@pugetprincess I am always, always down to talk about Tom/Ginny. Sorry this took a while! I’d love to hear your thoughts on them too, if you’d like to share ❤️
For the ship ask.
1. What made you ship it?
The reason why I started reading HP fanfic in the first place is because I wanted to read more of Ginny and how she dealt with the aftermath of COS. Unfortunately, most of the Ginny-centric stories I found barely mentioned it. I actually ended up reading a lot of Drinny back then, because they were the stories that I knew for sure would bring up COS. But then . . . Idk, at some point I lost interest in the pairing and in fanfic altogether.
And then HBP came out.
I was furious. All the vindication I felt when Harry/Ginny became canon was eclipsed by rage at how Ginny was written. Maybe it was my own fault for expecting Ginny to play a role in the Horcrux plot, for thinking that the narrative would actually address the Harry-Tom-Ginny connection, for hoping that Ginny’s relevance in the story wouldn’t end at 'Harry’s love interest.’
Either way, all my hopes were dashed, and I wanted to rage-quit HP. It’s kind of ridiculous in hindsight, but in my defense, I was a teenager lol
Anyway, I was ranting about it to my friend one day, who had heard all my ‘Harry/Ginny makes sense because Tom!!!’ ramblings before, and she just went, “Why don’t you just read Tom/Ginny then?”
And I was all, “What? That’s a thing?”
“Maybe? Harry/Tom is a thing, so . . .”
And here we are. To this day, she doesn’t know I’m still into HP and that it’s all her fault.
2. What are your favorite things about the ship?
The character development! Seeing Ginny grow and change because of Tom and vice versa, whether it’s for better or for worse. Bonus points if there’s a role reversal and/or anything (a line, a quote, an edit, literally anything) that references souls and how Tom’s and Ginny’s are intertwined.
3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
Hmm . . . not sure what counts as “unpopular” in a ship as rare as this haha
Maybe the dynamic between Tom and Ginny? In most of the stories I’ve read, it’s written as this one-sided thing, where Ginny is the one who’s being tormented and suffers the most by the end. I get why it’s like that and I don’t mind it, but I’d like to see more fics where they’re ‘equals,’ i.e. Tom is just as tormented and disturbed by whatever he feels for Ginny.
But again, I’m a sucker for role reversals, so I just want to see more of it. Tom getting his comeuppance and Ginny being the one to deliver it? Yes, give me any and all variations of that, please and thank you.
What was *that scene* for TLoCC, or have you not written it yet? 👀
@pugetprincess, @greenglassmountain ❤️❤️❤️
ahahahaha
I'm really tempted to say it's that scene, it's one of my favorites and I'm so proud of it.
But TLOCC came to be because of this exchange:
"That's why you spared me?" said Tom scornfully. "To absolve me of my sins?"
"I can't give you absolution, Riddle," said Smith carefully. "That's not up to me."
"Then what is this? Pre-emptive redemption?"
Smith's lips curved into a mirthless smile. "I don't believe in redemption. The way I see it, there's only the choices we make and how we're bound by them . . .”
I'd read/seen a lot of bad redemption stories at the time, and I was falling out of love with the trope because of how the idea of ~redemption~ was being carelessly thrown around in a lot of fandoms. Which is . . . another rant for another time lol
But it led to this idea to do a redemption fic that isn't a redemption fic, where no one believes in it and it's not the end goal. What the characters do believe in is change, and that’s what they strive for. But having the capacity to change, choosing to change — that doesn't necessitate goodness.
So . . . yeah. TLOCC kind of started out as a spitefic hahaha
Hi! So you know I love your writing and as always can't wait for you to update TLOCC or Lightbringer. I remember you saying before that you were maybe partly inspired to write TLOCC because you weren't finding many fics that fully acknowledged or dove into what Ginny went through with the diary and the chamber. So I was wondering, could you recommend any Ginny or Gin n Tonic fics that you liked or that struck a chord with you? Thanks!
Ahh thank you so much! I promise updates for those stories are coming soon ❤️ I mean it this time.
It’s been years since I read it, so I can’t say how well it holds up, but Expectations of Grandeur by Josephine Sawyer still sticks out in my mind for introducing me to a different Ginny/Tom dynamic. It was written pre-HBP, so it’s not canon compliant with Voldemort’s backstory, but it does have a very interesting, very human characterization of Ginny and Tom. Some parts I found a bit frustrating to get through at the time, but ultimately I enjoyed it for what it was: a coming of age story for both characters. Not very plotty but still a character-driven slow burn, which is definitely my favorite type of fic.
Heir to Nothing but Herself is mostly gen and IIRC doesn’t feature Tom at all, but it does have my OTP Ginny/happiness, and that’s always worth reading. Anything by dirgewithoutmusic is worth reading tbh.
Venom by diamonds to dust is great if you’re looking for a quick read. It’s dark and more in line with the usual Gin n Tonic fics I’ve read, but the ending sets it apart for me. I haven’t reread it in a while, but I remember really liking it for showing how the events of COS affected Ginny’s relationships, which is something I always, always look for when I read Ginny-centric fics, regardless of the pairing.
Hi! In response to your WIP Title Game, well honestly I'd like to ask about *all* things Ginny/Tom and it's really hard not to ask about the TLOCC outline or Ginny destroying the cup... *but* instead I'd like to ask about Lightbringer. What is this new fic with the exciting name?? Snippet?
Ginny Weasley is lost in time — with only one constant to root her to reality. Caught in the throes of magic, she wanders in and out of the life of Tom Riddle.
This is the fic that’s been competing with TLOCC for my free time lol
It’s another time travel AU, but with Tom as the main POV. Ginny is jumping around his timeline and he grows up thinking she’s his imaginary friend. It’s something of a role reversal AU, as Ginny essentially becomes to Tom what the diary was to her. There’s some similarities with TLOCC — mainly the OCs, but their interactions with Tom are different — and it handles the themes in a ... I want to say darker way, but I think that’ll depend on the ending.
It’s so, so close to being finished, but there’s four and a half different endings and I can’t decide which will fit best. And because the ending is supposed to be a parallel of the first chapter, I can’t post it until I make up my mind 😫
At this point, I’ll probably just flip a coin because it’s so hard to focus on TLOCC when this won’t leave me alone hahaha
Here’s a snippet:
.
Tom hated going back, it was always the worst part of his trips around London — but now it felt even worse. It didn’t seem fair, it didn’t seem right, that he should have to return after knowing the truth of what he was, after all of Ginny’s stories, after learning about the world that awaited him.
“Where will you go?” asked Tom when they arrived, standing outside the backdoor of the orphanage.
It was still raining, and Ginny was idly twirling the umbrella in her hand. Her other hand was gripping Tom’s own, and he had the sudden wild, childish notion that she might not leave if he held onto her tighter. It wouldn’t work, of course, but a part of him still wondered if he could convince her to stay with him — the same way he could convince strangers on the street to give him money without outright begging.
“Hard to say,” said Ginny, shrugging. “I can never tell where I end up.”
“That’s not a proper answer.”
“Ask me a proper question and maybe I’ll give you one.”
Tom scowled. It felt like he was missing the first half of a joke — one that he should already know, from the way Ginny was trying to stifle her laughter — and he was frustrated at not being able to determine what it was.
“You’ll see me again,” she promised. “Not tomorrow, I don’t think, but I’ll come back.”
To be honest I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get around to updating. I thought I would have it out by now, but my city got hit hard by a typhoon last weekend, and no one’s sure when we’ll have power again. So . . . probably when I have electricity again heh
There’s about 12k words at the moment, but I still want to cut it down to a more reasonable length, since so much of it feels like unnecessary filler. In the meantime, here’s some out of context spoilers below the cut, because why not lol
Hi there, noticed you've been inactive lately and hope everything is going alright with you and yours. Stay safe, be well :)
Hey I noticed your activity stopped really abruptly and there hasn't been anything since, just wanted to say I hope you're doing ok!
Aahhh thanks so much for checking in!! I hope I didn’t worry you too much haha . . . Real life got too hectic for me, I’m afraid, but I’m doing much better now! I’ll be updating again this weekend, and hopefully I’ll be able to get around to posting new Ginny/Tom and Harry/Ginny fics too :)
I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting for so long! Hope you’re doing well too ❤️
