thistlecatfics

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Sirius and Remus

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https://www.patreon.com/TheInsaneum

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She's the Albatross (She's Here to Destroy You), 313 words for @torturedpoetsflashfest

Beautiful, poised Narcissa Black Malfoy, so unlike her mad sisters with their insistence on destruction.

Based on "The Albatross" and with a word count ending in 13.

Read on Ao3 or below the cut

A rose by any other name is a scandal

The name of mad Andromeda Tonks was in the papers and on everyone’s lips at Hogwarts, and, still, Narcissa held her head high in the corridors. She only cried when she drank firewhisky with Dorcas in the dormitory, emotions anointed in burning liquor beneath the lake. 

Andromeda taught the first lesson on destruction: a name change can send a world up in smoke, leaving only a burn mark on a tapestry and scars on a heart. 

One less temptress, one less dagger to sharpen

At night, Narcissa dreamed of Bellatrix in Azkaban. Sometimes, her ink black hair grew longer and wilder until it grew so vast it choked all of Britain in darkness. Other times, she dug her way out and emerged on the manor lawn, her hands bloody stumps and her mouth full of dirt. 

It became easier to pretend she was dead. The Lady Malfoy had two sisters, deceased. How sad, how tragic. She hosted lovely parties, and she raised a lovely son. 

When Bellatrix emerged from Azkaban – skeletal, darkened teeth to match dark eyes, dark hair, dark soul – she looked familiar. 

Her sisters were gone, but Narcissa loved the monster standing before her.

Even as she beckoned her inside, she feared what lesson in destruction Bellatrix might teach. 

So I crossed my thoughtless heart/ Spread my wings like a parachute

Her hair, the black and white of an albatross’s wings, hung down to shield the little fallen fledgling below her in the forest. 

Narcissa gave the lie on her lips the flavour of truth and let it float, and she followed the Lord and the lie to the castle. Having undone an immortal man and his army, she flew away from the rocks and the rubble with her mate and her snow white baby bird in tow. 

No further lessons needed. 

[thistlecatfics]

Truly the most vital survival tool in fandom is a little group of friends to bitch about bad takes with

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I challenged myself to paint at least(!) one Sirius Black art a month this year, so here is the April painting! And as I haven’t had much time in April, I made a more detailed artwork :') Well, but it was a lot of fun! I also added a close up because I really like his face in this one :)

#oh my god oh my god #sirius black #lkjlkjalkjdf #the TALENT #the PERFECTION

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"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

#i've become such a libby convert this year #it's great! #I'm reading and listening to almost twice as many books as I have in the past few years #because it's so easy and free #library

[thistlecatfics]

Hello! I don´t know if you still sharing your opinions about ships? But if you are, i would love to hear your thoughts on Ludo Bagman/Augustus Rookwood, Amelia Bones/Emmeline Vance, Igor Karkaroff/Augustus Rookwood, and Rodolphus /Bellatrix/Voldemort.

thank you very much for the ask, anon! and i will never log off from doing these.

ludo bagman/augustus rookwood

i fully back this.

i'm on the record that i think bagman was a genuine death eater sympathiser, but that he was not a marked member of voldemort's inner circle - rather, that he was a low-level informant rookwood convinced to nab state secrets from filing cabinets by promising to give him "a job" afterwards.

in canon, the people who hear bagman explain this at his trial all assume he means "job" in the gainful employment sense.

skill issue. those of us who have reached a higher level of understanding know that he meant "job" in the... other sense.

amelia bones/emmeline vance

yes, absolutely - but only if they're both older women, since i've never vibed with the idea of everyone who was involved with the order/the ministry during the first war being the same age as the marauders.

instead, i am hooked on the exquisitely tragic potential of the two having come together during the first war as women who were already middle-aged - seeking comfort from both the unrelenting horror of what they were living through and from having to present bulletproof, hard-nosed masks to the world in order to survive in what is very clearly a man's world - and then thinking, after 1981, that it might be possible for them to be happy now that voldemort was guaranteed to not be coming back...

which is then derailed by amelia taking the ministry line during the order of the phoenix timeline, and not being able to face the idea that the dark lord might have returned. leading to a messy break-up when emmeline rejoins the reformed order.

and then the potential of reconciliation, after fudge is forced to acknowledge that dumbledore was telling the truth and amelia reaches out to her love to eat humble pie.

they were planning to meet up for lunch - and each was secretly hoping it would turn into more than that - later that week.

nobody told lord voldemort that him deciding to have them both murdered would rather interfere with those plans...

igor karkaroff/augustus rookwood

canon.

the list of death eaters which karkaroff gives in his attempt to be released from azkaban is sufficiently disorganised [he doesn't seem to target specific lines of voldemort's operation, for example - rookwood is the only ministry-based informant he names] that he's evidently just airing personal grievances for fun and profit.

rookwood gets dragged into it, then, because he persuaded karkaroff to break up with his boyfriend of six years, nailed him once, and then ghosted him.

bellatrix lestrange/rodolphus lestrange/lord voldemort

also canon, but only if the configuration of the triad is that only bellatrix and voldemort fuck.

rodolphus is an aroace icon, living his best life in a queerplatonic throuple. he has this specific vibe:

#nah this is all totally hinged #nothing unhinged #rarepairs #all checks out #though this reminds me I want to write my oliver wood ludo bagman fic

[thistlecatfics]

I don’t know which author needs to hear this right now but even if you never update your wip i would never regret reading it a time of joy is never wasted

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Suzanne Rivecca, Ugly Bitter and True

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#the oc

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Mary Oliver, from “Hum Hum”, A Thousand Mornings

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FEST RECAP

Thank you all for a wonderful flash fest! 24 fics based on 16 songs with the most popular being "The Prophecy," "Peter," and "But Daddy I Love Him." The Black cousins reign supreme over this album with Regulus (7), Sirius (6), Andromeda (5), Narcissa (5) and Bellatrix (4) being the most popular characters. 9 fics met the challenge of having a word count which ends with 13.

Thank you to all the writers, and maybe we'll see you again for a flash fest for Rep (tv). In the meantime, come hang out in @marauders-taylor-fiending discord server or participate in @thetorturedpoetsfest <3

She's the Albatross (She's Here to Destroy You) by thistlecat (Narcissa centric, 313, T)

Beautiful, poised Narcissa Black Malfoy, so unlike her mad sisters with their insistence on destruction. Song: The Albatross

Did you really beam me up in a cloud of sparkling dust just to send me back where I came from? by @comesitintheclover (Harry-centric, 1013 words, G)

Harry wakes up from a long nightmare where he reckons with the anger of being left in an abusive home and how to feel about all that he's been through now that it's finally over and he's finally safe. Song: Down Bad

If Only by multilingualism (Hermione/Severus, 1013, T)

Severus imagines what could have been.

A greater woman has faith by @sugarsnappeases (Lily/Sybill, 3849, T)

they're exes. they're miserable. things ensue.

Song: The Prophecy

Take the Glory, Give Everything by MidnightStargazer (Narcissa & Regulus, Narcissa & Draco, 743, T)

Regulus dreams of glory, longing to make a name for himself and be remembered. Eighteen years later, Draco does the same. Narcissa knows better. Song: Clara Bow

The Prophecy by eggmett (Regulus/Tom Riddle, 1013, M)

The prophecy—For neither can live while the other survives. The thing that had finally sent Tom over the edge. Confimation that he would fall before he had even finished rising. But the omen sentenced us to death that day too. Tom and I would never be free of each other as long as we’re both alive. We’d never be able to live inside this toxic world we built. It didn’t stop me for yearning for it. I’ll always be desparate for his attention. Desparate for his touch. Song: The Prophecy

Promises, Oceans Deep by @sixlane (Regulus & Sirius, 2357, T)

Regulus lies awake on the night of his 14th birthday, running through the plan over and over in his mind. He’s had years to work it out, make sure it’s perfect, but tonight it becomes real, no room for messing up. If he’s caught, he’s dead. He knows this like he knows his own name. A truth his parents have been telling him since Sirius left. or, Regulus executes his escape to meet his brother, but he must soon face the fact that he's been left behind. When Sirius finally turns up, he's seven years too late. Song: Peter

A Dangerous Man by MidnightStargazer (Lucius/Narcissa, 695, T)

Lucius has blood on his hands and owes his allegiance to Lord Voldemort, but Narcissa doesn't care. Song: I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

what if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind? by @thistlecatfics (Sirius/Regulus, 1013, E)

Regulus and Sirius are brothers. Regulus and Sirius are no longer brothers. Or, a culmination of fatal fantasies. Song: Guilty as Sin

Peter by Faelostinwoods (Marlene & Peter, 229, G)

Peter had been angry, angry at his friends who treating him worse as the war got worse, angry at dumbledore for not protecting them, angry at whoever created his story because it was getting worse. He had joined the death eaters, in a desperate attempt to change his outcome. Yet, he didn’t expect it to go this far. Song: Peter

my absence makes headlines by @plecotusauritus (Sirius-centric, 459, G)

the scandal was contained the bullet had just grazed at all cost keep your good name you don't get to tell me you feel bad Song: Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

Forever Guilty, of Sin by @nena-96 (Hermione/Ron, 2148, M)

Hermione is alone inside the tent, as she tried to read The Tales of Beedle the Bard, but her memories blend in with the guilty fantasy that was being with Ron Weasley. Song: Guilty as Sin

loml by @emlovessid (Regulus/James, 1013, M)

It’s only been a few weeks since he’s been able to put words to it, but the feeling itself has been there from the beginning, from the first twining of hands and hitching of breath as their lips brushed, growing and growing until– “I love you,” James sighs, the words tumbling out as he breathes freely for the first time in weeks. “You might be the love of my life, actually.” Song: loml

So Long, London by @tealeavesandtrash (Sirius/Remus, 1013, T)

The silence hangs heavy, dead air suffocating. The sky outside is covered in grey clouds, casting the kitchen gloomy shadows. The pathetic fallacy is well-suited at least. Sirius’ eyes burn into him, staring him down over a cup of tea. It makes Remus’ skin crawl worse than the half-healed scars that litter his arms and back. He focuses on buttering the dry toast. Three months ago Sirius would have had breakfast ready for him when he came home. Six months ago he was still begging to spend the full moon together. Song: So Long, London

Burn My Life Down by @thecasualauthor (Andromeda/Ted, 637, G)

She sees everything about her life burn to ashes. Song: But Daddy I Love Him

Slow Quicksand, Poisoned Blood by @nodirectionhome-ao3 (James/Lily, 913, T)

After learning of the prophecy that threatens to doom her son, Lily begs the cosmos to spare him from this fate. Song: The Prophecy

I might just love you 'til the end by @ncoincidences (James/Lily, 1013, G)

James and Lily have been together since high school, seven years with each other. Recently, they have been drifting apart... will they make it till the end? Song: imgonnagetyouback

These Fatal Fantasies by MidnightStargazer (Bellatrix/Tom, Bellatrix/Rodolphus, 606, M)

Bellatrix is faithful to her husband. Technically. But her heart belongs to the Dark Lord. Song: Guilty as Sin

Mine Alone to Disgrace by MidnightStargazer (Andromeda/Ted, 474, G)

Andromeda tells her parents she's engaged to Ted Tonks Song: But Daddy I Love Him

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart by MidnightStargazer (Narcissa centric, 770, T)

Narcissa won't let anyone see her cry, even when her heart is breaking. Song: I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

but now we’ll curtail your curiosity (in sweetness) by @chemicalwildflowers (Andromeda & Tonks, Andromeda & Bellatrix, 215, G)

Nymphadora finds an old photo. Andromeda wants to protect her, for just one more day. Song: Robin

The Black Dog by ghstboys (Sirius/Remus, Remus/Tonks, 154, unrated)

Sirius watches Remus and Tonks from the afterlife. Song: The Black Dog

But Daddy I Love Him by @miss-grimwood (Bellatrix/Rodolphus, 146, T)

Bellatrix tries her best to avoid an arranged marriage with Lucius Malfoy in favour of Rodolphus Lestrange. Song: But Daddy I Love Him

said you’d come and get me but you were twenty-five (and the shelf life of those fantasies has expired) by @effiepotterisamilf (Regulus & Sirius, 295, G)

It’s Sirius’ 25th birthday and he’s not coming back for Regulus. Song: Peter

#wooooo another successful fest in the books #taylor swift #hp fests #fest recap

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@microficmay Day 23 Hubris Characters, Pairing: Lily/Narcissa 100 words, content: break-up

They had always made fun of his affectation, secretly in hidden corners, arm to arm, on the astronomy tower in the middle of the night, the early hours of the morning on weekends, sometimes with smuggled weed or alcohol, pressed close together, sometimes dressed only in a single blanket.

The day after her last final exam, Lily was not only jolted out of the school world into reality when she saw the sparkling ring on Narcissa's hand that must have cost more money than she could imagine.

"He? Narcissa?"

"It's a family decision."

"I really thought, you're your own person."

#narlily #the angst of it all I love

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Suzanne Shifflett

#butch femme

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No none of the above this is for the wine enjoyers

#I honestly didn't realize so many people liked sweet wines #white dry then rose dry then red dry #then rose medium then white medium then red medium #and then absolutely not #wine

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With No Spine Intact by xylodemon (3.5k, E, Sirius/Regulus, James, Remus)

You can't always get what you want, even when you're Sirius Black.

Starting off strong with 3.5k of delicious angst from 2008!

The kind of angst you read as a teenager and then it sticks with you for a decade? Yup. Sirius, Sirius, Sirius, my love. Read for the feel of old school fandom - dark, canon-compliant, denying that they're gay. I found this the height of tragic romance as a teenager, and honestly I still do.

These are the versions of the characters that fandom burned into my soul in the 2000s and they're still my favorites.

For @hprecfest