#whathefawkes

[narukoibito]

7-Up

@takearisk-ao3 tagged me to share seven lines from a current WIP then tag seven others! This is a continuation of my Muggle FWB AU.

"Why don’t we start small?” “Small,” Ginny says. The statement comes with an undercurrent of a question. “With a kiss,” Harry says, and God, he feels awkward and foolish and strangely enough like a pubescent teenager, feeling a strange swoop in his stomach the first time he realized Cho Chang was pretty. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he clenches and unclenches them on his lap. “We can work up to things, slowly.” “I’ve kissed guys before, Harry. We’ve already kissed,” she points out, her lips quirking up devilishly. “I’m well aware,” he says dryly. He doesn’t need the reminder; he’s had no issue remembering with all the ways that kiss has haunted his dreams, thank you very much. “I’ve done plenty of other things too, like—” “That’s—not the point,” Harry interrupts, not keen on hearing this a second time.

Tagging @nuatthebeach @gryffindormischief @wackus-bonkus-maximus @katie-with-the-tea @sybill-the-seer @whathefawkes @theroomofreq

#7-up #tag game #wip #muggle fwb au #hinny

[velvethopewrites]

List five things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last ten people who reblogged something from you. Spread the positivity ✨💛🌻

Cool!!!

So I just did the five things like last week, but, I will now tag FIVE SEVEN EIGHT NINE PEOPLE from my tumblr feed (Mutuals, whatevs) that always make me happy whenever I see them posting -

@fellshish @damonnscroww @katherinewilliams221b @readysetjo @practicecourts and @dontwant-dontcare and @thetruthinesswillsetyoufree and @startanewdream and @whathefawkes

YOU GUYS ROCK!

Ta da! (I probably just freaked out 9 people,lol)

#Asks #happy happy #joy joy

[displayheartcode]

OMG, for the books and blogging ask (and rants, ofc) - 28, 30, 31, if you feel like it! <3

First book that comes to mind, tell us about it. Rant

I don't get the appeal of the A C.ourt of Thorns and Roses. There is better smut out there without the creepy gender dynamics. Like, why use female and male as epithets? The growling and snarling? Why?????????????????????

Can you leave a series unfinished or do you have to own all the books and try them all??

When I was younger, no. I had to have a complete physical collection and read them all I'm one sitting or I would feel like a failure. (Oh, YA Paranormal Romance, I miss those days...)

Now?

Nah, bro. I feel much better about DNF-ing a book.

How do you think you would be described if you was in a book??

Hmmm...

A girl with frizzy brown hair that curled under her hat remained half-asleep on the F Train. Her knee jumped as she tapped on her phone, the glow of the screen illuminating the dark circles under her eyes.

#whathefawkes #I have many controversial opinions about sj.m and her writing as a whole

[pebblysand]

Obsessed with your writing as always, so if you feel like it could you answer please: 11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it? / 16) How did you come up with the idea for Giulia? (there's got to be a She Lives AU/Case Fic pls I'M BEGGING YOU) <3

aw, thank you soooo much <3! man, also those are two excellent questions. i apologise in advance for the long answers.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

so: the short answer to this is no. at least, not that i recall. it may have happened when i was writing fanfiction at a younger age, but i honestly don’t remember if it did. i have, however, sometimes amended things in a story after posting it, but it’s always been because of a flaw that i saw or something that i wanted to change, rather than something someone else wanted to me to change.

i actually regularly do that. if you’ve been reading castles from the start and have recently gone back, you’ll notice small changes here and there. but that’s just me suffering from edititis (which i have dubbed as the constant will to edit and keep editing shit until i die. if i ever published a book, i think i’d still feel the need to go into bookshops and scribble changes into them). in castles, though, i’ve never (and don’t intend to) change anything major. it’s a couple of lines, maybe a scene, small stuff. however, in my previous long fic, children (not potter), i went back a couple of years later and rewrote the whole thing. but that was because i wanted to do that, not because someone else asked me to.

this, of course, aside from the obvious ‘oh, you wrote “lay” instead of “lie”’ or ‘oh, you put two p-s in “apologise.”’ i sadly don’t have a beta for most of my work and whenever someone points out a typo i get embarrassingly annoyed at myself cause god, i spend hours and hours proofreading these and there’s always typos that get through the cracks. it drives me nuts. but of course, if i get a comment pointing one out, i’ll obviously go back and change that.

this being said, i don’t necessarily rule out changing something on the basis of a comment in the future, it would just have to be something i agree with. this is a rather complicated topic for me actually because i do have a knee jerk reaction to criticism which i think is maybe different from most authors. i’ve seen in the past a lot of people on reddit or elsewhere complaining about authors getting very defensive/angry at criticism. i have the opposite flaw: i genuinely think everyone who criticises my work is right. so, my knee jerk reaction is to people-please, go back, and change the thing that made this person unhappy. i’m fighting constantly against that knee jerk reaction, trying to trust myself and my narrative choices haha. in a way, i do think my knee jerk reactions is quite a good thing because it clearly means i listen to people and don’t think i’m better than them, but i’ve recently come to terms with the fact that it also has a downside. i very quickly question myself, think everything i write is shit, and lose the will to write. i have alluded to this before but there is a reason why there was a four-month gap between chapter 8 and 9 of castles.

the way i’m learning to deal with this is two folds: first, i try to remind myself that everyone is contradicting themselves and there is no way i can make everyone happy. in castles, i have people in the comments who don’t want harry and ginny to end up together. i have people who think ginny should be ‘punished’ for dumping harry in chapter 3, and people who don’t. i have people who love the foreshadowing i do and my use of time in a non-linear way, then recently got a comment saying that person hated it. so i try to remind myself that i’m the captain of this ship and in the end, i need to make decisions lol.

second, i also frequently go back and check in with myself. when i got a lot of criticism about harry’s characterisation a couple of chapters ago, i went back and re-read the whole thing to make sure i still stood by what i had written. and, i think, while i didn’t at that point, if i had come out of it thinking i needed to change x, y, or z, i probably would have. i think that’s one of the gifts you have in fanfiction: interactions with your readers and the ability to go back and change things you don’t like. so it’s not like i’d completely rule out changing something after posting, it’s more that i’ve checked in and felt there was no need. it doesn’t mean it won’t/can’t happen in the future.

comments and criticism do influence future chapters though. like, i’ll read something and think: yeah, that’s a fair point, or here, that’s a good idea, and take that on. for example, i think that had i not gotten certain comments, i would have written harry’s reaction to ginny’s letters as a lot less ambivalent in chapter 9 that i ended up doing. i might have reached the same conclusion in the end and it didn’t influence the overall plot, but criticism and comments do have an influence on future developments, yes. not all of them, but some of them.

.

16) How did you come up with the idea for Giulia? (there's got to be a She Lives AU/Case Fic pls I'M BEGGING YOU) <3

aw, jules. that’s also a very interesting question. so, for her i feel like there’s two things.

first, there’s her function in castles as harry’s work partner. i won’t lie, that was sort of born out of a reaction i’ve had to many other post war fics that always rang a bit wrong to me. in a lot of post-war literature, when harry joins the aurors, he’s just partnered up with ron. and i always felt that was weird because… they’re both newbies!! they need a more experienced partner, someone to teach them shit! and, so once i’d decided that, i sort of started digging into who that partner could be and what he or she could bring to the story.

i very quickly decided she’d be a woman. first because the only other auror character was robards and i wanted to balance it out, and also because she comes in at a point where harry is actually more comfortable with the women in his life, than the men. there’s a very weird post-war dynamic with the weasleys with a lot of the unspoken ramifications of losing fred, of everything that he hid from them regarding the war, as well as his relationship with ginny. his relationship with kingsley is … complicated, and at that point, he doesn’t really trust robards. he feels much closer to hermione (who is also on the outside of the weasley dynamic) and i just think that in a weird way, the relationships he has with women in that part of castles are a lot more honest than what he has with ron, for instance. so, i also wanted giulia to be part of that.

on that same note, the one thing that i knew when i started thinking about her is that she’d be honest, no-nonsense because at that point in the story, it was what harry needed. he’s navigating blind in the middle of a storm for most of the first half of castles and i think he needed someone he could trust and who would be honest with him. everyone around him is trying to protect him but harry’s always preferred having the information just laid out in front of him - i wanted giulia to provide that. it was also particularly interesting because, as he says himself at one point, she is the only person in his life who hasn’t known him for years, and who hasn’t been through it all with him. and, then he’s paired up with this person and told: you have to trust them with your life. and, of course, that doesn’t work like that. and so i wanted to giulia to be honest and no-nonsense because that inspires trust.

and then… there’s what every writer in the world will say, which i appreciate is very frustrating if you’re trying to come up with a character formula: she just shot off the page. i have no explanation for it. the main character who i had planned and for whom i had an extensive backstory was mia, not giulia. then, i started writing her with those two things in mind and she went from being a work partner who was going to appear in a couple of scenes to, well, giulia. that’s the part i can’t really explain. i remember writing that first scene where she meets harry in the patrol car and jokes about him trying to change his appearance and i was like ‘ohhhhhh who is this?’ giulia basically stole the show and wrote herself. i had very little hand in it. which, when you think of her character, is incredibly fitting. i had to dial back mia’s story (although, i’m now developing it for the next couple of chapters so it just got moved rather than deleted) because giulia just took so much space. it’s one the joys of writing where a character you thought would be minor just takes on a life of its own. and, the whole thing about her being gay (and sort of a player), and her slytherin past, and her relationship with harry all just became strangely self-evident. i wish i could say: ‘oh, i had the idea for giulia by doing x, y, z’ but it really wasn’t intentional. i had a baseline but she created herself.

obviously, then, she did end up filling a very important role of having harry understand that the guilt he felt over the things he’d done during the war shouldn’t plague him forever (‘you’ve done shit things, do better,’) but that was a role i gave her after she shot off the page, not before.

regarding her death, that’s sweet. i’m still sad we lost her. i was writing her for chapter 9 and just felt sad. this being said, it’s kind of hard for me to think of an au in which she doesn’t die because she always was going to die. from the very first time i wrote her, i remember i wrote the chapter from the moment harry meets her to the end of chapter 4 in one sitting. and there’s this line she says which is: ‘we’ll all die and fall into oblivion but you won’t’ (when she’s trying to get him to talk) and i remember writing that sort of instinctively, stopping and thinking: oh shit. she dies, doesn’t she? and, once i’d thought it, i couldn’t unthink it. it was set. and, i remember getting a tonne of comments from people who loved giulia at that point and biting my tongue because i knew, i always knew she was going to die. that too was self evident because in the end, harry has got to learn to stand on his own, she can’t always be there to tell him what to do. and, obviously, that becomes clearer after she dies, in chapter 9 where he’s just found out about ginny and he’s trying to figure out how to feel but all he remembers are bits of conversations that don’t really help.

and, like, she’s far from perfect. she’s impulsive and can sometimes be a bit too honest. and, while a lot of the things she tells harry about sexual assaults are correct, the way she teaches him also sort of backfires because it’s so prescriptive he feels terrified of doing the wrong thing and ends up, for most of chapter 9, doing nothing. and, generally, i tend to think she was the right person to teach harry at the right time, but her style of teaching would have completely backfired on most people. like, ron wouldn’t have taken to her. at all.

but man, i really miss writing her.

anyway, thanks again for your questions and sorry for the essays, haha. they were really good questions! if anyone wants to ask more, the full list is here and my ask box is open.

#asks #whathefawkes #oh and i forgot to add #i always physically pictured her as having a sort of southern european/mediterranean skin tone #but i hesitated for a long time whether i wanted to make her greek or italian #she was called hera for a bit #but i ended up giving her an italian background because i have more italian than greek friends #so while she is british born i felt more comfortable writing her heritage as italian and some of her turns of phrase #like she often ends her sentences with yes? or no? #and that’s something my friends do #cause italian often uses si and no as confirmation in speech #like i’m english you’d say is it? or isn’t it? #and then giulia as a name felt so #well emporor-like i guess #it fit her better

[theroomofreq]

Lovely Roomie! For the fanfic end of the year asks 4, 12, 14 - but only if you feel like it <3

my dear friend, thank you xx

4. total number of words you wrote this year

wow. 33,958. I didn’t expect that :’)

12. favorite character to write about this year

I had so so much fun with Harry in all around you. I had pieces of this fic written out but it didn’t really come together until I received my prompt for the hinny bday challenge! I’m so happy with how it turned out.

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

definitely my drabble collection, if love returns, I’ve always been very worried to write true drabbles!

end of year fanfic asks

#end of year asks #ask games #whathefawkes

[sweeethinny]

Do you like my mum?

A long time ago I talked to @whathefawkes about this fanfic, where Lily was going to be a single mother, a university professor, and she and James would be friends

I never really managed to write something with plot and drama, but I wanted to share this scene that was so much fun to write <3

AO3

----------------------------

''Where is my mum?'' Harry asked, but he gladly got into James' car.

''She had to attend a meeting,'' he said. ''Hello, how was school?''

''Normal,'' Harry shrugged, tossing his backpack into the backseat and strapping in, but always watching James with curious eyes. He had already noticed that the boy looked a little suspicious whenever he was around Lily, but James didn't get angry or upset, it had been Harry and Lily for years now, if he had been in his shoes he knew that would feel the same. ''She said if I can go to the party tomorrow?''

''I've tried to convince her, but unfortunately I don't think she's agreeing to this,'' The boy's shoulders slumped, quickly turning to look out the window instead of James. ''But she was full of things to do today, so maybe later she'll change her mind,''

''She's been very busy the last few days,'' Harry said, looking hurt.

''PhD isn't easy at all, but trust me when I tell you she's doing this mostly for you. It's hard now, but it will be worth it,''

''I know, she told me that,'' He shrugged. ''It's just that she doesn't have much time for me anymore... I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, I'm happy for her but...''

''But you miss your mum,'' James said when Harry fell silent. ''It's understandable. And she misses you too, if you want to know. Like today, she was mad that she couldn't pick you up, but Slug wanted to have a meeting with her and Lily chose to go now so she could get home early,'' Harry looked at him. ''Your mum is very smart, she knows it hurts you not to have her for dinner, and stuff, but it's hard now to be easier later, you know? We always have to sacrifice something to achieve our goals, and having that free time is what Lily sacrificed. But when it's over and she can give up a few hours of classes, it will all be worth it.”

''Do you like her?'' Harry asked, arms crossed over his chest and head turned to James.

''What?!''

''Do you like her?? The way you talk about my mother… it's too friendly for someone who only works with her and agrees to drive for her son,'' His brows drew together. ''Do you like her?''

''Harry, you already said, is friendly. We're friends, I've got nothing to do but teach, it's nice to change the routine a bit, and if I can do that by helping her, then ok,'' James used the excuse of driving to completely ignore the eyes of the boy, feeling like a little boy playing truth or dare.

''No, my mum has other friends,'' James did a good job of avoiding the grimace he wanted to make. ''And none of them seem as willing as you are. And come on man, you already come over to our house on a weekday night with a pizza because my mum said she was too tired to cook… Is that what old friends do?”’

''We're not old,'' James said, hating himself for looking so affected by a 16-year-old boy. ''We have thirty-seven,''

“Very close to forty,” Harry said, shrugging. ''My mum says she's old,''

''Lily isn't old, she’s fine!'' It was the wrong thing to say, he knew as soon as he felt Harry's green eyes - so much like Lily's - widen.

''You like her!'' he accused him, uncrossing his arms and gesticulating like a madman. ''I don’t believe it! Will you be my stepfather? You're not going to live with us, are you? I mean, that would be cool, you're good at football and maybe you could give me some lessons, but James, man, I don't want you messing up our Saturday routine because you're taking her out to dinner… Are you going to kiss her? Eww.” James, as a thirty-seven-year-old adult, tried very hard not to blush, but couldn't help but chuckle nervously, stopping at the traffic lights and looking at Harry, who looked very alarmed at the whole idea.

''Harry, no, I'm not moving in with you guys or anything, but I can still give you some football lessons. Me and your mum are friends, that's all, and I'm a good friend who knows she needs help now and then with her teenage son who sometimes talks too much and is too smart for his own good," he said, looking at Harry, who was still looking at him as if James was the mad there.

‘’You like her… I can’t believe this… have you told her yet? Man, it's a horrible experience,'' Harry looked back straight ahead as James sped up, shifting in the seat. ''I said that to a girl last year, and it was traumatic as fuck,''

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," James warned, knowing Lily's rule about good language. ''Why was it traumatic?''

''Don't try to change the subject. My mum says you do this whenever you feel pressured. By the way, she talks about you a lot, if you want to know…” Now, James blushed. ''You should tell her, my mum is a lot nicer than Cho, believe me... And as long as you don't kiss her in front of me and don't ruin our Saturday routine, I'm glad you guys stay together... Maybe you'll convince her to let me go to the party tomorrow, and I don't say anything about this talk?'' James parked in front of Lily's house, looking at Harry who had the most mischievous smile he could imagine a 16 year old boy having.

And all he could do was laugh, running a hand through his hair, trying to understand how he'd let a boy blackmail him like that. ''Alright,'' James assumed defeat. ''I will talk to her about you.''

Harry's smile widened. ''Great doing business with you, James. I hope things work out for you,'' He grabbed his backpack from the backseat, opening the door and getting out of the car. ''She likes Honeyduke's chocolates, the coffee caramel and the cherry liqueur ones…just in case it comes in handy at some point,'' He winked, closing the door and opening the gate to his house, walking away without looking back.

James patiently waited for that mini version of Lily Evans to get inside the house safely before leaving, and he almost felt ashamed when instead of continuing down the avenue, he turned left to the Honeydukes.

#jily #my fic #james x lily #this was fun #hope you like it

[startanewdream]

20 Questions: Writer’s Edition!

Thanks so much for tagging me @maraudersftw, I really could use a distraction and those are always fun!

How many works do you have on AO3

As of now, 54.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

483766 (wow, that's crazy).

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

Today it's only for HP (but in the past, I wrote an oneshot for Merlin, I was obsessed!)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Light beam: Lily notices it first, Harry pines and James cheers. A Jily Lives AU canon compliant with HBP.

Eyes glistening (with the ghost of my past): James and Lily reacting to Harry being selected as a Triwizard Champion.

A cup of tea: Harry and Dudley's relationship in a world without Voldemort.

A bad word: Harry asks to his mother what Mudblood means.

One minute: When Harry opens the Snitch and finds the Resurrection Stone, James and Lily don’t show up.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Ahhh, always, even when I don't know how to answer. I just love so much getting any reaction to what I wrote that answering in the least I can do!

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

Ohh, the first part of Fool Me (or the one I wrote just to prove myself I could write some angst). But if general, the fall (or the one where James lives, but Sirius dies as in canon).

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

Most of Eyes Glistening is happy, haha, but I'll say Five Stages of Starflower. When I got stuck in the middle, I went with "hey, how can I write the happiest silliest ending? And then it was finished".

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

Wait, that Lion King AU is not a crossover, right?

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Once. Found it funny and also that I was now finally part of that group of people who wrote something that bothered someone enough for them to comment about it. So crazy.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Sometimes. What kinds of smut are there? I don't know.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope. Not in this group.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, to Chinese and Portuguese, it was rather nice :)

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not (yet?). I am strangely too shy for it.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

It's a tie between Hinny and Jily!

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

Hmmm, I may have deleted something these days because I realized I wouldn't finish it and it bothered me? Anyway, I've posted a few of my WIP-without-progress here. It happens. I shouldn't post anything before deciding to finish it, ops.

What are your writing strengths?

Sometimes I type enough words that they make sense. I can make things seem so connected that it feels as if I had planned all along. And I try to write characters that make sense.

What are your writing weaknesses?

English is not my first language, so I always feel I lack words. I won't ever be able to write fluid prose as some authors I admire here. Also, I lose patience whenever something I'm writing demands more time than I originally thought (hence the unfinished wips)

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

I tried for French once, but my knowledge of French was very little. I like if, you know, the author knows what's writing XD

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter!

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Until Spring Comes Again is my little cub that I shall be eternally proud of even though it's not by any means the most popular thing I've written.

Tagging: If you want: @sweeethinny @velvethopewrites @clare-with-no-i @clarensjoy @whathefawkes @theroomofreq @sunshine-marauders

#i love tag games ops

[solongdaisymayy]

GET TO KNOW ME

✨ Thank you @sybill-the-seer for the tag!! ✨

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to know better.

Three ships: Harry/Ginny, Peter/Gwen, Midge/Lenny

First ever ship: James Potter/Lily Evans... 99% sure I first got into fanfic because I stumbled across a Jily multi-chapter fic!

Last song: Pasoori (Ali Sethi x Shae Gill) — I’ve had this song on repeat since it came out 3 weeks ago and have no plans of stopping this behavior

Last Film: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Currently reading: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Currently watching: Peaky Blinders!!

Currently consuming: Baked some banana bread just now, so a warm slice of that topped with chocolate.

Currently craving: uhhh pizza? It’s always pizza.

Tagging – (sorry if you’ve already been tagged!) @hinnyfied @welsh-green @dragonlordette @incalculablepower @bluestwitch @bellmel @whathefawkes @thecat-isblogging-blog @pebblysand

#tag game #get to know me

[whathefawkes]

@clarensjoy is an amazing soul that organized a Hinny Ficfest on this very fine Hinny day.

This is my humble contribution, hope you like it! <3

#hinny ficfest #hinny fanfic #hinny #fawkeswrites

[thedistantdusk]

Hi! I know you touched on this in the last chapter of Noticing, but do you think that before their relationship began in hbp, Harry felt insecure about his lack of relationship/physical experience compared to Ginny?

This is also a good question, and one I’ve asked around about! 

My personal gut reaction is a simple no... but of course, to understand why, we need to dig a little deeper into Harry’s background/psychology. To start, I don’t think we can deny that Harry’s the victim of complex trauma. For the first 11 years of his life, the only authority figures in his life existed solely to prove they didn’t care about him. Harry learned how to survive with minimal comfort/reassurance, and that type of neglect can result in some deep-seated issues, especially for future relationships. 

There are many, many examples of this, but the biggest that comes to mind is Harry assuming that Dumbledore would just let the remaining children die at the base of the lake in Goblet of Fire. Harry’s “saving-people thing” (as Hermione called it) has been evaluated a lot more thoroughly by people who know a lot more, so I won’t go into it in depth — but yes, being in a constant state of assuming there’s a threat is a symptom of complex trauma. Unfortunately for Harry, this belief system that he needs to always be on alert is often reinforced when adults constantly bestow him with life-or-death, age-inappropriate responsibilities. 

Despite all of this, Harry actually seems... remarkably well-adjusted (which is perhaps one of the biggest signs this is fiction, eh?). Still, we can’t overlook some instances where he’s concerned he won’t measure up. In Philosopher’s Stone, for example, the scene on the train with Ron says a lot. 

“Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. “Er—Yes, I think so,” said Ron. “I think Mom’s got a second cousin who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him.” “So you must know loads of magic already.” The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. “I heard you went to live with Muggles,” said Ron. “What are they like?” Horrible—well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I’d had three wizard brothers.”

Harry doesn’t blame-shift or get angry; he just accepts he doesn’t know as much (in this case because of magical inexperience, but you can still see the pattern of behavior).

So... all of that is to say that while I think Harry might be curious about how far Ginny went with her romantic partners, he would sooner die than shame her. He would be a lot more likely to internalize/blame himself for not noticing her sooner; this, too, is something he confirms at Dumbledore’s funeral when he mentions that they could have had much longer together if he’d figured things out sooner. There’s never an indication that this is her fault.  

However! As I wrote in the last chapter of Noticing, I don’t think he had much time to stew; I think Ginny would be forthcoming and Harry would (generally) be nonjudgmental... and more than anything else, he would never, ever project those insecurities onto her. 

With the maybe-exception of some moments on Horcrux hunt (and really, can you blame him?), Harry is canonically unlikely to handle feelings of inadequacy through blame-shifting; he’s a lot more likely to turn to sullen self-loathing, and even to admit that he really can’t blame anyone but himself. But all of that, of course, is assuming he felt insecure in the first place — which IMO, there’s limited evidence to prove. 

So. I hope that answers your question, anon! Thanks to @whathefawkes and Gon for finding quotes for me! :D

#harry/ginny #anonymous ask #analysis #complex trauma

[narukoibito]

wip game

Rules: list the titles of all the WIPs you currently have, regardless of how non-descript or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs

Thank you for the tag @takearisk-ao3 @gryffindorhealer @displayheartcode! ahsfhakk seriously I feel bad because I'm not sure I've done much of anything writing-wise, but feel free to ask! I might just share more snippets because of my guilt.

ghost!Harry

muggle au fwb

cat!Harry

Unravel Me

tis the damn season

you don't say you love me so i'll do the same

and this is how it starts

charity work 2

desert island kiss

since feeling is first who pays attention

Harry Librarian

Pride and Prejudice AU

Pandora Lily

Someone Else's Life

The Other Boy-Who-Lived

St. Mungos

strong enough (to let you in)

Ron hovering HBP

to love you well

Valentines Day fic

when the smoke clears

eternal sunshine

bodyguard au

ginny was captured in DH

Tagging @nuatthebeach @ashotofogdensoldfirewhiskey @turanga4 @brightlybound @whathefawkes and anyone else who wants to play!

#wip game #hinny

[velvethopewrites]

People you want to get to know better

Thanks for the tag @whathefawkes 💕💕

Three ships: Dean/Castiel (obviously) Mulder/Scully, and of course, Harry/Ginny. I may be turned off of HP these days, but you will have to pry the good ship ‘Orange crush’ out of my cold dead hands and even then you won’t win)

First ever ship: hmm before I knew what shipping was? Han Solo/Princess Leia - after? Probably Mulder/Scully

Last song listened to: The Council of Elrond (LOTR soundtrack)

Last movie I watched: The Spy Who Loved Me, just last night. I was apparently in a Bond mood. (Well, I say me, I mean my bf was)

Currently reading: Currently in between books, actually. But reading fic. Always reading fic.

Currently watching: We are simultaneously watching Star Trek TNG and Deep Space Nine and The Orville. We’re nerds.

Currently consuming: water but I wish it was coffee (it’s very early here)

Currently craving: A roadtrip. We haven’t been anywhere in ages and probably won’t go anywhere and guh, I feel so stagnant. I love road trips, even if it’s just a few hours. I have a serious case of wanderlust flowing through my veins.

I tag: @dreamgirl8704 @isntalovestory and @kierincredible

#Tag you’re it

[displayheartcode]

Here I am, coming for prompts. What about a nice “Stabbing me would hurt less than this.”? To your heart's desire <3

the sea took quynh to a place where andormache can't reach

#the old guard #fic #whathefawkes #andromache the scythian #andy x quynh #quynh #i like angst and using edgar allan poe's poetry as titles this is from dreamland

[pebblysand]

Oooo, love fanfic asks! Can you please answer 1, 6 and 19?

Oooooh, fanfic asks! Okay, let’s go!

1. If you’re an author, how many WIPs do you currently have? (Be honest!)

(WIP defined as: stuff that I actually have partially written ≠ ideas, haha).

Obviously, [1] Castles is ongoing. I have a partial first draft of the next chapter and hopefully will be able to get some more done this weekend. 

[2] I started writing a harry&hermione one shot loosely based on this post. If you’ve gone through my bookmarks/fic recs, you’ll know that I’m a fan of a good, well-written harry-hermione-and-all-the-reasons-it-never-happened trope, so that’s kind of where I’m going with this one. 

[3] I have a Peaky Blinders one which has been sleeping on my hard drive for a while but which I do intend to revive at some point? Basically, there’s this moment in s5 where Mosley says to Tommy ‘we have a friend in common: May Carlton’ and I don’t really picture May as a Nazi sympathiser so I keep wondering, what the hell was the story behind that? It will become a fic at some point but I need to do a rewatch first. 

And, I received an anon prompt in an ask last week but I haven’t started working on that yet. 

6. What’s the last thing you read that made you laugh?

This Harry/Ginny muggle AU. Really silly but laugh out loud funny. Like Harry, I often refuse to use capital letters lol. 

19. What’s your favourite character headcanon?

That’s difficult because, like, I don’t really do headcanons. I think everything that’s not canon is changeable and I don’t really feel that strongly about anything I write down. This being said:

I think in The Good Wife, that Will’s father committed suicide. I wrote that in Once and then never really deviated from it afterwards. It just felt right. Also that Finn’s wife was named ‘Ann’, which kind of later became fanon when orbythesea rolled with it as well. 

In Potter, I think Castles is basically my entire, 76-000-words-and-counting headcanon (lol). This being said, what I feel the most strongly about is Harry ‘belonging’ in London, I suppose. Like, everyone has him enjoying the quiet and the country side, or him and Ginny moving into a big house in a wizarding village or whatever but I just see him never wanting to leave London. In my experience, there’s actually nowhere you can feel more anonymous and left at peace than in a big city where no one cares, which I think would totally suit him. 

Anyway, thanks for the asks @whathefawkes! 

#asks #whathefawkes #feel free to send in more guys i love these!

[theroomofreq]

fic writer interview

tagged by so many wonderful writers including @fightfortherightsofhouseelves @mppmaraudergirl @the-dream-team and @whiffingbooks

Name: roomofreq or ror is just fine, I honestly loveeee the anonymity tumblr provides me :')

Fandoms I write for: harry potter- mostly active in hinny, jily, and romione corners of the hp internet.

Favourite Two-Shot: hmm, I actually haven't ever published a two-shot before, maybe someday I will. my favorite one-shot I've written is simple things you do :')

Most Popular Multi-Chaptered Fic: I am emotional even thinking about this fic, Personality Before Punctuality. It's the first fic I ever wrote and I am so so grateful for the kindness it has received.

Actual Worst Part of Writing: editing, oof, editing. the fact that I am horribly hard on myself when it comes to my wips/ideas. and the fact that I lack time to write.

How You Choose Titles: there is no rhyme and no reason for the nonsense that I come up with. sometimes it's a quote, maybe a song, and most often it's my last brain cell coming up with anything just so I can post the bloody fic.

Do you Outline: technically yes, but it lacks any form or structure. it's basically chaos, and I change my mind endlessly. I talk about it a little more here.

Ideas I probably won’t get to but would be nice: the pen-pals au that I want to write so so badly. hopefully someday soon I will be brave enough to publish the football au too.

Callouts @ me: it's okay to take a break, to slow down, and give yourself time. you are still very new to writing, enjoy the learning process :')

Best Writing Habits: I loooooooooooooove LOVE to beta read fics. Which I honestly feel has helped me learn as a writer exponentially!! please let me beta read your fic.

Spicy Tangential Opinion: I don't feel like every love story needs passionate speeches and love confessions. While some love is like that, not everyone expresses feelings in words. AND not every character is a love poet or conveys emotion in lyrical love dialogue. (it's not exactly spicy bc I would rather not have anyone @ me)

tagging a few w/ no pressure; @liiilyevans @katie-with-the-tea @whathefawkes @jilyss @pottinglilies @zephyrcove @adenei @celtics534 @be11atrixthestrange @secretkeeper13 @displayheartcode @theresthesnitch @sunshine-marauders @jilytho

really I want every writer I know to answer these questions, so if you want to answer, please do, and remember to tag me xx

#tag games #fic writer interview

[sweeethinny]

Insecurities and loneliness

Summary:

Lily faces problems on her first year, problems that Ginny knows very well and knows that she will need to talk about - almost - everything about her own first year. Things are almost never easy in the beginning.

Thanks to @startanewdream, for the prompt, thanks to @whathefawkes for the incredible help and conversation, I hope you all like it.

No, in my HC all cousins are not best friends, because each one has their own life. Lily is the youngest. She is going to the second year, Albus to the fourth, James to the sixth :)

Read bellow the cut or on AO3

'Can I come in?' James asked, looking a little flustered, his cheeks flushed and his hair a little messy, just putting his head into Ginny's office.

'Sure, did something happen?' Ginny continued to sort the papers into organized stacks, keeping her mind working and still trying to pay attention to what James had to say. It was only a week away for her to deliver that work, and if a comma was wrong, she was screwed.

'Look, I don't like to gossip... well, not like that, at least, but I think there's something wrong with Lily.' As soon as he stopped talking, Ginny had already dropped the papers and stared at her son, big eyes towards him, a little scared.

'What do you mean, something wrong?' James looked at his own feet, seeming to think the exact words, and Ginny hated that he was not as impulsive in these moments as she was, but more rational like Harry.

'Mira realized that... I also noticed... that she is a little alone. Since Rose traveled... She doesn't seem to have friends.' James grimaced, as if he didn't like having to say it out loud. 'I know it's her first year, but Lily seems a little out of place, I don't know. I mean, Louis is out, Rose is older than she, Hugo and she are not that attached, Albus has his friends.. I just want to say that maybe she is feeling a little alone. She was alone all afternoon today, basically, in the living room. Albus is locked up with Scorpion and even when they go to the kitchen, I don’t think they’ll talk to her, and I was with Mira… We asked her out, but Lily said she didn’t want to.’

'I'm going to talk to her,' Ginny assured, thinking that those papers could wait a few more hours. Harry would work until later, and she could take the time to work. Something about her maternal instinct didn't seem to like what James was saying. 'Thanks.'

'You're welcome.' James smiled, waving and running out of her office, leaving Ginny surrounded by silence.

She didn't want Lily to feel alone, Ginny knew what it felt like to be alone and the consequences of that weren't the best. Her daughter was the youngest and her brothers always seemed too busy for her. Lily was the youngest of the entire family. Perhaps the lack of a close cousin and with her age would make her feel more alone than usual.

Of course, Ginny noticed that James and Albus got letters from their friends, but Lily only received a few from time to time from Rose, but she particularly believed that her daughter had found other ways to communicate with friends. Through the mirror, or perhaps, she would send letters but she was only more discreet; Ginny felt like a bad mother.

Leaving her office in the underground, next to Harry's and their wine cellar, Ginny went up the stairs and walked towards the living room, where a loud noise of voices was heard. The room was dark, even though there were still traces of sunlight outside, the curtains all drawn, and the only source of light was the TV on over the fireplace. Lily almost disappeared in the middle of the sofa cushions, lying where Harry used to be. There was a thin blanket on top of her, an empty popcorn jar, empty cookie wrapper inside the jar, and a cup on the coffee table, which Ginny guessed was chocolate milk.

Which made her understand the gravity of the situation and how miserable Lily was feeling, since she only drank hot chocolate when it was miserably cold, or when she was miserable.

The girl's arm was still bandaged, as she had fallen off the broom when she was trying to accompany James on high, and Harry was unable to fully relieve the fall. Lily had been fine, even though Ginny had seen her terrified eyes when the healer said that she would need to put the bone in place and it would probably hurt.

'Hey,' Ginny said quietly, walking around the couch to sit next to the girl, who did not take her eyes off the TV, where now a blonde girl seemed willing to dye her hair black. 'All right?'

'Yea,' Lily murmured, shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't pay much attention to her mother. Ginny smiled sadly.

'James said you didn't want to go out with him and Mira today... did anything happen?' She tried again, lifting the blanket and lying next to Lily, as they used to do before she went to Hogwarts.

‘They clearly didn’t want me to go together. So, I didn't.' Lily continued without looking at Ginny, her glasses reflecting a little of the colored lights that came from the TV.

'Do you want to talk?' This time, Lily turned her attention away from the TV, for a few seconds, looking at Ginny quickly before turning around again.

'No.' Ginny nodded, trying not to take it too personally.

'Do you want to help me make dinner? I thought about cooking that pasta dough that your dad made… Maybe make meatballs?' Ginny knew it was her favorite dish, of course, it wasn't Harry's homemade pasta with meatball, but she could try.

'Why doesn't Al help you?' Lily said, looking at her mother again. 'Or is he too busy?' Lily's sarcastic tone didn't go unnoticed, and Ginny didn't think it was even the girl's intention to make it clear what she meant, but still, it hurt a little inside her. The 11-year-old Ginny seemed to feel the pain that Lily felt.

'Your brothers are very busy, huh?' Ginny tried, stepping on eggs and afraid to end up breaking one, causing Lily not to open up to her.

'Everyone is.' The girl pulled the blanket up to her chin, turning her attention back to the TV.

‘Even your friends?’

'They didn't send me any letters, so they must also be busy.' Ginny wanted to break the main rule that she and Harry stipulated when Teddy started being a tantrum teenager, which was ''give them space to talk when they feel comfortable'', and wanted to hug Lily and ask a million questions and then go up to James and Albus' room and force them to interact with their sister.

But Ginny was steady, taking a deep breath and trying to keep her composure.

'Did you send them a letter?' It seemed that it hurt Ginny more than it hurt her daughter, the monster from the past terrorizing her mind, even if it wasn't real at all.

Ginny knew that eventually it would happen, and that raising a girl would bring out this demon she kept under lock and key.

Dealing with Teddy, James or Albus' insecurities seemed a lot easier now. It was as if theirs didn't hurt as deeply as the ones she shared with Lily.

Ginny knew what it was like to be lonely even with a big family.

'It's just her. I only have one friend,' Lily said, looking ashamed of it. 'And I did, but she didn't respond.' Ginny blew out a breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding, closing her eyes for a second as if she was trying to find the right words.

‘Lily, honey-’

'-It's okay,' Lily interrupted, speaking a little louder, as if she was controlling herself to explode. 'She looked like she was my friend just because of James, anyway.' She shrugged, denying vehemently as if she wanted to forget. ‘Okay, I’m over it.’

‘Lily-’

'-It is true. I'm fine here. Today I saw three good films, and two bad ones, much better than yesterday, that everything I watched was bad.’ She smiled, as if she was trying to be happy. 'Besides, maybe when I remove the sling, I can improve my nail painting technique. The left hand always gets worse than the right.'

‘My love, but are you going to be locked in here?’

'But there's not much to do, mom,' Lily complained, her voice wavering and shaking. 'Rose is traveling, Teddy is away, Albus is always very busy, and James too. Everyone has something to do but me.' Her brown eyes teared up behind her glasses, which was the last straw for Ginny, who hugged the girl as if she were still her little baby, lying trapped against her chest and kissing her forehead.

Her mother's heart, which wanted to protect her children from all harm and pain, broke when she felt Lily's tears wet her white button-down shirt, one arm hugging her back, while keeping the other protected from the grip.

Ginny wanted to be able to feel that pain herself, wanted to open Lily's chest and remove any shadow of insecurity that might arise, with her own hands, to take care lovingly so that she would never doubt herself, and that she would always be happy.

But Ginny also knew that she couldn't do that, not just because of the obvious, but because it would help Lily grow and learn to defend herself. It was necessary if Ginny wanted her daughter to be independent and really sure of herself.

However, it still hurt.

Ginny kissed Lily's head, stroking her red hair, and closing her eyes when the demons themselves seemed to want to visit her, the ones who hardly made any more noise but who occasionally tormented her.

'I didn't have a good first year either,' Ginny started, her voice strangled. 'I also felt lonely and out of place, and a little lost, because I saw my brothers just being my brothers at home and when I got there everyone had friends of their own, and they were famous, and they didn't seem to care much for me.' She laughed sadly, pressing Lily against her. 'But I know they still loved me, they just had their own lives, and I know it hurts when we don't feel inside any group, or when we see ourselves alone, but... You are not alone, Lily. You never will be. It's your first year, everyone who came in with you is also lost, I promise you that, and little by little you will get to know more people, loosen up more, and make friends... This girl? Maybe she really is your friend, even though she likes James.. It’s because he is older, and when we are that age the older boys look much more interesting.’

'But James is ugly,' Lily complained, her voice muffled against her mother's shirt. Ginny laughed softly, thinking about how that sounded a little with a little bit of jealousy.

'Well, maybe your friend doesn't think so. Who knows, maybe she just can't answer the letter? Call her to come here, or to come with us to the Amusement Park next week. What about?'

'What if she doesn't want to?' Lily lifted her head, her glasses fogged and a little crooked on her face, her brown eyes a little red from crying.

'So, when you return to Hogwarts you make other friends. Maybe you meet someone on the train and become friends with that person, who knows? The youngest always go alone, it is a good opportunity to meet someone. That's how I met Aunt Luna.’ Ginny smiled, seeing her smile too. Not a big smile, but a lot better than the crying of before. ‘James was worried about you.’

'James?' Lily's eyes blinked, looking confused by that brother's demonstration. Ginny would have to talk to him and Albus about not leaving Lily alone at Hogwarts, at least for now, while she was still adapting.

'Yes… I know that now he and Albus don't seem to want you around, and I swear, when you get to their age you will also feel that way, but they are still your brothers, and they still love you. Never forget that, okay?’

'Okay.' She nodded, her cheeks a little flushed.

'And me and your father always, Lily, always, we will be here. You can always send us a letter and call us whenever you feel necessary or want to talk. Never think you can't tell us how you feel, okay? Promise me.' The demons who seemed to have woken up with that situation, stirred inside her, as if only the memory of what she lived and the times she thought of telling that she felt something was wrong but was afraid, would make her want to cry again.

It had been a few years since the last time something had reminded her of Tom and made her feel that way.

'I promise.' Lily hugged her, as if now it was Ginny who needed that warmth.

It soothed her in a way, it was like the times when Harry held her after a nightmare, silently promising that it was all over and that she was fine.

'Are you going to make dinner with me? I bought the cookies you like.’

'This is a great way of bribing,' The girl took the blanket off them, dragging herself off the couch. 'But I'm still going to paint my nails.' Lily picked up the whole mess of dishes and packaging, following her mother into the kitchen after turning off the TV.

'Okay, we can do this together.' Ginny smiled, winking at her. 'I love you, my love.' She hugged her once again, taking advantage of the fact that Lily still liked affection, and had not yet reached Albus' age, who seemed to hate showing affection.

‘I love you too, mom.’

'Now, tell me...' Ginny cleared her throat, taking the pasta dough that Harry had made two days ago. 'Mira and James?' Lily's eyes widened, turning away from her and opening the refrigerated cupboard where they kept the meat, looking like she wanted to buy time.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, mom.’

| LATER |

'Hey,' James interrupted the music Lily was listening to, sitting on the bedroom floor as she arranged the new books her father had bought for her, by color. She almost got off the ground with a fright, looking at the door and seeing Albus and James standing there. ‘How are you?’ The older asked, wearing only an old pair of shorts that were stained with paint. Albus looked as if he had been forcibly pulled out of bed, with messy hair and the old wrinkled Muggle band T-shirt, as well as the shorts he wore.

'Fine. Did something happen?' Lily was surprised, they almost never entered her room, Teddy did, but James and Albus not.

'No, we just wanted to be with you,' Albus said, showing the Explosive Snap box he was carrying. 'Want to play?'

'Hm... yes.' She frowned, placing the last book on the shelf and crawling forward, being followed by her brothers who also sat on the floor, not even complaining about the music she heard.

'I brought you cake, I thought you would want it too.' James reached for a plate for her, a nice piece of the carrot cake that Al and Harry had made the day before. Lily smiled.

'Of course, thank you.' She imagined that her mum might have spoken to them, or maybe - and more likely - James had forced Albus to accompany him, but Lily didn't care much, she liked that they at least cared for her, it didn't matter how they got there. ‘Mom asked me about you and Mira today.’

'What?' James turned, his cheeks incredibly red.

'Oh, James, you were discovered.' Albus laughed, pushing his brother's shoulder with a slight provocation.

'I didn't say anything.' Lily swore. 'You're welcome.'

'Thank you.' James was still flushed, but rolled his eyes when she and Al laughed. ‘I don’t even know why she asked if there’s nothing going on.’

'So can I tell her that I saw you two kissing today?' Albus asked, a cheeky smile on his face, eyebrows raised.

'Fuck off, Albus.' James pushed him back, which only made them laugh even more.

Mum was right after all, Lily thought, filling her mouth with cake and watching Albus tease James even more, they were still brothers and her best friends.

#hinny #harry x ginny #hp next gen #next gen harry potter #Lily Luna Potter #Ginny Weasley #James Sirius Potter #Albus Severo Potter #Harry Potter