#it just seems so on brand for him as a father in this fic 😂😂😂

[an-abyss-of-stars]

He Saw Her At Daybreak - Baby HeadCanon

Because try as I might, that 30k chapter is a BITCH to read through/edit rn 🤣

So here's a cute Rhaemond baby headcanon in the meantime!

So I'm thinking of a little cute scene, where 2yr/3yr old Vaella is sitting on her papa's lap while he's sitting the throne, listening to hearings or petitions or whatnot one morning.

She's swinging her little legs, clearly not paying attention to anything the adults are talking about. With a bowl of fruit/something for her to snack on, like sliced bananas or something. And I imagine that she can be a bit of a picky eater sometimes, so maybe the only way she actually agrees to eat her snack is if she hands some up for Aemond to eat too.

Like every other slice, she lifts her little hand with a slice for him to take, and he knows his little girl is trying to share them with him. So he eats them when she offers them, and it just makes Vaella so happy because she really thinks she's "helping papa!" by sharing her snacks with him 😂😂

I also think it's hilarious because whatever Lords or townsfolk who have come to stand before their Lording Prince, are just watching Aemond be super soft with his daughter. Like he's giving fatherly remarks like reminding her that he's only "sharing her snacks, not eating all of it for her", before he returns his icy focus back on his subjects without losing his flow at all with the discussions that were being held beforehand 😂

Man's gonna be threatening lives while reminding his toddler that fruits and vegetables are indeed good for her to eat 😂😂

[cuubism]

Okay so like...I don't really have anyone to scream about to sandman too, most of my friends are parts of different Fandoms

Just for anyone else read this: spoilers for the sandman below

BUT I have like such an issue with Alex burgess, like I hate Roderick I really really do but there is something about Alex that makes me so angry

Like truly, I believe that Roderick dying without getting punished is a crime but like....Alex held Dream for so much longer than his father

And I know there is the argument that like "dream could have just promised not to hurt him" but the fact that he literally left this man trapped naked in a fishbowl for an 80 extra years is literally horrific

I just....his father kept him locked up for greed and all that shit but Alex isn't really any better keeping him there just because he's worried about the consequences of his own actions. Like my guy...he definitely would have shown you more mercy had you let him out immediately.

Anyway, I feel like dream probably had a lot of issues surrounding Alex specifically that he had to work through because by all other measures he seemed like a decent dude and yet he did something so abborhent. I think it would take a lot and probably hobs perspective on things for him to be able to figure out the best way to rationalize that

i think you and @magnusbae would be friends on this issue 😂

yeah there's something almost more... frustrating and enraging about alex's brand of cowardice and passivity than there is in roderick's outright cruelty. roderick had a goal, at least. he was cruel but he ACKNOWLEDGED it, i don't think roderick at any point tried to say what he was doing wasn't horrible - i mean he justified it to himself but i think he also reveled in the cruelty. horrible, but like. at least the guy was honest

meanwhile alex tries to maintain this illusion of being a good person, or at least an innocent bystander, to the bitter end. tries to remove himself from the equation and the blame. only to incur more responsibility than his father by the time dream finally gets free. what's that quote? 'evil thrives because good men do nothing?' kind of simplistic, but yeah. alex may not initiate dream's torment, but he enables it for decades. tells himself it's justified because dream won't promise not to hurt him. looks away.

(relatedly, in this fic by equus8 (spoilers???) alex gets so sick of the guilt and condemnation he has to endure by looking at dream in his prison that he paints. the fucking. glass. with black paint. to cover him up. which is so fucked up and i'm so obsessed with it like. dark. incredible. ah. anyway)

but yeah there's something so messed up about alex's passivity and i agree it would be hard for dream to rationalize. the capacity for cruelty in otherwise decent people. the fact that people can so easily commit horrific acts out of fear. i think alex probably lived most of his life in fear -- fear of his father, then of his father's ghost (metaphorically speaking), then of dream. and it was fear that drove him, self-preservation. and it's hard to come to terms with that capacity for cruelty and how easily it can be triggered. if an innocent, good-hearted little boy can become... that... then can't anyone become anything? is there no constancy?

now i'm just thinking as i go, but like --

so dream must understand humanity to a certain extent, he has to understand the unconscious. that's literally his domain. and he understands, like... raw feelings too, i think? the feelings that exist deep in the mind, and come out in the dreaming, unfiltered by logic or reason. what dream doesn't grasp is the waking world - reason, consideration, changeability, tact, consequence, need - all these things that drive a line between what humans feel and what they do. there's a big gap between the sleeping/unconscious/subconscious mind and the waking mind and i wonder if that doesn't.... translate... for dream, especially because he doesn't spend much time in the waking world to learn it. how disappointing must it be, to see the grand dreams of humanity constantly in the dreaming, and then how few of them ever come to fruition, whether through simple human fallacy, basic needs not being met, societal factors, fear, or whatever-- or all the times humans will dream something and never speak it--- or act contrary to their own deepest feelings--- how exactly is dream meant to trust any humans when he has no idea how their dreams might translate into actions?

he sees what humanity can be and then what it's not, and that 'failure,' such as it is, would be depressing for anyone. and maybe hob can help him see that dreams aren't necessarily meant to be an achievable state of being, but rather an inspiration, a future goal to reach for, and also that failing to get there doesn't mean that nothing good was achieved, that no progress was made in the attempt. ("yeah okay sure mr. dreamer maybe we don't yet have the socialist agrarian utopia on mars people are building in the dreaming or whatever but we've eradicated smallpox so let's just count that as a win") (classic dream/hob "life is but torment :( " / "life is less torment than it used to be! :D " viewpoint dichotomy)

you all can let me know if this has any merit, maybe it doesn't, i'm just throwing shit at the wall now XD

[thestalwartheart]

Loving all the Bond morality discussion this morning! 😍 I'm not a writer and I'm sure have not considered all this as much as writers do, but it reminded me that from the v first watch of Spectre, my immediate reaction to Madeleine telling him 'you're a good man James' at the safe house in London was to laugh and sputter 'no he's not!' at the TV. I think the (film) writers come perilously close there to trying to attach a value judgement to him and that's just not realistic to me. No-one is all good or all bad, and who's to define what good and bad are anyway? He works for MI6, and before that other big military govt organisations and has surely adopted the 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' mantra. His role model was (his) M - 'it was the possibility of losing you vs the certainty of losing all those other agents'. He left Ronson (against his instinct to try to save him) to pursue the greater good.

In his personal life those he loves have left/been taken from him (parents, Klaus, Felix) or 'betrayed' him, either in his eyes (Madeleine) or for a complicated reasons (Vesper). He doesn't have a lot of incentive or example for being 'good'. I don't wish to woobify him obvs and he's an adult making capacitated decisions - he could walk away and open an orphanage or something, but his previous attempts to leave have been punished (Vesper's death, Madeleine's 'betrayal') or branded as selfish ("where the hell have you been? Enjoying death"). In some ways it must seem to him that the right and 'good' thing to do is stay with MI6.

This is all part of why I love the 00Q dynamic, bc Q is v far from being 'good' himself. He facilitates death on a large scale for the greater good. He probably won't expect much more from James, and probably understands that no one will ultimately come before his loyalty to MI6/England/duty however much James may love them. He absolutely judges James for destroying expensive equipment, but he probably won't judge him for the morally grey decisions he makes in the field.

I love a soft Bond fic - they make my heart happy, but I think you can have both in the same man. That's the joy of Craig Bond for me - he's always had both sides to him and shown a certain humanity, even while being the state sponsored murderer he is, throughout.

Crikey, that's a lot of probably meaningless rambling, and a LOT of parentheses! (Sorry 😊)

First of all, no calling your very well thought out analysis "meaningless rambling"! And secondly, you absolutely don't have to be a fic writer to have an excellent/deep understanding of these characters.

You've said a lot of wonderful things here, but I wanted to zero in on the point about not making value judgements on these character. Especially in-universe. I did a double take at that "you're a good man, James" line, too, because James is essentially in the same business her father was (of killing at least). I guess she decided that if you kill for the right reasons, it makes you good. Which, to me at least, doesn't seem like something a woman who hates guns would say. But hey ho. He didn't kill Blofeld at the end of SPECTRE, and I'm sure that counted for something for her.

I got distracted 😂 Back to value judgements - those who work for MI6 would likely have no place expecting more from each other than to try and do the best job they can. The job is so complicated. They have to make impossible choices in a split second. Take Ronson. That was awful to watch because you know all Bond wants to do is save him, but if he lets Patrice go, he's dooming countless other agents to horrible, horrible deaths, much worse than bleeding out relatively quickly from a gunshot wound (as awful as that is). I don't think Q, who gives Bond the weapons with which he wreaks havoc and destruction, would have any qualms about the blood on Bond's hands, perhaps apart from some very real concern about whether Bond is okay or not.

I don't think I will ever write this fic, but I've always wanted to do one where Q has to kill someone with a drone, or perhaps has to cope with a civilian casualty. I'm aware that, like my characterisation of Bond, my Q also veers towards the softer side, but I'd like to see him grapple with that sharp knife of morality. I'm not sure I have the wherewithal or the skill to write something that nuanced and get it right.

Finally, I love soft!Bond fic, because he is fucking soft when he's in love. It's made so much sweeter because of all the trauma he's faced. No person is ever just one thing. We are all far more complex than we recognise ourselves to be, and I think that's true of Bond too. Softness can come with darkness and pain, and often because of it.

Thank you for the ask, bishy! ❤️

[sitp-recs]

i know you rec lots of smut - what are some of the fluffiest fluff fics that make you smile?

Oof called out 😂 I gotta admit fluff is not my usual brand (gimme the dramah!) but these fics are adorable and quite fluffy! No Explicit works in here for once, lol. Hope you enjoy :)

He Whose Hand and Eye Are Gentle by khalulu (2017, G, 5k)

Draco reads poems and sometimes writes them. Harry receives poems and sometimes reads them. Rutherford delivers poems via the scenic route. Wombat snores. Eventually, all comes together, with help from the foxes in red bibs and the sumo referee.

Florean Fortescue The Third by QueenofThyme (2018, T, 5k)

Florean Forestcue The Third or "GET IT FORTESCUE BOY" follows the story of the grandson of Florean Fortescue and his attempts to run his ice cream parlour in peace. When new regulars, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, begin to shamelessly flirt with him, Florean the third uses his grandfather's famous flavours and his own quick powers of deduction to stop both customers bothering him once and for all.

A Hippogriff for Christmas by @xanthippe74 (2019, G, 6k)

Draco is desperately trying to fulfill four-year-old Scorpius’ dearest wish for Christmas: a visit with a live Hippogriff. Harry is desperately trying to be left alone, safely tucked away from the attention of the wizarding world as Hogwarts’ Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. It might take more than a father’s persistence to convince Harry to help make Scorpius’ Christmas dream come true.

Crystal Clear by @icmezzo (2014, T, 6.7k)

Harry customizes a snow globe. Draco listens to centaur weather reports. Ron investigates the height of Pansy’s boots. And Hermione knows even more than everything, as usual. (No one signs up for the class for lactating witches.)

Professor Potter and his Magical Menagerie by @dracogotgame (2016, T, 7.5k)

Harry Potter descends on Hogwarts with a horde of magical beasts. Professor Malfoy is not amused.

Life goes not backward by @shealwaysreads (2020, T, 9k)

Harry still isn’t used to gifts, but this one is different. A story of coming home, finding safe ground, and the wild courage of putting down roots. Leaving one life behind isn’t always a sacrifice, and sometimes the greatest good comes from embracing the people you love.

Along Came Potter by huldrejenta (2016, T, 9k)

Potter shows up at Draco’s flat. Then he shows up again, and again, and again.

A Hiss To Build a Dream On by xanthippe74 (2019, T, 10k)

Harry has a pash on a certain Slytherin. Draco has a snake that’s refusing to eat. When Draco asks him to use his Parseltongue skills to help, Harry sees the opportunity he’s been waiting for. There’s just one small problem: Harry can’t bring himself to tell Draco that he isn’t a Parselmouth anymore.

Love, Actually, is All Around by @punk-rock-yuppie (2020, T, 10k)

It's Christmastime, and Harry has just started as the new Minister of Magic. It just so happens that Draco works in his office as well, a holdover from Kingsley's tenure. Naturally, love is in the air.

In Which Harry is Magnetic North and Draco Is An Idiot by bryoneybrynn (2014, T, 13k)

For as long as he can remember, Draco’s been bringing fake dates to his family’s annual Yuletide celebration in order to evade his mother’s matchmaking. This year, Potter’s posing as his pretend boyfriend. But as the party gets underway, it gets unclear who’s playing who, who’s pretending what, who’s not pretending at all, and what the game really is. Confused? Yeah, so is Draco…

Fireworks by panicparade (2015, G, 15k)

It might have been years since he had last seen the Slytherin, but Harry knows he can easily spot that head of hair in a crowd. That’s definitely Malfoy. And he seems to be Harry’s new neighbour.

The Strongest Affinity by @eidheann (2014, T, 17k)

Trouble finding a wand for Scorpius leads Harry and Draco to something they never imagined.

The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by @cibeewastaken (2020, T, 19k)

Draco could grab Potter and shove him into a stall before proceeding to suck his soul out of his dick, but secretly, deep down, in the part of Draco that he will never admit to anyone, he is (everyone pauses to shudder) a romantic. Potter is not someone Draco wants a one-off with. Potter is — Draco’s beloved! So Draco decides to boldly go where no one has gone before: to put himself through scrutiny; their friends’ teasing and pranks; unsound romantic advice from a house-elf; wearing pretty clothes; all to try and win Potter’s heart through courtship.

Of Hoof Picks, Centaurs and Flight by @blamebrampton (2012, G, 21k)

Harry has promised that he will not do anything to upset the new head of Magical Creatures. Even if it is Draco Malfoy. When three centaur foals appear in Cumbria, far from the Forbidden Forest and all too close to Muggles, Harry’s promise is thoroughly tested. To say nothing of his equestrian skills.

Autumun Drarry Drabbles collection by @peachpety (2020, T, 28k)

I'll Floo Home for Christmas by jadepresley (2017, T, 39k)

The Ministry Christmas party is the biggest event of the year and Harry absolutely does not want to plan it, and he certainly, one hundred percent, does not have a crush on Draco Malfoy.