tournament wasn’t such a colossal failure. And then it happens again. And again. And again.

Jolene by @romaine2424 [21k]

Harry comes back from a mandatory holiday and finds that an Auror raid on his favourite establishment could expose his biggest secret.   However, another has even more secrets than he does at stake. Jolene Deux by @romaine2424 [5k] Draco makes special plans after being told by his Healer that he’s fully recovered from being pregnant and having given birth to his and Harry’s daughter, Violet.  I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into Harry’s and Draco’s future life together.  The story begins immediately after where Jolene ended.

Kiss A Boy In London Town (And Other Intimate Misadventures of A Society Whore) by @femmequixotic [36k]

There’s only one cardinal sin for a whore.

LA, Who Am I To Love You? by @epitomereally [42k]

Harry’s summer in LA is not going as expected. Pansy Parkinson keeps inviting him to parties in the Hollywood Hills and harassing him to finally go to the physical therapist, Blaise Zabini keeps slipping new strains of his company’s magical weed into Harry’s pockets in hopes of an endorsement, and Draco Malfoy keeps having sex with everyone but Harry.

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic [61k]

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is. And it really doesn’t seem fair that Draco Malfoy is back in Harry’s life, all of a sudden, and even though he’s wandless, and living with Muggles, and making his mother cry with his lifestyle choices, he’s happy. So what’s he doing right, that Harry isn’t? Because things don’t really change, do they? And if Harry can’t be happy, he’ll settle for a good night’s sleep, some posh antiques, and the opportunity to find out what Malfoy has been up to for all these years. And that’s what starts it all.

Never Mind the Bollocks  by @the-sinking-ship [118k]

If someone told Harry six months ago that by autumn he would be single, living on whisky and toast, and dancing the night away with Draco Malfoy, he would have told them to get their head checked. And yet, here he was.

Owl Was Well by @fencer-x [66k]

Draco Malfoy is not an owl, really he isn’t. He simply assumes the shape of one on occasion when he wants to find a bit of privacy—a goal entirely thwarted because Harry Potter doesn’t understand you can’t just grab any old bird from the Owlery and force it to send your missives and deliver your packages.

The Promise of Summer by Omi_Ohmy [66k]

How was Harry supposed to know that coming back for eighth year would be so confusing? Everything is the same, and yet not the same. And nowhere is this more obvious than with Draco Malfoy. Harry finds himself once more watching and following Malfoy, trying to work him out. When they are drawn together to heal the castle, Harry doesn’t just find Malfoy - he also finds himself.

Quietus by @novembersnowflakes [17k]

To save himself and his family, Draco must disappear in plain sight—of Harry Potter, that is.

Right Hand Red by @lqtraintracks [73k] 

Harry felt Malfoy’s breath on his lips as they came together over the bottle, hands firmly planted on the floor as though they each needed their familiar soil, refusing to cross into enemy territory. Except that Malfoy no longer felt like his enemy. Malfoy felt inevitable.

Salt on the Western Wind by Saras_Girl [60k]

When the war isn’t quite as over as it first appears, a guilt-ridden Harry is sent to a mysterious safe-house. Among sandwiches, insomnia, and Mills & Boon, he discovers something quite unexpected.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop [70k]

It’s Potter’s fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It’s been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco’s getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he’s falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?

The Unknown Door by @amywaterwings [60k]

There is something wrong with the Bellcrest. The heart of the place beats rotten. Everyone says so. Where Draco is a magical property manager, Harry is a recluse, and they’re definitely not hiding from their problems in the run-down flats of the Bellcrest. Not at all. Not one bit. It goes as well as one might expect.

Verba Volant by shushu_yaoi_lj / @orange-peony​ [34k]

The first letter arrives after the Trials. Harry unfolds the parchment and his eyes open wide when he realises who it’s from. He soon finds himself waiting for those letters to arrive, staring at the window in search of Malfoy’s owl. He wants to know more.

When It Alteration Finds by  momatu [55k]

After the war, Harry left most of the Wizarding world behind and built a new life for himself in the Channel Islands. He opened a bakery and is happy with his life. Draco is a fiction author who writes under a penname, and he’s currently suffering from writer’s block. His agent suggests he try writing in a new environment and rents a cottage in the Channel Islands for him.  

@xanthippe74 wrote Follow the Water [38k]

Harry Potter’s life is fine. Maybe a little dull and predictable, but he shouldn’t complain about that, right? When he unexpectedly finds himself at Luna’s house one afternoon, Harry gets invited to join the secret wonderland that she’s creating with a surprising group of friends. Maybe a summer outdoors is just what a former hero needs to bring some zest back into his life.

You open always (petal by petal) by birdsofshore [65k]

Harry’s not the kind of person who pays for sex. He really isn’t. Until he is.

@lol-zeitgeistic wrote Azoth [88k]

Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did

[sitp-recs]

top 10 funniest drarry fics that aren't crackfics?

Oh I don’t usually go for crackfic so this is the perfect ask, thank you 😊 I LOVE all these:

Bite Me, Hate Memes by pir8fancier

Knot Your Average Coworkers by thecouchsofa

Little Red Courgette by blamebrampton

More Than That by joosetta

Rookie Moves by peu_a_peu

Slithering by astolat

Stand Back: I'm About to Perform Archaeology by Blowfish_Diaries

The Loathly Worm by Selden

The Pure and Simple Truth by lettered

What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym

Bonus: love the subtle humor of Heartlines by iota

[lemonlimelea]

Whilst taking part in the HP recfest this past December, it struck me that G rated fics are not a go-to for a lot of readers. As a lover of G rated drarry myself, I wanted to showcase some of my favourites and encourage others to read them, so I’ve put together a little list. This list is by no means exhaustive, so please feel free to reblog and add on your own recs if you’d like!

Happy reading! 📖✨🌿

THE FICS

🌱 On the Turning Away by @blamebrampton (25k)

It's one thing to be good at not making a besotted fool of yourself over a man when he's busy being the most famous wizard in the world and you're tucked away quietly in Wiltshire. It's quite another when you have to see him every morning.

🌱 Blue Sky Is Living Here Today by ignatiustrout (5k)

Draco's a father, Harry's in love with him, and it's really hard to take things slow.

🌱 haunt yourself and refuse to be buried by Ingi (3k)

Harry Potter is eighteen years old and he is not okay.

🌱 Two Wizards, One Bed by dustmouth (comic)

Harry and Draco are trapped together in a safe house. Fiery discourse ensues (intercourse, more like...)

🌱 All the Important Words Unspoken by blamebrampton (73k)

Narcissa Malfoy and Amarantha Greengrass just want what’s best for their children. But since it’s 1899, their children are 32 and 27 respectively, and sundry magical and Muggle crises are erupting across Europe, the chances of their plans progressing smoothly are close to zero.

🌱 Home County by orphan_account (10k)

Harry is an architect and the reluctant part-owner of his own firm. Malfoy works at The Ministry but doesn’t actually have a proper job title even though what he does sounds as though it’s pretty important. It would probably be harder not to become friends, when they have to sit through endless, dull meetings with each other, and skirt around some truly terrible weather, and deal with Harry’s irrational hatred of his assistant, and build thirty whole houses from the ground up in a wet field outside of London.

🌱 The Pure and Simple Truth by @letteredlettered (65k)

Harry, Draco, and Hermione go to a pub. Harry, Draco, and Pansy go to a pub. Harry, Draco, Pansy, and Hermione go to a pub. Harry, Draco, Hermione and Ron go to a pub. Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, and Pansy―you guessed it―go to a pub. I could go on. In fact, I did. Harry, Draco, Hermione, Pansy, Ron, Blaise, Luna, Goyle, Neville, and Theodore Nott go to a pub. In various combinations.

🌱 Harry Potter and the Trauma of Reading Children’s Books by @goblinmatriarch (2k)

Harry Potter is fine. He's fine. He's going to be fine.

🌱 Bare Feet, Giant Squid, and One Perfect Moment by bryoneybrynn (4k)

Gryffindor may be the House of the brave but Harry’s feeling a bit nervous. It’s one thing to face a dragon or a Dark Lord. It’s quite another to make a move on the bloke who’s been your nemesis for the last eight years...

🌱 Fledgling by @tackytigerfic (2k)

Two young dads meet at a farmers market. They exchange parenting tips, longing looks, and root vegetables.

+ BONUS PERCY/OLIVER

🌱 Still Standing by eleventy7 (16k)

After the war, Percy testifies against his corrupted Ministry colleagues and is sent to the Scottish lowlands to live under the protection of a witness security program.

[blorger]

Draco couldn’t help it. He began to laugh. Potter frowned. “What’s so …?” “It’s just the absurdity of it all,” Draco managed to get out. He took a deep breath and tried to still the humour that was bubbling up through his chest before Potter wrote him off as hysterical. “We spend years at each other’s throats, and now it’s all ‘Oh, Potter, would you be able to give a little help to this rather serious problem?’ ‘Why certainly, Malfoy, let us discuss it over tea at my abode.’ Seriously, can you imagine us sitting here three or four years ago?” “Merlin, no,” Potter said, trying very hard not to smile. Draco liked him a bit for that. “But neither of us was at our best when we were sixteen.” “You were hideous,” Draco agreed.

He attended to the Little Owl first, it held out a leg that had its message tied on with a length of brocaded ribbon sporting crested M’s down its length. Have spoken with you-know-who regarding plans in motion. All satisfactory. Am proceeding as discussed. Will contact you later in the day regarding execution. Only Malfoy could have written a cryptic note that sounded more incriminating than the actual facts, Harry thought. 

from A Young Radical's Guide to Love by blamebrampton

[sweet-s0rr0w]

day 18 of @hprecfest - a fic that makes you laugh

Little Red Courgette, by @blamebrampton - T, 31k, 2009

Summary: When this season's purple courgettes are woefully thin, Draco Malfoy thinks it amounts to small beans. Next thing he knows, the Department of Standards is over-run with leeks, Brussels sprouts all sorts of legislative difficulties, and somebody appears to have put a roquette under Harry Potter. Can Draco seize a marrow victory? Or will his plans for peas be squashed?

All along, Kingsley Shacklebolt finds himself pining for the good old days, when, instead of governing, all you had to worry about were Dark Lords and imminent death.

Excerpt:

They each made it through a bowl of chocolate with sundry other flavours garnishing it. And three large glasses of wine. This was the only excuse Draco could find for the fact that he found himself asking Potter: 'So what's your game?'

'Quidditch,' Potter replied instantly. 'Or Exploding Snap.'

'Here. What's your game here.'

'I'm not with you.'

A part of Draco's brain screamed at him to stop, but the alcohol-soaked part, in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Smythe's, encouraged him to go on. 'Are you working with Kingsley to enlist me as your pawn in a clean out of the Ministry? You were very quick to agree when I asked you to warn The Quibbler off, was it all a ruse?'

'I thought you were engaged in your own hands-on grass-roots Ministry reform, making the one department work well, with an eye to expanding in the future,' Potter rebutted.

'Well I am, so you needn't try making use of me in your nefarious scheme.'

'I don't have a nefarious scheme.'

'So is it all a complicated plan to take some highly personal and embarrassing revenge for the Potter Stinks badges? Because that was years ago. And although I feel a little badly about it now, they were excellent work for a wizard that age.'

'They were, I was impressed. I still have one at home, you know.'

'Really?'

'Yup. I thought you were a wanker at the time, but I have to say, that was a quality Charm.'

'Thanks. So what's left? You're in the hire of someone keen to assassinate the last of the Malfoys; it's all an elaborate if somewhat clumsy plan at seduction; or you're desperate for someone to talk to now that all your friends are getting married and having children.'

'Those are my options? I'll take two, clumsy seduction.'

'Really?'

Back in 2019 when I rediscovered the joys of fanfic after over a decade out, I started off the way any (less tech-savvy) millennial would, by googling 'Drarry fanfiction'. blamebrampton's works were some of the first that I found, and I was immediately entranced. They're such an incredible variety, from the Muggle World-set Doing the Lambeth Walk, to travel fic Beneath Boundless Skies, to wartime epic (and longtime @tackytigerfic obsession) And Save Me From Bloody Men. No matter what the topic, though, blamebrampton's sense of humour always shines through in her sharp observations and witty dialogue, and in Little Red Courgette she's able to showcase this to the fullest extent. It's a hilarious examination of government bureaucracy from the world-weary point of view of one Draco Malfoy, an employee of the Office for the Volumetric Standardisation of Edible Wizarding Greengrocery Produce. The veg related puns are numerous, and excellent, and both Draco and Harry are incredibly endearing. Big rec, for all her works!

If you read it, and especially if you love it, please do let me know! And as always, please do take the time to leave the author a kudos/comment <3

day 1 - first fic you remember reading

day 2 - a fic rated G

day 3 - a fic not on ao3

day 4 - a comfort fic

day 5 - a romantic fic

day 6 - a fic for a ship you don’t normally read

day 7 - the best of your OTP

day 8 - a fic that was recced to you

day 9 - a WIP

day 10 - a fest/event fic

day 11 - an underrated fic

day 12 - a fic from your favourite author

day 13 - a rare pair

day 14 - a fic rated T

day 15 - a fic over 50k

day 16 - a podfic

day 17 - a fic that makes you cry

[stationintern]

What's up!

I am a few months late with my recs. The holidays were busy, then I ended up working way more than usual during January. But, I'm back! And, I'm so excited to share these fics with you.

Alright, onwards!

The Realm of Possibility by @porcelainheart3 for @hd-erised 2023 M, 6k

Oh, this was very fun. The concept was unique, and I loved how the author was able to cram so many tropes into this little fic. Love our collective child Teddy. What a kid.

Always The Last To Know by @nv-md for @hd-erised 2023 M, 10.5k

I loved this Draco. The banter was adorable, the scenes were sharp, and the title is very, very accurate.

Blade Of Sun by @lemonlimelea M, 2k

Now, I don't usually read AUs, but this caught my eye immediately with the summary. It's a beautiful, deeply romantic story that is totally worth the read.

Under The Table by @xanthippe74 T, 4k

As someone who once listened to Fiona Apple 228 times in one day after a breakup, I really appreciate the inspiration behind this fic. I love fics that involve a shitty past relationship, and especially love fics that include a shitty current relationship. So, this was a slam dunk for me.

And One To Play by @tackytigerfic for @hpdrizzle 2019 E, 35.8k

I reread this fic this month, and it still ticks a lot of my boxes. Harry's uncontrollable magic, a bit of romance-inducing injury. Truly, a pleasure to read. Also, tackytiger agenda.

Tidings of Comfort by @blamebrampton G, 1.5k

I relate to this Draco a bit too much, and maybe that's why I keep coming back to this fic. I can feel the weather in my bones when I read it.

See you soon! xx, Moon.

[tackytigerfic]

Hi tacky ! I am enjoying the reading along of First Watch of Night so so much and I'd like to bask in more in the universe, so I was wondering if you had a tag for it while writing it and if you any inspo/moodboards/ambience you would be okay to share ?

Much love x

Hello there! What a lovely ask!! I found this a really interesting thing to think about because i know it's a big consideration for a lot of people, and i know a lot of my creator friends have mood boards and trellos and things like that.

The true answer from me is no, sadly, I don't have any visuals to go with it really. Not because I wouldn't absolutely love it - I'm quite a visual person, I did portrait photography as my main hobby for many years and also i am a film guy and i love art and design too. But just because A) i don't have time, i just have so little time to spare that i always have to use it to write, and B) even if i did have a bit of extra time, my brain is tricky and if i did up, say, a moodboard, i would believe that i had already done all the work i needed to do and then not actually write anything at all. Maybe when it's all posted I'll sit down and come up with one, it would be nice to have a visual record of it tbh, I wish i had the sort of brain that could do these things as i go!

For the mood of the fic, I had a very strong sense of that from the start. I wrote this short fic years ago which was the jumping off point. I was also thinking about fics such as And Save Me From Bloody Men by @blamebrampton and Unmindful of the Thorn by harryromper and even things like Transfigurations by Resonant and of course In the Hand and Far From the Tree by aideomai. Not that my fic is anything like any of these fics (i should be so lucky) but just that they explored certain tropes and themes and moods in a way that felt so defining, and i wanted see how i could shape my own fic out of the feelings these fics gave me.

I'm really touched that you'd be interested enough in the world of the fic to think about this stuff, Anon. Thank you for such a kind and interesting ask.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

What are your favourite drarry fics? Mine is Survival is a Talent by ShanaStoryteller: Harry and Draco are adorable, and the original magic is quite entertaining. (Updates have been slow lately, but there's a lot less tension now, and it's worth reading even if it doesn't get finished)

omg YES I DO BELIEVE I'VE READ THAT.

Favourite fics in no particular order:

Turn by saras_girl: Absolute classic, changed my life, it was so beautiful and heartbreaking and healing and happy. Honestly everything by saras_girl is 1000/10.

Azoth by zeitgeistic: THE CHEMISTRY? THE ANGST? THE CLEVERNESS?

Dear Enemy by gingertodgers: the most hilarious epistolatory fic. i would die for all of them.

Little Red Courgettes by blamebrampton: i learned more about politics and diplomacy through this bloody hilarious political satire and romance than I did in all the rest of my education. I was crying with laughter throughout.

Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue by starbrigid: The first book of the MoE series and it's Draco put back in year 1 with all his war memories intact and he relives everything and i'm doing a bad job but it's AMAZING and the platonic dramione friendship? harry having a crush on little Draco?

YES IM A NORMAL AMOUNT OF PASSIONATE ABOUT DRARRY.

[lostdrarryfics]

hi! i’m looking for a fic that took place at least a decade or so post-canon, if not longer. draco has some kind of near-death experience and sees harry (presumed dead, never came back from voldemort in the forest) in limbo and goes and tells harry’s friends. he ends up teaming up with them in a series of experiments where he repeatedly puts himself on the verge of death in order to figure out what happened to harry & why he’s stuck there, and they fall in love through those conversations. thank you!!

We believe you are looking for And, On The Other Side, A Welcoming Voice by blamebrampton (38k, G)

Don’t forget to bookmark, leave kudos and comments!

[smehur]

Drarry fic recs #4

Marginal Notes by @blamebrampton

When you're 18, and nothing is as it was meant to be, sometimes it can be hard to let the right people know what you are thinking. Thankfully, Draco Malfoy owns a quill.

What a delightful story! I loved the thoughtful, grounded, calm Draco and how well he applied his wit (and the penchant for fixing things?) to solving other people's problems. It's a bit on the side of wishful thinking - I don't really believe someone could change that much over night - but it's nice wishful thinking that I enjoyed and would happily inflict on myself again. Among other things, I enjoyed the crisp, flawless writing. It's not often the editor in me wouldn't change a single word in a fic. I very much plan to read BB's entire catalogue.

The Boy from the Piano Shop by @soliblomst

After going blind in a reckless attempt to avenge Ginny's death, Harry battles with severe depression. One day, he stumbles upon a quaint piano restoration shop in the heart of London and meets the owner, a kindly old man, and his introverted young apprentice, whose voice sounds strangely familiar. As Harry and Draco slowly reconnect through private piano lessons, the small workshop becomes Harry's refuge, offering him a glimmer of hope in a world without eyes.

Finally got to read this fic everyone's talking about. And for good reasons! It's heartbreaking and wholesome, starkly realistic and hopelessly romantic, all at once. I'm often annoyed by shallow depictions of low self-esteem that goes with depression, especially when it's used as an artificial obstacle in the way of romance ("I'm not good enough for you, so even though I love you, I'm breaking up"), and this is one of the few stories (by which I mean all my reading, not just fanfiction) where I could completely believe it, and sympathize with it. (Bonus points for not being used as an obstacle in the way of romance.) The general lack of obstacles in the way of romance was incredibly refreshing and welcome, as was the lack of drama around the revelation that Harry Potter is secretly friends with Draco Malfoy. Everything is very mature, to the point where I think the story would be better set in their 30s than in their 20s, but I didn't mind. Harry's grief is all-present and at times, harrowing, but never gratuitous, and it's well-balanced by the peace and joy he finds in Draco's company. The two scenes where Draco unexpectedly dons a scarf are etched in my memory forever. An incredible piece.

i stay by @hogwartsfirebolt

The darkening sky is dangerous for the shape of Harry’s desire, it makes it seem reasonable, as though it were a natural conclusion of having Draco once again within reach, rather than the mirage it actually is.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: this fic is exquisite. Tense and tender in perfect proportion and filled with a dazzling array of sensory details that painted each scene like a work of art. Although I could see what was coming in the end (thanks to expert foreshadowing), the finale still stole my breath away. A wonderful read!

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl & podfic by originally

Professor Malfoy's world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.

Oh, this was such a joy to listen. I think I had a smile on my face for the whole duration of the podfic (about 12 hours), minus the few minutes when there were tears instead. I don't know where to start with the praise. The meticulously constructed world of Draco's self-imposed loneliness? The supporting cast of interesting and well-rounded original characters? The tangible, eminently relatable trials and tribulations of a teacher's life? Or maybe the deceptively simple concept at the root of the story, allowing Draco to break out of his shell on his own? Oh, how I love this gentle, fragile, vulnerable Draco hiding behind impatience and aloofness and his sharp tongue. And the fearless, unstoppable Harry, his bouts of bad temper and his naked honesty. And Stanley, with that inevitable, ill-timed tack-tack-tack! Everything felt so true, so real, so close, I felt just as exposed and frightened as Draco, just as desperate at his inability to make a move. I know I said this half a dozen times by now since I started reading fic in this fandom, but I can't help it. This may be the best fic I've ever read.

Correction! The best fic I've ever heard! The reading was impeccable, possibly the best I've heard so far, and infused the story with even more life and love and laughter. A beautiful, unforgettable experience.

Heartbeat by @saxamophone (eight_of_wands)

Harry hates Draco. Draco hates Harry. Only it's not hate, not even a little bit. Featuring: a cooperative independent study, golden hour on wrecked sheets, water from fountains of dubious origin, purple Mardi Gras beads, and a bird with silly legs. Also featuring: heated arguments, infidelity, unquenchable desire, and heartbreak. Over and over again.

I'll be honest: this fic did not grip me at once. I could even say I struggled through the first few stances. But then came the understanding of what "I hate you" means and I read on with eyes wide and heart thumping (Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy) and I was so very richly rewarded. Among all the things I loved about it, the most memorable are the incredibly vivid images and impressions of New Orleans, and the moment of searing, all-consuming jealous rage that I regret to say I could relate to all too well. The confrontations were exquisite, the dialog sparking with tension and more importantly, with truth. There's no melodrama here to create suspense, it's all raw and real and indeed, heartbreaking. But hearts can mend. :)

Many, many, heartfelt thanks to all the authors in this amazing fandom and to all the readers helping spread the word. 💞

[bridenore]

HD Farmer / Gardener fic recs

Here are a few recs where either Harry or Draco is a farmer or have a vegetable patch. Listed in alphabetical order.

Black Sheep by shushu_yaoi_lj / @orange-peony [10k]

“You know, Potter, maybe all you need to win is a little—incentive, let’s say.” “An incentive?” Harry asks, his interest piqued. He takes a step closer to the fence, and then another one, until he’s standing so close that he can smell the intoxicating scent of Malfoy’s expensive cologne. “Shall we say that if you win, you can have whatever your heart desires?” Malfoy replies with a smile. “Anything.”

Little Red Courgette by @blamebrampton [31k]

When this season’s purple courgettes are woefully thin, Draco Malfoy thinks it amounts to small beans. Next thing he knows, the Department of Standards is over-run with leeks, Brussels sprouts all sorts of legislative difficulties, and somebody appears to have put a roquette under Harry Potter. Can Draco seize a marrow victory? Or will his plans for peas be squashed? All along, Kingsley Shacklebolt finds himself pining for the good old days, when, instead of governing, all you had to worry about were Dark Lords and imminent death.

Love Will Abide by @dodgerkedavra [39k]

Harry and Draco survive the apocalypse. This is what happens after.

Sweet Creature by @whineosaur  [63k]

Harry loves his sheep, his dogs, the tranquil countryside farm he’s turned into a home. He doesn’t need Draco Malfoy screwing it all up. But, god, what else is he supposed to do about Draco Malfoy sleeping with a lamb in his bed?

This Delicious Solitude by  Omi_Ohmy [16k]

Draco is sent to investigate Harry’s extraordinary carrots for the Prophet after whispers of cheating rock the world of competitive vegetable cultivation. But how’s he meant to get anywhere when Harry won’t even let him past the garden gate?

The Weight of a Wanting Heart by @femmequixotic [11k]

After nearly two decades hidden away in the Wiltshire countryside, Draco Malfoy’s surprised to see a familiar face come into his local.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did!

[sitp-recs]

top 5 draco/harry characterizations in fic? <3

Thank you my darling citrus! It was really fun to put this list together and acknowledge all the different types of characterization I enjoy, where they converge and differ. I had so much fun doing this and I’d love to know your top 5 too 👀

Draco:

Astolat’s Slytherin Draco: Heal Thyself + Slithering

Blamebrampton’s Hero Draco: And Save Me From Bloody Men + A Young Radical's Guide to Love

Ignatiustrout’s Muggle Draco: Here’s the Pencil, Make it Work + Faint Indirections

Quirky Draco: What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym

Pining Draco: Unfinished Business by cupiscent

Bonus: Unredeemed Draco: Reparo by amalin

Harry:

Smitten Harry: Far From the Tree by aideomai (Draco is also brilliant here)

Emotionally stunted Harry: Such Great Heights by aideomai

Depressed Harry: Modern Love by @tackytigerfic

Melancholic Harry: Meet Me at Midnight by @the-starryknight

BAMF Harry: The Boy Who Only Lived Twice by lettered

Bonus: dark Harry: Magpie by @corvuscrowned

ask me my top 5/10 anything!