#harry just doesn't realize tomarry will happen yet

[lacrise666]

Harry wanted to hate Tom.

He wanted to look at the young teen and see glowing red eyes or pale, scaly skin. He didn't want to see Tom, he wanted to see Voldemort.

It would make his job easier.

Ever since Harry had been thrown back into the past, just barely passing as young enough for Hogwarts, he had only one thought to keep him going.

One life for thousands.

Tom had to die.

But, Harry knows, he'd already have killed the boy if he still viewed him as Voldemort and not as the smart ass kissing teenager he was. He just didn't. Couldn't, really.

Because again, this was Tom.

He had hazel brown eyes that shown even lighter in the sun and he was still pale but in a more godly, angelic way.

But more over, he really was just a boy, not fully hardened by the world, a concept that Harry was intimately familiar with.

Tom hadn't torn his soul apart yet, Tom still wore his Hogwarts uniform with a Prefects badge attached to it. He still was forced to charm teachers and study for tests he would no doubt pass with flying colors. He still sat in the Great Hall and ate dinners with his house mates.

He did the normal things too, things that may or may not have had Harry in a state of shock for various hours afterwards, things like swimming in the Great Lake and laughing lightly at jokes, attending Quidditch games and broadcasting house pride, occasionally writing in his diary and actually showing some facial expressions.

And, yes, he could still be cold and he could still be rude, but he was no wanna-be-god just yet and certainly not a Dark Lord.

In fact, Harry recalled the knowledge that Tom had wanted to go out for the DADA position before becoming Voldemort.

Harry thought he would be incredible as a teacher if the way he directed the younger years was anything to go by.

He also thought that he shouldn't be thinking about Tom's future. If Harry's plan was to come to fermentation (which it totally was), Tom wasn't going to even have one.

Harry wanted to hate Tom. He wanted to think of him as the man who killed his parents, the man who raised an army and started a war, the monster who ruined his life.

But Harry didn't. Couldn't.

So he roamed the corridors of Hogwarts a few more times pretending he wasn't in his early twenties and wished desperately that Ron and Hermione were there with him, that he had actually gone through with his plan instead of becoming buddy buddy with Tom, the boy that was the furthered thing from Voldemort in his eyes.

He wished, but he didn't regret.

Because Tom was whole and just a boy, happy and ambitious, young and ready to take on the world.

And while Harry just couldn't kill him, he would do anything to prevent Tom becoming Voldemort.

Harry would die if he ever hated Tom.

[k-s-morgan]

I just wanted to say that I just finished WHGTB and I love everything so much, that fic ended with me crying during the last chapter, I never thought that tomarry would become one of my ships fav but here I am!

Second ask: Hi again, I was wondering if you had read these two works and your opinion on them, Either must die at the hand of the other by Metalomagnetic and Train no Nowhere, the latter is my fav de tomarry I have many scenes etched forever in my mind!

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Hello! Thank you so much, I'm thrilled you liked the ending! I myself fell for Tomarry pretty late. I was mostly interested in Snape/Harry and Voldemort/Bellatrix. Took me ages to figure out which ship would give me double satisfaction :D

I did read both fics you mentioned! Spoilers ahead.

Either Must Die at the Hand of the Other is a very… interesting story. It's beautifully written, deeply engaging, with detailed and fascinating character development, and yet I ended up finding it frustrating and unsatisfying on a personal level, through no fault of the author. What amazed me most was that I realized it too late. Usually, I figure out whether the story works for me quickly - if it doesn't, I stop reading. Here, I was in love; I read without stopping for the entire day, discarding my work and my own writing… only to reach Voldemort's POV and understand that I'm not going to get what I wanted.

Believe me, this is not a negative review. Either Must Die at the Hand of the Other is brilliant. Mind-blowingly so. The author is fantastically talented - they made me love the majority of the story even despite it featuring a child, which I normally don't like (and a child herself too, she was lovely); and while yes, I ended up frustrated, I can only admire such skills and vision. I cannot question any of the writer's choices - everything makes sense. Everything is believable. It's just, I prefer to read mutual romances, and this wasn't one.

I thought Voldemort would fall in love with Harry back and he never did. He felt fond of him, he felt some affection and attraction, but that's it. He expressed more emotions for Bella, and this, too, makes perfect sense. He idolized her because she is dead; he felt stronger for her because she was actually giving him what he liked and put him first. She never questioned him, never sided against him, was fiercely, mindlessly loyal. Harry wasn't - he argued, he fought, he refused to free him. Voldemort hated this, so it's surprising that he got attached to Harry at all.

The author did a genius move by breaking a pattern: most people who start reading yet another Harrymort or Tomarry expect that both characters will fall in love. It didn't happen here. And this is actually realistic - I can see the events of this story taking place after DH (minus the epilogue): I can absolutely believe that Harry would be this broken; I can absolutely believe that Voldemort, upon survival, would be this cold and incapable of love. But I just don't like it, and through Harry's POV, I thought Voldemort feels more than he really did. The ending crippled me: it's sort of happy, but also not really. It's a tragedy, and this is the rare case where I would prefer Harry to die or just find the strength to leave and start anew because he locked himself in a relationship with a man who will never love him the way he wants and needs.

I'm sure those who don't have the same problem and expectations as me will love this story because it's grand, captivating, and very engaging. It evoked a lot of feelings in me, to the point where I spent a whole day discussing and arguing about it with myself, voicing my frustrations and immediately refuting them :D

Train no Nowhere is among my favorites! I love it to bits and consider it one of the best works in the fandom. If it ever gets complete, I'll throw a party :D I love how completely clueless Voldemort is when it comes to emotions; Harry, with his mind and gifts, is extraordinary. I adore him. Their banter is brilliant from start to finish, and this story has one of the most impressive Triwizard Tournament tasks I've ever seen. Every time I re-read it, I'm absorbed, I can't get enough. Voldemort arguing with a 11 yo kid will forever be hilarious, and watching how Harry grows and matures is such a detailed journey that I always feel like I undertake it by his side.

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

What are your thoughts on the Harrymort/Tomarry fics where either Voldemort raises Harry or Harry goes back in time and raises Tom?

I like them because the intent is never what we all know is gonna happen, but it's interesting to watch happen anyway. And the flavor Tomarry/Harrymort give it is nice. Like, I got into Scum Villain Self-Saving System last year, and have contemplated doing a Tomarry AU of it btw, and the whole idea makes me cackle.

Millennial transmigrates into this crappy novel he loves to hate(yet paid to read every single chapter upon release) where he awakens to find himself as the villain who tortured the protagonist(his student of several years) out of jealousy due to his natural aptitude in Cultivation, and was horribly racist to him later on when it's revealed he's a demon, and was potentially a pedophile to his students(could be a mistranslation, who knows?). And our guy hates this dude and loves the MC(gay crush he refuses to acknowledge btw) and dreads having to be the villain. He plans to be nice to the MC, but there is a game system in his head forcing him to follow the plot of the original story, which will end in his graphic murder if he does as he's told and treats the MC badly.

So he's fighting to remain In-Character until he gets enough points to unlock OOC Mode, but he still doesn't want to be the villain, so when he gets to that point, he starts being a lot nicer to the MC. And the MC... then 14, becomes obsessed.

Dude is able to skirt around the actions of the real villain by making people think it was just training and lessons he was attempting to teach them. And things improve. His reputation improves. The MC's life gradually improves until the guy who used to insult him takes what could have been a fatal blow for him, and now he's practically in love.

The readers can tell the MC has a big crush on his teacher and does everything he can to be with him at all times. But our Millennial who knows the original story, just thinks the MC is being his usual protag self and everything is as it should be. He'll get his hundreds of wives and concubines some day and be the emperor of the three realms and life will be as it should. And if his plans go well, he'll actually be alive at the end and off minding his own business.

Meanwhile, having no clue his student is planning their marriage in secret. And you can't help but support this poor kid's bad attempts as wooing.

The story gets really fucked up from there and there are many, many lows compared to the highs. But it's all resolved in the end, with our dude being shooketh to find out his student doesn't want to kill him. Actually loves him. Wants to do very naughty things to his body. Potentially already did some when his original borrowed body was dead for a time(might be a mistranslation, who knows?).

And I realized that I like the story despite the very obvious power imbalance for each half of it. Once the MC comes into his own, the power drastically shifts the other way as he is, by canon terms, the most powerful being in the story-universe and the biggest threat around. So yeah, Reluctant-Villain having the power as the teacher is a bit off-putting, but he's so dense to his own feelings about the MC that it's just funny and you end up rooting for the MC to woo his teacher and make him stop unconsciously playing gay chicken.

Personally, I prefer the fics where the relationship happens unintentionally on behalf of the adult character cuz it feels less predatory that way. But I also just really don't care about people's preferred kinks in general. So any iteration of this type of story is just fine cuz it's fiction and isn't real and I got better things to spend my time on.

The idea is always interesting tho, cuz I want to know how they get to that point in the first place.

[joeys-piano]

Fic Author Self-Recommendations

Tagged by @voxofthevoid (thanks for this, it's been wild going through memory lane, trying to narrow what's my favorite thing and the thing I'm always coming back to)

When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love.

(ordered from oldest to youngest, if you want to see how my writing progressed since 2020 to now)

Savor The Moment | slight Odazai

This is an ambitious character study, featuring my favorite BSD character, Odasaku. It's a long, stream of consciousness-esque fic as you follow him for one evening and meet the people who've had a positive impact on his life. This is a love letter, simple as that. This is a tribute to a character I resonate with, to a character I want to see more of, and one I'm heartbroken for because he had so much ahead of him -- yet life isn't fair.

This might be the closest thing to a literary fanfic that I've written.

A Light in the Attic | Tomarry

394 words. Yet so much emotion, heartfelt, and comfort between the lines. This is a story I'm often rereading because it feels like a hug, and it's everything a cuddle fic could ever give you when you need something.

I'll Think of You | Tomarry

This is the contemporary school romance, falling for your best friend and knowing a side of them no one else does. It's heartwarming, it's sweet, and it's one of my favorite Harry POV fics I've written.

It's just the story of realizing you're in love with your best friend and how platonic and romantic love color your experiences. And to this day, I'm still surprised I'm the writer for this story. It's just a sweet fic with an unreliable narrator and how laughter's been the thread in Tom and Harry's relationship. How laughter's what brought them closer together and it's just -- it's so cute.

For Him to Watch | Tomarry

I wrote this when I was in New York for an audit during my internship. It was July 2021. The summer olympics was happening. I would shuffle to my hotel room at almost midnight, exhausted. And I'd open my work laptop, click around for my story document, and I'd write a few sentences because that was the only time I had for myself. The only reason this story exists is because of the powerful emotions I was feeling at the time, me giving it a second chance when I thought it was pretty shit, and just letting myself be loose and write what I want to do.

Also, a past-coworker has read this story. So there's a lot of things I feel about this work.

His Violent Delight | Grimmichi

Stream of Consciousness + 2nd POV + Denial of Feelings + Feral Energy = Very Memorable, Exciting, I remember the neck pain I was in while working on this fic. And I leveled up as a writer -- this was the first time I was aware of it.

My writing style changed, and it's been wild seeing it grow. It's also really nice to write for a batshit, crazy, what the fuckery narrator. I've written for posh intellectuals for years; it's rewarding to write for a character who doesn't give a crap. Which I'm forever thankful because Grimmjow's a violent delight.

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Writers I'll love to hear from, if they're interested in playing along: @duplicitywrites , @amarillis39 , @bowties-are-cool3000 , @flowercrown-bard , @lucycamui , @feu-eau , @yume-mada , @m3kuroshirt , @dividawrites , and @isalisewrites