#inanimate wizards info

[codyis-not-cool]

okay! @whitepearl and @plateapus, here's Mav! He's a wizard :D (more info about him under the cut)

so I don't know a lot about how wizards work in this world but I think his magic would specialize in music and summoning (mostly inanimate objects like weapons) a little backstory on him: he doesn't speak to most of his family, and his childhood best friend, Aermi, has some sort of magical illness and can't go out a lot so he's trying to find a way to heal her. I think maybe she could be shimerian although I'm not sure on wizards/shimerian relations and contact but if she was I was thinking that little red thingy on his belt could be like a feather or braided fur that reminded him of her :D since he doesn't talk to a lot of people he's really bad at conversation and opening up to people but he does try (and fail) to be friendly there's probably other things I forgot

[silver-wield]

Hey! Just found your page and I'm really enjoying all the in depth information. Apologies if this has been asked already- but I've seen on Reddit heaps that Clerith fans use Cait Siths prophecies as some kind of 'gotcha!' and... well.. I've actually only just played the remake recently and remembered the hectic shipping war... but isn't Cait Sith just a robot controlled by Reeve? Are they seriously assuming some Shinra suit has 'mystical abilities'. Like, am I missing something? Is there some kind of proof that Reeve is really a mystical wizard who is super into horoscopes? Lol.

Yep, Cait Sith is a robot with a type of ai brought to life because Reeve is an Inspire, which is a person with the ability to give life to inanimate objects and connect to them mentally. I low key wonder if he's distantly related to cetra, but there's very little info about his abilities or how they work.

Cait Sith is a liar, a spy and his prediction skill has been faulty since his appearance in Before Crisis, which crosses into CC, so I'd assume between 2-5 years his skills have been busted.

His predictions are pretty much pulled out his ass, but because they're so vague, they wind up fitting some events. So while some people went off about his first prediction being about Aerith, the fact is it's about the loss of Cloud's own ego when he gives Sephiroth the black materia. That's also stated in the ultis info about the scene in the whirlwind maze.

His second prediction is also misinterpreted because the "stars" that it's trying to align belong to a false persona based on Zack, so if Cait Sith's prediction refers to anybody, it'd be Zack and Aerith, not Cloud.

Cait Sith's whole deal is everything he says and does has a double or mistaken meaning because he's not just one character, he's two, so he has this duality happening. He also has to constantly manipulate and convince his allies he's a reliable party member while being a two faced spy, so despite the annoying and loud plushie exterior, Cait Sith has a lot of depth.

If cleriths wanna claim a lying busted robot that's on them. It's not like they played the game and understand the character anyway 🤷

[eternalwritingstudent]

WIPS - Updates and Info

The last time I updated my list of WIPS and shared any info about them was years ago it appears. So I thought I'd update the list. I'll update the link on my blog for it as well.

Current WIP: On Shadow's Edge

Status: Nitpicky edits, polishing, and writing the query letter

Blurb:

When Freedom, an elven thief and assassin, agreed to join a new thieves guild, it was supposed to put a roof over her head, not put her on the run from a power hungry mage seeking godhood.

Freedom came to Redalic to lie low from the past that hunts her, but crossed the path of a powerful mage when she broke into his home. Two years later, after joining an up and coming thieves guild, a new job puts her in Master Mage Stefyan's path again. After overhearing Stefyan's plan to kidnap and possess Jerick, the youngest son of the beloved Archduke Victor, Freedom is caught and subsequently imprisoned. She's later found and rescued by the Archduke, along with his eldest son, Valric, and young Priestess Inva. Amon, a member of the infamous Hunt, seeking to bring Freedom to justice back home, interrupts their plans attempting to steal her away for himself. With Victor's skills of negotiation, he convinces him to help with their mission first, leaving Freedom to have to play nice with a man she believes wishes to see her dead.

Together, along with Freedom's would-be captor, Freedom, Valric, and Inva flee Redalic, racing to put a stop the the Master Mage's schemes before it's too late. ***** Pending WIPS: (Under the cut)

Iron Wolf: (High Fantasy) Status: Incomplete first draft

A group of senior magic students became vain and cocky. They decided to test the rules and go into the forbidden graveyard on their island home during a full moon. Breaking rules laid down by the gods themselves shatters their world and their home suffers for it.

A great iron wolf begins to try to remove every body ever buried in the graveyard. The laws of magic say the dead must remain in the earth. If the bodies are removed, the magic will die. Once it dies in one country, it could end in all countries.

Now the group of students are sentenced to fight the wolf until its stopped, the gods decide they atone, or another solution is found. The search for a solution leads them to dark secrets and political wrangling they never dreamed existed. Secrets so dark even the ruler of their world is determined to stop them from bringing them to light. *****

Biting Crown (Post Apoc Gender Bent Robin Hood Retelling) Status: Incomplete first draft When Natalia Prince and her crew The Sheriff’s attack the settlement of Nott, Brie watches her parents cut down in front of her. Distraught, Brie attacks Prince, putting Brie and her group of hunters on the run. Breaking for what remains of the Olympic National Forest, the group puts plans in motion for survival and vengeance, determined not to let Prince enslave their settlement like she has so many others. The forest becomes their sanctuary and their battleground as they fight to save their people and their home. *****

Witch Ring (High Fantasy with a dash of horror?) Status: Incomplete first draft A wizard tricks a fae witch into sacrificing her magic to save their country. Expecting to die in the process Saranna say goodbye to her family and accepts death. Instead, she finds her self trapped and aware in a ring the Wizard made to contain her. He reveals his true plan was to obtain magic deemed illegal by the gods because of evilness it is used for. The organization tasked with keeping this magic under wraps attacked their country. The Wizard uses the illegal magic which backfires and twists the country he was supposed to protect into a nightmare. Houses with massive beating hearts. Creatures with twisted bodies. Inanimate objects fused with living beings creating tortured sentient beings.

One man, Laryian, escaped the destruction. Filled with guilt he returns ten years later, discovering what happened, and the Wizards ring. Now, he must find a way to help the woman trapped inside and restore the people of his country from the nightmare they've lived for ten years. ***

[lumilasi]

UPDATE: Gave them a proper bio. I will add a cool pose thingy for Hitomi later once I draw it, rn I got other projects to focus on.

NOTE: Hitomi belongs to my friend @mad-hatter-rici and largely everything about her design and her bio is pretty much from her ideas naturally. 

More info below:

Ages: 

Hitomi: around 12

Ichirou: He is 15-16, and hasn’t reached his Soul age yet so he pretty much looks his age/a bit younger due to being born prematurely (Average lifespan of a soul eater is 300 years, the first 20 years they age like humans)

Nicknames: Nii-chan (Hitomi) Kid, spidy kid (Clover) Little puppeteer (grandpa Harrow)

Family: Adoptive big brother Laurent, adoptive father/uncle Jurou, Little sister/cousin Hitomi, Grandmother Yui, grandfather Harrow

Friends: Clover Belmont (honorary big brother), Janus Kravchenko & Marco Aquila (his classmates)

Ichirou is a half blood Soul eater/Puppeteer demon, whereas Hitomi is half blood human/soul eater

Occupation: 

Ichirou is in high-school where he studies all the basics like literature, math, Mirror world history, magic in general, etc. He does however get tutoring for his specific powers as well, though this is mainly done by Jurou (and sometimes Harrow) given their powers are so unique. 

Hitomi has been home-schooled so far, but they are slowly trying to introduce her to the proper school. 

Powers:

ICHIROU

Soul eater powers: Ichirou can affect people’s souls and read them, she is still too young to actually devour or pull them out of people’s bodies. He can somewhat control the shadow element/webs that comes with his specific family heritage, forming small spiders from it the shadows, or even some weapons like blades and a staff from the webs.  He can also of course, use his webbing like, well, a web, to trap something or swing around like Tarzan/Spiderman.

Magic: Ichirou is studying to use Arachnid Soul eater runes; they are all based on pretty basic base spells like protective shields, summoning, offensive spells etc, but utilize his special magic type that makes them far stronger than your average magic runes. (All Soul eater types have their own runes, and another special thing about them is that only the right type of soul eaters can use them. No wizard will be capable of wielding Ichirou’s runes for example, only other arachnid soul eaters can)

Transformation: Like his uncle, Ichirou does have a “demonic” form that grants him enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and larger access and power reserves with his magic. This ability is still in its infancy though due to his age, and he can’t access it easily.

Puppeteering: From his biological father’s side, Ichirou has an unique ability not really seen from his uncle or grandfather; he is able to utilize his strings to command anything he wants, and even make inanimate objects to appear lifelike. He is even able to puppeteer someone’s soul with this, though hates doing it as it is essentially a form of possession.

Soul link: Ichirou can communicate with all of his family members telepathically with this ability, it is a pretty common one among Soul eaters and not unique to his family. He can also form these with people he’s close with outside the family, such as Clover.

HITOMI

Creation: Her unique ability nobody else in the family has; she is able to create colorful fabric from her webs and make clothing and accessories with it

Element control: She can control shadow element somewhat like rest of her family

Bloop Spiders: Hitomi can also summon little spiders like her family, to help her and communicate with others. People call them “bloop spiders” mainly because they look more like tiny dust fuzzballs with legs rather than spiders, not even having fangs just large cartoony eyes (Think studio Ghibli dustballs). They can change their appearance to something more menacing though, if she feels threatened.

Web shooting: She can shoot spider webs, often times accidentally trapping people who spook her.

Soul link: Hitomi is also capable of forming these soul links to communicate with her family, but being half-blood and very young still, she’s still learning and mainly has ones with her dad and Ichirou, both of which were initially formed by them rather than her.

Personality:

Ichirou is a sweet and curious boy, who is bit of a bookworm and generally loves to learn new things. He is very self-conscious of being a Soul Eater and the negative stigma they carry. He still tries to be positive and friendly, trying not to judge a book by its cover. He is protective over his family, especially his little sister Hitomi. This protective nature does extent to his bestie and honorary big brother Clover as well. He is able to put aside his own fear and self-doubt to protect those he loves, and because he IS an Araknos, Ichirou can absolutely be terrifying like his father, grandpa and grandma if he wants to be, when situation requires it. 

Hitomi is a very shy and cautious young girl, who is nervous around new people due to her past trauma. She is sweet and caring despite all this, and really wants to interact with others and help in any way she can, despite her fears. She is quite attached to her big brother Ichirou, but also wants to spend more time with her elder brother Caelan who is often busy unfortunately. She is very creative and especially talented in making clothes. Overall she is pretty typical sweet little girl once you get past her traumas, who does have moments where she pouts over silly things. Like Ichirou she is curious to learn more about new things, especially her new home and the people in it. 

Fun Facts

Ichirou doesn’t have that many friends due to being a Soul Eater, but the few he does have are very close and loyal. Hitomi also doesn’t have many friends, but that is more to do with the fact she’s new to Mirror World and Chrysalis city. 

While Janus is his classmate, because he is often sick Janus does a lot of his schoolwork at home, and Ichirou and Marco typically bring things for him.

Marco was the first person to approach Ichirou and not be intimidated by what he was. His open-mindedness and friendly nature led to the two becoming good friends.

Ichirou often falls asleep reading or taking notes, and sometimes has his writings printed to his cheek as he wakes up in the case of the latter.

Ichirou creates dioramas as a hobby, and sometimes helps Hitomi with her crafts and vise versa

Hitomi likes making clothes or accessories for people

Ichirou’s eye-markings come from his biological father, hence he doesn’t have a spider web birthmark like his sister, uncle and grandfather. The ones in his hands are magical tattoos to help him learn to control his power better

Ichirou really dislikes his puppeteer powers and tries to ignore them for the most part, even though combining them with his Soul eater powers make him exceptionally powerful for his age.

Ichirou was born prematurely, hence he is fairly short and seems a bit younger than he is.

Hitomi is mute and mostly communicates through sign language. She can talk, is just a bit too traumatized to do it often.

Hitomi has a Shadow kitty called Nori, which is literally a cat made of shadows, able to shapeshift their body from liquid puddle to loooong noodle, and also merge and travel within their owner’s shadow. 

Ichirou sometimes communicates with his grandpa through the special Soul link all the family members have. This way Harrow was able to mentor him even though he is unable to set foot to the Mirror World physically, being a wanted man.

[wizardbestiary]

hello beasties !! my name is rin and this is a wizard posting blog. i use any pronouns and i’m over 18. i don’t like putting much personal info online so that’s all ur getting.

i follow from @cowboyzbabey which has no theme and i post whatever there.

tags:

#spells - text posts

#bestiary - beasts, creatures, etc.

#robes - clothing and accessories

#tower - buildings and interiors

#potion - food/drink

#items - inanimate misc

#wizard posting - a general tag for original posts

[hecallsmehischild]

Recent Media Consumed

Books

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. About ten or fifteen years ago, I tried to read this and was totally overwhelmed by it. I kept it around, hoping maybe someday I might be able to read it. I finally have, and here are my impressions: WHY SO MANY NAMES. WHY YOU HAVE TO NAME EVERYBODY, AND EVERY TRIBE OF PEOPLES, AND EVERY INANIMATE OBJECT, AND EVERY LANDSCAPE FEATURE. WHY. *ahem* So. I have a general comprehension of the events of The Silmarillion, but I dealt with it by doing what you do for an impressionist painting. I (mentally) stepped way back and let all the names flow by me, and if there were names that were repeated a lot, then I mentally attached appropriate plot points and character details to those names so I could track with who they were and what they were doing. And, actually, I found myself able to hang on and enjoy the book for the most part. This is going to lead into a re-reading of the Lord of the Rings books, since I haven’t read those in about as long…

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I haven’t read some of these books since pre-teen years, with one required re-read of The Two Towers in high school (i.e. it’s been many an age since I’ve read these and my memory of the stories has been far more heavily influenced by the movies). In re-reading the first book, I was struck by the extreme tone shift for the Elves and Dwarves. Elves seem much closer to happy, mischievous fairies than these ethereal, solemn pillars of elegance and grace the movies show them to be. And Dwarves are far more bumbling and craftsmanlike than the movies show. Aside from that, The Hobbit was a pretty solid adaptation from the book, and the book also reminded me that this story was the first time I experienced “NO, MAIN CHARACTERS DON’T DIE, HOW DARE YOU,” and probably was the first book to make me cry. I must have been 8 or 10 years old. I FORGOT HOW MUCH THIS STORY INFLUENCED ME.

A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell. I have a longer-than-usual list of things to say about this book. First is that it was just that level of difficult that I was struggling to understand while reading it (on Audible), but I think I got it. Sowell has several base concepts that I see repeated throughout his books, though he does like to dedicate whole books to specific aspects of the same topic. He is pretty damn thorough that way. So, for example, I would put this book in the middle of a three-book spectrum of similar concepts: Intellectuals and Society (most concrete and easiest to read), A Conflict of Visions (next-level abstraction, a little difficult to read), Knowledge and Decisions (root abstract concept, very difficult, I have not been able to get past chapter 2). The second thing I have to say is about a couple interesting concepts it proposes. Its whole point is to help readers understand the roots of two ways of seeing the world that come into severe conflict politically, and he calls them by their root titles: the constrained and the unconstrained visions. He traces the path of each back through the intellectuals that most spoke of them (tending to contrast Adam Smith with William Godwin and Condorcet). Though he leans heavily toward the constrained vision (based on reading his other works) he does his best to make this book an academic study of both, with both of the visions' strengths and flaws and reasoning and internal consistencies fairly laid out. In doing so, he helped me understand a few things that make this situation really difficult for people on opposing sides to communicate. One of them is that root words and concepts literally mean different things to different people. I had some vague notion of this before, but he laid out three examples in detail: Equality, Power, and Justice. It was kind of astounding to see just how differently these three words can be defined. It makes me think that arguing about any specific issues rooted in these concepts is fruitless until first an understanding has been reached on terms, because otherwise two parties are endlessly talking past each other. Another really interesting idea he brought up is the existence of “hybrid visions” and he named both Marxism and Fascism as hybrid visions. This was especially fascinating to me because I have seen the accusation of “Nazi” flung around ad nauseam and I wondered how it was that both sides were able to fling it at each other so readily. Well, it’s because Fascism is actually a hybrid vision, so both sides have a grain of truth but miss the whole on that particular point. In any case, this was a little difficult to read but had some fascinating information. For people who are wondering what on earth this gap is between political visions, how on earth to bridge the gap, or why the gap even exists in the first place, this is a really informative piece.

Movies

The Hobbit & Fellowship trilogies (movies). I mean, it’s definitely not my first watch, not even my second. But I went through it with Sergey this time and that means the run-time is double because we pause to talk and discuss details. This watch came about partly due to Sergey’s contention that Gandalf’s reputation far outstrips his actual powers, so we ended up noting down every instance of Gandalf’s power to see if that was true. Conclusion: Gandalf is actually a decently powerful wizard, but tends to use the truly kickass powers in less-than-dire circumstances. That aside, this movie series was always a favorite for me. I rated The Hobbit trilogy lower the first time I saw it but, frankly, all together the six movies are fantastic and a great way to sink deep into lore-heavy fantasy for a while. And I’m catching way more easter-egg type details after having read the Silmarillion so it’s even more enjoyable. (finally, after about a week of binge-watching) I forgot how much this story impacted me. I forgot how wrenchingly bittersweet the ending is. I forgot how much of a mark that reading and watching this story left on my writing.

Upside-Down Magic. Effects were good. Actors were clearly having fun and enjoying everything. Story didn’t make enough sense for my taste, but it was a decent way to kill flight time.

Wish Dragon. So, yes, it’s basically an Aladdin rewrite, but it’s genuinely a cheesy good fluff fest that made me grin a whole lot.

Plays

Esther (Sight and Sound Theatres). < background info > This is my third time to this theatre. There are only two of these in existence and they only run productions of stories out of the Bible. The first time I went I saw a production of Noah, the second time I saw a production of Jesus. My middle sister has moved all the way out to Lancaster, PA in hopes of working at this theatre. My husband and I came out to visit her. < /background info > So. Esther. They really pulled out all the stops on the costumes and set. I mean, REALLY pulled out all the stops. And the three-quarters wrap-around stage is used to great effect. I tend to have a general problem of not understanding all the words in the songs, but I understood enough. I highly recommend sitting close to the front for immersive experiences. This theatre puts on incredible productions and if you ever, ever, EVER have the opportunity to go, take it. Even if you think it's nothing but a bunch of fairy tales, STILL GO. I doubt you'll ever see a fairy tale produced on another stage with equal dedication to immersion.

Shows

The Mandalorian (first two seasons). Well. This was pretty thoroughly enjoyable. It felt very Star-Wars, and I’d kind of given up after recent movies. Felt like it slipped into some preaching toward the end? Not sure, I could be overly sensitive about it, but I enjoyed this a lot (though I did need to turn to my housemate and ask where the flip in the timeline we were because I did NOT realize that the little green kid IS NOT ACTUALLY Yoda).

Games

Portal & Portal 2. Portal is probably the first video game I ever tried to play, back when I had no idea what I was doing. Back then, I attempted to play it on my not-for-gaming Mac laptop. Using my trackpad. Once the jumping-for-extra-velocity mechanic came into play, I just about lost my mind trying to do this with a trackpad and gave up. Later I returned to the game and played it with my then-boyfriend on a proper gaming computer. Now, after having played several games and gotten better at "reading the language" of video games, I decided I wanted to see if I could beat the Portal games by myself. Guess what. I BEAT 'EM. Yes, I remembered most of the puzzles in Portal so that's a little bit of a cheat, but I'd say a good 2/3 of Portal 2 was new puzzles to me. It is crazy how proud I feel of myself that I could beat Portal 2, especially. Learning how to play video games at this age has really knocked down the lie, "You can't learn anything." Though I still suck at platformers and games that require precision. Since I find those types frustrating, I probably won't be playing many. Games are about enjoyment, so I'll push myself a little, but not to the point where I can't stand what I'm playing.

The Observer. I like the concept and the art but I don't think I could keep trying to play this game. It's really depressing. My in-game family members all died of illness or accident or committed suicide. I also kept getting executed by the state. In order to keep us all alive I'd have to do pretty terrible things that I have a hard enough time contemplating even in a fictional setting.

Baba Is You. Fun and interesting concept, but I got stuck pretty early on. Don't think I want to push as hard on this one.

[camelliacats]

written in your blood (part 2/6)

One last visit to Rowle's—and Flora's—saga with the Carrow siblings, written as my entry for the Death Eater 2022 Fest. Set primarily after this oneshot and this story.

Ch2: "Then: Alecto" [FFN] [AO3] | ←   →

Pairings/Characters: Thorfinn Rowle/Alecto Carrow & Amycus Carrow, with cameos from Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort, Mulciber, & Bellatrix Lestrange, as well as mentions of others

Rating: T

Words: ~3,660

Additional info: romance, angst, hurt/comfort, Dark magic, Marauder era, 3rd person POV

Summary: Thorfinn's made the same promise twice over already…and he'll make it again, if it means new ally Flora will be instrumental in getting his love and his best mate back. Ch2: Thorfinn swears his second oath to Alecto, as they navigate life amidst Dark company during the first war.

      Nearly a year later, that blood oath with Amycus seems like such a silly thing in the face of joining the Death Eaters alongside Alecto.

      Their first year out of Hogwarts is going grandly. The boys followed Crouch to the Lestrange home in late July and ended wrapped up in Alecto's initiation assignment, despite her best efforts to shoo Thorfinn and Amycus away from the den of murderers and scoundrels.

      And now, one specific murder later, they're amongst likeminded folk.

      …sometimes the notion gives Thorfinn pause. His parents never went on about blood supremacy much, though his grandparents did when he was younger, so he feels a little out of touch when someone whips Bellatrix up into a tizzy or Travers or Nott go off on a tirade about "the way things used to be."

      There are others, half-bloods like himself and the Carrows, who simply yearn for what their names used to be, the influence they used to command. Mulciber and Avery are this type, and they bookend Evan Rosier less as friends and more like lackeys ready to lick Rosier's pureblood boots.

      And then…then there are others, no matter their blood status, with their own plans. Malfoy and the Lestrange brothers sometimes have commentary on the goings-on around here but also know to hold their tongues, as though they've got their own machinations going on in addition to the Dark Lord's plans. As for Wilkes—it's clear as day, the way she skulks about Bellatrix and Rodolphus' home when not laughing at Mulciber or Avery. For Wilkes, the Death Eaters are an escape from something far worse.

      Thorfinn knows, because that's the case for Alecto and Amycus. And his eyes land on Alecto on the ground floor as they pass each other by, Thorfinn musing how much she'd hate to be compared to her fellow witch, especially where it hurts.

      His look must convey too much, because Alecto does a double-take and backtracks to stalk towards him. "Rowle, if you're going to act as an inanimate object, then do it somewhere you won't take up so much space," Alecto spits. She grabs his arm to turn him towards the next room. "Least of all by the front door."

      "I've got watch duty," he points out. Technically, he's where he's supposed to be, standing across from the ornately carved, black-lacquered door. (He's not a fan of watch duty, of course. It's a strong reminder of the emphatically rich legacy of the Black and Lestrange lines.)

      But Alecto, though she's as freshly official as are he and Amycus, has been running with this group for a couple years now and acts as though she's higher up the ranks regardless. She spies a fresh recruit (really, someone ought to give Mulciber another task than picking up any old riffraff who can wave a wand) and snaps her fingers at the dark-haired wizard. "You! You're on door duty."

      He gapes at them and stammers. He points to himself and then the door, literally shaking in fright at the prospect.

      Alecto glowers at him. "For the moment," she clarifies. And then she drags Thorfinn from the wide-open vestibule and into the small sitting room off to the right. Thankfully, it's empty at midday.

      (Dark deeds are best plotted and executed at night.)

      Alecto yanks the door shut behind them, catching herself before the wood slams into the frame and letting the latch click softly. Then she whirls on him, and Thorfinn would shrink back from her temper if Alecto truly were upset with him.

      But she's hardened in some ways, being here. And in others…being here, with Amycus and Thorfinn by her side, it's changed her. Perhaps not for the better, since he can glimpse the concern in her stare.

      "You can't just stand by the door, moping around, Rowle," she hisses in undertones. Alecto takes two small stomps towards him.

      Thorfinn's shoulders sag. He glances behind him and finds a high-backed chair to lean against. "I'm not moping," he retorts.

      "Don't get defensive now."

      He purses his lips at her, the closest he comes to glaring at her these days.

      Alecto sneers, making Thorfinn's heart twinge (it's the only smile he needs in his life). She closes the gap between them, with either of his legs beside her hips, and she rests her hands on his arms. "Rowle," she intones, "we're both aware you don't hate my bossy side." A smidgeon of tiredness leaks into her tone; her right hand strokes his left arm, absentmindedly. "I never do anything without purpose. And when I tell you to watch yourself, I mean it."

      Thorfinn frowns. He leans forward and, when she doesn't shy away, presses a soft kiss against her hairline.

      Perhaps he imagines Alecto leaning in to the gesture. A moment later, his stout witch stands a little straighter, having pulled back slightly from him. "You've got to keep your heart in check around here," she reminds him.

      "Must I? The first night Amycus and I arrived, I thought we made it clear to the others, what you and I have. Wilkes still scowls at me for you kicking her out of that shared room so you and I could get reacquainted."

      Alecto snorts at the memory. "She prefers her new broom closet; she's finally got a room all to herself. But that's not what I mean, Rowle." She takes a step back and lightly flicks his forehead. "It's your thoughts, as well. There are Legilimens amongst these ranks." She tenses, and Thorfinn flashes back to years ago, to a walk they shared in Hogwarts' dungeons, when Alecto first spoke of a future split from her brother, from Rowle. "If anyone catches the tiniest glimmer that you do not belong…" She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

      No. He doesn't want to imagine the selection of outcomes, either. "Message received," Thorfinn mumbles.

      That's all she needs to hear. She rewards him with a hearty snog, and suddenly this ancient and most noble house of Lestrange and Black around them melts away, seems rather inconsequential so long as Alecto accepts Thorfinn in her life and Thorfinn has Alecto in his arms.

      Practicing Dark magic with Amycus last year—

      Putting what they learned to use and then some the past month and a half as their reunited trio shadows the more experienced Death Eaters and insists the Carrows and Thorfinn partake more often—

      It's worth it. Thorfinn can't figure if his ideologies align fully with the Dark Lord's yet, but every crime committed is worth it, so long as his world has Alecto and Amycus in it.

      And yet it's easy to think such things when the Death Eaters are winning or the only losses primarily are unfamiliar, not-Marked recruits. It's easy to think that they're only play-acting in some deadly production with the Aurors and this newfangled Order of the Phoenix until they take some serious hits in the weeks that follow.

      Perhaps the Death Eaters have been complacent, believing victory will always be theirs, that this string of clashes, these little battles, would never amount to much of a war, even though Alecto told Thorfinn and Amycus shortly after they joined that this group has been around in some form for decades. And such a group with such a long history can't be defeated so easily, can it? After all, this summer alone, the McKinnons were taken care of (mainly Travers' work), Avery Blasted the Order's beloved Benjy Fenwick to pieces rather literally, and the Prewett twins… …well, Thorfinn's memories of those two are fresh, given that Dolohov and Rabastan brought him and the Carrows along (they are young and new but powerful and handy with certain spells, a notion which makes Dolohov irritable and Rabastan deliberate for an extra half a beat when choosing those he brings out on assignment with him now).

      But September closes out, and Wilkes is captured when returning from assignment. Word comes in: She fought like hell, both trying to avoid being dragged to Azkaban and trying to take at least one Auror with her.

      When Lucius Malfoy finishes his summation of the information he gathered from inside the Ministry, his gray eyes go around the long table in Bellatrix and Rodolphus' dining room. They stop on the Dark Lord, hidden in the shadows at the head of the table. "…Wilkes is dead, milord," Malfoy states, his usually prim tone flat.

      The room falls into silence. Thorfinn wants to check Alecto's reaction—is she happy? Mad? She never got along with Wilkes, but there's something to be said for sharing anything for a time with another person. Not to mention Thorfinn can count on one hand the number of Death Eater witches in this dining room-turned-conference hall.

      "We have suffered a loss," the Dark Lord states, his voice eerie, like the rasp from a man not quite like them, like…something else. "But this changes nothing. We will carry on as planned." Without waiting for reaction, he stands, red eyes flashing, and he glides out of the room with barely a sound.

      But behind him the Death Eaters come back to life. Some of them could care less, same as their master. Malfoy stays to have a word with his sister-in-law, and of course Rodolphus lingers with them. Rosier shoves out of his chair with an unusual display of temper and hurries from the room, Mulciber after him, Avery pulling up the rear.

      Amycus stands with a frown and a yawn, and he looks between his sister and friend. "I never knew what to think of her…," he remarks. He jerks his head towards the upstairs. "I didn't sleep too well last night, and Rabastan said he has a task he could use Crouch and me for, so…"

      Alecto and Thorfinn get to their feet, as well, and the trio exits the dining room. "Don't oversleep," Alecto warns her brother.

      He huffs, exchanges a "Do you see what I put up with?" look with Thorfinn, and disappears upstairs for the room the three of them share.

      A room Alecto and Wilkes shared, for a time.

      Thorfinn turns Alecto towards him. "Malfoy's news—"

      "—is just news. You heard what the Dark Lord said," Alecto says. But her tone is too curt, and she shrugs off his hand so obviously. Alecto's not going to talk about Wilkes, not now and not ever.

      Barely a week into October, Mulciber and Rosier head out—and Rosier does not return.

      Bellatrix rolls her eyes while Mulciber, tears streaking down his face, eyes red, teeth gnashing, kicks at the cabinets and the few pieces of furniture in the foyer. He kicks and punches and whirls on those around him, but Avery catches the back of his robes to keep him from doing anything incredibly stupid.

      "That ugly bastard, Moody, was waiting for us! How he found out about that house, I don't know, but Evan—" His voice catches, and he starts kicking and punching wood and fabric again to hide his weakness.

      "I will remind you that my own mother is a Rosier, Mulciber," Bellatrix says from the mouth of the black marble hall that leads to the dining room. "He stands a fighting chance…unlike those who come running back with their tails between their legs."

      Thorfinn sits on the staircase with Alecto (Amycus is having another of his tired spells, but he assures the pair of them that it's not his childhood frailty returning, he's honestly just exhausted), and the pair watches in amazement as Bellatrix's words, sharper than her nails, prick Mulciber's balloon of anger. The wizard doesn't so much deflate as does he fall to the floor in tatters, confronted with his cowardice.

      "There's nothing else to see here," Bellatrix snarls to the rest of them. It's a fine impetus to scatter and leave Avery to be the sensible one for once and pull Mulciber together.

      And pull he must when the news arrives a few days later: Evan Rosier gave chase, but he was pursued relentlessly by Auror Alastor Moody. Though the Auror Office discovered by chance that property which the Rosiers hadn't claimed on official documents, Rosier never led Moody to anything or anyone else of importance. And he died while resisting arrest.

      Two of them. Dead. In barely more than a week.

      Wilkes.

      Rosier.

      Anyone could be next.

      Alecto shares her thoughts this time with Thorfinn, though it feels as though there's not much to share since they're thinking the same things. She waits to open her mouth until they've walked the perimeter of the Lestrange home and can rest against a back corner of the stonework. "…they caught Rosier," she mutters.

      Thorfinn nods.

      "They killed him." She shivers involuntarily. But it's not the early autumn chill getting to her. Her black robes cover her well and keep Alecto warm.

      Still, Thorfinn wraps an arm around her shoulders; Alecto is so tiny, compared to him, that she fits well in the crook of his arm. He peeks down at her. "They did it to him and to Wilkes and to others. They…" He pauses to lick his lips and swallow the lump in his throat. "There could be others, Alecto."

      Acknowledging aloud the reality of what they've signed up for doesn't help much. Yet Alecto turns in towards his chest, and there's fire in her eyes. "They're no different from what I've faced before. Those who think they're better, who think their version of the world is better, without stopping to understand the horrors some of us go through…"

      He wants to say, "They're not Petronelle," but the comparison is moot and, really, what the Order does is rather worse, isn't it? (But he can't bring himself to say that, not to Alecto, never.)

      "These Aurors and Order vermin—they're not going to stop and listen to our side of things."

      Thorfinn cocks his head to one side. "No, I don't doubt that."

      "But here, Rowle… Here is—comfortable."

      He notes the pause in her words. Alecto avoids the use of the word "home" ever since they left Petronelle and the Carrow home behind them. But if she can say "comfortable" in a tone content like this, then Thorfinn will take it. So he nods.

      "I need you to make me a promise."

      "I've done that before. I can do it again."

      "Not like this."

      In a rare instance, Thorfinn is the one to pull away, putting two inches between them when he rests his hands on her shoulders and settles Alecto with a stern look. "Alecto, what…?"

      She glances to either side of them and then tugs Thorfinn by the hand, away from the Lestrange grounds. Without warning, Alecto Disapparates with Thorfinn.

      He's got steady feet for Side-Along, but there are stars to blink from his eyes when he spies their surroundings. After a heartbeat, he calms when he realizes that, no, they're not in his wide-open hometown…but how interesting that Alecto knows of a place so similar. (Does she consider her few visits to the Rowle home fond memories? He wonders.)

      Alecto splays her fingers on Thorfinn's chest, drawing his attention back to her. "I couldn't ask it of you there. But, Rowle—I need a promise that, no matter what happens, you will protect Amycus."

      He starts to chuckle. "As if that needs a promise! I'll protect you both from the worst, Allie."

      "No, Rowle." The fact that she ignores the nickname signals the severity of the situation, and Thorfinn's thrown back to last Halloween with Amycus. She cranes her head up at him. "I know we each accepted the Dark Mark—"

      "And would do it again," he interrupts.

      "—and I don't regret the work we're doing right now." There's a desperate sparkle in her dark eyes, and she nearly smiles for real. "We're making the world right! Right, for us!" Just as quickly, that light vanishes. "But I never factored into my plans a burial for Amycus. Don't make me go through that."

      Thorfinn shakes his head. "Never, Alecto."

      "Will you give me a blood oath, to keep him alive, from harm, if things get worse, Rowle?"

      His face falls.

      Alecto doesn't so much as blink.

      "You knew I'd say 'yes,' didn't you?" He asks not because Alecto can count on this dependable side of him.

      Finally she lowers her eyes, but she's not ashamed, not really; the hard edge of her jaw gives her away. "Amycus told me about before, yes. …thank you, Rowle."

      Thorfinn scowls at the top of her head. He's hurt, of course, and he'd accuse Alecto of using him if only he weren't so accustomed to and comfortable with being her right-hand man.

      (This is magic only Alecto Carrow possesses, and she needn't say a word nor think an incantation to hold sway over Thorfinn Rowle's heart.)

      He grits his teeth, runs his hand through his hair, and picks at his short coif, as if he needs to be presentable for this occasion. "Of course, Alecto," Thorfinn says at last, with something of a huff. He scans the field of tall grass in which they stand, noticing for the first time that they're not far from a brook which snakes behind this village. "I take it Amycus informed you of the spell's details?"

      "He did," Alecto confesses as they head for the brook. She hastens to keep pace with him, since Thorfinn's strides are longer than even Amycus'. She's quiet while he selects a stone from the flowing water. "I wonder why it has to be a stone from moving water, why we can't just use a Slicing Charm."

      "Old magic," he huffs. He grabs a stone half the length of his hand and straightens up with a frown. "At least, that's what I recall from Amycus' lectures. Old magic has old ways. Can't be changed." Though Thorfinn agrees she has a point, especially since he must use a Hardening Spell on a thick stick and treat it like a knife to carve the stone into shape. So many unnecessary steps, like with potions.

      He works faster than last fall, especially because Thorfinn wonders when they'll be missed back at the Lestranges'. Close to ten minutes of silence pass between him and Alecto while he works, and he's both thankful for the respite from talk and relieved to interrupt the quiet when he finishes.

      Thorfinn holds the carved stone out to Alecto. "Do you want the honors?"

      Alecto eyes the item and shakes her head, holding her right hand out instead. "I trust you, Rowle."

      Those words are a balm on the hurt her request has caused him. Thorfinn nods and imagines the lines he cut into his and Amycus' palms last year. This time, he makes his matching mark with Alecto perpendicular to that with Amycus—after all, "X marks the spot," they say—and he holds her hand after.

      Unsurprisingly, Alecto nonverbally invokes the spell. The crimson light from last time doesn't seem so bright in the middle of the day with the sun out. It's almost as if this magic is harmless, as natural as the nature surrounding them.

      Thorfinn knows better this time. Nothing came of his oath with Amycus because they never met any obstacles along their way.

      But—swearing to keep Amycus alive and well, without any regards for Alecto herself?

      Thorfinn wonders if he fights this blood oath's magical rules hard enough, then it might as well be an Unbreakable Vow and kill him.

      (Yet Thorfinn frowns in the aftermath of his oath with Alecto, because this blood oath is not unlike her warning at the Lestrange home. He senses at last that Alecto wonders if Thorfinn's truly meant for a Dark life with her and Amycus. That she doubts his business here, with them.

      He wants to prove her wrong.

      But each day that passes in October feels like a step closer to something larger. No matter that the Death Eaters spread the Order thin. No matter that Edgar Bones is no longer a threat [nor his extended family, since they made an example of him by murdering his wife and children with him, so the rest of the Bones family ought to know better than to get involved]. There are whispers of something larger that the Dark Lord keeps close to his vest and won't divulge even to the likes of Bellatrix, his most loyal follower.

      All is revealed on Halloween, however, when the Dark Lord once more carries out a task on his own…

      …and a mere baby robs the Death Eaters of their leader, their master, and their security.

      In the wake of the Dark Lord's apparent death at the magic of the Potter child, the Death Eaters mostly scatter. Some of them try to continue the Dark Lord's work—the Longbottoms' capture and torture makes the papers shortly afterwards, and wizard [and, to the Death Eaters, known Order member] Caradoc Dearborn is listed as "missing" in The Daily Prophet months after that.

      But Thorfinn, Alecto, and Amycus see this as an unexpected turning point. Their hands are already covered in blood, but there's no real work to continue because there's safety in numbers and the Death Eaters don't have those anymore.

      What's left for them now?

      Alecto, of course, comes up with a plan. "If we keep our heads down, we give the Ministry no need to come looking for us," she tells her wizards as they stick to the shadows and move about cities, mindful both of repulsive Muggles and dogged Aurors and Hit wizards alike.

      She says that plainly, and Thorfinn joins them, because the Carrows long ago accepted him as theirs, as a protector, as a friend—as family, he dares to think.

      So their trio goes into hiding, for a while together, waiting for the tide to shift in their favor, regardless of how long it may take.)

I knew the oath with Alecto wouldn't come immediately but needed a certain trigger, and some canonical deaths actually provided the right impetus here. :O Altho…in the midst of writing this section of the story, I had to do some rereading of the final chapter of alwy and developed some other hcs… (As in, even more inspiration struck, *LOL*.) Reminder: If you're curious about the name "Petronelle," go read at last, with you. ;)

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this! (Anyone enjoying all the Death Eater namedrops? B3)

~mew

And if you want to support written in your blood, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions to review/comment/fav/leave kudos and like and reblog these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

[warriorlid14]

So Rose's career:

I always imagined Rose as very much being a Gifted Child like her mother. Unlike her mother, however, she doesn't have the same passion for academics or learning. Oh, she cares about her grades and is quite competitive over them, but she's not going to spend weeks studying in advance for an exam or pouring over library books when she doesn't have to. (The way I kind of picture it is: Hermione will get an assignment then go through many many books that cover the topic and then write like three extra pages answering the prompt and adding in a bunch of other info. Rose will get the assignment, check the rubric, and then draft her essay to make sure that she hits everything on the rubric. It's well, thought out, but within the page limit and uses two sources instead of Hermione's seven. They both get O's.)

So Rose is plenty competent in a lot of subjects, but doesn't really have anything that particularly calls to her or that she's passionate about. (Unlike Hugo who's had a facination with muggle things and how they interact with magic since he was a kid. Hugo is very much a scientist and researcher and even went and got himself a PhD and loves his area of research. His biggest concern is that this area of study is practically nonexistant. In Europe, there's like four other people covering this vast topic, and he only likes two of them: a muggle-born witch who graduated from Beauxbaton and her muggle brother who spends half his time cursing wizarding research practices. How is he supposed to get his papers peer-reviewed if he has no peers?? But I'll stop talking about Hugo because this is about Rose.) When the time comes for Rose to choose a career, she has no idea what to do. She has various options that she could potentially be good at, but there's nothing that catches her eye. She ends up taking a variety of NEWT level classes to see if she finds anything. She does enjoy transfiguration more than the others, but doesn't know what to do with it and when someone suggests being a transfiguration professor, she laughs.

This is actually a super stressful time for her. She's genuinely terrified she'll find nothing that she's passionate about. Ron reassures her that no matter what she picks, she can always change her mind later on. After all, he spent years in the aurors before he found something else he enjoyed more. (Rose nods along to this, but worries that she'll be stuck in an infinite loop of job after job that she hates.) Eventually, she ends up taking an entry-level position at the ministry that her mother had told her about. It has a decent salary and could lead to a good career.

Hermione is over the moon that her baby is following in her steps. She tries to hide just how excited she is, but she secretly maps out her entire career in her mind. Her Rosie is super intelligent and talented and could end up leading any department she wanted. Her and her baby bringing an era of political change to the wizarding world? Yes, please. She will teach her all the Politics. She makes an effort to have lunch with her as often as she can and introduces her to everyone and is always like "how was your day? Did you make any new friends? Is there anything you need clarification on? Please tell me if you need anything". She has all the best intentions. But like... Rose is very much not excited about this. And she stays at the ministry for months after she had wanted to quit because she knows her mum is excited to have her there.

So this is the part where it gets super specific and I pretty much pulled a career for her out of my ass: at some point, and I haven't planned out how this happens exactly, but Rose stumbles upon a particular opportunity within a very difficult area of transfiguration, which let's call Animation as I have no other name for it right now. So imagine if we put on a play about Toy Story. Now imagine if instead of using actors, we used the actual toys. And recreated the entire movie, but using magic to bring the toys to life (... like, not actually bringing them to life. But like, puppets to the extreme. You get my point. I mean, I know they don't have movies and stuff, but they have magic. They need other entertainment other than Quidditch. And plays using all inanimate objects is my solution. They probs adopted it from muggles at some point. ANYWAY.)

So Rose, who's discovered this apprenticeship and is growing tired of her job at the ministry that she doesn't find stimulating in the slightest, decides to quit and take the apprenticeship... which is kind of the equivalent of dropping out of college to join a band. Hermione is not amused. A huge fight ensues, the biggest fight between Hermione and Rose thus far, with Hermione telling her to reconsider and that she's making a mistake and that she's jeopardizing her future. And Rose is screaming back that she can't control her life. Even Ron (after the fight and trying to calm them both down) is like "are you sure? But are you sure?" Like I said, this is a very difficult art, and very few people succeed, and unless you succeed, you will not be making a lot of money. (Ron very much does not want either of his kids struggling with money like he did). Rose dismisses their concerns. The tension between Rose and her mum is palpable for weeks afterwards.

Now Rose very much loves her new apprenticeship. As she sees what others can do and the beauty of the art and the talent behind every move makes her fall in love with it all. BUT. Here's the thing: it's a very, very difficult field of magic. She knew this, of course. In the same way she knew that getting ten OWLS was difficult, but she did it anyway (with only some effort). For the first time in her life, she struggles at simply being adequate, let alone excellent. She stays up for hours every night practicing, sometimes with little results. And after months of this, and one too many nights of crying because she's falling behind, she talks to her dad and tells him she wants to quit. That she made a mistake. That she wanted her ministry internship back, or a temporary job at the shop, or anything else really. Ron, who hates seeing his daughter struggling, agrees. (He's a little hesitant, but is like "well, if you really, really hate it")

So Rose tells Hermione that she's quitting and that she wants the job back if it's still available to her. And Hermione says no. She's not getting the internship back. Or the job at the shop. Or anything else. And she's not quitting her apprenticeship either. She's seen the way Rose's eyes light up when she talks about what she's learning. And the concentration on her face when she's practicing. And the way she looks on in awe whenever she's taken her parents to some of the shows. And she's not going to let Rose give up on doing the thing she loves.

(After some years of her apprenticeship and then trying to get her name known, Rose does indeed become super successful.)

(Meanwhile Hugo is like, a nanosecond away from breaking the statute of liberty to get some decent research funding)

[demongirl99]

Type: Canopy Troll Species: Troll Other Names: Monkey Troll, Venomtail Troll, Eee'neep (Trollish)Stickle-jaub' (Chinook jargon), Puno-ng-unggoy (Filipino), Doku Saru (Japanese), etc. Location: Canopy Trolls can be found in most parts of the world with heavy vegetation i.e. forests and jungles Coloration: Skin tones range from greens, blues, yellows and purples. Fur colors similar to their skin but of a darker shade, lighter color shades for horns. Red eyes Size: 3'5" feet (adult), 2'5" feet (young) Weight: 150 pounds (adult), 75 pounds (young) Language: Goblinoid (Trollish), Kakaeme, and Hitlambe Personality: Ferocious and ravenous. Canopy Trolls are very aggressive and violent breed of troll who spend most of their lives in trees moving about and causing harm to their homes they live in. Despite them being omnivorous (they've been known to eat fruit, leaves, and insects other than meat) they prefer hunting and would attack creatures and humans for food when the chance comes. They also attack anyone who invade their territory, including others of their own kind, which tends into involve them mauling each other until the loser retreats or dies. They are also unusually curious creatures, always wanting to see what makes things tick by taking things apart (regardless if they're animals, humans, or inanimate objects)

Abilities: Canopy Trolls, due to their monkey-like appearance, have abilities that let them survive on the tree tops while sharing some of the traits and abilities of their troll relatives:

Strong as Stone/Troll Hide Armor: Trolls, their ancestors originating from the earth and have connection to stone, are naturally strong and tough as their very hide can withstand most mundane weapons and their flesh and bones gives them the strength and durability to take on almost any opponent

Bestially Senses: A Troll's sense are far stronger than a normal animal's and have shown to be excellent hunters and trackers

Venom Tail: The tail of a Canopy Troll is long and prehensile like that of a monkey but unlike a monkey the troll tail ends with a sharp stinger that injects their prey with gruesome type of venom. Once the prey has been injected with the venom, it will cause a horrible tumor like growth to form (one with hair and stubby teeth growing out of it) that will cause pain to the prey for a few days, once time has passed the tumor will dissolve away

Monkey Hands: The Canopy Troll has traits similar to that of a monkey. As mentioned above it has the prehensile tail but it also has prehensile feet and large clawed hands which allows it to grab trees, vines, branches, etc. with ease like a real monkey

Swarming Horde: Canopy Trolls live together and fight together in large tangled piles, allowing them to swarm over threats that pose a challenge to one of them

Primal Blood Fury: Trolls can tap into their ancient, primal nature to give themselves increase speed, strength, durability, and sense then they normally can. However this only works if the troll is injured and once their primal blood fury kicks in the troll reverts into animal instincts, albeit much more bestially in nature and destructive

Fear the Ground: Canopy Trolls have a great fear of the ground, though some would show mile discomfort when moving around on the ground floor most avoid it at all cost. This would be due to some a survival instinct for Canopy Trolls as their are larger predators that would go after these trolls if given the chance

Fire Bad: Trolls for some reason fear fire, being near small flames makes trolls uneasy but large open fires frightens trolls

Info: Canopy Trolls are child sized trolls found in forests, jungles, etc. around the world and are very aggressive hunters and troublesome beasts that like to toy and pick apart things that grab their attention. The Mystery Kids were unfortunate to encounter a large troop of these trolls while exploring this abandoned facility deep in the middle of Gravity Falls woods where scientists were doing experiments with numerous monsters they've been capturing near the area

Type: Chimney Troll Species: Troll Other Names: Soot Troll, Fire-Eater Troll, Fullgo Troll, Nyalgol (Trollish), Peau Toxique (French), etc. Location: Chimney Trolls can be found mostly in Urban areas across the globe but found predominantly in Europe Coloration: Skin tones are pale white with black claws and pale yellow horns. Fur colors similar to their skin but of a darker shade. Yellow eyes Size: 9'0" feet (adult), 4'5" feet (young) Weight: 350 pounds (adult), 175 pounds (young) Language: Goblinoid (Trollish), Kakaeme, and Hitlambe Personality: Cautious and cunning. Chimney Trolls avoid attracting attention from powerful humans and creatures that pose a serious threat their survival. Weaker humans such as children, families and pets are easier targets whose homes they can hide; squeezing into heating vents and chimneys in order to be near enough fire while also haunting homes and buildings where humans reside at. Like other trolls it will attempt to snatch up any food available to it which would mean harming weak human in the area as well as mess around with objects and smaller creatures they get their claws on, that also includes hot fiery things like matches, lighters, etc. Abilities: Chimney Trolls have a strange connection to fire and as such has abilities associated with it along with its natural trollish abilities like their kin:

Wicked Blood Curse: Long ago in the ancient past all trolls were cursed by powerful wizards that would cause trolls to turn to stone of they ever touch daylight, this caused trolls to hide from the sun till night arrived and only then they could come out. In modern time most trolls managed to break the curse and can now be out during the day again but before trolls found a way to break the Daylight Curse, the first few trolls found other ways to change the curse into something more manageable. The trolls that would later be called Chimney Trolls had their curse altered when some of them were captured by wizards and experimented on, altering the curse into one that would allow these trolls to consume fire in order to heal themselves. While some of these trolls managed to make due with campfire, lamps, and even flames from forest fires, most became dependent of mankind for the source of heat and in turn migrate to human villages, towns, and cities

Strong as Stone/Troll Hide Armor: Trolls, their ancestors originating from the earth and have connection to stone, are naturally strong and tough as their very hide can withstand most mundane weapons and their flesh and bones gives them the strength and durability to take on almost any opponent

Bestially Senses: A Troll's sense are far stronger than a normal animal's and have shown to be excellent hunters and trackers

Primal Blood Fury: Trolls can tap into their ancient, primal nature to give themselves increase speed, strength, durability, and sense then they normally can. However this only works if the troll is injured and once their primal blood fury kicks in the troll reverts into animal instincts, albeit much more bestially in nature and destructive

Stone and Metal Crafting: Similar to Dwarves, a good number of Trolls have a natural ability to craft powerful magical items, armor, and weapons out of stones and metals. This process is a bit different as through curtain magical methods allows the troll to bring out the stone's/metal's power. With Chimney Trolls they can use the heat within their bodies to help craft items that can help them move about in Urban environment with ease

Urban Survivor: Most trolls tend to avoid towns and cities, tending to prefer hunting only close by human settlements, some trolls however thrive within human settlements and can navigate about towns and cities with ease because of their knowledge of humans and their homes

Trollcraft: In myths of old Trolls weave spells to enchant mortals, transform themselves or others into different creatures, summon other creatures, cast illusions etc. and most modern trolls are no exception

Contorting Limbs: The limbs of a Chimney Troll are long and double jointed, allowing them to contort and bend their limbs into impossible positions in order to fit into tight areas

Inhale Flames: Chimney Trolls can inhale campfire size flames into their bodies, allowing the fire inside their bodies to heal their wounds

Water Bad: Unlike most trolls, fire trolls and fire based trolls have a fear of water. Water for Chimney Trolls spell death as they need fire to heal their wounds and if the fire goes out they're doomed. Add to the fact their internal heat gets lowered due to the water and would cause harm if splashed by water or engulfed in water

Info: Chimney Trolls are tall, thin trolls that live within human society, usually in urban areas where they can get enough heat and fire for themselves due to a curse placed on them that only allows them to heal themselves by consuming fire. The Mystery Kids encountered one inside the Shack one cold day as they were having trouble with the heating until finding out their heat source was being consumed by a Chimney Troll P.S. The Canopy Troll and Chimney Troll are based off the trolls of the same name found in the Pathfinder tabletop game Canopy Troll and Chimney Troll (c) Pathfinder, Paizo

[xehanortsreport]

Sliding into @khoc-week with my brand new baby Verne!

Here’s some basic info about them (KH3 spoilers for those wary about that):

Name: Verne Age: 25 Occupation: Traveling Magician/Wizard Pronouns: They/Them Height: 5′6“ Personal Idol: Donald Duck, World’s Strongest Mage!!!!!

A wizard who resides in a moving inter-dimensional library/museum, Verne loves to collect artifacts from lost worlds and cultures. Unfortunately, they don’t have the best understanding of what they collect, akin to Ariel thinking forks are used for combing through hair...that said, they might bristle at being corrected. Enthusiastic and bright about their interests and around new environments, they grow quickly hotheaded and indignant when something rubs against their stringent moral code.

They possess a power which allows them to see the partially formed Hearts of well loved objects and project their strongest memories: a well loved teddy bear, for example, may offer up images of them being hugged by a crying child. The viewpoint is always via the object, and they can only see what the object was there to witness. This drives them to seek out worn and personal items that might otherwise not have value to others.

This power attracts the attention of the Organization early in their formation, seeking to use the power as a basis for their replication studies and deeper understanding of how a heart forms within inanimate objects. In particular, it attracts the attention of Xigbar and his ulterior Xehanort based motives. Verne immediately recognizes Xigbar as having only a partial heart thanks to their powers...and out of sheer curiosity insists on getting to know him better in exchange for helping him out (he, of course, does not give them all the details on what they need their powers for).

Down the line they end up in a relationship...a particularly ironic one, given Xigbar’s identity as a lost keyblade master and Verne’s distaste for keyblade wielder. As a magician, they view keyblade users as arrogant among the magic community, and people whose senseless infighting and hubris lead to numerous avoidable tragedies throughout the greater World. They also view the Light/Dark conflict as completely asinine...so the moment Xigbar lets it slip that the Organization ostensibly seeks to reside in Neither and pushes back against both sides, they latch onto the cause as just and worth helping.

Only time will tell how they will react to certain revelations...

[ryleestormgem]

everyone needs an edgelord death wizard so here is mine! i may start working on a little story including her and another one of my wizards.. :O

i’ll make a more organized reference some other time but more info about her under the cut  (used this character sheet)

A B O U T

Name: Calamity Moonthief

Nickname: Cal

Age: 13

Gender: Female

Species: Vampire

Orientation: ???

Birthday: June 3

Place they currently live in: Darkmoor

Relationship Status: that’s gross dude….

Main School: Death

Secondary School: None yet

A P P E A R A N C E

Height: 5’2

Weight: 105 lbs

Figure/Build: a stick

Skin color: muted pink

Eye color:

R: black

L: white iris, black sclera

Hair Color/Style: silvery white, short and very choppy… she cuts her own hair when she is bored and uh.. hasn’t mastered it yet.

Scars/Other Distinguishing marks: lazy left eye, black scar-like slits under left eye, both since birth. nobody could figure out how she got them, but her vision in this eye is fine aside from it rolling to the side occasionally. also pointy vampire teeth

C L O T H E S (for outside of battle/chillin)

Clothes: massive turtleneck sweater (usually one of her brother’s), dark purple robes & striped leggings

Boots: short, pointy black boots

Wands/Staffs: she thinks wands are annoying to bring around so she usually just uses her hands for magic. however she can sometimes be found with lollipops

Amulets: special family necklace, every one of her relatives has one

Pets: her brothers have many pet rats that run on wheels to power their homemade machines. she’s trying to teach them tricks. her favorite is a really fat one that she has named Blinky. he can’t do any tricks yet...

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Overview: calamity loves figuring things out and sticking her head into other people’s business. she has infinite curiosity, and she will always find some kind of test or activity to do. her favorite pastime is to fuck with something/someone just to see what happens.

she has lots of ..unusual behaviors that she’ll perform no matter who’s around. she likes to have conversations with animals/inanimate things, smell or lick objects out of interest, and most noticeably; eating bugs. her classmates pick on her quirks, but she’s comfortable with them so it doesn’t bother her. she gets back at them bringing up that they’re not brave enough to do things she does, usually followed by sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry. she really just loves to learn and have fun, and she means well even if she creeps others out.

calamity is a vampire from a noble darkmoor family. some of her older siblings wanted to branch out of private tutoring and study magic at ravenwood, despite their family’s firm traditions. calamity watched them practice magic and found it fascinating, so she begged her parents and enrolled into the school of death.

Likes: animals, adventure, science, baggy clothes, being with her family

Dislikes: boredom, super bright light

Goals: find a centipede & eat it

Fears: getting really lost, becoming the family outcast

Hobbies: observing, eating, drawing, magic

F A M I L Y

Mother: Esmeralda Moonthef, family matriarch

Father: Viktor Moonthief, family patriarch

Parents alive or dead: undead

Siblings: calamity is the 10th moonthief child of the current 13.

Best friend(s): is meggie….. a real friend?!

Other significant friends: blinky the rat

Lover: no shut up!!!!!

Rival(s): i’m cool with eeeeveryone

O T H E R

Main School Teacher: dworgyn

Favorite season? spring & autumn

Favorite color? metallic green

Favorite spell? beguile

Favorite world? meggie’s field

Favorite food? bugs.. any bug. i’ll eat it…. or candy.... or both at the same time,,,,,

Drinking Blood? what?? I can’t do that! i’m too young, dummy. a few more years and then maybe mom will let me try it….!!

~possible story/lore involving calamity soon make sure to subscribe turn notifications on and smash that like button if u want to see more~

last updated: 7/28/18

[gay-hellion]

Tagged by @lieutenant-hawkaye eyyy thanks!!

Rules: Answer 20 questions and tag 20 followers you want to know better

1) Name: Madeleine (blegh)

2) Nickname: Mad/Mads, Squid from family members

3) Zodiac sign: Libra (why is it the only inanimate one tf)

4) Height: ~158cm of bitterness about never being able to reach the top shelves

5) Ethnicity: White cracker... like really white

6) Orientation: Honestly I don’t even know but bisexual or something

7) Favourite fruit: I would fight someone for a punnet of raspberries

8) Favourite season: Autumn, because there’s no pollen and it’s jeans weather

9) Favourite book: Hmmm probably the Dragons of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey

10) Favourite flower: I adore the smell of jasmine, but I also really like roses

11) Favourite scent: Jasmine flowers, lemongrass, and also probably chocolate brownies haha

12) Favourite colour: tie between crimson/teal/purple

13) Favourite animal(s): BOI you guys know how much I fawn over lepidopterans and cephalopods, come on (though I also love cats, ravens, several other bird genuses, slaters and beetles too)

14) Favourite beverage: Probably peach iced tea tbh

15) Hours of sleep: ~8 hours and yet I’m still constantly tired

16) Favourite characters: god dammit probably Allen Walker from DGM, Huntress Wizard from AT (before they “revamped” her ugh), and some others eh I don’t really pick favourites

17) Blankets number: one duvet when it’s warmer, two when it’s cold

18) ????? 

19) Follower number: 557 but what the fuck they do is unknown to me

20) Blog created on: 28th of January 2015 according to that postlimit site with blog info on it

I don’t want to tag anyone but feel free to say I did if you’re interested on answering these!! 

[maxwalkalot]

Novembrew 3: Schrat

Deep in the primal forests of the world, there are creatures that few will ever get a chance to see. In the shade of ancient trees and millennia of growth, things from the first forests live, grow, and watch, only stirring for reasons unfathomable.

Alien minds. A schrat is one of these creatures. A living tree which shambles slowly amongst its inanimate kin like a librarian patrolling the corridors of a primeval library. While stationary, they are impossible to distinguish from a normal tree, but when animated hint of a golden glow can be seen at their core. This is emitted by the schrat’s heart, also called a “heart of the forest', which are highly valued as trophies or as ingredients by alchemists and artificers for the creation of magical items.

Mysterious origins. The stories around the birth or creation of schrats are wild as they are varied. Some say ancient elves sacrificed themselves to become ageless guardians of the forests, while others believe them to be related to dryads, perhaps impossibly old ones or grown by them like wizards build golems. Others believe them to be created when a person is hung from or killed near a tree and the tree grows over the corpse. If the person was wrongfully killed, or had a task to complete, their soul possesses the tree and animates it. Because of their elusive nature, few sages even know they exist, and their minds are unapproachable by druidic magic.

Dangerous encounters. A schrat can attack without warning, waiting until their enemy gets close then summons the nearby plant life to grow quickly and trap the enemy. The schrat then uses its large limbs to crush the trapped victim, or can cause roots and brambles to stab at anyone who tries to escape. They are most deadly close up, relying on ambushing their enemies to make up for their lack of speed.

Another creature from the game Battle Brothers (I’ve been enjoying it a lot, and been inspired by it a fair bit too), the schrat (pronounced Sh-rat) is rather different from you classic ent or treant. These are the old things of the woods that are best left alone, or avoided all together, for who knows what they are planning or what they desire.

In the video game, schrats have a shield that covers their heart that can be destroyed, making them more vulnerable. My initial version had something like this, with an AC20, 30HP shield that, when destroyed, would lower the AC to 18 or 17. The schrat could also regrow the shield as an action, but only once a day. I scrapped it to keep the action list down, and while it seemed flavorsome I didn’t want to bloat the stat block either. I also put the CR higher initially. If it proves to be tough for a CR5 creature, I was considering 6 or 7 (because of the resistances and high armour class), so perhaps something to bear in mind if you plan on using this creature in any game.

(As a quick disclaimer:  Schrat and all the info and imagery associated with it are property of Overhype Studios and Battle Brothers, this is a fan creation and by no means trying to profit off of their work)

[ba11etomane]

Spring Kingdom Roles

You may have 2 named characters. I would prefer if they were from different kingdoms. You may have as many extra characters (those with **) as you'd like though.

If there are any roles not listed here or the other kingdoms that you're dying to include, let me know and we can work something out!

*Summer: https://goo.gl/XJV4yp *Fall: https://goo.gl/JnTe6g *Winter: https://goo.gl/tK7EDU *Humans: https://goo.gl/j1cdNF

General Info

Ruler: Sugarplum Fairy

Magic: Clockwork and kinetic magic. Their power is stored through tension, either physical or emotional, and then this raw energy is channeled through something (usually something inanimate) to do constructive magical work. Most of the denizens of the Spring Kingdom are clockwork or gem creations given life through magic. Their "humanity" as it were and powers are very limited and targeted because they are not actual, natural beings.

Geography: The Spring Kingdom is an overly-manicured maze of fanciful topiary, box-like hedge mazes, and perfectly-laid tile trails. They all lead back to the Spring Palace, a pastry-like monstrosity of crown molding, gilding, cherubim statuary, and cavernous marble halls. It is immense, full of huge ballrooms that appear to have no use and sumptuous boudoirs crammed with overstuffed chaise lounges and thick velvet curtains. The more astute or curious guest will slip behind a well-hidden door or two and see the dirty secret of the Palace. Its many perfectly-manicured rooms appear to shift and change position magically and mysteriously. But in reality, this constant movement is achieved by a clockwork masterpiece hidden in the walls (along with the webs of copper pipes that help heat the rooms and allow for the lavish fountains and clear pools on each of the floors). These dark, steam-clouded back passages are home to the bustling dolls who keep the Palace running, and provide the constant cycling of magical energy needed to keep the Sugarplum Queen young and vibrant.

The dolls spend most of their off-time in the Doll Workshop, a terrifying jumble of tarnished brass body parts, cracked porcelain faces, and malfunctioning machines hidden behind gauzy fabric and cobwebs. It was, at one time, Drosselmeyer's magical laboratory, and as such magic seems to behave strangely there, and may in fact be seeping out of the very walls into the Dolls and causing them to malfunction.

Goals: The Sugarplum Fairy was defeated the first time she tried to lure a human into her castle to devour their heart. She will /not/ allow herself to be defeated this time. She has poured every available resource into attaining a human, and will work tirelessly to get a human heart. Drosselmeyer told her the human heart is the purist, strongest source of magical energy, one that could power her kingdom enough to consolidate the Land Beyond under her rule. Some of her trusted jewels and dolls have heard of this immense power, and many believe this human heart could in fact make them true living things and help them break free of the Sugarplum Fairy's rule.

Social Strata: The Spring Kingdom is the most regimented and stratified of the kingdoms. The actual living fae live a life of leisure (which inevitably leads to boredom that can only be remedied by scheming) while the Jewels act as a mix between beloved pets, elaborately-costumed courtiers/decorative ornaments, and trusted servants. The dolls are viewed as little more than inanimate objects, forced to devote their entire existence to one specific task. They are the servants and guards. The only exceptions are the queen's two special pets, her nutcracker and little doll Coppélia. They aren't looked on favorably by the living Spring kingdomers because of the favoritism their queen shows them.

Sugarplum Fairy

Ballet: Nutcracker

Gender: Female

Age Range: 30+

Basic Info:

The Queen of the Spring Kingdom is a master of creation. She carefully binds magical energy into inanimate objects to construct the perfect world. Once out of her hands though, her magical workings tend to take on a life of their own and she is eternally frustrated that nothing turns out quite as she'd planned.

Over time, she has become obsessed with her creations, and wishes to simultaneously make them more lifelike while making herself more immortal, unchangeable, and ultimately more doll-like.

She views her kingdom almost like a hive, with her as its glorious center. All her energies, and thus all the energies of her entire kingdom, must be focused on attaining a human heart to further her power and hopefully finally achieve her long-sought perfection.

Player: @.username

Audition:

Nutcracker

Ballet: Nutcracker

Gender: Male

Age Range: 18+

Basic Info:

He was originally nothing but clockwork, created by the wizard Drosselmeyer and the Sugarplum Fairy to lure Clara to the Spring Kingdom so the queen could consume her heart. 

While he was at first a dutiful little soldier, some change came over him. It may have been some of Drosselmeyer's magic or it may have been something Clara did, but the Nutcracker is now /almost/ alive. These bouts of true humanity are episodic, and when under them he tries desperately to break free of his "mother."

The Nutcracker is the captain of the scouts, and is afforded the right to venture out of the Spring Kingdom, a rare freedom. His powers are very limited, but strong. He is an empath, feeding on emotions to power himself, but can be overcome by others' emotions.

Player: @questing-witch

Audition:

Coppélia

Ballet: Coppélia

Gender: Female

Age Range: 18+

Basic Info:

One of the Sugarplum Fairy's precious pets. She is ostensibly nothing but a doll, but there is more spark of life in her than in most of her "siblings," save the Nutcracker. She is the closest the Spring Queen comes to a child, and she is doted on but utterly stifled because of this affection, and though she plays the dutiful child she longs for freedom.

No one knows her origin, least of all herself, save the Sugarplum Fairy. There are many rumors, ranging from her running on a human heart to her once being a human girl who was cursed by Drosselmeyer and the Sugarplum Fairy. She has long since forgotten the truth.

She has many of her "mother's" powers, but in miniature. She spends most of her lonely existence trying to create little clockwork creatures to entertain herself, but they are all flawed and far from alive.

Player: @.username

Audition:

Chevalier

Ballet: Nutcracker

Gender: Male

Age Range: 30+

Basic Info:

One of the few truly living members of the Spring court, and the Sugarplum Fairy's former lover. She has grown to resent him for his "human" flaws though, and he resents her "toys" because of this

He is the general of the doll soldiers. His power to store and release magical energy as kinetic energy is usually used in the form of physical attacks. This makes him a formidable foe, but like most of the spring kingdom fae, he is used to standing back and letting the dolls get their hands dirty. He especially looks down on them, as he feels they are diverting too much of the Sugarplum Fairy's attentions.

If anything, he wants to take the human's heart himself so he can personally present it to his Queen and win her favor. Or maybe he wants to use its power for his own and surpass her. He hasn't quite made up his mind.

Player: @.username

Audition:

Dolls**

Ballet: Nutcracker

Gender: Any

Age Range: Any

Basic Info:

While they range from soldiers to entertainers, to wind-up hall-sweepers, these are the lowest-level servants of the Spring Kingdom, constructed by the Sugarplum Fairy to complete the most undignified and tedious of tasks. Each is tasked with one life goal, some as small as dusting every chandelier in the palace every day for their entire existence.

They are powered by magical energy that is converted into kinetic energy in their inner-workings. As in all machines, there is some loss of energy. In the dolls. This often manifests as bouts of humanity, though they are usually very limited in the lower-powered dolls.

Dolls cannot do much magic, if any. For most, their powers lie in enhanced physical abilities that allow them to better complete their assigned tasks, such as strength or stamina.

Player: @.usernames

Auditions:

Jewels**

Ballet: Balanchine's Jewels

Gender: Any

Age Range: Any

Basic Info:

Jewels, namely emerald, ruby, and diamond provide a conduit to magnify and focus magical energy. The Spring Queen uses them to power her colorful crowd of courtiers, who primp and preen, help dress her, and provide a sense of activity and liveliness in what would otherwise be a rather empty palace. 

The Jewels are arguably more alive and human than the dolls, but it seems their most human traits are the most negative ones. They each come with their own "faults" or "inclusions," some human flaw that deeply troubles them. this lends the Spring court an air of backstabbing, jealous, bored popinjays, all vying to gain the attention of their Queen. Some have even moved beyond this and seek the new human for their own benefit, believing its power will finally make them a real, living person.

Jewels don't do hard work, and are very vocal about this. They look down on dolls for their menial labor, and thus wouldn't deign to lower themselves to doing actual magical work. Instead, they spend most of their magical energy sparkling, glimmering, and generally releasing as much of the specific negative or positive emotions they can feel into the general vicinity as possible. Being around them can be rather intoxicating, leading to a sense of euphoria and lightheadedness, along with bouts of intense but senseless emotions.

Player: @.usernames

Auditions:

[camelliacats]

Landmark

Another random drabble, written for a friend's bday.

Fic: "Landmark" [FFN] [AO3]

Pairings/Characters: established!Regulus Arcturus Black/Gideon Prewett

Rating: light T

Words: ~680

Additional info: romance, slash, angst, Maydayverse, Marauder era, 3rd person POV

Summary: There were many places to meet, but one stood out as special. It also happened to be Regulus' thinking spot.

               It wasn't even a place. It was just a thing. It was an inanimate object that couldn't be separated from its brothers and sisters that also lined the street. It looked just like everything else.

               But Regulus knew it was this pole, this lamppost. He'd been standing by it the first time he'd seen Gideon coming out of Zonko's, after their first trip of the year to Hogsmeade. No, they hadn't gone together the first time. And they hadn't gone together the second, either. But the second time was special, because it had been the moment when Regulus had realized that maybe friendship was not all that he wanted from Gideon Prewett.

               It was the lamppost facing out by the right corner of the Post Office. From there, one could look almost straight up High Street and see whatever he wanted without being spotted easily.

               All right, so the "not easily spotted" part was becoming a habit of Regulus'—it had to be, considering he'd figured out his future a long time ago—but Regulus liked to survey what he could. Sometimes he'd play a game of "Where's Gideon?" and try to spot his…friend (because "boyfriend" was such a strange term to him) before Gideon could spot him. Most of the time, he won.

               Then again, was it really winning? Regulus often pondered this whenever he waited for Gideon in Hogsmeade; sometimes he had more time on his hands than usual, with the couple of rare times in which they skived class and spirited themselves down there to the Wizarding village. Thinking about his question, Regulus frowned. And every time they came back to Hogsmeade and he'd be by the lamppost—their lamppost—he would frown. To an extent, it was bothersome that Regulus could get the drop on Gideon so easily. It was a little unnerving that Regulus was already so good at…at spying.

               Or, Regulus sometimes wondered, did Gideon let him spy on him? Sometimes Regulus got the feeling that Gideon knew too much for his own good, too much that Regulus would never comprehend. There was one untouchable part of Gideon, and Regulus knew it was a part very close to the part of the Prewett that was deeply concerned for Regulus. Gideon had once told him that he wasn't deeply concerned—it was that he just deeply cared for Regulus.

               Well, Regulus knew that much, at least. Gideon liked to prove that almost every time they stole into the shadows. Even now, in one of those countless moments where Regulus stood by the lamppost and spotted Gideon and Gideon saw him and came running… Even now was a time like that, where Gideon almost smashed into him, if it weren't for the redhead grabbing Regulus by the arm and twirling them into the shadows.

               It might've felt great, Gideon's hands warming his sides, his breath hot on Regulus' cheek, his mouth giving life to Regulus'. But a little detail niggled in the back of the Black son's mind, that, while the shadows were becoming almost as special as the pole and as their time in the school library…shadows just didn't suit Gideon.

               And some part of Regulus knew that, for the exact same reason, he didn't suit Gideon either.

               On the way back to the castle, they were silent, just like every other time. Regulus tried reveling in their bit of lusty mischief, and he figured Gideon was, too, as he was so quiet.

               "Next time…let's go somewhere where there's light for me to see you, Reg."

               …oh. So Gideon had known where Regulus' mind kept going. Regulus felt an indignant impulse to remark. "Oh? And where do you suggest, since everyone knows about us?" There was more snark in his tone than Regulus had meant. He knew that he was the only one really bothered about possibly being seen in public.

               "I think we should just stick to the lamp instead," Gideon said with a small smile.

               And, sometimes, that smile could make Regulus feel as though he were the only person in the world who did suit Gideon.

:') Okay, so this was a bit more angsty than intended, but it's a nice thought! This was also a kind of response to an old, sort of personal challenge between Mor and me… I told you I could be inspired by anything, hon! XD Lastly, this is set probably after Regideon spend their first Christmas at Hogwarts, but before Fabian discovers them. Er, if this could even be squeezed in there… Ah, well! ;D And HAPPY BIRHTDAY, MORGHIE!!!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note: AHHHHH Regideon gives me life. Morghen's fic for them, "we will be the last ones standing," gives me life. Angsty fics that aren't wholly angsty give me life. 83 I just. Yeah. So happy there were barely any edits to make to this 2012 fic. =w=