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libraryofgage · 1 year ago

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Addams Family B-Side (3)

Part of: Steve Deserves Good Parents, Actually Debbie and Fester Addams One | Two | Three (you're here!) Rick and Evelyn O'Connell One | Two (on the way!) Harley Quinn One 10th Doctor and Rose One | Two (on the way!) Scooby Gang (there are plans for this one lmao, so plz be patient with me orz)

Did I already post today? Yes. Did I also post two chapters of Modern Steve in 80s Hawkins today? Yes. I am just incredibly productive today, who knows when it's gonna happen again lol

Anyway, finally! The next B-Side! This bitch has been stewing my guys, so I hope you enjoy it lol

There are two memes at the very end of this one, so definitely stick around

As always, if you see any typos, no you didn't 😘

--------

For four weeks, Eddie feels himself losing his mind. He finds gifts in his locker every other day, and he's convinced they're from Steve Harrington. He now has a taxidermied bat, a fancy-looking vial with a skull and crossbones embossed in the glass and filled with mysterious liquid, an actual human skull that Eddie immediately incorporates into his next campaign, and a spider. An actual spider. A live spider that, after a little research, he learns is a fucking Black Widow that seems unnaturally friendly.

Eddie can't stress that part enough. Multiple people have mistaken the spider for an intricate vest patch because it just sits perfectly still over his chest pocket. It only moves to rub its head against Eddie's fingers whenever his hand passes over it, and even then it's careful to avoid hurting him with its pincers.

He names her Nox.

Those aren't the only gifts he's received, but they're the most notable, and Eddie is overwhelmed and flustered by the positive attention he's suddenly receiving.

The other thing driving him crazy is Pubert Addams, a guy Eddie had never paid much attention to before but now considers his mortal enemy. He's convinced Pubert is, at worst, potentially abusive or, at best, delusional and taking advantage of Steve's kindness and inability to brutally turn him down. Or maybe Eddie is the crazy one; he doesn't actually know. Whichever it is, Eddie is ready to take the very nice dagger he now has (gift number 15; yes, Eddie has been counting) and stab him with it.

Because he can't get more than two minutes alone with Steve before Pubert appears out of nowhere. Eddie runs into Steve in the hall while everyone else is in class? Pubert shows up with a hall pass two seconds later and literally waltzes Steve away from him. Eddie finds Steve camped out in the library during study hall? Pubert materializes in the chair next to Steve before Eddie can sit down, leaning far too close as he asks Steve to explain something from their shared Gothic Literature class. Eddie, by some miracle, is behind Steve in the lunch line (and he calls this a miracle because Steve always brings his lunch in a pink box with black skulls, which Eddie considers incredibly brave of him to carry around like it's nothing)? Before Eddie can do more than say hi and get a blinding smile in return, Pubert fucking Addams shows up and drags Steve away while promising to share his lunch.

Eddie is just about to lose the last shred of patience he's struggling to maintain when Steve finds him. Ironically, it's the same bathroom where they first talked, the one with mysterious mold growing in the corner that Eddie is convinced is some new species. It's the only bathroom with a busted smoke detector, and Eddie goes there to get high during his free period.

He's halfway through a joint, smoke curling around him as he sits on the sink counter and tries not to think about what else has been there, when the door swings open, Steve walks in, and Eddie chokes on his inhale.

"Don't die like this," Steve says, stepping closer and patting Eddie's back like they know each other, "It's no fun."

Eddie finally gets himself under control, taking a deep breath and wincing at the way his lungs burn. "No worries," he croaks out, regretting the departure of Steve's hand on his back. "What are you doing here? Please don't tell me you plan to use this bathroom."

"As curious as I am about the bacteria teeming on these toilet seats, no." Steve sounds genuine, like he really does want to swab the toilet seats and see what grows. Instead, he places his bag on the sink and pulls out a familiar vial with a familiar skull and crossbones. "I just came to drink."

"Oh?" Eddie says, leaning forward with a grin. He looks Steve up and down, taking in the pale blue sweater vest and immaculately pressed jeans. "You don't look the drinking type, Stevie."

Steve hums, popping the cork out of the vial and taking a swig from it. "This isn't exactly hard stuff," he says after he swallows, distracted enough that Eddie thinks he misses his eyes lingering on Steve's throat as it bobs.

"Just beer then?"

"What?" Steve asks, looking at Eddie like he's delusional. "No, it's cyanide and vinegar."

He says it with such conviction that Eddie believes him despite knowing cyanide is poison. "Metal," he says, looking away to take another drag of his joint as he struggles to break through his own awkwardness and hold a conversation that will somehow sweep Steve off his feet and make him forget all about Pubert Addams.

Before he can think of something clever and smooth and funny, Steve leans close and raises a hand to his chest. Eddie is about to warn him that Nox is, in fact, real when the spider scuttles onto Steve's fingers and settles in his palm. She does a little up-and-down motion, circles in his hand twice, and rubs her head against his wrist. "You've been taking good care of her," Steve says.

"Uh, yeah. How is she not biting you right now?" Eddie asks, remembering all the times Nox has warningly snapped at others who tried to touch her.

Steve snorts and allows Nox to return to her spot on Eddie's vest. "I raised her," he says, his tone casual like he isn't admitting to showering Eddie with inexplicable gifts for the past four weeks, "of course, she won't bite me."

"So, it has been you," Eddie replies, wanting to hear it from Steve himself.

With a soft hum, Steve takes another sip from his bottle. "Who else would it have been?"

Eddie licks his lips, takes another drag of his joint to brace himself, and hops off the counter. "So, uh, does that mean you li--"

Before the rest of the question can be asked, the bathroom door swings open again, and Eddie feels his eye twitch as Pubert Addams frowns at them. "So, this is where you were," he says, walking over to Steve and putting an arm around his shoulders.

"I told you I was going to the bathroom," Steve says, rolling his eyes as he stuffs the vial back into his bag.

Pubert looks Eddie over, a derisive huff escaping him as he dismisses Eddie and looks at Steve. "On the other side of the school? Really?" he asks, and Eddie would be overthinking what that means if he weren't sure his veins were about to burst.

"We were talking, you know," Eddie says, gaining Pubert's attention again. Steve looks at him, too, his eyes a little brighter.

"I'm sure," Pubert replies, rolling his eyes as he takes Steve's bag. "And now we're leaving." With that, he leads Steve out of the bathroom, the door swinging shut before Steve can do more than smile apologetically and wave.

Anger surges through Eddie, and the shaky drag he takes to finish off his joint does absolutely nothing to soothe it.

He's going to kill Pubert Addams.

--------

Funnily enough, Steve's mother doesn't learn about his crush until he's five weeks into it. When Debbie finally does discover the crush, it's because she walks in on Fester and Steve decorating homemade cookies shaped like anatomically correct hearts. She pauses in the doorway, looking between the two covered in flour and raspberry jam, and asks, "What on earth is going on here?"

Steve looks up, sees this as his chance to finally tell Debbie, and smiles brightly at her. "I'm in love, Mother. He's allergic to raspberry, and Father agreed to help me make him cookies with raspberry filling, so he can feel the same breathlessness I do when I see him," he explains, using his thumb to wipe raspberry jam off his cheek.

Debbie stares at him for a few seconds before looking at Fester. "How long have you known?" she asks.

"Five weeks," Fester admits, looking apologetic. "I wanted to tell you, Pumpkin! But Steve asked me not to so he could tell you himself."

She sighs and walks over to the island, sitting on the edge of a stool and taking one of the cookies for herself. She bites off a pulmonary vein, looking thoughtful as she chews. "I must admit, these are damn good cookies," she finally says, taking one more bite before passing it to Fester to finish. "Tell me about him."

And Steve does. He gushes about Eddie for a solid hour without taking a single breath, spilling everything he's seen Eddie do and how he's reacted to all of Steve's gifts and how he gets so obviously jealous when Pubert butts into their conversations. He tells Debbie about Eddie not screaming when he saw Nox, about him selling drugs, and about his interest in music. Steve laments his hair but eagerly describes the treatment routine he already has in mind.

By the time he's done, the cookies are decorated and his mother's expression has grown a little pained. "Steve, darling, come with me," she says, getting up from the chair and leading him out of the kitchen while Fester starts to clean up.

Steve waits until Debbie has brought him to her spare room to ask, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Well, did you remember my rules about crushes?"

"Yeah. I've talked to him a lot."

Debbie smiles and brings Steve over to the bed, sitting him down and straightening his hair before perching next to him. "Then, you're not in trouble, but you've been going about this all wrong, dear."

"Should I tell Pubert to stop making Eddie jealous?"

"Absolutely not," Debbie says, shaking her head firmly. "In fact, he could try harder. Nothing gets to a man like someone he can't have, especially if he thinks they're in distress."

Steve blinks, frowning slightly as he tries to figure out where, exactly, he's gone wrong. Eddie seems perfectly enamored with him, after all, and Pubert's goading is encouraging his affections, which is the only reason Steve has allowed it to continue. "Did I give him a live spider too soon?" Steve asks, figuring that's the problem here.

"No, that's not...," Debbie trails off, mutters something about Fester being an idiot, and clears her throat. "Steve, your father is the last person you should approach for love advice."

"But...you agreed to marry him, so he must have done something right," Steve says.

Debbie barks a laugh, waving her hand dismissively. "I married your father for his money. I attempted to kill his entire family and only stopped when he promised to give me everything I asked for. I would hardly call him a casanova."

Steve nods along, smiling a little as she speaks. He's heard their great love affair many times, but he doesn't get tired of it. "But you actually love him anyway, right? Father says it's because he showered you with gifts. So, that's what I'm doing."

"I...do love your father," Debbie admits, sighing as though she doesn't know how that happened either. "But it's less because of his gifts and more because...he gave me the devotion I wanted. Anyway, if you learn anything from us, it should be that love comes second."

"What comes first?"

Debbie smiles, the expression positively devious, and Steve can't help returning it. "Obsession," she says, her shoulders rolling back some as pride fills her. "Occupy his every waking thought. Make yourself irresistible. Make him dream of you at night. Overwhelm him with desire until he simply must act on it."

"Oh," Steve says, thinking of how his father acts around Debbie and realizing that obsession never quite went away. But it's worked out well for them, and he knows his mother has experience with luring men into her arms. He nods once and asks, "So, what should I do?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Debbie says, her smile bright and her eyes filled with excitement. "You'll have Eddie falling to his knees before you in no time."

--------

Eddie didn't think it could get worse. He was already attracted to Steve, already distracted by every little movement.

He was wrong. So incredibly wrong.

Because here he is, his mouth dry and his palms sweaty and his cheeks warm because of Steve. He's not even doing anything. Well, that's not true. Steve is curling his tongue around a lollipop before sucking it into his mouth like he'll die without it. But it's more than that. It's the painted-on jeans that hug his legs; it's the pastel pink hoodie (with little bats on the cuffs) that rides up whenever Steve moves to show off a strip of skin just above his waistband; it's the way he finishes the lollipop and pulls out lipgloss, casually telling Pubert it's raspberry flavored as he puts it on.

Eddie swallows around the dryness in his mouth, gripping his locker door so tight that his knuckles turn white as he looks inside it. Sitting innocently on top of everything is a Tupperware container of cookies with raspberry filling (according to the label), and Eddie is ready to eat one just so he can die knowing what Steve's lips taste like.

That's not even the worst of it. The worst is that Steve transfers into Eddie's Music Theory class, smiling innocently while the teacher introduces him and then directs him to sit at the empty desk next to Eddie. When he's close, Eddie realizes Steve smells like cookies and cream ice cream, and he's tempted to ask if Steve smells like his favorite flavor on purpose.

The teacher saves him from the embarrassment of blurting out the question by announcing a project. The teacher then dooms him by telling everyone they're required to work with their desk neighbor. Eddie grips his pen tightly when the teacher tells them to spend the rest of their class time discussing the project.

"So," Steve says, getting Eddie's attention. When he looks over, Steve is leaning forward on his desk, chin propped in his hand as he looks at Eddie. "Want to come over to my place after school? To work on the project, I mean."

Eddie stares at Steve for a few seconds, his tongue stuck in his throat. To his credit, Steve doesn't say anything or call Eddie out for staring at him. He just waits patiently with a little smile curling his lips. Eddie finally clears his throat, his voice coming out a little strained when he says, "Yeah, sure, sounds good. After school. Your place. Project."

Smooth. Real smooth.

When Steve just smiles wider and stretches his arms above his head, pulling his hoodie up, while suggesting they do the project on the evolution of heavy metal music, Eddie realizes he's probably going to die after school.

He can't wait.

-------

Tag List (I think there's still room for a few more people ^_^)

@estrellami-1, @itsall-taken, @mugloversonly, @fandomcartographer, @hippielittlemetalhead, @agree2disagre-kicks, @ledleaf, @just-a-tiny-void, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @ink1177, @maya-custodios-dionach, @littlebluejane, @steddieonbigboy, @ravenpainter, @read-write-thrive, @deadontheinside20, @yeahhhh-suga, @nectandra, @mogami13, @mx-jinxous, @thoughtfulbreadpolice, @anne-bennett-cosplayer, @xoxoladyclara

@zaddipax, @dycte, @breealtair, @geekymagicalpotato, @janea-grill, @juliasthename-adhdismygame, @yikes-a-bee, @wayward-people, @st-fics, @disrespectedgoatman, @bipusssy, @cottagecorebutnaturescaresme, @nightowl14028018, @that-binchh, @your-confused-friend, @irethsune, @goosesister, @strawberryyyenthusiast, @irregular-child, @theverywest

And, finally, a two-for-one meme special because I couldn't decide which was funnier:

#steddie #steddie fic #addams family b side #addams! steve harrington #steve harrington #eddie munson #pubert addams #fester addams #debbie jellinsky #steve deserves good parents actually #my writing #sorry it's been so long the inspiration took a while to hit for this one hfdjks

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sinful-lanterns · 3 months ago

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Since you appreciate my fuzzy tarantula Garofano headcanon, I'm going to spoil you with this little scene I had in mind for Researcher and Drider!Garofano. 😌 Basically, Researcher's being her usual inquisitive self about Garofano, and it starts getting a little sexy. There's a little NSFWish stuff toward the end, but there's nothing too explicit. Maybe I'll consider writing more eventually. Also, I haven't written dialogue in ages, so I apologize for how rusty I am... 😅 Hopefully, this isn't too bad though! ------

You realize this is a bit of an awkward position for Garofano.

You've seen enough dead spiders before--flopped on their backs with their limbs curled toward their torsos with the eternal and graceless rigor of death.

But with the size of Garofano's web, it wasn't too difficult to convince the drider to rest comfortably on her back. You had bribed her with freshly-cooked food--skewers of cubed deer meat from one of her earlier hunts that you had roasted over the open fire. You had also come with some skewers of the raw meat as well if she had preferred something more... fresh.

All the same, it's in her web that the drider reclines herself back on her web, content to eat from your offering while you sit on the length of her abdomen. Garofano seems entirely unbothered by your weight even as you run your hands through the thick fuzz beneath you. The texture reminds you somewhat of bumblebees with its softness. You press a little harder as you rub curiously along one section of her torso, eliciting a soft sound from Garofano.

You look up quickly to see if you might have caused her discomfort, but the drider's eyes are blissfully closed. Movement behind you then draws your gaze that way, and you're momentarily taken aback when you see one of Garofano's segmented legs kicking with seeming delight at your continued touch.

You can't help but giggle.

Rahu did that too sometimes whenever you gave the domesticated werewolf belly rubs.

"So are all driders furry like you?" you ask, one-handedly opening up your trusted notebook while awaiting a response. "No. It varies by region. The hair you see on my abdomen and legs serves a purpose for the driders found in mine though: it allows us to sense vibrations in the air," Garofano explains.

Your eyes widen as you distractedly write that all down. "Really?"

"Yes. Even when standing still, I can tell which direction my prey might be running in."

Wow.

No wonder Garofano's such an amazing hunter.

That little fact was almost as intriguing as the dual claws you found at the tip of each of Garofano's legs during your earlier exploration of her. The drider had said they were used for climbing up vertical or uneven surfaces, but they were otherwise kept retracted. At such a revelation, you had pulled one of the limbs in question closer to you while doing nearly everything in your power to get the claws in question to pop out for you. In your excitement, you had neglected the fact that the leg tip was also directly in front of your face while you were attempting this.

It had earned you a soft, fond sigh along with a chiding "Darling..." before Garofano turned your attention away from her limb by cupping your face within her hands and sweetly smooching you into submission. You could still remember how you hot your face burned when Garofano broke the kiss to give you a nip on your bottom lip before going back to her meal.

Speaking of...

"So... do you fangs do anything else?"

Your question has Garofano blinking curiously. "I can inject venom through them."

That has you bolting upright.

You're venomous?!

"I can control the amount of venom at will," she elaborates calmly upon seeing your expression. "I can inject enough to kill or just paralyze my prey, but often times I forego the need entirely."

"Oh?"

Garofano's shoulders shrug elegantly. "It's more satisfying when I get my prey to submit to me completely of their own volition."

Try as you might, you can't stop the reaction her words give you, especially as you let your imagination runs wild.

------

You can see yourself running through a shallow stream, trying to throw the predator hunting you off your trail. If you leave no tracks behind, then surely you couldn't be found, right?

Right?

You don't know how long you keep running, but you eventually hop onto a grassy bank as your energy begins to wane. With any luck though, the one pursuing you will keep following the path of the stream while you gain further distance between you both.

As the minutes pass, you begin to think your escape is all but assured. In fact, you can see the edge of the forest just some meters beyond you, and you can't help your immense relief as your arms and legs pump faster, urging you towards your well-earned victory.

But then your momentum is completely thrown off when something sticky and threadlike hits your flailing wrist, sending you crashing forwards to the ground. Perplexed, you struggle to get back to your feet, but your wrist remains stubbornly fixed to the forest floor by the webbing that encases it. Panicked, you use your free hand to try and rip it away, but in your distraction, you don't seem the looming figure behind you until it's too late.

In less than a second, your captor has your cheek pressed against the grass while she constructs another lattice-like shackle to bind your other wrist to the ground. You can feel furred limbs pulling at your hips, lifting them up, while another pair make quick work in shedding the clothing covering your lower half.

"You gave me a wonderful chase," a smooth voice croons down at you while firmly nudging at your legs, silently demanding them to spread wider--wide enough that you can feel the chill of the air as you're suddenly left exposed and vulnerable. "Shall I reward you for your efforts, dear?"

You can't find it in you to draw a response, especially when something blunt and wide presses against your wet folds...

------

"Something tells me it wouldn't take much to earn your surrender."

You come out of your thoughts with a jolt to see Garofano looking at you with knowing eyes, but you can see the way her already dark eyes have dilated with considerable interest. It only enhances the very faint smirk on her lips, and you can't help but duck your head with a blush.

"You can tell?" you squeak out, earning low laughter from the drider as she cups your burning cheek.

"While I can't say that my senses are quite as enhanced as our canid companions, I can always tell when you're excited around me. You smell so very good when you are," she admits, voice low with desire, as her hand slips from your cheek to gently wrap around the front of your throat. "Would you like to experience what being my prey is like? Happily cavorting about in the forest before unexpectedly finding yourself on the chase of your life as you're hunted down by a bigger, stronger beast?"

You can't stop yourself from nodding rapidly, heart fluttering when that earns you a fanged grin from Garofano.

"Very well. When I capture you, I'll give you a bite. Right here," she says, rubbing her thumb where your neck meets your shoulder. "That will be my initial prize before I take what else has been offered to me. For now..." She leans forward to give you a chaste kiss--a taste of what's to come. Her smile then as she parts from you is all pure sin. "I'll give you a ten-minute head start..."

-- 🌙 anon (maybe I'll make myself a side blog one of these days)

GOD I'VE BEEN HOARDING THIS ASK FOR SO LONG. I think it's about time I finally post it though, it's just so good I need to share it with everyone, it's practically a fic...

FLUFFY TARANTULA GAROFANO MY BELOVED. I'm so in love with the Researcher just casually sitting on the tummy of Drider! Garofano's spider half, completely comfortable as she examines each one of Garofano's spider feet. Fun fact, did you know tarantulas have little paws? When you push a little on the tips, they splay out similar to cat paws. IMAGINE THE RESEARCHER PRESSING AGAINST GAROFANO'S TIPS AND WATCHING THEM SPLAY OUT. HER LITTLE PAWS AGJHSKHD--

And ofc, there's playing predator and prey with Garofano. I like to think that running from Garofano is a form of "exercise" to her now that she lives with the Researcher. As she no longer has to hunt for food on her own, Garofano keeps her body active by hunting you down in the wilderness to keep that predator instinct alive. It gives her such a rush and usually by the end of the chase, she excitedly ties you up and brings you back to her web to "reward" you for your efforts.

You really cooked with this ask, anon. You always do. You should totally make that writing blog, I encourage it <3

#⛓️ interrogation complete #🌙 anon #monster au #garofano smut #ptn garofano smut

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aurae-rori · 1 year ago

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DR RATIO ANALYSIS PT 3 BUT IT'S JUST GAY

Now, you might be saying - "Aurae, you've done part one, and part two, so why do we need a part three?" The answer is because of two things - one. I made a deal with the Tumblr Peoples that if one of my posts hit more than 50 likes I would do this analysis. Two. Mihoyo is making this shit canon. I CAN'T MAKE THIS UP. So, let's delve into my usual disclaimer, as we might have some new people joining us for the first time with my insanity.

I have been researching psychology personally for about six years, so although I am not a professional (crawling my way there through the education system. I will be one, one day.) I do have some experience with analyzing homosexuals. Psychology hours, my children. They don't call me "chronically cooking" for nothing. Maybe I should change my url to that...

NOW THAT MY LONG AHH DISCLAIMER IS OVER, LET'S GET INTO THIS! It's time to deconstruct these homosexuals like a modern airplane, because they might as well be taking off with how canon they are.

"It can't be canon," they say, but then Mihoyo DOES PAID SPONSORSHIPS WITH THESE FUCKERS BEING GAY. We've all seen the paid partnership edit. We've all seen the video where Aventurine has the audio of "nice rack" as he talks to Dr. Ratio. PAID SPONSORSHIPS. Now, if that piece of evidence isn't enough for you - let's dive into their actual relationship, which is just a HOMOSEXUAL MESS. I will be focusing more on how Dr. Ratio sees this guy as this is a Dr. Ratio analysis™, but hey, the crumbs.. we eat 'em all. Amen.

Let's start off (I say as I write this part three days later) about how people are like, 'Aven is Ratio's favourite idiot' WRONG. Ratio does NOT consider Aventurine to be an idiot and knows that he is smart and capable in his own right. While Ratio is book smart, Aven is extremely street smart and holds his own very well. Ratio does not consider Aventurine to be an idiot as he takes off his plaster head around him and actually indulges in his whims around him. This is a blatant showcase of fondness because although he is emotionally constipated and can't be affectionate through words without sounding semi-backhanded because he's never had true affection in his life, he showcases his love through actions rather than words. He's just bad at showing love, okay? But he does love Aven. Or like him, to some extent, if you don't want to see them as romantic, which is fine. However, no matter what you label their bond as, it's obvious that they care for one another.

Also, the fucking ZEST FEST that was 'keeping up with Star Rail'. He says, "wait a minute - MUTUAL?" which indicates that he has respect for Aventurine in the first place. He LITERALLY TOLD US that he respects Aventurine and he was commenting on Aventurine's playstyle & everything.. also, at the end, he was here because 'I appreciate this show's dedication to knowledge' - his TONE. Kudos to the VA because that was not convincing at all. Bro was NOT here for the knowledge, bro was here to be GAY!!! Also his little own bathtub couch. We all know Aven bought it for him. Trust, I am John Hoyoverse.

"The Charming Audacity" HUH? BRO? Okay this is hilarious to me because this is the first time that we ever really see them interact with one another, and we get absolutely bitchslapped in the fact that Dr. Ratio calls this guy's audacity 'charming'. That's GAY. That's HOMOSEXUAL.

Also, comparing him to a peacock.. a very beautiful bird.... Must I say more?

Now, the part that I really want to focus on is the part where he gives the Doctor's Note to Aventurine. This shit is important. And I agree with the people who are like - Acheron helped him. Because she did. She was a big part of it and she helped Aventurine get back on his feet in the void. Dr. Ratio is not his only reason to live, but the note, showing that someone will stay by his side? Showing that someone truly cares for him? Someone who's waiting for him when he get back? This bond that he has with Dr. Ratio isn't fake. He already has a starting point to get back to - an anchor to return to. Dr. Ratio is his anchor. Whenever he goes off to do crazy shit, Veritas Ratio will be there when he returns. Because Ratio is loyal. Ratio cares. He cared enough to almost jeopardize their plan to make sure that Aventurine was going to be okay. He cares so damn much about Aventurine that he decided that this man's emotional state after the fake betrayal was more important than all of fucking Penacony.

If you want an example of "I would let the world burn for you," it's Ratio. He's a romantic not in the traditional sense, but he cares and loves Aventurine so damn much it makes my heart hurt. "Do stay alive," he says, knowing that Aventurine struggles with living. Those three words mean the whole fucking world to someone who struggles with suicidal ideation and suicidal thoughts. Someone wants you to live. Someone wants you to stay. Someone wants you by their side.

Dr. Ratio cares. Let me say that again - he cares. He banters with Aventurine, tries to create an environment where Aventurine can feel a little bit more comfortable with the two of them, even in a place as dangerous as Penacony. He will put his own life on the line for Aventurine.

He cares. He cares so damn much. I hate gay people. They make me VIOLENTLY homophobic.

Dr. Ratio after expressing his care indirectly and complimenting Aventurine indirectly: Did I do it?

Aventurine, who has caught none of the hints:

Anyway, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

#aurae analyzes #hsr #aventio #honkai star rail #dr ratio #ratiorine #aventurine #veritas ratio #raturine #golden ratio #aventurine x dr ratio #analysis #character analysis #relationship analysis #these bitches gay #good for them

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crowley-winter-boots · 3 months ago

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Instead of humouring the messages in the screenshot, I would like to make a post regarding people who think this way. DO NOT LOOK FOR THIS INDIVIDUAL OR HARASS THEM. I know people like to jump the gun and do that online, so please don't bother with it. I am making this post to address, that you can in fact, still protest without attending mass protests and that not everyone is able to attend those mass protests.

(*Notice how I didn't "name call", I said "I won't reply anymore as I'm PRETTY SURE you're trolling." I was making an observation based on past experiences, and I'm still convinced they were only saying this to cause problems.)

You CAN still protest without going to larger protests. Its OKAY if you can't attend those large protests.

Here are some ways you can help out if you're unable to go to a protest!

Spread the word

One of the best ways to get people to attend is to tell other people about it! The more people that know, the more that can know when and where to show up.

Find a way that fits you to do something as an individual

There are a few ways you can go about this, but here is what I've personally been doing:

- I've been wearing a pride flag to school. Specifically, the trans flag. Pride flags banned from hanging up in schools? Nothing in the dress code that denies it. It will make people angry and confused, but it will also make people like you feel seen. I've had a lot of negative reactions from students and teachers alike, but there have been fellow queer kids who walk up to me and talk to me about my flag, often saying they wish they had one of their own. I'm planning on painting "WE THE PEOPLE" on it soon (I was going to this weekend, but there was too much going on and I didn't want to start a project I couldn't finish before school on Monday.)

- Make a battle vest (or any other punk fashion, such as crust pants!) I've been working on mine, and will post the patches and progress soon. I've been meaning to make one for a while for myself, but put it off until recently. I'll also make a post going more into detail on how you can make punk fashion yourself, and the ideology of punks.

**PLEASE NOTE. Both of these can be dangerous. Especially wearing a pride flag, as there is't anything that can make it safer. With the punk fashion, there are ways to make it safer, and I'll go more into detail on that on my other post: but essentially, you don't want any political statements or pride flags on the back. You won't see anyone coming, and they'll be less likely to attack you if they see it from the front.

Talk to local activist groups to set one up in your area

I'm not too sure about how this process works, as I haven't yet contacted any local activist groups to set up a protest. I'm not even sure if that's how you CAN set up a protest, but I asked around and this was the answer I had gotten. I'll make an update once I figure out how to set up a protest and if I personally was able to (and the details of the protest, ofc!)

Make signs or stickers to post in your community

There are a lot of ways you can make signs and/or stickers! I've never made a sign myself, so you'll have to do the research yourself for that, but you could make them as flyers with paper as well. But with stickers, they're relatively easy to make! I sold some for a while, and made about $250 off of it in just a few weeks by selling them on my school campus. You just need a pack of sticker paper (GLOSSY makes it shiny, MATTE makes it flat like printer paper,) a printer, and some kind of art app to import your images on. Fitting stickers is like a jigsaw puzzle- you'll need to rotate them at weird angles and fit any nook into any cranny. Find patterns, repeating patterns will make the process easier. The goal is to have as little white space as possible- but that being said, leave enough room between each sticker to give a solid border. A common mistake I made when I first started making stickers was overlapping the edges.

Join communities online

Discord servers are a good way to find online communities for people who want to oppose the American government! I am in a server that shares resources, information, protest days, and more. I can share the link in DMs, and you can also look online to find more.

Start a social media platform

That's what my blog is for! I'm posting online as a form of protest. There are a number of social media platforms (except Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok....) that you can advocate on. I do believe Tumblr and YouTube are the safest ones, and therefore have the biggest communities on there.

Buy banned books

THESE WON'T BE SOLD ANYMORE, SOON. They are information and knowledge the government is afraid of. The Diary of Anne Frank is on the list, which just goes to show how far they're going in this. They know they're fascists. They know America is going through the same beginning stages of a fascist dictator's overtake of a country. You can find a lot of these secondhand before they're gone. Find PDFs online of the books and download them in a place they can't be deleted. Physical copies are much better to have as they can't be taken away.

Pirate and get physical copies of music

Alphatron, FMovies, those are good sites for live action. WCO.tv is a good site for cartoons (and as far as I know, perfectly legal online archive!)

Learn how to burn CDs. Collect CDs. Collect vinyl records. And please, for the love of the Gods, DON'T USE SPOTIFY. I used Spotify because it was the easiest option for me, but they financially supported Trump's campaign. I switched to YouTube Music. Even the free version of Spotify supports the company- every song you listen to and every advertisement you sit through puts more coins into their bank account. I also have a vinyl collection I've been growing for 3-4 years. I'm thinking about learning how to burn CDs and get a Walkman (I currently don't have money, but I'm looking to get a job soon.) Like with the banned books, physical copies are the best. They'll have to pry it from your cold, dead hands.

That's all I have for now!! Feel free to add onto this with your own ways to protest and/or additional information from what I've already put.

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mentalknot · 6 months ago

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A brief (kinda) hello

Welcome! My name is Selin, and I'm a sophomore mathematics student who's followed somewhat of an unconventional educational path.

After discovering my passion for math four years ago in high school, I've quite literally fast-tracked my aspirations of becoming a mathematician. There is only more course is required to complete my mathematics degree, but I plan to take many more. Additionally, I was lucky enough to work with an outstanding mentor during the summer of 2024 on my first research project. The experience was nothing short of lifechanging... and also where I first noticed some of the variance in my academic approach.

I'm autistic, been diagnosed since 14, and recently with ADHD as well. I thought medication would "quiet" my mind, the mind that's constantly brimming with ideas that I simply can't put words to, that I seldom try to explain because they are likely dumb and baseless.

However, I let myself explore this "graph" at the start of October, and eventually got the point where I wrote an algorithm to depict it, and then a formal mathematical definition. People started joking about when I might "release a pre-print," or suggested I "save the project to receive credit for an independent study." As someone who's struggled with severe anxiety and depression since I was around ten years old, I've become extremely comfortable questioning my every move, believing that I am fundamentally dumb, annoying, delusional, and "one-notch away from loosing my mind." They tell me this brain is a "gift," but I fear risk of grandeur in accepting that. I fear that I'm somehow lying to everyone... why is it that I can "see" novel mathematical objects in my mind, and why do I fixate so strongly on these ideas... One of my mentors recently pointed out that a mathematician must learn to trust their work without the validation from others, and I realize that regardless of my skill (or lack thereof) in proof writing, I must accept my brain to continue. I will use this page as a way to empty some of the constant noise (void of trauma dumping) in my mind, and do my best to describe what it feels like. I hope to find people who relate, as I believe it's the only way to convince myself that I'm not going crazy.

#math #mathematics #academia #collage #neurodivergent

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nova-streyart · 2 years ago

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The Thing about Belos Nobody Mentions

There's an aspect of Belos I haven't seen anyone talk about yet: him potentially being on the schizophrenia spectrum, or schizospec for short, and everything that means. Before you say anything, I am a schizoaffective person. This is my interpretation. This is based off my own experiences with this disorder, and my own research.

Analysis and rant under the cut:

=ANALYSIS=

So this all started when I learned that one of the color design pieces had Caleb and the grimwalkers labelled "Golden Guard Illusion". Artists credited in the image itself.

It's weird to me that they're labeled as illusions and not hallucinations, because the latter is what the ghosts actually are. Illusions are images your brain distorts based off something that's there, while hallucinations are images your brain creates from nothing. The fact that these ghosts are actually hallucinations of Belos and not real ghosts doesn't say a whole lot about Belos on its own, because anyone can hallucinate if they experience intense enough negative emotions. But you'll see why I think there's something more to this.

Following this lead, I rewatched the scene where Papa Titan talks to Luz in the In-Between realm in the series finale. After Luz asks him whether her motivation to save her friends and family makes her just as bad as Belos, she tells her:

"Well, you assume Belos' goal comes from a genuine place. But that man doesn't care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion."

Let me give you a short lesson about delusions in the context of schizospec disorders: Delusions are firmly held beliefs that the person experiencing can't be convinced aren't true. This can be extremely serious and life-threatening, such as as believing all your food's been poisoned. But it can also be harmless; it really depends on the delusion. The type of delusion referenced here would be a delusion of grandeur, which is a real thing in schizospec disorders. Such delusions can be serious, like believing you're the second coming of god, or more harmless, like believing you're better than others.

Taking both the hallucinations and the delusion into mind, it's very possible that Belos has some kind of schizospec disorder.

=RANT=

Let's talk about that scene where Belos goes to the grimwalker cave. Notice how the hallucinations are played for laughs? That's problematic. Hallucinations are not something you can just tell to "shut up" and they'll go away. Hallucinations are not things you can interact with. There's already other media with this problem, such as A Beautiful Mind, but the fact that it's in a show that's supposed to be celebrating neurodivergence is hypocritical.

Let's briefly go back to that Papa Titan quote. See how he used the word "delusion" to describe Belos' motivation?Yeah, that's really problematic in the schizospec community. As mentioned before, delusions can be life threatening, so tossing that word around like it's nothing is really frustrating and insulting. The show should have used a word like "fantasy" to get its point across more effectively if it was implying that Belos has a hero complex.

Continuing this train of thought, it gets worse when you consider how Papa Titan- and in essence the narrative- is essentially ridiculing Belos for experiencing a very intense delusion. Delusions are not something a schizospec person can control. I've already seen the fandom mocking Belos for this quality. It was one of those awful memes with the caption "schizophrenia," and had audio of markiplier doing a bit where he was bantering with an "inner voice". Such memes are awful because they're not real experiences schizospec people go through. They're assumptions about our experiences non-schizospec people make about us.

That would be the worst of it, but no, it gets far worse when you consider a few things:

Belos is the main antagonist. That would be annoying enough, considering the plethora of mentally ill villains in media, but nope. The narrative also treats him as this purely evil being who is incapable of any good whatsoever. Which, OK. It's possible for a schizospec person to be a monster. But the fact that the only schizospec representation we have is either of us as helpless victims, or as irredeemable monsters, is infuriating.

Belos is clearly meant to be a foil to Luz. Which, congrats to the show for having a neurodivergent lead, but let me tell you about some of the hardships schizospec people face: In real life, schizospec people are cast out of mental health advocacy groups. Schizospec people are treated as subhuman by doctors and psychiatrists. Schizospec people are demonized and vilified by society. Schizospec people are denied jobs and housing. With all this in mind the fact the narrative chooses to glorify a character with the "right," the "acceptable," kind of neurodivergence while berating a character with the "scary," the "monstrous," kind of neurodivergence is absolutely disgusting.

=CONCLUSION=

I feel like it has to be said that I am not condoning Belos' actions, or trying to woobify him. Belos, as a person, was terrible. No amount of mental illness tacked onto him will excuse any of his actions.

I'm also not trying to imply that schizospec characters can't be evil. I'm just saying that it's extremely tiresome that the only representation we get is either us as victims or as villains.

To conclude all of this, please, do your research before adding something like this into your story.

#long post #rant post #toh critical #toh criticism #belos #toh belos #emperor belos #philip wittebane #toh philip wittebane

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sinner-sunflower · 1 year ago

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Lucifer AU idea- Rabbit Hole

Y'all know that Rabbit Hole by Miku song with the animation trend? Imagine Luci doing that dance ugh

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The song is Angel Dust's first official music video that he wrote after breaking free of Valentino's deal.

Ozzie had offered him a job to Club Ozzie's first Pride ring branch and Angel never felt happier.

He got into music as an outlet for his emotions, releasing 'Addict' and 'Poison' to the public via Al's radio show. (He managed to convince Alastor to do it cos it would make his ratings skyrocket past Vox and Alastor loves nothing more than kicking Vox when he's already down)

After the success of his first 2 songs, Angel decided that maybe the 3rd one should have a music video.

With the help of Ozzie as his producer, the project is a go.

Writing the song was the easy part. Angel wanted it to sound fun but also resonate with his past experiences (just read the translation of the lyrics! The one angel wrote is from this Cover!)

One day, he and Ozzie were brainstorming at the Sin's office at the Pride branch.

Ozzie: Angel, this is your first music video! It must be grand! Showstopping! Jaw-dropping! Never before seen! Revolutionary!

Angel: But how do I do that, big dick boss man? I don't think even being greatest porn star Hell has ever seen will wow people now. I've done lots of things and I can't think of anything else.

Ozzie: Hmmm

Just then, Lucifer enters the office.

Lucifer: Ozzie! Just who I'm looking for. I need you to do some inspection regarding your crystals. I just talked to Belphagor and she said that her team just confiscated a whole ton in some imp warehouse in Greed. I know I don't need to meddle but I wouldn't be worried if it was anywhere else. Who knows what Mammon is doing with those and- oh! Angel!

Angel: Heya, Short king.

Lucifer: What are you doing here?

Angel: I work here, baby~

Lucifer: Oh! I knew that haha. And what's this?

The King of Hell gestures to the board they were using for notes.

Angel: Don't tell anyone, but I'm gonna be releasin a new song and it's gonna have a music video!

Lucifer: Really?! That's great! It hasn't been that long too since Poison, wasn't it?

Angel: Yeah, but we wanna catch these motherfuckers off guard

Ozzie: That's why we're brainstorming how we can wow these desensitised demons. I still think we can do-

Lucifer: Why don't I do it?

Angel and Ozzie blink in surprise at the King's words.

Angel: Do what?

Lucifer: Act! In your music video! You know, instead of you, I'll be the uhhh 'rabbit girl'? Not that- you're uh- not enough I just mean that uhm- I think the last thing they'd expect is the King of Hell a sinner's music video.

Angel: Babe, you do know this would be a not safe for work type thing, right?

Lucifer: Yeah? I know? I know you better than you might think, you know.

Ozzie: You sure? Cos Charlie might see this.

Angel: Yeah. I know I don't wanna see my dad basically naked dancing to music.

Lucifer: You can go through it with her if it makes you feel any better. But I'm up for anything.

The two others in the room just stare at him with their mouths wide open.

Lucifer: But if you don't want I...

Angel: Hell no! We are doing this!

Ozzie: Hell won't know what hit em.

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Charlie gave it a green light cos she's so excited about her dad finally socializing and breaking out of his cocoon to really realize what everything is about. Angel wants to record a reaction of the hotel for research purposes.

A few weeks later, the video is done and it's dropped out of nowhere.

Ozzie invited the Sins to the hotel for an exclusive live viewing (he and Angel ofc knew what time it would be released and set the whole thing up)

Everyone sat in the lobby in front of a giant projector (No, Alastor, you can't watch a video on the radio!), and as the clock struck at 9:13 AM on a random Tuesday, the video played.

Let's just say that it certainly did leave mouth agaped and caused mass panic.

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

Ozzie anonymously sent a copy to Heaven and somewhere in a bright glowing building, 6 archangels lay unconscious at the ground due to shock,

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If you guys want me to write some dialogue for that first reaction in the hotel, drop the comment!

#hazbin lucifer #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin angel dust #hazbin hotel angel dust #helluva asmodeus #helluva boss asmodeus #asmodeous #lucifer harem #lucifer centric #lucifer au #lucifer morningstar fanart #lucifer morningstar #lucifer magne

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tobiasdrake · 1 year ago

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That was sweet. Now back to the much more dismal present.

We're back to the burning question: Stabilized homunculus who's cracked the secret of curing ferals? Ghost coming to comfort Yakou in his low comprehension? Or the hallucination of a memory Yakou will never let go of?

That's a heartening thing to say. Did you crack the secret of stabilizing the defective homunculi?

There is a cure. We're probably going to use up the entire sample on Yakou as a bittersweet moment, like her greatest research was to give him a second chance at life.

But even if that's the case, the fact that she managed to do it means it can be done. Much like Real Yuma's ramen shop, it shows the value of crowdsourcing the homunculi's problems outside of just Makoto.

If stabilizing homunculi is possible, then even if Yakou uses the entire sample, it means someone else might crack this code again. It's proof-of-concept that the code can be cracked.

I am so happy right now. We can cure Yakou. We can cure the Theater Girls. We can cure Shachi. And the Priest. We can shove Huesca in a pit. We can cure Tetra's dad!

I mean, after it's reinvented, of course. I'm sure there's only going to be enough in that thing for Yakou.

Yep. One pill. Which is just kicking the can down the road; Yakou will be fine until his next death and then he's right back in this situation.

But it's proof of concept. First thing he should do as soon as he regains his mental faculties is go straight to Makoto and tell him it can be done. We need to restart homunculus research, and pore over his wife's notes extensively. Maybe take samples of Yakou's blood for testing.

T_T This is such a sweet conclusion, both for Yakou's journey and for the story as a whole.

And there she goes confusing me again. I do not know what you mean by that. Is she saying to go dig up her corpse if he can't un-feral?

It's not like he can die and join her in the afterlife. She's already got a Yakou with her in the afterlife. This one's trapped here forever.

All the same, this is such a great ending. Emotionally powerful and satisfyingly interesting all at once.

"Hard man seeks revenge because his woman was fridged" is a character archetype I generally loathe. But it works so well for Yakou. Partly because it's not what solely defines his character; There are plenty of other facets to him as well. Like most of Kodaka's characters, he's a complicated guy.

But also because of the leg-work that this DLC did to make his wife out as more than just a nice lady who died so we can be mad about it. I've seen more than a few attempts at trying to convince the audience to be emotionally invested in the dead spouse but this is the first one that's ever worked for me.

I think it's because most of the time, the dead wife winds up characterized like this saintly figure who was perfect and demure and wifely in all the "right ways", such that she never feels like her own character and comes off more like the emotional crowbar that she is. But Kodaka sat down at his computer and just hammered out a concise tale about two people who enjoy each other's company and find they have some shared interests.

With characters like these, it often winds up feeling like they were just spinning their wheels living Insert Idyllic Life and waiting for the story to start. Things won't get interesting until she dies. Sorry, but her life is the price of admission for this cool story, I guess.

But with Yakou and his wife, it's like. No. No, this was the story. A whirlwind romance besieged by assassins and gene research, that was the story of their life. The Yakou we meet when we step off that train is a broken man because, for him, the story catastrophically ended. For him, there is nothing left to tell.

...if only she had a fucking name. Come on, Kodaka! Really!? I'm shilling this love story you wrote so hard and it's between Yakou and... Amaterasu Researcher. God fucking dammit, even when you're on the ball, I want to shake you violently for the choices you make.

#master detective archives: rain code #drake plays rain code #yakou furio

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deusexlachina · 11 months ago

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Wannabe Warden Part 4 (Anders, Fenris and Isabela): Make good impressions by setting half my friends on fire

In which I exploit my police connections to safely recruit fugitives so I can get strong enough to convince a Grey Warden to come out of a retirement he wasn't allowed to have in the first place.

With Other Aveline in charge of the police and in my pocket, she gives me a bag of money and looks the other way to the numerous very illegal things I am about to do, all to get the muscle needed to get into the Deep Roads and become a Grey Warden. I take the money and tell her I look forward to working with her.

I use the money to pay a visit to Xenon the Antiquarian, an apostate with eternal life but without eternal youth, so unfortunately he cannot help me in my quest. At least, he can't accompany me. In fact, he helps me tremendously. In exchange for Other Aveline's "thank you money" to fund anti-aging research so he can not be a husk, he sells me the Anderfels Cleaver, an axe that deals fire damage. I don't mean it has some bonus fire damage. I mean all of its damage is fire. That means it's not affected by armour. Conventional defences mean nothing to the Anderfels Cleaver. Best of all, mabari are immune to fire, so me and my obscenely large hurtbox can safely swing away without killing my own dog. (Nightmare Ultra mostly doesn't have friendly fire, except for allies - only your squad is safe!).

I hear my mom's family home is now a front for Tevinter slavers, so I serve them an eviction notice in the form of the Anderfels Cleaver. Slavers are not immune to fire - in fact, they take extra damage, I guess because racist people can go burn in hell. All their heavy armour just serves as a shell to cook them in. Having cleared the slavers out of the family home, I scrounge up every penny, getting over 7 gold - a 140% return on the axe. This makes the Anderfels Cleaver a sounder investment than venturing into monster-infested tunnels and hoping to find treasure instead of monsters and diseases. But I'm not in this for the treasure. I'm in this to become a Grey Warden.

I invest the new gold into Maker's Sighs, a potion that resets all a character's skill choices so you can give them good ones instead of the literal garbage they were saddled with by default. I ditch Pommel Strike to get Cleave, a balanced skill that nearly doubles your damage for ten seconds on a twenty-five second cooldown. Bethany becomes a deadly ice mage. Other Aveline gets sick of tanking for me and goes offence by jumping on the Cleave bandwagon. Varric learns how to hit things when he shoots. My squad is an efficient fighting force, armed to the teeth and with Antivan Crow-level tactics. Unfortunately for Anders, he isn't part of my squad yet, so he hasn't learned to STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE MAGIC AXE THAT SETS PEOPLE ON FIRE. Anders Cannot Die Here because he is animated by a demonic version of Justice, which is good because otherwise I would have burnt him to a crisp several times over.

Anders' boyfriend, Karl, was already made Tranquil, which is like a whimsical equivalent of the lobotomy. Anders' possession by Justice temporarily unlobotomizes Karl, suggesting that there may be a cure for Tranquility. However, Anders unilaterally decides that There Is No Choice But To Kill Him, and Karl agrees, because being Tranquil falls in that Thedas euthanasia threshold between a stomachache and immediate death.

After this harrowing ideal, I flirt with Anders, hoping that being a Grey Warden can be transmitted sexually. He's impressed that I'm brave enough to flirt with a demon-possessed mage who just killed his last partner.

Unfortunately, he's not impressed enough to immediately induct me into the Grey Wardens, not least because he quit being a Grey Warden after they made him give up his cat.

To be clear, you're not allowed to quit being a Grey Warden. You're so not allowed to quit that Duncan stabbed a guy to death when he backed out in the initiation. This doesn't stop Anders from quitting, just as it doesn't stop Alistair from quitting if you hire Loghain, who doesn't attempt to quit the Grey Wardens despite his being recruited at least partly out of sheer spite for previously trying to kill them all.

In any case, Salrokka! Anders is back in the game. And with a Grey Warden in the party, replacing currently-weak Varric, things are starting to go in our favour. I help Fenris, a fugitive from Tevinter who was enslaved until sometime after his master infused his skin with powerful lyrium enchantments that make him a living superweapon who is especially resistant to magic, because sensible people don't own slaves in the first place. To put it mildly, Fenris has had a hard life, so I give him some shiny dark armour like he has in Blue Wraith. It's the least I could do.

With my help, and with Guard-Captain Other Aveline pointedly looking away, Fenris storms his old master's house to try and kill him. Unfortunately, instead of metaphorical monsters, all we find is literal monsters, who are not as cathartic to skewer. Because Fenris joined my squad, he is coordinated enough to stay out of the way of the friend-slaying Anderfels Cleaver. He is KO'd anyway because there's an Arcane Horror, but I save the day.

With Fenris, my squad is even stronger. I meet Isabela, who, just as she did years ago, single-handedly defeats several armed men in a cutscene. This is a nod to how overpowered she is. Trained properly, she's extremely deadly but also difficult to hit. Just like Good Queen Morwen.

Isabela has more mods than any other companion, but in accordance with Sturgeon's Law most of them are for making her white, because they were made by the real-life equivalent of Tevinter. Fortunately, you don't mind digging for treasure through piles of literal garbage like Hawke & Friends, you can find some neat stuff for Bela. One of my personal favourite looks is a combo that makes her heavier and armoured instead of her default look with a corset and a buttflap. ("That's just silly," I say, one run after making yet another goth girl PC) I could be sly and argue it's to reflect her amazing potential as a tank, but honestly, I just think this look is rad as hell.

Isabela is challenged to a duel by another pirate, but she expects him to cheat, so she hires me to protect her. This I sort of do. She is attacked, and I do engage her attackers, but she is not safe at all because I am using the Anderfels cleaver and repeatedly set Isabela on fire, with the Anderfels Cleaver, in the Chantry. I could make some laborious joke about Isabela being hot, or the fires of hell, but this is not a blog that makes cheap jokes. This is the caviar of Dragon Age 2 Let's Plays. You and me, we're refined people, and you deserve better. We don't laugh at cheap puns. We laugh at Isabela getting hit with a flaming axe and set on fire again and again and screaming and still not thinking to move away from the fire.

Isabela is a jolly good sport about this, perhaps because she lives in a world with powerful healing magic, making full-body burns the equivalent of a sprained ankle. After discreetly leaving the mass grave with a roast pirate aroma the Chantry has become, Anders patches her up and, I assume, gives her a sympathetic "first time?" smile. Who's to say he doesn't? I'm telling this story, and I can embellish as much as I please. I see why Varric does it. It's addictive.

#wannabe warden

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hirokiyuu · 3 months ago

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thinking abt gsgw/twst. under the cut bc this is a thing that appeals to maybe two people (me and also me but in a trench coat)

i want security team leona for no reason other htan i think it'd be fun. i think his brother is a director (inherited position) and he was a field team ace until he got corrupted so bad he couldn't keep doing it. now if he touches any living being it'll turn to sand, no exceptions. long gloves + sleeves + generally full body covered + facemask but he leaves his head uncovered bc hair doesn't trigger it and also he would get too overheated otherwise. when his mental corruption gets too bad he'll start fiddling w/his gloves as if he's abt to take them off which is ruggie (also security)'s cue to jump in Immediately

i kinda want ruggie whose path is basically a mirror to leonas........ mostly mental corruption but bc they were on the same field exploration team his default is Listen to Leona even when mentally corrupted. i think its like........ puppet themed corruption where he can use basically invisible strings to control others lmao i think bc theyre "part of" ruggie leona can use his ability to disssolve them + disrupt the control but if he's in big Destroy Everything mode ruggie can slip past his defenses and use them to calm the guy down. basically i want them as each other's hard counter so theyre together LOLOLOL

i think this also means jack is default security team but unlike leo+rug i think he's new and i think he Hates it. i think theres part of him thats still convinced he can get de-corrupted enough to go back to normal work/life (he cannot) (in fact he's even less capable of this than leona+ruggie might hypothetically be) but so it goes. i think he's similar to j3 probably for corruption.......... wolf.....................

OK THAT ASIDE. that was more savanaclaw than i meant. i have other thoughts

i think the three big powers are malleus' family faction (formerly his mom who died/got corrupted+had to be put down maybe?, currently him who is new and more easily manipulated as a result), kalims family faction (he is Not the head there), and leonas fam faction (ran by his brother lmao) kind of at odds but united in Profit LMFAO

malleus was definitely born w/some kind of mental corruption from his mom i think........... definitely closer to a creature than a human, much moreso than the rest of the board who aren't normal but who could still collect dream essence if needed. Unlike Him. idk details but its fun

kalim is still perfectly human. hes got a cushy research position that does literally nothing but takes home a big paycheck and gets to be closer to the family business. jamil is his bodyguard and his job is essentially to keep kalim alive through any possible darkness and if he can't make it out w/o at least one death, to die in kalims place lmao. basically an elite squad member living the roundoff squad life.

hearts are probably exploration squad. riddle gets Big Number............. maybe an elite squad? tho i want adeuce as hteir rookies LOL tho i might shift cater+deuce to a dif squad and leave it at rid+trey(+chenya?)+rookie ace LOL riddle loves the manual..........

i kinda wanna make pome government. i think agent vil+his usual partner rook + the newbie epel who he's mentoring is fun. is rook some kind of corrupted creature? is he just a Really Weird guy? who knows! either way tho he follows vil around and they get the job done so just close your eyes u kno. its fine

i think........... former elite rookie silver + new hire sebek who's trying to outdo silvers records but gets saved by him more than once lmao. sebek is good even w/o a good manual bc hes quick on his feet + can adapt but also he can be impulsive and stupid <3 my dumbass dog <3

UHHHHHHHHH OK I THINK THATS ALL THE THOUGHTS I HAVE if u read this u have to tell me i am clawing at the walls rn

#twst stuff

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circular-bircular · 1 year ago

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Out of wonder, what made you finally be pro-endo?

I'm anti-endo, but I've been looking more at stuff from endos. I'm still on the fence, but if you're okay with sharing, what kind of stuff convinced you?

Funny enough, I actually started as a pro-endo before shifting stances. I did the whole run of pro-endo to neutral to anti-endo to neutral to pro-endo pipeline.

Originally, I was pro-endo because I was completely misinformed. It's part of why I speak out so often about the misinformation in pro-endo spaces, which I still combat to this day. Then I shifted to anti-endo over the course of multiple years, but I only stayed at that point for about 6 months if I remember correctly.

Eventually, though, I really analyzed what I believed and what I knew. This is what I settled on, after discussions with a LOT of endogenic plurals:

I found that many of them acknowledged this as a very vague, personal identity sort of experience. A surprising amount actually have told me that what they're experiencing is just made up and pretend because they find it fun or relaxing.

Many (all but a small vocal minority I've found) accept and speak out about how endogenic plurality IS very different from DID, and how plurality in of itself is an identity label over an actual condition. This group also acknowledges that DID isn't inherently "plurality," and that plurality is a label you put on yourself.

These aren't just children who are at risk of mistaking DID for endogenic plurality; these are adults who have gone to therapy, have researched DID, and who have been found and have found themselves not fitting that criteria. Moreover, the children I do find in these spaces are willing to learn, because at the end of the day, they're in those spaces to figure themselves out.

When endogenic plurality can be something as simple as, "I can hear my character's voices in my head when I write," it would be ridiculous to say, "That doesn't exist." That's a well recorded phenomenon that people have now put a label to. At the end of the day, being pro-endo just means accepting that the thing exists. If people find that the label benefits them, then that really has nothing to do with me. So, there's no harm in being pro-endo and saying, "Hey, you know your brain better than I do, if you find it helpful to say that's plurality, then you do you."

At the end of the day, it doesn't impact me so greatly that it matters more than my trauma recovery, or my career, or my writing, or literally anything. Endogenic plurality does impact my life, don't get me wrong -- it's just that, by and large, so many other things matter so much more than what a small subsect of the human race labels themselves at. I have better windmills to tilt at, yknow?

I'll also add on, a large part of why I join so many "plural" servers, despite not really vibing with the plurality label most of the time, is to help spread information. Given the state of syscourse and the state of DID vs. Endogenic v. Plural, whatever have you -- a lot of echo chambers have popped up. A lot of incidental ableism takes place in a lot of places, purposeful or otherwise. By joining these spaces, I can learn more about them (and about how I view myself), but also, I can help share more information or correct issues. In one of my favorite servers, I recently mentioned that an article someone had cited was ableist and explained why, and got to have a very short and lovely conversation of the values of reading these horrible articles to learn more about those sorts of red flags. The potential is there that this wouldn't have happened without my presence.

Hope this helps clarify some! The TL;DR really is, "It hurts absolutely nobody to accept that people view themselves in a different way." I don't have sources to prove that it exists, but that's because it's a subjective experience. I can't "prove" I'm agender -- that's a label I chose for myself, and people accept that I say I am that. Why not accept endogenic systems too?

#syscourse #lilac bound hauntings #anon #asks

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jazlynriddle-legacy · 6 months ago

Text

Welcome to your life - Pt 2:

Acting On Your Best Behaviour Ch 28:

Summary:

They'd seen it in their fellow orphans often enough to recognise the pattern and were now forced to admit, despite their hopes to the contrary, that Isidora had likely suffered similar side effects.

No… they'd always known she had. The Keeper had just wanted the power that Ranrok had, enough to convince themselves that they would be able to handle it better than that naive woman.

With the start of the Keeper’s sixth-year in Hogwarts, comes a whole slew of headache-inducing challenges from the most unexpected of places. Between insignificant pests throwing wrenches into their plans and tedious teenage drama, that the Keeper is entirely unprepared for, they wonder if they'll make it to their NEWTs without losing their sanity.

Or worse, Ominis or Sebastian.

Warnings: Sebastian x MC x Ominis! Drug Addiction! Spoilers! Slow-burn corruption! Dark content! Fucked up 1800s orphanages! MC has no love for Anne or Solomon! Dubious happy ending (it's happy for MC, Seb and Ominis at least).

You can also read on AO3! (chapter specific warnings below)

Notes:

Warnings: None! Just a nice dinner amongst friends, absolutely nothing of note and no foreshadowing occurs at all! Trust me. I'm not being suspicious at all.

So, um, I said that this last chapter wouldn't be very long, and it looks like I lied. Not intentionally, they just ended up talking a lot longer than I expected, these kids were having a lot of fun I suppose xP

With this instalment ended, do keep an eye out for the first chapter of the next part of this series! That first chapter of part 3 is actually pretty damn short, so I'll just apologise for that in advance again x'D

And a rather minor sidenote, but here's a cool thing I discovered while researching for this chapter! Natty is actually from Matabeleland specifically, because that region of Zimbabwe was actually conquered in the 1890s, by the British! It wasn't randomly chosen just for diversity =D

And people say the developers of Hogwarts Legacy were being lazy with the reasoning for the diversity of their cast. Some peeps need to do some research before judging, the devs were anything but lazy. They were rushed as hell but they sure weren't lazy.

I also encountered someone online who thinks the voice acting in HL is the worst in any AAA game ever, and I am so confused, I thought the voice acting in HL was filled with some of the most natural English voicing I've heard in ages. It's not just me right? x')

“I can't believe I agreed to this.” Ominis sighed, smoothing his hair down anxiously as the three lovers strolled along the relatively empty path towards Hogsmeade. “And you're certain that we don't have to wear anything special? I've never been to a party without a dress code.”

The Keeper smiled fondly. “I'm sure, relax Ominis, it's just a casual gathering for the seven of us. The only difference between this and a regular dinner at the Three Broomsticks, is that Sirona reserved the highest floor for us.”

“I didn't know the Three Broomsticks took reservations.” Sebastian mused thoughtfully, looking a lot more relaxed than their blind lover.

“It doesn't.” The Keeper shrugged. “But Sirona owes me a favour or two, and the second floor mezzanine isn't big enough to house more people than our party's size anyway, so it's no great loss to her.”

“Probably a respite if anything, not having to worry about cleaning the farthest floor while she's swamped downstairs anyway.” Ominis commented, worrying his lower lip for a moment. “Are you sure we don't have to bring somethin-”

“Ominis.” The Keeper placed a hand on his shoulder with a soft chuckle. “This is just a relaxed dinner with some of my friends, you don't need to win their approval. They’re just being inclusive since I'm dating you and Sebastian.”

“I- well, I do understand that..." Ominis sighed again. “I suppose I'm simply worried, after all, we were so cold towards them before. I let our quarrel with Natty, and jealousy over Poppy, affect the way I treated all of them and I feel that such behaviour now reflects poorly on you, what with them knowing about us. Especially since it was your friends who considerately extended an invitation to us, I don't wish to embarrass you any further.”

The Keeper shook their head. “Ominis, my own actions reflect on me, just as your actions reflect upon yourself. That doesn't change even if others know that we're in a relationship, and if it does, well, then I couldn't give a rat’s arse about those people. Besides, if my friends thought poorly of you or Sebastian, they wouldn't have suggested or agreed to the two of you joining us.”

Ominis gave a weak smile. “Even if you say that... if you care about them enough to be friends with them, then... then I should like their approval, but I don't- I don't have many friends. Amicable acquaintances and classmates yes, but true friends? I don't really know how to... It's just the two of you and Anne.”

“Honestly, I've found that there isn't much to that process. If there's some goal or morals that you have in common, or if there's something you need from each other, you either gain respect for each other and hit it off, or you stay acquaintances.” The Keeper shrugged. “Even I would say that I only considered Poppy and Natty as friends before. Though, after the whole Macnair and Selwyn thing, I have come to consider all four of them as friends.”

The Keeper continued with a soft tone. “I will always invite you to share with me how you feel about my friends, but you don't need to become friends with them right away, or ever, at least not for me. For my part, it'd just be nice to spend a fun evening with everyone, see how things go. It'd be great if all the people I'm fond of are on good terms but I'm not going to be upset with you if it doesn't pan out that way. If, however you just want more friends for yourself, then you have an advantage here, everyone here is trying to be friendly, and that's not something most people start with.”

Sebastian snorted, folding his hands behind his head as they made their way over the bridge into Hogsmeade. “That's true, usually there's stuff to worry about, like what they want from you, but this isn't like some nobleman's ball, you know everyone's just here to have fun. So, you don't have to worry about appearances, just relax and do or say whatever feels comfortable.”

“Speaking from experience?” Ominis smiled fondly.

Sebastian grinned and gave a one-sided shrug. “I don't really care what others think about me, since I don't see the need for more friends unless I need them for something. And mind you, I don't mean that in an exploitive way. But that's just me, if you want to have more friends, there's no reason you can't. You're much more pleasant to hang out with than the two of us combined.”

“I'll agree there.” The Keeper huffed lightly. “Honestly, I'm not sure why they sought to be my friends in the first place. It's not like I'm especially nice towards them.”

Ominis chuckled, his heart warmed by both their reassurances. “I can tell you why, it's because you're not especially nice to anyone, you treat everyone equally. Without prejudice and bias against their appearance, status, or family. With respect, at least until you rescind it for their actions or attitude.”

“Is that so? I don't think I respect very many people.” The Keeper raised an eyebrow sceptically.

“Can't possibly be worse than Sebastian.” Ominis shrugged.

“I'd protest, but he's not wrong.” Sebastian grinned, tipping his head noncommittally.

“That's just because you're more interested in books than people.” The Keeper teased, bumping shoulders with Sebastian.

“Not my fault that most people aren't as interesting as a good book.” Sebastian shrugged as the three of them arrived at the small door leading to the Three Broomsticks’ second floor, just off to the side of the building.

“Ready, Ominis?” The Keeper asked as they placed a hand on the door, watching him take a breath before nodding.

With that, they pushed the door open, allowing their eyes to adjust to the lighting difference for a moment. Inside were Poppy and Natty, already sitting side by side at the two round tables that had been placed together in the center of the mezzanine.

“Hey! There you are!” Poppy exclaimed as soon as they stepped through the door, while Natty waved with a smile.

“Hey.” The Keeper smiled in return, taking a few steps further into the room before pausing to look back towards the door.

“Oh, Ominis and Sebastian, you came!” Poppy beamed brightly when Ominis stepped in next, tugging nervously at his collar.

He cleared his throat, smiling shyly and following them with a simple. “Hello.”

The Keeper found his demeanour so adorably sweet and charming, that they were struck with a sudden wave of concern. After all, it would be problematic if he approached anyone that he wanted to befriend like this, they might fall in love with him instead.

The calm and confident way he'd first approached and introduced himself to them had been so different. Then again, the Keeper had been a fresh student, and he'd been in a senior position, giving him more power during that conversation. They supposed he was likely putting on more of a demure aura now to contrast his previous haughty behaviour, that or he was genuinely just feeling shy.

Whichever it was, it was unbearably cute, and the Keeper fought the itch to pounce on him.

“There wasn't any reason to reject the invitation, so we figured, why not.” Sebastian on the other hand, walked in like this was something he did every other day, scratching idly at the back of his head and glancing about. “Garreth and Amit not here yet?”

“Garreth's downstairs, he volunteered to get the dishes we ordered from Sirona.” Poppy explained, gesturing towards the open seats in invitation.

“And Amit is making sure that he doesn't put anything weird in them.” Natty added as the three took their seats, the Keeper sitting between their boyfriends, with Ominis seated beside Poppy.

“Well, I never, how could you even think I would do something so dastardly?” The ever so dramatic voice of Garreth announced his arrival, balancing two trays of plates and butterbeer, hovering in the air over his wand just ahead of him.

“Easily.” Amit replied instead, appearing from behind him with another two trays.

“Ugh, why do I like you guys again?” Garreth sighed with a flamboyant swish of his wand, lowering the trays to the table, as Natty stood to help unload them.

“Because we appreciate your skill and tolerate your insanity.” The Keeper drawled, accepting a mug with a grateful nod, and taking a cautious sip of their butterbeer. One could never be too careful with Garreth around.

“And you owe your grades to Amit too.” Natty added, settling back into her seat while Poppy happily tucked into her meal beside her.

“Ugh, such disrespect, I shan't stand for it!” Garreth declared, brushing his fingers through his hair with exaggerated offence, before folding his arms and pointedly dropping into the open seat beside Sebastian.

Amit shrugged as he himself settled into the last chair, between Garreth and Natty. “Well, to your credit, you were surprisingly easy to teach, you're a fast learner.”

“Ugh, don't say that. I've heard that line a million times from my aunt.” Garreth recoiled with an exhausted expression, raising a finger and imitating Professor Weasley's authoritative tone. “You're a bright boy, it'd be a waste if you don't put it to good use after school.”

“After school... feels like the last six years have gone by in a flash.” Poppy sighed wistfully. “Hard to believe that we'll be starting our last year in Hogwarts in less than three months, I guess we should really be thinking about our future now.”

“And I've heard that one another million more, my aunt’s been badgering me about my career plans and what steps I'm taking to work towards them next year.” Garreth grumbled, picking up a fork from the tray and taking an aggravated bite of chicken from his plate.

“Not a bad suggestion honestly.” Natty flashed him a dry smile as she carefully cut the meat on her plate into neat bitesize pieces. “It’s good to plan for your future before it arrives.”

“The way I see it, if you spend too much time planning and worrying about your future, you'll never get to enjoy your present.” Garreth shot back, speaking between bites of his potatoes. “I'd much rather enjoy what I have, than worry about what might happen to it.”

Natty blinked in surprise. “That's surprisingly deep Garreth.”

The Keeper, who had been silently eating like everyone else, gazed at their boyfriends for a moment and swallowed their mouthful before speaking. “I feel like both of you have a point, but I find it easier to enjoy what I have, and not worry, when I know I've taken steps to protect my happiness.”

Across from them, Poppy giggled when she noticed both Ominis and Sebastian smile slightly at the Keeper’s words. Exactly as she'd expected, the three were so cute together! And somehow, it hurt less that she wasn't the one to make the Keeper happy, when she could see how happy they already were.

“That's true, Miss Peck invited me to speak with her yesterday and offered me a part time job at her store.” Poppy nodded with a serene smile. “She's expanding her catalogue in November and offered to pay me and teach me more about how to care for beasts, in exchange for helping her on the weekends. It does feel reassuring, knowing that I have a path I can take to pursue my interest in care of magical creatures.”

“Nice to see that someone else noticed your deft hand with beasts.” The Keeper nodded approvingly.

“Indeed, congratulations Poppy! That sounds perfect for you.” Natty smiled softly, before adding with some concern. “Though I hope you don't overwork yourself, studying for your NEWTs while having a part time job.”

“I promise I won't, I'll take breaks if I need to.” Poppy reassured with a grateful smile.

Garreth hummed thoughtfully. “Interests huh... I actually got a job offer from the owner of Honeydukes yesterday. His nephew is in Gryffindor too and I let him tes- I mean, try my Whizzbrew last month, apparently, he gave Mr. Honeydukes a glowing recommendation.”

The Keeper flashed a wry smile. “Well, that's reassuring.”

“Hey! Don't say that like you were expecting to be trying poison tonight!” Garreth glared at them.

“After what you did to my hair in third year, I wouldn't put it past you.” Sebastian shrugged.

“I only agreed to come after they assured me that we wouldn't be trying it first.” Ominis also shrugged a moment later.

“Ugh, Slytherins.” Garreth grumbled. “Well, jokes on you suckers, Mr. Honeydukes thinks it was good enough that he's offered me a position as a confectionery researcher.”

“Wow, never thought I'd ever hear of a job that actually suits you.” Amit murmured in disbelief.

“Are you going to accept?” Poppy asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

The Keeper smirked. “Did you tell him that you made it from his stolen Billywi-”

“Honestly, I'm not sure!” Garreth exclaimed, cutting the Keeper off with a glare. “I mean, seventh year is supposed to be busy as all hell, and I’d rather like to enjoy my last year of freed- ahem, school.”

“Really?” Natty raised an eyebrow. “You're going to pass up the chance to appease your aunt and actually be paid to blow cauldrons up?”

“...” Garreth was silent for a moment, before smiling brightly. “So, Natty, with me getting a job at Honeydukes, what steps are you taking for your future?”

The girl snorted, taking a sip of her butterbeer first. “I was thinking of becoming an Auror, so I spoke with Professor Sharp on Friday, after dinner and he agreed to give me some guidance next year so I can be more prepared for Auror training. Oddly enough, he told me not to get my hopes up, but I'm not giving up that easily.”

The Keeper took a measured bite of their mashed potatoes, that might be inconvenient for them, considering their own plans, but they were no stranger to keeping secrets. If they were careful enough, she'd never know of their activities and depending on how they played, Natty acquiring a position amongst the Aurors might even prove useful.

“Oh, that is a fine idea, perhaps I should speak with Professor Shah about a similar mentorship.” Amit's eyes were bright at the prospect.

“It does help to have a mentor, Nurse Blainey has been instructing me in Healing and it's really reassuring having more personalised guidance than a class lesson.” Ominis contributed tentatively.

“Does it? Then I must speak with Professor Shah as soon as possible!” Amit nodded firmly and Ominis smiled, relieved that his comment had been well received.

“Don't worry, Amit, you won't have any competition. At all.” The Keeper flashed a wry grin.

As they spoke to Amit, Poppy turned to Ominis with a wry smile. “I can only imagine how reassuring it must be to be learning healing, considering who you're dating.”

“Indeed, and trust me, the other one is another stress and a half too.” Ominis replied dryly, rubbing his temples in exasperation. “I'm going to have grey hair before I reach my forties.”

Poppy patted him on the shoulder with a knowing smile. “I'd offer sympathy, but I have a feeling you're quite content with that.”

Ominis snorted, letting out a sigh with a helpless smile. “I suppose I must be, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I seem to be beholden to these two.”

Garreth raised an eyebrow as he overhead the statement. “But, Ominis, you're blind- ack!”

A fist came down, landing squarely on the top of Garreth's head.

“Oops.” Sebastian blinked, withdrawing his hand as Garreth held his head. “Sorry, reflex.”

Amit shook his head and waved a hand. “No no, he absolutely deserved it. Please, feel free to hit him again whenever he acts up.”

“I would have hit harder.” Natty added casually, popping a piece of carrot into her mouth.

“Ugh, and what are you planning to be, Sebastian? A commissionaire or a doorman?” Garreth glared at him accusatorily.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, pausing for a moment, before shrugging. “Not sure actually, I just picked the NEWTs I was interested in.”

“That's surprising, I thought you'd be planning to become a professional duellist.” Poppy commented.

“Well, I did lose to a muggleborn with no magical education on their first day of school.” Sebastian grinned sardonically.

“Oh, come on, Sebastian, you can't compare yourself to them, that one's barely human.” Amit exclaimed. “You even had seventh years beat when you were still in fourth year.”

The Keeper snorted at Amit’s descriptor for them. “He's got a point, you're probably the best duellist in school besides myself and the teachers.”

“I'll take that as a compliment. Honestly, I did consider it when I was younger. Though, I don't feel like I'd be interested in duelling as a sport at this point.” Sebastian shook his head, and the Keeper easily understood.

After a taste of true life and death combat, the civilised rules and regulations for magical duels were just restrictive, dull, and boring.

“Really? I thought for a while that you were considering becoming a dark wizard, what with all your time spent sneaking into the Restricted Section.” Natty shook her head with a dry smile.

From her tone, Natty's words were clearly in jest, but Sebastian stiffened regardless, at the suggestion that he'd sought to become like Rookwood, like the man who’d cursed his twin.

“Excuse me. I was doing research to find a cure for my sister. I'll thank you not to make untoward assumptions.” Sebastian glared, his tone harsh and cold.

Natty blinked in surprise, taken aback by his reaction and at a loss for how to respond.

The Keeper placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him, their voice soft. “Peace, love, Natty was only joking, correct?”

“Yes, I apologise, Sebastian. I meant no offence.” Natty quickly followed up, looking rather guilty for accidentally upsetting him.

“It's quite alright, you couldn't have known that we would find such a jest in poor taste.” Ominis reassured her, though his expression made it clear that he wasn't too pleased with her choice of humour either.

“Your sister, Anne, she dropped out of school in fourth year, didn't she?” Poppy asked tentatively, trying to give Natty a moment to recover. “I'd always wondered, there were many rumours about possible reasons, but..."

Poppy trailed off, knowing that saying them would likely make things worse, after all, those rumours had ranged from Anne getting pregnant to an untimely death.

“She's..." Sebastian sighed, placing a hand over the Keeper’s, and gripping it tightly. “Anne was cursed with debilitating pain by Rookwood and it's killing her slowly. The doctors don't have a cure for it, so I've been searching for a way to break the curse ever since.”

Natty flinched, understanding that she'd done the equivalent of saying he aspired to become the man who'd hurt his sister. That'd be about as rude as someone saying they thought she'd make a good Ashwinder or Poacher.

“I- I am so sorry-” Natty began.

“No, it's... It's fine, you didn't know.” Sebastian shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “I never told anyone or corrected the rumours. So, it's only natural.”

“Thank you, that is kind of you to say. Even so, it was a joke I made without much forethought, and I’m deeply sorry for that.” Natty lowered her head. “I’ll try not to make that mistake again.”

Sebastian sighed, great, his outburst had just ruined the atmosphere.

“Perhaps..." Poppy began hesitantly, pushing some beans around on her plate. “Perhaps you might consider becoming a Curse Breaker? I mean, you are trying to break a curse after all.”

“Oh, for Gringotts, yes? That sounds most suitable.” Amit nodded excitedly.

“Curse Breaker?” Sebastian asked, unfamiliar with the job title, aside from that which the name made obvious.

"Oh, my aunt used to be one." Garreth quipped absently and, seeing Amit's incredulous stare, he shrugged in response. "She doesn't like to talk about it though. Bit too obscure a job, I wager, gets people's tongues wagging."

“I see, I suppose I can understand the sentiment. It's a small but elite division of wizards and witches under the employ of the goblins of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. They specialise in exploring ruins, excavating, and reclaiming lost artifacts for the bank. As such, their job entails breaking curses to both access these hidden sites and restore the items’ usability.” Amit gave Sebastian a smile. “If you were to join their ranks, you would likely gain access to their wealth of knowledge.”

Sebastian's eyes widened, he'd spent so long hating goblins, thinking that they had been the ones who'd taken his sister from him. He'd never even considered seeking the answers that he needed from them.

“That sounds like an incredibly dangerous job.” Ominis frowned.

Amit scratched the back of his head. “Ah, well, there is a fair amount of risk involved, it's one of the reasons that Curse Breaker isn't a very desirable or reputed line of work, since they need to be capable duellists and be skilled in arcane magic, but if I recall correctly, the goblins do offer a rather high salary as compensation..."

Natty gave a huff of amazement. "Hard to imagine our head of house doing such an outlandish job."

"And she survived to become the strictest Professor in Hogwarts history." The Keeper snorted, patting Ominis on the shoulder reassuringly. “They likely receive training in handling dangerous artifacts as well, procedures, regulations, safety measures and such. I doubt they enjoy replacing their staff.”

Ominis frowned and protested no further, but from his expression, both the Keeper and Sebastian knew that they'd be discussing this further in private, and it was probably going to be a tough conversation.

“Well, I'll certainly consider it, thank you both for letting me know about this.” Sebastian smiled, nodding towards Amit and Poppy, relieved that the heavy atmosphere had lifted somewhat.

“Of course, I am always happy to share my knowledge of goblins, they really are an incredible race.” Amit paused. “Well, the nicer ones, that is.”

“That goes without saying.” The Keeper flashed a wry smile, thinking of Rookwood and Ranrok. “Mad men have neither kings nor gods. They exist in every corner of society and, driven by pain, they harm indiscriminately. Both others and their own.”

The statement hung in the air for a moment as the group digested its meaning, before Poppy gave a quiet laugh, drawing attention to her.

“Same goes the other way too.” Poppy smiled, and Ominis was surprised by the weight in her tone, one that he quickly recognised as the way he too would speak about his parents. “There can also be kind people that appear in any place, driven by love to protect.”

“Indeed..." Ominis nodded, he was getting an inkling of the Keeper's reasons for giving Poppy such high regard. His thoughts returned to the Keeper's actions, that could be read as cruel like his parents’, yet were taken to defend their home. “There are as many different reasons for actions as there are people. Some motivations may be similar, but no two are identical.”

“Wish they'd teach that in school.” Sebastian grumbled, now rather ashamed of his vehement hatred against the entire race of goblins on the account of one movement alone, and he popped his spoon into his mouth with a sigh.

“Would be a little difficult, I'd imagine, to teach such a concept in a classroom.” Amit hummed thoughtfully.

“You think so? I feel like it's doable.” The Keeper swirled their spoon in some gravy, thinking of Lodgok and Fig. “There are examples of flawed stereotypes, even in a classroom. Point the small ones out and kids will learn, then they will carry those lessons into adulthood.”

Garreth pulled his fork out of his mouth and jabbed it in the Keeper's direction. “Speaking of lessons learnt, you're learning pretty well too, trying to change the subject so we’ll forget that you haven't shared your plans yet.”

The Keeper's spoon stilled.

“I have no idea what you speak of.” They scooped a spoonful of mashed potatoes into their mouth indifferently, looking away pointedly, while Ominis chuckled behind his hand and Sebastian almost choked on his butterbeer.

“Sure, you don't, now out with it.” Garreth grinned.

Poppy giggled. “I must admit, I am fairly curious myself.”

“Surely you must have some idea of what you would like to do. You're taking seven NEWTs, are you not?” Natty asked, looking surprised at their reticence.

The Keeper sighed, they'd hoped to avoid speaking of their plans, considering how much of it was unsafe for casual conversation. It likely wouldn't go over well if they mentioned how much human organs sold for on the Wizarding black market, according to Tynx. Though they supposed they could make vague mention of some of their more scrupulous means of acquiring coin.

“Not particularly, I have been considering simply working freelance as an independent contractor.” The Keeper shrugged, before smirking. “I'm not fond of following orders.”

Ominis and Sebastian promptly snorted at the same time, while Garreth spluttered indignantly. “Excuse me!? Whatever happened to ‘taking steps’!?”

The Keeper shrugged nonchalantly. “I never said I was referring to steps taken for employment.”

Ominis looked slightly concerned, likely over the possibility of a negative response to their indifferent tone, but to his surprise, Garreth simply guffawed, grinning wryly, and shaking his head. “Fair enough, I doubt the Hogwarts Salamander would have much issue finding work anyway, what with your broad skill set.”

“Salamander?” Amit blinked in confusion.

“I suppose you wouldn't know.” Natty hummed, noting Poppy's curious expression as well. “Our friend here is rather reputed for filling requests.”

Natty turned to the Keeper, shaking her head. “Honestly, I don't understand where you get the time and energy, the sheer amount of things I've heard can't be possible with your workload.”

They waved a hand dismissively. “Grades dropped a fair bit this year, though I guess we can blame those bullies for most of that.”

“Oh, right!” Garreth's eyes lit up and he glanced over the table, finding that most of the plates were empty as well as the mugs. “Let's not forget, the star of our night!”

“I'm not sure that's how the saying goes..." Amit raised an eyebrow as Garreth pulled out his bottle of Fizzing Whizzbrew. “I think it's supposed to be the star of the show-”

“Now, let's properly celebrate trouncing those two tossers!” Garreth raised his bottle eagerly and popped the cork off the top, a sizzling sound emerging from the bottle.

“Oh, that smells rather sweet.” Ominis commented as Garreth swished his wand and vanished the remaining contents of the party's mugs.

“Are you kiddi- really, Garreth?” Sebastian complained as the remaining half of his butterbeer vanished.

“Trust me, my sceptically-challenged friend, you'll never desire any other beverage ever again! It'll even make up for your lost hair.” Garreth winked as he poured the contents of his bottle into the seven mugs on the table.

“Really, Garreth?” Sebastian asked again, his expression as deadpan as his voice.

“Don't drink yet.” Ominis reached across the Keeper to cover Sebastian's mug.

“Really, Ominis!? You too!?” Sebastian exclaimed, slumping onto the table with a pout. “I already told you I'd wait.”

“Oh, come on, Ominis, I even said that Mr. Honeydukes gave me a job for this drink, clearly I didn't poison his nephew!” Garreth rolled his eyes.

“And I'm to simply believe that story in the first place.” Ominis smiled wryly.

“Ugh, Slytherins. How did he even get sorted into your house?” Garreth grumbled to himself.

“Sebastian's cunning, when he wants to be.” The Keeper chuckled, patting their lover on his head consolingly.

“Can somebody please just drink it so we can move away from this topic?” Sebastian groaned against the table.

“Hehe, I trust you, Garreth.” Poppy picked up her mug with a smile and Natty's eyes went wide with alarm.

“Wait, Pop-” Natty tried, but she'd already taken a sip.

“Oh, it's actually quite pleasant, tingly and sweet.” Poppy commented with a surprised expression, before shivering a moment later and giggling as she began levitating several centimetres off her chair.

“See? Told you, it works perfectly fine and tastes great!” Garreth beamed proudly. “Thank you, Poppy! Why, you truly are the bravest individual at this table, you would have made a fine Gryffindor!”

Natty sighed, shooting a light glare at him. “If anything, it's her considerate nature that you just took advantage of.”

“Oh, no need to fuss, Natty.” Poppy blushed as a burp escaped her, right as her sip's effects wore off and dropped her back in her chair. “Garreth wouldn't hurt us.”

“...yes, I'm sure he wouldn't.” Natty's glare was a bit harder now and Garreth swallowed.

“O- of course I wouldn't!” Garreth cleared his throat and made a grand sweeping motion. “Now, as you can all see, the drink is not poisonous!”

The Keeper snorted and took a sip, cautiously followed by the rest of the group. It was certainly sweet, but not overly so, with a flavour strongly reminiscent of Fizzing Whizzbees, as to be expected. As well as a fascinating sizzle that popped in the back of the throat rather than on the tongue as the candy did.

“...this is... actually pretty good.” Sebastian finally muttered, after floating over his chair for a few moments.

“I have to admit, I wouldn't mind buying some to lift my spirits from time to time.” Amit commented as he cheerfully bobbed from side to side in the air.

“Heh, good one.” Sebastian grinned.

“It's... not bad, nice work, Garreth.” Ominis smiled in amusement, trying not to grip the table too obviously as he hovered in the air.

As their sip had already worn off, the Keeper casually placed a hand on his hip, pulling Ominis over their lap through the air and wrapping their arms around his waist, feigning a small display of affection to offer him stability. They most certainly weren't taking advantage of the opportunity to mark their territory in front of the others, on the off chance that his demure aura was giving anyone ideas.

As he watched Ominis’ cheeks flush, Garreth hummed absently. “Huh, I've been wondering for a while actually, don't pureblood houses usually have marriage contracts for their kids like those bullies? How come you guys are together?”

Immediately after his words came out, Garreth saw Ominis stiffen, before both Sebastian and the Keeper's eyes pinned him with a sharpness that made him flinch.

Garreth waved his hands hurriedly. “Ah! I- it's alright if you don't answer that, I know that kind of thing is pretty private, I was just wondering is all-”

The air was tense for a moment, before Ominis sighed and squeezed the Keeper's stiff shoulder lightly. “It's fine, I was looking for a good opportunity to request that our relationship be kept between the seven of us anyway.”

The levitation from his drink began to wear off, and Ominis jostled slightly as he dropped into the Keeper's lap, placing an arm around their shoulder for stability. Somehow, still managing to look poised, perched on the Keeper's lap as he was, Ominis cleared his throat before continuing.

“Unlike my older siblings, my... defect gave our parents the impression that I wasn't worth bartering off to another family for politics.” Ominis waved a hand airily, though he couldn’t quite keep the bitterness from his tone. “Didn't even protest when I left the family home in second year.”

“It's fine, innit?” Sebastian smiled, covertly placing a hand on Ominis’ knee, squeezing lightly under the table. “My house isn't all posh, but it's pretty comfortable I'd wager.”

Ominis huffed lightly. “Indeed, certainly warmer than that stuffy old place. Thanks to their disregard, I suppose I am somewhat free, though I'd still rather not draw undue attention.”

“I'm sure everyone doesn't mind keeping us a secret, since his parents might disapprove of a muggleborn like myself.” The Keeper gave their friends seated around the table a sharp glance. “Right guys?”

“Of course!” Poppy immediately exclaimed, her eyes both sad and resolute, simmering with empathy. “It doesn't matter what your parents think, Ominis, you're wonderful enough to have two people who love you and I'd never do anything to jeopardise your relationship.”

Ominis blinked in surprise, at first startled by how vehement she was, but soon found his heart warming as the rest of the group chimed in one after the other.

“You needn't ask.” Natty nodded sagely. “I think the pureblood politics of you Brits are hogwash anyway.”

“Seconded, my family's blood is so-called ‘pure’, but we couldn't give a damn about all that rubbish.” Garreth grinned, giving a thumbs up.

“I see no reason to avail myself to such people in the first place. I've never been particularly fond of the way most of the pureblood nobility regard goblins as beneath them.” Amit shrugged.

Ominis swallowed, he hadn't expected such acceptance from a group that weren't even his fri-

“After all, we're friends!” Garreth chortled, wrapping an arm around Sebastian's and Amit's shoulders each, making them yelp in surprise.

“When did I make that arrangement-” Sebastian grumbled as he tried to escape.

Amit laughed dryly. “Ah, just give his enthusiasm a minute to wear off and he'll release us.”

Ominis chuckled quietly, as the sound of Sebastian tussling with Garreth reached his ears, along with the occasional yelp as Amit was dragged along and he felt the Keeper shift under his thighs, their breath warming his collar.

“There, love, wasn't that easy?” The Keeper whispered into Ominis’ ear, making him shiver. “Told you.”

He gave a wry huff of amusement, lacing their fingers under the table. “I suppose you were right again.”

“Better get used to it.” The Keeper purred, pleased to have yet another claw anchored in him.

“...I think I'd like that..." Ominis murmured in return, smiling softly.

All the while, Poppy fought the urge to squeal from across the table, at the hungry gleam in the Keeper's eyes, like a beast in a mating dance. An expression she'd never seen on their face before. Just as she’d thought, they were so cute together!

Notes:

Apparently, according to blabbermouth Professor Kogawa, Professor Weasley was a Curse Breaker, and she doesn't like it being brought up because she's focused on her teaching job. Thanks for yapping about it Kogawa.

In the random NPC dialogues, you can find some talking about Anne and those only ever say “Anne left”, no one in school besides Ominis seems to know what exactly happened to her and Sebastian also never spoke about Anne until inside the Restricted Section with MC, and even then, he spoke of it vaguely and in passing, playing down the amount of effort he'd gone through to save her.

As such, I believe that Sebastian finds it difficult to talk about Anne's situation to others, understandably so, since he was so firmly believing that “Anne can be cured”. I imagine that, for him, saying out loud, that he was struggling to find a cure for her and that no one else thought it was possible would hurt himself, would make it feel real and unchangeable, speaking it would crush him under the weight of his task.

The task that no one believed he could accomplish, the task that he was undertaking completely alone. Well, he's not alone anymore, so I think he'd be more able to talk about it without losing his ability to communicate with actual proper clear words.

Feel free to look at my first reply to a comment (on the AO3 comments) for a deeper dive into Sebastian's, Ominis' and Anne's psyche, it's the super super long comment, can't miss it! (I'd move it to these notes, but then the notes would be longer than the chapter x'D)

Also, here's a funny, now that Poppy's totally shipping, remember that moment in Seb's jelly outburst smut, where Sebastian was “imagining how Poppy might react to seeing her crush like this”? Yeaaaah, Sebastian, she'd probably get a nosebleed or something-

“Mad men have neither race nor religion.” Was a statement made, if I recall correctly, by a French man, whose brother died in a terrorist bombing, and he made this statement to protest against racism towards Islam as a whole. I remember reading it in an article and loving it so much, such a beautiful statement that sums up the ridiculousness of hating an entire demographic of people because of a few bad seeds.

That's like saying all men are bad because some are rapists or that drag queens or transfem are dangerous because some genuine sickos with malicious intent used makeup and dresses to hide among women. Absolutely ridiculous. Every organisation and country and religion will have bad people in there by virtue of it having people, and the loudest and most visible ones are usually the mad ones.

I believe that we shouldn't make sweeping statements about any group and some bad seeds are not an excuse to suppress a minority group. Just make new laws and increase security for everyone, both transfem and women, problem solved! More types of toilets or just change them all to the handicap toilets style.

Safe spaces for women and safe spaces for transfem, and in fact, safe spaces for boys and transmasc as well, because even straight cisgender men with soft features suffer sexual assaults too. Such progress in security and overall safety will only benefit all people, regardless of gender or sex, on a whole in the end.

(Also, I tweaked the quote slightly for an older vibe in the chapter, and I went searching but couldn't find that article again so if anyone finds it, please link it to me, thanks xD)

#hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt #sebastian sallow #gender neutral mc #mc x sebastian sallow #mc x ominis gaunt #sebastian x ominis #sebastian x ominis x mc #hogwarts legacy fandom #hogwarts legacy fanfic #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #fanfic #jazlr welcome to your life #jazlr #lgbtqia #nonbinary

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