The switcheroo
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Miraculous Ladybug Hogwarts houses
I see a lot of fan fiction about the various characters of Miraculous Ladybug in their respective Hogwarts houses, particularly the main four teens, but often I’m disappointed at the houses that are chosen. So here’s my take - and keep in mind, these are just my opinions:
You have four main characters, and four Hogwarts houses. Let’s see where we end up.
RAVENCLAW
Most people generally agree that Alya would be in Ravenclaw. As a Ravenclaw myself, I agree with this wholeheartedly. I see the argument for her being in Gryffindor, especially since she’s always jumping into dangerous situations with akumas, but there’s a difference in how she approaches it. A Gryffindor would run into danger for the thrill of it - because they like the adrenaline charge it gives them, because they enjoy it for its own sake. Alya runs into danger, sure, but she does it strictly for Research Purposes. She does it all for the sake of the Ladyblog, which she in turn only does to better understand and further educate the public on the superheroes.
Not only that, but she’s also quite logical in her approaches to issues, such as in the “Ladybug” episode when she goes looking for clues to clear Marinette’s name at school, and in the “Pharaoh” episode when she finds Ladybug’s history textbook and uses it as a way to deduce her identity. As a Ravenclaw, I completely understand her method and her logical way of thinking about things.
HUFFLEPUFF.
A lot of people peg Adrien in this house, and I totally see why. He’s a sweet cinnamon roll who just wants to love and to be loved. However, Hufflepuffs are more than just the sweet and feelings-y people. Puffs work hard and never give up, because they believe a job worth doing is worth doing well. They are friendly and loyal to a fault sometimes, but ultimately are the ones who would adopt anyone who came their way and do everything necessary to take care of them.
Now who do we know who would do that? Our main DJ, Nino. In the very first episode, “The Bubbler”, he is akumatized because he’s angry not for himself, but for his friend. Most Akumas are very focused on their own lives and what they want to achieve for themselves, but Nino’s is entirely for his friend. As soon as Adrien walks into class in “Stoneheart”, he immediately befriends him. Not only that, but in “Anansi”, he keeps going to Alya’s rescue - without superpowers - even when he knows he can’t win, because that’s his girlfriend and he promised to protect her no matter what. He’s a true Hufflepuff in my eyes, and a perfect example of what a true Puff can be.
Gryffindor:
Now, I know what you’re going to say. Marinette, Ladybug, with the red color scheme and the overbearing loyalty to anyone and everyone. But I’ll do you one better.
Gryffindors are impulsive, they’re loyal to a fault, they’re slightly disregarding of the rules, and they’re stubborn. VERY stubborn. So while I do see the argument for Marinette being the Gryffindor of the group, I would raise you Adrien. Adrien who ran away to get to school in “Stoneheart”, and almost didn’t leave with Nathalie when she insisted. Adrien, who was so impatient to become a superhero that he didn’t let Plagg explain the rules before transforming. Who over and over again has sacrificed himself for his Lady, and who in “Chat Blanc” is so torn in his loyalties that he literally destroys the world out of sheer panic because he doesn’t know whose side to choose.
There are so many moments where our seemingly innocent sunshine child is remarkably devious and rebels against his rules. Yes, he does come across as submissive to his father, but that’s because abuse and neglect is a clear pattern in his life. In most other situations, he’s more than happy to bend the rules to do what’s right. He will rush into situations without looking and get captured or brainwashed, he’ll decide to sneak out without thinking about what his father would say if he finds out, and he’ll rush to defend any and all of his friends from any injustice.
And finally, we have Slytherin
Ah, Slytherin. The snake house. The sneaky-sneak edgelords. The house of evil and darkness. Or maybe just of people with ambition and big dreams, who, similarly to Gryffindors will bend the rules to do what’s necessary. Marinette fits all of that description and more!
I like to say that I’m a Ravenclaw most of the time, but my Slytherin comes out when I’m angry or determined. The same is true of Marinette - she doesn’t seem like a likely candidate for the “scary” side of Slytherin, but get her angry or determined and nothing can stand in her way. This is seen in her time and time again as Ladybug as well as Marinette. For example, in “Robostus”, she deliberately picks an argument with the teacher to get sent out of class in order to get Markov back to Max. When she’s confronting Lila, she’s quite scary and looks like she truly wouldn’t let anything hold her back from proving the truth - and you could even see her doing something slightly evil to do it.
And yes, she does sometimes do things that didn’t necessarily warrant quite as drastic a reaction. For example, in “Chat Blanc”, she can’t get into Adrien’s house to give him his present, so she transforms and goes in through a window. Yes, this was stupid. But keep in mind: This Girl Is Only Fourteen.
We see these characters and wish they had the emotional stability of twenty-five year olds with steady jobs and no debt, but that’s not where they are. These are Children. Literal minors who have the fate of a city on their shoulders. So yes, they’re going to make bad decisions. Alya is going to run into danger to get that video, Adrien is going to choose not to take responsibility for his actions, Marinette is going to use her powers in a slightly less necessary situation, and Nino-- Well, Nino doesn’t really have any flaws in the same way, but Nino is going to blindly trust Lie-la’s words without checking it because he doesn’t have any reason to mistrust her.
TL, DR: The common conceptions of the Hogwarts houses aren’t entirely all encompassing of the characters, but these are just my opinions.
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More Than Meets the Eye #6- Rung Has a Friggin’ Day
It’s time for therapy.
Finally.
It turns out that Ratchet didn’t forget about Fortress Maximus’ acts of extreme violence in all the chaos that was last issue, and requested that Fort Max get set up with some mandatory counseling. Of course, because it’s been about a week in Fort Max-time since Garrus 9 went down, he’s not exactly thrilled to talk about what happened. And who can blame him? Garrus 9 sucked big time for everyone involved, even Overlord.
Fort Max claims to not remember what happened- he’s lying, and we’re treated to a flashback that sort of justifies his fib- and Rung suggests they get Chromedome involved, which seems perhaps a bit unethical? To just rip traumatic memories that may or may not be repressed out of a guy’s head? Like, I’m not super well-versed in psychiatry, but that seems a little off.
Rung, in an attempt to make Fort Max feel a little safer, tells him that Overlord- though he doesn’t say his name, because triggering Fort Max could literally get people killed- was neutralized about as efficiently as possible for their species.
I can’t believe Cybertron has a better veteran healthcare system than the United States.
Enough of Fortress Maximus’ impending implosion, it’s time for bar shenanigans!
Over at Swerve’s, Trailbreaker is proving to be completely incapable of keeping his drink in his glass, as Chromedome participates in a game where he has to guess who’s transforming into their alt-mode, based purely on the sound. He gets it in one, and everyone loses their shit. Chromedome, never one to hype himself, takes the opportunity to instead build Rewind up, because he just loves him that much.
Fortress Maximus gets brought up, and while Trailbreaker thinks the guy’s a little overrated, the others have heard about what happened on Delphi, and proceed to learn the wrong lesson from the whole thing. Tailgate enters the scene, after a rousing study session with everyone’s favorite giant neurotic.
Tailgate, you fool! It’ll be another 41 issues before Cyclonus is ready to even acknowledge his feelings!
It’s good to know that Tailgate doesn’t hold any grudges over the info dump Rewind gave him the other day. Also, that table looks like a nightmare to clean.
Ultra Magnus walks in, looking about as cheery as he possibly can considering who he is, promptly arrests Swerve for running the bar without taking bureaucracy into account, and whisks the little jabber jaw away in handcuffs, practically carrying him off by the scruff like a kitten.
Fort Max enters the room, having decided to grab a drink after the ordeal that is mandatory therapy.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a day on the Lost Light without something going just a little screwy.
This is a typical Wednesday for Pipes.
Fort Max proceeds to wreck several robots, seemingly at random, though he somehow manages to not actually kill any of them. Intentional or not? We still have several pages of this issue to get through, hold your horses! All will be revealed in time.
Which brings us to now. Fort Max has locked himself in Rung’s office, alongside Rung and the poor sap who was unlucky enough to have had an appointment when the big guy showed up. Rodimus and Drift are trying to figure out just what the hell to do with this current situation. Magnus enters, having just set Swerve up with his punishment, and berates Rodimus for letting Fort Max run around with a gun, as if 90% of the crew doesn’t also have massive weapons literally built into their bodies.
Blaster gets a video feed from one of the surveillance cameras going, and we get a good look at just how fucked this whole thing has become, because as it turns out, Rung’s appointment for this time slot was none other than Whirl, instigator extraordinaire, and being stabbed by some ship piping has done absolutely nothing to slow his suicidal roll.
That gun is positively ridiculous. Where were you even KEEPING that thing, Max?
It only takes a couple of face-mashings with the barrel of the BFG to get Whirl to back off, accomplishing what Rung simply cannot, because Whirl doesn’t play by the rules of anyone who values their life in any capacity. You’d think it’d take more than that to shut him up, but Whirl’s head is made of plot, so it’s a bit delicate.
Rung spots the camera, and decides to make himself useful by providing audio to this whole debacle, by way of his microphone thumb.
Now, a hostage situation just isn’t complete without some sort of demand in exchange for the safety of said hostages, and Fort Max has quite the doozy for Rodimus: he wants to go back to Cybertron, so he can confront Prowl on the slow response to the hell that was Garrus 9. Max was trapped there for over three years before the Wreckers came along, and it’s still pretty fresh for him because of the coma letting him skip a lot of time he could have spent healing.
Pro-tip: when handling a hostage situation, don’t get into a screaming match with the dude who’s about to shoot the only mental health specialist your race has ever managed to produce. Blaster gets it.
Rung is many things, but is no actor, as is made apparent by him holding his microphone thumb-bound hand in the most fucking conspicuous way possible. Fort Max notices- because how could he not?- and relieves Rung of this terrible burden.
Rung is really regretting not minoring in theatre right about now.
Hours later in the medibay, First Aid is proving to have gone mad with power, as he maintains some dangerously high snark levels while keeping the victims of Fort Max’s spree stable. Ratchet, whose hands are still Pharma-blue, is starting to piece together the reasoning behind who got shot.
That’s right, Fort Max was embarrassed that he showed up with the same color paint as all these guys, and tried to kill them to keep his fashion faux pas to a minimum.
Back in Rung’s office, Whirl’s dropped all pretense due to sheer boredom, and straight-up asks Fort Max to just get it over with and shoot them both. Having his thumb ripped off has made Rung a bit snippy, and he snaps at Whirl for the quip, before Max decides that he’s actually rather interested in just what Whirl’s appointment was going to cover. Rung tries to stymie this line of questioning, but he really ought to know not to get in the way of the plot progression at this point.
Whirl does decide to spill his beans, if only after Rung gets the obscenely large barrel of Max’s obscenely large gun pressed to one whole side of his face.
It turns out Whirl has depths to him, or at least he did, once upon a time. Before he got booted out of the Wreckers, before he was even in the Wreckers, he created as opposed to destroyed. More specifically, he was a watchmaker, good enough to find an audience in the time of Functionist Cybertron. Now, because he’s a helicopter, the guys up top weren’t too jazzed about Whirl not doing what he’d “been born to do,” on top of not giving them any of his sweet watch money, and decided to start fucking up his life to get him back in line. They started with tearing his shop to the ground.
But we’ll get to what the hell empurata is in a few issues.
Also, while Whirl’s been sharing his backstory, Rung managed to grab his model ship from off the floor.
I’m not sure how he managed to get ahold of his model without making a giant clumsy scene either, considering that’s his thumbless hand.
Rung, because he’s a clever man, is staring super hard at the camera and making kind of a weird face as he taps on the little windows of his model ship, signaling to Rodimus and crew to see what they can do with the windows outside of his office. He’s got three real big ones that let you see out- or in- the whole room. Rodimus makes a call, and we get a proper understanding of what Chromedome meant when he said Rewind was outside.
No kidding.
Rewind and Swerve are on rivet replacement duty, using rivet guns nearly as big as they are. Swerve’s passing the time idly chatting, because that’s his whole deal.
Knowing Swerve, that’s probably a joke, but given what we learn a few issues after this, on how exactly Cybertron handles those who don’t fall in line, I can’t help but wonder…
Okay, we know why Swerve’s out here, but what’s Rewind’s deal?
You remember those data discs Red Alert mentioned last issue, the ones Rewind was begging Chromedome to help him find? The ones he got from Swindle at the start of the series? Yeah, turns out those were chock-full of video footage of people dying.
Rodimus didn’t like the fact that Rewind had brought snuff films onto the Lost Light, and now here he is. We don’t get an explanation as to why he wanted the films in the first place, though he does integrate that it isn’t a pleasurable thing to watch. Rodimus calls, interrupting the conversation, and asks Rewind to take a walk.
Returning to the office, we find that Whirl’s really pouring it out now, giving us his whole life story.
Rung’s reaction here is equal parts sweet and sad. It’s like he’s never had a fucking friend in his entire life. Rung seems terribly lonely.
We also get the answer as to what exactly Whirl did to get kicked out of the Wreckers- he tried to mercy-kill Springer. After the events of Last Stand, Fort Max wasn’t the only one in a coma, and Whirl saw the writing on the wall in terms of Springer’s chances of recovery. He tried to put the guy out of his misery, but was caught and kicked to the curb before that could happen.
And that’s about where he stops. You know, if it weren’t for the whole “being held at gunpoint” thing, this would have been an amazing therapy session! Whirl really opened himself up today, I’m proud of him.
Fort Max realizes that the ship hasn’t turned around to head back to Cybertron, and that’s about the point where he decides it’s time to make good on his threat. Whirl volunteers as tribute, as Swerve and Rewind peek through the window, ready to enact the next phase of Rodimus’ plan.
Rung tries to deescalate, with Whirl reescalating in equal measures, because he is actively and violently suicidal at this point, bringing us to a standstill in negotiations as Ratchet finally gets ahold of Rodimus to tell him something very important.
Ratchet’s sussed out the central pin in this pegboard of PTSD, and it’s Overlord. Every guy Fort Max put in the ICU looked at least somewhat like that lippy bastard. Rung comes to a similar conclusion on his end, claiming that Fort Max is acting out because he went through hell at Overlord’s hand, and wants payback.
Outside the office, Rewind is lining up to shoot Fort Max with his rivet gun, though he has his reservations.
It’s a special kind of love that makes you want your husband to support you through sniping a guy five times bigger than you.
Rewind’s lining up the shot, when Fort Max moves behind a pillar. Time for Plan B.
Rodimus, you can’t just SAY that to him, he’s a married man.
Whirl’s egging Fort Max on, his eye flaring out in a way that one might consider to be crying, though if you asked him he’d absolutely deny it. Then Garrus 9 pays everyone a little visit, by way of Rewind’s camera projecting on the wall. This freezes Fort Max in his tracks, because of course it would. That shit’s terrifying. He breaks down, falling to the floor in a heap.
I suppose this is one way to handle a hostage situation. Rodimus, not wanting to take any chances, orders Swerve to take the shot anyway.
Safe to say, Swerve wasn’t top of his class at the military academy.
As Fort Max mourns the loss of Rung, Whirl yanks that pipe that’s been stabbed into his belly for the last several hours out, and returns the favor, getting Max right in the chest.
Shit.
All those fucking therapy appointments are going to have to be rescheduled. There are over 200 robots on this ship.
I sure hope Rung had a secretary to handle all that.
Later on, after the messy stuff’s been dealt with, Rodimus and Drift have a chat about Red Alert, and how he’s developing a potential to be a liability. As they talk, Red Alert is shown to be ripping the drill arm off that guy who got eaten by the quantum engine and using it to dig into the floor where he heard that super-slow voice. What does he find? I hope it’s treasure!
...That’s not treasure.
Hey, Rung?
Rung?
Buddy, I think someone might’ve been fibbing when they said that.
Nobody tell Fort Max about this.
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Knights (Part 4)
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Arthur's mind is pretty cluttered.
I need a clue.
Part 4: It’s Got Me Reeling
Arthur is in the fifth garage that's usually closed off in Four of a Kind Queens, taking apart a car engine with a baby monitor on the desk nearby. He would glance at it every now and then, and see the twins sleeping together in their crib on the tiny little screen. It could also detect sound, which made Arthur easily hear the lullaby music and sea sounds the little aquarium light in the crib plays. Whenever he heard the sound of either of them crying, he could quickly clean himself up and tend to them, assuming Vivienne doesn't get to them first.
Turning away from the monitor, he went back to work and his mind drifted to the the series of events that led to him leaving Tempo. First he arrived in Cantabile, then he met Elaine hours after doing so. Then he got hired by her grandmother as a mechanic right then and there after he found a major case of vehicular sabotage... and then Elaine suddenly asked him out on a date three months later.
Instead of a typical dinner or movie date, she invited him to attend a robotics convention a few hours away with her family. It was there that Arthur discovered that he has a new partial fear: crowds. He learned to manage it as long as he remained with someone he knew, because if when he remained alone, he could've sworn he saw either Lewis or Mystery or even Vivi peering at him from the corner of his eye. When Elaine learned of his newfound fear, she remained with him for the remainder of the trip.
Elaine may not know anything about Vivi or Lewis, or the Mystery Skulls in general, since Arthur never told her or the Knights family their names, but he is happy that she wanted to help him all the same. He still hasn't told her about the exact circumstances that made him leave Tempo, but Elaine never pressed for details, and the rest of the Knights left it alone, too.
As he got to know them, Arthur learned that the Knights are actually a family clan that specialize in monster hunting, and they happen to be monsters that hunt their own kind in a sense. They actively fight the monsters with the very power in their bloodline. It's not just ghosts they handle, but anything supernatural and malicious in general. So essentially, they're like the Mystery Skulls, but instead of merely investigating any strange occurrences, they actively hunt for the reasons things become haunted or people disappearing.
He remembered being afraid of Elaine, and by extension, the Knights family for two whole weeks after learning their secret.
- - - - - - -
Arthur knew that he is at Elaine's mercy, he felt numb, unable to feel the stinging from the alcohol used to disinfect his wounds. He struggled to keep the fear down his throat, and used every last bit of restraint to keep himself from running away. After Elaine rescued him, she quickly took him back to her van to assess his injuries. With the cult's drug still in his system, he had difficulty walking straight, so Elaine guided him to the small cot in the back of the van and took out the first aid supplies.
Elaine looked down, tears beginning to form, “I... I was going to tell you once we reached our seven month anniversary, but I guess this renders that pointless.”
It definitely explains things. The reason they're so efficient at hunting monsters is that they are monsters themselves. Monsters with human ancestry, humans with strong magic, or humans with monster ancestry...? How that is possible, Arthur couldn't even start trying to figure that out.
“I... I know you're afraid. I can feel your fear, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're afraid of me right now,” she gave a dark chuckle to hold her tears back, “I'm not used to being feared, since I never had to use my power like that before, but I... I just only wanted to save you. I-if you don't want to be with me anymore... I will understand,” she wiped at her face with her hand.
Arthur isn't sure what to think anymore. After having a vengeful wraith try to kill him, a wraith of his former best friend at that, Arthur developed a fear of the many different kinds of ghosts and monsters that exist in the paranormal even though he still continued the path of being an investigator. Not even Arthur himself knows why he still keeps investigating the paranormal despite his fears, although part of him assumed that it, along with his talent at robotics and engineering, are the only things he's good at.
Even though he is afraid, it is only through sheer willpower that he keeps going despite his hands always shaking with fear. However, the trust Arthur thought he had with the Mystery Skulls themselves is long shattered and damaged beyond repair, and he knew that it's all his fault. It's why he left, and why he could never go back to what he once was.
When he was taken by the cult, he didn't expect that Elaine would turn into a giant skeleton monster that would then slaughter most of the cult itself, leaving few survivors in her wake.
He had only heard of the Gashadokuro a few times from Vivi before the cave. According to her, it is a powerful and frightening yokai that originated from Japan, made from the souls of masses of people that never received their last rites, their bones eventually developing into a giant skeleton, their collective consciousness becoming one. How Elaine could turn into one is beyond him, but it still didn't change the fact that she is a monster like Lewis and Mystery are. Despite Elaine's pleading for him to wait as she spoke in that form, Arthur tried to run, tears streaming down his face with fear, but fell down.
Even though he's afraid, she still helped him. The Gashadokuro are known to kill and eat humans and drink their blood, and Arthur knew as he clenched his teeth in angered despair that his soul is considered delicious prey for predators, so why wouldn't this monster just kill and eat him already if he's meant to be its prey?!
“Arthur... i-it's okay if... if you don't want to be with me anymore... it's okay if you're af-afraid... you can leave me... if that's what you want...”
Elaine is crying openly at him, snapping Arthur out of the numbness.
“Just... don't hate me... Please...!”
- - - - - - -
Arthur has to admit that he isn't really proud of that memory. If there is one thing he wanted to avoid, it's to see his wife cry so brokenly like that again. Granted, the two weeks after that were rough, but thankfully, he and the Knights family were able to... clear up the misunderstandings after many a trial, much to the family's happiness. The irony of Arthur having a paranormal significant other isn't lost to him, but the only difference is that Elaine isn't dead.
I'm sorry, Lewis...
Within a year after that, after many weekly dates and knowing each other through their mechanical work and paranormal investigations, Arthur realized, to both his joy and horror, that he had slowly fallen for Elaine once he fully accepted her for who and what she is. He briefly considered wanting to go to the next level in their relationship, but immediately threw the thought out, knowing that he doesn't deserve such a bond, and that he knew that she wouldn't want him. They only went as far as holding hands or the occasional hug, and Arthur knew that she could easily toss him aside like Vivi and Lewis did, despite her saying that she loved him.
Arthur scoffed at the memory of thinking like that, considering their current status now.
He thought back to the time he confessed to her despite knowing that he wouldn't receive any feeling of reciprocity, and remembered giving Elaine his treasured star pin as a romantic symbol of love, for he didn't have anything else to give her. But then he remembered Elaine's thrilled grin as she put the star pin on her jacket, and later that week she gave him a different pin representing a violet crescent moon made with amethyst with a white outline made from nacre. The pin is something she made with her own two hands, which threw any feelings of expected rejection out the window.
Arthur fingered the moon pin in question on his vest. Taking it off briefly, he turned the pin to see the back and looked at the four little stones, a black tourmaline, a black jet, a turquoise, and a rose quartz pressed inwards. He then saw the words engraved among them...
Arthur placed the pin back on, smiling slightly. Despite his many flaws, and the many secrets and guilt he hides, there is someone that loves him, and that is enough. With his current family, he knew that he can finally heal, one day at a time.
You are okay. This is your life now. Live for the twins. Defy those who wanted your life to end, and live on. You matter to someone, and they need you. You are okay.
He decided to stop reminiscing once again and went back to work. He had to dismantle the engine to find the crack on the head gasket, repair it, then put it back together before it's put back in the car itself. Apparently, the more wealthy regulars Four of a Kind Queens get every now and then prefer to just pay for the more expensive repair than purchase a new car entirely. He could think of two things, which is either one, they really really like that car, or two, buying a new car just isn't worth the hassle. He figured he could understand the second part, but still, either option is expensive.
Arthur thought a part went missing and glanced around briefly to look for Galahad, then reminded himself that the hamster wouldn't be going around stealing screws anymore. Even though it has been a little over a year ago, little Gally had passed away about a month after Arthur and Elaine were married due to old age, which devastated Arthur greatly. He knew it was coming since hamsters like Galahad have a lifespan of three years at the known max, but it still hurt when it actually happened.
He remembered Elaine being thoughtful enough to give Galahad a small burial, unusual it may have been. As the ground back then was too frozen to dig a small grave, Elaine instead took an oak sapling and carefully wrapped the deceased hamster, wheels and all, within the roots, then planted the tree in a large flower pot. Once spring came, she then planted the sapling itself alongside many other small trees in Vivienne's backyard, letting Galahad return to nature. He then remembered thanking her for her effort, knowing that it helped him move on from Galahad's passing.
With the twins being a higher priority, Arthur didn't get another hamster after Galahad. Maybe when the twins are older.
The work with dismantling the engine done, Arthur glanced at the baby monitor, and saw that the twins were still asleep, although Gwen is occasionally twitching her arms. Maybe she's dreaming? He hoped it wasn't a nightmare before wondering briefly if babies could get nightmares. Hopefully not, because he didn't want to fail the twins before they were old enough to remember things.
Arthur shook his head and chuckled at his daughter's movement, “Always the active one, aren't you, Gwen?”
Percy is usually the quiet one, only crying when he needed something. Gwen, on the other hand, is almost always active, babbling whether it's night or day, and crying at random intervals. Arthur didn't mind it most of the time, since tending to her usually distracted him from any nightmares he would wake from in the middle of the night, although he did wonder how Percy could sleep past Gwen's crying when a mere creak on the floor is enough to wake him.
Then again, babies are unpredictable.
Later that day, after finishing up the repair of the engine, Arthur went to clean himself up before tending to the twins. Elaine wouldn't be home until later tonight, so he had to make up for her absence. The twins had been fed and tended to by Elaine's grandmother Vivienne while he was working, which he is grateful for. Being a parent is no easy task, and Arthur knew it. Having Elaine's family help out every now and then has been a godsend, especially considering how close-knit they are. They all lived nearby, while Vivienne lived in the auto shop itself. It made sense, since she's the current matriarch of the Knights family and the owner of the repair shop itself.
“Hey, Arthur,” the old woman turned to him when he reached the living room, holding a somewhat squirming Gwen, “Everything turn out okay?”
“There's a crack in the main gasket like you said,” Arthur placed his good hand on the back of his neck, “We can replace the part, but it'll take all day to put everything back together after that once the part arrives. I already sent the report to Morgan, so hopefully we can get the repair done by the end of the week. Where's Percy?”
“He's still asleep,” Vivienne nodded to the direction of the guest bedroom where their crib is before looking down at Gwen, who stared at her father, “This one was getting a little fussy. I think she wants you now.”
Arthur let out a small smile before taking his daughter from his grandmother-in-law. The baby girl immediately cooed and tried to reach upward. He held out a finger from his left hand for Gwen to take, and she held it with both her hands.
“If this doesn't prove that you're a good father, I don't know what will,” Vivienne said as she used her phone to take a picture of the father and daughter, “I remember you being so nervous before they were born.”
Arthur didn't reply at first, instead focusing on his baby girl. Sitting down on the sofa nearby, he held Gwen close to let her hear his heartbeat, “I still am, to be honest,” he shifted his gaze over to Vivienne, and saw her using her phone to take more pictures, “You're not going to post those, are you?”
“Of course not!” Vivienne grinned impishly, although a concerned tone betrayed her mood, “You'd never let me take a picture of you if I did. I know you're camera shy in more ways than one, Arthur.”
“I just... I don't want them to find me, you know?” he rubbed a thumb over Gwen's cheek, “I had to get away from them. If they find out that I'm here, I don't know what they'll do.”
Vivienne lowered her phone before placing a hand on Arthur's left shoulder, “I know. You did a good thing to get away from an abusive relationship, and your scars are healing, just keep using the ointments like the doctor said and before you know it, they'll fade away. I still remember the first time we saw them when we first actually talked. Remember the look on Elaine's face? She looked like she was about to maim someone when she found out.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes, trying not to smile. He did remember his first conversation with Vivienne, at how he had to leave home and was looking for a motel to sleep at, and had let slip that he had to leave a friendship that soured, which made Vivienne call it an abusive relationship instead. Arthur isn't sure if what he had with Lewis and Vivi should be considered abusive, but he didn't know what else to describe it. They didn't want him, Lewis would inflict those injuries on him when they were alone, and he felt isolated, so he left without telling anyone. That's all there is to it.
Arthur knew Vivi wouldn't hurt him on purpose, but he didn't want to take any chances with harming her love for Lewis, and thus suffer the wraith's vengeful temper. He had already taken away her and Lewis's chance at having a normal life after getting possessed in that cavern, and being with them even after they reunited and sorted out the facts only made things awkward. To Arthur, he didn't deserve anything from them anymore after the events at the cavern. Even though Lewis's murder was done unwillingly, it is the sort of thing that would gnaw at one's soul, throbbing the heart with pain and suffering.
Yet, Arthur endured, too afraid to end it all. He could only run away, much to his self disgust.
Elaine and her family didn't pursue the matter any further when Arthur asked them not to, wanting to leave it behind him and move on, or so he claims. Otherwise, he didn't know how else to cope with the fear of being found and hurt by them again.
It didn't take much to convince Vivienne that Arthur had nowhere to go, so she let him work in the family business, even though they didn't have any official openings, so he would have a way to pay rent for a small apartment she found for him (how she found it at such short notice, Arthur had no idea). The rest of the family except for Elaine were skeptical at letting a complete stranger work for them, but since Vivienne is the matriarch, what she says goes.
Now, if anything, Elaine is too good for him. She's too trusting, and Arthur wondered more than once at what exactly did she see in him, and why did the Knights family accept him so easily even though he was a complete stranger to them. He had a hard time believing that they would work so hard to help him, a stranger, get back on his feet.
...Why?
Arthur didn't get an answer until he heard his son cry from the guest bedroom. He shook his head in slight amusement before standing up, “I'll go get him. Could you hold Gwen for me in the meantime?”
“Of course,” Vivienne took the baby girl to her arms, “I'm always looking forward to being able to hold my great-grandkids.”
As Arthur went over to the guest bedroom to take Percy out of the crib, he felt a tightening feeling in his chest. Holding his son close, Arthur knew why he felt so guilty.
Holding Percy with one arm, he held a hand over his face to keep himself from breaking down. He hated the fact that he had to leave Tempo, the place he was always familiar with, to escape the pain and suffering he knew he would cause.
He wondered how the Mystery Skulls are faring for a moment before immediately shaking the thought out the window.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Arthur cuddled Percy protectively, positioning his son's head to his chest so he could allow the small babe to hear his heartbeat like he had with Gwen. For some reason, the twins always liked it, and it usually kept them calm. Humming the song he learned so many years ago, Percy was lulled back to sleep.
Elaine often complained at how Arthur was better at soothing the twins than her, prompting him to point out that she's better at feeding and changing them than he is.
Thinking back, he took a deep breath to ease the guilt away. Lance will never be able to love the twins as their grand uncle. If everything hadn't gone so wrong, then maybe Vivi and a living Lewis could dote on them, too...
Even though Arthur left the Mystery Skulls, and by extension Tempo, he still cared about them. Although he didn't want to go back, he can't just forget all the memories he built with them.
It's his punishment for leaving.
- - - - - - -
Notes: Who do you think is wrong?
Hamsters usually don't live past two and a half years, so Galahad probably broke a record or two.
Also, the drawing in this chapter is actually the first one I made for Knights. Here, I was trying to stick to the original style as much a possible, which is why I drew Arthur’s hand with four fingers. However, it is really hard for me to do that since it looks so alien every time I draw it, so I gave up and started drawing everyone with five fingers after that.
Knights Part 5
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Hold On To That Feeling
Daydreaming and feeling overwhelming surges of inspiration is normal for me when I’m separated from the means to write (in other words, my laptop) for any extended period of time. I admit that very few times in my life have been so hugely joyous that a certain urgency to capture it in words lasts past the event. Some people have the gift of being motivational rather than nagging and I fully believe that it is the seven-hour car ride next to Sam and my number one baby that I owe this determination to not procrastinate anymore to.
The happiest and saddest experiences are either the easiest or hardest to put into words. In my grief for Max in 2015, I tried desperately to put into words the sudden sense of mortality I felt, being able to remember him as a little pup as if it were yesterday. But unlike my externally forced graduation speech back in 2010, which told as neutrally as possible of my hellish high school years, I couldn’t find the words for my sweet boy. The ever-expanding graveyard is since that summer where I find my ultimate peace and maybe that’s all I can ever say about it.
Maybe because I’ve admired and looked up to One Tree Hill actress and my idol Shantel Vansanten for so many years now, but I finally understand why she says “I look for inspiration in everything around me.” There was a time when I used to wait for that surge of urgency to write, but now many writing courses and pep talks later I’ve realized that it takes as much determination and focus as it does genuine inspiration to be productive. Every time I have heart-to-heart talks with Sam, I come away feeling more talented and capable for it so I owe it to her and myself to capture all the moments that it brings me joy to think about.
After the family vacation through Bruges in Belgium, the French war memorials and last but far from least Watford’s Warner Bros Studios three years ago, I always regretted not pushing through the procrastination to write about how much lasting joy I gained from October 10 2014. Naturally, it was my psychologist who helped me make use of that day of bliss at every turn, by using the happiness of the memory to put me back in a good headspace during stressful and less joyous times. Because I’ve figured out the key to making memories long-lasting for me personally, it is and always has been music. The more Indian weddings I attend the more certain I am that any Indian function my possible future wedding may have will be a sangeet only. I have a carefully chosen anti-anxiety playlist of positive musical associations and have to give even my least favourite One Tree Hill character, Peyton Sawyer, credit for one truth:
But I digress, being a huge fan of John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars after the film adaptation released in summer 2014, come the sightseeing in Belgium that October it was the soundtrack’s peppy track Boom Clap I tuned into as we walked the quaint streets of Bruge. The film’s love story took place in Amsterdam before terminal cancer turned it tragic and hearing that song on a tourist boat ride in Belgium felt close enough to the movie magic to be a joy to recall.
Seeing the war memorials on the next part of the trip it was my Dad’s excitement and the sheer scale of historical melancholy that made it unforgettable, being there to witness the 100th anniversary of WW1 was obviously an immense and sobering experience. But all that took place before one of the happiest days of my life, the one I’m sure I would think back on if J.K Rowling’s Patronus Charm existed in real life. In a way, I understand how she made the joy-sucking Dementors a metaphor for her own depression because that single day has had the strength to carry me through hard times ever since.
Harry Potter was what turned me into what I define myself as today: a fangirl. The fascinating Marauder era still holds a very special place in a heart no longer seventeen but probably happier than nearly a decade ago. It makes me feel old to think that the first Potter film adaptation came out sixteen years ago, 2001 was incidentally the same year to give the world Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, which initiated my ten-year obsession with SRK.
Coming back to the Watford experience, I can safely say it was life-changing: Between Tom Felton’s humorous tour guide recorded narration, the animatronic Buckbeak that actually bowed and blinked and my first taste of Butterbeer, I was floored long before the most exhilarating and then emotional parts of the day. The simulated broom ride which thanks to the souvenir videos and photograph reminds me more than anything else how happy that day was, is still something I just have to watch to feel intense surrealism to this day. But my favourite photograph that day is of me posing behind the Privet Drive sign. It’s hilarious to think that on the set the awful Dursley’s home exterior is right next to the ruin of Lily and James Potter’s house.
Already soaring on a wave of bliss that had begun with the HP film scores blasting all the way to the parking lot, standing in front of that scorched wall is where I got really emotional because somehow the couple who are dead before the series even begins have always meant the most to me. Yes walking through Diagon Alley’s set with the incredible detail on all sides I genuinely felt like Harry in wishing I had about a hundred eyes at once. But somehow it was still that ruined Potter cottage that I remember responding to now; the fictional sacrifice for their baby’s life as stirring and inspiring as anything else that trip.
When I was sixteen I once had a crush on a boy just because he resembled the fifteen-year-old James Potter from the Order Of The Phoenix film adaptation, incidentally my last non-celebrity / fictional crush to date.
Needless to say, that went nowhere and Harry Potter has stayed an important happy place for me longer than anyone in school ever did. There might still be times when the high school years negatively affect how I feel about myself but those days are few and far between.
Luckily for me, it’s a fact that time heals all wounds and someday only those powerful happy memories will remain. As Albus Dumbledore wisely said after all...
Even as a writer, with a craft as creative and yet honed by habit as many others, the end result of a piece like this isn’t always in sight from the beginning. There’s always the fine line of discussing a work in progress with my cheerleading family and figuring out on my own what feels right. I’ve had all sorts of advice; to combine experiences or don’t, or to be honest and heartfelt but draw the line somewhere. But at the end of the day, I know that the only way to get the words out is to find my own flow and go with it. All the song lyrics and Disney mottos about following your heart have got to come from a place of some kind of experience I suppose, so that’s what I decide to do with every word.
The theme of this article is holding on to joy and describing some hugely happy moments in my recent past would not be complete without the last week’s trip to Kottayam in Kerala. Some say this past week, with a royal Indian wedding and such a fabulous vacation with old friends deserves its own article and maybe someday it will get it. After all it took three years to pay tribute to the Potter joy as this article does.
But stand-alone tribute or not, the vacation after the Scindia wedding deserves a very heartfelt mention for inspiring me to write again in the first place with the love from old friends and simply breath-taking experiences. In a way, it does tie into the whole filmy Potter experience because Chacko Uncle shared his jaw-dropping world so modestly with us. How often does the average person get to sneak onto an active TV set and witness a girl prance onto the stage to an iconic SRK song?
For almost a decade my love of Bollywood became a way to connect with my roots from abroad and now it is always being in India that finds some way or other to remind me how much I will always admire King Khan. Granted there’s a huge nostalgia factor now but that song choice and moment in a little corner of that studio, trying to sneak a peek without tripping over the wires or squealing out loud was something I won’t forget in a hurry.
Over the next two days, the thrills just kept on coming, whether it was the epic serenades of our very own crooner Charles (the man stole my heart with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and kept it awed with a freaking Swiss German number) or getting to feel like a film star speeding along the backwaters, it was definitely like the Warner Studios tour in that I wanted to drink in all the sights and hold on to how I felt in the moment.
I’m not normally particularly keen on selfies, but with the enforced dressing up for the wedding before the Kottayam vacation, maybe the habit of sharing spilled over to that part of the holiday. Cruising along the backwaters I felt able to define wind-swept hair quite literally and even the slight motion sickness became easy to ignore with the sun kissing my exposed skin and finally getting to put my prescription sunglasses to good use. The picturesque backdrops helped me to feel beautiful and for that, I am more thankful than anything. Here’s hoping ten years don’t go by until the next reunion, visits to the south are as much a fascinating window into Mom and Dad’s past as anything else.
As my former obsession show used to say “by its very definition, glee is about opening yourself up to joy” and with experiences like these under my belt I might yet learn to do just that more often.
Despite the way it crashed and burned, Glee did teach me to never stop believing and I like to think I’m one step closer to that faith with the power of all these good experiences to guide me. One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn made the idea of “someday” a trademark of many couples he wrote and I think my someday of just feeling good might be a lot closer these days. To end on one final OTH quote because it has words for everything
I’ve come to realize that I don’t have to dismiss the bad things in my past in order to find happiness, but I feel like my perspective on the years of teenage suffering has changed and that, for now, is good enough.
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