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genderkoolaid · 1 month

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so hey, i've been a follower of yours for quite some time, and i think it's highly concerning that you reblogged posts arguing that "zionist" and variations on that word are antisemitic, somehow.

i think it's a shame that we are failing to address how israel's crimes are often obscured by ill intentioned tone-policing, seeking to disregard the very valid concerns over the legitimacy of the state of israel and its colonialist practices.

someone could use their criticism of israel as a way to promote their antisemitic beliefs, obviously, but zionism has a bad connotation not because it relates to jewish people, but because it closely relates to the defense and promotion of apartheid and genocide in israel.

to say that "zio" or whatever variation there is on the word "zionist" is, undeniably, a slur is an attempt to use jewish people and their plight to shield a very oppressive state and its supporters. i usually like your takes, but this one seemed a bit out of character.

"Zio" =/= "zionist" or "zionism." Its not fair to conflate the use of "zio" with the use of "zionism"; you can be opposed to one and be fine with the other.

The abbreviation of "zio" in particular is associated with far-right antisemitism. The linked article in that post discusses how it was popularized by the former grand wizard of the KKK. I personally have seen it used in antisemitic contexts for years and frankly, felt it was common knowledge that "zio" was a slur associated with the right.

In order for anti-Zionism to not be actively anti-semitic, you have to actually care about Jewish people. It is not at all necessary to use the abbreviation of "zio" once you know it's far-right associations. It is not necessary to Palestinian liberation. I got another anon (which was much more hostile) that, similarly to this one, ignored the specific context of "zio" and acted as though the term is just a shortening of zionism/zionist, when that is not what is being criticized. At least, that's not why I am criticizing it.

On top of the examples in the article, here's "zio" being used on Stormfront in 2004:

And on the "Jew World Order" website:

Further examples from David Duke's website over the years:

Hell, even the Chicago Dyke March eventually apologized for their use of it, citing its "violent history." So there are anti-Zionists who have simply recognized that it's not a great abbreviation to use.

It is not tone-policing to ask that people not use a specific term due to it's association with the far-right. "Zio" is not necessary to discuss the crimes of Israeli colonialism. This stance is not, as the other anon put it, "against the [pro-palestinian] movement to its core." It's not just a "variation" anymore than theyfab is "just a term made up to describe transmisogynistic nonbinary people." There's real harm behind these words, real reasons to avoid using them, and they are entirely unnecessary for addressing the actual issues.

When you know "zio" in this context, or if you've been on the receiving end of violence where it was used, it is entirely reasonable to be opposed to it. Jews are not tone-policing for being disturbed by its usage. Anti-zionism can only be non-antisemitic to the extent that people put in the work to unlearn antisemitism and actively oppose it. Not using "zio" helps distinguish between pro-Palestinian anti-Zionism, and anti-Jewish anti-Zionism, something that is only beneficial for the movement.

#m.#ask box

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waterloggedsoliloquy · 11 months

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mutual 1: sorry the update for my webcomic this week is a bit late! i really had to rush it so it prolly looks really sloppy lol [some of the most sophisticated comic art ive ever seen]

mutual 2: call me uterine lining the way astarions cervix got me bleeding profusely

mutual 3: do you think nanowrimo will give me a posthumous pity publishing deal if i mention it in my suicide note

mutual 4: okay fine i finally started revolutionary girl utena

mutual 5: does columbo know the service he did for butch lesbians. for all of us

mutual 6: wish you were here [blurry picture set of conifer woods in early autumn evening, taken as if frantically running down a winding trail]

mutual 4: im pretty hardy i dont need the trigger list but thanks for looking out for me guys

mutual 7: good morning lovelies another day the wizard tried to best me and another day i successfully locked him in the spare bathroom lol hope u like drinking shampoo fucker

mutual 8: here is a zip of every yuri manga scan i have and here is a backup in case i get dcma'd. the himejoshi lifestyle will never die

mutual 9: i wish i could go back in time to the shinzo abe assassination and ask to hold the doohickey

mutual 10: here's my essay on how wanting to be loved is the same as wanting to be eaten. three paragraphs in you'll find out that this is 100% tied to an obscure beauty and the beast manga i've been reading lately and how much i want to fuck the beast

mutual 4: oh thats why there was the trigger list.

mutual 11: YOU CAN'T LOCK ME IN THIS BATHROOM FOREVER

mutual 12: why do i have to defend my thesis to people i dont even respect. im not dickriding you just give me the degree

mutual 13: its just me and this scab ive picked into my scalp against the world

mutual 14: my little dragon got glazed and is ready to go into the kiln! everyone wish him good luck!

mutual 3: nvm i am a beautiful genius. perhaps the most beautiful genius of all

mutual 15: i think we should give david lynch rpgmaker and whatever happens happens

mutual 16: kpeyboaatrds brpokem gpuys

mutual 17: also heres my work in progress glossary of mixtec words! i still have a long way to go but i love being able to preserve my roots even in this small way

mutual 4: i just finished the black rose arc. question: what

mutual 18: i need emet-selch to be my wife

mutual 19: i need glados to be my husband

mutual 20: visited the ocean today!!! <3 beach pics!!! there is a darkness growing within me

mutual 21: the forms for my legal name change came in. pls vote in this poll of what my middle name should be: Dill Pickle (Dickle for short), Optimus Prime, Tumblr User Gorgonicteratologist, Smeve

mutual 22: just finished my 100th book of the year! this weeks read was the uses of enchantment by the psychologist bruno bettelheim,

mutual 23: reeses penis butter cups lol

mutual 4: i need to hunt akio for sport

mutual 24: oouugghhrgh. hot. dog.

mutual 25: your favorite character or fictional other would want you to brush your teeth and wash your face so you're well rested and wake up feeling refreshed! make them proud!

mutual 26: being a delivery driver isnt the worst job ive ever had but i do keep wondering what itd be like to drive off into the wild blue yonder one day and not come back

mutual 27: weird dog? [phone picture of critically endangered stork]

mutual 28: i think the two phone line polls in front of my house are having a lovers tryst. no way to prove it tho

mutual 4: WHAT

mutual 29: while you bitches are balduring your gates or finalling those fantasies im doing what a REAL gamer does. playing a b tier rpg that came out in 2004 for the 18th time

mutual 30: ^ real. hamtaro ham ham heartbreak is a masterpiece of interactive art. im not even going to call it a video game at this point

mutual 4: THAT'S HOW IT ENDS?! ANTHY?

mutual 31: can you help me pick which drawing looks better: 34% overlay or 36% soft light?

mutual 32: new video essay out. its called disability in video game narratives: final fantasy 14's most reliable fault. i churned the script out over an all-nighter and my mic crapped out halfway through but by god i did it

mutual 33: my new zine bundle is out! if you buy it you also get a discount on all my game jam games! i really cant wait for you to play them!

mutual 4: yall should watch revolutionary girl utena

#cecil drawls #long post #i love you guys

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drarryspecificrecsdaily · 2 months

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2024.08.07

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. After Sunrise by @poljupci [E, 4k]

►Draco Malfoy is a man of many regrets. [...] At least he has enough sense not to make the biggest mistake of all: allowing Potter to doom them both by dragging him, a Death Eater, into a romantic relationship with the Wizarding World's blessed saviour (no matter how tempting the offer).

2. Fantastic Flip Fuck with Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy! by @hoko-onchi-writes [E, 10k]

►Draco fucks Harry. Harry fucks Draco. They are porn stars. That's it.

3. Stellaglas Mountain by @soliblomst [M, 9k]

►In the summer of 2004, Auror Harry Potter and Magizoologist Draco Malfoy are sent to spend the summer in the Stellaglas Mountains of Scotland to ensure the safety of two Qilins newly offered by China.

---

Fest/Exchange

1. Tied To Me With Crimson Knots by @drwhoisginnyholmes [M, 2k]

►Harry’s fingertip laid bare, an unconnected hand, a silent thing, no red string in sight. / Draco’s was bound, to a Muggle, once bright. / But darkness came, and shadows spread. / Voldemort’s hand left the Muggle boy dead. / In that moment, fate took a twist, / A red string formed on Harry’s wrist. / From enemy to friend, perhaps to lover, / Their destinies entwined, one to discover. ★ HP Soulmates Fest 2024 | @hp-soulmates

#drarry #drarry fanfic #drarry fic rec #harry potter #draco malfoy #daily list #2024 #2024.08

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deweyduck · 11 months

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@easthigh's monstober 2023 event 👻 week three: costumes

↳ MY FAVOURITE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES IN DISNEY CHANNEL SHOWS

Della and Donald Duck in DuckTales | 03x10 "The Trickening!" (2020)

Maya Hart in Girl Meets World | 01x11 "Girl Meets World of Terror" (2014)

Miranda Sanchez in Lizzie McGuire | 01x24 "Night of the Day of the Dead" (2001)

Holden Dippledorf and Liv Rooney in Liv and Maddie 03x04 "Haunt-a-Rooney" (2015)

Olive Rozalski, Emmy Mendoza, Sophia, and Sydney Reynolds in Sydney to the Max | 03x14 "The Hunt for Rad October" (2021)

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable in Kim Possible | 01x14 "October 31st" (2002)

Willow Park in The Owl House | 03x01 "Thanks to Them" (2022)

Riley Matthews in Girl Meets World | 01x11 "Girl Meets World of Terror" (2014)

Luz Noceda and Amity Blight in The Owl House | 03x01 "Thanks to Them" (2022)

Cece Jones and Rocky Blue in Shake It Up | 03x25 "Haunt-It-Up" (2013)

Keely Teslow and Phil Diffy in Phil of the Future | 01x15 "Halloween" (2004)

Jumba Jookiba and Wendy Pleakley in Lilo & Stitch: The Series | 01x05 "Spooky" (2003)

London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody | 03x12 "Arwinstein"

Daphne Diaz in Stuck in the Middle | 02x17 "Stuck in a Merry Scary"

Hartley and Amy Madden in The Villains of Valley View | 01x11 "Havoc-Ween"

Frankie Wong and Paige Olvera in Bizaardvark | 03x07 "Halloweenvark Part 3: Mali-Boo!"

Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place | 03x02 "Halloween"

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dewitty1 · 5 months

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Fic Recs Wrap Up April 2024♡(੭ˊ͈ ꒵ˋ͈)੭*･:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Mirror Mirror by epiphany_dex

Harry’s new year starts with a bang when he encounters Draco Malfoy at the Ministry Ball. Rec Post

(Never) Let Me Go by maraudersaffair @maraudersaffair

Harry and Ginny are married, but she abandoned him for her Quidditch career overseas. He is lonely and desperate for love and very interested in sleeping with a man. Then, one night at a party, Draco Malfoy whispers in his ear: Do you want to leave with me? Harry knows he should say no, especially since a scandal would ruin his chance at becoming Head Auror, but Malfoy is entirely too fit to pass up the opportunity. Rec Post

Another Mind Game by May_May_0_0

Harry’s occlumency reveals his disturbing home life which sets off a chain reaction that cannot be undone. Snape finds himself begrudgingly caring about the bespectacled boy, Harry discovers what it’s like to have adults who care, and Hermione finds herself becoming an accidental crime lord. Draco Malfoy is very much along for the ride, in all senses of the word. Rec Post

Dragons Don’t Know Paradise by teacup_tai @teacup-tai

In 2004, when Remus spends two scary weeks in the ITU due to complications of pneumonia and his HIV condition, Sirius walks around the house like a ghost and Harry finds comfort and strength in Draco through a chat in an online LGBT forum. Harry falls for him, but Draco has a lot of secrets and, before long, will need to come clean—even if he believes that no one is able to understand a dragon. Rec Post

Stalking Harry by orphan_account

Harry Potter is the most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding world. Draco Malfoy is a disgraced ex-Death Eater with emotional baggage and a bit of a crush. Rec Post

Through His Eyes (I Am Set Free) by Shewhxmustnxtbenamed @shewhomustnotbenamed

Harry and Draco have a telepathic connection that remains unexplained in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds. Draco is assigned a mission by Voldemort to locate and capture the Boy Who Lived– the trouble is that they don’t know anything about him. While Draco struggles to gather information on this mysteriously absent hero, he and Harry start communicating again for the first time since they were kids. Harry continues life as normal until he discovers information which compels him to abandon his ordinary Muggle life with the endeavor to rescue and emancipate his only friend– even if that means bartering with his own life. Rec Post

A Private Reason for This by Femme (femmequixotic) @femmequixotic

When the wife of a star politician in the Scottish Ministry turns up dead just outside Hogsmeade, Draco Malfoy and his murder investigation team are called in from the Edinburgh Auror force to find her killer. What DCI Malfoy doesn’t expect, however, is to have an ex from two decades past end up in his murder room, endangering not only his case, but also his heart. Rec Post

Consequences of Redemption by ominousflags @ominousflags

When Draco makes an impromptu decision to rescue Harry Potter from Malfoy Manor, the two find themselves completely alone and facing the looming climax of the war against Voldemort. Harry must start from the beginning with Draco–and starting over has more consequences than either of them anticipated. Rec Post

Double Trouble by multiverse_of_fanfic

Four years after the War, Draco is stuck in a dead-end job, paper-pushing his life away. Until one day, after a security breach in the Ministry, he receives an offer he can’t refuse. Thrown back into a world he thought he’d left behind, Draco must wrestle with his Death Eater past as well as his inconvenient — and forbidden — feelings for an annoyingly level-headed Harry Potter.

Will he manage to come out unscathed like he has most of his life, or will it all come crashing down? Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well!(ノﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ━☆ﾟ･*:.｡. .｡.:*･.*･｡ﾟ*:・ﾟ✧

Weapons of Massive Consumption by SanderVanSunshine @sandervansunshine

Eight years after the war, Harry Potter lives a life of hedonism: raging parties, huge impulse purchases, and seemingly no worries. But it's Draco Malfoy—former Death Eater, lover of blueberry muffins, and bane of coffee shop workers—who starts to wonder if it's all a front, if something's actually terribly wrong with him. Why else would Potter ask Draco, of all fucking people, to write his biography?

What We Left Behind by peachydreamxx @peachydreamxx

Harry's recovering from an injury. Malfoy's recovering from heartbreak. Beaten down and bruised, Harry takes up Malfoy's offer to stay at his secluded seaside cottage in Dorset. It'll be good to get away from it all. It's only for a few days, and it's only so he can heal. Nothing else. Digging up past feelings will only make matters worse, and besides, Malfoy doesn't feel the same way. Does he?

Take You Home by lq_traintracks (lumosed_quill) @lqtraintracks

Everybody’s a little fucked up after the war, Draco especially. What starts as hate sex after a night out, eventually turns into something else, something more like comfort. And even though his friends all tell Harry he’s just being used, all Harry’s doing is making sure Draco gets home in one piece. He’s not falling helplessly in love.

Vipera Berus by Justlikewriting

Everything was fine. Draco resided at the Manor, made a decent living selling potions and most of his customers actually kept coming back despite his last name. Hence, Draco was fine. He really was. So what, if he was still waiting.

Title & Possession by Kbrick @kbrick

Harry Potter’s life is going well in the aftermath of the war. Sure, his house is dark and run-down and might hate him (while his house elf definitely hates him). But other than that, things are good. Except, yeah, okay, Hermione and Ron are no longer on speaking terms. Worse, they keep trying to get Harry to pick sides. But otherwise, Harry couldn’t be happier. Well. Except for the fact that Ginny is being super weird about their relationship and never wants to have sex or talk about the future. But other than that, Harry is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch. At least, he is until Draco Malfoy sues him for ownership of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Then Harry really isn’t fine at all.

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading, y’all! xoxo Carey (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

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theoutcastrogue · 1 month

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Rogues in fantasy TTRPGs that aren't Dungeons & Dragons

Sometimes it's called Rogue, sometimes it's called Thief. It can be a class, or a template, or a sample build for a classless system. It can be pigeonholed to a couple of roles and specialties, or wide open to interpretations and extensive customisation.

But any self-respecting fantasy game, chock-full as it may be with mighty warriors and powerful wizards, needs a disreputable little shit: the rogue, the thief, the scoundrel, the one who strays. And it's a truly universal archetype. The people in the margins are the salt of the earth, and a setting without them is just… unseasoned.

"The thief gives us a chance to play someone closer to heart, someone who's not strong or possessed of magical talents, someone who has to rely on wit and stealth to survive. Someone, we can imagine, who might very well be just like us. And in being more like us, it's clear that the thief is not just a column of percentile chances to pick locks and disarm traps; she is blessed with as many different skills and appearances as there are crimes to be committed. And that's quite a lot." [x]

So here's a sneak peek at the Thief/Rogue in:

Shadowdark (2023) - gridmark and rules-light dungeoncrawl

Tales of the Valiant (2024) - a D&D 5e variant

Rolemaster Unified (2022) - famously crunchy and customisable

GURPS 4e Dungeon Fantasy (2007) - classic classless system

Ars Magica 5th Edition (2004) - the historically grounded one (in Europe 1200 AD), very customisable

Four Against Darkness (2017) - solo dungeoncrawl

Blades in the Dark (2017) - where everyone's a rogue!

Pathfinder 2e (2024) - a million rules and it's all 3.5's fault

Lankhmar: City of Thieves (2015) - the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser setting, with the Savage Worlds system

#rogue #Shadowdark #Tales of the Valiant #GURPS #Dungeon Fantasy #Ars Magica #Four Against Darkness #Blades in the Dark #Pathfinder 2e #Lankhmar: City of Thieves #Savage Worlds #trs #how to rogue #crunch #fluff #thief

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book--brackets · 2 months

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Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul (2004-2008)

When Kale, a slave girl, finds a dragon egg, she is given the unexpected opportunity to become a servant to Paladin. But on her way to The Hall, where she was to be trained, Kale runs into danger. Rescued by a small band of Paladin's servants, Kale is turned from her destination.

Feeling afraid and unprepared, Kale embarks on a perilous quest to find the meech dragon egg stolen by the foul Wizard Risto. But their journey is threatened when a key member of the party is captured, leaving the remaining companions to find the Wizard Fenworth, attempt an impossible rescue, and recover the egg--whose true value they have not begun to suspect.

Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher (2017-2018)

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It's not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher's new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager's city.

If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon (1988-1989)

Paksenarrion — Paks for short — is somebody special. She knows it, even if nobody else does yet. No way will she follow her father's orders to marry the pig farmer down the road. She's off to join the army, even if it means she can never see her family again.

And so her adventure begins... the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.

Here is her tale as she lived it.

Paks is trained as a mercenary, blooded, and introduced to the life of a soldier . . . and to the followers of Gird, the soldier's god.

Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen (2006-2016)

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

Dragon Jousters by Mercedes Lackey (2003-2006)

The first book in this thrilling new series introduces us to a young slave who dreams of becoming a jouster-one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon. And so, in secret, he begins to raise his own dragon...

Frontier Magic by Patricia C. Wrede (2009-2012)

Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent -- and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan (2017)

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border ― unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and ― best of all as far as Elliot is concerned ― mermaids. "Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle." Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands. It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world. In Other Lands is the exhilarating new book from beloved and bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan. It’s a novel about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools, about friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world ― even if it means giving up your phone.

Iron Butterfly by Chanda Hahn (2012-2014)

Imprisoned, starved and left with no memories, Thalia awakens to find herself at the mercy of an evil cult known as the Septori. Their leader has chosen Thalia as the test subject for a torture device of untold power, designed to change and twist her into something that is neither human nor Denai.

Escaping, Thalia finds an unwilling warrior to protect her and an unlikely Denai to befriend her. After finding a home at the Citadel as a servant, Thalia’s worst nightmare comes to life and she begins to show signs of power. Scared and unable to control her gifts, she tries to hide her past to fit in among the Denai. But the Septori want their latest test subject back and will stop at nothing to retrieve her, dead or alive.

Old Magic by Marianna Curley (2000)

Jarrod Thornton is mesmerizing, but Kate Warren doesn’t know why.

Jarrod is the clumsy new boy at school that Kate can’t take her eyes off, and it’s not just because he has amazing eyes, but because she senses something different about him, and when he inadvertently blows up the classroom, she knows exactly what it is. He has powers like her, except he doesn’t know it and Kate sets out to show him. On their journey of discovery Kate learns Jarrod has an ancient curse on his family that will keep hurting his little brother and parents if they don’t do something to remove it.

Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist (1988)

Successful screenwriter Phil Hastings decides to move his family from sunny California to a ramshackle farmhouse in New York State. The idea is to take some time out, relax and pick up the threads of his career as a novelist. Good plan, bad choice. The place they choose is surrounded by ancient woodland. The house they choose is the centrepoint of a centuries-old evil intent on making its presence felt to intruders.

#best fantasy book #poll #dragonkeeper chronicles #clocktaur war #the deed of paksenarrion #chronicles of the imaginarium geographica #dragon jousters #thirteenth child #in other lands #iron butterfly #old magic #faerie tale

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lcdrarry · 4 months

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LCDrarry 2024 Round-Up Post | Week 3

On Sundays during our posting period, we won't post a new work, instead you have time to catch up with the works that posted during the week and hopefully leave lovely comments for our creators.

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information. Thank you!

PPS: Please share far and wide! Thank you!!

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Podfic

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"The Pirc Defence" by sleepstxtic

Prompt: "The Queen’s Gambit", 2019, Scott Frank Written by: @sleepstxtic Narrated by: Anonymous Podfic Length: 01:05:00 Rating: Explicit Warnings: None

Summary: They were rivals, and they were lovers, and they were the greatest chess players of their generation. Exactly in that order.

Listen to it now on AO3.

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Art

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Draco's Moving Castle

Prompt: "Howl's Moving Castle", 2004, Hayao Miyazaki Prompted by: @Somethingveryodd (newskyillusion on ao3) Author: Anonymous Art Medium: Digital Rating: General Audiences Warnings: None

Summary: Art for LCDrarry2024 fest. Prompt was Howl's Moving Castle.

Read it now on AO3.

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Fic

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we were born to be national treasures

Prompt: "Legally Blonde", 2001, Robert Luketic Prompted by: MoonyEmilie3017 (ao3) Author: Anonymous Word Count: 4,979 words Rating: General Audiences Warnings: There is nothing triggering in the work, although it does heavily rely on the subject of needing academic validation as a woman in a patriarchal society.

Summary: Danica Malfoy is determined to study law and move forward in life. But is anything really ever that simple?

Read it now on AO3.

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End of Beginnings

Prompt: "All of Us Strangers", 2023, Andrew Haigh Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 5,324 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Canonical Character Death

Summary: As Harry and Draco start developing a relationship, Harry finds himself drawn back to the Potter house in Godric's Hollow, where his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died.

Based on the movie All of Us Strangers (2023) though you don't have to have seen it to understand the fic.

Read it now on AO3.

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The Potters : Possessed case

Prompt: "The Conjuring", 2013, James Wan Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 12,039 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Horror, blood, vomiting, mention of suicide, possession, exorcism

Summary: After a lecture, Harry and Draco meet a frightened woman, telling them that her entire family is scared to death of their new house.

But Harry and Draco wanted to take a break after a traumatising case. Maybe it's just natural causes and the house isn't haunted, right?

Read it now on AO3.

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By the Book

Prompt: "The Proposal", 2009, Anne Fletcher Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 14,586 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: None

Summary: It’s hard being Draco Malfoy: workaholic publishing professional extraordinaire. Between revolutionizing the Wizarding World and fighting with Harry Potter, his chief of staff, it makes sense Draco forgot to check his mother filed some paperwork. Oops. Easy enough to avoid deportation by saying he’s engaged to said manager.

Too bad that plan involves visiting Ottery St Catchpole, a gaggle of redheads, and defrauding the government.

Read it now on AO3.

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this strange effect

Prompt: "Killing Eve" (2018 - 2022) Prompted by: Soulmates Drarry Author: Anonymous Word Count: 30,670 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Violence, Blood and Injury, Assassinations, Killing Eve AU, Murder, Light Poisoning, Obsessive Behavior, Reference to past addiction issues, Presents

Summary: Harry hated his job, his cousin, and his inability to figure out how to fit into the boring, depressing world around him. He kept his peace until Draco Malfoy turned out to not be dead like Harry thought he was. Deadly, though? Harry was going to figure that out.

Read it now on AO3.

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The Heart of the Heart

Prompt: "Howl's Moving Castle", 2004, Hayao Miyazaki Prompted by: @Somethingveryodd (newskyillusion on ao3) Author: Anonymous Word Count: 52,775 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: None

Summary: Harry Potter’s boring routine comes crumbling down when he takes the wrong shortcut at the wrong time; he almost ends up in a brawl, gets rescued by a handsome stranger, successfully escapes sentient tar, learns to walk on air and then becomes victim to a spiteful, petty and undeserved ageing curse - and all that within a single afternoon! Now transformed into an old man, Harry decides to run away in search of a way to reverse the spell, but the path is precarious and the journey long. As he's trying to make his way through magic and treachery, danger and deceit, it's becoming abundantly clear that something more is hidden behind petty magic - something deeper and more valuable and connected all too thoroughly to what may only be classified as love.

Read it now on AO3.

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Creator reveals are on 15 June.

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wfagamerants · 2 years

Text

I have made it very blatant that I am a fan of Toad.

If you followed me for a while, you also likely have heard me vent about the claim Toad and Captain Toad are different characters, citing multiple contradictions to this claim in the games themselves.

I’m not here to deny official word or push my preferences (though I do have them), rather I want to give my perspective on the whole thing in full and delve a little into how Nintendo handles main members of a Mario species in general.

First, it’s important to recognize that Nintendo is loose with a lot of stuff. Many different people work on these games and you can see different takes on how to present certain species quite frequently.

When we think of Toad, the main way we think of him distinguished from other members of his species is the red spots and blue vest combo. In a large number of games that is indeed the case.

Most spin-offs, Super Mario 3D Land and Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, only to name some. Those make it simple, red spots and blue vest Toad is THE Toad. Other red Toads have a red vest.

However, not every game makes it so nice and simple. The pre-GameCube games had ALL the basic Toads rock the red spots and blue vest combo. THE Toad was distinguished more by role, being the only Toad in the game or as in Super Mario RPG, being the only Toad to have Toad: in his text box, even in the japanese version I might add, to indicate he is the main one you keep meeting.

The modern games aren’t without occasional screwyness themselves though. Odyssey reverts to the idea of all generic Toads using that look and then you have things like Sunshine or the Baseball games, where there is no red spots & blue vest Toad, but a red vest Toad is identified as THE Toad in things like the manual:

It’s weird, but it should be said the 2000s were still a bit of a transitional era for Mario. It took until 2004 for short sleeves Wario to be consistently used in spin-offs for instance and Peach still had her old dress in Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. You saw oddities like that around a fair bit.

The only time the Toad thing ever came up again in later years is Puzzles & Dragons SMB Edition and even that one has THE Toad on the cover, despite him having a red vest in the game,

Something that is even stranger given that by then they had stock Red Toad renders around and Nintendo is so overprotective of Mario as an IP, that them letting this slide is notable.

While this kinda stuff muddles things, it doesn’t take away from the fact a THE Toad exists. It’s seemingly more about the iconic visuals, than the detail. That visual of a single red Toad being with the rest of the main cast.

Something that still persists to this very day and will, with the distinctions we prefer to go for (only one blue vest, red spots Toad) even be present in the movie, which Nintendo is directly involved with.

It’s a thing that extends beyond Toad and has been present with other characters representing their species as well. Kamek being the most blatant example of it.

Even prior to Yoshi’s Island, singular important Magikoopas such as a particular Yoshi’s Safari boss, a right-hand man Magikoopa in Super Mario kun’s Super Mario World story or the eeeeeevil Koopa wizard Wizenheimer in the Super Mario World cartoon, had already appeared as important parts of Bowser’s troops.

It’s with Yoshi’s Island that one particular Magikoopa, who was the one who raised Bowser no less, was introduced. While this had no distinct name in Japan, where all Magikoopas are known as Kamek, the localization either consciously or by lucky accident, kept his name as Kamek, giving him a big distinguishing element from his species.

The idea of Kamek the main Magikoopa is one that persists to this day and it makes a lot of sense why. Given his shown connection to Bowser in his debut game, there is no reason to assume the most prominent Magikoopas aren’t this particular one and localization was happy to keep the concept around.

In Japan meanwhile, Kamek the character is not a foreign concept, but many materials do not make a formal distinction between the character and the species. It’s there, just more vague. You can sense that in localizations too, with how there are a couple notable oddities.

Mario Party 9 has a playable Magikoopa who is referred to as such in american localization, is called Kamek in other versions, like the german translation. Whether this is meant to be the character or a generic member of the species is genuinely not clear. Not helping matters is how european translations sometimes call generic Magikoopas like in the first couple Paper Mario games and as recent as Bowser’s Fury, Kameks.

A particularly noteworthy example is Giant Kamek in Super Princess Peach. His status as a boss, the one to guard Luigi no less, makes it easy to take him as Kamek transformed, but then you look at the Glossary:

A Kamek. It’s meant to be a generic member of the species, in a new form.

The truth is that Mario is a very, as I like to call it ‘’function over flavor’’ series. It’s more about the function, such as a main red Toad or a main Magikoopa and not so much the finer details like whether the vest color is correct, even if many games DO take that into account.

Because of this, I think the thing to look for is consistency, whatever fits the consistent image is the most likely answer. We will never know in some cases if the character in question is a generic member of the species or the main one, but that is because Nintendo themselves often don’t put that much stock into it.

On that note, while localizations, despite greater efforts to define things can fumble too, I don’t think that means they don’t ‘’count’’. I generally don’t agree with the idea that only japanese sources have any say with how to interpret Mario stuff, because the series does not have the lore consistency to give that idea weight.

On top of that, we have seen that western influences have affected the franchise at large more than once. The western Super Mario Bros 2 is the most obvious example of this, with how many elements of it have made it far into the franchise. Most notable though are the Koopalings, who didn’t even have names in the japanese version of SMB3 and adapted their localization given names.

This kind of stuff isn’t like say, Monsteropolis in the US Mega Man manual or the US Sonic CD manual clumsily trying to treat Amy as Sally. This stuff is still with the franchise today and as the movie shows, still matters.

THE Toad is a thing in the movie and as is Kamek. Both clearly defined as such and while the New York backstory is not a western invention, it was more emphasized in the west and that’s back too. It’s even Brooklyn again and I’m not even sure if that was ever specified in japanese material or direct confirmation from Miyamoto.

Mario is not a story centric series where only the original text matters. It’s a extremely loose canon, where what the west did, still matters to this very day and is of equal importance.

With all this in mind, let’s talk Captain Toad.

To understand my point on what I mean with contradictions regarding him and Toad being separate characters, we need to look at what Captain was like in the Galaxy games.

In these games, Captain Toad as a name did not exist, with him being only referred to as ‘’the captain of the Toad Brigade’’ and being specifically shown to be a self proclaimed captain at that. Even his inability to jump was invented later on and is contradicted by many level set pieces he shows up in, as well as this:

Even the headlamp, one of his defining visual features, wasn’t treated as anything that special, with BankToad being able to get it at a certain level of deposited Star Bits in Galaxy 2.

He wasn’t really talked about in any official materials and didn’t even get an official render of any sort, but you know who did and is on the cover of Galaxy 2 no less?

Toad. I have seen the argument that this could be an error, but for that to make it all the way to the cover, the first thing someone would see of the game when buying it, would make that a very massive one. Additionally, Toad also has a render for Galaxy 1, even though he wouldn’t have any presence in either game aside from a Save File icon and a cameo in the story book opening of Galaxy 1, if he’s not Captain. The only existing bios for Toad or Captain in these games, even identify them as the same character.

It does line up with what I said about consistency. Sunshine gave us a group of 5 Toads in different colors, with the red vest and red spots one being singled out to be the main Toad. Galaxy introducing a similar group and making the red Toad, in a franchise where a red Toad is one of the main characters, THE Toad, like in Sunshine or the Baseball games, makes sense because there is precedent.

Then many years later came 3D World, the game where Toad and Captain were supposedly clarified to be different characters, co-existing at the same time.

This is also the game where the main playable Toad is a Blue Toad. THE Toad, has never been portrayed that way before or since, to the point where every time Nintendo reuses one of the Blue Toad renders in this game

They are recolored to fit his proper appearance, because this has NEVER been how he has been portrayed. The game really emphasizes the playable Toad being a blue one too, with how the credits scene even shows Captain with a group of Toads, missing a blue one.

This flies heavily in the face of past established consistency, where between Sunshine, the many spin-offs or Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, THE Toad has always been distinguished as the red one, because that’s the first one, who established himself as THE Toad.

One could point to his blue color palette in NES SMB2 and I have seen arguments that it’s an homage to that. We don’t have official word on this, but I find that very hard to buy, because he was never supposed to look like this. When he WAS depicted that way in art, everyone was portrayed with their in-game colors:

And in every other case, everyone had their proper colors:

3D World doesn’t do either. The idea of a homage rings hollow when Mario, Luigi and Peach are the same as usual and those couple spots needing to be recolored to not confuse him with Mario, also doesn’t really make sense, given how drastically different their body types are.

It goes so far the official Super Mario website even lists red spots specifically as one of Toad’s defining features, which would make him being Blue Toad in 3D World even stranger:

The game also lacks any kind of red spots and blue vest Toad, which 3D Land ensured there was only one of, to identify him as THE Toad. You know who had an icon like that in the reveal trailer though?

Captain Toad. Completely new art no less, that stuck around in the game to be in the reveal trailer, less than half a year away from release.

Also, yah know how you can find Captain Toad in levels and sometimes get a collectible out of it?

Toad did the same thing in 3D Land. Even in terms of gameplay function, the two are extremely similar. Similarities between the two are a running theme from here on out.

Prominent red Toads who throw turnips, give out stars, have Toadette as a partner, act as leaders to other Toads and have been depicted with fairy partners (though in Captain’s case only in concept art).

It is baffling how much they have in common and you can tell that even more by how much the two are linked.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker has an amiibo bundle, amiibo functionality and a pre-order bonus, centered around a character that, according to some sources, you don’t even play as.

All by Nintendo themselves btw. Same with say, this video title or german eShop description for the game, which refer to the main character as Captain and Toad interchangeably.

This even extends to in-game content:

And an Odyssey developer interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVNYfoFcrZY

Then you got Mario Maker call Toad Captain:

Smash let's Toad’s spirit evolve into Captain, which is tied to gameplay AND in-line with stuff like Shadow becoming Super Shadow or Alm and Celica becoming their adult selves. The game even makes the distinction that THE Toad exists in the tips, where Peach’s Toad is THE Toad and Daisy’s (who is blue ala’ 3D World btw) is a Toad.

And then you get Mario Kart Tour, the only spin-off Captain Toad is in and the same one where someone like Peachette can be an independent playable character distant from Toadette OR Peach, so yeah. He even shares most of his animations with Toad:

A trait mainly seen with the simpler alts. Pit Stop Toad has more unique animations than Captain has.

VS Tour promos even group him with Toad, right next to him. Same happens with Peachette, who is correctly placed between Toadette and her alts.

Hillariously enough, even LEGO gets in on this, by giving Toad a treasure hunting themed expansion:

As I said, it’s not my intent to ignore official word. Officially, Captain is regarded as a different character, I’m just pointing out how much the games themselves don’t support that and how it requires a lot of justification and ignoring of past patterns to get there and explain away the mountains of counter evidence.

I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss every source that speaks against those claims either, these are just people trying to make sense of the mess Nintendo has left behind and I could just as easily point out that the original confirmation Captain is a separate character, also came with Toads not truly being mushrooms. A claim that contradicts a lot of past descriptions of the species, dialogue mentioning things like spores and Toad showing spore abilities at multiple points.

Not saying this invalidates the entire thing, just pointing out this is a nightmarish mess if you want to maintain consistency.

It’s why Movie Toad is exciting to me.

Giving him the backpack, Captain’s most defining feature these days and thus possibly silently merging them, is to me, the best and least complicated thing they could do.

Time will tell if this will affect anything, but Nintendo allowing for this at all does tell me they are fine with the characters being linked, which I hope translates to good things for him. Toad has a lot to gain from being Captain, while Captain really struggles to be his own thing, because he IS Toad in all but official word.

#super mario

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sitp-recs · 9 months

Note

hi Liv! do you know any fics (drarry or rarepair) that have themes of queer identity or lgbt community please? 🌈

What a wonderful ask, I love stories exploring coming out, queer identity and the sense of community 💜 I listed below some personal favorites, I’m sure I’ve read more but I didn’t want this post to get too long! You’ll notice that Writcraft is mentioned one too many times - I highly recommend checking their full catalogue as queer themes are strong and recurrent in their works.

Drarry

what draco does on thursday nights by @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (G, 1.5k)

harry didn't know what draco does on thursday nights. until he mistakenly comes over with takeout. OR, draco has a queer writing group.

Pride by @writcraft (E, 9k)

Harry and Draco form an unlikely friendship after the war. Even as the friendship becomes more, Draco is quick to push Harry away before they become too deeply involved. As Harry fights to save an iconic wizarding pub and gay safe-haven from being closed down, circumstances force Draco to confront his true feelings head on.

the way you make me glow by @softlystarstruck (M, 11k)

In a cottage next to the sea, love blossoms. Or perhaps it’s been there all along.

When You Kiss Me (What A Lovely Way To Burn) by Femme (E, 22k)

A drag fairytale of New York in which Draco wears red lipstick and Potter can’t get enough.

Welcome to the Broom Closet by incapricious (E, 23k)

Harry thinks he knows how his life will go: Become an Auror. Marry Ginny. Have a family. But then he sees an advertisement in the paper that no one else can see, and his life is turned upside-down. The Broom Closet: you can be anyone you want while you're there, but you won't remember it in the morning.

The Light That is Blinding Me by leontina (E, 23k)

After Flourish and Blotts stop stocking the books of Harry’s favourite author, he is directed to a queer bookshop and discovers it’s owned by none other than Draco Malfoy, who has more in common with Harry than either of them realise.

Harry Potter and The Bisexual Awakening by Writcraft (E, 23k)

Harry is perfectly content being single, heterosexual and living in Godric's Hollow with his very clingy rescue dog, Snitch. When Draco Malfoy turns up on Harry's doorstep demanding that Harry teach him how to drive, things quickly become a lot more complicated.

Dragons Don't Know Paradise by @teacup-tai (E, 51k)

The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things by Writcraft (E, 63k)

Harry has terrific friends, an amazing girlfriend and his job as Head Auror enables him to work on challenging cases and Ministry reform. He just wishes he could work out why he’s been so out of sorts. When Draco Malfoy is arrested for gross indecency, Harry’s comfortable life begins to unravel. He’s forced to decide if it’s worth risking everything for love in a world where following his heart is a criminal offence.

Little Compton Street by Writcraft (E, 65k)

Draco is lonely, Harry hates the press and it won’t stop raining in London. Harry discovers a magical street that’s close to disappearing forever and Draco realises he’s one rainy night in Soho away from finding everything he’s been searching for.

Out and the Open by HenryMercury (M, 75k)

The war is over, and Draco finally has the courage to decide who she is. The war is over, and Harry finally has the freedom to decide what she likes.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose and dustmouth (T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Pages of You by @wolfpants (E, 101k)

Summer, 1980. Harry is floating between university and becoming a Real Certified Adult. He's not ready. He really isn't. In a desperate attempt to have the Best Last Summer ever, he takes a casual job at his godfather's bookshop in London, starts an illicit pen pal affair with a wordy posh boy that he's catching feelings for, all while dealing with the son of Sirius's business rival, one Draco Malfoy, insufferable know-it-all extraordinaire.

Rare pairs

With a Look by earlybloomingparentheses (Ginny + Deamus, E, 5k)

Now, twenty years old and done with boys and looking forward very much to putting her hand down some lucky girl’s shirt later this evening, Ginny looks at Dean Thomas’s gold-painted fingernails and feels heat pool between her legs.

Rebel Rebel by @teacup-tai (Sirius/Remus, E, 6k)

Sirius has just turned twenty and life is changing around him, blossoming, like Remus wrote in his last letter. This is a story about life and exploration, about feeling lost and finding oneself in other people's bodies, about building love and community. This is a story about hope and sex and growing up.

Independent Love Song by Writcraft (Ginny/Millicent, E, 6k)

Millicent Bulstrode is a tailor and Ginny is losing her mind over a woman in a tweed blazer and burgundy brogues.

testosterone (sounds like a spell) by pauraque (Justin/Hannah, E, 8k)

Justin never returned to Hogwarts after the Death Eaters came. He's found that the Muggle world offers other kinds of transfiguration — a body alchemy far more powerful than any magic spell. Sometimes he wonders if anyone even remembers that once, years ago, he was a novice wizard. As it turns out, one person does, and it's the one person he'd most want to.

Winter of '79 by Writcraft (James/Sirius, E, 17k)

Post-punk Britain is in the grip of another brutal winter, Thatcher is in power and Muggle gay bars keep getting raided for no reason at all. Sirius just wants to find somewhere to go drinking with the best mate he definitely doesn’t fancy. When they’re directed towards a tatty Soho sex shop during a night out, neither James or Sirius expect to find a magical street that will change their lives forever.

Pansy, Rows, and Mutual Wanking by @violetclarity and kysprite (Pansy/Hermione, E, 27k)

Eighth year. Hermione's ready. She's going to study, have fun with her friends, and ignore her new roommate's obnoxious wanking habits. And alright, maybe she wouldn't be so annoyed with it if she'd had any good sex in the past. But that doesn't mean she wants Pansy Parkinson to teach her how to wank… does it?

Friends of Dorothy by Writcraft (Harry/Snape, E, 22k)

When Harry Potter sees Severus Snape on a date with another wizard it sets him on a journey of self-discovery that leads to the Friends of Dorothy Detective Agency and a Niffler called Toto.

How We Were Warriors by Writcraft (Harry/Snape, E, 51k)

A homophobic attack in London’s Soho brings Harry to New York City to discover more about the past. Still haunted by love and loss in the eighties, Severus just wants to forget. In Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, past and present collide, and in one another Severus and Harry find hope for the future.

Play Me Like A Love Song by Writcraft (Minerva/Will, E, 68k)

Minerva McGonagall doesn’t believe in love at first sight, which is why her instant attraction to drag king Wilhelmina ("Will") Grubbly-Plank is so unexpected. War tears apart the wizarding world and as one battle ends Minerva and Will must fight once more, this time for the lives of their friends on Little Compton Street. A love story spanning five decades defined by music, laughter and tears, in which love is not always easy, but it’s always worth fighting for.

#asks #anon #lgbt recs #coming out #queer history #queer community

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dduane · 1 year

Note

Just finished rereading Wizards at War, and realized that because I started by reading the old editions back in 2001 I vaguely thought it was set in the late 80's, early 90's. (My copy has the copyright listed as 2005) So I noticed some references to the general state of the world at the time that I missed the first time around. If its okay to ask, approximately when were you writing the first draft? (I would ask how the general state of the world influenced it but I'm pretty sure the answer would be thoroughly but in ways that are most visible in hindsight.)

I'd have been working on that one's first draft between late 2003 and mid-to-late 2004.

#Wizards at War

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izzythehutt · 6 months

Text

From a 2004 interview with Rowling:

Does Harry have a godmother? If so, will she make an appearance in future books? No, he doesn’t. I have thought this through. If Sirius had married… Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married. When Harry was born, it was at the very height of Voldemort fever last time so his christening was a very hurried, quiet affair with just Sirius, just the best friend. At that point it looked as if the Potters would have to go into hiding so obviously they could not do the big christening thing and invite lots of people. Sirius is the only one, unfortunately. I have got to be careful what I say there, haven’t I?

Obviously he basically functions as the best friend of the parents/next of kin, but Rowling wanted to give him a formal role in Harry's life and went about it in the traditional way you would in a (again, at least nominally) Christian society. I guess wizard "christening" could be different than real world counterpart, but that just seems like a stretch to me...or maybe I just don't care for the idea of it.

On a practical level, godparent is more of an honorary title in modern life (frankly for both Catholics and Anglicans), but in principle, it's not. POA rewrite where everything is the same except Sirius sends a catechism along with the Firebolt!

I found a kind of interesting article awhile ago with people debating the subject of Harry's baptism and Christianity in the series in general.

#harry potter meta #harry potter #casquecest #harry potter and religion

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jonnylovers-in-neverland · 13 days

Text

Guitarist Jonny Buckland riffs on the meaning of life in Coldplay

Jon's interview for nola.com | The Times-Picayune (June 8th, 2009)

Coldplay headlines the New Orleans Arena on Tuesday, June 9. In the Fountains of Wayne minidrama "Someone to Love," lovelorn corporate attorney Seth Shapiro "puts Coldplay on, pours a glass of wine/curls up with a book about organized crime." The implication is clear: Coldplay is the feel-good band of yuppies the world over. In a decade, singer Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion have evolved from utter unknowns to cultural touchstones. They've sold tens of millions of albums, endorsed various charitable and political causes and, in the case of Martin, married Hollywood royalty without seeming insufferable.One minor bump in the road: In December, guitar wizard Joe Satriani filed a lawsuit alleging that the title track of Coldplay's current "Viva la Vida" album plagiarized his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly." Nice chaps even when sued, the band responded, "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him.... Joe Satriani is a great musician.... We wish him well with all future endeavors." Buckland called from his home in England during a recent break in Coldplay's tour, which stops at the New Orleans Arena on Tuesday, June 9.

TP: Coldplay has not performed in New Orleans since a 2003 show at the Saenger Theater. Should we take that personally?

Buckland: I think we were supposed to come back just after Hurricane Katrina hit, but the gig was cancelled. So I don't think you should take it personally.

You're over the career hump -- you've established who you are and what you do. I don't know if "relax" is the right word, but you've earned both credibility and success and can have some fun with it.

We've never enjoyed touring so much actually. We feel like we're playing better than we ever have and having more fun on stage than we ever have. The more we put into it, the more we get out of it. So it's the opposite of relaxing.

What element of the current show works best for you?

Where we go out and play in the audience. We try to get to the back of the crowd and pop up somewhere. It's kind of ramshackle, and we don't decide what songs we're going to do until we're there.

In arenas, you can feel a long way away and disconnected. We try to make people feel like they've actually been to see a real band rather than watching them on the TV.

Do you use some sort of satellite stage?

"Stage" might be overstating it a bit. More like a satellite shelf.

You never set out to be a guitar hero -- your guitar work is in the service of the song. Is that a fair assessment?

I think so. I've never gone in much for the solos. I was always more interested in atmospherics. Listening to bands like Mercury Rev or My Bloody Valentine or even The Verve, the way those guitarists played.

Do you solo at all during the show?

No, not really. I maybe have one, but it's not really shredding or anything like that. There's no Van Halen in me. (laughs)

Drummer Will Champion was Coldplay's original guitarist. It probably worked out best that you played guitar and not Will.

Yeah, well, he was a better drummer than me. (laughs) He probably is a better guitarist -- he's a very good guitarist. He's pretty much good at everything he does. He can even play the tin whistle. He's sort of a multitalented, Swiss Army drummer.

Don't you just hate that?

It is a bit annoying.

I'm guessing you don't wear the colored bits of tape on your fingers like Chris Martin because that would make it hard to play guitar.

That's Chris' thing. We can't all be doing the same thing.

You'd look like Devo.

Or Kraftwerk. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, actually.

You put out the EP "Prospekt's March" in November with songs left over from the "Viva la Vida" sessions.

There were some songs that didn't really fit on the album. We didn't want to save them for another record. It felt silly to save them; they were already a couple of years old.

So it wasn't a qualitative decision to leave them off "Viva la Vida"?

We started writing a record, then we went to South America and scrapped the initial idea of what the record was about. We changed it to "Viva la Vida." So some of the songs just didn't fit with that at all, but we still really liked those songs. They told a different story.

Do any of those turn up in the set?

We play "Glass of Water" quite a bit and "Life in Technicolor II" as well. We love playing them live. We wanted to get them out there, so that we could be indulged.

Have you started writing for the next album?

We've written tons. We've got so much material, it's almost hard to know in which direction to go. It's quite a nice stage where you're bringing together all your ideas and picking which way to take them.

Any early indication of the mood?

There's a possibility of being a more acoustic record. But that still remains a possibility rather than a certainty.

You're not going to really work on it until after the tour?

We never really stop working on stuff. It's continuous. Touring only really takes up an hour and a half (a night). There's plenty of time to be writing music and playing. We won't finish anything this year, but we'll certainly get started.

Momentum feeds itself.

Being on tour, you're excited about playing live and you want to keep on going. You never want it to end, that adrenaline rush. It does feed into you writing more songs and getting excited about new ideas.

We love playing music. It's the best job in the world. We want to work all the time. It's hard to make us take a holiday.

It's definitely in the Top 5 jobs.

For us, it's No. 1. There's nothing else we'd rather be.

You don't want to trade being a guitarist for being a dentist?

No, thank you.

One last thing: Have you taken down all your Joe Satriani posters?

(laughs) Honestly, I never had a single one. I promise.

#coldplay #jonny buckland #jon #viva era #interview

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