#May Jily Challenge

[jilychallenge]

Pairings

Thank you for signing up for this month's Jily Challenge! Without further ado here are your partners for this month's challenge!

@zephyrcove & @constancezin

@joyseuphoria & @chierafied

@thelighthousestale & @petals2fish

@charmsandtealeaves & @eastwindmlk

Your prompts will be in your mailboxes shortly (if you haven't received yours before this Sunday come boop our noses, here or on Discord.

If you'd like an invite to the Discord send us an Ask off anon or PM Tag us and put your works in the Ao3 collection, have fun!

[jilychallenge]

🤩

Tranquil Solitude (Until You Came Along)

Written for May 2024 @jilychallenge Prompt: I thought I went skinny dipping alone but oh my god this beautiful human is also here naked and I am a fool Partner: the amazing @petals2fish

Without thinking, Lily let out a startled scream and instinctively dove deeper into the water, seeking cover behind a large branch that extended into the pond. It offered little cover from the humiliation of being caught in such a compromising position. "Oh! Alright, Evans?" James called out, his voice tinged with amusement and surprise. Lily's heart raced as James's voice echoed through the trees, breaking through her moment of panic and embarrassment. She peeked out from between the gaps in the branches that concealed her naked body. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "What are you doing here?" Lily shouted back, trying not to sound panicky or nervous. James stepped closer, a crooked smile playing on his lips as he shrugged casually.  "Can't a man enjoy a walk in nature? What are you doing naked?" His tone was teasing, but a warmth in his eyes softened the teasing edge.

[eastwindmlk]

For this month's @jilychallenge I wrote a little successor to last month's Dillweed in a Fancy Metal Can.

Partner: @charmsandtealeaves

Prompt: University Football/rugby/field hockey training is open to the public, on a very hot day star player A takes a shower from a water hose and B walks against a lamppost bc B might have been staring Either read on AO3 or under the cut!

At least this one had trees, Lily thought as she once more hobbled down a sandy path surrounded by people in costumes ranging from breathtaking to mind-boggling. Though, admittedly, there was an odd concentration of steampunk at this particular faire. Which she did not mind in the least.

Lily was drawn to all the shiny brass, gears, and pants. There really was nothing like dragging a full-length gown through the damp grass and dusty paths of a castle’s garden to really make you appreciate the comfort that comes with wearing trousers.

Which was nothing against the red dress Mary had let her borrow this time around. Even if she did feel a little suspicious about the colour, of the myriad of colours, the sneaky blonde had selected the only red. 

It did not stop her from making note of the styles she liked. For possible future reference. While she would not admit it to Mary, who would become more insufferable than she had been when she mentioned wanting to come with her to this event., But she was making mental notes for a potential future endeavour. 

In one of the larger clearings, there was a section cordoned off with a thick rope. A sort of playpen where a bunch of kids, some in costume, were running around with foam swords. All screams and giggles as they chased each other. 

But that was not what caught her attention. Casually leaning on a large wooden sword stood a Ren Faire snack. His linen shirt hung open to reveal a healthy amount of dark chest hair and an impressively muscled chest. 

She could not help but let her thoughts wander when his hand ran through his wild, ebony locks, showing off a hint of some very, very toned forearms a better person would have ignored. But who was she kidding? The way this man casually leaned against his sword did things to her. 

Mary caught her attention by grabbing Lily’s wrist and pulling her towards a steampunk contraption. It was not until she got closer that she realised it was a grill. They sold burgers and sausages that smelled pretty damn good. 

It also meant they could sit down in this clearing and enjoy the show. Watch and listen to how this tall, dark, and glasses-mediaeval man-candy would teach the little whirlwinds some basic sword fighting. That sounded like the perfect show to go with their pit stop. 

And so, Lily and Mary found themselves a large tree to lean against that offered a perfect view of the clearing. 

“Oh, you picked a brilliant spot, Lils.” Her friend complimented and settled in. “Never say no to a little dinner with a view.” She could feel her elbow trying to poke her through her corset, and she nudged the smirking blonde back with her shoulder. 

Taking a bite from her burger, Lily grinned. Enjoying the way this man’s commanding voice got all the kids in line so easily. The baritone that floated over was not entirely unpleasant. The smile that she could spot was positively dazzling. 

“He kind of looks like your knight, doesn’t he?” Mary suddenly commented while they watched the swordsman make a brave attempt at battling a hoard of kids. Laughing and pretending to get hurt as they smacked his shins and hips with their weapons. 

Lily squinted, trying to remember how ‘Sir James’ had looked up close. But frankly, she couldn’t quite remember his face. Besides, with the armour on, he could have just worn a lot of padding. “No, he didn’t wear glasses,” she decided after a moment of scrutiny.

Then she paused to glare at her friend, swatting her on the arm. “And don’t call him my knight!” Lily huffed and rolled her eyes. He was here, somewhere. She knew that much. His troupe had been on the pamphlet, and they’d contemplated going to another show. 

Not that she saw the point. They saw one, and she was pretty certain they were basically the same thing. Besides, and this was something she was not going to admit aloud if he did not recognise her, she might actually be a little hurt. 

It was silly, but for a moment, there had been a spark. And immature as it was, Lily hoped that he did not have that every show. That she was just a little special.

“Do you want to get a closer look? Maybe you’ll know him better by his big, manly hands.” Mary’s voice dropped as she mocked her with a gleeful grin on her face. 

Taking a large bite from her burger, Lily used it as an excuse not to answer immediately. To let the rosy dusting of her cheeks come down. “That is unfair to bring up, and you know it. I had a few cups of wine at that point,” she protested as if she had not wholeheartedly meant them. 

“Come off it, Lils. We both know he is ridiculously hot and so very into you. I still can’t believe you didn’t ask him for a drink.” Again, it wasn’t like she had not considered it, but she was sure he got offers like that all the time. “Tonight, when we go to the show, you are going to stroll up to your prince charming and get that drink. Or, I swear, I am going to slide into his DMs and give him your number.” 

“You wouldn’t!” She gasped, even though she knew that she absolutely would. “This is just some ploy for you to get into these things for free, isn’t it?” Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously and let out a loud ‘Ha’ when Mary pulled up her shoulders, looking guilty. 

“It would be a nice perk. These things aren’t cheap, you know. Plus, it would get you laid. Who knows, maybe he is particularly talented with those large, masculine hands of his.” With every word out of Mary’s mouth, Lily’s look turned a little more disappointed and then exasperated. In the end, she flicked open her fan to hide her face behind it. 

“There are kids present,” she hissed, though it did not seem to bother Mary in the slightest. “I bet he is into every halfway decent-looking girl.” Taking another bite from her burger with a little more vigour than strictly necessary. “The man has a fan club, Mary. I doubt I crossed his mind after turning down his advances.” 

Mary tutted, rolling her eyes at her friend. “Or, you have been on his mind because of that. Ever considered that?” 

Yes. “No, because that is bonkers,” she lied in return. Of course, the thought had crossed her mind; on more occasions, she would like to admit. She mostly blamed sleep deprivation and slow days at her residency. There were too many opportunities to have caffeine-induced delusions about a bloke who practically flirted with girls for a living.

“Suit yourself,” Mary quipped with a shrug and set her eyes back on the field of shrieking children brandishing practice swords at each other. They ate their snacks in peace until the blonde decided to pose a queer question. “Say, Lils?”

“Huh?” 

“Think we’re getting old?” 

The redhead’s eyebrows drew together, and she turned her head slowly in the direction of her friend. “What on earth makes you say that?” The offence dripping from her voice, and a lifted eyebrow punctuated her ridiculous question. 

She nodded in the direction of the feral hoard, making Lily giggle while they brutally attempted to bring down the instructor. Her head tilted curiously, hoping her friend would elaborate so she did not need to admit that there was something incredibly hot about the way he humoured those kids. 

“Well, you know how I feel about offspring. But damn!” Mary laughed, sighing longingly. They watched, spellbound, while he bent down just enough for one of the smaller kids to mount his back. Little arms wrapped around his muscular neck in a clumsy chokehold. 

Lily hummed in understanding, unable to contain her giggle as the girl on his back decided to use the man as a mount. A very impressive, feral battle cry came from the little princess as she raised her sword and the Ren Faire snack charged. 

Her friend was right; she could almost feel her temperature climbing, the baby fever simmering far closer to the surface than it had before. The little voice in the back of her mind sounded remarkably like her mother singing about a biological clock. 

“It is almost rude, really,” Lily decided with a determined nod. Making it Mary’s turn to look at her in utter confusion. “How are we supposed to shamelessly stare when he’s being this adorable?” 

The sheer volume of Mary’s laugh made her jump, drawing the attention of a few people around her. A collection of pirates and Batman are pausing their conversation to look at the pair with a hint of judgment. 

The pair of them glared back with equal fervour until they could not contain their giggles any longer. That was when they decided to move along. There were still plenty of things to do, and it would be good to get her mind on a luscious piece of topped flatbread. 

Still, she could not help herself. The children were rushing back to their parents, and the humdrum was bound to catch anyone’s attention, really. It had nothing to do with the fact that she felt drawn to the gorgeous, bespectacled man.

There he was, standing next to one of the treasured water points, the water trickling down his chin, his throat bobbing. Her eyes were drinking him in as thirstily as he was. She was unable to keep her eyes off of him. 

Then he dealt a killing blow by leaning forward and dipping his head under the hose. The water made his white linen shirt cling to his beautiful tanned skin, showing off the muscles they’d mused about. 

Entranced by the sculpted shoulders and the rippling trapezoids. “I need to see something,” Lily mumbled to her friend, letting herself be lured by the siren song of his anatomy. 

If she could only get...

SMACK 

Something hit her right in her ribs, knocking the wind out of her. Her eyes were tearing away from the delectable display and from the culprit. One of the unvarnished plywood poles that made up the makeshift fence posts stood right in her path. 

Lily stared at it in horror, the realisation dawning on her, while Mary giggled uncontrollably. She was never going to live this down, but hopefully no one but her friend noticed. 

The crowd was still trickling by; no one had stopped to laugh at her, and she would count that as a win. She could deal with Mary’s teasing; that was something that could be bought off with a pint. The idea of some stranger, though? No, thanks. 

“Ouch,” she complained, rubbing at the sore spot as she fell into Mary’s arms. Stifling a laugh at her own, she soon burst out in rumbustious rolls. A sound died in her throat when her eyes landed on a pair of heavy leather boots. 

Her emerald eyes followed them up, only to stall when she noticed a wet white shirt clinging to disgustingly defined abs. She swallowed, her face heating up once more. Curse her pale complexion, she supposed. 

“You alright?” The sound of his voice was low, insouciant, and familiar. Making her eyes travel up curiously. She hoped that, maybe, his face would give her a clue as to why his voice stirred more than just something mischievous.

However, before Lily could place it, there was a spark of recognition in his eyes and a smirk curling from his lips. “You’re back! I was starting to think I might lose the bet.” 

Both the women now frowned and blinked at him curiously. Mary was poised to speak when the Ren Faire Snack laughed, his strong, calloused fingers carding through his damp locks. “It’s the glasses, isn’t it?” he asked while his hand lingered on the back of his neck. Granting them a nice peak at his bulging deltoids and defined triceps.

The thought crossed Lily’s mind that, with him around, studying for her anatomy exam might have been a lot more fun. Unfortunately, she was not quite as intimately familiar with these specific muscles yet. 

“We met a few weeks ago, my lady,” he winked, and it struck her like lightning. “Uhm, James. Sir James. I guess.” 

At this revelation, Mary did an amazing re-enactment of the first time he’d approached her on his white mare. She squeezed her arm so tight that it cut off circulation for a moment. “See, I told you he’d remember you,” her friend hissed in her ear. 

Lily took a moment to deploy one of her deadliest side-eyes at Mary, who released her Kraken-esque hold on her. 

“Sir James? I suppose I remember,” she replied coyly, her eyelashes fluttering flirtatiously in his direction. Her hand deliberately lingered on her neck as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while her eyes slowly drank him in from crown to sole. Making a show of looking. 

She bit her lip while her eyes travelled back up, meeting his eyes with a giggle. “I do think I said I’d have a drink with you last time; did I not?”

He laughed, the sound sitting somewhere in the hollow of her chest, glowing warm and bright. “I do believe you said I’d have to win you another crown. So, I suggest you come this afternoon. Be my lucky charm again.” 

Mary pushed her forward, her hands landing against his chest right before he caught her at the elbow. The hint rather clear. 

“Maybe we can celebrate prematurely,” she proposed, her fingers curling against his wet shirt. The sensation of sparking an idea was a little risque and definitely crazy. But the best ideas always were. 

“After you’ve taken off that shirt.”

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

Sirius Black Appreciation Post

Time to celebrate Sirius Black's birthday by highlighting my favorite canon facts 🥳

Sirius is tall. We're talking at least 6'.

He's intelligent AF. He became an Animagus at 15. He charmed a Muggle motorbike to fly (Arthur couldn't do that with a car, Sirius did it in his late teens, latest at age 20). He escaped from Azkaban. He got a cat to order a racing broom. My man is brilliant, no doubt about it.

Sirius has a complicated relationship with his mother and it is *not* merely hatred. Note that he did not destroy his mother's portrait, or slash it as he did with the Fat Lady's. I'm confident that he could've figured out a way to destroy it or otherwise get rid of it, but he doesn't. His refuge is in his mother's old room with Buckbeak. There's something very complicated in his relationship with his family that can't be labeled as simple loathing. Sirius may have run away from home at 15/16, but his background 100% shaped him and left its mark on his personality and psyche.

Sirius was good friends with Lily. The letter from Lily to Sirius is great proof of that - it wasn't James who wrote that letter, but LILY. Sirius was smiling and genuinely happy at Jily's wedding.

Sirius is emotionally driven, and lashes out *with good reason.* When he goes after Wormtail the night the Potters died, it's because Harry is taken away from him. He has nothing to hold him down - and even gives his motorbike to Hagrid. When he tries to get to Wormtail in PoA, he slashes the portrait but doesn't harm a single boy in his search for the rat. When he goes to the Department of Mysteries, his focus is on Harry. These are good reasons, even if it puts him in danger.

Sirius has a great sense of humor. He puts little Santa hats on the decapitated elf heads. He chases pigeons as Padfoot just to make Harry smile. He sends a good luck note with a muddy paw print. He is scathingly funny, when he derides Peter's hero worship of James in Snape's Worst Memory. He's bitter and sarcastic. We love to see it.

Sirius is a baby boomer. He was born in 1959. "Ok, boomer," is an applicable retort.

Sirius is not misogynistic. He does not hate women. He is often kinder to women than men. He helps Ginny up in OoTP. No matter how angry he gets at Molly, he is never, ever physical with her (unlike the way Sirius is with snape, who he does get physically aggressive with). He is kind to Hermione. He had a great relationship with Lily. Even in the end, his last words to Bellatrix are 'you can do better than that.'

Sirius does not have a canonical love interest.

Sirius is willing to challenge Dumbledore. This is an important point - with so many people deferring to Dumbledore's judgment, including Remus, the Weasleys, and Harry - Sirius will challenge him and his decisions. He may not get his way, but Sirius has the personal strength and confidence to challenge one of the greatest wizards of all time.

Sirius was great with animals. Crookshanks and Buckbeak are prime examples of this.

Sirius is deeply flawed: he can get very intense. He can be rash, even if he has good reasons. He can be bitter to the point of hurting others ('the risk would've made it fun for James'). He can be cruel and condescending (my robes have enough filth without you touching them/wormail will piss himself with excitement). He can be callous (wishing it was the full moon, sending Snape on a potentially deadly adventure). He's a hurricane of deep, complex emotions.

Canon Sirius would obliterate fanon Sirius.

Happy birthday, Sirius. You would've loved James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. You'd have had the time of your life at Hinny's wedding. You are an absolute king.

[practicecourts]

Just because they are so 😎

JILY CHALLENGE | MAY 2022 | @jilychallenge

Prompt: Pirate and/or mermaid

Theme: learning to swim

Quote: “Wait. So you’re telling me that you’re the most feared pirate in the world, but you can’t swim and you want me to teach you how to swim?”

•Thanks to my partners @abihastastybeans and @joyseuphoria for all your support!•

[eastons-creations]

My ultimate fic recs

Made a poll and a lot of people said they would want this sooo here we are! These are the best fics I’ve read (: The og post

Top 3

1- To Be Alone With You By Shay_Fae

In the summer of their sixth year, Remus Lupin tried to kill himself.

2- Something Just Like This By shadow_prince

a fake dating modern AU where Sirius has been telling Mrs. Potter he's dating someone for 9 months and she demands his "boyfriend" comes on their family vacation. Queue: shenanigans between wolfstar and jily as they lie their asses off.

3- Text Talk By merlywhirls

Sirius is in boarding school, Remus is in hospital, and they don't know each other until Sirius texts the wrong number.

Other recs bellow break (in no order)

Wading in waist high water By colgatebluemintygel

Remus is a PhD student and hobbyist baker who finds himself adrift following his father’s death. On a whim, he enters the Great British Bake Off and is swept up in a flurry of curdled custard, shrunken souffle, and under-proved dough. Remus expects to be challenged and to embarrass himself on public television. What he doesn’t account for are the friendships he develops with the other contestants and the deep connection he forms with his teenage crush, Sirius Black: charming ex-boy band member and Bake Off host

Beneath a big blue sky by @eyra

The four-by-four heaves its way down long, twisting lanes, little more than dirt tracks scuffed into the surrounding fields and hemmed in by serpentine walls of flat, grey stone. They truly are in the middle of nowhere: the countryside rushes past, all rolling green hills and vast, endless skies, and it's odious. Sirius wants to murder James with his bare hands. Sirius and James accidentally find themselves on a Yorkshire farm during lambing season. The farmer’s son thinks that’s a bit annoying, actually.

A brief history of dragons by @eyra

It's lovely up here; all meadows dotted with wildflowers, wind-beaten tracks criss-crossing this way and that through the fields, weaving inland to the pinewoods. The sun's hot on his back as he passes ramshackle stone walls, long since crumbled to piles of ancient rubble and scree, and then the path winds downwards, still following the line of the coast until Sirius finds himself outside an old white cottage, tucked away behind the hill with a rose garden that faces out to the sea. Sirius moves to Cornwall for the summer and meets a rude, beautiful boy who is writing a book that may or may not be about dragons

Let’s play pretend by MsAlexWP

After James and Lily died, Sirius Black's therapist told him not to date for a year. And that's just as well. He's got a 13-month-old baby now and quite enough to deal with, thanks. But the nosy neighbors in his building keep trying to set him up and won't take no for an answer. Enter Remus Lupin, another single dad who pretends to be Sirius's boyfriend, just to get the old lady brigade off his back and nothing more. Nothing more at all.

Forever in a state of mind by orphan_account

Deaf Dance Choreographer, Remus Lupin, has a simple life. Working, taking care of his son, and running his YouTube sign channel. When he unwittingly becomes involved with Deaf Pride Activist, Fleamont Potter, he doesn't realise how much his life will change. Especially after he meets YouTube star and makeup artist, Sirius Black.

Sugar rush by Stricklymarauders

James, Sirius, Peter, and Dorcas have been best friends for years and are starting their senior year of highschool. To Sirius' dismay he doesn't have any friends in his history class, but after eventually showing up, he finds he sits next to a tall curly hair boy who takes his breath away, Remus Lupin. He decided right then and there that he must make this boy fall in love with him and recruits James to be his wingman, until James is distracted by Remus' best friend with a personality as fiery has her hair, Lily Evans.

Dating Remus lupin by Children_of_the_Shadow

Remus Lupin is a mystery to the whole school; the boy who's quiet, aloof, and cold. He also happens to be queer, which is enough to gain Sirius's interest. What Sirius never realised that dating Remus Lupin wasn't quite as easy as it looked.

Blends by rvltn909

Words got in the way sometimes, but Remus got the sense Sirius knew what he was trying to say. Another coffee shop au.

Camp Casanova by Farquad

All lonely 11 years old Remus Lupin wants is a friend. But when he arrives at Slughorn's summer camp for teenage boys his world turns upside down since he finds himself sharing a cabin with three other boys; James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. As the years pass by Remus finds himself birthing friendships, fighting bullies, but above all battling his own feelings which soon gets out of control. He struggles to keep his biggest secret, and he wonders how he could've fallen so deeply in love.

Turn on my charm by Bethanlovescoffee

Sirius Black is a YouTube phenomenon. A YouTube phenomenon who develops a crush on his video editor.

Those who commented:

@maraudersarecanon @sunflower-vol-9

[arianatwycross]

Hi my tumblr name is arianatwycross (this is not my real name but you may call me A or Ari) I'm a pommy that lives in Australia, I have a golden retriever that owns my heart and I'm addicted to cheesy romance novels.

I write mostly Jily but have been known to delve into Romione and am dipping my toe in some wolfstar!

last updated 18.03.24

Jily

Multi-chapters:

The Process of Wanting- University Muggle AU / Jily-microoops March prompts

Headlines - Muggle AU / Popstar James

once upon a dream - WIP Hogwarts AU / Lily has a crush

To send or not to send? - (Two Parts) 2023 April Jily Challenge / Theme: Letters, Notes and Texting

A (not so) bad day - (Two Parts) - Hogwarts idiots in love

We'll be a fine line -WIP a chapter a day for jilytober 2022 / a muggle au

Only for the Summer -WIP Rated E / Muggle Job AU / Friends to Lovers

Beach Reading -  Rated T. July 2022 Jily Challenge / Theme: Summer Prompt: “i really, really need this summer job, so please stop distracting me with your wiles/good looks. you’re going to get me fired”

The Art of Fake Dating - WIP written with @vertraymer / For the Mixed Up Writer Fest 2022 / Prompt: Fake dating AU!

Unlearnable - WIP, Rated M. Muggle AU. Angst.

Strawberry Lipstick State of Mind - Rated E. Canon. Seventh Year.

Just a touch - Rated E

Teenage Kicks - Rated E / Celeb AU with minor wolfstar

you are the sun - Rated M (Three-parts) Muggle AU/Secret Relationship

One Shots:

Skinny Dipping Part 1 - a jilymicrofic

Just the two of us - Hogwarts / Forced proximity, Hurt/Comfort

A Sweet Meet Cute - Muggle AU, small town romance

A romance of their own - Jily Valentine Gift Exchange 2023 / Celeb AU

Wet, Cold & Bothered - Rated M / 2022 Jily Challenge December Christmas challenge; prompt: Snowball fights

Muggle Christmas Traditions - Rated G/ 2022 December Christmas Jily Challenge. Prompt: The night before Christmas

The One Where Remus Has no Filter - Rated G. Jily Challenge December Christmas challenge

a year and 22 days - Rated T. Summer of Jily 2022 / lyric: all that I know is you caught me at the right time —"golden hour" (kacey musgraves) Scenario: late evening with friends in the garden

The One Where Petunia Can't Drive - April JilyChallenge / Meet uglies + prompt "i hit you with my car/broom and was the only one to visit you in the hospital"

two fools - Rated T / Feb 2022 Jily Challenge romance theme + prompt " “It’s not like I've thought about kissing you, or anything…”

Shut up & Kiss me - Rated M / December Jily Challenge, Winter theme. Muggle AU

Crush Phase - Rated T. Muggle AU

A Year Later - Rated M / Jily Challenge August 2021 . Muggle AU

consciously unaware - Rated GA / Jilytober 2021 bingo (5 prompts in one). Canon, friends to lovers.

Say my name - Rated M. Canon.

Romione

Multi-chapters:

Backseat Rider - Rated T / Muggle AU

One Shots:

Willow - Rated GA. Written for M.Windsor for the 2021 HP Romione Discord Secret Santa!

It’s better In the front seat… - Rated M (Backseat Rider One shot)

Confessions - Rated E / Canon

Books & Freckles - Rated T

Nobody Compares - Rated T / Muggle AU, professional football player Ron

Wolfstar

Skinny Dipping Part 2 - a wolfstarmicrofic

Teenage Kicks Spinoff coming soon!

[sideprince]

Speaking of James, what do you think of him in the prequel + Lily’s letter? She mentioned him not having the chance to go on excursions without the cloak, despite them being in hiding.

I've been thinking about this question and funnily enough it came up in another post where I had a fun back and forth with @seriousbrat! I should probably preface my answer by saying that I haven't put that much thought into James or Lily in general, and I don't really spend time in the parts of the fandom that discuss them at length, so my thoughts are based on a cursory revisiting of the text. Some of what I say may be basic stuff for the Jily/Marauders/¯\_(ツ)_/¯ parts of the fandom, some of it may be stuff that has already been counter argued with points I haven't thought of, etc. This isn't my area of interest, but your question is interesting! Tl;dr proceed with caution I guess lol.

The first thing that comes to mind about the letter from Lily to Sirius is why she wrote it in the first place. My own reading of it is that it's meant to be exposition more than something that has to do with a thought out relationship between these characters. Like many others, I'm frustrated with the minimal and flat way Lily is written. We get very few insights into who she was, most of them through descriptions from other characters like Slughorn. To me it's clear that Rowling held back on her for the sake of the big reveal at the end of DH, and I think a lot of Lily's character development got thrown under the bus as a result. But it could also just be that Lily is writing a thank you to Sirius for Harry's birthday present and it was the only time she ever sent him anything, but in the process she's giving him an update since they know each other as well as anyone knows their spouse's best friend.

In her letter she writes:

James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell - also, Dumbledore’s still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much.

Deathly Hallows Ch. 10

Lily is showing a lot of sympathy for James here, while also acknowledging that if he had his Invisibility Cloak he would probably be sneaking out under it. I know that this implication is contentious across fandoms, and my own thoughts on it are: it falls within James' character to do something like that and be reckless, but while I think it's irresponsible and shitty, I also don't think he's satan incarnate for it, by any means. To me it - and how young James tends to be written - shows that he's an immature guy in a war where he spends most of his time shut up in a comfortable house instead of fighting (ie. his ideals aren't tested or challenged by trauma), and the first chance he gets to do something brave he forgets his wand on the couch and is immediately killed. I think James had very good intentions but kind of bad follow through.

In her letter, Lily is also asking Sirius to come visit to cheer James up, which I find strange, given the two men are such close friends. Why should Lily have to ask Sirius to visit? Are he and James not in touch? Or is Lily being thoughtful and identifying James needs and trying to meet them when he hasn't done so himself? Again, I think this letter is more about exposition, so I don't think there's any significant meaning here, just that the author was a bit careless. Lily then goes on to say:

Wormy was here last weekend, I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard.

For me there's a conspicuous absence of any note referring to what a comfort James was. I talked about this in my other ask, but I think a lot of James, and as an extension his relationship with Lily, is the author's projection of her own experience in an abusive relationship and what she wishes it had been. That isn't to say I think James abused Lily, but rather that Rowling transferred some of her abusive husband's qualities onto James, while also projecting a fantasy of what she wished he had been onto the character too, ie. a devoted, loving father onto him who would - and did - die for his family. A lot of James' actions, mannerisms, and words - his arrogance, dismissiveness, and enjoyment of cruelty towards select people he has dehumanized - raises my own red flags as an abuse survivor. While I think he was a bully at school - and bullying is a form of abuse - I don't think he was abusive to his wife or child. I could draw a parallel with the phenomenon of the prison guard who enacts cruelty on his charges freely and then goes home and is a loving, doting husband and father who wouldn't hurt a fly, because he only abuses those he dehumanizes. Instead, though, what I think is going on is that Rowling is projecting a lot of her first husband onto James, and unconsciously and unintentionally leaving a trail of abuser red flags written into his character.

It hits hard for me that Lily is concerned enough about James, and empathetic enough of him, that she shares her worry about his frustration and cabin fever with his best friend, and asks him to come visit, because she wants to cheer James up - yet she makes no mention of James being a comfort to her when she spends all night crying about her friend being murdered. In short, Lily is identifying and attending to James' needs but we see no indication that this is reciprocated. It doesn't feel out of line for an abuse victim to describe a relationship like this, especially since it would be so simple to have added something like, "as difficult as it is being shut up in this cottage, it was a great comfort to have James that night."

It's odd to me that someone thoughtful enough to attend to their spouse's emotional needs would forgo expression appreciation for them doing the same, so my reading of this is that James doesn't provide Lily with the same kind of comfort. More importantly, it doesn't seem to be on Rowling's radar to mention how James reacted to his wife outright crying for a whole evening, which tracks with how a lot of abuse victims understand relationships, ie. it often doesn't occur to them that they should be reciprocal. And so, Rowling forgets to add in the bit where James offers Lily comfort, perhaps because it was something she lacked experience of and therefore didn't think to write. And while I feel the need to include the requisite statement of "fuck JKR and her transphobic, bigoted views" I also feel that despite that, I won't sink to her level and dehumanize others, and therefore feel it's still important to balance that view with sympathy for her experiences as an abuse victim.

As for the prequel, the implication seems to be that two muggle cops got in the middle of James and Sirius escaping from some Death Eaters. It's a fun little piece but also reveals that Rowling really benefits from having an editor, because the prose is overwrought and a bit clumsy. In terms of what it says about James' and Sirius' character, they don't seem at all concerned with violating the Statute of Secrecy in front of muggles, or with protecting those muggles from the three wizards who are presumably Death Eaters. James and Sirius were described by Rowling as "bad boys" and she talked about how this was something sexy that all women loved in men (which I find problematic for a number of reasons), however she doesn't seem to differentiate between youthful rebelliousness and selfish destructiveness. It's something Lupin talks about in PoA when he reflects on their youthful adventures. In any case, James and Sirius weren't rebellious - not in their bullying at school, not in their animagi nights, and not in the prequel. They weren't challenging an unfair authority or status quo, but instead were pursuing their own fun for fun's sake, and other people often get hurt, or come dangerously close to it.

In the prequel they leave the cops vulnerable and without defense with the three DEs who are knocked out and might be back on their feet any minute. Given that Death Eaters torture muggles for sport in canon, this seems like a careless and callous move. I also feel like the Phoenix shirts are a bit cheesy... Dumbledore would never? Is the idea that James and Sirius made the shirts themselves? Or is this just another clumsy literary device that exists for the sake of exposition but doesn't fit the characters all that well? I feel like if the Order did have some kind of gear with their emblem on it, it would be more subtle and also a bit more refined than a t-shirt. The idea of these besties wearing matching shirts is cute, it just feels out of character.

I'm not sure if this was the parallel you meant to draw or were asking about, but as to whether the prequel story takes place while James and Lily are in hiding, I don't think it does. James and Sirius are described as looking like they're in their "late teens" and this seems to be a pretty clear indication from the author that this is the age they're at. James and Lily are killed when they're 21, and they'd been in hiding for about a year according to @said-snape-softly's calcutations in this amazing post (though I need to adjust the timeline a bit because @saintsenara had some great thoughts too in this other post). So even if it was just a year or six months in between, I think the prequel story is set before James and Lily go into hiding.

[jamesunderwater]

Tidbits:

you can call me james or jamie. trans, autistic, adhd, witch, writer.

multi-fandom blog run by a multi-shipper. my main fandoms are: avatar the last airbender, legend of korra, marauder's era harry potter, doctor who, she-ra and the princesses of power, percy jackson, & bbc merlin

i do write and post smut, just as a content warning. minors be warned.

don't put up with transphobia/terf/transmed shit, racism, antisemitism, ableism, sexism, and the like.

itsjamespotter on ao3

**for anyone triggered by harry potter content, i try to tag all harry potter related posts with #hp, so you can block that tag**

Tumblr Fic Tags:

Jily

Prongsfoot

Dorlene

Smut

AO3 Highlighted Fics

Dead to Me [playlist] [tag] - 91,625 words - jily, angst, hurt/comfort

I saw a quote once that said: "How many times have I loved a thing, just because you loved it? Including me." This story is about love, but is not to be confused with a love story. It's about the love we should have had. The love we don't think we deserve. The crooked love we settle for. It is about how, in letting others love us, we learn to love ourselves.

Call and Response - 6,685 words - first war, hurt/comfort, minor jily

A series of vignettes showcasing how, despite his own personal tragedies, James Potter never fails to show up for the ones he loves – which might be his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. Set in a world where James and Lily never got together in school, the Marauders, now twenty, are fighting in the Order at the height of the war. Consider this my love letter to James “would have died rather than betray his friends,” “would have regarded it the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends,” “until the very end” Potter.

Risky Behaviour - 997 words - canon jily awkward smut

Lily is determined not to get distracted during rounds again. Written for @jilymicrofics Mystery Microfic May Prompt 27: Risk banner by @eastwindmlk! <3

The Couch Chronicles - 3,118 words - canon jilypad fluff

written for the lovely @annabtg as part of @jilymicrofics's 2024 Jily Gift Exchange, and inspired by this fanart.

Jily Microfics, Feb 2024: An Academic Rivals Montage - 6,550 words - canon-compliant Jily, pre-relationship

Witness as James comes to terms with all of Lily Evans's levels, and Lily comes to terms with what is most likely not a heart murmur.

Bring Your Kid to Work Day(s Never End When Your Godfather is Sirius Black) - 2,012 words - good godfather sirius black

Written for Good Godfather Sirius Black Fest. Day 11, prompt: bring your kid to work day.

Just This Once - 6,196 words - jily, muggle au, gratuitous smut

When they were teenagers, James Potter promised his best friend, Sirius Black, that he would never, ever touch his sister. Lily Evans promised herself long ago that she would never, ever give into her feelings for her brother's best friend. But maybe…just this once?

Completed Fics August '23 - Present

Jily: An Unexpected Ally - 910 words - canon-divergent trans James Potter, cw: transphobia

When James gets outed as trans by Snape, everyone starts treating him differently. Everyone except Sirius, Remus, and Peter, of course - and, to his surprise...Lily Evans.

Prongsfoot: where you belong - 1,207 words - canon-divergent trans prongsfoot, hurt/comfort(ish)

Sirius is finally moving into the boys' dorm room, where he belongs. Written in celebration of Trans Day of Visibility <3

The Potters/Jily: The Raven-Haired Prince - 1,630 words - Potter family fluff, fix-it fic

He's just a little boy who wants a bedtime story - but no, not like that, and wait, it must include this, and above all, never forget, the prince must be raven-haired. Written for @jilychallenge March Challenge: Fairytales

Jily: Dying Fires - 2,146 words - canon pre-relationship jily, hurt/comfort

In fifth year, James attempts to comfort Lily by a dying fire - but finds this will require restraint on his part in a number of ways.

Dorlene: Promises to Keep - 1,142 words - dorlene; canon first war; angst

Marlene and Dorcas have run out of ways to say goodbye.

Jily: Sweet Seventeen - oneshot - 792 words - canon school years, fluff

James is dating an older woman. She loves snow. He loves... well, it's too soon to say it.

Prongsfoot: here comes a thought - oneshot - 634 words - psychiatric unit AU

sirius is just one of those kids you can't fix. no one has ever thought otherwise. until james potter.

Jily: you are my heaven - oneshot - 1,815 words - soulmates AU, jily reincarnated

What, you thought all they got was a few years together? this is for anyone who has watched what dreams may come (1998) and it's a wonderful life (1946) and is also a pisces. 'cause you get it.

Jily: Happy Holiday, You Filthy Potters - oneshot - 6,098 words - fix it fic, jily never died AU, married smut

"jily christmas family fluff!" but with sex on the stairs.

Prongsfoot: "truth is i'm so damn in love with you i don't know what to do with myself" - oneshot - 804 words - canon first war, one bed

prongsfoot + near death experiences + trapped with only one bed + gay pining

Prongsfoot: "you have no idea how long i've been wanting to do that" - oneshot - 1,017 words - muggle AU, transmasc Sirius Black, bathroom smut

prongsfoot + a locked door public bathroom on my knees trying to make you scream vibe

Prongsfoot: not going anywhere - oneshot - 2,341 words - song fic, canon death, grief

when they were boys, james potter made sirius black a promise. and not even death can make james potter break his promises.

Prongsfoot: i don't even know where you end and i begin - oneshot - 482 words - first war, canon death, grief

Remember when we were such fools? And so convinced, and just too cool? I wish I could touch you again. I wish I could still call you, friend. I'd give anything.

Jily: Tall Dark and Glasses - oneshot - 3,292 words - coffee shop AU, fluff

Tall Dark and Glasses (or TDG as he is more affectionately known) is the mysterious, painfully good-looking stranger who has been frequenting Lily's favorite coffee shop for months now. But despite having an embarrassing acronym for him, Lily, a burned out STEM major, is too comfortable being a wallflower to go up to him herself. Thank god for playing cards, I guess.

Prongsfoot: I Only Breathe When You Breathe - oneshot - 643 words - first war, angst, hurt/comfort

Sirius and James and a nearly fatal order mission. Don't worry, it isn't gay at all.

[calmlyerratic]

requests are open ♥︎

Hi loves, I'm so excited to open my requests!

I love writing different pov's and playing around with time—any character clashing is such a fun challenge. I'll put some prompts below, but feel free to send me your ideas too.

✰ please send all requests to my ask ✰

(I'll be tweaking this page a little, adding different characters/prompts/ect as I work out the kinks :)

What I will write:

— generally canon-oriented character descriptions and perspectives (there are so many interpretations of canon, and I absolutely adore how diverse and inclusive this fandom is! I may branch out a little once I feel more comfortable with these requests)

— fluff, humor, hurt/comfort, au, time travel, timeline divergence

Pairings:

— wolfstar, jily

What I won't write:

— explicit NSFW (however, I will do light smut)

— reader pov's (characters only please)

character list

The Marauder's Era

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

James Potter

Lily Evans

Peter Pettigrew

Severus Snape

The Golden Trio Era

Harry Potter

Hermione Grange

Ron Weasley

Ginny Weasley

Luna Lovegood

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

Severus Snape

prompt list

This is just a list of autumn-y things I came up with, feel free to add onto any of them or send me other ideas :)

1) pumpkin pie

2) foliage

3) the giant squid

4) back to hogwarts

5) carving pumpkins

6) raking leaves

7) candlelight

8) by the fire

9) the smell of parchment

10) oversized sweater

[jilychallenge]

Thank you for signing up for May Jilychallenge Shirtless & Mother's Day

This month's pairings: 

@abihastastybeans & @cdailaincao @constancezin & @startanewdream

@charmsandtealeaves & @athenasparrow

When posting your work please tag this blog as well as @jilychallenge2023

Feel free to add your work to the ao3 collection jilychallenge 2023

Check your Tumblr DM or visit theJily Challenge discord for your prompts (they should be there!)

Good luck & Enjoy!

[tedwardremus]

nonsense questions:

well it's more of a burning question I've been thinking of for a long time (yes, it inspired a small fic for Jily week)

What are your thoughts on Petunia/Vernon's relationship?

Do you think they are actually in love or do you think that Petunia was in love during their early part of their relationship. But something happened later on that made her view her relationship as if it was just a marriage of convenience ( it took me 5 tries to get that word correct and I'm still looking at it funny)

Let me explain: Vernon knows that his sister-in-law was a witch and that his nephew has magical powers. That being said, if his and Petunia's marriage were to end, for any reason...do you think he would hold the knowledge he knows against Petunia? Since Muggles are unaware of magic (some not all of them). Not only that but they are literally abusing/neglecting their nephew Harry, by having him live in a cupboard under the stairs, and not give him the love and care that every child deserves.

I think that Petunia knows that if things were to go south, it would be really hard to get herself out of the predicament, same goes for Vernon. I don't believe that anyone else would go along with the abuse they've been giving Harry. Also, it's convenient for them that nobody finds out that they have been treating their nephew in such bad conditions.

I hope I'm not confusing you with this... like, I know many couples who are together out of convenience and who are abusive to their children and I always think....if they break up (which I wish they did along with getting therapy ) I don't believe someone else would stay with them.

sorry that this is longer than what it should've been, but I'm curious to know what you think about this

You may have asked a nonsense question, but I gave you a serious(ly long) answer.

Vernon and Petunia Dursley’s relationship is often overshadowed by their negative traits, but their bond is rooted in a genuine love that reflects their shared values and fears. While they may not be admirable characters, I believe strongly that they did, in fact, love each other.

Vernon and Petunia both yearn for the ideal suburban middle-class lifestyle, one that is ordinary, predictable, and free from potential ridicule from others. This desire for normalcy is central to their relationship, providing a common goal that binds them together. They are not interested in the extraordinary or the extravagant; instead, they take comfort in the familiar and the mundane. Vernon wants a good car and a good suburban house and a corner office job and to play golf because that is what a good, proper English man is supposed to want.

They want to protect their way of life, keeping their world insulated from what they perceive as disruptive forces. (They are obviously Brexit voters).

Their commitment, especially Vernon's commitment to Petunia, is evident in the way they raise Harry. Despite the many challenges Harry’s presence brings, Vernon and Petunia never appear to argue about how to treat him. They agree on their methods, which, while harsh, are consistent and reflect their desire to suppress anything that threatens their version of normalcy.

Petunia’s resentment toward Harry is deeply personal, tied to her complex feelings about her sister and the magical world that took Lily away. Harry, with his resemblance to James and his inherited magical abilities, is a constant reminder of the life Petunia lost—first when Lily went to Hogwarts without her, and again when Lily was murdered.

Vernon, on the other hand, is terrified of magic and sees it as a threat to the safe, predictable life he and Petunia have built. Yet, despite his fear, he stays with Petunia and supports her, even after learning about her sister’s magical abilities. Vernon’s decision to stay in a house where magic is present, even though he clearly is terrified of magic, indicates his deep love for his wife, especially after he realizes he can't just simply beat the magic out of Harry. He endures his fears because his love for Petunia outweighs them.

Vernon and Petunia are not good people. They are shallow, materialistic people who are obssesed with what others think of them. They share a vision of life that is deeply aligned, from their political views to their desire for a traditional, middle-class lifestyle. This shared vision is the foundation of their relationship, allowing them to present a united front in all aspects of their lives, including their approach to parenting. They made choices together about how to raise their family, which includes raising Dudley to be a toxic bully and to abuse Harry. They care more about what their neighbors think of their family’s status than a child's well-being in their care.

The love between Vernon and Petunia is not a passionate or romantic love but rather a practical, partnership-based love that revolves around maintaining the life they have built together.

If they were to break up, the aftermath would reflect their individual characters. Vernon, with his respectable job and suburban values, would likely remarry. He would be bitter about the divorce, blaming Harry and external factors rather than reflecting on his own role in the relationship's failure. Given his social status, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to find a second wife who fits neatly into the life he’s already constructed—a conservative, suburban woman who shares his values and outlook. Vernon’s ability to move on would be fueled by his desire to maintain the life he’s accustomed to, even if it means replacing Petunia with someone else who can fulfill the role of a respectable wife.

Petunia, on the other hand, would struggle deeply with the breakup. Her marriage to Vernon is more than just a partnership; it represents her escape from the world that made her feel inferior and abandoned. Confiding her secret about Lily and the magical world was a significant act of trust for Petunia, one that she would be hesitant to repeat with another person. The breakup would likely feel like another abandonment, similar to the way she felt when Lily went to Hogwarts or when her parents, in her opinion, seemed to favor Lily. The emotional toll of losing Vernon, who provided her with a sense of normalcy and security, would be devastating for Petunia, and it’s unlikely she would ever fully recover from it.

However, it’s hard to imagine the Dursleys ever breaking up. They may not be good people, but they are good for each other. The Dursleys are a strong, united family, and despite their many flaws, they love each other deeply.

[jilychallenge]

🥳🥳

For May' @jilychallenge I started two plunnies. One was Dillweed in a Fancy Metal Can and the other is this.

Partner: @charmsandtealeaves

Prompt: University Football/rugby/field hockey training is open to the public, on a very hot day star player A takes a shower from a water hose and B walks against a lamppost bc B might have been staring

Either read on AO3 or under the cut!

It was Wednesday evening in The Leaky Cauldron, which meant the lads had gathered in the back of the dingy establishment for their weekly team gathering. Well, James liked to call it their team gathering, it was mostly an excuse to grab a pint in the middle of the week for most of them. 

In front of them, on the large oval table in the back, they assumed was supposed to be their ‘event space’ that none of them could imagine would actually be used by anyone but them. After all, they’d celebrated most of their big moments around this table ever since uni. 

“I am sure we can manage,” Sirius commented, his finger gliding down the print-out with their pub league charter. Smirking as he tapped, their first match. “The Hog’s Head team always sucks. I’m pretty sure good ol’ Mundungus still pretends to be their striker.” 

Both the men rolled their eyes and a snicker went through the collection of young men gathered. Glasses clinked together. “Wait, Mundungus is their striker? The one that sells pot? Owns the pawnshop?” Frank asked curiously, squinting at the paper. 

“It almost feels bad to be playing against them. At least we don’t need to run too fast then,” Peter grinned, downing half of his pint in celebration. 

While James would not celebrate an easy win as readily as his friend, he could not help but feel a little bad for the middle-aged blokes having their first game against them. But he supposed that is why they had a point system instead of a knock-out. 

“We play Babberton Arms the week after, they’re usually decent, same goes for The White Wyvern.” It was then that a name caught his eye, there was a pub in the league that he wasn’t familiar with. They were new on the sheet, and what was more surprising was that their listed captain was one ‘Lily Evans’, a woman. 

Sirius noticed his hesitation, throwing his arm over his shoulder as he leaned in to look as well. “Anyone know The Three Broomsticks?” he asked, the team falling silent for a moment before Kingsley supplied:

“It’s a small gastropub down in the village. Nice place, little highbrow, though.” This caused a couple of people to pull out their phones to look it up. 

“They have a good menu.” 

“The lady who runs it is a total MILF.”

“I think I had a date there once. Nice place.” 

So far, it sounded pretty good. James reckoned he would probably recruit Sirius to go on a recon mission soon. Spend an evening there to scope out the competition. It would be fun. While he would never admit it aloud, he was not opposed to something a little finer than this. 

Peter, who started laughing, holding out his phone for everyone to get a glimpse of what was on the screen drew everyone’s attention. As far as James could tell, it was a team picture. All the players were posing in front of the metal goal that was part of their local park. 

He was not entirely sure what was too funny about it, but several people were chuckling and scoffing when the phone passed to them. “They’re all females?” Someone asked, clicking their tongue and earning a round of laughter. 

“We’ll be fine; I am sure a bunch of girls are not going to take our cup,” Remus commented, squeezing James’s shoulder. 

Sirius was quiet until someone made a remark about how they would at least have a good time looking at them run, pretending to jiggle a pair of tits, making the rest of the table burst into hysterics.

Easily and masterfully redirecting the jokes in an effort to cut short this sort of talk. By joking. “All I know is that we might want to put Pete in goal because he has never scored with a girl once in his life.” 

There was a short bout of silence around the table before the first person broke, Benjy snorting loudly and slapping Peter, who was not looking as amused as the others, on the back hard enough to hear it connect. 

“I just think we shouldn’t be too quick to judge them, it looks like they actually train,” James deducted, having found the profile himself and scrolling through the public posts. Finding out some interesting things about this other captain. 

Lily Evans and he had a few mutual friends, mostly people from the pub league and a bloke that went to the same gym as he did. 

They liked similar bands, she attended a Lord of the Rings marathon he’d been unable to get tickets to. 

By the looks of it, she and her friends dressed up. 

She volunteers for or supports multiple charities. Her work involves a white coat, which intrigued him.

Her red hair was natural, and her green eyes were breathtaking. 

He also found a post about wanting to start this women-only footy team. With dates and times when they were supposed to meet up.

James leaned in a little too close, to squint in the background of one of her throwback pictures where he could swear he knew the grease ball she was toting along when his finger slipped and he accidentally liked a picture of her on holiday. 

“Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck no,” he muttered to himself and frantically tapped the little thumbs up, only to be offered more options. By the time that he finally figured out how to unlike it, he’d left a heart, angry and laughing reaction, and there was no way in hell she did not know he was stalking her Facebook. 

Turns out, he did not need to be physically talking to someone to put his foot in his mouth. His ineptitude with the dinosaur that was Facebook did just fine at making him look like a right idiot. Though it must be some record, taking less than ten seconds.  

What made it worse was that, not a minute later, there was a buzz, the light on his phone blinking blue. A Facebook notification. Worse, a friend request from one Lily Evans.

After having ignored the notification for several hours James found himself staring at it, bending over his container of Szechuan noodles. Staring long and hard enough for Sirius to elbow him in the side. 

“If some spicy text got you this wrapped up, I need to see it,” he chuckled, trying to lean over to see what James was staring at. Not shrinking away from the glare he received, much to James’s disappointment, he was reminded that his best friend was not intimidated by him in the slightest. 

Turning the screen to show off the notification bar, rolling his eyes at Sirius snorted. “Isn’t that the captain from the Broomsticks team? What does she want from you?” 

“Maybe she wants to plead for mercy?” he suggested with a smirk, his thumb hovering over the decline button. Why would he accept it? It wasn’t like he knew her. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth for a moment before selecting ‘accept’. 

He might not know her personally, but he was not going to turn down the possibility of spying on their new rivals. As team captain, it was his responsibility to be prepared for anything. This certainly had nothing to do with the bikini picture he spotted earlier. 

---

By the time that his phone buzzed the following Saturday, while he was stretching before their first game, he had completely forgotten about this happening.

‘Good luck today! {insert football emoji and a smiley]

Squinting against the glare of the rising sun behind him, he could almost make out the picture of the redhead rival captain. There was a nervous roll of his stomach, eyes darting around the field. Wondering if maybe she was here to spy on them. But most of the crowd was distinctly more follically challenged and would not look nearly as good in a black one-piece as he had learned Lily did. 

He reacted to the message with his usual lion emoji before tossing the phone into his bag. Not wanting to get too distracted.

What did not help was checking it again at half-time, only to find a new message. 

‘You should pay more attention to that centre back.’ 

Making his eyes roam the stands in search of a hint of the spy, but if she was there, she was hiding in the crowd. 

‘We’ll be fine! He’s no Matt Clarke.’ 

The message was sent before he realized it, a reference to his favourite team that his friends would likely get. But would she? He supposed she could always google him if she wanted to know, he supposed. The ref blew his whistle and just before he tossed the phone back in the bag he saw the notification pop up. 

‘Think you’re good enough to go up against the Bald Eagle?’ 

She knew. And he considered that maybe he was already in love with this stranger. 

---

Just like that, his recognizance mission was compromised. Or rather, forgotten about. Until Peter asked casually while beating him mercilessly at a game of FIFA. “Did you hear the chick team won their first game seven nil? Maybe we should try and catch one of their trainings. See if this was just a stroke of luck.” 

He did not even have the decency to look at the screen when he tipped in another goal against him. 

James considered accusing him of cheating, but what was the point? The last time he did that, they were in college, and it had been embarrassing enough to still make him cringe today. “I did see a post about it on Lil’s timeline. I think they meet every Thursday.” 

The characters on screen celebrated the end of the game, and he immediately flicked to the main screen, not particularly feeling like seeing his pathetic stats.  

Peter grumbled something about the stats being there for the both of them before falling silent. Giving James a confused look. “Lil? You two are that friendly already?” 

He pulled up his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like to think so.” 

“Are you two secretly chatting or have you just become intimately familiar with her beach holiday pics?” Peter was still laughing between the coughs when his elbow landed in his stomach, throwing his hands up in defence. “Right, right! Got it! It’s both.” 

James shot him a playful glare and pulled up his shoulder, eyes returning to the screen to select another formation for his team. Certain he could out-strategize his friend’s undeniably superior skill. 

“I’ll go check them out this week.” 

---

The sun was starting to set when James and Sirius slunk into the park, rugged up in oversized cardigans they borrowed from Remus and stylish baseball caps that were generously donated by Kingsley. Who did insist they were not to adjust or bend them, as they were, collector's items. Or rather, they would be one day, and he was not going to risk it. Which did lead to a rather loose fit on Sirius and a promise of a very bad hair day for James. 

The pair of them carried a picnic blanket and book to look less suspicious. If they pretended to hold a book club. The biggest risk they ran was to look like nerds. 

Which they were. Not that James or Sirius would openly admit to this to anyone but each other. They are rather skilled at hiding their general nerdiness under a layer of muscle and smooth talking. Even if the smooth-talking occasionally included references to their nerd media of choice. 

James had overthought the time they should be arriving. Not too early, or they would notice something was off. Not too late, because then they would not get enough time to observe. After a lot of mulling over, James decided that twenty minutes after practice started should be perfect. 

He knew that their team took, at least, ten to fifteen minutes to waffle and joke around, and ten minutes was a quick warm-up. Which meant that they would probably wander in just as they started playing. 

Once he spotted the group of women, or rather, a collection of bouncing ponytails, James learned he was wrong, and he could not be happier about it. They were still warming up. Better yet, they were stretching and it was utterly enchanting. 

No matter how hard he tried, which was not very hard, he could not take his eyes off their captain. The feisty redhead he’d been texting off and on since Saturday wore a bright smile and a pair of criminally tight bike shorts as she dropped into a low lunge. 

A sight that he was clearly not prepared for. If it had not been for Sirius grabbing his arm, he might have walked straight into a rubbing bin. Frankly, he’d have deserved it for shamelessly staring. But what was a mortal man like him going to do? Avert his eyes when given the chance to glimpse at a goddess?

But as Sirius spread the blanket on the field across from the training, where he could resume his research in peace. The book he was pretending to read was open in his lap, his phone in his hand. He could not help himself. 

‘Good luck! [insert football and lady running emoji]’ 

Only after hitting sent, James realized that he might have just blown their cover. If Lily had done the same thing he had done when he got her message, it would not take a genius to figure out who they were. If there was something he’d learned about her over the past week or two was that she was, in fact, an actual genius. 

If the gods were merciful, she would see the humour in this. She’d not said anything about his little bikini picture snafu, which was arguably a lot creepier, and he had profusely apologized for it after a few pints to settle the nerves. 

That had been what had really set off their chatting. Messaging back and forth to the point that he had his eyes glued to his screen even while watching footy.  Remus had made remarks about it, which meant it had to be painfully obvious. 

Not that the screen was any sort of distraction now, for obvious reasons. However, there was also a less obvious and far more concerning reason for his mobile to lie discarded on the blanket. 

They're good. 

No, that was an understatement. They were terrifyingly competent. It was intimidating and did things to him, he would rather not admit to. 

“Prongs, I think we’re fucked,” commented Sirius after they watched a tall blonde flip throw the ball with such ease their jaws were on the floor. 

James swallowed, nodding slowly at his friend’s assessment. “So fucked.” A firm shove jolted him out of his trance to notice that, across the field, several of their rivals had turned to look at them. Most of them took this moment to catch their breaths, hands set into their sides. James could see their breaths form little clouds in the cooling evening air. 

He reeled in his jaw and raised a hand in an awkward greeting. As if he was not already done for, Lily raised her hand in what he thought would be an awkward wave back. Only for her to flip him off before winking and returning to her practice. Her jumper had ridden up and exposed a swath of tattooed skin on her side. 

Hand to his chest, James fell back into Sirius’s lap as if shot. Maybe he had been, because he was unwell. They’d never even spoken face-to-face, and he’d already decided on a May wedding at the Riverside, four kids and a Newfoundlander named Elvendork. 

Sirius peered at him with, what seemed like, genuine concern as James raked his hands over his face. “You right, mate?” he asked, the cap sliding forward as he tipped his head down to look at James. 

“Yeah. Yes. Though I could do with the incessant urge to make a fool of myself for her,” he groaned, an offended tsking rushing past his teeth when his friend pushed the cap down over his eyes. “Oi! Can you blame me? Just look at her!” 

Sirius looked up while he wrangled the cap back into place, taking a long moment and then some before sighing in defeat. “I vote Irish wolfhound and late spring. I look good in lavender.” 

“I was thinking Newfoundland,” he answered, a smirk playing around his lips.

“Only if I can be the godfather,” Sirius bargained, the raise of his eyebrows caused the cap to slide forward once more making James snicker. He let himself be pushed up and to his feet. “Go talk to her! Don’t do anything stupid,” his friend encouraged. 

James shot him a playful glare, tossing his own cap towards him and fixing his hair. Well, as much as it could be fixed. His feet already carrying him down the slight slope to the field. “It’s not like I am going to run into a lamp post,” he joked, tossing a grin over his shoulder seconds before connecting with just that. 

In his defence, the ladies were having a water break and Lily had taken off her jumper, standing there in just her sports bra, sweat glistening in the setting sun. Her hair was frizzy from the humidity and surrounded her like a halo. 

If that had not been enough, Lily had laughed, her head tilted back in delight and James was pretty sure he would move heaven and earth to be the one to make her laugh like that. Which was the thought that spun dizzily through his mind while he reeled from the impact. 

James staggered back a few steps, rubbing the side of his face that had made the actual impact. His glasses askew while he sat back down on the grass, blinking the spots from his vision. 

When his eyes focussed again, Lily was right there, her forehead creased with concern. Before he could think about it, his mouth moved. “Marry me?” Which was probably the first time that James Potter ever was truly mortified by something he had said. Mouth opening, this time intentionally, to apologize. 

But before he could, she laughed, and the sound was pure and surprisingly not like she wanted to run away. “How about you take me for a drink first?” 

The vigorous shake of his head made him reel all over again, but James didn’t care. ”It’s a date.” 

(A little reference vid, because I can.)

[charmsandtealeaves]

Pretty average week this week as far as reading goes. Interested to see how next week goes as my partner will be back at work so might be less reading time.

Read this week:

Jily Week 2023 Drabbles by @kay-elle-cee Complete (805), Jily, Rated T

Drabbles and Double Drabbles for 6/7 of the Jily Week 2023 Prompts.

And it feels like home by kay-elle-cee

Complete (1.8k), Domestic Jily fluff, Rated G

A little moment after a long day. The first moment of the rest of their lives. Or: James and Lily's first night in a flat that's theirs.

You are my heaven by @jamesunderwater

Complete (1.8k), Jily Reincarnated, Rated G

What, you thought all they got was a few years together? this is for anyone who has watched what dreams may come (1998) and it's a wonderful life (1946) and is also a pisces. 'cause you get it. written for the jilychallenge 2023 december advent calendar -- prompt: A is not dressed for snow, B lends a shawl, hat, gloves etc.

Call and Response by jamesunderwater (itsjamespotter)

Complete (6.6k), James Potter, Rated T

A series of vignettes showcasing how, despite his own personal tragedies, James Potter never fails to show up for the ones he loves – which might be his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. Set in a world where James and Lily never got together in school, the Marauders, now twenty, are fighting in the Order at the height of the war.

Promises To Keep by jamesunderwater (itsjamespotter)

Complete (1.1k), Dorcas/Marlene, Rated T

Marlene and Dorcas have run out of ways to say goodbye.

Midwinter Magic by @practicecourts

Complete (2k), Canon Divergent Jily, Rated G

Midwinternight is said to be different. a night on which Magic flows free and strong and the divides between separate worlds are as thin as ice, or so Lily hopes. She hopes that’s true because she can't go on like this.

Do you want to build a snowman? By practicecourts

Complete (2.9k), Jily , Rated G

A young James Potter feels a little lonely and there is snow outside so really he should be outside having fun. Eleven years later he finds himself home again, and the world outside very white. And yet again on a winter's day eleven years after that.

Mind Games by @mppmaraudergirl (ch.1-3)

WIP, Amnesia + secret relationship Jily, Rated M

A cauldron explosion erases the last six months of Lily Evans' life at one of the most critical times in her career. As she struggles to not lose focus on all she has worked toward, a nagging voice inside her mind urges her to piece together the tattered memories of her past.

The Road Back To You by mppmaraudergirl

Complete (64.8k) Jily Muggle AU, Rated M

This is a story about second chances. A story about coming home and finding friends who become family. And most of all, perhaps, it is a story about the inevitability of falling into—and out of—love, even when you fight against it.

And You Heard About Me (Ooh, We’ve Got Some Big Enemies) by @wearingaberetinparis

Complete (12k), Fake Relationship Jily, Rated M

Lily Evans is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and global superstar, who recently broke up from her latest and long-term actor boyfriend Amos Diggory. James Potter is a professional football player who plays as a forward for Manchester United and has never been quiet about his celebrity crush: Lily Evans. When Lily Evans thus plays at Wembley Stadium - a place he is more than familiar with due to his being part of the England team - he just has to go and see her perform, embracing his inner, besotted fan boy, while the woman on stage is completely oblivious to his presence. Or is she?

Quest for Camelot by @petalsinwoodvale (ch.3-5)

WIP, Quest for Camelot AU Jily, Rated T

All Lily has ever wanted is to be a knight, like her father, Sir Lionel. After Camelot is attacked and the magical sword Excalibur is stolen, she finds herself teaming up with James, a young blind hermit, as they embark on a quest to find the lost sword. Together, they face the threat of the evil Ruber, navigate challenges with a two-headed dragon and an ogre, and discover that they're more alike than they initially thought. Will they manage to return the sword to Arthur in time, or will they lose not only each other but also their dreams and the precious Excalibur?

Pinky Promise (Tummy Hurts) by petalsinwoodvale

Complete (3.1k), Hogwarts Jily, First Kiss, Rated T

He was just too smart for his own good. It’s what got him into trouble the most. It got Lily in trouble too. Turns out, she had a type, and arrogant jocks with good grades were it.

Toerag (Affectionately) by petalsinwoodvale

Complete (1.1k), Hogwarts Jily, Rated T

"You'd defend Lily even if she kicked you in the balls," Peter chuckled, prompting Sirius and Remus to conceal their knowing grins behind their food. "I'm a strong supporter of women's rights," James hastily defended himself, "including Lily's right to beat the shit out of anyone who irritates her."

Lying in wait by @missgryffin

Complete (part of short stories), Jily, Rated M

Randomly listened to some Hamilton over the weekend, ended up with "Wait For It" stuck in my head, and wrote this in a couple hours today. I think it's angst, but with a nice dash of crack? Idk 😅 But I hope it makes you smile! 🫶

[wearingaberetinparis]

August 2023 Jily Challenge

As you may have noticed, I've been a little absent in the past three days. This has to do with the fact that my best friend is visiting me from the UK right now! I don't expect any updates until Tuesday next week, but to tide you over I thought I'd post the first two parts of my @jilychallenge fic. This month, I have been paired with the amazing @abihastastybeans and despite the fact that the prompt we were given should probably not have inspired a Jily Regency AU, this is what it did.

I hope you enjoy So I Can Never Go! All other works I'm working on are clearly still WIPs and I'll return to writing all of them next week!

“Not –” the young Lord licked his lips, eyes catching Lily’s for a moment and her pulse picked up, feeling faint all of a sudden as she realised what he had come here for, whom he intended to propose marriage to. “Not Miss Evans, Sir. I’m in love with the other one,” a brief pause as all air appeared to leave the room, her sister’s smile turning into something she imagined could be the look of horror described on the face of the heroine in her most favourite Gothic novels. “I’m in love with your youngest, Miss Lily Evans.” Written for the August 2023 Jily Challenge.

[di-daynamic]

formerly diana-bookfairchild

Hi! You can call me Di (or Diana or Dana). I'm in multiple fandoms, and I write fanfics sometimes. Feel free to send asks or messages!

FIC LIST

⁍ mujō (FirstPrince oneshot | 7.7k words | alternate universe | rated G)

Happiness for Alex and Henry comes in waves. As they drift from one world to another, they find it where they can.

⁍ Rounding Mishaps (Jily oneshot | 2.6k words | canon compliant | rated G)

In Millie’s opinion, it should be the Heads who stumble upon wayward amorous couples. Not the other way around. For Jilytober 2024's 31prompts.

Multi-Chapters

⁍ come morning light (Hinny | ongoing | 11/12 chapters | 29k words | canon divergent | rated T)

A Jily lives Hogwarts era fic, set in Harry's sixth year. Entering her fifth year, Ginny Weasley just wants to play quidditch, get decent OWL scores, have fun and perhaps most importantly, get over her far too long-standing crush on her brother's best friend. The Potter family, as lovely and annoying and trouble-finding as they are, clearly have other plans for her. Year of the OTP 2023 April and May Prompts

⁍ by your side (completed | 13.6k words | canon compliant | rated T)

Gen (with Jily). A Marauders era Lily and Sirius friendship fic. Five times Lily Evans and Sirius Black had one another as whatever they wanted and needed: rival, ally, friend, advisor, godfather, family + 1 time they didn't. For the BlackEvans BFF Week.

⁍ until someday (completed | 10.2k words | canon compliant | rated G)

Gen (with canon ships). A Weasley Family heirloom tracked over the years and four generations.

⁍ runs in the family (ongoing | 1/? chapters | 896 words | Rigel Black Chronicles fanfic | rated G)

In which 'Harriet Potter' becomes a hero and the cousins' Ruse becomes that much trickier.

⁍ extraordinary life (of an ordinary girl) (ongoing | 1/7 chapters | 3.3k words | canon compliant | rated T)

Luna/OC, canon ships. POV Outsider. Mackenzie Stirling finds her place with herself and in a whole new world, getting caught up in sexuality crises, crushes, studies, friendships, bullies, rebellions and war along the way.

⁍ pauses between (two drabbles | 1.5k words | canon compliant | rated T)

Gen Harry POCter Winter Sun Drabble Fest Week 3: Lee Jordan Week 4: Cho Chang

Series

⁍ not a star in heaven that we can't reach (four fics | 7k words | canon divergence | rated G)

A series of vignettes in which Sirius Black is freed when Harry Potter is seven-years-old and raises him.

Microfics Series

⁍ be the one destroyed (3k words)

Jily. My submissions for @jilymicrofics prompts.

⁍ love me like you do (10k words)

Hinny. Unrelated oneshots using prompts from @hinnymicrofic.

⁍ better in stereo (3.5k words)

Prongsfoot. Unrelated oneshots using prompts from @prongsfoot-microfic

Oneshots

⁍ size is no guarantee of power (852 words | canon compliant | rated G)

A Ginny Weasley character study, for ladies of HP fest prompts Sisters Before Misters, Daughters and Female Friendship.

⁍ fainting for you (2.4k words | Muggle AU | rated T | Jily)

Jily Challenge, July 2023. James runs away from paparazzi and falls (faints) all over again in love with Lily Evans.

⁍ whose waters of deep woe (793 words | canon compliant | rated T | Hinny)

Harry and Ginny's first talk after the war.

⁍ falling (for you) through the snow (7.3k words | Muggle AU | rated G | Jily)

Lily Evans is head-over-heels for her pen-pal and loathes James Potter, her ex-best friend's high-school bully. When the two are revealed to be the same person, she has to reconcile her feelings for Eff with James Potter which seems hard but is ultimately. . . . surprisingly easy.

⁍ fought against the demons (2k words | canon compliant | rated G)

Post canon, Hinny and Percy/Oliver/Audrey. Ginny and Percy have a talk about family and children. For The Three Broomsticks Pride Fest 2023.

⁍ thin lines (2.7k words | canon compliant | rated T | Gen)

Hinted Pansy/Padma. Padma Patil grapples with jealousy, romance, friendship and way too much Yule Ball fuss. For the Three Broomsticks Pride Fest '23.

⁍ woven into the lives (6.9k words | canon compliant | rated T | Gen)

Post canon. Canon relationships. Fred Weasley II character study. The problem was this: how in Merlin’s name was Fred supposed to tell his dad he didn’t want to inherit the shop the man had opened with the dead twin brother he’d named him for?

⁍ in step with you (every step of the way) (2k words | canon compliant | rated G | Hinny)

Post canon. Potter family fluff. Fluffbruary 2023 day 9. Harry comes home from a mission.

⁍ not from everything (4.7k words | canon compliant | rated T | Gen)

Minor Pansy/Padma. Harry POCter Winter Sun Drabble Fest Week 4: Padma Patil 5 times Padma stopped Parvati from doing something + 1 time she didn't

⁍ during the darkest of nights (shine the brightest of lights) (4.2k words | canon compliant | rated G | Jily)

Jily are in QPR with Sirius. The Three Broomsticks Yule Fic Fest '22 In which Sirius Black, Lily Evans Potter and James Potter see a small piece of the light which they're struggling for the night before Christmas.

⁍ these battle scars (don't look like they're fading) (Gen | 2.7k words | canon compliant | rated G)

Flufftober 2022: Day 23 Prompt: POV Outsider 5+1 Times Someone Thought Harry Potter’s Family Situation Was Suspect

⁍ legends never die (Gen, canon pairings | 2.4k words | canon compliant | rated G)

Post canon Golden Trio friendship fic. For Flufftober 2022.

⁍ no one else's eyes that could see into me (Hinny | 2k words | canon compliant | rated T)

Harry takes some surprise guests to see Ginny before her match. For Flufftober 2022.

⁍ Blood of the Covenant (Gen | 1.6k words | canon compliant | rated G)

The Weasleys worry about Harry when they hear he ran away.

Oneshots

⁍ world you brought to life (Mergwenthur | 1.8k words | rated T)

TW Pregnancy. Merlin, Gwen and Arthur spending way too long getting distracted from their very important work of decorating their child's nursery and ruling a kingdom. For Fluffbruary 2023.

⁍ stand by you (have your back always) (Gen | 2.6k words | could be canon compliant | rated G)

Merlin hurries Arthur along in bringing down a corrupt knight by being his usual reckless self. For Fluffbruary 2023.

⁍ love you still (Gen | 947 words | rated G)

Merlin and Arthur's final conversation after he decides to leave Camelot.

⁍ died everyday (waiting for you) (QPR | 4.5k words | rated G)

Merlin and Arthur reunite on the shores of Avalon, 1500 years later. Much has changed, but one thing remains the same. For Flufftober 2022.

⁍ freed from strings (I didn't know were controlling me) (Gen | 1.7k words | rated G)

Merlin can't let that helpless druid child die. He just can't. But he can't let Arthur die either. He needs advice. What on earth is destiny anyway? How likely is it to happen?

⁍ willing to die (to be true of heart) (Gen/Pre-Slash | 819 words | rated G)

Arthur waking up post the poison scene in Labyrinth of Gedref.

Multi-Chaptered Fics

⁍ plausible enough tomorrow (wait until tonight) (Gen | Ongoing | 1/5 chapters | 2.8k words | rated T)

Arthur Pendragon's life has never been particularly known for normalcy, but even with years of magical attacks under his belt, a Merlin from a future - one that Arthur can't dare hope for, a future that seems impossible - will reveal secrets that shake him to the core and change his life forever. If he even remembers this incident.

⁍ tell me one more beautiful lie (Gen | Complete | 5k words | rated G)

When Arthur and Gwen's daughter discovers Merlin's best kept and most desperately hidden secret of magic, the clock for how long the lie can last begins ticking faster than ever.

Oneshots

⁍ The Limit of Pain (Gen | 595 words | rated T)

Percy's in depth thoughts when he controlled Akhlys' tears and poison.

⁍ Friendship, Chances and Forgiveness (Gen | 1.2k words | rated T)

The Arai scene from Bob's PoV

⁍ The Last Olympian: Contemplating Friendships and Prophecies (Gen | 2k words | rated G)

The scene where Percy and Grover reunite in front of Orpheus' Entrance to the Underworld + a missing scene thrown in from the perspective of Nico di Angelo.

⁍ as long as you are here with me (Percabeth | 1.7k words | rated G)

Camp Half-Blood is still home, even after the war.

⁍ longing for itself (Posally | 1.4k words | rated G)

A strange man gives Percy a discount and Sally bad news.

⁍ every breath, every hour (Percalypso | 2.2k words | rated T)

In which Calypso and Percy never give up on one another. For Polympians Event 2024.

⁍ amoral vs immoral (Percy/Amphitrite | 3.5k words | rated T)

Spite turns into intrigue which turns into something Amphitrite couldn't have imagined feeling towards her step-son in millennia. For Polympians Event 2024.

⁍ afterlife delights (Percy/Thanatos | 3k words | rated T)

Thanatos didn't know what to expect when he was made to accept a dead hero as his assistant, but godly gifts apparently turn out better than either of them thought. For Polympians Event 2024.

⁍ aging and bottling (Percy/Dionysus | 2.9k words | rated T)

Being stuck at Camp Half-Blood with the newly turned god isn't good for Dionysus - he's clearly lost his mind, falling in love with Percy Jackson.

Multi-Chaptered Fics

⁍ between love and hate (there's me and you) (Completed | Jercy | 9.8k words | rated G)

For Seafam Mermay 2023. In which Percy Jackson angsts about being royal and falls in love at a masquerade ball with the person he loathes most - and no, he was not being overdramatic. At all. Jason Grace is pining and not happy about it, when he has to rescue Prince Perseus - the one being pined for - after a kidnapping.

Oneshots

⁍ in the middle before it began (2.4k words | rated T)

Henry and Alex's first date goes absolutely terribly, and Henry worries that Alex will think they are incompatible. Love confessions are made to refute the fact. For FirstPrince Week and Flufftober 2023

⁍ shout into the void (5k words | rated T)

In which Alex and Henry engage in secret relationship shenanigans out of sheer pettiness and the need to always be right. Yeah, it's mostly Alex's fault. For FirstPrince Week 2023

⁍ whenever, wherever, always (1.2k words | rated G)

As Alex's mother's second term comes to an end, he can't seem to think about moving on and life after, feeling insecure in his own identity and his relationship. Henry comforts him. For FirstPrince Week 2023

Multi-Chaptered Fics

⁍ inscribed on a heart (and there it shall remain forever) (Completed | 5k words | canon adjacent | rated G)

In a world where you get a red tally mark on your arm every time you fall in love, Alex and Henry's love story remains the same, with perhaps a few more issues and resolutions thrown in.

⁍ Veni, Vici, Didici (Ongoing | 1/? Chapters | 1.5k words | rated G)

American scholarship student Alex Claremont-Diaz is content with glaring at and competing with Prince Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor (Wales is so much more succinct and yellable) and the latter is content with loving the former from a distance until desperation (his chronically ill sister, his father's Senator Campaign, his dire financial straits, take your pick) drives Alex to seek help from his sworn enemy and discover that there may be more to him and their relationship than he'd imagined.

Oneshots

⁍ where your treasure is (Clace | 1.2k words | rated G)

Jace and Clary babysit the Lightwood-Banes, and Jace reflects. For Fluffbruary 2023.

⁍ making memories (having fun) (Gen | 1.1k words | rated G)

A day in the life of the Lightwood siblings, pre-canon. For Fluffbruary 2023.

⁍ (un)happiness spilling over (Herongraystairs and Gabrily | 2.2k words | rated G)

Tessa meets Brother Zachariah on Blackfriars Bridge, reminisces, and comes to a few realizations. For Fluffbruary 2023.

⁍ golden-hearted rose (slipping from its green sheath) (Climonace | 5k words | rated T)

Clary, Jace and Simon come to terms with their new feelings for one another. For Flufftober 2022.

Oneshots

⁍ where the heart can bloom (Everlark | 2.3k words | rated G)

Instead of focusing on them and making love rather than rebellion the reason for the Mockingjay’s actions, President Snow decides separating them, showing their relationship as insignificant and slowly fading them into obscurity is the way to go. Meanwhile, Katniss can’t figure out why being districts apart from Peeta hurts so much when they hadn’t spoken in months before this anyway. For TWHHA challenge summer '24.

⁍ too strong for fantasy (Gen | 1.2k words | rated G)

Finnick's son reflects about his family.

Oneshots

⁍ ain't ever getting older (3.8k words | Rated T | Modern AU)

Achilles and Patroclus run a marathon, and work out their feelings for one another. For Fluffbruary 2023

⁍ wishing upon a shooting star (1.7k words | rated T)

Achilles and Patroclus watch a shooting star on Mount Pelion. For Flufftober 2022.

Oneshots

⁍ rather (regret) the things done than those not (1.5k words | rated G)

The Pevensies watch the coming of the winter back in England.

Oneshots

⁍ the bridal rose of the heart (Holmesbury | 1.5k words | rated G)

Enola and Tewkesbury dance and flirt during her investigation. For Fluffbruary 2023.

⁍ make it alone (Holmesbury | 1.5k words | rated G)

Enola comes home from a long day of work. For Fluffbruary 2023.

Oneshots

⁍ and you are the dance (Gen | 1.8k words | rated G)

A look into some time Peter and Morgan spent together, and their relationship.

⁍ those who have never sought it (Gen | 4.4k words | rated G)

In which Peter Parker decides to take things - the Infinity Stones, in particular - in his own hands and get his happy ending. For Bad Things Happen Bingo and Whumpcember.  

Oneshots

⁍ await another voice (QPR Joanlock | 5k words | rated G)

Joan reminisces and socializes with her family at her son's birthday party.

Oneshots

⁍ Split at the Seams (But I'm Doing My Best) (Gen | 7.5k words | rated T)

A character study of Beth Harmon over the years.

Oneshots

⁍ life is but a dream (Gen | 1.6k words | rated G)

Team Red celebrates completing a heist.

Oneshots

⁍ every moment with you is a blessing (even ones otherwise nightmarish) (Lizzie/Darcy | 1.3k words | rated G)

For Flufftober 2022. Lizzie gives Darcy some alarming news.

Feel free to request a pairing or fandom you want with prompts from these two or the Flufftober prompts: