#about writing grindeldore fics

[gellertsphoenix]

the way i've been wanting to write an epic albus dumbledore fanfic spanning multiple acts of his life (childhood, summer 1899, post-1899, the war, rest of his life, afterlife) for YEARS but have always given up half-in is so sad.

like the last LONG grindeldore fic I finished was in 2020 with 45k words. since then, I've only written short stories, one shots and unfinished fanfictions.

i've written so many other stories since then, but I think I fear to not do grindeldore justice, so I always get terrified at the thought of finishing a fanfiction about them.

anyways, i shall be brave someday

[mitsuki91]

... Is it bad that at least three of that ships are some sort of OTP for me and my best friend? And that in the italian fandom there are more of this and other crack absolutely wonderful and super serious ships like Tom Riddle/Helena Rawenclaw (The Grey Lady)?

rare pair tag game

thanks for the tag @said-snape-softly :)

i'm pretty sure everyone has done this by now, but if you'd like to, please consider this a blanket tag.

apart from all the tomarry and the odd dabble in remadora, i am a rare-pair enthusiast, so i am delighted to spread some propaganda here... the criterion i've used for a rare-pair is less than 2500 works on ao3.

pairs, little metas, fic recommendations, and some suggestions for authors to follow under the cut.

sirius black/severus snape

why i ship it:

this one can just about claim to be a rare-pair.

sirius and severus are narrative mirrors, whose complicated relationship to themselves and to each other is crucial for driving several of the most important arcs in the series.

in particular, sirius - constantly haunted by guilt and grief over his role in the death of the man he loved (you can decide if his love for james is platonic or not, but i definitely think the text thinks it isn't...), trapped in his childhood home, unable to have his real loyalties acknowledged before his death by the fact he's on the run - leads harry through his journey in hero-worshipping, then being disappointed in, then forgiving james. and then promptly dies.

this is one of harry's most significant areas of personal growth - it begins to chip away at his rather black-and-white morality, which is finally destroyed by his ability to confront the complexity of dumbledore in deathly hallows - but it is also key narratively: harry coming to understand james starts to hint to the reader that it is lily - otherwise absent from her son's conception of himself - who is the key to the mystery...

which brings us to severus - constantly haunted by guilt and grief over his role in the death of the woman he loved, trapped in his childhood home, unable to have his real loyalties acknowledged before his death by the fact he's a spy - who gives harry, and us, the final piece of the puzzle. and then promptly dies.

put them together, though? well, you get the delicious tension of two fundamentally broken people - who cannot comprehend the possibility of their own redemption - bound to each other. can they forgive each other and themselves? is it a disaster? the story can go either way.

and even in fluff there is so much potential for d r a m a between sirius' recklessness and severus' cunning, sirius' emotional control and severus' temper, the fact that sirius is canonically hot and severus is canonically not, how they react to harry and draco (i don't usually accept the fanon that severus is his godfather, except when it means snack can be fighting about it), and so on.

and i'm a sucker for two bitter old men getting a happy ending. sue me.

want to give it a read?

if you trust nothing else i say in my life (and why should you) you can trust this - second life by nwhiker and cassandra7 is one of the greatest pieces of writing i have ever seen, not only in this pairing but in this fandom full stop. it's a profound and solemn meditation on loving and grieving, choice and chance, and the great pain caused by the divide between the magical and the muggle worlds.

then, for gorgeous angst with a happy ending - two boys kissing by @writcraft and the merit in trying by brightened

albus dumbledore/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

the facetious answer is because they wouldn't be so obsessed with each other if there wasn't some sexual tension underneath it.

the facetious and nsfw answer is because it appeals to the part of me whose favourite book aged 11 was lolita

the serious answer is that they should be horrifying together: they're both liars; both incredibly self-righteous; both living behind masks which conceal their true emotions and motivations; dumbledore took one look at tom as an eleven-year-old, said 'he reminds me of gellert', and then did nothing about it; tom thinks dumbledore's a hypocrite and is right, although not for the reasons he thinks; there is a colossal age gap; there is virtually no scenario in any timeline where they could be openly in a relationship unless one of them is concealing his identity; and - really, this seems quite minor in the grand scheme of things - they are constantly trying to destroy each other.

but.

intellectually, they are the only two characters in the series who could be the other's equal - i'm sure that violent arguments about the twelve uses of dragon's blood trigger the majority of their sexual encounters, and a man who's passionate about your research is hot.

if either of them ever fancy being honest - so, no - there is a shared cavernous (although, in tom's case, unacknowledged) grief in their lives which has shaped their not-as-divergent-as-the-text-thinks-they-are views on death, love, duty and so on. their active refusal to understand each other (i.e. dumbledore entirely misreading voldemort's motivations in the job interview scene) and commitment to constantly underestimating each other (i.e. voldemort bouncing around like an idiot in the chamber of secrets instead of using his brain and remembering what a phoenix is) could, in time, lead to something almost resembling acceptance. i mean, just imagine the hurt/comfort sex which happens when voldemort finds out about grindledore.

the way dumbledore describes the young riddle - ‘self-sufficient, secretive, and, apparently, friendless’ - is also an exact description of him. that each sees himself in the other canonically drives their hatred of each other, but it could also appeal to two very vain men in a much racier way. after all, who doesn't want to bang their narrative mirror?

and being an orphan probably doesn't seem so bad when you realise your boyfriend's family is aberforth.

want to give it a read?

i can't recommend concordance by @laeveteinn enough, particularly for one of the best-written dumbledores i've ever seen. i find dumbledore is often written either as far more whimsical than i'd like, or far more fiery and radical (when one of his most interesting personality traits in canon is his tendency towards inaction), but this dumbledore is the perfect balance of contradictions, while tom is his canonical feral self, longing to perceived, rather than the emotionless sociopath of so many other stories.

i also recommend as an entire ocean in a drop by eldritcher, which really leans into just how similar these two are underneath all the artifice.

albus dumbledore/severus snape

why i ship it:

well, we've had dumbledore with one lost boy, let's have him with another (i haven't been brave enough to venture into dumbledore/harry yet, but i'll take recommendations...)

as with riddledore, we have the potential for horror here: a vast power imbalance; enormous age gap; the fact dumbledore sends snape out to potentially die every time he goes off to voldemort; and - this is the crucial one - the fact that dumbledore's recognition of himself in snape is pure self-loathing ('you disgust me') manifested in punishment (allowing snape to be humiliated in front of fudge, not stopping the presumed-to-be-real moody searching his office, making him give harry occlumency lessons, not letting him teach defence against the dark arts).

but then this stops, when snape does the tremendously brave thing of agreeing to kill dumbledore, and their dynamic equalises, as dumbledore recognises that snape is courageous, steadfast, and redeemed. i'm always struck in half-blood prince by the fact that dumbledore has it with harry's sniping about snape and straight-up tells him to shut up, as well as by the fact that he very nearly gives the game away and confesses why snape switched sides (the thing he promised not to do) when harry finds out it was snape who gave voldemort the prophecy.

and within this equalised dynamic - so this hot geriatric sex is happening in the afterlife, i guess - we have two men who are intellectual close-to-equals, who understand grief and guilt, whose aesthetic senses are charmingly mismatched, who are rarely honest but might be for each other, and who have lots of profound similarities which might lead somewhere...

want to give it a read?

cheerfully disregarding everything i've just said about how snumbledore could work, i highly recommend in infinite remorse of soul by @perverse-idyll, which is a chilling look at how dumbledore uses the power imbalance between the two to assuage his own guilt through snape's humiliation.

for something much more wholesome, i'm a big fan of byzantium by eldritcher

petunia dursley/severus snape

why i ship it:

because vernon is a dick.

i'm fond of petunia, who i think is one of the most interesting characters in the series because of how full of contradictions she is, and who i think is also a victim in fandom spaces of how the adult cast was aged up for the films (in canon, she's only in her early twenties when lily dies, and the implication is that vernon is a good deal older than her), which makes her inadequacies, such as her inability to truly care for either child in the household, seem much more nuanced than they do if she's pictured as a middle-aged woman with considerable life experience.

like snape, she teeters on a knife edge between various chasms: she is a working-class girl from the midlands made good in middle-class surrey, he is a working-class half-blood boy who spends most of his life in pureblood circles; she ends up with her whole life wrapped up in a square little house when she's barely out of her teens, he ends up with his whole life wrapped up in spying at the same age; she hates the wizarding world and yet covets it, he hates the muggle world and yet cannot escape it; she loves lily and she hates her and she loathes her for dying, he... well, you know the rest.

want to give it a read?

i was first convinced by this pairing by the lovely regretfully yours by @maria-de-salinas, which takes both snape and petunia's awkwardness and bitterness and moulds it into something really tender.

i also highly recommend barking at the moon by rinsbane, the summary of which speaks for itself.

merope gaunt/tom riddle sr.

why i ship it:

our first canon pairing, and probably the most problematic of the canon relationships, since the series never acknowledges that tom sr. is a rape victim.

but i have found myself recently in my merope era and, in particular, in an attempt to give her more nuance than she gets in canon. as i've said to anyone who'll listen in the three broomsticks discord server, i loathe the implication in canon that merope dies because she just cba to live (since it directly justifies voldemort's belief that her death was shameful) and prefer to see her as someone who was desperate to escape a truly horrifying life (the fact she's going to be forced into an incestuous relationship with morfin is right there in canon...) and so did something she didn't have the capacity to understand the implications of (this is not a woman who's ever heard of consent) because she thought it would give her the first chance to be happy in her life, watched it all crash and burn around her, and would have very much liked to have lived to raise her son.

i doubt there was anything real or tender in her relationship with tom sr., of course, and his escape - while merely a brief stay of execution from his son's perspective - is tremendously brave. it's impossible to write tom/merope fluff (although i respect you if you're inclined to try) but fan-fiction gives a space to explore the intricacies of their relationship which canon doesn't allow, and i'm obsessed.

want to give it a read?

i'm recommending myself here, and assuring you that you will enjoy: enchanter's nightshade, which explores how merope's attempts to keep her husband enslaved fail; the snow child, which treats the relationship as folk-horror; and the shack at the end of the lane, in which there is redemption, in the end.

the best exploration of tom sr. dealing with the fallout of the relationship is @phantomato's exquisite ganymede, which feels so truly embodied that you can't pull yourself away from the page.

bellatrix lestrange/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

our second canon pairing, i am obsessed with these two and the tragedy and - to some extent - tenderness bound up in their relationship (which can be proven to be there because noted softy @whinlatter loves them).

i've written before about my conviction - in contrast to a lot of bellatrix fans - that her relationship with rodolphus is utterly miserable, and that voldemort is the only man in her life who can understand her desire to make a life for herself which is not constrained by the gendered expectations of her social class.

obviously, lord voldemort is not a shining paragon of a boyfriend (and he is an awful choice as a baby daddy, bella, get it together), but i think the enormous power imbalance is perhaps slightly less enormous than is sometimes assumed - certainly, she tells him to his face in half-blood prince that he's wrong to trust snape (she's a clever woman), voldemort never physically punishes her for anything (rip to lucius malfoy, who seems to get picked for this in her stead), and voldemort tolerates a surprising amount of nonsense from her which shatters his mystique.

all of which is to say... the scream when she dies isn't just because he's losing the war.

want to give it a read?

tee hee, i'm recommending myself again, and encouraging you to take a look at: atramentum, bellamort's last afternoon together before voldemort goes to the potters; nor all that glisters gold, bellatrix's life - including her relationship with voldemort - through sirius' eyes; and death (eaters) in paradise, because murderous psychopaths deserve crack fics too.

draco malfoy/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

because the ship name is taco.

these two are a pairing which i enjoy with my tongue firmly in my cheek (and tom's tongue firmly in draco's), as i do with most other things in which draco is a main character (do i want to read drarry fluff? no! do i want to chuckle? absolutely!), although this should not be taken as saying that many of taco's fabulous authors don't manage to make the pairing entirely plausible.

in fact, consensual taco (non-con is, of course, its own beast) often has some of the best characterisation of both tom (fretful, mercurial, stubborn, and nowhere near as charming as he thinks he is) and draco (prissy, a very good judge of character, someone who likes being taken care of, and much braver than he appears if he absolutely has to be) i've seen in the fandom, largely because - unlike other voldemort-centric ships (especially tomarry, but also voldemort + any of the adult death eaters) - there's no sense of inevitability there. these two aren't connected by a shared bit of soul, or a prophecy, or having gone to school together, or having been hooked in by voldemort in the first war when he was unassailable.

they have to choose each other. or, more accurately, draco has to choose tom, and tom has to get chosen.

and the results have me entertained.

want to give it a read?

then you will want to have a look at the travelling cabinet by @the-paper-monkey (and its sequel, bluebeard), truly the gold standard of taco content with an absolutely brilliant draco, whose sheer capacity to cling on and make himself an irremovable part of tom's life may just end up changing the course of history.

narcissa malfoy/severus snape

why i ship it:

because i am in deep with the conspiracy theory that it's canon. i am absolutely certain that narcissa is the person that voldemort is referring to at the end of deathly hallows - 'he desired her, that was all, but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him'. it seems highly unlikely to me that the canonical voldemort would give a shit about snape fancying any random pureblood (although the snapemort version is, naturally, hugely jealous), but snape having had some sort of liaison with narcissa, and the ability knowing this gives voldemort to humiliate snape, narcissa, the memory of lily, bellatrix, lucius, and draco is definitely information he would go out of his way to remember...

plus, how do you know where he lives, babe? v suspicious.

want to give it a read?

if you want some fluff, you will very much enjoy the incredibly sweet the reformed man by gingertart50, which features narcissa nursing snape back to health post-nagini and is a favourite re-read for me when i'm drunk and it's christmas.

if you want some very-much-not-fluff, other women and of purer blood by yours truly will scratch the itch...

minerva mcgonagall/severus snape

why i ship it:

because i'm an equal-opportunity age-gap fan, and there is far too little older woman/younger man in the fandom.

and look, i'll admit it, i'm a fan of the fanon that snape and mcgonagall are friends prior to dumbledore's death - i'm not sure it's canonically plausible, but this sign can't stop me because i can't read - and i like the idea of that blossoming into something more, especially in fics where snape survives the second war. after all, he is a man who definitely needs to be treated quite strictly (and i don't just mean in the staff room), there is a shared loneliness and grief to them both, they're intellectual equals despite the age gap, and bickering about quidditch is absolutely fine as a method of foreplay.

plus, you can't tell me dumbledore's portrait doesn't ship it.

want to give it a read?

for a fic which shows minerva at her acerbic - and yet still sensual - best, always but not necessarily forever by gingertart50 is an old, fluffy, and very funny, favourite.

for something much more bittersweet, that good night by kelly_chambliss has my heart.

severus snape/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

because voldemort is canonically down bad for it - there is no need to believe snape's ridiculous cover story for not attending his resurrection, to try and spare lily as a treat for his man, and to give him a nice, painful death which allows the narrative to move on and harry to defeat him if the dark lord isn't firmly in his simp era.

more seriously, they obviously have an enormous amount in common, particularly in terms of their backgrounds (harry draws a connection between all three of them, but actually the fact that harry is rich in the wizarding world, not a slytherin, and with a muggle mother, therefore giving him a pureblood name, means he can't relate to the post-childhood experience of both halves of snapemort).

as a result, i think snape is the death eater who comes the closest to understanding voldemort's motivations - above all, the fact that he's not seeking an oligarchy, which the malfoys etc. obviously believe - while voldemort is someone snape feels understands his intellectual interests and his creativity.

want to give it a read?

boy, are you in luck, because i myself have a snapemort wip - scylla and charybdis. it is not wholesome.

tom riddle/myrtle warren

why i ship it:

because it started as crack and now i love them.

in particular, i just have so much respect for being incredibly annoying as a method of seduction, and i think myrtle's commitment to just following tom around chattering at him - and, therefore, without her realising it, preventing him from committing all sorts of crimes - is iconic.

want to give it a read?

then my unhinged rom-com - bookbinding - shall provide.

tom riddle | voldemort/ginny weasley

why i ship it:

because i enjoy seeing my dear friends who ship hinny shake and cry.

but also because ginny and tom have an enormous number of similarities, right down to the fact that they both have yew wands (if you're sick of people saying harry has an oedipus complex, you'll be delighted to be confronted with the mountain of evidence ginny reminds him of the villain who keeps trying to kill him instead).

they are both very good liars, quick thinking, remarkably resistant to shame, possessed of nerves of steel, predisposed to violence, brown-eyed, so hot they have harry gagged, and the profound enemy of someone whose surname is smith.

despite what he claims, tom was absolutely not just sat politely in that diary gritting his teeth while ginny complained about having second hand robes and idiot brothers. as he says, he opted 'to start feeding [her] a few of my secrets', and i think it's justifiable from canon that they were at the very least half-truths (for example, I would not be shocked to discover he tells her he's a half-blood orphan brought up against his will in the muggle world - there's no other reason, i think, for him to successfully make her tell him these things about harry without it), which means that ginny has lots of lovely emotional leverage over him.

plus, as with tomarry, you have the element of 'this is kind of inevitable' in the relationship, and the mysteries of fate are always sexy.

want to give it a read?

this is a tommary/hinny/tominny triad, but it has had me in a chokehold since the first time i read it - shameful company by merrivale, which, truly iconically, manages to be epilogue compliant.

[aethon-recs]

This Week in Tomarrymort (20 – 27 September 2024)

A lot of really amazing updates this week — I have so much reading to catch up on this weekend! Thank you to the talented, hard-working authors in this ship for their lovely contributions and amazing updates for us to feast on!

As with last week, please feel free to add some extra context to your fic update in the reblog, like a little bit about the chapter(s) updated. For this format of weekly list, there’s no space to add a summary or extra info about the fics (or else it’d be like 8 pages long), so I’ll rely on the authors to share a bit more about their updates, if you’re so inclined! 🤍

A recap of the author notes from last week:

These Fragments We've Shored by @rowena-rain (M, 23k, WIP) “This week on These Fragments We've Shored: Harry mental-gymnastics his way into trying the Stone again. You know, just in case it brings back someone besides Voldemort this time.”  The Dinner by @moontearpensfic (T, 3k, complete) “A crack treated seriously soulmark AU! Voldemort takes second-year Harry to meet his parents--Grindeldore a;lskjfasdf. Awkward family dynamics ensue over the course of dinner and dessert.”  Saint Harry by @alenablack @chaos-bear (E, 26k, WIP) “The moment Harry is struck by the killing curse, it’s not death that awaits him, but ascension. A story of faith, obsession, and the burden of divinity.” Dream a little dream (of me) by @cenedrariva (E, 13k, WIP) “Starts off with newly resurrected Voldemort suffering frequent migraines as a result of Harry's nightmares. He quickly discovers the best way to prevent the migraines is to turn the nightmares into good dreams, and in the process realises Harry is a fascinating and entertaining person. In an ideal world Voldemort would have made him a favoured Death Eater. Such a waste that Harry's destined to die!” Liquida Tenebris (Remastered) by @dymis (E, 499k, WIP) “Harry falls in love with Scarcrux (Standard). They share control of one body and are so smitten it's practically sickening; however ||SPOILERS|| the Dark Lord also carries Harry's sentient Horcrux (Not standard). Harrycrux--Crux for short--is the antithesis of Scarcrux, and I love him so much, your honour; he's an uncontrollable animal with dubious life goals.”

*

Tomarrymort Ongoing Fics and One Shots

Chapter 58 of No Glory by @obsidianpen

Chapter 13 of the stars, my destination by @milkandmoon-ao3

Chapters 12 and 13 of Sits the wind in that quarter by @mosiva

Chapter 8 of Ills of Murder by @shadow-of-the-eclipse

Chapter 22 of Paved With the Best Intentions by @perhaps-sunlight

Chapter 21 of What In Me Is Dark, Illumine by @telelli-writes

Chapters 124 and 125 of Liquida Tenebris (Remastered) by @dymis

Chapter 13 of Just Business by @holaolla1

Chapters 33 through 38 of Terrible, But Great by @isalisewrites

Chapter 35 of Part One - The Solitude of Suffering by @iseliljathedreamer

Chapter 3 of Forbidden Darkness by @neurowriter14

Chapters 9 and 10 of Saint Harry by @alenablack @chaos-bear

Chapter 1 of unfinished stories by @betweendisorders

Chapter 24 of would that i'd loved (long ago) by @sprst1tion

Chapter 2 of War Prize by @duplicitywrites @moontearpensfic 

Chapter 4 of Fetters of the Damned by @sc0rpiflow3r

Chapter 2 of Memories of a Killer by @chemfreak89

Chapter 18 of Learning to love by @l-archiduchesse

Part 3 of I need you to live well by @onehitpleb

Chapter 5 of Hole in the Wall by tomrddle

Chapter 9 of A Snake in the Grass by @teaandsweaters9

Chapter 3 of Dream a little dream (of me) by @cenedrariva

Chapter 1 of Touch of Death by @moontearpensfic

Chapter 3 of doublethink by confunded

Chapter 6 of midnight train by @girl-with-goats

One Shot | The Challenge by Disrespectful_Chinchilla

*

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

I want to be really real with you all because I’m well aware that the reason most people followed me between 2016 and 2019 was because of my Fantastic Beasts / Newtina fics, and because I need to get it off my chest anyway.

(This is a screenshot of a post sent to me by one of my friends on Instagram, hence the language difference)

I’m not terribly shocked that it appears that we’ll never get another Fantastic Beasts film again. The last two underperformed considerably compared to the first film, and both were in general less well-received by both the critics and the general audience than the first film. While the third film was overall an improvement in many ways, it still wasn’t the same caliber as the first FB, let alone the eight Harry Potter movies before it.

I am in two minds about this: on the one hand, I completely agree that we need to stop giving that woman money - the money she gets from Harry Potter and the Wizarding World is funnelled directly from her bank account into anti-trans groups. I hope that if people really must watch the money grabbing TV show they’re planning, then they’ll at least pirate it so as to not give HBO or WB any views, but I’m sure people will watch it anyway because people are nostalgic and they value nostalgia over decency. JKR aside, however, it’s the sad truth that the second and third films were nowhere near the same level as the first for so many reasons - the writing quality went downhill, there were too many plots and characters, too much retconning etc.

All of this said, I have to admit that a part of me is disappointed by the news.

In late 2016 and throughout 2017-2018, FB was a HUGE part of my life; it was a comfort for me when my Nan died, writing the fanfics and posting about the film brought so many amazing people into my life, and for a long time it was an obsessive special interest of mine. I have FB and HP tattoos (my first five are all WW related as a matter of fact), I spent so much time watching the first film and writing fanfic and I even cosplayed as Tina. Despite the troubles within the fandom I later had, the first film was still a huge part of my early adult life.

I’m disappointed because while there was an air of finality to the third film (which I knew they’d do because they wanted to see how the third film performed before deciding whether to do more or to scrap it), there’s still so much that we were told we’d see and plot lines that were never fully realised: how Nagini went from CoG to being Voldemort’s snake, the Grindeldore battle of 1945, etc.

I am also tremendously disappointed that despite Newt being the lead and Tina being his love interest (and the knowledge that they were endgame), we never got to see their relationship play out beyond the fact they clearly liked each other. We got Jacob and Queenie’s wedding but not Newt and Tina’s - we never even saw Newtina kiss, and they were supposedly the main couple of the series. As someone whose blog used to be “newt-loves-tina” and who’s written about fifty Newtina fanfics over the years, I can’t hide that it disappoints me that we’ll never get to see them again, especially given Eddie and Katherine’s close friendship and chemistry.

Part of the lack of Newtina is no doubt because of how dirty the second and third film did Tina/Katherine - you’ll never convince me that it’s a pure coincidence that JK went from “Tina is my girl” and shouting Katherine’s praises to reducing her role to a tiny cameo in SoD after Katherine publicly posted her support for trans people. Her slightly reduced role in the second film was more down to there being far too many characters and plot lines so NONE of the characters got the focus they needed, but the third film…that was definitely intentional. People have tried to blame Katherine getting COVID in March 2020 for it when the film didn’t start filming until September 2020, by which time both Jude and Katherine were doing press for The Third Day show and she was talking about her experience with COVID. The way Katherine refused to promote SoD (to the point of attending the London premiere to sign things for fans and hang out with Eddie, posting photos of herself at the premiere but NOT mentioning the film at any point or tagging it in her post whilst still tagging all of her stylists/make up people/brands) speaks for itself.

I am upset because Tina was my favourite character when I watched the first film, so much so that I cut my hair into a bob, cosplayed as her, my first tattoo was her wand, I bought her locket, etc. I literally saw so much of myself in her that it was a little bizarre: the older sister whose younger sister is more bubbly/sociable/considered the pretty one and who baked/cooked, the shyness, the sense of duty, the willingness to break the rules if it went against her moral code… I saw a lot of myself in her, more than I did any other character, and I was so excited to see what happened with her character next.

Most importantly, however, I am upset because while JKR is a horrible human being who I despise with all my heart, we’ve lost positive autistic representation in Newt Scamander.

I’ve spoken before about how finding out Newt was played by Eddie as autistic helped me come to terms with and feel proud of my own diagnosis between 2019 (when I first got referred) and 2022 (when I finally got my letter confirming the diagnosis). Seeing Newt be the hero and not be treated like a joke for being autistic meant (and still does mean) the world to me - and I know it meant so much to a lot of us who are on the spectrum who watched the film and saw ourselves in Newt, who saw ourselves be the hero for once. I remember going to see SoD on opening day with my sister and seeing a young boy on the row in front getting so excited at seeing Newt that he flapped his hands excitedly and bounced in his seat. I remember getting emotional when I noticed Newt stimming with his coat pocket multiple times. I still think about how I was lucky enough to thank Eddie in person for playing Newt as autistic.

It’s just another reason that I hate JKR - her bigotry (as well as the subpar writing in the second and third film) undeniably contributed to people boycotting the film, which has meant WB has discontinued it - and we will no longer see an autistic person as the hero. Her decision to go down the rabbit hole of transphobia (and a number of other different prejudices) is absolutely a contributing factor in the decision to cancel the series, and because that’s a reason more personal to me, I will always hate her.

(I already hate her anyway just for the fact she is in fact a despicable person)

[apicelladonna]

I did it, after a month, but I did it—

I reached the end of the Works in Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald tag in ao3. Two thousand and two hundred thirty juicy amazing interpretations, what ifs and antagonizing wonderful works for this pair ranging from 2008 until the present.

Special mentions to my favorite plots/tags:

The secret trysts of Albus and Gellert meeting in different places during the war.

Gellert, wearing Percival's face, and 'accidentally' meeting Albus

Letter exchanges all from the Headmaster's tower to Nurmengard's tower

Albus Dumbledore and his vice at the mirror of Erised and destroying him. Literally lived through his own saying of "it does not dwell on dreams and forget to live"

Professor Gellert Grindelwald becoming either DADA or Divinations professor at Hogwarts to be with Albus his husband.

That very Hannibal-esque in Wizarding World Grindelwald and Transfiguration Professor consultant Dumbledore that I love

Emperor Albus Dumbledore successfully ruling the entire wizard with his co-emperor Grindelwald

Dark Albus!!! ( I am feral about this, because of that one line in that fic where Albus was so self aware that if he ever tipped to the corruption of power, he knew he would win.)

Gellert and Ariana bonding together. (And his only regret was that the life he'd taken was hers.)

Bathilda Bagshot being the progenitor of Grindeldore

OLD MAN GRINDELDORE VISITS IN NURMENGARD

Old Gellert musings before Voldemort kills him

Albus waiting for Gellert at King's Cross

Does it make me love my old yaoi doomed lovers more? Yes, very much.

Does it make me confident with my own fic writing? Hell no.

What's everyone's fave plot? :D

[kazuza-art]

THE GRINDLEDORE REC LIST!

I love Grindledore! But I'm very VERY specific in my Grindledore love XD In this rec list, you won't find fluffy idyllic Grindledore summer fic or nice Grindelwald turning good by the power of love so be prepared!

so here is some of my favorite fic on the fandom! I hope you will give it all a try <3

One of my very fav characterisation of Albus but also of their couple; It insert itself perfectly into canon and feel so real. They never met in person during the fic and yet it's all about their shared love and messy divorce and poor Graves is the chest piece caught in between. Albus in particular is amazing there, charismatic, manipulative yet benevolent and playful, his arrogance, his grief, his desire to be forgiven, to do GOOD... It's beautiful

This fic really doesn't have the popularity it deserve so please guy give it a try!

A very good old Grindledore in love, reconnecting with each other in Numengard prison. They are old, hurt and traumatized and recovering. But it's beautifully written and full of little moment that feels so real. I love the idea of unrequited love taking away magic, it would be very interesting explore further.

Another one of the best long fic that doesn't have enough recognition. Albus freed Gellert from Numengard to fight a revolution against the corrupt ministry in the second war. Albus is slipping into the dark side while Gellert is trying so hard to refrain from falling back into his old travers. Old Grindeldore in love is always such a treat.

it is such a great GREAT AU, I have no words to describe how good it is.

Please give it a try guys!

A very long serie of AU fic that basically reconcile Grindledore from the fb3 following. It's very political, very well crafted and believable! Gellert doesn't turn magically a nice guy and THERE IS ANTON!! I'm dying for some anton/gellert/albus love triangle XD

this one is an ovni in the Grindledore sphere and I can tell I read every damn fic on this tag, even the Chinese one XD

It's good! I'm not a fan of her Dumbledore but somehow she sold me on it! It's an Au, modern AU type but within the HP world of magic. There is no war so ALbus pursue his career in the ministry and Gellert is an exchange student in politics. This fic is VERY VERY good. Very compelling. Another gem not very well known please take a look guys!

it's a wip that will never be finished I think but it was promising. It's basically what I want from grindledore, not that eternal summer of them but the greedy love-hate relationship in the middle of the war, enemi lover! oh I mourn this fic ç_ç

a super compelling AU where Ariana lives and Grindledore are left to navigate their complicated relationship and to reunite the hollow and conquered the world! Every side character is a gem, Ariana, Vinda, Abe! I just LOVE IT

(author has other very very good grindledore fic by the way)

I love Kierkegarden grindledore fic the best in general but this one is so dark and sad and terrible! Ah such a masterpiece! I wish canon Albus had truly seemed mind healer help and live an happy life, but would gellert let him

IM A HUGE FAN of Grindlewald trying to seduce ALbus as Graves! I wish more people would write that trop! This one is the best I ever read so far! so creepy XD

a twist of the Gellert win and attic wife albus trope! Gellert is the one being attic wife and it's DELICIOUS, I like all Kyrilu fics on Grindledore but this one was really fresh!

Please let me know if you have any good Grindledore recs and why you like them guys <3

[broomsticks]

What was the HP fandom on AO3 writing in 2022?

some stats diving, ship- and femslash-focused.

default filters used for everything unless indicated otherwise: language: english, no crossovers. only on AO3 (obviously)

hmm someday i'll do a yearly breakdown maybe.

for reference, there were ~324,676 total works in the HP tag updated in 2022 and before, so the top ship Drarry makes up 16% of HP works.

ships in this list but not the former: jegulus, dorlene, and regulus & sirius.

ships in the former list but not this one: snarry, sevmione, tomarry.

harry the character is tagged in 42.7% of all HP works.

the list of "fastest-growing HP character tags in 2022" was almost identical to this. sirius, remus, james, and lily went up one place, severus and ginny down by one, and ron dropped by two. no change in the top 3.

i'm thinking of doing one for HP ships but am unsure which ships to do. you can get a rough estimation from graph #2 though!

A closer look at just the 2022 ships:

filters used: english, no crossovers, works updated between 2022-01-01 and 2022-12-31.

color = ship type by canonical gender. outlined = canon ship

Background vs main pairing ships:

most commonly tagged ships, with the otp:true filter:

very pretty spread of (canon gender, not AO3 category) F/M & M/M ships here.

notable: there is not a single snape ship in the first list, and two snape ships in the second (sevmione at #4 !! and snarry at #8). grindeldore is the other new entry, and

romione, dorlene and regulus & sirius fell out of the top 10

this is probably a better view though:

a mix of all ships in either of the top two graphs (excluding the platonic ship regulus & sirius by definition of the otp:true filter), plus remadora.

open to more ship suggestions, but at some point i need to think about a size cutoff

anyway: some interesting strata here:

snarry+sevmione at the >60-70% mark. (do all snape ships show this trend? just crossgen snape ships? what about other crossgen ships? to be investigated)

grindeldore is an expected outlier due to the different canonical time period

marauders era tends to have more fics-with-multiple-tagged-ships. unexpected - there are so many more named lightning gen characters! lightning gen fandom more splintered/fragmented?

clustering of canon couples at the 15-20% mark, surprisingly consistent across marauders vs lightning gen

oooooo i could soapbox about this dorlene outlier for days. (tldr: if you want to write OFCxOFC that's all well and good, but writing OFCxOFC as what's quite clearly a background ship and a background ship alone? i think we can do better.)

Multi-shipping & ship overlap

marauders era is dominated by one main fanon pairing. no other “/” pairing with either of these two characters makes the top 10 list. in contrast, wrt lightning gen, Draco, Harry, and Hermione are all shipped with each other, with all three combinations making the top 10 list.

there is one pair of marauders era ships with ship overlap, though. which means stats! also included remadora as an additional comparison point since that's another big overlapping ship

jegulus AND jily are tagged in 675 works, out of 3944 works (17%) where all three of james, lily, and regulus are tagged.

meanwhile drarry + dramione: 80 works tagging both ships, out of 8128 works tagging all 3 characters, with an overlap of <1% fics tagging both ships. these two do not mix.

actually ykw this all was very funny

---

✨ FEMSLASH! ✨

filters used: english, no crossovers, works updated between 2022-01-01 and 2022-12-31, and category:F/F.

ok so that's a complete nonstarter 😂

tried two ways of filtering down to just femslash ships without losing too much else in the process:

1) excluding works tagged M/M, F/M, and Gen (leaving 2765 fics)

dashed outline = cross-gen ship. solid = marauders gen. everything else = lightning gen.

oh, interesting, people are writing genderbend wolfstar? *checks fics* -- no they're not. 'nuff said.

2) instead, tried adding the otp:true filter (2402 fics)

very similar results -- both lists had the same 9 femslash ships. Bellamione (#1 on both), Fleurmione (#2), Pansmione (#3/#4), Dorlene (#3/#5), Linny (#4/#6), Cissamione (#5/#6), Ginmione (#7/#9), Marylily (#7/#9), Ginsy (#8/#10).

i don't see any obvious trends re. which ships are ranked higher on one list vs the other.

a real quick rating comparison between categories, using the otp:true filter:

"angst" and "fluff" were the top two tags used for most categories so i decided to try a bit of:

<1 = more angst works than fluff, >1 = more fluff works than angst.

the other top tags for each category:

F/F and F/M: both romance (#3)

M/M: established relationship (#3)

Multi: polyamory (#3)

Other: au canon divergence (#3). "other" was used to refer to a mix of NB/trans character, thingfic, and x reader.

Gen: au canon divergence (#1). i was worried about using the otp:true filter for gen fic but the top two tags were indeed & tags (harry & severus, regulus & sirius).

[aethermint]

The mother, Kendra, had jet black hair pulled into a high bun. Her face had a carved quality about it. Despite the high-necked silk gown she wore, Harry thought of Native Americans as he studied her dark eyes, high cheekbones and straight nose.

He learned them at our mother's knee. Secret and lies that's how we grew up."

This is what we know of Kendra Dumbledore... My headcanon is that she was quite a harsh mother, loved her children and raised them well, but strict and cold all the same. Remember a lot of children that grow up to be the kindest beings also grew up in the coldest darkest households.

We also know that his father killed three muggle boys in an act of vengeance. Cold blooded murder. And Kendra being a muggle born witch makes you wonder a bit. She probably hates her heritage a bit after muggles destroyed her family, her love and her children. She clearly struggled even more so now being a single parent. And then we know that she was killed by Ariana. We see in Fantastic beasts, Obscurials lash out when threatened or dare say triggered. Makes you wonder why she lashed out on Kendra that day. Who knows. Maybe Kendra had enough, and seeing Ariana's worsening condition and suffering, wanted to end it before it got beyond her control. She couldn't help her back then... but maybe she can help her now.

And I believe that Albus agreed with her to some extent, deep down. He tried everything to save her nothing can reverse the damage done by those muggles.

Whereas Aberforth isn't as realistic or pessimistic, doesn't see his sister as anything but his sister, thus being her favourite.

But what would their family dynamic be like if none of this happened? I see that in most fics they are depicted as happy... the parents in love, the siblings are very close and healthy relationships with there parents. But I don't think that would be the case at all.

Firstly, Albus would most definitely have been outcasted/disowned due to his preferences for men.

Everything we know about his parents would strong suggest this, and the evidence lies in Aberforth Dumbledore. His behaviour and response towards Albus and Gellert's 'closeness' that summer speaks volumes. This is learnt behaviour from parent to child. Albus learnt to keep secrets from a very young age, from his mother's knee.

Conclusion is if Albus dumbledore's family had lived without tragedy, tragedy would find him anyway, and the villainous potential this character has will forever be in my mind. Maybe I should write a grindeldore fic about this.

[hirenkoi]

The number of hits for my last fic, Manganese Blue, was quite disappointing both in English and in Portuguese.

I honestly don't know where the problem lies. Is it that people don't like reading AU? Is it because it's Grindeldore? Or is the big problem me?

I don't know... maybe my writing days are over or I'm too old and just don't know how to write what people want to read anymore. Who knows?

The right thing to do would be not to care about this kind of thing, but I can't deny that it really discourages me.

[emsuemsu]

So, occasionally I do adventure out of my comfort zone and read something other than Harry and Draco falling in love for the 1246th time in a row. This month I've been enjoying some magnificent entries in HP rare pair fair (@hprarepairfest) - all the love for this fest. Also I've been exploring some jegulus which I'm absolutely obsessed, at least in theory. In reality I don't think I'm honestly strong enough for the marauders era at all, that shit fucking hurts and I salute all those who go through it day to day. You're amazing.

So, without futher ado, my november non-drarry favorites:

Apple Tree and Juniper by @trueliarose 💫 Harry/Charlie, 17,732 words

Charlie Weasley: dragon tamer, single, attractive and the man Harry had had a crush on for years - what will happen when said man has to take some time off at work and decides to occupy himself by helping out with Harry's business?

Now, the thing about me is that I'm the biggest simp for Charlie Weasley. He makes me absolutely feral. The whole idea of getting it on with your best friends brother is like fucking ecstasy to me, and this might or might not stem from personal experiences. Out of all the Weasley siblings Charlie with Harry is just 🤌🤌 Now this fic had it all. A little angst, lots of fluff, Harry being all crafty crafty, TENSION and PINING, amazing magical woodworking lore (??? idk but i love it).. and the best part is that I noticed the author started a series with this fic being the opening act - I've never in my life hit that subscribe button as fast as I did with this one. God is good.

Choices by @sophsicle 💫 Regulus/James, 624,178 words

People make mistakes, but they also make choices. It’s important to James, that difference. He does his best not to confuse the two.

This is an honourable mention on this list since I read this already in October. But listen, I'm fucking traumatized by this fic. This was my first jegulus, my first marauders I've ever finished, and my 13th goddamn reason. And I can't even blame anybody other than myself, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I binge-read this in a day and a half and in retrospect I should've taken it a little more easy. But what can I say, I'm an all or nothing kinda girl. Chapter 53 hits different at 4am, just saying. The writing was hauntingly beautiful and I still think daily about some quotes and scenes from this fic. This fic is a journey and I'm glad I took it.

Light Bringer by meanwhiletimely 💫 Albus/Gellert, 10,678 words

Gellert doesn't simply shine—Gellert blazes, casting all around him into shadow with sheer dazzling force of being. When he turns that beatific gaze on you, your whole body comes alive for him: heat flaring up from within, blood in your veins turned to light.

This story is EVERYTHING. I was holding by breath while reading this. Beautiful. I love grindeldore (even though my resentment of Albus is as deep as the Mariana Trench), and this has to be one of the most beautiful fics I've ever read. This was written in second person POV which made the fic even more intense. Like I felt every word in my soul. Lots of love.

Mystic Lake of Memory by @sliebman10 💫 Harry/George, 5,055 words

As George's thirtieth birthday approaches, Harry convinces him to go on holiday to Loch Ness, where he and Fred had originally planned to spend their birthday in search of the sea monster.

Fred and George remain as an open wound for me still after all these years. This fic was sweet and melancholic at the same time, I absolutely loved how their relationship had grown and this fic was pretty as a picture. Absolute joy.

Sleeping With Ghosts by @ghaniblue 💫 Regulus/Harry/Draco, 27,902 words

Harry wakes in an unfamiliar bed to Regulus pointing a wand at his head, and then Draco moves into his house. Harry just wants the world to fuck off; being able to sleep through the night would be appreciated, too. This is the story of one very tired saviour of the wizarding world, a resurrected corpse and a mean little ferret living in Grimmauld Place together, drinking too much tea, talking less than is warranted, and falling in love.

I'm a slut for triads. Even more of a slut if two thirds of the triad is drarry. This fic was everything. It was so witty and funny and I was seriously laughing out loud reading this. I need this relationship tag to BLOW THE FUCK UP in 2024. I loved the build up and the ending was perfect. I really enjoyed Regulus' characterization and I think this fic really hits the spot with how I imagine him being. The interaction between the three of them was amazing.

Sweet Boy by @maraudersaffair 💫 Harry/Narcissa, 6,261 words

Harry agrees to date Narcissa to help her improve the reputation of her family. The intensity of their sexual chemistry takes them both by surprise, and it turns out there is nothing fake about their arrangement.

After reading this I decided that being a MILF is a state of mind and that being said I am one now. Do I have any kids? No. Will I have any kids? God knows. This fic was delicious in all the ways and more and I love Narcissa. So much.

Two of the Easiest Words in Gaelic by sky_watcher_rose 💫 Druella/Minerva, 27,902 words

Minerva will be the first to admit that Druella Rosier was the love of her life. But it’s been twenty years since they last saw each other, and she’s done her best to move on. When Druella unexpectedly arrives at a parents’ evening - the first she’s attended in the four years that Minerva has been teaching her children - both of them have to face up to certain feelings that never went away.

I usually shy away from muggle au's, but this was magical nevertheless. It was the first fic with this pairing I've ever read (and yes I have to admit I had to google who Druella was). The Scottish winter vibes were immaculate. I absolutely adore the "one that got away" kinda vibe in this one. There was this one quote from Minerva which was something like "I'm Scottish, nothing depresses me except bad whiskey" and I felt that in my core. Feel u sis, even though I'm not a Scot.

Unguarded-series by birdsofshore 💫 Draco/Albus Severus, 5 works, 38,834 words in total

Dilf-Draco is all I need in my life. So fucking hot.

[thethreebroomsticksficfest]

The Three Broomsticks Pride Fest

Attention pub patrons, Madam Rosmerta is utterly delighted to announce The Three Broomsticks Pride Fest! This fest is all about celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, and we welcome any writers old and new to join in the fun! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

But Rosmerta, how do you write canon-compliant fics about LBGTQ+ characters when there’s no explicit representation of that community in the books?

I’m glad you asked! TTB is a canon-compliant Discord server and therefore hosts canon-compliant fests; however, that’s not meant to be restrictive. Just because a character is not stated to be gay or asexual or nonbinary doesn’t mean they’re not! All that canon-compliance means at TTB is that the fic doesn’t alter canon events, including endgame pairings mentioned in the epilogue.

Here are some examples of LGBTQ+ characterisations and ships that would be considered canon-compliant by TTB definition (these aren’t prompts or an exhaustive list by any means, just some examples):

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, or Ron discovering bisexuality later in life (men and women being married isn’t inherently heterosexual, afterall)

A next gen character being trans or nonbinary

Asexual Charlie Weasley

Same-sex ships that don’t alter endgame couples; there are too many to list, but here’s a few: Dean/Seamus, Minerva/Poppy, Sirius/Remus, Lavender/Parvati, Katie/Alicia, Albus/Scorpius

Harry and Hermione having a conversation/realisation about Grindeldore

Everyone has their own slightly different definitions of canon-compliancy, so if you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to send us an ask or reach out to any mod. We also encourage you to join our Discord server (click here to join), which is active during and between fests with mini-events, writing chats, an HP book club, and general shenanigans.

Fest submissions will be due in late May and posting will begin on June 1st (see important dates below for more details).

🌈 Rules:

At least one LGBTQ+ character must be prominently featured

Submissions must be canon-compliant (see FAQs below for more details!)

Each submission should be at least 1000 words

No sexual content featuring minors (this doesn’t include kissing or vague references with no actual description)

🌈 Important Dates:

May 26th – submission deadline

May 29th – writers informed when their fic(s) will be revealed

June 1st – first fic is revealed

🌈 FAQ:

What counts as canon-compliant?

Canon-compliancy has a broad scope and we’re not here to gatekeep! For the purposes of this fest, we consider the Harry Potter books 1-7 as canon and the “end game” pairings. The rest is up to you - for example, if you wish to write a post-Hogwarts story, you do not have to take Cursed Child or post-Potter interview information as canon if you don’t want to, but you should follow the pairings established in the epilogue.

Can I submit a multi-chapter?

You can absolutely submit the start of a new multi-chapter; however, you cannot submit a new chapter from an already published WIP.

How should I submit?

Submit to the AO3 collection and/or to Tumblr with the following information:

Title:

Author:

Main Character(s):

Pairing(s):

Rating:

Warning(s):

If you are submitting to our collection, it will be private and anonymous until we release your story.

How long will the fest go? What days of the week will fics be posted?

That depends on how many we get! After all fics are submitted, the mods will make a schedule, and we will contact you on May 29th to let you know when you can expect your fic to go up. The first fic will for sure be up on June 1st though!

I have another question!

No problem! Drop us an ask and we’ll get back to you.

[dreamingbrownie]

Shards Masterpost

Prompt list by ao3commentoftheday, these are all unrelated Grindeldore oneshots.

Works:

Off to save the world again?

“You do not want to do this.”

“I thought we were past stating the obvious. Besides, you could have knocked.”

“Yeah, not gonna risk you apparating to Timbuktu or somethin’ just to avoid talking to me,” Aberforth huffed rounding the table. Sometimes Albus saw their father in the way he crossed his arms, the steel in his eyes, the set of his jaw that made ardently clear that he didn’t need magic to take zero bullshit from anyone. Even from his brother. Especially from his brother.

//

The night before everything comes to a head in Bhutan, Aberforth decides that he's had enough of Albus' secrets.

Prompt: A conversation you wish had happened in canon.

Canon for Fantastic Beasts 2, the Dumbledore brothers talking about their shared trauma.

Under a lilac canopy

Summary: To say that Gellert had not expected to wake up on another day at the western front to the Statute of Secrecy finally blasted to smithereens was a bit of an understatement. It fell as silently as a night-time truce: nobody knew who had fired the first shot that brought down the entire thing. To the stench of antiseptics and laudanum was added the cloyingly sweet scent of pain relief potions; the highest dose available in France was handed out like Penicillin: worth its weight in gold. After the initial shock of that surreal day had faded, he’d been ecstatic, of course, eager to write a woefully short, passionate letter to Albus about the possibilities this unlocked in the late war-effort – and not a single letter returned to him from Britain. In spite of the Royal Mail Service, those utter madlads, in spite of every owl and pigeon he could find in bumfuck nowhere, France – silence. He would have to find Albus himself, once he finally got to go home, but amidst London that was torn to shreds and filled with the hungering, grieving masses, nobody wanted to talk about the day Albus Dumbledore disappeared. The day the Statute fell.

Prompt: an expression of love.

Edwardian WW1 AU, hurt/comfort heavy on the comfort side. Hospital reunion fic.

The earth of me

Summary:

Maybe it had been foolish, then, of Albus to think himself safe from surprises. The kind which rocked the very ground underneath his feet, that was, a sort of shock that travelled up and down his spine and shot adrenaline through his entire system. Safe from war, if not from politics, he had considered himself hidden from Death’s crows upon his doorstep. He wasn’t.

He had long known the five stages of grief to be thestral dung. On that particular afternoon in late January of 1931, he appeared to have shot right past denial into depression, or directly into acceptance, perhaps, if one took into account that he had always known that this had had to happen eventually.

Prompt: Character meta

Albus ruminates on the death of his father in Azkaban and what this means for himself. Canon missing moment I guess.

Remnants

Summary:

“You could have mentioned that this dragon hoards eggs.”

In the darkness, Gellert was a mere shade. The ragged rocks cut the howling wind apart into ribbons that slashed the air: high, haunting sounds dancing over the wet grass. No human lived up here, not anymore. The next village was miles and miles away. Albus felt the ground vibrate with the dragon’s steps inside the castle ruins that spanned an entire hilltop. The bare bones of a grand church stuck up into the grey sky that had lifted away the roof from its ribs long ago; of the keep, only the northern and the eastern wall still stood. Everything else was naked stone filed down by the weather littering the grasslands like teeth. Here the remains of a hall as big as a lord’s manor, there circles in the mud: watchtowers, or what was left of them. Bones were scattered in between those trampled histories. The earth only yielded bushes with berries on them that should not be touched by anything that wished to live, no fields survived here. It was so cold Albus could feel his jaws jittering.

“Theseus said nothing of it. I presume that he did not know, else he would have. He only stressed how very unwise it is to go near a nesting dragon.”

Prompt instead of the origina prompt that didn't work for me was three lines of conversation, link lost, unfortunately.

Canon divergence, could be seen as a cousin to my Constellations series in as much as Albus and Gellert live togther throughout their life as professors on Hogwarts.

The red grief

Summary: In 1625, King James I of England and Scotland died, leaving his lover George de Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, behind. Historically, the Duke decided to sack Cadíz on the Spanish coast soon after. In another world, a pair of immortal husbands are none too pleased about being asked for magical help on what others would call a thinly veiled act of piracy intended to escalate political tensions into outright war. How to cope?

Prompt: an emotional moment that you can't find a plot for.

Smut and fluff, immortal wizards AU, the most established of relationships

Golden mornings come again

Summary:

“I know for a fact that you have never asked me to go to the coast with you, but I dream of it, sometimes, finding you at the sea, and when I wake up, I am overcome with such a visceral urge to do exactly that; as if you were waiting for me with your hands in your coat pockets and your back turned to me, facing the sea – in fact, all of these… strange, inexplicable… Merlin, I don’t even know what to call them – these glimpses, these pictures I have of you in my mind that seem so impossibly real – you are waiting for me in all of them. Looking over your shoulder whenever I come close enough to touch, and there it always ends. As though I have been chasing and losing you for a very long time.”

//

It always takes a while for the memories to come back to them.

Prompt: a scene fully without context.

Reincarnation AU, established relationship, a lot of fluff with a side of emotional smut served gently

Historically proud

Summary: The man at the counter had hair so light it was almost white, looking natural, not dyed, but who really knew; his t-shirt had three lines of ancient Greek on it that Albus only realized had to be the first line of the Iliad after staring at it for way too long, toned muscles – arms, hello, damn – and he was oozing confidence. Well, that was all of Albus’ boxes ticked, ta very much. Fuck.

“I’m sorry, I kind of couldn’t not listen – you’re Professor Albus Dumbledore, yes?”

Puzzled, he gave a brief nod.

“Indeed I am. I like your t-shirt.”

The man looked down at it like he’d forgotten he was wearing it, grinning a bit.

“Thanks. I read your last article that you published – what was it, a few months ago? – Anyway, the way you dissected the outdated communist pirate theory with such poise and elegance, that was beautiful.” Then he cleared his throat and straightened from his casual slouch against the counter which looked entirely like a nervous act. “Sorry, where are my manners? Name’s Gellert Grindelwald, I’m the new Ancient Greek History Doctorate researcher and teacher at King’s College.”

“Oh!” Well, Albus was fucked. That beautiful, clever man was going to be his new colleague.

Prompt: The meeting part of a meet-cute AU

Modern AU, historians, getting together, uni colleagues AU with a side-dash of ToG characters mentioned

Candle Stains

Summary:

The different paths that their lives had taken so far had not merged upon accident: they’d worked to make it work. Once Aurelius was fully grown, theoretically, there was no reason why Gellert should still live with him then. The thought seized Albus' heart and held it captive.

“You must know that your continued support has been vital to me. I value you far, far beyond your excellent job as the tutor of my nephew.”

To his puzzlement, Gellert gave a breath of amusement that fast turned fond.

“I do believe that is British for ‘I love you.’”

“And if it is,” Albus responded, half question, half declaration.

Prompt: a shocking announcement (or the reaction to it)

Regency AU, Albus is a Lord living in London with his nephew Aurelius, Aberforth and Aurelius' tutor Gellert. Getting together fic.

All aflame (The fire has found a home in me)

Summary:

“When we are going on our tour together, I am going to make you scream above the Seine and you’re going to have me under the Venice moonlight.”

“Gellert,” he breathed out the pearling laughter in his chest, light as air, “I can’t wait.” Then he turned around, and awkward as the angle was, they made it work for a lingering kiss. Gellert nudged his big nose into Albus’ cheekbone smirking like the cat that got the cream.

“Better?”

“Much. Thank you. I’d say sorry for having woken you up, but in truth…”

“Don’t be,” he grinned, “I’m not."

Prompt: A missing moment from canon

Canon summer of 1899, smut, idiots in love, fluff and intimacy, no bad things in this one.

Heaven

Summary: “I am not used to how you look at me anymore.”

“And how do I look at you?”

“Like you would burn the world to have me again. I am not sure if I would call it love.”

I do, Gellert wanted to scream, I do, I do, I do, throbbing in his chest in a double-stutter. //

Prompt: an alternate ending to a scene from canon.

The restaurant scene from Fantastic Beasts 3 do-over, canon divergence, what if these two had actually talked and gotten their shit together?

Stay a thousand years

Summary:

“Gellert is blessed with foresight, wisdom, a cunning mind for strategy, and charms enough to have the whole court fall for him; he is a just and intelligent man and… I love him dearly. Anyone else but him would make no sense for me to marry.”

Percival gazed at him with something like trepidation in his watery eyes.

“He is powerful enough to match you, Albus. Having him so near you could be a dangerous decision… or the only wise thing to do.”

“He would never hurt me. Never,” Albus vowed with all the conviction of late-night conversations about spells that did not exist yet and the long-lost relics that haunted them both from the side-lines of their childhood fairy tales. The court might not know it yet, but Gellert was his, and he belonged to Gellert as firmly as any priest could profess; more so, they were made from the same stardust. It was the one thing that did not made him tremble these days, that knowledge.

“Very well,” sighed the dying king, and let go of his hands. “Get him for me, please.”

Prompt: Someone just having the worst luck.

Medieval Fantasy AU, proposal under rather difficult circumstances fic, royalty AU.

By your leave

Summary:

Captured. The thrice damned teenagers had gotten themselves captured. Bowed over Albus’ tombstone as he was every morning and every for longer than he cared to actively recount, Gellert took the news from one of his many birds scouting the grand, wide world out there for him without moving from his spot. Though he wanted nothing more than to rest his forehead on the white marble painted golden by the sunset until he faded into the stone itself, slowly, painfully slowly, his folded hands detangled to settle on the cool surface instead.

“My heart, I must do something,” he rasped over the polished stone. His knees creaked and hurt as he forced them to move like rusted hinges. “To the snake pit I go, is that not the funniest thing you ever heard – this might finally be my last sunset, my love.”

//

Albus Dumbledore was dead, Harry Potter captured at Malfoy Manor, but the last King had not yet been let off the chess board.

Prompt: An exchange of gifts or mementos.

Canon divergence, hurt with very little comfort, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows alternate ending.

in from the cold

Summary: Gellert comes back home to Camelot in the weeping rain to a row between Master Merlin and King Arthur. Nothing new there, though this time, a dragon is dead, the King is injured, and Gellert would simply like to squirrel away Albus from under Merlin's watchful eyes, thank you very much.

Prompt: That awesome line you simply can't find a plot for.

Camelot medieval fantasy AU. Reunion fic with a side of Merlin/Arthur.

Stained-glass window laments

Summary:

“I cannot bear the thought of life here without you. My head weighs heavy with the crown upon it, and that weight is not made to be carried alone. You must pull through now, my love, and be not afraid of my temper. I see how unusually quiet you are.”

Gellert’s eyes briefly flickered heavenward.

“I got stabbed.”

“After pushing an army of three thousand; twelve clans united despite that they’re squabbling in front of my doorstep now; through the murderous mountains, yes.” He kissed Gellert’s fingers, feeling the cool metal push smoothly into his lips, feeling the shape and weight of them in comparison to Gellert’s roughened skin. Eye contact kept him quiet. “You are thin, my heart. Have they who followed you into battle not treated you to every comfort?”

Prompt: The aftermath of a scene you’ll never actually write

Medieval Fantasy AU, King Albus and loyal knight Gellert, hurt/comfort.

Asja

Summary:

It had been Europe, they agreed on that much. Gellert remembered birches, and Albus still sometimes blinked at sunspots falling through oak leaves dappled with dew in dreams lost before he was fully awake. Sensual memory, that was what stuck the longest. Visuals, feelings, sounds.

Once, they had been like gods.

Prompt: the scene that would bring you personally the most joy.

Pre-historic Smut, rated E.

[ineffable-snowman]

Get to know the blogger, via five different ships from five different fandoms! (I cheated and made it five different ships from four different fandoms.)

Thanks for tagging me @sky-kenobye!

1. Ineffable husbands/wives/partners/idiots (Good Omens)

My comfort show and ship. What's not to love about the slowest of slow burns hereditary enemies to lovers? For this ship, almost everything works, even several tropes I've never seen the appeal of before make sense to me now (wing fic, gender bending... just to name a few).

On a personal note, it was through this show (or rather its fandom) that I figured out I might be on the aro/ace spectrum, just the experience of "There are other people who feel like that? There are names for that?" was wonderful and so that's also why it holds a special place in my heart. It's just overall a really positive fandom. Plus Neil Gaiman is on tumblr, which - although I hate celebrity culture - is cool.

2. Obikin (Star Wars)

My oldest ship. I started shipping them in 2005 when ROTS came out, I was gripped by the tragedy of the Obi-Wan&Anakin relationship (it was my introduction to Star Wars, I had no idea who Darth Vader was) and started writing fix-it fics to cope. The first fanfic I posted online was an epic Qui-Gon lives (for a while) AU ending in a Vader redemption arc through the power of friendship. I really like reading platonic Anakin & Obi-Wan, but usually go for the Obikin tag on AO3 because I'm too scared of antis and I know the Obikin writers are cool people. Although the Star Wars fandom as a whole has some ugly sides, I really enjoy the smaller Obikin fandom. Shoutout to my Obikin mutuals, who all are such nice, positive and chill people! No purity wanks, no shitting on other people's ships or kinks... maybe because we know we ship one of the most *problematic* pairings and that fiction =/= reality.

3. Stony (MCU)

I ship them not inspite of Civil War but BECAUSE of it. As a seasoned shipper of Obikin, Cherik and Grindeldore (insert obligatory fuck JKR here), I was like: ooooh, nice, this is the good stuff! Unfortunately, most of the fandom doesn't seem to share my excitement.

4. Sambucky (MCU again)

Boat montage, enough said.

In terms of fandom, it was an eye-opener regarding casual or subtle racism in fandom.

5. Kirk/Spock/McCoy (Star Trek)

Normally I'm not that interested in OT3s but I make an exception for these three. I also enjoy any combination of them (Spirk, Spones and McKirk are all great ships) but I need the third one to be there as well, and not just as a friend who sometimes gives advice to help the other two get together but as an important character in his own way.

Let me end with a controversial opinion: Star Trek V - The Final Frontier is my favourite Star Trek movie.

no pressure tagging @starwalkertales, @piecesofeden11, @fangeek-girl, @fulcrum843, @blue-eyed-cutiepatootie, @gingiekittycat and everyone else who hasn't done it yet!

[calimera62]

I've been tagged by @flo-nelja, thank you!

If you want to do it, tagging @naehja, @istadris, @saemi-the-dreamer, @modocanis, @amethystsworld, @garnetrena and @andersssandrew

1 How many works do you have on AO3?

100. Most of them are OS and I still have to publish fics I've posted on tumblr and ffnet.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

397,865

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Der Vampire, my multichapter Tanz der Vampire fic (195 kudos)

Baise-main, a Kaamelott OS Arthur&Perceval. Not my best work so I'm surprised it has been liked so much (152 kudos)

Die Fledermaus, a Tanz der Vampire OS and self-indulgent bat!Krolock fanfic (139 kudos)

La Marque, my platonic soulmate AU Kaamelott OS between Arthur and Perceval (132 kudos)

Couronne, my first and last Arthur/Guenièvre OS that I wrote after KV1 (128 kudos)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I try to, though it can take me a long time to do so ^^;;

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

Hum... difficult question. I don't usually write angst. There's a Van Helsing OS but I haven't posted it on AO3 yet. I do love to write certain characters turned as vampire against their will, a lot, but I can't say which fic about that trope is the angstiest... Maybe My Blood in Offering, a Krolfred OS, or even La bête humaine (Harry Potter, a Beast of Gévaudan AU, kinda). I can't say for sure...

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

LOL, most of my fics are happy fics so it will be hard to choose which one I consider to have the happiest ending. Maybe Auld Lang Syne or Sleeping Arthur, two Kaamelott OS with Arthur and Perceval.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Rarely, but it happened. I once wrote a Makai Ouji/Black Butler crossover Nevermore, and I would like to try writing for this crossover again. I also wrote a Harry Potter/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory crossover where Willy Wonka was a wizard (Le Procès de Willy Wonka), I had fun writing it!

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No and I hope it won't happen in the future.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I did (two Krolfred OS: Behind closed doors and L'abîme des songes), not very ambitious since I'm not used writing smut but it was an interesting challenge. I also have two Grindeldore OS (À fleur de peau and Nos rencontres éphémères) but the sexual content is really non-graphic.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Le Soleil Levant (Francis&Napoléon, Hetalia) has been translated into Polish; also two Tanz OS (Behind closed doors and My Blood in Offering) translated in Russian.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No and I'm not interested in doing it.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Aaah it's a difficult choice. How can you expect me to choose?

Though, if I see the amount of works on my AO3, I've written for Grindeldore (Gellert Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore) the most.

Most of my fics are mostly about platonic pairs than romantic ones.

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

Uuh... Maybe L'Alouette (a FrUK OS) or L'ennemi de mon ennemi (a Van Helsing multichapter fic)

15. What are your writing strengths?

Good question. I love getting into the characters's head, writing their thoughts and feelings, as well as writing platonic pairs, but I don't know if it's a strength of mine.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm so bad at describing places and clothes and furnitures D:

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

You mean adding words or sentences in another language when I'm reading fics in my own language or in English? Well... I don't mind if it's a couple of words in a sentence (and if the author adds the translation, though I found it annoying to have to go in the author's notes, at the end of the fic, to go check the translation)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

No fandom comes to my mind, but I would love to write Alfred/Sarah (Tanz der Vampire), though Krolfred is my OTP, I have a lot of fondness for this ship and I would like to try writing about them. Same thing, I would like to write a Arthur/Francis/Ludwig fanfic (Hetalia) one day. I also wish to write about César/Astérix one day and not just them as a platonic pair

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Ouch hard to decide again. I'm still proud of La Marque as well as Sleeping Arthur regarding my Kaamelott fics. Regarding Tanz, I really love A New Perspective and Die Fledermaus. For Makai Ouji, I still love Innocence and Curiosity, though The Witching Hour is very self-indulgent hehe. I'm also fond of some fics from Gauloiseries (Astérix); but I really can't choose, between these fics, which one is my absolute favourite.

[the-marron]

Tagged by @miss-ingno - I was certain I did this twice already, but I cannot for the life of me find these posts for some reason, so I shall reply again 😅 Thanks for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3? 150

What's your total AO3 word count? 1,284,770

What fandoms do you write for? recently I used to write the most to Guardian and Weilan derivatives (Luolin!~) but I am slowly and surely slowing down on writing altogether

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? skipping that one, I am certain I answered this one around five times and the answer is still the same. I can say that my most kudosed work is at 1,220, because I think this is the only new info I can offer on the topic.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I love writing comments and responding to them, no matter how much time passed! It's great to get a comment on something I posted around 10 years ago and remember what I thought about, how I saw that ship back then, and all that, plus sometimes people simply share their thoughts about the canon work itself in the comments and I love to have discussions with people I would not meet otherwise.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? eh, idk? My angst-meter is broken, so I cannot discern what is the saddest thing I committed. Probably either Unceasing Path (Luolin) or When I Make an Oath to the Flames (Weilan), but I don't know really.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? well, not sure at all either. But I think the Grindeldore series?

Do you get hate on fics? More like hate on me personally, but not often, thankfully

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I don't. Usually the story I want to tell doesn't need any sex scenes, because the emotions that would come up in those were already explored earlier, in a different way, and I do find them boring, so why force myself.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Oh, I absolutely do and I enjoy them both in reading and in writing. Weilan derivs are crossovers already, so I've written quite a lot of those. I think the craziest crossovers I've written are also the ones I will not publish, so I shall remain silent 😆

Have you ever had a fic stolen? not all of it, just ideas and scenes

Have you ever co-written a fic before? YES! And I love the experience!

What's your all-time favorite ship? No idea, any time I find a new ship I adore it pretty much looks like this:

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I have only one WIP in the works and I am pretty sure I will finish it, as for the rest - I only have ideas and I might end up abandoning them and never doing anything about them, so not exactly WIPs, are they

What are your writing strengths? I guess variety? I like changing genres and styles, to have fun with POVs and different settings?

What are your writing weaknesses? I am rather careless, keep on making typos, changing my idea of a sentence after writing half of it, forgetting which version of the plot I am ultimately going with, so I am a mess that keeps on updating stories years after publishing them because I spotted yet another typo while scrolling through them.

First fandom you wrote for? Inuyasha, an OC that was the main hero's half-sister, trying to fit into the family after realising she has it. It was a gen fic, surprise, surprise, and it ended up in a crossover with another girl running an Inuyasha blog - our respective characters made guest appearances in our stories. It was fun.

Favorite fic you've written? No idea. Really, depends on the mood, I sometimes think I did a good job with something, other times I decide everything I've written is terrible in new, exciting ways

Apologies for the short answers, I am truly out of my writing era 😅

Not tagging anyone because I am certain I did this tag twice so I probably would end up tagging the same people all over again, so if someone is reading this and would like to share, I would be very happy to read the replies (tag me please, so I can see), but no pressure~

[mitsuki91]

Really like your work, would you ever consider writing a dark Snily fic where Lily is with James and the order whilst Severus with Voldemort and the death eaters. But they have been continuously playing a cat and mouse game with the other, Since before fifth year. The higher the stakes the greater the fun, Lily hangs around more people to 'protect' her when it's just her making the game harder while the further Severus goes into the dark side the more dangerous he's making the game.

Any thoughts on such a fic?, Love to hear your opinion.

Hi! Thank you for the ask and the compliment! 🥰

So, I never think about a plot like this because in my story the characterisation of Lily and Severus is different... I mean you need to have some sort of cruelty in you to do something like this... And the only way I can somehow see this is by Lily side (she can be cruel, we don't know much about her so she is a blank page) but I don't know if this can apply to Severus. I mean, not my Severus at least... I read some stories when he has this vibes and they were good but, deep down, he remain still an insecure and traumatized boy.

Antoher ship I can somehow see like this (even if in that case is him and not her that have this type of cruelty in it) is the Evan/Dorcas (as in Evan Rosies/Dorcas Meadowes and yes, in the italian fandom is a good ship) when the beauty of it is just the fact that she can not say no to Evan even if he is a Death Eater.

Or the Grindeldore. In fact I will post a Grindeldore tomorrow for my best friend birthday that have some of it in it.

But yeah, I mean I can see a Snily like this but this is not quite the Snape I always had in my mind, so I don't know.

Thank you again!