#technically this is about witches abroad

[pourablecat]

Whoever said a couple of old biddies couldn't dance?

[fairytale-poll]

QUARTERFINAL ROUND, MATCH 4 OUT OF 4! FINALS FOR SET D!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Cinders:

She spent decades searching every moon and planet trying to find her wife (Rose), who was kidnapped on their wedding day. Eventually, she found Rose, and they embraced, only for Rose to die in Cinder's arms. And so Cinder killed the king who had kidnapped Rose by punching through his chest and into his heart.

And then Cinder got a somewhat happy ending, in which she met Rose's clone who had Rose's memories.

What if Cinderella was a Sci-Fi lesbian? Well here she is. She has a whole love song about searching the stars for her girlfriend after their wedding was interrupted and she was taken away. She spends years searching only to when she finally finds and embraces her watch her be shot. Cinders is so devastated by this that she plunges her wedding ring into the heart of the man who shot her love killing him.

Lesbian space princess who elopes with the terrifying soldier who was previously conquering her planet and spends decades searching for her when they're separated. Listen to her song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6w9V-gMgBF4

I think the way she punches the evil king through the heart as revenge for her wife is pretty neat.

She’s a revolutionary married to a woman, what’s not to love? From Cinders’ Song: “ When I was a little girl, my mother always told me / "Someday your prince will come, my love" / But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me”.

her girlfriend got cloned and most of said clones were brutally slaughtered in war and she searched for her girlfriend all throughout the galaxy and when they were finally reunited on the battlefield her girlfriend died. and a clone of her girlfriend who due to technical errors retained her memories, so does that count as the same girlfriend? theseus's girlfriend? anyway vote for cinders she's been through hell

Lesbian!! Has to search for her lost love Rose with her glass wedding ring that changes color when its near its partner!! Gets to embrace Rose once again for one final moment before the villain kills Rose right in front of her!! So Cinders kills him in return!! And she's left as (almost) the only surviving main character from her own album but!! She is eventually reunited with a clone of Rose, and while they cannot have a truly 'happy ever after' together they are the ones graced with the closest thing to it

SPACE LESBIANS (she's in love with Rose Red, who gets kidnapped on their wedding day and Cinders searches the galaxy to find her, waiting for her white ring to turn crimson, indicating that its twin was near) She took her name from the ashes of her burning planet <3 She also killed Old King Cole >:)

shes a tragic lesbian and killed a violent dictator shes literally the best

shes gay shes traumatized she dates both rose red and sleeping beauty. badass space wanderer looking for her wife

Her wife Rose gets kidnapped on their wedding day and Cinders spend the next thirty years looking for her. She finds her (:D) and then Rose dies (D:) and then Cinders kills the guy who killed Rose (girlboss).

shes a lesbian. she lost her wife, Rose (yes, as in sleeping beauty) the day they got married bc she was kidnapped. she spent 20 YEARS looking for her. as soon as she found her wife, Rose DIED IN HER ARMS. Cinders has gone through Too Much to lose this poll

(Her info from the wiki) the Princess of a planet burnt by King Cole's army, after it is ceded by her stepmother. She is imprisoned, meets Rose and plans to marry her. She is released by her godmother for the wedding, then flees when the attack happens, spending thirty years looking for Rose. Her half of the wedding ring will light up when she finds Rose.

"When I was a little girl, my mother always told me 'Someday your prince will come, my love' But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me I looked to the stars for you, my love" She's lesbian Cinderella IN SPACE. She fell in love with her wife in prison and they ran away to have a secret marriage but the empire kidnapped Rose on their wedding night and Cinders had to leave her behind. She searches for Rose for decades with the glass ring that guides her to its twin on her wife's finger. She finally reunites with her love after Rose rips three supersoldiers to pieces with her bare hands (hot) but then then the evil king kills Rose so Cinders fucking punches through his heart. And then a clone of Rose (who is also lesbian Sleeping Beauty IN SPACE) finds her cradling her wife's body and they have a happy reunion(?) and maybe they didn't have a happy ending BUT WHAT IF THEY HAD EACH OTHER? HUH? AAAAAH

she’s everything. she’s a princess from a long since conquered planet. she was imprisoned to make a statement of the brutal reign of old king cole. she met her wife while she was in prison, a beautiful brutal soldier covered in scars from battles. cinders and rose fell in love, so cinders’ godmother in white broke her out of jail so rose and cinders could be together. they were going to be married, except that OLD KING COLE intervened and kidnapped rose to make her the genetic base of his unholy army. so cinders spends THIRTY YEARS searching the galaxies for her love (and sings a really cool song about it called “Cinders’ Song”) until finally she arrives during the final battle just in time to see old king cole SHOOT ROSE DEAD. so cinders punches the king so hard (with her wedding ring) that he just Crumples Into Dust. the end! (no we do not talk about the fiction.)

lesbian, for one, and for two i don't really care i just think it'd be cool if she got in/if she made it past the first round

no one seems to have linked cinder’s song yet, so here [Link]

better yet, listen to the whole album too, for context and also what comes after. it slaps and also tragedy it's such a good album suhc a good band too

Someone already sent the song as propaganda, so I will provide SPOILER propaganda. [Click link to see spoilers.]

[Link]

Ella:

so this is a discworld story, and in discworld stories are sort of parasitic life forms that like to happen over and over. they can be harnessed, with enough magic. this is what’s happening to ella saturday, who is playing the parts of both cinderella and the frog princess. her evil fairy godmother (you get two, an evil one and a good one, though her evil one is under the impression that she’s the good one) has taken over the city, and is forcing everyone into fairytale roles under the threat of execution if they’re not quite archetypal enough. she thinks this will make people happy. ella, on account of being the dead  barons daughter, has gotten the role of princess. so she’s being kept in a house with two snakes who have been turned into human women, and is being forced to go to the ball, where she is expected to dance with the duc, who is a frog turned into a human, and kiss him to solidify the spell. she very much does not want to do any of this, but fortunately she’s got that other fairy godmother! who is brand new, on account of the last one died, and has no idea what she’s doing. but it all turns out ok in the end, and the stories stop (for a given value) and she’s the baroness now a they all live, if not happily or ever after, then normally, and for a time

[eulaties]

THE ELEVEN FATUI HARBINGERS & THEIR NATIONS

After watching the new PV, I started thinking: what if every nation had at least one corresponding Harbinger? Given what we already know about La Signora, Tartaglia, Scaramouche, etc. I think that this theory may have substance.

So, which nation is each Harbinger from? I’m going to try and compile what we know from canon, my own understandings of each character, and some of Tartaglia’s voicelines from 2.8 (not released yet, so those are technically leaks). Although there will be some speculation and wild guesses on my part, I hope that more generally, this post can serve as a comprehensive guide for the Fatui Harbingers :) 

Let’s get started!

(last updated 7/11/22)

HARBINGER NO. 6, THE BALLADEER: SCARAMOUCHE

Tartaglia’s voiceline about him: "After he took the Gnosis, we lost all contact with him. Now comes the task of trying to hunt it down and get it back...I actually don't mind it—it means I get to travel all over. Wonder if I'll run into you somewhere along the way?" (Source)

Nation: Inazuma

Background: He was a puppet created by Ei herself, but because he shed tears upon his creation, he was deemed too gentle to serve as a vessel for Ei’s Gnosis. His power was sealed and Ei allowed him to take control of his own life, causing him to wander Inazuma until he met the Fatui.

HARBINGER NO. 8, THE FAIR LADY: LA SIGNORA

Tartaglia’s voiceline about her: “I never got along with her, you know that. I guess there's not much more worth saying about her at this point. When you're a harbinger, you have to accept that death could come at any time...But don't worry about me. No matter what happens, I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself alive.” (Source)

Nation: Mondstadt

Background: Five hundred years ago, she was a regular woman from Mondstadt who left to study in Sumeru. Though separated from her lover, she always treasured the hydro timepiece he gave her, as it reminded her of him. But disaster soon struck during her time abroad—when the Cataclysm claimed the life of her lover, her grief consumed her to the point where she no longer had control over her powers. So, with her rage fueling her sorrow, she decided to use "her life's flame" to cleanse "the world's crookedness,” and thus became the Crimson Witch of Fire. Before she could be fully devoured by her own flames, though, Pierro encountered her and convinced her to join the Fatui.

HARBINGER NO. 11, TARTAGLIA: CHILDE

Nation: Snezhnaya

Background: As a child, he was known to be easily frightened and hesitant, causing his father to dote on him. After all, to survive Snezhnaya’s cruel winters, you must persist, and to persist, you must have strength; Ajax had none of that. That remained the case until one day, he fled his suffocating life at home and went into the forest to prove that, like his siblings, he was just as worthy. But that was easier said than done. After encountering a pack of wolves, he ran and made it further and further into the forest, eventually losing his footing and falling into the deep darkness of the Abyss. It was there that he met Skirk, the mysterious swordswoman that taught him all he needed to know to survive against the grisly horrors of the Abyssal creatures. So, Ajax was forced to become stronger, more tenacious. After three months had passed, he somehow made his way out of the Abyss. To his family, though, it was not three months that passed, but rather three days. And it was clear that he had changed drastically. Compared to the way he was before, he was more frivolous and confident, and with his newfound thirst for battle, he quickly gained a reputation of being a “nexus of strife.” His father, no longer doting on him, had no choice but to send him off to the military; he only hoped that its strict regiments would temper this unpredictable nature of his. Yet this was done to no avail. This disappointed his father, but it caught the eye of Pulcinella. Under the guise of punishment, Pulcinella ordered him to start from the bottom and work his way up to the top. If he managed to do so, then he could personally serve the Tsaritsa. Naturally, Childe succeeded at this, and in turn, he became the youngest and newest member of the Fatui.

HARBINGER NO. ??, THE DOCTOR: IL DOTTORE

Tartaglia’s voiceline about him: “I heard that he took segments of himself at different ages, made prostheses out of them, and assigned different tasks to each one. I know...all my comrades are a little weird. Come to think of it, if I met my own prosthesis...hah, we'd have to fight then and there to decide which one of us gets to survive.” (Source)

Nation: Sumeru

Background: Denounced as a heretic and chased out of his hometown because of his inhumane scientific ideas, Dottore eventually wound up at the Sumeru Academia. While still having the reputation of being a monster and madman, he restrained himself enough to not be expelled, because—after all—he still needed an environment “conducive to research.” During his time at the Academia, he was approached by Pierro, who asked for his loyalty to the Tsaritsa in exchange for resources and funding for his research. Since he could only stand to benefit, Dottore naturally agreed.

HARBINGER NO. 9, REGRATOR: PANTALONE

Tartaglia’s voiceline about him: “Oh, now that guy has a head full of grandiose plans fueled by raw ambition. I don't understand a word he says once he starts talking about his theories...Eh, but as long as he keeps our cash reserves stocked up, I'm not complaining.” (Source)

Nation (speculative): Liyue, maybe? From what we know about him, he appears to be very strategic/logical. Moreover, his surface-level obsession with wealth may indicate something deeper, such as how he closely values stability and giving as much as one takes (which then hearkens back to Liyue’s emphasis on equal contracts).

Background: He was born into poverty and never received a vision. This led him to question the nature of the world, and whether or not Celestia deserved to control humanity to this extent. Thus, he struggled his way to the top and, at some point, became recruited into the Fatui. Currently, he is the wealthiest Harbinger and is in control of Snezhnaya’s economic policies.

HARBINGER NO. 5, THE ROOSTER: PULCINELLA

Tartaglia’s voiceline about him: “I don't know what his motivations could be, but he seems genuine about wanting to help me. He treats me just like family. Oh, and speaking of family—Tonia and Teucer are always telling me about the pastries and other gifts he brings them when they write. So while I've been away from Snezhnaya, he's kept his promise to take care of my family.” (Source)

Nation (speculative): Snezhnaya, most likely. Along with Pierro, he is able to recruit Harbingers, so I’m guessing he has some sort of seniority. Looking at his clothes/general sense of style, too, no other nation stands out to me for him. He gives off very wintry vibes!

Background: Not much is known about him, but from the quote above, he appears to be compassionate towards Tartaglia. But at the same time, when he talks about him in Secrets From the Depths of Winter, he says that Tartaglia is trustworthy but then warns against “growing attached to him.” So what’s up with this contrast? It could be that he has ulterior motives or, you know. Maybe he really is just a family man. Either way, I want this little goblin man to be playable in the future.

HARBINGER NO. 3, THE DAMSELETTE: COLUMBINA

Tartaglia’s voiceline about her: “The Harbingers are ranked by strength, and I have no idea why that girl is No. 3. I'd test my skills with every Harbinger who ranks above me if I had the chance, but when it comes to her...something just doesn't feel right. Anyway, you should be careful around her.” (Source)

Nation (speculative): I’m not sure of which one yet, but going purely off of design, she might be from Snezhnaya or Fontaine. Personally, I’m thinking more Snezhnaya.

HARBINGER NO. ??, THE PUPPET: SANDRONE

Tartaglia’s voiceline about her: “She always seems engrossed in her research. Hmm.. I wonder if those machines have anything to do with her? Anyway, I've only met her a few times, but every time she looked like she wanted to murder me. I have no idea what I possibly could have done to annoy her.” (Source)

Nation (speculative): Same as the Damselette, I’m thinking either Fontaine or Snezhnaya. But she seems more likely to be from Fontaine, judging by her clothing/general sense of style; she looks pretty aristocratic to me. Also, we know that Fontaine has a steampunk/machine theme, so that lends credence to my assumption.

HARBINGER NO. ??, THE KNAVE: ARLECCHINO

Tartaglia’s voiceline about her: “Look, I've got nothing against people who have their own agendas—I myself joined the Fatui to get more experience in combat. But I don't like her at all. If she stood to benefit from betraying others, she'd turn against the Tsaritsa in a heartbeat. There isn't a sane bone in her body.” (Source)

Nation (speculative): Like the last two, she gives me Fontaine or Snezhnaya vibes. However, her quote in the PV makes me unsure on which one she leans towards: “Rosalyne died in a foreign land...But you heartless businessmen and dignitaries, always with a convenient excuse to remain in the comfort of your homeland...You couldn't hope to understand.” So for now, it’s ambiguous.

Background: She runs the orphanage House of Hearth, which takes in orphans and raises them as members of the Fatui. Based on the Harbinger PV, we know she cares about her “children” to some extent (she states, “We don't want to make the children cry”).

HARBINGER NO. ??, THE CAPTAIN: IL CAPITANO

Tartaglia’s voiceline about him: “I've seen him in battle before, and oh what a sight it was. Perhaps I'm ranked too low for him to notice me right now. Well, he may not recognize my strengths yet, but one day, I'll show him what I'm made of.” (Source)

Nation (speculative): The previous Harbingers are already from 6 of 7 nations: Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, and Snezhnaya. The only one left is Natlan, and I think that makes a lot of sense once we consider what we already know about the nation. First, from the manhua, we know that the clans of Natlan used to hold tournaments in Murata’s honor, who is the God of War. Second, from Vennessa, we know that the Natlan people “pass down the art of war to their descendants.” Therefore, Natlan probably has the most skilled and capable fighters in all of Tevyat. This knowledge, combined with Tartaglia’s voiceline, makes it seem very likely that Capitano is from Natlan.

HARBINGER NO. 1, THE JESTER: PIERRO

Tartaglia’s voiceline about him: “He was the first ever Fatui Harbinger, and today he is our leader. He only appears on important occasions. As for his accomplishments...To be honest, I don't really care. I owe my loyalty and devotion to the Tsaritsa, no one else.“ (Source)

Nation: Khaenri’ah

Background: Before the Cataclysm occurred, he warned the Khaenri'ah sages that "tearing away at the veil of sin” would bring severe consequences. Yet this was done to no avail—because he was not perceived as trustworthy by the sages, nor by the ruler of Khaenri'ah, he was forced to stand aside and watch as they flew too close to the sun and singlehandedly brought destruction to the homeland. Even more, he witnessed Celestia’s cruelty firsthand and quickly became embittered by the truth of the world. And so, with his wish to burn away the Old World, he aligned with the Tsaritsa’s cause and became the very first Fatui Harbinger.

[benevolentgodloki]

name / nickname: Pirate

age: 36

currently reading: Just started McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh for my book club. Unsure how I feel about it so far but curious where it goes. For pleasure I’m making my way through a re-read of Discworld. Just finished Witches Abroad. Oh, and online I’m intending to read through AuroraWest’s You Came To Me Wild and Wired strangefrost collection. Read some of it already, it’s fab, but I need to do it properly with comments and such :P

favorite color: Purple

favorite flower: I’m not really sure, but fuchsias are pretty

number of muses: Strictly two, Loki and Jack Sparrow. Though I have my boy XI, an AU of the 11th Doctor who might spark up again when the next era of DW starts. He has a couple of sideblogs for characters in his story. Technically Loki counts as several muses since I play a few different versions of him. I like to focus on 1-2 though for time management purposes. I’m also writing Hela and I NPC some other Marvel muses where needed on a private Discord server.

favorite muse of yours: I really can’t choose between Loki and Jack. Of all time, it’s probably Jack when it comes to how much he means to me for my life in general, but equally I’ve involved certain aspects of Loki within me (aside from that he’d have a strop if I pick Jack) and Loki allows for a wider range of stories. Let’s throw in a curveball and say XI for how rich his history is that I’ve built myself and with other writers. No, nope, I just can’t choose. My favourite to write at the moment is Loki, so he’s fronting.

favorite show: Farscape. Hands down. There are many I love, but it’s always my absolute favourite.

number of followers: 1125 - but I’ve never moved blogs or urls, I’ve been here since 2017, and a lot of these will be inactive or partners who have changed blogs a few times so all their previous urls are still there XD

number of starters: I’m not quite sure I understand this question. Is this how many I’ve ever written? Because that’d be impossible to tell. If it’s how many are pending for me to write, I have 4 asks waiting for their turn on those partner’s rounds, a few drafts but I’m not sure I’d count them as starters since they’re more replies to starters. If I promised you personally I’d start something and haven’t done so, please do drop by my IMs and remind me.

last movie you saw: In the cinema it was Thor: Love & Thunder. That might actually be the last movie I saw as I can’t remember watching anything but episodes of stuff since then.

tagged by: @heroiisms Thanks! tagging: Any of my partners who haven’t done this or would like to do so again!

[webcomixwastaken]

Disc world flowcharts please. I need to know where not to start. thanks

Oop sorry anon that I was very out of it [by it I mean tumblr] the past few days but I GOT YOU.

Except my flowchart is in the form of a Lot Of Words, so buckle up buddy.

So, let's start with my own Discworld journey. I started with Mort which is the first book in the "Death" line and the fourth in chronological publishing order. Which I think is a Not Bad place to start because it's still quite early on so it doesn't reference too many happenings in the overall universe, but Pratchett was already in the groove of things so he understood his series' vibe a lot better. (Note: I read Colour of Magic VERY late in my Discworld reading game and I'm glad for it.) The whole point after all is to give Death a little bit of personhood. And as a character who pops up quite frequently in all the other books, it's great to get to know Death well so you can greet him like an old friend... like, on the page. Not actually. At least, I hope. The rest of this line are just some crackin' great stories and if I remember correctly, I have teared up if not loudly sniffled at least once per book. Especially when we get Susan’s introduction in Soul Music (I’m also always a sucker for band stories). Loved Thief of Time too though but maybe it's just because it's vaguely linked to Night Watch; more info below.

But if you're the type of person who likes some good ol' plot then the City Watch is for you!! Guards Guards was my own second DW read, and from there I actually gobbled up the entire City Watch line because well. I like plot. But this is Discworld so you do still get some great character development, both with individual stories and over the course of the series. The City Watch is comprised of some of Discworld's most dynamic and nuanced characters like Carrot, Angua, Cheery, Detritus and of course, Commander Samuel Vimes. Some standouts from this line are Feet of Clay and Night Watch which is literally Back to the Future meets Les Miserables, two of my favourite things.

Okay, you say. I like character development immensely but wasn’t this supposed to be ~fantasy~? Just look to Granny Weatherwax, the usual protagonist of most books in the Witches line which begins with Equal Rites. Like Vimes, she’s the walking representation of Good is not Nice and the antics of her coven bring her into (mostly reluctant) contact with wizards, royals, fae, vampires, and, in Maskerade, stuffy opera managers who are haunted by musical prodigies lurking in the basement. So if you also like a good spoof of a well known story, read the Witches line! There’s Wyrd Sisters for Macbeth, Witches Abroad will give you Cinderella, and Lords & Ladies covers A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

Speaking of wizards, let’s talk about the OG Discworld protagonist, Rincewind. Honestly? I’m the least invested in him. Like I mentioned before, The Colour of Magic is the first Discworld book technically but it does have some early installment weirdness. I was more entertained by Ridcully and his crew of dramatic pedants. I’ll put in a good word for Interesting Times because well. We are in an era of protest and especially so for my side of the world. I would say to read this line after the other ones because I personally needed to be invested in the Discworld itself before committing myself to Rincewind. I actually think I haven’t even finished all these books yet?? I’m pretty certain I stopped at The Last Hero which is truly an ensemble number so please do read a few City Watch books to fully enjoy it, but that’s mostly because my library doesn’t have Unseen Academicals. But I CAN say I needed little convincing to care about Luggage. 

There are a couple of stand-alones that could be grouped together but more thematically rather than narratively: Pyramids and Small Gods for religion (personally I'd go with Small Gods first), The Truth and Moving Pictures for industry.

I have actually not read any of the Tiffany Aching* books, nor have I gotten to Moist Von Lipwig which I acknowledge may somewhat void my ability to suggest a Discworld reading order but it just goes to show you how much there is to this series.

TL;DR?: Or you can just look at this handy graphic which I keep bookmarked as a personal checklist to remind myself what I haven’t read yet. But I really enjoyed this opportunity to ramble about Discworld so thank you, anon. 

*Hmmm I really should, so I can use it as a Harry Potter alternative for my students

[brood-mother]

original fiction temp check

OKAY so, bare with me for a moment of ~vulnerability~ here. i turned 29 last week and one of my ‘life goals’ was to at least start writing my first original novel before i was 30 (it was actually to have finished writing one by then but. well, life happens), however my first immediate problem is i’m naturally a massively indecisive person and i have about one hundred million ideas. i’ve whittled them down to 3 that are the most complete in terms of planning & prep, but i would really really appreciate it if you could glance over the quick descriptions below and tell which one (if any) piques your interest the most? you don’t have to be mutuals or to have read any of my fanfic, anon asks are also on if you’re a lil shy like me.

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1. working title: no glory in the west

genres: historical fiction/drama/romance

blurb: Pilgrim's Creek is dying. A former gold rush boom town, its prosperity dried up with the mines, so when tragedy strikes and a young girl is kidnapped, the town can't afford her ransom. Help comes in the unlikely form of travelling guns-for-fire & the town's strange physician, who finds himself stuck as the go between for the people and the gang.

notes: set in the wyoming territory circa 1870, it follows a french-algerian medic who went awol from the french foreign legion during the second franco-mexican war. he wandered north america for some time before he arrived at pilgrims creek on the day of a terrible mining disaster, and was able to use his medical training to save many lives, ingratiating himself with the townspeople. he is accepted as their physician when the old one retires, however he becomes less and less welcome as time goes on and things begin to get desperate in the town, and he sees ‘solving’ the kidnappings as a way to gain favour again. falling in love with the head of a travelling gang kind of puts a pin in his plans, though. MC and his LI are vaguely inspired by doc & lion from r6s. 

themes: the line between conformity and complicitness / longing & belonging / personal identity / internalised prejudice / freedom, desire & repression

aesthetic board

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2. working title: the sun sets on us

genres: fantasy/adventure/drama

blurb: With her mother dead, her father missing, and her homeland consumed in a vicious civil war, a young witch is forced to leave the safety of her family’s farm for the first time in her life. Along with her two brothers, she embarks on a perilous quest to find a semi-mythical city in the frozen wastes of the far north when it’s said magic is revered & celebrated rather than reviled & hunted. However, after a long and dangerous journey, they soon discover all is not as it seems in the city, and she must fight harder than ever to protect what is left of her family.

notes: started out life as a “what if” about the hawke siblings (dragon age 2) fleeing to tevinter rather than kirkwall, and what might happen if bethany had to be the family protector rather than garrett/marian. quickly developed into its own original story with unique setting, but hardcore DA fans would still find familiarity. the sharply defined 3 act plot would lend itself well to a trilogy or an “epic” length novel. i was reading grrm when i plotted this out and it shows (in a good way i think?). technically no humans involved?

themes: the meaning of family & the obligations we create for ourselves with it / the cost of self-sacrifice vs self-preservation / self actualisation / the inevitable corruption of power / morality vs practicality 

aesthetic board

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3. working title: there among the trees

genres: fantasy/romance/horror

blurb: After a lifetime of education abroad, a young Crown Prince must return to his homeland to assume the throne from his dying father, long before anyone - himself included - believes him ready. Determined to prove himself and to do right by his subjects, he resolves to push against the ancient traditions he believes stands in the way of progress & prosperity - but he is quick to realise the people’s reverence of the forest is something far more sinister than mere superstition.

notes: ngl this entire story is based on that once scene from the last court where the horned knight kidnaps the wayward bard to serve in his creepy forest court and you have to go get him back, sprinkled with the life-long fear instilled in me by a short horror story i read as a kid about a little boy with an over-active imagination who imagines there’s a monster living in a woodpile he walks past every day, and he ends up believing in it so much it briefly becomes real and kills one of his friends, garnished with the inherent creepiness and power of deep ancient forests. 

themes: man vs nature vs man / the inherent bias of civilisation / the power of belief / tradition vs modernism / nature vs nurture 

aesthetic board

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if you read All That Shit, thank you so much!!!!!!!! i’ve always been really, really shy and private about my original works so i’m kinda nervous and ANY feed back or questions would be a++ helpful, even just commenting “#1/2/3″.

[slexenskee]

Notes for Chapter 14

Chapter here. Guys, this is not only fiction, it is FAN fiction. There will be historical inaccuracies. I tried. 

-chapter title brought to you by Gojo, because I adore him

-Cusco/Cuzco idk i’ve seen it spelt both ways

- Quechua one of the (many) native cultures of the cusco region

- The Bloodlands - a great book, also a region that’s basically the eastern bloc of the soviet union

- Supay are a legend of the region but not the way I’ve portrayed it. Took some liberties by having it associated with death to such a degree

- You can look up traditional indian wedding festivities if you want, they’re a lot of fun. It can be a weeklong affair, not just 3 days

- lehenga/dupatta - traditional indian clothing. GORGEOUS

- I feel like machu picchu needs no explanation. It was something of a summering locale for the aristocracy of cusco back during the incan empire. I don’t go into it, but I imagine parts of it have remained under some kind of magical barrier and those parts are still in use by the magical community, hence why it was a study abroad location for tom

- there is a train, but it wasn’t built until the 1950s or something like that. I feel like a site for the kings and nobility would be heavily warded by ancient barriers and therefore impossible to access via portkey or apparition, hence the walking

- plus I can just imagine tom being sooo pissed about it but deadset on going regardless because Knowledge(tm) 

- Technically yama is summoned, not Harry, but they’re connected now so she got pulled into that mess along with him. 

-kulaks I’m using it as a general term for peasants

- gulags, need no explanation

- dyadya - uncle, supposedly? just a general term for an older man but not an old old man

- baba yaga, superstition in eastern european cultures, there are plenty of fairy tales on her. She’s the quintessential evil old witch hag

- Volshebnik means wizard i think??

- idk i shouldn’t have annoyed myself with all the untranslated terms but I wanted it to be in Yuriy’s perspective

- that scene is probably hell for ESL readers so the jist is: Harry/Yama is summoned by a young boy as a final stand/act of revenge. He was born in the midst of the famine, his entire family starved to death, and he was pointed in the direction of an old witch by a wandering older man. The witch usually eats children but since the boy was actually unknowingly a wizard she takes him as an apprentice instead. The old lady eventually dies, and the boy wanders the ravaged countryside alone again. He’s so disgusted by what he sees, and also dying of starvation himself, and he invokes an ancient death ritual taught to him by the old witch and that’s how Harry ends up there. The strain of the ritual ends up killing him, but it was kind of a suicide since it was intentional?

- I love a good Gellert pov so here he is

- He used the same spell he used a couple chapters ago except this time he recognized where Harry was (eastern europe), and was able to use that to track her down. Also by the time he was in the general region the magic was so strong it was pretty easy to find her

- vedma - grandma

- Kurgan - a ceremonial burial of slavic origins, usually for kings/ aristocracy

- Morana, Mara , Marzanna, Morena, Mora - pagan slavic goddess associated with seasonal rites on the idea of death and rebirth of nature, Closest I could find to a goddess of death for the region. I chose Morana just because it seemed the most universal *shrugs* 

-Is Abraxas actually a god? idk definitely a demon at least. 

[andromeda3116]

Newbie to the discworld novels! A coworker gifted me equal rites, which I just finished and was hilarious/weird/interesting. I think I want to read another but there are like 40 of these! Do you recommend reading all in order? Or do you have some favs to read?

I definitely don't recommend reading them in the publishing order, no. If you've started with Equal Rites, you may want to continue with the Lancre Witches series, which goes from there to Wyrd Sisters to Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, then Carpe Jugulum, which is one of my all-time favorite books, Discworld or otherwise. It's an excellent thread to follow, and one of my favorites. They tend to riff on classic theatre, and focus on the power of stories, and feature so many strong female characters that they outnumber the male characters by a significant amount. Witches Abroad is notable for having all of its major, plot-affecting characters be women, and most of them older women. Plus, it's a satire of Cinderella that takes place in an Expy of New Orleans, so it holds a special place in my heart.

The Lancre Witches novels sort of segue into the Tiffany Aching novels, which begin with the Wee Free Men, then continues with A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, and the Shepherd's Crown. Technically, these are Young Adult novels, and so the protagonist starts at the age of nine, but they don't feel childish, and to be frank, I Shall Wear Midnight is just too dark for my tastes. The Shepherd's Crown is the last book in the series, was published posthumously, and very, very much reads as Sir Terry's goodbye, so while you can technically start anywhere, do not read this one yet.

My other favorite thread is the City Watch novels, which begin with Guards! Guards! and goes on to Men at Arms, Feet of Clay (an underrated classic, imo), Jingo, the Fifth Elephant (also highly underrated), Night Watch, Thud!, and Snuff. They've got a sort of police procedural bent, but in a way you've never seen before, and with a distinctly anti-authoritarian feel. This is not a Watch that exists to support the status quo.

Other threads you might enjoy would be the Moist von Lipwig series: Going Postal, Making Money, and Raising Steam, which is about a con artist who is forced to go legitimate and turns his powers to the betterment of the city; or the Death and Susan series: Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Moving Pictures, Hogfather, and Thief of Time, which delve into the meaning of life and the nature of belief.

Or you could go with some of the standalone novels, like Small Gods -- which changed my life -- or Monstrous Regiment -- which always guts me more than I expect.

Small Gods is the one that I tell people, if you read only one, read this one. I live in the Deep South and so it's very personal to me, in particular. Essentially, the Discworld is a place where gods get their power from belief, and this god Om (an Expy of the Christian god) -- who boasts a theocracy of millions of people who pray to Him multiple times a day, make pilgrimages to the capital city, and are tortured if their belief is not deemed pure enough -- comes down one day to see how things are going, and finds that he has no power.

Like I said, growing up in the Deep South, I have strong negative feelings about the Christian Church, and Small Gods taught me to let it go.

Which leads me into the real answer, because while it's like... read which story sounds cool to you, which thread seems like it's up your alley, it's also like... What do you need right now?

Do you need a story about subverting people's expectations and being yourself even if that means being quote-unquote "less than" other people wanted you to be? Witches Abroad.

Do you need a story about rising from your own ashes to be a better person than you thought you could be? Guards! Guards!

Do you need an incredibly cathartic story where a Trump-style Corrupt Executive gets what's coming to him? Going Postal.

Do you need to work through your religious trauma? Small Gods.

Do you need a story about breaking cycles of violence and proving yourself to those who have ignored you and held you down? Monstrous Regiment.

Do you need a story about staring into the face of abject helplessness and fighting against it anyway? Night Watch.

So many of the Discworld novels act not just as good stories but as vehicles for emotions you don't know what to do with, and that's why they stick so deep into the psyches of people who read them. It's about what you need to get out of the story, and there's probably a story for whatever it is that's weighing on you.

I know that's a lot of talking, but I hope it helps, and I hope you enjoy the ride!

[scrunchyharry]

here is a masterpost of all of my fics in chronological order of publication

✨ I roll and I roll, ‘til I change my luck

explicit | 8,295 words

“They’re not my best pictures.”

“I wouldn’t say that, I think you look quite good being manhandled by a bigger man.”

Louis chokes on his sip of hot chocolate, feeling it burn its way down his throat. He coughs a few times and then clears his throat. “I’m sorry?!”

“You heard me. You should do it more often, it might make you more humble. Maybe you’ll learn to respect people.” Or Louis is a bored, rich kid whose latest stunt got him arrested and forced to attend a fundraiser at an ice rink, Zayn is his unlucky partner in crime, Harry is the cute hospital volunteer who is having none of his attitude, Niall is the worst DJ in the world, and Liam is Leslie Knope.

✨ lead me out on the moonlight floor

explicit | 12,758 words

In all honesty, Harry was long forgotten, cast aside by a dimpled stranger and too much champagne. He was almost glad, now, that Harry hadn’t come, because he wouldn’t have met this stranger, this tall man who could make his heart flutter with a single glance.

Victorian!AU where Louis is a wealthy lord throwing a masquerade ball for his birthday and Harry is a toymaker who's only confident when he's wearing a mask.

✨ electing strange perfections

explicit | 10 chapters | 84,757 words

Back for the summer from university, 19-year-old Louis is faced with a massive problem: their new gardener is quite possibly the most gorgeous man he's ever met. Over the course of the summer, Louis and a 25-year-old Harry will learn that love can be found where you least expect it.

✨ scintillating

explicit | 23 chapters | 263,706 words

When Harry and Louis meet in Disney World during their family’s holiday, it’s love at first sight. Back in England, they fight against the distance to stay together, to make it work. When Harry signs up for The X-Factor, though, the precarious balance they’ve built is compromised.

Or the one where they fall in love, Harry wins the X-Factor, and everything goes to hell.

✨ taken by the wind

teen and up | 12,040 words

When he decided to move to London with his sister, Harry thought he would finally get to learn how to control his magic. He couldn't possibly have predicted that he would fall for her neighbour.

Or the one where Harry is a clumsy witch and Louis is making everything worse just by existing.

✨ signs and wonders

explicit | 29,005 words

On the surface, it looks like Louis Tomlinson has the perfect life; after all, he has the whole package: a white picket fence house (well, his doesn’t technically have a white picket fence, but work with him), a wife, a daughter and a dog. He has it all and he’s not even 30, yet.

On the surface, he could be the happiest man in the world.

The thing is, he never wanted this life. There was this boy, see, this Harry Styles, whose arrival made Louis question everything he thought he knew about himself. Before Louis could pursue it, though, before he could be brave and ask the boy out, one moment of bad luck on prom night, one single lapse of judgment, shaped his life in a way he never would have chosen. Between doing the right thing or turning into his own absent father, he knew what he had to do, even if it meant burying his dreams under the weight of a premature adulthood.

That is, until he receives an invitation for his school’s ten year reunion and sees that Harry will attend.

Could it be his second chance at happiness? At what cost?

✨ fondre ton absence

teens and up | 41,315 words

Harry had never really given much thought to the future. He preferred to let life steer him forward and to follow in the footsteps of Louis, his best friend from as far as his memory went, his lover, his everything. Louis knew better than he did what was good for him.

It changed drastically when Louis was ripped away from him, drafted and sent to the front to fight in a war that Harry had always been sure would never reach him. Too young and too sickly to follow, Harry was left on his own for the first time in his life.

When he thought things could not possibly get worse, Louis went missing at the Somme and was declared dead. While everyone buried and mourned him, Harry never moved on. If Louis were dead, he was sure that he would know it. Their lives were too entwined, he would know if half of his heart had died.

Determined to find Louis, Harry did everything he could in his quest to be reunited with him, except prepare for the state Louis might be in.

He did not prepare for the harsh truth he would have to face: was love possible without memories?

✨ the sanctity of patience

teens and up | 22,521 words

When young Lord Harry was chosen by King Louis of Bavaria to become his husband and prince consort, Harry thought all of his dreams had come through. His illusions came crashing down when he understood it meant living in isolation in the alpine castle of Neuschwanstein with a husband who turned out to be far from what he had hoped for.

His illusions vanished, Harry will have learn to appreciate what has and even, perhaps, fall in love with his imperfect husband and his castle.

✨ tempests of dust

explicit | 30,797 words

Louis lived an ordinary life, albeit in an extraordinary place. His family, alongside many others, were mandated to maintain the fortress of Bourbon-l’Archambault, one of the many castles belonging to the crown of France. It was thankless work, but it was a roof over their heads and a quiet, steady life. For all that he knew, the Crown had forgotten Bourbon-l’Archambault even existed, which suited him quite well.

That was until the Dauphin, Prince Harry, came to stay for a summer and decided that he would experience the life of a peasant, for his own personal growth, without any regards to how it would affect others. After a summer spent together, the thought of parting ways was too much to bear and they struck a deal: Louis would pretend to be a duke at the court of Versailles for a season: if after three months, he was miserable, Harry would let him return to his former life without making a fuss.

Did they really think it would be that simple?

✨ i can’t hurt you anymore

mature | 666 words

There was a boy who lived in the closet of Harry’s new house. Louis, he was called, and he was there when Harry’s family moved in, watching timidly as Harry unpacked his boxes, and when Harry asked if he wanted to help, he said he could not touch anything.

I’m Louis, he said, and we can be friends and I will never leave you if you promise to be with me forever.

✨ as in olden days

teens and up | 18,430 words

When his father insisted the entire family spend Christmas abroad in one of his new investments, Harry dreaded the prospect of being trapped for weeks in the biting Canadian cold, so far away from the roaring excitement of his London life. As he crossed half of the world to be buried under a thick blanket of snow, he never imagined he would meet a charming bellhop who would do his best to keep him warm.

[jadepetals]

so this is part 4 of the fics that i've read and have stayed with me for a looong time. hope you feel the same way.

the beginning of everything / 30532 words

Harry is a struggling artist, in more ways than one, and Louis is a successful theatre critic and a failed writer, more or less.

Where I Should Be / 31324 words

Harry is getting married, Louis is in love with his best friend, and they only have this life to get it right.

From Eight Until Late, I Think About You / 35227 words

After finding out that his University of Brighton roommate has a YouTube channel, Harry starts up his own channel, on which he posts videos of himself doing weekly challenges. He strikes up a friendship with Louis, a popular youtuber in London, that starts in the comments on their videos and progresses to texting, skyping, and talking about each other in their own videos far too often. They fall for each other long-distance, but put off meeting face-to-face as long as possible, too nervous that they'll screw it all up.

all that remains / 40159 words

Harry has always written too many songs about him.

Breakable Heaven / 44594 words

“What do you think?” Louis gets captured by Harry’s green eyes, unable to look away or even take a breath.

“I think you’re the most magnificent creature I’ve ever met.”

“You must not have met many creatures then.”

Harry’s eyes glance downward to Louis’ lips and his tongue darts out to wet his own. “None like you.”

just a flicker in the dark / 57200 words

Louis is a struggling witch desperate to prove himself after yet another magic disaster and finds a calling in the haunted house of client Niall Horan. Things get more complicated when he’s assigned a case partner: acclaimed medium and ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles.

Like Real People Do / 58469 words

Harry is Louis' soulmate but Louis isn't Harry's - it takes Harry a while to figure it all out.

try not to remember (rather than forget) / 59602 words

Harry hadn’t left, not really. He had been right there the entire time. And that’s what had made it worse, knowing that his body was within touching distance but his mind, everything that made Harry Harry, was lost somewhere Louis wasn’t able to reach.

He hadn’t left, but that’s what it had felt like most of the time. Just as if one day Harry had up and left him.

Know I Think You’re Awesome, Right? / 60113 words

Louis is a hippie, very good vibes activist and Harry is a punk, anarchist that always gets involved in violent protests.

Such Good Luck / 66205 words

Harry is a young aristocratic lord and Louis is a working class dairy farmer. Secrets are a necessary part of their relationship, but Louis has one that could topple their whole world.

sleeping on our problems / 67426 words

Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.

From What I’ve Tasted of Desire / 71557 words

When Louis moves to the small Scottish town of Fortrose to spend some time with his father, he thinks he's come to terms with the fact that the next two years of his life will be rainy and dull. That changes when he meets the ever-elusive Harry Styles in his Biology class and he makes it his goal to find out the big secret surrounding him and his family. Louis unexpectedly finds himself in the eye of a storm of secrecy, age-old myths, friendship and romance.

We’ll Cast Some Light (You’ll Be Alright) / 74409 words

There’s a standard procedure for this. Scan, track, kill. But with a solar eclipse and a Greater Demon with unfinished business looming, the path to keeping England safe from harm becomes complicated and shadowed by mystery and secrets. For Harry and his team, times have never been harder, especially when a few old friends turned foes show up. Harry is left with just over forty days to overcome the hurdle of tension between them and reconcile their past, and figure out just what Louis is hiding from him before it’s too late.

 My friend lost a bet / 74975 words

Louis ends up on the list of potential fake-boyfriends for Harry Styles because Stan really sucks at football bets.

Swallow The Knife / 76178 words

“You came,” Louis says, still breathless, clinging to Harry, uncaring that his sweat is getting all over Harry’s presumably clean dad shirt, or that he’s making Harry hold up all of his weight.

“Of course I came,” Harry says. He shifts, one arm curled underneath Louis’ arse, the other spreading wide in the middle of Louis’ back. “If I ignored you every time you pissed me off we would have stopped being friends a long time ago.”

Louis already knows that, of course. It doesn’t do anything to stop the pleased squirm in his belly every time Harry proves it, though. They fight like nobody’s business, both of them too stubborn to pull their punches when they’re arguing, and it used to get them in trouble, but they always make up.

Adrenaline makes Louis loose-lipped, and they both know it. He tightens his arms around Harry’s neck, buries his face in his hair. “I missed you,” he confesses, quiet. “Doesn’t feel the same up there by myself.”

Black with Autumn Rain / 93468 words

Harry is a journalist, Louis has lots of secrets and the moors aren't exactly the ideal place to rekindle a lost romance.

Runaway Land / 103610 words

Louis is sure he’s stumbled upon a secret, underground nightclub, though that is far from the truth. He’s also pretty sure he’s stumbled upon Apollo, which… isn’t very far from the truth, actually.

Next to your Heartbeat (where I sould be) / 130821 words

All it takes for them to fall in love is one night. All they have to do is wait one year to see each other again.

Yet, when Louis returns after his year abroad, the boy who's got his arms wrapped around Harry isn't him. It isn't a stranger either, which should make walking away all that easier. After all, friend's don't lust after their mate's boyfriends.

Technically, doing the right thing should be easy - but when has Louis ever been known to taking the easy way out?

Run Like the Devil / 139152 words

Louis hunts demons; Harry's the strangest demon he's ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

Three Days in February / 187964 words

Louis is cursed after a night out with the lads and the five have just three days to figure out what happened and how to break it before Harry and Louis both lose their sanity and maybe something more. Louis can hear everything Harry thinks and Harry isn’t sure he can keep his feelings for Louis a secret from his own mind.

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5

[deehellcat]

Don't start with the first Discworld. In fact, I'd say start with like, I think it's the 6th? Anyway, Wyrd Sisters is a Macbeth-inspired story. One of the best books in the whole series, and a great introduction to Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, who are two of the best characters in the whole series (Equal Rites is technically the first book with Granny Weatherwax but personally I think Wyrd Sisters is the better book).

From there I'd recommend reading Witches Abroad just because it is the funniest book I've ever read and you can't go wrong with just reading the witch books as a single series if you want to. If you do, then after Witches Abroad you'd want to read Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, and Carpe Jugulum. And throw Equal Rites in there somewhere if you want.

Beyond that, Guards! Guards! will introduce you to Sam Vimes. Mort will introduce you to Death. And The Wee Free Men will introduce you to Tiffany Aching (but note, the Tiffany Aching books have a different feel/flavor to them. Personally I think they're worth a read but definitely don't read the last one until you've read most of the other books, at least the witch books, it's technically kind of an end to the series).

The Rincewind books do get better so you might consider trying a different one later on. But really, there's no need to read much of it in order so if you just want to skip him entirely you could do so pretty easily. You can easily skip books if they bore you and still pick up the next book, or the next book about those characters, and understand it well enough.

Hopefully this is helpful and not too rambly!

oh bless you! thanks so much :) this is the best and most complete and understandable advice I've gotten.

[drarry-we-meet]

Valentine’s Day Sucks

Part 1

Draco grit his teeth as another wave of ooohs and ahhhs sounded across the small collection of cubicles. He tried to ignore the outbreak of distinctly feminine chatter and focus on the report he was currently writing. After reading the same paragraph three times, he was finally able to get back into the flow of things. He was halfway through drafting his next sentence when a loud bang followed by assorted squeals and giggles broke out, and he couldn’t help but sneak a peek.

Longbottom was currently surrounded by a cloud of glittering pink smoke that smelled strongly of roses, and there on his desk was a humongous box of chocolates. Draco sighed, he was more than ready for this Valentine’s Day nonsense to be over with. It was bad enough hearing all the witches in his department cooing like a pack of wild doves each time one of them received a flower delivery, which of course was every few minutes. But to make matters worse, this year the wizards seemed to be getting just as many gifts thanks the Wheezes new ad campaign which insisted that witches must also get soppy romantic trinkets for their gents.

Draco would have admired such a brilliant marketing strategy, that had surely doubled their profits this year, if it didn’t cause him to have double the annoyance at the same time. While the witches gifts were more traditional and quiet; flowers, chocolate, jewelry. The men’s gifts were far sillier; singing heat shaped telegrams that burst into miniature fireworks at the end of their song, stuffed bears that did cartwheels across desks before exploding into a shower of confetti, and large boxes like Longbottom’s that went off like a bomb, leaving behind chocolates once the smoke had cleared.

Of course it didn’t help matters that Draco knew he wouldn’t be receiving anything this year. It wasn’t that he was alone, at least not technically. He had been seeing, or at least sleeping with, Harry-savior-of-the-whole-fucking-wizarding-world Potter, for just over 4 months. Not that it counted though, probably. They had never discussed whether or not what they were doing was exclusive. For Draco it was, and he was fairly certain it was for Harry as well, seeing how he barely had any free-time as Deputy Head Auror and all. But a lack of time to see other people, and actually wanting to date someone were two very different things.

Case in point was the Mountain of gifts that Draco could see steadily growing in the office across the room filled with their cubicles. Witches and wizards from all over the world sent Harry gifts each holiday, but this one always seemed to be the worst. Two curse breakers were currently stationed in the room sorting, screening, and vanishing questionable gifts, while Harry himself was still out meeting with the muggle liaison of Interpol for some reason or another. He wasn’t due to return until Monday, and by then his office would be clear once again.

The safe candy was set aside to be distributed to various departments in the ministry, particularly those inconvenienced the most by this whole fiasco; the mailroom, the janitors union, the curse breakers, and of course the aurors. All of the mail was piled neatly for his secretary to review. The majority of it would be vanished of course, but a few of the most polite ones would be answered eventually.

In fact, now that Draco thought about it, his willingness to always be available to Harry no matter how last minute or weird the hour was, in order to be able to see Harry in between his many meetings and trips abroad might be the only reason Harry even bothered with him at all. It was that thought, paired with the reminder that so far whatever ‘this’ was between them had remained a carefully guarded secret from even their closest friends, that caused a sharp clenching pain inside his gut. Draco determinedly pushed all thoughts of the idiot-who-lived far from his mind and tried once again to focus on work.

By lunchtime, the continuous loud bangs and rose scented smoke that accompanied them, had the beginnings of a migraine forming behind Draco’s eyes. He decided to escape the ministry for a bit and get some fresh air at the cafe across the street. He had just finished, and stood up to don his coat when a shadow appeared across his desk. He looked up into the sneering faces of Zacharias Smith, his well-endowed girlfriend, and a couple of brand new trainees whose names he didn’t care to remember.

"I was just about to head to lunch Smith so whatever it is you need will have to wait till after I return,” Draco kept his most impassive face in place, but his voice was firm. He knew the only thing Smith wanted was to start trouble and he wasn’t in the mood for any of it.

Smith smirked, “I just wanted to ask you where your Valentine’s Day gift was," he asked with a faux sweet voice.

That threw Draco for a loop for a minute, “What are you talking about?"

Smith and his group immediately started laughing, Draco wasn’t sure what the hell they found so funny or why on earth they were asking him about Valentine’s gifts of all things.

Smith’s smile had only gotten wider, “Well Malfoy, he emphasized, maybe it has escaped your notice, but you’re the only person in the entire department, possibly even the entire ministry who hasn’t received even one measly card.”

Draco could feel his heart rate picking up, but he hadn’t lived with old-moldyfarts for nothing, and was able to keep his face blank and posture relaxed. Smith was just getting warmed up though, pointing out how ‘of course’ they shouldn’t be so surprised that he hadn’t received anything, since he was death eater scum and all. By this point they were attracting the attention of the rest of the office.

Draco could see out of the corner of his eye that Granger was heading their direction, but Draco would rather die than have someone he once allowed to be tortured in his house defend him from a spineless git like Smith.

Draco carefully rolled his eyes and shook his head at Smith, “is that really the best you could come up with today Zachary?” Because he knew how much Smith hated people using the shorter form of his name, "you must be having just such a fulfilling Valentine’s Day yourself if you would rather spend all your time talking to me than your girlfriend, what are you 12?” He then swept out of the office before Smith could reply or Granger could reach them.

He was waiting down the hall for the lift when a fierce grip grabbed his arm and spun him around. It was Smith’s girlfriend, and Draco was fairly shocked to be manhandled by her. She, unlike her slimy boyfriend, had always seemed like a genuinely nice person. However her face right now was twisted in fury.

"No one will ever love you," she spat. "You can look down on us all you want, but in the end you will be a bitter old man and die alone. You don’t even have any friends!” She spun on her heel and left then.

Draco was left reeling in the hallway, his vision swimming a bit and his breathing a bit too fast and shallow. As the room came back into focus he locked eyes with Granger. Of course she had followed him out into the hall, of course she’d probably seen the whole thing. Fuck. The lift chimed and Draco stumbled back into in, jamming the door close button to stop her from pursuing him any further. He knew that look, that look of pity, and it made him sick to his stomach.

Draco ended up skipping lunch, he walked aimlessly around the nearest park until his face and fingers were numb with cold despite his gloves and warming charms. The words, “no one will ever love you,” played on endless repeat in his head as he fought to direct his thoughts toward anything else. He didn’t know why he let their words get to him like that, he didn’t give a shit what Smith or his girlfriend thought.

But the words had cut him to the bone, mainly because it was a very real fear he had held onto since the end of the war. His friends had all fled the country after the trials, some even before, and his dating life had been pretty nonexistent for the last 6 years. Nothing they had said was technically wrong. The men Draco had been with were ok with fucking him as long as no one ever found out. He just wasn’t the type of person anyone could ever take home to meet their parents.

And Draco had been ok with that, or so he thought. Relationships were just messy, unnecessary. Until Harry. Harry was the first man Draco had ever been with who took him to dinner, (at muggle restaurants), who always spent the night, who held him after sex, who made breakfast for him the morning after. Harry made him watch muggle films on his couch while giving him neck rubs or foot rubs and always made sure he had Draco’s favorite tea on hand. By the second month Draco had begun to think that maybe, just maybe they were something more than just sex.

But then one day they had been interrupted mid-foreplay by one of Harry’s friends visiting unannounced, and Harry had quickly shoved Draco into the closet and told him to be quiet. Draco had died a little inside that day. It was an unspoken agreement after that. Draco was a secret, a dirty little secret, just like always.

Draco returned to the office a few minutes late, half frozen and despondent, but as always he didn’t let any of it show on his face. He had considered skiving off the rest of the day, but wouldn’t give Smith the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten under his skin.

He buried himself in his work and carefully ignored any whispers or glances he felt come his way, but he was still attuned enough to the atmosphere of the room to notice as everyone was wrapping up their tasks at the end of the day and loudly discussing their romantic plans for the evening, when a ripple of silence suddenly overtook the room. It was so quiet and still that Draco looked up, wondering if everyone had somehow been stupefied simultaneously.

His jaw dropped as his eyes met green. Harry was standing just in front of his desk looking so very fit in his deputy head uniform. His brass buttons shining, his hair tousled just right, his brilliant eyes unobstructed since he’d finally ditched his horrid specs long ago. He was holding a garment bag in one hand and the biggest bouquet of long stemmed roses in the other. They were wrapped in white silk with a dark red bow, each petal had gold filigree on the edges.

"Are you ready to go darling?” He asked with a warm and inviting face, a fair bit of mischief in his eyes.

Draco, who had no idea what was going on, but was pretty sure he must have passed out from all the fumes and was dreaming just nodded.

Harry smiled brightly and laid the garment bag over Draco’s desk. "Well that’s good," Harry said, handing the roses to Draco, who took them dazedly, "Hermione told me you were too busy to pick up your suit today, so I went ahead and got it for you. We don’t have much time until the Portkey to Paris leaves so we’ll need to hurry home and change. I don’t think Le Cinq will let us in without the formal wear.

Draco who had decided he was definitely dreaming, simply nodded again and stood. Harry wasted no time walking around the desk to meet him. He placed a chaste, but lingering kiss on his lips, grabbed the bag and steered Draco toward the door with a warm hand on the small of his back.

The entire trek to the doors no one moved, Draco wasn’t sure any of them were even breathing. He wasn’t sure he was even breathing. Harry had just publicly outed them. Every face in the room was stricken with shock, except for Hermione who smiled at them both and Ron who gave him a curt nod. Draco realized neither of them were surprised. They know, he thought, oh gods they already know. He looked at Harry again and Harry gave him another dazzling smile and kiss on the cheek.

As soon as they were outside the doors a cacophony of noise sounded behind them and Harry turned to wink at Draco, but instead of heading toward the lifts, he simply wrapped his arm more firmly around Draco’s waist and apparated them on the spot.

-gift for @mothermalfoy

Link to Part 2:  https://drarry-we-meet.tumblr.com/post/190868463275/valentines-day-sucks-warning-this-2nd-half

[blackberries45]

It's time to gush about these amazing candles by @steeeeeeeviebb !!! ✨✨✨✨

I'm going to give more details below, but the short and sweet is that you need these!! Stevie doesn't post her etsy openly, which I'll respect, but please send her an ask or message and she will tell you the name. You can also look these up and find them on there. They are beautiful and smell AMAZING!!!!! They also arrive adorably wrapped and with biodegradable peanuts. The candles themselves are so professional, you'd swear they are from a high end store. I'm so in love 😍

Now my personal descriptions below...

Here are the descriptions and one of them is embarrassingly honest 😳😬🥴 Also, check her site for ACTUAL descriptions of scents. These are mine from how they make me feel!!!

Alittle Bit Alexis - this is so spunky and fun yet clean and fresh. I could totally imagine this as a spendy perfume Alexis found abroad. It has white grapefruit and smells calming and chill yet light and fun

Sally Owens - I have sadly only seen the movie Practical Magic once and need to see it again. I actually bought it because of the lilac in it. If you ever wondered what spring smells like minus the headache and watery eyes, this is it. It makes me want to cozy up on a porch with a fluffy blanket and a cup of coffee with a spring breeze lightly blowing

Amas Veritas - I think and again, I'm a dumb bunny, but this has another meaning to it. I personally bought it for the beauty of it. I saw her post and knew instantly I NEEDED it!! I've started a self improvement type altar of sorts, just stuff that reminds me of past, present and future and this is perfect! It smells like sexy magic(?) Like the cool witch bitch in town. You want to be her, but she reminds you to be you!

The Mando - now, we are going to get personal here. Fuck. This. Candle. If I could, I would. Sorry not sorry!!!!! I don't know if it's partly because it has the mandalorian on it and there for before you take a smell, you are thinking about him and then BAM! You can smell him?? The best description is the most yummy guy shower smell ever!! My husband loves it too, just not in the same way 😆

A tiny back story before I end this. When I was 15, my mom and I were side swiped in our tiny honda. My mom had been working as an art teacher that would go school to school when they wanted to do an art project. Because it was the summer when we got hit, she technically "wasn't working" it smashed 5 of her vertebrae, which she didn't find out for years. The moral of this story is the etsy was and is the only way for her to make a small income each month. This is why I fist bought from Stevie. I appreciate those who are trying to make it.

Please buy Stevie's candles!!! They are delicious smelling, they are magical, and they are amazing!!! @steeeeeeeviebb

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

[nevermelting]

My theory on magic in Harry Potter

What is magic in the world of Harry Potter? How was it created? I have some theories about that, if you are willing to listen.

Inherent and commanded magic

Every being possess a natural energy - a magical power, some stronger (wizards) or weaker (muggles, squibs) than others. This is so called "inherent magic" which you have since birth. Two kinds of magic use inherent magic of a person - a patronus spell and animagus ritual. Inherent magic can be a cause of illnesses and destructive phantom when suppressed (obscurus) or slow degeneration into the same animal you'd be if you were an animagus (maledictus). Both are wizarding disabilities.

Inherent magic is closely connected to person's body and its instincts, that's why those instincts give shape to an animagus or a patronus. Dark mark or Harry's scar also mean that person's inherent magic is marked,changed in some way. In Harry's case it can even give him inherent magical ability of parseltongue which is only obtained by those who have close kinship with snakes (and can only turn into snake animagi, in my opinion) and which wasn’t his own.

Purebloods believe that pureblood wizards have strongest inherent magic, it's one of the secrets behind their idea of supremacy. But in reality, just like genes, inherent magic may condense due to pureblood heritage – or it may become unstable, up to producing squibs. Muggleborn inherent magic may be weaker – or it may be very strong due to other, often mysterious, reasons. Squibs can see dementors due to leftover inherent magic of their parents.

Objects also have some inherent magic but (unless it's specially enchanted object) it's passive while human and animal magic is active.

Commanded magic

"Commanded" magic is a concentration of will that uses this magic or other source to direct it somewhere.

 Commanded magic occurred naturally too, when wizard or witch wanted to do something (like light a fire) and it suddenly happened on its own, to their surprise. But this magic was still wordless, too simple and prone to accidents - it needed both more power to feed it and some kind of distinct direction marker to prevent mistakes. Someone figured out that speaking commands directed magic better. That's how, based on these impromptu words, first spells were created. 

But wizards still needed something for fine-tuning magic. A tool. Someone figured that as much as pointing a finger was better and a bit later, a stick came into use.

But after using sticks and rods for a long time, wizards couldn't help but notice that people who used magic extensively looked more weak and ill than those who did not. And the reason was simple - they had used too much of their inherent magic. 

Commanding one's inherent magic is not easy and taxing. They needed an additional source of magic power to prevent exhaustion. However, this opened a whole new can of worms - if one were to use an external source wouldn't that....be too difficult? Conflict with wizard's own energy? Was that really possible?

Indeed, first real wands were simply laughable. They often misfired and even served as cautionary tale not to use them at all. But with time, wandmakers really came into their own and Commanded magic as we knew it was born.

Wands

What is a wand? In my opinion, a wand is nothing else but a borrowed magic source from a magical animal. Animal source must have strong inherent magic preferably two or more times stronger than that of a human being.  But this also causes animal to have a magical resistance - remember dragons and their hide that is impenetrable for spells. That's why wizards love especially ferocious magical animals - the stronger their magical resistance is, the stronger their inherent magic is.

Wand wood, as also magical but less resistant substance, (due to low sentience) serves as a "leash" on an animal core, allowing one to command it. I also imagine wand wood to be a "receptive" substance and wand core to be "active" substance. Wand wood reacts to similarity in person's temperament and yields to them but animal core always needs to be tamed and similarity of a person with magical animal can only mean they would tame it better, not that animal source accepts a wizard. These two contradictory forces form a wand.

Wandless magic

Wandless magic is difficult because it uses your own inherent magic as a core to command and your own body as encasement. 

Depending on use and user's level of  aptitude, it may be taxing or dangerous, or both. Wand cores, such as unicorn hair, tend to "wear down", according to Ollivander and there is no reason to think human bodies are different. However, there are people for whom this method is preferable - those who are naturally strong and possess a lot of energy. It's a shame we haven't seen a single truly wandless villain in HP books because that alone would be a statement on how strong they are. Riddle in his post Harry state is obviously no good without a wand - while still strong and possessing some inherent magic to an extent, he is mostly hollow inside and that's why he needs a strong core - Elder wand.

Spells

Why are spells in Latin? Pull up a chair, kids.

 First of all, not all spells are in Latin. "Mimblewimble" - tongue tying curse and "alohomora" - door opening spell are not. Second, it's because even wizarding world is not free from the influence of Roman Empire which was.. literally everywhere. In medieval times, Latin was  "common language of Europe". Being old-fashioned, why wouldn't wizards use Latin? 

But what about other countries, where there was no Latin influence? 

Of course, those countries use different spells and that's the reason for Triwizard tournament - the three largest schools who are under, at least partly, Latin influence and who use Latin spells. In my opinion, it would be most wise for wizards to learn other magical languages because do you really want to be helpless in front of foreign wizards? 

Technically, Harry Potter's spell books should have been called "Latin tradition spells". They are not universal! In fact, I believe that many english-used spells do not work quite as well abroad due to magical resistance of local creatures, objects, plants and people. (Maybe that's why Bill's curse breaking profession is so difficult). 

Other magical languages are not taught at Hogwarts which is understandable (too big of a subject! There are also foreign transfiguration and potions, etc) but personally, if I could, I'd be a wizarding translator who knew spells in arabic, japanese, hindi, swedish and so on.

Next: Theory oh how spells are made (by Snape and others!) Stay tuned!

[williamjworld]

University of Cumbria: Project- Image and Type (Briefing)

After the first Project for The Eden River Brewery Co. me and my classmates get to know what to do and gets some ideas for our second project.

Project: Image & Type

Rationale

As an illustrator it's easy to assume that type is something that graphic designers deal with and that "I'll stick to images if it's all the same with you, thank you very much". You'd be wrong because, of course, illustration and type co-exists and, not only that, they work together to communicate shared values, each complimenting the other to create a cohesive whole. An illustrator who is able to confidently incorporate type into their work is in a stronger position when it comes to creating work for any environment where type is needed. This is, of course, preferable to having a graphic designer - with no investment in the illustration work - come along after the fact and 'drop type on top'. Many illustration jobs require the integration of type and image, meaning that if you can't deal with type, you'll not get the job. This 1 week exercise is a precursor to a larger project where your ability to sympathetically and successfully combine image and type is key. Rather than working on illustration and then going to a Mac to see what (preloaded) font you can drop on top, we want to encourage you to consider type as an integral part of your illustration; as important as any other visual component of your work. Broadly speaking there are 4 ways you can approach type: 1. Source existing typefaces - think beyond the preinstalled generic fonts available on any computer; there's a world of stunning and emotive typefaces out there that will help your work achieve the tone you're aiming for. 2. Bastardised type. Take existing typefaces and manipulated them in order to achieve unique and bespoke outcomes. 3. Illustrative incorporation. Image and type work together / interact (fig 1) 4. Type as illustration. Where your illustration IS the type (fig 2)

Brief

Rather than working on an illustration and then going to a Mac to see what (preloaded generic) font you can drop on top, we want to encourage you to consider type as an integral part of your illustration; as important as any other visual component of your work. We also want you see type as something that you can utilise in your own, illustrative way.

Step 01 You're going to need some words. What the words say isn't really important. Pick a book from your shelf, turn to page (year of your birth) and scan down to line (month of your birth). Select a phrase, sentence of whatever, from that line. For me it would be "Oh no you don't" from page 78, line 3 of Terry Pratchett's Witches Abroad.

Step 02 Pair each of the 4 approaches to type as listed above, with one of these subjects: 1. Book Cover 2. Album Cover 3. Film Poster 4. T-Shirt Using the technique, create that item, with your words/phrase legibly included.

So, for example, I might create a book cover with a title of "Oh No You Don't" where I take an existing font and alter it (approach 2) in order to satisfy my creative needs for the cover (I would probably decide upon a genre in order to help me make decisions with regard to type and image). You are free to use any sort of imagery and approach that you see fit. So, again, for example, I might do some quick drawings or even manipulate a photograph which I would then try to compliment with type. These are exercises rather than projects, so you don't need to worry about doing thumbnails, research or development. Have fun. There's nothing to stop you from putting 5, 10 or even 20 book jackets together in one day. The focus here is on playing with, bossing and otherwise indulging in the use of type as illustrators.

Formative Assessment

As a technical exercise and precursor to the subsequent brief, resulting outcomes will not be subject to formative assessment but should be included in your final module delivery for summative assessment. Deadline: 9 / 11 / 20

Assessment Criteria

Production: The accuracy and creativity shown in the use of analogue and digital methods used to developing your illustration work and the soundness of decision-making in arriving at a final visual solution. Interpretation: The individuality, creativity and breadth evident in your exploration Appropriateness: The suitability of the solution in meeting the demands and objectives of the brief. It’s aptness for the target audience. Presentation: The demonstration of attention to detail and visual coherence of all work presented to the client and for assessment.

Summative Assessment

This project will be assessed, as a body of work, along with the other project that contributes to the module

This is what I’ll be doing for this week, next week I don’t know what we’ll be doing until the Christmas Holidays.

I guess I’ll find out.

[alwaysraineh]

Tagged by @tributeofasgard! Tysm this was so much fun!!! 🥰

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to get to know better.

Name: Rachel

Gender: Currently up for debate lol previously I would have said woman but now I think the most accurate descriptor is woman-adjacent???? Idk man I’m still very comfortable with she/her pronouns but I’m trying out she/they currently!!

Star sign: Libra

Height:  5’10” (which I think is 177 cm??)

Time: 9:16 as of starting to type this

Birthday: October 6

Favorite bands: The Amazing Devil, Marianas Trench, Queen, P!atD, MCR

Favorite solo artists: Hozier, Harry Styles, Jon Bellion, David Bowie, Elton John

Last movie: honestly I’m not sure. I think it might have been Tarzan??? Tho I am planning on watching something with Kristen Stewart this weekend and just haven’t decided what quite yet

Last show: technically it was Jeopardy but as that doesn’t have a plot to it I’ll also say I recently finished a re-watch of Derry Girls

When did I create this blog: aaahhahah I had to check but it was March(?) 2013. that’s eight years baybeee!!!

What I post: a lot of bullshit, mostly

Last thing I googled: lyrics for Work Song bc I forgot a line while singing to my cat last night

Other blogs: I have one from 3-4 ish years ago that I made for school bc I was studying abroad and we were required to have a travel blog and I discovered I’m bad at travel blogging

Do I get asks?: sometimes!!! mostly from jared and marie and jo tbh

Why I chose my url: uhhhhh y’know at this point I don’t remember all the details of the origin story but I do know it started on foopets when I was 10 or 11 and it became the root of all my urls across all platforms and now its been over a decade and rain is deeply entrenched in my identity

Following: 350 (far more than I thought but also somehow less?)

Followers: 365

Average hours of sleep: ahaha probably like 4 or maybe 5?? insomnia is not my friend

Instruments: once upon a time I played percussion in the high school band and I’ve been taught the basics of piano, but I don’t actually actively play anything

What I'm wearing: pj pants and a really old t-shirt!! the pants are fuzzy and have bears and moose on them and my mom got them for me

Dream job(s): author!!! (or wildlife photographer, sheep herder, bog witch, etc.)(but seriously, author. I want to create something worthy of publishing so so so so so badly)

Dream trip: I want to travel the entire world!!! But rn my top destinations are the cloud forest in Costa Rica, the Scottish highlands, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and to return to Peru!!

Favourite food: I suddenly forget everything I’ve ever eaten when asked this question

Nationality: don’t make me say it. please. (American)

Favourite song: My Spotify wrapped would have you believe it’s Like Real People Do by Hozier but it’s ACTUALLY ……… Shrike. by Hozier. because he owns my entire soul.

Last book: Last Night I Sang To The Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz, and it made me cry multiple times and it hurt my heart but in a really good way and I absolutely recommend it but I also warn that it deals with some extremely heavy themes and is not the best to read if you’re not prepared for it

Top 3 fictional universes: like to live in?? or to write/create content about?? either way I have to say lotr bc, come on, it’s middle earth. also probably any universe that exists within mcelroy podcasts and idk if I’m allowed to say it but my owwnnnnnn universe lol I really enjoy the worldbuilding I’ve done for the setting of Oslasil

I don't have 20 people to tag but I'm gonna tag as many as I can think of!! And even if I don't tag you, feel free to do this and say I did tag you!! I crave interaction!!! 🥺

@catladymarie @scorcherman13 @khprisun @jofngve @thisgayneedscoffee @little-bi-kingtrashmouth @magicdecat @gingernastyy @spacegaylra @great--googlymoogly @aph-wisconsin @resident-of-remnant