#charlie cluster-5

[tournament-of-x]

The Tournament of X

Contestants Index

[smth-intheway]

I haven't seen anyone talk about it, or maybe someone noticed but didn't said anything...

Neil and Charlie are connected, not only by the bonds of friendship but also by their shared symbolism of “death”, which is shown at the very end of the movie/book when their seats were empty. They are both key characters and as those who, despite their differences, are very similar.

Let's start with Neil. We all know that Neil is the one who started the dead poets society in 1959, he is the speaker and the leader of the group, as if leading the boys. He is the first to find the album with Keating's photo in it, the first to learn what the society is (yeah boys were near him), the first to read the official opening speech and assign roles to everyone. Who will read and who won’t. He acts as a confident person, his actions are based on a new feeling and finding freedom from the grip of his father. Everyone noticed how he looked at Keating when he gave his famous speech that every person in this fandom knows?

Yes, you can't help but notice how his eyes shine with hope, that he like a prisoner, will free himself from the shackles and escape from the clutches of his father. By the way, about his dad.

This man plays a very important role in Neil's life, as he does in his, albeit in the most disgusting way. His father sees himself in him only in his youth, he wants to achieve what he could not in the past. He uses Neil to turn back the time and become an ideal version of himself without caring what Neil thinks. Most likely, Mr. Perry was an unsuccessful person and perhaps he did not succeed in many things, proving this with the following phrases: "I sacrificed so much for you to be here" and "you have opportunities that I don’t had” He kind of puts pressure on Neil shoulders to give him false motivation to do things as he said, setting himself as an example, like... if you don’t do as I say, then the worst will happen to you, because I know better than you and I have lived longer than you. His father makes his son a submissive and obedient boy who is obliged to do and act as he is told, simply because he has no choice, because he is inexperienced and "impressionable" in the opinion of his father and he must definitely listen to the one who knows better in order to avoid the worst outcome. Just lower your head and show obedience like everyone else.

By the way, it is interesting that in the book the first description of Neil, and the first words about his appearance sound like this: "The breast pocket of his Welton blazer was covered with a huge cluster of achievement pins." (page 5, ch.1) Ironic, right? Now try to close your eyes and imagine the same student, without imagining Neil. What impression will you have of him? Right.. smart, successful with a brilliant future. This is what people who don’t know Neil see. He has become someone who is held up as an example. A diligent student and an example of behavior. Even the fact that in the book he wears a pillar with the inscription "excellence" as if hanging a label of idealism and perfection on himself. That is why they gave him this sign, so that he would carry it, introducing himself as the personification of that very perfection that teachers want to have in their students. But is that what he needs? Neil did not know what he wanted, he did not allow himself to go beyond what was permitted, always silently and following the rules. Afraid of getting burned like a moth over a fire. He was suppressed by his father, all the time his desires and dreams were rejected and not accepted, because there is a coordinate system and you cannot move against it. I can even assume that his father pressured him if his academic results did not satisfy him, from which Neil tried to prove that he could do better, because he wants his father to be proud of him and love him for being a good son, perhaps Mr. Perry could punish Neil for disobedience, from which the boy began to fear his father like a nightmare. Remember the scene when his father entered the room at the very beginning of the movie after the ceremony? Neil's behavior changed from before to after. With his friends he was happy, self-confident and the life of the party, but when his father showed up on the doorstep all of these traits were washed away and Neil showed his fear and insecurity.

So he hid himself, his dreams, ambitions and desires including emotions in front of his father. Several times in the book, (the movie didn’t showed it) Neil had the outbursts and slightly hysterical release of his emotions he was holding when his father was around. “Neil held the achievement pin in his hand as he spoke. “The bastard!” he shouted suddenly, jabbing his thumb with the metal point of the pin and drawing blood. Todd winced, but Neil just stared at the blood intently. He pulled the pin out and hurled it against the wall.” (Page 19, Chap3)

“Mr. Perry turned and stalked out. Neil stood still for a long time, then, walking to his desk, he started pounding on it, harder and harder until his fists went numb and tears began rolling down his cheeks.” (Page 119, chap11) Neil isn’t an emotionally stable person because his emotions only show when his father is not around. He is mentally weak because he is afraid to speak his mind around someone who will not listen to him. This is important and worth remembering because Neil has no voice around his father, so he did not tell him what he wanted, so he kept silent because he understood and built a mental reflex that his father's stubborn nature would still make him do what Neil does not want. He already knows what his father will say. Rejection. This is his weak point. He is afraid of rejection and does not want to hear it again, because he has heard it so many times ... over and over again. This Neil is very different from the confident guy he shows himself to be in society.

he did not share his feelings/thoughts with anyone, because he most likely not had close friends except Charlie. Because His entire life was planned and controlled by his authoritarian father, from A to Z. His dad would’ve probably not be happy about his son being friends with the “who the hell knows”.

That's why when he heard Keating's words about enjoying the moment, living here and now while this moment is here because one day it won't be. Carpe diem my friend. You need to look at things in the different way and not be afraid of what others think because what matters is what you think. These words entered Neil's thoughts as a basis for changing his situation, to free himself from the shackles and become who he always wanted. Because if not, this moment will never come. He began to think differently and began to go towards his dream that he wanted to acquire so much. Neil was slowly drowning in his ideal world, living freely and hopelessly, but he misunderstood Keating's words, because he had to change his idea of ​​the world and not himself. Neil did not understand that you cannot change the situation you are in, you can only change your idea and vision of it. He wanted to take control, but he forgot that sucking out the bone marrow, you need to do it so as not to choke on the bone. It is interesting that he was the first to come and recreate the Dead poets society and the first to leave, thus killing this society.

His death has a huge influence on the plot as well as on the symbolism itself, because if you look closely, in the book he dies with his crown of flowers as if killing his personality "Puck" through which he embodied the archetype of the deceiver (his father’s deceiver), challenging the established standards of behaviour. The second one is a reference to Jesus that many talk about. So, if you think about it, the crown of branches that he wore is very similar to the one that Jesus had. At first, he looks up, supposedly into the sky, in search of the meaning of life and pondering his decision. He puts on the crown, proclaiming himself his own liberator, just as Jesus was in Christian culture.

He didn't want to depend on his father or the rotten system anymore, Neil thought he would make his own decision outside of his father's wishes. After all, if there is no freedom in life itself, then why should he live?

Then, he lowers his head as if accepting his fate and knowing that he has chosen the right path for himself.

Neil showed obedience to himself and not to someone else which made him one step freer before he got freedom completely. He, like Jesus, accepted himself as a sacrifice in the face of freedom intending to be free even if not for others then for himself. Therefore, it was his own "crucifixion".

It is interesting that he lowers his head just like the boy from that very wall painting.

Okay, but then how does he relate to Charlie? It's simple, Charlie isn't always himself either, and unlike Neil's hidden symbolism, he directly proclaims himself to be another person, namely "Nuwanda". He abandons his boring, past self by forgetting who he was through self-destruction. "I have an announcement. In keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm giving up the name Charles Dalton. From now on, call me 'Nuwanda.'" (page 89, chap9) In the same way, he added more nuances to his personality, such as his famous phrase "getting red" and when he painted the Indian symbol of virility on his torso supposedly giving himself confidence through the symbol's underlying meaning, which is anchored in the Indian goddess Shiva-Lingam which signifies masculinity, virility and association with fertility due to its sexual significance.

The same goes for the symbols he drew on his cheek, what's interesting is that in the movie he drew it with lipstick using red again, which usually symbolizes power, passion and life, this colour is used to attract attention. But in the book... he literally scrapes dirt off the wall to draw this symbol on his cheek. (What a cheerful boy fr)

Charlie is a time bomb. He constantly has ideas in his head, at first it may seem empty but there really is a lot of things, plus this “dish” is also seasoned with the guy's self-confidence and huge ego. This is proven by the fact that Charlie literally claimed the cave when he entered it and then used it to bring girls, without worrying about the opinions of others. He kind of stands as an example of the opposite of the Welton school value system, and encourages boys not to be afraid to be more confident. In the film, he was the first to support Neil in the idea of ​​creating a club, standing on his side, and also defending him after Cameron's betrayal at the very end, knowing that he is risking his education in Welton, but he is not afraid to take on such responsibility ... well, because why should he be afraid? He already has a future full of money, knowing that his father will force him to work with his business. By the way, about his father.

Unlike Neil, his relationship with his father is controversial and he can fight back with the confidence that he will be forgiven. In the film, his parents are shown in the background.

And in the book we only know his mother. I can assume that Charlie is a child from a rich family who lives as an accessory in the hands of his parents. He, like Neil, is the "pride" of his parents and should be an example, only Charlie does not want to follow the coordinate system and enter it instead he moves against it. Like Neil at the end of his path.

We know that Rebellion is already embedded in any ideology at the time of its creation, and rebels only personify rebellion and do not bring it to the established system of values. After all, there will always be those who are against the established system, moving in the opposite direction and trying to find other conclusions, other ideas that will definitely suit a certain type.

Charlie could become a rebel for two reasons, the first: the search for attention. Unlike the hyper-care of Neil's father over his son, his father could be so bogged down in work that he forgot about his own son, perhaps not even his beloved, because then the marriage would be of convenience. His parents did not give him enough attention, pushing him away, rejecting him. He wanted to be noticed by them so that they would give him love, so he tried to achieve it in every possible way and it became a habit. Or the second option: He was tired of living a pretense. Straightforwardness is always a way out when it’s difficult to explain. Just be simple and do not bother to be complex, so the fear of making a mistake disappears. So Charlie did, because as far back as he could remember, he hated being told how he should behave, how he should talk to guests, how he should smile, how he should take utensils for food, and so on. Charlie was tired of seeing people from high society smiling at each other with such hypocrisy, as if a second ago they had not been in deep judgmental discussion. The world of big business disgusted Charlie, because those people were too worried about how they looked in front of others and they ran after status. Charlie was a prisoner of this every day and he didn't want to be like the others, he wanted to create something of his own in his personality, something that the others didn't have and something that would distinguish them from him, or him from them. So he chose the easy way - rebellion. So Keating's words meant something to him in the sense that he would enjoy the moment of rebelling against the school's rules and building his own system. Charlie could relate to his own approaching "death" if life at Welton was not symbolic but real. That is, his expulsion is an actual death. It could be similar to the phrase that Carpe diem oppose - Memento Mori. Carpe diem, in simple terms, says that death is inevitable, but it is unknown when it will come, and therefore it should not be feared, but instead enjoy the moment, which is what Keating taught his students, but there is also memento mori, which says that death is inevitable, but the moment of its onset can be delayed by behaving, so to speak, you should live “correctly” and act rationally for the benefit of your own life. In other words, memento mori means that everything is in your hands and when you die is determined by how you live. And Carpe diem is about the opposite, that nothing depends on you. And therefore you can and should take everything from life here and now. These two terms are closely related to the understanding of Keating's lessons, so each DPS boy had his own end. Tragic or partly happy. Knox and Todd understood that you can't change this system, but you can change your attitude towards it by finding beauty in things and avoiding death, but Neil and Charlie didn't understand him, wanting to change system and putting their lives on the line, so both of their seats are empty at the end.

If you think about it... Charlie is Neil's desire for suicide. After all, he too is moving towards self-destruction by excluding himself from the system directly through death, while Charlie does it indirectly by going through exclusion.

[potato-lord-but-not]

2023 Art Battle Masterpost

BRINGING THIS BACK BB ITS THE ANUAL BATTLE TO THE DEATH !!

I’ll start making polls tomorrow so enjoy this sneak peak while ya wait !!

Round 1

LEFT BRACKET:

Cluster vs Celestial Bis

Jon Sims vs Homoerotic Sword Moment

Gwen vs Danny

Sun & Moon vs Ode to Intimacy

Jack Met vs Siblings

Frankenstein vs Nick Bears in Trees

Will Wood vs William Woodiam

Ineffable Husbands vs Death of the Author

Bi Vampire vs 6up 5oh Moist

Mac vs Eclipse Sapphics

Yellow Wills vs Todd & Dirk

Dirk Gently vs DnD Bears in Trees

Gonzalez vs Hobie

Nick & Charlie vs Ode to Hunger

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde vs Rincewind

Tighnari vs Krummi

RIGHT BRACKET:

Me vs The Hottest Bisexuals

Maladict vs Irradiated

August vs Blue Wills

My Wife vs Will Doodles

Ankh-Morpork Streets vs Mike Crew

Crowley vs Purple Wills

Tiffany vs Gay Wizard

Shatter vs Adora

Mostly Harmless vs Dorian Gray

H2G2 Designs vs Demon & Angel

Moist & Adora vs Pink Wills

Pavitr vs Willard

Ankh-Morpork Polycule vs Emma <3

Trans Zombie vs Gay Yearning

Moist vs Vimes

Pav vs Jhariah

Round 2

Celestial Bis vs Homoerotic Sword Gays

Gwen vs Ode to Intimacy

Siblings vs Frankenstein

Will Wood vs Death of the Author

6up 5oh Moist vs Eclipse Sapphics

Yellow Wills vs Dirk Gently

Hobie vs Ode to Hunger

Rincewind vs Tighnari

Hottest Bisexuals vs Irradiated

Blue Wills vs My Wife

Ankh Morpork Streets vs Purple Wills

Tiffany vs Shatter

Mostly Harmless vs Demon & Angel

Moist & Adora vs Pavitr

Ankh Morpork Polycule vs Gay Yearning

Moist vs Pav

Round 3

Homoerotic Sword Moment vs Ode to Intimacy

Siblings vs Death of the Author

6up 5oh Moist vs Dirk Gently

Ode to Hunger vs Rincewind

Hottest Bisexuals vs Blue Wills

Ankh Morpork Streets vs Shatter

Demon & Angel vs Moist & Adora

Gay Yearning vs Pav

Round 4

Ode to Intimacy vs Death of the Author

Dirk Gently vs Ode to Hunger

Hottest Bisexuals vs Ankh Morpork Streets

Moist & Adora vs Gay Yearning

Round 5

Ode to Intimacy vs Ode to Hunger

Ankh Morpork Streest vs Gay Yearning

FINAL ROUND

Ankh Morpork Streets vs Ode to Hunger

OUR WINNER !!

ANKH MORPORK STREETS IS THE ART OF 2023 ‼️‼️

thanks for voting girlies ;^)

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY (MASTERPOST)

How exciting! I did every Friday for all of 2023!

@flashfictionfridayofficial

WEEK 1 -- Set The Stage (Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things (TV 2016), T-rating, 504 words)

There's only a couple more hours until opening night starts. And everything's ruined.

WEEK 2 -- Birth Of A Star (Sansa Stark/Ygritte, Game of Thrones & ASOIAF, G-rating, 365 words)

Ygritte longs to steal a maiden’s kiss.

WEEK 3 -- Fine By Me (Raul Cocolotl & Kat Elliot, Wendell & Wild (2022), No Rating, 417 words)

Raúl hears a terrified scream in Sister Helley's classroom and comes running.

WEEK 4 -- Pure Imagination (Artemis Crock/Dick Grayson/Wally West, Young Justice (Cartoon), T-rating, 459 words)

It's good to have their boyfriend-not-boyfriend finally home.

WEEK 5 -- Where Secrets Lie // First Light (Charlie Bradbury/Gilda, Supernatural (TV 2005), T-rating, 600 words)

Charlie abandons what remains of a normal life in search of the one she loves—a good fairy.

WEEK 6 -- Who Are You // Eclipse (Korra/Asami Sato, Avatar: Legend of Korra, M-rating, 700 words)

Asami loses Korra inside the Fog of Souls. She must get her back.

WEEK 7 -- Trapped In The Dark // Earthshine (Kim Possible/Shego, Kim Possible (Cartoon), T-rating, 700 words)

"Come on out, Kimmy… let's finish this."

WEEK 8 -- You're Not Alone // Nuclear Cluster (Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), E-rating, 1000 words)

Faith accidentally gets sent to another version of Sunnydale. A really messed up Sunnydale.

WEEK 9 -- Sea & Sun (Valerie Frizzle & Ms. Frizzle's Class, Dorothy Ann & Wanda & Arnold & Ralphie & Carlos & Keesha & Tim, Magic School Bus, G-rating, 765 words)

It's a never a normal field trip with Ms. Frizzle. This time, and to everyone's excitement, they head to the beach!

WEEK 10 -- Celestial Bodies (Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Once Upon a Time, No Rating, 603 words)

In their final moments, Neal decides to reconcile with an old friend.

WEEK 11 -- Tree Of Life (Eris | Discordia/Bia, Eris | Discordia/Hesperides, Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, M-rating, 300 words)

Eris steals a golden apple, intending to disrupt one of the weddings happening on Olympus. Someone disrupts her.

WEEK 12 -- Filled With Clarity (Derek/Odette, Swan Princess (1994), G-rating, 564 words)

While they're still young, Derek realizes Odette is not what she seems.

WEEK 13 -- Deep End (Damian Wayne & Colin Wilkes, Damian Wayne/Colin Wilkes, Batman Comics, T-rating, 256 words)

As much as Colin would like to think this was forever, he wasn’t dumb—Robin wouldn’t need him eventually.

WEEK 14 -- Cold Object  (Diedrich/Vincent Phantomhive, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, M-rating, 1123 words)

"Mine at last. Just like I have always wanted."

WEEK 15 -- -Against The Flow (Matsuoka Gou/Mikoshiba Isuzu, Free!, G-rating, 324 words)

Muscles. Men. Meetings with the Iwatobi Swim Club. That's all Gou is supposed to care about.

WEEK 16 -- An Eternal Summer (Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley, Pride and Prejudice (2005), No Rating, 448 words)

Mr Bingley refuses to leave Jane's side long while she's ill.

WEEK 17 -- What Comes Next (Kaneda Shoutarou/Shima Tetsuo, Akira (Anime & Manga), M-rating, 793 words)

When their enemies get the jump on them, It's his turn to save Kaneda.

WEEK 18 -- Didn't Mean It (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), T-rating, 423 words)

Hiccup doesn't want Toothless to think Hiccup is mad at him. Even if the workshop nearly got set on fire.

WEEK 19 -- How Far We've Come (Søstre | Sisters/Prinsesse | Princess/Prins | Prince, Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen, E-rating, 576 words)

Because of the prince and his princess, her sister no longer lives. This cannot be.

WEEK 20 -- Comedian's Night (Dick Grayson | Robin/Red X, Teen Titans Animated Series, T-rating, 987 words)

Robin investigates trouble in Jump City's local performing arts center and gets the unlikeliest backup.

WEEK 21 -- The Devil You Forgot (Coraline Jones/Wybie Lovat, Coraline (2009), No Rating, 1489 words)

Eleven years later, Wybie and Coraline return to the Pink Palace Apartments, unlocking their memories.

WEEK 22 -- Yes, Sir!!��(Starlight & Sweetheart & Melody & Bright Eyes & Patch & Clover & Bon Bon, My Little Pony Generation 1.5: Tales (Cartoon 1992), G-rating, 339 words)

Sweetheart never learned to roller skate. The other ponies teach her and encourage Sweetheart to overcome her fear.

WEEK 23 -- All The King's Horses And All The King's Men (Ygraine de Bois/Nimueh, BBC Merlin, M-rating, 472 words)

On the eve of King Uther's long-awaited marriage ceremony, Nimueh convinces her lover to flee.

WEEK 24 -- Where The Flowers Grow (Higa Hiromi | Shadow/Oka Shokichi, SK8 the Infinity (Anime), T-rating, 566 words)

In the middle of his break, Hiromi gets an unexpected visit from Manager Oka.

WEEK 25 -- Sink Or Swim (OceanGate Titan Submersible, RMS Titanic, Logitech F710 Wireless Gamepad, Mysterious Banging Noises Coming at 30 Minute Intervals, Angry Spirits of the Working Class Poor on the RMS Titanic, Yacht-Destroying Orcas, Ever Given Container Ship, Titanic 1997's Director James Cameron's Evil Twin, Metal-Eating Bacteria in the Atlantic Ocean, US Coast Guard, OceanGate - Fandom, No Rating, 589 words)

Alright… who did it? Who went ahead and broke it?"

WEEK 26 -- Can We Kiss? (Daisy Duck/Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse and Friends, G-rating, 241 words)

For 'What Makes You Happy! Day… Minnie would like to ask Daisy something.

WEEK 27 -- Reporting The Scoop (Kururugi Suzaku/Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Kururugi Suzaku & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Code Geass, T-rating, 1631 words)

Lelouch exposes Suzaku's bullies to the entirety of Ashford Academy without Suzaku's knowledge. It doesn't go over well.

WEEK 28 -- On The Edge (Julie Grigio/R, Warm Bodies (2013), No Rating, 493 words)

While bleeding out, Julie asks R to do something unthinkable for R. But he will. For her.

WEEK 29 -- The Sand Ocean (Kiba/Tsuma/Cheza, Wolf's Rain (Anime), M-rating, 999 words)

After a narrow escape, Kiba lets his pack rest before their journey begins again.

WEEK 30 -- An Old Friend (Margot Robbie's Barbie/J. Robert Oppenheimer, Barbie (2023) & Oppenheimer (2023) Crossover, T-rating, 1037 words)

Oppenheimer remembers Toni's little doll when she was fifteen. But never how remarkable it was.

WEEK 31 -- Gotta Go Fast (Daria Morgendorffer, Jane Lane, Jodie Landon, Michael "Mack" Mackenzie & Brittany Taylor, Kevin Thompson, Angela L, Daria (Cartoon), No Rating, 390 words)

The reception hall for Lawndale High's senior prom has a 24 hour go-kart track across the street. Pandemonium starts.

WEEK 32 -- Ten Years Later (Rafe McCawley/Danny Walker, Pearl Harbor (2001), M-rating, 1544 words)

In the middle of the night, Danny comes to Rafe. Once when they're kids and once before Rafe leaves for England.

WEEK 33 -- Broken Mirror (Princess Bubblegum/Marceline, Adventure Time, G-rating, 458 words)

Marceline accidentally knocks over Bonnibel's newest invention while cooking spaghetti.

WEEK 34 -- Mall At Night (Gregory & Wirt, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics), No Rating, 1104 words)

Wirt and Greg end up accidentally locked inside after closing hours.

WEEK 35 -- Found Family (Ellie & Joel, The Last of Us (TV & Video Game), T-rating, 774 words)

"I can't believe you're in prison."

WEEK 36 -- Portal Fiction (Non-magical Fionna-world Marshall Lee/Gary Prince, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, (Cartoon 2023), E-rating, 1297 words)

Fionna goes missing. Marshall Lee and Gary finally meet and theorize about where she's gone… while in bed.

WEEK 37 -- How Do You Use 'It'? (Cornelius/Thumbelina, Thumbelina (1994), G-rating, 579 words)

During a journey in the nightfall, Cornelius encourages Thumbelina to inquire about their world and ride his pet bumblebee.

WEEK 38 -- Under The Night Sky (Chris Washington, Rod Williams, Get Out (2017), No Rating, 355 words)

"What the hell did I tell you, man?"

WEEK 39 -- Blood Is Thicker Than Water (D. J. Tanner & Stephanie Tanner, D. J. Tanner & Michelle Tanner, Kimmy Gibbler & D. J. Tanner, Full House (US TV), M-rating, 1151 words)

Stephanie ends up in the car accident with Gia when D. J. doesn't stop her from leaving. Nobody survives.

WEEK 40 -- Spine In A Twist (Cassia/Milo/Atticus, Pompeii (2014), No Rating, 944 words)

As everything ends, Milo finds comfort in the two living souls he belongs to.

WEEK 41 -- An Empty Grave (Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, The Witcher (TV), T-rating, 1016 words)

Geralt barely survives against Vilgefortz. Jaskier looks after his recovery in Brokilon, washing Geralt's wounds and despairing.

WEEK 42 -- By Candlelight (Jet Black & Ed & Ein & Spike Spiegel & Faye Valentine, Ed & Ein, Cowboy Bebop (Anime), No Rating, 1136 words)

A group of lousy ship-jackers end up on the Bebop. They're screwed.

WEEK 43 -- Torn Veil (Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Hannibal (TV), E-rating, 1074 words)

"Chasing shadows in the middle of the night, Will?"

WEEK 44 -- I Can't Tell (Dimitri/Anya | Anastasia Romanov, Anastasia (1997), G-rating, 821 words)

Anya slips on an icy patch of road on their way to Paris and hits her head. The dreams afterward feel familiar.

WEEK 45 -- By Any Other Name (Lottie Turner/Etheldreda Bloodworth, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Video Game), T-rating, 200 words)

A rose is a rose, and Etheldreda feels something blossoming once again in her heart… if she had as such.

WEEK 46 -- Sand Of Time (Obi-Wan Kenobi & Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV), No Rating, 814 words)

Out of the middle of the Jutland Wastes, on Tatooine, Leia and Luke happen to meet.

WEEK 47 -- A Form Of Distraction (Peeta Mellark/Finnick Odair, The Hunger Games, M-rating, 1640 words)

With tensions rising, Finnick decides to get Peeta alone for a little bit.

WEEK 48 -- Nebulous Roads (Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric & Alfons Heiderich, Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), T-rating, 630 words)

Edward nearly runs over the man who holds a resemblance to his younger brother. Meanwhile, Alphonse wakes up.

WEEK 49 -- Fool Me Once (Asha/Star, Disney's Wish (2023), G-rating, 300 words)

Asha discovers the little star from the heavens she wished on… is actually a boy.

WEEK 50 -- A Promise To Break (Hakoda/Zuko, Avatar: the Last Airbender, E-rating, 1622 words)

Hakoda expects a diplomatic visit from the Firelord may mend some broken ties between their nations. Perhaps foolishly so.

WEEK 51 -- Among Any Option (Madeline Usher/Verna, The Fall of the House of Usher (TV 2023), T-rating, 100 words)

"What do you think, Madeline? Hmm? A kiss or a kill?"

WEEK 52 -- Imperfect Sign (Felix Catton/Oliver Quick, Saltburn (2023), M-rating, 587 words)

Instead of leaving when he poisons Felix, Oliver stays.

[dhampiravidi]

marvel form for Fantomex/Jean-Phillipe

template inspired by this one!

—- BASIC INFO Full Name: Charlie Cluster-Seven

Alias(es): Fantomex (main); Jean-Phillipe Charles (preferred name)

DOB: he's somewhere in his 40s (but he'll look 30 for a while)

Sex/Gender: Cis-Male

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Pansexual & Panromantic

Species: Mutant (Homo sapiens superior) + Super-Sentinel

Occupation: thief, adventurer (anti-hero), mercenary

—- APPEARANCE (FC: Warren Christie)

Jean-Phillipe appears as a typical male in his thirties, standing at approximately 5'9" (1.75 m) with a toned physique and light skin that tends to tan under intense sunlight. His black hair is always shaved close to his head (probably because he wears his mask 95% of the time). His eyes are blue-grey, appearing almost black from afar. On the rare occasion when he wears civilian clothing, he'll be in something very subtle, like a plain sweatshirt or top (always long sleeves) with jeans or tailored pants--in white, grey, or beige, of course (he's a sucker for his signature colors!). He wears a white tactical one-piece with a white trench coat, utility belt, boots, gloves & a face mask (which has night-vision goggles & telepathy-blocking ceramics). Sometimes the outfit is completely white, other times it has black accents.

--- BACKGROUND

He was born as 1 of 2, twin boys of a human woman carrying the mutant gene & Super-Sentinel engineering. To be brief, he was designated as Weapon XIII (13) & placed in The World, a contained environment full of deadly machines that forced him to grow up fighting. They wanted him to hunt mutants, but he said "fuck that" & found a way to break out. He met the X-Men when he helped them take down the violent Weapon XII. He'd go on to help them defeat other international threats & he personally destroyed all he could that was connected to the Weapon Plus program (an extension of the Weapon X project that sought to enhance & control Wolverine). He's had a few people get close to him...Ultimaton aka Weapon XV is his twin, who he was forced to kill, but then he remade him & let him live in The World. Similarly, he killed the child clone of Apocalypse, then later took another clone & enrolled him in the X-Men's school as "Evan Sabahnur", taking on the role of Evan's "uncle". Finally, he shared a brief romance with Betsy Braddock. Initially, they had a romantic/sexual threesome between himself, a female version of himself (long story) & Betsy, but Betsy broke things off when he insulted her love for Angel/Warren Worthington III. This mun ships the fuck out of Fantomex x Gambit, because the two had a brief partnership (yay bisexual sexy thieves!).

—- PERSONALITY

He's been through some shit. In the most simple terms, he's thematically & emotionally the lovechild of Deadpool & Gambit (I'm sure Wade would love to hear that). Once he accepts a job or plans a heist, he always follows through. He tells himself it's because he has a reputation to maintain as "Le Fantomex, the World's Greatest Thief (& occasional assassin)", but he's truly determined, dependable & prideful. He doesn't let himself get close to many more than a handful, yet he can be incredibly loyal when he's joined a team (like the X-Men). In his day-to-day talk, he has no problem bragging about his impressive abilities, or flirting with either sex (he really does like himself, though most peg him as an arrogant jerk). When it comes down to it, he's a utilitarian/greater good kind of guy. He also loves to live a hedonistic lifestyle, spending his free time stealing artwork & ordering room service at 5-star hotels.

—- ABILITIES

Powers

E.V.A: she's essentially a small aircraft with an A.I. who has a symbiotic relationship with him. He can see through her "eyes" & remotely pilot her with intense effort on his part. She can fire blasts of bioelectric energy. While connected to her, he can ignore injuries, because he won't feel the pain.

Body Supremacy: he has nanites that enhance his willpower, to the point where he will push on even if he's near death or attacked by someone attempting mind control. They sometimes even make him sociopathic on the rare occasion when he meets someone better than him. Jean can also will his body to push out shrapnel, bullets & splinters--& he can slightly speed up his healing factor (it's not much faster than that of a regular human's).

Misdirection: it's the ability to change people's perceptions & feelings from what they are, to what he wants them to be. He sometimes does this using illusions, which even skilled telepaths have trouble seeing through.

Reduced Aging: a lot of Weapon Plus/X experiments have this.

Enhanced Agility: he's always jumping across rooftops. Think of Catwoman, but...male & wearing all-white.

Enhanced Strength: this is somewhere on the level of your usual experimental super-soldier (think Bucky Barnes or Deadpool).

Enhanced Senses: others perceive this as him simply being very observant.

Inodorosity: he has no scent, which makes it difficult for people who rely on their augmented senses (like Wolverine) to track him.

Weaknesses

Some of his weaknesses are directly linked to his powers. If E.V.A. is hurt, Jean-Phillipe will feel her pain. If he unlinks himself from her, he can only see in black & white & he can no longer ignore his own pain from injuries. Because of how he was "raised", he sometimes has trouble relating to people, despite his ability to manipulate & read them. His drive can come across as cruelty.

Skills

Marksmanship: his "training" while in the World has made him a good enough shot to use handguns as his primary weapons, against Weapon Plus guards, other assassins & superhuman opponents.

Hand-to-Hand Combat: like the others in the Weapon Plus/X program, he was originally designed to hunt & kill. As such, he's an extremely formidable combatant.

Fluent in Body Language: his enhanced intelligence aids him in understanding the subtle vocal & physical cues of others, enough for him to predict movements & seemingly read people's thoughts.

Accent: some people think Jean is French. He's not. He's just weirdly obsessed with France & French things. He doesn't even SPEAK French (though he knows a few phrases). But he has noticed that people tend to become distracted by his speech when he fakes his accent...which is nice when he's trying to do something sneaky with his hands.

[akumastrife]

What A Wonderful Life {SPN // Fic Advent: Day 12}

Retirement was a good look for them, Dean often thought, and couldn’t figure out how they’d gotten so lucky.

{Part 6 - FINAL, and uhhh not entirely happy. Feel free to consider part 5 your final}

The house was quiet. It usually was, these days, and more so with Claire gone to bed hours ago, Cas sent upstairs to keep their bed warm, and Charlie put up in the guest room with the bamboo sheets she liked.

And so the house was silent. Dean wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

Once upon a time he would’ve wished for this. Or, well, a quiet house in general. Instead of the string of endless motels and the revolving door of countless people in and out of his life without warning.

But he’d gotten used to it, and now, just after midnight on Christmas Eve, the silence felt hollow.

He wandered the house, turning off lights and cleaning up the mostly-clean kitchen, the mostly-tidied living room. Wandered, looking for the chore he’d forgotten. Because he had forgotten something. He could feel it. Had felt it like a clinging specter.

Or maybe it was just Sam’s presence he was missing.

Outside, the snow fell slow and heavy. Fat, white clusters building in drifts; clumping around windowpanes.

A picture perfect Christmas Eve. Like every fantasy he’d ever had when he was a boy stretched out in the back of the impala, watching flakes against the window.

He sat on the edge of the couch arm, hands limp between his knees, watching the snow.

On the roof there came a clatter, and the calm was broken as he jumped to his feet. He yanked a knife from its hiding spot in the drapes.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” He turned towards the sound, listening to the steps make their way across the roof. “No Santa Claus looking evil bitch is going to ruin my Christmas.”

The fireplace flexed and stretched, widening impossibly, opening like some sort of cartoon.

“The fuck…”

Loafers hit the pile of ashes in the grate, khakis…

“Chuck?”

Chuck smiled at him, soft and terribly fond in that way parents look at their kids before telling them their pets went to live on a farm.

“Dean Winchester.”

Dean lowered the knife, tried to even out his breathing when it’d ratcheted up not at the intruder but who it was. The air stilled, solid like soup, and the quiet of the house became more the absence of sound.

“Chuck,” he whispered again. “What are you doing here?”

Chuck slid his hands in his pockets, stepping out of the fireplace and towards him. His footsteps left no soot. “I think the real question, Dean, is what are you doing here?”

The shoe that had been hovering above Dean’s head for nearly his entire life, dropped.

The light over the stove flickered on.

“You can’t stay here, Dean,” Chuck said softly. “It’s not—”

“Don’t,” Dean interrupted, low and cracking.

“I think a part of you knew that, though.”

Dean sat, more of a fall, into the couch. Thought back to the warm, hazy memories of his retirement. The gaps, the mistakes, the little flickers of powers failing; no Sam, maybe because even his subconscious knew that he couldn’t trick himself with a fake brother.

His voice cracked when he managed, rubbing his face, “Too good to be true, huh?”

How fucking embarrassing. Big bad hunter, lured in with soft dreams of domesticity. With HOA bullshit and holiday sale drama and a kid and husband—Cas, oh shit, Cas was—

Too much of a coward to face his fate, and so the sad little broken boy inside him made up something new to hide in.

“I had everything,” he said.

A hand rested on his bowed head. “It’s not a sin to want. Not like this. But you can’t stay here.”

“What if I did?”

Chuck was quiet for a long time.

“I can’t guarantee what will happen to you, if you do.”

“And if I leave? Where will I go? What’s waiting for me?”

Chuck sighed, hand slipping from his hair, allowing Dean to look up at him. “Not him. I’m sorry.”

The light over the stove flickered, again, went out entirely.

“I’ll give you until morning to think about it,” Chuck said. And then he was gone, leaving Dean where he always ended up: alone.

[nuklearnerd]

idk how this works but whatever!

1. "autistic coded sunny" video LOL

2. mac!!!!!!!!!! theres a lot but i think him being gay is the first one i just love gay characters more sorry. i really love his story and Most things about him. i can relate to him a lot but not really and i think that is beautiful. ik its not necessarily in line with him all the time but you can tell he geniunely finds a lot of wonder in small things others might not care about, and i really admire that. how he has changed and (kind of) grown as a person just makes me so happy n whatever. also hes like good looking soooo

3. i dont have a top 3!

4. vivica by jack off jill for mac!

5. macdennis you know it

6. ooo im not sure!

7. macdennis real......................also i wanna see charlie try to get into a local theatres knockoff version of cats

8. yes!!!!!!! depending on the friends of course cuz not all of them would like it

9. fanart, fics, and videos (3 things is technically cheating but whatever)

10. i like all of them as characters and stuff and understand they r all meant to be terrible but the mcpoyles take the cake 4 me

11. m....a.cdennis real......

12. not sure! im only on s8 rn

13. i dont have a fav! i dont usually

14. uhh i cant really remember rn but i for sure do!

15. FLOPPY.

16. ouuuu i am Not Sure.

17. ALSO TOO HARD SORRY

18. ummmm i love most everything about it! the writing, characters, humor, etc!

19. i dont think i have one? i guess in specifics it would be the times when there is blackface as i understand what its like going for but its just. completely unnecessary and i find episodes like "dee reynolds: shaping americas youth" and the infamous "dee day" geniunely hard and, at times, uncomfortable to watch

20. yes! charlie being autistic, mac being nd (i think if anything he has adhd), i think dennis def has more than one cluster b disorder + some others, i think dennis is bisexual or at the very least queer, and this might be more of a theory but i 100% believe that nightman has something to do with charlies childhood, specifically involving uncle jack

🌞iasip ask meme🌞

how did you get into the show?

who’s your favorite character and why? (has your fav changed since you started watching the show?)

what are your top 3 favorite episodes?

name a song that reminds you of your favorite character

do you ship anything?

name a song that reminds you of your favorite sunny ship

what’s something that we haven’t seen in the show yet that you’d like to see?

would you recommend sunny to friends?

what’s your favorite kind of sunny fan content? (fanart, mixes, fic, etc.)

who’s your least favorite character?

what would you change about the show if you could?

who has been your favorite guest star on the show?

which cast member is your favorite?

do you have any theories about the show/characters?

floppy hair or slicked back hair?

how do you think the show is going to end?

what do you think is the most classic [asker inserts character name here] moment?

what’s your favorite thing about sunny?

what’s your least favorite thing about sunny?

do you have any favorite sunny headcanons? 

[afaimsarrowverse]

Das Sense8-AU-Arrowverse:

Als ich mein Kompass-Verse erschaffen habe, hatte ich „Sense8“ noch nicht gesehen, doch nachdem ich die Serie gesehen hatte, erschuf ich eine Sense8-AU-Version vom Arrowverse. Ursprünglich kam dieses Verse nur wegen dem One-Shot „Sex and Sensibility“ in meiner „Legends of Tomorrow Shorts“-Sammlung zustande, einer Fic zur Episode 4.11. „Seance and Sensibility“, da ich beim Ansehen dieser Episode der Meinung war, dass sie sich für eine Legends-Orgien-Fic eignen würde, ich diese aber in keinem meiner bereits etablierten Verses unterbringen konnte und eine Ausrede brauchte um sie zu Stande zu bringen, und da kam ich auf die Idee aus den Legends einen Cluster zu machen, womit wir diese Ausrede hatten.

 https://www.fanfiktion.de/s/5ca4c22d00000b7b236c715c/15/Legends-of-Tomorrow-Shorts-Sammlung

 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13251635/15/Legends-of-Tomorrow-Shorts-Sammlung

Wenn ich erst einmal ein High Concept Verse entwickelt habe, dann bleibt es meistens nicht nur bei einem Beitrag dazu, also habe ich dieses Verse im Rahmen meiner „Infinite Earths One-Shots und Shorts-Sammlung“ wieder aufgenommen und weiterentwickelt und ein wirkliches Verse daraus gemacht, das sich auf ganz Earth Prime bezieht und nicht nur auf die Legends. In „Legends8“ habe ich die erste Staffel von "Legends of Tomorrow“ in diese Verse noch einmal neu beleuchtet und bei dieser Gelegenheit auch gleich „Arrow“ und „The Flash“ für dieses Verse aufgearbeitet. Etwas, das ich in dem zweiten One-Shot in dieser Sammlung „Bindungen“ fortgesetzt habe, wo ich die erste Folge der zweiten Staffel von „Legends“ und die fünfte Staffel von „Arrow“ gecrossovert habe.

 https://www.fanfiktion.de/s/5db581df00000b7b2abbd0be/5/Infinite-Earths-Oneshots-und-Shorts-Sammlung

 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13418835/5/Infinite-Earths-Oneshots-und-Shorts-Sammlung

Alle drei One-Shots kamen vor „Crisis on Infinite Earths“ zustande. 2020 dann nach der Krise und während der Krise im wahren Leben aka den Lockdowns und der Frage ob und wann wir jemals neue Arroverse-Staffeln zu sehen bekommen werden, enstand dann der Rest dieses Verses. Allen voran die Haupt-Fic „Die Menschen von Morgen“, eine Rogue-Fic, die sich um Mick und Leonard und ihre jeweiligen Cluster dreht, die ungewöhnlich sind, weil sie nicht wie gewohnt acht Mitglieder haben, sondern neun. Nachdem ich Charlie schon als neuntes Mitglied vor den Legends-Cluster in meiner allersten Fic für dieses Verse etabliert hatte, wurde mir klar, dass der Flash-Cluster durch Frost genau genommen ebenfalls neun Mitglieder hat und schon hatte ich den Ausgangspunkt für „Die Menschen von Morgen“, obwohl es in dieser Fic letztlich in Wahrheit aber um ganz andere Dinge geht, nämlich um ein gemeinsames Geheimnis aus Captain Colds und Heatwaves Vergangenheit und die Frage was passieren würde, wenn es wirklich Sense8 im Arrowverse gäbe.

 https://www.fanfiktion.de/s/5df9ff0800000b7bb1ed05b/1/Die-Menschen-von-Morgen

 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13455255/1/Die-Menschen-von-Morgen

Abgerundert wird dieses Verse durch die Sammlung „Die Menschen von Morgen: Companion Piece“, in dem aus den beiden Clustern mit den neun Mitgliedern auf einmal die beiden Cluster mit zehn Mitgliedern wurden, denn immerhin waren es auf einmal zwei Zaris, die im Canon nie wieder zu einer wurden, und Harrys Bewusstsein tauchte in Nash auf, also war es ganz klar, dass wir es auf einmal mit zehn statt neun Migliedern pro Cluster zu tun haben. Der Rest der Sammlung setzt sich hauptsächlich aus One-Shots zur fünften Staffel von „Legends“ und zur sechsten Staffel von „The Flash“ zusammen. Außerdem gibt es die Legends-Fic, die ich immer schon zur vierten Staffel schreiben wollte: Hanks Gedanken zu der Tatsache, dass er die Freunde seines Sohnes immer unter kompromitierenden Umständen kennenlernt.

 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13645854/1/Die-Menschen-von-Morgen-Companion-Piece

 https://www.fanfiktion.de/s/5f1179e500000b7b1948d860/1/Die-Menschen-von-Morgen-Companion-Piece

In dieser Fic beende ich den Mirror Verse Handlungsstrang basierend auf den ersten Trailer zu Staffel 7 von „The Flash“, also sehr anders (auch weil Mirror Iris noch lebt) und vielleich auch besser (Nash stirbt nicht, Mirror Master misch mit, Ralph ist da etc.).

 Der letzte Beitrag zu diesem Verse war eine Fic über alle Crossover in diesem Verse aus der Sicht von Kara, in deren Universum es ursprünglich keine Sense8 gab und die erst auf Earth Prime mit diesen zusammenlebt. Dabei habe ich mich auch entschieden was mit Oliver in diesem Verse passiert ist und mit dem Ende von „Arrow“ und dem angekündigten Ende von „Supergirl“ Frieden geschlossen.

Prinzipiell hat dieses Verse wie viele meiner Verses mehr so etwas wie ein Ende als der Canon. Es gibt dieses Mal keine wirkliche End-Fic, aber es bleibt kein Cliffhangar offen – die Legends reisen endlich als Cluster vereint zusammen durch die Zeit, die Wells-, Zaris- und Caitlin/Frost-Situation (wie gesagt vor der Aussrahlung der 7. Staffel, also hatte ich die Idee vor dem Canon) wird gelöst und Leonard gerettet und vom Einfluss von Black Hand befreit und Olivers Leben wird gedacht.

 Im Unterschied zum Canon-Verse sind Laurel  und Eddie hier nie gestorben, Rip und Leonard kommen nach Crisis zurück ins Leben, Leo lebt ebenfalls sicher auf Earth Prime, Sue und Ralph werden glücklich miteinander, und keiner verlässt die Legends oder Team Flash wirklich, weil sie ja alle miteinander verbunden sind.

 Endgame Pairings waren Lauriver (mehr oder weniger, wenn man das Ende bedenkt), Atomwave, Avalance, Westhallen, Cisco/Kamilla, Ralph/Sue und vermutlich Steelhacker. Da dieses Verse zugleich abgeschlossen, aber nicht wirklich beendet ist, könnte ich eines Tages vielleicht fortsetzen, aber da es nie wirklich Leser gefunden hat, halte ich das inzwischen für unwahrscheinlich. Und letztlich war ich mit dem Ende, das ich ihm verpasst habe, doch recht zufrieden.

Für AO3 habe ich dieses Verse wie alle anderen auch neu strukturiert und neu veröffentlicht:

 https://archiveofourown.org/series/2534728

[sunskate]

Curious of your opinions on the other US Ice dance teams. How do you think they’ll all stack up after the top 3?

After CPom and Gr/Pa, I feel like there's a gap, and then a cluster of about 5 teams: Wolfkostin/Chen and the Browns are the only other teams besides the top 4 with 2 GP assignments but have had bumpy seasons so far-

the Browns have been improving, but they're adjusting to senioring up and haven't quite looked ready to be compared on the big stage. their best competition so far was Sheffield, where they placed 7th (Season's Best score: 173.74 GP Sheffield)

Wolfkostin/Chen have a Challenger medal (🥉at Budapest Trophy), but also huge mistakes in several competitions. they said recently that they were sick and undertrained for their GPs. We'll see which version of them shows up at Nats (SB: 180.46 Budapest, GP best: 164.89)

Pate/Bye and Bratti/Somerville are in the better positions coming into Nats and are probably 4th/5th - i go back and forth on the order -ahead of B/B and W/C in the season so far.

Pate/Bye have a Riverdance FD that might play better at Nats than at GP France, where they were 4th. they've been pretty consistent, with 2 silver medals at Challengers. she's a sunbeam, and their programs use that happy energy (SB: 179.63, GP: 174.03)

Bratti/Somerville did well at Nats a year ago and placed 5th, but they had super high energy programs last season, and this year's (LaLa Land FD) don't have that excitement. But USFS just gave them a fanzone feature this week of Nats. They were 6th at Skate Canada, 4th at Lombardia and won the Ice Challenge event in Austria where Lily/Nathan won bronze (SB/GP: 179.14)

McNamara/Spiridonov's summer competition successes didn't pan out to the fall. they did win silver at the World University Games last week. i wanted to be optimistic about the programs, but that Gr/Pa knockoff FD is ott and not in a good way, for me (SB: 179.03 US Classic, GP: 167.05)

These 7 teams qualified for Nationals through the domestic route, culminating at the US Ice Dance Final in November:

Zingas/Kolesnik have been coming on strong - for a new team, they've been improving sharply. he's a former Jr World Champion and a strong partner and really commits to the performance. she's doing really well for a 1st season ice dancer. but this is her biggest competition by far. They won bronze at their Challenger behind CPom (SB: 184.1 Golden Spin)

And Flores/Desyatov who are brand new as of May - they looked promising at the Ice Dance Final, she's a natural performer, and they're high energy, if raw. We'll see if their newness gives them bumps under the pressure of Nationals, their lifts were clunky in their FD, but they are fun to watch (haven't competed internationally yet to compare scores)

Ling/Wein- 1st yr seniors- she's from Kitchener but moved for this partnership to Maryland. They train with Dmitri Ilin who used to be a WISA coach, but they also list Greg Zuerlein, and Charlie White and Greg did their choreo (SB: 140.84 Finlandia 7th)

Koncius/Shchepetov- a 2nd year team who trains with Marina Zoueva in Florida (was surprised to hear Koncius say in an interview that there are 10 teams training in Estero with Marina's coaching team) they had a bad fall in the first official practice, so idk their status. hope she's ok.

Krauskopf/Jin - she just graduated from University of Delaware. they were 5th at the Ice Dance Final

Murphy/Leavitt- they were 13th at Nats last year. Her birthday is the day of the RD. They were 6th at the IDF and train in Pittsburgh and were invited when Cesanek/Yehorov withdrew

Depietri/Carey were invited on Jan 17 to compete when H/B withdrew. he posted a goodbye to competitive skating post in November, saying the ID Final, where they placed 7th, was his last competition, so idk how much they've been training the last 2 months

[haus-seeblick]

Suptober Day 5: A Perfect Disaster ("Pie, Planets, and Porn")

Rating: Mature

Ship: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, Charlie Bradbury Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, POV Castiel, Idiots in Love, Grand Gesture, accidental adult video viewing, First Kiss, Awkward Castiel, Hints at semi-public sex, Love Confessions, Roommates, Mutual Pining, Cowboy Kink

Summary: Graduation means moving out, and moving out means leaving the apartment that he and Dean have shared for the last six years. It means leaving Dean. 

In which: Charlie helps Castiel get his head out of his ass and confess his feelings for his best friend, just days before they graduate college. Will everything go as planned?

Start reading under the cut, or on ao3 here!

Castiel grimaces at the cap and gown hanging on the inside of his closet door as he reaches in to grab a hoodie. Graduation is a week away, and while for most college seniors that means excitement about the future, relief that finals are over, and frenzied dorm room packing, for him it’s just a looming black cloud. 

Graduation means moving out, and moving out means leaving the apartment that he and Dean have shared for the last six years, all through undergrad and grad school. 

It means leaving Dean. 

Castiel shuts the closet door with more force than necessary. He slips into his hoodie and heads out to the living room, where Charlie is waiting with coffees in hand. It’s Monday, which means they walk to class together, since the computer engineering building is right next door to the astrophysics cluster. Dean leaves much earlier in the morning so he can put in a shift at Singer Salvage before his classes.

“Hey, Doc!” Charlie sing-songs. “Five more days!”

“We’re getting our Masters’, not our PhDs,” Castiel grumbles. “And don’t remind me.”

“Still feeling blue?” Charlie waits while he tugs on his custom black high-top vans with the yellow bumblebee pattern — a gag gift from Dean that Castiel wears every day anyway. He slings his messenger bag over his shoulder, then takes the coffee from Charlie with a grateful smile.

“You know I can’t be excited,” he says, locking the door behind them. “More is ending than is beginning.”

Charlie rolls her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. Neither of you even know what you’re doing after graduation yet. You could just keep living together. Literally nothing is stopping you.”

“He’s given me no indication that he wants that.” The words hurt to say, but Castiel has to acknowledge the truth. 

Dean — brilliant, charismatic, handsome Dean — might not know right now what he wants to do with his Master’s in Education, but never once has he mentioned Castiel in any of his ideas. They quietly let their lease expire, Castiel began looking into research institutions on the coasts, and Dean talked about picking up some more shifts at the garage over the summer. So it goes, Castiel supposes. 

It’s a chilly, overcast June day, which Castiel finds fitting. He and Charlie start off in the direction of campus. 

“Well, have you ‘given him an indication?’” Charlie asks, imitating Castiel’s deeper voice. 

Castiel sips his coffee — a perfect honey latte. “There’s no point. He wouldn’t leave his family, and I wouldn’t ask.”

“Well, if you’re so sure , then what the hell do you have to lose by nutting up and telling him how you feel?”

“Other than my dignity?” Castiel huffs an exasperated sigh. “Listen, I appreciate you wanting to help. But it’s nearly graduation and Dean hasn’t asked me to stay. I have to assume that’s for a reason.”

Charlie frowns. “For an astrophysicist, you’re pretty short-sighted.” 

“Yes, well, the galaxy is infinitely less complicated than Dean Winchester.”

They arrive at the campus quad, lush green this time of year, and pause between their buildings. Charlie reaches out to adjust the shooting star pin on his bag — another gift from Dean. “You know I just want you two to be happy, right?”

“I know,” Castiel replies quietly. 

“So please believe me, as someone who knows both of you very well , that you’re shooting yourself in the foot here.” She locks eyes with him, as if to ensure he’s listening. “Don’t make yourself live in regret forever.” And with that, she flashes a grin and a Vulcan salute, and marches off to class. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castiel drags himself through the day. He can’t get Charlie’s warning of regret out of his head. He sits on the couch that evening, watching Dean make dinner and sing along to one of his odd playlists of classic rock, Taylor Swift, and show tunes. Occasionally Dean will glance over and flash him a smile, or sing a line at him into the spatula, or point at him as he slides across the tile in his socks. Castiel laughs and claps for him, and at one point, as he watches Dean’s green eyes focus on the vegetables he’s chopping, something clicks.

He pulls out his phone and texts Charlie.

CAS: I don’t want to lose him. 

CHARLIE: :’) Finally

CAS: What do I do? I can’t just spring this on him over lasagna.

CHARLIE: Maybe plan an outing or sth? Set the scene? Grand gesture?

CAS: How do you ‘set the scene’ to announce something like that

CHARLIE: You know Dean better than anyone. Think about what he likes!

“Food’s ready,” Dean calls, carrying two steaming plates over to the coffee table. 

CAS: gotta go. But thank you, Charlie

CHARLIE: Get your man!! I believe in you!!!! <3 

Castiel hastily shoves his phone away as Dean plops down next to him. As they banter over dinner, he starts devising his plan. 

Keep reading on ao3 :)

[bastardcatthings]

Some highlights from the sunny podcast

Episode two

(Warning. Some mentions of drugs, bipolar disorder and depression)

1) G : "I'm always sleepy" R: " yes I know I've known you for like a good... twenty years " SHUT UP IT'S MAC AND DENNIS

2) C:"it was two hundred dollars" G:" are you sure?" C:"Yeah we weren't five hundred dollar men yet"

3) the guys thinking the title JERKS is cute?!?!

4) Glenn listening to A-ha while stretching (G: "it's actually a great album")

5) the hilarity of RCG hating the name it's always sunny in Philadelphia and not knowing where it came from. Sunny is like a cluster of mold you can't get rid of. It always prevails.

6) but Charlie saying the fact that it's stupid and not premeditated is what makes it special so true king🥰

7) Charlie asking Spencer(the kid in Charlie wants an abortion) to spit in his face and not telling the director and being annoyed when he cuts. (Working with these guys must've been a nightmare)

8) Rob being quietly horrified in the background as Charlie and Glenn talk about how you should keep rolling a while even if someone breaks an arm

9) just the whole Benjamin buTTONS bit they're five year olds

10) "you are underestimating Brad Pitt as people always have. He could definitely play an 8 year old"

11) "we were both at the vending machine and you should've also gotten the chips and now you want a sip of my Fanta too? Get fucked"

12) Megan wrote that. Megan

Megan Megan Megan Megan wrote that

She's a woman she's a woman she's a w-

13) G:" but I did it. I did it because I'm a professional and-" R: *sighs* G: "don't sigh!!!"

14) Charlie voice: this is CrAAAAAAAAAAAAAzY

15) Rob weighing a 130 pounds and only drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Apparently he was a character from a dark academia book??

16) C: "that sounds like depression!?" G:"OH definitely"

17) Glenn having a "SPLASH" of bipolar apparently???

18) Megan not wanting to be included in the podcast. G:"She does not want to be exposed the way we are" C:"she knows this is career suicide"

Bonus

this episode brought to you by :

- G: "Coffee. FUCK YOU. but you guys... you're welcome"

- C: "cigarettes! Cigarettes..." R: "YOU'RE DEAD"

- C: "cigarettes! You know you want them. But you know we're BAAAAD" G: "Some of you can resist us and some of you are just gonna DIE" C: "Taking aunts and uncles since 1843"

- C: "cigarettes! Still cool"

- C: " cigarettes! The rituals nice!"

- G: "PORN! You love us. But you'll never admit it"

[macaroni-rascal]

Would you be able to tell me how the ice dance criteria changed from the 2010-2014-2018 Olympic cycles. It seems like the free dances got shorter and shorter with less required elements?

Always enjoy your input, thank you in advance!

Not much changed actually, the length hasn't changed, it's always been 4 minutes, give or take 10/15 seconds. Itdoes seems like less elements, to me, now, because rather than there being two longer step sequences, all done in hold, the step sequences are far less structured, are way easier, and shorter. In 2022, we now have elements like choreographed spin/lift/slide/twizzle, etc, which are just substitutions for transitions, except now teams can get boat loads of points out of nowhere from the judges, and those judges can just prop up teams they like.

There are actually more required elements in free dances now, Tessa and Scott had 9 elements in their free dance in 2010, Meryl and Charlie had 8, and in 2022 Gabby and Guillaume and Victoria and Nikita both had 10. The minimum in 2010 was 8 and the minimum now is 9. I went back and checked, some teams were doing 7 elements in 2015, but I think that had to do with lifts, and your choice of lifts, but don't quote me.

Also, PCS for team steadily rose and rose, because it was normal for high level, top teams to still only get 8s in things, like Meryl and Charlie got 8.75s and no 10s in 2010 and still got silver, while in the latest Olympics, the top three teams all got 10s and no lower than a 9.25, so scores have risen, not necessarily keeping in the level of ice dance and skating skills.

Criteria itself didn't change much from 2010-2014, 2014-2018 were the biggest changes, just because the style of ice dance changed, the open holds, no more of both skaters needing to do the same one foot clusters of difficult turns in hold, and "easier" lifts, etc.

The major changes came post 2018, the implementation of the +5/-5, and the choreographic elements.

It's a shame what the free dances have become, to me anyways, I miss in hold step sequences, and I miss not have stupid choreographic elements that add nothing at all. Sigh.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 114

I’m hoping this chapter find everyone safe and sound. Normally, I wouldn’t start off with something like that, but I am queueing this on 11/5/2020, and a lot has happened in our world.  Not just my country, but earthquakes, shootings.. it’s a lot.

Please be safe.  My only, most sincere hope, is that reading this can bring you some relief from everything going on. And if you are reading this far after the fact - I’m glad you’re here to read it.  I appreciate each and every follower and reader, and I just want you all to be okay.

As always, shoutouts go to @baelpenrose for beta reading this chapter, @raven-fae for being the reason I dared to post my scribbles in public, and @charlylimph-blog for being a bright light in a dark world. Charly, I don’t think you will ever know how much everyone loves you. I mean that. And finally, @zommbiebro for the ever-fun to write character of Jokul. You pushed and pushed to have this character exist, and I’m incredibly glad you did, because he is so much fun to play with.

“Antoine told me that Conor is going back to therapy,” Tyche mentioned nonchalantly as we were heading toward the exercise area.

I arched an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean back to therapy? I didn’t know he ever stopped.”

She flapped a hand at me. “You know what I mean. Not a touchbase appointment, a ‘this isn’t working’ appointment.”

“Ah,” was my sage reply. “Yeah, there was a tense moment.  To be fair, though, it’s the first time anything like that has happened since he started seeing someone, and I think it needed to happen.”

“In what world…” she started, hands on her hips as she stopped walking.

Turning, I held up my hand to cut her off. “The last time someone was upset about what has been triggering Conor, I ended up with a busted lip.” I stared at her meaningfully.

She stared blankly for a moment, and I could almost hear her brain whirring. Then her eyes got wide and her mouth narrowed into a small ‘o’. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Ohhhhhh…. Well that makes sense I guess. So, does that mean you and Maverick…?”

“Yep, group therapy!” I threw my hands up half-heartedly. “And there was much rejoicing. Yay.”

Her gaze snapped over my shoulder and her neck twisted as something caught her attention. “What the…” She blinked furiously before rubbing her eyes and squinting. “I’m hallucinating. I have to be.”  Without waiting for me to ask what she meant, she grabbed my shoulders and turned me around.

Now it was my turn to blink. Walking towards, very focused on what looked to be a heated discussion, were none other than Arthur Farro and Jokull Bjornson. But… they weren’t arguing.  Both looked to be wearing gym clothes, and I could tell they were sweaty even from so far away.  As they got closer, they both also appeared to be bruised, and Jokul was even bleeding from the corner of his mouth.  Regardless of all that, the animated way they were talking to each other looked more like a conversation between equals than it did the type of discussion that would lead to….

Well, that would lead to the fight they looked like they already had.

Soon enough, they noticed me and Tyche - it couldn’t have been hard. We were standing in the middle of the corridor, staring in shock and tilting our heads like it would force the scene to make more sense. “Reids!” Arthur greeted as he waved. “I need you two to settle an argument. Fortifications, yay or nay?”

“I thought the sentient bacterium and twelve-foot talking mushrooms were the weirdest thing I would ever see….” Tyche muttered.

I was far more eloquent. “I…. Arthur… this… what?” I sputtered, gesturing frantically between the two men.

Some part of that seemed to make sense, because he glanced at the taller man beside him and just shrugged. “Jokull wanted to practice hand to hand combat, and I’m the only one willing to hit him after the… Exhibition match? Everyone on the ship was nervous for some reason. Well, except Charly, of course.”

Jokull shook his head.  “I feel my chances of survival with Farro are far higher than another fight with Miss Harper.”

Arthur eyed him weirdly, clearing his throat. “That’s because there is zero chance of me missing and ripping your throat out by accident, because I don’t bite.”

“Indeed.”

“There is zero chance of Charly missing,” I interjected. “And that was once, and you had it coming.”

Arthur continued, ignoring me. “Anyway, it’s not like anyone else on the Ark wanted to spar with me after that little show, either. So, win-win. Besides, he’s not a bad guy when he’s not doing things to make me actively want to kill him.”

Jokull laughed, but I was pretty sure he didn’t realize that Arthur was only half joking.  Maybe half. 

“Again, I’m sure Charly would spar with you, Arthur,” I pointed out.  Tyche choked on laughter.

Arthur just looked at me like I spontaneously grew a third head and it happened to be drooling. “What part of she bites did you miss?”

“That. Was. One! Time!

“Besides, I’ve seen how you small women learned to fight in the After.  I don’t know how hard I’d have to hit her to get her to stop biting, and I’d rather not hit a student hard enough to find out.”

Jokull mumbled, “Surprisingly hard, and in a nerve cluster, apparently.”

Both of us looked at him, eyes narrowed. Arthur’s next words came out very slowly. “If you’ve decked Charly, Jokull, you are on a fast track back to ‘let’s try axe versus saber’.”

Jokull turned to me frantically, “Councillor, I wasn’t aware…”

I interrupted him, again. “Arthur, it was that time she chomped his collarbone. Old news.”

Arthur was still scowling. “As long as that was the only time…” He shook his head, clearing the glare from his expression. “Anyway, it’s been kind of fun, actually. We’ve been comparing notes about our experiences in the After.  What it was like for our groups, people we skirmished with, things we did to keep our territories safe and our people provided for…”

Jokull nodded, very seriously. “We have discussed several ideas regarding sustainable settlements and potential fortifications once we reach Von, along with distribution of resources and sheltering against winter months.”

“I’m pro-fortification, by the way,” I responded, now that I was caught up on the context of that question.

Arthur scowled at me and shook his head. “Et tu, Sophia? The need for any fortifications is still up in the air, but the rest are really solid.”

“I told you, Farro, fortifications against people are also fortifications against wildlife.”

“And I told You the odds of predators on Von are very low. Grey said so theirself.”

“Moose. I’m talking about moose.  We don’t need predators if there are herbivores that large!”

“Grey insists there aren’t any indigenous species larger than Lyric on Von.”

“Have you met a badger? Really…”

As they started arguing, I slowly turned to Tyche, meeting her matching wide-eyed expression. “Did we  somehow walk into a parallel universe?”

“I don’t think so?” She turned toward the fierce debate. “For what it’s worth, I’m anti-fortification.”

“SEE!? One of the Weird Sisters has sense!” Arthur crowed triumphantly.

“Councillor Reid is on my side!”

As the debate grew more heated, I whispered to Tyche. “You love fortifications,” I pointed out.

“But that wouldn’t have added fuel to the fire,” she replied, magnanimous as ever.

I rolled my eyes, before trying to shout over the men. “We’re headed to the gym! Stop at a medbay pleasethankyou!”

Arthur waved at the same time that Jokul gave me a thumbs-up, but neither stopped their debate for even a breath.

Shaking my head, I tugged Tyche away. “Boxing today?” She hated boxing.

“Hmmm.”

“Ark to Tyche,” I gently shook her arm to get her attention. “Unarmed workout today. Boxing?”

“Huh?” She snapped her head at me and everything caught up. “What? No. Have you lost your mind?”

“It’s my turn to choose.”

“Just. Not that.”

“Ugh, fine,” I groaned dramatically. “Something with cardio, though. We both could use it with the gravity increases.”

“And what about armed workout.” For all that we were in a relatively peaceful situation, we were far from the only people on the Ark who practiced with weapons on a regular basis.

“Knives, duh.”

“Fighting or throwing?” She glanced at my expression and rolled her eyes. “Throwing. Of course. Why did I bother asking….”

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[carewyncromwell]

10 facts about your version of Charlie? Considering he's Careeyn's unoficial twin after all~

8D CHARLIE! My precious dragon boy!! 🐉

1) Thanks in large part to his mother Molly, Charlie’s very fond of British-style comfort food, especially the kinds served in a traditional English breakfast like bacon, sausage, toast, and black pudding. He also really enjoys curry (the spicier the better!) and grilled panini sandwiches. His favorite drink is coffee, but he also gets a great buzz from Muggle energy drinks like Red Bull.

2) Charlie is a HUGE fan of the Weird Sisters (his favorite of their songs being “Do the Hippogriff”), but through Carewyn and his other Muggle-born or raised friends, he also becomes very attached to the band Queen. His favorite song of theirs is “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

3) Post-Hogwarts Charlie gets several enchanted, dragon-themed tattoos he designed himself, including a stylized cluster of blue flames inspired by a Swedish Short Snout’s fire breath on his right shoulder and a tiny Hebridean Black that likes to roost on his left collar bone.

4) Charlie also has several nasty cut and burn scars on his arms, legs, and torso from working with the dragons at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. His right leg is almost completely blackened from the knee down thanks to a jet of fire from a Hungarian Horntail.

5) After Rakepick’s betrayal in his fifth year, Charlie has difficulty trusting authority figures of any kind for the rest of his life. Although he joins the Order of the Phoenix with the rest of his family (excluding Percy), he largely does it to support them, not out of any loyalty to Dumbledore the way his parents do. Charlie also is very prone to believe in conspiracy theories surrounding Ministry officials.

6) When Charlie found out that there was a Muggle movie in theaters called How to Train Your Dragon, he practically begged Carewyn to take him to see it. As to be expected, even with its “inaccuracies,” he loved it, as well as its two sequels, which Carewyn and he also saw in theaters. One Christmas Carewyn even surprised her surrogate twin with a stuffed Toothless plush, which Charlie now keeps perched at the head of his bed in his cabin in Romania.

7) My personal version of Charlie is aro/ace! Because Carewyn is ace/pan, the two of them really see eye-to-eye in their careers taking the most precedence in their lives. When Carewyn dated Andre in fourth and fifth year, Charlie enjoyed teasing both of them mercilessly. When Carewyn started seriously dating Orion as an adult, though, Charlie actually had a bit more trouble, since he’d become a bit more protective of his surrogate twin over the years and he subconsciously had sort of appreciated that Carewyn, unlike a lot of their friends and like him, was happily single and didn’t go on and on about their significant other. It made Charlie sort of feel like he was being “left behind,” as the only person in his social circle who had no interest in being in a relationship, particularly since his mother Molly still had some trouble accepting that he wasn’t interested in marrying or having kids. Fortunately Charlie got over this particular insecurity pretty quickly upon seeing how happy Carewyn was around Orion and how much they supported each other’s independence and self-sufficiency. Charlie even admitted to Carewyn that if he ever did end up making any kind of commitment with someone, just so he wouldn’t be lonely, it’d probably be most like her relationship with Orion, “except without the snogging.”

8) Speaking of Charlie’s relationship with his “twin” Carewyn, whenever Charlie comes back home to the UK and his mother doesn’t insist he stay at the Burrow, Charlie always makes plans to stay over at Carewyn’s flat. Carewyn has a futon in her living room for whenever he sleeps over. Whenever Charlie stays the night, he always cooks Carewyn and himself breakfast as a “thank you.”

9) Charlie’s favorite Quidditch team is the Appleby Arrows. It’s a constant point of contention for him with his good friend Andre (who supports and later plays for Pride of Portree), his younger brother Ron (who supports the Chudley Cannons), and his little sister Ginny (who supports and later plays for the Holyhead Harpies).

10) As a nod to their “Fireballs” epithet, Charlie likes doodling flames and little dragons in the margins of his letters to Carewyn to make her smile. In return, Carewyn will often put red-inked dragon stamps on the envelopes of her letters to Charlie.

10 Facts!

[pixelatedrose]

Soulbound Part Five

First | Previous | Part 5 | Next

Ao3 link

Masterpost

Word count: 4,674

Pairings: platonic LAMP, Prinxiety, Logicality, background Remile

Warnings: Uncensored swearing, Implied self harm (skip starting from "so instead of trying to make it okay" to the break), fighting, talk of controlling parents, panicking, near panic attacks, crying, absent siblings, please tell me if i missed anything or if there's something you would like tagged!!

Summary:

Roman Prince and Logan Rose are soulmates. They’re platonic soulmates though. They both have the same Soul mark to prove it. But they both have one other soul mark, binding them to one other person. And when they find Patton Miles, it just so happens that they’re both his soulmate. Logan being his Soulbound Soulmate, and Roman being a platonic soulmate. But something feels missing. And it feels filled, shockingly so, when they meet a certain someone a year and a half after they found each other.

Chapter 5

  The next day at school was a trip for Roman Prince.

  The morning was as usual, and Roman had actually gotten sleep this time. And it was normal (save for his thoughts being preoccupied 65% of the time by a certain boy.) Until his third period with Virgil.

~~•~~

  Oooh!! He's cute! Roman thought walking into class before promptly scolding himself. No no! He has a soulmate! I'm sure of it! He doesn't want to be your friend. Roman warred with himself in his head. But he's still cute. You know you want to be friends with him. And even if he has a soulmate, that doesn't stop you from being his friend!

  Roman strut up to Virgil, who was curled up in a ball with his feet on the table, his hood up and his bangs obscuring his face and eyes. "Hello there J.D-lightful! How is my-"

  Virgil turned away from him. "Not in the mood, Princey." His voice was rough. Rougher than it had been the day before.

  Roman took another look at Virgil. And he really looked at him. His makeup was smeared and looked like it hadn't been washed off since the previous day, what he could see of his hair looked tangled and a mess. From underneath his messed up eyeshadow his pretty blue eyes looked dreary and tired and even a little red around the edges if you looked hard enough. The jacket and pants he was wearing were the same as yesterday and looked wrinkled as if he'd slept that way.

  Virgil looked like a mess.

  Roman sat down and felt an unreal amount of concern for the boy he'd met just a day ago. "Hey, are you doing alright? You don't look too hot there…"

  Virgil shook his head. "No…" He choked out. "But what's it to you anyway?"

  "Well, can't I be concerned for someone who looked like they got dragged out behind a car in the rain?" Roman chuckled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. He hated when people around him were hurting. He wanted to help. If he could, he would want to be the prince charming that saved everyone.

  Virgil chuckled lightly and Roman hid his smile. "Do I really look that bad?" 

  Roman shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "Creative freedom! I wouldn't say I'm above the occasional embellishment! But yes you look like shit, Virgil Sanders."

  Virgil laughed. He actually laughed! It was light and soft and no more than a chuckle, but it was bright with joy and it danced in Roman's ears.

  Roman was so distracted with the soft music of Virgil's laugh he missed his chance to say something before the joy faded from the pretty pale boy's face. "Sorry. It doesn't matter anyway." He huffed despondently.

  Roman perked up as an idea flooded his mind. "Hey why don't I help you fix your makeup and hair at lunch, yeah?" He asked sweetly and enthusiastically.

  Virgil's faced Roman and he saw that his face was flushed, and he was suddenly very concerned if he was running a fever as well and had to fight the urge to reach out and feel his forehead.

  What kind of train of thought was that?? Roman thought to himself.

  Virgil looked down and started playing with the edges of his sleeves. "I don't think that's a good idea, Princey."

  Roman smiled at the nickname. It was one he'd never heard before. He'd been called numerous names, many spread by rumors. Bastard. Prep. Player. Gay whore. Soulless. Homo bastard. Gay bitch. Slut. He'd always taken the names in stride when the moment came, but he knew what power names held. He knew how deep words could cut someone.

  He took a breath and responded. "Why not?"

~~•~~

  Virgil stopped. It was such a simple question. Why did it make his heart pound?

  Why not.

  That was a good question. Why didn't Virgil think it was a good idea?

  Because people will talk.

  Let them talk then.

  Because Roman has a Soulmate.

  But he can still be your friend.

  Because people will bully both of you.

  But then I'd have someone to stand with me.

  Because Roman is just pitying you.

  There it was. The reason it wasn't a good idea. Because it was borne out of pity.

  "Because I'm pitiful and I'm not so sure I'm the kind of person you want to hang out with." Virgil said with a fake laugh. Roman made a face when he laughed. It was a face that someone made when they smelled something rancid. As if listening to Virgil's fake laugh was like hearing what rotten fruit smelled like.

 "Well that's for me to decide and for you to find out how wrong you are about that!!" Roman laughed with such a charming twinkle of determination in his eye Virgil couldn't help but want to be his friend right in that moment.

  He huffed and hid his heated face in his sleeve. "Alright fine. I'll let you do my makeup during lunch, or whatever." He smiled but quickly turned it serious as he faced Roman. "But don't touch my hair. That's mine and I don't like people touching it."

  Virgil waited for the inevitable, 'But You said I can do it so I'm allowed to touch it' or 'Awh, but it would make me just so happy if you'd let me do it! And you don't want me sad, do you?' But instead all that came was, "Of course! If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll be more than happy to leave it alone, fair-faced!"

  What? That was new for Virgil. He was so used to his mother and other kids invading his space and ignoring him, he forgot that people could be better than that.

  Virgil hunkered down in his chair and the two chatted every few moments, Virgil dodging questions and making Roman carry the entire conversation. When Roman stopped talking to him though, Virgil grew anxious. Not of anything in particular, no it was more that Roman calmed him down when he was talking, so when he wasn't it was back to anxiety and worries that held no meaningl.

  The class ended and Roman asked what class he had next. Virgil told him distractedly and didn't connect the dots of why Roman would ask till he saw Roman waiting for him outside his classroom.

  "How did you get here so-"

  "Magic!" Roman interrupted. He held up a beat up hall pass.

  Virgil marveled at it. "How did you get ahold of one of these?"

  "Like I said, magic!"

  "You're a clueless moron."

  "I do suffer from Always Dumb and Hot Disorder, so I suppose you're right."

  "Wait what??"

  "Always Dumb and Hot Disorder! ADHD! I mean I am pretty hot."

  "Snrk, yeah sure Princey. Keep dreaming."

  "I'll have you know I'm made of 100% attractiveness and beauty!!"

  "Oh yeah? Does it say that on the tag? Right along with the price of $10.99?"

  "Oh how dare you put my price lower than the leftover makeup on your face!! I'm worth at least a whole 50 dollars! Per inch!!"

  "Per inch of what? Stupid? You know I could actually believe that one."

  "Well my Nightmare Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, I do believe I could make a fortune myself off the amount of snark you toss out of your mouth."

  "Only for you, Princey!"

  They arrived at the bathroom and Roman pulled out his own makeup supplies he kept on hand.

  It was a lot more vast than Virgil would have thought. Foundation, powder, eyeshadow in the full rainbow of colors (including a deep purple that caught Virgil's eye), eyeliner, and even some sparkly shit Virgil didn't know the name of. (Virgil had always seen it in stores but had opted for just calling it sparkly shit rather than learning it's name.)

  Roman handed him makeup wipes and instructed him to remove his mangled mess of makeup that was already on his pale face.

~~•~~

  As Virgil took off the layers of product on his face, Roman could finally see just how tired he was.

  The bags under his eyes looked very much like the eyeshadow he had been wearing previously and looking at his eyes a little closer, Roman could see they were bloodshot and all in all, it looked like the poor boy hadn't slept in days.

  Roman felt awful for him. There was an odd pang in his chest when he saw the shorter boy like that. What in the world was it about Virgil Sanders that so soundly struck Roman's heart?

~~•~~

  Virgil finished with his face and saw Roman ready with foundation and sponge.

  "Alright, Charlie Frown, ready for your makeover?"

  Virgil rolled his eyes and Roman stepped towards him. 

  In fact Roman came very close to Virgil.

  In fact by the time Roman stopped moving, there was hardly four inches between them.

  And very suddenly Virgil was not alright again.

  Roman had almost completely drowned all of Virgil's fears and hurts and anxieties that had been clustering around him like a dark stormcloud the entire day.

  Roman had made the fact that Virgil hadn't slept that night, instead opting to sit and sob violently while reading the five years his mother had hidden from him, okay. He had made him forget it. He had made it alright.

  Roman had calmed the constant whirlwind of anxiety that was usually so loud that Virgil wanted to throw up to a low buzzing hum that Virgil had finally been able to ignore.

  Roman had made him happy to be there.

  Roman had made him laugh.

  Roman had made him smile.

  Roman had made him forget the marks.

  Roman had made him forget his mistakes.

  Roman had made him forget what and who Virgil was.

  And now.

  Virgil had everything crash back down.

  Virgil backed away from Roman, pushing lightly against his chest. "W-wait I don't think we should do this anymore…"

  Had Virgil not been so lost in the storm of his anxieties, he would have seen the way disappointment and worry flashed vibrantly across Roman's eyes.

  Roman's smile dulled to a softly worried one. "Is everything okay?"

  For some unknown reason those three words made everything worse for Virgil.

  No!! No, nothing is okay!! Everything is wrong and bad and awful and I don't know what to do or where to go and there's no one I can talk to and I'm just so alone and scared and nothing will ever be okay!!!

  Virgil wanted to scream and cry and fall over and he wished he could float around endlessly in the void of space and just silently sob and he wished he had something to distract from the bottomless pit of anxious trembling he had fallen into.

  "I-I'm sorry- I just- I can't-!" Virgil stumbled around his words before he backed away and fled the bathroom. He ran upstairs and into a different bathroom where he locked himself in a stall and cried silently, letting the actions of yesterday wash over him once again.

  Nothing could be done to make it okay.

  Nothing would make anything okay.

  So instead of trying to make it okay, Virgil could at least distract himself.

  So he fished out a pencil from his backpack along with his sharpener.

~~•~~

  Roman watched in pain and dismay as Virgil backed away from him and ran out the door.

  Something was very wrong.

  And it hurt that Roman couldn't help.

  It hurt that he didn't know how to help.

  Roman tried to brush everything off as he started putting away his materials.

  There's something wrong that I'm missing here...Is he okay? Is he alright? Does he need my help? Does he want my help? I want to help him...why do I want to help him so badly?

  As Roman was exiting the bathroom, his wrist exploded into a stinging pain. He nearly dropped his backpack as he grabbed his wrist.

  He pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and found nothing there. Once again it had been nothing but phantom pain. They had been getting more frequent in the past few months.

  The bell rang and Roman walked to his 5th period class where he would spend the time with Patton talking about Virgil.

  "-and then he just...left." Roman said, finishing his account of his interaction.

  Patton nodded his head slowly. "Mm, mm, Logan was right wow. I can't believe it, if I'm being honest, but Logan totally called it."

  "Called what?" Roman asked hesitantly.

  "You are absolutely head over heels for this boy."

  Roman stared blankly at Patton. A red blush exploded onto his face and he waved his hands. "WHAT?!" He shook his head violently and laughed. "No no no, you got this all wrong, Padre! I am not head over heels for Virgil!"

  "Virgil?" Patton suddenly looked curious. "As in Virgil Sanders??"

  Roman looked at his friend, the heat from his face fading. "Yes? Who else??"

  Patton brightened up. "I have him my 2nd period!! You never mentioned his name before and now that you have well it's OBVIOUS who you're talking about!!"

  Roman couldn't help but feel happy. "Really? You know him?"

  Patton laughed. "No! We just have the same class together! That's all!"

  Roman deflated a little and the class carried onward.

  And for the first time ever, Roman was anxious about his theater class arriving.

  When it did eventually arrive, it was so much more dramatic than even the title "drama class" could capture.

  Roman walked into class, dreading to face Virgil.

  But instead of seeing the emo sulking or completely avoiding him, Roman walked onto the stage and was met face to face with Virgil Sanders.

  Literally.

  Roman had nearly ran into the pretty faced emo who was just a few steps away from the door.

  "Hey," Roman started, his hopes of becoming the emo's friend having died to nothing but a sickly burning coal. "Look, I don't know exactly what I did, but I'm really sorry all the same. And you don't have to try and be my friend or anything if you don't want to. I'm really sorry for-"

  Virgil started laughing. It was a louder laugh. It was just as beautiful and sweet as his softly golden chuckle, but this one sounded bright and silvery, it had a bite to it, the way that the cold bites longingly into your skin during wintertime. His laugh was wonderful and sweet and it sounded the way peppermint tasted.

  Roman caught himself up in his laugh before he snapped himself back to reality and found Virgil shaking off the last bit of his laugh and saw the emo smiling sweetly at Roman, his deep blue eyes sparkling with joy and…something harsher.

  "Why are you laughing?" Roman finally found himself asking.

  Virgil straightened himself and responded. "I just thought it was funny," He ran a hand through his hair, brushing his bangs out of his face before the fell over his eyes again. "I was coming to apologize to you for running off so suddenly." Virgil shuffled his feet and played with the edges of his sleeves. His laughing tone turned serious as he avoided Roman's eyes. "I'm really sorry for that. I had a lot on my mind and I freaked out. And if you don't want to be friends, I understand...But I…" Virgil met Roman's eyes before looking back down at the ground. "I wouldn't mind if we hung out a bit."

  Though Roman couldn't see his face, he could practically hear the shy smile that Virgil undoubtedly wore.

  Mr. Sanders walked onto the stage and nearly ran over the two boys who were standing so close to the door.

  "Gah!! Oh! So sorry there, boys!" Mr. Sanders caught Virgil's eye and quicker than needed, he left to center stage.

  Roman, just barely, caught Virgil's pained and distressed expression before the emo threw his hood up over his head, obscuring his face.

  "Alright class! Let's circle up!" Mr. Sanders called brightly.

  Virgil walked over, his hood up and his hands stuffed into his pockets. He stalked over to the edge of the circle, as far away from the young theater teacher as possible. Roman followed, only to have an oblivious and lonely Rose shove herself between Roman and his very near new friend.

  "Hey Ro, guess what?" Rose whispered.

  Roman rolled his eyes. "What?"

  "There's, like, a really cute girl over there!!" She pointed to a tall blonde girl with a shy face and dark bracelets. Another emo, this one a little more subtle than the boy a few feet away from him. "Please be my super cool wingman!" She begged jumping up and down.

  Roman heard Virgil snort from behind Rose. "I-"

  "Alright, class! Today we're going to continue with group juggling, but with a twist!" Mr. Sanders brought out a bag and took an orange tennis ball out. "It'll be just like last time, except we're going to have an order this time." He looked in the direction of Roman, but not at him. "Virgil!" He called to the boy with his hair in his face and tossed the orange ball to him.

  Virgil had not been ready for that. "What?" Virgil asked and only just barely saw the ball coming toward him. The panic was clear on his face as he struggled to catch the ball, eventually having it drop to the floor.

  "What the hell, Thomas!!" Virgil shouted. Roman watched as he saw something boil inside Virgil. "First, you show up in my life out of the blue-"

  "Virgil, now might not be the time to-"

  "Fuck the 'Right time,' Thomas!” Virgil yelled. There was something raw and hurt in his voice that went so much deeper than being unready to catch a ball. “I can't deal with this much longer!!"

  Roman looked between the two and Mr. Sanders caught his eye. "Roman can you-?"

  "Stop it! Stop trying to avoid the reality of things! You can’t just brush it off because it’s uncomfortable or you don’t fucking like it!” Virgil ran a distressed hand through his hair. It had seemed like he’d forgotten everyone was there.

  Mr. Sanders’ eyes darted between his students and Virgil. His eyes landed again on Roman and the tall boy caught his pleading gaze.

  Take the kids back to the classroom, so I can talk to Virgil? Mr. Sanders’ look was clear enough. At the very least, Roman knew to get the others out of the theater.

  “Listen, Virgil! I do want to talk about this! We need to talk about this!” Mr. Sanders said, Turning his full attention to Virgil as Roman started whispering to the kids, herding them off the stage.

  “Then why aren’t yo-”

  Virgil’s pained shouting was muffled almost entirely by the big metal doors the led off of stage left. Roman was almost glad that he couldn’t hear them anymore. Something about the way Virgil was yelling made Roman’s chest twist into a knot and his stomach churn.

  Roman turned around and leaned against the heavy doors, letting a small breath out. He could still hear muffled shouts coming from the stage, though he couldn’t make out any words.

  “Holy shit…” One girl said with a small laugh of disbelief. “Emo’s got some sort of real shit with teach, huh?”

  “Hey!” Rman caught himself shouting, a little louder than intended. He calmed his voice and started again, softer. “I don’t know what’s up between Sanders and Virgil, but whatever it is it should blow over soon!” Roman kept his voice happy and light, but against the door he could hear something being thrown. Maybe a chair by the sound of it. Roman took another small breath. “Let’s just all head over to the classroom. I know some theater games we can play while we wait for Mr. Sanders and Virgil to get back.”

  As they all walked over to the small black-box theater that they used as a theater classroom, Roman hung back a little, sparing one last glance at the doors to the stage before heading over with the rest of the class.

  What the hell kind of second day of school is this??

~~•~~

  Virgil had been dreading his theater class all day.

  Roman had somehow, miraculously, stopped Virgil’s ever racing heart for a few minutes.

  And it wasn’t his fault.

  Thomas’s, I mean.

  He had just been trying to get through the day and had subconsciously picked Virgil.

  It was, however, Virgil’s fault that he had exploded. Maybe it wasn’t 100% his fault, as anxiety, nerves, and the pent up emotions of an anxious and nervous person do play a role in the doom of all things socially acceptable, but it was still his fault at the end of the day.

  And so here they were.

  Screaming.

  Or at least Virgil was cause goddammit he couldn’t take it anymore.

  All the hurt, all the betrayal, everything he had ever wanted that had been stolen from him, everything he had stuffed into little jars in his mind, all of it exploded.

  Right then.

  Right there.

  And by god did it hurt.

  It hurt so badly.

  It stung in his chest and burned in his throat and pricked at his eyes and pounded in his head and clawed at his lungs.

  And it hadn’t been right for Virgil to blame Thomas.

  But he had.

  “Then why aren’t you talking about it?!” Virgil screamed.

  "Because in the middle of my class is not the right time or place, Virgil!! Take into consideration the other kids!!" Thomas raised his voice for the first time.

  Virgil was upset. More than he thought he'd be. He turned to a chair and kicked it hard, sending it bouncing a few feet away.

  Thomas's tone calmed again, but it was still shaky with emotion. "Virgil you need to calm down, okay-?"

  "No, dammit!!" Virgil shouted, tears pricking his eyes causing him to panic even more. "I'm sick and tired of people telling me to calm down because they don't want to deal with me!!" He ran a hand through his hair, his breath was shallow and hard. He caught Thomas's eyes and read pain, panic, and above them, regret. It hurt. If Thomas was like Virgil had thought he'd be, if Thomas had been cruel and spiteful, if he hated Virgil, it would have been easy.

  But Thomas cared.

  And that hurt so much more.

  "Why didn't you-" why didn't you come and find me? "Why wasn't I-" why wasn't I good enough for mom to let me read those letters? "Why couldn't I-" why couldn't I have lived with my brother in my life?!

  Virgil could no longer stand as his legs gave out beneath him. The weight of everything in his mind had seemed to crush him.

  It was awful.

  It was bitter.

  It made him nauseous.

  Virgil sat crumpled on the ground and as his emotions raged inside him, he started to cry.

  Virgil felt a hand on his shoulder and didn’t need to spare the glance at Thomas to know who it was. All he had to do was lean into him and let his older brother wrap his arms around him in a soft, comforting hug that smelled faintly of butterscotch and cinnamon. Virgil buried his face in Thomas’s shoulder and fought sobs.

  This is what he missed out on.

  This is what he never had.

  This is what he wanted.

  An older brother who cared about him.

  And Thomas? He had only really known him for two days, barely. And yet he cared more for Virgil than anything Virgil had felt before then.

  He felt for the first time ever that he belonged.

  Thomas and Virgil sat there on the stage floor for a while longer, Thomas holding his younger brother in his arms and stroking his hair, Virgil sitting in his older brother’s arms and crying softly, slowly calming himself down.

  When Virgil finally calmed down enough, Thomas unwrapped himself from around Virgil. “Alright. Feel better?” Virgil nodded and Thomas continued. “Now then. We  have some things to talk about, I think.”

  Vigil nodded again and the two stood up, walking to the edge of the stage apron and sitting down, letting their feet dangle over the edge.

  “So,” Thomas started, looking out over the empty audience. “Are you okay, first of all, and second, do you want to talk about mom? Or would you rather talk about me and the letters first?”

  Virgil took a shaky breath. “I’m alright. And I think I’d rather talk about...Mom...First…” Virgil was reluctant to admit there was anything at all wrong with his home life, but deep, way deep in the cold dark basements of his mind, the place where all the painful truths hide themselves, he knew that there was.

  Thomas broke the silence. “Does she hide stuff from you often?”

  Virgil nodded. “She removed the lock on my door when I was eight, too. I have this wooden doorstop that I created as a makeshift lock, but I can’t lock my door when I’m away at school.” Virgil looked at his brother. “Did she do stuff like that to you?” He asked tentatively.

  “Yeah.” Thomas said, lowering himself down onto his back and string up at the electrics that were hidden by the proscenium. “She’d read my journals and all the old angsty poems I wrote. She would drink and smoke all the time too.”

  “Virgil nodded sadly, lowering himself down next to his brother. “I mean she’s not all that bad. She cares about me, and feeds me, and makes sure there’s a roof over our head…”

  “Despite that, that doesn’t necessarily make her a good person. She still doesn’t have any right to do what she did to you. If you hadn’t been her kid, she could be arrested for mail theft.” Thomas looked at his brother with a kind of protectiveness that only family harbors for one another. “The question I really need to ask you, Virgil, is this; Do you feel safe and happy at home?”

  Virgil opened his mouth to answer yes, but found he couldn’t do it. His mother would drink most nights and smoke often. She’d come home with someone new as her date every two weeks. She would make him do most things downstairs where she could see him and if he wasn’t within direct eyeshot, would be checking in on him every ten minutes it seemed. He didn’t feel in danger, but he didn’t feel safe. And he didn’t feel unhappy, but he didn’t have very many happy memories of the house with the strange yellow door either.

  Virgil shook his head. “No…” He choked out.

  Thomas sat up. “I have a proposition for you, then.” Virgil sat up too. “For the time being, until you graduate, you’re free to come by and visit me, or spend the night whenever you’d like. Unannounced or otherwise.”

  Virgil found himself lighting up at the prospect of being able to live with or at least visit his brother on a regular basis. He felt his face darken with doubt soon after though. “Really? For real? You’re not playing me here?”

  Thomas looked at Virgil with a serious expression. “Virgil, I want you to be safe and happy, and I’ve wanted to be in your life from the very first moment I knew you existed. When I say you can come over whenever you’d like, I mean it.” Thomas pulled Virgil into a quick tight hug before continuing. “I want whatever’s best for you, and only you know that. I just want to make sure you have somewhere you can go to feel safe and happy.”

  Virgil nodded. “I think…” He started, his mind whirling with possibilities and opportunities. “I think I’d like to come over and talk about the letters later today, Thomas.”

  Thomas smiled. “I think that’s a splendid idea, Virgil.”

Author’s note: Hey, Hi so uh...If any of you remember I said like half a week ago this would be out in a few days...So...Sorry about that. The chapter ended up being a tad bit longer than I thought it was going to be and I lost a lot of motivation for a day or two in there. I’m glad it’s at least on time though, and not late. Ideally it would have been early, like I’d said it would be, but what can ya do? Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this extra long chapter! Thanks again for reading it all!! love ya!

Tag list:

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@scrunchiescrunchie

@badluckkaren

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@athenashipsthings

@slitherynchiken

@crooked-harmony-student

@icequeenoriginal

@just-a-hufflepuff

[me-myself-and-my-fos]

Platform 9 3/4

Pairing: Percy Weasley x Nicole Weasley

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: Nic and Percy take their daughters to King’s Cross for a new school year

A/N: More of me writing instead of working on assignments and also introducing our fankids

King’s Cross Station was filled with muggles just as it was every year. The Weasley family paid no mind as they headed to their destination, pushing the trolleys along. Molly checked her wristwatch, red curls falling in her face for a moment before she tucked the stray hairs behind her ear. She readjusted the glasses on her face and looked over at her little sister.

“Hurry up, Lucy, we’re going to be late!” She barked at her sister. The owl in the cage on Lucy’s trolley let out a noise, unhappy with being woken up.

“Molly, we have twenty minutes before the train leaves. We’ll make it, sweetheart,” Nic said to her daughter as she walked beside Lucy.

Molly was still young but already so much like her father. She had the Weasley signature curly red hair, along with her father’s eyes and freckles. Her nose was only something she could inherit from her mother, along with her mother’s love for muggle pens. It came as a surprise to Nic and Percy when their oldest daughter was sorted in Slytherin, but it made sense given she was as ambitious as her father and had a knack for being resourceful in any given situation. She also had a talent for being tricky, able to slip the truth out of anyone with ease. Percy saw a bright future for Molly in the Ministry.

The younger of the two, Lucy, was nearly the spitting image of her mother with curly dark brown hair, although during the summer the light gave her curls a bit of a red tint, and once again her mother’s nose. She had brown eyes with spots of green, as opposed to her mother’s true hazel color. Lucy was starting her first year at Hogwarts and was incredibly nervous. Her sister didn’t help.

“This year’s different, mum. I’m a prefect! I have to be there early to patrol the train.” Molly insisted. Nic looked over at her husband and gave him the ‘she’s just like you’ look he was all too familiar with. Percy shook his head with a soft smile as the four continued towards the platform.

“We wouldn’t be late if you hadn’t been polishing that stupid badge,” Lucy mumbled.

Molly’s head snapped towards her sister. “Excuse me, but being a prefect is not only a serious responsibility but an honor, and–”

“Oh look, girls, Platform nine and three quarters,” Percy interrupted, saving Lucy from the lecture she would have no doubt gotten from Molly. “Molly, why don’t you go first.”

Molly tore her glare away from her sister and headed straight for the wall between platforms. She disappeared into the wall and Nic smiled down at Lucy.

“Do you want to go by yourself?” She asked Lucy.

Lucy stood for a moment as she thought. She nodded. “Yes.”

Nic stepped away from Lucy and Percy grabbed his wife’s hand. They watched as Lucy took a deep breath and ran towards the wall before disappearing.

“She’s a natural,” Percy whispered. Nic smiled at the very obvious pride on his face. She kissed his cheek.

“Best not to keep them waiting,” she said, pulling him towards the wall. They rushed through and saw the busy cluster that was Platform 9 ¾. Lucy stood close by, hands gripping her trolley tightly as she had waited for her parents to run through. Meanwhile, Molly was already heading towards the train.

“Keep up, Lucy!” She shouted back at her younger sister.

“I’m coming!” Lucy rolled her eyes and pushed her trolley as she started to follow Molly.

Unlike most students at the platform, Molly was already wearing her school uniform minus the robes (She had insisted she’d put on the robes once she got to the train). Her green and silver tie was tightly secure on her neck and she smoothed out the sweater she wore. Molly stopped her trolley close to a section of the train that wasn’t heavily occupied and Lucy stopped next to her. The family of four loaded the trunks and owl cages onto the train, but Molly held tightly onto her ginger cat, Ginger.

Nic kissed the girls on the heads, checking over to make sure they had everything. “Wands?” Molly nodded, and Lucy held hers tightly in her hand before slipping it back into her pocket. “Good, okay, lunches? I packed you girls something to eat. Lucy, do you have your sweater from Gran?”

“Yes mum,” Lucy replied. “It’s in my trunk.”

“Good,” Nic pressed another kiss to Lucy’s hairline.

“I should get onto the train soon,” Molly said, surveying the students. She recognized plenty of students from her year and her house. Her face became bright red when she saw a boy from Hufflepuff, another prefect. He was a year above her but Molly knew him because his sister was her best friend.

Lucy pulled away from her mother’s smothering of affection in time to notice the boy. She grinned mischievously. “Molly, is that the boy you fancy?” She asked her sister loudly.

Molly glared at Lucy. “Shut up, loud mouth. He’ll hear you!”

“That’s the point,” Lucy giggled.

“Girls,” Percy warned. This past summer they had started getting arguments so much easier than usual.

“Watch Ginger for me,” Molly ordered her sister, putting the cat into Lucy’s arms. The cat purred as he was held, and Lucy happily stroked his fur. “I can’t carry him while I monitor the train.”

“Say goodbye to us before you go,” Nic insisted. She hugged Molly tightly, giving her a few kisses on the head. Molly groaned in embarrassment but allowed her mother to continue. When Nic finished, Percy hugged Molly tightly.

“I’m proud of you, Molls,” he said, reminding her. Ever since her sorting into Slytherin, she was deathly afraid of disappointing her parents having not been sorted into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. A reminder from her parents every once in a while went a long way for her. Percy pressed a quick kiss to her head before letting Molly go. She waved goodbye to her mother and father as she stepped onto the train, and Percy swore he saw her wipe away some tears.

Lucy stood cuddling Ginger as she watched students load onto the train. Nic ran her fingers through Lucy’s hair.

“Are you excited for your first year?” Nic asked.

Lucy shrugged. “Bit nervous.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be brilliant.” Percy told her. “You’ll have your sister to look after you, even if you’re in different houses. Your Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie looked after me when I started my first year.”

“What if the Sorting Hat can’t sort me?” Lucy asked.

“It can. The hat always can. Don’t be afraid, okay? I was a hat stall. It took seven minutes for the hat to decide whether I was a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff.” Nic told Lucy, giving her shoulder a squeeze of encouragement. Lucy nodded, a look of determination coming over her features.

The whistle blew to the train, signaling the train was leaving in 5 minutes.

“You should get going soon,” Nic kissed Lucy’s head.

“Before you go,” Percy smiled. “Is there anything you’re forgetting, Treacle?”

She stood there for a moment as she thought before shrugging. “I can’t think of anything.”

Percy pulled her glasses from his jacket pocket. “You almost forgot your reading glasses.”

“Oh!” She took them from him and put them in the pocket of her sweater. “Thanks, dad.”

Percy pulled her into a hug, a little longer than one he had given Molly, and kissed her head. “We love you so much, please write to us. We’ll see you soon, okay?”

Lucy nodded, smiling up at him. She waved goodbye to her parents before getting onto the train and finding a compartment. She sat down by the window and looked out of it, Ginger sat in her lap. She waved at her parents one last time before the whistle to the train blew. As it did, Percy put a hand on Nic’s waist and pulled her close. They waved to Lucy as the train started to leave. Once they couldn’t see her anymore, they stopped waving.

Nic wiped away a stray tear and looked up at Percy. “The house is going to be so quiet without them.”

“It will be,” he agreed. “But we’ll keep busy. We can bring back lots of things we did before the girls were born.”

They started to head in the direction they came to leave the platform.

Nic nodded. “Playing chess to see who makes dinner, trying new recipes for the bakery and making an unhealthy amount of sweets that we send to your family.”

Percy laughed and kissed her head. “That and more.”

That night, dinner had just been finished and Nic waved her wand, the dishes cleaning themselves. Percy was upstairs in his office, working on something last minute for the Ministry. It was the last bit he had to do for the night and then he promised Nic a relaxing evening. She was about to leave the kitchen when she heard a screech and saw an owl perch in the window. It had a letter from Hogwarts.

She quietly summoned a sickle and gave the coin to the owl before it flew off, leaving her with the letter. She opened it quickly and read through it. Nic couldn’t help but let out a squeal of excitement before hurrying up the stairs. She swung open the door to Percy’s office and he jumped in his seat.

“What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly.

“Nothing’s wrong, we got a letter from the school. Lucy’s been sorted,” Nic told him, barely about to contain her excitement.

Percy stood from his desk and shook his head as he smiled. “You scared me, darling. What has she been sorted into?” He asked, hugging her waist.

Nic grinned, showing him the letter. “She’s a Gryffindor! Just like her father.”

Percy kissed her head. “That’s fantastic. I’m so proud of her.”

“I can start making the house cookies for her and Molly now,” Nic grinned.

“I hope you make more, because once any of our nieces and nephews find out you made them they’ll start sending owls to us. And then my parents and brothers will want some.” Percy laughed.

“I know how it goes for us, Perce. Luckily for you, your wife is a very talented baker who is proficient in it both the magical way and muggle way.”

“Don't tell mum, but I do prefer when you cook the muggle way,” he whispered it, a secret between the two of them despite their empty home.

“I know,” Nic whispered back, kissing him softly.