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saintgilbertOkay, so first of all, my gift from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
hd_holidays.
Every Fifteen Seconds by anon, H/D, NC-17. 20,540 words. Warnings for violence and bloodiness, from the violence.
Summary: The faceless men Draco Malfoy fights these days don’t offer redemption or salvation. They don’t offer answers or even friendship. Draco is tired of answers, and though he still has a few friends, most of them have lives of their own and can’t understand how Draco is still haunted by the ghost of someone he hasn’t seen in four years. And as for salvation, Draco gave up on that years ago. Because even the Saviour couldn’t be saved.
This is the comment I left, apologies for it being a bit scattered and all over the place, I was really excited:
The contrast between Draco's memories and the present was so expertly done. The memories felt just like that, memories; there was a sort of stillness to them, like, the pacing was exactly right. Not too slow as to feel explanatory, and not too fast as to feel inauthentic. Just, a sort of angsty sense of Draco making peace with his past, and casting it aside so he could live in the present, you know?
And then the fight scenes! So visceral, it truly felt like Draco had this kind of urgency to his actions, like he was rushing and fighting because otherwise he would be lost to his own mind. GUH. Even the sex was rushed, and I mean that in the best way possible, of course.
It felt really balanced, I guess, like Draco and Harry are always opposing personalities, and you get this sense that Draco is the one who really grows up, you know, even if his violence is the means to achieve that, while Harry just keeps running, something that Draco has done so much in the books, so obviously they still understand each other at a base level.
Thank you for working with my prompt, I'm unfailingly bad at prompting, hah! I adored the smoking in this (and characteristically sat outside in the cold chain-smoking while I read it)! And gardener!Draco was perfect. Oh, and the semi-public sex! I'm really happy that was in there too. Oh, and GINNY!!! *FLAILS*
It's hard to choose, but these are the bits I really loved:
"Draco pulls a cigarette from the crumpled box in his pocket and lights it as he walks, revelling in the comforting burn that fills his lungs, but savouring even more the harsh, spicy taste on his tongue. The memory that goes with that taste is more crushing than the rest. It’s the one that drives him to underground clubs and dark alleyways night after night, the one that’s driven him here for four long years. "
"Draco wakes to the unfamiliar feeling of another person pressed against him. The night before rushes into his mind at the same time his body registers that the warm back pressed against his chest is Harry’s, and he feels a surge of lust-driven adrenaline. Harry Potter, in his bed - well, he’s in Harry’s bed, but that’s just semantics - after all this time."
Next is fromhp_emofest.
Festival Night by anon, Draco/Albus Severus, NC-17. 6780 words. Warnings for age disparity: 49/23.
Summary: Scorpius is getting married, and Albus Severus is the best man. At the wedding, Draco is feeling old, fat and maudlin, watching his son take this huge step, so he goes off for a walk in the Manor gardens. Albus Severus follows him.
Why it's genius: First of all, Draco describing himself as a "divorced ex-Death Eater poof" is fantastic, and this is hot as hell. Most of the things I've read with this pairing have had a distinct D/s vibe to them, which I love (obviously), but here it's almost blessedly missing. Instead, Albus is stunningly sincere, and Draco reads as... coming back out of his sexual retirement, if you will. Basically, it had me at: outdoor sex and fat admiration.
Lucky last is a piece of art fromnextgen_mas.
By My Rules by anon, Teddy/James II, PG.
Summary: James plays a little game. Teddy wasn't really up to it.
Why I love it: I was sold at 'watercolours'. This is beautiful. The colours are crisp and sharp, and each choice for their hair, clothes, etc. is wonderfully deliberate and appropriate. Admittedly I'm yet to really get into next gen, but Teddy is sort of my current exception to that rule. He's sort of reminiscent of Remus here; he's a little sad, and seems to consider every word carefully. James is adorably boisterous, and it all just works.
On a side note, I still haven't really settled into a way of reccing things that I feel 100% comfortable with. Darling f-list, what is your favourite way of laying things out?
hd_holidays. Every Fifteen Seconds by anon, H/D, NC-17. 20,540 words. Warnings for violence and bloodiness, from the violence.
Summary: The faceless men Draco Malfoy fights these days don’t offer redemption or salvation. They don’t offer answers or even friendship. Draco is tired of answers, and though he still has a few friends, most of them have lives of their own and can’t understand how Draco is still haunted by the ghost of someone he hasn’t seen in four years. And as for salvation, Draco gave up on that years ago. Because even the Saviour couldn’t be saved.
This is the comment I left, apologies for it being a bit scattered and all over the place, I was really excited:
The contrast between Draco's memories and the present was so expertly done. The memories felt just like that, memories; there was a sort of stillness to them, like, the pacing was exactly right. Not too slow as to feel explanatory, and not too fast as to feel inauthentic. Just, a sort of angsty sense of Draco making peace with his past, and casting it aside so he could live in the present, you know?
And then the fight scenes! So visceral, it truly felt like Draco had this kind of urgency to his actions, like he was rushing and fighting because otherwise he would be lost to his own mind. GUH. Even the sex was rushed, and I mean that in the best way possible, of course.
It felt really balanced, I guess, like Draco and Harry are always opposing personalities, and you get this sense that Draco is the one who really grows up, you know, even if his violence is the means to achieve that, while Harry just keeps running, something that Draco has done so much in the books, so obviously they still understand each other at a base level.
Thank you for working with my prompt, I'm unfailingly bad at prompting, hah! I adored the smoking in this (and characteristically sat outside in the cold chain-smoking while I read it)! And gardener!Draco was perfect. Oh, and the semi-public sex! I'm really happy that was in there too. Oh, and GINNY!!! *FLAILS*
It's hard to choose, but these are the bits I really loved:
"Draco pulls a cigarette from the crumpled box in his pocket and lights it as he walks, revelling in the comforting burn that fills his lungs, but savouring even more the harsh, spicy taste on his tongue. The memory that goes with that taste is more crushing than the rest. It’s the one that drives him to underground clubs and dark alleyways night after night, the one that’s driven him here for four long years. "
"Draco wakes to the unfamiliar feeling of another person pressed against him. The night before rushes into his mind at the same time his body registers that the warm back pressed against his chest is Harry’s, and he feels a surge of lust-driven adrenaline. Harry Potter, in his bed - well, he’s in Harry’s bed, but that’s just semantics - after all this time."
Next is from
hp_emofest.Festival Night by anon, Draco/Albus Severus, NC-17. 6780 words. Warnings for age disparity: 49/23.
Summary: Scorpius is getting married, and Albus Severus is the best man. At the wedding, Draco is feeling old, fat and maudlin, watching his son take this huge step, so he goes off for a walk in the Manor gardens. Albus Severus follows him.
Why it's genius: First of all, Draco describing himself as a "divorced ex-Death Eater poof" is fantastic, and this is hot as hell. Most of the things I've read with this pairing have had a distinct D/s vibe to them, which I love (obviously), but here it's almost blessedly missing. Instead, Albus is stunningly sincere, and Draco reads as... coming back out of his sexual retirement, if you will. Basically, it had me at: outdoor sex and fat admiration.
Lucky last is a piece of art from
nextgen_mas.By My Rules by anon, Teddy/James II, PG.
Summary: James plays a little game. Teddy wasn't really up to it.
Why I love it: I was sold at 'watercolours'. This is beautiful. The colours are crisp and sharp, and each choice for their hair, clothes, etc. is wonderfully deliberate and appropriate. Admittedly I'm yet to really get into next gen, but Teddy is sort of my current exception to that rule. He's sort of reminiscent of Remus here; he's a little sad, and seems to consider every word carefully. James is adorably boisterous, and it all just works.
On a side note, I still haven't really settled into a way of reccing things that I feel 100% comfortable with. Darling f-list, what is your favourite way of laying things out?
