majorgenerally:

writing-prompt-s:

The Queen has requested that everybody with a knighthood attend a meeting at Windsor Castle. Speaking to the sizeable crowd of ageing actors and retired musicians, she explains why – The dragons are back, and she expects that every knight will do his duty.

Everyone turns and looks at Ian McKellen.

“Oh Christ,” he says. “If only Christopher Lee were still here. Then we might have a chance.”

If Harry had gotten a less conventional, but more loving adoptive family…

karnythia:

emeraldbirdcollector:

Dear
Minerva,

Thank
you so much for your kind letter of the 17th. It is always a pleasure
to hear from you. I do appreciate your waiving the rules about
familiars to allow Wednesday to bring little Homer – she dotes on
that spider, and I don’t think she could consider Hogwarts home
without his company.

We
were delighted but completely unsurprised by the children’s Sorting.
Of course Wednesday is a Ravenclaw – she has always had a brilliant
mind, and it is rather traditional for the women in our
family. Slytherin might have been a possibility, with her cleverness
and ambition, but sadly (and quietly, between friends) I must admit
the wrong sort have rather taken over that House at the moment. Death
Eaters are so vulgar. Gomez, naturally, is over the moon about
our little Harry being a fellow Gryffindor – the world does need more
dashing, brave, and reckless men. They make life so interesting for
the rest of us, don’t you agree? And I am certain he will be safe
under your care, after his rather difficult start in life, poor
child. That aunt and uncle of his are just too terribly common to
protect him adequately – I am grateful Albus saw sense and left him
with us rather than her.

I
appreciate your bringing to my attention the small difficulty between
Harry and Draco – I shall have a word with Narcissa. (Lucius is still
being terribly silly about that little peacock incident, and refuses
to speak to Gomez at all. Men can be so ridiculously proud. And they
really did look so much better in black.) Really, though, Harry was
only defending his friend. I probably should warn you that Wednesday
writes that she is teaching young Longbottom a few of her more subtle
defenses – I sincerely doubt Draco will trouble him in future if he
uses those. I assure you, none of them cause permanent damage, only
temporary discomfort, and she is well aware that they are only for
self-defense, not mere childish aggression. Addamses do not start
fights, but we do finish them, and Wednesday has always looked out
for her brothers.

At
least that little incident allowed you to see Harry’s flying skills
in time to recruit him for the Quidditch team. I think he shall be an
excellent Seeker – he was always the best at bat-spotting on summer
evenings, and then there was the time he “borrowed” Gomez’s
broom to rescue Pugsley’s pet octopus Aristotle, who had developed an
unaccountable taste for tree-climbing, but had neglected to learn how
to climb down. It was a successful rescue, even though he was mildly hampered on his descent by Aristotle clinging to his face in terror.

Please
send my apologies to Severus for that unfortunate incident in Potions
class. I should have warned him that Wednesday was experimenting
with, shall we say, some variant recipes. I am quite certain,
however, that Miss Parkinson’s hair will grow back normally, and that
the snakes are only a temporary embellishment.

My
best regards, and do drop by for tea if you ever happen to be in the
neighborhood. Thing has perfected your favorite shortbread recipe – I
do believe he has a little crush on you. Or perhaps it is merely that
you are the only visitor we have had, outside of family, who is
sensible enough to shake hands with him without flinching.

Yours
truly,

Morticia
Addams

I need this Addams family/Harry Potter mashup

ourloveislegendrarry:

whyyoustabbedme:

JK Rowling only said Dumbledore was gay because there weren’t any risks, the books were finished. Now she’s decided they aren’t, there are risks again and she’s chosen the same spineless path she’s used to. She is no LGBTQ ally.

I don’t know about all of you, but this is the last straw for me. I love and will continue to love Harry Potter and drarry, but J.K. Rowling is not a person I support anymore. At all. 

There’s a French philosophy called la mort de l’auteur – death of the author. You can read the very lengthy Wikipedia article on this, but the basis is that every work has the ability to be received and interpreted in a million different ways, and so to interpret the text based on the author’s life and intentions would impose a limit on the text. I’ve seen it used more recently as a way of reconciling with a work that you love going in a direction that you think is awful (see: The Cursed Child), and instead deciding that your personal canon is the correct canon. I’ve always believed that J.K.’s characters got away from her, somehow twisted themselves into new beings, using her as a vessel to tell their own stories. How else could we have seen our Draco Malfoy, so deserving of a redemption arc, put down on by the one who wrote him this way?

I find the best example of this in fandom Pansy. Lovely, snarky but so big-hearted, which is not necessarily how she is in the books – but is how she has grown to be in our fandom, so much so that any Pansy that is legitimately cruel in a fic throws me off. J.K. Rowling’s version of Pansy was awful and unfair – we have taken her back. As we will take everything back.

She owns the trademark, their names. That’s all. She does not own them in our minds and our hearts. Harry Potter is bi. Sirius Black is pan, Lupin is gay, Draco Malfoy is gay af, Parvati and Lavender are in love, Albus and Scorpius are meant to be together, and Dumbledore is gay. Not because J.K. said, sometime ago halfheartedly in a tweet – but because we decide. 

Kill the author. 

@staganddragon – I would love to hear your thoughts on this, if any

peradii:

scarletjedi:

mazarinedrake:

kalinara:

culturevulture73:

threadsketchier:

peradii:

see i know that we all like to make fun of luke skywalker, hick farmer from the back of nowhere, thinking that shooting womp rats with the space equivalent of his dad’s old rifle is somehow sufficient preparation for taking down the death star; but i love the idea that actually womp rats are six foot abominations of teeth, spines & poison and bulls-eyeing them is actually excellent preparation for the rebellion. think about it: swarms of six foot rats, and some skinny kid with an outdated weapon taking them out, cool as paint. hardened soldiers whisper scary stories to each other, about the monsters who scavenge in the sands, stripping a camp of everything living in five seconds flat, and luke just saying oh, womp rats? they’re nothing. great with a bit of butter and some toast.  

REMEMBER THAT HE TOLD WEDGE, “THEY’RE NOT MUCH BIGGER THAN TWO METERS” LIKE THAT’S SOME MINOR INCONVENIENCE

BIGGER THAN TWO METERS

Wedge: So, you’ve been to Tatooine

Han: Yeah

Wedge: Womp rats?

Han: Sure. Chewie uses ‘em for bowcaster practice. Kinda gamey tasting. Sandy colored fur, lotsa teeth, little over two meters…

Wedge: Luke wasn’t lying???

Luke (head inside X-wing panel, tinkering): Why would I make THAT up?

Honestly, I’ve always thought that farm work on Tatooine, unintentionally, must have provided a fairly excellent groundwork in establishing Luke’s baby Jedi skills outside of an academy context.

There are of course the aforementioned womp rats, which are both terrifying and a fantastic way to develop shooting skills.

There’s beggar’s canyon for piloting.  And if Phantom Menace brought us nothing else, it actually showed us the living death trap that is beggar’s canyon.  He’s not like zipping around the Grand Canyon, he’s literally goofing off in a place that killed off a shit ton of professional pod racers.  So needless to say, Luke’s had a chance to develop scary good reflexes, information processing, and spacial relation skills.

The Lars’s economic status means that they had to make do with ancient, crap equipment.  Luke would have learned how to make incredibly fine tuned repairs, and keep shit going forever.  And sure, he never built a C3PO or a pod racer, but honestly, if he found the materials to do it, he probably would have used them in a moisture collector.  

And there’s even combat experience.  From what we know about Tatooine, a farm like the Lars Homestead, would have been at risk for attacks by raiders, Jabba’s goons, and any of the terrifying hellbeasts that populate that planet.  It’s not like Jedi temple training or anything.  But Luke definitely learned to be cool under pressure, even when outnumbered or with really old, shit equipment.

I would just like to note that in The Old Republic MMORPG (set three thousand years before the movies) the womp rats are not only two meters long, covered in spines, with teeth as long as my hand, and sometimes DISEASED

BUT THEY ALSO ATTACK IN PACKS

You think you just pissed off ONE rodent as long as you are tall? Oh no. It’s calling ALL SIXTEEN OF ITS FRIENDS

AND THEY ARE ALL AIMING TO BITE YOUR CROTCH OFF. 

*THAT’S* what Luke grew up sniping to keep them away from the droids and moisture vaporators. *THAT* (and Beggar’s Canyon) is what prepared him to take down the Death Star. 

Womp rats are bad news. 

My favorite thing is that they are just one example of how Luke doesn’t know he’s from a Death Planet until he leaves it.

i’m just going to reblog this so you can all enjoy the excellent commentary about my space son who is equal parts sunshine and tempered death

arielsojourner:

chancecraz:

lullabyknell:

lullabyknell:

Personally, I don’t really see anything wrong with giving Luke to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. What else was Obi-Wan gonna do? (He pretty much raised Anakin and look how that turned out, he’s not gonna risk Round 2.) (He could have given both kiddos to Bail and Breha Organa, actually. Luke and Leia Organa is a cool as heck AU.)

I like Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. As much as people like to say Luke really is Padme’s son, he didn’t get those morals from her. (Keeping in mind I have read no comics or novelizations, and not seen the Clone Wars TV show) It’s pretty clear that Luke’s iron spine and goodness and refusal to abandon his friends come from his upbringing. Owen and Beru Lars are kinda the Ma and Pa Kent of the Star Wars universe. 

And they are Luke’s family. Owen is Shmi’s stepson. Owen and Beru probably knew Anakin’s mother for years. It’s a neat circle, and in some ways it has the feelings of an apology, for Obi-Wan to bring Luke back to his family on Tatooine in the same way that Qui-Gon took Anakin. Obi-Wan can’t undo what’s been done, and he can’t start over, but he can give Luke what the Jedi denied Anakin: a loving family and normal upbringing. 

Tatooine is Darth Vader’s home planet? Yeah, sure, but did Anakin ever go back to Tatooine? (Probably once or twice, I’m guessing, in the comics at least.) Darth Vader hates that place. Bad memories. Damn sand would fuck up his suit. He’d burn it all down and then the Hutts are gonna be pissed. And how many people actually know that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker? Like, about five? (Bail, Obi-Wan, Yoda, R2-D2, and Ahsoka?) Dude is not exactly getting invites to school reunions and the weddings of childhood friends, is all I’m saying. 

Even if Darth Vader ever went back to Tatooine, Tatooine is a big place. The Lars Farm is in the middle of nowhere and Obi-Wan is hanging out left of the funky rock five miles past nowhere. Anakin met his stepbrother once in the entire film trilogy and idk if they even exchanged words, much less space e-mail addresses. I kind of doubt that Uncle Owen and Darth Vader are sending each other Life Day e-cards. (That’s really funny, actually.) 

Anyway, the point of this rant is that I want you to imagine new parents Owen and Beru Lars caring for toddler Luke, it’s just after Life Day, and someone rings the doorbell. Owen Lars opens up to Darth Vader holding a fruit basket, because he didn’t know what else to do for Life Day and spontaneously decided to visit distant family rather than mope in his Evil Castle again. 

(Everything Obi-Wan hoped would never happen, just… happening.)

Owen, after introductions, panicking, “Uh… the suit is… new.” 

He has to invite Vader in, because it’s Life Day and how exactly do you tell Darth Vader to fuck off? Then Owen and Beru have a hushed argument in the kitchen while Darth Vader is sitting awkwardly in their living room with a drink that he can’t actually drink but took to be polite. When they come out, they introduce Luke as Luke Whitesun, Beru’s late brother’s kid, which they guess makes Luke… Darth Vader’s… nephew. (They can’t hide him, Vader’s already seen this 2-3 yr old Luke and the house is COVERED in baby and kid stuff.) 

And Darth Vader just… fucking falls for it. 

And the Lars family has to spend the holidays with Uncle Darth Vader who is super keen to have a step-nephew-in-law. Beru is showing off her cross-stitching to Darth fucking Vader as Luke plays at their feet. Owen is in the kitchen sending a desperate space text to Obi-Wan, who basically has a heart attack on the spot when Owen sends a shitty stealth-pic of Darth Vader on their couch. 

Bonus points if the Lars’ don’t even move after this, because Vader left without issue and Uncle Owen afterwards was like, “It turned out fine. I don’t want to move, that’s too much hassle.” So, every major holiday, Luke gets a visit from his Uncle Darth Vader, which works out fine so long as they instigate a “Don’t Talk About Politics” rule when Luke starts getting excited about Rebellions and starts bad-mouthing the Empire (Vader making small talk at a Star Destroyer water cooler to his terrified staff: “Ugh, I’m going to have to debate my liberal 13-yr-old nephew at the dinner table again.”), and Vader even helps with the dishes and stuff, and every time Obi-Wan ages an extra year from stress. 

Guys, please, the way this continues is that the general events of the Star Wars universe continue as normal (Leia, having literally just left a space battle: “Darth Vader, the AUDACITY of attacking an innocent diplomatic vessel!”) UNTIL the stormtroopers show up at the Lars Farm. (Luke is desperately chasing down the droids he lost and properly meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi.) 

At first, it’s business as usual, y’know? Stormtroopers break down the door and interrogate the occupants and start prepping to burn the place down, and the leader is in the middle of shouting, “TELL US WHERE THE DROIDS A-” when he pauses and just… stares… at the mantlepiece. 

Because on the Lars family mantlepiece and walls are, like, a hundred family photos and roughly half of them have Darth Vader in them. There’s Darth Vader wearing a Life Day party hat at a dinner table. There’s Darth Vader holding a toddler and playing with model ships. There’s Darth Vader and a pimply thirteen year old in the stands at the Boonta Eve Classic. There is a cross-stitched pillow on the couch that says OUR FAMILY on it, consisting of a man, a woman, a boy, and Darth fucking Vader. 

Stormtrooper Grunt #1: “What… what… what the fuck.” 

Aunt Beru, who has HAD it with these guys wrecking her house, already angrily jabbing at their space phone: “I am calling Mr. Vader RIGHT NOW about this.” 

Darth Vader, excusing himself from the bridge of his Star Destroyer to take a call from his stepsister-in-law: “Beru. This isn’t a good time-” 

Beru: “Well, MAKE TIME, because your stormtroopers broke down our door and tracked SAND all over my nice clean floors and they won’t stop yelling about the droids we just bought! You better have a good explanation for this!” 

Darth Vader does not, actually, have a good explanation for this. The stormtroopers can feel his wrath from across the galaxy. It’s a work thing and he’s very sorry and he’ll make the stormtroopers fix their door, but he does really need those droids and could they hand them over, please? He’ll have the Empire compensate them. Yes, he’ll pay them back and send new droids. Yes, kicking doors down is very rude, Beru, you’re absolutely right. 

So Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru promise to pick up Luke and the droids, and hop in the spare Landspeeder to go looking for them. Owen is Not Happy to find that Obi-Wan’s given Luke a lightsaber, and Aunt Beru is Not Happy to find out that the Empire’s made some superweapon. Of course they have to get these plans to the Rebellion! Yes, she promised Vader, but he should have told her it was for such a terrible thing! Yes, Owen, they’re all going to Alderaan. 

So the Lars family runs away to Mos Eisley and get on the Millennium Falcon to Alderaan, while the stormtroopers are standing around like, “Are they… coming… back???” And Han Solo does not know what the hell is going on or what to do about the Weird Old Wizard talking about “universe-penetrating magic”, or the Grumpy Farmer who keeps trying to fix his “piece of junk” ship that excuse you does not need fixing, or the Sunny Farm Boy waving a light sword around, or the kindly old woman who is currently cross-stitching in his back seat and gossiping with Chewie like he’s not even there. 

Later, after the Death Star’s been destroyed, Owen and Beru Lars are now a part of the Rebellion with Luke. Beru sends Darth Vader a piece of fabric in the Space Mail, and it’s the little cross-stitched Vader from her OUR FAMILY pillow who’s been cut out because she’s mad at him. (Except her note says DISAPPOINTED and that’s worse.) Darth Vader is more upset about this than the Emperor being mad at him for the destruction of the Death Star. 

Oh, it got better.

Oh. My. God.

yoursaviourhasarrived:

izhunny:

krakensdottir:

mastreworld:

maneth985:

mastreworld:

wandamorgenstern:

I am sorry but you have Loki actually fighting with nothing and sill managing to bring down everyone and Thor having this huge ass hummer and you say Thor is stronger?
Honey strength is not just muscles

He’s using knives, but knives are only as good as it’s user so… it still stands.

he used ONE knife and still took down five or six elves. Don’t fuck with Loki.

And this is why I don’t really get along with fics that portray him as helpless if his magic is removed. Loki is a walking death machine; he will never be harmless.

He’s always armed, too. Like you know he’s ALWAYS got a knife tucked away somewhere. If he can’t physically hide one on his person, he’ll have one squirreled away in Hammerspace (lol) or wherever the fuck he pulls things from with magic. This man is a walking arsenal of tiny, easily hidden things that can kill you, and no one will convince me otherwise.

*clears throat*
From the top:

Strength is not just muscles.
Knives are only as good as their user.
Don’t fuck with Loki.
Loki is a walking death machine; he will never be harmless.
This man is a walking arsenal of tiny, easily hidden things that can kill you, and no one will convince me otherwise.

(And in Asgard’s prison and right after Thor let him out? He was asking Thor to give him a weapon, “my dagger or something”. He may have no weapon there – I refuse to think that to be honest, for obvious reasons.

Let’s also mention his fighting style is like Mama Frigga’s; except she used sword in TDW, not daggers. But it still was flashy like Loki’s, the blade was boosted with magic. I like to think – and settled it as a fanon for my own Loki – he uses ice to cool it just before he strikes, thus the blade becomes white. Imagine being cut with an incredibly cold blade. The wound probably wouldn’t even bleed. Imagine being stabbed like that. You don’t even see the movement, he’s fast and aims for vital spots, mainly for the heart. Vein freezing ice immediately shuts down the heartbeat. Enemy is dead before they know it.

In this gif though, he uses two daggers. He’s stabbing with right hand, then left, then right again. It seems to me he doesn’t use magic here. I also have a fanon for that. In T1, he’s trying to get away from the Jötuns. He’s not driven, just wants to survive, so he kills fast. In TDW, this is the first fight after Frigga’s death. He’s not about to make death easy and quick for the dark elves.

And honestly, I love that.)

No DMs No Gods No Proficiency Bonus

yourplayersaidwhat:

Our paladin (Jhersar) had dropped out of his holy training at a church and uses his paladin skills so little it’s a joke that everyone in the group thinks he’s just a fighter. We happened upon an old temple and he wanted to check it out.

Paladin: I roll a religion check *rolls a 9*

DM: it’s too old and worn for you to make out, and remember you are a shitty, shitty paladin.

Paladin: oh I know, I don’t even have proficiency in religion.

DM: why don’t you have proficiency in religion?!

Paladin: because I’m a shitty paladin!

Warlock: Well I do have proficiency so I’m gonna check *rolls a 4*

DM: you don’t have any idea what god it is either

Warlock: but I have proficiency

DM: yes and Jhersar is a holy man that doesn’t mean shit