#but they will be a very healthy son/father dynamic fr fr fr

[cantgetworsethanthistbh]

IDENTICAL DADS AU (aka the one where sh*fty is a non threatening entity who comsiders ford and stan as his dads, but i make it incestious 3 ways). posting as pictures because i really really dont want it to show up when you search sh*fty in the search bar lmao

[pacific-rimbaud]

Thank you SO MUCH for your panville works. I find it therapeutic to read the caring and deeply loving dynamic you embed in them. Also love how you deal with Pansy's background and trauma. While she is by no means unprivileged, I think her wounds resonate deeply with anyone for whom parental love was unstable in childhood. Your writing inspires me so much. I hope you know the positive impact you have on fellow internet strangers. Fr I've reread a dress with pockets more times I care to admit and RoT is on its 3rd re read because it helps me deal with shitty days.

I have two questions regarding your own visualization of the characters in RoT that may fall out of the scope of the actual story (I imagine you might not delve into these too much even if you do have an idea of them in your head)

1. Do you imagine Pansy's mother's own trauma too, when you write? Like what are the wounds that made her such a cold/unloving parent to Pansy?

Ive been thinking of it as being classic objectification of pureblood women for future marriage. Like Pansy's mother never wanted to have a child but was forced to because she's a woman and that's her duty. Would you agree with this or is she a much more sinister character?

2. In what concrete ways would you say Pansy's strengths complemented Neville's weaknesses when they began dating? We see their relationship in a super specific context where they are in their late 20s but Pansy's growth got somewhat reverted to her teenage/younger years (so it makes complete sense we see her mostly being taken care of by Neville!!). But I ask because Harry's witty response to Pansy regarding Neville "deserving what he wants" made me feel a bit sad.

Like I get that Neville's a lot more emotionally sound than she is, but I guess it made me think about whether Pansy's life is "earned" beyond her trying to be better just for Neville's sake.

I imagine her fierce protectiveness of those she loves and her ability to set boundaries without taking people's shit must have been very attractive to a younger Neville?

Sorry if this question is too obvious. I think it hits close. I relate with Pansy's trauma and waking up one day as Neville's wife would indeed feel like heaven (thank you again Harry!). But I could not imagine being able to correspond to a love like that in ways that society traditionally categorizes as love.

Much love. Thank you again for sharing your beautiful brain with us xx

Thank you so much for reading! Truly so appreciative that anyone takes the time to follow a novel-length rare pair fic.

Answers under the cut!

Pansy's mother did not want kids. Full stop. Her father was indifferent to the idea, but definitely didn't want to marry Pansy's mother. My headcanon is that Pansy's mother had an ill-advised fling with Pansy's entitled rake of a father as a young woman, became pregnant, and was compelled to enter into a miserable, lonely marriage and raise a child she had absolutely no affection for. Pansy's father was interested when he chose to be, which wasn't often. Nonexistent or unreliable attachment all around. And so it's clear, this characterization isn't an excuse or attempted explanation for Pansy's cruelty as a child. I've known many casually cruel children over the years. It's not at all unusual. Heartbreaking and yet garden variety example: a few socioeconomically privileged kids in my son's class recently approached another group of children, some of whom have serious challenges at home, and told them that their mothers didn't love them as much as their mothers. Kids can be mind-bogglingly vicious people, even with the "right" parenting. They're kids! Their brains aren't fully cooked yet. Moving the empathy needle and fostering healthy culture in a school requires skillful adult intervention, which obviously was not happening at Hogwarts. Pansy's upbringing in this story is an explanation for why she struggles to be vulnerable, why she's so deeply haunted by a history of feeling unlovable, and why the prospect of motherhood in general and an unplanned pregnancy in particular carries a special horror for her. Basically what makes your second question a little tricky to answer....

...because she's such an unreliable witness to her own life in this. I love fanon Pansy more than anything. She's abrasive, sometimes filterless, terrifyingly perceptive, doesn't suffer fools. Which I just love so much. She's someone who cannot be other than herself, and that self is often pretty spiky. But if someone can get inside, she's also unrestrained in her tenderness. Once Pansy is on your side, you're ride or die. She'd do anything for you. Definitely would help you bury a body. And what I deeply love about Panville is that Neville gets to go further: he gets the innermost parts of her, which truly are so, so sweet and open and loving. She's an incredible partner. Neville has it made and knows it. And to try to answer your question, I don't tend to think about what they bring to the table, or whether anyone "deserves" anything, which is the error Pansy keeps making. I see them very much in the vein of, "I was in the middle before I knew I that I had begun." They're the catching feelings pair, whether it's friends to lovers or casual hook up to something more, because absolutely no way does she ever go into anything at all intending to be vulnerable. But he has the intuition of someone used to paying attention from the sidelines. He's curious. There's something there. He doesn't know what it is, but he'd like to. With enough patience, she unfurls. It's about the power of attentiveness and the inexplicable magic of deep connection. The payoff for Neville risking getting close enough to Pansy to peek inside is a spiky little wife who can't get enough of him in bed, has a full life of her own with passions and interests and relationships and is also deeply invested in their domestic happiness. She is profoundly, unswervingly in his corner. She sees and knows him. The payoff for Pansy risking her heart is this beautiful, kind, loyal man who adores her and whose sensibilities and preferences perfectly align with her own practical nature. He also happens to make great scones. Neither of them grew up understanding what they have was even possible, and I hope it's clear in the story that they both deserve every minute of it. 💜

[ao3feed-scorbus]

i still got love for you

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/zAKQDH6 by ma_lark_ey “I’m trying to raise you to be a functioning adult, Albus. Do you want me to just stop being your father? Would that make life so much easier for you?” Albus knew that sometimes the things he said were needlessly cruel, and he didn't care. This was one of those times. “God, sometimes, I wish you weren’t my dad.” His father tensed, and what he said was so much crueller than anything Albus could ever come up with. “Well, sometimes, I wish you weren’t my son.” Or: Five times Albus ran away and the one time Harry followed him Words: 1010, Chapters: 1/6, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, James Sirius Potter, Background & Cameo Characters, like hermione and ginny, sorry women - Character Relationships: Albus Severus Potter & Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Mentioned Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, but like - Relationship, once in the last chapter so really it doesnt exist, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Character Study, Albus Severus Potter Needs a Hug, Daddy Issues, lots of em - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Autistic Albus Severus Potter, Implied Autistic Harry Potter, I made my boyfriend cry with this btw, Scorpius Malfoy is Trying His Best, Harry Potter Is ALSO Trying his best, his best just isnt very good, Harry Potter is Bad at Feelings, and a mediocre father, and thats me being generous, I love harry. he's a mess in this fr, he's trying, Draco Malfoy is a Good Father, the fact thats not a real tag is antigay, Gay Albus Severus Potter, Gay Scorpius Malfoy, i wouldnt call whatevers going on between the potters ABUSE, but it sure as hell is not a healthy father-son dynamic, Harry Potter Needs Therapy, Inspired by Taylor Swift, Seven, to be specific, Slay!!! read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/50515276