#and like. you don't need to make all the characters look recognizably like their content creators. but it's fun to carry things over

[starlit-mansion]

it's weird that i never see anyone draw c!gem with a cleft chin and strong jaw like cc!gem has. probably some people do but i haven't seen it enough for it to stick

[cartograffiti]

If you want to run a Court of Fey & Flowers Game, dnd isn't what you need

...because it's not what the Dimension 20 cast played, either.

I talked about this a little bit once before, very early in the season, but now that it's done, it's really clear to me that they played Good Society by Storybrewers with a few Dungeons & Dragons elements hacked in, not the other way around. Aabria Iyengar loves Good Society, and it really shows. She merged the systems really beautifully to suit the expectations of D20, and that's why I think players at home will get a better experience by starting with GS materials than by trying to reverse engineer the mechanics Iyengar showed in action.

Things they got from DnD:

-Skill levels/stats.

-Rolling dice to determine success.

-The game master/facilitator (Aabria) playing most characters.

-Some creatures and spells (the dog that has an old man's face, the telepathy spell I can never remember the name of).

-Aabria giving out Inspiration.

Things they got from Good Society:

-The principle of having a character goal that may be kept secret. (In fact, some of D20's specific goals were probably even chosen from Good Society materials. The player character with a secret spouse? There's a card for that.)

-Social reputation tracked by degrees, conferring descriptions and perks. (They did not use GS's exact system. Whether it was a hack or a mix with a game system I haven't played, I don't know.)

-Trading tokens that can be burned to make strong moves. (Again, not GS's exact mechanic--GS uses tokens throughout instead of dice. That game lets you decide what your character is capable of. Tokens make sure everyone has fair chances to act, especially when players have conflicting goals.)

-Additional guidelines and mechanics for agreeing on how the table wants social events to work, as well as how to navigate the varying dynamics of relatives, friends, and rivals.

-Rumors and epistolary phases. (There's a fun post going around about Brennan asking about these because "he wanted to get a good grade in dnd," but I think he was sincerely curious how they worked, because they aren't dnd!)

-The overall cycle of play, dictating the order of phases and pace.

-Some mechanics for the reputations and interactions of fae courts as entities were taken from Good Society's Fae Courts mini-expansion.

-Monologue tokens. (D20 has Aabria as the only one who can use these, GS allows anyone in the game to ask someone to monologue.)

-Additional guidelines for determining world state, character creation, and keeping the story within a consistent style and tone that feels like a recognizably Regency story...even when giant owlbears can get gay married.

-Other flavoring and approach details.

Things Good Society has that Dimension 20 didn't get to show off:

-The ability for players to also choose a secondary character to control, allowing them to participate in more roleplay and experience multiple personalities or social roles in the same game.

-A really rich and thoughtful collaboration phase, before the story begins.

-The ability to share facilitator duties among the table, and to allow the facilitator to play a main character as well as supporting cast.

-Advice and expansions for adjusting the game to various tones, genres, and other historical periods.

So you're looking at buying Good Society:

What you need is pdfs. Definitely grab the base game for $21.00, that has most of what I just described. If you're excited to see their Fae Court specific materials, it's included in the Expanded Acquaintance bundle with many other pieces of content, or there's a bundle of the base game and every expansion they've produced. You do not need to buy the more expensive bundles that include physical books and cards unless professional physical versions delight you, the pdfs are designed to be printable. Storybrewers also made and provide spreadsheet templates for sessions meeting online, so you can all see your worksheet choices.

Good Society is a really fun and flexible system, and it's most of what we loved about how A Court of Fey and Flowers was structured. It's your best route to a recreation, and well worth playing in its original form. I love that it doesn't have stats and dice--if you've never played a ttrpg that doesn't make you do math, this is a great introduction. I'm so glad Aabria featured it on the show!

[azuresage]

It gets talked about a lot but I still can't stop nerding out about Link's characterization in TotK. It's done through his many creative dialogue choices and his expressions of course, but it's also done so subtly through what he *doesn't* say. Notably, he doesn't talk about himself. And this is why nobody recognizes him unless they've already met him. Because he doesn't tell them when they've got the wrong impression of him.

The meme about Link having Tony Hawk syndrome is so real. People will look at him and straight up say, "Wow, you look exactly like Link!" without a hint of irony. Lookout Landing has a detailed picture of his face in their watchtower and the search party still doesn't recognize him. Penn works with Link for a long time and thinks he's unlucky that the Yiga keep "mistaking" him for the Hero (granted, Traysi asked him to deliberately keep quiet, but Penn still didn't put two and two together himself). I think the reason for this, aside from it being really, really funny, is that Link just doesn't talk about himself. He doesn't feel the need to.

Characterization isn't just about what we see a character doing, it's also about how other characters respond to them. Link is so unassuming and humble that he doesn't match people's expectations of what "Link" should be like. The three Gerudo ladies hanging out around Outskirt Stable are one of many perfect examples. Link stands in front of them carrying the Master Sword, but they expect the Hero to be taller than they are, with a giant glowing sword, so they don’t believe it's him. Obviously that's not the reality, but they don't know that. Link doesn't correct them, either. Again, he doesn't feel the need to.

This is also why many NPCs from BotW don't recognize or remember Link. To them, he was just a passerby that did them a good turn once 6+ years ago. Nobody's going to remember a person like that for so long after. They had no way of knowing he was the Hero, unless it came up for story quest reasons. When they hear stories about the Princess's Appointed Knight who woke up from his 100 year nap, defeated the Calamity, and rescued Zelda, they imagine someone larger than life. Then when they see what Link actually is like, they can't put two and two together.

This is true even during the Hyrule Restoration efforts. Link always follows behind Zelda as her shadow, which she notes in her diary, but the people in the stable investigation quests and in Hateno don't recognize him either, even though he went everywhere she did. Link is just that unassuming. He resigns himself to being a shadow, allowing Zelda to take the lead and do as she pleases but always staying nearby to support and protect her. He doesn't need to be recognizable to do his job. And we know from both BotW and now TotK that he's wholly devoted to her. He's content with this. Many people more eloquent than I have spent many paragraphs elaborating on this. I just wanted to focus on what it says about his character.

Link is humble and unassuming, so much so that nobody believes that he's the Hero unless they already know him. He's devoted to Zelda, so much so that he's willing to do anything to chase even a glimpse of her. He doesn't talk about himself or correct people who have the wrong impression of him. He doesn't need to do that to chase his Zelda. He is a person of great humility in spite of his station. I think that's so interesting and neat how the comedy of him being unrecognizable also tells us all this about him. It's also cool how this is only one aspect of him; all the dialogue choices and expressions he makes during cutscenes and actions out in the world show a whole other, lighter side to him that meshes with this. It's all so good. I am in love with it. It always kills me inside when people dismiss his characterization as being nonexistant or flat just because it's not spoonfed to them or when they say Link being unrecognizable is lazy writing instead of a deliberate choice. I am biting and gnawing and gnashing over him and his relationship to Zelda. I love them so much.

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel thoughts : Pets 2

"How are they with pets ?" Vees and other Overlords edition

(Pets 1 (Hazbin Hotel crew) here)

(Pets 3 (Heaven's side) here)

Masterpost here.

Aaaand my titles are still as creative as a rusting cheese grater on sale. Anyway, let's jump to it.

The Vees !

Vox did have an (now archived) Instagram that's also now loosely canon, where he put pics of his cute pet hammerhead landshark Vark (that's probably not in the show the same as it was in the Instagram, but made it in with another form : might be the hammerhead bio-shark we see in the tank in ep 2 and why do I get the feeling we got robbed from something ?) and given his interactions with it, he clearly loves it with all his heart, calling it "baby" and posting what he brought for him (in a handbag), so it's safe to say that Vark is spoiled. One pic even shows it jumping on Velvette with Vox doing a fist-pump, another has an out-of-focus one with Vox being the one jumped on, so the critter can be safely described as rather enthusiastic (and giant. Hell fuck is it big). Which, based on this, gives a rather good idea of how he would interact with a pet : it's kind of a special, non common animal of specific interest (shark), that he will coddle and spoil to high heavens, basically a pseudo-kid. Expect tons of affection, letting it run around to its heart's content with a whole room (or more) dedicated to the beast, and a Never Could Do Any Wrong attitude that might be even worse that Lucifer's in the previous post. He will also train and teach it tricks, complete with lots of praise and treats, and given his management skills vet appointments are no problems (well, for him. Given the animal, very much not so for the vet), even cooing to the tyker that I know, you don't like it, but we'll have to go. I know, I know, I promise it's not for long. Touch it and you're dead, your reputation is dead, your whole family is dead up to the 10th ancestor, even your ashes are dead.

Alternatively, given how Vox is in the show now (still secretely hoping we see that side of him I admit, but I wouldn't place any bets on it), he has multiple shark-like creatures in a GIANT fish tank (at least two of them recognizable as sharks, I've counted four beasties that are seen on the opening of Stayed Gone), which look impressive and silently drift by. So while there's still the affinity for sharks, they look less goofy and more dangerous than Vark by some metric magnitudes and go quite well with his cunning CEO image, even emphazing it ("I think I have... just the one." Ep 2). So it paints a picture of power and silent intimidation, grinning like a shark and tempting to trade into the waters, smelling weakness like blood in the waves and drowning people under false hope : which is pretty much how he'd probably like his pets - hunting, powerful, highly unusual ones, that make him think of, well, himself and his empire. He'll keep them well-fed, cares for them, and likes to watch them swim around, maybe to calm his nerves after a Valentino tantrum or whenever Alastor so much as breathes wrong, more like status pets than coddling pets like his Instagram incarnation with Vark (again, shame*).

*While I do go awww, too bad, the producers, animators and whatnot had to work with an 8 episodes season. Characters also evolve (5 years between the pilot and the first episode), and things get dropped or picked up considering the needs of the show, and the intends behind the characters. The retired character Instagrams (and the pilot) paint the big lines, but smaller details are either contradictory or true-but-in-a-sideways-way compared to the final product, hence why "loosely canon". Vox with Vark would've been adorable, but he's probably not supposed to be that likable in that precise way, and it would've probably not brought the show itself much. I can only speculate why they dropped Vark's previous version (if he's indeed in the show at all), but don't take it as me faulting the show's creators and workers for it : my word is far from being gospel. Or else I'd make a really shitty deity.

Velvette would probably like a small, handholding pet that she can customize and that accords to her tastes, but also cute, photogenic and personable, so expect something like Hell's version of a chameleon, a pug or a Yorkshire (wait scratch that, I said "cute and photogenic"), or something that other people would find hideous but she'll make it work (nevermind, this fits) to show off how good her fashion skills are. She'll parade around with it, and if it has the same bitchy disdainous attitude as her, gladly welcomed bonus. She'll train it to obey only her (to Vox and Valentino's consternation and frustration), but also perfectly : every command is fulfilled within the snap of her fingers, but if the pet does outstandingly well, she won't hold back the treats. In private, she might be softer and more affable to it, praising and baby-talking it, but at the very least it'll have a luxurious corner to live in, and when she's away, her assistants are given the tasks of taking care of it (however not to a keep-an-activity-journal point unlike Pentious in the previous post). Unlike Angel, she might go for multiple pets at once (again, they're taken care of by a whole flock of staffs - good for testing interns and all that), and bank fashion lines and trends on them, associating with Vox to push out new product lines about animal care and fashion.

She'll also have pretend "dialogues" in public with one of them (switching favorites often following her moods - Velvette likes to have a wide choice fan of options) about how ugly or stupid she finds something and what's that you say Pookie ? Yes, absolutely, this dress looks like colored by sewer waters, ugh, good thing someone agrees with me. Think we should fire her ? to someone she particularly despises or deems unimportant enough and won't address directly because she'll estimate it beneath her, or sometimes to have an outlet of her own to vent. Rarely if ever goes to the vet unless one of the critters ate something it really shouldn't, since she's counting on her assistants to be skilled in healthcare, and they better be. Naming will be themed after what she likes, supported by tons of nicknames, and only her will know which one is named what because no one can keep up. Will be more annoyed than sad if one of them is hurt or died, but there will be a pang of sorrow for her favorite ones.

Valentino, well, also had a loosely canon pet queef (those half chihuahua half horsefly thingies, which are two abominations put together to make a third one - kidding, Fizzarolli's are kinda endearing), named... Queef (worse than my title names, good job bud), and emphasis on had, since he shot the tyker dead because it annoyed him, according to his archived Instagram. A safe bet is that it didn't even lasted very long. Which... paints dead-on (...sorry) the picture of how Val would treat pets : it's like a fancy that strikes from time to time and goes away just as quick, the second he's bothered by the critter. He's atrocious with naming them (though Adam beats him for sure in terms of naming things), sometimes can't differenciate one from another because oh right, I killed Queefie last week, you're actually Queefrey (...look at what you've made me do, stupid moth), and doesn't really care in general. Vet ? What's that ? Seriously the only time he'll go to a vet it's to enrol them in his studio if he finds them sexy enough and uses the critter for it. To him, they're not animals, they're trending accessories : something that goes nicely with the fishnet stockings and mink coat for an evening or two, not longer - or a tool to pick up chicks and chucks. If it dies, either he's the reason for it, or he'll just be annoyed.

He might just give them away if feeling generous or in a good mood, mostly to Velvette or his employees (he was the one who gave Fat Nuggets to Angel canonically - which was when Hell probably got a sudden cold wave or something. My sarcasm is having a stroke today, damn, sorry. Often happens when I'm writing Valentino's section, wonder why...ah, shit.), but hates if it disobeys or doesn't do what he wants it to do. Given that he doesn't train them either and expects it to behave like he wants right off the bat, this happens often. The longest any pet has lasted by him ? I'd say a week, two tops.

The other Overlords !

I don't peg Zestial for a pet owner, but again, let's pretend. It'll probably be something silent and creepy, ancient and powerful just like him - I mean, can you see him pick up any sparkly eyed kitten ? Me neither. It would make for a hilarious image, though. But nope, he'll be more like Hagrid than Umbridge in that sense : the most horrifying the better. Given his motif of spiders, he'll have his own Aragog, or some giant chiropteric monster from the dawn of times, with its own gregorious Fancy Name The Nth, something that even Lucifer thought died out ages ago. It's more a mutually respectful companionship than anything else : there's no "owner", no "pet", it just happens to live in Zestial's basement (or wherever he hangs his spindly, spidery legs from) and hunt down nuisances for him, in exchange of the occasional chin scritches. Might also know how to play chess, because why the hell not. Zestial won't like it being hurt, but will let it lick its wounds on its own and wait for it to ask for help, and it'll show up to show support in a fight and some extra manpower if needed. It doesn't obey squat, just agrees with you from time to time. No vet is crazy enough to go near that beast.

Carmilla will probably not have a pet either (too bothersome), but her daughters just might, and she'll allow it (somehow). Strict rules, the animal can't go wherever it pleases, better be damn well potty trained, and girls, if you want a pet, I'm not the one taking care of it - and she will stand by this, unlike some Didn't Want The Damn Cat Parents who melt at the first purr (welcome to the club of cat lovers, I'm the self-proclaimed president, what can I do for you ?). However, she's not against the affection, enjoying some relaxing moments with the pet at her side. Also, just having it around sleeping while she does work is nice and stress-relieving enough. She appreciates whatever "help" it can provide (fetching stuff), and simply talks to it like she would to an everyday person, only repeating words to make it understand what it should or should not be doing. She doesn't like cruelty to animals, and will make very clear what she thinks of someone who does that, but otherwise won't blow a gasket (like Vox or Angel might do). Might favor guard pets to protect her loved ones.

Rosie would be more about some old fashioned and elegant pets like poodles or whatever frizz-furred (or hairless, or scaly, as long as its classy) critter this side of Hell has to offer. However, since Alastor doesn't like dogs, she'll either keep it at home, or simply have another pet altogether, but case in point, it's a home pet, not something to parade around the Emporium with. Having it on a leash in the streets, fan in hand (her, not the tyke), and taking a strut around while waving for her fellow citizens or stopping to chat with other pet-owners is really picturesque, and exactly what she'll do. She'll make sure it's well-behaved, and will just have to softly utter a single command for it to obey. The most questionable thing would be the... diet. One sure thing, that beastie is well-fed.

Part 3 will be Heaven's side. Hope you enjoyed !

Again, Masterpost here.

[allegra-writes]

"The Affair" Part I

Armand x Daniel Molloy

NSFW

Warnings: Canon typical blood play. Toxic relationships. Obsessive thoughts cause Danny and Armand are incapable of being normal about each other.

Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable character, and for legal reasons I won't be accepting tips for this story or any story set in Anne Rice's Immortal Universe. Thank you!

MY MASTERLIST | SERIES MASTERLIST

Armand had miscalculated. He had thought he knew what he was doing when he had given the beautiful, tender human the blood that night at the bar, an impetuous decision born entirely out of his darkest instincts taking over as he saw another vampire so close to what he coveted, yes, but he had thought himself aware of the consequences. He knew his blood would bond the mortal irrevocably to him, making him enamored by him, utterly dependent on him. He had been on the receiving end of that bond himself centuries ago and he could still remember the intensity of the feelings awoken by it vividly. 

What he had failed to realize was the effect it would have on himself.

He had felt heartbroken, utterly devastated the moment he had woken up to find the boy gone, on the run from him, already hundreds of miles away, the bond like a rope tied around his ribs, tugging at him in the direction he had fled. Armand followed, of course, for what else could he have done, all the while obsessing over plans and schemes that ranged from kidnapping and spellbinding to terrorizing and punishing only for none of them to come to pass. There was no need for any of them, not when Daniel threw himself into his arms voluntarily as soon as he saw him, his mind and heart echoing his feelings of yes , and finally , and too long . 

And it had been too long, it had been far too long, an unbearable eternity. But his boy was in his arms now and he was kissing him and it was perfect, absolutely and thoroughly perfect, regardless of what his silly human insecurities were trying to tell him. Armand only held him tighter when he tried to break away from him, ashamed of the dirt clinging to his skin, of his smell, of his soiled clothes after three days locked in the cellar he was beginning to understand it belonged to the vampire embracing him.

“This is real. He’s real. It’s all happening. He’s Armand and we’re together and I’m not mad” His little runaway febrile thoughts reached him easily, loud and clear as bells. 

Yes, it all happened and I am real, no need to go searching for Lestat or the house in Louis’ tale. No need to come looking for us, I would have found you. But you will learn that in time, my sweet boy, there isn’t anywhere in the world I will not find you.

But with the awareness of reality came ever stronger the awareness of himself, and Daniel pushed against Armand more insistently, too ashamed of his state of filthiness to stand to be around “the guy he had a crush on”. It was so endearing, Armand let off a chuckle as he gathered him up in his arms and carried him like a child upstairs to the immense master bathroom, where he proceeded to rip Daniel’s clothes off his body before carefully cuffing the sleeves of his own shirt as the white marble bathtub was filled with warm water. 

Daniel tried to say something then, undoubtedly to protest he could get into the bath on his own, but his mouth was too dry for speech. Armand made a mental note to remember humans were fragile things that could not survive for too long without water, an inexcusable oversight on his part, but it had simply been too long since he had kept one.

Besides, he had to punish the boy somehow, couldn’t have him searching so recklessly for others like that, and whipping him as had been his maker’s custom seemed distasteful to him. No, lashes were not the kind of marks he wanted to leave on his skin.

At least not just yet.

He was more than content with carefully soaping that supple, hot skin that nonetheless shivered under his touch, unintentionally flooding the human with sensual pleasure. Armand smiled inwardly, amused, then turned his touch more deliberate, caressing up Daniel’s arms, down his shoulders, his chest, feeling the muscles of his stomach ripple under his fingertips. The boy was so soft, so warm, so responsive…

So alive. 

It was fascinating. 

He had the sudden urge to map every inch of his boy’s body, to familiarize himself, fingers, tongue, and fangs with every plane, every crevice, every hollow. Only his ironlike self-control, consolidated after centuries of experience, and the reminder the boy was his, so he had all the time in the world to do just that, prevented him from ravishing Daniel right then and there. 

But no, Armand was better than that, stronger than his basest of instincts, so instead, he kept on scrubbing the grime and sweat off Daniel’s skin with clinical efficiency, massaging the strong thighs, and then the place between the organ that began swelling despite the coldness of his touch. Armand’s own member twitched in interest in response, oh, how that apparently innocuous, ordinary human youth tested his discipline. He was too tempting for his own good. Particularly when he whined at the loss of Armand’s touch, a helpless, soft little sound, probably inaudible for human ears but loud enough for Armand’s inhuman senses. 

Not yet, boy, Armand projected into Daniel’s mind, making him jump a little in the water, you’re debilitated, you need sustenance first.

A new wave of shame washed over the boy, sending a lovely if faint, peach blush from his slightly sharper cheekbones to his hairless chest. Armand had to clench his jaw to stop his fangs from descending. 

Daniel seemed to find his lost bravado as he pushed down his embarrassment screaming at Armand inside his head, 

“Don’t want food. Want you”

Armand tsked disapprovingly, mocking as he ghosted icy fingertips over Daniel’s hardening length,

Are you that eager to be defiled by a monster?

Far from extinguished, Daniel’s arousal only grew at the words. A beautiful fool then, courting danger like a moth courting the flames. 

Very well, if the boy was looking for corruption, Armand could certainly provide.

Cold fingers closed around heated flesh, starting a slow milking motion, the water making the movement slick. Daniel’s eyes fell shut and his head fell back, exposing the long line of his neck to Armand’s hungry stare. A twist of his hand had the boy arching his back, moaning, the muscles of his lean throat working to drive Armand to insanity. By the time the vampire’s left hand left the edge of the tub, there would be a crack in the marble. But his right hand continued its measured, careful pumping up and down Daniel’s well-formed shaft, appreciating every vein that popped to life, pulsing under his touch. 

Daniel’s groans became more rhythmic, a breathless chorus of “Uh… uh… uh” echoing against the tiled walls, and Armand fancied he had never heard a song as sweet before. His boy was truly a masterpiece, perfect in every way, Apollo bathing in the river, Armand a demonic nymph brought to his knees by the sight of him. He had compared Daniel to a moth enthralled by the flame, but now Armand wondered if it wasn’t the other way around, if the boy was not sunlight in disguise, and he the thoughtless Icarus flying towards it. 

“Please… please…” Daniel's thoughts were disarranged and chaotic, pleading without knowing what to ask for, all the human seemed to know was that he needed . Armand considered for a moment, eyed the veiny girth in his hand, head purple and angry peeking out of the water, eyed the entirety of the nubile body in display for him. He wanted to ravish it, see to the thorough debauchery of this innocent, heartbreakingly candid boy. But more than anything, he wanted to see him debase himself for him.

Armand stilled his hand. Daniel did not disappoint, letting out a pitiful sob, opening those ever-changing eyes, glistening with tears of frustration. 

Armand couldn’t help his gleeful, pleased laugh.

“Chase it, Daniel. It's yours. All you have to do is take it.”

Daniel regarded him warily, as if expecting another dark trick for him, but did minutely, perhaps unable to stop himself, thrust his hips up through the unforgiving circle of Armand's fingers. 

“Yes, just like that, you look so beautiful, Daniel. Let me see you rut against my hand…”

The boy let out a helpless little whine, a spike of arousal going through him, tasted honey sweet in Armand's mind. The boy liked to be praised, then. Armand supposed he could indulge that. So long as he behaved.

Daniel had shut his eyes again, shoulders flat against the side of the tub and hands gripping the edges for leverage, rolling his hips, fucking himself on Armand's hand. Such crass, novel language the vampire could read inside his human’s mind. He decided he liked it. 

“That’s it, beautiful boy, let me see you fuck your cock through my fingers”

“Fuck!” The word was a shattered gasp, but it seemed to mark the breaking of something, some unnamed barrier inside of Daniel, who started rocking his hips with abandon, agitating the water, sloshing some of it outside the tub. Armand’s suit pants, carefully selected to face Daniel, were as ruined as his shirt. He found he couldn’t care less. 

Because now the boy was piercing him with his kaleidoscope stare, bee-stung lips opened in a perfect O, clutching at his arm with all the strength of a newborn as he rocked into his touch, abs flexing, the narrowing V of his hips going taut, robust thigh muscles contracting and releasing under the pale, almost transparent skin, and Armand felt his ancient, herculean self-restraint snap. 

He watched as his free hand reached out and tangled in the boy's damp curls as if it belonged to somebody else, throwing Daniel’s head back, felt his fangs drop on their own accord, heard the growl leaving his own mouth right before the unmistakable taste of his boy’s skin, his exquisite blood, invaded his tongue. 

The world exploded in colors behind his eyelids as his boy screamed his ecstasy, sending a thrill down his spine, the swoon amplified by Daniel’s orgasm, rippling through him like an electrical current, mind floating in an euphoric haze, making him feel weightless, drugged on pleased contentment at Daniel’s surrender, the certainty that he belonged to him now, mind, body and soul, his pleasure and his pain, his life and his death laid out in front of Armand for the taking. He could feel him beginning to slip away, his consciousness already going blurred at the edges, the starvation and the blood loss combined too much even for his strong, healthy heart. 

Armand tore himself apart from Daniel’s neck with monumental effort, slashing a deep gash in his own throat, hand on the back of his head guiding his lover, cradling his head as he latched onto the dripping wound, sucking with admirable might for a mortal, eliciting a moan from deep within Armand’s chest, every lap of Daniel’s hot, rough tongue against the already healing wound, sending aftershocks of bliss straight to the vampire’s loins. 

He had never known it could be like that, understood how lesser vampires could sire fledglings indiscriminately if sharing their blood with a chosen one was anything like feeding Daniel his blood. 

“That’s enough for now, lover” Armand declared out loud, trying to convince himself as much as Daniel. The human whined, of course he whined, like a spoiled, demanding child. Had he realized already, that Armand would fulfill his every demand, grant his every wish, as long as he remained his? As he remained sharing his body and his blood and his life force with the dead thing he had unwittingly lured to his side?

Daniel finally let go but didn’t move away, resting his forehead on Armand’s shoulder as his breathing returned to its normal rhythm.

“You won’t… You’re not going to turn me, then?”

He sounded so small, so vulnerable, Armand was struck again by just how tenderly young his boy was.

“Turn you?” He repeated with contempt, “I wouldn’t do that to those whom I find despicable, whom I would see burning in hell, as a matter of course” He held Daniel closer to him, almost entirely out of the water, the mere thought making him irrationally protective of the boy in his arms, “So why would I do that to a beautiful, innocent fool like you?”

Because I want it , Armand heard the boy’s thoughts, deafening and desperate. I want to be forever with you and Louis . Yet Daniel didn’t vocalize them, choosing instead to make a question he already knew the answer to,

“But you are not going to kill me either” He ventured a look up at Armand for confirmation. The unimpressed raising of a single eyebrow was all he got, but it was enough, “What are you going to do with me, then?”

Armand laughed then, rich and sincere, a little drunk on his boy’s delectable blood, stronger than any human liquor.

“Don’t you know yet, beloved one? Is it not obvious? I am going to keep you…”

To go back to 2023

[bookwyrminspiration]

i’m looking for more kotlc blogs to follow and really like yours, do you have by recommendations?

Oh, that's so sweet of you! And yes, I can recommend some blogs. This list is by no means exhaustive, and I'm sure to forget some lovely individuals, but I'll do my best!

I know a lot of us have interacted for a while or been around a while, and seeing us call each other names or refer to things that happened before you were here can make you feel like an outsider, but we're very open to new people and love to support each other! So please don't let it deter you, we'd love to have you

@theunmappedstar - this is an abandoned blog, but Nattie was a cornerstone of the fandom when he was here, and at the top of his blog you can find a whole assortment of incredible fanfictions!

@silveny-dreams - Sil's rarely active these days, but she wrote several incredible fanfictions you can find at the top of her blog. Loves Grady and Edaline, and an incredibly sweet person

@everliving-everblaze - Catherine is a well-known fanfic writer and lover of sophitz! She has some incredible works and is intimately familiar with the kotlc wiki, having been its admin for a while. Highly recommend her

@lusilver001 - Lu is an absolutely phenomenal fan-artist, creating visually stunning pieces of several of the characters. They're highly celebrated for a reason!

@fintan-pyren - Fin is a chaotic but endearing presence heavily associated with Fintan Pyren (hence the username). Lots of jokes about being Fintan, about Fintan x Dimitar, and overall fun. If you like to mess around with canon, Fin's a great follow!

@synonymroll648 - Izzy's an unbelievably talented writer, commonly associated with sokeefitz! Faer very encouraging, supportive, and hard-working, everything she produces being top-notch and worth the read!

@camelspit - Roisin's a fanartist who somehow goes above and beyond with everything he creates! With a unique and easily recognizable style, she draws everything from canon to shitposts and I highly recommend checking it all out!

@flori-doodles - With an absolutely ethereal artstyle, Florida is a staple for all your fanart wants and needs! Cannot recommend his work enough, she truly brings the characters to life

@xanadaus - Tobi is a beloved fandom member responsible for several incredible events, like the Ten Years of Keeper Event we just wrapped up! He's also got a myriad of other talents to keep an eye out for on his blog

@gay-otlc - S is your go to for a bunch of queer, chaotic keeper content. He's well-known for throwing canon out the window in favor of making everything gay, which has endeared him to the fandom

There are so many other incredible people in the kotlc fandom here, so if I haven't listed you that's not because I don't love your blogs!! I'm sure I've forgotten multiple talented individuals. By following or checking out many of these people, you'll notice them interacting with others regularly and can discover more of us that way. Or, if you'd like, I can do another sweep and expand the list!

I encourage anyone who sees this to reblog it with further suggestions, which 100% includes yourself if I haven't mentioned you! I hope this gives you a good start, Nonsie! And welcome to the kotlc side of tumblr, we're thrilled to have you :)

[fearofahumanplanet]

Karma Killer (WIP Intro... Kind Of)

Sooo... the reason I say "kind of" is because I've technically fully finished this one and am trying to get it published, however! I am planning on making intro posts for ALL three of my WIPs and as I have yet to find an agent I feel inclined to include this one!

Basic Info

Genre: Psychological Horror / Slasher

Word Count: 86,844 (217 pages, 14 chapters)

Started: April 2021

Finished: June 2022

Music Genre: Post-punk (think Talking Heads, The Cure, Have a Nice Life, Joy Division, Interpol, Wipers, The Chameleons, etc)

Available to Beta Read? Yes! I use LibreOffice, so I'll need a Discord or email to send it to you, but DM me if you're interested! Note: 18+ content, lots of it! Also, as this work is pretty finished, I likely won't be able to change much on this one (unlike my other two WIPs), but I appreciate any feedback nonetheless!

CW (for novel, only vaguely referenced in this post, and all fictional): Gore, SA (referenced, not shown), su*c*de, self-harm, bullying, abusive family, school shootings, homophobia, drowning, death, abusive relationships/power dynamics, homelessness, cannibalism (referenced, not shown), religious trauma, food (I'm sorry if I missed anything please lmk and I'll edit)

Taglist: If you're interested, ask to be added to the taglist! In the replies, or DMs, via ask, however! Just let me know which book it's for (and if I don't answer after a couple days, please remind me). As this work is finished, I doubt I'll be using a taglist for it too much, but if I get an agent and a publisher for this, it'll mean you guys are the first to know :)

Plot

In the fictional mountain town of Lake Leer, Colorado, a bullied high schooler named Kora Lynch becomes the latest in a long line of the town's tragic killers when she ends up drowning herself to escape her persecution. Rescued from her own fate by a goddess of mysterious whims who calls herself Ira, Kora is offered a choice - to die alone and wither away forever, or to become a "Vision of Vengeance" and do away with evildoers.

Choosing to become Ira's latest slasher, Kora is given a weathered kabuki mask and the ability to see anyone's every sin with a mere glance. Eager to seek revenge on those who drove her to die in the first place, Kora takes the name of "Karma" and begins slaughtering her classmates in a misguided attempt at justice - one inspired by her favorite slasher movies. As she further disconnects from the real world and loses grip of her moral compass, the woman that tormented her begins to gather her own little army, and the ensuing conflict tugs the entire town into the carnage.

Major Characters

Kora Lynch / Karma - A 16yo junior that becomes one of the deadliest killers in history after she receives Ira's gifts. She has a reserved and awkward personality that becomes much more malicious and sadistically gleeful when she's wearing the kabuki mask, something that grows more and more prominent as the "Karma" persona begins to take more and more control (NOTE: Not meant to be a representation of DID, merely dissociative trauma responses). She has a rather distinctive look, being unnaturally tall and having short, wild silver hair - paired with her mask, she is instantly recognizable. She makes ample use of axes and crossbows.

Laurie Thompson - An 18yo senior that headed the pack of bullies that made Kora's life a living hell. She starts out cruel and selfish, eager to throw anyone under a bus to get what she wants, but this soon changes as her friends begin dropping like flies around her and she becomes Karma's "final girl". Surviving numerous encounters with Karma, she soon grows quite competent on her own and leads the town into open rebellion against her nemesis.

Violet Vance - A 17yo junior that is rescued by Karma in one of her earliest massacres, having been dubbed "innocent". A shy, intelligent and cunning girl desperate for attachment, she soon starts to develop a growing admiration for the murderer that saved her life, even as Karma's standards grow ever looser.

Mabel Alexander - A 17yo senior who starts dating Kora shortly after her resurrection, unaware of her girlfriend's nightly habits. Friendly, compassionate, and easy to talk to, she quickly finds herself spiraling as she grows more and more suspicious of the killer stalking her town.

Skyler Simmons - An 18yo senior and Laurie's latest flame. Guilty of his complacency that led to Karma in the first place, he is one of the first to rise up to stop her, despite his lack of bravery or combat skill.

Captain Lumis - A police captain that is traumatized by his encounter with another one of Ira's killers, the Bleeding Bear, years ago. He soon makes it his priority to capture the next kabuki-masked killer when Karma emerges, even as the rest of the force struggles to keep up.

Ira - A mysterious crimson-haired goddess from a world beyond our own who rescues Kora from her grisly fate and warps her into a killer. Mysterious and short-tempered, she nonetheless begins to find herself as a motherly figure for Karma, despite clearly having her own hidden ambitions.

Themes & Things

Karma Killer started out for two big reasons - firstly, it was the first of my majorly political works, a direction I decided to keep on with my later novels. The book was inspired by the abundance of mass shootings, especially school shootings, that I have had to hear about on a seemingly weekly basis living in America. It is an effort to narrow down what causes these things, a character study on a killer's psyche with a horror framework.

While this is obviously not an accurate representation of reality, Karma Killer primarily explores a lot of those themes - what makes a mass killer like that, why they think the way they do, what goes on in their head, the self-destructive depression that comes with it. Despite her sympathetic tale and the story being told from her perspective, Karma was always meant to be a proper villain protagonist - do not go into this thinking that I am an advocate for these kinds of criminals. I merely wanted to explore the circumstances and mindset that leads to such crimes.

Secondly, it was meant to be a way to purge a lot of the trauma that lingered with me after high school - and for that, it has largely succeeded. It has functioned as some sort of catharsis for all the horrible things other people put me through as someone struggling with BPD and a broken home and all sorts of things at school. The abuse I received in that time was extraordinary and I needed to let it all out. That led to the initial genesis of the idea - "what if there was a slasher from the villain's perspective, and she was just a bullied teen who snapped after being pushed too far?" Of course, this idea ended up going to its logical conclusion, and that's how the heavy political influence came into play.

Taglist

@aohendo, @literary-artist, @impaledlotus, @athenswrites, @bardic-tales, @carefulpyro, @marinesocks, @writingpotato07, @hey-its-quill, @bpdgotmelike, @j-1173, @lockejhaven, @theimperiumchronicles (ask to be added!)

[hatersideblog]

I truly wish there were as many canon trans and neurodivergent characters as you guys want there to be so y'all could find the representation you crave instead of making a headcanon about every single character designating them as an autistic king when they're just like, shy. Imo being OOC in fanworks is a cardinal sin. What you're doing has to fit within the parameters of the original work, otherwise it feels like cheating at the game. It's more fun when you can keep a recognizable whole even with this new element. Most creators do not intend to code their characters as trans or ADHD or whatever. That is a reading you are bringing to the text, which is fine, except for when the character's psychology and story arc doesn't fit, especially if they have another identity that is explicitly explored and given nuance in the text. Some things are actually about what they say they're about. Don't take the Yentl out of Yentl, you know? It's stretching credibility and misreading the text. It takes me back to sitting through literature classes and having to listen to people who didn't read or understand the assignment talking loudly and being wrong about it. We need more trans and ND characters out there so I can stop having to wade through OOC fic that's really just about the author. If you want to write about your OC, just write about your OC, don't pretend that's Crowley Good Omens. Engage with what's there. Add a little spice, sure, bring an overlooked aspect to the forefront with some tweaking, supplement with a fun thought experiment (what if the cast of Friends were fighter pilots?), even draw attention to a complete absence, but don't just bulldoze over the actual content to flatten the story into what you want it to be.

Like, for example, there was a romance novel retelling of Pride and Prejudice where Eliza moonlights as a stripper. Patently ridiculous. Elizabeth Bennet's whole thing is that she is authentic and doesn't perform for people bc she finds artificiality ridiculous. She's a very cut-the-bullshit character in a world where people have to pretend to be respectable or in love (looking at you, Charlotte "she should have flirted more and fallen in love after landing him" Lucas, how'd that work out for you) or rich so they can get what they want, and that's where the tension lies between her and the stuffy aristocrats and their hangers-on like Caroline and Mr. Collins. She doesn't try to impress anyone and that makes her different. So for her to do burlesque, which is all about manipulating others' perception of her, is at odds with her defining trait. You're writing someone else.

What if the priest in Fleabag wasn't a priest, what if he was a neurosurgeon? That's a new story, my man.

I don't really have a point, I'm just venting about how annoying it is to have to scroll past uninteresting and repetitive and OOC content. At the end of the day it's harmless and you can do what you want.

I want everyone to be able to find what they're looking for in a story without having to paint over half of it. We're getting more and more beautifully written gay and racially diverse content and I just wish the rest of this site's overlooked identities would be up there too. Autistic, ADHD, occasionally bpd or bipolar, ace, disabled, chronic pain, and trans are the big ones I see recur a lot in headcanons and it just sucks that fans have to shoehorn them in.

[teaveetamer]

Why do you think FE as a series is not as accessible compared to say FF? I know you mentioned the wacky release timings but there are probably other reasons.

Hmmm, that's a good question honestly.

I think permadeath was definitely part of it. It's not really coincidence that the series exploded in popularity after pemadeath was no longer mandatory.

Weirdly enough, I think also removing support restrictions and making it easier to get supports probably helped FE out a lot? I mean permadeath was ostensibly a way to help you feel more connected to your units. The characters have also always been a big part of FE's appeal. However, in earlier games, unless they were a main character, they barely got any focus, or if they did get supports they were restricted to, like, five per playthrough. So if you wanted to see all content related to your fave you'd have to play the game over and over just to see one or two slightly different nuggets of dialogue. With the modern games, though, you can pick up Awakening, decide Gaius is your favorite character, and spend your entire single playthrough investing heavily in him.

In a similar vein, being able to grind helped a lot. First, because you can get those supports much easier (in the PoR playthrough I just finished backseating for we never even got like three quarters of the possible supports we could have gotten, just because some units got benched immediately and there was never opportunity to use them so they could actually build supports). Second, because being able to grind past your problems if you aren't able to do something is great. In older FE titles (and newer ones too, if that's how you choose to play them, but the point is that it's an option now and not the default) it's completely possible to get 100% stuck because your units got stat screwed or you just don't have the tools you need to get past the current problem you're facing. Again with the PoR playthrough, our Ike was getting MASSIVELY Str screwed in the first half of the game and we were genuinely worried he wouldn't be able to, like, kill the final boss (we ended up shoring him up with some energy drops and it was fine, but still). If you get badly screwed enough and you aren't able to correct it, then you have to restart the ENTIRE GAME. Most people don't like getting to the final battle of a game, realizing that it's literally impossible, and then restarting the entire thing just because one of their units didn't get good level ups. And remember again that a lot of these games were pre-YouTube so if that happened you couldn't necessarily just look it up on the internet later to see the ending.

Other than that I'd say the older games were just kind of... weird? About their features? The Kaga era especially had some pretty questionable design choices, like forcing you to pawn off and re-buy items if you wanted to transfer them between characters, or giving each individual character their own gold inventory and only being allowed to trade money between spouses. It's that kind of thing that really limits (and even punishes) experimentation to get past problems. I know Thracia also had a few mechanics like that which didn't seem entirely thought through (like fatigue is the big one I hear complained about).

There's nothing wrong with having different features in different games, but it does lead to a situation where you never quite know what you're going to get with each new entry and that's not necessarily a good thing. Like most game series have consistent gameplay across different entries. The older games might be clunkier or less realized, but there's a recognizable evolution of features. Usually things are only added, rarely or never removed (and if removed, usually its because its not necessary anymore or its replaced with something better). People usually don't like when their features are removed from their games, like when ME3 axed having different paragon and renegade scores and just gave you one reputation meter, or when Dragon Age 2 got rid of the tactical camera and gameplay.

(And yes I know Pokemon has started doing this. Pokemon also released B2W2 a year after the 3DS came out. When you're Pokemon, AKA the highest grossing media franchise in the world, you're allowed to do wacky things like this without being punished. FE doesn't really have the same luxury).

That's about all I've got for now but I'm sure there's more so if anyone thinks of any go ahead and share

[fizzingwizard]

Saw someone insinuate that fic writers who prioritize characterization are doing it because that will make the maximum number of fans happy and make their fic popular and I just. Gotta grit my teeth a little. I don't wanna spill tea esp because in spirit I agree with the gist of what that person was saying (which is that there is more than one valid way to approach fic writing). But I just gotta quibble with this part because no, my dude, that's neither the reason we write that way nor the result we see, ha ha ha. I don't know of any easy way to become a popular fic writer, but I'm sure this is not it, lol.

If twenty years in fandom has taught me anything, it's that quite a lot of fans don't much care about how recognizable characters are in fic. They're often more interested in other things: a steamy relationship, some kind of drama, an intriguing AU, etc. That's one of the positives of fandom, the pure creativity and the fact that no fic writer has to answer to anyone: not the original media, and not other fans either.

But that includes writers who do care about characterization. It's not to make the audience happy. It's because we love that character and we want to emulate what we admire. And we probably suck at it too, to be honest. Like, I try, but although some readers say "good job," I'm sure there are others who are simply too polite to say '"yeah not good."

My pet peeve is getting to the end of a fic and thinking, "If Character X were switched out with any other character, nothing in the text would need to be changed except their name." But that's me, and I've accepted that there are as many diverse ways to enjoy fan content as there are fans. Especially if you're really deep in a fandom, you reach a point where you're probably just bored by the same type of stuff, even if it's what you originally came there for, and start looking for something fresh! It might not be all that fresh really... honestly, it's probably gonna be something tropey, but hey we all have our favorite tropes! But the point is that it feels like a new take and maybe makes you fall in love with the fandom again. Anything that ignites your imagination is good. And none of us have to read anything we don't want to, so fic writers might as well do whatever they want.

I'm still going to write my way though, and if some people are bored by it they are free to leave, and if some people enjoy it I'm happy to have them stay. But I'm not doing it FOR any of them just because I try to stick somewhat to canon. I'm doing it for ME, as much as anyone who decides to write Winnie the Pooh as an ax murderer :P

[anghraine]

@venndaai, I hope it's okay to answer your reply in a separate post! This is likely to be long (since I'm incapable of not rambling when it comes to GW, lol), so I wanted to be able to put in a cut.

Ah, thanks for this response! I was feeling a little worried my ask had been annoying so I’m glad it wasn’t!

Oh, not at all! I was so thrilled to get a GW2 ask that it took awhile to organize my thoughts, lol, and also was just busy with some RL things (including crafting my first legendary for my mother's birthday present when I only had the resources for a staff and no Artificer character >_>). And then it happened again sans legendary, but! I've been looking forwards to being able to reply properly :)

Honestly, thinking about it, I think I abandoned my human character because playing them felt like I’d skipped a lot of homework and I just didn’t know the lore that would have made the story and the locations feel meaningful? The Sylvari and Asura characters feel the most accommodating of my ignorance- everything about the Sylvari is new, and the Asura don’t care about anything outside their personal projects.

That makes a lot of sense! Even though human characters aren't (IMO) allowed to "lean in" to their culture in the way of the other playable species, so it's not quite as bad as it could be, there are a ton of references to a lot of things. Part of my undying Ascalonian rage is that it's continually fed by references that aren't necessary to understand to play, but like ... for instance, in the Ascalonian Catacombs dungeon, Rytlock goes on about how Master Ranger Nente killed his (Rytlock's) ancestors like a coward by hiding behind his beasts and shooting ye olde Charr full of arrows. In GW1, before the Searing, Nente is one of the first teachers for Rangers and the one you have to talk to in order to get a pet. (The context of him shooting the Charr full of arrows is pretty clearly their invasion of his home, since he's stationed in a zone with zero Charr until the Searing.)

You don't need to know that to play the dungeons and it's not hard to guess that Rytlock's version of history is slanted, but yeah, it is a richer experience that way.

(Additionally, I tend to prefer fantasy human characters in general, especially magical ones, and since GW2 humans get the kind of spirituality, familiarity with magic, and weight of ancient history that often goes to Elves or whomever, while still being very recognizably human, it triggers a similar affection to what I have for Númenóreans and such—they're special and weird but their culture and history are nevertheless essentially human and shaped by being human. Even my aasimar D&D character was basically the same type in that respect: sure, she has lots of cool powers and is very tall and lives to be 160, but her sense of identity and culture has been profoundly shaped by her ostensible humanity and the aasimar arc resolves with her accepting her celestial and human sides as both essential to who she is.)

Totally agree on Trahearne and Mordremoth being well integrated into the Sylvari storyline. But I think the Crystal Desert and Cantha probably work better with human characters? Not to mention the Bloodstone stuff and all the Mists and gods content. My reaction to Balthazar was very “well I never voted for you, whoever you are”

Oh, true! I have terrible altitis and mostly play in Central Tyria with the various characters I've accumulated over ten years, lol, so I didn't think of that. But yeah, essentially part of the promise of the expansions was that we'd get to go to GW1 places that didn't originally show up in GW2 (the maps are a bit strange because GW2 is much bigger and more expansive to experience, but covered less actual territory than even the first GW1 game (which included the Crystal Desert, Ring of Fire islands, etc). But since the GW1 places and cultures were largely human-dominated and humans were the only playable species back then, a lot of the lore for those regions is human-oriented and much more rewarding if you play as human, even without necessarily playing GW1.

(Like, Kasmeer's angst over Balthazar makes perfect sense if you play as a GW2 human and are constantly encountering human spirituality, hearing "Balthazar bless you with courage" etc etc all the time and you yourself refer respectfully to the gods often enough. I like this despite being agnostic IRL because it's one of the ways in which human PCs do get to embrace a widespread aspect of human culture despite being railroaded into being more "reasonable" than many humans in other respects, so—yeah, I do agree here, though I do low-grade resent GW2 retconning human lore yet again.

I have a post in my drafts about it that I probably won't bother posting, but one of the kind of fun though ultimately pretty inconsequential aspects of choosing human in GW2 (which you may already know) is that the abilities you get from your species all come from the human gods. That's a cool concept IMO, even if most of the abilities kind of suck—and until you get well into the game, the best one is pretty indisputably the fiery hounds that Balthazar gives you (esp if you're a squishy spellcaster who could really use a couple of elite meat shields). So this god who had been comfortably established in the franchise for well over 10 years and always seemed cool and helpful being turned into the main antagonist is kind of /sigh, here we go again.

I would love to hear rants about Gwen! Whenever she’s appeared in GW2 I go “oh it’s blorbo from Elizabeth’s game!” but don’t know what to think of her otherwise.

Awesome. She is very definitely Peak Blorbo for me, so I'll talk about her in a separate post where I can give her full attention, haha. But thanks <3

(I had just over 700 gems left over from something I bought recently and suddenly realized that would just cover Gwen's outfit in the gem store and Althea could dress up as her hero for Halloween. It's 100% going to happen, lol.)

Haha, I did get my map completion, but I also realized the real reason I hadn’t finished Ascalon, which is that the Charr heart quest givers are so deeply unpleasant to deal with if you’re not playing a Charr and have no real reason to want to help them.

Yes. Like, the responses seem to either assume you are a Charr or at least are going to be totally chill about destroying historical artifacts of humans driven from their homes by the Charr reconquista, and there are a couple I simply refused to do the "short" way and instead just completed by killing enemies within the range of the heart. Or, even aside of human stuff, the one where you're supposed to like ... whip prisoners who are the real labor force fueling the Charr war machine is just mind-boggling, or "kill the dredge who are just singing happy communist work songs to steal their resources" are just like ... jfc, why should my character feel the slightest desire to do any of these things whether I'm human or any other non-Charr species??

I really really want to get Crystal Bloom armor but I’ve gotten distracted trying to unlock my roller beetle. After that I’m going to be grinding on Dragonfall which seems like a really really fun map.

Ooh, cool! I hope you either are enjoying or did enjoy doing that. I've been scouring the Silverwastes for crafting resources, which somehow I hadn't done before, and it's actually been really fun to do RIBA runs and rake in the rewards. (I think I've gotten 4-5 mastery points out of it? It's very satisfying.)

[cpcclab]

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[smoothdogsgirl]

Summertime

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Harry Potter

Warnings: Friendship, Caring, Family

Words: 3035

Summary: The start of a different summer for Harry after the Goblet of Fire thanks to Hermione and her family.

This story was written for the Navy Pier Secret Santa.

Disclaimer: This is fanfic work; no money is being made from this story. All recognizable characters belong to their respective creative authors, studios or producers.

Masterlist

Harry rests his head on the train window, watching as the countryside passes by absentmindedly running his hand over Crookshanks fur, the half kneazle curled up in his lap. Ron sits next to him, blathering on as if he has no concerns in the world. Harry looks up as Ron nudges his arm again, “come on, mate, let’s play a game of exploding snap.”

Harry chooses to ignore Ron and instead looks back out the window. Again Ron nudges him, “mate, it’s the first day of summer. It’s time to have some fun.”

“Fun! Are you kidding me? With everything going on, that’s all you can think about?” Harry snaps.

On the seat across from him, Hermione closes the book she’s been reading, ready to intervene if needed.

“Harry, you heard Fudge. You know who is dead; if he isn't, mum reckons it's not our concern. We just need to let the adults, like Dumbledore, handle it….”

Hermione shakes her head as Harry looks at Ron like he’s lost the plot. “Ron, just SHUT UP! And if you can’t do that. Find somewhere else to sit.” Harry growls, trying to keep his voice even.

Ron looks at him incredulously, “why should I?”

“Because I’m tired of listening to you blather on about stupid shit.” Harry points out.

“Fine!” Ron harrumphs, grabbing his meager possessions, “Hermione, grab your things and that mangy cat so we can find somewhere else to sit.”

“Not bloody likely.” Hermione responds, “I am quite content to stay where I am, thank you very much. Also, in the future, you might consider asking; I am not a servant you can order about.”

A red blush clashing with the color of his hair crosses over his cheeks and spreads down his neck disappearing under his shirt collar. “Why do you always choose him? Huh.”

“He’s my best friend; he doesn't go around insulting me, my cat, or my parents. They may be muggles, but they are well-educated muggles who make a good living running their dental practice.”

“Whatever,” Ron rumbles as he exits the compartment.

“You didn't need to do that, Hermione,” Harry says dejectedly.

“Harry James Potter, now you listen here. I meant what I just said. You are unequivocally my best friend. If nothing else, this past year should have taught you that I will always be by your side.” She states, sitting down next to him, lacing her arm through his, and placing her head on his shoulder. 

Over the next few hours, the two sat in companionable silence. When they were about twenty minutes from King’s Cross Station, they gathered their belongings. Harry even placed a reluctant Crookshanks into his carrier. When the train pulled into the station, they opted to be among the last to disembark, hoping to avoid the overcrowded station. On the other side of the barrier, Hermione’s parents are waiting. He watches as she hugs each of her parents before turning back to him; she then waves him over. Reluctantly Harry joins them. 

“Mum, dad, this is my best friend, Harry.” Hermione states as her parents each extend a hand to shake Harry’s. “Harry, these are my parent's doctors Emma and Noah Granger.”

“Nice to meet you, sir, ma’am,” Harry replies quietly, remembering the manners Petunia drilled into him.

Taking a slight step back, Harry looked around the station to see if he could see either his aunt Petunia or uncle Vernon, but he saw neither. Noticing his dejected look, Noah speaks up, “is everything alright, Harry?”

“I was just looking for my relatives, but it looks like they haven't arrived.”

“Actually, Hermione has told us about your family situation and also about everything that has gone on this school year. I hope you don't mind, but Emma and I took it upon ourselves to speak with your relatives and have gotten permission for you to spend the summer with our family if you like.”

“Really?” Harry asked in surprise.

Emma smiled, “does that sound ok to you?” 

“It does,” Harry replied eagerly.

“Well, let's get a move on then.”

************************************************************************

Harry looked out in awe when they arrived at Hermione’s home. It is a lovely well, kept two-story brick house. They exited the family’s Range Rover and gathered their belongings. Noah paused at the door before opening it, “now, sweet pea, we have a surprise for you inside.” He then opens the door and lets his daughter pass. 

“OMG!!! UNCLE OWEN!!!” he hears Hermione shout as he follows her. Entering the front door, he sees her leap into the arms of an older gentleman. They hug as he spins her around. 

When her feet touch the ground, she turns, “uncle Owen I would like you to meet my best friend, Harry Potter.”

Owen leads them to the young man, saying, “it’s a pleasure to meet you. Hermione and my brother, her father, have told me about you and updated me on your situation.”

“They have?” Harry asked, confused, “but isn't that a violation of the statute of secrecy.”

“How about we all have a seat, and I will explain why in this instance, it isn't.” 

Harry nods in agreement, and everyone takes a seat in the lounge. 

“The reason there hasn't been a violation of the statute of secrecy is that I am not a muggle,” Noah starts, “I am a squib, and my brother is a pureblood.”

“Oh,” Harry states, unsure what else he should say.

“I am also not British, Harry; as my wife and daughter keep reminding me, I have not lost my American accent. For the most part, American families these days don't kick out or disown their squib children.”

“Noah here got applied to dental school and was accepted to King’s College in London. On the other hand, I started working for MACUSA and am now the Assistant Director of NCIS for Special Operations and a special liaison between MACUSA and NCIS.”

“That's pretty cool.”

“In some of her letters, Hermione has mentioned some concerns about you having to stay with your relatives. She stated that Professor Dumbledore told her there were some protections in place. Is this correct?”

“Hary nods, “yes, he stated, my mother, placed wards on my aunt's property that can keep us safe.”

“Well, when I arrived a week ago, I brought with me a couple of co-workers who are master ward breakers and builders. According to them, your mother's wards have eroded over the years and are almost non-existent. I had them put new wards in place that should hold until you become of age.”

“So they’ll be protected in the house until I turn seventeen?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you very much, sir, how much do I owe you? I would need to make a trip to Gringotts to access my trust vault.”

“Harry, you owe me nothing. This is my repaying the debt when you saved my niece from a troll in her first year.”

“Thank you, uncle Owen. Mum, dad, what will you be doing this summer?”

“Well, with Harry’s family’s approval, we got him a passport, so the two of you will be traveling to the US for the summer.”

Hermione squealed in excitement as she hugged Harry, sitting next to her. Harry was utterly still and in shock.

“I…I get … to travel… this… this… summer?” Harry asked shakily. 

“Yes, in two days, I have a special international portkey that will take us to MACUSA headquarters in New York, and from there, we will take another portkey to NCIS headquarters located at the Navy Yard in DC. As I may be required to travel during your stay, a colleague and his wife have agreed to keep an eye on you if needed.”

“Is it Gibbs and Abby?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, kiddo, it is.”

“That’s awesome. You’ll like them, Harry. Gibbs tends to be quiet; he's a former Marine sharpshooter and into woodworking. Abby is super knowledgeable and a half-blood witch from New Orleans.”

“Ok,” Harry states, a little overwhelmed.

Emma turned to Hermione, “sweet pea can you take your things upstairs and show Harry the guest room next to yours? This way, you can both get settled. By the time you're done, we’ll order some pizza for dinner and decide what to do with the rest of our evening.”

“Sure, mum. Come on, Harry.”

The two teens go up, and together they carry their belongings upstairs.

************************************************************************

The next day Owen took the teens to Diagon Alley, where he took Harry to Gringotts to get some spending money. Surprisingly Owen had made an appointment with the Potter Account manager, a Goblin named Sharp Axe. The meeting took longer than planned as Harry had never met with the goblin, though the account manager had sent several requests. When it was also revealed that Harry had only had fleeting possession of his trust vault key, a new one was issued, and an audit of vault transactions was automatically triggered.  Owen enquired if the British branch of Gringotts issued debit cards for its patrons to use in the muggle world, which they do for a small fee. One was issued to Harry. Owen then handed one to Hermione for a vault he had started for her at the DC branch of Gringotts. 

The trio continued stopping at ‘The Trunk Shop’ to buy two high-quality, lightweight travel trunks with glammers for muggle travel. From there, they left the Alley and headed to Marks and Spencers so Harry could buy some new clothes that fit. 

For the remainder of the day, Hermione plays tour guide showing Owen and Harry some of her favorite spots in London, from The Tower of London to Madame Tussauds to Buckingham Palace, and finishing the day off with the London Eye. 

The following day the three travelers have everything packed and enjoy a light breakfast at Owen's suggestion. “Portkeys are rough on the uninitiated traveler, but international portkeys are even worse as they are slightly longer in duration. There is a dinner outside the Navy Yard, and I will treat you to a meal once we arrive there.”

Harry and Hermione nod in agreement though both look a little apprehensive, remembering the portkey they took to the Quidditch World Cup the previous summer. 

At promptly nine am, the rope portkey activated, taking the trio from Tottenham to New York. There they went through international customs and then proceeded to the regional portkey office, from which they took a special portkey that would allow them to travel directly to the NCIS Headquarters. 

When they arrived, they heard a giddy yell and a black-and-white blur that rushed in and engulfed Hermione in a bear hug. “You’re finally here. I’m so excited.” 

Hermione returned the hug, “it’s so good to see you, Abby. I’ve missed you.” The two separated; she then noticed Gibbs standing by the wall with an amused grin on his face. Walking over to him, she hugged him, “it's good to see you, Gunny.”

“It’s good to see you too, kid,” Gibbs states as he hugs her back. When he steps back, he gives her a quick once over, “did you manage to stay out of trouble this year.”

“Kinda… the year was interesting, to say the least… Abby, Gunny, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Harry Potter.”

Harry raises his hand in an award wave gesture, “Hi.”

Gibbs then turns to Owen, “Director Vance wants to see you immediately. Sounded urgent when he made the request.”

Owen nods but looks at the kids, unsure what to do with them.

“I’ve already clocked out for the day. How about I take them home with me,” Abby suggests.

“That works,” Owen responds, reaching into his wallet and pulling out two fifty-dollar bills, “I promised them some food from the dinner.”

Abby leads the two teens out of the transportation room and heads to the parking lot to Abby’s SUV. “What happened to the hearse?” Hermione asked the other woman.

“The hearse blew a head gasket, and the engine seized. Not to mention a few other mechanical issues. Jethro convinced me it was time to let her go and get something else.”

“Well, this is very nice.”

“Thanks.”

************************************************************************

A couple of hours later, Gibbs and Owen walk into his house, and there they see Hermione setting the dining table as Abby brings serving dishes of food to the table. Harry is grilling the steaks that he had found marinating earlier in the day at the fireplace in the living room.

‘What's going on here?” Owen asks, chuckling.

Abby pauses with a smile, “Harry offered to cook us all dinner. He’s grilling the marinated steaks, made mashed potatoes, and green beans. Hermione made the salad, and I made some sweet tea.”

Harry brings the steaks over to the table, and everyone sits down. Throughout the meal, small talk is enjoyed by everyone. After asking Abby to prepare the spare room for guests, Gibbs insists on doing the dishes, and Owen takes the two teens out back. “The director has given me a new set of marching orders, and I am on a plane leaving for LA later tonight.” He then looks directly at Hermione, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart; I know this is not how we planned your summer vacation.”

“It’s ok, uncle Owen. We knew that there was a chance of something like this happening. That's why we planned to stay with Abby and the Gunny.”

Once their talk is over, Owen heads out to stop at headquarters before making his flight, and the teens return inside. Abby takes them upstairs; she leads Hermione to Kelly’s old bedroom and Harry to the guest room next door. “This is an older house, so there is only one full bath with a tub, shower combo, and a half bath downstairs. Meaning we all gotta share, so please be considerate and don't use up all the HOT water.”

The teens take their travel trunks into the bedrooms and unpack as Abby returns downstairs, where she joins Gibbs on the couch.

“That poor boy,” she says, resting her head on his shoulder. “It's going to be ok, Abbs; they’ll be with us most of the summer. You can mother-hen them both, plus we’ll get Ducky to give him a once over. You can brew all the potions he could need to get him into shape.”

************************************************************************

Harry wakes up the following day as someone sits on the edge of his mattress. Blindly he reaches over onto the nightstand for his glasses. Fumbling a little, he slides them on his face as he sits up. 

“Morning, Harry,” Hermione intones cheerfully, giving him a quick hug. “It’s nine-thirty; time to get up. I’ve already showered, so the bathroom is yours.”

“Cheers,” Harry mumbles, pulling back his blanket and stumbling to the dresser where he had put his clothes the night before. Hermione returned to her room as Harry got ready for the day. 

The duo makes their way downstairs together. They are surprised to see Abby sitting on the couch with her iPad reading. “Morning, you two. Did you sleep well?” She asks, looking up at them.

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry responds automatically.

Hermione grins, “slept like a log.”

“I’m glad. There is tea and coffee in the kitchen and OJ and Apple juice in the fridge. Sorry pumpkin is a little harder to come by.”

Harry shudders, “that’s an acquired taste, but not something I choose unless I have to.” “Ditto,” Hermione chimes in.

“For food, I had Jethro grab an assortment of fresh bagels this morning. We have jams and cream cheese for toppings. We also have the fixings for oatmeal or some cold cereals.”

“Do you want a bagel?” Hermione asks Harry as she enters the kitchen.

“Sure…;” Harry says hesitantly. “I’ve never had a bagel before,” he admits. 

“That’s ok; you’ll like them,” Hermione adds as she puts one into the toaster.

Harry meanwhile joins in the kitchen, taking two coffee mugs from the dish rag, pouring some in each mug, and doctoring it up to each of their tastes. He sets them out on the table where they had eaten the night before. He returns to the kitchen and also pours each of them a glass of OJ. As he sets the glasses on the table, Hermione brings out a jam jar and a tub of cream cheese before returning to the kitchen for the toasted bagels.

Abby joins them at the table, “so what would you two like to do today? Jethro and I have taken some time off from work. Mind you, for the first week of vacation, I don't want to hear the words summer reading assignments or homework.” she tells them, giving Hermione a knowing look.

Harry tries to hide a smirk behind his coffee mug as Hermione levels a glare in his direction. But before she can say anything the basement door opens and Gibbs steps through dressed in ripped jeans, and a faded Marine t-shirt wiping his hands on an old rag.  He steps up behind Abby, grasps the coffee mug she has in her hand, and takes a sip. “So, what's the plan for the day.”

Abby leans into Gibbs’ body, “how about today is a lazy day?”

“Like recreational reading?” Hermione asks excitedly.

Harry groans in resignation. Causing Gibss to chuckle. “Well, you ladies enjoy your books. Harry care to join me in the basement?”

“Uh…” Harry is unsure how to respond.

“Harry, it’s ok. I think you’ll like what the Gunny wants to show you.” Hermione tells him with encouragement.

“Ok,” Harry states, curious about what could be down there.

Harry follows Gibbs down in the basement when breakfast is finished and the dishes have been cleaned up. About halfway down the steps, Harry stops; he gasps in shock. There, in the basement, is the framework for a wooden boat.

“WOW!!! This is awesome,” Harry exclaims as he goes the rest of the way down the stairs. Tentatively he touches the wood. 

Gibbs picks up one of his tools and shows him how to use it on the wood. The two then begin working together in comfortable silence. The only sound was the tools gliding across the wood.

[septembersghost]

I had a teacher in a introductory to film mentioned that in order to enjoy a film- you need to have a “suspension of disbelief” while watching it. Reaction videos of artists on social media- posted & viewed by amateurs to professionals can be fulfilling and/or lucrative to a point. As a fan consuming music or art, you get a deeper appreciation with further knowledge. A YT making the video said he enjoyed various artists’ work but in the process didn’t need to know all the personal details…

But in SM, eventually background info is shared to “understand the context” to appreciate it even more. One poster mentioned higher traffic with content from certain fanbases- so it’s deliberately chosen. Remember TS’s “Blind for love” Gucci hoodie LWYMMD reference “Love is Blind” Eros (aka Cupid) & Psych? (Sad story). Fans react strongly a negative or positive. Flaws can be damaging- “to err is human” which is inevitable-so for a person placed on a higher plane- the fall may be “fatal.”

this is one of my favorite topics because i connect to it and find it very complex - suspension of disbelief is certainly necessary for fiction to a degree. when you're watching a group of characters traverse a magical world, or seeing people burst into song onstage, or reading a tragic romance, and so on!, you have to be able to set aside certain boundaries and logic and immerse in that world being created, which typically has its own rules and design. even when something is ostensibly set in "our" world, with recognizable features and figures and guides, there's still a blurring that happens with fiction. we're meant to suspend that to appreciate the story, and then we apply our own subjective interpretations, emotions, experiences, beliefs, to that. knowing about a writer's background can impact how one looks at a story (in positive and negative ways depending on the circumstance), but death of the author can come into play too, where one chooses to provide a meaning separate to authorial intent or background.

with something like music, this becomes more difficult, particularly when it's highly personal and/or autobiographical/diaristic. CAN you listen to any artist knowing absolutely nothing about them and still enjoy their work? absolutely! and i certainly do! but you aren't ever quite getting a whole picture, or a full expanse of what an artist is conveying. knowing details enhances the breadth of the work, and i do find that i connect more compassionately to artists who speak to me as human beings. "As a fan consuming music or art, you get a deeper appreciation with further knowledge." yes. and then you can ask, is knowing details intrusive? it's impossible to make a definitive decision on this. fans wanting to know about their favorite artists' lives and experiences is as old as art itself, and has always been an aspect of modern pop culture, most assuredly heightened and ingrained with the beginnings of hollywood and the modern music industry. it's why there's always a market for memoirs. there is so much we absorb without even intending to at times. i couldn't begin to trace how i might know a given fact about an artist because it's usually an aspect of me following along with their career - unless you disengage entirely from other media and coverage, the stories are bound to get through, and that in turn influences your perspective on what they've created. this can be very enriching - knowing the paths they've taken, the heartbreaks, the triumphs, certain loves and losses - is connective across the work, but it also makes it inextricable, since once you know...you know. it doesn't preclude us from having personal interpretations as well, these things exist simultaneously, but it does indelibly give us insight into the artists' personal experiences. i don't believe it's wrong or irresponsible to try and empathize with/understand that, or to discuss it, when it helps to humanize and bring forth meaning from the work. it can be done respectfully and using the details and truths we know from the artists themselves. it just requires a certain amount of care.

that said, social media has certainly worsened this and made it more difficult for artists to escape, and that has notable downsides. i don't believe human flaws or mistakes from someone should ever be ruinous (unless it's something actually terrible like abuses, harmful prejudices, etc, but you know what i mean). everyone is going to mess up and stumble eventually, and there's a little too much reveling in mockery sometimes rather than extensions of grace. i also feel like the pedestal is a dangerous thing, and for me personally, it's helpful and grounding to know more about the PERSON, not the idol or the icon, to feel that empathy and recognize that reality, because then the pedestal doesn't matter, it becomes a more genuine expression of connection to their work. while we still keep respectful lines in place, i do believe we can analyze, we can put pieces together, we can follow a journey and the stories being shared, we can discuss the scope of that, and we can find the human heart at the center of things, and it brings illumination and wholeness to the art itself.

[shirecorn]

How to Draw and Design Gryphons and Hippogryphs by using photo references of eagles, lions and horses?

Draw everything individually, from multiple angles.

How to draw horses || How I practice anatomy || Gesture drawing

It's like juicing up for a very tasty dream by consuming your favorite genre, characters, settings, etc and hoping your subconscious combines them.

If the final result is your target, and you see your drawing arm as a gun taking aim, then references are your bullets. Fill the chamber with reference unless you want to play roulette.

Your first step in reference gathering is to be specific. Know what you want and stick with it. I searched specifically for African Lion and Gold Eagle. Being specific helps you observe detail more accurately, and it already puts you one step ahead of generic designs.

I'm only going to tackle Lion + Eagle today for simplicity, but you can use this advice to combine two, three, or dozens of animals including horses.

Get your reference, and start practicing. Keep it simple and undetailed, only drawing the essence of the photo, rather than exact position and proportion.

Use action poses to practice! Even though they're more challenging, they will infuse your final result with action as well. Look up things like hunting, fighting, walking, running, landing, etc to get action reference.

Practice most on the creature you're having the hardest time with. That was Lions, for me. I even did a separate page where I studied the structure of their manes, since I wanted that in my griffin design.

Remember: you can trace photos as part of study! This is helpful for correcting proportions and anatomy. Make sure you are tracing mass and bones, not outlines.

Now that you're weapon is loaded with reference, you'll be able to design freehand without copying a photo. This is IDEAL because you won't be slowed down by anatomy. Now what we're here for: Design.

Creature Design Masterpost || Splice Vs Blend

This is going to be yet another visit to Splice vs. Blend technique, so strap in. Here's some guys I drew after I finished studying. No photos needed at this stage because I've eaten them all.

The most common creature design technique is something I call Splicing. You take pieces of animals and graft them onto each other with stitches. Griffins are notorious for this with their bird talons on the front legs and lion paws on the back. That's a creature that was formed through magic, not evolution. This automatically makes your griffin less believable. And probably a bit awkward in the walking department.

So here's a new challenge: Blending. Take bits of each creature and put them in a mixer, letting the ingredients land all over the place and amongst each other. What if we had a lion skull, with an extra-thick bird beak in place of the jaws? What if the lion chin was still there in the form of a tuft of fur? Maybe the tear duct from the lion, and the eyelids of bird? Let's give it lion ears with the furrowed brow so typical of raptors.

It already looks like a new life form, rather than a photoshopped amateur hour of recognizable animals. I could cover it in either feathers or fur and it would still be distinct as a new species. I want the classic lion mane in some form, so I'm taking the shape and turning it into long, fluffy feathers.

Don't stop there! Try identifying what traits make an eagle and eagle, or a lion a lion, and sticking them between each other.

Keep combining! Challenge convention! Add and omit parts and pieces to your heart's content.

Take this practice to all parts of all creatures. Throw new stuff in a blender instead of stitching it together. This especially includes color! You see a lot of spliced markings in novelty griffins, with a specific cat and bird. Artists get stuck on copy-pasting animal patterns because they're afraid the ingredients won't be recognizable, or they're just lost in the sauce of loving tigers they forget to actually have fun with it.

It's still recognizable as tiger and peacock, but much more compelling, wouldn't you say? Go for something unique rather than staying with what feels "safe." There's a million griffin artists out there, but only one You.

[alicedrawslesmis]

okay i totally agree that marius is written very weird and only focuses on being awkward and funny in fanfic and honestly all fandom content. but i dont really know how to write him better? tbh i dont actually write him at all really and just ignore him cause hes weird and idk how to write it. do you have any ideas on how to make him more canon accurate?

ok a little aside before I get this train going: contrary to what it may seem I'm not actually against having Marius be the awkward funny side character, the fandom created a whole universe of characters that are semi-canon but recognizable but I do wish Bossuet was the funny side character because that's his whole thing and it's great and I say fandom is not supposed to be a Chore, you don't have to write characters the brick way just cause Alice from tumblr said so

.

BUT let's say you did want to write Marius as more brick-like without him becoming the big Red Flag that he was written as, here are some things we know abt him:

1. Marius is v book smart, he reads fast, he learns fast, he was able to finish law school, learn german and english all while starving (see: last point of this list)

2. He is very concerned with looking presentable, even tho he owns like three shirts. This is a big deal to him. Also he only wears black for Symbolic purposes

EDIT: 2.b. He wears black because of his father and is very attached to his father's legacy! Family is also a big deal to him

3. Marius is apparently hot. At least noticeably good-looking. Idk if you need to keep that in, but it's canon lol

4. He walks randomly through empty places cause he likes to daydream. It's not unusual to run into him in weird places (and by run into I mean people see him but he doesn't notice them)

5. He's lazy. He'll work enough to live but Not A Single Second More

6. He is really judgy

7. He hates the idea of debt. He will go out of his way to avoid going into debt. He'll starve rather than borrow money

8. Lastly, and the most important: He has these waves of obsessions. He will fixate on something and think about nothing else for months. It takes over his work and his social life. Like, say, infodumping about Napoleon to a bunch of radical republicans and getting his butt whooped. He can't help himself, dissociation and hyperfocus are Marius's biggest traits. So much of his flaws go back to his inability to have a healthy fixation on anything

My personal interpretation is that Marius is neurodivergent from the way he's written. So there's just this big gaping problem that is his obviously atypical behaviour that everyone who reads the book can pick up on (usually people don't even realise it's that, they just comment on how awkward/weird he is. Which, yeah, that's why it's called atypical) and it just lays there, unaddressed, to frustrate me in specific