#finished dark phoenix thingies

[nthflower]

Jean died rip Jean.

[ggukalaxy]

just finished my rewatch of all five seasons of bbc's merlin, and my sister and i decided it would be fun to keep count of how many times merlin saved arthur's life throughout the show, so here is an accumulated list:

(disclaimer: it is absolutey possible that we weren't always watching attentively and that we might have missed a case or two, but i like to believe that it is kinda accurate)

times arthur would have died if merlin hadn't saved him

• 1x01: dagger thrown at arthur ⟶ merlin slowed down time to pull arthur out of the way

• 1x02: snakes supposed to poison arthur ⟶ merlin exposes the snakes and arthur kills them

• 1x04: poisoned cup ⟶ merlin drinks from it instead

• 1x05: a griffin attacks them ⟶ lancelot fights it, and merlin enchants his sword/spear so that it’ll work

• 1x07: arthur is to be sacrificed to the sidhe ⟶ merlin saves him

• 1x10: ealdor gets attacked, including arthur, and they’re doomed ⟶ merlin creates a huge wind gust to save everyone

• 1x13: questing beast attacks arthur ⟶ merlin kills it

• 1x13: questing beast bites arthur, the poison is fatal ⟶ merlin gets water from the cup of life to save him

• 2x01: arthur gets attacked by a huge boar (?) ⟶ merlin uses magic on a crossbow to save him 

• 2x01: camelot gets attack by living stone statues ⟶ merlin destroys them

• 2x02: assassin tries to kill arthur during a tournament on horses ⟶ merlin uses magic to make the assassin fall off his horse

• 2x12: dead stone statue thingies attack arthur and his knights ⟶ merlin uses magic to make the ceiling cave in and pulls arthur to his side, separating them from the statue thingies

• 2x13: arthur's wounds are getting worse ⟶ merlin finds balinor in time and has him help him (HONORARY MENTION)

• 3x04: arthur gets attacked (again) ⟶ merlin uses magic to save him (again)

• 3x07: morgause tries to kill arthur with a fire beam ⟶ merlin uses magic to make the fire beam explode before it reaches arthur

• 3x08: arthur gets attacked by wyverns ⟶ merlin uses his dragonlordness to stop them

• 3x08: arthur wears the eye of the phoenix bracelet (sucking life-force out of someone) ⟶ merlin takes it off him

• 3x12: arthur gets shot by a poisoned arrow ⟶ merlin uses magic to help him, then brings him to gaius

• 3x13: an army of immortal deads attacks camelot ⟶ merlin empties the cup of life of their blood to “kill” them all

• 4x01: dorochas attack arthur ⟶ merlin pushes arthur out of the way to get attacked instead

• 4x04: their food gets poisoned ⟶ merlin uses magic to save them

• 4x05: arthur fights in a duel and is about to be striked down ⟶ merlin makes the opponent’s sword fall out of his hands with magic

• 5x01: arthur and their men get attacked by morgana’s men ⟶ merlin saves arthur and gets them away from the battle

• 5x04: arthur almost got beheaded by odin ⟶ merlin created an earthquake with magic to stop that

• 5x06: dark tower traps ⟶ merlin parries an arrow with magic

• 5x07: arthur gets poisoned ⟶ merlin saves him with magic

• 5x08: someone wants to shoot an arrow at arthur ⟶ merlin attacks the shooter and saves arthur

• 5x11: kara tried to stab arthur ⟶ merlin uses magic to save him

and the one time he fails: 5x13, mordred stabs arthur with a sword forged on a dragon’s breath — merlin doesn’t get him to avalon in time

which brings us to a total of 27.5 times that merlin has saved arthur's life throughout the show

we also kept track of all the times arthur saved merlin's life, so here is that list:

• 1x03: merlin tells uther he is a sorcerer to save gwen (which would’ve gotten him a death sentence) ⟶ arthur convinces his father that merlin is lying out of love for gwen

• 1x04: merlin drank from a poisoned cup ⟶ arthur gets the antidote for him

• 1x11: arthur drinks poison so that merlin won’t have to ⟶ it was actually a sleeping draft though (HONORARY MENTION)

• 1x13: questing beast attacks ⟶ arthur pulled merlin out of the way

• 2x12: dead stone statue thingy attacks merlin ⟶ arthur strikes it down

• 4x01: a dorocha flies towards merlin ⟶ arthur pushes him out of the way

• 4x08: the lamia was about to kill merlin ⟶ arthur comes in at just the right time

which brings us to a total of 6.5 times that arthur saved merlin's life

it's kind of crazy to me to compare it like this, because on the one hand 27 near-death experiences across 65 episodes doesn't really sound like a lot. but at the same time i can't believe that arthur would have died 27 times if it hadn't been for merlin. and to think that arthur only saved merlin's life 6 times though?? oof

on my next rewatch, my sister and i want to make a list of all the moments that contributed to arthur's death (a so-called "doom list" with moments like merlin poisoning morgana in 2x13 etc), but that one is definitely going to be more subjective, since it'll be based on things that we think could've prevented arthur's death if they had gone any different

very excited to debate all the things that could go on that one!

[coimbrabertone]

Star Wars and Motorsports - A Surprisingly Intertwined History.

I actually had this blogpost planned out for a rainy day - I thought about maybe doing it for May 4th, 2025 as a Star Wars Day thingie - however, today, James Earl Jones passed away at the age of 93. I knew him as Darth Vader and Mufasa, but he played a lot of roles and provided a lot of iconic voices, others may know him from the Sandlot, Coming to America, or dozens of other roles over the years.

Rest in peace.

In his honor, I'd like to do my little part, so...a discussion of the long and intertwined history of Star Wars and motorsports.

The first relates to Darth Vader himself, as a dark and imposing figure, was associated with Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR. Yup, known as the Intimidator and as the Man in Black already for his iconic black and gray GM Goodwrench #3 Chevy, Dale Earnhardt was also nicknamed the Darth Vader of motorsports a few times in the 1980s and 1990s.

The black helmet and sunglasses played into that.

Somewhat more substantively, there is also the world of Star Wars sponsorships in racing, with Pepsi and Lucasfilm teaming up to sponsor Jeff Gordon at the 1999 CarQuest Auto Parts 400 Busch Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoting Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Gordon would suffer a mechanical failure...which is probably for the best because it had Jar-Jar on the left rear quarter panel.

Fast forward to the 2002 Coke 600, also at Charlotte, and Lucasfilm tried again, this time teaming up with Cheerios to sponsor John Andretti in the #43 car in the Cup series. This was the big leagues, and with them backing a midpack car, fifteenth was actually a respectable finish.

For Revenge of the Sith in 2005, the marketing campaign was back in force. First things first, there were four NASCARs that year, starting with both Yates Racing cars at the 2005 Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix. Elliott Sadler drove the M&Ms #38 with a Dark Chocolate themed Dark Side paint scheme, while his teammate Dale Jarrett had a UPS/Milk Chocolate M&Ms Light Side car. The Dark Side car had Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and a Stormtrooper on it. The Light Side car had Anakin Skywalker, the green M&M with Princess Leia hair, and a C3PO M&M.

Pretty odd character choices for Revenge of the Sith but eh, it's all for fun. Anyway, Sadler finished 11th and Jarrett finished 23rd, so I guess the Dark Side won...which I suppose is appropriate, given the movie they're tying into.

So, at the very next race, Star Wars tried again. Teaming up with Jeff Gordon and Pepsi again, this time it was in the Cup Series, sponsoring the Hendrick Motorsports #24 at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. This car, with Yoda on the hood, would go on to win the race in dominant fashion, leading 139 laps.

Jeff Gordon would also pose with Darth Vader and some stormtroopers ahead of the race, which seems like a conflict of interest given the Yoda car.

Fallen to the Dark Side, Jeff Gordon has.

Finally, Hendrick Motorsports got another Star Wars car, with Episode III sponsoring Kyle Busch's #5 at the amazingly named Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond. This Kellogg's car was Mustafar themed with a lava theme on a black base. It has Darth Vader and Mace Windu on it, which...neither is exactly a great fit for Mustafar, what with Windu being dead and Vader only gaining the iconic armor and red lightsaber because of the events of Mustafar.

Kyle finished fourth, another good result for Star Wars.

This wasn't all though, because at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix in Formula One, Star Wars teamed up with Red Bull Racing to sponsor a car. Much like the Kyle Busch car, it was their regular livery with some orange-yellow Star Wars lettering and a lava/fire theme along the bottom.

Drivers David Coulthard and Vitantonio Liuzzi also got a Star Wars photo op to go with it, this time taking pictures with Darth Vader, two stormtroopers, Chewbacca, C3PO, and also George Lucas himself.

A few years later, at the 2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy Grand Prix at Sonoma, the third to last round of the 2008 Indycar Series, Lucasfilm and Blockbuster (lol) teamed up to sponsor Marco Andretti's #26 car. He would finish fourteenth on that occasion.

This was actually the second collaboration between Marco Andretti, Blockbuster, and Lucasfilm that year, as he actually drove an Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull car at the 2008 Indianapolis 500, finishing third.

More recently, at the 2023 NASCAR Championship Race at Phoenix, Star Wars and Columbia Sportswear teamed up to sponsor the 23XI cars. Bubba Wallace in the #23 ran an X-Wing car and even had Mark Hamill appear in the unveiling commercial, while Tyler Reddick in the #45 ran a TIE Fighter car.

Bubba Wallace finished 10th, and Tyler Reddick finished 22nd.

Two Light Side versus Dark Side races at Phoenix, the Dark Side drew first blood but then the Light Side won most recently. We're gonna need a tiebreaker.

So, that's what I got in terms of Star Wars sponsorships, but that's always been Star Wars going into motorsports. How about motorsports going into Star Wars?

Well, believe it or not, there is an example.

Podracing.

Yup, and not just in the "hey look, it's racing!" way, nope. At the 1998 Miller Lite 200 at Mid-Ohio, George Lucas and his crew recorded the sounds of the CART race to use as part of the sound mix for the podracing scenes in Episode I.

In fact - and unfortunately, I haven't seen the film so I can't confirm - I've seen the claim that the podracing sequence in Episode I mirrors the Monza race from the classic Formula One movie Grand Prix, which George Lucas is actually credited on as an assistant camera operator - which would lend some credence to the theory.

So yeah, I know I've kept this blog motorsports focused but I am a big Star Wars fan and have been for most of my life. To hear about James Earl Jones passing it's...it's just like...wow. It's unthinkable in a way. Obviously, he was getting older and all that, and there was that story a few years ago about him selling his voice rights to Disney, but like...to think that Darth Vader's voice actor is dead? That's crazy to me.

It's one of the biggest losses in recent media history, I think.

There will never be another voice quite that famous.

[quirkdotcom]

Duality || HERO AU DABI X READER

PART ONE

PART TWO HERE

Triggers: Brief mentions of blood? 

A/n: Okay !!! I have finally finished this piece !! Sorry I took so long to actually write it, been a...long few weeks..but anyways ! Here we are ! I hope you enjoy this! I had a lot of fun writing it, and as this was my first time actually writing for Dabi, I think in the future I'll be even better at him and his personality! Also I'll try to remember later to add a "Read more" thingy! 

××××××××

Your dreams had always been full of fire. Mesmerizing shades of blue always seemed to be flickering just beyond your reach. 

Most people asked you if you were scared of your dreams, however you only ever responded that the flames never hurt you in your dreams, and that you could never be scared.

They always felt so comfortable. The way they danced around you, enveloping you in warmth, had always been something you longed to figure out the reason behind...or the person behind it. 

Not only did the world have quirks in it, but also it held soulmates. Once someone touches their soulmate for the first time, the two switch quirks for twenty-four hours. How you longed for that interaction. For those twenty four hours where you would hopefully spend learning all about whoever your soulmate was. 

With a sigh, you slowly sat up in your bed, stretching your arms above your head as you yawned. It was about 9:30 at night, and it was time for you to make your way into the city, a long night of your own unofficial patrols to be done. 

Technically, some see you as a hero, while others see you as a meddling annoyance. But either way, they called you Riptide. 

You had a water based quirk, and with it you could take surrounding volumes of the liquid, and create vortexes of fast running water. 

At times it could be hard to control, and caused a lot of damage, hence why some saw you as a menace, but in the end, the water overpowered almost any villain.

Once you showered, and ate a quick meal, you walked back into your room, moving to your closet and pulling out the homemade hero suit. 

It wasn't the best thing around, but hey, it was better than running around in civilian clothes. The outfit itself was made from mostly dark blue or black material, so that you weren't easily seen, knee pads for taking falls, a mask to cover the lower part of your face, visor-esque goggles to shield your eyes from your own water and anything else that may be targeted to your eyes. 

You pulled on the components to the suit, slowly but surely making your way to being finished. 

Once on and ready to go, you grabbed your apartment keys, shoving them into a pocket and zipping it shut. With that, you made your way to the window of the living area, glad to be on the ground floor, and slipped out into the night. 

Almost immediately, people ran past you screaming, their shrieks piercing the air around you. 

You started off in the opposite direction of where they were headed, a smirk easily making its way onto your face as you picked up the pace. 

Finally you skidded to a stop once you drew close to the source. 

A villian with some sort of glass shard quirk was wreaking havoc onto the street, blocking traffic and he seemed to be holding a few people hostage.  

You couldn't be sure what he wanted but at this point, you didn't have the time to ask.

Instead you leaped into action, hopping onto the hood of an abandoned car, shouting out to the villian, "Hey ugly ! Over here!" 

He looked to you, his bright red eyes locking onto your eyes. 

"And just who are you supposed to be?" He sneered, his quirk lessening on the citizens for a mere moment.

You sighed heavily, placing a hand onto your hip, just above the section on your belt where a few small impact grenades hung. These you used to not only cause distractions, but also to target fire hydrants and cause them to let some water out. 

"Seriously? I figured by now someone would know my name…" You slowly undid the clip that held it to the belt,  keeping the villain's eyes on yours, "It's Riptide.  And you're about to be washed away," 

In a heartbeat, you pulled it off and pulled the pin, launching it just behind him. You launched yourself off of the car and onto the civilian, protecting them from the blast. 

Around you, cement shards fell and water began to spray. 

You pulled away, seeing that the villain had released them, "Quick, get out of here!" 

They nodded, eyes wide and moved away, once the ground was clear enough, they began to run. 

You turned slowly, eyes scanning for the villain, where did he-

Suddenly, you were propelled forwards as a boot kicked at the space between your shoulder blades. 

"You little bitch!" The villain angrily drew close to you, grabbing you once more and tossing you off to the side. Man, today must not be your day.

You stood quickly, ignoring the pain in your back, "Me? A bitch? Well I'm hurt! " you pulled your hands up, palms facing him. 

Within a moment, the water that was streaming from the hydrant was lifting off any surface it had been on, and now directly spiralling around your arms.  Once fast enough you grinned, "I hope you brought a floatie," 

Once the words left your mouth, the two vortexes shot forwards, pinpointing his chest and pushing him back with incredible force. He hit a wall, now unable to go anywhere. 

Before you could say anything or do anything more however, a sudden chunk of glass shot forwards, barely giving you enough time to dodge. It nicked your shoulder, a steady stream of blood making its way from the cut.

Just as another one came your way, it was stopped short by blue flames, the glass breaking and shattering into pieces within moments of it being engulfed by the fire.

You turned, eyes landing on a peculiar hero. 

He had black hair that stuck up in all sorts of directions, but beneath the hair, a set of gorgeous blue eyes peered out, scanning the scene. He had some sort of burn scars or skin grafts beneath his eyes, on his lower face and neck, and seemed to be along his arms as well. 

"You must be that hero who runs around and calls themselves 'Riptide', aren't you?" He questioned but didn't wait for an answer, he instead looked to the villian, "And who do we have here?" 

The villain, now soaked to the bone, pushed off the wall, three more shards of glass floating around his hand, "You're that Infernal Phoenix guy…" 

"That I am," the male hero spoke, not an ounce of fear showing in his eyes.

At once the fight seemed to pick back up, the villain letting loose the three pieces of glass, then caused the shattered ones from the wreck around the three of you to lift into the air, shooting down towards both the Infernal hero and yourself. 

The raven haired male leapt towards you, pushing you away, raising an arm up to attempt to use his fire once more. 

However, instead what happened was his arm was now covered in a swirling pool of water. 

In shock he let it all fall to the ground, eyes going wide as he thought quietly.  

You yourself had a million and one thoughts running through your head, but had to shake yourself of it, "There's no time for this, he's prepping for another attack," 

You stood up, holding your hands out once more, now watching as they lit on fire, but hardly burned you.  

"Be careful, don't let the flames get too hot, " he motioned with a nod of his head to his own arms. 

"Got it," you clenched your jaw, still amazed on the inside how easy his quirk had come to your control.

As the next set of glass rained down, you threw up a protective wall of flames, keeping it up for a few moments so that the hero could gather enough water. 

This time, the villain aimed two chunks of glass at you, noticing that you were the one making new attacks, not even stopping to question the change of quirks. 

You turned to aim more blue fire his way, but instead you found the fire clashing with the fast running water of what was normally your own quirk. 

With the two together, both the water and the flames died out, and you both found yourself dropping to the ground, instinctively covering your heads. 

Once the sound of glass hitting the ground stopped you quickly scrambled to your feet, now seeing the villain once more aiming chunks of glass, seemingly reusing the ones from earlier. 

In your hands, the fire lit back up, brighter than before, you charged him, grabbing onto his wrists and swinging him to the side, ignoring his scream of pain. 

Once he was on the ground, your knee on his back, you let the fire fade away, spotting a few burns here and there, the pain must have been masked by adrenaline. 

"I told you not to let it get too hot," the hero came up from behind, a few cuts on his face, and some on his hero suit. 

"Yeah well a few burns wont kill me," you eyed him for a moment, only stopping as reinforcements showed up, "Shit," you looked to the hero for a moment, shaking your head slightly. 

"I'll have to meet you again sometime...my show here is done…" you gave a wistful smile and climbed off of the villain, turning and taking off, running away from the scene, the shouts of heros filling your ears as they called for you to stop. 

But as you didn't quite have a hero license, getting caught using your quirk would have a few consequences that you weren't looking forwards to.

Once you were sure that you were away from all the action, you slowed to a walk, trying to even out your breaths. 

As you walked, you drew the attention of an elderly lady, who seemed to be on her way home from a shift at the nearest hospital. 

The woman looked at you, the suit you had on and the cuts from your fight, "Excuse me, but are you okay?" 

You gave a weary smile, "Ah...kind of?" 

The woman proceeded to pull out bandages, ointment and a few other items,  treating your injuries without even a second thought. In return, you took the time to walk her home, answering questions she had asked you about where you got the cuts, though you chose to leave a few things out. 

Once she was home, you made your way to your own apartment, deciding to turn in earlier than normal. Your apartment was quiet, a nice change from the night just beyond your window. With a heavy sigh, you made your way to your room, tossing your goggles onto the floor, kicking your shoes off and flopping onto your bed, falling asleep rather quickly. 

You were woken by the mid afternoon's sun. Its rays hitting your eyes from the slants in the blinds.  You must've forgotten to close them last night. 

You rolled over onto your side, quickly remembering that you were still in your suit from last night.  You slid out of the bed, pulling off the suit and changing into some everyday clothes. 

Then you moved into your bathroom, starting to brush your hair, taking a long look at yourself.  It was then that the whole memory of last night hit you. 

"Holy shit…" you paused, setting the brush down and making your way into the hallway, bringing a hand up and watching as a small blue flame began to flicker in your palm. 

With a newfound burst of energy, you sprinted into your bedroom, grabbing your phone and searching up the name, "Infernal Pheonix" 

On the screen a few results pulled up that sparked your interest. He was the son of the number one pro hero, Endeavour. He had graduated from the ever so prestigious UA, and was even rising the ranks as hero at the same agency as his father. 

You quickly copied the address of the agency, pasting it in the notes app of your phone. After all, you only had until somewhere around ten pm tonight to prove that it was you. 

With the burst of energy and the information at hand, you first grabbed your headphones from the nightstand, and then walked towards the door of your small apartment, slipping on your shoes before leaving. Though you did have to go back inside to grab your keys, almost having forgotten to lock the door. 

Now that you had everything, you turned on your playlist, putting in the headphones, and then, pasting the address into your maps app. With that, you took off. 

The busy city was actually nice for a change today, though at times you found yourself trying to hide your face in case anyone recognized you. 

About ten minutes into the walk, you stopped at a coffee shop, taking some time to decide on a drink for you and for the hero from last night. Hopefully he was a tea drinker, because you weren't sure what else to get him. 

Once paid for, you thanked the barista and left quietly, both drinks in hand. According to the map still giving you directions through your earbuds, you were almost to the hero agency. And as you grew closer, you noticed your heart beating a little faster.

Upon reaching the agency, you paused, trying to gather yourself as best as possible.  After a few moments, you shuffled the two drinks to one hand, pulled your earbuds out and hung them loosely around the back of your neck and over your shoulder, then pulled at the door, walking inside. 

The air was cool, and it was fairly quiet as you made your way to the main area of the agency. 

"Can I help you?" Came a stern voice, from a desk some feet into the room. It belonged to Enji Todoroki, the number one pro hero. 

You instinctively bowed, and stood back up, "I..I'm looking for Infernal Phoenix! I need to speak with him about..well about this," You again shuffled the drinks to one hand, and held out the other, carefully letting the flames spring to life. 

[siarven]

hiya! i see that you have three wips that youre working on? if i could get a one/three sentence description of all three thatd be great :D (one or three, your choice. or maybe both! up to you.)

First of all I swear I’m not ignoring you, tumblr keeps forgetting to tell me that I got asks and I also wasn’t online for almost two weeks (except a bit on my phone and I have no idea how to answer asks on there??) but yeah I accidentally looked in here and ?!?!?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I’M SO SORRY, AND THANKS FOR ASKING :���D <333

Thank you so much for being interested in my dumb wips ;W; I also just noticed you sent me another asks weeks ago, AHHH I will answer that after this one x’D I am so sorry, thank you for bearing with me skdfjhskdf

ANYWAYS

Yesss, I have 3 wips! :D <333

The first and oldest one is called Dream’s Shadow (it went through a few title changes though) and the current horrible/dumb tagline is “boy’s should’ve-been-fatal-but-somehow-wasn’t accident drags him and his 2 sisters into an ancient conflict that could change the future of everyone forever”.

It’s dark epic fantasy, set in another world, but also hopepunk (so while it gets dark and there’s some (eye) body horror and monsters and stuff the tone isn’t bleak and hopeless and all that...) . It’s set in another world and is the first in a series where the scope escalates with every book (this one has a fairly small scope, “saving Ben” more or less :D)

Basically Ben (16) is in a coma, wakes as a ghost a few days later and needs to find out how to get back, if he even can, or wants to, and nobody knows what happened including him. His little sister Ava (8) has to keep their dysfunctional family together in his absence, she feels like she’s failing, and she can also see gods (well, entities...) in her dreams now, which is never a good sign. Their other sister, Elinor (14) gets involved in all of it, too, but explaining all that is a bit complicated. XD If you’re interested in the worldbuilding and more about that, though, I recently made a comic sans power point! :D

I also finished the 3rd draft a few weeks ago and it’s now going through some editing and then I will probably actually start betaing?? which is insane?????? I’ve been rewriting that thing off and on since NaNo 2014, what the heck, we’re actually getting somewhere now?! (It has basically nothing in common with draft 1 except 2 names and 2 plot points at this point. XD)

✿✿✿

My second WIP is Like Dragons of Old!

A feral, winged orphan girl and a librarian's daughter are raised by an immortal and a phoenix in chicken form among the towering stacks of a sentient, endless library. Shenangians, adventures, and heartbreak ensue.

It’s also set in another world, also dark epic fantasy, and a trilogy (heh, I can’t do short things...) and also hopepunk because that’s very important <3 It takes place over ~10 years (every book will) so the main characters grow up over the course of the story and it ends when they’re in their ~40s :D It’s basically a slow burn with the main problem that over the course of the trilogy Timbre and Selandri end up getting separated and meet again, years later, as leaders on different sides of a pretty huge conflict :’D I love my babies so much ahhh The first one is still very lighthearted though. For the most part. :3

(It also has a comic sans thingy here)

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The third WIP is called Hope Beyond

It’s a bit different from the other two, because it’s a multimedia story and has 3 different POVs in 3 different styles each that will start to overlap as the characters develop and grow closer.

There’s Alia, who’s basically a child (... it’s complicated), who has limited perspective comic panels as her chapters (so it’s very much how she sees the world, with a ton of magical creatures, magical realism style), then there’s Morgan, her older adoptive sister (who planned on being a book-hoarding crazy cat lady and is 30, she has 3rd person novel narration) and Phaedra, a one-legged war veteran who’s their next door neighbour (who keeps a diary for therapy).

Basically the story is the 3 of them working through their various traumas and grief and rage together, helping each other cope, and growing as people. So, very much a found family story :D I don’t even know how to describe the plot because the setup explanation alone always escalated very badly, buuut I have an intro post for it here <3

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Soooo.... thank you so much for asking, I’m sorry this escalated so badly (it always does lmao) and that I only responded now :’D

Thank you so much for your interest <333

[the--sad--hatter]

Name Changing (12)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU, X-MEN, DEADPOOL

PAIRING - BUCKY X READER (female reader, no physical descriptions)

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION - Sequel to Name Calling

After merging with your bloodthirsty alternate personality things start getting a little dicey. You’ve got two decades worth of anger to sort through, a feral mutation to figure out how to live with, a biological father who you hate trying to teach you control and if your wedding planner suggests teal for the bridesmaids again you might just eat her liver.

Luckily you have Bucky Barnes by your side, helping you figure things out. What Bucky doesn’t know is that you have found an outlet for the uncontrollable rage, one that absolutely nobody can know about. If your friends and family knew that you were out slaughtering people in the dead of night while they slept, they might be a little annoyed. Wade Wilson is happy to keep your secret though, so long as you keep bribing him with Mexican food.

For as long as you could remember, all you had wanted was to be good. Now you’re seeing the temptation in the darkness.

  Twelve - The Hens

��Ladies... and boys. Please join me in raising your glasses for my best friend...”

 “My Best friend.” Sam interrupted.

 “I think we all know that Daddypool is her best friend.” Wade interjected.

“Alright, tell these jokers I’m your bestie so I can finish my toast.” Darcy demanded, turning to you.

 “Yeah, Peaches, who do you love the most?” Wade added.

 Sam just looked at you expectantly.

 “Alright, you want me to settle this once and for all?” You asked them.

 “Yes.” They said in unison.

 “You really want to know why my best friend is, who I love most. Besides Bucky, my parents and Erlo?” You double checked.

 “YES!”

 “Are you sure?”

 “Just tell us or I’m going to taze you.” Darcy threatened.

 You leaned in like it was a secret.

 “Well it’s not one of the two idiots I had to bail out of jail.” You said.

 “That was Douchepools fault!” Sam whined as Darcy cackled.

 “Do you think she’ll taze me if I ask nicely?” Wade whispered to you and you shot him a thumbs up.

 “As I was saying... Please raise your glasses for the gorgeous, sexy, slightly terrifying boss ass QUEEN that is MY best friend.” Darcy announced and everyone raised their glass to toast you.

 You swallowed the champagne and pouted, it was supposed to have Asgardian liquor in it. You threw a betrayed look at Natasha and she winked at you as a waiter came over with a tray of drinks and put them down in front of you.

 “One of every Avengers themed cocktail for the bride to be.” He said, grinning at you as your friends hollered.

 “Oh My God.” You laughed.

 “Who you going to start with?” Rouge asked, looking intrigued.

 “Well, it all started with Tony so...” You picked up the bright red martini with gold lustre dust around the edges of the glass and toasted them with it before swallowing it in one gulp.

 “Aaaaand there’s the Asgardian liquor.” You coughed.

 “Oh, do Cap next!” Darcy shouted and you obliged, picking up the red white and blue shot and knocking it back.

 “Do I even want to know what’s in The Hulk?” You asked.

 “Half a pint of absinthe and lime juice.” Natasha answered and you grimaced as you downed it.

 “My turn.” Natasha purred and pushed the glass of Blackcurrant flavoured Russian Vodka at you.

 “Sharp, cold and deadly. Very appropriate. You taste great Nat.” You sniggered after you drank it.

 “Oh, Cherry Tequila shot! That’s the Ant Man!” Scott said excitedly, reading the label and handing it to you.

 “Do all of these have Asgardian liquor in them?” You asked nervously and Natasha’s evil smirk was all the answer you needed.

 It was after The Scarlet Witch (A Scarlet O'Hara with white rum) that you started to feel woozy. You dutifully downed all of the drinks, sitting back with a sigh of relief when you were done.

 “Now for the main event! Drumroll please!” Darcy called and everyone started banging on the table as the waiter came back with a tray that had two glasses on it.

 “The Winter Soldier and The Deathwave.” He said.

 “Oh no.” You muttered.

 “Russian Vodka and Brooklyn Gin on Ice for The Winter Soldier and Black After Shock and White Tequila for The Deathwave.”

 “SO glad I’m not mortal.” You whimpered as the waiter poured the two ridiculously strong drinks into the same glass symbolically and passed it to you.

 You paused with glass at your lips and held up your hand to pause the chanting of ‘drink, drink, drink’ of your group.

 “I think, in honour of this being my Hen party for my wedding to Bucky... Everyone should have one of these. In fact a SoldierofDeath for EVERYONE HERE TONIGHT!” You yelled and everyone in the club hollered when they heard your announcement.

 You threw back the deadly concoction and whooped loudly, throwing your hands in the air.

 That was your last truly coherent memory of the evening.

 The next thing you knew, Sam and Darcy had dragged you onto a stage and thrust a microphone into your hand.

 “Sam, can you handle this?”

 “Darcy, can you handle this?”

“Kit Kat, can you handle this?”

 “I don’t think they can handle this!”

 The three of you strutted around the stage, singing Bootylicious while Wade started throwing dollar bills onto the stage and cheering.

 Sadly, or not so sadly that was not the end of karaoke as Scott jumped on stage next to sing ‘I’m so excited’ by the pointer sisters.

 “You’ve got to dance, it’s your Hen partyyyyy!” Darcy crowed and dragged you onto the dancefloor  as Rouge sang ‘Cowboy Casanova’ with a lot of gusto.

 You smirked and pulled away from her, spinning onto the dancefloor and pulling out every move that Vanessa had taught you, swaying your hips and flipping your hair. You were quickly pressed in between Nat, Darcy and Wanda as the four of you danced together.

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

 “We should do this more often!” Sam told you.

 “Agreed!” You said.

 “What are you two morons doing?” Darcy asked, peering under the table at you both.

 “Nothing!” You and Sam said in unison, yanking your precious chicken nuggets out of her sight.

 “Gimme a nugget or I’ll tell Wade where you are.” She bargained.

 “Fine. Sam, give her a nugget.”

 “Why me? You give her one.” He insisted.

 “Both of you give me one!” You ordered and you and Sam grumbled and handed your treasure over the her.

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

 “Peaches, they’re playing our song!” Wade said, dragging you away.

 It was halfway through you and Wade grinding on the dancefloor to ‘Stayin Alive’ that the argument started.

 “I’m stronger, plus I have to whole Deathwave thingy.” You protested as he twerked into you.

 “I have guns and pointy things!” He insisted.

 “I could still kick your ass!” You yelled.

 “Wanna bet?” He challenged.

 “We’re In Vegas baby!!” You yelled, holding your arms out in a clear challenge.

 “NO!” Sam yelled.

 “Not on the dancefloor. Go ouzide.” He hiccupped.

 “M’kay.” You agreed, grabbing them each by the hand and the three of you slipped away from the club, unseen by the rest of your bridal party.  

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

 “Unnngh.” You groaned, rolling over to swat at the rays of sunlight blinding you.

 You had never felt closer to death in your whole life. You were dripping with sweat and if wasn’t for the cool breeze you would have melted by now.

 Breeze. Why was that weird?

 You opened your eyes a fraction and sat up rapidly at what you saw.

 Why the hell were you asleep in the middle of the desert? And why was Sam wrapped around you like a koala bear, fully decked out in his Falcon gear?

 You managed to push him away in time for you to roll to the side and retch bile onto the sand. You had a blurry memory of falling and Sam catching you before you hit the ground. He must have flown you out here before the two of you promptly passed out.

 Blearily you realised what had woken you wasn’t the heat or the sunlight, it was the quinjet engines as it landed a short way away and the ramp descended. Darcy stomped down it towards you.

 “Ugh, help.” You muttered at her.

 “I’m not here to rescue you, I’m here to live here, in the desert with you.” She groaned, falling to the ground and putting her head in your lap.

 Gradually, one by one, everyone else trudged off the quinjet and joined you on the sand, even Pepper.

 “If you and Bucky ever get divorced, I will murder you. We can’t afford another Hen Party like that.” Darcy groaned.

 “Did Wade and I try to kill each other last night?” You groaned.

 “Yes, it was on the National News.” Wanda groaned.

 “Whazzappening?” Sam mumbled, finally waking up.

 “The Hotel tried to kick us out so Tony bought it.” Pepper informed you.

 “Ugh, anything else I should know?” You asked.

 Natasha handed you your phone and you saw you has several missed calls and texts. All from Bucky.

 “Why did you have my phone?” You asked her in confusion.

 “You don’t remember?” She asked.

 “No?”

 “That’s probably for the best.” She informed you.

 “Oh no, what did I do?” You demanded, checking your call history and choking on your own saliva.

 “I called Logan? Why? What did I say?” You asked.

 “You invited him to the wedding.” She said, stifling a laugh at you.

 You groaned loudly and lay back on the sand, and one by one everyone joined you.

 “I’m getting married tomorrow.” You whispered, smiling happily.

 “WE KNOW!”

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

 @nerdandproud-86 @harrison-shot-first  @thejourneyneverendsx @thelostallycat @inquisitor-selvala @the-corruptor   @iovher  @kendrawr-kitkat @phoenix-whiskey-tears @the–real-wombat @buckitybarnes @fairislesheets @angieptt  @meganjonezzzz @dugan365 @fluffeh-kitty @memanda17  @krystallynx @theonelittleone  @piscesbarnes @free-as-fishes @tarastudiesalot @captainamericasbeard @dropthepizza346 @jaynnanadrews @likes-to-smell-books @drdorkus @life-wanderer @metalarmlover  @animegirlgeeky @jsmith509 @chipilerendi @nerdy-bookworm-1998 @ericasabe  @gravedollie666 @madlykpopfan @l0kisbitch @mywinterwolf @sassysweetstories  @life-wanderer @jessieray98 @littledeadrottinghood  myfndomlife-blog @spnrvt @dahkness  @sexyvixen7 @dilaila95  @liveonce-sodoitright  @uuuuuuuuggggghhh @mywinterwolf  @myfandomlife-blog  @pinkisokay  @thosesexytexasboys

[under-the-lake]

Crimes of Grindelwald:  The Phoenix, the Blood Pact and the Skull -  More Questions than Answers

When watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in Newt’s Suitcase) - The Crimes of Grindelwald, many questions arise, first of which is WHERE ARE THE CRIMES? Grindelwald doesn’t really commit any crime in this film, apart from a couple of murders, which, given Grindelwald’s record, can be considered trifles. Unanswered question as of yet.

Many things happening in the film seem to make no or not much sense:

1. What about this mess during Grindelwald’s escape? - What about the blood pact?

2. The For-The-Greater-Good- Narghile-Projector-Skull, 1898

3. Is Credence really a Dumbledore?

4. McGonagall cannot have been teaching at Hogwarts in 1927. In Order of the Phoenix, she says she’s been teaching at Hogwarts for 39 years. And OoP is roughly 70 years after CoG...

I won’t develop more than the first two points. I guess there’s not enough evidence for or against the Credence is a real Dumbledore thingy to make a fair point, yet there are a lot of theories out on the web. And the last point, well, it speaks for itself. So either Production and Rowling changed the canon, which means reprint books with the right dates and review all the data about McGonagall, or admit the film bit with her is crap. Plus she’s so much out of character that it’s just a joke anyway.

1. Grindelwald’s Escape Mess and the Blood Pact Business 

When I watched the beginning of the film, it made no sense to me. Unless, as it dawned on me right after it, Abernathy and Grindelwald had already swapped bodies before the transfer took place, and Abernathy would be the one in the carriage, the Grindelwald without a tongue. SWAPPED BODIES. Yeh. Not used Polyjuice Potion, but actually Transfigured into the other. We know that Grindelwald is a fearfully skilled bloke, but that’s something we haven’t seen yet. I mean he spent a lot of time as Percival Graves, but that was only Transfiguring himself. 

Anyway, had the plan not backfired, Grindelwald would be free and Abernathy would have been tried in London and probably sent to Azkaban since the UK Wizarding Community has no death penalty. Still, that would have given Grindelwald the freedom to act in the shadows and eventually reach his goal, changing the script rather thoroughly.

Now why didn’t this trick work? Why did Grindelwald have to get inside the carriage eventually? Because of the Bloody Blood Pact.

What is a blood pact?

A blood pact, or blood oath, is an agreement between the parties that is traditionally sealed with a mixing of blood from all who take the oath. It sometimes involves spilling the blood, or drinking it. It can also be a more allegorical description of an oath. The most common is blood-brotherhood, or any kind of pact of non-agression and boundless loyalty between parties. According to some academic sources, blood pacts have been considered from the 12th century onwards as satanic, or primitive and non Christian (what a surprise), thus helping the building of the construct of the barbarian in the Middle Ages. And besides, that makes me smile because what else is the foundation of Christian religion but a blood pact of sorts between Jesus getting crucified and his followers? Pact which is, moreover, re-enacted during every mass by Catholics?

History has many instances of blood pacts recorded. One of them is part of Hungarian history, when the heads of seven tribes swore a blood oath to one amongst them, thus acknowledging him as their leader. It was around 830 AD. The blood was kept in a vessel.

I read that in East Africa, among the Maasai, blood oaths were made to form blood brotherhood, and they meant that no harm could be done among the brothers. That is rather close to what Dumbledore and Grindelwald made. 

In early Mongolia and China, blood brotherhood was seen as something more intertribal than individual. Whole societies were bound together by the oath of two people. It is said that Genghis Khan’s dad was blood brother with his friend, and that the young Genghis Khan himself, when he was still called Temujin, had a sworn brother since childhood.

Some historical events also happened with a ‘blood oath’ that was only so called because of its seriousness, but not involving any real bloodshed. For instance, in 1842, Joseph Smith instituted the endowment ritual in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA. It was later known as the penalty, in Mormonism, and the words and gestures were removed from the rituals in 1990. Critics call it a blood oath because of the words of the actual oath, that speak of bloodshed (like cutting the throat). Similar vows are found in Freemasonry at the beginning of the 19th century.

This side of the Pond, Norsemen used blood oaths to become foster-brothers. That happens for instance in the Icelandic story of Gisli the Outlaw, where the taking of the oath is described in detail. The four men in the story end up not carrying on. They do shed blood on turf together, but at the moment of tying hands, withdraw. Blood-brotherhood is something rather common in Norse mythology too. For example, Loki and Thor are said to have shared blood in the days of old, which is one of the reasons why Loki would be tolerated at all by the Gods.

So apparently, Grindelwald and Dumbledore did something of the like, and they also did, as some cultures would have done  keep the blood in a vessel (and that would include the Holy Grail... no comment) .

Why did Grindelwald need a blood pact in the first place and why is it he who keeps it and not Dumbledore?

Theories are flooding the wizarding network. One of them is that Grindelwald was nice and happy when he came to visit his auntie in Godric’s Hollow (see pic; from https://www.pottermore.com/features/the-life-and-times-of-albus-dumbledore). Come on, folks. He was already gathering followers in Durmstrang, was expelled for using Dark Magic and was already in quest of the Hallows. I personally think that Grindelwald never was caring and affectionate towards Dumbledore, but always the manipulative, ambitious and unscrupulous bloke we know. A former Voldermort, without Horcruxes. 

Second thing. According to Rowling, Grindelwald was a Seer. Remember that letter in Rita Skeeter’s The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore ? Here it is:

Gellert-

 Your point about wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLE’S OWN GOOD - this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and, yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the rules. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counter-arguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from this follows that we meet resistance, we must see only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.)

Albus

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, chapter 18, pp. 395-396

Well. Here’s a theory based on this: How come Grindelwald went to meet Dumbledore just after the latter graduated from Hogwarts? How come he suddenly discovered Bathilda was family? Bathilda who lived across the road from the Dumbledores in Godric’s Hollow. If Grindelwald was a Seer, he might have Seen that Dumbledore was the man to thwart him in the future. He might also have Seen this letter. So would he want to finish his education in Durmstrang or get to the man who was to be his downfall but who was to fall in love with him? The other most powerful wizard of his generation? Maybe Grindelwald actually got himself expelled intentionally, to be free. I argue it’s Grindelwald’s ambition, fear and cunning that drove him to Godric’s Hollow, that he never had the slightest bit of positive feeling towards Dumbledore, and that he came intentionally to find a way to keep Dumbledore out of his way: the Blood Pact. 

BUT. Love is one of the main themes in Rowling’s wizarding world. Love as a means of protection. I therefore argue that the Blood Pact is NOT the thing that actually prevents the two men from fighting each other. It would only work as a magical artifact if both wizards’ intentions were pure and positive. So Grindelwald used Dumbledore as a weapon against Dumbledore himself. His love for Grindelwald is the thing that prevents Dumbledore from attacking, not the Pact. I think the pact acts like a Prophecy: it only works because one makes it work. So Grindelwald relies on Dumbledore’s love as a protection. Dumbledore was completely besotted with Grindelwald and Grindelwald used that as much as he could. That is also why Grindelwald had to keep the Pact and not Dumbledore: because it had no affective value for him, and he most certainly would not seek to destroy it, whilst Dumbledore might, once he realised he had been manipulated. That might also account for the pretty thorough bit of thinking that Dumbledore must have made about Love and about Prophecies… and that he shares with Harry in Half-Blood Prince, for instance.

So basically the Pact is Grindelwald’s ultimate protection against Dumbledore because Dumbledore loves Grindelwald. All right. Now how come, if that is the case, that by the end of the film Grindelwald hasn’t noticed that the thing had disappeared (remember, Newt’s Niffler nicked it during the Père Lachaise rally)? He was so keen on getting it back at the beginning, in the flooded carriage… I mean normal people would check their possessions after a meeting like the Père Lachaise one. Moreover, I don’t think that they only just arrived in Nurmengard when the final scene takes place. So why not worry about the Pact? Is the feeling of completion of having Credence finally in his grip so overwhelming that the pact is forgotten? A bit like Voldy doesn’t feel it when the first Horcruxes are destroyed?

I’m also curious about how the Pact is going to be destroyed and why it does take another 18 years. Provided it is destroyed. Fighting without destroying the Pact might get us back to the Dumbledore-Aberforth-Grindelwald duel that resulted in the death of Ariana. I don’t think any of the three wizards killed her, but her death might have impressed upon Dumbledore the power of Grindelwald, his unscrupulousness, and the might of the Pact as an obstacle to their confrontation.

2. The For-The-Greater-Good-Narghile-Projector-Skull, 1898

My first impression on seeing this skull in the hands of Grindelwald’s assistant Rosier made me think of a Muggle magic show. Impress people, show them stuff they don’t or can’t grasp. Lure them. Pure Grindelwald. Pure any dictator.

The Skull is a human one, without the lower jaw. It is engraved with Grindelwald’s symbol, the double G that reminds me so much of a swastika. It also has a date, 1898, and a German inscription: ‘Für das Größere Wohl’, which translates to ‘For the Greater Good’, and which is supposedly Grindelwald’s motto. It was also used by Dumbledore in that letter he sent his ‘friend’ in 1899 when they met in Godric’s Hollow (see above). People all over the internet tend to say Dumbledore invented the phrase. Well he did not. It was coined way earlier, and for instance it was used by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) who was a British jurist, philosopher and advocate of utilitarianism and animal rights. In the ideological duel that opposed Dumbledore and Grindelwald, using a phrase from utilitarianism is full of sense. Utilitarianism is a moral theory that explores the ethical reasons of action. An action can be morally acceptable or not, depending on its consequences. In our situation it’s the debate about why wizardkind should rule the Muggles. The reason for seizing power is different in both men. Dumbledore has positive ideas, Grindelwald thinks domination.

Many theories are out in the wild about the date on the skull. 1898 is one year before Grindelwald and Dumbledore met. If we stick to the idea that Grindelwald had a vision of the letter mentioned above, then he could have taken the phrase from there to use it and lure Dumbledore. He might also have simply come across it, but he doesn’t seem to me like someone who’d delve into philosophy books, nor care about what people thought. Using the quote is proof he’s manipulating people around him, for sure, and maybe he used the letter, maybe not. 

The weirdest bit to me is the narghile-projector. The Skull appears to be an object used by Grindelwald to project his visions so that other people can see them. A bit like a Pensieve, but with the show-off factor. The thoughts are actually blown into it via the mouth, whilst in the Pensieve, it is quite rational that they would come from the head and not the lungs. They are blown through a hose that is actually connected to the back of the skull, not the Foramen Magnum (the hole where the spinal marrow reaches the brain and only hole sizeable enough in a skull, apart from the eyes, nasal cavities and mouth). So I guess the skull was damaged to attach the hose. I mention this because it’s again showing how much respect Grindelwald has for anything. 

Grindelwald is a Seer, according to Rowling. So when he projects images of WW2 during his meeting in the Lestrange Vault in the Cimetière du Père Lachaise, he’s actually using this incredibly powerful way to get people to rally his cause: fear. Using the threat of a second war after peoples having barely recovered from the first, and economy being on the brink of implosion, is a very cunning move. Fear has always been the main vehicles of the rise to power of dictators. They need to be feared because the usually fear everyone. I won’t be analysing this too much here, because I’m planning another paper about that very issue.

To summarise, we can simply say the Skull is a way to show off and intimidate people. Next to that, even Circus Arcanus is schoolyard stuff.

3. The Phoenix

I’m not willing to discuss weather Credence is Aurelius and where he would be from. I don’t reckon there is enough evidence to make a point. However, I want to have a look into the phoenix, as a bird.

Let’s start with basics for beginners: Newt’s book. It is said that the Phoenix is the only creature that Newt might not have encountered on his travels. Might be he saw one in Dumbledore’s office, who knows when he got Fawkes. Ministry of Magic rating for the Phoenix is XXXX, which is ‘dangerous’. A footnote in the book mentions that the rating is not due to the fact the bird would be dangerous, which it is not, but to the fact that few wizards are known who have tamed one. According to Scamander, Phoenixes are found in Egypt, China and India, are peaceful and gentle, and have never been known to kill. They eat only herbs. 

The most notable fact about Phoenixes is their capacity to die by bursting into flames and regenerate from their own ashes, their ability to disappear and reappear at will (a power they share with Diricawls), and the fact that their tears have extraordinary healing powers, and can act against venoms as potent as Basilisk’s. Oh. Phoenix songs are magical too: they give the pure of heart courage and increases the fear of the impure.

Scamander’s allegations about Phoenixes being found in Egypt are confirmed by Muggle archaeology: Egyptians in Heliopolis worshipped a solar heron-like bird called Bennu (see picture above), but the information about this bird is scarce and subject to much controversy. The Chinese culture has a phoenix too, indeed, who is called fènghuáng. It shares some characteristics with our European phoenix. In China, its qualities are, besides being the female part of the dragon-phoenix yin-yang duo (see picture below), symbols of fire, the sun, justice, obedience, and fidelity. Remember Dumbledore speaking about Fawkes? ‘He’s really very handsome most of the time: wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers and they make highly faithful pets.’ (Chamber of Secrets, chapter 12, p.225). Faithfulness going to the point that if someone is faithful enough to their master, they can help them out of tricky situations, as we saw in Chamber of Secrets. 

Other cultures have phoenixes or phoenix-like birds: the Russians have the Firebird, the Japansese the Hō-ō, northern America the Thunderbird from Native American traditions (and Newt’s book). The Native American Thunderbird is part of the North West Coast (pic below, from https://pnsn.org/outreach/native-american-stories/thunderbird-and-whale/thunderbird-and-whale-stories/list-of-stories ) and Midwest Plain cultures, and has different statuses in each region. However, the notions of power, protection and strength are common to all. For instance, in Algonquian culture, the Thunderbird rules the upper world, while the earth part is the kingdom of the underwater panther or Great Horned Serpent (rings a bell? :P ). In Menominee culture, there is also this opposition between the Thunderbird and the Great Horned Serpent, but it is more of an actual manicheistic fight: the Thunderbird prevents the Great Serpent from overrunning the earth, and it controls rain and hail. However, in Menominee culture, Thunderbirds are the messengers of the Sun. So this draws a parallel with the Egyptian Bennu. Other cultures also feature the fight with the underwater spirits. In Ojibwe culture, for instance. They also state that the Thunderbird was created by Nanabozho especially for this purpose. Ok I think I’ll stop here and plan a paper about the Thunderbird. But what can be said is that somehow I feel like the Thunderbird is a sort of equivalent of our Eurasian Phoenix variations.

The phoenix is also an alchemical symbol. It symbolises the perfection of Quintessence (the fifth element, also called Ether). It also symbolises the Three Principles (Tria Prima: salt, mercury and sulphur, which relate to any triad in the world, like for instance energy, matter and entropy). Paracelsus adds that it refers to the fundamental matter, also called energy, dark energy, creative chaos, or the formless essence that defines all matter. Some authors go as far as saying that this means the phoenix is ‘the completely healed, perfected human being’, the one that has integrated himself so much that they don’t need their physical body anymore. All this talk about perfection and all that also means that eventually, phoenixes are related to the ultimate goals of Alchemy, which, in addition to healing and perfection, are the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher’s Stone… rings a bell?

Now all this makes Phoenixes quite special and, let’s face it, sort of the perfect birds for a bloke like Albus Dumbledore. Still. Why would phoenixes be the Dumbledores’ birds? In Crimes of Grindelwald, Dumbledore states that in their family, a phoenix will always appear to one who is in dire need of help. Why single Dumbledores out? And anyway, how and when did Fawkes come to Dumbledore? The only answer we have for sure about that last question is that it came before 1938 and was grown enough at that time to give two tail feathers to Ollivander to use as wand cores. As we know, one of them ended in Tom Riddle’s yew wand, which he got in 1938, and the other in Harry Potter’s holly wand. About the other questions, it’s a big ‘search me’. For the moment.

PS: Any comments, questions, critics or additional info welcome! :)

Online Sources

Blood pact:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magyar_tribes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_oath_(Hungarians)

https://dailynewshungary.com/mythical-blood-oath-this-is-what-the-leaders-of-the-7-hu-tribes-said/

Phoenix:

https://www.boutique-of-arts.com/the-alchemical-phoenix/ 

http://www.levity.com/alchemy/alcbirds.html 

Thunderbird:

http://www.native-languages.org/thunderbird.htm 

https://pnsn.org/outreach/native-american-stories/thunderbird-and-whale/thunderbird-and-whale-stories/list-of-stories

Books and Papers

Baabar (2018, 2nd ed.). Almanac History of Mongolia. Nepko Publishing. Ulaanbaatar.

Gaiman, N. (2017). Norse Mythology. Bloomsbury Publishing. London.

Hughes, L. (2006). Blood Oaths, Boundaries and Brothers. In: Moving the Maasai. St Antony’s Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Klossowski de Rola, S. (1973; 2013). The arcane doctrine of alchemy. Thames and Hudson, London.

Oschema, K. (2006). Blood-brothers: a ritual of friendship and the construction of the imagined barbarian in the middle ages. Journal of Medieval History, 32(3), 275-301.

Rowling, J.K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Rowling, J.K. (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Rowling, J.K. (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Bloomsbury Publishing. London.

Rowling, J.K. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Scamander, N. (1927). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, in association with Obscurus Books, Diagon Alley, London.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Shield Hero 20 - 22 | Sarazanmai 7 - 9 | BSD 32 - 34 | Fruits Basket 8 - 9 | Demon Slayer 8 - 10 | OPM 20 - 21

Shield Hero 20

Motoyasu getting dragged by Filo was funny…not enough to get a proper laugh though. Just a smirk or two.

Stop narrating and just get on with it, Naofumi and friends…!

“I was saying we should fight together all along.” (from Itsuki) – Were you, now…? (skeptical)

Ass-pull! I call “ass-pull” at the power to swallow the phoenix flame! Seriously, when did the dragon get the opportunity to teach Naofumi how to do that???

How did Naofumi not die after losing so much blood…?

What does the Q even stand for in the queen’s name…?

Sarazanmai 7

The seagulls…so fluffy…

For some reason, I expect a fakeout, but then it never arrives…these boys are really connecting…

I found some kappa croquette thingy online, but it referred to a “Shiki City” which probably isn’t in Asakusa…

The shirt…Kazuki’s shirt says “frog” but I get the feeling it also means “return”.

Shirohasu water. It’s Irohasu in Japan.

Was the lyric to Kawausoiya (the otter song) “gonna take ‘em”…?

Nice ET reference, Sara.

Balls…not just sport entendre, but…y’know. The sort of humour I don’t like as much.

Ooh…Keppi is shaping up to be the bad guy. But what plans does he have? Am I speculating too much and is he being framed? Hard to know until next time…

BSD 32

When Kyouka is eating the sundae, she looks like the Tofu Kyouka from Mayoi…hmm.

Can I confess something? Before I saw the illustrations for s2, I thought Louisa’s hair was much darker than what it is in the anime…hmmm, indeed.

I don’t think we were ever told (in the manga or the anime) what Louisa’s wish was…

This bit with Fyodor…I don’t think it was in the manga.

Subarashi-sou is a pun on “it seems wonderful”. That wasn’t in the manga, but it’s a great pun (because it’s right up my alley).

Fitz laughing at the neighbour’s TV wasn’t in the manga either, but that’s just the anime director’s humour peeking through.

“Blalack Daniel’s”, LOL.

Ohh…a quick Google reveals TJ Eckleberg is from the Great Gatsby. In there, he’s an eye doctor, but here, he’s an engineer.

George B Wilson is also from the Great Gatsby…Here be spoilers, but…George dies in his original work too.

Manhasset is a place in New York…I assume it’s connected to the Great Gatsby as well…

Oh yeah! Random Poe moment. That’s in the manga, so Igarashi (or whoever’s responsible for the terrible humour) doesn’t have to fake that bit.

Cue “Objection!” by Fitz, lemme guess. Even if I know the outcome and how it was done, I’d like to have my memory refreshed (by stabbing in the dark…and making an Ace Attorney joke in the process).

I already know, without googling, that Tom Buchanan is part of Great Gatsby as well…

Bank of Amerigo…LOL.

Fruits Basket 8

“If you show up for the banquet now…”

“The banquet sounds just like the folk tale!” Honestly, subbers, proofread…

Haa-kun and Haa-san. No distinguishing between them (aside from honorifics), even though they’re two completely different people.

Hatori’s squinty face was…hilarious, to put it simply.

Oh…I forgot the dance seems to be something the animal of the year does. So if Yuki was 3 years ago, it makes sense Momiji is doing it this year.

Best seat in the house for a sunrise, huh?

Kimetsu no Yaiba 8

I’ve seen Muzan being described as “Demon Michael Jackson” and now I can’t get that out of my head when I see him…sorry.

Tsukihiko, huh? It translates to “moon’s radiance” or something like that. That name is appropriate for a bad guy, isn’t it?

This is the first time I’ve really listened to the OST (aside from the OP and ED), so it’s…really something.

Ooh, I didn’t realise until now, but Ufotable even imitated the paper Jump is printed on with the next-ep previews…

OPM 2 8 (OPM 20)

Er…I haven’t mentioned it for the past few episodes, but Suiryu is hotttttttt. (No? I said that? Okay, next step.) That’s basically the only reason why I’m watching anymore…I can’t seem to find anyone who thinks positively of this tournament arc enough to do reviews of it that I can read, which has made my own opinion of this beloved series go down the drain…Also, if you weren’t aware, my taste lies not in Suiryu’s huge bulk, but rather in the fact he’s got long hair.

Didn’t Suiryu get pierced in the abs??? Where’s the blood coming from his injuries??? Update: He does have injuries there, they’re just not bloody…that’s all.

The main criticism for OPM 2 is the fact that it keeps cutting between different events, so it’s hard to follow. Well, I’ve had worse (see Concrete Revolutio) so that’s why I’m still here.

People say that clothing changes you – say if you put on a new outfit, you feel like a new person. (Of course, that’s all glamorising and praising consumption, but that’s beside the point here.) I think that’s what’s up with Max and Snek.

Shield Hero 21

“…the Shield Hero is worshipped.”

Really? Boob jiggle, at a time like this??? (Context: Malty is getting th slave crest painted on her.)

Wait, was there ever a Shield Church???

Okay, that felt like a real seasonal ending. What the heck is going to happen in the last few episodes, I wonder…?

Sarazanmai 8

Chikai knows the real meaning of YOLO…heh. I’m only kidding…

To be honest, I think I like Toi best out of the main trio. I tend to like the boys in blue…and no, I don’t mean the otter police.

Kazuki’s service provider is “Kappa Phone”, LOL.

When Reo held up the gun, I was yelling, “Enta! Get it for him!” (i.e. take the bullet) I didn’t expect him to actually do it…

…and here I thought tragic yuri was common enough and we don’t have enough Tragic Yaoi Dudes…

Notably, Toi was registered on Enta’s phone as “Kuji”, while Kazuki is registered as “Kazuki” (katakana) on Toi’s.

Shots fired…!

Update: I didn’t notice this, but the evil dude with kamome written behind him (I think it’s in this episode, but it might have been in the last one instead) must be based on a seagull…because that’s what kamome means.

Bungou Stray Dogs 33 (BSD S3 Ep 8)

I think it was around here I stopped reading the scans, because the series was picked up legally anyway…but I can see the death flags for a certain Port Mafia man…one who stands at the top.

As expected…butt shot. Igarashi (or whoever’s responsible for that shot) likes butts, so between this and Sarazanmai…*imagines image of kappa!Kazuki holding a shirikodama* There’s absolutely no buts about it (LOL), there’s no shortage of butts this season.

“To think that the rabbit being hunted would show its face…” – I think it’s hard for you to say that, Akutagawa, when you yourself have no face in that frame…

Why are both Akutagawa and Fyodor Naruto running today???

“So you’re doing this for that woman.”

What is “Mukurotoride”? I don’t seem to remember…maybe I never learnt what it was. Update: Apparently a tower in Dead Apple is called Mukurotoride.

Conspiracy time! This book sounds like Kunikida’s Ability…so imagine if it were under Dazai’s nose the entire time…

Fruits Basket 9

I love how the synopsis for this episode goes, “Kyo fights Yuki, Yuki fights a cold…”

Hatsuharu’s wearing such an ostentatious fluffy jacket…LOL, I love it.

Holy cow (LOL), I forgot how old Hatsuharu is…so that means he’s 15-ish, right?

Come to think of it…I see Fruits Basket characters in Ro Te O, which I started writing at about this time in 2013. The Azrael of that time was a hybrid of Hatsuharu, Ritsu and Ayame, Tetsuya is basically Yuki and Ryou is Kyou…hmm.

Apparently, Shigure had in the 2001 anime a song that went like, “High school girls, high school girls, cute high school girls for me.” So that’s where it was??? (Context: I haven’t seen Fruits Basket 2001, but read the entire manga.)

Kimetsu no Yaiba 9

Recap time, recap time…so the lady’s in the back room and Tanjiro conveniently forgets the man is in the basement…? Wuh?

Moya was complaining about how repetitive this show can get when it comes to the script (i.e. it repeats itself because it doesn’t trust its audience, but I think that’s because this is originally serialised on TV week by week that people may forget if they’re not bingeing, taking notes or following the manga). I’ll talk more about that in my KnY collab post, I guess…

When Yushiro said “watch your back”…he really meant it, huh?

Temari are the balls, but kemari is when you kick the balls.

“…the eyeballs on his hands are creepy.” – LOL.

Shield Hero 22

The ep title just says “Hero Council”…not specifically that there are 4 of them.

My stream’s been buffering more than usual, so I went “like mother, like daughter” before Naofumi did…

It would’ve ben massively funny to hear Melty call Malty either “Trash” or “B****”…especially the last one, because that’s always a fun way to end a sentence (especially for a girl as young as her). Update: She does, but the way she does it isn’t as funny as I thought it would be (and she doesn’t end her sentence with her sister’s new name).

Wait, I thought they got rid of her slave pact??? I thought it was only for the duration of her trial that she needed it for.

L’Arc and that lady seem like they’re foreshadowing for later…hmm. Update: The next-episode synopsis says “yes”. So does that new visual.

Sarazanmai 9

I can’t believe this show’s almost over…That means I gotta get a move on with RobiHachi, but to be honest? Non-anime things are probably going to kep me busy until…a few days from now. So I’ll get RobiHachi watched then.

Characetrs are dying en masse in this episode, aren’t they??? I saw a spoiler that (well, SPOILER) Chikai’s gonna die, but I don’t know about Enta or Keppi…Update: To be honest, I thought Chikai was going to become the next monster – a gun monster, perhaps. Maybe now that I’ve finished the episode, he’ll become a real zombie. (Hey, see what I did there with the bolding…? How’s that for hiding spoilers, eh???)

Oh yeah…I forgot Enta’s sister was Kazuki’s teacher…

There was a sign behind Masa that said”Hinode Asakusa” – “hi no de” meaning roughly “under the sun” or “leaving the sun”.

Tokarev…? The gun? Gun monster, maybe? Is this a critique of the American gun…(exaggerated voice) Nah, can’t be…this is Japanese.

Lionel…Lionel…for some reason, that name in relation to soccer seems familiar...I just can’t put my finger on who it reminds me of, though. Update: Is it, perhaps, Messi…? Yes, I think that’s the guy I was thinking of…!

Aw…I’m not crying, you are…But these words were running through my head before Toi chucked the bag of money away and yelled, “F***!”: “Everything I do, I do it for you.” Isn’t that cute…?

Bungou Stray Dogs 34

“…one by one?” Junban means “sequentially”, so I don’t see why you have to use the phrase “one by one”. Or “one at a time” would also work.

Hardbank…to contrast Softbank (a phone company in Japan).

Face-stealing aliens strike again…(re: Atsushi)

Oh flip. This reminds me of my Kunikida fic…yeah, I bet you don’t remember it.

Hey, this dude! Apparently he’s from one of Kunikida’s stories. I really am approaching the end of what I know of canon…*gulp* Update: Oops, we already passed that part…

I wonder if the real Fyodor could play cello…? Or is this just a thing to make him ominous and villanous…?

The cross on the wall behind Kunikida…makes this show more like Eva than Kekkai Sensen…exquisite. Absolutely exquisite, isn’t it?

Another cool cross, behind Tanizaki!

What’s a tatamigatana? Also, I didn’t know other people could be synchronised using Doppo Poet and Ranpo’s deduction…

Does Kouyou mean (by “the one I most despise”)…Chuuya? Or herself? It’s definitely not Ace.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 10

Headpats for Yushiro as well! Headpats for everyone!

There’s a lot of Tanjiro being terrified in this episode…

Wait…Kizuki? I thought they were the 12 Moons? (Well, “tsuki” means “moon”, but then what’s the “ki”?) Update: The “ki” means “demon”, so the Kizuki are the 12 Demon Moons.

Being alone with the body…that’s always a scary thought in murder mysteries…for the people who dissect them to determine the cause of death, that is.

Considering the name of the episode is “Together Forever”…nup, I don’t see Nezuko and Tanjiro separating anytime soon…

The Kasugai crow is what happens when you can’t turn off your Google Assistant…or GPS…or Siri.

If Tanjiro knows the name of his crow, how do the crows get their names? Do their trainers (is that the right term for a crow breeder in this case…?) give them names?

OPM S2 Ep 9 (Ep 21)

LOL, that one shot of the ants…JC Staff really don’t care about this series, do they…?

I kinda forgot about Genos after a bit more than a week…sorry, I was watching other anime in between. (More than usual, at least. I started playing Chibi Tamago – a forum game for AniList where you collect badges for watching anime - that’s why.)

Did he (Pri-Pri Prisoner)…store his phone in his butt…?

[nautiscarader]

Okay, so I’ve seen Crimes of Grindelwald (spoilers)

And boy, is this movie disappointing. 

Now, the first instance of Fantastic beasts was already hit-and-miss, but the plot to this movie was just freaking bizarre. And it pulled a few weird moves that even a hardcore Potterhead like myself consider out of place.

Let’s start with the positives: The movie does look amazing, and several scenes were really breath-taking, including the opening chase, and the final battle. Whether they made sense is a different thing, but they looked awesome.

I did like the ultimate reveal of Grindelwald’s plot. He wants wizards to take over muggles’ world because of a prophecy, or rather a vision of the future. Most notably, World War II. 

That scene in the Lestrange’s family vault, where Grindelwald breathed the... uh, skull fumes... which in turn showed the vision of London Blitz, concentration camps and a freaking nuclear bomb was absolutely chilling. And Jacob’s reaction to it was blood-freezing, given he was a veteran of WWI already.

so, that makes Grindelwald’s “greater good” plan actually competent and multi-dimensional. He’s evil, he wants to treat muggles as a cattle and workforce, but you can see the original skewed thinking of the young Gellert there. That, i think was executed really well.

This is something I wanted to see for a long, long time. We know from Pottermore (and first movie, I think) that wizards did participate in WWI, and I wanted to see how that will be integrated into the HP universe. We only got a glimpse of it, but it was a powerful one.

Queenie’s plot was, for the most part, very interesting. She seems on plan with subduing muggles into obedience, though of course, she draws a conclusion that it’s okay, even though she is doing it on a man who already is in love with her. But that shows how twisted her perspective is.

The beasts were kinda cool! Newt has a flat in London, which, again, is bigger on the inside than outside, and he’s still pulling off Matt Smith’s performance as The Doctor. And he keeps a freaking Kelpie in a pool in basement. Which may be a library 

Also he has a maid that is totally in love with him.

Zouwu, a.k.a. not manticore, a.k.a. big magical Chinese lion that could breathe fire and jump a hundred feet but when you jingle some bells he enters his big fluffy cat mode, was freaking amazing.  

Jude Law as Dumbledore is phenomenal. He really encapsulates all the charm, and wisdom, as well as ability to manipulate as his older incarnations.

And now onto the bad stuff.

So, here’s the thing. FB movies seems to be in-canon only with the HP movies. I think. I honestly don’t know. And the problem with that is as follow: Harry Potter movies sucked. Even the best ones had massive cuts, the plot had to be twisted or crammed. I have always wondered how does it feel to watch HP movie without reading HP book.

Well, now I know.

Every freaking second you think that this minute-long scene in the movie would be at least three pages long in the book, and all the magical shit that is pulled off would have been explained previously in tiniest details. EXCEPT THERE IS NO BOOK NOW.

And this is a genuine problem. There is a lot of magic pulled from nowhere. Like, for example, Newt and Jacob arrive in France looking for Queenie and Tina. And then Newt takes off some gold powder thing, scatters it around and ... it just shows the past?! Like, echoes of what happened, and it shows Tina walking, meeting with a black guy, etc. 

Now, we know seeing the past of *spells* is possible - Priori Incantatem can do that, but if we can just rewind the whole scene, then... why don’t Aurors do it all the time?! Where was that powder in Goblet of Fire when Ministry of Magic were investigating who conjured the Dark Mark?!

Secondly, future-seeing. In HP, it is quite heavily established that even wizards think that predicting the future is rubbish and only powerful seers can really do it. 

in CoG, we see two examples: Nicholas Flamel (admittedly, a powerful wizard) uses crystal ball to see what will happen at the graveyard, and Grindelwald himself uses... the skull-thingy. 

Okay, that needs explaining. So, Deppy-Depp here has the skull and it has some sort of pipe attached to it, and he smokes through it, and breathes out smog, and that smog shows the future.

I’d say you need to be high to invent this, but that is exactly what it looks like. 

There is a skull-bong in Harry Potter universe now.

And again, it seems to be working 100% time correctly. So yeah, ditch the seers, use this instead. Whatever it is. 

The movie shows Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s past, to an extent, and we also see some weird blood-pact-amulet thing. Again, very poorly explained. I guess it prevents them from hurting each other, hence they both use others (Dumbledore newt and Grindelwald Credence).

Also, Dumbledore is teaching Defense Against Dark Arts in Hogwarts. In the books, he was a transfiguration professor in his youth. Also, professor McGonnagal seems to be teaching in his years.

in 1927.

EIGHT YEARS BEFORE SHE WAS BORN.

OOPS.

And, honestly, she is only for a brief comedic moment. She could be substituted with a freaking Mickey Mouse, and it would have had no change on the plot whatsoever. 

Ah, well, that leads us to Credence. So, there is whole subplot about him apparently being a lost Lestrange. That coincides with the fact that both Theseus and Newt are in love with Credence’s supposed sister, Leta, so now we have two people looking for him. Oh, wait, we have a third one: a new French-African dude who is supposed to be a third Lestrange. This subplot honestly kinda goes nowhere. Turns out that the third lestrange was killed by Leta by accident, and Credence is...

Dumbledore’s brother.

yeah, this makes no fucking sense. 

I watched a review from a die-hard potter fan, and even she calls that move “like taken from worst fanfic”. And there is a reason for it.

See, when I finished watching FB1, I immediately joined the idea of Obscurus - a powerful, magical parasite that manifests in a particularly powerful wizard or witch, and can ultimately destroy them - with Ariana Dumbledore - Albus’ sister. This was a big, big, big deal in Deathly Hallows. So I was overjoyed when I learned that Dumbledore would be in the movie. Maybe the reason he takes interest in finding Credence was to see if there is a way to bring Ariana back, or whether she suffered in her death, or, hell, if he can help another child.

And, I guess it can still happen. But... where the bloody hell does that brother thing come from?! Now, it’s not confirmed, I think, and it is only told to credence by Grindelwald, but he also reveals that the bird Credence was taking care of is in fact, a phoenix, a bird that is tied to Dumbledore’s family. 

So... is he a Dumbledore? Really? How... How does that work?

And there are a lot of weirder problems in this movie. Like, at some point, Tina and Newt go to French Ministry of Magic to pull Leta’s family tree, and it is stored in the least practical fucking room with revolving pillars or something. 

Also, they go the evil mean librarian, and Tina simply says “I’m Lestrange”, and she is like “okay”.

No wand-checking?! No protective spells?! What?!

And, mind you, they are on the chase; Newt drinks polyjuice potion to look like Theseus, and it only works for maybe five minutes, as opposed to an hour, and there are posters of Newt all over French MoM. So, how the bloody hell didn’t the mean librarian notice him and raise an alarm. Or better - WHY DOESN’T SHE FUCKING STUN HIM?!

Eventually she does bring back her army of CGI multiplying cats, but that happens after Tina and Newt kinda find what they were looking for.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and one wizard can WALK THROUGH FUCKING WALLS.

Like, he has a noclip cheat turned on. WAHT.

Eh, I’m not gonna lie, this film was bad on several different levels. It had lots of good elements in it, but the bad ones do overweight them for me. And with “Cursed Child” and all of that, I really feel bummed to see one of my favourite franchises gets kinda destroyed and distorted.

I guess this is how Star Wars fan felt when the prequels came out...? Except we have three more.

[liskantope]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (AU version) -- Chapter 1: McGonagall and the Muggles

This is the first chapter of a Harry Potter fanfic I wrote in college, back in spring and early summer of 2007. It contains 8 chapters and an epilogue which I finished just prior to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, which was 11 years ago today. I believe I rewrote chapter 8 in the weeks afterwards (and maybe changed the epilogue accordingly?) in response to a (valid) criticism that its dramatic tone didn’t fit with the rest of the chapters, but I tried not to let that rewrite be influenced by my knowledge of what happened in book 7.

I call this Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (AU version). I don’t mean “AU version” in the sense that this is an AU fic but in the sense that this is the final book in the Harry Potter series that could have come out in an alternate universe where Rowling for some reason abruptly stopped taking her work seriously.

My idea was that in the months preceding the release of book 7, I wanted to write a sort of silly parody version of what could follow from the first six books (I was inspired by such a fanfic that had come out preceding book 6, don’t know where to find this now), one which technically satisfied every bit of information we knew about the upcoming book 7 and which sort of lampooned a lot of the hype over the mysteries that would presumably be resolved in book 7. I was deliberately trying to imitate the narration style of the actual Harry Potter books (turns out I’m pretty decent at imitating other people’s styles, just not as good as I’d like to be at cultivating my own style of fiction prose.) To the best of my memory of pre-July-21st-2007, here were some things on many HP fans’ minds:

The title would be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, but what the heck could “deathly hollows” be?!

There would be an epilogue, and the very last word of it (hence of the whole Harry Potter series) would be “scar”. (This turned out not to quite be the case, but I can’t remember if we found out that she had changed this prior to the book actually coming out.)

There was “more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye” (or JKR said something to that effect in some interview), and we would be finding out what it was.

Of course the biggest question on everyone’s mind was on the true nature of Snape. I remember signs and posters going around that blared, “SEVERUS SNAPE: GOOD OR EVIL?”

Fan theories were rampant that Dumbledore wasn’t really dead at the end of book 6; some of them were pretty wild and didn’t die even after JKR said “Dumbledore is definitely dead.”

We were finally going to be introduced properly to Aberforth Dumbledore.

We were all pretty sure that the initials RAB on the fake locket referred to Sirius’ brother Regulus Black, but who knew, JKR might surprise us.

Many relentless Harry-Hermione shippers were still holding out hopes for the Harry/Ginny and Hermione/Ron pairings that seemed pretty established by the end of book 6 to not work out, still trying to argue that JKR herself dropped hints that Harry and Hermione actually belonged together.

So without further ado, here’s chapter 1 (I’ll post the rest of the chapters one by one over the next few hours).

The menacing form of Lord Voldemort was standing over the thin, bespectacled boy, aiming a long, threatening wand at him. Harry Potter, whose muscles were aching fit to burst, once again pointed his own wand at Voldemort and shouted the only spell he could think of.

“Expelliarmus!”

Voldemort’s wand went flying out of his long, thin hand. Voldemort himself, however, didn’t flinch. He merely reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out another identical wand.

“Bet you didn’t realize how many tail feathers that phoenix gave away, did you?” sneered Voldemort in his high, icy voice. “You shouldn’t have believed what Ollivander said about there being only two, you silly, naïve child.”

Harry, much as his arm muscles were screaming in pain, raised his wand again and shouted, “Expelliarmus!”

Once again – it seemed like for the hundredth time – Voldemort’s wand went flying. And once again, Voldemort calmly pulled a new one out of his pocket.

Harry feebly raised his own wand and croaked, “Expelliarmus!”

A second later, Voldemort’s latest wand was long gone, and Voldemort grabbed his next wand out of his pocket. “You cannot defeat me, Potter!” he shrieked gleefully. “There is not even any need for the Avada Kedavra curse! I have exactly twelve thousand five hundred and nine wands with me here, and long before I get to the last one, you will have died a slow, agonizing death of pure boredom, and I will be able to rule the world!”

Harry raised his wand, struggling to draw the breath to disarm Voldemort again, and woke up screaming. “AAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!”

He tried to calm down, take deep breaths, and let his eyes adjust to the dark. It was just one of the usual nightmares. A few seconds later, his eyes focused on his Uncle Vernon’s nose, which was inches from his own.

“What the ruddy hell are you screaming about?!” whispered Uncle Vernon. Harry could actually feel his bushy moustache bristling with rage. “This had better be something good! You woke me up from my favorite golfing dream again!”

“Just another nightmare,” Harry muttered. “Get out of my personal space, will you?”

“Don’t you dare talk to me that way!” growled Uncle Vernon. “I’m not the one who keeps waking up at night shouting for no reason.”

“I’ve got a lot of pent-up stress at the moment,” Harry said exasperatedly. He knew it was unlikely to do any good, but it seemed that he might as well try once again to reason with his uncle. “You see, I know that one of these days, maybe very soon, I’ll have to meet up with Voldemort again. And seeing as neither of us can live while the other survives, there seems to be a good chance that I’ll die. After all, normally there are four possibilities: that we both live, that he lives and I die, that I die and he lives, or that we both die. As I’ve explained to you before, the possibility that we both live is eliminated. So only one out of the three remaining possibilities involves – “

“DON’T YOU GET SMART WITH ME, BOY!” Uncle Vernon shouted. “You spend all your time sitting around feeling so damn sorry for yourself! Last summer it was that axe-murderer godfather of yours that you were moping over, and this year it’s one of your paranoid ideas about some guy you think is going to kill you! Doesn’t it occur to you that I might be under pressure as well? Last night I dreamt that I didn’t get the pay rise I wanted, and did I wake up the entire household because of it? One more nighttime scream out of you, boy, and you’ll be scrubbing the bathrooms twice a day for the rest of the summer! And I’ll know that you won’t use that… that thing of yours to help you, because you keep getting expelled every time you do use it!”

“I guess my only hope for cleaning the bathrooms will be that you don’t overeat at that drill thingy anniversary buffet again,” said Harry coolly.

“That does it,” said Uncle Vernon silkily, although the veins in his forehead looked ready to burst more violently than a mimbulus mimbultonia. “I’m locking you up again!” He was getting more excited now, breathing more heavily, and talking more and more rapidly. “I’m hiring someone to watch your window this time so that no Weasley loonies can come up with some freakish flying car! And I’m taking your… thing! So that even if you do decide to use you-know-what again and risk getting in trouble with your people’s wretched, incompetent government, at least I won’t have to deal with a peck, I mean a pack of owls nearly flying straight into my eyeballs!” He took a tissue out of his pocket and, holding it in his right hand, gingerly picked up Harry’s wand from his nightstand. Harry saw no way to resist.

Aunt Petunia came in. “What’s going on here?” she snapped.

“Oh, I’m just trying to teach the boy a lesson about getting clever with me,” said Uncle Vernon smugly. “Aren’t you impressed by my assertiveness, Petunia?”

“Actually, I’m not sure that punishing the boy is such a good idea, Vernon,” said Aunt Petunia, her thin, horsy face looking nervous. “Remember those people who threatened us when we picked Harry up last summer? If they come marching into the house, I’ll die of shame, especially if we haven’t had a chance to repaint the porch yet.”

“I’ll hire a guard to watch over the front door, too!” said Uncle Vernon. “I don’t care what it takes! Nobody makes fun of Vernon Dursley!” And with that, he walked out of the room with Harry’s wand, locked Harry in, and proceeded to barricade his room so that there was no way he could get out.

Harry could see no way out of his imprisonment this time without getting in trouble once again with the Ministry of Magic. He knew that members of the Order of the Phoenix would try to come for him sooner or later, but he had no way of knowing when, or how. He didn’t even have his owl Hedwig, as she was out hunting and now could not get back in. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, alternating between fantasies of wringing the necks of his aunt and uncle, then of Severus Snape, then of Dolores Umbridge, and occasionally of Voldemort.

Then, halfway through the second day of this confinement, Harry had an idea. There was a way of getting himself out of this situation without resorting to magic or even using a wand. He sat up in bed and whispered, “Kreacher? Dobby?”

There were two simultaneous cracks.

“Harry Potter, sir!” squeaked Dobby, his eyes staring up at Harry in admiration.

“Harry Potter, sir!” croaked Kreacher, his eyes staring up at Harry in revultion.

“I have a job for the two of you,” said Harry.

“Dobby will be glad to do anything for Harry Potter!” cried Dobby enthusiastically.

“Kreacher will also do anything for Harry Potter,” said Kreacher, not so enthusiastically, “but Kreacher really does not know what the world is coming to. Everywhere he goes is still full of mudbloods and half-breeds and other random pieces of filth. What is the point in living any longer?”

“If I don’t get out of here soon and get to work, there really won’t be any point in living any longer,” said Harry briskly, “so I want you two to help me get out of here. I want you to inform the Order of where I am and how impatient I am to destroy the Horcruxes and rid the world of the darkest wizard who ever existed. Well, don’t say anything about Horcruxes. And don’t make too big of a point of how impatient I am, or they won’t trust me. And don’t mention defeating the darkest wizard who ever existed, or they’ll think I’m full of myself. Just tell them that I really need to get out, because I’m slowly starving to death!”

“Right you are, Harry Potter sir!” squeaked Dobby, and he vanished with a loud crack.

Kreacher was not so prompt at disappearing. “Hmm, to whom from the Order shall Kreacher speak first, he wonders… perhaps Severus?”

“Don’t you dare even think about it!” shouted Harry, suddenly angry. “You know perfectly well that Snape isn’t part of the Order anymore, you numbskull! From now on, I forbid you to mention his name without putting a four-letter word in the same sentence! Now clear off!”

“Most unfortunately, Kreacher must do as he is told,” muttered the filthy house-elf, and with another loud crack, he disappeared.

Harry sat fuming. Any mention of Snape nowadays was likely to make his blood pressure rise, even more violently than it had ever done before. He decided to mentally play through his favorite fantasy of cursing Snape so that his greasy, hooked nose swelled exponentially. He was just getting to the part where his entire body was weighed down by the nose, which was scraping along a hot sidewalk baking in the July sun, when his thoughts were interrupted by Minerva McGonogall abruptly appearing in the room.

“Hello, Professor,” he said, grateful to finally see a wizard or witch again.

“Good afternoon, Potter,” said Professor McGonogall curtly, as she peered around the disorganized mess in the room through her square spectacles. “Don’t you ever clean up in here?”

“Could you skip the lecture please, Professor?” said Harry politely.

“Oh, very well,” sighed McGonogall. “Let’s see what I can do about getting you out of here.” She raised her wand and pointed it at the door. It swung open so quickly and easily that it looked like it might fly off its hinges. There was a stifled cry of pain from behind it, and Dudley’s porky face came into view. Dudley rubbed a rapidly swelling bruise on his head and let out a swear word.

“You go and wash your mouth out with soap, young Dursley,” said Professor McGonogall sternly. Dudley took one look at her and ran downstairs, shouting for his parents. A minute later, he came shuffling back upstairs with Aunt Petunia half-carrying him and Uncle Vernon bringing up the rear.

“What did she do to you, Diddy?” crooned Aunt Petunia. “Poor diddy Duddikins! Poor duddy Diddikins! Poor little dinky doddle Dookidins!”

“Have you hurt my son?” roared Uncle Vernon. “I’ll tear you limb from limb! I warn you, I’ve been trained in wrestling, and my son here is a Junior Inter-School Boxing Champion! You don’t want to go around messing with us!”

“I have no time for any funny business, Mr. Dursley,” said McGonogall coldly, over Dudley’s soft sobs as he leaned his head on his mother’s bosom. “The evil wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is at large, wreaking havoc upon both our world and the Muggle world. His especial target is Mr. Potter here, but not even such uber-Muggles as yourselves are safe in these dark times.”

Dudley wailed even more loudly. “I don’t want some evil you-know-what to attack us! I d-don’t want to d-d-die! I h-haven’t even g-gotten to try out my new Nintendo game y-y-yet!”

“Don’t worry, my darling diddle Dudderfus!” cried Aunt Petunia tearfully. “Mummy won’t let him destroy you!”

“I’m not really supposed to use magic on you,” said McGonogall, who was clearly becoming more and more impatient, “and I’m not as good at side-along Apparition as Dumbledore was, and Harry can’t legally Apparate by himself yet. So it would be most considerate of you to cooperate. Kindly step aside and allow myself and Mr. Potter to pass.”

Aunt Petunia and Dudley stepped aside, but Uncle Vernon stood his ground. “I will not let that boy get away so easily!” he barked. “I’m afraid it is time that he paid the consequences for his actions!”

Just then, there was a crack like a whip, and an anxious-looking Mrs. Weasley Apparated into the room, wearing an apron. “What’s keeping you two?” she said. “Supper is getting stone cold, you know.”

“Sorry, Molly,” sighed McGonogall, looking over at her. “It’s just that these Muggles are having trouble with the concept of common courtesy. They’re just as Albus described them. I bet they wouldn’t invite me in or offer me refreshments if I surprised them at eleven in the evening, either.”

“What a sloppy room,” remarked Mrs. Weasley.

“Will you all give it a rest about the room!” cried Harry in exasperation as he started to pack.

“Come on, Vernon,” wheedled Aunt Petunia to Uncle Vernon, who was still standing in the way of McGonogall and Harry, swelled up indignantly. “Wouldn’t it be better to let him go? After all, we’ll never have to see him again. He turns seventeen in a week or two, remember? And think on the bright side. At least these people haven’t wrecked our fireplace or blown up any members of our family this time.”

Harry could see the usual inner conflict within Uncle Vernon, who was clearly fighting between the desire to oppose whatever Harry wanted and the desire to be rid of him forever at last. Finally, Uncle Vernon began to say, in a rather choked voice, “True, they haven’t even so much as exploded a pudding.” Just as he said it, however, there was a huge crunching sound, and the window shattered.

“Uh-oh,” said Harry to himself, although he couldn’t help grinning at the same time.

“What’s takin’ yeh so long?” grunted the voice of Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant Hogwarts gamekeeper from outside the window. “Come on, let me carry yeh outta here!”

Uncle Vernon muttered, “Mimblewimble!” and ran out of the room. Aunt Petunia and Dudley followed suit. McGonogall and Mrs. Weasley both glared at Hagrid, looked at each other with raised eyebrows, and Disapparated. Harry jumped out of the window and didn’t fall far before landing in Hagrid’s arms. A second later, Harry’s wand went flying out the window, thrown out, no doubt, in disgust by Uncle Vernon, and Harry caught it.

“There, take your thing!” came Uncle Vernon’s voice from out of the broken window. “And don’t ever show your disorderly-looking head at our doorstep again!”

“I’ll miss you too, Uncle Vernon,” said Harry gleefully, waving up at him.

Hagrid started walking briskly down Privet Drive, trampling a few squirrels in the process.

“How’ve yeh bin, Harry?” said Hagrid. “Seriously, yeh should talk to Grawp, yeh wouldn’ believe how smart he’s gettin’ nowadays. He’s studyin’ second-year calculus now, although he still has a little trouble remembering the dif’rence between sines and cosines.”

“Thanks for everything, Hagrid,” said Harry gratefully as Hagrid bore him across the street to where a grouchy-looking Auror stood waiting to escort him back to the Burrow at last.

[aranyaphoenix]

RP Recap: Tezzakel's Game

Recounting the events of Thursday the 29th of June.

Aranya stood on one of the hills of Deliverance Point, with Halenvar at her side. It felt reassuring that he was with her, that he had been the first to come find her and be at her side since earlier that day.

He was always at her side, whatever she did.

The arcanist gave the valarjar a warm smile, which he returned. Asharri Kelanthis, good to her word, was soon to appear. Aranya hailed her and the blonde woman inclined her head in greeting. When Lledwyn and Priscilla made their way over at last, the sorceress addressed everyone who had come to aid her, “Good to see everyone here. Thank you all for coming, I appreciate it.”

"We could do no less,” said Halenvar. “At least for my part.”

Asharri grinned. “Well, I do seem to owe you one,” she said, and Aranya grinned back at her, chuckling softly. She had been glad to help Asharri, and Caitira, even with them at odds with Captain Thorne - though that was hardly their fault.

Lledwyn inclined his head in a faint nod towards Aranya and murmured quietly, “Of course, Lady Aranya.” He offered the other woman a faint smile, though the death knight had obviously come dressed for battle. And evidently, still felt the only-half-accurate title of “lady” was the most appropriate for the dark-haired woman.

Priscilla just sat quietly listening to the rest of them.

Aranya looked to Halenvar, who gave her a nod. It was time to brief the group. “As some of you know, there’s been a grudge between myself and a dreadlord I did some irreparable injury to ten years ago,” she began. “I all but thought of him as a trophy story of my past, but in recent days, since the opening of the Tomb, he has shown that he has not forgotten nor forgiven, and threatens the people around me. “

Halenvar grunted, “I have been waiting to bloody my blade on that demon.” the remark earned him a smirk from Aranya.

Lledwyn stayed silent, his piercing blue-eyed gaze focused upon the woman speaking.  His lips thinned almost imperceptibly as his hand moved to the hilt of his sword, as if making certain the weapon were ready to be pulled at a moment’s notice.  He flickered a brief glance at Halenvar when the other man spoke before shifting once again back to Aranya, waiting for her to continue, clearly.

Priscilla chimed in, “So the time has come to end it to keep from the Mr Nappy pants demon lord thingy will not come at you or the people that are clos eto you Ma'am.”

Aranya smile at the priestess. “Indeed,” she said. “What we are to do, is to enter the Cathedral of Eternal Night, and using the ambient energies of the Aegis of Aggramar and the felstorm, force the demon to manifest before he can gain any more strength than he already has.” She gestured to the runed necklace that she wore, its violet soul gem gleaming in the early evening light of the fel-tinged skies. “With this necklace Lledwyn crafted, and the soul gem Safrona gave me, he’ll be bound,” she explained. “He can be taken to the Netherstorm’s heart, and destroyed forever there.”

It was known to all, that only within the Nether, or on a world within the Nether, could a demon be destroyed utterly and forever.

Halenvar nodded, glancing to the soul stone necklace. It was clear that he disliked the item, but knew it was needed.

Asharri lofted a brow, listening quietly as her eyes swept the perimeter; falling upon each face she saw. “Kick him while he’s down then? I hope it’s as simple as it sounds. It never seems to be.”

Aranya nodded in agreement to Asharri. “I don’t suppose I need to warn you all that despite the best efforts of the Wardens, Illidari, and Legionfall forces, some demons are more than likely to have trickled back into the Cathedral since we took it,” she pointed out. “There will be quite a fight on our hands, regardless.”

"Which means I will be on my toes,” remarked Priscilla.

Halenvar cracked his knuckles, looking at the rest of the group. “Fighting has never bothered the Valarjar. Nor will it now.”

Lledwyn merely nodded his head.

“Are we all ready to move then?” Aranya asked, looking around at each one in the assembled group.

Asharri nodded, “As ready as ever.”

“At your word,” said Halenvar. With that, they all mounted and lifted off into the sky, the Cathedral gleaming with an ominous light ahead of them.

Asharri grimaced as she looked up at the looming structure, a shudder running down her spine. Gripping the hilts of her blades a little tighter, she narrowed her eyes and focused upon the entryway. Halenvar drew his vrykul blade, Ragnorok Who’s True Name is Odynsblade, from his back. His eyes set on the entrance.

Lledwyn murmured, “I’m quite certain that we will encounter many foes within by the looks of the forces that have encamped out here.”  Th death knight looked over at the valarjar and said, “Let’s hope you can keep swinging that sword.”

Priscilla looked between the two men. “Okay if you two have so much built up steam why not fight it out? Starting to think it’s a male ego thing.”

Halenvar glanced to the priestess. “My rage is saved for the enemies of Aranya,” he said. “There is death to dealt.”

Lledwyn also spared a glance back at Priscilla, and then with a mirthless smile he murmured, “I’m saving myself for when I get my hands upon Mavas.”

Asharri smirked softly behind her mask, the corners of her eyes creasing a bit and giving away a slight pause of humor.

“You two can save yourself on things, keep the ego going but I am the one that will have to work to keep to hot-head males up,” retorted  Priscilla. “Even if one needs a push type of healing form the shadow so the light does not burn him.”

Aranya drew The Stars’ Design from where it rested at her side, its translucent, white-gold blade glimmering brightly in the sickening light. “Here we go…��� she said softy, to which Lledwyn nodded and Halenvar shouted a Valarjar war-cry.

And in they all went.

Once inside the Cathedral, Aranya looked around, checking the surroundings, while Lledwyn looked ahead to the doorway and the corridor beyond. All seemed quiet, at first, until a wrathguard demon appeared, shouting, “You will burn!”

Battle ensued, blades flashed and streams of magic flew, and within moments all demons in the room were dispatched. Thus it continued, steadily further into the Cathedral, as the lackeys of the Burning Legion - hopeful of taking back the once-sanctified place - all but crawled from every hiding place with each new level the elves climbed. There was little incident beyond the expected battles, but at one point, a succubus held Halenvar in her thrall, which Aranya freed him from with a counterspell to the demoness’ charms. Asharri found herself bedecked in the webs of spider demons and continued to have an utterly impossible time of ridding herself of the strands sticking to her clothes and hair. At last, they reached the topmost sanctum of the cathedral, where rested - still as yet un-maligned - the Aegis of Aggrammar.

Though everything had lead to this one pivotal moment, Aranya was yet the last one to enter the room. “Alright,” she said, taking a deep breath and preparing to focus on the task at hand. “Now we begin. We may have company to fight off once they sense that power is being channeled here.

Halenvar grunted, “Then they come to die.”

“Everyone is prepared?” Lledwyn murmured.

“Depends on what you want up to prepared for,” answered Priscilla.

“We came this far,” said Asharri

Halenvar concurred, “It’s time we finish this.”

Aranya began to invoke the ambient power surrounding the aegis and coursing through the felstorm, weaving it together. It was like reaching out and pushing through water, sending her will along the strands of magic, and then beckoning them back.

Unsurprisingly, demons appeared, drawn to the magical activity within the sanctum. Asharri, Halenvar, Lledwyn, and Priscilla succeeded in fending them all off, as Aranya ended her evocations with a loud, demanding shout of the true name of the demon she sought to force manifest. “TEZZAKEL!”

The dreadlord appeared, as if nothingness rolled off of him like a silk curtain from his form. His dark armor seemed to absorb and devour all light that touched it, his massive wings flexed imposingly. A sickening smirk pulled wide on his mouth and a dark chuckle rolled from deep in his chest. “We meet again, troublesome little elf…” Tezzakel rumbled in his deep, thick voice. “How quaint that you bring allies.”

Asharri stood to the side of the other elves, sizing up the nathrezim; silently making note of any visible weak points she could find - if any.

Halenvar growled at the dreadlord, “Aranya has called for your death demon. You should make peace with what you hold dear, fel scum.”

Lledwyn simply fixed his gaze upon the demon, his hands going to the dual blades that he wore at his side and drawing them out carefully. His look shifted to Aranya when next she spoke.

"No more games, Tezzakel,” said the phoenix-mage, in a tone that was low, clear, and dagerous. “Your threats are done with.”

Tezzakel laughed loudly. “You think the game is done?” He looked quite amused for a moment. “That we FINISH this today?” His amused expression shifted, his look hardening into a glare, and he shook his head. “Little fool, you have only played yourself right to where I want you.” The demon flared his wings, his arms and clawed hands spread wide as if in invitation, his stance settling lower, as if getting ready to spring. “HAVE AT IT IF YOU THINK YOU CAN,” he goaded.

Halenvar was the first to charge, the other elves dashing into the fray, swinging his greatsword viciously. Lledwyn held Tezzakel’s attention with deadly prowess, the ebon knight was not to be ignored. Asharri was quick and light, and a blur with her blades, striking at whatever she perceived to be a weak point. Aranya stood further back, incanting fiery counters to the demon’s shadow magic, while Priscilla remained focused, keeping the group mended despite how Tezzakel thrashed, slashed, and blasted at the elves.

Ultimately, it was too much. The five elves overwhelmed the demon, and he buckled under the injury and exhaustion.

Aranya stood over Tezzakel’s battered, dying form, pitilessness on her every feature.

Halenvar looked between her and the demon. “Do it Aranya,” he urged. “End this and end him. Let it be done.”

She nodded.

Tezzakel gasped, “Not going to feed from me as I fade away this time…?” The demon chuckled, though he clutched at his aching ribs, trying to keep his gaze level with Aranya’s, as he was sprawled in a widening pool of his own blood. “You think… So sure… That you are utterly the master of yourself, that your nature can stay leashed forever.” His horned head shook slightly. “Fool,” he spat.

Lledwyn murmured, “We are only monsters if we choose to be.”  He fixed his gaze upon the demon for a moment longer before shifting to look at Aranya, his expression a thoughtful one, through his usual stoicism.

Aranya invoked the words of binding that Safrona had taught her, drawing the essence of Tezzakel to the soul gem, the necklace glowing and pulsing as the demon’s form dissolved away. “And I choose,” she murmured “to always be master of myself. Whatever my darkeness is.” The glow of the soul gem dwindled, and the necklace lay quiet, resting about the arcanist’s neck with two others that she always wore. She lifted her gaze to the others around her. “We’ll need to journey to the Netherstorm to kill him utterly. Only so far into the Nether can a demon be destroyed,” she said. “Will any of you be with me then?”

Aranya could just hear the wry smirk in Halenvar’s deep voice from behind her, as he replied, “Need you even ask such a thing of me?” She turned and gave him a broad smile.

Asharri nodded. “I’d like to see the thing I’ve come for completed to the very end,” she said.

Aranya nodded to Asharri, thanking her, and the blonde woman smiled in return.

Lledwyn murmured, “I offered you my aid in the demons destruction, Lady Aranya. You know that I would not leave my oath half-fulfilled.”

The dark-haired sorceress gave a smile and a nod to everyone, happy to be among friends, then turned to lead the way out.

But no sooner had Aranya moved half a pace, when she suddenly seized up, eyes wide in a silent, shocked gasp, and dropped to the floor in pain. A bloodcurdling scream tore from her mouth once breath found her again, as the runed necklace and soul gem began to blaze unnaturally.

Halenvar rushed to her side, kneeling beside her. “What is happening?!”

Priscilla moved quickly to Aranya’s side as well, checking her pulse and the state of her vital signs.

Lledwyn frowned at the sudden glow emanating from the necklace and the gem in its center. "It most certainly should not be doing that,“ he growled.

A deep, dark voice pulsed through the room, seemingly on the threads of energy that course through it. “THIS IS NOT FINISHED,” it boomed. “YOU HAVE NOT WON. THE GAME IS FAR FROM OVER.”

Asharri had started to follow suit and be at the mage’s side, only to halt immediately in her steps. Frozen for a moment. She quickly looked to the others, and back to the fallen arcanist, approaching carefully.

Halenvar grabbed at the necklace, attempting to crush the gem in his fist. It did not work, but it did not stop the Valarjar from trying.

Asharri eyed the woman on the floor with concern, yet couldn’t seem to keep her gaze torn from that gem for too long. “Befouled demon,” she vocalized. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t this work?”

Aranya began to go limp, her agonized contorting lessened, as it seemed her energy drained from her. The pulsing glow of the soul gem in the necklace grew brighter and brighter, appearing to draw from her essence, until it exploded.

In the flash, Tezzakel, in regained form, appeared once more in the sanctum with the elves. A thick, sinister laugh rumbled from deep within his massive chest, his eyes on Aranya. “I repay you, tenfold,” he growled. “All of you.”

With a slash of shadow at his claws, the demon tore a hole in reality, a portal into the Nether, and escaped through.

Aranya lifted her head up from the floor, watching him retreat. “No…” she choked, burning green eyes fixated on the rift that her nemesis had gone through. This couldn’t be happening. “NO!”

At the last second, she bolted after him with whatever strength she still had, running through into the Nether, the rift closing up as smoothly as water just behind her, leaving the others to watch her disappear.

She was gone.

@halenvar @lledwynlomeriel @asharri @priestess-priscilla @safrona-shadowsun @kerrwynn @thefirstperished @wolf-queen @rizzythemonk @velerodra @shaded-hawke @eclipsesyndicatewra @sunspireport @scions-of-antiquity @theperished-wra If I’m missing anyone who’s involved or interested in this arc, forgive me.

[manabingu]

ManaTagged! Heyoo~

tagged by the sweet ♥ @rainbow-galaxy-supernova  (sorry its overdue)

The last:

1.) Drink: Raspberry Milk Tea w/Lychee Popping Pearls

2.) Phone call: to @tyrestgwa earlier today via skype

3.) Text message: to @crystalwoodsart

4.) Song you listened to: Phoenix Ash’s Cover of JAP by Abingdon Boys School & Fome’s Cover of Count Zero by T.M. Revolution (SO FCKN GOOD)

5.) Time you cried: yesterday 8D during Wonder Woman ;U;o

6.) Dated someone twice: Tyrest is the first & only official dating. But me and @crystalwoodsart have been married practically since 6th grade. She is mY WAIFU!

7.) Been Cheated on: Thank Ra No!

8.) Kissed someone and regretted it: Nah.BUT I mean- iN DREAMS YES.

9.) Lost someone special: It’s a universal thing. Namely pets for me

10.) Been depressed: 8) Story of my LIFE! But I’ve been makin progress

11.) Gotten drunk and thrown up: I REFUSE to consume alcohol/drugs

12-14.) LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: Turquoise,Galaxy Print,Pastels/Silver tie

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

15.) Made new friends: I’ve been blessed thanks to YT Idol w/new singer pals!

16.) Fallen out of love: Yeah...in  high school I had so many talent crushes. Which I think is normal for theater kids. But I think I ended up with the correct person. He truly understands me. And though I sometimes wonder what would my life be if I had confessed my love to those others, I’m happy I waited for the person who accepted me just the way I am ;w;o

17.) Laughed until you cried: AS AN ABRIDGER, I am privileged to be surrounded by INCREDIBLY hilarious people & I love it!♥

18.) Found out someone was talking about you: YES. And BOY is it a trip when I find people are horrible trolls. I find out about sweet people who say super kind things about me or my work all the time. But when I get a heads up about backstabbers or people who get close for the wrong reasons, I put my guard up around them & just do my own thing. Because a path of jealousy, hatred & vengeance isn’t for me. Bullies can talk, but I’ll always ignore them.

19.) Met someone who changed you: Namely Tyrest,Crystal,Panda,Wraith10, @cozymochi (bows to her greatness), LordMoonstone, @kittykatsandbox, (FAB SENPAI) @ahsimwithsake & @laurathia who are 1 of 2 sets of adoptive internet parents I have XD and MOST RECENT OF ALL CEONN. If I hadn’t met Ceonn, my singing career journey wouldn’t have taken off.THANX

20.) Found out who your true friends are: YEP 8)! Sadly, just recently too...

21.) Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Well, hispanic people greet each other by cheek kisses so  I will say yes.

22.) How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Everyone cuz my FB is family & IRL friends only ^^; BUT my ZEXAL Abridged has a FB 

23.) Do you have any pets: My pet cockatiel Patchos 8D

24.) Do you want to change your name: No, but don’t mind having a stage name to be honest. I love stage names ^_^

25.) What did you do for your last birthday: Probably sang,drew & other stuff 

26.) What time did you wake up: 9 or 10ish? I had to meet some friends today

27.) What were you doing at midnight last night: GAWKING at Gal Gadot

28.) Name something you cannot wait for:Anime Idol @ Metrocon, finally getting out more song covers/abridged stuff. And being stable again.

29.) When was the last time you saw your mother?: a few seconds ago

30.) What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish that ONE thing didn’t happen & my family had the same wealth we shoulda had if luck was on our side. That & I wish I wasn’t afraid of certain things so I could progress faster.

31.) What are you listening to right now: Fome’s Covers,& MY own covers

32.) Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yeS?

33.) Something that is getting on your nerves: Hypocrites lately 8)

34.) Most visited website: Tumblr,Instagram,Twitter & YT are tied tbh

35-37.) Finished all of school: yeppers

38.) Hair color: Dark Chocolate Brown (I used swatches at Sally’s XD)

39.) Long or short hair: I enjoy having long princess hair, but I cut it recently QuQ woops. Mostly cuz I wanted to try a T.M. Revolution hairdo XD

40.) Do you have a crush on someone: I HAVE ANIMAY HUSbANDs/WAifUS

41.) What do you like about yourself: My voice range! I used to be SO self conscious as a kid, but eventually it became my greatest strength because it’s SO versatile it honestly I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my unique voice QuQ

42.) Piercings: My ears have been pierced since birth. Mom wanted it

43.) Blood type: O? I think was what it was? It’s been years lol

44.) Nickname: Mana & Ginga (to my singer friends)

45.) Relationship status: Taken by Tyrest (with Crystal on the side ;D heh)

46.) Zodiac sign: I am a proud Sagittarius ♐

47.) Pronouns: Her is fine, but I don’t mind He if I’m crossplaying (mostly Ginga). It’s kind of a weird thing for me cuz I’m genderfluid ;w; but if anything to avoid confusion, just go with feminine one XD cuz whatvs???

48.) Favorite TV show: ITS HARD. I like too many things.Non-Anime TV Show wise I watch mostly Trail & Error & Fresh Off the Boat. But Anime-wise: ZEXAL (but YGO in general), Darker Than Black, One Punch Man/Mob Psycho 100, Uta no Prince-sama, Saint Seiya/Omega, Tokyo Mew Mew, Kaleido Star, anything by CLAMP, Kamen Rider Gaim/Fourze, Death Note, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, FMA...too many...I know I have more...

49.) Tattoos: NoPe

50.) Right or left hand: Righty

FIRST…

51.) Surgery: In 8th grade I almost died 8D! Ruptured appendix, 3 consecutive operations & all because the first time I went to the emrgency they sent me home & misdiagnosed me with stomach flu 8D HAH.HAH.HAAAA ;~~~;...

52.) Piercing: Ears only as mentioned previously

54.) Sport:I don’t do any.My fave is figure skating tho. I love Yuzuru Hanyu♥

55.) Vacation: Technically me comin to the U.S for the first time counts

56.) Pair of trainers: Is that slang for shoes???...uhh??

MORE GENERAL…

57.) Eating: I ate sushi at a Chinese Buffet called Giant Panda today

58.) Drinking: finished all the boba tea ;w;

59.) I’m about to: Sleep cuz it’s 1am xD

61.) Waiting for: Good news, & replies from a few emails I sent this week

62.) Want: To make my YT Channel flourish & master my voice

63.) Get married: With luck but I think a paper doesn’t dictate if you love a person or not. BECAUSE i wanna pursue singing/acting, I know I’ll always be traveling ;w; so that decision is hard. I mean we can be OFFICIAL via the paper thingy but like, I already know we’re together XD ffff lol

64.) Career: Singer/Actor/Voice Actor & Internet Personality maybe

65.) Hugs or kisses: Both ^o^...cuz honestly I’m a fluffy person ;w;o

66.) Lips or eyes: Both again...I Can’T HElP IT (deep down my thoughts are as swirly with flirtatious things...proly explains Ginga’s mannerisms)

67.) Shorter or taller: I’m short ;w; sniffs 5′1. Everyone else is a tree

68.) Older or younger: Depends on relationship type? Like I think having a partner at a relatively older age because I am anxious af & need someone older to guide me when I’m struggling, but don’t mind younger (but MATURE) person by 2 years max. But when it comes to friends, I befriend anyone who is kind-hearted. Because we can learn a lot from elders/ our youth

70.) Nice arms or nice stomach: I don’t mind either or but TMR is @U@

71.) Sensitive or loud: I’m drawn more to sensitive people because they have higher levels of compassion & kinder hearts.

72.) Hook up or relationship: Relationship cuz I’m loyal AF

73.) Troublemaker or hesitant: Egh...both have downfalls. Hesitant is safer tho

HAVE YOU EVER…

74.) Kissed a stranger?: Nope BUT if I become an actor, that is a thought that keeps me up at night XD cuz ...again...I’m loyal af ;-;

75.) Drank hard liquor?: EWW >_>

76.) Lost glasses contact/lenses?: YES. During a musical in 10th grade (Suessical I was Cat in the Hat) I was on a trampoline and THEY FLEW OFF MY FACE! And ....we never found em O_O...they vanished....

77.) Turned someone down?: Yeah...a bunch of creepy fanboys throughout the years... 8) unfortunately the downfall of being an internet person

78.) Sex on first date?: DEPENDS. I’m demisexual, so I’m attracted to personality/emotional bonds not physical appearances. So IF my emotions towards them is high enough, I dunno if things could happen? But usually I stay reserved cuz I need to feel like I honestly love the person THAT much.

79.) Broken someone’s heart?: Probably ;w;...2 old buddies. I knew they had crushes on me...but I just didn’t feel the same way towards them -actually someone ELSE admitted they had a crush on me last month so the count is now up to 3...AGH. I WISH they can find someone who will make em happy because I think they deserve it tbh. They’re good dudes.

80.) Had your heart broken?: Once yeah, an old childhood crush was honestly insensitive when I asked him if he ever felt something for me &  he said “ehhh not really?” in a way that came off as insensitive XD?....yeah. But the MORE I thought about why I liked him, the more I realized I could NEVER be in a relationship with them cuz they were immature & didn’t know how to be serious.They don’t balance goofiness & sensitivity & I need a balanced person

81.) Been arrested?: NO

82.) Cried when someone died?: waterfalls of tears cuz I’m an emotional wreck

83.) Fallen for a friend?: yeah =w= a bunch of abridgers/singers hah. I get talent crushes ALL the time, but don’t act on it cuz I’m shy AND taken XD

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

84.) Yourself?: Usually...but I have many moments where I question if I’m good enough or worthy enough to be here ;w; gotta work on my Kattobingu

85.) Miracles?: Shining Draws should be real. But yeah miracles CAN happen

86.) Love at first sight?: FUYA OKUDAIRA 8D...and Takanori Nishikawa...and Mahiro Takasugi and Aoi Shouta tbh

87.) Santa Claus?: Elf is my favorite Christmas movie

88.) Kiss on the first date?: IT DEPENDS. But if it happens? AIGHT????

89.) Angels?: Yes \QwQ/! angels are real. @rosey-ballerina is one

OTHER….

90.) Current best friend’s name: Crystal is my bff & waifu but Tyrest too but honestly Kimmy, Panda & Ceonn are also tied with those 2

91.) Eye color: Brownies eUe

92.) Favorite movie: Finding Nemo, Big Hero 6,Lion King (all 3), All 3 Yu-Gi-Oh! Movies,The Emperor’s New Groove,Mrs. Doubtfire, Moana, Wonder Woman, Mary Poppins, Arrival, The Mummy, Matilda, Harry Potter, Pokemon 3,Hercules, Grave of the Fireflies, Antman, The Producers....and a few others

I tag: @t-chan @sylphwriter @eleanorose123 @ivmysterynumbers @zexalfangirl @shybunny @galaxyeyedphoton 

[chuchumeister]

Diablo 3 Wizard (based on concept art by Glowie aka Wang Wei)

I started this cosplay in late January 2017, and debuted it in early February at Sigmacon. It took about 3 weeks of work to complete the base costume, although I am still working on other details, such as her spellbook and scrolls, and prop (still deciding on staff/wand/source). I’ll either update this post or make another one for those bits. I started with the cloth portions. The base dress is made of two parts. The back skirt is connected to the “vest” which are really just two strips of fabric which drape in front. The side and front skirt panels are attached to a waistband which keeps the vest and back skirt in position. I’m sure there are better ways I could have done this, but honestly it works pretty well. For modesty’s sake, I’m wearing a black leotard and dance tights underneath.  The main fabric is a blue shot purple silk taffeta and I was over the moon to find it -- it’s absolutely gorgeous in person, and is perfect for the wizard aesthetic. 

The waist cincher is self-drafted and made out of black stretch pleather, which I lined with some leftover suedecloth in order to stop it from stretching. It is also boned with plastic boning which is always a no-good terrible bad idea and you should never do it. I was worried I would not have enough time to source the spiral steel boning online, so I went with the cheap stuff I had on hand.

I used cotton sateen for the white skirt panels, a burgundy phoenix brocade for the breastplate and gold lame for the trim. I also bought a tiny bit of duochrome organza for the decorative thingy in the front. The skirt panels were basic A-lines so that they would have a bit of flow without too much gathering at the top. 

Then, I moved on to the armor. After my disappointing effort with EVA foam for Sylvanas, I decided to go back to my roots and use Worbla for this. This time, I did the sandwich method instead of a single-layer wrapped around as I have done in the past. Although it uses more Worbla (double, obviously) I found that I liked the results a lot better. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s objectively better, but I just found the resulting pieces to be sturdier and, somewhat ironically, easier to form. I ended up using right around two and a half jumbo sheets of Worbla for this (yikes).  I drafted the patterns using the good old Saran wrap and painter’s tape method. For the gauntlets, I added a “platform” on the inside so they would have the proper shape when sitting on my arms. 

The concept art is unfortunately short on high-resolution details, so I just kind of winged it. I first sketched out a rough idea directly onto the base piece, then just added detailing until I felt it “looked” right. The boobie cups were shaped over a 140mm plastic ornament so I could get maximum roundness (huehue). 

The gems were cast out of clear epoxy resin. Instead of tinting the resin, I painted the backs of the cured pieces with an iridescent flaky top coat first, then iridescent purple throughout the middle almost to the edges, and finishing with a black holographic on the edges and overlapping some of the purple. Next time I think I’ll embed iridescent flakes directly into the resin, but the nail polish on the back gave the whole piece a nice clarity that I find is otherwise difficult to get with tinted resin. 

The gem seen above on the breastplate is a placeholder, as it wasn’t large enough. I ended up making a master out of hot glue using a spoon as a mold (ooh la la so high-tech), then casting RTV silicone over that to make a mold. I cast two of these -- one for the breastplate, the other for the spikey thingamabob on the front of the waist cincher. 

The crown was an exercise in frustration. After a lot of wasted cardstock drafting patterns, I settled on this design, which I’m still not entirely happy with. I unfortunately didn’t have time to figure out a good way to secure it, and it ended up falling off my head the whole day. This is definitely something I’m going to rework, if not redo entirely for the next time I wear this. 

The wig is a Jeannie from Arda Wigs, and I luckily didn’t have to do much styling to it. I did have to take in the wig cap for it to fit me, although the back-heavy nature of the wig meant it was sliding around my head a lot of the time. My current plan is to stub the base wig and perhaps permanently affix the ponytail on to it in order to stabilize it, but I will play around with it and see. 

Then, painting! I first primed each piece with wood glue to get a smooth finish. I used about 5-6 layers of wood glue for each piece, although the boobie cups in particular got several more as they were very rough from being stretched. 

Afterwards, I gave it a couple light coats of filler primer, then a very quick black base coat. I like to put down a dark base coat first so that I have an easier time when it comes to adding the weathering later on. 

It’s really easy to get the weathered look after you have your darkest shade in place. I just dry-brush on the base color, which honestly does a lot of the work for me. Anywhere that needs extra weathering, I go in with straight black and feather it out. After that, I mix up a lighter version of my base color and feather it on the high points. Finally, I use a white Sharpie paint pen to outline all the details. This step is super tedious, but I feel like it really makes the pieces stand out in photos. I used to use a thin brush dipped in white acrylic, but the Sharpie pens are way easier to use. I have some comparisons below, with just the base colors on, and after weathering and highlighting. 

The attachments were D-rings, paracord, and Velcro. It’s pretty difficult to describe, so I may take some extra pictures or even film a video of what the attachments look like some day. It all held up very well with the exception of the pauldrons, which I need to reassess. 

And that’s basically it! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! <3