#i hate nosebleeds cause we have really thin blood so we bleed for a WHILE and a LOT

[thr4shit]

Yayyy more blooddd /sarc >:(

[majorasnightmare]

continuing from my last post about tadpoles and brain damage and disability, and also on that whole "for Development Team reasons the party does not react to dark urge Lore Drops, but im interpreting it as character flaws anyways" dealio

immediately post absolute befuckening its like. the fucking DRAMA

because its a steadily increasing amount of Emergency Crises. like first of all astarion is now subject to vampire rules again and starts burning in the sun, so being the de facto leader dirge obviously rushes to shield him as best he can and drops a darkness cast on top of themselves, except hey. the worm thats been holding your brain together? just dissolved into thin air. fun fact about brain bleeds: it actually starts oozing down your esophagus, and only rarely leaks out from your eyes, and nosebleeds are typically a sinus capillary bursting from stress or irritation. it will on occasion leak from your ears, especially if its alongside a skull fracture (which will leak fluid from your ears first)

so id like to think that even before dirge starts showing symptoms, astarion starts to smell the blood on his breath, and then it just quickly spirals downhill from there as the wound reopens due to not healing properly in the first place. starts trying to find a way to get astarion to safety before trailing off and then gets increasingly heavy on astarion as he struggles to support himself, and it quickly becoming obvious something is Very Wrong. dirges injury not following explicit realism because Bhaalspawn and Drama, so even as it reopens its trying to properly heal, leading to oedema, the inflammation and swelling causing aphasia. so now your stuck about to be burned by the sun as soon as this cast is over, and the partys main crisis solver is now PART of the crisis, and steadily losing the ability to meaningfully communicate and becoming more and more of a dead weight

so now we have TWO crises, and one of them is the guy whos spent the past several months being the Guy Who Plans Our Way Out Of The Crisis. after spending so much time offloading the mental burden of problem solving onto this One Guy Whos Admittedly Pretty Good At It, now we have to handle an exponentially worsening situation. no telepathy cuz the worms are gone, so theres the struggle of trying to communicate whats happening quickly and clearly. no spell slots or resources cuz we just went through a boss rush. wylls all out of warlock juice cuz his pact with mizoras been fulfilled and she dipped. does an abandoned house count as public? run in, claim it, and invite astarion in while you support/drag dirge into the building, whos quickly becoming insensible, and then on top of all that we have to deal with karlachs engine. because anything that can go to shit right now, absolutely will

its like. everything gets offloaded onto him, because he cares and hes capable and hell get it done, so he makes the decisions and he talks to people and haggles with traders and gets them a free inn room and helps all their personal problems and life crises, and everytime he broaches the idea of asking for help for himself, it gets shut down. im having these urges for violence that really scare me, what do i do? its normal its fine it isnt anything to be scared of, everyone experiences this, just focus on killing whats in front of you. and then alfira dies and everyone pulls away, asks whats WRONG with you, and its like. oh. okay. i have to do this by myself. and if i dont, then ill fail, and people will pay the price, and the people i love will rightfully hate me for my lapse of control. and then no one reaches out, about the injury confirmed by omeluum, or about kressas torture, and further still they ask him to face the only two people left who ever knew him before he lost everything, and kill them. and he cant save either of them and has to choose his loved ones NOW over his loved ones THEN, and everyones too embroiled in their own issues to even really fully realize.

and then you cant ignore it anymore. you cant ask him how to handle this, what to do, have him guide your hand or comfort you, because now HES the crisis. the problem, confirmed a hundred times over by a hubdred different people, stares you in the face and refuses to be ignored anymore. the defining injury, the last remaining legacy of a past you never really reckoned with because you sat on the sidelines for it, the last echoing rattle of a ghost you never thought about, is now here to claim the friend who saved your life without asking a single thing in return, and its doing so explicitly because YOU never once thought about it or how to handle it. and now its all coming down around you on what should have been your final victory, but you never tried to tie these threads up!! and if you dont figure something out NOW, your going to lose EVERYTHING

like god. i love it. i think everyone should have to sweat, and try for just a day to handle the sheer load of bullshit dirge had to deal with daily. like it isnt enough to care when he doesnt ask anything of you, now you have to put your money where your mouth is and do it of your own volition cuz now he cant ask for help. and not just him but you have to save your other two friends having their own crises concurrently, all while feeling woefully unequipped and worn down and exhausted, and maybe think about how youve never seen him sleep except in those brief and short rests you take while on the road, and how he has to bury his face in blankets every morning to hide from the sun or else hell vomit, and how much medicine he has to take just to do the same shit you do every day.

and like. of course all the origin characters are CAPABLE of leading! its just that theyre never made to in the same way they are during an origin playthrough, cuz in those there isnt a tav or a durge to save them for them. they have to do it themselves, and help carry everyone else besides. but that just adds to it for me, like you COULD have done something to help this earlier, but you didnt, because this was easier and didnt seem to have any consequence because.. what exactly?

that he just seemed inhumanly durable? he could handle it, he could do it, hes been doing fine so far, if he needed help hed ask for it (nevermind that youve forgotten that when he did last time, you wrote him off and then didnt connect the dots between a bard dying in camp and the upsetting scary violent urges he asked for help with before. do you ever wonder how scary it might be to wake up having absolutely zero control over your body and the actions it takes and seeing that, without your awareness, you killed someone you wanted to journey with? brutally, violently, sadistically murdered her, all without even a shred of awareness. you cant be trusted to lose control of yourself for even a moment), if he wanted to talk about what happened with kressa hed say so, if there was something to say about his injury it wouldve been said, if he ever reached out to me id have helped him like he helped me, but you didnt and you didnt and you didnt and now everythings going to shit and you dont know what to do because your first instinct is to ask him but you dont even know if hes conscious anymore, laid out on omeluums desk and steadily bleeding where you cant stitch it closed, and you have to make sure astarions okay, that karlachs okay, that your all okay, and he did this every day this whole time.

like personally i really just enjoy putting the party through their paces, JUUUST a lil bit

[heavenlyhaechan]

A Thin Line (Between Love and Hate)

Pairing: Sunwoo x Gn!Reader

Genre: enemies to lovers au, high school au, fluff

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: cursing, mentions of blood (nosebleed), kissing, childish behavior, cliche after cliche after cliche af-

Note: Happy birthday Sunwoo, I think we all know that I love you the most. I wrote this quite a while ago, so if it doesn’t match my current writing style, that’s why.

The shrill sound of the school bell pierced your ears, and you watched as students began to move up and down the stairs around you like you were a stone in a rushing river. Five minutes until class started, and none of the underclassmen wanted to be late. You stood up, bidding your friends farewell as you did so. Pulling your bag over your shoulder, you started up the stairs towards your first class.

As you walked into your chemistry classroom, you heard your teacher reminding you of today’s quiz in a monotone voice. You nodded absentmindedly in his direction, more concerned with the person currently sitting in your seat. He sat with his back to you, bent over laughing at something his friend had said from the back of the room.

Your friends looked up at you as you reached your table, their eyes full of apprehension. Dropping your stuff to the ground, you cuffed the intruder on the back of his head, prompting him to look back at you, startled.

“This is my seat,” you said, although you knew he didn’t need the reminder.

“Is it?” Sunwoo recovered quickly, his eyes steely. You had seen people tremble under that gaze, but you knew him better than that. You hadn’t spent a lifetime knowing him just to get scared off by one look.

“Yes. Now move.”

“Somebody’s cranky this morning,” he sneered.

“Somebody needs to shut up,” you snapped back. “Don’t you have a class to get to?”

“Mm,” he made a sound of agreement as he stood up and stretched his arms over his head lazily. “See you later,” he said as he walked past you to the door, his shoulder bumping yours violently enough that you knew it hadn’t been an accident.

“I hope not,” you said to his back as you sat down, but he ignored you.

You were surprised. Usually, Sunwoo just had to have the last word, no matter what lengths he had to go to get it. You shrugged it off, making up an excuse for his behavior in your head as you turned to greet your friends and prepare for the quiz.

—

You strolled along the running track on your way to the bus stop, taking your time as you were well aware that the bus wasn’t coming for at least another five minutes. Your headphones successfully drowned out the sounds of the world around you, including the soccer practice happening to your left. In fact, they were so successful that you didn’t hear the shouts of warning until it was too late. By the time you saw the soccer ball hurtling directly towards your face all you could do was close your eyes. The next thing you knew, your face was stinging, and your nose felt like it was on fire.

A familiar face came running towards you, followed by most of your school’s soccer team. “Are you okay?” Sunwoo called out as he reached you, his voice much too loud for your liking.

“I’m fine,” you answered as a crowd of sweaty teenage boys surrounded you like you were Cristiano Ronaldo.

“You’re bleeding.”

You reached up to touch your nose, and soon felt a warm trickle of blood that confirmed his words.

“Shit,” you muttered, bending forward to hold your nose.

“Give them some room boys!” you heard someone shout, and the crowd began to thin, leaving only you, Sunwoo, and the soccer coach standing on the track.

“Take them to the nurse Kim,” the coach said gruffly, gesturing towards the school building. “And be quick about it.”

“Yes sir,” Sunwoo nodded once before grabbing your free arm and towing you forward. You followed him, too focused on keeping any blood from getting on your clothes to pay attention to where you were going.

“Do you think it’s broken?” he asked as he looked at you, his hatred of blood making him cringe.

“I don’t know.”

“You should have been paying attention,” he griped as he led you down the hallway.

“Do I have you to blame for this?” you deflected expertly.

“No, you have yourself to blame for not paying attention.”

He seemed to be growing more agitated by the second. Luckily for you, agitating Sunwoo was your specialty.

“You know if it is broken, I could probably sue you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wanna bet?”

The two of you came to a stop outside of the nurse’s office, staring each other down. Finally, Sunwoo rolled his eyes and reached for the door handle.

“I’m not arguing with an invalid,” he said as he held the door open for you.

“And people say chivalry is dead,” you said dryly as you made your way inside the room, Sunwoo close behind you. Before he could respond you had been swept up by the nurse, leaving him to wait on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs lined up against the wall.

Ten minutes later, you watched as the nurse called your parents to pick you up, even after you had insisted that you were fine to take the bus. Since you’d arrived Sunwoo had stood up and begun to pace back and forth over the old worn carpet. You made your way over to him, wondering why he hadn’t left yet. He turned to face you as you reached him, one of his hands reaching up to fix his hair.

He had pulled a mask up over his nose at some point, and his curls fell over his eyebrows so that the only thing you could see was his eyes. They looked at you, sparkling like there was a whole galaxy trapped inside of them. Your rational mind knew that it was only the fluorescent light’s reflection, but a part of you was sure that you could find the secrets of the universe in those eyes if only you looked long enough.

The sound of your name drew you from your trance and you started, blinking rapidly. Shit. What were you thinking? This was Kim Sunwoo you were looking at. The same boy who had spent a lifetime tormenting you, and you, him.

“Sorry,” you said as you scrambled to find an excuse for your zoning out. “Maybe I have a concussion,” you resolved, cringing internally as you said it. Sunwoo’s eyebrows twitched, and a look of concern flashed across his face just long enough for you to catch it.

“I doubt it; I hit you in the face, not the head. And even if you do, it’s probably not very bad.”

“I hope it is bad, that way I can blame you for it,” you retorted.

He scoffed, and you watched as his eyes hardened, returning to the usual cold glare that he reserved especially for you. “Whatever,” he muttered, finally turning to leave the nurse’s office.

You cursed at yourself as you watched the door close behind him. This was the first time in years that the two of you had managed to have a civil conversation, maybe even a friendly one, and you had ruined it. You hadn’t even thought about it, the words had just spilled out of you. The saying “old habits die hard” was proving to be true.

But then you remembered a more pressing problem: his eyes.

—

That night, your thoughts stole any chance you had of sleeping. While this was not an uncommon occurrence, tonight it felt different. No matter where your mind took you, it always ended up at Sunwoo.

One train of thought went camping, your cousins, soccer, Sunwoo. Another went from the outfit you were going to wear tomorrow, to the quiz you’d had in chemistry today, to Sunwoo. For what felt like hours your thoughts followed this pattern, until finally, you fell into a restless sleep, dreams full of the same boy who had been haunting your thoughts since that afternoon and throughout your whole life.

—

“What’s on your mind?” your mom asked on your way to school the next morning. She had insisted that you wouldn’t take the bus that day, even though the nurse had deemed you uninjured.

“Why?” you questioned.

“You just seem kind of out of it.”

“I guess I didn’t sleep very well.”

“Why not?”

You were tempted to blame it on yesterday’s accident, but you knew that this would just make her worry more, which wouldn’t be beneficial to either of you. You speculated some other excuses for a few seconds, before deciding on the truth.

“You remember Kim Sunwoo right?”

“How could I forget,” she responded wryly. You laughed a little as contemplated what exactly you wanted to say.

“I always thought you had a crush on him you know,” she said, interrupting your thoughts. You stared at her incredulously. Now it was her turn to laugh.

“You used to come home from school when you were younger and talk about nothing else but him,” she explained.

“Yeah, cause he was, and is, so annoying,” you said defensively.

“Sure,” she conceded. “But I also think that you’ve chosen to blow up all of his more annoying traits in favor of ignoring his more admirable ones.”

—

Your mom’s words played on repeat in your mind all day long, like the lyrics of a song that had gotten stuck in your head. As you made your way through your day, you tried your best to forget that anything had happened and just go back to the way things had been before yesterday afternoon. This method proved unsuccessful, however.

By the time the school’s bell rang to signal the end of the day, you were really, truly fed up with just the thought of Sunwoo. What right did he have to inhabit your thoughts like this? You had more important things to focus on, things that actually mattered, like your history final, or deciding what you were going to buy your friend for their birthday.

You slammed your locker shut as you rode this new wave of anger, only to see the boy you had just been cursing out in your mind walking towards you. Unfortunately, he had already seen you, and you watched as he detached himself from his group of friends and made his way in your direction.

“What do you want?” you snarled as he reached you, turning for the stairs before he had a chance to respond.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, more tentatively than you had ever heard him be.

“Why do you care?”

“Oh c'mon, I’m not a complete monster, and it was my fault.”

“So you admit it,” you turned to face him. He had followed you up the stairs, and now you looked down at him with a fierce look in your eyes.

“Admit what? That I’m a monster, or that it was my fault?”

“Both.”

He sighed resignedly, walking up the stairs until you were face to face. “Yes, I admit it. But if we’re being honest, you’re not the nicest either.”

“Well, you-” you stopped. He was right, wasn’t he? He may have been the one to start this stupid struggle, but nowadays you tended to provoke him more than he did you. And besides, you had been six years old when all of this had started. Were you really holding a grudge against Sunwoo’s six-year-old self?

“Okay, yeah. I’ve been pretty horrible to you too, but well, you started it!”

He laughed, his eyes scrunching up and his lips parting to reveal that crooked tooth that you had always despised. But maybe you had mistaken love for hate.

“Why did you, you know, start it,” you asked quietly, so quietly that for a moment you weren’t sure he’d heard you. But then his smile disappeared, and you realized that you kind of missed it.

“I guess I didn’t know how else to…” he trailed off, his eyes roaming the stairway as if the answer to your question lay there.

“Didn’t know how else to what?”

“How else to…uh, show you…that…I liked you.”

He blurted out the last three words like they were forbidden. They hung in the air like smoke, slipping into your lungs and making breathing difficult.

“Since when do you like me?” you croaked out.

“Since forever.”

“Really?” you laughed a little as you said it, your mind reeling.

“Well, since first grade at least.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I, um,” he paused, his eyes avoiding yours.

“What,” you said. It was a statement, not a question, but it still prompted him to continue.

“I was scared, I guess,” he finished, his eyes full to the brim with vulnerability. It poured from him, in the way his breathing had quickened, and the way his fingers played with his hoodie strings erratically. This was a new color on him, one you never thought you’d have the opportunity to see.

“Of what?” you queried, intrigued by this, what was it, nervousness? It was so foreign on him that you had trouble putting a finger on it.

“That you’d laugh at me mostly,” he coughed in embarrassment.

“I probably would have.”

He opened his mouth to snap at you, but you stopped him with a hand on his arm. He stared down at your fingers like they were alien, continuing to look at them dazedly even as you spoke. “But I’m not now, so,” you gestured for him to continue.

“I always thought that hating me was close enough to liking me,” he started again. “So I’d, you know, metaphorically pull your braids or whatever. I thought that at least that way you’d pay attention to me.” You could feel the phantom pain as he said it, the weight heavy on your scalp. “And then it became so natural that I didn’t know how to make it right, to apologize.”

“So basically, you’re a horrible flirt.”

He let another laugh escape him, pushing your shoulder a little as he finally met your eyes. “Like you’re any better.”

“I’m a lot better than you, Kim Sunwoo.”

“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that.”

You stared each other down the same way you had your entire lives, but this time you realized how ridiculous all of this really was. Hating each other, not because you didn't like one another, but because you both thought the feeling was mutual. And yet here you were. The line between love and hate is very thin, after all.

Before you could think any further, you did the simplest and most terrifying thing you could imagine. You leaned forward and kissed him. It was rushed and a little messy, with teeth banging and noses bumping, but it fit Sunwoo perfectly.

When you pulled away, the first thing you noticed was how red his ears were. You giggled at the sight, prompting him to look at you questioningly. You reached out to touch them, causing the blush to spread down to his cheeks as well. He looked down abashedly, but you assured him that it was cute.

“Embarrassing you mean,” he mumbled.

“That too,” you laughed again.

He sobered, staring at you with the same look that used to infuriate you to no end. But now, instead of seeing only the stone-cold glare he used to intimidate those around him, you also saw the blush that lingered on his cheeks and the stars in his eyes. Now you could see the potential smile in the curve of his cheeks and the potential pout his lips were waiting to produce.

“Cute,” you murmured again, and his lips twitched exasperatedly.

“Whatever.”

[astoriias]

{ cisgender woman, she/her } ❝ Thank god women learned to whisper / though I crave a megaphone. ❞ huh, who’s CAITRIONA BALFE? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually ASTORIA MALFOY (NEÉ GREENGRASS). she is a 47 year old PUREBLOOD witch who is CHIEF WARLOCK OF THE WIZENGAMOT. she is known for being JUDGEMENTAL, DISHONEST, COLD, RIGID, and CALLOUS but also PRACTICAL, DRIVEN, INNOVATIVE, STEADFAST and DISCIPLINED, so that must be why she always reminds me of the song TOMORROW - MINER and BLACK LEATHER BRIEFCASES, THE CLICK OF HIGH HEELS ON TILE FLOORS, THE LINGERING TASTE OF FAIRY FLOSS, BURGUNDY NAIL POLISH, AND PEARL HAIR PINS. i hear she is aligned with NO ONE so be sure to keep an eye on her. 

BIO

Cursed with a blood malediction that left her and her parents preoccupied with maintaining her health throughout early childhood, Astoria grew up without direction, without passion, and without much to do or think about other than staying alive. She did what she was told and completed what was asked of her by her parents: mostly swallowing thick potions that made her head spin and remaining in bed when all she wanted to do was tumble through the lush gardens of the Greengrass estate and scrape her knees like other children. As she grew older and defied Healers’ expectations — making it past 5, then 10, then 15 — Astoria grew weary of the half-life she’d been prescribed. At Hogwarts, she followed her sister Daphne into Slytherin because she didn’t know where else to go. 

It took Astoria almost a year at Hogwarts before she would speak up in class or acknowledge anyone with more than a handful of words — and each time she did her heartbeat would quicken, her face would flush. If she was called on by a professor and — Merlin forbid — got the answer wrong, her eyes would fill with tears, her gaze would shift to the floor, and she wouldn’t be able to breathe. One day, outside her second-year Transfiguration class, an annoying boy named Colin saw her heavy breathing and told her about panic attacks — Astoria’s irrational fear of social situations and new people now made sense.

That same annoying boy became her close friend not long after. It was a month into study sessions by the Black Lake that Astoria Greengrass learned that her Colin, the boy who kept a camera slung around his neck at all times and was so nice to her, was Colin Creevey, yes, that Colin Creevey, who was petrified by a Basilisk a year prior for being MUGGLEBORN. Astoria found that didn’t bother her very much. Sure, she never advertised that they were friends and didn’t freely associate with Colin in public places, but he understood her position or in the very least, didn’t protest it. She even got him to join Herbology club — though she insisted that they enter and exit the greenhouse at different times and never spoke directly, his presence was a comforting balm.

Colin tried to get her to join up with the student resistance that was brewing in her third year — but Astoria knew she wasn’t the type to stir up such trouble. She couldn’t stand with the muggleborns and blood traitors no matter how right they were; she couldn’t risk losing her family. Unlike those in Dumbledore’s Army, Astoria didn’t see this conflict in terms of black and white, good vs. evil — there were plenty of others like her, struggling to find themselves in the midst of conflict, battling tradition and family expectations. She kept out of Umbridge’s way during that time. Kept out of her father’s way during that time — while he had no Dark Mark to speak of, his entrepreneurial hands passed cursed objects and ingredients for poisons to any Dark Lord-aligned wix who wanted them.

Through her friendship with Colin and her time in Herbology Club, Astoria learned she was a talented witch in her own right. Formed an identity outside of being the sick girl everyone doted on. Quietly realized that her muggleborn classmates  — despite what her pureblood indoctrination taught her — were fully-fledged human beings. To someone who didn’t grow up feeling trapped in the (sometimes socially constructed) confines of a blood illness, perhaps her time in Herbology Club wouldn’t seem so transformative. But for Astoria, it was everything.

Nowadays, Astoria is still defying life expectancy estimations and is perhaps best known for her robust political career. She joined the Ministry as a pupil/intern in its Wizengamot Instruction in Magical Law Program (W.I.M.P.), and in the span of twenty-five years has climbed the ranks to barrister’s assistant, barrister, then Wizengamot member, and finally, the youngest Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot in the last hundred years. She is extremely opinionated about the runnings of the legislature and judiciary, and her past two years as Chief Warlock have been marked by her love for procedure, due process, and fairness -- essentially meaning trials are very thorough and very focused on making sure the Ministry doesn’t overstep its bounds. 

BLOOD MALEDICTION

i’m truly on my bullshit and this needs its own section..........,,,,, i’m sorry

I originally started writing Astoria out of pure spite — it enraged and continues to enrage me that all we’re given about this woman is a few lines about her and an off-page (or off-stage, I guess, but Cursed Child is its own beast) death. It makes me mad that she is only defined by her role as a mother and wife to Scorpius and Draco, that she doesn’t get her own ambitions and a life of her own. The racist and sexist underpinnings of the blood malediction/Maledictus concept are par the course for JK but still, bad!

And while I can’t choose for Astoria to have this particular chronic illness and completely divorce it from those origins, I can at least eschew parts of it I don’t like and give a Astoria a rich and fulfilling life with a chronic/potentially terminal illness — not in spite of the blood curse, but because those of us with illnesses and disabilities are people with rich and fulfilling lives, wants, desires, and ambitions.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE:  I try to be really careful about ableist language when I describe this blood malediction and its effects on Astoria’s life — I think that there is so much to explore regarding chronic illness and what, exactly, we constitute as ‘health’ — but I know that I can fall into the traps of my own internalized ableism. If there are terms or concepts here that make players uncomfortable and/or have harmful effects, let me know! I’m happy to make changes.

So anyway!

— origins of the blood malediction

I don’t have this fully worked out, but I think the Greengrass blood malediction stretches back a good ten generations to a very vindictive-in-her-righteous-cause-Muggleborn-witch cursing the family for their refusal to let her marry their son. It’s not limited to just the girls in the family, because I hate that, but it does affect at least one child per generation, so long as the family continues to marry exclusively purebloods — which they have continued to do, not knowing that their bigotry (though in some cases, real love!) is the reason for the curse’s spread. Astoria’s parents mistakenly believed that since the last few cases of the curse had cropped up in different branches of the Greengrass family — distant cousins living on the Continent — that their children would be spared.

— astoria’s symptoms and treatment

Since it’s a blood curse, I figure Astoria’s symptoms manifest as issues both with her blood and with her cardiovascular system at large. I’d compare it to haemophilia. Her blood itself is thin and cannot clot without healing spells and thickening potions, meaning that nosebleeds are frequent, bruising is easy, and bad cuts can be fatal. She’s at high risk for internal bleeding in her joints, and  a big — though often unvoiced fear — of hers is a brain aneurysm that ruptures into a haemorrhage.

(miscarriage tw) These symptoms have waxed and waned her entire life, with particular incidents that have brought her close to death; an accident falling from the garden wall at five, a wayward spell hitting her across the face in second-year DADA, trying for a child. She doesn’t regret that last one — not at all — though it was five weeks after her miscarriage before she was able to stand unassisted, and her Healer’s face when she said “I strongly advise you to not have any more children” haunts her to this day. Scorpius’s birth, possible due to a wonderful surrogate, was alternatively the happiest day of her life. (end miscarriage tw)

Then there come the potions — a barrage of them, to be taken at specific times of day, with extras if she’s bleeding externally or feeling pain in particular areas — that come with side effects like exhaustion, headaches, and nausea. She visits St. Mungo’s once every three months to ensure that the potions are working as intended and has learned to accept her Healers chastising her for the times she skips parts of the regimen or pushes herself too far physically.

PERSONALITY

astoria!!! my love. clearly i have a lot of thoughts and Feelings about her lol,,,,,,,

there isn’t any world or timeline in which astoria would be rushing to join the death eaters -- lol, i’ve always envisioned her being extremely inquisitive and Critical of other people, their motivations, their methods -- this makes her extremely Good at Lawyering and Suspicious of Bullshit. i also have always thought that it was important for her to make a muggleborn friend or two just to really hammer the point home that pureblood nonsense is just that.

still, again, she’s not really motivated by niceness, she doesn’t have a bleeding-heart-sense-of-empathy, she’s kind of snarky and mean. her friends describe her as an acquired taste. 

has a massive sweet tooth. her family is regularly concerned she does not eat enough vegetables.

adores her son. just, absolutely thinks he can do no wrong. she and draco agree that most parents think their child is the most perfect and amazing child in the world, but scorpius actually is the most perfect and amazing child in the world, so. 

a note on astoria and draco: i think draco doesn’t treat her with pity or kid gloves, and has never underestimated her capacity to get shit done in light of her blood curse. and they have an honesty and rapport with each other that astoria hasn’t been able to cultivate with anyone else. they may not be very great people but they’re great partners and great parents. i luv them ok bye

STATS

GENERAL

name. astoria céline malfoy (née greengrass)

nickname. aster (reserved for use by her sister only!)

birthdate. 1 january 1982

place of birth. greengrass residence via midwifery

family. daphne greengrass (sister), draco malfoy (husband), scorpius malfoy (son)

residence. malfoy manor, wiltshire

occupation. chief warlock of the wizengamot

gender identity. woman

romantic orientation. biromantic

sexuality. bisexual

blood status. pureblood

relationship status. married

pets. a scottish terrier named hades

HOGWARTS / MAGIC

house. slytherin

extracurriculars/leadership. herbology club

allegiance. neutral/no one

n.e.w.t. grades charms (o), transfiguration (o), herbology (o), d.a.d.a (a), potions (a), arithmancy, astronomy (o), history of magic (a), ancient runes (e).

wand. willow, nine inches, unicorn hair core

boggart. tbd

patronus. also tbd! my brain hurts 

magical strengths. nonverbal casting, herbology, transfiguration, ancient runes

magical weaknesses. flying, defensive spells, domestic spells

[rwby-grimm-guardians]

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 2: Beacon’s Fragile Light Ch III

Hey guys! Welcome back! This is the third chapter of Beacon’s Fragile Light. This is the first chapter to be completely original, but it takes place between Forever Fall and The Stray. As usual, please enjoy and give constructive criticism.

Also, please note that this chapter MIGHT be a little nsfw and will most likely (if not DEFINITELY) require a higher rating. Why? Because this will go into the Weapon Spirits’ insecurities on their appearances. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don’t own RWBY or it’s characters.

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“Why do you want to know what we look like without our outfits?” Gambol and Arktis asked. Crescent, now going by her true identity, Summer by a select few, shrugged, “We haven’t taken these clothes off since our creation, right? It’s time we actually took proper care of our clothes, as well as our hygiene.” Ember sighed, “Sum, we don’t need to do that. As Weapon Spirits, we can’t get dirty.”

“HOW DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE!?” Summer shouted. Arktis looked at the other two women, before nodding, “She...does have a point. It doesn’t really make sense. Plus, I’m...kinda curious.” Gambol facepalmed as she sighed, “Fine. We’ll hit the showers.” The three women sighed as Summer grinned like an idiot. This was going to be a long day.

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(Beacon Academy Shower Room)

After arriving at their destination, the four immediately entered the changing rooms. “I might as well go first, considering this was my idea.” Summer said. After receiving no objections, Summer immediately removed her clothes until she was just in her undergarments, revealing her newly-toned body and the numerous scars she obtained in her past life. Ember tilted her head as she looked at the eyepatched woman, “Your undergarments look like a sports bra and undies…”

“I think that’s a binder, actually.” Arktis stated. The other three Weapon Spirits looked at her in confusion as Gambol asked, “What for?” After a couple moments of silence, Summer paled. ‘Oh gods. Don’t tell me…’ Arktis, Ember, and Gambol turned to Summer as she hesitantly unzipped her bra...only to let out a scream. Ember could’ve sworn that the elder Rose’s scream could be heard across the entire campus.

The tallest of the four women began shaking as she stared at her own bust in shock, “ P-Pourquoi ? Why is it…? I WAS SMALLER THAN THIS! WHY DID IT GROW!?” The faunus did her best to calm the tallest of the four, while Ember noticed that Arktis’s eyebrow was twitching, most likely in annoyance, but she didn’t know by what exactly. “Calm down. It’s natural.” The blonde reassured. The tallest and shortest women of the group just looked at her in shock and shouted, “HOW THE FUCK IS IT NATURAL!?”

After the blushing Summer wrapped herself in a towel, she seemed to calm down a bit. Next was Gambol, after the group decided to go in order of tallest to shortest. After removing her earrings, trench coat, and the rest of her attire, she was left in her makeshift undergarments. Summer whistled, “How the hell did you manage to make undergarments out of gauze?”

The faunus Weapon Spirit shrugged, “Honestly, I don’t know. Hell, I didn’t know my undergarments were makeshift.” Summer could tell that Ember was blushing at the sheer sight of Gambol, though she smirked and ultimately decided to spare her from the teasing. “You look...n-nice…” The blonde stuttered in embarrassment. After removing her undergarments and wrapping a towel around her, Gambol smiled, “ Arigato , hun.”

It was Ember’s turn and as she removes her muscle shirt, jeans, and gloves, Gambol’s jaw dropped at the sight of the blonde and how toned her muscles were. Arktis and Summer smirked at each other, knowing that the two probably had some newly discovered feelings for each other. “Um, Gambol? You’re bleeding, Qīn'ài .” Ember said with a smile, snapping Gambol out of her trance. The faunus wiped her face, assuming that the blood came from a nosebleed, “Sorry.”

After Ember wrapped herself in a towel, the three women turned to the Schnee, who was honestly not thrilled. Sighing, she finally swallowed her pride and removed her suit. The fact was, while she did have muscle and healthily thin...she was also flat. Now Ember knew why she was pissed by Summer’s size. “Aww, you’re so cute!” Summer and Ember said, both earning a punch to the arm by Arktis. “ Bitte , shut up.” She sighed, grabbing a towel. Gambol decided to wisely not tease the former heiress.

After getting a towel for Arktis, the four finally began their showers, which was honestly relaxing if you asked any of them about it. Or it would’ve been for two of them had they not focused on their displeasement with their torso features. Despite that, they enjoyed the shower overall and after an hour or so, the women finally dried off and got changed, before heading to the dorms.

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(Beacon Academy Dormitory: Team RWBY’s dorm)

Summer seemed much more comfortable now that she was back in her clothes, though both she and the Schnee were still embarrassed about their respective sizes. “Last time that’s happening.” She groaned, sitting against the make-shift bunk beds. Arktis grunted in agreement as Gambol and Ember rubbed the two mothers’ shoulders. “Relax. You’re gonna be fine.” Gambol reassured. “Well, probably until you get a date with someone.”

“That’ll be a miracle after what I’ve been through.” The white haired woman said. Considering how her last relationship went, there was a high likelihood that she’d probably not get together with someone for a good while. Summer nodded in agreement, “I don’t know how Tai will react to know that I’m alive again. Not interested in Qrow. Not sure if the woman that I keep seeing is still around either.”

“We could always ask Ozpin.” Ember suggested. The tallest of the group paused for a minute, before sighing, “Alright, we’ll have a chat with him tomorrow if he’s free.” “Tomorrow’s the weekend, so he should be available. Not sure if he’s going to be able to give you the answers you seek though.” The Schnee said, receiving a hum of agreement from Gambol and Ember.

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(That night….)

The room was dead quiet. Everyone was asleep...except for Summer. Currently, she was pondering on what she should do regarding Ozpin. Should she ask him about her past, despite knowing that he might not have the answers she was looking for? Should she just wait until the next time she talked to Qrow and ask him instead? Or should she just try to find the answers herself? She honestly had no clue.

Her attention was brought towards Ruby, who was using the woman’s lap as a pillow. Chuckling, the elder Rose gently brushed the young girl’s hair away from her eyes as she thought, ‘I wonder how you’d react to me being your mother resurrected. Will you be happy that I've returned home? Will you be angry that I died in the first place? Will you welcome me back with open arms and a warm smile? Or...will you hate me for the pain I’ve caused you?’

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Chapter 3 is done. I apologize if the ending seems rushed and that this chapter is short. I struggled with this one, honestly. Anyway, I’ll see ya later.

[nettleandfriends-blog]

Ye Olde Nettle

When you’re a child, the only thing you’re interested in is to get on with the stuff you like to do, like climbing trees, jump over fences, play tags on rooftops, collect tadpoles… I know, I know, I’m talking ancient history here, as today kids’ thing is online gaming, instagramming, texting and such, but the principle is there.

Any hindrance to your childhood pursuit of happiness is perceived as unfair, malicious and utterly pointless (“I wish I was dead and then you’d be sorry…”)

During my early years  I often pondered about this or another unpleasantness in my life. I was trying to find the sense in existence of barbed wire, mosquitos, younger brothers and nettles.

As I was growing up, things were becoming clearer. For a time, I thought that the sole purpose of the existence of barbed wire on fences was to make mothers stop dolling up their daughters in pretty dresses, blouses and skirts. Time after time I was coming home in shredded skirts and dresses, until my mum finally gave up. It was leggings and shorts after that.

Some time later I discovered that younger brothers kinda grow on you. Eventually I stopped moping around for getting a baby instead of a puppy – or, even better, a horse. There was still a problem of him following me around like a – well, puppy – so I waited patiently for my chance. When he was old enough (about 4 or 5) I showed him a picture of T. Rex. Then I took him outside and pointed to a small hole in the ground (my favourite when playing marbles) and told him that it was where T. Rex lived. Not only did he stop following me around, he was petrified of going out whatsoever. Later still, when he stopped grassing my every little transgression and blaming me for his own ones, we even started talking to each other and occasionally having fun together. By the time we were semi-adult we started even liking each other. So, basically, I admitted to myself that baby brothers are OK and stopped wondering why they existed.

Nettle, of course, was one of the major annoyances in my childhood. Although I’m fortunate enough to have quite tough skin so nettle, or bee stings, even wasps only cause mild redness and itchiness that lasts a day or two, it was still not fun to brush them lightly while whizzing around having fun. Furthermore, my best friend was very sensitive to everything; nettle would cause swelling and blisters lasting for a week or two, and wasp stings… Whoa!

So, understandably, I detested nettle with a passion. I hated even the fact that the most frequent shampoo in our house was the one with nettle extracts (my mum still swears by it).

However, when I started developing interest for plants I discovered that this nasty nettle is actually quite an amazing plant. Every single part of it – root, stalk, leaves, flowers – is beneficial. It is not only edible, but quite tasty too. It’s packed full of iron (almost ten times more than spinach) and vitamin C, as well as various minerals and trace elements. I suppose poor old nettle had to develop some sort of defence, otherwise it would be eaten to extinction by herbivores.

As food, you can use it virtually everywhere you use spinach. Well, maybe it would be a good idea not to do the substitute if you eat your spinach raw, in salads or sandwiches. If you do, please make a recording and post it online. I’m sure it’ll go viral like the video of the eejit who lit a firecracker while holding it in his teeth.

Actually, now I’m thinking about it, I’ll make a post about nettle as food (maybe the next one), with a few of my favourite recipes.  Meanwhile, here’s a link to a quite nice article about nettle: http://www.countryfile.com/countryside/ten-unusual-facts-about-nettles .

Stop prattling about and get on with nettle’s remedial properties, I can hear you grumble. Here goes…

Nettle (its posh name is Urtica dioica) is an excellent diuretic; if you have high blood pressure caused by water retention, nettle tea will help a lot. Be careful, though: if you’re already taking pills you might achieve a double whammy resulting in low blood pressure.

If you’re having difficulties with passing water, either because of the urinary tract infection or because of benign enlargement of the prostate, nettle root is the thing to go for.  You can make tea or use tincture.

Tea: boil ½ litre (approx. 17 fl oz) of water and pour over 2 tbsp of chopped nettle root. Cover and leave to soak 10 minutes. Take 4 cups of this tea daily.

Tincture: add 30-40 drops to a glass of water; take 3-5 times a day.

For frequent nosebleeds and intensive period bleeds, as well as for hay fever, acne, eczema and gout use nettle leaves tea:

Pour ¼ litre of hot water over 1 tsp of dried nettle leaves. Cover and leave for 10 minutes. If you use kettle to heat the water, wait a minute or so after water boiling, then pour on the leaves. Take a cup of this tea 3 times a day. You can use tincture instead of leaves - 1 tbsp of tincture in a glass of water. The tea also helps with mouth ulcers and gum inflammation, as a mouth rinse.

Tea prepared from the whole plant is good for getting rid of lung phlegm and cleansing of stomach, liver and guts. This is how to make it:

Finely chop the whole plant. Put 3 tbsp of chopped plant in 2 litres (3.5 pints) of water to soak 10-15 hours. After soaking bring to boil and simmer, covered, for ½ hour. Leave to cool, then strain and take a cup 3 times a day, before meals.

I’ve mentioned nettle tincture; here’s the recipe:

Use the root collected either in spring or in the autumn. Wash the root well, pat dry and chop finely. Fill ¾ of a bottle or a jar with chopped root, then add rakija (or vodka) to the top. Cork well and leave in dark warm place for a month. Then strain it into a clean bottle/jar (preferably coloured) and keep in dark place, at room temperature. I haven’t made tincture for a couple of years, but when I did, I kept it in a deep drawer in my bedroom.

Nettle tincture is very good for treating hair (more about it below), as well as for treating children anaemia (especially if the kid refuses to drink nettle tea). In this case you’ll want to reduce the amount of alcohol in the tincture. I mean, let’s say you massage your scalp with tincture in the morning and then go to work... and your boss smells alcohol on you on daily basis... You get my drift? Not to mention nosy neighbours reporting you to Social Services for giving your kid something containing alcohol.

To reduce the amount (and smell) of alcohol, once the tincture is strained, just boil it a bit - most of alcohol will evaporate quickly.

Nettle is brilliant for treating hair: not only it makes it stronger and thicker, but also gives a wonderful healthy shine.

We all lose hair all the time but it also keeps growing. Some people, however, simply have thin and/or weak hair; sometimes an illness or a lack of vitamins, trace elements and such can weaken the hair. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with one’s hair but one wants it improved anyway. In all these cases nettle is a great helper. This is what needs to be done to stop hair loss:

Simmer approximately 20g (around 3/4 oz) chopped nettle root in ½ litre water for 10 minutes. Strain and mix with a few cups of nettle leaves tea. After washing hair, use this mixture as the last rinse. In addition, use the tincture to massage the scalp daily.

Keep in mind: if you’re genetically predisposed to hair loss (e.g. your dad, granddad and both uncles went bald before they were 40), this treatment will NOT stop it. It will slow it down, though, but the rate varies from person to person.

I was lucky enough not to have problems with dandruff, but a few friends told me that tincture worked for their dandruff problems, so have a go...

For general hair care, to make it soft, supple and shiny (basically, what Pedigree Chum does for dogs if we are to believe the ads) do this:

Put 5 litres (10.5 pints) of water in a large pot. Add several handfuls of nettle (fresh or dried leaves and stalks) and, on low heat, bring to boil. As soon as it starts boiling remove from heat and leave for 10-15 minutes. If you’re using nettle root, leave a handful of root in cold water overnight. The next day do the described preparation. Use this to slowly rinse-cum-massage your hair after wash, leave for 5-10 minutes, then rinse well.

I’ve mentioned earlier that the tea made from nettle leaves is good for treating skin problems. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days and apply the same way as cleansing lotion, using cotton wool. Ideally, you’ll be drinking freshly made tea 3 times a day (same with hair treatments, I forgot to say). 

If you want to treat all of your skin, then have a nettle bath: put a mug of nettle (whole plant or leaves + stalks) in a large pot and pour hot water on it. Leave for about 15 minutes. Use the time to fill your bath with warm water. Strain your nettle tea in the bath water and get in straight away. Soak for 15-20 minutes. Don’t rinse the bath water off - just pat yourself with a towel. You should stay inside for about an hour if it’s cold outside.

A few warnings:

1. Although you can use nettle tea and tincture all year long, very rarely people might get oversensitive to nettle if using it for a long time. This can manifest as allergic reaction, digestive problems or diarrhoea. If you want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you, simply make pause in using it – e.g. use it for 3 weeks, then pause for a week, then use for 3 weeks… you get a pattern, right?

2. I’ve never heard about any problems with using nettle preparations in pregnancy and during breast feeding period. As a matter of fact, a few women I know used to drink nettle tea in pregnancy as they became anaemic. However, I’d always advise to check your blood results with your doctor and follow his/hes advice.

3. Nettle tea is really good for treating anaemia in children, as well as for strengthening their immune system. But, sometimes, kids are too finicky and won’t drink it. If this is the case, 10 drops of the tincture in a glass of water or their favourite juice should be alright. Keep in mind: I said “juice”, so no colas, fantas etc. - strictly non-fizzy drinks.

4. Being strong diuretic, nettle might slightly change the colour of urine or make it look cloudy. It should not worry you, it’s just a sign there’s lots of toxins and metabolic leftovers clearing out of your body. As they are getting reduced, your urine will get clear.

There are loads more remedy recipes where nettle is one of ingredients, but I want to go through some major plants just on their own before I start with mixtures.

So, there you are: from dreaded childhood nuisance to really great and useful stuff.

Still wondering about mozzies, though…