#had a 'i hate my place of work and love my s/o(s)' pub crawl

[welcometogrouchland]

More @melaniemonth content! This time for the prompt 'romance', featuring me pushing my secondary characters polycule agenda

[carpemermaidtales]

Hello!!! ❤ I was thinking about my favorite scenes/lines from my favorite fics and got to wondering what scenes/lines stood out to the people who wrote them. Lolol. What would you say are your top 10 favorite bits from your fics?

Ok, well I spent ENTIRELY too long doing this lmao (like an embarrassingly long amount of time, so thaaaaaanks)! *squints at you* Picking felt impossible, because I think I have favorite parts from everything I write--each of them feel like my children I’ve raised and released into the world. Not to mention, some of it I’ve just plum forgotten and I’ve had to skim through my stuff and re-discover it LOL. And then there’s stuff tied up in anon fests, and wips that aren’t even posted yet, and every time I write something new, that becomes my new favorite bit. Sometimes it’s a snappy line I’ve managed, sometimes it’s a little bit of imagery, and sometimes it’s a scene that I was most excited to write when planning the story concept.BUT BOY HOWDY, HERE WE GOOOO (cut for mermaid rambling):

1. “Don’t be so smug, Potter, it doesn’t suit you. You don’t have the bone structure for it,” Draco drawled when he’d regained his composure. (From Partners of the Four-legged Variety) // Now, there’s actually a lot of parts to this one I love, but this is one of my favorite snarky Draco lines I’ve got in my repertoire. I really enjoyed exploring Harry’s past issues with his childhood through the veil of Crup training and contrasting it with Draco’s more firm methods and Harry’s more lax ideals. I also love the beginning from this, Draco’s visitor badge when he enters the Ministry still makes me smile./2. “Hermione says I shouldn’t cast duplication spells on things I’m actually wearing, so,” Potter says absently as he lays his trousers on a desk. “We had a mishap once, when we were on the run last year.” (From It’s Joggers Season [or so the Muggles say]) // This is also a fic I somehow managed to pull a post-war emotional plot out of with the premise of Joggers, so, there’s that, too. I’m also quite fond of Harry’s first entrance at the beginning of the fic./3. I don’t have any one favorite line, but I’m pretty happy with the way the imagery turned out in when life hands you (lulu)lemons :) Especially the way the sunlight is described./4. The beginning of Harry + Draco’s date in Chapter 2 of Never Feel the Burning Light, and in particular Draco’s exasperation at Harry changing in front of him. Also the walk to WWW after the date. Also Harry and Lucius’ stand off at dinner in Chapter 3./5. The intervening years into adulthood—the stint in prison and Remus’s own ongoing battle with his personal demons—hadn’t made the all-consuming need wane in the slightest. It had taken them some time, tiptoeing around each other as they mended the scraps of their friendship, tattered and broken by a war against a madman, but then there had been Firewhisky to help smooth the way.Sirius couldn’t even remember which of them had moved first, but suddenly they’d been kissing each other roughly with just as much fierce passion as they had in those secret hiding places, their hands hungrily mapping the changes in their bodies from boys into men and fingers tugging urgently at clothes until there was nothing but the drag of their fingertips against heated skin and the faint trembling in their bodies when they sagged against each other afterwards, sated and panting. Remus’s lips had twitched with an amused, tired smile and Sirius wanted to crawl inside his body and stay there forever, his heart thudding heavily in his chest. (from By the Light of the Moon) // The thing I love most about writing Wolfstar is all the angsty, heart-panging feels for these two broken men who had to grow up way too fast, so exploring some of that threaded with a quickie for that month’s DD theme was really enjoyable./6. The kiss by the sea in Weekenders, but I also had a lot of fun creating this from the art it’s inspired by, especially Harry introducing Draco to pub games. This whole thing is an exercise in Harry introducing Draco to the Muggle world and it was a lot of fun to play around with!/7. More Draco in the Muggle world from Never Got No Good Doing What I’m Told, and all of Harry’s stalking and his convoluted ideas for what Draco’s motives are for going to the market and watching movies at the cinema./8. Keith cut Lance off before he could admit to whatever—or whomever—he thought of in his masturbatory habits by jumping on him, still sweaty and disheveled from his training, and slapping his hand over Lance’s mouth, catching Lance’s laughter in his palm.Lance smelled like citrus and coconuts—something he made himself from a planet full of lush fruits and plants they’d discovered in deep space. Keith fought hard not to lean closer and bury his nose in Lance’s neck. He was warm and soft and laughing against Keith’s hand, and Keith’s heartbeat was suddenly rocketing out of control, pounding away inside his chest.Sometimes Keith really regretted his impulsive decisions, after the fact. (from [don’t] hold my breath) // I’m also really fond of the imagery of this one, especially the descriptions of water and Keith’s dream about kissing Lance underwater. S O F T./9. “Oh, that works,” Lance said, grateful to finally have some relief from the sharp tugs of skin and awkward sleeping positions. He waited a beat before leaning close to Keith’s ear to tease him. “You should’ve just said you were down to cuddle. I love being the big spoon, you know? Or the little spoon. I’m not picky.” (from Stuck on You) // I also really adore all of Keith and Lance’s bickering in this one, and the descriptions of the Dr Seuss jungle planet in the beginning./10. Annnd for the last one I thought I’d go with something from my WIP folder, but I’m not sure whether to share an except of the magically binding New Year’s Eve promises or this Love Bug/Soulmate/Fake Dating Garrison AU (a smorgasbord of Voltron tropes), soooo both?

The Love Bug AU: Keith is like an octopus, his arms winding around Lance’s neck and latching onto him when Lance tries to squirm out of his hold.“Uh, quick question, what the fuck?” Lance asks, shooting a helpless look at Hunk.Hunk shrugs, looking just as bewildered and surprised as Lance is in that moment.All Lance can focus on—aside from, uh, everything, about Keith being all over him—is that wow, okay, Keith actually smells really nice and his hair feels soft brushing against Lance’s cheek. Keith peers up at him and Lance’s stomach swoops when their eyes meet—and, holy shit, are Keith’s eyes actually some kind of indigo? Lance thought they were just dark before, but now he sees the complex color and gulps. This was not how he pictured his night of celebration going.

The Drarry Magically Binding New Year’s Eve Promises: The magic was making his mind work in a maelstrom of thoughts, shoving desires and questions at him left and right. Will you please go out with me? Can I kiss you? Did you enjoy your date on Valentine’s? When will you leave me to get married? Harry was panting by the time he managed to get his mind under control. He realised belatedly that Draco was speaking to him in an increasingly faster and worried tone.“…something you took? Are Ron and Hermione alright? You’re starting to scare me, can you say something?” Draco’s words rushed at him in a rush of sound.Harry felt like a plug had been pulled and all of the water had drained from his ears with a swirling gurgle. He turned and clung to Draco’s arms instead of the sofa.“Water?” Harry asked, his throat scratchy and dry.Draco’s eyes darted back and forth, holding his gaze for a moment before he pulled his wand from his pocket and summoned a glass to fill with Aguamenti. Harry’s lips twitched briefly. Draco apparently didn’t want to leave his side, even for a short moment to get a proper glass of water. He took the glass with shaking hands and gulped it down in three large swallows that left him huffing for breath.“Better?” Draco asked.Harry nodded, feeling some of the magic abating when it didn’t seem like Draco was going to turn him away or turn him down immediately. He supposed just having Draco’s undivided attention was enough for the Promise for the time being. Harry sagged back against the sofa, sinking down heavily to sit on the arm. Draco hated when he did that, but he didn’t complain this time. His face was etched with worry.“Good. Now, you’re going to tell me what the fuck that was as soon as you’ve caught your breath,” Draco commanded. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Harry’s eyes rested on his forearms, appreciating the way they flexed.

/I wanted to include parts from our collab, too, but I think I’ve forgotten which bits you wrote and which were mine because damn did we blend it all together well hahaha! This was super fun, boo, thanks for asking!! It made me think of taking this one step further and making it into a game: list your 10 fave parts from your fics and have people send in their favorite line/scene/etc from one of the fics listed! (people, consider this carte blanche to do that with this list)Expect me to come back at you with this question in your inbox, too!