#maybe though like... a little more accurately

[amnmesias]

𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞

word count: 3.4k

summary: When Dumbledore calls for an emergency order meeting, everyone gathers expecting bad news, what they encounter is far more surprising. 

tags: fem!reader with long hair. barty has a twin sister so read at your own risk, possible poly!wolfstar if you squint. reader is a little crazy but are we surprised. lily experiences some sexual awakenings. rosekiller mention, and platonic regulus. some violence is mentioned but not specified. slight black brothers angst.

a/n: hi… is this anything? i was bored so i whipped this out real quick. could have a bonus part, maybe if my hyperfixation for war pigs by black sabbath returns, no promises. it was fun though! enjoy! xx

…

“What do you think this is about?”

Sirius exhaled deeply, smoke mixing up with vapor as he looked up, no-doubtedly channeling all his strength to appear nonchalant, but James knew better, he was sure he could very well feel Sirius’ heart beating hard if he were to place a hand on his chest. 

“Who knows,” He shrugged, then cleared his throat to try and swallow the pessimistic tone in his voice. “Doubt it’s a bad thing, I reckon, seeing everyone’s so calm, the old man included.” 

“That old man was your headmaster not so long ago, Sirius.” Chided Lily as she stepped out, Remus in toe. 

Sirius wordlessly passed Remus his cig, he took it with nimble fingers, a well practiced routine, “Dumbledore said we must head in.” Said Remus, a slight edge to his tone.

James and Lily shared a look, “You don’t think this is about…?”

“Doubt it, lovie, hardly anyone knows.” James butted in immediately, but his eyes scanned their surroundings anyway. “Come on.” 

Remus nodded and put the cigarette down, ignoring Sirius’ protests, the young man rolled his eyes and pulled him by his jacket’s lapel. The pair trailed in behind James and Lily, eyes immediately falling on the group as they settled around. Despite the reason for the emergency being kept under wraps, there was an air of both hopefulness and anxiety in the room. 

Dumbledore stood up, “I am terribly sorry if the tone of the call to meet has caused concern, I can assure everyone in this room that the themes discussed today will be far from cause of worry.” 

“Then why did you say it was an emergency?” Sirius asked, never shy to beat around the bush. Remus passed a hand over his face in frustration. “I’m not quite sure the urgency was necessary, then.”

“Mr. Black not every emergency has to be a symptom of bad news. However, it is of utmost importance that we discuss the information I’ve been given today.” 

“Information?” Marlene echoed, her hand unconsciously reaching to her partner’s in search of comfort.

“And who gave it to you?” Came one of the Prewett twin’s voices from the other end.

“Yes, how do you know we can trust this person?” Sirius demanded then, his patience running thin as a response to the current war. “How do you know this information is even remotely accurate?”

Dumbledore smiled like he had expected the question, Sirius’ insides squirmed with uneasiness. “Glad you asked, my boy.”

McGonagall stood up, face impassive as usual, but her lip curled in a way that conveyed nervousness. A silent conversation passed between the two professors, the tension in the room thickened as the silence progressed. Lily’s hold on James’ hand got tighter to the point of imprinting her own engagement gem on her skin. 

“Oh for the love of—” 

“Sirius.”

“Mr. Black,” Started Dumbledore, his calm eyes meeting Sirius’ fiery ones. “I was contacted by a rather important member of our, ah, well, foes… With information that could be vital for our cause.” 

“Foes?” Repeated Remus in a breath, almost like he had misunderstood. His eyes met with James, gazes filled with worry. “You mean…?”

“Precisely, Mr. Lupin,” McGonagall continued, her voice taking a tight tone as she addressed him, then everyone in the room. “It appears things in Riddle’s end have become rather tense. Many of his followers have fled the country, turning their backs on the war entirely.”

“He’s getting weak.” A young Kingsley Shacklebolt supplied, in hopes of easing the stress-filled room. His posture straightened as eyes fell on him. “He’s running out of both strength and soldiers.”

“Soldiers?” Repeated James, finally able to find his voice. The group looked at each other in alert as the faint sound of voices muffled somewhere outside. 

“You heard right, Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore nodded, and inhaled as if preparing himself to break out the news. “It appears Riddle himself has trusted this information to someone very high in his barracks, what he does not know, however, is that this person has been secretly working for me all this time.”

The man turned to Sirius, who felt the air getting sucked out of his lungs at the attention, and as an afterthought, the insinuation.

“Surely you don’t mean–”

Dumbledore let out a chuckle, “No, Mr. Black, I’m not insinuating that it’s you, although… you know this person very well, I’d say.” 

Sirius’ eyes scanned his friends, and a few offended protests erupted in the room. Wands and fingers then pointed at each other, eyes looking for the supposed traitor or suspect among them. McGonagall exhaled as she fixed her glasses, the sight a crude reminder that, despite what she tried to tell herself, they were all still children. Children that not long ago had exams and assignments to worry about. 

“Oi, we haven’t even gotten in and they’re already at it with each other,” Came a voice from the door, and the group erupted in chaos. 

“What the fuck– Is this how you treat newcomers? No wonder you’re running low on personnel.” You exclaimed, hands raised in surrender. 

Sirius’ eyebrows relaxed slightly as his brain processed the faces in front of him, then, “Regulus?!”

“Sirius.” Drawled Regulus as greeting. 

“Welcome Mr. Black,” Dumbledore said then, eager to get started on the meeting before it could get out of his hands. “Mr. and Ms. Crouch.” He nodded to your brother then you. 

“Albus,” Barty smiled, a wicked thing that had almost everyone in the room raising their wands again. “Could you stop with that? We come in peace.” 

Sirius let out a shaky breath, then turned to his old headmaster, “What’s the meaning of this? Are you mad?”

“Sirius!” Lily gasped, but her eyes were equally filled with dread. 

“Yeah, Black, don’t talk to the man like that.” You drawled, ringed fingers distractedly fiddling with your wand. 

“Look at him, goes off to grow his hair out and forgets all about manners.” Barty added, shaking his head with faux disappointment. 

“What’s happening?” Muttered Remus under his breath, fingers massaging at his temples. 

“Forgive me for coming earlier than we discussed, I could barely handle these two and their loathsome bickering.” Regulus spoke, his tone bored as he ignored your dramatic reactions.

“It’s quite alright. We were about to begin. Please, take a seat–”

“Take a seat?!” James cried out, voice taunt with nerves as his eyes scanned the trio before him. “Professor, you don’t mean they–”

“How do you lot get things done when you never let the man speak?” You mused out loud, James turned to you with a frown. 

“As Professor Dumbledore was saying,” Began McGonagall, professor reflexes begging her to intervene before the conversation could turn into a full quarrel. Another reminder of how young all of you truly were. “Mr. Black has come with information that could potentially put an end to this tragic war.”

“Mr. Black?” Dumbledore turned to Regulus, who nodded and turned to the room with a blank expression. “Care to share your findings with the rest of your peers?”

“Yes,” He nodded. “It appears Voldemort has opted to experiment with the dark arts in order to gain more power. He has managed to channel very ancient magic to split his soul in six to be immortal, he created six horcruxes that have been hidden throughout Britain.” 

“Horcruxes?” 

Barty groaned with annoyance, hand reaching for his pocket, “Lupin you wound me! I thought you were the smart one in this bunch. Now you’ve lost me money.” He angrily placed a few galleons in your waiting hand. 

“Serves you damn right for arguing without basis.” You said with a smile, pocketing the coins inside your own leather coat. Regulus glared at you, “Terribly sorry, dear Reggie, you may proceed.” 

“Right…” Regulus cleared his throat, “To answer your question, Remus, Horcruxes are objects with very dark, very powerful magic that a soul can attach to, they’re practically fragments of the person’s soul that helps them become immortal.”

“I know that, but… don’t you need to… kill people to make Horcruxes?”

The room fell silent as the words slipped past Remus’ lips. Sirius, apparently, had enough with the silence and pleasantries, and stood from his own chair. 

“And how could you possibly know all this, Regulus?” 

“Well, I do read, for starters.” He supplied, the tone in his voice not at all trying to hide his boredom. “And he told me this himself and, well… ” A pause, both you and Barty turned to him with slightly pinched eyebrows, “I’ve found most of them.”

By the looks on your and Barty’s faces, these news were as new to you than they were to the rest of the order. Regulus cleared his throat, then nudged you into action. 

“The locket,” He mumbled, eyes slightly nervous as he nudged you a second time.

You frowned. “I thought it was a gift?” 

“For the love of– Give me the locket.” 

You wordlessly took it off, pretty, long hair cascading behind the chain as you handed it to him. Regulus scanned it silently, then reached to place it in Dumbledore’s hand. 

“I assume this is one of them?” The man asked, eyes curiously scanning the artifact. Regulus nodded. “Very well. And where are the rest of these fragments?”

“One of them is the snake, the one that seems to accompany him whenever he goes. The other two are personal family heirlooms of Voldemort himself; a diary and a ring. The other two I don’t know where they are, being known as myths around the wizarding world… Helga Hufflepuff’s cup and Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem–”

“Oh, fuck,” Muttered Barty under his breath, his eyes met yours and you both erupted in quiet laugher. A silent joke passing between you, ignorant to the tense atmosphere. “Sorry, Reg, Consider it done. That one.” 

“What?” Spat Regulus, fully turning to face you both. “What do you mean by done, Barty?”

“We might or might’ve not have the diadem in our possession.” You said breezily. 

When it seemed none of you had any plans to elaborate, Remus spoke, “Why do you have…?” He trailed off, eyes skimming between you and your brother. 

You cleared your throat and very pointedly tried to not look at Dumbledore as you spoke, “We… sort of stole it? From that weird room in Hogwarts?”

“Yeah, the one that just comes and goes whenever it likes.” Barty nodded, face bored as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

“The Room of Requirement, you mean, Mr. Crouch?”

“That’s the one. Oi, that’s a rather unoriginal name, don’t you think?”

“Why did you steal it?” Lily asked, a hidden glint of curiousness in her eyes. She flushed lightly when you met her gaze, your own eyes wide and intimidating, and if she dared to look further, a little manic as well. “You knew it was a Horcrux?

“Nah, it was her birthday and the room was just… there. So we took it.” 

“Aren’t you born on the same day?” Remus frowned, words laced with fascination at the Crouch twins. 

“Count on Barty to leave my gift for the last moment,” You rolled your eyes, then turned to both Barty and Regulus. “Honestly with you two, giving me someone’s shabby soul remains as presents.” 

“How do we find the Cup, then?” Sirius asked, eager to get it over with. Regulus looked at him with a bit of hopefulness, “I thought no wizard has ever seen it?”

“He gave it to Bellatrix for safekeeping, we don’t know yet where she might have hidden it.”

“Right, since when do we trust death eaters?” Asked the other Prewett twin, quiet muffled voices echoed in affirmation. 

“I wouldn’t–” James started, but the sound of Sirius’ scoff silenced him almost immediately. 

“What did you just call him, Prewett?”

“Oh, please, Sirius.” Gideon snorted bitterly, “I just repeated what you’ve been saying at every meeting, even at Hogwarts if I remember correctly.”

Regulus looked down, though that wasn’t new to him, the fact that his brother held certain resentment towards him throughout their years at Hogwarts was something that kept him up at night, even up to that point when family rivalry was decidedly not one of their top priorities. A hand came into his view, you discreetly reached and squeezed his hand in support. 

“I’m not saying you have to trust me right away, but… I want to help.” Regulus said, ending the possible fight between his brother and Gideon. “I’m risking a lot, blowing my cover by even being here.”

“Cover?” Echoed Sirius, his eyes meeting Regulus‘, who in return shrugged noncommittally. 

“Mr. Black has been helping me since his own days at Hogwarts, providing me with intel from his own family that has been extremely helpful for the order.” Dumbledore said, sensing Sirius’ inner turmoil. The room fell silent as they scanned Regulus and his companions. “Mr. and Ms. Crouch have also been eager to help the cause, working alongside Alastor Moody to target Death-eaters that could give us information on their future plans.”

James spluttered, “Moody knew about this?” 

“I call bullshit, he’s been training me all day and night, when did he find time to do all that?” Sirius inquired, eyes not leaving yours as he scanned your stance. 

You smirked, “You know, Sirius, contrary to what you’ve been told, the world does not revolve around you.” 

“Why you little–” 

“Alright, that’s enough.” Butted in Remus, immediately feeling his boyfriend getting agitated, he feared Sirius would say something he would later regret. “And what’s the course of action, then?”

“If it helps, I overheard your loony cousin say she had important matters to attend to at Gringotts, something about maximum security.” You added, your playful eyes not leaving Sirius’, as if riling him up was your own personal entertainment. “That must be the Cup, we reckon.” 

“Well… There’s that.” Nodded Regulus, apparently springing into action now that the attention wasn’t fully on doubting him. “I suppose our next course of action is to find a way to destroy them, before he tries to make another.” 

“Basilisk venom.” Barty said, reaching inside his pocket for a lighter. 

“Or fiendfyre.” You added nonchalantly as you placed a cig between your lips, Barty wordlessly passed you the lighter. “We could use the killing curse on the snake, too.” 

“Oi, don’t do that.” James frowned as you exhaled, your lips curling in a smirk between the cigarette. “There’s–”

“James.” Lily chided quietly, a gentle hand around the crook of his elbow. “It’s okay,”

You raised an eyebrow, “Were we not supposed to smoke here?” You asked, your eyes boredly scanned the faces in the room. “I thought this was a childless meeting point?”

“Well, you could always ask,” Remus said, a slight frown to his eyebrows as he studied you. You rolled your eyes and passed the lighter back to your brother.

“Like you lot are such prudes, don’t think we never noticed your nicotine reek back at school.”  

Barty laughed between his own cig, then pointed at a speechless Remus. “Oi, be nice to my sister, Lupin. She fabulously killed your maker.” 

Chaos ensued once again.

 “Greyback is dead?!”

“You killed Greyback?”

“Fabulous is not the word I’d use, it was an accident.” You frowned at your brother, who shrugged noncommittally. “Also, why do you sound so surprised, Sirius, when we have the same mentor?” 

“How do you kill a savage dark creature by accident?” Mused Marlene, her own posture more relaxed after she deemed you three as non threatening. 

At this, you seemed to turn a little sheepish. “Not my fault the fool walked in the moment I casted a fiendfyre, serves him right though, he was a prejudiced, misogynistic dipshit.” You inhaled sharply, your eyes accidentally meeting Remus’ troubled gaze by accident. “My apologies, if I beat you to it.” 

Remus spluttered, “I wasn’t planning–”

“It seems we keep getting off topic, which is why I think it’s best to meet up at location 12 two nights from today to finish discussing this.” Dumbledore said, now fully standing up, McGonagall sighed exasperatedly. He turned to you and your brother. “Do try to bring that diadem of yours for inspection, then we can decide our best plan to begin the destruction of the Horcruxes.”

Neither professor stayed behind to wait for any response from any of you, taking your silence as cue to Apparate away and towards their own business, it seemed. The meeting was over before anyone could make more comments, and without any responsible adult there to interfere, more questions flew here and there towards Regulus and the twins. 

“Oh, Merlin’s saggy balls, aren’t you a welcoming bunch?” Barty rolled his eyes, blowing some smoke from the corner of his lips. “No, we are not aurors. No, we did not receive the Dark Mark contrary to popular belief. No, neither Evan nor Pandora are part of these groups. No, lesser Black, I am sadly taken and happily engaged, however my lovely treasured sister here is very much single if you still want to have gorgeous Crouch pups.” 

“I don’t have any interest in you or your vicious sister, Junior.” Sirius seethed, frowning as if the insinuation alone made him angry, no one missed the way he blushed. You rolled your eyes. 

“You don’t?” Barty repeated, a pierced eyebrow raised in bemusement. His eyes moved between him and Remus, “Then quit ogling her, you deviants. You too, Evans, don’t think I haven’t noticed.” 

Lily gasped in surprise, but her flushed cheeks gave her away immediately. You winked in her direction, “I am not ogling anyone! I was just… just… Junior! I will hex you.” 

“Do not worry your pretty little head, Evans. I’d gladly snog the daylights out of you, I have no preferences.” You shrugged, your own pierced eyebrow irked in a playful matter. 

“You did not just hit on my wife in front of me, Crouch.” Shrieked James, in both surprise and offense.

You moved your head from side to side, a blasé attitude in your movements as you gave your cig a last puff. “Seeing I haven’t seen anything about a Potter wedding on the Daily Prophet, it’s safe to assume I can still steal your fiancé away, Potter.” 

“Are you two done antagonizing everyone in this room?” Drawled Regulus, standing up from his own chair with the air of the pureblood heir he was raised to be. Barty and you raised your hands in surrender. His eyes met Sirius’, whose own eyes softened. “I suppose we will be seeing all of you soon.” 

Sirius cleared his throat, “If you’re serious about helping us, then, of course.”

“Unlike you Sirius, I do keep my word.” 

Something passed between them, both Black brothers creaking with intense electricity, James stood up in reflex in support towards Sirius. 

Barty whistled. “I was beginning to wonder where dear old Reggie had gone.” He clapped his thighs and stood up, you followed his movements. Both standing behind Regulus much like James had done to Sirius, a threatening showcase of your support to the younger Black. “I’d really like to say it was a pleasure but seeing you lot have been nothing but incredibly rude to us, we are taking our wonderful company elsewhere.” 

You let Regulus pull you by the sleeve towards the door, a slight bounce to your step as you trailed behind Regulus and Barty, who had tried pocketing a random vase from the entryway, had it not been by Regulus who slapped his hand away. A snort left your lips and you looked behind your shoulder, basking in the different reactions among your old schoolmates. 

“Oh,” You turned quickly, a wicked smile on your face as you addressed Lily, “Congratulations, hopefully it’s a girl.” The red-head opened her mouth in shock, but it was James who tried marching to you. 

“Mind your sodding business,” He spat, seemingly done with your antagonistic tendencies. 

You smirked. “Well, try to be less obvious about it, then.” James’ lips parted in surprise, so did Remus’ who had been holding him back, you took this in stride. “Ow, Lupin, aren’t you a sweetheart? Thinking I couldn’t handle Potter in a duel? Don’t worry, lover boy, you’ll have your chance, I know how you just adore having your lovers’ quarrel.” Your eyes moved to Sirius, who flushed immediately. 

“Treasure, come on. I told Evan I’d be home by 10!” Barty whined, and dragged you all the way out, the door shutting behind you. 

A silence lingered, then came James’ shocked exhale. “What the fuck was that?”

“Are the rest of the meetings going to be like this?” Asked Marlene from her own spot, meeting Dorcas’ own shocked expression. 

Both Sirius and Remus looked at each other over the heads of the rest of the members, a silent conversation passed between them as they both had realized something about themselves when it came to you. 

[bonesxbows]

Unforgettable (Alastor X Reader)

My Masterlist

Everyone at the hotel seems to be overlooking you, talking over you, acting as if you're not really there. Though it's not on purpose, you know they don't really mean to be ignoring you, it still hurts. Everyone except Alastor. He's the first to notice when you start to shut down and slink away. 

(WARNINGS)

Autism spectrum reader

Selective mutism behaviors

Negative self talk (slight depression/overthinking)

Mentions of addiction 

I’m having the most wonderful time in college so far! (insert upside down smiley face here) Anyway this is based on something that happened recently so it’s 100% entirely self indulgent, I’m relying on writing for comfort right now and ya’ll are along for the ride so enjoy! Also I’m sorta undiagnosed on the spectrum so this isn’t entirely accurate but it is based off of my own experiences, if any of it comes off as offensive to anyone just let me know and I’ll be more than willing to change it. Comments and likes are highly appreciated, I feel like my writing has been in a slump lately so PLEASE let me know if this is any good

Banners by @strangergraphics

You were in your room, laying on your bed with your eyes closed, hands neatly folded on your stomach, and fingers mindlessly fidgeting with themselves. Wordless jazz drifted through the air, broadcasted through an old radio; a gift from Alastor. One that you cherished, the soft noise always doing wonders to soothe your restless mind. You often wondered if that was part of his intention when he had given it to you, if he had known about your condition even back then.

There was a knock at your door, but the visitor didn’t wait for you to answer before opening it. The radio magically shut off on its own once it sensed an intruder. You peeked open an eye, seeing a blurb of blonde hair poke into your doorframe. 

“Heya! We’re meeting down in the lobby for another group exercise, it’d be super if you could join us!” Charlie told you, her attitude as bubbly as ever. She didn’t wait for you to reply before skipping off down the hallway, leaving your door open in expectation for you to follow her. You sighed, getting up and doing just that, not really having much of a choice if you were still going to stay here.

Everyone had already beaten you down there, all congregating together and conversing. Though from your standpoint it sounded more like arguing. You grimaced from the noise but carried on, trudging forward to join the crowd. Alastor sensed your presence almost immediately, whipping his head in your direction once you were close. His smile grew tenfold at the sight of you. He patted the empty space of the couch next to him, silently beckoning you over. You relaxed just a little, Alastor’s presence easing some of the tension this social gathering had brought upon you. As soon as you sat down next to him he snaked his hand around your hips, pulling you closer into his side and resting his claws on your thigh.

The conversion around the two of you continued, though it was getting harder to keep up with what was going on. 

“This is Hell, toots! Ain’t exactly a walk in the park to jus’ cut it off cold!” Angel was standing in front of Charlie, all four arms raised in defense. 

“I get that, Angel, but we can’t exactly allow this sort of behavior forever. I’m open to ideas. Suggestions? Is there a way to ease out of this sort of thing?” She rebutted. You figured they were talking about someone’s addiction, possibly Angel’s himself’s, or maybe Husk’s. Either way, you wanted to help, they were both your friends. 

“Charlie, I-” 

“Ease out? Are you kiddin’ me? Do you know how addictin’ they make this stuff? It’s on purpose, baby! Once you’re hooked it’s for life!” 

But Angel beat you to it. Your words just weren’t fast enough. But you didn’t give up, maybe they just hadn’t heard you?

“That’s true, but-”

“There’s got to be something out there, some kind of cure. Right? Maybe we just haven’t found it yet. Come on, don’t give up hope just yet!” 

Charlie interrupted you this time. She flashed Angel a hopeful smile, but ironically she had just knocked all wind out of your sails. You deflated, defeated, and crumbled in your seat. Any hope that they would listen to you fizzled behind your eyes. You curled into yourself, watching them as they continued their little argument, embarrassment and frustration clouding your mind. You wanted to help, had information that could help, but it was like you were invisible. 

Invisible to all, except Alastor. Who took extreme note of the way your face fell when you kept getting talked over. Who noticed how your always pleasant smile vanished and never came back. And how you tried to practically disappear into the side of his coat. 

Irritation pulled at the corners of his smile, making his eyes twitch. 

When the conversation was more or less over, tempers cooled enough that everyone was at peace again, you were quick to excuse yourself, getting up and fleeing before anyone, especially Alastor, could stop you. You ran, head hung low, not even looking where you were going, just hoping your feet would instinctively carry you back to the safety of your room. Your brain was fuddled, one thought led to another, which led to another, which snowballed into a self-loathing mess. So much of a mess you almost face-planted into the wood of your door. Luckily you stopped in time, huffing a sigh and kicking yourself for not paying attention, before you pushed the door open and walked inside, slamming the door behind you. You threw yourself onto your bed, not caring what went flying where, just caring enough that your embarrassed face could be covered by enough fluff and plushness to not be seen by anyone. 

That is until your radio tuned back to life again, nearly making you just out of your skin at the sudden noise. It flickered through static but eventually evened out to the jazz that had been playing earlier. The peaceful music made your heart ache. You felt stupid. 

Oh, Alastor…your Alastor. You loved how safe and comforting he made you feel, but he deserved better than to put up with your weird antics and moods. 

“Darling? Are you alright?”

As if the radio tuning had been a prelude to his arrival, he had shadow-stepped into your room not three seconds later. You sprang up at the sound of his voice, turning around to see him standing near your desk, leaning against his elbow propped up on top of your radio. You opened your mouth to reply, but yet nothing came out, the words becoming stuck like thick cotton in your throat. So you simply shook your head instead, your gaze falling down to your lap. Your heart hammered in your ears. 

Stupid. You were being stupid. Overreacting. As usual. Just talk to him. 

You didn’t notice him walking over towards you until he was near, sitting down next to you on your bed, resting his cane against a nearby wall. He placed a claw underneath your chin, guiding your face upwards to look at him. He used his thumb to gently tug at the corner of your lips, pushing it upwards into a lopsided smile. One that didn’t stay, your face falling as soon as he removed his finger. 

He sighed at the sight. Though he wasn’t upset, not with you. His smile was compassionate, caring. A rare one he only ever showed you, but worry creased his brow. “You didn’t deserve that treatment, you know. I’d kill them if I could.” 

At that, he earned a small, fleeting, smile. His bloodthirstiness was endearing at times. 

“Ah, there's my darling. Can you use your words, ma chérie?” 

You shook your head again. Your vocal chords failing you, seizing up in your throat. This selective mutism of yours wasn’t new. 

“That’s alright. How about we go up to the studio, hm? Just me and you. I’ll even let you pick out a few records to play on air. How’s that sounding?” He tilted his head towards you, smile glinting with persuasion. 

You nodded eagerly, the thought of being in a safe space alone with Alastor already easing your mind. 

He stood up enthusiastically off your bed and held out a hand for you to do the same. “Wonderful. Shall we be off then? Best get to it while the record player’s still hot!”

(Song: It Had To Be You by Isham Jones)

You were sitting cross-legged on Alastor’s desk, flipping through his collection of records, while he continued on with his broadcast. “Duke Ellington”, “Fats Waller”, “Ethel Waters”, and “Isham Jones” all shuffled through your fingers, names that you had come to recognize over the countless times you had spent up here with Alastor. You handed him the last one your fingertips touched. His grin grew at your selection as he shut off his microphone. 

“A fine choice, dear, a fine choice indeed!” He pulled the black disc out of its sleeve, slotting it into the machine and dropping the needle down onto one of its grooves. The sound of upbeat trumpets and an accompanying jazz band filled the broadcasting studio, the same song playing to any and all tuned in to Alastor’s radio station. He began to hum along, pushing his chair back and hopping up, gently pulling you off of the desk with little warning. You clutched onto him as he grabbed you, your feet dangled mid-air for a moment before you found your footing, earning a chuckle from Alastor as you kicked at nothing. 

But eventually, you found purchase on the ground again, and when you did he began to glide you along, guiding you in circles around the room, one hand in yours and the other firmly around your waist. You kept your free hand on his chest, trying to keep your feet up with his. He didn’t take you dancing often, but when he did you were always reminded of just what time period he originated from. He was a natural, humming along to the tune floating through the air as he graced across the floor himself, leading you with him as he went. When he flicked his wrist and spun you in place you felt something inside of you loosen, easing up after the earlier events of the day. 

“Alastor?” You called out his name. There was a flash of surprise across his face at first, no doubt he had become accustomed to the silence, but it quickly gave way to fondness. He pulled you closer to his chest, slowing down his movements around the room. 

“Yes, ma chérie?” Static purred in the back of his throat. 

“Thank you, for…for all of this.”

He hummed in response, placing a gentle and quick kiss on the tip of your nose. “Anything for you, my doe.”

[xlibra-rising]

Kanye & Bianca Censori Chart Reading

Kanye & Bianca have been in a relationship for ≈2 years at this point after Kanye’s divorce with Kim. And after the recent Grammy’s scandal where Bianca showed up butt naked, I was kind of intrigued to look into their charts and see how compatible they actually are.

Bianca is a Capricorn Sun, Pisces Moon, which Kanye as has a Pisces Moon. She as well has a Scorpio Venus and Virgo Mars. There is no confirmed birth time for Bianca as Astrotheme doesn’t list one, so i’m going off of what i have with zero house placements.

Bianca’s chart. Kanye’s chart.

(i used the Cancer rising as Kanye’s ascendant because it seems accurate for him lol)

Bianca is a Capricorn sun, which means she prioritizes structural systems, dedication and traditions in her life. Her conscious mind is most concerned with her personal discipline and responsibility. I see many Capricorn women make use of their technicality for work and career greatly, and they seem to care a lot about the image of “the boss”.

Kanye is a Gemini sun in the 12th house, he has a sharp and versed aware mindset when involved in the hidden energies, sacrifices and the subconscious he experiences. I’d say he is already skilled at this part of himself, since he is notorious for saying very strange things, even if he gets publicly shunned.

In this relationship, Bianca can struggle with Kayne speaking over her and dismissing her voice in the matter, even if it is a really good point she has. He will probably make her feel like he centers his lifestyle around belonging to other groups than in a committed relationship. Bianca is a Capricorn that craves grounding in personal relationships, Kayne may be a little too fast-paced for her liking.

Both Kanye and Bianca have Pisces moon’s, which as a result, means they both relate deeply on a familiar level. Pisces moons are boundless to emotions and let themselves feel a lot of emotions extensively. This is a common area for them both, and a good way to connect with a partner IMO, is having compatible moon signs. They equally have good intuition and psychic powers, and can maybe even read each other’s mind. Kayne’s moon is specifically in the 9th house of higher learning, philosophy and spirituality, this is where he expresses the Piscean energy his moon has. He cares about larger than life ideologies and feels most safe when he can use these poetical experiences when he can convey them with his creative heart. Kanye makes music and art that makes people feel like they apart of his inner world.

Bianca’s Scorpio Venus and Kanye’s Taurus Venus are like kind of beneficial for each other… Both are fixed signs and are on the same axis. Scorpio Venus’ crave emotional intensity and passionate devotion in a relationship. Kanye prefers and values a partnership where he can indulge and enjoy the pleasures that come to comfort with him and his lover. Particularly this plays out in career and the masses. This can indicate that Kanye LOVES when this side of a relationship is admired by the general public. This hints at an overindulgence in this kind of relationship admiration. He may ask a lot more than what he gets when with a woman. And that being more likely to happen because it is also at the 2nd degree of Taurus.

Kanye and Bianca’s love i see as fairly fervent in nature. Bianca is somewhat astrologically compatible with but they need to watch out with clashing egos. They have this weird tendency towards pleasure in their relationship though. I wonder if Bianca likes the way he treats her or is at least somewhat “okay” with it.

[bee-in-a-box]

anywaysies I got my monkees paperbacks in themailand I really wasn'tsure what to expect and it's GOT COMICS!! I love thisart style its so cute

[shripscapi]

Queen Cersei Lannister

absolutely never would have anticipated how many times i’d end up drawing cersei when I first started asoiaf but over time she has cemented herself as one of my favorite characters…

i’m forever revisiting my own designs, so here’s a second attempt at Cersei’s ruby mourning dress and a first attempt at her in her hunting greens when she goes to meet with Ned. I think hunting greens implies menswear, but I’m not certain and I could be misinterpreting…? either way I think it is more reasonable for trying to be stealthy so that’s the route I took…

[lokh]

what do you think toshiro's version of laios would've been like if he was still with the group during the shapeshifter shenanigans

there have been a few speculations in the tag and among the fans and they are all very good SO i am going to take this opportunity to insert a bit of my shipping bias as i like in my interpretation LMAO agdsfgdfgv

i noted that in actuality shuro seems to have a very good grasp on laios' character??? this is most obvious in the manga later on but even seeing how he criticises laios in their fight... iirc nothing he says is actually untrue or wildly exaggerated, and while he does express frustration over something he feels like laios Should have control over (noticing his cues), he is also aware that laios isnt being malicious and that hes Just Like That. what i mean to say is that while i think his version of laios may seem more pushy and in-your-face, i dont think it will be overwhelmingly so. if its post-fight, i think the idea of laios (and marcille) being willing to do anything to get falin back made a big impression on him, as well as the idea that they need to eat and rest in order to succeed in their goals, so those aspects would be prominent in his version. he seems pretty observant, so i think for the most part the physical traits would line up, but i think there would be specific things that stand out to him that would appear strangely striking on his version of laios (like. idk something about his eye colour or the subtle contrast of his armour and chainmail. he seems to have a weird sense of aesthetics if extras are anything to go by lmao). if hed actually been paying attention all those times laios had gone on about what the hell ever, then it might be even MORE hard to tell apart his version since he would also have a good grasp on what laios should know. so either his version of laios is pretty difficult to pick out, OR despite the character being accurate his appearance is too. stylised lmao (exaggerated features or something) OR!! they just get him to pull out his monster gourmet guide thing and are able to tell from there. iirc everyone was surprised at its appearance so its possible toshiro had also never seen it before

IN MY IMAGINARY SHIPPING SCENARIO............ lets say that his laios isnt able to be picked out immediately and that the monster guide thing also doesnt immediately occur to anyone. what the real laios Specifically notices is how close this other laios keeps getting to shuro. and hes like. ??? why is he getting so close to him, theres no way i get that close to him??? but no one else seems to be picking up on it as weird, so hes having a small crisis like do i REALLY get that close to him???? and now that hes on the outside he notices shuro subtly leaning away and he feels both a wave of shame and..... protectiveness??? (JEALOUSY??????) and he immediately steps in and grabs him like Hey!!! cant you see hes uncomfortable???? weve been through this already!!! and like. ok i cant believe im doing this again but i need to separate this into different endings

a) the whump route: i dont think shuro ever envisioned Actually Telling laios about his frustrations outside of being basically cornered into it. has he ever spoken up against what was expected of him?? has he ever been confrontational???? i think part of what held him back from expressing his frustrations, along with the cultural norms, could be fear of what the reaction would be. if he had done the same in any other aspect of his life (his family, his inheritance), i think he would expect disappointment, disapproval, more proof that he doesnt add up to expectation. to be honest i dont think he Truly believes that laios is the type of person to react like this. but it was strong enough to prevent him from acting and i think would be projected onto his image of laios. maybe fake!laios says something dismissive like Well if it really bothered him hed say something right? what, he cant even stand up for himself? cmon, shuro, prove that you cant handle it just like everything else. and thats pretty much the fastest giveaway that it isnt really laios. of course this would be a HUGE tonal departure from what the actual episode/chapter was, so:

b) the dumbass route: both laioses break into fisticuffs, and, yes.... barking. and so they speedrun the entire encounter as the shapeshifters true form appears and, after laios points out that thinking too hard about others versions of you can tear apart groups and peace of mind, they pointedly do not speak of it again. they think about it though. a LOT

c) the normal route: both laioses argue normal like and the group ends up being able to tell them apart because the fake laios goes on a little too long about how theyre all here for falin and everyones like ok its not like he DOESNT love his sister but.......... the rest of the scenario probably goes like canon, though then i would want to see what everyone Else thought of shuro

[serpentface]

Do you conlang? I was wondering if you had naming languages (or possibly even more developed ones) for pulling the words you use. I tried to search your blog but didn't find anything, wouldn't be surprised if the feature is just busted tho. Your worldbuilding is wonderful and I particularly enjoy the anthropological and linguistic elements.

Ok the thing is I had kind of decided I was not going to do any conlanging because I don't feel like I'm equipped to do a good job of it, like was fully like "I'm just going to do JUST enough that it doesn't fail an immediate sniff test and is more thoughtful than just keysmashing and putting in vowels". And then have kinda been conlanging anyway (though not to a very deep and serious extent. I maybe have like....an above average comprehension of how language construction works via willingness to research, but that's not saying much, also I can never remember the meanings of most linguistic terms like 'frictives' or etc off the top of my head. I'm just kinda raw dogging it with a vague conceptualization of what these things mean)

I do at least have a naming language for Wardi (and more basic rules for other established languages) but the rudimentary forms of it were devised with methods much shakier and less linguistically viable than even the most basic naming language schemes, and I only went back over it LONG after I had already made a bunch of words so there's some inconsistencies with consonant presence and usage. (This can at least be justified because it IS a language that would have a lot of loanwords and would be heavily influenced by other language groups- Burri being by far the most significant, Highland-Finnic and Yuroma-Lowlands also being large contributors)

The 'method' I used was:

-Skip basic construction elements and fully move into devising necessary name words, with at least a Vibe of what consonants are going to be common and how pronunciation works -Identify some roots out of the established words and their meanings. Establish an ongoing glossary of known roots/words. -Construct new words based in root words, or as obvious extensions/variants of established words. -Get really involved in how the literal meanings of some words might not translate properly to english, mostly use this to produce a glossary of in-universe slang. -Realize that I probably should have at least some very basic internal consistency at this point. -Google search tutorials on writing a naming language. -Reverse engineer a naming language out of established words, and ascribe all remaining inconsistencies to being loanwords or just the mysteries of life or whatever.

I do at least have some strongly established pronunciation rules and a sense of broad regional dialect/accents.

-'ai' words are almost always pronounced with a long 'aye' sound.

-There is no 'Z' or 'X' sound, a Wardi speaker pronouncing 'zebra' would go for 'tsee-brah', and would attempt 'xylophone' as 'ssye-lohp-hon'

-'V' sounds are nearly absent and occur only in loanwords, and tend to be pronounced with a 'W' sound. 'Virsum' is a Highland word (pronounced 'veer-soom') denoting ancestry, a Wardi speaker would go 'weer-sum'.

-'Ch' spellings almost always imply a soft 'chuh' sound when appearing after an E, I, or O (pelatoche= pel-ah-toh-chey), but a hard 'kh' sound after an A or U (odomache= oh-doh-mah-khe). When at the start of a word, it's usually a soft 'ch' unless followed by an 'i' sound (chin (dog) is pronounced with a hard K 'khiin', cholem (salt) is pronounced with a soft Ch 'cho-lehm')

-Western Wardin has strong Burri cultural and linguistic influence, and a distinct accent- one of the most pronounced differences is use of the ñ sound in 'nn' words. The western city of Ephennos is pronounced 'ey-fey-nyos' by most residents, the southeastern city of Erubinnos is pronounced 'eh-roo-been-nos' by most residents. Palo's surname 'Apolynnon' is pronounced 'A-puh-lee-nyon' in the Burri and western Wardi dialects (which is the 'proper' pronunciation, given that it's a Kos name), but will generally be spoken as 'Ah-poh-leen-non' in the south and east.

-R's are rolled in Highland-Finnic words. Rolling R's is common in far northern rural Wardi dialects but no others. Most urban Wardi speakers consider rolling R's sort of a hick thing, and often think it sounds stupid or at least uneducated. (Brakul's name should be pronounced with a brief rolled 'r', short 'ah' and long 'uul', but is generally being pronounced by his south-southeastern compatriots with a long unrolled 'Brah' sound).

Anyway not really a sturdy construction that will hold up to the scrutiny of someone well equipped for linguistics but not pure bullshit either.

[invinciblerodent]

and another very small, very minor entry on the list of Things I'm Getting Just a Tiny Little Bit Miffy About Seeing Repeated (Not Angry Just Ever So Slightly Annoyed)TM:

dnd elves do, in fact, mature at the same rate humans do. they're not "like children" or "not considered full adults" until they hit 100- not to anyone other than other, older elves.

like I get where the thought comes from, I fully understand it, I've read many of the source materials myself, I've read Mordenkainen's and see where the misunderstanding comes from, but... to a human, or a tiefling, or anyone else shorter-lived than an elf, a 50-, 60-, 90-year-old elf is just like a 50-, 60-, 90-year-old of their own race would be. they just look much younger than their age, and act in accordance with their personality, which is.... much less tied to someone's age than many may think. (I mean, have you never met a 50-year-old who seems just staggeringly immature? a 20-year-old who is wiser than their years would allow? have you never been to a retail establishment???????)

it's only the other elves who view a younger one as emotionally immature, and that's mainly because they have yet to bury their first generation of friends and loved ones: something a shorter-lived person only has to do once, while elves may very well go through several cycles of that in one lifetime. They have also not yet had their Drawing of the Veil, when they stop being able to access primal memories, memories of their soul's previous lives, but it's mainly the "all my once-powerful and vibrant friends are now frail and dying from old age, and yet here I remain, as young, strong, and beautiful as the day they met me, untouched by the inexorable crawl of time, what is mortality, what is death" thing.

if the people of Faerun in general thought of a 40-year-old elf as immature, as if they were a child, Astarion would have just patently not been an appointed civil administrator and judicial officer (which is what a magistrate is) 200 years ago. like he could have of course been lying when he said that that's what he was, but taking it as the once-truth, nobody would have let someone they see as a child fill such a position of responsibility. It was, however, a perfectly mundane thing for a learned adult man, such as he was, to do. (what he may or may not have done with the power he allegedly had, the kind of person he was, and whether letting him have power was the right move overall, is pretty much completely irrelevant at this juncture. corrupt officials exist regardless of age, just look at the judicial system of any country today.)

an older elf like Halsin, their maturity is not just on a different level, it's measured by a different metric than that of a shorter-lived character.

it's hard to accurately roleplay or grasp something like this with our human minds, none of us have ever spoken to a 300-year-old after all, but.... a 100-year-old elf is not a "young adult", unless you're an elf yourself. If you're a human, they're just... an adult.

[icewindandboringhorror]

There's always a slight yearning in the back of my mind wishing I had been born in the right place, time, family situation, income level, etc. to have just lived in one single house for my entire life. Imagine being born in a place that still suits you, even through all of your personal evolutions and etc. The idea of deep familiarity with an area because you've lived and explored it for 40+ years, being encased in a web of memories and connections. Being able to clean out your old childhood bedroom and find personal artifacts, to dig in the yard and remember. I know those lives can still be plenty imperfect, but there's just something so seemingly solid and stable and Grounding about it that I sometimes wish I could have.. (At least from my outside perspective as someone who's moved around a bit geographically and even within the same area, never lives in the same house/ apartment /etc. for more than a few years usually.) Like... having a place that is printed upon, fully your own, rather than chronically a visitor, every thought of a space always tempered with the notion that one day soon you'll have to pack it all up again, etc. There's something peaceful about the permanence.

[poisonedpowder]

Difficult Person Test

You are a very difficult person to get along with (72.86%).

Tagged by: @gntlets

Tagging: Anyone that sees this and wants to do it (come on, I know you want to-)

[medicinemane]

.

[palebloodpresence]

what if i said my genuine opinion of "rom the vacuous spider" is that she's actually not like, peaceful because she's stupid, she's just extremely fucking chill bc she's so enlightened. like she WILL defend herself but really she just wants to hide in her cool lake world and hide dark rituals

[kiealer]

i’m going to bed bc work tomorrow but i’d like to mention that now that jay has referred to ninazu’s dance style as ‘freestyle kpop’, i can’t unsee it 

[needlebeetles]

hey guys im not going to get into the copyright issues or what constitutes art (personally i think art is when something is presented with the intention of being appreciated aesthetically or prompting emotion or thought) because that's a lot more based on personal ideology and stuff, but I will let y'all know that item b is a little more nuanced?

ai training and the like do use quite a bit of energy, and studies show that a single ChatGPT query uses around 3 watt-houts, ten times more than the average google search. however, the average one person (usamerican) household uses 20.11 kilo-watt hours per day, so if we say, asked ChatGPT to write our history essay for us (don't do this, ChatGPT is more often than not a source of misinformation), that would be about 0.015% of our average daily energy usage. this post and this article here put the numbers more in perspective.

data centers (not specifically ones that host ai models) use 1.5% of global energy at most so if ai is going to destroy the planet it's certainly not going to be the only thing destroying the planet.

AI people: we're just as much artists as you are, you gotta be so observant and go through so many correcting phases for the picture to look good uwu also AI people:

[strayslost]

i think i'm gonna age rimbaud up from his anime age, but only by about four years (so he'd be 31 and not 27 during the 15 light novel.) he'd still have met verlaine and worked as a spy when he was pretty young (around 20 i think??), but he still would have been an adult at the time, albeit a very young one/just out of his teens.

assuming verlaine is around the same age (at the very least they're the same height in the 15 manga flashbacks, so it seems likely), that'd make verlaine around 31-32 in stormbringer, and 38-39 in the main canon of bsd?? which feels a liiiiitle older than he comes across as to me, but not too egregiously. of course, technically verlaine might be more like sigma and not have an actual traditional "age" so to speak... i guess i could mess around with that a bit too if i wanted. like maybe he was created as an adult, and he physically ages a bit slower than other humans do??? or not. lol idk where i'm going with this.

the tl;dr is that i'm imagining that rimbaud and verlaine met when rimbaud was around 20, and they worked together for four years, so he was betrayed by him when he was 24. as for how i'll handwave the guidebook age for rimbaud being 27 - i'm just gonna imagine that that's how old he either thinks he is, or how more likely how old he presents himself as to the port mafia/the world as a whole. he DID have amnesia after all, and his true identity wasn't known, so there wasn't any way for them to be sure of his own age, either!

[strikersin]

Dreams. Dreams. DREAMS!

The one where I'm watching a movie at Luther's house and she is dressed in almost Russian attire - Fancy, cold, and so beautiful. And we're in bed and I'm explaining my excitement over the Pathologic movie and later we have to deal with zombies but whatever.

And I'm playing with children's toys there. Everyone is so young.

Real life when we were read The Last Unicorn or something, something, at the cafeteria table. The book where the protagonist is taught how to keep her thoughts locked up tight like a box.

Ugh.