#and then started thinking about everyone magic mastery

[esamastation]

Shizuroth, part twelve

Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven

-

Sephiroth is the best swordsman in SOLDIER. It's what the entirety of the SOLDIER program has been built upon - that superhuman excellence that Sephiroth brings to the table, blowing the curve for everyone who came before and everyone who would come after.

The program had technically existed before Sephiroth, but it wasn't the same. The early SOLDIERs used Materia, and they were enhanced with Mako, but the treatments hadn't quite reached their full potential. Not just because of the fact that the program was in its infancy and the practicalities of Mako-enhanced strength hadn't yet been worked out - but because of… attitude.

They were still stuck in the old ways of thinking about combat.

Early SOLDIERs used firearms, for one - the heavier the better. They wore armour and carried heavy loads of equipment. They were walking tanks. The use of melee weapons wasn't really common, outside very specialised circumstances. The most a SOLDIER might use was a combat knife.

Then healing Materia research got better. Potions were developed. Barrier Materia became more commonplace. SOLDIERs got tougher… and bullets became less lethal and more an annoyance.

Still, it wasn't until the start of the Wutai War that the use of swords started really spreading among SOLDIERs. Wutai warriors did it first, in the opposite direction - they added firearms to their blades. And then Sephiroth, fourteen years old at the time, entered the field, and changed everything.

He picked up a Wutai blade - and ravaged the enemy forces with it. He's favoured folded steel and curved Wutai swords ever since - and by doing so he changed the SOLDIER program for good.

Angeal has studied the start of the war and the progress that had been made during it thoroughly - like most everyone in the program who had ever had aspirations of becoming First, he'd studied Sephiroth's career. Hell, he'd been doing it even before he joined the program, before he even left his hometown Banora for Midgar. His research is part of the reason why his father ended up working himself to death over the Buster Sword.

Sephiroth, like all SOLDIERs, is strong. He's fast. He has magic floating in his veins. And that's usually enough. Even the weakest SOLDIER is faster and stronger than the most dedicated martial artist, that's how Shinra made them, and that's what most of their training still focuses on. 

But that wasn't enough for Sephiroth. From the very first time he picked up the blade, he strove to master it. Among the SOLDIER program, Sephiroth is the most learned when it comes to swordsmanship. He actually sought out teachers in Wutai, challenging their best to duels and learning everything he could from them, paying for that tutelage in blood if he had to. Now he can not only swing his sword faster and harder than anybody else - he also knows how and never relies just on his enhancements to do the work for him. 

Unbeknownst to most, the entirety of SOLDIER melee and swordsmanship training is based on Sephiroth. He'd taught all of them everything they know, either through recordings of his practice sessions or in duels. There were even rumours that they were making an AI model of Sephiroth to teach newer SOLDIERs in virtual training.

A single duel with Sephiroth is worth a dozen training sessions with anyone else, when it comes to swordsmanship. Even a virtual mockup would be better than the next best swordsman in the company.

And if Sephiroth has lost even a fraction of that mastery…

Angeal folds his arms, watching worriedly as Sephiroth unsheathes his sword. It looks… clumsy. Like he doesn't know even how to do it right. The over-long blade and the equally lengthy sheath actually give him trouble, and he looks frustrated with them

The sinking feeling in Angeal's gut develops to actual nausea, and he glances to his side, where Genesis is leaning back against the training room wall. He'd seen it too - Genesis' gloves creak as he squeezes his sword hilt, his face tight with unease.

"Let's… start easy, okay?" Angeal says, turning back to Sephiroth. "With some warmups."

"Warmups," Genesis echoes like it's a foreign language. 

Angeal elbows him. They usually never bother warming up, they don't really need it, but just launching right into it like they usually do would be a… bad idea. "Sephiroth," Angeal nods, motioning to the centre of the room, "How about some target practice?"

Sephiroth is slowly swinging his sword, trying to get used to Masamune's length. "Depends on what you mean by target practice," he says, frowning at the sword and the Materia in the hilt.

In answer, Angeal takes out his PHS and activates the training room, summoning up a handful of hard-light targets - in the style of Wutai troops. They stand in loose formation near the middle of the room, three faceless armoured figures in a line.

"Oh?" Sephiroth hums, quiet and tense.

"No combat settings," Angeal assures him. "They're only there as training dummies. Just have a swing at them."

"... Right,"Sephiroth says and slowly approaches the holograms.

"This is so utterly bizarre," Genesis mutters under his breath as Sephiroth turns to face the holograms. "I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe we might actually have to teach Sephiroth how to swing a sword."

"Shhh," Angeal hisses. "Maybe it's like riding a chocobo."

"Or maybe we're all utterly screwed," Genesis hisses back. "If Sephiroth can't fight…"

… Yeah. 

Sephiroth makes a few idle test swings with Masamune as he faces the hard-light targets, looking a little awkward and self-conscious. Then he takes a stand. It looks halfhearted at best.

"Oh, Goddess. I know I always said I wanted to be a greater hero than Sephiroth, but not like this," Genesis bemoans, running a hand down his face. "This is a disaster. The secondhand embarrassment alone -"

Sephiroth tilts his head towards them. "You know I can hear you, right?" he asks, his tone acidic.

Angeal wraps his arm around Genesis' shoulder and quickly covers his mouth. "Just ignore him," he said. "Go right ahead, pretend we're not even here."

Sephiroth straightens up again, looking irritated and embarrassed, turning his face away. He fiddles with Masamune's handle for a moment, and Angeal has to actually put some effort in holding Genesis quiet, all but taking him into a full headlock - and his friend is still letting out loud, outraged noises behind his palm.

Finally, Sephiroth lets out a sigh and swings Masamune once. It's too fast to follow.

The holograms shatter like glass.

Well… that looked familiar?

"Oh?" Sephiroth murmurs, curious, and looks at the sword in his hands. Then he swings the sword again, differently, testing it. And then again, moving from one swing to another smoothly and almost too fast to follow, shifting his grip as he does.

Genesis goes quiet and Angeal holds his breath.

"Oh, well now," Sephiroth murmurs interestedly, his expression lighting up as he takes Masamune in a one-handed grip, making a little jab with it. "I wonder…"

Genesis wrings himself free of Angeal's hold. "So you do remember how to use a sword!" he says and draws his own sword. "Shall we see how well?"

"Genesis," Angeal objects, but Genesis is already skipping ahead.

Sephiroth pauses, running a hand down Masamune's blade. Then he swings the sword down sharply, confidently. "Alright," he says with a whole new gleam in his eyes. He looks almost excited. He looks like himself. "Let's do it."

Angeal sighs, half troubled, halt heartened. Sephiroth looks a little more self-assured now, at least. That's something. Maybe his memory loss isn't so -

And then Sephiroth holds his sword up in front of him and bows and Genesis almost trips over his feet in shock.

Ah. Well. 

Baby steps.

-

Would you look at all them chickens headcanons.

[poemnic-tarot]

Channeled Message from Your Soulmate’s Higher Self

(Disclaimer : This is a general reading please only take what resonate. For entertainment purposes only)

🧚🏻‍♀️ 💕 🍀 🌷 🌸 You are Loved 🌸 🌷 🍀 💕 🧚🏻‍♀️

Pile 1🌠 “Twin flames”

“I want to acknowledge your mastery of your own emotions. I love that you’ve learned not to control or shame your emotion but accept them for what they are. Your inner strength really shine through and it wasn’t easy so I want to congratulate you on that hard earned achievement, my love. Now your emotion can’t hold you back anymore from taking action. They do not dictate what you can or cannot do because frankly, there is nothing you can’t achieve in this world. You can basically manifest anything.

You are very intuitive and even psychic when we first met and I noticed that about you. I was surprised by how much you were able to pick up on. My feeling particularly because I was not that expressive. You’ve showed me how to balance between true inspired action and just doing things for the sake of doing it. It was hard for me to give something up or abandoned things I’ve started, even when I know it was passed due to do so. Leaving things,letting go of attachment is hard for me. I am the type to keep on reading a book or watching a movie till the end even when I am dead bored of them. There’s no reason for me to continue but there wasn’t a reason for me to leave either. So I’m stuck I guess, I’m very good at getting myself stuck, in the middle, hanging in- between staying or going. But you told me you found that endearing for some reason and gently took my hand and guide me out of my self- imposed prison. You have helped me heal my wound of abandonment, maybe that’s why it was hard to say goodbye to things and leave them, even though they do not serve me anymore.

I admire your sense of adventure, you are the most expressive person I’ve ever met. Even if you don’t know that about yourself. I feel quite a strong kinship with you, like this is not our first rodeo on this earth. Perhaps, we often have more adventures in our dreams, I know I do dreamt of you quite often. I just want to let you know that I love you, I love who are and who you were and who you are trying to become. Every versions of you amazed me cause your true strength alway shines through every time and I will alway recognised your bright essence anywhere.”

Love,

Your Soul Family

Signs: Rose, Lion/big cats, 111, Infinity, Pine trees,Crescent Moon

Love Quotes: "In the end, we all just want someone that chooses us over everyone else under any circumstances."

Song: I See the Light from Tangle

“….And at last I see the light

And it’s like the fog has lifted

And at last I see the light

And it’s like the sky is new

And it’s warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

All at once everything looks different

Now that I see you

Love Poem verse : Twin flames by @cant-find-my-name

…I recognised negative traits needed

To be discard,

When we met, I think I’ve found myself

The missing piece, part of my soul

Ah, you’re my Twin flames

When I met you I know

We’re one and the same

🧚🏻‍♀️ 💕 🍀 🌷 🌸 You are Loved 🌸 🌷 🍀 💕 🧚🏻‍♀️

Pile 2🍄 If Magic Was Real

"I hope you are taking time to fully sit in your emotions and grieve. It is okay to express your emotion, in fact, it is crucial if you need to cry or break down or just lose it emotionally. Give yourself that permission to do so. You might think that it's strong of you to keep it together for the sake of others or yourself. That it is so mature of you to do so but darling, there need to be a balance. You need to heal but you won't be able to heal if you won't let yourself feel all of your sadness. If you need to cry, cry it out I will be here with you. You are not alone in your sorrows. I would like to give this song to you, maybe it would help "Chiquitita by Cher". It seem you have broken a feather but don't worry, we will try to patch it up together.

I want to tell you that a renewal is coming to you. It was a hard chapter that you just experienced and I hate seeing you pretending to be fine. But your sad eyes is not fooling anyone. It is okay to be sad,to be angry, to let it all out ( in a healthy way not in a self destructive way please). I admired you for holding it together for this long, but more than anything, I want you to let go. Be vulnerable with yourself, I think that is the most beautiful thing. Witness the spectrum of human emotions, it is beautiful. It is time to rest in your nest for awhile until you’re able to fly again. Take all the time that you need, grieve all that there is, broken relationships, friendships, nostalgia. Whatever it is, I am alway there. Listen to music because I love sending you messages through these songs, it has really helped me through my hard time. So I’m hoping music could be a little comfort to you at this time. Take some time for yourself love, cause you definitely need it. Trust me that the sun will rise once more, and all that happened will just been a hard learned lesson and you’ve definitely learn a lot from it.

I know that the real you is not a sad person. You are the most vibrant, radiant, happiest soul I know. And sadness doesn’t suit you one bit, as well as pretending to be happy. You shine best when you are true to your feeling. Winter is over and I cannot wait to welcome you back into the season of spring.”

Love,

Your Soulmate

Signs: Black feathers, birds, 55, Tears drop

Love Quote : “He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

Song : Chiquitita by Cher

Chiquitita, tell me the truth

I’m a shoulder you can cry on

Your best friend, I’m the one you must rely on

You were alway sure of yourself

Now, I see you’ve broken a feather

I hope we can patch it up together

Love Poem verse: If Magic Was Real by @cant-find-my-name

.. The world seem kind

When you’re around

To believe again

Is easy

When you’re with me

If Magic is real

It is where you’ll be

🧚🏻‍♀️ 💕 🍀 🌷 🌸 You are Loved 🌸 🌷 🍀 💕 🧚🏻‍♀️

Pile 3🫧 I’ll Never Forget

“You’re working so hard and so am I. We’re trying to do our own work, slowly building strong foundation for the future. Maybe out of fears than anything. This anxiety to keep on going, to do better and better, to improve, constantly striving for a better future. I get it, I feel it too, however, if we keep on going like this eventually our life forces will run out. And physically we can become ill and I really don’t want that for you. So I’m here to let you know that you can slow down, what you feared will not come true. Your deep, dark fears will not come alive. If you think you can’t stop because you think that the fears you feel will transpire. No, it will not, you’ve work hard enough. Outwardly and internally, I’ve watched you tried and tried and alway striving to do better. To be better, but honey, you are already enough for me. You alway will be, regardless of what you did or what you didn’t do or what you will do. I will alway believe that your existence alone is enough for me. To sooth my soul, to lift my spirit up. You don’t have to do anything for me, I am happy just to be with you, to exist with you, to be by your side and bath in your lovely presence

I know you have struggled from a lack mentality, I don’t know if you notice that about yourself. And that is nothing to be ashamed of , I‘m struggling with it too. I understand how you feel, no matter how much you have or how much you do, you just feel it’s never enough. True abundance come from the inside. And you are already enough with the proof that your heart beats for you, the blood flowing in your vein is proof that we meant to exist here as we are. No more, no less.

Please rest assured love, and take a break once in a while. Do something that’s not related to work. I want you to practice winding down, practice letting go and relaxing. No one ever teach us how to truly relax and it is a skill, it doesn’t come naturally to us and we can help each other relax. We can practice together, practice just existing without shame or guilt, or a pit in our stomach that things will go wrong if you don’t do anything. I want you to learned to have fun because when we’re together, it’ll become a skill that will help our relationship a lot. I want to have fun together with you and for you to tell me all about your adventures, your travels and your crazy journey. I can’t wait to just sit down and be with you. Take a vacation with you and have the time of our lives. You are my vacation home.”

Love from,

Your Honey bear

Signs : 88, Roses, Games, Festival, Spider, Designer brand

Love Quote : “I know from that first moment we met. It was not love at first sight exactly but familiarity. Like ‘oh hello’, it’s you. It’s going to be you.”

Song : Voyage by Kep1er

“The sound of waves surging in

Far beyond the horizon

Between the clouds, we going high

Follow me in my way

When the gentle breeze blows

Close your eyes and feel it

We arrived to an unfamiliar island

slowly open your eyes

Love Poem verse: I’ll Never Forget by @cant-find-my-name

Loneliness is a disease

But I think you’ve just cure me,

You make me so happy

I don’t recognise myself,

You warmed my hand

Around your coffee mug

And asked if I’m alright

Your voice sounded worried

And there’s concern sincerity’s in

Your eyes.

🧚🏻‍♀️ 💕 🍀 🌷 🌸 You are Loved 🌸 🌷 🍀 💕 🧚🏻‍♀️

Pile 4🌙Each Night

“Good evening, I hope to meet you again in our dream. I know you dreamed of me and questioned it. Believe in yourself my little star. Your dream is not lying to you. It is alright to hope, to wish, to believe in the impossible. Please don’t think that it’s ridiculous or childish to believe in true love, in soulmate and fairy tales. Because you’re not wrong to hope. Your soulmate exist and you know that but your fears trying to convince you otherwise. I am your soulmate and my message to you is to believe in me. I want to validate your feeling, your extraordinary senses. Your wish in that little star?, I heard it, the universe heard it too and we listen. To all of your wishes and it was not ridiculous of you to wish for love, true love. It is not unrealistic, or rose colour glasses. It is just something that you know you deserve and want to feel. We do not shame or guilt ourself for asking for more love.

I am alway with you, in your dream, in your waking life, in our past lives. That is why you can feel my presence so strongly. It is not just from your imagination. I want to assured you that, it is real. I am as real as the bark of a tree. I can feel you too but truthfully, my 3D self is not as intuitive as you. I tend to brush things off when they don’t make sense, so please don’t be like me.Things doesn’t need to make sense now,it will eventually come together. Unfolding naturally, beautifully. I know you see my signs everywhere and is questioning reality. You are not going mad, just a head up from me. We will meet soon, in a way that you won’t believe. I won’t either but we both know that we wish for this desperately. Earth has been achingly lonely for me. And knowing you exist have helped alleviate the ache a bit. I want you to take your time with life, don’t rush cause when we come together, we can continue this journey together in an even pace,step by step.

Love,

Yours

Signs : North Star, Dove, Diamond shape, Cocoon of a butterfly, 8910, 2020

Love Quotes: “He loves you very much” she said, but more than that, he cares for you. Sometimes love is not as important as truly caring for the other person.

Song : Surefire by John Legend

“Let me breath you in ‘till gravity bends

And we fall through the hole in the light

Make this our kingdom

Somewhere where good love conquers and not

Divides”

Love Poem verse : Each Night by @cant-find-my-name

Oh distance shore

I beg of you

Please no more,

Please don’t keep us apart

I can’t take it

This is destroying my heart,

We are one and it’s time to be

Together again

Next to each other

Hand in Hand

Feel you touch my skin

Smell your scent

I breathe you in………

🧚🏻‍♀️ 💕 🍀 🌷 🌸 You are Loved 🌸 🌷 🍀 💕 🧚🏻‍♀️

Thank you so much for reading!. If this resonate please leave a tip if you like. See you soon!

Check out more of my original poems at @cant-find-my-name .

[manias-wordcount]

If you're not to busy and take requests- can I request a botw link x male reader where the male reader is an almost extinct race called the "yexrid" who can manipulate their body temperatures to be a space heater or an air conditioner and link and y/n are going through the gerudo highlands snowy mountains and y/n absolutely loves the snow and they have to camp there- and link is really cold so y/n turns his body heat up and cuddles link to sleep? Sorry it's long I'm lonely 🥲

Head First (BOTW Link x Male! Reader)

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗶 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗲 ;]

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚? ⇒ 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧?

𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚?

It took Link a little while to realize that you don’t really feel things the same way he does. At least, not fully.

  You said you knew the basics of what you could do. You were separated from your family long before you were able to gain full mastery, but that doesn’t stop you from being impressive. Not one bit. And it’s in the little things you do. It’s the fact that you could feel a sudden breeze and decide that you just won’t be cold. It’s the fact that you can drink a hot bowl of Prime Meat Soup in the desert and decide that you just won’t be hot. And it happens. Your body adjusts. And you continue about your day like you aren’t made of magic. Like you aren’t from an almost extinct race of people who had almost total control of their body, spirit, and mind.

  And yes, you’ll have your slip-ups. For a descendant of an ancient race of people- one of the most powerful groups of people to ever exist in Hyrule….you’re kind of a goof. Sometimes, you forget that not everyone can do what you do. Sometimes, you forget that you can do what you do. Sure, you get by well enough with a handsome face and an adventurous spirit. Link can easily attest to how much attention you get from the ladies and the men in any town you both visit. But you’re the type to jump in head first to a pond with all your clothes on. Only to realize at the moment of contact that you’ve just thrown yourself into a hot spring and will have to sit there and panic until you remember that you can just choose to not feel hot anymore. No matter how many times Link has advised you to use your head to think and not do.

  But then you give him that goofy smile. You show him that despite your quirks, you’re the best travel buddy a guy could ever ask for. You show that despite your mistakes, you always manage to get by just fine. 

  And you show him that sometimes are worth jumping in head first for.

  But this? This is not one of them.

  Right now, this is the two of your trying to force your way through whiteout conditions in the middle of the Gerudo Highlands. At least you were until the sudden storm forced you two to a standstill until it blows over. The worst part is that you can’t even turn The two of you are here at a request. Fetching plant or animal or bug or whatever that Link can’t remember because he’s just too damn cold. Despite all of his layers, he spent his money on them. Despite the snow boots he had to barter and barter and barter for. And despite the goddess-awful spicy elixir you made for him to help him adjust to the temperature change, he still can’t feel his fingers.

  But even with all his complaints that he’s too frozen stiff to voice, he does have one saving grace.

  He has you.

  Being out in one of the infamous Gerudo Highland storms is never easy. It’s never fun, it’s never enjoyable, and it's even worse when he’s alone. He can’t recall how many times he got stuck out here, trying to find a cave or a light or anything just to find his bearing and get out of the storm until it blows over. But that was all before he met you. That was all before he started traveling with you.

  Now, he’s still a bit miserable. With just how hard the wind blows? With just how hard he works for the people of Hyrule? He thinks he’s entitled to a little negativity here and there. But all those times he had to do it alone, were so much harder than this. Because while this might still be existing out in the freezing cold mountains next to the desert…this is also sitting inside a tent he barely helped pitch while you’re still outside messing with a second helping of Pumpkin Stew for the two of you.

  And Link just can’t help but watch.

  In between looks of concentration, there’s a smile on your lips as tiny little snowflakes pelt your pretty face. You’re just close enough to the tent that the fire manages to warm the very tip of Link’s nose and far enough away that the two of you don’t have to worry about any accidents in the middle of the night. But by the firelight, Link is able to see you. Almost perfectly in the mess of winter white blowing past the two of you.

  And you look at ease outside despite the swirling elemental storm around you. You look at peace outside despite the fact that you had relinquished your jacket a long time ago to give Link a blanket so he doesn’t get too while stationary. It makes Link jealous. It makes him jealous that you don’t have to do a single thing to feel alright while he is stuck spending rupee after rupee to give himself a fighting chance. 

  But it also makes him glad.

  Because you know that in moments like this, Link can’t handle the cold. Not like you do. Because in moments like this, you’re already stripping off your layers for more ease in your moments. And you’re wrapping your coat and your scarf around him without a single word and setting up the tent with minimal effort. You don’t fret when Link can do nothing but hold a stake still. You don’t. Instead, you jump in head first. You pitch the tent. You start the fire. You cook the food. You even slip Link a little more spicy elixir in his bowl to help with the taste. You do it all like it’s nothing. But without you?

  Link feels like he would be nothing. Nothing but just a lone wanderer. Drifting away out in the cold. Wishing for the wind to die down. Wishing for the snow to slow its fall. Wishing he had something warm to wrap himself in. 

  Or something warm that he could wrap himself around. 

  But that’s the thing. He has that now. He has you. And so he’s thankful. He’s so thankful when you eventually make the short journey back into the tent with another bowl of stew for the two of you. He’s thankful that you’re careful about helping Link hold his bowl up to his mouth and drink it all in with eager sips. He’s thankful that you’re quick to peek your head out at the fire in front of the tent and tend to it as best as you can from your spot right next to him. And when all the work is said and done? When Link finds that he’s too tired to do anything but lay on his side and pass out? He’s thankful that you’re there too. 

  Laying right beside him. Wrapping your arms around him. Pulling yourself close to him. And raising your body temperature up higher and higher and higher. Until is good enough for two. And Link didn’t even have to ask. Link didn’t have to speak. Somehow you just knew. You just knew what he needed. You just knew. Or maybe…maybe you didn’t. But this was just another instance of you being you. Maybe this was just another moment of you jumping in head first. Being bold. Being brave.

  And of being the best thing that could have ever happened to him.

  Ever since the first time he woke up cold, alone, and afraid. 

[sepublic]

In a way, you could say Philip ‘earned’ the place he made for himself in the Boiling Isles, he really did work for it. Like Luz, he started off with nothing, just a human here mostly by chance; But with grit, ingenuity, and an indomitable determination, Philip carved an entire empire with himself at the top! It’s almost rather impressive...

But at the same time, the differences! Philip has legions providing adoration, but it’s a distant kind, a parasocial worship by those who don’t really know what they’re looking at. Luz doesn’t have everyone, she isn’t the majority/status quo, but she’s got that quality of friends over Philip’s quantity of followers. Luz is close, personal, and emotionally intimate with others, there for them; She’s on their level, not above.

Luz carved out her own place by simply being herself; Philip lied about everything, he lied to himself, didn’t even use his own name until the moniker of Belos became identical. Luz was motivated by genuine love for the isles and its people, whereas Philip had nothing but hatred. Luz is compassionate, she’s reciprocal in her friendships, but Philip? He has an entire isles fawning at his feet, but he just wants them dead. 

They could easily fall into the idea of the ‘self-made’ hero, and in some ways they are; But Luz is fully aware that she’s been blessed with a support system that’s just as valuable in making this possible, as her own will has been. But Philip no doubt thinks himself clever and a mastermind, when really he’s used and relied upon the efforts of people who gave everything to him, only to be tossed aside once their purpose was done. Even much of his knowledge on magic was given/stolen from others; From the Collector, from Luz herself.

Philip is embodied as a literal parasite and cancer at the end of his life, but Luz? Luz helps nurture a new generation of wild witches, and with the people by her side, she’s brought a new life to the isles and grows entire forests in her final battle with him. Philip might’ve brought back the Basilisks, but it was for the purpose of exploitation; Luz actually gave them a new life, and through the ripple effect of her actions, brought back the Palismen with the help of Dell and Hunter!

It took Philip years to learn glyphs because of his hostility; Centuries to build a cruel and hollow empire that he tosses aside as it collapses in his absence, former followers scavenging the remains and/or cursing his name. But within just a few months, Luz has built a lasting network of true friends, weirdoes who will always stick together. Even when Luz dies, they’re still able to pick themselves up and keep going for her memory... And when Luz comes back, she comes back for good and for everyone, not just herself.

It really is easy for Philip to think of himself as so ‘superior’ for being human, not just morally but in all areas! But that’s another crucial difference between him and Luz; She may have made a community for herself, but the same can be said for the very friends who also contributed from their perspectives, and were uplifted alongside Luz, not cast below in a hierarchy as Philip created. Luz is able to defeat Philip because she has friends backing her up, whereas Philip has nobody to help and dies alone. Philip bastardizes the Titan’s magic to claim mastery, whereas Luz respects and learns from a place of humble openness. Four years later, Luz remembers and thanks the people around her, after they thank her.

Are Luz and Philip the same? In the end... Yesn’t.

[lupuslikethewolf]

marauders!au where the war never happened and they all got to go on and live happy lives :) its set years later, when Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna and Hermione are going into their first year.

I haven’t come up with an actual plot yet :/ but this is the setting, and they are all around their early-to-mid-thirties at this point. it's likely just domestic fluff and slice-of-life type shit, with Harry still getting into impossible amounts of fuckery whilst stressing at least 10 different adults (as he should tbh)

i can't decide whether this is set in the 90s or in the modern!era so i left it ambiguous

Barty Crouch Jr, now Professor Barty (just Barty, Crouch is my father), teaches DADA and his fiancé, Evan Rosier, is a Magizoologist who travels during the school year, comes back home for the holidays and weekends to spend with Barty, either on Hogwarts grounds or at their own home. Barty has a close friendship with McGonagall, who is Headmistress, and Poppy (who are married, but no one figured it out).

Dorcas and Marlene play International-Level Quidditch: Dorcas for England, and Marlene for Wales or Ireland (undecided). Everyone thinks they hate each other from the way they treat each other during games. They played for the Holyhead Harpies until they got recruited, and their wedding was basically the biggest, most dramatic and over-the-top graduation party Hogwarts had ever seen, hosted in the Potter Manor. everyone was hungover for days afterwards

Lily and Snape are best-friends-turned-rivals, who achieved a Mastery in Potions at the same time, and are both the youngest people to ever do so. Sev specialises in theoretical potions, and Lily specialises in experimental work, altering old potions and creating new ones. She commandeered the entire basement for her own potions lab, and Remus helps her research in his spare time.

Pandora started publishing with Xenophillius (the definition of gender-fuckery; no-one knows how they identify, not even Xeno), and they publish the most outlandish work they can, alongside Pandora’s books!! They also run Xeno's Quibbler and a couple other independent newspapers. They live out in the countryside w/ Luna. Barty & Evan are their only walking-distance neighbours, but they floo to their friends houses semi-regularly

MaryLily and StarChaser are co-parenting Harry, and being godparents/family friends of Draco, Blaise Zabini, Ron, Neville and Luna. When Harry is at pre-school, he makes friends with Hermione, and the four of them introduce Dr and Dr Granger to the magical world over the years, instead of the two month crash-course Hogwarts gives

Mary is an artist, and since she was raised half-blood, absolutely adores the technique and process of muggle painting, later enchanting it to move and learn and talk. She doesn't own anything that isn't stained with paint, bleach or hair dye. She is famous for her work, in Magical and Muggle circles, but is almost completely anonymous, and they only know what she looks like because of a group portrait she painted

Regulus is an independent researcher of old Pagan traditions and 'Muggle' magic, how different solstices and days (like All Hallows Eve) affect the Magical community, etc. He visits Barty at Hogwarts with Harry every few weeks, and later with Hermione as well, so they grew up learning about the secrets at Hogwarts, in the library, and with the teachers. Also friendly house rivalry, and the adults completely split on which houses they will go into at Hogwarts. Evan started a betting pool.

James and Sirius are the wizarding private investigators. They work everywhere, for everyone (no matter what. they don't need to charge more than what people can afford), and love it. James absolutely adores the 'Sherlock Holmes' vibes, but they are both Sherlock Holmes b/c they are simply too baddass not to be!

Remus opened a bookstore-cafe, and him and Sirius live in the flat above it. It’s really popular and became the place for students and young queer people. The bookstore stocks everything from really popular and really unknown books and authors of every genre. The regulars also notice all these really famous but really mysterious friends of Remus who come-and-go (artist!mary, author!pandora, athletes!dorlene, etc). And then, of course, is the “private” investigator boyfriend, who couldn’t be less subtle at anything if he tried.

Alice is still an Auror, and the Best of the Best, but she is so fucking fed up of the politics, DMLE, and Ministry in general. She is starting a revolution/reformation from the inside- and if that doesn’t work, quit her job and do the same thing from the outside! Frank ended up in law and becoming a Lawyer, and is glad he did, because it might be the only thing that will keep his partner out of jail if she decides to commit treason. They love Neville to bits, and would do anything for him!! They built a whole-ass greenhouse when he discovered his talent.

Peter Pettigrew works part-time with Remus at his place, but is currently training with Gringotts/other cursebreakers to become a professional cursebreaker! it is taking a long ass time with a lot of testing and work to put in, but Peter finds it interesting and it meant that he always has more stories to tell the kids when he sees them, which is a bonus because children are hard to entertain.

[tackytigerfic]

Never have I ever: Dark, or morally grey Harry Potter? 🙈

ohhh hello, pal!! thank you for this ask which is a really interesting one and a trope i was just thinking about the other day.

I have never written dark/morally grey Harry in terms of politics or magical power. However if you're talking personally/emotionally then I have written him as a bit (or a lot) of a shit quite a few times. I've chosen these because in them, he deliberately goes out to cause harm, which imo is a different thing to an ordinary, nice person being a bit selfish or acting the dick (yes i'm looking at you, the commenters on modern love who think harry should be pilloried for how badly he treats poor sweet little angel draco lmao)

Call Me Friend - baby's tacky's first fic 😅It's a Neville POV where he's in a relationship with Harry... or so he thinks.

Buttercup - this is a crossgen Harry x Scorpius fic and i think everyone (except Draco, bless him) is a bit terrible in this

Aaaand The Quiver of a Heartstring which I wrote for Unhappily Ever After fest and just has Draco treating Harry badly and then Harry treating someone else badly and no one comes out of it looking well.

I don't actually think I have ever read a dark Harry fic?! The only one I can think of is The Offering by Frayach which I remember really liking back in the day.

If I were to write this trope now, btw, I think I'd go for a Harry whose power grows too large (something to do with his mastery of death perhaps?) and who ends up having to work against his very nature in terms of how he navigates the world... maybe a really close unreliable narration where you think at first that he's lovely and then as the fic unfolds you start seeing these unsettling glimpses of the world around him where his actions have really significant consequences. i do think Harry is good and kind at heart though, so that would be interesting to work through.

[stuckybangs]

Hello everyone. This is Mod Jules, and I'm glad to say that I will be handing over the reins to the Stucky Big Bang to a capable and passionate group! It's been a blast and I want to thank everyone or their support and understanding. I'll still be around on twitter, and may continue to update/post fics, so feel free to say hi/message me. Wishing you all the best.

A note from the new mod team: Thank you to the participants of the 2022 round of Stucky Big Bang. Please find all their amazing works collated below. Information about the 2024 Stucky Big Bang will be available soon. We hope to see many of you in the next round!

it's not the end of the world (but you can see it from here) [Teen, 11/11, 56k] written by @abovethesmokestacks art by ABrighterDarkness (@alwaysabrighterdarkness)

He opens his mouth, tries to explain, to tell him. Nothing comes out. Bucky looks at him. An unforgiving hand wraps around his throat and squeezes tight. Steve wakes with a start, and his hand flies first to his throat, then to his chest, to feel the strong beat of his heart. Outside, Brooklyn is a sea of neon, a pulse that is syncopated, uneasy. Nightclub beats and horror screams, all of life’s pleasure and the barrel of a gun where you never hear your death coming for you.

Need to Know [Teen, 10/10, 25k] written by @leavinghopeao3 art by @rufferto9

Haunted by memories and driven by instinct, Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson discover the truth about the disappearance of Steve Rogers.

5 Times the Avengers caught a glimpse of the man behind the mantle… + 1 time they saw too much [Mature, 2/6, 2k] | WIP written by @mslaevateinn art by @reebmiester

The general public often doesn’t know how to differentiate between someone and their personna. They think they know celebrities. Aware that Steve isn’t the person described in books after a few years spent working with the man, the Avengers thought they had figured him out. But the man is full of surprises and they may just discover they don’t know their leader so well after all.

Burning Eyes Like Stars [Teen, 2/?, 6.5k] | WIP written by gingertintedglasses (@murderonthemattress) art by @koreanrage

Steve is tasked with training a three headed dog, that isn't exactly a dog, for a man who isn't exactly a man. But he'll get his mother back. Sam knows better. So does Carol. Steve can't turn away from his one chance to have his mother back, or the lure of the being who offered him the opportunity. A magical realism Stucky fic, loosely based on the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Happy Accidents [Explicit, 11/11, 32k] written by @controlofwhatido art by @Auntiesuze

Bucky sleeps with one superhero one time and now he’s pregnant. Fuck. Good going, James B. Barnes. One unmated omega father, coming right up. Top that off with his metal arm and he’s really going to be an outcast.

I Will Hold You [Mature, 1/4, 1k] | WIP written by @ralsbecket art by @VexedBeverage

Kissing Steve tasted like tears and cheap wine, and even though he shouldn't, Bucky just wanted to hold him and piece him back together.

rough edges [Mature, 6/6, 33k] written by @sparkagrace art by @burnin-brighter

Olympic ice dancers Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have never gotten along. Closeted Steve is in a showmance with his partner Maria as America’s sweethearts, while Bucky and Natasha are the lethal Russian pair whose technical mastery on ice is unrivaled. Now they will all be traveling around America on the Stars on Ice tour for the next two months, which sets Steve on edge in ways he didn’t quite expect.

Hair today, gone tomorrow [Explicit, 1/1, 20k] written by @neonbat666 art by @mxaether

Steve loses a bet that makes him question his choice of friends. Full-body hair removal, and considering he's a decently hairy guy, he isn't looking forward to it. His roommate refers him to someone he goes to so it isn't like Steve has to worry about it being weird. Right? He even gets a discount for letting the guy record the session for training purposes, which yeah, kind of freaks him out, but he doesn't want to break the bank fulfilling Sam's sadistic bet either.

Private Dancer, Public Shame [Explicit, 1/1, 10k] written by @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy art by HeyBoy

Bucky Barnes has been in love with his best friend for as long as he can remember, but Steve Rogers can be a little clueless. He can also shake his booty like no one else. When they spend a night out at a local karaoke bar, Steve’s dancing convinces Bucky he needs to finally confess how he feels. It’s too bad he does it in the most inopportune way.

I Will Hold You Forever [Gen, 1/2, 6k] WIP written by @elemental1025 art by @rufferto9

Steve has a plan, sort of. It involves a ring and a question. But a big purple alien tries to get in the way. Steve doesn’t like bullies though, so that won’t stop him for long.

Whatever Tomorrow Brings [M, 2/?, 14.7k] | WIP written by @mariknickerbocker art by @burnin-brighter

He’d thought he’d seen everything in his near-century of life, but this, this shit took the cake. Aliens he could handle; that wasn’t the problem. The problem he was having was this farce of bringing Captain America back from the dead. He didn’t have many memories of his life before Hydra and the Red Room, but he did remember that the Sentinel of Liberty had been worth more than just a PR stunt to some people. The fact that SHIELD would stoop so low was infuriating. Not that he really cared, he left the agency years ago, and Barnes no longer had a dog in this fight. Or at least that’s what he thought.

better to speak or die [Mature, 14/14, 69k] written by emilywithoutY / @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place art by @VexedBeverage

Summers in C. are as endless and hazy as when they were kids. All James wants is to play his part well enough that his mother stops looking at him with that twist of regret in her smile. The only thing to break the sun-soaked monotony is the arrival of the new summer intern. While the rest of the household—and half the village—fawn over Steve Roger’s movie star looks and understated charm, James finds him aloof and his polite interest near unbearable. But as they collide in vulnerable moments, the sparks of frustration ignite something neither has the power to stop. Do you think Jonathan understood what happened that day David first stepped into his father’s court?

Thanks for the memories [Gen, 1/1, 11k] written by @hkandi art by @rufferto9

When Bucky was captured by HYDRA in Italy, he was given a full dose of the serum, not a partial. He’s nowhere to be found when Steve rescues everyone from that base, though Steve’s gut says his best friend is still alive, somewhere, somehow. As he and the Howling Commandos move through Europe, word surfaces of a lone HYDRA soldier stalking the allied forces, a lone soldier dressed in black and with unheard of strength. Unheard of, other than for their own Captain. But as Bucky, now the Winter Soldier, turns his attention to following Steve’s group, memories come back to his mind, and a face is far too familiar. What does this mean for Bucky, and can Steve figure it out in time to try to help him?

The Same River, Twice [Gen, 1/1, 4.8k] written by @burberrycanary art by Amoneth

Steve had meant to stay forever and didn’t last a year. He meant to return right back to when he left, but that doesn’t work out the way he planned either. Turns out a lot can happen in nine months. — Steve didn’t need his first month back to make him aware of just how many degrees forgiveness comes in, but some lessons feel new each time. Getting a text from Sam asking him to Delacroix for the weekend feels like one tick closer and Steve’ll take it. He’s texting back when Sam adds, Bucky will be there. And Steve? Steve’ll take that, too. A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky Endgame fix-it where a lot needs fixing.

[hungry-dragon-hugs]

for those who were wondering, here's the OC from the last post (and my pfp lol)

she's a D&D OC of mine, completely unrelated to any other work i may have. absolutely nothing about her is canon-compliant, but fuck WoTC i do what i want.

character lore and facts (and apparently an entire extreme cuddling short story, i got REALLY carried away lmao) under the cut :>

as stated in the image, she is a monk. despite this, her weapon of choice is an absolutely massive zweihänder. in D&D rules, monks should only be proficient in simple one-handed or versatile weapons. in this case, i made the executive decision that if she can swing a sword that big one-handed she should damn well be allowed to ^-^ (same goes for the presumably very heavy partial plate armor.)

as for the "half-dragon" bit- Kos's dad is a true red dragon, who one day became infatuated with her mum (a normal dragonborn) and disguised himself to flirt with and eventually court her- the affair resulting in her being banished from her clan. when her daughter was born, she named the child Kosjaverthi, meaning "little mountain." the name was meant to represent steadfastness and beauty, but eventually took on a sort of irony- Kos's true-dragon genes quickly became clear when she grew to be literally twice the height and relative bulk of everyone around her.

as one does when blessed with thick scales and enough strength to crush a skull in one hand, Kos set out on the path of the adventurer from a young age. when she was only early in her teens, she dedicated herself to a monastary, living up to both her name's intended meaning and the cultural pride of dragonborn through rigorous honing and mastery of her body and mind.

finding her skills to be satisfactory after multiple years, she set out in search of something to put them to the test. unfortunately, she kept running into the issue of simply being too intimidating- very few low-level targets would even fight her, and many potential contractors would immediately slam their doors on her rather than deal with the possibility of any complications with her during a job.

eventually, luck turned her way, and she found a friendly group of adventurers who welcomed her with open arms- and happened to be in the business of hunting monsters, much more worthy foes than the cowering bandits Kos was previously sent to deal with. she quickly proved her worth and became a valuable member of the team, often acting as a sort of "secret weapon" to turn situations around once they've gone bad. how could something as big as her be a "secret"? simply put, nobody ever expects 3 tons of dragon muscle to move with her level of trained finesse.

and now to address the giant half-dragon in the room: the whole "eating people" thing. the explanation isn't too complicated (i think), but i also didn't check with D&D rules at all for this one because idgaf. the basic idea is, one of the most fundamental parts of her monk training was somatic mastery- essentially the ability to use Ki to control all bodily functions with extreme precision and ease, not just the normally voluntary ones. this allows her to start, stop, carefully limit, or "lock" functions including circulation and, of course, digestion. she can even cause them to do things they weren't previously able to, such as circulating clean oxygen from her bloodstream through membranes in her intestine and into her stomach- or causing her blood to glow by partially activating the magical essence from her draconis fundamentum (fire-breathing organ) directly within her veins rather than expending it in one burst through her lungs.

the inciting incident for her man-eating tendencies was during a trek through a snowy mountain pass on an errand for her monastary- she was often chosen for transport of goods and messages between the establishment and nearby towns, due to her near-immunity to the freezing cold and lack of any risk of robbery. at some point during the journey, though, she came upon a half-elf girl slightly younger than her- lost, freezing, and barely conscious. immediately disregarding her intended deadline, Kos picked up the girl and used her body heat to warm her back to her senses. brief questioning revealed that the girl's name was Lynn, she had come from a town closer and slightly east of the one Kos was bound for, and she had been kidnapped by highwaymen after wandering off during a family outing a few days ago. she had managed to narrowly escape, but had gotten lost and caught outside during a snowstorm the night before.

Kos knew she couldn't leave Lynn to die, and immediately planned out a detour to the girl's town, but she had a problem. if she wanted to keep her warm, she couldn't carry Lynn in her arms the whole way, as the weather would quickly strip any remaining warmth from her. fire-breath was an even worse idea which could only result in Lynn being returned frozen or charred. but, after a few minutes of thinking, she had a solution. drawing on her monk training, Kos would be able to carry Lynn within her own stomach completely harmlessly, keeping the girl warm by the heat of Kos's core while leaving her own hands free.

unfortunately, this left her with the issue of convincing Lynn to willingly let a gigantic half-red-dragon swallow her whole and alive. luckily, though, the girl's desparation combined with Kos's care and gentleness up to that point made the task easier than it sounded. Lynn only had to think for a few moments after the question was sheepishly presented to agree, helped by the clear logic of the suggestion. and so, after repositioning the girl in her arms and whispering a few reassuring words, Kos bent down, carefully unhinged her jaw, and swallowed Lynn whole.

immediately, she was struck (and somewhat concerned) by how good it felt as the small half-elf squeezed through her esophagus and into her belly. Lynn's movements were like a warm massage for her throat, and the gentle weight of her form in Kos's gut was relaxing and somehow... comforting. she took a moment to inspect her swollen abdomen, marveling slightly at the feeling of having an entire living person completely within her. Lynn, for her part, seemed comfortable enough after a bit of fidgeting around, and quickly began to doze off in the squishy, warm space as Kos picked herself up and began trudging along her now-altered route once more.

after almost a day and a half of traveling, Kos finally arrived at Lynn's small town. being a detour from her usual route and one that she hadn't often visited before- especially not on her own- she received her share of strange and distrustful looks from the townsfolk. even so, she went to the address Lynn had told her, jostled her stomach a few times to wake the girl up, and knocked on the door. she was confronted by a tired-looking couple who immediately froze at the sight of her towering form on their doorstep, but couldn't suppress gasps when she told them that she had found their daughter. their elation was short-lived, however, as they soon asked where Lynn was.

never before in her life had Kos seen the mixture of emotions that passed over the pair's faces as they watched their daughter be regurgitated right in front of them, happy and unharmed (and only slightly slimy). but, after a long hug goodbye, Lynn guided her stunned parents back inside, and Kos was on her way. she turned up back at the monastary three days late and with a strange story to tell. years later, long after leaving to make her own way in the world, she never forgot that cozy feeling she got when she held Lynn in her stomach- and now, after making her party members thoroughly aware of some of her "quirks," it is not uncommon for her to show affection to those close to her by taking them in for the night, holding them deep within her core.

so yeah, there's my big dragonborn girlie :> i definitely put way more into that backstory than there probably needed to be, i hope you enjoyed it if you read it all the way through! god why can't i just get this level of detail and coherence out of my actual main projects why do all my creative energies funnel into making characters eat each other help

[thydungeongal]

Hi, I'm looking for a new TTRPG system and, since you're the resident tumblr expert on Rolemaster, I've been wondering, what do you consider it's three greatest strengths and three greatest weaknesses?

Strengths:

Math has built-in diminishing returns. Instead of having the numbers go up at a steady pace forever, numerical growth starts fast and eventually slows down. While higher level characters will be very impressive the math has a nice curve to it.

It produces much more granular outcomes than most games. In pretty much all possible interactions in the game there are varying degrees of success, meaning that there are so many possible outcomes than simply succeeding or failing.

Related to the above, it produces a lot more distinct and granular outcomes due to its mechanical depth: in D&D a goblin fight will usually just lead to your character missing a few hit points. In Rolemaster it may lead to a broken arm which results in a completely different set of considerations than thinking about how to recover a few HP.

Weaknesses:

The mechanical depth comes at the expense of speed. Rolemaster combats require a lot more rolling and unless everyone has copies of their relevant tables at hand the process of looking up results can be a nightmare.

Magic-users start out even weaker than in early editions of D&D. Surviving through the early levels as a spell-user is already a pretty big system mastery check. Not impossible mind you, but it's very slow.

Character creation has never been good in any edition of the game. It's a chore. I wish they'd make it simpler.

[rath00ker]

Random Yuu ideas (that maybe someone can write as little fanfics or headcannons (I’m too scared to ask someone to write these)) tag me if you use them

Yuu buts he’s just a stupid hypersexual idiot (think Denji from chainsaw man) and he just says the most unhinged horny thing ever spoken by a person at the most random times

Yuu but their basically just Power from chainsaw man. A rude, nasty, very prideful idiot who thinks she’s smart. Probably isn’t human and doesn’t understand emotion very well

A Yuu who’s just a complete airhead no idea what’s going on at any moment of any day but can say the most groundbreaking question rising philosophical discovery, once in a blue moon. Basically Yuu is an idiot with poetic rizz that makes everyone question if their actually smart or not

Yuu who’s also a complete airhead but everything just goes right for them. Like they could walk through a busy street blindfolded and god will pull any amount of bullshit so they are unharmed

Child Yuu going trick or treating and with full confidence tells the person offering them candy that they love them instead of trick or treat. Like they have the right idea just not the right execution 

(Specifically Aimed for the octo trio) Yuu with mastery over Hydro kinesis somewhat like Lapis from Steven universe

Child Yuu who has Makima’s powers and is lowkey scary as hell but is also in love with super cute stuff like my little pony and hello kitty

Yuu who has a strange magic that lets them catch on fire without being harmed. I mean this literally too. They just catch on fire at will and aren’t harmed by their own fire.

 Yuu who can turn themself invisible and pass through walls. They get known for popping up behind people out of nowhere and scaring the shit out of everyone at random times. Their just really quiet

Yuu who is like this monster of man. Very tall and big with a mask covering his face due to a fire injury so he can’t really talk. Everyone thinks he’s very serious and scary but he’s actually just really nervous around people. I think it’d be funny for everyone to realize the guy they thought was this scary and threatening person is scared of someone like Sebek and Riddle because they are loud

Yuu who is the inbodyment of that one friend you don’t talk to for two months and when you do the craziest shit known to man happened to them. They just disappear for two weeks and come back like “I almost got killed by the mafia” but their just so nonchalant about it like this is the most normal thing that has ever happened to them 

Yuu who would rather eat glass than open up to other people (they like me fr)

Yuu who just doesn’t show up to school. No knows where this bitch is 99 percent of the time other than Malleus and Grim.

(Pacifically for book three) Yuu is just overjoyed that Grim won’t be at the dorm til late at night and just starts fucking cheering. They are skipping out of the Mostro Lounge giggling after hearing they won’t have to deal with Grim for five hours out of the day.

Yuu who is a stoner and hasn’t been sober since they got to twisted wonderland (their coping)

(In a genderbent au) one of the girls of the school have a crush on male Yuu and he’s just like “uhhhh that’s great and all…..I’m gay”

That’s all I got….uhhhhh enjoy ig

[daughter-of-melpomene]

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆… 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐑𝐀 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐔𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃

❝ There wasn’t a person attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who didn’t know the name of Ptolemus Lovegood. The silver-haired young man was his own particular kind of famous in the halls of the ancient wizarding school, but it wasn’t exactly for a good reason - everyone knew Ptolemus as the strange boy who seemed to live in his own head, sitting in every class with a faraway look in his eyes and making the strangest comments about auras and creatures no one even thought existed when he did speak at all. His only redeeming feature in the eyes of his peers was his skill as a painter and sculptor, the incredible magical artworks he created - other than that, he was nothing more than Ptolemus, the odd boy who said and did strange things and only seemed to be aware of the good things in the world, always seeing the beauty and light and looking past the horror and darkness.

He was the perfect person for Tom Riddle to corrupt.

In Tom’s mind, someone like Ptolemus, a boy of considerable power from a pureblood family of considerable renown, would be the perfect partner for his schemes of rising to power and taking over the wizarding world. If he could just corrupt the Lovegood boy to his ways of thinking, turn him against those not of pureblood ancestry and convince him that this world would be a better place if wizards had mastery over Muggles, then he would no doubt have a strong partner in his bid to become the ruler of the magical world. And so Tom made his way into Ptolemus’s world and his heart, plying him with sweet words and gentle touches and midnight meets as romantic as they could be at a boarding school, all the while thinking that it would only be a matter of time, he just had to get Ptolemus to trust him that little bit more, before he could begin to plant the seeds of his wicked ideas.

Only, he never seems to be able to do it. Because with every gentle smile, sweet kiss, and drawing gifted to Tom by moonlight, the Riddle boy finds that the pure light that is Ptolemus has started to break through the darkness that surrounds him, the Lovegood boy’s unending calmness and compassion beginning to wash away the anger that has been festering in him his entire life. No matter how much he wants to resist it, Ptolemus is making his gentle way into Tom’s heart, chipping away at all the walls he has built around his soul.

For years, the only thing that has kept Tom Riddle going, the only thing that has soothed the roiling black pain he has felt his whole life, has been his dreams of taking over both the wizarding and Muggle worlds, of forcing everyone to bow to him so that he can never be looked down on again. But the longer he spends with Ptolemus, the more he finds his pain fading and the more he finds himself genuinely falling in love… and Ptolemus, without even truly realizing it, has begun to bring the boy who has planned on becoming the Dark Lord into the light. ❞

Wizarding World Taglist: @manyfandomocs, @of-asters-and-roses.

General Taglist: @hiddenqveendom, @foxesandmagic, @artemisocs, @reyofluke-ocs, @endless-oc-creations, @stanshollaand, @ginnystilinski-reblogs, @luucypevensie, @ginger-grimm, @arrthurpendragon, @fakedatings, @impales, @claryxjackson, @dancingsunflowers-ocs, @eddysocs, @lucys-chen, @ocappreciationtag.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Water Damage

Water Damage plays a thick and noisy variety of drone, favoring looooooong compositions that the band refers to as “Reels”; on Water Damage’s most recent LP, 2 Songs, you get two reels, subtitled “FUCK THIS” and “FUCK THAT” (band’s caps). All those verbal antics feel appealingly playful, but the music is deadly serious stuff — not surprising, given the players involved. Members of this septet also play in Austin-associated bands like USA/Mexico, Marriage and Spray Paint. As the band’s moniker suggests, the music is patient, persistent and often insidious. Here's some music the band has been listening to.

Travis Austin

Surface of the Earth — Surface of the Earth (1994/95, Reissued 2022 Thin Wrist Recordings)

New to me when it was reissued and the record I’ve played most since then. It feels as huge to me as it does microscopic — prehistoric as it does post-apocalyptic.

Jon Hassell — Aka/Darbari/Java: Magic Realism (1983, E.G. Records)

Start to finish, I don’t know of anything else that sounds like this — the hazy atmosphere and way the rhythms tumble. From the liner notes: “a ‘coffee-colored’ classical music for the future.” And the cover is by the same artist who did the cover for Bitches Brew.

Mike Kanin

Archie Shepp — Blasé (1969, BYG/Actuel)

I heard this one for the first time just this past year. I can’t believe I’ve missed it. By turns raw and beautiful, honest and evocative, what’s here transcends genre while highlighting Black experience and struggle. Incredible work.

George Dishner

Clipse — Hell Hath No Fury (2006, Star Trak / Re Up Gang Records)

The most engaging rap record in history as far as I’m concerned. Pusha, Malice, and the Neptunes peaked. Sonically HHNF is minimal and alien sounding, almost nonmusical at times. Lyrically, it’s bleak throughout and incredibly funny at times (some of the best punchlines ever recorded). At 12 songs and 48 minutes with only a few guests and skits, there is no fat whatsoever.

Remarc — Sound Murderer (2003, Planet Mu)

I’m always looking for cheap electronic records at every record store. Mid 1990s Jungle scores are the best. It’s a pretty narrow subgenre but one of my favorites. Remarc checks all my Jungle boxes — chaotic, lo-fi, dubby, rough. It’s devoid of any pretentious jazziness or techy soullessness. His formula is pretty basic — supreme mastery of The Amen and sick ragga Bass shit. This is a comp of some of his best stuff of the era when Jungle was at its best.

Nate Cross

Omertà — Collection Particulière (2022, Standard In-Fi, Zamzamrec)

Not to point out the obvious, but France is a huge influence for Water Damage. I’ve obsessively kept up with everything they’ve done and all their various related projects and their label Standard In-Fi. This is Omertà’s second LP; the group features members of France, Tanz Mein Herz, Societe Etrange and more. The album is a vibe, I can listen to it over and over. Really interesting to hear these folks do something more ‘song oriented’ instead of the normal long-form style in their other groups. Also, you can never go wrong with two bass players.

Bumblebee Unlimited — Sting Like a Bee (1979, RCA Victor)

Always been a huge disco nerd and Patrick Adams was a genius. This one-off LP and group was about as close to perfect as you can get and is a sort of bridge between disco and house music. So much glorious repetition on this album, and the bass lines are minimal brilliance. The chipmunk-esque vocals are ridiculous, but still work so well (similar to another 1979 disco gem — Bryan Adam’s “Let Me Take You Dancing”).

Jeff Piwonka

John Coltrane — Olé Coltrane (1961, Atlantic)

This is one of the first jazz albums I heard that had two bassists on it, Reggie Workman and Art Davis, Davis being a little lesser known I think and a really really amazing bassist. This whole album is great but the first side, 18 minutes of everyone going in and out, and there is space for the bassists to get weird with arco and pizzicato playing. I’ve known this album for a long time, but it’s been played a lot lately because both my 4-year-old and 16-month-old grab this record from the shelf all the time. It’s really strange actually, I put it in a different spot each time and they still grab this record very frequently, it’s a French pressing and Reggie Workman’s name is spelled “Reggie Wokrman” and Eric Dolphy is “George Lane.”

Greg Piwonka

Lungfish — Artificial Horizon (1998, Dischord)

Love this record, and the repetition is something that I often thought about as we were still figuring out Water Damage ideas. I feel like some of the newer songs that we are working on sound like extended Lungfish songs. Much of that has to do with the influence of this band on my drumming. There is a part toward the end of this interview where Daniel Higgs talks about experiencing repetition as a listener, and how there isn’t really a thing such as a repeated passage in time — that it’s unique every time… the listener is creating the pattern. That idea is foundational to me in relation to what we do as a band. Every time we play, I get lost and question how the pattern is even working.

Palace — West Palm Beach/Gulf Shores (1994, Drag City/Palace)

These two songs back-to-back are high on the list of my favorite things ever recorded. The mood here reminds me of all the rundown beach towns around the Gulf. The playing is great, it sounds like they just went in the studio and made it with very little effort. Many other recordings have that same vibe, Neil Young’s Zuma, Songs: Ohia’s Didn’t It Rain, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme… this list could get long. I guess a technical term for that vibe is magic. I had not listened to this for a few years and returned to it recently and instantly loved it again.

[dreaminlittlenightmares]

I'm pretty sure I'm the first to ask this so yay

What do the characters with superpowers/inhuman abilities (The Doctor, Teacher etc.) do if they ever get out of control like, say, if the Teacher's neck somehow starts stretching on it's own or something?

Did an Opinions on Their Powers prompt eons ago. But, for this...

The Maw

Six: She honestly has the hardest time controlling her powers. She doesn't like asking for help, even if that's the best idea. The best thing she can do is literally eat everything in sight the Lady: Rarely loses control, even when things get too stressful. If she ever feels her magic getting funky, she'll probably go to the Granny for help the Granny: With what little power she has left, the Granny knows when she feels off. Her usual recovery is just sleep it off, or watch a few tv shows to chill the Runaway Kid: Freaks the fudge out when he can no longer understand the Nomes. He won't ask anyone for help since everyone thinks his ability is weird, so he's fixing himself on his own. But in the meantime, he's coming up with an alternative way to speak to his Nomies

Pale City

Mono: Believe it or not, Mono doesn't lose control on his powers often. The one power he has the hardest time controlling is the world bending one. He's warped cluttered rooms on accident before and just leaves them there... the Teacher: She takes very good care of herself and her neck. She has to, or else she'll be in pain for days. As soon as she feels a twinge in her neck, she's seeing the Doctor about it the Doctor: Probably the only person that doesn't quite understand his abilities, as he just does stuff. So, when gravity actually works on him, he stares at the ceiling dumbfounded. In a couple of minutes or hours, his powers will work again; and he's still not sure why the Thin Man: Like the Lady, he doesn't lose control ever. There was a time he tried to be more powerful by allowing the Eyes to full assimilate into him. It became too painful, and it was one of the few times he slept to recover

The Nest

the Butler: Loses control as often as he gets a headache, which is frequent. He knows what to do and forces himself to go rest in a cool, dark room the Pretender: While she's still working mastery her abilities, she's learned that her dissipation powers work on organic material. When she sees that she accidentally evaporated a hairbrush or a doll, she runs to the Butler for help. She has a pair of special gloves that nullify her powers, and that's the only thing that works

Extras

the Humpback Girl: Won't know her powers are out of wack until she passes by a mirror. Things either start falling out of them or something tries to grab her. She'll run and hide, since she didn't want these powers in the first place and this is the best she can do the Forked Boy: Thinks it's funny that he keeps multiplying until there's about 100 of him. He's discovered that his clones have a low pain tolerance, so he and his clones brawl it out until there's one left

the Ferryman: It's safe to say that none of the master lose control of their powers often, but have in the past. For the Ferryman, he's accidentally shapeshifted into something he didn't intend because of an illness. Depending on what it is, he'll take cover and rest until he can be his old, yellow, saggy self again the Mirror Man: Doesn't lose control of his powers, per se, but losing control of the Mirror Dimension. He can just feel something slip away from him and he looks into it quickly. After that, he's back to spying on people from the other side the North Wind: Loses control when embarrassed, flustered, or angered; and you DON'T want that to happen. They're too powerful when they're fine. An out of control North Wind is exactly like watching a tornado race across the land, but it's every weather phenomenon at full force

The Nowhere Peeps

Low: Knows his powers don't/stopped working when he runs headfirst into a mirror and nothing happens. Kind of pouts and waits until his powers come back, but doesn't know why they stopped at inconvenient times

[greenerteacups]

Dear GTC!!

Having finished my reread of your Book/Year 3, I’ve been thinking about what lessons the remaining Marauders might have to teach the Harry-Ron-Hermione-Draco foursome (whose lack of a covert group name makes them much less pretentious, but leaves open the option for us readers to suggest our own name ideas; i am partial to the “troll-toppling foursome”). In many ways, they are inheritors and foils of the Marauder legacy, not only its members, but also Snape, Lily, and the Black siblings. I’m certain this inheritance stand a chance to transmute itself into the later generation’s respective magical signatures and talents. Lupin taught Harry how to cast a Patronus; Draco recieved Snape’s old potions textbook. I think it stands to reason that Hermione and Ron individually, and the second generation foursome collectively, have magic to inherit and learn from the surviving marauders. Namely, Animagi magic, at which I think Hermione would be particularly talented, Draco and Ron would appreciate the strategic and tactical value of possessing, and which Harry might relate to on account of his being a Parseltongue. Do you think the four of them as a unit would be strong enough in magic and self-mastery to become underage illegal Animagi together? Do do you think Sirius would have any interest in teaching them, or do you think it’s something they might initiate on their own?

The phrase "Harry-Ron-Hermione-Draco foursome" is, while on the one hand a perfectly accurate and uncontroversial way to describe their group of friends, also the unique combination of words most likely to make Draco wake up screaming in a cold sweat;

The parallels you draw out between the Golden Quartet (trademark pending, someone in the comments gave them this name and I think it's cute) are really lovely, and I spent a while thinking about them! The dynamic parallels between Draco and Sirius vs. Draco and Snape are in particular things that I spend a lot of time thinking about. Chapter 29 is a sort of love letter to the Marauders, in that way.

I'm intrigued that you think Hermione would be a good Animagus; is it because she's a Transfiguration nerd? I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just not something I'd thought of before, so I'm interested by the thought. There's a brief discussion of this prospect in Book 4, before the Second Task, where Harry raises the possibility and suggests that Sirius could teach him (albeit somewhat in jest); Hermione shuts it down for safety and legal reasons, which are probably straight from McGonagall's lips. So that's why they haven't considered it seriously: animagus magic is a unique combination of dangerous and time-consuming that means it's very rarely a solution to whatever the Quartet are dealing with, and the Marauders pulling it off is kind of a small miracle made possible by the fact that, unlike the Quartet, they basically had nothing else to do.

I also slid in a reference to McGonagall giving everyone a lecture on the dangers of fucking up animagus transformations, complete with pictures. It's my headcanon that this lecture started after a Certain Three Individuals graduated, for reasons related to her sanity and blood pressure. (She does offer an elective on it to seventh years, however, so... I mean, if it were me, I'd much rather learn from her than from Sirius, who strikes me as a "straight into the deep end" kind of teacher. Come to think of it, that might be the answer to your question.)

[optimismxmagicism]

Heartpounding! A miracle of song?!

Bard mastery drabble - 630 words

Oh I can’t wait to tell you my feelings For this moment I have been dreaming Learning to sing while slinging my magic, I wanna show you what I have learned

I’m healing hearts by moonlight, And fighting darkness by daylight, Having been blessed with this new might, I will always win the fight!

Your words of wisdom will always guide my way And with this light, I’ve grown once again! Trying so hard to accomplish my dreams I study hard so I can stand by you, Writing this song I hope to touch your heart, To bring a smile on your face! I may not have her beauty or her grace, But you thought I stood out from the crowd, Always your student, past, present, and future I really hope to make you proud! I still remember when you found me on that day And from then on, my purpose was found.

Every night as I stand under the sky I wonder if that’s the spark in my eyes The Spark that you saw and gave me a future, I wonder if that’s what it could be..

This miracle that you entrusted in my hands, I realize, I owe it to you

And so this song that tells you my feelings, I hope to you that it will have meaning Forever yours, your student, always! The dreaming mage that fights for you. The grateful mage that loves you so, The smiling mage: Yeah that’s me!

As the song came to an end, for a moment all Ewan could hear was his own heartbeat. Badump..badump.. 

And then, roaring applause, followed by cheering from all sides. “We love you!!” They shouted.

Ewan bowed gratefully at the support of his loyal fans, a bright smile on his face. “Thank you, thank you! I love you all so much too!” While that was absolutely true, this song in particular was aimed towards one man. Said man was in the front row, having received a special seat. He smiled at the boy on stage, and stepped up. 

“Ewan…” he said, as he embraced the boy. “Your feelings in this song, I’ve heard them. They've opened my eyes to how much you've matured already... I think you’re ready for it.” Ewan could feel his heart pound in his chest. This was it, the moment he’s been dreaming of! The moment he’d finally-

“BA-KAAAAWK!”

…wait what? He blinked and before he knew it, the man’s head was replaced by that of a rooster. Not just his though, everyone in the crowd suddenly had rooster heads too! What the-?!

“COCKADOODLEDOOOOO!”

“YIKES!” With a shout, Ewan shot upright from where he fell asleep on his desk. His chair tipped dangerously, before it came plummeting down- with the boy sitting on top of it coming down as well. “Owwww……” Groaning, he got up to see a rooster outside, pecking at his window. “Aw, stupid chicken! I was having such a nice dream…” 

He looked at the papers strewn about his desk. Oh, that’s right.. His assignment. The professor told him he should try to think about his deepest feelings and put them to song. Various scribbles, attempts at lyrics and crossed out sentences littered his papers. Writing out his true feelings was harder than he thought, especially when it had to rhyme and be lyrically cohesive. But bards write from the heart to touch their audience’s hearts, sorta like magic! ....Right? The little mage wondered if his words could someday reach the people he loves most…. He looked at his most recent attempt, titled “Miracle Encounter”. 

… …… ……..

Ugh, cringe. He quickly crumpled up the paper and threw it in the bin. Sitting down and grabbing a fresh sheet of paper, he started to think. He really wanted to convey his true feelings properly…

(END)

[lemonberyy]

while im here actually. art dump

bloodswap human Calliope, one with makeup and one without. because i CAN suckers. isn't she silly? And a little ominous? A touch murder-y?

this one is her cherubic design! i put a lot of thought into the references i can make with her outfit. Namely though, I wanted to kind of make it look like a complete mish-mash of several inspirations from LE, haute couture, alt callie, and a few other bloodswap designs I'm familiar with. She's the LADY OF SPACE! Referred to as Her Grace of Space. The Goddess of Vast Light. She isn't exactly going to be subdued in her look. She wants everyone to look upon her with immediate recognition, and following it will be fear.

This one I JUST finished. Like last night at eleven pm just finished. Rendering my beloathed... This is inspired by song lyrics from Circle With Me by Spiritbox and Cyberhex by Motionless In White. I really like the idea of the imagery of Callie consuming the Green Sun. It's striking!

this is calamity in fantasystuck. she in fact compl abhors this dress . No cheek nonsense because TECHNICALLY she's dragonborn but i cannot draw dragons. I have one setting. It's cherubim.

this one is from a post canon au. i have a bazillion words as to how caliborn is on earth c it's all headcanon but it's all good and silly and he is Short and she is Tall (i also have a bazillion words for why Callie is able to start maturing properly post canon)

you know what, past me? this is my post! im gonna put all two-bazillion words on here actually. what am i thinking hehe? my post is a place for my words. silly joan!

So, for why Caliborn is on Earth-C. I honestly had fun rationalising this one!

For one, Caliborn is very, very cold. Another thing is that- I don't think cherubim were meant to go into black holes. I'm pretty sure that, while yes they mate near them, I don't think they fall in. It's something I feel is just something that doesn't happen. So cal being trapped within one is notable. But, we aren't talking about Caliborn being trapped! We're talking about him getting out.

Honestly if he were to tell it, he'd say he "FOUGHT TO GET OUT." or something. But the truth is he fractures,* his young body is rejected and he falls out. He retains only the passive effects of his godtier, like an understanding of timelines and being able to traverse them. But he has no control in this state.

*What do I mean by this? I basically think that he and le are seperate entities. In a lot of ways they literally are! Le is a combination of several souls and abilities and powers. He kinda reminds me of how the Condesce can learn all caste abilities. Caliborn has the abilities and knowledge of several godtiers including his own complete mastery of time. So, when Caliborn falls out and onto Earth-C, it's just a fraction of his soul and body. He's young again because it's a portion of his (falsely) mature body and he's very weak because it's only a portion of his soul. The rest is in the black hole. And due to some fuckery, he can feel it too. It's cold. He's constantly dizzy and disoriented. He is especially unnerved by this because cherubim are... this incredible species. He feels sick without context for what illness feels like. It's a pretty terrible experience for him but he's at least well enough to still be terrible to everyone.

Now for Callie. Honestly this is one is more simple. Her life ring fills her body with the very force of life! She may not have predominated, but she is full to bursting of more than enough energy for her body to age correctly. She can grow wings, become much taller, and toned. She doesn't really understand it yet but she really likes walks and runs because it's her body telling her to exercise and maintain her muscle mass.

alt callie...... 🥰 that's all send tweet

this is a magical girl au. one with her soul gem and one without. i have a bazillion words on all the symbolism here actually. For one I made her wish to be beautiful, which is why her face and everything is very Pretty and Sculpted and Lovely. Secondly though. Her soul gem, the space symbol in her birthmark, is a whole thing. She thinks her birth mark is a blemish on her looks, and seeing it not only A) remain after her wish and B) be her weakest point in a battle felt kinda like a slap in the face. (However it couldn't be erased because she Does like it. She just doesn't quite realise that). ALSO the space-looking symbol behind her? It's not Space! It's void, but she's FILLING IN THE SPACE... it's also Roxy's pink! They r soon to be dating... fills the void in her heart? Eh? Eeh?

anyways. uhhh homestuck cherubim are ok i guess