#i am student of both english and german

[caineinthecorner]

Languages (The Others)

★ Based on my language general hcs + the brothers' hcs.

Hi I am sleep deprived. Behold part two of my shitty hc delusions wooooo.

"Caine you missed some" yeah I'm lazy (+ don't know their characterization well enough). If you want to add hcs for the guys I skipped you can but in the meantime I'll go with the basic bitch options

Gentle reminder I make shit up. (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

★ Solomon.

Okay so like I said with Asmo he knows french (and they're both nasty with it)

Basically he rizzed up Asmo in french

Using the dude he was in based out of he also knows English (native probably), Welsh, German, full-ass Demon Tongue and like some latin for magic bs. Idk

(bcs the guy lived nearby those countries in ye old Europe(tm) and something something immortal so why tf not learn languages while at it)

(also of course he learned demon tongue. He wants to rizz up demons and what better way to do that)

He learned demon tongue from random demons and a lot of trial and error

Plus he knows japanese if we are under the pretense that mc is japanese.

So like Solomon tries to use language rizz to get close to you as the other human student in Devildom. So basically using the Asmo trick with you.

... He's kinda painfully obvious with it

(how tf did Asmodeus fall for this shit?)

If you don't speak any of the languages he is fluent in his ass will ABSOLUTELY pick 'em up and be like "hey I want to learn:)"

He uses language as a tool to get what he wants basically

No wonder him and Asmo get along

If you know a language that is not loquar-translatable and he speaks it as well prepare to get secret-talk'd a lot.

Not having people spying your convos is a incredibly valuable asset in Devildom

Especially since you're around the brothers almost 24/7 and they're fucking VIGILANT

Oh also he 100% knows that Asmo fakes being shit at English.

But he's a simp so 乁⁠(⁠ ⁠•⁠_⁠•⁠  ⁠)⁠ㄏ

★ Luke.

FUNNILY ENOUGH. Two things:

Yes he doesn't need Loquar to communicate with you since he's an angel BUT

For some reason (cough your heritage cough) he keeps messing up in which language speak to you with.

Angel instincts are telling him to just use whatever language with you but the thing is that You Don't Know Whatever Language

Which is odd because that's something he only does with fellow angels????

But you are human so

He doesn't think much of it. He's probably just confused because he's around mean demons! >:T

(His basic subconscious instincts are harder to control since he's low ranking and his Angel brain is going "You = angel = language doesn't matter")

But since he keeps somewhat messing up around you he decides to gesture to hell when talking to you just in case

so you get the gist through his mannerisms in case his words get fucky

His least favorite language ever is Demon Tongue. Even outside of Not Liking Demons he doesn't like how throat-y and intensive it is.

↑ that is a popular Angel opinion btw. Demon Tongue in general is just annoying to use for them and barely any Angels use it outside of in-the-moment communication with Devildom natives.

If you ask him his preferred language he'll say some form of Latin since it's the preferred language of most high ranked angels, as well as Michael's.

But it's actually English.

★ Simeon.

Since he is was a high rank angel, he doesn't mess up what language speak to you with. He has real good control of stuff like that that comes with experience and age.

(in fact he's very confused why Luke keeps messing up so bad around you but doesn't think much of it since Luke is technically still a fledgling)

I already said this but yeah his preferred language is Archaic Latin (shared it with Lucifer pre-fall).

Ever since Lucifer's fall he switched to plain English and that's the answer he'll give you if you ask.

Only Angel that isn't bothered speaking demon tongue and will do so at his own leisure.

If you try to learn the demon language he is unironically so helpful because he isn't a spiteful bitch like Lucifer and actually teaches you shit without throwing you into the wolves

In fact Simeon is amused as hell over the fact that Lucifer is making you learn the hard stuff first. That is so him.

He's like the good cop of the learning dynamic. Cool substitute teacher vibes

Simeon finds accents to be the cutest thing ever since it is an inherently odd concept for someone fluent in Everything Ever

He has (jokingly) cooed over Luci's accent when he speaks Latin nowadays. Lucifer is not at all amused.

★ Barbatos.

He knows every language.

... Yeah that's it that's the list

Look at me dead in the eyes and tell me this motherfucker does not speak Sumerian

Ofc he knows every human language ever. And Devildom's. He knows™.

Funniest thing is that he doesn't even need Loquar to talk to you. He just deadass speaks your language with full fluency and you Never Notice

You only notice one day while having a normal convo with him and then Diavolo walks in speaking full deadass gibberish somehow and you're like ????? and Barbatos says "oh apologies I forgot to apply Loquar to you here you go"

Like deadass he would fuck with you so hard when it comes to languages.

Do not go to this man for language advice he will teach you proper stuff in the most incorrect way possible

(Probably! Or probably not! It depends! On what? Who the fuck knows™!)

He's deadass a roulette of proper, legitimate advice or literal shitposting

He wrote the Voynich manuscript. It was a housekeeping journal he was keeping in a dead Devildom idiom that ended up in the human realm by accident

He didn't retrieve it solely because seeing humans go insane over it was funny as hell and he has a secondary copy anyway. That book has nothing relevant in it besides like two recipes.

He did go to check back on it once to write down a meat pie recipe Diavolo's father liked bcs he didn't have on the copy

Barbatos is the definition of "wtf what language was that" "yes."

He and Lucifer have random days where they just pick a language to speak to each other. It helps to maintain fluency.

Barbatos jumpscared Satan once by going, full ass unprompted mid convo, "Oh right you speak Tagalog."

He knows what languages everyone speaks like a white girl knows zodiac charts

★ Diavolo.

Ok so he probably knows English since it is Solomon's native and humanity's current universal(ish) language

Like of course he wants to communicate with humans! Of course he'll learn their language!!!

Unlike Barbatos and Lucifer who are very impressive Polyglots he's realistic in his language stuff. The more down-to-earth of the three

His English is hilarious

Not particularly because he says things wrong but his accent and tone just makes it sound incredibly funny

He sounds exactly like a dubbed-over superhero doing a friendship monologue At All Times

He is so earnest with it that you don't have the heart to explain why you're laughing

Anyhow fun fact:

Loquar for some reason translates what he says in Demon Tongue the most literal ass sense possible for literally no reason

Which is odd(tm) but mostly just funny as all hell

Everyone has been troubleshooting whatever the fuck happens to Loquar Ad Vos with Diavolo but no idea so far.

The phrase "have you tried unpapplying it and applying it again" has been uttered more than once unironically

The working theory is that since Diavolo is royalty and Loquar Ad Vos was created with the sampling of normal demons it works wrong on him since there's something different(tm)

Reverse engineering the Loquar spell to work on him has been in the works for a while. Loquar is drafted like shit since it is an old human-oriented spell (Basically like spaghetti code needing to be rewritten), so it proves a bit troublesome.

You later find that Diavolo speaks in a very uniquely pronounced manner

↑ Think of it like Devildom royalty has a very distinctive Way Of Speaking. Like an accent but also not. Probably magic related in some way(?)

"do you want to consume nourishment" ← Diavolo's ass getting mistranslated

So yeah Barbatos or Lucifer kinda have to lend a hand when you two communicate.

If you're English speaking then you two kinda communicate that way sometimes. You reassure him on his accent and help him along if he gets anything wrong.

(he's fluent-ish in Japanese as well if we are running in the assumption that the reason why MC's canonically japanese is because they needed someone who A) speaks a language translatable by Loquar Ad Vos B) is also a language Diavolo knows and C) is not of the same social background as Solomon)

He will get so unapologetically excited when you start learning demon tongue. You two can!!! Communicate even more!!!!!

Demons will be genuinely mortified if you gain Diavolo's accent while speaking demon tongue. Why does this random ass human speak like royalty ತ⁠_⁠ತ

Very (un)subtle way to tell everyone that you're besties/partner/whatever of the literal prince of Devildom.

Something something dragon being possessive something

[soupy-girl]

in honor of spommy week ending here are some facts about the teacher au i made for it

- in case it was unclear, Tommy is an english teacher (yes i am spreading the stereotype that english teachers are gay but i am gay and about to be an english major so it is allowed)

- spencer is a physics teacher bc the “students pranking a ‘hot’ teacher by asking them to prom” actually used to be a thing at my school and it was a physics teacher!

Now speedround of what everyone else teaches!

kimmy- gym (and she coaches girls soccer)

angela- theatre (whenever the kids are being annoying she threatens to make oliver the musical next year and they hate it)

courtney- art (her husband shayne is an english teacher at their rival school (both their students are very nosey about it))

chanse- choir

damien- german

also amanda is the school secretary !!

- alex tran is spencer’s ta and he is just as annoying as trevor and arasha

-speaking of trevor and arasha, they went to prom together. interpret that however you want.

[kindaconfusingme]

JULY UPDATE (master's thesis)

2nd Update (July):

Hello, hello!

Just thought I'd give a little update on how it's going, it's been a while since the first and last update so far. I'm still working with the data, it's taking longer than I thought it would (mainly because I am an anxious person with the wish to do everything to the best of my ability, leading to a lot of insecurity and sometimes procrastination. Hurray.) But everything is moving forward, which is a good thing, and I currently hope I'll wrap things up in a few weeks. Can't promise anything though, because if things went as I planned I'd be finished by now.

I'll keep you posted!

___________________________________

1st Update (March or April, I don't remember)

Hello!

I hope you can tell by the smiley little me above how thankful I am to everyone who helped share this survey and participated in it. And to everyone who wished me luck with my thesis!! (Oh, and to my friend Jojo, who took this little colored pencil drawing I sent her and digitalized it for me.) I know that this topic is very emotional to people, so I am extra appreciative that you took the time and energy to help me out. Since I seem to not know how tumblr works despite being here for nearly 10 years (as already said in my comment in the notes of this post that might have led you here), I am not yet sure how to efficiently ensure that everyone who would be interested in the results will be informed when they are “presentable”. This post for one will be updated when there is news (which will take an amount of time I can’t specify yet, the data analysis and putting it all into a written thesis will take its’ time) and I will leave it pinned on my blog until my thesis is complete so it is hopefully easy to find.

Thank you all so much and I wish you a great day, where- and whenever you exist at the moment.

___________________________

(Original post)

Hello, folk of tumblr!

I’m a german psychology master’s student and currently in the process of gathering data for my master’s thesis. Therefore, I’m searching for people who are interested in participating in an online survey. The study addresses how current and former Harry Potter fans deal with J.K. Rowling’s views regarding trans people.

For this purpose, a study was created that consists of questionnaires and a few open-ended questions. If you are over the age of 18 and are/were a Harry Potter fan, your participation would help me a lot! It would support both my master's thesis and the expansion of the state of research on this topic in general.

Due to the format of the questionnaires and the open-ended questions, it is advisable to work on this study on a PC. Especially because of the open-ended questions, the time it will take you to complete the survey may vary greatly, estimated is a time between 20 and 40 minutes.

The attached link will lead you directly to the study if you are interested.

Greetings and virtual thank you cookies to you!

Note: This study deals with an issue that causes a great deal of distress to many individuals. If you are one of those people, please handle it in a way that is safe for you.

Click here for the English version of the study

(https://survey.aau.at/index.php/199547?lang=en)

Click here for the German version of the study

(https://survey.aau.at/index.php/495548?lang=de)

[firecooking]

Hello. Sorry if someone has already asked before, but how many languages do you speak? I’ve been reading through your TUGS series on AO3 and noticed you write dialogue in English, French, and Hebrew. That and using old 1900s slang… it’s such a neat facet of your works—it provides cultural richness and makes the stories and characters feel much more colorful. But it did get me wondering about the author!

Heyo!

Actually no one has asked me about this before!

I actually only 'fluently' speak English [tho that could be contested with my grammar and spelling habits], altho I'm somewhat capable of conversation in German and can do basic exchanges in Spanish. I've completed most of the duolingo course in Esperanto but my recall on it is rusty, and I've spent time learning Welsh, Canadian French, and Klingon lol

Fun fact about me is I had to teach myself to read and write [educational neglect for students with special education plans is VERY real]. All of the grammar and writing knowledge I have is from books I've read and my German classes in high school.

Most of the languages I use in my fics are very carefully translated! I think any successful internet user who wants to interact with non English speaking areas should be able to read up and learn the translation rules for any language you wish to 'speak' with. It makes it very easy to open a translation dictionary and then get the result you want! Other languages don't work like English you have to learn how to get it done.

That even goes for other ways we used to speak English! We used to speak almost a completely different language mechanically 100 years ago. It is a very careful balance of writing accurate dialogue in the fics where you both use the English lexicon of the time period, get the voice of the character across, try not to have the characters say anything out right offensive [altho that's a touchy subject, words I find offensive may not be for others or others might be offended by what I deem safe to write, its a very careful balance], and omitting words that meanings have changed significantly [like awesome was a very common 1920s word, but you can't exactly have Captain Zero saying that, it'd sound wrong to 2020's ears]

I take my historical research very seriously! I am now very disabled and kinda a loser; so I'm home bound and bored a lot of the time. Things like my fic and art are pretty much my full time time occupier, so I absolutely love spending time getting nit pikcey and specific!

I'm so glad you are enjoying my work! I hope that going forwards I can continue to excite and provide good fic, lord knows the TUGS fandom needs it. Feel free to drop a line any time! I love answering questions about my AU and TUGS stuff in general! Hell ask me questions if you need help with your own stuff haha

[bonpocalypse]

can you please tell me your headcanons for the nationalities of the twst boys pretty pretty please 🥺 also any other headcanons you have!!!

I love love love nationality headcanons, they're so fun to think of!! A reminder that these are my headcanons, I'm not here to start arguments. If anything does come across as offensive/innapropriate please let me know! I'll gladly fix it :)

For the most part, I based the Twst Character's nationalities off of where their stories take place (I'm not all that skilled in headcanons, apologies!!)

Alright, going in dorm order here:

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts: Icelandic/Britsh

I have him as Icelandic purely because of LeafSheep's "Begin at the Beginning," the King Said!! Nordic Heartslabyul has my heart. and ofc since Heartslabyul is based on Alice in Wonderland, he's half-British in my headcanons

Ace Trappola: British

Alice in Wonderland :)

I don't have much to say about Ace, I kinda don't think about him all that much

Deuce Spade: Irish

In coming up with nationality headcanons, I wanted to explore more areas in the British Isles for the Heartslabyul students and eventually decided on Deuce being Irish! I had more reasonings but its 5 am and I cannot think for the love of me.

Cater Diamond: American with English/German heritage

I see myself in Cater. He's one of my highest kins, so he's 100% from West Coast USA. It also makes a lot of sense he'd be American looking at how similar some nations in the Twisted Wonderland universe are to nations in our own world! Pyroxene is really similar to the United States from what I've researched, and Cater's valley accent in the English version of the game really hits the mark :)

As for his heritage, he's English because of Alice in Wonderland and German because I feel it fits him very well

Trey Clover: British

I don't think about Trey often enough sorry :(((

I love him though he's so silly

Savanaclaw

Leona Kingscholar: Kenyan

The Lion King takes place in the Kenya area, and so I put him there!

Jack Howl: American with Kenyan/French heritage

Another Pyroxien!

Kenyan because Savanaclaw was based on the Lion King and that's set in Kenya

French because I have a sneaking suspicion Jack is based on the wolves from Beauty and the Beast

Ruggie: South African

Ruggie was hard to find a headcanon for, but I eventually just took someone else's headcanon that said he is South African

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto: Italian/French/Danish

All come from where the Little Mermaid is set in both the movie form and the Hans Christian Andersen form. The movie itself was set in the Mediterranean Sea, and I headcanon Azul's family to be from around the Nice, France area of the Mediterranean

Danish comes into play from the original source material for The Little Mermaid and the fact that the Coral Sea in Twst gets cold. Also to note, the Coral Sea on the map of Twisted Wonderland is close to the coast of the Queendom of Roses, which is pretty far north!

Jade and Floyd Leech: Danish

Putting these two together because twins

Pretty much the same reasonings as Azul, the book's settings and the Coral Sea :)

Scarabia

Kalim Al-Asim: Saudi Arabian

I'm going to be so honest, I don't think about Scarabia like... at all. So for Kalim, I'm going straight out of where Aladdin is supposed to be set

That also came as a problem, because the movie has a habit of mashing Middle Eastern cultures together. Though I did find that the movie takes place in the Arabian Desert which narrows where Aladdin was filmed to a myriad of countries, one of which is Saudi Arabia

I decided to go with Saudi Arabia since a majority of the desert does reside within that country.

Jamil Viper: Saudi Arabian/South Asian

Same thing as for my headcanons with Kalim, and I got the South Asian headcanon from a mutual on TikTok

Pomefiore

Vil Schoenheit: American with German heritage

Hollywood star here, folks!

German heritage because of Snow White's setting :)

Epel Felmier: Finnish

Ok for this headcanon I went off of the Harveston event

(hey future Bon edit here when its not 5 am and running off of no sleep)

Rook Hunt: Australian

This headcanon is for shits and giggles

It's a running joke between me and my friend that Rook is not French and is faking the accent to sound more "beautiful"

I don't know why we chose Australia specifically but it came to fruition

He can't speak proper French he's literally calling Vil the King of Fish

Ignihyde

Idia and Ortho Shroud: Greek

Hercules is set in Greece!

Diasomnia

Malleus Draconia: French

For Diasomnia I went off of movie settings once again, and Sleeping Beauty is heavily implied to be set in France!

I really feel like I should explain more but that's really most of my headcanons for them, where their movies are set

Silver: French

Silver is tough to pin down since we don't know if he's even originally from the Briar Valley, but I went with French as well

Sebek Zigvolt: French/German

(Bon please please please come back to this)

Lilia Vanrouge: French

I actually have so many nationality headcanons on this dude its not even funny

I imagine him as French, Romanian, and Dutch

And for funnies:

Royal Sword (and Rollo) (excluding the dwarves)

Neige LeBlanche: American with German/Finnish Heritage

Che'nya: British/Russian

Rollo Flamm: French

[tinyreviews]

Tiny Curiosity: Etymology of Pupil and Foal

Pupil(student) and Foal may seem like totally different words with different meaning... 

But as usual, I am here to let you know they share etymological root!

Pupil:

From Old French "pupille" (14th century) and Latin "pupillus" (feminine form "pupilla"), both meaning orphan child or ward, with "pupillus" being a diminutive form of "pupus" (boy) and "pupa" (girl).

Likely related to the Latin word "puer" (child), possibly stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root *pau- (1), meaning few or little.

Evolution of Meaning:

By the 1560s, the term expanded to encompass a disciple, student youth, or any person, regardless of gender, under the guidance of an instructor or tutor.

Foal:

Old English term "fola" (foal, colt) dates back to the Proto-Germanic word *fulon.

Derived from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root *pulo- meaning "young of an animal," which is a suffixed form of the root *pau- (1) signifying few or little.

Historical Linguistics:

Cognates in other Germanic languages include Old Saxon "folo," Middle Dutch "volen," Dutch "veulen," Old Norse "foli," Old Frisian "fola," Old High German "folo," German "Fohlen," and Gothic "fula."

Related Words from *pau-:

Foal, few, pauper, poor, pupa, puppet.

So, both pupil and foal share the PIE root *pau-, starting from meaning “little or small”, to now meaning “student” and the “young of an animal”.

This is part of my Tiny Curiosity series. I publish worldbuilding tidbits, trivia, etymology to this blog.

[byhisscourging]

Introduction

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅

hello, peace be with you, and welcome to my blog!

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅

About this page:

This blog is mainly intended to be used to compile resources & information i’d like to curate and incorporate into my day-to-day spiritual life, as i’m trying to bridge an odd gap in both my mental health and my relationship with God. you’re more than welcome to stick around if you find my reposts & such helpful :)

my username is a reference to Isaiah 53:5, “by His scourging, we are healed.” the blog title is the English translation of my paternal family’s motto: “Elatum a Deo Non Deprimat”

the word “witch” is in quotations marks within my bio simply because although “witchcraft” is probably the closest word to describe what it is i’m practicing, the title of “witch” feels like something i have outgrown and is no longer accurate to my spiritual practices and such. no judgement intended toward anyone who does refer to themselves that way!

─── ⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆ ───

Here’s some very basic information about me:

my name is Francis, though you may call me Frankie if you’d like!

i am 22 years old — an October baby!

i am a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic

i have attended Catholic school for all levels of education i have received thus far

i am a student of theology with a concentration in interfaith studies at a Jesuit university (and am also aiming for a minor in peace & justice studies)

a non-negligible part of my personal theology/relationship with God has been influenced by Buddhist thought, particularly in regards to theology of the body

i have an 18 month old kitten named Assisi (nicknamed Sisi!) who followed me home on the feast day of Saint Francis <3

─── ⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆ ───

My interests related to this blog include:

folk Christianity (especially) Catholicism, including: Irish/Celtic folk Catholicism; Appalachian (especially southwest PA/north WV) folk Christianity (Catholic and/or Protestant); Slavic folk Christianity; German folk Catholicism; and Britannic folk Christianity

folk witchcraft/magic related to the aforementioned practices

Braucherei

how to be more Christlike

the Five Wounds of Jesus and the Sacred Heart

Marian Devotion (my relationship with our Virgin Mother has never been the strongest, which I’d like to change)

saints and practices involving working with saints, especially but not limited to: St. Joan of Arc, St. Dymphna, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony, St. Expiditus, St. Joseph and St. Paul of the Cross

angels, guardian angels, and archangels, as well as practices involving working with all three

bibliomancy (specifically with the Bible) or other Christian-oriented/inspired divination

trans theology

cats and Christianity

witchcraft regarding familiars, chiefly cats

spoonie witchcraft

urban witchcraft

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅

GODBWYE!

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅

[gellertalbus]

Hi! What’s your take on Gellert childhood and Durmstrang years?

❗ long post warning ❗

very VERY interesting question, thank you anon! Trying to guess Gellert's childhood is one of my fav hobbies. Let's get on with it!

Family: my headcanon is that he comes from a rich austrian pureblood family. Like his father probably worked for the austrian/german ministry or had a (boring) high position due to his family name. From his mother side, someone must've been a Seer in the past leading that part of the family to be slightly hung up on Divination while his father was more skeptical about it. They lived in Vienna but also had an old half-abandoned castle among the Alps, the future Nurmengard. Gellert absolutely loved to go there. He was an only child. Also my headcanon is that he played the violin. I read a lot of fics where Gellert plays some music instrument and it's mostly the piano, but i think the violin suits him more. I myself am a fan of violin music and the wide range of its sounds (gentle, enigmatic, elegant, epic, rough, romantic, sensual, tragic) is like Gellert's personality put into music. Also, Jamie playing the violin? That is a sight to behold!!

Looks: he has his mother's blonde curls and cherubic aura (she is a Bagshot from her mother's side, hence she's Bathilda's niece) while his chiseled features and overall facial structure come from his father.

Childhood: i imagine he was a very energic and impulsive kid, always moving, always doing something, learning, exploring, daring, spending a LOT of time on books but also outside. He often disobeyed his parents using his precocious powers whenever he wanted and not really caring about the consequences. This unsettled Herr and Frau Grindelwald, like i'm not saying they were scared of their son, but they knew Gellert was different, that he could do things other kids his age couldn't, that he was a prodigy (i just KNOW baby gellert was capable of intentional wandless magic and no one can change my mind). He received a strict education as it usually was in the 19th century, learned different languages such as english, french and russian and could dance a damn fine waltz.

The Sight: he had his first vision when he was about six/seven. They were just brief glimpses like flashes that left him very confused and shaken up. As the visions came more frequently and more unsettling he began to kinda isolate himself, being more silent and less lively. Like if you think about it, having the Sight is a very awful business, i'm not trying to justify his future actions whatsoever, just saying that waking up every day knowing that all kinds of horror and destruction might happen in the future SUCKS and that surely took a toll on his soul and personality.

Durmstrang: this is rather obvious but he was top of the class in pretty much everything, like from a certain point professors didn't know what else to teach him so he just sat at the end of the class bored as fuck. Students either feared him due to his Sight and the common knowledge he delved in Dark Magic more than the usual durmstrang policy allowed or they idolised him because of his charisma and idealism. He had friends but I'm not sure if he ever considered them as such, more like "people i happen to spend the time with". Some of them might've ended up as pawns in his grand scheme of things. Like this is one of the many factors that drew him to Albus. Being both brilliant, outstanding and always way ahead of the people around them, they surely must have felt constantly out of place, isolated, alone.

Possible trauma: Mads actually hinted at the possibility he went through some traumatic experience involving his family and the muggles hence his hate for them and i quite agree with him. Maybe his mother was killed? Both his parents? Again, give us some crumbs...

He saw Albus in his visions: this is a common headcanon and i couldn't not mention it. I think that yes he saw Albus in his visions way before he went to Godric's Hollow but did not necessarily act on it. Like he just kept Seeing him and felt a powerful connection to those blue eyes framed by gorgeous auburn hair ❤

Also, and i think we can all agree on this, Gellert is definitely a cat person right?

Thanks for your question, anon, and apologies for the rant! 🖤

[niemernuet]

Franaud - an introduction

Sooo, the genius of @ticiie willed the pairing Franjo/Arnaud into existence and while on first glance I was a bit 🤨 I am now fully converted and convinced they are skiing's next power couple. They have similarities, for example their tragic pasts, and they have differences that make them a perfect fit for each other. Because I have nothing better to do (I do but my hyperfixation doesn't let me...) I wanted to do a short introduction on both of them (it's just an excuse to post a few pictures).

First, there's Franjo

He is the blueprint of an average Swiss zoomer from the boonies, in the picture above visible by his stance. Born in 2001, he lives in a constant traffic jam in Boltigen (the town is on the only road to some of Berne's biggest ski places and is basically backed up with cars from Dezember-March). He loves speed in every form, not just on skis but also on motorbikes and in cars.

Because he is from the Canton of Berne and specialised in downhill he is hailed as the heir of Beat Feuz. With his third place in the second race in Garmisch in the past season he did nothing to mitigate these hopes. He was on the podium with Odi, and like Marco he is genial and easy-going and loves a good time with friends. But he has something not even Odi has: a drink of his own.

He almost had to give up racing though because his father died when Franjo was just 17 and in the middle of his apprenticeship as carpenter. Thanks to a crowd-funding however he managed to get enough money to keep going.

Btw I swear I read in an article that his name his an amalgamation of Franz-Josef but for the life of me I can't find it anymore.

On to Arnaud:

He is from Martigny in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and has the most charming accent when he speaks German or English. (also I listened to a radio interview and he could seriously work as the guy who speaks the dialogues on tape for students learning French; he's very easy to listen to) He joined the world cup for the first time in the past season together with Franjo. Unlike Franjo, however, he is already in his mid-twenties (only one year younger than Odi). The reason it took him a bit longer to get into the big league is that he was fate's punching bag for the past few years.

He showed passable results in the European Cup before the pandemic (this one's from the last season but there's Gilles too, so I was powerless) and was allowed to compete in the team try-outs for Wengen 2020. Back then, Lars Rösti (who lives not far away from Franjo) was the reigning youth world champion in downhill. Arnaud beat him in practice but despite his results, the coaches chose Rösti for the last starting place in Wengen. This threw big waves, especially in Valais where people (probably a teeny bit rightfully) assumed that head coach Stauffer, like Rösti and Franjo from Canton of Berne, had shown preferential treatment. Arnaud was promised a start at one of the remaining downhills that season but only one week later, he broke his knee in the European Cup and was out for the season.

(Small parenthesis: Judging by his social media he is a more talented hustler than Franjo whose charm is more...rustic. Here he is listening to one of his sponsors while having very petable hair.)

Once his knee was okay again, he broke his arm, and was out another season. He returned in 2022 and won that season's European Cup in Super-G, which meant he had a fixed place for the past season and no chance to lose it anymore. He was not nominated for Beaver Creek and the first downhill in Val Gardena. Because he won points in his very first Super-G in the World Cup though, he was finally allowed to start in dh too, and the rest is history. He won his first podium only a few weeks after Franjo when he came third in the Super-G in Saalbach.

Btw, a little added shit-dollop to that shitty decision in Wengen: Back in 2020 his father was still alive. He died in 2022 though, and thus never saw his son race in the wc. In the interview I read Arnaud doesn't explicitly talk about that but he mentions that he was very hurt by the decision, and also mentioned his Dad in the post before his first start in the wc.

Why they are perfect for each other:

On first glance, it would be understandable if these two would be nothing more than co-workers. All that is missing from Franjo's entire existence being a pure cliché of a proud Swiss hick is a cow in his profile pic, while Arnaud is more...cerebral. He studied economics and works part-time in a bank over summer, and one of his best friends is Tanguy (that is Dartmouth alumnus and expert-straddler Tanguy Nef to you). Their characters, however complement each other and make them a perfect fit. They are both popular and well-liked by the people around them, and they are both funny as hell. Franjo's humor is more of the straight-forward kind, he's a happy-go-lucky man like Odi while Arnaud can be a downright sarcastic little shit (evidence).

In conclusion, I think there should be 173 fics about these two in all stages of relationship. Thank you for your attention.

[sysy-studyblr]

hey! i just finished my grade 12 exams and was looking into studying in germany. i was just curious what exactly you’re doing right now?

hi! so I have been waiting for someone to ask me this omg!!! currently cracking my knuckles opening up my laptop to answer this one

curriculum

so! essentially the main thing here is whether your high-school diploma is enough for university study, i.e: is it qualified as a Hochschulzugangsberechtigung, HZB. I did the International Baccalaureate diploma, and based on the curriculum (and subjects chosen) you have studied, the route will be different for you. the German curriculum is of course best for studying there, but the IGCSE one is solid too. I am not sure for others, I live in kenya, so the main education systems are the Kenyan one, IB, and the Cambridge IGCSE one. best websites to use to figure out how to get there are as follow. DAAD is based on anabin, but anabin is from the culture ministers conference (the OG guys of deciding this study)

DAAD:

https://www.daad.de/en/studying-in-germany/requirements/admission-database/

anabin:

https://anabin.kmk.org/no_cache/filter/schulabschluesse-mit-hochschulzugang.html#land_gewaehlt

the main categories are:

a. diploma valid in both country of education + Germany

b. diploma valid in only country of education, not germany

c. diploma not valid

field of study

based on your choice for your field, and also bachelors, masters or phd, all play a role. stem courses will generally not be taught in English, and you will just have to know German, if you want to study stem. unless you can find a specific international university, there are almost no courses (I could not find even one pure physics course in English) for stem in English. if there are, you will probably compromise on quality of education.

humanities courses are taught in English, so if you go into literature, business, psychology, economics, hotel management, etc. there are plenty of courses at very very good universities.

public universities are usually the best in Germany, have relatively low tuition (recently introduced in some uni's for international students) and are extremely high in quality.

what I am doing rn

my diploma went into category b, above. despite getting above average IB points, being a student with tons of extracurriculars, the subjects I took, along with the general regard of the IB diploma in Germany resulted in my situation.

I have to do a studienkolleg (a foundation course for international students). in order to apply for a stem oriented course, as I am going into physics (women in stem!!), I need a studienkolleg, and in order to go into the studienkolleg, I need B2 German.

I have essentially taken a year off (may 2023 - sept 2024) to figure out how I am getting there. I started German in September 2024, after figuring out I need to know it + I need a foundation. everyone online has said you can't learn a foreign language in a year - do not listen to them, it is entirely possible, difficult, but honestly doable.

so yeah! ask if you have any other questions. despite all this, the reason I want to study there is quality of education in relation to tuition, the job market, the benefits for international students, and the quality of life.

[moonchild-in-blue]

darya 👀👀👀👀 you maybe happen to have more women x death imagery like the one by Appolonia Saintclair? i can kneel and bow and do chores and i can cook decently if you care and i can kiss your knuckles tenderly btw … whatever it takes

Sophi honey, I am so sorry about the upcoming infodumping...... This is probably not quite what you asked at all, but alas. The art graduate jumped out. I don't have many sexy naked ladies riding Death for you, so here's a very brief overlook of Death and The Maiden depictions in art instead?

(i accept the cooking and kisses and return them tenfold)

For those who are wondering, this is referring to this beautiful piece by @apolloniasaintclairofficial, tasteful drawing of a naked woman sitting on Death's lap, while he holds a dagger. Beautiful and erotic.

I mentioned in the tags how much I loved seeing depictions of Death and women in art. Now, in art history, this is a recurring motif dubbed Death and The Maiden, often with erotic and sacrilegious undertones, and particularly prevalent amongst German artists. I did a quick google research on the origins of it, and according to the internet, was a common theme since the Middle ages, originating from the Danse Macabre allegories, with a significant revival in the Romantic Period. (wikipage here)

The allegorical motif of ‘Death and the Maiden’ (a young girl, often in a passionate embrace with a skeletal figure) had been popular with German artists and musicians since the Middle Ages, and its reminder of transience and mortality was especially appropriate during this period of foreboding (referring to WWI). [taken from the Tate's entry about Meidner's Death and the Maiden]

Here are some very interesting articles about Death and The Maiden throughout history - Paintings for our time: Death and the Maiden and Death and the Maiden. From Schubert to Schiele. I read them both while researching this, super informative without being overtly verbose. Great selection of art pieces.

Death and the woman, by E. Munch

I'm very fond of this drawing by Munch (huge fan of his lol). Every time I see Death and Women embracing each other so tenderly, my heart breaks for a second. There's just something that is equal parts sensual and tender, something that transcends the inherent sexual appeal of erotic art, something poetic and poignant. Oof.

Here are some selected pieces by K. Kollwitz - X X, and this beautiful piece by E. Schiele (a student of Klimt, you can see the similarities in style).

Also, the revival during the Romantic period was in great part due to Schubert's Der Tod und das Mädchen (Death and the maiden), a lied he wrote based on this beautiful poem by Matthias Claudius, which would later be used in his piece String Quartet No. 14, also known and Death and the maiden. The poem:

The Maiden: Pass me by! Oh, pass me by! Go, fierce man of bones! I am still young! Go, dear, And do not touch me. And do not touch me. Death: Give me your hand, you beautiful and tender form! I am a friend, and come not to punish. Be of good cheer! I am not fierce, Softly shall you sleep in my arms!

Also! I found this super interesting book (it's a free english pdf) called Erotism - Death and Sensuality (og. L'Erotisme) by Georges Bataille, which explores in depth the relationship between erotica, death, taboo, sacrifice, Christianity, and many other themes. I haven't read it but this does look incredibly interesting so. I know what I'll be reading next.

I could go on and on and on about WHY I am so fascinated by these themes, but that would result in yet another big-ass post, and I think this is enough info for one day lol.

(before I forget, I just want to point out that this directly overlaps with depictions of Hades and Persephone, seeing as Hades was often times associated with Death itself - even though Thanatos is the one who embodies the Reaper figure in the Greek myths. So I'm sure you'll find some other tasteful pieces if you go down that route).

[hawaiianpizzaenjoyer]

Duuuuuuude please make a Peggy gcse headcanon list that sounds so fun!! If you decide to do it too I'd love to be tagged in it!

AAA STOP ILYSM YOUVE LITERALLY GIVEN ME MOTIVATION FOR THIS NOW 🫶🫶

so, without further ado...

PEGGY CARTER GCSE HEADCANONS!!

!! FOR ANY NON-BRITS/PEOPLE WHO DONT KNOW WHAT GCSES ARE, I'VE LINKED A WIKI ARTICLE HERE !!

!! also i know that different schools have different systems for GCSEs, but im just gonna go with what mine did :) !!

SO.

We all know Peggy had to do Maths, both of the Englishes and triple Science, but i feel like she wouldve LOVED English Lit the most. She would've definitely been one of those kids who were like best mates with their English teacher fruity behaviour?. She was also definitely one of the student librarians for her school's library.

~---💬---~

For language, I am a firm believer that Peggy did German and Latin. She probably would've picked German because Michael did (the classic familial language gcse sitch), but i also feel like she would've really liked classics in year 7 and 8 (grades 6 and 7 i think) and decided to stick with it for GCSE. I also think she didn't like French at ALL.

"Why in gods name do I have to memorise the gender of a chair?? Who decided that bloody rubbish??"

(shes so real though ngl, genders are the bane of my existence)

~---🌍---~

Like language, Peggy was probably a double humanities student. She probably did History and Geography, and her favourite topics in each would've been the Tudors for history (she would avidly defend Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard in lessons) and the human side for Geography!! She probably looked at NY as a case study for overpopulation and rapid-rate industrialisation and rolled her eyes, muttering about what sort of madman would willingly stay in a city like that.

~---🔨---~

Lastly, her practical subject. This was a tie for me between PE and Product Design, but I realised I know nothing about GCSE PE (core pe girlies unite), so I'll go with PD for now.

Peggy definitely put her heart and soul into her NEA (non-examination assessment, basically coursework) for Product Design. By the first week, she probably had like a billion sketches done up and had started looking at materials. I feel like her mother didn't like Peggy doing a "man's subject", until Peggy built her a birdhouse that looks like their house and all was forgiven. She definitely met all her NEA deadlines on time, too. Like, she was an academic WEAPON. Even her teacher was scared of her when she was using the saws and that.

~---✏️---~

In terms of overall results, she was definitely one of those people who got all 9's (grade A**), and would probably've cried if she got an 8 (I would be too scared to tell her my results ong 😔)

In terms of A-Levels, I'd have to think about that one ngl, so if this post does well, I might do an pt2!!

~---💕---~

@captainsophiestark thank you sm for the ask and giving me motivation to actually write this out and post it 😭🙏

[german-enthusiast]

Hi :) I hope you are well.

I am learning German and was wondering if I could get some audio book recommendations on Spotify ? I enjoy historical fiction, the classics and weird surrealist literature. My favorite book in English is a tale for the time being by Ruth Ozeki I also liked that book called Perfume but I have forgotten the authors name. I would also like any tv or movie recommendations too if possible :)

Thank you !

Hi!!

I've only JUST reinstalled Tumblr and I'm so glad I saw your ask!

(I'll give short summaries of reccs and links in a list later in the post!)

Surrealist lit and classics? have i got the book for you!

Die Verwandlung von Franz Kafka (Eng: The Metamorphosis) professionally recorded on Spotify.

It might be a tough one, being classics and from 1915, but the text should be available online to read along!

Once you've finished that, I suggest reading (the english) Haruki Murakami's "Samsa in love," a short story based on Die Verwandlung!! (available online!)

Other surrealist classics could be "Der Steppenwolf" (Hermann Hesse) and "Der goldene Topf" (E.T.A. Hoffman) - both of which were works analyzed in the Abitur (german highschool graduation exams) and thus might be especially tough, but on the flip side there's thousands of German resources about the books online!

"Der Goldene Topf" is on Spotify, Steppenwolf doesn't seem to be...

However! As you progress (idk your level but classics tend to be difficult even for natives), you might come to appreciate Reclam (a german publisher) with a focus on classics (known for their small yellow books)) and, great news, they publish professional recording of German classics on Spotify!

In terms of classics, here's my favorite: Stefan Zweig, a german author especially famous for his short stories. One of them, Schachnovelle, is on Spotify by Reclam here!

To be honest, Schachnovelle is a favorite because they made it a movie a couple years ago and it is SO. FREAKING. GOOD. (bad news: incredibly different from the original story but in a way you get two great stories under one name so I'm not complaining!) on the OTHER hand, I just found out that there's an audiobook of the book of the movie on Spotify, so you can also listen to that and then watch the movie (or vice versa)

TV or Movie reccs: if you can, get Netflix and a VPN! with the vpn you should be able to make Netflix think you're in Germany and there is barely a show/movie on German Netflix that isn't dubbed (or at the very least subbed) - really, we dub everything (and it's not bad either most of the time!!)

Besides that, our "öffentlich rechtliche" (the publicly owned) channels have got "Mediatheken" (basically Netflix for their shows) and you can watch most that is published on those channels in TV here (ARD, ZDF,...) on there (often with subtitles! (i should make a post about this, damn!)

Here some german movie/TV reccs on Netflix: Fack you Göthe 1&2&3, (T)Raumschiffsurprise, Petterson and Findus, Mord mit Aussicht, der Tatortreiniger

(Reminder that most shows/movies you already know and love on Netflix will probably be dubbed in Germany! AND that in Netflix in a browser, one can browse by language!)

List of reccomendations & links:

Die Verwandlung (Franz Kafka) - man wakes up in body of a bug (link)

Der Steppenwolf (Herman Hesse) - man thinks two wolfes live inside him

Der goldene Topf (E.T.A. Hoffmann) - man falls in love with a snake who is the daughter of a magician who is a lizard or something? (link)

Die Schachnovelle (Stefan Zweig) (movie version) - austrian notary is arrested by the nazis because he has access to money of noble families, he's put in a hotelroom and deprived of mental stimulus to make him crack but he discovers chess to keep himself sane (link)

Reclam Spotify (link)

On Netflix:

Fack you Göthe - criminal poses as a teacher to get access to the basement of a school where his loot is hidden, teacher-student bonding, Eylas M'Barek (actor) national treasure

(T)Raumschiff Surprise - parody of Star Trek, really funny (maybe moreso to natives), at times a bit problematic because it's from 2004; Germans LOVE it

Petterson and Findus - old man with his cat. cute. nordic. cozy.

Mord mit Aussicht - policewoman from Cologne is relocated to a little rural town (she's a city person, yknow?), little town shenanigans, murder and cute bonding ensues (maybe quite german humor?)

Der Tatortreiniger - a man who cleans up crime scenes for a living. Each episode is him cleaning a different crime scene until a person comes around and starts talking to him (about their life, his job, ...) (similar to MmA, has got the same actor, similar humor)

ARD Mediathek: (link) https://www.ardmediathek.de/

recc: Sendung mit der Maus !!! (a show for kids with both little stories and explaining how the world works, a classic for all german kids, was aired sunday mornings and part of the sunday ritual for many!)

ZDF Mediathek (link) https://www.zdf.de/

I couldn't find non-classics on Spotify that fit your type but should I find some in the future I'll message you and maybe someone else has some reccs!!

Hope this helps!

And I really reccomend the Mediatheken!!!

[blueberry-beanie]

@2-trees tagged me in this tag game a while ago! Thank you, Maddie <3

Do you make your bed?: I try to! I have some small pillows and some decorative blankies. But if I feel bad or if I'm in a rush I might not make it. Or if I just lie around in bed all day lol

Favorite number?: I am not a big "numbers magic" person but I use 42 a lot - a Coldplayer thing

What's your job?: (unpaid student) radio editor, (working student) journalist at a newspaper

If you could go back to school, would you?: No. There are things I miss though, like my fave subjects and the teachers who believed in me and inspired me. And seeing my close friends daily was a luxury, now that we are scattered through the country and I need around 8h to travel to them.

Can you parallel park?: I do have a license, but I can't drive at all anymore. Back in driving school I was very good at parking though!

Do you think aliens are real?: I think the universe is too enormous for us to be the only living beings out there. I also think it is too vast for discovering other life forms any time soon.

Can you drive a manual car?: I used to! Now I can't drive any.

What's your guilty pleasure?: Eating too much chocolate? Being obsessed with things nobody cares about? You tell me.

Tattoos?: nope

Favorite color?: spring green and autumn colours

Do you like puzzles?: I've never really got invested in them, no interest

Any phobias?: people from my past finding me

Favorite childhood sport?: horseback riding - can't afford the time and money at the moment

Do you talk to yourself?: yes, quite a lot and actually both in German and English lol

Tagging @knockmeforsix, @beetlejuce, @there-is-purpose-after-all, @bellezzamortale if you haven't answered this already, sorry! I'm late with this one.

[theaistired]

Blog introduction

Hello, my name is Thea (she/they), I’m acespec, arospec, and autistic. I speak German and English and I am trying to learn Italian, Swedish and Arabic (learning three different languages at once is complicated, so trying instead of actual learning). I’m a big fan of the fantasy genre and like to read, write, draw, play the piano, and occasionally play video games. I also love birds and science.

Now, this is my main blog where I post about my writing, my art and also stuff in general. I might also post about some of my own music in the future. You can find a short introduction to my WIPs under the cut.

Hope you enjoy and I'll see you around on tumblr!

Galidean: A fantasy series that was supposed to be a trilogy but has grown into a much longer series. But I guess that is what happens when you look a three different projects and think to yourself "wouldn't it be hilarious if the took place in the same setting". So, the series can be divided into three different "eras" with their own little "main plot", but there is also a plotline running through all of them mostly in the background.

A hundred years after the joined victory over the Dark Sun, the human nations gather together in celebration. Future leaders attend a journey through each other's home, during which it becomes clear that scorching raids have left their marks over all the territories. With no apparent culprit, a prince, an orphan, a lord, and a sorcerer band together to find the power that turns banishment into death. With the help of a friend and a sibling, they start chasing mysteries and legends across the world, unaware that they all take root from the wounds of the world itself.

Old Gods: A fantasy series consisting of 3 – 4 books, while I also wanted it to be horror, that part has gotten somewhat lost while developing it. Oh well.

Cyr was young when the war started, he was young when he joined it and he was not so young anymore when the enemy captured him. After four years of imprisonment, he comes to terms with his inevitable fate. Surrounded by enemies, hated by his allies, stripped of his magic and will, there is no escape for him. While the voices and visions invade both day and night, Cyr prepares for his final day. His only true solace is the new courtesan who has endless stories of hope and rebirth to tell him.

The Human in Us: An urban fantasy series, that really is just two characters and my investment in their relationship in a trench coat. All started by me looking at different supernatural YA stories and going “wonder how I would do that”.

Students, alcohol and an abandoned house should have been the set-up for a fun, maybe spooky anecdote in their future. It should not twist and turn and talk, it should not turn nightmares real, it should not make Josephine’s hallucinations even more vivid and grotesque. Yet it does, and one month later, a burning girl appears to give her an envelope containing an address and a promise of answers.

There Are Voices In the Void: A sci-fi horror story, set in the same setting as a different sci-fi project of mine, but story-wise not connected to it.

While investigating a nebula, the scientists of the crew gather samples of cosmic dust, finding an unknown organism on it. The head biologists determines it to be deceased and proceeds with further testing. The death of two of his colleagues soon afterwards is just the beginning of the nightmare.

Little Remains: A bit of crime fiction/thriller, that happened by me looking at YA mystery series and going “wonder how I would do that”.

Detective Morgan has worked on many gruesome cases in the past, most of them took place in bigger cities with an anonymous population. When a teenage girl is found dead in the fields of a small town nearby, Morgan first assumes an outsider to be the murderer of the unidentified victim. However, with the murder of a local student a few days later, even the tight-knit community quickly realises that one of them is far more familiar with the gruesome case than the rest of them. Unwilling to sit back, the student’s friends start their own investigation, while Morgan begins to struggle with old ghosts.  

[mentallyshattered]

Everyday Freak of Science: part 2

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Incredible.

When I first heard the place was fancy, I started to fear that the place would be like the fancy lab I was made and raised in: sterile white, repeating halls with no decor and only intuition to determine which hall's where.

But, this? This is incredible. There's water- I can't swim or "touch" it, per say, but I can feel it- a comforting pressure on my being. Everything is a kind of fancy I'm not used to: more modern, with décor, color, shapes, and an overall oceany feel I'm not used to, although I should be. I am a shark in part, after all.

I'm hit with inner conflict rather soon: some part of me, the shark part, feels at home and in place. The other part of me- the part that was made instead of sampled from an embryo- feels like I don't belong; like I'm contaminating this beauty with my unnaturalness.

My feelings must soon be pushed aside, though. Before long, I get a real introduction, along with the rest of Octanville's shiny new students: the boy with the off-white hair stands on some kind of raised platform, the lights shut off, and a fucking spotlight shines upon him.

"I am Azul Ashengrotto," he starts, "your new housewarden. Welcome to Octanville. This dorm is based on the benevolence of the Sea Witch, something we try our best to embody, in part by running a café: the Monstro Lounge, which all of you will have the opportunity to work at. Volunteers are always appreciated. First-year dorms are down that hallway. First come, first served, two per room. Choose wisely, as you will be sleeping there until the end of the school year. You are dismissed."

Well, that was sudden. Hey, wait- I'm gonna be late! I want a good pick of the rooms. Should I run? That's what the others are doing. Okay, I'll try- ow! Okay, that hurt. Guess I'm just going to have to try again.

Okay, I can do it now! Let's see... I was near the hallway entrance back at the lab, so I want to be close to the end of this hall. Is there a room? Yep! Mine. I'll take the bed on the left.

Hey, I don't have any stuff... guess I'll just lie on this bed to claim it, then. Ooh, this is extremely soft!

I don't wake up until Jade wakes me up, softly shaking me and whispering.

"Wake up, Requiem. We have something to discuss."

My tired mind recalls a memory: my favorite researcher, softly shaking me awake just like this whenever I dozed off during a test. I like this.

"There you are. Come with me."

The room on the right side of the bed looks like someone else has claimed it. No suprise, there's only so many rooms.

Jade leads me to a place that reminds me of the managers' offices from the shows I was sometimes shown for testing and research. It's probably just that: an office. Azul sits at the desk, clearly waiting.

"Hello, Requiem. It has come to my attention that you are the only student who is not on the list. Why is that?"

"Um. I don't know..."

"Why not?"

"It's my first day..."

"Well, obviously." Azul sighs. "What day did you submit your application?"

Application? "I didn't apply for a job."

"College application. When did you submit it?"

"I'm here as a student, aren't I? Not staff."

"That's... ugh. Okay, allow me to clarify: I have your name and year. I have your year because you just arrived and transfers have a special entry process, which you did not go through, and I have your name because Jade got it at the entrance ceremony. That's it. No birthday, no species, no age, no native language, nothing. As housewarden, that makes much of this very difficult."

Oh, I get it. He wants to make a file on me.

"My name is Requiem Melanopterus. I'm 16 years old. I am a blacktip reef shark, I was made on March 24, and my native language is English, though I am also fluent in Russian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, and Polish."

They both appear shocked now. Azul, in stark contrast to Jade, is shocked silent.

"You're fluent in nine languages?" Well, O probability should have considered that most people would be suprised.

"What do you mean, made?" Oh, Ashengrotto can still talk? I was worried I had hurt his voice.

"Well, I was made in a lab. They started with a blacktip reef shark embryo, then altered the DNA bit by bit to make a mershark. Then they wanted to test my learning ability, so..."

For a solid minute, nobody speaks. Then,

"How would you like to work at the lounge?"