alright, snaps?

fanblog for marauders fanfic "the life and times" by jewels5

[skywnoceiling]

“She was dramatic. He was dynamic. She was precise. He was impulsive. He was James, and she was Lily, and one day they shared a kiss, but before that they shared many arguments, for he was cocky, and she was sweet, and matters of the heart require time.”

The Life and Times by Jewels5

[radiorecs]

[tlatpostcards]

The Life and Times Chapter 4: Snaps and the Second Week

"Hey, Snaps," said a new voice, and Potter appeared with it. He grinned cheerfully at her, as though they were the best of friends. "Had a good day, did you?" "I'm not going to ask," said Lily coldly. "Sorry, Potter, you lose, because I don't care what your stupid little nickname means." She really tried to mean it. "Are you sure, Snaps?" "Yes." "Because you say I just lost, but it feels an awful lot like winning. Especially since you asked Sirius to tell you what it meant." Lily scowled at Black. "You said you wouldn't tell." "I said I'd think about it," replied Sirius defensively. "And it's a force of habit telling James everything... it just sort of slipped out. He looked so joyful when I told him... like a little tyke at Christmas."

— JULES.

[bellemrdch]

James potttttaaaaaaaa <3

[lanamaru]

Harry's winters ❄️

[fivescrews]

sorry but i absolutely cannot watch any marauders-related content on tiktok because the only marauders era world that exists to me is that of the life and times :/ it's been my marauders bible for over a decade and unfortunately i am stubbornly unwilling to accept anything else as canon !

[tlatpostcards]

The Life and Times Chapter 13: Something Realized

In 1976, Marlene Price broke up with the same boy twice. In 1976, Adam McKinnon said "I love you." Twice. In 1976, Alice Griffiths got engaged, Carlotta Meloni got a boyfriend, Sirius Black made a big mistake, and Severus Snape made at least two. In 1976, Donna Shacklebolt fell in love. Kind of. In 1976, Petunia Evans was married, Remus Lupin nearly killed someone, Alphard Black left Hogwarts, Frank Longbottom had a realization, Mary Macdonald did not, and Peter Pettigrew gave some very, very good advice. In 1976, James Potter quit smoking. In 1976, Lily Evans fell in love. But more on that later.

— JULES.

[tlatpostcards]

Just wanted to say thank you for making this blog. Every time I go through the tlat tag and see these posts and read them I remember my love for the fanfic and while I know I don't have the time to do a full reread, every quote you posted felt like rereading it piece by piece bit by bit <3

It's beautiful how a fanfic abandoned 13 years ago at this point can still bring us all together and make us feel.

oh my god this is such a thoughtful message :") similar to your sentiments i also believe that the strength of this blog lies in the community we've formed, so i just want to thank you for being part of it 💗💗💗

[tlatpostcards]

i can't believe it's been over a year since i started this blog, and that—quite fittingly—i also finished everything in november, a month that holds significance to both james and lily (the month in which they started being friends... almost), as well as to the last chapter of the entire fic.

for some reason, i always put off reading "soldiers" whenever i reread tlat. i think it's partly because i don't really want tlat to end, and partly because i've never found another marauders fic quite like it (though of course, this is just my personal opinion). there's so much to say about jules' writing, but i think just stating that this fic is a masterclass in worldbuilding, characterization, and dialogue would suffice for now. in turn i will always feel grateful that jules was in the right time, right place when she wrote tlat. 16 years on from the first chapter, there's still a community out there—as well as on this blog—that loves her work, and that's just wonderful. wherever she is now, i hope she's successful and still creating art.

so when i read "soldiers" this time, it just felt right. because now i realize it's ultimately a chapter about grief, tragedy, but also about love. though we all know how the story ends, at least in this moment we can pretend that this is where the characters will stay, forever immortalized, forever 17. and that's the beauty in reading unfinished stories, because we don't exactly know what jules envisioned for these versions of the characters, and so for the rest of 7th year and until their deaths, they will live lives that we will never truly know about.

ive mentioned this before, but this fic has accompanied me through a lot—nearly a decade already—and it is my hope that it'll continue accompanying me for even longer! on future rereads, im planning to post more quotes, and in the distant future maybe i'll create some fanart and bookbind tlat :) oh, and if anyone wants me to post a specific quote i've missed, then of course feel free to shoot me an ask. but until then, i think this is it.

from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who followed this blog!

[floatingseaotter]

I think I once saw that someone made a google doc of everything that had been shared about Chapter 37 of TLAT... could anyone share the link to that please : (

[she-herlob]

for all the besties looking for the doc link again, please feel free to share away! I made it for all of us. Someday when I figure out how to search Jules’s blog again I’ll make a doc of everything tlat she posted but that’s a long term passion project.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/18-IAodqLxIGitiAmWEvtv_AqXre4rstMblxt_oEHb28/mobilebasic

CH 37 Things

[skyofamillionvoices]

So, in an attempt to hide from my stress and quell my Life and Times withdrawal I went through everything we know about Chapter 37 and made myself a little guide. Here it is for general viewing pleasure (and I will update it when we get more information/excerpts!)

Keep reading

[tlatpostcards]

The Life and Times Chapter 36: Soldiers

"Shall we start walking over, then?" "Yeah, all right." They scooted out of the booth. Lily waved politely to the bartender, and, as they made their way to the door, she took James's hand, and said: "Y'know something?" "Hmm?" "I sort of love you." "Really? Good." Lily rolled her eyes, as he dropped her hand, only to lay his arm around her shoulders. "I also hate you, though." James grinned. "That's a pretty common reaction there, Love." Then he opened the door, and they stepped out onto the pavement.

— JULES.

[msburgundy]

[tlatpostcards]

The Life and Times Chapter 36: Soldiers

How he managed to make the next statement was beyond Lily, as he did not take his eyes off her at all, but noted: "The others are coming." The others in question turned out to be Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Marlene, who soon joined them on the lawn. Sirius dropped to the grass first, just beside Lily, and said: "You two should have children. Can you imagine the madness of the hair? Bright red and sticking up in all directions. Chaos." Lily and James both chose to ignore this, the former instead greeting Marlene and inquiring of her: "Is Mary here?" "Mhm, looking at the memorial." She sat down to Sirius's right, as Remus and Peter selected spots beside James. "I guess that was a nice ceremony." The others only mumbled vaguely in response. The six of them then sat in silence until Remus spoke up: "It really is a war, isn't it?" he said darkly. "I never really thought of it like that before. Not honestly. A battle or a cause, maybe, but a war…" he trailed off. "I never really got it." "Neither did I," said James. "No," agreed Marlene. Peter shook his head. Sirius said nothing, and Lily thought he must understand why she too remained silent.

— JULES.

[tlatpostcards]

The Life and Times Chapter 36: Soldiers

After a brief pause, James shifted his body and now half faced her, a determined, intense spark in his eye that only added to the multiplicity of emotions playing on her just then. If she could only quiet them all and feel nothing: if only the sight of James in his element again, amongst all those grown-up, familiar witches and wizards did not bring her back to another day, and an introduction to Sam in his maroon fedora, and the naïve cheerfulness of card games in a lock-up. She averted her stare out to the trees again, because that was easier, until he began speaking again: "There is something I wanted to say to you." "Okay?" "I think you were wrong, last night—what you said about the war." "I don't..." "I know it's about you," he interrupted. "About muggleborns, I know that, but all those people in M.F.P. were a part of it too. That was the whole point of them, y'know—being a part of it, and so am I and so is Sirius and Remus and Pete and my parents and all of us. What they... what he wants and the Death Eaters want... that's wrong. It's not just wrong for you—it's wrong for everyone. So it's got everything to do with us." "I didn't mean..." "I know." James sounded calm; he even smiled a little. Determined, intense. "I know you didn't mean that it's not our concern or anything like that. You meant that—that people like Sam shouldn't have had to die. The Death Eaters don't have any problem with his blood status. But no one should have to die for this, and—and whatever else happens in this thing, it's not your fault."

— JULES.

[marbletones]

[tlatpostcards]

The Life and Times Chapter 36: Soldiers

There wasn't enough time. The kiss moved too quickly, deepening, growing more heated and needy at once. Their lips moved inelegantly, rushed, because in a minute, just another minute, please, they would have to wake up, open their eyes, realize, pay, atone, whatever, but before that, there was so much to communicate and experience. They couldn't possibly wrap up every missed opportunity and unvoiced thought, couldn't satisfy every curiosity, couldn't feel everything—not in this minute they'd stolen from the natural, proper, ordered progression of things, they couldn't, so theirs was a vain effort, like if she clung to him tightly enough or if he pressed deeper, more fervently against her, they might be able to make each other understand.

— JULES.