#on one hand rescue personnel exchanging thoughts about their own trauma is very very good and helpful

[soryualeksi]

Talk of child death cw.

[wistfulrat]

this week’s fics! feat. bakeries, bookshops, bisexual awakenings of the angsty and fluffy sort, wolfstar goddads being tender as hell, desi harry reconnecting with his culture, domestic drarry, a lap dance set to akon’s smack that, and more!

But That’s History by @ebbet - 54k - T Harry Potter starts his first year as Muggle Studies Professor only to find that Draco Malfoy has been hired to teach History of Magic.

listen to me. this is one of the funniest drarry fics i've ever read. i was cackling in my bed at 2am because harry’s internal monologues throughout this fic are unhinged. insanely quotable. “what was he, a lothario” and “you were crushing me with your muscular thighs!” are lines that live rent free in my empty head. harry has never played anything cool a day in his life. there’s a faculty meeting where the teachers are planning the yule ball and debating the merits of a DJ when harry decides he must defend his muggle-music-loving honor by dancing seductively to akon’s smack that while a blushing draco loses his mind. i fucking screamed. and the best part is that in between the comedic scenes threading the overall story, you have extremely tender moments of like, padma patil helping harry become a more rooted desi by sharing their cultural traditions, harry proudly donning his sherwani. draco wrestling with his past, going to harry’s lgbtq+ club for students, being sheepish with ron and hermione. ugh, comedic writers with emotional depth are clever and talented as hell!!

Realities, Unfurling by @ebbet - 45k - M Draco Malfoy is released from Azkaban into a changed world.

incredible collage-fic told from multiple povs. 8yrs post-war and everything’s changed. the current state of the magical world unfolds via slice-of-life snapshots from a truly stunning cast. non-binary harry whom is running a non-prof org dedicated to building tolerance and establishing equality for marginalized identities. post-prison-release draco whose life will be changed by the internet. neville’s tender relationship with blaise. andromeda’s fiercely protective mothering. remus and sirius being alive and very hot and just, the tender goddads harry deserved. cho chang being brilliant. baker pansy’s softened edges. found families abound. harry being flustered by their crush on draco and making personalized playlists on an iPod nano.

that all might sound narratively cluttered but the author more than pulls this off. glorious, start to finish.

Knead by @jovialobservationanchor (an @hd-erised​ fic) - 83k - E This is not a story about Harry renovating Grimmauld Place. This is a story about coffee shops and brewpubs, about Ginny and Luna on a farm with creatures, about magical Oregon, coastal road trips, flying, friendship, and Draco Malfoy's lean arms.

cinematic. a love letter to oregon’s expansive landscapes and lively cities. it’s harry finding home in unexpected places and people. in the vast silence of rolling fields, endless coasts, and starry night skies big enough to feel like you’re adrift in space. and it’s also the lingering, intimate quiet of early mornings in a bakery, sitting on a park bench overlooking the city as you eat ice cream next to your crush. it’s harry watching ginny and luna dance and work around each other like bees. it’s the slow unfolding of harry and draco’s relationship as they fill each other’s quiet. finishing this fic is like waking from a good dream. transporting, immersive, lovely. 

Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening by @writcraft - 20k - E Harry is perfectly content being single, heterosexual and living in Godric's Hollow with his very clingy rescue dog, Snitch. When Draco Malfoy turns up on Harry's doorstep demanding that Harry teach him how to drive, things quickly become a lot more complicated.

first of all, i feel very seen by draco being a gay-who-can’t-drive. it’s called representation. but mostly i love the ease of harry and draco’s banter, a flustered harry discovering his sexuality, and the way this fic addresses biphobia. also very emo over this exchange: “I think I might be scared of you, but probably not for the reasons you think.” “Yes.” Draco stares at Harry. “I think I might be scared of you too.”

Forged through flowing water by @tedahfromtayla (an @hd-erised​ fic) - 40k - E When Hermione sets up a diplomatic mission to begin repairing the damage British colonisation did to Indian magical communities Harry isn’t going to pass on the opportunity to visit and help his family’s home country. Maybe he should have asked a few more questions about the personnel she had recruited for it before signing on because Malfoy surely has an ulterior motive to be there.

so much to love about this fic. the beautiful settings, from kolkata to mumbai, to the holi festival and colorful lively streets, to remote cave settlements and old intricate temples. it’s harry in the homeland, reconnecting to his family’s heritage and confronting the weight of imperialism in his history. it’s nipping the white savior complex in the bud. this part: That is what England left behind. That is what it still stands for, despite whatever mask of respectability and honour it presents. . .You don't get to step aside and let someone else deal with the mess. You have to listen and learn and then act, Malfoy, you need to learn how to fix your own mess. This is why we're here. my indigenous ass cheered. HP certainly sells the british fantasy but HP fanfic?? fuck jkr, fuck the crown. i love that this fic doesn’t romanticize england’s history. i love that we get to see the vast resilience and beauty of post-colonial india.

Purity Control by yrfrndfrnkly - 28k - T In which Harry tries to ignore his trauma with fantasy Quidditch but Malfoy's Thereness™ is distracting and all his classmates want to talk about are unicorns, virginity, and Muggle music.

tender 8th year fics where they go from bristly as fuck to understanding and soft 100% guaranteed to make me emo as hell. all the teens have traumas and no one wants to talk about it but eventually Things are Talked About. it’s good of the adults to finally notice. everyone just wants someone to hold their hand. and this part: “You’re the only person around here who’s a bigger mess than I am.” “I thought maybe we could be a mess together,” pls don’t look at me as i weep over their gentle empathy.

Advent, a comic by dustmouth - WIP - T It's Harry and Draco's first Christmas together and Draco is determined to live his full yuletide fantasy, come hell or high water.

dustmouth, patron saint of whimsical drarry. whose illustrations singlehandedly reinvented wizarding fashion. whose cheeky and tender comics are like a soothing balm to the utter depravity of this carnal world. harry and draco being domestic, draco’s xmas spirit brand being “traditional unhinged”!! extremely my shit. we’ll absolutely be reading this all december.

Little Spaces by @dracoladon and @lazywonderlvnd​ - WIP - E Draco's back from France and working on the spell damage ward at St Mungo's with Hermione, who invites him over for dinner. Without telling Harry. This is a roleplay, which means Harry is written by one author (lazywonderland) and Draco by another (dracoladon).

the switch in distinct character voices works so well for this fic!! tonally i feel like i'm watching an episode of the office. i personally love harry and draco being Pissed Off at how much they want to bone each other. the battle of the tapenade was the most riveting dinner scene i've read in a minute. clever, hilarious, emotionally tense. can’t wait until that inevitable moment post hate-sex when they’re gonna be like “oh noooo it’s a Heart Boner as well!! >:((” hell ya we’re subscribing for chapter updates.

Dragons Don’t Know Paradise by @teacup-tai​ - WIP - E In 2004, when Remus spends two scary weeks in the ITU due to complications of pneumonia and his HIV condition, Sirius walks around the house like a ghost and Harry finds comfort and strength in Draco through a chat in an online LGBT forum. Harry falls for him, but Draco has a lot of secrets and, before long, will need to come clean—even if he believes that no one is able to understand a dragon.

non-magical bookshop AU. remus and sirius’ relationship is a marvel. the ease of their affection with harry makes me so emo. draco’s friends being insistently present even as he tries to isolate himself. this is a story about acceptance, found families, and falling in love at a distance. the intimacy, the longing, the tenderness. what a fic!! i keep coming back to this part:...he looks at ease, inside his body, a body he needed to fight for. He’d made peace with his struggles and his scars. And Draco realises he wants that. He wants to be at ease inside his body, the body that now carries a virus. He wants to be at peace with his own existence. you hurt for draco so deeply but you get moments like these where he affords himself a kindness that feels foreign and it’s just!! the boys navigating grief and learning to be vulnerable. so good.

[amaranthkick]

Spy au

 A cute idea for a shance au, I can’t remember the post but the prompt was something like a spy meeting with an intel agent but instead meets up with an average joe who talks about mundane living but it’s worded in a way that can be mistaken for an understanding of the spy life ™ and vice versa.

In this au Shiro is the spy and Lance is the average joe mistaken for an agent.

The spy team consists of Shiro, Allura, Coran, Kieth and Pidge known as Team Voltron.

Shiro is supposed to meet up to get some intel about a target, a galra commander who went into hiding after an almost botched mission. He goes to the meeting place -a bench in the park- and waits. Lance by fate chance goes to the same bench. He just finished delivering some packages for a friend and his legs are tired.

Shiro thinking this is the agent strikes up a conversation to lead into the info. (I’m sure one of the dialogue from the post was like “the management is killing us out there,” “you know it”). Lance being a social butterfly loves interaction and is all for it. Maybe Shiro asks where the target is as “have you seen the purple fleeting sparrow” and Lance thinking of how for one of his deliveries the client gave him a few coins to ‘trade’ in at this casino for the money they owe him (Lance is highly suspicious but just thought the guy was trying to get out of paying him). They feature this graceful image of a sparrow that when tilted with just the right amount of light gains this purple tint. So Lance gives Shiro directions to said casino. They give each other fond farewells (they both find their conversation enjoyable) and Shiro leaves to check out this new lead.

It seems highly unlikely but Shiro finds that their target is a manager of the casino collecting money for the Galra in secret. With their target in their sights Shiro plans with the rest of his team to quietly take him out.

The mission goes without a hitch and while celebrating Shiro tells Coran to deliver a thank you to the intel agent (they did not learn each others name) because his info was really spot on. Coran is very confused, he thought Shiro had stumbled upon the target by accident since the original intel agent was actually a galra mole sent to give false information and lead them to an ambush. The mole was intercepted by Pidge and Keith fortunately but before they could tell Shiro, he told them that he had went off to investigate a lead. Since there was no harm done and the lead was legit somehow they decided to not bother Shiro with that worrisome news. Coran plays along and says he will.

Maybe on another mission there is a key figure in a weapon smuggling ring on the loose but the team has no idea where to start looking. Then Shiro wants to consult that intel agent thinking he could possibly have any leads though even if he doesn’t have leads he wants to talk to him again. Allura and the rest are extremely skeptical but they got nothing to go on so he might as well try while they search for real infomation. And if Shiro can’t find him then they just excuse it as he is busy with his own mission.

Lance wanted to meet the awesome stranger from before, he just has this cool, heroic aura about him and he wanted to get to know him better and at least get his name. He also looks a bit ragged like he’s stressed beyond belief and has been through a lot. But during their conversation the other day Lance had managed to make him smile this absolutely beautiful unhindered smile. Lance desired to help him in any way possible and to get him to smile like that more. So he waits at that same bench in hopes of seeing him again (he knows the odds are against him but damnit let him dream).

He thanks Lady Luck and the sky above that his hopes are answered when Shiro comes by to sit next to him. Perhaps Shiro starts off with how he can handle stressful days (his trauma from being a galra prisoner is catching up to him and taking its toll), Lance of course “can relate” and tells him that sometimes you just gotta step back and center yourself away from the rush and pressure and you know “smell the roses” -enjoy the simple things around you-. Shiro gives this sigh he didn’t know he was holding and lets himself relax in Lance’s easy going presence. Lance even suggest he goes to this concert that is going to happen soon which is going to be held in the parking lot owned by this fabric manufacturing building. Lance gets a call from his job to fill in for a co-worker and they part but not before learning each other’s name.

Shiro goes to the roof top of the building eyeing the perimeter around the concert believing it is a ‘lead’. The workers at the factory preparing a shipment on this truck catch Shiro’s attention. They accidentally drop a box and lo and behold they are smuggling weapons under the fabrics. The workers are lucky in that the the concert is making so much noise and distracting the people in the area. Shiro reports in to the Allura and Pidge much to their shock and disbelief. Allura, Coran and Pidge work on re-routing the truck via hacked traffic lights while Shiro waits for Kieth to get to his position and they sneak in the building. They find their target and apprehend him. Another successful mission thanks to this mysterious intel agent. Allura gets curious and asks Coran and Pidge to find more info on this person.

After several more successful missions due to this dumb luck intel Shiro trusts Lance more and more. However in this career people gotta be cautious about who they trust. Keith and Allura are suspicious and don’t approve but its kind of hard to discredit this kid especially when Coran and Pidge can’t find dirt on him after days of searching plus his ‘leads’ have been useful. Lance is just this average joe civilian and they can’t find any links to the galra or any criminal organization. And they can’t deny that after they met Shiro seems more relaxed and his posture is less hunched over like a burden was lifted off his shoulders. He still doesn’t have a good grip on his PTSD but baby steps. Allura kind of sighs in defeat and asks Coran to keep an eye out for him just in case the bad guys go after him. It would really hurt Shiro if anything happened to Lance.

They decide to tell Shiro the truth, he doesn’t want to believe it. Pidge assures him that this Lance person doesn’t seem like a bad guy according to his records. Keith states that even though he isn’t an agent he can still talk with him if he wants to seeing as it is doing Shiro some good, just be careful to not put him in danger. As Shiro calms down he remembers that Lance has technically never lied to him and has always been treating him like a dear friend and he doesn’t want to lose that. He is almost overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of the ridiculously weird coincidences that allowed their recent string of missions to end in success.

For amusement, scientific research and another dollar in the ridiculous luck jar they send Shiro to see if Lance can help with tracking down this load of stolen rare precious metal which no one knows about that could be used to make terrible weapons. Lance baffles Shiro when he replies that he knows a guy that can help with that. Hunk helped him with this strange request from a friend who is a pawn shop owner to help him sort real from fake jewelry and gold. Hunk had built him this analyzer that can detect the presence of any specific metal that he had data on. By the end of that mission Team Voltron gets a connection through Lance to a mechanical whiz that could be of use in future missions and the jar is a few dollars richer.

Sendak is in charge of hunting down the galra’s favorite champion and bring him back to the arena. Haxus reports to him that Shiro has been seen talking to a certain person on multiple accounts. Sendak assumes this person to be like an attachment, a weakness to Shiro and plans to use him to lure the champion out as well as a punishment for the escape he pulled.

Lance and Shiro were supposed to meet up at the bench one day but Lance was late, he was never late. As the hours tick by Shiro gets more worried without any news from Lance. (Shiro ‘bought’ Lance a new phone courtesy of Pidge which gives off an encrypted signal when they call each other so its hard to track). Until finally gets a call from Lance only... “Hello Champion” greets him in a gruff familiar voice on the other end of the call. Shiro feels dread pool in his gut at what this means. They have Lance. They have Lance. No. No no no! “Sendak...” He replies in hardly a whisper. Sendak gives Shiro a place to meet so they can exchange his life for Lance’s. But he is feeling ‘generous’ so is allowing Shiro some time to think about it.

Shiro meets up with Allura, Pidge and Keith at a different secret headquarters just in case they could track their location to come up with a plan. Coran guards their original base the Castle of Lions and will provide any help he can.

Keith is against going and endangering all of their lives but is still worried. Shiro is dead set on rescuing Lance no matter what. Allura supports him but reminds him to keep a level head or risk endangering Lance. Pidge is trying to find places where they could sneak in through cctvs.

When Lance wakes up he finds himself sitting on the floor leaning on a wall. His hands are bound and he is surrounded by robotic personnel that all have their guns pointed at him. He realizes that the guy with the robotic eye and uneven prosthetic must be the leader of this group. He overhears them talking about a champion and that he is his bait. But Lance is pretty sure he doesn’t know any champion, did they kidnap the wrong person? He would try to make fun of his situation but these guys probably wouldn’t appreciate any jokes and could seriously hurt him.

They open a communication channel to talk to this champion probably. Lance may not understand what’s going on but he is sure he doesn’t want an innocent person anywhere near these people. But then he hears Shiro’s voice on the other end yelling at them to let Lance go. Lance pieces that Shiro is their champion but still doesn’t want anything bad happening to him so he yells back for Shiro to not listen to any of their demands. Sendak gives Lance this smirk saying that he’ll change his mind and want the champion to save him. He brings up his prosthetic and purple electricity sparks from it. Lance tries not to scream when Shiro will be able to hear but it hurts so much and he blacks out.

“Lance? Lance!? Lance!!” Shiro calls out desperately a deathlike grip on his phone.

“My patience is wearing thin champion, though I could entertain myself torturing him.” Sendak replies smoothly.

Eventually Shiro goes to meet Sendak head on to distract him while Keith and Allura sneak in and get Lance to safety. Pidge cuts off communication between Sendak and Haxus and takes care of Haxus.

Keith quickly destroys the robots surrounding Lance then he and Allura join Shiro to take down Sendak.

Sendak is captured and escorted away by Keith and Allura to Coran who is waiting outside in their get away vehicle. Shiro rouses Lance and hugs him apologizing for everything he was put through because of him. Lance jokes around saying that it was exciting trying to lighten the mood for Shiro but is thankful Shiro saved him. As they walk back to the others they notice a small drone floating a ways off behind them near the ceiling. Shiro tells Lance that is one of Pidge’s modified galra drones that works for her now and continues on. However Lance takes one last look and notices a red beeping light as if it is going to... self destruct! Lance quickly pushes Shiro out of the way shielding him with his own body as the drone explodes.

When Shiro wakes up he is in the infirmary at the Castle of Lions a little worse for wear but is generally alright. Pidge explains that Haxus knew of Pidge’s drone and modified a bomb drone to look like hers to act as a last resort if they failed. Shiro realizes that he did not see any danger and let his guard down but Lance noticed and he..! Lance! Where was he? He pushed him out of the way

Coran deems Shiro as okay enough to walk around but still needs to rest. Allura leads him to another bed in the infirmary. She explains that Lance had taken the brunt of the blast; he sustained burns on his back, internal bleeding some wounds from shrapnel, and a few cracked ribs. But he is out of danger so he will be okay.

Shiro waits at Lance’s bedside while he recovers. Shiro doesn’t want to attract anymore danger to Lance and quietly decides to cut ties with him when he wakes up even though he is hurting at the thought of it.

Lance wakes up one day but is still kinda hyped up on pain meds. “Shiro” he calls out as he tries to focus on his face.

“Lance, I...” Shiro begins to try to tell him that they shouldn’t meet anymore even though it’s difficult to bring himself to. Lance probably won’t remember this conversation but he could use the practice for when Lance is fully focused.

As if Lance can see Shiro’s inner turmoil he tries to cheer him up. He attempts to cradle Shiro’s face with his hand but kinda misses and lightly paps his cheek but he succeeds after a few tries. “Stay” he manages to mumble.

Shiro leans into Lance’s hand and responds with an okay thinking he just means to stay in the room with him. Lance continues slurring that he wants to stay with Shiro. Of course Shiro is surprised and whispers as he covers Lance’s hand with his own, “but you’ll be in constant danger, you could get hurt or-” and he stops when he feels Lance’s thumb softly trail his cheek. Their eyes meet and Lance is really looking at him like he is the most valuable treasure in the world and whispers wondrously “you’re worth it”.

And Shiro is star struck, he is in too deep but loves it and showers him in kisses. that’s all i got before my imagination ran out on me ;;