#he smiles like his brother (but tiny bit different - I think bc the beard is missing)

[chevvy-yates]

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

McLaren F1 by ctxrlsec.

[bookishable]

deathly hallows book moments

warning: this one’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions, read at your own risk.

‘the idea of a teenage dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid hermione or a friendly blast-ended skrewt.’

“i don’t think you’re a waste of space.”

‘he felt like asking them to show a little more respect for his privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity, clearly much more at ease with displaying his body than they would have been with their own.’

ron: why do i have to clean my room? mrs weasley: !!! WEDDING !!! ron: theyre not getting married in my damn bedroom

“we’re coming with you. that was decided months ago—years, really.”

“if i picked up a sword right now, ron, and ran you through with it, i wouldn’t damage your soul at all.” “which would be a real comfort to me, i’m sure”

harry waking up on his birthday forgetting he was 17

“accio glasses!” although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom towards him, at least until they poked him in the eye.

ron giving harry a book called twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches for his birthday

“i’ve learned a lot. you’d be surprised, it’s not all about wandwork, either.”

‘the rest of her speech was lost; harry had got up and hugged her. he tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps she understood them’

“are you planning to follow a career in magical law, miss granger?” “no i’m not, i’m hoping to do some good in the world!”

“it’s time you learned some respect!” “it’s time you earned it”

hermione: when we were little we heard stories like snow white and cinderella ron: what’s that, an illness? harry: rip me i never got read any stories

“a brutal triple murder by the bridegroom’s mother might put a bit of a damper on the wedding.”

“merlin’s beard, what is xenophilius lovegood wearing? he looks like an omelette.” excuse me why wasn’t auntie muriel like this in the film

“he used to down an entire bottle of firewhisky, then run on to the dance floor, hoist up his robes and start pulling bunches of flowers out of his—” “yes, he sounds a real charmer”

harry suggesting that xenophilius lovegood’s deathly hallows necklace is the cross-section of the head of a crumple-horned snorkack

“vot is the point of being an international quidditch player if all the good-looking girls are taken?”

‘harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where ron could stick his wand instead.’

harry reading lily’s letter and noticing that they wrote their g’s the same way as each other, i’m sobbing

‘the letter was an incredible treasure, proof that lily potter had lived, really lived’

KREACHER’S GODDAMN TALE

kreacher hitting mundungus over the head with a saucepan “perhaps just one more, master harry, for luck?”

“if anyone shouldn’t go, it’s harry, he’s got a ten thousand galleon price on his head—” “fine, i’ll stay here, let me know if you ever defeat voldemort, won’t you?”

‘with a twinge of regret that had nothing to do with food, harry imagined the house-elf busying himself over the steak and kidney pie that harry, ron and hermione would never eat.’

‘not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.’

the sign outside the wreckage of the potters’ house, covered with messages left for harry

the child who had the nerve to say “nice costume, mister!” to mr tom riddle the dark lord voldemort, what an icon

“after you left, she cried for a week. probably longer, only she didn’t want me to see. there were loads of nights when we never even spoke to each other. with you gone… she’s like my sister, i love her like a sister and i reckon she feels the same way about me. it’s always been like that. i thought you knew.”

“you’ve sort of made up for it tonight, getting the sword. finishing off the horcrux. saving my life.” “that makes me sound a lot cooler than i was” “stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was, i’ve been trying to tell you that for years.”

ron single-handedly fighting off five snatchers by telling them he was stan shunpike

“he must’ve known i’d run out on you.” “no, he must’ve known you’d always want to come back.”

“i just think it’s a bit spookier if it’s midnight!” “yeah, because we really need a bit more fear in our lives”

“death’s got an invisibility cloak?” “so he can sneak up on people, sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking…”

luna decorating her bedroom ceiling with paintings of her friends (i’m not crying, you are)

POTTERWATCH

“we’re all human, aren’t we? every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”

“i’d tell him we’re all with him in spirit, and i’d tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.”

hagrid throwing a ‘support harry potter’ party

“the fact remains he can move faster than severus snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to”

“no! you can have me, keep me!” this book went from making me smile to shattering my heart in around three pages

‘hermione was screaming again: the sound went through harry like physical pain.’

ron’s ‘passable imitation of wormtail’s wheezy voice’

“so young, to be fighting so many.”

‘ron said, “blimey, a baby!” as if he had never heard of such a thing before.’

‘he seemed set on course to become just as reckless a godfather to teddy lupin as sirius black had been to him.’

“he was never free, never, the night that your brother died he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. he started screaming, pleading with someone who wasn’t there… it was torture to him, if you’d seen him then, you wouldn’t say he was free.”

“i’m going to keep going until i succeed—or i die. don’t think i don’t know how this might end. i’ve known it for years.”

“i got this one for asking her how much muggle blood she and her brother have got.” “blimey, neville, there’s a time and a place for getting a smart mouth.”

“yeah, well, food’s one of the five exceptions to gamp’s law of elemental transfiguration,” said ron, to general astonishment.

“why would harry potter try to get inside ravenclaw tower? potter belongs in my house!”

‘harry heard a little strain of pride in her voice, and affection for minerva mcgonagall gushed up inside him.’

harry using the cruciatus curse on amycus in front of mcgonagall because “he spat at you”

mcgonagall dueling snape and sending a swarm of daggers at him

“where’s professor snape?” “he has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk” minerva i love you

neville throwing mandrakes over the walls

“is this the moment? OI! there’s a war going on here!” “i know, mate, so it’s now or never, isn’t it?”

‘and percy was shaking his brother, and ron was kneeling beside them, and fred’s eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.’

‘a herd of galloping desks thundered past, shepherded by a sprinting professor mcgonagall.’

harry stunned the death eater as they passed: malfoy looked around, beaming, for his saviour, and ron punched him from under the cloak. “and that’s the second time we’ve saved your life tonight, you two-faced bastard!”

trelawney using crystal balls to knock out death eaters ‘with a movement like a tennis serve’

“are you a wizard, or what?”

“you must kill me.” “would you like me to do it now? or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?”

‘this cold-blooded walk to his own destruction would require a different kind of bravery.’

‘he was tiny in death.’

‘he felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he ever have had the strength to stop looking?’

“we’re all going to keep fighting, harry. you know that?”

“i am sorry too, sorry i will never know him… but he will know why i died and i hope he will understand. i was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.”

“until the very end”

“this is, as they say, your party.” harry had no idea what this meant; dumbledore was being infuriating.

“it is a curious thing, harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.”

“do not pity the dead, harry. pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”

“of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

‘the scream was the more terrible because he had never expected or dreamed that professor mcgonagall could make such a sound.’

ron breaking voldemort’s silencing charm “he beat you!”

“i’ll join you when hell freezes over, dumbledore’s army!”

harry calling voldemort tom riddle like “yes, i dare”

‘tom riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken’ where please, movies?

‘mcgonagall had replaced the house tables, but nobody was sitting according to house anymore’

peeves’ song voldy’s gone mouldy

‘tears were sliding down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him filled harry with the same balm as phoenix song.’

harry FIXING HIS DAMN WAND

“i’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime.”

“if you’re not in gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you, but no pressure.”

albus complaining that everyone is staring and ron being like “it’s me. i’m extremely famous.”

‘the scar had not pained harry for nineteen years. all was well.’

[okaybutlikeimagine]

I need brother!billy to be protective of Johnathan bc hey that's his brother now Tyvm and only he can mess w/him 👀 and Johnathan is just Exasperated™️

I. LOVE. THIS. AND I COULDN’T AGREE MORE.

{TW: Q-slur used once}

Kay so i really just am so interested in how Billy and Jonathan’s relationship would work. I’ve talked about this before but i absolutely headcanon them as smoking weed together like, weekly at least. They just enjoy the energy of the other and the virtual silence that they’re able to slip into comfortably (i also kind of headcanon Jonathan as being an empath who probably doesn’t know it.)(so like, he’s super affected by different energies)(we don’t have to get into this though) 

They don’t really hang out often, but they talk every now and then when they’re at the other’s house and it’s always amicable enough and surprisingly far from awkward. Billy never fucks with Jonathan at school and Jonathan enjoys being invisible for the most part, so he very much appreciates it. Jonathan used to get SUPER nervous about playing music too loud when Billy was over at their house bc he knows the boy is a music fanatic too and doesn’t want to hear any more shitty opinions on his music taste (even though he has some choice words about Billy’s own taste in music). this doesn’t stop Billy from giving Jonathan shit about it though whenever he hears his music playing.

and as they get closer to each other and talk more, Billy gets brattier and more mouthy. He swipes at Jonathan’s hair in front of his face and calls him “Beatle” and asks if he can see through “that curtain”. He taps the boy’s back and tells him to straighten his back out bc “you’re already short enough, you’re losing some valuable inches standing like that.” The first time Billy hears about the extent of the fight he got into w/ Steve (Steve and Jonathan and Nancy are all on good terms at this point, Steve just mentions it in passing as a joke), Billy puts Jonathan in a headlock and ruffles his hair and asks about the “fighter” in him.

but Billy is never hard w/ Jonathan, necessarily, bc he knows Jonathan has dealt w/ shit. Jonathan doesn’t have a dad around. Will nearly died and in fact was said to have died like, less than 2 years ago. They had a fucking funeral for him and everything. He had to watch a crazy as fuck monster possess his brother. Their family is poor and struggling and Jonathan works hard as fuck, way harder than a teenager should, so Billy knows the boy is tired and doesn’t need to be given more reasons to be. Plus, Jonathan is pretty damn passive during every encounter of theirs; he just takes it and gives Billy a tired but ultimately amused huff.

When Joyce and Hop get married and Jonathan and Billy officially become brothers, they get even closer. They smoke and talk more. They share similar music tastes like Bowie and Queen. they talk about relationships and sexuality and little siblings and shitty parents and… pretty great ones. They have long talks out in the woods around their house and they sit in the cold and smoke joints and Billy puts Jonathan in a headlock like, once a week with the excuse of “keeping you on your toes, John Boy!” When Jonathan is feeling a little less passive, he’ll pull at a curl on Billy’s head that’s noticeably longer than the others and say “Your mullet has a tail” or “your mullet’s tail is looking a little ragged, I think you missed it w/ your hairspray”

They make weird jokes that aren’t funny to anyone else and they laugh muted quiet laughs that would probably confuse anyone other than them and then Jonathan’s car breaks down and Billy drives him to school while they’re trying to figure out what’s up with it.

It’s then that Billy notices people fucking w/ Jonathan.

Bc he just doesn’t hang out w/ Jonathan at school. They leave each other alone bc that’s what they prefer from each other. That’s just the relationship they have.

But as Billy is waiting in his car, singing along to Zeppelin, he sees Jonathan walking up, followed by a few guys he’s never seen before. He figures it’s just Jonathan’s friends when he notices one of the boys reach out to grab at Jonathan’s bag strap. Another one tries to knock the books out of his hands. Billy flares up immediately bc who the fuck are these guys and what are they doing to his brother?

He gets out of the car, walking around to greet the group right as they’re talking about Jonathan being a “drugged out freakazoid” who’s “probably queer and just using Nancy as a beard.”

Billy leans up against the Camaro and clears his throat, fully ready to throw hands.

“Hey, assholes. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

And the boys are very clearly freaked, but they try to keep it cool.

“Oh, you need Hargrove to come to your rescue-?”

“Hey.” Billy demands, smacking his gum in the most intimidating manner possible. “It’s Hopper, dipshit. And either you shut the fuck up or I kick your teeth in. Your choice.”

The boys grumble, and nearly run away. Jonathan has his head down, trying to slink his way into the Camaro while Billy asks:

“Do they always fuck with you like that?”

“C’mon, as if you didn’t know-”

Billy doesn’t like that answer. He grabs Jonathan’s wrist before he can open the door and gives him a serious as hell look.

“Hey. I didn’t.”

Jonathan pauses for a second before rolling his eyes w/ a small sigh and getting into the car, but the conversation is far from over.

“I’m serious, how many dickwads are saying that shit to you?”

“It doesn’t matter?” Jonathan says it like a question.

“Except it does. They shouldn’t be doing that-”

“I know you think you care but-”

“Shut the fuck up, Jonathan.” Billy is adamant but not harsh. “You’re my brother now, alright? We’re family. And that means I’m not letting dick wipes like that treat you that way. You don’t deserve that shit.”

Jonathan doesn’t know what to say but he gives out another sigh and looks out the window and thinks about when Billy didn’t care to get involved w/ Jonathan’s life and how much simpler it was then. but how this feels a tiny bit warm so maybe it’s fine.

And the following day at school, and for the rest of the week, and then the rest of the month, and then the rest of the year, Billy starts hanging out with Jonathan at school. When Jonathan isn’t w/ Nancy, of course, bc no one fucks w/ Jonathan when Nancy is around. But sometimes she can’t be there, so Billy takes her place in those times.

And at first it kinda feels like a duty; like he’s Jonathan’s body guard and Jonathan hates it. It feels like even more of a target on his back. Billy fucking walks him to class and to his locker and to his car and to lunch and will even sit w/ him at lunch if Nancy can’t. like, just imagine Billy strutting down the hall next to quiet, small Jonathan, fucking snarling at anyone who dares to give Jonathan a mean look. It’s just???? Weird and exhausting and Jonathan wants to be left alone.

But eventually, it becomes a lot more normal. Bc eventually, they become actual friends. They’re talking about concerts they wish they could see and the homework from last night and that new music video that was on MTV over the weekend. They talk about books and good weed and even better alcohol that Billy is always trying to convince Jonathan to try but that Jonathan keeps refusing bc he doesn’t really drink.

And Billy used to leave when Nancy would come by, but he’s started talking to her more and more and now they talk about the books they had to read for class and really, it’s just Nancy giving Billy the plot bc Billy was too anxious to sit and read it. But Nancy eventually ends up forcing Billy to read his own books and they actually have pretty in depth debates on the ethics of the characters. And then, when Tommy and Carol are being dicks, Billy will find a home at Nancy and Jonathan’s table for lunch where they talk about what the next John Hughes movie might be or how that episode of Family Ties was last week and what the new one will be tomorrow and no one fucks w/ Jonathan again and if they try to Billy growls at them and Jonathan is  T i r e d  but he’s tired w/ a smile and that’s all Billy needs.

Bc now he doesn’t feel bad about flicking Jonathan’s arm and goading him to “work out, you look like a twig.” with that smarmy smirk that makes Jonathan so exhausted

[ink-nguyen]

Writing Ask Games

Tagged by @papersky-pencilstars thank you!

I’m using my current WIP Stars in the Dark

1. Describe the plot in one sentence.

Hemlock is hired to kill a prince but doesn’t anticipate the bodyguard being competent, while Fox walks a fine line between creatively interpreting his orders and outright treason - emotions ensue. 

2. Pick one sight, smell, sound, feel, and taste to describe the aesthetic of your novel.

Brilliant jewel tones painting scalloped arches in sandstone and marble

“cinnamon and anise and paprika and tomatoes mellowing in rich coconut milk”

a folk song and lullaby being sung in chorus as the hymn of a mischievous goddess-fox

the shock and pain of falling onto a very hard surface

chilled pomegranate and desert pear mead on the first day of spring

3. Which 3+ songs would make up a playlist for the novel?

Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde

Collide - James Bay

Did You Hear the Rain? - George Ezra

4. What’s the time period and location in which the novel takes place.

:))) Time period is sort of nebulous? It’s sort of medieval, and but things like pin-and-tumbler locks exist. As for the location, it’s split between Mahjuren and Kinan. Mahjuren is heavily influenced by Mughal India, Persia, and North Africa, but the climate is more temperate with deciduous oak forests and marshlands, but also monsoons don’t @ me I know it doesn’t make sense it’s fantasy okay? Kinan is an archipelagic kingdom, very much tropical, with a strong Southeast Asian flavor, but with blue everything everywhere.

5. Is this a standalone or a part in a series?

It’s a standalone! And also technically like... the prequel for a different solo novel set in the same universe but far into the future when all the sovereign states in SitD have either fallen or morphed into something new.

6. Are there any former titles you’ve considered but discarded?

Fox and Flower. It’s technically not actually a title, just a placeholder, but it has a nice ring to it. I would have used it if not for the fact that I have an aversion to using character names in fantasy titles.

7. What’s the first line of your novel?

‘Hemlock flattened himself into the alcove, chest heaving as he caught his breath.’

8. What’s a dialogue you’re particularly proud of?

Oh man, there’s so many snippets ugh.

There’s this bit:

"I don't know, you could at least pretend to care."

Something like anger flickered in his eyes, but it didn't reach the rest of his face. "All I ever do is care," Fox said, his voice almost flippantly cool. "To do otherwise would be treason, and I'm not eager to die."

"You're unbelievable," Lilac scoffed.

"Would you like it better if I said that very little matters more to me than his well-being?" Fox offered, his tone mocking. "That I've come to see him as my younger brother and I would gladly betray his father if it meant keeping him safe? Is that satisfactory?"

"Why are you like this?"

Or:

"You're such a bastard."

"Indeed I am," Fox said, still smiling. He brushed his fingertips against Hemlock's arm as he stood up from the pallet. "I'll be going now."

"Goodnight, traitor."

"Sleep well, murderer."

Or or this one, which I used as my back-cover quote:

Lilac let her shoulders drop and turned back around to face him. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I know what a gilded cage it is to serve the crown," Fox said. "I don't believe in caging pretty birds to make them sing on command."

"And what about dangerous animals?"

Fox shrugged. "There is nothing more pathetic than a tiger that has been beaten into submission."

Lilac raised a skeptical brow. "And is that what you are?"

Fox met her gaze with a shake of his head. "I'm just a dog on a leash," he said. "I do as I'm ordered."

9. Which line from the novel most represents it as a whole?

"That doesn't make it taste any less bitter," Fox said, his voice low and cold, "when you offer me the honor of being your second, as if it wasn't always my fucking birthright to stand as your equal."

10. Who are your character faceclaims?

SO here’s the thing: I’ve tried. I’ve TRIEEED to find good photo references for my characters.... but they’re all PoC and darker skinned except Fox, who is still not... pale, per se. Which is a big fucking issue because it’s impossible to find decent photos of a young South Asian man with no beard, or a young Southeast Asian man who doesn’t just look like a kpop idol (which is NOT to say that they all look the same, because they don’t, it’s just that they have a uniformly  p a l e  aesthetic; also he’s not Korean). HOWEVER, I found one really good reference for Lilac:

Lilac is a few shades darker with curly hair, and her eyes are brown, not green, but otherwise she looks very much like this.

11. Sort your characters into Harry Potter houses!

Hemlock - Hufflepuff

Fox - Slytherin

Remin - Ravenclaw

Lilac - Slytherin

Tayali - Slytherin

Vermil - Gryffindor

Bonus side characters:

Xuan - Hufflepuff

Liem - Slytherin

Fern - Gryffindor

Clem - Hufflepuff

12. Which character’s name do you like the most?

Fox and Xuan! 

13. Describe each character’s daily outfit.

Hemlock - black hooded vest over a dark shirt, plain-woven linen pants tucked into sturdy leather boots, knives tucked eveywhere. so many knives. 

Fox - finely made dark cotton shirts with embroidery on the collar and cuffs under a sturdier vest with matching embroidery on the chest panels, black twill pants, black leather bracers and low-necked boots. 

Remin - a brocade shalwar kameez with goldwork and pearl buttons, silk pants and a coordinating sash around his waist, kidskin shoes.

Lilac - a cotton choli with intricate embroidery and a matching lehenga, slippers with beadwork and tiny mirrors, a few bangles and sometimes earrings but no necklaces when she’s working.

Tayali - prior to her defection, the same as Fox. afterwards, loose-fitting shirts fashioned out of colorful batiks and ikats - or adire if she can find it, long pants gathered below the knee, the same low-necked boots from her days as a Black Knife, a delicate-looking necklace with an iridescent steel spider pendant.

Vermil - similar to Remin, but even more ornately embroidered, a dress saber slid into a knotted sash, knee-high boots.

Xuan - an airy silk áo dài in various shades of blue and painted or embroidered with waves or flowers or birds, a matching khăng đóng, a silver bib necklace, heeled silk shoes with silver bird wings embroidered on the toes.

14. Do any characters have distinctive birthmarks/scars?

Fox has an x-shaped scar on his cheek, Hemlock has a thin slash on his cheek, and both have multiple scars on the rest of their bodies. Lilac has a birthmark on her upper thigh. Tayali has scars similar to Fox’s but none visible while clothed. 

15. Which character most fits a character trope?

Vermil is pretty “evil king” but I’m trying to give his character some more depth than that. 

16. Which character is the best writer? Worst?

Remin is both a good and straight up awful writer. He’s great at academic writing and diplomatic missives, so unfathomably bad at love letters. Other than him, I would say Lilac or Xuan are the best writers, and Hemlock is probably the worst. 

17. Which character is the best liar? Worst?

Fox is the best liar, Remin is the worst.

18. Which character swears the most? Least?

Hemlock swears most! He drops f-bombs left and right (altho not in the text bc I’m trying to keep things YA-friendly). Remin swears least because of his ingrained manners.

19. Which character has the best handwriting? Worst?

Remin has very proper penmanship with perfect curlicues and all that jazz. Fox has really pretty handwriting that’s flowy and sort of spidery but still easy to read. Hemlock’s handwriting is the worst comparatively, but it’s not actually bad. It’s just very plain and straightforward. 

20. Which character is most like you? Least like you?

Personality-wise I’m most like Hemlock, but culturally I’m v much Fox. Diaspora, homesick for my mother country, bilingual etc. 

21. Which character would you most like to be?

I think I’d like to be one of the non-field Spiders. I would just craft things for them to use or help forge documents. 

I tag @issun-boshi ​ @longsightmyth​ and @spaceshipkat​ (it’s laini). Feel free to join in even if I haven’t tagged you, and tag me so I can see your answers!