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#I am a wizard so… basically this is how I use my magic

bogleech · 3 months

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MY DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS THREAD

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is the first DQM game I've ever gotten to play after admiring the series since childhood. The bad news is that it leaves out exactly the three DQ monsters I love most. The good news is that everything else about it is great. I've been taking regular screenshots as I play and I am going to start adding things about it to this post, so it is going to get long. First of all here are exactly my next three favorite monsters in the franchise, which they fortunately did include, and were all available to me by almost the first area:

"Mad Mollusk" or in other dq games "taileater" is great because it has a sad flabby slug face at one end and a fanged leech mouth at the other end. When it uses magic, it reveals giant eyeballs in its antennae somehow?! Love how big the "carnivorous" mouth gets in the attack animation. What a stretchy guy!

"Lunatick" is just called "meda" (eye) in Japanese, I'm glad they decided it was like a parasite thing in the localization.

Finally there's DROHL, a classic DQ enemy that looks like...well I'm not gonna say what it really looks like but I think it's a cool little freak unrelated to that and I think it talks exactly like Droopy dog. Oddly it's known as a "Drohl DRONE," and I believe there are other "castes" in other DQ games, but only the "drones" are in this one sadly. I've yet to find this in the wild; I got it through the breeding system!

....Which is by far the most addicting thing about this game. The actual gameplay is good solid turn based RPG stuff, if a bit basic, but every monster can be bred with another monster to unlock a slew of other species. This is one of the first games in which they actually call it a "fusion" system now, I guess dropping the word "breed" from the English localization, but all other in-game dialog still calls these the 'parents' and 'offspring' and even makes jokes that they're getting married, so yeah, it's still breeding. What happens when you breed a slime with someone's dead grandpa??

.....There are multiple monsters you can get from that, but one of them, and the one that makes the most sense, is Slimeshroom! This is a new DQ slime that's some fungus! What's also fun is that every monster has up to three skills, and each skill actually unlocks a ton of spells, attacks, boosts and effects as you spend skill points on them. Then when you breed two monsters, you can give the baby any three skills from the parents. Any at all! I used this to make my Slimeshroom both a healer and a fire mage in the early game. This catches you up with the same progress I talked about when I first got the game almost two months ago so here's some things that have happened since:

I bred a flying cat and a vampire chinchilla to get a.....sexy bat??

I helped a fat rat - that's the name of his species - rescue his son

I bred a people ghost with a lamp ghost to get a bag of dirt!

I fought this bastard giraffe man who called an elderly wizard a "naughty boy" and put him in candy jail.

"Duffer" from the Giraffe quest is also best friends with Eileen the eye demon, and when you rescue him, they become your loyal subjects! BAD NEWS: this entire game is actually a prequel to Dragon Quest 4, and the player character of this game is the villain of Dragon Quest 4. Duffer and Eileen are also in Dragon Quest 4. They die :( .......Maybe this game gives you a chance to fix that future??? I don't know.

#dragon quest #dragon quest monsters

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dduane · 2 months

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In the Young Wizards 'verse, how would the universe handle two wizard-potentials going for the same manual at the same time, like reaching for the same book at the library? Would it somehow magically duplicate itself? Would it avoid the question entirely by waiting to choose the potentials until later? Would either (or both) of them get a notification of the manual installing itself as an app on their phones, thus distracting them from grabbing the book? (So many options!)

The Young Wizards series is one of my all-time favorites, by the way. Thank you for putting it into the world ❤️❤️ I need to reread it again soon!

First of all: thanks for the nice words! Delighted that the books were there for you. 😊

As to your question: I'm not sure this is a problem that's likely to come up, for an array of reasons that have to do with the basic nature of YW-'verse wizardry.

Basically, though: every wizard (like every other human, and every other sentient being) occupies a unique temporospatial position that doesn't just involve where they are, and when they are, but who they are; as well as where they've been, and what they've experienced. Different people, born in different places and raised in different ways by other different people, are inevitably going to have different personalities and different worldviews... and therefore, also, different preferred ways to engage with wizardry.* The chances that a given instrumentality offered to a given person is going to be an exact or even near-exact duplicate of the one offered to another person are pretty small. I don't think we need to worry too much about the two-hands-reaching-for-the-same-Manual-at-the-same-time paradigm.

Bear in mind also that there are a lot of different ways to get at Speech-based wizardly info besides books. Offered instrumentalities can vary wildly due not just to cultural norms, but personal preferences. Someone who likes stories but doesn't care for reading physical books might have their Manual turn up as an (apparent) audiobook. (Or maybe a podcast: or a videoblog: who am I to judge?) After all, we've already had wizards who manage spells or otherwise engage with wizardry by listening to the Sea, acquiring the Speech through sentient laptops, hearing it as in-mind speech which they manage by (probably somewhat Speech-enhanced) memory; by direct communications with the Powers that Be via an (apparent) little magical light source they carry around with them, and numerous other methods. (And don't forget the slightly unusual instrumentality that turns up in the YW 30-Day OTP sequence, in which one new probationary wizard obtains his Manual access via what appears to be Tuxedo Mask's rose from Sailor Moon.) ...Additionally, I have a vague memory of one wizard carrying around a Manual access that seems to be the one and only Magic 8-Ball featuring answers that are not hazy. Don't ask me which book it's in, though. Might be Games Wizards Play, but that's a guess.

As for app installations—no reason that Manual access might not turn up as an app update. Also, in terms of dedicated devices, wizPads and wizPhones (formerly wizPods) have been around for a while now, and both have become canonical over time: Darryl McAllister's using one of the wizPhone-based Manual versions in A Wizard of Mars. (Though these may occasionally present problems for practitioners testing out a new paradigm.) As a wizard grows into their practice of the Art, it's not at all unusual to change instrumentalities as one finds something that works better for them than what the Powers sent them the first time out.

Anyway: hope this helps! 😀

*As for the probably inevitable question, "But what if they're twins?" To quote a well-known authority, "It's never twins." :) (And that said: starting with Wizards at War, we see that occasionally, it is twins... and I'm pretty sure they acquired their delivery instrumentalities separately, though I can't recall whether this gets dealt with in canon.)

#Young Wizards meta #wizard's Manual #issues

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rainyobservationperson · 7 months

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I had a merthur fic idea that it's keeping me awake at night and I just had to write it down (METHUR PROMPT)

OK, so hear me out. What if merlin after having lived 1500+ years has forgot Camelot?

Like not the idea of Camelot, he knows what happened and knows it's true, but like the specifics are blurry. He suddenly can't remember how did the castle looked, or what was the name of the cook, things that, to him made all of the experience, personal. But it gets worse, he can't remember the face of his mother, or Gaius's voice, he can't remember Arthur, so he panics.

He has had SO MUCH TIME, and so he has studied a lot about his magic, most of it through trial and error and personal experimentation, because most of the magics in the world have already vanished, so he tries to create a new spell, to make himself remember, fearing that he won't recognize Arthur when he came back.

This new spell is meant to help him remember, relive if you will, the memories that he lost. He pours every bit of knowledge into this project, practicing with very advance Alzheimer patients (because of course Merlin is a doctor, and a chemist, and a profesor... he has had time alright) and he makes a lot of progress. He spends years into this, but the progress is too little, he can make an Alzheimer patient remember up to 10 years in the best of the cases, but he has lived thousands, 10 years was virtually nothing.

Frustrated, and honestly more than a little drunk, and sad, he decides to wing it, he shouts the spell sobbing and uses all of the magic that he can, begs the gods to listen and he also threatens them for good mesure and then he passes out.

Basically he time travels, but he DOES NOT KNOW THAT. He thinks the spells work so fantastically he is having a really fucking amazing lucid dream of sorts, he doesn't remember the specifics so he can't know that he is not exactly following his original steps.

So we have a homesick Merlin running around Camelot, way to happy just to be there and maybe a bit high on magic (because of course in the past there's so much more magic than he's grown used to with the years).

Obviously shenanigans ensue, a 21 century mind in a medieval setting, a wizard that is used to using his powers regularly because nobody believed in magic anyways, a doctor with modern techniques, a slightly shortsighted profesor who is use to wearing reading glasses, a lovesick idiot who forgot the face of his first and most true love... He does something (I am yet to figure that part out) and make a big change in the course of the events and finally finds out that he timetraveled and that he is probably fucking up history for good, and tries to fix it maybe.

That's basically the basis of the idea, I think there a lot of possibilities this could go and I really love it. I wanted to write it here so if anybody wanted to write something with this idea or expand on it it could be fun

English is not my first language so im sorry if I made a mistake. Pls let me know what you think about it. I might expand this with more head canons later.

#merlin #merlinfic #merlin bbc #merlin emrys #bbc merlin #merthur #merthur fic #merlin fic #arthur pendragon #merthur fanfic #fanfic #fanfic idea #fanfiction #fanfic prompt #fanfic ideas #king arthur #merlin x arthur #gwaine

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miradelletarot · 29 days

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For the WIP 'midsummer' sounds really intriguing to me!! I need it!

OHH HO HOOHHH, buckle up then! *cackles* It's abundantly smutty lol. This is actually an idea i had this morning after I woke up, and had to write down everything i could before i lost it. So, it's (obviously) unfinished. I am not sure if this is gonna go into the longfic series I'm writing (since it's Gale x Sagora) or if this will be nothing more than a treato/fun brainworm thing, but I kinda dig it lol. Basically, I remember reading about the Midsummer events in Waterdeep and how debauched they are (super hot btw,) and imagined that Gale is particularly very horny b/c he has his druid wifey to play with now during these very lusty festivals (and SHE. LOVES. IT.) I head canon that after they have been home for a while, she sates some of his intellectual boredom by teaching him some druidic magic...hence the wild shaping thing I got going on here. CW: predator/prey, dom!gale, roleplay (or at least the idea of it lol) and uhhh...hot druid things I guess (eta: and probably a touch of a mention of possibly fucking outside lmao).

**Naughty things under the cut. Minors DNI**

“You know, my love –” Gale saunters over to Sagora where she stood at the kitchen counter preparing lunch. He clutched his fingers around her hips from behind, pressing his body into hers as his lips brush against the shell of her ear. “– I was thinking…we could certainly have some fun this evening.”

She shudders as his breath tickles her neck, writhing as she giggles, and spins around to face him, arms draping over his shoulders. “What did you have in mind?” Her coy smirk told him she knew exactly what he had in mind.

“Oh, I was thinking we could start with a romantic dinner, perhaps more than a little wine…a frolic through the woods?” Each thought was punctuated with sultry kisses along her neck, his hands roaming up her waist towards her breasts. She rolled her head back, surrendering to his touch as his lips traveled down along her collarbone to her cleavage that peaked out of her bodice.

She rolled languidly back into him, fingers tousling his hair as she pressed her forehead to his. “And what, my dear wizard, makes you think you can catch me?”

Gale let out a low, growling chuckle. “Well, you’ve taught me a thing or two about your magic. I think I could use that to my advantage.” He pulled away slightly, looking in her eyes with mischievous intent, and a wild smirk curling his lips. “We’ll play a little game. Hide-and-Seek.” Her breath hitched as he dug his fingers into her waist. “I’ll be the wolf, and you…you, my love…will be a cute, little rabbit.” Sagora’s eyes narrowed playfully. “That’s easy. I’ll be so small you’ll never find me.” She wrinkled her nose at him, teasing against his seductive advances.

His eyes went dark with lust as he pushed her back against the nearby wall, one hand clutching her waist, the other braced against the wall over her head as he pressed into her. His voice was thick and low against her skin.

“Careful, little bunny. You don’t want to test the patience of a hungry wolf. Do you?”

Sagora bit her lip, her pulse quickening as arousal pooled between her legs. She whispered. “What will happen if you catch me?” “Little bunnies that get caught...get devoured. Right there…in the middle of the forest.”

Her body shuddered, her walls pulsing at the very implication of Gale’s tongue sliding between her folds. It took her a moment to regain her composure under the crushing weight of her salacious need.

“…And what if you don’t?”

Gale thought for a moment as a sinful darkness filled his gaze. “Then I suppose I’ll have to chase you until I do.” He leaned in close, whispering against her parted lips. “Either way, my naughty little rabbit…I shall have my prize.” He licked the parted seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue before slipping inside, claiming her mouth with abandon. She moaned into him, her hips rocking against the hardness that tented his trousers. _____

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skeletinmoss · 1 month

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The curse of the dark Phoenix

Chapter 5: Rest and roadtrips

First chapter | Previous | Next

“We start by getting you guys some rest. Then I want to try and get as much milage behind us before the sun rises. I think it’s safe to assume that I’m stuck in a cycle and won’t be able to give you guys clear directions, or be very helpful magic wise in my phoenix form. So I want to get us as close to a proper road as possible before I’m stuck without human speech for hours,” Virgil explained.

“Um… Shouldn’t we start by traveling now and resting by day then?” Roman pointed out.

Virgil smirked at them. “That depends. Do you three think you can handle letting me teach you the revitalization meditation technique I came up with back when I was a wizard?” Virgil wondered.

“What does that entail exactly?” Logan asked.

“Curious are you?” Virgil teased a little smugly. Logan blushed. “I suppose,” he allowed.

“Fast learner. And it’s a good thing you asked. Never agree to stuff before you know the ins and outs. A skilled mage of any kind can make a promise binding if you aren’t careful. Doing so without consent would be considered a curse, but some mages might think it’s worth the hassle,” Virgil explained. Roman got the idea that he had been in front of a classroom before.

“The meditation technique I want to teach you won’t require herbs once you’ve fully mastered it, when you start out it will need something soothing to help lead the way. I noticed lavender was growing in the garden and no trace was left of it in the box of herbs you guys would be uncomfortable around. Am I right to assume that Lavender is a ‘safe’ herb?” Virgil wondered, looking at Roman.

“Um. Yes, lavender is safe,” he confirmed, fully aware that Virgil was humoring him for the time being on the subject of safe and unsafe herbs.

“Good,” Virgil stated as he moved the fingers of his left hand in a delicate pattern and suddenly he held a bundle of freshly harvested lavender between said fingers.

He approached them and handed each of them a bit.

“Ordinarily I only use the lavender when teaching this to wizards, but I don’t know where else your education is going to deviate from mine so we’ll start from the basics and see if we can go more advanced next time. That way you have a method that works at the ready should you struggle with it,” Virgil explained.

“How do we know you won’t be gone when we wake up?” Roman asked, a little nervous about that possibility.

“After that passionate speech you gave?” Virgil smirked. “I’m almost certain you guys would get yourselves in trouble trying to track me down. Too much of a headache to deal with. I’ll just try to gather some supplies here and make a plan, maybe work out some basics for breaking the curse. Or at least counteract it. I can wait an hour. Does that ease your mind?” Virgil asked.

Roman nodded. There hadn’t been a lie there.

Virgil sighed and then assumed a very teacher like pose. “Now, go sit on the floor in a comfortable position. Make sure you can keep it up for an hour,” he instructed. The three mages all settled on the floor cross legged.

“Good. If executed well, this technique will allow your body to recover in an hour the way it would in a full 8 hour sleep,” Virgil stated. Roman and Patton both looked to Logan who, predictably, looked more than a little intrigued by this idea. He’s always been the most frustrated by how much time in a day was wasted on sleep.

Virgil either picked up on that or was just habitually warry of this being a potential issue. “I don’t recommend doing this every night,” he continued. “You need at least one actual night’s sleep a week and even that is pushing it a bit. It depends on your own tolerance level so be aware of when you are starting to wake up a little tired. Don’t brush it off. This is a sign that your body is in need of actual sleep rather than a magically induced recharge.

Don’t be a martyr. Your magic will suffer for it. I speak from experience.” Virgil’s bass voice was serious and even as he said this, making something in Roman’s gut squeeze as the warning seemed to settle into his bones.

“Good, if you are willing. The key of this technique is in your breathing.” And so Virgil talked them through the breathing process and how to use said breathing to draw energy from the environment, using the lavender as a guide if needed.

Breathe the scent and the energy in, and exhale the stress and worries and build up blockage of the day.

Clear the inner paths of your mana for a new day.

Keep breathing like this and eventually it becomes second nature and you are in a meditative trance…

Roman woke up back in the tower. He felt like he hadn’t slept this well in ages… Nor dreamed this vividly in his lifetime…

That was… He felt at his cheeks. Oh he had cried…

“Virgil!” Logan called out, spooking Roman and Patton who’d both forgotten that they weren’t alone in the room.

A void of black appeared and then with a flash of purple light Virgil stood in front of them.

He had a sack packed and from the way it was clearly recently patched up, Roman suspected that it might have belonged to the arch mage. But if he was still alive and trapped like Virgil and hopefully his friends, then he might not mind too much if Virgil borrowed it so he could help save them all.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“You failed to mention the dreams! Or am I to believe that this is unusual!?” Logan demanded, seeming flustered.

Virgil cocked his head. “I mean I usually dream of good memories while in trance but sometimes… Oh… Right.” Virgil looked at the three of them. “You three haven’t had time to really bond with your guides yet huh?” he guessed.

“We met them a week or two ago,” Patton said, his voice a little fragile.

“And they’ve been dying to get to know you for a while I imagine. Sorry about that,” he offered, genuinely feeling bad. Roman could feel his guilt squeeze at his own heart.

“But it shouldn’t have been a bad experience though. Not unless you’ve been messing with some dangerous stuff,” Virgil insisted, a little confused at Logan’s strong reaction.

“It wasn’t… I just don’t like being blindsided like that,” Logan stated, looking away to hide his face.

If Logan’s dream was anything like Roman’s then “It wasn’t bad,” was an understatement.

It had felt like coming home after a long journey and seeing his family again and eating his favorite meal and just being Home. But also like doing something new and exciting and being free. The fire in his heart felt stronger somehow. Like he could just tug at it and summon it to his hand.

Roman wanted to ask about the dream. He wanted Virgil to tell him all about what it all meant and how he could do that again.

But he didn’t want to ask with Logan or Patton around. Especially Logan, he seemed to feel a bit sensitive on the subject.

So instead he asked something else. “When we recalled some of your legendary deeds. You said they were exaggerated… Could you explain that? Just to temper our expectations,” he asked. He’d feel terrible if he failed to protect Virgil just because he assumed he could handle something that he could not.

Virgil seemed to think on that for a moment. “Well, the ‘laugh death in the face’ is just because of, you know. Phoenix stuff. How else are people going to describe watching you losing your head and then with a little flash of fire return to normal as if nothing happened… It wasn’t pleasant, my neck hurt like a bitch for weeks, but I lived.

It's not that impressive. Phoenix bound High mages are a bit more durable than most I guess, but every high mage is pretty sturdy. Janus and Remus are both immune to poison of any kind and Janus has a thick skin let me tell you. You’ll sooner dull your blade than draw blood. It’s not impossible and when he does get injured he’s a whiny bitch until I heal him.

But we’re all pretty durable, my brand of durable is just a bit more dramatic,” he explained disturbingly casually. How often had this man sort of died?

“The star thing… I imagine it’s about Stardust. I found him making trouble in a town while passing through way back. He was just a playful pup though,” he continued.

Patton gasped at that. “You had a puppy!!!?” he asked. This fact clearly improved Virgil’s standing with Patton immensely. And Pat was already the most reluctant to mistrust others.

“I do. I look forward to seeing him again when I get home.”

Roman frowned. Had Virgil managed to give his pet long levity too? Still 50 years of being unsupervised… Then again maybe he left the dog with trusted friends who’d been looking after him since. Roman hoped so. He preferred finding the dog with a sweet elderly couple that used to be twenty somethings when Virgil last saw them rather than the alternative. Virgil didn’t pay attention to his moment of worry though and continued.

“Speaking off home… It’s not spirits. I haven’t bound the souls of the dead to my house. It’s just… lively. You’ll see what I mean,” Virgil stated. “I promise I wasn’t that big a deal.”

Roman looked him up and down skeptically.

“I’ll be the first to admit that I like fancy robes and shiny accessories. But even I would say that that outfit,” Roman pointed to the regal attire Virgil had shown up in. “Is fit for the guest of honor of a royal ball and nothing less,” he declared firmly.

Virgil blushed. “It was just for the fifty hear jubilee okay? I wanted to put in some effort, this is not my go to travel wear. Which reminds me. Do any of you have a spare robe because I’m not wearing these the whole journey,” Virgil insisted, avoiding the subject in Roman’s opinion.

“Roman does,” Patton stated.

Roman blushed, forgetting about his initial plan to press the issue. “I sure hope we all have a change of clothing with us!” he objected.

Logan seemed to be over his pouting enough to give his friend a hard time. “We do. But how many did you pack?” he pointed out.

Roman huffed. “I have one extra to spare,” he admitted.

“Are any of your robes self-cleaning?” Virgil asked.

The group shook their heads. “It would seem to me he is smart to bring some extra clothes just in case the journey got messy or required something less formal,” Virgil stated. Roman smiled a little. The High Mage had no reason to come to Roman’s defense like that even if he could feel his embarrassment. Other than being kind.

If Virgil was used to teaching classes, then Roman could easily imagine him being supportive of the students that struggled more and putting the more talented kids who made fun of them in their place.

Virgil gestured to the wall where their bags were set to the side. He’d really been prepping for their departure.

Roman silently knelt by his bag and dug in. “Ah, so Jay’s bottomless bags are still in fashion huh?” Virgil chuckled as he saw Roman’s entire arm disappear into the deceivingly small bag, Roman could feel a bit of relief coming off of him. Seeing something familiar after all the changes must be nice. Especially if it was related to his old friend.

“He made these?” Roman asked as his hand closed around the fabric of the outfit he thought Virgil might find suitable for his needs.

“Yeah, his Great Wizard project,” the purple favoring mage stated.

Roman pulled his arm out and gave Virgil the bundle of clothing trying not to think too much about how standard these bags were nowadays. If you ever did any traveling investing in one was a smart move. Every household had at least one. Roman’s family had owned one for every member of the household. They’d been around for a long, long time.

But not as long as Virgil or his friends apparently.

Virgil had known a time when your bag had to be as big as the items you were carrying.

“This looks great,” Virgil noted as he walked over to the vanity screen to get changed.

“What is the plan,” Logan asked.

“I did some calculations and I’m pretty sure I know where exactly we are at. I’d say in two to three days walking, depending on delays, we can get to my home so I can stock up properly. I gathered some herbs and stuff in here but there’s things I’ll need. Not to mention I should check in on Stardust and to see if no one tried to mess with my things.”

Roman exchanged looks with the others. They were going to see the living home of the Night Flame Mage?

“After that, we can figure out our next move. But first. I’m going to have to try and see if my friends are… Awake,” Virgil mused as he returned to them, putting his own clothes into the bag he’d claimed.

Roman could feel the wave of anxiety that hit Virgil as he mentioned the potential condition his friends were in.

He himself was hit with a whole different kind of nerves as he saw Virgil in the outfit he’d borrowed from him.

Roman had been telling himself that the flowy robes had exaggerated Virgil’s elegance but he seemed to be proven wrong. The outfit Roman had loaned him consisted of a simple black shirt and pants. On top of that was a wraparound leather body piece that held reddish brown tones and a pattern carved into the leather, tightened around the waist with a belt. A cowl provided additional warmth and if needed, anonymity.

And Virgil was pulling it off flawlessly.

“Good craftmanship,” he noted as he studied his outfit before taking a long stick from his backpack that looked like Virgil had found it laying outside. It seemed thick and sturdy and was about the length of Roman’s fore arm.

Virgil waved it and the light’s he’d made at the start of the night rushed down, past the trio and onto the staff. That would be handy while walking through the dark.

“Well, let’s get going,” he suggested before disappearing in a flash of purple and shadow.

“Wish he’d stop doing that,” Logan muttered as he grabbed his bag and headed down the stairs.

“Oh, if you could do that you’d be doing it all the time too,” Roman challenged.

Patton giggled as they made their way down the stairs.

“He’ll probably teach you if you ask,” their fighter pointed out.

Logan pursed his lips but didn’t comment.

They really should find a moment to have a private talk. Logan seemed verry off after that dream.

They stepped outside and Roman found his eyes drawn to the sky.

“Yeah… little side effect of having an avian guide. The call of the sky,” Virgil nodded in understanding.

“Now come on. Six hours till sunrise,” he insisted as he turned and started walking.

Roman hurried forward to catch up, his friends right behind him. They didn’t head for the main road where they’d been dropped off, which would lead to the capitol.

Instead they were headed south. There were a few villages that way, but nothing big until you hit the border. But that would make it potentially more appealing for a mage who didn’t want people knocking at his door every other day.

“Is it really okay for us to know where your home is? In the stories the great mages were always careful with the location of their homes,” Patton wondered curiously as they walked.

“That’s not entirely wrong. The random civilian wouldn’t know. But you guys are great mages and while charming has been a bit jumpy at the start, I don’t sense any ill intent.

And we don’t have time for unneeded mystique. Those idiots need help,” Virgil stated clenching his hand around something… The stone that had been under The Arch Mage’s bed.

“That’s a sending stone right?” Roman asked.

Virgil nodded. “It’s from a set of 3. Each of us had one. To check in on one another even if we weren’t around physically… It turns out I was the first… J and Remus both sent me a few messages. Then J went silent. Remus didn’t know what happened to him. If it was an illness there’d be warning signs. J would’ve sent a warning with his dying breath if needed.

And Remus… He took a while to go quiet,” Virgil said. “He was always the blabbermouth,” he joked. But Roman could feel his worry, his sorrow. It was enough to bring down his mood and even make his eyes water a bit.

He blinked away the tears.

“May I ask. You implied having, died, for a lack of a better term, in the past. Do you remember the first time?” Logan wondered.

Virgil nodded. “Sure. When I became one with the dark phoenix, I knew that whenever I died, I would be reborn as I was before dying.

But I could still die. Sort of. I was a mess about it. Cuz I didn’t know what it would be like. What to expect from being reborn. And not knowing was agonizing. My mentor at the time offered to help me through my first passing. We made a pact where he promised I would not be truly harmed under his watch to ease my nerves about actually dying for real on accident.

And then he gave me a poison that would put me to sleep and slow my vitals until I stopped breathing. And then I woke up again. My stomach was a bit upset, but other than that I was fine. And I wasn’t as worried about dying after that. Not that I go around dying on purpose,” Virgil clarified, laughing to himself. “Remus would though. He’d find new and creative ways to die spectacularly and dramatically every other day,” he stated.

“This Remus person seems… A unique character,” Logan observed.

“You don’t know the half of it… But you’ll see soon enough. His messages are the best clue we got to where he is now. I’ll need you guys’ help for that, four sets of ears hear more than just the one,” he mused turning the stone in his hand.

Suddenly Virgil stopped in his tracks. “Quiet,” he whispered.

They all froze and listened. A crack… Another. Something was heading their way…

“Well, look what we got here. That’s a fancy staff you got there. Why don’t you hand it over along with all your other valuables. It would be a shame if you got blood on those fancy robes,” A leery voice mused. Virgil righted himself while Patton got into a fighting stance, the fur on his arms standing on end and his claws ready to strike.

The wolf arms were a souvenir from his first attempt at transformation magic. Patton didn’t like them but they did a good job of intimidating douchebags when needed.

A cloaked figure stepped from the shadows into the light of Virgil’s magic torch, followed by a dozen more.

“Turn back now that you still can. I am not in the mood,” Virgil stated lowly. Roman was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one who felt a shift in the wind. The cloaks just chuckled.

“Well, at least those were some impressive last words,” the leader cloak chuckled as he drew his sword and rushed forward to plunge it into Virgil’s abdomen.

Roman let out a horrified cry. It didn’t matter that Virgil had told them numerous times that he’d survive worse than a sword to the stomach. But Roman had never seen a man be skewered before. It was a horrible sight. Add to that the fact that Roman could feel the surge of pain, though muted down a lot from what it was probably like for Virgil and he wished he’d brought along a weapon of some kind to fend off these miscreants with.

Virgil grunted in pain, but held up a hand to keep any of them from approaching to help.

“I warned you. Step back guys,” he coughed. Roman and his friends just barely jumped out of the way as Virgil burst into flames making the would be bandit jump back, screaming in pain. The sword fell to the ground as the purple flames briefly took the shape of an enormous bird, red eyes glowing in the middle of it, and then, with a mighty caw, the flames subsided and Virgil stood there as though he was never stabbed to begin with.

“I’m out!” One of the cloaks screamed as he sprinted back into the darkness of the forest.

A few others followed with very undignified screams.

The leader was still on the ground howling in pain. Roman supposed that resurrection flames would be pretty hot.

“I said to step away, idiot,” Virgil huffed, tracing a pattern and then moments later the wailing stopped.

“Now leave, before I decide to turn you into mayflowers,” he warned. The leader scrambled to his feet and bolted, followed by the rest of his crew.

“Sorry for that. I was hoping they’d be a bit cautious after my warning. Didn’t mean to step onto your territory Patton,” Virgil offered casually, though Roman had trouble believing it was as trivial as he made it seem. Still, Virgil’s emotions only showed vague annoyance and slight discomfort.

“Oh that’s alright… That… That was something. Are you alright?” Patton asked.

“Just a bit of a stomach ache,” Virgil assured him.

“Let’s keep going,” he insisted.

“Follow up to my earlier question. How many deaths did it take before you treated them as… An inconvenience?” Logan asked.

“Hmmm… Not sure…” Virgil admitted.

“How did your attacker get you in that box if rebirth is like that? I didn’t even see any ashes…” Patton pointed out.

“I was ready for it so I could consciously trigger my rebirth. If I was taken by surprise last time… Let’s say my response to being stabbed would be a lot more normal. The ashes would need a moment to charge so to speak. Which would be enough time for my attacker to gather them into a box and keep me from forming,” Virgil explained.

“I’m still not over how… Calm you are about missing fifty years,” Roman admitted.

“Well… Fifty years for me is different than it is for you. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a long time and I know a lot of the people I knew who weren’t high mages like me are ancient by now.

And the fact that so many of the mages I knew back then seem to have gone missing or died of that illness you mentioned is disturbing…

But missing time… It’s the first time it’s been so long, but not the first time I woke up and the dates didn’t match,” Virgil explained, hopping over a creek and waiting for the rest of them to cross safely too.

“How so?” Patton asked curiously once he made it across the way.

“Well, for situations like the backstabbing I gave Remus and Jay amulets they could use to store my ashes in while they got out of whatever crappy situation we found ourselves in before setting me free somewhere safe,” Virgil recalled as they all reached the other side and started on an incline in terrain.

“This one time, Remus knew I’d yell at him so he figured he’d get to an inn, have a good meal brought to the room and put me in better spirits when coming back out.

But when he went to retrieve the amulet from his pocket, I was gone. Turns out some pickpocket had stolen me while Remus was making his way to the inn.”

They had to duck under some low hanging branches.

“I wasn’t there for it of course. But he searched for days before asking Janus for help and it was five years before they gathered the courage to tell the council that I had not been ghosting them all this time but that I had gone missing.”

They crossed a lovely meadow and noted the sky was getting a bit brighter.

“In the meantime the amulet was sold and gifted and regifted and lost and found a hundred times before landing on a farm as an anniversary present.

The family knew someone who studied magical theory, thought they weren’t a wizard and they could tell them that the amulet held something powerful and that it could likely be summoned in a time of need.

And what do you know, after sitting on the fireplace mantle for four years the young son grabs my amulet and rushes outside. Accidently setting a beast taming spell on me as he demands I protect them from the raiders that were busy, you know, raiding the farm.

I came out and was compelled to take my phoenix form and do as he asked.

Not that I wouldn’t have helped out regardless, but he’d actually set a spell on me.

Once my compulsion was sated I turned back into a man and the poor kid was on his knees begging me not to be mad.”

Virgil chuckled as he kept Roman from falling down the steep decline they were navigating.

“I reassured the family, convinced the kid to come along and arrived at the council just in time to interrupt… Ah… Discussions on how they should go about finding me.

I got the kid in school and ripped Janus and Remus a new one,” he finished.

“So you were just… A nicknack for five years?” Roman surmised.

“Apparently I just spent fifty as a paperweight for all I can tell,” Virgil shrugged. “Live long enough and you learn to just roll with the punches,” he stated.

“I can feel the urge to turn increasing with the light coming back,” he mused.

Then he handed Logan a scroll and the staff. “I mapped out roughly how we should go. If I correct course in bird form, please trust that I have a reason okay?” he asked urgently.

Logan nodded. “I promise,” he stated.

Virgil let out a breath. “Good… Well, see you when the sun’s down,” he bid before taking a few steps back and then glowing with a purple fire, shrinking down until the trio was looking at Storm.

“So… You can understand us perfectly in that form, right?” Roman asked to be sure.

Virgil cawed and nodded his head before spreading his wings, Roman noticed that his feathers were tipped red on the underside, jumping up and taking to the sky. Circling above them.

“Hm… I suppose he’s looking out for unexpected obstacles… Let’s go,” Logan stated as he checked the map before putting it away and heading onward.

“I’m surprised you aren’t trying to read the journals right now,” Roman mused.

“The terrain will become less unstable soon enough. He is leading us through this forest to reach an old road. There, I’ll be able to focus without you having to worry about me missing a step,” Logan stated, marching onward. Roman looked up, spotting Virgil flying over through the canopy again.

“Fair enough,” he mused.

“We should report back to the council first.” Logan stated retrieving a sending stone of his own and handing it to Roman. “I can do a factual report. But considering we should keep our discoveries on a need to know until we know more, I think you should do the smooth talking,” he insisted before Roman could argue.

The herbalist sighed and took the stone.

“Good morning Great Council. We are just making a quick report. We have found evidence that the Arch Mage was interrupted in his studies and suddenly left the premises. We have found some encoded journals and a good lead on where we can find the key to decipher this mystery. We will keep you updated as we travel along,” he reported.

“Lord Roman!” a familial high pitched, easily excited voice exclaimed. “Hi, um Terence here, I was tasked with attending the sending stone in case the council missed your call. I’ll report back to them as soon as possible!” he promised. Terence was a very nice wizards apprentice and had high hopes of becoming a wizard himself one day. He was very passionate about all things magical. And Roman could only imagine his reaction when meeting Virgil in either of his forms.

Roman was relieved it was the loyal, dutiful Terence who’d answered and not one of the more… grumpy council members.

“Excellent work,” Logan nodded as he accepted the stone back.

“So… Those dreams,” Patton mused softly.

“What about them?” Logan huffed.

“I mean… Mine was pretty… Intense, but in a good way,” Roman offered.

“Yeah. Mine too,” Patton offered.

The pair waited patiently for their friend to say something himself.

“I… Mine was… Good too. But after Virgil’s scolding… I felt… Accepted and welcomed and encouraged. But I didn’t feel like I deserved any of it,” Logan admitted.

“Because of the curiosity thing?” Roman recalled. “I mean, I agree, your guide probably knows about that. But if they do then they also know you are rethinking that opinion,” he offered.

“That was part of it, and thank you. But still. I’m not like you two. When we became Mages you two took to natural casting so easily… But Virgil is right. I want my books as a lifeline. I’m not sure why. But it nearly kept me from completing the ritual and become a great mage along with you two.

Much of what Virgil has told us is… Troubling me. But I might have to accept his tutelage if I am to overcome this…” Logan laid a hand to his chest as he struggled to find the right word, but then they heard a caw and next thing Roman knew, the massive phoenix landed on his shoulder.

“Getting comfortable I see,” he mused.

Virgil shook his head and made a sound that gave Roman the idea that he was tired.

“He’s come down for a nap I think. So we best be on our guard while we’re without our eyes in the sky,” he surmised. Virgil made a low sound in the back of his throat before settling in and within moments Roman could feel he was asleep. “That is actually impressive,” he mused.

“Let us continue then,” Logan decided as he consulted the map again and led them further along their path.

“I think Virgil would be a great teacher. I mean he isn’t pushing the dark magic thing as much as any of us would probably do if we were raised in the age before the Arch Mage. And he hasn’t mentioned my claws even once,” Patton mused.

“I suppose he has indeed learned to: roll with the punches,” Logan allowed.

They walked in silence for a while until suddenly Patton froze.

“Guys… I… I’m pretty sure something is coming. Get low,” he insisted. Roman looked at his friend and suddenly realized that his position sort of made Roman think of a rabbit, ready to flee.

Not only that but there was a faint blue glow about him.

Deciding to play it safe Roman gently lowered himself in order not to jostle Virgil too much, Logan followed suit.

Indeed moments later Roman could hear a growl in the bushes.

Patton’s entire body snapped in the direction of the growls and jumped forward turning himself halfway to land a firm kick to the still hidden creature, causing it to let out a pained whine and sending Patton flying back. He used the momentum of his now flipped trajectory to turn midair, do a handstand and then land back in a crouched position.

“Bad dog,” he huffed.

Roman really wished that this would be the end of it. That whatever that was had been alone and scared off by Patton’s first attack.

But around them more growls sounded and one by one a small pack of five earth wolves approached them. Frick. They were eyeing Virgil like he was dinner, and to them he probably was.

Virgil, by the way, was finally woken up by the commotion and made a displeased sound before startling to attention when he realized what was going on.

He turned his head to Patton, and any anxiety Roman felt from him when he first realized he was on the menu disappeared.

“Virgil trusts you Patton!” Roman called, hoping it would help.

“Some more specific advice would be preferred right now,” Logan pointed out nervously.

Virgil hopped off of Roman’s shoulder and then made a few more small jumps. What…

“You want him to hop?” Roman asked.

Virgil’s responding caw seemed like a confirmation. “He wants you to hop!” Roman translated a bit louder so Patton could hear him over the growls of the circling wolves.

“Hop… Rabbit… Forest… Hunt… I think… Yes I’ll try that,” Patton nodded. He took a deep breath and knelt down the blue glow intensifying around him and then Patton jumped. And he kept jumping, faster and farther than humans typically did. Bouncing himself against tree trunks and the ground in a nonsensical pattern, leaving the wolves confused and uncertain. Then Patton made impact on the ground next to one of the beasts and jumped away before the wolf could even realize he had a shot at taking a bite out of him. Where Patton left an imprint, vines shot up and wrapped around the creature.

Not tight enough to harm it, but it would keep him from moving.

Patton repeated the trick a few more times and then the entire pack was wrapped up, even the handful that had started to retreat.

Patton landed back with the rest of the group breathing heavily. “How was that?” he wondered, still catching his breath. “Personally I think I did pretty Vine.”

He looked up expectantly and probably more out of relief than anything Roman let out a laugh.

“Alright puns aside, we should go. I don’t know how long those will last,” Patton admitted.

Roman let Virgil settle back onto his shoulder and rose to his feet. “Let’s get going then.”

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts virgil #roman sanders #ts roman #logan sanders #ts logan #patton sanders #ts patton #the dark phoenix au

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consistencynevermether · 6 months

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Astarion x Wizard! Tav reader

A/N: part 3 of my Astarion with different Tav classes. its magic time baby

summary- 1.1k words, SFW, gn reader

Astarion x Wizard! Tav

Neeeeerd

No seriously, that's Astarions reaction to you being a wizard. You choose to base your entire life around studying? You two are basically like oil and water in a lot of ways.

Ok but in all seriousness, Astarion does admire your dedication to your craft. He sees how much work you put into learning new spells and is genuinely excited when you get it right

It doesn’t mean he’s gonna stop making fun of you though. You're telling him you belong to a SCHOOL of magic??? Need for Academic validation much? Oh and please, if you're gonna wear wizard robes try to make them a little stylish, or he’ll come for your sense of fashion too.

Actually, I bet he’d help you spice up your outfits a little. A thigh slit here, a tasteful gold embroidery there, your not completely beyond hope

Dw tho, you can absolutely get him back. Oh, you need some magical assistance? Maybe help figuring out how a magical item works? Uh oh, looks like the rouge needs the wizard's help after all dontcha astarion?

It’s definitely the highlight of your day when he has to ask for help. Unfortunately, it goes both ways. His speed and skills have definitely saved your ass in battle before

Honestly, it’s giving annoyances to lovers. Plus I’m convinced at least 40% of Astarions love language is sass and knife cat energy.

He enjoys the banter definitely, but it’s never meant to cut too deep. He’s good at reading people, so say you're having trouble learning this one spell and you're starting to get frustrated. He can definitely tell and knows not to make jokes about your magic today. He can’t exactly help, because this man is NOT magically inclined. But he’ll pull you away from the spell scroll long enough for you to take a deep breath and have a break. It helps in its own way because now you can come back to it with a more calm mindset.

You can’t tell me this man isn’t laughing (a little manically) when you cast fireball. I mean come on that’s one of the most entertaining things he’s seen in 200 years let him have some fun

But also-

He secretly finds your powers very cool. I mean there’s something beautiful about magic at its core, he can’t help but be just a little entranced. And you’ve definitely used magic to show off to him just a lil (make a rose out of magic blue light or somethin he’ll scoff but find it endearing)

Honestly, I imagine you two are a slight hoarder couple. I mean you need to have all these ingredients for spells on you, and Astarions a rouge he definitely has like at least 5 knives on him at all times. Also the magic items. You both love to hoard those, just in case they’re useful

If you actually do have some sort of wizard's tower, layer, study, or something Astarion wants to see it

He’ll make a joking excuse as to why he wants to see your lair. And he’s DEFINITELY gonna grab a random cloak in there and do a bad wizard impersonation

BUT-

The real reason he wants to see it is because it’s an integral part of you. It’s basically your home, where you store everything you find valuable, where the pantry is always stocked with the food you like, and where the bed has the exact number of pillows you want it to have. Astarion wants to know these things about you.

I imagine after you finally defeat the mindflayers and everyone goes off to find their own way (or maybe you all stick together and keep adventuring while also occasionally having individual adventures, who am I to break up your found family) you immediately take Astarion to your tower and start working on methods to help him walk in the sun. magic sunscreen? Enchanted daylight ring? Charmed circlet? You've got options and you're not afraid to use them. Anything to make it so that Astarion doesn’t have to live his life in darkness anymore. You jest and say it would be a true tragedy if you couldn't see his beautiful silver hair kissed by the sunrise, but in reality, you were immediately tearing through every tome you owned looking for a solution. After all, who wouldn't do anything for the man that held their heart?

Ok now imagine. You and Astarion just completed a mission, saving some people in the grove with Halsin. And you already had received a message from Wyll and Karlach asking for assistance smoking out a group of assasins that had settled in Baldurs gate. But gods you were so tired. It was nearly midnight when you both decided to crash at your liar instead of heading straight to the location Wyll had given you. You were both covered in mud, twigs, and other “gifts of nature” as Astarion had described them in a voice mocking Halsins. You were so tired your eyelids stung, and everything was hazy. You both more or less stumbled into your study, already half asleep.

Of course, you had become a bit more coherent when you realized that there was only one bed. And two of you. Now this might seem a bit ridiculous to care about things like that considering how close the two of you are and how much you have been through and done together, but now hear me out. This man has spent the last 200 years either not having a bed or being forced to share one. You had both decided he needed some time to just be able to have his own space to sleep, after all, you had all of your lifetime together, and you wanted him to be comfortable, so whenever he had come to your study, he slept on the couch. You had wanted to get him a cot or something of his own at the place, buuut it had kinda slipped your mind entirely. And the couch he slept on was currently covered in about 50 books stacked across the couch, another thing you had forgotten about. Whoops.

You and Astarion both looked at the pile of books on the couch and then at each other. You felt like you were about to pass out where you stood and he didn't look much better. There was an instant understanding between the both of you, that understanding being “fuck it” as you both collapse onto your bed, neither taking off your filthy armor and robes, simply passing out on the spot.

You awoke to a certain vampires face buried in the crook of your neck, trying to block out the sun now shining in his eyes. Eventually, you both dragged yourself out of the small bed and cleaned yourselves up before heading off to Wyll's location, but after this situation you both unspokenly began to sleep in the same bed alot more often.

#astarion fic #astarion x mc #astarion x tav #astarion x you #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 astarion #astarion romance #astarion x reader #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 astarion

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fanfic-lover-girl · 8 months

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Magical Education in Harry Potter

I have continued reading snippets of HP and I realized once again how...boring the magic is in HP. Besides Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort I think, no one in HP really does anything exceptional or innovative with their magic. Well...there are the Marauders with their map and their animagus transformations. Plus the Weasley twins are super creative too with their products. But I think that's it really. I will be mega generous and throw in Draco fixing the cabinet and Hermione's DA coins too.

Not even Harry Potter, who is supposed to be the chosen one and hero of the story, does anything great. He's tragically mediocre and not in a good way. I do not consider summoning a patronus at 13 to be a marvel. Considering he had special lessons from Lupin and his performing the spell is not really a special/new/creative magical endeavour.

The muggle world has great technological innovations. But wizards are not innovating magic on the same level at all. And I think part of the problem is their magical education system.

First, starting to learn magic at 11 is total rubbish. Using Avatar: The Last Airbender as an example. Learning magic at 11 is comparable to someone learning they can bend at 5 but they don't start training until 11. Or someone in our world has prodigious abilities but they don't train until high school. Do you see how dumb this is?

So in the meantime, wizard kids have this power that they can't control properly. It's not that big of a deal if the kid has a magical family but what about mugglebornes like Hermione or kids who grew up in muggle families like Harry?? Harry was literally a hazard to the Dursleys in more ways than one and it's understandable, not excusable, that they hated him.

Plus Hermione's character is annoying due to her role as an exposition device. It's tiresome that a muggleborne girl is constantly showing up purebloods who literally grew up around magic. As the books go on, she takes over Ron's role in the trio as the magical common sense guy. In reality, mugglebornes should be at a major disadvantage. Let's say I am trying to learn Spanish. I have no Spanish-speaking family. And let's say I end up in a class of immigrant kids whose parents all speak Spanish. They may not be fluent themselves but they have a huge headstart on me. In time I will catch up to them, especially if I work hard like Hermione, but initially, I would perform worse than them. As first years, the pureblood and halfblood kids should be blowing Hermione out of the water. If not for the entire first year then at least the first semester/term.

So how would I fix this issue? Four ways:

Magical kindergarten/elementary school

Hogwarts should be a highschool/college level institution. Or maybe Hogwarts could have different school levels. Kids should learn the introductory concepts for Charms, Transfiguration, Potions etc in primary/elementary school or even from their freaking parents. Ron's intro scene with that make my rat yellow prank spell was just sad. And having Hermione call him out for the spell not being real was just more salt in my annoyance. As kids, they learn the basics like wand movement, magic theory and safety. And basic spells.

Advanced learning

When they go to Hogwarts they should focus more on application and higher levels of theory. For example: Magical Ethics (what are the moral boundaries of magic **cough**rapedrugs**cough**polyjuicepotion**cough**), Magical Research (do projects/experiments to learn more about the nature of magic, like how is elf magic different from wizard magic), Spellmaking (why is Snape the only dude in HP inventing spells!), Improvised Spells (like in Wizards of Waverly Place), Magic Economics (how does magic work with the concept of scarcity, what is scarcity in the wizarding world), Magical Defense (not just against the dark arts but basic defence like self-defence in our world and perhaps survival skills) etc. They should learn non-verbal and non-wand magic as well of course. Maybe this could be taught at the end of primary school or the beginning of Hogwarts. Instead of the very end of their Hogwarts education.

Accessible classes for mugglebornes

So what about mugglebornes, you say? Well, there are two options. You can provide after-school classes for muggleborne students to learn magic before they attend Hogwarts. Think of extra lessons or night classes in our world. Or you can send the mugglebornes to summer school(s) before Hogwarts which leads me to my next point.

Different Class Tracks

Put muggleborne kids in a different class track from the purebloods/halfbloods who went to magical primary. Like how we have advanced classes for students who are super bright or slower-paced classes for students who need extra help. Students like Hermione would gradually graduate to the advanced track while lazier students like Harry may stay in the slower track. Or maybe bright students like Hermione could do placement tests to get into the advanced track from the start. Some pureblood students could even be demoted to the slower track if they begin to goof off (maybe Ron) or need extra help (maybe Neville). And you can mix and match! So Neville would be in Class 1 Herbology but Class 2 Potions :). Maybe Harry would be in Class 1 DADA but Class 2 Potions etc.

If lack of teachers is an issue, then pureblood families would teach their own kids and the primary school would be exclusively for muggleborne kids and/or pureblood/halfblood kids whose parents can't provide tutoring.

Conclusion

So yeah, that's how I would revamp the school system. Hogwarts is a weird school. Like students leave as adults but leaving Hogwarts feels like leaving primary school. I never felt prepared for the world after highschool but at least we have college/university. Even if HP has trade schools/apprenticeships for jobs like healing and being an auror, I think their magical education is seriously lacking. And the spellwork in HP is honestly very lame. Wands just end up being like guns. More battles should be like the Voldy vs Dumbles fight in book 5.

Magic should be something kids learn from the cradle. Magic is not a subject like Math is. Magic is literally part of who they are. Learning magic should be treated like learning how to groom yourself, eat healthily or even speak. It's strange how Hogwarts and the ministry restrict students from learning magic outside of classes. Maybe it's a conspiracy??

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utilitycaster · 3 months

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speaking of jasmine bhullar, she and brennan had a great convo about min-maxers and i was wondering what your own thoughts on min-maxing were? i'm new-ish to actually playing dnd and i still worry about making myself a problem to the dm as opposed to an asset.

First off as someone who enjoys Adventuring Academy but never has the time to watch the full episodes, thank you for bringing this up - I watched just the debate, and it was incredible and hilarious.

This is a good question. I am 100% in agreement with Jasmine here and she said it better than I could: min-maxing simply means that you read the rules to D&D and decided to use them to your advantage. Reading the rules to D&D is great and everyone should do it (in fact, this a reliable way to be an asset to the DM: know how your character's abilities work). There are a few cases where it sucks but most of those aren't actually due to min-maxing so much as shitty player behaviors that can occur in min-maxers.

I think one reason people dislike min-maxers is that the stereotypical min-maxer builds a character who truly can't do anything except for massive damage, and that does kind of suck, but I also think that that is really hard to build in 5e. You're going to have some other abilities. I think it was much easier to truly min-max in 3.5e, and perhaps in older editions you could really break things (in fact, having listened to some pathfinder 1e actual plays, I know you could).

There is also, as Jasmine points out, a false assumption that min-maxers aren't interested in RP or won't do it. This is very clearly untrue and a few examples off the top of my head from Actual Play that are debatably min-maxed are: Deadeye Cybin (played by Brennan, natch) in NADDPod (damage dealer); Laerryn Coramar-Seelie of EXU Calamity (optimized for survival, especially against non-magical foes); Caduceus Clay and Deanna Leimert of Critical Role (both optimized to be healers, incidentally); Orym and Vex, also of Critical Role (optimized to have a stupidly high perception score), Theo Gumbar of A Crown of Candy (optimized to tank and have a stupidly high AC). These are all fantastic characters with profound RP scenes who happen to also be really, really good at a narrow band of things, but they're also not just good at that. Many of them also can serve as the brains or the face of their party; many have utility spells far beyond their area of specialization.

Another reason people dislike min-maxers is they have a reputation for being ungenerous - for swooping in and stealing the spotlight. The above characters, played by some of the most generous people in actual play, show that's clearly not the case. Also, to be honest, a spotlight hog doesn't have to be min-maxed. It's just a shitty "hey, hey look at me" player. I think attention hogs might be a bit more inclined to try to build a character who is really really good at something (again, usually damage more than say, healing) but that doesn't mean that everyone who builds a gunslinger is here to steal all the glory.

Specialization also isn't bad! The reason D&D is a game where people are in a party is because not everyone can do everything! There are a small handful of characters who are a utility knife who can basically do a little bit of almost everything (Keyleth, Fjord, Moonshine) but they are the exception rather than the rule. Barbarians, for example, are a class that usually is structured around tanking and doing damage. This is fine! You probably don't want a party that's all barbarians because it is useful to have healers and ranged attackers and people who can sink all their high stat rolls into the mental side of things because they don't live and die quite so much by their physical stats, but it sure is nice to have a barbarian in the mix to balance out the glass cannon wizard, isn't it?

If you show up to a table where there is a clear gap in party composition (eg: healing) or there's a clear story the GM wants to tell (eg: very social, requires a lot of diplomacy) and you decide not to fill it because you are too busy building Guy With Stealth Bonus of +20, then that's a problem, but that's ultimately a failure to collaborate. Min-maxing for something that doesn't really help the party is simply the way in which you happened to fail that compromise.

I'm sure there are edge-case, dark corners of D&D Reddit builds that do suck, but honestly most of them suck in that they are actually not good (eg: coffeelock). Your typical case of dumping one stat to max out on another? totally normal, totally cool.

Anyway to get to the part of your question regarding not being a problem: you probably aren't! You're thinking about how to not be a problem to your DM, which people who are problems tend not to do. However, the big takeaways of the above are 1. read the rules of your character and 2. build a character who fits into the world. In the session zero, build a character who has a reason to be doing the things the DM outlines in broad strokes, and who complements the other PCs. If you do that, then it doesn't matter if you min-max or not.

#answered #Anonymous #*cool hand luke voice* what we have here is a failure to collaborate #(i have not seen cool hand luke i should)#d&d mechanics #long post

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theographos · 5 months

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Why Aliens feels off in Tales of Arcadia

Don't get me wrong, I really like Aja, Krel and Varvatos. I even think that 3Below was quite good, even if i'm not a sci-fi fan at all (i even managed to fall asleep in front of every Star Wars ever, and not with any other movie). But good doesn't mean good in terms of storytelling. Because after all 3Below is set in the Tales of Arcadia franchise, and let's just say they don't 100% fit in it.

So why is that ?

1. Trollhunters is based on a book, and the book doesn't contain any aliens.

Well from what I have researched the book doesn't contain any trace of wizards too. I will also add that I haven't read the original book, I just made some researches about its content on the internet.

For those who don't know, Trollhunters : Tales of Arcadia is a loose adaptation of a book written by Guillermo Del Toro and Daniel Kraus, called Trollhunters. It's an adaptation similar to How to Train Your Dragon : The characters are present, the surnatural/fantasy aspect of the book is also present but everything else is changed. I even saw that Steve dies in the book, so glad they didn't take that route.

And i'm not part of the people who screams and cry everytime there is any changes from a book to a movie, To be deeply honest with you all I studied Cinema and English litterature in highschool and my final projet for those two subjects was to talk about how some changes in book adaptations are a good idea.

But it just shows that writer did not have any basic material for it. They had to create it all from scraps, and I feel like the first season of Trollhunters was already out when they thought of aliens, so they decided to connect it howerver they could. Which leads us to our second point.

2. Aliens don't really have any deep connections with humans, trolls or wizards.

Wizards and trolls fought against Gumm gumms, wizards have created many magical relics that Trolls uses, and as we saw with Hisirdoux wizards have an habit of dealing with trolls species. The interactions are already present, they have a deep history between them, shares problems and common knowledge.

Aliens apparently shook hands long time ago on Earth and were gone for the rest of the time, so except an old memory forgotten by almost everyone, they don't really have a pre existing history tying them to the different races in the story.

Trolls and wizards are based on things we already know off. I mean we have countless myths and legends about them already, but there is a bit more to that.

Horseshoe are items to uncover if someone is a changeling, trolls love to eat socks, which ties into the forever myth of "why am I always missing a sock", you think that racoons made your trashcan fall but it could have been gobelins, is that a black cat or just a small dragon etc. You really have the aspect that you interact with the "underworld" on a day to day basis without being actually aware of, and that goes deeper than just "oh this random person is just a troll in disguise".

Aliens don't really have that, like no one except the army used alien technology before 3Below, and still it was in secret so we can't really copy that to our everyday life as easily as the previous examples that I made.

Earth is about Trolls, humans, demi-gods and wizards. And it also happened to have aliens once in a while, but nothing much about it. And that leads us to our last point.

3. The plot has no space for Aliens.

Since the whole story is about earth and the fate of earth, we don't really have space for Aliens in the plot (no puns intended). We can literally see that with the 3Below plot : gumm gumms are something completly unrelated to the plot, it just happens in the back while the main plot is happening. 3Below is more of a spin-off or a "What If?" kind of show than a continuation of the main plot.

3Below is an interlude, an easter egg for the fans. You barely see the main cast, the main cast barely acknowledge the presence of the trio in their own show.

See I wouldn't be criticizing it if it was considered as such in the franchise. A side-story that doesn't impact the plot, but for fan service it will appear in the final movie so that everyone has their conclusion.

But it's not the case, it is seen as an important part of the story by the studio. It has never been advertised as something else than an active part of Tales of Arcadia.

If they truly wanted something about aliens, it should have been as a side story, a spin off.

But as a major part of the franchise, it doesn't deserve its spot and you can feel it.

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wildissylupus · 3 months

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I want to share what the dynamics of my BG3 party with my character, since I've nearly finished ACT 1. I will probably do this at the end of every act cause I am so excited to see how all these dynamics develop.

(Slight Spoilers for BG3 ACT 1)

Medea - My Durge character, often goes with the diplomatic approach, she's charismatic and hides her urges well (except with Alfira but everyone thinks it the tadpole). I'll probably make a separate post going into detail, this is more just to give context

Shadowheart - Second person Medea met, saved her from the Nautiloid, they both have an insane amount of trust in each other. Romance is also blooming between them. With Medea as the leader of the party, you could say that Shadowheart is her second in command. Medea is also getting a lot of bad vibes from what Shadowheart says about Shaar but is trying to be open minded while trying to subtly convince her that maybe she should leave and that what she's going through with Shaar isn't good. They also bond over their shared memory problems.

Astarion - Second person Medea met after the crash, pulled a knife on her when she went to help him, no blood was spilt though. After that they basically started bickering like siblings, Medea being the responsible one, Astarion being the bad influence, both of them chaotic. Also in my mind, since Medea is also an elf and has the same sleep schedule as Astarion, she was suspicious of him sneaking off at night. Though she didn't think he was a vampire, speaking of which, she will never not make fun of Astarion for trying to bit her even though she is literally the one other person who traces, meaning she was the worst person to bite from if he didn't want to get caught. Basically they act like siblings, also Medea has only heard the basics of who Cazador is and already wants to kill him.

Gale - Third person to join the party and the person Medea has the highest approval rating with. When she found out about Gale's condition she instantly sought out magical items that he could use, she was also very stunned when she found out about him a Mystra. Medea was never the studious type, even without a majority of her memories she knows she has a distaste for casting the magic wizards cast, however, casting that magic with Gale is different. She genuinely enjoyed it, and something tells her that he's the best teacher she's ever had. Honestly, even though this is act 1, I didn't expect Gale and Medea to become so close or like each other so much.

Lae'zel - First person Medea met (cause that's how the game goes) and honestly when it comes to her urges, Lae'zel is the one she thinks will take her out if needed. She's even considering telling Lae'zel about the urges. They have a lot of respect for each other even if they disagree on sertain situations, and they probably want the tadpoles out of their head the same amount as at this point Medea thinks her urges could be influenced by the parasite, so she wants it out. Honestly compared to the others there isn't much to say, mostly because I play in character, which means I choose which characters join me based on how close my character is to them or how important they are to the mission lore wise. Their dynamic will probably change in act 2 though.

Wyll - Medea and Wyll have had a slow burn to their friendship, though there is trust between them, they haven't known each other long enough to form a distinct bond (though I am tempted to get them a sibling bond because of what Wyll said after she said they will get his dad back). However, Medea does feel guilty about Wyll's dad being captured, feeling as though she could have done something. It's been added to her ever growing mountain of guilt (at this point she's dealing with the urges, she's killed Alfira, and she's killed Mayrina's brothers), she's also determined to help Wyll get his father back. She has also made it her goal to see Wyll dance.

Karlach - Her and Medea have not interacted much (that will change in Act 2), but so far I think Karlach is on the fence on whether to trust my character or not, because she says a lot of fucked up shit she doesn't mean in order to manipulate her enemies and Karlach tends to take it at face value so she obviously disproves of what Medea is saying. I like to think the displeasure shows on her face and every time Medea looks back at Karlach and gives a look of "I'm not actually going to do it".

Halsin - Like Karlach they haven't interacted that much but that will change in Act 2. As for now though they like each other and Medea wants to get to know him more.

And that's it for now!! I'm really excited to see how the game progresses and how these dynamics develop.

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greenerteacups · 3 months

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Hi! I made this account just so I could interact with you like this and tell you that your writing got me back out of a reading slump! Should you ever choose to author and publish a book please let me know, I will be the first to pick it up at the nearest bookstore available. I'm very excited to see where you take us in the fifth installment of your rewrite for this series! And quick question, which Hogwarts house do you align yourself with? ∼ Cheers and much love from an anonymous Hufflepuff

You're so incredibly sweet, thank you for warming my heart on a very cold day. Hearing someone say 'I would pay for your work' is kind of the highest compliment a fanfic author can receive. In the meantime, it's my honor to give you something that you can enjoy for free!

I waffle on the House question, since my view on Sorting is very contextual and volitional. Like, Sorting happens when you're eleven, right after you're boated up to the castle in this big stinking display of magical grandeur that's probably shit-slapping levels of scary, and then you get stood up in front of every peer you have and asked to decide what you want your place in that universe to be. That makes for some panicky, spur-of-the-moment decision-making! No wonder a lot of pureblood kids default to the House their parents picked! No wonder Harry ends up Gryffindor basically by default after blurting "not Slytherin" (which is the Hat's first suggestion — remember that the first two things Harry wants to do when he finds out he's a wizard are (1) jinx Dudley (avenge himself) and (2) buy a pure golden cauldron (status symbol). Canon!FirstYear!Harry is like, probably a Slytherin by temperament, being a neglected eleven-year-old child who's almost violently desperate for safety and approval and love, but that's okay, because being in Gryffindor turns him into one. Ron Weasley, in particular, turns him into one, but that's too much for me to get into right now.) Obviously, this all informs a lot of how I write character and socialization in Lionheart. House isn't destiny, it's culture! I could go on.

So like, if you sorted me right now? Gryffindor. Because I think bravery is the most important value in my life, it's what reminds me to be kind and patient and thoughtful, because it takes bravery to do those things in a world that is, frankly, much easier to navigate if you shut yourself off to others' feelings and ideas. But it's also a much worse world. That doesn't mean I'm not ambitious or curious or loyal, it just means that bravery is the value I consciously try to practice. But if you Sorted me at eleven, I'd probably get Slytherin, because I was — without doing The Backstory of it all — not the most jazzed-to-be-alive child, and I really, badly, desperately wanted to GTFO of my hometown and like — I dunno, succeed so hard it retroactively justified every time I was ever lonely? Somehow?? Details of that plan were always a bit unclear. But general "I am going to get a good grade in Life, something that is reasonable to want and possible to achieve" type vibes. Horrendous. Point being, I'd have likely asked for the House I identified with at eleven — Slytherin — because I considered "ambition" the most important virtue of my (again: eleven-year-old) life so far. (This is assuming that I don't run into a Hermione- or Ron-type character who warns me away from all the pureblood/classist nastiness; if that happened, I'd probably end up in Ravenclaw.)

I have no idea whether the Hat would have agreed with me. In canon, we never see it actually veto a choice, only grant requests. Which makes me wonder — if someone asked for a House that they were really, profoundly ill-suited for (as I think some of the canonical Slytherins might have done), what would it do?

#footnote to the last paragraph that I find fun is that lionheart!draco doesn't initially ask the hat for Slytherin #he's so carried off in the assumption that he'll end up there he doesn't bother to ask #but this is draco's problem #he splits up all goods into “things i deserve” and “things i don't deserve”#so as a kid it doesn't occur to him that he doesn't “deserve” to be in slytherin #and that the hat wouldn't as such immediately acknowledge that fact #which of course. prevents him from actually. yknow. asking for it.#blessed little idiot. see? do you see how asking nicely could have improved your life??#another possible subtitle for LH tbh.#greenteacup asks

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thydungeongal · 2 months

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What's so confusing about Tunnels & Trolls?

I am halfway through 5th edition rulebook so I can't give any advice but for now it looks much more comprehensive and elegant than AD&D RAW. Rules of combat are very different from mainstream ttrpgs because it was very early and explicitly not for wargame fans, but they don't look really hard, especially once it explained the logic. I think that if I was alive back in 1979 I would pick it over D&D without hesitation. I haven't really read rules on monsters yet but yeah they look counterintuitive.

I am not calling you stupid, I just want to actually try it and want to be aware of what problems I may encounter. Also I specified the edition just in case it's different in some later or earlier ones.

(While we are at it, can I say how funny its magic works. Recieving damage reduces constitution instead of absent hit points, which makes sense because due to this wounded characters perform some tasks worse, but casting magic reduces strength the same way. I think that the idea was that casters are tired from casting spells but making magic reduce constitution would make wizards and rogues die too fast, but as a result they created the world of muscle wizards. Yes, I said rogues because in T&T rogues are apparently not thieves but mix of fighter and wizard that can do both swordfight and magic... but also kind of sucks at both. And their implied backstory is that they failed to develop any of the skills because either their life circumstances suck or they themself suck.)

(Also, I wanted to send you an ask like "how would ttrpgs look like if they evolved from something else other than miniature wargames?", and apparently T&T is how ttrpgs would like if they evolved from traditional dice games like what landsknechts played in.)

We found the guy,

No but seriously, based on what little I've looked at T&T it actually looks really neat and I enjoy the idea of combat being basically what I've talked about at one point (kind of like a game of football in that teams clash for a moment then get into a huddle and think of their next play). I think what has made T&T hard for my brain to grasp is in part because I'm so used to TTRPGs that follow the structures of D&D (which is actually most RPGs) that the subtle deviations from D&D structures in a dungeon game just make my brain resist receiving any information

But yeah I do have one of the rulebooks? I can't remember which edition it was. But I might go and give it another look.

#thydungeongal answers

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minhosimthings · 7 months

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Skz as Mythical creatures

Bang Chan - Werewolf. There's nothing to question here about this. Man literally gives so much wolf vibes that writers on Tumblr use wolf memes for his smaus. But also werewolves have been used throughout history to provide a sense of wisdom combined with misinterpretation. Wisdom, in the form of living and going through so much in their moon drunk lives. And like is that not Chan?

Lee Minho: A warlock. Warlocks are basically wizards who get their magic from evil sources. They conjure magic called 'blue magic' aka evil magic from shady sources and repay that debt with their own blood. They have been known to help people from time to time but only the people who need it the most, like a raped woman who no one believes. Oh also they are known to have cats as their companions! And they live very secluded lives usually in forests and grow mushrooms. My brain is dying thinking about evil warlock Minho cause my standards are so fucked up

Seo Changbin: A dragon. Listen LISTEN TO ME. I chose a dragon for Changbin, because they have many myths of false appearance. When I first got into skz, I really though our Binnie was the most serious person in this group. But then I saw how those hips moved, and I was like 'oh so he's Barbie and Shakira combined and put into one man'. Dragons are known as fierce creatures who protect the gold that they hoard and destroy villages, but how much of that is true? Mostly they do it to protect themselves and the gold which they have rightfully earned. Also they are extremely loyal and friendly once you understand them and don't harm their loved ones (yes even dragons have loved ones)

Hwang Hyunjin: Selkie. Selkies are basically mermaids, who originate from Scotish folk tales (trust me they are VERY popular here). They turn into seals in water and turn back into human if daylight or moonlight touches them, Aka if they come on land. They are very dual creatures, being pretty and kind to most humans, especially women, but they can also be the most savage beasts when it comes to men who have corrupted for their own pleasure. Their siren songs are very captivating and they are known to make art out of conch shells.

Han Jisung: A shapeshifter. Han Jisung is truly a puzzle. Like man could be intense babygirling one moment and then two seconds later literally kill all of us with wavy hair, sweaty face and those fingers playing the guitar finger kink go brr. Jisung is more fitting to the shapeshifter brand when you realise that the humans who used to be good at doing everything and not crack under intense pressure were awarded this shapeshifting power by the Gods. So yeah our fourth gen ace would definetly be a shapeshifter.

Lee Felix: A fairy. Need I explain anything? Need I even write an entire essay about this? (Already wrote it but fine). He would definitely be a healing fairy. Like he would whip up medicines and hide them in his delicious brownies to trick unwilling children into taking them (MY HEART IS TOO WEAK FOR FELIX HANDING OUT BROWNIES). He would def live in the woods in like a tiny cottage, which is decorated with creepers and vines and soft moss, where he rests his pretty wings, excuse me I need to write something on this.

Kim Seungmin: A nymph. Nymphs are actually more powerful than they are portrayed nowadays. Many of them were sons and daughters of river or tree Gods and they used to possess the quality of being able to fic someone in a trance with their voices. LIKE HELLO? MR KIM SEUNGMIN WITH THAT GOLDEN VOICE? Also they were known to be mischievous, always teasing pixies and fairies and taunting beings older than them. (I am not making this up yet legit used to taunt old trees for being so old and wise because nymphs never used to age or they would age VERY slowly)

Yang Jeongin: A vampire. Alexa play Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo please. I mean dude's literally immortal I'm telling you. He looks LIKE THE SAME PERSON EVEN WHEN HE WAS A CHILD LIKE HOW? If y'all look at me, I look like a completely different person from when I was a kid. And also there's something about our baby bread that just screams vampire vibes. Like he would totally live in a castle all alone, drinking blood and having foxes as pets.

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writingseaslugs · 1 year

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Fic Idea Time!

Okay guys, so I have an idea that's been bouncing in my mind for a week and I want to know your thoughts. It would be an actual 20 chapter fic so I'm not sure if I'll be able to commit fully to it, but I mean...even just talking about it seems like fun. So here's the basic concept:

No beta, I die like the idiot I am

You couldn't believe it...and yet at the same time it was exactly the type of shit that Crowley would do. You stared at the demons before you, wondering exactly how you came to have such an interesting, yet annoying life. "So you're telling me...I was signed up against my will for an exchange program, and now I'm stuck here for a year?" You asked, feeling the annoyance coming through in waves. "I wasn't aware it was against your will, I offer my apologies." The head honcho demon, Diavolo, said with a sympathetic smile, "However the contract has already been sealed. Though I will say, we weren't expecting to have two students from your school." "Hey! Watch it, I'm The Powerful and Mighty Grim, future best wizard in the world!" Grim said, standing proudly. Lucifer looked annoyed that Grim would speak out of terms when you spoke up. "Well if the contract was for a single student, then technically this is correct. Grim and I are enrolled at Night Raven as a single student since I can't use magic." You explained with a sigh. Oh how annoying to have to explain all of this, not to mention you doubted they'd want a student who couldn't use magic and has a monster cat as a best friend. "You can't use blot magic, well that's fine." Diavolo laughed, "We don't use blot magic in the Devildom, so you'll be fine." You and Grim looked at one another confused, "Blot Magic?" You both said in unison. "Let me explain, since it's not common knowledge even in the human realm. There's different types of magic. Blot magic is the one you're accustomed to, which can only be harnessed by certain people." Lucifer said, "Here we use demonic magic, a different class of magic that doesn't accumulate blot, but takes something else entirely." "And what does it take?" You couldn't help but feel that small sliver of hope that you might be capable of using magic. "That's for you to find out during the exchange program." Lucifer's cold smile bore into you and you felt a shiver run down your spine. Well...guess you had some motivation for staying in the Devildom. Besides...perhaps they knew a way to get you home?

Well there you have it, a small blurb of the idea. Basically Crowley is given a notice about an exchange program and forges MC's signature (Aka the Reader), and MC and Grim are sent to the Devildom at the exchange students for an entire year. The ideas I have for the AU are the following:

Different types of magic, Blot Magic and Demonic Magic. Demonic Magic has a special way to harness that is revealed later in the story.

Pacts and their markings work differently in this AU for MC.

MC has a background due to plot relevance, but will be kept as vague as I can.

Possible romance, but not locked in. There wouldn't be any romance between the brother's at least. It would be at the end of the story where it deviates to different romantic routes for the Twisted cast.

MC can't contact their friends at the college while they're in the Devildom.

Briar Valley and the Devildom have some connections. The Fae and Demons often mingle.

Solomon is a mentor figure for MC throughout the entire story, meanwhile Luke is MC's newly appointed (self appointed) guardian angel.

There's now a reason MC ended up in Twisted Wonderland, and it's revealed late into the story.

Grim still has amnesia but bits of his AU backstory is slowly revealed throughout the story.

If anyone has any ideas though, I'd be happy to hear it. I haven't begun outlining things just yet, but I am compiling ideas slowly and would love to hear feedback from you guys. I have the basic plot in my head though, but like differences for AU's like...please gimme thoughts. Drop into my ask box. I will add them to the growing list of ideas. If I get enough feedback it might motivate me to start on this project.

#Twisted Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland x Reader #TWST #TWST x Reader #TWST Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland Disney #TWST Disney #Obey Me x Reader #Obey Me #Shall We Date: Obey Me #Shall We Date: Obey Me x Reader #OM x Reader

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quibbs126 · 6 months

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Okay, I can’t find the ask that requests this pairing, but I know I got a request for it somewhere, so I’m just posting it normally

Anyways, so this was the first oc x canon requested, by @amythecat2001, and this is Purple Plum Cookie

The oc also belongs to @amythecat2001, and her name is Rose Tea Cookie

Okay, so with her name, full disclosure I think I forgot the “Tea” part of Rose Tea when I came up with her name (as well as the “Juice” in “Prune Juice”), because I was like “okay, what’s in between prunes and flowers?” and I learned that prunes are basically just dried plums, so I decided to base her off of those. But I really liked how the plums looked, so I just stuck with it

European plums (since I think those are the specific kind):

So I’m gonna go ahead and say that she’s the previously mentioned fankid who doesn’t really look like her parents but I liked the design of

She looked like a fantasy magic user that I really want to see in a video game

Like I didn’t intend for her hair to be entirely curly, it was just supposed to be some of her hair like Rose Tea, but I liked how it looked, so I kept it. Though some of her hair got obscured by her staff. I also gave her those pink parts at the top to reference the red spots on the plums

Speaking of the spots, I gave her a bunch of plums in her staff and brooch because that’s what she is. Though originally the plums were darker and the spots lighter, until I looked at the references again and realized that it was the other way around, so I changed that

I realized when I was doing the feet, I realized neither Prune Juice or Rose Tea have visible feet, but I decided to keep her with boots anyways. I gave her long boots because why not

If I’m being honest, I feel like her dough is too light, but both characters have light dough tones, so not much I can do. But I did give her blush because I thought it looked good

Oh also, I was considering giving her a bottom hair gradient, but I thought it made the hair design too much, so I didn’t do that

And also the colored sketch was the original draft of her I did before I did her design

I’m sorry, my brain’s not entirely working when it comes to explaining the design. Just know that I like it a lot, even if I admit she probably doesn’t look enough like her parents. Let’s get on to her character

So she’s a wizard that graduated from Parfaedia. Her magic is plant/juice based, which is what those circles you see on the staff are. But she also makes and uses potions, which she learned from her father

She’s a bit absent minded and directionally challenged, she will have points where she’s just like “wait…where am I?” or “what am I doing?” because she forgot. She usually means well, she just doesn’t always know what she’s doing

But don’t let that fool you, she’s very intelligent and has a lot of ingenuity. She uses potions alongside her magic so she could cover her bases if her magic’s depleted, or she needs something specific

I was listening to Licorice’s Cookie Trial theme, so I just imagine her wandering through a dark forest. I dunno, I just needed something to say

To be honest I feel like if I knew more about Rose Tea, it might help me get a better idea of character for Purple Plum, but ah well

So yeah I think that’s about it. Hope you enjoy

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #prune juice cookie #cookie run oc #rose tea cookie #purple plum cookie #oc x canon #fankid #fanchild #my art #my ocs #not my oc #requests

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