#ludo skill

[krispycreamcake]

The Sakamakis perfect match in: Game night

From author: This is a new series I'll be doing where I pair up the Sakamakis with their perfect partner for specific scenarios, so if you have any asks, feel free to send!

Shu Sakamaki

🎻- Frankly, Shu is a lazy man child whose only purpose on earth is to drive you up a wall

🎻- He needs someone competent that can carry your team for the BOTH of you because God knows he won't

🎻- Shu finds that getting a reaction out of you far more interesting than the game itself

🎻- So let's say you're playing Uno, he has five +4 cards up his ass and he's only willing to spend them on either you or Reiji

🎻- The truth is, when you're good at everything, no challenge is ever truly a challenge and that makes life soooo boring especially if you're immortal

🎻- Anyways, Shu would be best matched with someone that would try their best at any given game, especially if they're competitive

🎻- He also needs someone that's a major crash out and tweaks tf out when he ruins the game for them

Reiji Sakamaki

☕️- Reiji definitely needs a team player

☕️- He needs someone strategic and communicative so they can conspire together on ways to win

☕️- Here's a hint, he's open to blatant cheating if you do it in such a way that it doesn't technically count, except it so does

☕️- For example, you're all playing Monopoly. You offer to buy Ayato's property in exchange for yours except you KNOW that it's in between both of Reiji's properties, and the chances of him landing are extremely high and you and Reiji are in kahoots together so you both split the profits

☕️- See that's not technically cheating, that's playing smart

☕️- Reiji's best match would be someone who's competitive but also cunning. Ooh and never let him feel like you're the one in charge, he'll go crazy

Ayato Sakamaki

🏀- Well uh

🏀- He would want someone as arrogant and competitive as him, but is that what he needs? Absolutely not

🏀- Ayato needs someone level headed that can help balance out their team dynamic in order to win

🏀- He needs someone that'll see the flaws in his mistakes and take accountability for HIM because I have no idea if you could even convince him he even made a mistake in the first place

🏀- In short, Ayato needs someone to save that burning ship he's on

🏀- You need to be in control without specifically admitting you're in control, you need to be sneaky about it and make it seem like HE'S the one who came up with those ideas

🏀- The best example I can think of is when you're playing pictionary, you whisper something REALLY close to what the actual thing is and have him come up with the answer himself

Laito Sakamaki

🃏- Laito's best match would be someone who's a bit laid back and playful

🃏- While we all know Laito's extremely smart and can read people well, we need someone to bring out that side of him rather than takeover and never have him put his skills to use

🃏- He needs someone that'll force him to take the lead otherwise everything would just be a big joke to him and unless it's a game he likes, he genuinely does not care

🃏- You need to kind of be a Shu in this case

🃏- What I mean by this is, you need to tease him a bit, make him feel just the inciest bit insecure about his game skills. Tease him, make jabs at him, play mindlessly into the opponent's hands

🃏- Hmm this example would best describe what I mean. Imagine you're playing a game of Ludo and you roll a six and instead of moving your piece out of the way before it gets "eaten", you choose the option to unlock another of your pieces to the game. He goes nuts after your like 3rd time of this and subtly starts giving advice despite cussing you out in his mind

Kanato Sakamaki

🧸- Someone patient for sure but also extremely determined

🧸- You need to essentially gentle parent him to the finish line

🧸- Don't get mad at him when he makes a dumb move but let him scold you because you did

🧸- Kanato would work well with someone that's headstrong and has a clear view of victory. He needs someone he can trash talk the other players to, regardless if they're his brothers or not

🧸- Aside from him being batshit insane, he'd be a fun person to play with. He's smart and calculated in the emotional aspect of the game and he can read his players really well

🧸- He knowsss how to get under their skin and might even have a freak out if someone calls him out. Of course none of it is real, but what the others said DID hurt his feelings (just maybe not to that extent truthfully)

🧸- Kanato would work well with someone willing to put up with his antics, someone who's patient and well versed in the game they're playing

🧸- The only example for this scenario I can think of is imagine you guys are playing checkers or chess and Kanato stands behind you while outwardly critiquing your opponent's every flaw and making disappointed noises and distracting them purposely

Subaru Sakamaki

🥀- Similar to Kanato, he needs someone patient

🥀- Obviously his anger will be an issue, but you also need to be smart to be able to point out the flaws in his moves and communicate to him ways to win

🥀- See Subaru would pair great with someone that can tell him what to do clearly and precisely

🥀- You need to be the brains to his brawns, you need to think and act quickly

🥀- You also need to shit talk his brothers with him

🥀- Maybe they made a stupid move, why not try lightening the mood with some loud whispering about them

🥀- Subaru would act like he doesn't like the idea of game night, but by the time he has the dice in his hand, he's folded. And because of this, he needs someone that can have fun with him

🥀- He needs someone playful but yet a person that can lock in at any given moment

🥀- Even if you guys don't win, he'll make a comment on how fun it was in the end

🥀- Example wise, I can honestly only think of you guys playing Snakes and Ladders and you shake the desk while the dice rolls to give someone the exact number they need to get eaten by a snake and he's just in the background backing you up and vouching for you that you didn't do it, meanwhile he's trying so hard not to laugh his ass off

[petalsthefish]

Taylor Swift Boys And Their Corresponding Harry Potter Characters - A Summary

***For insurance purposes this is a joke

Joe Jonas: Gildroy Lockhart - arrogant. Fumbles his career. Toxic AF when he doesn’t get his way.

Tom Hiddleston: Remus Lupin. - Can play a cocky bastard but is actually a cinnamon roll. Will bring you home to meet his mother on the third date. Definitely a bottom.

Taylor Lautner: Harry Potter - sweet. Athletic. Hero complex. Marries a girl who had posters of him in her room growing up.

John Mayer: Voldemort. - Has googled how to stay young. Doesn’t believe in true love. Will send his lawyers after you if you use his name publicly shaming him.

Drew: Ludo Bagman. - very basic. Childhood crush. Pretty Forgettable. Probably became head of finance or something idk.

Jake Gyllenhaal: Fenrir Greyback - a little too hairy. Smells girls’ scarves. Self inflicted bad guy syndrome. Does not own a toothbrush.

Conner Kennedy: Neville Longbottom - pure blood trust fund baby. Can’t do long distance. Loves his grandmother. Not the most handsome, or the most smart, but he does have a heart.

Harry Styles: Sirius Black. - owns a motorbike. Tattoos everywhere. Every one loves him. Loyal AF.

Calvin Harris: Peter Pettigrew. - Can’t keep a secret. Can’t share credit on projects. Hangs with cool people but isn’t actually very cool.

Joe Alwyn: Severus Snape - social skills are zero. Hates having photos taken. His crush was too cool for him. Will die mad about it.

Matty Healy: Stan Shunpike - has a sailors mouth. Never shuts up. Needs a smoke break right now. Acne problem, probably.

Travis Kelce: James Potter. - football team colors are red and gold. Hosts a podcast with his brother where they joke around for hours. Crushed on the same woman for years before she finally started dating him.

[maxbruiser]

I need to share this, hear me out.

Underfell x Laberynth 1986

Papyrus - Jareth

Reader - Sarah

Frisk - The baby

Sans - Hoggle

Ludo - maybe flowey? Or monster kid

Fiery (the monsters that took off their own limbs) - Temmies

HEAR ME OOOOOUT

I wish I had the writing skills 😭

YEEESSS, I TOTALLY AGREE!

in fact, I agree so much, that high school MaxBruiser made their voice claim known 2 years prior to this ask lol

coincidence, I think not.

[7-ferrets-in-a-coat]

My Cotl au explanation post [ Text post ]

Is my main Au nameless? Yes, for now,,

Was this inerpretation birthed from me listening to Nepo Baby by Ned Flames? Yes. Am i serious about this Au? Also yes

Ahem so! Everything is mostly the same, besides the fact that Ratau gave up the crown bcs TOWW asked him to, so the lamb could have the crown to realize the prophecy and all. Ratdad immediately gets attached and, since he got the skills andcan still fight, he Always crusades by Ludo's (my lamb) side. He killed at LEAST one Bishop bcs they were tired.

My lamb ends up being a bit of a nepobaby, the riches their Dad had already ammassed allowed them to take it easier and they have been spoiled a lot by Ratau, to kinda make it up for the life they had before. Despite all the facilitations, Ludo is still a hard-worker.

Ok yey !!!

[just-a-new-gi-writer]

How about the Acolytes playing different friendship-breaking games like Monopoly, Uno, Ludo, and some sort of non-digital version of Mario Party? Lmfao imagine them squeezing into ridiculous-looking race karts for a live Mario Kart. Or perhaps an obstacle course to resemble Fall Guys challenges. Everyone has no plans of losing because the prize is a date and a guaranteed romantic kiss from the Creator, the lil shit that proposed this silly Teyvat Olympics.

A/N: Welp, this is one of those times where the story kinda got away from me again. This one's a two-parter, so I'll finish it later on.

Word Count: 2668

CW: None?

Masterpost

taglist @iyohme

=== === ===

It had all started so simply.

During a meeting you were dragged to with a handful of business leaders in Liyue (where they bowed and scraped and tried to cultivate your favor), you introduced them to a game you liked: Diplomacy. You thought it would have been a good fit for them- strategic thinking, cooperation, learning how long to trust people. It took a bit of setup to create a map that would work and it took a while to remember and relay the rules to the different players, but as soon as they understood the rules, they began digging into the game and exploring the layers of complexity underneath it all.

You quickly saw alliances form and melt, deals get made and backstabs performed, promises made and broken. It was all in good fun, they each knew, and all part and parcel of the game and how it played; something their Creator enjoyed and wished to share with them.

The night came to a close, and the business leaders returned to their homes. The next day, they returned to their businesses, bringing the game with them and spreading the rules to whomever was interested. By the end of the week, it had spread north to Mondstadt, crossed the sea to Inazuma, and reached the Akademia’s halls. By the next, it had taken root in those places and spread like wildfire among the population.

It was many different things to the people. For most, it was a fun diversion. For some, it was a problem to be cracked and analyzed, something to theorize over and experiment with. For others, it was a means to use their diplomatic skills, to promise, probe, and plead, to balance, barter, and betray.

It could have been left there. It could have just been a fad that might have burnt itself down to a simmer some time later.

But you had to make that one innocent comment.

In Mondstadt, a game was brewing between a few individuals of poor rapport. Diluc, Kaeya, and Jean stood against a few Fatui agents, each side assured that they had the best player. Three against two, they set about searching for the last two players they’d need for a full game. Childe was talking to you when they asked him to join.

“I couldn’t,” he raised his hands defensively and dismissed Jean’s offer. “Really, I’m not interested.”

“Oh?” you raised an eyebrow, “Why not? Don’t you have a reputation to uphold?”

He smiled but shook his head. “Were it a different kind of combat, Your Grace, there would be no chance for me to turn it down.” He took a sip of his drink. “I’m more the tactical than the strategic type.”

“Anyone could win,” you said. “Tell you what. You show me a good game and win, and I’ll do you a little favor.”

Childe froze, the cup falling from his hands and the drink spilling over the table. He shoved his chair back and turned as he stood, marching over to the few people setting up the board, slamming his hands on the table. “Count me in.”

He lost, horribly. He barely managed to last four turns before a coalition of Jean, Diluc, and one of the Fatui agents wiped him off the board. The game continued with Childe sitting on the sidelines and glaring at the one agent that betrayed him, the victor was found and celebrated, but that playful promise of yours planted another, more dangerous seed.

When the game of Diplomacy spread throughout Teyvat, smaller tournaments blossomed shortly afterward, to find the best of the players in each nation. A few enterprising individuals came up with the idea to host an international tournament, one that drew from southeastern Teyvat. While it boasted a hefty Mora reward for the highest-placed victors, the real prize was the prestige of being the uncontested winner of the Creator’s game.

And then you had to insinuate that you might personally reward the overall winner.

If your game spread like wildfire, you may as well have doused all of Teyvat in gasoline.

The past energy which people had before paled compared to the newfound desire to chase after even the slimmest chance of the Creator’s pure attention, rumored though it may have been. These last games burned with fervor and conviction that few had seen before, refining the pool of players from scores to dozens, then to the handful of furious semi-finals, from which the seven finalists emerged.

And today, the champion would be determined. The host, the state of Liyue, had spared no expense for this final game. The same building in which you had first shared your game had been secured to host the finals. The map was printed on gold-lined silk, each region painted in rich, vibrant pigments, lavishly detailed and seemingly rising off from the sheet. The counters for the different nations’ armies and navies, hand carved from priceless gemstones and inlaid with gold.

Spectators slowly filtered in as the start time drew near. Nobles, aristocrats, and merchants from Monstadt to Sumeru (and some from further afield) flocked to watch the match play out and gathered that morning. Many took the chance to socialize and build connections but many more hoped to catch the eye of their Beloved Creator that morning.

You were brought to the hall while the sun was still rising; only you, Adjudicator of Fates, could suffice to usher such an important game. You were ushered in with the warmest welcomes from all parties and highest fanfare, paraded around to the different important peoples: sages from Sumeru, nobles and their scions from Mondstadt, you even had the fortune to meet the Yuheng and the Raiden Shogun themselves before being ushered to your seat, in the middle of the side of the table.

Each of the invited nations showed off their own players and allowed them to take their seats: first Jean, who would play Mondstadt, sat off to your left, then Diluc, playing Natlan. Next was Yae Miko playing Inazuma, then Ayaka playing Snezhnaya. Alhaitham sat opposite you and played Sumeru. Finally, the players from Liyue entered, the most lavishly-dressed of the players: Yelan, playing Fontaine, sat to your right; and Ningguang, playing Liyue, sat to your left.

As the players took their seats, Keqing stood and addressed the crowd, welcoming them all and thanking them for their presence. She thanked the tournament organizers for their work on the events, past and present. Lastly, she turned to you and thanked you for sharing this game with them and allowing them to partake in its joys and sorrows. Her thanks given, she declared the finals to have begun.

The game entered its first phase and the players broke to meet with each other and plan their alliances. Everyone scrutinized who went to talk with who, which people the other players wanted to speak to, and how the dealings were going. Jean took Yelan aside and tried to make some earnest dealings with her, Alhaitham argued with Ningguang, and Diluc and Ayaka spoke with each other, hidden off in their corner of the board. Yae Miko sat back and kept an eye on the dealings, keeping secret just who she was eyeing as an ally or a target.

As discussions broke down between Ningguang and Alhaitham, Yae rose and asked to have a word with the latter. Ningguang went to request Jean’s ear, then Yelan tried to make a deal with Ayaka. On and on the diplomatic dance went until the time for the first round was called and the players returned to their seats to submit their orders.

You read, adjudicated, and executed the orders, shuffling the armies and navies across the map. The players eyed each move in turn, sometimes glaring at another player when a deal failed to materialize.

The second round of discussions quickly started, Alhaitham angrily pulling Yae aside, Jean hurrying over to speak to Yelan. Ningguang, without anyone to immediately turn to and make deals with, went to speak with Diluc and Ayaka.

The diplomatic maneuvers continued, and even you could start to see the lines being drawn. The drag-out four-way war between Sumeru, Inazuma, Liyue, and Mondstadt was in full swing: Liyue was fighting with Mondstadt and Sumeru over their border cities while Inazuma was looking for any opening to exploit, but Jean was trying to break the stalemate by getting Fontaine to commit an army. On the other corner of the board, Natlan, Snezhnaya, and Fontaine had some token battles, but the first two were otherwise beginning to encroach upon the rest of the board.

The diplomatic plays ended and the orders were submitted. Again, you dutifully relayed the orders and played them out.

The minute you finished shuffling the pieces around with your divine powers, comments between the players started flying.

“Jean,” Alhaitham looked at her pieces, speaking quite openly, “I find your stance towards Yelan quite curious. I thought you said it was in your best interest that we build our forces against Ningguang.”

Jean cleared her throat. “A strong accusation, considering you rebuffed that plan of mine. You said she was working with Guji Yae, but now that it’s clear that the latter is trying to steal a foothold beneath our noses, we agreed–”

“Excuse you?” Yae cut in, “I offered quite amicable terms to you, as many eavesdroppers can attest. If you’re looking for a scapegoat, might I suggest the person who has been playing you both?” She glared at Yelan.

“Your age must be blinding you, Guji.” Yelan steepled her fingers. “Your intentions are clear, but there are far worse dangers on this board–”

Ningguang interrupted her. “Worse than you violating our agreement to keep Huaguang clear? You should know better than to violate trust.”

“Yes, even worse than you saying you were willing to strike into Wolvendom on false pretenses.” Yelan turned to the two players on her right. “Our two dear players of Natlan and Snezhnaya are being quite quiet and chummy with each other.”

“Now, now,” Diluc said, “just because we’re not engaging in the madness of the eastern side of the board is no reason to throw accusations.”

“We would like to assure you,” Ayaka added, “that you all have plenty enough on your plates. Is it quite wise to send accusations so blindly?”

“I’m not sending empty accusations,” Yelan said, her voice sharpening, “I’m saying you two clearly have an alliance and are planning to sweep the board. We need to band together to–”

“Certainly not! See, we’re struggling over these border regions- quite difficult to be allied while you’re fighting each other.”

Ningguang interrupted, talking to Yelan. “I think it’s clever how you deflected criticism over your double-dealing with Alhaitham and Jean.”

“And I think it’s beginner-level squabbling,” Alhaitham said, “trying to deflect attention like that. Did you promise Windrise to Guji Yae for her help?” He looked over at Yae. “Sorry to say, I don’t think Ningguang is a sharing type. Might I suggest–”

“Really, Alhaitham?” Yae smiled at him. “Letting a little early-game betrayal get to you? I’d suggest not letting those crumbling alliances hurt your poor feelings too much. Might I suggest growing yourself some thicker skin?”

Jean stood up. “And might I suggest that you stop provoking everyone around you! You promised that you would help me past Dragonspine, yet now you’re playing nice with Ningguang!”

“Not to mention,” Alhaitham added, “that you made a similar offer to me, then started attacking me out of the blue. Watch, you’re going to start probing the Guili Plains soon enough, aren’t you? No one on the eastern coast can trust an Inazuma player.”

Yae laughed. “Oh, but do tell me how that front between you and Ningguang is going. Oh, that’s right, your little gambit south of the Chasm hasn’t exactly played out in your favor, has it? And you, Jean, darling, just stay in your corner of the board over there and let the more important nations play things out, yes?”

“Enough, Yae.” Ningguang sent her a glare. “Unless you have mastered the art of silent communication, it seems like you too lack strong alliances.”

“And you’re facing two fronts of conflict. If I don’t sweep in to secure those precious supply centers, you three will just keep swapping them back and forth to no end. Someone has to come out ahead in all this and it might as well be me.” She smiled as she looked in your direction. “I can already taste my victory and the sweetness of your lips.”

“Okay,” you cut in, “that’s enough time for the diplomatic phase. It’s time to write and submit orders.” You sat back in your chair. A productive diplomatic phase, all things considered! When an accusation or an agreement are just as important as moving a piece on the board, flying accusations are to be expected. Few can resist the allure of collecting all one’s allies to wipe an opponent from the board.

The turn passed mostly uneventfully. Skirmishes occurred, armies were forced back, territory changed hands. In the next diplomatic phase, though, there was a notable shift in tone between the characters. The players engaged more steadily with their allies; instead of a complex dance to test the waters, the lines were drawn on the battlefields- on the map and in their minds.

In the orders of that turn were the expected exchanges of Snezhnaya and Natlan, a concession of land from Mondstadt to Fontaine. But there was a further surprise- one of Alhaitham’s armies had been brought to Inazuma by Ningguang’s ships and captured a supply center on Watatsumi Island. When you read the orders aloud, it raised eyebrows from the other players on the board except one.

Yae Miko did not wear her usual smile the rest of that turn. When the players broke to discuss their next moves, she made a surprising choice of who to pull aside to deal with- Jean. They spoke in harsh, hushed voices. Deals were presented then discarded in short order until Yae said something that gave Jean pause.

You were intrigued and there were few in the audience, players included, that missed your interest. All eyes rested on those two players as they returned to the table and submitted their orders. You could feel things grow more tense as you read out the players’ orders one by one, until you read one of Ningguang’s fateful orders.

“Fleet in Central Line of Storms convoys Mingyun Village to Narukami Island.”

It only took a quick glance at the source province to confirm that the army counter was carved from aquamarine and belonged to Jean, not from Ningguang’s cor lapis. The room’s attention slowly turned to Yae and Jean.

Jean finished her drink and set her cup down, avoiding looking right at Yae. She spoke quietly. “I was offered quite amicable terms.”

The audience murmured and chuckled at her response, many likely having their own comebacks against the kitsune, but the rest of the orders were delivered to near apathy from the audience. Once a major betrayal began, there are few who could resist the allure of watching a player’s territory be devoured by their neighbors and erstwhile allies.

The last of Inazuma’s supply centers fell a turn later and with that, Yae Miko had lost.

As the turn ended, Keqing stepped forward and called for the game to pause- while things had just begun to turn interesting, they were out of time for the morning session. Lunch was ready to be served and few wanted to be kept waiting; besides, while many had come here to see the region’s finals of the Creator’s game, many more had come to vie for your attention.

The Yuheng took your arm after you rose and led you forward, the players following right behind, and the audience slowly following afterwards. Only Yae Miko remained sitting at the table, turning one of the amethyst counters in her hand.

[saintsenara]

I really want to hear your thoughts on the wizarding world. So I have a question about British wizards' language skills. Canon tells us very little about British wizards and their relationship to languages. We know that Fleur, Victor and Madame Maxime can speak more than one language. (They are not British). However, we do know that there is at least one British wizard who speaks several languages. Percy and Ludo say that Barty senior speaks over a hundred languages. So, do you think British wizarding society has a general opinion about learning languages or is it more about what class a wizard is born into or what their future career plans are? After all, Hogwarts doesn't teach languages to students. I'd also like to hear your thoughts on these characters and their language skills. Do you think they can speak more than one language? Voldemort (parseltongue doesn't count), Dumbledore, Barty jr and Bill Weasley.

thank you very much for the ask, anon! and what an interesting question!

in harry potter, language-learning is one of those things which - since it's not a key aspect of the story - ends up not having any specific worldbuilding. and so it's one of those parts of the books in which the wizarding attitude towards foreign languages just seems to be exactly the same as the real-world british one.

which is - like everything in britain - enormously rooted in social class, and in things [like race and ethnicity] which intersect with this.

you will often hear, for example, that the working-classes don't bother learning foreign languages - but what is meant by this is that working-class people don't choose in large numbers to become proficient in the specific western european languages [french, german, italian, and spanish] which signify that someone is well-educated, culturally-sophisticated, and mentally non-parochial to the british cultural and intellectual elite. working-class people may very well speak one of these four languages - especially african and caribbean dialects of french - as native or heritage languages, and they may very well speak urdu, yoruba, albanian, polish, turkish, and so on for the same reasons... it's just that this isn't recognised as something impressive.

but it is certainly true that language-learning for reasons other than heritage generally isn't considered to be particularly important in class-brackets below a certain threshold in the middle-middle- to upper middle-classes.

partially this is for boorish, parochial reasons which align with certain strains of political and social conservatism. uncle vernon, for example, would regard language-learning as woke nonsense and be horrified if dudley came home from school and asked to be given loads of italian novels for his birthday... he would have a similar reaction if his son announced his intention to start playing the violin, take ballet, write poetry, become interested in impressionist painting, or eat the local food while on holiday.

[the grangers, in contrast, appear to come from the europhile wing of the upper-middle-classes - and would, therefore, regard it as horribly parochial to only speak english. we know they go on holiday to france in prisoner of azkaban - and i think we can imagine that this isn't the first time they do so, and that hermione and her parents can all speak conversational french. indeed, if hermione was privately educated prior to starting hogwarts - and all signs point to yes - she would have studied french at prep school.]

but british monolingualism is also partially because the global hegemony of english means that being able to speak anything else isn't crucial for travel, employment, or - indeed - emigration, since brits who aspire to move abroad often want to go to places like australia and new zealand.

and so language-learning has become - like music - an academic subject which seems to be thought of by many brits as "not a key skill" - unlike, for example, something like maths. nice to have if you've got a grip on everything else, but not a necessity... and so, for british children who are educated in state schools [public schools in the us], foreign languages are only compulsory for three school years [years 7-9, the equivalents of years 1-3 at hogwarts]. some schools insist on a language being taken at gcse [exams taken at the end of year 11 - hogwarts year 5, what owls are a pastiche of], but this is not mandatory.

[although it was at my school. slay.]

so it makes sense within this cultural context that there are no languages on the compulsory hogwarts curriculum - the intended audience isn't expecting there to be.

[although it's worth saying that ancient runes - while i know it has a whole fanon surrounding it which makes it a sort of spellcasting system - is a pastiche of latin/classical greek as school subjects, so there is at least one elective language students can study].

of course, it makes less sense that this is the case when we remember that jkr did french at university... and it also makes less sense that this is the case because hogwarts is based on real-world institutions - britain's elite boarding schools - which do prioritise language-learning, since the students come from class-backgrounds which value multilingualism as a signal of cultural status.

[seriously - while i accept that this is anecdotal - it was so striking to me when i was at university that all but three of the thirty-or-so people i ever met doing a degree in a foreign language, whether a european language or not, was privately educated. add in classical languages and that ratio gets worse.]

but i think we can get around this by noting that hogwarts is set up in a way which presumes that its entire student body has had a wizarding primary education - and not only that, but an elite one [since hogwarts does, even if this isn't the doylist text's intention, seem to apply some sort of selection process which means that students who aren't from well-heeled backgrounds stand out enormously]. and then by presuming that the primary curriculum which someone like draco malfoy would have studied [at home, probably with a governess] would have included some sort of language tuition.

i imagine that this tuition would be in a muggle language - non-human languages [like mermish or gobbledegook] seem to be regarded as sufficiently "niche" in the eyes of the population that they wouldn't be taught as a general skill, but either learned in one's own time or as part of the training for specific careers, such as goblin liaison; the fact that barty crouch sr. speaks so many just for fun is a way canon hints at him being a bit... weird - and i imagine that this muggle language would be french.

this is not, however, because i go in for the fanon that all purebloods are of recent french heritage and retain close family connections in france [names like malfoy and lestrange are anglo-norman - which means they arrived in britain a thousand years ago with william the conqueror, and are as meaningfully english as the word "beef" or "monarchy...], but because french is generally considered the most "useful" language to learn in britain because france is literally next door.

[irish is sobbing.]

when it comes to the characters you specifically asked about...

lord voldemort's pre-hogwarts education is a bit of a mystery - in that the fact that the text isn't concerned about fleshing it out means that he ends up being far better educated than would normally have been the case for a child of his background [simply by virtue of not being functionally illiterate...].

even if he went to a moderately well-resourced school by random chance, though, he's extremely unlikely to have formally learned any foreign languages. but the fact that the most common fanon locations for the orphanage are parts of east london which had historically large jewish communities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries means that he'd have had a fair chance of picking up snippets of yiddish while he was wheeling and dealing around each day. east london also had a large irish community, and if the orphanage is a catholic one [which doesn't really work canonically but which is a headcanon i'm nonetheless wedded to], then he'd probably also have a bit of latin.

once he's at hogwarts, i presume he must take runes [since he's heavily implied, like all male characters the series considers to be intellectually brilliant, to have taken twelve owls]. nonetheless, while he's clearly a nerd - and while he loves a language puzzle, since he spends his teenage years coming up with an anagram of his own name [...] - he has a slightly harry-ish preference in canon for only enjoying lots of flicking-through-books research if it's for a tangible goal [i.e. opening the chamber of secrets]. i can't see him scouring textbooks in an effort to teach himself the european languages his posh friends would have learned at home unless he thought doing so would be unequivocally beneficial to him.

indeed, we canonically know that voldemort can't speak german, since when he's on his hunt for gregorovitch in deathly hallows a woman speaks to him in that language and he just defaults to the british standard of speaking louder in english... and i think we can reasonably assume on these grounds that he can't speak french either.

but he must be able to speak albanian fluently - simply out of necessity, since he spends so much time in the country.

and it's also interesting to me that during his ten years in europe after murdering hepzibah smith [so c.1955-1965], he is implied to spend a lot of time in communist europe, even if not in countries which were fully behind the iron curtain [he must, for example, meet karkaroff - and potentially dolohov - in some part of the eastern bloc, and the bulgarian delegation at the quidditch world cup know who he is]. i think it's entirely reasonable to suppose, then, that he must also be able to speak some level of russian.

dumbledore - on the other hand - can probably speak french, german, and italian, which would have been expected of the sort of late victorian young man who was preparing to embark on a grand tour, and which he undoubtedly taught himself in order to keep up his correspondence with the "most noted magical names of the day" [including grindelwald, to whom he probably spoke german].

i also quite like the idea of him as the sort of late victorian orientalist who crops up again and again in british history, who speaks a language like hindi, arabic, or ottoman turkish with a cut-glass english accent.

the various non-human language he speaks in canon - such as mermish - are presumably also self-taught, and the question which preoccupies me the most in relation to these is whether dumbledore can speak parseltongue?

after all, we know it's a language which can be learned by non-parselmouths - since ron manages to speak it in deathly hallows - and so it must have an actual structure rather than just be vibes. and if dumbledore can't understand it, then what the hell did he think was going on in the memory of the gaunts he shows harry?

barty crouch jr. was definitely forced to have endless lessons with tutors hired by his father, who wanted him to match his two hundred languages, but then forgot everything he knew about mermish the second he started school.

i am sure that - even if he doesn't seem to be able to during the canon timeline - bill weasley learns how to speak french fluently the second the war's out of the way. since this is a basic courtesy if your partner and her family is from france.

i am also sure that the three delacour-weasley children are raised to be bilingual, and that they take great pleasure in bitching about the three potter-weasley children to their faces.

the more interesting question, though, is whether bill can speak any gobbledegook.

it's implied that he might through his job - and he's asked in order of the phoenix about whether there's any pro-voldemort talk among the goblins at gringotts, which suggests that he's known to be able to understand any gobbledegook chit-chat he overhears. but it still always strikes me in deathly hallows that the imperialism really jumps out when bill's speaking to harry about griphook:

“I know goblins,” said Bill. “I’ve worked for Gringotts ever since I left Hogwarts. As far as there can be friendship between wizards and goblins, I have goblin friends - or, at least, goblins I know well, and like.”

this really doesn't sound like a man who takes the time to speak to his "friends" in their own language...

the fact that even the good guys treat non-human magical communities with - at best - paternalistic contempt is a really noticeable theme in the series [and, crucially, something which the series doesn't seem to think is a particularly bad thing]. and so i quite like the idea that someone like bill would have a lack of ability to communicate in gobbledegook, and that this would never be something he interrogated.

[urbanprole]

Hi! I think I'm figuring out that I'm probably genderfluid. Sometimes I feel most comfortable identifying as a man, but sometimes I don't want to assign a gender to myself at all, and sometimes I feel like a combination of the two (which sounds paradoxical but idk, gender is complicated I suppose). Since you're genderfluid I'm wondering how you came to that conclusion. I'm not fully certain if I'm a binary trans man or genderfluid yet and I was hoping to hear some of your experiences!

My gender presentation, when not being a closeted normie, was pretty gender bent. I'd never been a typically masculine boy despite being an ox of a human being. Gentle Giant was a term often applied to me. Flattering comparisons to Ludo from Labyrinth and Andre the Giant.

But despite my size, I'm a tenor. Have a bit of gay voice going on from time to time. And so I soon learned it could be a pretty simple matter to glide between passing, transgressively passing, and fully transgressing gender norms. I just didn't have a word for my kind of gender performance back when I was first living it in the 90s. It was "genderfucked" back then. As in 'I'm genderfucked.'

Drag shows, Rocky Horror, punk shows, the gay 90s. I sort of lived that queer kid subculture thing while making a living working renfaire, bouncing, and selling suits. Even temped for General Mills. Sliding from one safe place into life in the closet taught me genderfluidity as a (in my mind at least) survival skill.

When I realized there was a thing called genderfluid? I cried off and on for three days and felt super validated.

Happy pride!

[alienaiver]

Give me your headcanons about Kenma please?

here they are !!!! :3

Songs on his iPod: i think kenma really, really likes OST's mixed in with some mindless pop that can go on repeat in the background when he games alone.

Pokemon Sword and Shield OST - Gym Leader Battle All Time Low - Jon Bellion Amusement Park - Nier:Automata OST

The one place they fall asleep – where they’re not supposed to: ooooh kenma definitely has a terrible habit of doing this as a general quirk of his. IF and only IF there are people he is safe and comfortable around (you, his team, family, hinata) he won't have ANY qualms about snoozing for a second if there's a moment that calls for it. most chaotic moment was during his own hospital visit. he'd hosted a 48-hour livestream and passed the hell out because of course he also didnt eat properly during. the doctor popped out for a moment to check something from a chart, and when he came back, kenma was asleep. it worried the doctor to no end for a second, before he realized the cat-like barely-adult-adult was simply snoozing. you and kuroo apologizes profusely, but the doctor chalks it down to the weird thing he was doing online before he came. assigns rest as medication.

The game they’d destroy everyone else at: there's no doubt that kenma's a class A gamer in every game to exist. the most infuriating one - the one that kuroo HATES that he always wins - is ludo. its a game that runs on pure chance half the time, yet kenma's never lost a single game, not to you or anyone else. hinata's little sister came close one time, though. that made kenma's brow sweat a little.

The emoticon they’d use most often: 👍. its easy during streams, its easy if hes sleepy, its easy if hes busy. it confirms whatever people want from him in a second.

What they act like when they haven’t had enough sleep: practically non-verbal. eyes squinted and barely able to do things required of him. he gropes and grabs at random stuff in his cabinet or fridge to find something edible and his phone is all up in his face. you mostly talk aloud to yourself during those times.

Their preferred hot beverage on really cold nights or mornings: kenma doesn't advertise it a lot, but he loves a good, warm bubble tea with tapioca. it has to be a black tea or he isn't having it.

How they like to comfort/care for themselves in a slump: kenma calls kuroo. slumps are his arch nemesis, the boss battle he cannot handle alone. so back up and support characters are needed.

What they wanted to be when they grew up: im pretty sure kenma achieved exactly what he dreamt of: freedom to play his beloved video games in the capacity that he does.

Their favorite kind of weather: overcast, but not humid or rainy. it's a perfectly acceptable day to stay indoors.

Thoughts on their singing voice: i think kenma is a very nice tenor, but he doesnt have the confidence or skills to really sing from his stomach, so it comes out shallow and off.

How/what they like to draw or doodle: he likes to doodle weapons from his games. the master sword from legend of zelda, cloud's buster sword, and the keyblades from kingdom hearts. it's all a cute, non-detailed chibi style tho, only marking what makes the sword stand out. mostly, hes the only one who can name them all if hes sitting thru a long enough meeting to draw multiple.

send me a character and ill fill out these headcanons

[sandfordsmostwanted]

Bixby this, Ludo that - why don't we talk more about the man Morse definitely fucked - Jack Swift, the footballer?

They've got such adorable opposites-attract energy. Jack realising Morse will never use him for his football skills or his money because Morse genuinely doesn't care. He likes this grumpy, smart man who makes no effort to get into people's good books, and who looks gorgeous and rumpled at the same time. Morse expecting footballers to be arrogant twats, but something in Jack makes him want to know more. And Jack's so normal, and unpretentious - not Morse's usual rich, elegant, operatically miserable type but warm and strong and safe. Them sneaking off to be alone and talking long into the night and those looks they share -

Let's just say - if Jack really wanted a breakfast of champions, Morse was right there ;D

[ashesandhackles]

Goblet of Fire reread (Part 1)

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

a very ominous opening, the murder of Tom Riddle's paternal line by. .drum roll Tom. He makes the ring Horcrux (that emphasises his lineage from the Gaunts, the Slytherin line) over this murder. He "pruned" the diseased tree of his family line, and yet this is a site of both his hiding and rebirth (the grave of his father). Voldemort's feelings about his father would be so interesting to explore.

Frank Bryce is a war veteran, and although CoS misses a potential war in Muggle world backstory with Tom, GOF alludes to it in the timeline.

Wormtail returns Voldemort to this site early August. But Nagini is the provider here, a mother for diseased scaly baby Voldemort, and he is in his father's house. It is an interesting image.

Wormtail, probably a guilty conscience, tries to advocate for not using Harry for the plan and as expected, fails. He also shows "sulleness" at the lack of recognition of his skill from Voldemort - "I was the one who found you"

"I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give their right hands to perform" IMAO Voldemort.

A meta about the Riddle house and Voldemort's awareness of class by @artemisia-black

Harry is reading a Quidditch book the previous night, which is open on men with orange robes = Chudley Cannon. XD

what he wanted, was "someone like a parent". Sirius taking care to remind Harry to call on him. he is eager to form a relationship with Harry, it warms my heart. He wants to be needed. And it is this need - that he will be useful, that he can do something that drives him to break out of Azkaban. I love how chatty Harry is with Sirius. It is in direct response to Sirius' interest in him.

I really wish Dudley and Vernon werent talked about in relation to how fat they are - this kind of fatphobic language, which I overlooked as a child, feels really off putting.

Harry manages Vernon and his moods so much - he settles on "politely puzzled" , deciding he cant push Vernon too far that morning. He then decides based on Vernon's mood how to get what he wants - and he uses the Sirius card " ok you wont let me go, but I need to finish a letter for my godfather".

also, "he had cake, Dudley had nothing but grapefruit". I love that Vernon and Petunia bringing them both up is reflected in this - that there is a part of Harry that wants to best Dudley.

Harry being anxious that Dursleys would be rude to Weasleys is so interesting. On one hand, he doesn't want their feelings hurt or have Weasleys be put into an awkward situation because of him. On the other, I wonder if it is his usual tendency of trying to play down how bad Dursleys can get with him that he doesn't want someone like Arthur to witness it.

Harry "fights a mad desire to laugh" when he spent all evening anxious and Vernon rounds him like an angry Wolverine when they hear Weasleys being stuck in chimney. This is similar to Sirius' laugh in high stress situation.

Once again marveling at how quiet Ron is in the family scenes with just his father and the twins. He and Harry share a look when they see Dudley though xD

Chapter 5, 6,7

I love that Arthur didn't actually want to tell on the twins to Molly. Lovely insight into family dynamics there. We also get context: Molly and the twins had a really big row about their ambitions sometime before, and I think Arthur is not keen to retread that.

i love Arthur and Percy's conversation about Ludo Bagman, it contains seeds of conflict of their approach to things.

Ginny and Bill. I love all tiny mentions of how close they are, and how Ginny idolises him.

Percy's middle child isolation is really stark here. Bill and Charlie duel with tables, then Charlie and twins discuss Quidditch while Bill is with Ginny. Ron would be as isolated if it weren't for Harry and Hermione. Percy is talking to his father, and then later Fred and George tease him

there is a tent with live peacocks tethered at the entrance. Want to bet thats Malfoys tent?

Harry and Hermione figured out where the poles and pegs on their tent would go with Arthur. Such a wholesome moment. -tent was furnished exactly as Mrs Figg's house, complete with strong smell of cats. Where is Perkins/Arabella Figg fanfic?

Bode and Department of Mysteries set up here

love the absurd comedy of this chapter, right when Bagman is talking about how everything is going smoothly, there is gaggle of ministry wizards behind him panicking about evidence of a magical fire.

Justice for Ali Bashir and his pitch to export magical carpets

Chapter 8,9,10,11,12

Winky mentioning that Dobby might end up in front of Dept of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures "like a common goblin" so interesting. Goblins as we know, are not subservient and are quite resentful of wizards - and they most likely get into a lot of run-ins. Winky of course, has internalised the hierarchy.

"he knew they werent going to win, he wanted to end the match on his terms" - harry about krum, but it also reflects what he does in the graveyard. when he decides to die standing up and fighting. (This is something I saw on reddit, and I wish I could credit this insight to them because it's <3)

"Ron told Malfoy to go do something that Harry knew he would never dare say in front of Mrs Weasley". Let Ron say f!ck.

The contrast of Draco's stillness to the panic and screams of everyone else is so well written. You can feel the implication and the sinister vibe of it - especially with descriptions of light flashing as they talk.

Harry immediately reacting to the threat and pulling Ron and Hermione to ground when Ministry wizards come in.

the abject humiliation of Winky in this chapter is …a lot. One is of course, that she is taking the fall for Jnr, second is how Amos talks about how elves aren't permitted to carry a wand, and third, how Bagman comes in and almost tramples Winky because that's how dehumanised she is.

Hermione and Percy's argument shows exactly where those characters are. For Percy, justice means upholding the institution he knows and its reputation. Hermione, no longer an assimilationist thanks to her own growth over the books, can't see eye to eye with this.

Every bone of this chapter shows how horrifyingly the wizarding world treats elves, and that is an accepted norm. The narration is very clearly critical of it. I wonder what happened later on.

Mr Roberts "Merry Christmas" is both darkly funny and alarming, with regard to wizard -muggle relations and how normalised Memory charms are.

I love that Arthur asks his eldest son in this undertone to pick up the newspaper. It really shows you Bill's place in the family. And when he is reading, Percy looks over the shoulder.

I love that the first thing harry asks, because he couldnt take any more worry, is where Hedwig is. He wants his letter from Sirius.

Ron cottoning on to Harry's mood and suggesting Quidditch as distraction, along with dangling Wronksi Feint.

the detail of Ginny repairing her textbook with spellotape the night before they leave for Hogwarts.

Bill playing chess with Ron <3

"Why is everything I own rubbish?" You know the Ron detail I love, that while he is furious and embarrassed about the dress robes, the dialogue of him complaining is overlayed with him going to unstick Pig's beak.

I am so curious about Amos Diggory's relationship with Mad-Eye. He seems concerned that Mad-Eye would get in trouble with another department, so he asks Arthur to go get him on a minor charge - so that it doesnt affect Mad Eye's new job. Both Arthur and Molly are concerned about Mad-Eye too, which suggests a personal relationship ("I will be fine, you just take care of Mad-Eye"). It feels like even if Molly and Arthur were not in the Order- their associations ran strong. It is also clear why Bill and Charlie, the older ones, talk Mad Eye up more, while middle children onwards are like, "isnt he a nutter?"

Sorting Hat song is interesting. It says Gryffindor comes from the moors, Ravenclaw from glen, Helga from valley and Slytherin from fen. Does this track with where Godric Hollow is?

-"the mark of good house elf is that you don't know it's there" :/

Harry being appalled there will be no Quidditch and looks around to Fred and George to share the horror. XD

Only Hagrid and Dumbles clap when Moody sits. Shows they are used to him and know him personally while everyone else is taken aback.

Chapter 13, 14,15, 16

Hermione had just discovered the school she loves employs slave labour and is questioning what she reads (a la Hogwarts a History).

"you were born mid-winter?" You are thinking of Tom, Trelawney.

"can i have a look at Uranus too Lavender?" The way this joke flew over my head as a kid.

how interesting that Snape is wary of Mad-Eye. Speaks to very interesting dynamics between dumbles-Madeye-Snape. And Harry offers his reading about how Snape is a bit scared of Mad Eye. I really want a fic about what's going on here.

Moody laughing at the idea of "quiet retirement" after a year as DADA takes on more sinister overtones cos BCJ is clearly making an inside joke to himself.

Also when everyone laughs at the spider dancing under Imperius and Fake Moody going "think it's funny do you?" because his BCJ's father kept him under the Imperius curse before this. (Also interesting how he reacts to Harry throwing it off in his class when he couldnt. For a long time! BCJ is such an interesting antagonist)

and also him making the spider bigger for everyone (specifically Neville) see the effect of the Cruciatus. Hermione is so protective of Neville! She asks him to stop doing it.

when the spell is performed, "something vast and invisible is soaring through the air" - I imagine this is the soul being seperated from the body. Probably why when curse rebounds, Voldemort's soul fractures.

Neville with red eyes reading the book he got from BCJ. (also Harry noted that using Professor Sprout's feedback was tactful way of cheering Neville up, as Lups would have done - but BCJ did this as part of grander manipulation)

I think Hermione's manifesto for SPEW is kinda great: working wages, conditions, changing law about non wand use and get a representation in Department for regulation and control of Magical creatures.

Harry being upset that Sirius is coming running to the country to protect him. What a wonderful problem for Harry to have. An adult that cares too much.

"Excuse me I don't like people just because they are handsome""Lockhart!" Romione bants.

Parvati and her butterfly clip <3

i like how Harry immediately notes what he perceives as inconsistencies, and therefore a possible threat - Karkaroff's smile didn't reach his eyes (and it is phrased as Harry noticed that..)

Ron has a crush on Viktor Krum XD "for heaven's sake, Ron, he is only a Quidditch player" "Only a Quidditch player??" he literally wants to offer him his bed.

Hagrid and Hermione discussing SPEW, and Hermione actually looking cross about Hagrid disagreeing. (Hagrid is an interesting case of marginalisation and injustice where he is just really grateful for what he gets and doesn't really question the status quo).

[pdalicedraws]

MUAHAHA I’M GOING TO BE SELF-INDULGENT AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME

god I love Ludo and also MSA

symbolism rundown under the jump

The flowers at the top of each pic are, of course, the ones Shiromori conjures

Arthur:

Marigolds for jealousy

Rue for regret

Hand tools for his engineering skills

Marionette bars for losing control of himself

Vivi:

Her baseball bat for her badassery

Paper omamori (L-R they’re for exorcism, luck in love, safety in the home, and protection from evil)

Forget-me-nots for her memory loss

Lysianthus for charm and confidence

Lewis:

Asphodel for death

Broken column for a life cut short

Deadbeats for his second thoughts

Upside-down but still lit torch for life after death

[7-ferrets-in-a-coat]

also ur aus, NEOW

what are they about???!!?!?!?! who lives??!? who dies!!?!?!?!? who kiss kiss falls in love?!?!?!

Ahem sorry for the violent energy. Im totally not planning to consume it <-lying liar who lies

BEWARE LONG ISH RAMBLE

Cough Cough Lmme rip thru my list of Aus actually

So let's start with the cowboy au that i NEVER draw for (sorry abt that LMFAOO)

Urhm basically Nari was the sheriff but his found family (the bishops) banded together to shoo him away and he runs away n shit. THen he finds an abandoned town and settles there for a WHILE, then Lamb (a runaway criminal) stumbles in that city and from then they bond a bit n lamb wants to help nari get revenge yadi yada

Its all general strokes for this one sadly, kinda gave up on it

urm urm for who kisses kisses smooches, i went with,,, shroomwool,,, Yknow the classic runaway and bartender typa shit.

Also i dont think?? anyone dies?? unsure

For the main Au, the Nepotism au as I call it, its all centered about Ludo and Ratdad mainly?

Its very feel goody bcs Im a sucker for that i must admit...

Ok so basically the gist of it is Ratau collected a Lot of riches during his crusades before the lamb came along? ANd he still has the skills to fight,, He just had to give the crown away bcs TOWW had asked him to, for the prophecy? Ratau Immediately adopts the lamb, teaches them everything, dad even killed Leshy Because the lamb was too tired and unused to big crusades or smth.. Ratdad did get nerfed bcs of that tho, he has a leg wound now so Ludo does everything in their power to defend their dad. The fact that Ratau , having a lot of riches and whatnot, decides to spoil the everloving shit out of Ludo to kinda make up for the whole Species extinction and having to be the chosen one led the Lamb to be sorta of a nepobaby?ish? THey still work hard but had a lot handed down to them to make it easier and all

This is totally not based off of my own 100% file in which Because im just THAT good no one ver died because of sickness, there was no revolts and all :3

Speaking of my file, it also inspired the Lamb's romantic life !! Policule for the win!! I think i will go more indepth about all of them in some other post some other time, but we have Sillium, the first wife, Fiar, the second wife, Narinder, the honorary wife and Femer, the last wife. Lamb has that chill rizz or smth

Then theres the secret au !!! WHICH I CANT TALK ABOUT RAHHHHHDSAJD going feral hellp

THEN theres also the uhh rebranded Heathers au? Still haven't done much, mostly just formed a few thoughts in my crevace!! I wnna rebrand it as an actor au? but like broadway actors with a few normal ish roles (by normal i mean like non musical ones)

I was also planning an Emo band Au but i wnna save myself some sanity

[saintsenara]

Hello! I don´t know if you still sharing your opinions about ships? But if you are, i would love to hear your thoughts on Ludo Bagman/Augustus Rookwood, Amelia Bones/Emmeline Vance, Igor Karkaroff/Augustus Rookwood, and Rodolphus /Bellatrix/Voldemort.

thank you very much for the ask, anon! and i will never log off from doing these.

ludo bagman/augustus rookwood

i fully back this.

i'm on the record that i think bagman was a genuine death eater sympathiser, but that he was not a marked member of voldemort's inner circle - rather, that he was a low-level informant rookwood convinced to nab state secrets from filing cabinets by promising to give him "a job" afterwards.

in canon, the people who hear bagman explain this at his trial all assume he means "job" in the gainful employment sense.

skill issue. those of us who have reached a higher level of understanding know that he meant "job" in the... other sense.

amelia bones/emmeline vance

yes, absolutely - but only if they're both older women, since i've never vibed with the idea of everyone who was involved with the order/the ministry during the first war being the same age as the marauders.

instead, i am hooked on the exquisitely tragic potential of the two having come together during the first war as women who were already middle-aged - seeking comfort from both the unrelenting horror of what they were living through and from having to present bulletproof, hard-nosed masks to the world in order to survive in what is very clearly a man's world - and then thinking, after 1981, that it might be possible for them to be happy now that voldemort was guaranteed to not be coming back...

which is then derailed by amelia taking the ministry line during the order of the phoenix timeline, and not being able to face the idea that the dark lord might have returned. leading to a messy break-up when emmeline rejoins the reformed order.

and then the potential of reconciliation, after fudge is forced to acknowledge that dumbledore was telling the truth and amelia reaches out to her love to eat humble pie.

they were planning to meet up for lunch - and each was secretly hoping it would turn into more than that - later that week.

nobody told lord voldemort that him deciding to have them both murdered would rather interfere with those plans...

igor karkaroff/augustus rookwood

canon.

the list of death eaters which karkaroff gives in his attempt to be released from azkaban is sufficiently disorganised [he doesn't seem to target specific lines of voldemort's operation, for example - rookwood is the only ministry-based informant he names] that he's evidently just airing personal grievances for fun and profit.

rookwood gets dragged into it, then, because he persuaded karkaroff to break up with his boyfriend of six years, nailed him once, and then ghosted him.

bellatrix lestrange/rodolphus lestrange/lord voldemort

also canon, but only if the configuration of the triad is that only bellatrix and voldemort fuck.

rodolphus is an aroace icon, living his best life in a queerplatonic throuple. he has this specific vibe:

[is-newtonswife]

“Huygens became interested in games of chance after he visited Paris in 1655 and encountered the work of Fermat, Blaise Pascal and Girard Desargues years earlier. He eventually published what was, at the time, the most coherent presentation of a mathematical approach to games of chance in De Ratiociniis in Ludo Aleae. Huygens included five challenging problems at the end of the book that became the standard test for anyone wishing to display their mathematical skill in games of chance for the next sixty years. People who worked on these problems included Abraham de Moivre, Jacob Bernoulli, Johannes Hudde, Baruch Spinoza, and Leibniz.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Huygens?wprov=sfti1#De_Ratiociniis_in_Ludo_Aleae

[ro994art]

Minireviews of the Bluey Minisodes

Hello everyone! Here's another one of those rare text posts from me.

As most of you may know, I'm a Bluey fan. And as all Bluey fans know, today a new batch of Bluey shorts premiered on Disney+, also known as Minisodes (or previously "Bonus Bits").

And while most fans had likely already watched these minisodes, given how they came out nearly a month before in Australia, I myself chose to wait until they were available on Disney+ to watch them, in order to save myself the hassle of looking for them online. Call me lazy if you want, but I often find it trickier than it sounds like. 😅 Especially considering how quickly those tend to get taken down.

But I digress. I was going to do this on Twitter originally, but I thought it'd be more fun and easier to express myself without a character limit here. So, since no one asked for my opinion, I'm going to give it anyways! xD

⚠️ Spoilers ahead, of course.

Here are my brief(-ish) thoughts on each of the new 7 shorts that were released.

🍔 Burger Dog

I have a soft spot for any Bluey short or episode that shows the characters dancing, particularly if they showcase new dancesteps that hadn't been shown before and that isn't flossing. I just find it really adorable and well-animated, so I enjoyed this one.

Maybe this is coming from the perspective of a non-parent, and if I ever have kids I'll have a totally different opinion, but I personally didn't find the song THAT annoying xD At least not for a first time listening to it. If it were the 15th time they'd had it on, I'd understand Bandit's position, but if it really was the first time he heard it, I would've at least let Bluey and Bingo finish the song if I were him. But again, that's just me, and it's not like what Bandit did was anything too terrible, nor am I mad at him for it. Just giving my opinion here. 😅

Oh, and the ending made me chuckle. Clever girl, Bingo. 😉😂

🤖 Bingo 3000

Not really much to say about this one, other than it was cute xD It reminded me a lot of "Daddy Robot", but with the roles reversed. Honestly, the final scene of Chili calling Bingo 3000 with her arriving super slowly because her legs are still stuck and Bandit's all "Don't get me started" was my favorite part. 😝 Overall, it was fine.

🚚 Muffin Unboxing

DEFINITELY my favorite out of this batch xD Muffin may not be my favorite character, but she is definitely the most entertaining one, and I always love seeing her show up because you just KNOW some hilarious chaos is about to ensue. 🤣

What can I say? This minisode was classic Muffin from beginning to end. Her having a toy review channel just makes too much sense and I never knew I needed it until now xD Something else I loved about this one was seeing Stripe's poor video editing skills once again, with him leaving in parts of the recording that were definitely meant to remain on the cutting floor. 😂 Very "Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound," which is amongst my favorite episodes, so you know I loved seeing it.

And of course, I can't stop mentioning and appreciating Socks, my favorite, getting a cute little cameo at the end, and getting at least one line! AAAH! She's always so cute, I love Rock-Socks, you do you babygirl :'3 (And the ending was hilarious of course xD Again, classic Muffin)

I want to petition Ludo Studio to make a "Muffin's Toys" shorts series where we see Muffin parodying various types of YouTube Kids videos. Like, imagine Muffin doing challenges or a DIY? I feel like we need that. At least I do. 😜

📄 Letter

I liked this one quite a lot as well. Always love seeing tidbits of the parents' childhoods. And even though this wasn't on the same levels as "Fairytale" or "Dragon" when it comes to flashbacks or revelations, it was still pretty sweet to watch.

Little Bandit's spellings made me chuckle xD I also weirdly like how it was revealed that he used to have a bird, mostly because it reminded me of a few pet birds my grandma had when I was little. I got a bit worried that Chris was going to get sad or offended about Bandit's comment on her cooking, but glad she took it with humor. 😜

I know Bandit never really liked his artstyle, but honestly, I find it kind of charming and cute. And pretty good for a five-year-old. 😉

🍴 Hungry

Another one that was just okay for me, personally. I mean, Bandit playing like this with the girls and making them laugh is always adorable to watch. And the dad jokes were strong with this one. A lot of people are probably not going to like the gross humor, but eh, it honestly doesn't bother me.

So yeah, this was classic Bandit. I think that's all I have to say. 😅

🐷 Three Pigs

Since "Cinderella" was one of my favorites of the original batch of Bonus Bits, I had high hopes for this one. And well, I won't say that I was disappointed, because I wasn't really. I just didn't enjoy it as much as "Cinderella", mostly because this one felt a LOT more fast-paced, and I was having a hard time keeping up with Bandit's story at one point. Mmmh, is the duration of this shorter than "Cinderella"? I'll have to check it out, but I don't think it is, which makes the fact that it felt so much more fast-paced kind of interesting. 😅 Maybe he just spoke more, I guess.

It was still pretty fun. Bandit naming two pigs after the girls was cute, and sending the other one away to make things easier for himself was really funny. 😝 I wish I had his improv skills, not gonna lie. 😅 As a little side-note, I'm a bit surprised Disney didn't change or omit the "It's against my religion" line.

But yeah. Didn't like it as much as I would've liked, but still a good time.

🍃 Animals

I think this might be my second favorite out of these new shorts. Keep in mind that I was raised by a single mother, so as much as I love Bandit, I'm always going to have a soft spot for episodes that focus on Chilli hanging out with the girls in some way. 🥹

I don't know, I just found the game really cute for some reason. 🧡 It's so simple, and pretty much just an excuse to tickle Bingo in different ways, but I like how creative they got for each animal's walk. And from a character design standpoint, it made a lot of sense to make Bingo's back a "field". Like, for some reason, that made me chuckle, I don't know xD These dogs are so cubical, it felt logical, LOL.

Chilli's games have always been lot more, well, chill than Bandit's xD But I've always been a calm kid, and once again, they remind me of things my own mom and I used to play, so they resonate with me. Despite the surprising ending, this minisode was just very sweet. 😊

Final thoughts:

Even though there wasn't really anything that extraordinary about these minisodes, one must keep in mind that they're not really meant to be compared to the regular Bluey episodes, which themselves have set a pretty high standard. These are just bite-sized, mostly slice-of-life little adventures to keep us interested in these characters in-between seasons. I've always been a lover of simple slice-of-life stories when characters I love are involved, and I love these characters a great deal, so I'll always like seeing them in any capacity, especially in official productions.

I do wish we could get a few shorts of other secondary characters such as Bluey's school friends, Bingo's school friends, the neighbors, or even Rad and Frisky. But I do think more of these are coming, especially considering that some of the stills that have been released as promos (such as Chilli measuring the girls or them arriving at Nana's house and Grandpa Bob being there) didn't appear in any of these. So I have no doubt we'll be getting more minisode batches soon, and hopefully, other characters will make appearances similarly to how they did in the first Bonus Bits.

Any Bluey content is always a win for me, so I'm happy we got these. 💙

[compendiumhistoria]

HI Y'ALL you ready for the Absolute Brainrot I got outta nowhere for NPCs in a campaign I haven't written? no? too bad, here they are anyways. Art (left, shaved down horns) & Dusk (right, broken horn), the Telodomic Tiefling Two. they're sibwings with a few things wrong with them in different ways. they're generally friendly though!

I'll put More Official Sounding Info under the cut!

Dusk and Art are a rare sort, given that tieflings born and raised in the country of Telodom are few and far between amidst the land's cold climate and general distrust of both divine and demonic influences. The siblings now live in Estellus, reluctant refugees displaced thanks to a civil war between Telodom's ruler and its people. They both more or less work to clear their debt to the "old friends" who helped their escape southward, with Art running a shop to sell their myriad creations and Dusk traveling on various odd-jobs when he isn't contributing to his sibling's stock.

Once specialized in medicine-making and the effects of chemicals on the body, Dusk's studies have veered away from the living and onto the dead and the space between the soul and the physical, the shift from magic to mortal, turning the man of science into a self-taught wizard of necromany. Though why the change in field and to what end, Dusk is too cagey a fellow to give a straight answer. But he is happy to have left behind his fraught and frozen homeland and continue practicing both his physical and magical skills… even when his constant running and lack of rest puts enough strain on his fickle body to warrant the cane he carries around.

Art does not have their older brother's stomach for such visceral things, sometimes literally getting nauseous over it. Sympathetic and anxious, Art prefers craftsman trades to keep their hands and mind busy. Their shop sells many an enchanted accessory and even some paintings, but Art themself has also been known to write, embroider, often taking brief apprenticeships with other makers. Most everything they wear is handmade or otherwise customized with this varied interest in creative arts, and while Art considers it something of a dream come true to have their new life and run their shop, they worry deeply about the fate of the people they left behind.

Songs for Dusk:

Weird Science by Oingo Boingo (From my heart and from my hand, why don't people understand my intentions?)

Too Tired to Wink by Ludo (I'm sloughin' brain cells every day, smearing the globe, my lobe frontally frayed)

Bloody Nose by Jack Conte (With your tattered clothes and your bloody nose, aren't you glad to be rid of the smell? Not at all? Not at all)

One-eyed Maestro by Kevin MacLeod (royalty-free in-campaign theme song)

Songs for Art:

Scary World by Steam Powered Giraffe ('Cause I'm safe right here, we know who we are, and It's kind of scary thinking of what is out there…)

Unlikely Hero by the Hoosiers (I like everybody, but not everybody likes me! My love's not an island, it's the tip of a volcano!)

Journey of the Featherless by Cloud Cult (I say that it's worth dreamin' just for the dream of it, it's all about passion, it's all about perception)

Padanaya Blokov by Kevin MacLeod (shop's theme song!)