#meanwhile harry's looking fine as fuck

[bunnyteetharry]

Baby, I love you

summary: what was supposed to be a bachelorette party turned into y/n dancing her heart out and catching someone’s eye

warnings: mentions of alcohol consumption

pairing: stranger!arry x stranger! reader {+ to lovers}

inspired by baby, i love you by ramones

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It was an eventful late night in Italy

You were here on a bachelorette trip for your friend, Dulce. After dinner, you wondered around town for bit and since it was starting to get chilly out, Lydia brought up the thought of hitting up a bar

You huddled up together as you walked into the cramp room. Everyone was laughing their heads off, taking shot after shots, living life.

“I’m gonna get us some starter drinks, grab us a table” you called out before scarring towards the bar, trying to maneuver in a crowded area is always the worst, but hey, you’re almost halfway there and as long as you don’t bump into anyone you’ll be fine

“Woah!” and there you go

“Oh! I’m so sorry” you smiled hoping the person you ran over wasn’t about to get upset , you’d be surprised, even when it’s an accident, people act like you just told them to hit the road

“You’re okay love, go ahead” the tall curly headed man motioned you in front of him so you could order first. “Thank you” you screamed over the loud music

After getting the drinks ringed up, you checked behind you to see if that green eyed man who looked like he was created by greek gods was still behind you, sadly disappointment filled up your face when you were just hit with a group of random people laughing

“And here is our savior!” Dulce cheered as she saw you with a tray of shots. With everyone grabbing one each, you raised your’s to the air “To the bride!” everyone rally with you and down their drinks

Meanwhile, a certain man was mind deep with the women he bumped into while grabbing his drink

“Oi mate! You good Harry?” Niall patted his friend’s back, bringing his out of his headspace, Harry tussled his hair before taking a sip of his drink “Yeah I’m good” he smiled. Lucas rolled his eyes and tossed back the rest of his drink “He locked eyes with a pretty bird on his way back here” everyone cooed at Harry and shook his by the shoulders “Oh fuck off” smiling slightly to himself

All his friends were joking around till he heard a familiar toon fill his ears, everyone in the bar looked confused at the song choice, some booing at the DJ. But what really caught his eyes was the girl in the middle of the room dancing on her own.

“That her?” Niall smirked and nudge Harry

‘Woah! Go Y/n!” A group of girls sitting in the corner shouted

Y/n was jumping around, dancing like it was just her alone in the room and as she twirled around, her eyes scattered the room and met Harry’s. She smiled and mouthed back the lyrics to him

“When you kiss me I just gotta, Kiss me I just gotta, Kiss me I just gotta say!” she moved her arms around her body and mindlessly pointed at him “Baby, I love you, come on baby, Baby, I love you, Baby I love, I love only you!” Harry smiled widely as he sipped on his drink, just watching the girl dance around with no care in the world

After the song finished, Harry got up from his seat, with the courage from his friends and two shots in between

Y/n was laughing as she walked back to her friends, taking one more shot before the tray was pulled away from her. “Oh you’ve had enough crazy girl” Lizzy laughed, Y/n rolled her eyes and picked up the water Dulce pushed towards her “I’m fine honestly, anyways we should do this again and-“ her friends cut her off as they pointed behind her

She turned and there he was

“Hi” he smiled down at her and gave her his hand “I’m Harry” y/n pushed back a few fly aways out of her face before smiling back “I’m y/n” her friend’s snickered quietly behind or at least they tried too “Watch them be married four years from now” she turned quickly at the glaring and shushing them before turning back to Harry who is laughing along with them

“Wanna get a drink?” He motioned to the bar across from them “I’d love that” he nodded smiling and laced his hand with her’s, guiding them to the bar stools

Little do they know, her friends were right, the pair came to Italy on their honeymoon to the exact same bar and played the same exact song from when they first met, reminiscing to the days that led them to now

a/n: this was so much fun to write, i hope you enjoy it as well! ALSO request are open

[showtoonzfan]

Also yeah this new Hazbin cast is not it man. I’m sorry. Most of them either sound flat, don’t fit with the character design, or are just not as good as the original. Angel and Alastor I especially don’t like, Alastor sounds so nasally and Amari just can’t top Bosco’s performance, with Bosco not only was he good but when Alastor was threatening, he SOUNDED threatening. I may have made fun of Al’s design, but Bosco’s voice is what made the character interesting and threatening for me. With Amari’s voice he just sounds beyond silly and I can’t take him seriously.

Blake Roman is literally just intimidating Kovach, except this time Angel just sounds forced and awkward. It makes you wonder why Viv just didn’t get Kovach back since it’s obvious she wanted to find someone so similar to him, and then you realize…oh yeah, Kovach wasn’t on Broadway or is a big singer. Micheal was really good at what he did as Angel too as everyone has already said so Viv fumbled the bag SO hard with these two it’s sad. I’m especially pissed about Alastor cause Bosco was the reason he was my favorite character and now he sounds so cringe.

Husk and Vox are played by two very talented actors/singers but their voices just don’t fit with the character design, though I’m not that against Christain Borle as Vox, the voice doesn’t fit the twink design but at the very least they got a man who sounds like a full grown adult playing a full grown adult lmao. Husk is a different story however, because it feels like Keith was picked to play him just because he was famous and nothing else. Back in the pilot, Viv had a specific voice in mind for Husk and she found it, aka Mick. He perfectly came off as an old washed up grumpy alcoholic, and Keith’s voice kinda just…erases all that personality. Sure Keith’s voice sounds cool but that’s it, it’s style over substance.

I wish I could say more about Charlie and Vaggie but I’m not sure what to say other then they kinda sound forced and awkward too, and I hate saying that cause they’re also played by two very talented actresses. Stephanie B played Mirabel from Encanto, she’s had voice acting experience before so I hope she ends up sounding good in the actual show. Erika meanwhile…I hate to say this but other than her singing voice there’s nothing really special about her as Charlie compared to Jill Harris, though even with Jill I never felt any strong feelings towards her performance.

Adam meanwhile, dear GOD I was right about him looking bad in animation form, his design sucks so fucking much. Fans were right, that’s Alex Brightman’s voice, he seems to be using his normal voice but just a tad deeper. He’s the only one who’s a fine choice, though I really wish we got to hear him as Pentious here!

But yeah in terms of the voice cast I’m just disappointed man, really disappointed. It makes you really realize how talented the pilot cast was. They were so good cause they were all chosen for a reason that wasn’t just “they’re famous” and it fucking sucks how bad Viv fumbled everything.

[arliedraws]

Tell me more about Sirius/James hooking up in a bathroom during their kids' birthday party....

So it’s Harry’s birthday. I think I’ve described a little bit of this scenario? But I’ve thought of more details.

Sirius and Marlene (or whatever) have been married for ten years, and things are tense. They have two older kids but accidentally had another that’s almost a year old now. Marlene complains that they’re stuck in their routines as a couple while Sirius doesn’t understand what she’s complaining about—he thinks that what they have is actually pretty good, and people who are crazy in love with their spouses are probably lying somehow. I sort of started to think that it’s Marlene who’s the politician? So it’s Sirius who’s home with the kids and maybe working part-time as a [insert job here] but with the new baby, he’s got his hands full, and he’s slightly resentful that Marlene is never home.

James and Lily, however, seem to have it all figured out. They love their son, and decided that one was enough. Maybe Sirius looks after Harry during the day while James and Lily work full time. Anyway, Lily is the Dream Wife. She is intelligent, funny, sexy, kind, and she even works for Nimbus as the executive charms specialist (so she has the inside scoop on the Next Big Broom). Meanwhile, James is an Auror who’s really Done with being an Auror but can’t figure out how to tell Lily, which is weird because he tells her everything.

James and Sirius are both deeply in love, obviously, but their days of finding each other in broom closets and sneaking into each other’s beds are long gone. But they can’t help but touch each other, pushing the limits of what is platonic. Maybe they have an emotional fallout when Marlene confronts Sirius about playing absently with James’s hair while the two couples played boardgames together, or that Sirius and James are ALWAYS on a team.

So years go on and Sirius/James try not to touch each other, which just heightens the tension when they brush thighs or shake hands. A year before the bathroom hookup, Sirius and James kiss during Christmas after everyone has gone to bed. It doesn’t go any further than that because a kid interrupts and wants water or something. Then Sirius and James promise not to be alone with each other. Ever again. Or else they’ll ruin everyone’s lives.

Anyway, so Sirius and Marlene accidentally get pregnant, have baby, James/Sirius see each other but are emotionally estranged. Things are Fine.

Sirius excuses himself to use the bathroom, and James notices him slip away. When Sirius comes out of the bathroom, James shoves him back inside. Soon, they’re hooking up. The window is cracked and they can hear the party below. Well, yeah, they’re having sex. And they’re sloppy and desperate. Outside, people are wondering where they are because Harry’s about to open gifts. And upstairs, they’re just like sucking and fucking with years of suppressing their feelings—not quietly, even though Sirius is trying to shut James up and eventually gives up.

Then, the door flies open. It’s Marlene! She’s holding the baby! She’s so angry! She starts shouting, and Sirius/James are trying to get themselves clothed again. And then the facade completely crumbles and everything falls apart :)

Just kidding, it would have a happy ending. But it’s a hard-won happy ending 😅

[daaydreamy]

Please write about subrry being scared of the dark🥺 please a one shot or something like that

horror movies

summary: harry hates horror movies. 

warnings: coarse language

pairing: harry styles x fem!reader

•••

“Y/N, I told you that I don’t like horror movies-”

“This one isn’t even scary!” Y/N cut Harry off, making him slump further into the couch, like ice cream melting onto the pavement. “I promise, angel.” She smiled and kissed Harry’s cheek, pulling the knitted blanket they were sharing a little higher up their bodies. She snuggled into Harry’s side and Harry put his arm around her, sighing quietly as the movie started to play on the TV. Maybe it won’t be so bad, Harry thought to himself. 

It was Friday night and the pair had nothing else to do. It was cold outside, their stomachs were filled with warm food from dinner, they had tea sitting on the coffee table, they couldn’t be more cozy. Well, until Y/N decided they were going to watch a horror movie, Harry felt a little tense then. But, he was going to power through it, because things in horror movies weren’t real anyway (Harry scoffed in his head, now realizing that he was fine and he had nothing to worry about).

The beginning of the movie was quite tame, just a little bit of unsettling music and views so far. Although, sometimes he would squeeze Y/N’s shoulder a little when he got nervous, but would quickly catch himself and loosen his grip, he was fine. 

“Oh, fuck me.” Harry jumped a little from the sudden loud sound, making Y/N snicker quietly. He couldn’t help but squish himself a little further into the cushions, like he was trying to hide from the thing behind him that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He kept his eyes focused on the TV though, determined to get through this all right. 

“Are you scared?” Y/N teased, looking up at Harry and he gave her a fake-laugh. 

“No, I’m fine.” 

“Okay then. This movie’s pretty good, huh? I like it a lot, might be one of my favorites so far.”

All of Y/N’s talking distracted Harry and another loud sound emitted from the speakers, making him jolt and curse, brows furrowed as he looked at the TV. Y/N now had her lips folded in a line, trying to hold in her laugh as she looked back at the TV, amused by Harry’s reactions. 

•••

“That was great.” Y/N yawned and rubbed her eye with her knuckles, stretching her limbs out like a cat. 

Meanwhile, Harry was still trying to grasp what really happened, a little bothered and paranoid, but he would never say that to Y/N or show that in his looks, he was perfectly fine (but what the living fuck was that movie?). He grabbed the TV remote and decided to turn the tv off, grabbing the empty mugs of tea to put in the sink. Y/N’s brows furrowed as she watched Harry, although shrugged it off and got up as well. 

“Wanna head to bed?” Y/N wrapped the knit blanket around her shoulders. 

“Yeah,” Harry glanced at her, smiling softly, “Sure.”

“Well, come on then.” She chuckled softly, yawning again as she started to head towards their bedroom. She tossed the blanket onto a chair and plopped down onto the bed, sighing softly as she waited for Harry to come in. God, the bed felt amazing. She could fall asleep in a second, and would love to, but she wanted to wait for Harry so she could have some extra warmth while sleeping. 

She smiled softly when Harry finally came into the room, and so did he, bending down to kiss her softly when he made his way to the bed. He lied down next to her and started grabbing the duvet to put over himself, until she spoke up. 

“H, you forgot the light.” She murmured softly, getting herself comfortable next to him. 

Harry paused for a second and got a little worried, but got up nonetheless. “Right, sorry.” He said quietly and reluctantly switched off the light, making it incredibly dark in their room. Y/N liked sleeping when it was really dark, so they didn’t really use the lamp they had in the room, which… well, it wasn't the greatest for Harry at the moment. He couldn’t even see what was in the corners of the room anymore. 

He got in bed anyway, though, letting Y/N snuggle into him whilst he stared at the walls around him. The small creaks he would hear would only bother him more. He tried closing his eyes and actually getting some sleep, but he was so bothered, like he was a kid again and wanted to hide under the covers. He was so paranoid that something was there, like in the movie, lurking and waiting. 

“H, you okay?”

“‘M fine.” He murmured and Y/N scooted a little closer, throwing an arm around his stomach and rubbing his side. 

“You can turn the lamp on if you want, I don’t mind.”

“What? I’m fine.”

“Harry, stop being stubborn, it’s fine.”

“I’m fine, Y/N, just go back to sleep. I was dozing off anyway.”

“What-” Y/N got up from the bed and turned the lamp on herself, casting a warm glow and illuminating the room just enough. Harry felt himself flush a little when she got back into the bed, but she was smiling softly. 

She kissed his lips first, then his cheek and said, “I’m sorry we watched a horror movie, yeah? No more of those, I promise. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, hm?”

a/n: sorry it’s so short!!!! part 2 is when she fucks him awake btw 🤟🤟🤟

🏷: @crow-i-guess, @planetflos, @harrycanyonmoonn, @bxtchboy69, @sweet-as-lilacs, @lyricalniall, @venusincleo (couldn’t tag you!), @bxbun111, @tenaciousperfectionunknown, @emispleased, @goldenhrry, @cinnamongirlrry, @manifestrry, @sadqn1, @sad1esgf, @taylorsreputationsversion, @violetsandfluff, @purplefishingline, @a-strange-familiar, @moonlightbea-33 (couldn’t tag you!), @famedrs-blog, @coochiesteak, @blahblahblah-888 (couldn’t tag you!), @milesisntdonewritingyet, @harrysgoth, @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite (couldn’t tag you!), @cinnamonlola, @youcan-nolonger-run, @velvetrylie

[spicybylerpolls]

It is genuinely ASTONISHING to see how many people are against your blog because they believe “it’s bad/weird to fantasize” or they say stuff like, “analyzing is fine. fantasizing is evil.” Actually fantasization is a divine gift, a spiritual experience, one of the best things we can do as humans. And most clearly Bylers agree!

They spend all day fantasizing about Mike and Will holding hands, going on dates, kissing, even ‘making out sloppily’ but the second we on the spicy side say that we want Byler to fuck, people start freaking out. How dare you fantasize?

Stick to analysis, freak.

Can someone please tell me why sex is such a big weird scandalous taboo? Have we gone back in time? Is this an evangelical youth group? Is this Catholic school? Are we Mormons? To fight back, some say, “Oh I’m not fantasizing, I’m just exploring the character dynamics” as if fantasizing will implicate them as some kind of dirty rotten sinner, as if this is some kind of gotcha that will expose fandom nonces.

But I don’t get it. I’m doing both, unapologetically! I’m exploring Byler’s dynamics, just like we do with ever other HC and canon analysis point, AND I’m fantasizing about them fucking like rabbits until the end of time, just like we fantasize about how the Byler kiss will go or how Mike will finally admit his sexuality.

Last time I checked, sex is part of sexuality, it’s literally in the name, and it’s a Divine Gift. Mike and Will are not disembodied beings who only want to hold hands and look at flowers all day. They are gay teenage boys who are sexually ravenous for each other. It’s clear this era of Puriteens didn’t devour Reddie or Stenborough smut under the covers while giggling and kicking their feet. And none of them would have SURVIVED the Harry Potter fandom.

The other side of this are the adult fancops who are siding with the puriteens and constantly trying to cancel Bylers for thinking unholy thoughts. You can only think analytical thoughts while wearing suits and taking cold showers. Meanwhile 65% of the fandom is openly attracted to Finn, and I’m supposed to be gaslit into thinking this doesn’t translate into their experience actually watching the show? I’m supposed to believe they watched him drool over Will’s ass and then said, “No, he didn’t do that”?

“But why aren’t you fantasizing about adult ships like J0pper or JAncy or or or-”

Because I don’t care about them? No offense. I’ve never read J0pper or JAncy fanfic in my life. And this isn’t J0pper Tumblr? It’s Byler Tumblr. I’m a Byler and naturally I want to see my favorite characters rail each other romantically? And it’s very, dare I say, unnatural and unrealistic when you read fanfics and Mike and Will kiss each other and don’t so much as get a boner. One boner?

I’m so tired. It’s utter gobbledegook.

Especially giving the context of what Stranger Things and Byler represents, it’s so obvious that sexual exploration is the natural evolution for these characters in their arcs in Season 5. Self-actualization and an embrace of the queer experience in all its sensuality and beauty.

The shame WILL be on the other side.

yeah, all great points! I think people get overprotective and hyper-vigilant, and they want to make sure they're taking a strong stand against their nebulous, exaggerated, hypothetical image of the shadowy "30-year old creep" getting off to Byler smut in a dark room.

but you're right that all Bylers "fantasize" about many things, even those most vocal in the analyze-only movement. technically all of Byler is "fantasizing," since they aren't together yet and they are fictional. we're all just envisioning scenarios and situations!

for some reason tho, people are chill with people daydreaming about every romantic scenario imaginable and chill with people conjuring up sad, tragic, angsty situations involving Vecna and bullying and pain. but sex? no. sex is shocking, alarming, and frightening.

also, this is definition of fantasize:

there's nothing inherently creepy about that definition. It's neutral.

[ratmom819]

okay but imagine a snake gets into grimmauld place somehow, and sirius is so confused when everyone calls for, not an adult, but harry. sirius is especially confused by fred and george, who are calling for "the heir of slytherin" for some reason. and then sirius is even MORE confused when harry comes in and starts speaking parseltongue to the snake, and then picks it up as it hisses back, even sirius is like 90% sure it's a venomous species, which is confirmed by the horrified look on remus's face when he walks in.

harry looks up and sees their faces and is like, "oh, it's fine, he's just looking for a place to cool off. hey, we don't have any mice around here do we? he's a little hungry."

all the kids are going back to what they were doing like this is somehow normal.

"you're a parselmouth?" sirius asks.

harry looks confused when he responds, "skeeter literally reported it in the prophet a few months ago."

"I ASSUMED SHE WAS LYING?"

fred and george are now calling harry variations of "heir of slytherin," including "lord of slytherin," "mightiest lord of all snakes," etc, until finally sirius has to ask about that too, and that's how she learns that her godson defeated a basilisk at the age of 12. this is both utterly terrifying and extremely impressive to sirius, who then has a parenting crisis because she doesn't want to encourage harry to go out and fight giant snakes but she's also so fucking proud of him.

harry, meanwhile, is now trying to convince hedwig to catch a mouse for the snake, a suggestion she is clearly offended by, and fred and george are conjuring magnificent green carpets in front of harry's feet as if he's royalty. and so now ginny is trying to use the carpets to trip people, and when she successfully trips ron they get into a shouting match, which means pig is flying around their heads screeching.

sirius is pretty sure it's the loudest grimmauld place has ever been, and he can't help but think back to their summers at the potter mansion, and when they catch a fond look in remus's eye as he backs out of the room, sirius knows he's thinking the same thing.

[hd-wireless]

📻🎶 H/D WIRELESS 2023 - WEEKLY WRAP-UP #1

🎶  Just a perfect week Read fanfiction in the park And then later When it gets dark, look at art. Just a perfect week Reading at work in the loo, And then later a podfic, too And then home.

Oh it's such a perfect fest We're glad to share it with you Oh, such a perfect fest It just keeps us reading on, It just keeps us reading on.   🎶

🎤 Welcome to our 8th round of H/D Wireless!

The time has finally come to start posting all the fantastic entries we’ve received this year!

We’ve revealed 14 top hits so far, with many more to come. The mods have been working non-stop since December to make this happen, so we’re beyond excited to finally be back 🤩

As always you can listen to the prompted songs for the works we post on two playlists:

Click here for Spotify (many thanks to @evaeleanor for helping us out there) ❤️

And here for the YouTube playlist.

And now without further ado, our Wrap-up for the first week of posting:

🎶 H/D Wireless Art 🎶

📻 Why don't you like me? [T, digital comic]

🎵Song Prompt: Grace Kelly by MIKA 🎵Summary Failing to ask Harry out, Draco deals with his feelings in a very dramatic fashion.

📻 Alive [E, Digital comic]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Alive' by 'Sia' 🎵 Summary Harry is lost after the final battle, but he finds comfort from an unexpected source. 

🎶 H/D Wireless Fic and Art 🎶

📻 Before the Cold Sets In [T, 9,154, origami art]

🎵 Song Prompt: Cold Tea Blues, by Cowboy Junkies 🎵 Summary But if I measure the sugar To satisfy your expectant tongue Then that is love Sitting untouched and growing cold - Cold Tea Blues, by Cowboy Junkies Sometimes, the person you should be planning your life with is already in it. Or, how Harry realised that true love is at the bottom of a tea cup.

🎶 H/D Wireless Fic 🎶

📻 Everybody Hates a Tourist [E, 51,500]

🎵 Song Prompt: Common People by Pulp 🎵 Summary On a stag do in sunny Brighton with the Gryffindor lads, the last person Harry expects to run into is Draco Malfoy. After a glimpse of Malfoy’s Muggle life in Britain’s gay capital, Harry’s curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself returning to the seaside again and again, drawn to the city, drawn to this new version of Malfoy that Harry barely recognises from school. Meanwhile, Draco’s just trying to live his big and best queer life: working for the weekend, chasing hot men, getting lost in Brighton's nightlife, and making friends with the neighbourhood cats. Why does his former school rival and crush have to show up and spoil everything?

📻 Take You Home [E, 26,333]

🎵 Song Prompt: Fuck the Pain Away by Peaches and Take You Home by Dido 🎵 Summary Everybody’s a little fucked up after the war, Draco especially. What starts as hate sex after a night out, eventually turns into something else, something more like comfort. And even though his friends all tell Harry he’s just being used, all Harry’s doing is making sure Draco gets home in one piece. He’s not falling helplessly in love.

📻 love is just a shout in the void [M, 4,489]

🎵 Song Prompt: i'm in love with u, sorry by j'san 🎵 Summary Draco accidentally texts Potter his biggest secret and he’s pretty sure the Chosen Prat isn’t ready to hear anything close to it. So he pretends he didn’t mean to. But the problem is: Potter is still as infuriating as ever, if not more than he was before.

📻 The Two Of Us In Sympathy [M, 5,782]

🎵 Song Prompt: Rent by Pet Shop Boys. 🎵 Summary Draco Malfoy is a sex worker. Harry Potter is the client who falls in love with him.

📻 Vipera Berus [M, 20,614]

🎵 Song Prompt: Just Pretend by Bad Omens 🎵 Summary Everything was fine. Draco resided at the Manor, made a decent living selling potions and most of his customers actually kept coming back despite his last name. Hence, Draco was fine. He really was. And so what, if he was still waiting.

📻 Don’t hate him when he gets up to leave [M, 2,226]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Two-Headed Boy' by 'Neutral Milk Hotel' 🎵 Summary The linens are white and empty, sunlight slanting through the window illuminating a bed that has been deserted. Draco knew Potter would leave; he’s always gone by morning. Draco doesn’t even remember what he looks like in daylight.

📻 (you) find me when the lights go down [T, 1,839]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'save me from the monster in my head' by 'Welshly Arms' 🎵 Summary Harry can hear footsteps on the stairs behind him but doesn't bother turning to look. There's only one person likely to follow him out here at this time of night. "Potter," comes the crisp voice, easily recognisable as Draco. "You do know that most sane people, especially those who spend every waking moment complaining of being cold, would cast a warming charm. Or at the very least grab a sweater. Not spend every night attempting to turn into an icicle." - What makes someone a ghost? Because if it's dying, Harry's got that covered.

📻 If You Took the Time to Try [T, 18,169]

🎵 Song Prompt: "Go Like" by Fox Stevenson 🎵 Summary Last summer, Draco's impulsive decision to sleep with Harry Potter resulted in a bruised ego and a broken heart. Now he's looking for a fresh start- something that was absolutely not just an excuse for him to run away from his problems. Only it totally was, and while leaving London might have been easy, leaving Potter in the past was not.

📻 Title & Possession [E, 49,063]

🎵 Song Prompt: Misery Loves Company - Asking Alexandria 🎵 Summary Harry Potter’s life is going well in the aftermath of the war. Sure, his house is dark and run-down and might hate him (while his house elf definitely hates him). But other than that, things are good. Except, yeah, okay, Hermione and Ron are no longer on speaking terms. Worse, they keep trying to get Harry to pick sides. But otherwise, Harry couldn’t be happier. Well. Except for the fact that Ginny is being super weird about their relationship and never wants to have sex or talk about the future. But other than that, Harry is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch. At least, he is until Draco Malfoy threatens to sue him for ownership of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and winds up moving in until the issue is settled. Then Harry really isn’t fine at all.

🎶 H/D Wireless Podfic 🎶

📻 Inside These Walls [podfic] [M, 33 minutes]

🖋️ Original author: Jackvbriefs 🎵 Song Prompt: Black Sheep by Metric 🎵 Summary The year before Draco moves to Los Angeles, Harry Potter disappears. Draco doesn't mean to find him. He's just doing his job.

📻 Moldova's Magical Tea by aibidil - a Podfic [E, 2:46:12]

🖋️ Original author: aibidil  🎵 Song Prompt:  Clint Eastwood by Gorrillaz 🎵 Summary Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and—to everyone’s surprise—Draco Malfoy are opening a magical tea shop to revive wizarding tea culture and, hopefully, to bring the community together after the war. Harry, who is unemployed and trying to find his way in post-war society, wants to help his friends with their new business—but that means spending a lot of time around Malfoy. Featuring Muggle music from summer 2001, trips to the Muggle cinema, herbology and magical herbal infusions, and Draco trying to convince Harry that, while he’s still a snarky git, he’s no longer a bigot.

[breserker]

i've been thinking hard on why the post-Team Silent SH games just feel like they don't fucking work at all and I genuinely believe it's because they gravely misinterpret what the multiple endings are supposed to do.

With the exception of the total joke endings which you must go out of your way for sometimes in convoluted ways, the alternate Silent Hill endings do not fundamentally change the story. Harry still finds out what happened to his daughter, James still goes through the same journey as does everyone around him, Heather still kills God as a final boss, Henry still confronts Walter after finding out what he intended to do to apartment 302. The endings just change the outcome, the epilogue, the "what happens next" question.

Meanwhile, because in writing this sh4 fic I realized I had never finished Origins, i look up what's the deal with Travis and...he could either be a totally normal guy OR A FUCKING SERIAL KILLER, and while there are things you do in the game to get one or the other there's like. no way that just doesn't fundamentally change the story being told. And since the games were developed with some semblance of a canon throughline in mind, one ending becomes infinitely clunkier than the other and in its worst cases (Downpour, for example) spits in the player's face for wanting to engage with a complete, coherent story. (Murph totally killed his son! Oops no he totally didn't. Well it doesn't matter because other people think he did. but wait, if you did this one thing, then yeah nevermind it was all true/false all along)

I think this paired with the immensely dionysian approach to writing human beings (while I'm usually an advocate for the dionysian, the post Team-Silent games do not do this well and I mean it derogatorily) makes for what feels like an edgelord experience that thrives on what's the most shocking/wild pulls we can have a player do instead of telling an actual story.

And I think this really messy approach to storytelling by mixing it up with the freedom of video games is why so much of the games just didn't resonate with people on the deeper level that the Team Silent games had. I really wanted to like Murphy but I can't tell you a damn thing about him in confidence because depending on what you do he becomes just a totally different person; he could either be a mourning dad who cut his own losses to imprison himself to avenge his son and the rest of his life be damned, or he could be his son's fucking murderer and it was all a convoluted ploy to incriminate someone else for his son's murder. Who's Murphy Pendleton, then?? His anger in one scene can be totally unchanged from run to run but the contextual interpretation varies so greatly that his anger could come off as a hurt father who lost his son to like. Sinister killer.

The fact that a lot of these games came out during the rise of mystery box style storytelling in the west isn't lost on me either. It's just such a shame because so many of these games have...fine frameworks? Some of them fuck them up more than others (Alex as a veteran being a total lie was..............A Choice) and I didn't include Shattered Memories because while that also bungles its own narratives over and over like Downpour, at least it said that on the tin and was kind of openly experimental in that regard.

PostScript: I know I wanted to bring up Travis's backstory as an example of weird dionysian human beings, and contrast that to Walter's weird ass backstory, and trying to figure out why one succeeds at its grotesque weirdness where the other feels like that Edgelord approach of ohhhh yeah you're just. Puttin' anything on the wall to get a reaction. But I can't figure out where to fit it in here and I think the multiple ending fuckup is a less subjective issue.

[i-like-art-and-spiderman]

Part 2 of my NWH post

Peter: Harry! Peter looked at his revived friend, tears leaking out of his eyes. Out of anything to Happen Peter didn't expect this, especially when Norman and Otto returned to present day. MJ: I know right! This is amazing, I don't even know how this happened I . . . MJ looked behind Peter in horror, two familiar and both equally traumatizing faces stared back at her. Otto: Hello, Mizz Watson. Before MJ could scream Peter covered her mouth. However, everyone's attention was drawn to the figure in the bed. Harry's body violently moved side to side while his heartbeat increased. A nightmare. Norman: Harry? MJ rushed over to Harry, gently caressing his hand. MJ: Everything is okay Hare, relax I'm right here. The soothing and steady voice calmed him down as his heart rate became normal again. His body leaning to the side showing the scarred half of his face. Norman looked at his son horrified, what happened to his boy? Otto covered his mouth concern also following him, becoming more and more prevalent as he watched Peter freeze, tears in his eyes as if he had seen a ghost. Meanwhile, Peter looked at Harry in disbelief. His friend, the one who saved him, the one who's friendship he almost lost completely, was here. With him, guilt however slowly reared its ugly head as he noticed the still prevalent scars on Harry's face. Even after everything, they are still there. He should not be surprised. As much as things seemed to have changed after saving the lives of Norman and Otto, it doesn't erase what happened in the past. He just hopes Harry doesn't hate him. Cause Lord knows he doesn't deserve forgiveness. Norman looked at his son fear creeping along his spine. He reached for Harry's face when a hand grabbed his wrist taking both Peter and Otto out of their heads. Norman looked up in surprise, MJ staring back at him. MJ: Leave. Now. Norman: He's, my son! MJ: I don't care, leave! Peter: MJ. Norman: I am not going to leave; he is my son. MJ: Do I look like I care Mr. Osborn, or should I say Green Goblin. Peter: . . . MJ: So, both of you get out before I call the police. Peter: MJ Please. MJ: Peter one more word and I'll ask you to be removed too. With that Peter shut his mouth, looking at Otto with a plead to get Norman out. Otto understanding the look, glanced at Norman. Otto: Norman, I think we should go and ask questions later when everyone is fully rested and calmed down. Norman: Calmed down. CALMED DOWN! LOOK AT MY SON OTTO!!! With that, a Nurse knocked on the door. "Hey is everything alright?" MJ gave Norman a look and he stepped away from his son. MJ: Yes Mam, everything is fine. On that note, both Otto and Norman stepped outside, Norman giving MJ a dirty look as MJ stared back at him with sheer and utter hatred. She then turned to Peter, her face softening the smallest amount. MJ: Care to explain what the fuck is going on?

[ghaniblue]

Wireless 2023 recs: week 1

My desire to read Drarry fic is returning so I'm making my way through this year's @hd-wireless offerings week by week. Here is a list of things I enjoyed from the week 1 round up. My favourites are marked with a ❤️. If you find yourself wondering why my list is 3/4 of the week 1 round up, yes I know, this bloody fandom honestly, so much good stuff.

[29.08. creators added after reveals]

❤️ Why don’t you like me? by @caroll-in (T, digital comic)

Failing to ask Harry out, Draco deals with his feelings in a very dramatic fashion.

Alive by @itsphantasmagoria (E, Digital comic)

Harry is lost after the final battle, but he finds comfort from an unexpected source

❤️ Before the Cold Sets In by @vukovich & @crazybutgood (T, 9k, fic + origami art)

But if I measure the sugar To satisfy your expectant tongue Then that is love Sitting untouched and growing cold - Cold Tea Blues, by Cowboy Junkies Sometimes, the person you should be planning your life with is already in it. Or, how Harry realised that true love is at the bottom of a tea cup.

Everybody Hates a Tourist by @wolfpants (E, 51k)

On a stag do in sunny Brighton with the Gryffindor lads, the last person Harry expects to run into is Draco Malfoy. After a glimpse of Malfoy’s Muggle life in Britain’s gay capital, Harry’s curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself returning to the seaside again and again, drawn to the city, drawn to this new version of Malfoy that Harry barely recognises from school. Meanwhile, Draco’s just trying to live his big and best queer life: working for the weekend, chasing hot men, getting lost in Brighton’s nightlife, and making friends with the neighbourhood cats. Why does his former school rival and crush have to show up and spoil everything?

Don’t hate him when he gets up to leave by @deliciousblizzardshark (M, 2k)

The linens are white and empty, sunlight slanting through the window illuminating a bed that has been deserted. Draco knew Potter would leave; he’s always gone by morning. Draco doesn’t even remember what he looks like in daylight.

Take You Home by @lqtraintracks (E, 26k)

Everybody’s a little fucked up after the war, Draco especially. What starts as hate sex after a night out, eventually turns into something else, something more like comfort. And even though his friends all tell Harry he’s just being used, all Harry’s doing is making sure Draco gets home in one piece. He’s not falling helplessly in love.

If You Took the Time to Try by enoby_w (T, 18k)

Last summer, Draco’s impulsive decision to sleep with Harry Potter resulted in a bruised ego and a broken heart. Now he’s looking for a fresh start- something that was absolutely not just an excuse for him to run away from his problems. Only it totally was, and while leaving London might have been easy, leaving Potter in the past was not.

Title & Possession by @kbrick (E, 49,063)

Harry Potter’s life is going well in the aftermath of the war. Sure, his house is dark and run-down and might hate him (while his house elf definitely hates him). But other than that, things are good. Except, yeah, okay, Hermione and Ron are no longer on speaking terms. Worse, they keep trying to get Harry to pick sides. But otherwise, Harry couldn’t be happier. Well. Except for the fact that Ginny is being super weird about their relationship and never wants to have sex or talk about the future. But other than that, Harry is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch. At least, he is until Draco Malfoy threatens to sue him for ownership of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and winds up moving in until the issue is settled. Then Harry really isn’t fine at all.

❤️ Moldova’s Magical Tea by aibidil - a Podfic by cailynwrites (E, 2h 46min)

Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and—to everyone’s surprise—Draco Malfoy are opening a magical tea shop to revive wizarding tea culture and, hopefully, to bring the community together after the war. Harry, who is unemployed and trying to find his way in post-war society, wants to help his friends with their new business—but that means spending a lot of time around Malfoy. Featuring Muggle music from summer 2001, trips to the Muggle cinema, herbology and magical herbal infusions, and Draco trying to convince Harry that, while he’s still a snarky git, he’s no longer a bigot.

>> week 2 recs <<

[gemsofgreece]

“Certain” foreigners: Modern Greeks have nothing in common with Ancient Greeks

Meanwhile, in Iliad, Rhapsody I, with no exaggeration:

Calchas: Look there’s a problem, Apollo is angry and you, Agamemnon, have to give the girl to her father to appease the god

Agamemnon: Who gives a shit about the god, why should only I give my prize back, am I the malakas of the gang or what? If you take her from me, I am gonna do the same to someone else, especially that asshole Achilles who people respect and thus must be destroyed

Achilles: WTF son of a bitch (literally) if you take my prize I ‘d rather see all our people die than help you out

A little later in Iliad, also in Rhapsody I:

Achilles: MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Thetis, jumping out of the sea like Harry Potter from the lake in the Goblet of Fire: WHO HURT YOU MY BOY? TELL MOMMY AND I ‘LL CUT THEIR ASS

Achilles: Mom, Agamemnon showed disrespect to me, please persuade Zeus to start killing all the Greeks for revenge

Thetis: Your request sounds totally reasonable, cutie pie, mommy will try her best

Thetis: *flies to Olympus like Superman*

And immediately after, we’re still in Rhapsody I, can you believe?

Thetis: I helped you once Zeus and now you must help me back, it’s not like I helped you out of my good heart without expecting a future payback

Zeus: can you please get the fuck out before Hera sees me talking to someone without her permission?

Thetis: if you don’t grant my baby boy’s wish you assh-

Zeus: okay so you essentially ask me to take another beating from Hera, that’s good, that’s fine, it’s not like I am dead inside already. This woman is obsessed with me I swear, she always points out how everything I do is a mistake. This marriage has been taking years off of my eternity. Anyway okay, I promise, leave now, and some other religion god help me

Hera: Zeus?

Zeus: *shit, shit, shit* Yes Hera, Goddess of Goddesses, only love of my life?

Hera: Did you do things without asking me again, you sly rat?

Zeus: I AM A MAN AND I AM THE HEAD OF THIS MOUNTAIN AND I WILL DO ANYTHING I WANT. SEE, IT’S YOUR FAULT I CAN’T STAND YOUR GRUMPINESS AND HAVE TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SOME JOY, YOU STIFF SHREW, DON’T MAKE ME COME THERE

Hephaestus: oh Mom don’t get sad, this clown of a father is a well known asshole but the fucker is strong and nobody wants to deal with this, okay? So let’s all eat to the point of death if we were mortals and forget about this

*Everyone laughs at him for being disabled*

*After a fight, abuse threats, child accusing the father for neglect, enough food to kill an army and the mocking of their son’s disability, Zeus and Hera go happily to bed together*

Seriously who needs phylogenetic analysis and comparisons of Greek DNA when there’s Iliad’s Rhapsody I, amirite folks

[weirdraccoon]

Tom's First Murder

Tom stood as still as a statue and as pale as a ghost. Delphini was hissing apologies and excuses behind him while the Ravenclaw girl laid lifeless at his feet.

In the back of his mind, he was aware that he wasn’t breathing. However, he felt about to crash down, to drop into the worst panic attack of panic attacks. He didn’t dare blink, in case the body was still there when he opened his eyes. He didn’t dare move, in case it brought someone’s attention to this.

How did it look?

Tom Sallow, from the Gaunt bloodline, standing over a lifeless girl in the girls’ bathroom with a huge basilisk at his back.

And it was not any girl either.

It was that Ravenclaw, Myrtle Warren, the one with a crush on Harry, his Harry.

There was a motive.

There was a tool - a beast in this case.

There was the fact that he was still standing at the crime scene and he couldn’t get to fucking move-

“¡Tom!”

Professor Sallow took him by his shoulders and shook him. But it wasn’t Professor Sallow at that moment. It was Uncle Ominis. Worried pale eyes looking in his direction, close to meeting his own eyes, wand pulsing irregularly, taking in the scene he walked into. 

Tom couldn’t help but notice that Ominis seemed to be ignoring the two big elephants in the room, keeping his main focus on the boy that caused everything.

“I didn’t-” he began to say, hating how his voice stuttered, how he sounded his age for once.

“Hush, hush, I’m just glad you’re fine,” Ominis replied, wrapping his arms around the boy in a warm hug.

“But-

“Hush,” Ominis repeated, then turned his head to the hissing noises of the basilisk. “ Go back to the Chamber,” he ordered, and Tom was again wrapped in the feeling of home at listening to his dad’s parseltongue, the one thing he and only he shared with Tom. “Tom,” he called, getting the boy’s attention back. “I’m going to take you to your dormitory, and I need you to promise that you won’t leave it until tomorrow morning for breakfast.”

Tom stared at Ominis with a couple of tears gathering in his eyes.

“What about-”

“I’ll handle it,” Ominis said. “Your mom and dad might come to visit,” he added. “I just want you to stay in your dormitory, and convince your classmates that you were there the whole night. Forget this happened, for now.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Tom whispered.

Ominis sighed. There he was, his fifteen-year-old, following two of his parents' footsteps and staining his hands with blood at a young age. None of them were clean, though, how was he supposed to punish him when they -the three of them- were no better.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he promised. “Try to act like your usual self. No one can suspect you, ok?”

Tom nodded, forcing himself to keep the tears at bay.

“Good,” Ominis smiled, ushering him out of the bathroom and through the hallway towards the Slytherin wall. “We’ll be waiting tomorrow in my office after breakfast.”

Tom nodded once more and entered the common room, making a beeline to his dormitory where he eyed his dormmates with his usual cold calculated gaze.

“What were we doing?”

Being a Gaunt descendant had its perks, even if some hated that the name was lost to Sallow. But no matter. Gaunt, Sallow or Sayre, Tom and his family were respected and feared on the same level.

Ominis, meanwhile, was levitating a girl’s body down to the Chamber. He didn’t want Ishbel or Sebastian in there, mainly because Delphini could very well kill them as she did with Warren, but he couldn’t take it up to the Charm’s classroom or his office or his quarters.

Someone could see. Tom had… special problems with the Transfiguration Professor and Ominis wouldn’t let him blame Tom for this. Even if this time Tom was to blame.

“Go hide, ” he ordered the basilisk. “I’ll tell you when you can come back outside,” Delphini hissed sadly about disappointing his young Master when she left. Ominis deposited the body in a corner, running his hand through his hair. “Honestly, why couldn’t he adopt a stray cat?”

Then he went to his office and send an owl to his spouses. Not ten minutes later, they were crossing the floo flame, looking worried.

“Where’s Tom?” Ishbel asked, looking around the office.

“I sent him to his dorm. Thought he should have an alibi.”

“An alibi?” Sebastian repeated, raising his eyebrows. “What did he do? Kill someone?”

Ominis hadn’t written details for obvious reasons. He just told them they needed to come as soon as possible. His silence, however, was answer enough.

“I’m surprised it wasn’t you,” Ishbel joked weakly, turning to Sebastian.

“Hey!” Sebastian scoffed. “I’ll have you know that the kid and I have been getting along really well lately.”

“Yeah, since you began teaching him dangerous spells,” Ishbel smirked. “I guess if it worked with us it’d work with him,” she signaled to Ominis and herself. “You get to bond with him!”

Ominis shook his head. He had expected it, them not taking this seriously enough, but he had hoped. He cleared his throat.

“I followed his pet’s frantic hissing to the girl’s bathroom,” he explained. “He was in shock and clearly traumatized. I can only guess, but it seemed like Delphini came out before he could clear the room and this Ravenclaw girl saw her.”

“Ouch,” Ishbel grimaced. “The first murder is always the hardest. Especially if it was an accident. Can’t we see him?”

Ominis shook his head.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he said. “I told him to come here after breakfast. I called you to help me with the body. We can’t leave it in the Chamber, after all, someone could track it.”

“Wait, hold on,” Sebastian raised a hand. “The Chamber. The Chamber of Secrets? Is it real!? And you didn’t tell us?”

Ominis could only imagine the kicked-puppy look Sebastian was sporting at that moment. He could also picture Ishbel mirroring him. They did spend their last year at Hogwarts looking for clues to that particular secret. After the Scriptorium, anything was possible.

“I told you it was in the bathroom!”

“No, you said there was a snake in a sink,” Sebastian turned to Ishbel.

“And you said it was impossible for it to be in the bathroom!” Ishbel crossed her arms. “Only because it was the girls’ bathroom, I bet.”

“Ominis and I couldn’t just walk in!”

“Of course, you could,” Ishbel said. “I was always sneaking into your dorm and the lockers!”

“It’s different.”

“Is not.”

“Guys!” Ominis exclaimed, sending red sparks from his wand as he did in classes and he had to get his students’ attention. “Tom, please.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sebastian rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“Well, let’s go,” Ishbel said, hopping to the door. “I knew he didn’t just find a stray basilisk. This makes much more sense.”

With the help of Ishbel’s Ancient Magic and Sebastian’s Unspeakable secret knowledge, they were able to completely erase the body from existence. Ominis, for good measure, swept the bathroom with a charm and cleaned any hint of Tom’s magic and presence from the room. 

Ishbel went to Ravenclaw tower and the girl’s dorm (it only took her two tries to solve the riddle) and raid the girl’s belongings in silence, making sure to not wake up the other two girls. She took everything that looked important to be able to claim that she left on her own.

From what she read in her diary, it wouldn’t be hard to believe. This Warren girl was as bullied as Puffskein Dunkein, and as likable as Cressida Blume. She also wrote a few days ago about how she wished “she could be anywhere else”.

Ishbel left the diary under the pillow with a giddy smile, then she pocketed the rest of the belongings and scurried back to Ominis’ office. Her two husbands were sprawled over the couch, listing with his fingers to make sure they didn’t forget anything.

They fell asleep, recounting how they felt about their first murder, and planning what they were going to tell Tom in the morning.

To Ominis and Ishbel’s surprise, it was Sebastian who talked to him first. In retrospect, it made sense, because Sebastian was the one who suffered the most that one time. Tom cried a little and apologized, and vowed to be more careful.

Ishbel crushed him in a hug.

“Don’t worry about it Tomtom,” she shushed.

Once Tom left for his classes, Sebastian and Ishbel turned to Ominis with matching grins.

“Don’t say it.”

“Our precious dark lord,” Ishbel gushed.

“His very first murder,” Sebastian continued.

“I've got to write to Imelda,” Ishbel said. “She’s gonna win so many bets with the others.”

“I should go to work,” Sebastian mussed. “Let me know when we’re looting the Chamber.”

Ominis facepalmed.

“Sure, I have a NEWT class anyway,” he waved them off.

[epitomereally]

🎵 🎶 5 faves from H/D Wireless 2023: Week 1 🎶 🎵

@hd-wireless, as always, has served us excellence. Thank you to the creators & mods. Usual disclaimer: I haven’t read everything yet!

Fic:

(you) find me when the lights go down by anon (1800 words, T)

Harry can hear footsteps on the stairs behind him but doesn't bother turning to look. There's only one person likely to follow him out here at this time of night.

"Potter," comes the crisp voice, easily recognisable as Draco. "You do know that most sane people, especially those who spend every waking moment complaining of being cold, would cast a warming charm. Or at the very least grab a sweater. Not spend every night attempting to turn into an icicle." What makes someone a ghost? Because if it's dying, Harry's got that covered.

A beautiful exploration of Harry’s demons in eighth year & how Draco can help exorcise them. How do I know I'm not a ghost? just punched me the solar plexus, so beautiful and so awful for Harry, and how tenderly Draco treats him, while still being Draco. One of the two masterclasses in short fic on this list! How MA says so much in so few words—I’m in awe.

Don’t hate him when he gets up to leave by anon (2200 words, M)

The linens are white and empty, sunlight slanting through the window illuminating a bed that has been deserted. Draco knew Potter would leave; he’s always gone by morning. Draco doesn’t even remember what he looks like in daylight.

Three words: pining while fucking. PINING. WHILE. FUCKING. I don’t even need to write a rec for this fic. Please click the link just for that tag.

Just kidding: MA, you can shove your brand of angst down my throat any day. I had to stop myself from quoting the entire fic back at you in my comment. Your prose is so evocative and sparse and melancholy. Marry me, please?

Title & Possession by anon (49k words, E)

Harry Potter’s life is going well in the aftermath of the war. Sure, his house is dark and run-down and might hate him (while his house elf definitely hates him). But other than that, things are good. Except, yeah, okay, Hermione and Ron are no longer on speaking terms. Worse, they keep trying to get Harry to pick sides. But otherwise, Harry couldn’t be happier. Well. Except for the fact that Ginny is being super weird about their relationship and never wants to have sex or talk about the future. But other than that, Harry is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch. At least, he is until Draco Malfoy sues him for ownership of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Then Harry really isn’t fine at all.

This fic is FUNNY. Harry is such a wally, so perfectly in-character as our awkward, repressed, depressed, hilarious little cinnamon roll (and Draco is so proud and petty and desperate for Harry too). The romance is so well-deserved by both, and we love a Harry-realizing-his-sexuality fic (SO well-done here—the tension is scorching!). 

Everybody Hates a Tourist by anon (51.5k, E)

On a stag do in sunny Brighton with the Gryffindor lads, the last person Harry expects to run into is Draco Malfoy. After a glimpse of Malfoy’s Muggle life in Britain’s gay capital, Harry’s curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself returning to the seaside again and again, drawn to the city, drawn to this new version of Malfoy that Harry barely recognises from school. Meanwhile, Draco’s just trying to live his big and best queer life: working for the weekend, chasing hot men, getting lost in Brighton's nightlife, and making friends with the neighbourhood cats. Why does his former school rival and crush have to show up and spoil everything?

An absolute banger on the first day of the fest. Come for the absolutely perfect characterization of Harry & Draco, stay for the lush descriptions of Brighton and EVERYWHERE. The perfect start-of-summer fic, absolutely impeccable, gentle, gorgeous summer vibes (conveniently when where I live FINALLY started getting hot). So many elements to love here: Harry learning about himself, gently and with grace from everyone around him, the TEXTING (absolutely perfect), the side characters with perfect characterization (Seamus at the hotel!), the flirting, DRACO BUYING HARRY A LEATHER JACKET (;_;). Just bury me dead; this fic was so lovely & it’s all I need.

Art:

Alive by anon (E)

Harry is lost after the final battle, but he finds comfort from an unexpected source.

Eighth year will forever have my heart for some angsty healing, and MA has captured this so beautifully. This art is not only beautiful (the animations! the color palette! both Harry & Draco! Idk how to compliment art!), but it’s such a gorgeous journey for Harry—from the trauma of the war towards happiness again. Exactly what our darling boy deserves <3

[evesaintyves]

I really disagree with the post about Teddy. You really think he’d be mad at his parents for not staying at home while all their friends and fellow Order members go and give their lives for the future of their world? Especially when he grows up around Harry and the rest. Children fought and died but they shouldn’t have because they had him? I actually hate the whole Lupin asking Tonks to stay at home. They met as part of the Order, and she was an auror. Becoming a mother doesn’t change that.

hi anon! i'm sorry you felt you had to send this anonymously, because i'd be happy to have this conversation with you in a way that isn't quite so one-sided.

first, let me make something clear: i'm fine with whatever your take on Teddy Lupin's psychology is. i am 100% not interested in pinning down some kind of absolute truth about Teddy, Tonks, Lupin, or any other character. i think that's a limiting approach to writing about people. human behavior is a complex, multifactorial, emergent process that's sometimes difficult to predict or explain. this is one reason why i rarely post or talk about "headcanons" - i'm open to the idea of multiple, even contradictory, interpretations that are equally valid, equally compatible with the information available in canon.

my interest in is storytelling. i want to read and write stories about what it's like to be a person. all these characters - especially remadora and teddy, about whom there is limited and sometimes unreliable information in canon - are full of possibilities and opportunities for extrapolating what we do know about them into a story about what being human was like for them.

being angry with your parents for doing things they thought were entirely justifiable at the time is, for many people, an aspect of the human condition.

but let's talk specifics. the truth is that we don't know, canonically, how teddy lupin feels about being orphaned. to me, that means it's fair game for all kinds of interpretations. now, i did not write the original post (gonna tag @jilylicious to chime in on this if they want since it's their work and i'm sure they have their own ideas) but i'd like to address your points and tell you why i think it's a perfectly valid interpretation of Teddy and his relationship with his parents' memory.

You really think he’d be mad at his parents for not staying at home while all their friends and fellow Order members go and give their lives for the future of their world?

sure, why not? Teddy isn't a Remadora fan on tumblr, he isn't necessarily familiar with and sympathetic to his parents' story in the way we are. he's a kid who has to come to terms with the fact that his parents left him with his grandma as a tiny baby and went to fight in a battle that killed them. that's fucking unfair to him. he's allowed to feel all kinds of ways about that.

what do we think an abstract concept like "the future of their world" means to teddy? as a young child, probably not much, right? the capacity to even understand something like that - as a vague abstraction mostly concerning the well-being of a bunch of other people - probably wouldn't even develop in teddy until at least around the time he went to hogwarts (and i am not about to make this shit even longer by citing child development theories, but you're welcome to look it up). meanwhile, his whole childhood, he's dealing with the consequences of his parents' choice, forming an identity that includes "my parents left me with my grandmother one night so they could fight in a war and never came back," and probably developing all kind of feelings about that, right? abandonment, whatever the circumstances and mechanics behind it, is hard on kids and has knock-on effects that can be lifelong: issues with trust and attachment to other people, feelings of worthlessness, fear of intimacy and commitment. those things can be forged in early childhood and it's not as simple as being talked out of them with some explanation of why it had to be that way.

is Teddy's life actually even better than if his parents hadn't gone off to die? maybe. Teddy might or might not feel that it is. we don't really have any evidence that Lupin and Tonks's participation in the battle had much of an effect on the outcome. one or both of them might have stayed home and the battle might have been won anyway and he'd be chilling with them right now. the idea of his life if the battle had been lost is another abstraction based on political and social developments that mostly happened before he was born. understandable for young Teddy, and even adult Teddy, not to really grasp all the could-have-beens there. even with the war won, Teddy may have grown up experiencing the social stigma of being the child of a famous werewolf who's not even around to help him through it. reasonable and okay to be angry about that, and understandable to still resent your parents for putting you in that situation even if you agree that it had to be that way.

i would argue that, however childlike, irrational, or self-absorbed Teddy's early feelings about his own trauma are, they're probably going to inform his ideas about his parents for a long time. like, have you come to a rational, all-perspectives understanding of all the ideas you developed in childhood? about your earliest sense that life was unfair? i don't think everyone does, at least not without a lot of difficult work. maybe he comes to a fuller understanding later in life. maybe he decides that he agrees that it had to happen but he is still plagued by this anger and hurt that won't be argued with. i think this is a pretty relatable idea. things can be true but not feel true. things can make sense but you're still sad and mad about them.

Especially when he grows up around Harry and the rest.

he does grow up around Harry! and Harry lost his parents too, so maybe he's in a unique position to counsel teddy about that - but Harry's situation is markedly different from Teddy's, isn't it?

Harry's parents went into hiding as a family to protect him. they didn't leave him with a relative in a safe house and carry on with their Order duties. James didn't send Lily into hiding with Harry while he kept fighting. the fact that they stood their ground together and died there to protect him is central not just to Harry's story but to the entire HP universe.

how might Teddy feel about the differences between their two stories? maybe fine. maybe it wouldn't even occur to him. maybe he'd feel cheated and abandoned by his parents who left him and went off to fight instead - yes, Teddy was one reason they felt they had to fight, but might Teddy not see it as them going to lay their lives down for Harry and for a cause? imagine how that might inform the way he feels about Harry. Teddy isn't required, especially as a kid, to think about this in a way that we feel is rational or sympathetic to his parents.

even if Harry does his best to present the story to Teddy in a way that's sympathetic to Teddy and his parents, Harry probably isn't the only source from which Teddy is going to hear this stuff. it's gonna be in history books, periodicals, fictionalized retellings, everyone's personal Where Were You On May 2nd story - and those accounts are likely to frame what happened as a bunch of people dying for Harry Potter and the fate of the wizarding world. not Teddy being able to live a happier life. that might be difficult for a kid to grapple with, no?

finally, Harry didn't raise Teddy. Andromeda Tonks did. how do you imagine SHE feels about what Teddy's parents did? what Lupin did? she might very well have seen leaving to fight in the battle as another attempt by Lupin to go redeem himself with a hero's death instead of facing his responsibility for Tonks and Teddy (and, honestly, i think that's a possibility worth exploring in fiction about Lupin and his motivations). how might that have filtered down to Teddy and his understanding of his parents? Andromeda is grieving while she raises her orphaned grandbaby, and i bet she has her own anger and resentment and despair to deal with there - that's understandable whether you agree with her conclusions or not. it's not hard to imagine Teddy overhearing some bitter asides from Andromeda, or picking up on the tension when she answers his questions about his parents.

Children fought and died but they shouldn’t have because they had him?

i mean, you're not going to catch me arguing that children should have died instead of Lupin and Tonks. i have mixed feelings about the choice they made that could be its own whole long post, but they're irrelevant here.

Teddy doesn't have to feel that way to be mad that his parents left him to go die. he also doesn't really have to give a shit about those long-dead children - another possibly hard-to-understand abstraction. he doesn't even have to think his parents should have stayed in order to be justifiably angry that they left! even if Teddy agrees they had no choice he can still be fucking pissed off at them! the dissonance between these ideas is probably pretty distressing, in fact!

feelings are like that sometimes. relationships with parents are like that sometimes. grief and feelings of abandonment don't always listen to logical arguments. that's what makes this take interesting and relatable, to me. being a person is fucking messy as shit. i'm sure there's an interesting story to be told about Teddy... being fine with his parents' deaths or whatever, but it's not any more representative of the spectrum of human emotions and trauma responses than the ideas the OP wrote about Teddy.

I actually hate the whole Lupin asking Tonks to stay at home. They met as part of the Order, and she was an auror. Becoming a mother doesn’t change that.

i think that's valid! i totally understand it. i think the way the situation was written reveals a lot about JKR's ideas about gender roles and parenting. i have different ideas about those things, which is at least partially down to the generation i belong to and my status as a queer person and a non-parent. i also really like interpretations of Tonks as a soldier who's as committed to the cause as any of her male contemporaries.

but this is one of those times where, you know, there isn't necessarily a wrong answer. just to play the devils advocate, i could argue that Lupin asking Tonks to stay makes as much sense in-universe as any alternative interpretation: we're we're talking about two people in a pretty heteronormatively-written universe set in the 1990s. Lupin was born in the 60s and might have had the same kind of internalized sexist background noise as, you know, everybody else. Tonks already, canonically, put her career on the line by marrying Lupin and having his baby. they've both been hiding from the fighting for most of her pregnancy. (which, if you want to go down a rabbit hole, might be another reason for Teddy not to understand their choice - it was okay to abstain from the world-bettering while he was a fetus but once he was born they changed their minds?) if one of them is going to stay and be the surviving parent of a three-week-old baby i guess it might as well be the one that's breastfeeding him. we don't get to see a lot of Tonks being an auror and resistance fighter or hear a lot of her feelings about it in canon, especially after Teddy is conceived. whatever we may surmise about her identity as an auror vs her identity as a mother and all the other factors that would play into how that situation went down - it's just surmising, it's subjective interpretation, and there are so many different storytelling paths to follow from it!

maybe you should write an AU where that conversation goes down differently, or a post-war Tonks-in-wizard-heaven monologue about how she felt about it, or just a gritty breakdown of how it might have actually happened in the light of your thoughts about Tonks's character! if you disagree with all of my conjecture here, maybe you should write a deep dive into Teddy's process of grieving and understanding his parents! fascinating! this is what i mean when i say it's not about the truth, it's about storytelling: there is so much more art and wonder and discovery in exploring all these possibilities than in haggling over which possibility is Correct.

Edit: read the original anon's very thoughtful responses here:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

[ghostlywhiskey]

A few years ago, my friend showed me an edit of Henry Cavill. The edit wasproving how he aged like fine wine, which is very true. My friend was infatuated with Henry Cavill in his younger roles during his acting career. Several of my other friends also agreed that he looked cute when he was younger.

That's when I realized I was different. Currently, several of my closest friends are infatuated with people their age. Meanwhile, I'm here, with huge, enormous, absolutely tremendous crush on Barry Sloane.

My friends call him old, and yet that's what is unimaginably sexy about him. I will defend his honor even after death. One hug from that man and I would live a jovial life.

-🤎

no i am simply team older men. but even the fact henry cavill is 40 mind fucks me. like??? how???

12 year old me carved out this life for me when 12 year old me was saying age is just a number trying to convince myself i could date harry styles</3

23 year old me still shouting age just a number LOVING on barry sloane, etc.

[mommalosthermind]

If I ever practiced drawing enough for it to be recognizable, one of the first attempts as a comic I think I’d try right now is the skk +sskk idiots. Shocker I know. Just. Hear me out. Akutagawa standing with Dazai. They’ve both got their hands tucked in the pockets of their coats, heads slightly tilted in opposite directions, and they’re clearly amused. Meanwhile, across from them, Chuuya and Atsushi are staring back, hands on hips and visibly annoyed.

Kunikida walks by. Stops. Squints. Somewhere in the back Ranpo says, don’t do it. Kunikida goes, okay but you see it right? Please tell me you see it. Ranpo cackles. Yosano’s like… please clue me in. Kunikida just gestures at the four idiots. It takes her a moment and then she’s giggling too. Dazai and Atsushi look up and are all ???? And Kunikida just gives the most tired sigh and leaves. He’s not doing this. Cue the four idiots staring more intently at each other, and then there’s a bunch of arrows pointing out how Dazai and Akutagawa are the taller, thinner ones, with sharper features, pretends they’re not impulsive, and are also arguably meaner. Meanwhile Chuuya and Atsushi are shorter with rounder features, visually striking/unusual coloring/unnecessarily pretty, flash fire tempers, can punch through a wall cold and be fine, massively impulsive, deeply bitchy with caretaking impulses. And I need Akutagawa to very slowly turn to Dazai only to find him already staring back with wide eyes and. Akutagawa’s like. No. Absolutely unacceptable. And just. Picks Atsushi up and stalks off while Atsushi’s like what the actual fuck is happening. Akutagawa is extremely harried and goes, I am going to bleach my brain and you are not allowed to stand next to Chuuya anymore. Atsushi’s upside down and baffled. I like Chuuya though! He’s fun?

Dazai is grinning. Chuuya says, heh, I’m the fun one. Immediately points at dazai and tells him to shut up.

Alas. I do not art consistently enough for it to be recognizable.

….i do write tho. 🧐

And that’s how I have yet another half written fic shoved into the overflowing insanity that is scrivener.