#everyone go read this fic its one of my favorite fics of all time 🔪

[sitp-recs]

Happiest of birthdays to the one and only Crow! I won’t be tagging them since they’re currently on hiatus but this was a great excuse to finally do a (much) belated reclist. Crow has been on my radar since I first read The Other Cottage - I was immediately taken aback by its intriguing atmosphere, original plot and the mindblowing ending that had me gasping in delight. You can bet I did my due diligence and quickly devoured everything else from their catalogue, which was how I realized I had found another incredibly talented, another favorite author to hold close to my heart.

Crow explores the themes that fascinate me the most - life, time and mortality - and even their dark fics (a genre I don’t normally indulge) feel so thought-provoking and cathartic. There’s no best feeling that knowing you can trust that one author to tick all your boxes with every fic, no matter the story, trope or ending they go for. Crow has written a little bit of everything (and I tried my best to include different flavours here) but I’m not gonna lie, their poignant and aching angst is my ultimate jam. Some of these fics changed me in deep and lasting ways, and I’ve talked extensively about one or two of them. It was so hard to keep this short and not highlight all of Crow’s 27 works, but here are my top 10 favorites. As always this is a 100% personal rec list but there’s a bit of everything here so I hope everyone can find their thing and enjoy these just as much as I did. Don’t forget to leave them kudos and comments to celebrate Crow’s day!!

♦️ Magpie (E, 4k) - klepto Harry with a dark edge is everything we didn’t know we needed! Such a brutal - and brilliant - fic, I was completely enraptured by his charming characterization and the ending left me breathless

Potter doesn't steal because he needs anything, Draco quickly learns. He doesn't do it because it makes him feel anything. It isn't about power, and it isn't about control. Potter just does it because he can.

🥘 Mise en Place (T, 5.4k) - a tender and tasty treat, with lots of kitchen flirting and food porn. I live for sweet pining!Harry and their mutual obliviousness, it never gets old. Short and sweet as all good things are!

Draco needs to learn how to cook, and luckily, Harry knows his way around a kitchen. The fact that Draco is using his newfound cooking skills to impress another man... Well, Harry just tries not to think about that too much.

🔪 The Thousand Deaths (E, 6k) - yes yes yes suicidal vampire murder husbands bound to live eternally!!!! This is a genius concept that once again blows my mind, I love the dark humor and overall depressing tone, it’s so uniquely cathartic. Every murder husbands fan has to go read this now!

When the Kedavras don’t work, they try wooden stakes. When the stakes don’t work, they try blades. When the blades don’t work, the truth spills between them like the vast, churning ocean — eternity, inescapable.

🪞 The Other Cottage (T, 6.5k) - here’s your spooky treat for the day, this fic is so creepy and clever and atmospheric it will immediately lure you in. This is unlike anything I’ve read so far. Masterful pacing and a delicious pining Draco spiralling towards a breathtaking ending!

If Pansy wasn’t shagging Ginny Weasley, Draco would never have been dragged to Luna’s ridiculous Halloween party in the first place - meaning he wouldn't be sitting in the corner of the room with Harry Potter all night.

🌌 An Emerald In The Sky (M, 6.6k) - an all-time fave of mine, my whole heart belongs to this time travel masterpiece, achingly bittersweet and heart-wrenching. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Harry through Draco’s POV, it’s impossible to stop thinking about this love story once you’ve read it.

The hardest part about shagging an Unspeakable is that they’re not allowed to speak of anything. All Draco knows is that Harry works in Time. Harry works in Time, and while he’s out there in all of that time, it is as unforgiving to him as it is to anyone.

📱 With Hands Full of Dusk (E, 15k) - it’s a crime that this story is so low on kudos and comments but I hope this ends now because wow, I’ve never read something so quietly atmospheric like this. Intriguing plot and brilliant execution exploring the fascinating combo of mystery, excitement, frustration and loneliness surrounding a researcher’s life. Also: phone sex my beloved!!!!!!

Harry thought he'd found what he was searching for after the war. But as the quiet life he's earned begins to unravel at the seams, he finds himself searching instead for an elusive, mythical creature found only in lore and legend - with none other than Draco Malfoy as his companion.

🪢 The Seventh Life (E, 18k) - vampire Draco and mortal Harry as doomed lovers across lifetimes yes please!!! Is there anything more romantic - or devastating?? Another tender, haunting and bittersweet love story that left me in shambles and I thanked Crow for it. I am obsessed with this plot and the feels it gave me ugh how can I go on with my life now

If Draco had looked the other way, he may never have seen him again. But Draco turned, because he always would have turned. He found him, because he always would have found him - in life, in death, or in Paris.

🐍 In The Company Of Serpents (E, 25k) - love myself an intriguing case fic and this one is so creative and engaging! Fabulous setting, hot Parselmouth Harry and a brilliant take on Astoria, one of my favourites in fact. I adore the tentative Drarry dynamics and that bedroom sex scene is absolutely phenomenal, oof big smut rec here guys 🔥

There’s something wrong with the serpents at the Greengrass Ophidiarium. Luckily, a certain Parselmouth just might be able to help.

✉️ Twelve Moons (T, 27k) - cottagecore Drarry for skin cleansing, this soft slow burn mended my heart and it’s a great pick when you’re in need of comfort fics. It was a delight to follow this in real time too, v creative storytelling!

Harry Potter lives a quiet life, running an inn with his two best friends. Once a month, Draco Malfoy comes to stay. A real-time fic that takes place over the course of a year; updates every full moon.

🪴 Buds, Blooms, and Beards (E, 27k) - sex education fics are my jam, especially if it’s an experienced and sexy Draco guiding Harry through his bi discovery, yum! You’d think this is all about smut but it’s actually a gentle and comforting story about trust and friendship, one of the best portrayals of Harry & Ginny as friends and confidants, and a delightful “coming out” slow burn!

Harry and Ginny have built an easy, happy life for themselves after the war. They run a thriving plant shop together, they have a great relationship, and they're definitely not gay.

[southfarthing]

fic tag game!

tagged by @mumble-muse – thank you cutie!!

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How many works do you have on AO3?

8 on my current account + another 11 on my old one

What’s your total AO3 word count?

101,834 (+ 100,838 = 202,672)

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Currently Merlin, but my old account was for B.A.P and a little bit of BTS (kpop). Kinda feel weird about rpf now though lmao. Would be interesting to write some for LOTR/Tolkien someday, but I haven't had any ideas yet!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm only including the fics from my current account:

scorch marks and embers (690) – merlin & arthur s4 alternate plot, angst with a happy ending, drama, tension, character growth, slow burn

to spill soup (down someone else's front) (83) – merlin & gwen s4–5 fluff

deep roots are not reached by the frost (47) – merlin & knights of the round table as rangers in middle earth

so full of life (34) – merlin exploring his magical ties to nature

at night you could hear its cries (30) – merlin s5 angst

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes!! I usually do it in bursts though, so it takes me a while sometimes, but I read them excitedly as soon as I get the email 🥺🤧💛

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Ooooh my last one, at night you could hear its cries? I was not having a good day and took it out on my poor boy 😌

Do you write crossovers? if so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I wrote two Merlin fics (in a land of myth and a time of hobbits and deep roots are not reached by the frost) set vaguely in Middle Earth lmao and they were very fun so I might do more 👀

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I once saw a girl on twitter say that she felt she'd wasted time reading my gen-marked fic because the characters didn't make out at the end 🤡 and she said she wouldn't recommend it to other people who had originally been thinking of reading it :) and so out of spite I continue writing gen to this day 😛 hope you enjoy friendship 😛🥰😏☺️😌

Do you write smut? if so what kind?

No lmao

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I sure hope not 🔪

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No and I don't think it'd go down well bc I'm very opinionated when it comes to writing and wouldn't share it well

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Faramir & Eowyn. I think they work brilliantly and I really like that they heal together after everything they've been through, but I still wouldn't seek out or write fic about them. I feel like I'm missing out on the love of shipping that everyone else in fandom seems to have 😌

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I usually only start writing if I know I like the idea enough to finish it. I do have a few from my old account that I've abandoned, but that's more because I lost interest in the fandom than in the fics themselves

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and characterisation/character growth

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting 😬 and I have a tendency to turn everything into angsty drama when it doesn't need to be and then I have to go back and tone it down

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If it's a minimal amount and necessary then ok, but otherwise it can be kinda jarring (which I suppose is ok if that's the ambition). Unless you're Jirt. Then it's ok you can blather on in elvish all u want sir I am still very invested

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter hehe it was a next generation fic and I planned like 50 chapters but I was only 13 and gave up after five chaps

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I was really proud of something I should tell you at the time because it was my first ever completed longfic, but now it's definitely scorch marks and embers, which I kinda see as a S4 fix-it fic (but worse lol). We shall see if the spot gets taken by the Robin Hood au 👀

tagging @verecunda @magicinavalon @nextstopparis (absolutely no pressure!) and whoever else wants to! 💛