why do they let the worlds most boring people direct movies
They explain this in the tinkerbell movies. The light comes from the pixie dust covering every faries wings. This guy hasn’t even seen the tinkerbell movies
Okies I’m drunk but I think the most wisdom comes when you’re not in your non regular state of mind (I tell myself anyways) I think Nandors wife was kissing Guillermo so much at the end of the episode because ‘she wants what Nandor wants’ and what he wants is Guillermo 👀
Rare photos from trans history: Olympic runner and Zdeněk Koubek styles Cinda Glenn’s hair, 1936. Koubek was one of the first trans men to gain international fame after he transitioned in 1935.
this is inspiring weirdly complex emotions in me. like, it’s the fucking 1930s. I can hear the mid-atlantic newsreel voice. the fact that it plays coy with why he knows so much about women’s hairstyles, but like, as a funny surprise, not as shock and horror. the fact that it never deadnames him or uses incorrect pronouns. the fact that he looks like Mickey Rooney. idk it’s just making me feel feelings.
god i love reading about stupid drama in ancient greece. like there was an athlete named theagenes who was so good at every kind of athletic contest that when he died, one of his opponents would go to beat the shit out of a statue of him out of spite, but then one day the statue fell on the guy and killed him so the greeks took the statue to court for murder, convicted it, and threw it into the sea
For this game of dodgeball, I will be specifically targeting the gayest and most autistic among you to eliminate.
Okay so normal rules then
Okay, I had this idea to do the three defining fics of each month of 2021 for me, in a very self-indulgent and rambly way, and Lou said it wasn't a completely stupid idea so...here you go? This list will mostly be Wolfstar and Drarry with a few other pairs, but otherwise vary wildly in terms of date, rating, and themes. Please be sure to read all tags, etc.
This was a very turbulent year for me and I read so many fics and consumed so much art that helped me get through it - much of which didn't make it on here. I tried to narrow it down to the pieces that have really stuck with me or evoke very specific memories - the fics that I'll think of when I think of this year.
If you would like to do your own list, please do and tag me! However I will not tag anyone because this legit took me hours lol. We all have to preserve our energy around this time of year.
Without further ado:
I reentered fandom after years of not really engaging with it by reading All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 (Remus/Sirius, 526k, M) - and look, when I say it destroyed me, it destroyed me. It's now got the most amount of hits on Ao3 of any fic (nearly 5 million what) and deserves every single one. I don't think I could ever read it again, purely because of the inherent trauma of Remus and Sirius' canon stories, but I am so grateful to have read it and for how much MsKingBean89 has given the Wolfstar fandom.
So in an attempt to rebuild my serotonin, I turned to the wondrous Text Talk by @juuuuzou (Remus/Sirius, 141k, NR) and it was the most delightful reading experience. This fic has became one of my favourites to revisit and the dynamic between Remus and Sirius was so well done and gorgeous.
I also read Liebestraum by @quoththethestral (Remus/Sirius, 101k, E) and this was such a dreamy, heartbreaking, ultimately joyous fic. The sequel just dropped and I squealed when it hit my inbox. The pain and joy of seeing Wolfstar address their past and rebuild their relationship is breathtaking, and James and Lily are pure perfection.
I started off the month in magic realism heaven with Everything's Connected by mizdiz (Remus/Sirius, 44k, M). I think this was the fic that made me realise how creative it was possible to be with my own writing, and I was so inspired by the imagery and language of this fic. It has the classic hurt aspect of Wolfstar, but a whole lot of comfort too.
My next read was Alt Ed by nachodiablo (Remus/Sirius, 61k, M) and I very quickly bullied everyone in my life into reading it after. This story reimagines the Marauders if Remus were homeschooled and it's such a joyous ride - non-canon compliant, amazing Sirius and James friendship, boss Lily and Remus friendship, hilarious, witty, and so imaginative.
And then...I reread Running on Air by @tinyhistory (Harry/Draco, 74k, T) and boom, I'm back in my Drarry phase. This is such a popular fandom classic, but it's for an excellent reason - it's as close to a perfect story as I could possibly imagine. It made me want to be a better storyteller, because I fell for this story in a way I hadn't fallen for a story in a very long time. This fic genuinely changed my life in that way - I don't think I would have had the courage to start writing without it.
Hooo boy, Such Great Heights by aideomai (Harry/Draco, 93k, E) sucked me in and did not let me go. No matter what I'm reading, I look for elements of whimsy, and I think that's why I love aideomai so much. Obviously their other fics are excellent and I devoured them immediately - I especially loved In the Hand - but this fic was my entry point and therefore gained a very special place in my heart.
She Was Pretty by @skeptiquewrites (Parvati/Lavender, 4k, E) is one of those stories that punched me in the gut with feeling and depth. I am a massive Tee fan and I think the overwhelming feeling I get from her fics is home. This fic felt like home. It has the nuance and complexity that these girls deserve, a complete unravelling of JKR's misogynistic bullshit, and Tee's usual stunning prose. I read this perhaps five times in a row.
freely, as men strive for right is my favourite @bixgirl1 fic (Harry/Draco, 17k, E) which is saying a lot. I actually just reread it after typing that last sentence because I hadn't in a while - I am obsessed, it's fine. Ron's conversation with Harry in the kitchen - iykyk - is something I think about at least once a week? I think this fic, in short, is just everything I love about Drarry in relatively few words. I also adore examining relationships, watching them grow, rather than the story ending at the happy-ever-after. I love friends to lovers. I love this Draco. I love this fic with my entire being. I don't think I can drive home the point more???
The Ordeal of Being Known by @lou-isfake (Harry/Draco, 146k, M) came into my life exactly when I needed it. My anxiety at this point was so awful that I couldn't sleep more than a few hours a night, I wasn't eating, I wasn't functioning. I think that if you've read this fic - and at this point, if you haven't, what are you doing - you know how special it is, and I've certainly screamed at Lou enough about how much I adore it, but it truly has become my comfort read and something I revisit over and over when I need some joy.
I already yelled about A Brief History of Dragons by @eyra (Remus/Sirius, 21k, M) in this post but will I ever stop? Probably not. It's my favourite Wolfstar fic I've read this year, utter perfection, so creative and atmospheric and whimsical and heart-wrenching. It's the most beautiful depiction of neurodivergence and love I've ever encountered. I don't need to go on, you need to go and read it thx.
Oh gosh, Soup-pocalypse and the Great Curry Cataclysm by @norelationtoatticus (Harry/Draco, 104k, E) - much like TOOBK - came into my life when I most needed it and instantly became my safe little security blanket. I've probably read it six times (can you tell I'm autistic and latch onto familiarity???) and each time it's like a hot bubble bath for my soul. It's hilarious and endearing and charming and I just wanted to hug Draco and Harry the entire time. Plus, it's my favourite ever Harry raising Teddy fic.
This was the month GallaPlacidia entered my life and I read every single fic in a two-day hurt/comfort fever dream. However, my absolute favourite was The Bolthole, which Galla wrote with aideomai and @tepre (Harry/Draco, 54k, E). I started listening to it on the GallaPod while going for very long walks and something about it - the setting? the amazing believability of Harry's trauma and how it manifests? literally everything about this Draco? - got me. It made me cry in just the right way, and made me laugh just as much.
I then read If the Fates Allow by saras_girl (Harry/Draco, 80k, M) and - yeah, this is another fic that I just consider to be perfect??? Friends to lovers, mutual pining but Harry's an idiot, there's an adorable village, saras_girl signature cute and whimsy creatures, plus Harry has a dog!!!! I tell literally everyone to read this because it's just that good - and I couldn't tell you why this fluffy advent fic beat Turn or Foundations!verse for this spot (both fics were also favourites this year, and I read them all in a row) but perhaps it's just that it saw into my soul a little bit.
Okay babes, I need to find more people who have read Astra Inclinant by @tinyhistory (James Sirius Potter/Scorpius Malfoy, 336k, T), because at the moment I have only one (1!) person who understands the narrative MASTERPIECE that is this fic. I don't think I can even do it justice??? It's not epilogue compliant??? Harry and Draco are both single dads and James and Scorpius are only children???? Teddy is the actual love of my life??? Harry's growth as a father is the most emotional and beautiful thing in the world???? The slow burn isn't even painful because the journey is so sweet??? The wedding scene (iykyk) is the funniest fucking thing I've ever read????? I have highlighted quotes from it that I want read at my funeral. What can I say, I'm a prepared lad.
Look, Beneath a Big Blue Sky by @eyra (Remus/Sirius, 68k, E) is not the only reason I want to move to Yorkshire, but I'd be lying if I said I don't sometimes daydream about tiny lambs and rolling fields and Hope Lupin's crumpets. This story is so sweet and meandering and expansive, with Eyra's usual intricate and poetic writing, and this is now one of my Wolfstar staples. I'm going to cheat a little here and also throw in the Crowns and Coffee Cups series also by eyra (Remus/James, 9k, M) because this series got me into Wolfbucks and now I'm a bit obsessed.
Electric Light (Neville/Draco/Harry, 18k, E) is my favourite seefin fic and my favourite triad fic. I am a huge Neville fan (he's just a good boy) and I love his depiction here, as well as how he draws Harry and Draco together. Harry is utterly heartbreaking but so loving and loveable, and Draco is just trying his best (bless). The emotions in this fic feel so realistic and present and raw. This fic got me into exploring more triad fics and also looking at character studies in a new way.
Friends? Is That What We Are? by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (Draco/Harry, 33k, E) is the fic I go to now whenever I'm sad. It's just so funny and real and the most perfect friends-to-lovers scenario, and is full of the A+ banter and amazing chemistry I've come to associate with this author. June was a really difficult month for me and this fic made it so much brighter.
Well, Rooney. You've come out as trans and left your marriage. What are you going to do? You are going to read Just what the doctor ordered by @wolfstarting (Remus/Sirius, E, 96k) over and over again until you know every word of this damn perfect fic off by heart. I don't have enough good things to say about WrappedUp's writing and stories - I love all of them - but this fic pretty much carried me emotionally through the aftermath of my breakup and reminded me that 25 is actually really fucking young. Remus in this fic felt like he saw my soul. I'm obsessed.
This is also the month I met one of the best people in the world, because a friend sent me 1:40am by @softlystarstruck (Harry/Draco, 5k, T) and I then went through and read every single one of Bee's fics before sliding into their DMs and more or less begging them to be my friend. Something about 1:40am made me think that whoever wrote it had to have the most beautiful, lovely mind, and I was right.
I've been reading @lqtraintracks for years, but this was the month I read Heart Like Neon (Harry/Draco, 41k, E) and fell in love with LQT all over again. This fic just felt really comforting to me - Drarry's relationship was so well done and just gorgeous, the story was fascinating, and it has fantastic trans rep. After reading this, I went on a week long LQT binge and it was such a happy and horny and healing time for me.
Okay - sometimes, part of healing heartbreak is just consuming nonstop angst, and stitched and sewn by @wheezykat (Harry/Draco, 8k, E) is the perfect mix of heartbreaking and painful with an ending that warmed me to my toes. In a month where guilt and grief and overwhelm threatened to drown me, this fic was a hopeful reprieve, and I can't thank Kat enough for writing it.
In a similar vein, sometimes healing heartbreak is also just consuming things that feel like pure sunlight, and that's what Life goes not backward by @shealwaysreads (Harry/Draco, 9k, T) feels like to me. I read this sitting in my favourite spot, a quiet stretch of beach that tourists rarely find, and as I read the last line Evermore by Taylor Swift started playing and I burst into tears (I am nothing if not a gay cliche).
Rounding out this (frankly embarrassingly emotional) month was Modern Love by @tackytigerfic (Harry/Draco, 61k, E). I had seen this fic recced so many times and it did not disappoint. The development of Harry's relationship with Draco was perfect, slow and uncertain and wonderfully vulnerable all at once. It's such an original story, so perfectly executed and I devoured it. Also, I read the scene where the vicar and Draco kissed about five times and sometimes I hear Christ, Draco in my dreams and wake up in cold sweats of horniness.
I usually flat out refuse to read canon compliant Wolfstar because I try to not make my depression worse lol. Then my darling @scattered-moonlight said that annual honesty by @alwaysalreadyangry (Remus/Sirius, 18k, T) was their favourite fic and talked so much about it that I got sucked in...and I am so glad I did. Look. It's sad. It fucked me up in the best way possible. It's also one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. I couldn't recommend it more.
And then that trend continued because I came across the queer masterpiece that is Calamity's Child by @aibidil (Teddy/James Sirius, Remus/Sirius, 42k, E). Admittedly, it makes Wolfstar's story even sadder. I cried a lot. But it also healed and stitched me up so beautifully and filled me with a buzzing hope. Teddy's characterisation just spoke to me on a whole 'nother level - as a mid-twenty-something with a string of failed relationships, bad decisions, and still no idea what I want to be when I grow up, it just felt lovely to have someone be like "that's all okay! you'll get there!". This fic was an amazing tribute to queerness and queer history and I couldn't possibly love it more.
And then! AND THEN. @onbeinganangel and @babooshkart hit us with Quick as a Flash of Lightning, Unhurried as Eternity (Harry/Draco, 10k, E) and this whole masterpiece just...lit up my soul. Harry's internal dialogue was so heartbreaking but the promise of the future, the pure and utter joy of future Drarry, was just magnificent. When I finished this fic I was like "This is why I love Drarry." And Boo's incredible art - oh my god, I saved it onto my phone and stared at it for probably hours. Painful and joyous all at once.
Hello again my love @lou-isfake. This was the month I read Like the Son Holds the Moon and was instantly like, okay, favourite. But then I read Oh, Sinnerman (Harry/Draco, 40k, E) and it was like Lou tore open my chest and peered inside. I've never felt so raw after reading a fic. @babooshkart also produced art for this fic that I once again stared at for hours; Boo is so amazingly talented at capturing the essence of a story. I talked about this fic in this post as well but I think it was Harry's voice that really got me here - perfectly done.
This was also the month that Lou sent me a message saying "Roo, have you read The Taste of Țuică by @fluxweeed (Harry/Draco/Ron, 15k, E)?" after I spent twenty minutes waxing poetic about how much I love Ron Weasley. And then I read it. And reread it. And reread it. oh my fucking god. This fic. Let's put aside the scorching hot smut for a second and talk about the character study of Ron done here because it is flawless. FLAWLESS I TELL YOU. Godlike. Oh my fucking god. Also, as a Percy Weasley stan (which I will not apologise for) Show them the night that they dreamed about before has to be mentioned as well - kill me. ded.
And then, another comfort fic entered my life. Just Stay by @nv-md (Harry/Draco, 2.7k, M) is the mutual pining of my dreams. Not only is Ali an amazing beta, friend and all-round good egg, she is an incredible writer who captures love in such a special and tender way. This is the fic I read when I wake up at 3am after nightmares. It's my happy place.
Not to brag but I have very amazing friends who trust me with their words and I got the privilege to cheer read to be a bit of warmth (for you) by @softlystarstruck (Harry/Draco, 9.3k, M). Although I knew instantly it was going to be such a special story, rereading it once published still made me weep. Bee does hurt/comfort to perfection and this is no exception. The way Harry and Draco's relationship unfolds is so unique, so precious and tender and sweet, and it blows me away every single time.
You know how there are some fics where you just want to reach through the screen and personally thank the author for writing them? Yeah, Bridges by @cavendishbutterfly (Harry/Draco, 16k, E) is one of those fics for me. Set in Budapest - my favourite city ever, huge bonus points for that - this story not only has an impeccable Draco whom I love more than life, but is a wonderfully gentle and tender exploring sexuality narrative for Harry, and is just done with such care and joy.
Stupid Love by @the-sinking-ship (Harry/Draco, 17k, E) had me wheezing into my pillow at one in the morning. I read this after seeing the amazing artwork that @bluebutter-art did for this fic and it was so fantastic that I was like i have to read this fkn fic. It's so good. It's so funny. It's so quintessentially Drarry. You can just tell how much Sly loves this ship, and it's a fic I'll definitely be returning to over and over again.
I'm doing four recs here. Deal with it and read them all.
Starting off this month was a comic by the wondrous @bluebutter-art - so rest your weary heart with me. (Harry/Draco, M). I'm pretty sure this fic made my heart expand to about three times its regular size - my chest ached. Fuck. Blue's incredible style paired with the heartwrenching premise made for a blissful reading experience. I love it with every fibre of my being.
I read Special Recipe by @peachpety (Harry/Draco, 1.1k, T) after seeing @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm's gorgeous art for it here. I am a sucker for AUs, particularly college AUs, particularly with jock Harry. I've decided this fic is my love language. It's up to everyone else in my life to work out what that means.
Joy's art also led me to Mise en Place by @corvuscrowned (Harry/Draco, 5.4k, T) which - as someone who feeds everyone in my life rather than talking about my emotions - brought me endless joy. Draco was just perfectly sneaky, and Harry understandably oblivious. What a delight.
And finally, @m0srael's show me how to be your boy (Harry/Draco, 14k, E) is the hurt/comfort of my fucking dreams. Draco and Harry are so sweet and scared and gorgeous, Teddy is an angel, and I love unusual careers. This prompted an excellent cathartic cry and subsequent general contentedness after reading. Amazing.
...and that's the year! Please, if you read any of these fics, leave the authors kudos and comments and praise them for the brilliant work they do for this fandom. Thank you so much for carrying me through such a turbulent year, endlessly inspiring me, and letting me meet some of the most amazing people ever. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2022 xxx
[VD: TikTok by @/_kelseysherman
Music playing in the background: Slipping Through My Fingers by ABBA
Video Transcription:
Asking Tinder matches their most controversial opinions to save time :)
Conversation 1:
“What is your most controversial opinion”
“There is no gender pay gap! Yours?”
“Oh god”
Conversation 2:
“What is your most controversial opinion?”
“Legalised gay marriage 🙄
Hbu”“That you don’t agree with it?”
“Yeah lmao
Why’d u start the convo about this 😂”
Conversation 3:
“What is your most controversial opinion?”
“I don’t believe in lockdowns…survival of the fittest…let covid weed out week jeans from society…how about u?”
Conversation 4:
/end transcription]“What is your most controversial opinion?”
“Really?”
“Yes”
“Okay…here we go haha
The world is due for a serious culling
Was that too much? Haha”
For anyone not understanding why that’s funny
The spelling they meant was “genes”. I know I’m ruining the joke but there might be genuinely cool people who don’t know how to spell shit.
