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bransles · 3 years

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botanical headcanons. // accepting.

@magioffire / @dullweapons / anonymous:

aloe, apple blossom, carnation, sage

aloe : how does your muse handle grief?

perhaps not the most gracefully — he had initially taught himself necromancy in a fit of grief and desperation over losing his childhood pet, only to then realize it isn't necessarily bringing back the dead as he thought it to be. instead, what he got was a mindless corpse of a puppet that would follow his commands. he quickly realized from that experience that there is no bringing back the dead and all he can do is move on.

yet, his emotions have always been strong and dramatic and grief is no exception. he'll sob, he'll isolate himself for a bit, he'll write songs to honor his loved one's memory, slip into depression for a while.

if it's a significant other he's lost, he may never feel able to find another partner — or at least won't for a long time. he will eventually move on, keep them in his memory, but again. octavo is dramatic with everything.

apple blossom : how does your muse go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality ?

octavo is not one to be shy about any aspect of himself. he's gay. he'll blatantly express attraction towards other men. he'll politely decline any advances from women and will bluntly tell them it's simply because he does not prefer their company in that way. if someone asks him about it, he won't dance around it. he feels no need to.

now, his . . . demeanor isn't necessarily a deliberate expression of his sexuality. but it probably isn't surprising to most people to learn he's gay, given how he dresses, talks, acts — he's. effeminate. fruity lol. and he's fully aware that he is. although he never considered any of those things to have any correlation with his sexuality — he's a musician, a performer, and the more flamboyant you are, the more attention the audience gives you.

he expresses his sexuality pretty casually, i guess? it just something about him that is, and it never really gets discussed unless he is actively interested in someone. it's not usually something that needs to be brought up, otherwise. he doesn't go around introducing himself like "hello i'm octavo and i'm gay."

carnation : what is your muse’s relationship with their gender? how do they express or not express this relationship?

octavo's relationship with his gender is a passionate one. he is a transgender man, although his experience with being trans might be a bit different than some. as in, he doesn't really experience body dysphoria — his body is his, and he loves it! it's perfect, along with the rest of him! thus he feels no need to make any huge changes to himself (e.g. top surgery, etc). that said, being called a woman, the idea of living as a woman, brings him a lot of discomfort. he'd snap at anyone who would refer to him as such (feminine affectionates however like princess, queen, wife, sis, etc. are allowed from people he's closer to). he never really felt as if he were born in the wrong body, just had the wrong words assigned to him. he is a man, and that is something about himself that just is, as well.

his gender expression really goes as far as making it clear that he is a man. he does typically take on a more masculine mode of dress, such as suits, but will wear dresses and skirts. he also keeps his hair long, will wear makeup, jewelry, paint his nails. clothes are clothes. he'll wear whatever he likes.

tldr he is gnc af

sage : what is your muse’s legacy? what do they want to be remembered for & what might they actually be remembered for?

first and foremost, he wants to be remembered for his music. as one of the greatest musicians to walk hyrule's fields. to make music that would be played for generations after him, for other people to play and learn from, keep his spirit alive. someone's work being remembered long after their death in the closest the average person can get to immortality.

after learning about ganon? maybe he could be remembered for something else. maybe he could break the mold of the same hero and princess being the one to save hyrule from ruin. he could not only save himself and hyrule, but live on as something even far greater than he could have fathomed. a complete failure, of course. his extremist actions brand him a criminal for some time — although most just view him as causing mischief than anyone dangerous.

he'll be remembered for his actions for some time, for sure. his music might live on, as well — with that fun little tale attached to it of a silly little musician who wanted to play hero when that was not his place in the world.

#( 🎵 ❛ hc ╱ thought i felt your heartbeat.#( 🎵 ❛ answered ╱ love letters.#magioffire #dullweapons #anonymous

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regalisventi · 4 years

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this isn’t even all of my vaati ocs in general but ANYWAYS let’s have a brief introduction to twin princes au because i said i would. someday i should redraw these guys.

click on the pics for their names!

Regent: The first Vaati in twin princes AU, the second prince of the kingdom of Windhm. His brother Octavo abdicates his right to the throne when they’re around 20 years old, leaving Vaati to take the throne. Regent is also the most powerful of any of the Vaatis, his magic is like. my mans could cause a literal hurricane. and did on one occasion when pirates attacked octavo’s ship!

He’s a good person who tries his best as king but he’s an absolute stick in the mud who has no idea how to have fun. Also he sleeps for like 2 hours a week, if you saw this post it’s actually abt regent’s fucking abysmal sleep schedule. He does a good job leading his kingdom tho

Amethyst: the second incarnation of Vaati in the au! Amethyst was born very weak and sickly, often stuck in bed as a kid. Also, his brother went missing and was presumed dead when they were like, ten years old, but he was in extreme denial

tbh if you’ve seen barbie princess and the pauper this era is literally an AU of that so you’ll have a good idea of the plot. it’s a good movie. also amethyst is a massive nerd who spends even more time time studying than regent did.

Wrath: The divergence point for canon, and who the vaati on this blog is based off! Wrath grew up severely neglected... and decided the best way to deal with his trauma would be to kill his brother Octavo. This is the start of the ‘age of separation’, a period of time where the kingdom of Windhm was actually divided into the kingdom of winds on the surface, and the kingdom of rhythm beneath the surface. loyalists to the old king ran away with him underground, where they stay for a While.

Wrath takes over as king for a short period of time, but is eventually betrayed and sealed into the four sword by the captain of his royal guard. in order to preserve the cycle of reincarnation, his soul is split in half, leading to...

Vaalni: wrath’s son! a literal fucking angel who did nothing wrong but is hated by his entire kingdom for being the child of a demon. thankfully his adoptive father (the same man who sealed vaati) supports him and helps him learn to love himself. its soft.

Also, as a result of how he was born, vaalni only actually has a fragment of a soul. it develops and heals somewhat over his lifetime, but it’s never going to be fully complete until wrath comes back. this is an important plot point.

Light: Born in the midst of the age of separation, Light is a good boy who knows he’s the descendant of a demon but he doesn’t let it stop him. the kingdoms of wind and rhythm are kinda in a cold war with each other- they don’t interact but they hate each other, and vaati is very scared that meeting someone from the underground would somehow resurrect wrath

he manages to befriend the octavo of this era (who’s from the kingdom of rhythm), and together they help stop the cold war. the kingdoms still dont really interact, but they’re on much better terms.

Reborn: Unlike Light, Reborn decides that resurrecting wrath is a Good idea and wants to take over the world! his soul finally gets recompleted at the cost of turning into a demon, but its ok the power of friendship with that era’s octavo brings him to his senses and fixes the day

after he calms down the kingdoms reunite to end the age of separation, and tbh wrath is just the weird gremlin friend who floats around the palace and likes to annoy octavo. he >:3c

Redeemed: He’s from an AU where Wrath didn’t do a murder, and also the guy in this blog’s icon. don’t ask me why i decided to make a blog for the au of an au. i just. i support him.

redeemed is basically just a weirdo who lives in the woods in a tiny lil village, and dont worry he does see octavo again! they talk sometimes, octavo comes by to have tea. he’s king now.

Fallen: he makes me sad. he and octavo’s parents died when they were kids, and neither of them coped well! at all! this kinda culminates with octavo murdering vaati,

fallen is just chronically depressed. he’s really sad. please give him a hug because he needs one.

Resonance: because of plot shenanigans, after fallen’s death, his spirit actually goes back in time! he pulls a zero escape time travel and is now 6 again, and lives out his life in hopes of preventing his murder. this time he practices his magic and prevents octavo from doing a crime... he becomes strong enough to stick up for himself and im proud of him

resonance is a good. he’s just trying his best. mom said it’s his turn to be the hero.

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anyways, that’s a tl;dr on the vaatis of twin princes au. i won’t talk abt the octavos bc my friend is the one who made them all up, but i promise ever octavo is just as good. tbh i have plenty more i could say if asked and also all of them are valid if u have questions for them on the blog, just say who it’s to!

and for fun, an old page i made while we were still developing tpau. the names on the far right are the names of the corresponding octavo in each era.

#vaati #Twin Princes AU #my art #does that 6 fanarts challenge but it's just me updating my reference images #this is a Lot of information but!!! i love this au and wanted to post abt it #i have school stuff that still needs to get done #but i wanted to do this for fun

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octavoh · 5 years

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heard you had an Octavo AU and I'm curious: Is he a puppet of Vaati ? Who hurt this poor boy™ and what is this AU about?

OHHH???? YOU’RE APPROACHING ME??????????

I AM VERY GLAD YOU ASKED BECAUSE BOY DO I HAVE A LOT OF CONTENT…

So the premise of the AU is that Vaati shares a body with Octavo due to some kind of curse. There’s a lot more below, including art for the AU. Please talk to me about it anytime!

I’m copy/pasting this from a doc. My notes are kind of incoherent, as I haven’t solidified the storyline too much (and most of them are just from me rambling on discord).

Context for the AU:

Vaati dies at the hands of the Hero in the Minish Cap. When he’s defeated, he casts a curse that binds his soul to a vessel. I don’t know what the parameters for the curse are, but it binds Vaati’s soul to Octavo’s.

Octavo knows that Vaati’s sharing a body with him, and Vaati can appear as an apparition to him. And since Octavo is born a few years after the events of MC he knows who Vaati is. That makes Octavo isolate himself, so at the point where shit goes down he lives as a hermit in the middle of the Minish Woods. He is, however, also a traveling musician who hoards instruments in his house.

16 years after Octavo’s birth, Ganondorf invades and takes over Hyrule. Both the king and queen -MC Zelda and Link- die at his hands. (They were barely adults at this point :( ) However, their daughter, Zelda, escapes with Impa.

And the plot:

The actual plot takes place 6 years after the fall of Hyrule. It’s anarchy, monsters abroad, Gan seeking the princess, etc. Zelda, now disguised as Sheik, takes refuge in Octavo’s house while being hunted by monsters. I made comic thumbnails about it. Click on the link to see ‘em

So Tavo opens up the door and hes like “bruh wtf” at all the monsters… and gets his ass beat. When Tavo’s knocked out, Vaati takes the chance to blast the monsters away (but doing so takes up most of the power he’s accumulated over Tavo’s lifetime, RIP).

Sheik sees this all happen. They know that Tavo’s gonna have a target on his back due to both his appearance (Since his color palette is kinda sheikah-like. I don’t know. It’s the pale hair) and, he just obliterated like half a platoon of monsters.

In the meantime, Ganondorf senses Vaati’s magic outburst. He takes it as a sign of the princess’s return, and mobilizes his forces.

Sheik and Tavo end up travelling together. This is a rash decision on Sheik’s part; they know that they could’ve left him behind without endangering him. However, Tavo’s also the only person they’ve really interacted with in three years and both of them are starved for human contact, so they end up clinging to each other.

For a while, they just travel without purpose, helping whatever people they meet on the way. (At this point they also hear about the Link of this AU. I’m still not sure where I’ll implement him and how, though, so I won’t elaborate rn.)

Then they meet [NAME PENDING]. He’s a suspicious old man that Tavo and Sheik just. Keep. Meeting. Eventually, the man confronts the duo. He’s the guide of the story, and tells Sheik about their mission and how they can defeat Ganon. He tells them to find Link.

Congratulations! [NAME PENDING] joined your party!

… Kind of. He disappears for days at a time. (Eventually, days become weeks. Weeks become months. Months become never again.)

And another major event that happens early on: while Tavo and Sheik are off adventuring, Tavo fucking dies. It’s probably not even a heroic death he just trips on a moblin or something.This activates an aspect of Vaati’s curse.

So Vaati and Tavo make a pact (a la Ava’s Demon) before their souls really die. I’m still figuring out what exactly they promise each other.

This is what the pact does, though:

- Vaati takes somewhat of a “backseat”. However, if it’s necessary, he can take over Tavo’s body for a while. (Doing so puts immense strain on Vaati and he can’t do anything for a while).

- It lets Tavo and Vaati communicate via dreams.

- Vaati also surrenders his magic power to Tavo (until the pact is … accomplished? Its conditions are met?) but Tavo, being a dumbass… doesn’t find this out till later.

- It changes Tavo’s appearance… dyes the dude purple.

- Vaati’s powers magically amplify Octavo’s music, letting him summon monsters and manipulate the elements (to an extent) with it. I might give him the wind waker because it’s the perfect weapon for Tavo (Is baton, has wind powers).

The rest goes something like this:

- Old man disappears altogether.

- The party finds Link. (Link is a soldier who was chosen by the Triforce of Courage after his predecessor, MC Link, died in battle. He leads somewhat of a one-man rebellion against Ganon.)

- Link also remembers all his past lives (Granted, there aren’t many of them at this point in the timeline.) This includes MC Link.

- Link is immediately hostile towards Octavo. Their animosity is probably going to be a major arc in the story. (…I’m probably not going to write it. F)

- Sheik and Tavo fight Link at some point when Link attacks Tavo. Eventually they get along and travel together lol

Also I think that the stuff that happens when the party gets to Hyrule Castle deserves its own section so it’s here. My notes also get a lot more incoherent from this point on, so beware

- As Tavo, Sheik, and Link gradually approach Hyrule Castle, they notice something different. The (Hylian + some Gerudo) citizens are happy and healthy. The castle is not in ruins. There are no monsters. It’s eerily idyllic.

- The castle is surrounded by an aura of malice, but everything else is peaceful.

- When they enter the Castle, the staff seem mostly be Gerudo. They welcome the party warmly. (The party is literally just waiting for the sneak attack, but it never comes).

- I don’t know what these are but they’re probably quotes/explanations from people in the castle

- “Six years ago, our king, Ganondorf Dragmire, came to Hyrule. Contrary to what you think, we did come in peace; we were to strike a trade agreement benefitting both our nations. During the last few days of negotiation, Ganondorf fell to a bout of madness- some sort of possession. Nobody had seen anything like it before.”

- “He came back to his senses to discover the blood of a thousand Hylians on his hands.”- [bitterly] “He still disappears to who-knows-where, only communicating with us by notes. We are doing the best we can to make amends for his own actions.”

- [From… Nabooru?] “I grew up with him as a child. He is hiding himself because he thinks- no, he knows- he will hurt others.“

And stuff from/about Ganondorf:

- Gan does his best to keep the will of Demise at bay.

- The Thing Happened when he touched some evil artifact in the Hyrule Castle vaults, which enabled Demise to use him and wreck shit up

- Gan has been researching the triforce to better understand what happened to him and learns about the Link/Zelda/Gan cycle thing.

- So the party meets Gan. Link’s in FIGHT mode from the start- Sheik and Tavo recognize Gan’s voice. Oh, wait. That old man…. Huh……..

- They fight and you can see that Gan’s holding back. But before Link can deal the finishing blow Gan goes apeshit because he can’t hold back Demise’s spirit anymore

- Cue epic boss fight but it’s sad because oh man that’s the old dude

- I know i mentioned [NAME PENDING] for like 2 lines but he’s an integral part of the story and becomes a little bit like a father figure to Sheik (and a lesser extent, Tavo). So they’re fighting a close friend. it’s not fun.

- By the end of the battle everyone’s exhausted, triforce pops out and forms that wish-granting triangle thing

- Guess who boops it. Surprise mothafucka, it’s Vaati (having taken over Tavo’s body.)

- He does the evil speech thing and taps the triangle with malicious intent. But there’s been a Vaati redemption arc throughout the story where he learns to empathize with people and become a decent dude. And though his wish sounds evil, but the interpretation is surprisingly neutral/good because his heart’s not really in it, so to speak. i havent even decided to use that particular event or not, though.

I’ve got a doc (It’s kinda inconsistent with what’s here. I need to update it)

And refs!

Tavo:

Sheik/Zelda:

Link:

Headshots of Octavo, Sheik, and Link respectively:

Yeah! Thanks for reading through all this; I’m really glad you asked!!

#vaati #octavo #octavo coh #this is SUPER LONG under the cut

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loreweaver-universe · 5 years

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Oh, hey, an ask about streaming!

First: I have a long backlog of games I’d like to stream, actually! Gifted games or games I acquired for myself but haven’t played. I’m not very good at managing my own entertainment, heh. I’ve put a hold on streaming PC games; mine is a four-year-old potato that was used when I got it, and it can barely handle streaming and playing at the same time--and DEFINITELY can’t handle recording alongside that. When I stream PC games, I have to download the stream file from Twitch itself! It’s never high-quality when I do that. (Not to mention, my wired Xbox 360 controller is on its last legs, which means a lot of games I’m not comfortable streaming for that reason too.)

So, for now, I’m going to be streaming console games almost exclusively. I have a ton of different consoles, but only a few can hook up to my terrible old Roxio, so I’m pretty much restricted to PS3, PS4, and Switch games at the moment. I’m going to be doing the Black Eagles campaign of Fire Emblem: Three Houses eventually, now that I’ve completed Golden Deer, but I promised myself that I would stream a handful of games before then. Here’s the current plan:

Cadence of Hyrule (Switch, completed)

Enter the Gungeon (PS4, completed; I tried it, it was cool, but I’m terrible at it and I wasn’t having a ton of fun being terrible or being terribly entertaining, so I’m shelving that after one stream, possibly to return later)

Steven Universe: Save the Light (PS4, ongoing)

Tales from the Borderlands (PS3; I’m mostly blind on it, though I know a little bit about Rhys’s story and that this is apparently where Scooter meets his fate)

Hollow Knight (Switch, borrowing from a friend; I’ve seen the final boss fight and a smattering of tidbits from around the game but have never played)

I may also play the Resident Evil 2 remake on PS4; I’m not blind on it at all, but I haven’t played it yet and I love Resident Evil.

After these, unless I find something else short I really want to do first, I’m going to stream Fire Emblem: Three Houses again (the aforementioned Black Eagles playthrough). After that, I have options. I have a ton of other games I’d love to stream just for these consoles. I’m going to be streaming Persona 5 almost entirely blind at some point. I have a copy of Nier that my friend Alana desperately wants me to play. Just looking at the PS3 collection my buddy Eddie gave me, I also have the first two Dark Souls games, Witch and the Hundred Knight, Dragon Age: Inquisition (though I never finished Dragon Age Oranges), and The Evil Within. There’s also a couple titles that I know absolutely zilch about and may not wind up being good stream games for me but that I’ve heard are very good, such as Hyperdimension Neptunia, Cross Edge, and Dragon’s Dogma. (I also have Eddie’s copy of Kingdom Hearts 3 sitting on my PS4 pile, but I don’t know when I’ll bother with THAT.) I also have Breath of the Wild for Switch, so that’d be fun.

What are my preferred game genres? I like RPGs. I like horror games. I like games that focus on story. I like Metroid games, though I’ve only played a couple Metroidvanias outside of that series. I used to be really good at Guitar Hero. As for games I’d definitely never stream, I have a hard time answering that question. It’s too broad; probably never something like Call of Duty, unless I was playing Zombies for a few hours with friends, that would have been fun.

For streams, I think I want to focus on games that have A Playthrough--Enter the Gungeon was fun, but it was the same thing over and over with some small variations. Roguelikes are probably out as a result. Cadence of Hyrule, while it’s probably endlessly replayable, will probably only have an Octavo mode playthrough, if that; I completed the story, so while the game is fun, I feel like there’s very little for me to react to. Give me something with a story; that’s the best stream for me, I think. Of course, if a lot of people want me to replay something like Gungeon, speak up! If there’s an overwhelming desire for me to play games just to watch me play instead of watching me react, I can try that, but I don’t feel like that’s my strong suit when it comes to making content.

As far as recommending games, you’re certainly welcome to, but the backlog of games I want to play is so espansive that unless something insanely attractive comes out (like the Resident Evil 3 remake that’s coming this year) it probably won’t be done anytime soon. You’re welcome to join the community Discord server to talk about it, though!

Anyways, I hope this wall of text was informative! If you guys have any more questions about me streaming, feel free to ask!

#bloggin #inbetween #ask loreweaver

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hpwipfest-blog · 5 years

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Masterpost HP WIP Fest, part 2

Hello dear fest participants and exited readers. I hereby give you the second and final masterpost of the HP WIP Fest, announcing the last WIP’s that have entered. As it is once again a sizeable list, I have put it under a cut, with the WIP’s that are already on ao3 first in case you want to start reading already.

If you signed up for the fest but do not see your WIP in this list, this is probably because I do not yet have a title for your work. In that case, please make sure I have them before September 1st otherwise I cannot include you in this fest.

I hope all the participants find lots of inspiration to finish in the upcoming weeks, and to our early readers, enjoy these wonderful WIP’s!

#36

Scenes from a Secuction by @ellesjourney

Pairing: Hermione/Astoria/Draco

It was just supposed to be a job, a summer of tutoring and research. She had no idea what she was getting into.

#37

Mudblood by @comfortablesilences110

Pairing: Draco/Hermione

‘Just bloody give it to me Malfoy!’ She knew her choice of words were a mistake as soon as they left her mouth. She put her hand out to indicate the potion he so cruelly held above her head. But he wasn’t going to let the opportunity by.

‘Ooooooh,’ he hooted like an owl, ‘If I had of known you had it this hot for me I would have asked years ago.' He leaned down towards her face and said quietly into her ear, ‘Would have saved a lot of effort having to woo a girl when a pretty little Mudblood’s ready to spread her…’ he didn’t get any farther. The smirk was wiped off his face as she pushed him up against the opposite shelf.

‘Say it again,’ she dared. He leaned into her face, snarling, ‘…mudblood.’

She didn’t know who moved first but suddenly his arms were around her waist, tongue swiping across her lips demanding access, she opened her mouth and gave in to him, pressing her body against his. He pushed her away, breaking off the kiss.

‘Get off me Mudblood filth!’ he panted, staring at her. ‘As if I would ever lower myself to you’ fingers gripping tightly to the shelf behind him.

She strode confidently towards the door without a word.

‘Tell that to your cock Malfoy.’

#38

Veela Bound by @Artisticrae

Pairing: Drarry

Draco is bleeding out on the bathroom floor, that is until his dormant Veela heritage kicks in and heals him. Unintentional bonding, unexpected powers, surprising alliances, and very very confusing dreams. Harry's last year at Hogwarts just got a lot more interesting. Explicit Drarry. Canon divergent from mid-year HBP.

#39

However I Fall by @mia-ugly

Pairing: Harry/Severus

In one timeline, Severus lives. In the other, he dies.

In both, he falls in love.

#40

Catfished by @wildflame

Pairing: Wolfstar, Jily

Lily wakes up after a night of heavy drinking with a mysterious number on the back of her hand. Certain that it belongs to the idiot that was hitting on her the night before, Sirius embarks on a little prank...

#41

It Happened in Egypt by @bionicallywriting

Pairing: Hermione/Draco

Wandless in Egypt: Draco's stranded in Egypt, but luckily, there's a Granger in sight. Now, if only he could be prevented from strangling her.

Fun times abroad: It was supposed to be a leisurely solo trip down the Nile. Hermione didn't factor in one blond man from her past and all his drama. Then, of course, there's the fact that everyone's after him. Much hilarity ensues. Maybe.

#42

(Mis)calculations by @rockmarina

Pairing: Drarry

This is how they find each other: at 2 am, in the Eighth year common room. Draco wanting to fall, Harry wanting to sink, and both of them in need of someone to hold on to.

#45

El estúpido pelo rosa de Draco Malfoy by @rockmarina

Pairing: Drarry

"Oh, mira, pero si es Harry ‘ya no odio a Malfoy y no estoy obsesionado con él’ Potter. Llevamos diez minutos esperándote para ir a desayunar, ¿sabes?”

Harry tiene que volver a Hogwarts para cursar octavo, y está decidido a pasar un año tranquilo y libre de complicaciones. Malfoy, por supuesto, está ahí para arruinar sus planes.

#44

All We Are (Is What We Got Together) by @malfoyfamilycrest

Pairing: Harry/Ginny/Draco

The first anniversary of Astoria's death has just passed and Draco feels sad. Scorpius, Albus, and Albus's parents all agree that he needs a new purpose in life. Fortunate that Minerva is currently looking for an extra Potions teacher... Draco eventually agrees to give it a shot. In between family dinners at the Potters’ place, teaching at Hogwarts, watching Harry give some special DADA lessons and watching how well Albus and Scorpius get along, his old crush for Harry somehow resurfaces. To complicate things, Ginny also turns out to be nice and supportive and strong—her mental strength reminds him of Astoria in many ways, despite their obvious physical differences. Draco ends up having not just one crush but two and no idea how to act.

#drarry #jily #wolfstar #remus lupin #harry potter #drastoria #draco malfoy #sirius black #hp wip fest #ginny weasley #lily evans #james potter #hermione granger #severus snape

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awhilesince · 4 years

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Sunday, 20 June 1830

8 1/2

12 35/..

above half hour on pot and then lay down – very rainy morning from 6 to after 8 – up at 7 but cramped and lay on the bed – then after getting up again an hour at my left great toe – it has long been impatient of any pressure, and I have feared its growing into the flesh – by little and little worked the nail up and drew out a piece of callus from the pressure of which on the soft flesh the pain might arise – obliged to get into bed to warm myself and rest my cramped foot during the operation –

breakfast at 10 3/4 – paid George his wages due yesterday – instead of 196/. + 30/. for washing = 126/. gave him 140/. – saying I should give him 20/. as a new year’s gift that he would have £20 or 500/. a year – he had been with us 10 years yesterday I only wished him to be a little more tidy about his work, and be as particular as possible about his dress and appearance and keeping his hands and nails clean – Poor fellow! he is good hearted and attached, but a sadly illiterate, vulgar servant – whom I cannot keep eventually –

prayers and sermon 12 bis Ogden from 12 50/.. in about 3/4 hour – Dr. Tupper called in the midst there of – just spoke to him, and said we should be to see him any evening – he could not come this evening – after prayers asleep above an hour in the drawing room – came to my room at 2 40/.. and from then to 5 reading all but the last 20 pages that I read last night Annales des Sciences naturelles for last April – very interesting number – the 1st article ‘memoire sur les rapports de volume des deux sexes dans le règne animal par Monsieur Charles Girou de Buzareingues’ very good – very interesting – then wrote the whole of the journal of yesterday and so far of today till 5 35/.. – I think I will Take the dictionnaire des sciences naturelles planches 8vo octavo noires at 6/. therefore whole work = 726 and ask Levrault for 10 per cent de remise which would be 726 – 72/50 = 653/50.

Settled accounts – dressed – dinner at 6 20/.. – read the paper came to my room at 8 20/.. – Settled accounts – looking over Daldringen’s bill, and Sowerby’s found he had sent a peerage instead of a baronctage and sent several periodicals Royal Institution Journal and especially the zoological that I did not order – this order of books has been ill managed altogether – I shall try and have things better done when I give him another order –

coffee at 9 1/2 – then till 11 in the drawing room filled a sheet 4 pages to Miss Maclean nothing particular said I might go from home next month – all uncertain – did not [know] whether it would all Turn out mere talk or not – if I did go might be away about a couple of months – but she should know all about it as soon as I knew myself – my aunt really so good and anxious to have sure they would get on very well together – as she Miss Maclean had proposed, and promised not to mind if I was from home I should feel at ease on this point, and could honestly bid her Take her own Time – at all rates, I should have my fulness of time independent of the Time she might be with my aunt – very kind letter – to come when she can – but I shall not be impatient, and I think she had better not hurry off before she is quite strong enough – very kind letter –

came to my room at 11 10/.. – very rainy morning till after 8 – then tolerably fine till between 5 and 6 when rain again and rainy night pouring down torrents at 11 p.m. and at 12 1/2 when Fahrenheit 59° –

reference number: SH:7/ML/E/13/0055

#annelistercodebreaker #annelister #missmaclean #junejuly1830

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fauxridium · 2 years

Note

Does necrotavo always have Link on a leash? Im new here, whats their story

he does! its a way to show that link is His

basically, their story starts during the main story of the game, while octavo is doing his whole thing, link is woken up by cadence and starts collecting the instruments he needs to get into the castle, though about halfway through he ends up finding a portal in a crypt and decides to go thru it because you know, why not, this portal ends up taking him 20 years into the future where it is now technically the octavo's ode story, where octavo goes unopposed and eventually turns into the necrodancer, who, at this point has lost touch with his humanity and is Mostly insane due to isolation and power going to his head.

in the necrodancer's timeline (who we are now just going to refer to as nd just to make this easier) link died at the hand of monsters, and thats a regret hes been living with since it happened, as he never intended for link to die, since, as octavo, he had been nursing a crush on link as they both worked in the castle, octavo as the court musician and link as zelda's personal knight, so they would see and pass each other often, and despite nd's waning sanity, still held onto those feelings, so, as you would expect, when a portal opens up in his throne room and spits link out onto the floor right in front of him, hes more than a little surprised, thinking he might have finally gone completely insane.

this link is real though, and nd quickly figures out that hes from the past after a short exchange of questions, nd also quickly begins feeling Things (being alone in a castle for 20 years makes you Starved), and so does link (because giant unhinged octavo hot), one thing leads to another and lets just say they paint the floor white.

on link's side, hes also had a crush on octavo, though due to his upbringing being solely focused on becoming a knight at the hands of his father, he was never able to learn about or explore his feelings, otherwise he would be met with punishment, same with doing anything else that didn't pertain to training to become a knight for that matter, which, only became worse when they realized link was the hero chosen by the goddesses, so he never realized what his feelings really Were, but when he finds himself in the future and has this Encounter with nd, he finds it extremely freeing.

hes never had free will or the ability to make his own choices in life, he was always told what to do, he Must train to be a knight to follow in his fathers footsteps, he Must be the hero as he was chosen by hylia to be, no matter his feelings, but being with nd opens his eyes to the fact that he Can have his own free will, and he Likes it, he Likes how nd makes him feel, he Likes being with him, so he finally decides to take control of his life and stays in the future with nd.

the collar comes a bit later, but again its to show that nd owns link, that link is his and his alone, but even still nd will Always give him a choice, he will Always make sure that this is what link Wants, if link didn't want to wear the collar, nd wouldn't make him, if link didn't want to stay, nd wouldn't make him, it is all of link's own choice, because nd wants link to gain his own autonomy and know that his worth doesn't come from doing what hes told or following the path others made for him, but rather his own wants and the path that He wants to follow, so even though nd is always the one holding the leash, link is always the one in control.

and on the flip side with nd, having link with him helps him regain his own humanity, he softens him and melts him and calms him, and while link doesn't completely undo the damage nd has done to himself mentally, he tames his heart, and eventually link still ends up being the hero and saving hyrule, because nd forgets about the whole Being Evil thing, he has more important things in his life now, he has link now, he has Love now, and thats really all he ever needed.

SO BASICALLY think of it as a master/slave au but more loving and enthusiastically consensual, and still filled to the brim with Activities tumblr would take me out for saying lmao

#cadence of hyrule #i should probably make a tag for this au #ndlink au #there fgsdg #BTW i didn't make this au up on my own my bf and i actually made it together #we're also in the process of rping it DFHDG eventually i plan on publishing it as a fic #if he ever replies lmao #his ass non stop playing the new splatoon dfgsdg #long post

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dont-sneeze · 7 years

Note

JackCrutchie running into each other after two years of not talking at all.

So this was… weird… idk I had it planned out but when I actually wrote it down it didn’t work as well as I wanted it to. But I wrote it, so I guess I should share it.

Thanks for prompting!!

~~~~~

Jack fitted with the tiny version of his best friend’s crutch, the familiar feeling of the smooth wood running along his fingers. It had been warn down and kinda got a little gross over the past two years mainly because his hands were always covered in dirt and grime. But not drawing charcoal, not anymore, not after…

Jack’s last drawing that he ever did, that he planned on ever doing was of Crutchie. The last time he ever say the boy with angry, upset tears streaking down his face as he tried to make Jack understand.

It was all Jack’s fault.

Jack carefully studied the crutch that was no bigger than his pointer finger.

The Crutch he carefully carved out of wood to remember.

A crutch he hasn’t seen for two years, and wasn’t counting on ever seeing again.

Jack didn’t blame anyone but himself. If he wouldn’t have started that stupid fight, Crutchie would probably still be next to him, smiling like the sun, just like he always was.

He just had to go and ask Crutchie to stop being so independent. Back then, he didn’t think it was selfish. He just wanted to always be there for Crutchie and know when he needed help. But instead of calmly telling Jack he was alright, for some reason, the kid exploded. Jack remembered it like it happened two hours ago, not two years.

“Jack, You don’t understand! I can’t depend on you for everything because despite what you think, you won’t always be there for me, alright?”

“What, of course I will! Why wouldn’t I be?” Jack raised his voice, a little bit louder than Crutchie’s.

“Because one day, you’re finally going to wake up and realize that I’m /nothing/. That I’m not worth anything but a few pennies a day. And then you’ll leave. You’ll leave to Santa Fe and leave a crippled boy behind who has no idea how to survive in this city without you!” Hot tears now streamed down his face, and he let them, not caring about crying in front of Jack for once.

“Crutch, why would you even think that about me? I thought you knew me better than that. But maybe, if you, I dunno, take down your walls and actually let me in, you could understand that I’m not everyone else. I’m not gonna leave you.”

“Why should I trust you?” Crutchies voice was tiny. And that’s where Jack should have pulled him close, telling him that he was sorry, but he didn’t. Instead, he exploded, because Jack has the temper of the Delanceys sometimes and he hates himself for it.

“You’re right. You shouldn’t trust me. You’re just the only person I’ve ever truly cared for enough to sacrifice my life for. And I know that I let you get taken to the refuge, and I’m sorry we almost didn’t win the strike that I won for you, I’m sorry your smile is the only thing that lights up this dark cloudy life of mine that seems to have no purpose. So no, you have no right to trust me because clearly, I don’t care for you a single drop!” Jack was breathing hard, glaring at the stars shining above them.

“Jack, I didn’t mean-”

“I don’t care what you meant, just get out of here. Clearly you don’t wanna be up here with me if you can’t trust me.”

“I do trust you Jack!” Crutchie tried to convince him. “It’s just- you don’t understand!”

“I told you to get outta here!” Jack replied, turning to look at Crutchie with fire in his eyes.

“Jack..” but the look Jack was giving him made him back away and make the slow decent off the roof.

He wasn’t in the lodge the next morning. He didn’t come to the distribution center to get his papers. By night, the whole group was out looking for him. Two days later, every Newsie was looking, including Spot and the rest of the Brooklyn boys.

After a month with still no sign of Crutchie, Jack whittled a small Crutch out of wood, to remember. Remember how he messed up, how he wanted to get closer to Crutchie but instead it drove him away. So far away that he ran from him.

After almost two years, Jack gave up. He was never the same after that. His drawings for the paper were messy, and soon Pulitzer fired him. He was never that enthusiastic when hawking the headline, making his sales low and he hardly made profit. Just barely enough to get by.

So here he was, two years and five days later, Jack had just arrived in Santa Fe. He promised himself before that he would never come without Crutchie at his side, but now, he didn’t come to get a better life. He came to punish himself. He came to work and work and work until there was no work left inside him. He planned on making himself as miserable as possible.

“What can I get you, Sir?” Jack jumped, the voice seeming to come from no where. The cafe he had found was empty, and he was glad. He forgot there was people actually there who would serve him and such. Santa Fe was fancy.

“Sir?” Hearing a voice like that broke Jack once more, seeing how it sounded just like Crutchie. Truly it was a voice he would never forget in his life. But it wasn’t Crutchie’s voice., There was no life, no happiness, no sunshine that was woven into it. Just sad and grey clouds. Jack huffed, feeling like he could relate. But then he realized his waiter was still there, waiting for him to order. He shrugged, since he hadn’t even looked at the menu yet.

“Would you like me to come back?” His persistent waiter suggested, and Jack confirmed his offer with a nod. Honestly he would probably just get some coffee or something and then go see what the worst job in all of Santa Fe was, take it, and never speak to anyone or do anything else ever again.

“Alright.” The waiter turned and started walking back to the counter.

Before Jack could be pulled back under with his own thoughts, the sound of his footsteps made Jack look up for the first time. Because it wasn’t foot steps. It was only one, as well as the sound of a crutch.

His eyes were met by the back side of a small figure, and even though it had been two years, Jack still recognized the exact color of the sandy blond hair, a newsboy cap lazily resting on his head backwards, the same size of the fragile figure, even though this one looked to be even more skinnier, but the crutch was the exact same.

Crutchie had run away to Santa Fe. He’d most likely been there the whole time.

Jack quickly looked down once Crutchie got behind the counter. Would he even want to see Jack? Of all the places though, why run to Santa Fe? Didn’t he realize Jack would have shown up eventually and they would have run into each other?

But maybe, just maybe, Crutchie came there, wanting to see Jack again. Maybe he hated New York as much as Jack and wanted to get away. But why didn’t he say anything? Maybe he wanted to, but Jack had to yell at him, scaring him off. So many maybes filled Jack’s head, and soon he began to feel dizzy, not knowing which way was up.

“You ready?” Jack jumped once more when he heard the voice. Once again, he had been stuck up on. “Uh , yeah..” he put his voice a few octavos lower to disguise it. What if Crutchie didn’t want to see him? What if he got mad? “I’ll take the best coffee you have.”

“Anything else?”

“Um.” Really, it was now or never. If Crutchie wanted to blow up in his face, then let him, Jack deserved whatever punishment he was going to receive.

So why not? Nothing could hurt him more than he deserves. Still not looking up, he nodded, and placed his voice back to normal. “Yeah. How about a plate of you don’t know how incredibly sorry I am, and if at all possible, could I get a side of an acceptance of a terrible excuse for an apology?” Slowly, he looked up at saw the face he used to know so well. This one though, this one was empty, there was hardly a trace of sunshine or happiness.

“J-Jack?”

“Heya, Crutchie.”

The sound of a crutch clattering to the floor made Jack worried, but he didn’t even have another second to think about what happened when he was tacked in a hug. A hug so tight he felt like he could barely breathe but it didn’t matter because Crutchie was there, holding him and Jack was hugging him back just as tightly.

“Jack. I missed you so much.” Crutchie mumbled into Jack’s chest. “So so much.”

Jack ran his hand through Crutchie’s hair, his cap now on the ground. “You have no idea…” he didn’t realize the tears that were streaking down his own cheeks until they landed on the top of Crutchies blond hair.

“Took you long enough to get here.” Crutchie said after a few moments, wiping his own tears away, pulling back from Jack. Somehow, he was now sitting on Jack’s lap, leaning on the back of the table.

“Crutch- what are you doing here?” Jack asked.

“I… couldn’t go back to New York. They woulda found me- I didn’t want to leave you but I couldn’t go back so I came in in hopes that you would be here.” Crutchie was talking quite fast, and Jack hand to slow him down.

“Woah, Crutch, easy, what are you taking about? Who woulda found you?”

Crutchie shook his head and grabbed onto Jack’s shirt, pulling him close once more. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here… I’m safe, I… Right? You’re gonna stay with me?”

Jack nodded, knowing that was the one thing he was sure of. “As long as you want me to be with you, I will be.”

Crutchie nodded. “I’m sorry…”

“Why don’t we talk everything through, all that happened, yeah?” Jack suggested.

“I…” Crutchie gulped. “Alright. Just, not now. I get off work in a little bit. Then we can go back to my place and talk?”

Jack nodded. “Look at you, even got your own place here before me.”

Without a word, Crutchie bent over, picked up his Crutch, and limped away from Jack back to the counter.

~~~~~

“It’s small, but it’s a place to live. I don’t need that much anyway…”

Crutchie unlocked the door to his tiny apartment and Jack walked in after. He was in shock. “You own this place?”

Crutchie nodded. “Yeah. A friend lent it to me when I was just getting on my feet but over time I slowly payed her back, and soon I payed enough to own it!”

“Wow… that’s incredible, you made that much that fast?”

“Well… I work three jobs.” Crutchie shrugged. “I got the extra money so why not?”

“Three of them? You gotta slow down kid, no wonder you look so thin, yous workin yourself to death.”

“I needed something to do here… I didn’t want time to think…” he comment as the ground suddenly grew very interesting.

“Hey…” Jack stepped towards Crutchie and put his hand under his chin, making him look up at him. “You wanna tell me what’s got you all bothered? Who they are and why you couldn’t come back to New York? Why did you leave in the first place?”

“It’s… not a happy story…”

“You not being by my side for two years is not a happy story.”

“I… the night that I ran off… I was gonna come back that morning. But… I… they found me sleeping in an alley… and somehow knocked me out… I woke up in an old house and figured out they had brought me to a different state… They kidnapped me because I was an easy target. They basically made me their slave. If I didn’t do what they wanted me too, well… they would beat me… they held me captive for a few months and I finally escaped. But I couldn’t have gone back to New York. They would have found me. And so I came here, hoping you would be here too. Or come here soon…”

“You could have written… or something?” Jack’s breath was tiny. The thought of whoever They were that Crutchie was talking about made him sick to his stomach.

“I really didn’t want to risk it… It was so terrible there… I’m sorry, Jack…”

“You’re sorry? Crutch you did nothing wrong! If anything this is all my fault! If I wouldn’t have… been so awful to ya, you woulda slept up on the roof with me and they never woulda found you…”

“It’s fine, Jack. It’s not your fault. I shoulda just slept in the lodge house. I was upset. I don’t really remember why though…”

“I yelled at you…” Jack replied quietly. “I yelled at you and told you to leave. I didn’t think you actually would…”

“I…” Crutchie sniffled, and pulled Jack close to him. “How long have you been here?” He changed the subject.

“Just got off the train this afternoon.”

“It’s a long train ride… you must be exhausted.”

“Ive felt more alive than I have in years. I can’t believe it…” he buried his face in Crutchie’s hair, the familiar feeling bringing so much happiness to his soul.

“I missed this… I missed you…”

Later that night, Jack was snoring lightly with Crutchie in his arms. They had stayed up late talking about the past two years until Jack had finally fallen asleep. Crutchie pulled out his journal, filled with entires to Jack.

“Dear Jack,” he wrote.

“I don’t have to ask how are you today, because I finally know for a fact that you’re okay. And you know that I’m okay. It at least, we will both be okay, soon really soon, seeing as you’re curled into my side right now. It’s been two years, and you haven’t changed a bit, and yet you’re completely different. You have the same soft eyes, comforting touch. But now everything is hesitant, you aren’t as physical as you once were. You’d always constantly have your arm around my shoulder, be kissing the top of my head, anything like that. Now it’s like if you touch me, you might break me. I have to inniciate the contact first. I don’t like that one bit Jack Kelly. So man up, and hold me like you haven’t seen me in two years and five days. And don’t think I haven’t been keeping track, because I have.”

Crutchie paused his writing. The train ride from New York to Santa Fe took five days. That meant…

“You left New York exactly two years after I disappeared. Why? I’m not that important to you. Am I? Is that just a coincidence?

Either way, you stumbled into my cafe, and somehow we were reunited and I’ve never been happier.

Jack, I never told you before, but I knew back then that I love you. And the moment I saw you tonight, I knew I still loved you.

So I guess this is the end of my letters to you, they’re embarrassing and sappy, but I did write them to you. So I hope you enjoyed them.

The End. Your Brother,Crutchie.”

He closed the book and put it on the table next to Jack. He slowly and carefully pried himself out of Jack’s grip. He didn’t want to, but it was early in the morning, time for work.

Crutchie had silently gotten dressed and was almost out the door when a pair of tired arms were wrapped around his waist and Jack’s head was resting on his shoulder. “You’re not leaving me… I just found you.”

Crutchie could tell Jack was still half asleep, and grinned. It felt great having Jack’s arms wrapped around him like that, and he really didn’t want Jack to let go. But he couldn’t do that. “I gotta go to work, Jack. But I’ll be back home tonight, alright? I promise.”

“Noooo….” Jack pouted.

“Yeeesss.” Crutchie replied. “I have to go to work, Jack.”

“Then take me with you. I’ve been without you for fifty years. No more.”

“You can wait for another half a day, Jack.”

“No.” And with that, Jack had picked Crutchie up and brought him back over to the bed. “I’m tired.”

“Then go back to sleep. It’s early in the morning.”

“You need to sleep too. I know you didn’t sleep at all last night.” Crutchie could tell Jack was waking up more now, since he was actually making sense.

“Nothing I’m not used to…” Crutchie replied. “Jack, please…”

“Alright. Fine.” He sighed deeply. “I’ll see you tonight then?”

“Yes, I Promise. And… I’ll see if I back take some time off tomorrow?”

“That would make me happy.”

Crutchie handed Jack the journal. “You can read this today. If you want.”

Jack looked at the title. “Dear Jack?”

Crutchie nodded. “Just because I never sent you letters, doesn’t mean I didn’t write them… I mean, most of them are boring and the same thing over and over again, but I wrote to you every night, hoping you would read them someday…”

Jack opened the book and read the first entry;

“Dear Jack,How are you?

…I’m not okay. I got to Santa Fe yesterday. I was hoping you would be here, but I haven’t found you yet. It’s a big town though, so maybe we’ll run into each other sometime. If you even want to see me, that is.

You were right though, Jack. It’s so pretty out here. I wish you were here to see it with me. Maybe you are. But if you’re still in New York, how are the other boys doing?

Jack I miss you. I miss you so much. I’ll miss you till the day I have found you again, or till the day I die. You’ve told me before that I’m your sunshine, well I didn’t realize till I was taken away from you that you were my whole world. You still are.

~Crutchie”

With tears in his eyes, Jack whispered the boy’s name, looking up at Crutchie. But he wasn’t there. He left without Jack even realizing. Jack looked back down and began to read the next one.

They really were all the same. Asking Jack how he is, complaining that it’s taking him forever to Santa Fe. Sometimes there would be a story that Crutchie would share about people he met, how happy he was when he finally payed off his house, Jerks at work he had to deal with, and an occasional joke he heard that day.

Jack was basically crying the whole time while reading it. Especially because each entry ended with how much Crutchie really missed him.

It took Jack a few hours to get through the whole book, since Crutchie wrote every single night for over a year and a half.

He reread the last part of the last entry several times.

“Jack, I never told you before, but I knew back then that I love you. And the moment I saw you tonight, I knew that I still love you.”

Now more then ever, Jack wanted to hold Crutchie and never let him go ever again.

~~~~~

“Jack, I’m-” The second Crutchie opened the door Jack had him engulfed in a tight hug.

“I love you too.” He mumbled into Crutchie’s shoulder. “So so much…”

“Jack…” It had been the longest day ever for Crutchie, just wanting to get home and get back to Jack. But somehow he had gotten the next day off completely, meaning the whole day could be spent with Jack.

When Crutchie pointed this out, hugging him back, Jack arms tightened around him even more.

Yeah, maybe the past years had been awful and lonely, but this moment, these moments made up for it.

#my writing #jackcrutchie #newsies #newsies fic #newsies fanfic

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junker-town · 7 years

Text

Russell Westbrook was the only real NBA MVP choice

We should never have scrutinized the wonder of Russell Westbrook.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on March 30.

The Thunder were down by 14 points to the Magic halfway through the fourth quarter in late March. They had been down 21 in the third. This was also their third game in four nights.

They lost by 12 against the Rockets three days before, when Russell Westbrook scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and at one point brought his team to within nine after the Thunder had been down by 20-plus. They beat the Mavericks a day later after being down by 13 points with 3:30 left in the game, and Westbrook scored 16 of the Thunder’s last 18 points. In the fourth quarter overtime against the Magic on this night, he scored 26 points. A few nights later, he silenced the Nuggets with another incredible comeback and buzzer beater.

That stretch is why he is the NBA’s MVP. That’s why none of the other terrific candidates — Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James — could possibly measure up.

Westbrook’s game-tying shot was an otherwise reckless transition three over two defenders with mere seconds left on the clock. But he was hot. And no one else on that team deserved the glory or burden of that shot more than him. The basket put him at 50 points. He would go on to have 57 total, the most points ever scored while recording a triple-double.

There’s an entry in Kafka’s Blue Octavo Notebooks where he writes: "Atlas was permitted the opinion that he was at liberty, if he wished, to drop the Earth and creep away; but this opinion was all that he was permitted."

The Thunder were 33-9 in the regular season when Westbrook had a triple-double. They only won 47 games total. What he does — these consistently ridiculous performances that have to be reduced and boxed into the category of “triple-double” to be more easily understood — is wholly out of necessity.

The Thunder needed Westbrook to have a once-in-a-generation season, otherwise they would be lost. They needed him to score 19 points in the fourth, or they would have lost to the Magic on this March night. They needed him to be their be-all and end-all, because that is the only way that they can survive, much less thrive.

Inflated rebound numbers be damned — this is not a case of stats padding. Westbrook could have very well done less, but he would have done so knowing that his team would more likely lose. He could have satisfied the critics and preserved himself by lessening his burden of carrying the team, but he would have been purposely putting the Thunder in a vulnerable position. For someone who wants to win every game, that was not an option, not even in overtime during his third game in four days.

Westbrook does not have empty triple-doubles, he has “I will drag us as far as I can” triple-doubles.

This effort against the Magic makes the swipe that the Rockets took at his season seem even sillier.

An #MVP performance by @JHarden13 today. http://pic.twitter.com/208UKAbd6k

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 26, 2017

There is nothing bad that can be said about James Harden, and there’s no need to admonish him in favor of Westbrook. He had a fantastic season of his own, and many other years, he would have won MVP. Harden has done wonders for the Rockets while raising his play to incredible and unforeseen levels. Anyone who besmirches someone to praise another lacks a strong argument, and is probably just a hater.

But we eventually reached a point in the long, annoying MVP argument where Westbrook was disregarded because he’s not as efficient as Harden, because he’s not the playmaker in a Mike D'Antoni offense, because of a small percentage difference — 3 percent — in uncontested rebounds.

We also reached a point where certain stats about how each team’s offense performs without the two MVP candidates on the court, and how much each player raises his team’s play when they do come in the game, were ignored for devious reasons — where advanced statistics were no longer being used to illuminate, but rather to wash away wonder and push an agenda of expertise.

When a player averaged a triple-double for the season — something that has only been done once before, in a league that has had the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James — and the feat is dismissed as empty numbers, then there’s a problem. When an argument against Westbrook was that the Thunder — who should realistically be chasing the eighth or seventh seed, and not the fourth — are not one of the top two teams in the league, then there’s a huge problem. And that problem iswasnot Russell Westbrook.

Just as you do not judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, Westbrook should not have been judged by the standards of Harden. Just as Harden should not be have been judged on the merits of Kawhi Leonard. And Leonard on LeBron James. They are not the same kinds of players, and they are not doing the same things. Harden is leading a resurgent team that is designed to take high quality shots, and he’s doing so at an unprecedented level.

Westbrook was not perfect, and he could certainly be more efficient, but he was also being asked to be an entire offense on his own. He was being asked to be a savior. It’s a role that fit him as much as being a genius facilitator fit Harden this season. The savior role indulged Westbrook’s ego and defiant attitude.

He’s also one of the few players who can handle a team’s failures squarely on his shoulders. The same reason why he takes transition threes over two defenders is the same reason he was perfect for this Thunder team: Westbrook fantastically believes he can do it all. He’s so confident that he can, that the idea and fear of failure doesn’t seem to register for him.

The theme of the Thunder this season was a simple and urgent plea: “Westbrook, please save us.” That’s how it was against the Rockets, the Mavericks, the Nuggets, and the Magic. When other players would scoff at having to exhaust himself every game just to give his team a chance at winning, Westbrook embraced the challenge. He entered this situation without Durant, without Serge Ibaka, with only an outside chance of making the playoffs — whether down 20-plus points, 13 points with three minutes left, or 14 points in the fourth — and asked why not? Why not the Thunder? And especially why not him?

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Westbrook is not James Harden. He doesn’t have to be.

He is Russell Westbrook, and he did things this season that should only be possible in Japanese anime. That’s why he won MVP. That’s why he deserved this victory.

There is no need to do mental and analytical gymnastics to reason yourself out of the wonder of his season. He scored the most points ever in a triple-double, and he went perfect from the field in another one. He snatched victory away from other teams by sheer will, as he did against the Mavericks and Magic, and against the Grizzlies when he scored 15 points with 2:35 left to play. He did that and so much more, so that every Thunder game was a must-watch just to see what he came up with next.

That was his case for MVP, and that was why his case won.

The only reason the Thunder made the playoffs — why they were even a subject of discussion — is that Westbrook refused to let them fall apart. He won MVP because he’s willing and capable of having a once in a lifetime season — full of absurd numbers, shattered records, and unimaginable comebacks — to push himself and his team as far as they’ll go.

That is something to be rewarded, not disparaged.

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readbookywooks · 8 years

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Rincewind swallowed. 'Tall man?' he said. 'Fair hair, looks a bit like a ferret?' 'Now that you mention it —' 'He was in my class,' said Rincewind. 'They always said he'd go a long way.' 'He'll go a lot further if he opens the book,' said one of the wizards, who was hastily rolling a cigarette in shaking fingers. 'Why?' said Twoflower. 'What will happen?' The wizards looked at one another. 'It's an ancient secret, handed down from mage to mage, and we can't pass it on to knowlessmen,' said Wert. 'Oh, go on,' said Twoflower. 'Oh well, it probably doesn't matter any more. One mind can't hold all the spells. It'll break down, and leave a hole.' 'What? In his head?' 'Um. No. In the fabric of the Universe,' said Wert. 'He might think he can control it by himself, but —' They felt the sound before they heard it. It started off in the stones as a slow vibration, then rose suddenly to a knife-edge whine that bypassed the eardrums and bored straight into the brain. It sounded like a human voice singing, or chanting, or screamfng, but there were deeper and more horrible harmonics. The wizards went pale. Then, as one man, they turned and ran up the steps. There were crowds outside the building. Some people were holding torches, others had stopped in the act of piling kindling around the walls. But everyone was staring up at the Tower of Art. The wizards pushed their way through the unheeding bodies, and turned to look up. The sky was full of moons. Each one was three times bigger than the Disc's own moon, and each was in shadow except for a pink crescent where it caught the light of the star. But in front of everything the top of the Tower of Art was an incandescent fury. Shapes could be dimly glimpsed within it, but there was nothing reassuring about them. The sound had changed now to the wasplike buzzing, magnified a million times. Some of the wizards sank to their knees. 'He's done it,' said Wert, shaking his head. 'He's opened a pathway.' 'Are those things demons?' said Twoflower. 'Oh, demons,' said Wert. 'Demons would be a picnic compared with what's trying to come through up there.' 'They're worse than anything we can possibly imagine,' said Panter. 'I can imagine some pretty bad things,' said Rincewind. 'These are worse.' 'Oh.' 'And what do you propose to do about it?' said a clear voice. They turned. Bethan was glaring at them, arms folded. 'Pardon?' said Wert. 'You're wizards, aren't you?' she said. 'Well, get on with it.' 'What, tackle that?' said Rincewind. 'Know anyone else?' Wert pushed forward. 'Madam, I don't think you quite understand —' 'The Dungeons Dimensions will empty into our Universe, right?' said Bethan. 'Well, yes —' 'We'll all be eaten by things with tentacles for faces, right?' 'Nothing so pleasant, but —' 'And you're just going to let it happen?' 'Listen,' said Rincewind. 'It's all over, do you see? You can't put the spells back in the book, you can't unsay what's been said, you can't —' 'You can try!' Rincewind sighed, and turned to Twoflower. He wasn't there. Rincewind's eyes turned inevitably towards the base of the Tower of Art, and he was just in time to see the tourist's plump figure, sword inexpertly in hand, as it disappeared into a door. Rincewind's feet made their own decision and, from the oint of view of his head, got it entirely wrong. The other wizards watched him go. 'Well?' said Bethan. 'He's going.' . The wizards tried to avoid one another's eyes. Eventually Wert said, 'We could try, I suppose. It doesn't seem to be spreading.' 'But we've got hardly any magic to speak of,' said one of the wizards. 'Have you got a better idea, then?' One by one, their ceremonial robes glittering in the weird light, the wizards turned and trudged towards the tower. The tower was hollow inside, with the stone treads of its staircase mortared spiral-fashion into the walls. Twoflower was already several turns up by the time Rincewind caught him. 'Hold on,' he said, as cheerfully as he could manage. 'This sort of thing is a job for the likes of Cohen, not you. No offence.' 'Would he do any good?' Rincewind looked up at the actinic light that lanced down through the distant hole at the top of the staircase. 'No,' he admitted. Then I'd be as good as him, wouldn't I?' said Twoflower, flourishing his looted sword. Rincewind hopped after him, keeping as close to the wall as possible. 'You don't understand!' he shouted. There's unimaginable horrors up there!' 'You always said I didn't have any imagination.' 'It's a point, yes,' Rincewind conceded, 'but —' Twoflower sat down. 'Look,' he said. 'I've been looking forward to something like this ever since I came here. I mean, this is an adventure, isn't it? Alone against the gods, that sort of thing?' Rincewind opened and shut his mouth for a few seconds before the right words managed to come out. 'Can you use a sword?' he said weakly. 'I don't know. I've never tried.' 'You're mad!' Twoflower looked at him with his head on one side. 'You're a fine one to talk,' he said. 'I'm here because I don't know any better, but what about you?' He pointed downwards, to where the other wizards were toiling up the stairs. 'What about them?' Blue light speared down the inside of the tower. There was a peal of thunder. The wizards reached them, coughing horribly and fighting for breath. 'What's the plan?' said Rincewind. 'There isn't one,' said Wert. 'Right. Fine,' said Rincewind. 'I'll leave you to get on with it, then.' 'You'll come with us,' said Panter. 'But I'm not even a proper wizard. You threw me out, remember?' 'I can't think of any student less able,' said the old wizard, 'but you're here, and that's the only qualification you need. Come on.' The light flared and went out. The terrible noises died as if strangled. Silence filled the tower; one of those heavy, pressing silences. 'It's stopped,' said Twoflower. Something moved, high up against the circle of red sky. It fell slowly, turning over and over and drifting from side to side. It hit the stairs a turn above them. Rincewind was first to it. It was the Octavo. But it lay on the stone as limp and lifeless as any other book, its pages fluttering in the breeze that blew up the tower. Twoflower panted up behind Rincewind, and looked down. 'They're blank,' he whispered. 'Every page is completely blank.' 'Then he did it,' said Wert. 'He's read the spells. Successfully, too. I wouldn't have believed it.' 'There was all that noise,' said Rincewind doubtfully. 'The light, too. Those shapes. That didn't sound so successful to me.' 'Oh, you always get a certain amount of extradimen-sional attention in any great work of magic,' said Panter dismissively. 'It impresses people, nothing more.' 'It looked like monsters up there,' said Twoflower, standing closer to Rincewind. 'Monsters? Show me some monsters!' said Wert. Instinctively they looked up. There was no sound. Nothing moved against the circle of light. 'I think we should go up and, er, congratulate him,' said Wert. 'Congratulate?' exploded Rincewind. 'He stole the Octavo! He locked you up!' The wizards exchanged knowing looks. 'Yes, well,' said one of them. 'When you've advanced in the craft, lad, you'll know that there are times when the important thing is success.' 'It's getting there that matters,' said Wert bluntly. 'Not how you travel.' They set off up the spiral. Rincewind sat down, scowling at the darkness. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Twoflower, who was holding the Octavo. 'This is no way to treat a book,' he said. 'Look, he's bent the spine right back. People always do that, they've got no idea of how to treat them.' 'Yah,' said Rincewind vaguely. 'Don't worry,' said Twoflower. 'I'm not worried, I'm just angry,' snapped Rincewind. 'Give me the bloody thing!' He snatched the book and snapped it open viciously. He rummaged around in the back of his mind, where the Spell hung out. 'All right,' he snarled. You've had your fun, you've ruined my life, now get back to where you belong!' 'But I—' protested Twoflower. 'The Spell, I mean the Spell,' said Rincewind. 'Go on, get back on the page!' He glared at the ancient parchment until his eyes crossed. 'Then I'll say you!' he shouted, his voice echoing up the tower. 'You can join the rest of them and much good may it do you!' He shoved the book back into Twoflower's arms and staggered off up the steps. The wizards had reached the top and disappeared from view. Rincewind climbed after them. 'Lad, am I?' he muttered. 'When I'm advanced in the craft, eh? I just managed to go around with one of the Great Spells in my head for years without going totally insane, didn't I?' He considered the last question from all angles. Yes, you did,' he reassured himself. 'You didn't start talking to trees, even when trees started talking to you.' His head emerged into the sultry air at the top of the tower. He had expected to see fire-blackened stones criss-crossed with talon marks, or perhaps something even worse. Instead he saw the seven senior wizards standing by Trymon, who seemed totally unscathed. He turned and smiled pleasantly at Rincewind. 'Ah, Rincewind. Come and join us, won't you?' So this is it, Rincewind thought. All that drama for nothing. Maybe I really am not cut out to be a wizard, maybe — He looked up and into Trymon's eyes. Perhaps it was the Spell, in its years of living in Rincewind's head, that had affected his eyes. Perhaps his time with Twoflower, who only saw things as they ought to be, had taught him to see things as they are. But what was certain was that by far the most difficult thing Rincewind did in his whole life was look at Trymon without running in terror or being very violently sick. The others didn't seem to have noticed. They also seemed to be standing very still. Trymon had tried to contain the seven Spells in his mind and it had broken, and the Dungeon Dimensions had found their hole, all right. Silly to have imagined that the Things would have come marching out of a sort of rip in the sky, waving mandibles and tentacles. That was old-fashioned stuff, far too risky. Even nameless terrors learned to move with the times. All they really needed to enter was one head. His eyes were empty holes. Knowledge speared into Rincewind's mind like a knife of ice. The Dungeon Dimensions would be a playgroup compared to what the Things could do in a universe of order. People were craving order, and order they would get – the order of the turning screw, the immutable law of straight lines and numbers. They would beg for the harrow . . . Trymon was looking at him. Something was looking at him. And still the others hadn't noticed. Could he even explain it? Trymon looked the same as he had always done, except for the eyes, and a slight sheen to his skin. Rincewind stared, and knew that there were far worse things than Evil. All the demons in Hell would torture your very soul, but that was precisely because they valued souls very highly; evil would always try to steal the universe, but at least it considered the universe worth stealing. But the grey world behind those empty eyes would trample and destroy without even according its victims the dignity of hatred. It wouldn't even notice them. Trymon held out his hand.

#LightFantastic

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