#The most powerful wizard must be the WIzard Source

[lookin-reproachfully]

To all the Fans of WBN

If you are Pro-Citadel, You are Pro-Plagiarism <3

Turns out the S-Names stand for Somerton,

Like, for real, they all clapped when they discovered how to copy wholesale from witchcraft

Every Language and every meaning and every translation of "Steal" and they ended up having their super Anti-Witch Spy device be something that copies from both Primary (Stars) and Secondary (Indri) Sources?

No wonder the Antivali went independent, they knew there was no Intellectual Integrity there...

Also also, The Reflexive Indicative could even be another tracker-copier technique... And that's not even getting to their BS Axiom of Proliferation... they knew spreading around the spells would let people know that their writings are stolen

AND THEY HAVE THE AUDACITY TO GET MAD AT HEDGEMAGES FOR "COPYING" AND "STEALING"

[drchucktingle]

trans wizard harriet porber is not a work of spite. not even close

there is common refrain from well meaning buckaroos that i wrote TRANS WIZARD HARRIET PORBER out of spite and this is absolutely not true. i have never written anything out of spite and never will.

this may seem like pedantic way but I think it is important to talk on. i create from the fuel of love and my biggest advice for artist buckaroos when they ask for it is also to create from a place of love. 

this does not mean everything you make must be light and fun. in fact, love shines BRIGHTEST in darkness so theres plenty of reason to bring this fuel to your most frightening or heart wrenching ideas. in art, the fuel of love is o negative blood type. it is a universal source

not only is it universal, it is perpetual. love is the most powerful resource on this timeline, and while its shape can change it does not go away. hate and spite will falter. they are tiring to create with, and they are tiring to witness as a viewer or reader or listener

so no. i will say it loudly this time and likely again in the future: TRANS WIZARD HARRIET PORBER is not a creation of spite, it is a creation of love for trans buckaroos and autistic buckaroos and disappointed buckaroos. it is a creation of joy as protest

[prokopetz]

On the one hand, it's true that the way Dungeons & Dragons defines terms like "sorcerer" and "warlock" and "wizard" is really only relevant to Dungeons & Dragons and its associated media – indeed, how these terms are used isn't even consistent between editions of D&D! – and trying to apply them in other contexts is rarely productive.

On the other hand, it's not true that these sorts of fine-grained taxonomies of types of magic are strictly a D&D-ism and never occur elsewhere. That folks make this argument is typically a symptom of being unfamiliar with Dungeons & Dragons' source material. D&D's main inspirations are American literary sword and sorcery fantasy spanning roughly the 1930s through the early 1980s, and fine-grained taxonomies of magic users absolutely do appear in these sources; they just aren't anything like as consistent as the folks who try to cram everything into the sorcerer/warlock/wizard model would prefer.

For example, in Lyndon Hardy's "Five Magics" series, the five types of magical practitioners are:

Alchemists: Drawing forth the hidden virtues of common materials to craft magic potions; limited by the fact that the outcomes of their formulas are partially random.

Magicians: Crafting enchanted items through complex manufacturing procedures; limited by the fact that each step in the procedure must be performed perfectly with no margin for error.

Sorcerers: Speaking verbal formulas to basically hack other people's minds, permitting illusion-craft and mind control; limited by the fact that the exercise of their art eventually kills them.

Thaumaturges: Shaping matter by manipulating miniature models; limited by the need to draw on outside sources like fires or flywheels to make up the resulting kinetic energy deficit.

Wizards: Summoning and binding demons from other dimensions; limited by the fact that the binding ritual exposes them to mental domination by the summoned demon if their will is weak.

"Warlock", meanwhile, isn't a type of practitioner, but does appear as pejorative term for a wizard who's lost a contest of wills with one of their own summoned demons.

Conversely, Lawrence Watt-Evans' "Legends of Ethshar" series includes such types of magic-users as:

Sorcerers: Channelling power through metal talismans to produce fixed effects; in the time of the novels, talisman-craft is largely a lost art, and most sorcerers use found or inherited talismans.

Theurges: Summoning gods; the setting's gods have no interest in human worship, but are bound not to interfere in the mortal world unless summoned, and are thus amenable to cutting deals.

Warlocks: Wielding X-Men style psychokinesis by virtue of their attunement to the telepathic whispers emanating from the wreckage of a crashed alien starship. (They're the edgy ones!)

Witches: Producing improvisational effects mostly related to healing, telepathy, precognition, and minor telekinesis by drawing on their own internal energy.

Wizards: Drawing down the infinite power of Chaos and shaping it with complex rituals. Basically D&D wizards, albeit with a much greater propensity for exploding.

You'll note that both taxonomies include something called a "sorcerer", something called a "warlock", and something called a "wizard", but what those terms mean in their respective contexts agrees neither with the Dungeons & Dragons definitions, nor with each other.

(Admittedly, these examples are from the 1980s, and are thus not free of D&D's influence; I picked them because they both happened to use all three of the terms in question in ways that are at odds with how D&D uses them. You can find similar taxonomies of magic use in earlier works, but I would have had to use many more examples to offer multiple competing definitions of each of "sorcerer", "warlock" and "wizard", and this post is already long enough!)

So basically what I'm saying is giving people a hard time about using these terms "wrong" – particularly if your objection is that they're not using them in a way that's congruent with however D&D's flavour of the week uses them – makes you a dick, but simply having this sort of taxonomy has a rich history within the genre. Wizard phylogeny is a time-honoured tradition!

[chocodile]

Amaranthine Magic System PART III: Spellcraft for… Everyone Else (Including Unicorns)

This is Part III of a three-part worldbuilding set.

Part I - Part II - Part III (you are here)

So, we’ve now established how magic works and how it can be manipulated by a wizard. But wizards aren’t the only ones capable of using magic... as mentioned in Part I, even a tree can do it. How does THAT work? Surely it must be pretty rare, right?

Well, actually, a number of plants and animals have evolved to harness magic. Something about them—either a physical organ, body part, or some sort of instinctual behavior—is able to warp magic in a way that happens to be beneficial. Some examples:

A predatory cat that can use magic to bend light around itself and appear “invisible” thanks to the molecular structure of its fur

A mole that can vibrate its claws in such a way that they increase the charge of magic in the earth around it, causing solid stone to temporarily liquefy

A flower whose roots absorb magic from the earth and use it to resist freezing, allowing it to bloom all winter long

A bird who sings at a strange, disorienting, warbling song, the vibrations of which interfere with the magical frequencies used by its most common predator

A carnivorous plant that paralyzes its victims not with venom, but with numbing bolts of magic produced by a specially evolved structure whenever it detects nearby movement

You may notice that, with the exception of the carnivorous plant, all the other examples are simply using magical energy already in their environment rather than producing it themselves. Which brings me to the next detail… magic can be “cast” from two types of sources:

“Enchantments”/Ambient casting/passive casting: Happens by gently shaping the background radiation of magic already in the environment, like most of the examples above. It is typically done by passing the magical energy through some sort of physical structure in order to alter its frequency. Most enchanted jewelry functions on this principle. Studying animals that perform passive casting can be useful for wizards to learn new casting and enchanting techniques themselves, and many methods of spellcraft are based on patterns of magic wave manipulation first observed in nature. 99% of animals and plants that use magic fall into this category. Also, this sort of magic waxes or wanes in power depending on the ambient background magic radiation levels of the area… your magic locket may fail you at the worst possible moment if you take it someplace with very low magical background radiation levels.

Active casting/”Casting spells”: Magic where the power source comes from within the creature itself and can be actively turned off or on, such as the carnivorous plant example above. Animals and plants that are capable of active casting are typically quite dangerous indeed, though their bodies tend to make for incredibly valuable spell ingredients and materials for crafting magical devices. Luckily, this ability is extremely rare in nature… the ability to truly “cast a spell” is found almost exclusively in wizards.

As a half-celestial, Ambroys sits at sort of a weird position. He technically is an active caster, as he has his own magical field and he can summon his abilities up at will (or, more often in his youth, accidentally) using his mind/will as the primary trigger. However, half-celestials and half-infernals have the shape of their magical “filter” predefined by their heritage and physical anatomy—it is not consciously shaped the way a wizard’s is. They may be able to choose which of these predefined forms their magic takes, and may even discover new variations on their powers throughout their life, but they can never consciously teach themselves brand new spells from scratch, and will never be able to switch fluidly through several different types of similar magic without interruption the way a wizard could.

To Hyden, this makes Ambroys closer to a beast than a person, magically speaking (no offense, of course). He can’t talk spellcraft with him because he’s not doing anything on purpose… he’s just brainlessly clicking his silly little claws together to dig through rock like the mole mentioned earlier. He will never truly understand all the complex mental hoops Hyden jumps through every time he conjures up a flame to light his opium pipe, even if Ambroys can do the same exact thing by just thinking “ok, fire time now”. It’s just not the same, you know?

Aaand that wraps up the Amaranthine magic guide! This should hopefully provide a clearer view of how everything works in this setting. :)

[jadeshifting]

— GALAS AT MALFOY MANOR

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

a MALFOY GALA is less about having fun and more about proving you belong—if you can keep your wits about you and avoid spilling wine on your robes, you might just make it out unscathed

— the INVITATIONS are delivered by sleek black owls with embossed emerald parchment, each one radiating a subtle but unmistakable don’t even think about declining energy. declining is possible, but only if you want to be talked about for months

— FIRST IMPRESSIONS, arriving guests are greeted by enchanted lanterns that light the winding driveway, their flames flickering in perfect synchrony. a house-elf in pristine livery opens the grand doors, and Narcissa herself offers the faintest of smiles as you step into the marble-floored foyer

— the ATMOSPHERE practically drips with opulence, from the enchanted chandeliers glittering like constellations to the string quartets playing hauntingly beautiful tunes. it’s all about showing off—not just wealth, but power

— the MANOR is decked out to perfection, with enchanted roses blooming in every room and marble floors that reflect the candlelight. guests can wander the gardens, but you do not open random doors—who knows what cursed artifacts are lurking

— the GUESTS are a who’s-who of the wizarding elite, with sharp smiles and sharper tongues. everyone’s dressed to kill, literally dripping in jewels and designer robes, and no one’s above a bit of genteel gossiping in the corners

— DRESS CODE is strictly black-tie, wizarding style. robes must be tailored to perfection, and any magical embellishments—like self-adjusting hems or floating crystals—must be tasteful. Narcissa will notice, and Draco will most definitely make a subtle dig at you if your outfit doesn’t meet the mark

— THE MALFOYS; Lucius and Narcissa glide around like royalty, greeting everyone with icy politeness. Draco’s usually lurking near the drinks table, equal parts brooding and charming depending on who’s watching

— the banquet tables of FOOD are insane—tiered platters of exotic delicacies that practically float into your hands. expect flaming desserts and cocktails that shimmer like liquid starlight

— DRINKS, the bar is stocked with rare vintages, including Malfoy estate wines and liquors that glow faintly in the dark. The signature cocktail of the night features some absurdly rare ingredient like powdered unicorn horn (ethically sourced, allegedly, but you know no one truly believes that)

— the SEATING ARRANGEMENTS are very strategically assigned by Narcissa herself. expect rival families seated just far enough apart to avoid an outright duel but close enough to exchange cutting remarks. if you’re at the main table, congratulations—you’ve made the inner circle for the evening

— the POLITICS make every conversation a chess game. compliments are laced with subtext, and alliances are solidified or shattered over a glass of wine. it’s not unheard of for a marriage to be proposed or a business deal to be sealed between bites of pheasant

— GARDEN STROLLS, between courses, guests often wander the enchanted gardens. hedges shaped like serpents and peacocks loom large, and fountains spout shimmering streams of water that occasionally form words like Prestige or Legacy. don’t get lost—the statues might move if you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be

— the ENTERTAINMENT is always top-tier—enchanted ballet performances, fire-breathing dragons (contained, of course), or dueling demonstrations in the courtyard. if you’re lucky, the family’s private orchestra might play a piece commissioned just for the evening

— occasionally, a guest might be granted a private tour of the MALFOY LIBRARY, which is more like a cathedral of books. if you’re invited in, it’s a signal that Lucius or Narcissa considers you very important—or that they’re about to offer you a deal you can’t refuse

— the DANCE FLOOR of the ballroom opens up after dinner, and it’s the place to be seen. couples glide across the floor to live orchestral music, their robes trailing behind them like spilled ink. if you don’t know how to waltz, you’d better fake it or stay far away

— someone always makes a DRAMATIC EXIT and leaves in a huff. whether it’s over an offhand comment or a subtle power play gone wrong, there’s almost always a flurry of robes and the slam of the front door as a disgruntled guest Apparates home

— the GOSSIP is unbelievable, and by the time the gala is over, the rumor mill is in full swing. who danced with whom, who got too drunk on enchanted champagne, and who dared to challenge Lucius in a political debate? everyone talks about it for weeks

as the evening winds down, you’ll find Narcissa giving parting gifts wrapped in silver and green, while the house-elves discreetly clean up without a sound. no one leaves feeling quite the same, not that they’ll admit it

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

[dragonagitator]

Timeline of major events during Gale Dekarios's lifetime

Here is my attempt to compile a timeline of major events that took place during Gale's lifetime, including his personal history, happenings in his hometown of Waterdeep, and major world events that would have affected him personally or affected everyone in Faerun. I hope this is useful in writing your Gale-centric fanfics!

The time period covered assumes that Gale is 40 years old during the events of BG3 and thus was born in the year 1452 DR. AFAIK there's no canon age given for Gale, but most fanons seem to peg him as being between 35 and 45, so I went with the middle of that range. Please feel free to adjust his estimated age for each event up or down depending on how old you think he is in BG3, e.g., if you think he's 38 then subtract 2 years, if you think he's 42 then add 2 years, etc.

Some of the more interesting implications of this timeline revolve around how much Mystra's powers and presence in the world significantly changed during Gale's lifetime. When Gale was a child or teen and first attracted the attention of Mystra, she was weak, not in contact with her Chosen, and assumed to be dead by most of the world. Gale was ~27 years old and already her lover by the time a "much diminished" Mystra called to Elminster for help, and Gale was ~35 years old when Mystra fully regained her powers as the Goddess of Magic. She seems to have dumped him shortly thereafter.

Detailed timeline and sources under the cut. It's long.

Most of the text that isn't specifically about Gale is copypasted from the Forgotten Realms wiki. See bottom for links. I haven't read all the novels and modules referenced by the wiki for these events yet and thus will likely need to revise this timeline as I work my way through those.

Birth to age ~27: until 1479 DR worldwide: Mystra was generally considered to be "dead"/missing during Gale's childhood and early adulthood because Mystra/Midnight was "murdered" by Cyric in 1385 DR (67 years before Gale was born).

However, Forgotten Realms canon of Mystra's timeline clashes with what Gale tells us about the timeline of his relationship with her:

Gale: "Once upon a time, not quite that long ago, there lived a wizard in a tower. The wizard was what one might call a prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the Weave, but compose it, much like a musician or a poet. Such was my skill that it earned me the attention of the mother of magic herself. The Lady of Mysteries. The goddess Mystra. She revealed herself to me and she became my teacher. In time, she became my muse, and later, even my lover." PC: "What did Mystra's attention feel like?" Gale: "Love. Perhaps it was not quite love, but you see, the wizard was but a very young man. It was most certainly love to him."

Speaking as a middle-aged person myself, while most 40-year-olds would consider 27 to be "young," the modifier of "very" suggests he that was much younger than 27 when he first became Mystra's lover. I'm older than the oldest estimates for Gale's age and I still wouldn't characterize myself at age 27 as being "but a very young woman." That description seems more fitting for someone in their late teens / early 20s.

Also, if he was "but a very young man" when they became lovers, then that means he was even younger (a child or teenager) when she first revealed herself to him and started teaching him magic.

So Gale's relationship with Mystra must have started during the period that the rest of the world believed she was dead or missing. Mystra did still have some sort of disembodied "presence" during this period, so maybe she was simply not able or interested in speaking to Elminster or her other previously established Chosen. Or perhaps she was fragmented, and Gale's relationship began with one of those fragments? Part of her "presence" ended up possessing a bear, but I'm assuming not the part that Gale was fucking.

Birth to age ~30: until 1482 DR worldwide: Gale was born and grew up during the "Era of Upheaval," which was known for widespread wild magic and dead magic zones, a lot of changes in the pantheon of deities, and a lot of wars and political conflicts amongst mortals.

Age ~16: c. 1468 DR in Waterdeep: "Dagult Neverember, the richest man in the city, became Open Lord."

Age ~27: 1479 DR in Waterdeep: "By this year, the Field Ward had been established, and Skullport was no longer inhabited."

Age ~27: 1479 DR in Waterdeep: "The 8th walking statue, the Griffon, appeared in Waterdeep and to defend Ahghairon's Tower. It eventually settled down near the Peaktop Aerie on Mount Waterdeep and eventually became a landmark of the city."

Age ~27: 1479 DR in western Cormyr [roughly 1050 miles / 1690 km southeast of Waterdeep]: "While recuperating in a cabin in the King's Forest, Elminster felt Mystra's presence calling to him. He found her much diminished, possessing the body of a bear that had guarded a cache of items Mystra's still-mortal form had collected. She asked her most trusted servant to find new candidates to become Chosen and to recruit Cormyr's War Wizards. Only a few weeks later, having been restored to his full powers as a Chosen by absorbing the silver fire of the dying Symrustar Auglamyr and then that of the Simbul and Manshoon, Elminster returned to Mystra (in agony from absorbing too much of it) and returned much of it to the Lady of Mysteries, restoring much of her power and divinity. This event became known as Mystra's Return."

I'm assuming that Elminster's acquaintance with Gale must have begun sometime after this because otherwise you'd think Gale would have mentioned "oh yeah she's not actually dead, we've been banging for a while now."

Mystra reestablishing contact Elminster, regaining some of her power, and the rest of the world learning that she was alive is pretty huge and therefore must have been a significant turning point in her relationship with Gale as well.

I'm also assuming that Gale did not become one of Mystra's official Chosen until after this, since it seems like Mystra's Chosen weren't active while she was laying low and letting the world think she was dead?

Ages ~30 to ~35: 1482 DR to 1487 DR worldwide: "The Second Sundering, also known as the Sundering of Toril and Abeir, was a great catastrophic event in the history of the worlds of Abeir and Toril."

Age ~32: 1484 DR worldwide: "Most of the gods created many Chosen among mortals, trying to gather as much power as possible to be as high in divine ranking as they could before Ao completed the new Tablets of Fate, sealing their status and portfolio. People started to claim they had been 'chosen' by the gods and granted special powers, some apparently for 'divine purposes' while others had no idea why."

It's possible that Gale was recruited to be a Chosen of Mystra by Elminster per Mystra's instructions to Elminster to find candidates, but given that the gods were also choosing people directly during this period and that Mystra had a preexisting relationship with Gale, she may have also Chosen him directly herself. Poor Elminster out there trying to find the best candidates and then Mystra surprises him by adding her boyfriend to the roster. Gale being a nepotism hire despite having otherwise been qualified would be pretty funny.

Age ~34: 1486 DR in Waterdeep: "Neverwinter and Waterdeep began to clear the rubble in their cities that had built up over a century of neglect."

Hey, remember when Gale said that he used to be able to levitate an entire tower back when he was an archmage? Maybe this is when he was doing stuff like that.

Age ~35: 1487 DR worldwide: "Stars reportedly fell from the sky, gods long thought dead walked the land and armies led by Chosen clashed everywhere. Major geological instability resulted in numerous earthquakes and volcanoes, as the worlds of Abeir and Toril were separated once again, and areas once consumed by large chasms were restored to their pre-Spellplague status. Ships arrived on the mainland continent from Evermeet, Halruaa, Lantan, and Nimbral—all realms previously thought lost to Toril."

Age ~35: 1487 DR in Candledeep [roughly 650 miles / 1050 km south of Waterdeep] : "In an attempt to fully restore the goddess Mystra and the Weave, Elminster Aumar began his search for Khelben Arunsun's writings on the Weave, heading towards Candlekeep. Laeral and Alustriel Silverhand had also been hiding within the library: the two sisters' duty was to prepare their own destruction, so that no one could use their power to gain control over the Weave." ... "The energies of the destroyed Wards were absorbed by the Shadow King, who then left for Myth Drannor, followed by the three Chosen of Mystra."

Although Gale was likely a Chosen of Mystra by this point, he wasn't one of the three mentioned here.

Age ~35: 1487 DR in Myth Drannor [roughly 1350 miles / 2170 km east of Waterdeep]: "Meanwhile in Myth Drannor, Larloch, the Netherese, and the Chosen of Mystra (allied with the elves) clashed in a catastrophic battle." ... "As Elminster defeated Tanthul in a mage duel, the Netherese enclave crashed atop Myth Drannor. Elminster himself was saved by Mystra, who gained full control over the Weave once more, stopping Shar from turning it into a new Shadow Weave."

Age ~35: 1487 DR worldwide: "As 1487 DR came to a close, the Second Sundering ended with the full return of Mystra and the Weave, the separation of the worlds Abeir and Toril."

Gale was not a character in the novel about these events so any personal involvement would have been minor, but I'm including them in his timeline because he would have been impacted by the "full return" of Mystra to the world. I imagine he would have experienced many of the same issues that spouses of someone just elected to a high-level office go through.

Gale's lack of personal involvement in Mystra's restoration despite being her Chosen AND her lover is kinda weird, which makes me wonder if things were already starting to sour between them? I really wish that I could lock Ed Greenwood and Jan Van Dosselaer in a room together until they came up with a coherent explanation for what the fuck Gale was up to while all this was going down.

Age ~35 to ~39: 1487 DR to 1491 DR: Sometime during this period must have been when Mystra dumped Gale and he went looking for a lost bit of Weave to win her back but got a Netherese orb lodged in his chest instead.

Mystra was newly back to her full power as the Goddess of Magic and laying down the law, and Gale didn't take that very well:

Gale: "We enjoyed each other's company - body, mind and soul. But even so, I desired more. You see, no matter how powerful a wizard we mortals can become, we never scratch more than the surface of the Weave. Mystra keeps us in check. There are boundaries she doesn't let us cross. Yet every time I was with her, I stood on the precipice, gazing into the wonders that lay beyond. I sought to cross her boundaries." PC: "How exactly did you try to cross those boundaries?" Gale: "I tried to convince her. I pouted, I pleaded, I swore my ambition was only to serve her better. But she only smiled and told me to be contented. As inconceivable as it seems to me now, I shared a bed with a goddess and yet I wasn't satisfied. So I sought to prove myself worthy to her instead."

Gale's description of what happened after she dumped him sounds like it took place over a multi-year period, since I'm assuming that he had to spend some time searching for the "tome of gateways":

Gale: "The goddess spurned the mortal. The veils were drawn once more, and the wizard was left behind heartbroken." ... "Poor wizard. Silly wizard too, for he wouldn't take no for an answer. Like so many of the heartbroken, he did something infinitely foolish. One has to think big if one seeks to win back a goddess. So the wizard thought big." PC: "Define big." Gale: "Here goes: Once upon a time, very long ago, a mighty lord lived in a tower. A flying tower to be precise. I'll save his story for another time, but the gist of it is that he sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed, but not quite, and his entire empire - Netheril - came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, roiling like the prime chaos that outdates creation. A fragment of it was caught and sealed away in a book. No ordinary book, mind you: a tome of gateways that contained within it a bubble of Astral Plane. It was a fragment of primal Weave locked out of time - locked away from Mystra herself. 'What if', the silly wizard thought, 'What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the goddess?'" PC: "What was the answer to his question?" Gale: "The answer was to try, and the outcome was to fail."

Not sure how much Gale was around for the next few events, since he might have been gallivanting around the Astral Plane looking for the tome instead of spending time in Waterdeep. But one assumes he'd notice the physical changes to the city whenever he returned, and that he'd hear about local news from his mother and Tara, so he would certainly be aware that these things happened.

Age ~37: 1489 DR in Waterdeep: "In response to increasing dragon and cultist activity, the Council of Waterdeep was formed, bringing together representatives of realms from all across the Sword Coast. The threat of the Cult of the Dragon was driven home when Masked Lord Arthagast Ulbrinter was assassinated, though it inspired more resolve than fear. In the midst of these events, Open Lord Dagult Neverember was ousted by a vote of the Lords of Waterdeep, replaced by Laeral Silverhand. Although Waterdeep was largely spared due to the dragonward, the Field Ward was still burned to ashes by dragon attacks, displacing huge numbers of people."

Age ~38: 1490 DR in Waterdeep: "The cloud giant castle of Count Nimbolo and Countess Mulara appeared out of clouds and hovered over Waterdeep for a while, triggering mass panic. Heralds sent out by Lady Laeral Silverhand tried to calm citizens and promise that there was no danger. In fact, the giants wanted to research Waterdeep's history and meet its leaders, as they search for traces of the ancient giant realm of Ostoria."

Age ~39: 1491 DR in the Astral Plane (I think?): Gale finds the "tome of gateways" and becomes afflicted with the Netherese orb:

Narrator: "You see through Gale's eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It's teeth, it's claws, it's unstoppable as it digs through you and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever-hungry…"

Age ~39: 1491 DR in Waterdeep: Gale begins a year-long isolation in his tower in Waterdeep and eventually stops communicating with anyone except Tara. Not sure exactly when his isolation began relative to the other events of this year, so he may or may not have been personally affected by or even aware of some of the Waterdeep events below.

Age ~39: 1491 DR in Waterdeep: "The returned Eilistraee appeared under the walls of Waterdeep causing an influx in the amount of her followers in the city. They eventually sought out Remallia Haventree and asked her for a holy forest-glade in the ruins of the Field Ward. By Mirtul, the housing crisis in Waterdeep had worsened as a mysterious sickness killed or drove out all of the inhabitants of Downshadow, the Field Ward remained desolated by dragonfire, and Mistshore was burned down by agents of Masked Lord Braethan Cazondur, rendering all three unofficial wards uninhabitable."

Age ~39: 1491 DR in Waterdeep: "Fear threatened to overtake Waterdeep once again as the cloud giant castle of Burruld hovered over the ocean near the city. After the Blackstaff Vajra Safahr panicked and threatened the giants, Open Lord Laeral Silverhand calmed the situation, negotiated with Burruld, and learned that their purpose was to search for the lost daughter of King Skyvald, Princess Irie."

Age ~39: 1491 DR in Waterdeep: "In mid-Mirtul, numerous Masked Lords and other people were gruesomely assassinated as part of Cazondur's conspiracy to seize control of the city. Open Lord Laeral Silverhand, assisted by Elminster and Mirt, worked to maintain order in the city while investigating the murders. While attempting to apprehend Cazondur, Laeral herself was killed and disintegrated by a surprisingly simple trap involving falling rocks, but recovered with Elminster's assistance. An exceedingly dramatic showdown at the Palace of Waterdeep between Laeral and Cazondur in front of assembled servants, nobles and guildmasters resulted in Cazondur's death at the hands of an unexpected third party, Xanathar agents Belvarra Bowmantle and Suthool. Including Cazondur, a total of thirteen Masked Lords and scores of others were slain, and several more Lords publicly unmasked."

Please note that our best guess for the location of Gale's tower puts it couple blocks away from Mirt's Mansion and Gale has mentioned being a patron of the Yawning Portal Tavern, so it seems likely that Gale and Mirt would have been acquainted. If Gale was already in isolation by the time all this went down, perhaps Elminster and Mirt tried dropping by Gale's tower at some point but were repelled by the wards that Gale had set up to keep everyone away? Gale seemed very certain that no one cared about him enough to check on him but I wonder how much of that was the depression talking.

Age ~39: 1491 DR in Waterdeep: "A delegation from the city of Mirabar disappeared while en route to the city, having been waylaid by cultists of the Elder Elemental Eye."

Age ~40: 1492 DR in Waterdeep: Gale abruptly departs his tower and doesn't tell anyone where he's going per Tara's line in his origin, "You left the tower in such a hurry, and you didn't leave an address."

Age ~40: 1492 DR in Yartar [roughly 310 miles / 500 km north of Waterdeep as the crow flies]: Gale is kidnapped by the nautiloid. As explained in a previous post, I believe that he was headed north to find an unpopulated area to die and explode in.

Sources:

FR wiki: Gale Dekarios

FR wiki: Era of Upheaval

FR wiki: Second Sundering

FR wiki: Mystra

FR wiki: Mystra (Midnight)

FR wiki: History of Waterdeep

FR wiki: Yartar

BG3 datamined dialogue transcripts

Map of Faerun

Sad headcanons posted to Tumblr by various people over the past few months that I unfortunately didn't save links to. If you saw something in here that you've posted about then I probably got the idea from you. Please feel free to drop links in the comments so people can read the original post(s) about it, thanks!

[narsh-poptarts]

Old Man* OC Poll

*"old man" being more of a vibe rather than any indication of gender

just wanted to do this for fun haha more info about these guys under the cut

Andromedus (he/she/they) - genderfluid wizard acting as (unwilling) mentor to Barnes, a young apprentice who would very much like to learn magic please. A grumpy misanthrope who loathes having to interact with other people and ESPECIALLY with other mages. She's an incredible stickler for rules and procedures surrounding magic, because they know a mistake can change the result into something unpredictable or even dangerous. Believes in the art of experimentation and doing it well. They dabble in all things potion, illusion, divination, and other Stereotypical Merlin-level Magic not specified. Despite a generally cold exterior, does have a heart of gold somewhere in there. Does genuinely care despite what most people might think, though the approach to this usually has a lack of compassion (except on rare occasions).

Belongs to my wizard+apprentice story I'm temporarily calling Cursed Apprentice (I'm so bad at titles)

Bartholemew "Art" Hykes (he/him) - chief forgemaster of the Carapace Knights, soldiers that don pieces of the large locusts and bugs that terrorize the land in an effort to fight back. The integration of these pieces into armor must be highly monitored to prevent a host take-over of the Knight, and Art is in charge of manufacturing these pieces to their perfection. Uses the nectar sourced from the Locusts to power the forges and after decades of work has gone blind from working so directly with it. A man of few words and fewer cares to give, can occasionally be found grumbling over the state of the world and how they're not ever in a position to be called "winning" against the locusts, but as long as he's got a job, there's not too much to complain about. Wishes the Carapace Knights would be a little less headstrong and worry more about how they're always at risk of being taken over by the Hive.

Belongs to my medieval dragon-slayer type story I'm temporarily calling Locust

Ulada Vertison (she/her) - one of the last remaining mechanics that has a fascination with tech from the old world and is willing to tinker with it along with the new. Was the one to repair the Robot and give it the ability to interact with the rest of the new world and sent it on its way. Has a penchant for stupid jokes and "positive attitudes", much to her assistant's chagrin. Approaches most things like a mad scientist with too much time on their hands and the soul of an old woman. (That is, diving head-first into experimental technology with a grin and emerging out the other side pinching the "experiment's" cheeks and checking to see if it eats enough). On the shorter side of stature, but that's okay, her large assistant has more than enough height for the two of them, he can be the one to fetch the stuff on the upper shelves (and the lower shelves, and the stuff from across the room, and hey also sweep the floor. She's got a bad back, don't you know!)

Belongs to my scifi post apocalyptic robot story I'm temporarily calling Mezzanine

[saintsenara]

ik the draw of snoldemort is that it's as delicious and healthy as fibreglass-riddled cotton candy but have you ever considered them being happy?

yes, all the fucking time.

i am genuinely of the opinion that snape and voldemort are each other's most plausible romantic pairing, and while i sustain that opinion mostly thought the power of being delusional, i do think there's a legitimate grain of potential for snapemort to actually be strangely wholesome.

and so, since this is not the first request I've had for such a thing...

...here comes the snapemort manifesto.

i am also of the opinion that the series presents an extremely narrow and unhealthy definition of love - love as suffering and sacrifice and secrecy - which voldemort can't allow himself to experience because his life has unsurprisingly made him unwilling to suffer or sacrifice and which snape forces himself to experience to the clear detriment of his physical and mental health.

but love is also - fundamentally - about comfort and pleasure and not being bored in someone's company.

the canonical voldemort clearly actually likes snape. he also clearly enjoys spending a substantial amount of time alone with him - especially in deathly hallows: voldemort teaches snape how to fly unaided [the only death eater he seems to do this for], which is canon proof they were going on lots of romantic midnight swoopings; snape is obviously voldemort's source for the information that tonks and lupin have recently married, which means they're gossiping over glasses of wine just as much as they're planning to take over the ministry of magic; voldemort visits snape at hogwarts while he's headmaster, and while that's to steal the elder wand, he does say that he'll join snape once his grave-robbing is done...

the two are clearly intellectually compatible - not simply in terms of level of intelligence but in how that intelligence manifests itself. snape has a very voldemort-ish view of magic as something whose boundaries can constantly be pushed and whose authorities must constantly be challenged - that magic is really about power [and those too weak to seek it] - and it's clear in canon that dumbledore's unease about allowing him near the defence against the dark arts job prior to half-blood prince [when snape agreeing to kill him - and revealing how his love-as-suffering for lily drives him - finally convinces him that snape has rejected the dark side entirely] is because he fears snape's way of understanding magic, since it reminds him of voldemort [and - in reminding him of voldemort - reminds him of grindelwald].

but snape and voldemort's intellectual compatibility has something underpinning it which goes beyond how they understand magic and its purpose in the world. they think the way they do about magic because of the similarities in their life experience.

as harry walks to the forest, he sets himself, snape, and voldemort up as a trio - the "abandoned boys", whose lives have all been shaped, to varying extents, by dumbledore. but, while harry and voldemort are each other's narrative mirror - due both to the overtly mystical pseudo-fraternal [or, if you're so inclined, soulmate] connection which voldemort establishes between them by making harry a horcrux, and to their shared experience of orphanhood - harry actually has much less in common with either half of snapemort than they have in common with each other.

for example, while they're all half-bloods, harry's pureblood parent is his father - which gives him a wizarding name, and the social cachet this brings in a world which is so obsessed with blood, family, and male lineage. snape and voldemort have muggle fathers and muggle names, and this gives them a radically different social standing - even if they are, ostensibly, within the same blood-category - to harry.

similarly, while lily is muggleborn, she is still a witch, attends hogwarts, is known and liked within wizarding society, and - like many muggleborns seem to - separates herself entirely from the world of her birth in young adulthood to live in a way indistinguishable from someone born and raised in a magical family.

tom riddle sr. and tobias snape are actual muggles - which means they exist in a world completely divided [and with that division scrupulously maintained by the ministry] from the magical one. while snape is brought up by his birth family and voldemort isn't, their lives are still dictated by their fathers' experiences of, fear of, and disconnection from magic - and this shapes their lives very differently even than harry's experiences with the dursleys.

harry also heavily resembles his pureblood father, which provides similar social cachet. one device which canon uses a lot is the idea that every member of a pureblood nuclear family unit looks alike - narcissa malfoy is blonde and pale, while her sisters are dark-haired, so that she is immediately identifiable as lucius malfoy's wife and draco malfoy's mother; molly weasley is red-haired and freckly, even though these are weasley, rather than prewett, traits, for the same reason.

in having harry look so much like james - while its primary intention in doing this was clearly to help obscure lily's role in the series' central mystery for as long as possible - the text allows him to smooth his path through the wizarding world because he looks like a pureblood, like someone who is understood to belong in the society through which he moves.

voldemort, in contrast, looks exactly like his muggle father. which parent snape resembles is more ambiguous - in deathly hallows, harry says that snape "greatly resembled" his mother, but both order of the phoenix and half-blood prince suggest this isn't the case, and the person he resembles is his father. this makes more sense, since snape resembling tobias means that he - like voldemort - lacks the visual connection to the wizarding world which would - like a pureblood surname - ease his way of belonging within it.

snape and voldemort are also from the same working-class background and have the same experience of childhood poverty. harry - no matter the financial aspect of the dursleys' neglect of him - is still middle-class in the muggle world by virtue of being raised in a place like little whinging by people like vernon and petunia.

and - crucially - harry's financial circumstances and class-status change utterly when he enters the wizarding world. he ascends to being upper-middle-class; he has the resources to buy everything needed for school new - meaning there's no visual distinction between him and his wealthy peers caused by him having, as voldemort does, secondhand possessions; he is able to treat these possessions casually; and he never, ever worries about being able to afford them [when his nimbus is smashed by the whomping willow, he's upset because he liked the broom so much and because he's embarrassed by the circumstances in which it was damaged, he doesn't worry one bit about not being able to afford a new one - he also considers buying himself a firebolt and, of all the things the one sirius buys means to him, it never seems to seriously cross his mind that it's a stupendously expensive thing for a teenager to own].

harry's class ascendance once he enters the wizarding world also gives him access to the ways of connection and network-forming which dictate how magical society runs. while much of this is voldemort's fault - since it's bound up in the fact that harry is a celebrity - it's also evident that this isn't entirely the case. slughorn's attitude towards harry is influenced just as much by his fondness for lily - and the clear reading of canon is that, if harry was the average hogwarts student and james and lily were still alive, harry would be "collected" for the slug club in the way that cormac mclaggen or regulus black are: people that slughorn wants to keep around in case they offer him something, not people he wants to keep around so that he can manipulate and control them.

voldemort and snape, in contrast, exist outside the social networks which govern wizarding society by virtue of their birth [hence why voldemort sets up a parallel social order - with him at the top - among his followers].

voldemort plays the game the way he's expected to while at school - sucking up to slughorn; leaning in to being, as he puts it, "poor but brilliant" - and then rejects a lifetime of being dependent on slughorn's patronage [he could be minister for magic, but only "if you keep sending me pineapple"!] for the only job he can get on his own merits.

snape rejects the idea of playing the game while at school - the teen snape we meet in order of the phoenix is conspicuous in his difference, not only in appearance but in behaviour, from his peers, and the marauders' bullying of him is motivated just as much by his existence outside wizarding social norms as it is by james' sexual jealousy of his friendship with lily and his own deliberate provocation of james and sirius.

and he also rejects the social convention the series values [by which i mean, the series thinks the class system is good as long as the good guys are the ones insisting on maintaining it] in young adulthood. i bang on about this a lot, but it's clear in canon that the reason snape becomes a death eater - and also the reason why he thinks the death eaters will help lily, even though this initially appears to be nonsensical - is because voldemort offers him a chance to transcend the limitations placed upon him in a world with such a restrictive class system. voldemort is the only person who offers him the things he desires - power, respect, recognition - in a context in which his background is [seemingly] irrelevant.

there's an element of snape seeing what he wants to see here, of course. he's clearly voldemort's exception in terms of social class [just as bellatrix is his exception in terms of gender], and this is a grooming technique on voldemort's part which sets snape apart from the other death eaters and makes him more dependent on maintaining voldemort's favour than men like lucius malfoy or rodolphus and rabastan lestrange, who are inherent insiders to the elite male social circle from which the majority of the dark lord's minions are drawn.

but there is also an element of recognition in voldemort choosing snape which has a heavy blast of affection - platonic or otherwise - behind it.

one of the things which dumbledore gets wrong about voldemort throughout the six books in which he appears is that he believes that voldemort is secretive to the point of repression about his origins, childhood, and life experiences. instead, the canonical voldemort is a certified yapper - he needs virtually no prompting, as a child with dumbledore, a teen with harry, or an adult with harry, to start talking about his life in a way which gives quite a lot about himself away. the proto-death eaters we meet in half-blood prince know all about the teen voldemort's search for his lineage. barty crouch jr. knows his birth name. lucius malfoy is completely unbothered to hear harry state that he's a half-blood.

and this shouldn't surprise us - what orphan wouldn't be on a desperate quest to be perceived, to be understood?

snape is clearly one of voldemort's great favourites because he's someone the dark lord implicitly understands - a clever, awkward, lonely boy searching for respect and power which the stagnant wizarding world refuses to give him. it stands to reason, then, that snape is also one of voldemort's great favourites because the dark lord thinks that snape can understand him.

and, in a situation where he's actually given a chance to offer voldemort this understanding, snape therefore has the power to give the dark lord the thing he's been searching for his entire life - someone who knows who he really is behind the elaborate mask of unassailable majesty and loves him anyway.

none of this has to change the future - voldemort can still be a terrorist who kills his wife guy's only childhood friend, the snapemort will slap nonetheless.

but it still can.

[soylent-crocodile]

Vizzerdrix (Monster)

(Vizzerdrix by Dave Dorman)

(Behold, a late Easter AND an April Fool's Day special, all wrapped up in one not-so-fluffy bunny! I wanted to capture the idea of a puzzlingly high-value creature with no special effects and not as much combat capability as its peers, so I went with a mad genius. There's also just a couple of tropes here that I tend to avoid- or lean on- if you can spot them. Enjoy!)

CR16 CE Large Aberration HD25

Vizzerdrix are savage beings created by a mad wizard, ravenous beasts who tear apart any who meet their path. It is generally accepted that the vizzerdrix were the last creation of said wizard before being torn apart by vizzerdrix. Unfortunately for the world, her creations bred true, and now vizzerdrix can be found leaving swathes of blood and death in their path. 

A vizzerdrix is a hybrid between a rabbit, a giant, and a piranha, creating a being with incredible intelligence, sharp claws, a craving for destruction and flesh, and big floppy rabbit ears. Vizzerdrix are among the most brilliant beings to exist, and use this to their advantage- they’re expert at evaluating threats, manipulating others, and devising cunning traps. Fortunately for a vizzerdrix’s enemies, they lack any particular abilities to put this brilliance to use, and without external help or tools, must fall back on ripping and tearing. This isn’t to say that a vizzerdrix has distaste for such combat- indeed, tearing other beings apart with their claws and incisors is the deepest pleasure a vizzerdrix can experience, and all their goals and conniving generally works to the end of getting a vizzerdrix a never-ending source of innocent victims to destroy. 

Vizzerdrix are obligate carnivores, only able to digest animal flesh. Despite this, they have a deep craving for root vegetables, which give them incredible indigestion and, occasionally, food poisoning and intense gastric distress. It is suspected that this was a failsafe created by their master and the reason to include rabbit parts, as vizzerdrix will do anything for proper digestive aids that allow them to comfortably eat their favorite food. 

This hulking, clawed beast has powerful human musculature, furless skin, and the head of an angry rabbit. Misc- CR16 CE Large Aberration HD25 Init:+8 Senses: Perception +27 Darkvision 60ft Stats- Str:28(+9) Dex:18(+4) Con:18(+4) Int:32(+11) Wis:9(-1) Cha:20(+5) BAB:+18/+13/+8/+3 Space:10ft Reach:10ft Defense- HP: AC:30(+4 Dexterity, +17 Deflection, -1 Size) Fort:+14 Ref:+12 Will:+17 CMD:39 Resist: Acid 20, Cold 20, Electricity 20, Fire 20 Immunity: Fear Special Defenses: DR5/Adamantine Offense- Bite +24(2d6+9), 2 Claw +25(1d8+9) CMB:+25 Speed:40ft Special Attacks: Rend (2 Claw, 2d8+14) Feats- Improved Initiative, Power Attack (-5/+10), Weapon Focus (Claw), Iron Will, Great Fortitude, Vital Strike, Combat Expertise, Improved Dirty Trick, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Greater Dirty Trick, Critical Focus Skills- Acrobatics +27, Climb +17, Escape Artist +32, Knowledge (Arcana, Dungeoneering, Engineering, Geography, Nature, Planes, Religion) +26, Knowledge (Local)* +29, Perception +27, Sense Motive +24, Spellcraft +39, Stealth +32, Survival +27, Swim +17, Use Magic Device +30 Spell-like Abilities- (Caster Level 20, Concentration +25) Dispel Magic /at-will Special Qualities- Ferocity Ecology- Environment- Forests, Swamps (Any) Languages- Common, Aklo, Abyssal, Draconic, Giant Organization- Solitary Treasure- None

[theshiftingwitch]

https://www.tumblr.com/creature-wizard/761018683964424192/the-law-of-assumption-isnt-a-cult-mmm-are-you?source=share

That's a very interesting read, thank you for sharing it!

(The Law of assumption is a cult)

Allow me to explain my side:

1- I don't believe in everything the "founder" teaches. Some rules work for me, others don't. I use critical thinking and past experiences to take whatever works and isolate it. Remember, his teachings came out in the 40s + he is not omniscient. Humans are bound to make mistakes.

2- I never guilt, shame, or turn away anyone who asks questions. If you scroll through my page, you'll see I'm trying to answer all questions and help everyone to the best of my ability. And all I ever insist on is having fun.

3- Everyone is you pushed out doesn't take away people's agency. It is a spiritual rule that suggests since we are all part of the great consciousness, we are all Spirit, the universe having a human experience. We are all One, and with that knowledge, we must face our shadows when people trigger us because they are merely holding a mirror to us and exposing parts of us we refuse to see or deal with. I know that when most people in loa community use EIYPO they mean no one else has free will in the world and you are the main character and you get to do what you want (that only applies in your reality, everyone's else reality doesn't have to conform to your beliefs) but I personally always say do not do onto others what you wouldn't do to yourself.

4- if loa is a cult, then by that definition so is the law of attraction, so is every religion and every spiritual practice that gives sole power to its founder/creator/god. If you're not allowed to question it then you're dealing with the wrong people and you should seek knowledge/advice somewhere else.

5- Try it out for yourself. Forget about Neville Goddard, forget about the community, let everything go, and try changing your assumptions about one single thing. Stick with it for as long as you can, and then we'll question the validity of the law. Too many people with great success stories started out as doubters too. (If it's not your thing, I totally understand, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.)

TLDR: Law off assumption is as much of a cult as anything else that has a great following. If it works, then amazing. If it doesn't, feel free to try something else. And as usual, you're more than welcome to ask any questions 😊

Happy manifesting?

[nobredoesart]

Magic in The Dragon Prince

The Arcanums are something that has always fascinated me, but I feel like they are only explored on the surface level. Such a deep, conceptual part of the world building should be expanded on, and payed far more attention than it is, because it simple deserves it, ya know? So, with the elf redesigns semi-established, let's establish some basics. I originally was going to also post about the individual Arcanums in this post, but it was getting overly long, so, we'll get to it eventually.

The Primal Sources are the sun, moon, earth, sky, ocean and stars. They all play a role within the world, and have their equal and opposite in one another, sources of power and encompassing most of living existence, with their apex (besides what represents them) being found within the dragons.

Each of the sources have an Arcanum, which is effectively their philosophical meaning, the meaning behind them, the identity forged within the soul of each being that is tied to them. Arcanums can't just be studied, they must be groked to achieve connection, and each individual one can take a lifetime to understand if one doesn't have the aid of a teacher or tool, though most elves and magical creatures are born with an inherent Arcanum that they know already. Learning an Arcanum shifts how you view the world, and for creatures that already have an Arcanum, it's a horrible, cognitively dissonant experience, akin to heavy dysphoria.

The Primal Sources do also have associated types of magic, though most do overlap a decent amount. They can bend the rules to create something that would usually be considered part of the other source's prerogative. Due to this divide, different mages often rely on creative solutions to similar problems, or lean hard into the support of differing primal mages, due to the simple reality that is helpful for them to do so. Mage groups are somewhat frequent in travelers, as is the sharing of knowledge and spellbooks throughout the Academic Circles in Xadia, though it is a minuscule number when compared to the Human Kingdoms, which have whole libraries of spellbooks publicly accessible. There are exceptions, because some mages, be they wizards, witches, shamans, artificers or sorcerers of any kind, can develop a great deal of secrecy regarding their magic. Dragons especially, because OF COURSE DRAGONS ARE MAGES IT'S SILLY THAT THEY DON'T USE MORE MAGIC. They are the apex of their primals, and most mages have learned magic from dragons, hence why most primal magic stems from Draconic Runes (which are just, the written version of Draconic Speech).

Establishing something important: Humans do not understand Arcanums, nor are they even super familiar with the concept. To them, the Primals are just different flavors of magic and symbols that the elves use. They are not some grandiose deep understanding of the world, but simple sources of power. Which every human mage in the series would eventually be confronted with eventually. Personally, I believe that Callum would still primarily connect with the Sky, and given the opporunity, Viren would connect with the Stars and Claudia would connect with the Ocean, which I think will become clearer once I explain the Primals properly.

Dark Magic is different. Dark Magic, much like the show, is the practice of tearing out the magic from a creature that possesses it, and using it for your spells. But even this will have some slight alterations:

1. The mage in question isn't just tearing out the magic. They are effectively imbuing themselves with a fleeting understanding of an Arcanum, and using that understanding to create a magical connection within themselves. The knowledge of the Arcanum fades immediately after the spell. It corrupts the Soul, forcing the mage's mind to process a complex philosophical identity that is not their own, which damages the body as well. 2. This damage is, in part, irreversible. Callum, for example, upon using Dark Magic has categorically corrupted part of his mind, which affects how he will process the Arcanum he used in those spells, due to the simple nature that whatever part of him that would've naturally accessed the Arcanum is now strained. Physical changes, like the ones seen in Viren and Claudia are a sign that the body is starting to break down under the stress. 3. Incantations aren't just reversed fancy speech, though that is a cool idea that I want to keep! They are, effectively, the translation of what piece of the Arcanum the Dark Mage in question is drawing on.

That is all for now, more to come!

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Hazlik (5e)

Domain: Hazlan Domain Formation: Not Specified (714 BC older editions) Power Level:💀💀💀⚫⚫ Sources: Van Ricthen’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e)

In the good doctor’s most recent guide, Hazlan has transformed from a Domain of suppression and ancient magics to one that can be best described as a large magical experiment gone wrong. These chaotic casting result in supernatural disasters and a populace that would have faired better in face of the Spell Plague.

Hazlik’s descent, that resulted in his imprisonment in the Mists, is similar from previous accounts. He rose quickly among the Red Wizards of Thay in Toril and made many enemies by scaring his rivals with his spellcasting. One such rival, Indreficus, became Hazlik’s lover and the two shared a sort of love-hate relationship.

Hazlik learned that Indreficus planned to betray him to the ruling zulkirs. Brokenhearted, he did what any rational man would do - he performed experiments on his former lover and turned him into a living portal, then presented this portal thing to the zulkirs.

In true monologuing-villain fashion, the zulkirs revealed that they had tricked Hazlik because they were weary of his and Indreficus’s rise in power. And as punishment for creating the living portal, which they dismissed as an affront to magic, they declared that all those Hazlik had defeated in the past could choose their own penance against him. Likely this would have been a rather drawn out death sentence, but Hazlik decided to risk jumping through his living portal/ex-lover instead.

Hazlik is supposedly a powerful wizard. Perhaps he should have looked into the memories and thoughts of his lover before assuming all he was told was true? Hazlik has always been a rash fool driven by his emotions and this logical course of action clearly evaded his mind.

Stepping through his lover-portal, Hazlik found himself in the Nightmare Lands where Indreficus’s voice tormented him. But, as before, he fled and his personal prison was formed.

Hazlik can no longer learn new spells. I wonder what that’s like…Though, it must be far more limiting for a mortal who is only mid-career. He is also tormented by his former lover whenever he sleeps, so that curse still holds him and he still attempts to stay awake as long as possible.

His obsession is to escape. Again. I wonder what that’s like…Though his goal of escape is not for any clear reason, such as revenge or being able to learn new magic so you can bring your long-dead son back and restart as a non-specific example, but because he wants to see what lies beyond Hazlan. This obsession leads him and his apprentices to preform countless experiments that really just amount to them causing all sorts of supernatural disasters. I wonder…Never mind. I think you get the point by now.

Lastly, as if he did not already take enough of my aesthetics, the Eyes of Hazlik are everywhere in Hazlan and our little red wizard can see through them all. Hazlik’s new limitations and youth indicate he is not as powerful as he once was. Still, he’s an archmage with few rivals and little to oppose him.

[heylorrain]

Serpent's Innocence

[ 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮 𝐦𝐲 🐍 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 ]

Previous Part 10 Next

You can read it here or just expand and enjoy!

"They found evidence of all three Unforgivable curses on the wand they confiscated from you, Mrs Morgana. But that wand you gave them... it's not yours."

Lorra's heart raced as she was escorted through the imposing entrance of the Ministry of Magic, her wand taken from her and secured by Arthur Sallow.

Even the time being, the building itself exuded an aura of power and secrecy, with its hulking walls adorned with front pages of the Daily Prophet, bearing headlines of every kind that showcased the vast range of wizarding news. From famous Aurors capturing criminals to the most mundane topics, like the top 10 best-dressed wizards and witches. 

Along the sides of the cold, black marble halls were rows of black chimneys, a telltale sign of wizarding transportation known as floo powder. Lorra watched in awe as witches and wizards appeared and disappeared in flashes of green flames.

Their journey led them to a set of ornate elevator gates. Lorra followed nervously as they descended what felt like an eternity before finally arriving at a door marked with an ominous phrase: Veritas vos liberabit - "The truth will set you free." 

What a wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve…

They cautiously stepped into the small room, its thick gray walls seeming to close in around them. The only source of light came from a dimly glowing floo flame chimney at the far end of the room, casting eerie shadows across the space. In the center of the room sat a worn and uncomfortable looking emerald sofa, serving as a waiting space for visitors.

“Wait here,” one of the stern-faced aurors instructed Lorra as he disappeared through the black metallic door on the other side of the room. She nervously took a seat on the sofa, her mind racing to make sense of what was happening. The rough texture of the furniture only added to her discomfort.

After a few tense minutes, the green flames in the chimney sprang to life, signaling the arrival of Matilda Weasley, Ominis, and Sebastian. Lorra's heart leapt as she rushed towards Ominis, nearly tripping over herself in her haste. They embraced each other tightly, their reunion filled with both joy and pain.

Lorra's shoulders shook as she fought back tears while Ominis wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down. 

-"Why would they take my wand? What is happening?" she asked Ominis trying to imagine any possible answer.

-"I don't know, dear," Ominis said, struggling to keep his own emotions in check. "But I promise I will do everything in my power to get you out of this misunderstanding"

-"Don't make promises you can't keep," Arthur sneered, strutting towards them with an air of self-importance.

-"Arthur, please," Professor Weasley interjected sternly. "This is a serious matter and we need to handle it calmly and professionally"

Sebastian rolled his eyes 

-"Always so professional and well-centered, aren't you Arthur? Our family and your colleagues must be very proud." His words dripping with sarcasm and rage.

Professor Matilda let out a frustrated sigh. 

-"Enough! I brought you both here because you insisted on accompanying Lorrain...and because the Ministry allows two witnesses in cases like this."

Witnesses… Witnesses for what?

She glanced at Lorra and gave her a reassuring smile.

- "I'll make sure the paperwork for your wand is ready as soon as possible, Miss Morgana, and with it, your release. Then you can see for yourself that she is innocent, Arthur." 

With that, she turned and left the room with the rest of the aurors.

-“Your wand is currently undergoing thorough examination in the Department of Wand Control, Miss Morgana,” Arthur Sallow began to explain in a stern yet cordial tone. He attempted to soften his approach by casually adding, “Without so many formalities, do you mind if I refer to you as Lorra?” 

She remained silent, her eyes devoid of any respect for him standing in front of her.

However, before she could respond, Ominis interjected with a sardonic and cruel tone. The true Gaunt attitude seemed to seep through his pores as he sneered at the auror's attempt at civility.

-"I'm sure she does mind, especially after being abducted without any explanation from our school. But I suppose you understand that." 

- "I'm not here to argue or entertain petty insults. I want answers, just like I'm sure you all do".

-“Of course you do…” Lorrain whispered.

-“Look, miss Sweety Pie, you’re not going to start giving me lip here. You need to remember your place, and watch it. I’ll give you whatever explanation when I see fit to do so.”

Fury burned in Sebastian and Ominis as they listened to Arthur's patronizing words towards Lorra. Their fists clenched tightly, itching to punch some sense into the arrogant man before them.

"Don't you dare talk down to her like that," Sebastian growled, his voice laced with anger. "She’s not a criminal!"

Ominis stepped forward, his wand at the ready. "We demand answers now, Arthur. Ignoring us will only make things worse for you."

Arthur sneered, his smug expression infuriating. "I couldn't care less about your political and social advantages, young Gaunt. I am here to protect the Wizarding World, and that includes keeping secrets from nosy students like yourself. You’re only here because Matilda Weasley’s stupid connections to the Ministry of Magic proceed her long before your births."

Sebastian's hands trembled with fury as he resisted the overwhelming urge to lunge at his cousin and unleash his pent-up hatred. He could still vividly remember meeting Arthur for the first time at a family reunion, and the disgust had only grown since then. In that moment, he despised his uncle just as much for raising such an arrogant and useless man.

- “Your audacity to accuse innocent people in the name of protecting society makes me sick”. 

-"ALLEGEDLY innocent, dear cousin, allegedly…" Arthur spat back. A flash of rage flickered in Sebastian's eyes as he clenched his jaw, fighting back the urge to retaliate. 

-"...And I'll thank you both if you’d let me do my damn job now!" 

With a sudden burst of rage, Arthur slammed his fist down on the wooden table with enough force to make it shake. 

A heavy silence filled the room, punctuated only by the faint sound of shallow breathing and the distant ticking of a clock. The auror's face contorted in anger, his lip curling to reveal two sharp fangs as he glared at the three slytherin students before him.

Taking a deep breath to regain his composure, he motioned for Lorra to enter through the ominous black door. As it closed behind them with a heavy thud, they were enveloped in an eerie silence, unable to hear anything from the other side. 

-"Arthur is the true living image of Uncle Solomon. They are so alike they can't even tolerate each other. That's one of the reasons he left Feldcroft, they are just like two drops of water, him and his dad " As they stood outside the door, Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle grimly at the irony. 

-“I didn't even know you had a cousin, Sebastian. Charming he is…”

-“Something changed in him ever since he returned from Paris, where he was mentored by Professor Bertrand Caillet. He was already moody and insufferable, but after his return, everything went downhill…

Their chat was interrupted by the sound of muffled voices and screams coming from inside. Panic crept into their minds - could they possibly be torturing her?

Sebastian grabbed Ominis’ hand, in which he had his wand pointing at the door trying to catch a better glimpse of what was- or could- be happening. Sebastian slowly pulled it in another direction. He wanted to prevent his friend from the possible scenarios coming to his mind. 

"Don't torture yourself with unnecessary thoughts, Ominis. If anything happens to her, I'll make sure Arthur pays for it with every last tooth." 

His comment barely registered, and Ominis just nodded silently, feeling frozen in place. 

But amidst the chaos and uncertainty, there was something else lurking just beneath the surface. An urgent need to share something important with Ominis, caused Sebastian to speak up despite the difficult circumstances. 

-"I know this is not a good time," he began hesitantly, "but I need to tell you something important." 

The blonde's attention now fully shifted to his friend

-"Anne has been-"

The creaking of the door interrupted Sebastian and jolted Ominis out of his trance-like state. Sebastian's sharp gasp and urgent movements snapped him to attention. Something was clearly wrong. Ominis’ eyes immediately shut to concentrate on what his wand was showing him was happening”.

Lorrain was being carried out of the room by Arthur and the other auror. 

She looked drained and pale, her normally vibrant features now marred by tear streaks and bloodshot eyes. She appeared exhausted and on the brink of collapse.

Arthur attempted to lay her gently on the sofa, but was quickly pushed aside by Sebastian and Ominis, whom took over the task of carefully placing her down on the stiff old cushions. The other auror hovered nearby, holding a small bottle of Withering potion to aid in her recovery. 

“We are not the monsters here, you know” the older Sallow said with full regret on his face. 

“Well you’ve certainly been behaving like one!” Ominis yelled at him, losing his grip as he could feel Lorra’s cold cheeks. 

Ominis had never felt the urgency to try to heal someone as hard as he wished he could at that moment. His hands traveled from her cold and sweaty forehead to her chest, that was beating so fast she could barely breath.

-“Sebastian, what did your cousin do to her?”

- “She’s just tired. Unharmed. She’ll be alright”

- “Does she look alright to you?!” Ominis yelled at Arthur but was quickly interrupted by the sound of the main door opening.

The -not so- imposing figure of Hogwarts' Headmaster, Phineas Black, strode into the room, his leather vest stretched taut over his chest and his long black coat billowing behind him. His presence craved attention, and it was clear he expected an answer or verdict from the other aurors in tow. 

-"W-What are you two doing here? Ugh, matter of no importance. Well, Arthur?" he demanded carelessly to the auror. The students just listened intently as Black continued his questioning. 

-"Have you determined her guilt or was this all just a waste of my time?" the Professor asked with a hint of impatience in his voice. The auror took a deep breath before responding. 

-“Despite administering Veritaserum at twice the legal dose and attempting Legilimency, we were unable to extract any useful information from her. Her early memories seem completely blank. As a result, we do not have enough evidence to move forward with a trial, Phineas. We are also waiting for the results of the Wand Weigher, but I’m afraid it’s a dead end”.

As if the words had fallen on deaf ears, Professor Black turned to face the blonde wizard next to him.

-"Young Gaunt, a word with you?" His stupid silly voice punched Ominis right in his brain.

Ominis rose from his seat, leaving Lorra in Sebastian's protective embrace, her now caretaker, making sure she drank all of the potion.

-"Do you understand, young Gaunt, that your family will not be pleased to see their youngest son associating with a criminal and a... stubborn farmer?" He gestured towards Lorrain and Sebastian with a dismissive wave of his hand.

-“I know... my father has made it clear... to some extent.” Ominis stumbled over his words, trying to translate them into something comprehensible from the ridiculous perspective of Black. 

Then it slowly dawned on him what was truly going on. This was no coincidence. This was perfect timing. 

How convenient…

-"Let me give you a piece of advice young man, from one pureblood to another: Stay away from them, until everything is sorted out and we know exactly what we're dealing with. I'm sure you understand what I’m trying to say." Professor Black spoke with a mix of pride and greed.

-"I do understand, Professor. Thank you for your wise words," Ominis forced himself to sound grateful and appreciative towards the headmaster, even though he was really just putting on a facade in an attempt to finish the conversation as soon as possible so he could return to Hogwarts. 

-"I'm so glad you understand... everything is for the greater good, isn't it? To maintain our pureblood status and connections." Professor Black finished with a smug smile as he patted Ominis' shoulder. 

Gaunt forced a polite smile in return, masking his true feelings towards the snobbish headmaster. He didn't even need his wand to see right through the facade of elitism and manipulation, all in the name of preserving their privileged standing. 

Ominis was smart. Extremely. He knew not playing along with the headmaster's game would only bring danger to him and his loved ones, but he had no choice. He had to maintain the facade of the well-behaved lamb, like he had always done. 

-"May I excuse myself? I believe I have more important matters to attend to." Ominis declared abruptly, feigning indifference to the tense situation.

-"There’s the young Gaunt I know! Of course, good boy. Get going and focus on your studies" Black replied with a sinister grin audible enough for others to hear. Ominis nodded in response.

As he walked away to the only chimney in the room, he slyly slipped his wand behind his left ear and whistled a tune. 

He hated whistling. 

But that was a signal to Sebastian, who caught the subtle motion and understood it immediately. They had devised this secret code years ago when they first met, and only they knew about it. Not even Anne, nor Lorra were aware of its existence. 

With a sneer on his face, Arthur scoffed as he watched the blonde wizard disappear into the green flames.

- "Well, well, isn't he just a quick changer?" he said mockingly, his contempt bubbling to the surface.

The headmaster only smiled proudly, convinced that he had managed to manipulate and control the situation to his advantage. But just as they began to bask in their self-righteousness, Matilda Weasley entered the room with two burly ministry officers, holding two chubby folders between her hands. 

-"Gentlemen," she announced with a smug smile, "I am pleased to inform you that this young witch is innocent of all charges you have falsely accused her of. And her wand has been thoroughly inspected by the Ministry. Not a trace of any Unforgivable Curses was found within its core." 

With a triumphant flourish, she handed over the sealed folders to Arthur Sallow for him to see for himself.

As he flipped through the pages, his eyes widened in shock. Every spell cast with her wand had been documented with meticulous detail. The evidence against her accusations of murdering Lady Igraine and Lord Gorlois were irrefutable.

-“Are you certain about this, Professor Weasley?” Professor Black's voice filled with disbelief and disdain as he stared at the green envelope with the results. His eyes were like daggers, willing her to be guilty of the false charges.

-“I made sure the officers followed all the proper protocol, Phineas. Prior Initio Incantato . It never fails,” Mrs. Weasley bit out through gritted teeth, her impatience evident. “Now, if I may, please take my students back to the school. This has been enough for today, don't you think?” She turned to face the Headmaster, a steely determination in her gaze.

-"Of course, of course, Mrs. Weasley," the Headmaster stuttered, clearly intimidated by her sharp tone. "Please, take them and be gone now. And umm...in the spirit of cooperation and convenience, I'll award 50 house points to Slytherin for your services to the school. Also, Merry Christmas!”

Mrs. Weasley scoffed at his pathetic attempt to silence his own students with mere house points. She couldn't help but feel disgusted by such a cheap attempt at manipulation. 

The deputy headmistress frantically pulled her two students close under her protective wing as they left the room threatening to consume them if they lingered any longer.

As they ascended in the elevator, Sebastian and Lorra stood silently at their professors' sides. She remained stoic, eyes scanning the elevator walls for any signs of danger.

-"Professor, how did y-" Sebastian began, but was cut off by a fierce look from her. 

-"You seem to have forgotten my past life as a curse breaker at the Ministry of Magic," she snapped, her voice laced with impatience. "I know how to navigate these treacherous waters, and there are some who still owe me favors, Mr. Sallow."

With a swift movement, they exited the golden elevator and she led them through twisting hallways, her pace almost frantic. In this moment, it didn't matter that she was their teacher - she was their protector. 

Lorra's breath caught in her throat as she whispered, finally regaining her voice. "You lied to them, professor, didn't you?" Her words hung heavy in the air, punctuated by the start of crackling sparks around them. 

"I did." She admitted. "They found evidence of all three Unforgivable curses on the wand they confiscated from you, Mrs Morgana. But that wand you gave them... it's not yours."

Without another word, the professor grabbed her students from the back and they disappeared into the closest chimney, leaving behind only a trail of green sparkles and swirling ash.

Notes

👉 Sebastian understood the assignment - protect your best friend's girl at all costs.

👉 Also I love the idea of Matilda Weasley being a badass

[iamnmbr3]

I honestly hate that it's framed as The Wizards Are Hiding From The Muggles For Fear Of Persecution like. No.

'They're scared of magic' the magic you're using to kill and torture? The magic you're using for dominance of other sentient species?

Also. The Muggles don't know they're there. The wizards make sure of that.

Yeah.... Honestly the whole Statue of Secrecy is just weird because wizards are so much more powerful than muggles. The explanation that Hagrid gives to Harry about why wizards are in hiding sounds like JKR didn't think her world building through very well propaganda made up to conceal the truth.

Wizard supremacist ideas are pretty common, even among people who aren't as extreme as Lucius Malfoy. And remember, that until the end of book 5 even Lucius was an extremely influential and well respected member of wizarding society. Yes, he kept some of his most violent ideas to himself, but very obviously he was able to openly voice a lot of what he believed and influence policy without significant backlash. Instead, it's people like Arthur Weasley who are looked down for being weird because they like muggles too much (and even Arthur doesn't truly see muggles as equals).

So given all of that it strains credulity that someone like Lucius wouldn't have been all 'you know what? let's just enslave the muggles.' This leads me to suspect that some muggles must have developed ways to fight wizards. Maybe they allied with other magical creatures or developed tech or got ahold of magical artifacts like the cursed necklace from book 6 that you can use to kill a magic user even if you don't have magic yourself. Perhaps muggleborns who sided with their muggle heritage were even the source of some of these means of fighting wizards, hence the fear and distrust of muggleborns among pureblood supremacists. I mean, using the same principals as the opal necklace, Hermione could probably make a gun with cursed bullets that a muggle could use to kill a wizard, if she wanted to.

This, combined with the fact that there are a LOT of muggles, could be the real reason that wizards exist in hiding and covertly influence the muggle world and make sure to wipe everyone's memories. I mean, they clearly have contact with muggle governments. I doubt Fudge is reporting the British Prime Minister out of the goodness of his heart because he cares about Muggles so much. There could well be a treaty of some sort. Yeah the Prime Minister doesn't know anything about it when Fudge shows up, but that's probably because his staff figured he'd be more receptive to the 'so magic is real actually' intelligence briefing AFTER meeting fudge.

The fact that wizards go to such lengths to conceal their presence and wipe people's memories suggest they are worried about what will happen if they get caught. Wizards are able to use their powers to maintain dominance by hiding their presence and influence and making sure that most people remain ignorant of their activities, since if they openly tried to just enslave everyone or openly went around treating muggles like animals, everyone would be able to band together and stop them...kind of like a less evil version of Russia now I think of it.

So yeah. They're in hiding not because muggles persecute them but because they want to get away with persecuting muggles.

[illwilledomen]

How does the magic system work?

I talked about it here a while ago, but some of it isn’t accurate anymore. Magic is powered by life and death — creation & destruction. It is a force of nature inherent to the world as gravity or temperature. It’s always there. Soul Energy (EXP), and Souls, are what give things life. In the most basic sense (though there are variables here) the more complex a being, the more EXP they have. If you squash a beetle, you’ll get a little. If you kill a rabbit, you’ll get more. If you kill a person, you’ll get a lot. It goes the other way, too. Sex and birth produce EXP as well. When reproductive sex occurs, the one bearing the child will receive an extra amount of experience. Producing a child releases a small amount of energy into the world, as well as imbuing some into the child itself (because otherwise it’ll be stillborn). Every living creature has some amount of EXP upon conception. Without EXP in your body, you are dead. Even the undead have EXP (they just don’t have the souls that go with it anymore). (more under cut)

So, we’ve established that death and life produce and require Experience, and that experience is the fuel for magic. What does this imply about performing magic yourself? That you must kill. Now, I said organisms have a base amount of EXP upon conception, dependent on their complexity, but this can change over time. You can obviously accrue and lose EXP through your life. For example, if you were a staunch vegetarian and your neighbour was an avid hunter and carnivore, your neighbour would fare better in the arcane arts than you because they would have far more experience in their body to power it. And if your neighbour three houses over was a serial killer/cop, they’d be a magic whiz. To become a wizard, you have to abandon your morals.

This is why villagers, staunch pacifists, have outlawed most forms of magic unless it is necessary, natural or does not require excessive murder. Clerics have to be very touchy about what magic they use. Villagers eat a bit of meat at some times of the year, and accrue experience from killing and eating fish and livestock, so they use this experience for potion brewing and golem construction, relatively low-energy intensive magic forms because they are dependent on other energy sources like redstone and chemical energy. (Enchanting is a little more contentious among villagers)

Illagers, as you may know, were historically descended from villagers who got the boot for doing the darker kinds of magic that DO contradict villager theology. Aka, one’s that require killing. This is why illagers are huge fans of the old ultra-violence [clockwork orange theme plays] because it powers magic and magic means power. Totems of undying are sort of EXP banks where a good deal of the energy accrued from raids is sucked into them for later use/resurrection of its owner. Lapis is an EXP conduit, hence why it’s used for enchanting, and as stated in a previous post, gives anyone imbedded with it (like a vindicator) extreme bloodlust.

[sitp-recs]

15 fics with different takes on Harry

Nobody asked but here’s another self-indulgent reclist to celebrate Harry’s HBD week! I wonder how many people are open to seeing their fave under a new light? Some readers can be very picky when it comes to characterization, myself included; it can be scary but I also believe that new approaches can be exciting and thought-provoking, and help us understand the multiple layers underneath their personality, as well as imagine how different things could have been had they lived under different circumstances. I am all for having my perspectives challenged so I thought it would be cool to share some of the fics that made me go 🤯🫢 with their bold and captivating take on Harry. These include dark unhinged Harry, down & out Harry, pitiful Harry, himbo Harry and some other tropes that I’ve found particularly creative and refreshing. Each fic is unique in their own way so come pick your flavour of fanon Harry and enjoy!

The Language of Power by Lokifan (E, 2k)

Harry loves talking in Parseltongue to Draco during sex: his response is just delicious.

Magpie by @corvuscrowned (E, 4k)

Potter doesn't steal because he needs anything, Draco quickly learns. He doesn't do it because it makes him feel anything. It isn't about power, and it isn't about control. Potter just does it because he can.

The Antique Bed Frame by @lazywonderlvnd (E, 5.4k)

Draco “needs his bed fixed.” Harry offers to help.

Better Left Dead by calrissian18 (T, 6.6k)

A love story and a half.

World's Edge by RurouniHime (E, 15k)

In the harshest environment on earth, Harry finds that escaping is harder than simply running.

Violent Delights by primaveracerezos (E, 20k)

Draco Malfoy's life should be going very well. He's engaged to a wonderful man and in line for the Head Auror job. He's been made lead investigator on a serial murder case, trying to figure out who is killing off the scum of the wizarding world, one by one.

A Year in Training by Omi_Ohmy (M, 25k)

Harry is finally living his dream and training as an Auror, but nothing seems to be going right: he’s just so angry all the time. And Draco Malfoy’s presence on the programme really isn’t helping with that, either.

Fearful Trill by @vukovich (E, 29k)

Harry should have come out and met someone when he was younger. He should have seen a doctor about the pain in his hip while youth was still on his side. Now, he's made his peace with dying young, but maybe not with dying alone.

He Who Must Not Be Normal by lettered (E, 41k)

Potter has fame and fortune and posh clothes and all he wants is a simple life. Draco has a flat and a cat and a steady job and all he wants is a complicated life. Which makes you think this story has something exciting like body-swapping, but it doesn’t.

REVOLVEVLOVER by firethesound, zeitgeistic (E, 46k)

The work Harry does is justifiable. It’s justice. He works for his country, and his country is a republic—the magical side, anyway. It’s not laudable work, it’s not work he’s proud of, but it’s necessary work. Harry has always taken the necessary jobs that no one else has the stomach for.

Chocolate and Pastry by agentmoppet, anemonen (E, 50k)

When Pansy bets Draco that there is no chance he and Harry could carry out a genuine romantic relationship, he and Harry form a plan. But as their fake relationship progresses, Draco sees a side of Harry he never expected.

Harry Potter Gives a Shit by talithan (E, 58k)

“Where are you headed?” “No place special,” Draco fumbled, and flushed further. But then: “I can change that,” said Harry Potter.

Absolution by sunnyeclipses (E, 63k)

At the mercy of his failing marriage, Harry only meant to use the potion once — to get Draco to listen. It’s not his fault that it works so well and that Draco’s just so easy to control.

Balance, Imperfect by @bixgirl1 (E, 91k)

When Harry sustains an injury in the line of work, he no longer knows how to navigate the life he loved, and finds help and solace from the most unexpected source.

A Sword Laid Aside by @korlaena (E, 128k)

When Draco’s cover is blown during a deep undercover operation and the Ministry is compromised, Ron takes Draco to the only safe place he can think of—Potter. Hiding out with a taciturn Harry Potter, who has been missing from the Wizarding World for almost two decades after a shocking fall from grace, is nothing like Draco thought it would be.