#james eventually asks

[ultravioletbrit]

“relevant” - Jegulus microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - 473 words

“holiday music” - 25 Days of Jegumas - Day 8 - @noblehouseofgay

James and Regulus are sitting on the floor on either side of the coffee table that’s covered in a mess of books and folders and notebooks and notecards. Regulus is in the middle of it all typing frantically on his laptop and James is… watching Regulus type frantically on his laptop.  

He can’t stop thinking about Friday night. It’s their first date and James wants it to be perfect. They’re just going ice-skating because he knows Regulus loves to skate and James didn’t want to go too over the top for their first date. Something simple and casual that he knows Regulus will be comfortable doing. Plus, with a built-in activity, hopefully there won’t be as much pressure to fill any quiet moments that could lead to awkward silences.

There could be quiet moments in the car, though; James needs to make sure those moments don’t become awkward or uncomfortable either. He’ll need to make a playlist, but the wrong song at the wrong time could also lead to awkward moments. He needs simple songs that can be background noise, but also create the right atmosphere, something that—    

“James!” Regulus snaps James out of his spiraling thoughts and it's clearly not the first time he said James’ name.

“Sorry, what?”

Regulus huffs and rolls his eyes. “Do you have any questions?” He asks slowly and very annoyed.

“What are your favorite Christmas songs?” James blurts out.

Regulus blinks at him several times before he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose “Do you have any relevant questions?”

“That is relevant!” James insists.

“How is my preferred holiday music relevant to our presentation?” Regulus asks with growing frustration.   

“Well, I haven’t really been helping with the presentation.” James says with a guilty smile.

“I’ve noticed.” Regulus grits his teeth.      

“I’ve been distracted thinking about songs to put on a playlist for our date. So, if you just tell me what songs you like then I’ll be able to focus much better and—”

“Our what?” Regulus cuts him off with wide eyes.

“Our date…?” James says slowly.

“We have a date?” Regulus’ eyes get impossibly wider.

“Errrm… yes?” James ask, genuinely confused. “Err… on Friday?... Right?…” He starts to fumble his words. “I have… We were… You said—” James freezes then snaps his mouth shut when he realizes… Regulus didn’t say anything… Because James never asked the question.

James got so far ahead of himself thinking about every little detail to make sure Regulus has the best possible time on their date; only to realize, he never actually asked Regulus to go on the date.  

“James…” Regulus starts slowly with the hint of a smile. “Did you plan a date without asking me on a date?” Regulus voices James’ thoughts.

James squeezes his eyes shut before dropping his head in his hands with a groan and Regulus chuckles.  

“See, now that would have been a relevant question.” Regulus tells him.

-

[raziiyah]

Can we all agree that

Randall is NEITHER a Sweet woowoo misunderstood baby NOR is he a completely Heartless and soulless demonic creature with 0 feelings?

Like even in Monster's at Work we can see that Yes. He's definitely an awful person who has done terrible things and is still out to go do more terrible things BUT we also can see he has shown to be genuinely grateful to Johnny for saving his life and actually considered Johnny to be his Best Friend (even if it was completely one-sided on his part)

yesss randall is definitely not one or the other for me

i LOVE randall but i do not see him as a sweet misunderstood baby. he has done so much awful things and as of now shows no sign of remorse. it's supposedly been 20 years since college and he's only gotten more bitter over the years; far from who he was at the beginning of college. it's unfortunate that he got mixed up in the wrong crowd, but every bad choice he's made was his choice to make. also i feel like some people forget just how messed up his plan with the scream extractor in mi was, not to mention his sadistic and murderous desires (if randall was visible during his fight with sulley it would NOT be family friendly 💀)

but he isn't doing what he's doing just for the sake of being evil, yes he's mean, but at his core, it's just that randall will go through great lengths to get what he wants, to get the recognition he craves so much, and most especially, to one up sulley. his mindset was warped by ror, which changed his life forever. monsters university fleshed out this part of randall's character, as it provided context on why he’s the way he is, and gives a different meaning to his words, actions and intentions.

though i felt randall and johnny's best friendship was random considering what happened in mu, it was an interesting change of pace to see post mu randall actually like someone. randall mentioned that he owed johnny one, but i feel like they still genuinely enjoyed each other's company. like you can see that randall and johnny actually have a connection that isn't just strictly business, unlike randall and waternoose.

i do think that part of randall also still craves johnny's attention like he did in mu. considering he's been wanting to get in with the “cool kids” since literally day one of university suggests he's been wanting recognition and status for a very long time. and with johnny still having power and status as the ceo of fear co., i feel like randall would've still wanted to work with him despite what happened in mu.

i feel that even post uni randall still feels a need to impress johnny. like when he scares tylor, it seems like he immediately looks to johnny for his reaction and approval. then, he makes a joke at chet's expense, and after, goes to stand by johnny's side. with chet being johnny's former right-hand man, it makes sense why randall takes digs at him

i imagined that sometime in university, randall said something mean to chet and johnny found it funny, so he kept doing it for his attention (like the chet-wetter thing) and even now, he still brings it up and likely says and does other mean things to chet to raise himself up and put chet down

i would've liked to think that randall narrating johnny as his “best friend joined at the hip” could've just been something he made up for his own sake, but since maw johnny seems to actually neglect chet in favour of randall, i guess the writers just decided randall would actually just be his bestie moving forward (though i think leaning into the other concept would've been cool)

would randall feel like johnny was just using him, perhaps like he did in university? maybe. but perhaps he'll take a false sense of love and acceptance over nothing

though i don't think randall would've stuck around unless it benefited him, and that proves to be true when randall abandoned johnny after he got jailed lol, with johnny not being in a place of power anymore, he's useless to him now

now that randall is on his own, i want to see him work solely for himself, by himself. not under anyone, no boss, no more with being a follower. unless some other random monster shows up or they bring back waternoose or something, randall is very likely going to be the main villain of the next season, and this could be an opportunity to see more of his personality, especially since we still have yet to see randall interact with mike and sulley

maybe he could show a shred of regret, acknowledge the weight of his actions, or how much he's changed, but still show that he's gone too far now to go back to how he was. maybe he hates who he was before. or maybe he hates who he is now. but he's done too much and worked too hard to just accept that he's lost and go back to how he used to be

maybe mike could say something along the lines of "what happened to you, randall? what happened to the nice, friendly guy i knew in university?" and randall could be like "the guy who was naive? the guy who was insecure? the guy who was nothing more than second best? that guy is gone wazowski. long gone."

or maybe randall could tell sulley how he genuinely feels about him, and how much he was affected by always being in his shadow. perhaps sulley could acknowledge his skills and say that he could turn things around and do great things at the factory, and randall could laugh at the idea and say some stuff like "work together? under your management? what a joke. i don't think so. i'm not standing in your shadow, sullivan. not anymore."

idk lol but i think it would be cool to give randall some kind of scene that acknowledges his past or makes you sympathize with him a bit but not excuse his actions, or something to make the audience reflect on how tragic his character is or what could've been. i'd also like if he went as hard as he did when he nearly pushed sulley off the door to his death, especially considering the position sulley is in now

mu's existence changed and fleshed out randall's character (even if he didn't have as much scenes as he could've) and i would love to see this show do the same. except tylor is the main character and the show focuses more on mift; even mike and sulley aren't really the focus so i don't think they'd put that much emphasis on randall (but i'd love to be proved wrong)

for the record, though i currently think randall is in a state where he's far from redemption, i'm not completely closed off to the idea as long as it's in character and written well. though no offense but idk if maw/disney could actually manage to pull that off lol. whatever happens i just hope they do his character justice at least 🙏

[ezkel]

After spending years being rejected at every turn, James isn’t sure he’ll ever be loved the way he craves. Even now that he’s gotten over his crush on Lily and they’re now close friends, he understands why she never liked him back, he’s too much. She tells him it's nothing to do with him and that she had spent those years pining after her best friend, now girlfriend, Mary. Still James feels as if he's too much and that if he wants to eventually be truly loved romantically then he needs to tone himself down, he needs to be less James in his approach with those he wants a relationship with. 

Especially when his current crush is none other than cold and distant Regulus Black. He told Sirius about his crush as soon as he was aware that it wasn’t going away. He cried to Sirius saying that he knows that Regulus would never accept him for his all in attitude and his love for PDA. Sirius at first warned James that Regulus would never go against his parents for anyone, not even if he did feel the same for James. But as Sirius watched James sulk about his crush, he softened and told James stories of Regulus from their childhood, which only made James’s crush worse, the knowledge that Regulus used to read sickly sweet romance books when their parents weren’t looking, telling Sirius with wide eyes that one day he’d have a love that moved the stars like in the books.

However, James didn’t just develop this crush out of nowhere. Sometimes when James gets up early in the morning to get some quidditch practice in, Regulus was already there and they would spend those mornings practicing together, Regulus’s snark working better to wake him up than the cold air flowing around them. Regulus’s appearance on the field was never consistent and whenever James asked about it Regulus just leaves with a slight flush to practice his seeker skills on the other side of the field before leaving way earlier than he would have, had James not asked. 

James tried not to flirt, he didn’t want to get his heart broken but every time Regulus looked at him with that half smile smirk, James’s heart only grew in size. He tried desperately to not let his heart out, to not scare Regulus away. But the first time James accidentally flirted, Regulus didn’t even hesitate to tease him, not in the cruel way that he had expected but in a playful way. For a moment James thought that maybe that was Regulus flirting back. Slowly James became less guarded and started accidentally flirting with Regulus, but it always ended the same, playful teases and joking degeneration. 

Eventually it even spread to off the quidditch pitch, they’d flirt? In the hallways, in the astronomy tower, in the great hall, James couldn’t help but find Regulus everywhere, their conversations didn't even change tone in front of people. Sirius looked surprised every time Regulus would tease James, Remus would mutter about public indecency, Peter would laugh at how flushed James got every time Regulus responds with a cutting remark, Lily would joke about speaking at their wedding after Regulus leaves. James told them repeatedly that nothing was going to happen and that Regulus couldn’t possibly like him the way James does for him, this was only received with a disbelieving look from all of them. 

One morning it all changed. James was too tired to keep himself in check and his flirting came out unfiltered, fully James. Regulus went silent, James who hadn’t been looking at Regulus had frozen, terrified to look at Regulus and face the inevitable rejection. But when James did look, unable to help himself, all he saw was a deep red flush and a look of wonder on Regulus’s face. It caused James to fly towards Regulus, watching his face closely as Regulus slowly regained control. 

“Potter, you just- i thought it was all a game for you, I thought you were just being playful” Regulus spoke, voice full of shock, eyes full of hope. 

“I tried not to flirt with you, I thought you’d never let me, but I couldn't help myself, you're just so… you're just so you” James admitted, eyes drifting to the side awkwardly. He hears Regulus snort and feels Regulus's broom brush against his as he moves closer to James. 

“why would you even think I wouldn't let you flirt with me.” Regulus asks softly, hand moving up to James’s cheek to make James face towards him.

“Because I'm too much, I didn't want to ruin our mornings with my overbearing feelings” James mumbled, not wanting Regulus to know how deeply he already feels for him, but not having any other way to explain.

Regulus sighs, looking at James like he’s an idiot, “James, i hate waking up before 9am, surely Sirius has told you this. Do you think I would willingly wake up at FIVE in the morning to fly around aimlessly if I didn’t also have ‘overbearing’ feelings and just wanted to spend some time with you.” 

“But-” 

Regulus interrupts, his fingers on James’s face tightening, pulling his face closer to his. “James, you're not too much, I want you to be you. No holding yourself back. Be all in, be overbearing, I want you, not some held back version where you pretend to not be as insane as you are.”

“...oh..., Reg I- fuck, you're so amazing” James breathed out, finally letting his barriers drop.

“I know” he says, his open expression being replaced by his usual smirk, “so what do you say Potter, are you finally going to be yourself or do I need to keep telling you what literally everyone other than you seems to already know.” 

…

When James told Sirius what happened and that they were together now, Sirius only gaped 

“James you didn’t tell me he got up to join your morning practices, Regulus tried to kill me once for daring to talk to him before 8am, you've been talking to him before 6???? And he hasn't killed you???? Hes in love with you what the fuck”

[xxplastic-cubexx]

thinkin bout magneto's lil list of aliases from that One Shot of his government file or w/e in 97 and how it lists the three main men who've played him (David Hemblen, Ian McKellen, Michael Fassbender) and kinda cackling at the idea 1.) if they included All his names 2.) having 'michael' on that list twice

[nightninjaboy]

i bet when Arthur saw how Isolde last wish was to be hold by Tristan the man she loved deeply. he thought " this .. this is how i want to die, to be hold by the man i love "

[halfbaked00q]

on that note in the vein of the prev post abt character treats the other w gentleness and character b is so undone by it...

there's something sooo so so. about James Bond being written as, like,. stealing little tender moments. The MI6 crew is out for drinks and they're squeezed together in a booth and Bond leans into Q juuust that bit more, just that bit more deliberately, reveling in the solidness of Q by his side and the warmth seeping through his side.

They're on comms and in their usual pattern of bickering, or Q is going on about some new project he's working on that Bond better appreciate and actually bring back- it takes them more time to rebuild prototypes from scratch than being able to analyze the previous one and iterate based on that, or at the very least, some parts of a previous prototype can be reused for the next one to save on time and costs -- and Bond just. closes his eyes for a bit and lets the smooth cadence of Q's voice wash over him, wrap around him, fill up his entire being.

Bond has returned from some mission and is hiding from Medical and M and everyone else, and yes he lost a lot of his gear but it's not like he's TRYING to get attacked over the edge of helicopters, somehow this happens to him more than the others!! but he DID manage to bring back the precious prototype this time!! so that's gotta count for something right!! and anyway he's FINE, just the usual bumps and bruises, no bleeding, no head trauma even, he doesn't need to be poked by medical he just needs a place to hunker down for a bit and then he can escape and lick his metaphoric wounds elsewhere until he's ready to put the James Bond TM face back on- oh, Q will lend him his sofa? just stay put and give Q some peace of mind he's not out wreaking havoc somewhere, okay well fiiine if you insiiiist (he is absolutely enjoying curling up on the sofa under layers of Q's blankets, in the heart of Q's domain, breathing in Q's scent, the soothing clacking of Q's keyboard and soft murmurs of Q talking to himself as he works at his computer. He burrows into it, allowing his consciousness to dissolve from the iron-hold need for control and vigilance, to let go of cool calm collected and sink into warm watched-over, safe)

[superfallingstars]

Hello superfallingstars - from one marauders fan to another, care to answer these too? Some will be repeated, but I want to know what you think!

- Which marauder likes a big city, and who prefers the countryside or a small town?

- Who got the most free drinks or pub snacks from Rosmerta?

- Who handled their drink the best?

- Who couldn’t handle their drink?

- Who gave the best romantic advice?

- Who learned the patronus charm first?

- Who swears the most?

- I suppose this excludes James, but we can swap him for Lily: who enjoyed watching Quidditch matches the most?

- Who had the coolest childhood bedroom? (This is very subjective, I know)

- Who’s the most likely to be a good cook?

- Who’s good at fixing things?

- Who was always getting caught and who never got caught?

- Most likely to be a vegetarian

That’s what I got for today! I hope you all don’t think I am a creep. I just like to come up with questions that dig a bit more into the personalities of my favourite characters.

Hi I would love to answer these!

Which marauder likes a big city, and who prefers the countryside or a small town?

I think James and Sirius would both prefer the big city (so much mischief to get into!), Peter would prefer the country (is overwhelmed by the city), and Remus would be somewhere in the middle. Maybe Remus would find the city more enjoyable, but he would feel safer and more at ease in the country (for obvious reasons).

Who got the most free drinks or pub snacks from Rosmerta?

James. For all his faults (of which there were MANY), I think he was probably very charming…

Who handled their drink the best?

I think Sirius. I imagine James could also drink a decent amount, but he would get sillay with it, whereas Sirius would just seem slightly less coordinated. It’s because one of them is drinking for fun and the other one is drinking to cope. Who said that. Speaking of, I think Remus would also partake in some self-destructive substance abuse post-Lily and James death

Who couldn’t handle their drink?

Boring answer but Peter. I think he would be such a lightweight, to the point that everyone thought he was faking it and that he was just trying to seem cool by acting drunker than he actually was, and everyone found it really annoying. And then like an hour into the party he would just fall asleep in the corner (and James and Sirius would write/draw profane things on his face)

Who gave the best romantic advice?

Remus but only by process of elimination. His advice was still not very good.

Who learned the patronus charm first?

I have to go with James… ugh. I think he is such a complicated character (as you may be able to tell from the fact that I write an essay every time he comes up). I have a really hard time reconciling how spoiled and nasty and cruel he was with the near-reverence with which Sirius and Remus speak of him, not to mention the fact that Lily eventually deemed him worthy of marriage, or that he died fighting honorably for the Order... He's a mess of contradictions. But because of all that, I imagine him as someone who was almost delusionally optimistic, with relentless confidence in himself to achieve the impossible (though this confidence was also kind of a cope, since I think his bullying of Snape points to some deep-seated insecurities). It takes an impressive amount of nerve to try to become an animagus at age twelve, and it takes an even more impressive amount of resolve to actually achieve it… Like, James was the type of guy to make impossible promises and then somehow manage to pull them off (at least, until he wasn’t). And I think this inability to be deterred was kind of infectious – deep down, all of the Marauders wanted to believe in themselves as much as James believed in himself (and to be fair, as much as James believed in them!) – and it was this magnetic personality that made him a such a big influence on his friends’ lives, even after his death. All that to say: I think James would be able to pull off the Patronus charm first out of sheer willpower alone

Who swears the most?

Sirius or James, I could go either way here... Sirius being super reserved and barely cursing as a result of his posh upbringing, or Sirius having a huge pottymouth because he’s rebelling against his posh upbringing... I could also see James swearing a lot, because my best explanation for his contradictory combination of awful personality + great politics is that Euphemia and Fleamont were rich old money hippies with overly lax parenting skills, and they would probably let their dearest baby boy curse up a storm at home. But I think the real answer to this question is Snape.

I suppose this excludes James, but we can swap him for Lily: who enjoyed watching Quidditch matches the most?

I think Peter. Though he would also be the most scared during Quidditch matches. Like he would be shrieking and ducking and covering his eyes and Sirius and Remus would be like “dude what’s wrong” and he’d be like “I thought James was gonna fall off his broom!” D: But his joy at Gryffindor winning, his pride in his talented Seeker friend who he looks up to (and let’s be real, likes being associated with), and perhaps most importantly, the feeling that he belongs to something larger than himself, a group of winners – yeah, he'd be into that. (Sidenote, this is why I think Remus wouldn’t really give a shit about Quidditch; he is incapable of seeing himself as someone who “belongs” to a group any larger than his close circle of friends. Not that he would never have moments of House pride, but they would most likely be brief and fleeting.) I could maybe see Sirius being into Quidditch too, if only for the competitive aspect, but I think it’s also possible that he could be rather indifferent about the whole affair. Maybe Sirius enjoyed Quidditch the most only if Gryffindor was beating the pants off of Slytherin (can I say that phrase or is it too similar to, well, you know…?). And Lily was probably just a casual Quidditch enjoyer imo, though I'm sure she enjoyed having an excuse to stare at James for a few hours when Gryffindor was playing.

Who had the coolest childhood bedroom? (This is very subjective, I know)

Honestly I don't think this is subjective at all because it's gotta be James, EASILY. Mommy and Daddy will buy him anything he asks for and they live in a gorgeous old manor. His room would have posters of famous Quidditch players flying nimbly through blue skies, hung up over ornate crimson wallpaper… a plush red and gold carpet over dark, lustrous wood floors… a huge window stretching almost to the tall ceiling, opening up to a lush garden, that he could leap out of on his broom whenever he pleased… oh my god, imagine his bedframe is gold and the headboard is like the three Quidditch hoops?! Yeah it’s James for sure

Who’s the most likely to be a good cook?

Maybe Sirius? Only because he canonically makes breakfast for the kids on Christmas morning? Hey, maybe he was cheffing it up for the Potters as a way to thank them for taking him in, who knows. I also like the idea of Lily being good at baking and bringing homemade cookies back to Hogwarts after every winter break (and of course, bringing some to Snape nearly every day of winter break).

Who’s good at fixing things?

I’m gonna go with Sirius because he’s a motorcycle guy. Idk, I could see him as someone who likes tinkering with things.

Who was always getting caught and who never got caught?

I mean, James was notorious for being a troublemaker, so I think he must have gotten caught a fair amount of times… And I think I have to say that it was Peter who never got caught, if only because it’s rather poetic.

Most likely to be a vegetarian?

I like to imagine Remus as a vegetarian because of my headcanon that one time as a kid he escaped from whatever werewolf containment he was in (I have sooo much more to say about the logistics of Remus’s parents dealing with his lycanthropy but hoo boy that’s another post) and in his excitement unknowingly killed a rabbit, and then he came to in the middle of the woods with blood all over his face and the taste of raw meat in his mouth and now he’s disgusted by meat <3. Though idk if that headcanon actually works because it still has to be true that werewolves don’t kill animals (otherwise that defeats the whole point of becoming animagi!). Idk werewolf lore is kind of fucked anyway (why does lycanthropy make Remus weak and ill but Greyback seems to be doing just fine?), so maybe I can chalk it up to erratic behavior as a result of being cooped up unnaturally, or because he was a baby werewolf so he was maybe just killing stuff out of curiosity, or maybe I don't even need a reason… idk. If this sounds bad just pretend I said James for hippie reasons and he’s always really annoying and pretentious about it

And no omg I do not think you are a creep, in fact I was watching some of my moots get these asks and I was like… sigh… I wonder if someone will send some to me… so thank you lol. Perhaps unsurprisingly I enjoy talking about the Thing I Like, and I am always happy to do so!!! (Even though sometimes it takes me awhile to respond.) And these questions in particular were really fun!

Thank you for the ask!

[sweetmoonlight7]

9. Heart

@jegulus-microfic | April 9: heart | word count: 210

It’s been months.

Months of agonizing painstaking planning. Months of pinning and analyzing. Months of trying to convince his best friend that he has the best intentions for dating his brother.

Now finally he had organized the perfect date.

The only problem was that he hadn’t asked Regulus yet…

Look he had meant to for so long but every time he tried it went wrong.

The first time was probably the worst.

It had been at the beginning of the year during the main feast after the sorting ceremony. He had gotten up on the table and was about to ask him out when people started to whisper. They thought that he was asking someone else out and he had to hide that he was asking anyone out by saying it was a prank…

After that, it only got slightly more pathetic. Between people walking in on them right as he was about to ask out Reg to him getting his own words twisted up.

But it was all fine.

Really…

Now he was going to ask out Regulus. He was just going to walk up to him and tell him even if he kind of felt like throwing up and like his heart had been lodged in his throat.

[lailuhhh]

Okay okay so I had this AU idea but it’s not something I could pull off so I’m here going to yell about it because I can’t stop thinking about it. And maybe because I think you’d write it so well

What if Mac didn’t want to join the army? What if Harry or James forced him too? And he’s been banned from coming home(for a specific period of time). Is it because Harry’s sick and dying and doesn’t want his grandson to see him like this? Is it James for a more sinister specific reason?

So Mac doesn’t want to be there. He wants to go home. He’s had basically bad experiences with most of the people he’s interacted with(I’m a sucker for Mac’s previous overwatches being awful to him) and Peña was the exception but he’s gone and now he’s stuck with Dalton and he’s got so much time left here still and Dalton gets to go home soon.

They still don’t get along but Mac still saves Jack and he’s shocked when Jack stays because he gets to go home and choose to stay. Ahh it would be so interesting.

✨✨✨✨✨✨BESTIE✨✨✨✨✨✨

Okay what if Mac’s considered a troubled child? He has a record of everything that he’s done and really the only big thing was exploding the football field. He’s the weird kid but is still the Mac we know and love

Assuming everything is still pretty much the same, Harry and James still talk and James gets updates on everything Mac does and that was like the decision of him going to the army. Harry opposes it because he knows the horrors of it but doesn’t really have the final say in anything because while he’s technically Mac’s guardian, James is— unfortunately— still his father

Let’s assume Mac got a scholarship, but it’s really James setting his plan into place and through the magic of television, through signing all the paperwork and everything and getting the scholarship settled, Mac said he’d join the army when he turned 18

So Mac more or less gets literally escorted out of his dorm and shoved onto an army bus and taken away to basic, all while calling Harry trying to figure out what’s happening but Harry just tells him he signed a contract. Mac even calls the Bozers to try to help out because they actually care and don’t want him sent into a battlefield

Training and everything passes, old overwatches come and go, Peña is the only person who says the whole situation is fucked up and tells Mac he’ll look into it because legally the contract Mac signed was null and void because he signed as a minor without his guardian present so he really shouldn’t be there. James gets word of it because that’s just a big problem so he had a plan to keen him from finding anything out, but Peña ends up dying from the Ghost’s bomb and James doesn’t have to Deal With Him™️

At that point, Mac is pretty much cut off from everyone because he didn’t want to be there and the only person that seemed to care and believe him died. Then he gets transferred and the whole interaction with Jack happens and the scene where we see Mac disarm the IED with a battery and gum, how they’re kinda warming up to each other, Mac is still completely closed off because he just hates it there so much, even though Jack is trying to be a decent guy

And then when Mac goes off on his own—

“Now, we need to get on the same page, kid, and I mean right now. That is, if you want to keep breathing. Next time you wait for me to take my position before you go scampering off like that, you hear me?”

“Whatever. Not like it would’ve mattered.”

Which leads to a blowout of Mac yelling how much he hates it there and that he was basically kidnapped from college because he knew that, while he didn’t read the full contract, any agreements would’ve been void like Peña said because he was a minor and he didn’t have the power to consent to actually joining the army

When Mac saves Jack, it’s more of a if it was just me I wouldn’t really care but I’m not going to let you die just because my life sucks and Jack can see Mac going in a downward spiral and knows that if he doesn’t stay then Mac won’t make it out of the sandbox

The last few days is basically how they first met, but Jack’s making an effort to actually be the guy we know and love but Mac doesn’t want anything to do with it because Jack’s leaving and what’s the point of trying to be friends with someone you’ll never see again

So when Jack actually pops into the side of the humvee

“Why’d you come back? You had the opportunity to go home.”

“My home will still be there. I told ya before that I get all my bomb nerds home and yer no exception. You were dealt a real shitty hand and it’s fucked that no one will help ya get to the bottom of it. So I’m gonna stay here, make sure ya get home so you can stick it to those that fucked ya over”

So Mac’s tour gets finished, and since Jack actually holds power, they leave and Jack gets on contact with his buddies up the ladder to help get to the bottom of it and it takes a while but they eventually get the documents Mac signed and then consent forms signed by James and that just starts a whole whirlwind of the true James Hate we deserved

**Bonus points for if Harry died while Mac was deployed but they didn’t let him go home because James knew he would go AWOL so all his free days and leave had to be on base, also Mac assumed that Harry was the one that consented to him joining so he pretty much hated him until he found out the truth

All assuming Mac signed the scholarship forms when he was like 16 because you can legally sign up for the army when you’re 17

[jamestheenderman]

What kind of magic can you even do, James? Yes, yes, darkness plane, jadda jadda. But WHAT can you do? Can you do something cool? Does being blind hinder you at all with casting? I feel like it would be a hassle to "aim" like this.

"Sure can. The fact that you could ask me this is prove of such thing"

[areseebee]

Who am I to turn down the chance to get some more writing out of you? 😉

How about a little bit of Jerin with "21. pretty"? Bonus points if it's Erin thinking James is pretty rather than the other way around

ohh i love it! here's a little bit set during katya and erin’s confrontation on the stairs at jenny joyce’s house in 1x04 :

“He attractive boy, Erin,” Katya drawls at the top of Jenny Joyce’s stairs, gesturing wearily. Well, Erin’s fucking weary, too. They’ve had this conversation, like, ten times over the past two days and Erin can only attribute it to Katya’s broken English and maybe a wee bit too much radiation because Katya still doesn’t seem to get it. Obviously James is attractive. That’s really not the point. He’s even a little pretty, if you wanted to put a finer point on it (which Erin isn’t very inclined to do – though it would certainly explain why everyone keeps mistaking him for a girl; he’s just got delicate features, like. And very, very green eyes). Katya is so not the first person to notice, and it’s really starting to make Erin rage the way she pretends she is. Because she’s not; Erin’s one-upped her there, and she’s stopped herself nearly 50 times from saying so just so she can rub it in Katya’s big, dumb, Ukrainian face. But some people have principles, and for some people it doesn’t matter that maybe their best friend’s cousin could be a ride (maybe if he sat up a little straighter and, like, didn’t whinge so much), because, at the end of the day, he’s English. But Katya doesn’t have a care about any of it – not about fraternising with oppressors, or deflowering innocent young men, or chasing what she wants so brazenly without a care for what anyone else thinks. Who just lives like that? Erin really can’t imagine; only criminals, probably. Erin’s retort – “He’s English, Katya” – comes effortlessly because that’s the only really necessary explanation. None of the rest of it matters – not the one little curl that likes to come loose and soft around his ear, or the way he kinda looks like Dexter Fletcher from the side if you squint, or when he’d tried to talk to her about Samuel Beckett after he’d learned she liked his writing, or how he’d looked so content with Katya’s hand in his hair and at his jaw. It doesn’t matter what Erin might ever possibly want or not. That’s just the way it is.

as i was writing this, i was surprised to find that i had already written almost this exact same take - erin thinking about james being pretty - for this prompt (i guess i didn't properly link before!) but it has an entirely different vibe. i'm linking it here for a little extra: pretty, version 1.

cranberries ask game

[nalyra-dreaming]

Would they really cast a white man as Raglan though? I guess in a way it would "improve" the optics of the story since Daniel or David wouldn't be essentially racefishing after the switch, but wouldn't just straight up whitewashing be arguably worse?

Raglan James original body is that of a british old dude. That’s… not whitewashing.

He steals a body that is not white, and offers that for exchange in the books.

Please see discussion here as well.

[lotusxpop]

Peter: if poison expires does it become more or less poisonous?

Tony: ...

Tony: That's actually a good question.

Rhodey: what's wrong with you two

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

So I have this headcannon for A3 so I thought to share it because i really like your takes on the dynamic of Neytiri and Spider being a really interesting one. So imagine Neytiri suddendly being protective of Spider, not because he likes him now, but because if something bad happens to him or he gets hurt, she would feel like she is letting go to waste the last thing Neteyam did ( which is save and protect both Loak and Spider).And also I would love to see Neytiri care for him.

I LOVE THIS IDEA. It's literally so tragic. Like, how is she supposed to not protect the kid Neteyam died for? He meant something to her son. He has to mean something. And that slow burn love just creeps up on her. At first she's just protective of him, feeding him, and fixing up his wounds to make sure Neteyam's sacrifice isn't callously thrown away by a boy that hates himself almost as much as she does. But then it leads to seeing deeper; why he's hurting, why he throws himself into tasks too big for him, why he doesn't stand up for himself. She's like a god damn detective, she's stalking him around trying to figure out everything that's wrong with him. I'm going to have to make a longer post about this, please feel free to add on.

[tricornonthecob]

Can you sketch James but with a man bun 😯

he's ready for Yings and Wings night at the Crooked Billet.

[remus-poopin]

I can attest that being good at sports doesn’t always translate on the dance floor, but I’ll take your answer! And to continue on a musical streak, here’s some more

Which marauder?

- Most likely to pick up an instrument (and what would it be!)

- Most likely to be into disco

- Has a good singing voice

- Sings in the shower

- Brought a record player to school (or a wizard variation of this technology)

- Has the best music taste (goes out of their way to discover new music, wizard or muggle!)

- Was the best dj at Gryffindor parties

- Secretly likes Celestina Warbeck

- Who danced with who at Lily and James’s wedding?

Oh for sure but being coordinated is a step in the right direction. I definitely don’t see any of them as particularly good dancers though lol.

Ok because this is music based I’m going to take this time to talk about my ideas on the wizarding world and music:

I really don’t think the wizarding world consumes music the way the muggle world does. I just don’t think that it’s that much of a part of the average wizard’s life.

When the statute of secrecy came into place in the 17th century it was before music became commercially available to the masses. The biggest reason for its turn to being accessible is technology. We never actually hear of any records or anything similar that could play music on demand in the books. The only way we hear about music playing is in a live performance or through the wizarding wireless. It’s notable that there only seems to be one station for wizards, a station that isn’t exclusively playing The Weird Sisters or Celestina Warbeck but also having news reports and lifestyle tip segments. Which makes me believe that music (or at least pop music) is more of a novelty for wizards to enjoy instead of a daily fixture in their lives.

I also think that the wizard pop music we do hear about is less about the music itself and more about wizarding pride. It’s taking something enjoyable but muggle and turning it distinctly wizard (Celestina Warbecks lyrics being inextricably tied to wizarding culture; “You charmed the heart right out of me” “oh come stir my cauldron” “Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone? It’s left me for a spell”. The name of the band “The Hobgoblins”. The Weird Sisters’ name and the fact that they use instruments like the lute and bagpipes, which are not typically found in rock music, (which also might give us a hint of what traditional wizard music sounds like)).

So I think the amount of modern wizard music is very low and the appeal of it is that it’s a symbol of a cultural pride. Which means if a wizard was going to really be into modern music they would have to look elsewhere than just the WWN.

Moving on to the questions:

- Most likely to pick up an instrument (and what would it be!)

I’ve always liked the hc that Sirius’ parents had him take piano lessons as a kid. But @superfallingstars mentioned Lupin playing guitar once (but in a sad lame guy way) and it really stuck in my head.

- Most likely to be into disco

None of them are cool enough to like disco. Lily however…

- Has a good singing voice

Sirius. I’m mostly going off of the fact that he is the only one we see sing (and Harry doesn’t find it offensive so it was probably decent enough)

- Sings in the shower

James, purely vibes for this one.

- Brought a record player to school (or a wizard variation of this technology)

Possibly Sirius, maybe he charmed it down to be smaller and lighter.

- Has the best music taste (goes out of their way to discover new music, wizard or muggle!)

I always have Lupin in my mind as someone who really enjoys music due to his halfblood upbringing and his loneliness as a child. I just imagine him as someone who got a lot of comfort from jazz records from his mom or the 60s pop songs on the radio when he had no one to talk to. However I think he would cling to those sounds and not really expand his taste that much.

Sirius on the other hand is someone I can see going out to find new muggle music as an act of rebellion and falling in love with it (I’m a Sirius loves punk rock truther! However I don’t think he was punk, big distinction!).

My (unfinished!) Remus playlist vs my Sirius one for reference:

- Was the best dj at Gryffindor parties

I think being a dj requires you to be in tune with the crowd and be adaptable and I’m not sure Sirius would excel in that. Remus however would. He also has enough musical knowledge to help him out here.

- Secretly likes Celestina Warbeck

I feel like James’ parents might have listened to her at home and he would have developed a fondness for the sound.

- Who danced with who at Lily and James's wedding?

James and Sirius (it definitely wasn’t gay)

Lily and Peter

Lily and Sirius

James and Remus (had to drag him to the dance floor)

Thanks for the ask! These were super fun ahh!