#i have so many thoughts on this topic so buckle up lads

[elen-benfelen]

welsh remus guide pt.1

As a casual marauders fan (if such a thing exists lmao), I’ve noticed a growing love/interest towards Remus being Welsh and exploring what this means regarding accent, mannerisms and language. Seeing Welsh being butchered by the use of google translate, whilst understandable that people would turn to it, is actually physically painful at times. And so!! I’ve decided to start collecting some language tips and bits of info to help anyone who wants to Welshify their Remus. The source? My upbringing as a first language Welsh speaker in South-West Wales.

The most popular head canons I’ve seen, some based on scraps of info from canon, is that Remus is either South Walian (specifically South-East Wales - aka the Cardiff area) or North Walian. I’ve only lived in North Wales for just under a month so I have a rough idea of NW slang but I’m no expert. I have lived in Cardiff for about 3 years so I have a stronger grasp on broad South Walian slang.

This is to say - I will try and give words and bits of info I think would be useful to know but my ask box is always open to more specific questions. I’m also a nerd towards the Welsh language so this is going to be an unnecessarily deep dive into it.

First Lesson

Gogs - North Walians

Hwntws - South Walians

Gogs (short for Gogledd meaning North) and Hwntws have an age old rivalry. Our accents are very different and even our Welsh can have a huge variety of slang and accents.

Examples:

Milk - Llaeth (Hwntw) Llefrith (Gog)

Now - Nawr (H) Rwan (G)

Whilst plenty of Welsh folks have very English sounding accents, if someone has a distinctly Welsh accent you can usually tell pretty quickly where they’re from. Accents within the Welsh language itself tend to be rather strong and distinctive for most people. It is extremely common for someone to ask you where you’re from once they find out you speak Welsh. Probably cause Wales isn’t that big and only like 20% ish of us speak Welsh??? Idk. It just is a thing. So like:

“O, da chi’n siarad Cymraeg?” (Oh, you speak Welsh?)

“Ydw! Wyt ti o’r Gogledd?” (I do! Are you from the North?)

“Yndw, dwi o Gaernarfon. Ble yda chi’n byw?” (I do, I’m from Caernarfon. Where do you live?)

“Fi o Rhydaman.” (I’m from Ammanford.)

Hopefully that dialogue feels human and not like two robots talking but you get the gist of it lmao. So, for those of you who want to make another of the characters, such as Lily, Welsh as well, it wouldn’t be out of place for them to try and establish where the other is from when first meeting. But also be aware that their slang and language would be different if they’re not from the same area (as with any language or country).

Conclusion: You cannot slap the blanket label of Welsh on Remus and then have him speak any old welsh and use any slang and such. So either choose somewhere specific or throw a dart and stick with where it lands.

Note: I am not the collective consciousness of every Welsh person. My experience is not universal - especially when it comes to North Walian things. This is just meant to serve as a general guide. Hope this helps and good luck with your writing!

pt.2

[seasidewriter1-writes]

Could you share some Ack-Ack headcannons?

Ooo, absolutely!! I love my boy Acks! (I got carried away, so buckle up!)

He didn’t chose the name Ack-Ack until the Battle of Geonosis; up til then, everyone called him ‘Cap’

He managed to maneuver his damaged ship through Separatist ack-ack (antiaircraft fire), and land it without anyone on board getting injured

A trooper said something along the lines of ‘you missed so many blasts you might as well been the ack-ack yourself’ and it just stuck

Ack-Ack was almost a medic; his temperament and ‘get-it-done’ attitude made him a pretty decent fit. But two things prevented this from happening:

The first being that it was evident he was a natural-born leader; there was a training exercise where their leader was ‘went down’ mid-maneuver, and he stepped forward and wrangled everyone into a position where they, and their wounded, would have survived had it been a real maneuver

The second being that Ack-Ack’s heart is so tender, that the thought of having to be stone faced and procedural while watching any of his brothers die made him feel sick

If you want the definition of ‘secret ball of sunshine,’ Ack-Ack is your man

The smile lines around his mouth, and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes are evidence of that

The men of the 442nd know that he’s not as stern as he often lets on, and keep a tally of how many times they can get him to crack a smile

Blinker (who’s the artist of Contigo Squadron) helps him dye his hair when it starts to fade out

While on the topic of smiling––Acks used to smile more before he was given the rank of Captain

With the position came a certain kind of resolve for him. He’s in charge of the lives of so many of his brothers, and that’s not something he takes lightly. So a seriousness overtook his demeanor whilst in command

 Had Elara not pointedly asked him and the members of Contigo Squadron their names, it would have taken much longer for him to warm up to her

The moment that Acks finally realized that Elara was the general he’d want to fight out the war with was this:

It happened about three weeks prior to Christophsis, and they’d only been working with one another for a month or so. They were getting pushed back by Separatist forces, and the two of them were on the front lines, trying to give the lads of the 442nd a chance to make a tactical retreat. He insisted she go with them, and she insisted that she stay up front with Acks

And then, before he could even perceived what had happened––Elara had lunged in front of him, and was blocking a hail of blaster fire that would have ended his military career, and his life, early

I have this idea that the clones were taught to get their Jedi Generals out of a sticky situation at any cost––so the fact that Elara was hell bent on saving him, and her men, struck him hard. They really weren’t numbers to her, they weren’t cannon fodder. They were men with lives that deserved a chance to survive this war

It was that moment that he knew they were matched well

Ack-Ack is low-key (high-key) Elara’s soldiering mentor

She wasn’t trained to fight wars, so he gave her the run-down on everything––key terminology, maneuvers, ship types, how certain weapons worked, how squads and detatchments worked within the context of a battalion... everything.

He will never take credit for being one of the reason’s Elara’s such a highly regarded General––but he is; she makes a point to tell him this, and he waves it off with a snort and flap of his hand

Ack-Ack’s tolerance for alcohol is surprisingly low

He gets giggly quick, and it is nigh impossible for him to maintain his serious captains’ countenance once he’s got a drink in him

Those moments, the giggly, snorting, kinda tipsy ones, they’re reminiscent of the man he’d been in training, prior to the war starting

Acks and Gunney were part of the same training squad, and he views Gunney as his unofficial second in command

He doesn’t know what he’s gonna do after the war ends; and, frankly, that kind of scares him

Needs at least a cup of something caffeinated before he feels up to speaking with anyone in the morning; which is real fun when you’re in the middle of a week long campaign, are running out of rations, and Blinker’s being Blinker

The insides of Acks’ armor pieces have names scratched into them. Names of fallen members of the 442nd, so he can carry them with him, and the unit, till the end of the war

And this last one isn’t a headcanon, but is actually a fun fact:

His name, Ack-Ack, is not only military slang (for antiaircraft fire), it was also the nickname of 2nd Lieutenant Andrew “Ack-Ack” Haldane, who served in the Pacific Theater of WWII. He was highly respected by the men of K-Company, whom he led through Peleliu till his death in action. One soldier, Eugene Sledge said that they “depended upon [him] for security – not our physical security, because we knew that was a commodity beyond our reach in combat, but our mental security.” Another man, R.V. Burgin said of Haldane, “I never heard him raise his voice at any man.  He was firm, but he was a gentleman, and compassionate.”

Haldane was a major inspiration for Acks, and not just in name

[cesabutterflywrites]

Meet Me at Stenvold’s

Word Count: 2020

Warnings: (Deceit’s name in this is Derrin), trouble breathing, feelings of anxiety, ask me if I missed anything

I was walking down a cobblestone street at night. It was raining, but I couldn’t feel the wetness on my skin. I felt the cold, though. I felt the shivering as I stumbled towards the small building ahead of me labeled as an Inn. I willed my knees to keep going forward. My feet felt as if they had been walking for miles. For all I knew, maybe they had. 

I made my way into the Inn, with various smells filling my nose. Cooking meat, beer, sweat, hay, and other mixtures of delicious and deplorable. It wasn’t too crowded, thank heavens, so I went to sit at one of the tables in the corner by the fireplace. I took my gloves off to hold my hands closer to the orange flames. It was as if the warmth was spreading up my bones. I sighed in relief, glancing behind me to take in my surroundings. 

I didn’t get very far in my observation before one of the staff came up to greet me. He was a tall, lanky lad with a tan so deep I may have believed he was from one of  the southern countries, like Spain or Portugal. He had eyes so dark they resembled pieces of charcoal in the dim lighting of the room, pairing excellently with the warmth of the fire. He had pink lips that gave a different meaning to the word ‘soft’. His hair was unruly, naturally a result of handling the many duties of an Innkeeper. He was wearing a simple outfit, brown shirt with a buckle and black pants. However he made a simple lower class outfit seem like something the King would wear. I felt an unfamiliar feeling well up in my chest. I heard what could only be the tantalizing whispers of Aphrodite plaguing my thoughts.

 I took my hands from the fire to turn and face him better. He held a pad of paper in his hands with a pencil. “Welcome to the Stenvold Inn, sir. We have a few rooms available to rent, and fresh meals for purchase. Would you like to order anything?” 

My mouth went dry with words. I opened my mouth to reply, “Yes, I would like-”

Roman awoke with a start to his alarm, nearly falling out of bed as he rolled over. His heart was pounding, his mouth was dry, and he reeked of the sweat drenching his skin. He took a moment to steady himself and his breathing. He realized that his dream was more than a dream, it was a memory of a past he had been searching for clues in. 

He felt the details slipping away, so he reached for his memory journal on his nightstand to scribble down messy notes in his uncoordinated, messy scrawl. Something was better than nothing when trying to remember a past life. He wrote what little he recalled until his fingers hurt and his memory dried up. He stared at the page, wondering why it was so blurry until he picked his glasses up from his nightstand. They did not make the writing any clearer. 

He sighed, hoping that maybe later he could decipher the memory. Definitely at least after having some morning tea. He willed himself to leave his warm bed to get ready for the day. He looked into his closet, humming as he tried to decide what to wear. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt that today was important. It was like the air around him was thick with anticipation. Could his dreamt memory be a sign?

He shook his head to rid himself of that train of thought as he grabbed a red shirt and dressed hurriedly. He was losing time and he wanted to savor his morning tea. 

He entered the kitchen to see his roommate frying up some eggs on the stove. 

“Good morning, roomie. Sleep well?” Patton asked. 

Roman let out a yawn and stretched. .”Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Ooo, what does that mean?” Patton looked over his shoulder toward his friend with a curiously raised eyebrow. 

Roman shrugged as he opened the cupboard to reach for a packet of his Green Tea with Lemon blend. He wasn’t very open about his memories of past lives. He felt it was a private part of his soul-one of the few secrets he could keep between him and whoever his soulmate was. 

“Nothing, Pat, just still a bit groggy,” he told the man handing him a plate of fried eggs on toast. 

Patton nodded, understanding. He didn’t push the subject, instead choosing to change topics, “Logan wants to check out the new bookstore over by the campus. Wanna join us?” 

Roman thought about what he wanted to answer with as he chewed his food. “I have three classes today, and midterms are a few weeks away. Plus the CAP Club meeting was pushed to Thursday, and I want to finish my project before everyone else.”

“Come on, Roman, you haven’t been out with us in forever,” Patton dragged out the final syllable in a whine. “It’ll be fun to have a change of pace, you know? Plus I miss hanging out with you outside the house.” 

Roman leaned his head back and let out a dramatic sigh. “Well I guess I have to give in to the pressure.” 

“Yay!” Patton cheered as Roman finished up his breakfast. 

“Thanks for the meal, Padre, but I gotta go. See you after classes.” 

“Bye, Roman! See you later,” Patton waved goodbye. 

---

Roman felt himself being more antsy as he went through the day. He felt like he couldn’t stop vibrating as he met up with Logan and Patton outside their usual coffeeshop. They walked down the block and it took everything he had not to start skipping. He ignored Patton’s puns and Logan’s rambling. He felt a jolt of deja vu as they came up to the sign outside the shop.

Stenvold’s Books

Roman remembered a portion of his journal entry, and he swore he heard the ***‘Welcome to Stenvold Inn’ ***ringing through his ears. He rushed ahead of his friends and paused to look around the store from the entrance. He started to remember old feelings. Warmth, wet skin despite the dry room, curiosity. He ignored Patton’s calls as he roamed up and down the aisles looking for…

Who was he looking for? 

He paused, letting Patton catch up with Logan close behind, somewhat out of breath. Patton placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, “Hey, Roman, whatcha roamin’ around for?”

“Now doesn’t seem to be the time for puns, Patton,” Logan gasped out. Patton abandoned Roman to reach in his bag for Logan’s inhaler. 

Roman looked back at his friends, concern was decorating his face for Logan’s well being. “I’m sorry, Logan, are you okay?” 

Logan held up a finger as he took in a puff of his ProAir. Roman nodded and watched the adoration on Patton’s face. Patton and Logan had such a great bond. They had met just a year before. Roman remembered Patton dragging the nerd into their living room one day shouting from the top of his lungs “I FOUND MY SOULMATE AND HE’S CUTE!”

As Logan’s lungs cleared, Roman felt his fill. His chest felt like an elephant was sitting on top of him. He grabbed at his heart, he looked at his friends in alarm, “I’m drowning,” he choked out.

“In what, your ego?” Logan asked sarcastically. Patton slapped his arm softly in admonishment before coming up to Roman. 

“You feel like you gotta move?” Roman just nodded. “You feel like if you don’t stop moving you’re going to drown?” 

Roman kept gasping as he nodded more enthusiastically, begging for Patton to get to the point. Patton squealed then hugged him before pulling back and screaming, “Go find them, Roman!” 

Roman tilted his head in confusion before Logan had a smile form on his usually stoic face. Understanding built its way in his mind. He turned from the two soulmates who found each other and went on a search for his own. 

He searched through the shelves. Looking for a face to recognize. How would he know? As he combed the aisles more there was a face forming. A voice entering his ears he had never heard in this life. His heart beat in time to the pop song on the speakers in the shop as he continued his search. He felt only half present; split between the past and present. 

Fear found its home in his eyes as he got to the front of the store. Patton and Logan looked at him with worry. Where were they? Where was his soulmate? 

He let Patton hug him as he cried. The face he was looking for was so clear in his mind. The charcoal eyes. The soft pink lips. The way his face half glowed in the firelight of the inn. The Stenvold Inn. He was-He was a worker there. He had come up for Roman’s order in their previous life. Maybe that was the sign. Roman pulled away from his friend to go to the checkout counter. 

“Welcome to Stenvold’s Books, find everything okay?” the employee asked with a bored tone. He was sitting on a stool behind the counter, reading a book. He was reading Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. His brunette hair was combed aside, covering one of his eyes. He didn’t seem to be in as much distress as Roman. 

Roman hesitated, but he took the chance anyway. “This may seem to be a random question-” the other man stood up, tossing his book aside. 

Roman smiled in disbelief. Perhaps he was in more distress than he seemed on the outside. 

“You?!” they both cried at once. 

Roman stood in place until his soulmate came up to him from his post. They stared in disbelief. Multiple lifetimes of love stood sturdy in between them yet they still remained strangers. Roman heard Patton sniffling behind him, and it was enough to remember how to speak. 

“I’m Roman this time,” he whispered. He was looking down into the abyss of the dark eyes. Six lifetimes and he still swooned. How could he have forgotten those eyes?

“I’m Derrin,” that hypnotic voice. Smooth as the finest scotch. Everything about the small man in front of him screamed sweet smoke. Roman recalled tasting dark chocolate, travelling deserts, huddling while travelling through the rain, and so many more memories. 

Roman’s tears betrayed him by falling down his face. “How could I have forgotten who we were before?” 

Derrin laughed. So familiar and comforting while also being tantalizing and new. It was bright. Roman started crying in relief. He was finally able to breathe. 

“So are we still doing the whole, ‘get to know each other’ thing again or are you going to stop crying and kiss me, darling?” Derrin asked, mischief in his eyes. 

Roman held no hesitance as he scooped the small man up and kissed the soft pink lips of his dreams. The body in his arms felt like coming home to a familiar teddy bear. It felt like exploring a new section of a jungle. It felt like sitting down at the dinner table to your favorite meal. It felt like seeing fireworks for the first time. 

They broke apart at Logan’s snide remark of, “They have to be able to breathe at some point.”

Roman sighed dramatically, “Excuse me for being so rude, these are my friends. Well, one is a friend and the other is just a stray he found on the street who also happens to be his soulmate.”

Logan rolled his eyes, knowing Roman’s remarks weren’t in malice. 

Derrin still had some hours left on his shift, so they promised to meet at the coffee shop down the street. Roman was about to walk away when the shorter man pulled him in by his collar for another kiss. “Don’t disappear on me for too long, darling. I don’t want to wait a whole other lifetime for you.”

-

-

-

-

Let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist for any ship!

[itsafanficthing]

The Paper Boy - Chapter Five

Sorry for the break in between chapters. Took a second to squeeze this one out of my brain and onto the keyboard.

A03 is here

School. It was back. Summer was over and it was back to the daily grind of homework, teachers and chores. Truth be told, the chores hadn’t really stopped over the break, but now there was more of a routine to the rest of Jamie’s day. The only thing that made him spring out of bed on the first day of school was the one and only Claire Beauchamp.

Jamie had promised to walk with her to school, introduce her to a few more people, and that he wouldn’t leave her side. She laughed at that and asked if she could at least have some privacy in the bathroom. He had conceded that yes, that was probably for the best.

School. Sixth-year. His final year. The year that he was supposed to make decisions about his future (as if they hadn’t already been made for him). His father and his sister wanted him to buckle down, make good grades, no distractions- academia, this was his year.

His mates wanted to have a good time. They wanted to have a laugh, play as many sports as possible, make a mess, get in trouble, flirt with pretty girls; live while they were young.

Claire. Jamie wasn’t sure what Claire wanted. She wanted a friend- of that Jamie was sure and he was only too willing to fill that role in her life, if not something more.

—

He rushed through his morning chores, feeding the horses and chickens by throwing handfuls of feed in their general direction before sprinting over to the pigs to lob last nights scraps into the pen. Jamie scoffed down a piece of toast in the shower- which was not a good idea for both taste and practicality- but it did save time. Jamie swung his heavy backpack over his shoulder, the second hand books thumping him across the back as he called goodbye to his father and sister. Both of whom were sitting together at the kitchen table, grinning at each other at Jamie’s apparent eagerness to start the new school year, though Jamie didn’t see it. He had somewhere to be.

Jamie rode his bike to Claire’s house as fast as his legs would carry him. He was running late. Or at least, late by Jamie’s standards. He’d wanted to get their early and have a relaxing ride so he didn’t turn up red-faced and sweaty. Instead the early morning sun beat down on the back of his neck and he could feel the sweat gathering at his hairline.

—

He finally made it to Claire’s house and took some time wiping his face on his school uniform and digging the can of deodorant out of his bag and dousing himself to disguise his nerves and the effort of the bike ride.

Jamie brushed his hair out of his face (his sister said he needed a haircut, but he quite liked it long) and carefully parked his bike inside Claire fence. He took a deep breath and was about to go to the front door and knock when a voice called his name.

Dottie Ables, the sixty-something town gossip was calling out to Jamie.

“Morning Mrs Ables,” Jamie greeted as she made her way over to him.

“Jamie, lad. How are ye this morning?” Dottie asked sweetly, although she wasn’t looking at Jamie. She was looking at the house behind him.

“Well, thank you.” Jamie shifted uncomfortably on his toes. Dottie was one of the worst gossips in the town; she always had something to talk about- which was saying something in a town where hardly anything happened.

“Yer ready for school then? Yer first day, is it no’?” Dotties eyes flickered over to Jamie briefly but it was clear that her interest was much more directed to the house behind him.

“It is,” Jamie answered. He didn’t want to say anything that would make the rounds through the town, twisting and turning until it wasn’t even remotely close to the truth. Saying nothing was better. Let them think he was shy or stupid.

“Ye lookin’ forward to it? New school mates and so on?” Dottie wasn’t even bothering to look at Jamie now. In fact, she took a step to the side to see the Beauchamp’s house better.

“Aye, summer has to end at some time.” Jamie shifted slightly so that he was standing directly in front of her again, forcing her to look up at him.

“Ohh aye, ye ken I used to be young once-” Dottie stopped mid sentence as the front door behind Jamie opened.

Lamb standing in a tweed fluffy dressing gown, slippers on his feet and a steaming cup of (what Jamie assumed to be) coffee in his hands.

“Jamie lad, I thought I heard you pull up. Fancy some breakfast?”

Jamie couldn’t help the smile that came to his face at seeing Lamb. Jamie had always thought that Lamb’s hair was perfectly straight in contrast to his niece, but looking at him now assured Jamie that was not the case.

Lamb’s hair was spiked, wavy and very much all over the place. It looked like the man had just rolled out of bed and Jamie wasn’t entirely sure that he hadn’t.

Dottie, who was blocked from Lamb’s view by Jamie suddenly cleared her throat and Jamie jumped in surprise, forgetting that she was there.

“Mornin’” she called loudly, wanting to be seen with no room to not be heard.

Lamb yawned widely as Dottie moved into view. Rubbing a hand over his face and smiling brightly Lamb called out a “good morning” before promptly turning around and going back inside.

Jamie could hear that it wasn’t at all an acceptable response by Dotties’ standards as she huffed as Jamie took a step toward the house.

“Does’na even greet his neighbours. How do ye like tha’?” Dottie grumbled as Jamie headed towards the open front door. He was sure that Lambert Beauchamp was going to be the hot topic at the next coffee catch up with the locals.

—

“Claire will be down in a moment. She’s just getting dressed,” Lamb said as he tried and failed to flip a pancake with the pan. “Should stick to the spatula,” he grumbled, binning the sloppy half cooked mess before pouring more batter into the pan.

“Do ye always cook pancakes in the mornin’,” Jamie asked curiously, watching Lamb move about the kitchen, pulling various condiments and spreads (jam, chocolate spread, maple syrup, and for some reason- mustard) from the cupboards and refrigerator.

“Goodness no,” Lamb laughed as he placed a bottle of brown sauce in front of Jamie. “Only on special occasions. First day of a new school warrants a special occasion, wouldn’t you think?”

Jamie wasn’t sure if the question was rhetorical but nodded in response anyway.

There was an awkward pause between them as Lamb continued to cook and Jamie sat at the table waiting for Claire. Jamie was never really sure what to say to Claire’s Uncle. It seemed like sometimes Lamb was more than willing to launch into a conversation with rapt attention, no matter the subject. And others, Lamb was vague and unresponsive, as if he was somewhere else entirely. Jamie watched him flip pancakes and tried to see if he could figure out what mood Lamb was in.

Footsteps thumping down the staircase brought Jamie out of his inspection of Lamb and he turned to see Claire enter the kitchen.  

Jamie could honestly say that he didn’t care for school uniforms. He knew that some of the lads in his class spoke about how the girls looked in it, in the white blouses and the black skirts. Especially the girls that rolled their skirts so that they were shorter than what was strictly allowed. He’d never really understood what the lads saw in the girls that were purposefully flirting and trying to change their uniforms to be more appealing. To Jamie, it was just another article of clothing to put on. It was what he wore to school. He wore his jersey when playing rugby. He wore his farm clothes when he was doing his chores.

He never understood the fantasy some of the lads with the school girl uniforms. They’d shown Jamie some pictures of girls with their tits bursting out of their tops and skirts that were little more than a scrap of cloth, and all Jamie had thought was how impractical it was and how uncomfortable it must be. It was hot, of course, the pictures were designed to be provocative, but aside from Jamie's natural hormonal reaction, he didn't understand the fantasy of it all.

That was, until, Claire Beauchamp walked into the kitchen. She was struggling with the black and red tie, her hair was in looser ringlets than usual and her crisp white shirt and perfectly ironed black skirt fit her to perfection. Jamie felt his mouth run dry and he was sure he had made some kind of strangled choking noise before swiftly turning to hide his lower body under the table, lest he shame himself and Claire this early in the morning. Good lord. Early in the morning. That’s what he told himself. It was just because it was early in the morning.

“Lamb, I can’t work out this tie.”

Jamie could hear the frustration in Claire’s voice but he didn’t dare turn around.

“Have a seat, Bumblebee. I’m sure Jamie can help.”

Unsexy thoughts. Unsexy thoughts. Auntie Jocasta’s knees. Cold Rugby practises. Jamie took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart. Claire had no idea of the effect that she had on him. Mucking out the stables.

“Morning,” Claire said brightly as she sat next to him. “Can you help?”

Jamie finally turned to smile at her and felt his heart skip a beat. Her cheeks were flushed with her frustrations and the tie was hanging limply around her neck as she waited for his assistance.

“First time with a tie?” Jamie asked, loosening his own.

“My last school didn’t have ones you had to tie yourself. It used to clip on.”

“Clip on?” Jamie made a disgusted sound and Claire giggled. “Hand it over and I’ll tie it.”

Claire slipped the material from around her neck and handed it to Jamie with a sigh.

Jamie put it around his neck and tied it quickly before handing it back to Claire.

“Do it again. I need to learn how to do it,” Claire said with a huff pushing the blasted material back to him.

Jamie grinned and undid his work before slowly retying the tie several times as Claire watched him

Claire tried and the tail came out about four inches longer than the front and she groaned in frustration before trying again.

“There, how's that?” She asked, straightening it and holding out her arms in triumph. It wasn’t the best work that Jamie’d ever seen but she certainly had tied it.

“Perfect,” he said as Lamb set down a mountainous stack of pancakes in front of them.

“You look smashing, Bumblebee,” he said as he took a seat opposite them and immediately started eating.

Claire rolled her eyes before picking up a pancake of her own and smothering it in maple syrup.

—

Jamie found himself quite enjoying breakfast with Lamb and Claire (and it wasn’t just because Claire looked bonnie in her uniform).

Once breakfast had started, Lamb launched into a few stories from his archeology digs and it seemed as though he had a tale for every occasion. A natural born storyteller, he could have been a Scot. Claire ate her breakfast in relative silence only speaking to amend or add details to Lamb’s story.

“Lamb, we have to go,” Claire said from the sink as she and Jamie washed the dishes, interrupting Lamb’s extremely interesting story of excavating an Indian Tomb back in the nineties.

“Yes of course. You have everything? Your books? Your lunch? Have I forgotten anything?” Lamb immediately jumped into action, lifting different condiments on the table, half expecting Claire’s textbook to be hiding underneath.

“No I have it all,” Claire answered as she dried her hands on Jamie’s teatowel. “But we really need to be going.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you? I’m more than happy to,” he offered holding a bottle of maple syrup in one hand and a bottle of lemon juice in the other. He quickly put the bottles down on the table and wiped his hands on his dressing gown. He looked lost and Jamie had a vague memory of his mother and father looking at him the same way when it was his first day of school.

“It’s five minutes down the road. I’m sure that we can manage. Jamie can show me the way.”

Lamb looked over to Jamie who nodded enthusiastically in return, “Aye sir, Lamb. I’ll make sure we get there safely.”

“Alright then.” Lamb seemed appeased and clapped his hand enthusiastically. “Well, have a great first day, Claire. Come home if you need to… and I suppose… I suppose I will see you this afternoon when you get home.”

“Thanks, Uncle Lamb. I’m sure it will be fine.” Claire smiled briefly at her Uncle before picking up her school bag, swinging it across her back and looking back at Jamie expectantly. “Ready then?”

“Aye,” Jamie nodded and together they left the house.

--

It was mayhem. The younger kids were in tears, the slightly older kids were trying to escape their overprotective parents and the seniors were causing general disruptions wherever they could. Jamie could feel Claire tense up beside him as they approached the gates. Somewhere along the walk she had tied her hair out of her face and her hands automatically fluffed over her hair, trying to flatten it.

“Don’t worry, Sassenach. I will’na let ye out of my sight,” Jamie said as his name was called over the general shouts, laughter and sounds of the other children.

“I know, I know,” Claire reassured him, though her voice wobbled with nerves. “It’s just… it’s a lot of people.”

“Come,” Jamie said holding out his hand to her, “I’ll introduce ye to some of my mates.”

Claire looked between Jamie’s hand and his face nervously. Whatever she had seen there seemed to fortify her and she took his hand. Jamie could feel her shaking and vibrating with nerves but all he could really concentrate on was the fact that she was holding his hand and that she trusted him. He was sure that he was blushing, but right at that moment, he didn’t particularly care.

--

“Aye, who’s this then?” Angus Mohr called out as Jamie and Claire approached. “Ye’ve got yerself a wee girlfriend then lad? No wonder ye’ve been ignoring us all summer.”

“I have’na been ignorin’ ye,” Jamie shook his head, still very much aware that Claire was gripping his hand tightly.

“Ye just did’na want to see us then? Is that it?” Ruper interrupted, taking a step closer to Claire. “Rupert MacKenzie, Jamie’s better looking cousin. Pleasure to meet ye.”

“Claire Beauchamp.” Claire’s voice was soft and it felt like Jamie’s fingers were about to fall off with the pressure she was exerting on them- he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“This is Angus, all round eejit and attention hoor,” Rupert continued as Angus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

“Pleasure.”

“So, ye had to go all the way to England to get a lass to fancy ye then, Jamie Lad?” Rupert laughed with gusto. “Ye’ve never fancied any of the lasses in our year so ye had to travel abroad. Angus thought ye might be swingin’ the other way.”

“Claire just moved here. Walter Sturart’s house. I’ve been showin’ her round.” Jamie ignored the second part of Rupert's ribbing.

Both Angus and Rupert crossed their hearts at the mention of Walter Stuart and Jamie felt Claire relax slightly.

“Weel, yer in better company than just a Jamie here now, lass,” Rupert went on after a respectful pause for the deceased Walter Stuart. “Havin’ no one but Jamie to show ye ‘round all summer. Must have been a bore.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Claire answered.

Jamie could hear a slight warble in her voice as she spoke but at least she wasn’t trying to crush his fingers any more.

“Here comes Geillis and Mary,” Angus hissed from behind Rupert and Jamie noticed Rupert stand a little straighter and puff out his chest.

“So Rupert did fancy Geillis, then,” Jamie grinned to himself. Seeing Rupert's cheeks flame as the two girls approached as he called out in greeting, Jamie wondered if that’s what he looked like when he looked at Claire.

“Who this then?” Geillis asked as they approached and Claire took a nervous step behind Jamie, trying to hide herself.

“Claire, she’s just moved here over the summer,” Jamie introduced Claire as she seemed to shrink back into herself.

“I’m Geillis, this is Mary,” Gellis introduced happily, seemingly unaware of Claire’s nerves. “So I guess we ken where Jamie’s been hidin’ all summer then. Had to go all the way to England to find a lass that will put up wi' ye then?” She laughed at her own joke and Rupert joined in as if it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, despite making the exact same joke seconds before the girls had arrived.

“As I was just sayin’ to the lads, I was’na hidin’. I was workin’,” Jamie defended again, although why he was giving them any kind of excuse, he didn’t know.

“Aye, aye, yer paper route,” Geillis waved away his comment with her hand. “I’m sure that kept ye up till all hours.”

“Ye ken I live on a farm, aye?” Jamie asked sarcastically. He could feel Claire relaxing again, though she was still partially hidden behind him.

Geillis scoffed and rolled her eyes as Angus interrupted whatever her retort was going to be.

“Aye ye do, and I’ve a bone to pick wi’ ye. We usually have the best parties in yer back field and I waited all summer for an invitation that never came.”

“Sorry to inconvenience ye,” Jamie laughed as he pushed Angus’s shoulder playfully. “Good to ken I’m only yer friend for the parties.”

“It’s about time ye apologised,” Angus shoved him back before the bell rang, signalling the start of the new school year.

“Do you know which homeroom you’re in, Claire?” Mary asked in such a soft voice that Jamie barely heard her.

“Oh um,” Claire jolted slightly at being addressed by someone. She dropped Jamie’s hand to pull her school schedule from her bag and Jamie flexed his hand in response. (First- to get the feeling back into his fingers and second- from the feeling of having Claire so casually hold his hand, linked together, a feeling he hoped to repeat several more times.

“Mrs Fox,” Claire read from the trembling paper in her hands.

“Same as us,” Rupert said swinging his backpack onto his shoulders. “Come on then.”

Claire looked up at Jamie with wild panic in her eyes.

“Same as me as well, Sassenach,” he said, seeing her visibly relax. “Ye alright?”

Claire nodded quickly, a few curls coming loose from her hair and it was all Jamie could do, to not gently sweep the hair from her eyes. Eyes that were slightly panicked and running over his face quickly.

“Y’ll be fine. Come on.” Jamie held out his hand again and to his satisfaction, Claire eagerly grabbed it once more.

—

The halls were busy with students pushing past each other, trying to get to class, or stopping and greeting each other and holding up the flow of students. It was mostly thanks to Jamie’s size that he and Claire made it to their homeroom together. Jamie more or less parted the sea of students and Claire followed behind him, gripping the back of his shirt to not lose him in the throng of people.

“Where do I put my bag?” Claire asked as Jamie stopped.

Jamie was pulling his own bag from his shoulders and tossing it carelessly onto the bag racks outside of the room as she asked and she watched him with curiosity before nodding to herself and following suit.

“Do I need anything? Pens, paper?” She asked eagerly as Jamie walked into the room without anything.

“It’s homeroom, Sassenach. Mrs Fox is’na likely to start handin’ out homework.” Jamie smiled at her and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. “Come on,” he indicated with his head and she followed him nervously.

The desks were set in pairs and Angus, Rupert, Geillis and Mary were sitting in the back left corner waving over to Jamie and Claire. Jamie wove through the desks to pull up his usual space- third from the back, next to the window, spare seat beside him. It hadn’t always been spare. John Grey had sat next to Jamie for most of Jamie’s schooling life until he had transferred back to England after his father passed away. Since he’d gone though, Jamie had mostly sat by himself. His friends would rotate with him if someone was away sick or fighting (not that it happened very often).

He no longer sat alone.

Claire’s fingers were tapping nervously on the desk in front of her and he could feel her knee bouncing and shaking the desk. Jamie turned to face Rupert sitting directly behind him. It was best to leave Claire for a moment to calm her nerves without forcing her into a conversation.

“Do ye think Mr Langford will be such a hard ass this year?” Rupert asked.

Mr Langford- the physical education teacher, was notoriously firm with students. He was also Jamie’s rugby coach.

“He’s not that bad. It’s only ‘cause ye muck about in class that ye get detention,” Jamie answered as Angus scoffed.

“Perfect Jamie. O’ course ye’d say that. Never got a detention in yer life. Not to mention that ye’re his favourite.”

“I’m not his favourite,” Jamie laughed, shaking his head. “I’m just not a complete eedjit.”

Angus was about to retort when Mrs Fox called for the class's attention.

“Good morning everyone. I hope you had a good summer break. I see a new face in our class. Welcome. Now, lets take the roll shall we? See who could’na roll out of bed this morning!.” Mrs Fox said all of this very quickly, nodding over to Claire and causing half the students to turn in their chairs to look at her.

As Mrs Fox read out the list of names, each student responding in turn when their names were called, Claire lent closer to Jamie.

“She’s not going to make me introduce myself to the class, is she?” She whispered, flinching as Angus hollered “PRESENT” from behind her.

“Nah. Homeroom is just for announcements and roll call. I doubt any of the teachers will make ye stand up and introduce yerself. It is’na primary,” Jamie replied shaking his head and seeing her sigh in relief. “Do ye ken yer first class?”

“Yes. It’s English I think.” Claire nodded eagerly. “What about you?”

“English as well I think. Who’s yer teacher?”

“Oh. I don’t know. How many English teachers are there?”

“Weel, there’s different levels of English, dependin’ on yer results from last year,” Jamie explained under his breath as Mrs Fox put away the roll call and started to go through morning announcements.

“Oh.”

“I’m in Higher English wi’ Mr Randall, as are Rupert, Angus, Mary and Geillis and I’m in Advanced Higher Maths with Geillis, but Rupert and Angus are in level 5,” Jamie continued as the speakers crackled to life and the Principal (Mr Worthing) interrupted Mrs Fox and welcomed the students to a new year.

“Oh,” Claire repeated looking downtrodden.

“It’s alright, we’ll look at yer schedule and figure out where yer goin’. Chances are ye’ll have at least one class with one of us.”

“I didn’t even think about different levels, Jamie. I just… Lamb just transferred across my credits and I picked some classes. I didn’t even look at the levels,” Claire said unhappily.

“Most of the time, ye dinna need to,” Jamie tried to reassure her. “The teachers usually look at yer marks and will place ye in the class that suits ye.”

“But what if,” Claire paused and bit her lip. What Jamie wouldn’t give to gently tug it loose from her teeth and kiss her. He shook the thought from his mind as Claire started to speak again. “What if I’m in… one of the lower classes.”

“Lower classes?” Jamie asked in confusion.

“You’re clearly in all the advanced classes. What if I’m in one of the dumb ones?”

Jamie snorted with laughter and Mrs Fox looked up from her list of announcements and frowned at him.

“What?” Claire asked sounding thoroughly put out by Jamie’s reaction.

“Sassenach,” Jamie said shaking his head and smiling at her, “yer one of the smartest lasses I’ve ever met, ye read encyclopaedias in yer spare time- ye’ll be fine.”

Claire blushed prettily before she sat up straighter and squared her shoulders. “I do not read encyclopaedias.”

—-

Jamie was right (of course). When homeroom was excused he and Claire rushed to her bag to check her schedule.

Claire Beauchamp Monday

Period 1 - English (Higher) - Mr Randall

Period 2 - English (Higher) - Mr Randall

Period 3 - Maths (Adv Higher) - Mr Sandringham

Period 4 - Biology (Higher) - Mrs Miller

Period 5 - History (Higher) - Mr Randall

Period 6 - History (Higher) - Mr Randall

“Weel, yer certainly not in any of the easy classes,” Jamie said as he looked over the sheet of paper. “They’re all Higher or Advanced Higher classes.”

“Is that a good thing?” Claire asked nervously as Jamie started to steer them towards their first class.

“Weel, if it helps. English and Math are both with me. I think Gellis is in Biology but I dinna ken who’s in History with ye.”

“You’re not in History?” Claire asked as they arrived at their English class.

“Nah,” Jamie shook his head. “I reckon my Da taught me enough about my families own history. I dinna think I can stomach any more.”

“You’re family history is convoluted then?” Claire asked somewhat sarcastically, though she definitely also sounded eager to hear more.

“Oh, aye. Very much so. Fought in risings. Locked in jails. Outlaws, landowners, prisoners, laird's- There is’na much the Fraser’s have’na done.” Jamie collected his books and pens from his bag and watched as Claire eagerly followed suit.

“Sounds fascinating.”

“I’ll tell ye about it someday. Not now though. Randall’s a right grump when yer late to class. Come on.” He smiled at Claire reassuringly and she returned the smile, following him into the classroom and taking the seat next to Jamie.

--

“Good Morning Everyone.” Mr Randall stood in front of the class, his dark brown eyes running across the faces looking back at him, lingering for a moment over Jamie and Claire before flicking back across the room. “I trust you all had a good summer. Anyone read anything interesting over the break? No? Well, rest assured this year will solve that issue for you. We will be starting the year with 1984 by George Orwell. Read it before? No?” Mr Randall spoke at such a rapid speed that he gave the class no chance to respond before he was moving onto the next point. “Published in 1949,” Mr Randall turned to face the whiteboard and began making bullet points as he spoke. “The year is 1984, as the title suggests, civilisation damaged by war, conflict, revolution. Three super-states rule the world. The world is run by the “Party” with a leader, cult-like status, Big Brother. The book is about conformity, surveillance, and propaganda.”

Jamie had read the book about two years ago. His father was a keen literary and made sure that both Jamie and Jenny had read the “classics”. Jamie glanced over to Claire who was carefully making notes in her book as Mr Randall continued his monologue.

“Have you read it before?” Jamie wrote the words in the top corner of his notebook and slid the page across to Claire. He saw her hand pause briefly from the notes she was taking before she pulled Jamie’s book closer and wrote her reply.

“About a year ago. I did an assignment on it.”

Claire’s writing was clean but angular; each letter on a significant slant.

“Same- read it a while ago too. Maybe you can recycle the assignment.” Jamie wrote back, casually sliding the book back the Claire. He saw her smile and shrug her shoulders slightly before she put went back to taking notes from Mr Randall.

--

“I want you to finish reading the book in the next two weeks. It shouldn’t take long. Don’t fall behind, we will be discussing the themes of each chapter in the coming classes, and it won’t do you any good to not know what the rest of the class is talking about.” Mr Randall had to raise his voice over the sounds of students packing up their belongings as the bell rang.

“Claire, do you mind staying a moment? I’d like a word.”

Jamie stopped as Mr Randall called Claire’s name.

“I’ll wait for ye outside.” Jamie saw Claire tense before she nodded tight lipped and made her way to the front of the room.

--

Jamie packed away his books and paced outside the classroom, waiting for Claire.

Whatever Mr Randall had wanted to say to Claire didn’t take long and she was soon back with Jamie as they walked slowly on their break between classes. Jamie was eating an apple as Claire dug a cheese stick out of her bag.

“What was tha’ about?” Jamie asked through a mouthful of apple.

“Oh, he just wanted to welcome me to the school. Said he knew my Uncle Lamb at Oxford, they went to the same university,” Claire shrugged casually but Jamie could see that there was something else.

“And?” He prompted when Claire didn’t say anything further.

Claire smirked up at him and Jamie felt his heart beat irregularly in his chest. The things that she did to him.

“He also wants to introduce his son to me, Frank. He said that I should look out for him next class and say hi.”

“Ah, Frank,” Jamie said with a sigh.

“What’s wrong with Frank?” Claire asked curiously as Jamie stopped on a bench outside a classroom and took a seat.

“Nothin’ at all,” Jamie shook his head. “I dinna ken him too well to be honest wi’ ye. Seems a bit up-tight sometimes, but I’m sure it is’na easy havin’ yer Da as one of yer teachers."

“I can imagine, I don’t know how I would be if Lamb came to teach history.”

“He keeps to himself mostly, but I can introduce ye if ye like.”

“It’s fine,” Claire waved away the offer. “I’m sure we’ll have a class together somewhere along the line. I don’t need to meet the entire school on the first day.”

“Nah, I suppose not.”

Jamie smiled at Claire.

Claire smiled at Jamie.

She looked so pretty in her school uniform, her earlier nervousness now somewhat dissipated.

“Thank you, for taking me under your wing Jamie. I really do appreciate it,” Claire said softly. “I don’t know how I would have done this morning or any of today without you.”

Jamie shrugged and swallowed heavily before clearing his throat. “It’s no bother, really. I’m glad I could be of assistance. We’re friends aren’t we?”

“Friends,” Claire repeated the word with a soft hum. “Yes, yes we are. I was thinking that-”

Though what she was thinking, Jamie never found out, as Jamie’s name was shouted to him from across the yard and they both looked up to see Laoghaire and her friends making their way towards them.

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

finally. i decided to do this. anyways hello there, i am jake and today i want to talk about something; you see, if you are in the tf2 fandom, you probably know about heavymedic. Wherther you are a hardcore gamer who resents f2p’s or a person that never played the game but has trillions of notes on their art- you know heavymedic exists and most of all you probably ship it.

And I find that weird. In the few fandoms in my life I have been in I had never seen a single ship be so widely if not shipped, then accepted. Sure, maybe everyone in the GF fandom knows what Billdip is - for better or for worse. Sure, maybe the HS fandom is 70% shipping.

But I have never ever seen such a phenomenon in a prominent multiplayer game fandom. A fandom, sadly, oftentimes filled with toxicity. Overwatch is very similar here - yet ships are either a hot topic of discussion or straight up ignored. But TF2? In here for whatever reason we ship these two mercenaries. And in this essay I will try and find a reason or two why is that.

Apologies for any mistakes or incoherency. English is not my first language, I need to ramble, and my vocabulary is all over the place.

Content warning: mentions of homophobia, blood, death, mentions of WLW fetishization, nsfw mention. Also MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE TF2 COMICS.

Part 1: Canonical Evidence and Interactions

Let’s be honest: I could ramble about this one for days on end. But I’ll try and keep it short.

First and foremost we have the official videos. And of course the first thing that comes to mind is Meet the Medic.

At the very start of the part where Medic himself appears, we see him telling a joke about a particularly gruesome situation to Heavy.

He laughs along with him, visibly enjoying his company. He even smiles as he waits for another joke. Heavy only shows genuine fear a lot later.

And of course this damn scene always cracks me up. Medic slightly pinches Heavy’s cheek and strokes his lip gently (the other part is almost not noticeable unless you play the video at slow speed).

Of course we all know about the Hand Hold that happens somewhere halfway in the vid. I don’t think I have to explain the gayness in that. The fact their hands stay interlocked even after Medic helps Heavy up. The deep breath Medic takes because even he cannot handle the emotions. That few seconds is unresolved sexual tension manifest.

Overall the short shows a strong feeling of trust between these two. Medic confides in Heavy and reverse. Yeah he puts a baboon heart into his friend’s chest cavity but the fact (as proven at the end of the video) that Heavy was the first one to have an Ubercharge implanted into him shows that Medic at the very least considers him a lab rat.

I treat End of the Line as non-canonical, as do many others, and as such won’t discuss it here. But it will forever crack me up that Valve endorsed such levels of homoerotic subtext.

These two have some short moments in other videos, like for example in Invasion Heavy helps Medic up (CINEMATIC PARALLELS) but it’s nothing major so I guess I’ll skip forward.

Second is their interactions ingame. You might call me a weirdo for trying to find stuff in there but holy shit I have things to say and I’m going to say them.

You thought I was going to fanboy over the “i love this doktor” voiceline huh? Well not really. I wish these two had unique lines if they assist one another.

Heavy is literally listed on the official wiki as the “ideal medic buddy” and multiple pages on that exact wiki say some pretty interesting things.

I have to say something about the Gentleman’s Ushanka and/or Pocket Medic. They are both community cosmetics - but the fact they both got accepted by Valve says a lot. Above is text snipped from the actual wiki.

Last but not least: The Comics. Darned comics. The pair of mercenaries has basically no interaction - unless you count issue 6.

Heavy getting absolutely PISSED when Medic is killed by Ch*avy. Their reunion. Medic referring to Heavy by “my friend” in a totally straight way. Kind of sad Valve wasted an opportunity for them to hug. Maybe they knew their comic artist ships them and wanted to avoid having to answer the Question™.

Part 2: Dynamics

This part’s a bit trickier, mostly due to the reason that I’m new to this whole dynamic analysis thing. Yeah I’m good at spotting canonical evidence but very specific shipping dynamics often escape my gaze.

The most obvious one is Big Guy, Little Guy. Quoting the TVTROPES page:

[…] This trope describes a pair of guys who always fight together, are best friends forever, and quite often have a very obvious hierarchy: The little guy is often in charge […] The little guy is usually listed first, since he’s the leader, and they are always listed together, as if they are one entity. In fact, some episodes may center on the fact that they can’t live without each other. […] If this is a case of Brains and Brawn, the Big Guy is usually the Brawn, and the Little Guy the Brains. It’s almost never the other way around, but in some cases the Big Guy can be rather smart too. […]

A sub-type of this, a common favorite here on Tumblr is known as “small chaotic big calm” and hoo boy if that isn’t these two. I don’t really have much to say here - again I am not an expert.

Part 3: Fandom Impact

So you don’t think Red Oktoberfest (as Heavymedic is sometimes called) is super popular on anywhere else than Tumblr? Wrong.

It’s hard to find TF2 fics on Archive of Our Own not tagged with Heavy/Medic. Of course most of them only contain hints to their relationship but go in the main tf2 tag and I can guarantee you, you’ll gonna see “implied heavy/medic” all the time.

But these two go further than AO3 or Tumblr or Instagram or whatever. They are recognized even within the wider circle of the fanbase. Take this SFM, for example. (I am using the Saxxy Awards version of Secret Lives here mostly due to the fact that the Heavymedic moment is much gayer. In the normal version, the dialogue isn’t changed, but they simply hold hands.)

But it gets deeper. (WARNING: THE GAY MOMENT IN THIS ONE IS NSFW. NOT EXPLICITLY SO BUT JUST A HEADS UP TUMBLR PLEASE DO NOT FLAG ME)

And the best part? The comments are extremely positive. You’d expect hoards upon hoards of homophobes screeching but no, the comments are supportive. Even on places such as Reddit or Youtube, comments like “yeah they’re gay and in love” do not get downvoted/disliked to hell; in fact the opposite.

Part 4: Canon Status

Let’s be real. Most ships are shipped because people want to explore the dynamics in fanfic, fanart or something else. But Heavymedic is shipped because… well, I have no idea.

Actually, I kind of do - but only theories. You see, while the canonical evidence is here, the creators have never said anything about them. No confirmation, no disproval, no hinting, nothing.

But the ship is so prominent! There has to be something causing this!- you say. And to that I present you 2 theories on why Heavy/Medic is so popular.

Theory number 1 states that we simply all choose to interpret their interactions as homoerotic. And this is very easy to disprove - there’s simply no way we just collectively agreed on these matters out of nothing. There has to be something bigger.

And theory 2 states that, well, our interpretation is the desired interpretation. But this is even more ridiculous than theory 1 for a number of reasons. If they are in fact gay, why hasn’t Valve made them canon yet?

A Theoretical Scenario

I am going to ramble big time on this one, so buckle up lads. I’ll discuss a theoretical scenario in which, well, if that was not obvious, Valve confirms Heavymedic as canon. Maybe then we will see why they will probably never do so.

TF2 is considered by typical capital G, alt-right Gamers as a “non-political” game. This means no women (in the game itself, at least, and if even, sexy women only), no queer folk and no minorities (for some reason they accept Demoman but throw a fit if someone draws any other merc as not being pearl white). Team Fortress 2 was around before Gamergate and other things like Gamers Rise Up. It’s a classic and Valve is regarded as the good guy to Epic Game’s bad guy. If Valve did anything to confirm doubts, wherther it be clearing up popular fanon or confirming ships, these people would throw hands. (Although they seemed to ignore when one of the writers confirmed Miss Pauling is a lesbian. Huh.) Even those that don’t play TF2 would come to the aid of their bros.

Let me illustrate with two very similar examples. In both cases these confirmations were the first made by the company as a whole, both are fairly recent and both confirm a character as gay.

First we have the confirmation of Tracer from Overwatch as a lesbian. It was done in one of OVW’s comics. Tracer is the FACE of Overwatch as a whole and while most of the fanbase accepted it (thankfully the Gamers are reluctant to infest ow), some people threw what I can only describe as a hissy fit. At least her girlfriend’s a background character.

Second is Neeko from League of Legends. Unlike Tracer she was added a while before it was confirmed she was gay. LOL is much more toxic and filled with Gamers than OW and holy shit people smeared LOL so much.

Of course these are not accurate to Heavy/Medic. In both of the cases I listed it was girls being wlw and we all know how much cisgender heterosexual gamers LOVE yuri porn. Apparently only girls can be gay because they can jack off to it - if it’s two guys then it’s disgusting. Nevertheless I think these are good approximations - in every case the company gets “shat on” on social media and other sites. With the community that Valve has, I think even if they wanted them to be gay, they would never ever confirm it.

Conclusion

I’m sorry for that ending. I had to theorize a bit. Regardless I’d love if you shared this on other sites, reblogged or whatever - I wasted at least 1 and a half hours of my life on it. Feel free to cite this as a source if someone asks you why you ship the big heavy weapons expert and the feral battle medic.