#purebloods = gatekeep

[pininghermit]

A Villainous Attempt

Genre: romance+ suggestive themes

Pairing: Alucard x GN Vampire Reader

Summary: A splash of water wakes Alucard up. He jolts up from the daze blinking at the surroundings around him. Until his head is whipped to look at you.

AN: Warnings mate, this one is dark. Corruption and manipulation at its best. Reader exceling at girlboss, gatekeep, and gaslight (except its gender neutral). Also am I evil for liking this? Dividers by @moodboard-d, thanks ;)

"Pathetic, isn't it?" You circle the pitiable dhampir, nudging him over with the tip of your boot, only to discover a puddle of vomit beneath his face.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," you recoil at the filth that now soils your boot. "What good is all that power if you can't even meet my gaze?" You use his tattered shirt to clean your boot, a grimace contorting your features.

The entire venture seems like an enormous waste of time. "Alucard," you call out his name, hoping to shake him from his stupor.

"Son of Dracula!" You repeat, but the dhampir beneath your feet merely mumbles in response. It's clear he's deeply entrenched in his self-destructive spiral, nestled among empty liquor bottles.

A sudden splash of water startles Alucard awake. He jerks up, disoriented, his gaze darting around until it lands on you.

"Listen here, Son of Dracula, I don't have the luxury of waiting for your languishing," you declare with a withering glare, your tone dripping with disdain. You grasp his face firmly, hoping to convey your impatience. "Lying around here like a lost cause—do you truly believe some grand love will come to rescue you?"

As the echoes of your words hang in the air, Alucard, still groggy from his hangover, struggles to comprehend your message. You turn away from him, muttering to yourself with a mixture of disgust and resentment.

"How long will you linger in this desolation?" you ask, leaning back against the wall with folded arms. Alucard, still trapped in a haze, frowns as your words pierce through his fogged thoughts.

"How long will you grieve for those wretched humans? Let them trample all over you?" Your question elicits a deeper frown from the dhampir, hinting at a flicker of recognition within his befuddled mind.

"Look around you; you've reduced this once magnificent castle to ruins," you remark, your voice dripping with disdain as you survey the decaying grandeur. Dust clings to every corner, and your accusatory finger points at Alucard's disheveled appearance. "You've obliterated the legacy of our noble race for what? For this?" The contempt in your voice is unmistakable.

Years of restrained rage now surge within you, and a singular goal forms in your mind - to hurt him, as he has hurt you. "They abandoned you, these so-called friends. They bound you. They even took your mother's life," you sneer, your words stinging with a biting truth. "And yet, you continue to wallow in your pitiful state. Do you have no self-esteem left?"

Alucard's response is feeble, a faint whisper amidst the echoes of your tirade. "Why do you care?" he questions, the words barely audible.

Your scoff is dismissive. "Care? You mistake this for care?" You bend down to meet his gaze, your eyes piercing. "Don't for a second think that this is about care."

"I wouldn't dare," he replies sarcastically, a hint of his former self still present.

You choose not to engage with his quip. Instead, you disclose the reason behind your presence here. "I came here to repay a debt," you declare. Memories of Count Dracula's rescue flood your thoughts, a debt that has weighed on you for years. "Your father, Count Dracula, once saved my life, transforming me into a vampire, gifting me powers akin to a pureblood." You recall the pivotal moment when he plucked you from the brink of death and granted you the means to exact your revenge. "And now, it's my turn to return the favor. I may be late, but this is my only chance to settle my life debt."

Alucard, though still unsteady on his feet, attempts to distance himself. "Leave. I don't need saving from you," he hisses, taking a few shaky steps away from you.

However, your grip tightens on his arm, and you drag him back to the wall. "You no longer get to decide," you assert firmly. "You've wrought enough havoc to last an eternity." It's a grim resolve that propels you forward, and you realize that this is the only way to fulfill your debt.

You press him against the wall, delighting in the sight of his panic-stricken eyes. "Does this frighten you now? A mere touch leaves you gasping like a fool," you taunt. His body shivers as memories of the past torment him.

Alucard cannot stop the flashbacks of the past that haunt him. Yet, you entrap him relentlessly. He shivers as he feels them, it feels as if he is still bound. "You feel it, Alucard?" Your voice takes on a seductive tone as you caress his cheek mockingly. "The fear, the helplessness? Does it all come rushing back now?" Your words continue to whisper into his ear.

"Would you choose to remain as you are? Defenseless, useless, a pawn at the mercy of even a mere human?" Your fingers entwine in his hair, your nails grazing his scalp.

"I can release you from this," you purr, your venom-laden fangs grazing his skin, his heart pounding against your lips. "I can restore your power, make you whole again. An unbound vampire, free from the shackles of mortality." Your words are laced with a dangerous allure. "Is that what you desire, to inherit the power to fulfill your father's ambitions? To become a true successor to his dream?" You blend half-truths into your narrative.

Alucard's gaze loses focus, and his tears moisten your attire. "No," he whispers, his voice breaking. "My father never wished f-"

"What do you truly know?" you interject, your voice cutting. "You never allowed him the opportunity to share his truths with you." Gently, you wipe his tears away. "Alucard, your father would not have desired to see you beg for mercy like this. He yearned for you to rise as a ruler, to be the one bestowing mercy rather than begging for it." Your words, though sweet in tone, contain a lethal poison that escapes his notice.

"Listen to me, and permit me to transform you into a full-fledged vampire. Shed your vestiges of humanity, and reclaim your thirst for vengeance. Aid me in restoring your father's dream and his glory. Will you do that, for the memory of your father?" Alucard nods, and you smile, pressing the question again. "Will you do that?" Your hands move to comfort his trembling shoulders, attempting to soothe the turmoil you've initiated.

"I will… I will agree to everything you say," he concedes, his head bowing in submission. "Please, grant me the power." He weeps into your shoulder, and though you would normally recoil from such contact, today you endure it.

"Prepare yourself, Alucard, my dear," you murmur, nuzzling at his neck as you search for the taste of his blood, aware of the heritage that courses through his veins. You taste the remnants of his humanity before sinking your teeth into his flesh, flooding him with the venom that will strip away the remnants of his mortality.

Alucard's trembling hands clutch at your arms, his tears mixing with your attire. "Soon, Alucard, you shall possess the strength to conquer the world," you whisper seductively before returning to his neck, ensnaring him further into your lies.

#alucard #castlevania #alucard x reader #adrian tepes x reader #enemies to enemies #hehe

[rollercoasterwords]

monsters are always hungry, darling.

a fun one!! decided 2 go with. a little canon-compliant bellatrix <3

this prompt list

monsters are always hungry, darling

on the day she finds out that andy is pregnant, she slices herself open with glass.

it's an accident. an outburst. she used to be prone to them, magic shattering out of her skin, chaotic and crackling. as a child, she broke all of her toys--china dolls and wooden puzzles and even the ivory keys of a piano. snapped all the strings on her violin. it didn't matter the emotion--happy, sad, angry. all of it was too big, too bright for her body, bursting out of her like a supernova, like an explosion. 

that changed, of course, as she grew older. when she went from bella to big sister, to role model, to firstborn and oldest and your sisters are watching you, bella, behave! bella to crypt-keeper, to ghost-hunter, always the one to usher her sisters out of the room once their father started drinking and their mother slipped away. what did it matter if druella was an apparition, something haunting the halls, a spineless husk that withered and withered and withered? to her sisters, bella was a giant, somebody important--a warrior, like her name. she would uphold the family traditions, and remind them all where they came from, the blood that ran through their veins. she would make sure her sisters knew that they were special, would always be special. guards and gatekeepers of a time when magic was undiluted and pure. 

so she learned. she kept all the shattering inside. she kept her sisters in their bedrooms, tucked up nice and tight. she kept her mother tethered, poured salt in front of doorways to make sure she couldn't float away. crazy bellatrix, with her superstitions. she kept her father happy. poured more whiskey in his glass and nodded along to everything he might say, all the angry words that came bubbling out of his throat, growing more and more slurred as he drank. fucking useless bitch. fucking useless. three daughters, and not a single son. bellatrix knew. bellatrix had heard the speech, a million times. her favorite part was the end, when her father got drunk enough to smile at her, put his hand on her cheek, thumb pressing into her skin. you're my good girl, bella, he'd say, my good girl. you understand, don't you? you're not like her. 

yes. yes, yes, yes--bellatrix was not a ghost-girl, not a woman who haunts, like her mother. bella was a star, a warrior, nestled safe in the constellation of her family. she would be better. she might not be a son, but she would get it right--she would be the best kind of pureblood woman, the kind who burns bright, the kind who always does her duty. the kind who has heirs, and cares for them, raises them. not the kind who becomes a spectre in the corner of her children's rooms.

she thought so, anyway.

she really thought she would. 

rodolphus barely looks at her, only raises his eyes for a moment when the glass in her hand breaks. he has that look of repressed disgust on his face, the one bella sees more and more. ever since the appointment at st. mungo's, where the healers peeled her open and poked inside and told bella that she was a desert; a crypt; a tomb. something where nothing could grow. 

unlike andy, apparently. 

"can't believe she's degraded herself like this," rodolphus mutters, eyes returning to the letter from cygnus. "a mudblood--might as well fuck a dog. and to carry its spawn..." 

bella feels sick. her husband's words are sharp, cold, with that accusatory thread woven through. like it's her fault her sister turned out this way. like they all know who was raising who in that haunted, haunted house. 

fucking useless bitch. fucking useless. 

in a few month's time, bella will meet a man with dark hair and sharp eyes and magic so powerful it feels like a supernova. a man whose words will reshape the world, who will paint pictures with his speeches of a new and glorious age. he will smile at her like an angel, benevolent, and take her hands. it does not matter how broken the body, he will tell her, there are other ways to preserve the bloodlines...in a few month's time, bellatrix will stroke the dark mark on her arm, gently, the way a mother might stroke her child's hair. 

for now, though, she watches the blood trickle from palm to wrist. rodolphus looks up, irritated.

"would you heal that already? you're going to stain the carpet."  

#siken prompts

[endlessly-cursed]

Over the Brink of War, Chapter One: A Historic Fall

A/N: The first chapter is finally after months gatekeeping it out of laziness lol. This series is in the same universe and timeline as @kathrynalicemc​ ‘s The Phoenix Resistance. The og cast belongs to her. Also, check out The Phoenix Archives for more BTS work with new and old characters! 

Summary: Elodie receives an offer she’s been waiting to receive... for 40 years 

Featuring..: Elodie Dubois, Sebastian Dubois, James Dubois, Kaari Arcano, Devon Marlowe ( both belonging to @kathrynalicemc​ ) Lyubomir Vulchanov ( @magicallymalted​ ) 

Word Count: 2.2k 

Bill and Fleur’s wedding, 17:40

Elodie watched her son dance with his wife, as well as her grandson dance with his own. They all smiled and danced away, no worries or concerns between them. Suddenly, her stomach turned. She thought it was her illness yet again, until something inside her told her “Something’s about to happen. Something bad. Terrible, even.” Instinctively, she grabbed her great-granddaughter, who happily fussed with her shirt and pearl necklace and told her family to pick up their things.

The feeling was growing stronger, and worse. She felt it’d happen at any moment. Baby Lucille started fussing, noticing her great-grandmother’s queasiness and she rocked her, trying to calm her down, but it was helpless. Something was about to happen, and it’d happen at any moment. James kept pressing why they were leaving. She just told them to trust her on this one.

She could hear a girl shriek “YOU’RE CHEATING ON ME?!”

Before he could even open his mouth, Kingsley’s Patronus announced the Ministry of Magic’s fall, and death eaters came in, plunging into chaos. “James, get your wife and daughter into safety. We’ll deal with them.”

James and Isolda quickly left, and Sebastian and Elodie plunged into action. She struck one death eater in the chest with an ancient spell, then waved her wand and knocked out three. She prayed to Rowena that her grandson and great-granddaughter had apparated. One death eater grabbed her, but she elbowed him in the nose and struck him with the head of her wand, and was soon stupefying death eaters left and right.

Sebastian was also a quick one, and for a moment, she saw him. They focused on the same way, and had the same face when they were passionate about something.

However, Elodie, at her advanced age, was only so strong, and signaled her son that she’d make herself scarce and to come home safe. She ducked one death eater and apparated herself in the hospital, coughing up blood and shaking. Her nurse was quick to grab her and chide her for having been so reckless. She retched the whole night.

Lone Star Tavern, Whitechapel, London- 25th of August, 1997

Kaari greeted Devon and she signaled him to sit down. He asked “Who else have you thought for this, Dev?”

“Henry, obviously, and someone else. She’s quite old, and there is a rumor that she is sickly, but her knowledge and experience could help us with the war.”

Kaari then looked at two photos. In there, one was from a long time ago, perhaps the fifties: stood there a beautiful woman, of sweet blue eyes, dark hair and behind her was Tom Riddle, who looked at her in an interesting way. It read ‘Celestial Ball, 1948’. So, maybe someone that was close to him?

The second photo was a recent one: stood there a woman with platinum hair, in her sixties, perhaps seventies, with the same blue eyes, but with wisdom and secrets behind her eyes. It read ‘Elodie Dubois, 1992’. “From what I gather, Elodie used to be a girlfriend of Tom Riddle, until his goals separated her and dated someone else. She also has a son from that relationship, Sebastian, though we have no information of the father, though many suspect that he was Lyubomir Vulchanov, a pureblood who is a bit fascinated with necromancy. The point is, she knows the Dark Lord in a way we don’t, as well as his past and is from a house of healers, and she is a talented healer and dueler. She was notorious in Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Her age hasn’t gotten in the way of her prowess. I think she and her son would make two fine additions.”

Kaari nodded “It’d certainly be wise to include the Dark Lord’s ex here. What she knows of him may help us, though I wouldn’t take her to raids, but she can train the young ones. Her son, I’d be open for that.”

“You know what to do, right?”

Kaari smirked “Haven’t you heard? I am the kind of guy grandmothers like.”

Nando’s, London, 09.30am, 1997

Elodie had come out of her monthly hospital stay and had gone out for groceries, keeping a low profile. Surely these death eaters had some regard of a poor old lady? She tried to reach a jar of jam, but she was too short. Cons of old age. You had the height you once had when you were twelve.

“Allow me.” A masculine voice suddenly came. He had a rather long, thick black hair and several scars, and smelled like the north—Norway, to be exact. He gave her the jar and offered to help her with the groceries, a winning smile on his face. He wanted something from her. And he was no death eater. She quickly gave him a helpless old lady smile and both of them walked, aware that they were being watched “I hope I have reached Elodie Dubois. Not that I wouldn’t help a helpless old lady.” He winked.

“How can I help you, sir?”

He whispered “More like how can you help the world, Mrs. Dubois.”

She then observed around, and a golden flick came into her view, like a phoenix coming back from the dead. The youngsters had been quicker to form some sort of resistance against Tom. At least they had been quicker this time. Elodie was quick to put on her mask and groaned in pain “Oh, my back aches. Please, good sir, would you accompany me to my home? I’m afraid I can’t carry all of this on my own.”

He smiled “It’d be my pleasure.”

As they got away from the supermarket and started getting deeper into the streets. The moment they reached her flat and came into the elevator, she extended her hand “Elodie Dubois. What is your name, young man?”

He instead kissed it, but Elodie remained unfazed and unimpressed “Kaari Arcano, madame. I have an offer for you and your son.”

They came into the flat and Sebastian looked confused at his mother, and seized up Kaari “Who’s this bloke, mother?”

“Kaari Arcano. Sebastian, right? Nice to meet you, mate.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow but shook his hand “What brings you here?” His eyes went wide as he too saw the symbol and sat with both of them. Elodie motioned Kaari to talk “It has come to my knowledge that you, Elodie, used to… be close to the Dark Lord and have been one of the first people to go against him. Dumbledore admired you and tried to recruit you for the Order of the Phoenix, am I right?”

“You never told me that last part, Mama.”

“Hush, Sebastian. Yes, he tried to recruit me and I rejected his offer. That man makes of poor, innocent children his toy soldiers, and that is something I am against. Children are children, even if they think themselves the next Superman or Wonder Woman. We ought to leave their childhoods alone, not stain them with blood and loss.”

“Well, neither of us are children here, are we? We are adults who need your experience, knowledge and expertise, and your son’s experience as a Curse-breaker, of course. We are the Phoenix Resistance, and our main jobs are smuggling innocents out of the harm’s way and weaken the Dark Lord with raids.”

Elodie looked at Kaari “I take you also have Trojan Horse within their walls?”

Kaari frowned and Sebastian translated “She’s asking if you also have a spy working for them and you.”

“Oh. Yes, we do! Though, we can’t say who, but we do, aye.”

“Good. I have one condition.”

He waved his hand, inviting “Go ahead.”

“I have to meet the boss, whoever it is. I want to tell them what I know myself.”

“That can be arranged.”

Two days later, Elodie had put on a royal blue suit and brushed her hair, and walked into the tavern, following Kaari all along. Her son stayed behind and admired the place. She came into their base of operations and was surprised to see a small, blonde woman with glasses and who didn’t seem to notice them. She also had some white scars on her body. Lighting scars. She knew a remedy or two to keep them at bay, as well as a surgery to remove them from sight. Kaari started signing “Dev, this is Elodie. Elodie, this is Devon Marlowe.”

Recognition came into her eyes. She had been the poor girl who nearly died after being struck by lightning. Her colleague had done her treatment, as well as attended her. She spoke as Kaari translated “Miss Marlowe. Your strength knows no bounds, I see. I’m delighted that someone like you is the force behind this.”

“Mrs. Dubois. Many speak of your talent for healing, as well as your past with the Dark Lord. I won’t lie, your knowledge and experience will certainly be of help to us. I’d be glad to hear your story.”

“I take that you can read my thoughts.” Devon nodded. She turned to Kaari “Leave us. This is women’s business.” He tried to complain, but she raised her hand to shut him and waved him to leave. He sighed. He couldn’t win this fight.

I won’t say that he was once a saint. He had his faults, but surely everyone had them. I could swear that there was this softness, this connection when we were alone. He told me his family history once, drunk and feeling embarrassed. You see, he is a hypocrite. A half-blood, borne of a pureblood woman who was crazy in love and a poor muggle man who was forcibly roped into the scheme. She seduced him with a love potion. I wasn’t aware then that a child borne of love potions couldn’t be able to love anybody whatsoever.

I knew he felt embarrassed about it. But I thought he meant the circumstances of his birth, not his blood. When he took things too far, I tried to warn him of dancing too close to the sun. We argued, and broke apart. I wouldn’t see him that way ever again. As I healed, I started my opposition against him, and everyone was appalled, but I didn’t care. I had my Miro beside me, and together we did our best, but alas, we were few, and many were attracted to him, what he offered. In a way, he shares that with the Devil. He hasn’t always been that pale bald man with no nose and monstruous affairs. No. He was beautiful, and once was Hogwarts’ future and pride. But greed and power got the best of him. And thus, he went that far.

I know some people who can be of help, and that would be glad to take him down. I also know you’ve been asking around in the hospital. I am sick, yes, but I have also made a vow: I won’t allow myself to die until he dies first. Until that day, you have my help. I possess more knowledge, so ask away.

They talked some more about strategies and what use her son would be, and soon was his turn. He wasn’t thrilled to be bossed by a young girl, but it was better than being undercover forever.

Waving goodbye to Kaari, they left with homework: to get to know Voldemort’s plans for everybody and bring supplies.

Elodie’s apartment, London, 21:10

Her son had been awfully quiet for some time now, and barely said a word to his mother. The moment James and his family left to sleep, Sebastian stopped Elodie and questioned her “Why was never father here?”

“I kicked him out.”

“But why?”

She sighed “Like the Dark Lord, he had dangerous hobbies and would’ve been a danger to stay here. I made him choose between that or me. He didn’t choose. He left.”

“What’s his name?”

She sighed. It’s been over forty years. He was either dead or with a family of his own “Lyubomir Vulchanov. He’s a pureblood man from Bulgaria and Norway. And… a necromancer student.”

Sebastian nodded, and sighed “It’s time then.”

Elodie blinked “Pardon?”

He looked at his mother “I’m a grown up. I have my own family. There’s nothing stopping you from seeing him.”

“Sebastian—,”

“Do it for me. I don’t want you to give up on the love of your life for me. Please.”

Elodie sighed “I’ll think about it. But it’s been forty years. Maybe he’s married and has beautiful children.”

“I have a feeling that it’s not the case.”

During two weeks, she tried to write him a letter. She still remembered where he lived after all those years, but nothing of it made sense. She had burned over fifty letters. Then, while watching a movie, the craziest and most rash decision she ever made came to her.

Tromso, Vulchanov manor, Norway, 30th of August, 1997

Elodie’s heart raced incredibly fast, her small luggage weighing in her hands. At least they had a bell. She took a few deep breaths and pressed the bell, and then knocked on the door. At first, silence. Then, she heard a few steps inside and someone opened the door; there he was.

He was older, naturally, and had white hair and his blue eyes seemed tired, and was dressed with a simple shirt and some maroon pantaloons. He narrowed his eyes through his glasses. He asked something in Norwegian.

“It’s me, Miro. Elodie.”

He stiffened and recognition came through his eyes “Elodie…?”

She bit her lip “Surprise, I suppose?”

#over the brink of war #the phoenix resistance #oc: elodie dubois #oc: sebastian dubois #kaari arcano #devon marlowe #james dubois #lyubomir vulchanov #mywriting*

[yasmijn]

Adat

Meskipun w cuma 1/4 Palembang dan ke Palembang aja baru pernah sekali doang di tahun 2014 silam (haha 🥲), tapi pengen nanti nikah pake baju Palembang. Pas beberapa minggu lalu ke pameran katering nikahan, emang ada beberapa vendor yang juga nawarin paket all in (sebuah nilai tambah sangat besar bagi manusia tidak suka ribet seperti diriku), terus salah satu pertanyaan wajibku adalah: ada baju adat Palembangnya ga? Kalo warnanya broken white ada gak?

Asli suka banget sama baju nikahannya Gitasav yang ini:

Dan emang jarang sih liat baju Palembang/Sumatera warna kaya giniii biasanya pasti merah/marun. Atau biasanya atasnya kebaya modern gitu, aku kurang suka. 

Terus jujur merasa di-gatekeep pas si ibu-ibu ini nanya: “Tetehnya Palembang? Siapa yang Palembang?” Kesannya kalo gaada turunan, gak akan dikasih wk baguslah mencegah cultural appropriation. Sebagai anak dengan turunan campur-campur Jawa-Sunda-Palembang, terus Gio juga campurannya banyak (Minang-Batak-Riau-Cina) aku merasa kami punya banyak pilihan jadi insyaAllah aman tidak akan menjadi pelaku cultural appropriation.

WO yang kutemukan di pameran ini asli helpful dan resourceful banget deh haha, alhamdulillah dia ada rekomendasi MUA dan baju tradisional yang katanya jago banget deh per-adat-adat-an. Dia belajar bikin paes langsung ke kampungnya, mondok, paham per-motif kain-kainan, ngerti semua songket berbeda dari berbagai daerah di Sumatera sana, bisa juga langsung konsultasi sama orang yang paham adat - karena ternyata katanya, nggak semua songket/kain tradisional itu boleh dipadankan sama kebaya modern. 

Udah gitu asli passs banget deh, kemarin siang pas kesana dan aku nanya apakah ybs punya songket warna yang kumau, ternyata dia lagi mayet songket ini:

Katanya ini buat baju Riau, jadi tinggal bikin atasnya aja yang untuk versi Palembang. Ternyata songket Palembang itu juga bisa dipake untuk adat Batak, Riau, dan beberapa daerah lainnya (salah satu alasan kenapa harganya nggak terlalu mahal karena demand-nya tinggi, nggak seperti kain Cual dari Bangka Belitung yang pengrajinnya sedikit - katanya harga 1 setnya bisa belasan juta rupiah).

Terus jadi tersadar bahwa, wow besar banget deh peran wedding organizer dan vendor-vendor adat (entah baju, upacara adat, dan lain sebagainya), dalam melestarikan budaya tradisional Indonesia yang banyak sekali ini. Kebayang sih orang kan pasti merantau dari mana-mana dan mayoritas akan berakhir di Pulau Jawa. Ada orang Sumatera, orang Kalimantan, mungkin Sulawesi, dari pulau-pulau luar, terus ya begitu sampai di kota besar macam Jakarta, sebenarnya akan ada pemahaman dan keterikatan sama budaya yang luntur.

W aja walaupun 1/2 Sunda, dari umur 6 tahun tinggal di Bandung sampai sekarang, bahasa Sunda juga gak bisa. Haha... walaupun kalau baca dan denger masih ngerti, sih. Tapi kalau baca Manglé di rumah Nini - ih ngga ngerti apa-apa 🥵🥵🥵

Tapi ya sama aja sih mama juga dari kecil nggak pake bahasa Sunda di rumah padahal kalau dia pureblood Sunda. (Katanya Nini membiasakan anaknya ngomong pake bahasa Indonesia karena kalo pake bahasa Sunda nanti takut ngga ngerti di sekolah -_- ). Kalau Bapak malah sebenernya lebih bisa bahasa Palembang sih daripada bahasa Jawa - tapi kalau Bapa emang lebih pindah-pindah lagi sih dari kecil karena ikut Akung yang adalah seorang dokter TNI. Bapak itu lahir di Aceh, TK SD di Palembang, SMP di Samarinda, SMA di Jogja, dan kuliah di Bandung.

Terus ya sebenernya karena turunanku agak bermacam-macam, jadi rasanya nggak pernah merasa offended sama stereotip-stereotip suku because I’m not 100% anything. 

#personal

[fandomstudieswilliams]

Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt

Fan fiction that uses tags as part of the storytelling

(In this fic, tags are used not solely to inform readers of what the fic is about, but also to story tell in themselves. "Basically Lily is Cinderella and James is the Prince and he's kinda an idiot" is spanned across multiple tags to describe the plot. "He's the real victim in the story" is also added to describe other events along with "the magic in this is Very Convenient For The Plot")

Fan fiction that focuses on a minor part/person/idea of the media

Regulus, a small character mentioned in the fifth and sixth books, has been expanded upon in the fandom with multiple people writing fics about him and exploring what his character could be like.

Merch that is "indie"

Sweatshirt found on Etsy for a Harry Potter bookstore.

Examples of sub-cultures within the fandom

Probably the most popular subculture in Harry Potter is the Marauders, which is the era before the book series takes place. It follows Harry's dad, James, with his friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.

Examples of gatekeeping

Reddit post explaining a situation where one fan calls another "not a real fan" for only reading the book series once.

Specifically to get information about subcultures, tagging, and small characters, I got that from the Marauders, so there was a lot of overlap there. The fanfic was set in the Marauders era, Regulus Black is Sirius' brother so most fics written about him are also set in that time period which feeds into it being a large subculture because there is a lot to explore there.

Everything was relatively easy to find because Harry Potter is just so widespread. I knew exactly where to look for tags and I already about subcultures and small characters. Etsy is a great place to find merch for anything you like, and I've heard of people within Harry Potter spaces calling other people "purebloods" "half-bloods" or "muggleborns" based on if they had read the books, seen the movies, or both so gatekeeping has always been a thing.

I think this says that while there's a lot of access to the Harry Potter fandom, it's very easy to find and there's so much to consume, the social hierarchy has had a lot of time to become established and greedy. There will always be people hoarding over others the amount of times they've read the books or watched the movies, or how much of fan content they've consumed as if it makes them more of fan and diminishes someone else's role as a fan in return.

[nocturnenebula]

I posted 213 times in 2022

That's 92 more posts than 2021!

77 posts created (36%)

136 posts reblogged (64%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@/puzzler00m

@/fyte

@/nocturnenebula

@/charaznablescanontoyota

@/tangentially-displaced

I tagged 113 of my posts in 2022

Only 47% of my posts had no tags

#0 - 68 posts

#illustration - 30 posts

#sketch - 27 posts

#ferrum - 16 posts

#sketches - 16 posts

#judgment - 15 posts

#the general - 14 posts

#caius - 12 posts

#comic - 11 posts

#reblog - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 89 characters

#normally i draw my comics right to left but this one is left to right i prommy a;sdiojasd

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

please read the web serial antlers, colorado by @charaznablescanontoyota if you like gay mystery and horror 

--> antlerscolorado.com

39 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

#4

Ferrum is one of the gatekeepers of Hell, but after God and the Devil disappeared, he decided to take a long vacation to think over what to do in this new chapter of life.

For a little project between friends.

46 notes - Posted April 2, 2022

#3

Spooky Halloween-themed LoL commission of Mel and Jayce for @synergetic-prose! Mel is a werewoof awooo 🐺

50 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

#2

I made some Inuyasha bookmarks for my friends. :)

144 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Redesigned my pureblooded vampire khajiit OC J'kharni

EDIT: Oh wow I was not expecting this many people to like him! Thank you!! You can read his whole profile here: https://toyhou.se/9952736.j-kharni

192 notes - Posted March 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #long post #ok then

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

One More Wedding YEET

Aight y’all there is a new event in two days, and because I’m losing my mind as it features all three of my golden boys in one, I’m definitely going to be yelling about it soon. But I’m not only screaming about that aspect right now.

The rest is under a cut as usual so I don’t spoil content for anyone:

Naturally because the clap of my ass demands it I made a beeline to Comte’s event story. The preview goes into the fact that it is their one year anniversary, and on the day of that anniversary there’s a big party/ball where all the pureblood vampires gather. Because it’s a special event, it appears Comte can’t simply ignore it--so MC offers to go with him. 

Here is where I started screaming out loud:

Because Comte says “Normally humans aren’t allowed to attend such gatherings, but you’re my wife so :D” Now, while that is very sweet, notice. Humans. Not Allowed.

My brain was like: lmaoooo watch they gonna be haters, I just know it

AND LO AND BEHOLD. WHEN COMTE INTRODUCES HER?

“This is my wife, MC.”

“....You’re not a vampire.”

SCREAAAAAAAM I FUCKING K N E W IT. I JUST KNEW THESE FUCKERS WERE LIKE THIS

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp jpn spoilers #ikevamp comte #ikevamp saint germain #I CANT GET OVER THIS #I JUST FUCKING KNEW THEY WERE LIKE A BUNCH OF RICH KIDS IN A TREEHOUSE 'no normies allowed' #i was always cautious bc i really didnt know and now these fuckers are handing my analysis right back to me on a silver platter #i love it here #poor comte and leonardo just trying to vibe while they gatekeep #this game be like #mc = girlboss #vlad = gaslight #purebloods = gatekeep #anywho apologies for all the cursing i just #never would have dreamed i write up that leo analysis #and then literally weeks later they're like 'yep that's vamp society for u' #rambles #not incorrect quotes #i love how i just looked at the preview image and i was like 'ah yes. the father. the son. and the holy spirit/ghost. TAKE ME TO C H UR C H'

[thestarkheirtocasterlyrock]

You know what I hate most about the HP fandom on tiktok? I mean, I’m sure if I just ask that question, many of us here have a lot of things to say, but you know what I hate most? How stupidly intolerant they are.

Like oh my fucking god, chill. Y’all’s really trying to cancel others for loving Snape? Or liking canon as it is? Or liking Draco? Being in Gryffindor?

Why must everyone have the same interpretation as you to be a good “fangirl/boy”?! What even is a “good” fan?!

#harry potter #gryffindor #hogwarts #hogwarts student #hufflepuff #ravenclaw #slytherin #tiktok #dracotok #harry potter tiktok #snape #severus snape #anti snaters #draco malfoy #draco lucius malfoy #anti gatekeeping #fangirl #fanboy #just bcz someone enjoys the story in a different way doesn’t mean they’re bad or evil #they’re really out here gatekeeping Harry Potter worse than purebloods gatekeeping magic #I’m not an abusive criminal just bcz I love and relate to snape #and I’m definitely not a racist intolerant just bcz I stan Bellatrix tf #I really got called an islamophobic transphobic racist for having a ship like ???

[figuring-it-all-out]

Random Genderfluid Thing #752

Ok I’m a little rusty on Harry Potter so correct me if I’m wrong, but Purebloods are wizards who want to gatekeep who gets to be a wizard based on their genetic background right? And JK Rowling a woman who wants to gatekeep who gets to be a woman based on their genetic background? Right?

#Transgender #Transphobia #JK Rowling is a TERF #JK Rowling is a Transphobe #Trans Harry Potter #Harry Potter #JK Rowling #Random Gender Fluid Things

[dramionediscussion]

I get a little irritated with Dr@storia stans who try to shut down Dramione by saying something along the lines of “Draco had a redemption already and it was because of Astoria not Hermione, so shipping Hermione and Draco is pointless.” Hermione being part of the ship isn’t just about Draco’s redemption (and not all fics even give him a full redemption). There’s SO much more potential with Hermione and Draco being together. I think Draco ending up with Astoria is kind of a cheap redemption anyways because he still ends up marrying a pureblood? She may be considered a “blood traitor” but at the end of the day she’s still pureblood. Hermione is muggleborn, actually has a canon personality, AND has history with Draco. Dr@storia stans just sound like canon gatekeepers whenever they whine about Dramione. They expect us to bow down to canon and accept that it was Astoria, not Hermione. Well screw that! As far as I’m concerned, the epilogue and CC is a myth. 😌

But he changed before Astoria came into the picture. It says so on his wiki. He changed his views, met Astoria who also didn't subscribe to the pureblood ideologies anymore, then they got married. So she never changed him, he did that one his own!

Also loads of dramione fics have Draco going through his own change as well, Hermione has nothing to do with that. He apologies, they form a friendship then the romance happens. It's rare to see a fic where she "changes" him. Even in Hogwarts era fics, he is always shown as questioning things before Hermione comes along.

- Lisa

[kasjophe]

Since I didn't see anyone do this and I'm currently trying to figure it out.

What if Voldemort died as a baby (or haven't been born at all?)

You get the drill. Might have turn it into headcanon thing at the end a little

Regulus Black would be alive

Harry's parents would be alive

Sirius wouldn't be falsely accused and send to Azkaban

Death Eaters wouldn't exist and so hundreds of people wouldn't have been murdered and tortured for example

As that's said Neville's parents would be able to take care of him

Philosopher's stone would probably still exist

Moaning Myrtle wouldn't get killed by basilisk and so would still be alive

Hagrid wouldn't be falsely accused by Tom Riddle = wouldn't get kicked out of Hogwarts which means his wand wouldn't be snapped and he would be able to get study and so he might have persuade different career than gatekeeper

No death eaters -> Lucius Malfoy could turn out to be more understanding and loving father which means Draco beliefs might have been different, also with that he wouldn't have to go through any trauma he experienced connected with his parents being Voldemort's followers. Obviously he wouldn't turn out to be a lovely soft boy, his family is a long line of spiteful purebloods and there are some expectations put towards him, he still kinda is boy with no choice but it's completely different kind many with strict parents can understand.

Cedric is alive, Harry doesn't participate in Triwizard Tournament

George would still have his ear

No Final Battle of Hogwarts: everyone who lost their life that night is still alive

And so Tonks and Remus and can raise Teddy

Lockhart wouldn't lose his memory = people still think of him as someone amazing and he keeps on scamming people

Harry's children would NOT be named as ridiculously as they were.

Of course marauders would tease Harry about getting sorted and when he was young joke about Slytherins (and one particular) a lot but Harry wouldn't be scared to be sorted to Slytherin and that being said -> possibly end up in Slytherin. (I can go on and write a whole story about how it could have been if everyone was alive)

Time Turners wouldn't get destroyed and so would still exist.

Ron, Harry and Neville would probably meet earlier when they were children

Whole Ron's and Hermione friendship might have not proggress as well as it did since most of the time Golden Trio bonded while saving Hogwarts and Wizarding World starting with fighting the troll in the dungeons.

There might have been no Hedwig at all since it was gift from Hagrid and in real where they're all alive Harry might've never actually befriended him and Potter's family had an owl anyway?

If Sirius didn't go to Azkaban, Remus and he probably would be together, so there would be no Tonks and Remus resulting no Teddy.

Harry having gay™ uncles would feel more comfortable with exploring his sexuality and we all know that boy had a thing for Cedric. And Oliver Wood. And Draco and-

No Howler from Weasleys about flying car since Dobby wouldn't try to stop Harry from going to Hogwarts

No iconic "Oculus Reparo" from Hermione?

Harry would have learned about animagus early in his life and so maybe try himself to become one

We can also assume Harry would meet Draco as a child too. Maybe they would become friends. And here's and interesting scenario that might have done (beside Slytherin Harry) this could've result in -> they're not friends and Harry isn't "the chosen one" Harry never know about Dobby and does not free him. Or if Potter and Malfoy are friends Draco treats Dobby better once Harry notices how badly Dobby's treated. He might try freeing him then and so it happens early.

The stigma around Slytherins isn't as heated as JKR made it and people feel more comfortable embracing their Slytherin side

Dementors don't chase after Harry

Hermione and Harry's friendship probably progressed because Hermione and Draco as originally were head to head with school grades and Harry was simply amused by cheering for Hermione, then also figured she might be great help with studies but saying that Draco would try to get better (aka impress Harry more) so who knows

I mean like I said rivalry in school between Hermione and Draco at some point might have turned into truce thanks to Harry so I guess study sessions together and bonding

No Scabbers so maybe Weasleys got some other animal

Harry trying his best to find marauder's map the first thing when he gets in Hogwarts ?

No ferret Malfoy 😔

No need for harry to sneak out to Hogsmeade

Harry isn't abused - He has no contact (probably) with Dursleys (I mean probably maybe Lily wanted to talk with Petunia at some point and boys played together)

Harry probably would have had different wand

That's it for now, probably will be more in future. Feel free to add more yourself

#harry potter #hp #hermione granger #draco malfoy #ron weasley #fred weasley #bill weasley #fred and goerge weasley #cedric diggory #james potter #lily evans #sirius black #regulus black #voldemort #lord voldemord #tom riddle #remus lupin #drarry #wolfstar #animagus #Hogwarts #Slytherin #gryffindor #dementors #marauders #au #headcanon #Neville Longbottom

[clare-with-no-i]

i think the only distinctions that really matter to the wizarding world are pureblood, muggle-blood, and other (half-blood)—hence “half-blood” is just an umbrella term for anyone who doesn’t fit the first two categories. we know a big reason death eaters hate muggleborns is because they supposedly “stole” magic, rather than inheriting it from their parents—a trait unique to muggle-borns. additionally, the old-fashioned families are super concerned with maintaining the exclusivity of the magical world; they’re like actually gatekeeping it. so to them a muggle-born is a newcomer, someone who should be kept out of their world. anyone who has a magical parent is essentially magical by birthright, since the magic gene is passed down from their parents. we see very similar parallels in regards to citizenship in many countries; for example, any baby born in the us is immediately granted citizenship, regardless of whether their parents aren’t even legally allowed to be there or have ancestors who fought in the revolutionary war.

the other part of this is that purebloods care a lot about 100% blood purity, and only about 100% blood purity. no one really seems to give a shit about the difference between 10% and 90%. so “half-blood” comes from the fact that in the wizarding social structure, someone who isn’t muggle-born or pureblooded is merely halfway between the two. the people who actually place stock someone’s blood status can’t really be arsed to go and calculate the correct percentage because it wouldn’t matter to them anyway. and of course it also becomes a lot more difficult to do so once they actually have to use math and can’t simply say “100%” or “0%”

I shall simply publish this without commentary! thank you for your insights, this certainly makes more sense hmmmM

#ask #anon #discourse

[auxrorkind]

bonnie blake: an introduction

HELLO it’s me again at it with another bad introduction, this time with miss bonnie! once again i’ll be editing this later on into a proper intro, but here’s a lil base level introduction for plotting/writing/getting to know her purposes!! 

Basics:

Name: bernadette “bonnie” blake

Birthday: april 2nd, 1956

Age: 24

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bisexual

Siblings: birdie blake (older sister)

Parents: camilla blake (mother), joshua blake (father, deceased)

Other Family: what IS family, am i right

Languages: english,

Current Residence: hogsmeade

Hometown: tbd

Personality:

positive traits: confident, steadfast, good-humored

negative traits: dishonest, bossy, stubborn

Quick facts/headcanons:

bonnie is co-owner of honeydukes with her (slightly) older sister, birdie. she loves the shop with all her soul and so help you if you’re a teenager trying to vandalize the place because boy howdy will she go off

was a gryffindor at good ol hoggy hogwarts

pureblood, and publicly she’s aligned herself with the death eaters to keep herself, her family, and her business safe, but anyone who’s close to her knows that it’s just entirely appearances and she doesn’t actually vibe with the death eater shit lol

despite working at a candy shop day and night she actually doesn’t like sweets that much, she prefers hearty comfort foods 

if hogsmeade had an HOA she would absolutely be on the board, she often visits other shops just to see how they’re doing, she’ll sometimes suggest ideas for how to make their storefronts more “presentable,” just wants hogsmeade to pop off especially with how it has been, uh, Not popping off lately

we don’t trust men in this household

she wears her heart on her sleeve and will not be afraid to tell you how she’s feeling (but also isn’t an idiot and won’t, like, cause unnecessary troubles for herself by speaking her truth lmao)

loves her sister very very very much and despite being the younger of the two she feels insanely protective over birdie, almost to the point of being a bit Too Much, Babe

just lives to VIBE okay 

girlboss, gaslight, gatekeep xoxo

this is her pinterest board it is small at the moment but it is mighty https://www.pinterest.com/notcharliebucket/hp-bonnie-blake/

#ahintro #bonnie;intro

[theprophetgoyle]

CHE-WEI INTRO—

An irredeemable son-of-a-bitch

PUREBLOOD. Che-Wei Goyle BEEN tight with the Death Eater crew, but he saw an opportunity when the Statute fell and took it.

So now he is posing as a Muggle, who was given the miracle of magic just a few short days ago when the Statute fell, and he is setting up his heretic camp in Cardiff preaching his gospel to the Muggles, trying (and succeeding with an ease that surprised even him) to get the idiots among them to start worshipping wizards as divinity.

Founder of The Church of the Holy Sorcerer in Cardiff, and leader of the God’s Gatekeepers movement

27? 28? I haven’t decided yet but he is my oldest and has Put In Work with the Death Eaters already, so if you run in those circles you probably know all about his showboating manipulative ass

Oh also I will be getting rid of Markus so Che-Wei is going to take on the black market organ sales plot plz pretend it was him all along

#*

[mevekagvain]

Chapter 121 - I hope none of the birds affected by the sleeping gas died from falling from a height, especially if they fell on concrete. I don't think the gas itself would affect the birds but it also very well might since they can't handle as much due to being much smaller animals or from not being able to handle the chemicals used.

Chapter 122 - Shark's expressions are so hideous 🤢

- At least Raizel knows how to be nice by sharing food lmao. Frankenstein beaming like a proud father of a 2-year-old who's doing that is definitely not praxis though.

Chapter 124 - Shark being astounded that nobles care about innocents is amusing. I suppose that aside from the Elders, the Union members think nobles consider other species to be inferior or like cockroaches or toys.

- Although I do find Frankenstein plotting to teach Seira cooking so she can cook for Raizel when he can't extremely funny, I do also find it somewhat disturbing. He's essentially making a teen girl do child labour. Yes she and Regis are imposing on him and I do think they should be doing some manner of chores, but making her cook lavish meals? I also know she's doing it willingly but it still makes me cringe since something being one's choice doesn't negate it being bad. And yes technically she's 'of age' since she's 217, whatever that means since she's still obviously a teen compared to Raizel who actually is an adult going to school with children (which is a whole other can of worms), but aside from her position as clan leader she's very obviously not viewed as an adult by most.

Chapter 125 - On one hand I'd love to get a front row seat to the internal drama within the DA-5 lile M-21 but otoh I don't want to die a painful death or get beaten up.

- So like obviously Seira knows that Raizel and Frankenstein aren't ordinary humans unlike Regis but it is hilarious to think she just told the truth to two men she thinks are frail innocent humans.

Chapter 127 - You'd really think that the Union would be investing more into memory altering drugs but nah. The only ones they have will also fuck your brain up. Really not a good idea when most of your agents/experiments obviously have been administered aforementioned drugs. If it was only used sparingly on civilians I'd get it but it's quite widespread so...

Chapter 128 - As much as Frankenstein complains about the mess the kids make, he enjoys having them over as much as Raizel does. Soft hearted bastard.

Chapter 130 - The girls bandaging M-21 up even as Regis fights has them being smarter than like 90% of other characters in media. They're the real reason he didn't hit the dust immediately smh.

Chapter 132 - I still think the coming of age ceremony has a 50% chance of actually being them ingesting drugs that are the equivalent of stat boosting items in games but also ya know, real world drugs that fuck you up. The other 50% is just them getting much stronger after they turn 200 because their bodies are just like that and it truly is purely ceremonial and a fun tradition like children's day or girl's day or birthdays rather than something that actually affects them.

- Lol Kranz, Regis won't be leaving a corpse if he dies. Purebloods are just special like that. Can you imagine if they did see a pureblood dying? They'd regret killing them so bad.

Chapter 133 - Raizel commanding Frankenstein to stop his experiments is definitely something, like bro maybe he was figuring out electrolysis, not like you know what he was doing. Plus it's not like Frankenstein listened completely. Man has a lab under his house and it wasn't built after Raizel woke. I guess he only stopped modification experiements on others and only did checkups on himself but didn't stop experimenting for other stuff like idk, better fertiliser.

- Kinda amazing Takeo didn't get stabbed in the heart.

Chapter 137 - I know it's just because Gejutel likely explained the lord's powers to him but the idea that Regis knows what a blood field is because Raskreia does demonstrations to entertain little kids is making me giggle.

Chapter 140 - So the Union only came upon Frankenstein's research 540 years ago... that's only 40 years before Raskreia became lord. Interesting.

- Ah yes... the classic joke of Tao not teaching Takeo korean properly. It's also very amusing envisioning Tao teaching the DA-5 members korean.

- ARIS ARIS ARIS. God she looks adorbs. Also I love her referring to DA-5 as 'my children' and 'my babies'. Aris >>> all other scientists. Amd hi Yuri :)

Chapter 141 - Yuri listening to Aris insulting Crombel repeatedly,,, he probably enjoys every aspect of it from knowing she's not aware he's his underling to being able to hear someone insult Crombel.

- Once again union members don't know jack shit. They think werewolves are extinct while Maduke and Lunark are literally Elders 😭🤡😭

- Werewolves having a small population never made sense to me even with the whole thing about them not having mind control and thus keeping away from humans secretly since even civilians are stronger than humans on average but like why tf would wolves have such a low reproduction rate? And that's why I hc that 90% of them are just homosexual.

Chapter 142 - D doesn't consume your lifeforce bro. That's just the drugs causing heavy strain on the body, etc etc. The rest of your explanation was fine but talking about lifeforce or vitality makes no sense.

- We all know Yuri's smart but the fact that he tries to get Frankenstein as a subject by scouting him first is very clever. It's believable too since Frankenstein is supposed to be quite handsome.

Chapter 144 - Well we don't know of Crombel microchips his Assassination Squad but Aris canonically microchips her experiments 🤣

Chapter 147 - Okay but this panel... she's hot. I'd let her dissect me <3

- If this was some other media I'd talk about the symbolism of the attack looking like a rapier and go on for a paragraph but this is Noblesse so it's obviously just a coincidence lmao.

- "A living robot" so like... a cyborg.

Chapter 148 - Yuri getting pissed at being attacked and retaliating but pretending it was him being loyal to Aris... Love it. Also he must be really confused as to who tf Frankenstein is since as one of Crombel's most important lackeys he'd definitely know about such a powerful experiment under him if they existed and thus unlike Aris knows that he's not been sent by Crombel.

Chapter 149 - Yup def confused, especially when he realises Frankenstein's power is like Crombel's.

Chapter 150 - Girlboss,,, also it's been years and I'm still wondering... why is her outfit like that? Neon genesis evangelion girlboss does have a ring to it though.

- Ah yes, Taivra time.

Chapter 151 - Okay yeah I feel so bad for Takeo but also Aris is so good at manipulating him and and and iwi. The fact that she can cry on command though... impressive.

- "From the beginning you were an only child. That's why I got you to experiment on." Okay cool time to ignore that again for my own amusement of having all of noblesse's named modified human women be related to Takeo.

- Okay I'm obsessed with strawberry milk myself but strawberries do not taste anywhere near that good. Not even the sweet ones.

Chapter 153 - Yeah no I don't agree that Takeo losing his will to live is an insult to your comrades M-21. You could have said all that in a gentler way. Just because Takeo was luckier than you experiment wise doesn't mean you get to be so rude.

Chapter 154 - M-21 misleading Tao and Takeo to thinking he's being experimented on and then turning around to laugh at them when they find out it's just ramyeon... mood.

- I really do wonder what 12th Elder's military medals are for.

Sidenotes - Hammer being smart <3 I honestly didn't remember that part of him and I'm glad he's not given purely negative traits. He's the only reason Shark lived past 2 chapters tbh.

- Truly, D is one of the worst letters of the alphabet to have named the drugs DA-5 uses. The other bad choice would be P. On the opposite end of the spectrum, T would have been a great choice for the irony. Not that it matters since the inspiration for the drug from name to physical transformation is obviously 🍆

- Nobles being so nonchalant about murder is kinda fucked up like yeah they suck but you can't just kill them??? Lukedonia my beloved your justice system sucks. I do hc they can't just do this in Lukedonia though or to other nobles even if outside of Lukedonia, it's just that the jurisdiction of nobles doesn't apply outside of Lukedonia and they do on some level think of themselves as a superior species so they're fine with just... killing people.

- Aris obsessing over handsome men as experiments and treating them like toys but ignoring women altogether? Not experimenting on women? Gaslight gatekeep girlboss,,, a feministe of our own,,, perhaps even a... lesbienne. But yeah I just love how she acts and I love her and how she interacts with Yuri. And yeah he's cool too.

- Tbh aside from how short the skirts are and the white blazers, the Ye Ran uniform really reminds me of my own school's uniform. The colours are exactly the same. We just didn't have blazers since it was a forever summer tropical country, only jumpers for if it got too cold in the air conditioned rooms. And for some people who grow up in tropical countries... 25°C can be too cold.

#noblesse #raining while reading #volume 2 done

[toothsalad]

Please rant about carry on! I want to hear your thoughts on it!

Alright. So.

In the interest of fairness, here are the things I liked about Carry On:

The idea of magic being channeled through common turns of phrase and idioms is fun

The Insidious Humdrum and the truth about Simon’s powers were pretty interesting

luv ebb and her goats

As for the things I don’t like.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

First of all, wikipedia lists it as “paying homage” to but any idiot could see it’s nothing more than a partially rewritten Draco/Harry fanfiction. I mean, for christ’s sake, Simon is an orphan who goes to a magical boarding school for 7 years starting at age 11, but spends his summers in shitty foster homes isolated from the magical world. He has an inherent enmity with an entity bent on destroying the magical world, a super smart girl best friend, rivalry with the heir to an ancient house of magical racists, a close friendship with the groundskeeper, and a special relationship with the headmaster. 

I won’t get into the similarities more than that, but. It’s a lot. Many plot points and relationship beats were lifted.

And that wouldn’t be a deal breaker-- I’m not the copyright police, who cares if Rowell wants to write HP 2.0 with patch notes-- but since it’s a fanfiction set in their seventh year, she dumps readers in at what is essentially the end of the story. She constantly has to refer back to incidents from the past seven years, which results in an absurd amount of exposition and ~introspective narration~. That, unfortunately, cut into the time she should have spent worldbuilding, so even with my knowledge of the Harry Potter Magical World, Carry On’s world felt more like a papier mache stage set rather than a real place where things have causes and consequences. Overall, the whole first half of the book is very weak writing.

The book gets better after a while-- becomes more of it’s own work-- but the overarching themes were... troubling.

JKR has many faults. But she does manage to convey that pureblood supremacy/classism is bad. Our main villains are violent supremacists armed with money and prestige, our main heroes are outsiders and rejects who must fight to preserve equality in the magical world. Smarter people than me have pointed out how this premise is actually fairly hollow, but I think the general idea is there. Classism is bad. Discrimination is bad. People who do these things are bad and shouldn’t be in charge. Pretty basic stuff.

Rowell misses the mark spectacularly. She shifts the main conflict from a violent supremacist coup to the Insidious Humdrum, an otherworldly power. Unfortunately, she keeps class tensions in the story, and reorganizes them in an uncomfortable way.

So we have the Old Families, a powerful class of magicians who have a vested interest in gatekeeping the magical world to preserve the strength of their magical bloodline. There are no Normal-born magicians to discriminate against in Carry On, but there are less powerful mages and non human magicians who The Old Families think ought to be kept out. The Old Families include the families of several friends and allies to our hero, and are generally portrayed as neutral to sympathetic. The families vary in the political correctness of their discrimination, but it’s very much there.

The Old Families are unilaterally opposed to the Mage, who is the school’s headmaster and great reformist who is solely responsible for low-powered wizards and other marginalized magical groups being allowed access to the magical world. The Mage spends a lot of his on-page time acting very controlling and suspicious and is eventually revealed to be a madman and a fascist who ultimately died as a result of his pursuit of power, leaving the very bigoted parents of several of our heroes in power once again. Then, rather than deal with this frankly troubling turn of events on the page, all of our main characters just duck out of the magical world entirely.

Like... I’m at a loss. What the hell are we supposed to take away from that? The only person actively fighting discrimination turns out to be a secondary antagonist. People with massive amounts of money and generations of power are the only ones the story deems fit to govern. Its a fantastic inversion of Rowling’s one good theme: the violent coup led by a power hungry maniac with catastrophic consequences is set off by the one person who tangibly made the magical world better.

This is just not a good book.

#Anonymous #ask #carry on #the thrilling saga