I had butterflies for breakfast.

~Friede dem Wellblech, Krieg den Palästen~ Ria. Reader, writer & student of all things wonderful out there. Mostly HP, plants, aesthetics. Fanfic tags: atotb, oneshots

[riakida]

ATOTB Oneshot Bibliography

An overview of oneshots set in the ATOTB universe, in in-universe chronological order. I was getting confused and having trouble finding things, so this is basically a directory and will be updated as the collection grows.

Cat-and-mouse Game (January 1967), tumblr

ATOTB "Shards" (September 1967), ff.net

Why are our parents this way? (1969), tumblr

Rebellion (1969), tumblr

ATOTB "Tooth fairy" (April 1970), ff.net

Vergissmeinnicht (1971, 1982, German), tumblr + Forget-Me-Not (Google-translated, English, @hogwarts-letters), tumblr

NEW: ATOTB "First Christmas at the Potters" (December 1971), ff.net

"Mom" and "Dad" (1973), tumblr

Jealousy (August 1973), tumblr

Reg's 17th Birthday (August 1979), tumblr

Peace Cigarette (August 1979), tumblr

The Waste Land (September 1979), tumblr

"Sirius's stupid comments" (May 1981), tumblr

Christmas (1981), tumblr

Lost in the Tube (December 1984), tumblr

ATOTB "Vacation" (August 1985), ff.net

Harry age 6 (1986), tumblr

ATOTB "Dragon Pox" (October 1986), ff.net

Mother's day (1987), tumblr

Harry at St. Mungo's, tumblr

ATOTB "Order mission" (September 1987), ff.net

Mother's Day (1988), tumblr

NEW: Bullying (September 1989), tumblr

Harry age 11 (1991), tumblr

ATOTB "Malfoy's comment" (December 1991), ff.net

ATOTB "Ford Anglia" (September 1992), ff.net

ATOTB "The boy who won't clean his room" (August 1994), ff.net

ATOTB "Exam cheating" (November 1994), ff.net

ATOTB "Drinking" (December 1995), ff.net

Cockroach (December 1995), tumblr

Fics written by Writer!Anon / @miramiriummural

June 1985 - Confusion, Failed Dates, and Mischievous Smiles on aisle 12

"Owls", Byrds and failed prospective suitors

Firsts

No Mas - 1995

It happened that night - 1995

[riakida]

Is there anything Regulus is more strict than Sirius with when it comes to parenting?

Perhaps personal standards — things Sirius doesn't notice or doesn't particularly care about. Things that seem smaller, but matter when it comes to self-sufficiency and consideration for others.

That includes academics, tidiness, taking care of himself properly, and treating Kreacher with respect. Regulus is also stricter when it comes to manners and respectful behavior in general. He has a finer awareness of those nuances than Sirius does, they matter a great deal to him, and he finds Sirius, at times, sorely lacking in that department.

Thanks for the ask 😊

[veryluckyclovers]

happy pride!!!!

[katgecs]

summer

[riakida]

Do you think you'll write any more one-shots from Fleamont's perspective? I really enjoyed his perspective in the December 1971 one-shot, and I know he was very formative for Sirius as he grew into a man and a parent, so I feel like it would be fun to explore that relationship from the other side.

I'm so glad you enjoyed that one-shot, I really enjoyed writing it as well!

I might write a couple more one-shots that give glimpses of the most formative events. I don't yet know whether I will write a longer story, though.

I envision this time as actually rather peaceful (aside from James and Sirius getting into their usual trouble), so I don't want to force a longer, dramatic storyline that I think would contradict what I feel Sirius found there - peace and a real home. The challenge is that I tend to gravitate towards conflict; the drama here would have to be quieter and more internal. I'm thinking of Fleamont, navigating the helplessness that comes with having no legal rights to protect Sirius - watching him leave for Grimmauld Place at the beginning of every summer and having no power to shorten that or stop it.

I have no definite plans yet, but there might be some more one-shots dealing with exactly that heartbreak, and we'll see what comes after.

[riakida]

What stage are you at in your academic career these days? I have vague recollections of what you were doing back when we used to chat, but I was curious what you were up to these days lol

You're right, I was finishing my master's degree back then. Successfully too - I was briefly working various jobs in the meantime — but whatcha really gonna do with a humanities degree in this economy, so I went into a two-year postgrad traineeship to become a subject librarian. That's the best way I can describe it, it's something that I think has no equivalent in the English-speaking world. The end is actually in sight now and exams are coming up! And I've observed that my creative productivity really is directly correlated with procrastination.

[riakida]

are you able to share a little sneak peak....

Sneak Peek Chapter 12 :)

He unfolded it in the dark, his wand tucked under the covers. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

The ink bloomed. His heart beat a bit faster until he had seen for himself that the name, Peter Pettigrew, was not there. He breathed out through his nose. Then concentrated. Scanned it the way he always did now — quickly, methodically, Gryffindor Tower first, then outward. The castle was almost entirely still. A few names he didn't recognize were moving through the lower corridors — Aurors on their new patrol routes. Professor Dumbledore, in his office, sitting at his desk. Peeves drifting aimlessly near the Astronomy Tower.

And then he went still.

Regulus Black. First floor. Moving slowly along the corridor near the library, heading east.

Harry stared at it.

He thought about what Lupin had said. The map doesn't lie. If his name was there, he was there. He thought about Reg's face on the mirror, calm and certain, saying no when Harry asked if he had been at Hogwarts. But the Map, which his dad had helped create, it didn't make mistakes because his dad had worked on it for a year. Lupin had said so.

He was out of bed before he knew what his feet were doing, the Invisibility Cloak off its hook and over his shoulders, the map folded in his hand.

[riakida]

Just curious, do you think your writing process has changed any since you've been coming back to writing more? I'm always so curious about people's writing processes.

That's such an interesting question because I've actually been thinking about this a lot!😊

I edit more and let things sit longer.

I always used to write up to the point where a chapter was complete, post it, and then start the next one from a blank page. Now I have most scenes of the next three or four chapters sketched out and even fleshed out, so I have more room to move scenes around. Right now, for instance, the next three chapters are in progress and I'm working on them more or less simultaneously. I hope this improves overall coherence - and it also helps with writer's block because I can avoid the blank page.

On the writing itself: I draft narrative passages in German more than I used to and then translate them. This creates the risk of transfer errors, but those are easier to catch than writer's block.

I use more whitespace and more fragments. I'd love to experiment with style and form, but the story has a very established voice, so what I can do is limited.

I'm also trying to cut and compress - to make everything denser. Previously, as a non-native speaker, I was mostly aiming for correctness, so fragments seemed like a big risk. I used to over-explain, too, which I try to cut whenever I catch it now. Correctness is less of a concern now than overcorrection is. It's overcoming that excessive caution that's become my new challenge.

[dazed-cherry]

NYC color palette dazed cherry

[franz-bauch-foto]

Waiting for the sunrise

[fandiagnosis]

the funniest thing about interview with the vampire is it's that kinda show that so many people are yearning for right now. they want to watch something where every line has a double meaning, where the darker parts of character dynamics are explored in detail, where hidden agendas are foreshadowed in throwaway dialogue, where boundaries are pushed towards more interesting ideas instead of stopping at the usual place. but they're looking for these things in shows that don't want to go down that path and then they're disappointed that the most interesting potential storylines are ignored. people of the world, the show you're looking for is right there.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[pnglove]

[wildchildskyhigh]

[4ngel-bee]

[starryeyeddreamer21]

So in conclusion Brad and Janet spent ONE night in a castle and replaced their catholic guilt with bdsm, joined a polycule, discoved the existence of aliens, and watched four people die

[riakida]

Would you say you like your Sirius that you write in ATOTB and ATOLAD?

He’s often tough on Reg and Harry - in a way that I often find myself hoping he would dial it down a bit.

I’m not sure if I am explaining myself properly as I understand he is dealing with A LOT in those years and he is a product of his environment but he is short tempered often and very unrelenting in his beliefs. Sometimes I just want to yell at him to see that he doesn’t need to be quite so tough and hard.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the ask!😊

I understand what you mean, but I think I’m very drawn to the conflict that comes from exactly those traits - the short temper, the rigidity, the relentlessness. I don’t always like Sirius as a person. Honestly, I find Reg and Harry much more likeable and far less frustrating. But that greyness is what makes my version of Sirius interesting to write. He’s both an anchor and a stick of dynamite at the same time.

If he were soft, gentle, endlessly understanding, and always acted “correctly,” it just wouldn’t be the story I want to tell.

And honestly, the fact that you sometimes want to shake him or yell at him is kind of the reaction I want people to have. Unless it genuinely makes you uncomfortable, in which case I think you might naturally gravitate more toward lighter or happier stories than the kind I tend to write.

As a writer, I’m most interested in the rough, gritty parts of people. Psychological hardship, the collapse of ideals, the limits of understanding and forgiveness. I think morally “white” protagonists often work best in action-driven stories. I enjoy reading those, but I’m less interested in writing them. My stories are much more character- and conflict-driven, and I like putting characters into constellations that push every one of their flaws to the surface. That way they can eventually break, rebuild, and hopefully find common ground again.

For Sirius specifically, his central flaw in my AU is fear. It sits underneath almost everything he does, and the story slowly peels that apart and pushes him to the edge of it. The more he acts out of that fear, the less likeable he becomes - but to me, that’s also what makes him interesting to explore. I do want to watch him unravelling.