#parchment and quill

[dieinct]

the problem with harry potter is that obviously - even putting jkr ENTIRELY aside - everything post-canon is INCREDIBLY racist, the masquerade concept is kind of vile morally and as i've posted previously the WHOLE series is sort of deeply steeped in the antisemitism intrinsic to all of the western esoteric tradition. BUT.

if you are history nerd,

[catofadifferentcolor]

Random Harry Potter Thoughts (1/?): Writing Implements

I'm a huge fan of documentaries, which is why I found myself wondering while watching a series on Medieval Life why Hogwarts uses quills and parchment.

There's obvious aesthetic reasons, especially if you want to write about a magical culture that is separate culturally and politically from the modern muggle world, and which seems to have had no meaningful changes since the introduction of the Hogwarts Express.

And yet parchment is incredibly difficult to make. You have to prepare the untanned skins of sheep, goats, and cows in a laborious process that takes muggles days, if not weeks, for a single hide. Undoubtably magic can make that process faster, but it still leaves the question of where the magical world is getting enough animal hide to meet their daily needs. It could take a herd of up to 300 cows to produce enough parchment for a Bible - how many would be needed to produce the many books published by the Wizarding World each year, not to mention provide for the educational needs of all of the students enrolled in Hogwarts? And if these books aren't printed on parchment, why insist on its use for letters, homework, and notes? (And I would point out, The Daily Prophet appears to be printed on muggle newsprint.)

Then there are the quills. Even assuming magic makes it so each quill lasts longer than a muggle version would and doesn't require the same amount of sharpening, they're still not very good writing implements. Again, even assuming magic can reduce the need to stop and refill ink, it's a rather slower going than even a dip pen and requires specialized education to use - which naturally puts muggle-born and muggle-raised students at a disadvantage. Add on to this that most birds can only provide 10-12 good-quality quills a season and a student can be expected to lose that many in a single year... and now you're talking about massive flocks of birds as well which must be maintained to ensure the Wizarding World can write on all its parchment.

Perhaps the Malfoy family built their wealth supplying this market, and all those peacocks are just the prettiest part of the many flocks which must be needed for the day to day needs of the population.

Granted, much of this could be offloaded to the muggle sector, but who in the muggle world makes parchment on a commercial scale these days? And even if Wizards are just buying the untanned skins, there's still a massive magical industry that has to back it up - how many Hogwarts graduates are needed to fuel it? - to say nothing about the brows this will surly raise among muggle animal rights groups.

And this doesn't even touch on ink-making to supply all those quills - and all the potioneers or enchanters that must be needed to give them their magical properties.

So I think in the course of this rant I found my answer: economics. Enough Wizards must be involved in the sale, production, and maintenance of the parchment, quill, and ink industries that to change to muggle methods would disrupt a number of - potentially economically and politically powerful - livelihoods. You can couch it in tradition, dress it up in politics, and spend your days simply saying this is what we've always done, but in the end money talks.

[icedmetaltea]

Imma Failure in the highest degree when it comes to romance… feel free to laugh. I have never dated anyone before and don’t know the first thing about it. Gonna go hide in a hole now…. Have a wonderful day today! :)

Dude I've never dated anyone either, and neither has probably like half the population of the world 😭 It's okay! There's no time limit for this kind of thing- I've heard of people finding true love at age 90. And if you never do? So what! Doesn't make you any less of a person.

I'm 24 and tbh quite happy being single rn. Romance is cool but so is friendship and watching action-packed movies and eating garlic bread.

You can be as gross as you like, you don't have to worry about another person's schedule, you don't have to worry about your heart being broken or being cheated on! (this is coming from someone with mega trust issues so don't let this make you scared of relationships 09ghdjohvgdfbcn)

One of my friends has dated a lot of ppl and they have some good advice: just be open and honest, and don't assume the worst in people. If you're feeling unlovable cause of some zits, stretchmarks, cellulite etc or maybe bc you're awkward in conversations, there are gonna be hundreds if not thousands of people cool with that- even people very similar to you, people who are also insecure about their own appearance and/or personality. Humans are... well, human.

But remember, no matter what, whether you pursue a relationship or not, you are worthy of love ❤️

[art-of-reinav]

🌿 Berries & Leaves Adventure Pack 🌿 I'm finally releasing this 15 Plant themed 2D Dnd asset pack for $35 in my kofi shop! It has 25 variations of PNG ready-for-download. It can be used for visual references, rpg storytelling, tabletop gaming and more, except for commercial use.

Do not reshare, repost, resell, trade or use these digital artworks for any commercial product.

Portfolio • Twitter  • Kofi •  Pillowfort  • Bluesky • Cara

•  Please do not repost my art

Commission me!

[aesopsbaby]

Drops this and bolts out the room

SAY HI TO BLOODY PARCHMENT'S SHIPCHILD!! :D

Buggi!

@feelin-lo you may have the honors the naming this little boy!

And UHH here's some facts I thought of while creating him:

His hair and eyes leans more towards Lo's features!!

The one sleeve of his that is always down, he likes to swing it really harshly and hit other kids- (someone teach this boy some manners help.)

Really weird obsession with rabbits. Everytime he poses for a picture, he HAS to have his hands up as bunny ears.

His coat is a gradient of Meztli and Lo colour pallette!

Enjoys causing havoc.

Got the coat cause of the fur ontop. Reminds him of bunny fur.

[feelin-lo]

His Loving gaze

A Werewolf Mez x Human Lo.

Meztli belongs to @aesopsbaby

If there was one thing he loved, it was his Human's shape.

His broad shoulders, soft chest, plump thighs and his face, beautiful face. Only ruined by that scar. If he knew who did that... well. That's another story.

He loved his human, he way he spoke, the way he acted, all the skills he had. He cooked, he cleaned, he wrote his own tales. He loved his human.

"Mez! I'm home!" His human called, dressed in his usual red attire. He loved him in that colour. He was holding a bag, full of meat and vegetables, was his human going to cook?

"Mez, you here?" He called.

Meztli heard his human. He loved his human.

Meztli ran over to Lo the millisecond that Lo wasn't holding anything, pressing his body onto the plush sofa, his head hurried to his Human's chest. "Miss me huh?" Lo chuckled, caressing the soft hairs on Meztli's head. "You were gone a while. I thought you'd forgotten me" Meztli said dramatically, sitting up on Lo's lap and then falling back onto the arm of the chair, playing dead. "Don't be like that, how could I ever forget you?" The human sighed, sitting himself up and leaning into Meztli.

"I'm cooking tonight. I know that there's a full moon tomorrow and I don't care what you're about to say to me, I am sitting with you." Meztli growled at that, though he knew how stubborn his human was, and he loved it.

Lo got up and went to the kitchen, slipping off his blazer and hanging it up on the way, behind him, Meztli stalked closer and while Lo was cutting onions, he slithered up Lo's frame, taking his hands up the thin turtleneck that his human wore, cold hands against hot skin was a shock and caused the human to jump a little, causing his hand to miss the onion and hit his hand. Lo sighed, looking back to see Meztli's head on his shoulder.

"What have I said about you putting cold hands on me when I'm cooking?" He asked as blood dripped down his hand then forearm.

"don't tell me what to do" Meztli giggled, pulling his human to the floor. Meztli looked down, pulling his tail from his trousers and letting it wag in the air, his floppy ears coming out from his hair. Meztli was a werewolf, and a playful one at that.

Lo looked up, his hand was taken by the werewolf and lo watched with a blush as his werewolf licked a stripe up his arm, catching the blood and swallowing it. "I sometimes see where vampires are coming from" Meztli sighed, letting the flavour roll on his taste buds, the sweet, the savoury and the salty. He lived for it, it was refreshing. He ducked his head forward and caught Lo's lips in a tender thing.

"M-mez, I'm cooking!" Lo said between kisses" "don't care. You've been gone. I've been waiting for you" he objected, hands up the turtleneck once again.

Lo was finally able to get Mez off of him and get back to cooking, a red blush embedded into his pale cheeks. Meztli watched attentively, Lo bandaged himself and got back to cooking, the smell was amazing, a troupe of flavours dancing like ballerinas in the air.

Each of them finding Meztli. And each of them making Mez more and more hungry.

Lo placed food Infront of Meztli and went to get dressed.

He loved his human, he lived for his cooking. And he loved his Human's shape.

Mez was quick to finish, making sure everything was tidy and turned off. And was just as quick to find Lo already in bed, writing more for his books, scenarios and characters alike. Meztli crawled up the bed, his tail wagging happily, coming to Lo's lap once again. "M'tired" Meztli said, placing his hands on the headboard and leaning forward.

"there's space for you" Lo said with a shaky whisper.

"there's always space for you"

[writingthroughthenight]

Why, when so many people secretly long to handwrite letters with calligraphy and quills, have we not reinstated the art form?

[1337wtfomgbbq]

Snape wants 12 inches about the uses of moon stone.

12 inches are about 30 cm... that's a little bit more than the length of an A4 page.

Now I understand what people mean when they say Hogwarts students are lazy.

[hkpika07]

Psst i got the wax seal set off shein, the only thing I had to get separately was a stove!

👀👀👀👀 Thank you!! Adding it to my wishlist

[serethereal]

my process: sitting down and innocently trying to write a new chapter for my ongoing stories---> a new fic idea pops into my mind ---> I start writing it---> I get a few chapters in---> I stop---> I go back to the other fic.

I have so much respect for authors who can just sit down and write one full story.

[glmtwnbrtz]

I can’t go to my messages ig thanks tumblr

[nameification]

thinking about quill to a piece of parchment... gonna add some more hurt/whump elements...

[aesopsbaby]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫(s): Vampire!Lo , Werewolf!Meztli (Monster AU)

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: After a hunt, Meztli wants nothing more than to be pampered by his Vampire. However, that quickly changes when he meets eye to eye with a replica of his beloved.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: EYYY!! I'm back! Sort of,,, I'm trying to get the prizes all out and I'm terribly sorry for going on a hiatus all of a sudden </33 I swear I'm working on alot of projects right now,, but no worries as I promise the winners will all receive their prizes soon! (Hopefully-) anyways~~ I hope you'll enjoy this!!

Ah,,,I really should get a beta reader because this has not been proof read so expect some grammar mistakes!!

1/5 Prize winner: @feelin-lo !

The night was peaceful. With the wind blowing softly, trees in the darkness rustling gently and the soft footfalls of animals scattering away whenever he steps on a branch.

Looking up at the moon, shining ever so brightly, he feels the corner of his lips lifted into a grin. Bringing his hand up, he wipes off the deep red staining his lips and face, however, still leaving a considerable amount behind. Not that he cares, he never did. But he did want to make himself look at least presentable before returning, to the embrace of warmth and comfort. To his home. His Lo.

Meztli reaches the front of the mansion, the tension long gone from his body after his hunt. Placing his hand on the shiny gold knob, he halts in his movements, eyes narrowing in a pensive way at the knob as the moonlight reflection bounced off of it. Meztli feels a growl bubbling up in his throat instinctively, his tips of his ears twitching slightly.

The tension came crawling back into his system, along with a sense of dread that ate him up slowly from within.

It felt as if this wasn't the same house he knew- No. No, it definitely is still the same house..- But, why was it that he could feel an impending and intense energy coming off the now foreign object in his trembling hold?

Voices. Meztli picked up on a distinctive muffled noise.

...

On..multiple voices? Meztli furrowed his eyebrows with confusion before his pupils contracted into tiny slits at the thought of a potential threat in there with Lo.

His eyes flickered with anger suddenly and all fear dissipated from him, now with a new found confidence, his grip loosen from the doorknob. Taking a couple of steps and backing away from the door, Meztli raised his leg, now opting to crash down the door. He feels a smirk tugging on his lips, bearing his white canines that are slightly stained red.

"Oh? Why don't we ask him right now then?"

At that moment, the door flung open with so much force that the hinges creaked violently. It wouldn't be a surprise if the door is now broken. The force on the action sent a gust of wind in Meztli's direction, causing him to plant his feet down instantly while raising both his arms to shield his face.

Meztli's ears were ringing, he muttered a string of curses under his breath at the sudden outburst, finally looking up after he came down from the adrenaline.

Meztli's smirk from before fell from his face, his jaw went slack as his eyes laid upon two figures.

Lo and...Lo..?

No that's not right..

He was taken aback by an unexpected sight. Standing before him was his beloved, but something was amiss. Meztli's eyes widened in disbelief as he realized that standing beside Lo was an exact replica with a sinister aura.

Confusion and tension filled the air as both males turned to look at Meztli. Meztli felt his breath hitched when he locked eyes with the shorter haired twin.

The atmosphere grew tense, almost suffocating.

"Leave him out of this. This is between us." Lo spat, glaring at the other, although having a slight tremble in his voice.

A guttural and loud laugh came from the "twin". He wipes away at fake tears in an attempt an a comedic gesture to taunt Lo. "Oh? And why should I?" He steps towards Lo, a smirk painted on his lips and his half-lided eyes soaked in his terrified expression that he kept well hidden.

"What?" He snickered. "Afraid that our darling will choose me--"

Lo scoffed, cutting him off,

"He's not "our's".. He's not "yours"! And hell, Meztli will never be yours, Master."

Master stared at him, anger swirled in his eyes at being cut off. "You have alot of nerve for someone so..weak." He smirked at him with a curt laugh, causing Lo to ball up his fists.

Their voices clashed with each other, causing Meztli to take a stumbling step back with a clenched jaw, still unable to comprehend the sight displayed infront of him.

As they continued to argue, their voices echoing through the room. Meztli found himself caught in the middle of this unexpected rivalry, torn between the two versions of his beloved.

As the argument escalated, Meztli's emotions swirled within him. He yearned for the love and companionship he once shared with Lo, but now it seemed clouded by this unsettling presence.

Would it be considered bad if he hated the other version of Lo? He despised Master, how he's currently bringing Lo down with his words and how he acted completely different from his love.

Meztli swallowed the lump in his throat, his ears went down, letting the voices drown out as he stared at Master.

..no that wasn't mainly the reason why he hated him so much. Meztli realized with a sour taste on his tongue that the main reason he had this hatred for Master was because he reminded him of himself.

Deep down, he knew that only one of them could truly be his soulmate, and that was Lo.

In the midst of the chaos, Meztli's love for Lo remained unwavering. After all, he was saved by the vampire. He still recalls how foreign it was to have his gentle touch as he took him in. How Lo treated him so delicately and how he looked at him with so much adoration in his eyes.

Master dashed towards Lo at lighting speed, getting ready to attack him.

Before he could even react, Meztli found himself sprinting towards the two, feeling a desperate pull to save and protect Lo from danger.

Meztli held out his hands, widening his stance so that he was shielding Lo behind him fully while he glared at Master. His pupils shrinking into thin slits as he bared his canines at the other Vampire.

Master raised one eyebrow, amused at the display infront of him. The shine of Meztli's sharp claws tainted slightly with blood caught, combined with his flared nose and razor sharp canines that can tear apart flesh, made Meztli look like a violent animal.

A violent and unstable animal that could grow soft at just the mere thought and touch of a vampire.

Master pursed his lips together into a thin line.

"How foolish." Master crossed his arms with a sigh at the scene. He took a step back. Narrowing his eyes at Lo and then at Meztli.

"Do not be too relieved. I'll be back for you, little wolf." With that, Master disappeared just as a thunder struck loudly, into the night sky.

Lo breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank god he's finally gone.." He looked up, realising Meztli is still in a tense action, his soft growling was still audible along with his troubled expression evident on his face. "Mez..it's alright." Lo placed his hand on his shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze.

This broke Meztli out of his trance, whipping his entire body back to look over Lo. "It's okay, my love. We're okay." Lo whispered, making Meztli look up at him.

Lo smiled and it was as if the angels were blessed when time seemed to slow and the moonlight hit his face at the perfect angle.

Meztli felt his throat burned as if a thousand needles has been plunged into it. His vision blurred and the muddled figure of Lo made the tears well up even more. He threw himself forwards into Lo's arms, knowing, without a doubt, that Lo had already opened his arms out to embrace him.

Meztli refrained from crying out loud, only letting soft sobs escape past his lips despite trying so hard to keep them in.

"It's alright, my love..I'm here."

Then, he knew he was safe with Lo, that it was okay to let all out when hes with him. Meztli closed his eyes, letting his ears rest against his ruffled up hair, his tail swaying lightly as he let himself indulge in the oddly warm and soft embrace of his everything.

[feelin-lo]

Love bites.

More Bloody Partchment, but I'm making it cute.

Because I can.

Meztli belongs to @aesopsbaby

A pleasant evening, intertwined with a meal lovingly prepared by candlelight.

The scent of meat was in the air, he liked it raw. Good to sink his teeth in. He was being watched by a red eye, a loving gaze, an eternity in a single glance.

The meat was tender, juicy, succulent. His teeth could easily glide through it, ripping it to shreds with his cutlery, not breaking the ocular contact he had with his lover. His and only his.

He wriggled in his seat, his body happy and warm, they were nothing alike, one was prim and proper. Able to tame a beast with a flash of fangs, while the other was scruffy and violent. Sarcastic and critical.

"How is it?" His eternity asked, his voice a velvety chocolate that Meztli could taste on his tongue mixed with bloody meat, it wasn't easy to feel it's effects. "Perfect" he blushed, tail wagging happily as he swallowed more. So much love, so much to take in. So little time. And with every nibble, he wasn't satisfied, he wanted something more tough. Something supernatural. Ethereal.

The vampire stalked closer, the sound of his heeled boots tapping on the ash black tiles with every step, inching closer, he shivered with each step too, in anticipation, maybe. Or perhaps something more? And before Meztli realised, Lo was beside him.

"then I hope you won't mind..." he said softly, his hand tracing up Meztli's body, guiding the line of his jaw and using his thumb, cleaning off some of the animal blood that dripped from the corner of the werewolf's mouth. "If I were to... have a bite?" He whispered into the fuzzy ears of the seated. Meztli's breath hitched, cold hands against his face was completely unexpected, yet not unpleasant. "Anytime" Mez smirked, smug that he was actually asking this time.

The werewolf took his plate to the kitchen and cleaned it up, then he turned and followed Lo to his room. Despite being a Vampire, Lo doesn't sleep in a coffin, he sleeps in a bed. And Meztli was pushed down onto that bed, where he was met with a soft and tender kiss. "Easy my little ankle biter" Meztli giggled as Lo hurried to Get him shirtless as to not get blood on anything. "That's a new one" Lo cooed, sliding back and lifting Meztli's leg, then using his free hand to pull the fabric or his trousers up, where Lo grazed his fangs against Meztli's ankle.

"G-get it over with" Meztli winced, almost unable to watch. Lo let go and trailed back up to his lovers face "I don't think so, I like it riiiight where I am" he whispered, his voice like velvet and syrup, sticky and horrible to get rid of. He began licking a stripe up Meztli's neck. "You're so careful with me" Meztli said, placing a hand to Lo's nape "I have to be, I wouldn't want to bend you in half"

"sounds like fun" Meztli teased, he knew the thought would send Lo to that same deep crimson colour Meztli so adores and was pleased to be gifted the crimson cheek of his vampire. Just as carefully as he had been previously, Lo wrapped a hand around Meztli's waist and delicately pressed his fangs in, breaking the skin and causing the werewolf to bleed. Meztli winced, he had done this 100 times, yet he was never ready for that first bite, it was almost thrilling.

Lo was seated on Meztli's lap, gentle caressing his werewolf's hair as he drank, he was careful. As careful as he could be, his body shivered, the more he drank, the more he quivered.

"why all the shaking my sweet little vampy?" Mez teased, the vampire finally letting go "You're perfect you know. Everything about you. Inside and out. The texture of your being, the delicate mix of flavours.. and well, your layers. It's enticing Mez, you don't even realize" Lo said, his face a deep pink.

"ngh-" Mez choked, he wasn't used to all this praise from someone he cared so dearly about, but he couldn't find any words to return with, his ears perked up and his tail wagging "You're a good boy" Lo said, testing the waters.

testing was the perfect word in response to what was going on now.

Meztli was faster than he had expected, swiftly swapping their positions but before he could get a word in, Lo seemed to be in complete bliss, his hair was a mess and his body was warm to the touch for once. "I think it's time for bed Lo, you're all red, you're burning up" Mez smirked, leaning down to Kiss Lo again, softly, so so softly. He was just as careful with Lo as Lo was with him. They're both strong, and despite all Mez's joking, he didn't want to fold Lo in half.

"Charmer"

"Ankle-biter"

[livingdeadvamp]

In honour of it being a month til TTPD is released I'm hoping for a merch drop 🤞🤞

[myfoodishappiness]

the other day, i bought a fountain pen and an ink bottle that you have to dip into, and don't mind me if I fully feel like jane austen with a parchment and quill.