#Hence like...house elves

[hollowed-theory-hall]

What does the sorting hat consider to put someone in a house? Like we know it considers their wish but what else? Some theories say that it puts them according to what they value, like Hermione valued bravery more than intelligence and hence gryffindor.

What's your take on it?

I think it's a combination of a few things. It's your traits, values, aspirations, wants (but not in the way most think), and motivations. It's kind of all mixed up together into a sorting.

Like, I think house sorting is just a more complex decision than just traits, so everyone has at least some attributes that fit other houses.

Because of that, usually when I sort characters from other media, I say shit like "Gryffindor with Hufflepuff tendencies" for characters who are Gryffindors, but have certain Hufflepuff traits and behaviors. Or I say "Slytherin with Ravenclaw as the runner-up" for characters who are Slytherins but could also fit in Ravenclaw, and there is one specific character aspect that gives Slytherin the edge.

As I mentioned, I think the sorting hat takes a lot of things into account together, and since we're not a magical sentient hat, I have a small list of the sort of questions I usually ask to get to what I believe a character's core characteristics and values are — and therefore, the sorting the hat would give them.

We'll use the Golden Trio for this example as while they're all Gryffindors, they are not Gryffindors for the same reasons.

Now, traits, are something situational. The same person could behave very differently under different circumstances. Becouse of that, I don't find looking at a list of traits useful to get the actual core traits of a character (which I think is one of the things that goes into sorting). So, instead, I ask questions about character traits under specific circumstances. I find these sorts of questions help get down to the core traits and values that make a character better.

(Also, there are certain traits that fit more than one house. Like determination, which is both Slytherin and Gryffindor, depending on context. Or loyalty, which is both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, depending on context (but can also be Slytherin under some circomstances). Or cleverness, which is both Ravenclaw and Slytherin, depending on context. It's all about how the trait is applied in a given situation, hence why I like my method of thinking about sorting)

1. Problem Solving - what is the go-to method of said character to solve problems in a situation that isn't a life-and-death threat. Both without a time limit and on a time crunch.

And we'll look at our trio:

Harry's go-to is lying and cunning. He lies to Peeves when he catches him he lies to McGonagall when she catches him, he tricks Ron into thinking he drank Felix Felicis, etc. Harry is very cunning and when he needs to problem solve when the threat of death isn't looming over him, even under a time crunch. Harry's response when standing up to defend his friends from Malfoy, is usually all witty remarks and sassy comebacks. When Umbridge forces him to use a blood quill, Harry is too prideful (and spitefull) to show her pain, because that would be losing and her getting what she wants, so he responds by acting indifferent. So for this category, Harry gets two points for Slytherin.

Hermione is interesting in the problem-solving category, when she has time, she likes to plan ahead and research. When Buckpeak is put on trial or she decides she wants to free House Elves, her first stop is the library for research. Hermione comes up with clever magical solutions she researches and then executes like with the D.A. coins and D.A. names scroll jinx. Or she plans schemes of blackmail ahead of time. All this gives a point to Ravenclaw. Her tendency towards blackmail and cheating though, should be noted as a Slytherin point.

However, we see Hermione problem-solving in another way. The Rita Skeeter example. While Rita's threat isn't life-and-death and therefore counted in this category, Hermione had to act on a time crunch. Harry, when put on a time limit, still solves problems with cunning, but Hermione, on a time limit, can't do her usual planning and research, there's no time. So when Hermione needs to solve something fast, she becomes reckless, impulsive, and tends to take big risks. Capturing Rita in a jar is an example of Hermione seeing a chance to deal with Rita and impulsively taking it without thinking ahead much. So Hermione also gets a point to Gryffindor in this category.

Ron's problem-solving methods, when he offers them, are efficient and pragmatic. He's a chess player, and if he has a moment to consider it, he'd come up with a practical, effective, and not necessarily moral solution giving Ron a point toward Slytherin.

Ron also gets a point toward Gryffindor in this category though. The reason is that he often doesn't offer cunning solutions but instead acts immediately without thinking, especially when it comes to defending people he cares about (even when the threat isn't life-threatening). So, while he has the capacity for cunning, he more often than not, doesn't employ it, especially under a time crunch.

2. Problem-solving under threat of death - when the situation gets really dangerous, how do they deal with it?

Luckily, we get plenty of examples with our trio:

Harry here gets points for two houses like Hermione in the last section. In the DoM and even in the Graveyard, Harry is always trying to plan. Trying to find a clever way to get out and to escape. He keeps Lucius talking in the ministry to buy him time to think of a plan. All in all, very Slytherin of him.

But Harry has another thing he does under immense threat, and that's stand up and fight. His resilience is one of his most defining character traits. His ability to stand after being tortured and shout at the Dark Lord that he will not bow. Yes, there's some Slytherin pride there, but it is an act of courage, which gives him a point towards Gryffindor.

Hermione is simpler in this category. When shit is dangerous, she gets brave and impulsive. In OotP, when Umbridge is about to torture Harry, Hermione leads her to Gwamp. It wasn't because she knew what she was doing. She didn't plan it through at all. She just wanted to make sure Harry won't get hurt. She set Snape's robes on fire in first year for the same reason. It was the first thing that came to her mind. Hence, why she gets Gryffindor in this category.

Ron, is also a Gryffindor when shit hits the fan. He is ready to throw himself in front of Bellatrix and Aragog if it means saving Hermione. He stands up on a broken leg to face who he thinks is a crazy murderer who's after Harry. Ron is incredibly brave and impulsive when in danger, giving a point to Gryffindor.

3. What they aspire for - what do they want to accomplish for themselves. Be I an ambition towards a job or something they want to just be better at.

Harry's aspirations are very simple. He wants to be normal, well-liked, but not important. And hopefully, live to adulthood. He wants to be just Harry. He wants to have friends and be safe - all very much Hufflepuff aspirations. He doesn't seek glory the way of a Gryffindor or a Slytherin, so he's getting this point to Hufflepuff.

Hermione's aspirations are more glory-seeking. She wants to be the best at things. She wants to be known as the smartest in the room. Even when it comes to freeing house elves, yes, she feels compassion for them, but she also wants everyone to know she's compassionate. Which pushes her towards Gryffindor and Slytherin. I see her as more of a Gryffindor in this category due to her aspirations being two-fold and motivated by both glory and righteousness.

Ron is a Slytherin when it comes to personal aspirations. He wants personal success and personal glory without any of the righteous veneers Hermione has. He wants to carve a place for himself to feel special and unique and better. We see this in the mirror of Erised in 1st year and in his fits of jealousy throughout the books.

4. Motivations - why do they do the things they do? What gets them up in the morning?

Harry does things out of a sense of duty and responsibility. He saves people because he feels responsible for it. He feels that if he doesn't do it, no one else will. This sense of duty and responsibility is a chivalrous trait and places Harry solidly in Gryffindor for this category.

Hermione does things due to her strong sense of justice. Hermione likes it when things are right and just. This pushes her to either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. In Hermione’s case, though, I'd say it's more a Gryffindor's sense of righteousness and justice rather than a Hufflepuff one due to her not being necessarily interested in "fairness". (She does cheat quite a bit if it's towards a goal she thinks is just. Even if it's just getting Ron on the Quidditch team).

Ron does things out of a sense of loyalty. He isn't going to help someone he doesn't care about, but for the people he does care for, he'd move heaven and earth. This, to me, gives him a point towards Slytherin. Becouse this kind of loyalty that is selective and very unconcerned for people outside the group he's loyal to, is a Slytherin kind of loyalty.

5. Defining trait - if you need to choose one trait to define them, what would it be?

Harry - Resilience. His force of will, ability to survive, and strength to keep going are Harry's most defining traits. This is a Gryffindor trait, giving the lion's house another point.

Hermione - Determination. Hermione does what she thinks is best to achieve her goals. If she needed to study, she'd study, she'd act, she'd do it. But she won't do anything. Hermione, as I mentioned, has a strong sense of justice, and while she can be very feral, I can't see her being willing to kill if there's another way. She is very convinced of her morals, which pushes this determination towards a point for Gryffindor and not Slytherin.

Ron - Loyalty. Ron’s motivations are usually ones of loyalty. His most defining moments are standing up for his friends, and defending Harry, Hermione, and his family to his dying breath if he has to. which is a point for either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Since Ron's sort of loyalty is, as I said, one that often manifests in protectiveness and disregard for his own safety, I'll give this point to Gryffindor.

6. Valued trait - if they had to pick their favorite trait about themselves, what would they pick?

Harry doesn't really have a favorite trait of his that is his. This is the kid that when Barty/Moody asked him what his strengths are, he said he didn't have any. Harry is way too humble. He has no idea how special, talented, and capable he actually is. This tendency to undersell himself and underestimate himself is one I associate with Hufflepuff.

Hermione, I think, appreciates her bravery more than her intelligence. Yes, she's smart, and she's good at memorizing books, but it isn't what she values most about herself. She doesn't really see it as something noteworthy the way characters in Ravenclaw (like Terry Boot) see it. So, she gets another point to Gryffindor.

Ron, like Harry, has a lot of insecurities (many unwarranted). But Ron does know he has strengths. He knows he's good at chess. He knows he's good at strategy even if he thinks very lowly of himself in other aspects. Which gives him another Slytherin point.

7. Values - what traits do they completely despise in others? What traits do they appreciate in others?

Harry despises authority figures. He chafes under people, telling him what to do. He hates going by the book. He hates bullies who lord themselves over others because they think they're better or know better, and figures like Fudge, Umbridge, and Scrimgoure are just bullies to him. This gives him a point toward Gryffindor.

He appreciates a lot of traits in others, actually. But I'll say he appreciates honesty and friendship more than other things. Someone willing to stand in his corner is what Harry wants the most. So, this gives him another point for Hufflepuff.

Hermione despises unjust people. People who abuse their power, people who are cruel for no reason. People who tell lies for their own personal gain. Which gives a point toward Gryffindor.

In terms of what she appreciates, she appreciates intelligence and competence in authority figures, such as Dumbledore or Lupin. But she also really looks up to Harry's courage, intuition, and righteousness and often sees that as more important. So I give her a point toward Gryffindor.

Ron hates stuck-ups and pretentiousness. We see it a lot, both with Percy, and Hermione in first year. One of the things that makes him like Harry instantly on the train is seeing this super famous, rich kid, who is completely down to earth and normal. This gives Ron a point toward Hufflepuff.

In terms of what he appreciates in others, Ron is repeatedly impressed with Hermione's intelligence and tendency to plan ahead, more than she is for sure. But I think Ron appreciates Hermione's impulsive acts of bravery more. I think Ron really does appreciate bravery, courage, and risk-taking. So I'd give him one point to Ravenclaw and one point to Gryffindor.

8. And finally, which house do they want?

Now, I actually have a bit of an uncommon idea of how this question works. You see, I don't think the hat always listens to what a student wants. I think what a student thinks they want and why just says a lot about their values. In Harry's case, it illustrated that his values align with Gryffindor, but it isn't always the case, and I don't think every student gets what they want in terms of sorting. (Case and point, Neville, who was scared of Gryffindor's reputation and asked not to be there and still got Gryffindor).

Harry asked not to be in Slytherin, he didn't ask to be in Gryffindor. He asked not to be in Slytherin because all he knew of the house was that it was the house of Voldemort and dark wizards and bullies like Draco. Harry's choice of not Slytherin was Harry desperately not wanting to think of himself as evil. It's not what the house stands for, but that's what Harry's request was about. Him asking: "not Slytherin" for the reasons he did, is Harry asking: "let me be good enough". This pushes him towards either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Except, a Hufflepuff I think wouldn't have asked in this way, before the hat made any indication toward Slytherin, and therefore it is a point to Gryffindor.

Hermione was told Gryffindor is the best. She comes to Hogwarts thinking Gryffindor is where all the heroes and best wizards are at, and she wants to be that. As I mentioned, Hermione does seek personal glory in the aid of others. She wants to be heroic and brave and a savior. This reasoning to ask for Gryffindor is a Gryffindor reasoning, but it's also a Slytherin one. So I gave her points for both.

Ron's entire immediate family are Gryffindors, and he's desperate to fit in with them and not be lesser. He probably begged the hat to be on Gryffindor. Which, actually, is a Gryffindor move. Again, this desire to be more is one that pushes him towards Gryffindor and Slytherin. But when you add to that him begging (something typical Slytherin pride wouldn't allow), it is a Gryffindor point.

Tallying up the score

Harry: G - 5, S - 4, H - 3, R - 0

Hermione: G - 9, S - 2, H - 0, R - 1

Ron: G - 6, S - 4, H - 1, R - 1

With this, I'd call Harry a "Gryffindor with a Slytherin runner-up", Hermione a "true Gryffindor", and Ron a "Gryffindor with Slytherin tendencies".

What I like about this, is that even though I had very different answers for each and a different amount of points per question depending on multiple variables — they are still all Gryffindors. And I really do consider Hermione the "truest Gryffindor" in the trio, so, it didn't really surprise me.

I will note that sometimes I don't really need all these questions, and sometimes I add more questions if I feel I didn't really get to the bottom of a character, but the above 8 questions usually lead me to when thinking about sorting since they tend to get to a person's house well, I think. Like, these are the sorts of questions I think are better to ask than to just look at a list of traits. I think these questions are closer to what the hat is looking for when it comes to sorting too.

[youaintnothinbuta]

“What are you doing up, little lady?” — Elvis Presley x reader

Summary: you and dad!Elvis have a close call, your daughter almost coming downstairs on Christmas Eve to see her parents putting presents under the tree. More domestic elvis for you cos it’s just so healing

Pairing: Elvis or Austin!Elvis x mom!reader

Word count: 661

Warnings: fluff! Dad!Elvis being all domestic <3 probs typos sorry I’m tireddd

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The house had been buzzing with excitement all day, lots of family and friends coming in and out, visits from carollers and elves and cooking baking and everything else that comes along with Christmas time. Your daughter was 5 now and so she definitely understood that all the fuss meant Father Christmas was finally going to visit that night, hence it was a task and a half trying to get her to sleep. By the time it got to midnight, you and Elvis were very certain she was well asleep. You got busy putting all the presents under the tree and doing any last minute wrapping, getting everything ready for the big day.

In the middle of tying a bow, you thought you heard something. Snapping your head up, you reached your hand to Elvis’ knee with a stern “shh,” holding your hand up to motion for him to be quiet. He froze, also listening intently. His eyes widened at the soft rustle of tiny feet padding across the landing at the top of the stairs.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Elvis sprung up, quickly headed up the stairs, scooping up your daughter who was just about to take her second step down.

“What are you doing up, little lady?” He asked gently, resting her on his hip as he moved her away from the stairs.

“I can’t sleep,” she confessed. “Has Santa come yet?”

Elvis reassured her, pressing a loving kiss to her forehead. “No, sweetheart, he won’t come until you’re fast asleep in bed.”

She huffed, worriedly.

“How about this. You wait up here, I’ll warm up some milk for you, and we can have daddy-daughter snuggles until you sleep again,” Elvis suggested.

She nodded, he put her down on the floor and watched as she wandered towards her bathroom, making sure she wasn’t about to follow him downstairs. After heating up some milk for her in record time, he handed her her bottle and carried her back to her bedroom.

With her bottle clasped tightly in one tiny hand, your daughter used the other to tug gently at one of Elvis’ fingers, leading him towards the oversized armchair nestled in the corner of her room. Taking the hint, Elvis settled into the chair, pulling her onto his lap and cradling her against his chest.

Elvis held her close, his arms forming a protective cocoon around her as she sucked contentedly on her bottle, her eyelids growing heavy with sleep.

In a gentle whisper, Elvis began to sing, the familiar lyrics of lullabies filling the room with warmth and comfort. He sang to her softly, with all the love in his heart, the melody of his voice wrapping around your daughter like a warm cuddle. For the next twenty minutes or so, he continued to lull her, until at last, the gentle rise and fall of her breathing signaled that she had drifted off to sleep once more.

Carefully and quietly, Elvis eased her limp form from his embrace, laying her down gently on her bed. He tucked the covers snugly around her, ensuring she was warm and secure before pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.

Descending the stairs once more, Elvis found you waiting expectantly, concern etched across your features. In the time it’d taken him to get y/d/n to sleep, you’d pretty much wrapped up (no pun intended) and cleaned everything up.

“She’s all settled now,” he said with a reassuring smile.

You let out a relieved sigh, leaning into his body for a cuddle. “Thank goodness,” you agreed, a small chuckle escaping your lips. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

Elvis chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. “We would’ve made something up,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Now, let’s go to bed darlin’, we got an early morning,” he said, picking you up, reaching for the light switch, turning it off before carrying you upstairs, laying you gently down on your bed.

[balrogballs]

Who's taller, Elrond or Celebrían? I must hear your thoughts.

I have so many thoughts on this!

Imo it’s a Galadriel/Celeborn situation where they’re the exact same height and have a similar build — as in, she’s relatively tall for a female elf thanks to Galadriel but not as tall as her because Celeborn was of average height, and Elrond is relatively tall for a man but somewhat shorter and slighter than the average male elf because both his parents were half-Elven hence neither of them being particularly tall.

How does this play out?

They share clothes but it is one sided to start with. By which I mean, Elrond is very much his movie-self in this regard and has reams and reams of robes, both extravagant Noldorin decadence and Sindarin (relative) simplicity. Buddy has a whole ass walk in wardrobe. Celebrían borrows them all without asking, and not a month goes by where he isn’t running around their quarters in nothing but a pair of trousers losing his nut because she wore his pure woven silk shawl as a riding scarf and now it’s got two holes in it. Sometimes he goes to bed and trips over something and it’s just his expensive gold laced tunic that she wore as a sleep shirt until it got itchy and she tossed it on the ground. Every time she does this he loses a year of his life and tries to give her a complete lecture, of which she listens to 0% of. Glorfindel vividly remembers the squeak he made when he saw baby Elladan puke on Cel’s breastfeeding maternity top, also known as “Elrond’s wedding tunic which cost half as much as the wedding itself”.

After she sails, it’s the other way around. Arwen was told by Cel that she could wear anything of hers that she left behind, and she does. Half the time she’s very confused as to where some of the items disappear to, since her other three family members were blokes, until she comes across her father in his study, happily balancing his ledgers, Cel’s lovely turquoise shawl wrapped warmly around his shoulders, his feet comfortably fitting into her old house-slippers.

Elladan and Elrohir don’t wear either of their parents clothes because they’re taller and broader than the both of them, and not really given to extravagance. However, whenever they’re home, they take turns sneaking into Elrond’s study to borrow random articles of clothing and keep them in their wardrobe for a few days before returning them just as silently. Arwen initially thought they were doing it just to piss said father off but then realised they were trying to give him a sense of normalcy 🥺

Them being the same height means their feet knock against each other in bed. This is not a problem as far as Elrond is concerned, because he is used to sleeping in the same bed as other people (having had a twin and spending 3000 years at war/sieges), and keeps his toenails militaristically short. Cel on the other hand, absolutely adores having long shapely toenails that she decorates with polish and little gems. Unfortunately, this is precisely what jams into Elrond’s ankles every night. Like lovebites from Gollum.

When I say they’re the exact same height I mean right down to the millimetre. Again, this does not really bother Elrond because again, he’s always been slighter than most male elves so hasn’t really even noticed. Cel, however, is extremely pleased about this, and in fact quite often does her hair in big, bouffant (think 1980s) updoes and backcombs, and in fact set off a century long trend of quiffs in the Eldar, simply because she enjoyed being taller than Elrond.

[local-unintelligible-shifter]

Some World building changes to your Hogwarts DR if you want because what the fuck Joanne

(I don't know if i'm ever going to go through with making a script beyond world building, this is all from a hypothetical script that may or may not ever have any other work done)

Magic Schools: Okay so the cannon magical school distribution is wierd. How it works in my dr is that there are major magical schools like Hogwarts which take students from mostly close by countries with similar languages and is kinda like a melting pot for culture and learning (excluding countries that are massive or have a very high population though those are in central points in the nation and students who live in certain areas can still attend other nearby large magical schools if they want, think of school zones basically but it goes across countries) and then there are the "regular" magic schools, basically muggle schools but magical, theyre smaller obviously, theres more of them and theyre more tailored to the specific region culture magic wise and has a better oppertunity to get more indepth with the culture then major schools that normally take students from diffrent countries and hence cover multiple cultures (magical practice wise). - The oldest magical school is in China and isn't Hogwarts because why the fuck would it be hogwarts going off the history of education - Students get a basic non magical education beyond what they learn in whatever theyre previous schooling was, what they learn depends on the school but they definally continue math, science, language, geography and history, not just of the magical world

The fucking names: Seriously what kind of name is Cho Chang and who names their kid Wolf Wolf? I didn't script all the name changes and that my subconcious would come up with actual names. Some examples is that Remus still Reumus but has a diffrent surname and The Fat Lady (seriously why the fuck is she just 'the fat lady'?) is now Catherine

House elves: Why the fuck are there slaves? I removed house elves, theyre just Brownies which is what theyre based off, TLDR for those who arent familiar with Brownies, theyre a type of fae and household spirit that lives in a home and helps with housekeeping like cleaning, but in return they are to be given a portion of each meal, a seat by the fireplace and a place in the family. If they see the food and drink as payment they will get offended and leave, if you mistreat them they will get offended and leave, if you speak of theyre work they will get upset, if you give them clothes thats you basically saying to them that you don't think theyre clothing is adequate, get offended and leave. There is also a chance that instead of leaving they will become a boggart and terrorise the home. Some wizarding families do have brownies but they are as I said earlier, part of the family, they do not put up with any disrespect or mistreatment. Also theyre aren't any Brownies working at hogwarts, all the food is made with magic

More diversety: Enough said. Not just skin colour (even though we all know its depratly needed) but also cultural backrounds, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, ect

Spells: For the sake of Latin being one of the Ancestors to English there will be some spells in Latin at hogwarts but theyre relitavly new since Latin isn't that old of a language all things concidered. The spells learned depend on regions, lots of diffrent cultures have spells for similar or the same things but worded or performed diffrently. The really old spells (at least the ones taught at hogwarts specifically) are in Proto-Germanic, Old Gaelic, Old Norse and Old French due to the evolution of Britan as a country and it's history and the English language. Other anceint spells are taught and studied as a form of studying history

[karniss-bg3]

I figured you’d be the right person to ask this question, why is Kar’niss’ skin super pale when he was originally a drow? 🖤

I had the same question myself and I did some digging a bit ago. All of the official drider concept art I've seen has depicted driders with dark skin, so it stands to reason that the transformation alone wouldn't be enough to alter his appearance. This leaves one interesting theory at play; Kar'niss was a Szarkai.

Szarkai, which translates to "ghost spiders", are albino drow. This is a very rare mutation that affects only 0.1% of the drow population. Their skin tones are so light in fact that they are able to pass as surface elves with little trouble. Some would think that this would make them outcasts but in fact Szarkai were viewed as a blessing of Lolth, hence their namesake.

There are some interesting crossover traits between Kar'niss and Szarkai that lean me more toward this theory, such as: -Szarkai look almost identical to drow outside of the skin tone. However, they have also been known to have minor deformities. The most notable is "gnarled and claw-like hands" which we know Kar'niss to possess. Originally I thought this was due to the transformation, but now I think he may have had it prior to the change.

-They are very adverse toward combat, preferring to let others do the dirty work so to speak. When the player engages Kar'niss in a fight one of the first things he does after his multi-attack is cast sanctuary on himself, protecting himself from harm and forcing his companions to take the hits. I also saw a video where someone cast banish on Kar'niss and when he returned he disengaged, healed himself, and ran from the fight. Now this was likely a bug, but it'd be on brand for Szarkai's desire to escape a fight rather than engage in it.

-They were mostly used as spies and gathering information since they could easily blend into surface societies. While there isn't much evidence that Kar'niss has much training in this field, what stuck out to me was the professions Szarkai favored. One of them is bard, and we have at least some notion that Kar'niss is linked to one musical instrument by way of the spider's lyre. I recall someone commenting asking if the lyre may have belonged to Kar'niss at one point and while I can't say with certainty, if it was and Minthara was merely holding on to it then it'd lend credence to him being a bard formerly. That and he's super pissed if you play it poorly!

-I haven't done a playthrough with Minthara in my party so I am not familiar with all of her dialogue lines. However, she does know Kar'niss in some capacity and the lyre is used to call him. Her last name is Baenre which is one of the most notable drow houses in all of Menzoberranzan, famous for Jarlaxle the leader of Bregan D'aerthe. I say this because Szarkai seemed to be far more common in noble houses, which Baenre would be. This could, even if loosely, establish a link between them.

IF this is true, that puts a very intense spin on Kar'niss' potential history. Szarkai were protected, considered valuable, and their existence kept secret. They were removed from drow life, and even kept in far safer conditions than others. This didn't mean they were shielded from the cruelty drow are known for but it was a different kind of cruelty. Often trained from a very young age to be spies and saboteurs, and subsequently being shipped to human cities to do as ordered. It makes me wonder what Kar'niss could've done to incur Lolth's wrath to the extent she warped him into a drider. Betrayal? Failure? Weakness? Or perhaps Lolth just really wanted an alabaster pet, it's hard to say.

Thanks for the ask!

[changetheprophecy81]

I've always been surprised by the way the fandom has unanimously characterized regulus. He's always in Sirius's shadow in an heir and spare situation, with his brother being smarter, more good looking, and having a better physique than him. And this is inferred from the one comparison harry makes in DH (despite the fact tht harry calls his godfather handsome some 10 times or so in the books lol), its just assumed tht everyone would make this comparison as well. And tht he was more steered into becoming a DE than actually wanting it himself coz he was clueless abt wht was going on.

There is a great possibility of this being the case, but tbh i never saw it this way. Rowling has called regulus the draco of his generation (i always took this as being in the sense tht he was all for the DEs until he saw wht it actually was). Apart from harry's comparison there is nothing to infer tht regulus felt lesser than his brother. I always saw him as being extremely proud of his values and blood status, and being more favored than his brother because of how much he fit the pureblood standards. I also think he took pride in being more 'proper' than his brother; sirius adorned his room with posters and gryffindor flags to rebel, while regulus put up slytherin flags, cut outs of voldemort and the DEs and painted the black family crest on his wall to probably show his brother up, despite the fact that these were literally the most common and basic things to be in his social circle loll. Maybe this was out of social pressure, or maybe he was genuinely proud of his choices and really thought tht made him superior to his 'wayward' brother (sirius seemed to hv a streak of rebellion in him even before coming to hogwarts and being sorted, so he probably wasn't favored as a child lyk the fandom thinks he was). Also idk y ppl hc him as being openly less smarter than sirius, he literally figured out the horcrux thing before dumbledore did. His dying note to voldy still shows pride and arrogance in his intelligence. These are not qualities of a boy who felt insecure and insignificant, again, tht assumption is purely a hc. Regulus got the Mark when he was still in school even tho his parents were never DEs themselves (tho they were undoubtedly proud of him for it), probably coz he had bellatrix vouching him; i see this as being exactly lyk draco was, being proud( not reluctant or unknowing) and eager to prove his worth until he faced the reality of being a DE. Sirius also says in ootp (in relation to his family) that a lot of purebloods thought voldemort had the right ideas until they saw what he was ready to do to get power; this is exactly how i see regulus. PPL say tht he was kind to kreacher while ignoring the fact tht he 'volunteered kreacher' to a guy known for seeing house elves as inferior beings (tho he probably did like him, given tht he drank the poison himself). His view on house elves was probably still bigoted for all we know, he probably saved kreacher coz he was specifically attached to him.

Hence, I see him as a being very like sirius- haughty, proud, and intelligent, but on the side of the DEs, and then becoming lyk draco malfoy because he was confronted with the reality of his choices (and even then we hv no proof tht he didn't hold his other preudices before his death)

[doodle-pops]

Thoughts on a modern girl in Middle Earth, but the twist is that they actually get isekai-d to the Silmarillion instead? Because I actually like the trope modern girl in Middle Earth, but they’re usually set during LOTR—which is the cliché within this trope—and genuinely find them very funny and interesting. Though, I kinda wanna do one for Silm. I’d love to hear what you think of this concept and how that’d transpire ^^ Love your works by the way! I’m vibing with Kinktober rn~

Thank you for your support and appreciation 💞☺️

We ALL have our clichés. Even I have mines when it comes to this genre, hence my desire to properly write another good piece to fulfil that ambition 😂

Nevertheless, there are so many outcomes with the turn of events this will bring because you can decided where the reader appears, who she interacts with and whether or not she knows about the events of the Silm.

I'm still new to managing “Modern Girl in Middle Earth” troupe and I'm typically one for favouring the idea of her not being aware of the events and having no choice but to go along with everything, but also attempting to be that VOICE OF REASON many of them lacked (but also gets ignored).

Tbh, there are so many options this brings to the table because with creativity, you can choose whether or not with the appearance of reader the events change or continue as written. I for one would enjoy a good plot with the events changing but still in many ways keeping in tune with the theme (sounds like a lot of work ☺️), but I'm also down for keeping the events the same.

You can choose between having reader appear in Valinor to witness the mess before the real chaos and downfall. What if you gave reader an elven body with a mortal soul (I really like this idea; gives a bit of complexity to the behaviour of elf and man) for a twist. You can choose between granting her immortality due to having an elven body or maintaining her mortality due to having her human soul despite the elven form (I'm creating this as I write and my mind if filling up with IDEAS).

Have her follow them (whichever House/Elves of your choice) into ME—unless she's already there—to experience the tragedy. Maybe she outlives everyone into the 3rd age OR maybe she dies and returns to her home with the memories of her life in ME.

For an even more interesting idea, hypothetically, let's say the Silm was never written so when she returns home, she the one who ended up writing the elves tragic story as a way to never forget everyone.

How exactly do you want this to transpire? Like what is the end goal for reader because this has a million outcomes depending on where reader is located and I'd be happy to give more of my thought.

[ouatnextgen]

these are some stock images i found that are giving christmas cygnet scholar! 😁

Adorable! That last one is so cute, I had to write a drabble for it <3

Thanks for sending these!

(drabble under the cut)

Christmas in Storybrooke was always...a bit different from what the movies said small town Christmases were like.

That doesn't mean they didn't try, though.

They didn't have a mall, or...any place really, where kids could meet and take pictures with 'Santa,' so every year they'd doll up an old abandoned farm house and dub it 'Santa's Workshop.' They'd hire in some older guy to play Santa--it almost always ended up being Gepetto--and manage to convince the local youth on Christmas break to be hired on as his elves.

Hence, why Hope and Gideon were in their current predicament.

Usually, to gain Christmas present money, Hope would shovel driveways and sidewalks for her elderly and/or lazy neighbors.

But it was December 20th, and it had not snowed a single inch.

Desperate, Hope had taken the Santa's Workshop job, and convinced her best friend/ secret boyfriend to do it with her.

Gideon was always good at saving money, so he didn't necessarily need to take the job. But he never could say no to Hope.

Which was how he ended up in a scratchy green tunic, ill-fitting green tights, and a stupid hat with giant plastic elf ears attached to the sides.

"I'm telling you, Gid. We need to come up with our elfsonas." He and Hope had been tasked with sweeping up the pine needles under the large Christmas tree, which was a never ending battle between sticky, sappy pine needles and the worst broom known to man.

"Hmm. Well, what's a good elfsona name?" Gideon smirked and leaned his chin against the broom handle. Even in an abhorrently colored green dress and plastic elf ears, Hope still managed to look beautiful.

"Tinsel McSleigh?"

"Jingle Holidayson." Gideon offered.

"Mary Christmas...but spelled M-A-R-Y."

"Pepper M. Int."

"Frosty the Elfman."

"Buddy the Elf, but not that one."

A shadow suddenly fell over the Christmas tree. "Elves. Quick yapping and get back to work." Gretel, who'd been hired on as 'head elf,' was standing there with her hands on her hips, looking grumpy.

"Sorry, Gretel." They both chimed, and giggled a little bashfully.

As soon as Gretel walked away, the conversation recommenced. Just quieter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a grueling six hours of sweeping pine needles, herding small children through long lines, and wrapping prop presents, the two teens were more than excited to ditch their 'elfsonas' and leave.

"Freedom!" Hope lifted her arms and spun around. "Until tomorrow, at least. Aw, man..."

Gideon chuckled, lightly tossing his arm around her shoulder. "Think of the paycheck, Hope."

"Eyes on the prize." She agreed, squinting up at the sky. "It looks like it's gonna snow."

Gideon looked up as well. Sure enough, the clouds had that...look to them, like something was gonna happen. "Let's hope it at least snows in time for Christmas."

"Bet you $5 of my elf money that it'll be too cold for snow." She shivered, snuggling closer to Gideon. "'Cause that's just our luck."

"Actually, that's a common misconception. Snow can occur at any cold temperature, it's the humidity of an area that determines how much snowfall-"

Hope reached up and gently grabbed Gideon's cheek. "Hey, Gid?"

"Uh...yeah?" He blushed.

"I'm gonna kiss you now."

So she did, cupping his cheek in her cold hand.

The kiss was chaste and short, but Hope always had a way of leaving Gideon breathless no matter what.

"What ever happened to surprising our parents with us at Christmas dinner?" He asked, moving his arm around her middle like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Hope shrugged, mischief dancing in her blue eyes. "They won't find out. Watch." She kissed him again, this time using her hand to block their connected lips from view. "Foolproof."

They pulled away from each other, grinning like idiots in love. And that's when they noticed the change in weather.

"Hey! It's snowing!" Hope held out her hand, catching a fat snowflake on her palm.

Gideon chuckled. "Wow. It's like our kiss made it snow, or something."

"I mean...stranger things have happened in this town." Hope cocked her head, genuinely considering the possibility.

"Sure. Let's go with that. It's not just nature." He took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. "Let's go home. I seem to remember you promising me a Mario Kart rematch."

She smirked, competitive side flaring. "Ready for me to win again, you mean?"

"You wish!"

The two of them continued to bicker, all the way home.

[samkat10423]

Halloween time!

Because it's that time of the year, I decided to revisit my Greys Harbor by @blitzgal. If you want to see the town lots that I showed you previously, they're around here somewhere. Anyway, right now, I'm "fixing" some of the residents - and their houses - that she included in this world.

The first one lives here:

This house, believe it or not, came from that Midnight Hollow world. When blitzgal added it to this world, she just plunked down the original lot with all the dead trees and whatnot. Since I wanted it - and all the others she placed - to fit in with this world, I gave it a face-lift.

Anyway, this is the sim who lives here. She's that Ainsley sim from Midnight Hollow. In this world, she is now a vampire - hence the outfit. I got the outfit, BTW, from @kevinvoncrastenburg. It's called Scary Mary, and makes a great vampire outfit. So, thank you!

This is one of the Moonlight Falls builds. I did do a bit of work on it, before moving in the MacAnna sisters from that Dragon what-its-name world.

I used some of that bird CC created by @murfeelee for these sims. Anyway, both are now witches in the law enforcement and criminal careers. And they hate each other. Good times!

This house belongs to those Roommates Vegan. I did do some work on the house, and added that greenhouse sprinkler set, since the fairy sim works in the science field and I'm nice to my sims. Well, I AM!!!!

The pasty-looking sim is the vampire and he works as a journalist, while the one in the Hawaiian shirt is the fairy. I have that mod in my game that gets rid of the wings - mostly because I like giving the fairy supernatural trait to my elves. Anyway, both sims were tweaked using @murfeelee's bird cc. So, thanks to her!

I have some more, but I have to take my brother to the doctor, since he can no longer drive. Alzheimers will do that to you.

[anghraine]

I'm just thinking about Tindómiel's and Arwen's names again.

As I've mentioned before, Tindómiel's name seems a clear reference to tindómë, the Quenya word for the twilight of the morning or dawn, by contrast to undómë, the evening twilight referenced in Arwen's name Undómiel or Evenstar. The distinction between tindómë and undómë comes from LOTR itself, so it's not the relic of an early draft or a late retcon or anything.

If Undómiel = evening star (as it clearly does), it would seem to follow that the counterpart name Tindómiel would translate as 'morning star.'

People sometimes suggest that the meaning of Tindómiel mirrors Tinúviel rather than Undómiel. I don't think that works as well given the information in LOTR, though, because while Quenya tindómë and Sindarin tinnú are related etymologically, tinnú refers to evening twilight/early night, like undómë (in Sindarin, morning twilight is minuial). Hence the poetic translation of Tinúviel as 'nightingale.' So if either Undómiel or Tindómiel were going to be equivalent in meaning to Tinúviel, it should be Undómiel. That would even fit well enough with the frequent comparisons of Arwen to Lúthien.

But Undómiel is not translated that way in LOTR. It is translated as 'evening star.' Given the identical structures of the cousins' names and the nuances of Elvish terms for twilight in both languages, it seems more likely to me that post-LOTR, Tindómiel is meant to be a counterpart name to Undómiel, and that in-story, Arwen was named for Elrond's niece.

Tangentially, I think Tindómiel herself was likely named for her grandfather Eärendil, the morning star. But on the meta level, the subtext of her name's structure and meaning is to mirror Arwen. Tindómiel is born as the first of the mortal princesses and queens of the Númenóreans, where the death of Arwen, queen of the last Númenóreans, closes out the era of the Elves.

At the same time, while the evening and morning stars symbolically represent the inverse of each other, the reality is that the evening star is the morning star. Eärendil was hailed on Valinor as the "star in the darkness, jewel of the sunset, radiant in the morning." So both granddaughters' names call back to him and to each other, which I find very touching, actually.

I find it all the more so, though, because while we don't have any dates for Tindómiel's life, we know that she must have been born some time after the year 61 of the Second Age, since she is the second child and that's when her older brother was born. If her lifespan is similar to her brother's, she would live around 410 years—perhaps a little more, as Númenórean women were typically longer-lived, but I can't think by too much at that point in time, given the 500-year lifespan of their father. Tindómiel was likely dead by the year 500 of the Second Age.

The Second Age would last until the year 3441, another 2,941 years. Over a hundred more years passed before Elrond and Celebrían's marriage, and over a hundred more until Arwen's birth in the year 241 of the Third Age. By the time she was named, Tindómiel had been dead for over three thousand years. Elrond had seen the final wars against Morgoth, the rise and terrible fall of Númenor, the provisional defeat of Sauron, and innumerable nephews and nieces. Tolkien can't even fit the early house of Elros onto one genealogical chart and by Arwen's birth, there are numerous offshoots of Elendil's line alone. Elrond has seen a lot of people come and go, many of them related to him.

And yet, when it came time to name his only daughter, he thought of Tindómiel.

[hara-matsuura]

Week 3's content!

I've mentioned before but hara ends up with sebastian so for prompt 1 this is what i think their amortentia would smell like!

Now of course, they smell each other, but I feel like some of these seem.... a little bit weird so explanation time!

Sebastian smells:

• a hint of metal - this is because of milo (hara's pet niffler,) since he is with her almost 100% of the time, she always has some kind of treasure on her for him, whether it's jewellery or coins.

• freshly baked brownies - when she's stressed out, hara likes to sneak into the hogwarts kitchens and bake with the company of the house elves. Her favourite thing to make is brownies

• library smell - (aka just the smell of a lot of books) now getting more simple, she just owns a lot of books because she loves to fund new spells and brews to better her skills both with dueling and just everyday magic

• forest air - again a pretty simple one, she spends a lot of time out exploring so she carries a hint of the scent from outdoors.

• burning - her favourite spells to use in combat are confringo and bombarda, due to her exploring she comes across a lot of enemies so again she carried the faint smell from the spells.

Hara smells:

• parchment - in this version of the hogwarts legacy universe, sebastian is also the somewhat studious type - to the point where him and hara have a friendly (sort of) academic rivalry, so he often carries around parchment to take notes in class.

• earthy damp cave smell - I wasn't really sure how to word this one but imagine that kind of smell you'd get when exploring one of the caves in game, this quite literally comes from the pair being in one too many of them.

• hogsmeade/the three broomsticks - hara chose sebastian to visit hogsmeade with at the start of 5th year, that memory seared itself in her mind as it was one of their first hence why she smells it in the amortentia.

• wood - this is like the sort of scent a bat or a literal log has, it comes from the fact I like to imagine seb as one of the slytherin beaters.

• broom wax - sebastian is a little more appearance driven than hara so is frequently performing broom maintenance and applying the stuff to it

• early morning air - this is something they both smell and also due to quidditch! Thanks to their early morning training sessions with their respective teams.

• roasted chestnuts - (lore time yay!) After the end of 5th year, their relationship is a bit rocky and hara avoids sebastian, he feels guilty as a result and whilst brainstorming a way to get her to talk to him, he remembers her talking about how much she loved eating roasted chestnuts with her family whilst growing up. With this in mind, sebastian sets out to find some chestnuts and attempt to recreate them like the ones she has as a child. Some turn out a little bit burnt but the gesture really gets to her and begins the road of improvement in their relationship 😌

(I love the difference of how hara smells more memory orientated things whilst sebastian smells more literally physically present things, idk why but it just seems fitting)

Geez that looks like a lot-

ANYWAYS PROMPT 2:

Despite originally being a hufflepuff, hara has a lot of the traits from the other houses. That being said I think gryffindor would be the second choice as she's pretty headstrong and has the attitude for it 🦁

Prompt 3:

As I was a bit cut for time and didn't really fancy it, I didn't draw hara's gender bent. Instead, here is a drawing of her in her animagus (crow) form with sebastian (the things in this post are literally my first time drawing him, I have incredibly little practice drawing guys 😭). This would most likely be set in their late 6th or 7th year although I haven't completely settled on whether hara would go through with the animagus progress during or after hogwarts - she would at some point for certain.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Magic and Genetics: Magical Beings

So, I mentioned in my other post about magic and genetics that the fact magical creatures and wizards can reproduce is significant. This is because generally, hybrids with parents of different species are sterile (at least with animals, plants are different). As Fleur can be a quarter-veela, it's clear the hybrids we see in the magical world are not sterile.

As sterility is attributed to the difference in the number of chromosomes between the two species, this suggests that goblins, wizards, muggles, veela, and giants all have the same number of chromosomes and are part of the same genus. And this has some interesting implications when it comes to world-building...

Disclaimer: As with my past post on the subject, this is from online reading, I haven't studied any of this in a professional capacity.

When it comes to interspecies hybrids among animals, they tend to be from the same genus, otherwise they can't even reproduce without some human interference. So, I feel pretty safe in the assumption that if wizards and veela can have fertile offspring, they fall under the same genus

A genus is a biological classification above species and below family. While there is some leeway in what falls under the same genus the general gist of what defines a genus is:

They all descend from the same group of organisms.

A genus shouldn't be expanded needlessly.

All species in a genus should show distinctive traits and similarities.

Now, the legal definitions in the Wizarding World somewhat support this. All the following creatures are defined as "beings" by the Ministry of Magic:

Humans (muggles, wizards and squibs)

Giants

Goblins (and the related Pukwudgies)

Vampires

Hags

House-elves

Veela

Any hybrid of the aforementioned species.

(Werewolves are technically human, Lycanthropy is treated in the books like an illness and not a separate species, hence why I didn't list them here)

I should note Merpeople and Centaurs were also offered the description of "being", but refused.

And we see practically all of the species listed as "beings" can have fertile offsprings with each other: Hagrid is a half-giant, Fleur is a quarter-veela, Flitwick is a half-goblin, the mobile games, and Pottermore reference part-vampires, and the Fantastic Beasts movies include a half-elf (I don't really consider these movies canon as a whole, but the existence of half-elves makes sense).

This means that the definition of "being" is for all species in this humanoid genus. The reason I'm bringing this up with association with genetics is that, if we go back to the definition of genus, all these species (and potentially centaurs and merpeople too) are descended from the same ancient race. Which, in turn, says something interesting about the evolution of magic in genetics.

Since most of these races are magical, well, all of them except muggles are. Muggles are incredibly similar to wizards and squibs, more similar than the other species are to each other. This suggests that the evolution in the Harry Potter universe started with an ancient humanoid magical species that got split into the different magical species we know of (goblins, wizards, giants, elves, etc...) first since there are more differences between them. Then, some thousands of years later muggles and wizards split.

I don't know how or why or what this ancient humanoid magical race could be, but the fact muggles and wizards are probably both descendants from some proto-wizard race that existed thousands of years ago gives another possibility into how muggleborns can be born. If all muggles descended from wizards, it could explain how muggleborns would occasionally be born. I still believe almost all muggleborns are descendants of more recent squib lines though. I don't think regular muggles have a high chance of giving birth to a muggleborn, but because of this evolution theory, it still could happen.

The other interesting note about this is that muggles are likely to be able to have children with goblins, veela, vampires, and giants just like wizards can. But these half-breeds, unlike the ones we see in the books aren't partial wizards, so could they cast magic like wizards?

I'd say yes.

The fact all non-human creatures are legally forbidden from holding wands means they all can produce magic with a wand. Winkey the elf got blamed at the beginning of GoF for casting the Dark Mark with a wand, which means that even though house-elves and goblins are capable of their own magic, they could use the same spells wizards do with wands if they had them. Goblins can use wands as well, Griphock says wands would expand their magical powers. If I had to guess I'd say the same is true for vampires, veela, and hags — that if they had wands they could cast magic like wizards. Their being from the same genus kinda explains it, they all have the genes for casting magic, and yes, their magic is different, but not that different. I'd say their magic is probably more similar than wizards are willing to confess.

Giants are different in that they don't really have an innate magic, and aren't shown to be capable of any magic beyond their sturdy skin. I'd say giants had a similar evolution to muggles in that they lost the capacity to cast magic at some point in the split. I'd guess it happened differently with each species though.

Back to the earlier subject of a muggle and goblin child, for example. I believe this half-goblin would have magic similar to a half-goblin wizard like Flitwick, potentially, a half-goblin half-muggle would be registered as a wizard by the book and quill that accepts students into Hogwarts. Potentially you could have a muggle-being hybrid who is treated like a half-blood wizard even though neither of their parents are wizards. I mean, goblins can use wands, and so can half-blood wizards with one wizard parent and one muggle parent... Basically, I think there could genetically be a half-blood wizard that has no wizard parent, or even grandparent for that matter.

(All this is potentially true for merpeople and centaurs too since they were offered the "being" status)

I just find these implications about the relations between wizards, muggles, and the other magical races really interesting.

[regulusmoonbeam]

OH DAMN OKAY— THINK ABT WHAT U WANT ME TO DO NEXT OKAY

tw talks of ww2, abuse, and other sensitive topics

UHHHHH ILL DO WALBURGA BC U WERE TALKING ABOUT HER EARLIER

I hate her, I'll preface this with that, but I'm just diving into her character and how she became the way she did

we know almost basically nothing about her, besides her relationship to Sirius and reg, and what she kinda did

but like her when she was younger

but first, we've gotta analyze the time period and how that affected her values

Sirius was born in 1959, and if we estimate Walburga was somewhat young when she had him (seeing as she was probably betrothed) so let's place her at having Sirius in her 20s maybe like 23-25

so that means she was born around 1934 at the very least (In this scenario)

and while ww2 is going on for the muggles, don't you think it'd be a perfect time for blood supremacists to kill a bunch of muggles and halfbloods without getting caught?

I'd think so

So like the black family being who they are, had engrained it in their children from a young age that anyone that wasn't a pure blood was automatically beneath them

and as a child who was extremely wealthy due to her blood, why would walburga find an issue with that? not to mention she was very smart, which seemed to even further prove her parents point

she was the top of her class, cold and calculating, but knew how to be diplomatic

everyone either adored her or hated her, usually both

she was destined for greatness, to be a prominent figure in the wizarding world, but sexism would never allow things to be that simple

she was able to get a job at the ministry of magic at the young age of 19, it was never seen or heard of before, for someone so young and talented (and a woman) to get that job

the same job Orion Black wanted. Orion was never far behind his cousin when it came to grades, prominence, or anything else, but he was always second to walburga

it was always walburga this, Walburga that, and Orion— knowing his whole life he was to be married to her— was ready to cash in on that vow and take Walburga's job away from her

this is how, in the 1930s for certain jobs women were forced to resign if they had gotten married, and I feel like this would have been especially true in the wizarding world

so a few years after getting a lower level job at the ministry than walburga did, he brought up the topic of marriage to his parents, spouting stuff about how they should get married now and try to have kids now before it was too late, and before walburga's prominence withered

and they agreed. so that next year after they turned 22, Orion and walburga were married

needless to say, walburga was PISSED but she knew it was useless to protest getting married, so all she asked for was one more year at her job and one year to plan the wedding

which meant she had 2 years to postpone the wedding, hence why they got married at 22 and not 20

But even then, Walburga knew it was Orion's jealousy that did this to her. doomed her to be a "submissive and inferior being"

She wanted to be ahead, to show how much better she was than everyone else, not stuck inside a house taking care of kids

which is where Sirius and regulus come in

I would like to preface this by saying she was never a good mother in my mind, but she wasn't as gung ho as abusive at first

she has Sirius when she was 23, and regulus when she was 25

She was just neglectful at first, not taking care of Sirius more than the bare minimum, and even then, sometimes she didn't do that

Sirius mainly taken care of my house elves, barely seeing his mother for the first four years of his life, and if he did see her, she was curt, dismissive, and short tempered

but she never physically hurt him

that wasn't until regulus came along. Regulus' pregnancy was much harder on walburga than Sirius', which only pissed her off more when he was born

Sirius, being only a toddler when regulus was born, was the object of walburgas newfound wrath

he would be left without food for periods of time, threatened when he cried, and more

but it wasn't until he was 4 that the punishments upped. with age came a stronger body, and a stronger body meat it could sustain more damage

that's when the beatings started, it would be a slap here an there, instructions to use corporal punishments in his tutoring if he was wrong, getting hit in the knuckles with rulers if he cried

Sirius got most of walburgas attention at this point in time, since Sirius had asked kreacher to keep regulus away from their mother as much as possible

when Sirius was 7 and regulus was 5, the cursed started. the unforgivables

every year spent in that house was one more year walburga got more bitter, more angry. and she couldn't take it out on her husband, so who better and more vulnerable than the kids?

she ground the teachings her parents taught her as a child into them, to extremes, with punishments if they didn't obey

the first unforgivable she used was when little Sirius had asked her why their bloodline made them better than everyone else

and without so much as an answer, she used her first crucio on Sirius

the little boy writhed in pain and a part of walburga couldn't help but enjoy it, seeing him in pain

it was payback, revenge for the life they took away from her. making them feel only a portion of her pain.

but if she couldn't do it herself, she would mold her children into everything she was supposed be and more, and would make sure they wouldn't stray

which is why Sirius leaving destroyed her so much. Sirius was very smart, he reminded walburga of herself when she was younger, but he always always went against what she wanted and she couldn't stand it

she believed that the more harsh she got, maybe he would finally fall into line, to let her live through him

he was her only way out, even if by living vicariously through him

but then he left. he put a stain on their family. she despised him. how could her son betray her like that when he was destined for greatness?

She couldn't fathom it. she allowed herself one mistake, one slip up. she wouldn't mess up again. she'd get it right with regulus.

she was harsher on regulus than anyone could have ever imagined, and Orion didn't even care. He had what he wanted, his high up job and an heir, who cared about the disowned son now?

Regulus, having no one left to protect him faced the full force of walburga, and obediently fell into line

he was the perfect heir, at least on the outside. he was smart, but not the way walburga wanted him to be. she wanted another sirius, but had a regulus

she made sure he studied, and was at the top of his class. if he wasn't, she made sure he knew what would happen

and when Voldemort arose, she made sure he was on track to joining the death eaters

walburga was elated she was finally going to get what she wanted, but then regulus died. she was crushed, a shell of her prominent, assertive self after that. because once more, she was so close, and yet gotten her dreams taken from her

Even the fact that Orion(the person who took everything from her)died that same year couldn't bring her back to herself

she died years later, alone in the house she was trapped in

ARRGRHRHEGHEHEHEHEHRGRHEGEGEGEHEHRHERGEHHRHGHGHGHGHHGH

ARGHGHGHHGHHGHGHH

OH MY GODDDDD

IM GONNA TWEAK

[balrogballs]

I'm so curious - how do you divide your writing schedule between fanfiction and original work? Do you have a daily word goal or time goal that you like to commit to?

I'm heartened to see a professional writer who still engages with fandom. I'd love to hear more about your experience balancing the two!

Haha the trick is that I don’t balance, I only write fanfic when I’m not working on anything original, rather than splitting between the two.

So after the publisher has your finished draft, there can be lengthy stretches where I don’t have to do much except sign off changes. I’m referring to the genre/topics I work on but: sensitivity read, legal read, fact-checking, development edit, line edit etc. All these stages have a longish turnaround period where I’m not actively involved, only consulted (if that!). A con of publishing with a bigger house is far less control, but a pro is more free time lmfao.

More below since this is me rambling so that I don’t have to answer the asks about whether or not I made up the HoME quote about elves shitting (guys what do you think).

I would not work on FF while I have irl book work due, but other than consulting with the publishers, I’m not tied to much until closer to release. My day job also involves travel hence I write on trains etc a lot.

I think there are both pros and cons to juggling the two, to answer your question. Biggest pro is that writing fanfic is 100% what helped me develop as a writer IRL. And writing IRL means I’m often expected to work to tight deadlines so am able to write fast for fandom stuff, gift exchanges etc.

Cons — I’m a shite proofreader, because I have been spoilt by having line edits done for me. I can be a (stylistic) perfectionist re: my own writing, which detracts from my own experience because I am doing this for fucks and memes, not the NYT.

Also amusingly, I actually haven’t been on any fandom spaces except AO3 since I was 15 — I made this account last October to share academic notes from a historiographical fic I wrote, Cast in Stone, aka give people homework like a complete freak.

I ended up not doing that and doing *gestures at Balrog-brand* instead because I have a boring ✨ intellectual ✨ profile IRL and frankly was too young to jump into the poco litfic arena, so I love being a feral louse here 🥰

[greenerteacups]

Although Irish Ron would definitely be great Irish rep (as well as the ginger rep he always was!), I'm kinda hoping for Devon Ron... the thought of little Ron having that country accent... so cute! Also... I am kinda getting a bit excited now I know they're casting... this has 'reliving childhood' HP hype potential...

What are the top things the movies left out that you'd like them to include in this, supposedly, more book accurate adaptation?

True and fair, Devon Ron is also great and I'd really like someone in the main cast to have a country accent since Harry and Hermione are probably going to be some variant of RP (barring other changes). I would like if they gave someone else an Irish accent (e.g. Lavender, Katie, or Angelina) because Seamus "Blows Things Up" Finnegan being the only Irishman, in books that were written in the 90s, is Ow U Say Not Great but there's enough characters for a broad linguistic diversity. Like the Welsh Remus headcanon that was floating around a few years ago, that was cool. Opportunities!

Other things I'd like to see adapted for the first time: GINNY WEASLEY. Anything Ginny Weasley has ever done or said that isn't dating Harry Potter, that would be great. More of Harry's bond with McGonagall — in the movies, they don't have any one-on-one scenes together. More dimension for Luna Lovegood! She doesn't just float above it all like she does in the movies, she does get annoyed at people and she does have pride in what she does, and in particular she has a fierce affection for her friends. Same with Neville, whose character arc disappears a lot, and hence the Book 7 moment with the snake seems to come out of nowhere. In general, a lot of moments in the 8th movie are payoff on arcs that only existed in the books, and the fact that they play anyway is a reflection of the audience generously blurring the two in their minds.

On a more nitpicky level: the fourth movie does a pretty janky job adapting the plot of Goblet of Fire, because it forgets the mystery plot in favor of the tournament arc. Which is okay, because the movie turns out fine anyway and I get that the book's way too large to adapt, but you lose all the intrigue about who put Harry's name in the goblet — they cut Bagman, e.g., who is the default red-herring answer to that question — and it leaves a lot of beats feeling strange and weightless. Also, more house-elves. And Percy Weasley's character arc! For starters.

[witchythingscore]

On Yule log

Yule is a Scandinavian name for solstice celebrations. Note that Ostara cohabit with it on wheel of year, but it is a German celebration (plus goddess Ostara never really existed, she is a kind of modern fanfiction based on others myths). Sure, a modern pagan can celebrate any holidays they want, but wheel of year as is it today was never observed in the past. Too many celebrations from different countries, you know...So being historical, older than Christianity? I 'm not sure. For instance, in a Latin country like here (France), you had Saturnalia during solstice. Certainly as a resurgence of pagan traditions, log tradition was observed in France (and in neighboring countries I guess?) for centuries. It did not consist to put candles on a log (probably because not everyone has a fireplace by now?), but choosing the biggest log they can found in every family. Then the father (or in his absence, the mother, grandfather, eldest son...) would pour oil and wine on it (I know...sound like antique libations), bless it, and tell everyone in the house to think of a wish while touching it (hence the "knock on wood" expression). Then it was put in the fireplace, and left to burn while everyone was at the midnight mass. If the fire on the log was completely out when everyone was back, it would brought bad luck and the wishes would not be fulfilled. So to avoid it to be completely consumed, it explained why the biggest was chosen.

Indeed...But as you see, there was no contradictions between having such a log, and go to the mass. This tradition is refereed to in Beauty and the Beast: The enchanted Christmas (set in France, you know).

And of course, today, not everyone have a fireplace and I must admit this tradition is now largely forgotten. It was replaced by the "bûche" (log) cake, toped with little elves and on all tables for the Christmas eve dinner in every French home but mine, as my family hate bûches except me.

It's so frustrating that I buy a individual model to eat after the Christmas day. Until today, I did not know that the cake was known as "Yule log" in others countries?

Whoa, for real? O_O There is no "Yule " in the french name, but I guess the "Yule" never disappeared in English?