#this is so old now help i drew this back in SEPTEMBER

[hermanunworthy]

almost like an angel...

little moment i adore from ch5 of me and @apricior's fic i'm free to go anywhere (can i please just stay with you?)

original sketches + bonus ch4 sketch under the cut

[gvenevera]

Kuroshitsuji Musical ~ 寄宿学校の秘密 (Secrets of the Boarding School) 2024 ~ VERA’S REVIEW!

Yes you read that right! I’ve had the most fateful chance to watch the very first performance of the newest Kuromyu in Hyogo last Saturday, so I figured I’ll eternalize some of my best memories here.

Before we begin: the LIVE STREAMING is available for the LAST PERFORMANCE, September 29th 2024, HERE! For only 3800 yen, you’ll get to watch it live at home, or watch it later for up to 1 week (October 6th)! Apparently you need a Japanese VPN though, if anyone knows how to navigate the site, please do share.

A few disclaimers from me:

*Anti-shippers DNI. This post barely has any shipping content at all but I don’t like people who harass others over fictional preferences. I’m a shipper, I can’t help being biased for my OTPs.

**Since photos were prohibited in the venue, I’ve included stage pictures featured in official news websites or accounts.

***This is by no means a critical review but merely a fangirl’s ramblings, and I often drew comparisons to the original stage play Kuroshitsuji Musical: Secrets of the Boarding School (2021). For reference, I suggest you watch it first! I intentionally avoided rewatching the 2021 version close to the airing date though, so my memories may not be accurate. Also my Japanese is mediocre so I apologize if there were important dialogues I didn’t catch.

Introduction

I know, sorry for the dilly-dally intro. But I’d like to first stress that ever since I started following Kuroshitsuji in my first year of university (like 9 years ago now lmao), I’ve ALWAYS dreamed to watch the stage musical live in person. When 2024’s performance was announced immediately after the last episode of the anime, I was overjoyed to see that our old cast was coming back.

And it was fate that gave me the opportunity - my scheduled work program this year was set to be in Kyoto AND during September! Needless to say, I had the Kuromyu ticket bought and reserved first, before my confirmation with the Kyoto office or my visa and plane ticket. Priorities, right?

Quick remark on the ticket process: I hit a snag right in the beginning because the ticket reservation website Eplus required a Japanese phone number to sign up. I contacted multiple people (middle school friend whose brother used to work in Japan, another who was quarter-Japanese, several dealer websites with high rate exchanges), until I settled on my roommate’s friend from high school who was currently working there. Many thanks to her and my roommate for the help!

She took care of registration for me - even so the advance sales was a LOTTERY ticket! We fortunately got the lucky draw - I saw many Japanese fans on X who were not so lucky, while others bought in bulk to sell later. Then, I used the online barcode to exchange for a paper ticket when I arrived in Japan on September 1st. That’s when I get to know my seat number - 3rd floor, 2nd row B. A very far position from the stage, but it’s alright because we’re here for the atmosphere anyway!

The performances for the first 2 days were set in Hyogo Performing Arts Center, KOBELCO grand hall. I’ve honestly never been to any kind of music performance (or even concerts) in my life, so I was blown away by the sheer size of the venue.

By 10 AM, the audience was trickling in. I was in awe of the fact that you can tell who was coming in to watch kuromyu - beautiful women dressed in black-and-white tones, many even sporting gothic lolita bows and dresses to keep up with the Victorian England theme. In fact, it felt like the whole of Ikebukuro were gathered here in this very building!

We were ushered into the hall entrance at 11 AM and let me tell you, the crowd was suffocating! In front of the theater, there was a goods section for Kuromyu merch. I’m so glad I took the time to queue up because it seems some of the merch were starting to sell out by the second day. The booth clerk looked perplex to see a non-Japanese customer here though. Here’s how the line looked like, and this was still early before most of the audiences got in:

(We’re not supposed to take any photos but I saw the warning signs too late…Here’s a view from where I was sitting on the third floor.)

I realized then as we were settling in that some ladies around me had binoculars!! Well how was I supposed to know you could bring those here, instead of trying to find those fancy opera glasses!?! Ah well, I was lucky that I’d recently had my prescription glasses updated and the seat to my left was vacant, so I could lean in to see the center better.

The Performance

While it is true that you can barely see the actors’ faces from the balcony seats, it was the grandness of the performance itself that blew me away. For the first time I could see the stage in all its entirety, all the actors dancing in synchronization, and the special effects…oh it had improved A LOT from 3 years prior!

The stage sets for Weston may look a tad “crowded” in the still photo, as compared to the original where they used white backgrounds but in reality, it blended in so prettily with the flashing stage lights. The middle section was a rotating floor and one of my memorable scenes was where Ciel and Sebastian were discussing their plans while crossing the rotating stage, to give the illusion of “strolling across the school grounds.” Sounds like a simple trick but if looked amazing from above.

On to the story itself - the execution actually barely changed from the 2021 rendition, which for me, was a relief! Now I know, some would argue a rerun should add in different elements, because who would want to see the same thing twice right? From past experiences with Kuromyu, the reruns tend to be hit or miss - different actors, different song remixes, voice changes, and so on. For this performance, I could barely tell that the cast (apart from Ciel, Sebastian and Undertaker) were all new members. Everyone got into character flawlessly!

The story of course followed the entirety of the Public School Arc. The script and choreography was almost identical to the 2021 stage musical version. If you would remember, this Kuroshitsuji arc was the first to be portrayed on stage before the anime adaptation - same as previously, they seemed to take inspiration from the manga only rather than the anime.

Some key moments from the play:

The opening sequence was again a recap of the previous arcs - Jack the Ripper (Lycoris that Blazed the Earth), Book of Circus (Noah’s Ark Circus), Book of the Atlantic (Tango on the Campania). I’ve always loved this part because you could tell they slipped in iconic themes from the past musicals.

Perfect Black: the main theme, and my favorite from this stage! I’m so happy to have heard it live! *swoons* Thank god they didn’t do anything weird to remix it. The whole cast dancing together was beautiful! However I thought 2021 did it better with the dramatic light focus on Sebastian during the chorus drop.

Ciel’s Earl of Phantomhive outfit was changed from the glittery blue suit to a blue-green checkered coat this year. (I’d have bought his Earl photoshoot set if I knew it beforehand) Yana-sensei later tweeted that she was the one to re-design it, to better match Eito. Then Eito Konishi himself replied, saying he was honored to play as Ciel Phantomhive, to which Yana-sensei praised his singing and called him “Eito-bocchan” …boy was he fanboying hard over that. He’s one of us!!

Arrival at Weston: I don’t have a comment on the P4 in particular, they were all straightforward from the manga. I think I like Redmond’s character the most here, he looked very pretty with the side-ponytail and while he was a show-off still, he wasn’t as annoying or arrogant as I somehow expected.

A notable interaction: Violet forcing Greenhill to pose for him at the swan gazebo. Greenhill’s actor really looked strained trying to keep an upside down bridge pose (Edward was supporting his back, but kept getting distracted). When he broke the pose and got up, Violet hit him over the head with his sketchbook so hard that the thump echoed through the hall.

As for the Prefect’s Fags: Edward and Cheslock were giving off some suspiciously gay rivals-to-lovers vibes over here. Which I kinda vibed with, I hope they kept the energy into the Blue Cult Arc!

One important thing: they kept the ALL the Fag lines! Which in Japanese accent also kinda sounded like them repeatedly calling each other “Fućk”. Oh how I wish the anime had kept those!

Soma Asman Kadar: now this guy deserves an ovation just for himself. Not only did he kill the role, he was also the funniest! Soma’s song was greatly improved and lengthened with catchier music and dancing - when his troupe “arrived” at Weston, he even dragged Ciel and Clayton to join in. I can’t do it justice, you have GOT to see those two English gentlemen crack the Indian dance moves! His pestering of Maurice Cole was hilarious and he kept exasperating Ciel out of his character, their chemistry was wonderful. I really didn’t expect to get hooked by Soma in this arc out of all people! Too bad Agni wasn’t here.

Maurice Cole’s miniarc - Flawless. Sometimes I wonder if he was an easy character to play just because his character trait is so extremely over-the-top lol.

The library kabedon scene and sebaciel burning Purple House scene didn’t exist. Another scene cut off from the last musical was where Clayton and the Blue House kids were congratulating Ciel on his fag duties and Sebastian took the chance to blend in with them. Sadly that was one of my favorite adlibs.

Ciel’s dream sequence: this was originally in the 2021 musical. After a talk with Macmillain made him revisit his past trauma, Ciel “dreamed” of the cultists, and Sebastian’s close call with Undertaker in BotA. I actually forgot about this part when I watched it in theater - the highlight was sebaciel reenacting the scene in BotA where they reached for each other, the enactment surprisingly gave me the impression of Ciel’s “worry” over Sebastian’s “vulnerability” here. Unlike the 2021 version though, Undertaker didn’t pull Ciel into a bridal carry or referenced the R!Ciel wake-up scene as clearly.

The second half after the break was the long-awaited Cricket Match. Like the previous version, there was no scene of Ciel jumping into Master Michaelis’ arms, but I think they just couldn’t fit that one into the sequence. The cricket songs were mostly the same as the original - with an improvement being them cutting out Red House’s random beauty pageant contest. It actually felt like the cricket match went by faster this time, which was a win in my book. I’ve heard people complain of Kuromyu 2021 being a “Prince of Cricket” musical, hence the bad reviews back then.

The laxative meat pie scene was hilarious. From Sebastian faking it as a student complete with Red House’s uniform, to the team’s diarrhea horrors. Redmond stole the show again, as he was going to help Harcourt in the middle of the field, but tragedy struck which made him deadpan: “Oh. Someone get Harcourt.” Then immediately left the stage lol. The Blue House kids lifted Harcourt out.

The Green vs Purple house battle was the same as last time. I always felt bad to see Cheslock being the only Purple kid doing his best because without any support member cast while Violet was sitting in the grass. But this time, he gave Cheslock a tree sculpture of his bust as a good-job reward! Good for them.

Lastly Green vs Blue. They incorporated the rotating stage again in the last batting when Greenhill accidentally hit Ciel. The end of the match cut straight to the Thames Boat Ride, then they did the Blue House cheering scene after. Sebastian finally got to do his signature bridal carry, awww.

Midnight tea party: the setting was even more beautiful than last time. Undertaker letting his hair fall from his hat was iconic as usual. I was impressed with Master Agares’ fight scenes because his actor looked quite older than his 2021 predecessor. I always liked how they did Derrick Arden’s death in the musical, it felt more anguished from the P4 POV while in the anime, it just felt like a gruesome horror scene.

Final musical number was Ciel-Sebastian-Undertaker chorus during their fight in the garden. Music and choreography seemed to be similar, EXCEPT they somehow changed the iconic “Your life is my priority” scene!!! 2021’s version had me hold my breath as Sebastian had his arm possessively hooked around Ciel and took off his glove with his teeth (seriously, you have to see it yourself). This time they had Sebastian and Ciel reenact the scene on the highest stage instead of front and center, and I didn’t feel as much suspense nor was there any glove-removal from what I could see. It was also a weird placement because they were so far away, and Undertaker should’ve been the one on the top as he did his goodbye pose holding the moon.

We end the story with Sebastian recapping the aftermath with Weston’s students, and finally sebaciel’s conversation back at the manor. Again, Ciel reiterates that Sebastian is the only one who could never lie nor betray his trust. Perfect Black came on as an outro, and I got chills when Sebastian ended the last verse on a raised note!

The curtain call was the experience I’d waited for. Somehow I only realized just then that the actors would do the full call during their finale performance, which was what we got to see in the recordings! That day, after the cast bowed twice, the exit announcement immediately came on but guess what? The audience, including myself, kept clapping all the way through the announcement, it went for so long that the cast actually came out to take another bow! As they returned on stage, most of us also stood up for a standing ovation - according to twitter this doesn’t seem to be a regular occurrence outside of the finale. It felt like a truly wholesome “welcome back” for the troupe and for Kuromyu, especially after the rather harsh criticisms from the previous stage (due to major cast and style changes, even I took a while to bring myself to watch it) and the long break due to the COVID years.

Overall summary

Kuroshitsuji Musical 2024 was a faithful rerun of its predecessor. They succeeded with the musical numbers, new cast, overall adaptation of the story. The settings, props and special effects were wonderfully upgraded. The original cast carried the show: Eito Konishi’s singing felt greatly improved and I thought he carried himself as more mature than his last performance as Ciel. Sebastian’s Toshiki Tateishi had a mesmerizing voice the more I listened to him, he never went out of breath even while dancing or fighting - truly vocals fit for the troupe leader. Kandai Ueda did well as his own Undertaker too, even with Undertaker’s peculiar accent.

My few complaints: I felt like the P4 cast (bar Redmond) could do to have more distinction in their tones and movements. It felt hard to distinguish who was talking at times. The performance seemed to have a faster pacing this time around, and you get less absorbed in certain conversations between the characters, so I wished they’d added in slow scenes here and there. And of course I miss the signature sebaciel moments that I’ve mentioned - granted, this manga arc had always been my least favored because of the lack of sebaciel interactions anyway! So I’d say they did the best with the source material.

While I enjoyed seeing my favorite production performed live with the music blasting through my eardrums, it was the atmosphere that truly made the experience for me. Sitting in the 4-storeys grand hall full of some 2000 Kuroshitsuji fans really pulled me back in time, especially during the standing ovation. I’m so happy to see my favorite series so loved after all these years. I’m sure Yana-sensei could feel it too.

I wish a successful performance for the cast going forward to Tokyo, and hopeful for many more musicals to come!

[chysgoda]

September 09 Lend an Ear

Another Way: Linkpearl Conversations

Timeframe / Spoilers: beginning of Stormblood

Bel has a conversation with Unukalhai after Hrasvalger assigns a second task.

“They figured out you lied about where you were going.”

Bel flinched away from Unukalhai’s linkpearl greeting. Kal was just enough old than her (technically he was thousands of years older, but effectively only a few years older) that all of the adults in their lives would expect him to not let a little sister run off into the wilds by herself. She cleared her throat, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have put you there.”

“It’s better someone knows where you are in case something goes wrong or you run into some kind of… trouble,” Kal sighed. “How is it going?”

“I’ve figured out how to do some of the jumps with just my regular aether, not dragon aether. And Master Matoya’s not-”

“Bel,” Kal tried to interrupt but she just kept going.

“-all that bad it’s like being with aunt Shtola if she was ancient. I was in Anyx Trine-”

“Bel…”

“- when a clutch hatched. I wish I could hear the Dragonsong. It was so exciting that they let me be there when the hatchlings broke through-”

“BEL,” Kal shouted into the linkpearl. Bel wrapped her tail around her shins and hunched into her knees. She really did not want to answer the question he was going to directly ask now. “Did Hrasvalger help you?”

Bel shifted uncomfortably against the broken masonry she’d been using as a back rest, “He said he’d help now, but I have to earn it by rebuilding the blessing of light myself.”

She could hear the very very long breath Kal drew in and then let out before speaking, “he wants you to find a way to recast a spell set by HYDAELYN?”

“I’m asking for a lot-”

“You’re really not.”

“Mom was able to!”

“Art’imis’s blessing hadn’t been completely destroyed and she had Midguardsommer guiding her.”

“It’s still possible.”

“Bel, did he actually say he would DO something after this?”

Bel fidgeted with the end of her tail, “He’s a dragon of the first brood Kal, it's his rules in his house.”

“I know how this goes, Bel. If you don’t get him to commit to some kind measurable action he’ll just move what you’re working for out of reach again and then give you an even more impossible task.”

There was a very quiet resignation in her brother’s voice. She wondered what life had been like when Elidibus had been Kal’s guardian. “I’ll make sure I have a real promise next time.”

“I should have told everyone where to find you when you told me that he wanted you to remove Hydaelyn’s blessing in the first place.” She could hear foot falls on stone as he began to pace. “You’re vulnerable now. What happens if Ravna is summoned and you get caught? Or if someone else finds you?”

Bel knew that ‘someone else’ really meant the Ascians. Which was a topic they didn’t discuss unless they KNEW no one else could hear them. The mix of nostalgia and low grade paranoia tended to put others off. OR draw unwanted concern since Kal still referred to the Emissary as ‘Master Elidibus’ and she still attached uncle to Lahabrea.

“I’ll be okay once I rebuild the blessing, Kal” Bel said softly. “I’ve seen the array around mom with the Echo. I can puzzle it out from there.”

“That’s not going to save you from the lectures everyone here is going to give you.” Kal said flatly.

“Yea I expected to get that no matter what.” Bel sighed, she was definitely going to get it from all sides after this. “Thanks for listening and helping.”

“I can alway lend you an ear, Bel. Please stay safe.”

Bel leaned back against the masonry again and looked up at the washed out blue sky. After a moment she pulled her soul stone out of her coat, from the pocket next to her heart. Bel held it up to the light. There was just the very faintest hint of a blue green color in the crystal.

She’d learned more, but this was still a very long way to go.

[dearmrsawyer]

my GARDEN is DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took 2 years but we made it 🎉🎉🎉 its life story under the cut

last year i dug up all the roses that the previous owners of this house had planted in this space. I HATE ROSE PLANTS. They're VERMIN. It took me a year (interrupted by la niña) to finally get them all out because i had to dig so far down to remove as much root system as i could. i learned that after the first attempt at removing them, where they all simply grew back because i left too many roots in tact 🙃 due to continued la niña last summer i wasn't able to get the space all the way ready so i spent autumn weeding everything that grew in the rain, digging about a foot into the ground to remove as much old dirt (and more roots) as i could, and tidying up everything we'd dumped there while the space was disused. I had pictures of that stage in the process but i can't find them, just know it looked like a garbage dump hahaha. i got all that done right as the temperature started to drop so i laid out a bunch of tarps to minimise the number of weeds that would grow back over winter and waited.

and then! SPRING. I ordered the soil back in September, 8 cubic metres of it which was definitely more than i needed sdkjlgfdkj but how am i supposed to know what a cubic metre is 😅 i was SO excited when it arrived (first photo), quickly followed by 'oh god i need to move all of this myself.' thankfully we had great weather in september so i could use every free moment i had for two weeks shoveling it into our wheelbarrow and then wheeling it down to tip into the garden area (the conclusion of my work in photo 2 lol). It was only at that point that i was like oh boy okay i REALLY have too much soil here. i filled up every single pot i could find and i added some more dirt to to our citrus tree garden in the courtyard since the existing soil had settled by that point and could use a top up. it still felt like way more than i had planned to buy BUT i thought you know what would be good, i could create tiers to organise the vegetables by how deep their roots grow! i laid down a couple of layers of newspaper to deter anything from the existing dirt growing up into my new soil and then started flattening it out. when we first moved in here there was a tonne of random building material around that the previous owners left behind, and we never got rid of it because we figured a purpose would eventually arise. and my garden was it. i collected all the cement blocks and bricks down the side/behind the house, plus the random lattices that had been piled up where our yard meets the neighbour's, and a scrap of fence leftover from the one we put alongside our driveway last year. There were also heaps of random planks of wood, and some logs from a tree that we trimmed earlier in the year. and i used ALL of it (picture three).

Then a couple of weeks ago i finally got to plant my seeds :D (final product, final photo) the tall section up the back is for the deep root veges, so i've planted pumpkin and cucumber there. in the middle i've planted zucchini, cabbage, cauliflower, silverbeet, radish and green beans. and the shallowest area down the bottom has beetroot, celery, lettuce, broccoli and snow peas. also a passionfruit plant in the corner :) i've also scattered flower seeds all over as i've read that it helps to attract pollinators/insects that will eat other insects that want to eat my vegetables. i've put a couple of flowering herbs into pots down there too, and i marked where i planted everything with sticks so i can remember dskfdklj also i drew myself a map.

i'm so thrilled with it :') its such a good space and now it will be useful! there's a good chance some of my seeds won't sprout as they're a couple of years old, but some of them are new and anyway i don't care, whatever grows will grow and whatever doesn't i'll try again in autumn. its just so exciting to have a garden to tend again, i know that i need to be able to just put my hands in dirt sometimes, it is a very helpful outlet, and also will maybe save us grocery money \o/

[tomorrowusa]

J.D. Vance is so awful that I'm starting to think that Trump chose him as "impeachment insurance" – if Republicans indeed win the November election.

Maybe the devil put the Trump-Vance ticket together...

He said that every person in attendance for his speech believed “something that’s a little crazy.” In his case, he said, “I believe the devil is real and that he works terrible things in our society. That’s a crazy conspiracy theory to a lot of very well-educated people in this country right now.” Vance made these remarks at a September 2021 gathering of the Teneo Network, an invitation-only group of young conservatives that counts elected officials, pro athletes, financial executives and media figures among its members. Vance joined Teneo six years ago. ProPublica and Documented obtained a video recording of his 30-minute speech and question-and-answer session, which has not been previously reported. [ ... ] According to tax records, the Teneo Network’s chairman is Leonard Leo, the legal activist who built a pipeline of lawyers who interpret the Constitution based on the “original intent” of the framers or the meaning of the words in the text when they were written. One of the most influential conservatives of the past three decades, Leo helped confirm all six conservative justices currently serving on the U.S. Supreme Court. Leo-aligned judges have pushed to restrict abortion rights and rein in the government’s power to regulate corporations. Leo has said he views the Teneo Network as a way to extend his influence beyond the judiciary to industries including finance, media, government and Silicon Valley. The network identifies and cultivates conservative leaders in “other areas of American culture and American life where things are really messed up right now,” as Leo put it in a Teneo video.

Leonard Leo is behind the effort to pack the judiciary with far right judges. Of course he has connections to Project 2025.

Adding Vance to the ticket bolsters the connections between Leo’s network and the Trump 2024 campaign. It also strengthens ties between Trump’s reelection bid and the Project 2025 blueprint, which outlines plans for a second Trump administration, including firing thousands of career civil servants, shuttering the Department of Education and replacing ambitious goals to combat climate change with ramped-up fossil fuel production. In a recent TV interview, Vance said the document contained “some good ideas” but claimed that “most Americans couldn’t care less about Project 2025” and that the Trump campaign wasn’t affiliated with it.

If people "don't care" about Project 2025 it's because they don't know about it yet. d'oh!

And yes, Project 2025 is filled with old Trump administration staffers/officials and people who worked in Trump campaigns. Saying there's no affiliation with the Trump campaign is like having a paramour and claiming there's no relationship because the couple isn't married.

J.D. is a fanboy of Alex Jones who spreads vicious conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre.

Shortly before he spoke at the Teneo conference, Vance drew criticism when he tweeted that “Alex Jones is a far more reputable source of information than Rachel Maddow.” Jones, founder of the online show Infowars, gained a following with his promotion of conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. More recently, judges in several states ordered him to pay $1.5 billion to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting, which Jones had called a hoax.

Don't think that Trump and his apprentice can't get elected just because they have bizarre extremist ideas. Remember 2016?

Trump has basically chosen Vance as his successor. Permit Trump-Vance to win and you help make America Russia.

[breaniebree]

Writing Fanfiction in the HP Fandom

Hello All!

This is not something I usually do (i.e. post anything outside of fanfic updates), but I wanted to write a little something about Fandom.

I recently finished reading a book called "Family Don't End With Blood" which was a wonderful collection of essays about people who came together over a love of Supernatural. It included personal moments about the fandom from some of the cast, some of the fans, and some of the people involved in charities or organizations that have stemmed out of the television show and I found it absolutely inspiring! I even teared up a bit (especially reading Jared's chapter). You can find my review on my personal bookstagram brie_reads if you're interested in learning more.

But, I decided that I wanted to just reach out and say something about the idea of fandom and what it means to me because this collection of essays truly inspired me.

I started reading Harry Potter in September of 1999. I was (not to age myself here) 12 years old and my stepmom bought the first three books for my younger brother in an effort to get him more interested in reading. It worked, but I also devoured the books alongside of my brother. I couldn't wait for The Goblet of Fire to come out and fell immediately in love with the characters of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, and Ron Weasley. There were of course other characters I loved, but those ones just meant something to me. I still don't think I can fully explain what it was that first drew them to me, but I was hooked. I began writing fanfiction in 2004/2005, but never really got into publishing my work until almost 2006 after reading Half-Blood Prince and being furious at Harry for breaking up with Ginny (the noble git).

By writing Harry Potter fanfiction, I became involved in a fandom community and it was something I'd never really ventured into before. Sure, I had a chat group about Buffy lovers on ICQ and AOL, but a true fandom was something different. By loving Harry Potter and sharing my love for the stories (and my own fanfic stories) I've made incredible friends. One of my oldest online friends I met through communication boards on Sink Into Your Eyes that delved into email sharing, instant messaging, and more. I've made friends of all ages, some older than me, some younger, and from all over the world.

I've exchanged story ideas with people, discussed possible scenario changes, and laughed and cried over things we loved from the books themselves to other amazing fanfics. I've made some incredible friends and I've unfortunately lost some incredible friends along the way as well -- people who cut me out of their lives due to disagreements or miscommunication -- and I've gained new friends in people who not only love what I write, but actually care what I have to say about funny and pointless things like how I think Harry would react in ridiculous situations.

I joined Harry Potter facebook groups (way back for us oldies when you had to have a university or college id to even have facebook) and followed Harry Potter fandoms on Twitter. I joined Tumblr (and have recently gotten over 1300 followers which is mind blowing to me so thank you) to share in my love of the fandom and have seen the most incredible artwork, read the most beautiful stories and poems, and seen things that make me wonder if we read the same books at all LOL.

But the pure joy of being in a fandom of people who love the same things is unlike anything I've ever experienced anywhere else. Now, as a woman in my mid-30s, I look back and think of how much it has impacted my life. It's opened my creativity. It's helped me grow into myself as a person and accept who I am. It's watched me grow up. The Harry Potter fandom has become something I love even more than the original novels that drew me in.

Like everything, there are toxic parts as well. People who are toxic in their views, in their comments, and in their reviews. People who get close to you, only to break you down. But there are also amazing people who fight back against those toxic vibes and remind all of us why we love the Harry Potter fandom. It's the Harry Potter fandom that made me branch out into liking other fandoms, to show off my inner nerd, and most of all, to come to the realization that even if I don't know your real name and even if we've never met, it doesn't mean we can't bond over a shared interest.

You are appreciated.

You are respected.

You are valid.

You are loved.

That to me is what a Fandom represents.

Be positive. Keep smiling. And most of all, know that this fandom means you are not alone.

Share the love. Thank a creator. Tag a friend who you met because of the fandom and appreciate.

Thank you.

Breanie aka Bree

[herotome]

Special Informal Devlog

Hi-ho, Wudge here! Aaaa. I missed the update last week... as we crawl closer and closer to release, it's become harder for me to write devlogs. I'm making progress every single day, and that makes me so frustrated that it isn't done yet, you know? 😭 Something something curse of perfectionism...

Anyway.

I thought I'd try something a little different with this post by chronicling a specific screen I've worked very hard on, from start to finish!

(Pictured: a preview of where we're gonna end up)

It all began on... August 2021?! Yowza, two years ago! When I posted a poll on tumblr and on itch about how I should handle flirt indicators. The votes were split 50/50 between two popular options, and I was able to surmise that yall would really, really love an option to toggle between the two.

It didn't take me long to figure out how to implement the toggle itself.

The following year (September 2022), I came up with the idea of putting in an illustrated tutorial on how my flirt indication system works - after all, poll participants had told me that they loved the idea and had never seen it before in other games. I was on a treadmill at the time, so I quickly doodled the idea on my phone. It looks like this:

Then when I got home, I did a rough pen draft to solidify the idea...

I worked on the digital version over the next 2-3 weeks, and asked my friends for help with editing the text to ensure clarity.

.... Then I took a looong break from the infographic to, uh.... write, edit, playtest the game, draw expressions for Griffin CG, draw expressions for the landlord, work on a new Clammy Lady sprite, playtest the game again, make all the characters blink, make the first glowing animation for Jade's powers, code in Griffin's CG expressions, stress about paypal making changes in my country, do concept art for upcoming npcs, write some more, playtest some more, draw a birthday picture for Dart, write devlogs every single week, make sure all my files were safely transferred to my new laptop before my old one completely died... etc.

So it was February 2023 by the time I came back around to try implementing the infographic in code :')

... It was functional, but no matter what I tried, I didn't like how it looked with everything crammed into one page.

... Then I got really sick... but after I recovered and did some more work (drawing, writing, playtesting, etc) I came back to the infographic with the intention to learn how to code pages in renpy.

Still didn't look phenomenal, but there's a whole lot more breathing room! This was in April 2023.

I took another "break" (worked on a million other things) and then... FINALLY... in late August 2023, just a few weeks ago, I had an art breakthrough!

I had garnered a better understanding of color and poses, and as a result my chibis became a LOT cuter! I was able to redraw most of them without too much hassle - whereas when I first started, it would take me all day to draw a single one.

I also drew custom heart icons (a plain heart, a golden heart, and a broken heart), figured out how to make text buttons look more fun and intuitive..

And here's where we're at now!!! I still need to draw eyes for Dart.... but I researched and absorbed a lot about screen compositions, and had a rather late realization that I could re-use backgrounds and assets I already have in the game.

That's it for the special edition. I'll update with more soon!

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

[summmeister]

A Look Over the Art I Made in 2023

2023 has come and gone, with a sizeable improvement on my art skills. Once again, I am VERY proud of the work I managed to accomplish this year. I'll be going over some of the highlights month by month in this post, being sure to point out anything of note.

JANUARY

Starting off the year, I made some new artwork of Skweeb! I consider this fairly outdated now, but it did start a few trends with the character, mainly how I draw shine on him. His eyes bulge outwards, they're not holes! I also drew @akfamilyhome's character, Leddy.

FEBRUARY

This was a BIG month for me! I tried a lot of new things, and most of them worked out! This month also contains what I consider to be one of my best drawings this year, a celebration of Hollow Knight's 6th anniversary. Other highlights include a dashing tribute to Dangeresque and an entirely new reference sheet for Skweeb!

MARCH

March was not a particularly noteworthy month. These are the only two drawings from it! That said, I am quite happy getting any drawings out this month at all! As you'll see later on, this wasn't actually my most dry month.

APRIL

A VERY full month! I can't even fit everything I wanted to! Lots of Skweeb here, some Lucy too! Also a fitting send-off to Courtney (very sad Dead End got cancelled). Tried some big things here, like with the parody Album art, but for the most part I was just doing what I was good at: simple character full-bodies.

MAY

VERY dry month for art. This is the only piece from May! I participated in @some-fool-fp's aRtPG collab this month. Skweeb joins the party!!!!! Made my own custom logo for him, too.

I had a LOT of college work this month. I was working on a game!!! I got the highest grade possible on it, very proud of that. If you would like to play it, you can do so here. Just a warning though, it's very short and VERY jank at times.

JUNE

Another big month!! Some proper reference of Winslow, another Jevil drawing, and my FAVORITE piece of Skweeb art to date!!! The pose and the shading is just so good on it, I love it.

JULY

...Well this is awkward.

Art Fight was this month, and with all of my effort going towards that, I kinda... didn't draw any of my own art this month. Whoops.

Let's press fast forward, shall we?

AUGUST

A NEW OC WAS CREATED THIS MONTH!!!! Meet Chao. He helps out at the circus. He babby. I put a TON of effort into getting his design just right and ensuring he had the proper referencing before working on anything else. I love this 'lil guy.

Also some of my favorite art from this year!!! Inspired by Lemon Demon's "One Weird Tip", I made some art that takes place on a ficticous desktop! Getting the shapes and text right was hard, but I am so glad I put the time and effort in.

SEPTEMBER

Always Watching.

WOW, I am so so proud of what I accomplished with this CoTL piece. Everything from the pose to the composition and the use of colour is just PERFECT. This is up there in my favourite pieces of art from this year.

Skweeb and Jack Frost are here too... wait, it's not December yet!

OCTOBER

A certain someone turned 2 this month! My baby boy, now 2 years old... how time flies...

It was halloween this month too... but Skweeb isn't dressing up this year. It's Lucy in his place! Got some nice Jax art here too, I love that asshole.

NOVEMBER

I was never the most content with my previous Jevil artwork. I never felt like I was giving it my all, which is why I'm happy to say that this month, I did!

I also took a second shot at drawing Jax; this time, featuring Pomni! I used thinner lines and taught myself how to draw hands a whole lot better, I think it helped, haha.

Lastly, (part of) my piece for @hillelart's 10th Anniversary FNAF collab! The full thing is staying secret for now. Keep an eye out for January 15th!

DECEMBER

Finally, we arrive at December.

Funnily enough, I didn't actually draw for half the month. But when I got back into it, I got BACK in. I'm very proud of both of these pieces, and the shading and blending I used in them! This certainly feels like a new era of my art, and I'm looking forward to continuing it!

And that's it. You made it to the end! Most people just together a simple image for their art recap, and while that certainly works just fine, I like to go into the nitty gritty, write down my entire year in art, y'know?

I'm not sure if this year contains as much progress as 2022, but it certainly contains a BOATLOAD of progress! Look back at the start of the post and compare it to the end of the post, the difference is insane!

Lastly, I've got just one more thing to show, once again, redrawing my first ever piece to mark off yet another year. I hope you like it, you'll only have to wait another 365 days for the next one!

Bring on 2024!

[wamtorical]

September 1898 - [Jemima, Alena and Emma mucking about.]

In the months following the beginning of Jemima's school attendance, she'd learnt to ignore the jeering voices aimed towards her and began to form a friendship group of her own. Her brash, confident and funny personality drew the other's in and Jemima began to gain some popularity of her own.

During that time, March had passed and Leroy was now two and a half years old. He was much more talkative than his brother Amos, who struggled with his speech, and developed quite an appetite and liking for his mother's food, helping him grow bigger in size from his small stature that he was as a mere infant.

As for the loan, things had been quite stationary for a while and on one evening, Ethel came to visit. Though Jemima had been told to stay upstairs and study her phonics, eavesdropping came natural to her and she decided she preferred that instead.

"Oh, Ethel, it's always so lovely to see you. I hope you're doing well." She heard her mother gush; Claudia adored Ethel. "But I must say, what a surprise this is! Surely you've visited for a reason?"

Ethel smiled and leaned forward, anticipation visible in her expression, "Yes, actually. I have a proposal. The idea only came to me the other day, and well, I'd hate for you to take this the wrong way but -"

"Oh, you could never! Isn't that right, dear?" Claudia claimed, nodding to her husband and recieving a mumble of agreement in response.

"Right, then! I was thinking, with just a couple hundred pounds left to go, I could help out with the remainder of the loan." Ethel gleamed.

Claudia, despite her initial statement, felt taken aback at Ethel's proposition. She walked over to the rocking chair and Jemima rushed back up the stairs in fear of being spotted, confused as to why her mother was so seemingly upset at such a generous offer.

"Ethel - th-that's such a kind offer but you musn't strain yourself helping us poor sods, we'll find the money -"

"Thank you, mother." Elmer intervened. He knew there was no use arguing against her, and the stress he was under due to the amount of work he was doing and managing only to provide enough for food and comforts was beginning to become tiring.

Claudia stayed silent as Ethel began to excitedly write cheques she'd brung in advance. She knew they could do with the extra money, but she felt their hard work was going to waste if they weren't finishing it themselves. It felt like a cheat. But the loan did need paying off as soon as possible ...

📜 next / previous / first

[the1weepinqguitar]

tally hall sketches and other assorted doodles

Here ya go guys! I also have improvement pics from last year! Almost two years in the Tally Hall fandom! Woohoo! My Marvin's CD is gonna hate me even more after all of this

A Ross sketch! I'm super proud of how it turned out! Below is a close-up!

The aforementioned close-up, showing the shading on his face and the folds of his sleeve!

Zubin! I love the side profile, and I used his picture in the MMMM booklet as a reference! Close up below, so you can see some of the more fine details/shading

the close-up!

Here's Andrew! His hair is kinda hard to not fluff-ify, but I dealt with it anyways and tried my best to keep it close to reality. Obligatory close(r)-up below.

next will be some other random stuff, mostly tally hall, but some of it is oc art

drew this drawing of Ross last September. Not amazing but very stylized, which I love/hate. the tag on the bottom left reads, "he's rather disheveled but this is the best I could do back then"

wtf is he doing? He in an action movie or something? btw this was last-year's andrew. very stylized. i hate it.

decided not to include the other last-year Rob cause i hate it deeply. this one's much better. very fluffy. i dont like the collar tho

just me poking fun at my horrendous attempts at stylizing joe. im not gonna draw him as much as the others btw.

This is from an au created by @bonkdd, but i did rob and andrew's designs bc i never saw his designs for them. i also added a lot of lore and plot stuff because i really liked the concept. in simple terms the tallies are robots that were abandoned by Marvin after he passed away so now they're falling apart n stuff without him to care for them (that's why rob hides his face). Anyways, huge thanks to Bonk for the original idea! They're a great artist, you should go check them out!

Edith, drawn/sketched with a ballpoint pen.

Another one. I like this one better, but I spent two days on this one versus a half on hour on the other so i guess it makes sense

Adrian and Reuben (OCs), done in a college-ruled notebook bc i ran out of pages in my sketchbook. next is a close-up so you can see more shading.

probably my favorite gay couple i've ever written ngl

Ace again, but wearing Reuben's favorite sweater.

Looking mighty fine!

He's lookin' tough, he's got the stuff, he's got the spiffy shades... (/lyric)

pose practice

Boll weevil, why don't you get out of your home? (/lyric)

old art jumpscare - i actually kinda like this one, might redraw it. Below is the full thing

why is zubes staring like that??? its creepy

here's another. i don't know why it's sideways. andrew is scared of joe btw, this isn't the entire drawing

Did an embossing peice. It's the Mojo Chessmaster! I tried by best to make it as detailed as possible, and I think I did pretty alright. The neck was probably the worst part to do. Below are close-ups

the head of the guitar was a pain in the ass.

This part was also pretty tricky but it came out okay. the dials at the bottom are raised as much as I could get them to go, so I'm not worried about them. My issue here was the pickups.

I also added Flansburgh's little signature guy but i drew his hair because why not? Anyways this piece took me a good hour or so to finish, I think it'll fetch a good grade (it was for my metal design class).

I'll add a sketch I just did as a bonus:

it's from a tally hall fanfic/au i made back in may after my grandpa passed away. It was a great stress-reliever and I still really like how it turned out. It's about cryptids and monsters and shit. I'll post a summary on a different post because this one was mostly for the drawings. I might post a few installments of it on my ao3. It could be a weekly thing since i usually have time on fridays to write.

Once again, a close-up is available below.

I put literal hours of research on cryptids and of the area (ann harbor, MI) while writing this fic. It was fun though, and it helped me a lot. Feel free to ask me anything about the plot or world-building !

[iceeericeee]

September

Here is my contribution to NATM day <3

Notes: This is basically how the Shroomies get together (romantically). Also, I'm aro, so excuse me if none of this makes sense, but romance is not my first language :')

Drew POV:

‘Ugghhh, my head hurts. I’m never sleeping outside without a tent again.’ I think to myself. ‘Maybe I can get back home and take a nap.’

“Where d’yah reckon she came from?”

‘What the fuck?’

“I dunno, new addition, maybe?”

‘Since when did we have yeehaws in Washington? And what’s this dude going on about?’

“Then shouldn’t she be in a position? Why’s she lying down?”

‘In position? What am I, an actor? Oh god, are they using my campsite for a film?’

“Beats me.”

I shifted a bit, pressing my hands against my temple. I slowly sat up, opening my eyes. I saw three people in a loose semicircle in front of me, dressed up like cowboys. When they saw me move, they quickly shuffled away, giving me space.

“Someone get Jed, he’s better at explainin�� this to newbies,” the guy on the left ran off, leaving a small trail of dust behind him.

‘Hold up. Dust??’

“You need some help gettin up there, sunshine?” One of them offered.

“Uh, yeah, no thanks. I’m fine.” As he raised his hands in defense, I quickly got up to look around.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

I was at a railroad, and right in front of me was a short expanse of sand and dirt, which suddenly stopped after a few yards, and opened to an enormous hallway, with a giant bench in the middle. I’d recognize this place anywhere.

“How- how in the hell-” Oh wait. ‘Fuckin Annabel. I know she did this, and when I see him, I’m gonna wring his damn neck.’ Then I looked down to see what I was wearing.

“Oh, hell no.”

I’m wearing one of those dresses you only see in those old western movies. It’s a flattering shade of pine green, with small white flowers decorating the hem. It’s pretty, but it’s definitely not me. I can almost hear Annabel laughing.

‘Speaking of Annabel, why did they think it was a good idea to put me here? There’s really no point,’ I think to myself. ‘Unless- no, they wouldn’t. They’re not-’ But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. But then, where’s Charlie? If they’re trying to get us together, then wouldn’t she be here too?

‘Wait. Didn’t that one guy say-’

“Hey there! You alrigh’?”

‘Fuuuuuuuuck, it’s Jedidiah.’

I turn around, and sure enough, it’s Owen Wilson’s Jedidiah Smith in all his glory.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good, I’m doin good,” the words almost rush out of my mouth. ‘Damn you, bisexual panic.’

He stuck out a hand. “Name’s Jedidiah, but you can just call me Jed,” he introduced.

Resisting the urge to say that I already knew that, I shook his hand. “I’m Drew. I'm looking for someone, maybe you've seen her?"

"Well, there ain't been anyone new here, 'cept for you, 'f 'course,"

'Damn, I guess she's not in this part of the museum.' "Can you help me find her? Please?" At this point I'm practically begging. I've got to find Charlie, I need to make sure she's alright.

"Of 'course! We'll go over to Octy, see if he knows where your friend's gone off to."

*time skip to when they get to the roman side*

We get to the Roman side, and I almost pass out when I see the architecture. It might all be done for looks, but from what I could see, they did a fantastic job on the details.

I'm interrupted from my gazing when Jedidiah says, "Y'know, yer takin' this a lot better than most,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, fer one, yer not panickin at the fact yer tiny, now."

'I'm too surprised I'm in a movie to be upset that I'm small, but okay.'

"And two, well, it's mostly just you not panickin', that's all I really got." As he says this, I start hearing talking in the distance. Some voices I don't know, but two of them stick out.

"-and, oh my gosh, your actually Octavius! This is wild, wow!"

We turn a corner and there she is, talking to Octavius and some of the other roman soldiers. And- oh god, she's wearing a toga. If she wasn't cute before, she definitely was now.

Running as fast as I can towards her, I shout, "Charlie!"

She turns around just in time to get tackle hugged by me. I almost cry into her shoulder. 'We might both be small here, but at least we're not alone,'

I vaguely hear Octavius ushering the Jedidiah and the others out to give us space, too focused on hugging Charlie. 'Wait, I'm hugging Charlie.'

I awkwardly back up, blushing. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to just hug you, I just- I- fuck, I'm just sorry."

"Drew! It's okay, you're fine!" I look at her and she's smiling at me, and without missing a beat she goes on. "You don't need to apologize, you know how much I love hugs!"

Ah, fuck. Now I look like an idiot. In front of Charlie, too.

Before I can say anything, she says, "I can't believe we're in a movie! And not just any movie, Night at the Museum! I was just talking to Octavius! Octavius, Drew! The emperor of Rome, lover of Jedidiah Smith! And-"

I interrupted her before she could continue. "Charlie, we can't stay here. We have to go home."

"But, Drew, there's so much to do here! We can't just leave without saying hi-"

"...Charlie..."

“-and we can talk to all the different exhibits! Oh my gosh, Drew this is gonna be so fun! Who should we talk to first?”

“Charlie…”

“I was thinking Sacajawea, she’s so cool! Oh! Do you think she’d like me?”

“Charlie.”

“What am I talking about, of course she would. Maybe after her we can go see Ahk!”

“Charlie-”

“Maybe he’d even let us look at the tablet! The Tablet! I wonder if it’s cold? Or does the magic make it warm?”

“Charlie-!”

“*gasp* Oh my gosh I almost forgot about the stars! Maybe we could-

“Charlie! Listen to me, goddammit!”

She stopped, startled at my outburst, looking at me with those big eyes.

“Charlie- *sigh*” My voice trembles as I say, “Look at us, Charlie, we’re too small.”

She gives me a look that says she doesn’t understand.

“We could die here, Charlie. Can’t you see that?”

It looks as though a switch is flipped in her head. She's quiet, so I go on.

"Charlie, we can't stay here, you have to understand. It's just- it's not- I can't-"

"We're- we're gonna die here?" her voice quivers, tears are starting to build in her eyes.

'Oooohh, I fucked uppppp,'

"No- no, Charlie, we're not-"

"Drew, I don't wanna die." Her voice is vibrating now, and she can't hold back her tears.

"Charlie, honey, look at me. No, don't look over there, look at me, okay?" She looks at me, and seeing her cry almost makes me break. But I have to be strong. For the both of us.

"Okay, I want you to repeat after me." She nods.

"We are going to get home."

"We- *sniff* we are going to get- get home."

"We are going to be okay."

"We are- going to- to be okay."

"We are not going to die."

"We are not- not going to die."

"Good. Now, let's figure out what to do first, alright?"

"Alright."

"Let's go and find the others, they might be able to help us out." Charlie grabs my hand as I walk away, making me stop.

"Drew. They went this way."

I let out a small sigh and smile a bit to myself. 'Good, she's back to normal. Somewhat.' "Yeah, you're right. We'll go and ask for help, this way."

That gets a small laugh out of her.

'Don't worry, Charlie. We'll get home. No matter what it takes.'

---------

Aaaaaaanndd that's all for now :) I'll make a part 2 to this, it's just starting to get kinda long for me, so I'm stopping for now.

[littleladymab]

FebruarOC - Kaedmon

oh my god fam we did it we made it to the end of the month!!! And so to close it off, I'm going to talk about my Jedi OC Kaedmon because I've already talked about Uriah and ended kiss week with a drabble for them, so why not also end FebruarOC with Kaedmon. 

She was created on the tail end of listening to AMCA pod talking about their trip to the Halcyon (the immersive SW experience at disney world) and they were talking about the value of LARP vs something where it is a designed as family vacation and the varying degrees of interest in becoming a character. 

So then I looked up SW LARPs in my area and good news there is one up in the PNW so, look out Washington, I'm lookin right at you. 

When I drew her back for OC-tober (back when she was the newest character and now I have at least three new ones smh) I didn't have a name for her, but then I decided to use an old name that I've had for... not LARP characters exactly, but I was toying with the idea for using it when I was in the SCA and then again as a steampunk character thing for an RP that never took off (I ended up changing the general conceit, and that's what became Mutiny) but I still did a costume for. So I decided to give it to the Jedi OC i started making for LARP purposes! Just to continue the tradition. 

I decided to make her from Naboo MOSTLY because at LegendsCon in September I bought a Naboo Royal Sabacc deck from Hyperspace Props (you should DEFINITELY check out what they offer their stuff is GREAT), and so like, let's go Naboo, right? I was also thinking a lot of embroidery on things (specifically in a Slavic cultural concept), and I have a pair of pirate-esque costume pants with little eyelets on the side that I wanted to do embroidery around the eyelets and went "oh, naboo designs would be cool!". 

And tadaa, the general concept of her was born!

Now, you might go "Mab, I thought you hate the Jedi order, why are you making a Jedi OC?" and well, you're right I do hate the Jedi Order but Jedi/force users outside of the order are some of my favorite characters. Rebels is my all time favorite show and also I love Cal Kestis, so like. You take the honor and concepts and remove the way that the order is depicted and implemented and there you go, that's better. It's the same reason I like Paladins, because there's a degree of guilt with the freedom that's fun to explore, you know? And I would love to see more Jedi in a post order-66 setting in which they get to explore what using their powers means for them, now that they're not in a war they shouldn't have been generals/commanders in, but you get the added benefit of needing to not be public about it. (Unless you're Cal Kestis.) 

Another thing I really wanted when doing the original costume design was just to allow a Jedi or just a character in general in SW have a visible disability/need an accessibility device. Sure you have plo koon who needs a breathing apparatus because his species can't function on most worlds, but what about someone who needs a respirator to help breathe even on their home planet? SW is NOTORIOUS about villainizing disabilities (shoutouts to everyone who headcanons Ezra's funny little armor thing as a mobility device you're the real ones) (give Cere back her cane from the concept art YOU COWARDS!!!) and I wanted the excuse to use a respirator mask for a costume piece partly for covid safety and partly because it would be bad-ass. My breathing issues are minor, all things considered (though really I should get an inhaler), but they're still issues. To Kaedmon, I give you my asthma, but make it worse!

For her, she was 17 when the clone wars ended, and was up for consideration for getting knighted. Except that the clone squadron she was with locked her in somewhere and pumped in like, particulates or a toxin or something and while she was able to cut her way out, she couldn't get immediate medical attention and it ended up causing permanent damage to her lungs, so she needs a breathing apparatus to help her get enough oxygen. And she can exist without it depending on how strenuous the task, but it makes functioning far easier. 

I haven't figured out how she knows she's from naboo because of normal jedi things, but she goes back there after order-66 (she is able to sneak on planet during padme's funeral because there's so many people coming), and she spends a few years living with her cousin. But then she leaves to join the Rebellion! 

She becomes a Fulcrum agent of a sorts, and has a crew that she works with on the regular to do jobs. Vleewa is her best friend and "handler" for a lack of a better word. Kaite is making a medic OC, and so they're probably going to be on the crew too just for shenanigans. 

She prefers to keep her Jedi abilities on the DL, and it's really not until much later into the war that she begins to use them with more frequency -- characters like Cal and Cere have their exploits reach her pretty early on, and it's all likelihood that she would have met Kanan and Ezra on Yavin, and she knew Ahsoka from the get-go as Fulcrum. And so seeing them make these big moves and sacrifices really makes her think about her place in all of it, and boy that guilt eats her up inside! So she makes more and more of a show of it despite how much she doesn't like her memories of being in the order and the clone wars. Sure, she lost a lot, but she has an obligation to help people!

Anyway if you have a TCW/rebellion-era SW OC, I'd love to meet them and maybe we can have shenanigans together 8) I'm also looking forward to creating a larp outfit and maybe getting the chance to participate one year! 

The drabble will be on a separate post and will go up in full here! :) Thanks again everyone for putting up with 29 days of me talking about characters!!!! 

[sayafics]

Her Muse - Prologue

I wrote this a while back but didn't think it was needed, but I thought just in case anyone would like to know more about the OC before reading the story then this would be great for context. You don't need to read the prologue for the story to make sense, it's just a bit about how the OC got into Hogwarts

Next Chapter

Masterlist

Ophelia Luminita is a muggle-born witch, and it just so happens she was a late-bloomer too. Most children would be recognised for their magical capabilities as infants and on the day of their eleventh birthday, they would receive a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry allowing them to nurture the magic they were gifted and channel it into something controlled, something beautiful.

Ophelia’s first experience with magic had happened at the age of fourteen, a small accident that had razed through the wizarding world like wildfire. And as a result, she had caught the attention of an omniscient Dumbledore.

Dumbledore hadn’t seemed surprised by her show of power, nor had he been terrified either. There was a knowing smile blooming across the old man’s face as he handed Ophelia a cream envelope, sealed with wax that was stained a deep red.

“Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”

Ophelia peered down at the envelope, her nimble fingers scratching at the edges of the seal. Her mouth parted, ready to spew an onslaught of questions – instead her gaze stopped at the empty space the man had previously stood in.

Her brows drew together in confusion, a weary sigh escaping her as she finally regarded the envelope in her hands with unguarded curiosity. She neatly opened it, pulling out a letter from within and scanning the words it held.

She had a strange feeling not all Hogwarts students received a letter like her’s. Any other time and perhaps she would have felt special, instead she felt like her place at Hogwarts was a gamble – one Dumbledore seemingly had a lot of faith in.

Dear Miss. Luminita,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will find all necessary books and equipment have been brought to you. Term begins on September 1st, but I shall be looking forward to meeting you a day earlier so we can retrieve the last item you require for the upcoming year at Hogwarts.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress.

The letter was signed by someone other than Dumbledore, the lively wizard she had the brief pleasure of meeting, and she found herself hoping that it would be him who she greets instead of the woman who wrote her letter.

Dumbledore simply had a disarming presence, and she did not know if the Deputy Headmistress would be the same.

Ophelia’s eyes found the pile of belongings Dumbledore had brought with him. A trunk laid strewed next to her bed, the top opened to reveal several books packed neatly within, and next to it sat a gleaming cage with an owl.

A great horned owl.

That was what Dumbledore had said, he had also called the animal a fierce predator, its aggressive nature being its defining trait and the irony of being gifted such a creature did not go lost on her. Still, she found herself laying the letter on her nightstand, inching towards the owl despite her hesitation.

She crouched towards the ground, eyes meeting the owl’s apprehensive gaze, as she brushed her finger slowly against the cage testing the animal’s aggressive nature for herself.

The owl did not move, its eyes never straying as it perched extremely still and ever cautious.

“C’mon now, I won’t hurt you,” her voice was just a whisper, but even she could hear the plea in her own voice as she tried to convince herself her words were true.

It seemed the owl had determined them to be, dawdling closer to push its feathers against the bars of the cage in a show of trust. Ophelia felt her breath shutter, an inkling of unfamiliar joy burning through her as she brushed her fingers against the soft feathers atop the owl’s head.

“You know, we’re more alike than you think. But that doesn’t make us bad, right?”

The owl turned its head back towards her, as though it could understand her words and wished to reply. So, Ophelia continued in its stead, “we’re fighters, you and I.”

A childish grin blossomed across her face, “we’re warriors. So, I think it’s only fair you get a name that fits. Don’t you think so?”

The owl pushed its head further into her scratching fingers in response, the motion causing Ophelia to sigh out in delight – “I think this year will be a good one Artemis, just wait and see.”

***

The days had gone by swiftly, and as August 31st drew closer Ophelia could feel her heart clenching in dread at the prospect of meeting Deputy Headmistress McGonagall.

Her clothes had been carefully folded into her trunk, trinkets and traces of her childhood that littered her scarce bedroom now laid gently within its confines too. Her entire life had been packed away into one small trunk, and in a matter of hours Ophelia would pick up the scraps of the life she had left and never come back to the house she grew up in.

Ophelia laid back on her bed, the coarse fabric was a comforting feeling against her skin as she lazed her last few hours away, eyes tracking Artemis’ curious adventures across her room.

There had not been much in her room to begin with. It was a wide space, but it lacked in comfort, in furnishings and a sense of comfort which had been snatched from her long ago.

She didn’t stay lost in her musings for long, as it seemed she had a visitor much earlier than she expected. There was a light tapping against her window, twisting her head to the side she saw a silver tabby cat preening at her. Curiosity pinched at her as she rose from the bed and headed towards the window, pushing the stiff window open she reached out towards the cat to pet at its silver fur. Instead, it ducked under her eager hands, trotting inside unafraid of the owl’s venomous hoots.

As the striped cat leaped to the floor to continue its steady trot, the animal began to morph into an elderly woman dressed in robes. Her glasses were small with round lenses, a set of intrigued blue eyes gleamed from underneath, and greying hair was hidden by a tall and pointed black hat.

Ophelia felt her mouth part in shock, cheeks burning with heat as she realised the animal she was about to fret over was a woman.

The woman met her baffled gaze with a stern stare, her eyes full of wisdom and expectation – “good afternoon, dear child. I am Professor McGonagall. I believe Professor Dumbledore handed you my letter.”

Ophelia found herself nodding vigorously, intimidated by the magical proficiency the woman held.

“Do speak child, it is quite rude to not return greetings.”

Ophelia cleared her throat harshly, “of course. I’m sorry Professor, I’m Ophelia. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

A grimace of a smile painted itself across her face, and she prayed that Professor McGonagall would not notice the façade she forced.

“I know I am quite early, but Dumbledore believed it best to help you find your way to Hogwarts before the start of term, and we still have one agenda on the list.”

“What would that agenda be, Professor?”

“Why, it is to find you a wand, my dear.”

Ophelia’s eyes widened, a wand?

“How do you expect to perform magic without a wand?”

Ophelia’s eyes fell to the ground, her shoulders tensed as guilt flooded her features.

“Oh. My apologies, dear. It w-“

“It’s okay.”

Her voice was now timid, conscious of how the professor stood across from her eyed her with pity in place of the curiosity she had radiated previously.

“Hm, perhaps we should start our journey then?”

Ophelia looked towards her trunk, eyes then bounding across the room in search of her owl before McGonagall stopped her.

“Pay no mind to your belongings, Dumbledore will have someone collect it in time for your arrival to Hogwarts with the other students.”

Ophelia nodded, “okay.”

“Come then, child.”

McGonagall stepped closer towards the girl, a hand raised in offering, “we are going to apparate. That means whatever happens, do not let me go - is that understood?”

The younger girl eyed her with infinite interest, reaching out to clasp the professor’s hand as she nodded in consent.

As McGonagall collected herself for a moment, Ophelia allowed herself to listen.

The hoots of Artemis and the sounds of late afternoon traffic nudged at her, but the most daunting sound was the silence.

Artemis was not sure if it was a reality she found relief in or whether it would haunt her for days to come.

But it was different. A welcomed variation in the series of changes she had faced already.

And then… whoosh.

Her life had been left behind, hidden in every crevice and corner of a house that was not her home.

The pair hand landed in what was revealed to the younger girl as Diagon Alley, and as though they were on a strict time limit McGonagall herded her towards a shop – Ollivander’s.

Stumbling through the door Ophelia regarded the boxes which littered the place in mounds and mountains, “ah, here for a new wand? You must have been up to some mischief to need a new one so soon.”

The jovial voice and boisterous laugh came from a man who stood behind the counter, his ecstatic countenance caused Ophelia to step back in unneeded discomfort. McGonagall placed a hand on her shoulder, ushering her forward as she spoke in her place, “actually, this would be Miss. Luminita’s first wand, Ollivander. It seems she is one of the few witchlings that has managed to escape Dumbledore’s sights.”

An amused smile was exchanged between the pair as Ollivander regarded her with a teasing smile, “not many can escape that man’s foresight. You must be a special one.”

Ophelia forced a smile as she waited to see what would happen next, and seeing that the girl would not speak Ollivander gave a small sigh as he spoke gently, “let us try a hazel wand, yes? It is a more sensitive wand, and this one in particular,” he brandishes a light brown wand, “contains unicorn hair. I believe a wand like this should do you well.”

Ophelia reached towards it, excitement building in her heart at the idea of owning a wand, but McGonagall’s hand reached to land over her’s. The girl found herself frowning at the action, questioning eyes peering at the older woman, but she received no acknowledgement.

“Might I suggest a spruce wand in its place?”

Ollivander’s eyes coloured in understanding, pupils blown as he scampered off to find a wand he thought would be perfect.

Ophelia wanted to question McGonagall about her intervention, but the older woman was much more astute than her, so she settled for believing that McGonagall had simply done what she thought was best. Instead, she asked, “Professor?”

“Yes, dear?”

“How am I to pay for this?”

“Don’t worry about that, child. Dumbledore has a special talent when it comes to talking and it seems he was able to convince the right people you were in desperate need of the money your mother left as inheritance.”

Ophelia turned to her in confusion, “I’m not supposed to get that until I’m eighteen.”

McGonagall placed a gentle hand on her cheek, her other hand raising to tap mischievously at her nose as she says, “like I said, Dumbledore has a special talent for these things.”

A shy smile tugged at the corners of the girl’s mouth, “thank you, Professor. Both of you.”

“Not to worry child.”

Ophelia turned back towards the desk as she heard Ollivander’s advancing footsteps, a cheery smile on his face as he waved a box in a show of success. Now Ophelia found herself returning his smile with a joyful grin.

Ollivander handed her the box, his voice filled with unbridled satisfaction as he spoke, “spruce. I haven’t given one of these wands in quite some time.”

Ophelia’s head tilted in confusion, “why is that sir?”

“Oh, call me Ollivander, dear. And it’s because a wand like this needs a firm hand. It’s a fussy old bugger, let me tell you, wands like these are dangerous in fumbling fingers. Seems like Minerva and Dumbledore think you’re just the person for a wand like this - it needs someone bold, someone loyal and reliable.”

Ophelia could feel her eyes burning at the words, after all that had just happened McGonagall thought she was brave? That she was trustworthy?

A traitorous laugh escaped her, one filled with glee and tinged with tears as she pulled the wand from its box and inspected it. Ollivander continued, looking at the girl as his eyes pooled in sympathy at her grief-stricken joy, “dragons heartstring core – capable of powerful magic.”

“Heartstring? Does that mean a dragon was killed to make this?”

Ollivander’s voice was grim, “maybe. One never questions where they get their resources from, but it is possible. Especially this one in particular, this core came from a Hebridean Black dragon.”

Ophelia felt like the name was supposed to mean something to her, but simply shrugged it off as Ollivander spouted, “it is twelve and a half inches with pliant flexibility. Give it a wave.”

At his command, Ophelia shook the wand in a circular motion, several orbs of light bounded out the end before hovering above her head to spin in an elegant dance.

Fascination glowed in her eyes, a surprised laugh filling the air as she spun in her place to look eagerly at each shining sphere.

“Perfect, this should be enough for the wand Ollivander.”

“Thank you, Minerva.”

After handing Ollivander the appropriate number of galleons, McGonagall held the pouch out to Ophelia, “this is only a small portion of your fortune, do keep it safe. The rest is held securely at Gringotts Bank, accessible to you whenever you choose.”

Ophelia took the pouch, holding it close to her chest as she marvelled at the weight it held. Soon she was directed out of the building by McGonagall, so she questioned her.

“Are we going to Hogwarts now?”

“No. Dumbledore thought it best you arrive with the other students, so we shall find a room for you to stay the night and then tomorrow I shall drop you off at Platform 9 ¾.”

“Platform? I have to take a train?”

“My dear,” McGonagall looked towards her with a hesitant gaze, “your magic and your presence was discovered quite late I’m afraid, and the Hogwarts curriculum is strict so it can teach students to perform the basics of magic safely from a young age. Taking the train from London to Hogwarts would be one of the few chances you have to make friends your own age.”

Ophelia frowned, “my own age?”

“Well, it seems the Ministry did not want to make an exception to have you placed with peers of your age, given the circumstances your magic was revealed.”

Ophelia felt her heart sink in dread, “no, but I could take extra classes, can’t I? Please, Professor McGonagall I would be a laughing-stock.”

“No such thing shall happen under my watch, Ophelia.”

Her words were firm, her eyes unrelenting as she met the girl’s anxious gaze, “it is safer for you if you start Hogwarts in first year with the other students.”

“Safer for me or safer for everyone else?”

Her voice was a whisper, her heart twisting in agony as she realised that even if McGonagall and Dumbledore trusted her to be good, others did not.

“I believe you will do great things in Hogwarts, dear. Do not let the opinions of small-minded men stop you from doing so.”

McGonagall’s words were a rare comfort, one she basked in as she decided that she would make the best of the cards she had been dealt. If the Ministry thought of her as dangerous, she would show them the extent of the power she held.

Ophelia patted her pocket lightly, the outline of her wand solid against her hand – a powerful wand for a powerful witch.

She met McGonagall’s worried gaze, her own pooled in bright determination causing her dark brown eyes to gleam fiercely against the shadows of her past.

Ophelia was good, and now she would prove it.

***

The following morning the skies were lustrously lit, hues of delicate blues and dense clouds spread across, painting an intricate picture for all to admire.

Ophelia’s body was wracked with nerves, today was September 1st which meant it was the day she would go to Hogwarts. It was not the prospect of going to Hogwarts which made her uneasy, in fact she looked forward to learning how to hone her magic, to nurture it into something good and kind.

It was the students.

How was she supposed to fit in with those who were three years younger than her? How was she expected to make friends her own age? Who would she sit with on the train? Who would she talk with? Who would help her find the rooms all other students her age would be able to navigate with ease?

She didn’t have long to collect her thoughts, as just as she had finishing taming her hair and pulling the inky strands into a loose braid McGonagall had apparated into her room.

Ophelia jumped from her seat on the bed in fright, a hand clutching her chest as she composed herself, “Professor,” she spoke, breathlessly, “good morning.”

“Oh my, sorry for the fright dear.”

“It’s quite alright, I needed to be up anyway.”

“Yes, well the train leaves at exactly eleven O’clock. I have brought you your school uniform, do hurry and change.”

Ophelia accepted the bundle of robes from McGonagall, glancing at the time to see she only had ten minutes to get ready.

“Right, I shall be waiting downstairs.”

“Of course, Professor.”

At the professor’s exit, Ophelia scrambled to change into her uniform, she pulled on her tights and skirt, slipping her feet into the flats McGonagall had also brought with her, fingers fumbling as she flitted on her shirt, buttoning it up and tucking it in her skirt before doing the same with her cardigan and finally slipping her arms into her robe and clasping it shut.

She took in her appearance in the mirror across from her, admiring how perfectly her uniform fit. Another glance to the time showed her she had mere minutes before the train departed, so bundling her spare clothes in her arm and pocketing her pouch of wizard currency, she raced down the stairs of the Leaky Cauldron and came to a halt in front of an impressed McGonagall.

A pleased smile pulled at the corners of Minerva’s mouth, happy to see the girl waiting with much anticipation at the upcoming journey, despite her hesitancy of going.

“Right on time. But you will not be needing these.”

With a simple tap of her wand, Ophelia’s spare clothes dissipated from her hands leaving only her wand in its place – “now that is definitely something you should try to not lose.”

A sheepish grin was sent in response, “sorry Professor.”

“Not to worry, dear. Now do hold on tight, the train station is not far from here but every attempt to apparate is equally as dangerous as the last.”

Ophelia held onto Professor McGonagall’s arm with renewed vigour, the excitement of seeing Hogwarts slowly outgrowing her fear of being lonely and without friends.

It happened within the space of a breath… whoosh!

Ophelia did not know when she had closed her eyes but opening them now revealed the bustle of an early morning at the London train station.

Professor McGonagall led her out from behind the beams, walking her through the crowd as they reached an archway between Platform 9 and 10.

McGonagall stood back after nudging the girl forward, “that there will be your way to the platform you need.”

Ophelia’s nose twitched, brows furrowed in confusion as she followed the professor’s pointed finger to a brick wall, she blinked slowly wondering if McGonagall could see something she wasn’t.

“But… But that’s a wall.”

“It looks like a wall. Not all is as it seems, especially in Hogwarts. Close your eyes and run through the barrier, quick before it closes. The train leaves soon.”

“Are you not coming with me?”

“I am afraid this is a journey you shall have to face on your own, but I am sure you will be victorious at the end.”

“When will I see you again.”

Minerva could see the sadness that tinged the girl’s features, her heart heavy in sorrow at how desperate Ophelia was to keep a connection, “don’t worry dear, I shall see you in a few hours.”

Ophelia’s hesitancy was placated as she turned towards the barrier, eyes closing in a show of bravery. Not even attempting to say a goodbye, hoping to see the Professor soon, she ran at the wall, her body tensing as her closed eyes screwed further shut, waiting to feel her body crash against a solid wall.

A cold feeling washed over her, as though she walked through a mist, and she stumbled to a stop and forced her eyes open when she realised, she had passed through the barrier.

Her mouth parted in astonishment, her eyes darting back to the wall she had just walked through before a sharp whistle snapped her attention back towards the train.

She had, perhaps, thirty seconds to scramble onto it before it left her behind.

The realisation caused her to nudge and push her way through the masses of parents and children gathered on the platform waving goodbye to the students, racing to get through any open door.

A hand stuck itself in her line of vision and her eyes began following it to the inside of the train, she didn’t care to see who it was attached to before gripping onto it tightly as they hauled her into the train just in time.

A sigh of relief escaped her as she tilted back her head to meet a set of shy, grey eyes.

“That was a close one.”

A tentative laugh left her, “it was. Thank you for helping me, I’m Ophelia.”

“I’m Cedric.”

Ophelia now realised she was still grasping tightly onto the boy’s hand, she pulled back as she coughed to cover her embarrassment, cheeks heating as she glanced at the inside of the train around them.

“Say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at Hogwarts before. And you don’t look like a first year, are you a transfer student?”

Ophelia’s face twisted in a grimace, her blush growing heavier as she let out a frustrated sigh, “no, I actually am a first year.”

It was now Cedric’s turn to look away, a hand coming to scratch the back of his neck as he looked at his shoes in embarrassment, “I’m sorry, that was quite rude of me, I didn’t mean to imply you look old.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be wrong about that, if you meant to.”

“I wouldn’t?”

Cedric looked confused now, and Ophelia struggled to string her words together in an attempt to placate his curiosities.

“I only found out about my magic a few weeks ago, Dumbledore said I escaped his radar,” a part her of was proud at that, Dumbledore paraded himself as a powerful and knowing being, and she had been the one to escape his sights, “but the Ministry couldn’t let me join students my age because I don’t know the basics about magic yet.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense. How old are you, then?”

“I’m fourteen.”

A pleasant smile broke out on Cedric’s face, “we would have been in the same year. Maybe we can still be friends?”

Ophelia returned his grin, “I would like that very much.”

Cedric nodded his head towards the train compartments, “come on, I’ll introduce you to some of my other friends.”

A weight in Ophelia’s heart had settled, she had been so worried about being unable to make friends and being judged that she had gotten herself worked up and left herself feeling worn out.

But McGonagall was right. It had all worked out.

***

The train ride had been a few hours at most, the train running steadily over the tracks through the countryside, over bridges and across lakes and rivers. The scenery was beautiful and proved to be a great distraction for how slowly time passed.

However, the new friends Ophelia had made during the trip had proved to be an even bigger and better distraction. The people she had met wore robes of different colours – red, blue and yellow.

Each set of eyes as kind as the next, each voice as encouraging as the last.

When they learnt that she was a first year student instead of a fourth year student like them, they grew enthusiastic making promises to help her with her studies and homework.

Ophelia’s heart swelled with gratitude, appreciative to have met such kind people.

Although the journey had been a long one, she still felt it had ended all too quickly.

She soon had to part from her newfound friends to follow the giant among their midst who beckoned the first years his way, Cedric had promised he would see her inside and she left the group of four with a parting smile.

As she joined the group of lively first years, a deep voice called out to her – “Oi! I said first years only, you best go with the other students.”

Ophelia frowned at the several eyes which turned her way, voice raised in indignation, “I am a first year.”

A knowing look bloomed across Hagrid’s face, and he had the propensity to look ashamed by his loud words, “ah, ye’ must be Miss. Lumini’a. Dumbledore’s told me all about y’.”

She shifted uncomfortably as more eyes turned her way and whispers began to ripple across the crowd, but Hagrid continues, “apologies miss, situations like this aren’t normal here.”

Hagrid received a strained smile in response, Ophelia hoped the man would get the hint and quieten down lest she face more embarrassment.

It seemed a bushy-haired girl with bright eyes and a kind smile took notice of her discomfort, pushing her to distract Hagrid, “I think we should make our way to the school now, don’t you think Hagrid?”

Hagrid peered down towards the girl, “good idea Hermione, come on first years. This way.”

Ophelia sent a grateful smile to the younger girl who waited for her as they headed towards the lake, “I’m sure Hagrid meant well.”

Ophelia sighed, “I know, doesn’t make it any less embarrassing though.”

Hermione’s eyes were filled with intrigue, and Ophelia knew the girl had questions of her own. Ones she hoped she would not have to answer today.

Hermione must have been a very observant child, because one glance into Ophelia’s eyes had dimmed her fascinated gaze as she politely introduced herself, “I’m Hermione Granger.”

Her voice stood proudly amongst the scattered whispers and excited mumbles of the students around them.

“I’m Ophelia Luminita.”

The pair didn’t have long to continue talking before Hagrid began shepherding them towards the small boats.

Hermione held Ophelia’s hand as she led her towards a red-headed boy with pasty skin and a wide grin, and another boy with a black mop on his head and round glasses perched atop his nose.

“This is Ron,” she pointed towards the red-headed boy, before looking at the other one “and this is Harry. We can ride with them.”

Her words left no space for an argument to be made, and Ophelia huffed in amusement as joined the three of them in the wooden boat.

As they sailed across the dark lake, the trio kept sneaking glances her way until a begrudged sigh escaped Ophelia and she spoke, “if you have anything to ask, now is your only chance.”

The words seemed to have set Hermione alight, “if you’re older than us, why are you a first year?”

“Well, my magic was hidden from me even after I turned eleven. I only recently discovered it.”

“So why not put you with the other students your age?”

That had been Ron, so she looked at him as she answered, “the Ministry thought it was best to have me learn the basics first.”

The three of them seemed content with her answers, and the rest of the journey had been spent talking about their hobbies, likes and dislikes.

Hermione’s eyes glowed in admiration as Ophelia revealed she also shared a deep interest in books and writing.

When they had finally docked at the other end of the lake, the group of first years were led into Hogwarts.

The students’ eyes marvelled at the architecture within, tracing the intricate design of the school before they reached a set of stairs. Climbing up the stairs, Ophelia found a familiar face.

Professor McGonagall.

Her face broke out into a beaming smile, one that was returned by a quainter one from McGonagall as she tried to maintain her image as a stern and strict professor.

It wasn’t long before they were brought into the Great Hall, Ophelia’s eyes wandering over the masses in search of the friends she had made as Hermione’s hand gripped her’s tighter in dread.

She had failed to find her friends, her eyes darting the meet those of an animated Dumbledore. He nodded his head at her eloquently before explaining the Sorting Ceremony to all that were present.

It was not long until Professor McGonagall began to read aloud the names of students, prompting them to sit on a stool and have a hat placed atop their head so their houses could be decided.

When it had finally gotten to her name, she felt her heart stutter to a stop. Hermione had left her side now, already sat proudly at the Gryffindor table, leaving her alone on the stage.

She released a slow breath, moving towards the stool to perch upon it precariously. As McGonagall placed the hat upon her head, she turned to the older woman, she was terrified she wouldn’t be good enough for any house. McGonagall sent a reassuring glance her way.

As the hat began to mumble atop her head, whispering about what group she would thrive in most, Ophelia began to recall the words of the friends she had made on the train.

They wore red, blue and yellow – Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

Mallory, the rambling Ravenclaw she had met, had told her the history of each house being formed – Salazar Slytherin’s house only accepted those with the purest ancestry, Rowena Ravenclaw only acknowledged those of the highest intelligence, Godric Gryffindor only recognised those with brave deeds to their name and it was Helga Hufflepuff who said she would take the rest and teach them all she knows.

Ophelia was a muggle-born so to be in Slytherin would sentence her to years of humiliation, but she was not the smartest and she was definitely not the bravest.

She didn’t fit.

But perhaps that was the whole point.

The hat seemed to come to life at that point, its body twisting in upon itself before stretching and yelling with a glorious cry, “Hufflepuff!”

Ophelia felt her shoulders sag in relief, cheeks burning under the raucous round of applause sent her way. As McGonagall lifted the hat from her head, she sent a proud smile to the girl as she nodded her head in the direction of the Hufflepuff table.

A pleased laugh bubbled out of her as she skipped down the steps, her eagerness growing at the sight of Cedric’s waving hands and excited smile.

She sat at the table with a delighted huff, a smile stretched so hard across her face that her cheeks were slowly beginning to ache. But she couldn’t find it in herself to let it sink, reprieve and thrill painting her cheeks a blossoming pink as Cedric introduced her to his friends.

The dinner had been lively and joyous, Ophelia was enamoured by the food presented and the company she had the luck of sharing. When they had finished for the night, she left with a satiated appetite and a spirit that was bursting at the seams with eagerness.

It wasn’t long until they were headed towards the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric leading the party of first years as she took to standing by his side. They meandered downstairs, walking past what they had been told was the kitchen – it was eerily quiet now, but Cedric said that it was typically occupied by House Elves.

The entrance to the common room was pointed out to be hidden behind a stack of barrels which were placed neatly in a nook of the kitchen corridor.

Although the other common rooms require a password, the Hufflepuff common room only required students to tap the barrel which laid two from the bottom, in the middle of the second row.

“Now, if it’s done properly, the lid of the barrel should open. To open the passageway, you have to tap the lid in the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’. You want to try, Ophelia?”

Ophelia was shy to try in front of all these people, not wanting to feel humiliated if she failed to succeed, but at Cedric’s nudges she gave in with an exasperated sigh.

She walked up to the barrel, it was quite large but even then, if the passageway were to open, she would have to crawl through it.

Suddenly, the emblem of Hufflepuff being a badger began making more and more sense. An underground common room they were required to crawl to? She rolled her eyes in amusement as she raised her first, then she brought it down in a rhythmic pattern - first two sharp knocks, then a small gap before three consecutive knocks followed.

She hardly had time to step back before the lid popped open, and Cedric patted her back as she beamed at him, proud of her success.

“What are you waiting for then? Go!”

She couldn’t say no to the blatant enthusiasm rolling off the boy in waves, so she lowered herself to the ground as she began to crawl through the wide berth.

Travelling the short distance, she soon came into a room decorated in shades of copper, bronze, yellow and black.

As she stood up, venturing further into the room, she embraced a warm and welcoming feeling. The ceiling was low, and the room was large.

Broad wooden arches led the way into the main area, worn armchairs and overstuffed sofas in colours of burnt oranges and bronze littered the room in an orderly fashion.

And plants.

Plants of all species and origins could be found, twines twisted onto arches and railings, potted plants at every window and table, flower beds anchored to the ceiling to hang delicately just out of reach.

It was night now, but there was a burning fire that lit the room is varying shades of yellow, and lanterns dropping from the ceiling to highlight a path to the staircases which up to the dorms.

The room was so cozy and so warm, Ophelia felt her heart settle into a gentle rhythm at the idea that she would be living here for years to come.

As it turns out, some of the friends Cedric had introduced her to have a spare bed in the girl’s dorm. Ophelia accepted their offer graciously, ecstatic at the idea she would not have to share a room with those younger than her for quite some time.

Everything would be okay.

***

It turns out, everything was not okay.

Over the years at Hogwarts, Ophelia had grown a tentative friendship with Hermione, admiring the girl’s studious nature and maddening intellect.

Consequently, she was inevitably dragged along in their antics at Hogwarts, and even moreso the dangerous situations they landed themselves in as a result.

They had battled a troll, escaped the clutches of an overgrown three-headed dog, almost suffocated to death in the clutches of Devil’s Snare, came close to losing their lives in a game of chess, outran the eight-legged beasts that were friends of Hagrid’s, were haunted by Dementors and almost torn apart by Lupin in his werewolf form.

It had been a troublesome three years, and she was sure it would be a pattern that continued for the rest of her time at Hogwarts.

And perhaps it would start again now.

Ophelia sat amongst hundreds of students a few weeks into the new year as a fourth year student, watching as the Goblet of Fire bubbled and burst, waiting with a bated breath to see who’s name would be chosen.

A small and frail and frightened part of her wished it wouldn’t be her name. A traitorous thought that bloomed into unabashed fear.

[jade-everstone]

Art Summary 2023

(this post is a mirror of the original on my website - Link)

It's that time of year again.

Another design-y layout. Noticed this year I ended up using a lot more light color schemes than last year. I guess it's because this year I wasn't really feeling the same level of 'edge' and 'excitement'. But that's a point for later on. Before that, let's talk about each piece from this year.

January - Io, meets Io!

The first finished pic of the year. Demonic Io meets Reploid Io! This was made as piece to show off both versions of Io together, and reploid! Io ended up being my PFP on other sites for most of the year.

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February - XZA hangout

This was part of a Secret Valentines exchange for ssshrimpie on Twitter, featuring X, Zero, and Axl together in a group hangout

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March - Io Lounge

Render of Io lounging. This was originally a companion piece to my business card design, originally made to be a postcard design that'd serve a similar purpose. But the idea ended up getting canned & this render stuck around as a page header

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April - Battle with the Lake Demon

This one's a complete reimagining of an older piece of mine for a personal worldbuilding project of mine, spotlighting the main focus of androids hunting demons. Widow, the hunter featured, is about to land the final blow

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May - PC-Mania!

Highlighting since this was the release of my first webseries, PC-Mania! The story of Jade and Iri, two girlfriends where after their computer breaks in a freak accident they have to get a new one... everything goes wrong. This project has had it's ups and downs since then, mostly suffering from post-graduation fatigue + being unable to rebuild a buffer in time. But It's still ongoing & at the time of writing is looking to be finished in 2024.

Available to read on Comic Fury!

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June - MECHA-CHUSSETTS MENTIONED

I'm pretty sure this is the only thing I drew during June because I couldn't find anything else other than this pic of Io as your average New Englander. (for the record, Reploid!Io is from Mecha-chussetts… or Mecha-Chuchets as it's spelled in canon)

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July - Autumn Travels

This year also marks my return to entering zines (the first ones I entered were way back in 2020). I was in two this year; Window to Worlds 2023, and Good Eats: An OC Zine. The one spotlighted is from Window to Worlds & was inspired by fall train trips I did during my time in college.

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August - Me and Io

A self-indulgent pic of me with Reploid! Io. This was more of a test drive for my set-up at home, since my workspace during college was completely different from what I have at home (even with the upgrades I've made since then).

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September - Skibidi-IO

brrr skibidi dum dum dum yes YES

Or in other words I joined a Skibidi toilet collab over on Newgrounds & now I have a pic of Io as an evil toilet hellbent on world domination

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October - Rocket Render

Another snippet from that personal worldbuilding project, this time featuring Rocket, an old android who was built as part of a demon-fighting army, but has since retired to work on a farm and help the surviving populace that way

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November - 9:15 Slushie

5 shorts about the surreal experience of getting a slushie from the convenience store at night, inspired by surreal experiences of my own. It was a black and white comic that was designed to be a something I could easily run copies of at home.

Available to download on Itch.Io, and read on Newgrounds

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December - Hornet!

And finally, my piece for the Newgrounds Secret Santa featuring Blaznthekid's OC, Hornet!

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So, 2023 huh...

Speaking from a personal standpoint, I feel like one hand there was a lot of good that came out of this year for me. I graduated college, I tabled at my first event, I entered 2 zines, I did plenty of comic stuff, and I got back into a hobby after 3 years. But also this year was extremely stressful and demoralizing on many fronts. There's witnessing the industry I went to college for beginning to go under (thanks a lot AI techbros) that started to weigh on me, as well as witnessing & getting reaffirmations on how draconic the art industry is (infact, reading through #comicsbrokeme on twitter reaffirmed my choice to stay indie). But I think a rough post-college transition and struggling to get back on my feet afterwards might've been one of the biggest hurdles in the end.

Think of it like, going from having a studio space and semi-independence & being in contact with IRLs, and then going back home to somewhere better suited to where I was 5+ years ago. Maybe it's because my area's unwalkable, or relationships with my parents have been, wonky to say the least. Or maybe it's the uncertainty of it all. There's a lot.

This year compared to even the rougher parts of 2022 I feel like I've gotten, sadder? & having a lot lower energy. As I hinted at earlier, I think it even shows in my art. I noticed while editing my galleries mid-year that I think I lost some of the 'edge' that my 2022 artwork had. Doesn't mean it's worse, but I do feel it shows the change of energy from past years to now from high-energy to just needing a break.

Last year, I ended on a note about pulling out of pursuing full-time art. Mostly due to realizing how terrible the art world currently is in terms of treating art as "content with value measured by numbers" (ugh...). Though since then, I've decided instead of fully withdrawing from art as a career I'd rather continue to pursue it as a part-time indie artist. Hey, art has always been a dream job after all. Even if I don't want to break into the industry as of now and things are pretty scuffed, I don't think I'd be happy with completely backing out either.

The bigger question now is... what now? I've made loose plans & goals for myself going forward, art-wise I still want to do comics pursue part-time work. But also, I don't really know what the future holds, and that terrifies me. And like last year & the year before it, I don't want to jinx it for myself. Most of my goals for next year are personal & more about continuing to get back on my feet post-college after scrambling and sinking. Some art related, some life related. I don't have to be shooting for the most perfect outcome, I just need to make sure I don't drown.

[meursaulty]

oops all wiz!

commentary below:

January - I made this when I needed an icon for my new wiz blog. I didn't have a pen though so I did it with my finger lol

February - I was obsessed with the divine paradox look!! I was still learning the ins and outs of digital so I colored all the flats by hand....... but I also remember being very proud of this

March - I drew SO MUCH stuff this month, but some of my favorite works were the little comic pages. I'd do more if they didn't take so long and if I actually had a story to tell

April - Full Mellori hype mode. I had a lot of fun with this even though I had to scrap the first concept and start over

May - Malorn brainrot came out swinging. I did this one on my computer, which has been broken this past year so that everything looks yellow on my screen. So let it be known I genuinely didn't know he was so pale until I looked at the post on my phone 😭

June - A piece from the scrapped wiz calendar. Looking back at this, I'm not sure how well it would do on paper (it seems too dark - i'd have to readjust the values). Tbh I'd still do wiz calendar if other people helped

July - Big art block summer but I wanted to paint something, so I chose pirate aquila. If only the quests were as good as the aesthetics... (hot take: the harpies are worse than the bumballoons)

August - Not much art because my mom was diagnosed w/ cancer and spent the month in the hospital (she is ok now). But i did manage to get some pirate sessions in! A lot of just sitting around and watching people's fits for inspo

September - Quick thing based on a photo i took last November from my old dorm, painted while moving into my new one

October - Trying to get back into the 101 obsession with good old Bonnie Anne

November - Based on a photo I took at school

December - Lowkey cheating because I actually did 95% of this in April, but i fixed it up a little December sooooo I say it counts? There are a *lot* of things I'd change about it now but it's still a vibe, also first time I drew 2 of my wizards interacting I think?

So this was the most I've EVER drawn. I took a long break (2017-end 2021), so January was the first time in literal years that I sat down to draw something, let alone post it publicly. The 101 community on tumblr has been so nice + tolerant of my brainrot that I really enjoy putting my stuff out there as a way to tell myself I'll stop messing with something lol.

Stylistically, I took a big leap. I learned with traditional media and I was taught in a more realism-oriented way, so trying to figure out what I wanted to do was super challenging... This explains why none of my stuff really looks the same, even after a year lol (and you can kinda see the traditional vibe in Jan.? Maybe?)

But anywayyy if you read all this, tell me: what fandom do you think I first started drawing for? I am SO curious what vibe I have

[darkhorse-javert]

Thoughts about a year ago- for context I am a pro-Royalist Brit. If you are not pro-royal, DL;DR...please don't start being nasty, these are my personal memories and thoughts

(LONG post below the cut)

OK, so it's Thursday, 8th September, c. lunchtime and I'm at work . Part of my job is helping with the social media for my work, so I logged on to Facebook and Twitter to see that things were organised before the weekend. We'd had a busy morning, so now was a good time to do it.

And on Twitter I see 'Queen Elizabeth' is trending. So i think I'll just have a quick look at what's going on. The Queen been fine, although looking very old and small two days ago (can't remember if I was already aware of the cancelled Privy Council meet at this time).

I click, and it's 'The Queen is under medical supervision at Balmoral, resting comfortably.' followed by get well soons etc.

And my heart/brain just sort of - stall and drop. 'OK, this isn't particularly good, she's 96.- and the Palace just don't issue health annoucements unless it's serious.' (They just don't).

On to the BBC news, where there's the live text feed. It doesn't say much more at that point, maybe that Charles and Anne are with her (Not Good)

Then after a bit c.20mins?, it comes up with the fact that family are being told to come to Balmoral.

That's when I really remember thinking 'Oh G-, Oh No. notgoodnotgood. Really Not Good'

I was just stunned numb, couldn't concentrate only anything for the last bit of my workshift. Then I went home, and just sat in front of the BBC coverage all afternoon, half-reading a book as it went on (Well Done to Huw Edwards and Nicholas Witchell for talking about the same small loop of things for three hours without sounding too boring). There wasn't anything really new to say, but I didn't dare stop watching- I wanted to know. (somewhere in this 'Resting Comfortably' became an awkward phrase in my mind, there's a lot doctors can do to help someone 'rest comfortably'

As it drew on we (family) reckoned they'd be waiting for the 6 o'clock News. And by 6, with no new updates apart from the arrival of family at Balmoral, we sort-of knew. If there had been any medical change for the better, any medical plan, it would have been mentioned (this was 'Nothing else but the Queen' TV coverage on the BBC).

6pm goes by, no news apart from the growing crowds at Buckingham Palace.

And then there's a shot of the royal standard on the flag-pole, and I can't quite work out if it's half-mast, or just looks it because it's hanging close to the flagpole due to lack of wind. And in the crowds there's a flurry of activity caught on camera. Then we cut back to the newsroom, and Huw Edwards annouces it-

That The Queen died this afternoon, that 'The King and the Queen Consort' will remain at Balmoral tonight.....

After the afternoon, the 'probably' had settled in. But then BBC played the National Anthem -with the beautiful painting, and I tried to sing 'God Save the Queen' for her - one final time. And my voice just caught and croaked, and I finally cried.

Even today that little bit makes me cry. starts 0:58

She was our Queen, she'd been queen for my entire life, she'd just Been There. And now she wasn't.

And it was -- so strange. To hear people on TV saying 'The King', and remember it meant Charles, who had always been 'Prince Charles', 'Prince of Wales'. That William was now (that is became very soon after) 'Prince of Wales'

It was comforting though for me, that Royalty carried on- even as it was strange.

And then we just had a very strange week, where things were very normal everywhere in life, but SO Not Normal as well.

It's strange it's been a whole year since then. RIP Ma'am. As Paddington said for all of us 'Thank you for everything'