nothing left

by floweryfran

“We’re not in this place to be perfect, Peter,” James says to him, staring at the hovering moon, smoke clouding in front of his face. “We just have to be, in the way we think we ought to.”

“I don’t think I do a very good job of that,” Peter says.

James looks at him, then looks away. “None of us do,” he says. “We all care the most about the things that don’t really matter in the end. What matters is us. Just us. We’re all fucked in the head, and a bit brash, but we wouldn’t be us if we weren’t. We wouldn’t be doing the universe justice if we didn’t live the way she meant for us to.”

A moment.

“James?”

“Yes, Pete?”

“How do you think you’d want to die?”

James closes his eyes. “With friends,” he says. “Quietly, and surrounded by friends. That’s when I’m at my best, so that’s how I want to go.”

or, seven years is a long time. read closely, and there you'll find a glimpse of it all in clumsy unfolding fractals.

Genres: Fan Fiction

1975 pages, ebook

Published December 5, 2021

Reviews

[helene · Rating 5 out of 5]

nothing will ever know itself so well

[dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

James’s tone has gone dreamy—the voice he affects when discussing particularly excellent underdog victories, Bruce Springsteen, and treacle tart.

***

amazing brilliant showstopping never done before. if i could live in a story it’d be this. filled to the brim with magic and love and i genuinely think about this EVERY SINGLE DAY of my life. like every day. don’t mind me as i reread this seven billion times over the next year. i have so many thoughts about this fic. i wish goodreads had six/seven/eight/a thousand stars to give out bc i would give them all to nothing left (but some blood where the body fell). i an forever indebted to frankie for making this masterpiece a thing which is free to read. full of gays and happiness and yummy food and magic and tattoos and green boots and springsteen and 70s and war and happiness again. i wish i could say everything i feel about this fic but there are no words in any language which could encapsulate it.

<3

[jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

this. THIS is the marauders fic for me. this is my accepted canon. i have so much to say about this fic i feel like i'm gonna explode but at the same time i don't know how to verbalize the impact it has had on my life. i read it over the span of a couple weeks and it feels like i aged ten years right along with them. these characters became my friends and family. i laughed, i cried, i mourned. i felt anger, joy, fear, sadness. i LIVED in this story. the writing is magnificent, the characterization is to die for, the worldbuilding feel so organic and the effortless diversity should be the standard for all fiction ever. the fact that this is derivative of anything JKR could have come up with is insane because i can say with my whole chest this is a million times better than anything joanne has and will ever put out. a million stars <3

[carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE marauders fic!!!! better than atyd imo i love it so much probably in the top 10 of all literature i’ve ever read

[ari ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A package deal, he and James are. There's no one without the other on the dirt, so why would it be any different in the sky?”

”He loves her, and she feels something so enormous at the very thought of him that she wonders how exactly it fits in her chest. "Yes," she says. She thinks of
trying to explain it to Petunia all those summers ago, and how there will never be the right words for James, for love. Not for her, anyway; love has always been a riddle, and James here, James in her arms, James's ring on her finger, is the answer.”
literally canon like ??? this is perfect

"You care too much," Remus says, sitting there beside James and breathing.
James hunches over his own legs. "Can't care too much about you," he manages. An unintentional, desperate little grunt slips out. "No such thing.”
"Not just about me, plonker," Remus says, not unkindly. "In general. About everything, and everyone."
james potter best boy ever my #1

[Leya · Rating 5 out of 5]

it just feels like magic from start to finish <3

[taylore · Rating 5 out of 5]

exceptional. the writing blew me away. the characters left me bleeding out on the floor. the dynamics the storytelling the humor. the absoluteness of this story will never leave me

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read a better, more vivid story than this, its a dream, a miracle, a vanishing seed and a hundred yard field, everything thats ever been done should be done like this

[laith · Rating 5 out of 5]

youll never find anything of this caliber amongst published books

[Madison Coats · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing left of me I am but a whisp in the wind. I’ll love this forever and I have no words///a million more words to share about this journey.

[maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you look inside of my soul this fic is what you’ll see. i need it tattooed on my body. im naming all my children nothing left. legitimately the best piece of writing ive ever read (9 times!!!!!!! over 800k words long and im read it NINE times..), including published pieces. i recommend it to everyone i know whether or not they’re into marauders or if they’ve even read anything on ao3 before.

[s · Rating 5 out of 5]

a cool and interesting girl will always carry one little secret fanfic in their pockets and this is my personal pick (there should be no other pick besides this)

[gruby౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh MY GOD, this fanfic is EVERYTHING to me. Like, James and Sirius? Their bond?? Absolutely unmatched. And the relationship between Sirius and Regulus?? WOW. The love James gets from literally everyone—he’s not just the sun; he’s the whole damn solar system, and everyone else is just orbiting around him.

JILY JILY JILY. They’re literally THE blueprint. The most majestic, gorgeous, iconic couple in the history of ever. The way they love each other? Ugh, it’s so pure and perfect and consuming… I don’t even have words—it’s just chef’s kiss. Lily Evans, my queen, my goddess, my brilliant and strongest woman.

And JAMES. OH MY JAMIE. Prongs!! The best character to ever grace the pages of books —or, like, existence itself. I will defend him with my life.

But also… REMUS. My sweet, precious baby boy who doesn’t think he deserves anything good… YOU DESERVE THE WORLD. You’re EVERYTHING.

[hyperfixia · Rating 5 out of 5]

how do I tell people that one of my fav books ever was a marauders fanfiction on ao3?

this is so masterfully written that the work being Orphaned feels like an actual punishable by law crime to humanity. this fic filled a hole in my soul and left an even bigger gaping one in return.

things it excelled at:

-the jily portrayal. THE. JILY. PORTRAYAL
-James and Sirius's low-key codependent friendship
-sirius and remus's problematic relationship
-grief and mourning
-growing up and nostalgia
-mental illness and family trauma
-unchangeable people and when to leave
-life

nothing will ever compare. thank you random person who wrote this.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

can someone PLEASE send me the link?!? i’ve only found one fic with this name but i’m not sure it’s the right one. is is the one by orphan_account with around 45k words and only 2 chapters? if not would someone be so kind and please send the right one to me

[valen · Rating 5 out of 5]

no me juzgen

[Selena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Year 6 and Year 7

[Madison Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

when a book fucks with ur mental state that’s how you know it was good

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one took me nearly a month to get thru and i cant tell how i feel abt it except its nice to read a fic where they all end relatively happy

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

part 3