#I always love the idea that magic can be impacted by emotions

[commanderfloppy]

random question for you: what's the deal with rococcus's time in the vigil? it sounds like it was a Ride (TM) @kerra-and-company

Yeahhh it kinda was, I’ll start from the beginning.

TW: Uhh death and talk about war and stuff.

When Rococcus was born he had dream with a very clear cut Wyld Hunt, he was a soldier and fought a dragon..ok well we know what you’re doing.

So after about a month of getting to learn some basic principles of the world and Ventari tenants he is sent off to join the Vigil. He is ok with this because ‘my hunt is pulling me towards it and I like the idea of protecting people :)’

Once in the vigil baby recruit Roco gets taken under the wing of an older sylvari who was also called to join the vigil, Delwyn.

Rococcus really appreciates this new mentor and also develops a bit of a crush on them? (Kinda, it never fully formed since they still kept their distance sometimes so roco never really felt any solid attraction, kinda that ‘this person is really cool I like them as a friend…I think?’ Limbo)

The first year or so in the vigil are pretty good! The missions Roco went on were mostly focused on helping people escape the grasp of dragon corruption, clearing travel routes, getting aid. There were rough moments and some losses, but he was helping people and this was his destiny it’s fine it’s good..

Then the pact formed and the fight turned to Zhaitan. This is when things started to go to shit. Roccocus already felt a lot of strain from the fact that the pull of his Wyld Hunt got a lot more magnified the closer they got to Orr, the pressure of knowing this is what he’s meant for and that it was getting closer was a lot.

Once the assault on Orr started a lot of casualties happened, including ones full of squadmates he once knew, and because he’s a guardian (with purifying flame magic) it fell to him to thoroughly burn those fallen soldiers so they couldn’t be revived by Zhaitan, even those who hadn’t quite died yet (Delwyn helped by putting them out of misery swiftly before the cremation happened though).

So yeah now he’s here at this shit ass place that smells like dead things, basically everyone he’s known has died and he was the one who had to see them dead. And this whole time as horrible things happen around him an invisible string of fate is pulling him along, closer to even more suffering, (which he’s becoming less equipped to deal with because all this stress is making his magic start to fuck up and get weaker).

This all comes to a head during the final attack on Zhaitan, through some way (possibly the airship they were on crashing) Rococcus and Delwyn are stranded on the ground as the air assault continues, but things are close to being finished. While the injured Roco and Delwyn wait for rescue, some leftover risen from the ground assault attack them. He tries his best to provide cover with his magic, but it doesn’t work well enough and the barrier breaks. Delwyn is shot dead before his eyes as the last risen falls.

He sits there on the battlefield, the pull in his chest dissipates, it’s done…he’s done… everything is over

So uhh all his friends died and he got fucked up…have this drawing…sorry

[astrolovecosmos]

Kleopatra/Cleopatra Asteroid

The asteroid Kleopatra (216), is sometimes also referred to as "Cleopatra" with a debated history on whether the asteroid represents more of power and beauty or aspects of love and relationships. Below I've laid out the two ways this asteroid is typically talked about. But keep in mind, it is only one body, asteroid 216. Kleopatra - Strength, charisma, feminine leadership, power, breaking taboos, feminine beauty

Cleopatra - The impression and power of your love and relationships, how you are remembered or idolized, actions and leadership taken in love, fierce loyalty or passion

Aries: Kleopatra - Always has a sword in hand. Sexy confidence. A conqueror. Bold, feisty, and/or hot-blooded in their charisma. Stands out with their beauty. Cleopatra - Forward and quick in their devotion to others. Is open, honest, and defending towards their closest loved ones. Won't shy away from playing heroine. Makes strong, heated, impactful impressions on others.

Taurus: Kleopatra - Seductive and magnetic beauty. Has a steady and reliable strength. Unbothered. Leads with practicality and patience. Focuses on security, the body, and comfort. Cleopatra- Remembered for their loyalty, creativity, maybe their hard work. Enduring legacy. Actions are thought out and highly intentional. Always takes the peaceful route when possible.

Gemini: Kleopatra - Dazzling and enchanting beauty. People hang on her every word. Won't hide or dull her intelligence. Wins over hearts with wit, humor, and friendliness. Keeps a cool head and is fast with their decisions. Cleopatra- Her ideas may be timeless. Adaptable and supportive. Makes rational decisions for herself and loved ones. May love from a distance. Praises and persuades lovers. Being with them can be a rush.

Cancer: Kleopatra - Mysterious and quietly alluring. Protective and caring in a proactive way. Magical feeling. Has sacred and intuitive power. Cleopatra - Takes care of everyone. At the center of the family or community. Strong emotional presence. Can be unforgiving and cold, but also just as warm and giving. Is the ancestral karma.

Leo: Kleopatra - Their beauty can't be forgotten or down played. Naturally takes the lead. Magnetic and romantic. Lots of self-respect. Does what she wants and what she needs bravely. Cleopatra - Is the queen or goddess of others' lives. Generous and affectionate. Regal nature. Legendary individual.

Virgo: Kleopatra - Has "knows what she's doing" energy. Tempting beauty. Impressive intellect and/or skills. The type people get obsessed with. Is empowered by embracing their flaws. Cleopatra - Makes sure her loved one's know their worth. Known for her ability to help, heal, teach, or provide. Her knowledge gets passed down. Makes a difference.

Libra: Kleopatra - Stunning and dangerously beautiful. Gets her way. Balancing her power with peace. Being hard to understand can be part of her appeal. Jealousy, beauty, judgment, and logic are her tools. Her charm can shape affairs. Cleopatra - Loyal to ideals, partners, and teams. Diplomatic and fair. Tries to make others happy but when she is unhappy war can happen. Makes what is dark, ugly, or forbidden light, beautiful, or accepted.

Scorpio: Kleopatra- Bewitching, spellbinding all in her gaze. Magnetic, seductive, and mysterious. Vengeful, spiteful, manipulative, deep, passionate, she is powerful. Her beauty commands and controls. Cleopatra - Loyal to a fault, but a fierce or hard exterior. Might get involved in some crazy love stories. Occult vibes. Venomous to enemies, especially lovers to enemies. Leaves a wound and/or finds gold metaphorically for generations to come. Their family will bear their sins or blessings.

Sagittarius: Kleopatra - Others easily fantasize over their beauty. Takes people's breath away. Feral energy. Has a love for the new and exciting. Has an envious amount of self-faith. Wins over hearts and souls. Has the power of belief and knowledge. The truth is their weapon. Cleopatra - They may leave behind an inspiring legacy somehow. Is open hearted and passionate in love. Does everything in their power to keep their loved ones warm. Great at reading the room, making the party, and cheering others up. Their tongue may stop wars or start them.

Capricorn: Kleopatra - Has an unattainable beauty and appeal. Is self-controlled and ambitious. Calculated and ruthless. Can be hard to impress or win over. Is a firm and responsible leader. Has or listens to ancient wisdom. Cleopatra - Providing and protective over loved ones. Maybe stern and/or highly involved. Has a lot of inner authority. Careful with lovers. They will never lower their standards. They may take on burdens you don't even know about.

Aquarius: Kleopatra - Unconventional and awestriking beauty. Confident and charismatic. Befriends and impresses others with ease. A genius. Unpredictable storm, mess, or dance. Cleopatra - Willing to start a revolution, to face off the world, or go to war for their people. Can survive or cause chaos. Loves people fully for who they are. Goes to great, maybe even crazy lengths for what they want.

Pisces: Kleopatra - Otherworldly beauty. Others romanticize her and her life. She glows. Extremely intuitive. Imagination can be a weapon. She is perceptive and emotionally intelligent. Master of illusions. Cleopatra - Kind hearted. Forgiving, healing, and loving. Manipulative when needed. Spiritually powerful. Tolerant and at times enabling. Feels pain and joy with you. Gives good advice. Avoids trouble often, especially any they cause.

[phantomato]

Tom Riddle As A Parent: Why So Compelling?

(to me. Not meant to generalize.)

Tom-as-parent runs counter to canon in possibly baffling ways. He despises his own father and has no respect for his mother. He doesn’t have a confirmed romantic or sexual attachment to anyone at any point in the story—I’m disregarding Cursed Child here, as my canon is the original seven-book series.

Tom is ill-suited to parenting: we see him in a challenging job or unemployed but busy with his pursuit of power. His personal qualities include a lack of bedside manner, and he’s shown to tolerate putting on a polite face only when it serves him with people who have more power. Yet I’ve written Tom as a parent multiple times, including my longest work. The idea continues to compel me. What gives?

Canon Tom has no business being a parent—let me make it his business

Partly, I want this because it is just so unlikely to fit the character as we know him. Whenever a fic idea or characterization choice seems incongruous and wrong, my impulse as a writer is to wonder how to make it right. What shifts must take place for this person to do this thing?

I’ve long held that I am interested in a Tom Riddle who can feel love. Not that he loves easily or admits it to himself, but that he is a person with the ability to feel that emotion. Given that Tom can love, a child is an interesting place to explore that. How did the child come into his life? How did he reconcile himself to loving it? What shape does that love take? No matter the universe, some parts of Tom will always struggle to be a conventional parent.

This is a great path for Tom as an unintentional parent—kidnapping Harry of course, but also (my favorite) partnering with a single parent and navigating the family he gains as a side effect of that romance. Particularly coming into a teenage stepchild, which was an interesting writing experience because with an older child who remembered a deceased birth parent, I was free to give that Voldemort less personal responsibility for the kid. He could create something other than full parenthood in his relationship with Theodore Nott, where they came to understand and care for one another through their shared love for Nott Sr. I let Voldemort recognize his own unsuitedness to parenting and thus make compromises with it, and the relationship was overall more emotionally moving to me as a result. 

Tom Riddle will have an impact on any parenting that I force him to do. Because he’s not traditionally fit for it, the unique form his parenting takes is a chance to say so much about his character and the choices that he’s made in that universe.

Forcing Tom to reconcile with himself

It’s no mystery that Tom Riddle has parent issues. His mom dies while birthing him. He was raised in an orphanage. He kills his father. There are a lot of obstacles in the way of Tom having a healthy relationship with parenting.

In making him a parent, then, I’m asking his character to get with it real quick. There is a baby or a small child only growing older and more independent by the day; they are pulling their ideas of the world from him like a sponge sucking up water. He will have an influence on them. And what has Tom Riddle ever wanted more than influence?

Part of what I like about parent!Tom is asking what would happen to him if he took the prospect seriously. He is responsible for this kid, so he takes care of them. There must be many feelings there. After all, Tom went to his father seeking something. Magical heritage, sure, but he knew before he walked up that hill that he wouldn’t find it, and still he went. We can’t know anything with certainty (except in fanfic), but when writing him as a parent, I like to think that he might be changed when he’s forced to play the opposite role.

Tom with a child is a Tom who can possibly come to understand his parents or regret not getting to know them. He might see his mother’s care, to deliver her baby where he would live. He might see his father’s fear, at confronting his own trauma through the form of his child. He never got to learn what his mother might have taught him, and my own dislike of her aside, the character of Tom might miss her, forgive her, or never learn about her abuse. If he does know that his mother assaulted his father, it might spark his regret over committing that murder. And he Mrs. Cole as a caretaker as well, whose faults do not erase the intimacy of their relationship. All of these emotions can be explored via reflection as Tom experiences raising his child. He is making his own choices about being a parent, dissimilar or not to those made by Merope and Tom Sr. and Mrs. Cole, and facing unpleasant facts about his sympathy for their positions.

And all of this is equally as interesting to me when Tom is the child, or when he considers his feelings about his parents and mentors later in life. Tom’s hope to be a teacher likewise takes on more dimensions if we consider mentorship and influence on young people as relating to how he might feel about his own childhood, or what must change to make him suited for that responsibility. Tom-as-parent is particularly special as it features in fics that have helped define my characterization of him, and it is because the role is so unnatural for him, not in spite of it, that it inspires this kind of consideration.

[eatmangoesnekkid]

Heartbreak is a natural human response to being hurt in your heart by a person, a system, or an experience. In other words, being in the experience of heartbreak, whether conscious or unconscious, is not "wrong" or "bad." But what's interesting is that heartbreak is not discussed enough in traditional healing spaces yet it is one of the greatest blockages that inhibit the flow of love and moving beyond a survival state. Healing the unresolved heartbreak lingering in your aura/electromagnetic field can be achieved when you spend some quality time in celibacy loving on yourself and preparing your body for intimacy with a new lover (lots of slow baths, slowing down, time in nature, grounding, journaling, cooking your own food, and the like) so that you when you start to date again, you lead with more self-love and self-worth, and not with heartbreak, fear, insecurity, or repression. You must have compassionate time with yourself to dearmour your heart from living through a deep state of trauma which is what heartbreak is. We don't realize that heartbreak is a healthy trauma response to experiencing emotional, physical or spiritual pain but the trauma of it that has to be unwind and released or it can easily impact our breast tissues over time. The heart and the breasts sit closely together for many incredible nourishing reasons. However, what happens to the heart naturally has impact on the breasts. It is also important to note that heartbreak could have happened recently in this lifetime or past ones from your mother line where the unconscious heartbreak you emanate is a kind of karma to be dissolved and released. Lightheartedness then becomes one of your most dominant frequencies that can speed up "time" into a quantum leap. Most people have no idea the level of pyschic trauma, wounding, war, and fear (and love) I was born into and grew up in because I do not walk around in the world with an aura of heartbreak or in patterns of self-loathing, self-doubt, or self-hate. Healing the scar tissue of my heartbreak allowed me to see that my body and life held real value. We were always designed to be Gods, you see. To get our hearts broken and still live and thrive in our beautiful breasts and magical pussies. To fuck the dumb ass narcissist we should have never called back and allow that moment of bad sex to refine our character. To experience a smorgasbord of hardships and still come fully alive in our bodies and in this life. We are here to be Divine creators, you see. We get to make mistakes, take u-turns, and experience the magic, beauty, and harmony in figuring it all out. -India Ame'ye, Author

[potol0ver]

Beel Relationship Headcannons SFW and NSFW

Sfw

I think this giant love bugs love language is physical touch, I don’t know what but I just feel like it is-

So he’d always be hovering near you, holding hands with you, or carrying you around places. Of course showing physical attention when you’re comfortable with it if you’re not ok with certain PDA

He’d love snuggles- I just know it- holding you is his favorite, let it be spooning or you’re on top of him holding him like a teddy bear, he loves it.

He’s not one to be the best with his words but he wouldn’t shy away from it, so he’d say his feelings rather bluntly, and it’d be very cute at times.

Like imagine him coming up behind you while you’re busy and he says “I want snuggles” then he just grabs you and you’re off to the bedroom.

Even though he might not be a person to say his emotions in a long winded way, I feel like he’d appreciate a paragraph or two from you every once and awhile gushing about how much you love him

The next day suddenly you have all your favorite food cooked to perfection, your favorite movie/show playing, and a perfect set up on the couch for cuddles.

I feel like he’d love to see you act parent like, like if it was to an actual child (Luke) or to an animal, it would just make him warm and fuzzy inside.

When you have time to come to his sports games, and he hears you cheering for him, it’s like he gets a second wind and somehow does better on the field because of it (not like he needs it, I don’t doubt he’s like the best sports player)

And when he’s done with the game and he sees you wearing his jersey- his heart does backflips

Believe it or not I like to think he’s slightly possessive, he just pushes it down because he feels guilty for feeling that way. So when he sees you in his jersey, he feels relief because now everyone knows even more that you’re his.

NSFW (warning a little bit of monster fucking)

Speaking of being protective, he’d definitely make sure he’s the only thing in your mind during sex.

He’d be overpowering, but not in the rough way (unless you like to that way), he’d pleasure you in all the right ways until you start seeing stars, makes you feel so good you think “I can go for another round” all while your legs are practically numb.

Obviously it would take a while of learning your body for that, but if you have that patience he’d be over the moon to learn all of your weak points.

It’s quite obvious that he’s a munch, so if he needs a slight pick me up before a game or he sees you to antsy or worked up, he’s going to use his mouth on you.

Now- I see this man as someone who just wants his s/o to gain pleasure, if they’re in pleasure he is to. So with that being said,

✨ Beel is a switch ✨

He’d gladly just let you bounce on him or fuck him until you have your fill.

He’s a big guy, even for a demon, so when you’re on top of him or directing him it makes him feel smaller, and that was an unexpected turn on for him.

When he tops he grunts and give words of affirmation

But when he bottoms- he whines- A LOT- and his affirmations turn into mush as he just gets lost in pleasure.

He normally doesn’t know what to do with his hands while he bottoms so please direct the man where you want him.

It’d wouldn’t be possible but the idea of you marking him would be such a turn on for him- so since you cant bruise him since- well- he’s him- put on some lipstick and seeing it on his skin will send him into overdrive (and it’s a great way to get him in the mood)

He also loves marking you of course, just hickies and a nibble here and there, but when you’re done you’ll see bruises from his fingertips neither of you realized were forming under his hands

Now sadly, if you are more of the sadistic type- like impact play- you won’t go far with that- given he can even find a whip not even ticklish- so you’ll have to tease him- like tying him up in magical ropes as you edge him- or please yourself without letting him help- stuff like that

Ok hear me out on this; when he’s in his human form, his cum is quite thick and creamy, and there’d be a lot of it. BUT in his demon form- his cum has eggs in it (I’m sorry I looked for the proper word but couldn’t find it-)

His demon form would also have its own specialties;

His horns wouldn’t be the most sensitive, but he’d love it when he’s using his mouth on you and you use them like a handle bar

The base of his wings would probably be sensitive, just be careful to not hurt his actual wings though

Now hear me out- again- fly demon = long tongue with suction cup at the end- IMAGINE

A/N alright I need to stop here before I expose myself further-

[thewhumpcaretaker]

fav kinds of whump + comfort perchance?👉👈 (looking for inspo hehehehehe)

Okay so you probably know my all-time favorite already, because it’s panic attacks, and I put them in everything.

“Always add a pinch of panic attacks, it’s like garlic!” - The Whump Caretaker

Panic attacks are great for three reasons:

Something usually causes them (not always, you can have a character who just has panic disorder, but usually). Which means you end up thinking about what would push a character to their breaking point.

Differently people respond differently to panic, so there’s a huge range of possibilities for symptoms. And those symptoms include a lot of my favorites: self-defensive rage, crying, dissociation, shivering, hyperventilation, shock, and passing out.

And finally (this is where the comfort comes in) even though panic attacks are very physical, they can be resolved through purely emotional means. It’s like real life healing magic - the presence of a loved one just being there and breathing with them can pull them out of it. That’s such an opportunity for bonding!! Even if they’re alone, they can focus on things that matter to them or self-sooth or just find their inner strength and pull through, which is so beautiful. You once mentioned a fic about Vincent dissociating alone and my brain immediately started buzzing about this idea.

But okay, that’s just my top favorite. What are some other great kinds of hurt/comfort?

Consent focused hurt/comfort. Whumpee feels completely backed into a corner in some way. Their wishes are not being respected, maybe even for their own good. We expect Caretaker to force them into doing something they don’t want to do, but surprise! Caretaker doesn’t, because whumpee’s will is more important to Caretaker than anything else. This can look like backing off and giving someone space when they don’t want to be touched, helping them escape forced institutionalization, letting them cope in the way they choose even if it’s not totally healthy, etc. It creates a lot of grey areas and tension too, because Caretaker is forced to hold back.

Humiliation and Praise. One character has either been publicly humiliated or is at risk of that. The other hides them from the public eye, or explains to them why the things people are saying don’t matter at all. The caretaker showers them in praise until they feel better and rages against anyone who would judge them. This seems like it’s purely mental, but it can be even more impactful when it’s combined with physical elements. Like maybe they’ve been branded or tattooed against their will, or physically punished in front of a crowd, or maybe the humiliating thing was physical weakness - passing out in the middle of a meeting from exhaustion was something I included in a previous fic, for example.

Unexpected Rescue. Whumpee has lost all hope of rescue - either they think this is just the way life is, or they think there’s something wrong with them that makes a normal life impossible, or (if they’re actually imprisoned) they think they’ll just never be rescued because it’s been so long. Maybe Caretaker even pretends to be allied with Whumper in order to get close enough to help, so whumpee expects things to get even worse for them. But instead, surprise! They’re taken out of that whole environment and given a safe place to recover, or they’re introduced to a new way of life or a concept that allows them to live differently, without so much pain.

[sky-kiss]

I’m prompting you for ascended fiend Raphael. The scenario is your oyster but I vote for deliciously sinful and nasty. 😈

But if not that one, I do have a prompt idea of Tav saving Raphael (and Haarlep) from an assassination attempt in his boudoir and whatever shenanigans/reactions you’d want to explore. 😂

A/N: I have a few other nasty prompts for the Ascended Lad, so let’s (attempt to) ASSASSINATE THE BOYS. I made it silly. The lads were having a good time. I’m sorry.

_______

R/T/H: 18+: Assassins are so five minutes ago, darling.

_______

"Heroism" is the last thing on Tav's mind as she storms through the House of Hope. "Annoyed" is high on her emotional list, falling just shy of "murderous" and "sexually frustrated." And while these states of emotional flux were often confusing, she has the rare and dubious pleasure of knowing the exact source of her woes. 

Raphael, by way of Haarlep. The Hero of Baldur's Gate chews the inside of her cheek hard enough that it might draw blood. It's still early morning back in Faerun, too early for breakfast, which has not dissuaded Raphael a lick. He's been eating for hours, the little shit. He is never so overtly generous, not without a contract on the table, and so Tav knows it's a deliberate play. He wants her attention; he's too proud to ask so…

…Haarlep. She didn't need to see them or ask for confirmation to know it had been their idea. The incubus had pitched it with a smile on their face and a song in their heart. 

Unsurprisingly, the boudoir's barrier does not stop her. The magic washes over her like an old friend, a touch oily, intimate like a caress. The second she crosses the threshold, the pleasure shifts. Raphael presses his tongue flat against her clit, warm, static pressure. The fingers in her cunt still, an agonizing stretch promising such pleasure if she can ride the wave a little higher. 

"Master, oh, Master, please…" Haarlep cries. It's Tav's voice- wrecked, breathy, and close to sobbing. It's an obvious exaggeration. These situations always inspire Haarlep. A voice in her head, eternally practical and sounding like Jaheira, says she should feel offended by this indignity. 

The problem is she can feel how it affects Raphael. The way his hand tightens on her hip. He shifts against the mattress, grinding his hips down, suckles at her clit. All the strength threatens to leave her knees as Haarlep comes apart, gushing over the cambion's face. 

Well, good for them. 

But back to the "heroism" section of our narrative. 

The fact of the matter is it all comes down to luck. Haarlep's orgasm is intense enough to stop her cold. Those few minutes are why she's lingering in the foyer instead of standing by the foot of the bed. It's the reason she sees the shimmering figure slip in through the window, little more than a few flickering dust motes. Tav frowns, summoning enough presence of mind to focus on the intruder and not the sensation of her doppelganger sinking on a perfectly lovely cock.  

The stranger makes a critical mistake: they hesitate, knife raised above their head. Cold iron or not, she can't think of a less effective assassination attempt. That points to an irritated debtor rather than a competitor in the Infernal Courts. Tav crashes into the would-be assassin. The impact sends them sprawling. 

Fucking Haarlep never even stutters, riding the Archduke with a practiced, effortless grace Tav would admire under less pressing circumstances. She clears her throat. 

"Oh, we heard you, little thief." Haarlep opens their eyes long enough to wink, palming their breasts. Tav glares. The incubus pinches their nipple in response, hard enough to leave Tav shifting. "Nearly finished with that?" 

"With the assassin?"

Raphael chuckles. The low rumbling sound makes her shiver. It's gratifying to know the feeling is mutual; Haarlep's cunt clenches, pace stuttering briefly. The incubus grumbles something in Infernal before resuming a more leisurely pace. "We appear to be in danger, Haarlep. Were you aware?" 

"Such danger. Whatever would we have done without our stalwart protector?" 

The cambion smiles. Handsome, so fucking gorgeous. The assassin twitches under Tav, still clearly present. No matter what the devils would like to pretend. "How should we repay her for this kindness?" 

"The assassin, Raphael!" 

He frowns. The devil pats Haarlep's hip, stilling them. He snaps his fingers, and the assassin vanishes in a shimmering veil of hellfire. Off to languish in his dungeon, no doubt. "There, pet. Are you content now? Can you be civil?" The absurdity of the statement leaves her sputtering. Raphael looks at her, brow furrowing, confused and irritated. "Well, what are you doing down there? Or will I have to make it an invitation?" 

"Someone tried to kill you." 

Haarlep laughs. "Old news. Why linger? We'd far prefer guiding you to a little death, sweetling." 

"Come, mouse." 

And she hates it. She hates the abuse of power, hates their dismissiveness…

…hates that she's rolling her eyes and crawling into bed to join them. 

[nuikasa]

Soo, my friend made RuiKasa AUs, and since kk you have a really good analysis for each AU, I was wanting to know your opinion on them :D

oh hi!! it's surprising to see people asking me for opinions over aus, it makes me happy to be able to share my thoughts about it!! so let's see what we have here.

okay, the concept it's not bad in a sense but I have a few questions about it. First, something I think should be obvious but how does ruling work this world like, alright dragonkasa is the "king" and rui has ulterior motives to become his minister, but how does exactly the world itself works in here? you gotta elaborate that a bit and also add a reason behind why Rui wants to do take that role, what he will do to achive this goal, afterwards, why does he become obsessed with that idea? there's a lot of things that could be added here to make it interesting because at first sight it's too simple. For example, it could be that dragonkasa is not a good ruler? he is a tyrant/egoist king? maybe that's why Rui wants to become close and have some position there so he can take the throne? maybe there's some revenge in the process? this is one of the many things you can use to justify why this is happening because the story needs to make sense.

...this one has the same problem, what's the reason behind Rui's actions? he is in love but how did he fell in love? and how does exactly backfire? how does Tsukasa actually get to know this? what exactly Rui does to make Tsukasa fall in love, actually how does this magic work. I'm not really a big fan of romantic plots with no sense at all so this one feels way too boring for my liking, not that the idea itself it's bad, I consider that ideas itself are not bad but most of the time they are bad execute, for example, this could have a start or not, it could start from the middle or even from the end of the story when things are settled but you can start showing how it reached to that point in so many ways. Usually people like to start when things are "settled", in this case, when one of them is already in love, others start from the beginning, how did they meet and how these feelings started to appear. But I feel background stories for each characters are also important to develop a good story so if none of them don't have one, the idea doesn't work. So going back to the first questions, why is it Rui a sorcerer? and what has to do with OG Tsukasa? what is Tsukasa actually doing there? and I could make more questions about it to fill the holes.

All what I said it's said objectively, whenever I come up with a new Au, I think what role has each character and what truly motivates the character to do certain actions before setting any kind of "plot" between them so it makes sense, if you set first the plot and not the roles of each character, it feels like something isn't connecting correctly between them.

For example and this I said it on Twitter, when you want to make your audience feel something emotional or connect with the characters of your story, you can't just throw a lot of things in a bowl and expect people to get emotional with that; i.e if you make two characters cry a lot, that won't make people feel sad just because they are "crying", you need to build the emotions from 0, not from nowhere and expect people to feel sorry for them. It's more effective a story and has more impact. This is might be a very personal opinion on mine because I see most people don't care about how it's build the emotions in a story, as long the design/art style is pretty, the background doesn't matter much, unfortunately.

This is just my personal opinion, a small advice for the future if you or your friend decide to take these words to heart and work hard on it, like I said before there's no bad ideas for me just need to polish them a bit and add more content and it can become in a very good idea. Hope this helps a bit and I always am welcome to get more requests about aus and give my thoughts about it, for writing and drawing tips again!! thank you once again and hope you have a good day!

[ahsxual]

Hiii everyone! 🌼<3

I wanted to share something with you, an experience that I've waited 7/8 yrs to happen. A few days ago I went to the concert of 30 seconds to mars, and it was just one of the BEST days of my life. You guys have no idea how much I cried, how loud I sang to their songs until my voice hurt, how emotional and free I was feeling at that concert.

The moment I saw Jared and Shannon in real life, I just started crying SO HARD from happiness and from finally making one of my dreams come true. It was magical, it was unbelievable, it was everything I've ever dreamed of. 🥰🥹 I can't even describe well enough what my heart, mind, body and soul felt that night... I almost lost my voice and my legs hurt from standing up for 4 hours, but that pain and the time I waited was definitely worth it.

Jared and Shannon interacted a lot with us fans, calling for us for joining them on the stage. Unfortunately I didn't go because I wasn't very close to them, but maybe next time who knows?? They were super funny, energetic and so attentive to their fans. I just wished I could hug them and tell them how much positive impact they had in my life and how much I love them ❤️‍🔥

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch them sing with Tommy (who left the band in 2018), yet he's still in my heart too. I also adored that goofy, talented man!

ALSO, JARED HAD PINK EYESHADOW ON AND HE LOOKED SO GORGEOUS!! ✨✨

And well, I could go on and on about how much I love them, how my life changed for better, how my dream came true and how my eyes were so puffy the next morning, but I think you guys know that already!

Thank you for reading this until the end! I really appreciate you and if you're a 30 seconds to mars fan just like me and want to share about your experience and love for the band and the boys, you can always message me! ❤️

[lovingdabeessss]

So, in response to this:

@tumblingxelian that’s really interesting!! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the different times grim have shown up through the historical perspective and lens!! Specifically on the appearance within the collapsed mine in atlas, an appearance I’ve always found really interesting because it’s sooo remote of a location. My personal theory based on this and others and just general love of the thought is that when it comes to extreme long drawn out emotions or huge mass tragedies, grim will be compelled to stay there for an extended amount of time depending on the extent of the tragedy even if there’s no more negative emotions being produced afterwards or just no people entirely Unless possibly a big enough tragedy occurs somewhere close by drawing it more then where they are

Thank you, I am glad you found my take there interesting!

So, broadly speaking we know that Grimm are drawn to negative emotions. When Mercury's leg got shot, we see Grimm becoming alert all over. We also can argue that Blake on the ship to Kuo Kuana was something of a Grimm lure as the Sea Feilong was drifting beneath it and seemed to become more agitated as she did. Plus as V2 established, it was expected that the White Fang would radiate negative emotions and steadily lure more Grimm towards their general area at the very least.

There's other examples but what I take from this is that while Grimm are drawn to all 'negative' emotions to one degree or another, they seem more... Just drawn to or otherwise aware of stuff like sadness, or subtle dread.

While it seems to be stuff like anger and rage that really gets them active. Not that a Grimm won't attack a sad person, just that they are less likely to be drawn in large numbers to sadness or act as aggressively on it.

Overall, I think the more 'hysterical' or extreme and intense the emotion is, which usually coincides with panic or rage than anything else.

Heck, we also saw Tyrian fall to despair near a Grimm and while it did eventually go for him, it seemed to take a bit to work up to it, compared to how quick on the draw they can be when someone is angry.

As a result, stuff like slavery and prisons, despite causing long term suffering can be sustainable, if still not often advisable.

IE, they are much easier to pull off in an area where the prisoners and slaves would be a minority compared to the comparatively happy citizens.

Meaning such things in small towns would be harder likely making banishment, denial of entry or swift executions more common. & it would discourage stuff like group punishments, torture, or like, executions designed to cause fear, as all those will create major emotional spikes. While in contrast, sadness or long simmering frustration while something of a draw, aren't enough of one to completely undercut the systems.

As to your idea, that is fascinating and given the magical nature of Grimm, Remnants souls and the overall setting. I could very easily see emotions... Clinging to a place so to speak. Or otherwise leaving such a big impact on the nearby Grimms psyche that they remain drawn to the location regardless.

Sorry for not having as much to add there ><

YEYAHHAHSHSHHSH AWESOME THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Ok ok ok on this these are all awesome points I love this so so much yeah it’s so interesting to think about how they would deal with things like prisons especially

Maybe in places like atlas they’d keep the prisons in atlas due to it being so up in the air which less grim are naturally to keep in away from people? Maybe that’s why the mine is so far from people?

Maybe other places keep them farther from general society? Maybe underground? I wonder what affects the grims ability to be drawn to negative emotions?

Your so so right about the banishment thing that’s so true I wonder if any out of kingdom societies were formed based on that? (And promptly destroyed they don’t often last long)

I think that when it comes to emotion panic and desperation are the biggest draws of grim because of how consuming and consistent of an emotion it is but your SO right about anger that and hate are a big bright flag to grim for sure when it comes to sadness I think the biggest threat is meltdowns just total collapse crying sobbing meltdowns bring grim FAST which are a big common thing in huge tragedies or traumatic events/loses

And YEAH I think that there’s definitely something kinda magical to emotions in the Rwby world sense the grim are drawn to it it must have something to it that’s kinda tangible so maybe the thought it could linger places isn’t to far off!!! Right!?? Maybe? Idk I’m just having my fun little theories

Thank you so so so much for this response I love it I love a analysis on top of my analysis thank youuu

[mymiraclebox]

since you changed up some of the canon miraculouses, do you think the lineup would change up as well, either switching around or replacing characters?

I think the biggest impact that would come from my changes to the canon Miraculouses would be with Felix and the Peacock Miraculous. Since my Peacock Miraculous does not create new individual lives but rather a physical manifestations of one's mind, Felix would have no need to claim the Peacock Miraculous since it isn't being used to control sentient beings, nor would Felix be a sentibeing, so he couldn't be killed by it being in the wrong hands. (Felix and Adrien's births are still connected to the Peacock Miraculous, with it being used to help the Graham de Vanily sisters with their fertility struggles, but the boys are not creations of the Peacock themselves).

I can also think of some other changes I would make based around this and a few other concept changes, so I think the hero lineup (including the Butterfly and Peacock being rescued) would be like this if canon used my version of the canon Miraculouses:

Ladybug - Marinette (Ladybug) Black Cat - Adrien (Chat Noir) Fox - Alya (Rena Rouge) Turtle - Nino (Carapace) Bee - Chloe (Queen Bee) Butterfly - Felix (Viceroy) Peacock - Luka (Panoptes*) Ox - Ivan (Minotaurox) Tiger - Juleka (Violet Tigress) Rabbit - Alix (Bunnyx) Dragon - Kagami (Ryuko) Cobra - Max (Python) Horse - Zoe (Shire) Goat - Marc (Satyr) Monkey - Kim (Roi Singe) Dog - Mylene (Lassie) Mouse - Sabrina (Muroidea) Rooster - Nathaniel (Red Quill) Pig - Rose (Pigella)

I think the OG five have great match up with their original Miraculouses, whose concepts and powers stayed the same in my AU, so really no need to make any changes here.

First up we have Butterfly!Felix. Even if he has no reason for the Peacock, I still think he’d be down to steal magic from his uncle. I like this match because I think Felix and Nooroo could connect to each other with their similar pasts, and also I think they'd be a good influence on each other. Nooroo being Generosity could help Felix who is more self centered, while Felix could help Nooroo with his low confidence and pride.

Next is Peacock!Luka. Luka would be such a good Peacock. And seeing how canon treats Luka like everyone's therapist, and his whole ability to understand people and express it with music, why shouldn't he get the kwami of Psyche? Honestly I think he'd be a good match up with the canon concept Emotion as well.

Next up is Cobra!Max, I just always thought Max would do so well with these time powers, his ability to analyze, remember, and strategize would benefit with the gathered information and Opportunity he could create from the Cobra Miraculous. I also thought he didn't have a particularly strong connection with the Horse Miraculous, like it's okay, but not as perfect as some other pairings in canon, so with the Cobra opened up this was a no brainer.

Then we have Horse!Zoe, who I think matches this Miraculous a lot better than Max. As Zoe is someone who has never had much freedom and was always hiding herself to fit in I think the Horse would be perfect for her, and I think Kaalki would absolutely adore Zoe as well.

Is the main reason why Goat!Marc and Rooster!Nathaniel are here because I thought this was going to be canon? Maybe. But also with Marc as a writer I just can't see him not being a good holder for Imagination. I love the idea of Orikko and Nathaniel together, I think he'd be such a good confidence booster for Nath. Also I think Marc and Ziggy would get along so well too, both having a very sweet side.

For Dog!Mylene I picked this because I never saw the Mouse as an overly good fit for her, and with the Mouse no longer shrinking holders down I felt it lost the visual match as well with Mylene being one of the shorter classmates. Then with my Dog as Detection rather than Adoration I don't think it fits Sabrina as much anymore. I swapped these two because I felt Detection would fit Mylene well seeing how active she is with trying to do good in the world, and maybe it could help her with her fears if she was more aware of her surroundings. Mouse!Sabrina I think would definitely maximize the possibilities of being able to be in multiple places at once. She’s very smart, and plus I think Mullo would help her stand up for herself.

And for everyone else... well, canon gave them a really good fit, even with the changes I made to my headcanons. Like with the Pig now being Love, it still fits Rose well, etc.

*Credit to @silverslate221 for the name of Peacock!Luka.

[animehouse-moe]

Media I Experienced In 2023 That I'm Thankful For

It feels crazy to process that another year's effectively gone by already. A lot of people will always say "this year was worse than the last" in the context of a lot of things, and I'm usually one to disagree with that sentiment. This year though, it's been tough for entertainment in general. But that's not what I'm here to talk about, I wanted to share some of my favorite experiences from this year, and look back on the wonderful and impactful media that I've been able to read or watch!

Witch And The Beast - Kousuke Satake

Yes, this is the third volume's cover, I know. I just really love the color choices and style for it.

Anyways, this was one of those series that I'd always see and never pick up. It took some severe pestering from a friend for me to finally pick it up, and it was totally worth it.

I would say it's definitely far from bad right from the start, but I'd also say that once you reach around volume 3, Satake really catches their stride and provides some beautiful work in the volumes leading up to their hiatus. If you want a world all about magic that prioritizes form over function, it's impossible to not recommend The Witch and The Beast and its wonderful appeal.

A Home Far Away - Teki Yatsuda

Yes, this is a one-shot manga, but the grip that it had on me after I read it was so intense. You know how you can tell when a one-shot wants to go past that single volume but can't? This is like the exact opposite. The pacing, themes, characters, all of it is so well structured for a single volume run that you end up with aimless frustration that it can't continue.

The themes of various types of trauma and the idea of searching for a savior in someone else are just so strong alongside the systemic failure in caring for and helping minors. It's just so so strong and painful in how it represents a slow slip into helplessness as they claw at each other to try and unearth their freedom.

Also, definitely read their serialized manga The Yakuza's Bias! Totally different vibe that is just full of absurdity and humor.

Pandora - Hagiwara Rei

Pandora was a very healing manga to read. Beautiful watercolor artwork is donned by each page in the various short stories appearing in this work. Though each is a different person in a different situation, the themes of survivor's guilt, loss, and the hope to be found at the bottom of despair are very strong to feel. If people are looking for a heavy but positive and emotional read, this is certainly a great choice.

Okinawa - Susumu Higa

I don't think it's a secret to say that anti-imperialist Japan manga is seen as "few and far between" in English. We have a lot of impactful and important works that haven't been translated or are currently out of print, so Okinawa came along at a really great time to help drive the point home alongside other experiences like Godzilla Minus One (which is on this list, of course).

Anyways, stepping away from the general act of the war, or the (typical) experiences of it post-war, Okinawa is an incredible read for displaying the interaction and relationships between the Okinawan people and the two separate armies that occupied their space. It does a wonderful job of not painting anyone as inherently evil, but showing the sinister nature of war and the aftereffects that it leaves on a people. Very very worthwhile read that I can't recommend enough.

Until I Love Myself - Poppy Pesuyama

It's only two volumes, it's a manga essay, and it deals with LGBTQ+ content among other things. This is something that was essentially destined to be criminally underread and underappreciated.

What Pesuyama does in exposing their difficult experiences and personal trauma is beyond valuable to people that find themselves in similar positions. The idea of sexism distilled into every aspect of society through the patriarchy, and how that's reflected on someone that doesn't feel comfortable in their own body is almost impossibly poignant. The frustration, the distance, the fear, it takes an incredibly personal experience and without losing even an ounce of that value is able to translate it into something that almost any reader can grasp. An incredibly powerful piece from an equally brave author, it's also an invaluable resource and experience for many out there.

Skip and Loafer - Misaki Takamatsu

I'm a big P.A. Works fan. I've got a lot of their art books, I watch a lot of their series, I just think they do a lot of good work. I also had my reservations about them doing the Skip and Loafer anime, but it was wonderful.

Simply put, it's a modern classic in the slice of life/high school era genre. The characters feel perfectly childish and immature, the direction of the story and its themes are perfectly on the nose. It just has the perfect balance of everything you could hope for. There's not really much to add past that, really. If you like slice of life or high school stuff, you'll love Skip and Loafer. Incredibly refreshing experience.

Heavenly Delusion

I'm a massive fan of the manga, and I was coping insanely hard when I saw that first trailer. I was praying I was in for greatness and wasn't going to get scammed, and Production I.G brought out arguably their best work in the last decade for it.

Mori Hirotaka and the rest of the staff did an absolutely phenomenal work in transforming Heavenly Delusion into an anime. Massive restructures and thematic changes that feel like sheer art within the context of the series. Ishiguro couldn't have done it better himself, and he made that point known on Twitter. Right up there next to Frieren (and even above it depending on the significance of various criteria) for the greatest anime of 2023, and puts itself in contention for one of the best in the 2020s. Absolutely a must watch.

Undead Girl Murder Farce

Mysteries and series that really encourage you to analyze and break them apart are some of my favorites to experience. Include historical context, a penchant for intense showmanship rooted in Japanese culture, and animation and direction that will knock your socks off, and you've got the Dark Horse of the summer season.

Undead Girl Murder Farce had me absolutely hooked from the very first episode, bringing almost SHAFT-like direction and execution that brings out the absolute most in something so fluid. Lapin Track struck gold with this work. Even though they were struggling a little towards the end, they provided and endlessly satisfying and creative experience that had me on the edge of my seat breaking apart every single little frame for meaning and value. An absolute treat for a mystery fan.

Blue Giant

Like many, I discovered Nut (the studio) through Tanya The Evil. Crazy visual effects and ridiculously competent visuals for such a new studio, I was immediately enthralled with their quality.

Not that Blue Giant as a story isn't incredibly good, but that in this context, Nut brought out every last drop of greatness that could have existed in this movie. I'm really struggling to come up with more to say, but it's just so visually stunning that the experience as a whole just feels like a performance on an incredible level. Simply great, I guess I'm forced to say.

The Boy and The Heron

It's Ghibli, it's Miyazaki, need I say more really?

I don't, but I will. I went and saw it twice in theaters so that I could experience both dub and sub for it. Something that people should be 100% experiencing in theaters, and absolutely should be watching multiple times. Miyazaki doesn't tell just one or two stories with this movie, it's so many experiences in his life rolled into one. A love letter to the man behind one of anime's most beloved studios, but also one that leaves lingering feelings of sorrow for some of what Miyazaki instills in it. So yeah, watch it to your heart's content.

Godzilla Minus One

Last, but certainly not least, Godzilla Minus One. I loved it, I knew I'd love it from the moment I laid eyes on the trailer. The idea of Godzilla being presented in North American theaters, to North American viewers, as a direct and destructive of the atomic bomb and its effects on the Japanese population just set something off in me.

North America's view of Godzilla as some sort of anti-hero over the years has weakened the original sentiment that barely existed here in the first place. Minus One sets the record straight in devastating fashion, and adds to the theme in spades. I'd love to explain but I want as many people as possible to experience this without any spoilers, so I'll leave it at being one of the best Godzilla movies bar none.

And that's the list for this year. I think overall it was a "weaker" year, but I'd be more comfortable with calling it a radicalized year. The bad stuff got worse, but the good stuff got better. The best experience of the year were incredibly good because of that, but it overall felt like slimmer pickings than the prior year.

Not that this list couldn't have added any number of entries like Scott Pilgrim, Frieren, Kamonohashi Ron, Bleach TYBW, Gwitch, and so on and so forth. More so that I wanted to keep this list a little more contained. The idea of importance or appreciation begins to lose its value when everything is important or overly appreciated.

Anyways, that's all the past, this post is in the present, and I've got my eyes set on the future with things like the Hokkyoku Department Store movie, Dandadan from Science Saru, Delicious In Dungeon, and plenty, plenty more in 2024!

So with all that said: happy holidays and I hope people have been enjoying having time off and getting to spend some with their families and friends!

[tessarionbestgirl]

Moon tea is both like a morning after pill and an abortion pill.

To use it as a morning after pill, it has to be taken immediately. No longer than a week.

Hoster Tully forced Lysa to drink moon tea when he found out she was pregnant with Little Finger’s baby. Her abortion was very painful and traumatic for her.

Alicent was also in intense pain, so I think she was using it to force a miscarriage aka her medieval abortion. Criston has been gone for 2 weeks, Alicent is way past that window of time from their last sexual encounter to be using it like the morning after pill. Weeks have gone by since Viserys died and 2 weeks since Criston left and if they started having sex within days of Visery’s death, that is enough time to know you’re pregnant and begin experiencing symptoms. Alicent is a also 4 time mother, this would’ve been the 5th pregnancy.

I couldn’t tell when I got pregnant. My daughter is a birth control baby. I had a history of irregular periods and life long stomach issues. So I only thought to test when I was closer to 8 weeks but I’d been sick, exhausted and dying for weeks. I even had an appointment with my doctor scheduled for the day after I took the test and figured out myself why I felt like shit. Now with my second, I knew right away having it experienced it just one time before.

That's an interesting story, you right, Alicent is a experience mother and she would see the signs of pregnancy faster, I didn't consider that. But this a valid argument. So the short time doesn't unvalidated the possibility she took that as a form to cause miscarriage.

Whatever, I see miscarriage before caused by similar herbs, Alicent wouldn't be able to walk around the castle looking for books and get drunk if was actually abortion, as you said Lysa abortion was traumatic experience some people even speculate that her mad behavior was caused by moon tea. So if was actually abortion Alicent would have got a way more intense response for her body that we just saw. And the fact moon tea magical properties always bring a price for those that drank it. Magic in asoiaf universe always come with a price.

Although, I think both sides have valid point about it, I myself, I am conflicted on which theory to support, in part I always come back to being being a after pill, I also think makes to much sense being a abortion situation. I believe I will have to wait to see what this plot will lead to her character to have a concrete standard on this. Alicent over all arc, after all, is about a character that slowly looses her integrity and sanity while she slowly stripping her self of all her beliefs, integrity and decency for a war she will eventually loose everything she most loved.

Aborting a child for a religious woman like her at this point on the narrative, I can't say if is to early and ooc or it is on brand for her. Because while I can see though her eyes this being justified in the sense if we start from the idea that for her this is a life, but she has killed before after Larys for the sake of her family, so this isn't new. But she doing herself is a different story. This should at least bring a heavy emotional impact on her.

But this season have been weirdly when comes to those women experience trauma. Grief have been downplayed a lot. And from the characters the only one that showed slightly stronger impact, was Aegon.

If isn't abortion, if this is a contraceptive method for her could be also implied that this is something she takes in an habitual way, what could lead to questions regarding when she started that and why she started that, Is this all a form of prevention or did she end up being careless and causing her to actually become pregnant ( Daeron being a bastard) and now she is learned for her mistake?

I need see how this all will come together by ep7 and 8 because according with some rumors those are very important for Alicent and a lot will come together for her.

[nova-lightz]

I'm gonna ramble.

I really love that the drama in Cherry Magic is mostly derived from Adachi's self-esteem issues. I feel like the show itself serves as a good reminder that a lot of our worries about how we are perceived, are mostly from our own heads and don't reflect the reality of what others actually think about ourselves.

It's hard to remember that people genuinely don't know what we're insecure about without saying anything about them in the first place, we just assume they know from the very start; which is what Adachi did plenty of times through out the show. His anxiety is painfully relatable but that's what makes him such an endearing and impactful character.

Kurosawa also did the same, but in his own flavour. Before Kurosawa started talking to Adachi more frequently, he always masked his true emotions as he went about his day getting taken advantage of by higher-ups at Toyokawa and getting unwanted attention from women who only liked him for his looks.

Because of how long Kurosawa has masked himself and how well he hides his true personality (being kind of a goofball and a closet nerd), Kurosawa constantly worries about Adachi thinking that he's not good enough to be worth having as a romantic partner. When Kurosawa's facade of a perfect businessman falls by the wayside, he's extremely ashamed of his mistakes and mentally berates himself for merely being a flawed human who has hobbies.

I know this stuff isn't a really big deal—I'm just a fan who won't shut up about CM—but it truly is comforting to see a show that explores themes that aren't talked a lot about despite how common of a problem it is for people to experience. Insecurity hurts! Constantly walking on eggshells to avoid potentially getting hurt by others for being yourself, is suffocating! The idea of getting getting kicked out of social circles for being different can ruin a person's sense of self-worth!

Cherry Magic commentates on all these things while delivering a heartfelt and funny story about really awkward, gay salarymen. It's so sweet and adorable and makes me all uwu mushy, but also TAT devastated when I think about how deeply ingrained Kurosawa's and Adachi's insecurity issues are that they lasted into their 30s.

Being human is hard, but it is possible to find people who do want to stick with you regardless of how hard you think you are to love. It's possible. I've done it, my favorite fictional characters have done it, and you can do it too. You just gotta put yourself out there, make your existence known, get perceived.

[felicejules]

I'm not her.

Chapter 3

Link to Chapter 2

Featured Song (with slightly changed lyrics)

Half an hour later, I had decimated half of the training dummies in the clock tower hall. I had no idea why Crossed Wands had left them standing around there, but at that moment I honestly couldn’t care less. I had dropped my robe due to the sweat I was breaking and was currently rolling up my sleeves to get ready to pulverize the other half. Each of them seemed to bear Clover’s face.

All that work, and what did it get me?

“Reducto!” My magic, raw and amplified by my emotions, reduced a dummy to a pile of dust.

Why did I do it?

“Depulso!” I missed the next mannequin, hitting a suit of armour instead. It was blasted apart, a huge dent in its breastplate.

Scrapbooks full of me in the background… Give 'em love, and what does it get ya?

“DEPULSO!” My aim was true this time, my spell sending the contraption into the wall, where it toppled onto the pile of deformed metal.

What does it get you?

At some point I didn’t even need the incantations any longer, my rage was enough to funnel all that destructive magic through my willow wand. Its handle almost became too hot to touch, the tip glowing as my targets were burned, levitated, flipped upside down, frozen…

All your life, and what does it get you? Thanks a lot and out with the garbage! They take bows and you're batting zero…

“OY!!! Are you out of your bloody mind?!”

A high-pitched voice blared from the entrance, stopping me from blasting the very last of the dummies to pieces.

My wand still held up high, I turned towards the quickly advancing footsteps, and my shocked gaze landed on the face of a fellow third-year Gryffindor: Lucan Brattleby. He was stomping towards me, and he looked furious.

“I don’t know WHAT has your bloomers in a twist, and I don’t CARE! It took me AGES to acquire those dummies for Crossed Wands without Hecat noticing! You had no right to…”

Upon recognising my tear-streaked face, he blinked, his facial expression changing from angry to bewildered to completely flabbergasted within seconds at the sight of his meek, mousy, lanky Hufflepuff year mate, surrounded by a picture of utter destruction and chaos.

“Jules?!”

I was still too torn between my stupor, my heartache, my rage, and my anxiety to react.

“You did this?”

I tried to shake myself out of it, to say something, but I only managed a few stuttered syllables.

“I… Lucan… I’m sorry, I… I just…”

“Amazing!” He interrupted me, suddenly grinning from ear to ear, to my utter surprise. “I had no idea you had it in you!”

He came to stand by my side, his eyes almost comically large as he surveyed the damage I had wrought on the equipment of his precious club.

“What…? But… I…”

“It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it, eh?” He said, playfully jabbed me with his elbow, making me flinch.

“That right there is a perfectly executed ‘Reducto’!” He gushed then, pointing at the tiny pile of dust I had reduced one of the massive, wooden constructs to.

“And how in Merlin’s name did you manage that?!” He ran over to another training dummy I had somehow managed to freeze high up against the wall in a solid block of ice after burning it to crisp mid-air.

“I don’t know!” I blurted out. The disgusting image of Sebastian snogging Clementine flashed before my eyes again, and I winced audibly. “I was… upset… I…”

Lucan snorted a laugh. “Upset she says…” He pondered for a moment before turning back to me with a mischievous grin.

“How about this: you and I clean this mess up and salvage what we can of my equipment. If we work together, we’ll be done before curfew, and I promise I won’t be mad about it. Scourgify.”

With a swish of his wand, dust, scorch marks, splinters, and puddles of melted ice vanished from the area I had wrought havoc upon, leaving only the remnants of the destroyed dummies. The one I had frozen against the wall fell to the floor, the impact reducing it to scorched splinters with an embarrassingly loud, reverberating noise.

It was enough to finally spur me into action, and I started to cast cleaning and repairing charms alongside my fellow Gryffindor third-year on whatever was left. In the end, Lucan and I managed to put six out of originally ten dummies back together again. As I was helping him store them safely in a barred area at the back of the clock tower hall, he said:

“You know, I've been thinking…”

Naturally, I expected the worst. “Uh oh…”

“Let me finish, you menace!”

I flinched again and pressed my lips together. Lucan only shook his head.

“Ye of little faith. So, I was thinking…” He paused, for a dramatical effect, no doubt. “… of inviting you to Crossed Wands.”

If my jaw hadn’t been attached to my head, it would have probably dropped to the floor.

“BUT…” He interrupted me before I could even so much as make a sound. “You need more training, first. Your spell work is great, but your aim is poor and the stance I walked in on definitely needs improvement as well. I can’t throw you into the ring like this, you’ll be decimated.”

“But… Lucan…”

“I'll help you. I trained with Hector, too, and if that dimwit can hold his own, it'll be a piece of cake for you, once I'm through with you. You've already got the aptitude.”

My heart was pounding in my chest. Was he serious?

“Lucan, Hector hates me. And the rest of the Club doesn't even know I exist…” I trail off, fighting off my tears once more, thinking of one member specifically, whose thoughts never so much as strayed my way.

“So?” Lucan's nonchalance couldn't have been more clear. “Crossed Wands is my Duelling Club. I founded it last year, I make the rules and what I say, goes.”

He gave the last dummy a hearty push, before locking the barred area up with a surprisingly strong 'Colloportus'.

“It's also invitation only, and the time and place for the next meet-up are always on a need-to-know-basis.” Lucan continued, his tone as cheery as if he was talking about the weather. “That means, if you show up with me vouching for you, you're one of us, end of story. I've seen what you can do. You're a wildcard, exactly what we need.”

My mind was running a mile a minute. Was this worth the risk? Lucan's offer did seem genuine, and hadn't I been aiming for this?

I had a dream, I dreamed it for you, Love.

Once more was I reminded for whom I had originally learned all of those spells for. It felt ridiculous now, wanting to impress Sebastian, painful even.

It wasn't for me, Love.

Would I even be able to hold my own in front of, let alone stomach, Sebastian presence after what I had involuntarily become a witness of earlier? I shuddered lightly at the thought of him showing up after all and bringing Clementine along. Ugh. I could still hear those sloppy noises they had made… and the laughter that had followed later.

“So… will Sebastian… be there, too?” I stammered, not quite sure how to express my discomfort.

Lucan made a grimace at that. “Not bloody likely. Hasn’t shown up in months, and I'm rather cross with him for that.”

I perked up at that. “How come?”

“Busy with classes, Quidditch and following Clover around like a lovesick puppy, I'd wager.”

My stomach lurched uncomfortably at that, and it must have shown in my face, because Lucan gave me a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, I don’t like her, either. I've heard that she's constantly throwing herself into precarious situations that Sebastian keeps getting her out of. Pretty daft for a Ravenclaw, if you ask me.”

… and if it wasn't for me, then where does that leave all I could be?

I could help neither the snorted laugh that escaped me, nor the tears that started to stream down my cheeks. Lucan only watched on, still smiling at me, his mirthful eyes filled with understanding.

Well, someone tell me, when is it my turn? Don't I get a dream for myself? Starting now, it's gonna be my turn! Gangway, world, get off of my runway!

“You’ll show them.”

Starting now, I bat a thousand!

He said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “And I will help you.” 

This time, boys, I'm taking the bows, and…

“They won't know what hit'em.”

…

Many months later, upon getting back into Lucan's good graces and re-entering Crossed Wands, Sebastian indeed wouldn't have the foggiest about what had hit him. Disarmed and with his backside frozen to the floor, he would find himself being stared down at by a willowy, smirking Hufflepuff, whose eyes were bluer and brighter than Clementine's had ever been.

Link to chapter 4

[putschki1969]

Hi Puts! So for the past few weeks now and perhaps month, I've been seeing many Kalafina covers on YT and they're gaining traction. It's nice seeing people cover Kalafina songs but what disappoints me is that reactors react to the covers and not the Kalafina songs. People rarely react to a Kalafina song, there are a few but I can count them on one hand. When I see covers being made, I think that Kalafina should be getting popular but only the covers gain views. I just wish Kalafina gets lauded for their songs. It also annoys me a little (perhaps because of my love and bias for the girls) when I see comments like the cover singers outperformed the girls. Kalafina songs are difficult to cover and there are a few that are good but I don't know about outperforming the girls.

Anyway, this is just me ranting. What do you think about this Puts?

Hi there!

As always, I am super late with my reply, please forgive me!

Hmmm, I can't say I've ever really sought out any of the Kalafina covers on YouTube. Wasn't even aware there were this many...I think I watched a couple of German covers back in the day (mainly out of curiosity) but that's it... In general, I would say that vocal covers of Kalafina songs don't really do anything for me, I prefer the real deal. What attracts me to Kalafina is their unique sound so no matter how talented those cover artists might be, I don't think they could ever come close to re-creating that very special harmony.

Having said that, I am always happy to see Kalafina's music being spread around the world and reaching new audiences. Covers are undoubtedly a great tribute to the original work so I'd never dismiss such heartfelt efforts. If it keeps people talking about Kalafina, I'm all for it.

As for certain covers presumably outperforming the original: Meh...Nothing I've seen so far has blown me away (not that I've seen a ton of stuff but more than enough - mostly in preparation for this reply). From what I can tell, most singers who attempt to do these Kalafina covers record two or three versions of themselves to make up for the lack of harmony but hardly any of them can actually pull off the admittedly wide range that is required. Not to mention, 90% of them have way too generic voices and they almost always go for Kalafina's super mainstream songs which makes the whole thing just incredibly boring in my opinion. Also, I am hesitant to take a majority of these covers at face value, we have no idea how much studio magic is put into them. Maybe it's just my untrained ear but so much of this sounds fake(?) to me, as if it were heavily auto-tuned/processed or whatever...?

I'll admit though that some of the vocal performances sound pretty neat. I was really impressed by かきぬきまりあ's work, her cover of "ring your bell" was particularly good (and I am not even a huge fan of the song XD). When being confronted with a seemingly flawless rendition like that, I can understand to a certain extent why people would feel inclined to say that the cover outdid the original version (at least on a technical level). While it lacks the familiar emotional impact for me, I can acknowledge it's a solid performance.

I haven't actually seen anyone reacting to a Kalafina cover so I can't say anything about that...