#BUT he's also interested in magic in general so i'm guessing it still Would be interesting to him to a degree

[astrolavas]

i think it’s kind of interesting with the hexside tracks convo. i actually think construction magic is the only coven-specific type of magic we’ve ever seen hunter do? with that big earth fist he whacked amity with in eclipse lake. i don’t know if that would be an argument for or against him taking it as a class, but i feel like everything else we’ve ever seen him do is like,, not tied to a coven besides that one spell

(this is related to this old post but i put the answer in my drafts and the option of posting it vanished from my memory lmao)

tbh that IS true, i forgor it can be technically considered construction magic kxjsjks

i feel like there are so many spells and different "sub magic types" and magic courses that are kinda unclear which track they'd be taught at or where they fall under, especially since there are some tracks/magic types that we've only seen used in a very general way; like construction or oracle. we've seen manyyyy possibilities for some tracks, like abomination (like what darius vs alador vs amity can do, how differently it can be used) or bard (how at first glance it just feels like a "yeah we use instruments to fight and do spells" but then we also find out how much you can truly do with it and how much actually falls under bard magic through raine) or illusions (everything that gus, and graye, have been shown to do) etc. but some tracks/covens we have really just been kinda... shown from a very surface level lol

hell, i still wonder why anyone would ever choose a potion coven in a world during belos' reign, where you have to choose to only have one magic type, because... from all we've seen it seems like in order to make potions you don't really need any magic (having magic can help but it's not necessarily needed) so what magic DO you get??? you have to get something (maybe magic that can assist you in making potions?) but we have no clear idea what. also considering how oftentimes potion-making is also tied in with other magic types (like plants or healing or beast-keeping) it almost feels like it should be a sub-type of each magic or an addition rather than its own thing. BUT KXJSHSK YEAH like, we don't know! i wish it was more clearly fleshed out in the show.

there's also the fact that now that belos is gone, the society is able to take back their culture and history and practices that were lost to time and as we can see in the epilogue they're actively working on making the boiling isles less... belos-influenced. they're working on that process of decolonization and it's going to be a long LOOONG while until traces of belos' impact completely disappear, but there are already clear changes. the sky is clear again (just like it was in the "savage ages" - a contrast to the pollution we see in the emperor's coven era), palismen are being carved again and palistroms are coming back from being endangered, selkidomus is doing good, the once a police precinct in latissa is now a hospital and the hostile architecture around it (the spikes) is gone, there's now a way to remove sigils and everyone is free to pursue whatever they want. the society is healing. etc.

and covens, magic being split into these clear subtypes- was not ever really something natural. like yeah, there ARE magic types that seem very clearly "thematic" like you can very clearly separate bard magic from plant magic, and a witch can be naturally skilled in a particular thing (like willow or gus) but there are also some spells that overlap and some that seemingly don't fit into any covens at all. belos made up covens in order to limit witches' bodily autonomy and control their abilities, in order to seem more powerful and to create this structure of power. so i imagine that if you are in a coven, in any coven, there are spells that don't quite fit any of them, or some that fit all.

i. ngl i completely derailed the ask and forgot where i was going with this LMAO but yeah

[letteredlettered]

You are really making me appreciate gay!Harry! I know its not present in all you stories but I usually only wanted to see BiHarry and now Im finding new ways to look at Harry and how "easy" ( aka believable to me) a gay interpretation can be. Like Harry has nearly all his most emotionally charged/complex relationships with men, his canon love interests are underexplored without much screen time and generic (into his sport + hot like everyone at school points out), combined with Harrys denial of the safe heternormative family he would've had, I can see how would amplify internalized heteronormativity. I guess some of this is just a byproduct of a male centered narrative about teenagers but still interesting to explore in fics =)

I'm glad. Bi!Harry is great. He certainly seems to think he's attracted to girls in canon, so if you want to keep that but also write him with boys, then I can see how he would identify as bisexual. I also think bisexual representation is really important, since bi identities often get erased, especially if they settle down with someone.

But while I've written bi!Harry a time or two, I'm afraid I mostly see him as gay, gay, gay. I think it has to do with the way his attraction to women is written in canon; his feelings about Ginny come out of nowhere--no. That's not exactly true. His feelings for Ginny come out of watching Dean and Ginny kiss, which might mean he wants to kiss Ginny. It also might just mean he wants to kiss. And maybe it's specifically watching Dean with Ginny that gets him hot. Anyway, I actually like that scene, since it gives us the monster in Harry's chest, but everything after that feels really passionless.

And just because a guy has a passionless relationship with a girl doesn't mean he's gay! But Harry also seemed pretty passionless with Cho, and he's not passionless around Draco or Sirius or Snape. I mean, it makes sense that Harry is going to have strong feelings about a bully who tortures him, a long lost godfather who loves him, or a teacher who abuses him. But the fact that he does have chemistry with those guys and doesn't with his girlfriend does make me more interested in seeing him in relationships with men.

But yeah, a lot of it has to do with what you're saying about internalized heteronormativity. All Harry seems to want is a family and place to call home, which you see in his feelings for the Weasleys and the Burrow, in his feelings for Hogwarts and Dumbledore, his feelings for Sirius. The boy lived in a cupboard surrounded by people who hated him and told him he was worthless; he sees these other people with loving families and homes, and of course he wants that. And because of the way the world is, of course he thinks you have to a marry a girl just like his father did, have kids, and live in a magic house with a picket fence.

It's a case of compulsive heterosexuality if I've ever seen one. Bisexuality is still a complete rejection of comp het, but I love the idea of Harry realizing that what he thought was attraction to girls was comp het all along.

[monscrow]

intro post, i guess!!!

askbox open only on weekends; got too overwhelmed by spam, my apologies.

last updated 16/jan/2025

⚠️flash warning for blinkies at the bottom⚠️

free gaza, free palestine, stop genocide. you don't agree? block me.

i go by both mons and crow.

my pronouns are they/them, he/him and any neos/xenos that you think would fit either comedically or off of vibes.

lvl 16, so, a minor !! beware

aromantic, acespec, something like that; qprs are sick asf and all hail relationship anarchy.

art sideblog is @monscrowarts

audhdcd (asd + adhd + ocd 😻😋) and hEDS. i use tonetags, feel free to ask for clarification!!!

bday is oct 7. 🎉🎉🎉

i'm mexican 🇲🇽!! i speak both spanish and english.

timezone is cst/utc-6.

i say slurs i can reclaim (mainly the f and t queer ones) and swear a lot, though if that makes you uncomfortable please either block me or lmk so i can try to tone it down when around you.

i love interacting!! feel free to tag me in stuff, send some asks (be it on anon or not), or message me! moots can ask for my discord even if we've never actually talked before. though i suck at keeping consistent, nothing personal i promise</3 /gen

i tend to spam-reblog so do with that information what you will.

some tags you might see me use here and there:

#mons rambles ← just my thoughts, ideas, opinions, and whatever i feel like throwing into the tumblr void.

#ask a crow / #anon asks ← askbox replies.

#save / #art save / #fav / #hellsite faves ← these are more for myself, but yeah they're pretty self-descriptive. just in case you get curious or anything.

hyperfixations/interests/things i'm passionate about !!! i guess, kinda

→ mcr (+ most of the members' solo projects)

→ killjoys (california + national anthem, but mainly calif and fanon)

→ demolition lovers lore (i have literally written like at least three different essays about it for school help me i'm so serious)

→ emo/alt/diy culture

→ will wood

→ bandom in general

→ sonic the hedgehog (franchise) (SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IS EVERYTHING BTW)

→ graphic design, arts and crafts, illustration (that's right y'all graphic design IS my passion 😔)

→ fnaf (bonnie fnaf they could never make me hate you)

→ cosplay/costume-making

→ d&d

→ crows (no way, crow, really???)

→ australian shepherds

→ the umbrella academy (s4 isn't canon in my heart + currently reading the comics !!! )

→ gravity falls

→ neurodivergencies/psychology/disabilities (this one's pretty meta ngl)

→ lgbtqia+ identities (emphasis on the aroace-spec ones + relationship anarchy)

→ politics/activism

→ linguistics + conlangs

→ fantasy in general (high fantasy, magic, vampires, tieflings, you name it)

→ boardgames

→ the count of monte cristo (book + 2024 movie)

→ webfishing :3

→ uhhhh there's more but i don't remember rn, i'll keep adding as i see fit (probably... maybe..... perhaps....... quizás........ puede ser..........)

dni

trump supporters, terfs, transphobes, anti lgbtqia+/queerphobics, exclusionists, ableists, racists, prolifers/antichoicers, proshippers/anti-antis, irl gore, pro-israel/zionists, pro-ai generated "content", pro-nft, non-critical media consumers, classists, ed blogs, sh blogs.

also, i'm aware that dnis tend to not be effective and i probably will still get shitty ppl in my inbox so i can and will block. though i'm p chill as long as you're chill. this blog is run by a very neurodivergent, mentally ill, mexican, transmasc, aroace faggot, and any kind of bigoted hatred will not be tolerated.

blinkies made with blinkies cafe !!!

pssst btw, before you go, if you read my intro post i'd heavily encourage you to like it, so i can know!!! :] (/nf though!)

[geekthefreakout]

The Joy Leaving the Work

This post will be discussing the works of Neil Gaiman and my personal relationship with them. If you don't like that or cannot handle that, kindly don't read. Also, there will be allusions to SA in the discussions.

So, a couple of weeks ago I decided to pick up Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman-- a book I've owned for a couple of years that's been in my "to read pile" waiting its turn. In the light of the allegations against Gaiman, I put off reading it a couple of months more as I tried to process how I felt. Now I've read it.

Background: Neil Gaiman has been my favorite author bar none ever since I read Coraline in 5th Grade. He and Sir Terry Pratchett share a bookshelf of honor in my room- the one right behind my bed, so I can easily reach for a comfort read. I've always loved his twists on various stories-- The Graveyard Book and Neverwhere being two of my favorites. The dark-but-not-too-dark tone, the dry humor, the magical realism, all of it. Anansi Boys looked like it would have all of that.

And it did! In a vacuum, this would have been a very enjoyable read. But with the allegations, I noticed things that I wouldn't have before. For example (spoilers, I guess):

Mr. Nancy (the titular Anansi) is a funny old man, and often a bit lecherous. In his final moments, he's doing karaoke with some young, buxom blondes when he has a heart attack and falls off the stage, hand outstretched. As he goes down, he sticks his hand out, grabbing one girl's tube top and exposing her as he dies.

This anecdote in the book is presented as something that embarrasses his son (our protag) but is generally interpreted by the other characters as something that was just so funny and charming.

It made me uncomfortable. In fact, just about every time Mr. Nancy alluded to his Master Roshi-like interest in buxom young women, I felt uncomfortable. But wait, there's more:

Spider (secret twin brother of protag Fat Charlie) is interested in Fat Charlie's fiancee. He tricks her into thinking that he IS Fat Charlie, and this girl who had been saving her virginity til marriage is so taken by him that they have sex. Meaning not only did he entice the girl to sex under false circumstances (this is rape), but it's also unclear as to how much of her going along with him is really HER and how much is his... mojo, I suppose. To the story's credit, once she realizes what has happened she gets angry and breaks up with both of them, no longer wanting anything to do with them... until, of course, happenstance brings them together again and she admits that she had real feelings for Spider, who finds himself wanting to behave better for her.

That doesn't sit right with me in the best of circumstances. These are not the best of circumstances.

I finished the book and it took me this long- two weeks and change- to decide how I feel about it. And how I feel about it is this-- I cannot separate it from the author. I cannot enjoy this book because the slime from Gaiman's actions oozes all over it. And that sucks.

I'm almost afraid to reread my favorites from him, for fear that my happy memories of those books will be ruined too. That SUCKS.

And it makes me feel dumb for never having seen the misogyny in the books before. It's like when Rowling showed herself to be what she was and I couldn't enjoy Harry Potter anymore, but worse because Gaiman is an author that I was still actively reading, who had been vocally supportive of queer and trans people, who I'd still looked up to. When it all went down with Rowling, I realized that I'd been excusing a lot of problematic shit in her writing as ignorance, rather than malice. But it WAS malice. And now I'm wondering if I didn't make the same mistake with Gaiman. That sucks too.

Anyway. That's my rant. Thanks for listening. Please share if you're having issues like this too, it's good to not feel alone.

[melverie]

⸺ LESSON 10 ⸺

Solomon

Lucifer

Solomon & "Nightbringer"

MC's magic

strange feelings & soup

the 'MC is human' situation

records of a banshee

misc

- lesson 9 || lesson 11 || all posts so far -

I'm going to reveal my crack theory on Nightbringer's identity soon since the brainrot is getting out of hand, but then again, it shouldn't be hard to guess based on the points I bring up for this lesson :) I'm still preparing a sideblog for that tho, so it might take a bit Also if someone wants to get tagged for these recaps, do let me know! General spoiler warning for all of Obey Me Nightbringer, as well as for the original Obey Me

⸺ SOLOMON ⸺

Solomon suddenly shows up at HoL uninvited and claims he and Simeon have plans for drinking tea together. Simeon doesn't remember ever making such plans [10-4] -> while we're not told what they are talking about, I'm guessing it has to do with 10-A -> love how he just was at Nightbringer's tea party, and now his immediate response when asked why he's here is just "......Simeon and I are having a tea party" lol

by the time Solomon arrived at HoL, Satan was already outside, yet he didn't realize Solomon came over [10-18] -> while you can argue that Satan was just so caught up in watching the cat, he does notice MC coming over, the brothers leaving to the Demon Lord's Castle, AND this is the same demon that could later tell on that MC was standing in front of his bedroom door based on the intervall of their footsteps

⸺ LUCIFER ⸺

Belphegor talks about Lucifer trying (+ failing) to hold in his laughter [10-1]. Demon!Lucifer would never :(

Lucifer seems overly reluctant to take MC with him and Belphegor at first [10-4]. When asked why, he deflects -> he was kind of quick to entertain the idea of taking Solomon with him as the 'uninvolved third party' though

Lucifer seems surprised that Belphegor was denied entry to a shop back when they first arrived in the Devildom [10-6; pic below] -> since this treatment from the denizens was part of the reason Mammon wanted to gain the title of 'Rulers of the Underworld', you'd think that Lucifer would be aware of this kind of treatment happening in the first place...

it's raining, which reminds the brothers of the day before the Great Celestial War + according to Lucifer, it was unusally quiet [10-9]. The brothers talk about what everyone was doing that day:

Belphegor was napping in a tree and was all alone that day [10-11] Beelzebub was off in the human world to run an errand on Michael's behave [10-11] Asmodeus was taking a bath, and thinking of ways to get out of Raphael scolding him later on [lesson 10 hard mode] we don't get any comment on Satan, but he was obviously still part of Lucifer, so uh... Would have been interesting to know if he has any fragments of Lucifer's memories of that time tho Leviathan and Michael were taking a walk and talking [lesson 10 hard mode] Mammon was tasked with covering Beelzebub's gatekeeping duty, but he ended up skipping out of it [lesson 10 hard mode] and then there's Lucifer who was......somewhere. The game doesn't tell us what he was up to, but instead points out that no one knows where he was [lesson 10 hard mode; pic below]

Lucifer hogging the family braincell as usual and immediately realizes that, yep, MC has the Ring of Light [10-16] -> btw kind of unrelated but I do find it funny that out of all the characters to (originally) head to the Demon Lord's Castle to free Beel, it was MC and Luci & Belphie. You know. The only two brothers that wanted to attack MC once they found out that they are a human. Imagine what would have happened if Mammon, Levi and Asmo hadn't shown up lol

⸺ SOLOMON & "NIGHTBRINGER" ⸺

[hi, this is probably the only time I'm bringing the Japanese version into this recap simply because I already translated this specific scene here]

illusion!Diavolo and illusion!Simeon pressure Solomon into choosing either demons or angels. Solomon chooses the secret third option :) [10-A] -> since this illusion was most likely created by Nightbringer, we can assume that he wants Solomon to either choose his side (whichever that may be), OR to simply abandon humanity altogether -> a little later on Solomon implies that Nightbringer should know by now that Solomon won't ever waver on his convictions -> Nightbringer knows Solomon well enough to know that threatening MC's safety might get him to change his mind. Solomon does stop smiling at this threat, so he does seem to take the threat seriously

during the illusion tea party, Solomon says that he just wants to be free, and that that's part of his agreement with "him" [10-A] -> while we don't know for certain, I'm guessing his agreement is with Nightbringer since it would make sense narrative-wise

Solomon also tells Nightbrignger that he sounds like a demon [10-A] -> sounds like something you'd either say to someone who isn't a demon, or someone who only recently became a demon

Nightbringer says that Solomon is acting more like a demon than he is because of his arrogance [10-A] -> Solomon then says that it is inevitable that he behaves like a demon since Nightbringer made him to the person he is today

Two fun facts about the Japanese version! 1. Nightbringer uses 「傲慢」 for 'arrogant', which also happens to be the word used in the game for the deadly sin 'pride' 2. instead of saying "you're the one who made me who I am today", Solomon says that Nightbringer is the one who reduced him to what he is now

when Solomon calls Nightbringer......'Nightbringer' (lol), he actually puts his name in quotation marks in the Japanese version [10-A; pic below]. Makes you wonder if he actually is the historic Nightbringer we learn a little of later on, or if it's just someone using that name...

「」 are the Japanese quotation marks

⸺ MC'S MAGIC ⸺

MC one again absorbs the brother's magic in order to calm down Beelzebub [10-16]

⸺ STRANGE FEELINGS & SOUP ⸺

beast mode Beelzebub is heading to the colosseum, and Lucifer points out that it was build on the exact spot the brothers first landed in the Devildom [10-13]. That was a year ago. Why is it built already??

Leviathan points out that the Great Celestial War feels like a really long time ago [lesson 10 hard mode]

⸺ THE 'MC IS HUMAN' SITUATION ⸺

[hey, we finally reached the reason I wanted to make this its own category, whuu!]

so here's the thing:

1. back in lesson 8, Diavolo said that while he is now fairly confident that MC is indeed a human, he still can't be 100% sure because there is "something else" within MC [8-1; first pic below] 2. back in OG season 3, fairy illusion!Lucifer asks MC what they are. If MC answers that they are an angel, illusion!Lucifer says this that he knows when he is in the presence of an angel, but also admits that there is something else within them and that he can't say so for certain [OG 52-5; second pic below]

THE REASON I'M BRINGING ALL THIS UP is because now in lesson 10, Lucifer once again mentions being able to tell when he's in the presence of an angel. This time, however, he indirectly claims that he can tell that MC isn't one [10-16; third pic below]

⸺ RECORDS OF A BANSHEE ⸺

Beelzebub managed to escape from his prison cell and we learn about the state he is in [10-9; pic below]. Once again, it seems like too big a reaction for just hearing the word 'banshee'

we also learn that Beelzebub's rampage started right after the brothers left earlier [10-9; pic below]

Barbatos actually blames the brothers for Beelzebub's escape [10-9] and I am inclinded to believe him because:

1. Solomon was (supposedly) with him earlier, meaning Barbatos would have known had Solomon tried to pull something. And yet he is blaming the brothers 2. while Solomon could have just been sneaky & teleported away right after putting some kind of spell/curse on Beelzebub, the other characters mentioned last lesson that Beelzebub was already acting beside himself during the dinner party, meaning it must have been someone who was also at the dinner party. From what we know, Solomon was with MC at the time 3. while it could have been both Solomon AND Barbatos, I seriously doubt that Barbatos was involved in this situation in any way. Diavolo is already in a lot of distress because of suddenly having to govern the Devildom, MC's situation, Lucifer's comment last lesson and so. much. more. The Beel situation right now just causes Diavolo even more stress, and doing something like that just feels COMPLETELY out of character for Barbatos 4. speaking of seeming out of character, it's not like Barbatos to just baselessly accuse others like that, meaning he probably had a solid reason to blame the brothers 5. I am reaching with this one, but I like the idea lol--Diavolo still has the ability to tell lie from truth, and while Belphegor vehemently denies having played any part in Beelzebub's escape, Lucifer never outright says so

they suddenly start arguing that Beelzebub is acting like this because he's hungry [10-13] -> thing is, we later learn that he's lacking his "demonic disposition" and that the hunger he feels is all No. 6's doing. So unless No. 6 suddenly decided to go all in that can't be true

⸺ MISC ⸺

Belphegor tells MC a little more about Lilith + we get Michael lore (he looks like a jellyfish :] ) [10-1]

Belphegor also tells us that the Celestial Realm forbids angels from intervering with a human's life [10-1]

Belphegor's line from the website [10-1; pic below]

the sibling bickering <3 [10-6; pic below]

Simeon reassures Satan that they will one day be known as "the seven brothers" [10-18]

[spell-cleaver]

One thing I've always wondered is how Vader didn't sense either Luke (or Leia's for that matter) force presence on the first death star. I guess he was super caught up in with the whole "I sense the old coot who cut off my limbs amd left me to burn" thing, but I like to think obi-wan was masking the pair by just being obnoxiously loud with the force (the force equivalent of him walking into a room with multiple air horns and a boom box blasting away)

Wow, I had THOUGHTS about this one.

Honestly? I'm not a fan of the assumption in a lot of fic and by fans that it's super easy to passively sense someone in the Force. I have used it myself, of course, but I say from experience it restricts writing a lot while... not actually having a ton of backing in the films? (I'm referring to the films here, not to any other media, just because when I want to analyse lore, I only take them as canon; when I'm just looking for cool worldbuilding for a fic, though, anything goes.)

It's not just Leia that Vader doesn't sense on the Death Star. He doesn't sense Luke either, even though Luke is right there screaming when Vader kills Obi-Wan. It's more of an issue with Leia ofc because he literally used the mind probe on her but only finds that "her resistance... is considerable". An easy answer is that I headcanon Leia is a naturally good shielder, which is why she was never found on the Death Star and also why all of the Jedi in ROTS were surprised there were two babies - Leia had been naturally shielding herself, so they just sensed Luke.

But if we go more in-depth into the films' representations of the Force, Vader only senses Luke when he's actively chasing him as a pilot; he comments that "The Force is strong with this one" only when Luke is using the Force to aim and fire his shot. For me, this implies that you can only sense other Force users powerfully or distinctly when they're actively using the Force. I know why fic prefers not to go that way - I for one have used the "Vader senses Luke immediately" plot to get Luke captured many a time - but it's a fun thing to consider. Also, the Force is a soft magic system. It does functionally whatever the story needs it to.* Which is why Vader can sense Luke approaching Endor in ROTJ when Palpatine couldn't, but he had to be told by an officer when Luke's ship was approaching Cloud City in ESB.** There are many examples where a Force user just didn't sense someone else. Luke not sensing Yoda in ESB, Obi-Wan not sensing Dooku's presence on Geonosis, the Jedi non sensing Maul in TPM, the Jedi not sensing Palpatine for the whole prequel trilogy.

You could argue that those examples are of trained Force wielders shielding themselves, but I would argue that Qui-Gon can't sense Anakin in TPM. He doesn't show interest in Anakin until after they've left Watto's shop and Anakin starts talking to him. Anakin is the literal son of the Force and the most powerful Force wielder ever, but Qui-Gon was talking to Watto for a while without batting an eyelash at the small supernova in his shop. He didn't start to suspect until he heard about his racing, his instincts, spoke to him to notice his insights. Then still he spoke to Shmi about him to confirm his suspicions that "he can see things before they happen", watched him while he flew, and took a midichlorian count. I think the Force might well have been nudging Qui-Gon to look at Anakin, to suspect something, but I don't think he sensed Anakin himself as Force sensitive - at least, not immediately. Which is how I think you can explain all the instances of people going "I felt his presence." They were either using the Force, or familiar as Force sensitives to the person sensing them, or the Force wielder in general had an instinct that there was something special about this person, I should pay attention...

This has been a long ramble, but the short answer is: I headcanon Leia as naturally good at shielding. I think it fills multiple Star Wars plot holes.***

But I think it's also worth interrogating the fact that fandom seems to approach and conceptualise of the Force as a hard magic system, with clearly defined rules, rather than the soft magic system it is.**** Anything goes in Star Wars! It can be annoying if the writing doesn't sell it well enough, but I really love that aspect of the worldbuilding. And considering that the Force is a big fat plot device as well as giving people magical instincts for things that are Plot Relevant and things that aren't, I think it's a lot more interesting to consider that the Force isn't a superpower that lets you sense everything. Vader didn't detect Leia simply because he didn't. Sometimes they fail to do that. And it allows you to show growth in character and situation when that fact changes. Vader doesn't sense Luke in ANH until he's Plot Relevant to Vader's personal story. He doesn't sense Luke until he's fighting him in ESB. But in ROTJ, once they're both invested in their relationship and fated to meet, they're drawn together like stars caught in a mutual orbit.

That's the explanation I prefer. Because although it's less consistent, it's not unbelievable. It leaves uncertainty, mysticism, the chance for exploration in the galaxy. And most importantly, it tells a damn good story. Which, while this may not be true of people who love collecting lore and figuring the galaxy out, is ultimately what I'm here for.

*This is why so many random new powers can get added and explored in later movies and such, and also why I don't really get het up about it when they do add them. It just depends how you incorporate that new power. Usually, if a villain suddenly has a new power no one knew about (like Palpatine's lightning in ROTJ) it just ups the stakes, while if a hero suddenly has a new power it can feel like it cheapens their victory, like they haven't earned it; a deus ex machina. So messing about with Force powers is fine, it just depends how you incorporate them in the story.

**Admittedly this can be explained by the bond being formed when Luke learned the truth, but you know what I mean.

***I was only talking about the movies here, but there's also that moment in the Kenobi series where she's captured by Inquisitors and still no one notices she's Force sensitive??? There's just a lot of moments like this littered all over Star Wars, so this headcanon covers a lot of them.

****I kept using the terms hard/soft magic system without really explaining it here, but here's some good videos to dig into it: Soft Magic Systems | Hard Magic Systems

[wish-incorrect-quotes]

Not putting this in the tags because I'm afraid of inviting too much drama, but anyway, I’ve made a list of stuff that happened before Magnifico ever used the book:

There’s the obvious one, setting up a system in which all the people who live in the kingdom need to hand over an important part of themselves to him, and he’ll only allow a very small percentage of people to have their life’s dream come true. This went on for at least decades, possibly more. It was not a single moment of decision making due to stress.

It’s strongly implied, if not outright canon, that when deciding which wishes to grant, he favors the people who choose to directly serve him and the people who have a wish that will personally benefit him.

Aside from the very recently 18 Simon, his castle staff seems to be made up entirely of underage teenagers. I highly suspect this is because he’s realized child labor means he will benefit from workers with more energy and enthusiasm, because they aren’t living without their wish yet.

Kitchens are full of sharp things and things that can scald you. Many people who work in them, even those who are highly trained, end up covered in burn marks and scars. Yes, Dahlia is intelligent and competent, but it's still wildly irresponsible to make a 16 year old run a professional kitchen without an adult on hand in the room.

Just before Asha meets the king, the previous candidate for the apprenticeship runs away sobbing. Amaya doesn’t seem surprised by this, which would indicate this is far from the first time Magnifico has made someone burst into tears.

He replies with “Do we call that a talent?” to the teenager excited to show him a few drawings she made. Not exactly “evil” I guess, but definitely a good way to crumble the self-esteem of someone who admires him.

He justifies his system by saying that “No one should have to see their dreams destroyed before their eyes.” But locked away in a tower, where most people will die before they ever see it again, that’s fine apparently.

Anyone who looks at an image of an old man playing the lute for a small handful of people and decides it’s a threat should not have complete control over which wishes could be considered “dangerous”.

“You’re young, you don’t know anything.” Great way to handle a concerned citizen there. That will definitely show the younger generation you have their best interests at heart.

Asha, who I will remind you is a teenager, is upset but still makes her case without even raising her voice. Magnifico, who is supposed to have the temperament to rule an entire kingdom, responds with yelling and a threatening blast of magic. I’m rather concerned about what else might have happened if Amaya hadn’t interrupted them a moment later.

He deliberately raises Sabino’s hopes and then dashes them just to spite Asha for disagreeing with him. Also makes Asha publicly sit onstage in front of the entire kingdom to watch him do it.

He makes it clear that now he’ll never consider granting Sakina’s wish either, even though she hasn’t done anything but be related to someone he’s mad at.

If Asha plans to have a family someday, she has pretty good reason to worry that any children of hers will also likely be condemned to life with their wish automatically locked away forever.

Who knows how many other people were taken out of consideration just because the king didn’t like someone they knew?

Later on, he tells his people that they were put at risk by an unknown traitor with magic, then almost immediately starts getting annoyed because people are nervous and asking for some further clarification and reassurance.

The crowd gets at most a bit worked up, but still, no one ever says anything threatening or insulting towards Magnifico. They’re just asking questions because they want to understand more about what’s happening in the kingdom. This is enough for Magnifico to decide he doesn't have enough control, so he should turn to dangerous forbidden magic to increase his power.

Maybe you could argue that trying to use the situation to get a wish ceremony was a bit greedy, but I'd still say that if Magnifico didn't like people asking for wishes, he shouldn't have been literally removing people's ability to work on it themselves.

Of course people are going to be eager to get him to grant wishes, he's told them it's too hard for them and made it so they can't do it without him.

Last note, I've seen people suggest that the book's power was removed when he was imprisoned in the staff, and it's terrible that he was put in the dungeon anyway. I'm not sure the move ever said that, but if it is the case, he still shows zero remorse and thinks he was in the right. There's no "I shouldn't have used the book, I feel terrible about what it led to." Just "Can you believe they pushed back while I was purposely unleashing forbidden magic, crushing wishes, and chaining everyone to the ground? How could they do this to me?"

[sepublic]

OWL HOUSE ANIMATED TEST LEAKED?!!?!

ALL RIGHT SO THE ORIGINAL ANIMATED TEST GOT LEAKED?! This is an animated test btw, a proof-of-concept of what TOH could look like, according to the person who posted this; The actual pilot still eludes us!

What we get and hear are more or less what we've already glimpsed and could guess at, just expanded a bit more; Luz wants to learn magic, Eda is skeptical, that sort of thing. What's interesting is that Luz claims King told HER he once knew magic, but based on how the final story went, this was probably one of his made-up delusions. He also has a lot more repressed, built-up anger from being coddled and patronized, which would've been interesting to see...

I wonder if that trait ended up transferring over to Proto Willow; Or rather, Paulina! I heard someone suggest the spelling is Polina since it's Slavic and TOH is based on Slavic myth, but for now, let's keep it simple. Paulina would def start off the same way as our Willow; Not doing well in magic, and messing up (this time on Luz herself, hilariously), but I presume the idea for her to shift to plant magic as her true calling was still there. Not only do we see this in earlier concept art, but a later bit with one of Paulina's plants harassing Luz. And she still has the issue of glowing green magic that she can't quite control...

We get Prince William, who shows up when Luz mentions the most 'powerful wizards', more on him later. It's generally speculated and agreed that William is a prototypical version of Hunter, so I find it neat that Paulina's name changed to Willow, as William became Hunter...

There's a glimpse of the Owl House's original design, as seen in the first proof-of-concept poster released back when the show was announced in 2018, with Eda's shop built into the front of the building! The tower doesn't have a roof, and the giant eye window blinks, which was carried over to the first episode's ending. We have some Spencer Wan concept animations he released a while back, but fully colored and animated... A Luz Doppelgänger seems to have always been an idea, so I guess the creepy puppet is Proto Vee?

THIS! We have what I suspect to be a prototype version of Emperor Belos, possibly when he was advisor to Emperor Pupa? I'm not sure, but the context, the blue eyes in darkness, the mask... Their location in what seems to be a cathedral, plus the resemblance to this concept art for Belos?

This is Proto-Belos. Him taking Eda away in what resembles a cathedral seems to indicate that his Christian extremist-leanings were a thing as early as this animated pitch, and what's more...

In the stained-glass window behind Luz, we see a portrait of Sir William, complete with that wavy-styled sword that resembles the knife Philip killed Caleb with! This raises so many questions... Is the Sir William we see here the real deal? Was he deposed and put into a slumber by Belos, the way Pupa would've been? And William is the true ruler of the isles?

Would William have been Belos' brother, his Caleb, hence the round human ears? Why does he look so young, was he de-aged, or is he a clone, a Grimwalker that was abandoned for not being sufficient, and/or discovered in an 'incubation' stage when Luz slapped him awake? I presume this concept of Hunter, who is actually referred to by this name, came later down the line;

Overall, very fascinating stuff! A better glimpse into the development of Willow, Belos, and Hunter(?) as well as an older idea for King's personality, and of course a better look at the original Owl House design shown in 2018! Brief yet wonderful and to the point, we've seen most of the stuff from this pitch as silent clips or images, but I'm glad to have it as part of a cohesive narrative this time! May we one day find the actual pilot itself...!

[crownedinmarigolds]

This isnt apart of the game,(which is so fun and im loving learning about ppls vamps) but im feeling bold and not socially afraid- what IS/Was the deal with noa and her brother? What are her thoughts/feelings after all this time?

Ohhh thank you for being interested! I'm sorry if this comes out super rambling and incoherent! I guess it'd just be best to tell their story! It's really not as black and white as it appears, and feelings are extremely nuanced and messy when it comes to family and abuse. It seems easy as an outsider looking it to make commentary and theorize about what you would've done, but you just never know!

Joaquin Hidalgo is the eldest son to Vincento Hidalgo-Giovanni and his wife Ingrid Giovanni. The Hidalgo bloodline had only been a part of the Giovanni clan for a few generations, and young Vincento was a necromancer prodigy who married a main clan daughter who would bear his children and continue the family line. They were blessed with three sons - Joaquin, Eduardo, Ferdinand - and a little daughter, Noa. By all means they were very normal for a incredibly rich family with dealings in the local cartels of Mexico and the secret vampire clans that trace back to Italy. The parents seemed to get along, the children were growing up fine and developing their own ways and personalities. Joaquin certainly felt pressured as the eldest, but it was still "normal."

One evening the family was going out in a chauffeured vehicle, probably to dinner or maybe even a movie, when they were suddenly gunned down by unknown assailants. Joaquin at the time was thirteen and tackled little Noa, freshly seven, to the car floor where they dodged the hail, but the rest of the family were not so lucky. Mother and their other two brothers were killed instantly, while their father had seconds after to try and say something but ultimately couldn't, and the fresh orphans watched him die beside the rest of their already gone family. Joaquin promised Noa next to their bodies that he would never let her be hurt like this, and she believed him, and they vowed to be together for eternity. Not long thankfully after they were pulled from the car by people who called themselves their "family," where they were taken home and a bunch of strangers busied themselves with getting funerals set up and other various grown up things. A few days later, their father comes walking through the front door. Paler, walking with a cane from his injuries, strangely colder in personality, but THERE. Joaquin immediately felt like something was wrong, but Noa interpreted this as a miracle.

Over the years, Father ruled the house as a father would, but he ran it a bit crueler, a bit more seriously. Joaquin, having been old enough to really get that things were off, bit back and fought, and was often put back in his place through physical violence. Noa watched him go through this and learned to keep quiet if she wanted to not be struck. When she got old enough, Father finally revealed the vampiric nature of their bloodline to the both of them. Noa was then ghouled as soon as she could, her body still young, practically stunting her - but it gave her access to incredible magics. Joaquin was ghouled and practically made a mad dog bully for the human side of the clan, which pissed him off further. There was a weird mixture of feelings between the two of them - the jealousy of seeing his baby sister succeed where he always failed, the relief the pressure wasn't on him to be a necromancer, the fury of seeing her adoration and love of family being used to manipulate her. He loved Noa, she loved him, and things grew more and more confusing. He was allowed to go out but nothing satisfied him, especially when he took more and more vitae. She was locked inside the house for her protection, and also to study. In our personal headcanon (though this may be canon for Gio Ghouls??) the vitae makes one fiercely loyal to the Giovanni, and it twists one up to chase after family. Things did get a little "far" between them during this time, but they never fully culminated anything. Things got worse for Joaquin when a Tremere ghoul contact joined his little posse - Nythanel Loken - who became his sister's best friend and biggest advocate. Everything was coming up Noa and it bothered him, and there was a million confusing reasons why.

He finally decided to put his foot down when she revealed that Father told her that she would be Embraced. She was so excited, and then he was told straight from Father later he was going to be shipped off to Italy to both learn things and marry into a bloodline to essentially be a baby pumping factory until he was found worthy of an Embrace or died. No Noa, no real future other than providing some genetics. He knew through his contacts where to find the Sabbat, and he led them right to the family compound to rid the world of one more vampiric smear. However the Sabbat being the Sabbat went harder than he wanted - capturing him and killing and enslaving the spirits of many who were there and not giving him his sister. He had no idea where she was, but she wasn't with him. Eventually he escaped their clutches and ran to America, completely alone. He then dedicated his existence to becoming a hunter, using his knowledge during his time as a ghoul against vampiric scum and even other supernaturals. He met his buddy Ray who joined him for a few good years of hunting, and then it all came crashing down when he found Nyth and Noa again in Reno Nevada in 1993. It's been over a decade since he knew of Noa's whereabouts, and now he was so close. Years and years of weird feelings were crashing back, because it was all real again. He was past forty now, getting desperate to cling to something beyond hate again.

Eventually - Ray was killed by Joaquin for nearly killing Noa, and they were finally together for good this time. No Ray, seemingly no Nyth, and the family out of their hair. He clumsily culminated their long awaited reunion in a motel they ran off to hide in while she still mourned, Nyth's body close by, Ray's left behind, and poor Julian the ghoul in the next room over. Noa afterwards insisted she make a plan with the family to get Nyth back to her, which pissed Joaquin off but he was in love and back with her again so what could he do.

She told him they could be together for good when he was Embraced by her or someone within the family, but he staunchly refused to be turned. He never wants the vitae again, he never wants to become a supernatural creature. He wants to be with her for Eternity, but he cannot become an immortal. This is the defining moment that leads to his demise at her hands. As she worked with the Family and eventually the Setites to bring Nyth back to full health, Joaquin grew more and more irritating and controlling. He hated her deeper descent into Necromancy and dealing with two-faced Kindred, he hated her pulling away from him when they were finally together. She was clearly furious with him, and it felt like it was falling apart.

One night she was sweet to him again, saying that it was all almost over. Nythanel's notes and her own studies mixing with Setite sorcery were going to bring her friend back. They just needed a body to house Nyth. Joaquin killed Julian the ghoul for Noa, and together they prepared the ritual to "resurrect" Nythanel. Joaquin also had the gut feeling this night wouldn't just end in Julian's death, but his own. Noa approached the ritual room dressed in something clingy, and when Nyth and Julian's body was prepped, she explained the rest of the ritual required more blood, more life. They were together for the last time, Noa drinking the vitae direct him him, and in his own terrible way he was happy. She was happy. He was finally satisfying to her. Joaquin died happy.

OKAY SO. It just feels so rambly! Feel free to ask for more specifics I TRIED to do bare minimum but uh….

Noa after this time loves Joaquin, and she still can't let him go even now in modern nights. She knows his spirit is out there, and he will make his way back to her somehow.

It's just very confusing because yes, he took advantage of her and abused her, but she loved him so much. They in a way were all the other had, they just coped very differently… ahhh. Sorry. I don't know if I'm really relaying everything properly! Thank you for asking!!!

[mikuni14]

Century of Love - Ep 5

I once took part in a tag game, the topic of which was which actor from BL series would a teenage you have a crush on? I chose Daou and seeing him in a hoodie in this ep only confirmed my choice 😤🔥

On the day Japan decided to go back to the dark times of not showing BL kisses that took place, DaouOffroad presented how you can show intense emotions, tension, feelings of interest and sexual attraction almost kissing.

(their humor and laughter in this scene - I wonder how much of it was SanVee and how much of it was DaouOffroad 🥰)

Unfortunately, Vee continues his mission to get the stone, which almost killed him, and unfortunately doesn't tell the truth to San. Somehow I understand him, for this young man hungry for recognition and tenderness, San's care must be something wonderful, so his resistance to telling the truth is understandable. But this is bad, also because of this San cannot tell him the technical limitations of the magic stone and this will be the source of a big fight, drama and - temporarily, of course - the breakdown of the relationship that is being built.

San's angry face is so attractive, I'm not surprised at all that Vee is smitten and always laughs when San starts spitting like an angry cat. In general, I like that San and his furrowed eyebrows is good at fighting, he actually is dangerous and ruthless (he almost killed a guy before and he seemed fine with the fact that these people could have died in that river), but at the same time when his family and now Vee are laughing at him, he never gives back, and even when he argues, he's not mean.

It's interesting how San's past, his traumas and feelings of inferiority keep coming up. Now he feels his love life is threatened by someone with the face of his old rival, and he's panicked that he can't compete with him (again). On top of that, he was accused by the same person of forcing Vee into marriage, a person who has the face of someone who once wanted to force his beloved into marriage! 🤯

San has photos from the wedding on his phone, photos he didn't want 😏😏😏

Vee putting San in his place, confronting him, defending himself and his freedom, making San explain his actions, demanding explanations and WORDS (he's not going to waste his time on guessing your feelings and intentions thank you very much!) is such a good thing and I love watching it. The relationship with Vee must be very mature and fulfilling (if it weren't for these secrets 😩).

Daou playing a senior citizen with his whole being, his body, his face, his movements, his voice, still amazes me. And Offroad is just like a walking dream.

Juu:

Lmaooooo 😆😆

[facefullabugz]

What people and pieces of media have inspired both your's and Frankie's style of writing? (this can be anything, from your stream tittle cards to the general ways you express yourselfs trough the magic of words)

As a beguining writer, im still trying to find my own ground, figuring out the ways of how to express myself and trying to make the story's i wanna make, not worrying to much about quallity, and i was just curious since i admire the you guy's showmanship and ability to bring people in by your sheer interest and love for art

With kind regards

Wetzoofan ( Mars)

Shucks! That's real sweet of you to say- for me I think reading The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy at a young age ruined me forever. Otherwise I think it's just being terminally online. RPing and talking w Frankie has made me a better more thoughtful writer and talker, tho I still have a long way to go lol.

Lemme ask Frankie, he's the one who actually writes the title cards/golives/ REALLY GOOD FICS/ etc.

' This is a tricky question! What i take inspiration from isn't exactly what I have on my mind directly when I write, but I think it probably still comes through. Harpo Speaks has such a direct personal voice- when I'm just writing funny paragraphs, I'm def very much In my Specific Tone. As in literally how i sound when I'm speaking.

I also think Ursula Vernon- aka T. Kingfisher- is a good person to point to if you like the way I write stuff for Golives. The bit for pokemon where I mimic in-world nonfiction writing from school notifications and things. That's definitely from how much I love her weird in universe history or product descriptions or postcard scribblings she did under her paintings.

Oddly I recommend her podcast for those- The Hidden Almanac- more then her books but those are also excellent.

Otherwise I would say what always works for me is chasing precisely what I like to do in writing. Not in terms of subject matter, but what I think is fun. I like laying out information about a subject. I like character dialogue and internality. I like trying to describe body language.

So I guess get insane about a subject. Same advice as art, really. And quit typing if your hand gets a cramp and REALLY quit typing if your hand gets a tingly feelin.' ' - @friendlyfrankenstein

Seconding the hand thing. Same goes for art! Rest or your body will MAKE you rest.

Hope this helps! Thanks for the question! :)

[adrianasunderworld]

The Chronicles of Isabelle attempting to do Witchcraft and Demon magic on memory and guess work alone

*frantic running up the stairs and slamming it shut*

Crowley: What has gotten into you?

Isabelle: Nothing. Nothing at all.

Crowley: Why did you run out of the basement then?

*unholy screeches of something down there*

Isabelle: Um...I got a new pet?

Vil: You know, in all the weeks we've been here for training camp, I haven't seen you do much for skincare, and not a single zit. What's your routine?

Isabelle: Nothing special. Just some generic makeup wipes, moisturizer, black magic.

Vil: Haha, very funny.

Isabelle: I wasn't joking. I know a potion for breakouts.

Vil: ....so what's the recipe?

Ace: Hey, you're back from town.

Isabelle: Yep. Had to pick up some stuff.

Deuce: *picks up a jar* What's this?

Isabelle: Pigs blood.

Ace and Deuce: 😱😱

Isabelle: What? I needed it for a potion.

Ace: Where do you even get that!?

Isabelle: Butcher in town. I tutor his daughter in English, I get discounts. It's worked out great for me so far. I also got bacon, hungry?

Isabelle: Hypothetically speaking. Say someone was conjuring in the woods on a full moon and a shadow creature followed them home. How would one exercise it?

Sam: Are you sure this is hypothetical?

Isabelle with a gangly shadow moving on its own behind her: Yes.

Epel: So what did Sam say?

Isabelle: Hes looking into it. But until then, I figured out the shadow creature likes French fries and watching Strawberry Shortcake.

Jack: How did you even figure that out?

Isabelle: It stole my fries in the cafeteria and was watching TV and it seemed interested in cartoons and I kind figured it out from there.

*unholy screeches*

Jack: That thing is still in the basement?!

Isabelle: Her name is Lemon, and she's hungry ok?

Epel: I'm afraid to ask what Lemon eats.

Isabelle: Cat food mostly. But she does also like candy.

Crowley over the loud speaker: - and this Friday will be Casual Dress Day. So uniforms are not required. And lastly, whoever keeps leaving strange ritual circles and infernal symbols out in the woods, stop it.

Everyone in class: *looks at one person*

Isabelle: *slowly sinking into her chair*

@mangacupcake @marrondrawsalot @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind

[spellcaster-dude]

The spellcaster dude's stats

+12 wisdom

+8 intelligence

+4 dexterity

+6 constitution

+5 strength

+8 charisma

HP: 30692/30692

Crown Mass: 100%

"Spellcaster speaks like this"

"Or like this when ANGY"

"And like this when controlled by nothing but his rage."

<The crimson crown speaks like this>

Alludo communicates like this

{Mod speaks like this}

(Actions action like this)

[Other things other like this]

Conditions:

None!

--------------------------------------------

KNOWN KNOWLEDGE

Name: Furor Corvus Exponentia, God of Rage

Pronouns:

Spellcaster: He/him

Crown: Any

Alludo: They them

Lore drop 1

Owns many magic items

Mage armor description:

[Until either 16 asks have passed, they have donned armor, or 8 hours have passed in-universe, the target will be protected from most nonmagical damage, as it takes the form of whatever armor is most efficient for the situation. (i.e. a slash would form chainmail, a stab would form plate armor, and casual situations would form a light blue version of their normal clothing.)]

Wild Spinner post (Links to a tumblr post)

-Wild Blade: A sword with a spinner on its guard. The wheel spins as the blade cuts and/or stabs through the air, generating wild magic energy. Upon attacking, it spins the wild magic table from the wild spinner (may change in the future). The magic favors the wielder if they hit, and the victim if they fail. (I.e. a boost to spell damage will apply to the wielder if they beat the target's ac, or the victim if they fail.) Acts like a longsword otherwise. Attached to the Blades of Anarchy. (Tumblr post linked.)

Bloodflame Blade post

Run by @kenidur1561

My favorite spell is Summon Anvils.

--------------

RELATIONS

@flashbang-guy "He's neat, tried to kamikaze me, but so long as he doesn't hurt any more children, we're cool."

<A crownless god... Interesting...>

@kali-lamb "She revived me twice and made me a whole new body. I owe my life to her three times over."

<I gotta meet the pink crown. I always love meeting alternate versions of my family!>

@disciplesofthelamb "Briar and dotty are pretty neat! Silas is an asshole though."

<I've yet to meet them.>

@askdennycotl "My friend. We help each other out with mental health, and I'm teaching her magic!"

<If I let her die, him disowning me would be the best case scenario. I don't wanna know of the others.>

@scannys-back "Protect. I will defend him with my life."

<Seems neat. I guess I'll help protect him so spellcaster doesn't kill me.>

@nox-the-cat "My friend, I'm glad she was able to be free of her mod."

<The fuck is an olive garden?>

@pbam0ney "My friend, he tries to help me with tally and the such, and made me a new house! He also revived me when tally made all my blood vessels burst."

<He seems like a cool guy.>

Tally: "HATE."

<I do NOT want to meet him.>

Oblivion: "He seems neat, and guests are always nice!"

<I still don't understand why Furor called me off that one time.>

@temporal-mayhem "That place is creepy. And I still only know one of the 10 websites."

<Eugh... Spooky...>

@ask-follower-jade "Another student of mine, and I'm glad that they and denny are happy together."

[No comment provided]

@ask-the-red-serpant

<Heh, she's jealous that I get to be a bear :)>

@askthe-littlepoet "What happened to you?"

<Something is off about that tie, but I can't quite tell what.>

-----------------

TONED DOWN (for silly non-canon stuff)

+3 in all stats

536/536 HP

Rage: Double HP and stat buffs

Does not have self-awareness

Can't make quite as powerful magic items.

(The rest is up to mod's discretion)

ALSO THE STUFF THAT HAPPENS WITH THIS FORM IS NOT CANON

----------------------------------------

Gallery:

[remus-poopin]

Hi! Sorry to bother you but I’m looking for specific pieces of HP meta and I’m kinda lost.

Do you have any reading recommendations about homosexuality in the Harry Potter world? I’m trying to decide a couple of things about the world-building for a fic and I’d love to read about other takes on the topic.

Hi! It's not a bother at all, I love this stuff! I have a couple metas on this and I also have my own thoughts about this as well! This is a question I often think about and I was planning on writing something on this eventually anyways, so I'm glad I got this ask because now I have an excuse to! (And I can talk about some gripes I have with the author as well so yay)

CW: Homophobia and misogyny

Here is a meta by @thecarnivorousmuffinmeta on homophobia in the wizarding world.

Here is @hchollym's take on gay marriage in the WW

My thoughts:

The books give no mention of homosexuality explicitly, but the author has slightly expanded on the topic at later times in interviews and tweets. In 2007 she confirmed that Dumbledore was gay and later she gave us more details about his sexlife. She then said this in 2007 about homosexuality and homophobia in the wizarding world:

"MA: 'We wanna talk about Dumbledore so bad. We know that you've created worldwide intrigue when you said that he is gay. But I wanted to ask you about homosexuality in the Wizarding World in general. Is it a taboo?' JKR: 'Now, that's something I never thought of. I would think that that would be-- it would be exactly what it is in the Muggle World. But the greatest taboo in the Wizarding World is, well, for some wizards... I mean if we're talking about prejudiced people within the Wizarding World, what they care most about is your blood status. So I think you could be, um, gay, pure-blood, and totally without any kind of criticism from the Lucius Malfoys of the world. I don't think that would be something that would interest him in the slightest. But, you know, I can't answer for all witches and wizards because I think in matters of the heart, it would be directly parallel to our world.'"

She also says this in a tweet when asked about homophobia in 2014:

“Only by ludicrous Muggles. The wizards don't give a damn - it's all about the magic for them.”

Now whether or not you take this to be canon is up to you. What I find interesting here is that I feel from the second statement we are being made to believe that homosexuality is a non issue in the wizarding world and not a point of prejudice. From her first statement she says that it's “something she never thought of” and that “it would be exactly the same as the muggle world”, I'm guessing her second statement is contradictory because she wanted to please LGBT+ fans and reassure them that Hogwarts is a safe space (for some, lets not ask her about the other letters in the acronym). 

This is a pattern I've noticed JKR exhibiting in a lot of her post work words, where she tries to communicate how egalitarian the world she created is through new information, even though the text itself does not reflect this worldview. I think a good example of this is how when she listed the ministers of magic she included several women, going back as far as the 1700s to try to show there are not as many barriers to entry for women in the WW. Yet we see many instances of sexism throughout the series from the characters and the culture which they live in. I think what she was trying to do is have her world primarily focus on blood purity and creature rights and have the issues we face either go on the backburner or not be present at all. Now I understand this choice, (though I really don’t think it's necessary, more interesting, or remotely realistic) but I also think her execution is pretty awful because you can (and I'm about to) make an argument that these issues are still very much present in the wizarding world. I think the biggest issue here is that she doesn't understand the structures and systems of oppression that she hand-waved to the side to truly write a world where they would not be a real problem. To me, given what we've seen of the wizarding world, homophobia would still very much be an issue. 

So I think if we're going to talk about what homosexuality looks like in the wizarding world we would also need to talk about what homophobia would look like in the wizarding world. Homophobia has many factors contributing and working with it to make it function as a prejudice and system. If I had to break it down to its biggest parts I would say our big three is: religious fears, rigid gender norms, and disgust. Those often play off of each other to create an effective tool; and this tool is used to uphold a gender and class-based power structure. Let's examine this in the context of Harry Potter:

Religious fears: 

Religious fears resulting in homophobia is very common in the real world but for this factor to apply to the WW I think we would need to determine whether or not the wizarding world is even religious. We have examples of christianity showing up across the books in casual ways: Harry has a Godfather, he was christened as a baby, and Lily and James have a quote from the bible on their tombstone. From this we can at least make the assumption that the Potter family is religious to some capacity. We also see that one of the Hogwarts ghosts is called “The Fat Friar’. But to my knowledge this is where the references end. If the wizarding world is religious, or at least wizarding Britain, they seem to be casually so. So I don't see this being a huge driving factor in any homophobia we would see in that universe. 

Rigid gender norms:

I think if you take away any religious influences you're still going to see homophobia even in its most violent forms and this has a lot to do with rigid gender norms. If gender norms are established to sustain a power structure that a society relies on to maintain a certain order, any breaking of those norms will be met with punishment (socially or physically). In a heteronormative culture, homosexuality can be seen as a breaking of these norms.   

First off, Pureblood culture seems to be obsessed with lineage and creating heirs, one of the metas I linked talks about how homosexuality would be a threat to that. At least in pureblood society, your job as a man is to make pureblooded babies and your job as a woman would be to give birth to them, anything else would be looked down upon.

If we step outside of pureblood society, we can see that the general wizarding population also seems to believe in strict ways in which men and women should act.

So what are the gender roles the wizarding world has? Well there's the clothing; all wizards wear robes, but dresses are traditionally for women and any robe that looks a little too dress-like for a man could be seen as embarrassing: 

“'What is that supposed to be?'  He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long maroon velvet dress. It had moldy-looking lace frills at the collar and matching lace cuffs. - ‘Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress,’ said Ron, holding it out to her. ‘Of course I haven't,’  said Mrs Weasley. ‘Thats for you, dress robes’.- “You've got to be kidding’ said Ron in disbelief ‘Im not wearing that, no way!' - In some trepidation Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he expected, however. His dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all - in fact they were more or less the same as his school ones, except they were bottle green except black” (GOF, pg 155 and 156)

“Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all looking very self conscious, but none as much as Ron who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything. In a desperate attempt to make them more manly he used a severing charm on the ruffs and cuffs." (GOF, pg 411)

Ron’s dress robes are old, moldy, and out of fashion, but the emphasis on his embarrassment is put on the feminine style of them. To be seen in a dress-like robe as a boy is to transgress an established gender norm; this transgression is to be recognized as humiliating. This isn't the only instance we have of a man in a dress being perceived as funny/embarrassing:

“‘When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape,’ said Lupin. ‘And you will raise your wand — thus — and cry ‘Riddikulus’ — and concentrate hard on your grandmother’s clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag.’ There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled more violently.” (POA, pg 135)

The weapon to a boggart, your greatest fear, is laughter. After Lupin hears Neville's boggart is Snape he decides the way to make him appear less intimidating is to put him in a dress with a handbag. The rest of the class finds this highly amusing as well. There is a direct connection being drawn here between masculinity with strength and power and femininity with weakness and frivolity. Snape as a big, mean, scary teacher is rendered impotent in his intimidation when he has this dress on.

There are gendered cultural roles in the wizarding world as well:

“‘Come on, Ginny's not bad,’ said George fairly sitting down next to Fred. ‘Actually , I dunno how she got so good, seeing how we never let her play with us…’  ‘she's been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren't looking’  (OOTP, pg 574) 

There is no real reason for Ginny to not be able to play Quidditch with her older brothers. Even if she was too young at one point, very soon after she should have been able to, considering Ron was only a year older. The only notable difference between all of them is their gender. From this we can assume that wizards, or at least the Weasleys, have a view of femininity as more fragile, or weaker than masculinity. 

This idea of weakness is reinforced through the founders of Hogwarts making separate dorm rooms for girls and boys where boys cannot enter the girls dorm but girls can enter the boys

“‘It says in Hogwarts, A History that the founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls.” (OOTP)

This rule positions men as the aggressors and women as the victims in a sexual context. It also indicates the heteronormality of their society.

There are established sexual roles for men and women in the WW:

The sexual roles of the wizarding world celebrates male sexual action but also shames females for the same. Any time there is slutshaming in the series a woman is at the end of it.

Hermione is seen as a “scarlet women” for appearing to toy with Harry's heart:

“I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you out to be some sort of - scarlet women!’ Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter. ‘Scarlet women?’ - ‘It's what my mum calls them’ Ron muttered." (GOF, pg 513)

The term “scarlet woman" is a reference to the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, a story about a woman who commits adultery and is shamed by her puritan community for it. The term itself invokes the image of a promiscuous, scandalous woman of ill repute who is deserving of her shame. Molly uses this term frequently enough for her children to recognize it and reference it. This signifies that there is a belief of proper standards in which women are supposed to behave sexually.

Ginny is at the mercy of these same beliefs from her family members: 

"'But we're not selling them to our sister,' he added, becoming suddenly stern, 'not when she's already got about five boys on the go from what we've — ' 'Whatever you've heard from Ron is a big fat lie,' said Ginny calmly'" (HBP)

“'Let's get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron -' ‘Yeah it is!’ Said Ron just as angrily. ‘D’you think I want people saying my sister’s a-’" (HBP, pg 287)

"'my tiara sets the whole thing nicely, said Aunt Muriel in a rather carrying whisper, 'but I must say, Ginevra's dress is far too low cut.'" (DH, pg 145)

Merope Riddle also experiences criticism from her family after running off with Tom Riddle Sr.:

"'dishonored us, she did, that little slut!'" (HBP, pg 365)

All of these instances of women asserting their sexuality is perceived as negative by the men in their community because they are breaking a societal norm. The norm being women as chaste, demure figures of virtue.

However men’s sexual activity is looked at as an accomplishment (usually by the other men)

After Harry kisses Cho, Ron has this reaction:

“Ron made a triumphant gesture with his fist and went into a raucous peal of laughter that made several timid-looking second years over beside the window jump. A reluctant grin spread over Harry's face as he watched Ron rolling around on the hearthrug. Hermione gave Ron a look of deep disgust and returned to her letter.” (OOTP)

Ron’s joy for his friend can be seen as not only just a happiness for Harry's journey to maturity or him finally getting with his crush, but also as the affirming of Harry's masculinity. This is backed up by Hermione's less enthusiastic reaction to this news and her disgust at Ron's display of triumph.

So we've established the gender roles, and we've seen there are consequences when you fall out of line. So, what if the gender role calls for you to be masculine as a man and then defines that masculinity in part with obtaining women and sexual prowess? Homosexuality would be in direct conflict with that. And with that lets tie it into disgust.

Disgust:

The disgust that a homophobe feels can be stemming from a couple different places. Maybe it's religious fears like we talked about or maybe it's because of gender norms. But that disgust is only taking place because they perceive that something they hold to be pure is being tainted and violated; the word of god, the sanctity of masculinity, or hegemonic gender roles. In a society where these beliefs are upheld and treated as sacred, any conflict with that will be met with judgment at best and violence at worse. 

I don't see the wizarding world as a progressive space where homosexuality or anything LGBT+ would be considered a non issue because the text does not reflect that. The text shows the same misogyny, the same disdain for femininity, and the same reverence for masculinity that we see in everyday life and because of that I feel it only makes sense to see the wizarding world just as bigoted as ours.

Ok so what does homosexuality look like in the wizarding world then?

Well if we've established the wizarding world as a society that would be hostile (in any way) to gay people I think its easier to move forward on how to imagine how they fit into that society since we have ours for reference. However, It's important to remember that our oppression doesn't define us and it's not the only thing to consider while writing. Think about what the fashion would look like, what the music would sound like, what the spaces would be like and just generally what the culture would be. Have fun with it!

Hope this helped a little!

[cherphadetseuk]

Okay I would like to join the bandwaggon and make a post about those gmmtv 2025 bl trailers we got today. I was at work so I haven't seen anything except the OFDO trailer because I had to. Now I would also like to add that I'm still fairly new to this whole Thai BL rabbit hole and that I still need to get to know all the ships but for the most part I'm proud to say that I know quite a few by now. I'm also here for dark stuff. The darker the better so I hope one or two of those shows will be darker/more supernatural/more thriller based. Ticket To Heaven: Now hear me out, I don't usually go for the religious/church related stuff so I'm not really sure if I will like the vibe of this one. However, I love GeminiFourth and they're fantastic actors so I might end up giving this a try anyway. Having watched this trailer now I can see how dramatic this is gonna be and I can already tell just based from this that Fourth will deliver 100% so I am here for it. Most definitely gonna give this a try. Memoir of Rati: Just based on the title it feel like this is something more historical which also isn't my cup of tea. Okay, forget what I just said, they're blessing me with more GreatInn and I don't care what this is about, I'm in. After Wandee Goodday being in my top favourite shows of 2024 I am so thrilled to get GreatInn in another drama again so soon. I have not even watched the trailer yet but I'm 100% down for this. Wow, they look dashing. No surprise there but yes. "From a romantic novel". That alone should be a no for me already but again, I see GreatInn, I watch. All the French...I even understand that lmao. Gonna admit I don't know the second couple in this series. Another one I will learn about very soon I guess.

Wu: Already like the vibe of this. I don't know this couple but all the tarot cards have my attention. Hmm finally some action! Okay the fantasy elements and the darker background music have my attention 100% and I will definitely give this a try. Me and Thee: Do I know this couple? They don't ring a bell. I don't think I've seen them anywhere. Yet. I see that they play in some of the dramas that are on my to watch list so I will see them pretty soon I guess. Anyway, back to the trailer. "A soap opera loving mafia" okay those are words I never thought i'd hear in a sentence but here we are. Mafia boss dude is pretty. I probably will give this a try too. Watch me add all those shows to my watchlist and then get overwhelmed again when I have to watch 15 series at once. A Dog and A Plane: MY BOY!! Okay this is definitely going on my watchlist. I don't even have to watch this trailer to know that. It's my home boy and my ghost hunting duo and yes and thank you very much I am so excited!!! Oh Marc's in here too! I didn't actually know him but now that I watch Perfect 10 Liners I get to meet so many new faces. Ah I love the Peaceful Property vibes between TayNew. This is gonna be so much fun. Oh he's got Tattoos. Me gusta mucho. This looks hilarious. I love the vibe. OOOH Poon's in here too!! Do we get another MarcPoon? I effing LOVE PondSand in P10L and I would absolutely LOVE to have them back for another series. Okay but me getting both TayNew AND MarcPoon in the same series? Sign me tf up. Thank you very much.

My Magic Prophecy: Title already got me intrigued. Oh is that JimmySea? I don't actually know Jimmy yet to be completely honest but I loved Sea in The Trainee so that's exciting. A Doctor and a Fortune Teller. Okay, that sounds interesting. I'm on board. GMMTV wouldn't be anything if they didn't bring at least one doctor show. Is this the Tarot season? Already the second show with Tarot cards lmao. Not that I mind. It's just interesting. Boys in Love: Well, every show on this list could have this title lmao. Oh it's another school drama. AY PAPI! My man is back! Love that for me. Given this is a school series this must be the new generation of actors so I won't know anyone. Except Papang of course. Oooh it's Chokun! I DO know someone from the younger generation. My boy Half is back. I missed him. He's adorable. Gods they all look like babies. It looks like I'm about to adopt more children. THE DIMPLES!! Oooh it's Papi and Dr. Ter. Papang with the glasses is a whole different mood. I didn't come here for romantic comedies why am I watching so many romantic things. I hate this rabbit hole. Cat for Cash: Another FirstKhao show? FirstKhao AND cats? Yes, you got me at cats. Is this the FirstKhao rom-com people have been waiting for? Lmao, what in the Dr. Dolittle is happening xD FirstKhao running a cat café. When did we get here. The most random concept and I'm here for it. Oh, here comes the drama. Oh great, we already getting the Khao breakdown in the trailer. I can not believe I'm down for that FirstKhao rom-com. Me who always wants the dark stuff but I'm excited to see them in a lighter series. Seems like I get First doing more comedy so I'm looking forward to this.

Mu-Te-Luv: I don't know what this title means but let's see. And more Tarot cards. I do like the sound of magic. Don't know main guy. Oh, he's the same dude as in "Wu". Ooooh, my ghost hunting badass queen is also in this? And she gets to scream once again xD Luke, my man!! So many people who don't ring a bell ^^' This cast is huge. OH MY GODS!! I so have to watch this just for Neo dressed like this. And YASS! I get my boy back too!! Also being so badass. Look at them! I can't. This is hilarious. 100% here for the Queen of Queens xD Lmao I would watch a comedy show just with those four. My gods, they are hilarious. Oooh, OhmLeng? Yes and thank you! Okay definitely gonna watch this. This is gonna be a blast. This will be my feel good show. Love You Teacher: Oooh it's the cuties from Perfect 10 Liners. I see the pros of watching this show now. "From the producer of 'Peaceful Property'" SIGN ME UP! Oh, amnesia trope. Solar is so cute. So he switches between being a kid and being an adult? Such a fun plot. I'm looking forward to this. Melody of Secrets: Oooh, another ForceBook show? The colouring is very interesting. Kinda dark and mysterious. Oh it is dark. I'm finally getting my dark ForceBook show? This is so exciting!! Oh, ghost hunting girl boss is also in this one? I love all my Peaceful Property related things. Will never say bye to my favourite show of 2024. This seems dark, mysterious and interesting. I'm definitely here for this kinda vibe. My Romance Scammer: Having romance in the title is not making it easy to get me lol. Oh, it's JuniorMark. This looks cheesy and lovey-dovey but for some reason it also looks interesting. Will keep this one in mind to give it a try. That Summer: Another main couple I don't know. Oh it's Mond and Neo here too. Is Neo in all the dramas? Love that. Who's that doctor with Mond? He's pretty. Guess I'm already here for this side ship.

Only Friends: Dream On: Okay here we go again. I'll rewatch this one. You know what's funny? Only Friends was my first drama and I didn't know a single soul. My friend was screaming at the end of the show when Mix appeared and I had no clue who he was. Fast forward to now and I know every single person in this season 2 and I'm so proud of myself haha. Granted I don't know Joss yet but I'm already excited for My Golden Blood so it feels like I already know him. EarthMix and OhmLeng, it's gonna be so spicy!! This is so messy. Even more than OF was and i can't wait for the even bigger mess when the show actually starts. Boston being back for this is the icing of the cake. He's gonna make this extra spicy and interesting. I can't wait. Ah, all the jealousy. We love her. MixLeng bitch fight I will look forward to this. I LOVE that the soundtrack is back. This makes this even more exciting! So is Gawin the Sand of this show because from the trailer it looks like he's the most sane one lmao. Only time will tell. Wonder how much trouble Boston is gonna cause this time. They already in trouble without him so we'll see.

Burnout Syndrome: Ooh is this gonna be OffGun. THOR MY MAN!! The black lipstick okay! That whole outfit is a vibe. Oh, it's the people from "Not Me" working on this. Obviously they would get OffGun but that also means it's gonna be good. And of course drawing is involved again. And by drawing I mean drawing people naked. Not gonna lie, I hate love triangles. They're my biggest enemy but I still think I'll give this a go 100%.

Head 2 Head: Once again don't know the characters but there's always room to learn more. I was like "oh nice car racing! but it went dark real quick." That vision thing is interesting. I'm intrigued.

Dare You to Death: Now this is a title I can go with. Oh it's Drake. Oh is this other guy the guy from Kidnap? The brother? I hate Truth or Dare. I never liked that game. Ooooh, JoongDunk police force? Now I like the sound of that. I like a good murder mystery. Also Joong is so ajdlskfjadsökghajdsöklfjasgf !!! Also that red shirt looks hella good on Dunk. Damn that is some dark ass shit I'm loving it. Finally something that is right up my ally.

[gaymingbinosaur]

Letters

Just posting the first two letters because, dear god. It doesn't want to get done and I feel like I'm going insane with rewriting. So, proof I have been writing. I usually write short one shots. Like one was almost a drabble short. I don't remeber if it was like 98 words or 102. So weird for me

Dear Nichole,

I suspect you have questions. I just want to say I didn’t lie about joining the Lords of Fortune, okay. It was caused by some political issues I caused, and Varric offered me a new adventure. To punch Solas in the face. I couldn’t say no to that. I hate the man.

And no, my opinion of him has not improved. The asshole is in my head Nikki. My fucking head. Trying to pass the blame to me. Because he’s a bitch. A fucking bitch. I get he was your art buddy but he’s such an arrogant bastard Nichole. And yes, I know there’s good in him and blah, blah,blah. Good intentions, thinks he’s doing right but I still hate him.

But I’m safe Nichole. You don’t need to worry. I got a team that I’m in charge of, because for some reason that was agreed to be a good idea. But they are good people. Like we have a crow, a Tevinter detective, Harding who can do magic now. I don’t really understand how she touched a dagger and now she’s magic. We also have a Veil Jumper who reminds me so much of you it hurts, a gray warden, a dragon hunter who's also a Lord and a necromancer.

The necromancer is from Nevarra but don’t worry we get along. I just hate Cassandra, the rest of Nevarra is fine. Like are we going to compare Ostwick to our dad? No, we turned out fine. Well, you turned out okay.

This necromancer, according to Bellarra (our Veiljumper), is apparently a very respected mage. And he’s super nice, like he isn’t going to kill us all and make us his undead army. So, don’t you worry. He probably knows things about magic I could only dream of knowing. Could you imagine Ostwick Circle teaching me anything beyond how we are nothing but future abominations. Perish the thought. As far as I am concerned he probably should view me as nothing but an idiot. He hasn’t yet because he’s so sweet, he seems more interested in stories about The Lords. I guess it makes sense, I mean I joined because I wanted to see the world and wasn’t going to wait for Divine Victoria to change her mind about circles.

Love Evie

Dear Evie, I must admit I was surprised to find that Evelyn Laidir aka Rook, Harding and Varric kept mentioning in their letters was my sister. So, I have a few questions. First one being, why didn’t anyone tell me? Seriously neither Harding nor Varric snitched on you.

Second question being, I would like to know more of your team. Harding told me your assassin is possessed by a demon, and a Tevinter ice mage? Like should I be concerned about the Tevinter mage? I’d like some more details in general because all I got is you want to bone the necromancer. (Thom’s joke). Evie don’t deny it, everyone got a sentence. You were gushing about the necromancer. Also, while I’d like to know more about your opinions on your team (especially Emmrich), Harding gave me enough to know they can be trusted. Also Maker’s Breath, between the two of you. Like I wasn’t this bad with Rainer? Was I?

Love your exhausted sister, Nichole Laidir