#otherwordly-healer

[dhr-ao3]

Hermione Granger's Guide to Surviving an Alien Invasion

Hermione Granger's Guide to Surviving an Alien Invasion https://ift.tt/doT16uS by coughimsick Four years have passed since the death of Voldemort and end of the second Great Wizarding War. The magical world finally knows peace. Until the muggle world does not. Muggle cities are being attacked by otherwordly beasts. With no knowledge on how to fight them or survive amongst the ruins of destroyed cities, innocent muggles are being killed in the millions. Hermione Granger is a healer. She's not even meant to be in the Ministry when they call a mandatory meeting and call for volunteers to help save the muggle world. But here she is, one of the few witches who can perform nonverbal magic and therefore an asset in the New War. Draco Malfoy is also at the Ministry, and can also perform nonverbal magic, and is also willing to leave his work to help the muggle world (he'd leave his work to do anything else, really). And that's how he ends up paired with Hermione Granger as first-responders. OR That time Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger fell in love (while surviving an alien invasion). Words: 2307, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Padma Patil, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, harry potter is also there Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: Mutual Pining, Healer Hermione Granger, Ministry of Magic Employee Draco Malfoy, Post-War, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Hermione Granger is Bad at Feelings, oh nooo slow burn, Forced Cohabitation, Enemies to Coworkers to Idiots to Lovers, Minor Character Death, Fluff and Humor, lil bit of angst if you squint, theyve survived a war but theres another one yay!, oh yeah theres aliens, loosely inspired by a quiet place day one, aliens cant see but they sure can hear, inappropriate use of nonverbal magic, minor ron weasley cringe behaviour, lavender brown is stupid but we love her, crookshanks is a fully conscious baby via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/O1FYmda July 15, 2024 at 01:10PM

[ven8s]

PERSONAL RECORD OF MY ARCHETYPES, OVERSOUL, CORRESPONDENCES

getting the high priestess tarot card as a representation of my energy. enchanted-moura's quizzes revealing my secret divine self embodies the femme fatale archetype 🍷, my sex goddess archetype is the serpentine 🐉, and my glamorous archetype is the priestess 🧞‍♀️. daarlingdatura's reading on my spiritual correspondences revealing i have a domestic and opulent energy to my oversoul, which is mirror-like and similar to the 4 of wands.

🧞‍♀️ — SERPENTINE

💌: in tune with the divine feminine, sensual and sacred. your beauty is otherwordly, and you bring a unique, powerful experience. you may be a dakini, ancient soul, sensual healer, priestess or all-around wholesome multifaceted person. you have healing abilities and are often known to calm another with your words and touch. you may be gifted in many sensual arts from massage, aphrodisiacs to aromatherapy! your spiritual sensuality does not mean you hate expansion. in fact, you adore opulence, extravagance, and pleasures. you manage the delicate balance of spirituality and sensuality and are often adorned in the best perfumes, makeup, and beauty products. you are incredibly luxurious, beautiful, and immaculately exotic. you know you are worth it!

🕯 — PRIESTESS

💌: mystical with a powerful connection to the divine. beautiful, gentle, and loving. you are radiance personified, calming, healing, yet incredibly spiritually gifted. you bring peace, divine answers, joy, and serenity to those around and, most importantly, yourself.

💋 — EXOTICA

💌: beautiful & sensual, you are beauty, ancient sensuality, divine feminine mysticism, and gentleness. the exotica flirts through subtle sensuality, mystery, mysticism, and using her ancient power. you use beauty, charm, movement, and allure to snare your lovers. you enjoy love, pleasure, exploration, and connections with others. you are deeply seductive, sensual, and dazzling - your lifestyle is one of ancient sacred femininity, one of pleasure, beautiful incenses, jewellery, gemstones, rare perfumes and connection to the ancient goddesses. other exoticas include ancient seductresses like Delilah, Phyrne & Salome.

🍷 — FEMME FATALE

💌: powerful, sensual, and highly desirable. you are wisdom, deep mysteries, and the weaving of life combined. you understand how to bring things to you and how to make the treasures of life yours with little effort on your part. you are just that magnetic and alluring. you are decadent and sultry. you attract much of what you desire because of the intense vibration you emit. money, divinity, secrets, discipline, structure, romance, and passion are your domains. you are both soft, gentle beauty with the aggressive pull of a vampire!

💋 — SEX DOLL

💌: the sex doll is a highly sensual, highly erotic beautiful person. you are comfortable with sex, sensuality, the body and arousal, so much so that you do not mind arousing others or wearing sexy, sensual revealing clothes and attire! you may be a bit of a glamour witch, bombshell, bimbo, nymph, or just all-around master in seduction and desire! you are also the expert on self-love and self care rituals! often the life of the party, you are a natural hostess and stunning companion to have around, making it easy for you to flirt. you are inherently attuned to the vibrations of sensuality, glamour, beauty, and lust, and you manifest these things easily as they are a reflection of who you are.

🪞 — COSMETICS, AROMATHERAPY & PERFUME

💌: beautiful, perfumed, and exotically alluring. you are our fragrance, cosmetic formulas, and aromatherapy student! it's almost as if you were born to put on perfume and bathe in exotic pricy incenses. you may enjoy spending time in a jacuzzi or being scrubbed head to toe in a high-class spa, then to perfume your beautiful body with the finest of soft oils. you have an extensive knowledge of perfumes, resins, cosmetic formulas, and various other aromatherapy products. you know how to use beautiful products, lush cosmetics, expensive formulations, and fancy perfumes to achieve your goals and maintain your inherent energy of desire, sweetness, and luxury.

🏆 — BOMBSHELL

💌: The Bad Girl trophy is a rebellious character but impeccably beautiful and wise. She is daring, gorgeous, sensual, seductive and SMOKIN HOT!! Her uniqueness lies in her natural allure that comes with her root chakra mastery and understanding of human nature. Her partner loves the excitement and challenge she brings. She might not wish to attend galas or be ~classy~ but she still has valuable gifts to bring to her wealthy world. Her commitment to herself is unmatched, even if she is in a dire situation, she will still rock some stilettos, beautifully applied makeup and adorn her beautiful self. She will always cheer for the underdog and uses her new found wealth for important causes. She is not limited by frou frou rules and has no shame in doing what her heart desires. But she has to remember her inner child is always worth nurturing and loving. Also remember to relax and let your hair down!

💃🏾 — BEAUTIFUL DANCER

💌 — You are mystery, exotic beauty, pleasure, fun and the art of pleasure and enjoyment. The dancer includes all kinds of alluring, beautiful and interesting people who haunt the nights. They may be an exotic dancer or the dame who captures everybody's eyes on the dancefloor or by the bar. Often the life of the party, you are a natural hostess and stunning companion to have around. As the dancer, you exude sensuality, mystery, exotic beauty, pleasure and enjoyment. You are who is called when an event is need of a touch of color. In your personal life, you spend a lot of time attuning to your emotional needs, adorning and maintaining your beauty as well as seeing life in a sparkly glamorous manner. Happiness is paramount for you and you see life in decadence and bliss. Keep smiling!

MORE TO BE ADDED

[sprxngsxng]

@otherworldly-healer​​ entangle event starter 💜

It’s with nervous footsteps that Sakura paces the house’s front yard. The estate felt so empty, with most of it’s residents being dead or away. It was rare she got a moment to herself, and it was fueling her anxiety. What could she do right now? There had to be something she could do to help. Maybe if she got someone else, they could...

But what could she do? Would anyone even listen, if she told them what horrors lurked in the Matou residence’s basement? She could hardly believe it herself, still.

She pauses in place, turning to look at the window of her uncle’s bedroom. He was up there, in far too much pain for her to comprehend. If her own training was bad, his must be so much worse.

“... M... Maybe if I find a doctor, he can rest...”

She mutters to herself, trailing off into her thoughts.

[ascarletflame]

@otherworldly-healer​ is approached from behind by a clown!

“So Genis is your brother, hmm?”

He’s been wanting to speak with Raine again for a while, but the two week long chaos and various wounds he’d ended up with made doing anything rather difficult. The moth’s head still aches and he’s not exactly going easy with the bandages on his wing and side, but it’s not like this is the first time Grimm has ignored medical advice.

“He’s quite darling and intelligent, especially for his age. You must be proud of him. I am already, and I’ve barely even taught him much yet!”

[existentialismee]

                                                    –      ( ❀;  @otherworldly-healer​​ )

“The weather is getting nicer, isn’t it? I’m not surprised that you’re excited about it..” as he tends to the garden in front of the shop, careful fingers caress the plants before him; cutting away dead leaves to allow the new ones to grow. Though it seems like Watanuki is only talking to himself, there are voices that he’s able to hear; from the fauna around him, and the pixies that fly playfully over his head. But it’s when he hears a soft footstep that his attention is drawn away from them, looking up to meet the eyes of a woman who stands at the cobblestone path that leads into his yard.

“Ah.. good afternoon. Was there something I could help you with?”

[reapersluck]

The markets were not often laden with items of considerable value.  But, there were few instances of rare discoveries━━ such as these pair of antique utensils.  They shone like molten bronze under the setting sun and the handles, inlaid with opal, accented a vibrancy of colors.

According to the merchant, they were relics fished from the Swirling Gulf's depths, once used by long-dead royals.  Though the island's history may as well be lost on him, it appeared to be a fine treasure.  He marvels at its beauty, its lore, keen to have it for himself.  Eizen reaches for the item, only to brush against another hand.

“ Hold it.  I had my eye on that set first.  You’re gonna have to find something else. ”     ━━   @otherworldly-healer​​​

[demoniomano]

winterfes starter - @otherworldly-healer​​

Golden Ward and the shores were frozen solid. In Lysithea’s mind, this was normal here but never saw that kind of phenomena like this before. Tapping on her foot with such frozen flooring it is slippery.

Everything is very new to her.

“Does this usually happen every year around here?” Familiarizing is something that this Fodlan girl needs right now.

[wisdomfish]

Climbing up some other way into heaven

I heard of a man some time ago who was going to get into heaven in his own way. He did not believe in the Bible or the love of God, but was going to get in on account of his good deeds. He was very liberal, gave a great deal of money, and he thought the more he gave the better it would be for him in the other world. I don’t, as a general thing, believe in dreams, but sometimes they teach good lessons. Well, this man dreamed one night that he was building a ladder to heaven, and he dreamed that every good deed he did put him one round higher on this ladder, and when he did an extra good deed it put him up a good many rounds; and in his dream he kept going, going up, until at last he got out of sight, and he went on and on doing his good deeds, and the ladder went up higher and higher, until at last he thought he saw it run up to the very throne of God. Then in his dream he thought he died, and that a mighty voice came rolling down from above: “He that climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber,” and down came his ladder, and he woke from his sleep, and thought: “If I go to heaven, I must go some other way.” My friends, it is by the way of the blood of Christ that we are to go to heaven. If a man has got to work his way there, who will ever get there?

~ D.L. Moody

[legolasbadass]

Heart of Gold, Chapter 22

Characters: Thorin, Dis, Thrain, Dwalin, Balin, Original Characters

Relationship: Thorin x OFC

Setting: Post Azanulbizar, Pre Quest of Erebor

Notes: Hello, my lovely readers; I hope you're all doing well! I was not planning or expecting to finish this chapter so soon, but here it is! All your wonderful comments and messages worked their magic and gave me a boost of creativity, so keep them coming for more updates!😉 I start university again this week, so updates will not be as frequent for a while (I know, I'm sad too). I might update again in two weeks or in two months, who knows, but I promise the next chapter will come one day. I already know where everything is going (obviously), so it's just a matter of finding the time to sit down and transfer what's in my brain onto the screen! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter 💙

This is the 22nd chapter to my Thorin Oakenshield fan fiction, Heart of Gold which can be read in full on ao3. Go check it out there to read from the start! Please consider reblogging if you enjoyed this chapter and if you are enjoying the story so far!

⚠️Warning: Attempted rape/non-con

Word Count: 6.3K

Chapter 22 - Valour Without Renown

The strong odours had struck Dania from the first moment she had stepped into Master Groin's tent. And if she had thought it was suffocating then, it was nothing compared to the avalanche that filled her nostrils when he was at work. Though drafts of eucalyptus, lavender, and garlic always floated through the room, they were mostly contained in the numerous glass bottles that lined the wooden shelves. However once Master Groin opened them, it became nearly overwhelming, and not the least because it was often paired with the putrid smell of various infections.

Whenever she made a face, Master Groin would laugh and say, "that nose is both a curse and a blessing, isn't it?" for the smells did not affect him nearly as much. Dania did have a sensitive nose, but she doubted the disparity between their reactions to the odours had less to do with her sensitivity than with his acclimation to the environment. 

As the days went on, glimpses of her mother as a healer floated to her mind. She suddenly remembered a large cabinet in the dining room filled, not with silverware, but myriad herbs and strange pots. She also heard her mother's otherwordly voice in her head, singing and sighing as she brewed ointments and healing potions. Dania also remembered thinking how natural each of her mother's movements had been like she became one with every plant her fingers touched. 

Master Groin was slightly different in his approach. Perhaps it was mainly due to the limited space in the tent, but his movements were somewhat more disjointed and had at first appeared impetuous. But with time, Dania came to understand that he was no less efficient than her mother had been, and he was just as — if not more — meticulous. 

His presence was a reassuring one, too, not just for Dania but for all who came to see him. Surprisingly, he remembered everyone he had once treated, and whenever a treatment was painful, he would ask his patients questions about their family or their trade to occupy their minds and make them relax. 

Her time with Master Groin and his seemingly infinite knowledge became her refuge. Most problems that surfaced had clear solutions, and the kindness and directness of the patients was a wonderful refreshment from the intrigues of Lord Yngvi's court. And her time here also served as an excuse to avoid a fair share of frivolous tea parties, which Ester always attended. 

That day, Dania was learning about how to prepare and administer turmeric — a rare plant from the East — to help with joint maladies when a middle-aged dwarrow walked in. The colours of her gown were terribly faded, and it had been mended in numerous places, but it was clear that it had once been a fine garment. However, Dania's eyes focused more on her face, which she held with one hand as she gritted her teeth. 

"What may we help you with today, Mistress Geira?" Master Groin asked, though both he and his apprentice already had a good idea of where her pain was coming from. 

"My tooth hurts so much, Master Groin, I canna eat without feeling a piercing pain in my jaw," she explained. 

"Let's have a look at that," he said as he gestured for her to sit on the chair in front of him. 

Once she was comfortably seated, he instructed her to open her mouth. With a deep frown on his face, he took a moment to inspect her teeth, then he sighed. When Dania asked what was wrong, he gestured for her to take a look herself. 

"That tooth is completely rotten," Dania said with a frown as she looked at the brown and black stains on one of Mistress Geira's teeth. One did not need to be an expert to know what was to be done about it. 

"I will have to remove that tooth, Mistress," Master Groin explained to his patient as he foraged for the right instrument in a drawer. When he pulled out forceps, Mistress Geira whimpered and covered her mouth with a trembling hand. "There's nothing else do be done about it, Mistress. It's either that or you wait until all of your teeth are rotten or falling out." 

"It will be over before you know it," Dania said as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Master Groin nodded in appreciation. 

Even so, Dania could not help but bite the inside of her cheek as Master Groin grabbed the tooth with the pincers and began to pull, forcing a low, trembling moan from Mistress Geira's lips. In a matter of seconds, the tooth came out with a soft crunch. Another moan escaped her lips, and then blood poured out of her, trailing down her chin. The sharp smell of iron joined the other conflicting odours. 

"There, all done," he said, satisfied. Meanwhile, Dania grabbed a handkerchief and handed it to the dwarrow, who could only nod in thanks, the pain numbing her senses. 

At that moment, two other figures entered the already crowded tent. One was a short dwarrow only a few years older than Dania with hair the colour of a wheat field, and the other was a small boy, clinging to her as he cried out in pain. 

"Will you help him please?" the dwarrow said, concerned lines covering her long face. "He tripped over a branch and cut himself," she explained, pointing at the boy's leg. Dania moved to get a better view and winced at the deep cute just below his knee. 

"Dania, will you take care of that?" Master Groin asked her. He was still busy with Mistress Geira and went back to admonishing her for eating too much sugar even before Dania nodded. 

"Alright, this way — he can sit on the table," Dania said as she gathered some bandages, cloths, and alcohol. When she turned around to face the boy once more, her composed and determined air melted away into what she hoped was a soft, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, the pain will be gone in no time." 

His mother smiled gratefully at her in return as she caressed his hair. Dania made quick work of washing her hands before she soaked a cloth in alcohol. 

"This will sting a litte, but I have to clean your wound before taking care of it, is that alright?" Dania asked and waited for the boy to nod before gently passing the cloth over the wound. The boy hissed in surprise, then a fresh wave of tears came pouring out of him. 

"Shhh, it's alright, she's taking good care of you," the dwarrow said as she kissed her son's forehead. The boy's cries lessened almost instantaneously, and a fond smile graced Dania's face as she looked on with hope and longing at the power of a mother's touch. 

Unfortunately, once the wound had been cleaned, Dania could see clearly that a large splinter was lodged deep inside. She raised her head to explain, but the mother's face told her that she already knew what Dania was about to do. Dania tried not to think of the boy's scared face as she foraged for forceps in a drawer, then returned to his side. 

"I have to remove the splinter," she told him. "This will hurt, but you will feel so much better after. You can hold onto your amad." 

Despite the fresh tears flowing down his cheeks, the boy nodded repeatedly and sat up straight, as though eager to prove that he could be brave. Dania offered him another small smile, then inserted the forceps into the wound to grasp the tip of the splinter that was poking out. A fresh puddle of blood oozed out of the wound, and a whimper tumbled from the boy's lips, tightening Dania's heart. She took a deep breath and forced herself not to listen; the faster she removed the splinter, the sooner he would be on his feet. Pity would not help him. 

Fortunately, it was quick. The splinter was only half the size of Dania's thumb, but that was still considerably large — and painful. She cleaned the new blood which had trickled down his leg, then secured the wound with a tight bandage. 

"There," she said to indicate to the boy that he no longer had any reason to worry, "that's better, isn't it?" 

Still clinging to his mother's side, he nodded and smiled shyly. 

"Thank you, miss," the mother said. "How much do I owe you?" 

"No charge, Mistress Una," Master Groin said with a kind smile. 

After thanking them profusely thrice more, Mistress Una and her son stepped out of the tent. Mistress Geira had gone, too, though Dania had been too focused to notice at first. 

"You cannot put a price on knowledge and experience," he said in response to Dania's inquisitive gaze. "You did well."

Dania smiled brightly. "Thank you, Master Groin."

As she began to clean her workspace — wiping the table, disinfecting the forceps — she felt Master Groin continue to watch her. 

"You're very good with children, you kow? I noticed that the other day when you held that young girl in your arms and sang to her while I tended to her mother," he said. Dania slowed down her movements, half-listening to his words and half fighting against the fickle dreams in the corners of her mind. "You will make a wonderful mother one day." 

Those words echoed in her head long after he had said them, like a battle horn blowing through the wind with bitter strength to stamp out her dreams. There were too many variables, too many uncertainties: they were exiles; her love for Thorin was forbidden, their marriage a secret; she was the first child to be born of a dwarf and an elf, and her ability to bear children was unknown and probably unlikely. Yet, at the centre of everything was a single constant: she did want to be a mother. Her heart fluttered at the mere thought of bearing Thorin's children and having a family with him. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see them: a babe in her arms, and a few others running around the room, all smiling and laughing because their life would be filled with naught but love and peace, all of them with hair as dark as Thorin's, and eyes as blue as his —  

But it was not meant to be. 

"I am sorry, dear, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable." Master Groin's voice and his hand on her arm pulled her back to reality. 

"You did not," she reassured him. "I think I'm just a little tired, that is all."

"And no wonder you are; I've kept you much longer than I intended!" he said as he looked at the time. "It's dark already outside, you'd better go." 

Dania nodded and, knowing beforehand what he would say next because he said it every time she left so late, she said, "not to worry, Master Groin, I will be careful and I will not talk to strangers." 

Upon recognizing his own words, he chuckled. "Alright, goodnight, Dania."

"Goodnight, Master Groin," she said with a nod before stepping into the night. 

It was so much quieter now that many had left with King Thrain toward — hopefully — a place they could one day call home. And at this hour especially, when most of the children had already gone to bed and those who worked all day finally had a moment to themselves, it was almost peaceful. Fragments of conversations floated to Dania's ears as she walked back to the hall, intermingled with crackling fires and a soft wind beating against the tents. She nodded to people whose faces she recognized from previous nights but otherwise kept to herself. 

That is until someone blocked her path. Dania recognized her immediately from the smell of lavender and the abundant skirts. 

"Hello, Ester," Dania said dispassionately. It was very dark, and the only light came from a fire to their left, its light casting shadows all over Ester's face, making it appear as though she was smiling one moment and scowling the next. 

"Are you always out so late?" Ester asked. 

Her question perplexed Dania, but she forced her face to remain impassive. "Often, yes. Master Groin and I cannot tell when patients will come."

"Well, you should be careful. Who knows what could happen at this hour," Ester said, and Dania could not help but shiver at the possible threat behind her words. 

"This whole fight is ridiculous, Ester — "

"It's Lady Ester," she said coldly. Dania had to force herself not to laugh. "And this is not ridiculous; this is my whole future! People expect Thorin and I to wed — "

"But what do you want?" Dania interjected, desperately trying to ignore the constricting feeling in her throat that manifested itself whenever this subject came up. 

Ester fell silent, and for an instant, the mask crumbled to reveal a shadow of dejection, which made her appear incredibly vulnerable. But it was gone the next moment.  

"That is a very innapropriate question, " Ester fumed as her face regained its stern lines. "And if you will excuse me, I will be going now. I really should not be talking to you." 

She slipped away, further into the darkness even before the words had completely left her mouth. Dania chuckled. "You're the one who stopped in front of me," she mumbled to herself. She was so preoccupied with this strange encounter that she almost forgot to look up to the stars before entering the hall. With a wistful smile, she made a silent prayer to Mahal to keep Thorin safe, then went inside. Somehow, she knew that, wherever he was, he was alright. 

Only a few candles illumined the sitting room that joined Dania's bedroom to Dís', filling the room with a soft orange glow. Dis was lying on the sofa with a novel open in her lap, but it seemed to have been entirely forgotten as she continued to stare at the ceiling, a slight frown on her face. 

"Everything alright?" Dania asked as she closed the door behind her. 

Only then did Dís acknowledge her presence. "You are back late," she observed with a glance at the clock. 

Dania sat down on the sofa at Dís' feet with a sigh. "This poor little boy had a large splinter in his leg."

"Oh, poor thing!" Dís exclaimed. Dania nodded slowly in agreement, thinking of the boy's tear-stained cheeks. "You know, I really admire you for helping all those people."

Surprised by her words, Dania shrugged. "It's nothing," she said after a moment as she took off her boots, then wiggled her toes to get rid of the soreness. "I like being useful, and I like learning even more."

"I know you do, but that does not make it any less admirable," she replied with a smile. "If only I could find work such as that."

"You can if that's what you want," Dania said, smiling back at her best friend, who looked so beautiful despite the little sleep she was getting these days.  

"Don't let adad hear you say that," Dís chuckled, then her face fell into that haunted expression it had born when Dania came in. 

Even though Dania had a good idea of what had Dís so worried, she asked, "What's wrong?" 

"I hope they are alright," she said with a sigh as she drew her knees to her chin. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure they are," Dania said reassuringly, even though her heart was filled with worry and longing. 

"I just miss him so much," she admitted, "and I am anxious to make things right."

"What do you mean?" 

Sighing, Dís looked away as though she was ashamed. "We fought, just before he left. . . ."

"What?" Dania exclaimed, shocked by the revelation and surprised that Dís was only speaking about it now, then she collected herself. "Oh, Dís, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

Another sigh tumbled from her lips, and she seemed to be hesitating. This worried Dania, for as far as she was concerned, there was nothing they could not tell each other. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, Dania gazed at her intently, hoping she would understand that without having to remind her. Dís smiled gratefully before speaking, though her voice was still uncertain. 

"We were talking about how excited we were to perhaps finally have a place to call home after so long, and then the subject of children came up . . ." She let out a shaky breath as she ran a hand through her unbraided hair. "And while I obviously want to have a family with him, I told him now was not the right time, and he was very upset by that." Then with a bitter huff, she added, "I mean, with everything being so uncertain — is that so very wrong of me?" 

"Of course not!" Dania said immediately, ignoring the longing and envy that stirred inside her as she faced Dís' opportunity to choose. "It is perfectly understandable that you would want to wait until your life is more stable to start a family. Besides, you don't want to be pregnant while we're on the road! That would be so dangerous, and not to mention very tiring for you!" 

"If only he understood that," Dís sighed. "I wish he understood how scary this is for me! There is nothing I can do to prevent my being with child, and when I am, who knows what could happen?"

Dania hesitated for a moment, knowing how forbidden this subject was, but then she resolved herself. "There are things you can do to prevent that. . . ."

Dís slowly lifted her gaze to meet Dania's eyes and watched her with a worrying mix of curiosity and suspicion. "But — no one would ever help me with that," she whispered. 

"I will," Dania said, unwavering as she met Dís' eyes. 

Shifting in her seat, Dís tucked her legs under her, looking as though she was unsure whether she wanted to sit closer to Dania or move away. Dania's heart made a nervous twitch at the sight. 

"But — you don't mean that . . ." Dís looked at her expectantly, her eyes widening when Dania nodded.  "Does Thorin know?" 

"Of course he knows!" He knew now, anyways, but that detail Dania kept to herself. "This is your body, Dís, the final decision should be all yours. But you and Vili are married, so you must talk to him about all this. He will have had time to think while he was away; I'm sure he will understand."

"I hope so," Dís said with a shake of her head. "How — I mean — what do you do to, er, stop. . . ."

"Several things, really," Dania said. "I use smartweed, but usually I combine it with other plants to balance its effects, and I soak the whole in water to drink it as a tea." 

"But is it not . . . dangerous?" Dís asked in a hushed whisper. 

"Some plants are, yes, but I stay away from those, and that's why I use more than one, as I said, to balance out some of the side effects which could be unpleasant." Unpleasant was much too understated a word, but she was not about to digress into a lengthy description of all the horrible complications which could — and it was for most plants a very small possibility — result from these methods. 

After a long moment of silence, Dís nodded. "I must do this. If not for myself, then for my future child. I cannot raise them in a world such as this; I want them to have a home. Besides, it will not be for long, once they come back," she said in a determined voice, but then a bitter chuckle escaped her. "Once they come back. I hating thinking of it that way, but the older I get, the less I can ignore that fact. Our lives start and end as the men around us walk in and out of it. We are at their mercy."

Dania frowned, for she was eager for their return, and she thought Dís' portrait of the world rather disheartening. But with time and reflexion, she came to realize that there was truth to her words. Dwarrows were better treated and more highly regarded than women among Men; there was no doubt about that, but that did not change the fact that they had to obey their fathers until they were married, and then they had to take their husbands' names and follow their words. Lord Thrain and all the other men on his council had power over them all. With one word, they could destroy Dania's happiness, separating her and Thorin forever. Even Ester was used by her father and his advisors to further their plans. They were like dolls, in a state of perpetual childhood, never allowed to take up the pen and be the authors of their own stories. 

***

Unfortunately, Dania could not always escape the dreadful events that Lady Vigga called entertainment. That day while they were wasting the afternoon away with tea, biscuits, and vain conversation in her expensively decorated sitting room, some of the dwarrows decided to prolong their gathering by completing some of their embroideries. When Dania told them that she did not know how they all stared at her in shock as though she had just told them that she believed Mahal was not real. 

"How can that be? All ladies should know the art of embroidery," Lady Vigga said derisively. Beside her, Ester chuckled, looking straight into Dania's eyes. 

Well, I am no lady, Dania thought, but she merely shrugged and said, "Well, growing up as an exile on the road, there was not much time to learn such arts, My Lady." 

From the proud smirk on Lady Adís' face, Dania gathered that her words — though she had not intended them that way — had found their target. Lady Vigga glared at her for a moment, then a look of devilish complacency enveloped her face. 

"Well, dear Ester knows how, do you not?" she asked, waiting for Ester to nod as though they had rehearsed this little number. "And I am certain Lady Dís is quite skilled in — "

"I am afraid I must disappoint you, Lady Vigga," Dís interjected. "I, too, have never had the chance to learn the art of embroidery."

I glanced at Dís, then at her mother, certain that this was a lie. The look on Lady Adís' face, pride mingled with amusement at seeing Lady Vigga's attack so easily deflected, confirmed Dania's suspicions. Dís was lying to protect her from Lady Vigga's abuse.

"But — Lady Adís, how could you have let this happen?" Lady Vigga questioned. 

"Heavens, you act as though the pillars of our society rested on embroidery," Lady Adís replied with a sigh. 

Dania and Dís shared a quick, amused glance. Lady Vigga was clearly not amused, but she moved on as though the conversation had never taken place. Lady Adís, on the other hand, was not inclined to pretend and move on. Standing up, she walked to where Dania and Dís were sitting. 

"Dania, dear, should you not be back with Master Groin a this hour?" she asked. 

Dania glanced around as she noticed most dwarrows in the room eyeing her curiously — or suspiciously. "Well, yes," she replied in a stammering voice, "but I did not want to appear, er, rude or anything." 

Lady Adís has also noticed the others' stares, but she did not care. "Come on, then, we do not want you to be late. Are you coming Dís?" 

"Of course, amad," Dís said immediately, just as eager to get out of the room. 

As Dania and Dís stood up to follow her, Lady Vigga turned to face them. Ester, with whom she had been conversing, watched them furtively, but when Lady Adís wrapped her arm around Dania's shoulders, she glared at Dania so hard that Dania looked away, uneasiness settling at the bottom of her stomach. 

"Forgive us, Lady Vigga," Lady Adís said in response to the dwarrow's inquisitive stare, "I am not feeling well, so I will go for some fresh air. I hope you do not mind if I bring the girls with me?" 

She did not even wait for an answer before pulling them toward the door and out of the room at last. Dania could feel so many eyes on her back, but she smiled nonetheless. 

"But, amad," Dís began once they were out of earshot, "did not adad say that we had to tolerate her so that Lord Yngvi would not withdraw his support?" 

"Your father and his men will be back before long, and from there we will have Lord Yngvi's support from afar, so I will not have to deal with that viper much longer. Besides, do you really think she would let anyone else know about how she was told off by two girls so much younger than she? She is much too proud for that."

"I don't understand why anyone puts up with her," Dania said.

Lady Adís laughed. "They do not have a choice," she said. "But I do. And I will never tolerate anyone who treats either of you in such a disgraceful manner."

Grateful for the kindness Lady Adís continually bestowed upon her, Dania smiled, but an unexpected pang of guilt suddenly took hold of her. It was not the first time she felt this way, but the more kindness Lady Adís showed her, and the more she defended her in front of others, the stronger the feeling became. Dania had married Thorin — Lady Adís' only surviving son — in secret, without her blessing, and regardless of how much Lady Adís seemed to care for her, Dania doubted she would be thrilled to know that her son had married so below his social standing. Even so, Dania continued to accept her kindness and her support. It made her sick to think that she was betraying the trust of one whom she admired and loved so greatly. 

Dania tried to push these thoughts away to no avail. The only solution was to distract herself, so she was glad to be going back to work where she would have no time to linger over her worries. 

She soon made it back to Master Groin's tent, where she apologized profusely for being late, but the healer refused to hear her apologies for there was nothing to be sorry for, he said. Although Dania was ashamed of her behaviour, she accepted his response and went to work, determined to prove to him that she would not disappoint him again. 

It was a hard day. Theoretical knowledge was very different from practical knowledge, Dania learned after having to relocate a boy's shoulder. She could still hear the pop as the bone snapped back into place. At least that time, there had been no blood. 

At first, it had been easier because she did not know the people she was treating; she could think of them as nothing more than patients, mere names on a list that she could check off when the appointment was done. But that was a naive view, for names hold power, and once written down, they are proof that a person lived, that they had a life filled with love and joy and pain, and soon Dania got to share some of those experiences, for she spoke with these people about their families, and their hopes and dreams, but with that their grievances became more real than any historical account could intimate. 

Dania still greatly enjoyed learning how to dress a wound and studying the medicinal purposes of various plants, but she realized that she probably was not destined to become a healer. She did not mention this to Master Groin for fear of disappointing him after he had been so kind, but also because it pained her to think that this was probably the path her mother would have wanted for her. And of course, it once more raised the annoying question: what was she to do with her life?

Once again, she realized that the one constant in her life, the thing she was absolutely sure of, was her love for Thorin. It was a comforting thought, but she needed to be more than his One, no matter how great an honour that was. She was more than that, she reminded herself. She would find a way to leave her mark on the world. 

Those were the thoughts that kept her out late that night. Long after she and Master Groin had tended to the last patient, Dania continued to roam the paths outside the mountains, letting the cool night air appease her. The stars were bright that night. A good omen, she hoped. And with a last thought for Thorin, Dania stepped back inside. 

Once she was in the small and dim hallway that lead to her chamber, however, she regretted staying out so late, for the night was ripped apart by a terrible, muffled scream, making her blood freeze in her veins. 

"Dís!" Dania shouted as she recognized one of the two figures battling in the darkness. 

The other, she realized with horror as she ran toward them, was a man. His garb was strange and his face even more so, and he towered above them. Dania doubted what help she could be, but she did not falter. 

"Let her go!" she shouted in the common tongue above Dís' screams. The princess squirmed in his hold, trying to punch and kick him. "If you harm the princess you will start a whole war! GUARDS! HELP!" 

Fearful that she might harm Dís if she moved in to attack right away, Dania remained at arm's length as she pulled her dagger out of its scabbard. Her hands were shaking almost as much as her heart, but she hoped that was hidden by the darkness. 

"Princess?" the man croaked in a heavy accent, then immediately let go with such force that Dís was thrown against the wall. 

Ignoring her confusion, Dania stepped between the intruder and Dís, who — thank Mahal — did not seem to have any visible injuries. Then she raised her dagger. The torch that hung on the stone wall illumined the blade, so that the runes Thorin had carved into it appeared to be riddled in flames. Think Dania, she told herself, recalling all her lessons with Thorin to try and predict the man's next move. 

The man's eyes stood out from the darkness, wide and full of fear. Dania frowned, thinking that such an emotion was odd coming from a man who had tried to harm the princess of the Longbeards*, but her anger and disgust made it impossible for her to even think of questioning him while she had the upper hand. Instead, while his eyes were fixed on her dagger, she moved in and used her other hand to send a precise punch straight onto his jaw. With a pang, Dania felt the resistance of muscles and teeth against her knuckles and cursed as her hand throbbed painfully. She looked at the man with wide eyes, just as surprised by the force of the blow, as he cried out and spat out a mouthful of blood before looking up to Dania. Taking in her figure, his eyes widened as though in realization — and then he fled. 

More confused than ever, Dania hesitated for a moment, but then Dís moaned in pain behind her and she decided to ignore the man altogether. It was much more important to get Dís to safety and make sure she was unharmed. Her blood thumping in her veins and her head swimming, Dania sheathed her weapon, then wrapped her arms around Dís to help her get back on her feet. Dís winced, then whimpered. The sound pierced through Dania's heart and she cursed herself for not coming back sooner. Fortunately, nothing seemed broken, she noted as she looked over Dís quickly. It was probably only a bruise, or several bruises, that were paining her. 

"What happened? Did he hurt you?" Dania asked with a trembling voice, her love for Dís destroying the impassiveness she tried to retain when she was healing patients with Master Groin. 

Dís clung to her, trembling from the shock, but did not get a chance to answer as two guards ran through the hallway, the ringing of their heavy armours echoing against the stone. Before they could ask any questions, Dania pointed in the other direction. "He went that way! A man!" 

Frowning, the two of them shared a look before thanking her and running off after him. Dania knew why they were so confused: how had a man entered the mountain when no one but dwarves was allowed entry? 

Once in the sitting room, Dania laid Dís down on the sofa before lighting a few candles. "Are you hurt? Did he — ?"

Dís shook her head. "No, he — he was just holding me really tightly. He did not have a chance to do anything more — thanks to you." 

Bending down before her, Dania nodded faintly, relieved, but she examined her nonetheless. Then Dís threw her arms around Dania's neck and pressed her face into her shoulder. 

"I felt so helpless," Dís sobbed. 

"I know," Dania sighed as she caressed her hair. "I know." Images of a night long ago in Dunland flashed in her mind. Laughter. Harsh hands holding her. Then Thorin's gentle arms around her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and held onto Dís more tightly. "Dís, what happened?" she questioned, willing her voice to remain soft even though she wanted to scream at the world for being so unfair. 

A gasp at the door interrupted them. 

"Oh, Dís!'" Lady Adís choked as she rushed to her daughter's side. Lady Adís' hair spilled loose over her shoulders, which were covered only by a thin robe over her nightgown. Dania stepped away as they embraced each other, feeling as though she was intruding, but then one of Lady Adís' soft, gentle hands came to hold Dania's trembling one and squeezed it. Dania's heart tightened at the gesture, but she pushed her shame aside for this moment, needing the comfort that only Lady Adís could give her more than anything. 

After worrying over any possible injuries and listening to Dania's reassurances that the only physical wounds were bruises, Lady Adís asked her daughter to explain what had happened in as much detail as she could recall. This time, Dís was able to tell her tale. 

"I was waiting for you, Dania," Dís began, and already Dania was suffocated by guilt. It was her fault. It was her fault. "And then I heard a sound just outside the door, and I thought that might be you, so I opened it and stepped outside — it was utterly dark — you were nowhere to be seen, and so I made to go back inside and that is when he took me — both his arms were around me before I could even register what was happening . . . it was almost as though he was waiting for me to get out. . . ."

"Was the door locked?" Dania managed to ask through the whirlwind of emotions ransacking her mind. Dís, who was always so strong and full of live, seemed so vulnerable. Dania could not believe anyone could ever wish to bring harm upon her. 

"No, it wasn't — why?" Dís said as her mother rocked her gently. 

"Because if the door was unlocked then he could have just come in at any moment," Dania explained. 

Lady Adís stilled, then cast Dania a worried look. "What are you saying?" 

Dania shivered as though the coldest of winds had just passed through her. "I don't think that man was waiting for Dís."

***

Far away, down in the lower halls near a tunnel that lead to a secret entrance, the man stood before the one who had employed him, holding on to his jaw as it stubbornly continued to throb. 

"You never said there would be two of them," he growled. 

"I ordered you to wait until she returned to her chambers, not attack the one already inside!" she replied angrily in the same tongue. Her face was obscured by the surrounding darkness and the richly embroidered cloak she wore, but he knew who she was. In one of their first meetings, she had foolishly given him her name. That was how he knew that this was the first time she had done anything of the sort. 

"You should not have left out any details. If that girl had not shown up, I would have accomplished the task you ordered of me on the princess instead and started a war between our people in the process, and it would have all been your fault." 

"They will never trace this back to you," she said, though there was a hint of fear in her voice. No matter how hard she was trying to hide that emotion, the man would have sensed it immediately. It was part of his job to lie, and know when he was being lied to. 

"You'd better hope so," he replied, "because if they do, I will not hesitate to tell them it was one of their own who put me up to this." 

—

Notes:

* The Longbeards, also known as Durin’s Folk, are one of the seven clans of the Dwarves

Khuzdul Translations:

Amad: Mother

Adad: Father

Taglist: @lathalea @linasofia @mcchiberry @fizzyxcustard @bitter-sweet-farmgirl​

Let me know if you’d like to be added to my taglist!💙

[faelapis]

say more abt how the diamonds all feel like toxic types of power :eyes: i am Listening

well there’s a few things you can pick up on. their aesthetics is the most obvious, blue’s shroud being a type of modest dress you see for women in several religions (nuns, common portrayal of virgin mary, hijabi women). contrast that to yellow’s heels, shoulderpads and pompadour, which is very 80s businesswoman. this also fits with which parts of the cogntive they represent - yellow being Action and blue being Emotion.

what’s interesting about those two particular types of power is that they’re usually in relation to men, in relation to someone higher up on the totem pole. in many religions (like some sects of catholicism as an example), there are certain roles and positions women cannot have, even if they are praised and revered. blue is someone who clearly enjoys a large amount of power and uses it unjustly, but she is also beholden to someone higher up than herself (white). 

the businesswoman of the 80s is someone who is in many ways portrayed as “catching up” to capitalistic and patriarchical expectations of men instead of defying them. she is expected to both conform to a very particular, traditionally male-led cultural space while also fitting into those rules without breaking any, and like in any capitalist structure, believe in a ladder where some are more valuable than others, and the goal is to be on top of that ladder rather than dismantling it. she is an enforcer of those rules, powerful, and also trapped by them. you can see this within the kind of neoliberal mindset of being a Good Role Model (tm) = someone who is succesful, hustler, a girlboss.

pink and white represent body and thought, also natural opposites. you can think of them as the superego and id in conflict. the body wants for its own sake, the body (id) wants to fulfill itself. it wants to be selfish, doing things because it wants to do them. that’s how everyone starts out in childhood. pink diamond is both a prince and princess in aesthetics, a young one who is thrust into a situation of many priveleges and rules, which all adds up to telling you you CAN’T express your emotions or be selfish, because of how you affect others. there’s no way for you to have a normal “childhood” in that environment, because any emotional outbursts has power. it equals the pain of others.

white is the one who represents that ‘can’t’ - thought, selflessness, superego. she knows she cannot be a person in any real way, she is a symbol first. she has to embody an ideal, or she may as well not exist. her design is that of a goddess - literal greek column heels creating her own pedestal, glowing otherwordly bright, her hair a star. 

she (white) also embodies “toxic ideals women must aspire to” generally, hence the thigh gap, someone sexualized design and perfect makeup. it’s all about the ideal, who you should be, and thus denying the body anything unseemly. she is stuck because her role is really more about what you Can’t do, what Isn’t appropriate, how emotions are Only for lesser beings, than what you can do, which is existing solely as that identity-less symbol who would never acknowledge her own subjectivity.

i’ve said this explicitly about blue and yellow thus far, but really, from reading you probably realize that there are ways in which pink and white are also hurt by this power structure, and are trapped by the system, even if they enjoy a position of privelege. 

even now, white, yellow and blue are all trapped by the notion of what you “should” do, how they can be useful to others. they are unlearning it, and of course it’s a good thing that they’re helping people, but as we see with steven, there is such a thing as doing that too much - you end up in the same idealized position of self-harm as before. their lack of power is a good start, and i think connecting w/ their own sentimentality through someone as ‘selfish’ as spinel is also a good healer. but they’re still on that 'usefulness’ journey, even now.

[fitzefitcher]

Like what do Kyrian even do though. If they 'ferry souls' why is the arbiter in a giant circle that has like souls flowing everywhere and also now that the arbiter isn't in commission do they just...do they just shrug and toss everyone into the maw?? Where are they in thjs. I don't think blizz thought ANY of this through

so prior to this we just had regular-ass spirit healers, who didn't really have much of a role in the game besides a very perfunctory, utilitarian one, which was and is to run graveyard spawns and res players as needed. so there wasn't really much lore, bc they like. didn't particularly need it? like their role in the game doesn't really have much of a effect on the story, and that's fine, not everything in the game needs to be a major influence on the story. they were just like. friendly lingering otherwordly creatures in the spirit of the diablo series (and there's some other things implying that the diablo universe and the warcraft universe are connected or are one and the same but we don't have time for that particular conspiracy theory rabbit hole today lmao) whereas now. we're like. 3-4 layers deep into plato's allegory of the cave, but with scantily clad ambiguously gendered angel-winged figures lmao

I think rn we're like. okay, we started with just spirit healers, then we got val'kyr, first which the LK made but then later just bound already-made val'kyr to him, and then it turns out Odyn made val'kyr, and like, a bunch of them split from him and became the spirit healers we have around azeroth, and THEN it turns out odyn was inspired by his trip to the shadowlands (wherein he saw kyrians) to make his val'kyr, and now spirit healers is just kyrians

idk about y'all but I just liked them being benevolent spirits of ambiguous origin lmao

it doesn't feel very clear what the fuck the kyrians are meant to actually do, since clearly everyone is just getting dunked into the maw currently, but I took their "ferrying people to/from the shadowlands" was more of like. spirit healers giving you final say of whether or not you wanna go, bc technically it's not time Just Yet, and idk sometimes they scout for more people who would wanna do this job

[themori-grimoire]

Witchcraft 101: Psychic Phenomena

What is Psychic Phenomena?

The internet describes it as: “phenomena that appear to contradict physical laws and suggest the possibility of causation by mental processes.” or “phenomena lying outside the sphere of physical science or knowledge.”

So, in layman’s terms, psychic phenomena are abilities and/or practises that do not comply with known laws of physics and deal with the metaphysical.

*Metaphysics is “a branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, identity, time, and space.”

✧ Automatic Writing:

Automatic Writing - also know as “psychography” - is, quite simply, the ability to write without conscious thought. This means that the writings done during an episode or session of Automatic Writing come from a spiritual source. Oftentimes, the writings will not make a lot of sense - Automatic Writing is a form of divination and thus, the writing must be be interpreted by the practitioner if the meaning is not immediately clear. // [How to Practise Automatic Writing]

✧ Clairaudience:

Clairaudience (clear hearing) is the ability to hear things that are not of this plane. For example, you may be able to hear the voices of spirits and entities that do not exist within the physical human world, or hear the voices of those who have passed. It is said that one can grow and develop this psychic ability over time with practise.

✧ Claircognizance:

Claircognizance (clear knowing) is best described as the ability to know something intrinsically. This means that you have knowledge of something, someone or a subject that you were not taught and cannot provide a background to. This is often referred to as a higher form of intuition and if you are claircognizant, you know that what you know is true beyond doubt.

✧ Clairgustance:

This psychic phenomena, is probably one of the stranger ones. Literally meaning “clear taste”, clairgustance is the ability to taste something without putting it in your mouth. This form of extra-sensory perception (ESP) is uncommon and those who possess this ability say that they can taste the essence of something from an astral or spiritual plane.

✧ Clairolfaction:

This is a form of ESP that enables the person with this talent to receive information by means of - for lack of a better description - psychic smelling. Yes, you did read that correctly. Much like the aforementioned Clairgustance, Clairolfaction is the ability to smell something - or as practitioners may say the essence of something - without a physical source for the stench to emanate from.

Clairolfaction is also known as “Clairscent”.

✧ Clairsentience:

Clairsentience (meaning “clear feeling”), is the ability to acquire knowledge by touch. The gifted individual may gain knowledge of emotion, memory, location and more by touching a person or an object that belongs/belonged to a person. Sometimes, a Clairsentient person may feel the presence of spirits too.

✧ Clairvoyance:

Clairvoyance (meaning “clear seeing”) is the ability to receive information about future events, or spiritual knowledge visually.

✧ Divination:

Divination is the umbrella term used for methods of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by spiritual means, such as using pendulums, dowsing, reading tarot cards, palmistry, and more.

✧ Energy Medicine:

Energy medicine, also known as spiritual healing, is a branch of alternative medicine based on the belief that healers can channel healing energy into a patient/client and effect positive results by doing so.

Reiki is a well known form of this.

✧ Mediumship & Channelling:

There are different types of mediumship and channelling (such as Ouija), but the best way to cover all the types with one small explanation, is to say that mediumship is the practise of communing with the deceased.

✧ Precognition & Premonition:

Precognition and premonition simply means that the person with this gift is able to have foreknowledge of an event/events. A common form of gaining this knowledge, is through clairvoyance and prophetic vision.

✧ Psychometry:

Psychometry is the ability to gain knowledge of a person - whether that is their location, personal knowledge, or otherwise - through contact with an inanimate object that is associated with them. Commonly the objects used in psychometry will belong to the person you are trying to gain knowledge about, and may be items of clothing or jewellery.

✧ Retrocognition:

This is also known as “postcognition” and is the opposite of precognition. This ability is described as being able to gain knowledge of an event that has already passed that cannot be learned through regular means and must be learned through extra-sensory perception.

✧ Second Sight:

Often, this term is used interchangeably with “clairvoyance” as it means that the person with this gift is able to predict and perceive future events before they occur through visual means. These visions are often symbolic in nature.

Second Sight has also been described as the ability to see something that cannot usually be seen, such as otherwordly entities.

✧ Scrying:

A form of divination, Scrying is the practise of foretelling the future or gaining foresight using a reflective surface, such as a mirror, crystal ball or water. // Scrying [Witchcraft 101]

✧ Telepathy:

Telepathy is the ability to communicate with another person through extra-sensory means - by this, we mean that the communication is done by means outside the known senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing).

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[crackimagines]

The New Professor (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)

Konosuba / School-Live! AU

CONTAINS School-Live! (Gakkou Gurashi) anime spoilers!

A new visitor arrives to Garreg Mach, causing a commotion among the population.

Byleth, Kazuma, and Aqua are sent to investigate who the new visitor is.

----

(Byleth) sigh

(Aqua) “Come on, tell me I’m right!”

(Kazuma) “Okay, you’re goddamn stupid.”

(Aqua) “Shut up, NEET!”

(Kazuma) “Stop calling me a NEET you bitch!”

(Sothis) “Ugh, what are they complaining about now?”

(Byleth) “Apparently something about the amiibo gazebo being part of a greater power than you or anything here...”

(Sothis) “And that’s why they’re throwing profanity around?”

(Aqua) “Listen, this is a serious discussion!”

(Kazuma) “One that you’re completely wrong about!”

Byleth shook his head. He was starting to regret asking them to lunch. 

Before he could continue eating, Alois ran up to his table.

(Alois) “Ah, there you are Byleth!”

(Byleth) “Alois, what’s wrong?”

(Alois) “We just found a woman unconscious near the classrooms!”

(Byleth) “What?!”

(Kazuma) “Wait, why are you telling him this, isn’t this stuff left to the knights?”

(Alois) “Well the thing is, we don’t know where she came from, or who she is. I daresay she’s not even from Fodlan!”

(Aqua) “Wait, like as in completely foreign country or?”

(Alois) “As in, completely otherwordly! Actually, her clothing reminds me a bit of yours, Kazuma!”

Kazuma’s eyes widened and turned to Aqua.

(Kazuma) “Hold up a sec, you think she could be...?”

(Aqua) “Only one way to find out! Byleth, we’re coming with you!”

Byleth nodded and the three of them followed Alois to the classrooms. 

...

...

----

SLAM!

Megumi shut the door behind her as hard as she could, making sure it couldn’t be open from the other side.

(???) “Let me go!”

(??? 2) Yuki-chan, stop it!”

(???) “Megu-nee’s still outside! We have to hurry!”

(??? 3) “It’s too late!”

(??? 2) “WAIT!”

(???) “Megu-nee! MEGU-NEEEEE!”

...

...

(??? 1) “Shit, she looks beat up bad!”

(??? 2) “There’s blood everywhere, what happened to her?!”

(??? 3) “You guys didn’t try to get a healer first?”

(??? 4) “We tried! There’s something in her arm that’s spreading and we can’t stop it!”

(??? 1) “Aqua!”

(??? 2) “On it! Oh no...From what I’m seeing in her injuries, it’s like some zombie infection!”

(??? 3) “Wait, what’s a zombie?”

(??? 1) “God damn, what the hell?! Tch, nevermind, questions later! We gotta use Turn Undead!”

(??? 2) “Wait, that’s going to hurt her!”

(??? 1) “Aqua, it doesn’t look like she’s fully infected yet, so maybe it can stop it before it spreads! We gotta do SOMETHING!”

(??? 1) “Damn, TURN UNDEAD!”

Megumi could only hear the voices faintly, but it started to grow louder as she felt a sharp pain in her arm that quickly went away.

(??? 2) “Alright, she’s stabilizing.”

Megumi opened her eyes slowly, the light blinding her from the windows.

(Megumi) “H-Huh...?”

(Kazuma) “H-Hey, she’s waking up!”

She looked up and saw three people she’s never seen before, wearing what seemed to be medieval European clothing.

(Byleth) “I see you’re awake now.”

(Aqua) “Hey there!”

(Kazuma) “Better places to pass out than on the ground, ya know!”

(Megumi) “Where...am I?”

...

(Byleth) “Yes, we know Sothis. We’ll try to explain it in basic terms.”

(Megumi) ?

(Kazuma) “Well...put simply, you’re in a school.”

The word school echoed through her mind. Megumi’s heartbeat suddenly spiked as she almost jumped to her feet, looking behind her frantically.

(Megumi) “YUKI-CHAN!”

When she spun around, she only saw Alois and a few of the Monastery’s classrooms.

(Alois) “T-Take it easy ma’am! We know you’re confused but!”

Megumi’s breathing was out of control, her head jerking back and forth trying to find anything familiar. 

But to no avail.

(Megumi) “YUKI! KURUMI! RII-SAN! ANYONE?!”

(Byleth) “Miss, please, calm down!”

Kazuma grabbed the shoulders of the woman and kept her still.

(Kazuma) “Take a deep breath, alright?!”

Megumi eventually stopped shaking as she took in more of her surroundings. It was clear she wasn’t at the school anymore but...

With a deep exhale, she finally calmed down.

(Megumi) “I-I’m sorry...I-I don’t know where I am.”

(Byleth) “What’s your name?”

(Megumi) “My name...My name is Megumi Sakura. I’m a teacher at Megurigaoka Private High School.”

(Aqua) “That sounds a lot like...”

(Kazuma) “Japanese.”

(Aqua) “This is a weird question to ask but...Are you from Japan?”

(Megumi) “Yes, I am?”

Kazuma took a little comfort in that. He now wasn’t the only person thrown to this world from Earth.

(Kazuma) “Well...how do I put this? You’re not in Japan anymore, you’re pretty much in the same boat I am. We’re in a country called Fodlan.”

(Megumi) “Where is that?”

(Kazuma) “It doesn’t exist back on our world, Miss Sakura. We’re basically in a Fantasy Europe with straight up magic, dragons, all that crazy bullshit.”

(Megumi) “But...what happened to our world? My students?”

(Kazuma) “Um...I’m not sure. I didn’t come from YOUR world, per se. My world was in peace while yours seemed to be...uh...”

(Megumi) “I see...”

Megumi’s heart sank. She just happened to be unlucky enough to be in a world where crisis struck them instead of having a normal life like Kazuma.

(Aqua) “I’m sure you must have a million questions, but you need some rest! Here, follow me and I’ll try to answer anything you might ask on the way.”

(Megumi) “B-But...”

Sighing, Megumi followed Aqua to her room.

(Alois) “From another world? First you and your friends Kazuma, now her! What a crazy time to live in! Poor thing must be so confused if she’s shouting for her students like that...”

Kazuma couldn’t help but shiver at that. He couldn’t imagine coming to a brand new world completely alone. He was lucky to have others with him here. At the very least, he had some semblance of a fantasy world, Megumi must be feeling as if she were on another planet.

Which in some sense, she was.

(Kazuma) “Hey uh...she said she was a teacher, right?”

(Byleth) “Yeah, of some private school.”

(Kazuma) “Do...Do you think she could teach alongside you, professor?”

(Byleth) “What?”

(Kazuma) “Well, if the church throws her ass to the curb, she’s going to be completely lost! She doesn’t understand a world like yours in the slightest.”

Byleth looked at Megumi and nodded.

(Byleth) “I’ll talk to Rhea about it.”

...

After a few days of getting settled in and recovering, Megumi began to explore the Monastery with Kazuma and his gang.

(Aqua) “The Monastery is more of a military academy than a normal school.”

(Kazuma) “Yeah, Garreg Mach Monastery, or The Officer’s Academy, is the full name of this place.”

(Darkness) “Many people are aspiring to be a knight here. That is my goal. Well, being stuck here anyway.”

(Megumin) “My goal is to make a name for the Crimson Demon, and no matter the world we’re thrown into, that shall always be my top priority!”

(Megumi) “I had no idea other people could be thrown into worlds so casually...A-And what about God and?”

(Aqua) “Well you see I’m-”

Kazuma elbowed Aqua, shaking his head.

(Kazuma) “The poor woman’s going to be more confused, alright?! Just keep that to yourself for now!”

(Aqua) “Jerk!”

(Megumi) “Oh by the way, where is that blue haired man?”

(Kazuma) “Oh, professor Byleth? I’m not sure, honestly. I asked him to talk to the head honcho here of letting you teach here.”

(Megumi) “Huh?! B-But, I don’t know how to fight!”

(Aqua) “That’s fine! There’s still stuff like math here!”

(Darkness) “It’s just something to help you fit in. We don’t want you getting thrown out while you have no idea what’s happening.���

(Megumin) “Besides, I’m sure you’ll love the students here!”

(Claude’s Voice) “Well, probably just me.”

Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard walked up to the group and noticed Megumi.

(Dimitri) “Ah, so you’re that new teacher that has been causing quite a stir! I am Dimitri, House leader of the Blue Lions.”

(Edelgard) “My name is Edelgard, and I am the House Leader of the Black Eagles.”

(Claude) “Claude, Golden Deer. Nice to meet ya!”

(Megumi) “T-Thank you! My name is Megumi Sakura...I-I’m sorry, did you say new teacher?”

(Edelgard) “Why yes. We’ve been informed that Byleth has an assistant who will be helping teach the three houses.”

(Megumi) “HUH?! W-WHY DID NO ONE ASK ME FIRST?!”

(Dimitri) “Hah, are you getting cold feet Professor Sakura?”

(Megumi) “...Professor Sakura...”

She smiled a little, blushing at the name.

(Megumi) “Well, at least someone’s finally referring to me as my proper teacher name.”

(Edelgard) “What did people usually refer to you as?”

(Megumi) “Megu-nee.”

(Aqua) “Aw, that’s actually kinda cute!”

(Megumi) “It’s not befitting of a teacher!”

(Claude) “Megu-nee..Hah, I like that sound of that a bit better honestly!”

(Edelgard) “Megun-nee. It does have a nice ring to it.”

(Dimitri) “Well, Megu-nee, we’ll be seeing you soon! We just wanted to say hello.”

(Claude) “Be seein’ ya around!”

(Megumi) “D-DON’T CALL ME MEGU-NEE! IT’S...ah...”

Everyone else laughed at her embarassment, but Kazuma put a hand on her shoulder.

(Kazuma) “You’ll fit right in, Megu-nee! Those three will put in a good word for ya! Byleth will be too, no doubt!”

Everyone gave her an encouraging smile.

(Darkness) “Please, if you need us for anything do not hesitate to ask for help.”

(Megumi) “...”

A part of her was going to miss her students so dearly. Yuki, Kurumi, and Yuuri would be alone without her, missing her and thinking that she was dead. She wanted to tell them that she was alive and well thanks to the help of everyone here so far but...

Megumi knew that was going to be a long time before that happened.

With the help of everyone here, she knew the road was going to be a lot less lonely than she thought. 

(Megumi) “I never could’ve anticipated that this was where my life was going to go once I thought I was dead but...I won’t waste this second chance you’ve given me, so for that I will do my best to repay it and continue teaching!”

(Byleth) “We’re happy to hear it.”

Byleth smiled at her as he walked over, extending his hand.

(Byleth) “Welcome to the family, Megumi.”

She hesitated before giving her hand, but she took Byleth’s hand and shook it firmly.

(Byleth) “Come on, the rest of the staff wants to meet you.”

(Megumi) “R-Right!”

(Kazuma) “Good luck, Megu-nee!”

She spun around quickly and pouted.

“Kazuma, don’t call me Megu-nee! It’s Professor Sakura!”

Unfortunately for her, no one would heed her wishes to be called that.

Everyone greeted their new professor, Megu-nee.

---

[Indirect Sequel: Megumi Sakura as a Professor AU]

[land-of-classpects-and-analysis]

Hey! I'm making a session and I'm wondering if you could explain a maid of hope please! One thing I heard is that maids can "create" with hope, can you further explain please? Thank you!

Hello, Anon!

Let me just say, as someone with their own Maid of Hope, this is definitely one of my more personally favorite Classpects, so I am more than happy to explain!

A Maid of Hope is one who can heal by creating their Aspect or heal by creating through their Aspect. With your inquiry of creating with Hope, I think what would fit more is by creating through their Hope!

Maids start with an abundance of their Aspect, playing on the pun of them being Made of their Aspect. Having a luxurious life and being an heiress to a big company, being in a world where there is no hatred and prejudice and everyone can live together in peace and tranquility, being....well....dead....

While they do have a great amount of their Aspect, and many of them are more than happy to lend away from of their Aspect to others - especially in regards to helping those they love - this abundance of Aspect is more often than not rather debilitating and near suffocating for the Maid. In some cases, having been destroyed by their Aspect is exactly what happened to them.

For the Maid of Hope, they are someone who would have an absolute large amount of Hope in their heart, soul, and mind, and they would be more than happy to share such a thing with those they love and care about. However, as beneficial it may sound to have such a large amount of Hope, there is also the side of Hope that leans more towards them having their own convictions, morals, beliefs - how they may view the world in a way not agreed upon by the majority of people. Oftentimes, when a Hope-bound has cemented themself into a certain belief of something, it can be near impossible to break them out of it and/or change their mind.

In regards to a Maid of Hope healing by creating through their Hope - but for brevity’s sake, let’s just cut it down to creating through Hope. In general, by creating through their own Hope, it simply means that they have found a perfectly sized outlet for them to surge all of that excess Hope of theirs into. In a broader sense, they are someone who could be one of the best friends and healers to have, but they could also be one of the vilest, most malicious people ever. If they are a Maid of Hope who sticks more towards the peaceful, tranquil side of the Hope Aspect, then they are someone who will do their utmost best to heal and create whatever they can purely through their beliefs and faith. If they can dream it up within their head, and believe in its possibility to become real, then chances are they will be able to bring such a thing into existence, no matter how otherwordly or impossible it may seem. They have this heavy weight of Hope on them, but rather than giving in and letting it overtake them, they have decided to instead use it as something for good and a way for everyone to benefit from. However, in the process of this creation, if any doubt were to be planted or creep into the Maid’s faith, then what they wanted to bring into reality would most likely crumble around them. A ruler left to watch their own castle, and kingdom, fall apart around them.

If you’re looking for a more vicious take on this power, then let’s take a quick dip into how even the sweetest sounding of all the Classpects can still hold bile in their heart. While Hope may sound like an Aspect where, when linked to something such as a Maid, can lead to no harm, that is far from the truth. The reason for this is that there truly is no telling what someone’s beliefs will truly be until they reveal it themselves. As such, the Maid of Hope may show themself to be someone of an unassuming nature, only having everyone’s best intentions in mind. Behind their tooth-achingly sweet smile, though, is a person who only seeks to create a world that falls under their own view of how everything should work. If they are someone who believes that everyone should bow and kiss their slippers, or they believe is a dark and hopeless place, then they will see to it that this vision is brought to fruition. They have just as much Hope as any other Maid of Hope does, but the version of their own Hope is one tainted in prejudice, jealousy, grief, and anger. Much like any other Maid of Hope, they have just as much ability to heal by creating through this Hope - though their version of “healing” may come across as far, far more horrific and twisted. For these Maids of Hope, chances are it would be best to steer clear of them entirely, lest you wish to join them in the ever-expanding light of their self-perceived harmony.

Of course, there will be the Maids of Hope who find a sort of gray area, being able to hop back and forth between which power benefits them the most. Along with that, there may be some Maids of Hope whose convictions and beliefs may change, or at least not be as radical as the two examples given. It truly depends on many personal perspectives from the Maid themself - whether they are a person or a character.

I hope this helped, Anon, and I wish you good luck with your session!

[ascarletflame]

@otherworldly-healer

The poor Troupe Master is shambling through the city when he really shouldn't be. He cleaned up, bandaged... but that was really all he could do at the moment without magic or medical help. Damn, it's all fun and games during the actual battle, but after that, being stuck with injuries is just plain annoying.

Where even is the clinic in this city? He doesn't know, absently staring through options on the phone looking for anything to tell him where he should be going. Grimm leans over and sighs, looking quite deflated.

...But when he looks back up, he sees someone in the distance! Someone with a staff! Has luck shined upon him on this day? Let it be true! He staggers over to the woman, trying to put on a nice face that doesn't completely say 'help I am dying.'

“My good lady! I do hate to interrupt your evening, but might you possibly be... a healer?!”

[existentialismee]

( botanical headcanons ❀;    ) –   ACCEPTING

@otherworldly-healer​ said:

*↪             amaryllis, belladonna, magnolia

amaryllis :   what is something or someone that your muse takes pride in ?   how do they express that pride ?  

watanuki takes pride in he things he cooks and the desserts he bakes, but he’s always modest about his skill in that field!! he expresses it mostly by going out of his way to cook things for other people, but he puts a lot of love and time into the dishes he creates so that the other person can enjoy them to the fullest. he also takes pride in his role of the shopkeeper; he maintains a level of confidence with his customers when it comes to finding the solution to their requests, and how to handle the particularly difficult people that come through his door. 

belladonna :   how does your muse respond to silence ?   do they take comfort in soundlessness ,   or seek to fill the void with noise ?  

it comforts and scares him sometimes, but it depends on if he’s alone or not. if he’s with someone, watanuki can enjoy just sitting with them without the need to say something, especially if they’re close. he can just appreciate their being next to them, filling the void of loneliness he so often feels. but that is also why silence scares him at times, too. 

when he’s alone, his most darkest thoughts can at times take over when it’s too quiet; the things he’s been through, the people he’s lost, the one he misses more than anything.. it isn’t difficult for any of them to consume him when there’s nothing else distracting him. yet, he never tries to silence them. watanuki knows that he must always allow himself to feel these things, even if at times it’s incredibly difficult for him.

magnolia :   describe your muse’s relationship with nature   &   the natural world .  

watanuki has always enjoyed nature, especially cherry blossoms! the flower has always meant a lot to him for quite a few reasons, so when they finally begin to bloom in spring, he can’t help but feel optimistic and happy. he also has the ability to communicate with plants and other flora, so he feels rather close to them. he enjoys gardening and being out to enjoy nature-- he especially appreciates it in spirale, as the most he was only ever able to see before was the extent of what surrounded his shop.