#and now this is potentially problematique for me because I could get really attached to this dynamic if done well

[sitp-recs]

Rarepair Tag Game

Thank you @danpuff-ao3 for the tag! This was really fun 😍

Rules: List the top rarepairs that you like outside of your OTP, and why you ship it! (Criteria for what makes a rarepair is up to your own discretion.) tagging anyone who wants to do this, maybe @lqtraintracks and @writcraft if you feel like it?

Harry/Teddy

This ship has been a long-standing guilty pleasure fave ever since I’ve read the amazing When It Alteration Finds by the Hardy champion @lqtraintracks, many years ago. Shipping Starker (MCU) in 2019 made my love for Harry/Teddy come back even stronger because I can trace so many similarities between both ships (besides the obvious age gap). Pretty much like Tony and Peter, Harry and Teddy are war orphans whose paths wouldn’t necessarily cross only they did, and the mentor/father figure combo can lend itself to so many interesting narratives, both tender and angsty which is my ultimate jam. This was my very first ship that didn’t have the antagonist component - on the contrary, this brand of romance is even more heartbreaking because they’re so so seriously devoted to each other. They could have been best friends to lovers if not for the whole godfather+ age gap problematique but it makes the ship even more compelling to me. I love the guilt, the want, the inevitability of them falling into bed then hurting through the complications before finally getting together. My favorite fics include (you guessed it!) everything LQT has written especially Beneath a Foreign Moon and Coming Up for Air, plus the stunning Surface Texture by @the-starryknight.

Ron/Draco

I would never have considered this ship if I hadn’t stumbled upon the brilliant A Fine Foray into Fashionable Fellatio by @wellhalesbells - a masterpiece that remains my all-time favorite Dron fic because it finally opened my eyes to their sexual and emotional potential as a ship on its own, outside of Drarry’s shadow. Ron is such a fascinating character, so very different from Harry in his strengths and vulnerabilities, which makes his dynamics with Draco very unique and 100% different from Drarry fics. It’s a delight to see him as a protagonist, I love his sense of humor and I find the idea of exploring what brings him and Draco together (besides being tall Purebloods with strong feelings for Harry 😏) and what pulls them apart when it comes to wealth/status difference very refreshing and compelling. Lokifan handles it masterfully! Now, I might have come for hung!Ron smut, but I stayed for the feels. In the past year I’ve become more emotionally attached to this ship especially as dragon tamer pals thanks to the superb Dreaming Skies by @sweet-s0rr0w and @tackytigerfic and more recently, to a Dronarry gem that’s really a love letter to Dron, The Sun, Shining Above You by @oknowkiss

Ron/Harry

Young Liv couldn’t care less for “friends to lovers” but now that I’m older and mellow, those dynamics are slowly but surely working their way inside my heart. Gosh, I’m so soft for Rarry! I love the idea of them experimenting together as young and traumatized teenagers, and there’s something poetic and right about Harry falling in love with his first and best friend. My heart aches when I remember that Ron was Harry’s most precious person during the Tournament’s 2nd task, being with each other just feels right. Love me some confused pining, domesticity and slight possessiveness /jealousy for them, especially in a scenario where Draco’s involved (yes I am also here for the Dronarry agenda). My first contact with this ship was through Golden Trio fics and the catharsis of comfort sex during the Horcrux Hunt; it was the easiest thing to slide into Rarry afterwards. Now I see them everywhere and am low-key spreading the word among my most skeptical friends (@writcraft is probably thinking “wdym you were shipping them in my Drarry fic???”). If anyone’s curious about this ship or wants a break from enemies to lovers I strongly rec the darling Sun Kissed by @static-abyss,the angsty Prelude and Fugue by shes_gone, this hot af Kinkuary by iota the exquisite Silhouettes by @sweet-s0rr0w

#tag meme #hp rare pair #I could probably go on #but these will do for now haha

[niuxita21]

That said... TONI AND SHELBY????????????????????????????

#*maleficent voice* well well #gotta say I did NOT see that coming #I was so sure it was gonna be martha/shelby after that red herring of martha checking her out when she took her shirt off in ep 1 #even after toni was revealed to be gay I was like 'oh that's a cool twist that the confirmed gay character isn't part of the main f/f ship' #it was only after shelby had her bigot moment and did the whole 'straddling toni to give her the pill' thing that it clicked #but I still wasn't sure like they literally had to kiss right in front my salad for me to be like 'ooooh THAT'S the ship they're going with' #it's funny how I mentioned I'd always wanted a dislike-to-love romance between two women and this year I've seen two of those already #when it rains it pours I guess #and now this is potentially problematique for me because I could get really attached to this dynamic if done well #(in the... what... 3 episodes that are left?) #and thus will likely be unable to stop myself from watching season 2 WHY IS LIFE SO HARD #the tv gods are just on fire this year #thoughts no one cares about