#they’re both so so so brilliant and clever

[shreddedleopard]

More Sherliam thoughts/headcanons:

I present to you;

Sherlock Holmes who is averse to physical displays of affection/ fondness, who has spent his life avoiding the typical family hugs, elbow and back touches, shoulder bumps, even the playful shoving and back and forth of teenage boys. It gets on his nerves.

Then along comes Liam, and Sherlock is suddenly gripped with this need to touch, in any way shape or form — the urge to tease and shove and poke and throw an arm around shoulders or guide by the elbow or steady at the small of the back or shoulder barge playfully or grab a hand or or or —

And it’s so new and terrifying and exhilarating all at once and he cannot control the way it all spills over when they’re together in New York and he fucking knows Billy is watching him and smirking but bugger it.

Is this what normal people do? Is this the result of pointless but typical human urges?

Liam doesn’t seem to mind. Does he? Or does he? He’d push back if he did, wouldn’t he?

How the hell is Sherlock meant to know how all this works when he’s never given a rat’s ass about any of it before??

UGH.

And then, Liam:

The boy who was the rock from such a young age, who never received gestures of physical affection, only gave them when needed to his baby brother, but never asked or expected anything for himself, even at the nice orphanages, even from the kindest sisters.

Who avoided typical rough-housing child’s play because he had bigger things to worry about and plans to see through their end and adults to impress with his mind so that he could provide for Louis.

The touch starved man who now, suddenly, finds himself on the receiving end of frequent, fleeting body contact from his newfound friend and intellectual soul mate; who is absolutely acutely aware of each and every brush of an arm or tug on a sleeve or elbow to the ribs or arm around a back or forehead against a shoulder or toe to a shin beneath the kitchen table or or or —

And it’s so new and terrifying and exhilarating all at once and he cannot control the way he aches for every touch to come more frequently; for the contact to last longer; for the gesture to become more.

But he’s taught himself not to want and not to ask and not to be any trouble to anyone, because that’s how you get by in life and make acquaintances who feel like they need you, so he doesn’t voice any of this aloud. He just grins softly and accepts the gestures gracefully and contains the spontaneous combustion he feels inwardly, in case it might burn Sherlock or put him off continuing to be so physically present with him.

Billy, however, is neither touch-repellent nor touch-starved and can see through the both of them and if they don’t snap the goddamn tension soon he’s gonna snap it for them.

[pennyserenade]

more headcanons about jonathan crane:

he has no interest in a breeding kink unless it’s in direct relation to fear. being someone’s father is not interesting to him. he thinks there’s better ways to show you possess someone than that

he’s a lingerie guy—intricate, lacy designs and high heels and those bras that push your tits up to your chin. he likes it especially when you wrap your body in something modest and prim too, but doesn’t especially care how you dress enough to tell you that

he kinda likes being made jealous. though he finds it on the whole to be an unproductive emotion, he takes joy in experimenting on those fools who dare flirt with you, and he finds fucking you more…satisfying when he feels you’ve slighted him in some way. he doesn’t want to be cheated on, though. you’ll die.

he eats pussy better than any person could account for, given the self-interest he displays on any given day. though his attitude screams selfish lover, he’s actually rather attentive. not entirely out of sentiment, of course, but more self interest. eating pussy is a great way to get someone to trust you and when someone trusts you, they’re malleable. he doesn’t always do it to bend and shape, though. you’ve just got to exercise caution and have uncertainty, which he likes.

he’s not exactly the reigning champion of women’s rights, but he likes a woman with a strong, clever brain. a fool’s no good to him, as they come dime a dozen. if he wanted that, he’d stay in a lab and experiment on rats. the more intelligent you are, the better. he likes challenges and puzzles and the thrill of breaking a good mind apart.

he’ll let you experiment on him, but it’s not necessarily a complete relinquishment of his power when he does. it’s because he wants to know the limits of his own body and what fear does to him. for example, because he has no interest in a breeding kink or children, he’ll bite when you threaten to make him a father. it makes him sweat. same as when you choke him to the point of almost blacking out. he doesn’t particularly like that, but he’ll do anything for a good experiment. the only stipulation is that you must tell him you’re going to do something before you start having sex. you don’t have to tell him what, but he must be informed that something is going to happen

he likes when you’re fully naked and he’s fully dressed for obvious power reasons but also because he enjoys when you make a mess of his suits. it isn’t something he thought he’d enjoy, being as cleanly and as clinical as he is, but he’s only a man and he knows sexual desire has little to do with reason or logic.

he fucking loves period sex. you’re more wet and warm, and he finds the sight of red on his cock to be brilliant. better yet, he loves when you both make a terrible fucking mess of it. if it looks like someone was murdered when you’re finished, he’s definitely had a good orgasm and so have you—probably many times

he’s for corporal punishment in the bedroom and a bright red ass is a pretty sight to him

[raina-at]

Jealousy

He’s not jealous. It would be ridiculous to be jealous. Not after all this time.

Sherlock is gay. Sherlock is also married. To him. They’re raising a daughter together. He trusts Sherlock absolutely. It was hard-worn trust, and it needed a lot of time, therapy and painful honesty to re-establish, but it’s rock solid now. He knows Sherlock would never betray him.

And yet. 

And yet, the very sound of that obscene text message chime is enough to set his teeth on edge and make his blood boil.

Sherlock never replies. He does read the texts, though, and he doesn’t delete them. He went halfway around the world to save her, and he still has the fucking camera phone. 

John hates her. He never found her attractive at all, even though she’s practically Sherlock in female form, with her dark hair, her pale skin and her sharp intellect. But she lacks something completely essential to John. Something Sherlock has, even though he hides it well. Integrity. Morals. Sincerity. He always found her painfully artificial. In control. Cool, calculating, always out for her own advantage. Never a genuine emotion. Even though Sherlock believed she loved him, John never bought into it. 

He hated how she toyed with Sherlock’s emotions, hated how she manipulated him, made him dance. He hated, hated, how fascinated Sherlock was with her, how he admired her, how she turned his head and scrambled his sensors. How desperate he was to impress her. How she taunted him. Look at us both, indeed.

He was insulted when she compared herself to John. John would die for Sherlock. Irene wouldn’t have crossed the street to spit at his corpse. And yet she mockingly called him on his biggest vulnerability, his unrequited—or so he thought—love for Sherlock, his traitorous heart that even then belonged entirely to Sherlock, who—or so he thought—didn’t want it.

Even now, almost a decade later, every time Sherlock gets one of her moany texts, John wants to take Sherlock’s phone and shatter it against the wall. 

It’s not that he thinks Sherlock will ever have sex with her.

It’s that she still fascinates him. Intellectually. She’s so clever, isn’t she. She’s so smart, so cunning, such an elegant criminal. She never gets caught, and only Sherlock can trace her crimes through newspapers and social media posts. A blackmail here, a clever con there. A clandestine theft, an act of corporate espionage. Victimless, bloodless, traceless. And Sherlock loves it. He enjoys regaling John with her exploits, full of admiration and praise for her cleverness.

The thing is, John recognises that this is a him problem. Sherlock doesn’t do anything to make him jealous. Ever. People flirt with him all the time, and he’s oblivious at best and scornfully dismissive at worst. He’s a great father, a wonderfully attentive lover and much easier to live with than he used to be. He’s a good partner, period. And he clearly, openly, transparently, visibly loves John. 

It just.

John isn’t brilliant. He’s not clever, cunning, or elegant. He’s not seductively amoral, he’s not out there temptingly flaunting all the roles of social dos and don’ts in an elegant, victimless, clever fashion. 

He’s the person admonishing Sherlock to put his socks in the bloody hamper. He’s the one asking him about the electric bill. He’s the one topping up Sherlock’s oyster card and the one telling him to call his parents. 

And yes, he binds Sherlock’s wounds and soothes his nightmares and tethers him to the ground when he would otherwise fly apart. 

And he knows Sherlock loves him intensely, passionately, almost obsessively. He knows Sherlock values him, respects him, needs him.

He’s just never sure exactly why.

Most of the time, he doesn’t think about it. They work, as a couple, as parents, as partners. They’ve always mysteriously clicked, like two broken pieces fitting together perfectly at the cracks. Most of the time, he’s too busy living his life, raising his child, loving his husband.

But sometimes, there’s a text. And a sound. And John looks at the person he loves so much his heart literally quivers with it sometimes, and he wonders. 

Why me, if it could be her? Why me, if it could be anyone?

He never asks, because he’s honestly afraid of the answer. And he knows it doesn’t matter why Sherlock loves him, because it’s so obvious that he does. There’s so much binding them together these days. Parenthood, trust, affection, family, habit, and more than a fair share of lust.

But sometimes he doubts. Will it last? Will he one day wake up, look at me, realise I’m just a broken ex-soldier who has nothing to offer?

It only lasts a second. It only lasts until Sherlock notices his frown, pulls him down for a searing kiss that relegates the doubts in John’s mind back into the closet. 

One of these days, John knows, the doubts will disappear completely. One of these days, he’ll hear that fucking moan and won’t care.

He’s not quite there yet. 

But he will be.

----

Tags under the cut as usual, please let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged.

@calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @jrow @peanitbear @jolieblack @meetinginsamarra @helloliriels @keirgreeneyes @lisbeth-kk @friday411 @givemesherbet-blog-blog @weeesi @thalialunacy @thegildedbee @dapetty @salmonsown

[indierpgnewsletter]

Recommendations: Books about RPGs

(This was first posted on the Indie RPG Newsletter.)

I’m always trying to level up my RPG knowledge and this has led me to look for books about RPGs. And there don’t seem to be that many! There are some academic books but while they have their strengths, easy reading isn’t one of them. Even as I wrestle with these academic texts (and I will emerge victorious), here are some books that are both interesting and fun to read:

Play Unsafe and Stealing Cthulhu by Graham Walmsley

Play Unsafe is a book of RPG advice. It’s a quick read (quicker than its 82 pages would suggest) and has some really gentle, grounded advice. For example:

If, while gaming, you can’t be clever or try hard, what can you do? The answer is: be obvious. Do the obvious thing: the thing that obviously happens next in the story; the thing that you think everyone expects to happen. Paradoxically, that obvious thing may, to everyone else , seem original and brilliant.

Stealing Cthulhu, by the same author, is about how to take inspiration from the stories of HP Lovecraft in a way that makes your own cosmic horror games feel fresh and unique.

Age of Ravens: Vol 1 and Vol 2 by Lowell Francis

These are two collections of various essays originally published on the Age of Ravens blog, formatted for easy reading. They’re essentially a greatest hits collection and do a good job of that. Volume I: Running has some of my favourite articles about running conspiracies, one shots, online games, and more. Volume II: Tools is mostly resources for play: story seeds and ideas to drop into your game whether sci-fi heists or apocalyptic hexcrawls. They aren’t connected by theme so you mostly can just dip in and out of them.

Unchained Mysteries by Jessie Burneko

Unchained Mysteries is a passionate call to ditch clue-based mystery design. Instead, the book proposes coming up with much more richly-layered scenarios where the players are drawn into a crime or crisis with no easy solution, where the players are caught up in a web of NPCs who are actively dealing with the situation, rather than passively waiting for someone to solve their problems. It ends up at around 100 pages so there’s real meat there if you want to engage with it.

The entire Knutepunkt line

Knutepunkt is one of the biggest larp events in the world - half conference, half festival, full of larps and talks and so on. Since 2001, they’ve been publishing books with essays (some more academic than others) about larp. They’re very well-respected. And as Evan Torner explained to me, if you’re not interested in larp, you can just mentally replace the word larp with TTRPG and still get lot out of these books. I’m nowhere close to finishing them but felt like I had to share them anyway. (Thanks to reader Mo, here’s the link to the books.)

The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide by James D’Amato

I have not finished this yet either but I can already tell the voice of the Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide should resonate with newer players who don’t have a lot of set ideas about RPGs already. The author is the founder of the One Shot podcast network and clearly has a philosophy of play. For example, the first chapter is titled “Understanding Audience” and basically uses the idea that everyone has preferences in what they consume (books, moves, etc) to segue into the idea that RPGs emerge out of everyone’s shared preferences. It’s an interesting approach and if you want to know more, there’s a nice review here.

[duckprintspress]

Genderfluid Characters for Genderfluid Visibility Week!

This week, October 17th to 24th, is Genderfluid Visibility Week! There are depressingly few books out with genderfluid rep, and even then it’s often open to interpretation whether a character is genderfluid or not, but we’ve done our best to gather a modest list. (btw, if you’re wondering why it’s 7 reads and 5 covers, it’s cause our anthology Aether Beyond the Binary has three short stories with genderfluid characters!) The contributors to this list are Meera S., Shannon and 2 anonymous contributors.

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A Flame in the Night (New Age Gothic series) by Morgan Dante

The start of bloody decadence…

The definition of marriage: Two people and their silver-haired vampire.

In 1924, Paris is a bastion of sexual freedom, even for shell-shocked Leon Laflamme, the most dramatic blond this side of the Seine. After years of loneliness and secrecy, he’s married the clever and sumptuous burlesque dancer Claire. However, Leon truly finds liberation when he meets the stoic, intriguing, and silver-haired Count Matthias, who offers true freedom in his dark gift: immortality.

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Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

Ash is no stranger to feeling like an outcast. For someone who cycles through genders, it’s a daily struggle to feel in control of how people perceive you. Some days Ash is undoubtedly girl, but other times, 100 percent guy. Daniel lacks control too—of his emotions. He’s been told he’s overly sensitive more times than he can count. He can’t help the way he is, and he sure wishes someone would accept him for it.

So when Daniel’s big heart leads him to rescue a dog that’s about to be euthanized, he’s relieved to find Ash willing to help. The two bond over their four-legged secret. When they start catching feelings for each other, however, things go from cute to complicated. Daniel thinks Ash is all girl . . . what happens when he finds out there’s more to Ash’s story?

With so much on the line—truth, identity, acceptance, and the life of an adorable pup named Chewbarka—will Ash and Daniel forever feel at war with themselves because they don’t fit into the world’s binaries? Or will their friendship help them embrace the beauty of living in between?

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The Brilliant Death (The Brilliant Death series) by Amy Rose Capetta

For Teodora DiSangro, a mafia don’s daughter, family is fate.

All her life, Teodora has hidden the fact that she secretly turns her family’s enemies into music boxes, mirrors, and other decorative objects. After all, everyone in Vinalia knows that stregas—wielders of magic—are figures out of fairytales. Nobody believes they’re real.

Then the Capo, the land’s new ruler, sends poisoned letters to the heads of the Five Families that have long controlled Vinalia. Four lie dead and Teo’s beloved father is gravely ill. To save him, Teo must travel to the capital as a DiSangro son—not merely disguised as a boy, but transformed into one.

Enter Cielo, a strega who can switch back and forth between male and female as effortlessly as turning a page in a book. Teo and Cielo journey together to the capital, and Teo struggles to master her powers and to keep her growing feelings for Cielo locked in her heart. As she falls in love with witty, irascible Cielo, Teo realizes how much of life she’s missed by hiding her true nature. But she can’t forget her mission, and the closer they get to the palace, the more sinister secrets they uncover about what’s really going on in their beloved country—and the more determined Teo becomes to save her family at any cost.

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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: 

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride–or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia–the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion 

Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances–one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

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Aether Beyond the Binary Anthology

The core concept of Aether Beyond the Binary is simple and compelling: create intriguing main characters outside the gender binary and set them loose to explore the modern world twisted or unchanged, enhanced or destroyed by magical aether. This power source may replace technology, supplement it, or oppose it. These characters may be agender, genderfluid, bigender, or any other non-binary identity. The thread that unites these tales is exploration: of the world around them and of the self. We propose no final conclusions; instead, we demonstrate how far-reaching the questions are and how expansive the range of possible answers can be, thereby broadening the discussion about the nature of gender and the place of genderqueer characters in fantasy fiction. We hope you’ll join us to explore the endless possibilities of these magical worlds. 

How Your Garden Grows by Nicola Kapron, True by Kelas Lloyd, and N(ae)ghbours by Scarlett Gale have genderfluid characters!

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What are your favorite books with genderfluid characters?

View all the books from this year’s and last year’s Genderfluid Visibility Week lists by visiting our shelf on Goodreads!

Browse this book as a rec list on Bookshop.org!

[fictional-orphan-smackdown]

Round 2, match 1!

All propaganda and what each competitor is from under the cut

Peter Parker/Spiderman (He's from a lot of things)

Orphaned twice over

Both of Peter's parents are dead so he's raised by his aunt and uncle, his uncle dies as part of his origin story. His aunt often dies eventually too, but she may come back depending on continuity (ex. Peter in the comics made a deal with the devil to sacrifice his marriage and child to bring Aunt May back)

It’s Spider-Man guys. Coolest guy ever.

The Baudelaire Orphans (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

The epitome of orphans, they’re the best

“I’m having a very terrible childhood right now”-Klaus

The story deadass begins with them being told that their parents died in a fire and that they're orphans now. They then bounce from guardian to guardian who tend to always meet a gruesome fate at the hands of Count Olaf. Not only have they been orphaned once, but have been orphaned multiple times and are called "The Baudelaire Orphans" by not only characters in the book but by the narrator himself. They're called "The Baudelaire Orphans" so many times that it might as well be a defining character trait of theirs, and honestly it sort've is. The series doesn't even end with them finding a home or guardians of any kind, it ends with the Baudelaires fate being completely ambiguous with them literally sailing away from the island they were stranded on in the final book (yeah this series is quite the journey, I highly suggest it). These poor three kids are probably the most orphaned kids of all time since their orphaned in a new way almost every book and they deserve at least one win in their unfortunate tale.

These guys are like the poster-child of orphaning, we open the series with them finding out that they're orphans and also have no access to their money so now they hop around from place to place from weirdo caretaker to another weird/crazy/murderous caretaker and it's all fun and games and murder and decieving and surviving and thriving and---my point is, these three are a wonderful trio of siblings who love and rely on one another through all their trials and tribulations.

Literally every single one of their problems come from being orphans. They’re continually referred to as orphans and the plot of the first half of the series is them being shuffled around to guardians.

These kids are so orphaned they never even get a found family outside themselves. At least most stories featuring orphaned kids see them fulfill some sorta epic destiny or have them find a new home or set of loved ones of sorts. The Baudelaires? They're thrown from one fucking failure of a home into the next, ignored, hunted, etc.. It's been years but like, even in the end, they still have to set sail alone. As individual characters, they aren't bad either. Violet's the dependable big sister who's knack for inventions comes in handy, Klaus is a well-read chap and Sunny is a lovely gremlin. They make a good trio.

Every single guardian they try to obtain throughout the series turns out to be someone who wants the large inheritance left for them and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

They basically fend for themselves the whole series when no adult will listern to them. The whole series is them being resourceful and clever the whole series despite the misfortune. Violet is a brilliant inventor, Klaus reads and collects knowledge, and Sunny learns to be a good cook over the series

their parents die tragically in a fire and then everything awful proceeds to happen to them

I haven't read these books in years but if any orphans deserve to win a smackdown it's these fools, they are constantly in the trenches in those books goddamn. Also that baby is like a shredder they have that on their side, I think that beast literally solo'd a snake?

(This one was specifically for Klaus, but I'll put it here still) He and his sisters being orphans is kinda the point. As in many books, it's the trigger for them to change lives and navigating hardships. The thing is, their hardships just grow worse and "unfortunate" (read "dreadful") events keep happening to them as they stick together instead of the story getting better. Klaus and Violet become Sunny's subtitute parents and get through their more and more miserable lives together keeping hope things would eventually get better

Arguably more famously orphaned than Bruce Wayne, if not for how their story happens while they’re orphaned children versus an orphaned adult. Definitely have the most famously tragic post-orphaning story. All three are incredibly brilliant in their own way, including the literal baby. Pursued relentlessly by the leader of a maniacal theater troupe and letdown by a slew of adults, so it’s all the more impressive how amazing they each turned out to be. Book series was so good it got turned into a pretty great movie and then a successful TV show years later. Also can’t forget how these three are orphaned repeatedly as the distant relatives who take them in get killed off in increasingly inventive manners. Let’s be honest, ain’t no characters out here orphaning like the Baudelaire orphans.

this series taught me so many cool words and phrases and I love each of the 3 main characters so much

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are peddled from caretaker to caretaker over the course of 13 books, always being chased by the evil Count Olaf who wants to steal the Baudelaire fortune that the children are meant to inherit once they reach a certain age.

Spoilers ahead, the Baudelaires siblings story starts with them going from being the Baudelaire kids to the Baudelaire orphans, after their parents pass away in a mysterious fire. But they arent the only paternal figures that they lost, they go from tutor to tutor, almost all the good ones dying in front of them, and even the ones that survive at first their future is uncertain since the last time the kids see them they are blindfolded in a burnind building, and we never found out who make it out alive and who didnt. Even the main villian, Count Olaf their first tutor, and the only constant adult in their life after their parents death ends up dying in front of them. These three are orphans ten times over.

They are THE orphans. They have lost not only their parents but multiple guardians that they went to live with as well.

They're THE Orphans. The childhood book orphans we all read, Orphans Prime if you will. They lose their parents, every caregiver who's ever kind to them, then say fuck it and live on a deserted island on their own to raise themselves abd fully embrace their orphan status. On the island, they learn their parents survived the shipwreck then died again - double orphaning even.

OH MY SWEET LITTLE CHILDREN THAT FUELED MY LOVE FOR READING AND THE MACABRE Violet- Won her first of many invention competitions when she was five with an automatic rolling pin (comprised of a window shade and six pairs of roller skates). Extremely innovative and genius, foiled by her kindness to others. And she knows how to make a Molotov cocktail. Klaus- Absolute monster of a bibliophile, conducts research for fun, and has a photographic memory. He is known to want nothing more than "a good book, a comfy chair, and the warm glow of a reading lamp". He also is a Herman Melville fan, which is points for him in my book. Sunny- Most people know her only for her penchant for biting, but Sunny is a distinctly distinguished character. She has sharp wit (as long as you can read it through her babbles), her poker skills are phenomenal for a baby, and she has quite the knack for cooking! Also yeah, the teeth. She climbed an elevator shaft with them once.

They are constantly going through it, give these kids a break for real

[vii-is-free]

Ramona's Revenge

Summary: The Snek trio overhear Duncan Hobhouse using a terrible word, and decide to appropriately punish him. 

---------------

"Aw," Sebastian crossed his arms, "No Levioso wedgie?"

"Not this time," Ominis said, with an mischievous smile. "I have something far more sinister in mind.

A sunny day with a cool breeze gave Professor Ronen the perfect excuse to end Charms class early. Not wanting to waste it, the Slytherin trio took to the viaduct bridge, for at that time in the afternoon the sun cast in a perfect direction across the stained glass windows of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin bridges - shining a brilliant blue and green along the buildings and the mountain.

Leona sat on top of the balustrade, facing the lake, her legs swinging off the edge. The boys stood on either side of her, Sebastian’s arms were crossed and he stared ahead like a member of the king’s guard. Ominis had his typical stance, leaning against the stone bridge and staring off, blue eyes unfocused. Those who didn’t know better would think he was in his own world.

That guilty party was Leona, staring vacantly at the stained glass windows belonging to the Slytherin Corridor. As her eyes grew heavier, she realized the weight of all the extra assignments.

"Careful," Sebastian said as he turned around and placed a hand on her back, "What will you do if some rude 6th year decides to push you off?

Leona glanced at him and scoffed, “Jump on my broom, of course.” 

“Pretty brave thing to say,” Ominis joked, “for someone who just learned to fly. Don’t let Reyes hear that.” 

Leona chuckled, swinging her legs back around as she returned to her feet. “She doesn't scare me” 

Ominis opened his mouth to surely reply with something clever, but his attention was suddenly elsewhere. He leaned slightly to the left, frowning.

“Everything alright?”

“His ears are burning,” said Sebastian, “You know they call him Gossip Gaunt for a reason--“

“Shh!” Ominis hissed.

Leona looked beyond his direction. Whatever he heard, it was coming from Andrew Larson and Duncan Hobhouse, both chatting down the way.

“Hobhouse is currently licking Professor Black’s chops.” Ominis said with a look of disgust. 

“If you don’t have bravery," Sebastian said, shaking his head, "there’s always brown nosing.” 

Leona and Sebastian both leaned towards Ominis, trying to block out the noise around them to focus on the conversation.

“I don’t mind Professor Black at all,” said Duncan, “Perhaps he can do something about all these disgusting mudbloods running the school. Like Professor Garlick” 

Ominis’s eyes widened. “Did you hear that?”

“Certainly did,” Sebastian said, brows furrowed, “He’s got some nerve.”

Leona frowned. “What’s a mud--“

Sebastian turned to Leona and gently placed a hand over her mouth. “Something you don’t want to get caught saying.”

“It’s a perjorative,” Ominis said, “against students with muggle parents. A dreadful name used only by pure blood supremacists.”

Leona pulled Sebastian’s hand away from her, and looked at Ominis. “I’ll be honest...I’m still not really sure what “pure blood” means.”

The boys began to chuckle.

“So innocent!” Sebastian bemoaned. 

Leona looked at him, still holding his forearm. “Am I still innocent if I throw you into the lake?” 

"Behave, you two." Ominis pulled his wand out of his pocket. He gave a flick of the wrist and held it out before him, and a ball of red light emerged. "I’ll give you a history lesson in a moment...I have an idea.” 

“Oh, a lesson!” Sebastian smiled mischievously, "Are we about to teach him one?"

“We shall,” Ominis said, “but not in the way you’re thinking about.”

“Aw,” Sebastian crossed his arms, “No Levioso wedgie?”

“Not this time. I have something far more sinister.” Ominis spun around and walked away.

“To the Beasts shack!”

-------

"I’m sure you figured out by now that quite a few wizards have muggle parents.” Ominis said as they left the west tower, carefully walking down the stone steps. “They’re looked down upon by families such as the Blacks and, of course, my own. Salazar Slytherin actually left Hogwarts, because he wanted only wanted to accept students that were considered “pure blooded.” 

“What I don't understand is,” Leona said, “How do you know if somebody actually has pure blood? Is there a test of some kind?”

“Of course not.” Sebastian said, “It’s all nonsense, really. Historians believe that Merlin himself had a muggle parent. He was one of the most powerful wizards in the world -- and a Slytherin.” 

"To everybody else," Ominis added, “obsessing over one’s bloodline is a sign of weakness. It doesn’t particularly surprise me about Duncan.”

“But still,” Sebastian said, “the nerve to be so loud about it! Surprised Andrew didn’t say anything - I'm pretty sure that 4th year he fancies has a muggle dad.”

Ominis stopped, shaking his head at Sebastian.

Sebastian stared at him. “What?”

Ominis scoffed. “And you call me a gossip?”

“I’m just saying!” Sebastian threw his hands in the air. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Professor Howin’s shack,” Ominis said, “for a Puffskein.”

Sebastian asked “Why?”

Leona frowned. “A what?” 

Ominis crossed his arms, “She doesn’t even know what a Puffskein is? Just what kind of guide are you?”

“I--uh,” Sebastian scratched his head. “The opportunity never presented itself! You know, with the troll and all!"

"Enough about the troll --"

"Besides, I was going to leave Poppy to it when the time was right.”

“And you didn’t tell Leona about that term?”

Sebastian was irritated. “Why would she need to know that?”

“So she knew to stay away from people like Puffskein Dunkien!" Ominis snapped. "Moonmind!"

A moment of silence fell between them. 

“Wait," said Sebastian, giving a half hearted chuckle, "What did you call him?”

Ominis gave a half cocked grin. “A secret I was keeping in my back pocket for times like these.” He walked ahead, leading the way to Professor Howin's classroom. “I overheard Everett call Hobhouse that. Apparently he is terrified of them.”

Sebastian came to a sudden stop. "He's afraid of...Puffskeins?” 

Leona looked at him. “Are they...dangerous?”

"They're..." Sebastian tried to finish his sentence, but leaned over, hands on his knees, and erupted into a fit of laughter. Both Ominis and he crashed onto the grass, laughing until they couldn't breathe

-------

“They’re....cute!”

Leona’s hands went to her cheeks, eyes glowing at the sight before her. In the small corral were tiny bundles of fur, all different colors, rolling about and making small, squeaking noises.

“That is a puffskein,” said Sebastian as he opened the gate. He flinched a bit, as his stomach was still sore from laughing. “Man’s best friend.”

“I thought dogs were man’s best friend.” Leona said. She dropped to her knees, reaching a hand out to one. To her delight, three of them rolled towards her.

“Not in the Wizarding World!”

A soft voice called from behind them. Leona looked towards the source of the soft voice, and saw a young girl approaching them. She was a fifth year, a Hufflepuff with short, brown hair and large eyes.

“Hello, Poppy!” Sebastian waved, smiling.

Poppy smiled back. “Hello, Sebastian. Ominis. And you’re...oh! The new fifth year!”

Leona stood up, still holding one of the puffskeins. “Leona Hart.”

“Poppy Sweeting!” Poppy held out her hand, which Leona accepted. “I can’t imagine starting Hogwarts in your fifth year. Natty had a difficult enough time in fourth year, and she didn’t even have O.W.L.s to worry about.”

“Thank you,” Leona said, parroting the script she used for moments like these, “It’s a lot to take in, but I think I’m getting the hang of things.”

“Now,” Poppy looked at Sebastian, arms crossed. “Now, what kind of trouble are you brewing?”

Sebastian raised his hands. “None at all! Just wanted to show our new classmate the puffskeins. She’s never seen one before!”

“What!?” Poppy exclaimed. Her eyes light up when she saw Leona’s matching enthusiasm, and she hurried into the corral. “Gosh, I wish I could remember seeing puffskeins for the first time. Come, come I'll introduce you to them all!"

Ominis leaned against the inside gate as the three dropped to the floor to play with the puffskeins. He smiled as he felt the slight tap of one against his boot. "Ah, why not." Ominis said aloud as he bent over and picked up the little creature. He kept his grasp gentle, as this one was much tinier than the rest.

“Over there is Beatrice and Benedict," Poppy said as she pointed each one out, "Over here is Nibbler, and Niblette. The one in Ominis's hand is their baby, Nibbles,”

Ominis raised a brow. "Creative names."

Poppy sighed, “The first years named this lot. They were too excited, and, I couldn't refuse." Poppy then turned to Leona, petting the puffskein's soft, red fur. "This one is my own. Ramona."

Leona jumped as Ramona's tongue suddenly went up a nostril.

“Careful!" Poppy chuckled. "They love bogeys.”

“That’s....so cute!" Leona said, rubbing her nose. "And painful."

“Now you see how ridiculous it is,” Sebastian said, petting Nibbler, “that Duncan is afraid of these?”

Poppy smirked. “You’re talking about Puffskein Dunkien?”

“You knew about that?”

“Heh," Poppy stood up and took a spot next to Ominis. "People think because I put more care into the beasts, that I don’t actually listen to what’s going on.”

“So,” Ominis said, Nibbles snoozing in his hands. He leaned towards Poppy,  “I have a proposition, if you’ll allow it?”

Poppy raised a brow. “I’m listening.”

Nibbles cooed as Ominis gently stroked its back. “Did you know Hobhouse is a pure blood supremacist?”

Poppy’s eyes widened. “What?”

“We overheard him talking about Professor Garlick...said she should be fired because she’s a you-know-what.”

Poppy gasped. “He said that about Professor Garlick?”

“A travesty,” Sebastian shook his head. He was sitting crossed legged and had a total of three puffskeins on his lap. “Professor Garlick is what makes Herbology worthwhile.”

“So,” Ominis said, “I was hoping you would let us use one of these little darlings to teach him a lesson.”

“Hm,” Poppy, “Why not just a Levioso wedgie?”

“I’m sure Sebastian will try to fit one in," Ominis chuckled, "but the idea of him wetting his pants in front of the school over a Puffskein is much better. Don’t you agree?”

Poppy's eyes shot towards Sebastian. “You know how I feel about things like this.”

“Please?” Sebastian gave the most innocent look he could. He picked up Nibblette, holding her against his cheek. “I promise they won’t get hurt.”

Poppy thought for a minute. As Leona's arms became full with Beatrice and Benedict, Ramona rolled towards her owner. Poppy smiled, knelt down and scopped her up.  

“Take Ramona." Poppy finally said. "She’s the fastest and likes to headbutt those who try to kick her.”

“I owe you one,” said Sebastian, as he stood up and straightened his robe. He walked towards Poppy, flashing a grin as he stroked Ramona's head. “Perhaps something under the moonlight soon?”

Ominis groans, “Honestly?”

“Sebastian," Poppy said calmly as she placed Ramona in his arms. "If Ramona comes back with even one tuft of hair missing...”

Her eyes narrowed. “I will end you.”

Sebastian smiled, completely nonplussed. "Understood. I'll care for her like my own child."

Ominis instinctively held on to Nibbles a little tighter. Nibbles took the opportunity to dig for gold under his nose. 

“Agh!” Ominis turned away from Nibbles, trying to stifle a laugh. 

----------

The three walked across the lawn where flying class was held, past the summoners court deck, near the enterence to where Ominis's next point of contact sat against the wall, watching the Quiddich players pass the quaffle back and forth.

"Is he there?" Ominis asked Sebastian.

"Yep, right where you said."

"Good," Ominis said, "Let me do the talking, I think he's still cross with you."

"Seriously?" Sebastian was shocked, "I swear nobody holds a grudge better than a Ravenclaw."

"Hello, Everett!" Ominis said with a wave. "How goes it?"

Everett sighed. "I can't believe that blighter cancelled Quidditch for the whole year. Not everyone wants to waste their lives working for the Ministry."

"I know," Ominis shook his head, "I feel awful for the seventh years."

"Thankfully, Madame Kogawa is taking them out for unsanctioned practice, so they can at least be ready for tryouts" Everett rose to a stand, shaking the dirt off his robes. "Sebastian finally ready to apologize?"

Ominis scoffed. "Moonmind doesn't even remember what he did."

"Let's keep it that way," Everett said with a chuckle. "I'm having fun watching him sweat. What can I do for you?"

"I'll let you guess," Ominis said, waving his wand towards the duo behind him, "Take a look at what our new classmate is holding."

Everett glanced at Leona, then at the red ball of fur nestled in her arms. He frowned, quiet for a moment as the wheels in his mind turned furiously. Then it hit him, and he began to cackle.

"Ominis!" Everett exclaimed after he caught his breath. "How did you manage to get past Poppy? She won't even let me look at the Puffskeins!"

"Lucky for us," Ominis said with a sly grin, "She hates pureblood supremacists more than you."

"Agh, that little troll," Everett frowned, "What did he say this time?"

-----------

Meanwhile, the two Slytherins watched Ominis and Everett laugh like they were good friends.

"He could run the whole Ministry if he wanted," Sebastian said with a bit of awe, "It's a shame people think so ill of him."

Leona frowned. "Who thinks ill of him?"

"That prat, for one." Sebastian gestured his hand towards Everett. "He's not alone, though. Everyone's afraid of Ominis...simply because of his last name."

"Ominis," Leona glanced at Sebastian, holding Ramona in her arms as she thought about him. "He is...truly a nice person."

Sebastian flashed a grin. "I knew you would see that. That's why I'm glad to include you with us. He needs genuine friends. Not suckups like Everett Clopton."

"Speaking of Everett," Leona said, "What did you do that made him so angry?"

"Heh, good question."

"You don't remember."

Sebastian gave a sheepish grin, and Leona shook her head as Ominis returned. "Alright, we have a plan. Don't want to incur Poppy's wrath by letting Ramona free in the Great Hall...but I say humiliating him in the Ravenclaw Common Room is sufficient revenge."

"Blast," Sebastian said, "I wanted to watch."

"Well, unless you're willing to wait for Professor Ronen to teach us the Confundus Charm, secondhand stories will have to suffice." Ominis turned towards Leona. "Meet Everett with Ramona tonight, after curfew."

"Will do," Leona said, "Is Everett still mad at Sebastian?"

"He is," Ominis said with a frown, "but I havent the slightest clue why."

"Seriously!?" Sebastian exclaimed.

--------

Later that night, when the clock struck eleven, Leona met Everett outside the door to the Ravenclaw common room, a snoozing Ramona in her arms.

"Please don't let her get hurt," Leona said as she handed the puffskein off.

Everett scooped Ramona up with one arm, his other hand busy pinching his nose. "No worries," Everett replied, his voice slightly more nasally than usual, "Samantha and Amit are in on it as well. They'll be on Ramona-protection duty."

"Good. And...by the way," Leona tilted her head slightly, "What did Sebastian do that made you so angry?"

Everett paused, deciding whether or not to answer. He bit his lip and cackled. "He didn't do a thing! I was just so tired of his ego, I made something up. Sebastian cannot stand unfinished business for the life of him."

He walked up to the Ravenclaw door, the door opened for him. "Good night!"

Leona shook her head. She waited a few minutes for the footsteaps to fade, then leaned over the railing. "Did you hear that?"

"We did." Ominis walked up the stairs, an irritated Sebastian trailing behind.

"That prat!" Sebastian swore, "I can't wait to learn what his boggart is during O.W.L.s"

Ominis scoffed, "Like you were even losing sleep over it."

"A little bit!"

"Enough," Leona moaned, "Now what do we do?"

Ominis sat on the floor, ear pressed against the stone wall. "Now, we wait."

Stay tuned for part 2...

A/N: The title of Gossip Gaunt came from the amazing Heizerux on YouTube. Go check her out and follow her hilarious videos!!

[soup-of-the-daisies]

How much do you think Sirius knows about the blood protection from Lily? If he knows, has he figured it out himself or did Dumbledore tell him? He offers Harry to live with him in PoA, implying he doesn't know, but in OotP, he answers Harry's request to live at grimmauld with "we shall see."

And how much does he know/guess about the horcrux in Harry? He knows occlumency is important, but does he know exactly why?

This is a brilliant ask anon, thank you so much for sending it!! It got Long-ish, so more under the cut. I’ve also added a tldr at the end.

Okay so, I do think Sirius knows some things about the ‘blood protection’ and less about the horcrux, depending on how much he heard about Harry’s experiences with Voldemort in his first and fourth year and how he interprets those meetings. It’s also dependent on how much Sirius knows of ‘strange’ magic in general—if he doesn’t know much, it might be difficult to come to conclusions.

Solely based on canon, we know a number of things about Sirius: he’s intelligent and shrewd, very talented, and a pureblooded scion of the highly eclectic Black family—the majority of whom were very interested in the Dark Arts, as Sirius tells us in OotP. Sirius seems to be knowledgeable on it too, like with the biting snuffbox and how easily he resolved the situation, and how smoothly he weeds through all of the dark and likely cursed objects hiding in Grimmauld Place. He’s also Harry’s godfather and would have been Harry’s legal guardian had he never been arrested and charged, which should technically be enough reason for him to be told about what’s been happening to Harry these past few years. The problem, however, is that Harry’s not really shown to tell anyone about these experiences except Dumbledore, who has his own reasons to keep things about Harry quiet (safety, for one).

I do think Dumbledore told Sirius some things, at least to explain why Harry had to stay with the Dursleys for a while instead of going straight to Grimmauld in the summer before his fifth year. Sirius likely would’ve been quite insistent to have Harry there immediately (emotional support for both Harry and himself), and we know he’s not particularly good with authority (especially people who perceive themselves to be stand-in authority, see The Argument of Sirius vs Molly). He respects Dumbledore, but he rallies against that metaphorical wall anyway. The fact that he caved to not having Harry with them immediately all the time tells me that Dumbledore’s reasoning was, from Sirius’ perspective, rather sound—more than a simple “because I said so”. Especially because Harry notes that Sirius does not seem ‘happy’ with Dumbledore throughout the entire book, but accepts the orders anyway.

So I do think it’s likely that Sirius has been told at that point that Harry’s physically safer (relatively; from DE’s, at least, now that they’re back) at Privet Drive—even if old Orion Black utterly slathered Number Twelve Grimmauld Place in every (best) protective charm known to wizardkind (I have my own thoughts about that), even if Dumbledore has protected Number Twelve further with the Fidilius charm, even if Number Twelve is basically a fortress at this point. There is something in Harry and at Privet Drive that makes Harry safer in a relatively open muggle neighbourhood. And the reasoning has to be good, has to make sense, or Sirius has every right to kick the Order out of his house for keeping him from his godson.

I believe Dumbledore hinted at there being some sort of protection around Harry that keeps him somewhat safe from Voldemort and his followers, to explain to Sirius why Harry couldn’t come immediately. I also believe that told Sirius more than he needed to know. Sirius is more than clever enough to deduce what that protection may be, even after being told bare bones — Lily stepping in front of Harry that night to die in his stead; Harry surviving the killing curse; Voldemort blowing up; Harry burning the Voldemort-possessed Quirrel by touch alone; Voldemort taking Harry’s blood and being able to touch Harry without harm coming to him — and thus accepted the explanation.

There’s something there with familial links, something that Petunia (and Dudley) are accidentally helping with. Lily’s protection coursing Harry’s veins is not exactly weird in a world where the seemingly outlandish and ridiculous is perfectly possible. Sirius grew up in an odd family intellectually interested in the Dark and Dangerous, and he himself loves magic, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he read about something similar once… either in his family library in a fit of boredom, or whilst doing research with the rest of the Marauders.

Regarding the horcrux: it’s the same thing, all based on how much Sirius exactly knows of the Dark Arts. He’s aware of the connection between Harry and Voldemort, and knows that it’s important for Harry to be able to block that connection; I’m unsure whether he thinks that it’s because there’s a piece of Voldemort’s soul lodged in Harry’s forehead, instead of a weird result of the ritual Voldemort and Peter involved Harry in. I’m also unsure whether Sirius even knows horcruxes are a thing, because he doesn’t mention it at all.

At that point it’s up to speculation whether anyone in the House of Black would be aware of the concept of ‘horcruxes’. I generally headcanon that horcruxes are briefly touched upon in their education, as it’s implied that Regulus was aware of what the Locket is—but Kreacher doesn’t know what it is, only that he can’t manage to destroy it, which would imply it’s also not common knowledge in the family itself. That depends on how much Kreacher was willing to overhear.

I do, however, think that the Family would probably have a copy of a manuscript by Herpo the Foul, a copy of Magick Moste Evile, or a copy of The Secrets of the Darkest Arts (both books that mention horcruxes, but only the latter describes horcruxes and the process of making one in detail) in their library. Copies could also be tucked away in a previously unmentioned study/office of Grimmauld Place, a room that a townhouse would 100% have (Orion had to live somewhere).

There’s also the detail that canonically, nobody ever made more than one horcrux. If Sirius knows about horcruxes and knows of the Diary from Harry’s second year, he probably wouldn’t have thought there were more. I also don’t think Sirius ever would’ve imagined (or wanted to imagine) that one of Voldemort’s horcruxes (when believing there were more than one) was Harry, when all he wanted was for Harry to live, be safe, and be loved.

TLDR; I think Sirius would’ve at least heavily suspected that Lily’s sacrifice resulted in a blood protection that had to be maintained through a proximity with a blood-relative. He wants Harry to live with him. Even if he accepts why Dumbledore thinks he can’t, he still wants to. That doesn’t change. He just knows it’s not as simple as moving Harry into Grimmauld, and it makes perfect sense if that is because he knows about the blood protection. I don’t think he would’ve known about the horcrux in Harry’s head though; and since I especially don’t think he wanted to know about that either, actually.

[aeterna-auroral-avenger]

Nowwww quick

Top 5 Scott Lang moments

Ooh! Oh oh oh oh! Okay uhhhhh… since it’s me, you’re also getting the why they’re my top 5

Scott breaking into Hank’s house (including the deleted scenes showing him getting a feel for the place) - this effectively shows us how brilliant Scott is at what he does. This man is super smart, and very few actually give him the credit for it. He overcame every obstacle thrown at him in clever, ingenious ways. Truthfully, the only thing that stumped him was finding the suit instead of the score he was hoping for. Everything else was cake. In one deleted scene, it shows Hank explaining to Hope why Scott breaking into a coded vault was such a big deal was because Scott figured out the pattern the algorithm gave for the alarm code and broke in that way.

“Thinks for thanking of me” - This scene was my very first introduction to Scott Lang waaaaaaay back when Civil War hit the theaters, and I was immediately hooked by this sweet guy who looked like he was voluntold to help out a bunch of superheroes who didn’t match his energy. I loved him from the moment Hawkeye opened the van door and made Scott flinch out of sleep. That scene was just a really good snapshot of his character.

“I don’t have to win; we both just have to lose.” - This. This is the most (serious) Scott Lang thing I’ve ever heard. Scott is not a winner. Not in the sense everyone thinks a winner should be. Scott wins when he can see everyone he loves is safe, and he’s done the right thing. Even if he pays the price for it. Scott was willing to give up everything to make sure his world, his timeline, his loved ones were safe and out of harm’s way. In the face of what felt like a lose-lose, Scott said, “I choose to lose so others can win, and I’ll be okay with it.” Ultimate hero status here, people. I said what I said!

Time Heist - Look, Endgame was very problematic, but the best thing that came out of it was Scott Lang’s brand of genius and optimism rolling in to save the day. Nothing - and I do mean nothing - made me happier while watching the movie than seeing the guy almost everyone overlooked giving the Avengers what they needed to succeed (thank you, Doc Strange for making sure Scott survived the Snap). The Time Heist was brilliant! Danny Oceans who? No, my dude, Scott Lang is the heist master, and the only reason why we didn’t see more of Scott taking more action and training the Avengers on the heist and how it was gonna work was because Marvel execs are cowards who didn’t know how to wield such power.

Dad of the Year Award - I cannot create such a list without recognizing the amazing relationship between Scott and Cassie. Do you know (one of many reasons) why Ant-Man was so good? Besides being an excellent heist story, it was a love story. A love story about a dad trying to get back to his daughter (mirrored by another dad trying to get back to his daughter fyi) because nothing was more important than that. And the heist worked because that was Scott’s ticket to do just that. You make the outcome be in Cassie’s favor, and Scott will achieve the impossible. Hell, the man sacrificed his life and existence by shrinking to subatomic levels, believing he would never ever come back from that, to save her. And then actually did come back because of her! Plus, the man turned his entire house into a live-in heist game out of cardboard and duct tape for Cassie. You cannot tell me Cassie is not the number one person in his life; you just can’t. And I love him for that tbh.

[girl4music]

Rewatching the early episodes of Xena is one hell of an experience after you hadn’t seen them for a while and you now know what you know from watching all of it.

In particular the use of the “Man-Inserted” trope.

Most TV shows use the “Man-Inserted” trope to take away from WLW. But Xena use it to validate WLW.

I suppose that’s why I don’t find it all that annoying.

Although ‘Ulysses’ especially does have its problems as far as horribly inconsistent characterization. And I do mean that for the character Ulysses as well. But… regardless, even with that episode, they still make it clear that there’s a romantic tension between X&G.

And to be honest - most, if not all the “Man-Insert”episodes do. Hell… even the “Woman-Inserts” do.

In other words: they’re just bisexual narratives in that they really work to represent that there’s more there.

More than friendship. More than platonance.

More than what the censorship will pick up on.

To me it was cleverly and carefully done to still represent WLW organically and authentically.

And I honestly enjoy it. I enjoy watching them.

As I said - maybe not ‘Ulysses’… but most of them.

I especially enjoy and love ‘Chariots Of War’.

I think Josh Becker was so brilliant for that one.

It’s the Season 1 slew of BOTWs with both Xena and Gabrielle. On a first watch you’d be frustrated by it. But wait it out and get to the end of the show - rewatch them back over. Then you realize how clever they were. How they were intentionally sneaking the romantic arcing between Xena and Gabrielle via substituting for their male equivalents and other clever writing tricks. Every other episode they would pair them up and off with a once or twice-only male character - but the absence of each other as a dynamic is immediately felt through it because all they’ll talk about is each other.

They have Gabrielle go off to that Performing Bards academy and the only thing she’ll talk about is Xena. All about her heroic deeds and then that becomes a major thing. A major narrative turning point. A major part of what the show is about and how it even works. Its foundation, its structure - the reason why it EXISTS.

It’s clear to me that they knew exactly what they were doing with all of this. And if they somehow didn’t - then they were at least manifesting it out of desiring for it because as I said - they wouldn’t have made both leads. Gabrielle wouldn’t have became as significant of a character as she did if they did not want for Xena and Gabrielle to be the lead romantic dynamic of the show. Of course they carry on with the romantic interests - both male and female - but in the end, the real romance was them because how else could the show function?

The writers can say that they never initially saw it that way or intentionally made it that way. But they clearly wanted it to be that way otherwise it never would be.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s a Law of Attraction thing. They subconsciously manifested an EPIC WLW love story.

Because that’s what it ends up as. A WLW love story.

And Gabrielle was a lead character all throughout. She just wasn’t credited as a lead character until Season 2.

[sitp-recs]

HP Rec Fest, Day 20

I almost didn’t get this post ready on time but here we are for another @hprecfest day and I love today’s prompt! Some fandoms like Drarry are strongly driven by shippy feels and it’s easy to overlook great Gen fics. I rarely read them, but the G and T fics I’ve enjoyed have left a big impression on me. After allowing myself to rec popular smutty series yesterday I’m very happy to share two underrated comfort fics!

Day 20) a fic rated G:

Drarry

Tidings of Comfort series by @blamebrampton (G, 10k)

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Luckily for Draco Malfoy, London has places where the tired can rest and recover.

BB is my go-to when I’m looking for top quality Gen fics - she’s written a total of 10 for HP and I can attest they’re all fantastic reads, charming, clever, creative and entertaining like few stories are. it was hard to pick just one but I chose by a) number of comments and b) Christmassy vibes. Tidings of Comfort (how brilliant is that title alone?) is an all-time favorite advent read when it comes to redemption arc. it has such a wistful evocative vibe, gorgeous religious refs and Draco and Harry’s voices are wonderfully mature and full of personality. their tentative reunion and existential conversations provide so much insight into their lives and background it’s crazy to think this series is just under 10k. I’m in love with the quiet and exploratory slow burn, cautious but full of promise; it becomes even more serendipitous due to the Christmas magic surrounding their encounter. a wonderful pre-slash read, sensitive and poignant, and a perfect treat for this holiday season!

Rare pair

Aftermath by @static-abyss (Harry/Ron, G, 2.7k)

A soulmate, Ron knows, is someone chosen, not destined.

my kingdom for a Rarry soulmate AU 😭 this trope fits the ship so perfectly and as always Ana kills me softly with the loveliest short fic. something about Harry’s tender longing for Ron hits me just right; his pov is very insightful and there’s a brilliant scene in which he analyses Justin that stayed with me for a long time (“He thinks of Sirius and his father, of how being raised in money makes it easy to believe that everything will always be taken care of” - what a quote!). I love his camaraderie with Ron and the way both romantic and platonic love are explored here - this fic gets into my favourite thing about Rarry which is the fact that Ron is “the first the first person Harry loved who loved him back.” I feel like that’s such a powerful yet overlooked aspect of their friendship and I love seeing it acknowledge here. the fic has also a creative take on Harry’s soulmark changing after the war which was really interesting and perfect angst material! I urge all Rarry lovers to go check this gem and give it a little love ❤️

[byoldervine]

Why do you only ever use Miraculous Ladybug as a bad example

As in why do I use ML whenever I need a bad example or as in why do I never say anything good about ML?

For the former, I have noticed that I do this a lot and I’m trying to find other examples as well; in recent posts I’ve written (idk if they’re shared or not by this point or still in the drafts) I’ve made sure to actively put in other media such as ATLA or Helluva Boss, both shows that I do like and really like the writing of

In terms of saying nice things about ML, the struggle is that I’m generally speaking about it on this blog in terms of writing, and overall I personally don’t feel like the show is very well written, which means it’s easier to come up with relevant things to say about the show that are less positive than it is to praise it

There are definitely some great aspects to the show, however, and I’m happy to name some of them

1. Obviously I have to gush about the concept. The love square? Hawkmoth being Chat Noir’s dad? Marinette idolising Gabriel as a fashion designer? The villain having a power that means they don’t have to put themself at risk while still creating consistent villains of the week? Coming up with inventive solutions on the fly being a superpower? Emotion-based villainy that sets a difference between being a bad person and behaving badly while also encouraging people to seek support and assistance even after their negative emotions have lead them to cause harm? Brilliant! I love all of it!

2. Optigami had some of the best execution of this imo; both of them trapped in the elevator, unable to transform without revealing their identity to the other while the viewer knows the truth on that front, the villain slowly closing in… if it had been anybody else, Gabe would’ve let Style Queen find them, but because Adrien is his son, only because Adrien is his son and not a target, Gabe called Style Queen away and spared them. That scene would’ve felt so much different if not for the specifics of the situation and the relationships between the characters

3. There are some genuinely funny moments in this show omg. Chat taking out the entire police force with the power of dance? Amazing. The scene where they all do the weirdest movements ever to take on Party Crasher? Flawless. Chat trying to blend in by randomly breakdancing? Stealth 100. Jagged Stone randomly vibing as a crocodile? Man’s living his best life

4. Deliberately left out quotes because they deserve their own mentions. “They see me catwalking… they hating~” is funny as hell. “How about Gabe while we’re at it?” deserved an award. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to your dad’s funeral” is just plain iconic. “Hey look at me I’m a pickle!” gets more laughs out of me than it reasonably should

5. When they wanna be clever, they can be very clever. I love that they give you a little insight into what Ladybug’s plan for the Lucky Charm is so you can try and figure it out yourself while she does the same. I love how there are loads of convoluted plans from other characters too, such as Alya’s genius plan in Sentibubbler or even Sabine’s comparatively smaller plan in Qilin

6. Some of the shots in this show are gorgeous. The umbrella scene? Beautiful. The POV shots of Ladybug leaping over rooftops? So immersive and fun. The fight with Stormy Weather? Holy hell those angles!

7. Some of the romantic moments are just amazing. I’ve already mentioned the umbrella scene, but what about the balcony scene? Luka’s declaration of love to Marinette? The scene where MariChat gently check each other’s comfort levels and consent when they exchange kisses? Sweet!

[captain-crowfish]

hello hello !!

I wanted to ask, who's your favorite character from Boxtrolls ?? it's one of my most favorite movies nyehe :3

(APOLOGIES IF I'VE ASKED BEFORE, I HAVE A HORRID MEMORY !!)

Hihihi!!!! Thank you for reaching out! always a pleasure to chat with some other Boxtroll fans... Boxtrollers? I love Eggs, Snatcher, and Winnifred in the film, but if I had to pick just one, it would definitely be Snatcher.

He's an absolute blast to try to analyze and try to get into his head, and I notice a new thing about him every time I re-watch the film... yes, all 63 times. I get the feeling that, the moment he learns Eggs is still alive, he starts to lose himself. He's kind of an idiot, but he makes up for it in cleverness. He knows just how to find people's weakness and exploit it for his own gain, and this is what makes him so formidable. He sees nothing but his own ambitions, completely ignoring his own weakness, and that ultimately leads to his demise. Heck, in the final scene, Eggs is telling him that he doesn’t need to eat cheese to be powerful, he is already powerful. He got people to listen to him. (although for all the wrong reasons) And what does he say to that? "I have made me, boy." Because despite Eggs making a brilliant point, Snatcher is still, exactly where he's wanted to be his whole life, eating cheese with the White Hats. Even if he only got there kind of on accident, and before that, he did the same thing to Eggs that the White hats did to him, pushing those beneath him in the social ladder even further down for the sake of gaining power. Also, in calling Eggs 'boy', he acknowledges his own progress in breaking through societal labels, it's the nicest thing he's said to him the entire movie, and he's still talking down to Eggs. So in this final scene, Eggs and Snatcher are both correct. They both want the exact same thing, to have their own identities and be accepted for it, and they achieve it by being the opposite of what they’re stereotyped as. Eggs, by being kind and brave, Snatcher, by being clever and manipulative. And that fact alone makes the little film-analyst in my brain squeal with delight.

Another thing I enjoy, and I've probably mentioned this before, every fan-depiction of Snatcher that I've seen is slightly different. We all have our different interpretations of this guy, and I think that's a key indicator as to how complicated he really is, and I love him for it. Just a bonus thing I want to admit, interestingly enough, in the novelization of the film, (Not to be confused with 'Here Be Monsters!') Winnifred ends up being my favorite character,

even if that is mostly due to how the book is only told from the direct POV from either Eggs or Winnie. As much as I dislike the novel, it provides just the right amount of extra details to really flesh out her character. She's so bored with her home life that her coping mechanism is somewhat self-destructive, and that description both over-exaggerates and summarizes her arc in the book. Again, it's a pretty bad novel, but it's a blast to compare & contrast with the film.

[flimflamfandom]

FREPPER HEADCANONS

It’s a day ending in Y! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, IT’S TIME TO OBSESS ABOUT FREPPER!

-

-Ivy gets disciplined by Mitzi a few times about PDA. At least, PDA on the clock. She obviously doesn’t mind if two consenting individuals *gasp* hold hands and *double gasp* smooch sometimes, but Ivy has a nasty habit of doing this while Calvin is...’observing the patrons’ (staking someone out).

-Calvin is the one who cooks. Ivy is a very clever woman - stellar actress, brilliant mathematician, Always more up to date on science and technology than Cal - but one time Calvin asked her to cook dinner because he was gonna be staying late at the Daisy and she nearly burned down their tiny apartment. Trying to boil water. So yeah Cal does the cooking.

-Ivy is the smart one. That’s right! Sure, Calvin ends up being a real fluffy language type writer, but Ivy is the one who’s considered smart. She handles finances, she majored in mathematics, she had a subscription to Science AND the American Journal of Mathematics, AND she knew how to fly planes. Calvin wrote silly little books.

-They’re both very romantic, but in different ways. Ivy was, as previously discussed, physical. She liked to touch. But Calvin (who was also kinda physical) was a giver. He would give her things, write her poems, sing her songs, all sorts of stuff. She LOVED every bit of it.

-The two wrote each other ALL. THE. TIME. Like, seriously, there are THOUSANDS of letters. Calvin wrote more per letter, but Ivy wrote more letters. Specifically, she sent a metric shit load of post cards to Calvin. Calvin, in turn, would write these very flowery (and sometimes raunchy) love letters. They both traveled frequently for work, so writing was a good way to stay together!

-Calvin kept many secrets. He NEVER told her why he got into the business, not truthfully. He never told her about the horrible dreams, the truth behind his outbursts, the visions, the screams...she was also suspicious he had something to do with some sort of job in Ireland but she could never tell for sure.

-Ivy and Calvin slept better with each other. NO, NOT LIKE THAT. I mean to say that they were always more comfortable with one another, and that Calvin only really got sleep when Ivy was there...this is mostly because Ivy would drag him by the ear to bed if she had to!

-Ivy liked that he wasn’t super intimidating. Seriously, every other NIGHT when business picked up again, some weirdly frightening dude would try and hit on her all dangerous gangster ‘Peeky Blinders’ style, not knowing that her type was really soft spoken lads who wore flat caps and smiled gently when they saw you. She didn’t want these James Cagney types, she wanted Calvin! And lucky her, she tended to get what she wanted~!

-Calvin was not a jealous man. Calvin was mostly too much of a pushover to be jealous of anyone, but also, he’d seen Ivy reject so many people in favor of him that he just...started to figure that maybe, just maybe, she DID like him!

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW, BUT THERE WILL BE MORE!!!

[aniwahstan]

The one where Regulus knows that Remus is a werewolf

“How?” James scratches his head trying to remember if he perhaps slipped one of the nights that they shared wine or whiskey. Perhaps he talks in his sleep and Regulus failed to mention it.

“James.” Regulus rolls his eyes without looking up from his book. “You have made some weak excuse to not spend the night with me nearly every full moon for two years. I actually thought maybe it was you until I found out you're an animagus yourself. Werewolves can’t be both. Did you know?”

Regulus is sometimes too perceptive for his own good. James truly thought he was getting away with it. He figured he would have noticed if Regulus had suspicions. He’s far too skilled in his control. In keeping his secrets hidden. James would have been none the wiser had he not plainly admitted he knew about Remus’ affliction moments before.

“I did know that,” James responds. He’s impressed. And mildly annoyed that Regulus holds so much of his knowledge privately when James feels like an open book.

“I assume my brother and Peter share your ability?” Regulus asks it nonchalantly, and leaves James stunned once again. He really needs to get better at keeping secrets.

“Erm…” James fills the space with the awkward word. Regulus is enjoying seeing him squirm under the pressure of revealing all of his mate’s crimes.

“No offense, James, but if anyone is wise to the fact that any of you are an animagus, they’re going to figure out pretty quickly that you all are. Sirius calls you Prongs, for Merlin’s sake. You all call Remus Moony. Not exactly subtle nicknames.”

It’s a fair point. When they created their nicknames in fourth year, it hadn’t occurred to them that it was a tell. They were young and naive. They thought they would remain the untouchable Marauders forever. The nicknames have become so ingrained in their friendships it’s second nature to switch back and forth between their given names and the nicknames regardless of their present company. James makes a mental note to remind his mates to use caution with them moving forward.

“Does it hurt having to carry around all that information all the time?” James relents to the fact that he may never be able to keep a secret from Regulus. He’s too observant. Too clever. Regulus' lip quirks up as he continues reading his book. James knows he won’t acknowledge nor accept the compliment. He pulls his face from the book and forces him to look up at him. He kisses the forehead that contains Regulus’ brilliant mind.

[ernmark]

I’ve been watching the Fear Street trilogy as part of my Halloween horror watch-athon. And first of all, I wound up liking it much more than I thought I would. But I found I really appreciated its attitude toward drugs.

Drug use features in one form or another in all three parts of the trilogy-- that’s not surprising, they tend to show up a lot in a lot of horror movies, especially thanks to a little quirk of the moral codes put on movies in the past: that drugs, sex, and immoral behavior could be shown-- but only if the characters are brutally punished for it onscreen. It’s why The Final Girl is so frequently also The Virgin: while all her friends are murdered in punishment for their moral crimes, she’s only allowed to survive because she doesn’t partake. 

Fast forward to Fear Street, and there’s a lot of drug use. Not just because it’s a horror movie, but because the main characters are all teenagers in an impoverished town (emphasis on because they’re teenagers-- drug use isn’t shown as an artifact of the seventies or nineties here, but as just something kids do, going back all the way to the Puritans). Characters within the narrative will write off the drug users as burnouts whose misery is brought on by their own poor life choices-- but notably, the characters saying that are overwhelmingly from the hyper-privileged town next door, or people trying desperately to assimilate with them in an attempt to escape poverty. From one, it’s an act of cruelty; from the other, it’s an act of despair.

While the drugs show up in a lot of people’s hands, they’re almost entirely value neutral, where the extras handling them are generally neutral-leaning-toward-helpful, and the knowledge that’s picked up while interacting with drugs and drug users winds up being helpful toward achieving their goals-- experience with a drug overdose allows the kids of the first movie to come up with their plan, familiarity with the imprints on pills allow them in the second movie to realize the nurse’s innocence, and Sara’s searching for hallucinogenic berries in the widow’s home gives her an important clue in understanding what’s going on. 

Meanwhile the main characters associated with drug use are repeatedly shown to be clever, courageous, and resourceful. One is an overachiever who hopes to use the money she makes dealing to escape her situation and lift herself (and her friends!) out of poverty. The other is using them to flee from the horrible crushing despair brought on by the horrible things that have happened to her. These aren’t burnouts. They aren’t comic relief. And while they both die, both die while being selfless and heroic. Their deaths in particular are given weight and time for us to really feel the tragedy of their loss. They don’t die because they’re being punished for their misdeeds-- it’s because the curse that binds them is just that inescapable. 

And then, to add that final insult to injury, their interaction with drugs are used to write off those tragedies. The nurse has no say in her motivations for attacking a teenager-- she’s written off as being off her gourd on pills (even though they’re nothing more than Tylenol). The teenagers who came up with a frankly brilliant plan to escape the curse aren’t treated as heroes or even victims, but are instead blamed for the murders they tried so hard to escape. Meanwhile, among the victimized town, their loss is barely even marked: these things just happen. They’re so numb that each one of these mass murders is written off as just another weekday-- while the real killer goes free, ready to kill again.

(And here we touch on the metaphor actually at the meat of this story, which is so close to the surface that it’s barely even a metaphor anymore. These mass murders keep happening, and they’re immediately written off as the consequence of drugs, or mental health problems, or immoral behavior, because that’s simple, and easy, and most importantly: it directly benefits the people who are responsible for it continuing.)