randomcastle87

[randomcastle87]

God, I feel old. I remember when and why it was created. Long life ao3! It really is such a wonderful archive

ao3 turns 15 today

reblog if youre older than ao3

[randomcastle87]

man who opened a parenthesis he forgot to close 4 years ago is tragically unaware everything he's said since has been an aside

[randomcastle87]

The original post was funny but garrettauthor's comment made me LOL, that I felt like I had to reblog this

[randomcastle87]

I have to agree with sol1056... this is a masterpiece!

They really should teach people how to cook in school.

[randomcastle87]

I spent my summers at my grandparents' house out in the countryside, and the vibe in this post rings so true. Countryside - British in my case and like in 1990s - is like 1/3 quaint and wacky Vicar of Dibly/Father Ted vibes, 1/3 picturesque but with underlining threatening Midsomer Murders vibes and then 1/3 the absolutely batshit crazy stuff from the above post and all the locals don't even bat an eyelid.

The thing about Cottagecore is that is a fetishized aesthetic of country life, divorced from labor and idealized by a primarily urban audience with a backward looking ethos of tradition. They are not prepared for the stresses of a rural life: farming; harvesting; tapping pumpkins to ensure none of them have been replaced with flesh; losing out on income by having to use one of your pigs in a blood sacrifice to paint protective sigils over your doors and windows; checking cracks and chimneys for the flesh-vines of the Pumpkin Lord; having to decide, before the Growth is complete, whether that's really your tradwife or an amassment of vines, leaves, and blood in the shape of your tradwife; ignoring their desperate pleas that "I'm me! No! No!" as you burn them alive, realizing too late you picked wrong; and the exploitative corporate nature of commercial farming in 2024. All seen through a deeply colonial lens, of course

[randomcastle87]

This is seriously impressive!!!!!!

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[randomcastle87]

This made me LOL

[randomcastle87]

Hands up if you were the child that read thousands of books and as an adult you hit burn out and now only read stories about the same 2 idiots falling in love over and over as you don't have the brain power to get emotionally attached to new characters.

[randomcastle87]

I especially love the “This is heavily supported by the text but is nevertheless obviously not what the creators intended.” Hawaii 5O (2010) comes immediately to mind, the showrunners clearly meant it to be a buddy cop show with super masculine, even macho, heterosexual main characters....BUT the gay (sub)text was so THERE.

levels of headcanon:

This is heavily supported by text/subtext and is likely what the creators intended for me to get from this 

this is sort of supported by the text and could, conceivably be what the creators intended for me to get from the text/subtext

there is no evidence either way

there is slight evidence against my headcanon, but I don’t care

I’ve stopped giving a crap about canon

[randomcastle87]

As an English-as-a-foreign-language teacher I love pointing out to my students how wonderfully weird the English language is and what a mish-mash of other languages it is and how to this day it is still forever changing and adapting. And how much fun it can be to play with all those differences.

lydia davis

[randomcastle87]

REC: HP - Harry/Snape

The Pandora Incident by AbstractConcept

Info: pub. in 2007 + ~12.000 words + PG15/Mature (More references to sexual deeds than actual sex, some frottage)

Tags: Era:Post Hog. / Epi.Compl.(-ish), Next Gen. Present in Fic, Family Bonding, Humour, Magic &/vs Muggle relations, Magic-Mishaps/Accidents, Sick!Curse, Getting Together, Enemies/Rivals to Lovers

Note: No real age gap here, since Snape hasn't really aged and Harry has to middle-age.

Sum.: Epilogue Compliant Fic - When Snape was thrown from his body, he took refuge in an unlikely place, and now decades later it’s up to Harry to set things right again.

REC: This fic takes places about twenty years after the last chapter and even incorporates the infamous epilogue. Harry is older, but still just as ready to throw himself into a new mystery and he still very much has a need-to-save-people. For most of the fic Snape is incorporeal, but that doesn't diminish his classic snark and unique way with people. Add to that a magical mishap, some horny middle aged men, some snarky teens, the golden trio back together solving mysteries and you have yourself a fantastically clever, playful, funny and well-written light-hearted romantic fic, that some how still manages to show realy character growth and introspective for both Harry and Snape.

[randomcastle87]

REC: HP - Harry/Draco - MPreg

Sperm Cow by emphatic_siren

Info: written in 2007 for HD_Inspired Fest + ~12.000 words + mature

Tags: Era:Post Hog., MPreg, Bit Cracky, Bonds (Accidental), Job!Healing, Magic-Spells/Wandlore/Objects/etc., Miscommunication, Getting Together, Pining/Jealousy

Sum.: Draco needed an heir and he set his sights on Harry's sperm. Harry just wanted a family. Well, and maybe Draco, too. Toss in a few life debts, a few obscure parental rights laws, and two clueless men who think they have it all figured out, and you have one heck of farce.

REC:This fic takes a completely cracky idea and turns it into a very sweet and flangsty Getting Together fic. That said it is still more a cracky humorous story than an epic drama. Only characters really present in this fic are Harry, Draco and this brilliant OC as their mediwizard who due to his personality really added to the story. The fic does mention other characters and post!war society, but that all is very much in the background as the focus is on Harry and Draco and the potential Potter-Malfoy baby. The interactions between H&D are brilliant, and go from snarky and distrusting to lovingly snarky. I also really like the author's take on how MPreg would work.

[randomcastle87]

REC: HP - Harry/Draco - AU!Fic

Draco's Boy by empathic_siren

Info: written between 2005-2007 + ~190.000 words + mature (there a few explicit sex scenes (mastrubation to frottage to anal), that said these are teens discovering sex so explicit but not extreme)

Tags: AU, AU!High School, AU!Non-Magical, Coming of Age, Coming Out/Discovering the Gay, Family Bonding, Friendship, H/C, Teen Flangst, Miscommunication, Slice of Life, ST-POV Multiple/Switch, Developing Rel., Getting Together, Slow Burn, Pining/Jealousy, Virginity/First Time.

Sum.: Non-Magical AU - A mysterious little black-haired boy moves in next door to Draco who is determined to make the boy his friend and find out all of his secrets. Later, when they grow up, Draco's determined to make Harry much more than a friend.

REC: One of my all-time fav H/D fanfics. I am usually not a big fan of complete AU's in HP fanfic, but this one just works because it is so well-written; good pacing, brilliant world-building, well-plotted out story and while the the characters and their dynamics have been adapted to work in this AU they remain very recognisable. Some loose thoughts:

Both Harry and Draco are brilliantly written. The author has chosen to focus on certain parts of their personalities and down-played others to fit the world created in this fic. To me they very much read like Harry & Draco, or at least their depiction corresponds with some fandom fav: dramatic rich boy Draco and hothead, but deep down just needs a cuddle Harry.

Snape is also brilliant in this, he is a caring father figure to both boys in this fic, but still very much Snape; prickly, mean, taciturn and terrifying at times.

I loved Narcissa's portrayal as well. Her reaction to finding out Draco is gay and in love with Harry was just so chef's kiss; confused an hysterical, but most importantly loving.

Dursely’s are a bit harsh, but not totally out of proportions, plus the extra harshness does fit in this story (I’m not a great fan of fanfictions tendency to extremely over-exaggerate Dursley’s maltreatment)

Happy that Lucius stayed evil bastard

The author sneaks in great bits of canon world, despite it being a non-magical au – the story H & D make up Avada Kedevra

[randomcastle87]

REC: HP - RarePair (Harry/Percy)

Harry Potter and the Really Round-About Way of Finding a Horcrux by floweringjudas (manipulant)

Written Pre-DH / Written in 2006 for the Harry Potter Slash Not Smut Ficathon

Info: ~25.000 words / Teen & Up (mentions sex + fade to black)

Tags: Era: Hogwarts (7th Y), Coming Out/Discovering the Gay, Family Dynamics/Bonding, Friendship, Epistolary Fic, Getting Together

Note: Slight age gap, but nothing underage. When Harry was a 1st Y, Percy was a 5th Y. So there is a 4 year age gap, this fic is set in the summer Harry turns 17, i.e. comes of age, which means Percy will turn 21 that summer. He has been working for the MoM for 3 years.

Sum.: One should know better than to involve oneself in Weasley Family Skirmishes, even as a messenger. It always ends badly. …Or really well, depending on your perspective.

REC: I really liked this fic. Both Harry and Percy felt very IC, and still their developing relationship felt very believable. Also the author writes a wonderful Percy, I really connected with and felt for him throughout the fic. Her Harry figuring out he was gay was also spot on in my opinion and he is also still very much a moody teen who at times is a real little shit. Mad-Eye Moody makes a delightfully funny appearance. Also Arthur trying really hard to be a father figure for Harry was a brilliant scene, beautiful and so awkward. The author beautifully weaves canon into the fic, she doesn't just ignore the Weasly family dynamics that was set in the books and put Percy at odds with his family, but she manages to show both sides. The way the author wrote the story was brilliantly, I have a soft spot for stories told, through letters - in this instance it is a combo of letter writing and a narrative story.

If you want to give this ship a go to see if it works for you, I think this is a good fic to begin with. It stays close to canon, but with a slight shift that makes Harry/Percy not only possible, but also believable.