And I As Well, My Love, Hold The Same

Imagine there being a grand piano in the Slytherin common room. Most of the young witches and wizards had private teachers or knew how to play so there would always be music playing. There was this unspoken rivalry between all the musicians to see who was the best. So without really ever talking to each other they pushed each other to play harder and harder pieces. One day someone who could not play the piano decided to learn and started surpassing most of the kids who could already play. This was the spark of an all out war of Chopin, Beethoven, Bach, etc. The students would start playing the same pieces as each other but remastered putting their own distinct styles into a score. Pretty soon they start composing their own works and melodies. They develop their own sound and that’s how others could identify the musician. There would be that one blonde third year who furiously tapped on the keys creating a dastardly echo of music. Or the portly “meathead” with a buzz cut who danced his finger tips across the piano like rocks skipping on water. Some even started to veer away from the classic era and experimented with Jazz, Ragtime, and the Blues. Slytherin was now the house of music.

everyone who reblogs this before 03-30-2020 gets a book recommendation based on their blog in their inbox

Hi guys, this is from my other account that ended up not liking me and letting me in.  Psych

Prompt #2010

“Did I ever really matter to you?”

“Yes,” said the antagonist. “You meant everything to me. You still do. And that’s why you have to die.”

Snow falling, bittersweetness, dancing in the dark on nimble feet, stillness and unsettling quiet with your mind beginning to become curious

is pirate a potential career

please

I beg of thee

let me be a pirate standing on the bough of a ship leaning out with my hair blowing on the wind without a care in the world, my chaotic evil radiating out from me across the dark stormy sea as I wander about, drifting with the tides with a quill in my hand and a never fading smirk upon my face

sooo..

i was able to find free arcane for those who want it

dm or comment in case this doesn't work so i can find another source or correct myself

the links ↴

the og post ↴

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/595812225743603577/

Books you should read to improve your writing (Part 2)

1. The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

Aspect this book will teach you: AMAZING WORLD-BUILDING

Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed by a river turned toxic. If neglected, the creatures will rampage–or die–so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons’ uncertain ancestral memories. Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned–as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals … and joys beyond their wildest imaginings. (Goodreads summary)

Honestly, it blows my mind that anyone could have created the world in this series. The way the world is set out, the cultures and ways of living, the unique trade, the creatures, the history, the motivation of the characters, and the prejudices the characters have to face are all tied in so well together. This series offers a completely different world that still manages to be realistic AF. I would definitely recommend this series.

2. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

Aspect this book will teach you: REALISTIC FIRST PERSON POV

Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons. Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow. Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own. (Goodread summary)

The way in which Lauren Beukes tells the story through her protagonist’s perspective is so realistic that you manage to forget that Zinizi is only a fictional character. The ways in which things are described, the main character’s attitude and the way in which the city of Johannesburg is represented through Zinzi’s eyes is stunningly contemporary and accurate.

If you want to learn how to write a modern character’s POV with realistic humour and pessimism, this book is for you.

3. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Aspect this book will teach you: CREATING BELIEVABLE MAGIC SYSTEMS

Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands… (Goodreads summary)

The Inheritance Cycle will forever be one of my favourite book series. This is partly due to the fact that Eragon was the first fantasy book I read where the magic system made complete sense to me and was believable. The way in which the toll magic takes is described, as well the main character’s journey to becoming a powerful magic-wielder are done so well. It is well worth the read.

4. Half Bad by Sally Green

Aspect this book will teach you: BREAKING THE RULES OF WRITING LIKE A BADASS MF

Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone. Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves? Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive. (Goodreads summary)

I absolutely adore the way this novel (and the whole series) is written. Green has some chapters that are only a word long, pages of only punctuation marks, sections where the POV is unclear etc. She breaks all the rules we were taught to follow and it makes the book all the better. Green uses language and form in ways that I would never have thought of to convey her characters’ emotions and it is an amazing experience to read how she does this.

5. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Aspect this book will teach you: ALLEGORY DONE RIGHT

Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Published in 1945, this powerful satire of the Russian Revolution under Stalin remains as vivid and relevant today as it was on its first publication. (Goodreads summary)

As you can see from the blurb above, this book uses a deceptively simple story line to comment on political problems. The way this novel uses allegory and satire is iconic. If you want to learn about commenting on politics or other world issues in an ironic and unique way, give this book a read. It’s a very easy and short read - so, do yourself the favour.

Reblog if you love any of these books. Comment with your own recommendations. Follow me for similar content.

A quick thing on Slytherins

Slytherins are the most misunderstood house.  And some of us like it that way, but I think that we are the most misunderstood house because we are the most diverse house.  

Ambition.  That is our main trait, but what makes us so different from other members of our own house is what are we ambitious for and towards.  Draco was ambitious to be like his family and earn his place.  Slughorn was ambitious into building a career and carefully curated circle of members beneficial to him.  Snape was ambitious for Lily.  We are all ambitious for something, but the question is what.

We have so many different divisions within our house, so i’m going to give a quick breakdown.  The stereotypical ‘evil’ (ambitious for wanting a place), the studious (ambitious for their best education), the artists (Ambitious for leaving their mark), and then there are the ones that are ambitious for who knows what, the ones you would never expect to be in Slytherin.  But, sometimes they are the most “slytherin” out of all of us.

What I mean to say is, that we are not the evil house.  When a Slytherin tells someone “Hey i’m a slytherin”  Oftentimes the first reaction is ‘Wow, I don’t picture you as dark and evil.”

So to all the “not-slytherins” in the slytherin house, just because you don’t have plans of world domination does not make you any less slytherin than the rest of us.

Thanks.

Watercolor painting, trying to do a Hades and Persephone type thing.  Took me about an hour and a half, and I had a lot of fun doing it :)

welp, I am now over a month into quarantine.  I have not seen any person face-to-face that is not my family for over five weeks.  Chances are that quarantine will be extended anyways.  my motivation to do literally anything has plummeted, until i end up lying on the floor knowing that i should be doing something productive, but not having enough self control to make myself actually do the thing.  sigh.