nerd

jaylahve: 31 May 1443 : The Birth of Margaret of Beaufort “A...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 20:55:38 -0400

31 May 1443 : The Birth of Margaret of Beaufort

“A woman who was maritally raped at 12 went through a horrendous body-damaging birth at 13, had to marry no less than four times, because of politics and the need to survive, and spent half her life fighting for the freedom and return of her only son.

A woman who believed having a lot of money was God’s way of using you to help the poor and less fortunate, who took in the homeless, cared for the sick, who allowed anyone to eat and drink at her table at Christmas, who threw the best parties that food made the table groan with the weight of it.

A woman who was an advocate of other women, giving money so poor women could get married, defending and helping Cecily when she married against the king’s wishes, protected her granddaughter from being maritally raped as she was.

A woman who was intelligent and helped found colleges at Cambridge and Oxford, who translated books from French into English, who supported and funding the development of the printing press, who encouraged the access of knowledge and reading to all.

A woman who was smart enough to make alliances where others hadn’t, who secretly communicated with Elizabeth Woodville for an outcome that benefited them both, who continued to fight for her son even when everything was taken from her. [And a woman who by all accounts got along well with her daughter-in-law.]

A woman who survived the constant political upheaval throughout her life, survived an attainder of treason, survived changing of kings, survived a horrific birth, survived being parted from her son, survived seeing loved ones die around her, including her own beloved son.

A woman who is now portrayed in popular culture as a multiple murderer, a borderline sociopath, and a mean-spirited over-ambitious religious nut.” (x)

elvisomar: Elves, when left unchecked — @braxwolf on...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 17:19:09 -0400

elvisomar:

Elves, when left unchecked — @braxwolf on Twitter
Seelie/Unseelie — @tithenai on Twitter
So that’s what happens when Elves get the One Ring — @paperworkninja

cathugging: pangea-nationalist: I am physically incapable to be mean in RPGs. killing,...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:41:44 -0400

cathugging:

pangea-nationalist:

I am physically incapable to be mean in RPGs.

killing, cannibalism, assassinations ✔️

mean dialogue options ❌

Draco realizes that Hermione is pregnant before she realizes

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 22:10:45 -0400

Hermione watched her husband set the tray of tea and biscuits down on the coffee table over the edge of her book and scowled.

He was doing it again.

Coddling her. Bringing her things that she didn’t need or particularly want, though that chocolate digestive did look incredibly appealing right now and -

She refrained from reaching across for it and focused her attention back to Ginny’s autobiography. Her friend had retired from her position as Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies and dove right into writing a tell all book. But as much as she loved Ginny, she still couldn’t understand the appeal of quidditch.

“You’re up to something,” she murmured after a few moments when Draco had done nothing more than sit back in his chair with his own tea, a chocolate digestive of his own halfway to his mouth.

He bit into it - Hermione hated that he had one and she didn’t - chewed, swallowed a mouthful of tea and then mumbled something quietly. He didn’t say anything else.

People were constantly reminding Draco that he was married to the brightest witch of their age.

ALWAYS.

Which is why it was so amusing to Draco that he knew she was pregnant when she so clearly didn’t.

He had, after all, watched his mother go through no less than a dozen pregnancies when he was a child, all of which unfortunately, never resulted in anything other than his mother holed up in her bedroom for a few weeks and his father spending longer and longer hours at the ministry.

So when he woke up two weeks ago and heard his wife retching over the toilet bowl he knew why. They had been trying after all, or well Hermione had stopped taking her contraceptive potion every morning so that when they inevitably ended up naked and sweaty across either one of their desks later on that day there was a chance they would get pregnant.

But it wasn’t until he heard that wretched noise that the seriousness of the situation hit him. They were going to have a baby. Something pure and wholesome and something he’d never once dreamed he’d have with her.

So he helped in the only way he could. Making sure she was comfortable and safe and looked after and always, always, in a good mood. Of course he hadn’t thought she’d take this long to work it out.

“He’s very attentive,” Pansy murmured from beside Hermione as they lay in the grass and watched their husbands and the half a dozen Weasleys they called friends fly around above them. Hermione snorted.

“He’s ridiculous.” And it was true. Even though he was currently involved in a very competitive game of quidditch, playing seeker against Pansy’s own husband and Hermione’s best friend Harry, he still kept glancing down at her. “He’s going to fall if he doesn’t pay attention.”

“Nahh,” Pansy sighed, winking at Harry when he followed Draco’s gaze down to where they lay, “he’d never concede to Potter that way.” Hermione hummed. “How long has he been acting like this?” Pansy added.

Hermione shrugged and pulled a few strands of grass from the ground with her fingers. “A few weeks?”

“And nothing has changed for him to be acting like that?”

“Nope.”

“Nothing?”

Hermione cracked an eye and squinted at her friend. A girl who’d years ago been so very far from that title. “Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know Granger,” she smirked and Hermione’s eyebrows furrowed at her tone, “still taking that potion with your breakfast every morning?”

Hermione’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “I - what? No?” Her eyes flicked from Pansy’s face to her flat stomach, to Draco before flicking back to her friend, her eyes widening wih shock and surprise and amazement at the thought. “No?”

Pansy shrugged, but Hermione was already clutching her wand and waving it over her stomach in the pattern she’d long ago memorised.

“Oh fuck!” She murmured when the spell glowed green. She turned to look at her friend but it was the sight of Draco abandoning the game of quidditch completely and landing mere footsteps away from her that caught her attention.

“We’re going to have a baby,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face, when Draco crouched down and pulled her into his arms.

He laughed shakily and smirked at her, one hand resting on her hip and the other resting between them. “We’re going to have a baby,” he murmured against her lips.

historyofartdaily:The Chapel in the Château de Versailles,...

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 02:36:57 -0400

historyofartdaily:

The Chapel in the Château de Versailles, source

madamebomb: echolalaphile: spatscolombo: So I accidentally learned today about this thing where...

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 02:08:18 -0400

madamebomb:

echolalaphile:

spatscolombo:

So I accidentally learned today about this thing where lots of people ship Carmen Sandiego and Waldo from Where’s Waldo?

And on the one hand I love it, because it’s silly and hilarious and you can learn about it and giggle and move on OR you can think about it for a long time and get really into it and that’s a great thing about the Internet

But it really grinds my gears that all the fanart visions of the couple I could immediately see on google showed this really conventionally gendered arrangement where Waldo is like leading/supporting Carmen or rescuing her?

And it’s like exCUSE ME I get that they’d be a cute couple because they’re both hard to find, and because why not, but like she’s an ex-detective criminal mastermind unbound by time and space and he’s a tourist who can’t find his map they are hard to find for VERY DIFFERENT REASONS and you cannot convince me that fucking adorable bespectacled soft butch brings-a-walking-stick-to-the-beach dazed and confused WALDO would be in the driver’s seat of that operation I mean GOD

Right, i mean obviously you can’t find Waldo because CARMEN SANDIEGO STOLE HIM.

She is absolutely the pursuer here. They met at a marketplace in Morocco, on accident. Waldo spilled his street food on her jacket–not realizing she had just robbed a museum two blocks over and that’s why she was rushing. The police ran past and she grabbed him and kissed him, you know, that old “avoid the cops” tactic, but jokes on her; it’s the kiss of her life.

This adorable, bespectacled little hipster with a shy mumble and those indecent blue eyes knocks her for a loop. So she decides to steal him. Immediately.

Waldo never stood a chance. And now he’s wanted in connection for six heists in four different countries, but Waldo knows the best places to hide, so they never get caught.

……….shit, I got really into this.

essenceofnatvre: The Spark

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 01:59:17 -0400

essenceofnatvre:

The Spark

hailsshard: batchygyo: blue-bower: bugcthulhu: meglyman: Mim...

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 02:38:50 -0400

hailsshard:

batchygyo:

blue-bower:

bugcthulhu:

meglyman:

Mimic Octopus has had enough of Dancing Crab’s shenanigans

darn dancing crabs and their jazz crab hands

‘HELLO MY BABY HELLO MY H-“
“NO”

i cant control my hand suddenly

NEED

Video

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 02:22:39 -0400

hellyeahbottombucky: words-on-pages: It’s been said before, but honestly one of the best feelings...

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 12:44:01 -0400

hellyeahbottombucky:

words-on-pages:

It’s been said before, but honestly one of the best feelings in the world is when you unexpectedly read a marvelously written fic and you click on the author’s name in AO3 and discover…more works.

Definitely recommend this! If you enjoyed a fic, check out the writer’s other works! 👌👌👌

versaillesadness:The Queen’s Bedroom at @chateaufontainebleau by...

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 03:03:59 -0400

versaillesadness:

The Queen’s Bedroom at @chateaufontainebleau by @ma_pauvre_lucette 🏛️👑
.
.
#france #fontainebleau #palace #art #architecture #chateau #royal #luxury #gold #picoftheday https://ift.tt/2vjXyNB

littlebluebarista: Can we romanticize video games the way we do books? Like you hear all these...

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 02:49:21 -0400

littlebluebarista:

Can we romanticize video games the way we do books?

Like you hear all these things about how you can curl up with a book on a rainy day and drink tea and smother yourself in blankets but anytime you hear things about video games it’s always about how you’re wasting your life away yelling into a headset as you play Call of Duty in a basement?

Imagine bundling yourself up on the couch, the sound of rain hitting the roof, and putting on Fable for a few hours. Or getting home after a long day of work. You make yourself a cup of cocoa, put on fuzzy pjs, and play Viva Piñata for hours not giving a second thought to the outside world. Semester just got out? Throw on some Fallout and just take a night to breathe and enjoy.

You aren’t wasting your life away, you’re enjoying it. Games can be just as much an escape as books, except you get to be part of the story.

0hheytherebigbadwolf: Bedtime StoriesIt starts off innocently enough. Cassandra has one of her...

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 02:28:52 -0400

0hheytherebigbadwolf:

Bedtime Stories
It starts off innocently enough. Cassandra has one of her headaches and is lying down in a little reading nook when Jacob finds her. She has a book with her: Charlotte’s Web. She’s been wanting to read it since she never did as a child, but her head hurts so much she won’t even open her eyes. Jacob offers to read it to her since he knows that sometimes listening to him talk helps her synesthesia. Something about his accent being soothing, he doesn’t really understand it all. She doesn’t answer in words, just holds out the book gratefully. Jacob sits on the end of the sofa by her feet and starts reading, keeping his voice low and steady. Even after she opens her eyes and stops wincing every few heartbeats, he keeps reading.
Neither of them are really sure when Ezekiel joins them, slipping into the room with a thief’s well-practiced stealth to sit on the floor next to the sofa, right where Cassandra can play with his hair if she wants because he knows it soothes her, like petting a cat. They don’t protest him being there, though.
The next night, Cassandra offers to read instead, since she feels a lot better; Jacob’s not one to leave a story unfinished, even if he’s read it before, so it’s his turn to relax into the sofa and just listen. Again, Ezekiel just sort of…appears, this time sitting where he can lean his shoulder against Jacob’s knee. Jacob doesn’t nudge him away, either. And the night after that, Cassandra and Jacob are both surprised to walk into their reading nook to find Ezekiel already there and waiting with book in hand. It’s his turn to read now, right?
It starts to become a routine. After the day’s done and they’ve overcome the magical malady du jour, they take their hot showers, change into their comfy clothes, and convene in the reading nook that’s become theirs. They take turns reading, though it’s not always in the same order, depending on how badly they’ve been knocked around. Like when Jacob gets a minor concussion and can’t read because he keeps seeing two of every word, or when a civilian gets killed and Ezekiel doesn’t feel up to saying much of anything, or when Cassandra’s headaches get so bad she can’t see straight.
It happens so slowly they don’t really notice, but the sofa in the reading nook starts to grow and spread out so it’s more like a bed than a sofa, and it’s big enough for three people to comfortably stretch out on. And there’s blankets and pillows that weren’t there before, either. Soon their comfy clothes are just straight up jammies, and they’re sleeping at the Library more than their own flats. Eve’s caught them more than once, but she never brings it up; same with Jenkins. Flynn almost asks once, but he’s cut off by Eve tightening his ascot and dragging him away.
After Charlotte’s Web, Ezekiel picks Treasure Island. Jacob takes down The Jungle Book after that, the original Kipling version, not the Disneyfied one. Then it’s Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Matilda, Redwall, Bambi, the list goes on. Soon there’s several shelves of the classics in the reading nook.
It’s a rare bit of peace and happiness, and they hang onto it with both hands, carving out any bit of serenity they can because their lives don’t give them much to go on as it is. They need to scratch up what happiness they can, make time for what’s important, or the everyday emergencies will eat up everything.
And if the way to that happiness is in the pages of the classic children’s books, well…they’re Librarians. Books are kind of their thing.

katatles-the-fish: the-last-of-the-frosty-boys: pete-wetzel: I’...

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 01:47:32 -0400

katatles-the-fish:

the-last-of-the-frosty-boys:

pete-wetzel:

I’ve been laughing at this stupid fucking video for 30 minutes

Yall sont understand this is the funniest thing ive experienced in weeks

holy fucking shit

thenovelartist: I COULDN’T HELP IT!! I had to write something for@edendaphne AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL...

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 01:44:54 -0400

thenovelartist:

I COULDN’T HELP IT!! I had to write something for @edendaphne

AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL picture of @portentous-offerings Akuma!Adrien AU

GAH! It’s just such a pretty picture I can’t stop staring…

Kingdom of France, let me present to you my chosen princess…

Adrien scowled. The speech was two hours ago, but the words would not leave his head nor the fire leave his veins. She was flawless, gentle, kind-hearted, pure. And an offering for Prince Theo. A perfect woman to blind his kingdom of his sins.

He threw his fist at the wall, pain shooting up his arm to his shoulder, but Adrien didn’t care. He didn’t care about the blood now dripping from his knuckles or the throbbing in his hand. He cared about the beautiful, lovely woman who was about to be ruined by someone so undeserving of her.

Suddenly, a new kind of pain found its way to the surface, and tears started down his cheeks. As the leader of Theo’s palace knights, his title was high enough to pursue many of the eligible young ladies in the upper-class circle, including Lady Marinette. He had his heart set on her.

And Theo knew it.

Adrien choked down a sob. The stab of a love now forbidden, the twist of betrayal, the death of his heart.

“Please don’t cry.”

Adrien looked up at the small voice, searching for the source.

“Over here.”

He looked to find a butterfly, purple with long tails on it’s wings, flying beside him.

“Don’t cry,” it repeated. “I don’t like tears.”

Adrien stared at the thing before huffing. He was losing his mind, and the fact he was listening to a talking butterfly proved it.

There was a light weight on his head, and the flutter of something against his hair made him believe the butterfly had landed on him. “I can help you.”

“There’s no helping anything,” he murmured under his breath.

“I’ll do anything to stop you crying.”

He could do that by himself with time. Lots of it.

“I can give you powers,” the butterfly said. “A strong power. If I do, will you stop crying?”

Adrien shouldn’t have responded. But in his weak state, so raw and opened and hurt, he found himself asking “What powers?”

“Powers over emotions,” the butterfly said. “Power to control emotions. Yours, and others.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

“I can show you,” the butterfly said. “All you have to say is ‘wings, rise’.”

His heart beat wildly. With his mind in such a mess of emotions, he couldn’t rationalize why he shouldn’t. “Wings, rise.”

Keep reading

indiebluecrown: lullabyknell: ginevravweasley: ginevravweasley: listen secret magical creature...

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 11:30:07 -0400

indiebluecrown:

lullabyknell:

ginevravweasley:

ginevravweasley:

listen secret magical creature heritage au’s may be cliche and overused but they are my JAM

you can’t tell me Luna didn’t have some sort of fae background. or parseltongue didn’t come from the nagas. or the Malfoy’s didn’t have veela blood. or the Weasley’s didn’t come from fire sprites. or the Pervell brothers weren’t necromancers. because I assure you this is 100% canon. fight me.

(What are you even suggesting, this is totally canon. Anyone who wants to get to you will have to fight me first. Bring it.)

It’s fairly obvious if you know what to look for. Unfortunately, so few people do, not realizing that person does not necessarily mean human. But perhaps this is inevitable, given that most nonhumans are dead, elsewhere, or intensely and viciously private nowadays.

A younger humankind would have laughed at the idea of “pure blood”. If anyone human-shaped was pure, then it was the purely nonmagical humans. Mud Men, many nonhumans affectionately called the tenacious people.

Goodness gracious, where did people think magical blood came from in the first place? The term mudblood? And if you wanted to call a pure elf or fae a creature or a beast, then it was a good idea to dig your own grave first. Save everyone else the trouble.

But that was then… and this is now. Now, you often must watch closely.

Lucius Malfoy, for example, is not a terrifying difficult puzzle. One only has to look up the family tree to find their French origins and relation to many prominent Veela clans there. Although, that is perhaps more difficult than it sounds, as the Malfoys have “fixed” all their copies and buried the rest deep in unmarked graves.

But, watching closely… the hair and general preening suggested quite clearly, accompanied by a certain slant to the jaw and elegance to the limbs. Along with how the man could lure many a Ministry official into agreements with seamless charm and smooth smiles. And also in the way his handsome face will twist into something terrible in anger, his hands clenching like claws, flexing with half-remembered fire and talons.

When Lucius Malfoy cares for the peacocks at Malfoy Manor, when nobody is watching, he will cluck and coo at them. And they will answer him. Veelas have their own origins, after all, in the avian set of magical creatures.

On the other hand, while Narcissa is loyal to her husband, the Black family has their own hidden nonhuman origins.

She is much more of a lurker than dear bloodthirsty Bella, waiting for the right moment to strike from the shadows, much like viciously protective Andromeda - they are more scavengers than predator, the younger two. Though none the less cruel or dark. None the less protective of their nest.

Narcissa is quiet, unlike the howls of hateful Walburga, much like the silent judgement of cold Orion or the creeping calculation of young Regulus. Entirely unlike the brash swipes and territorial snarls of Sirius, who is more familiar with lurking in shadows and striking for blood than he will ever be comfortable with.

They are so similar, yet so different. What they are has many names, bogeymen is one; they are the brothers and sisters of all the necromantic (and some of the demonic, too), and they come in so many kinds.

Luna Lovegood is another simple puzzle - that she is practically made of thousands of clues is answer enough. That she can see things and creatures and the invisible sorts that most can’t is almost the only clue you need. Fae are a rather insular bunch, after all, and few have the Sight to looking for the Fair Folk or the way their Worlds weave together.

But as for the little clues, well… the girl’s heritage is in the vegetables in her ears, the odd-sounding sentences and introductions, and the used bottlecaps around her throat. It’s from the inverted reading of everything… to the visiting of Thestrals in bare feet and with both an apple and a strip of flesh as offering.

Little things, odd things, but important things.

There are certain Safe Ways of dealing with the world, you see - a certain way to go about doing things. Like tossing salt over your shoulder if you spill it, never breaking a mirror, and not intruding on Fairy Forts for anything. Luck has to be worked for, and a smart fae follows traditions and pays attention when their ears burn. Listening to omens like owls and robins and black cats can save a life. (Luna didn’t know to be listening then, she regrets it now.)

And it’s too faint to see, but when she skips, she hovers for a split-second before she falls. Somewhere deep in Luna Lovegood, something is singing a half-remembered warble… of wings made of gossamer and glass turned flesh.

Weasleys, on the other hand, are an interesting matter, especially with the introduction of the Prewetts. Weasleys come from a curious line of creature, literally quite curious, and… well… quite weasel-like in appearance, as opposed to the avian origins of Veela. But Prewetts… Prewetts were born of fire - fire sprites, elementals, somewhere between nature spirit and demon, spiteful and fierce and warm and hot.

One would need the right machinery to see it, but it can be felt perfectly fine when a child of Molly Weasley gets angry. The air around them gets quite warm. And they turn quite red, which clashes horribly with their hair, which is sign in itself, really. Quite a temper, fire has, if you poke it.

For those who can see it and are paying attention, Ginny Weasley’s hair rises slightly when she’s furious, and her tomato-red ears give off the faintest of sparks. Luna doesn’t mention it though, because it’s not very polite to point out that sort of thing. She does, however, note with some interest that Ron’s do the same, after she meets him.

Harry Potter, the infamous Boy Who Lived, is… a bit strange. He’s hard to pin down, honestly, almost impossible. When he flies, one might suspect something born of wind or something born with wings. When he fights, one might suspect something animalistic, something extremely loyal and fierce, and maybe a bit mean when provoked out of gentle contentment. Or maybe something powerful, something truly sorcerous or maybe demonic.

He hisses like a naga, he’s got eyes between nymph and necromantic, and he acts sometimes… elvish in demeanor… house-elvish. It’s hard to tell, honestly. Who knows? He certainly doesn’t.

Hermione Granger, while on the subject of the three friends, is actually incredibly obvious. That truly fearsome intelligence? That offensive temper, that righteous determination, that jealous pride, that cruel vindictiveness when crossed? That affinity for fire? That near hoarding of as much knowledge as she can reach? A tad insecure, but the young ones are always easily upset, and the kindness and crusading isn’t at all a dealbreaker.

Oh, wouldn’t the so-called “purebloods” be surprised? But, then again, many forget that fire hides under the earth. And the riddling, terribly clever kind of dragons aren’t really around anymore. The rare few that remain, however, always tend to be such book-wyrms.

Like the mudblood girl’s, Tom Marvolo Riddle’s naga heritage was well-hidden. First behind his handsome nonmagical father’s face, then behind the mutations and corrupting magic of the Horcruxes.

He shouldn’t have tried to get rid of most of his “Muggleness” when he resurrected himself, if he had wanted to keep a human appearance. The faint scales of scales on his skin and slits of his eyes are entirely his own fault - the ancient naga blood wasn’t enough to create something less unnatural and ill-suited to exist. Voldemort was always cold, wherever he went.

“Purity” of magic and of witches and wizards, my friends, is such a laughable thing. “Pure blood”? Goodness gracious, what a joke.

This is everything I ever wanted and more. @hogwartsaheadcanon come and look at this beautiful post OMG.

1derspark: Fanfiction is just the best isn’t it? You can go read a 5k little dribble about your otp...

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 02:53:56 -0400

1derspark:

Fanfiction is just the best isn’t it? You can go read a 5k little dribble about your otp having a morning cuddle with a side of pancakes, and then go to a 100k full fucking space epic au that someone just wrote cause they wanted to. We have heartwretching fics, coffee shop au’s, westerns, modern fantasies, arranged marriages, medieval stories, I’m so grateful to fanfic writers for giving us stories (some better than published books) about our favorite characters to read on the daily for free.

Thank you <3

shaniartist: miraculous princess bride AU.

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 03:27:38 -0400

shaniartist:

miraculous princess bride AU.

primruesabcd: Fred Weasley x Hermione Granger“Give it a try,”...

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 02:38:04 -0400

primruesabcd:

Fred Weasley x Hermione Granger
“Give it a try,” whispered the heart.

golden-era-hufflepuff-hugs-you: Aesthetic: GownsMASTERLIST

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 02:16:24 -0400

golden-era-hufflepuff-hugs-you:

Aesthetic: Gowns
MASTERLIST