#cut and past chart books

[indianbookdepot12]

Why Hands-On Learning with Cut and Paste Books Is Important

In today’s world, learning is much more than just reading from a book. It’s about experiencing, exploring, and creating! At ibdmaphouse, we believe that kids learn best when they’re actively involved, and that’s why our Cut and Paste Books have become favorites among young learners.

[emilykaldwen]

FFWAD 24 - Sins of the Father by @selfproclaimedunicorn

For my first foray into this yearly celebration with @renegadeguild, I picked the brilliant and fantastic story, Sins of the Father by @selfproclaimedunicorn. Misa has taken the fantastic AU premise 'What if Daemon Targaryen and Rhea Royce had kids?' and has run with it in the most delicious and satisfying way. The story isn't complete, but the first 'arc' has a good stopping point at a whopping 160k words, which made for the chonkiest book you could imagine.

This was the twelth book I've bound (both fic and rebinds of old favorites) and I tried several new techniques for it including rounding and backing the spine. I also stretched my legs in the formatting department and went all in with the interior. That meant ordering some special springhill paper to do these fantastic maps for the endpages. Full details behind the cut!

Typesetting: Normally I've kept my settings pretty minimal as I got used to the ins and outs of InDesign (during this, I did purchase Affinity Publisher and might end up moving to that, but I'm finally getting the hang of ID and you can pry it from my cold hands). I really wanted to mimic some of the interior of Fire & Blood for this, so I hunted down the fonts used and took an image of the decorative banner you see on the sides to use for the chapter openers. I also wanted to include timelines and family trees in true historically inspired fantasy tradition.

The family tree was created based off of the author's spreadsheet in Google Drawing, which I found to be the easiest thing to use when it comes to creating chaotic family trees like this (In the past I'd used lucid chart for a printable version, but google worked better here).

the timeline is honestly my favorite thing and I learned how to use tables in ID for the first time. I'm incredibly pleased with it. The formatting is based upon the line of kings in the source. The timeline covers the events of the first arc as printed in this particular story.

The chapter openers are some of my favorite! As the children are proud to be House Royce, I wanted to reflect that. The runes you see behind the Chapter number and title are the Floki font and name the character whose the POV for each chapter.

Since there's plenty of High Valyrian spoken and the author doesn't include the translations within narrative, it was the perfect moment to set up footnotes. I'll absolutely be doing this for my own story when I bind it!

Rounding and Backing: So this was a total adventure, but I really wanted the old book feel. I made the mistake of pressing the book for too long and lost a lot of the swell in the spine to round but it worked out AND I managed to back it a little bit. Since I wasn't doing cord tapes for the spine (this was a version of the three piece bradel), I had to troubleshoot. I ended up cutting strips of the leather cord I bought from michaels and laminating those pieces together and placing them on the oxford hollow on the spine (given how thick the book is, I wanted to give it as much structural strength as possible). The 'leather' covering you see is actually the craft leather (polyester) from Dollar Tree and it's pretty awesome but definitely has difficulties staying put with glue. I followed the normal procedure and slathered both sides up and used twine to compress the bookcloth along those leather pieces. there's a little gaping in some places which I think would help if I'm able to properly apply backing paper to the polyester.

HTV do's and don'ts: Hi! don't be me and forget to apply your teflon sheets before applying the HTV because then you fuck with the polyester but it's not too bad. The other pro-tip is to gently apply the iron to the cover so it's warm before applying the HTV so it can start to stick. I had to apply the front cover in three pieces and do the title twice. Also, it's really difficult to apply HTV to a rounded spine so I'll have to figure out how to set up the spine and cover before applying (since there's a certain amount of stretching the bookcloth over the spine). The spine might end up having to be regular adhesive vinyl for that. Also, it's stupidly hard to find metallic HTV in bronze.

Front matter and final thoughts: The bronze dragon was a lucky find through an extensive google search, and the runes surrounding it are 'we remember with fire and blood', a combination of House Royce and House Targaryen's words. Seems fitting four Yorick, Ella, and Aemon! The copyright page is mimicked off the source's style, including the AO3 information, the creative commons and fair use information, the guild stamp, a QR code to the AO3 page, and my own press stamp! The summary is pulled from AO3 as well.

All in all, I made this book twice and I loved it and learned so much every time.

I'm so happy with this project and I'm so excited to do the next arc! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful story, Misa!

[raguiras]

Meet my Yumeship

Yay, the second part of my official Allen x Deuce ship introduction is here! (FIRST PART)

Reblogs are super appreciated teehee

The ship's blog (daily facts, rambles & more est. May 2024): @spade-of-storms

Explanation of the chart & the first part of the relationship timeline below the cut!

I've also been cooking something else up for the past few days, so please look forward to it!

The reason why Allen and Deuce's behaviour towards each other is so different in comparison to how they act with other people is actually quite simple.

These two have a ridiculous amount of kinship. Their experiences, wishes for the future, worries, opinions and morals are essentially the same despite being different, which allows Allen and Deuce to have an absolutely blind understanding and extremely easy communication with each other. Additionally, their experiences are reversed (former honor student with great self-control who's now a lowkey delinquent & former delinquent with little self-control aspiring to be a model student), which adds to them being able to efficiently help and understand each other entirely on a very deep, personal level.

Deuce is able to open up A LOT more to Allen than to anyone else due to their special intimacy. While everyone knows Deuce as a hardworking guy with regrets who wants to better himself, Allen has access to much deeper feelings because of how much Deuce trusts and relates to him. This not only sets Allen (who is my Yuu) apart from the canon Yuu, but also explains why the relationship timeline below talks about Deuce's feelings and struggles on a much more intense level than the game does.

But how did they reach this point? And how did their relationship get so intense? Here's a little bit of a relationship timeline!

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PROLOGUE

Allen and Deuce met on their first day of school when Allen was chasing Ace. For Deuce, it was pretty much love at first sight and he immediately knew he'd love to get to know this mysterious, mildly intimidating boy — Allen radiated an aura of intelligence, confidence, extreme toughness, ethereal beauty and utter determination. Deuce was pretty much just staring at him like "...woah".

Allen displayed a lot of these very characteristics (+ maturity) during the prologue and Deuce was already admiring him a ton. This guy really had all the attributes that made Deuce nervous around someone, huh...?

Due to Deuce's extreme determination to not get expelled, Allen immediately sensed that something was off. Teens (including Allen himself) weren't usually this keen on going to school... And Deuce, too, had his suspicions about Allen due to how this mature, composed and witty boy dressed like a rebel.

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BOOK 1

When Deuce first displayed his delinquent characteristics, Allen not only comforted him, but also opened up about his own tendencies and the fact that he used to be a model student before he became a lowkey delinquent himself. Deuce was a bit impressed that Allen was just like him in a way, so his kinship towards him immediately grew. However, the second Allen offered to help him with his impulse control and talk more about these topics, it was absolutely OVER for Deuce — not only was Allen pretty and smart, but also similar to him and willing to give him a safe space despite barely knowing him.

For Allen, this was a fairly unusual gesture as well. He's often apathetic and doesn't usually offer to help people nor relates to others. However, seeing that Deuce struggled with the exact same thing as him in a different way, Allen didn't even have to think about it and immediately knew that he wouldn't regret talking more to a rare person with similar experiences and thoughts. Maybe they could help each other in a way...?

Shortly after these events, they already started talking about their experiences together. However, it was mostly Allen asking questions about Deuce first, trying to keep his own past in wraps. Deuce's past and his regrets felt familiar to Allen, and he admired Deuce's aspirations to become a model student. He did, however, sense that something was off.

As they hung out more during Book 1, Allen's secret suspicion that Deuce tried too hard to be someone he naturally wasn't slowly confirmed itself already. Deuce expressed a dislike towards hard topics from class and struggled heavily with his homework, yet kept saying that he had to do well. What came off as someone being ambitious and working hard to others was the beginning of self-destruction in the eyes of burnt-out former honor student Allen, and he decided to keep an eye on Deuce. Additionally, Allen offered to tutor him, which Deuce excitedly accepted.

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BOOK 2

Between Book 1 and Book 2, Allen's brain decided to randomly let him relive the pain he had experienced as a bullying victim back in his world in great detail. That exact night, Deuce came to Ramshackle after a fight with Ace, wanting to ask Allen if he could stay over. This was when a violently crying Allen opened the door... and Deuce's suspicion that something was wrong with Allen was confirmed, too. When Deuce asked him about what had happened, Allen decided to finally open up about his past — after all, the other boy had done the same — and it only made Deuce's feelings grow. Allen assumed that he was being perceived as weak for crying, but to Deuce, it only made him even stronger. Enduring all that unjustified hatred and still carrying on with confidence... it was nothing short of admirable to Deuce. Additionally, he felt both saddened and incredibly angered hearing how Allen was severely bullied and almost driven over the edge because of something he couldn't control. This boy was so beautiful and special... why did he have to suffer? Was he doing better these days...? That night, Deuce made a silent promise to himself that he'd protect Allen.

The two kept spending lots of time with each other, talking and developing more and more trust with every sentence. They were so similar... two delinquents perceived as scary who both wanted to prove others wrong, be admired, craved meaningful relationships, hated bullies, had experiences with anger issues, wanted justice to prevail, and struggled with school in some way... and this wasn't even everything yet. Additionally, Allen started showing Deuce some effective ways of handling impulsiveness that worked on himself, too, and Deuce was intrigued. The two also didn't hesitate to rant together, which allowed both of them to let off steam and be angry in a safe environment while being fully understood by the person in front of them.

Allen also helped Deuce with his studies more often. However, Deuce sometimes kindly declined his offers and simply asked Allen to supervise him instead, wanting to learn and study by himself in order to prove himself that he could indeed achieve better grades through his own effort. Allen silently watched out for Deuce not pushing himself too hard because he could sense that what looked like hard work on the outside was tied to something much deeper on the inside...

When Deuce walked in on an annoyed Allen one day, he found out that the blonde boy had "messed up" a drawing and blamed himself for not being a good artist. Deuce comforted him and thought that Allen's art was genuinely amazing, but what the boy said next shattered Deuce's heart. "I don't care if I'm good... apparently I can only be someone if I'm the best at something. And I'm far from being best at anything. I'm doomed to be a nobody, I guess." Never in a thousand years did Deuce expect the current Allen — the seemingly perfect, confident, calm, tough and effortlessly beautiful Allen who often had a sly smirk on his face — to think about himself like this. After asking if this was the only thing Allen felt insecure about, the boy decided to open up further and tell Deuce how he also despised his own appearance. The blue-haired boy was genuinely shocked because to him, Allen was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and he couldn't care less about Allen's rather unique body either. How could he show Allen that he was actually stunning...?

In return, Deuce also opened up about his own insecurities to Allen on a deep level — something he had never done before out of fear of being made fun of. While the Ramshackle student wasn't surprised, it still hurt him to hear just how lowly Deuce thought he was... What sounded like a motivated "I don't have a lot going for me, but I'm doing my best!" to everyone else had always been a "It hurts to have nothing other than negative traits going for me and I hate myself for the fact that I don't improve at anything no matter how hard I work" in Allen's eyes, and here was the direct confirmation. If only Deuce could see that all those 'negative' traits he had were actually admirable and useful...

The two ended up having an extremely heartfelt talk that mostly consisted of them showering each other in genuine compliments and admiration. Deuce had never been able to see the things he hated about himself in such a positive light... and his heart was yet again beating like crazy.

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BOOK 3

When finding out that Deuce had made a contract in order to get better grades, Allen got even more concerned due to the boy's desperation and decided to finally have a heart-to-heart talk with him about how hard he was pushing himself. Allen knew that being a model student was a role Deuce was forcing himself into too hard and that it was prone to go wrong, especially considering how Deuce's natural self was quite different from it. Since part of Allen's trauma stemmed from being an honor student himself, overworking himself a ton, and having to deal with a ridiculous amount of highly unrealistic expectations and passion, he didn't want the same to happen to his friend — but if Deuce neglected himself and paid attention to nothing but his honor student persona, it was prone to happen one day. Allen told Deuce that there was no shame in accepting help, and the Heartslabyul student eventually saw that relying on himself only wouldn't help with improving his grades. As a result, Deuce started accepting Allen's offers to assist him fully, and Allen immediately came up with some original study methods and mnemonic bridges tailored specifically for Deuce. Additionally, Allen wasted no opportunity to tell Deuce yet again that he didn't have to change the core of his being in order to become the person he aspired to be, and that Deuce's "negative traits" were actually helpful assets.

Whenever Deuce wasn't busy at the Mostro Lounge, they would study together. Allen made sure that it was enjoyable and fun for the already stressed Deuce and paid great attention to his wellbeing. Every time Deuce was about to fall back into his old behaviours due to the stress and feeling of betrayal stemming from the entire Octavinelle situation, Allen reminded him of the impulse control methods or introduced Deuce to new ones. At other times, they would find a secluded place where Deuce could safely let off steam... Slowly but surely, the Heartslabyul freshman was able to get his anger under control.

The second it was obvious that Allen needed a new temporary residence, Deuce immediately knew that he wanted to share a bed with him. He accidentally mentioned this thought to Ace, who then teased Deuce about a possible crush on Allen. Deuce obviously denied everything and said that Allen was merely his best friend, but deep down, he knew that Ace was completely right. When Ace later suggested that Allen shared a bed with either him or Deuce and Allen denied in order to stay at Savanaclaw, Deuce's heart ached a little and he simply laughed it off.

By now, Deuce and Allen were much more touchy, too. Allen usually hated it when people touched him, but Deuce was an exception due to how close him and Allen already were at this point. And every time Allen touched Deuce, a firework went off within the Heartslabyul student's heart...

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BOOK 4

Allen didn't understand why he was suddenly feeling empty at the knowledge that Deuce left for home during the holidays. He was merely a friend, right? Why did his two-week departure sadden Allen...?

The second Deuce read Allen's SOS message, he immediately packed his things and stormed off. He would've done the same for other friends, but certainly not reacted this impulsively... and knowing that Allen was in a tricky situation literally freaked him out. When his mom asked Deuce why he was leaving for school in the middle of the holidays, the teenager explained everything to her... and finally admitted that he loved Allen. Dylla was the first person to know about Deuce's massive crush and immediately pulled him into a hug.

Deuce was extremely fidgety and nervous during the entire travel back to NRC and Ace couldn't miss it. When he said that "Allen was merely in a difficult situation, you should chill", Deuce verbally lashed out at him and went on about how great Allen was. Ace then brought up his suspicion that Deuce liked Allen as more than a friend again, and Deuce simply replied with "So what if I do?!" this time. Needless to say, the rest of the ride was packed full of teasing and jokes at Deuce's cost...

The minute Allen and Deuce reunited, they shared a lung-crushing hug and felt their hearts race like crazy. Deuce was incredibly happy to see that Allen was doing okay, and Allen suddenly felt much happier...

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That's it for now! The happenings from Book 5-7 and everything after that up until they finally start dating are going to covered in my next Allen x Deuce post. I hope you liked it! ♠️🌪

If you have any questions about the ship or want to draw them, please do not hesitate!

[rou-luxe]

ikevil hcs - how they hold your hand

sorry @sh0jun 😔

well welcome back to my hand hyperfixation 💀 I could've posted this on my fanfic alt but I'm not feeling it

under the cut

William Rex

really warm hands, without question. it's like touching the stove (exaggerating)

he'd probably prefer to hold you by the waist or have you hold his arm, but hand holding is fine too

won't hesitate to warm your hands

you don't even need to ask, he'll just hold your hands in his instinctively and warm them.

william takes extra care not to scratch your hands. william, where do you get your nails done omg

you two probably start the hand holding equally. it just comes naturally, no need to ask or anything. it's like it's telepathic.

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Harrison Gray

normally, his hands are at a normal temperature, but lean slightly towards the cold side.

if they're any colder than that, it's probably due holding the gun or staying out in the rain.

his hands have a bit of cold sweat at times, from holding the books or pens for such a long time during his day job.

if there is any, harrison tries to wipe that sweat off before holding your hand, though.

pretty sure his nails are short, unpainted, and clean unlike a certain self-righteous monarch. unless liam does his nails...

like with william, it comes naturally. harrison wouldn't like awkward silence so he just goes right ahead...

harrison would probably really like hand holding. it feels like a reassurance to him.

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Liam Evans

NOT ONLY HAND HOLDING, A TON OF CUDDLES. ALL DAY. EVERY DAY. I'm not complaining. we'll cure each other with endless cuddles.

comfortably warm.

liam's hands are really soft. with his job, there's never really been any need for him to do hard labor.

when do you hold hands? whenever. anytime.

other than hugs, liam probably reaches for your hand when he or you are sad.

he either holds your hand gently or he'll never let you go. no in-between.

I feel like he'd hold hands and run his hands through your hair a lot... you're just too adorable ❤️❤️

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Elbert Greetia

elbert's hands are so cold, it's scary. it's as cold as a corpse.

he's not sick, this is just his normal temperature.

I feel like he'd have bony / veiny hands... the poor baby doesn't get enough nutrition 💔

with his past, good luck trying to hold his hand or touch him at all... he'd definitely hold alfons' hand, though. god they're in love

maybe he'd hold your hand once he trusts you more...

whatever you do, don't force him into doing it. that's an immediate death sentence. let him initiate it.

elbert would hold your hand in such a tight grip that you feel the blood rushing out of your hand. your hand gets crushed by his beautiful, slender marble fingers. they're not as delicate as they look. he loves you. you're his. and he will never let you go.

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Alfons Sylvatica

ridiculously long section that's over 2-3 times the others, what did you expect from me of all people

I got a bit off topic 🤭

there's no way this man doesn't have a hand kink

I'm not projecting I swear

alfons path speedrunners back me up here

gloveless, his hands are probably warm, but not as warm as william's. you can still feel the warmth faintly through the gloves.

slightly veiny hands. not as much as roger, though.

firm grip and nothing else. no disagreements here

not enough to break your hand like elbie, I accidentally put alfons too far left in the chart. but still a pretty firm grip.

he has very strong hands from his experiences...

oh to be alfons' glove...

alfons loves when you stroke his palm and his wrist... and when you kiss and bite it too 😇 (HE WILL REPAY IN KIND.)

he'd probably prefer other forms of physical affection, but like harrison, it probably gives him a sense of security.

he's always extending his hand in his sprite. I'll hold his hand. I'll get on one knee and kiss his hand like a prince

the type to stroke the back of your hand with his thumb

it doesn't matter who starts the hand holding, alfons will let go when he feels like it. but if you refuse to let go, he'll chuckle a bit and indulge you for a while longer

alfons never shows how he truly feels. but perhaps if he's feeling a bit down, in the unlikely occurrence that something really got to him, he'd be more inclined to certain physical habits more than others. something would be a bit off about him and his gaze... alfons would be zoning out, his empty, sunken eyes begging for deliverance... he'd hold your hand, still smiling as always... but no matter what, there's always something pained in that expression of his.

I will shut up now

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Roger Barel

after all these years of taking care of patients, roger naturally has firm and steady hands.

his hands and arms are full of veins.

roger doesn't know his own strength... he might accidentally grip your hand too hard.

he'd hold your hand anytime. you'd have to ask him, though.

or maybe it'd be a reward for helping him out.

roger would probably initiate it. he'd would listen for the way your heart responds. if you don't like it, he won't try it again. if you do, he'll hold your hand if he feels like it.

he doesn't mind as long as he's not in the middle of an experiment. that's off-limits, it's not safe for you or him.

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Jude Jazza

jude doesn't care much for hand holding. it restricts him from a lot of things.

he cares a lot about practicality. what if you two are suddenly ambushed?

for that reason, his grip is pretty loose. but his hands are actually pretty solid.

if jude wanted to grip you as a warning, he'd grip your wrists, not your hands.

I was actually debating about whether he'd have cold or warm hands... I say cold.

he'd only hold your hand if you beg hard enough

watch as his face gets slightly pink.

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Ellis Twilight

...IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY. what did you expect.

ellis is pretty chill, maybe a looser grip.

his hands are a little warm. his hands' temperature varies by day, but if they're cold, then you should probably be worried.

perhaps his hands are a little rough from all the dirty work he does for jude...

the sweet boy won't force you in the slightest. you have to initiate it.

but he might ask politely 🥺🥺 please say yes

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Victor Victor sorry

hear me out, I think he'd actually have cold hands. despite his personality, that's the vibe I'm getting.

+ cold temperatures are traditionally associated with death. now, wouldn't it befit our grim reaper?

victor has naturally strong hands as well, but doesn't use them as much as roger.

he'll pull tricks on you... perhaps when he lets your hand go you'll find a little slip of paper in it. it either has a joke or a love confession in there. probably both.

victor is rather capricious. one day he'd prefer to hold your hand, the other he'll sweep you off your feet. as long as you're happy.

◇

here's the crappy chart

let me know if you'd like to be tagged in my headcanon / writing posts!! (applies mostly to my fanfic sideblog @mrssylvatica)

I've actually always wondered about the suitors' hand temperatures, I wish those were covered in-game...

[joejhang]

why kevjean doesn't work.

i'm sad about it too but hear me out. spoilers ahead continue at ur own risk.

look it makes me so sad to say it but kevjean does not work in this universe (i know, this also means it doesn't work, by extension, in any universe, considering jean is dead.) and i need y'all to hear me out on this. everyone theorising that kevjean will be the endgame ship in tsc i hate to break it to u all: not only does that not at all align with anything in canon, but it also would just be a really bad writing decision on nora's part.

LET ME EXPLAIN. jean's arc in tsc is first and foremost about healing. i think everything and every relationship jean has throughout the tsc trilogy has to lend itself towards that in some way, and ultimately has to resolve in jean being in a better place than he was at the beginning, and if not done healing, then being certain that one day he will be. (this is how jean is when he graduates from usc in the current canon ec).

following this line of thought, jean logically can't end up with kevin. and not just because it contradicts canon, because i fully believe nora is free to contradict any of the ec she wants in tsc, but because fundamentally, it would not aid in jean's healing arc.

i see the appeal, i really do. kevin and jean have insane lore, off the charts chemistry and tension and are actually extremely compatible. but that isn't enough in this case to justify an established relationship between the two of them that isn't in the past. (don't get me wrong i am a WHORE for past kevjean/kevjean situationship/unrequited kevjean it's all very yum).

i genuinely think getting into a relationship w kevin at this point in the story would hurt and hinder jean's healing arc. kevin, through no fault of his own, is so deeply entwined with jean's trauma and memories in evermore that he literally cannot be anything but a trigger and catalyst for bad memories and grief/anger in jean. y'all forget just how deep kevin's departure cut jean (not just physically), and jean hasn't even entirely worked things out with kevin yet. they have a lot of dirty laundry to air out, both between the two of them and their relationship as well as about neil and r*ko. people also forget that kevin and jean both played a role in each other's abuse. jean said himself that it destroyed him, how easy it was to fall into kevin's bystander role. they both were witnesses and bystanders to each other's abuse by r*ko or tetsuji. that doesn't mean it was their fault, and they literally could not have done anything to help or stop anything, but it doesn't mean it didn't have an affect on the other nonetheless. i feel like ppl r missing a lot of nuance in this context: kevin and jean's relationship has always been inherently tragic, even if it doesn't end with a fall out. they've always been each other's greatest friend in the worst places, and they've always been forced to witness the trauma done to both of them. they're bond is complicated, even if the love is there (which i think it is). i won't call it a trauma bond but i do think their bond is deeply influenced and intertwined with their shared trauma.

even if they did work thru everything, i honestly think jerejean is the only way to go here. nora has laid the groundwork for that mutual attraction and trust there in book one, and now we're just gonna have to see how it plays out. they may not be together properly until jean graduates, but i don't see a problem with that. i think, at the end of the day, it's not a matter of if it'll happen but when. jean needs jeremy (and cat + laila) right now, and there's a reason kevin chooses to send him to the sunshine court, and it's not just cos they're the only team worthy of jean's skill. "their kindness matters." kevin says, and it does. jeremy + the trojans innate kindness and care towards jean are what he needs to heal and grow out of the ravens' shadow. being with kevin i fear would jeopardise that. at the end of the day, kevin is too deeply rooted in jean's past, which is a veritable goldmine of trauma that, while does need to be acknowledged and talked about, does not need to be dug up again. this isn't jean or kevin's fault, just a fact.

i think nora's also made it pretty clear that kevjean (whether requited or not) is a thing of the past. the love was there, and it might've changed everything and it might've changed nothing, but the love was there. and maybe it still is. but things have changed, and they're both going their own way and i think it's really important to understand that.

side note: this is also part of the reason i'm not the biggest fan of thea and kevin's relationship. i'm not actually sure if they're all that good for each other, given how/where their relationship began and developed. i don't doubt they care for and love each other, but i just don't know if they're the best people for each other in terms of like...wellbeing. anyway does anyone have any good kevaaron fic recs???

[mybutcheredtongue]

I'll Love You 'til the Grass Around My Gravestone is Deceased

harry potter timeline Sirius Black x fem!reader

You lived out your years at Hogwarts with the company of your best friends, Lily Evans and Alice Fortescue. You fell in love with one of the infamous Marauders, Sirius Black. After school, you married and became Mrs Black, living in a home full of love and life with your faithful husband. Your happy life is cut short when Sirius is wrongfully convicted of the murder of Peter Pettigrew and several muggles, and sent straight to Azkaban without trial. The Ministry thinks you must be connected, but after several days of investigation and questioning, litres of veritaserum thrown down your throat, you're proven innocent. You have maintained his innocence ever since, knowing Sirius would never do something like that. The only person who'll hire you is Albus Dumbledore, and with his help your name is reverted to its maiden and your past is buried deep.

This story follows your life during your time as a professor at Hogwarts when Harry Potter joins the school and everything changes.

FULL of angst but has a happy ending.

No use of Y/N

This fic is mostly a collection of moments and scenes! So a lot of time skips.

p.s. title is from the song "I Love You" by Fontaines D.C. — one of my favourite bands!! would so so recommend checking them out :)

CHAPTER ONE (see full series list here)

1991

You glance at your watch, the hand ticking slowly as it moves to show 9:03 p.m.

Finally, the large wooden door opens and a scrawny young boy pushes forward, huffing tiredly, and less than 20 odd first-year students filter into the astronomy tower.

"Evening, everyone!" You say cheerfully. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws stand awkwardly as they gaze around the room in wonderment.

You feel proud of it. The last astronomy professor had left this room a little...boring, so when you came into employment you spruced it up a little bit. Though there aren't many to write on, each wall is plastered in hand-painted constellations with their names in 5 languages written underneath. You had cast a spell on the floor to conjure up a moon, one that matched the real one's lunar phases. Today, a waxing gibbous.

Telescopes line the edges of the circular room, each pointing high into the sky. You eye your favourite for a moment, the same telescope you'd used during your own years as a student at Hogwarts.

It feels like home in this room.

"Welcome to the Astronomy Tower," you say with a smile. "Here, you'll learn all about the wonders of our universe and its planets, galaxies, stars...everything. Please, find a telescope and stand behind it. We'll start with charting some simple constellations today."

The students obediently line behind a telescope each. Your eyes immediately focus on a young boy, with jet black hair and circular glasses. You lose your train of thought for a moment, feeling as though you're looking at a ghost.

He's the very image of James Potter.

Then, he turns to look at you and his eyes strike you. Green and vibrant, full of youth and gentleness.

Lily.

You feel your breath catch in your throat, but quickly shake your head of the grief and clap you hands, smiling at the students again.

"Astronomy is one of the very few subjects that is present in both the wizarding and the muggle world. That means that there are millions of resources out there for all of you to use, whether it be from a wizarding standpoint or a muggle one! Interesting stuff," you continue. "Now, I want you all to do a small task for me. Look through your telescope — please don't change any lenses just yet — and try and see if you can spot a constellation. Then, using the first page of your book, see if you can figure out which constellation it is. Call me over when you think you have one!"

The students immediately start rooting through their bags for their Astronomy textbooks and you sigh gently, content with your introduction. First-years are always well interested and curious about everything, so Astronomy is a pretty easy subject for them to get into. After all, lots of the first year curriculum is just looking at pretty stars and constellations.

"Professor, I think I have one!" A young Gryffindor girl with bushy brown hair and an excited face says to you, throwing her hand in the air enthusiastically.

You smile, walking over to her. "What's your name, dear?"

"Hermione Granger, professor."

"And what constellation do you think you've found?"

"Aquila, professor," she beams, pointing a finger to the small, 'T' shaped constellation in her book.

You close one eye and look through her telescope, noticing it immediately.

You grin at her. "Well spotted, Miss Granger! Excellent work." You glance at her scarlet and gold tie. "5 points to Gryffindor for being the first one!"

Her face lights up proudly.

"Now, let's see if you can find any of the stars present in it. Any at all, though you may find it difficult to differentiate — "

"The star of Altair, professor!"

Your eyes widen and you chuckle in surprise. "Well, aren't you just making my job a whole lot easier for me? Well done, Miss Granger. Please chart that constellation down on some parchment and continue looking."

In the next few minutes, many students find constellations and are charting them down. One boy seems to be having a particularly difficult time.

"Neville Longbottom, isn't it?" You say as you wander up to him. He jumps at the sound of your voice, knocking his forehead against the edge of his telescope and letting out a small yelp of pain. "Oh, sorry..." You wave your wand gently and his eyebrows raise, bringing a hand to his forehead in surprise.

"Just a small healing spell. For minor, minor injuries," you tell him. "How is your charting going?"

The boy's cheeks go red and his eyes focus on the floor beneath him. "I...haven't been able to find one, professor. I — I thought I had one ages ago, but there were too many stars in it..."

"Let me have a look, Mr Longbottom," you say kindly, bringing your eye up to the lens and grinning. "Well, you most definitely have found one. One I didn't think anyone would find!"

You glance at Neville's face, and he's the picture of shock.

"Pisces, Mr Longbottom. Trust your judgement! Excellent work."

Neville grins, and you step aside, but not before he says something else.

"Uh, professor..."

"Yes?"

"How do...how do you know my name?"

You study his face and smile again. The very picture of Frank Longbottom. With Alice Fortescue's mousy hair.

"I went to school with your parents, Mr Longbottom. You're the spitting image of your father."

Next, the young boy with jet black hair and glasses calls you over. Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.

"What one have you found, Mr Potter?"

As he looks at you, green eyes connecting with your own, you try your hardest not to see Lily staring back at you. You try your hardest not to picture your best friend, your honourary sister, a woman of true light in a world full of darkness.

Your heart has felt lonely since her absence. Since James. Since Alice. Since Frank. Since Peter.

You blink.

"Uh, Canis Major, I think?"

You swallow hard. Of course.

"Let me have a look see..." He's right of course, you don't even need to look. You can spot that constellation any night without a telescope. You know it like the back of your hand. "You're dead right, Mr Potter. Brilliant constellation, that is. Canis Major means 'the Great Dog', and it actually contains the brightest star in the night sky visible to our naked eye, Si — "

"Oh, wait, hold on..." Harry says, flicking through his book to find the page on Canis Major. He pauses, eyes skimming down the page. "Uh, Sirius, right?"

You bite your lip, feeling your heart speed up. You take a deep breath, forcing a smile. "Yes, Mr Potter. Sirius."

Your favourite star.

Your favourite person.

Your heart has been broken since his absence.

"Good work." You promptly spin on your heel, heading for your desk as you glance down at your watch. "Alright, everyone. Excellent work today! Now, I won't set anyone any written homework...but if you're truly interested and find you have a little free time, try and see if you can chart any other constellations! Night, everyone."

The students chat animatedly amongst themselves and exit down the spiral stairs, leaving you alone in the room. You sit down at your desk, sighing as you slip a key from your pocket and open one of the drawers. You pull out a small photograph, eyes wandering over the young, elated faces of James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, and yourself.

Graduation day.

One the left, you're standing in the middle of Alice and Lily, arms around them and laughing wholeheartedly. James stands beside Lily, arms around her and Sirius beside him, who's connected with Remus, Peter, and Frank.

You smile weakly. You remember that day, all full of hope and joy. There was some sadness too, sadness to be leaving Hogwarts and ultimately leaving childhood.

Your fingers gently skim over Sirius' face, feeling your heart ache.

What you wouldn't give to go back to that day.

⁠✧��*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

Dear Moony,

I hope you're well! School's started back up again. Been a bit crazy lately, sorry that I haven't written since your last letter. Someone let a troll into the dungeon. Quirrell went mad, fainted in the middle of dinner and set all the students into a panic. It was torture.

Harry's started here. It's hard to look at him sometimes. He's the image of James. It's uncanny. He has Lily's eyes, too. Sometimes I start to feel like I can talk to them through him, even though I know that's mad of me. Neville Longbottom's here too. He's just like his parents. Both in Gryffindor, you'll be happy to know.

Dumbledore's gave me strict instructions not to say a word to Harry about it all. Says it'll be too much for him. He won't be able to understand why I couldn't have raised him instead of the Dursleys. He says that Harry will only start digging around for more information on me if he finds out I'm his godmother. He'd ask about his godfather then. It's too much for a young boy to know that his godfather is in Azkaban.

I wanted to talk to him so bad, Remus. I want to tell him about his parents, show him the photos. I want him to be able to feel at home here, feel like he's got someone here. A part of his family. I know exactly what those Dursleys are like. Petunia always hated James, you know that well enough. I hate that I have to keep this secret for even longer.

I talked to young Neville though. Merlin, he has Alice's clumsiness, that's for sure. Such a sweet lad. He was more than happy to see photos of the two and hear stories about them. I feel like a little bit of the weight that's been hanging over me has been lifted. I even showed him that photo of Alice falling into the Black Lake in 5th Year. If she was of sound mind she'd surely throttle me for that.

I think I need to get out of the castle for a bit. Wanna get a coffee? It's been a while.

I've omitted a few details of the past few weeks so I have something interesting to tell you about next weekend, if you're up for it.

all my love,

You sign the letter, folding up the parchment gently and dropping it in an envelope. You grab your bland wax stamper and press a small circle of black wax over the envelope's seal. You slip it into your pocket and stand up from your bed. Beside you, your black cat, Dubh*, stirs from her sleep and meowls at you.

You give her a loving scratch behind the ears. "Just popping down to the owlery. I'll be back."

On your way down to the owlery, you pass two lanky, identical students with heads full of ginger hair. They haven't noticed you yet. They're peering around the corner at Filch, a suspicious-looking bag in one of their hands.

"Bit late for the two of you to be out, isn't it?" You whisper behind them. They wheel around immediately and their eyes widen in shock.

"Professor! We — uh, we weren't doing anything!" George blurts out.

"Don't you look just lovely tonight, Professor? There is such a...healthy glow about you," Fred remarks suavely and you raise an unamused eyebrow at him.

"I sincerely hope you don't think I'm that thick, Mr Weasley."

"Never, Professor!"

You sigh, shaking your head. "Off to bed, both of you. Quickly, before Filch can catch you. I advise you to keep your pranks within the time you're actually allowed out of bed."

Fred's shoulders slump in disappointment, his want for a good prank evident on his face. George however, is staring at you in surprise.

"No detention?"

Fred immediately smacks his hand over the back of George's head, scowling at him. "Don't give her any ideas!"

"Get going, you two."

They take it this time, quickly scampering down the hallway. You step out from it, into the same one as Filch, who's eyeing you suspiciously.

"Is someone there?"

"Only me, Mr Filch," you answer.

"I thought I heard voices."

"Just me. I was trying to remember a poem I heard recently, it's three pages long. Would you like to hear it?"

Filch's face contorts immediately. "No."

You shrug. "Suit yourself."

You walk past him and out into the cold night air, trying to suppress the smile on your face.

⁠✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

->-> read chapter two here!

*Dubh: pronounced 'duv'. Irish word for 'black'.

→ all types of interaction appreciated ♡

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Any tips for picking back up in the middle of a revision without having to start over? I wrote a book in 2019 and started a major revision in 2021. I printed the book and tore it apart with notes and switching timeline events/chapters around. Now I look at all the notes that are good advice and I would like to apply this progress to the story, but it's so overwhelming and jumbled up 😵‍💫

I've also recently picked up a back-burnered project I've been dreading, only to realize the notes I wrote solved 99% of the problems I had. The only thing holding me back was me, and it sounds like you're in the same boat.

Draft A New Outline - Having a way to track what changes you need to make is helpful, like using an Excel sheet (I know, but it does work) or color-coding changes. This will help so much, especially if you need to track big changes.

Go Through and Highlight What You Like - You may have to throw out whole chapters, but there's reasons you don't want to. Note what you really like - a turn of phrase, a character moment - and see if you can fit it in elsewhere. Always keep that cut folder or document to dig through later.

Set Micro Goals (And Keep Them!) - It's easier to dive into a new draft than to revise an old one. Chunk your goals in easy to accomplish ways. Instead of tackling a whole chapter a day, tackle a scene or a page. Instead of revising 800 words a day, narrow it down to 500 or 300. I make a big chart with my revision goals on it, and you're damn right I slap a cute Daiso sticker next to each goal accomplished. It really helps.

Work Backwards, Revise Forwards - If you have an all new ending with bigger and better stakes, figuring out how to get your plot there may require stepping back, chapter by chapter, to see what subplots you should add or scenes that need to be moved around.

However - and this is just what works for me - working toward a revised draft means starting the rewriting/revising process from Chapter One. That way I don't accidentally cover the same ground twice, and catch when I need to start a subplot sooner or rework descriptions I've used more than once.

Move Past The First 50 Pages - Don't get stuck at the beginning! It's so tempting to revise the first act to perfection, but you might need two or three more drafts to get to the real end of your story, and that might mean tossing all that hard work out. Keep going, and if you find yourself getting caught into fixing Chapter 3 when you're not sure Chapter 30 works, make a note and move on. Finishing your second draft is just as important as finishing your first.

Good luck and keep going!

[botanicalsword]

What does your Solar Return Chart look like?

I just wanted to check in and jot down some personal observations notes for my Solar Return chart.

How are you feeling so far? ♡

❥❥❥❥

Instagram : @le.sinex

♡̆̈

Self-love is a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. Embrace the process and be kind to yourself.

ʕ·͡ˑ·ཻʔ♥︎

Venus in 1H - I used to place a strong focus on my appearance, constantly checking myself in the mirror. However, this was not due to an obsession with my own body. Instead, I checked for any transformative changes in order to feel more confident and beautiful.

North Node in 1H - Improve overall well-being and learning to love and accept yourself for who you are. By focusing on your own personal growth and development, you can cultivate a sense of self-love that will radiate outwards and positively impact all areas of your life.

Jupiter in 6H - I was making a career change or upgrading my skills, I aim to learn new things and challenge myself. Seeking out mentors can provide valuable guidance and support as I navigate my new career path.

Sun in 12H - Personality transitions: I have been craving more knowledge and wisdom from books and online resources. However, I feel that there is not enough time to absorb all of this knowledge. As a result, I am searching for more channels to obtain the information I seek.

Moon in 1H - I was in a state of longing for something new and exciting to come into my life; a desire for recognition and the opportunity to make a name for myself. I had been feeling restless and unsure for a while, but determined to make a change. I was craving something different and wanted to reach my goals, but wasn't sure how.

Chiron in 12H - I was struggling with substance abuse, which had been affecting my daily life for quite some time. I knew that I needed to seek help for my mental health issues, which were related to trauma that I had experienced in the past. I understood that this was going to be a challenging journey, but I was determined to take the necessary steps to improve my well-being.

12H stellium - I stayed in a lot and enjoyed my own solitude, detoxing from social media and even taking a break from my network connections. Read a lot of spiritually oriented and self-help books.

Moon in 12H - My depression was a terrifying experience. I felt trapped in hopelessness and despair. The sadness and emptiness were unrelenting, and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Coping was a struggle, and at times, the darkness consumed me. It was difficult, but I am grateful for the lessons and strength gained.

Pluto in 10H - Struggle to work: too much distractions When become interested in learning about a subject or a new way of organizing information, may experience an intense focus and drive to learn.

Saturn/Moon aspect - I was more sensitive to feedback from teachers or people you admire and respect. I attempted to draw a line to limit myself.

Venus/Saturn aspect - I need to reevaluate my core values in order to better determine how to invest my time and energy in others, including potentially cutting off unnecessary relationships.

Ascendent in Libra - delighted to be surrounded by friends who respect each other's personal space, which makes for a great social circle.

North node/MC aspect - I was experiencing some difficulties with working on publicity and reputation. My lack of experience is making it difficult to develop an effective strategy for promoting my brand and building a positive reputation.

Mars trine moon - experiencing positive outcomes and making progress towards your goals - have the added benefit of feeling emotionally supported by the important people in your life such as friends, family, and colleagues.

❥❥❥❥

This is just my personal take from what I've seen and been through.

Masterlist @botanicalsword

[scarland-artbook]

i just wanted to leave a nice message for everyone who worked on this book, no pressure to respond or anything 🩷

i waited to open my book until i was having a bad day, because i knew it would cheer me up, and i was NOT disappointed. upon opening the box itself, i was already so delighted by the stickers and the postcard, and within the first few pages i started crying of happiness. such kind words for jellie, and so much love and effort that has gone into every single detail. the reference to the original scarland, the gardening charts, the architecture plots, the discarded concept pages, every easter egg from past seasons and hermits hidden within the pages. even the final page of the book has a pink silhouette of scarland, just showing how much effort was spent on this, that no corners were cut. the entire thing is filled with so much love and passion, and i cannot thank everyone who worked on this enough. i hope whoever ends up reading this has a wonderful day, and i hope all of you continue to make amazing things.

Thank you for such a lovely message, it fills us with joy knowing people are going through all the details <3

[snek-panini]

At long last, it is Post Stuff I Made Time again. The last time I had a book to show off was in May and that's just too long. Not a fic (this time. I have them, they're coming) but a journal:

I made this as a dnd journal for my husband, and it was originally supposed to be a Christmas present, then a birthday present (in March), and finally it has reached its true potential as a Labor Day Week present. But it's gorgeous, he loves it and I'm proud of it. The cover is Allure book cloth (the color's called skylight), with the strip at the bottom in chiyogami (from ChibiJay; I got it in one of their assorted strip packs), and the flower is gold foil htv. The campaign is pirate/high seas themed, and his character's background has a distinct Fantasy Japan element, so a lot of the design choices followed from that.

More photos under the cut!

Close up on the cover. I thought I had a close up of the flower icon but I must not have taken it. Love how close the color match is between the blue in the waves and the book cloth. The gold htv came out a bit less smooth than I'd have liked, but it has a kind of gold leaf look to it that we both ended up really liking.

He requested a Coptic bind so it would lay flat when opened, and I did Coptic end bands for stability and because they look cool, especially with the exposed link stitches. I find the link stitches also add a bit of stability when you've got fewer Coptic stitches. I special ordered the pink thread (again, his choice) from Hollander's, and it was expensive and totally not worth the hassle. The only way to get this color was pre-waxed and there is SO MUCH WAX on it, it's ludicrous. I scraped a lot of it off on a blade and it was still too waxy, like handling a candle. It's also very stiff and thicker than I'm used to, to the extent that it was hard to thread the needle with it. I've ordered their unwaxed thread before and would do it again, but this is the last time I buy the waxed stuff. Embroidery floss is cheaper, easier to work with, and comes in more colors.

Please ignore the blurriness in the second photo; I have never claimed to be a photographer and didn't notice it till now. This is the doublure on the inside of the front cover, and it's more chiyogami from Chibijay. The wave pattern wraps around from the front to finish up under this paste-down; I wanted to do the same in the back but didn't have enough of the wave print, so the back is plain.

I thought I'd taken a photo of the pages but I guess I didn't because I can't find it now. Being a journal there was no typeset for this. I actually bought a pre-cut and pre-folded unsewn book block from Hollander's for this. They come in a couple of colors and you can get them blank, with lines, or with graph print for drawing, and Husband chose the graph paper for ease of drawing and making charts.

As a rule I don't normally make journals; books only become interesting to me after there is something in them. So I just skipped the part of the "learning to make books" process where most people make a bunch of sketchbooks. This is actually the first one I've ever made. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and Husband loves it, but I can't see them becoming a regular part of my output unless it's requests like this. However, I've got six finished fic binds to post, so stay tuned for those.

[ketchup-chup]

Arcobaleno Pre-Curse Heights

A quick disclaimer before we begin. I am not the best at guessing heights based just off images but I tried my best. If anyone has any corrections do let me know.

Canon:

Lal Mirch: 5’5 (166 cm)

Uni: 4’10 (148 cm)

Luce: 5’7 (170 cm)

Assumptions based on manga panels:

Reborn: 6’1 – 6’2 (186-189 cm)

Fon: 5’8 – 5’9 (175 cm)

Mammon: 4’11 (150 cm)

Aria: 5’5 (165 cm)

Unknown:

Colonnello

Verde

Skull

More info and explanations under the cut ↓

Another important thing to note beforehand. Many of the pictures of the Arcobaleno drawn all together by both the Amano themselves or the anime are very inconsistent, or they're standing at angles/strange perspectives, so it makes it impossible to tell their heights. Therefore, I will not be using those as references except for in one case which you will see further down.

Lal Mirch: Lal's official uncursed height was confirmed in the REBORN! ēlDLIVE character's 365 book.

Uni: Uni's official height was confirmed in the REBORN! ēlDLIVE character's 365.

Luce: Luce’s official height was confirmed on her display at the Amano Akira Exhibition (it also says she likes basking in the sun/sunbathing which is so cute). Unfortunetly, it was only Luce's who's uncursed height was revealed at this event.

Reborn: Mostly going off this image of his fight with Iemitsu. They are both at an angle, and both a little slouched (Reborn more so due to him having his arms being held down). However, it's obvious they are at least very similar in height if not the same height. Iemitsu's canon height is 189 cm or 6’2 thus I placed Reborn at around the same.

Fon: Fon's height seems to be pretty similar to Hibari's! Perhaps a little taller if anything since in the photo below he's leaning away and down a bit (since Hibari is hitting him) and Hibari even seems to be slouching a tiny bit. Hibari's canon height is 169 cm or 5'6 maybe even 5'7. And so I placed Fon a few inches taller.

Mammon: Okay, Mammon's used a bit more of guess work but I'm pretty confident in my choice. In the photo below Bel is obviously leaning down quite a bit but if he were to stand up straight it would seem Mammon head would reach their chest. Bel is 170 or around 5’7. Looking at a height comparison chart/website, for someone to reach Bel's chest at the height I predicted they would be about 4'11 (150 cm). Not to mention Bel himself says to them "but your size is pretty compact".

Aria: Little hard to tell here since the first pic she’s at an angle (at least I’m assuming). but she’s a little past Gamma’s shoulder. Gamma is 6 foot (185 cm) so I placed Aria is about 5’5 (165 cm) (once again using the height comparison chart).

Colonnello: OKAY SO. This is a struggle for me. Ultimately I placed him still as unknown as the information was too inconsistent. Here are pics of Colonnello next to Lal. We see that her head is to his chest, the top hitting his shoulders. Lal is 5'5 (166 cm). Using my height calculator that would place Colonnello at 6'6 (198 cm)?????

Now, the reason I can't 100% get behind this is if we look at the photo below! Obviously they're all at an angle and perspective is weird so we can't actually use this as a reference! However, I do believe there is some truth in it and here you can not tell me Colonnello looks 6'6!! At the very least though I think we can confirm he's most likely the tallest of them unless one day we discover Verde or Skull are giants.

Verde: Unfortunetly he does not appear to stand next to anyone while uncursed so I can not compare heights.

Skull: Skull only briefly stands in front of Enma while uncursed for a bit. However, Enma is crouched down so it would be very hard for me to compare heights.

If anyone has any additional thoughts or information please let me know!

[tzeentchdaemonsart]

The beginning of Tzeentch. In this post I will explore where Tzeentch came from, and his earliest mentions and depictions, and his likely inspirations.

Realm of Chaos Book 1, 1988, picture of Tzeentch.

This is the earliest depiction of Tzeentch I've been able to find in the history of Warhammer publications.

Prior to this only Khorne and Nurgle were described in Warhammer fantasy roleplay 1986.

The earliest list of the Chaos gods names (and therefore the earliest printing of the name 'Tzeentch') I've been able to find, is from Warhammer 1st edition, Forces of Fantasy 1983 (first paragraph at the top of page 40) though it gives no description or depiction of them.

'... worship a documented god (Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle or Tzeentch at the time of writing)...' either Rick Priestley or Bryan Ansell in 1983

The image of Tzeentch appears to be kept consistent in modern editions as seen in this picture from Age of Sigmar (1st ed 2017, Disciples of Tzeentch)

And the description given of Tzeentch in the realm of chaos book is repeated in the Warhammer armies Chaos 4th & 5th edition, liber Chaotica Tzeentch, codex chaos etc. (pictured below is the description from the liber Chaotica (2005) followed by the description & adjoining picture in the realm of chaos book 2 (1990)

The face of Tzeentch is even given as a champion upgrade in the realm of chaos (1990), showing a cut of this much larger picture found elsewhere in the same book.

To definitively conclude this: Tzeentch is a big horned horror. Just like a big pink/blue horror, with two main arms, & two horned limbs right above his main arms, and two great big sweeping horns from above his brow which look more like moving snakes with faces on the end. He has a main face around his shoulder level, two smaller faces below on either side, and a large face across his belly. Any other faces are presumably transitory.

'Tzeen' means 'change' in the dark tongue, and 'neth' or 'leth' mean 'lord'. Hence Tzeeneth means Change-Lord. Its common form in the language of the empire or Imperium is Tzeentch

The inspiration for Tzeentch are most likely gods like Arioch, of Micheal Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone saga, and Nyarlathotep of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.

The 2nd Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles has a dedication to Michael Moorcock, Phil Barker and Donald Featherstone.

Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone saga (1960s) creates the Chaos - Law paradigm, where there are two sets of opposing Gods. Arioch is the main Chaos God and his relationship with Elric is highly characteristic of how Warhammer would go on to depict the relationship between a chaos champion and their god.

Whilst Chaos and Law appear superficially attached to evil & good, this becomes questioned as Moorcock eventually presents the idea that progress is only possible with a balance between chaos and law, as to live in a world of pure law and tradition would allow no change, and a world of pure chaos would live every day as if it was the first never progressing past it.

This likely inspired the early Dungeons and Dragons writers as well and is probably the reason Chaos & Order exist on a perpendicular axiom to Good and Evil on alignment charts in D&D. The early Warhammer writers were reacting towards D&D and inherited much from them (1st ed citadel miniatures from white dwarf issue 12 were 'advanced dungeons and dragons' minis).

The Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone is also likely the source for the idea of mutation in the Warhammer sense, and is likely the inspiration for the idea of Daemon Weapons, and Sentient Weapons.

Lovecraft is better known these days than Moorcock and probably needs no introduction. It's clear the eldritch ancient horrors of the Great Old Ones and their endless conspiracies to find a way (back) into reality and take it over, also inspired the idea of 'chaos' in both dungeons and dragons and Warhammer. The madness which comes from the Necronomicon and knowing it's secrets, echoes the madness followers of chaos might expect when learning more about the warp and their god. Stories like the Dunwich Horror could as easily be describing a daemonic incursion in the Warhammer world with little alteration needed.

The fusion of Moorcock's and Lovecraft's lore appears to be the inspiration for Chaos. They define the concept of a god without it being all powerful, and foreshadow the different relationships that are created between mortal followers of chaos and their gods. They introduce the themes of mutation and madness which characterise Chaos, thereby appearing to be the ingredients of what became Chaos in the Warhammer sense.

Khorne appears little more than a classic war god in this Warhammer-Chaos veneer, and likewise Slaanesh is clearly inspired by a unification of Astarte, Dionysus, & succubi/incubi in a manner reminiscent of the Christian Devil. Perhaps considering Khorne's image and that of his blood letters, one could conclude that both Khorne and Slaanesh look heavily towards the Christian Devil for inspiration, albeit in different ways.

Nurgle is loosely presented as a death god, and one day I'll look into his inspiration properly. Similarly Tzeentch is presented as a god of sorcery. It's suffice to say here that neither Nurgle nor Tzeentch draw as much from ancient mythology, as unlike Khorne and Slaanesh, their personalities are utterly antithetical towards the personalities of the ancient gods of death and magic which they would nominally be attributed towards. It is my opinion so far in researching this that both Nurgle and Tzeentch draw far more heavily on Moorcock & Lovecraft than the other two, uniting the themes of mutation and madness in chaos and more purely attempt to capture the very essence of Chaos itself. It seams as if Nurgle is the abundant manifestation of chaos and Tzeentch is the distilled essence of chaos.

[electronickingdomfox]

"Black Fire" review

Novel from 1983 by Sonni Cooper, and as far as I know, the only TOS novel from this author. This one was pretty fun, fast-paced, and a real page-turner. It's also notorious for being totally nuts, and having Spock going rogue and doing all sorts of crazy things. The intro was written by Theodore Sturgeon, no less. It's also very, veeeery spirk-heavy (and so far, the only K/S novel I've read that seems to get their relationship right, without going over-the-top).

Spock is the central character, and for the most part, the story follows his solo adventures, though Scotty shares some of these exploits in the early chapters. Amazingly, and despite all the unusual stuff that Spock gets involved with, he manages to stay believable. The other characters are all well-written too, even if they take a background place. And the same goes for the original ones, in particular Desus, the Romulan befriended by Spock.

The story takes place shortly before TMP. One thing that surprised me, is that this novel doesn't seem afraid to modify canon in substantial ways. Most of these books are more timid when playing with the characters, and focus on self-contained adventures that have little impact on the whole. Main characters are rarely put in real danger, or suffer grave injuries. Here, on the other hand, we have the entire primary hull of the Enterprise being destroyed and jettisoned in the very first chapter (a year before The Search for Spock blew the ship to pieces). The TMP uniforms are introduced already by the end of the five-year mission. Spock suffers a disabling injury, portrayed with realism, and not resolved immediately and easily with a magic pill. Also, this book gets pretty dark at times; Spock tries to kill himself not once, but twice... And a popular guest character from the series is also killed for real.

Some spoilers below the cut:

The Enterprise is in a routine mission, training cadets fresh from the Academy, when a massive explosion in the bridge leaves the primary hull destroyed, Kirk in critical condition, Spock with a splinter lodged near his spine, and many cadets dead. The primary hull has to be evacuated and separated, while the rest of the ship limps back to a starbase. In the following investigation, Starfleet declares that everything was a mere accident. But neither Spock nor Scotty are satisfied with this answer, since nothing on the bridge could cause an explosion of such magnitude. Therefore, they travel back to the jettisoned hull to find clues.

Spock is suspicious of some new yeoman, who entered and left the bridge shortly before the explosion. In her abandoned quarters they find two clues: a piece of paper with dots, which seems to be a star chart; and a ton of depilatory cream. However, Starfleet isn't convinced by this flimsy evidence. So Spock starts the first of a long series of reckless actions, and steals a small ship with Scotty, to travel to the star system depicted in the paper. Spock is in severe pain (and having suffered a similar injury in the past myself, I can testify: he IS in pain), but leaves nonetheless before undergoing the necessary surgery (I told you Spock is nuts in this novel). Meanwhile, Kirk's still recovering and has no clue of what's going on.

When Spock and Scotty arrive at the only habitable planet of the star map, they find out that a Romulan and Klingon ships have also been lured to that place by similar maps. Everything was a trap, and all of them are captured by the Tomariians, and brought to their home planet in an ancient rocket. The Tomariians are short, stocky and very hairy aliens, living in an extreme cold environment. Being poor and primitive, they've turned to scavenging, adapting the most disparate technologies to expand across their sector of the galaxy. Spock and the others meet the Tomariian leader, Ilsa. The one who disguised herself as a yeoman to plant the explosive in the Enterprise (hence all that depilatory cream). And she takes a liking to Spock, just as every other woman in this book.

The Tomariians plan to test their captives' strenght by sending them to different battlefields. This way they could determine the weaknesses of Federation members, Klingons and Romulans, in order to expand later through their territories. Spock's injury worsens, to the point that he's left immobile from waist down. But due to her attraction for him, Ilsa spares his life. Meanwhile, Kirk has found clues about Spock and Scotty's whereabouts, so finally, the Enterprise rescues them in the nick of time.

Back in the ship, Spock has to fulfill the promise he made to the Romulan woman captured with him: to warn the Empire of the Tomariian threat, should she not survive. After this, Spock has to face a court-martial for all his offenses: stealing a starship, and above all, establishing secret communications with the Romulan and Klingon empires. Charged with treason, he's sent to prison, where he meets and befriends the Romulan pirate Desus.

I won't spoil anything more (this is about halfway through the novel). Suffice to say that, after this, Spock gets involved in a prison break. He becomes a pirate by the name of "Black Fire", and gains a following of fangirls that write love poems about him (an amusing parody of real-world fandom). And finally defects to the Romulan Empire, creating massive drama with Kirk. Of course, there's a satisfactory explanation for Spock going amok, at the end.

Spirk Meter: 10/10*: Kirk and Spock are separated most of the time and have little physical contact, but the story truly reads as a break-up/reconciliation one. Specially with the introduction of Desus as a rival for Spock's affection. In the first chapter, Kirk is partially healed by a mind meld with Spock, and sighs his name upon waking up. Then Kirk anguishes over Spock's disappearance, and risks the entire ship to go rescue him (well... and Scotty). And there's a lot of commentary about how Kirk is Spock's only close relationship, and how his defection to the Romulans is a particularly painful blow for Kirk. The whole issue of Spock's treason has Kirk on edge and in a foul mood, to the point that other crewmembers are afraid of bringing the subject in his presence. As other books with a lot of spirk content, it's difficult to pinpoint single scenes, since it's a general theme all over the place. Add to this, Spock's absolute indiference towards all the women swooning around him.

Then there's, of course, Spock and Desus' extremely close friendship, said to rival that with Kirk. At one point, Desus reads aloud some of the love poems that Spock has inspired as "Black Fire". And one has to wonder if he isn't adressing the words to Spock himself.

McCoy doesn't appear much in the novel. But still gets some McKirk and Spones. In the beginning, he's devastated by Kirk's serious injuries and his inability to cure him, crying about the prospect of losing "the man he both admired and loved". Then, at the end, McCoy asks Spock to sign his book of love (and erotic) poems dedicated to him (!!!???), as an excited fangirl. "To belong to this man of fire, if only for a moment. - My flaming love." he reads aloud. And Spock even gives him his pirate earring as a gift. The novel closes with these lines: The black jewel gleamed its strange luminescence in McCoy's palm, but it was no match for the gleam in Spock's dark smiling eyes.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[arioloyal]

[[ a brief interpretation of edward norton's birth chart to mark his birthday occasion ]]

A/n: as I promised =) I know it's a bit hard for the beginners to find about what's going on in astrology stuff but anyway, I hope you enjoy.

The big 3 in his birth chart

Scorpio ascendant

Leo sun

Libra moon

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

Scorpio ascendant

(I have the same ascendant ×_× lol)

The first house of the chart shows what others see of us in the first encounter. When the first house is placed in the mysterious and deep sign of Scorpio, it gives the person a deep and mysterious aura. The look of people who are scorpio ascendant is intense, deep and alluring and their facial features are sharp.

the Neptune in the first house, in the sign of Scorpio and its conjunction with the ascendant, has made him interested in appearing mysterious because Neptune represents the mask, imagination and image we can make. Neptune also has made the square aspect with the sun which made him to not be interested in getting famous and known that much (I guess that's why he didn't wanted credit for his role in "kingdom of heaven" movie. He just wanted to hide behind that silver mask...)

The second house rules over voice. The ruler of the second house (Jupiter) in the twelfth house (Libra) has caused his voice to make people feel ecstatic and calm (because those whose twelfth house is strong and prominent have the ability to trance others). Moon in the twelfth house also emphasizes that he finds peace only if he gets in balance and isolation (maybe with sleeping too cause the 12 house is related to the dream and how we can get out of the world) .

And his bbg aura is real! Because the placement of a feminine planet (Venus) is in a feminine sign (Cancer). lol! Usually, people who have Venus in cancer are supported and admired by women.☆

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

With Saturn's placement in the seventh house (house of partnership, marriage), he usually has strict but relatively long-term partnerships. People who have Saturn in the 7th house can usually get married after passing the relationship karma, which can even take up to 40 or 50 years of age of any person who has this placement.

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

Leo 🌞

The placement of the sun in the 10th house is the strongest and best placement for the sun. The sun is the ruler of the sign of leo and here, like it has the full form of a king. It also shows the talent in acting and shining well through it.

Usually, I saw a lot of Leos whose bodies are generally large and wide, but this is not the case with him, and this is due to the placement of the planet Mercury in the sign of Virgo.

Note: Since Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and Virgo and shows its best in these two signs, people with this placement are usually tall, well-cut and slender and have a lot of intelligence. i promise you can't find even one single person with gemini or virgo sun,mercury or ascendant who's chubby. i said what i said

The North Node in the chart shows what we should be aiming for in this life time, and at the opposite side, the South Node shows what we have had in our past lives and we should not focus on its matters now.

with the North node in the fifth house, his mission in this world was to use his potentials, creativity and talents which i think he did it well. at the opposite side, the South node is in the sign of virgo which is in conjuction with the mercury.

i believe he was a teacher or professor in his past life. or someone who had to deal a lot with, reading, writing or books before... :)

[neilljcsten]

from @jeaanmoreau's prompt: kevjean or jerejean or jeanee maybe halloween theme

Renee never regretted pulling Jean out of The Nest. If anything, she regretted not acting sooner, damn the consequences the rest of the Foxes would've faced. She knew though, that Jean wasn't ready to leave. Not until Riko beat him half to death and left Jean to stitch himself back together for the thousandth time.

Nor did she regret sending Jean to The Trojans. The Foxes were chaotic at the best of times and downright caustic at the worst of times; Jean needed somewhere with more warmth and patience than any of Wymack's crew could offer. USC seemed like the best option and Jeremy, Renne knew, had enough darkness in him to understand Jean but enough light to help guide him back to life.

What Renee did regret was the seven hour flight from Palmetto to USC and the fact her book was sitting on her bed in the dorms, rather than in her carry on. The Foxes had a stroke of luck with their schedule this year and were game free on Halloween weekend. The Trojans were in the same posistion and after a quick call with Jean, she had booked a flight out for the weekend.

She hadn't told Kevin she was going - his relationship with Jean was a work in progress - but she did tell Neil. Neil's protectiveness of Jean didn't surprise her; she had heard enough about the Raven's partner system and Neil's past to know about the misplaced bond between them. That, and the fact the last unexpected visitor of Jean's ended up dead at Neil's request, she figured it was prudent to give Neil a heads up.

Her cab pulled up outside of a cozy looking apartment in USC's student district. She texted Jean to let him know she was there and headed in, suitcase rolling behind her. Cat opened the door before she could knock, pulling her into a warm hug.

"Thank you for him. For getting him out. Thank you." She whispered in Renee's ear. Cat stepped away quickly and gestured for Renee to follow. It was clear the apartment was well loved. Photos of teammates adorned the walls and there was a chore chart on the fridge. Jeremy and Jean were in the kitchen cooking dinner under Lalia's watchful eye. Renee stood in the doorway, soaking it in.

The two stood beside each other, chopping and prepping food seamlessly. Brief touches passed between them as they moved ingridients back and forth. Conversation flowed easily with Lalia cutting in every so often, earning a soft smile from Jean when she did.

Too absorbed in their cooking to notice Renee's arrival, Cat cleared her throat to grab their attention.

"Hello Jean-Yves," Renne said. She felt her face splitting in two, her happiness at the scene before her threatening to overwhelm her. Healing was hard and ugly but it was always worth it. She was proof of it and soon Jean would be too.

"Renee Walker," Jean replied, "I think that this visit to my home will go better than the last - no?" Jeremey, Cat, and Lalia froze at Jean's joke but Renee let out in a startled laugh. Maybe Jean would've been okay with the Foxes after all.

"I don't think it could go worse. I brought the stuff for our costumes you asked for. Want to come see?" Jeremy and Jean put down what they were working on, Cat and Lalia stepping in to finish up the recipie.

It had been hard to explain to Allison why she needed to find three costumes, not just two, but her friend had been happy to help once she grasped why. Allison knew about Jean and Renee, but unlikle the rest of the team, she also knew about Jean, Renee, and Jeremy. The three of them had more so fallen into the relationship than planned it, each of them finding something in the others that kept drawing them back in.

Jean took Renee's suitcase and Jeremy grabbed her hand to pull her back to their bedroom. She exchanged a quick kiss with both of them, satisifed that they would have time for more later. For now there were more pressing matters at hand - namely, figuring out whose costume was whose. Renee and Jeremy had kept the costumes a secret from Jean in the hope it would stop him from stressing out about his first Halloween outside of The Nest. It had worked but now was the moment of truth. He looked down at his own costume and the dyed pom poms that Katelyn had leant Renee for the weekend, and then at the other's costumes. They wore the same outfit in different colours.

"What are we supposed to be? Colourblind cheerleaders?" Jean scoffed.

"Babe sometimes I forget how little you know," Jeremy laughed. "Cat and Lalia will get it - go ask them." The trio went back out to the kitchen.

"Oh my god. You're the Powerpuff girls." Cat exclaimed.

"Let me guess," Lalia added, "Renne, you're Blossom; Jeremy, you're Bubbles; and Jean - you're Buttercup." When Jean stared back in confusion, Cat and Lalia dove into explaining the Powerpuff Girls' superpowers.

It felt a little bit like fate, Renee thought, that she ended up here with two men that reflected the two halves of her heart. Sunshine and night; blind faith and realism. She was the midpoint between their two poles and they kept her centered. Lalia took a quick photo of them in their costumes and Renee sent it off to Neil. Once it delivered, she turned her phone off and rejoined the group; she wanted to be present for every moment the weekend brought her.

[swifty-fox]

“My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me.

'Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak.”

He finishes the poem. Starts it again, tries to find some meaning that a hundred other soldiers had not yet discovered. He was no great reader, not like John was with his plays and novels. Preferred his books grounded in facts and science. Numbers and charts that cut the world into easy definable spaces. It was only this past week he’d found himself wanting something different. Had picked this from the shelf in John’s room and upon opening to a random page found himself transfixed. 

'What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?

'I never know what you are thinking. Think.”