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raguna-blade · 4 years

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So carrying on the shared symbol thing with persona games, here’s a fun one that probably needs more time in the oven but hey, can come back later with later revelations

So, here’s one that technically shows up in the first game but doesn’t really become a thing until (I am assuming, i still need to actually play the first few and finish most of them but whatever) Persona 3

Evokers! Also known as guns. Specifically hand guns, but I think that’s the least important detail when one of the big symbols of your game is shooting yourself in the head to summon mythic figures.

So Evokers. In game, and as per the wiki, they are supposed to function by more or less...making you face mortality and the fact that you’re going to die for real.

By simulating shooting yourself in the face. It’s a good thing that the Kirijo group already got their mad science comeuppance because man, that’s kinda...

But hey, the logic and rules at play here do seem to be consistent across the games. To Summon a persona requires, apparently, a huge amount of stress and or trauma to activate properly, and the Evokers are a fast way to do that that isn’t, comparatively anyway, super duper traumatic. It’s free artificial trauma for everyone that is comparatively less permanent.

Which...Well I don’t believe that for a second considering SEES is one big trauma center. I don’t think there is a single person in that group who is trauma free really. Nobody is free of it, even the dog.

I mean maybe the protag, but they come off as super depressed to me.

But for the moment let’s accept that as true. If i’m wrong i’m wrong, but I think i’m right and i want to get to the juicy stuff.

So given evokers function by applying trauma directly to the soul to summon yon persona, I think it’s obvious then what guns are SUPPOSED to represent right?

Trauma. But not just any kind of trauma no. Remember, Evokers are supposed to basically be going Hey Trauma But For A REASON. To Summon a Persona. A persona which is used to protect yourself from something (Shadows technically, but A persona is a mask used to face life’s struggles as the games are so fond of reminding us.)

So, Guns are Trauma Turned Towards Protecting Yourself from...something. My understanding of psych stuff is you know, layman, but basically it’s an active self defense mechanism. Or at least turning that pain on outside hurty things.

So if this holds true as a consistent and shared symbol going forward, we should expect that everyone who uses a gun is both

A: Traumatized in some manner.

2: Actively Defending themselves possibly by literally using that trauma against things.

Which i’m sure is totally a healthy thing to be doing. Has to be. Can’t not be right?

I can see no possible way in which using your trauma like a club against the world can possibly backfire on you.

SO!

Who uses guns in the series going forward.

In Persona 4, We have two for sure, maybe a third. That is Naoto, Adachi, and Maybe Dojima (I assume he HAS a gun, but I don’t think he’s ever shown using it. I’m going to assume for the moment this is true as fits the analysis, cause it fits well enough, but if he actually pulls it out ehh)

Persona 5 has uh...literally all of the phantom thieves. Technically not morganna, but if you think a slingshot isn’t basically a fire arm, well sure technically but also you can absolutely kill someone with a slingshot don’t get it twisted. But yeah, all of the phantom thieves and ESPECIALLY Akechi, since he uses a real one. Well, sans Futaba, but we’ll get there.

And do these individuals demonstrate being both traumatized AND using that as some kind of defense mechanism...?

yeh.

So start with P4. Now compare the other persona users in 3-5, the group in 4 is actually really well adjusted. Like yeah, you have some elements of stress and being an outcast and elements of weird harrowing stuff happening to them sure. I mean if nothing else they’re in the middle of a murder mystery with a serial killer in town, that’s stressful for anyone, let alone the weird supernatural shit on top of it, and then there’s the more mundane stressors.

But...Uh...Largely, they’re handling it pretty well actually. Protag was pretty alright moving to town and seems to get along with people well. Yosuke had the dislike of being in town but he had friends, he wasn’t really hated or anything. Chie is pretty alright, Yukiko is stressed but not exactly freaking out, Kanji has some shame going on however you want to frame that i’m told it reads different for japanese audiences though it’s not mutually exclusive, Teddie DID in fact have an existential crisis but that’s not really the same thing i think, Rise is hella stressed, and then there’s naoto who uh.

Kid’s got some problems. They’re also the only one who uses a gun So Hey First stop.

So depending on how you want to read it, Naoto is either dealing with some trans issues or just aggressive and unending misogyny given their profession. Personally while i can see the naoto is trans reading, the game doesn’t explicitly come out with that as the issue, while it DOES with the misogyny so I’m going with that. If you do think it’s more that than what i’m going with, you can easily sub it in I think since from what i’ve heard on the subject suggests it very much CAN be traumatizing dealing with that in society....And also because it’d still feed back into the misogyny thing so it comes back to that anyway.

Regardless. This is a thorny enough issue really, so i’ll strive to not fuck up but please forgive me if I do cause it’s not intentional.

What do we see with Naoto? They’re a genuinely skilled, talented and experienced detective, and at a really young age. Their skills are undeniable really, and they’ve got acclaim and real accomplishments under their belt.

They are also, apparently, belittled constantly because they’re read as female and that is apparently far far more important than their skill. Because of that they’re belittled, talked down to and dismissed purely because of that.

And Naoto is fucking tired of it. So much so that they do everything in their power to present as male and believe they should straight up just...cut out whatever lady aspects are there and just go full dude.

Which here you get two really radically(?) different readings depending on if you fall on the Naoto is Trans and so fucking tired of the misogyny vs Naoto Is fucking Tired of the misogyny and so damn desperate.

In case A, Naoto genuinely believes they’re a dude, and genuinely believes duding it up will solve their problem....But they’re rejecting that part of themselves actively, and refusing to acknowledge it at all. That’s a problem for him, if only because actively rejecting a part of yourself is by no means a healthy thing, especially when it keeps getting brought up constantly in your line of work (I can only imagine how much this would suck to be dismissed because people think you’re a girl when you’re a guy but also you’re denying that you’re a guy and recognize that even if you were outwardly a guy they would STILL dismiss you as a girl even though you’re not. Just typing that out is...yech.)

In Case B, you have a still tired of the dismissal, but also they think they radically need to change their body and gender just to get anywhere in the world which is egregiously fucked up because you know. She’s good at her job! Why should she HAVE to be a dude to get anything done? It’s fucked up.

But they’re a gunman! So...i mean i guess it’s obvious what the trauma at play here is, it’s gender related regardless of how you slice it and how is it used...? Naoto disguises (or “disguises”) themselves as a guy, actively using the thing that they’re being traumatized by to fight back against the world in some way.

I mean as thorny as the issue is in the reading it, the outcome is at least simple enough under the shared symbols thing.

Ok, but what about Adachi...? Welllllllllllllllllll

Adachi is definitely traumatized I think but it's not in the kind of way that's sharp and specific. I'm cribbing a bit off of [https://youtu.be/8qG8Mqe_1v8] with their description of how Adachi reacts to the Scoobies calling him out.

To summarize and or paraphrase, it's not that there's a specific thing that broke Adachi down. It's that he's trapped in a job he hates, or at least without the possibility of improvement. He's shoved in a backwater town when he's a city boy. He feels ignored, he doesn't like the people around him very much, he's got basically no money, he has no significant other, he has to just keep going and existing day in and day out and it's...

God it's so fucking soul killing.

It's not like his childhood was better apparently, in that it basically was a prelude to adult hood but also unlike then, he didn't have the supposed promise of do well in school and get cool shit that was summarily broken.

So what's a guy who's made to feel worthless, made to feel like a nobody, made to feel utterly disenfranchised, and has actual evidence to support some of this (keep in mind the reason he got reassigned did involve him screwing up somehow, though I don't think it's explained what or how) going to react when given the ability to act out with no consequences, or seemingly?

Well, I imagine that you would see them do some fucked up shit really. We've seen people in real life do things just as bad if not worse, and the exact way he wields his trauma is well...sadly understandable to anyone.

Though another interesting shared thing, which I neglected earlier and MAY share into the Gun Imagery is a sense of isolation. Which...Actually. Actually may track. Evokers are used by well...ritualistically killing yourself, which is for all the harm it throws out to everyone connected to you, is also a very solitary act. And in both cases here, the characters are in a very real way killing their true selves in order to deal with the world (In adachis case by presenting a fake version of himself and in Naoto's case by actively rejecting a part of themselves however you want to spin that one)

This does raise a question of the SEES gang having elements of isolation which off hand I want to say yes that's the case across the board, and only by coming together do they win but I also legitimately cannot recall how it plays out beyond the minimal We're The Only Ones Capable of Dealing With This thing which isn't quite the same thing. The ritualized killing yourself still stands so that's still in play really, and i'll keep an eye on it going forward.

I should probably ALSO keep an eye on the uh...Suicide aspects. Even looking back at Naoto and Adachi they have elements of it, although more figurative than literal. Both very much have a life is over thing related to their careers and where they end up when first introduced, so it's not an unreasonable call though the strict actual read of suicide suicide is...Hmmm...

Well I suppose Adachi's chunk of the world is accessed through the noose room if I recall, so that might not be quite as empty a connection, while Naoto's secret lab thing may not be quite as on the nose it does focus on a destruction of self in some way given the way a lot of those secret labs go about doing things in those shows.

That is, there's generally one of two outcomes. Either the Evil Org creates a mindless/corrupted pawn to use whatever their powers/abilities are for the organization (see every monster of the week) OR they create a hero/renegade warrior that uses those very same powers they were imbued with against them....Which suddenly makes me wonder if the the ambiguity of if Naoto's transness vs woman in male spaces thing is intentional in regards to how to read that section. If so that's actually clever as hell because then either way you want to read it the literal what's going on with their shadow (body modification either to become their true self and the rejection of that or to be able to actually be respected for their work and the implied destruction of self that's going on there) it reads as this is bad so...Kudos.

Anyway, off topic, maybe another day.

All this said, this leads to Dojima who SHOULD have a gun and probably does, but...never uses it that I can recall, not once. Doesn't even show up with a gun if memory serves.

It's not that he's not traumatized. He most definitely does have some shit kicking around what with the dead wife, disconnect from his daughter and all that, but he never really...weaponizes it does he? He never turns it on others, never uses it to isolate, none of that. Which is interesting because as a Cop I think we can safely say he SHOULD have a gun of some flavor right? That does seem to be the vibe, and yet he doesn't freak out. The reason why is heartfully straightforward though.

Nanako. He can't exactly revel in his hurt and lash out at folks with it. Like yes, he's not winning parent of the year at the start of the game by a long shot, but frankly emotionally distant and neglectful after your wife died but still trying (failing but trying, critically, the trying) is not the worst spot to be in, no way. And he takes to reorienting things quite well once he get's the additional stability in his life Yu and (at least in part) Adachi.

Which, really, is what also ended up saving the SEES members. Not Yu, but the fact that they managed to form genuine connections with each other that let them get past the hurt and not be taken up and swallowed by it. It's why Adachi ended up going the way he did because he really DIDN'T forge those connections, and because of the whole everything he couldn't really get out of that loop and fix himself up.

I mean Izanami's game basically threw two whole ass people into the deep end of their problems but this ain't about her right now.

So ok, that's the group from 4 and right now this is feeling pretty consistent.

So let's get to the group that has literally every party member carrying with The Phantom Thieves.

So...again, to bring it back, Guns symbolically here are weaponized trauma right? They're using that to strike back against what's threatening you, often by using it against them.

Now, there are variances with the phantom thieves for sure, and the most relevant and DIRECT one is that all of them, every last one, is an outcast of some flavor from the social norms, and this has screwed with them something fierce. Now it's not as apparent or visible in all cases, but I'll get into specifics as we go down the list, but I want to say this at the top because it fundamentally comes down to Because Of this outcast status, this particular form of trauma, they became the Phantom Thieves, and in doing so struck back against the society that hurt them, with the intent to inspire those like them.

Well not Akechi, but his specific issues at least nominally align I guess.

Anyway. I won't go into as much detail here, but I feel it's worth pointing out that their Phantom Thieves Personas are probably the cleanest way to point out how they go about weaponizing their various more personalized traumas to protect themselves and fight back.

Joker: Accused of a crime he didn't commit, sent to a city away from his family and friends, said to be a violent felon...Like it's not exactly brought up in the game in part because he's a silent protag but Joker absolutely had his life ruined. Like full stop, his world fell apart over night, not because he did something wrong but because he tried to do the right thing. And then Kamoshida happened which basically took boyo from being merely fucked over to losing what little he had left (where what he had left was a friend of a friend of his folks taking him in and shoving him in a drafty attic)

And then from said trauma he created the well...Joker Persona. Someone who emphatically is a criminal, the kind of guy who is actually pretty ominous when you consider the knife,gun and dark outfit combo making him look like some kind of assassin. That he helps people is probably a small miracle really.

But by the same token, it's blatantly clear the persona that he pretends at school is not his true self either. He has to hide himself, make himself look small and innocent and as unthreatening as humanly possible. He's not, by any means but...

Morgana: Imagine you wake up one day and you remember maybe your name, a few random bits of information, and nothing else except that you were (probably) a human and now decidedly are not. That's...Rough man. It's just rough to deal with and it's awful, and then you just keep getting hit with that fact over and over and over again. Mona's pretty straightforward, but it tracks that they would make themselves out to be the cool collected sort that they do (even though they botch it nigh constantly). If you can't remember anything about yourself, make yourself out to be the coolest smartest most talented type right?

Ryuji: He literally had an authority figure not only mock his family situation, he straight up broke his leg, killed his dream of running track, ostracized him from his friends and peers, put more pressure on his mom. He was reduced to a thug and his response to that was, apparently, let me be a (diet) delinquent then. It's not like he did anything bad really but he certainly stopped giving any kind of a shit to the world. His attitude got turned up for sure. This got more emphasized with the Actual Skull persona as a phantom thief, where he's far more intimidating, outright hostile and violent (A bat and a shotgun? yee)

Ann: I mean there's the obvious sexual assault, her friend attempting suicide, etc, but i've seen it pointed out that a good chunk of Ann's problems are also based in the fact that she's white in japan, so basically she straight up has to deal with racism too. It's why she's considered the sexy one for example (girls like her are easy you understand) so it's...well. How the game handles (or doesn't) that aside, the persona she ends up developing first off a very blithe sort of vibe to how the world views her (seen in her confidant arc) before ultimately gravitating to having more active control over her image and consciously choosing how the world will view her instead of them making the choice themselves.

Yusuke: Abusive parents (which is damn near a theme with the phantom thieves. Families being broken or Abusive which is hm) who actively stole his work, and he knew about it. It very clearly messes with his art and his relationship to this thing that he loves, and even after knowing how his adoptive dad was abusing him and other students and making a mockery of art...To which he actively throws himself into Art EVEN HARDER than before, as a dedicated fuck you on the subject. Actually straightforward, which is perhaps weird for Yusuke, but hey they can't all require deeper reading.

Makoto: Makoto's deal is a bit more complicated but boils down to She's tired of having all these expectations pushed onto her and dictating the exact kind of person she should be. Always the good girl, always kind and elegant, soft spoken, I mean she knows aikido and is supposed to be good with it. Which is why she turns that around is basically Lord Humongous, albeit less jacked dude in bondage gear and more Badass Violence Biker. Just let it all out and take no shit from anyone ever. Again straightforward enough.

Futaba: Now...Here's a weird one to say because it's...She doesn't have a gun. I mean we could probably make a fair enough statement, if an absolutely buckwild one, that she does not at this point have a trauma. Or at least, not one that is weaponized. Because well...Her issues were very self focused. She thought her mom killed herself because of her, and that almost made her (futaba) kill herself. That's not a great place to be, but it's not like she ever takes her dead mom issues out on the world. She doesn't even really take her extreme social issues out on the world. If anything she pretty much...Has them and kind of deals with them quietly.

I suppose you could say that her weapon of choice is the computer. It's no gun, obviously, but unlike everyone else up til this point she also doesn't really...hide herself. There's no fake persona (in the not summoned beings of myth and story) that she presents to the world. She's decisively genuine about everything, and pretty much the only difference between her and her Oracle persona is neat goggles yeah? Which makes her an interesting pair with Maruki who we'll get to later as another gun not haver.

Haru: Kind of a complicated one, though also kinda straightforward. She's ostracized from her father and finds the abuse that he's laying down on the people who work for them abhorent, which is bad enough, that kind of realization that your life is built on the suffering of others. There's also the uh...It's not strictly this because arranged marriages are very much business affairs more than romance, but the way it's portrayed definitely reads as her dad selling her which is you know. Not...ideal, though her specific reservations there seemed less the arranged marriage (it's business she get's it) but more the dude was an creep and also again the abuse. The family motto being betray anyone to get ahead (paraphrased to hell and back) also suggests some not so great things really, though her bond with her dad did seem to be genuinely strong, which is why her reaction is tada heroine of justice.

Which, I just realized this and I gotta point it out, actually lines up MARVELOUSLY with Morgana and Zorro. Wealthy Individual who see's the crimes and evil deeds of the world and decides to mask up and fight the crime they cannot contest with their unmasked face, warring against the system that enriched them at presumable cost to themselves because it's the right thing to do? Beautiful. Probably should look into that more. But yeah.

Sumire: I mean...I mean she basically straight up says I think I was second best to my sister in everyway and then I got her killed and her reaction to that was Let Me Be My Sister and well...yeah that's exactly how she dealt with her trauma, albeit with a little bit of magic help. And Perhaps most notably, this is almost the most explicit demonstration of Evoker Gun Antics because She Creates a Persona (“Kasumi”) To Protect Herself (alldattrauma.exe) by using that trauma (dead sister) against the world (Literally everyone else) it's...Actually a really clean example I think?

Akechi: Last but not least of the gun havers, Akechi who uh...Outcast because of family reasons (single mom, Dad's a creep) in a way that just...We don't actually ever get the details I don't think, but the way he reacts to it I think makes it clear that his whole life was basically a string of kick this kid while he's down, keep him outside the system, and of course the persona he ends up creating, both of them, end up being one the charming charismatic prince who seeks justice and a bloodthirsty lunatic, neither of which accurately reflect his true self I don't think. Aspects of it sure, but not completely. If pressed, I would say that the Akechi we see in the Third Semester is probably the closest even though he's probably a dream Akechi, being someone who does have a distinct judgement for what is right and wrong but also, critically, can and will shoot you in the face cackling as his plans come together. Rather like Joker actually, which is appropriate given their mirrored trickster roles, and the general shape of their outcomes (both get their smuggery on when things go to plan)

Anyway, the way he reacts to being forced to live an outcast is as mentioned, let me get back into that system, let me be part of it and all that.

And last but not least

Maruki: Now...He doesn't have a gun. It doesn't quite match up with the symbol thing which I think at this point is established enough that it's probably some kind of thing, but what I find interesting is that...he fits MOST of the criteria right? Definitely has a trauma that shaped how he reacted to the world and yet, it's not weaponized right? It doesn't well...evoke a different persona from him. It's not weaponized to protect him and that seems odd right? He ends up with a Palace right?

Sure. But I want to go back to what i'm proposing the Evokers Represent.

Trauma, A Destruction of the Self (Suicide literal or figurative), Isolation, and weaponizing your trauma to protect against the world...And he only actually tracks to the Trauma part of that. He IS hurt for sure, no question. He is fighting back against the world in his own way for sure, what with Azathoth and his mind whammy, and I would say that the nature of it is directing how he's doing things (no more pain for anyone yeah sure)

But where it falls apart, and actually DOES line up with the guns as metaphor for those things mentioned, is that he doesn't really Isolate. He doesn't present a fake self to protect himself. He doesn't destroy an aspect of himself to protect himself. No, he's extremely upfront that “No this is bullshit, it should change, fuck this noise, I'll do what I can with what I can and oh hey godlike power now I can help everyone”

Which cool, except that apparently in the Stay in Maruki's world ending he kinda fades into the background, which suggests the self destruction but no, not even then really. Like I know I made a bit of meta about him obscuring himself and kinda fading away as a person, but I don't think it's strictly meant to be get rid of yourself so much focus on the message and not the messenger. You can throw your mask away. No more pretending. You don't have to hurt anymore. As the song goes.

And it's worth pointing out that, in comparison to literally everyone else on this list, Maruki is unambiguously a healthier person mentally by a long shot. Shady antics with Sumire aside, He genuinely wants to help people, he want's them to be better the right way ideally but if he had the means to do it of course he'd just hot delete those deeply traumatic and life shattering pains that they couldn't overcome. Then he does get that ability. And Then he does do that.

Anyway, the ramblings on long enough, and I kinda feel i'm drifting, but yeah. Think this is another symbol that tracks (I probably wanna check out Persona Q and Q2, but what I know on those does have it break down a bit but they're also not mainline games so I'm not sure how to square that so....)

#Persona 3 #Persona 4 #Persona 5 #Spoilers #Evokers #Shared Symbols

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edgydepressedchoicesthot · 4 years

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Act of Courage (Noah/MC, Lucas/MC)

Summary: It shouldn’t feel like this, after all this time. We won, didn’t we?

No, Josh realized. We didn’t.

In which a survivor contemplates what was, what is, and what could have been.

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24061654

@ladyseaheart1668, @marmolady, @it-lives-in-westchester

A/N: Between work, college, and my f*cked up head, finishing this up took a lot longer than it should have. I'm trying to make writing into my coping mechanism, so that I'll do it more, lol ;D

I have one more fic I promised on tumblr, an AME one I'm gonna work on. I'm also gonna try to go back to my ES novelization, so stay tuned for that for its continuation.

————————

The two of them were at Josh’s place, waiting for Ava, Andy, Dan, and Lucas. Lily was sick in bed and Stacy was visiting her grandma out of town, leaving Noah and Josh waiting for the four others while they drew figures in the dirt in the yard with sticks and talking about anything their minds jumped to.

“Hey, Noah?”

The boy turned towards his friend.

“Yeah?”

For a moment, Josh, who was as lively as ever seconds ago, was being uncharacteristically quiet.

“Do you…like anyone?”

“‘Like’,” Noah repeated. “Like I like you and Jane and the others? Or you mean like-like?”

“Um, yeah” Josh nodded, blushing. “Like-like.”

“Then no,” the other boy shrugged. “Stacy, Lily, and Ava are fun to hang around, but I don’t like-like anyone.”

“What about,” Josh began hurriedly, but slowed down. “What about boys…?”

“Huh?”

“Do you like-like any boys?”

Josh was beet red. Noah was just confused.

“No,” he shrugged. “I’m a boy. It’d be weird if I liked-liked a boy. That’s what my mom says though.”

“Right…” Josh looked hurt. “Right, forget it.”

Noah wanted to ask why his friend looked so sad.

He hated it when Josh got upset. Unlike Jane, who’d get mad, Josh would be quiet, pouty, and would go off by himself, refusing to ever acknowledge what made him upset in the first place.

But before Noah can say anything, the doorbell rang and their friends poured inside.

Noah forgot that Josh even asked him any question about who he liked.

It was something they’d both forget in the years to come, a memory of the conversation fading into a small feeling.

————————

After reading Lucas’s texts, Josh shoved his phone into his pocket. His smile started to fade as he continued down the road, focusing on his surroundings.

It really is a beautiful day, Josh mused.

And he hated it.

The sun shone through the trees in a way that reminded him of an image you’d find on a tourist pamphlet.

It made Josh think about how the only thing this town is good for is being fake.

Like how the town somehow fooled themselves into thinking everything was just a freak animal attack.

But the more he thought about it, Josh guessed he couldn’t blame the town for that. Having to deal with the truth might actually be more of a clusterfuck than it all happening.

It was all a question of why.

Why did this all happen to them? Why was he the one who had to find Redfield’s shack?

All he had to do was keep his goddamn mouth shut about some stupid fucking rock floating all those years ago…

It’s my fault.

Josh scoffed.

Like that’s big news.

And when it was time to pay the piper, Josh was too much of a coward to do anything…

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Josh forced himself to think about something, anything else.

His mind wandered from the date Lucas promised they’d have before he went back to his university, to that new video game Lily’s been raving about, Stacy’s latest Pictagram post about celebrating another perfect score on an exam, Ava’s latest binge on occult books in the library, Andy whining about how he just wants to be free of high school already, Dan’s updates on his new art blog…

…Noah crying, apologizing…

Josh wiped tears from his eyes as he kept walking.

————————

Noah always envied Josh.

He was a charismatic go-getter where Noah was shy and bookish. Josh always got stickers that came with having a perfect score on spelling tests, ones that Noah just passed by never more than five points. Josh was brave enough to make the first move in befriending him and Jane, and began their circle of friends the same way.

Noah not only hated how he was too wimpy to ever say any of this out loud, but also that he held this kind of resentment towards one of the best friends he’s ever had.

Noah hated how nervous he feels around Josh too. How he can’t help but constantly compare himself to him.

Josh was like the sun; radiant and bright and impossible to miss, and Noah had felt like the grimy earth beneath it.

But everything changed after Jane died.

Their whole group of friends changed. They started to see each other less and less, and eventually, they never saw each other outside of school.

Having different classes in middle school widened the gap between them, leaving silent nods as the last bit of interaction they had.

Soon, even those were gone.

Even after they all fell apart, Noah couldn’t help but notice Josh.

Before, Noah had always seen Josh happily chatting with at least one person.

Now, Noah never saw him hang out with anyone ever again. He was like the dusty remains of a star that went out.

There were times Noah wanted to reach out, to see if they could be friends again, to hang out, laugh together, be together-

-and Noah would stop himself when he came short of any reason Josh would want to talk to him.

————————

“You look like shit.”

“Hello to you too, Ava.”

Josh was semi-thankful that his shift at one of the town’s few fast food places started early in the morning. Only a handful of people stepped in here for breakfast, and none of them were impossible to deal with. So, for a few hours, Josh could enjoy a bit of peace before the lunch rush.

And it was always good to see a friendly face.

“Alright, fuck the pleasantries then.”

Usually.

Ava stretched her hand at Josh and waved it dramatically.

“In the name of the Dread Goddess Hekate, get me my usual.”

Josh punched in the register an order for an apple pie and a milkshake.

“That’ll be $2.78.”

Wordlessly, Ava hands him money and Josh went in the back to get her order.

“Talked to Tom today,” Ava said. “He looked really interested in the stuff I found in Cora’s shack. Maybe he can be my apprentice or some shit.”

“A witch’s apprentice?”

“Turned him down. Teaching is a rock bottom I’ll never hit.”

“Cuz the teacher’s at school we sooo great.”

“You get it.”

Josh finished up, pie in a paper bag and milk in hand.

“So, you talk to people,” she asked before he held out her order. “You’re social like that. Everyone’s gonna be at the memorial tonight, right?”

“Yup,” Josh nodded. “All seven of-”

Josh stops himself, remembering what happened to the seventh.

Ava’s face went steely, and for a moment it looked like she had a lot to say.

“Hand me my order,” she sighed. Josh obliged.

Before Ava walked out, she stopped and did a half turn. Josh sees several shifts to and from anger and sympathy.

“Tale care,” she said before leaving.

————————

Noah couldn’t remember the last time he and Josh talked.

So, when Josh sat next to him at the pep rally, he hoped his quietness came off as indifference, and hid his anxiety about the whole situation.

Josh didn’t seem to mind, since he started talking semi-comfortably. He was mellower and less gloomy than he used to be, and Noah felt the familiar jealously that was always the third companion amongst the two.

The pep rally ended after the blackout, Josh called everyone to meet after school, and four of them were stocking up on makeshift weapons.

When Josh told Noah that he won’t leave him again, he let himself believe it.

Noah halfheartedly thanked Josh, and for a second was afraid his sort-of-friend would take offense.

But instead, Josh smiled at him, and Noah felt like he was looking at sunshine.

A warm feeling bloomed in Noah’s chest, and it stuck around even when they were done talking and gone back to looking for weapons.

Noah remembered the warm feeling later on, when he noticed how Josh’s face was red when he was close enough to Lucas, how he stammered a bit more when the two were talking.

Noah wasn’t as dumb as he was as a kid. He knew that Josh liked Lucas. He also didn’t want to believe he was feeling jealousy, because of what it implied.

It wasn’t until during Britney’s party that Noah started to ask himself where these feelings for Josh came from. Was it sometime after everyone drifted apart, and their absence leaving an ache in his heart? Or was it before, when they were younger, innocent, and still friends?

After the party and after Josh revived his hope for the future (something he’d been doing well the past few days), his own personal devil reared its shadowy head, and signaled the end.

In the near future, while they were all forced to play the game again, Noah would wonder if anything could have happened to keep this whole mess from happening.

If he just told Redfield to fuck off, or just ignored him (no, her).

————————

“In school,” Andy said with a mouth full of pizza. “You froze up every time you had to present something. And up there, you didn’t break a sweat.”

Josh was taken by surprise when Stacy’s mom called him up to say a few words (he didn’t even think the town’s mayor even remembered his name). Surprisingly, where there was usually quick breath and sweating, there was just emptiness.

His mind flashed to Cora when he was up, about how she risked her life to help them and went to warn them while she was injured and dying.

And then it went to Noah.

He kept his part about Noah as brief as possible, and stepped down the second he gave his last “thank you”.

Josh would like to say that Lucas’s hug and quick kiss after the memorial made him feel better, but after talking about Noah, he couldn’t shake the feeling like he was betraying him.

“I get a lot of speech practice when dealing with customers from hell,” Josh finally answered, shrugging.

“You mean Ava?” Andy snarked.

“Andy, don’t be mean,” Lily scolded

“You think I take offense to that?” Ava grinned evilly. “I go there on the weekends.”

Josh finished his Graveyard, and turned to Lucas, right next to him.

“Bartender, one more.”

“One for me too,” Stacy smirked, wiggling her empty cup.

“I think you’ve both had enough,” Lucas said in mock seriousness.

“How can you stand to drink those?” Tom asked. “I almost hurled taking a sip!”

“That’s it, you’re dead to me,” Stacy pouted theatrically.

“Aw, come on,” Lily nudged Stacy with her shoulder. “We all just pledged our eternal devotion to each other five minutes ago!”

And just managed to avoid talking about Noah…

Noah could be here. Right now.

Maybe not here though. The others might still hate him, maybe not, but at least he’d be alive. Maybe everyone would even slowly come to stop hating him.

He could find a way to pay for culinary school. He could open up the diner he talked about…

And I wish I could just stop thinking about those last moments…

Josh has vague memories of blushing and being embarrassed around Noah when they were younger, but he didn’t think it had meant anything.

Every time Josh started thinking about his...crush, if he could call it that, he’d just start thinking of Lucas, and guilt of betrayal would stab at his gut.

Josh’s eyes drift over to Dan, who’s been silent the whole time, aside from giving halfhearted laughs and accepting Graveyard refills…

…along with bringing up the one who’s been on Josh’s mind for a while.

“Well…not the whole group.”

Josh remembered that this night would end, and that everyone would go back to dealing with their trauma.

Not alone. Please for the love of god not alone.

He felt like some kind of traitor again, for feeling this awful around people with whom he should be happy.

It shouldn’t feel like this, after all this time. We won, didn’t we?

He remembered the panic attack he talked Lily through by phone after Britney called him, begging for help. He remembered Ava’s blank face as the signs of a flashback started to show. He remembered the bags under Stacy’s eyes as she drank more coffee than was healthy. He remembered the late night texts from Andy faking small talk when he couldn’t sleep and needed some anchor to reality. He remembered the way Dan finally admitted with tears that he wasn’t fine, was anything but fine.

And he remembered seeing the thing that used to be Noah in the ruins, looking back at him with those white eyes before vanishing.

No, Josh realized. We didn’t.

————————

Seconds ago, Josh had gotten Noah out of Redfield’s (no, Jane’s) control as he was seconds away from being stabbed.

He goaded and taunted the monster they all feared since childhood, and fended it off with a whistle.

So this should be easy, right?

Taking Jane’s place so she could finally be free of the hell she spent nearly a decade in.

“I’m sorry, Josh,” Noah sobbed. “Please…please tell my mom-”

“Wait!” Josh said shakily. “It doesn’t have to be you!”

“Josh, please, it had to be me,” Noah begged. “Let me do this. Let me fix my mistakes.”

“NO!” he screamed. “Don’t you dare! Let me do this! Let me take her place instead!”

Except…

Josh didn’t say any of that.

He wanted to stop Noah, he wanted to so much, but no matter what, his throat wouldn’t obey.

When it mattered the most, all he could give is silence.

If the two of them were any closer, their faces would touch. Unfallen tears pooled in Noah’s eyes, filled with regret

Josh didn’t know what to do. He wanted to scream at Noah. He wanted to hug him and never let go. He wanted to punch him.

But Noah acted before Josh could.

His lips weren’t soft, but warm and gentle, and soon turn salty when tears hit their lips. Neither of them knew whose.

“I’m sorry,” Josh lost count of the number of times Noah’s apologized today. “I just…I needed to do that. Just once…”

Those are the last words Noah ever said as a human.

————————

The night ended with everyone promising to see each other tomorrow, and soon after that.

And so, here were Josh and Lucas, waiting together on a bench on the sidewalk for Josh’s mom to come pick them up and give Lucas a ride to his house.

Despite everyone parting with the unspoken promise of this goodbye isn’t for good, Josh couldn’t help that irrational fear that the opposite would be true, and they’d all fall apart over again.

“You good?” Lucas pulled Josh out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” he mumbled dumbly.

“You’re squeezing my hand pretty hard there,” Lucas shakes his hand holding Josh’s, and he finds out he’s right; Josh is squeezing Lucas’s hand like some kind of lifeline.

“Sorry,” Josh says sheepishly as he eases his grip, but Lucas gives a gentle squeeze, keeping him from pulling away.

“Hey, you’re alright,” Lucas says before Josh can apologize any more.

Josh smiled at him, not trusting himself to speak right now. Unfortunately, it just gave way to an awkward silence.

“Josh?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Lucas asks.

“What…” do you mean, Josh wanted to say, but he just didn’t have the heart to lie to his boyfriend’s face.

“I know,” Josh sighed.

And he did. But that was a different story than being able to do it.

“I’m here for you. So is everyone else. And if something’s been on your mind, we’d all listen if you wanted to talk.”

Josh wanted to.

He probably needed to.

Josh remembered Dan, how he desperately needed someone to talk to, how he needed help, and what happened after he didn’t get it (it wasn’t his fault, it was mine).

But what could he possibly say?

Is it okay for me to have lingering feelings for someone else? Someone who betrayed us and led us to a monster? Someone who’s a monster now himself? Someone almost all of you understandably hate?

There’s no way he can bring that up. Not to his friends, not to his boyfriend.

“I don’t wanna talk,” Josh sighs. “Could we just…be here…? If that makes any sense?”

“It doesn’t,” Lucas jokes. “But it’s a good thing I’m a mind reader.”

Lucas put an arm around Josh, pulling him closer.

Josh rested his head on Lucas’s shoulder and closed his eyes, enjoying his boyfriend’s presence.

In the future, when Josh finally found it in him to talk, he’d be able to go back to the cabin. Against all advice, he’d look for Noah in the shadowy figure that haunted the woods. And he’d find him. And soon after, Josh would be able to help more people who were forced into a world of monsters like he and his friends were.

#playchoices #pixelberry #it lives in the woods #fanfiction #noah marshall #lucas thomas #ava cunningham #andy kang #stacey green #tom sato #lily ortiz #dan pierce #my fics

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love-takes-work · 5 years

Text

Steven Universe Graphic Novel Camp Pining Play (2019) - Outline & Review

The fourth original graphic novel for Steven Universe, Camp Pining Play, is a new story for the Lapis and Peridot fans, presented as a theatre project but focusing on relationships and emotional resolution more than anything. It’s new content–unlike some of the trade paperbacks that collect previously released individual issues of the comics. It is written by Nicole Mannino, with illustrations by Lisa Sterle and a cover by Francesca Perrone.

This graphic novel involves Peridot and Lapis falling in love with a piece of Camp Pining Hearts fanfiction--which turns out to have been secretly written by Lars--and after they get permission and have auditions, they put on a play that becomes ever more loosely based on the original fan work. Everyone involved seems to have input that takes the story farther from its origins, but they're determined to still present its heart . . . which becomes difficult when Lapis is uncomfortable with a central facet in the finale--a pretend fusion--but doesn't feel empowered to speak up about it even though Peridot keeps checking in with her. It's actually pretty nuanced throughout despite also having a lot of pretty superficial gags, and every character works pretty well as themselves on more than one level despite this being written by people outside the show team. As usual with my reviews, I'll discuss the story and then present a list of notable items.

(I’ve got to cut for length, sorry. Please look at the amazing sample panels under the cut even if you don’t want to read all my rambles about it.)

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

The story:

Peridot and Lapis are reading and enjoying Camp Pining Hearts fanfiction, relishing the author's faithfulness to the show while featuring their favorite non-canon ship (Percy x Pierre). Lapis indulges Peridot's desire to hear her "Percy voice," and they praise the fanfiction while kicking around ideas of how it could become more real--like maybe it could be made into a real episode or an animated adaptation. Soon, though, they decide a play would be a great idea, though they would have to find the author and get their permission.

Using her homemade app Find-A-Clod, Peridot discovers the identity of the fanfic author, and who should it be but good old Lars Barriga--the local "Donut Butler," as Peridot calls him. Predictably, Lars first denies his authorship, then requests secrecy while admitting it. Sadie, it turns out, also knew of his hobby, and she's edited his work tirelessly all along. Lars gives his permission for them to put on a play (as long as he gets to critique it from the shadows and not have his name attached in any way), but now they have another problem: How do you even put on a play?

Sadie jumps into the organizing chair, giving suggestions worthy of Peridot's title "Donut Master." She comes up with a series of steps, manages to get Mayor Dewey's permission, and receives a one-week planning timeframe. They jump into auditions next, and though everyone's enthusiastic, no one seems too fixated on what roles they want to play (besides Amethyst, who really wants to be a shell necklace used as a prop). Steven, as the most handsome human Peridot knows, gets propositioned to play Pierre, and Pearl becomes Paulette. Lapis is elected to play Percy even though she doesn't think she's actually as cool as the character is.

After the auditions, it's time for props. Lapis and Peridot make the actors create the props, though they soon find they need to give more direction or they'll get a bunch of junk they can't use. The sets and props become amalgams of what people can make and bring from home.

Finally, the rehearsals start. Everyone's struggling a little, from people who can't get their lines right to actors trying to destroy the props (well, Onion trying to destroy the props). But most of all, everyone seems to be awkwardly going through the motions, and Lars keeps shrieking "BOO!" because of how unlike his original story everything's going. Soon they come up with some ideas about making the presentation more their own so their characters won't be so awkward, and to help with the lack of chemistry between Percy (Lapis) and Pierre (Steven), Connie comes up with a unique idea. . . .

She suggests Lapis and Steven should fuse!

Well, that's a controversial statement. Peridot's against it because she thinks their actions are enough to show their affection and they don't need fusion, and Garnet is opposed to fusion as a stage trick. But Connie isn't suggesting it willy-nilly; she thinks they'll need something big to really emphasize the characters' connection, and Amethyst thinks it'd make them seem "strong." But then everyone has ideas on how to change the story or characters, and the core creators of the production are split on how to feel about it.

The blessing is given to include more personal interpretation into the characters. Most importantly, though, Peridot decrees that the fusion at the end needs to be a fake fusion. Lapis isn't up for fusion, though she refuses to say so and ruin everyone else's time. Peridot believes this is a good compromise, but Lapis is still nervous. She keeps it to herself and the rehearsals continue.

The day before opening night, Peridot and Lapis have a heart-to-heart, because Peridot can tell Lapis is holding back a bit. She finds herself unwilling to be specific about her issue, while Peridot goes on a bit about how fun it's been to find a good balance between following rules and enjoying some flexibility. Lapis claims she's just a little shy, and pretends she is okay with the fake fusion scene. She clearly feels like she doesn't have any business objecting since it's not real, and Peridot simply takes her word for it. They distract themselves by fooling around doing voices of the characters.

Opening Night arrives and the audience is full of Beach City residents as well as some visitors. Peridot makes a speech backstage thanking everyone for helping (even the people who don't want to be acknowledged, like Lars), and she emphasizes that she appreciates Lapis's partnership. It's a very sweet moment.

But as soon as everyone scurries off to their places, Lapis gets nervous. The beginning scenes go on as planned, but then Lapis stalls with her entrance because she's freezing. She can't think about anything except how she'll have to fake a fusion. Sadie, as a background tree, gives Lapis a pep talk, and then Onion shoves her onstage and she tries her best.

There are a few minor mishaps, but everyone mostly relaxes and carries out their roles. But then the climax occurs--Lapis's character Percy saves Steven's character Pierre from a dangerous lake after he's jumped in there to get Percy's special lost necklace. This is where they're supposed to have a moment and fake-fuse, but Lapis can't go through with even pretending. She lets loose what she's been feeling while on stage, forgetting about the play.

Peridot acknowledges that she knew about Lapis's discomfort with fusion, and she blames herself for approving the scene. But Lapis doesn't want Peridot to blame herself. She told Peridot that she was okay with it because she WANTED to be. It still didn't make her okay with it, though. And now she feels that she ruined the play through the very act of trying so hard not to ruin it for everyone else. But Peridot and Steven help Lapis understand that her feelings aren't irrational even though the fusion was "fake." Peridot only wants her to do it if she wants to do it.

With that, Peridot and Lapis embrace on the stage and exchange kind words, and then a smoke effect surrounds them. Some of the other actors get Steven, Peridot, and Lapis off the stage quickly and a pyramid of other actors assembles. Mr. Smiley and Greg begin playing a "Pierre and Percy Fusion" song, and the audience watches it blankly with little understanding, but Lars is emotional and clapping.

Finally the audience applauds, Lapis takes her bows, and everyone is grateful for the lessons learned and the wonderful experience. The End.

Notable:

1. The only Camp Pining Hearts characters whose faces have been shown on the TV show are Percy and Paulette. Pierre is mentioned frequently--since Peridot ships him with Percy--but we never see what he looks like. So it's pretty cool that the artists chose not to take artistic license with his appearance and drew depictions of him in shadow.

2. Peridot's analysis of why some fanfiction is better than other fanfiction--notably, that they fulfill the desires of the readers to see ships completed while still feeling like an episode of the show--was pretty spot on!

3. The fanfiction author--Lars--uses the handle xx54d4nd10ne1yxx. Even if it's private, I'm surprised Lars would use something that translates to "sad and lonely."

4. This graphic novel probably spends the most time outside Steven's perspective that I've ever seen; Steven is only marginally in the story, and we're used to seeing things from his perspective. This is quite a departure.

5. Peridot's app, "Find-A-Clod," was so unexpectedly funny to me that I almost choked on my sandwich.

6. As Dewey is still Mayor, Lars is not pink, and Sadie is still working at the Big Donut, we can assume this takes place before the episode "The Good Lars." That feels a little weird now, considering this book is fourth in the series of graphic novels and the one that came before it (The Ultimate Dough-Down) used Sadie's departure and Lars's space adventure as a plot point.

7. Lapis's negativity manifests in this comic as insecurity and frequent naysaying/pessimism. I thought it was really well done because it wasn't obnoxiously presented--as in, it felt genuine and appropriate for someone with her past and personality, not tacked on as her defining personality trait. You could really see her trying to have fun and not be the group's spoilsport, and you could tell she really felt those things.

8. Sadie says she's happy as a background character and that's kind of meta.

9. The shipping is strong in this thing. Peridot encouraging Lapis, the two of them solidifying their relationship, and the adorable compliments are so much fun. The Lapidot shippers have received their piece of heaven.

10. I couldn't get enough of Sadie obliquely insulting Lars when he acted like it was obvious he would take the "handsome guy" role if he didn't want to stay in the shadows. Sadie's like, "Oh, I vote for Steven."

11. Mr. Smiley and Greg are musicians for the play. I think that's cute, because we've seen Mr. Smiley as an out-of-work actor/R&B singer in the show. (And obviously Greg's an old rock star.)

12. New characters for Camp Pining Hearts have been invented: namely, Penelope and Parker, played by Connie and Onion, respectively.

13. Peridot is weirdly mean and disrespectful to Amethyst in this story? It seems to really come from nowhere. First she reluctantly lets Amethyst audition and grants her that she guesses she does have some talent after all, and then later when Amethyst comes in to impersonate a prop and "save the day," Peridot first voices her suspicion that Amethyst will not actually make anything better. It's weird; if you didn't watch the show, you'd think they had an ongoing rivalry or hated each other (or at least that Peridot disliked Amethyst). Hmm.

14. The central conflict of the book's story is impossible to understand or interpret without a very good understanding of the show. The book does not explain what fusion is at all (though obviously in a stage play as a symbol for a fraught scene for an actor, it represents having to kiss on stage). It also gives absolutely no mention of why Lapis has trauma surrounding fusion. If someone were trying to read this without the show's context, they might think there was some kind of awkward past or bad feeling between Lapis and Steven, since she's acting reluctant to pretend to carry out a gesture of affection with him. And even though Lapis's past with Jasper is mentioned--by name!--on the back cover, Jasper is literally not mentioned in the book anywhere. As a fan I had no trouble understanding the source of her angst, but because of this pretty important detail, the book can't be enjoyed on its own without seeing several specific episodes of the show.

15. There are some fun Easter Eggs in the crowd scenes. Play attendees include Mr. Frowney, Mr. and Mrs. Barriga, Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran, Mayor Dewey, Yellowtail and Vidalia, Nanefua and Kofi and Kiki Pizza, Barb, Mr. Fryman, and what look look some extras. All the known characters are family or the actors . . . except Mr. Frowney. Does that imply what I think it does about Mr. Frowney and Mr. Smiley? Hey, maybe they’re married now. :)

16. Lapis's speech where she emphasizes that she consented to the scene was powerful. She WANTED to be okay with pretending to fuse, but in the end, she wasn't. There are so many real-life scenarios that parallel this--when someone tries to downplay their own feelings because they feel like they're the odd person out and they will wreck others' good time if they express how they feel. But, as said in the comic, nobody there wants you to do that, and you not enjoying yourself makes it a worse time for everyone else too. Your real friends won't make you pretend.

17. You probably never thought you’d see Garnet in a squirrel costume. You thought wrong.

18. These two are too precious for words when they hug at the end of the play.

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

#steven universe #camp pining play #camp pining hearts #lapidot #steven universe comics #su comics #myblog

152 notes · View notes

rmg91 · 5 years

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The Woes and Antics of Living Together-5

This chapter behaved much better than 4 and I'm really happy with it as this is just one of the many scenes I've been wanting to write. Also I still love writing Branch when he starts to freak out XD

Enjoy! And A big huge Thank you! to all who’s read so far! I can’t tell you how happy it makes me~

Previous Chapter/Next Chapter; AO3/FF.net

@writerofberk Chapter 5 is here!! And I’m nice to Branch for once! And to answer your question from last time, Creek is currently just an annoyance but we both know he’s a creep and that will come out later.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was another dreary and overcast day in Bergenville and the last few weeks had a been a test for Branch's patience. He had found out that Poppy loved to sing or just play music late at night while she stayed up studying or scrapbooking. And, sure, Branch could admit he loved her voice to himself, but he really disliked being unable to sleep because she couldn't keep it quiet enough. He even threatened to throw her radio out the window! It had worked...until the next time it happened and she got caught up in the music as she claimed. He had made a mental note to invest in some ear plugs.

Then there was the 'Laundry Incident' where somehow some of her...unmentionables had somehow wound up in his hamper. Branch hadn't known how to react to seeing the lacy scraps of fabric settled among his clothes so he had turned around and walked out of the laundry room. He had returned a few minutes later, a confused Poppy in tow and gestured to his basket as he told her to remove the offending articles. She had at least looked a little embarrassed as she picked them out and claimed she had no idea how they got in there but Branch had already been ignoring her excuse and trying to forget it even happened. He later found out it had all been some sort of weird prank by Smidge and Cooper as he returned to the apartment.

Mix in the normal stress of university and trying to find a new job and you'd get a very irritable Branch who was going just the tiniest bit stir-crazy. Gristle had managed to tempt him out of the apartment a few times to hang out and play video games but Branch needed something to do besides the chores around the apartment. Something to keep him from letting all his pent up feelings for Poppy flow out into poem after poem or even the grey thoughts that circled around in his head somehow finding their way onto paper and making him feel worse for having acknowledged them. And having the means to pay his half of the rent that was coming up would be nice too.

Branch felt himself bring the knife down on the carrots he was chopping with a little more force then was necessary before he focused once more on the task at hand. Right, dinner. He was making stew and needed to concentrate so he didn't cut himself and have to be sent to the hospital. Finishing up cutting the root vegetable, he threw the pieces into the pot alongside the onions and celery, giving everything a little stir afterwards. Branch then started to prep the rest of the ingredients just as the door opened and the pink haired party girl flounced in.

"Oh, Roomie~! I'm home!" Poppy sang as she dropped her purse on the foyer table before skipping into the kitchen, bracelets jingling, "And guess what?!"

Branch rolled his eyes and continued with his food prep, "What?"

Poppy giggled before slapping down a piece of paper on the counter, "I picked you up an application for a job I think you'll like!"

Branch paused and looked at her before glancing down at the application, at a loss for words, "...You, uh...didn't have to do that."

"I know." She chirped, "But I was heading home after getting some more streamers for Biggie's big photo exhibit and I saw this sale at this cute boutique on the way home." Branch rolled his eyes as she started to ramble. "Anyway, on my way back to my car I noticed a place advertising for some help wanted and I thought it'd be perfect for you! Guess what sort of place it is?!"

"I'd really rather not," Branch sighed, "Just tell me."

"No fun." The pinkette mumbled before she continued, "It's a camping-outdoorsy sort of store! Sells all that equipment and stuff and I figured what was the harm of picking up an application for you, cause you always liked camping when we were kids and being in the garden and such!"

"That..." Branch was once again at a semi-loss for words, impressed she remembered that, "I'll...give it shot. ...Thank you."

Poppy smiled happily at him, "No prob, my dude. So!" She then clapped her hands together, looking at the unassembled ingredients, "What's for dinner?"

Branch shrugged as he stirred the vegetables, "Nothing fancy. Just some stew."

"Still sounds great. Can I help with anything?"

"No!" He vehemently refused, "I'm not letting you anywhere near real food again! Not after last time!" Said last time being when she decided to experiment by adding too many spices to the sauce for a lasagna he was making. He swore never to let her near his cooking again.

"It was a mistake! I didn't mean to add that much!" Poppy cried in her defense, hands flying to her hips.

"Don't care."

Poppy huffed and crossed her arms, "Not fair..." She then hummed as a thought hit her and Branch suddenly felt fear as she went to grab her camera.

She fiddled with it for a moment as she turned it on before she started talking to it, "Guys! Branch is being so unfair! He won't let me help with dinner because of one little mistake!" She brought the piece of equipment over and almost thrusted it in his face, "Tell them, Branch! Tell them how mean you are to your precious roommate!"

Branch ignored her as much as he could as he started to cut up the meat, "Poppy, we've been over this. I'm not talking into a camera to people over the internet. Now turn that thing off and get it out of my face. I'm trying to cook."

"Rude!" She exclaimed before pouting into the camera, "Guys, comment below and tell Branch how rude he is."

"Quit involving me in your internet shenanigans! I want no part of it!"

"Too bad~ As my roommate you are contractually obligated to appear in my vlogs."

Branch gave her a flat look, "I remember nothing about that in our deal. No where did we talk about you trying to film me!"

"It's one of the many unwritten rules of friendship, Branch, duh. And no where did we talk about you being such a sour puss all the time and yet..." She trailed off with a shrug.

Branch rolled his eyes, exasperated, "Go do something that's not bothering me."

She grinned cheekily, "Aww, but it's my favorite hobby! The 'Bother Branch' game is fun for all ages."

"Poppy..." He groaned.

She giggled as she turned off her camera, "Fine, fine but only because I don't want you to cut yourself."

"Gee, thanks so much."

Giggling, the pink haired whirlwind skipped away to her room and Branch thought maybe he'd get to finish cooking in semi-peace until she came back out, arms laden with scrapbooking materials. She dumped all of it on the coffee table before turning the stereo on and bouncing in her seat to the pop song playing. Branch heaved a sigh and tried his best ignore the overly preppy music, reminding himself to invest in a pair of earplugs as soon as he could.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day found Branch standing in front of the store Poppy had told him about, application in hand. He had to admit as he looked though the windows it definitely looked like a place he would have loved to explore when he was younger. He had always loved the outdoors and the sense of accomplishment whenever he managed to succeed in a task that would aid him if he ever had to face the wild alone. He also remembered spending almost all of summer camped out in the backyard and begging his grandma to let him stay there just one more night whenever the new school year started to approach. But that had all stopped when-No. He wasn't going to think about that or any other time before else he'd never get this over with and right now, finding a job was more important than thinking back on times that were never going to happen again.

Steeling himself up with a deep breath, Branch entered the store and took it in. A display for a tent sale sat in the front with aisles of supplies stretching toward the back, all manner of camping items in stock. Tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, chairs, portable stoves and just about anything else one could possible need was there, which was just a little impressive for how small the shop appeared on the outside. Off to the side was a single check-out counter and a cashier wearing a green and brown vest, playing on his phone. He glanced up and put it away before addressing Branch.

"Hey. Welcome to Clever Camping. How may I help you?"

It was now or never. Branch cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah. I saw you were hiring so I filled out an application." He hoped that didn't sound as awkward as it felt as he handed over the piece of paper.

"Great!" The blonde exclaimed, "I'll give this to the manager. He's actually in the back right now if you want to wait a few minutes. He may be able to give you an interview today."

Branch sure wasn't expecting that but nodded anyway, "Sure. No problem."

"Nice. Be right back!"

As the employee scampered off to the back of the store, Branch let out a slightly panicked sigh. Okay, sure, he could do this, it's not like interviews were nerve wracking already! He just had less time to prepare that was all! He quickly brushed off his shirt and tried to make himself look somewhat presentable as he paced around. He could do this, it was fine, this could be good! Or bad, very, very bad.

As Branch continued to try a fight off the impending urge to run and hide, he failed to hear the little bell above the door chiming. He was completely unaware of no longer being alone until the other person spoke up.

"Excuse me, young man?"

Branch tried very hard not to yelp as he turned to face an elderly woman. She had grey haired wrapped up in a bun, a crocheted shawl around her shoulders and was holding a cane. She smiled at him, wrinkles crinkling as she did so before adjusting her glasses. She had a very grandmotherly aura about her and Branch tried very hard not to think of his own at that moment.

"Um, yes?"

"Do you think you could me?" She asked before pulling out a list from her purse, "You see, my grandson is going on a camping trip with his scouting group and I'm afraid we don't have much of anything that he'll need. Could you help me find them?"

Wait...Did she think he worked there?! He had to tell her she was mistaken! But then another traitorous thought of his own grandmother slipped though and he knew she would be very disappointed in him if he refused to help this lady. She had raised him to be a gentleman after all. Sighing, he nodded and walked closer so he could take the list from her.

"I can try."

"Oh, thank you so much~" She grinned at him.

Branch nodded awkwardly and unfolded the piece of paper she had handed to him. Tent, extra tarp or canopy, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, repair kit, pillows, extra blankets, headlamp or flashlight, lantern with appropriate energy source and a plethora of other items. Branch was impressed by how thorough this list was, it was almost as if he'd written it. Glancing around the store to figure out where to start first, he grabbed one of the hand baskets and began leading the woman around.

The first aisle they went down had portable stoves and the like, making Branch wonder if maybe he should have chosen a different aisle as there didn't seem to be anything they needed down this way. However just when he was going to suggest they try a different row, he spotted the lanterns and flashlights. He had a brief thought about how it would be more efficient if perhaps these items were put toward the front of the row but pushed it back as he looked at the different items, wondering which would be best to suggest.

"So, uh...How old is your grandson?" Maybe knowing the age of the kid would help him determine the item.

"Oh, he's nine going on ten." The old woman gushed, "He's so excited for this trip. The first time he's ever been camping."

Branch tired to flash a smile at her before nodding toward one of the better battery powered lanterns, "This one would probably be best then. It runs on batteries but it's a good sturdy plastic and waterproof, so no one would have to worry about fuel or rusting. It's also in a good modest price range, in case you're wondering."

"Well then that sounds just perfect." She grinned brightly, "I truly appreciate you helping me."

"It's..uh...it's no problem."

They continued like this up and down the aisles, Branch pointing out the products he thought would be best, remembering more of his own experiences with camping. He suggested an extra raincoat. insect repellant and a small first aid kit, stating that it never hurt to have some back-up in case something happened to whatever the scout leaders brought. Branch was just double checking everything so far before they went to look at the tents and wondered where the employee that had greeted him was and if he was going to come back anytime soon.

"Ok, so it looks like all that's left is a tent and maybe a sleeping bag? Was this already checked off?"

"Oh, I thought we had one, so yes it was but it turns out it was horribly moldy after getting wet somehow. So yes, we do need a new one."

"Alright, this way."

He was perusing the different styles of tents, trying to find the best one for a kid when a tall, broad shoulder man came around the corner from the back. He had chestnut hair, brown eyes and wore a grin and vest like the other employee, the only difference was he also had a pin that dubbed him the manager.

"Hello, there!" He greeted warmly, "So sorry for the lack of greeting when you came in. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, no. Your employee here has been so helpful and has given so much advice for my grandson's upcoming trip."

The manager smiled down at the woman, "I'm afraid he doesn't work here...yet." He then turned his grin on Branch, "Tell me, son, are you the one who turned in the application Denis brought me a little while ago?"

"Uh, yes?" Stupid! Don't sound so unsure!

"Reed Langley!" The man proclaimed, offering his hand to Branch.

Shocked for a second, Branch startled before shaking his hand, "...Uh! Branch Hawthorn, sir."

"Well, Branch, you're hired!"

"Huh? But, uh...What about an interview?" Was this really happening?

Reed laughed, "I think helping this lovely lady here when you didn't have to speaks volumes more than me asking you some questions. So what do you say?"

What did he say? Oh right! "Um, sure. Yeah! Of course! Thank you?"

"Not a problem!" Reed laughed again, "Denis! Go take the sign out of the window!" There was brief 'yes, sir' from the other worker before Reed continued, "So, Branch, why don't I let you finish helping our customer here and then while Denis is ringing her up, we can talk and set up your schedule. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Okay." There was no way that just happened, right?

~*~*~*~*~*~

A few hours later, Branch had wandered back to the apartment, still somewhat in a state of a shock. He just couldn't believe he was hired right on the spot like that just for helping someone! That just didn't happen! Of course he wasn't going to kick a gift horse in the mouth, it..felt kind of nice to have a job again and the store really wasn't the worse place to be in. Still, Branch couldn't help but be wary of the universe and wonder what it would do to him this time to knock him down again.

Sighing to himself, he was grateful Poppy was gone as he needed a few moments to gather himself and to work out a new plan. He wandered over to the couch, flopped on it, and flinging an arm over his head went over what had happened after he helped the old woman find a tent and new sleeping bag. His new boss didn't mind that he would be working part-time, said Branch going to school was great thing and that if he ever needed to take an extra day off to study for a test or midterm to just let him know ahead of time. He would start his new job in two days and he'd have a twenty percent store discount, which would be nice if Branch ever decided to go camping again. However that meant he'd have to work out some sort of chore chart with Poppy as he wouldn't be around as often, even if that would mean trying to trust her in the kitchen with actual food now.

Making a few mental notes to himself, Branch yawned and shifted on the couch, finding a comfortable spot. He felt himself grow drowsy and knew he probably shouldn't fall asleep on the couch, he didn't want to temp Poppy into pulling some sort of prank. But as sleep claimed him, he decided he just didn't feel like caring if she drew on his face or covered him in glitter.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Yay! Branch has a job again! And at a much nicer environment! I can't tell you guys how much I've been wanting to write Reed (even if he didn't have a name until I started writing that part XD) and that whole scene. And to be fair, Poppy can cook, she's just better at baking and accidents with overly large holes in spice containers happen.

I hope you enjoyed! Stayed tuned for the next installment!

#Dreamworks Trolls #Branch #Poppy #Broppy #fanfiction #Human AU #Modern AU #Roommate AU #dreamworkstrolls #i love this chapter

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stillthewordgirl · 6 years

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LOT/CC fic: Captain Cold and Me (Ch. 4 of 6)

Sara Lance, unbeknownst to her high school classmates, has connections to some of Star City’s most popular super-powered heroes–but no powers of her own. Then the mysterious Captain Cold saves her from an attack…and does his best to convince her that he’s not the bad guy everyone seems to think he is. And maybe not all of the “good guys” should be trusted…

Chapter 4! Can also be read here at AO3 or here at FF.net.

Sara and Felicity found themselves minor celebrities the next day, thanks to their presence on the monorail car. Felicity was probably more rattled by the revelation about two of her heroes than by the narrow escape, but she was quite amenable to telling everyone about the experience regardless. Sara, amused, let her handle it. She had other things on her mind.

She looked for Len all morning with no luck, finally accepting that he was out that day—an oddity, given that he was generally the most punctual and responsible of students. (“I have to be,” he’d told her cynically once. “Everyone’s waiting for me to screw up and prove myself ...his... son.”) Disappointed—and more than a little thoughtful—she'd tried looking up his address with no luck, then sat and stared out the windows so long in the rest of her classes that her teachers presumed she’d been more rattled by the accident than she’d seemed.

After school, she blew off the Creators Club and made her way to the suite of offices being used by the city higher-ups who’d once been located in City Hall. The secretary, who’d known her since childhood, waved her in with a smile, but once Sara was out of sight, she purposefully wandered past her father’s temporary office and toward the corner office, which Malcolm Merlyn would definitely have taken for himself.

Merlyn was a handsome, apparently affable man, although Sara knew well enough that much of that affability was a front. He’d been Moira Queen’s deputy mayor until she’d resigned after the destruction of the first City Hall, taking over and pushing for a platform of increased law and order with the help of Quentin Lance. Sara’s father hadn’t been all that fond of the other man up until then, but they seemed thick as thieves now, bonded over the loss of wife and son.

Sara still didn’t like Merlyn. At all.

She rapped on the door and waited, then tried the doorknob with little hope. When it turned, though, she pushed the door open slowly, an excuse on her lips about looking for her father. But no one was inside and, surprised at her luck, she stepped in carefully, looking around.

Malcolm Merlyn liked the finer things in life, and even though this space was a temporary situation, that was clear in the décor and furnishings. Sara, wondering idly how much taxpayer money had been spent on the leather chairs and immense mahogany desk, drifted farther in, scanning the room, wishing she had a better idea what she was looking for.

Only one errant sheet of paper marred that immaculate desk, and Sara another step closer to see. It wasn’t a sheet, actually, she realized. It was an envelope, with what seemed to be a word scrawled on it. Sara squinted. Tempest?

“Ms. Lance.”

Sara started, then worked hard to keep any sign of guilt from her face as she turned to face Malcolm Merlyn. “Mr. Mayor,” she exclaimed with a smile. “I’m sorry. I was looking for my dad and I thought he had a meeting with you today.”

“Ah.” Merlyn’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That’s true. However, that meeting has been done a while now.” Turning, he extended an arm to usher Sara out of the office, and she went with alacrity, careful to show no sign of regret.

“Still,” the mayor said as they walked down the hallway toward Sara’s father’s office, “it’s a pleasure to see you again. It’s been a while.” He paused outside the door. “You’re a senior now? At Kanigher-Broome?”

“Yes,” Sara acknowledged, uneasy with the question for some reason. Why shouldn’t the mayor know that? It would be easy enough to find out anyway. “I am.”

“Hmm.” Another one of those not-really-a-smiles. “I probably still know some of your classmates, from when...Tommy...” A shadow passed his eyes, then was gone. “Although he was a few years older. Let’s see...Felicity Smoak? Raymond Palmer? Nathaniel Heywood?” He nodded as Sara murmured agreement. “Anyone else?”

“Yes? It’s a big class. Or no?” Sara blinked up at him innocently. At least, she tried to look innocent. She wasn’t really sure how well she pulled it off. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“Mal...oh, Sara!” Quentin Lance, heading back to his office from parts unknown, looked a combination of pleased and discomfited to see Sara there, and she prepared herself for a lecture about being out without some sort of protection or escort. It would be worth it to get herself out from under Malcolm Merlyn’s reptilian gaze for now. She politely bade the mayor farewell as her dad fetched his keys, ready to drive her home, and turned away despite her better judgment.

Her shoulder blades itched all the way home.

Sara left a note attached to her window that night: “What is Tempest? Saw note in MM office.”

The response, in metallic blue ink the next morning, was: “Working on that. Thanks for looking.” It made Sara smile, to realize he’d checked in on her, but frown, to realize he’d stopped by and not bothered to actually speak to her. Good enough to do his dirty work, not enough to let in on the problem a little more, she thought with irritation.

“So I’m bad ass, but not enough to help you more with this?” was the response she’d left. There’d been no response to that.

Supers. Ugh.

There continued to be an array of crises around Star City, more than the usual crimes the city was sadly known for—suspicious accidents, vandalism, at least one arson. Oliver and Laurel were kept hopping, and Sara’s father was even more distracted than usual. Everyone assumed Captain Cold was causing the incidents. Everyone, it seemed, but Sara.

“But why?” she asked while sitting in Creator Clubs one afternoon with Felicity, Ray, Barry, Iris, and…slightly on their periphery, a very quiet Len. “Why would he do all this and not take credit for it? And most of it has nothing to do with ice. Why not use his powers if he’s really committed to causing chaos?”

“Well, no one knows his full power set,” Iris pointed out. “Most supers have a few, in addition to the healing factor and other stuff.” She nibbled the end of her pencil, looking thoughtful. Iris was interning at the Star City Citizen newspaper. It’d been far more even-handed than the city’s tabloid paper and all of the bloggers, making no assumptions about the cause of all the incidents, but that didn’t mean the opinion pages weren’t full of letters calling for Captain Cold’s head.

“You’re right,” Iris said finally, looking at Sara. “It’s weird. But if it’s not him…”

“That’s what people are afraid of.” They all looked at Ray, who shrugged. “If it’s not him, they don’t know who it is. And people would rather know. Or think they do.” He frowned at his physics book, open in front of him. “Or they have to realize that everyday crime in Star is really that bad. Or start wondering about another new supervillain…or a hero going bad. Like Green Arrow. Or the Flash.”

Felicity and Barry spoke up at once, defending the heroes, and the conversation went way off track. Sara shook her head (she wasn’t going to defend Ollie, he didn’t need it) and looked over at Len, who’d simply been listening while working on something on his battered laptop.

“What do you think?” she asked him, recklessly, curious to see what he’d say—and not just because of the tiny germ of a suspicion she’d entertained once or twice. They’d talked about a lot, but never this. “About Captain Cold?”

Len propped his chin on his fist and regarded her with those remarkable pale blue eyes. Then he shrugged and glanced back down at his laptop.

“I think he’s an idiot,” he said quietly.

“What? Why?” Sara frowned at him, annoyed both at her impulse to defend the infuriating super and at Leonard’s surprising response. Len was fond of logic, and Sara thought her take on the issue was completely logical. (Well. Mostly.) She also figured he’d be there to defend someone else who might be…unfairly painted with the wrong brush, so to speak.

Len shrugged again. “If he’s innocent,” he said, speaking to his computer and not to her, which was odd, “why doesn’t he say something? Why all this cloak-and-dagger garbage?” He looked up at her, eyes intent. “He’s trouble.”

And to that, Sara wasn’t sure what to say.

But when trouble came, it came from a direction that surprised her—and targeted someone she didn’t expect.

“They actually let that…that man’s spawn into your school?” Quentin Lance’s voice was sharp and angry when he stalked into the kitchen one morning about a week later, and while Sara could tell it wasn’t really directed at her, she still paused in the act of cutting up a banana for her cereal to stare at him. What...

Oh.

How had he heard about Len’s return to Star City? Len kept to himself, refusing to do anything that might put his name out there. Sara knew he’d even asked the school guidance counselors to keep his name off the honor roll listings sent to the local newspapers.

“Dad!” she said, holding up her hands and sending a helpless glance toward Laurel, who was sitting at the kitchen table and eating her own breakfast. Her sister was staring at their father in surprise. “He’s fine. It’s fine. Really! He’s a good guy, and he hates...”

But her father wasn’t even listening to her, instead shaking his head and staring off into space. Seeing, perhaps, the memory of his wife, or the hateful face of Lewis Snart as he’d refused to speak at his own trial.

“It’s OK, honey,” Quentin said, absently, taking out his phone. “I’m going to get that... delinquent...transferred somewhere else. Somewhere away from you.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s even back in Star City. He made some…well, some accusations back…after...” His mouth worked briefly, like he’d tasted something bad. “It’s one of the reasons Malcolm made sure anyone who’d take them in wasn’t in Star,” he continued quietly. “After everything he went through…with Tommy…to hear that...garbage...”

“Dad!”

As much as Sara appreciated Laurel cutting in to back her up, she really would have preferred her sister wait a few more moments. What garbage? Was he referring to Leonard? Something he’d said? He’d only been 15.

Their father looked up in surprise, frowning at the looks on his daughters’ faces. Laurel looked over at Sara, studying her expression, then nodded and looked back.

“Dad,” she said quietly. “Listen to Sara. She’s OK with it. And so am I. It’s not this kid’s fault.” She took a deep breath. “We’re all just trying to...to put our lives back together. You know?”

Quentin stared at her, then looked back at Sara. She licked her lips and nodded in agreement, unwilling to admit yet just how close she and Leonard had grown, but knowing that she didn’t want his life to be upended again just for the “crime” of being someone’s son.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” her father said quietly. “But...all right.” He turned his phone off and tucked it away again. Sara breathed a sigh of relief. But he wasn’t done quite yet, pointing at his younger daughter, his eyes full of grief and a degree of anger that Sara didn’t understand.

“You stay away from him, though,” he commanded. “You can’t trust that family. Liars and crooks.” He shook his head, then repeated it. “Liars and crooks...”

That didn’t sound like her father, and Sara frowned at him, then at Laurel as he turned away. Her sister gave her a helpless shrug, but she was frowning too.

Well. Her father didn’t seem to realize that Sara had made no promises. And Sara wasn’t going to point that out.

Sara didn’t have the heart to tell Leonard about her father’s near-attempt to get him tossed out of school, although she knew she probably should, just to warn him. She enjoyed his company, a lot, and she was pretty sure they were working their way toward something more.

A few days later, Len confirmed that.

It was the sort of sunny autumn Monday when no one wanted to be in school, and they were no exception. Most of seniors flexed their upperclassmen’s privileges at every opportunity, leaving the building to grab lunch or just sit outside talking during breaks. Len had developed a fondness for perching on the top of one of the stone platforms that flanked the stairs leading up to the school and watching everything around him, and Sara often joined him, enjoying the warmth of the sun-warmed stone and, she’d admit, his closeness.

That particular day, he was leaning backward, propped on his hands, which had the effect of placing one of his arms across Sara’s back, almost as if he had an arm around her. She paused, then leaned into it, and he didn’t move, the physical affection accepted. It was a delicate dance—but it was becoming theirs.

“So,” he said, staring out across the lawn, and reached up with his other hand to rub absently at his shoulder. Even during the warm late fall weather, he always wore long sleeves, and Sara was pretty sure she knew why. But she wasn’t going to bring it up if he didn’t. “Spirit Week, huh? Can’t say I’ve ever taken part in one of those.”

Sara snorted. Yeah, she could really see him taking part in today’s Crazy Hair Monday, or ‘80s Day, any one of the other days during the run-up to the homecoming football game. She studied him a moment, getting a smirk as if he’d read her mind, then shook her head.

“You going to the homecoming game?” he asked after another moment.

“Nah. Football isn’t my thing.”

“Same. Or the dance?”

Hmm. Sara gave him a considering glance. “I wasn’t planning on it,” she said slowly. “Why?”

Len was looking anywhere but her. “Just wondered if you’d like to do something else. Hm. Grab dinner? Maybe?”

Sara tilted her head. Well, well.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’d like that.” She cast him a sideways glance, smiling a little, then elbowed him. “Hey. Just to be clear. You’re talking about a date?”

That got another smirk. “Well. Yeah.” He turned his head toward her a little more, just as Sara leaned toward him a little more, too, and their noses brushed...

“Awww!”

Len sighed, then turned his head and regarded Felicity with weary amusement. Sara’s friend was standing next to them on the stairs, giving them puppy eyes.

“Really?” he asked. Len and Felicity were developing an odd, resigned affection for each other, one based on their mutual fondness for Sara. But that didn’t mean they didn’t give each other shit all the time.

“What?” Felicity beamed up at him, then bumped Sara’s hip with her shoulder. Sara rolled her eyes, then bumped her back. Such was life.

No matter how distracting the notion of going on an actual date with Leonard Snart was, it wasn’t enough to distract Sara from the knowledge that there was more going on with her handsome classmate than met the eye. And she couldn’t get away from the sense of paranoia the whole situation instilled in her, enough that she decided not to search for more information at home or at school.

The library, however, she decided to dare. She could wipe her search history, and she knew the librarians did it again after closing.

The most any of the newspaper reports of the time had mentioned was that Lewis Snart had two children, a son in high school and an elementary-aged daughter. There was no mention anywhere that Sara could find of any accusations by one of those children. She frowned, running her fingers along the edge of the keyboard and glancing around to make sure no one was looking over her shoulder.

So, they must have been made in private. And based on what her father had said, they’d involved the mayor. Well…the current mayor. If Len had made a serious accusation about Malcolm Merlyn to someone after the City Hall quake, it probably would have been Moira Queen.

And the police commissioner.

“Ollie? Can I come down there?”

“Sure,” came the call up the stairs from the basement. “Just…ah, heck. Watch your step, OK?”

Sara shook her head as she stepped over the quiver, arrows spilling out of it, that had been dumped onto one of the stairs, as if it’d just gotten too heavy for its owner. Maybe it had, for all she knew. Oliver and Laurel had been really weary, lately, with everything that was going on.

Oliver’s “ArrowCave” wasn’t really too disreputable, though. Laurel spent enough time down here that it wouldn’t be. And Ollie had come a long way from the irresponsible playboy in the making that he’d been once. But all the fancy furniture Sara remembered seeing in the Queen mansion once was replaced here by comfortable, overstuffed furniture, the expensive paintings replaced by movie posters and photographs of the city. Sara looked around, smiling a little. No wonder Oliver didn’t mind his allowance from his mom. Sara was pretty sure he spent most of it on junk food and weaponry anyway.

The man in question was walking out of his bedroom, a basket of laundry in hand. Yeah, Oliver had come a long way. His blond hair was mussed, he was wearing a pair of ripped sweatpants and a Star City Rockets T-shirt, and he grinned when he saw her.

“Hey, kid,” he greeted her, from the lofty height of two years of advanced age. “To what do I owe the visit? Your sister’s at the college library doing some studying.”

Laurel was doing preliminary law studies online, but sometimes she liked to be out on campus. And Sara knew perfectly well where her sister was. She’d planned it that way.

She took a deep breath, then took a seat on the sofa. “I wanted to ask you a question. About…after the quake.”

Ollie tilted his head, then sat down, watching her. “Go on.”

This had been a lot easier when Sara had rehearsed it upstairs in her room. “Your mom,” she said carefully. “Did she ever say if…if there was any doubt? What caused it? Or…who?” The time was a bit of a blur for Sara, for obvious reasons, but all the news stories she’d found in hindsight hadn’t put blame on anyone but the only person who’d been arrested for it.

Oliver looked started, but not angry at her question. He hesitated, then reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sara,” he said gently. “It was Lewis Snart. They caught him on video, carrying the device into the tunnels under City Hall, setting it up and then fleeing. Red handed.”

Sara shook her head. “I know that,” she said. “But…” She took a deep breath. “Was he working alone? Was there ever any question? And, I mean, where did he get it?”

She partly expected Oliver to just shoot the questions down, but instead he looked thoughtful.

“Mom said once that there was something,” he said slowly. “But…why wouldn’t Snart have said something? Why wouldn’t he implicate any co-conspirators?” He shook his head. “He didn’t say anything. At his trial. Refused to even speak.”

“I remember.” Sara looked down at her hands, then back up. “But did someone else? Say something?”

Oliver frowned. “Y’know,” he said slowly, leaning back against his chair. “I think maybe someone did? I don’t know who.” He shook his head again. “But I know my mom was really upset by it.” He glanced at Sara. “Turned out it was completely without value. She was really relieved. That’s when she decided to leave the city, get away from the memories.”

Sara bit her lip in frustration. But she didn’t think there was any good way to continue the line of questioning, and she was pretty Oliver had told her all he knew, anyway.

“Don’t say anything to my dad,” she said suddenly. “About me asking. Please? He’s got enough on his mind. And he still hates talking about it.”

Oliver nodded, getting to his face and picking up his laundry basket.

“I promise,” he said solemnly, holding up one hand and balancing the basket on his hip. “Scout’s honor.”

Sara laughed despite herself. “Oliver Queen, you were never a Boy Scout.”

“Still.”

The day of the homecoming game and dance came without incident. Sara threaded her way through the crowds of chattering students at school, smiling to herself at all the green and black for School Spirit Day. Her one concession to the week and the day had been to wear a green sweater and small black hoop earrings, but others went all out—face paint even at school, entire ensembles, and over-the-top headgear.

Leonard was on his usual perch outside, looking around at the gleeful ridiculousness surrounded him with an air of amusement. His eyes lit as he saw her, and Sara grinned, hopping up next to him. She leaned against his shoulder, and he let her, and it was as good as a kiss, nearly, for them.

“So,” she asked as they watched the excited throng, “what are the plans for tonight?” She glanced at Len as he hummed thoughtfully. “C’mon, I let you keep it a secret until now, but I need to have some idea.”

Blue eyes sparkled at her. A corner of his mouth twitched up, and she wondered what he was thinking.

“Well,” he said, “I thought I’d pick you up at home, if that’s OK? Um.” He glanced away, and the mischief in his eyes faded a little. “You probably don’t want your dad to meet me…yet…but I sort of feel like I should meet some member of your family. Your sister, maybe?”

Her dad would almost certainly be at the game as part of the police detail and as a leading public servant. Laurel might be home…or she might be out, being Black Canary. Sara nibbled at her lip, appreciating his gesture even as she pondered the best way to handle this.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “About Laurel. I think maybe she’d sort of like to meet you. Although she doesn’t know that…um. That we’re…”

Dating? Could she say that before they’d actually gone on a date? What were they, anyway? Sara sighed, hating the uncertainty that came with these sorts of things, even without the whole “my father hates you” mess.

Leonard nodded. He had an odd expression too, almost conflicted, presumably for the same reason.

“Well,” he said, seeming to choose his words carefully, “let’s say 6:30, if that’s OK. I have…something to check on…first.” He paused. “So. If your sister can be there…?”

“I’ll try.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little. “But…what should I wear?”

Oh, that was definitely mischief. Len eyed her a moment, that smirk of his hovering around his lips.

“Something you can move in,” he said. “Sneakers, or shoes you can…run in.”

Hmmm. The tiny germ of suspicion unfolded a tiny bit more. “Oh, you don’t want me in that sexy dress I bought, then?” Sara asked lightly, pretty sure there was a good deal of mischief in her own eyes.

He coughed. “Well, now, I didn’t say that. But maybe another time?”

“Deal.”

Sara’s father accepted her demurral about being uninterested in the homecoming game without comment. Sara watched him leave with regret. She really didn’t like hiding something from him but given that he was so uninterested in her life anyway…well, that was how it had to be. Oliver had departed too, planning to perch somewhere he could watch the game and be present in case of trouble,

Laurel had departed for the library, planning to get some studying in, and Sara couldn’t think of a good way to stop her without confessing that she was hiding something from their dad. She waved goodbye, sighed, then went to get ready.

She dressed in good jeans, the ones with a hidden side gusset for greater movement and high kicks, and a form-fitting dark gray top, one that had come inexplicably with a hood. Then she did her makeup with a little more care than usual. Well, just because this wasn’t a conventional date didn’t mean she wasn’t going to do something special.

She was contemplating what to do with her hair, though, when there was a scratch at her window. And as she whirled, it opened, and Captain Cold leaned through.

He pushed back his outer hood and goggles, taking a deep breath and staring at her with those overly blue eyes.

Then, “I need your help,” he said.

Sara stared at him then looked at her phone. Ten minutes to 6:30.

“I have plans,” she said, hoping this wasn’t what she thought it was. “I haven’t seen…you…since you passed out in my room, and now this? No.”

Cold shook his head roughly and let out a noise that was part a sigh, part a curse.

“Damn it, I didn’t want…” he muttered, then buried his head in his gloved hands. But after only a moment, he looked back up, seeing her still standing there, watching him, and apparently noticed the hesitation in her demeanor.

“Something is going down, tonight, now, and the only other person who could back me up isn’t in the city today,” he said, voice catching, slipping out of the habitual low drawl. “You’re right that I said you were bad ass, that…that first night we met. And I need your help. Please?”

Sara closed her eyes, and Cold continued, still in that intense tone. “ I promise…I promise I’ll explain, as much as I can, but I need to go now and I need someone to watch my back.”

She opened her eyes again and studied him, the tense body language, the conflict in his voice. Thought about pale blue eyes and leaning against each other in the fall sunshine, about mystery dates and scarred shoulders and the scent of mint. And tempests.

“OK,” she said finally, hearing him actually sigh in relief. “Just a moment.”

Then she turned away, pulling out her phone and starting a text.

And then she stopped and stared at it a moment. Thinking. Remembering. Putting things together.

And then she put it away, in her pocket, zipping it up securely.

Leap of faith.

Sara quickly braided her hair and coiled it up against her head, pinning it securely. She tucked a knife (another knife) up her sleeve, and grabbed her batons from her weapons rack. And then she turned back to the tall, parka-clad figure who was watching her with such a conflicted expression on what was visible of his face.

“OK,” she told him firmly. “Let’s go.”

#captain cold and me #arrowverse #captain canary #sara lance #leonard snart

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chariflare · 4 years

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end of work week so No Brain Energy for a “full post” so here’s just like. a brain dump of stuff i liked and disliked about 7 deadly sins (s1). pretty spoiler-y

dislikes (so that we end the post on the most tasty part of the meal)

they give melio.das a flaw of “repeated sexual offender” with the same level of gravitas and plot-irrelevance that ya authors make their self-insert protagonists “clumsy” (i.e. it’s written as a “flaw” but doesn’t affect the plot and is often used for ““comedic effect””). unlike clumsiness though, repeatedly groping women should get a person arrested. thanks

elizabeth is still a damsel

jericho. not the feminist take that the author thinks she is. awful

ultimately the cool female villains turn out to be not that strong or important, and also get love interest’d with members of the main heroic cast (& both’s motives depend on a man)

depending on how her character arc ends up diane’s obsession with wishing she wasn’t a giant is kinda uncomfortable

i don’t mind that elaine looks young-ish but i find it uncomfortable that she has an anime kid voice to top it all off (in jp...?)

gil.thunder’s side-switch wasn’t appropriately established and his og character sucks. years of acting as a moustache-twirling bishie villain don’t appear to have affected his psyche in a meaningful way, and it’s impossible to come away knowing what he’s supposed to act like now

final villains of the first arc are BORING (i think they get more characterisation after they come back to life lmao)

usual shonen bullshit that is both a draw to the show and also makes threat levels kind of ridiculous and non-existent after a certain point (getting bogged down in endless fights, people coming back to life, refusal to acknowledge that maybe their society’s awful power structures are the problem, rapidly changing definition of “the most powerful villain EVER”, etc.)... all encompassed in one pig death fakeout

the weird fatphobic king thing

tiddy outfits. (though i don’t mind didane’s actually?)

more generalised misogyny

the most important hetero ships this season are mediocre

if you know king arthur shit you will know that everyone’s loosely based off of characters from arthurian myth. if you don’t know you will be so pissed when king arthur the 16yo sports anime character shows up to be like “YOUR NEXT ARC IS HERE”

holy SHIT the second opening song is so bad. it’s so bad y’all (the the first op for comparison)

likes

all the characters are adult colleagues (above everything else) and they act like it. (they’re... kind of found family nakama but there’s a bit more there.) they’re all unique, respected, practiced masters of their craft from the beginning of the story

gula & jericho for the when they were threatening were REALLY cool. i am so psyched at the thought of a random minor young female villain who is so badass & dedicated to the evil cause she’s willing to enter a near-death state to chase some random losers into hell. gula’s outfit slaps

(cw: suicide) ban is a really neat character. he’s like... an interpretation of a “vampire curse”. he was never really happy before he achieved immortality (seeking it only because ”if you live long enough, something good might happen to you eventually, i guess”), and getting it (by accident) only made him Worse - more self-destructive and more isolated from the people around him. he often can’t bring himself to care about much of anything, other people don’t care about him, and ultimately his existence is so fucked up and he’s laden with so much guilt that he doesn’t care about himself either. but he’s also a fun guy! incredibly powerful! will help you beat up your abusive dad! probably bi! also he has his tits out at all times and who am i to say no 2 that

personality: part of the reason that he’s isolated from other people (and othered) is his social class... but a main part of it is how his childhood kind of, created his personality. he doesn’t really connect to social norms (or laws), has niche interests, and has a “weird”, disconnected personality (again, made way worse by living 100 years past his lifetime). that being said, he’s not emotionally unintelligent, has interests outside of fighting, and is ultimately a good person

(maybe don’t read this one if you’re interested in watching? it’s all spoilers) Depression: ban willingly runs head-first into danger not just bc it’s a valid fighting technique for someone who can’t die but bc he’s... too ready to give up. but this reveal is only interesting bc it comes after like. a period of getting along with the group, being friends and having fun. ultimately hanging out with them hasn’t solved his problems - it’s just made him able to put them aside for a little while... until his trauma gets brought up, at which point he’s willing to take the first hint of an easy exit, despite how unlikely it is that it’d achieve his supposed goal, if it just lets him relieve himself of his guilt and existential suffering by letting him believe for just one second that he can fix all of the things that he “broke” with his own death (note: killing melio.das would have broken his heart and probably have been suicide by proxy). (this causes a lot of trouble and is not framed as positive, but it’s also not framed as all his fault. and he has to deal with the consequences of this? he realises in retrospect that it was an incredibly unsound idea? and lEAVES THE GROUP BC HE REALISES HE HAS TO TAKE A BREAK???)

comparing ban to a traditional vampire arc: unlike with vampires (who are often an allegory for a group of people, e.g. rich people or oppressed groups) there’s only one ban. and therefore instead of having a group with the same trauma he just suffers alone

meaningful conflict between the main characters. i don’t think i’ve ever really gotten this in a shonen show? there’s a LOT of unresolved trauma. the characters still work together bc they’re Adults... but it’s simmering

ban <-> meli: meli is the only person besides elaine who ever really understood ban... but that doesn’t mean that ban’s ok, now (in fact, the resentment about only being understood by one person kind of makes him... worse). (e: meli also has connections to the rare fantasy creature which started ban’s life hell). ban has too much damage to the point that he becomes a liability

ban <-> king: resolved early, but still good. king is convinced that ban is the cause of all of his suffering partly bc he’s too jealous to admit that smo else got close to his sister when he couldn’t; ban has enough guilt that he just Takes It. even afterwards their personalities are kind of incompatible so it’s fun to see them hang out

meli <-> (king <-> diane): relationship drama but it’s not a frustrating bc it’s relevant to each character’s flaws and Baggage (and the plot doesn’t bother to pretend that diane will end up with melio). king has a lot of guilt over accidentally (?) ghosting his family and SOME of it’s valid (but not all). king is jealous of meli for being the target of diane’s affection but also kind of lowkey thinks he doesn’t deserve her bc of the pain he’s caused her

meli <-> elizabeth <-> diane: diane KNOWS she’s not going to be in a relationship with meli but she still desperately holds onto hope. diane’s fears about being unlovable feed into her lack of self esteem as an oppressed (or at minimum, villanized) minority

elizabeth (the princess) is firmly a member of the team and her determination and character improvement is taken seriously. she DOES get badass moments BEFORE she’s revealed to be a reincarnated angel child or whatever

diane (the only female member of the 7 sins who has a big role this season) is consistently taken seriously (by the writers & other characters)

elizabeth & diane get to INTERACT!! and BE FRIENDS!!

i love elaine. first show i’ve seen that (unintentionally? & through fantasy tropes??) nails Older Sister Disease, i.e. the oldest female sibling being left to deal with all the family business, emotional and physical baggage, while all the male/younger siblings just fuck off. caring for your family members but also lowkey resenting them. they don’t invalidate her feelings even after relieving king of a little of the responsibility for her suffering. (i liked the romance prequel manga a lot - i p much only picked up the anime bc i bought into the romance b/w her and ban)

(despite everything) meli.odas acts like a proper leader for his squad. he takes his responsibilities seriously and treats his colleagues as his equals

ngl the twist with gowther disguising himself and his protagonist hair as a disposable marked-for-death npc was really funny

aesthetic is unique and distinct from the overdone isekai dnd fantasy that’s popular atm

the first ed song by flow & granr.odeo cheers me up every time

the feeling of going on an adventure with your buddies. it’s fun!

#pfssws #tl;dr the character relationships are interesting?#in smth like bleach or naruto there's either very little conflict b/w the protagonists OR there's a lot of dramatic heel-turning #but in this it's more like everyone's always on the same side but they have interconnected histories and traumas

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askauradonprep · 7 years

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HAPPY 2000TH, GUYS!

So! 2000 posts and you guys aren’t completely sick of me yet, so now you get to deal with a long as heck head canon post. AREN’T YOU LUCKY?

I’ve talked a good deal about head canons for the pirate crew - especially when they’re in a polyamorous relationship. And so, I figured I’d flesh out who these people actually are. Also, please note, I’ve said a few times that the crew got tattoos sometime after D2. It’s an anchor with the words ‘we ride with the tide’ above it. That is the tattoo referred to in everyone’s sections.

Click behind the read more to get to know these delightful kids! Warnings for abuse (physical and emotional), teen pregnancy, abortion mentions, child death, drug addiction, runaways, abandonment, starvation, neglect, and orphaning.

Uma Position: Captain Tattoo: Right wrist

- Her mother gives birth to little clutches of eggs - around 3 or 4 each clutch. Uma’s the only one who was a single birth. She suspects the rest of her clutch didn’t survive birth, but she’s never asked. It’s not IMPOSSIBLE she was the only egg laid, but the rest of her mother’s clutches had three or four eggs. On the other hand, cecaelia rarely need help giving birth and their eggs are normally very healthy.

- Uma never knew her dad. She figures he was one of her mom’s boyfriends (for lack of a better term) who she ditched when she got bored. She’s had a few of those and a few other ‘gentlemen callers’ over the years. Ursula’s never cared much when they go - she’s great, and she looks like THIS, she’ll find another one. Only one or two of them have ever tried to fill any sort of paternal role for Uma and neither of them would have been good dads so she’s cool with that.

- The closest thing she has to a dad is when she stops by to see her great uncle Hades. He doesn’t care about her either, but at least he’s snarky and kinda funny and he makes what passes for Greek food so she can live with it.

- Her first language his Atlantean, but not very many people speak it so it’s mostly only come up at home.

- When she was younger, she used to follow around various pirates and watch what they did. Hook never noticed, Barbossa and John Silver didn’t mind, Harriet thought it was weird but didn’t care enough to do anything, and Davy Jones’ men scared the heck out of her once when they dragged her up to him and he told her to be sneakier.

- A lot of her captaincy shtick is from skills she’s adopted from watching those pirates. She learned from her mom to always get her price, from Davy Jones how to get more, from Hook that there is always a loophole (and you always crack down on disloyalty or shoddy work), about the value of charisma from Barbossa, the value of knowing your crew from Silver, and she watched what worked and what didn’t from Harriet. Harriet’s more like a big sister, but she sometimes used to joke that the others were her ‘pirate dads’.

- She’s the one who takes care of Flotsam and Jetsam most of the time these days. She can’t help but be a bit annoyed by it. “Those two sea slugs live better than I do!” Her mother certainly treats them better.

- She takes care of her sisters a lot - it’s a pain and it was not fun having them run around underfoot when she was working. It’s gotten much easier since they learned to play violin and they do that all day now. It’s only annoying when she desperately needs sleep and they refuse to shut up. Seriously, she’s lucky to get 5 or 6 hours most nights.

- Uma knows how to brew. She does it for the shoppe all the time. Food and booze are always being stolen, so mostly she has Cook heat up whatever is left.

- The night after she had her crew assembled, she snuck onto Davy Jones ship, in his cabin, and woke him. She was sitting on his desk twirling a key around (not THAT key, but one for a cabinet or something) and asked sweetly ‘Am I sneaky enough now?’ He laughed and then yelled at her to get out. Worth it.

Harry Position: First Mate Tattoo: Left wrist

- Harry probably knows the most about things like rigging, sailing, navigating a ship, pirate culture for lack of another term, etc. Not only was he raised by pirates but he was always following his dad, trying to get his attention. It rarely worked but he picked up quite a bit. It’s his job to make sure the crew is satisfied, manage problems (or refer them to Uma) and he’s basically Uma’s voice when she’s not there.

- He has very occasional episodes of asthma attacks when he gets over excited or his heart rate goes too high. It doesn’t happen every time, but it’s happened a few times over his life and it scares the LIVING HELL out of Harriet and Uma. Uma tends to keep him calm to avoid these (and/or rage episodes, those happen to).

- He did most of the recruiting for the crew, if I recall segments from the books correctly, and so he’s usually their first impression of the crew and the person who knows them really well.

- The Jolly Roger (Hook’s ship) is like a third base of operations when they can’t go to the ship or Ursula’s shoppe. His room is like sticking a bunch of sardines in but it’s cool for when there’s nowhere else to go.

- He is always torturing the first year girls with smirks, winks, hat tips, etc. to the amusement of the rest of the crew.

- Nobody is sure why he carries around a watch YOU CAN’T TELL TIME YOU STUBBORN POTATO.

- He is really good at navigating. Not as good as his little sister and sometimes his directions are off (he has to do that left and right hand trick all the time) but he’s pretty decent.

- List of things he hates: Loud noises (reminds him of the various loud noises on the Jolly Roger - dad yelling, gunshots, cannons, thunder when they’re on the water, etc.), being in transparent spaces he can’t leave like behind bars or glass (dad locked him in the brig a lot) and small spaces (again, the brig).

- He sometimes makes suggestions for things Uma could do to punish people who cross her. Pirate ideas are gruesome so it can get ugly. He also had to explain what ‘the captain’s daughter’ meant. NO, throwing someone in bed with the captain’s daughter does not mean an actual girl, it means whipping them with a SCOURGE.

- A lot of his skills are self taught. He learned to do eyeliner and warpaint by practicing on himself (and occasionally his little sister), he learned to play the piano by sitting and plunking at it when he was bored, he learned to tie knots by tying them when the adults were busy, he learned to sword fight by playing with CJ and Uma and the other pirate’s kids, he learned to fight for real by getting in fights, etc. He learns best by doing or by listening as opposed to writing things down or reading. Gil Position: Second Mate Tattoo: Left bicep

- Gil doesn’t really dislike his brothers and sometimes they even get along, but they’re both even bigger and stronger than he is and they like to fight with him and each other. They knock stuff over and break things and upset his mother and he doesn’t like that. He’s bodily dragged them outside before when they refused to listen to her.

- His mother is a Bimbette - the one in green. She’s normally very nice but she’s also very passive aggressive and when her kids annoy her, she’s prone to withdrawing affection and making them beg for her to acknowledge them again, and she tends to enable Gaston. She won’t say anything against him.

- Gaston has a very tenuous connection with his family. He has strict ideas of what they’re ‘supposed’ to be and he’s not above physically coercing them to do so. He doesn’t do a lot of beating, but a lot of blackmail, emotional abuse, shoving them in a closet and locking them there until he deems them fit to leave, manipulation, and manhandling are on the table. He likes to ‘wrestle’ with Gil - which is just playing for him, but for Gil it’s actually really painful and hurts a lot. He’s always making his mother cry too and its not unheard of for him to cheat on her or for him to make her leave temporarily. She stays with her sisters during that time but she’ll always come back begging for him later and Gaston will take her because she can cook and clean and raise the children. When Gil asked, she explained that was what love was - you’d do whatever you could to make someone happy, even if it’s bad for you. Is it bad if, despite his dad positioning himself as someone to look up to, Gil doesn’t think it’d be THAT bad if he finally has the big heart attack Harriet’s always saying he’ll have if he doesn’t stop eating so many eggs?

- Gil is responsible for collecting the eggs the family eat, and he takes care of the chickens (there’s like two or three his dad grabbed once when they were small, but they don’t lay nearly enough so it’s still his job to find more).

- Gil’s pretty good at cooking! If he were somewhere they could actually get decent food, he’d probably be able to help out Yamato.

- The constant noise and fighting at his house make him desperate for people to ...not be friends, that’s not possible, but he’d settle for an equilibrium where they can be not fighting. He tries to mediate and make fights stop and keep people happy. Sadly for him, the people he likes who he wants to keep happy are pirates.

- He didn’t really break off with Uma and Harry for any big reason. There wasn’t a fight or even a thing where he told them he didn’t want to be friends anymore. They just got busier as they got older and he started spending more time with his brothers and Le Fou Deux. Stuff changed. There definitely weren’t any hard feelings.

- His dad and his brothers are always making fun of him. They say he’s too much like their mother. He doesn’t get how that’s a bad thing but they say it is.

- As the Second Mate, it’s his job to make sure nobody harms the rest of the crew, keep the first watch, and be in charge of the ship’s distress flares.

- He’s a very literal thinker, but he’s also good at coming up with the easiest, simplest solutions that others miss because they overthink things.

Desiree Position: Quartermaster Tattoo: Right calf

- She’s by all accounts a sweet, stupid, sort of childish girl who’s perpetually getting distracted, but has a mean enough right hook that trying to steal or harm her isn’t worth it. In other words, someone seen as annoying on the Isle, so she simply gets ignored by everybody. And who can blame them? Who would think sweet, cheery little Desiree who just sits there blowing bubbles in her whiskey could POSSIBLY be Uma’s fly on the wall? She listens in on their secrets and plans and then Uma knows her enemies next move before she should even know who her enemies ARE.

- In reality, she’s very calculating, pragmatic, strategic, rebellious, enthusiastic and witty. She reserves whatever warmth she has for her crew and tends to keep her facade up unless the crew is alone.

- Desiree is a vicious girl. Her father, Shan Yu didn’t want his children to do anything but learn to fight and any mistakes or ‘defiance’ were met with horrific punishment - and her mother, Khulan, was no better. She was nearly killed by Desiree’s labour and so she terrorized her in particular, causing her to be even more afraid of her than Shan Yu. She grew up afraid of his pet bird and his men, because they would always tell him when she did something he wouldn’t approve of. When she was 9, the Firebird burned out the Hun compound and a chunk of town. In the riot that followed, she ran away from her mother and into the street. Since she was 9 she’s survived on the margins of the Isle, avoiding drawing attention to herself so she wouldn’t be dragged back to the Hun compound. Her father’s forced diverting her from anything impractical (which usually ended up being things traditionally seen as feminine, other than the things she’d need to take care of him and their mother in their old age) led to her stealing a peasant dress and dyeing streaks in her hair as a form of ‘teenage rebellion’ (i.e. ‘fuck you, I’ll do stereotypically feminine things if I want’). She DID however, pick up his ability to look at small details and analyze the enemies position and make a plan from it, which is something none of her siblings ever did. She has four - her oldest brother, Ganzorig, is strong and talented at fighting, but not very smart. Her older sister, Oyunchimeg, is brutal and cruel, but untalented at the support roles like tracking, hunting, etc. and she doesn’t have her brother’s raw strength. Her middle brother, Chingis, has no talent for hand to hand, but a brilliant mind. She was never able to excel in fighting or strategy, only the support roles. She had to work hard to get good at fighting and strategy and she didn’t truly pick it up until she was in the streets. She’s not been back to the compound or anywhere near it (including the Jolly Roger) since then, but she’s heard she has a little brother, Batbayar, who is everything their parents wanted. He’s six now. One of her secret ambitions is to sneak back into the compound, find him, and take him home to the ship. Conversely, the threat of going back to the compound is the only that that makes her show fear (even her fear of birds is expressed with annoyance).

- She’s never used the kinds of swords pirates use. It was tricky to adjust from the kind of swords she’s used to. Harry and Uma made effective motivators though, she’s a fast learner and she was determined to be part of the new crew. When she couldn’t fight anymore for her own reasons, she’d get up and fight out of spite. And when she ran out of spite, she responded particularly to things like ‘Come on, don’t you want the captain/the crew/whatever to live?’ and that got her up again. She’s one of the more talented sword fighters now that she’s got the hang of it.

- She was not sure what she liked, romantically, for a long time. Definitely girls, but she was not sure if there’s anything else there. She found she did like boys as well after a moment with Harry - the shoppe was empty aside from them and Uma, who was in the kitchen. Harry was playing on the piano. It was slow and sad and she’s sure he didn’t know she was there, but she thought his playing was beautiful. Obviously she couldn’t SAY that, so she just said he was good at it. She also thought about how her dad would say music was a waste of time, there was no practical reason for his kids to play music (he doesn’t care what others in his camp are letting their kids do), and so obviously she asked him if he’d teach her. She’s still not great but Harry’s heard worse. Honestly though, she has a very heavy preference for girls. Show her Uma’s face and she’ll still melt - if she likes pretty girls, Uma is the PRETTIEST girl. And she’s not above poaching Harry’s moves to get Uma (or any other girl she likes) attention.

- English isn’t her first language. Hunnic is. She’s pretty fluent by now, but she still trips occasionally on expressions, slang, and things of that nature, but no moreso than a native speaker who hasn’t heard it before. That’s okay - she plays up her lack of understanding slang as part of her ‘ditzy’ persona. Some people think she’s like Gil - a literal thinker. Which is fine with her - if they don’t know she understands their slang, they don’t know she understands their plan perfectly.

- Her birth name isn’t Desiree either. It’s Sarnai. She started telling people it was Desiree to distance herself from her father. If they hear about ‘an idiot girl’ named Sarnai who ‘ran away’ to ‘play’ pirate, her dad’s army will storm the ship in a matter of hours. If they hear about a Desiree though, they have no need to worry about her. She’s also known to hide from them on the street. Uma is the only one who knows.

- Most people aren’t quite sure why Uma let her be on her crew. There’s four theories that go around. 1) That she’s been given a simple job, like recruiting others or keeping up morale, or heck, maybe Uma picked her up because she’s SOMEHOW good at math and Harry’s not (these people don’t seem to know Uma’s also good at math). 2) That Uma was weak and took pity on this idiot and let her on the ship. 3) That Uma just likes the attention of Desiree following her like a puppy. Or 4) That Uma doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing about picking a pirate crew and made a huge mistake. Those who hold the last theory make Desiree angriest and she relishes when the crew gets to move on them, especially when Uma lets her have at them. Her job on the ship is to sort minor disputes, and dole things out - their pay, their shifts, punishments, etc.

- She has a massive sweet tooth, but she’s not had the chance to discover that yet. Rum is the sweetest thing she gets to taste regularly.

- She’s very artistic. Her style is very structured, but also involves a lot of improvising for material. Her favourite thing to do is make mosaics. She gets her material from glass, rocks, pieces of wood, dye, and other little debris from around the Isle and then melts them together over a fire.

Gonzo Position: Tech officer Tattoo: Chest

- His mother is one of the ‘women of the night’ pirates like to visit. She neglected him for years and finally abandoned him when he was six or so so that she’d have more money. He never knew his dad.

- He’s run wild in the streets to get food or other things to survive so often that most people assume he’s an orphan. Honestly, he may as well be.

- The first person on the future crew he met was Desiree, when she was hiding. He brought her with him to Serpent Prep, where he went to school, and they started teaming up for food and clothes and shelter.

- He’s really good with wiring, technology, and things like that. He’s gotten a few things working. On the ship, he hooked up speakers and got them to work so they can communicate around the ship, and he managed to make a lighting system for the ship. If he lived somewhere with an actual technology program or computers that worked, I don’t know what he could get done. He doesn’t trust Yen Sid and he certainly doesn’t trust Callaghan.

- He’s fierce - it doesn’t take much for him to get in a fight.

- He had his doubts about the crew at first - it was run by ‘Shrimpy’ with Hook’s crazy son and an idiot as her enforcers? Yeah, he was unsure. The first time Uma rallied her crew though, his doubts evaporated.

- He has a serious respect for competence. Ask him what he likes about the crew - “They’re badass. We’ll get the job done.” That was enough until he made friends with them. Now they’re pretty ride or die.

- Being one of the nerds on the crew really hasn’t stopped him from being very good with a sword, to their enemies disappointment. He can knock some heads as well as anybody. Actually, bashing people’s heads is how he bonds with a lot of the crew. Otherwise, he has a very dry and kinda stoic sense of humour.

- He mostly sleeps on the ship now. It’s better than sleeping at the abandoned apartment he called ‘home’ until then.

- He tends to think on his feet. It was much easier when he was a street kid, but it’s a lot harder now that he has to think about how what he does will affect his friends. It’s worth it though, even if he can’t say that out loud. He’s amused by their antics and they know it.

Jonas Position: Boatswain Tattoo: Right bicep

- His dad was either a soldier or a pirate who ditched him when he was little, and his mother was so high she could never remember his name. With a good chunk of the neighbours being bigger and stronger than him, he had to be ferocious enough to fight them off and take food and other necessities.

- Jonas tries to get his mom to stop taking that stuff she does, but she either screams in his face about how he’s the worst son on the Isle and how he wants her to be sick and in pain all the time, or she hits him. Honestly though, she does that when she’s high too.

- He used to be a very small kid, so fighting like a cornered person was his best bet - ferocity equalled survival. He grew up to be much bigger but he’s still ferocious.

- He is so over dramatic. His whole sense of humour is based on exaggerating people’s feelings by making faces or copying them in an melodramatic voice.

- He is very faux chivalrous to the ladies on the crew, especially his captain. He’s only too happy to lift her up or offer her his hand. He’d probably be the one saying ‘M’lady’ as a joke. Honestly, he’s fallen half in love with her just by joking with her and the other half is with all the turf they’ve taken.

- To survive, he learned to make things. He’s got an eye for design and aesthetics. He has a hard time finding material, so he’s mostly made things like scarves and other small accessories like that. Evie was always stealing from him, he HATES HER SO MUCH.

- He tends to keep his braid up to keep it from getting overly dirty. Washing it is a pain.

- He has a very loud laugh. It’s a lot of fun to hear.

- Don’t mess with him - he’s a big guy and he has a big temper. He’ll punch you.

- It’s his job to use that detail oriented eye to check the hull, sail, anchor, rigging, etc. for any problems and let them know if they needed to be fixed.

Bonny Position: Gunner Tattoo: Stomach

- Bonny’s parents were pirates and robbers. She grew up uncertain of anything because her parents kept telling her what she remembered was wrong and that she didn’t understand anything, along with just plain lying. She wasn’t allowed to do anything and they kept telling her she couldn’t do things.

- She was 12 by the time she finally caught out they had been lying to her - it was such a small, stupid lie too. They’d told her that she remembered where she got something wrong. When she was on her way back, she checked with the store owner and he told her no, she didn’t buy that thing here, you got it there. She was so confused about what was real and what wasn’t and finally it hit her - parents can lie. She tried to talk to them and obviously that went badly - they made her doubt everything she ever thought was true. The moment of clarity was when she was cleaning and she found the receipt. She WAS right and her parents WERE lying. She didn’t bother to confront them that time. She grabbed a bag of stuff and ran.

- Since leaving her restrictive ‘my way or the highway’ family, she’s become incredibly impulsive and even borderline reckless. She’s got a loud, carefree laugh, and she does whatever she wants when she wants to. That, and a couple of her habits (like double checking the names of everything or the date) have caused people to make fun of her.

- She tended to stay in the background around the Isle and school. She didn’t have any way to explain what she’d gone through. Sometimes she still doubts her sanity. She’s a powerful fighter though who has a lot of fun laughing her way through a good scrap.

- When she heard Harry was recruiting for a pirate crew, she marched up to him on a whim and said ‘I want in.’ He only vaguely knew her around Serpent Prep but he liked her style.

- Sometimes she still has to ask Uma if something surprising or coincidental had really happened and whether or not she’d imagined or forgotten something that made it less random. Uma’s never questioned it and she loves Uma for that.

- She likes to lurk. If you see her hanging around behind a chair or a bar, just leave her. She probably won’t attack anybody, she just likes to skulk around like a cat.

- Her sword skills need a little more work - she’s very aggressive and leaves herself open, but with cannons, her aim is FANTASTIC. She’s been put in charge of making sure gunpowder and the cannons are in good working order.

- She likes to tease her friends but it’s all in camaraderie.

- She’s a hard drinking partier. She can be very rowdy and loves having fun. If there’s a lot of rebel yelling, it’s just because she’s enjoying herself.

Gabe Position: Helmsman Tattoo: Between the collarbones

- Gabe looks a couple years younger than he is. He looks like he’s 14 when he’s like 16-17. He hates it.

- He is SO OVER THE TOP MY GOD. He has to make everything a production. It’s not his fault he’s having fun!

- He didn’t really have anybody to model himself after to teach him to be cool or tough - he didn’t have siblings, he just had parents who were killed as part of a gang thing when he was young. Nowadays, he tends to copy his male friends, especially Harry, Jonas, and Gonzo. It ...has mixed success.

- He particularly tries to copy Harry and Jonas’ swagger when flirting with the girls. THAT has never worked but he’s trying so hard to make them laugh and being so awkward it kinda spirals around to adorable. That’s not really a good thing on the Isle, but flattery is nice so it’s kinda easy to appreciate it anyways. He also likes to build things and so he’ll sometimes make them things.

- He’s very considerate. Oh, Uma’s standing there? Hey, Zhao, come help him move her chair so she can sit down. Oh, Harry’s gonna dance for her? Hey, guys, come on, let’s do the ‘raise her up’ thing, it’ll be fun!

- He’s not the strongest fighter, but he’s very fast and a dirty fighter. It kinda made up for it. Regardless, he almost didn’t make it in. Uma doesn’t regret it though - he’s ended up being very supportive.

- Once Harry was showing them how to do things, it turned out he had a knack for steering the ship and plotting courses. It didn’t take long for him to be pilot.

- He’s very protective of his crew. Kinda like a yappy puppy who bites at heels.

- He has a lot of nerve. It takes a lot to scare him off. He may be little, but he’s scrappy. Go on, hit him, he can do this all day. You better kill him if you want him to stay down.

- He has a habit of saying things he thinks sound cool and then someone mishears him. When he tries to correct them, his friends are just like ‘No, let them think that, what they said sounds way better’. He’s always pouting about it. LET GABE BE COOL. IT’S NOT HIS FAULT HE’S ACTUALLY A DORK.

Morwenna Position: Medic Tattoo: Right knee

- She’s the daughter of a pirate medic and a ‘healer’ (i.e. a witch) who was sent to the Isle for use of dark magic and also her experiments. She grew up reading their old notes and listening to their ideas for medicine.

- They were using her for unethical behaviour experiments (mostly seeing what would cause her distress) and mostly expected her to be their little mini them. Anything unbecoming of their version of a doctor was met with swift and harsh retribution.

- When she was 15, she found out someone she’d had one encounter with had gotten her pregnant. His name was Peter and he refused to help when she finally hunted him down.

- She didn’t want to get an abortion because they were dicey without hospital technology. Yzma is supposed to be very good at providing them without harming the mother, but she didn’t want to risk it. Mind, childbirth is a huge risk on the Isle as well. Nearly half of first timers have complications in birth.

- She took the chance and confided in her parents. They....didn’t take it well. Her dad hit her and she was basically thrown out of the house. They didn’t want another mouth to feed or a daughter who would stray so far from their plans.

- She ended up giving birth to a son in an alley. She named him Wade Logan. He lived maybe a week before he died from Vitamin K deficiency. She was devastated and aimless. Her parents still wouldn’t take her back. Finally she decided to bury her son. She left a note on Peter’s door saying ‘Your son died’ and that was it.

- Honestly, she was so depressed she barely ate. She couldn’t sleep, she didn’t bother taking care of herself. For a while she threw herself into reckless fights she couldn’t win. Everything was a big grey blah. Thankfully, she didn’t come down with post partum depression, but regardless she was a mess. She only became semi-functional again about a month before Uma gathered her crew (she’s 17, almost 18 now - he’d be nearly 3).

- She originally didn’t intend to join. She was in the crowd watching where Uma won her ship. There was something...sort of uplifting watching the girl they all called Shrimpy win her own ship and forming her own crew. When she heard Harry was recruiting she offered her services as a medic before she knew what she was doing. Learning to sword fight and swim and speak Atlantean left her very busy and being on a crew gave her a purpose and a chance to use her skills again. And most importantly, another purpose - fighting Auradon. After all, if her son had been born in Auradon, he would be alive. They monitor for Vitamin K deficiency and give injections to babies who are too low. It took everything she had not to scream at Ben when she saw him. If her son had been born in Auradon, he would have LIVED. She wanted to cry. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to never stop screaming. What she actually did was go below deck and sterilize her equipment as best she could for the fight coming up. Her crew doesn’t know all the details, but they do know she lost her son. Most people only know she was pregnant at some point. Most people who didn’t see her after that didn’t pay much attention and figured she probably went to see Yzma.

- She’s very strongly committed to science (and will probably get into healing magic when she’s off the Isle). She will fight any and all peddlers of pseudoscience in medicine. Her bedside manner may leave something to be desired, and she might have the same looser relationship with scientific ethics that Evie does, but she WILL keep her crew alive. They’re what she has left. Morwenna is a Mom Friend extraordinaire. She also likes to sit in the back and watch her friends party. Watching them have fun makes her happy. She’ll jam along in her chair.

- She doesn’t tend to join the crew in sword fights. She usually stays below deck, preparing her equipment. When she does join, she uses her healer’s knowledge of the body to MESS PEOPLE UP. She knows all the bits to aim at.

Lex Position: Cartographer Tattoo: Lower back

- He grew up with his family - they like to hit and scream. They’re of the kind who want him to repress all his emotions so he can focus on causing the greatest pain to others.

- If you ask him, he’d never admit it, but he feels terrible about that. He wishes he’d been allowed at least anger or violence. .

- He kinda hangs out with Zeke. They like to go out and get some drinks after work.

- Before he joined the crew, he didn’t get out a ton - he was stuck coming home after school and running the front at the store. He’s good at it, which kind of makes him feel worse. Bringing him out though kinda shook him to the core. It was exhilarating seeing parts of the Isle he didn’t get to before. It was also a rush of freedom. It didn’t take long to decide he wanted to see more.

- He feels listless when he has nothing to do. He needs to be doing something. He might volunteer for busy work when he has nothing else to do.

- He’s a bit of a perfectionist - there’s no point doing stuff if it’s not done well. It bugs him when things are unresolved and he kinda tends to ‘turn off’ his feelings so he can think. It’s not healthy but what IS on the Isle?

- It’s a little uncomfortable watching the rest of the crew being wild and emotional and having fun. He’s never had that.

- As he explores more of the Isle, he decides to make a map one day when he’s bored. It’s a bit crude, and admittedly his drawing skills need work, but it’s helpful. As time goes on, he adds more detail and expands on it and it ends up looking great.

- Turns out he gets rather passionate about travelling and transportation. He was fascinated by the ship and how it worked. If nothing else, he spent an enjoyable afternoon listening to Harry talk about ships.

- When he finally gets back in touch with his emotions, it hits HARD. He laughs hard, he rages hard, he fights hard, it’s pretty intense for a while.

Malachi Position: Right Lookout Tattoo: Left ankle

- Malachi’s parents and three little brothers were butchered by robbers when he was young. The only reason he wasn’t is because he wasn’t in the house and the robbers didn’t know how many kids there were.

- Now, his parents were apathetic and didn’t really care about the kids unless they needed them for something (and the consequences for failure were grievous) but it was someone they were home with. He was most upset about his oldest little brother - they were very close and got along very well.

- He still lives in that house - there’s no point in leaving a perfectly good shelter. Even if it causes nightmares and he wakes up shaking and he can’t stop seeing blood and bodies that have long since faded away.

- It’s not lost on him that his brothers wouldn’t have been murdered if he lived in Auradon, away from those robbers.

- He can be very bitter and vengeful to those who’ve crossed him - he never really had a way to get back at the robbers. They were gone by the time he got there and has no idea who they were, so knocking heads is a good way to get ahead.

- He’s capable of being very suave and charming when he wants to be, but it’s always to lure people into his traps. Or flirting. That happens to. Which is which? Well, good luck finding that out.

- He’s prone to getting mad and sloppy when he fights and he leaves himself open to cheap shots. That fight with Evie might change that tbh. No More Mr. Nice Pirate.

- He tends not to sweat petty stuff. Who cares about some jerk trying to get a rise out of him? Either punch him or don’t, he doesn’t care. He’s happy to wait until he can beat them effectively.

- He’s really into finding ways to talk to people. Information is power, at least in some cases.

- He’s a lousy book learner. He has to put it in doable terms. He can read about syntax all he wants, but reading is only good for learning to read and reading to analyze. He’s better at talking to people until he picks up what they mean.

Yamato Position: Cook Tattoo: Neck

- Yamato has a very dry sense of humour. He likes to joke about his friends being reckless or thoughtless teenagers. He acts like a snarky old man sometimes. Point that out to him and he has the perfect stereotypical old person comment.

- He’s a really good cook. Like, he can make the food on the Isle seem semi-edible, if not appetizing.

- He’s not nearly as stoic as he seems to be, but it’s how he goes about the Isle on the day to day. He can actually seem very chill and friendly. Trusting this is a mistake. If he’s smiling and easy going, he’s actually very mad and planning your downfall. If he says, ‘Let’s have a chat, friend’, run in the opposite direction because he’s about to mess your face up.

- His dad was a sorcerer, and his parents both froze over a bad winter.

- He tends to aim for things that are a couple sizes too big for him so that he can grow into them, or use them as blankets.

- He REALLY likes kids. They’re adorable and don’t deserve to be stuck on the Isle. He’d be their snarky big brother if he could. Except he’d probably hate being responsible for kids, so no, please go away, be adorable someplace else, who’s kid is this? His attitude is best summed up as ‘Yes, hi, you’re adorable, now go away.’

- He’s very much the Dad friend. He’ll probably join in the fun and laugh but he’ll also like, grab the back of someone’s jacket when they’re about to be reckless and be like ‘Uh, no, that’s not for you. Very bad, no biscuit’ He likes to team up with Uma when he’s like this, especially if the reckless person is Harry.

- He’s much stronger than he looks. People have found this out to their sorrow.

- He probably has some magic in him, but good luck with that on the Isle.

- He’s very pragmatic when it comes to solving problems. No muss, no fuss, just figure out a solution and do it. Your girlfriend’s mad? Get her something pretty, c’mon, this isn’t rocket science. You’re hungry? Steal something. NOT from him, you’ll regret it. Stuff like that. He’s very bluntly honest.

Rosita Position: Steward Tattoo: Right hand

- Rosita’s mother died giving birth to her and her father was killed in a fight he started with an Auradon guard on a supply ship when she was like 4. She thinks her parents were from Spain, because she remembers them (as in, her and her dad) talking about it.

- She’s mostly gotten by on charm. She’s very good at analyzing people and what they’ll respond best to, flattering those who want to hurt her and getting people to steal things for her or back her up. And if that doesn’t work, she improvises.

- Improvises in this case means she will smack you with whatever is closest to her, and if that’s a brick, oh well, you shouldn’t have come at her.

- She’s very feminine and she won’t apologize for wanting to look nice. She trades on charm, so it’s important to her work. Right now, she works a lot as another one of Uma’s ‘flys on the wall’. Unlike Desiree, who listens in while being ignored, Rosita will get up close to someone and flatter them. She’ll chat a little, joke a little, until they give her the information and think it was their idea. Then she sneaks into the ship later and gives Uma the goods.

- She’s very outwardly affectionate. Arms around people, the occasional hug, LOTS of pet names (seriously, if you hear her talking to the crew and she doesn’t use the word ‘darling’ something is wrong). It helps disarm any threat that comes with being part of the pirate crew. Most of it is a ruse, but it’s far more genuine with the crew - her smile is smaller and warmer, her voice is softer, she sounds happier and more confident instead of bravado.

- She’s much fiercer than people think. She’s surprised a lot of people by threatening them when they annoy her. The crew kinda loves it? It’s hilarious. She doesn’t really have a quick temper, but if you push her or if you harm her crew, the claws come out.

- Her actual job on the crew that people know about is that she restocks the supplies and keeps watch on their stores. She’s also in charge of the chore wheel and spinning it to see who does what day to day chore. She, Morwenna, Yamato, and Uma have deemed themselves ‘Team Make Sure These Idiots Don’t Die’ for their various roles.

- Also? She was recruited for her ability to get stuff. Whether by charming it out of people, persuading people to take it, fighting for it, or by stealing it herself. She got on the crew when Harry saw her mixing and matching rings she was looking at and then saying she wasn’t buying anything. She walked off with a bunch of new rings, leaving behind the ones she didn’t want, and nobody was any the wiser. Harry came up to her and,before he could say anything, the stall owner confronted her. She hit him with a brick. She didn’t clock him all the way, but she grazed him enough to give him a black eye. The guy went scrambling, and Harry came out of the shadows to offer her a job.

- She was a little unsure if the crew would last. Nothing good ever lasts for her. So while she grew more attached to them and hoped it would, it took a while before she was more confident they would.

- She was in charge of collecting from Uma’s turf during the fight with Mal. She came by to see the build up to the trade, but she left when Uma ‘had the wand’ to collect some last dues.

Raphael Position: Left lookout Tattoo: Right side

- He’s very quiet. He doesn’t really relish in hurting people. He’ll do what he has to do but he won’t go out and pick a fight.

- Honestly, that’s very lucky. He’s a big guy and stronger than he looks. He could probably punch your lights out.

- He has a terrible sense of balance and not a ton of ability to pull himself up though, so he needs to work on those when he’s fighting.

- VERY PROTECTIVE. If you’re threatening a member of the crew, you might think things are all good and you might be getting away with it...until Raphael bulls into you and BAM you’ve been violently knocked out.

- He’s one of the two members of the crew who can drive. He learned how regularly (Bonny’s the other one, she taught herself by breaking into cars and teaching herself to hot wire them). He wants a motorcycle. He thinks it’d be cool.

- He’d probably be very good at getting into telecommunications. He kinda likes messing around with technology (though he’s not very good at it, like Gonzo is) and he thinks using it to broadcast Uma’s message would be sweet.

- He ran away when his father murdered his mother and two younger siblings. At least, he assumes it was his father - he came in screaming about how his mother took his son from him. He survived by hiding and then bolting. He’s never gone back and he doesn’t intend to.

- He’s always skulking around on the ship. Sometimes he’s hard to notice if you don’t pay attention. Pay attention. For your own sake.

- He’s a mediator, getting between silly arguments and trying to keep people on task.

- He’s awkward socially - he never knows what to say to people. He knows he likes the crew, doesn’t really like many others, and he’s big on protecting them but that’s about it. In that regard, he’s a little shy.

Micah Position: Gaoler Tattoo: Left side

- Micah ran away because he couldn’t stand the stifling neglect at home - his parents simply didn’t care about him and he gave up trying to please them. He’s very rebellious now.

- He wants to be good for something and the crew gave him that.

- He can honestly be a little flirty when it comes to the crew, although he’s not really with any others. He can’t help himself, he likes the energy on the ship.

- He really likes animals. He doesn’t flaunt it but he really likes them and would probably pet any strays who came up to the ship. And then duck because he doesn’t know if they want to eat him.

- His job is to watch any prisoners on the brig and, if necessary, get them to talk. He’s the bad cop interrogator.

- He’s snarky as heck and willing to use faux friendliness to annoy and or intimidate prisoners. He probably annoyed the heck out of Ben until they moved him to the mast.

- He doesn’t take guff from prisoners. Shut up or he’ll backhand you back down.

- He’s a fun guy to play dice or joke around with, honestly. Unlike most of the team, using friendliness isn’t his day to day thing (except with prisoners) - he IS mostly friendly. He plays up the hard ass warden shtick when he needs to.

- He likes when the prisoner is kept on the mast - that way, he can chill with the crew instead of reading a book or napping in front of the brig (and no, hopeful heroes, he doesn’t keep the key on him. If Uma wants you out, she’ll tell him). And he’s a very light sleeper.

- He bristles a lot at non-crew authority. Like, I’m sorry, Ursula, did we ask you? Or back off, principal guy. You’re not the boss here. He’s got no patience for silly rules or social conventions. Keep the useful ones, chuck the rest.

Zeke Position: Deckmaster Tattoo: Back

- He’s very smart, but he lacks ambition or charisma. He could never get people to follow him. It doesn't help that he’s kinda awkward so he has a hard time convincing people he knows what he’s doing.

- His parents don’t feed him or take care of him at all. They’re more like roommates than parents. After he was able to walk and get into things, they stopped paying attention.

- He kinda tries to take on a mentoring role but he’s bad at explaining things when he tries to do that.

- He’s good at organizing things though, so he’s perfect to set up keep everything running smoothly on deck, time managing wise.

- He probably makes terrible puns all the time that only Gabe and Gil appreciate.

- He’s also really good at number crunching and analyzing so he sometimes helps determine what they need.

- He was probably recruited for his muscle and then kept on because, while he’s very awkward and bad at articulating them, he’s got good ideas. He’s very creative and innovative.

- He likes to hang around in the crow’s nest. It helps him think to be up high and above it all.

- He’s much better at hand to hand than he is with a sword, but he’s slowly getting the hang of it.

- He’s awkward when trying to have a genuine conversation, but he’s very good at being menacing and intimidating. He likes to use his height to his advantage and crack his knuckles and talk in a deep voice.

Drey Position: Communications officer Tattoo: Right shoulder

- When she was young, her parents were deep in debt to Sykes. The Isle is basically where Sykes flourishes. Loan sharking, dealing drugs, brewing, etc. Her parents were so deep in debt, that they sold her to Sykes. I don’t think they stayed together after that.

- Sykes was kinda brutal. You don’t turn on or betray Sykes. He had her watching people, watching his office for people attacking, stealing, mugging other kids, delivering, etc.

- When she was older, he started giving her some of his drugs. The idea was she’d get hooked and be stuck with him forever, or fall in debt herself.

- She eventually managed to pay off her parents debt. After that, she was supposed to be free to go (so long as she kept up her drug tab). That’s....not what happened. He kept sending guys to harass her and try to forcefully bring her back, beating her and basically making life impossible for her. One night though, Harry knocked one of them in the head from behind (over an unrelated scuffle where he’d bumped into Harry earlier). The other one attacked Harry and while he was busy with that, she shanked the goon in the ribs. Harry laughed and told her she was good with a sword and to check out the chip shoppe if she wanted to join a crew.

- She did come to check it out, mostly because she was hoping for safety in numbers. She kept getting Sykes boys bothering her until she was sure she’d have to be on the ship 24/7. It ended one night though - someone who Sykes marked for death for stealing money from him. He came to the chip shoppe, hoping he could rely on their ‘feud’ (it wasn’t a feud - Sykes doesn’t feud, he wars). Uma had him bound, gagged, and presented him to Sykes immediately. Sykes offered her something in return, so she pointed at Drey and basically said ‘I want that one. She’s mine now, back off.’ He agreed and they didn’t bother Drey after that. Drey was so happy she was crying a little, and actually mouthed ‘thank you’. If you asked Drey, that’s the day she fell in love with Uma. Whether or not Uma wants her back, she could come up to Drey and stab her and she’d thank Uma.

- Since there isn’t much point in having communication tech, most of her job is running messages. Which is fine, she’s not too worried.

- After Uma got Sykes off her back, she was determined to quit her drug habit cold turkey. So far, it’s worked out, but withdrawal was a nightmare and she sometimes gets powerful urges to take it again, especially when she’s stressed or upset. She doesn’t want to take it, but it’s what she knows.

- She likes to party, but because she doesn’t trust herself with addictive substances, she tends to shy away from booze unless it’s a special occasion. She prides herself on running clean these days. Ahhh, sweet sobriety (even if Uma’s plan failing nearly caused her to relapse). She’s also kinda scared of needles now.

- She’s got a big soft spot for Harry too, for giving her the offer to join the crew in the first place. She’s happy to flirt and make jokes or run wild with him.

- She’s very scrappy and wild - she might not be the biggest, but she’s the one who’ll gouge your eyes.

Zhao Position: Carpenter Tattoo: Right hip

- Zhao is very good at fixing things, so that’s basically his job on the crew. If something is busted, fix it. He’s particularly good with wood and metal, so making things like new barrels, crates, fixing problems in the hull, etc. is no big thing.

- He’s SUPER FLEXIBLE. Like he can do hand springs and stand on his hands for days (probably not literally but it’s impressive).

- He tends to stare to disorient and discomfort his opponents and others.

- Zhao was always butting heads with his mother, so he finally said forget this and left.

- He lives near the Hunnic compound and so he likes to steal from Shan Yu’s shop on the way to work.

- He can go from laughing and smiling to punching in an instant if you annoy him. He prides himself on being random.

- He prefers to work quietly by himself on his building. Unless it’s Gonzo there to do some wiring, then it’s cool.

- He likes to creep people out and make them uncomfortable. Even just showing that he’s double jointed in his wrists will freak them out. So obviously, he does this maliciously.

- He’ll never be good enough for his mother. He knows that, but it still bugs him. He wants to show someone he’s good enough. When he’s feeling lousy, he’ll see if there’s something he can do around the crew. He even offered to take one of Uma’s shifts once. She didn’t take him up on it, so he whittled a shiv while she worked.

- He honestly has a lot of fun partying and dancing, especially to cheerier music, which he didn’t expect. Also, he’s learned all the pirate songs now, so the others are gonna have to deal with his off key singing forever.

Vince Position: Striker Tattoo: Between shoulder blades, on his back

- Vince is very protective. Case in point: Him fighting Lonnie one handed while trying to pull his crew mate onto the docks. It didn’t work and it kinda made things worse, but he had to TRY.

- He’s really enamoured with the pirate lifestyle. Swinging from rigging, sword fighting, etc.

- He’s not the strongest fighter, but he means well and he’s an earnest and hard worker. And he can be, like, scary smart. It’s freaky how much he could get done if he had access to a decent lab.

- He gets mistaken for Gabe a lot and he’s so done with it. He’s got darker hair, people, come on!

- He’s honestly far more frightened than he’d ever care to admit. It’s hard not to be when every night is a night of ‘duck mom’s beer bottle’ and his dad belittling verbal, physical and emotional abuse pushing at him until he cracks. At least his mom will just throw things at him.

- When he cracks? Run. He will start punching and punching and punching until someone pulls him away and his knuckles are bleeding and split and dear god, what did he do to that person’s FACE? That’s probably how he got recruited onto the crew. Uma saw him pound someone’s face in, told Harry ‘Get that one to join’ and so he asked if he wanted to join the crew. It not only gave him a purpose, but a way his anger can be productive, a crew, and somewhere to spend the night away from his parents (especially if he got in a fist fight with dad).

- He’s good at engineering. When some of the heavier equipment is busted, he, Gonzo, and Raphael will try to take a look at it and see what they can do.

- He’s very good at stalking, tracking, and hunting. It’s how he survived when his dad didn’t feel like feeding him and he was too weak to fight people for food. So now his job is to fish and hunt on the water. It’s not too bad, Harry joins him sometimes. It’d be a lot more important on the open water, but they’re not on the open water and they won’t be for some time.

- Sometimes he doubts he can get off the Isle. Not because he doesn’t trust Uma, because he does, he’d go down SWINGING for Uma, but it feels like they don’t have the resources or power to get off right now.

- He does a lot to keep his anger under wraps. He doesn’t relish in it. He doesn’t like how it makes him short sighted, stubborn, and less strategic. He wants to keep himself in control. It’s like a film he can’t scrub off and it kinda scares him. He’d never apologize, you don’t APOLOGIZE on the Isle, but he’s deeply afraid of it and he’d rather work in the lab or fish. When he’s feeling disgruntled about his being angry, he’ll go fishing, catch something until it stops breathing, and then put it back in the water and coax it back to life. He’s also found screaming helps but then the crew tends to check on him and he’d rather not. Most of the time, he likes to joke and goof around and tease his friends, but when they happen, it’s chilling.

Ryker Position: Gun crew Tattoo: Left Shoulder

- He dated Uma in their first year. Uma broke up with him when she didn’t have enough time for a relationship. He notices she always had time to hang out with Harry though.

- After the crew lost to Mal in D2 and started recruiting a little extra help, he joined up hoping he could get Uma back. There was, ah, ‘some friction’ with some of the crew who were already around. Things settled over time and over fighting mutual enemies. There’s just some things that you can’t do without becoming friends and it turns out defending your turf is one of those things. And well...everyone’s drooling over Uma, so it’s not that hard to adjust too for most of them.

- He lives with his dad. His dad’s a drunk and a beater. Ryker fights back and the two have come to blows a lot. That’s how he lost his eye.

- Ryker keeps the eyepatch at all times - infections suck and he doesn’t really want people poking at his eye more than necessary.

- Ryker likes to be helpful and he likes to learn, but he��s sometimes not very good at it. He can’t help but be a smart ass.

- Ryker is jealous about the crew as well when he settles in. They’ve spent more time helping her become the new self proclaimed Queen and she seems happier here than she ever was in their relationship (fulfillment and the confidence boost helped).

- Ryker’s a daredevil. It doesn’t take much prompting to get him to do something stupid. He’s not good at planning or thinking things through, even when he tries.

- He’s loyal, and he’ll work hard. It’s one of the saving graces in bringing yet another big reckless guy on board.

- Ryker is pretty good at gift giving. He’s not got many opportunities to indulge in it, but he’s got a knack for picking things people will enjoy.

- He doesn’t like bugs. They. Are. Gross. Yes, he knows he lives on the Isle. He does not care.

Mi-Suk/Seong Position: Gun crew Tattoo: Left of Left calf

- They’re non-binary - specifically, genderfluid. They shift between male or female. They tend to go by Mi-Suk on ‘she’ days and Seong on ‘he’ days. Either or is fine on neutral days - but they’ll cut you off to tell you when you get it wrong, and if you do it repeatedly or on purpose you’ll get something thrown at you. They love the nickname “Mimi” though, and that’s always okay to use.

- Mi-Suk is incredibly impulsive. They do what they want when they want. They basically joined the crew on a whim. What? Pirates are cool. ...Sadly, a lot of the time the impulse is a fight.

- They can be very easily distracted and sometimes quite vexing with their smart ass tendencies.

- That said, they are very very good at improvising. They’re pretty good at using the environment to their advantage and picking random weapons.

- They ran away from home - their parents didn’t pay much attention to them. They always got the impression they were an unwanted imposition. They started acting out partially out of spite and partially to get their attention. They wonder if their parents even noticed they’re gone.

- They fidget a lot. They can’t help it. They hate to stay still.

- School is rough for them. They don’t like sitting down and listening and taking instruction from people without knowing why. They’re better at learning by doing things or by experiencing things. At the very least, it’s better if the teacher explains why they need to know things.

- They sleepwalk. Part of the way they explored the Isle so much is finding their way home.

- They’re a bit of a prankster - albeit, more harmless than is usual on the Isle.

- If they decide they like someone (like their crew) they’re a pretty open emotional book. If not, they can verbally run around in circles and dodge questions like a master.

Dante Position: Rigmaster Tattoo: Left hip

- Dante grew up on the very outskirts of the Isle, close to the tree line of the forbidden forest. He grew up with his aunt, who put him to work at her store. She treated him more like a worker who lived with her than any sort of family. Mostly we’re looking at the verbal and emotional abuse common with minions, but occasional physical abuse happened too.

- Dante didn’t really see much more outside his aunt’s store. It seemed like all there were were his aunt, the wood they sold, and the people who just saw him as some backwoods minion kid. He basically found life to be, well, colourless and dull. Since joining the crew, he wants to see and do it all. He also has a thirst to prove himself worthy of getting to the top of whatever situation he’s in. His skill with knots have him in charge of tying up and setting the rigging of the ship and so he’s committed to being the best rigmaster (and getting the most of Uma’s attention).

- He was at the docks selling wood to pirates when the hostage exchange for Ben went down. Uma was like a flash of colour in his life, and she was only more intriguing when he saw her attack Cotillion on a bar tv. That kind of magic was thoroughly enchanting to him and he had no compunctions about running away when her recruiting call went out.

- Dante is a flirt and a charmer. He’s a real romantic, but that’s hard when romance has no place on the Isle. Doubly so when he was head over heels enchanted by Uma.

- Dante has a silver tongue. He’s usually pretty good at getting people to do what he wants. Whether that’s a good idea or not is a whole other issue.

- He’s about as well read as he can be on an island filled with recyclables and garbage. He’s spent a lot of time between classes and going home looking at books. TV fascinates him too - not so much how it works so much as the information and stories it spreads and what people do with that information. Yeah, watch him turn into a pop culture freak.

- He daydreams a lot. It can be hard to get his attention when he's thinking of something else. His aunt used to scream at him a lot about that.

- He’s a lot less confident than he comes off. He’s awkward about having grown up on the outskirts of even the Isle and about his place in the crew’s esteem. He generally uses that silver tongue to be more suave and easy going than he is.

- He’s got a million ‘boredom games’ like throwing wads of paper into baskets. He needed them.

- Dante is Atlantean as well, and he speaks the language. It’s always frustrated him that he could feel magic in his blood but just out of reach. Around other Atlanteans, he feels it so strongly it practically hums. It’s a feeling he’s gotten VERY used to around Uma.

Roz Position: Scholar Tattoo: Back

- Roz got abandoned when she was 8 years old. She was small and skinny and her family didn’t need another mouth to feed in the winter. She’s survived through using her frighteningly sharp mind to come up with strategies and schemes to get food and shelter.

- She can count cards like a pro. She’s gambled her way to dinner with this trick more often than she cares to admit. Sometimes the gambling is a little too habit forming to be comfortable, but she was too poor for principles.

- She loves school. She doesn’t love how little she learns when people are screaming though.

- Her talent for sniffing out information and looking for it in ways or places she shouldn’t has come in handy when the crew’s been looking for new turf or information on their enemies. Roz has noticed and is working towards making herself indispensable.

- She joined the crew for safety in numbers. She almost didn’t cut it because of her lack of athleticism, but she strategized her way around this and got Uma’s attention.

- Roz has grapheme-colour synesthesia. In other words, she sees words, letters, numbers, etc. in different colours. She mostly uses this to colour code and organize information. She tends to avoid things she sees as colours that disgust her (for example - she doesn’t drink coffee because she sees it as a vomitous green-brown colour). She’s drawn to the lemon-lime green colour she sees the word ‘Uma’ as however.

- She likes when people do things for her. It didn’t happen much before the Isle, but it’s nice when people will do things for her. Even if it’s just hand her her pen while she takes notes.

- Roz tends to think in terms of webs, connections, timelines, etc. It’s hard for her to look at, for example, a historical situation and not shift into political, economic and social analyses at the same time. It’s all connected, she argues.

- She has a problem with tunnel vision and missing the overall picture for tiny details. She can’t help it. When she’s caught up in something interesting, it’s hard to tear her mind away.

- She doesn’t sleep well. Her mind wanders a mile a minute and she’s got too much to think about to sleep.

Vale Position: Scout Tattoo: Over her spine

- Vale doesn’t remember a whole lot about when she was younger. All she knows is she ran away when she was smaller. She remembers lots of ‘bad’ yelling, things being thrown, and being sore a lot. She still doesn’t really like ‘bad’ yelling and even too much ‘good’ noise will overwhelm her.

- She doesn’t talk. Whether that’s because she physically cannot or it’s a psychological problem, she can’t make noises with her mouth. There’s not really any sort of sign language either, so she’s kinda gone through life basically playing charades since access to paper isn’t always great. She mouths what she means to say sometimes and mouths along to songs though, so Uma suspects she used to.

- She tends to stick to the shadows - she doesn’t like being seen unless she wants you to see her. She’s relatively short and flexible though, so she’s never short on hiding places.

- She was recruited because she could get into places other members of the crew couldn’t. She was hiding on their ship from someone else and Uma offered her the spot. It took them a while to work out the details, but the fact Uma even tried to understand what she meant was enough for Vale.

- She tends to hang around the outskirts of the crew’s parties. It’s not that she doesn’t like the crew, but well...noise. It’s overwhelming.

- Her role is go out ahead and look for what’s going on and find out as much as she can about what the crew is up against, if not finding actual objects for the crew. She’s also doubling as one of Uma’s spies.

- She has an eye for shape and understanding space. This has come in handy in more ways than one.

- She really likes storms. She’s a pirate so she probably shouldn’t, but even if she has to get below deck, she loves to watch through the portholes.

- Her default position is mirroring what she thinks the other person wants to see from her and ‘saying’ what she thinks they want to ‘hear’. She’s not entirely sure why she does it but she’s pretty sure it’s an instinct left over from whatever she doesn’t remember. Slowly, being with the crew has helped her develop a sense of self - what she wants, who she is, etc.

- Even once she does, she tends to be fairly private. She doesn’t communicate with people outside the crew much. She’d rather watch than play her hand too easily. More positively minded people describe her as mysterious. More negative people call her Uma’s crew’s shadow.

Finn Position: Shipwright, technically, cabin boy more in practice Tattoo: Over his heart

- Finn is really good at fixing broken parts and so he’s technically the ship wright - but he’s really really not the only one good at fixing things and so most of the time, what he ends up doing is running minor errands, messages, etc. for other members of the crew (usually Rosita or Drey). He’s basically a cabin boy in that regard.

- When he was growing up, any sort of compassion or helpful response was violently punished. This was hard, because this guy has a massive heart and so he ended up smooshing his instincts. It was meeting the crew that started slowly bringing him out - he was ‘allowed’ to protect and provide for his crew.

- Definitely a member of ‘Team Keep These Idiots From Dying’. He’s a Dad Friend extraordinaire. Forgot your jacket (or don’t have one)? He stole you one. No food? Take some of his.

- I get the feeling he’s going to end up being gender non-conforming off the Isle. Like, he likes wearing skirts, he doesn’t mind doing his nails with the girls, etc. Fight him on it.

- He’s very protective. One wrong move towards the crew and he’s got you pinned to the floor or the wall.

- He knows his family doesn’t care about him, but damn, it is hard to deny when he comes home after like three weeks and they didn’t even notice he was gone.

- He has a whole bunch of younger siblings. He feels some sort of obligation because he’s the oldest but his parents have tried to stamp it out since he was little. His siblings certainly don’t seem to return it.

- He’s never been to school. He’s going to have to start from scratch. Oof.

- He is clumsy as hell emotionally speaking - he’s had basically his entire personality shoved down all his life so he doesn’t handle other people well. He tries to take care of them, but he’s not always very good at it? He kinda withdraws to think about how to handle it first.

- He has a lot of anger buried because of having to keep so much of himself away and watching so many people suffer and not being able to help. He’d never turn it on his crew but anyone else? Just...find somewhere to hide when he snaps.

Riley Position: Supplier Tattoo: Back of left shoulder

- They’re nonbinary. He/him or they/them. I don’t know if they actually know this until they get to Auradon but they are.

- He’s an average thief, but he has an eye for Stuff. If it’s available on the Isle, the crew knows he can find it and get it for them. Sometimes he needs Vale’s help, but there’s a reason Rosita sends him out to find stuff.

- They’ve got a silver tongue. They can charm themself out of any bad situation - well, almost. They’re also a hell of a haggler.

- Their family kinda fell apart. Drug and alcohol issues and violent tempers. He hasn’t seen them or his sister in years.

- They got into the crew because they were looking for a decent thief. Good thing too - one of their hands doesn’t work very well. Fight stuff happened and their hand never healed properly. It works well enough for most things but precise sword work isn’t one of them.

- They like to party. You can usually find them out somewhere dancing and having a good time. They like crowds. This is also perfect for a different kind of supplying for the crew - information. They’re definitely another one of Uma’s flies on the wall.

- He tends to go for ecstasy - thanks Sykes. He isn’t an addict but like...using any sort of mind altering substance to cheer up is worrying? I think he slowly stops using it as they get more involved with the crew. Not just because Uma makes it clear she doesn’t need someone who’s so blitzed they can’t work, but Drey worries about him and honestly, her insights about how Sykes makes his stuff is kinda freaky. He still drinks though. Not as much as ‘certified teenage alcoholics’ Harry and Raphael or even as much as the average Isle party goer, but he drinks.

- They’re a great negotiator. If you want your stuff sold or moved, he can usually manage to get someone to do it.

- Con artist. They have conned their way to dinner so many times, they don’t even keep track anymore. Not even sorry.

- They want to try absolutely everything. Don’t dare them to try things, they have no regard for their own personal well being.

Also, because I am a huge nerd - a few songs representing their relationship in poly pirate crew.

Brine Position: She’s in charge of the lifeboats Tattoo: Up her upper arm

- Brine is an orphan. She isn’t sure what happened to her parents, but her aunt insists it was her fault.

- In addition to blaming Brine for whatever happened to her parents (her story changes), she likes to yell and locks her up a lot.

- She’s struggling to shake a sense of apathy. If she’d already made such a huge mistake as being her parents cause of death, then what’s the point in trying?

- She isn’t very good at people. Partly because, as above, she doesn’t care, and partly because she doesn’t understand why things that are so important to them like eye contact don’t matter to her.

- She’s never felt safe anywhere. before she joined the crew. Who knows what will set off her auntie today and only a fool feels safe on the streets of the Isle. She was hoping to find security in joining a pirate crew.

- She’s not the strongest fighter, but she keeps a cool head under pressure and in a crisis and so she’s the one who’s in charge of the lifeboats. She makes sure they’re in working order and well tended to.

- As time goes on, the ice starts melting and that calm cracks ever so much - she EXPLODES on her aunt and after the fight that ensues, she sleeps on the ship nine times out of ten. Getting more or less kicked out isn’t supposed to feel like freedom and YET.

- She has a sort of connection with Team Make Sure These Idiots Don’t Die, in that she also has a life protecting role...but she is absolutely one of the people they’re keeping from dying because she’s still relearning this whole ‘self care’ thing. She also found some affinity with the group’s smart asses, and with Lex.

- She likes to make things and as she gets closer with Gonzo, she starts liking to tinker with technology too. This’ll be interesting as they get to Auradon.

- She’s not good with ‘cute’ stuff. She’s more interested in gross things and making stuff out of spare parts.

Rodrigo Position: Sailmaster Tattoo: Left pec

- Rodrigo’s mom abandoned him as a baby. His father’s a lot like Jafar - he sends his son out to get supplies and into dangerous situations for him. He finally ran away after his dad lost his temper once too many times.

- Part of what his dad used to fight with him about was how distractible he is - he spent a lot of time daydreaming, looking at the clouds or thinking about other things when his dad was talking or ordering him to do whatever it was he wanted. It’s not his fault it’s boring. He has a difficult time focusing, prioritizing and making himself start things. His dad didn’t handle that well at all and Rodrigo finally took to the streets.

- Rodrigo joined the pirates out of a sense of adventure and he’s hoping that it’ll be more fun than working as his dad’s gofer.

- He’s a hard worker and he goes into picking stuff up. Unlike his dad’s stuff, this actually interests him. He still struggles to focus and prioritize a lot of the time, but it helps to have something he cares about.

- He likes to daydream a lot when things are particularly rough. It’s easy to just...think of something else and let it fade away.

- He’s not used to sharing personal preferences/opinions/ideas. His dad didn’t care and it was a good way to get in trouble. People on the streets certainly didn’t care.

- He represses a lot of anger and depression over stuff in the Isle. Nobody wants to be a bummer right? The crew won’t want him if he’s boring.

- His job is to sew, maintain and replace sails. He calls himself the sail master. He likes to spend time in the rigging and crow’s nests up there with his sails, watching the clouds.

- He cannot STAND being understimulated. He spends a lot of his time with the more impulsive, rowdy members of the crew to avoid that. That means it’s kind of rubbed off on him, reputation wise.

- He’s pretty good at fixing things. Once he gets to Auradon, he’s going to be REALLY into cars and bikes. He and Raphael agree on that.

Varjack Position: Smith - he’s also a gunner mate. Tattoo: Left hand

- His parents were super physically and verbally abusive. Before the crew, the only person he felt loved him was a girlfriend he got when he was 14. Her name was Reverie, a girl he knew from around town who was in a similar situation. She hated that name, but he loved her. She was calm and quiet at home, but out of the house she loved to dance and party. Yeah, love is weakness, no, he didn’t care. She had brown hair and green eyes and they spent a lot of time sneaking off together.

- After about a year together, Reverie was terrified - she was pregnant. His parents found out and his dad punched him in the face and kicked him out. They did their best though - he would go out and find stuff. His dad was a pirate in charge of the swords on his crew and he made Varjack help him out. He stole for her and fixed swords to get food and favours and what little cash they could scrape together. They found an apartment that was basically one room, but it was safe and they were together. And well, losing their families wasn’t really a loss. Things seemed to be looking up for them.

- Unfortunately, life had other plans. She was tired and out of it for a while after their daughter was born - Valerie Moxie, they named her. Reverie refused to name her after herself, but Varjack liked the name and “Valerie” was close enough to their names mashed together. Moxie just sounded cool. But...Reverie never got her strength back. She got dizzier and more and more out of it and finally the SMELL tipped him off - Reverie developed a wicked infection. She got less and less responsive over the rest of the week until she slipped away. Needless to say, Varjack was crushed. Everything was a big, devastating blur. Varjack had to keep going to take care of Valerie - who Reverie nicknamed Valor because good GOD was Varjack cheesy picking that name - but he blamed himself for killing the only person who loved him.

- Varjack tries his best, but the Isle isn’t well equipped to prepare teenagers to be parents. In the coming years he’s going to see so many of his mistakes in hindsight, but he does love her. He does that right.

- He joined the crew because he needed resources for raising Valor. Money’s scarce on the Isle so he needs as much as he can get - or at least people to go stealing with him. He figured a pirate crew would get big scores. He became indebted to Uma pretty quick - she gave them somewhere safer to sleep and a dream of getting off the Isle. He hopes Valor won’t even remember it.

- Varjack’s still got a bit of a romantic side. It’s buried and bruised but a part of him deeply buried still wants to believe in love and happy endings. It’s hard to admit but it’s there.

- He and Morwenna have a complicated but bone deep connection - he’s kind of the opposite of her situation. He lost his girlfriend but his daughter’s alive. She can’t help but look at Valor and wonder if her own son (who would be about the same age) would be like her. Sometimes that hurts and it’s hard to want her around but it’s also really nice in some ways. She lets Valor stay in the medbay when there are fights going and keeps an eye on her.

- Varjack likes mellow hobbies. Once he gets to Auradon and is floored by how much food there is and how GREEN the place is, he gets really into gardening. He likes to watch things grow, turns out.

- He puts his blade making work to Uma’s EXCLUSIVE use now. He also occasionally does things like nails for barrels, etc. He’s also part of the gun crew, so if they’re using cannons, he’s responsible for helping load and fire one.

- The tattoo of a winged heart on his hand is for Reverie. He also has her name on his left hip, a stylized V on his chest for Valor, and the date the Isle was freed on his left bicep. Valor was 3. He got his wish. She will DEFINITELY not remember the Isle except in the faintest ways.

All of Me by John Legend

Easy Silence by the Dixie Chicks

For Good from Wicked

Crashed by Daughtry

Skydiving by Lights

Mine by Taylor Swift

Save Me by Ingrid Michaelson

Supergirl by Reamonn

Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

Unforgettable by Thomas Rhett

Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion

Tough Enough by Vanilla Ninja

Girlfriend by Icona Pop

Run by Delta Rae

Bad Girls by M.I.A

Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship

We Found Love by Rihanna

Quiet by Lights

Also Part 2: Electric Bugaloo - here is the design for Desiree’s mosaic. It’s about 20 squares big in 4 rows of five. Left to right:

Row 1, Square 1: The right side stairs of the stage. On the wall is the crew’s logo - a ship with the words ‘We Ride with the Tide’.

Row 1, Square 2: Harry’s ditched his jacket, is gripping his hook, but he’s smiling warmly at Uma.

Row 1, Square 3: Uma standing in the centre of the stage, a hand on her hip, standing confidently and smiling wide.

Row 1, Square 4: Gil’s standing up straight and smiling at Uma like a goof, his muscles prominent. He looks like he’s cheerfully trying to be encouraging.

Row 1, Square 5: Morwenna is chilling in her chair at the very left edge of the stage, watching everyone have fun with a smile on her face and a bottle in her hands.

Row 2, Square 1: Malachi is sitting at a table, nursing a drink, leaning back in his seat, smirking like he’s hearing a good story.

Row 2, Square 2: Sitting at the same table is Raphael with his mouth open, clearly telling about something he thought was funny.

Row 2, Square 3: Drey is standing beside the stage, fist pumping and her hair flying around - she’s clearly having fun dancing.

Row 2, Square 4: On the other side of the stage, Gabe is leaning with his back against the stage, smiling and flirting.

Row 2, Square 5: Rosita is grinning, teasing Gabe right back, her back against the bar and she’s twirling her hair.

Row 3, Square 1: Micah’s face is screwed up in concentration, trying to win an arm wrestling match.

Row 3, Square 2: Bonny has Micah’s hand in a vice grip, her body language is tense from trying to win but her face is carefree and she’s obviously making fun of him.

Row 3, Square 3: Jonas is leaning against a bar stool, his head tipped back and laughing. Of note - he has another stylin’ scarf.

Row 3, Square 4: Gonzo is sitting at the bar, leaning forward and laughing.

Row 3, Square 5: Desiree is behind the bar, shaking a drink and laughing.

Row 4, Square 1: At a table, Zeke is surrounded by shots.

Row 4, Square 2: Lex is leaning on the stage, his bottle against his lips and a smirk on his face.

Row 4, Square 3: Yamato is sitting on the edge of the stage, grinning, his hand on his knee.

Row 4, Square 4: Vince is beside the stage, dancing with his swords.

Row 4, Square 5: Zhao is gripping the top of the chair, his feet in the air as he would be standing on his hands. A huge smile is on his face.

Row 5, Square 1: Roz has looked up from her book, surprised, watching Zhao across the room

Row 5, Square 2: Mi-Suk is holding onto their chair’s edge, mid-leap onto the stage.

Row 5, Square 3: Dante is sitting back and nursing a drink, smiling and laughing

Row 5, Square 4: Ryker is holding up his eyepatch, grinning and trying unsuccessfully to gross out Dante

Row 5, Square 5: The last corner of the bar, Rodrigo is calling to Desiree for a drink.

Row 6, Square 1: Vale is in the corner, lurking in the shadows, but she’s smiling.

Row 6, Square 2: The tables, chairs and the corner of the stage, Varjack is sitting and holding Valor, laughing at Riley.

Row 6, Square 3: Riley is dancing on the stage.

Row 6, Square 4: The tables, chairs and opposite corner of the stage, Brine is watching Riley. She’s not smiling but her eyes look amused anyway.

Row 5, Square 5: Finn’s watching Zhao with an indulgent smile, sitting in front of the bar’s side.

#Uma's crew #pirate crew goals #Descendants 2 #Descendants #Disney's descendants #Uma descendants #Harry Hook #Gil Descendants #Desiree descendants #Jonas descendants #Gonzo descendants #Bonny descendants

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pariswrites-blog · 7 years

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So I decided to make a large list of plots / faces / ships that I want, which you can find below the cut. It’s long. Check it out and message me/like this if you’re interested in any of them!

MOST WANTED

So I’ve got 3 ships that I want most of all: Niels Schneider x Xavier Dolan, Daniel Sharman x Frank Dillane, and Niels Schneider x Daniel Sharman. I’m completely open plot wise for any of these though for the Niels x Daniel one, I did make this post earlier and still 100% stand by it. I will love you forever if you do one of these with me.

CANONS

TEEN WOLF

I love this show too much and am so sad to see it go so why not do some 1x1s for it?

I love playing Isaac tbh and would love to have some ships for him. Allison x Isaac is like my OTP so if someone did that with me I would scream? I’ve also always been intrigued with the idea of Lydia x Isaac so I would totally love it if someone did that one too (and I’m cool with changing Holland’s face if you’re uncomfortable with her). Scott x Isaac, Stiles x Isaac, Jackson x Isaac are all some other suggestions. I’m intrigued with Boyd x Isaac as well so that’s a suggestion there too.

Also, sorry Thiam shippers, but I’m 100% forever on the Briam train so if someone would play Liam against my Brett, I’d be in heaven.

IN THE FLESH

Okay so, fun fact, this blog was re-purposed from an rp blog for a group that sadly died. It was an ITF inspired rp and I loved the character I played there and would love to bring him back. There was also a wanted connection I had for him that never got filled but that would be really great as a 1x1. You can read about my character Apollo Bellerose (Niels Schneider fc) here but here’s also a summary of the idea.

(Muse A is Apollo, Muse B would be your character.)

M/M -- Muse A was a wild child, a feral animal of fire and rule-breaking. Hopes for him were dashed at an early age as he set himself up as the trouble-maker. Muse B was the opposite -- tempered and popular. The only reason their paths crossed was because they grew up in the same small town, in the same class. But that should’ve been it. It was a surprise to everyone when Muse B and Muse A started hanging out together, soon becoming inseparable. They were just children but they were attached at the hip, growing into adolescence and teenagers. Muse A was still wild, Muse B was still calm -- fire and water, red and blue. When they were sixteen, their friendship evolved into something more intimate. Though the relationship could be fraught at time -- Muse A to blame in almost every case -- their bond ran deep. Or it did, until Muse B died suddenly. It was an accident or heart failure or something similar, sudden and unexpected. Too soon. One might’ve expected Muse A to go off the deep-end but, rather, he was numb, going through the motions. That was until the Rising happened and the dead came back. The world ground to a halt but with the PDS sufferers in treatment centers, the world is returning to normal and Muse A is getting back on his self-destructive track. He refuses to acknowledge that overwhelming possibility that Muse B would be one of those PDS sufferers, going so far as to avoid Muse B’s grave. With the PDS sufferers returning to Roarton though, it’s only a matter of time before Muse A wouldn’t be able to deny to it. But will an apocalypse be enough to sever their bond? Probably not.

My main suggestion for B was Xavier Dolan though I also originally suggested Daniel Sharman and Keith Powers. Matt Daddario, Bob Morley, and Dominic Sherwood would also work though Xavier and Daniel would be preferred. This is, like, one I really, really want to do still.

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS

Campy 90s shows for the win (oh, and fuck you Looper -- it’s still perfectly watchable now). Anyways. I really want a Xena x Gabrielle plot, two bad-ass women travelling through the ancient world, kicking godly asses. As much as I love Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor, I realize that they’re not really usable so I’m totally down for changing the faces. Just... Please. Badass women and a canon that totally allows for AUs in all time periods -- it’d be awesome.

THE ORIGINALS

So um... I don’t want like a really super canon 1x1 here but like, after Koleb died, I got in my head this idea of what if, when Davina brought back Kol, Kaleb hitched a ride back. Kaleb’s bitter af but he was always kind of the way in my mind. The pairing would be Davina x Kaleb and we could also make this an OT3 if there was someone who’d like to play Kol as well but that’s not necessary for me.

LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES

Uh... Indie French cinema for the win? Yeah, I know this won’t get any bites but I’m gonna try anyways. Basically a few years after the end of the movie, Francis and Nicolas meet again. There’s been some maturing, maybe Francis isn’t as close to Marie anymore (or maybe she got married or something). It’s slow-burn reconnecting and falling in love.

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

So... I know Troy’s a POS person but I think there was potential for evolution in his character. He was isolated from a young age with an abusive father and alcoholic mother which didn’t give him much of a fighting chance in becoming a better person. Off the ranch though, I think he could have evolved. He also had a ton of useful information about walkers. Anyways, I’d like to give him that arc. Also I want to explore that mad chemistry between Nick and Troy so yeah. This masterlist might be good for some general plot ideas and tbh the “Who’s baby is this?” one just screams Trick to me.

GREEK MYTH

This can be like modern or actual myth -- either’s cool.

Zeus x Ganymede. Either historical like Zeus kidnaps him to be the wine-pourer and Zeus wants him but Ganymede is just perpetually pissed with him for KIDNAPPING him and Zeus has to win him over. Or maybe something modern that’s more sugary daddy/baby-ish?

Telemachus. I really love my baby Telemachus? Or Telemaque as the French would say. But, basically, there’s this suitor and he’s one of the younger ones, probably 25 or less, and not really in the running to win Penelope’s hand but eh. He doesn’t really care. He likes to tease Telemachus but as things get worse in Ithaca, he realizes he’s worried about Telemachus and starts teaching him how to fight and defending him and they start falling in love. He be all like ‘I’ll go with you’ when Telemachus goes to find his father (even though he doesn’t) and, when Odysseus returns, Telemachus has to defend him because he was technically one of the suitors and just... Please. (I’d play Telemachus.)

Odysseus x Penelope. Clever Odysseus and clever Penelope, dominating and tricking the world with their superior minds. A modern!AU.

HARRY POTTER

I love this universe so I’m super down for anything. I won’t do anything set at Hogwarts because I can never remain interested in that tbh but other stuff is cool. I highkey ship Remus x Sirius and would love to write them as long as the faces aren’t Andrew Garfield or Ben Barnes. I also love all the potential in the fucked up dynamic between Fenrir and Remus. I usually end up playing Fenrir but if someone wanted to let me play Remus in that, I’d adore you forever. A Regulus x Remus one would be awesome too. A Nymphadora x Remus ship would be cool too, as would a James x Lily or Lily x Marlene. Outside the Marauders era, someone needs to give me a Ginny x Cho ship. I also wrote a next gen son of Greyback (Lycus Greyback) once that I’d love to bring back. Maybe with Teddy? Or OCs -- OCs in the HP universe are totally okay with me.

PLOTS

So this tag has the plots I want but some I particularly want.

X. I’d like to be Muse B and maybe like have Tom Ellis as A? Or Jason Momoa? Idk. I’m open but I think it’d be super fun.

X. I’d be cool with playing either in this plot; I’d love to see Troye Sivan as A but again open but fun sounding.

“you’re supposed to be on a blind date with someone but you sat down at the wrong table and i haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise to tell you that and it’s been thirty minutes” from this post. I’ve no preferences on genders or faces just I think this could be cool.

Yo I’ve mentioned this multiple times not but THIS PLOT with Daniel Sharman as A and Niels Schneider as B -- let me play B and love. me.

“what is the ONE thing i asked you NOT to do tonight?” “raise the dead…” “AND WHAT DID YOU DO?!” “…raised the dead…” from this post. I really want to play a necromancer? Maybe we could do a Trick!AU where the walkers are because of necromancers and Troy has had to repress the fact he’s one his entire life and then Jeremiah and Jake are dead and yeah. But we could also do this as entirely OC. I’d still love it be necromancer-caused zombie apocalypse but I’m cool with other stuff.

“i’m a ghost and i’m trapped in the graveyard and i don’t normally talk to mortals but bro i have to ask wtf are you doing hanging around a graveyard is your life really this sad” from this post. open and fun again!

X. PLEASE. Any sort of serial killer plot would be awesome. Which is a weird fucking thing to say but okay.

“you and your friend always sit at the table a couple down from mine and gossip in [insert language here], which happens to be a language i’m currently learning. i’ve been eavesdropping to try and improve my listening comprehension and oh my god are you actually talking about how hot i am???” -- this please, from this post. maybe like a daniel sharman x tyler posey? or idk.

literally anything from this post but like i mention “who’s baby is this? au” for Trick in a canon divergent plot (ie. after they leave the ranch, before they get to the dam)

also this could also work for xavier dolan x niels schneider.

SHIPS

So how about a Xavier Dolan x Daniel Sharman? Or Jenna Thiam x Niels Schneider? Also Jack Falahee, Crystal Reed, Kat McNamara, Conrad Ricamora x Daniel Sharman. Other ones that don’t include Daniel, Xavier, or Niels: Eva Green x Caitlin Stasey (I’d also be cool with playing Eva if we used them for Xena and Gabrielle), Riz Ahmed x Fawad Khan (Fawad as a multi-billionaire playboy and Riz as a devoted grad student, maybe?), Charlie Hunnam x Jason Momoa, Marlon Teixeira x Willy Cartier, Andreja Pejic x Hari Nef, Andrew Garfield x Ben Barnes (but not as Remus and Sirius), Sofia Boutella x Charlize Theron.

FACES

It’s very clear that I love Daniel Sharman and Niels Schneider so they will always be most wanted, with Xavier Dolan as a close third. I feel most comfortable with them tbh and have the most muse for them (also I’ve made like 400 gifs of Niels). If you want to make me happy, let me play one of them and play one of the others against me. I would like to branch out at some point though so some others. There are honestly too many for me to list in their entirety so I’ll list only ones I have mentioned already. Bold are ones I want to play, italics I want used against me, plain are the ones I have no preference about (though I’d be open on most of the bold ones too).

Alycia Debnam-Carey, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Samuel Larsen, Adrianne Palicki, Laith Ashley, Elliot Fletcher, Iskra Lawrence, Lisa Teige, Iman Meskini, Hale Appleman, Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Adelaide Kane, Alexandra Daddario, Amber Heard, Josh Holloway, Angelina Jolie, Arden Cho, Barbara Palvin, Alex Saxon, Alexander Koch, Bianca Santos, Caity Lotz, Camila Quieroz, Cara Delevigne, Blake Michael, Avan Jogia, Austin Butler, Diego Barrueco, Bill Skarsgard, Booboo Stewart, Chloe Bridges, Byun Baek-Hyun, Diane Guerrero, Carlos Valdes, Josh Thomas, Dichen Lachman, Christopher Larkin, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Gaspard Ulliel, Emeraude Toubia, Emilia Clarke, Famke Janssen, Gabriella Wilde, Halston Sage, Dev Patel, Douglas Booth, Godfrey Gao, Harry Shum Jr., Karen Fukuhara, Kiowa Gordon, Landon Liboiron, Matt Hitt, Matthew Gray Gubler, Keira Knightley, Kiana Lede, Lana Condor, Liza Soberano, Maira Walsh, Jamie Blackley, Jordan Fisher, Jamie Campbell-Bower, Megan Fox, Naomi Scott, Max Irons, Reece King, Richard Harmon, Natalia Dyer, Phoebe Tonkin, Priyanka Chopra, Madelaine Petsch, Seo Kang-Joon, Steven R. McQueen, Steven Yeun, Seychelle Gabriel, Shelley Hennig, Skyler Samuels, Haruma Miura, Lee Hyun-Jae, Thomas McDonell, Toby Regbo, Tom Holland, Tyler Blackburn, Joe Manganiello, Tyler Hoechlin, Cengiz Al, Froy Gutierrez, Tanya Beatty, Victoria Moroles, Zoe Kravtiz, Yoon Jeonghan.

This is not all-encompassing. There are plenty more faces. In fact, I’d love to use model faces without any resources -- just some old-fashioned writing, maybe some static icons if we feel like it.

#rpt #1x1 rp #1x1 #1x1 plot #rpc

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ganymedesclock · 7 years

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So okay hey y’know what’s a thing that bugs me about Shadow’s arc throughout the games?

The Biolizard and the Black Arms.

Because... two times, there’s the person that Shadow has the actual, justified beef with, and then a second party who is connected pretty directly to Shadow. A peer.

The Biolizard is Shadow’s prototype, which, considering Gerald, at least before the massacre, was as far from a cold uncaring researcher as possible- this is Shadow’s older sibling. And, yeah, as a prototype organisms, she has some serious health concerns- her tendency to hyperventilate definitely being one of them- but it doesn’t seem like she’s suffering.

And, yeah, she doesn’t vocalize, isn’t small and Mobian-like but there is clearly someone home. A mindless animal ruled only by instinct would not be taken as the vehicle for Gerald’s revenge. A mindless animal couldn’t operate the ARK’s systems, much less by projecting them, or use the sophisticated, complex attack pattern that the Biolizard does- comparable to Eggman’s boss robots. Hell, one of the hardest things to do fighting Biolizard is dodge. She’s a really good shot, and the one exploitable opening in her combat is where she needs to stop and hyperventilate with her life support, which, she can’t exactly do anything about.

Hell, you’d argue considering the whole repetition of “power enriched by the heart” that whatever nebulous sources we have in Sonic would state that Biolizard has a soul. She has to have a will and “heart” or how would she be able to use Chaos Control?

Biolizard is smart. And what’s the other thing we see about Biolizard? That video left behind by Gerald- repeating over and over and over again.

The video left behind by Gerald- who tampered with Shadow’s memories and otherwise twisted a quiet, sensitive, traumatized individual into his vehicle for revenge.

This is the one thing we “hear” from Biolizard who is absolutely smart enough to communicate somehow. Who, if we assume she, like Shadow, is synthesized from Arms DNA, would probably have been on some level communicating with Shadow the entire time- considering Shadow’s the one utterly unsurprised when Biolizard warps in to mess them up.

The Biolizard was manipulated and exploited by Gerald just like Shadow was. Much like Shadow, we have no reason to believe she is inherently violent or hateful. There is no good reason to carefully and lovingly deliver Shadow from Gerald’s machinations and kill Biolizard.

“But Clockie, she would’ve killed everyone with the ARK!”

So would Shadow, given he was instrumental in delivering the emeralds to Biolizard in the first place, and literally in the scene leading up to the Biolizard fight he’s calmly looking out the window waiting for the impact.

Literally- Shadow’s realization that this was wrong was a last second incident.

What did the Biolizard believe? What was her perspective on the ARK? She’s so large and heavy- unable to move through most of the facility except by teleporting- did she hide and avoid GUN? Was she captured? We have no idea. But Gerald clearly tampered with her- the presence of the video aligns directly with her appearance.

Just like Shadow, she was acting on his orders. And we don’t know how easy it is for Biolizard to communicate or understand- it might be hard for her to get a grasp on her situation just through eavesdropping on the united Hero & Dark teams.

I could write this entire post on the ambiguity of “Supporting Me” and how much it sounds like a conversation more than a soliloquy. “I know you were supporting me,” and the repetitions/variations on that- who is he talking to, or, rather, who is talking to him? A lot of the lyrical SA2 themes are very straightforwards- almost comically so at times- but Shadow’s themes for that game are... weird. Ambiguous. Distorted. I’m honestly kind of sad they dropped that for his later games, but that’s getting off topic.

Biolizard, in every way, is just like Shadow, and we watch her rip herself apart trying to fulfill Gerald’s revenge with no idea if this was ever what she really wanted. The finalhazard form looks incredibly painful. This is someone who has a body that does not lend itself well to stress-free movement and the tendency to hyperventilate when overexerting herself and she never hesitates to protect herself.

And, for all that? For all of her sharing Shadow’s tragedy? We get nothing. No sympathy. Not even a second thought except “wow wasn’t that a cool boss fight” in Sonic Generations. Shadow calls her an ugly prototype. Her downfall is treated as synonymous to Gerald’s downfall- she’s treated as a mere symptom or face of his revenge.

And this is, quite frankly, so much of how the Black Arms are handled. Shadow finds another messed up branch of his family tree in Black Doom, who is all too eager to do exactly what Gerald did- gaslight Shadow and use him for Doom’s personal vendetta. Only unlike Gerald, Doom isn’t a desperate specter from the past, he’s the patriarch of an entire species. What he’s trying to do to Shadow, he’s already done to all of the other Arms.

The Black Arms- who are, seemingly, hypersocial, mentally linked on an incredibly intimate level, and who would be, thus, incredibly vulnerable to exactly the kind of manipulations and attacks Doom lavishes on Shadow.

Once again- the only reason Shadow is our hero, the only reason he’s spared, is because of the people who reach out to him, in past and present. And this is framed as a very narrow thing- sure, most of the routes, especially the dark routes, are noncanon, but it’s still emphasized as a very real possibility that Doom is able to break Shadow entirely to his will.

But again- for the Arms? There is no sympathy. They’re in exactly the same boat as Shadow, as far as carrying out Doom’s orders against Earth, the angle of the True Ending tells us that the Pure Hero route is as noncanon as the Pure Dark route- that at bare minimum, Shadow gave Doom the Chaos Emeralds and put Earth in danger. Hell, even more than Biolizard, you can argue the Arms may have actually had no awareness or control of what they were doing- Gerald’s manipulations just convinces the person that this is what they need to do in a guise they’re least likely to refuse, but consider how incredibly off Shadow acts in the scenes where he’s heavily under Doom’s influence.

And this is infuriating to me not only because Biolizard and the Black Arms are written off, but because- a significant plot thread for Shadow going onward from his decision to turn his back on his history and try to use his power for good is that he has like two friends and is in an incredibly difficult situation to relate to people.

What I’ve seen of Archie’s plot exploring Eclipse and the Dark Arms... also, honestly does not encourage me, because Shadow’s sibling seems to be presented overwhelmingly as a corrupting force, and the heroic course of action is for Shadow to once again fight off his extended family.

Which... if Shadow’s a Black Arm, and the Arms are a hypersocial colony species... is it really any wonder Shadow’s not doing so hot, or why the familial ties of Gerald and Maria meant so, so much to him? Sure, genetic influences only do so much in the realm of the psychological but if Arms aren’t even supposed to be completely alone in their own heads, outside of the freaky subjugation that Doom gets up to- there have been studies that babies will die from insufficient contact.

I could write an entire different post on the beautiful, beautiful found family feelings I have over Team Dark’s relationship, and how wonderful Rouge and Omega are as stabilizing forces in Shadow’s life (I mean, heck, look at the fact that in some of the worse routes in ShTH they’re there for him- Rouge in particular is your lone ‘get out of jail’ card to help you away from the worst ending)...

...but that’s not to say that he’s fine, and it doesn’t matter if he’s alone.

Nobody’s going to argue they should’ve blown up Earth with ARK, or that Doom was anything but an abusive, tyrannical person who needed to get his miscellaneous appendages out of Shadow’s brain. And I’m not trying to spin this at all to suggest leaving his biological family means Shadow’s Never Going To Be Happy- that’s an awful message to send because sometimes, people really do just need to cut ties with their blood relatives.

What aggravates me is that there’s no satisfactory explanation or even acknowledgement for why Shadow is the one redeemed and not his siblings, when it seems like the only thing that separates them is once again, that people reached out to Shadow.

Which is ridiculous because our supporting cast is packed with people who care!

Rouge paints herself as only in it for personal gain in contrast to the selfless, duty-bound Knuckles, her rival- and yet even her debut game framed her repeatedly as someone who ultimately is kind, trustworthy, who says things like “Even if the world turns against you, I won’t,” and means it. Hell, in SA2, she was the one who was actively an undercover agent for the forces of good.

Eggman wants to take over the world but god dammit he has standards, he deplores senseless destruction- we see him angrily decry both Gerald and Doom, the former rather personally since Gerald was his hero.

And Sonic? It’s pretty solidly established Sonic will take under his wing and give an affectionate nickname to anything that’s around him for more than ten minutes.

This is not an arrangement of people who don’t care. There’s no actual good in-universe justification for the Biolizard and the Black Arms being met so coldly when none of the amounts of violence they enacted or attempted exceeded Shadow’s.

Also there are so many incredible ways to explore the idea that Shadow is related to a freaking space dinosaur. Literally whatever character you ascribe to the Biolizard, it’d be amazing.

#Sonic #Shadow the Hedgehog #Biolizard #Black Arms #readmore #abuse mention /#death mention /#long post /#very long post #Clockie gets heated about Sonic #in before anybody tells me SEGA doesn't think about it that much #I know and I don't care #we could've had it all

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sadlittlenerdking · 7 years

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Project Seduce Quentin Coldwater and So Lift His Spirits

The Magicians, Quentin x Eliot

Chapter 1 / ?

Word count: 3,618

Summary: Post brain wipe, Eliot’s been spending a lot of time with Quentin, claiming it’s to keep his promise of seducing him to lift his spirits. Of course, nothing ever goes the way Eliot plans it to, and he’s six months deep, and definitely not falling for Quentin.

Also on AO3

The thing is, Eliot knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s not necessarily the best, nor moral, thing for him to be doing, but he knows what it is and he’s (not) entirely unashamed. He’d even made this exact offer right before Quentin was wiped, and Quentin said it’d be amazing. So, clearly had Quentin not been wiped, Eliot would still be entirely in the right. Even if Quentin’s answer had been lacking the enthusiasm Eliot would have liked.

So what if Margo thinks he’s being presumptuous and lacking a general moral compass? What the fuck does she know anyways? She’s off in Ibiza with Todd; talk about lacking a moral compass. Ibiza’s going to eat the poor kid and spit him back out without any mercy or morality.

Morality. Eliot scoffs, pulling his flask out of his jacket pocket and spilling a fair amount of this weeks alcohol into his coffee. Who the fuck needs morality? He’s happy with general debauchery and a mild case of alcoholism. Who wouldn’t be? Just a week ago, Margo had been on the same boat as him, planning to float off into an actual universe of nothing but sex, drugs, and alcohol. But then she found out he’s been kind of, maybe, definitely, stalking Quentin, and practically kicked him off of the Ibiza trip.

She’s going to regret that decision when she comes back and finds all her clothes are cursed to make her look fat.

And, honestly, he’s not stalking Quentin Coldwater, because he’s talking to him, and getting coffee with him - even if Quentin is perpetually late - and just generally making sure he’s okay. Mostly because he’s working his way up to the promised seduction, which Quentin, in all his nerdy fanboy ridiculousness, seems completely oblivious to.

Okay so that’s not entirely true, because, not that Margo the Traitor needs to know, he does genuinely want to make sure Quentin’s okay. Though, he does really, desperately, want to get laid.

It’s really just a double edged sword that nobody needs to understand.

The coffeeshop door slams open, and the man of the hour stares at it in a wide eyed horror as everyone else in the cafe looks up at him, mildly annoyed. Eliot forces down a laugh, and waves at him, “Quentin!” He calls, and those wide eyes flit across the room until they land on him, and a small relieved smile accompanies them as Quentin ducks his head and makes his way across the room. As he drops his messenger bag on the floor next to the table and takes a seat, Eliot admonishes, “You really know how to make an entrance, don’t you?”

Quentin’s cheeks flush, though they’re already red from the brisk winter air brewing outside, “Shut up,” He mutters, as he rests his hands on top of the table and shakes the snow out of his hair. “It wasn’t me, it was the wind.”

Eliot nods, “Mhm, right.” Grinning as Quentin narrows his eyes at him, “Totally the wind.”

“It was!”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

Quentin sighs, shaking his head, though there’s a little smile quirking at the corners of his lips that makes Eliot’s stomach do a little flip - one that he refuses to acknowledge as anything other than the temporary warming spell waring off - and starts taking off his gloves. “You weren’t waiting long, were you? I had to go see my dad, and there was a ton of traffic on the way back.”

He’s been waiting a little over an hour, actually, but he’s not about to acknowledge that. “Not at all. I just got here. How is your dad, anyways? Still have brain cancer?” He flinches as Quentin’s hands still for a moment. He really needs to work on the whole actual empathy thing. Though, if he’s being honest, he’s gotten a lot better in the past few months.

And no, mental Margo nagging him from wherever she is in Ibiza, it’s not because of these little outings with Quentin. So. There.

Quentin’s eyes fall to the three coffee cups on the table, one by one before he looks back up at Eliot’s face. “Just got here, huh?” He asks, a small grin worming it’s way across his face, that makes his eyes crunch up adorably, not that Eliot’s taking much notice. “And he’s . . . he’s refusing to take his medicine?” His eyebrows furrow as he shucks out of his jacket and drapes it over his chair, “He’s just waiting to die, I guess.”

Eliot’s smile falls, and he reaches forward, placing a hand over Quentin’s. “It’ll be okay,” He murmurs, squeezing his hand, “And if you need anything, I’m just a phone call away.”

Genuinely. He’d actually purchased a fucking phone just so they could keep in contact. Of course, he has to head to the tech available areas on campus before he can actually use it, but with a little spelling, and a heavy does of his telekinesis, he now gets alerts when somebodies calling or texting and he can rush across campus so he can reply accordingly and efficiently. Because if there is one thing Eliot is - it’s efficient.

It’s actually the reason Margo found out about this whole mission of his. Honestly, it’s not like he puts a large amount of effort into the whole thing. Just a few hours in the labs working up a spell, about a week testing it and perfecting it, and an almost constant use of his telekinesis. Hardly any work at all.

If there’s one thing Margo is - it’s Queen of Overreacting.

“I know,” Quentin smiles softly at him, though his eyes flicker down to their hands like he’s confused, and Eliot almost pulls his hand away, but then Quentin’s turning his upwards so he can hold his hand, and holy shit this is the most progress Eliot’s made on Project Seduce Quentin Coldwater and So Lift His Spirits, in six months. Quentin’s hand squeezes his, and Eliot is so, totally, completely fine. “Thank you, Eliot. I don’t know what I’d do without you right now, to be completely honest.” He frowns, “Is that weird to say to someone you barely know?”

“We’ve been over this, -,”

“Yes, I know, you bond quickly because time is an illusion or whatever, but -,”

“It’s not weird. I mean, you are weird, but that’s not a weird thing to say.”

Quentin laughs, loud and full, and Eliot smiles as well, as Quentin goes on completely oblivious to everyone around them turning around to see who’s laughing so boisterously. “You’re a dick.”

Eliot grins, “I know. That’s why you like me.” Quentin’s cheeks go pink again and Eliot has to fight the urge to lean across the table and - nothing. Nothing at all, mental Margo. Eliot is just doing his yearly community service. That’s all. He absolutely does not have feelings for Quentin. Nor does he want to lean across the table and kiss him until he’s pink everywhere. Not even a little bit.

“I mean,” Quentin shrugs, pulling his hand out of Eliot’s, and turning in his chair like he’s going to get up. Eliot frowns. “You’re not so bad, overall? So, that, uhm. That could have something to do with it?”

“Where are you going?” Eliot sits up straight, pulling his hands into his lap.

Quentin looks down at him as he stands up, and motions with a thumb at the coffee counter. “To go get some coffee. I’m freezing.”

Eliot casts a quick spell, catching the barista stopping what she’s doing behind them so she can make Quentin’s usual. “Oh, I already ordered it for you,” He says, “Your usual.”

“What?”

He shrugs, grinning, “I saw you through the window, and asked for your usual. It’s not a big deal.”

Even if it is a lie.

Quentin slowly lowers himself back into his chair and stares at Eliot blankly for a few confusing moments before shaking his head, and looking down at the table top.

“What?” Eliot finds himself asking.

Quentin makes a noise and looks back up at him. “Why are -,” He pauses, licks his lips, which doesn’t distract Eliot at all, and tries, “I don’t - this is. I have good friends.” He looks confused at his own statement as he shakes his head, waving a hand in front of him, “Julia is great, for one.”

Fuck Julia. Fucking Hedge Bitch choosing magic over her own friend who has blatantly been suffering over the past few months. Quentin deserves better. Not that Eliot is any better. After all, he’s just trying to fulfill his promise to seduce him. Quentin’s just oblivious to any and all sexual, or romantic - for that matter, advances.

Quentin seems stumped for a moment, like he can’t think of anyone past Julia to consider a friend, but then he barrels on. “But you - you’re, really, you know,” He moves his head and shoulders in a way that makes Eliot think of a turtle trying to crawl back into it’s shell, but is too lazy to actually go through with it - which is an annoyingly cute motion, “You’re in - you’re way too nice to me,” He rolls his eyes, “And I’m not sure why?” He looks up at Eliot, biting down on his lower lip.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

He’s not sure what else to say. He’s pretty sure ‘I’ve come to fulfill a promise I made to you in a life you’ve forgotten about. What’s the promise? Nothing much, just to seduce you,’ isn’t exactly an appropriate response. Especially if he wants to keep from getting expelled from Brakebills for revealing magic.

He also see’s a familiar look forming at the edge of Quentin’s face, one that says he thinks he’s broken, and couldn’t understand anyone caring about him, and look, Eliot’s not the greatest person, but even he has the overwhelming urge to punch every single person who ever made Quentin think he’s not worthwhile.

“I mean. I’m -,”

“Kind and courteous? A hilarious smart ass?”

Quentin shakes his head. “Fairly broken.”

Eliot’s hand flies across the table and grabs Quentin’s again, squeezing his fingers around his palm, “Listen to me,” He murmurs, pausing as the barista sets Quentin’s coffee on the table with a smile, “You aren’t broken. You’re missing some pieces. But so is everybody else,” He shrugs, leaning back, though keeping a firm grasp on Quentin’s hand, “Let’s not be so dramatic, Quentin.”

“I’m not being dramatic. I’m being serious.”

“Hm,” Eliot murmurs, “I didn’t take you for a Harry Potter fan.”

Quentin stares at him for a long moment, before sighing, and slumping into his own chair, “You know what I meant.”

“I did,” He nods, running his thumb over Quentin’s knuckles, “But I’m choosing to ignore it, because you’re wrong.”

“You don’t even know me.”

Eliot laughs, “We’ve been getting coffee together twice a week for nearly six months, Quentin. I think it’s safe to say we know each other fairly well at this point.”

Then Quentin does something so unlike him, and rips his hand away from Eliot’s, forcefully and angrily and leans forward, until his hair is just inches from dipping into his coffee. “But why?” And he looks genuinely confused and furious all at once.

He’s almost pouting.

And Eliot wants to kiss him. Which is, obviously, all part of his grand scheme.

“Why do we know each other? I just told you.”

Quentin huffs, glaring at him, though Eliot can’t possibly be expected to take it too seriously, and then he’s crossing his arms across his chest, watching him from over the table. “Why do we get coffee twice a week? Why did you approach me six months ago like it was nothing, and then sit there all smug, and. Just - ” He waves a hand around, motioning at all of Eliot, “So - you. Why is this - how - when did having a lunch with a hot guy twice a week become my life?” And Eliot should probably focus on how frustrated and confused Quentin sounds, but he’s a bit busy preening over being called a hot guy.

Eliot forces the smile that wants to bloom down, and just tilts his head at Quentin, “You think I’m hot?”

Which is enough to make Quentin stop nearly hyperventilating, “How do you always miss the point?!” He exclaims, eyes going wide as a couple a few tables away stop talking to turn and look at them. He huffs a big breath, leaning in closer to the table. “You know what I meant, Eliot.”

Look, Quentin’s frustrated, maybe a little angry, definitely confused, but Eliot can’t help but enjoy him like this. Back at Brakebills, the last time he saw him before he was wiped, he’d been beaten down and frightened. Worried about what his life would be after Brakebills - after magic. He was afraid he’d go back to the life of depression, and doing things he didn’t want to because he thought it was what he had to. But he hadn’t, and he’s still depressed - by God, if Eliot could get rid of that, he would - but he’s so much stronger than the man that Eliot met on the Brakebills lawn, that first day.

Magical Quentin didn’t give himself enough credit for what he was capable of. He’s awkward, but he’s strong and more demanding of the world now, and it’s, as bluntly as Eliot can possibly put it, hot as hell. Encouraging, too. This is that man that broke down after making a mistake, but at the same time, he’s somebody else entirely.

Eliot licks his lips, leans forward as well. “Is it so hard to believe I saw an entirely too attractive, geeky guy sitting by himself and wanted to join him?”

“Yes,” He takes a moment to look partially offended, “And I’m not a geek. If anything, I’m a nerd.”

Eliot laughs. “Okay, Quentin. You’re a nerd. Do you feel better now?”

Quentin deflates a bit. “No, not really.”

“What’s the problem, here?”

“I just,” He pauses, and looks up at the ceiling, eyes ticking back and forth over the tiles and lights, as if he’s trying to find the words to articulate what he’s feeling. “I’m confused.” He turns his gaze back on Eliot, then. “You’re insanely attractive - but you know that. And, you’re kind, and you care - why do you care?”

Why does he care?

There’s a loaded question he can’t actually answer.

He chews on his lip for a moment, watching Quentin, who seems to be trying to make himself smaller and smaller by each passing second. There’s a brief moment Eliot worries that he’ll tap into his magic and wham! Turn himself into a small animal or insect in front of everyone in the cafe. But he just keeps curling in on himself, watching Eliot with those big, worried eyes. “Have you ever,” Eliot starts, pursing his lips, “Seen someone and felt yourself kind of pulled towards them? It’s kind of intrinsic? You see them and you know that you’re supposed to talk to them, get to know them?”

He’d felt that way, when Quentin came tumbling through the trees and slowly, so fucking slowly, made his way across the Brakebills lawn towards him. Yeah, he’d been assigned to get him to the test, but wanting to get to know him afterwards? He can’t exactly deny that he’d wanted to do that.

Mostly because Margo would shoot him dead for lying.

Quentin looks down at the table for just a moment, fingers reaching out and twisting the cup with his coffee around, until the logo is facing him, and the handle of the cup is pointed at the window. “Maybe.”

Eliot’s eyebrows shoot up. “Maybe? With who? Should I be jealous?” And maybe he feels a little jealous. Or maybe he messed up the temporary warming spell and it’s gradually getting hotter. Since Eliot isn’t the jealous type, it must be the spell.

Lithe fingers run over the top of the coffee cup, as Quentin’s thumb nail scratches at the logo. “No,” He murmurs, looking up at Eliot through his eyelashes. “I - uh,” he swallows, looks back down at the cup, “I saw you. Before? You introduced yourself.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah,” He swallows again, looking back up at Eliot. “A few times. That’s why I was so surprised when you asked to sit with me.”

Eliot grins. “Is that so?” He’s both impressed and surprised. He had tried to use a spell that made him - not invisible, but harder to notice. So he could stalk - ahem, check on - Quentin without seeming like a complete creep. So it is strange that Quentin, devoid of any knowledge of magic, had been able to see him. But also fairly impressive, because it means the magic is stronger in him than even Brakebills realized.

A little pang of pride shoots down Eliot’s spine, but he passes it off as a cold shiver. Because, obviously the spell is fluctuating between extreme heat and extreme cold. Not so strange - it’s never personally happened to him, but he doesn’t doubt it’s happened to other, less experienced Magicians. He’d been distracted this morning, he could have easily flubbed a part of the spell.

“I - Yeah.” Quentin shrugs, looking slightly guilty, his fingers continuing their assault on the poor coffee mug, “You were always in the corner,” He nods to the back of the cafe, where Eliot had definitely spent many a morning over his vodka coffee watching him, “And, I don’t know. It kind of felt like I knew you. And then you sat with me, and I didn’t know a single fucking thing,” He chuckles, more to himself, and looks back up, “You look all intense and scary and hot, but you’re -,” He stopped.

“I’m what?”

“Kind and, intense and - and hot.”

Eliot laughs, the sound roaring out of him in a shocking exhale. “Thanks, Q.” He reaches forward and stops Quentin’s thumb from actually somehow peeling off the logo, and wraps his fingers around Quentin’s, which are warm from the resonating heat of the coffee. “And, I care because you make me care.”

Something inside him pulls at his arm, attempts to wiggle free, but he glares down at his hand, and holds tight. Quentin needs someone to care, and Eliot can be, has been for months, that person, damn it. He can still keep his promise.

“I make you care?”

Eliot nods. “Besides the whole kicked puppy thing - no, it’s not bad, stop trying to pull your fucking hand away,” He squeezes his fingers tighter around Quentin’s, “Because you’re, I don’t know. Easy to care about, I guess.”

And maybe it’s the truth.

“I have clinical depression, a best friend off who knows where drugged up on only god knows what -,” Well, Eliot had a pretty good idea of what she’s drugged up on, and it’s not even remotely close to actual narcotics, “And a dad with brain cancer. How the fuck does that make me easy to care about?”

Eliot’s brow furrows. “You think because your life is fucked up people shouldn’t find it easy to care about you?”

“I’m saying it should be pretty near impossible to give a fuck.” He shrugs, looking down at their hands. “I know if I had the choice to not care about any of this, I’d walk away in a heart beat.”

“Your dad really got to you today, didn’t he?” Eliot murmurs. “That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

“No!” Then, “Maybe? . . . Yes? Yes.”

Sighing, Eliot, pulls away and reaches for his jacket. Quentin’s eyes go wide, and just as Eliot see’s the flash of hurt, it’s gone, but Eliot’s frantically leaning down, “No, no,” He says, pointing at Quentin, “I’m not - no. That’s not what’s happening, jesus. Stop being a sad sack and put your jacket on.”

“I - I,” He looks between Eliot’s pointing finger and the full cup of coffee on the table. “But I haven’t had my coffee.”

“And you’re too distracted to drink it. So, come on. We’re going to go do something exciting to get your mind off your shitty life.” He expects Quentin to be offended, but instead his chairs being pushed back, and Eliot almost gets smacked in the face as Quentin pulls on the jacket.

“Promise?” Quentin asks as he leans down and picks up his gloves, barely bothering to break eye contact with Eliot.

Eliot tilts his head. “Now that is not the response I would’ve predicted.”

Quentin at least has the decency to look a little embarrassed before saying, “I’ve wanted to see you outside of the cafe for a while, anyways.” Which makes them both laugh as Eliot rolls his eyes, and heads towards the entrance, grabbing Quentin’s hand as he does so.

What? His hands are warm and soft, and Eliot has a fucked up temp spell messing with his temperatures, and Quentin’s hands are right there for the taking. It’s not like he wants to hold his hands for anything other than safety purposes.

Even if they really are ridiculously soft.

#the magicians #queliot #quentin coldwter #eliot waugh #eliot is so deep in denial #and quentin is very confused #its been six months but this is somehow the beginning of the story #idk why #eliot didnt want me to see him being an actual dick i guess

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ashapon · 7 years

Text

Pretty Girl Rock

Summary: Part 1. Honestly, they’ve known each other for so long. Chris shouldn’t just be figuring this out now.

Tags: Climbing Class, Chris/Josh, Until Dawn AU, Cheerleader!Josh

Word Count: 2,733

“Hey, nerd.”

Chris swiveled around in his seat to face a beaming Jessica, her hands clutching her cellphone close to the fabric of her baby blue cami. He’d long since learned that her way of referring to him was more of an endearment than anything else; Jessica was shockingly sweet in spite that her position as head of the cheerleading squad also carried the baggage of the ‘bitch’ stereotype.

“What’s up?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s up’?” Jessica rolled her eyes playfully. “You comin’ to tonight’s game or what?”

Chris furrowed his eyebrows, actually considered she was joking for a moment. She didn’t wait for his answer and instead plowed through his confusion.

“We’ve got this phenomenal routine, right?” Jessica wiggled her fingers excitedly. “Oh my gosh, you have to come! It’s Friday night, we’ll all hang out afterward.”

“I don’t know,” he chuckled, glancing to the clock. Three minutes until the chemistry quiz. “Josh goes on about how boring I’ll find it. All games are the same, right?”

“Don’t do it for the football, duh,” she joked, leaning down to pull her book out. “Do it for us! Do it for the cheer. It’d totally mean a lot.”

“Yeah,” Chris offered her a quick smile before swiveling around in his seat just as the bell rang. “Okay. I guess I could drop by if it means so much to you.”

Jessica giggled, typing out a brief message.

“I thought you’d wanna do it for Josh, but whatever.”

Chris turned the upper half of his body, raising an eyebrow in Jessica’s direction.

“Why would Josh care if I watched you guys cheer?”

Jessica gave him a look that very much conveyed he was an idiot and, honestly, Chris had no idea why. He didn’t get the chance to inquire further, not when their teacher was calling their attention to the front as she started passing out the quiz.

Josh Washington was his best friend; they’d known each other since the 3rd grade - and sometimes they were completely different people and they worked. They shared plenty of common interest, and would truthfully do anything for each other, but Chris wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he wouldn’t know half the people he did without Josh.

The way that Josh was, he didn’t care how he came off to other people, he socialized with anyone, didn’t actually try to compromise on who he was. Chris respected him more than he could put into words. Josh was someone Chris could goof around with who wouldn’t pretend it didn’t happen the next day.

That in mind, Chris realized he hadn’t ever gone to see his friend play a game. Josh was on the football team and he’d never bothered to drop in? Maybe he didn’t care about that kind of obligation, maybe he knew that wasn’t the kind of environment Chris thrived in?

He hadn’t bothered to consider it until now; and he thought about it the entire day, tossed multiple scenarios around in his head that varied from Josh being completely ashamed of him to, was it even possible, Josh being a terrible football player. Neither seemed likely, no matter which direction Chris’ anxieties tried to push him in.

In the end, Chris convinced himself not to worry about it. He met up with two of their friends, Sam and Ashley, after school and they followed the crowd to the bleachers.

“Is this really your first time seeing a game?”

Chris shrunk under Sam’s gaze a bit and she immediately appeared apologetic. He stared down at his phone, biting his lip, and tapped a swift ‘good luck, I’ll be here after’ message to Josh. He wanted to tell Josh he’d be here sooner, but he knew his friend would try to talk him out of it.

Why was that?

“You know Josh,” Chris managed a smile. “He always says it’s not a big deal.”

Sam hummed in a way that suggested she was only half-satisfied with that answer before the three of them were interrupted by an enthusiastic shout.

“You made it!”

Jessica reached over the railing to snag Chris’ hands, shaking them with vigor. She was wearing the tri-colored cheerleading uniform, her hair twisted in dual braids.

“I said I would, didn’t I?”

“This is so great,” Jessica fists went up in the air before she extended her index fingers toward Chris. “He’s gonna be so happy. He always gets a little nervous about every game.”

Well, Chris supposed that did make sense. The school put a lot of pressure on its athletes.

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” he replied, supportive. “Where is he, anyway?”

Jessica opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly the crowd was roaring and instead she took a few steps back. She mouthed something that looked like ‘Show time’ and lifted her hands in the air again.

The crowd quieted some and she spoke over the din.

“What’s up, Titans?”

The crowd roared in response and Chris reached up to cover his ears, wincing.

“You guys ready to see a win tonight?”

Again, the crowd screamed the affirmative and Jessica clapped her hands together.

“First thing’s first...” a coy smile tugged at her pink lips. “Are you excited for some Titan cheer?”

Jessica’s smile was infectious, Chris found, exchanging a small grin with Sam and Ashley before clapping along with everyone else. Music started blaring from the speakers around them and the hype reached its peak with the appearance of the Los Angeles Titans’ cheering squad.

Roughly a half a dozen male and female cheerleaders stood just outside of the football field, gathering in their formation. Chris spared half of them a look before the cheer began.

It really was impressive; Chris flinched because, half the time, it seemed as if someone was in danger of breaking their spine, but definitely impressive. Jessica was a star, obviously, but he knew that going in.

Halfway through the cheer Sam jostled his shoulder and pointed at a particular member of the squad. He followed her gaze, listening as she spoke directly into his ear.

“There’s our boy,” she sounded like she was imitating a proud mother. “Cool, right?”

Chris squinted. Honestly, he hadn’t been paying attention to any of the others aside from Jessica. The instant his eyes landed on the man in question, they widened and his mouth hung open.

He felt numb for the remainder of the performance, like he switched bodies with someone who was him but not quite. As though he’d ended up in a completely different universe in the span of a few minutes.

In this universe, Josh Washington - his best friend in the entire world - just so happened to be a cheerleader. One of the few male cheerleaders and, by all appearances, the most out-fucking-standing of them.

Josh was worrying his lip beneath a small and entirely wholehearted grin as he pulled off moves and flips and things that had Chris gasping behind his hands.

This was real. He knew that grin. He knew it because it was exactly like the one Josh sent his way whenever Chris insisted he’d be the next big thing in Hollywood.

By the end of the routine, Chris was positive his eardrums had shattered, his hands shaking while the crowd chanted for more. The cheer squad convened in front of them and Josh, beaming, had an arm around Jessica as he whooped and the football players began to file out onto the field. Ashley’s friend Matt among them.

Chris, however, couldn’t help that he was still gaping in his best friend’s direction. He barely registered that Josh and a few of the other cheerleaders were setting up to do a final toss, twist, catch except that Josh didn’t catch and someone else had to when Chris stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What?”

The crowd around him died down substantially, Sam and Ashley were giving him weird looks and Josh...

Josh met his gaze, instantly mortified regardless of any attempts to conceal it. He recovered faster than Chris, largely because he was being ushered away by the squad, by a Jessica who was shooting him odds glances. Josh dropped his gaze, physically moved behind Jessica and refused to even acknowledge Chris until he was out of sight.

Everyone seemed to forget it happened; a student announced the arrival of the opponents over an intercom system and Chris remained rooted to the spot.

“Uh, Chris,” Ashley nudged his arm cautiously. “Why are you acting like that?”

Chris opened his mouth, closed it and took a deep breath.

“Like what?”

“Like you didn’t know Josh was on the cheer squad,” Sam elaborated, pausing. “You didn’t know Josh was on the cheer squad.”

He pressed his lips together in a thin line, unsure whether he felt angry, betrayed, whatever. Either way, he didn’t trust himself to speak any further.

“How could you not know?” Ashley asked. “Didn’t he mention it?”

It was a sincere and perfectly justified question, but Chris found himself hissing out a put off “I don’t know” before he was making his way down from the bleachers.

The cheer squad was taking a break near the refreshments, Chris heard Josh’s voice above the surrounding conversational tones.

“Are you kidding me, Jess?”

“Don’t get mad at me, Josh,” Jessica huffed, sipping her water. “How is this my fault? You’re telling me you never said anything? Not once?”

“It...” Chris heard Josh struggle for a moment only to come up with a feeble, “It never came up.”

“Don’t play that game with me.”

When Chris peered around the corner, Jessica was shoving her cup of water in Josh’s chest accusingly.

“I’m serious,” Josh frowned. “What am I gonna do? Say ‘Hey, Chris, guess what’.”

“That’s exactly what someone who isn’t embarrassed to be a part of an awesome cheer squad would say.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” Josh groaned, lowering his voice. “Why would I be embarrassed to be a part of a kick-ass cheer squad?”

“I don’t know,” she crossed her arms and shot him a pointed look. “Why wouldn’t you tell your best friend?”

“Maybe you need to cool off a bit, Jess-”

“-actually,” Chris cleared his throat and stepped forward through a crowd, scuffing his shoes across the asphalt. “I was wondering the same thing.”

The other two fell silent and when Chris braved the chance to meet Josh’s eyes, he found his friend averting his gaze to the ground.

“Josh,” he tried, struggling to keep an even tone. “Can we talk for a second?”

Josh hummed in thought, a careless noise that set Chris’ nerves on edge. He gazed over at the field and shrugged.

“We’ll probably have to go out any minute -- Jess, ow, what the hell?”

Jessica snatched the water out of Josh’s hands and took a few steps closer to Chris.

“We don’t actually need you out on the field until half-time, genius,” she tossed her hair over her shoulders and nodded to Chris. “Take your time alright? Really, just, nail into him. Throw a punch if you have to.”

Behind her, Josh was shaking his head, hands on his hips. Jessica gestured for the others to follow her out to the bleachers, calling over her shoulder.

“If you do punch him,” she added sweetly. “Make sure it’s not in the face, okay?”

Josh turned around to the refreshment stand when they were left alone, ordering a complimentary water. Chris wanted to give him credit for the fact that he legitimately acknowledged Chris’ presence and asked if he wanted anything.

Instead, he declined and watched Josh nervously tug at his straw. It was obvious to Chris that his friend felt trapped by the situation - and he never responded well to that kind of environment. He’d have to be the one to extend the olive branch.

“Wanna sit down somewhere?”

Something in Chris’ tone likely prevented what would have been a typical childish response by Josh. The other only nodded slowly and followed after him.

They ended up a way out from the field, which was still visible from where they’d hopped up on the tailgate of Mike Munroe’s truck. Josh insisted that Mike wouldn’t know - or hell, care - considering he was in the middle of an incredibly important football game.

Chris shrugged in response and they sat in a silence that was very occasionally interrupted by the excitement of said football match.

“’It’s not just good to be different,’” Chris recited after several minutes, gritting his teeth. “’it’s better to be different’. You know who says that?”

“I do,” Josh answered without hesitation, the corner of his mouth tugging up a little. “Gotta be honest, though, it’s lame as hell. Plus I got it off a speech by a guy from some prime time award show.”

“Whatever,” he sighed, forcing Josh’s to meet his gaze for one goddamn second. “You’re always the one going on about how I should be my nerdy old self, right?”

“I never lied to you, man-”

“-but you never told me,” Chris interrupted. “Which, I gotta admit, is a shitty thing to do. And it means you already decided how I would react.”

Josh didn’t respond, resumed staring down into the straw of his untouched drink. In the background, the home crowd screamed and the digital number adjacent to the ‘Titans’ rose a few points.

“How long?” Chris watched Josh slump out of the corner of his eye. “Josh, how long?”

Josh shook his head again, cursed to himself as he pulled the lid off of his drink and downed it.

“Six years,” he picked at the lip of the Styrofoam cup. “Give or take.”

“Six years,” Chris repeated, closing his eyes. “And everybody but me knows?”

“My, uh, my dad doesn’t,” Josh laughed, a hollow, humorless sound. “Not too keen on having that conversation with him anytime soon.”

“Senior year,” Chris felt exhausted at this point, not even angry. “I don’t get to know until our senior year because you thought - what? - that I’d react like your dad would? That you’d lose my respect or something?”

“I don’t know, man,” he could tell Josh was steeling himself for something. “People have their own opinions about that kind of thing. Stereotypes or whatever.”

“Really?” Chris’ furrowed his eyebrows. “You have got to be shitting me. You thought I would assume you were gay and drop you like a damn hot potato?”

Josh flinched, there was no disguising it. Chris wanted to pursue what that meant, but his friend was nudging his shoulder and grinning like it hadn’t happened.

“You wish,” he winked, but the usual impish glee wasn’t there. “Bro, I’m sorry, but you’ll be competing with me for the lovely ladies of the world’s attention for the rest of your miserable life.”

Chris had to let it go, because whatever there was left to learn about wasn’t worth the suffocating silence, because he felt inexplicably tired and Josh...

Behind the grin, Chris thought he saw it there, desperation peeking through the cracks, an entreaty for momentary peace. Even though he wanted to call his friend out on it, even though he wanted to press it further, he laughed instead.

“Sure,” he patted Josh’s knee, feigning consolation. “Say what you want, but once they find out Josh Washington, my best bro, is a cheerleader, they’ll all come running to me.”

Josh snorted.

“You don’t even know,” the grin back in full force, Josh ran his tongue across his top row of teeth. “Guy or girl, people dig cheerleaders. I’ll be the one hooking you up.”

“I do know, actually,” Chris knocked his shoulder against the other’s. “You looked really fucking cool out there.”

“Thanks, man.”

“I mean it.”

Josh ducked his head, palm pressed to the back of his neck. He didn’t look at Chris when he spoke next, his face turned toward the field.

“Come to practice sometime, okay? If you want.”

The game had gotten off to a late start and with autumn approaching, dusk descended upon them long before any clocks chimed eight. Because of this, Chris couldn’t be sure that Josh’s skin seemed suddenly a little darker around his ears.

He couldn’t exactly deny it either.

“Definitely,” Chris pulled his knees up to his chest, buried a grin in the denim of his jeans. “Got a lot of time to make up for, after all.”

#Until Dawn #Climbing class #Poncy writes #Poncywriting #Chris/Josh (UD)#Chris (UD)#Josh Washington #Until Dawn AU #Fics #Ash writes #My writing #Ashapon

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tysonrunningfox · 7 years

Text

Eret III: Chiefly Upsets

I am READY to post this guys, a lot of this has existed for like literal years. Like some of this I had to update from word 2013. I am STOKED. And it’s 7400 words, I’m sorry.

Previous Parts (Updating right now I promise)

“Is that new?” The chief asked Mom over breakfast one morning, a few days after Johann leaves, and Mom paused, staring at him blankly and weirdly. “The dress. I mean.”

“No,” Mom shook her head and turned back to Stoick, who was trying to sneak his breakfast into his pockets for extra treats at dragon training.

“Oh, it looks new.”

“It’s not,” she shrugged, glancing at him in this weird, almost embarrassed way I didn’t notice until I was looking back at the bizarre encounter.

“Ok…” The chief stared for another creepy second until I cleared my throat and brought his attention back to the treaty on the table, the same one he’s still trying to respond to.

I wouldn’t have thought about it at all if it weren’t for the even weirder moment a couple days later when the chief like, completely derailed our official business at the lumberyard because Mom walked by and he started asking about her day and offering to deal with dinner.

Then, then, I really started watching and it got weirder. My mom’s axe has a shiny, newly sharpened edge and she didn’t ask me to do it and there’s a stack of new quilts on her bed the one time I go in there to ask her something.

And today? Today takes the cake for weird and uncomfortable as soon as the chief and I get home to Mom and Aurelia out front, stringing a small bow together.

“You’ll get it,” Mom’s telling her, that same sort of stern refusal to acknowledge failure that kept me learning and keeping up with Ingrid and Arvid all those years, and she smiles when she hands an arrow to Aurelia and directs her at a makeshift target on a bale of straw outside of the barn.

The chief grins when he sees it and when Mom notices him she shrugs, “she was curious.”

“Thank you,” the chief laughs, “I’ve been saying for years if she’s not going to have a dragon with her she should really learn something.”

“I’m holding a weapon, maybe don’t do that right now,” Aurelia gripes, voice straining as she pulls the bowstring back and lets go. The arrow doesn’t go far, something about her release making it float harmlessly to the ground halfway between her and the target. She sighs and Mom pats her on the shoulder.

“Try again, you’ll get it.”

The chief is looking at her like…like he doesn’t even look at Toothless. Like…

“Do you need any help?” He asks, walking up too close to Mom for her to not shift or move away. Aurelia rolls her eyes at me, like she’s asking for help and wanting me to watch the disaster unfold all at once.

Her next arrow falls out of her hands onto her feet and she sighs.

“I think we’ve got it,” Mom tells the chief, and her blank confusion is less blank confusion and more mild interest. Like she halfway wants to know what he has to say.

“Aurelia,” he holds his hand out for the bow, “can I show you something?”

“I bet Mom showed me how do it right, Dad.”

“No, this is a trick for those of us not so…muscularly inclined,” he laughs. Mom laughs. Aurelia stares at me like she can’t believe what she’s hearing and no one else is going to understand.

“Is that a dig at me?” I ask and the chief doesn’t appear, because he’s glancing at Mom every two seconds and tinkering with either end of the bow string.

“It can’t possibly be about me so…” Aurelia flexes her arm and holds her hand out for the bow.

“Just a second…there.” He takes a second to show her how to hold the arrow differently and when she tries a third time the arrow goes far enough to broadside the target before dropping to the ground.

“Not a bad trick,” Mom takes the bow back, looking at the knots at the ends of the strings and then staring at the chief with a weird, halfway impressed expression. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Gobber. It’s a one handed trick, I guess, but it also works for those of us who have one hand worth of strength spread across two.”

Mom scoffs and punches the chief in the arm, like he’s annoying, which is true, but also like she’s not wholly annoyed by it.

Today. Yep. Today is the weirdest day. The weirdest one of all.

“I think I’m done for the day,” Aurelia excuses herself from between them, leaving the bow and walking over to me.

“Yeah. Good.” The chief waves his arm at the two of us, his focus still on Mom who’s still standing there. Not avoiding him. “You’re done too, Eret, it’s getting late.”

“And they’re getting rid of us,” Aurelia hisses under her breath as we turn and start walking back towards the village. “It’s like he’s remembering how to be human. To her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I look back over my shoulder at them and they’re still just standing there. Mom shoots an arrow and hits a little off center and the chief holds his hands out to ask for the bow and give it a try.

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“How’s chiefing?” She asks, “I haven’t heard much this week.”

“It’s…” I don’t want to tell the truth, that it’s good but not enough but I know someday it will be, that’s the kind of thing that makes it sound like at some level I’m benefitting from these bizarre circumstances, the ones shoving Mom and the chief into a conversation that’s not yelling. “It’s whatever.”

“It’s…I…” She looks back like she doesn’t want to be heard and I elbow her in the side, urging her to spit it out, “it’s not like…dragon training day in and day out, is it?”

“What? No, we’ve only been by the academy once and that was because of some structural damage.”

“Hmm.” She tucks her hands into her pockets and kicks a pebble out of the path. “And you made an ass of yourself last week. With Johann.”

“Yes, thanks for reminding me how well that went, I always know I can count on you.”

“I’m just saying.” She shrugs.

“What are you saying?”

“Mom keeps asking me why I don’t go chiefing with you guys, and I mean, barring Toothless stalking me like prey all day, I don’t…I guess I don’t really have a good answer for her.”

“You don’t need to, it’s—you’d think it was boring.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Why are you saying any of this? You don’t want to be chief, you never have.”

“Maybe I’m just a little bitter that it was cooler for him to hunt down some crazy love child than to, I don’t know, I don’t know,” she kicks another pebble out of the way. “It’s not like I was a bow and arrow prodigy, I don’t have anything to talk about.”

“No, please, continue, you…are you thinking you have some…interest in being chief?”

“I just said I don’t know.” She stops short and tentatively reaches out to touch Bang’s nose, tracing the edge of his scales with a gentle finger. He puffs on her hand and she jerks back slightly before taking a step forward and setting her hand on his head. “I just…you’re new. That’s why you’re doing it. It’s not…merit, I guess, and I’m just realizing that and it’s not really your problem but you’re supposed to be my brother so…”

“It’s not like it’s…I mean, the job isn’t just acting like your dad all the time, it’s—”

“I think I’ve seen him doing it longer than you have.” It’s not so much her snapping at me as her telling me I’m wrong and that makes me madder.

And it puts me in this awkward position where I’m supposed to argue for why I’m enjoying this, which makes it seem so ok that I’m barely talking to my Dad anymore and that Mom is…back there practically enjoying herself in the chief’s company. I…

There’s this interesting dead space between saying what I mean and avoiding fights and it seems like silence but really it’s too many words, all disagreeing with each other and flying at once.

I nod.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Maybe I’ll come along sometime.”

“You’d be bored.” I say again and she rolls her eyes.

“You don’t know what I’d be.”

00000

The chief is cleaning off the table, stacking documents on a shelf and muttering to himself. Aurelia and I are looking over a wrinkled Fuse Original Design on the floor next to the fire and the chief is trying his damndest to eavesdrop, smiling weirdly at us when Aurelia bumps her shoulder against mine and mutters under her breath that he’s being creepy. Stoick is already asleep, exhausted from his special, pre-snowstorm, morning lesson with Mom and Stormfly.

Tonight’s finally the night to meet at the forge, we’re just waiting until it’s late enough that the chief won’t ask. But he’s being weird as he has been all week and I don’t think I’ve been monitored this closely since that time I got grounded for a month for following Dad on a weeklong fishing trip.

Arvid’s probably already there. So’s Fuse. We’ll probably get there and find no forge at all, just Fuse down a few inches of singed hair and Arvid terrified and trying to pick a fight he’s going to lose.

It’s funny, in my head, but somewhere beneath that humor lies the precarious balance of this stupid, probably doomed plan.

Sometimes I wish it were just me and Fuse, honestly. It’d be less complicated, but I look at Aurelia out of the corner of my eye, fixated and eager, and I can’t take this away from her. She didn’t grow up getting grounded for stupid sibling shenanigans and it’s not like her brain is hurting the operation.

Arvid is the wild card.

This is almost absolutely the only way he’s ever going to talk to me again and maybe I’m selfish and maybe I don’t care.

The door swings open and the chief freezes, smiling in that creepy please like me way as Mom strides in from the cold, shaking snow out of her hair and glaring at the weather behind her before shutting the door tight and tucking the blanket back underneath it with her foot to stop the breeze. The chief’s door is a tighter seal than ours used to be and she hasn’t adopted to this level of mandatory luxury any better than I have.

“Hey Mom,” Aurelia folds the sketch in front of us, because she knows Mom’s more likely to ask what it is.

Not to mention the horrible truth that the chief’s about to be distracted enough for us to slip out. Which is…you know, gross and uncomfortable, but I was already being selfish so I might as well continue to capitalize on that.

“What did you get up to, milady?” The chief blurts, and I almost gag, and he looks scared as Mom turns to him, wet boot squeaking on the wood floor. Her mouth falls open and he flinches, waiting for her to rightfully clock him in the face for assuming he gets to use stupid endearments around her.

She doesn’t punch him. She deflates, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck like it’s better to pretend she didn’t hear him.

Or she doesn’t mind it as much as I want her to mind it, but that’s impossibly gross and—what would that even mean? Is she just lonely after Dad and—Gods, that’s all gross. I’m never going to eat again and that’s the last thing I need.

“I—nothing. I was just at Ruff’s.”

It comes out perfectly pleasant and the chief freezes, holding a plate he’s drying with an old cloth. He laughs before he can stop himself, and she blinks slowly and barks out a weird, bizarre laugh I’ve sure never heard before, and I’m the one who used to make her laugh. The chief smiles and swallows hard and it sounds like he’s a terror choking on a chicken wing.

Mom’s staring at him like she expects him to sprout a tail.

“How was the flight home?” The chief asks.

“Cold,” she laughs again, brushing a hunk of ice off of her shoulder. “Cold and wet.”

“Uh good…well, not good, but—I’m glad you’re home.”

She pauses for a second and I recognize that face and it makes me wish I’d eaten less. It’s the face she makes when I’m lying and she knows I’m lying but she’s waiting to call me out on it until she hears whatever ridiculous thing I’m going to say next.

“M too. It’s warm,” she says like that’s not dumb and obvious and Aurelia kicks me in the shin like there’s a chance in Hel I might not be paying perfectly close attention to this.

The chief laughs again and Mom’s struggling not to smile, picking a charcoal stick off of the table and handing it to him. Their hands glance across each other when he takes it and she jolts away, giving him some soft, hardly scary at all, glare and what the Odin fearing fuck is going on?

“Close your mouth,” Aurelia hisses, like my reaction is going to ruin her show, and they both look at us at once like they forgot we were here.

“That was weird.” I announce, tucking the sketch into my pocket and standing before offering Aurelia my hand and helping her to her feet. “We’re going to the forge to finish this.”

“In this weather?” The chief asks and I shrug, grabbing my and off of the hook by the door and handing Aurelia’s to hers.

“We’re going to the forge where it’s definitionally warm,” Aurelia rolls her eyes and laughs, grabbing a too big fur hat from the shelf and tugging it down over my head like it’ll make me forget what I just say. Or what I didn’t see. Or what doesn’t exist because how could it possibly be anything other than a sunless winter enabled hallucination.

I smile and Mom doesn’t buy it and the chief is just staring at Mom, barely looking at me, and wow, this is a textbook level of distraction to sneak out but my feet are rooted to the ground like if I move something will change again.

“We’ll be back. Thanks for the hat,” I adjust it on my head and reach for the doorknob, trusting Aurelia to drag me outside. She comes through and hooks her arm through my elbow, saying something about staying warm.

As soon as the door shuts behind us I duck down, pulling her with me and crouching below the nearby window. I can’t see, but I can hear a muffled version of the conversation inside and I press my ear to the crack at the bottom of the shutters.

“What are you doing?” Aurelia shivers, looking peeved.

“Shh,” I hold my finger to my lips and press closer to the wall, wood siding cutting into my shoulder.

I hear Mom, wedging the blanket back underneath the door with a series of quiet thuds. The chief makes some awkward hemming and hawing sound that I don’t think is Norse and I want Mom to just…disappear into the bedroom and end this.

“Is Stoick asleep?” Mom asks.

“Yeah, he was exhausted. Conked out right after dinner.”

“Right,” she pauses. “I’m going to go to bed. Still sort of freezing.”

“I’ll put a few extra logs on the fire.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she sounds irritated but not louder or harsher and I know at some level that it’s false. It’s a Mom voice I wouldn’t worry about.

“I want to.”

I can hear what I think she should say in my mind. Just one solid fuck you. She sighs.

“Thanks, Hiccup.”

I grab Aurelia’s hand and pull her to her feet and around the corner of the house right as the chief opens the door to get to the wood pile. She jogs to keep up as Bang slips out of the barn and trots to our side, nosing his way under my hand.

“What was all that about?” She huffs, stealing my hat and tugging it down over her own ears. The wind whips through my hair and I scratch my head.

“I have no idea. It doesn’t make any Thor-damned sense.”

“How did you go sixteen years without learning anything if you’re that good at eavesdropping? I couldn’t hear shit.”

“Good for you.” I snap my fingers, guiding Bang to our other side to block the wind as we turn towards the forge.

“What on Midgard did you hear?”

“Nothing,” I shrug, “everything. I don’t know. He’s still being all…nice.”

“What did he say?”

“She was like ‘I’m cold’ and he was like ‘I’ll build up the fire’ and she was like ‘you don’t have to do that’ and he said he wanted to and she didn’t stop him. And...it was in their tone.”

“Even the great you can’t hear tone through a closed shutter.”

“Since when are you Olga Optimism?” I see the wisp of smoke from the forge’s chimney cutting through the thick falling snow just ahead and speed up slightly, trudging a trail through the quick drifting snow as Aurelia falls into step behind me.

“Mom doesn’t seem so miserable anymore.”

“Hmm.”

She’s never seen Mom happy. She didn’t see the truth in the easy lie, the way that Mom got excited when she knew Dad was coming home, the way she used to hum when she didn’t think we could hear her. I don’t really trust Aurelia as any sort of happy family metric, honestly, but that’s not worth mentioning when we walk up to the forge to see Wingspark and Hotgut huddling together outside, like they don’t share their owners’ mutual loathing.

“Do you think Fuse has blown him up yet?” Aurelia scoffs, stepping ahead of me and pulling off the hat, fixing her hair before opening the door.

I roll my eyes.

“Royalty has decided to join us,” Arvid pushes himself away from the counter when we walk in, chewing on a fingernail and staring at Aurelia. She scoffs and walks over to Fuse, who’s leaning over another counter covered in little metal spheres that look like Smitelout’s and dusting them with pinkish powder that matches her hair.

She looks up at me and raises a singed eyebrow in greeting, mumbling under her breath, “they’re only royalty if you insist on bringing it up.”

“And you two were getting along so well,” I wipe my forehead and walk across the room to the fire, stoking it and pumping the billows a couple of times until the coals glow bright orange and yellow and my fingers come back to life. “How goes it, Fuse?”

“I’m miniaturizing three core bomb cells that should work wet or dry, we should use that baffle you made a couple months ago and test them out. The chief wants me blowing out the wood pile next week, I figure that’s a good time…” She trails off, exhaling slowly and closing off the sphere. It doesn’t line up quite how I would have made it and I’d offer to fix it for her if she didn’t look so sure it’s about to blow.

Aurelia is nonplussed, sitting down next to her and kicking her boots onto the counter. Fuse doesn’t look at her, setting the shell aside and finally making eye contact.

“Sounds good.”

“Took you long enough to get here.” Everything about Arvid’s voice is antagonistic in every syllable and I know I could get him to bitch about the chief with me.

I don’t know if he cares if Mom’s happy. Or not miserable, at least.

“It’s a little harder to slip out of the palace than your house,” Aurelia rolls her eyes. She’s smiling, her face pink like she’s far closer to the fire than she is.

Arvid looks her up and down, frowning slightly before going back to glaring at me.

Fuse gives me an impatient, sympathetic look and waves me over, “I’ve got cobalt salt, and…well, honestly I’m not quite sure this is but when I lit it on fire with black powder, I blew half the roof off my shed, so I think it’ll pack a more even punch in solid solution with the salt.”

“And you want me to drop these things?” Arvid’s flexing like it’s not obvious that his chest is all puffed up. I don’t check if Aurelia’s looking because I don’t want to know, because I need to learn when to eavesdrop.

“Yes, this is all an impractically elaborate assassination attempt.” Fuse assembles the next bomb more quickly, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. I rarely hear her hostile and I can’t say if it’s intimidating or deadly.

“Is that a threat—”

“No, it’s not.” Aurelia picks up a jar of Fuse’s powder, holding it to her nose and sniffing it with a grimace.

Arvid’s mouth moves wordlessly, twice, and he goes quiet, crossing his arms more tightly. He glares at me when he catches me looking at him and Gods, this is bizarre.

Fuse hands another shell to Aurelia and starts showing her how to load it and I start sifting through a pile of scrap metal in the back corner, because even if Gobber notices someone was here during the storm he’ll be glad they did something practical. There’s a dagger that doesn’t look half bad and I idly pop it into the fire, finding my old favorite hammer in Smitelout’s fantastic mess and swinging it.

I don’t feel like I’m in charge. I don’t know what being in charge is supposed to feel like.

“I’m shocked you’re here,” Arvid’s directing it at Aurelia but Fuse answers first.

“Why? Think I’d avoid you?”

“I’m not talking to you—”

“We’re all here for the same reason,” I raise my voice just enough that everyone goes quiet and looks at me, even Arvid, for half a second. “Because it’s the only thing we can think of the help the dragons. Well, the only thing we can think of that also makes sense.” I ruin that upstanding, halfway chiefly statement and everyone’s quiet for a second.

“Heard you told half the tribe about the dragons being sick,” Arvid clears his throat, “heard the chief shut you down, hard.”

“Yeah, I’m still here though, aren’t I?”

“Not helping much,” he points at the dagger I’m pulling out of the furnace and I set it on the anvil, giving it a couple of anger reducing hits before answering.

“You’re the one doing nothing.”

“Thorston won’t let me touch anything,” he shrugs, “I tried—”

“So hard, he grunted at what I was doing and then walked away.” Fuse looks at me like she wants me to laugh, glancing at the red hot dagger like she’s not sure I’m going to hurt myself or not.

“You want me to fix that?” I ask, pointing at the not quite circular shell she’s holding.

“What?” She cocks her head, braid dragging through the powder on the table and turning some odd shade of purple in the soot and orange light.

“I can fix that shell, it’s not going together right,” I swing the hammer, because it feels like something I’m doing right, “I’m all warmed up.”

“Oh my gods,” Aurelia sits forward, feet thunking to the floor as she looks at me with some weird, cryptic expression and then at Fuse, “I don’t think I’m doing this right.”

“It’s perfect,” Fuse inspects her work, “and these are fitting fine, don’t worry about it.”

“Looks fine to me,” Arvid mumbles. He’s looking at Aurelia.

“They’re looking good. Actually, as soon as we get these together, I’ve probably got to head home, the storm isn’t looking good.” Fuse helps Aurelia get the shell closed and sets it gently in a leather bag, “I got here early, I ran into Gobber actually, I told him I was locked out and he said to lock up before I left so…”

“Yeah, no, I got that.” I look at the door, shuddering slightly with the storm outside. “No problem, thanks for getting started early.”

“It wasn’t early, I could just get away first,” she glares at Arvid as she stands, “I’ll let you know when the chief wants to blow the woodpile out. He said earlier he wants it done before the snow freezes too hard so…” She shrugs and for a second I have the weird compulsion to ask her if she needs a ride home.

Obviously, she doesn’t. Hotgut is outside. She frowns at me like she notices I’m not saying something and I wave.

“Fly safe. It’s getting pretty bad out there.”

She waves back as she slips outside and Arvid gives an exaggerated, obnoxious sigh of relief.

“I might even let you fly me home,” Aurelia mutters, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t really feel like walking through this.”

“Flying would be quicker, but colder,” I keep working on the dagger, “that’s sort of making me think, we should have a final plan in place by spring. You know, because we need to do this soon but we also can’t do it while a storm like this could mess us up.”

Arvid grunts. Aurelia starts cleaning the counter. She’s looking at Arvid. I feel like I need to say something to bring this back on track.

Someone knocks on the door but doesn’t wait for me to open it.

It’s the chief, windblown, snow-covered and deeply disappointed like I should care.

“What’s up, dad?” Aurelia asks, unconvincingly bored.

“I ran into Fuse,” he looks at me and only me and I realize that being chief in training means I’m going to get blamed for everything. “She said you called a meeting at the forge. What could that possibly be about?”

“I can’t believe Thorston ratted us out,” Arvid huffs, “oh wait, yes I can.”

“She didn’t rat us out,” I snap at him and the chief is still just staring at me.

“No, she didn’t,” the chief crosses his arms, “I put this together myself thanks.” He takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and I see red.

It’s a sketch, Fuse’s wrinkled sketch of the island, the one I had tucked into my clean laundry.

“You went through my things?”

“You’re still investigating the dragon island? More than that, you’re planning to do something about it? Using tribe resources and—”

“No one’s going to starve because I repurposed some scrap metal—”

“That’s not what matters, what matters is that we agreed!” The chief makes it sound like I mortally offended his deep trust in me and I clench my fists, standing up straight like if I make my stature chiefly enough then he’ll have to listen.

“You declared, we never agreed.”

Because even now it’s like he thinks he can make my voice disappear if he’s loud enough or official enough or calls me young and stupid enough. Like if he acts like he trusts me I’ll have to behave.

Aurelia steps up beside me and I think of our conversation the other day, how she’s at some level jealous that I’m the one with all the chiefly pressure. I still think she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and I almost wished I’d pressed that further.

“It’s funny, dad, just because he’s your precious, long-lost son doesn’t mean he’s going to follow everything you say!”

“No,” I snap, “I don’t need you fighting for me, I—” I look back at the chief and force myself to deflate like Bang pulling a punch, “No. This isn’t a fight at all, I’m doing it, you can’t stop me.” It feels chiefly when I shove past him and through the door in that it feels bratty and absolute and that’s what I’m supposed to be, isn’t it?

That’s what he wants from me, that’s what Aurelia wants him to want from her.

And beyond all that, it doesn’t seem to matter who’s right or wrong, only who’s older and more famous and more willing to compromise themselves.

“Eret!” The chief follows me out and I walk faster, towards Bang, “Eret, stop. Now.”

“Is that an order from the chief?” I whirl around, pushing snow soggy hair out of my face.

“Yes.”

I stop, clapping my hands against my sides.

“So you’ll stop before treason, then, that’s the line?” He looks hurt. I don’t care. It’s not victory like it used to be but I’m not sad about it either.

“Right, because me knowing something you don’t has to be treason.”

“I’m taking you home,” he stalks past me, towards Toothless, and Bang grumbles.

“I don’t have to go with you.”

“Even if I say it’s an order from the chief?” He swings onto Toothless and points at Bang, snow falling thick on his head. It’s almost to my knees now, drifting against the wall of the forge in the wind.

“I’ll just leave again.”

“I’m still taking you home.”

“Fine.” I get onto Bang and he grudgingly follows Toothless, flying low for shelter in the trees and gliding to land in front of the chief’s house. Toothless slumps to the barn, giving Bang one last dirty look for being the current house dragon, like he couldn’t come inside too if he knew how to share.

Mom’s still awake, blanket around her shoulders in front of the fire as she sips a cup of tea.

She knows. I know that face, she knows because the chief told her and she…

She doesn’t disagree with him. I’m in trouble with her.

“He was at the forge,” the chief tells Mom because they were colluding behind my back like…

Like I don’t know. Like they’re partners in crime or they’re attempting to parent me together like that’s going to make me anything but furious because the chief has no Odin damned right to play doting dad.

“Why haven’t you told me about this?” She asks, that exhausted brand of stern that makes me want to give her a break.

I shrug.

“He wants to figure it all out himself.” The chief crosses his arms, “like that makes it mean more.”

“Neither of you care if the dragons are suffering. It’s just some stupid—you just…”

I can’t believe Mom is standing there beside the chief, arms crossed at me like I’m the problem. Like…like this entire time we’ve been a united front in the face of this shit and now we’re not and she’s shoulder to shoulder with the chief.

They used to be engaged.

There was a ‘the chief and my mom’ before there was a ‘Mom and me’ and maybe age is all that matters, sometimes.

“Of course I care about the dragons, Eret,” Mom sighs, “but I care more about you lying and scheming and—”

“Right, he’s the only one that’s allowed to do that,” I point at the chief, “it’s practically a damn myth that he hid Toothless from everyone and—”

“Yeah?” Mom shakes her head, “well, he wasn’t my son.”

“Let’s talk about this in the morning,” the chief steps between us like he’s trying to calm down the situation. Like it’s not his fault. Like he’s not the fucking flint who keeps lighting everyone else’s emotional kindling in the square.

“I don’t have to talk about anything—”

“You know what, Eret? That’s right, you don’t have to talk about anything,” Mom pours the rest of her tea out into the fireplace, a corner of the bed of coals smoking and steaming. “You just have to listen.”

She turns and walks back in the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

“Get some sleep,” the chief sighs, “I—”

“That’s not an order.”

“It’s a suggestion,” he stares at me for a moment before his eyes widen, “I’m going to go back out and get Aurelia before this gets any worse.”

“Fine.”

The chief doesn’t get it. He just…he’s stuck in some other time, when wild dragons are as common as ants on apples in summer. He won’t listen, and everything’s suddenly worse because Mom appears to be siding with him. That she won’t go after him for me because he’s annoying because he’s making her laugh and so insidiously worming his way into my life like if he gets close enough I’ll have to lie down and let him walk all over me.

I’m curled up on my stack of furs in front of the fire, leaning back against Bang’s broad side when the door opens and slams shut and Aurelia walks in, conspicuously wrapped in an almost familiar scarf and dusted with powdery snow.

“The chief’s a real dick, you know that?” I scoot, expecting her to come and sit by me like she almost always does. She prefers Bang’s tail, a little further from the teeth, and she hogs the furs as she grouses about the chief and Mom and the general injustices of the day. Aurelia makes me feel like a sunny personality, and I need that sometimes. Especially now. After…that.

She lingers by the door, hands stuffed in her pockets as she glances towards the stairs.

“What? Did you expect me to magic myself home from the forge?”

“Oh,” I stand halfway, arms held out towards her like she needs a hug or a ride. “I left you at the forge without a ride, didn’t I? We didn’t talk about that, I just…stormed out. Shit, I’m sorry, I just—”

“Threw a tantrum because I tried to defend you?” She simplifies, “and then my dad left and chased after you and I was stuck with Arvid—”

“Did he leave you there too?” It’s easier to be angrier at Arvid than to be mad at myself and I cross my arms and step over Bang’s tail towards her. “Because I’ll—”

“Shut up, you’re going to wake everyone up. Arvid gave me a ride home.”

That stops me short.

“You rode Wingspark?”

“She’s sort of sweet,” Aurelia smiles, one of those little sideways smiles, and Bang lifts his head, an offended whuff ghosting against the back of my legs.

“The chief is still out looking for you.”

“Oh,” she shrugs, eyes narrowing. “At least he didn’t forget me—”

“I didn’t forget you!” I cut her off, wracking my brain for the moment she fell out of it. “The chief wasn’t listening about the dragons, there’s less of them every day —”

“I didn’t ask you about the dragons. You forgot me.”

I pause.

“Not on purpose.”

“It…I guess that’s what families do, they forget people,” she says it with a sigh, like it exhausts her to cut so deep, and I think of her riding Wingspark with Arvid and gossiping about me. About how I don’t fit in anywhere.

I did storm out. I stormed out like the fucking chief, and I let him chase me, and I didn’t think about what I was leaving behind.

My heart pounds a little too hard, making me nauseous as I realize the million fights between my parents that I’ve come to understand over the past few months. How Mom would yell and the chief would run and here I am, doing both. In one night. And forgetting people on top of it.

“Eret, I’m sorry, that was mean—” Aurelia steps forward and puts her hand on my arm, and I wonder just how shitty I must look for her to back down from the fight. My hands are shaking when I shrug her off and fumble for the fur on top of my stack, holding it numbly in her direction.

“Here, it’s my warmest one, but I have the fire. Are you ok? I—” Thor, why the Hel do I even exist? All of this dysfunction in one human should be impossible. “And Arvid wasn’t too much of an asshole? Odin, I’m the asshole, I’m sorry—”

“What did I say to get such a rise out of you?” She laughs nervously but accepts the fur, unwrapping the thick scarf halfway around her neck and I recognize it as one of Arvid’s that Nana knit him back when we were kids. “Go to bed, you can fight Dad about dragons in the morning.”

“He’s still out looking for you.” I repeat, because none of what she’s saying makes sense and maybe she didn’t hear me. This is Aurelia, she should be yelling and screaming and making me grovel, but she’s just staring at me like I’m one of Fuse’s experiments left willy nilly on the table.

“Then it’ll be a cold night,” she smiles, and there’s a bit of her in there, tempered by the cold and probably the fact that I abandoned her at the forge in the middle of a blizzard. “He’s got Toothless, I’m sure he’s fine. Why don’t you get some sleep and we can fight about this in the morning when you’re acting less like a crazy person? Thanks for the extra blanket.”

“No. No, someone should let him know you’re home safe.”

“I wouldn’t be too upset if he came home short a couple more toes.”

“No, just because he’s an asshole doesn’t mean I have to be.” I clap my hand over her shoulder and narrow my eyes at the thick scarf still wound halfway around her. “Let me guess, I can’t borrow the scarf.”

“I told Arvid I’d get it back to him tomorrow.” She shrugs, another uncharacteristically demure smile tugging at her cheeks.

“I…ok,” I wrinkle my nose. I know, I know, I told her to go for it. I told her it was something I’d have to cope with, and it’s still true but...it hits me again, repeatedly, off and on like a Nightmare’s skin that I’m both of their blood relatives and my ick-factor is the only reasonable stumbling block besides like, taste.

They’re something else that would work perfectly if I didn’t exist.

“Ok, do you have any idea where he’d look for you?” I start pulling on my coat and patting my leg, coaxing a grumpy Bang towards the door. He looks awfully cozy, curled up in front of the fire, but I point towards the door anyway. I’m not going to be like the chief, not like this.

“The dragon barns, probably.” She rolls her eyes and looks towards the stairs again, hugging the blanket closer to her chest. “Nowhere I’d actually be.”

“Thanks for all the help,” I roll my eyes at her and soften one last time, “I’m sorry. I owe you one, but—but don’t make me cover for you and Arvid, alright? I’ve spent sixteen years covering for that asshole.”

“Nothing happened,” she shakes her head and slumps towards the stairs, “goodnight, Eret.”

“Yeah, nothing happened my ass,” I mutter under my breath as I slip into my boots. I don’t want to think of it the way I don’t want to think about Mom and the chief.

It’s colder than when I got home, one of the few times I curse Bang’s cool core and broad, quickly cooling back, but I tuck myself close to his neck and try and scan the snow for the now familiar night fury smudge.

There’s a flurry of fresher footprints outside of the forge and a strange peg-shaped puncture in the snow catches my attention. Not as inventive as the legends would say he is, it looks like the chief stopped at the forge. I land Bang on the roof and slide into a snow drift with a quiet crunch before yanking the unlocked door open. The chief is inside with Toothless, staring at my anvil, a few long, straight rods in front of him.

He turns to look at me, so different from the raging would be father figure he impersonated earlier and I speak before he can ruin the quiet.

“Aurelia is home. Arvid gave her a ride after we both left her here,” I glare at him and he pushes his snowmelt wet hair away from his face.

“Arvid did?”

“Thank the gods, look outside,” I gesture back towards the snow and pause, “I’m going to go home and sleep now, unless—”

“Can…can you step in here for a moment?”

“Why?” I freeze, “I’m not changing my mind—”

“I just want to talk for a minute,” he points towards the door. “And you’re letting all the snow in.”

I could run. I could go get on Bang and fly to some cave over on East Beach and make a fire. It’d be cold. I would be fine, probably. I grit my teeth and step into the forge, slamming it shut behind me with a little too much force. Bang coughs on the roof above us, a snow drift clomping onto the ground outside with a soft thud.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“I—there’s something weird going on with the dragons, you’re right.” He starts and I roll my eyes.

“Oh, and you can only say that in private, of course—”

“It’s the middle of winter, we don’t have resources to look into it right now. I—I want to figure out some way for us to smooth out a bit, I know that you don’t like—”

“I don’t like you sucking up to all of us like it matters.” I snap, and he purses his lips.

“I’m sorry that’s what you think I’m doing.”

“You’re not supposed to apologize, you’re supposed to be a dick.”

“I’ll re-read the script when I get home,” he smiles like he knows it’s funny and he knows I think it’s funny.

I don’t want it to be ok that the chief shattered my family because he felt like it. I don’t want anyone convincing me I’m part of some weird, important family. I bite my tongue.

“How are things going with you and Arvid?” He asks in that quiet, careful voice like he wants to care without me yelling at him.

I shrug and almost tell him that Aurelia talks to Arvid all the time now, apparently, that they’re best friends. I don’t think I’ve ever almost said this many things without anything slipping out.

“I…It’s at least partially my fault that you two aren’t talking.”

“Wow, so you aren’t actually stupid.” I snip because it’s easier than accepting the statement. The chief smiles.

“And you’re sort of funny sometimes. Wow, who knew?”

I scoff and shake my head, glancing up at him through my overgrown hair. It’s almost long enough to tie back, and still not gray, thank gods.

I hate it when he does that. I hate that I had to accept him as a person and I hate that he keeps shoving it in my face like it’s a trick I should reward him for. I hate how it makes me feel, like I’m the stubborn one when it really feels like I’m the best chance of maintaining logic against this…onslaught of stupid, decent little gestures.

I look at him and I see the worst of myself all rolled up in a sense of humor and master dragon trainer and…

And there’s got to be another way.

“I don’t have to be like you,” I stare at my feet, “I look like you and somehow—somehow without ever knowing you, I fucking act like you, but I don’t have to be like you. It was…Aurelia and I both thought it was hilarious, the idea of you wandering around all night in a blizzard looking for her but—” I clear my throat, probably too loud, and Bang shifts on the roof, like he’s worried about me. I’m worried about me. “But that’s what you’d do. You leave people, you left my mom, you left…when I was a baby, you left me. You left her here and I’m not going to be like that.”

“Eret,” he holds his hand out towards me and I shake my head.

“Can you make it home alright? Or do you want me to hold your hand?” I curl my lip and turn towards the door, “consider yourself found.”

#festerverse #eret iii #hiccstrid #imma throw that tag in here #it ain't time time but it's kinda time #arvelia #aurelia haddock #fuse thorston #the whole gang's here

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