#i’m genuinely starting to really dislike him lads

[flyhighisco]

had to hit him up again

[twistedtummies2]

Ranking Twisted Wonderland - Part 1

In August of 2020, I joined Tumblr for the first time. That same year, I posted a very early version of a ranking/countdown of my favorite characters from Twisted Wonderland: a game that has basically come to define my page. I write about a lot of things on here, but Twisted Wonderland is my “flagship fandom,” as it were.

I have revisited this idea of ranking my favorites from the game’s main cast of twenty-two students from Night Raven College a couple times since…but I was never happy with any of those attempts. I decided that, to celebrate my 3rd year anniversary here on Tumblr, and just as many years in love with the game, to do something special and try to rectify this issue: a comprehensive, two-part countdown/ranking of ALL those twenty-two characters, listing them from my least favorite to my most favorite, and - furthermore - explaining WHY they had they place they did and what I loved about each character. That, dear readers, is what you are looking at now: the first part of that ranking. (The second part will be posted tomorrow.) Each half will cover eleven options; this first half will cover choices 22 through 12; tomorrow will follow the top eleven. I based my decisions on a number of things. One, obviously, is just personal bias, and that’s naturally something one simply has no control over: sometimes you’ll like certain characters more than others “just because,” and one just has to deal with that fact. The remaining factors, however, are slightly more technical: for example, how excited do I get when Cards featuring the characters come up? Are they ones I always go for, or ones I always skip? Also, in my writing, how much do I like playing with that character, or how much do I want to play with them? For those who know my page, I’m specifically talking non-kinks there…although I should add that I will be taking kinks into account. That sort of just gets lumped into “personal bias.” On one final note there, this is a list of my favorite CHARACTERS, not my favorite CRUSHES: for me, personally, there is a difference. This was not easy to make, and there are multiple characters here where I honestly wish I could rank them higher, or where it’s all a matter of my mood (like, some days I like them more than others, if that makes sense). The fact is that I genuinely and truthfully love ALL of these lads; there really are no bad characters in the entire bunch, at least in my humble opinion. Also, again, I’m specifically talking the 22 “Main Students,” so no side characters, no staff members, and certainly no Grim. With that said, let’s begin. Here is the start of my rankings of the central cast for Twisted Wonderland: From “Least Good” to Best!

22. Cater Diamond.

Cater is a fun character with a lot of energy, who represents a common dichotomy that runs through most of the characters in this cast. At first, he seems like a typical social media junkie: obsessed with self-image, overly cheerful, practically speaking a language made up of hashtags, and seemingly ready to take a selfie with everyone and everything in breathing distance. However, underneath this, there are other sides to Cater he seems to try and keep hidden: he has a rather sneaky side to him, and there’s also hints of something terribly sad beneath his mask of smiling enthusiasm. At times I think that superficial side gets a bit annoying, which may or may not be the point…but it’s never enough to make me hate him. Unfortunately, it is enough to make him place at the bottom of the ranks.

21. Silver.

Silver ranks low because he’s sort of a cypher to me. There’s a sort of mysterious quality to the character, perhaps unintentional, as I find him to be one of the hardest characters to fully get a grasp on in a lot of ways. It’s telling that he is the only major character in the cast (minus Grim) whose last name is never given; he’s simply known as “Silver.” However, again, this doesn’t make him a character I dislike: for one thing, I enjoy that sense of mystery, because it feels like - with what we DO know about the guy - there’s a lot of interesting things waiting to be discovered still. He’s also one of the more unique characters in the cast, since he’s one of only two who is based not on a Disney Villain, but on a Disney Hero: the character is inspired by Princess Aurora herself, with a dash of Prince Philip thrown in, which makes him all the more intriguing when you realize his master (and adoptive big brother, by all accounts), Malleus, is based on the nemesis of those characters. I’m curious to see how that fact plays into the story; at the moment, Chapter 7 is not available in English, and I’m trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can. I know that Silver gets a big boost as a character due to the events of that chapter, but since I haven’t seen it yet…right now, he gets lower points. I am 90% sure that, when I see that Chapter, this fact will change and he will be given much higher placement. As it stands…this is where he sits.

20. Sebek Zigvolt.

Poor Sebek. I actually want to like this guy more than I do, but no matter how hard I try, I just don’t. Sebek definitely has his appealing qualities, and he’s probably one of the funniest characters in the game. It’s rare that scenes with Sebek don’t leave me snickering and rolling my eyes with amusement at his over-boisterous, Malleus-obsessed personality. His ego is a funny thing, and there’s a lot of humor that comes from seeing his pomposity punctured. However, at times those same qualities, much like with Cater, can be a bit grating. It was actually hard to choose between him and Silver, as far as which of the two I liked most. I ultimately decided to put Sebek over Silver simply because I think he’s a bit easier to understand and get into the head of.

19. Trey Clover.

The great paradox with Trey is that what I like about him is also what lands him so low in the ranks. Trey is the single most level-headed character at NRC. He’s sort of an encouraging big brother figure, and his more mild-mannered, practical personality makes him a great contrast to Riddle, as well as many of the other characters in the game. While he’s ostensibly inspired by one of the Card Guards, he actually seems to be based largely on the King of Hearts: a humbler figure than his housewarden, but with his own sneaky side, a trait he shares with Cater. However, the problem with Trey’s generally more “normal” personality is that, by being a character who, by design, tends to fade into the background a bit…he does exactly that, especially when you consider all the wild and colorful characters who surround him. As a result, I can’t really rank him any higher than this.

18. Rook Hunt.

Rook is one of the most oddball characters in the game…and as you can imagine, that’s saying quite a lot. He’s also probably one of the creepiest. He’s inspired by the Huntsman from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” but you probably wouldn’t guess it at first glance. He arguably changes the most from his source material: Rook is a fashionable Frenchman with a flamboyant personality. He’s a poet and a seeker of things of beauty, with more romance in his heart than a dozen Harlequin novels. He’s also seemingly fearless, which is part of what makes him occasionally unsettling: you can snarl at him, threaten him with all sorts of horrible forms of destruction, show off muscles and claw and fangs…and he just reacts with some over-the-top variation of, “That’s magnificent! Show me more!” But perhaps the thing that makes Rook truly unnerving is that he seems to adhere to the logic of “The Most Dangerous Game.” Rook is OBSESSED with hunting; he uses it as an analogy for almost everything he does, and he seems to treat just about everyone he finds interesting like a hunter stalking their prey. He has many secrets, and a lot of them are to things we don’t WANT the answers to. He’s equal parts fun and frightening, and I’ve come to like him more over time (something that can be said for a lot of characters in the game), but he still ranks fairly low in my books. He’s just not a character I’m that interested in writing for.

17. Ortho Shroud.

It’s about this time in the ranking that I start to feel REALLY bad about placing some characters particularly low. As I said before, I love all of these lads, but I naturally like some more than others. Ortho is unique among the cast just due to the simple premise of his entire existence: he’s an android who has been programmed to behave like the little brother of Idia Shroud (the Hades character of the game). This means he’s not only the youngest character of the cast - an eternal child who presumably never grows any older (Peter Pan sympathizes) - but he’s also the only one of the crew who isn’t an organic being of any kind. Ortho is another example of the dichotomy of darkness and light that most of these characters have: on the one hand, he’s an adorable little sweetheart who just wants his big brother to be happy and have more friends to play with. He’s inquisitive, enthusiastic, and somehow manages to be innocent while literally being a walking Internet browser at the same time. On the other hand, Ortho is armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction and all kinds of crazy gizmos and gadgets, which can lead to some…alarming situations, since he doesn’t always emotionally process issues properly. He seriously sees no issue with blowing annoying people to smithereens. Equally split between scary and sweet, Ortho is the most adorable little murder machine you could ever meet.

16. Lilia Vanrouge.

Much like Epel, Lilia is someone whose outer appearance - a seemingly youthful, self-admittedly adorable, and rather spritely young lad - is the polar opposite of who he really is deep down.The difference is in how that is expressed. Beneath his Puckish exterior, Lilia is a wise old man…who if you will pardon my French, gives nary the slightest of f#cks. He’s an ancient warrior, older than ANYONE at Night Raven, who comes to the school for purposes of his own. He’s forgotten more about history, human and fairy alike, than any textbook author will ever know. He’s practically a father figure to both Malleus and Silver, and - just like Epel - he knows how to use his appearance to his advantage. He lures people in with his slight looks and eccentric personality, or uses them to throw people off the scent, before promptly showing them just how wicked he can really be. He reminds me a lot of characters like Sans from “Undertale” or the Doctor from “Doctor Who”: to paraphrase the latter show, Lilia has the demeanor of a prattling jackanapes…but inside, it’s a whole other story. He’s one of Night Raven’s fascinating characters, as a result, but I simply enjoy others a lot more.

15. Epel Felmier.

Speaking of characters who can be scary and sweet, Epel is the definition of that classic meme, “Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you.” Well…maybe not KILL, but certainly beat the tar out of your wagon. Epel, at first glance, is an effeminate, childlike lad with big baby eyes and a graceful physique. This is the total opposite of who he is inside: Epel is a country boy, born and bred, who’s used to rough labor and a rugged lifestyle. He has a thick Southern dialect, loves action and fast vehicles, and can whoop your arse in about three seconds flat if you let him. Epel’s whole story arc in the game, in fact, is learning how to balance his inner fire with the doll-like appearance of his face and form…sometimes a bit against his will. He wants so badly to be seen as a Manly Man of Manly Man Manness, but he’s always finding people who underestimate him based on his girlish demeanor, or who try to teach him to be more refined and reserved than he truly is under the surface. He’s the living embodiment of the Poison Apple: a tempting, beautiful, delicate-looking thing with a hard, thick, juicy, and downright dangerous undercurrent. The result is honestly pretty funny, as well as interesting.

14. Idia Shroud.

Like I mentioned earlier, Idia is the character based on Hades in this game. This flame-haired computer genius is probably one of the most interesting twists on their respective source you’ll find in “Twisted Wonderland.” When people think of Disney’s Hades, they think of a confident, fast-talking, Mephistophelean figure with a smarmy attitude and a wry sense of humor, whose attempts to be smooth and slick are contrasted by a raging inferno of a temper. Idia is interesting in that he’s actually none of these things…or, at least, not at first glance. Idia is a reclusive, anti-social misfit who literally is afraid of people EXISTING anywhere NEAR him. He prefers to stay shut in his lair playing video games and watching anime or old horror movies than to be anywhere close to another living being, for fear that he’ll BREATHE wrong around them. (No, that is not an exaggeration.) Online, however, Idia actually shows another side to his personality, which is much closer to Hades, and he can be very passive-aggressive or downright mean-spirited when he feels he has some security to be. Idia appeals on two different levels, as a result: he’s one of the most sympathetic and at times downright cute characters in the game, but his nasty side - where his inspiration really shows - is just as entertaining, especially in the unique way it’s presented.

13. Vil Schoenheit.

Vil is another case of a character I’ve come to enjoy and understand more as time has gone on. In fact, when I look back on older stories I wrote featuring Vil, I sort of cringe because I feel like, when I wrote those, he was one character I didn’t really understand well enough to properly handle. Nowadays, I think I’d do a few things differently…but I digress. Vil is based on the Evil Queen, and he lives up to his predecessor well. He is vain, without question, but it isn’t a vanity usually played up for comedy: just like the Queen, Vil is cold and authoritative, not easily fazed by fear or agitated worry. He keeps a stiff upper lip, presenting himself with poise and elegance that virtually no one at Night Raven can surpass. Even when he is overcome with emotion, he tries to rein it all in. All of this is a well-sculpted mask to hide his personal insecurities and professional stresses. Vil is one of the few major characters in the cast with a big job to do outside of the school: he’s a CELEBRITY, and a multi-talented one, at that. He’s a skilled actor, singer, dancer, model, photographer, costume and makeup designer, beautician, AND director of both film and theatre. Top it off with martial arts skills, a talent for poisons and potion making, and the fact he somehow juggles all of that ON TOP of trying to attend a prestigious college and keep his grades in the upper ranks…and I think it’s fair to say Vil is the definition of an absolute unit. But despite all his success and all his accomplishments, hiding under his painted lips and flowing robes, Vil has personal esteem issues he tries to keep tucked out of sight. He’s just as paradoxical and fascinating as his source material, and a wonderful reinvention of the Evil Queen in his own right.

12. Ace Trappola.

It was difficult to decide who would rank higher/lower between Ace and Deuce. These two are the MC’s best friends in the game, and as such, they’re pretty prominent figures throughout the entire run. They have some part to play, to varying degrees of size, in every chapter of the Main Story, and they appear quite frequently in the various Events that branch off of the same. Because we spend so much time with them, we know more about them than a lot of other characters, and they often help to act as voices of advice (sometimes good, sometimes bad) for the player. Ace lost the battle, but do not misconstrue that to mean I dislike him. Ace is a cunning trickster who is skilled in sleight-of-hand magic tricks, and is an expert card player. In direct contrast, however, Ace is also a person who lacks what might be called a “shut up filter.” He always speaks his mind, without hesitation or holding back, very rarely trying to sugarcoat or hide anything. Even when he tries to be a bit more crafty and weasel his way through things, he usually gets caught. You might say that Ace is a person who starts fights, while Deuce is a person who simply chooses to try and finish them.

PART TWO: TBA

[daebreaker1]

My brain has full gone “Rollo is Treins child” and you can pry it from my cold dead hands. Please have HC of his relationship with my other staff children OCs (I’m adding their ages, pronouns and general rolls at NRC for ease since this is the first time I’ve talked about anyone but Sage)

Somber (he/him 120 about 19-20 in human years, he’s basically Crowleys secretary): Rollo does not like this man. He’s the one who’s so determined to be best friends with all the others, and he’s genuinely just a very clingy man child who wants to be best friends with all of them. He’s also really REALLY overbearing and for someone as reclusive as Rollo this is a problem. He’s got a very deep magic pool though, and tends to use his magic to avoid any actual effort, so Rollo’s always a little bit disgusted by him. I feel like they do have the potential to get along, but the change would have to come from Somber and I do not think the poor lad has enough brain cells to realize this.

Sage (they/she 16 a Pomefiore student): They also do not get along well, this time because Sage can’t stand him. To begin with she not incredibly found of what Rollo did to Trein, who’s practically like a grandpa to her, so even after being told that Treins forgiven him, they don’t overly want to get along. A bigger factor is they just genuinely dislike how much of a front he puts up and won’t just be himself. They’re mature enough to keep it toned down to keep the peace and play nice around him, if only to not have to deal with Somber acting like a toddler. Rollo… is also a little scared of them, primarily because 1. He’s (correctly) 99% sure they could poison him in ways that can never be traced. 2. Their friends with Floyd, which is arguably more terrifying than point one. They do use their magic pretty sparingly though, despite their relatively deep pool. Honestly, these two can never get to a more than cordial point.

Leanne (she/her 10 helps her dad with little tasks): Finally, one that Rollo can tolerate and can tolerate him. They’re obviously not like besties or anything, but her being magicless is a huge relief to Rollo in giving him time to breathe, as well her being a little kid and Rollo not really being able to force any negativity onto her. He helps her sometimes when she gets bored of equipment maintenance and starts tending the gardens.

[kingsshilling]

okay stealing some q's from those posts but for both of the lads:

If they had a theme song, what would it be?

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

this got REALLYYYY long sorry oh my god so I’m gonna put it under a read more, thank you soooo so so much though I really, really loved answering these :]

If they had a theme song, what would it be?

THIS IS SO HARD!!!!!

I have a spotify playlist for songs I associate with the story (very very haphazard messy self indulgent and extremely unfinished, every song so far has been thrown in with no rhyme or rhythm beyond that it relates to the story somehow) but it’s so hard to choose just one for each of them...

Keeping in mind that I would probably change this answer at a moment’s notice if I had to choose JUST one for each right now (links go to youtube):

Éamonn: Night of the Swallow - Kate Bush

Give me a break!

Oh, let me try!

Give me something to show

For my miserable life!

Give me something to take!

Would you break even my wings

Like a swallow?

Bedwyr: Time - Pink Floyd

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you

No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

but because I can’t actually choose just one...  War Baby - Tom Robinson (the live acoustic version cus it has an extra verse that kills me) (to be interpreted with Bedwyr as the subject of the song rather than the narrator.. we know who the narrator would be)

AND the song which I consider The song for Éamonn and Bedwyr, The Chosen One - Bread (“I was the blues and you were my sunshine friend” “You are the sea and I am the sailor, riding the perfect wave, I could've drowned but you came around and saved me” AAAAAAAAGH)

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Bedwyr tries to be as patient as possible but if he was already in a bad mood to begin with it can be hard for him not to be sharp with people that are annoying him big time, for the most part he’ll make himself laugh it off but if someone he already has issues with is purposelly trying to get a rise out of him depending on the situation he might either tell them to fuck off or hit them a box lmfao. He’s not above apologising if he thinks he was in the wrong though and will feel bad if he doesn’t but again especially with someone he didn’t like to begin with he can be stubborn as a mule

Éamonn will just silently seethe KJDSNG it actually takes a fair bit for one person to really, really annoy him and piss him off but his usual method of dealing with it is just to get up and leave if there’s an opportunity to do so without making things worse, so he’ll usually just avoid people he dislikes if he can. He doesn’t have Bedwyr’s strength or stature so he doesn’t let himself lash out physically but he can and Will absolutely slaughter someone with his words if they get to him that badly, but also he’s fairly used to being slagged for numerous reasons so especially if he already has a few drinks in him if someone is purposely trying to vex him he might just openly laugh in their face cus he thinks it’s genuinely funny (which depending on the situation either makes them give up or makes it MUCH worse)

these ended up not really being especially specific to people they dislike JNDFJDNG but for the most part there isn’t really anyone they really don’t like no matter what (Kay is kinddd of that but it’s complicated for Bedwyr and Éamonn again just ignores/avoids him if he can, or finds his attempts at trying to get a rise out of him funny cus he’s already heard everything under the sun) and unless someone is purposely trying to cause harm they just get on with it like most anyone else and have a little complain about it later

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

MMMMM this is a very very interesting one.... I think Éamonn really just doesn’t think about it at all or tries not to at least. He’s not especially religious and wouldn’t have been going to mass much as an adult because he was nearly always at sea or otherwise just not able to but he does go occassionally... Naturally though being how he is he takes it all with a huge grain of salt

If you were to ask him directly he would give the easy and cynical answer of “hole in the ground bye” but I think he does believe in some form of an afterlife, he just doesn’t try to go into details about it and doesn’t really think it’s Worth spending much time thinking about it. For much of his teenage years & 20s he believed & had essentially accepted he would either be drowned at sea or just like be found dead in some port town away from home and maybe never be identified or mourned (whereas Bedwyr always had & was aware of the promise of a big family and community who’d look after him) so in terms of if death scares him... I’d say it doesn’t Really scare him so to speak but he doesn’t really like to think about it too deeply either

Bedwyr isn’t really very religious much the same as Éamonn and for many of the same reasons but he still goes to services regularly (more as a community thing than anything) and I think he definitely would’ve believed in the stereotypical image of heaven when he was younger but he kind of ended up a bit like Éamonn (just not to extreme an extent) in that he’s not as definite about how it would be. He still believes in an afterlife where you get to be reunited with your friends and loved ones (including animals lol) and believes in things like your loved ones looking down on you because that brings him a lot of comfort, in contrast with Éamonn who loathes the thought of anyone looking at him ever

Definitely when he was younger after witnessing the death of his father he would’ve been absolutely terrified of the thought and spent many many hours wondering about it all, but as he got older he came to accept it a bit more. He’s still a bit afraid of it but especially after meeting Éamonn and hearing his view of death as something not really worth worrying about because there’s nothing you can do to control it beyond keeping yourself healthy, it’s not something that really, really bothers him to the extent it used to anymore

thank you so much again for these!!! and sorry for the length JDGJJND I answered a lot of questions that weren’t actually here I think but hopefully my answers are somewhat interesting......

[thebrochtuarachs]

Arranged: Chapter 6

Modern AU. Set in present time. Where Claire and Jamie are arranged to be married.

CH: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

AO3

A/N: Hello, everyone! I'd like to start with an apology for not updating for so so long. This story is still very dear to me, I daydream a lot of the next chapters, it's in my head and in my drafts and I just didn't realize that has been quite a while since I posted a chapter. Time flew by so quickly in the pandemic, I hadn't seen it pass. Anyway, posting this short and sweet update. Hope you like it! As always, your comments and suggestions are very much welcome :) Hope that you are keeping safe and healthy! Till the next!

XXXXX

The Ring of the Woman of Balnain – or that’s what they call the ring for generations since the 18th century.

For Jamie, it was simply his 8-times great-grandmother’s ring – a small circlet passed down his family for generations. His siblings never cared for the old thing but Jamie loved it ever since he was a wee lad and asked his parents to give it to him when he was old enough – and that time was, apparently, now.

After his mother ambushed him in the kitchen, Jamie was now in possession of one the most precious things in his life. He promised himself that he would give it to the woman he’ll marry someday as a gift and sign of his love and he hoped that the ring would bring luck in their relationship.

When he realized that Claire Beauchamp was the one, he thought about asking for the ring but then he found out about Frank Randall and had to re-evaluate his chances and options. All of his plans for him and Claire got put on hold until their parents intervened with this crazy scheme. But this crazy scheme, allow him to at least, put some plans in place.

A week later, his mother found the ring box on his bed side table, untouched and unopened.

“Give it to her. I want you to give it to Claire. It’s perfect” she heard Ellen say to Jamie who just groaned in disapproval.

“Mam, I thought we were going to do this in our own time, our own terms. Giving her this does not make all of this any easier.” Jamie replied.

“I know, son. But this has a special meaning to our family, ye ken that. Even if this arrangement is so, I would – no, we would, yer father and I – would love it if ye kept with the tradition.”

Then came one of Jamie’s exasperated sighs. “I’m no promising anything, Mam. I’ll think about it but don’t expect anything”

He and Claire hadn’t really discussed the nature of their relationship one month in since getting reacquainted. But the truth was, with all the time they’ve been spending together ( almost everyday ), they’ve gotten really close that even the people close to them have started noticing up to a point where they asked if there was something going on between them.

Of course, they denied it – not wanting anyone to know about what really was going on – saying they were just friends and reasoned the mere fact that their families were close and that was the way it’s always been for them. A damn, unreliable lie but it’s all they got.

Their research was not progressing in any form which was starting to frustrate Claire. Everything they were getting from “company sources'' just didn’t make sense in any scenario or plan. Money was not an issue, their family relations were not an issue, their business relations were not an issue… they were running out of “reasons” and “clues” but Claire refused to give up. Of course, Jamie knew otherwise but silently played along.

Thankfully, their final exams were coming and Jamie decided to put pause on everything and have a break from their research and each other - their schedule not permitting any free time. They haven’t seen each other in a week.

Today, Jamie had been in the coffee shop for hours since almost all of his classes got cancelled when his building suddenly needed to be fumigated.

“This seat taken?” the voice was unfamiliar and Jamie looked up to find Laoghaire Mackenzie looming over his table. He knew about her and her fondness of him, she was never to shy to show it anyway, but he’d never taken a liking to the lass. She wasn’t his type and he didn’t like her personality at all. Despite numerous turndowns, she was still persistent.

Sensing his refusal, she made another attempt. “The table sits four and yer the only one.” She moved the chair in front of him causing the bag to fall over and all of its contents sprawled over the floor.

“I’m sorry. Here” she said, giving some of his things as he stood to pick it up. “Well?” she asked again, waiting for his invitation. Jamie was a gentleman and seems there was no reason to give the lass a boot or the seat. He was about to reluctantly agree when another voice chimed in.

“Actually, the seat is taken.” Claire’s voice was a happy sound in Jamie’s ear. Laoghaire turned to see whose voice was cockblocking her to Jamie and frowned. Laoghaire and Claire have never had a conversation before past pleasantries and despite that, they seem to have grown a dislike to each other, an unspoken disapproval of each person’s position in Jamie’s life. Too bad for Laoghaire, Claire knew she had the upper advantage and would gladly take that road anytime around her.

Claire wore her smug face proudly as Laoghaire huffed and shoved her way past her. Jamie, to his credit, didn’t say anything but rather he smiled at her in such a way that made Claire’s heart sing and she knew it came from a place of utmost gratitude.

Claire took her seat and Jamie started fixing his bag. Upon inspection, he realized he was missing something. Alarmed, Jamie quickly put out its contents again but still, it was not there.

He stood up and looked around the floor, pacing himself around the perimeter of his area. At one point, he even kneeled and bowed down just to look under chairs.

It was still not there.

Jamie stood up, flushed and a paleness was creeping in his face. He has lost it. How could he have lost it? Did Laoghaire take it with her? How would he tell his Mam that he lost a 300-year old family ring? Questions were pouring out his mind and he felt utter despair in the situation.

He wasn’t even supposed to bring it. It was a last minute decision to have it checked and cleaned.

“Looking for this?” Claire lifted the black leather box.

Jamie turned his head so fast, Claire thought he’d trip with his own momentum. But seeing the relief on his face warmed her heart.

“Thank ye!” he sat and moved to get the box but Claire pulled it away. “What’re..?”

“What is this?” she asked genuinely. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Tis’ nothing, Claire” he said, attempting to grab it from her again but was unsuccessful. She gave him a look and he resigned. “Yes. But there’s no need to think about it now, we have exams coming up.”

It wasn’t the same for Claire. The box did cross her mind from time to time since the dinner. But she, too, resigned and gave the box back to Jamie. “Fine, okay. Can I, at least, see it though?” she asked shyly.

“What?”

“Can I see it?”

Oh. Jamie was not expecting that. He didn’t think she’d be interested at all but here they are. He looked around, checking the place. The coffee shop was sparse and there’s no one close enough to pay them attention.

Jamie then focused on her, his eyes boring intently on hers, hoping to convey a certain reverence and seriousness on what he was about to show her. Slowly, he lifted the lid of the box revealing the simple silver ring within, his eyes observing her reaction.

Claire’s eyes focused on the ring as soon it was revealed. She honestly wasn’t expecting anything but if it was an engagement ring, at least, she thought, there’d be a diamond on it.

But this one was as simple a simple band can be and she was captivated by it. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad ye think so. My brother and sister never cared for it…”

“But you do.” she finished and he nodded in agreement. “How old is it?”

“About three centuries old? It has been passed down in my family for generations” Jamie shared but not giving away any more details. That was for another story.

“Alright, I have to be honest” Claire began. “I heard your conversation with Aunt Ellen last dinner. I knew about the box. It was accidental, I promise! I didn’t mean to pry.”

“I’m sorry. This is what I was avoiding. We’re in a tough spot as it is and now this. I’m sorry, Claire. Don’t think about it. I’ll deal with my parents.” Jamie rambled on his apology and closed the box.

“No, no. It’s fine. I know what she meant and I know it’s ultimately up to us.” she moved her hand to comfort him and it landed parallel to where he clutched the box. Jamie startled with the proximity but she didn’t seem to notice and he didn’t move either. “Do you think it’ll buy us time if I wore this?”

“Ye want to wear it?!”

“Why not? If it’ll buy us time, why not? Plus, it looks nothing like an engagement ring. Nobody knows if I’m with someone. If anyone asks where I got it, I’d just say I got it from a vintage store or something old family heirloom.” she reasoned.

Jamie doesn’t look convinced still so Claire held his gaze having some unspoken conversation.

“Only if ye genuinely want to.” he countered.

“I want to”, Claire replied earnestly.

After a beat, Jamie lifted his hand and held it out to hers. “Give me yer hand.”

Claire smiled and handed her left hand to his. At that moment, they felt no awkwardness in their bubble. There was a trust, a knowing, a joy, and an excitement that neither thought of and realized until later. Jamie got the ring from the box and slid it on her ring finger.

A perfect fit.

Jamie wanted to kiss the back of her palm but resisted. Instead, he gave it a gentle squeeze and let it go.

Claire pulled back and proceeded to pull out her books and other stuff on the table and Jamie settled back to his. The rest of the afternoon went by as they normally did until it was time to head home.

[bearsgrove]

long very pointless ramble dont mind me i just need to get this out lol but i will likely delete it bc it’s 🙃

thinking about one evening this week and our usual evening session of fucking around on destiny i'm fine playing with my usual pvp gang but usually i prefer when my favourite person is there because i feel like i can have more fun and we are just a neat duo or whatever like i'm used to him being there ok but that day he was late because of things and fsr i was doing so ridiculously badly in pvp it started ruining my mood And then there is this one kid that everyone just barely tolerates but i straight up dislike at this point and he usually tilts me so like that in combination with me being mad at myself for being bad was like. not great. so my mood just gradually became more and more meh and then That started pissing me off too because i never want to be seen like. having “real” emotions lmao or whatever. like i just want to be seen as chill and make people laugh and laugh with them and when i can't be like that i just feel bad and like i'm not meeting some expectations. but i stayed there right because i was still waiting for him to turn up and make my gd day better lmao i hate this but i do sometimes rely too much on whether i have good time with the lads or not. and i was not having a great time because of myself and that one kid but i associate these evening sessions with Fun right so i Needed that and i was trying so hard to feel normal but that just meant that i was way quieter than usual bc like i couldn't crack jokes and i was just trying not to say mean-spirited shit. anyway. the whole point of this long ramble is that he later turned up and i just appreciate him sm like my mood was pretty meh at that point like i couldn't climb out of that meh mindset and on top of it all i still felt so bad about not being able to be fun. but i could feel that he like. sensed that i was a bit off and that the general mood was eh but i'm just.. getting emotional about how without asking or talking he kinda adjusted his attitude and he was just very. idk. supportive and validating and grounding, etc. if that makes sense. just genuinely trying to make me feel better about my pvp skills and teach me things and his tone was different because he Wanted to teach me how to be better and Believed that i could be. and it’s not like i suddenly started doing better i was just having a shite pvp day like it wasn’t working either way But. just him having more faith in my abilities than me and being so patient with me is what makes me actually perform a little better sometimes and it feels good. and the fact that he wasn't trying to crack jokes with me when he noticed that i was in that tilted pvp mood and he instead had that calm supportive attitude and tried to really teach me how to work with him in a team and idk. it just felt nice. and he Is always so supportive n stuff it's hh. i just appreciate him a lot.

[datawyrms]

Weathering the Storm

Dannymay2020 day 23: Lightning (AO3)

It was odd to see Danny so clearly aggravated when not in class, shoulders hunched and arms crossed as if the world has personally offended him this morning. “I mean it, when I find Johnny I’m shoving his Shadow down his throat for this.”

“It’s just bad luck Danny, it can’t be that much trouble,” Tucker didn’t seem all that concerned about his mood, and it stuck the teacher as rather odd. The Fenton boy was a chronic work dodger and consistently late, but threatening people by name was new. He had dismissed the boy’s brush with destructive tendencies as a one off thing as the behaviour had not continued, but perhaps he had been too hasty. Even if the threat was ultimately nonsensical, the vehemence had sounded quite real.

The boy scowled at his friend, “I got struck by lig-” he broke off mid sentence as his eyes caught sight of Mr. Lancer. Was he afraid that his teacher was overhearing him? He had dropped his arms and somehow slouched more, doing his best to be as small and unnoticeable as possible. Had he done something to cause such fear in his student? He could think of a few incidents that would make the boy dislike him, certainly, but not fear him.

“Hi Mr. Lancer!” Tucker showed no such hesitation, moving as if to block his blue eyed friend from his sightline. “The report isn’t due until next Monday, right?”

“That’s correct Mr. Foley. If you have it completed by Friday I’d be happy to suggest improvements you could make over the weekend,” he answered, not that the boy would do that. He’d extended the offer several times, and the little trio didn’t seem all that interested in actually using it.

“Thanks, just had to check!”

Tucker had been acting as a distraction almost, seeing as Sam and Danny had slunk away as he’d taken up most of Mr. Lancer’s attention. It was odd. Did they really think they had to go to such lengths? Danny’s words had been a little concerning, but not something to think he’d be punished over. He would simply need to keep an eye on them today, if he was unintentionally causing fear he had a duty to correct that. The boy had enough trouble learning as it was.

Mr. Fenton was incredibly jumpy. Usually he’d slump at his desk to the point one could argue the lad did not even possess a spine. Today he seemed almost hyper alert, eyes darting and fingers constantly fiddling with a pencil or paper as the heavy rain battered against the windows. Yet whatever he was on such high alert for, it wasn’t what they were discussing, his answers just as lost and confused as they were when he was half asleep. He was starting to worry it was indeed his presence getting the child so distressed until a booming crack of thunder followed by a blinding flash of lightning from the storm outside painted a very different picture.

He’d practically slammed his head into his desk, hands over his head while looking as stiff as a board. Even when the moment passed the black haired boy was slow to uncurl, only doing so fully after getting some sort of affirmative nod from Tucker or Sam.

When had he gotten such a strong fear of thunderstorms? The last time such a storm had come to Amity Park he had been perfectly fine. Or at least, had not reacted this strongly. If he was struggling to focus because of the storm, he had to do something to help.

“Mr. Fenton, a word please?” he said as Danny attempted to slide out the door at the end of class.

“Yes?” his teeth were gritted, the rest of his body language still reading as terribly stiff, almost like an over-tightened string.

He waited a moment before responding, not wanting to embarrass him by having other students overhear the question. “Is it the sound or the light that bothers you?” Danny wasn’t one to answer questions at the best of times, so being direct was an unfortunate consequence.

“The-what?” His brow furrowed, fingers clenching around the backpack more tightly. He did seem genuinely confused, but it could just be his teenaged pride not wanting to admit he had a phobia.

“I do not wish to embarrass you Mr. Fenton, but your reactions to the thunderstorm outside have been rather noticeable,” the boy squirmed a little on the spot, eyes darting at the door as if wondering if he could make a run for it, “Would studying in a room without windows help with that?”

“I’m not afraid of thunderstorms.” he looked away, hand clutching at his shoulder. The rolling rumble of thunder warning that another bolt was coming made the boy visibly flinch, turning and darting out of the room without being dismissed.

He couldn’t force him to take offered help, but couldn’t understand who Danny thought he was fooling. People who were safely indoors did not usually run from thunderclaps. If he thought his friends would be more forthcoming he would consult with them, but they had proven to be just as stubborn. Still, there was plenty of school day left. The boy might change his mind.

-

“Why does he have to pay attention to me today of all days?” The half ghost moaned, face buried in his palms, lunch untouched.

“I told you not to break his motorcycle.”

“I’m going to shove it in a thermos and bury it next time,” his eyes flared a brilliant green, a helpful elbow from Tucker making him cover his face again.

“Is the bad luck making the flare ups worse?” Sam frowned at the muffled green light, eyes watching the rest of the noisy cafeteria. 

“Sorta?” Danny managed to look up, returning to rubbing at his shoulder. “I got hit by lightning on the way here.”

Tucker winced in sympathy. “Owch.”

“Three times.”

“I’d wonder how you survived that but this is you we’re talking about.” Sam still looked concerned, fiddling with a wristband.

“My ectoplasm just loves it apparently. I don’t think I’ve been this wide awake in months,” he returned to bouncing his leg up and down, as if unable to keep still.

“You gonna eat that?”

He shook his head. “I’m not even close to hungry, go nuts.”

Tucker helped himself to the untouched meal “You feeling okay though? That still had to hurt.”

“Other than feeling like I’ve been chugging coffee all day, yeah.”

“Which is why you keep rubbing at your shoulder. Because you feel fine.” Sam scowled as the half ghost looked at the ceiling.

“I do, really. I can just. Feel the lightning coming and it throbs a bit. It’s more annoying than anything.”

“Creepy. The scars start showing up again?” Tucker leaned closer, eyes narrowing at his friend’s neck.

Danny snorted, batting his friend away. “They’re not green at least. Yet.”

“Maybe you should just put the sweater on now then? Unless you want someone to notice you have scars on your arms that weren’t there this morning.”

“It’s so hot in that thing! It’s in my backpack, don’t worry about it.” he stopped mid shrug, wincing seconds before a flash of lighting.

“Hair.”

The now white haired boy ducked down, muttering crossly as he fumbled with his bag.

“Good thing no one pays attention to the loser squad.” Tucker managed to keep back a laugh by confirming absolutely no one had noticed his friend's sudden dye job.

“No kidding.” Danny groused, reappearing with sweater in hand, hair back to it’s natural black. “If this keeps up I’m going to start falling through things again.”

Sam bit her lip. “Maybe you should just skip?”

“And go where? Outside and get struck some more? No thanks. With my luck I’d get mode locked or something.”

“You could just stay invisible.”

The hybrid considered it, but shook his head. “If I’m stuck here I might as well get credit for it.”

“Well if you start glowing, I don’t have any idea why,” Sam warned, earning a small chuckle from the both of them.

-

Danny’s anxious behaviour only seemed to intensify throughout the day. He stuck close to his two friends as usual, but was never completely still, always moving or jiggling, eyes always darting around as if he had to stay alert from an unknown threat. Just watching him was exhausting. For someone who insisted he was not frightened, he was grabbing on to Sam or Tucker with surprising regularity. The two of them didn’t seem to mind, almost as if they were used to this sort of thing. Strange. By the end of the day the boy was bundled up in some oversized sweater, which only made him look even more pale and stressed out. Perhaps he could suggest private study time for days like this to Jazz, he might listen to his elder sister.

Well, he probably wouldn’t, but not doing anything was giving him that terrible twisting guilt gut that did not care if he couldn’t force help upon people who refused it. He would suggest it tomorrow if this behaviour continued. The final bell was practically a blessing, the school quieting as teacher and student alike filed out into the dreadful weather, colourful umbrellas giving a small reprieve from all the grey. Usually he had to stay longer because of a detention, but the lousy weather seemed to curb any desire to skip out on class. Small blessings. With a folder snugly underarm and umbrella in hand he headed towards the exit closest to his car and froze.

Danny was still here? He could barely make the boy stay in class when it was in session, and here he was lurking near the exit like some sort of frightened cat.

“Mr. Fenton?”

The boy lept in surprise, back slamming against the wall as if he had to escape quickly. Yet he didn’t seem to be holding anything to cause trouble with. Just himself, the beat up backpack, and the sweater he was doing his best to melt into. “Mr. Lancer?” his voice was almost a squeak.

“Are you sure you’re alright? I notice you don’t have an umbrella.” Perhaps sticking to facts and not suggesting the boy was scared could convince him to take some help this time. He practically looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

“Oh! Yeah! Forgot it, I’m fine.” he sputtered, but the speed of his breathing slowed. He’d been that startled?

“I have a spare if you need it. Do you plan to walk home?”

The pale boy squirmed under his gaze, eyes darting behind him occasionally. “I’m fine. Jazz can give me a ride.”

The teacher looked out the window and frowned. “I don’t see her car Mr. Fenton. Did you forget to ask her to wait?”

He swallowed, apparently not expecting to be caught in his lie. “Must have. It’s okay, she’ll come back.”

Lancer crossed his arms, trying not to sigh. Why did teenagers insist on being so bullheaded? “There’s no reason to force her to come back. I’ll give you a lift.”

Danny looked as if he’d offered to chop his head off rather than provide a dry way home. “No it’s okay! Thanks though. I’m good.”

“Are you too afraid to go outside right now?” The question was blunt, but it was only the two of them, and he wasn’t going to leave a terrified boy alone in a darkened school because he said he was ‘okay’.

“I’m not afraid!” he insisted, grabbing at his shoulder yet again. A tell to his lies? “Really, I’m fine and she’s already coming.”

“Then I suppose I’ll wait with you until she arrives.”

His wince was expected. “Y-you don’t need to do that.”

“Oh but I do Mr. Fenton. I will not leave a student unattended after hours, making sure you leave safely is in my job description.” That, and keeping him from causing trouble in the school unobserved was also part of the job.

“Could you like. Not do your job then? Please?” he slumped at Lancer’s significant stare. “Didn’t think so.”

“Do you plan to wait until the storm passes? It could go on all night Mr. Fenton.” To be so afraid as to not even walk to where a car would be waiting was incredibly severe, and it wasn’t sitting quite right with him. He almost seemed more afraid of being observed than anything. Did his parents discourage showing any kind of fear? No, everyone knew the boy was afraid of ghosts, so it didn’t add up.

“No. I’m just waiting for you to mind your own business.” he muttered into his sweater, arms crossed in his own little act of defiance. 

“Unfortunately for you, your well being is my business while you’re here.”

“Unless Dash is involved, then I’m invisible.”

He could have sworn the boy’s eyes changed for a moment there, amplifying the bitterness in the child’s tone. “I was under the impression he had stopped, as you haven’t brought it up since.”

That got a laugh, though his eyes remained icy. “Nope.”

Too many students and not enough eyes. He couldn’t know everything, though it would explain why he wouldn’t be more open, if he was under the impression he would be ignored. “You can tell me about it now, and I can look into it.”

“No thanks.” he rubbed at the same shoulder, brow creased in what looked to be pain.

Always rejecting help. Well, he’d at least make sure he wasn’t alone until he chose to leave.

It was a good thing he had, too. The latest flash of lighting prompted a grunt from the teenager, who appeared to have tripped over his own feet. So badly that he couldn’t even see the foot that must have twisted, he might have broken something. He managed to catch him before he hit the floor, wondering how the boy felt so cold even when bundled up in the sweater. “‘The Metamorphosis’ Mr Fenton, are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” he squirmed out of his teacher’s outstretched arms, standing easily on a foot he could have sworn must have twisted too far to be uninjured. “I just tripped, sheesh!”

Yet in his speed to be on his own to feet the sweater had shifted, granting Lancer a glimpse of his arms. Angry green scars that seemed to glow with their own light made the boy’s fear of lightning suddenly very understandable.

After all, they knew there had been an accident, but not what it had entailed.

“You were electrocuted, Mr Fenton?”

The boy gulped, hastily hiding the scars as if it was some sort of dirty secret. “I’m fine, really.”

“You don’t have to be fine. ‘Great Expectations’ Danny, it is perfectly understandable to be frightened if you had a serious accident involving electricity.”

The boy blinked at him. “What. You-you’re not weirded out?”

Was he embarrassed because the scars were green? Honestly, teenagers. “I assume whatever accident you were in involved your family’s inventions. Considering I see ghosts every other day, ghostly electricity scars seem almost quaint, Mr Fenton.” Sure, he did question how it had happened, and had some serious concerns about his family’s safety practices, but it was more important to let him know he would not judge him over this little affliction. “I suppose they only show up in weather like this?”

“Mmhm. It’s no big deal, really.”

No big deal he says, while acting like a jackrabbit all day. “It does make your hesitation to go out with lightning striking understandable. However, it would be better if we could get you home. Would bringing the car closer help?”

The boy groaned again, rubbing at his forehead. “Sure. I guess.”

“I’ll be right back then.”

Which he was, pulling the car right to the curb was easy enough. Yet Danny had up and vanished. He probably should have expected that, the boy was incredibly slippery when he wanted to be. He hadn’t spotted him leaving, yet he could spot muddy footprints being washed away by the unyielding rain. Where had he snuck off to? Further pondering was lost to the sound of someone yelling in pain, and it felt uncomfortably familiar. The voice’s owner couldn’t be far, so he gripped his umbrella tight and went to check it out.

“Four times? Whoever said lighting doesn’t strike twice is a dirty liar, and I hate them.” Phantom was muttering furiously at the ground, sparks cracking around his white aura. “Stupid Shadow.”

Well, the ghost was a teenager. At least he seemed to be more annoyed than seriously hurt, the scream had been rather unpleasant. Probably best to leave the ghost alone. He seemed nice enough, but the constant warning from the Fentons did make one a bit wary. If his help was just an act, being alone with him was probably not the safest thing in the world. Yet as the ghost took flight something about him struck him as oddly familiar. Had there been glowing green scars on the ghost’s neck? No, the ghost was always glowing, and the idea was absurd. He must have been mistaken.

[missypawz]

Christmas and birthday 🎅💕🎁

Another December, another Christmas and another birthday, each one spent alone.

Levi never particularly liked the festive holiday that everyone was made about, maybe it was because everyone was so excited to go home and see their families, while he was left at headquarters alone, hardly seeing a lot of people on the supposedly special day.

He wished he had a family to go to, he really did - it was horrible and he couldn't lie, it made him jealous hearing everyone's plans about seeing their siblings.. parents, he wanted that badly, but he knew it was impossible.

It was Christmas eve, and he was sat in his office, just about to get up and take a break from his work.

The captain pushed himself up from the wooden chair and opened his door out into the corridor.

He noticed Petra coming down the hallway, a cheerful expression etched onto her features.

"Ah, captain, hello."

Levi greeted her and walked over to her to walk down the hall with her.

"Are you going anywhere for christmas?" She asked, turning her head to look at him as she spoke.

"No, I'm staying here."

"You're staying here..? It's going to be pretty lonely."

"It's fine, same as usual."

She paused for a moment. "Well..I don't want you to spend Christmas by yourself, and I was going back to my dad's would you like to come?"

Petra was always so kind, she was sacrificing her alone time with her father just so he wouldn't be by himself, he felt selfish wanting to say yes.

"Petra you see enough of me here, you should be able to spend time with your family by yourself."

"Captain, if I may say, it would be an honour for you to come over, my father would love to meet you aswell." She spoke, dammit, he couldn't say no to that.

"If you really want me to, I won't decline your offer." He said as Petra's smiled widened.

"You better get ready then, I'll meet you out the front in half an hour?"

~*♡*~

Much earlier than expected, Levi was outside with a small bag, it wasn't like he needed a lot just for a couple of days. He stood right by the front of headquarters and waited for Petra.

As soon as she arrived they went to get their horses ready together.

Levi got his horse out of the stable and began saddling her up. He strapped everything together and did the buckles on the harness before stroking her neck, praising her.

Petra put her foot in the stirrup and swung her leg over, sitting on the horse with her bag swung over her shoulder.

Levi did the same and then nodded to the redhead, ready to set off to her dad's house.

They didn't rush on the way there, simply taking in the views and nature while engaging in small talk. Petra talked a lot about her family and what it was like back home, even though Levi was about to see it very soon for himself.

The ride was peaceful and was quite nice, Levi liked listening to Petra talk, especially when you could see how passionate she was when talking about things she loved.

As they got closer there was a little path that ran down to the house. The front garden was covered in beautiful and bright flowers that looked like they were looked after with a lot of care, the place really had a cosy and warm feeling to it. There were a couple of trees planted outside the house aswell where birds were sitting, the whole place looked like something out of a story book..something that Isabel used to tell him about.

His face softened just thinking about it, back in the underground she'd tell him tales and magical ideas that she thought up during the day, despite the horrible place they lived and the terrible ordeals they dealt with, Isabel was lively and always tried to look at the best in things, he missed her, he missed Furlan too.

"Captain?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head towards her with a questioning look. "Ah, sorry you looked a little spaced out." She said as she dismounted her horse at the front of the house before going to grab him some water and food for him to munch on.

Levi followed behind, patting his horse for being good on the way there, it wasn't like she was ever badly behaved, she was just a little feisty sometimes, although that was what made her unique.

The redhead knocked on the wooden brown door and waited for her father to answer.

When the door opened the older man quickly engulfed Petra into a big warm hug as Levi stood behind them awkwardly, he doubted he had been noticed.

"I missed you." Her father sighed contenly.

"I missed you too dad." She smiled and moved out the way when he let go of her.

"I hope you don't mind dad..but can Captain Levi stay with us over Christmas?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh - captain Levi sir, it's an honour to have you here, I've heard lots about you and it would be wonderful for you to stay."

The Ravenette nodded. "Thank you, it's nice to meet you - and don't bother with the formalities, call me Levi, you too Petra."

The two Rals nodded at him.

"Well come on in."

The captain followed them into the small house - it was nice, it looked clean too which he was thankful for.

There was a couple of comfortable looking sofas and a dining table with some chairs around it, there was a tree in the corner of the room that was decorated with bright lights, tinsel and decorations, the place looked festive and pretty.

"It's a nice place." Levi said, and Mr Ral smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, I try my best to keep it looking nice."

"You do a good job." Levi replied, then looked at Petra, questioning silently where to put his things.

Petra just shook her head, not minding where ever he put it.

"Thank you for letting me stay." Levi said, putting things out the way and looking at the Christmas tree, his grey eyes shining from the lights.

"It's a pleasure, you do a lot for humanity, you make my daughter very happy too."

"Dad...!" Petra clenched her fists and frowned at her father, afraid of the secrets he would spill out of his mouth to Levi.

"No bother dear, why don't you both settle in now, I'll start cooking, I'm sure you both need a good meal after all of that military food."

Now that sounded good.

As Petra and Levi settled in, her dad cooked them a good hearty meal which was amazing. It filled the whole house and just smelt so good, it has been such a long time since he had had a nice meal, a filling meal at that. He had to say, he was looking foward to tommorow, it all just felt right for once, he was enjoying himself.

After their meal, they had helped with putting things away and then Levi sat near Petra in the living room.

"Levi?" It felt weird saying it without captain infront.

"Hm?"

"When's your birthday? It's just..I haven't heard anything about it all this year and it's nearly the end of the year now..so when is it?"

"It's tommorow."

"Tommorow-!?"

"Yes, don't make a fuss about it." He said, folding his arms.

"How can I not? It's important, let me do something for you."

"Petra- don't." He said quickly, he really didn't want to fuss about it, he was never overly bothered about his birthday.

"Just you wait!" She suddenly got up, fleeing into the kitchen.

He knew he wouldn't be able to stop her when her mind was set on something.

~*♡*~

For the rest of the night, Levi didn't see much of Petra, she was extremely busy in the kitchen, not even taking a break.

Levi slept on the sofa, he didn't mind really, it was more comfortable than the hard chair he usually occupied.

He woke up early, but decided on just lying there, looking up at the ceiling instead of going to do something, knowing it would seem weird if he began doing what he usually would when he had free time.

Prehaps Mr Ral would be happy if he cleaned everywhere, or offended, either way. It wasn't that the place wasn't clean already aswell, it was just something he did and couldn't help wanting to do.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Another year older huh?

Time seems to fly.

A little while later he heard footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs and he sat up to see the two Rals. Petra was dressed beautifully, she was wearing a long sleeved blouse and a red skirt that fell down to her ankles. It was strange to see her in anything other than her scout uniform.

"Happy birthday!" They both said in unison grinning as they walked over. Mr Ral patted him on the back. "Merry Christmas too Lad."

"Thank you, merry Christmas to both of you." Levi quickly pushed himself up from his place on the sofa and watched as Petra scurried into the kitchen.

The captain watched as she came back in, holding something carefully with both of her hands.

"Captain, I'm sorry I couldn't get you anything - I suppose it was a little short noticed..but I hope you do like this." She showed him a beautifully decorated cake, hell, it looked amazing, the most delicious thing he'd ever seen.

"Shit, Petra, this looks amazing." He looked down at the cake, his eyes full of gratitude and what looked like emotion, Petra was moved just by how happy he seemed.

"Just..one more thing okay?" She waited until he looked back up at her, then pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, an innocent and genuine gesture. Levi's face was flushed, he looked away before looking back into her amber orbs. "Thank you, thank you for making this day so good already."

Maybe he was wrong to dislike his birthday, he certainly liked this one.

____________________________________________

Aaaaah happy birthday Levi!! 💕And merry Christmas everyone 🥳🎅🎄

[dragonrebelrose]

TROS Reaction 12-20-19. AKA my 6 page long dissertation about why I really disliked TROS.

I didn’t think it would be this bad. I truly thought there would be some gleaming moments of redeemability, but no. It’s one...giant...shit-show. What a horrible blow to the end of not only the sequel trilogy and these characters but to everything that came before. It really takes skill to mess up this badly.

A little something nice though, was the guy I sat next to. Really nice (and cute too ^-^ ) and he offered me some of his candy (Buncha Crunch! My favorite!) before the film started and then throughout the film because he said, “Well this is consolation for having to sit next to me.” Aw I couldn’t have asked for a better seat partner, I didn’t even know him! And then when the film ended he knew I didn’t take it well and I cried and shook through many moments and he offered the rest of his candy and I said, “Thanks, I think I need it.” I asked him what he thought overall and he said, “C-3P0 was pretty funny.” I said, “Yeah I agree. I actually knew everything that happened before I saw it, and I thought it was a mess.” He chuckled and said, “Me too, but I didn’t want to say anything in case you liked it.” I said, “Oh, no, I didn’t really like it. But I gotta be honest, Ben Solo didn’t deserve to die. That’s just my opinion.” I think he was surprised by that but didn’t disagree. He just kinda nodded or something and then we said goodbye and he left with his buddies, who also seemed pretty unenthused by the whole movie. Hopefully I gave him something to think about with my comment, but he was really nice and I’m glad he sat next to me.

Pessimism aside for now, I’ll start by listing the things I liked. I gotta be honest, there’s not much here.

Reylo is canon! But, in my opinion, it was handled pretty badly. Ben’s death is only the start of the problems for it, but more on that later.

C-3P0 is funny I guess. Yes he is annoying sometimes like usual, but not more so than other times.

D-O is freaking adorable. Out of everything good I’ve listed I have no qualms with this one. His manner is cute, his speaking is very funny, and his actions are just precious.

Babu Frik is very cute too, just perfect! Lovely little puppet! Don’t know why he was shoehorned in at the end battle but whatever. We never saw him again.

Maz is a puppet now? Okay, cool. Wish that would’ve been the case since the beginning. You had the technology JJ.

The music is good, when it’s given its own time to shine and be noticed. I feel like I barely noticed it was there because sound effects just drowned it out. Really wasted, but still good nonetheless.

Leia’s death and how it affected Ben. Wow. This was the first moment I truly cried. This was handled very well by Adam Driver, and then Maz saying “Goodbye, Princess.” Ouch, that got me.

Ben talking to the memory of his father! This is something I did not know was in the movie and boy am I glad I wasn’t spoiled for it! THIS is where the really hard tears and sobbing came. I was literally shaking and shivering trying to keep it in so as not to disturb everyone else. This. Part. Was. Perfect. Ben looks at him like he wants to say “I love you,” and Han says out loud “I know.” *crazy screaming and crying* Out of all the things they got wrong for Ben in this film, THIS they got right!

Ben Solo is the Solo boy we always wanted. Running in with a t-shirt, gun slinging, blasting opponents without even looking. THIS is a true son of Solo! But of course they give him no lines except “Ow.” THAT was a bad idea.

And that’s it. Yes those are the only things I even remotely liked, but I have to be honest, each one of these has some kind of problem attached to it which sours the real enjoyment.

On to what I disliked. Strap in lads, this is going to be a long ride.

1. The pacing. OH. MY. GOSH. SLOW. THE. FUCK. DOWN. For fucks sake I couldn’t even process what the hell was happening before we were on to the next thing! This was the biggest problem with the movie, BY FAR. Yes I know the story is terrible, we’ll get to that, but the pacing just completely took me out of the movie. I couldn’t feel invested in anything because it was all in one ear and out the other like ten-fold!

And this is part of the issue I have with how Reylo was handled. It. Felt. So. Rushed. And. Unfinished. There weren’t enough scenes with them and the scenes we did get were so fast and then over with that it felt like no progress was being made at all! It felt, for lack of a better word, unearned. And I know, that’s not really the case since they’ve had plenty of build-up in the last 2 films, but there wasn’t enough time with them spent NOT fighting and hating each other and opposing each other. Yes, I know, Kylo kept trying to get Rey to take his hand, but it doesn’t feel genuine because even Kylo feels out of character, and Rey too, big time. Now this isn’t the actor’s faults, they did what they could with the shitty story they were given, so I put all this blame at JJ’s desk.

In any case the overall film pacing was too fast, too much, too soon, too many things onscreen, too many things happening at once, not enough character, not enough motivation, not enough letting scenes breathe and just play out naturally. Everything felt forced for the sake of the “plot.” Oh we gotta get this thing, and then that thing, to get this thing, so we can defeat these guys! LET. US. BREATHE.

2. The story. My gosh, they couldn’t have picked a worse storyline to follow. Everything truly felt like it was written by a fanboy who wanted to retcon everything in TLJ, even down to the dialogue. Everyone keeps saying to Rey “You’re a Palpatine.” But it sounds SO strange, like nobody says things like this. I get it, it’s a space fantasy, they talk weird mumbo jumbo but it just sounds like a fanboy ghost wrote this. Like we gotta have everyone know now she’s a Palpatine! You’re a Palpatine! You’re a Palpatine! Palpatine heir! All bow down to the Palpatine! Give me a break.

3. Yeah, let’s talk about Palps. The old raisin himself. You know, I never really liked ROTS, but Palps was always a great thing about it. He was sinister, diabolical, he had a plan and knew what to do with it. But this Palps. *le heavy sigh* What a waste this was. For one thing, the lightning effects that lights up his face is really annoying, even for someone who doesn’t get seizures, I can’t even imagine what it’s like for those who do, I’m so sorry. And like, he has this whole legion of Sith followers? The fuck? Where the hell were these guys before? I’m sure they existed BEFORE the last Sith Lord died, right?

I digress. I have a question though: why does he want Rey so much? Why didn’t he try to get his son to take over? Wouldn’t that have been easier? Also, WHO DID HE FUCK TO GET A SON?? HOW DID HIS SON GET AWAY FROM HIM?? WHY DID HIS SON APPARENTLY TURN TO THE LIGHT?? THERE’S TOO MANY QUESTIONS HERE AND NO GOOD EXPLANATIONS. AND NO DISNEY, I DON’T WANT A 10-PART COMIC ON THIS. GO FUCK YOURSELVES.

The only interesting thing about Palps in this film is that his face gets melted off like a Raiders of the Lost Ark knock-off. He better not be coming back. Ever again.

4. And hey, while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about Rey’s parents. So apparently they’re both good people. *le sigh* But what kind of good people leave their daughter alone on a harsh and unforgiving planet with a blubber guy? And don’t tell me they didn’t know he was an abusive asshole, they LIVED on Jakku, they HAD to have known him, ESPECIALLY if they truly were junk traders, they would have DEALT with him. Oh, and apparently the “I’ll come back for you sweetheart, I promise” line is changed up a bit and given to her father after all. No. Screw that. That line was meant for Ben, I don’t care how petty this sounds, this is terrible. So yeah, fuck Rey’s parents, I don’t care how “good” you try to make their intentions, they’re badly shoehorned in and they screw up anyway. Next.

5. Ben’s story and his fate. So yeah, obviously I hate that Ben died, but more than that I hate how his story was handled here. It was so rushed, it didn’t feel as natural as it should have. It needed time to BREATHE. A lot of time! And I feel like they really shafted Kylo/Ben’s story off to the side to give more time to the hereby named GoldenTrio. (You know who I mean...we’ll get to them.) It really seemed like JJ didn’t even care about Ben’s fate anymore, and just kind of put it in as an afterthought. His death scene? Not even given a fucking minute to process because WE GOT TO PARTAY. All in all, his whole story is so terribly sad that I don’t even know if I can watch TFA or TLJ anymore, knowing how it ends.

6. The GoldenTrio. Oh for fucks sake, JJ, you should have killed Poe off when you had the chance, because now the story is all about THEM. Boom! They’re literally front and center in the movie. I don’t even think Reylo gets as much screen time as them. I mean really, Ben’s death scene and Rey’s grieving gets 1.5 minutes, tops. GoldenTrio reunion and threesome hugging? 5 fucking minutes of nothing but them hugging. I’m not even exaggerating. (Okay maybe I am, but it’s given more focus and time to “breathe” than Ben Solo’s fucking death. I’m getting a headache remembering it.)

Hey, remember in ESB and ROTJ where the trio got split up and had their own story lines and own purposes to fulfill without each other hanging around (apart from Han and Leia because their story lines are interconnected)? Yeah, I miss that too.

Also, Rey keeps wandering off being “pulled” to something, and every...single...time, Finn is like “Rey, wait! Poe we gotta get her! rEy CoMe BaCk!!” This happens at least 5 times, pretty consecutively too. It gets old real fast. Boy do I miss the days of TLJ where people got to be away from each other to discover new things without interference.

Which leads me to another point: They tried to shove FinnRey in here while shitting on FinnRose quite literally. What. A. Slap. To. The. Face. This is horrible treatment, and I hope Kelly will never do another interview for Lucasfilm again. She doesn’t deserve this.

7. The Ending™. Wow. What a way to show that your characters haven’t progressed at all by showing them in the same environment that they started in. Let’s do an overview: Rey starts out alone on a desert planet and meets a droid that isn’t hers. Rey ends up alone on a desert planet with a droid that still isn’t hers. PROGRESSION 101!! *slaps forehead* I mean, don’t even get me started on the fact that Ben isn’t there with her and that literally one half of her soul is gone (how is she not in agony right now??), but then to add more salt to the wound she’s just like “oh yeah I must be the rightful successor to the Skywalker name, even tho I’m a Palps...makes sense to me!” Fuck off. You don’t deserve that title after hating Luke for not doing what you wanted him to do and for hating Ben for most of this movie too.

Can we also acknowledge that this is THE ABSOLUTE WORST POSSIBLE WAY TO END A 40 YEAR SAGA AND FAMILY LEGACY? So, Palps had a kid who had a kid. This kid is then deemed a-okay by the family that was affected most by Palps and they welcome her like the sunshine child she is, yet shun their own offspring for being damaged goods because he was being manipulated by said Palps. Okay, it’s official now, everyone’s an asshole...except Ben. He seemed to be the only one to understand his faults and right his wrongs and not be an idiot. Then the kid who was abused and manipulated is killed because “reasons” or “problematic” or whatever and the offspring of Palps lives while the family that Palps manipulated is ultimately gone forever because it’s last descendant wanted to save the offspring of Palps out of the goodness of his heart. Now the offspring of Palps doesn’t even give a flipping thank you and steals their name. wHaT a SaTiSfYiNg EnDiNg!!! Someone gag me.

8. Luke’s X-Wing being raised out of the water and it’s in perfect working condition. What. The. Fuck. I don’t know if you guys realize this, but this completely undermines Luke’s arc in TLJ. That X-Wing was sunk and dead to show that he had no desire to return to the outside world. He was staying on the island. For good. And he buried that thing in water to make sure he couldn’t use it ever again, but it was still visible to him to remind him of his conviction if ever he questioned it. But no. That thing is a-okay and ready to fly. No need for parts, there’s no rust or any sea salt corrosion, ready to go skipper! This was just added for easy call-backs to ESB but boy this had absolutely 0 weight to it. I literally yawned or looked at my watch around this part thinking “oh my gosh isn’t it over yet?” Pretty much sums up my entire experience.

9. Rose got shafted to appease the fanboys. This one needs no further explanation or analysis, it just sucks and has no real reason to exist.

10. Luke was barely in it and offered not that great advice. Poor Mark. His performance really peaked with TLJ and never went back up.

11. Rey is suddenly the Avatar now? You can now talk to all previous Jedi’s who existed? What buffoonery is this? Oh, but Ben doesn’t get a single. fucking. word. from Anakin, the man he looked up to. I’m so tired right now. What’s left?

12. The message changed from “it doesn’t matter if you’re a nobody, you’re a somebody to me” to “you’re a somebody with a bad bloodline, but that doesn’t define you (except when it totally does)”. That sort of message would be fine if it had been the message since TFA, but it wasn’t. The message since TFA was “I’m a nobody, but I can become a somebody regardless of my lineage or my childhood.” Why change the message in the 11th hour? To appease fanboys. Literally anything that makes no sense in this movie can be attributed to fanboys. There’s so much contradiction and hypocrisy in this film from both the narrative and the characters that it’s insulting.

13. Hux was utterly shafted too. What a waste of a well built up and conniving little bastard who in the end gets shot for shock value and laughs. It’s like what TLJ did but way worse because he’s actually killed. Hux as the spy? Just no.

14. Jannah was kind of wasted too, not enough screen time. I get her and Finn kind of bonding over being ex-stormtroopers, but it’s not really delved into. Also the whole “nature vs. machinery” thing kinda briefly shows up at the big battle and feels unearned too, because there was nothing before in this movie or others to suggest there was a war between the two.

15. Poe is treated more as the heir to Leia than Ben is. Poe gets to fly the falcon and gets to wreck it up (dishonoring who it belonged to before), gets to be by Leia’s deathbed, etc. Not earned at all.

16. The pointlessness of random cameos or thrown in references. Not a single person in my theater noticed John Williams as the bartender, nobody pointed out or said anything about any reference from previous movies, it was silent.

17. What the hell was even the point of the whole “Dark Rey” vision? Oh, she shows her scary pointy teeth ala Bilbo style. No thank you.

18. Why the hell does it feel like these characters aren’t the characters from TFA and TLJ? They feel so different and it’s noticeable.

19. Finn is Force sensitive. Literally tacked on like nobody wouldn’t notice. We noticed JJ. We notice everything.

20. Rey and Kylo/Ben fighting for way too much of the film and their interactions. Not enough caring or understanding, not enough longing looks, it feels like their romance was almost cut from the film entirely.

21. Oh yeah, Rey floating at the beginning? Looked stupid as hell. And the “Be with me” line? I thought maybe, just maybe, she meant Ben, but no. She’s trying to reach “her past selves” like the fucking Avatar and she’s even floating rocks around like Aang did. Ugh.

22. Anything else? Oh yeah, this movie sucks completely and wholly...FOR NOT GIVING ONE FUCKING LINE OF DIALOGUE TO BEN SOLO AFTER HE HAD BEEN REDEEMED. HOW HEARTLESS CAN YOU BE THAT YOU LET HIM DIE WITHOUT SAYING ONE FINAL THING?!?! DAMN J.J. YOU’RE STUPID.

And that’s it. Kudos if you read the whole thing. I ramble a lot.

[autisticcassandracain]

Now that I've finished volume 1 & 2 of The New Teen Titans I feel like giving my official ranking of the Teen Titans based on how much I personally like them:

Koriand'r: Love of my life. She's the reason I read this comic I love her so MUCH. I'd literally be here all day if I went in depth on why I love her. Spectacular showstopping amazing 10/10.

Joey: Listen! He's just a lad! Just a nice little lad! I knew practically nothing about him going in but I love him now. He's just a genuinely kind and compassionate person, his power is cool as hell, and I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how well his disability was handled. 

Donna: Her arc about creating an aura of perfection around her and being scared to watch it crumble is really good, her leadership arc was likewise great, the issue where she found her family was fantastic, the Amazons as a concept are super interesting to me, and I really love her relationship with Kori and Dick! She's a little bland but that's ok I still love her.

Raven: She doesn't grab me as much as I feel she should for some reason? But she's still a good character. I like the idea of an empath being wildly incompetent with her own emotions, I have to respect and admire her selflessness, and her powers are cool as hell.

Kole: Yes I know she was only in like 5 to 10 issues and existed to be killed off in Infinite Crisis but have you considered: I love her.

Dick: When he's not being a jackass he's really nice! He weirdly feels a lot more... idk, human? In the ntt than I've usually seen him in batfam comics. I especially like how much this era leans into his detective skills. Unfortunately he's also quite frequently a jackass and it makes me want to strangle him.

Vic: His combination of brains and brawn feels very unique, I love how they don't downplay his intellect, and his relationship with the school for disabled kids and his grandparents is adorable! That said there's only so much self pity and 'I look like a monster' monologues I can take before I start to roll my eyes at it.

Tara: Yes we're counting her. Her character was abysmally written, her backstory makes no sense, her flat evil personality is infinitely less interesting than a more nuanced alternative, and of course there was the whole victim-blaming Mess with Slade, but also I thought she was funny. She's a bitch and it's entertaining.

Garfield: As a self-proclaimed chauvinist and the designated group sexual harasser I'm legally required to dislike him. I'd probably like him a little better if he didn't also wallow in self pity constantly but here we are. Yeah your whole family is dead and I guess that sucks but in the immortal words of Donna Troy, that's not exactly unique in this group. Go cry about it in your McMansion. Occasionally has some good moments and his friendship with Vic is cute tho.

Danny Chase: I feel embarrassed having to put him on this list bc I've literally never heard anyone or anything mention him so I'm pretty sure he's getting written out in 2.5 issues flat but. Still a Titan. His entire personality is 'loud-mouth 14-year-old ex-spy' so he's mostly just boring and kind of annoying. Feels like he's only there to get more kids to read comics and I'd bet real money that's the actual reason he exists. And on top of that his powers are boring.

Wally West: This is an NTT Wally West hate blog. I hate this guy so much. He's a conservative in the 80's and as if that wasn't bad enough all he does is feel sorry for himself, complain, and lash out at others. Every time he opens his mouth my brain goes 'That's what I thought you'd say you stupid fucking Republican!' I'm not even going to try to be objective here. If I could push him off a roof I would. Fuck NTT Wally West.

[missjosie27]

Prompt Response #40- Ethren Whitecross

“Would it really be a crime to let yourself have some fun once in a while?”

The first in the responses for the prompts. I will say in advance that not all of this may make sense or appear ‘canon’. It’s also a sequel to ‘The Other World’ a story I wrote awhile back in honor of Ethren Whitecross. What first started out as a fun concept between two MCs, I turned into this for better or worse. And it was tough at times emotionally. But I poured my heart and soul into it. It is also non-canon and completely AU. That being said, I do love the multiverse and this was a great way to explore that.

@hogwartsmysterystory​ My friend. This is for you. And for Ethren. I hope you like it.

It had taken many moons for David Grant to achieve what was previously thought to impossible: the ability to hop dimensions at will. Since the end of the war and his mind blowing foray into the universe that housed another curse breaker, the twenty five year old not only joined the Department of Mysteries part time in addition to being reinstated as an Auror but began exploring the power of the veil for more timelines.

It was partially due to self interest, which his boss Croaker didn’t need to know about. Happy to further the Department’s investigations of the unknown magical branches, the experience of visiting another world had touched him so deeply David resolved to do more investigating: specifically if there were any other scenarios involving Ethren Whitecross in which he did not die. Despite technically never meeting the American, he already felt a sense of kinship with him, a kind of surreal connection one couldn’t explain in so many words.

He deserved better...so much better

Many months passed, but at last David was able to tinker with the magical properties of the veil so that it revealed a wondrous discovery: the cosmos was damn well infinite. Billions of people making billions of choices creating infinite earths. And it didn’t take long for him to discover a timeline in which Ethren was still alive and in Hogwarts.

“Hang on, mate. I’m coming,” he said as he stepped through, making sure his protections were sufficient to protect him from the other realm the veil lead to: death.

Of course, David had never actually met Ethren for obvious reasons and so had no idea what to expect from him. The only aspects of his life he knew for certain were that he was American, died in the war, engaged in a relationship with Merula and unknowingly had a son in the process. The other timeline’s Merula had given him more grisly details, but nothing so specific as to his personality, likes, dislikes, or anything else.

As it turned out, much to his chagrin, Ethren Whitecross was a bit sour to say the least.

He was short for a male, only 5’6 but with intense, clear blue eyes to go along with caramel brown hair and conventionally attractive features. He wasn’t terribly athletic but could swing a beater’s bat well enough. Similar to himself however, Ethren was a top notch dueler and excelled in the subjects he genuinely enjoyed, but struggling in those he did not care for. However, his less than sunny disposition was certainly off putting and it didn’t take long to figure out why.

“So let me get this straight,” Ethren said skeptically as they lay on the shores of the lake at Hogwarts. “You’re from another universe where my family never existed and in my universe your family never existed. Like me, you’re an amateur cursebreaker, date Merula, and apparently need to warn me about my impending death? Do I have everything correctly?”

“Uh, yeah that pretty much sums it up,” came the response.

Unfortunately for David, he had stumbled into a timeline where Ethren was completing his 7th year at Hogwarts as opposed to being a full grown adult. But it was just as well, finding Ethren was easy given his reputation. Getting him to believe his story was quite another debacle altogether.

“Well, guess what, you’re a bit too late. I already know I’m dying from my blood malediction and that R still wants to kill me. By the way, thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. A paper cut with lemon juice would have sufficed.”

He got up to leave but David moved to stop him.

“Wait, wait, hear me out. I can explain everything in a bit more detail.”

“Or I could go back to the library and read.”

David scoffed.

“More like you would brood all day.”

Ethren flushed from indignation.

“And how would you know that?”

“Believe me, I know enough...look I’m just trying to help.”

“My cranky on and off girlfriend is a bigger help than you’re being right now and that’s saying something.”

David took a breath of the evening Scotland air and breathed out. He should have known it wouldn’t be this easy, but that last statement left an uneasy sensation in his stomach. He remembered vividly a drunken twenty six year old Merula wanted by the law while drowning herself in vodka tonics and narcissistic self loathing. He was beginning to see just how much of an emotional toll she was taking on the poor lad. So he decided to switch gears.

“Look, I have an idea. Classes are done for the day right, you’re a legal wizarding adult...come hang out with me for a couple hours.”

“I can’t leave Hogwarts,” Ethren shot back.

“Right, since when did Dumbledore’s rules ever stop us from leaving whenever we wanted?”

“Point taken but still no.”

“By God, Would it really be a crime to let yourself have fun once in a while?” David half laughed in amazement. “Trust me, let’s go have a good time and I’ll explain everything afterwards, alright?”

He didn’t think it would work given the clear suspicion still lurking in those blue eyes but to his surprise, Ethren relented and nodded.

“Fine.”

“You can apparate right?”

“Yes and I can also blow you to smithereens if you try anything funny.”

“You know part of me does want to know what would happen if we ever dueled,” David grinned. “However, I went through a war mate. Got a bit of a head start on ya.”

“Fantastic.”

“And here I thought we Brits were the uptight and sarcastic ones. Aren’t Yanks supposed to be expressive?”

Ethren simply snorted and walked past him into the open field.

“Be thankful I’m saying anything at all.”

The two young men walked until they reached the boundaries of the school just beyond the entrance, David leading the way.

“Follow my lead,” he said. “Unless you can’t keep up,” he added teasingly.

“Just go,” came the grumpy response.

Bollocks, this is going to be harder than I thought David mused to himself with exasperation

And with a loud *pop they apparated into the sunset.

--------------------------------------------------------------

It didn’t take long for the two to land in random cobblestone street with Ethren keeling over, grimacing severely.

“Yeah I hate apparation too,” David said, pulling out a flask and taking a sip. “You get used to it.”

“I only recently passed.”

“Fair. Which is why where I’m taking you next will simultaneously relieve that discomfort and get you to loosen up.”

Ethren looked up and saw a wooden sign in maroon lettering which read the words ‘The Mayfair.’

“A bar?”

“Never underestimate the value of a pub,” David told him sagely. And before the younger lad could object he pushed him inside the door.

Inside was a setting not altogether spectacular. There was a small dining area, a large bar that spanned about fifty feet with two bulky TVs that currently were playing the latest football matches. However there was also a small staging area that contained a microphone with another TV sitting overhead. A sizable crowd graced its floors- a hodgepodge of young professionals, crusty regulars, football fans, and those who were just looking for a good time. Which was precisely why they were there.

In his time after Hogwarts and during the war David found that muggle bars offered a lot more in terms of entertainment and alcohol: a primary factor in why he chose a casual London pub as opposed to a place like the Leaky Cauldron. Muggles also tended to write better music which was also key to this night.

“It’s a good thing we aren’t in robes,” Ethren said above the general chatter of the pub.

“I made sure your classes were over before we came here,” David replied. His own dress was unremarkable: brown leather boots, jeans, jacket, and a Guns N’ Roses t-shirt (they were the most popular band in the world in the late eighties/early nineties after all). They fit right in.

David dragged Ethren over to the counter and caught the attention of the barkeep, knowing full well that in England you never got carded for ID as they did in America.

“Two Guinnesses please.”

“You got it.”

He flipped a couple of pounds and soon enough was presented with two full tankards of the dark stout.

“Cheers, mate,” David told him, clinking his glass with Ethren’s.

The twenty five year old relished the taste but clearly his counterpart did not, grimacing as though he had swallowed stinksap.

“Dear God that’s awful. Why do you drink this stuff?”

“Keep sipping and you’ll find out,” came the cheeky reply.

Ethren merely shrugged and did his best to keep drinking. David peered around and saw the exact person he wanted to see: the DJ.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

For his part, Ethren Whitecross was highly confused by this whole affair. He still wasn’t sure he believed that this person, whoever they were, was supposedly a dimension traveler who’d apparently met another version of himself by accident. It was just too insane to believe. And yet somehow he knew details about his life that no one else popping up like that could know.

And now he wants to just drink our night away at a bar? What is this guy about?

Indeed, that appeared to be the most intriguing aspect of this. David Grant apparently not only came back to warn him but to spend time together as if they were old friends. Ethren wasn’t sure how he felt about that just yet given that R was still after him however this fellow didn’t appear to be unseemly...yet anyway. For now, he decided to keep drinking the beer, which oddly enough began to make him feel a bit warm and fuzzy in the head.

Soon enough David returned a big grin on his face.

“Finish that up soon. We’re on next.”

“Next for what?” Ethren asked, utterly nonplussed.

“My friend you are about to experience the wonders of karaoke.”

“Kara-what?”

David laughed, deep and true then drained his beer in one gulp.

“You’re about to find out.”

Ethren found himself dragged away to the staging area where they were handed two microphones and a pair of spotlights shone down on them.

“Should have asked this beforehand but how familiar are you with muggle music?”

“Umm not very?” came the unenthusiastic answer.

“Do you know ‘Piano Man’ by Billy Joel?”

Ethren nodded. His father kept a collection of old muggle records at home and that was a song played quite frequently sometimes to his chagrin.

“Yeah, I know that one.”

“Smashing. We’ll be just fine.”

The crowd started to cheer as the opening piano chords began to play. Ethren squirmed uncomfortably but David put a strong hand around his shoulder and began to sing in earnest. There was no backing out now.

“It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday

The regular crowd shuffles in

There’s an old man sitting next to me

Making love to his tonic and gin”

Ethren had to admit that this stranger sang well, but he wasn’t so much of a musician himself. But he had no choice as the microphone was pressed into his face.

“He said son can you play me a melody

I’m not really sure how it goes

But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete

When I wore a younger man’s clothes”

The young Gryffindor understood better why the beer was necessary. One drink already had him buzzing but it sure loosened inhibitions. Slowly he began to enjoy himself as he belted the chorus alongside David.

“Sing us the the song, you’re the piano man

Sing us the song, tonight

Well we’re all in the mood for a melody

And you got us feeling alright”

To Ethren’s amazement the crowd began cheering despite the fact his pitch was probably way off. Apparently it didn't matter how good or bad you were at actualling singing, enthusiasm for the song and the camaraderie of the patrons was enough to send everyone into a frenzy. Feeding off that energy, the two young men sang into the Scotland night, following the lyrics with gusto.

“Sing us the song, you’re the piano man

Sing us the song, tonight

Well we’re all in the mood for a melody

And you got us feeling alright”

The last of the harmonica sounded off into the exit riff of the piano and the song was over. Ethren could hardly believe it ended so fast, but the cheers of the crowd were practically deafening. Indeed the feeling was so exhilarating, he almost didn’t notice the shadowed face of his counterpart, lines of worry practically melting off his face.

Perhaps he wasn’t the only cursebreaker that had problems.

Afterwards, the two sat down and drank a few more beers, which were on the house due to their riveting performance. Several regulars gave them cheers and pats on the back. The two chatted about a number of things, but it wasn’t until they stepped outside for a breath of fresh air that the conversation turned honest and even somber.

David lit a cigarette and took a long inhale before issuing smoke.

“Told ya I knew how to have fun.”

“Maybe I wasn’t the only one in need of it,” Ethren observed astutely.

The older man shrugged but tried to play it cool.

“I’ve been through…a lot,” he said simply. “Moments like the one in the bar are the kind that kept me going over the years. It’s what makes life so wonderful even when it’s not.”

Ethren paused before asking.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty five to be exact. Twenty six in four months.”

“You look five years beyond that.”

It was blunt but David knew by now Ethren didn’t pull punches. He could relate to that. Neither did he.

“I didn’t come back merely to warn you about your malediction, Ethren,” he said quietly. “You beat that.”

“So...I die another way?”

David swallowed, feeling a lump pop up in his throat. Now was not the time to get super emotional. He needed to tell the truth.

“You have a relationship with Merula just as I do, yeah?”

“I do. Though I can’t say it’s always a happy one. We either bicker or just end up making out half the time.”

The older man chuckled sardonically, knowing full well what his wife was like when she was sixteen.

“Sounds about right. Believe me, I know how she is sometimes.”

“You’re at least eight years older than I am right now….what happened with you and her?”

David knew this was the moment he came back for. The essence of his visit.

“We married after Hogwarts. During the war, she was kidnapped by her parents and placed under the imperius curse. I was able to free her during the Battle of Hogwarts.”

Ethren’s eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.

“Wait, wait back up. There’s a war? Merula becomes a Death Eater?”

“Let me explain,” David said, raising his hands in the air whilst also flicking his cigarette. “Yes, You Know Who will return in four years time and begin a new war against the Ministry. And no, my wife did not become a Death Eater. She was shanghaied against her will. At that point in her life, she wanted nothing to do with her parents. Can you say the same for yours?”

Ethren’s head was practically spinning at this newfound revelation. He felt a desperate need to sit down but remained standing, running a hand through his caramel locks.

“She...she would never.”

“If you believe that, you’re wrong. If Merula doesn’t break off her toxic relationship with her parents, she’ll go right back to them once they’re freed from Azkaban.”

Denial morphed into pain as the younger man shook his head.

“Why...why would she do that?”

“You know as well as I do how badly she wants their approval and how it affects her judgement. My Merula made the right choice, but I also helped her to see what kind of path she was heading in. You must do the same.”

“And what happens if I don’t?”

In a reversal of moods, David’s hazel blue eyes bore into Ethren’s crystal blue ones, hardening with each passing second, though there was still tremendous sympathy.

“I will not lie, however the answer will be difficult for you to hear. You will each find yourself on the opposite side of the coming conflict and Merula will realize her error far too late. In the end, you will sacrifice your life for hers during a great battle. And as a result, a son will never know his father.”

Tears were forming into Ethren’s eyes and David was trying his best not to do the same though it was becoming increasingly difficult.

“W-what...what should I do?”

“Guide her,” David responded softly. “Show her that there is a better way to happiness than simply attaining power. Help her to see that she can trust people unconditionally and that those people are not her parents….especially her mother,” he added with a heavy hint of disgust.

“I don’t know if I can,” the teenage Gryffindor said, his voice still wavering. “She won’t listen to me. She never has.”

“She will. I guarantee it.”

David stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Ethren, embracing him in a hug while silent tears fell from his eyes.

“You can do it, Ethren. I’ve seen war, I’ve seen death, and I’ve seen a world where a family was ended before it began. Trust me when I say this, you and Merula Snyde are meant for each other for better or worse. And if I can do my part to ensure you end up happy instead of six feet under, I damn well won’t hesitate.”

They broke apart with both men wiping their eyes.

“Bloody alcohol,” David joked.

“I think I’ll hold off on any more beers.”

The older man placed a hand on Ethren’s shoulder though this time he did not hug him but instead gave a final guiding message.

“I made a promise to thank you for what you did for my wife and to honor your memory. This way, I can do both. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now go break your malediction, defeat R, and live the life you deserve.”

Ethren nodded, finally gaining back control of his emotions but also feeling a deeper sense of purpose as well as gratitude to this stranger.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” he said somewhat lamely, cursing his lack of ability to express his feelings properly.

“You’ll never have to,” David responded kindly. “Consider it a favor from one friend to another.”

He released Ethren’s shoulder and nodded with a smile.

“Now let’s get you back to Hogwarts. If memory serves, I believe curfew should be soon. Don’t want Snape catching you out of bed.”

Ethren gave a smile of his own.

“Since when has Dumbledore’s rules stopped us?”

David laughed one more time before they disapparated with a small *pop.

“Never.”

----------------------------------------------------------

Merula Snyde did not like feeling guilty. It was a useless emotion better left for fools who believed in sentimentality and other such nonsense. But when it came to one special boy, her heart could not help serve as a constant reminder of how much she mistreated him. Such as their fight from earlier that morning.

Working late into the night in the library, the ambitious Slytherin had poured through book after book and page after page in order to see if there was anything about maledictions they hadn’t already discovered or knew about thus far. In a sense, it was her attachment to Whitecross and their past experiences together that drove her to do as she did. There was no need to say that you cared, that’s what saving him from his blood curse was for. Even so, the young Slytherin couldn’t avoid the guilt or her memories.

“Why do you do this?”

“You’re going to have to be more specific, Whitecross. Spit it out.”

The Gryffindor clenched his fists but then let out a sigh and then unclenched them as they stood outside in the corridor near Charms.

“You claim you’re on my side but not once do you ever take responsibility for your own shortcomings. Nothing is ever your fault or a bad idea. Is it your job in life to torture me?”

Merula snorted as she dismissed him yet again.

“You torture yourself enough all on your own. If there was a shred of common sense in that empty head of yours, you’d acknowledge that you don’t have the bollocks to take out R same as it was with Rakepick. I’m not going to apologize for speaking the truth.”

Ethren usually swept aside her barbs no problem but this one appeared to hit home in a way her usual ones did not. He took her hand in his.

“Merula, I don’t know that I can call you my girlfriend anymore...I’m not sure what we are. But...those feelings we have won’t just go away. Why can’t you just at least pretend you care about me?”

But his appeal to her better senses fell flat as she withdrew her hand and gave a hard stare with her vivid, violet eyes.

“If you want a hug, Whitecross go to Haywood. Don’t waste my time.”

And without another word, she spun around in her combat boots and walked off not bothering to see the pained reaction on his face.

Merula clenched her jaw as the remorse became almost overwhelming. Why? Why was she like this? It wouldn’t kill her to throw the poor blighter a bone now and then, right?

“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered aloud.

A second voice entered her mind, one that was hauntingly familiar.

You should know better. There are no such things as happy endings. The only person anyone can rely on is themselves….

The voice became disturbingly soothing.

You’re special my little blackbird. I will always love you

Merula resisted the urge to cry as she planted her face on one of the many books layed out in front of her. She did not care if Madam Pince yelled at her for staying too late. Wallowing within her inner demons outweighed any potential punishment.

“I never realized the true depth of your self loathing narcissism until much later in life,” spoke a voice. It frightened her so much, that she jumped at least a foot in the air and wheeled around, wand in hand.

Standing by the window of the library was a young man, light beard, longish brown hair, tall, wearing a Guns N’ Roses t-shirt, brown boots, and a dark cloak. He wore his hoodie up and so could not see the face clearly. Nevertheless, she kept her wand trained on him.

“Who are you and what do you want? I promise I’m the last witch you want to mess with,” she snarled.

“My identity is inconsequential. As for what I want, I only wish to impart a gift.”

Merula did not believe a word of what this stranger said and had half a mind to hex him if it wasn’t for the fact that damaging the library in such a manner was a bannable offense.

“Whatever the intentions, you picked a really bad spot. Don’t you know where you are? Madam Pince will disembowel anyone who mucks about in here...of course she won’t have the honor of doing so before I do.”

A condescending chuckle emanated from underneath the hood.

“I have a silencing charm and a protective ward around this area. We won’t be interrupted I assure you. In any case, what I have planned isn’t going to take long.”

The teenage Slytherin silently checked the magical energies around her and realized he was right. Those kinds of wards were only the kind powerful Aurors knew or worse. All of a sudden, real fear entered Merula’s bones though she did her best to hide it.

“W-What are you going to do? What is this?”

The figure did not move, only uttering a single sentence.

“The day you finally understand.”

He was too quick for her to react properly, so fast was the draw of his wand. There was an incantation she didn’t recognize and a jet of white light that struck her in the forehead.

A swarm of images flashed through Merula’s mind and she was forced to witness every single one of them: two teenagers triumphing over an evil organization, an emotional breakup, darkness arising in the British wizarding world, an escape from Azkaban, a young woman kneeling before the Dark Lord, a night of raw passion, the birth of a child, and finally the scene of a young man with an arrow lodged in his chest, a despondent woman in Death Eater robes sobbing over the lifeless body.

‘Ethren! Ethren! ETHREN! PLEASE! DON’T GO!!!’

Then just as quickly as they came the images were gone and so was the unknown figure. Only a reeling and emotionally fragile young woman who had only one thought on her mind.

“Ethren,” she breathed out.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The young Gryffindor teen was slightly annoyed as Jae told him someone was waiting outside the tower for him. Who on earth was so desperate to talk to him this late at night? Did they not have the password or some other such nonsense? He wasn’t in the mood for a prank.

As he stepped past the portrait of the Fat Lady, however, his questions were answered right away as a mess of brown hair with an orange tuft slammed into him.

“What the- Merula?”

“Ethren,” she whispered as she clung to him for dear life. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

Utterly shocked, Ethren separated himself ever so slightly, still holding her in arms and looked into beautiful, violet eyes; eyes that were swimming with tears.

“Sorry? For what?”

“For everything...I didn’t realize...I didn’t know…”

Words failed her as she pressed her lips against his. Ethren didn’t hold back, returning the passionate kiss, long and deep. Fireworks were exploding in his mind.

When they broke apart, he saw she was still crying but there was also the same determination that sparkled in the orbs he’d come to love for better or worse.

“Things are going to be different from now on...I promise. I love you,” she said.

Ethren traced a finger along her soft, porcelain cheek, taking in the small freckles that dotted her adorable nose. He’d never felt so amazing, so enamored with the girl in front of him.

“I love you, too.”

As they embraced once more, Ethren Whitecross couldn’t help but think of the man who’d changed his life in one fell swoop. The one who’d gotten him to simultaneously sing karaoke and drink Guinness on the most memorable night of his young life. He smiled as he took in the scent of cloves, nail polish...and something elusive.

Thank you, David Grant

[spkmth]

          more thoughts from my playthrough of shield.     i have now beaten opal,  melony,  piers,  and raihan.

•     OPAL.     she was great.     she’s my first experience with a strong fairy-type trainer  ( my last pokémon game was hgss so it’s been a hot second )  and i was super nervous but i handled her well thanks to my corviknight and my toxtricity.     her gym challenge was really unique and refreshing.

•     MELONY.     loved the unique take on the usual  ‘arena trap’  ‘fall through the floor’  concept.     her lapras was a bitch,  but toxtricity took care of it before it had the chance to really fuck me over.     her design is a+,  though i wish i could have fought gordie.     ( wanted to fight allister more than bea so i got shield. )

•     PIERS.     where the fuck do i begin.     he was everything i wanted!     his allure ... his confidence ... his fucking battle theme ... everything was perfect.     my own obstagoon + brick break took his down easily,  along with my mudsdale for skuntank.     i really struggled against his malamar,  and immediately went to find myself a contrary inkay afterwards because a contrary malamar + superpower is op as fuck.     sneaky sneaky dark-type gym leader man.     but yeah i adored every second of my fight against him.     i’m very relieved that so many of my headcanons,  which were solely based on research,  still stand up to the canon material now that i’ve experienced it!

•     RAIHAN.     what a lovable dork.     i genuinely felt under pressure when he was watching me battle his gym subordinates.     his battle was the one i dreaded the most,  but i was prepared ;   as i suspected,  my mudsdale wiped the floor with him,  and really his gigalith was the largest threat as i’m still struggling to get a strong water-type and my poor roserade wasn’t quite up to the task of challenging it.     having played through raihan’s arc in the game,  i can now very safely say that i’m disappointed in the depth the game could have given him,  as the champ’s  ‘greatest rival’ ... i’m really glad i can give him some of the characterization the game left out.     smh leon needs to give this man more credit.

•     BIKING ON WATER.     thought i would hate this because i am a surf / fly purist,  but holy hell is this convenient and seamless and awesome.     i’ve taken so many mantines to the face in the lake of outrage,  my current fave grinding spot.

•     THE SOUNDTRACK.     i want to take a minute to recognize how immersive the music in this game is!     everything matches the environment flawlessly :   the mysteriousness of glimwood tangle,  the ethereal beauty of ballonlea,  the regality of hammerlocke,  the intimidating punk rock vibe of spikemuth ... it’s all spot on.     and the music changing the closer you get to piers ... oh boy that’s a nice touch.     marnie’s theme is still my absolute favorite theme ;   i never thought anything would beat out the theme of the legendary titans   ( regirock,  regice,  registeel )   but marnie’s is right up there with it.

•     hop and leon are still fucking irritating.     but you know who i like a lot more than i thought i would?     SONIA.     man i thought i’d dislike the shit out of her but omg she’s precious.     i do wish she’d stop asking a couple of dumb ten year olds important research questions because those cutscenes are irritating,  but that’s not her fault.     in that same vein,  magnolia is awesome.     she’s the grandma i wish i had.

CURRENT TEAM:

•     i’ve had excalibur and coalossal ever since i started the game.     knew i’d need them to go up against leon,  so we’re grinding hardcore right now to get where we need to be.

•     got lucky with flea being the daycare toxel i received!     he’s my best friend and i love his goofy run in camp.     he’s currently my highest level mon at 67 and is a permanent member of my party.

•     working hard to get grendel up to level 70 before i challenge leon.     i know i’ll need a tough fairy-type.

•     sid was the fourth pokémon i caught.     he’s gotten me out of a lot of tough spots and is also my best friend.     he found me a ton of good shit as a zigzagoon / linoone.     he’s also one move away from knowing all the moves that my piers muse’s sid knows!

•     rose is my first ever shiny pokémon in a core game!     she was a complete surprise and the battle to catch her lasted half an hour.     roserade is one of my all-time favorite shinies and i consider myself really lucky to have gotten a shiny i actually like as my first!     i’m hoping to take her against leon’s inteleon   ( i started with scorbunny )   but i might leave that to flea and put a strong ice-type on my team to challenge leon’s dragons.

HOW DOES ANY OF THIS AFFECT MY RPING?

          for piers,  it only makes me love him more.     what a mad lad.     i’m in critical condition with piers brain now.     i will never understand why some people play him as this beleaguered put-upon depressed whiner.     he’s just so badass!     as for raihan ... my relationship with my own raihan muse hasn’t changed,  but i’m sad for canon rai.     they really put him in a box,  didn’t they?     i’m glad i get to give him some deeper characterization since the games clearly didn’t,  and i’m looking forward to fleshing him out more than i already have.     man cannot subsist solely on pokégram and the desire to beat leon’s ass.

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

Hey! I rly loved the new chapter of WATJP, thank you!! I have a question about your characterisation of Sirius though. When you answered earlier that Sirius doesn’t care what Lily thinks of James it made me wonder why you characterise him as being so apathetic and if that’s a front or if he rly just doesn’t care about anything. In my mind I’ve always pictured Sirius as someone who cares quite deeply about a few things (his friends in particular). I’m just really curious as he’s one of my faves💞

Thank you for asking! I actually have a lot to say about this!

(also were you listening in on my phone conversation with @bcdaily last weekend because we were literally talking about this very subject)

Okay. So. To start. Sirius–or my version of him, anyway-cares more about James than he does about any other living creature on this earth. He would happily take a knife to the chest for James, without hesitation or any thought to his own safety. However, that doesn’t mean he has to care about the girl James fancies or ship them as a couple. It would ring entirely false to me if I tried to write him that way.

There are a few reasons for this. First, that my Sirius is aromantic. I believe he’s also canonically aromantic, but whatever, who cares about JKR. I headcanon him as aromantic (but out for a good time, if ya know what I mean ;D) so the need for romantic love is something he simply cannot empathise with. He also knows that James’s professed “love” for Lily is nothing more than an out of control crush on a personality that James has fabricated in his head (that it will end up working out for James is just excellent luck on his part). The truth, which Sirius knows, is that the world is not going to end if Lily never wants James. James will not wither and die away. There are no real stakes in the game right now. He has no genuine reason to care.

Furthermore, if Lily and James do get together, from Sirius’s perspective, his time with James is depleted by that relationship. Sirius is a selfish character—that’s just an objective truth—and James is the very centre of his world. It seems only natural to me that it would take Sirius (particularly teenage Sirius) some time to warm up to James having a girlfriend, in canon or otherwise, and that he would reconcile himself with the idea/grow fond of Lily only after he realised that he wasn’t being excluded—which is an understandable fear because imagine being friends with James and having to listen to him whine about her all the time? It would be annoying AF.

Believe it or not, I really dislike it when fics characterise Sirius as someone who IS all shippy and schemes to get James and Lily together, especially given what we know about him in canon. I’d go as far as to call it a pet peeve. We see in the SWM flashback that sitting around pretending to be apathetic was clearly his thing, and also that he was casually un-fussed by whatever was going on with Lily and James. That kind of over-involved interest is also not particularly realistic for teenage boys in general, and this is something I have discussed with my boyfriend, my brother and with my male friends. When my friend Curtis read my fic he specifically complimented the friendship between Sirius and James and said that it was reminiscent of his own closest friendships. “That’s exactly how lads are,” he told me, and he’s totally right, certainly when it comes to British boys. The reason The Inbetweeners became so insanely popular here is because it was so bloody relatable. I remember attending a reading of Deathly Hallows in which JKR (back before we knew that she was a TERF nightmare and a sellout) said that her American editors were CONSTANTLY trying to get her to make Harry and Ron hug and be more affectionate with one another and she had to keep being like, no, they’re British, that’s not how it is here.

So, yes, Sirius loves James more than anything, cares deeply, wants him to be happy and would ultimately be pleased to know that James and Lily were in a happy relationship. But none of that is reason for him to care about Lily now, and certainly not reason for him to enable and support James’s melodramatic obsession. Is he an apathetic person really? No. Is apathy his aesthetic? Hell yes. That’s my Sirius in a nutshell.

[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.

[bothriolepis]

Alright I’m ready to LEARN about this lad. For Pip: 6, 13, 15, 19, 30, 35, 36, 48, 57, 58, 63, 69 (nice) :3c

YES GOOD THANK U!!!!

this is very long so i’m gonna put it under a cut!

6. which party member do they relate to the most?

oh i don’t think they can relate to ANY of the party members, i think a lot of the time they just feel out of place w them bc of their magic and the fact that they are a city cowboy :’^)

13. what do they dislike about themself? why?

SO MUCH... but boy they will not admit it!! but yeah i definitely think they have a lot of... inadequacy issues? they put a lot of worth into feeling useful and they can’t ever seem to do anything right once the campaign got started. after the temple, their curse grew a lot so they got worse at magic AND they seemed to lose a lot of their social skills/ability to flirt well so that made them feel REAL BAD and real useless

what’s harder for them to admit tho is that they dislike their selfishness? they hate that they left their mentor in prison and haven’t been able to bail him out since due to their selfish spending. they hate that they stole from the mummy and nearly got the party killed. they hate that they can’t seems to be a good person like the party wants them to be cause they’re so selfish.

ofc they hide this under a THICK layer of narcissism but boy does this cowboy have a lot of issues

15. do they trust their party? why or why not?

yes they do, a little too much actually! pip is a very trusting (and gullible) person and despite the fact that the party hasn’t always been the best to them they fully trust that they know what’s best for them! that’s why they genuinely want to become a better person and want to take the party’s advice, bc they think that they know what they’re talking about much more than pip does. they also don’t believe that the party will ever betray them

that being said tho, a lot of their actions betray a lack of trust? pip’s self-preservation instinct is VERY strong, and their first instinct is that the party will not protect them and they have to take care of themself. and, if they slip up, they don’t think the party will forgive them (hence why they tried to avoid the party after the mummy fight...)

19. what haunts them? what doesn’t?

the big one? abandoning their mentor (han) in prison. it was a selfish whim of a rebellious teenager and it left them in a guilt spiral that they are still dealing with. another big one is turning sage (our former dragonborn rogue) into stone, they feel so goddamn bad about that!!

more literally, fucking crows?? pip’s nightmares and even waking hours are haunted by black birds that seem to like them a lot but just scare the shit out of them :’^)

as for what doesn’t haunt them.... the one time they killed someone lmao. it’s what got both pip and han arrested, and what led to pip abandoning han in prison, but that abandonment is what haunts them most, not actually killing someone! good job pip

30. what do they seek out from others?

validation & donations

jk yes but also i think they just crave friendship? they want to be on equal footing with someone who cares about them and doesn’t just use them like they are used to;; that’s why they are so desperate for the party to like them!!

35. which party member do they worry for?

they’re a very self-centered person so i’m not sure if they worry-worry for their party members as much as they worry about what their party members are going through means for them. that being said, i think they do worry about ahu considering they have no fucking clue what’s going on with him despite knowing that there definitely IS something to be worried about?? plus they don’t really like the fact that they can’t seem to get through to him at all

36. what’s a secret they’ve kept?

a lot.... i think a big one is that onyx talked to them and promised to spare their life if they continued casting spells (risking bad wild magic surges) and stopped attempting to prevent the apocalypse.... and they are kinda thinking of agreeing

at this point that party was VERY set on stopping the apocalypse, so yep definitely a secret they wanted to keep from them!

48. what do they see in their future?

pip will hold onto the hope that one day they will be rich and live a life of luxury...

i think a big thing is they see themself bailing han out of prison and then han being SO GRATEFUL that he finally loves and respects pip the way that pip wants. due to events in game tho they have some doubts that han is even alive anymore (haha)... tho they are fully in denial of that

realistically tho? i don’t know if pip has much hope for themself beyond just continuing to fuck and steal like they have been in the years before the campaign started;; they’re really grasping at straws TRYING to find someone to hold onto (preferably the party, but possibly other changelings or followers of onyx) so they don’t have to be alone anymore

57. what makes them angry?

i think pip gets pissed off at A LOT of petty shit, like people not drinking with them or their god (onyx) fucking with them or not being the hottest one in the party but i’m having a hard time seeing pip getting genuinely angry at something? i think when something very, emotionally straining happens that might make them angry pip tends to get scared and stressed instead, and just withdraws instead and starts drinking

58. what do they think their role in the party is? what is their role in actuality?

they think they are the powerful magic man and smooth talker of the party!! and the hot one ofc

tragically they are none of these, they’ve kinda just ended up as the hot mess that everyone has to babysit so they don’t get into trouble :’^)

63. what fight has scared them the most?

oof that’s a toughy bc pip is a coward and tends to be scared in most fights!! i think the mummy fight scared them a lot not bc of the fight itself but bc of the consequences... they knew that the whole fight was entirely their fault AND completely avoidable so they knew the party was going to hate them afterwards!

also i don’t know if it counts as a fight but the incident with the robot that tried to remove their wild magic curse scared them a lot... i think it was the first time they grasped how deeply fucked up their magic was plus it just hurt A LOT

69. how would they describe their party members?

sable: friend?? maybe? sable is the one that seems to like them most so in turn pip likes her the most! they feel very bad about they fact that sable nearly died bc of their selfishness but it’s not something they really want to admit to her... sable did try and help them become a good person too, so they definitely take her suggestions seriously in pursuit of trying to get her to like them again

still doesn’t know why she wouldn’t drink with them that one time

zylus: pip respects zylus and wants zylus to like them! i think it’s a lot less clear to pip whether zylus likes him as compared to sable, since he can be a bit stern w them but it won’t stop pip from trying to worm their way into his heart. they want to help zylus find his mom in an attempt to become his friend!

qiralei: scares the everloving SHIT out of them!! qiralei always seems to know the right buttons to push to get pip real fucked up like, emotionally. plus there’s the fact that pip fully knows qiralei holds a grudge against them for ditching her that one time very early on in the temple... that being said, she is where pip will go if they need any advice on divine matters!

ahu: i think ahu just confuses pip A LOT. as a very charismatic person who’s used to getting people to like them and open up they are very confused as to why ahu will not?? so they just keep pushing harder and ahu closes up even more. and then there was the night watch post-mummy fight... hoo boy. ahu was PISSED OFF at pip and pip just didn’t make a good attempt to stop him. i think after that pip is more intimidated by ahu but also more interested in knowing wtf is going on with him

they are also kinda jealous bc ahu is better looking than them, quit stealing pip’s thunder!!

[graphite-gotdamn-everywhere]

I have come to the realization that I should perhaps make a distinction between the two Habit (EverymanHYBRID) headcanons that I have developed.

One is a less canon one and I use him in my Doctor's Trials.

There is a really brief mention of rape and suicide towards the end, be safe!

He no longer needs a vessel and appears as an albino version of Evan, with small black horns, white hair, claws etc.

He has intense trauma due to dying and initially coped by letting out all his anger and frustration on others, eventually starting to target weaker entities and gaining more and more power until he came across Admin that trapped him in the iteration loop.

He is genuinely tired of hurting everyone around him. It no longer brings him as much enjoyment as it used to and he would just like to finally be free and do what he truly wants.

He used to be human, so he still wants affection, to an extent. He's been deprived of touch and actual, loving human contact for at least 80-90 years. (Ever since Patrick, perhaps the only creature who genuinely cared for him, left.)

He behaves much like an animal, but at the same time he values manners and hospitality. If he willingly hosts you in his house, he will ensure nothing bad will happen unless he wants it to happen.

He wears a frankly excessive amount of clothes, dislikes people looking directly/staring at him, hates having too much skin showing.

Finds it physically difficult to say "I'm sorry" or "I love you" to anyone. It's not a question of pride, he just can't.

Often acts disgusting and animalistic on purpose, for example drooling everywhere when he eats, though he can't really bring himself to do anything more than that.

He highly dislikes being dirty, thirsty or hungry. He will eat and drink at any chance he gets, put something in front of him and it will be consumed instantly.

He is almost obsessed with being better than others. Stronger, faster, smarter, more efficient, he has to be one of the best in everything, or else.

If he's touched by a stranger without consent, he will get extremely pissy. If touched again he will lash out and if provoked more and on purpose, it will end in murder.

There are crimes he is not willing to commit, a.k.a. r*pe and the like.

He's somewhat suicidal, but due to the fact that he's bound to the iteration cycle (that plays out like a repeating story with reoccurring characters in which Habit plays the role of villain) he physically cannot kill himself.

The other Habit is more of a canon one (also relatively new, less developed than the pasty Habit) although I fear I'm going to end up accidentally softening him LIKE I ALWAYS DO GODDAMMIT HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE EVIL

Like the previous lad, he has gained a human form of his own after being killed in All Good Things, although he looks more like a tall version of Evan with longer, black hair.

He's far more vicious than the previous Hab, he also doesn't really understand that certain things can hurt people, unfiltered, speaks without thinking.

It's all just a game for him, a boring old game that has long lost what made it fun in the first place. Nothing brings him actual joy anymore, so he basically went "SUICIDE IS BADASS" and yeeted.

I... don't have much else for him, also since I never RP'd as him.