perhaps-sunlight

[perhaps-sunlight]

WIP (Not) Wednesday

I was tagged by @moontearpensfic a while back, but it's taken me a while to follow up because I've been (and still am) struggling with writer's block for Paved as the end of Act II approaches and the pressure mounts to tie everything up.

While I don't have anything substantial to share, some semblance of the following snippet will be in the next chapter.

I think everyone has already been tagged, but if you see the post and would like to share your WIP, please consider this an invitation :)

“You really don’t remember anything?” Tom asks.

“No, not much after the sunrise,” Harry replies, and Tom’s posture relaxes slightly. “What happened?”

“It’s as the Healers told you. A snake bit you.”

“How did a snake bite me on my shoulder?”

“It jumped off a tree. Everything happened so quickly that I can’t remember much else. I’m just glad that you’re okay.”

[perhaps-sunlight]

@solovejchik4 it does capture the Harry-raises-Tom trope rather well :)

shoujo filter on 💖🌸✨

insp:

[perhaps-sunlight]

Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗

Hi, thank you for the ask 💗 It's difficult to pick, not because I think all of my fics are amazing, but because writing takes a lot of effort so I only make time to write the ideas that I love. Right now, as a survival technique, my favorite fics are my three WIPs (one in each of my fandoms).

Focusing on my completed fics, in descending order:

5 -- In Your Image (Harry Potter, Tomarry):

It's rare for me to finish writing a fic and look back upon it with the feeling that I accomplished everything I intended from the outset. This is one of the exceptions. Aside from phrasing and word choices that can always be improved, I am satisfied with my Tomarry take on The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I'm especially proud of the climax and ending.

4 -- Inventing Paradoxes (Harry Potter, Tomarry)

This is a sentimental favorite. I came back to the Harry Potter fandom during the pandemic as a coping mechanism, so I wanted to write something lighthearted and happy (though one could argue I should've picked a different ship). With the Paradoxes series, I regained confidence in writing, a skill that had grown rusty, and I also got a lot of support from my readers, which made me feel like part of a community during a difficult period.

3 -- Perhaps Love (Digimon, Takari)

Another sentimental favorite: I first started planning / writing this fic when I was a teenager, upset with the non-canonical ending to my first ship. The heydays of the fandom have long past by the time I posted, but I was able to find readers who felt similarly disappointed and appreciated the ending that I provided. As with many of my stories, Perhaps was written around three pivotal scenes, and when I reread them years later, I can still appreciate the emotional impact that I was aiming for.

2 -- (never) let me go (Harry Potter, Tomarry)

I've always been and am still fascinated by the concept of death. As a teenager, I wanted to write a story where Harry struggles with the concept of immortality as the Master of Death because it means leaving his loved ones behind, but I didn't have the life experience to pull the story together. After discovering Tomarry, I reframed my original idea into a story about the acceptance of death: both from Harry, who doesn't want to lose someone he loves, and from Tom, who's afraid of moving on.

It's sort of a strange story, and I still find things I'd like to improve when I reread it. However, I was happy that it found readers who enjoyed its strangeness and super flattered that it was bound into a little book!

1 -- Once Upon a Fairy Tale (Digimon, Takari)

Like In Your Image, this is one of the few stories where I feel that I satisfactorily translated my complete vision to paper (and more). I enjoyed exploring how two characters can fall in love and yet still not be together, a theme that I revisit in other works, whether consciously or subconsciously. And when I reread the story, I can discern the hopes and dreams of a person who has yet to experience the ups and downs of real life, which fills me with bittersweet nostalgia for the innocence I once had.

Thanks for reading my rambling!

I'll tag @moonytear, @isalisewrites, and @kippipies (but no pressure at all!).

[perhaps-sunlight]

Aww it's beautiful, love the differences -- obvious and subtle -- in the two portrayals! And the hat in the final picture is extremely intriguing and makes me wish someone would write a fic based on it.

‘The Portrait’

I should be working on finals but my brain insisted on starting another project. This'll probably end up as a part of a short comic.

Premise: Harry discovers a secret room and finds a giant portrait of a mysterious man.

[perhaps-sunlight]

If you're still doing the WIP game, I'd love to hear more about the Tech Bros AU! I've just caught up with "Paved with the Best Intentions", and I absolutely love the direction you're going in!! Cannot wait for teenage Tom, and the (potential) Romione wedding 🩷🩷

Thank you for your support! Both teenage Tom and Romione wedding are coming 🩷

And sure, I'm happy to share more about Tech Bros AU. This one is super silly and inspired by the rivalry often seen between tech companies that sell very similar products.

The premise is a Same Age AU where Harry and Tom both own Quidditch broomstick companies (think Nimbus vs. Cleansweep, but with more Harry/Tom-ish names). Even though Harry is the retired Quidditch player, Tom is the one scooping up all the partnerships with high-profile Quidditch teams. After a heated competition, he even lands Harry's old team, which is the deal that Harry was counting on to save his company.

Harry is forced to consider the possibility of acquisition, but Tom puts a different offer on the table: he will let Harry have this final deal, if he would sleep with Tom.

So as you can probably see, the setup isn't that original. It could go down a conventional fluffy romcom route, or it could go down a darker thriller-esque route. The latter would be much more fun, but would require far more planning, which is why I haven't had time to flesh it out further.

Hope this is a satisfying answer!

[perhaps-sunlight]

Seven Sentences Sunday

Thank you for the tag, @kippipies! This is a belated response because I wanted to share a snippet of this upcoming scene from Paved With the Best Intentions, but I needed to finish the chapter that set it up first.

(I think I have more than seven sentences, but um, it's seven lines-ish in Google Docs?)

The baking trap slips, and forgetting that he has yet to put on oven mitts, Harry grabs it. The pain sears through his right hand, and swearing, he drops the tray with a clang on the kitchen floor. “What happened?” Tom demands, rushing inside the kitchen. “Nothing, I’m fine,” Harry says, fumbling for his wand with his non-dominant hand. “Episkey. There.” Indeed, the skin is knitting together as the magic forces the blisters and the pain to retreat. He gives Tom a reassuring smile, but Tom is gazing at his hand intensely. Without warning, he seizes it, lifts it to his lips, and licks a long, slow trail over the palm.

I don't use Tumblr enough to know who hasn't been tagged yet. But if you're seeing this in your feed and have a snippet to share, please feel very welcome to do so :)

[perhaps-sunlight]

Omg I’d love to know more about timeless!!

Hello, thanks for asking! Timeless is a one-shot featuring Master of Death Harry traveling to 1940s to teenage. A pretty classic setup, except this Harry is darker than the kindhearted Harry in most of my fics, so the dynamics with Tom will be different, and not generally to Tom's liking (for one thing, he'll explicitly bottom more than he prefers).

I don't have any snippet to share as I haven't had time to edit it and everything is rough, but I'm hoping to post it soon!

[perhaps-sunlight]

mean girls? 🩷

Hello, thanks for asking! 🩷

Mean Girls AU is inspired by the scene in the movie where Cady, Janis, and Damian plot their revenge on Regina George. (See here for reference).

So imagine Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who have time-traveled to the 1940s, in the same scenario because they want to take down young Voldemort. And while trying to figure out how to sabotage Riddle's "hot body," Harry inadvertently reveals the fact that he finds Riddle attractive.

Snippet under the break.

“Riddle is quite good-looking,” Hermione said.

“He is,” Harry said emphatically, and both friends goggled at him.

"You and your weakness for handsome boys," Ron said. “Never got over your crush on Sirius.”

Hermione's eyes widened. “Hang on, what’s this about Sirius?”

Harry shot daggers at Ron. So much for secrecy.

“Hey, Hermione is my girlfriend.” Ron held up his hands.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Focus,” he snapped. So what if he found Tom Riddle handsome? He was still going to take him down.

(As you can probably tell, this is not a serious fic. Whenever I try to write classic 1940s time travel, I seem to end up with crack.)

[perhaps-sunlight]

(never) companion piece! thank you!!

Hello, thank you for asking!

Some background on the companion piece: (never) let me go has allusions to Harry dreaming of a younger Tom, and the original idea was that those interactions actually take place in sort of a parallel universe where MoD!Harry visits Tom at the orphanage. And in the companion piece, we'll see how these interactions would've evolved and affected both Tom and Harry's futures.

Because I never decided whether or how I want the two universes to intersect, I never managed to actually flesh out the whole fic, so it really is a collection of snippets. Of all the sequels / companion pieces, it's probably the least likely to be finished.

Hopefully the explanation is not too confusing! A snippet under the cut to show how it tied back to (never):

From chapter 2 of (never):

That night, dreams rip through the Dreamless Sleep Potion to invade Harry’s sleep. He is in a grimy room with a little boy huddled in the corner. The fluorescent ceiling light flickers.

He tries to approach the boy, but he cannot move. He tries to draw the boy’s attention, but the boy doesn’t answer.

How the companion might've developed the above:

Tom starts dreaming of the boy on his sixth birthday.

At first, he thinks he’s an illusion, so he ignores him. But the boy keeps coming back. Maybe Tom is finally losing his marbles, just as Billy has always predicted. Then again, strange things have always happened to Tom. Maybe it’s not so strange.

One day, he decides not to ignore the visitor anymore. “Hello,” he says. “You’re in my room. You’re trespassing.”

The boy looks at him, and his expression — it’s fond. It’s an expression Tom has never received before. “Hello, Tom.”

[perhaps-sunlight]

Sooo predictable, because I'm interested in the other WIPs you (tentatively 😂) mentioned, but I'm excited to see a bit of Paved, if you're interested in sharing! Stoked to hear we'll be getting more soon! Don't worry, btw, the wait is more than worth it! 😤💕💕💕

Aww no worries at all. Having support from readers like you is super appreciated when chugging through a long WIP 💕 Thank you for your understanding and I wish you the best with your WIPs as well.

A small snippet from a section I just edited under the cut (mild spoilers):

Tom brushes the cool metal of the telescope. It’s a terrible night for stargazing, since the sky is heavy with storm clouds, though even if it’s perfect, he can’t muster any enthusiasm. It’s been so long since he stargazed. There’s a telly program on astronomy that he sometimes watches, but it’s not the same as nestling in Harry’s arms while listening to his stories about heroes slaying monsters.

Harry. Tom removes his hand from the telescope and brushes its back across his eyes. There’s a big Harry-shaped hole inside that he tries to ignore, only he’s terrible at it, especially when Glitter isn’t here to distract him.

[perhaps-sunlight]

WIP Game

Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Thank you @moontearpensfic for tagging me. I actively write for three fandoms, but I'll focus on the Harry Potter WIPs since that's probably what the majority of my followers are interested in. And I might be using the term WIP generously because many of them are scattered snippets that will realistically never see light of day.

Already posted:

Paved With the Best Intentions: Tomarry, Harry raising deaged!Voldemort. (Speaking of which, the next chapter is in the final editing stages, so I really hope I can post it soon because it's already delayed.) -- snippet here

To be posted (fingers crossed):

Timeless: been sitting on this for over a year now, aiming to finally edit it into readability -- more info here

Everything else (Tomarrymort unless otherwise noted; italics if there's a working title)

Hufflepuff WBWL Harry (gen)

Tom Sr (gen)

Paradoxes mini-sequel + spinoff

Game mini-sequel

(never) companion piece -- answered here

Kometa continuation (currently posted as a one-shot)

Mean Girls AU -- answered here

Tech Bros AU -- answered here

Rain

so good

...and a ton of random paragraphs here and there that don't even get real filenames lol

I imagine most people have been tagged already! But if you're reading this, please feel free to consider yourself tagged and share your WIPs with everyone :)

[perhaps-sunlight]

Hey,do u have an email adress we can reach out to you?💗💗

Hello there, thanks for asking. I do have a fandom email that I use mostly to follow fics I'm subscribed to, but I check my Tumblr messages / inbox regularly so that may be an easier option. However, if you need to reach me via email, feel free to DM me and I can share it privately.

[perhaps-sunlight]

This is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so, so much for the time and thoughtfulness you put into binding my story. It's a lovely way to begin 2024.

(never) let me go by @perhaps-sunlight​​​​

When Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for eighth year, he meets a new classmate: Tom Riddle.

For better or for worse, he’s the only one who does.

For design info / materials / binding process, read below the cut.

Keep reading

[perhaps-sunlight]

It's always flattering to be included on rec lists in company of such great fics -- I'm following several of them and can't wait for them to finish.

23 Tomarrymort Recs for 2023 (Longfic Edition)

Happy New Year! 🤍 Here is a round-up of some of the most engaging multi-chaptered works/longfics that I came across in this ship in 2023.

I found each of these fics, in their depiction of the ship, to be a fresh or surprising take on our familiar beloved characters of Harry and Tom|Voldemort, truly groundbreaking in some way in their approach to the ship. It's amazing to me that even after 20+ years of this ship existing, there's still new themes / tropes / dynamics to explore, and the authors are all so talented in making me think about the ship in some new way — just incredible examples of what it means to be a transformative work of fanfiction.

Criteria for this list: multi-chaptered, Tomarrymort-centric, with at least 1 update published in 2023. As with a previous longfic rec list, I tried to find longer fics that were relatively under-rated (which is hard to define, but below 2K kudos for the most part).

See here for Part 1 (2023 Tomarrymort one-shots), and hope you lose many many happy hours to the unbridled joy of immersing yourself in one or more of these incredibly addictive, lovely longer fics!

*

23 Tomarrymort Recs for 2023 — Multi-Chaptered Fics

A Darkness by Any Other Name by river_marrow (M, 30k, WIP) 

Decades after the war ends, Harry is thrown through the Veil, and finds himself in an alternate reality where the leader of the Muggleborn uprising is the Dark Lord Voldemort.

A Dead God's Faith by @selfishrot (M, 35k, WIP)

Blood and spittle rush to follow Riddle’s words that are dragged out through a wrecked throat. “I will consume you.” Harry felt a thrill run up his spine, along with the usual fear and anger that accompanied Voldemort's threats. “Be gentle, I can feel your soul ripping its stitches.”

And the Living Will Envy the Dead by @k-s-morgan (M, 81k, WIP)

When Harry looks at Tom, he feels overwhelmed. There is a spark that makes him hopeful, the fear that nothing he does will save Tom from himself, and the horror at what his lies might lead to. When Tom looks at Harry, he feels nothing. Until he does, and then Harry’s world starts drowning in blood.

At the expense of the world by @itsevanffs (E, 24k, WIP)

"He had a lover, you know," Jenkins says to Remus once Harry's behind a wall and out of sight again. "A boy, and a gorgeous one at that. Nobody really knew where he came from, and Tom didn't seem to favour him either, at first, but by the end, he was besotted."

Bitumen by @crowcrowcrowthing (E, 32k, WIP)

Harry finds out the hard way that Dementors can’t digest Horcruxes. Now separated from his body, his best option is to seek out a similar soul for help. A love story about immortals with too much time to kill.

Creatures of the Dark we are by @hikarimeroperiddle (M, 25k, WIP)

Banished to his cupboard at age 4, Harry learns to listen only to the Voice in his head. Its teachings wrap all around Harry until no more than dark magic and devotion remains, along with visions of a wraith with red eyes.

Exceeding Expectations by @mosiva (E, 56k, complete)

Harry Potter’s life ran along very different lines than Tom Riddle’s. He knew nothing more of the man than he read in the Daily Prophet. Then they get stuck in a lift together.

Exegesis by liquoricepantomime (M, 38k, WIP)

In exchange for peace, Voldemort asks for Harry Potter. And so, there is a new legacy that forms — of The-Boy-Who-Was-Sold, and his childhood spent in a castle, with a man who has killed his parents. A man who is mad, and whose ire reigns fiery hell. A man he will marry, and yet knows nothing about.

found by @honbug (E, 112k, WIP)

Tom knows from the beginning that he is destined for greatness. Nothing and no one will stop him from achieving his goals. (And then, of course, there are the dreams.)

hook, line, and sinker by @purplemineralwater (E, 21k, WIP)

Harry asks Professor Riddle for help in killing Voldemort. Riddle is endlessly amused.

if we were lovers by @reggieblk (E, 277k, complete)

When Harry arrives at the most prestigious theatrical school in the country, he doesn't have many expectations. The most unexpected thing he encounters is Tom Riddle, and subsequently, falling in love with the only other person who deals with feelings as well as him. But maybe, just maybe, he and Tom will find out that not all love stories have to end in tragedy.

Lover's Spit by @pinktom & @k3uuu (E, 123k, WIP)

Following his father's arrest on a dull hot Sunday in North Yorkshire, 10-year-old Tom Riddle becomes a dark internet sensation.  If Harry Potter listened to his father, he would never speak to Riddle again. But eight years after the arrest, an unexpected and painful encounter leads Harry to reconsider events — and arrive at a conclusion all his own. 

One Year In Every Ten by @saintsenara (E, 189k, WIP)

A decade after the final battle, a serial killer emerges, with a message that proclaims the Dark Lord has risen again. Harry is assigned to the case.

Oversight by @dividawrites (E, 21k, WIP)

Voldemort’s resurrection ritual doesn’t go as smoothly as he’d planned. He requires assistance and there’s only one person he can ask—the boy tied to his father’s gravestone.

Paved With the Best Intentions by @perhaps-sunlight (M, 113k, WIP)

Instead of dying during the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort de-ages into an infant. Until he becomes old enough to be legally executed, he will be magically bound to Harry.

Prison Blues by @metalomagnetic (E, 68k, WIP) 

Harry and Voldemort find themselves locked up in a mysterious prison in an A/B/O alternate universe setting.

Revolution of Configured Stars by @tollingreminiscentbells (E, 110k, WIP)

In a Voldemort Wins AU, Harry Potter was spared, and enters his seventh year at Hogwarts wanting to do Arithmancy research and keep his head down. However, after a chance encounter, it looks like it may not be so simple. Marvolo Gaunt seems to have his eye on Harry. The trouble is, Harry has no idea why. 

Tender Reigns Our Night by @noumena-writes (M, 93k, WIP)

Sent on a Ministry mission to fight for magic's survival, Harry goes back in time with two simple objectives: find and destroy any existing Horcruxes, and stop Tom Riddle ever evolving into Voldemort — using any means necessary. Harry thus finds himself working alongside Riddle at Borgin and Burke's, examining dark artefacts and desperately trying to fulfil his orders.

the demiurge, the leontoeides by @ramabear (E, 125k, WIP)

Thomas Gaunt reaches through the dimensions and plucks an eleven-year-old Harry Potter from his world and brings him home again.

the eternal flame by @duplicitywrites (E, 25k, WIP) 

There’s a well-dressed older man who enters the orphanage asking after Tom Riddle. The man’s green eyes fix on Tom’s face, searching and searching.  “My name is Harry Gaunt,” the man says, the tenor of his voice soft and faltering, a reflection of Tom's deepest, most secret anxieties, “and I’m here to adopt you.”

the righteous dead by @aspengray (T, 23k, WIP)

Harry is resurrected, sewn together with thread and magic. He remembers nothing except that he loves his savior, a man named Voldemort.

The Longing by @aglassroseneverfades (M, 33k, WIP)

Harry is not thinking of his parents right now as he trudges up to Voldemort’s eerie castle. He is thinking instead, as he often does, of a name that burns too brightly on his wrist in the pre-dawn light. He is wondering if somehow the fruitless tugging on his heart means that somewhere, some way, Tom is watching over him. 

With a resolute heart by Act_Naturally (M, 157k, WIP)

A Hunger Games-AU featuring Harry and Tom as competing champions.  Harry has a saving people thing. It’s not conducive to surviving a battle royale. He doesn’t fancy his chances. Especially against Tom Riddle.

*

[perhaps-sunlight]

Another lovely fanart. You rendered everyone so beautifully -- Tom looks adorable in his footsie pajamas. Thank you so much!

Day 23: Celestial

“See, over there?” Harry tilts the tube and adjusts the knobs some more. “The stars are tracing out a lion. Do you see it?”

Tom squints. Maybe he can imagine a lion there, if he tries really hard. Not a real lion though. A paper lion.

•

From chapter 10 of @perhaps-sunlight’s Paved With The Best Intentions

[perhaps-sunlight]

I don't think I'll ever get over the amazement of receiving fanart for my fics. This captures the vibe of the Gobstones tournament so wonderfully. Thank you so much for sharing!

Day 9: Bounce

(Or close enough to one, hehehe)

From chapter 9 of @perhaps-sunlight’s Game On, Your Move

[perhaps-sunlight]

For anyone who follows me for Digimon / Takari content: Across the Universe has been updated with Chapter 7 after almost two years.

It has also been removed from FanFiction.Net (aside from the first chapter, which remains for the sole purpose of keeping old reviews). I've been thinking about cleaning out my FFN account for ages, but always demurred out of nostalgia. But the lack of UX improvement and increase in ads / trolls have finally pushed me over the edge.

Hope you enjoy the update!