#guy who thinks hes doing the classic phoenix rising from the ashes of his past self but is actually is just suicidal

[moinsbienquekaworu]

Ram. Ram please im begging you. What are your tomarry/harrymort fic recs, please. I never knew I needed this ship in my life but you have opened up a whole avenue of shipping I never knew I had. Please I beg you

(Also I hope I got that ship name right, I had never even considered this before, thank you so much for this ily <3)

Oh my god oh my god ooooh my god. Strap in we're here for the long ride

(+ technically if you want to get specific Harrymort is Harry/Voldemort and Tomarry is Harry/Tom, it's a bit like Vaderwan vs Obikin if you see the distinction?)

Be warned that I tend to prefer long fics/that those stick to my mind better, because there's nothing like rushing through a 300k fic in a few days and having trouble readjusting to actual normal human life after it's done. I wrote down the ones I remembered of the top of my head and the ones I'd downloaded first, and then went through my AO3 bookmarks, so that's the order, they get shorter towards the end of the list. But anyway! Good Tomarrymort fics I have personally liked include:

• His Darkest Devotion by Lomonaaeren (45 chapters, 256k)

Harry Potter has been hiding in plain sight all his life, since he carries the soul-mark of Minister Tom Riddle on his arm—and a fulfilled soul-bond will double both partners’ power. His parents and godfather are fugitives, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry is a junior Ministry official feeding the Order what information he can. No one, least of all him, expects Harry to come to the sudden notice of Minister Riddle, or be drawn into a dangerous game of deception.

It's very long but it's so good... I don't know if it's the best example of a Tomarry fic but I feel like the minister!Tom and not-very-good-guy Dumbledore are classics of the genre. Love how the author managed to keep the "oh no I shouldn't be with him" element on Harry's side when Tom hasn't killed his parents, as well as the gestion of the soulmates.

• Kept Man by Lomonaaeren (4 chapters, 18k)

Harry Evans is a lowly Dark Patrol wizard who’s working hard to advance. He doesn’t think much of Senior Undersecretary to the Minister Tom Riddle, but on the other hand, a one-night stand that lets them both get rid of tension seems like a good idea. Except that the one night-stand never seems to end.

If His Darkest Devotion seems too long, Kept Man is also well written but less of a monster. I appreciate the fuck you James Potter that doesn't turn to heavy bashing, that's cool

• anything & everything by exarite (6 chapters, 30k)

Featuring Sugar Daddy Tom and Trophy Husband Harry. Tom takes very good care of him, and in return, Harry gives him blanket consent.

Absolute forever fave I regularly go back and reread it it's just!! Their relationship!! Tom who is still very much not a good person!! The ending!! The mere fact there's plot and it's not just porn!! Literally in love. It's not very fluffy and cute and there's some fucked up stuff but isn't that why we're here?

• The Love of a Good Wizard by SweetSorcery (31 chapters, 75k)

History of Magic has something to teach after all, and two resourceful students decide that the key to having any future at all lies in the past, and in Tom Riddle's heart. Assuming he has one.

Usually I'm not a time travel person but hhhhh. Pansy accompanies Harry back in the 1940s to change the past and it's very cool. Also it has a happy ending!

• Custodarium by Tina48 (26 chapters, 73k)

Have you been missing a time travel Tomarry where Harry and Tom are on somewhat equal footing? Where Tom is a plausible budding political leader? Where Harry can stand up to him and their relationship doesn’t seem toxic? Where the surrounding events and characters don’t go unnoticed? I have, so I gave writing one a try. “The war is over and the Wizarding Britain has been slowly rising from the ashes. Harry just wishes none of it ever happened – what will he do when he’s given a chance to change the past? Was Dumbledore right about “the power he knows not” after all?“

The first Tomarry I remember reading! It's one of three time travel fics that have Harry going back to Tom's school years I always kind of confuse with each other, that one's ending always felt a little bittersweet to me for some reason but it's mostly very satisfying and fun.

• When in Rome by XblackcatwidowX (31 chapters, 164k)

When Harry and Hermione inadvertently tumble half a century into the past, they find themselves in the same year as the notorious Head Boy, Tom Riddle. Both Harry and Hermione's courage will be tested when they are confronted by chances of romance from the most unexpected of places, and unlikely enemies hiding in the tallgrass. Lost in the past, they may well forget the way home. Not DH compliant.

The third one of the time travel back to Tom's school years fics, but this one's ending always depresses me lol. Not that it's not good! I just don't go to it to be cheered up. The story is really cool though

• Kudosed, Bookmarked, Subscribed by maquira (10/? chapters, 67k)

By day, Harry works as a lowly assistant to his boss: the cruel, controlling Tom Riddle. By night, he lives, breathes, and writes fanfiction. And when he's not writing, he's obsessing over the work of his favorite Ao3 author: Lord_Voldemort_. So, of course, it’s only a matter of time before Harry gets caught reading Voldemort’s latest fanfiction at work… by none other than his boss.

The secret identities the tension just hhhhhh the title is apt I did kudo bookmark and subscribe. Also it has some nice references to authors in the fandom, I know exarite and MaidenMotherCrone are mentioned as authors in it and there's probably more I haven't read fics from (yet) so that's a good source of authors if you need more by any chance.

• Of Your Making by purplewitch156 (25 chapters, 97k)

An unexpected twist during the final battle has Harry trapped inside a magical artifact with only his greatest enemy for company. The Carcerem will release them, but the requirement for freedom is an impossible one, for neither Harry Potter nor Tom Riddle will ever forgive the other.

This is going on the list for Tom gutting fish and the creepy thing with the portraits when they're in the Carcerem. That part genuinely fucking terrified me I remember reading it at night and being scared so bad it hasn't left my mind since. The rest isn't terrifying it just really stuck with me lol (also it does have a sequel but I haven't read it because the mood was depressing me and I wasn't in the right mindset to enjoy it)

• draw me after you (let us run) by ToAStranger

“Harry Potter,” comes the soft, sibilant hiss of a voice he has heard in his dreams, in his nightmares, in his waking hours for years. Slowly, carefully, Harry twists over and pushes up onto his hands and knees. He stays there, short breath fogging in front of his face, and his pursuer lets him. Harry has no doubt of that; he’s being allowed this respite. This small moment to catch his bearings, heart pounding in his ears, blood singing. “It seems I have finally caught you.”

I won't lie, I'm not up to date on it, but I should be because it's good. That's it that's the rec. My memories are too hazy to really speak of the story but when I caught up to it maybe a year or two ago I sent the author an overly enthusiastic ask on Tumblr at 3 in the morning and that's a good sign I feel like

• literally anything that sounds interesting by Anna_Hopkins/Chaotic_Smutty (or even their SW fics, they've written one or two)

• ... but my faves are Dark Livestream and its AUs (22/? chapters, 83k)

Voldemort, unexpectedly short on money and growing tired of both Wormtail's existence and Nagini's incessant pleas to eat the wizard, has a most brilliant idea: crowdfunding, and the first reward tier is a livestreamed broadcast of Nagini getting her wish. It is a massive success -- and the people demand more. Said 'people' just so happens to include one Boy-Who-Lived.

This fic gets me feeling the emotion equivalent of shrimp colours. Every time it updates I drop everything to read it. The crack taken seriously the UST with Harry and Voldemort the super cool magic the meeting of fandom and magic just !!!! Absolute forever fave. Love of my life light of my days. The AUs where different choices are made and different things happen are so fun too I love when authors do that!!

• ... Petty Catharsis (2 works, 1+4/? chapters, 17k total)

Harry sends Voldemort anonymous hatemail, trolling him in childish ways. Instead of being pissed, Voldemort indulges him and starts responding, clapping back with witty comebacks. Harry sends him a crude drawing of a naked Voldemort with a dick so small it curls inwards. Voldemort responds with his actual measurements, and a detailed drawing. Harry doesn’t write back for days. His stupid plan for petty catharsis backfired, and now he can’t stop thinking about Voldemort’s dick.

Pure smut but it's excellent. I'm not gonna comment on the porn it's just - it's just good.

• ... and Cruciatus (he's not going anywhere after this) (480 words)

Voldemort arrived to Malfoy Manor before the Trio could make their escape. The Dark Lord summoned Harry up to the throneroom; while he distracted everyone upstairs, Harry had explained, they should all take Dobby's help to escape.

Also just smut but it's probably my favourite Tomarry short smut fic. Exactly what the title says.

• duplicity's fics (@/duplicitywrites) I've read a few from her and I could recommend you some (Voldemort's Assassin Hotline, V is for Vampire, the Sugar Universe or In the Daylight Again are good) but honestly she just consistently writes good fics so if you see one that seems to have a nice summary, go for it (though I haven't read all of them, or even most of them)(also in her series is the "bottom Tom agenda" one if you want to spice things up a little)

• the Architecture series by Saeva (3 works, 2+4+5 chapters, 80k total)

Four years after Tom Riddle Jr walked out of the Chamber of Secrets whole, a girl's cold body left in his wake, Harry Potter married Lord Voldemort to settle a truce between their factions that would grant protection for both sides. This is the kinky, complicated, and emotionally wrought story of what came after as an immortal Voldemort and his young consort struggle to find a balancing point between internal peace and external connection. Also, lots and lots of sex.

Back to fucked up stuff! the consent is dubious, the dynamic is compelling and the smut is well-written, what more can I say. I also recommend the author's other fics, notably Needs Met, because the non-sexual submission in it kinda felt like a revelation.

• A Story of Mortality by this_bright_eyed_soul (14 chapters, 72k)

Dark Lord Harry Potter was born 1914, and was instrumental in defeating Grindelwald. A powerful force in politics, the rising Lord Voldemort cannot avoid him, but instead of the rivalry he wishes for, political circumstances force an alliance. While both their similarities and differences clash, they cannot help but become closer over time, and both have lessons still to learn.

This one is an AU so it's not what their general dynamic and vibe tends to look like but like. It's good. I don't think I could ever get myself to read the end because I knew I was going to bawl my eyes out and I didn't feel like it back then, and after that I didn't go back to it, but !! It's good!!

• I was going to include another fic but it's not going to be most people's taste, so if you're interested in a series with a pretty specific kink that develops a plot, that's heavy on the politics and - heavy in general, ask me again :') it's dear to my heart but I feel weird exposing my heart in public like that haha

• (the bad flirting) among us by RenderedReversed (4.5k)

They're voice actors playing Among Us. That's it that's the fic. It's more pre-slash than anything but <3 <3

• Hand Size by RenderedReversed (1.1k)

In which Harry is kind of obsessed with Voldemort’s hands. Voldemort is reluctantly indulgent.

I genuinely think about that fic on a regular basis when I notice people's hand sizes. Twice or thrice I've asked friends of mine to compare hand sizes because of it.

• How's the weather (am I better) by RenderedReversed (6.6k) (I hadn't realised I liked so many of their fics wow)

Harry's heat comes two weeks early. Unfortunately, he's alone, dehydrated, and pretty sure Kyogre and Groudon are duking it out in his stomach, because that's the only logical explanation for pre-heat cramps this bad.

Now I know, omegaverse pokémon AU sounds like a lot, but I really love it, and if you do too I recommend the series with the rest of the AU

• Sly Fingers, Deft Hearts by Penmanner (11k)

Tom Riddle has always wholeheartedly believed in slow manipulations. And perhaps, in some small, stupid, dastardly little part of himself, he sees them as something akin… to falling in love.

Pretty Lord Potter and Senior Undersecretary Riddle flirt and eventually fuck at a ball <3

• The Rigmarole Dance by cannibalinc (7.5k)

Harry is nine years old when he points at Lord Thomas Marvolo Slytherin, High Warlock of England, and declares "You're my soulmate, and we're going to be married."

If the author's summary doesn't sell it I don't know what will

• Impressions by atlantablack & local_doom_void (17k)

Years pass, and Harry Potter grows up thinking that he doesn't have a soulmate. After all, he's never seen anyone else with a scar spread so obvious across half their face. But life just couldn't be that easy.

The communication in this!! Also Harry with a huge scar is super cool excellent concept

• Viceroy by SofiaBane (7.2k)

Harry will marry Voldemort to end the war. Harry also takes a potion that turns him into a naga every night. This is hardly a problem for Voldemort.

What it says on the tin. Very fun though!

• Thank you, Harry by Smutmonger (8.7k)

Harry realized that the ‘dreams’ were actually real-life events. Somehow death eaters were getting their hands on his DNA and using Polyjuice to please their lord. There were six in total, and each served a particular purpose. Or rather, a particular sexual mood that Voldemort wished to indulge in the nights he called for them. It seemed unfair that the others got to use his body to feel things he hadn’t yet explored for himself. The more of these dreams he had, the more he begun to imagine exploring it with Voldemort. He could, couldn’t he? Harry could pretend to be one of the death eaters pretending to be him.

Also what it says on the tin, if you're one for daddy kinks you'll like this one I think

• A Rival's Kiss by GeMerope (3 chapters, 18k)

From Harry's very first encounter with the Dark Lord, Voldemort has always insisted on using proper etiquette, not accounting for the possibility of escalation.

I'm adding that one for the ending but also the general vibe of their dynamic, the "you're MY enemy dammit" thing is so good

• Benefit by asterismal (2 chapters, 6.4k)

“It won’t happen again,” Harry says to his reflection later that day. “It’s a bad idea. You have standards, and Riddle is awful.” His gaze drops to the bruise on his neck, and he prods at it, hissing at the ache. “Okay, fine,” he says, twisting so he can see it better. “Whatever. It’ll probably happen again.” (a boss/secretary prompt fill)

Right? Right.

• love is touching souls (surely you touched mine) by ToAStranger (8 chapters, 34k)

Voldemort is dead. It's Christmas, and Harry's just opened a gift from Fred and George Weasley.

The endinnnng hhhh still going feral over it!!

So yeah, hope you enjoy, I really like those two and the vibe they've got going on! Come talk about them any time you want!

[shellheadtmarc]

actually, because i really need to finish my new theme and need new verse blurbs, here’s a more in depth look at my current/in-use verses, with links to full writeups as available.

mcu:  this is boilerplate.  i’m a canon tony, this is a canon verse.  follows the events from iron man through infinity war for the moment, including the tie-in comics iron man 2: public identity, iron man 2: agents of shield, iron man: the coming of the melter, iron man 3 prelude, marvel’s avengers: age of ultron prelude - the scepter’d isle, marvel’s captain america: civil war prelude infinite, marvel’s avengers: infinity war prelude, and marvel’s avengers: endgame prelude.  also includes the post-iron man 3 short about the mandarin.  everything not covered/discussed in mcu canon is plugged with 616 continuity canon.

616:  what it says on the tin.  covers most of the runs from about 2008-present, including the new tony stark: iron man, against my greater judgment, though that may change in the future if it keeps tanking in story. in reality, this actually covers everything post-heroes reborn, but to make it simple we’ll say it’s wibbly wobbly because comics.  also includes heavy snippets still in play from classic invincible iron man.

classic:  from his first appearances in tales of suspense up to the inception of heroes reborn.  or, if you prefer, original flavor tony stark, the cool suave businessman with the aloof nature, party boy ways, and injured heart, reliant on his rechargeable chest piece, as he also has a double identity as the golden avenger known as iron man.  poses as his own bodyguard.  jetsetter.  people love or hate him, but most want to be him.  if only they knew how much his bum ticker isolated him.  a ton of fridged girlfriends.  later physical ailments include:  paralysis from the waist down.  degenerative nervous system.  a cranky ticker more than you can shake a stick at.  literally dying and being cryogenically frozen.

616 meets mcu:  this covers any time comicverse tony is thrown at mcu versions of the people he knows.  things to note include being taller.  he has blue eyes.  his tech is more advanced.  his speech patterns differ heavily.  recovering alcoholic, coffee is fine no matter how shitty it is.  he has more years as a superhero under his belt at this point.  his fears and points of stress differ from mcu tony’s quite a bit, and his reactions are different.  he and pepper are barely on speaking terms (generously speaking). he’s different, and it’s obvious he’s different.

broke:  mcu-based verse that includes corporate espionage and tony stark having to keep his head down and learning to live under the table paycheck to under the table paycheck until he can muster what he needs to make a frontal assault on regaining what’s rightly his.  a verse where tony’s at his absolute lowest, still determined to retain the phoenix metaphor and rise from the ashes of the misfortune thrust upon him.

superior iron man:  hiding the fact that he’s still under the scarlet witch’s inversion spell, tony goes full tilt diva, his main concerns being money, power, and fame.  he starts drinking again.  he makes san francisco his own personal big brother state, where he watches the city like a hawk by day while shilling extremis as a beauty enhancer, and parties like it’s 1999 at his new home on alcatraz island by night.  is still iron man, as long as there’s something in it for him.  will partially be at fault for the destruction of the 616 universe (it gets better).

hypervelocity:  tony’s attacked in his own lab by the mind-emulationware mechs known as “beautiful garbage”, and his newest iteration of the iron man suit forced an upload or a copy of his brain patterns to get him out of there.  the wetware is damaged, and the suit dumps it before it bleeds out in the suit cavity, and thus that suit, with the ability to walk, talk, and think exactly like tony stark (albeit full of bugs) is born, to unravel the mystery of the attack and attempt to stop the emulation program that caused it.

ai:  after being punched into a literal coma during a battle with captain marvel/carol danvers over the fate of miles morales and concerning an inhuman by the name of odysseus’s increasingly violent visions of the future, and with even hank mccoy being afraid to even draw blood on tony after seeing what tony’s been doing to himself over the years, tony’s ai comes online, as a mentor to riri williams/ironheart and to help against the clone captain america with those of the mount.  he’s twice as sassy with quadruple the processing speed, and he’s got some weird feelings about being the recreated consciousness of a living person suddenly finding itself with no physical body.

noir:  a businessman who likes to play adventurer for a men’s magazine, along with his best friend james rhodes and their new reporter pepper potts, writing under a male pseudonym, tony stark on the surface has it all in the late 1930s.  beautiful women, exciting adventures, and loads of money.  but all it does is hide his desperate search for a cure for his dying heart, as he’s forced to wear a metal chest piece that has to be charged frequently to even keep himself alive.  

director of shield:  mcu-based version of tony’s time as the director of shield.  after everything that occurs after captain america: the winter soldier, and the fall of shield, an attempt is made to resurrect it with tony stark at the helm as fury’s replacement (hand-picked).  he stresses transparency, he stresses equality, and most of all, he just wants to find a way to balance being iron man with having to deal with the day-to-day bullshit of international bureaucracy.

sorcerer supreme:  based on the 90s “what if?” one shot comic.  tony was the cause of the accident that injured stephen strange’s hands, and, feeling supremely guilty about the entire thing, searches for ways to give stephen his dexterity and life back.  it leads him to becoming the sorcerer supreme, despite that inherent dislike of magic he has, and he combines the iron man technology with the mystical forces he gains a hold over in that quest for a cure.

guardians of the galaxy:  mcu flavor for tony’s time as an active gotg.  after civil war, on a break with pepper, and feeling about as great about things as someone laying facedown in a gutter possibly can, tony puts his mobile armory into space, tinkers together a suit for deep space exploration, and takes off, losing himself for a while among the stars.  threat is going to come from there, sure, but there’s going to be opportunity, as well.  it’s a useful thing to find out who’s friend, and who’s foe, and see what there is to see in the black expanses of space.

supernatural:  the other family business.  being a founder of shield and everything he took to his grave wasn’t the only secret he was keeping, and this was one maria was in on as well.  too bad tony doesn’t stumble across it until after he’s already become iron man, where saving the world is so tied into his moral code he can’t look away.  if he goes missing for a few days, it’s fine, it’s chill.  he’s just taking a breather, not poking around at things he only still half-believes in even when he’s seen them with his own two eyes.  the biggest skeptic hunter you’ll ever meet.

fallout prewar:  mcu continuity up to the beginning of iron man 3, against fallout’s prewar as a backdrop.  tony stark is who he is, he does what he does, but he also is someone certain government agencies would love to tear down, because he’s a rabble rouser against the war, and has no problem hogging the iron man technology for himself instead of sharing with the military.  he also has no problem sharing the dirty secrets he finds out with the press.  full write up can be found here.

fallout new vegas:  tony as the infamous courier six.  left in stasis in a vault in california, tony comes to years and years after the devastation of the bombs to a world vastly changed from the one he remembers, and in a vault full of ghouls.  once topside, and once reoriented into the world, he ends up something of a jack of all trades until he takes that fateful job with the mojave express, and gets two to the head for his trouble.  independent path with the yes-man aligned ending, details of choices and all dlcs available as needed until i get off my ass and do a full replaythrough and write up.  keeps the spine from big mt, but his heart and brain are back where they belong.  locked elijah in the vault.  nuke launch stopped (ed-e repaired after).  evacuated the sorrows.  

fallout 4 sole survivor:  still needs a full write up, but tony as the sole survivor.  does not take the shock at the change in the world well at first.  eventually pulls his shit together enough to get shit done, but can’t touch a suit, can’t think about the suit, will take some time to even toy with the idea of possibly touching a suit again before he actually can.  minutemen and railroad aligned, destroys the bos and institute.  peaceful ending with all far harbor factions.  spares the mechanist.  destroys the raiders at nuka world and turns the parks over to the minutemen.  question information as needed until i get a full write up done.

fallout 4 companion:  tony’s been in new york since the bombs dropped.  there are huge chunks of it that are still uninhabitable, much like boston’s glowing sea, but the parts that are?  he’s started on a grand rebuilding project, because he’s got nothing but time:  the arc reactor’s kept his heart pumping well past its expiration date.  when the bos slow rolls past new york, he follows them into boston, mostly because he’s paranoid and cagey (with good reason in the wasteland) and partially out of curiosity.  available as a companion for sole survivors, some restrictions apply, please see this write up for more details.

fallout 76 dweller:  locked up with a bunch of other big brains after the bombs, tony’s that guy.  you know.  the one you read about in the terminal.  the one that kept hacking things.  once topside again, he sheds that vault tec blue and yellow as quickly as he can and sees about setting things right.  a member of the responders.  a mole in [redacted].  fire breather.  rebuilding the world has to start somewhere, so it might as well be west virginia.

dwemer:  the last surviving dwemer, finally peeking his head out of his lab in its pocket plane of oblivion to find the nords are at it again, dragons are still doing their thing, his people have just flat out vanished, and that skyrim is still cold as balls.  often gets mistaken as a very tall bosmer.  still calls the dunmer the chimer out of sheer smartassedness.  swung on rolf in windhelm and ends up in jail more times than you can shake a stick at.

single parent au:  handed off a baby under some shady as hell circumstances, unable to find out anything and secretly glad he can’t find out anything about her in the end, tony pulls some strings and sophie stark ends up hitting the jackpot as far as adoptive parents go.  tony had thought just being iron man was hard, but now he’s balancing ballet practice and pta meetings with saving the world.

[explorerpri]

I recently spent a month in India with my loving little 5 year old. It was wonderful to be amongst friends and family, not to mention have 30 fabulous sunny days with that perfect 75F temperature. The city I grew up in is now overpopulated with a lot of people moving in from other states, so the summers are a humid, hot mess for months, and the monsoon still wreaks havocs on the city due to floods and the resulting damage.

December, however, and even January, is just perfect. My son and I had a fabulous time jogging at the parks and having coconuts every morning. Mind you, if you have tried the Thai coconut and think Indian coconuts are the same, you couldn’t be more wrong! Indian coconuts have thin cream inside, which melts in the mouth (better than jello :)). My son has absolutely loved coconuts since he was less than 2 years old. And admittedly I beam with pride and joy that we share this love of coconuts. One time, we even chased a coconut cart in a rickshaw and pulled him to the side and bought a coconut. There are some things you can only do in India 🙂

While in India, we decided to embark on a 4-5 day trip to Rajasthan with my mom and my little guy. Jodhpur has a direct flight from where I live, so that seemed like a viable option. My favorite place in Rajasthan is most certainly Jaisalmer, also a World Heritage Site. To me, it is the most authentic city that bears the soul of Rajasthan – a majestic fort in the middle of the desert, rising from sand stone like a phoenix from the ashes, an astute reminder of a bygone era. Men with the longest mustaches you’ve ever seen, and one of the biggest deserts of the world, the Thar Dessert. Not to mention the food so delicious you will literally lick your fingers (or order more ;)).  I had visited as a teenager with my family many years ago, and I remember Jaisalmer so vividly I could sketch a picture of it with my mind’s eye. Here are some photos of Jaisalmer, just so you can visualize what I am talking about (these two are not taken by me, the rest on this site/page are my own photos):

Jaisalmer, being a good 5+ hour drive from Jodhpur though, with a heavy heart we skipped it this time and went to Khimsar instead, which is a small town that offers an authentic desert experience but happens to be much closer to Jodhpur (less than 2 hours by car). I figured since it was my first time traveling within India with my son, might be wise to keep things less tiring so we could spend more time relaxing and taking it all in. Khimsar was just perfect for a short trip, and did not disappoint at the many wonders it offers inspite of being such a small town. More about Khimsar below.

Jodhpur – Day 1: We took a morning flight from Jodhpur, which got us there about 11 am. Here we are at the airport, passing the time listening to music and taking selfies:

We reached Jodhpur about 11 am and started to make our way out of the airport. As we were walking past, a security guard/military officer asked me to stop. My brother had warned me to not take photos at Jodhpur airport since it is an active military base and photos are strictly prohibited. I had been careful though and not exhibited my usual enthusiasm at photography. I turned back to my officer and asked if everything was ok, to which he replied “Itne sare balloon hai. Bacche ko nahi denge to kya fayada” (“There are so many balloons here, what’s the point if we can’t give one to the child”).

It was just a few days after New Years Eve, so the airport was decorated with yellow and pink balloons. And before I could say another word, the officer removed two balloons from the wall and handed them to my son, who was absolutely delighted. I felt so welcome, and thankful to get this opportunity to show Neil “my India”. I wanted him to see the beautiful landscapes, animals and natural beauty of India, but most importantly the warmth and hospitality of the people. I wanted him to love India, the way I love India, and see it with my eyes, rather than the eyes of a foreign tourist, which he will inevitably do when he’s all grown up.

Our taxi driver was old and reliable – my brother had shared his number from a previous trip and I was thankful to not have to go with a random one. Our first stop in Jodhpur was Umed Bhavan Palace. It is atop a hill which means it can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. My son is hiding under his hat since it started to get so hot and the sun was in his face :)!

We went in and looked at the palace turned museum, marveling at the beautiful, precious artifacts used by kings and queens in the years past. “Wow, look at that beautiful blue decanter”, I would say to my son. “Oh, that means you think all the king’s things here are so beautiful, but not me. You don’t think I’m beautiful anymore”. Oh, my, my. I had to constantly reassure him that he was way more beautiful than all the artifacts in that entire museum. This is what I love about writing – I didn’t realize I remembered this wonderful memory about my son saying this until I started to write this! Here are some photos – a model of the palace, a conch shell with carvings, and the colorful decanters 🙂

One of the palace rooms had an outstanding collection of clocks, my favorite ones – the ‘windmill clock’ and the ‘renaissance chariot’ clock are below:

After the palace it was time to see the King’s collection of classic cars, which was breathtaking, given how shiny and impeccable these very old cars had been maintained. There was a Rolls Royce, a Jaguar, a Bentley, a Mercedes and practically every luxury car brand you can imagine. I have photos of these beautiful cars in my SLR camera which I will add here later.

After Umed Bhavan Palace, we headed over for lunch in a “Rajasthani Thali” place. It was a large meal ending with paan 🙂

After lunch, we headed to Mehranger Fort. This is the same fort where Christopher Nolan filmed the opening scene (and I believe some more) of the last movie of the Batman trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises”.  Bruce Wayne climbing up the tunnel of the fort and escaping out while the prisoner’s cheer on – well, that’s shot at the fort, and you can watch that scene here to jog your memory 🙂

Mom was a bit tired of the heat so she stayed downstairs, while my son and I got tickets and headed up to the upper floor of the fort on an elevator – and my I’m so glad we did!

Below you can find a pigeon flying off a tower of the majestic fort, and onto the beautiful “blue city” below. Note that the main city of Jodhpur lies on the other side of the fort, and this is perhaps the best spot in the city to get a bird’s eye view of the “old blue city”. If we had more time I would have definitely loved to explore the streets and get some more shots of the bright blue homes, but at least we got an amazing aerial view:

It was so sunny up there that my son was struggling to see, so I handed him my sunglasses which he carried quite well I must say! And then he was so interested in my SLR and begged me to let him take some shots, so here he is my little photographer:

I know blogs are supposed to be more about describing the place in words, but on this particular post I am including a lot of photos because words truly fall short of the beauty and scale of this place. If you imagine yourself standing atop this fort and close your eyes and imagine what it must have been like when the King had to decide to fight an enemy approaching this fort. Watch the movie Padmaavat if you want to really experience the grandeur and challenges of the olden days; ignore the political correctness and controversy, I am simply recommending the movie here so you can see what it was like to wage war from a fort, some 100 years ago :).

And of course, we couldn’t leave without seeing the guns and swords of the kings and queens (imagine the excitement of a 5 year old who is into power rangers and Ninja Turtles):

And last but not the least, notice the detailed carving work in each of the “jharokhas” of the fort in the back of our photo below. This one is my favorite because my little guy climbed on my back and it was just a playful, natural moment:

When we tried to take the elevator back down from the top of the fort, they asked us for tickets yet again. We realized we had forgotten to buy tickets to get back down. On a normal day, and if I was travelling alone, I would have walked down. But my son was tired so we hitched a ride on the elevator; only to be asked again by the security guys at the bottom if we had the ticket, or money to pay for it.

I fetched in my pocket and found nothing. Suddenly, my son handed me a note from his pocket. My mom had given him some money to keep just for fun, and who knew it would come in so handy! I told him he had “saved my life” but in reality saved me from a ton of hassle and embarrassment, but oh, well. He remembers this moment even now – “remember mom that time when I saved you by giving you money for the ticket?” 🙂

Finally we arrived at our hotel. It was a beautiful Haveli in the old city. It was amongst the hustle and bustle and yet once we reached our room it was so, so tranquil.

Our room was on the 3rd floor; luckily we had help with our bags. We had a beautiful room with a large window overlooking the fort and and old temple. It was twilight, the fort lit up, and the sky got darker. I could feel the happiness in my heart, it felt the universe had somehow fell into place; being there, in that moment. I longed to come back there alone sometime and write at the desk by the window. Perhaps I could write a whole small book in that one night, that’s how thought provoking and emotional that place was.

It was like sitting by a faraway lake alone, where you are still inside the forest but somehow far removed from the noises of the jungle. Where if you throw a pebble in the lake you will hear that as the only sound, and you will see the ripples in every widening circles. It is as if you have a piece of that tranquility all to yourself, to hold in the palms of your hands, yours to keep, forever. The photos I have below are not from my SLR and don’t quite do justice to the scene. That was the view from our window (below), notice the Mehrangar fort in the background and the old temple in the foreground:

Of course, my son found the real lock and key endlessly fascinating to play with:

Finally, before it got too dark, we headed up to the terrace which boasted among the best views of the Fort from the entire city; not to mention a small, cozy rooftop restaurant:

We ended the day as the smoke from ritual fires started coming in and the air didn’t seem as clean to be outside anymore; plus it got colder as this was the desert climate after all.

We retired to our beautiful room and the tranquil window, and had the most wonderful sleep in this jewel of a Haveli.

In the next post, let’s discover day 2 of the Rajasthan trip, where we head out from Jodhpur and onto Khimsar to another large, sprawling, majestic fort. And there, we will meet the beautiful Indian green parrots.

Until next time,

Pri.

Writing after a long time...getting my Rajasthan diaries going finally :0 I recently spent a month in India with my loving little 5 year old. It was wonderful to be amongst friends and family, not to mention have 30 fabulous sunny days with that perfect 75F temperature.