Why Do We Come To Earth? Just To Suffer?

Messaging people for the first time is so hard. What am I supposed to say? Like, "You seem really odd and your blog intrigues me. Do you want to have philosophical conversations or perhaps talk about fictional characters?" What! Whatever. I will just follow you back and stare at your blog with my big beautiful brown eyes.

gillyweed [original twitter post]

SLOWLY reuploading all my stuff from twitter... i Do Not trust that site

goblet of fire is one of my favs, especially the second task,,, love it when they switch up who gets caught in fics 🤭🤭

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: The Secret History - Donna Tartt Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Francis Abernathy/Richard Papen, Richard Papen/Judy Poovey, Francis Abernathy/Charles Macaulay, (referenced) Characters: Francis Abernathy, Richard Papen, Henry Winter, Judy Poovey, Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran, Camilla Macaulay, Charles Macaulay Additional Tags: Recreational Drug Use, Anal Sex, Angst, Rough Sex, Rough Kissing, Punching, They haven't found Bunny's body yet so everyone is going a bit crazy, Mental Breakdown, Richard Papen needs a hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Anxiety, Everyone is In Love With Everyone Summary:

“Your fear is the same as mine you see. Being mediocre”

An average kid in a public school in a small town in the middle of nowhere, dotted with average intelligence, average parents and an average house that looked identical to the rest of the ones in their street. Nothing noteworthy about the plain blurr of years that basically made up his entire life.

“Yes, mediocre. You’re afraid of being ordinary, unoriginal, unforgettable” Judy waved her hands around, preparing the killing blow. “And so you go to great lengths to fit in with the people who make you feel anything but. To please them and to make them feel grateful to you, so that they think twice before leaving”

“You’re not so different from me Richard. The difference is that you’ll continue slaving yourself away for something unreachable, frozen in place, while we all move on with our lives”

…

In which Richard has some harsh realizations

DRARRY WRITERS!!! GET UP PLS 😭😭WHY IS DRAMIONE FOUR PLACES ABOVE DRARRY?! and losing to JEGULUS?! get up drarry!! get up plsplspspls

😏 🤭 mmmm

james potter the man that you are

feeling called out today

credit: _ADWills

My submission for the @tomarrybigbang of 2024. Thank you to all the mods that helped organize this fest 💕

Explicit, 4.4k, Chapter 1

Summary:

Harry Potter is done.

He's been in the past for months now, working undercover as a poorly paid waiter in The Lounge: Britain's magical elite's favorite restaurant. He's more than ready to wrap things up, get the fuck out of 1953 and hug his godson again.

Enter, Tom Riddle: Dark Lord in The Making and Arsehole Extraordinaire. (And owner of The Most Fuckable Mouth Harry's seen since his days of shameless debauchery he was young.)

Impulse control has never been a strong suit of his, and this mission is proving to be the most difficult one yet.

My parter for this fest was the talented @00queasy00, who did this beautiful art!

Smutty hpdm fics

✨ Knickers in a twist / 86k / Draco loses a bet to Pansy and Blaise which leaves him wearing a skirt for a whole week. Harry discovers something about himself.

✨ as the plant that never blooms / 7k / "Something's wrong," Potter says again. "You have to take my wand. Stun me. Then call Ron."

✨ Intention / 6k / Harry really ought to listen to whatever Ron is saying, but it becomes impossible to focus when a familiar figure across the pub curls his fingers around another man’s tie. And when that man leans in with a wolfish smile, Harry sees red, and all he can think is mine.

✨ Aura Reader / 311k / Harry is in Sixth year. He has the Potions textbook formerly belonging to the 'Half-blood Prince.'

Within the pages of that notebook is a mysterious spell, one which gives Harry a new insight into the emotional state of those around him.

Naturally, when Harry finds Malfoy in a bathroom, crying, and in great distress... well, what can you expect of a person known for his 'saving people thing'?

✨ Screw you / 15k / One fine morning in the Great Hall, a defective magical product reveals several couples who've recently had sex with each other. It's an unfortunate event for Harry and Draco, who, since the beginning of Eighth Year, have been secretly fucking each other all over the castle.

✨ Passably wrecked / 4k / “Potter,” Malfoy says, sitting down next to him at breakfast. “I think we should have sex.”

✨ It beats black and blue but it fucks me so good / 21k / “You haven’t called me for a while.”

Draco shrugs, holding his head up high. “Yes. And?”

“And. I know exactly what that means.”

Draco raises a single brow, blinking slowly. He looks unimpressed. “It means I’ve forgotten you exist. It means I’m completely and utterly over you, no matter how much your overinflated ego tries to convince you otherwise. It means —

“It means you haven’t been properly fucked in ages.”

✨ move fast, keep quiet / 8k / Harry’s good at his job. He likes his job. He’d be pretty satisfied staying at his job for the rest of his life. Whether they’ll allow him to stay in his job after punching his boss’ nephew square in the face is another story.

Well, Harry figures that the bastard shouldn’t have been spewing such filth about Malfoy, anyway. If he privately thinks the very same lewd things about his enemy-turned-awkward-acquaintance, well, that’s completely and utterly irrelevant.

*

Or, Harry and Draco aren’t very good at using their words. Eye contact works for a while, until hands and mouths work considerably better at getting their points across.

Marge as a mirror for Petunia's class anxiety

Re-reading PoA for the billionth time (thank you insomnia), I found Marge and Petunia’s dynamic fascinating.

The few scenes of them together reveal much about their relationship. Marge, with her overbearing confidence and crass behaviour, embodies everything Petunia cannot afford to be: loud, unapologetic, and entirely unbothered by societal judgment. Petunia’s deference to Marge is not born of affection or respect but of necessity (a desperate bid to secure her tenuous position within the Dursley family and, by extension, the social status she clings to so desperately).

From the moment Marge strides into the Dursley home, the imbalance of power between the two women is clear. Marge ignores Harry entirely, treating him like a "hat stand," and greets Petunia with a brusque, physical dominance, "bumping her large jaw against Petunia’s bony cheekbone." This awkward, perfunctory exchange is far from a warm familial embrace; it is a collision of two bodies that reflects the transactional and hierarchical nature of their relationship. Marge’s large jaw (symbolic of her overbearing personality) contrasts with Petunia’s "bony cheekbone," underscoring Petunia’s fragility, both physical and social. This brusque greeting sets the tone for the rest of their interactions, where Marge’s dominance and Petunia’s submissiveness are repeatedly reinforced.

This dynamic becomes even clearer in the kitchen, where Marge’s dog, Ripper, disrupts the pristine order Petunia painstakingly maintains. Despite her evident dislike of animals (Harry observes her "wince slightly as tea and drool flecked her clean floor"), Petunia says nothing, allowing Ripper free rein. This small act of submission symbolises a broader pattern: Petunia is willing to sacrifice her comfort and preferences to maintain Marge’s approval. The scene illustrates how Petunia’s obsession with control and refinement crumbles in the face of Marge’s unapologetic intrusion.

The tension between Petunia’s forced refinement and Marge’s unapologetic crassness comes to a head during Marge’s final dinner:

"‘Aah,’ said Aunt Marge, smacking her lips and putting the empty brandy glass back down. ‘Excellent nosh, Petunia. It’s normally just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after.’ She burped richly and patted her great tweed stomach."

Here, Petunia’s exaggerated manners (such as sipping coffee with her "little finger sticking out") highlight her performance of refinement, a middle-class aspiration to maintain appearances. Marge, however, is wholly unconcerned with such performances. Her casual dismissal of Petunia’s elaborate dinner—"It’s normally just a fry-up for me"—strips Petunia’s efforts of their meaning. Marge’s behaviour (which includes "burping richly" and patting her stomach) is not a lapse in decorum but an expression of her confidence and entitlement. She does not perform respectability because she feels no need to prove it; her unbothered nature is tied to her place in Vernon’s family and the social hierarchy it represents. 

Petunia’s deference to Marge extends beyond hosting, reaching into darker territory: her complicity in Marge’s mistreatment of Harry. At Dudley’s fifth birthday party, Marge strikes Harry with her walking stick to stop him from beating Dudley at musical statues (an act of casual violence Petunia allows without objection). Years later, Marge gifts Dudley a "computerised robot" for Christmas while presenting Harry with a box of dog biscuits. These acts of cruelty are not merely expressions of Marge’s disdain for Harry but also tests of Petunia’s loyalty. By remaining silent, Petunia reinforces the household hierarchy and aligns herself with Marge and Vernon. Harry’s humiliation becomes a scapegoat for Petunia’s insecurities (deflecting attention from the precariousness of her own position within the family).

This dynamic reaches its sharpest expression during Marge’s comments about bloodlines:

"‘It all comes down to blood, as I was saying the other day. Bad blood will out. Now, I’m not saying anything against your family, Petunia—I mean, your sister was a bad egg. But it’s no wonder Harry turned out the way he did, bad blood will out in the end.’"

The qualifier, "I’m not saying anything against your family," is transparently disingenuous (as Marge proceeds to disparage Lily directly). This backhanded insult cuts to the heart of Petunia’s anxieties. Marge’s comments about "bad blood" are not just an attack on Harry but a veiled critique of Petunia’s background (drawing attention to the very aspects of her identity she seeks to suppress: her connection to Lily and her working-class roots). Petunia’s silence here is significant. Rather than defending Lily or Harry, she aligns herself with Marge’s prejudices (prioritising her need to conform to Vernon’s family over her own familial bonds). This act of complicity underscores Petunia’s internalised shame and her desperation to distance herself from the parts of her identity that threaten her constructed respectability.

Ultimately, Petunia’s relationship with Marge highlights the fragility of her middle-class aspirations. Marge’s confidence and rejection of societal judgment starkly contrast with Petunia’s anxious performance of refinement (exposing the futility of her efforts to maintain control). Petunia’s silence, her meticulous hosting, and her complicity in Marge’s cruelty all reflect the deep insecurities that define her character. Beneath the brittle facade of china cups and polished floors lies a woman desperate to preserve a respectability that remains forever out of reach.

Stop this is so perfect

i have this headcanon (that’s literally my roman empire rn) that harry ron and hermione have a way of instantly calming each other down if one of them is panicking

harry’s the center cus he’s.. got the most issues let’s be honest

but they have a secret hand gesture that they make to the other two when panicking, putting their hand on their chest and rubbing in circles (please in sign)

ron will slide behind harry and wrap his arms around his waist, and hermione will come to his front and bury her head in his neck, and everything else won’t matter anymore

it’s something about ron holding him and hermiones hair being in his face, her scent enveloping his senses and he just feels.. safe. like nothing else matters

his two people are here and everything is going to be okay