#maybe someday ill share my least favorite episodes

[asteria7fics]

this is probably the most basic ass bitch opinion but i cannot and will not EVER rewatch humancentiPad. i hate that episode so, so much. i hate anything to do with human centipede but the fact that it is kyle makes it even worse. it causes a visceral reaction in me. and in the 6 days to air doc matt and trey are giggling about it while recording lines like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever done and its sick like youre laughing. my favorite character is being tortured in the worst way possible and you’re laughing. I AHTE IT

Oh my friend this is a safe place to hate Humancentipad.

I... Shamefully hardly watched it the first time around. I was dreading it for my entire first watch through, because funny enough it was actually an episode I had been spoiled for the most.

You see, it's my best friend's favorite episode, and gets quoted in our house pretty constantly.

The only redeeming quality for me is the entire subplot with Cartman and his mom. Oh my god every time I go to Best Buy I am absolutely obnoxious. Some of the absolute best of Cartman being a little shit stain.

Everything with Kyle though? Borderline unwatchable for me. I do think having the additional context from 6 Days to Air actually helps me appreciate the episode for what it is, since it was pretty clear Matt and especially Trey were just so fucking tapped going into season 15. Bless those men, I definitely don't come up with my best ideas when I'm trying to shift gears between projects.

But... Yeah. My disdain for this episode is the biggest reason I refuse to draw basically any of the boys with their 'canon scars'. As far as I'm concerned that whole fucking thing was just a horrible nightmare for Kyle and never actually happened... Though it's also the reason I don't think Kyle would be able to eat ass. Look, let's just not think about it any deeper, okay?

[meggtheegg]

evan hansen, sam wilson, & wanda maximov?

ohh man this one's gonna get long so i'll put it under a read more :D

evan:

favorite thing about them

his sincere desire to make sure everyone is okay. half of his problems stem from that one need, but it's ultimately what makes him set things right, too.

least favorite thing about them

there are many obvious character flaws that i could point out, but the most overlooked one is that he goes off his fucking meds without telling anyone that shit is dangerous and should not be treated as anything but that.

favorite line

"dear evan hansen, today is going to be a good day and here's why. because today, no matter what else, today at least you're you. no hiding. no lying. just... you. and that's. that's enough. maybe someday, everything that happened will all feel like a distant memory. maybe someday no one will remember about the connor project. or me. maybe someday, some other kid is going to be standing here, staring out at the trees, feeling so...alone, wondering if maybe the world might look different from all the way up there. better. and maybe he'll start climbing, one branch at a time, and he'll keep going. even when it seems like he can't find another foothold. even when it feels... hopeless. like everything is telling him to let go. this time...maybe this time, he won't let go. he'll just hold on...and keep going. he'll keep going until he sees the sun."

brOTP

evan and zoe should be friends, and even if that's super unrealistic, i will still hold onto that

OTP

evan x going back on his gosh darn meds

nOTP

i've never really seen an evan ship that bothers me, actually

random headcanon

i've said it a million times and i will say it again, this kid has autism, and no one will ever convince me otherwise (side-eyes steven levenson and ben platt)

unpopular opinion

evan is neither a horrible kid or a smol uwu anxious bean. he's a mentally ill teenager, who should be treated with the nuance and understanding that deserves.

also, the kiss at the end of ywbf kills all the emotion and power of the song so quickly, why has it not been taken out yet

song i associate with them

kill the ghost - motherfolk

favorite picture of them

(i am so sorry, i had to share this picture with the world it makes me laugh every time)

sam:

favorite thing about them

what is there not to love about sam wilson, honestly? if i have to pick something, it's probably his adaptability. captain america trolling him on his morning run? okay, let's talk to him about his trauma. he and black widow show up at his door saying everyone's trying to kill them? let them in and make them breakfast, if they eat that kind of thing. being hunted by some masked assassin? time to bring a knife to a gunfight and win, i guess. the masked assassin is cap's best friend? well, time to drop everything and search the world for him and become an avenger. superheroes have to register with the government, now? well, guess it's time to become a fugitive and go on the run for a few years. cap is an old man, half the world has gone on without him for five years, and now he's supposed to be captain america? well, he'll hesitate to take up the mantle, but good for steve. the masked assassin that tried to kill him is part of his found family now? sure, whatever. invite him to the cookout. i think that literally nothing could surprise this man, by now, and he just keeps doing what he feels is right without even stopping to question it.

least favorite thing about them

honestly, i don't even know. some of the stuff he says to bucky feels uncharacteristically unsympathetic, in civil war and the beginning of tfatws, but also like,,,usually he's not wrong, he's just kind of blunt about it??? idk man i love sam wilson.

oh, and i guess the cowl on his cap suit looks kinda dumb and uncomfortable

favorite line

"the only power i have is that i believe we can do better."

that's sam summed up in one line, right there. he's a normal guy surrounded by superheroes and yet he holds his own and stands out because he's so sincere and dedicated and good that it doesn't even matter

brOTP

sam and steve. we should've gotten more of them hanging out, honestly. they were great together.

OTP

sambucky, baybee! for all the reasons i listed in my answer for bucky :)

nOTP

another one i can't think of anything for. i guess sam/tony, if anyone ships that???

random headcanon

sam was actually pretty quiet, as a kid. he kind of let sarah do the talking for him. it wasn't until they got older that he started becoming more talkative and developing his sense of humor

unpopular opinion

sam did make mistakes in tfatws. bucky wasn't the only one to screw up. that was what made their reconciliation so nice. yeah, bucky was being way more of an asshole about the shield than sam was about anything, but that doesn't mean he was perfect 100% of the time, and that's good. that's what makes him human and relatable.

song i associate with them

come on, there's no way i can't say trouble man, here.

favorite picture of them

wanda

favorite thing about them

her gentle kindness. especially in civil war, there's something so soft and genuine about her that's just immediately endearing.

least favorite thing about them

the way that closing scene in wandavision implied she still may become a villain, despite having that option and rejecting it at the cost of her family, earlier that same episode. it just felt...wrong.

favorite line

"i can't control their fear. only my own."

i probably quote this line way too often. it's just....chef's kiss

(honorable mention goes to: "I don't even know who you are." "You will.")

brOTP

i so wish agatha hadn't become a one-dimensional villain in the last episode, because their friendship, however fake, was really sweet.

but also her friendship with the rest of team cap, especially steve, was also really lovely and i wish we could've gotten more of that

OTP

🎶WANDAVISION, WA-WANDAVISION, WANDAVISION WA-WANDAVISION...WANDAVISION!!"🎶

nOTP

wanda/pietro....just...ew....

random headcanon

despite her love for the genre, the two sitcoms she could never watch were alf and gilligan's island. the themes of being trapped somewhere without your family, no matter how funny the circumstances, just hit too close to home.

unpopular opinion

they shouldn't have aged wanda up to match lizzie's actual age. i know it was never officially stated anywhere until wandavision, but in aou and civil war, she was heavily implied to be a teenager, and honestly, that would've made everything about her character both hit harder and make way more sense. she could have been in her late teens-early 20s by the time wandavision rolled around, but having her in her late 20s-early 30s just doesn't fit all the comments about her being a kid/going to high school/etc. making her younger would mean that her decision to join hydra was the misinformed decision of a traumatized teenager, rather than a grown woman, and could have tied into tfatws and karli, which could then expand into an actual examination of why young people are willing to go to such extremes to make change and that could have been really interesting.

song i associate with them

razzmatazz - i don't know how but they found me

favorite picture of them

[only-mostlydead]

Thanks for the tag, @chaoscatty! I'm doing this as top 5 things in each category that brought me joy this year. Sticking this under a cut because I’m wordy.

Anyone who wants to do this, consider this your tag! Please share your joy!

Movies and TV: (I don’t watch a lot of movies, so I’m combining these) 1. Klaus The preview on Netflix does it absolutely no justice. This is a beautiful Christmas story but also a very human story. Prepare for tears. 2. Coco I am very bad at watching movies when they come out, so I didn’t see this until this past Halloween. Holy shit. Just beautiful. I cried so much I had to take off the sheet mask I was wearing. 3. Bob’s Burgers This show is just laughter and fun and easy watching. I will comfort watch this forever. The Belchers are always there for you.  4.. Somebody Feed Phil This show. I literally save episodes for when I’m having a bad day, and it never fails to cheer me up. Lovers of food, travel, and good vibes, this one’s for you. 5. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend This is my favorite show of all time, and I did my first full rewatch this year. It’s still my favorite portrayal of mental illness and character development. Also musical numbers. Someday there will be a stage version, and I will play Rebecca. 6. Never Have I Ever Female-driven, diverse cast, very funny, and a queer storyline to boot? Yes.  6. I Am Not Okay With This Sophia Lillis is just incredible, and I am eternally a sucker for stories about queer ladies, especially those who can blow things up with their mind. I’d like that power, thank you. 9. Schitt’s Creek Hilarious. Hands down the funniest show I’ve ever seen, set in a world where homophobia doesn’t exist? More of this please. I haven’t seen the last season yet because I am a doofus. 10. The Staircase Every winter, I go on a true crime kick. This show was wild. Honorable mention to The Keepers for the same reason.

Books: One of the rare silver linings of this year was the amount of time I had for reading. I read 47 books this year, so narrowing this down was not easy. If anyone needs recommendations, fiction or non, hit me up! 1. Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi Just a gorgeously told story. One of my favorite books I have ever read. 2. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie I love me a good mystery, and there’s a reason she’s considered the queen. 3. So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo Required reading, fellow white people.   4. The Fuck It Diet - Caroline Dooner I’ve been intentionally working towards food and body neutrality for about a year now. This book was life changing. HIGHLY recommend to anyone sick of fighting the diet culture fight. There is so much freedom on the other side. 5. I Want to be Where the Normal People Are - Rachel Bloom I read this all in one sitting. I laughed, I cried, I felt very seen as someone who grew up a weird musical theatre kid.

Music: 1. Atlas: Enneagram - Sleeping at Last This whole album is beautiful, but specifically the song “Eight” really struck me, because I’m Type 8 (and so is my Five) 2. Joy Oladokun I discovered her song “Look Up” on an acoustics playlist and got hooked on her music.  3. Beetlejuice the Musical I saw this show during it’s Broadway tryout in DC and rediscovered the OCR this year. It’s SO much fun, and now I want to play Beetlejuice. 4. The Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead scores Excellent background music, excellent ZR soundtrack. I think I was in the top 1% of fans for both Ramin Djawadi and Bear McCreary this year. 5. “Rain on Me” - Lady Gaga “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive” is the most 2020 lyric. This song is joy and optimism and fighting spirit, and I listened to it 1000 times.

Good Things: 1. On National Coming Out Day, I finally came out as bisexual to some Close Friends on Instagram. I’d already told a few people, but this was my first “public” coming out. It was very freeing. 2. I had my second surgery for endometriosis, this time with a doctor who gives a damn about aftercare and lets me guide my own treatment plan (it’s a whole thing, maybe I’ll tell the story someday).  3. Zombies, Run! This app did some damn much for me. It got me out of the house during quarantine, it helped me discover my love of hiking and nature, it got me writing for the first time in years, it showed me this beautiful little community...I just love it so much. 4. I found a yoga studio that I just adore who pivoted beautifully to online and outdoor classes during the pandemic.  5. After losing the job I hated, I got more involved at the distillery where I worked part-time and am now an assistant manager. BONUS 6. I found a therapist who is wonderful and have been able to keep seeing her virtually every week. ALSO BONUS 7. Animal Crossing. 

[onwardintolight]

Han x Leia, ESB, Trip to Bespin, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

Summary: ESB from Leia's POV. A journey from despair to hope, a blossoming, an opening to vulnerability and love.

Warnings: Deals with some heavy themes, incl. working through trauma, depression, self-harm, attempted sexual assault. Each chapter will be individually warned.

Note: I’m currently in the process of reposting the first nine chapters here in full, since when I first wrote this fic, I only shared links to the chapters on AO3 and FFN. I will try to post at least weekly. In the meantime, if you’d prefer to binge-read it, the entire fic is posted in full on AO3 and FFN.

Part: Masterlist | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Epilogue 

Soundtrack

~~~

Warnings for Chapter 11: none

~~~

Leia sat on the floor of the main hold, going through Han’s music selection. He was in the far circuitry bay tinkering, but he’d answered a query of hers before he left by pointing her towards the wall compartment where the music datacards were stored, all in a jumbled heap. She’d raised an eyebrow at the mess, then gathered them up and set them on the floor, sorting them alphabetically as she perused with interest.

She examined one of them closer. Kloo Horn Blues by Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes: she’d vaguely heard that the jizz band was popular in the Outer Rim. She’d have to give it a listen sometime. Nebula Songs by Aurodia Ventafoli—a classic; it seemed like everyone in the galaxy knew and loved the “Chanteuse of the Stars.” Her music practically dripped with romance, and Leia made a mental note of it for later (just in case). More jizz bands she wasn’t very familiar with. Khyyynett, the late Wookiee clarion trumpeter—probably one of Chewie’s favorites. Kor Vella Fever by The Bloodstripes, the upbeat album they’d listened to towards the beginning of the trip, and Those Old Spacer Blues by Grondorn Muse, another Corellian who had performed once or twice for the Alliance.

There were some classical albums: Kithra and Berltagh’s sonatas, Mondegrene’s Fugue in K. She gasped to see Tofli Argala’s Spring Symphony; the Nabooian composer’s masterpiece was often played in the Organa household while she was growing up. There were a few dance albums, too: the critically acclaimed B’ssa Nuuvu by Telindel and Saerlock, and even the Alderaanian band Heartbeat of Istabith, which increased her nostalgia even more.

Suddenly, Leia froze, eyes widening at the name spelled out on the datacard she’d just picked up. Melodic Order. That was the Alderaanian cloister choir she’d rescued after the Battle of Yavin! How had Han known about them? Their music was so unlike anything else in his collection; contemplative and ethereal and so very classically Alderaanian that she had a hard time imagining him listening to it.

But perhaps the more curious question was how Han had managed to get hold of it. She stared at the album title and frowned. Forever Lost, Forever Onward. An album she didn’t know, with a name that hinted of… she caught her breath. He must have picked this up recently, within the past few years. She wondered why he’d never told her about it. Trembling, she inserted it into the dataplayer.

She leaned back against the bulkhead, closing her eyes as the beautifully haunting, melodious strains washed over her. She’d grown up listening to Melodic Order and countless other Alderaanian choirs. Hearing them again felt so familiar, so like home and family and love and security, so like the innocence of a forever-lost childhood that she couldn’t stop the tears from welling.

The first song ended, and Leia opened her eyes, blinking. Han stood at the entrance to the hold, a sheepish smile on his face. “Er… I forgot that was in there. I, uh, remembered you talking about that choir. Found the datacard on the black market during one of my supply runs. Was saving it to give you as a gift, but…” he shrugged. “Guess you beat me to it.” He frowned. “Look, I’m sorry if it’s the wrong thing right now, I didn’t mean—”

In a moment she was off the floor and across it, flinging her arms around him. “It’s perfect,” she whispered into his chest. “Thank you.” He held her close, and she felt him relax. Leaning down, he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

The next song had already started; this one was a little bit more buoyant and upbeat. “It’s pretty,” Han remarked.

“Come and listen.”

Han grimaced. “To a whole hour of this? That could get boring pretty qui—” he caught sight of Leia’s face and stopped short. “Then again, it is really pretty. I’ll bring some stuff in to work on while we listen.”

She grinned, triumphant.

A few minutes later, they were both settled on the floor—Han against the bulkhead with a magna-driver and a gravity compensator module, and Leia lying on her back near him, eyes closed once more as she tried to savor every lovely, heart-wrenching note.

The music rose and fell, soaring like thrantas over the River Wuitho. It was at times as merry as a field of starflowers and as solemn and mournful as the wind on the peaks. But woven through it all like the threads of a tapestry was a sense of longing so immense that Leia felt like her heart might burst from it. The lyrics intensified it; the voices sung of grief and remembrance, of yearning for what was no more, but also for what might someday be. Along with that yearning, hope was named, a hope Leia clung to like a rock in swift water.

The album was over halfway through when all at once her eyes snapped open and she sat up. “What did they just say?”

“Hmm?” Han mumbled from against the bulkhead as he strained the magna-driver against a particularly stubborn fastener.

Leia frowned as the song reached its chorus.

Symbol of hope, wreathed in white. Our death she saw but stalwart she fights. The remnant she gathers, our hearts she stirs, our doom she defies. The princess will bring us into light.

“No,” she whispered. Suddenly feeling very ill, she got up and stumbled to the corridor.

“Leia?” She vaguely heard Han’s concerned voice calling after her. Jamming her hand against the controls to the crew quarters, she lurched towards the ‘fresher and sank down on the floor beside it. Han caught up with her. “You all right, Princess?” He frowned. “You look really pale.” He sat down next to her.

Concentrating, she tried to slow her heartbeat. She had already begun to swallow down the initial wave of nausea, but she was still reeling. “Did you hear what they were singing?”

“Uh, something about hope and light?”

Leia stared at the wall across from her. “It was about me,” she whispered.

A cloud passed over Han’s eyes. “The hell do they think they are? You saved them! If they’ve been talking trash—”

“No, Han. It’s not that. It’s….” She felt lost for words; it was hard to speak at all right now, much less clearly. How could she explain this? He laid his hand, palm up, on the floor between them. She clasped it and took a deep breath. “They sung about me like I was one of the old Alderaanian gods.” She shook her head. “A ‘symbol of hope.’ Like I was going to make everything right.” She clenched her teeth as another wave of nausea swept over her.

Han gave her a funny look. “But you are a symbol of hope, Leia. To the whole galaxy. You agreed with the ol’ stooges in high command when they decided to make you one. It’s important, right?”

“Yes, Han, but this is different.”

He opened his mouth like he was about to argue some more, but then he seemed to think better of it and sat there, waiting. Wise move, whispered the wry part of her mind that was somehow still hovering nearby, outside of the body that trembled and felt sick. He squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes, concerned.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she sighed. “I can’t be their idol, Han. I can’t be their goddess of light now that Alderaan is gone. If they knew… if they knew what part I played in their loss, they wouldn’t say such things. They’d be praying that the god of justice destroys my soul.” She gritted her teeth; the last words had come out sharp and hard, like a gavel.

“Leia—”

“Han, I don’t care what you say. I don’t deserve this. I will never deserve this. I may not be directly to blame, but you know just as well as I do that if it weren’t for my actions, Alderaan would still be here. I chose to rebel.” She paused, voice breaking. “And what’s maybe even worse is that I’m still glad I rebelled. Maybe that makes me a monster, or maybe I just believe in something greater than all of us. But I’m implicated. I can take steps to bring justice and peace to the galaxy and what’s left of my people, but I will never be able to assuage my guilt or bring Alderaan back.” She laid her head on Han’s shoulder. “I can’t be their perfect symbol of hope, Han. And I’m not. A whole lot of people do blame me.”

Han was quiet for a moment. Then he leaned over and kissed her head. “You did the right thing, sweetheart,” he murmured. “You, and your parents, and, hell, all the Alderaanians who wanted somethin’ better than the Empire.”

Leia paused at his words. She exhaled slowly as the implications hit her.

It wasn’t just you.

He wrapped his arms around her. She let herself be drawn in closer, and they both rested there, quiet for awhile.

Her mind was still a mess, but eventually she felt the nausea dissipate and her heartbeat grow calmer. She was struck by a sudden desire to move on with things, to leave this awkward little episode behind. Gently she untangled herself and got to her feet; he followed suit.

“Well,” she said awkwardly, stretching her arms on her hips.

“I shoulda known that wouldn’t’ve gone too well,” Han said apologetically.

“No, Han, thank you. That music…” she shook her head. “I needed it. Maybe not the one song, but the rest… it means so much to me. It’s home.” She looked at him standing there, leaning against the wall, worry lines fading from his face, and she smiled. Suddenly she had a thought—a small opening, a chance to dig a little deeper—and she took it. “You ever have any music like that?”

“Music that reminds me of home?” He chuckled bitterly. “I haven’t had a home worth remembering, ‘cept the Falcon.”

Leia winced inwardly at her mistake. “Oh, I don’t mean like that. I mean the kind that goes down really deep. That means something important to you.”

Han looked thoughtful. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “I guess I do.”

“Can I hear it?”

Moments later they were back in the main hold, and Han was digging haphazardly through the piles of datacards she’d nearly finished organizing. She considered that her efforts to bring a little order might well be hopeless, and she shook her head, amused.

Han found the datacard he was looking for. A wistful smile tugged at his lips as he examined it, and then he tossed it to Leia. “The M-68s,” Leia read aloud as she inserted it into the player. “That’s the name of a speeder, right?”

“The best in the galaxy. Or it was, awhile back.”

The music started; more raucous Corellian ballads, similar to what they’d listened to before. The first song seemed to be an ode to the band’s namesake.

Han leaned back on his arms, his eyes distant, as if he were picturing the speeder right in front of him in all its glory. “Powerful, variable thrusters… modifiable 289-hirep repulsorlift generator… sleek, beautiful lines….” he whistled. “Every street racer worth their stuff on Corellia wanted one. But by the time I finally got my hands on one—”

“Wait, you were a street racer?” She leaned forward, intrigued.

Han shrugged. “Yeah, when I had the time. I built a speeder of my own. Raced it a couple of times. Did pretty damn well, considering that I had to steal every minute with it right from under Lady Proxima’s oily nose.”

“Lady Proxima?”

“Head of the White Worms. Horrible being. I, uh, worked for her for awhile.”

Leia raised her eyebrows.

“All right, smuggled. Stole things. All sorts of illegal hijinks. Happy now? Not that I had much of a choice. I was just a kid trying to survive.”

Leia’s expression grew softer. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

Han made a dismissive sound in his throat. “Eh, don’t worry about it. I suppose being an Alderaanian princess didn’t give you much experience with underground cartels.” Leia opened her mouth in defense, but Han beat her to it. “And that’s good. I’m glad you didn’t have to deal with ‘em.”

“We had some underground illegal activity, but nothing like the cartels on other worlds,” Leia conceded. “And you’re right, I never had much experience dealing with them directly.” She paused, searching his face. His eyes were focused elsewhere. Was he ashamed? “Tell me about it,” she said gently. “Help me understand.”

Han considered for a moment, then sat up, fiddling with his holster. “The White Worms were the biggest gang in Coronet. Controlled the black market there. Any kid on the streets desperate enough eventually ended up with them.” He paused, his distaste palpable. “Easy to get in, not so easy to get out.”

Leia shuddered.

“It was better than being alone on the streets, though. We at least had a steady source of food.” He shrugged, then stopped speaking. Leia guessed he was hoping that would be the end of it. Despite her curiosity, she felt it was unwise to press him too hard just yet, so she went back to the subject beloved by the gritty, spirited anthem still belting from the datacard player.

“You said you were able to get your hands on an M-68?”

Han let out a wry chuckle. “Didn’t have it for long. It’s, uh… it’s actually what helped me escape. Nabbed it on the streets; crashed it the same day trying to shake off the White Worms. It got us almost all the way to the spaceport before that though.”

Leia listened intently. This was exactly what she had been hoping for; a more concrete glimpse into his past. Still, even this story seemed to hint at so much more that he was leaving unsaid. She wondered what kind of horrors he had gone through that had led up to that desperate decision to escape. She wondered what the White Worms would have done if they had caught him. She wondered what “us” meant.

“So is that why this band means so much to you?”

“Yeah, I guess. That, and street racing. And flying.”

Leia nodded. “Things you’ve always had a passion for.”

“Yeah. I dunno, I guess it feels like I was born to do those things. Being in the driver’s seat of a speeder or the pilot’s seat of a ship….” He shrugged again. “It’s me. ’S who I am.”

Leia snuggled against his side as the next song came on, this one a joyous exposition on the thrills of speeding. “I like who you are,” she said, kissing his cheek. Han looked down at her, affected; the guarded vulnerability in his eyes melting away into a softening joy. He leaned down and kissed her.

[briangroth27]

iZombie Season 3 Review

Full spoilers...

iZombie's third season started off with a personal game-changer after Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) learned Liv (Rose McIver) and Major (Robert Buckley) were zombies. I thought that would be the extent of this year's changes, but I was way off. I liked that the season premiere somewhat functioned as a recap/primer for the show after such a long hiatus, but it was great to get back into the cases (and brains) of the week by episode 2. I enjoyed all the episodes, but I especially loved the twist resolutions to the mysteries in “Wag the Tongue Slowly” and “Eat, Pray, Liv.” I liked that Liv, Clive, Ravi, and Peyton all got to investigate the main plot from different angles over the course of the season, even though they didn’t initially know it. It felt a little like Liv was excluded from big portions of the main arc for a lot of the season because of her need to be tied to the cases of the week, but this balanced the leads’ involvement in the run-up to Discovery Day. The threads that led to the public reveal of zombies were really well-developed and came together perfectly. I’d heard the season finale would “reboot” the series, but man…I didn’t expect this! I loved that the writers were willing to be so daring as to change everything by outing zombies to the world and even making Seattle a zombie-run city. There’s no going back now, and the show will be healthier for it.

Liv Moore As always, McIver gave an acting tour de force. Her ability to incorporate different character traits from the brains she eats into her baseline Liv personality is outstanding and it’s a shame she hasn’t gotten more awards recognition for this role. If they ever recast Rogue in the X-men films, they should absolutely ask McIver. The gossip, father, and dungeon master brains were among my favorites this year, but the pre-school teacher brain was easily an all-time top five brain: that was hilarious and included many of my favorite comedic Liv moments of the whole series!

I liked that the brains didn’t always give helpful visions—a fun twist to the show’s formula—or made Liv forgetful: I was really worried the scatterbrain causing Liv to constantly forget to get the materials Ravi needed would make Major’s rapidly deteriorating condition even worse. If it did have an effect it wasn’t commented on, but I loved that they explored the negative effects of brains. Liv getting visions of having sex with Ravi (Rahul Kohli) thanks to eating the brain of his dead ex Katty Kupps (Christina Cox) was super awkward. Drake’s (Greg Finley) ghost appearing thanks to the Weckler (Gordon Woolvett) brain was a fun way to interrupt her relationship with Justin (Tongayi Chirisa), dig into her psyche, and force her to confront the dangling emotional threads from Drake’s death. I liked that Liv and Justin’s first date included eating the brain of a daredevil (Robert Ri’chard): that was a sweet and fun zombie twist on couple bonding. The brains made things even worse for Liv’s personal life as, just as she’d gotten a taste of a normal relationship with Justin, she cheated on him with Chase Graves (Jason Dohring) thanks to Kupps’ brain. I liked that it wasn’t black-and-white that she cheated on Justin due to the brains’ influence on her and thought that was an interesting development. With so much else going on at the end of the season, I understand why this didn’t get a bigger moment, but I wanted to see them at least try to work through this fact of their zombie existence. I liked Justin, but once he called the guards at the Fillmore-Graves packing facility on Liv, I lost all interest in them salvaging that relationship.

Even though Ravi invented a cure that worked, I didn’t think Liv would take it—the show would be over—but I was intrigued to see if they could make an arc out of a temporarily-cured Liv. I’d still like to see that someday, particularly in the zombie-run Seattle. It could be a cool way to make her the underdog again, though Major’s already done the “human pretending to be a zombie” arc this year. I absolutely loved that Liv and Ravi shared the last scene of the season; her agreeing to scratch him to test his zombie vaccine was perfect, touching, and funny! Their platonic “I love yous” were great; their friendship is one of the best parts of the show and I’m glad it’s been so prominent over the years.

I liked Liv’s development over the course of the season and enjoyed her getting to have a normal relationship after Drake last year. It’s great that the show has allowed her to truly be friends with Major, even under the influence of a paranoid brain: it’s healthy to show that exes can be friends if they respect each other. With Clive in on the secret, it was awesome to see her finally able to be open and honest with all the people closest to her. Liv’s begrudging alliance with Blaine (David Anders) to keep zombies under wraps was also a fun development of their antagonistic relationship. I hope next season puts Liv into a leadership position as one of the veteran zombies in town: she deserves a chance to not have to hide herself anymore and she has the experience to be a leader in the zombie community. Liv being out about her zombie status would create the perfect opportunity to bring her mom (Molly Hagan) and brother (Nick Purcha) back for more family drama. Liv coaching Johnny Frost (Daran Norris) through the announcement that many of Seattle’s residents had been turned into zombies was a great moment and I hope that trajectory continues. On a side note, that scene was the most serious I’ve ever seen Norris act and he absolutely nailed the weight of the situation; that was simply stellar. The comparison of becoming a zombie to a person contracting a disease—that those people are still your friends and loved ones—harked back to the beginning of the show, where Liv was essentially a woman who used her illness to help others after it derailed her life plan. I’ve always loved that metaphor, and Liv taking that experience and becoming a guide to the city’s new zombie population would be a powerful way to elaborate on it. 

Ravi Chakrabarti My least favorite part of Season 2 was the Ravi-Peyton-Blaine triangle (I wished both Ravi and Peyton (Aly Michalka) had more of their own subplots than this), so I wasn't super happy it continued into Season 3. Ravi came off as very unlikable in “Eat, Pray, Liv,” and I was hoping the love triangle would be resolved before he got worse. So, I was glad it ended relatively early on. I don’t mind that he made mistakes with Peyton, but I definitely wasn’t on his side here; even if Blaine was faking, Peyton was right to admonish Ravi about constantly trying to say he was bad and derail that relationship. It wasn’t a good look on Ravi, but nothing says characters always have to be perfect and it didn’t ruin his character for me. I was just hoping that plot would end sooner rather than later, and that he’d get some perspective and growth out of it.   

On the other hand, I loved Ravi's undercover work with the militant zombie truthers once Liv couldn’t safely infiltrate them! Getting him out of the lab and into the field—and into danger—was great and I loved seeing him interact with the truthers. That group felt like a smart parallel to real-life hate groups and Don E (Bryce Hodgson) getting captured by Harley Johns (Andrew Caldwell) and nearly broadcast online as a full Romero zombie was a great climax to the arc! The arc also introduced Rachel (Ella Cannon) to the show and I didn’t see her using Ravi to out zombies to the world at all! I wanted to like her and was sorry she was just in it for the story. Kohli was great at playing the spy and feeling the sting of betrayal after Rachel’s true intentions were revealed, but his scenes with Major, about to lose his memory after taking the cure, were some of his finest work on the show to date.

I was hoping they’d expand on Ravi’s expertise in zombie science beyond his experiments with the cure, so developing a zombie vaccine after offering it up as part of his truther cover was a great angle and I hope it leads to him being something of a zombie doctor next year. With Major getting a big role with Fillmore-Graves, I was hoping Ravi would get something similar in a bigger lab, so perhaps zombies becoming public knowledge and him being the preeminent zombie expert will lend itself to that. It’d change the CSI dynamic of the show, but maybe it’s time for Liv to take over the M.E. lab and move Ravi up the science food chain somehow. Perhaps he could lead a Seattle branch of the CDC specializing in zombie affairs. Experimenting with the memory serum and the creation of the blue brain juice was a fun way to change up the visions as well. It was cool to finally see Liv’s vision expression and the affect it had on zombie visions was a great way to play with the concept. I’d love to see more of this sort of experimental zombie science next season and I’m sure that Ravi’s zombie vaccine is going to be a huge part of that. I think it will work…but maybe not the way he’s expecting. While it would be really cool to have a zombie-“Hulk” Ravi, I think the vaccine will fail to turn zombies back into people, but will permanently vaccinate people from becoming new zombies. That will create a massive problem for Chase’s zombie paradise, creating a divide between the living and the undead “species.”

Clive Babineaux I loved Clive getting in on Liv’s secret this season and his reactions to her eating brains—and knowing how they affected her—were gold. I’m sure it was a blast for Goodwin to finally get to play reactions to what was really happening with Liv’s wildly shifting personality and he did an excellent job with that development. Moments like Liv, Clive, Ravi, Major, and Peyton playing Dungeons & Dragons were a lot of fun and couldn’t have happened as purely even last year. Clive’s germophobia was another fun running gag and I liked how it rolled into his reaction to the city-wide vaccinations that triggered the zombie outbreak. The Clive arc I liked the most was his quest to avenge the deaths of Wally Tuttle-Reid (Mataeo Mingo), his mom (Caitlin Stryker), and his uncle (Michasha Armstrong); the show did an excellent job of making me care about them and Clive’s connection to them using flashbacks in just one episode. Wally and his mom were very likable and well-established, and I’m sorry we (and Clive) didn’t get to spend more time with them. I was impressed by how well all the actors involved in those scenes made me care for them. I also loved that exploring detrimental brains, like Liv’s scatterbrain experience, allowed Clive to showcase his detective skills and solve the case of the week on his own. While I wasn’t a fan of the resolution to the case that brought Dale Bozzio (Jessica Harmon) back into Clive’s life—the Russian hacking seemed too far outside this show’s realm of criminal activity—I liked that they got back together. It’ll be great to explore a serious relationship between a human and a zombie; whether Clive and Bozzio can make it work should be very interesting (and a relevant parallel to real-life couples in which one partner has an incurable illness). They seem happy, but for how long? Is he going to be able to stand by her? Will his germophobia get in the way, or is this a way through it for him? Will he get infected accidentally? How would that change his dynamic with Liv? And will his role as a cop bring him into closer concert with Fillmore-Graves now that they essentially run the city?

Major Lilywhite Robert Buckley only got to play one Brain this season, but it was a great one! Liv and Major on dad and teenage daughter brains, respectively, was an awesome change to their dynamic, bolstered by hilarious performances by both actors! Not only was it good to see Major affected by a brain, but I liked that he didn't enjoy getting visions: it gave us some nice variety in zombie reactions to needing to eat brains. Major finding a place to belong with Fillmore-Graves was a cool arc and a nice rebound after the Chaos Killer plot. I really liked that he found a true brotherhood there: even after his status as a cured zombie was revealed and he was forced out, the friends he’d made still truly cared about him. The cure/memory loss portion of Major’s arc was particularly sad and showcased some of Buckley’s (and McIver and Kohli’s) finest acting on the show to date. I loved his trip back home to see his parents, his final night with Liv, and Ravi’s aborted speech. I was interested to see what reboot Major would be like, but I preferred the happier twist that he ended up OK. I was also expecting a downside to the cure, but I suppose he’d suffered enough just waiting to take it and thinking he was going to lose himself completely. I liked that he and Liv spent the night together before he took it and I thought he definitely still felt something for her, so I was surprised he was so cool about her dating Justin (and that things weren’t weirder between the guys). I know Major and Liv weren’t able to be together again since he’d been cured, but they’d also just slept together and neither one of them really got a moment to process their moving on so quickly. I suppose that goes back to the two of them genuinely supporting each other in their relationships, but I wish we’d seen them have a conversation about it. His rebound relationship with Shawna (Sarah Jurgens) was a smart way to remind us of just how alone the Chaos Killer made him; I liked that she crystalized the isolation of his life, both by initially presenting as being attracted to him for his notoriety and then by further ostracizing him by cashing in on it. In fact, his isolation worked so well that, along with being booted out of Fillmore-Graves, I would’ve been content with Major and Natalie (Brooke Lyons) leaving town together. I liked her and their relationship, and this felt like a natural point for him to depart the series. Her death (and the explosion in general) was unexpected, but I thought it was a waste to kill her and the rest of Major’s friends rather than an unavoidable tragedy (and it was odd Liv and Co. were waiting at Ravi’s house watching the news instead of being at the explosion site, searching for Major and Justin’s bodies). However, Major choosing to turn back into a zombie because he had nowhere else to go was a great, sad moment. It’s also an interesting parallel to Vivian Stoll (Andrea Savage) scratching herself to stay by her husband’s side. I’m sure the season’s closing moments—Major and Justin preparing to open fire on a group of anti-zombie humans attacking a brain transport—are going to propel his character into a completely new direction next year. I can’t wait to see if he’ll regret siding with the zombies or if the humans’ actions will convince him he’s on the right side!

Peyton Charles I liked that Peyton was firm with Ravi’s inability to accept her past with Blaine. However, I didn't think Peyton needed to apologize to Ravi when the truth about Blaine’s amnesia came out; even though he was right about Blaine, she didn’t have anything to apologize for. I'd like her to get back to being Liv's best friend in the coming year; though Liv helped her by eating Weckler's brain, there wasn't much chance for them to hang out and it would've helped to center Liv in a bit of normality. Like Ravi, I’m glad Peyton got a meatier subplot this season. The Weckler case felt awkwardly abrupt in its initial episode, so I liked that it was designed that way and Peyton spent a good deal of time pulling at that thread. Getting to see her as a lawyer—and eventually bringing her into Baracus' (Kurt Evans) mayoral circle as his Chief of Staff—were great uses of her role and development of her career. I can't wait to see how that thread continues next season as she helps keep the peace in Seattle. It seems like she’s set up for the most involved plotline of her time on the show now that she’s at the center of the zombie government and I can’t wait to see Michalka play with that!

Blaine DeBeers I liked memory-loss Blaine and wouldn't have minded if he'd stuck around in that form. While at first I thought he was probably lying, the show (and Anders) convinced me he’d truly lost his memory before long (I was sure the memory loss was real up until he took Ravi’s memory booster). I definitely bought his reluctance to try that serum for fear of reverting back into the criminal he’d heard he was, and I was sorry he’d lied for most of the season. I’m not sure I believe him about his feelings for Peyton or the chance to reshape his life being real, but if they choose to explore that to some extent next year, I’d be on board. Making Blaine a lounge singer of all things was an unexpected development, but I liked it. Maybe next season he should open a piano bar (with ample room for dancing, given the zombie flash mob!) called Dead Beats.

I was interested to see where Blaine’s antagonistic relationship with his father Angus McDonough (Robert Knepper) would go, but unfortunately I thought it fell a little flat. Angus initially seemed more intimidating than Mr. Boss (Eddie Jemison), but he eventually came off as sorta one-note. Plot-wise, Angus seemed to plateau with the establishment of the Scratching Post zombie speakeasy (a cool bit of world-building) and I’m surprised he wasn’t a bigger deal for the rest of the characters. I guess I expected more complexity and evil scheming out of him (having Blaine shot notwithstanding), but locking him in a well and periodically giving him chunks of brain was a great, twisted moment of revenge on Blaine’s part. I also expected more from Boss’ return, but his new position as Blaine’s international broker for brains should be fun, if the Discovery Day events haven’t rendered this plotline inert. I guess Seattle will still need brains, though, and it’ll be great to see the Blaine/Boss relationship inverted. I’m definitely interested to see where Blaine goes in this new world order!

Fillmore-Graves First of all, what an awesome name! This show and its puns have been consistently fantastic, and this is no exception. I loved that they provided another twist on the brain mythology with their brain-blends that didn’t produce side-effects; that was a clever evolution of zombie food. I thought we could’ve spent some more time with original FG head Vivian Stoll, but I liked what we got of her. I did think that both she and Chase should’ve had a bigger response to learning there was a zombie cure, though, given it could either eradicate their “species” or solve their problems completely, depending on how they looked at it. It makes me wonder if Fillmore-Graves operatives stole it from Ravi: their non-response to Major suddenly being human again would make sense if they knew a cure wouldn’t be an issue for long. I don’t think they want to be human again.

I knew Fillmore-Graves was behind the deaths of Wally’s family and Katty Kupps the whole time (minus a brief, last-minute thought the Weckler murders could actually be Baracus), but I didn’t suspect Carey Gold (Anjali Jay)! I wish we’d known her better, but Baracus just trying to cover his indiscretions would’ve been underwhelming and Chase Graves would’ve been too obvious. I liked the twist that Chase—who I was absolutely prepared to hate, since Dorhing seemed to be doing something similar to his slimy Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars—was a cad, but was also truly trying to create human/zombie peace and essentially got forced into following through with Gold’s plan since it was so popular among the F-G zombies. Initially I thought Fillmore-Graves was staging zombie murders to justify the existence of its military force, but I didn’t see Discovery Day being the endgame. I thought the Weckler case plot would lead to Fillmore-Graves blackmailing/controlling public officials, not to them turning nearly everyone into zombies. The flu outbreak was definitely an unexpected plot point on the road to Discovery Day, but it was a genius Trojan Horse move. Chase’s plan to supply Seattle with brains is ambitions, but I wonder how long it’ll last. Will he be forced to turn to illegal channels like Blaine, or will he be in conflict with those “unofficial” sources of brains? Will the rest of the nation continue to agree to let Seattle be a zombie city, or are we looking at a war here? How big could that get?

  This was a great season! I'm excited that we're fully into a post-zombie world and can’t wait to see what it brings. The long wait for Season 4 is going to be rough! 

[myndopeus]

you give me something to think about (chapter 2)

Read on ao3.

Summary: Trini has no plans for the future, no idea of what she’s going to do after she leaves school. All that’s left is to enjoy the last year she has left.

And oh, what a year it will be.

The Slowburn Hogwarts AU that no one asked for.

Trini barely leaves the dorm for the next two days, preferring to sit moodily in the common room as she attempts to finish her assignments. She makes it to all of her classes, but she hardly pays any attention, her thoughts too caught up in replaying the humiliation of that morning. It’s fine, she desperately tries to tell herself, I’ll just practice somewhere else. Besides, he’s probably forgotten all about it by now. Stupid boy. It feels too forced to be genuine, and her body is tense like it’s stuck in that gut-wrenching moment where Zack swooped up to steal the snitch right from in front of her.

If anyone notices her increased reclusiveness, they don’t mention it. She’s even been skipping meals in the Great Hall, choosing instead to get her food directly from the kitchens. It’s not the first time she’s had an… episode like this, and the house elves are always kind to her. The time when she accidentally mentioned how she found the food “a little flavorless” had been one of the guiltiest moments of her life, as half of the elves had turned their backs while the other half had burst into tears. It was clear that they cared for her though, because after one of her particularly bad nights, she had woken up to a hot plate of tamales on her bedside table. They weren’t perfect, and they certainly tasted nothing like her mother’s cooking, but the gesture was greatly appreciated, and she made sure not to criticize the food anymore.

It’s late morning as she quietly trudges her way up the stairs of the Owl Tower, her footsteps echoing a little too loudly for her liking. She wipes her slightly sweaty palms on her robes, careful not to damage the two letters she is carrying. She smiles a little to herself when she glances at the envelope addressed in playful block script, with little flames doodled in the corners. She loves her brothers, and while they were too young to know that she was a witch, she still sends them vaguely worded letters about school, and how much she misses them. The other envelope is plainly addressed to Papi, and she tries not to look at that one.

When she gets to the top of the stairs, she’s surprised to find Billy there with an owl perched on his arm. His eyes widen slightly when he sees her, but he remains silent as he walks to the window, sending the owl off. Trini awkwardly shifts her weight back and forth as she waits for him to speak.

“Hi Trini!” She’s a bit thrown by the friendly tone in his voice. Rather than being upset, Billy seems quite happy to see her. “How’ve you been?”

It takes her a moment to find her voice. “I’ve been… fine.”

“Good to hear that.” He doesn’t seem to notice the hesitation in her voice. “You know, I was wondering where you’ve been the past two days, because usually you head to the library around half past three or four, but you didn’t show up. I was thinking that maybe you’d gotten tired of me, and like, that’s totally ok if you have, because I know that a lot of people tend to, but it’s still good to see you.” He practically beams at her, and she lets out a breath that she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“It’s good to see you too, Billy.” She smiles at him, and he claps his hands together softly. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately,” she admits. “I haven’t been feeling that good.”

Billy’s face shifts to one of concern. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Is it a stomachache or something? I’m not too good with healing spells, but I can probably think of a few potions that could help.”

“It’s ok, “ she says as she shakes her head. “I’m feeling better now.”

“That’s good to hear.” He notices the envelopes in her hand. “You’re sending a letter too? Which owl is yours?”

She shrugs. “I don’t have one, I usually just use one of the school owls.”

“Ok.” Billy immediately turns away, looking around the tower rapidly before walking towards the wall and coaxing a barn owl from its perch. “This is Patroclus, he’s my favorite and, in my opinion, the most trustworthy. He’s a pretty consistent flyer. Dionysus is faster, but way less trustworthy. Once, the letter he delivered me was over two weeks old. I’m pretty sure he just likes to go off exploring on his own.” He barely looks at her, still stroking the owl gently.

She smiles fondly at her friend as he tells her about the different school owls. He never really stops talking, even as he helps Trini attach the letters and send Patroclus off. They’re walking back down the tower stairs when he falls silent. She turns to him. “You were saying?”

“Huh? Oh.” He gives her an intrigued stare. “You know, usually people stop me when I go off like that, or they stop listening. I’m pretty sure they find me annoying. But you didn’t say anything.”

She stares forward, watching the stairs as pretense for avoiding eye contact. “Well, if someone tells you to shut up, that doesn’t really make them a good friend, does it?”

“Oh, we’re friends? I mean, I thought we were friends, but I wasn’t sure if you thought so too.”

“Well, it’s a pretty good arrangement. I get a choice spot in the library, you have someone who listens, and I don’t have to talk. If things keep going this way, I’m fine with that.” She doesn’t look, but she hears three little claps from behind her, and she smiles softly.

“Since we’re friends,” Billy begins as they enter the grand staircase, “can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Shoot what?”

“Sorry, that’s kind of a muggle thing. I meant, go ahead.”

“Oh, muggle slang! I take muggle studies, and I actually think it’s super interesting, I mean, they have all sorts of contraptions and inventions, the way they see things and view the world is so interesting, and I never even thought about linguistic differences—”

“Uh, Billy? You were gonna ask something?”

“Right, right, yeah. So, since we’re friends, I was wondering if I could ask what’s been bothering you the past few days?”

Just like that, her temporarily good mood is gone, replaced with a mild feeling of illness. “It was just something stupid.” She tries to brush it off, but Billy is looking at her expectantly, and she can’t find the heart to ignore him. She sighs.

“I just… I like to fly in the mornings, sometimes, and I ran into this kid on the pitch, and we kind of got into a showdown over who gets to use the pitch. Anyways, I totally embarrassed myself, he was practically flying circles around me, and I lost, which means I can’t really use the pitch in the mornings.”

He frowns. “Well, why can’t you just share the pitch?”

She hesitates. “I… it’s not that simple. Theoretically, yeah, we could, but I just…” she trails off, not knowing how to explain.

To her immense gratitude, Billy simply nods. “I understand. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Like I said, not that big of a deal.” They continue their walk to the Great Hall in silence. After a few moments, Billy speaks up.

“You know, I’m also pretty well versed in poisons, too. Might come in handy someday.”

She laughs a little at that, her anxiety briefly sidelined. Having a friend isn’t all that bad, she muses.

[LINE BREAK]

Trini loves everything about magic, but if there was any subject that she would consider a blow-off class, it’s Divination. She’s sure that it’s a respectable and powerful art, but when Professor Trelawney is babbling on about death and disaster, her enormous spectacles practically falling off the edge of her nose, Trini has trouble taking anything she says seriously. She’s also pretty sure that the woman barely looks at their work. Once, she’d written that she had a dream that the moon was her significant other, and Professor Trelawney had launched into an immediate praise of Trini’s “innate connection to the cosmic entities”. There was simply no logical explanation as to how she was still teaching.

“Now, my children,” Trelawney’s voice drops into a dramatic whisper, and half the class smother their giggles. “It is time for you to practice reading the cards yourselves. But beware!” She flings out a hand, and the myriad of charms and bobbles adorning her figure sways, producing a sound similar to an out-of-tune wind chime. “The cards are fickle, and the future even more so. To ensure the least amount of danger, and to minimize any personal distress, you MUST NOT do your own readings. I kindly ask that you find a soul whose aura you trust, and commence the 6-card reading.”

Trini groans under her breath. Partner exercises were the worst, and people inevitably tried to engage in small talk. She resigns herself to waiting until the last unpaired stragglers are left, when a large figure suddenly dumps itself in the seat across from her. She has to stop herself from swearing out loud when she sees that it’s none other than Zack Taylor, currently her least-favorite person in the world.

“Hi,” he greets, with an awkward wave of his hand. She pointedly avoids looking at him. “Sooo… uh, want to be partners?”

“Well, it doesn’t look like you’re going to move any time soon,” she says sardonically, “so I guess we’re stuck with each other.”

“Yeah. Cool.” The room fills with the chatter and giggles of the other students doing ‘readings’, but neither of them speaks.

Zack is the one to break the silence. “I have no idea how to do this, so do you want to do mine first? I promise I won’t blame you if my future’s a mess,” he jokes. With an eye-roll and a heavy sigh, she picks up the tarot deck.

As she mindlessly shuffles and lays out the cards, she wonders what Zack could possibly want. He could just be planning on rubbing his victory in her face, but something seems different about him this time. His usual cocky and careless air is significantly reduced, and he seemed almost sheepish when he first approached her. Laying down the final card, Trini decides to just ride it out and see what happens.

There’s a pause as they both look down at the spread. “So uh, what does this mean?”

She looks up at him, a deadpan expression on her face. “You’re gonna die in three days.”

[LINE BREAK]

As the class ends and the students pack their bags, Zack lingers by their table. “Can we talk?”

She regards him for a moment before reluctantly nodding. They follow the steady stream of students down to the Great Hall. Zack takes a deep breath, running his hand through his hair before he speaks.

“You seemed kind of upset after our match on Tuesday, and I figured that was a normal reaction to have, but then you didn’t show up the next day or the day after. Which, I know, was kind of the terms of our deal, but I didn’t think you’d actually listen to me. I don’t know, you just don’t seem like the kind of person who would back down like that. Anyways, I realized that I might have been kinda pushy, and that I might have hurt your feelings, so I wanted to apologize. And also, I didn’t mean it about the pitch times. We can share, or you can have it, I don’t really care. Whatever suits you.” She remains silent through the whole monologue, and it seems to make him nervous.

“So if you don’t actually care about it, then what was the point?” she asks wryly.

He chuckles. “The point? Well, I genuinely am a curious fellow, and you really are a good flyer. I honestly do think that you’re good enough to be on the team. Plus, you seem really cool, so…”

She forces herself to keep her expression blank as she stares him down. His gaze keeps flickering as if he’s not sure which eye to look at, and she swears she can see him start to sweat a little. Finally, she relents.

“Fine. You’re forgiven.” She hears him breathe a sigh of relief. They walk in silence for a bit before Zack pipes up once more.

“So, are you gonna try out?”

“For what?”

“The Quidditch team, duh.”

“Not my kind of thing.”

“Aw, come on.” He steps in front of her, and the force of her look is so sharp that he actually takes a step back (she feels a little proud of that). “You really should. It’s fun, it’s stress relieving, loads of action.” He winks at the double entendre, and she fights the urge to shove him over. “And its our last year, what do you have to lose?”

She makes a face. “I’ve barely ever played Quidditch, I doubt I’d be able to handle myself in a serious match.”

“It’s not that complicated, it’s actually really easy to learn.” She darts around him, and he catches up to her a few steps later. “Alright alright, how about this: the old members of the Gryffindor team are gonna run some drills tomorrow, maybe a practice match if we’re feeling it. Why don’t you come watch, see the pros in action, huh?”

“You’re reaaally not gonna give up, are you?”

“What can I say,” he says, striking a clearly practiced and over exaggerated pose. “I’m an unstoppable force.”

She debates giving an intentionally vague answer and leaving him to figure it out, but the earnestness on his face is almost overwhelming, and she’s pretty sure that he feels genuinely guilty about beating her. While she isn’t a cruel person, she still decides to leave him hanging until they reach the Great Hall.

“Fine,” she relents, and he gives a small whoop. “Now leave me alone, I wanna get lunch.”

“Sure thing, Crazy Girl.” He starts to walk away before turning back. “And I still don’t have your name.”

She smirks as she heads to the Hufflepuff table. “I’ll tell you later.”

[LINE BREAK]

After a Charms class where someone had managed to liquefy half the desks, a Potions class that was just barely averted from an explosive disaster, Trini is looking forward to some peace and quiet in the library as she takes her seat across from Billy and lays out her books in front of her. She inhales deeply, taking in the comforting scent of parchment and leather. 

She’s staring out the window trying to remember how to deal with fire-breathing creatures when the table shakes. She is suddenly very confused when Jason Scott dumps his bag down on the table next to Billy, his face as red as his house crest.

“Sorry,” he whispers to the other boy, out of breath. He turns, making eye contact with her, and a flash of recognition crosses his face. They blink at each other for a moment before Billy’s voice cuts through.

“Jason!” he says far too loudly, earning them a hush from behind one of the bookcases (Trini isn’t sure if it came from a student or a book). Billy ignores it, looking at Jason with a grin. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s Quidditch? Did you get that bowtruckle scratch treated?”

“Good, good, and yes.” Jason hangs his robe on the back of his chair as he sits down. Trini is completely unsure of what is happening or how to react, or why Gryffindor prefect Jason Scott was sitting down with them. “McGonagall and I finally managed to book the pitch for tryouts, and Hagrid said I could come by sometime in the morning to make up the lesson. Speaking of which, how come they never scratch you?” Trini notices a white bandage wrapped around Jason’s hand as he pulls his things out of his bag.

“It’s easy, you’re just not doing it right,” Billy replies, before noticing Trini’s bewildered look. “Oh yeah, Trini, this is Jason Scott, he’s the Gryffindor prefect and captain of the Quidditch team.” Jason sticks his hand out uncertainly.

“Yeah, I know who he is.” She shakes his hand, turning back to Billy. “How do you guys know each other?”

“Oh, Jason and I have been friends since second year,” Billy rambles, turning back to his textbook. “Some kid knocked over my inkwell, which doesn’t sound that bad, but there’s a specific brand of ink I use when I write my assignments, and that was my last bottle at the time and I really needed to finish my Potions essay. Anyways, Jason gave me his, and that’s how we know each other.”

Billy suddenly stops writing. He frowns at the tip of his quill, and looks into his now-empty inkwell with a sigh. Before he can move, a hand places a bottle of ink in front of him. He and Trini look up at Jason’s sheepish face.

“I got permission to go to Hogsmeade to pick up some quidditch equipment,” he says hesitantly. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get you some more, since you always run out.”

“Thanks Jason!” Billy simply refills his inkwell, unaware of the smile on the other boy’s face. Trini rolls her eyes to herself, ignoring the brief defensiveness and jealousy she feels at Billy talking to someone else. It’s good that he has friends, you should be happy for him.

She turns her attention back to her work, but the environment isn’t quite the same. She’s constantly distracted by Jason whispering questions, and Billy whispering the answers back. A familiar feeling of exclusion begins creeping up her spine.

It’s a change, and not one that she entirely welcomes. For the first time, Billy spends less time on his work and more time answering Jason’s questions. Some of the questions make roll her eyes and wonder how this guy managed to become a prefect, but Billy is a bottomless well of patience and helpfulness. She tries not to feel bitter every time her friend redirects his focus to help Jason, but seeing the two boys interact like she isn’t there starts to make her feel small. She toughs it out for another half hour before mumbling something about meeting someone and heading back to the common room. Billy still waves goodbye to her when she leaves the table though, and that makes her feel a little less insecure.

[LINE BREAK]

“Well, well, well. Looks like you decided to show up after all.”

Trini is heading up the path to the quidditch pitch when she hears the (unfortunately) familiar voice and rhythmic crunching of gravel coming up behind her. She sighs, mentally preparing herself to deal with the oncoming annoyance.

Zack jogs up next to her, clad in a Gryffindor jersey almost as rumpled as his hair, complete with black fingerless leather gloves. His black broomstick is slung over his shoulder, and that irritatingly cocky expression is back on his face.

“What’s with all the black? I thought you were heading to practice, not a funeral. What are you, twelve?”

“Hey! Just because black isn’t a house color doesn’t mean it isn’t cool.”

“Whatever.”

“You ready to be blown off your feet by our amazing quidditch skills?” She gives him an unimpressed stare.

“As if,” she retorts, sticking a foot out and tripping his stride slightly. “I’m just hoping that one of your teammates will knock your ass off your broom with a bludger.”

He shakes his head, and Trini staggers a little when he flings his arm around her shoulders, putting some weight down. “Oh, ye of little faith. Just you wait.”

“Get off,” she grunts, elbowing him in the ribs. It just makes him laugh, but he lets go of her, and she shoots him another death stare that makes his eyes widen with mild fear.

In the distance they see two more figures, one in a jersey and one in school robes. As they draw closer, Trini sees that it’s Jason and Billy, the former of whom seems to be anxiously rambling, complete with nervous hand gestures. 

“Yo!” Zack yells without warning, sprinting forward and leaping onto Jason’s back with a thud. Billy simply watches, but his face breaks into a smile when he sees Trini, and he waves.

“Hey,” he says as she catches up with them, the two Gryffindors still locked in a strange wrestling match. “What are you doing here?”

“I said I didn’t know much about quidditch, so Zack said I could come watch the practice for a bit.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Billy nods thoughtfully. “Jason was just telling me how they don’t have a full team, so it’s not going to be the most exciting practice. He has some pretty interesting exercises planned, though. I’m interested to see how they turn out.”

She raises her eyebrows in surprise. “Do you play quidditch too, Billy?”

“No, I don’t really have the time. Besides, I don’t like rain.” Trini blinks at the out-of-place statement, but she doesn’t think much of it.

Zack and Jason disentangle themselves at some point on the walk over, choosing instead to talk about tactics and the other house teams. Billy tugs on Trini’s sleeve and points towards a wooden staircase.

“We go that way for the stands.” He waves at the other boys as they part ways. “Bye Jason, bye Zack.”

“Billy, Trini.”

Zack suddenly spins, a wild look of glee on his face. “What did you just say her name was?”

“Aaaand that’s our cue.” Trini grabs Billy’s arm and starts power walking towards the stands. She hears him mumble something along the lines of “let go”, and she releases his arm immediately, giving him an apologetic look. As they ascend, she can dimly hear Zack’s voice hassling Jason.

“No no, what was it? Cici? DeeDee? Come on man…”

She’s been to very few Quidditch matches, and she always forgets just how high up the stands are. Even with the enchantments shortening the climb, she’s still mildly out of breath when they reach the top, and Billy leads her to the seats near where the Gryffindors are practicing.

“So do you watch Jason’s practices often?” she asks, stretching her legs out and propping them on the barrier at the edge of the stands. She spots Zack’s familiar form zooming about haphazardly on his broom, his loud voice echoing behind him. Jason is hovering near the goalposts, shouting directions to the rest of the team.

“Somewhat.” Billy’s eyes seem unusually focused as he stares out. “He asks me to review how his plays look, whether they make sense. It’s always good to have a second opinion, you know?”

They watch the team execute drills, and Billy scribbles some notes on a parchment. Every so often Trini will ask a question about the purpose of a formation, or what a move is called, and Billy will occasionally give his commentary out loud, less for Trini’s benefit and more for his own clarity of thought. As interesting as it is watching them fly, Trini begins to grow a little impatient waiting for something to happen.

Soon enough, Jason flies down and bends over to open a heavy chest. A few seconds later, Trini sees two bludgers fly out, and Jason rises back in the air holding the quaffle. He tosses it to Zack, who heads down to the other side of the pitch.

“Wait, Zack isn’t a seeker?” Her heart sinks a little further, as she remembers how quickly he grabbed the snitch. If she can’t even outpace a chaser, there was no point in even trying for the team.

“Not anymore, he isn’t.” Billy gives her a reassuring smile. “Don’t feel bad about losing to him. Zack is one of the best flyers on the team, and he was a seeker for two years.”

“What happened?”

“Puberty.” There’s a beat, and then she bursts out cackling, and Billy cracks and joins her. Their noise draws some peculiar stares, and Zack’s confused face only makes them laugh harder.

“No, no actually,” Billy gasps, Trini wiping tears from her eyes. “The guy is massive now, but he was absolutely tiny when he was thirteen. I swear, if he turned sideways, he would have disappeared.” The image is so ridiculous that it sends Trini into another wheezing fit.

“Please tell me he had the same hair.”

“Yes, but it was a lot less stylish back then.”

She takes a few deep breaths, tilting her head back towards the sky. She realizes that it’s been a while since she laughed that hard, much less with a friend. She turns and gives Billy a smile.

“Thanks, Billy.”

He gives her a confused smile in return. “You’re welcome? I didn’t do anything.” She just keeps smiling and turns back to watch.

[LINE BREAK]

As she gets more and more used to following the plays, she can’t help but agree with Zack; Quidditch was one hell of an exciting sport, and there were only five players on the field. Her eyes widen when she tries to picture what fourteen would look like.

And now that she has the opportunity to actually watch him, she can’t deny that Zack has earned her respect. His flying style might look out of control, but that was just because he had the skill and the guts to pull off all sorts of crazy moves that no one could possibly predict. She lets out a whistle as dodges a bludger with only half a barrel roll, his momentum barely decreasing as he flies upside down.

Trini feels herself leaning forward as Zack draws closer to the goalposts, Jason watching him with a calm focus. Suddenly, Zack tilts to the side, entering a corkscrew, and Trini actually gasps out loud when he lets go of the quaffle to take the shot mid-spin.

The trajectory is off, and Jason barely has to move to bat it out of the way. She hears Billy’s little claps off to the side, as he starts commentating. “Wow, I think Zack’s speed was off, and he definitely overrotated during the shot, but it was pretty accurate for a first try. Jason’s block was incredible though, I mean, the timing was perfect even if the shot wasn’t going to make it in, if it had been on target then he would have been perfectly positioned to defend…”

As Trini watches Jason high-five Zack, she notices that she and Billy aren’t the only spectators there. A female figure is sitting on the other side of the stands, clapping gently. Jason gives her a nod as he flies past. Trini can just barely make out the green trim on her robes, and she makes a noise of disgust.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Who?” She subtly points Billy across the stands, and he squints.

“Her. Kimberly Hart. What business does she have being here?”

Billy shrugs, turning back down to review his notes. “I suppose Jason invited her,” he says with an air of nonchalance. Trini side-eyes him.

“And why would our dear Jason ask the Queen Bee herself to grace us with her presence?”

Billy frowns. “Uh, I… don’t really understand what you mean by that. I mean, she’s just here, I guess.”

Trini notices that Kimberly is watching Jason. Intently. She narrows her eyes in suspicion.

“What’s the connection between them?”

“Oh yeah, Kimberly is Jason’s ex. Ex-girlfriend, I mean. They used to date,” Billy explains.

Trini snorts. “Wow, who would have guessed,” she comments drily.

“Quite a lot of people, actually. It was a big thing in fifth year, but they broke up, of course. They’re still good friends, though.”

“I bet they are,” she mutters, observing the other girl. Kimberly’s gaze is fixed completely on Jason, and she barely even notices the other players.

“Why don’t you like Kimberly?” She starts slightly, blinking to clear her head. Billy is looking at her with a curious expression, and Trini hesitates, wondering how little she could get away with saying in lieu of an answer.

“I’ve just… never gotten along with popular kids.” She frowns, turning her attention back to the pitch. “They never like me, so I don’t see why I should like them. Plus, popularity tends to get to peoples’ heads. They start thinking they’re better than everyone else, just because they’re on a team or they’ve got a pretty face or whatever. Sometimes they need a little bit of humility knocked into them.”

“And that applies to all popular kids?”

“Yup. Every one of them.”

Billy looks towards the goalposts. “But Jason is a pretty popular guy, and you’re nice to him. Well, not exactly nice, but you aren’t mean to him.”

She scoffs. “I’m only nice to Jason because he’s nice to you.” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Billy smile and look down at his feet for a second.

There’s a thunderous crack, followed by the unmistakable thud of an impact and a pained groan. She searches for the sound and her eyes light upon Zack, clutching his stomach with a pained look on his face as a bludger whizzes off. The player next to him is doubled over laughing his ass off.

Trini stands on the bench and claps as loudly as possible. “Bravo! Bravo!” she yells, and the beater makes a mock bow towards the stands. Zack flips her the finger before flying back into formation.

For some reason, her eyes are drawn back to where Kimberly is seated, and the other girl is staring straight at her, an amused look on her face. Trini freezes momentarily, gritting her teeth at the other girl’s obvious condescension, before pointedly looking away and gathering her things.

“Leaving so soon?” Billy notes.

She tugs her beanie further down as a gust of wind blows through. “Yeah, it’s getting kind of chilly, and I still have some spell practice to do before classes tomorrow. I’ll see you later in the library,” she says as she waves.

She can already feel the headache creeping in, aggravated by the harsh jolt of the stairs. She rubs her temple, squeezing her eyes tight as if that would make the pain go away. As she steps onto the path, she’s suddenly confronted by green robes and a pair of dark, calculating eyes.

 They stand in silence as Trini sizes up the girl before her. Kimberly is the model Slytherin, exuding an air of cool collectedness that was practically tangible. Her eyebrows always seem to be half-quirked, as if she didn’t think anything was worth her time. Trini’s fist tightens around the strap of her bag and she straightens, suddenly hyper aware of the height difference between them.

“I’ve never seen you around here before.” Kimberly’s voice is not at all as slippery and heavy as Trini expected. It’s actually quite smooth and soothing, almost hypnotizing in the way it travels through the air. It comes to her awareness that Kimberly doesn’t remember their brief encounter earlier in the week. She has to mentally shake herself back into focus as the girl continues to speak.

“Billy usually sits alone, so I was quite surprised to see that he brought someone with him.” There’s only a slight pause after Kimberly finishes speaking, but it’s enough to make it seem as if she was giving Trini permission to answer. She seethes quietly.

“Life is full of surprises, Hart. Doesn’t explain what you’re doing here. Finished creeping on Jason and decided to go bully some other hapless target?” She notices that Kimberly’s forehead crinkles ever so slightly, and she silently high-fives herself in her head.

“I don’t ‘creep’. Unlike some people, I happen to have a little dignity.” Trini’s eyes narrow and she juts out her chin. “Also, Billy isn’t a hapless target. He’s more than capable of looking out for himself.”

The surprise on her face is painfully evident, from the way that Kimberly smiles and crosses her arms. “Why the face? Like you said, life is full of surprises. Or maybe,” Kimberly takes a step forward. “Maybe, you’re just jealous that he has more friends than just you.” With a final smirk, she sweeps past, leaving Trini positively seething in her wake.

As she stomps her way to the Hufflepuff Common Room, she makes a decision. She’s going to try out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and they’re going to win the Quidditch cup and wipe that smirk off of Kimberly Hart’s face for good. Filled with resolve, she triumphantly claims one of the armchairs near the fire, and promptly deflates when she opens her textbook.

That’s if I can survive Defence Against the Dark Arts, she groans internally.