#just basically four elves having a fucking good time

[z-h-i-e]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Erestor/Glorfindel (Tolkien), Amarië/Finrod Felagund | Findaráto, Amarië/Erestor/Glorfindel/Finrod, Finrod Felagund | Findaráto/Glorfindel, Amarië/Erestor Characters: Amarië (Tolkien), Erestor (Tolkien), Glorfindel (Tolkien), Finrod Felagund Additional Tags: Swingers, Modern AU components, Board Games, Characters Playing Monopoly (Board Game), Light Bondage, Sex Toys, Riding Crops, Strap-Ons, Pegging, Dom!Amarië, Comfort, Piercings Series: Part 3 of Exotic Erestor Summary:

Fourth in the Exotic Erestor series. More than a dozen years after bringing Erestor to Valinor from modern Middle-earth, Glorfindel has mixed feelings when a game night with two members of Valinor's royal family ends up turning into adult game night after Finrod finds one of the modern artifacts that Erestor brought with him from Middle-earth.

[absolutely-normal-about-x]

Okay so since Reborn!Zero is in my little mind again I might talk about the idea that a lot of people made up some insane stories and urban legends about him.

While Crimson Wanderer is one of the names that he was given by the population, the other Winged Beast because of how he runs on fours and at a distance he looks like a lion. A dangerous monster that appears in ruins, slaying reaverbots with his sword or bare hands, always surrounded by spirits as he bathes in their oil. Listen Zero is iconic for his hair however it’s kinda a mess, but Zero tries to get it under control but man he misses showers so bad. Like it’s a bitch to get that mainted, when folks see it they think it’s a fucking Lion or something.

No one really got the chance to get close to it as most Diggers would faint or run away from him. If the Diggers ever faint in front of him he’ll just pick them up then carry them back to the entrance of the ruins before leaving.

For a time many believed he was a dangerous beast, however over time they realized that he was more of a protector than a threat. Especially that he saves Diggers from danger, despite how distant and aloof that he appears to be. However combined with the legends and myths around Spirits with their unpredictable nature. They were to constantly follow him, even aided by them in his battles. So many began to believe that he is either an Avatar of the spirits. Especially at nights when people see a flying bat winged figure with golden mane in the sky surrounded by many glowing lights, creating the belief that he is faring them to the afterlife.

Aka People think that he’s the Grim fucking reaper or basically mothman

He becomes respected to the point that on certain islands tend give out offerings as a form of thanking him for his services. Since it’s pretty hard to catch him or see him in a casual manner. Since again no one really caught a proper glimpse of him or he’s just most of the time covered in his cloak.

Zero absolutely took some of the offerings because of some of the stuff or at good shit. But another thing is that he actually notices folks trying to catch pictures of him when he pulls up on that cryptid shit. The cyber elves get on it too, taking the offerings or spooking some of the nosy folks who want to catch him for other shit.

Plus thanks to his social skills that are the equivalent of a brick, he can’t really have a casual conversation without getting people freaked out. Like listen Zero tries with Ciel’s encouragement but he doesn’t really find it as useful since again there’s absolutely no one in his time that he can converse except for her and the cyber elves (and his eventual adopted daughter).

This led into the rise of really cursed images of Zero moving around with his glowing friends. Like really cursed photos of him, like those cryptid photos that you see on the internet. Like there would be memes of him and wild tales about him.

Zero believes that this is both annoyed and amused that people thought he was some sort of deity/cryptid. If X and Axl saw Photos and heard the absolute batshit crazy stories of him from the people of Terra they would lose their absolute SHIT. They are never letting this down on to him

[doodlepede]

something i actually have a lot of inarticulate thoughts about is the contrast between how the burden of wearing the One Ring is handled vs the burden of wearing the horcrux locket. ooh ooh the book series that shall not be named ooh ooh you're so scared!!! anyway. gonna ramble about it

One of the most powerful scenes in the film trilogy is when Frodo is reduced to crawling up the slope of Mount Doom, the weight of the Ring is just too much, it's as though it's gotten heavier and heavier the closer they came to its source. When Frodo can't even crawl any further, Sam says, "I cannot carry it for you, but I can carry you!" and he lifts Frodo onto his shoulders. I firmly believe that the Ring functions as a beautiful allegory for trauma and ptsd, and this moment is the most perfect instance of it, because from my interpretation, Sam is basically saying that even though he wants to take the trauma from Frodo and carry it himself, Frodo wouldn't let him because he loves him too much to give him something so painful, and couldn't let him because that just isn't how trauma works - it is his burden, and his alone - and Sam finally accepts this, and rededicates himself to helping Frodo in a more physical way: by carrying him in his entirety, if he can't carry his trauma for him. There's muuuuuch more to say on this, but you get the picture.

for a man who proclaims to have cordially disdained for allegory since he grew wary enough to detect them, he's sure good at writing them, in my view. honestly if his stance was merely a jab at C. S. Lewis, i wouldn't be surprised.

Anyway, I'm reminded of that one bit in the Deathly Hallows part.. 1? I'm only referencing the films here because theyre the only part of the franchise i still respect to be quite honest, but that part in either part 1 or 2 where theyve got the Horcrux locket which contains a bit of Voldemort's soul, and moldywarts is sooo evil that mere extended proximity to the Horcrux has a One Ring like effect - putting the wearer in a perpetually foul mood and encouraging all their worst impulses and making them all possessive of it... Come to think of it i have no idea why it makes the wearer possessive of it. But there's a whole bit where Harry was the one wearing it until it made him awful and then Ron started wearing it until it made him awful, and they get into a confrontation about it and its a great character moment for them, these best friends who've always been there for eachother, torn down to the worst versions of themselves and having to like deal with that. I quite like that in theory, but in practice it comes across as sorta hollow, and like just one more instance of Ron being a little asshole like he's kinda just consistently been since like, Goblet of Fire. idk theyre both like really bitchy from then on out, it's a slog to watch and read. Like haven't we had like, four books of them being little assholes to eachother but not really growing from it?

This is clearly just copying lotr's homework, right? well, a little. but i dont hold that against Rowling, because here's the deal: LOTR is one of the highest selling books of all time, in 7th place behind books like Don Quixote, the quran and the bible. Fucking everyone has read it, and those who haven't are still familar with it becauss the books and films are still so popular that they've permanently saturated modern fantasy. Dungeon Meshi is inspired by Tolkien, that's why the Dwarf man is short and has a big beard, that's why elves are tall and magically inclined, that's why halflings are a distinct race. Tolkien did that. that is Tolkien's influence. So Of Course Rowling copied his homework at least a little, it's borderline impossible not to.

But the thing is. she's just not very bright. she thinks shes a lot fuckin smarter than she is, and that used to be the thing people hated her for. Seems hard to believe these days but there was a time before she was (as) openly transphobic, and the thing people hated her for was the fucking smugness. If she were as clever as she acts like she is, she coulda. well she could have written a better story.

wouldn't it have been interesting if she had chosen 7 horcruxes for a reason other than that 7 is a number associated with magic? like, if each was a character trait that voldemort has, distilled into the horcrux, so each one, given exposure, begins to pass that trait to harry? that way she could double down on that 'twin soul' wand thing that never really mattered, because ron could realize that the horcrux wasnt affecting him like it was affecting harry, and it could spur some needed growth in him, give him a Sam-like moment, start building an allegory at the last second. There's so many beats and threads that are so lacking in substance when looked at closely, when thought about instead of just consumed. insert muh Its For Kids non-argument, as if being intended for young people exempts you from the expectation of effort. The Hobbit is for kids even younger than harry himself.

the reason people think harry potter isnt as shallow as it is is because it attempts to take inspiration from greater works, but rowling isnt a good enough author to utilize any of it to any measure of potential

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Sunken Tomb (2x03)

Liam O'Brien, how dare you...

Cons:

This isn't really a con, so much as a point of confusion... where did Kash and Zahra go at the end of the episode? They seemed to find Purvan's tomb and wander down it, but then Percy also found the tomb? So they're in the wrong place? It just felt strange that they ended up somewhere else with no resolution or cliffhanger for those characters. I guess we'll find out in episode four?

Pros:

Such a good blend of tone in this episode. So many funny moments, and then mixed with such abject tragedy... the basic structure of the plot is just that the gang goes on a journey to find the Deathwalker's Ward, which is the first Vestige of Divergence they've been told about. Along the way they banter, they fight weird fish people monsters, they have a not-so-friendly rivalry going with Zahra and Kash...

There are lot of moments I could shout out here, but a few of my favorite comedy beats include when Kash tells them about Purvan, they all start laughing and making stupid jokes, and then Kash just says "wow, you guys suck." In that same scene, I loved Grog celebrating his new beard, and when Kash is dismissive of it, Grog gets furious and in his face. Kash... immediately backs down and says it's really cool.

Zahra and Vex... perfection. This vibe between them started up in episode two, but this episode we really got to see it in action. They're totally playing it like they're bitter exes who still find each other sexy and I am living for it. Such good energy, and a natural extrapolation from the vibe they had on the original stream. I  loved when they were fighting over who got to be the hero and save the other one. And Vex's exasperation when she realized Zahra had run off was so funny.

The whole fight sequence was good fun, everyone teaming up and being bad-ass. Kash falling off of Scanlan's hand made me laugh too. The only hint of real worry in these scenes is Grog, whose bloodlust seems to be a little more intense than it should be, as he's using that hungry, hungry talking sword... Pike seems to pick up that something isn't quite right, but she can't figure out what's up just yet. Also, as I said, we finally got our bearded Grog! I've been waiting for that guy to turn up.

A couple other details: Pike has a vision to check in on Emon, and sees Thordak ruling the roost, demanding tribute and burning humans alive when they run out of shiny things to give him. So that's not great. Also, in Trinket news, he actually got to be useful in a fight for once, which was exciting to see!

And then there's the stuff with the twins. I mean. Where to even begin with all of this. It was so good. Pitch perfect. Liam and Laura fucking knocked it out of the park. The episode has flashbacks showing them younger, during an incident in which their father yelled at Vex for breaking a tiara, calling them worthless because of their status as half human. Vax decides they should storm off, and they do, but it's clear Vex didn't really want to leave. She gets mad at him for always trying to protect her and tell her what to do, and then we cut to later, where Vax is sobbing because his sister has left him. Vax says that it's not that Vex needs him, it's that he needs her.

Just. If you know where this is going it's just... just... the perfect distillation of the whole thing with the twins. They were so cute and squishy as little baby half-elves, and their dad sucks so hard.

The episode also cleverly builds up the fact that the Matron of Ravens' temple is full of traps. We see Grog discover one, we see Vax checking ahead to be sure, we see Trinket sniffing out a hidden latch in the floor that raises up a tomb... it's all very treacherous. Obviously I knew this was coming, so every time Vax insisted that everyone wait and be cautious, I was getting more and more tense. It happens so suddenly, so unceremoniously. Percy reaches in to take the Deathwalker's Ward, and it sets off a trap. Vex is caught in it. She falls to the ground. Dead.

Again, just... LIAM. With the full on SOBBING. I cannot deal. It's so raw and real and I'm beyond excited for the consequences of this one moment to follow us through to the very end of the show. It's gonna hurt so good.

So yeah. This episode was fantastic. I'm eagerly awaiting more, and can't believe I have to wait a full week to see it resolved. Even knowing how it all turns out isn't enough to calm me down. This was excellent TV; I continue to be so happy and so blown away by what these folks have managed to pull off with this adaptation. Can't wait for more!

9.5/10

[sekhisadventures]

Lost Home, Found Hope

The Broken Tusk, a Bar in Orgrimmar. Several months after the Mag'har joined the Horde.

Galdia stared bleary eyed at the selection, her mug once again empty. She’d earned quite a bit of gold on that last trip, driving out some kobold clan that had been living in a cave full of the rare ore known as kajamite and had objected to a beverages company from Crapopolis, the main goblin city on Kezan, wanting to dig holes in what was basically their home to make more Kaja’cola. She didn’t give a shit, they screamed good and the money was there.

Now the money wasn’t there, and she was still sober-ish.

From behind her came a sigh, “I thought I might find you here…” said a deep feminine voice.

Galdia didn’t even look up, she knew who it belonged to. “What’dya want ya weird talking clefthoof?” she grumbled.

A stool was pulled out and a huge bovine-like woman sat down next to her, raising her eyebrow at the slightly inebriated orc. “We’ve been over this Galdia. I’m a tauren. Tau-ren… and I’m really getting worried about you. If you’re not out fighting you’re here getting drunk as a goblin on payday. I mean, I’m sure Gryshka appreciates the business but…” she began before Galdia cut her off.

“You ain’t my damn mother. She’s dead. Now get lost or I’ll fix that problem.” she snarled angrily. She didn’t ask for this, the damn cow just wouldn’t leave her alone. Bad enough she used the Light, at least she didn’t push it like that one blood elf bitch had. See how much she likes only being able to count to eight for the rest of her life.

“Like the last four times? Look, I’m not going to say don’t drink, infact… I had a talk with Grimo… well, something like that anyways… and we agreed you’ve earned some time off. You haven’t been to Pandaria yet, have you?” she asked.

Galdia sat up, resting her elbow on the table and her head against her hand, raising her eyebrow at the tauren. “Ain’t that the place where those cutesy bear-things come from? What about it?”

“Well… you could learn some new fighting techniques there. There’s a temple in the jungle there, in the Karasang Wilds, called the Temple of the Red Crane. Pandaren may look… cute… but they’re some of the best fighters on Azeroth. I mean they overthrew an empire without using weapons. Whats that tell you?” asked the tauren with a grin.

Galdia snorted, “Shitty weak empire?” she suggested with a sneer.

Nitika sighed. “Pandaria is also known for some of the best and strongest beer on Azeroth.” she added.

Galdia raised her eyebrows, “… ah fuck it, why not? Alright, got a map?” she asked.

About half an hour later she was heading out of the city towards the docks to board a merchant vessel bound for the Jade Forest. The vessel mostly brought over beer, silks (the blood elves and nightborne were very fond of Pandaren silk,) tea leaves, and other goods, but it also took passengers who could pay for room and board.

The Temple of the Red Crane, Two Months Later

Galdia glared out at the jungle as she stood on the steps, the orc uncomfortable in the red robes that she’d been given during her stay, far too soft and fancy for her liking.

She’d taken Nitika’s advice and went to learn from the Pandaren Monks, but it was all worthless to her! Just proverbs, lessons on thoughts, and posture work. She hadn’t even held a weapon since she’d arrived!

Oh she’d seen some! On display! Like fucking paintings! But they looked like they hadn’t been used in ages! The orc grumbled in annoyance, ”Never listening to that damn talking clefthoof again…” she snarled, hearing the gong and heading back in for today’s lessons. She was at least relieved that it wasn’t just pandaren there. She’d encountered a few elves, tauren, and even some orcs. There were also members of the Alliance there but the Pandaren were quite careful to schedule their training times to be separate from each other… just incase.

Chi-Ji may be the avatar of Hope, but there’s Hope and then there’s Delusion.

She would begrudgingly admit she learned a few tricks for avoiding damage, reflex training and how to dodge and all, but she was a warrior! She wanted to learn how to FIGHT, not dance!

After the two hours of training she started to stomp off to the dining hall for what she was sure was just more rice (though with some cuts of grilled tiger meat. The Pandaren at least understood that some of their trainees needed more protein than others) when she heard a chuckle.

“Red really is your color isn’t it?” came a bemused voice.

She glared, turning towards the source, and saw Nitika leaning against a wall. “I came to see how things were going. Learned anything lately?” she asked.

Galdia stormed up to her and glared right in her face, “Yeah, maybe some wussy dodging shit, but I haven’t held anything sharper than a damn fork since I got here! What the fel am I supposed to learn here?!” she demanded.

Nitika sighed, “Well, to be honest… I thought it might help with whats causing all that… you know… anger.” she said, sounding concerned. She figured Galdia might at least be a bit more loosened up after some time here, but the orc was as tightly wound up as ever.

Galdia snorted, “I am a Warsong warrior. Anger is good. Anger is how we fight!” she insisted.

Nitika nodded, “To a point yes, but its eating you alive. You fight, you drink, you drink, you fight… you’re killing everything, including yourself. I just felt maybe…”

“Maybe what…” she glared, her eyes narrowing as she began to work out what the Tauren was talking about before she even said it.

“… maybe they could help you move on from… um… not being on Draenor anymore?” she tried.

The hall was silent, but Nitika swore for a moment that she’d heard a faint snapping sound as Galdia’s eyes bulged and the orc gritted her teeth.

“That’s what this is all about? That’s why you sent me here?! TO MAKE ME FORGET MY FUCKING HOME?!” she roared.

Nitika took a step back, “No! Not forget it, just… accept…” she tried to explain, but the orc stomped forward and cut her off again.

“ACCEPT WHAT?! THAT I’VE GOT NO DAMNED HOME NOW?! THAT I’M JUST SOME UNWANTED REFUGEE ON SOMEONE ELSE’S WORLD?! THAT MY PEOPLE WERE BROUGHT HERE TO BE WEAPONS FOR THE HORDE AND NOTHING ELSE?!” she demanded, spit flying from her mouth. ”I WAS DOING THAT ALREADY YOU DAMN CLEFTHOOF! THIS WHOLE DAMN TRIP WAS WORTHLESS!” she snarled, then turned and stormed towards the sleeping quarters, her appetite suddenly gone. When she got to the stairs she glared back at Nitika, “Tomorrow I’m going back to Orgrimmar. Try to interrupt me at a bar again and I’ll just break your damn face.” she glared, spitting on the tiles of the floor before heading upstairs.

Nitika was silent as she left, letting out a long sigh. “Galdia… can’t you see that this is killing you? I’m just trying to help…” she muttered under her breath, the tauren turning to the guest rooms of the temple where she was staying.

Later that Night

That night was not a good one for Nitika or Galdia.

In the trainee sleeping quarters the orc girl fumed, glaring up at the ceiling as if she could burn a hole in it just by staring. How DARE that damn woman trick her into coming here! How DARE she remind her of her loss just so she could rub it in her face! Just to remind her that she’d never set foot in Gorgrond again.

That she’d never see any of those who didn’t make it out with her again.

That she’d never know if they were killed or Lightbound or…

She snarled, quickly wiping her eyes. She was Warsong, she was iron. She did not cry, ever.

In her own small guest room Nitika knelt near a small totem of An’she she’d brought with her in mediation, feeling guilty at her good intentions gone wrong.

She’d seen Galdia’s state some nights after Mola’raum had gone to drag her out of whatever bar in Orgrimmar was hosting her that time, the orc girl tearing up her intestines on whatever drinks she could lay hands on.

She’d gone through everything some bars stocked, even some of the drinks that the Forsaken would balk at trying, and at this rate if all the fighting didn’t kill her the girl would probably shit out her own liver.

Galdia may not admit it, but it was slow suicide. If only she could get the orc to understand that…

In the basement of the temple one of the younger monks on cleaning duty was sweeping up the lower chambers. A young pandaren boy, not even a teen yet, worked his broom across the floor when he noticed it suddenly became stuck.

“Huh? Did someone drop some honey down here or something?” he asked himself, walking over to the strange substance on the floor, “No… honey isn’t black… what is that?” he mumbled as he leaned in, seeing a crack in the tiles of the floor with something bubbling up between it… black, mixed with white… and… did it just move?!

The heart of Y’shaarj was gone, the massive manifestations no more. However, the presence of an Old God is a difficult thing to banish entirely.

In the dark parts of Pandaria, in the deep places, his breath endured…

The boy lept back as a clawed hand burst out of the mass, trying to grab him, his eyes widening as he recognized the creature from the scrolls he’d seen in his training. “Oh no! Someone! H-help! THE SHA ARE COMING!” he cried as he ran up the stairs.

A few minutes later a loud clanging bell rang out through the temple as all the trainees awoke with a start, Nitika looking up from her prayers with wide eyes, a chill running down her back, and across it. She knew what that feeling was, and it filled her with fear.

“Oh no… no no no…” the tauren whispered as she quickly threw on her robes and grabbed her staff, shouldering the door open as she ran out into the halls, “Not now, not again!” she gasped, heading into the main hallway and almost colliding with Galdia as she sprinted into the room.

“You! Tauren! What the fel is going on?!” demanded the orc.

“I… they call it the sha. They’re these Void monsters that were born from negative emotions like despair and fear, and they’re coming! I can feel them!” she stammered, the tauren feeling her fear building even as she tried to fight the sensation. She could feel the scars on her back starting to ache again. It didn’t help that she was barely two miles from where she’d gotten them!

“Void monsters?” said the orc, then grinned as it looked to a display case with different weapons. She walked over to it, then tore the sleeve off her robes and wrapped it around her fist, smashing the glass with it before pulling out a Pandaren longsword, “GOOD! Its about damn time I got to fight something! Where are they?!” she sneered.

Nitika looked around, then her face grew pale as she pointed. It shouldn’t be possible for fur to pale like that, but it did.

Swarming up the steps from the basement was a whole mob of sha manifestations, black and white fanged abominations that were barely shaped like anything living, their leader a giant floating torso with claws as long as Nitika’s forearms and a leering grin.

Galdia actually stared at that, the orc’s eyes going wide. “Okay. Living shadows, that’s new. Well, lets see if a shadow can bleed! LOK’TAR OGAR!” she roared, raising her blade and attacking.

Nitika was frozen in place for a long moment, the tauren gripping her staff and trembling until she heard Galdia’s voice yell, “Are you gonna fight or just watch?!” The tauren shook her head, then whispered a prayer to An’she and raised her staff, sending a bolt of pure sunlight at the nearest sha…

However, the more they fought the more sha appeared, clawing their way up the stairs and over the other defenders who joined the fight. Soon the hall was full of the sounds of combat as the defenders began to fall, their bodies shaking and turning a chalky grey as the Sha fed on them.

Galdia snarled in frustration, chopping another one down even as two more clambered over their fallen ally. “They just keep coming! Nitika! How do we fight these damn things?!” she demanded!

However, Nitika didn't answer her.

Galdia cut down another and looked over her shoulder, “Hey clefthoof! I’m talking to… oh shit.” she stared.

Nitika was on her knees, clutching her shoulders and gasping for breath, her fur turning from brown to chalky grey as her eyes watered. “This is my fault, I caused this… I just wanted to help and now… I… I caused this… what have I done…” she whimpered, the sha manifestation feeding her guilt and turning it into pure deep despair, using it to weaken the tauren.

Galdia ran up to her and shook her roughly, “Hey hey hey! Snap out of it ya damn clefthoof! Whats wrong with you?!” she yelled, but then… she had never seen a sha attack before… but she was about to experience it as the largest manifestation grabbed her head roughly and a voice echoed in her head.

THIS ONE IS MINE!

Galdia went rigid, her eyes bulging as the temple went away from her… she was floating… floating in void… no, not void… all around her were stars… was this the Great Dark? She…. She saw a planet below her…

“Is that… Draenor?” she whispered. She could make out the shapes from Grom’s old map that she’d seen as a kid. There was Frostfire Ridge, and Talador, and Gorgrond… she felt it get closer and closer… was she going home?!

Suddenly, the continents began to glow brightly, then too bright… it was the same glow that she saw Yrel’s soldiers use to cast magic!

“W-what?! NO! STOP IT! DAMNED LIGHTBOUND! STOP!” she struggled, trying to move, but it felt like her body and mind weren’t connected properly, all she could do was watch as the landmass began to glow brighter and brighter, becoming so bright she couldn’t see at all… and then…

… it was gone… all of it… the whole world was swallowed up by the Light… where Draenor was… there was nothing…

Galdia felt the fight drain out of her, feeling a sick twisted sensation in her gut, “… gone… a-all of it… Old Grom… Zayera… everyone… I… no…” she whispered… but this wasn’t something she could cut or stab or fight… it wasn’t an enemy a sword could stop…

She felt the claws dig deeper into her mind, she despaired… Draenor was gone… she would never see her home again…

And then… she heard another voice call out.

"One home is lost child, but you have found another!"

Suddenly Galdia was back in the training hall kneeling next to Nitika, the tauren gasping as her whole body shook, the color slowly returning to both of them.

Standing in the center of the room was a massive red and white feathered crane that seemed to shine with an inner radiance… not the Light, but something good. The Sha hissed and shrank back from the bird, the creature’s aura seeming to keep them at bay.

"Hope is never lost to anyone, nor you Galdia Grimaxe." spoke a musical voice inside of Galdia’s mind, "Draenor may be gone, but now Azeroth welcomes you and your people! This world can be your world as well!"

Galdia felt a hand on her’s “L-listen to Chi-Ji…” said Nitika in a weary voice, her body still shaking slightly, “I… only wanted you to come here to help you Galdia. Me, Mola’raum, we all want to stand with you as a friend and ally, not as someone who just wants you to be a weapon and nothing else.” she nodded.

Galdia looked at the tauren, then took a breath… “Draenor… is gone… but…” she slowly rose to her feet.

Galdia looked around, the orc shaking her head violently to shake away the tears that had formed, then gripped her sword as she glared at the sha around her, focusing on the largest.

“You… tried to corrupt me didn’t you? Tried to turn me into some void thing like you, didn’t you?” she snarled, focusing her anger on it as the sha hesitated. The girl had been a feast of despair moments before, but now… it was like fire to them, they couldn’t touch her mind! “YOU tried to corrupt ME!?”

Galdia snarled, all despair forgotten, a burning rage taking it's place! The orc roared in fury, “MY PEOPLE ARE UNCORRUPTABLE, MONSTER! WE STOOD AGAINST THE DEMONS, THE LIGHT, AND NOW I STAND AGAINST YOU! DRANOSH’EK MAG’HAR!” she bellowed, raising her sword and charging down the sha.

The creature’s arms stretched out for her, but they only met Pandaren steel, cutting through them like butter as the monster screamed in rage at its thwarted attempt to feed.

From there the battle went very differently. Chi Ji’s song fought against the corrupting influence of the sha and, cut off from the despair that Nitika and Galdia had been experiencing no new sha appeared to replace the others! Within the hour all that was left was splatters of inky black shadow that, come the dawn, had evaporated into nothingness.

The Next Day

Galdia walked down to the exit of the temple, the sword she’d wielded that night before hanging in a scabbard on her back. The head monk had told her that her bladework was some of the finest he’d ever seen and, well, it was a bit of a shame that the sword had spent so long locked up in a display case. Perhaps last night was a sign that it should be put to use again.

Nitika was waiting for her when she got to the exit, the tauren looking a bit awkward as she came near, “Um… Galdia, about last night… I…” she started, but the orc just shrugged and smacked her shoulder lightly with the back of her hand.

”Save it. I said I was going back to Orgrimmar today, and I meant it.” she nodded. The tauren sighed a bit, but then Galdia smirked at her, “You comin’? Its gonna be a boring trip home without someone to talk to.”

Nitika looked at her, then smiled and nodded, walking along next to the young orc. The two of them, together, going to their home.

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[dienamights]

― “My Hero Academia Masterlist”

❣︎ ᴘᴏɪsᴏɴ ʙᴇʀʀɪᴇs― Thirsts

❣︎ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ's ᴛᴇᴀ― Random Thoughts

ᴋ. ʙᴀᴋᴜɢᴏᴜ | ᴀɪsʟᴇ 420 ᴋ

ఌ Fics and Oneshot

Opia | 420.001

๛ Katsuki Bakugou was a lot of things, conceited, proud and an egotistic asshole. He for the life of him was not weak. But one look at your goddamned repulsing mesmerizing eyes might actually be the cause of his crumbling resolve.

๛ Category: Comfort, Angst

Ellipsism | 420.002

๛ In a world where everyone is born with a unique tattoo on their ankle, every time they fall in love with someone, their tattoo appears somewhere else on the body of the person they love. You come to the realization that it might not be as simple as that, and all your childhood dreams would come and bite you in the ass.

๛ Category: Angst

Ex’s and O’s | 420.003

๛ Its bad enough that you’re spending your ex-boyfriend’s birthday curled up in bed, wearing his merch, drinking away your sorrows, but what’s even worse is having your eardrums pierced by the blaring music upstairs at the party thrown just for him.

๛ Category: hurt/comfort, Smut MDNI, Prohero!au, Part of Bakugous Birthday Bash!

A Reverberate Lullaby | 420.004

๛ The echoing howls stalk you, a ghost hunched on your shoulders, wailing like a child calling for rescue, who cries with no tears. Chanting for a hero that is willing to pick up the pieces of its soul and being, yet it is only left to wither. For the ghost has lost faith that such others exist and can only be cured by finding them, for you are the ghost of your world and love is the only true exorcist.

๛ Category: hurt/comfort, Implied Mature Content MDNI, Prohero!au, Established relationship!au, part of Mental Health Awareness Month Collab!

A Housewarming Disaster | 420.005

๛ When throwing a house party, one might find themselves worrying that somethings gonna go wrong. Well, they shouldn’t, what they should worry about is everything going wrong. And what’s really scary is how little of a contribution it needs for a disaster to happen. At your and Katsuki’s housewarming party, it only takes four menances.

๛ Category: Mature content/theme 18+ MDNI, Crack, Fluff, Married!AU

The Winner’s Prize | 420.006

๛ It really doesn’t matter how petty it sounds, and it certainly doesn’t matter how minor the challenge really is. Katsuki is nothing but a winner because to him, winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. And his victory is getting you, one way or the other.

๛ Category: Smut MDNI, Prohero!AU.

ఌ Drabbles

Road Mishap  | 420.1001D

Where Dynamight pays you a little visit when someone is being a little too friendly on the road.

๛ Category: Crack, Prohero!au, fluff if you squint real hard but basically reader being a simp.

Elliptic Paraboloid | 420.1002D

Where you don’t seem to mind tutoring Bakugou some good ol’ calculus.

๛ Category: Smut MDNI, College!au

Soothing | 420.1003D

Where Bakugou is always there to soothe your troubled soul

๛ Category: Comfort, Married!AU

ఌ Headcanons

Daddy Daycare  | 420.1001H

Where Pro hero Dynamight is stuck at home babysitting little fucking gremlins instead of spending his day off with you.

๛ Category: Crack, Fluff embedded in between.

ఌ Multichapter and Series

The Dragon Raid | 420.2001

Desperate to escape the wrath of the all too powerful magick-wielding Sizithian ruler, your father sends you off to wed the king of the Protectorate of Sha, upon his daunting request.

For the very first time, you set off outside of the confines of your home, traveling east to resentfully start your very unwanted life. But beyond the walls of your kingdom is more than what meets the eye.

The world you live in isn’t as peaceful as you always thought it would be, the mythical creatures whose stories you used to recall to the children of the kingdom stare you in the eye, elves, fairies and mermaids alike. It was also then that you witnessed the full capability of the dragon’s wing to summon an eclipse as it flew over the land below it. And just like all the stories you knew about; the untold tale of the dragon raid will inevitably lead to the greatest war of all.

๛ Category: Mature content/theme 18+ MDNI, Fantasy!AU, Adventure, Angst, Fluff

ᴅ.ᴋᴀᴍɪɴᴀʀɪ | ᴀɪsʟᴇ 629

Not Your Best Man | 692.001

๛ Denki Kaminari was resentful of all the things Katsuki Bakugou has, the high hero ranks, the fame despite his demeaning behavior, his intelligence, and most importantly, you.

๛ Category: Smut MDNI, angst

ʜ.sʜɪɴsᴏᴜ | ᴀɪsʟᴇ 701

Unfavorable Guidance | 701.001

๛ Mindjack has been doing these kinds of jobs since he was recruited as a hero, he is unmistakenly the best at them, doesn’t need anyone butting their noses in his business, especially you, the sly fox in disguise, offering your tainted helping hand.

๛ Category: noncon/dubcon, Smut MDNI, Prohero!au

ɪ. ᴍɪᴅᴏʀɪʏᴀ | ᴀɪsʟᴇ 715

ఌ Multichapter and Series

And Now She Withers | 715.2001

Colors were the divine songs as much as music and dance, for in the artistry of the creator lived the vibrancy of love.

He was the kind of green that spoke to your soul, a green that spoke of fresh wands of grass and brand new flower buds, but his eyes were your favorite shade, bright in color, bold and beautiful. That seemed as endless as a meadow.

๛ Category: Fluff, Angst, Smut, Soulmate!AU

Navigation

[magical-awesome-kid]

You know, someone on this hellsite made a post about how boring Slice of Life animes are and... have you watched one through a season? Because I've gotten into several, and rarely is there not some big overarching plot just waiting in the background.

Not everyone, of course, but the few exceptions that I've dug my teeth into always have some big magic going on or are really cool Isekai that make you think.

So one of my favorite Slice of Life/Isekais that recently released a second season is Restaurant to Another World. Cannot recommend enough.

In season one, we're introduced to a few characters through their dishes served at this one restaurant, one that, from Sunday through Friday, operates as a normal Western-menu restaurant in modern day Japan. Then, on Saturday, the door magically connects to another realm full of magic. Dragons! Demons! Treasure hunters and lizard man warriors! And this door isn't just in one place - it simultaneously appears in many places across this magical dimension, so people from this world who would never meet end up finding their way into the restaurant.

For any fan of anime, you know the food always looks amazing, and I highly recommend timing when you watch it with a snack or a meal because otherwise you'll just wind up hungry.

Now, at the beginning, it never explains why or how any of this works, but as the series progresses, you find out all this lore about how there was once a demon king who sought to destroy the world of the living, but four chosen warriors rose to battle them. You find out that one of the regulars, an old sage, was one of the chosen warriors. Meanwhile, another character introduced, a Lion Man who was captured by a disgraced half-elf warrior and was sold into slavery/fighting in the arena, only survived and bought his freedom thanks to the dishes at the restaurant every Saturday (or 'day of Satur' because apparently this magical dimension doesn't do calendars? IDK). THEN you find out that this disgraced half-elf is responsible largely for the alienation of half-elves in this world. We find this out from a half-elf who popped up in a noble family of otherwise humans who is basically shoved into a tower to be a sorceress instead of running a kingdom, which then passes to her younger brother.

*takes a deep breathe* Ok we following so far? Great. We're going to bring in Croquettes now. Because this is a food anime. So the half-elf's son is a recently deceased king (his descendants were all human), so he seeks to find that one meal that his son loved so much. He tracks down the old Sage, who, SPOILER ALERT, was his old friend! In fact, the Half-elf was one of those old heroes! In his story and reminiscing, we're reminded that this guy has Fucked Up and also that one of their members were lost to the battle while the other basically spear headed a religion to the lost member. They go for croquettes (later in the day because they don't want elf boy to start a fight on accident - he's never been before) and... the other hero... lived?

YES! We find out that the last hero was A WOMAN who had magical powers! And that she wound up falling between dimensions and landing on Earth where she met and married a nice man who... ran a restaurant! And they had kids! And Grandkids! Yes, the chef who connects people across this dimension is the grandson of the hero, who's still alive and kicking. She made the doorway magical and is the reason for its existence, and her grandson does a lot of good to her world simply by being a good man and a good chef.

And THEN we find out that another regular, a sweet princess who has an unknown hereditary illness that makes her frail so she lives in the country, is the great-great-granddaughter of the half-elf warrior and that IT'S ALL CONNECTED! AND THAT'S JUST ONE SET OF CUSTOMERS BECAUSE SOON ENOUGH WE CONNECT TO EVEN MORE!

Basically behind all the food, each character's story builds out in the magical world, continuously creating connections. A lonely death dragon on the moon becomes a waitress and learns to reconnect with mortals over curry. A demon girl who can't keep a job because apparently Everyone Hates Demons ends up not only as a waitress at the restaurant but also gets a job as a housekeeper for an adventurer who finds their way to the shop after their grandfather passed. A knight from a distant land finds food and protection in the restaurant, which ended up giving him the strength to save his kingdom from giant locusts, and then it loops back to modern day where his sword that was left behind is returned by a traveling swordsman. The princess meets a prince from a desert kingdom and they end up being really dorky and in love!

I'M NOT DONE! AND THIS IS ONLY SEASON ONE!

Basically this whole world is built in the background of this little isekai/Slice of Life anime, never brought into the focus but always building and budding. You learn so much about these patrons and their stories and world that you can't help but really be sucked in.

Sorry for the rant. Watch Restaurant to Another World (season 2 episodes out on Fridays) if you want to know what I'm going on about.

[meteors-lotr]

My favorite Friends scene but as Lotr

I present to you, Humans vs Elves, the quiz, with mah girl Tilda as the quiz leader

Tilda: Okay, each team will answer ten questions. The first team to answer the most questions, wins

Tilda: The categories are Fear and Pet Peeves, Ancient History, Literature, and It’s All Relative

Tilda: Now, as a human raised by elves I can provide an unbiased judgement, but not everything is fair so I’m just gonna say that Éowyn and Aragorn will start

Arwen: What why?

Tilda: I don’t know, I just feel like messing with Princess, anyways give me a category

Aragon: Fears and Pet Peeves

Tilda, taking a card from the Fears and Let Peeves pile: What is Arwen’s biggest pet peeve?

Éowyn: Hair hanging in front of someone’s face

Tilda: That is correct

Tilda: Elves?

Arwen: Same category!

Tilda, taking another card: According to Aragon, what phenomenon scares the hell out of him?

Legolas: Riverdancing!

Tilda: Correct!

Arwen: Yes!

Éowyn to Aragorn: Dude what?

Aragorn: Their legs flail about as if independent from their body!

Tilda: Guys your pick

Èowyn: It’s all relative

Tilda, grabbing a card: Legolas and me has a brother who recently had a child that you’ve both met, what is the name of the child?

Aragorn:

Èowyn:

Legolas: Seriously?

Éowyn: Uh, Brand!

Aragorn: Brand?! What are you doing?!

Éowyn: I took a shot!

Aragorn: You’re shooting with Brand?!

Tilda: Brand is correct

Aragorn: Nice shooting!

Legolas: We’ll take literature!

Tilda: What is Aragorns official title in the southeast village of Erdathrat?

Legolas: Oh! His title is Aragorn of Gondor!

Arwen: No!

Tilda: I’m afraid his title is Argonor of Gonrod

Arwen: I knew that!

Arwen: Legolas! Use your head!

Aragorn: Actually it’s Queen Argonor of Gonrod

[Time Skip]

Tilda: Alright, the score is nine to eight in favor of the humans, elves of you miss this the game is theirs, pick your category

Legolas: It’s all relative!!!

Tilda, taken back: You don’t have to shout everything

Legolas: I’m sorry!!!

Tilda, picking up a card: What is the name Éowyn uses when she disguises herself as a man?

Arwen: Dernhelm!

Éowyn: How do you know that?

Arwen: You are very bad at acting

Tilda: Dernhelm is correct

Tilda: But now we have a tie, and luckily I have prepared for such an occasion

Tilda, pulling out a bunch more cards from her pocket: The lightning round!

Arwen: Ohhhhhhhh

Tilda: Thirty seconds, all the questions you can answer

Arwen: You two are dead! I’m so good at lighting rounds!

Éowyn: Oh yeah? I majored in lightning rounds!

Éowyn: We’re gonna destroy you

Arwen: Wanna bet?!

Éowyn: I’m so confused of what we’ve been doing so far

Arwen: How about we raise the stakes a little? Say, one hundred and fifty?

Tilda, dramatically behind her: One hundred and fifty castar

Èowyn: Say, two hundred?

Tilda, still very dramatically: Two hundred castar

Legolas: Stop doing that

Tilda: Sorry

Legolas: Arwen I don’t want to loose two hundred castar

Arwen: We won’t!

Legolas: Okay

Arwen: Three hundred!

Legolas: Arwen!

Arwen: I’m just trying to spice it up!

Legolas: Well add some paprika or something, but stop spending my money!

Arwen: Wait, I got it!

Arwen: How about if we win, you two have to take at least three baths per week!

Legolas: Ooooh, that’s interesting

Aragorn: Hey no way, that’s just a waste of time

Arwen: It’s basic hygiene!

Aragorn: Some of us have more impor-

Éowyn: Alright hold on!

Éowyn: If you win, we’ll start doing your hygiene thing

Aragorn: What?!

Éowyn: But if we win, you two have to limit yourselves to three baths per week

Aragorn: Ooohohohoho

Legolas: Well there’s no way we’re-

Arwen, taking Éowyn’s hand: Deal!

Legolas: WHAT?!

[More time skip]

Legolas from off to the side: Arwen, I don’t think I could handle something like that, why would you agree to it?!

Arwen: Legolas, I have not missed one question the whole game, I own this game!

Arwen, holding up her hand: Look at my hand

Legolas: Yeah your skin is amazing, but it wouldn’t be like that if we only bathed thrice a week!

Arwen: No, I mean they’re steady as a rock! Now are you with me?!

Legolas: ...Alright let’s do it!

Arwen: Yes!

Tilda: Alright humans, you’re up first!

Tilda: You have thirty seconds to answer as many questions as you can

Tilda: The lightning round begins...now!

Tilda: What does Sigrid call Legolas?

Éowyn: Every name except his own

Tilda: Correct

Tilda: Arwen claims this is her favorite story

Aragorn: Beren and Lúthien

Tilda: Correct, her actual favorite story is...?

Aragorn: The children of Húrin

Tilda: Correct, Legolas had a pet as an elfling who died, what was that pet?

Éowyn: Uhhh, a warg?

Tilda: What? No!

Legolas: Dude

Tilda: A chameleon

Tilda: Arwen categorizes her towels, how many categories are there?

Éowyn: Everyday use

Aragorn: Fancy

Éowyn: Guests

Aragorn: Fancy Guests

Tilda: Two seconds

Éowyn: Uhhhh, eleven?!

Tilda: Eleven, unbelievable, eleven is correct!

Aragorn: Yes!

Éowyn: Fuck yeah!

Tilda: Alright, that’s four for the humans, Elves you’re up!

Legolas: Alright come on!

Tilda: Thirty seconds on the clock, five correct questions wins the game, the lightning round begins...now

Tilda: What is Aragorn’s favorite animal?

Legolas: Horses

Tilda: Correct, Éowyn was how old when she first killed a man?

Legolas: Nineteen?

Tilda: No fourteen

Aragorn: Valars...

Tilda: Aragorn had an imaginary childhood friend, her name was...?

Arwen: Tega

Tilda: Correct, her profession was...?

Legolas: Godslayer!

Tilda: Correct, what is Éowyn’s official title?

Legolas:

Arwen:

Éowyn: Wait really?!

Legolas: Oh wait, it has something to do with Rohan

Arwen: And it’s kinda regal

Legolas: Is it like horse related?

Tilda: Ten seconds, you need this or you loose the game!

Arwen: It uh, it has something to do with shields

Legolas: Oh uh, she’s the shielder of Rohan!!

Arwen: THAT’S NOT EVEN A THING!

Tilda: And that’s time!

Legolas: NOOOOOO!!!!

Aragorn and Éowyn: YESSSSSS!!!

Ugh this was exhausting

[bamf-jaskier]

What the fuck are the Trials

Since the show is based on the books and not the games, and more people are more familiar with the games that the books, I thought it might be helpful to sort of officialize the posts I’ve done about specific topics in the books. 

Here are the previous posts on Triss&Geralt as well as Coën

TLDR: So looking at this process, according to the books the way a Witcher becomes, well a Witcher looks like this:

There is the Choice which is the decision to become a Witcher made when you are a child

Eat a lot of magic mushrooms that give you the strength and ability Witchers are known for

Then the Trial of the Grasses which is a concoction of mutagenic elixirs injected into the bloodstream which mutates you into a Witcher

Then finally there are the Changes. This is a big step and one that requires a mage. This is when the hormones are changed and a Witcher becomes permanently sterile

then there is training until you earn your medallion and BOOM, out onto the path with you

Now, have a post about what the trials are as far as the books are concerned

It’s important to note that in the books, The Witcher are a dying breed so the Trials are really only mentioned in Blood of Elves when Ciri trains with the Witchers and the two prequels, Sword of Destiny and The Last Wish. 

Let’s start out with the basics of the Trials, here is a passage from Blood of Elves where Triss is wondering why the Witchers at Kaer Morhen are being so secretive in regards to Ciri:

“It’s obvious. They want to mutate the child, subject her to the Trial of Grasses and Changes, but they don’t know how to do it. Vesemir was the only witcher left from the previous generation, and he was only a fencing instructor. The Laboratorium, hidden in the vaults of Kaer Morhen, with its dusty demi-johns of elixirs, the alembics, ovens and retorts… 

None of the witchers knew how to use them. The mutagenic elixirs had been concocted by some renegade wizard in the distant past and then perfected over the years by the wizard’s successors, who had, over the years, magically controlled the process of Changes to which children were subjected. And at a vital moment the chain had snapped. 

There was no more magical knowledge or power. The witchers had the herbs and Grasses, they had the Laboratorium. They knew the recipe. But they had no wizard.”

Later:

“And now they want to mutate the girl but can’t. And that might mean… They may ask me to help. And then I’ll see something no living wizard has seen, I’ll learn something no living wizard has learned. Their famous Grasses and herbs, the secret virus cultures, the renowned, mysterious recipes…”

Now, what Triss doesn’t realize is that Geralt and the others are not planning on subjecting Ciri to the trials at all but are instead trying to hide Ciri’s magical ability from Triss. They are worried she will report them to the Chapter. 

Of course, until they tell Triss this, she is deeply suspicious and goes on to talk about the mushrooms Witchers have access to which are extremely unique. 

“Of course, thought Triss. They’re feeding her those legendary cave saprophytes – a mountain plant unknown to science – giving her the famous infusions of their mysterious herbs to drink. The girl is developing quickly, is acquiring a witcher’s infernal fitness. Naturally, without the mutation, without the risk, without the hormonal upheaval. But the magician must not know this. It is to be kept a secret from the magician. They aren’t going to tell me anything; they aren’t going to show me anything.”

Later:

“I don’t give a fig for your trust, witchers. There’s cancer out there in the world, smallpox, tetanus and leukaemia, there are allergies, there’s cot death. And you’re keeping your “mushrooms”, which could perhaps be distilled and turned into life-saving medicines, hidden away from the world. You’re keeping them a secret even from me, and others to whom you declare your friendship, respect and trust. Even I’m forbidden to see not just the Laboratorium, but even the bloody mushrooms!”

Triss as a mage has extreme bias against the Trials and for good reason! Most of the populace doesn’t have access to any information on the Trials outside of vague ideas but Mages have access to first hand accounts such as this from Blood of Elves: 

“On the third day all the children died save one, a male barely ten. Hitherto agitated by a sudden madness, he fell all at once into deep stupor. His eyes took on a glassy gaze; incessantly with his hands did he clutch at clothing, or brandish them in the air as if desirous of catching a quill. His breathing grew loud and hoarse; sweat cold, clammy and malodorous appeared on his skin. Then was he once more given elixir through the vein and the seizure it did return. This time a nose-bleed did ensue, coughing turned to vomiting, after which the male weakened entirely and became inert.

For two days more did symptoms not subside. The child’s skin, hitherto drenched in sweat, grew dry and hot, the pulse ceased to be full and firm – albeit remaining of average strength, slow rather than fast. No more did he wake, nor did he scream.

Finally, came the seventh day. The male awoke and opened his eyes, and his eyes were as those of a viper…”

~Carla Demetia Crest, The Trial of Grasses and other secret Witcher practices, seen with my own eyes, manuscript exclusively accessible to the Chapter of Wizards

When most people think of the Trials, they are thinking similarly to Queen Calanthe in Sword of Destiny. 

Here is what Calanthe says to Geralt when talking about what he might do with his child surprise: 

“You are astonished,’ she stated. ‘Well, I’ve studied a little. Since Pavetta’s child has the chance of becoming a witcher, I went to great pains. My sources, Geralt, reveal nothing, however, regarding how many children in ten withstand the Trial of the Grasses. Would you like to satisfy my curiosity in this regard?’

‘O Queen,’ Geralt said, clearing his throat. ‘You certainly went to sufficient pains in your studies to know that the code and my oath forbid me from even uttering that name, much less discussing it.’

Calanthe stopped the swing abruptly by jabbing a heel into the ground. ‘Three, at most four in ten,’ she said, nodding her head in feigned pensiveness. 

‘A stringent selection, very stringent, I’d say, and at every stage. First the Choice and then the Trials. And then the Changes. How many youngsters ultimately receive medallions and silver swords? One in ten? One in twenty?”

Later Calanthe asks Geralt:

“Do you believe a Child of Destiny would pass through the Trials without danger?’

‘We believe such a child would not require the Trials.’

‘One question, Geralt. Quite a personal one. May I?’

He nodded.

‘There is no better way to pass on hereditary traits than the natural way, as we know. You went through the Trials and survived. So if you need a child with special qualities and endurance… Why don’t you find a woman who… I’m tactless, aren’t I? But I think I’ve guessed, haven’t I?’

‘As usual,’ he said, smiling sadly, ‘you are correct in your deductions, Calanthe. You guessed right, of course. What you’re suggesting is impossible for me.’

‘Forgive me,’ she said, and the smile vanished from her face. ‘Oh, well, it’s a human thing.’

‘It isn’t human.’

‘Ah… So, no witcher can—’

‘No, none. The Trial of the Grasses, Calanthe, is dreadful. And what is done to boys during the time of the Changes is even worse. And irreversible.”

Later:

“The risks are too great,’ Geralt said quickly. ‘As you said. At most, four out of ten survive.’

‘Dammit, is only the Trial of the Grasses hazardous? Do only potential witchers take risks? Life is full of hazards, selection also occurs in life, Geralt. Misfortune, sicknesses and wars also select. Defying destiny may be just as hazardous as succumbing to it. Geralt… I would give you the child. But… I’m afraid, too.’

Then in The Last Wish, Geralt describes his own experiences with The Trials:

“Kaer Morhen…That's where the likes of me were produced. It's not done anymore; no one lives in Kaer Morhen now. No one but Vesemir. Who's Vesemir? My father. Why are you so surprised? What's so strange about it? Everyone's got a father, and mine is Vesemir. And so what if he's not my real father? I didn't know him, or my mother. I don't even know if they're still alive, and I don't much care.

“Yes, Kaer Morhen. I underwent the usual mutation there, through the Trial of Grasses, and then hormones, herbs, viral infections. And then through them all again. And again, to the bitter end. Apparently, I took the changes unusually well; I was only ill briefly. I was considered to be an exceptionally resilient brat…and was chosen for more complicated experiments as a result. They were worse. Much worse. But, as you see, I survived. The only one to live out of all those chosen for further trials. My hair's been white ever since. Total loss of pigmentation. A side effect, as they say. A trifle.

“Then they taught me various things until the day when I left Kaer Morhen and took to the road. I’d earned my medallion, the Sign of the Wolf's School. I had two swords: silver and iron, and my conviction, enthusiasm, incentive and…faith. Faith that I was needed in a world full of monsters and beasts, to protect the innocent. As I left Kaer Morhen, I dreamed of meeting my first monster. I couldn't wait to stand eye to eye with him. And the moment arrived.”

So looking at this process, according to the books the way a Witcher becomes, well a Witcher looks like this:

There is the Choice which is the decision to become a Witcher made when you are a child

Eat a lot of magic mushrooms that give you the strength and ability Witchers are known for 

Then the Trial of the Grasses which is a concoction of mutagenic elixirs injected into the bloodstream which mutates you into a Witcher 

Then finally there are the Changes. This is a big step and one that requires a mage. This is when the hormones are changed and a Witcher becomes permanently sterile

then there is training until you earn your medallion and BOOM, out onto the path with you

This is why it’s such a big deal that Triss was brought to Kaer Morhen. Without a mage, someone cannot become a full Witcher and Triss believed that was why she was there. Of course, this wasn’t true but it’s a valid concern to have. 

One thing I want to note, there is absolutely NOTHING in the text that says that being a Witcher is limited to any sort of gender boundary. The fact that Triss so readily jumped to Ciri becoming a Witcher and the fact that Geralt didn’t specify  boys until he was talking about the sterilization process...well, there is a likelihood female Witchers actually existed. 

Again, in the books Witchers are a dying breed and you can literally count on one hand the number of Witchers we meet. Of course, considering mages are the ones who made Witchers, it makes sense that female Witchers are either strongly discouraged, banned or simply not talked about. 

One big point Triss has against Ciri’s training is that she won’t “develop” correctly like a woman “should” due to the mushrooms and harsh training and considering how so many northern mages place importance on beauty I could definitely see mages not wanting to have female Witchers, considering it a “perversion”. 

Just a fun thought I often have about the books that I haven’t seen anyone point out. 

So overall, here is what the books have to say about the Trials, it’s a touch different from the games but I find this very fascinating and interesting. Let me know if you want me to do a specific topic or relationship next, but for now, thanks for reading!

[in-tua-deep]

Hufflepuff Five is so good! Are the Hargreeves lives as students as adventurous like the main crew from HP? What about the Ministry of Magic? Would they get involved if someone caught wind of the sibling’s powers that weren’t just magic?

Their lives are SO wack honestly like, they just vibe. They just are going through their magical youth being absolute feral children who don’t trust adults as far as they can throw them while trying to hide their weird funky powers and also ravenously going through magical feats like they’re going out of style

Luther is every sibling’s go-to practice partner because apparently durability extends to being like? Slightly magic resistant? Basically if you hit Luther with a spell it will only be like, maybe half power? So the siblings use him as a magical shield half the time and an experiment the other half and Luther just Suffers Through This until it all goes wrong and he ends up as a werewolf, oops

(But at least Ben is alive! Honestly the only reason Luther wasn’t straight up mauled to death was a combo of his durability, Ben’s proficiency in healing magic, and Ben managing to befriend the acromantulas)

(Luther eventually gets a sense of humor about this after long years of working on accepting himself and constantly threatens to bite his siblings or makes comments about them looking extra tasty when they irritate him)

Allison is a quidditch star, super popular and athletic as all hell. She probably ends up being the Slytherin team captain, honestly. Allison is all glamor and charisma and in her later years of hogwarts has an absolute blast. Allison is very much functional passing so she’s usually the front man to get the professors off their backs, but she also is the front man for a lot of the shit that the family sell for extra spending money. Five and Ben might make potions, but Allison rules the underground black market in slytherin with an iron fist (which gets them into shenanigans involving other kids who Owe Debts)

Diego is on the gryffindor quidditch team and so him and Allison are constantly at each other’s throats on the pitch (Allison sometimes rumors him during matches when she gets within earshot which makes all of the siblings yell at him but she maintains that he gets to use his stupid powers to score points so she should get to as well). Diego gets roped into everything because he’s super soft. He starts a lot of fights because he has vigilante genes so he serves a lot of detentions. His house tolerates him losing them points because the man is a wizard with a quaffle

(Diego and Allison actually practice a lot together, which their respective teams are like HMMMM over but they’re siblings and slytherin knows that Allison would never hesitate to knock Diego off his broom and wave cheerily as he falls to his death, and gryffindor is aware that Diego can, should, and must throw a ball directly at Allison’s dumb face if she gets too close to him because of the Cain Instinct)

(Honestly Allison and Diego do a LOT for interhouse unity, showing that you can still be ride or die for each other while also wanting greatly to kill each other uwu)

Ben is too independent for his own good, which is what gets him into trouble. He likes gardening, and he likes herbs, and sometimes he’s just GOTTA go into the forbidden forest on a full moon to gather these very specific ingredients, c’mon. He also just. Likes spending time in the forbidden forest. He’s Hagrid’s favorite student because he doesn’t bat an eye at all the weird magical creatures, bc homeboy got an eldritch horror in his navel. Ben makes friends with the acromantulas (who have a healthy respect for him after the Horror ate a few of them), patiently avoids the centaurs, and bribes the pixies into giving him their shed wings through liberal application of jam stolen from the Hogwarts kitchens. 

You know what Allison is functional passing and Ben is distinguished passing, all their teachers assume that Ben is the most put together of them but they’re WRONG. They haven’t seen Ben at two in the morning yanking Vanya out of ben because if they don’t break into greenhouse four and help those poor fucking plants the first years are tending to they’re all going to DIE and that’s not fair??? ben is single handedly going to save all those poor plants (and all those first year’s grades)

Vanya is just VIBING, he ends up coming out as trans in fourth year and gets to be roommates with Ben which is pretty sweet. If only Ben didn’t drag him into shenanigans?? All the teachers are like “ah yes Vanya, such a quiet boy not like his siblings at all” but Vanya can will should and must climb onto the roof of the astronomy tower to play his violin because He Just Likes To Be Tall. Vanya once punched a snobby ravenclaw kid in the nose and then stared them down saying “the teachers will never believe you.”

Vanya steals Luther to practice his powers with in unused classrooms the most?? he’s durable. he’ll be fine if Vanya blasts him into a wall with his powers lol

Vanya’s solution to all their problems is “do you want me to blow it up with my powers?” or “do you want me to kill them for you?” 

(All of the siblings now refuse to duel with Vanya except for Luther bc Vanya is RUTHLESS. He WILL murder his siblings (almost) given the chance. They’re all so lucky that Ben is so good at healing and carries extra vials of healing potions on his person otherwise Madame Pomfrey would be VERY CONCERNED)

Five and Klaus probably get into the most shenanigans? Klaus gets less and less afraid of ghosts the more he runs into nice ones like Fred Weasley. Fred also lovingly nurtures Klaus’s absolutely terrible sense of humor and encourages him to prank the whole school. Klaus knows ALL the secret passageways thanks to Fred, a previous owner of the Maurauder’s map, so he’s just like. Constantly in the walls. He once dropped out of the ceiling to get to transfiguration in time and nobody even commented on it because Klaus is just Like That.

(A few people see Klaus’s boney elbows and knobbley knees and thinks he’s a good target for bullying just because he’s a slytherin and interhouse awfulness absolutely it at an all time high so recently after the war. YEAH his siblings step in and put the fear of god into any bullies, but Klaus fights like a cornered raccoon.)

Five is just way too smart and curious for his own good. He likes to poke around, figure things out, and also make money. Five does people’s homework, charges them for potions or rune work, tutors, dismantles shit in the chamber of secrets, ALSO explores the secret passageways (and finds some that weren’t on the map), is lovingly bullied into Friendship Activities with his housemates, breaks into the other houses’s common rooms for funsies, and keeps getting fed by the house elves who found out he can ‘apparate’ like them (without a wand) and have apparently adopted him against his will

Five is the sibling who has his fingers in like. ALL the pies. and just constantly pops up and drags them into things. Five will be helping Klaus with potions homework then glance up and tell Diego he’s cashing in the favor he’s owed for carving runes into Diego’s knives and that Diego now gets to break into Douglas Eddington’s room to steal back Lana Delwich’s diary so that Five can trade it to Lana for her rare Solomon Babik chocolate frog card which Five can give to Barnaby Beeson in exchange for a Large Distraction of Five’s Choice and a sketchy book on ward breaking which Five needs so he can break into the headmaster’s office to get a confiscated dark magic book that has some information Five needs to alter a potion that he’s probably going to make Luther drink later

Five is the sibling who is like “Ugh, I thought I was trading for some nundu ingredients but now i have a Whole Baby Nundu in the basement :/”

Which, of course, Klaus wants to keep despite the poison breath.

“This is literally one of the most dangerous magical creatures, we are not keeping it.” Luther says, unimpressed. However, he definitely has it cradled in his arms and makes kissy faces at it when he thinks no one is looking. (Apparently baby toxic nundu breath only makes Luther sneeze, so there’s that?)

“If you guys are arrested for smuggling I am not bailing you out.” Is Allison’s only decree about the matter.

Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked if someone DID eventually find out about one of the siblings’ powers - however, they would come to entirely the wrong conclusion about them?? Because this is a world of MAGIC and so everything magical has to have a magical explanation, right???

Luther is durable as all fuck???? Uhhhhh maybe he has some like. Troll blood or giant blood something back in his family line, obviously not something he would ever want the world to know about bc of species-ism

Allison can make you do whatever you want with her words????? Maybe she’s part veela? With that charm appeal?

Five is doing. Wandless apparation?? I mean, that’s rare as FUCK but wandless magic is,,, grudgingly accepted though it’s usually only used for small or very familiar spells and not usually something as complex as apparation but OKAY just sit him down and forbid him from doing it anymore bc boy boutta be SPLICED or some shit

Klaus can. Klaus can talk to ghosts. Who are not full ghosts. Hmm. huh. Maybe it’s?? A family ability??? a super rare one? like being a metamorphagus? (What the fuck??????? what the FUCK???????)

Primarily the kids started off paranoid because they believed that their abilities indicated that they weren’t the same type of magic, and they didn’t want to be returned to their father, and then it progressed into “these abilities might make people scared of us (looking at you allison, with your imperius-ass abilites)” or “we can’t afford that kind of scrutiny or curiosity about our powers (they might find out luther is a werewolf or something idk)” and “if we are ‘desirable’ children with ‘rare abilities’ the government might try to split us up and adopt us into weird pureblood families or something OR might try to lock us up (like where would they even put Ben??)”

honestly if ben ever got found out he’d just deadpan “it’s a curse, hand me the black wormroot would you?” and be like “oh yeah it’s under control i just go vibe in the woods every so often and rip up a tree or something. I think the horror wants to be the whomping willow when it grows up actually, so just don’t get too close when i’m in the horror zone. if you can live with a murder tree on campus you can live with me on campus”

someone sees vanya fuck something up with his powers and is like ???? and Vanya is just like “accidental magic lol” 

“aren’t you... a bit... old for accidental magic...”

“accidental. magic.”

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

Fred with a Malfoy reader:

Warnings: Angst, kind of sad, nsfw thoughts, set in a non voldemort world

Note: I KEEP THINKING OF FRED. HELP. ME.I’VE FALLEN DOWN A RABBIT HOLE AND I CAN’T GET UP

You were Draco's older sister

And already the family disappointment.

Do you know why?

Because you're the one Malfoy who isn't Slytherin

You're actually a hufflepuff.

Lucius clearly favors Draco and it gets to you sometimes.

You're very protective over your brother.

You constantly butt heads with Potter

Draco absolutely loathed it when you'd go all big sister on him in public.

There was one day where you had to separate Harry from a fight with Draco and who pulled Harry back but Fred.

Fred walked up to you afterwards saying "Hey. Sorry about Harry."

You chuckled and nodded. "Sorry about my brother. He tends to get on people's nerves."

Fred smiled "Mind if I sit here?" He asked.

You nodded and he sat next to you.

"So you're Draco's sister... And you're a hufflepuff?" He asked.

You sucked in a breath at that sentence, gripping your glass.

Fred noticed that look.

Pure resentment to that phrase.

"Do you enjoy hogwarts?" Fred asked, cutting your attention away.

"... It's my home." You muttered.

"it's that for a lot of people." Fred nodded.

You took a long sip of your drink.

"Why the sudden curiosity?" You asked.

"Well... I actually didn't know Draco had a sister until four hours ago." Fred admitted.

"Really? You didn't realize the Malfoy's had a massive disappointment?" You asked sarcastically.

"Why would they be disappointed?" Fred asked.

You gave him a "really?" Look before motioning to the table he was sitting at and then your robes.

"... They're upset over a factor you had no control over?" Fred asked.

"Pretty much." You said.

"That's rubbish." He scoffed.

"Try telling that to von douchebag-- I mean father." You said making Fred smile.

Fred finding his way to you was quickly becoming a regular thing

He'd usually sit with you at dinner getting to know the little of pieces of you that many people didn't even bother to see

Draco frowned noticing you and Fred

He pulled you aside.

"Y/n, what the hell are you doing!?" Draco asked.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"Father's already pissed about the house but friends with a Weasley!? Are you out of your mind!?" Draco asked.

"....I don't care." You said.

Yeah so your third year was the year you basically gave up trying to please your father

Draco was honestly anxious about it.

You were his sister. He might not say it but he loves you.

He definitely noticed the nights that you and Lucius would argue and you'd have meltdowns in the hallway.

The thing was: if Draco cried, you, Lucius or Narcissa would come running.

You had only Draco who'd be concerned.

So when you gave up trying to be the perfect daughter Draco feared that Lucius would be pissed.

Which he was when he caught wind of who you spent your time with.

He found out from Arthur that Fred had been spending a lot of time with one of his children.

And Lucius immediately knew who it was.

He came to you pissed.

"What in the hell are you thinking spending time with a Weasley!?"

You did something you never did before.

You actually rolled your eyes.

"You're acting like a child father." You said sharply.

"Excuse me!?" Lucius asked.

"You feud with them, yet you don't actually know them. Just because they have low status doesn't mean they're not worth your time." You snapped.

He threatened to send you to Durmstrang and you actually said "Oh I wish you would because at least I wouldn't be here!"

You went back to school and Draco was keeping very close to you.

He honestly wanted to spend enough time with you if you were really going to go to a different school.

Fred noticed you doing slightly self destructive things and asked Draco what exactly was going on.

Draco told him everything figuring Fred could talk some sense into you.

And Fred did.

He found you sitting in the astronomy tower one day.

"Hey." You said.

He sat across from you

"Hey." Fred said.

"What brings you to me?" You asked making him chuckle.

"I wanted to talk to you." Fred said.

He asked you what was going on.

You danced around the subject but ultimately failed.

"Y/n I know Lucius is mad." Fred said.

You dropped any fragments of a smile and looked away.

You two just sat in silence for a while

"Do you know what it's like to feel so alone even though you're surrounded by people?" You finally asked looking at Fred with this expression that honestly almost broke the boy.

"I feel that every time I have to go home. My own father is ashamed of me because I couldn't keep up with his standards, my mother doesn't even try to know me. My little brother is the one having to check on me when one of my parents gets angry." You said.

"I'm alone and that's terrifying." You whispered with tears falling down your face.

Fred said nothing, hugging you to his chest.

You just held onto him and that was when Fred gained this protective nature over you. 

You stopped the self destructive habits and relaxed a bit on the “Let’s piss off Dad” bit.

Draco eased up a lot on you hanging out with Fred and George now, seeing as Fred obviously provided comfort to you. 

George began to really love having you around, considering you called yourself “THE BRINGER OF CHAOS” But was too terrified to order anything in Hogsmeade because you were socially awkward

“Ah yes, the bringer of chaos seems to have had trouble yet again with her drink order.” George teased.

“Okay, first off: Fuck you. Second off: Ordering is hard okay!?” You said, earning snorts from Fred and George

Fred invited you to come over for the summer

You were determined to go but Lucius basically told you “If you go, the door here is never open to you again.” 

Draco gave you a look that just said “Y/n. Do it.” 

And you did. No hesitation as Lucius basically disowned you. 

So you left, family ring resting on the dining table along with a letter to Draco.

When you showed up to the Burrow the weight of what happened hit you as you walked in.

Fred saw you and hugged you and for some reason that made you breakdown sobbing.

The whole family was naturally concerned.

I mean, you did just show up and start crying.

Fred didn’t even ask what was wrong, he just held you. 

Then he noticed the absence of your family ring. 

“Y/n... Where’s your ring?” He asked. 

“I-I... I-I’ve been disowned.” You finally admitted making Molly exchange a look with Arthur that screamed “This is our kid now”

Fred was PISSED though at Lucius

When you went to bed Fred and George sat at a table with their parents and talked.

“I’m going to kill that man if I ever see him!” Fred snapped. 

“Freddie!” Molly scolded. 

“Oh come on mum, you have to admit, even for this man this is low.” George agreed. 

“I have to side with the boys on this one, there is no excuse to give up on a child.” Arthur nodded. 

“I cannot believe he did this! How can you not love Y/n!? She’s literally one of the sweetest people on the face of the planet.” Fred griped making Molly, Arthur and George all look at Fred

Did he just... Imply that he loved you?

“What?” Fred asked, noticing the looks. 

“Nothing! just... We’ve never seen you so focused on someone.” Arthur said. 

“Just makes me wonder if you like Y/n.” George muttered. 

“Wha-- no!” Fred denied

But that one little comment kept that boy up for days

He didn’t like you. Right?

Although... He did notice the cute little habit of biting your lip when you read

Or the fact that you always tucked your hair behind your ear when you felt someone watching you

Or that beautiful laugh that would make Fred smile every time he heard it

Or the smile that could light up a room

Fuck. Maybe he did like you.

George noticed the sleeplessness that started with Fred

He even commented on it at one point but Fred ignored it.

One night confirmed Fred’s thought on liking you. 

He again, could not sleep. So he sat outside.

You came outside with two mugs filled with hot cocoa.

“Saw you out here and figured you could use this.” You said sitting next to him. 

You looked at the stars with Fred and that was the moment that boy fell and he fell HARD.

The way your eyes just reflected the stars, the way your lips parted 

the way the braid in your hair, pulled it back so your face was visible

The look in your eyes when you looked at Fred

Oh that boy was HOOKED man.

When you went back to Hogwarts you ran into Lucius at the station.

The Weasley children all looked ready to straight up kill Lucius when he looked over at you. 

You expected Draco to ignore you but the second he saw you he hugged you. 

He was taller now. 

God you missed your little brother

The good thing about Hogwarts was: Lucius was no where near you, so you could spend as much time with your little brother as you wanted. 

Draco sat with you guys on the train, telling you basically what happened after you left

You were surprised to hear that Lucius actually couldn’t even look in the direction of your room

You were even more surprised to hear that Narcissa refused to let any house elves remove anything from it either. 

There was a part of you that wanted to return. But then you remembered that empty feeling of when you were there and you pushed it down. 

Draco was now more involved with the Weasleys 

They didn’t mind. 

At least someone in your family was actively showing that they cared about you. 

There were a lot more... Moments popping up with you and Fred though that were making everyone watch you two 

Specifically one where Fred grabbed a book you couldn’t reach and when you turned around you two were close

When I say close I mean you could feel his breath on your cheek close. 

You also had this cute little thing where Fred would steal your books and you’d have to jump on his back for them 

You could crawl up that boy like a God damn spider monkey 

A part of you wanted to climb him in a different way

He’d always make you smile, without fail. 

Sometimes you’d have these little moments where it was honest to God a wonder you two weren’t dating

Like the time that Fred almost had you pinned against a wall, faces centimeters apart as he handed you back your books after taking them

Or the winks he’d give you

Or the fact that he sometimes would just pick you up from behind and make you giggle.

Even Draco was waiting for one of you to FUCKING SAY SOMETHING

That day finally came when George had this funny little game to play

Ever heard of the game “Red light”?

Here’s the rules: You have to basically play the game to make a person feel uncomfortable enough that they say “RED LIGHT” 

Here’s the thing: You’re a spiteful bitch and so is Fred

Everyone else playing would crack.

So when it was just down to you two Fred had to make you uncomfortable

He leaned in, very close to you and kept a hand rested on your knee

Your face had this smirk on it as Fred inched closer to you

That’s when you pulled an uno reverse card on the bastard and kissed his nose, making his eyes go wide. 

Two could play at that game though.

Fred kissed your cheek

You kissed his cheek.

He kissed your nose, something inside you snapped and you yanked that fucker forward by his tie and kissed him. 

Everyone in the room was losing their shit as Fred parted with you.

The look you two gave each other when he parted was “Wait did that actually just happen?”

But to your surprise Fred actually kissed you again making everyone go ballistic 

When the game ended you had no idea if the events that took place were because of Fred actually wanting to kiss you or if it was just to win

Fred was going through the same thing

Finally you two talked after Fred ran into you in the library

You two talked while you were grabbing a few books for class. 

“About the kiss...” Fred finally said.

“What about it?” You asked, trying to hide the nervousness in your voice 

“I... I really meant it when I kissed you Y/n. I like you.” He finally said.

You turned around with wide eyes. 

“You do?” You asked

“How could I not-- Y/n you’re amazing. Truly captivating.” He told you. 

You turned back around to hide the blush on your face.

“I like you too Fred.” You said, a grin appearing on the boy’s face. 

You reached for a book and he picked it up for you, handing it to you.

You slowly turned around, again the boy’s face centimeters away from yours as you looked in his eyes. 

“Oh fuck it.” He muttered, dropping the book and kissing you. 

You ran your fingers through his hair and he swore if you two weren’t at risk of getting caught, chances are you two would’ve done A LOT more than just making out. 

You two dated though, Fred now never being seen without you. 

The group was relieved when you finally did start dating, honestly they were surprised that didn’t happen until AFTER the game

You absolutely loved Fred though, no question about it. 

Draco was glad to finally see you truly happy.

Was he happy you were dating a Weasley? Hell no. but if you were happy, nothing was going to be said about it. 

Summers were honestly a fun time. 

in... multiple ways... *cough* you two totally slept together *cough*

FAMILY FUN! WOOH!

But there was this one specific moment that Fred knew he was going to marry you one day

You were watching the sunset, wearing this yellow sundress

Ginny braided your hair that morning and it rested on your shoulder as you stared at the scenery

Fred was helping his mother with the laundry and he noticed you, smiling

You felt someone watching you so you turned around, a breeze kicking up as you turned

The sun on your face with stray strands of hair and that beautiful smile made Fred melt. 

He just knew “This is my future wife, I dare you to change my fucking mind.”

So graduation was approaching and Fred had already made up his mind, he was marrying you. 

But he wanted to play this right.

So he went to the crowned king of douchebag himself- Lucius Malfoy

He was so official, going as far to set up an appointment with this fucker. 

Lucius, Narcissa, Draco and him sat in his study in complete silence for a LONG time, mostly Fred resisting the urge to absolutely pop off at him

“Why are you here Weasley?” Lucius finally asked

Fred took in a breath. “I want to marry your daughter.” He said.

Draco looked at Fred surprised. 

“What?” Lucius asked. 

“I want to Marry Y/n. I know you hate me, I honestly couldn’t care less about that. But I hope you’ll set aside those emotions because I love your daughter.” Fred finally said. 

Draco looked at Fred and then Lucius. 

“Lucius.” Narcissa said. 

He seemed to be pondering before letting out a LONG sigh

“you have my blessing.” He finally said

“I’m willing to fight you on-- wait really?” Fred gaped

“Yes. While I’m not exactly happy about this, you’ve provided Y/n with a haven. You’ve made her happy. I can’t make up for the time I spent fighting with her but I can try to fix the bond now. Starting with this.” Lucius said making Draco gape. 

“Thank you.” Fred said relieved. 

“When are you proposing?” 

Shit. He hadn’t thought that out yet. 

“... I’m not sure.” Fred admitted. 

“Next week!” Draco said. 

Everyone turned to him

“You graduate next week, I have an idea for you.” Draco said

This kid’s idea was fucking smart too. 

Take you stargazing. Spend quality time with her. And then when it feels right, propose. 

And Fred took that advice to heart

After graduation you went back to the Burrow to find your father, mother and brother waiting

“Father?” You gaped. 

You two had a long overdue conversation. It was emotional and hard. But the words “I’m proud to see the woman you’ve become” Made you nearly break down

Was your relationship with Lucius fixed? Fuck no. You still had this piece of you that wasn’t ready to trust him

But at least now he was trying.

You all celebrated together

You found it strange that Draco and George seemed to know something you didn’t

You shrugged it off though and just spent the time laughing and smiling

When everyone tired themselves out Fred and you went outside looking at the stars

You had his arms wrapped around you staring at the stars with this peaceful smile. 

He let go of you at one point and you rose a brow turning around to see him on one knee

“Oh my god” You gaped

:”Y/n--” “Yes” “Would you do--” “Yes” “The honor of being my wi--” “Yes- sorry” “The honor of being my wife--” “YES”

you tackled him into a hug, kissing his face with a smile 

Everyone heard you make a loud noise outside, Draco and George both smiling because they knew exactly what just happened.

Charlie, Bill and Percy popped in confusing the fuck out of the rest of the family, what the hell was going on?

You finally walked back in and had this MASSIVE smile on your face. 

“I proposed.” Fred said making everyone else stand up.

“I said yes!” You squealed making everyone practically scream. 

lots of crying from Molly 

And Ron

You two got married soon after and the store was finally opened

You, Fred and George ran it together

The shop was always filled with smiles and laughter

Lucius and Narcissa would come over for the holidays

You swore once you saw your father smile.

He denies it even to this day

Draco always writes to his big sister.

ALWAYS MAN

He usually pops in too to say hi. 

George takes complete credit for getting you two together

Which... He’s not wrong but damn does he lord it over you two

So when your first son’s middle name was George he might’ve cried

a lot

You absolutely adored the life you made for yourself here

You loved to just stand in the doorway of your home sometimes and just watch Fred with Orion.

Because they were your entire world.

[aethersea]

May I request 41 - First Kiss and 94 - Hair Brushing/Braiding for the Leverage OT3, please? (Also extra bonus points if you give Eliot beads in his hair like in The Ice Man Job, because we didn't get NEARLY enough of that in the show) Thank you!

I cannot believe I wrote this whole thing out and then never published it. I’m so sorry, it’s been at least twenty-four years since you sent in this ask, please accept my humble apologies and also this ficlet.

However, this prompt is just pure fluff, and I hate to tell you this but I am not a fluff writer. I just can’t pull off that unadulterated sweetness. I am in this fandom for the shenanigans, first, last and foremost! So this fic is now a 5+1 of Eliot and Parker trying to seduce Hardison.

1. Parker thinks they need to give him gifts, so she goes through her stash and picks out the largest, fanciest jewel she’s ever stolen. Then she realizes: Hardison likes stories. He spends hours giving their aliases histories and pets and allergies and favorite foods, he can get a whole sordid history of jealousy and betrayal from a single corporate email chain, and Parker knows for a cold fact that he writes little stories with his online friends about being wizards together.

She goes through her stash again and picks out the most cursed thing she’s ever stolen.

It’s a jeweled statuette, almost as tall as her forearm, made of gold and studded with precious and semi-precious stones. Mysterious deaths have befallen five separate owners of this thing. Its base is dented from the time it was used to bludgeon Owner Number Three to death. The tiny rubies it has for eyes follow you across the room.

Parker puts a bow on it and leaves it in Hardison’s room while he’s sleeping. He wakes up to this horrible little statue watching him from his bedside table.

He texts the group chat, Hey did anyone put an evil little gold guy in my bedroom last night? But Parker chickens out and says nothing (drunkenly betting Eliot that she can seduce Hardison is one thing, but admitting that she likes him is something else altogether). Everyone else texts back variations on “nope.” (Except Sophie, who just sends back a string of heart eyes emojis and a wikipedia link. She loves cursed artifacts.) So Hardison puts the statue away in a closet somewhere and figures he’ll deal with it later.

Parker is mildly offended that he put her gift in a closet. She goes into his room the next night and puts it back on the bedside table, where it clearly belongs.

This goes on for a week. Hardison puts the statue in a desk drawer, then in one of the cabinets in the office downstairs, then in the dumpster down the street. Every day he wakes up to those glittering red eyes watching him sleep. He’s asked his internet buddies if anyone knows a good exorcist. Hardison doesn’t really believe in curses, but also? What the fuck. What the fuck.

~

2. Eliot assumes the drunken bet will be forgotten by morning. What kind of world would it be if people always followed through on promises they made while they could barely stay vertical? So he spends the morning nursing his hangover and cleaning his knives. Cleaning guns is no good while hungover—all the snaps and clicks of popping things in and out of place sound like actual gunfire when you’re hungover, it’s a nightmare—but knives are quiet and have no moving parts. Buffing and polishing them is soothingly repetitive work, and every once in a while he can throw one at one of the dartboards on the walls and reassure himself that his reflexes are still sound even after that much tequila.

It’s only when he gets Hardison’s text about the golden statuette that magically appeared in his room overnight that Eliot realizes Parker’s actually going for it. After some internal debate about whether he’s going to stoop to this or not, Eliot decides what the hell and starts making plans.

Eliot agrees that gifts are the way to go, but not stolen gifts. Not things. Anyone can give a thing. Proper wooing is about giving experiences.

Eliot plans for three days. On the fourth day, he and Hardison have their irregularly scheduled monthly coffee date, and Eliot texts him beforehand to say he wants to do it at the brewpub this time. Hardison arrives to find a deceptively simple meal: basic country fare perfected through years of experimentation, made with the best ingredients Eliot can get his hands on. And Eliot, after all, is still a retrieval specialist. There’s very little in the world he can’t get his hands on.

And yet the night ends and somehow he has not gotten his hands on Hardison.

This is just not right. Eliot knows how to deploy a smolder, okay, Tangled reference aside he is damn good at flirting and he knows the looks he’s giving Hardison are clear as day. It’d be one thing if Hardison had turned him down, or if he’d been uneasily unwilling, or even if his eyes had widened slightly in suppressed panic and he’d abruptly found a reason to leave. Eliot can take rejection, bet or no, and he’d have bowed out graciously without a fuss. But this was much, much worse.

Hardison didn’t even notice he was flirting.

He’s going to have to up his game.

~

3. “How do you seduce people?” Parker asks bluntly, turning up at Sophie’s door just past midnight.

Sophie, despite the hour, is utterly delighted by the question.

This goes as well as you would expect.

~

4. Eliot’s taken a lot of dates to sports games. Hardison may prefer sparkly elves with purple lightning magic to a decent MMA fight, but baseball is the American pastime. Eliot gets them perfect seats, hot dogs from the best vendor in the stadium, even chilled beer that he smuggles in without letting it get warm. It’s going to be a perfect game.

And it is. At first. Hardison, it turns out, has a lot of opinions about baseball. What he does not have is an understanding of the rules. They’re not even into the second inning by the time Eliot finally snaps and starts arguing with him about it.

They make it all the way to the fifth inning before Eliot realizes that Hardison’s basing his complaints off the rules of a game from a Star Wars novel.

They’re at the bottom of the eighth before Eliot will speak to him again.

~

5. Eliot and Parker are drunk again. This is not intentional. They didn’t even mean to come to this bar, but the smoothie place with the fried oreos that Eliot had brought Parker here to try was playing such incredibly bad music that they’d ordered the oreos to go and fled. The bar was just the coziest looking place on the block, and of course they’d ordered drinks to avoid being rude––Eliot had entertained himself for a few minutes scouring the menu for something that would pair well with fried oreos and popcorn chicken.

And now they’re drunk. The conversation has, perhaps inevitably, turned to the ongoing bet.

“I tried everything!” Parker wails. “I laughed at every joke, I touched my hair constantly, I got him talking about things he likes.” She thunks her forehead on the bar. “All that happened is now I know the complete history of orcs in western literature.”

“Hardison wouldn’t know flirting if it pinched him on the ass,” Eliot grumbles.

Parker slaps his arm. “No pinching Hardison!”

“I’m not going to—I don’t pinch people!”

Parker’s ignoring him. Eliot pouts and takes another sip of his drink. He’s not entirely sure what this one is––it’s blue and kind of fizzy, that’s all he can say for sure. Parker took over the drinks menu several glasses ago, and she’s been picking them based on what has the most fun name to say. Eliot’s pretty sure the alcohol content’s been doubling with each order.

“Eliot,” Parker slurs, “we need to work together.”

“What?”

Parker lifts her head from the bar and frowns at him, the way she does when she’s figured out the obvious solution and is just waiting for everyone else to get on the same page. It’s adorable. It’s always adorable, but right now her eyes are wide and slightly unfocused from the alcohol and she’s listing sideways a little, almost as if she’s unbalanced, and it is the most adorable thing Eliot has ever seen. Parker’s never unbalanced, but some part of Eliot’s fuzzy brain thinks she’s about to fall on top of him and cannot wait to catch her.

“You can’t seduce Hardison,” Parker points out. Eliot is drunk enough to get offended by this, but too drunk to get out a complaint before she continues, “I can’t seduce Hardison. But if we work together, the two of us can definitely seduce Hardison. Together.”

Eliot stares at her. Then he takes another sip of his fizzy blue drink. Later, when questioned, he will blame his next words on that drink.

“Worth a shot.”

They take Hardison to a movie. They research for three weeks beforehand. They find the best movie theater in town, with the nicest seats, the biggest screens, and concession snacks that Hardison likes, and they buy tickets for the midnight premiere of the superhero movie that Hardison hasn’t shut up about for the past month. Parker even hacks into the theater’s computers in a last-minute fit of nerves and cross-references the credit cards with drivers’ licenses to make sure the people sitting in front of them won’t be too tall.

Parker witnesses a kidnapping in the parking lot while the boys are getting popcorn. They don’t even stay long enough to catch the commercials.

~

+ 1. “Hey Eliot,” Hardison says during movie night, a little over a week later. “Remember the Ice Man Job?”

Eliot groans. “I try not to.”

Hardison throws a piece of popcorn at his face. “Shut up. Remember how you did your hair for that one? With the little—those little beads on, like, a braid?”

Eliot shoots Hardison a suspicious glance. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Teach me how to do that.”

Eliot shoots Hardison another, more deliberate look, this one pointedly directed at Hardison’s complete lack of braidable locks.

Hardison rolls his eyes as if that’s a silly detail to get hung up on and leans forward to dig around in one of the boxes he has under his coffee table. He emerges with a ziplock bag of plastic beads in no time flat and hands it triumphantly to Eliot. Then he yanks a few cushions out from behind Parker, who’s sitting on his other side, and puts them on the floor in front of him. “Sit here?” he asks Parker, patting the cushion pile.

Parker takes a moment to consider being offended at having her cushions stolen, but curiosity gets the better of her and she just plops down between Hardison’s legs, grabbing the bowl of popcorn as she goes, and waits.

Hardison lifts her hair with sudden gentleness, drawing it over her shoulders and letting it fall down her back in a golden wave. His fingers brush against her neck. Parker shivers. Eliot is distantly aware that he’s gone perfectly still, focused with a hunter’s intensity on Hardison’s dark, graceful fingers carding through Parker’s hair.

Hardison leans back, hands on his knees, and Eliot breathes again. “Well?” Hardison looks over at Eliot, a tiny smirk of challenge on his lips. “Show me how it’s done.”

Eliot is suddenly, brutally aware of how close they are. Hardison’s couch is obscenely comfortable, which is half the reason movie nights are at Hardison’s in the first place, but it is not large. Their thighs are touching. Hardison leans away, to give Eliot access to Parker’s hair, and he’s still so close that Eliot would barely have to reach out a hand to—

Eliot ruthlessly shoves that thought down into the dark where it belongs. He dealt with this, he dealt with this years ago, and accepting Parker’s stupid bet doesn’t mean he’s forgotten the way Hardison and Parker look at each other. It just means he doesn’t mind losing for a good cause.

So he keeps his tone steady and his fingers brisk as he shows Hardison how to braid the clunky plastic beads into Parker’s hair, and if he flushes with heat when their hands brush each other, well, nobody has to know. He’s been trained to withstand eight different schools of torture. It won’t show on his face. His voice never once falters.

Parker has had no such training. Her lips have parted, and her breathing is shallow. She’s staring glassy-eyed at the TV. Hardison can’t see her face, sitting behind her, but Eliot watches her carefully, worried that they need to call this off. Parker’s not used to intimacy, to closeness that means something, and for all the three of them have spent half their movie nights literally on top of each other, this is something else. This has weight.

Eliot puts a hand on her shoulder, pressing down just enough that Parker startles and cants a glance over at him. Eliot raises his eyebrows in question, and Parker glares back: don’t you fucking dare. Eliot backs off. Hardison, frowning in concentration as he threads a wisp of Parker’s hair through a green bead, graciously pretends he didn’t see the exchange.

Hardison gets the hang of the beading fairly quickly, and Eliot shows him a few different techniques. He’s almost managed to convince himself that nothing is actually happening when Hardison says, conversationally, “You two are really bad at this.”

Eliot glowers his confusion. “At movie night? You started this, if you wanted to actually watch Alien then you shouldn’t have—”

Hardison’s smile is soft, but Eliot decides for his own safety to focus on the laughter at its edge. “No, at this.” And then he slides his hand onto Parker’s neck, caresses her cheek, and isn’t the slightest bit surprised when she gasps.

Parker whips around, and there’s hurt on her face but it dies in the glow of Hardison’s gentle, unteasing smile. Hardison pulls her up with the lightest of touches, and she goes, eyes fixed on his like salvation.

They kiss sweet and slow, and Eliot’s heart twists in his chest and he can’t breathe. He needs to leave now before he shatters in half, but if he moves then they will look at him, and he would rather never breathe again than meet their eyes right now.

Hardison breaks off the kiss, gazing at Parker with something just this side of wonder, and then he does look at Eliot. Eliot flinches. He opens his mouth to…say something, make some joke or hasty excuse and scramble out the door, but Hardison raises a hand to Eliot’s face, slides his long fingers to cup Eliot’s neck, and pulls him forward, as gently as he did Parker.

It’s a chaste kiss, no more than a soft press of lips, because Eliot is too stunned to respond and Hardison doesn’t push. It lasts a long time. A whole era of change happens in the span of that kiss, as everything Eliot thought he knew tears out of place and then settles, gingerly, into a new understanding.

Hardison pulls away, his hand still warm on the back of Eliot’s neck. His smile is pure sunshine. Eliot finds himself smiling back, helpless.

Hardison’s grin turns smug. “And that,” he says, looking between Eliot and Parker, “is how you do it. Y’all are disasters, honestly, I can’t believe two master criminals working together couldn’t manage a single real date—”

Eliot heaves a deep sigh and drags Hardison into a headlock, pinning his arms when he flails. Parker surges to her knees and starts tickling him mercilessly.

They don’t finish the movie.

[neuronary]

a collection of my dnd hot takes because i’m bored and procrastinating studying chemistry:

you should add your constitution modifier to death saving throws

the poisoned condition should give disadvantage on death saving throws

tasha’s cauldron of everything is The Best Sourcebook and if you talk shit about it within a ten mile radius of me i’ll appear magically and cast blade of disasters on you

all the wizard subclasses that aren’t from the phb are dumb because wizards had a good theme going with the schools of magic specialism thing

order of scribes gets some rights because it’s from tasha’s though, but i do think it should be part of the pact of the tome pact boon for warlocks

bladesinger should be a bard subclass if you disagree pls block me yes i’m being serious you just have vibes i don’t want in my life

i actually liked the super complicated combat encounters from 4e - it was a good strategy game

gelatinous cube my beloved (not really a hot take but Important To Note)

DMing isn’t as hard as people make it out to be, it just takes a long time

more people should DM so that i can play as my various bugbear PCs

bugbears should have four arms and antennae. basically they look like alien!stitch from lilo and stitch but massive. why are they called BUGbears if they aren’t somewhat bug-like??

no more dwarves/elves/etc. that just like humans but short/thin/whatever. i want to see some real Creatures. some truly fucked up little guys.

if you main as a tiefling sorcerer i just want you to know that no one cares as much as you think they do. also you’re not the main character.

if you main as a Ranger i just want you to know that ily i would die for u u deserve the world

on that note: rangers get way too much shit that should also be applied to a lot of other classes and i think they’re cool >:(

people who main as human fighters are actually some of the most creative people i’ve ever met idk why people think they’re boring their characters usually have super interesting motivations and backstories

the best thing you can do for your players as their DM is provide them with situations to use their class features in a way that gives them the upper hand

the best thing you can do for your DM as a player is communicate what you like and don’t like in a game

sometimes parties break apart because the members just have different ways of playing and no one is the bad guy in that situation, you just weren’t suited to each other

there are two kinds of rules lawyers and one kind is the best people you’ll ever meet and the other kind deserve to rot in hell

ochre jellies should be called Big Yellow Boyz (the z is the most important part)

charisma-based spellcaster mains,,, you’re so cool but i don’t trust you in the slightest

wisdom-based spellcaster mains,,, pls have a self-care day within the next day i promise u u deserve it

intelligence-based spellcaster mains,,, i’d recommend seeking psychiatric assistance at your earliest convenience

martial mains you have my heart do actually be proud of your math skills

rogue mains are excluded ily but you are also so unbearable

literally nothing i’ve said applies to emily axford ever ily ms axford please have a lovely day :)

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Dh'èirich Mi Moch Madainn Cheòthar

Y’all do yourselves a favor and go listen to this song it’s so fucking soft and good. The vibes? Impeccable. Her voice? Ethereal. The language? Fucking gorgeous. i coudn’t find a totally sure translation so plz if i royally fucked this up just dont tell me i cant take it lol

Warnings: none this is fluffy af

__________

Geralt and Jaskier had once again found themselves among a troupe of elves, though under significantly less terrifying circumstances. After a brief stand off on the mountain pass, the groups decided it would be best to camp together for the night and pool resources (and watchmen). There were some suspicious glances toward Jaskier, no doubt for his song, but eventually the four elves accepted the human was no threat. 

As they relaxed Jaskier picked at his lute, humming to himself as he tended to do when Geralt was grumpy. The witcher sat on a log next to him, pretending he wasn’t admiring the way the bard flicked his hair out of his eyes or held his tongue between his teeth while he focused on a particularly difficult sequence. Geralt really couldn’t help but be smitten with his new lover.

Two of the elves brought their own instruments from their packs and began to play a gentle melody that brought a bright smile to Jaskier’s face. Geralt settled on the ground next to Jaskier, barely leaning against his leg as he listened to Jaskier’s voice blend with the elves’ like they’d been singing together for decades. 

Soon they were singing ballads new and old, dissolving into laughter when Jaskier replaced a line with a well timed joke. 

As the fire turned to coals one of the elves picked up a much older tune in Elder, one Geralt didn’t recognize but Jaskier surely did. Looking up at him, Geralt saw a brief wistfulness pass over Jaskier’s face as he joined. The light of the fire made him look ethereal, his pale skin glowing warm against the dark sky behind him. Geralt twisted to lay his head on Jaskier’s knee as he listened to the soft voices floating through the air. Something about the words felt content and reassuring even if he only caught the basics like ‘you’ or ‘love’. He felt perfectly at home propped up against Jaskier where he could feel the resonance of the lute and Jaskier’s heartbeat keeping time. 

The song’s end held a finality that Geralt wasn’t entirely pleased about, but he kept his eyes closed and hummed in response to the whispered ‘good nights’ from their new friends. 

Jaskier gently untied his hair and ran his fingers through it, “Darling are you ready for sleep?”

Geralt shook his head slightly, not willing to break the peaceful spell just yet, “What was it about? That last song?”

Jaskier huffed in amusement, “I know you aren’t learned in poetry but I thought you knew Elder?”

“Hmmm, only filth. Nothing worth singing about.” Geralt sighed, fighting a yawn that would surely have him ushered into a bedroll. 

“Of course…” Jaskier teased, giving his shoulder a light squeeze that sent warmth through his whole body, “My translation is rough, but it’s about a woman who settled young in a loveless marriage where she isn’t cherished. She meets her true love when she’s already married, or betrothed depending on the dialect, and this is her sort of denouncing the relationship and proclaiming her devotion for this new lover. It strikes me as a song of discovery… that there is more to life than just living.” 

Geralt twisted his neck so he was looking at Jaskier, “You sang it like it was your own.”

Jaskier brushed his fingers along Geralt’s cheekbones, “It resonates,” he continued on, giving a reassuring smile when Geralt frowned, “I never thought I could love someone like I love you.”

A drowsy smile took over Geralt’s face and he caught the hand tracing the contours of his face, placing a kiss to his lover’s knuckles, “I love you too.”

[emerald-amidst-gold]

Why have I done this?

So, as per a conversation with @little-lightning-lavellan, I was blessed or maybe cursed, with this idea about Fane. As such, I had to write a short story about it that I think will be like four chapters long because...yeah. XD

Anyways, enjoy part one! (Look at what you’ve done. IT’S GLORIOUS!)

***

Anatomical Observations - Chapter 1

It had happened once. Short lived, quick, and barely noticeable as many things were more pressing, the world teetering on a crumbling edge. But it was hard to ignore such small things when voices were all you could hear when one was trying to work.

Solas was highly divested in an article of research. A basic magical theory in concept, minor amplifications of lesser spells, but it still required his mind to bend, to become flexible much like his magic when he had first awoken. As such, he had not heard many people come and go through the rotunda, he had not even heard the doors leading in and out slam shut or creak open, nor a polite greeting or scurrying messenger. That was how deep he was in his bubble of concentration. However, one--no, two voices from directly above were currently making it incredibly, and he meant incredibly, difficult to remain focused. 

“I do believe that is my chair you are sitting in, Inquisitor.”, a male voice with a distinct Tevinter accent floated down from above, indignation and slight amusement laced within it. 

“I don’t see your name on it, do I?”, another voice, far deeper and like rolling thunder with how it always held a slight growl. It always made Solas involuntarily shiver, and the same remained true now, making his focus splinter further like cracked ice. “Anyhow, it’s Inquisition property. Got a problem, talk to Josephine. I’m off duty.” A sound like a page being harshly flipped made his ears twitch. 

A gasp. “And work her harder than she already is? Absolutely not!” Solas could tell the line was meant to be a jab, but it only held the telling of a joke within its haughty vibrato. 

“Then I guess you’ll just have to sit your ass on the floor until I’m finished.”, that rumbling timbre came once again, a shifting sound and a loud thud signifying someone’s boots had been slammed down onto something. 

��The floor? Me?!”, another indignant squawk, actually making Solas let out a frustrated sigh as he lifted a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose. How much longer was this going to go on for? It wasn’t unusual for this type of banter to sound, but right now, he had work to complete.

And this was not helping accomplish that.

“Yes, the floor. Yes, you.”, another harsh flick of a page ruffling through the air. “Now, can you leave me alone? I’m busy.”

“Oh, yes, you’re quite busy stuffing your face with tea cakes!”, the Tevinter accent rose a pitch, as if in disbelief at what it was saying. “The crumbs! Have you no etiquette, Inquisitor?!”

“Nope.”, the gravelly voice responded with a heavy air of indifference, actually sounding a bit muffled as if it were eating something. “If Vivienne and Josephine can’t knock the elf out of me, no one can.”, Solas could just hear the sarcasm and roll of eyes in that statement. It almost made him chuckle, but he was still too miffed to push one through.

“Most elves I’ve met are very well mannered!”

“I’m not like most elves.”

“Well, that much is apparent!”

“Thanks for noticing. I’m so happy.”, the tone voicing that statement dripping with concealed disdain. Solas knew where that bitterness originated from, and hearing it always made his heart heavy. Heavier than it already was, even.

“You are a truly stubborn man! Fine, I’ll sit on the floor! The cold, cold floor!”, a scoff following right after those words as the sound of leather and, most notably a body, plopped down onto the stone. 

Solas let out a heavy, heavy sigh as silence finally followed that exchange, letting his head hang down to where his chin nearly touched his chest in defeat. It would seem his attention was severed as much as the world’s magic was. He would not be getting back into his rhythm anytime soon. 

“Perhaps I should find a quieter, more secluded place to do my work..”, he mused, lifting a hand to rub at his face slowly. “One of the lower chambers maybe..”

Solas sighed again before letting his hand fall back down to his desk with a light pap, eyes absently roaming over the pages of the tome before him. Maybe if he stilled his mind, found his anchor, he could try to decipher this line of text. The glyphs were a no go, however. Just trying to look at the faded lines was making his vision go blurry. Sadly, the theory he was trying to prove was reliant on those patterns, and they were far more convoluted than he remembered. Perhaps more things had adapted than he originally thought? Or did the older methods  have to be reworked, seemingly forgotten like so much else? He, frankly, did not know. He couldn’t focus, but he would have to try.

“A ward..?”, Solas muttered under his breath, brows furrowing as he traced a sigil with his finger. “No..it is more akin to a summoning circle. Or perhaps a rune?”, he continued, slowly feeling how his mind began to bend and think, the lines of the glyphs becoming clearer, more defined. “Ah! The outlining symbols are for--”

His musing was immediately cut off, much like the frayed line of his focus, as a shout had him freezing and quite literally jumping in surprise.

“Fasta vas! What are you doing?!”, a squawk, the curse in Tevene elongated between the two words for more flair.

“Would you calm down?! Dammit, my ears are fucking ringing now! Ugh!”, the rolling thunder voice no longer indifferent as its volume rose to make the very stone quake. Once again, it made a light shiver run down Solas’s spine despite his tensed up form. What was going on now?

“How can I be calm when you...you do that!?”, furious shifting sounded as if someone was flailing limbs about. 

“One, I don't know what the hell you’re going on about, Dorian!” The sharp snapping of a book making the ravens up above in the rookery flap in agitation. “Two, you can have your chair back because I’m not getting anything done with your needling!”

“I believe you need a needle, my friend! That looked incredibly painful!”

Solas felt his slowly relaxing body tense up at that, mind awakened, but for a completely different reason than trying to get magical research done. He lifted his gaze from where it was fixated on the pages of his book, looking upwards to search the railing that outlined the library for the source of the voices that had shattered his hour of contemplation. He knew them both, but the exclamation housed by one had him wanting to see the other.

Where..? Solas thought the question, eyes roaming every inch of the circular area before stark white had his gaze halting immediately. Ah. There we are. 

He would spot that messy head from anywhere, even in snowy regions like the Emprise. Though, the body that that hair was attached to did a fine job of location as well. Occasionally, he would find his eyes lingering, or searching for less...conventional reasons. However, this wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things, especially as his mind still reeled with what the unaccounted voice had yelled.

Fane was currently along one of the bookshelves, a gloved hand firmly pushing a book back into its place with a typical scowl plastered on his otherwise smooth face, the faded green lines of his vallaslin making an already striking face look more so. Solas felt his body relax as he took in the sight of the man, or rather, the dragon.

His dragon, to be more precise, but not in a way of physical possession. It was more fond, more willing than that. It was not a bond of slavery. It was a vow. A centuries old one, to be exact.

Solas almost called out to the other, a sense of fondness and curiosity as well as mild concern invading his mind, but he clamped his mouth shut when he saw Dorian stride up to the snowy haired man with a look of wide eyed fascination. That was an interesting look, and truthfully, a worrying one. Such looks harbored questions, and he knew Fane did not entertain many inquiries.

And for good reason.

“Wait, what? You can’t be serious?”, Dorian said with an airy laugh. “You do that, and just walk it off?”, his tone rose pitch in disbelief. 

Solas caught the glint of ebbing gold as Fane rolled his eyes, turning his larger frame to face the Tevinter mage more directly. His eyes zoned in on how the reluctant Inquisitor was tentatively rubbing at his jaw, working it back and forth slowly as if it were locked up. Dorian had said something about something being painful, hadn’t he? Was that what he meant?

“Again, I didn’t do anything.”, Fane growled out in denial, the hand upon his jaw shifting so he had it pinched between two fingers to where it appeared he was trying to fit it into place. “I was eating, and I bit my tongue because you pissed me off!”

Solas smirked faintly at his dragon’s typical usage of foul language despite the way he watched his odd movements like a hawk. Fane was incredibly eloquent, cryptic, even, but when irritation or just general boredom took hold, the dual being was a sailor. It always fascinated him rather than disgusted him. For a dragon, an ancient dragon, to latch onto common parlance as if it were the most natural thing to their being was intriguing. Then again, Fane had lived in this world for twenty-four years without knowing he was a dragon. That, would perhaps, be a more justifiable reason, but it still piqued Solas’s interest. Everything about the dragon turned elf was a point of interest. Especially now, with the way he was still nursing his sharp jaw and glowering at Dorian as if he was trying to work something out in his head.

“I’m sorry, but that was not you biting your tongue!”, Dorian exclaimed, shaking his head with that same look of disbelief before it morphed into a thoughtful look, hand coming up to absently stroke his mustache. “Though...if what I saw was..well, actually what I saw, then I have questions and curiosities regarding it.”

Fane’s expression went deadpan as he stared at the other, the golden light in his eyes all but extinguished as he turned on his heel to go the other way. Solas blinked a bit, even as his eyes followed the dragon’s retreating form.

He disengaged. Solas thought with certainty and familiarity. Unsurprising, but still worrying. He only resorts to that level of disregard when he is hiding something.  

His eyes never left Fane’s stalking form, noticing how his brows were furrowed deeply, but could see one of them twitching with nervous energy. Broad shoulders were raised much like a shield, narrow nostrils flared with attempts at dispelling whatever heat had invaded a snowy disposition, partially gloved hands flexed, tendons underneath leather bindings apparent from how much force was behind its pull.

And golden emerald eyes were now fighting for dominance - dancing and bashing against each other as abilities that had laid dormant for too long began to try and enable themselves in an attempt to mitigate the, no doubt, myriad of emotions coursing through a draconic mind. 

Solas felt his concern towards the ancient man mount at all those observations, but also, he felt slightly exasperated. The latter was only because he knew this strategy of deflection that Fane always used as his Queen upon the chessboard of his mental battles. He bounced, side stepped, and outright threw a verbal wall up when he did not wish to cross a specific square. It wasn’t that Fane was lying out of malicious means; he was doing it to protect himself and others. But Solas knew it only caused more harm, more warped perceptions.

It hurt Fane, and he knew all too well how much it hurt to keep the truth hidden, even if it was necessary for the long run.

That is the secondary explanation for this flight. Solas mused silently, eyes never leaving the dragon’s form despite his long strides. Whatever has happened puts his mask in jeopardy.  

So lost in his own thoughts and the duel of veridium, Solas didn’t notice how Dorian broke out of his look of repose as he noticed the other striding away with purposeful steps.

“Where are you going?”, Dorian called after the white hair elf, but not making an effort to chase after him with how far the other had already gotten from him.

“To beat the shit out of a dummy before I beat you.”, Solas heard Fane growl out lowly, dangerously, and for a moment, he easily caught the flickering of his eyes as they met with his own. He met that gaze with ease, reading them as no other could. The message they conveyed had him instantly seeking more as the shifting of deep emerald had his eyes narrowing in concern.

“What happened?”, Solas mouthed to Fane as he was unable to communicate precisely how the other did without it being perceived incorrectly. He noticed how the man had slowed to keep their gazes longer. There was such volume in them that Solas nearly wanted to tear his own away, but also delve deeper like he thristed for their color bound words, their fathomless depths amid a thin world.

Fane’s eyes flitted to the door that led to the balcony the Enchanter always occupied, and then down, to signify he was taking the adjacent stairwell from there to bypass the Great Hall before he disappeared from the edge of the railing, the sound of door slamming issuing his complete departure. 

Solas let out a quiet sigh before nodding, pushing himself up with his arms to stand straight. Well, it would appear he was most certainly not getting an ounce of work done today, and oddly, he was okay with that since concern was overriding his need for magical answers.

There were other, more pressing, questions that needed attending to.

***

[spiltscribbles]

Any chance you could give us some Arabic speaking Remus headcanons? Loved your latest fic ❤️ 📚

OMFG gorgeous sugarplum! I legit only just was reminded of this while scrolling through my inbox right now! But my heart is finna burst!!! Thank you SO SO much and yes I would love to give some Headcanons about this! Especially since the next long story I’m working on includes this dynamic, and I’m so excited about it!! However, common disclaimer that while I am Arab and culturally Muslim even if I don’t practice like the rest of my family lol, I am Palestinian and not Syrian. So with every identity there are different experiences and customs no matter how closely intertwined. So I apologize for any inconsistency   that a Syrian may read and disagree with, and please feel free to correct me<3 <3

.-

The FIC this HC is from 

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So first off some background on his mum in the story 

I chose the name Vivian based off a friend of a friend who’s uncle married a woman by that name back in Palestine,  so it’s definitely extremely uncommon, but a fully Arab lady was named it, so like it’s my defense bahaha. But it also means lively, and coupled with Hussein as her maiden name which means beautiful, it just fit her personality to a t!! 

She was born into a pretty secular family in Syria in the late 1920s, so there was a lot going on in that time period. But her dad was pretty influential, working in the government and such. Vivian was also the youngest of four girls and three boys so she was pretty spoiled tbh

She attended a boarding school in France through out her adolescence and decided to go to university there too, so she’s fluent in both Arabic and French, with pretty great English as well. Though she wasn’t exactly white passing, even though like a bunch of Syrians/Palestinians/Lebanese folk she was somewhat fair, she had distinctly Arabian features, like the large almond shaped eyes and thick lashes and thicker brows, and a long, largeish nose, accented by full lips. So she experienced a good amount of jeers and discrimination, especially when folks found out her surname. So I think she’s able to relate to Remus in that sense of being a wolf at least, and later on  when he comes out as gay.

It was 1950  when she and a few of her girlfriends went to Wales for holiday after completing university. The second Lyall first spotted her in the woods while she was trying to make it back to the cabin near the Irish Sea with her mates, it was something like love, because duh. She was a fucking knock out!! A babe and a baddy! Literally so far out of his league its ridiculous! But on Vivian’s side,  she was mostly just amused and a bit enamored by this cocksure Welshman who had the most endearing of crooked smiles that their son would inherit a decade later. So obviously she didn’t make it easy on him, but eventually she let him take her out on the last night of her trip, and was pleased to find out that they had the same sort of humor and the same passion for their careers and even the same love for the outdoors too.

 They had a long distance relationship for two years while she went to grad school so she could teach about classics while Lyall himself was rising the ranks in the Ministry for regulation and control of magical creatures— Unbeknownst to her, the Floo network  was very helpful with the distance. Just thank God Lyall himself is a Muggle born because he really had to fake the hell out of it lol.

So just to speed things up they got married on a lovely June evening in  1955,  subsequent to  Vivian excepting a professorial job in Cardiff after Lyall told her about the Wizarding world. At first Vivian thought e was tripping on some subpar edibles until he proved it by transfiguring her snuff box into a lovely broach that she kept for the rest of her life, So after Vivian was convinced, she became  absolutely enthralled by all of the magic so completely. 

They were trying for a few years when she finally became pregnant with Remus in 1959, and they were both so over the moon (pun unintended).

So like I said above, Vivian’s family are pretty secular, so I see her mostly practicing the cultural aspects of Islam. For example, every Friday— which is the equivalent to Sundays being the holy day  for Christians— she lights up the instance that she always keeps herself stocked up on after her annual trip to Syria, instead of the typical candles she ordinarily prefers.  And Remus swears that for the rest of his life whenever he smells it, he’s back to being a baby, puttering around the house and watching her dusting the shelves while humming quietly an Arabic song that’ played out the gramophone  by a man who’s music would soon become regarded as the song of the people. Or Remus would recall being snuggled into her lap while she read him a novel on the windowsill. Or he’d simply remember listening to his parents laughter fluttering in the air while he fell asleep by the fire, subconsciously making the flower buds closest to him bloom with his untapped magic.

Remus’s first clear memory— thanks to the endless pictures— is when he was around four years old, before the attack, and they were staying in Vivian’s home town in Damascus. While the men congregated out doors for cigars and cards and the women in the living room chatting while snacking on watermelon seeds, his older cousins— who were all girls— dragged him off to one of the bedrooms and doted on him because he was the baby of that side of the family. And he remembers walking out in a set of one of their heels and a headscarf wrapped around his head which made his Mama and Tata and Aumties laugh out loud and croon over him, and all his uncles and Sido call him Aumty Remus.

The attack by Greyback happened soon after they returned to Wales, and I’m not gonna touch on it becs I’ not finna depress myself. But it was a January morning after his first transformation and he remembers that when he woke up, he saw the cookies stuffed with dates resting on his bedside with a glass of milk that Lyall had put a cooling charm on. And they’re indulgent treats that Vivian makes for both Eids every year even though they don’t celebrate them in any other way lol. But the cookies always reminds him of family and of feeling safe in his mother’s arms, and they still work to make him feel better even after the worst thing he has ever experienced in his short life.

Remus’s love of poetry came from both sides of his parents, but it was listening to his mother recite the story of Majnun Layla in it’s original Arabic that really made him glow for the art form, and brought him to discovering his favorites like Auden and Neruda. 

There’s a ornate, wooden prayer box that has been past down on the Hussein side of the family for five generations, it was originally  meant to hold a Qran but for the past three it’s simply just been a beautiful piece of decoration. So when Vivian gave it to Remus when he was headed off to Hogwarts, little Remus asked McGonagall to help him with locking  charms so it could become a safe place for him to keep his most cherished of nicknacks ant momentos, so obviously,  she silently added a charm to keep the wood nearly unbreakable and the extension charm atop of that, like Hermione with her bag, so that he could keep as many happy memories as possible inside of it, and she prayed that there would be so many that it threatened to burst. 

The last time Remus opened the box was in 1996, when he was putting away the ring Sirius gifted him as a match to his own in some feeble promise of forever only weeks before James and Lily’s own engagement. 

Once during first year, he and the lads were staying up late, trading stories about how they got their most ridiculous scars— after seeing the one that scraped across Remus’s left shoulder blade— But it got to a point where they were all feeling a bit nippish, so they went down to the kitchens for some of the chocolate pudding that was served during dinner that night. And Remus idly asked the house elves if they could make him a batch of Kinafa because he was getting home sick and missed when he and his Mama would dash over to the city whenever they were feeling antsy, and she’d take him to their favorite hooka bar after buying a round of the dessert— which is basically sweetbread stuffed with cheese— from down the block. And they’d stay sitting beneath the starlight, and talking about her job and his lessons from school while she’d let him try a discrete puff or two and they’d laugh about everything and nothing at all.

The next time they stopped by the kitchens one of the younger house elves presented him with the snack gleefully, and it tasted fine, just not like how they do back home. So Remus smiled warmly at Tipsy, the house elf, and thanked her with real sincerity.

But his face must’ve betrayed him because after easter break, Sirius plops down a fresh batch of them on Remus’s bed before leaping into his own, casually mentioning that he saw how grossed out Remus looked when trying the one the house elves made, and it was from a restaurant close to Grimmauld so it’s not that big of a deal, and then he rushed to cursing at James for stealing his favorite pen and swearing that  if he broke it he’s gonna have hell to pay. Remus had only blushed and chuckled  with a small smile on his face when he cut himself a small piece and finished the half sheet off with the rest of their house later that night during an impromptu party that the Marauders would become infamous for in later years.

It was the summer after second year when all the marauders visited Remus back home in Wales and when they heard Vivian call him Qamar practically every other sentence, which of course lead to endless ribbing and eventually  to his nickname of Moony— even though it’s so fucking obvious and Remus loves and hates it in equal parts. God his friends are so fucking stress inducing!

Remus teaches the other marauders funny Arabic curse words and they use them in class so that they can talk shit about particularly disgusting Slytherins without them being any of the wiser. (Yes I did do this with my friends, and I’d do it again! POW! POW! POW!)

It’s from Vivian that Remus has an affinity for coffee as strong as shit, but also prefers his tea weak— specifically two sugars and a dash of milk. But seriously, if you’ve ever tried Arabian coffee you’d understand, that shit is so fucking strong it’s literally a hate crime LMFAO. But yeah, this habit is definitely a point of contention between him and Sirius— who’s actually so fucking posh no matter how much he wants to be punk, and he stands by only drinking black tea— like Merlin intended— and saying bugger off to any and all coffees. “Leave that shite to the French and Americans.” And Remus would try to keep himself from making eyes at him from across the table, because God Sirius is hot when he’s all fiery  and impassioned, even when it’s about the dumbest, most inconsequential shit.

Something that’s sort of funny is that Remus was the first among them to become a fucking pot head and could drink them all  under the table even though Sirius himself has got two stone and three inches on him. But Remus still refuses to eat ham, purely because he never grew up eating it and doesn’t care too now. Sirius had to specifically ask Euphemia and Monty to make turkey for Christmas dinner their sixth year just because he knew that Remus’s head would probably implode with the decision between being rude and not eating it or forcing himself to gag down the unfamiliar meat.

When Remus is really, really fucking drunk he definitely spends the night only speaking in Arabic! (Don’t look at me I’m trash just because I stole this from my own life lmfao) But yeah, it’s really fucking hilarious and Sirius swears to God he’s so fucking in love with him while listening to Remus ranting in the unfamiliar language. And he’s like positive that half the time he’s actually just cursing Sirius out but he doesn’t even care because it’s SO! DAMN! CUTE!  And sometimes Sirius decides to speak French at a drunk off his arse Moony, who occasionally replies back in a stiff staccato before returning back to the easy Arabic. And it’s just a mess.

Ok so sadness warning

In my head, Vivian loses her fight against breast cancer the July after the Marauders graduate from Hogwarts, and afterwords Remus gets a tattoo of her name in Arabic on his chest, and the word for soul on the nape of his neck. He locks away that battered copy of Magnun Layla in the wooden box she gave him years ago, along with a woolen  scarf that smelt like her perfume.

 It’s Sirius who buys a set of prayer beads to hang off her photo above the mantel in the flat he and Remus share, and when Remus sees it he literally feels like  he might crack open with tears, but opts to kiss Sirius thank you instead, and they stay tangled on the sofa for the rest of the day in quiet contemplation.

One night, in late 1979, while  the war was only getting worse and worse—  Sirius was hit by a cutting curse to the ribs. And it was really fucking bad, but thankfully James got him to his house in time for Lily to help and heal. He slept for the most part for nearly an entire day, but remembers snippets. Like when Remus had sprinted into the room with fear painted all over his soft features, and when James put a cooling cloth to his head. But most distinctly, Sirius recalls Remus gingerly lying besides him and Sirius talking gibberish at his boyfriend while Remus plunged his entire face against his back, eyes wet with tears and body shuttering as he squeezed him softly, saying something quietly in Arabic. Sirius obviously didn’t understand like 99.9% of it, but he did catch the word “Habibi,” which he instantly remembers as an old pet name Vivian use to call Remus with so much love it made her entire countenance sparkle. It’s an endearment  that means beloved, or darling, and it feels like Remus is begging Sirius to stay with him and Sirius’s throat is still raw from the screaming, so he can only  reply by dragging Remus’s hand up to his mouth and kissing his knuckles tenderly. And he knows that whatever he does for the rest of his days, he loves Remus Lupin with every cell in his body.

Oof this got mad depressing…. Chow anyways, I can add a picture of the container you’re suppose to use for the instance if anyone wants that?

Thank you again dear Nonny!!!

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