Lightning Anthill

30 . they/them . harry potter sideblog. Mainly into Dumbledore family + Tom Riddle + Tom/Harry. Fic tags: #Herringfic for A Rare Red Herring and #VoV for Venom or Valor

[lightningant]

Welcome to my sideblog. I write story and draw Tom

My Fics

A Rare Red Herring

Gen, OC fic, Dumbledore family slice of life Aberforth Dumbledore is living a quiet life in Hogsmeade until he receives a very alarming owl; he is the closest relative of 7-year-old Harrington Maguire, his muggleborn great-great-granddaughter, who is being given up due to the unique needs of a young autistic witch. He hasn’t looked after a child in over 50 years, and so the uneasy relationships between the Dumbledore family are brought together to raise a single unlucky girl.

Venom or Valor

Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, time travel, enemies-to-lovers classique

20 years old, unemployed, and at the worst point of his life (and that’s saying a lot), Harry gains unrestricted access to a massive unfinished time turner and decides to use it to travel to 1946, when Voldemort only had two horcruxes and had yet to learn the worst of the dark arts. But what he finds isn’t the proud, charismatic Dark-Lord-To-Be, but a neurotic 19-year-old Tom Riddle living quietly in the tiny flat that his retail job barely pays for, isolated and addled by chronic illness.

Blog Tags

For fics: Herringfic | VoV

Art Topics: Mersnake AU | Tom Design Docs

General: My Art | Metaposting | Asks | HPRB (Reblogs)

[lightningant]

Really funny to me that Lestrange really only hangs around Tom because of his bff. Obviously that relationship changes over time because later on the Lestranges are seen as one of the most loyal families, but this being the start of that relationship kills me

I just adore the thought that everyone who talks to Tom is obsessed with him but there's a pane of glass that is the class divide between them. Tom rolling up rich successful and immortal on top of being a dark magic genius is just permission to indulge in that obsession openly

[lightningant]

When do you plan on releasing another chepter for vov?

I don't plan on writing anything. One day on a whim I will write the VoV chapter I was going to do before I stopped and then I will go "wait this eats" and repopulate a backlog of at least 10 chapters but ideally just continuously until they have messy unsafe and questionably consensual sex. there is no other known method to get me to start again

[lightningant]

where are you pooks, we miss you 😭

had extra prose burnout while i was away so now im burnout ^ 2. havent read a fic longer than 2k since december of last year and certainly havent written anything either. so it goes...

[lightningant]

Hi!

I wanted to ask you about Tom’s illnesses, since I’m not completely clear on them. I know that at this point he’s already affected by the Horcruxes (I think that’s how it’s spelled), which contributes to his sickly appearance.

But I think that in a reply to a comment you mentioned that Tom was already ill before that, so what exactly is he sick with?

He’s very pale, and in the fanfic (when his point of view is written), I think his younger self who’s in the diary mentions that he looks very unwell.

Lasting medical issues from childhood malnutrition and illness, but the specific incidents of getting sick are all because every time he has a "frenzy", his entire immune system crashes. He's very close to an autoimmune disorder.

Just as Harry realized, his frenzy is a magic allergy. He's experiencing an allergic reaction. Treating it requires knowing the trigger, but Tom doesn't know what causes it, just that it tends to happen when he's worked up about something. Diary Tom is tetchy about it because the last time Tom got really badly ill it was his fault, but he's also nervous Tom refuses to bring up things that have been getting him worked up (i.e. Harry).

[lightningant]

Hellooo-

Is it rude to ask what apps you use to draw on and animate on? 👀

Also do you draw on ur phone or laptop?

Wanna try making simple animations-

I'm going to hold your hand when I say this. I use a desktop computer and the art software I'm already used to. If you have a tablet/phone you are working at an advantage in comparison to me, because all the newest art/editing software is mobile-only. I was just exporting layers and praying in Capcut

[lightningant]

hey so im like genuinely confused by your response to the orphanage ask (i didnt ask it btw) as it was a harmless question about your interpretation of tom - not someone asking you to “form an opinion on their behalf” or mine you for lore. people ask because they like your fic and are interested in how you think, not because they feel entitled to you. if you don’t want to answer questions like that then it’s totally fair to say so or ignore them - but responding with hostility to innocent asks (and praise) comes off as needlessly rude to people who are literally fans of your work. you don’t owe anyone answers but basic courtesy goes a long way...

girl i was replying to a stalker

[lightningant]

im a big anti of like anything harry and tom/voldemort but lowkirkenuinely im being sucked into this rabbit hole bcs ur art is just way too good man 😭

and not just the art, your au is genuinely really cool and really fun

if I end up becoming a shipper it's probably bcs of u

Remember:

Most people are simply shipping the hero/villain archetype. It's all narrative weight in here

You may secretly just have a problem with the kind of male-centred behaviour of people who make googoo eyes at toxic evil men, which won't help at all once you start liking the ship and in fact will make you a bitter hater like meeeee

Egomaniacs are at war with their perpetual base state of being pathetic, which makes them compelling to squeeze

If Harry/Tom never wins you over I'm pretty sure Snape/Voldemort has way more sauce. Like inherently. Now there's two abysmal men, think about it

[lightningant]

How did Tom hide from his peers that he lived in a Muggle orphanage?

I have to say at this point that I am not a meta blog that can be squeezed for lore on your favourite character and having you send 1-4 asks a week in multiple languages and translation methods for almost a year is, I fear, edging on harassment. I delete all asks relating to Tom character lore as soon as it arrives in my inbox like it's spam mail to the point I might have deleted innocent questions just to get rid of you. I should not be able to identify you from such an innocent ask, which really contextualizes just how many messages you've sent on this subject.

You have got to stop sending me messages asking me to form an opinion on your behalf, and start posting your own opinions on the internet with the blind confidence of a madman like the rest of us.

[peanood]

⏳💌

[aletheyass]

the whole premise of snape as a character is so funny he's like i will do anything for the woman i love forever and always ! except being civil with her 10 year old orphaned son. that i cannot do

[sleepingsingularity]

I got smacked in the back of the head after reading Venom or Valor by @lightningant. So woe, 3 a.m. doodle be upon ye

I also have to side with Tom on this, sometimes Cannibalism is the height of romance.

[j-adorian]

I’ve been reading/obsessed with Venom or Valor (https://archiveofourown.org/works/59664889/chapters/152176963) by @lightningant so I did a lil sketch of Harry ^-^

[lightningant]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"That's not how you do it," Voldemort said conversationally, when Snape began crushing the little bones. Snape's sallow face had gone white, and his hands shook violently. He risked looking Voldemort in the eye. "It's how I do it," he said, as firmly as he could. "It's not the potion I ordered," Voldemort pushed. His tone was still light with humour. His eyes were focused and analytical; he did not, in this situation, feel the need to use legilimency on Snape. He felt he knew enough about how he ticked that it wasn't necessary. "It's my potion," Snape said thinly, "and it does what you ordered better." "And where did you learn to make my potions...better?" Snape shook the bone dust into each cauldron. His eyes had narrowed slightly at being questioned, even through the terror. "I experimented and applied what I knew with the tools at my disposal. Sir."

Last of my buffer. VoV update with one of my fav chapters

[lightningant]

I’m just curious what happened to your TikTok acc? I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I haven’t been able to find it, and it’s a shame, cause that one vid where Tom was crashing out was something I watched every once in a while to lighten my mood, and now I can’t find it so I’m suuuuuuuuper sad…:,,,(

I deleted it to promote psychological healing. Sort of like a core training exercise in being normal about things again.

The video is right here :)

[lightningant]

The last chapter is super. I'm imagining how the First Eaters taught Tom etiquette with his rough Cockney accent. It would be great if they could draw them as teenagers teaching Tom to write and speak like a queen. 💚💛🧡🧡🩵💜💜

3 of them

[lightningant]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Harry put his invisibility cloak on, and lifted himself to peer into Tom’s planter. The snakes were sliding through the soil, enjoying the scant hour of sunlight afforded to them. “Hello. You didn’t speak of our last meeting?” “No. Now you feed us?” One asked eagerly. The other popped its head up. “An oath of feed us?” “Of course I will. You’re so good at not talking. You deserve food.” They hissed agreeably at him.

update again....hello