Ho ho ho! Christmas is fast approaching (yes, we know it’s still November, shh) and you know what that means! Secret Santa!!
If you would like to take part in Secret Santa, please like this post. Meeve and I will put together the list of names and let everyone know who they have on December 1st. As usual, you can make anything -- a graphic, drawing, drabble, etc -- and submit it to your person either the eve of December 24th or on December 25th.
Merry Christmas Thaly! I hope yours has been a wonderful one to make up for the less than wonderful year! It’s always a great time writing with you and I’m so happy you’ve stuck with us for all this time! You are wonderful and I hope you have a good new year!
Happy Holidays, Snapey! So I’m actually dreadful at presents and may have gone a little overboard to try and compensate. Because I love the AU, you get some images of what I imagine Severus’s Instagram looks like -- note that the second image was made before we talked about Severus having a screenshot of Lily’s comment on one of his posts, and I was laughing to myself the entire time we talked about it. Then I got in my own head about making a purely AU-related present, and coding is one of the few things I’m actually good at, so I made you a theme. Absolutely no pressure to use it or anything, but I tried hard to make it simple and easy to navigate and am completely to tweaking things for you, if you want.
I hope you’re all having a lovely Christmas season! I’m super super excited to share my Secret Santa gift for this year!!!!!
Since I’m terrible at art and all other things at all times forever, I chose once again to compile a playlist dedicated to and inspired by the character played by my Secret Santa giftee -- our darling Lily, and the bewitching Narcissa Malfoy ( @forever-toujourspur ), who is one of my favorite characters both in the books and here in the RP. I’ll link it right here!
In addition to just the link, I’m also adding below a list of the songs and a short description of why I chose that song, whether it be the vibe, specific lyrics, whether that song makes me think of an event in Narcissa’s life, whatever it was that made me pick it. (I say a short description -- I really tried to make them short and I apologize for them Not Being That lol) I hope you enjoy the songs I picked, and have an amazing Christmas!!
Control - Hasley: “I’m bigger than my body, I’m colder than this home / I’m meaner than my demons, I’m bigger than these bones. . . Who is in control?” This song just has a Narcissa kind of vibe for me, and the lyrics make me think of her being so amazing and in control in spite of the well-documented “Black family madness”
you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish: “You should see me in a crown / Your silence is my favorite sound / Watch me make ‘em bow / One by one” Again, just her being the absolute queen of everything. That’s a recurring theme so get ready lmao
I Don’t Care - Fall Out Boy: “I don’t care what you think as long as it’s about me” That’s it. That’s the whole reason. I always think of her as someone who truly doesn’t care what gossip there is about her, because if she’s being talked about then she’s already won.
The Ballad of Mona Lisa - Panic! At the Disco: “You’re guaranteed to run this town. . . I’d pay to see you frown” This one just has kind of a Narcissa feel to me. And once again, there’s that HBIC theme. She’s the one taking charge and keeping control of everything with a smile on her face, no matter how bad she actually feels.
The Way You Look Tonight - Michael Buble: “You’re lovely, with your smile so warm / And your cheeks so soft / There is nothing but for me to love you / And the way you look tonight” This one makes me think of her relationship with Lucius. I always think of them as being truly in love and this seems like a song that would fit the tone of their relationship to me.
Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Ray: “Dear lord, when I get to heaven / Please let me bring my man / When he comes, tell me that you’ll let him in. . . . Will you still love me / When I’m no longer young and beautiful?. . . I know that you will” Another about their relationship, but how strong it is, how their love will last forever and she wants to be with him even after they’ve died. *cue sigh*
Hold Me Down - Halsey: “I sold my soul to a three-piece / And he told me I was holy. . . Saying that I want more, this is what I live for” This one feels to me like her feelings when Lucius joins Voldemort and gets her involved. She sold her soul to these well-dressed men, and she’s held up as an ideal, but it’s more like she was thrown into the deep end and now she’s trying to figure out how to navigate it while staying the strong woman we know and love.
Believer - Imagine Dragons: “Don’t you tell me what you think that I can be / I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea. . . My life, my love, my drive, it came from pain. . . you made me a believer” This is more HBIC energy for me tbh, taking all the things that have happened to her over the course of her life, all the pain and nonsense, and taking control of it and doing everything she can for the people she loves.
Fake Happy - Paramore: “I been doing a good job of making ‘em think / I’m quite alright / But I hope I don’t blink. . .Please don’t ask me how I’ve been / Don’t make me play pretend. . . I bet everybody here is fake happy too” After Lucius goes to Azkaban, of course way WAY down the road, I imagine she would’ve been devastated, but has to keep her spirits up and pretend everything is okay so she doesn’t break down. So this song feels like that to me, her ability to keep everything she’s actually feeling under that carefully crafted mask and only show what she wants people to see.
Stand By Me - Florence + The Machine: There aren’t any specific lyrics with this one, the whole vibe of this version just makes me think of Narcissa. It’s very pretty and flowy and feminine, but with an undercurrent of strength, and just a little bit of a cool, melancholic sound? It’s possible that I’m crazy but I just think of her when I’m listening to it lol. To me it feels like a song that she personally would like. And then the song itself, of course, could also just be one long testament to her willingness to stand by Lucius through anything.
Cry Baby - American Avenue: “They call you cry baby, cry baby / But you don’t f***ing care / Cry baby, cry baby / So you laugh through your tears” This is another one that I feel like describes her being able to hide her emotions, but more about how she got to that point -- like maybe Bellatrix would be mean to her when she cried as a little kid, so she learned to laugh through the tears. Whatever it was, just learning how to control her emotions. This version also has a really fierce vibe that I just love for her.
If - House of Heroes: “I could be in love if you wore that dress every day / With your hair just so and your eyes of grey” This one feels like just one big love letter from Lucius to Narcissa. It’s got this whole vibe of the woman being beautiful, and a little bit scary, and a little bit unattainable, that just feels very Narcissa to me.
Take Me To Church - Hozier: “Take me to church / I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies / I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife” This one also feels like Lucius just worshipping Narcissa and how much of a goddess she is. She’s dangerous and powerful and so very Slytherin and he’s just head over heels, you know?
Sweet Dreams - Emily Browning: This one also just has a Narcissa vibe for me. This version is slow, it’s pretty but it has an almost scary kind of tone to it, it’s strong but understated and then it gets very fierce and then still has a kind of pretty, classic sound even through the harder part of the song, and the organ that comes in, like I can just see her gliding down a marble staircase in slow motion -- it just feels so, so Narcissa to me.
Wilson - Fall Out Boy: “There’s nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody. . . I always make such expensive mistakes. . . I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color” There are lyrics scattered through this song that make me think of Narcissa. It’s Fall Out Boy so it’s a little chaotic and not all of the song makes me think of her, but enough of it does that I put it on here anyway lol
The Other Side - Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron: “I quite enjoy the life you say I’m trapped in / Now I admire you, and that whole show you do / You’re onto something, really it’s something. . . Don’t you know that I’m okay with this uptown part I get to play / ‘Cause I got what I need. . . I don’t need to see the other side. . . Ain’t in a cage, so I don’t need to take the key. . . Can’t you see I’m doing fine / I don’t need to see the other side” Okay, bear with me. So this song is a conversation, right? One person trying to convince the other to join this thing that’s so great, it’s going to change their life, change their whole world. So to me it feels like a super upbeat Death Eater recruitment speech lmao. And the quoted part above feels like what Narcissa might have said at first -- belief in the cause but reluctance to be directly involved because it’s just beneath her, and the way things are isn’t so bad anyway. It just felt really fitting.
Rise - Katy Perry: “I won’t just survive / You will see me thrive . . . Don’t doubt it / Victory is in my veins / I know it, I know it / And I will not negotiate / I’ll fight it” More Queen of Everything energy. No matter what happens to her, she always gets back up and keeps going. She can’t be defeated. She’s just the best.
A Little Wicked - Valerie Broussard: “Beware the patient woman, ‘cause this much I know / No one calls you honey, when you’re sitting on a throne / One of these days a-comin’, I’m gonna take that boy’s crown / There’s a serpent in these still waters, lying deep down / To that king I will bow, at least for now” VERY Queen of Everything vibes. Like, this just Is Narcissa. Everyone underestimates her but if she’d been given half a chance, I feel very strongly that she could’ve taken over the whole thing and won.
Killer Queen - Queen: “Well versed in etiquette / Extraordinarily nice / She’s a Killer Queen. . . Perfume came naturally from Paris / For cars she couldn’t care less / Fastidious and precise / She’s a Killer Queen” A lot of the lyrics to this song actually feel really Narcissa to me. That woman who’s amazing and gorgeous but you feel like might have poisoned your tea a little bit? Narcissa.
Glory and Gore - Lorde: “Glory and gore go hand in hand / That’s why we’re making headlines. . . Delicate in every way but one / God knows we like archaic kinds of fun” This one might make a little more sense if Narcissa was an active Death Eater herself, but I feel like it’s still pretty Narcissa-y. I think in the very beginning, when Voldemort was gaining power and her husband was gaining power in their ranks, she might’ve enjoyed the whole thing, before it really started to affect her life, you know? And I think she might have a little bit of a dark streak in her -- not nearly so much as Bellatrix, but they are sisters, she could very well have some of that darkness in her. So this one song just feels like her for me, and that one little streak of darkness.
Wicked Ones - Dorothy: “This night ain’t for the faint of heart / ‘Cause the faint of heart gonna fall apart / This night ain’t for the holy man with the holy plan / For the promised land / This night we got the evil hand” This one can also be speaking to her streak of darkness if you want. Because otherwise there’s a little bit of headcanon angst coming lmao. The lyrics of this one just by themselves feel like the night Voldemort went to kill the Potters, and Narcissa trying to convince herself it was a good thing that the baby had to die, so the music behind the lyrics feels like her trying to, like, get pumped and happy and ignore the fact that a child that’s just about the same age as her own son is about to die. She can’t let herself care and be faint of heart or she’ll fall apart and that’s unacceptable, because Dumbledore’s plan is failing and they finally have the upper hand, so she has to be wicked and ignore what’s happening and just be happy, be wicked, play and celebrate and be with Lucius and keep up the mask.
I hope my interpretations of her aren’t too terrible -- I’ve just loved her for so long, like I named one of my dogs Narcissa and she’s lowkey my favorite, and I’ve read SO much fanfiction about her and the Malfoys, I have way too many feelings about Narcissa lmao. I hope you enjoy the playlist either way!!
I thought you could use a little Tootums in your life! I’m sorry it’s not better, it’s my first try at a video *blush* but I hope you like it anyway. Happy Christmas!!!!
P.S. Sorry for the early submit, I have a lot going on this weekend and didn’t want to forget. If you want to wait to post to the dash til Christmas so people don’t freak and think that they are running late that’s cool :) Happy Christmas!!!
*Squeals* Tootums!!! Yay! Oh it’s adorable!! ❤️ ❤️ Thank you Santa whoever you are!! (who are you?! hehe). Merriest of Christmases to you!
Merry Christmas, Bless! The colours aren’t completely done, but I wanted to offer you a WIP while I work on it today! I hope you enjoy this pic of the marauders all celebrating Christmas! I figured Sirius’ ideal Christmas would be one with friends.
I hope you have a very merry Christmas and enjoy it with your family!
I hope you have the best holiday ever! I absolutely adore Marlene and writing with you is so much fun :) We couldn’t ask for a more wonderful, kind and creative member in our group! Marlene’s ferocity, loyalty and wit is all so great to read and have my characters interact with!
Here’s a little Marlene for you, on the chase after some baddie! Look out, Marl, you lost your hat!!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (in the real world, at least)!! And you know what that means: SECRET SANTA! Ho ho ho!
Please like this post if you want to take part! If you have multiple characters, you need only like it once. Secret Santa is not obligatory, merely a fun part of the holiday season. You will have a week to let us know if you wish to participate and then next Sunday (Dec 1st) we will organize who is whose Secret Santa and send out the messages letting you all know.
Secret Santa gifts can be anything, from drawings to character playlists to graphics to drabbles. Send them via submit or simply post them to the dash either the night of December 24th or the morning of the 25th.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
