#And Hepzibah specifically

[arumidden]

I just found out that there’s an alternate Earth comic where Scott and Alex were abducted along with their parents and raised as Starjammers.

Scott never got his head trauma so he has control of his eye beams. Sometimes his eyes are fully red and sometimes they’re not; I have no idea if these are coloring errors or on purpose.

Ch’od and Raza are replaced by Rocket and Groot for this lineup, which I hate. Stop forcing the Guardians of the Galaxy characters onto other space teams. Hepzibah barely resembles her original skunky self in this. Her tail is so short and doesn’t even have any black in it.

HOWEVER, Hepzibah and Chris are finally MARRIED in this universe! And Chris constantly calls her his wife!!

Sadly, this comes from the short-lived Heroes Reborn 2021 event and this is only the back-up to Hyperion and the Imperial Guard, so there isn’t any more of this.

I want more of this universe so badly. I want Corsair being able to actually raise his sons. I want Scott and Alex who got to have good childhoods. I want Scott being able to control his eye beams. I want Hepzibah being step-mom to Scott and Alex. I want happy Summers Family adventures in space. Why is this only a half issue and why does more of it not exist.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Secrets of the Darkest Art: How to Make a Horcrux

So I saw many theories regarding how to make a Horcrux, but none of them really made perfect sense to me, so I decided to give it a crack myself as part of my mission to understand Lord Voldemort/Tom Marvolo Riddle (Which I think I did, big post coming about that at some point, this is but another piece of that puzzle of a man)

So this is my reverse engineering of a ritual to create Horcruxes based on book evidence, my knowledge of real-world alchemy, real-world ancient Greek cults and rituals and linguistic analysis.

How to reverse engineering a dark magical ritual:

The first thing is to define what we know for certain:

The name: "Horcrux"

The creator is an Ancient Greek wizard named Harpo the Foul.

A death is required in the making.

A Horcrux holds a piece of the caster's soul that anchors them to life so they won't die.

I'll actually start with the third point.

How to split a soul?

Both Dumbledore and Slughorn mention murder being required to tear your soul to make a Horcrux, and that never really sat right with me. It magically doesn't make sense and even the canon examples we have for Horcrux murders make this statement iffy.

We have seven examples of murders used to create Horcruxs (thanks to one Tom Riddle being dramatic):

The Diary - Myrtle Warren - killed by a basilisk. Sure, Tom freed the Basilisk, but it hardly seemed targeted at Myrtle specifically and you can argue he didn't actually kill her (more a manslaughter by negligence). He didn't cast the spell, so how come this tore his soul? (I also think Myrtle was an accident and wasn't meant to be killed, but I digress)

The Ring - his father (Tom Riddle Sr) - Avada Kadevra.

The Cup - Hepzibah Smith - she was poisoned by her house elf. Sure, the elf was under the imperious, but it wasn't a first-degree murder, and like with the Basilisk I find it hard to consider this the same as casting a killing curse. Magically those are very different things.

The Locket - Muggle Tramp - Avada Kadevra

The Diadem - Albanian Peasant - Avada Kadevra

Harry Potter - himself - backfired Avada Kadevra

Nagini - Bertha Jorkins - Avada Kadevra

Now, I used the term "magically different" or "magically make sense" what do I mean by that?

Well, besides the fact I'm going to make a full post about how I see magical theory in the Harry Potter Wizarding World, I'll say it takes a lot after occult philosophies from Alchemy that are very old, Slughorn mentions as much in book 6 and there are a few other references to it. I'm just gonna cover the basics required for this theory.

In Alchemy, everything (people, animals, plants, and rocks) is built of three base components:

The Salt - the body - the physical form.

The Sulfur - the soul - the self that holds the divine flame.

The Mercury - the spirit - the life essence that binds the salt and sulfur together.

Now, in Alchemy, the main study is in purifying and combining these different aspects of material. Let's look at a herb, for an example:

If we want to retrieve its salt, we'll dry the herb completely using fire to leave behind a fine light grey ash that represents only the physical form.

If we wanted its mercury we'd distill all liquids from it until we get a purified, clear liquid which in the case of plants would be alcohol (it's why alcohol is referred to as "spirit").

And if we wanted its soul, we would take the remains from the distillation and drying process which would be a kind of oil.

(it can get more complicated with different materials, but this isn't a post about Alchemy)

Now, back to Horcruxs.

So, if we would want to split a soul, Alchemecly, how do we go about it?

Well, we don't. Not really. See a soul can't really be split, as every part of it, every bit of that oil from our random herb represents the entire soul. It's why something like a Horcrux could theoretically work in giving a full life to the diary the way we see in Chamber of Secrets.

Additionally, to work with any material in Alchemy, you are required to purify it first. It means that to get a piece of soul to bind to a diary, you need a pure soul.

Killing someone else won't sever your own soul from the spirit and the body, it's not how this works. Killing someone severs their spirit and therefore splits their body, spirit, and soul. Besides, an Ancient Greek man, like Herpo was, would hardly consider murder as vile as we do today. It wouldn't even cross his mind that any murder (even an indirect one) could harm one's own soul.

No, the only way to "split" a soul is to first sever it from life, disconnecting the bond between soul and body. Essentially, the only way to promise you immortality is to kill yourself.

I know it sounds a little confusing, but, essentially, once the soul is severed from the spirit and body you can split it. Think of the herbal oil, once you have the oil, separate from the rest of the plant parts, you can combine it with new ingredients. You can only work on a specific aspect once you severed it from the other two and as what binds all three together is spirit — life — the only way to do it for a human soul — is death.

But really, how?

Well, here comes the second thing we know about making Horcruxs — that dear Herpo was from Ancient Greece.

In Ancient Greece they had multiple different religious cults, some of which were Chthonic cults. These cults dedicated themselves to death or ditties and heroes associated with death and more importantly — rebirth.

Many of these cults were dedicated to figures like Orpheus, Dionysus, and Persephone, characters in mythology who are known for going through the underworld — through death — and coming back out. These cults were very secretive and not much is known about their practices, but some are.

What is known is that they had rituals where they reenacted a death and then rebirth (usually drinking wine — water of life, was the representation of rebirth).

This created a very clear idea in my head — to split a soul, you'll have to ritualistically, magically kill yourself, severe a piece of your soul, and then revive yourself with a water of life — a potion.

This potion is never mentioned, but I believe it exists due to these Chthonic cult rituals and how they were structured. Not only that, but the Greek underworld did have a river known for being incredibly painful to drink, literally made of fire, but being able to bring the dead back - The Phlegethon River.

Note: Lethe River Water (the river in the Greek Underworld that makes the drinker forget) is a canon ingredient in a Forgetfulness Potion.

So what is the dead body for?

Well, congratulations, you killed yourself to retrieve a sliver of your soul and revived yourself so you won't stay dead. You found an item you can keep secure to tie that sliver of soul, too. Now, how would you bind then? After all, the only thing meant to bind a human soul to a body is a human spirit - a human life... you get where I'm going with this.

This is why Tom didn't have to be the one to do the deed. As long as he had a recently deceased corpse to harvest the life from to use to bind his newly split soul and the item of his choice.

It explains why nothing was missing from the bodies. Myrtle and the Riddles were investigated by the Ministry of Magic. One would assume the Aurors would've noticed if any corpse was missing a hand due to the killer eating it (as other Horcrux theories suggest).

Not only was nothing missing from the body, the soul was intact. Myrtle became a ghost after death, a ghost is quite literally, just the soul, no body, no spirit.

So the only thing that was taken from Tom's victims was their life, quite literally at that.

Is that all? Can we make a Horcrux now?

Not really. See, when analyzing spells in Harry Potter, one thing super important to note is their name.

Avada Kadevra - is a reference to an Aramaic healing spell "Abracadabra" pronounced in Aramaic as: "Avra Kadebra" and meaning "I will create as commanded". Merged with the Latin word "cadaver" meaning "corpse" to create -> "I will create dead bodies as commanded"

Or Wingardium Laviosa - is a cross of the English word "wing", the Latin word "arduus" (meaning "high, tall, lofty, steep, proudly elevated"), or "arduum" (meaning "steep place, the steep" and the Latin word "levo" (meaning to "raise, lift up"). So together the spell means -> "lift high up".

So, it's pretty clear spells, their names, and incantations are very self-explanatory. So a Horcrux should be no different.

I've seen some attempts at translating the name Horcrux. Unfortunately, these attempts treated the name as Latin, modern Greek, or Old English. Herpo, was Ancient Greek, though, so I went and translated a few possible meanings from Ancient Greek (Classical Greek and Homeric Greek are what I looked at):

ὅρκος (orkus, pronounced "hor-kus") - an oath, the object by which one swears, bound by oath (still used in modern Greek).

κρόκες (crukes, pronounced "cru-kes") - saffron-colored (blood red in Greek), crocus flower. The crocus flower symbolizes both death (the saffron that is the spice) and rebirth (the golden crocus which brings renewal and joy) because Demeter wears them when Persephone returns from the underworld in myth.

So what we have is a spell called "binding oath of death and rebirth" which all around sounds fitting.

There might also be a "made in blood" tucked at the end due to the association of κρόκες with the color of blood.

But why does it matter?

Well, now with this name, I expect the binding between the spirit from the victim, the split soul, and the item would be done in a sort of oath - an orkus.

The association with blood gives us another hint. Blood is the part of the human body most representative of life. Therefore, in Alchemy, your blood is your spirit. So it'll make sense that your own blood would be used in the binding process or more correctly in the process of turning another person's spirit into your own. Making the thread to bind the body (item) and the soul piece your own. As it also refers to just a red firey color, it can indicate the Phlagatton potion I hypothesize should be part of the ritual due to how Chthonic rituals usually went, as the Phlagaton river is made of fire.

So we have a general idea of how to make a Horcrux. You need an item of your choice to bind your soul to. You need a life (spirit) harvested from a human that you transformed into being your own using your blood. And you need a piece of your own soul, which you get by killing yourself and then reviving yourself. And you finish it off by binding it all together with an oath.

But how could you make one accidentally?

So, everyone knows Voldemort succeeded in somehow making a Horcrux accidentally, something a lot of theories I saw don't account for. Becouse whatever process you need to go to to make a Horcrux, Voldemort went through all of it the night he died the first time and marked Harry.

All the steps for my method of making a Horcrux were met that night.

The item in qustion is baby Harry, nothing interesting there.

The soul sliver was split the way it always is — through death. Voldemort died, killed by his own killing curse and that is what splits his soul.

The life or spirit that then binds his soul to Harry isn't Lily's spirit or James'; it's his own spirit that acts as a binder between Harry and Voldemort’s split soul. Because the spirit was already his, there was no need to transform it by blood so the additional ritual wasn't necessary.

Step-by-step guide to making Horcruxes:

I'm not going to actually give the full step-by-step least a budging dark lord is looking for this information. I do have notes about exact incantations and even the full recipe and instructions for the Phlagaton potion I'm going to mention. These instructions won't be here since they are more in the realm of speculation and headcanon. This is just the overview of the ritual based on canon information and the occult philosophy I mentioned above. (edit: the full step-by-step headcanon with my potion recipe and everything does appear in the reblogs)

Step 1 - Life and Blood

Get access to a recently deceased human and extract their Mercury (Spirit or Life Essence).

Submerge the retrieved life essence with your own blood on a new moon (life and vitality). (7 drops of blood will probably do)

Step 2 - Water of Fire

To complete the cycle of death and rebirth you’ll need the Phlegeton Water potion to return you to life at the end of the cycle.

As you brew the potion, it must be brewed in a dark room, preferably underground to remind as much of the underworld as possible.

While brewing the potion one must be in the mindset of the Phlegeton, must be willing to go through agony to achieve eternal life and imbue these thoughts in their potion. (In alchemy, when working, it is believed you imbue your work with your thoughts during the Alchemical process. As an Alchemical process affects both the material being worked and the Alchemist themselves)

Likley Ingrediants:

Saffron spice

Golden crocus flower juice

Pomegranate juice

Step 3 - The Ritual Preparation

Set up your space so none of the components may escape the ritual space and so the ritual will not be interfered with.

Make sure the spirit you retrieved is within reach.

Make sure the item you desire will hold the Horcrux will be within reach as well.

Coax the spirit into the item and prepare it to tie your soul to the next step.

Step 4 - Death and Rebirth

To create a thread of your soul to tie to the ritual, you must die figuratively. Go through death to return stronger from the underworld.

Once you feel like death has reached you and your soul is separated you should heal your soul and finish the cycle, bringing you out of death and back to life by drinking the Phlegeton potion.

After the pain subsides you will feel healthier than before, stronger than before, and you’ll have an additional thread of sulfur (soul) in your chest to be pulled out and placed into the Horcrux.

The split-off soul should, on its own, try to search for life and a body to be bound to. If it doesn't, coax it out yourself and bind it to the Horcrux with the spirit you made in step 1.

Step 5 - Oath of Life

The connection between the body (the item), soul, and spirit is still unstable, if most likely strong enough to hold.

Swear the oath of life to finalize the bond between you, the Horcrux, and the soul thread together to ward off death.

I'll end with this note I made regarding Horcruxes when I started working on this theory:

I don't know what all goes into the process of making a Horcrux but I don't believe a person who truly likes themselves and doesn't want to inflict pain on themselves could make a Horcrux. Tearing up your soul is an act of arrogance above nature, sure, thinking you deserve to change the laws of the world and be the exception is part of it, but it's also an act of self-hatred. You need to hate yourself enough to be willing to kill yourself, hurt yourself, and tear yourself up in the most unnatural ways — hence why so few can do so, let alone more than once.

And Tom Riddle does seem to have that exact mix of arrogance, spite, and low self-esteem that would allow it.

[remus-poopin]

What are your top HP fics based on writing? Like things that are just beautiful to read

Wow I think I’m answering this 3 months late sorry aghh. Again, I don’t read as many fics as I would like to, but I’ve been changing that recently and these are 4 that have really stood out to me in terms of writing!

Savour the Moment by - @evesaintyves

This fic made me both sad and hungry

This is a truly beautiful portrait of Molly and her relationship with Ginny. I really love how effortlessly this weaves in the food and cooking imagery with the emotions of the characters. The descriptions are so detailed and vivid that you can practically taste the cakes and pies off of the words alone.

Grief is hanging over this fic heavy, grief from Molly with her brothers and grief yet to come from Ginny. These two very different women, who also feel things very differently, have an extremely engaging back and forth of attempted connections. Both of them want it but aren’t able to easily get there with each other, and that struggle was very compelling to me.

Really such a great fic, I always find myself coming back to it

Favorite quotes:

“Molly has always tasted her memories. Perhaps that's why she's always been a bit thick round the middle: food relishes the good times, is the physical stuff of love. Ever since she was a little girl: plum pudding was Christmas and summers were cherry ice cream and chocolate flake. The time she broke her ankle jumping down from a tree, to this day, is the chalk flavor of Skele-Gro and a limp cucumber sandwich from the St Mungo's cafeteria. Her mother is sweet milky tea and her father is cottage pie with mushrooms, his favourite, flavoured with the smoke of his pipe in the air.”

“She learned to cook at her own mother's elbow and she is full of warm, creamy, ginger-flavoured memories of it. But Ginny's never liked being in the kitchen with her mum. She wants to be out with the boys, flying on broomsticks, getting jostled and scraped and braying coarse laughter through a mouthful of blood. That's why, when she thinks about Ginny, it's not the cream tea and swiss roll flavours she expected when she learned she was finally having a girl. It's rain-drenched popcorn at the Quidditch match and the salt of a kiss on Ginny's sweaty, gritty forehead.”

Sparkling Cyanide - @saintsenara

The house elf plot-line in the hp books leaves MUCH to be desired when it comes to fully and unequivocally condemning slavery. Due to this, you might find that me and my black ass are, shockingly, not its biggest fans.

However this fic is a brilliant look into elves’ oppression and enslavement AND their culture and agency.

This fic focuses on the death of Hepzibah Smith and the conditions surrounding and leading up to it. Specifically the subjugation of Elves and how that system encourages the idea of them as docile, unintelligent, and submissive (And how this perception can be wielded against the wizards that enslave them).

What I find so striking about this fic is how language is centered as a tool to illustrate the functions of colonial mindsets. I think this does a fantastic job at subverting the trope of “improper English = stupidity” that HP uses so frequently.

This was an extremely satisfying and moving read!

Favorite quotes:

“Come quickly and stop faffing,’ Mes Ebhsebbá says to Eokhí. She is clicking her fingers at Eokhí, like there is magic in her fingers. There is magic in Eokhí’s fingers. She is able to make the whole house fall to the ground if she is wanting to.”

“They is not knowing that we is knowing how to take the lives we is wanting from them. And that is why they is not thinking about how many weapons they is putting in kitchens.”

The Seven names of Mrs Zabini - @artemisia-black

And if I said that she did nothing wrong then what?

I’ve mentioned this fic several times before but I don’t think I’ll ever be over it. The way this is written is actually masterful; the attention to details, the poetic language, the characterization. I’m going to scream.

There is just something about this fic that entrances me. This is actually my favorite genre of story, the “good for her!” category, and whenever I read/watch these I go temporarily insane.

Because this is in first person we’re really getting into Mrs. Zabini’s mindset and the traumas that inform it, and this is extremely effective/convincing in making you stay on her side even while she is committing cold blooded murder.

Another thing I love about this is how the actual murders are so casually placed in the story, in comparison with how rich the rest of the imagery that Mrs. Zabini is describing. It’s almost like an afterthought. It makes her sound so much colder and more calculating than if there was a long depiction of each individual killing, so I thought that was a really brilliant writing choice.

If you love Gone Girl definitely give this a read!

Favorite quotes:

“There is a reason that Venus herself emerges from her half shell as a fully formed woman, blinking naively into existence. This is what men actually desire, a goddess who knows nothing of the world and so is more easily amused by the trinkets he throws at her. A divine being who is blissfully unaware of her own divinity. A being who had no thought but him and who cannot function outside of him.”

“I had gone to my wedding bed expecting a transformative experience where his penis would alchemise me from a girl into a woman. An expectation I had imbibed from a society that exalts the wonder of the male member. Instead, as I lay there shivering with his rotten seed running down my leg, I felt used and disgusted at the man I had been condemned to spend the rest of my life servicing”

“And as I rattled around our isolated country house, I believed him. Hiding myself from mirrors, starving my body in order to obtain the concave stomach and taut thighs that he so desired. But when I corrected one perceived flaw, he would find another. Peppering his insults with crumbs of tenderness that lured and trapped me in reality of his making.”

The Secret in the Heart of the Forest by @myrskytuuli

This one has it all: accidental cannibalism, ancient rituals, Snape sass, feral Lily, elf politics, generational trauma, fairy induced psychosis, and most importantly the Marauders + Sev and Lily + Regulus and Narcissa all teamed up. Oh yeah I’m eating this up

This one is longer than the others so I’m really going to try to make this as brief as I can but this fic is actually insane because it’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a hp fic and I think I could talk about it forever.

I was genuinely so giddy reading this. There were so many twists and turns and it remained gripping the whole time. This is a psychedelic fever dream, introspective character study, horror adventure and a beautiful tale of friendship all wrapped in one. I absolutely loved everyone’s characterization here, they’re all so beautifully flawed and you can really understand where they are coming from on a personal level but also on a sociological level, I think the author did a MASTERFUL job at this.

The worldbuilding is INSANELY good (the interlude chapters revolving around each of their mothers made me cry repeatedly. And Elieens chapter is just incredible, I have no words). And the pacing is just excellent, I never felt like any of the growth was forced or unearned.

This storytelling is also amazing, whenever there was a theme or reference brought up before in the story that got tied back in again, my mouth would physically drop because it was so seamless yet so meaningful and impactful.

(Sorry but I just need to talk about characterization for a brief minute because this has some of my favorite characterizations that I’ve ever read of some of these characters:

This is my absolute favorite Lily. Like ever. She feels so real here with her anger and flaws and quirks. She is neither villainized nor deified but a full fleshed out character. I just love her!

This is also my favorite James! James is usually a tough character for me to stay engaged with but this fic does an excellent job at balancing his strengths and flaws while keeping him compelling.

This Snape is PERFECT!!! I actually don’t think I can describe how much I love this depiction, all I can say is if you’re a Snape lover who enjoys him being a lil shit you should read this.

Also Peter is just incredible here, too often is he forgotten but this fic really does him justice.

Ok I’ll stop but just know that I could go on and on about all of these characters)

And seeing these characters who would normally hate each other come together to build meaningful bonds while they grow with their own issues is actually cathartic.

If you are a Marauder and Snape fan this is required reading, I really can’t recommend this enough!

Favorite quotes (there were way too many omg):

“Sirius had been angry for a long time now. Sometimes Sirius wondered if he had been born angry, if his first cry had never truly ended”

“Remus had said nothing after that. He was becoming a champion of saying nothing.”

“‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

‘I won’t forgive what you did to me.’ Severus said back with conviction.

‘Good.’ Sirius said with equal conviction.”

“At this point, Lily had arrived like the loyal shadow she tended to be around Snape, spitting out an angry ‘What the fuck?’”

“Sometimes he burned with the need to yank himself free of Lily and the blade of love hanging between them. To hurt her when she stepped over Severus' abused body like an avenging angel that looked down at him and made him look small, dirty, used and worthless. A worm crawling in the mud.”

Ok that’s all for now! I definitely think you should give all these a read!!

[iamnmbr3]

honestly why did jkr choose DUMBLEDORE as arbitrary gay 'rep'. Besides the not even there stuff he is an awful person.

(And you could pretty easily read him as that sort of Creep. Like I know that's not the sort of grooming people mean but that's always what I think :( )

I know. She really went 'diversity win! the serial liar and manipulator of children who is weirdly fixated on the attractiveness of an 11 year old is gay!'

Now I am absolutely NOT saying that a gay character cannot be flawed or even downright evil. Being gay doesn't make someone inherently bad - or inherently good. Gay people are humans - and just like any other group of humans are capable of the full range of human complexity. However, when the ONLY gay character is like this it feels like their negative personality traits are tied to their gayness. (Just like if Dumbledore was the only straight character it might feel like the author was was casting aspersions on the morality of straight people - even if that wasn't her intent).

Also it's so weird because there were so many other characters that are very frequently read as queer - including Tonks, Lupin, Draco, and Sirius. Not to mention HARRY POTTER himself. But nope. JKR was extremely resistant to anyone even suggesting these characters might not be straight (lol joke's on her - she might not have meant to write these characters as not straight but she did. be mad about it jkr). Only the character who had one queer romance which was extremely destructive and then swore himself to a life of celibacy where he spends all his time manipulated children is allowed to be gay apparently. smh.

And yeah. As for Dumbledore coming across kinda creepy, I definitely think it wasn't JKR's intention but it is a very valid reading based on what she wrote. I mean Dumbledore literally is out there saying 'oh yeah one of the only reasons adults liked this 11 year old child was because he was hot' without any awareness of how incredibly messed up a thing that is to say.

Like if that's something he's comfortable admitting publicly what thoughts doesn't he admit to? This is just an incredibly bizarre thing to say and really says a lot about how he perceives the world.

Why does he assume that all adult teachers pay attention to how attractive the children they are responsible for are? Why does he assume that teachers' treatment of their UNDERAGE STUDENTS is affected by attractive they find each child? That is not how an adult should ever be relating to or thinking about a child.

And it's specifically attractiveness he highlights - not cuteness or charm or literally anything even slightly more appropriate to favor a child for (even though it would still be wrong to favor a student). No. It's the same way he talks about Tom later. He suggests that Tom used his looks in some sort of evil seductor routine to victimize Hepzibah Smith - even though what we actually see is HER creeping on Tom, so it comes across very much as a "he was asking for it" and "he was to blame because he was being a temptation simply by existing" type perspective which is absolutely repellent. And seemingly Dumbledore was thinking about Tom in that way right from the beginning.

In addition, I will say it's notable that in the Hepzibah Smith memory Dumbledore seems to sympathize with the person who is acting as a predator. (I mean she literally touches Tom without his consent and tries to hit on him multiple times while he tries to change the subject and seems super uncomfortable; she is the aggressor in that interaction).

It's also notable that Dumbledore seems to take Tom rejection of him at their first meeting very personally which is odd. Tom's reaction to Dumbledore is not that surprising but Albus seems to take great offense at the fact that Tom does not trust or look up to or like him and does not want to spend time with him or accept his friendship. It's a rather unusual way for an adult to react.

And more generally he doesn't treat children as children. He talks about child!Tom the same as he does adult!Tom and doesn't seem to view him as ever having been fundamentally different. He happily sends Harry and his friends into danger.

He also has a nasty habit of reading people's minds without their consent. I don't think it's a coincidence that nothing about the topic of Occlumency is taught at Hogwarts. It seems that he's been frequently reading the minds of the Golden Trio (and probably other students) for years - probably since book 1; and the mind is a very intimate and scared part of a person that shouldn't just be violated. Characters having a blank or closed look is often used as a descriptor to suggest that that character is employing Occlumency. We know Tom's mind powers were quite developed and I think he successfully blocked Dumbledore from his mind during their first encounter (after Dumbledore read his mind to find out about the things he stole) as right after that scene he is described in similar ways to scenes where characters use Occlumency. And this denial and rejection may been part of what particularly irritated Dumbledore.

His interactions with kids - and especially his fixation on Tom - are very weird. And you could definitely read it as him having some sort of repressed (or not repressed) attraction/fixation that he's probably in denial about (or does mental gymnastics to justify). 100 percent not JKR's intent. But yeah. The way she wrote him is kinda off.

[obsidianpen]

"It does sound a bit far-fetched, though, doesn't it? Honestly, their names all sound like they were selected from a poorly written children's story. What were they all again, Auntie?"

"Helga Hufflepuff," Hepzibah answered. "Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin." THE SHADE OMGGG!!!

lmao okay but remember, that’s hermione throwing shade at the idea of Hogwarts, which she knows Tom riddle is VERY proud of, as she pretends to be a witch born and raised in America, attempting to get his little charade to crack… not necessarily me saying jk Rowling isn’t a good storyteller. Is the line ‘selected from a poorly written children’s story’ suspiciously barbed and specific….? Yes it is. No further comment your honor.

[saintsenara]

Unhinged ships, Dark Lord edition! Hot Tom, waxy Voldemort, or noseless Voldemort, as you prefer.

Voldemort/Nearly Headless Nick

Voldemort/Zacharias Smith

Voldemort/Rufus Scrimgeour

Voldemort/Elphias Doge

Voldemort/Gilderoy Lockhart

Bonus: Voldemort/Gilderoy Lockhart/James Potter

cheers, anon. here goes.

nicholas de mimsy-porpington/tom riddle

we know that young tom canonically spends his teenage years trying to chat up helena ravenclaw [king... come on... try and pull the living]. well, what if he didn't know she was the specific ghost he needed to finesse the diadem's whereabouts out of, but instead only knew that he needed to speak to a ghost?

cue him biting his tongue hard enough to bleed as he tries to smile placidly through "here's all the reasons i should be allowed to join the headless hunt" for hours on end.

[he made ginny target nick with the basilisk in revenge.]

zacharias smith/lord voldemort

since zacharias is in hufflepuff, my assumption is that he's a relation of voldemort's erstwhile nemesis, hepzibah "didn't i tell you i was distantly descended?" smith.

which means... flopping, i'm afraid! lord v's not wasting his time doing customer service simpering now he's not stuck on the minimum wage, and he knows full well that the family hasn't got anything interesting to rob anymore.

rufus scrimgeour/lord voldemort

inherently canonically plausible.

we know from half-blood prince that voldemort has a direct line to the minister, because he contacts fudge to threaten terrorist atrocities [slay!] and i think we can all see this devolving into late night filth.

elphias doge/lord voldemort

hot! they meet at a book club for the life and lies of albus dumbledore and end up passionately kissing after a heated debate about whether rita was right to describe dumbledore as "good at transfiguration".

gilderoy lockhart/lord voldemort

lockhart's tell-all book - double-penetration with dictators - is the prophet's number one best-seller for a full year.

gilderoy lockhart/james potter/lord voldemort

flopping. they're all pillow princesses.

[nillabean11]

Leaving these antique themes, the old lady began to talk… (Hawthorne,63)

Daguerreotypist, strangest companions, animal magnetism, antique themes, narrow circumstances, new‐fangled, philanthropists

Perspective: The Judge

“Leaving these antique themes, the old lady began to talk about that troublesome Daguerreotypist, who had no claim to reside within the house of gables.”

The judge has a clear dislike for Holograve and the fact that someone who isn’t a part of the Pyncheon bloodline is living in the house. His disdain for Holograve specifically though makes me want to use negative adjectives. However, Holograve hasn’t done anything “bad” in the novel so troublesome is the best word I could think of.

Perspective: Clifford

Leaving these antique themes, the old lady began to talk and talk about the young man who resided upstairs.”

We have yet to meet Clifford in the story yet, but we do know that Clifford doesn’t really care about what Hepzibah has to say at all. His attention is directed towards Phoebe and other things that are not Hepzibah.

It’s interesting how both characters aren’t necessarily fond of Holograve for one reason or another. While the reasoning is vastly different, they seem to share similar perspectives. The only reason Clifford is not outwardly banished from the house despite his “past” is that he is a part of the Pyncheon bloodline. The Judge also has no real say because he does not actively live in the house. So it’s interesting to see the power dynamic of both aspects. The Judge has a lot of social power while Clifford has more familial power due to being Hepzibah’s brother.

It really emphasizes the significance of Holograve as a character. He is like the watchful eye over the Pyncheon house. It is as though there is something he is looking for or needs to do. There’s no real reason for him to be in this house, only Phoebe takes great interest in Holograve which pushes that theme of generational change. It is intriguing to see how that corresponds with Holograve and how he will fit later on in the story.

(ENG 235)

[cannibalinc]

So well put.

I've also seen arguments from people who prefer Voldemort/Tom never bottom that they don't personally believe that sexual position has any inherent power position but that it is Voldemort/Tom himself who believes that topping=power and bottoming=submission. A sort of in-story character explanation, and I do think that's an interesting discussion to be had. Voldemort was of an era and culture of baseline misogyny and homophobia. Socially, he runs in very traditional circles. "I'm not a misogynist! Voldemort is!"

But I would argue that there's just as much text to support the opposite. Or rather, lack of text to say one way or the other that isn't speculation and interpretation.

Voldemort's reigning philosophy is POWER. (You know, the power in power bottoming). And over and over, he is about committing taboos in order to attain that power. Non-traditional sex acts is fairly low stakes compared to the other things he's been willing and enjoyed to do.

Sex is a tool like any other. We saw him do what needed to be done to charm Slughorn, Hepzibah Smith, his peers in school, his peers' children, and every other death eater. His aspirations weren't small, he didn't want to be class president, he wanted to be ruler of the wizarding world. He came from nothing, and if the only thing standing in his way was using his body to get to the next step, I don't see any reason he wouldn't use it.

And lastly, Voldemort is a hedonistic parasite who gets off on exerting power over the people who used to exert power over him (Muggles, Purebloods, authority figures etc). Pillow princess material. Lay back, be worshiped, make young Lucius Malfoy pleasure him and milk prostate for hours while a furious and humiliated Abraxas Malfoy is forced to watch.

But the biggest point of contention I see is the issue of tagging. Fixed shippers who feel betrayed and tricked when they are enjoying a story up until the "wrong" person bottoms. I've seen accusations that authors who don't tag are doing it so they get more "engagement," I've seen people say it violently triggers them, I've seen it being compared to sexual assault.

I'm pretty familiar with AO3's Terms of Service, so I'll remind any readers and writers who use the platform:

You understand that using the Archive may expose you to material that is offensive, triggering, erroneous, sexually explicit, indecent, blasphemous, objectionable, grammatically incorrect, or badly spelled.

The only tagging required by the archive is the rating and the warnings (should they apply). Everything else (EVERYTHING ELSE) is a courtesy and at the writer's discretion. Many authors chose not to use additional tags at all. Anyone may request to add or remove a tag on a work, and the author is within their rights to say no. For any reason or no reason at all. You (general you) will have a better overall fandom experience if your expectations are reflective of this fact. Expecting all other writers in your fandom to adhere to your specific tagging preferences is setting yourself up for a very bad time.

And let's be real. 95% of all Tomarrymort works, Harry is the bottom. There were 3 omega Tom/Voldemort fics last time I checked, and I wrote one of them. There is so much creativity and amazing art this fandom has to offer, it isn't going to kill anyone if Voldemort bottoms the other 5% of the time.

In the defense of bottom!Voldemort|Tom

I'm in a mood, so I've decided to break down my thoughts on this topic and I'm putting it in the tags for anyone who is interested. With a suitably melodramatic title.

The rules here are simple: if you know you won't like this, don't read it. If you read it anyway and don't like it, that is the definition of a you problem. Okay? Okay.

So let's talk about why I think it is incorrect and, frankly, offensive to claim that Voldemort|Tom bottoming is inherently out of character.

In order to have this conversation, we're actually having a bigger conversation about sex. Because that's really what this is about.

Something that has popped up in a handful of comments on my own fic is surprise that Voldemort wants to suck Harry's cock. Now, I'm going to be charitable and assume that the people who say things like this don't realize what they're implying. But the reality is that they are operating from the assumption that a man sucking another man's dick is, at least to some extent, weak and degrading. A subservient act.

This is both homophobic and factually untrue. A significant percentage of people who like dick also like giving blowjobs. It's an enjoyable, pleasurable thing to do. And even if the physical act of sucking cock doesn't turn someone on, there are so many other reasons to want to do it. Getting off on being the source of your partner's pleasure, for one example.

But let's move on to the elephant in the room: anal sex. Specifically, the act of being penetrated. The interesting thing about bottoming is that, contrary to what some people seem to believe, it's the more powerful position. Penetration is only happening because the person bottoming is granting permission. Even if that person has ceded total control of the encounter, the fact remains that they made that decision in the first place and could un-make it at any time.

If that agency does not exist, the sex is not truly consensual. Full stop.

Moreover, a strong, dominant personality =/= topping. There is no innate correlation. This is where misogyny really comes to the table. Bottoming seen as a feminine act, and femininity conflated with weakness and submission. Do I think (most) Tomarrymort readers are consciously thinking this way? No. But that doesn't mean the underlying bias isn't present.

There are so many ways penetrative sex can play out. Yes, you get the "classic" version of the person topping being dominant and the person bottoming being submissive. But you can also get topping from the bottom, where the dominant partner in every way is the person being fucked. Or maybe no one is taking a dominant role. Et cetera. This is a broad overview, not an exhaustive list.

Do you see what none of these things have? An assumption that topping=stereotypical masculinity and bottoming=stereotypical femininity. Even with a couple that likes playing with that flavor of gender roles, it's a choice they're making. And before someone willfully misunderstands me, there is nothing wrong with that choice. But don't mistake it for something it's not.

So now that we've clarified that being penetrated is not weak, degrading, or even inherently submissive, let's bring this back to Tomarrymort.

First of all, have you read the books? Voldemort is campy as shit. High drama and a surprisingly great sense of humor (his jokes are fucked up, but also pretty funny). He's not this hyper-masculine figure. On the flip side, Harry is not an effeminate man. He's a jock who will fight you.

So from whence comes this zealous dedication some people have to a fixed dynamic that puts Voldemort|Tom in the masculine role and Harry in the feminine role? Yes, we've established that sex positions are neither of those things, but we all know that's the assumption simmering toxically in the background.

I can't say for sure, but my instincts tell me that it comes from a shallow read of both characters. Voldemort is a powerful man who commands a terrorist organization. Harry is the good-hearted hero, defined by his capacity to love. And this can get twisted into Voldemort|Tom taking and Harry giving in a very reductive way. Even when the relationship is meant to be consensual.

Obviously, I don't think this is universal. I've read a lot of incredible takes on sex in this fandom, with different top/bottom/switching dynamics. And this is fanfiction, which means you can play with characterization to your heart's content. What I'm talking about is people insisting that Voldemort|Tom must top and Harry must bottom and anything else is wrong.

Why are you so adamant about that? Have you ever given it a moment's thought? If you prefer it, you prefer it, that's all fine. But when it morphs into claiming that bottom!Voldemort|Tom is out of character and bad, things have crossed over into the arena of the absurd. Like what you like, but be aware of what you're really saying when you talk about sex.

Not conflating bottoming with weakness and topping with strength would be a good starting point. Understand that there are myriad reasons a person might want to bottom. It can be a source of relief, allowing someone else to take control so you don't have to. It can be an act of manipulation. It can be a form of domination. And sometimes it's just because bottoming is what feels good and they have more fun that way. Or it's just the kind of pleasure they're in the mood for on a random Tuesday night.

No one is telling you to read things you don't enjoy. And no one is saying that fixed top/bottom dynamics don't exist in the real world. But it's ridiculous to apply a fixed dynamic to such a degree that you get upset when other people write something else and consider a fic "ruined" by it. You really should put some thought into your biases. It's good for you. But even if you don't, when you claim a sexual dynamic is inherently out of character, you're actually just wrong. So stop doing that. It will be a net gain for all of us, including you.

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

Team Supplemental - The X-Men

The Uncanny X-Men are a group created by Professor Charles Xavier as a response to the emergence of naturally occurring super-humans known as Mutants among the baseline human society. Dedicated to promoting a dream of peaceful coexistence between Mutants and humans, Xavier trained his students in the use of their specific powers and abilities at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  They became known as The X-Men, defending a world that all too often hates and fears them.

Over the years, the heroes of Mutantkind found their mission constantly endangered by both reactionary humans and fanatic Mutants.  Currently, the X-Men have rebranded themselves as a super hero team who act for the people of Krakoa.  

The ranks of The X-Men have shifted often through the years, with new heroes joining the team and others leaving to follow other pursuits.  The following are the various members of The X-Men in approximately the order in which they joined the team:

Professor X and Cyclops

Jean Grey and The Angel 

The Beast and Iceman

Mimic and The Changeling

Polaris and Havok 

Vulcan and Petra

Sway and Darwin 

Banshee and Nightcrawler 

Storm and Wolverine 

Thunderbird and Sunfire

Colossus and Kitty Pryde

Rogue and Rachel Summers

The Dazzler and Longshot

Magneto and Psylocke

Forge and Revanche 

Gambit and Jubilee 

Bishop and Celia Reyes

Cannonball and Joseph 

Cable and Thunderbird II

Sage and Mirage

Emma Frost and Xorn

Chamber and Stacy X

Lifeguard and Slipstream 

Northstar and Husk

Mystique and Juggernaut 

Domino and Warpath

Lady Mastermind and The Omega Sentinel 

Hepzibah and Armor 

Pixie and Sabertooth 

Karma and Sunspot

Magma and Aurora 

Madison Jeffries and Dr. Nemesis

Magik and Prince Namor The Sub-Mariner

Cloak and Dagger

Boom Boom and Danger

Warlock and Cypher

Frenzy and Ariel

Laura Kinney and Hope Summers

X-Man and Legion 

Warbird and Ink

Firestar and Blink

Monet and Scout

Triany and Pyro

Gentle and Wolfsbane

Madrox the Multiple Man and Sync 

The team first appeared in the pages of X-Men Vol. 1 #1 (1963).

[tayasmultimuses]

Muse Masterlist

NOTE THAT THIS LIST WILL BE UPDATED FROM TIME TO TIME WITH THE UPDATES CLEARLY MARKED, DATED AND NOTED.  

**FACECLAIM NOTE: ANIMATED CHARACTERS WILL HAVE BACKUP ACTOR/ACTRESS FACE CLAIMS FOR USE WITH THOSE WHO PREFER TO RP WITH REAL-LIFE IMAGES OF THE CHARACTERS BUT WILL ALSO HAVE THEIR ANIMATED APPEARANCES FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO PREFERENCE (*ANIMATED ANIMAL CHARACTERS WILL HAVE THEIR CGI COUNTERPARTS WHERE POSSIBLE AND APPROPRIATE IRL ANIMAL IMAGES WHERE NOT). COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS WILL, WHERE POSSIBLE, USE THEIR CANON LIVE ACTION FACE CLAIMS AS A BACKUP OPTION FROM WHATEVER LIVE ACTION SOURCE WE HAVE FOR THEM UNLESS STATED OTHEWISE BY THEIR INDIVIDUAL LISTINGS.** 

ADDITIONALLY, THERE MAY BE LINKS TO FURTHER INFORMATION FOR CERTAIN MUSES FOR YOUR READING ENJOYMENT AT YOUR OWN PACE. THESE MAY INCLUDE BIOS, HEADCANONS, AND INFORMATION ON THE VERSES FOR THAT SPECIFIC MUSE.

Disney:

  -The Lion King/Guard*: Sarabi, Sarafina, Nala, Kiara, Vitani, Jasiri.

-Disney Princesses: Belle, Merida, Pocahontas. 

  -Pirates of the Caribbean: Elizabeth Swann-Turner, Carina Smythe.

Various Disney minor characters: Cassim aka the King of Thieves, Nakoma of the Powhatan, Audrey Ramirez (Atlantis: the Lost Empire), Gwen Locksley/Gwen Hood (Princess of Thieves).

- Descendants: Jay, Son of Jafar,  Amonute Johanna Rolfe (OC, Daughter of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, goes by Johanna at Auradon Prep), Beatrice [Enchantress (surname subject to change)] (OC, Daughter of the Enchantress from Beauty and the Beast),  Princess Kenina of DunBroch (OC, Daughter of Merida, goes by Kenna at Auradon Prep).

***(Added 06/19/22)Maleficent duology:*** Diaval of the Moors, raven manservant to Maleficent, Lady Protector of the Moors. Aurora, Queen Regnant of Perceforest and the Moors, and Crown Princess Consort of Ulstead.

Marvel: 

  -Comics: Dani Moonstar [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Rachel Grey Summers [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Lorna Dane [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Rahne Sinclair [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Ruby Summers [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Pietro Maximoff (disregarding the 2015 retcon that made him not a mutant and no longer Magneto’s son) [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info],Wanda Maximoff (Same as with Pietro, but replace “son” with “daughter”) [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Laura Kinney  [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info],  Hepzibah of the Starjammers [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info]. 

  - X-Men Cinematic universe: Jean Grey [both original (Famke Janssen) and alternate (Sophie Turner) timeline Jean Greys are available. Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Dani Moonstar [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Raven Darkholme [as with Jean i have both original (Rebbeca Romijn) and alternate (JLaw) timeline Mystiques available. Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Rogue [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Storm [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info].     

            - The Gifted (FOX series):  Lorna Dane (Polaris) [Bio: link to come as soon as I get on my laptop( technical difficulties are happening with the doc and my phone *sigh*), headcanons tag and  verses info], Blink (Clarice Ferguson|Clarice Fong) [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info],  Sonya Simonson (Dreamer) [Note: canon divergent (she doesn't die as per canon, instead she's comatose until right around when Dawn is born). Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info]. NPC: Dawn Dane-Diaz(/Diaz-Dane?) due to age in canon [Daughter of Polaris and Eclipse (both Dawn and Eclipse are show-only characters)].  **THE GIFTED IS A SPLINTER UNIVERSE OF THE X-MEN CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.** 

-MCU:  Pepper Potts-Stark [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Darcy Lewis [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Maria Hill [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Melina Vostokova (Vostokoff) [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info], Nebula Titan [Bio: link to come, headcanons tag and  verses info].



DC:

-Comics: Diana Prince | Wonder Woman, Cassandra Cain, Rachel Roth | Raven.

  - DC Extended Universe: Diana Prince |Wonder Woman | Princess Diana of Themyscira, Y'Mera Xebella Challa, Princess of Xebel (NOTE: I use Jessica Chastain as an alternate face claim to Amber Heard, but I can work with Amber if my partners prefer canon faceclaims), Arthur Curry | Aquaman | King of Atlantis.   

         -DCAU: Diana Prince | Wonder Woman, Mera, Raven, Terra, Starfire

-Arrowverse: Kara Zor-El | Kara Danvers |Supergirl, Lena Luthor, Malcolm Merlyn.



Merlin: Lady Morgana (Pendragon), Merlin Emrys, Gwen.

Narnia, Chronicles of: Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, Polly Plummer, Jill Pole, Keana (OC, Great Cat).

[foxrp]

timeline

fallout breaks off from the canonical storyline on jan 1st, 1979. the site is primarily focused on the socio-political climate of the wizarding world, within the confines of britain and ireland, admist the rising of the dark lord, voldemort.

as we start right before the height of the wizarding war, events such as the trelawney's prophecy, lily's pregnancy, peter's defection, and regulus' death have yet to occur. as we are an au site, we will continue to update the timeline with any site-specific canon developments or divergences.

( and of course, here’s a preview picture of our timeline via a screenshot of our guide! )

1940'S

13 JUNE 1943

tom riddle opens the chamber of secrets; several students are attacked, and myrtle warren is killed by the basilisk. with the murder of myrtle, tom riddle transforms his diary into his first horcrux.

AUGUST 1943

tom riddle murders his father, tom riddle sr., and his grandparents, thomas and mary riddle, and transforms marvolo gaunt's ring into his second horcrux.

JUNE 1945

albus dumbledore defeats gellert grindelwald in what is thought to be greatest duel ever fought between wizards. grindelwald is subsequently incarcerated in nurmengard prison, isolated high in the austrian alps.

2 SEPTEMBER 1945

the second world war ends in the muggle world.

C. 1947

the werewolf register is introduced by the ministry of magic to maintain records of all lycanthropes in the british isles.

C. 1948

tom riddle murders an albanian peasant while retrieving rowena ravenclaw's diadem, which he later transforms into his third horcrux.

C. 1949

tom riddle forms the knights of walpurgis, the predecessors to his death eaters.

1960'S

C. 1961

tom riddle murders hepzibah smith and takes her two most valuable treasures, salazar slytherin's locket and helga hufflepuff's cup. he later murders a muggle tramp and transforms the two objects into his fourth and fifth horcruxes.

C. 1962

nobby leach becomes the first muggleborn minister of magic.

C. 1967

hogwarts welcomes albus dumbledore as its new headmaster.

C. 1968

while visiting hogwarts to apply for the position of professor of defense against the dark arts, tom riddle hides the horcrux crafted from ravenclaw's diadem in the room of requirement and curses the defense against the dark arts professorship, never again to be held by one person for more than a year.

C. 1969

minister leach dies from a mysterious illness, possibly the result of a malicious plot by abraxas malfoy. leach is succeeded by eugenia jenkins. she inherits a political climate of extreme unrest, including squib rights marches and pureblood riots, but handles the situation well.

1970'S

C. 1970 - NOW

voldemort's rise to power begins, and the ensuing reign of terror wrought by his death eaters leads to widespread discontent, destruction, and several mysterious disappearances - this is the start of the first wizarding war.

C. 1973

the order of the phoenix establishes its headquarters at the leaky cauldron pub on diagon alley in london, hidden on an invisible top floor kept concealed by a fidelius charm. its secret-keepers are albus dumbledore and minerva mcgonagall. a network of order-allied, fidelius-charmed safehouses begins to form, connecting all corners of the britain and ireland as well as western continental europe.

C. 1975

minister jenkins is forced from office after she is unable to deal adequately with the threat of voldemort. she is replaced by the hard-lined harold minchum.

C. 1975

after lucius malfoy joins the ranks of the death eaters, lord voldemort establishes a new wartime headquarters for himself and his death eaters at malfoy manor in wiltshire, england.

C. 1976

the ministry passes acts that allows bartemius crouch sr., head of the department of magical law enforcement, to send suspected death eaters to azkaban without a trial. this begins a wave of tightening restrictions for the wizarding world, in order to keep them safe from the new threat.

C. 1977

bartemius crouch sr. gives aurors the authorization to use unforgivable curses on death eaters without warning.

C. DECEMBER 1977

the coalition is put into place in the uk following bartemius crouch sr.'s authorization order, something that signals to the rest of the world the state of the british ministry.

C. AUGUST 1978

an anonymously written, ether published article on the pros and cons of tainted blood makes waves in its publication, being used as both pro and anti rebellion propaganda.

C. OCTOBER 1978

reports find that the rates of those being turned into creatures such as vampires and werewolves have steadily increased, much to the worry of the ministry.

[inkdrinkershadowsinger]

Okay, so I’ve been thinking about horcruxes and specifically the making of a horcrux and I have a theory. To make an object a horcrux the person that you kill has to be the opposite of the item that you are enchanting. The object and the person have to be on opposite ends of the spectrum.

For instance, Tom Riddle killed his paternal grandparents to create the horcrux of the Slytherin family ring. The Slytherin family ring that once belonged to a truly affluent family, but by Riddle’s time belonged to the Gaunts who were living in a derelict home with Marvolo and Morton both sick and abusive. The ring was one of their most prized possessions. He used one side of his family to murder and the other side to create the horcrux. An object that was so valued by one side, but would have been nothing to the other.

Bertha Jorkins killed to create Nagini. Sirius mentioned that she was a noisy person in school who was constantly gossiping while Nagini was someone who used to be a lively human being, but whose curse slowly silenced her. Nagini retreated into herself slowly for years while Bertha Jorkins was the exact opposite.

Moaning Myrtle was killed to create the diary. In life, Myrtle was a pariah while Tom Riddle was a prefect and head boy eventually. They were opposites. Riddle’s diary, in itself, is something that in theory held his innermost thoughts while Myrtle got the nickname Moaning Myrtle. In death, she was someone who had no qualms about telling people how she feels, how wrong she has been done, and who is constantly prying into what other people are doing and what gossip is going on in the castle. You can only assume she might have been the same in life. The girl who listens and talks but who no one listens to and the diary that didn’t speak or hold any real secrets until Chamber of Secrets.

A random Muggle prostitute was killed to make Slytherin’s locket a horcrux. The Symbol of the Great Salazar Slytherin was made into a horcrux after Tom killed a Muggle prostitute. This once great symbol of status and prestige, an object that was held by the Gaunts who would have balked at the idea of Muggles interbreeding with Magical people was created with the death of someone who sold their body for a living. Merope was the last Gaunt to own the locket and in this the two would have been similar. Merope was an outcast from her family who was robbed of the true worth of the locket from Borgin while the prostitute was robbed of their life, both were done cheaply and wrong.

Hepzibah Smith was killed to make Hufflepuff’s Cup a horcrux. Hufflepuff is a house that is hardworking and honest and earnest and then you have Hepzibah Smith who was a greedy, rich woman who collected treasures and who hoarded them only showing them off to ensure her status. The Cup who once stood for hardworking, “we’ll teach the rest” Hufflepuffs was turned into a horcrux by killing a plump, flowered witch.

The diadem was made a horcrux when Voldemort killed a peasant. This symbol of knowledge and prestige, a crown of sorts, was made into a horcrux when a peasant, a poor, probably uneducated muggle got in the way of Voldemort. This rich, magical artifact was tainted by killing a non-magical person who had probably never even seen a diadem before.

And then there is Harry. Harry, the inadvertent horcrux. Voldemort’s soul was so fractured at this point that at the moment of his falling it latched onto Harry. Firstly, we have the irony of Lily and James doing everything to help and protect Harry when Voldemort was raised at the mercy of nuns in an orphanage because neither side of his family wanted to or could claim him. Then you have Voldemort whose sole purpose or goal is self preservation. His goal is to live forever, to never taste death and his soul piece latched onto a being, a baby, that truly hadn’t quite gotten a real taste of life. Riddle, a violent, soulless, powerful wizard lost his life and Harry, a child full of potential instead of power, who is innocent became the receptor of that soul shard.

Everything to do with horcruxes is irony and two different, conflicting sides of the spectrum, and I’m just saying that that might have something to do with their creation. Just a theory.

[plotbunny-hutch]

Hermione Granger and the Firebird 1/?

Part 1 here. 

Hermione is having a perfectly ordinary summer hunting for Horcruxes and practicing with her giant magic sword, thank you very much. 

“She's gotten very serious this term, hasn’t she, dear?” Mrs. Granger says with an absent sort of fondness. Hermione is swinging at a melon in the backyard, shearing it into crosswise slices one at a time without causing the whole thing to quiver and roll off the fenceposts. Gyorgi would be very pleased. 

Mr. Granger looks at his daughter over the top of his newspaper and through the kitchen window, and frowns. 

“She’s having nightmares,” he says. “Bad ones.” 

“Hmmm.” Mrs. Granger says, lost in thought as she loads up a fork of scrambled egg. “D’you reckon we should get her in to see someone?” 

“I’ve tried talking with her about it. She doesn’t want to. Says it’s a magic thing.” Mr. Granger frowns again, more deeply. This magic business had seemed quite whimsical and charming at first. Letters by owl, that professor who had shown up and turned his gran’s teapot into a tortoise, a secret street full of bustling magical shops. But his little girl had changed since going to that school. And this year she came back with a sword of all things. 

“Mum, dad,” she said at that busy train station, “This is the Sword of Gryffindor.” Like she was introducing a person, which he would later find out wasn’t completely ridiculous, somehow. She had a letter from the headmaster explaining that, as an ancient magical artifact, the Sword went where it pleased, when it pleased, and right now, it pleased to follow his daughter wherever she went. If she forgot it, or tried to leave it someplace, it would simply turn up, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Except, of course, provide her with an invisible sheath and baldric and teach her how to use a sword. 

She got up before dawn now, his little girl, and walked like a queen with the weight of her sword on her back, and woke up crying in the middle of the night. 

Hermione is having an excellent summer. Sure, she’s getting up before dawn every day to swing the Sword until it lets her have breakfast and writing increasingly long, complicated letters to people who work for foreign governments and getting a little worried about the tone of the Daily Prophet, but it’s all to the good. She’s finally found the “missing link” between the Wiltshire Smythes and the Devonshire Smiths (take that, Bathilda Bagshot!) and from there, it’s a nice clean genealogical line to Hepzibah Smith, last descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. If she can just pull some estate sale records, maybe she’ll finally get somewhere with the lost “Giving Cup” of Hufflepuff. 

“Hermione, dear,” Mum says as she breezes over to the fridge for a glass of orange juice. “Aren't you meeting the old crowd today?” 

Oh. Right. “The old crowd.” Hermione’s cousins and friends from primary went on to Muggle secondary, of course, and Lizzie went on scholarship to a rather posh boarding school. It’s . . . nice, to see them and catch up. But of course, there’s no telly or radio at Hogwarts, and Muggle celebrity gossip might as well be happening on the Moon for all the Wizarding World cares. And by now, she doesn’t know more than half the people that they all talk about, friends they made at Muggle school and going to Muggle things. 

But this time is different, of course, because her cousins breathlessly fill her in on a prank gone horribly wrong. It’s not just tabloids that are reporting it–it’s in the Times, the Daily Mail, and the Independent, which can’t all be barking up a tree that isn’t there. And Hermione’s cousin’s best friend’s sister knows all about it, of course, because it happened behind her school: a local barrister and his family, all dead without a scratch on them, and some sort of weird green firework set off over the top of the house. 

Hermione gently grills them for as much information as they can give, then goes home, shuts herself in her room, and screams into her pillow. 

Of course the Death Eaters haven’t gone anywhere. Crouch was ranting about the Dark Lord’s return, probably some horrible ritual to do with his horcruxes, and even if that had gone all wrong when Hermione got him arrested and maybe set a bit on fire, the people who had planned to bring him back were still out there. Ugh. 

But there’s not much she can do about it. There’s no way to contact Professor Dumbledore over the summer, and it’s not like there’s a wizarding 999. If she can lay low and keep an eye on her parents for the rest of the summer, maybe there’ll be something she can do when she gets back to Hogwarts. 

This plan lasts her right up until a bunch of wankers in black robes and skull masks apparate onto Tottenham Court Road and start blasting shops. Glass is falling, Muggles are screaming, oh God, Hermione’s parents are in the crowd somewhere–they got separated, she doesn’t know where they are. 

She draws the sword, desperation and rage burning in her, how dare they come here bringing death, this city is hers, and the sword burns with her. 

Of course the aurors show up long after they would have been any use and immediately start obliviating people. One of them turns his wand on her, but she brandishes the sword in one hand and a severed Death Eater arm in the other, Dark Mark bright and shiny. That shuts him up real quick. 

They’re really quite apologetic about arresting her, which isn’t any less terrifying because they’re arresting her and it turns out that Muggle parents can’t enter the Ministry, even to visit wizarding children in the temporary holding cells where people await trial by Wizengamot. 

It’s humiliating and infuriating and disgusting. At least they can’t take the sword from her; it refuses to go. And at the end of the day she gets a slap on the wrist and absolutely no comment from the Wizengamot on whether or not Voldemort and his followers are back despite the very solid and still slightly bloody evidence to the contrary which Hermione has personally brought them. 

Well, if they won’t admit he’s back with a literal Dark Mark staring them in the face, Hermione will simply have to talk to someone who will. 

Mil’s mum, Bozhidara, is the head of the Nightwatch. She’s been ever so helpful about things like magical law and international affairs and extradition and how the wizarding Continent dealt with Grindelwald. Surely she’d be interested in hearing about a resurgent Dark Lord in Britain. 

She is interested, as it turns out, and for awhile the Prophet is full of blaring headlines like IWC DECLARES EMERGENCY INQUIRY and IWC DECLARES STATE OF DARK EMERGENCY and WIZARDING CONTINENT DECLARES WAR ON YOU-KNOW-WHO. Ron and Harry’s letters get a little alarming, but Harry’s at the Burrow now anyway, so that’s all right. 

Meanwhile, Viktor is in a panic. He insists that Hermione visit him, right away and for as long as possible, with as many family members as she can lure onto a plane to Sofia. She would tease him about it, but there are a lot of Krums on the casualty rolls of the last War. Dark Lords are no joke to him. 

Hermione graciously accepts his invitation for a month, parents in tow, and dives headfirst into the Krum family library alongside his uncle Chavdar. She asks Mr. and Mrs. Granger a little guiltily one morning if it’s really all right, and they wave her off. Oh, it’s no trouble, dear, we were both due a sabbatical anyway. And it’s so charming to see you and that Viktor getting along so well. 

Which is not funny, they are just friends, there have been awkward letters full of feelings about this. But she can put up with it if it means her parents are still alive to laugh at her. 

And one day she and Chavdar dig up a way to track Horcruxes, and since clearly the only way to be rid of this damn Dark Lord is to kill all the gross little pieces of his soul that he left in the scenery, she’s damn well willing to do it. 

Dedication is a bit like Declaration for the Light or Dark, but more specific and much more out of fashion. Nobody really dedicates themselves anymore, except maybe in the rural Americas where just surviving as a witch is so hard that any little edge helps. Since it’s looking more and more like just surviving as a Muggleborn witch in Britain will be so hard that she’ll take any edge she can get, Hermione does. It’s not like she’s giving up anything she wants to keep, anyway. Sometimes you just get a person born for the Hunt; a person who digs for clues and follows even the faintest of trails, who won’t give up, who won’t turn aside. 

Viktor knows there’s nothing he can do to stop her, and so he calls up a few friends, and Hermione has a bunch of Bulgarians who tag along with her to a wreck of a cottage in a village called Little Hangleton. She has to see a man about a ring, you see. 

For those keeping score at home, we are now down four Horcruxes, with three to go. But thanks to his psychic connection with his horcruxes, Voldemort (currently wearing Wormtail like a Nagini-suit, thanks for the nightmares, Jo) knows exactly who’s hunting him. 

Harried across the English countryside by Death Eaters, Hermione and friends fetch up at the Longbottom estate, where Hermione and Neville talk about strength, courage, and the choices of a sword. 

The Longbottoms try to smuggle her out to the Order on a routine visit to Neville’s parents at the hospital, but they run into the Weasley and Harry there. Arthur has been bitten ahead of schedule, and it’s only Percy’s workaholic habits that saved his life. So a messy Weasley reconciliation is being had in one corner and a messy Golden Trio reunion is being had in another, there are Bulgarians (???) everywhere, and the Malfoys choose this moment to tip their hand by setting Dementors on St. Mungos. 

Hermione learns the hard way that her sword won’t kill everything, but Harry casts a Patronus that saves her long enough for everyone to portkey to Grimmauld Place. Where Hermione marches in with her sword and her terrifying Bulgarians and says “Nope, actually, the children are in this war whether you like it or not.” 

The rest of it comes out mostly by accident, because Darina has been teaching her to read people and when Dumbledore says “There’s something I must discuss with Harry. Just Harry,” and his eyes linger a little too long on Harry’s scar, Hermione just blurts out, 

“Oh, is this about the Horcruxes?”

TO BE CONTINUED

[starsfadingbutilingeron]

Hello! Curious anon here, I was wondering, was your grouptale kiddos, do any of the names you chose have a specific meaning or a reason you picked that name? They're all really cool names!

oh hey! gosh it’s been so long since i named my kids (like four years ago long) but their names do have specific meanings/reasons why i chose them. lemme just go through them one by one

robin - i first thought of it b/c their soul color is robin’s egg blue then i checked the bird symbolism and i for the life of me can’t find where i read this originally but robins symbolize patience b/c they’re one of the first outward signs of spring after winter. plus, they have the bright red tummies and robin’s hair is red. 

alex - this one’s pretty straightforward. the name alex is derived from the greek word αλεξω (alexo) which means “to defend, help” which is perfect for the courageous soul who’s always rushing in to protect others

bell - bluebell flowers symbolize humility & gratitude, which i felt went hand-in-hand with integrity. also the color blue. it’s in there. and i like the name bell. 

laurel - more plant symbolism. so laurels are symbols of perseverance b/c they last so long after you clip them and just in general are hearty plants. furthermore they symbolize intellectual superiority and creativity, both of which fit laurel’s personality really well. 

twain - twain’s name is the only one with no elaborate reasoning behind it. there’s no symbolism or meaning i can point you to other than i thought it was a cute name. i’ve never even read anything by mark twain. 

hop - (can you tell i like plants?) again, i can’t find where i read this but believe me when i say in some community somewhere hops symbolize justice. plus, it was so damn cute and perfect for them i was willing to fudge the meaning lol. don’t know if you’ve read this much of the series but ‘hop’ is actually a nickname and their full name is ‘hepzibah’ which means ‘my delight is in her’ or in this case ‘my delight is in them’ but i chose their full name after i decided ‘hop’ was a nickname so it was more of a “lemme find a good fit for this name i just decided was a nickname’ and i really liked the name hepzibah. so there you go. 

thanks for asking! glad you like my kids’ names : )

[iamnmbr3]

I found your blog recently and enjoy it so much! I think your opinions are very well reasoned and I appreciate your takes. I’m slowly going through your posts so I apologize if you’ve already answered something similar. When I read the books Tom gave me the impression he would do anything to accomplish his goals. I haven’t seen it discussed anywhere, but is it too off base for me to think he would also sell his body to achieve a higher rank, favor, etc?

Thank you so much for saying something so lovely. I'm really glad you're enjoying my posts. It always makes me very happy to hear that people find my content interesting or fun to read.

You raise a really good question. We don't have a lot of canon to go on, so to some extent it's a matter of how you read him. I personally think the answer is probably no, unless he really felt he had no other option. He seems pretty averse to touch in canon, goes out of his way not to marry Bellatrix even though it would benefit him, and seems pretty determined to keep his conversation with Hepzibah Smith professional despite the fact that she clearly has other priorities in mind. I think he would have to really feel whatever he wanted was absolutely essential and that he had no other option before he would consider that approach. So I could see it happening but only in very specific circumstances.

I talked about why I think this in a lot more detail here in the context of a question about whether Tom would try seducing Dumbledore (probably not) and what would happen if he did (probably nothing good).

[gardenrising]

Rules: answer 20 questions so your followers can get to know you better, and tag 20 other people you’d like to know better.

name: gardenvoir (but my real name is ilayda) 

nickname: garden

zodiac sign: pisces sun // leo moon // virgo rising

height: 5′5 1/2

languages spoken: English, Mandarin, Spanish, Turkish (very poorly). 

nationality: american

favourite fruit: nectarines

favourite season: autumn-winter. i have an extensive coat collection and i like to make use of it

favourite scent: night-blooming jasmine, yulan magnolia, menthol, wood smoke

favourite colour: recently i’ve been feeling red & yellow, but i also like lavender a lot

favourite animal: specifically? my cat, scallop. in general? deer, goats, oysters (i just think they’re neat, okay)

favourite fictional character: ajsdfkj; idk but i really vibe with hepzibah from the house of seven gables 

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: listen,,,, i will never snub a hot beverage. but i definitely drink coffee more often than tea or hot chocolate. and i prefer my hot chocolate with a shot of espresso 

number of blankets you sleep with: one. i have a thinner comforter for spring/summer and a thicker one for fall/winter 

when was your blog created: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

favourite subject: Eng/Lit, History, Art. 

currently watching: nothing atm but i want to watch the new season of free! 

stopped watching by accident and need to finish soon what are you doing: bnha, darling in the franxx 

favourite band music: arctic monkeys, mitski, fallout boy, florence + the machine, dolly parton, lana del rey, SHINee, MIA

instruments played: i played the violin for like a decade, but i have very little love for it

favourite book: of bees and mist by erick setiawan, house of seven gables by nathaniel hawthorne, to live by yu hua, where the past begins by amy tan

i feel like everyone’s already filled one of these out? but i’ll tag @glamourtail-hopper, @pushfr, and @capricats. also if you’re reading this then i tag u