#also i know barnaby has only been around for like. 100 years

[hogwartsmysteryho]

Ok, I don’t actually know a lot of T Swift, so pardon my ignorance on the topic. Sending you Murphy & Katriona and any ship of your choice for the ask. This is the cutest!!!

no worries! i love taylor enough for the both of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

murtronia - “Paper Rings” (Lover)

now i gotta admit, picking a song for murtronia was a little nerve-racking, since they’re like one of the top otps in this fandom. however, i’ve been reading up on my coffee and commentary (which is so so so excellent, i don’t know why i didn’t start reading it sooner) and i’m pretty pleased with what i’ve got here!

the word that comes to my mind when i think of murtronia is “fun” (along with soulmates, best friends, otp, and adorable). they are just genuinely one of the most fun couples, and i think that especially comes through in their cameo @lifeofkaze’s Art of Balance, which was my first introduction to this ship, and those vibes were only strengthened upon my reading of c&c! so, i really recommend listening to this song especially, as the groove of the song is just very fun and that’s not something you can experience just by reading the lyrics. the atmosphere the song creates is one of the reasons i initially thought of this song for them. ok sry for my rant, let’s get to the break down!

“The moon is high / Like your friends were the night that we first met / Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet / Now I've read all of the books beside your bed” while there was no getting high or internet stalking upon their first time meeting, katronia did return to her dormitory and gossip about murphy with her friend, so i think that counts enough. also, this ravenclaw power couple has absolutely read all of the available reading while waiting for the other to wake up.

“The wine is cold / Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street / Cat and mouse for a month or two or three / Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe” it’s safe to say these two played cat and mouse for MUCH longer than three months, it took them a while to stop secretly pining after each other and confess their feelings. “i wake up in the night and watch you breathe” for all of the falling asleep together that they do.

“Kiss you once 'cause I know you had a long night (Oh) / Kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright (Uh) / Three times 'cause you waited your whole life” I haven’t made it very far in coffee & commentary yet, but already the number of times they comfort each other in times when they really needed someone with them is off the charts. and the way they support each other is simply by being present for each other, and knowing when the other needs them.

“I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings” really suits their engagement story- they get married within 24 hours of murphy popping the question. they don’t need an extravagant engagement, they just need each other!

“I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this” so many misunderstandings, and reckoning the odds of the other liking them back were too low, stood in the way of katronia and murphy’s romance initially. if they hadn’t once again accidentally fallen asleep in the common room together maybe katronia wouldn’t have been courageous enough to shoot her shot with mcnully so soon. love isn’t something mcnully can just predict with statistics, but i reckon he’s 100% happy with how things turned out for them.

“Darling, you're the one I want / In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams” it was always murphy that kc wanted, sorry barnaby. and katronia was the one for murphy from the moment they became friends as well.

“I want to drive away with you / I want your complications too / I want your dreary Mondays / Wrap your arms around me, baby boy” katronia and murphy are that couple who want to be with each other on their bad days as much as their good days. and they’re very cuddly.

and for the free choice i have chosen…

viktoliver - “New Year’s Day” (reputation) victoria belongs to the marvelous @whatwouldvalerydo

“There's glitter on the floor after the party / Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby / Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor / You and me from the night before” this reminds me of the Halloween party story, where oli and victoria are hanging out alone together after the party has ended.

“Don’t read the last page / But I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you’re turning away” oliver didn’t look to see the carving in victoria’s pie… but she did stay to comfort oliver after his seemingly lost love. victoria, in fact, is always there for oliver after all his failed endeavors, if only he saw her there and he’d have his love much sooner.

“I want your midnights / But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day” Victoria had wanted nothing more than to be oliver’s date, just as the song references wanting to have spent midnight on New Year’s together. instead, they share a different kind of intimate moment together while dealing with the party aftermath.

“You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi / I can tell that it's gonna be a long road / I'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe / Or if you strike out and you're crawling home” they stand with each other in times when they “strike out”, but are ever supportive and will be cheering the for the other loudest when success comes.

“Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you / And I will hold on to you” the impossibly cheerful victoria and ever hopeful oliver must have countless stories of fun they cherish, such as being trapped in a corn maze together.

“Please don't ever become a stranger / Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere” i think they would both think this of each other even pre relationship, and even before oliver realizes victoria was the perfect girl for him all along. their relationship was always that strong, even when they were just friends.

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 7, Ch. 7

PART 7: THE YEAR OF HIDING AND PASSION Chapter 7 - This Isn't Goodbye

Nova

I didn't know what was harder to believe the fact that it was Charlie and I's one-year anniversary or that we have less than two months left of our last year at Hogwarts.

I was studying in the Great Hall with Tonks, who was with me most of the time for the past month. Penny seemed to be doing nothing but crying over the fact how much she will miss all of us and she was driving Tonks insane. I tried not to think about it as much as possible as I knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye to living here at school.

McGonagall was getting less strict on me in our last few Advanced Transfiguration sessions. If I didn't know any better I would say she was getting sentimental. It will already be hard to leave this place without the teachers missing us too.

Tulip was getting rather impatient and seemed as she couldn't get out of here fast enough. She and Jae have been fighting more than being all over each other lately and she didn't look like she is going to miss Hogwarts at all.

I have been keeping myself as busy as possible and just tried to enjoy the last two months as much as I could. I found myself strolling around the school on my own a lot. It was like I was saying goodbye to every part of Hogwarts. I even fell into a deep conversation with the Fat Lady, the portrait that is guarding the Gryffindor Common Room, one day when I was waiting for Charlie. She was a bit tipsy but I got a lot of gossip about other portraits from her.

Because Tonks was with me most of the time, Andre had to take on the Penny duty. He seemed exhausted most days as he tried balancing studying and making sure Penny had enough handkerchiefs to wipe her nose in. He never complained or seemed annoyed about it and I am sure Penny appreciated it as much as we did.

Barnaby tried talking to Tonks a few times and she only gave in once. She said that he looked dashing that day and that since everybody's whining about the end of the year might as well have a proper goodbye. Their relationship always was so peculiar to me but I knew Tonks well enough that I knew it suited her so I fully supported it.

Charlie and I, on the other hand, have been great. Nothing really changed except the fact that we tried hiding our excitement, that we are soon going to work together, from our friends. We knew that Penny would be mad that we were so hyped about our job and not all miserable about leaving school.

Lately, it's all we could talk about. Charlie told me about everyone he has met and told me how they are, personality-wise and I couldn't wait to meet everyone. We made speculations about where I would be working and how they were planning to introduce Dragons to other creatures. Like we did for the Creatures Reserve, we also made a list of all creatures we think I will work with. It was all in good fun because I know I will love my job no matter what animals they assign to me.

In my free time, I tried to best prepare myself for the job. I knew I would have a whole month after N.E.W.T.s to get everything ready but I wanted to get there with a strategy. I tried putting myself in different scenarios with various creatures and Dragons, thinking about what they have in common and what they don't, about what the best approach to make them like each other would be. I got goosebumps just thinking about it, that's how excited I was!

—

“Tonks, could you tell me how to properly cut a Mimbulus Mimbletonia again. I can't seem to get this plant straight.” I sighed as I tried to quiz myself on some of the toughest questions and I couldn't seem to get this one right.

“Always do it without a spell and cut straight down, near the main stem.” She answered without even thinking about it. I nodded and closed my eyes, trying to imprint the answer in my brain. It was the simplest thing to remember.

“I think I finally understand this charm!” Tonks exclaimed, rolling her eyes. One good thing about Tonks wanting to spend time with me was that I could keep an eye on her. It was our N.E.W.T.s year and she has been notorious for running away during exams and even though she already had a job secured, she still had to do very well on her examination.

“I told you you'll get it. Just keep practicing.” I encouraged her and repeated her answer in my head for Mimbulus Mimbletonia just to make sure I still got it.

“Hi, Nova.” I turned around and saw Murphy getting closer to our table. It was one of the occasions that I didn't flinch or stiffen when he showed up. Ever since Charlie snapped and we talked about it I have felt more relaxed saying hello to him in the corridors or the Great Hall.

“Hi, Murphy. How are you?” I put my notes down. Tonks looking at us with interest.

“I am great! I know we haven't talked much lately but something happened that I just have to share with you.” He was beaming and shaking in his chair from excitement.

“Do tell!” I turned around completely now, eager to hear his news.

“You are looking at the new commentator for the Holyhead Harpies!” He tried to keep his voice at a normal volume but I couldn't blame him that he failed. He told me that that was his dream job when we were hanging out in our Fifth Year.

“Murphy, that is amazing!” I jumped to my feet and leaned down to hug him. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you! I just got the letter this morning and I just had to share it with you.” He grinned, moving back and forth.

“I'm glad you did.” I smiled. “You deserve it!”

“Will be able to cheer for Bonnie now!” He said proudly. Boonie was the Hufflepuff Keeper Murphy was dating for quite some time now.

“I heard she is going to play for them!” I exclaimed. His cheeks turned pink and I knew he was proud of her.

“Well done for both of you, Murph.” My smile grew bigger. I was genuinely happy that things turned out so great for him. “You and Bonnie look great together.” I didn't know what made me say that but I just felt the need to do so.

“Likewise, Nova, likewise.” He stretched out his hand to me and I shook it. I knew that this was probably one of the last conversations we would ever have and with all that happened between us, I was happy to say goodbye.

A moment later, Charlie sat down next to me and kissed my cheek. Tonks was observing him carefully, knowing full well he saw me talk to Murphy. She wanted to see how he will react but he seemed pretty unphased about it.

“Did you know Bonnie's going to play Quidditch professionally!” He finally looked at me. “She deserves it, really talented.” He added.

“Yeah, she is!” I looked at Tonks not knowing what else to say. “Murphy got the commentator job for the Harpies.” Sometimes I should just keep my mouth shut.

“No way! That's awesome!” He sounded sincere. He leaned to me and whispered. “I'm glad you got to say goodbye.”

“Me too.” I admitted. My heartbeat returned to normal when I saw that he really got over the whole Murphy thing and I was proud of him for that.

“So, what are you two lovebirds going to do today on your anniversary?” Tonks changed the subject.

“How do you know?” I asked, surprised.

“Penny told me this morning. It was the only thing that made her smile before she returned to her sobbing.” Tonks rolled her eyes.

“I would tell you Tonks, but Nova doesn't know what I'm up to.” Charlie winked at me. He has been planning something for a week now and as much as I liked surprises I couldn't wait to see what he came up with.

“She'll tell me tomorrow anyway.” Tonks swung her hand, indicating she was okay with not knowing.

“I'll leave you two to study. Got to go check up on Jae.” He turned to me and kissed me.

“How is he, by the way?” Tonks asked. “Tulip doesn't want to talk about him to us at all.”

“Not going to lie, it doesn't look good.” Charlie shook his head.

“Are you serious?” I asked bewildered. I knew they were fighting a lot lately, but I didn't think it was that bad.

“Yeah, I guess the realization of the long-distance is kicking in.” My stomach turned at Charlie's words when I remembered that we could've been in the same position if I didn't get the job in Romania.

“Anyways, got to go. Don't know how long he'll keep me and I have to get to my team later.” He sighed. “Last game of the season next week.”

“Are you going to miss them, Charlie?” Tonks asked.

“Yeah.” Charlie nodded. “This year's team was brilliant.” Even though they lost their first game against Slytherins, they did amazing against Hufflepuff and were 100 points ahead of Ravenclaw so I was confident they are going to win the Cup one more time before Charlie leaves.

“Have you decided who to appoint Captain for next year?” I put my hand on his shoulder. He was debating between Angelina and Oliver for weeks now.

“Wood. I think he'll do great.” He grinned, confident in his decision.

“See you at 8.” He pressed his lips to mine again. “Don't forget, the Seventh Floor.” He reminded me and started towards the exit of the Hall.

—

I tried my best not to be late for our date but I simply couldn't decide what to wear. If Andre wasn't so preoccupied with Penny I would've gone to him for advice. I decided to go with something casual rather than anything else because I wasn't sure what Charlie had planned and he didn't say anything about having to be in certain attire.

I hurried from the Ravenclaw Tower to the Seventh Floor where Charlie was already waiting for me, not at all bothered that I was late.

“Couldn't decide what to wear?” He laughed a little. I nodded. “I like your choice. You look beautiful.” He leaned to me and kissed me. After a year of dating, I still blushed every time he complimented me.

“Are you ready for the surprise?” He grinned. I nodded again and turned my head to the door. He made me close my eyes and I could hear him opening it.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” He whispered in my ear as he stopped pushing me forward. I did so and gasped.

The room was much bigger than on our other dates. Everything was still wooden but somehow looked more modern. There was a big fireplace on the right and there was a sofa in front of it. There was a small kitchen in the far right corner and something already smelled nice and on the left side, there was a dining table, with flowers on them.

“Char, this is...” I couldn't find the words for it. If I ever imagined us living together, it would be in a place like this.

“You like it?” He chuckled and took my jacket off.

“Like it? Can we live here!” I exclaimed and he laughed.

“Soon.” He smiled at me, making me shake my head.

“What do you mean?” I started looking around. It was so cozy and so homey that I never wanted to leave.

“I did my best to recreate the cottage I am staying at in Romania.” I gasped. I couldn't believe it was this beautiful. “Of course, you can see it's missing a bed,” he giggled, “but that's usually on the second floor and I think we managed more without one.” He winked and fluttered the butterflies in my stomach.

“This is similar to your place in Romania?” I was still in awe at how beautiful it was. He nodded. “How do you ever leave?” He laughed at my question.

“I wouldn't, if it wasn't for you, love.” He pulled me into a tight embrace and I couldn't help but pretend we were already there. If I was excited before he showed me this, then I don't know what I was feeling now.

“Want some dinner? I cooked myself.” He pulled me towards the kitchen.

“You cooked?” I raised an eyebrow. We did help Molly every Summer but he has never shown any interest that he would like to attempt anything in the kitchen on his own.

“I asked Penny for some recipes. I hope you like spaghetti.” My eyes sparkled. I wanted to marry him on the spot.

The dish was delicious and I teased him that he was going to do all the cooking in Romania. We reminisced on the Ball and our first date and just talked about how good we are together. We decided to get comfier, so we moved our conversation to the sofa.

I loved how we could be a couple and best friends at the same time. I loved how much we could make each other laugh without even trying and how much fun we were having together. I couldn't believe that we were going to work together and not only do what we love but also have each other.

“So what do you want to do now?” Charlie asked softly as it was getting pretty late. We haven't spent a night with each other since the Burrow when Bill was covering for us and I think it was about time we did so.

“Make love to me, Charlie.” My gentle voice made his eyes widen and I loved how those words always made him blush. He got closer to me and pressed his lips to mine and when I closed my eyes, I saw my whole future with him.

—

“I can't believe we are doing this.” Penny sobbed, holding my hand.

“Get over it, Haywood.” Tonks rolled her eyes, her arm locked with mine on my other side. “Why don't you become a professor here, if you're going to miss this place so much?”

“I am not going to miss the school as much as I am going to miss you!” Penny frowned at her and I heard Tulip sigh next to her.

“We are all going to miss each other.” I tried calming them down.

We only had a few more days at school before we would take the Hogwarts Express one last time. We were walking through the corridors, saying goodbye to every professor we've met along the way and to anyone we knew that passed us.

Gryffindor won the House Cup and I knew Charlie was going to have an easier time leaving now. He made Wood Captain and the kid was so excited that he stumbled over his broom and fell flat on his nose almost making them late for their last match. Fred and George told me that Charlie gave his famous speech for the last time and that they let him do it without interruptions.

We were done with our N.E.W.T.s and even though the results didn't matter to me at all, I was still proud of how good I did, despite thinking I was going to fail at the beginning of the year. Tulip only cared for doing well in Astronomy and we all knew Penny did an amazing job even though she did more crying than studying in May.

Tonks surprised us one last time. She was a nervous wreck but she pulled through. Penny brewed her a couple of Calming Draughts and we kept telling her to imagine herself being an Auror and apparently, that did the trick. The information of what she wanted to become would come in very handy in our first couple of years.

“We did have fun, didn't we?” I said, tightening my grip on both Tonks and Penny. We owed everything to the school and our professors. All our friendships, all our relationships and accomplishments, and definitely the fact that we are all able to follow our dreams.

“Oh, I will miss you so much!” Penny stopped in the Courtyard and pulled us all in a hug. We hugged her back as I couldn't help but get emotional as well.

“Miss Blackwood, my I have a word?” I lifted my head and saw McGonagall standing near the fountain. I asked the girls to wait for me by the Lake and walked to her. She was last on my list to say goodbye to as Charlie and I already went to Kettleburn, spent an evening with Hagrid and I said goodbye to Flitwick yesterday.

“Yes, Professor.” I said as I got closer.

“I usually don't do this but I wanted to say goodbye.” I could swear I heard her voice shake. “It's been a pleasure, Professor.” I pressed my lips together to try and keep my chin from shaking. She did so much for me and she taught me more than anyone else in this school. “Thank you for believing in me and thank you for everything.” I wanted to hug her but I knew that would be crossing the line.

“Miss Blackwood, you have been one of the most talented students I had in years.” She bestowed me with one of her rare smiles. “If you ever need anything, anything at all...I am only one owl away.”

“Thank you, Professor. I appreciate it.” I can't deny that she has been a sort of a mother figure to me here at school.

“Run along now, before we get too emotional.” She sniffed and waved her hand at me. I smiled, trying hard to hold in the tears, and made my way towards the Lake.

Jae, Andre, and Charlie joined me, Tulip, Penny, and Tonks for one last hang out under our favorite tree. So much has happened at this spot. We hung out, we had so many fun moments, Penny and I fought, and Charlie and I fought. It was the place where Charlie and I first kissed and got into our biggest fight over Murphy a few months ago. But that was all behind us now as we started to tease Tonks about how many times she ran away from us over the years because of the exams.

[lunasilvermorny]

Festival Fun SQ - Part 1 - It’s already all over the place, and we’re just starting.

Okay, let’s do this!

Ooooh, I love this loading screen.

2 out of 4 pairings are actually together in the headcanon, so I approve!

Ah, yes. We all know that every love story always starts with... gardening? Anyway, JC, can you pick up the pace already?

I promised myself I’ll try to be patient, but...

Okay, okay.

Positive attitude. Let’s continue...

Ahhhhh.... Care to elaborate a bit, MC?

I feel like we need a bit more context.

Jesus Christ, who did you murder?

So, it’s been a while since I played this game...

But you all see that dragon in the task-bar, right?

Charlie, what did you do?

Charlie: First the task-bar, then the world!

(Future me: I get it, it’s a clubs thing... I’m sharing some of my original notes too, okay? Just roll with it...)

Hagrid: Nothin’ like child-labor, I always say.

Just wait till 2020, mate.

No one is laughing now...

You’re talking to Luna... obviously, class would be the best part for her.

I can see her and Rowan squealing in excitement already.

Wait a minute, Rowan’s going to be here, right? Right, JC?!

It’s a year-5 achievement. You better make sure he’s there!

Well, that’s a huge leap... I think you added 10 levels by mistake.

Not that I'm complaining, but...

It caught me off guard.

Why do I feel like Tonks is contemplating their friendship as Luna’s talking?

I can’t be the only one that immediately thought of the "There’s a horse in the hospital” bit by John Mulaney.

Either Tonks has the biggest “bro” attitude out there, or she lives vicariously through MC.

Damn, so bitter...

But he’s 100% right, to be fair.

JC, lamp-shading it won’t make it less creepy, you know. I hated how everyone ganged up on her in the Valentine’s Day SQ. I really hope it will be a bit more subtle this time.

You mean the one where you’re still not a romantic option?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s cool they added Jae and Chiara, but I don’t get why Badeea is an option but Liz isn’t. It’s not like Badeea is super popular in the fandom. I really hope some day my girl Liz would get the love she deserves.

Wait, wait, wait, wait... Stop, stop, stop.

This is happening during year 5, right?

Okay, I actually really like it because in my headcanon Barnaby remains good friends with Ismelda and Merula, so it fits perfectly.

Okay, let’s get back to the plot.

Is Badeea painting a Puffskein in the background? 

(Once again the background sub-plot is more interesting than the main plot.)

Wow, the change in attitude once MC arrives is... Yikes.

Sure, JC. Merula likes MC. Very convincing.

Stop making me relate to Ismelda!

Again, I feel like I’m going to mention it a lot - it’s a year-5 SQ, JC!

You better not shove year-6 Ben down my throat.

Also, Rowan is nowhere to be found... You’re so damn lazy!

My angel deserves so much better than this... At least now I know that JC doesn’t give a shit about players that aren’t up-to-date with the latest chapters...

But why, though? I get why Penny, but Merula is not popular and she never showed any kind of social-initiative before. She wants to be the strongest witch, but it doesn’t have anything to do with a popularity-based title.

If I remember correctly. she criticized MC in one of the previous SQs for listening to Penny and said that power is more important than popularity.

So why would she want to win something that is completely dependent on a popularity status?

Oh right, it’s a JC game. There is no logic or consistency. Sorry. Carry on...

I was so bored, I didn’t even notice the “neither” choice...

Okay, let’s just be a supportive friend, then.

I mean, if it’s between Penny and Merula, then it’s a no-brainer.

But literally anyone else, and my answer would change. (Chiara FTW!)

Awww, see what I mean by her being a bro?

So damn supportive when she's not screwing everything up.

I-

I gotta say, I like this little Ravenclaw gathering.

I wish there were more activities for MC and the other characters from her house. Because even though Tulip is not technically a part of this, it’s still nice to have a scene with Talbott, Andre and Badeea.

Also, this skunk spell... Tulip is going to abuse it, I guarantee it.

To be fair, just making all the outfits is enough work already.

But wait, isn’t he a dateable option as well? I’m confused.

I said it before, but in these type of SQs, Andre is the best!

Of course she understands, mate. You deserve way more than you’re getting out of this whole deal, trust me.

Haha, Tulip’s blank stare in the background... Cue the “They ask you how you are, and you just have to say you're fine, when you're not really fine...” meme.

Can we all embrace a collective headcanon where Andre’s actually getting compensation for all his hard work?

Luna has enough money to spare, there’s no way this bloke is not getting paid for this.

That’s usually how it works, mate.

No, no, no... Please don’t make it that everyone’s pushing her into a corner again, it was so awkward!

I can’t go through it again...

Also, it’s Luna. She chooses her dates, not the other way around.

Called it!

Though, to be fair, who didn’t see it coming?

Guess...

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

Wow, they really didn’t give me a lot to work with, huh?

Well, the post is long enough, so... Hopefully there will be enough interesting stuff happening in the next post.

[cursebreaker-lilith]

HC List #6-Thestrals

Random list! Basically, who I hc can see thestral’s and why or why not.

Under the cut as usual ^^

Rowan

Cannot see them. Is both disappointed (can’t see a cool magical creature and properly learn about them) and relieved (hasn’t seen or had anyone close to them die) by this.

Also saying now for some other entries, I refuse to believe that Rowan died P: These are my headcanon’s and I get to choose who lives and dies.

Ben

I feel there’s two ways to go with Ben. Either he can see them from the start after seeing someone die in a very gentle way (like a grandparent or great-grandparent passing away in the hospital at an old age) at a young age, or he only can see thestrals after the Wizarding War. Either way, he 100% will be able to see them by the time he’s 25.

Penny

Canonically can (I believe? At the very least she should canonically be able to, I just can’t actually remember if the topic has come up). Since the quest got removed (which idk why considering it makes certain things in year 3 make sense lol) and some might not know: before third year started, Penny saw her Muggle friend get killed by a werewolf, which is why her boggart is a werewolf at the start of year 3.

Merula

Canonically can. Again, for those that haven’t seen the thestral sidequest (which, sidenote related to the above but. The one sidequest where Penny would make sense and yet they didn’t use her lol), Merula saw her parents kill an Auror (or a bystander) when she was young and the First Wizarding War was still going on.

Bill

I believe he was able to see thestrals even before the Second Wizarding War started. Probably saw a fellow cursebreaker get killed while on a job for Gringotts.

Tulip

I feel Tulip is one of those who ends up seeing thestral’s because of the war. But, I can also see her never being able to see them. Just depends on what happens to her during the war because I still haven’t decided.

Tonks

Definitely can after the battle in the Department of Mysteries (ohh that’s another death I like to pretend never happened), if not before then due to Auror or Order work.

Barnaby

Probably in a similar situation as Merula. I mean, we at least know he saw Voldemort kill his family’s pet kneazle, so who’s to say he hasn’t seen someone kill a human too. Isn’t too bothered by this though; it was in the far past and now he gets to befriend more magical creatures! Thestrals absolutely adore him too.

Ismelda

Likes to pretend she can to be goffick, but actually can’t. She’s never able to see them, and is honestly relieved by that once she grows out of her “ow the edge” phase.

Charlie

Likely something similar to Bill. Dragon handling is dangerous work so I can imagine someone at the dragon sanctuary was horribly injured and he was at their bedside when they passed.

Andre

I actually think he’d have something like what I said with Ben above, with his grandmother. It’s canon that she is in poor health from his sidequest, so it’s possible he could be at her bedside with his family when she dies.

Jae

Considering his line of work, he’s also someone who definitely is able to see thestral’s by the time he’s 25. Probably a deal gone bad, or one busted by Auror’s.

Badeea

I’m going to say no for Badeea. She’s intrigued by what they may look like, but is quite glad she can’t see them.

Liz

Another one who I don’t think can see thestrals. She’s disgruntled by this, but that doesn’t stop her from learning all about how to care for them and trying to change their reputation of evil creatures.

Diego

I definitely see him fighting during the war, so he’s probably another who can see thestrals from that.

Talbott

Also canonically can? Similar to Penny, he should be able to canonically, but I don’t think it’s ever been stated. Of course, it would be his parents who he saw. Harry couldn’t see thestrals at first because he was too young when Lily died, but going by clues, Talbott was probably 8 or so when his parents died so he would be old enough to understand and process what happened.

Chiara

Also on the “definitely will by 25″ list because of her job as a Healer. She’s glad that it was only after a patient died that she was able to see thestrals, and not before after a full moon.

Bea

After befriending Ismelda, claims she can to also be goffick. Stops doing so after a while. Could possibly eventually see them due to the wizarding war.

Skye

Probably no? But also I can’t get the thought out of my head that she’d be the most likely character to be found at a murder scene. Not like, as the victim, but as a witness or killer?? lol Her or Merula.

Murphy

I’m going to say no. He’s not particuarly upset by this lol and doesn’t think about it much.

Orion

There are two routes to go for this: the normal route and the angsty route. You could say his family died when he was a baby and therefore he likely wasn’t around when they died or doesn’t remember it and therefore can’t see thestrals. Or, similar to Talbott, he was older and saw his family get killed. Either way, I can 100% see him vibing with thestrals in general.

[missnight0wl]

Do you place any of the time limited side quests at a different year from the game? For example, i think it makes sense for the Howling Halloween sq to be set after the sq with the forgetfulness potion in year 3 rather than year 1. The first Christmas sq also takes place in year 1, even though MC wouldn’t know Bill at that point. The patronus sq makes a reference to Mc being a legimellion even though they wouldn’t find that out till later.

I kind of stopped trying to fit all the TLSQs into my story at some point, but I still can’t help wondering where they belong into the canon story. And yeah, probably most of them don’t make sense where they’re placed by the devs (or at least would make more sense somewhere else). Now, I’ll try to keep it short, but I’m gonna comment on pretty much every TLSQ, so… beware.

YEAR 1:

Hagrid’s Birthday. It should’ve been at least Y2. Merula comments at one point that Dumbledore probably wants to give MC 100 House points (which really makes sense only after we got points at the end of Y1), and MC’s bond with Hagrid was much closer in Y2, so they’d indeed be the right person to throw his birthday. Especially that Hagrid canonically was born on December 6th, so in Y1, MC knew him only for three months.

Howling Hallowe’en. All right, so I personally HATE this TLSQ because MC duelling Greyback is stupid no matter their age. But if it has to exist, then as you said, it should’ve happened after “Penny For Your Thoughts”, so not before Y3. I believe Scarlett was supposed to die between Y2 and Y3, so before that, it doesn’t make sense that Penny’s fear of werewolves is so great. It also takes away from the relationship between Penny and Chiara (if Penny didn’t experience the death of her friend, it’s not that meaningful that she overcomes her prejudice for Chiara).

Christmas at Hogwarts. It CAN’T happen before Y2. When Rowan mentions Bill for the first time, MC doesn’t even know who he is. How would it make sense if they spent Christmas together a year earlier? Personally, I think it should be Y3 when MC���s friendship with both Bill and Tonks was closer already.

YEAR 2:

The Weird Sisters. This one should probably be Y4, even if only because of the Sisters’ age. Myron is supposed to be one year older than Bill, meaning that in MC’s Y4, Myron was in his last year. Orsino is supposed to be the same age as Percy, so at the same time he was in his second year – a bit young to be on the band, but possible (more likely than in his first year if you ask me).

Hosting the Beauxbatons. I guess it could stay in Y2, but MC talks quite a lot about the Cursed Vaults and how great they are at solving mysteries, so I believe that Y3 or even Y4 would make more sense.

Chiara’s TLSQ. It happens a year after the Halloween events, so it should be Y4.

Christmas at the Burrow. Again, since it happens a year after the previous Christmas TLSQ, it should be Y4. It goes well with Charlie coming to Hogwarts to rescue us because he and MC got pretty close in Y4 (working on the Forest Vault and all).

Meet the Malfoys. Lucius came to Hogwarts because the school governors were alarmed by the things going on at school, so it has to be after the Vault of Ice. Although, I’d argue that two vaults are more likely to be a reason for concern, putting the quest in Y4. Also, in MC’s second year, Draco was only five! He looked and acted more like a 7/8-years-old.

YEAR 3:

Become an Animagus. A friendly conversation with both Barnaby and Tulip at the very beginning of the quest suggests Y4.

The Frog Choir. It could stay in Y3 since Tulip acts rather uncertain about her friendship with MC. The problem is that it triggers too early. When I played with my second MC a while ago, I’m pretty sure it triggered even before I learnt from Tulip that she worked with Merula.

Flying Solo. It should be Y5 (I imagine that becoming an Animagus would take at least all Y4). There’s the whole conversation where Talbott talks about Rakepick’s white owl. In Y3, Merula thinks she’s about to meet Snape, but then, the mention of school owls doesn’t really make sense – it was definitely written with Rakepick in mind, so I just don’t understand why they placed it in Y3.

YEAR 4:

Become a Prefect. No complaints here.

Magical Creatures Everywhere. As far as I remember, there was nothing that wouldn’t really fit here, so I guess we’re also clear.

Celestial Ball. It’s a bit odd to have a ball when there’s the Sleepwalking Curse at school, but… sure, we can go with this.

Grand Pranksters. Yeah, I believe it all works here again. Tonks and Tulip are pretty close friends already, Rita returned like a couple of months after her second SQ (when we blackmailed her about being an unregistered Animagus). Even Ismelda’s part is okay since she was also one of the optional people to borrow a broom from.

The Patronus TLSQ. It probably should be Y5. The Legilimency scene you mention doesn’t happen if you do the quest in Y4, but the fact that it exists (and it’s quite developed) suggests that the quest was written with Y5 in mind. Again, I don’t understand why it was placed earlier.

First Date. I mean… sure.

YEAR 5:

Sir Cadogan. It definitely belongs to Y5 since it talks about Beatrice being trapped in the portrait. However, similar to the Frog Choir, it triggers too early. I believe it triggers in chapter 6 now. It’d make more sense after our fight in the Library (to remind MC how important it is to work with their friends) and after we found Scabbers in front of the Vault of Ice – so around chapter 14. In the TLSQ, Rakepick revived the Ice Knight, so MC shouldn’t have been that surprised seeing the cursed ice around the castle in the main story. Also, when they searched the Icy Corridor with Jae, it sure sounded like they weren’t there since Y2.

O.W.L.s. No complaints here.

Valentine’s Day. NOPE! Just nope. There’s no way Penny would care about stupid Valentine’s Day while Beatrice was trapped in the portrait. Similar goes to MC who was worried about both Haywood sisters AND they were anxious about finding Jacob in the next vault. Moreover, THERE’S NO WAY Rakepick would allow Lockhart to waste the time of her apprentices. I don’t know where else it fits better, but quite frankly, I don’t care.

The All-Wizards Tournament. I mean, I’m not mad about it being in Y5, but I actually like it better when I think that Hagrid and Kettleburn organised it to distract everyone after Rowan’s death. I’d say it’s more meaningful in Y6.

Festival Fun. Very similar arguments as for the First Date. Although, I suppose it could’ve happened on its own in Y5, just without the dating element.

YEAR 6:

The Dragon Sanctuary. Honestly, it’d probably make more sense as the summer holidays event or even post-graduation, but I guess Y6 is not bad.

The Headkid. Yep, makes sense.

[bluerosesburnblue]

It’s just now occurring to me that Seren/Talbott makes significantly more sense if you know how I’ve re-written several sidequests to better fit Seren’s personality, which I keep forgetting is not how canon went because half of these quests came out way too long ago and I’m far too attached to my rewrites

The only things that Talbott knows about Seren in Year 1 are that when she was announced for their sorting ceremony a LOT of people started whispering (about Jacob, the Dwyn Family getting kicked off of the Sacred Purebloods list, etc.) and that she sits in front of him during Transfigurations. Once he hears about what Jacob did, his curiosity is settled and he doesn’t think about her at all

I’m putting the Hagrid’s Birthday timed quest to Year 2, after you help Hagrid save Fang. That would make sense of the fact that Fang has a name and Merula’s dialogue about Dumbledore giving MC 100 House Points. And Hagrid’s birthday is December 6, so… that’s when the quest happens! December 6, 1985. (Probably starts a few days earlier, like the 3rd or 4th to account for party planning time)

This is relevant because of the moment where MC is keeping watch of Fang while Merula and Ismelda are teasing Talbott in the background by levitating his clothes and flinging him around. In the canon version of that quest, a Niffler (possibly Sickleworth since the quest came out after he was introduced?) chases them off. But, since I’m putting it in Year 2 before Rakepick is at Hogwarts there’s no reason for that Niffler (assuming it is Sickleworth) to be there

In my rewritten version it’s Seren who goes over and chases them off, because she’s not oblivious and even in Year 2, when she’s still super shy, she’s not just gonna let Merula pull something like this. It’s one of those rare moments in the early years where you can catch a glimpse of who Seren’s going to become, where she gets very assertive and fearless. It’s only because she’s defending someone else at this time, it’ll start to become her default state in later years

Of course, she’s still extremely shy and awkward and so is Talbott, so when she asks him if he’s okay he just... freezes and doesn’t say anything. And Seren doesn’t know what to do so after, like, 30 seconds of silence and just staring at each other she just kinda nervously screeches “OKAY, GREAT,” and jogs off with Fang

This is the moment that Talbott starts taking real notice of Seren. He hasn’t had anyone stick up for him like that. He remembers her sorting, now he’s trying to put together a profile of her. Figure out what she’s all about. He’s so curious, she seems so similar to him sometimes, but then she gets these bursts of confidence. Part of him wants to drop it, he figures it doesn’t matter. But then Penny (who is both Seren’s friend and her roommate) starts tutoring him in Potions and she’s telling him all these stories and he’s just getting even more invested in figuring out “what’s the deal with Seren Dwyn?”

Seren doesn’t remember the incident at all. It wasn’t the first time she’d ever chased Merula off from bullying someone, and her mind was preoccupied with party planning so she just never thought about it again. She won’t remember it even happened unless Talbott brings it up, and her response is just going to be “Wait. That was you? WAIT-”

After that moment in Year 2, they don’t interact again until Year 5. Talbott has been keeping an eye on her out of sheer curiosity for years and Seren hasn’t thought about him at all

So, that brings us to the Animagus quest, which I changed a lot. Not that there was necessarily anything wrong with it, but it was the first Timed Sidequest and was teased for long enough that I’d... kind of already plotted out how I wanted most of it to go by the time it did. Also, a good chunk of it didn’t fit with Seren’s character at all

So, first of all, third year? For one of the most difficult pieces of Transfiguration magic? Uagadou school teaches it to 14-year-olds, so it’s possible, but they’re teaching it professionally and MC is flailing about with just Talbott and Penny figuring it out in the canon quest, so I’m gonna give that year a no. Also, it makes more sense for this to occur after the second Rita quest, otherwise why would Dumbledore have to explain Animagi and the registry if MC’s already an Animagus? Personally, I’m placing the start of it in late November of fifth year (1988 – maybe January 1989)

I’m also not a fan of the fact that we’re doing this just because Penny wants to brew a tough potion. Personally, I don’t see Seren and Penny as that close. They’re friends, but I generally play it more like Penny’s more invested in their friendship than Seren is. Not to mention it completely kills any sense of agency MC has, and I’m really not a fan of all of their friends trying to force a potentially dangerous, potentially illegal life choice on them for reasons such as “I want to brew a tough potion!” and “It would be cool!” If Penny or Seren messed up even a little she could end up as a half-human-half-animal amalgamation permanently! Think of Hermione’s Polyjuice Potion mishap from Chamber of Secrets but for the rest of your life. Seren would make a life-changing, potentially dangerous decision like this for Jacob’s sake only. So the rewritten motivation is looking for any edge on the search because she’s getting frustrated that it’s been five+ years since he’s disappeared and she still can’t find him, but she has found notes suggesting that he was an unregistered Animagus (such as the potion recipe being in his room)

She’s partially trying to figure out what Jacob’s Animagus form is. If it’s informed by your personality and everyone tells her she’s “just like her brother”… then maybe her form would be close enough that she could figure out what his is (or, in a lucky break, exactly the same as his)

She gets the idea after the second Rita quest, and spends the end of Year 4/beginning of Year 5 studying up on the Animagus process and looking for any opportunity to make it work

And, because Year 5 is the year she’s stuck in detention and thus, under intense scrutiny from the faculty, it opens up opportunities to sneak out for the Vault search if she needs to so she sees little downside in trying

Seren would not be open about doing this. So cut out pretty much any friends being told about it or getting directly involved. This is a Secret Seren Project, which is pretty typical of her, actually

She’s also not gonna have Penny just brew the whole dang potion. In fact, she’s not gonna involve Penny at all. (Seren’s capable of doing things on her own, game. She doesn’t need Penny to stand next to her and tell her what to do every time she tries to brew a potion). Because she has no intention of registering (it would defeat the point of using it to sneak around), she doesn’t want anyone involved because then they become accomplices. Also, Seren just likes doing things for herself. I think she’s a little offended every time Penny refuses to let her brew potions for the Vaults

Also, no McGonagall involvement! She’s not planning on registering. Why would you tell a teacher you’re gonna commit a crime?

The only time Professor McGonagall gets involved is Seren asking theoretical questions about the Animagus process under the guise of both OWL studying and because Seren’s just known to ask questions about theoretical magic (“Do potential Animagi keep the leaf in their mouth to absorb saliva from all parts of a biological lunar cycle, or is it more a demonstration of perseverance to focus the soul?”)

So the actual meat of the quest starts pretty much the same. Tulip and Barnaby bring up Talbott at lunch one day and Tulip mentions that he seems to know a lot about Animagi. Seren shows mild interest, but not much beyond that (“What? Seems like a lot of work for not much help, to be honest.”) Secretly, she’s ecstatic because she’s finally got a chance at making an Animagus transformation work beyond what she’s read about it (the potion she could do on her own, but he might be able to show her the spell and probably won’t turn her in to the wizard cops)

She asks Talbott about it at dinner when all of her friends are gone and she’s pretty sure nobody’s around to hear it. Talbott still overheard them, and still references it, but it’s more of an “I heard what you were discussing at lunch” thing. She asks him what he knows, they do their little back-and-forth. Then he brings up that she’s got a reputation for helping people with occasionally sketchy things with no questions asked (*cough*CHARLIE AND THE DRAGON EGG*cough*) and she’s pretty forthcoming about it (“Just keep in mind that I’m both a Prefect and in eternal detention, so request wisely.”)

Secretly, Talbott is very excited. Seren contacted him first and finally gave him an excuse to follow her around and finally get those answers about what her deal is that he’s been craving for years. He’s not even thinking about her as a possible friend or anything, he just wants to figure out what makes her just... act for the sake of others, completely without thinking about damage to herself, and with such wild conviction that every year she seems to outdo herself in wild success with tasks that should be way above the average student’s skill. Part of it reminds him of his parents, but he’s also just found her so interesting from afar (made even worse when Seren goes through her drastic change in presentation at the start of Year 4 and starts acting like she did when she chased Merula off all the time). She’s like the world’s most intricate puzzle

In this rewrite, Talbott is still looking for potion ingredients for Penny, but they’re not for an Animagus potion. They’re for the Draught of Peace that she’s making to help out Madam Pomfrey because she’s being overwhelmed with kids coming in overly stressed about OWLs and NEWTs, and Penny knows what it feels like to be so stressed that you feel you need the potion (but she also respected Seren’s advice to not take it to deal with the Beatrice situation, at least not without Madam Pomfrey’s supervision). It ends up being a “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” between Talbott and Seren. Help me break into Filch’s office to get confiscated potions supplies because Professor Snape won’t let Penny borrow enough to make all of the Draught of Peace that she wants to, and I’ll teach you what I know about being an Animagus. Talbott has them pick up the materials for the Animagus potion while they’re collecting stuff for Penny. He’s tempted to ask Seren about herself, but just ends up staying silent and watching how she handles getting the ingredients

Seren is way less pushy about being Talbott’s friend than MC is in the quest. She still teases him about his use of “we” but it’s more of a partners-in-crime jab. Like, it’s Seren. She can relate to everyone thinking you’re a weirdo. She can relate to wanting to go solo and avoid people. She’s not even sure how she has friends, they just sort of happened. So when Talbott says “I fly solo,” Seren doesn’t tell him “everyone needs friends,” she says “Understood. But I’m here to help if you ever need some.”

They deliver Penny’s stuff and she’s honestly surprised they’re hanging out. Talbott insists that Seren’s only there because he needed to get into Filch’s office, Penny buys it because this really isn’t the first time Seren’s helped someone without question. Heck, this isn’t the first time Seren’s done weird things to get potion ingredients for her. So Talbott gets to teaching Seren about the Animagus transformation (and supervises her. They’re not friends! But he doesn’t want her to get seriously injured doing this. This is the girl that stuck up for him years ago)

Because it’s Seren, she’s got the entire Animagus process planned down to the second. She’s scheduled her leaf-in-mouth thing to overlap with Christmas break, which she plans to spend in Hogwarts and won’t need to talk to anyone during (Wed. Nov 23 –  Fri. Dec 23 1988, with Dec 23 – Sat. Jan 21 1989 as a backup date if she swallows the leaf. She’s praying for luck with the full moons). She’s got an old-fashioned windup alarm and an almanac to get the times for dawn and dusk right (and Christmas break means she’ll have the dorm room to herself, so she won’t wake up her roommates and give away what she’s doing). She’s even got some gum to secure the leaf to the roof of her mouth/under her tongue

Her plans get derailed HARD when Bill and Charlie decide to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas to keep her company because she stayed during fourth year to avoid going home to parents who were going to ignore her or yell at her, and who hadn’t had it in them to celebrate Christmas for years, when at least she gets decorations at Hogwarts (she told Charlie this, so naturally Bill knows). She’s forced to bring them in to what she’s doing (“But you can’t tell anyone! You’re accomplices to a crime now!”)

She actually really appreciates it. She tears up a little. But seriously, boys, this was not the best time to do that

They can’t help her keep track of doing the spell at dawn, but they can totally run shouting at her when dusk’s approaching. She ends up keeping the leaf in her mouth on the first try

Talbott also stayed over for Christmas because he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go

Heck, I could see Seren inviting him to sit with them for Christmas breakfast and the four of them just sharing a nice, happy moment for once. Seren gives out gifts. Charlie is DELIGHTED at the dragon sculpture that she enchanted to move around (and she’s delighted that it actually worked. She jumps up and cheers when it bursts out of the box like she planned). She even gives Talbott some cookies she baked (“Consider them a thank-you for all of your help with that project.”)

Also, Seren starts singing Christmas songs at breakfast and Professor Flitwick overhears. He IMMEDIATELY starts trying to get her to come back to the Frog Choir after she joined briefly in Year 4 and then quit at the end of the year. But, oh man, professor, she quit for a reason and now she’s a Prefect, too, and there’s just no TIME…

Gobstones with Talbott in the courtyard still happens, but this time it’s over winter break and there’s no one out there to hear him confess his backstory to her, and no one around to see him transform into an eagle and fly off. It’s a huge show of trust to Seren now, and not one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen bird boy do

Seren hides the Animagus potion at the top of one of the abandoned towers that she walks near during her Prefect patrols (probably the Lookout Tower due to the open area) and uses her patrol schedule to go hide it. Do Prefects even need to patrol during winter break? I mean, probably. There’s still kids there and likely a shortage of Prefects

Choses a thundersnow storm at some point during the break to complete the ritual. It is freezing, and very dramatic. Bill and Charlie are there just in case something goes horribly wrong

Seren transforms into a raven and it’s the happiest she’s been in a long freaking time. She perches on Bill’s arm, she perches on Charlie’s shoulder. She changes back and she’s laughing and crying and just so happy that it all worked so well and it’s like, a tangible thing. It’s physical proof that she’s getting skilled enough to get Jacob back. And it’s the best Christmas present she’s ever given herself

The three of them get caught by Professor McGonagall leaving the tower, but do a bit where they pretend that Seren heard something up there during a patrol and called them over to help her investigate it just in case, but it was just the wind knocking the loose door around. Bill does an excellent performance miming the door swinging back and forth while Charlie nods enthusiastically. It’s very convincing, I assure you. McGonagall does let them go, assuming they were just getting up to some Christmas fun

At some point a particular golden eagle hanging out in the Owlery gets his day rudely interrupted by a very loud and excitable raven. He can hear Seren giggle out a “thank you” when she leaves. He’d never admit it, but he found it charming. And then immediately tried to convince himself that he did not think that about her, because it’s dangerous to get attached (but it’s already begun to be too late for that)

(Side note, but Rowan eventually finds out by accident late Year 5. She stumbles into Seren transformed in their dorm, freaks out that there’s a bird in there, and Seren has to transform back and tell her everything to calm her down. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?” “I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO BE AN ACCOMPLICE!”)

After everything that happens in the quest, Talbott’s started developing a friend-crush on Seren. She’s quiet and respects his space, she’s pretty damn smart (he’s particularly impressed at how much she knew about the Animagus process without him telling her), and there’s something about how dedicated she is to whatever she decides to do that interests him

Seren kind of thought that at the end of the quest, she and Talbott already were friends. And she was really happy to have a friend with the same sense of humor as her, who she could have some really interesting discussions with. But...

After worrying that he’s starting to like her too much, Talbott kinda ignores Seren for a couple of months, which makes her upset but she doesn’t know how to bring it up with him. Then Flying Solo happens around the beginning of April. It’s 80% the same, minus MC being pushy about being Talbott’s friend. Other minor changes are:

When learning Obliviate from Flitwick, Seren insists that both of them do the spell as it’s only fair, and she catches on easily since she’s started Legilimency training by then which gives her an edge with mind-based spells

Instead of telling Talbott some big secret, Seren goes on a five minute rant about how much she hates potatoes (”You’ll never forget how much I hate them when I’m done!”). Talbott tells her that he’s wanted to talk to her since their second year when she saved him from Merula but he didn’t know how. This elicits the above “Wait, that was you?” response before he Obliviates her

Seren ends up being really shaky and mumbling a bit after Talbott Obliviates her, and he’s terrified that he messed something up before she gets herself coherent enough to say that she felt this exact sensation earlier in the year (Pettigrew Obliviating MC). This relates to my headcanon that as a Legilimens, Seren’s more sensitive to mental spells like Obliviate. Flitwick recalls the incident and assures Talbott that Seren will be fine, Seren thanks Talbott for finally proving to her that she was Obliviated that night

Talbott and Seren agree to tell each other what they Obliviated. Seren tells him about the potato rant at the fountain that night when they’re waiting for Merula to show up, and Merula shows up just before Talbott can tell Seren about when she helped him in Year 2. He never does tell her, Seren forgets that he was supposed to entirely (though I think he will when they’re adults)

The thing about Year 5 Seren is that she’s... uh... constantly about to snap at any given moment, so the idea of Merula finding out about not just her illegal Animagus status, but Talbott’s (which, funny enough, is even better blackmail material because Seren prioritizes others over herself) sets her off. Bad. When it comes time to Obliviate Merula, Seren just tells Talbott to follow her lead, he already did his part getting Merula there

Seren successfully Obliviates Merula and then, less than a second after, Depulsos her into the wall. Talbott is just... stunned and confused as Seren walks up to Merula ranting about how she can’t do anything without Merula following her, makes a show of reluctantly apologizing “but you really startled the shit out of me!” and drags her up by her sleeve

The goal was to overwhelm Merula so that she wouldn’t even have time to process what was happening or that she could have been Obliviated. It works. A very disoriented Merula asks what happened and Seren pointedly pulls a notebook from her bag and slams it into Talbott’s chest “I was trying to help Talbott catch up on our Tranfigurations work when you came up behind me shouting! If you need Rakepick so bad, she’s not here. Can’t even do something as simple as this without you getting involved, can I!?”

Merula leaves after questioning what Seren even has to do with Talbott anyway, which lets both of them know that the Obliviation worked. Talbott’s kind of confused about his feelings because that whole display was both very smart, but very aggressive and a little intimidating. When he asks her about why she even helped him at all she tells him that she “wasn’t about to let Merula put you in danger, especially since it was my fault anyway.” It really clicks for him in that moment that Seren will genuinely go to any length she needs to to protect others, and that what’s been driving her though the Vaults is her loyalty to Jacob, that unstoppable sense of determination, and this overwhelming feeling of responsibility for everyone’s safety. He’d always though she was clever enough to be a Ravenclaw, but now he sees that the core of her is Hufflepuff ideals taken to the extreme. There’s a new sense of respect there. And then the “oh no I’m getting attached” fears kick in again

He tries to give Seren her notebook back, she insists he keep it. It’s actually just a copy of her notes that she made using Geminio that she was planning on giving him anyway to help with the classes he missed. Talbott still insists that they’re not friends. Seren doesn’t fight it. After all, she just almost exposed his secret. Even if she set it right, she knew that the breach of trust alone was probably going to be the end of things. Besides, she’s been pushing away everyone all year. What’s... one more? Especially if he’s going to push himself away

She wasn’t planning to pursue it anymore until talking with Penny over lunch and realizing that even if she kept Talbott’s secret from getting out, something’s still bothering him. And dammit, even if he doesn’t want to be her friend no one else seems to care that something’s up with him and no one deserves to be just left to struggle alone the same way that she was when Jacob went missing. So she talks to McGonagall, finds out about the necklace, firmly informs Talbott that she’s going to find it, no, she’s not leaving, just tell me where you were you don’t even have to come with me, but I am finding that necklace

The necklace search goes the same as it does in canon

During their talk at night after finding the necklace, Talbott asks Seren why she was so determined to find his necklace out of nowhere. She pulls her locket that she keeps under her clothes off and holds it in her hands for a few moments before responding “Because if I couldn’t bear the thought of losing mine, I can’t imagine what you must’ve felt.” She opens it up and hold it out for Talbott to take

He’s the first person at Hogwarts to see the enchanted picture inside that locket. Two kids, one as young as three years old, posing in front of an ivy-covered wall. The little girl is holding a plush baby seal in front of the bottom half of her face. Her brother tries to get her to smile and accidentally knocks the plush out of her hands. She looks like she’s about to cry before he scrambles to pick the plush up and starts tickling her face with it, saying something that can’t be heard. The little girl starts giggling and her brother hugs her before indicating the camera for her to smile at

“That’s him.” It’s not a question; Talbott can tell by their resemblance exactly who the boy in the photo is. Seren moves to stand next to him to look at the photo, too. “Yeah. That’s the boy who started it all. Jacob.”

After four years, Talbott finally gets what the deal with Seren Dwyn is. They talk a bit, he becomes one of the few people to learn that her father’s a Squib, her mother’s a Muggleborn, and her grandmother’s a Pureblood supremacist that hates all of them. She figures it’s only fair to share since he told her all about his parents. Seren admits that she’s jealous; she would’ve rather had parents that she believed loved her for a time, even if they were gone, than parents that she knew would never want her and that could easily come back to remind her even if she did leave. It’s a conversation that illuminates all of their similarities and differences. The mutual respect they have for how strong the other must have been to deal with the suffering, the appreciation for each others’ wit, the realization at how naturally they work together...

Talbott can’t deny that he thinks of her as his friend anymore. But to his surprise, she tells him no.

“Talbott, I’m going to strongly advise against that.”

“What? You can’t go to all this trouble and tell me we’re not friends now.”

“I just- I’m not- I can’t really stop you, but I get involved in dangerous situations every year and I don’t want you to feel you have to- to care about...”

“It’s a little late for that.”

“...I know.”

He thinks she’s cute when she’s flustered. Oh wait no oh no is this a crush???

After this it’s a little more flimsy. Not sure what exactly I want to do with them for Year 6 because I’m not entirely sure how much of Year 6 I’m going to want to rewrite. I know that I definitely want Talbott to find Seren, who still traumatized about the Portrait Vault, sitting on the ground when waiting for the Hogwarts Express. She clearly hasn’t slept and is only partially responsive. Even though she’s supposed to go in for a meeting with the other Prefects on the ride over, she ends up falling asleep in a quiet cabin that she got with Talbott. He doesn’t wake her up and hides her from any Prefects that come looking for her (which ends up just being Charlie and the other Hufflepuff Prefect in their year)

Full disclosure that I haven’t finished the Festival sidequest yet, but I’m considering keeping it sans Talbott revealing himself as Seren’s secret admirer. Not wholly sure where to slot that in, though it would probably be just after Flying Solo but before the Portrait Vault putting it... late April/early May of 1989 or so?

[clovermunson]

1, 26, and 32!

from this lovely list of asks- accepting asks

warning: this is really long, and the last question is answered with so much detail

1. How does their relationship develop in tandem with the Vaults?  Are they a hindrance or do they bring them closer together?

Oh god, I get so mushy about this for so many reasons🥺 Rhia and Barnaby’s relationship works whether well in coordinance with the Vaults, neither is a hinderance to the other in any way, actually they more or less balance each other out. Where Rhia kind of has a more logical, rational approach to things (despite her being chaotic neutral), Barnaby is more stubborn about it, more bullheaded so he’s more apt to just say “fuck it” and run into the Vaults without a plan, only to be stopped by Rhia before he does something stupid. She loves Barnaby too much, so much to the point that if she lost him, she’d never be the same.

26. If they get married, who proposes to whom?  And how do they do it?

So here’s the thing. Rhia says she’d propose, but she’s really too much of a chicken shit for it. She’d cop out at the last minute after committing to the idea because she’s terrified of the idea of her asking. To which Rowan laughs at her for, saying “I told you you couldn’t!”

Barnaby is 100% the one to ask though, he’d try to elaborately plan it with a perfect date night, maybe going to like a little local carnival or something, only for those plans to go to shit because he’s either too scared or there’s never a “perfect moment” for it and for him to ultimately just wing it. Rhia loves it anyway, because she is 100% in love with this beautiful himbo.

32. Have they ever said anything hurtful to the other during an argument?  If so, how do they go about apologizing?

They’ve never- actually, no it’s happened. Once.

It was the week of the N.E.W.T.s in 7th year, and Rhia was beyond stressed out. Too many tests, not enough rest. Most of her time was spent in her private room studying where she couldn’t be bothered (perks of becoming Head Girl). She’d already taken three, and her lowest score was exceeds expectations. She hadn’t slept in Merlin knows how many hours and wasn’t in the mood for anything. So, after her fourth N.E.W.T., she was ready to just give up. Barnaby, being done with his N.E.W.T.s, was just trying to help Rhia lighten up a little by joking around while she was trying to study for her final exam, which was possibly the worst idea he’s ever had, but he meant no harm by it. Needless to say, Rhia wasn’t having any of his jokes, and she snapped.

Her exact words were: “Barnaby, you absolute, complete fucking dumbass!”, and she saw his facial expression drop from his usual bright, gleeful smile to a frown, and her heart dropped along with it. She’d hurt him. She didn’t mean to, but she hurt him. Barnaby left Rhia’s private room, not exactly too sure of himself or their relationship at that moment. He knew he’d fucked up, but he didn’t know how to fix it- yet. And Rhia knew she fucked up too. For a solid thirty minutes, Rhia stopped studying and just cried, and cried, and cried. She couldn’t believe she’d said that to Barnaby. Was she really that stressed that she’d taken it out on him? She felt so helpless about it. First, it was Rowan to see her red, puffy eyes when she’d entered Rhia’s room. Rowan tried to console her, to no avail. Then it was Ben who tried, and also failed.

The next day, Penny tried to console Rhia over lunch, as she still hadn’t spoken to Barnaby and honestly she didn’t think she’d have the nerve to even look at him. After Penny, it was Tonks, and even Tonks’ jokes and antics couldn’t make her feel better. The last person that day to try was Tulip, and she tried her damndest and still couldn’t make Rhia smile or laugh. Rhia cried again, and she wasn’t sure for how many hours. She’d barely eaten, the only thing on her stomach was a small sandwich, which half of it went to Penny anyway.

Day two of not talking to Barnaby: little did Rhia know, the guys had gotten together to help Barnaby recuperate, helping him with ideas to talk to his girlfriend. Talbott had actually consoled Rhia, albeit not successfully, she was surprised that Talbott genuinely cared behind all their playful competitive banter. Charlie was the last to try and console her, and when it didn’t work, he threatened to send an owl to Bill to come and console her.

The second night of not talking to Barnaby: around 9:30 that same night, Barnaby had mustered up the courage to talk to Rhia, who’d been crying yet again. He gave the password to the enchanted painting that kept the door to her private room hidden, and he lightly tapped on the door when it appeared. “Darling, I know I’m probably the last one you want to talk to...” . The deep, raspiness of Barnaby’s voice. It still gave her goosebumps and made her heart flutter. He’d always have that affect on her. Without saying a word, all she did was sit up in her bed, and after finding the courage, she finally opened the door, those beautiful green eyes meeting her deep amber orbs. There were no words exchanged between them, but Barnaby instinctively pulled Rhia into a bear hug, his giant frame towering over her petite one.

“I’m so sorry I said that, you know I didn’t mean any of it...”

“I know, darling, I know.”

Rhia still cried for two weeks after they made up, but Barnaby constantly assured her that he’s not hurt by it anymore and that he understands why she was so stressed out.

[ladycibia]

Hogwarts Mystery Asks

So yeah, I’m going to answer the ones I’ve got in one, single post so I won’t bother anyone with my constant spamming ahahah it’s a long post though...I don’t know what’s the worst shut up cibia

2. How did you come up with your MC and Jacob’s backstory (family, where they’re from, their relationship with each other, etc.)?

This is a tricky question (and it’s only the first one, hurray!) because I don’t know if I actually did that AHAHAH- well, they are my OCs, but only up to one point; they belong to an already-established fictional universe and so I personally like to connect those few, canon information we know about them to my own personal ideas! And those usually come at random :’) and change pretty often AHAHAH I’m a mess. For example, some months ago I turned their father (who died…for now?? I DUNNO) into an Arithmancer given Silaxiv’s name’s connection to numbers!

3. How did you come up with your version of Jacob?

My MC started off as a self-insert and so I took inspiration from my own older brother (for his physical traits at least - pale skin, black hair, blue eyes). At the beginning of the game we didn’t know almost anything about him (we still don’t…but that’s ok), but I’ve always liked the idea of Jacob being a sort of Ulysses from Dante’s Divine Comedy (extra points if he’s a Ravenclaw, like mine!) :)

4. How does your MC cope with everything they’ve endured with Jacob, R, and the Vaults?

Uh, I love this question. Well, the thing with Xiv is- she’s very unpredictable and you can’t read her that easily. She suffers from the “shonen hero syndrome” and she’s usually very optimistic and happy-go-lucky, but those events did affect her. Her best way to cope with everything that happened so far is to keep herself busy with various activities (first of all, the duelling club – she also used to be its vice-president, but she had to give up her position during Year Five :( that was part of her punishment, sigh), but sometimes, she would just lock herself somewhere in the castle (Jacob’s room or the Owlery hi Talbott) and think and be a little sad for a while (also, the fact that people call her crazy, psycho, ecc. doesn’t really help). However, she also puts other people’s happiness before her own and so, even if she’s starting to have doubts whether this adventure will have a happy ending or not (remember: she’s also very naïve and she trusts people too easily), she’d keep that to herself. For example, she would never express her sadness over Jacob’s disappearance with her mother; she’d rather act as the ‘strongest one’, giving her mother all the support and reassurance she needs. “Don’t worry, everything will be alright. Trust me.”, she’d say, smiling.

8. Does your MC have any sentimental items? | 9. Does your Jacob have any sentimental items?

I’m putting these two questions together because the answer is basically the same! Yes, they both have a sentimental item, and that’s their “XIV” pin. As I’ve already said, their father was an Arithmancer and he was obsessed with the number 14 (he’s the one who decided Silaxiv’s name, much to his wife’s disappointment. She wanted to call her Rachel :’)) and he gave them both one as a gift. A silver one for Jacob and a golden one for Xiv.

5. How does your Jacob cope with Duncan’s death?

I’ve still have so many doubts regarding Jacob and I still wonder what to do with him (help me, game) BUT even if my Jacob is a manipulative, sassy bastard, he’s not 100% evil (yet). He was extremely curious and he had an insatiable thirst for knowledge (as I’ve said, Dante’s Ulysses – with magic) to a point that he actually betrayed his friends. However, I think Duncan’s death (and Olivia – was that her name? – too? Maybe? What happened to her?) made him realize his mistakes and R’s true nature. He’d claim the contrary, but, deep inside, he regrets for what he did. Too bad it’s too late now…

17. Which Marauder is your MC most like?

Mmmmmm…sorry, no one. I mean, you could say Sirius or James, but that wouldn’t be correct. Sure, Xiv is confident and determined, but not in an arrogant way; she would never go bragging about her adventures in the search of the Cursed Vaults or about her duelling skills and she would never, never bully or make fun of anybody. She can be pretty direct sometimes (“HEY GREY LADY HOW’S THE BARON”), but there’s no malice in her actions or words. Her determination comes from the desire of improving herself and her own abilities: she’s competitive, but in a very healthy way (as I’ve already said, shonen hero syndrome, ahah!) Also, she finds no fun in the act of rule breaking itself, she doesn’t get pranks or jokes and she treats the school staff with respect (in a very cheerful way, but still- she respects them. All of them!)

21. Something your MC and Jacob like to tease each other about and use to embarrass each other?

Well…Xiv’s smart, but she’s also way too oblivious and naïve and she probably wouldn’t even realize she’s been teased (besides messing up her name, but you don’t want to do that), ahah…(she gave first-years Merula a hard time with this kind of attitude). She gets a bit shy around Barnaby, but she’s usually never embarrassed (and she does have a big crush on Lockhart – which she doesn’t hide,so). Jacob’s another story. :’) big guy’s a bit touchy AND A SORE LOSER. Xiv always managed to beat him in every game they played (and she’s always been much stronger than him, ever since she was a little kid) and that was unacceptable. Considering he acts big and tough like he’s the most perfect individual in the whole world and then he gets crushed at Uno by his little sister.

(thank you!) 1. How did you come up with you MC’s name?

Oh dear, I’ll try my best not to get all nostalgic :’) alright, as I’ve already said, Xiv started out as a self-insert, but I never use my real name and I usually go for Cibia or (less often) Silaxiv. You see, I used to be a HUGE Kingdom Hearts fan when I was younger, to a point that I had proclaimed myself as the fourteenth member of Organization XIII (long before KH 358/2 Days came out, ahah). If you’re not familiar with the saga, the Organization comprises beings called “Nobodies” and each member’s name is an anagram of their original name, with the letter “X” added to it. My name is Silvia, and so I came up with Silaxiv, which is even cooler because it has the 14 roman numeral incorporated in it ~ I thought it suited MC best ^^ As for the last name, it has nothing to do with Lily Evans, despite the red hair I picked it at random and that was my first result and being myself a Luke Evans fan I was like ALL RIGHT ALL ABOARD.

14. What is your MC’s fashion style? | 15. What is your Jacob’s fashion style?

Despite Xiv’s passion for duelling, scary magical creatures and cursed vaults, she’s no tomboy; she loves skirts, cute dresses & accessories and pink, light blue and pastel colours in general! If wizards knew how to use internet, she’d probably google “cute kawaii outfit”. As for Jacob, he would usually opt for a simple, yet elegant, style! He could have been your handsome, young professor, but it had to f*ck everything up :(

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 3, Ch. 7

PART 3: THE YEAR OF QUIDDITCH & MAGICAL CREATURES Chapter 7 - Care of Magical Creatures

Charlie

Almost half a year since our first Care of Magical Creatures lesson I still remember just how amazing it was. Nova and I have been waiting for that Thursday of double Care of Magical Creatures since our First Year.

We knew that Professor Kettleburn was going to give us a tour of the School's Creature Reserve and at some point, we knew we would have to take care of a creature or two. How did we know all of that? Let's just say we have our sources for the important stuff just like Tonks had a Third Years tudent last year to buy Dungbombs for her.

It was a nice change to have at least one class with all the other Houses. It meant that Nova, Tonks, and I could all have the lesson at the same time. At first, we were a bit skeptical about Slytherins but they have been really good and a lot of them are big animal lovers.

That Thursday, I woke as excited as on Christmas morning. I got dressed, stuffed the list of creature predictions, Nova and I made, into my pocket, went down for breakfast and I couldn't wait for the rest of the lessons to end so we would go meet Professor Kettleburn on the School Grounds.

The class hasn't even begun and I knew that Kettleburn was going to be my favorite professor. Tonks was a little taken aback when she saw that he had a claw for one hand, was missing an eye, and had a wooden leg. I, on the other hand, admired him to still be so passionate about his work after all the harm creatures have done to him.

I was wondering if I was going to get any scars or lose an arm or a leg when I start working with Dragons. A burn would be painful and would make my mum worried sick, but I think it would look amazing!

Professor was smiling all the time and loved anyone as excited to work with creatures as he was. He was the total opposite of Professor Binns who was not only dull but seemed to teach History of Magic just out of spite so that nobody else could get his position.

After his brief introduction about all the creatures we were going to learn about and work with in our Third Year, some that were included were a Niffler, which made Nova jump, a Bowtruckle, a Firecrab, and a Kneazle for which Tonks finally got more interested in the subject.

“But before we start learning about all these fascinating creatures, I have to show you something.” Professor Kettleburn got even more excited if that was even possible. “As Third Years, you are old enough for me to tell you that Hogwarts has its own Magical Creatures Reserve.” Oh, this was it!

Nova and I looked at each other, trying to hide the fact we already knew about it.

“We are going to go see it now. Just bear in mind that some of the creatures in the reserve can be quite dangerous so stay in line and don't touch anything.” Kettleburn's face got serious for the first time that day.

We followed him through the thin woods at the end of the School Grounds and as if we went through the wall between Platforms 9 and 10, a whole new world was in front of us.

I couldn't believe just how big it was and my hopes for seeing a Dragon just went up by 100%!

“As some of you would know, not all creatures can live and thrive in the same environment and some mustn't be close to one another as some consider others food and if they don't like each other's energy, they might want to attack one another.” Kettleburn explained.

“So, we have Grasslands. This is where we will spend most of our time this year. Here you can find Nifflers, Porlocks, and Abraxans.” He pointed towards a path, that leads to what looked like a big meadow, with his claw hand.

“Then we have the Forest, which we will visit by the end of this year. In here we have Fairies, Gnomes, and Bowtruckles to name a few.” He gestured us to go forward.

“This is the Dark Forest and we won't go in here until your Fifth Year.” Some of us sighed. “You will be able to study creatures like Unicorns and Chimeras in there.” Nova squealed when Kettleburn mentioned a Chimera. I chuckled as I remembered she told me on the day we've met that she wanted to own one when she was a child.

“By the Lake,” Kettleburn continued walking and we followed, “you can find Grindylows, Murlaps, and Flobberworms.” We moved forward.

“Now in this one...” he chuckled as if remembering a funny memory. “In the Rocky Mountains, we will be studying a Mountain Troll in your Sixth Year, a Manticore, and a Griffin. You will also find Doxies in there and Frost Salamanders.” Nova's hand went up at once. Professor nodded that she could speak.

“Professor, will we be able to take care of a Frost Salamander?” The hope in her voice was simply adorable. Next to a Chimera, Nova wanted to have a Salamander of any kind as she found them extremely cute, and learning about one and taking care of one in the Reserve would be a dream come true for her.

Professor Kettleburn scratched his chin with his claw and gave her question a thought. “Perhaps something can be arranged if your O.W.L.s for Care of Magical Creatures will be good, Miss Blackwood.” He smiled at her and at that moment I knew that Nova will start studying for the O.W.L. as soon as we are done with the class today.

“In Scorched Vale,” the Professor continued, “we have some of the most dangerous creatures that our school owns. We won't be going in there but I will bring a creature from it to our class when we study Firecrabs this year.” My hand was the one that shot in the air now. Professor Kettleburn smiled.

“Professor, are there Dragons in there?” I couldn't stop myself from asking. If there were creatures in there that were the most dangerous, even though I knew that smaller beasts than Dragons can be extremely dangerous, I found it a perfect place for them and it is called SCORCHED Vale!

“There might be.” Was all our teacher said and winked at me. If I didn't want to make a good first impression on him, I would've run in there right past him. I knew there had to be Dragons somewhere around Hogwarts!

The thing was, how would I be able to sneak inside? Getting inside the Forbidden Forest was hard enough with Hagrid always keeping an eye on the entrance behind his hut ever since Aragog told him about a visit he received from a blue and red-haired student.

Let me tell you we were in shock when Hagrid told us he knew we were in the Forest alone and for a moment we really couldn't understand how did he find out. Then he told us that he visits Aragog frequently and that even though he is blind, his younglings told him as many details about us as they could.

We had to promise Hagrid that we would never go in there again and even though we did and we haven't been inside since we have been searching for new ways to sneak in.

Professor Kettleburn was the one who showed us to the Creatures Reserve and even though the path to it from the School Grounds is pretty simple, he did have to use some kind of a spell for the Reserve to be visible to us, otherwise, a student, exploring, could easily stumble upon it. And knowing Dumbledore, he had to put some protective enchantments around it so that enthusiasts like me wouldn't wander inside when not allowed.

“The last reserve, that Rubeus and I are quite proud of, was opened just before the start of this school year. It's called the Foggy Moor. There aren't any creatures inside yet but we are having a Kappa delivered in a few months.” He beamed. “If you haven't learned about Kappas and how to defend yourself from them in your Defence Against the Dark Arts class, I advise you not to go anywhere near this place.”

He then took us back to the Grasslands and showed us the Nifflers and an Abraxan. We were lucky Nova's aunt was breeding them as when she told Kettleburn he bombarded her with questions, allowing us to play with the Nifflers until the end of the class.

The only thing missing in our first Care of Magical Creatures was Hagrid, for who I am sure he would love to be with us. I knew he helped take care of these animals and I wondered if we could try and convince him to take us with him sometime. The whole Reserve seemed less dangerous than the Forbidden Forest.

—

The next time we had the class, we were in for a big surprise. Next to Professor Kettleburn was a beautiful young Hippogriff. He explained that they just delivered him to be taken care of inside the Creatures Reserve and that he thought we could have a little lesson with him before he settles into his new home. His name was Chestnut and he was a beautiful brown color.

A Slytherin boy by the name of Barnaby was the first to try and befriend the Hippogriff. I had a chance to talk to him before class and it turns out he loved animals just as much as Nova and I did.

Barnaby looked like he knew what he was doing as he approached the Hippogriff with an extended hand and a bowed head. Chestnut, however, wasn't as keen to knowing him and Professor Kettleburn told him to retreat. I was the next to try and at first, it looked like the Hippogriff was going to bow back but changed his mind at the last second almost knocking me to the ground.

After a couple of failed attempts, which included Tonks, who accidentally looked him in the eyes, and a Slytherin girl who was so afraid that the Hippogriff sensed it and rejected her immediately, it was Nova's turn.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward slowly. She murmured something to herself that sounded like 'you got this' and bowed her head. She stood there for a second then extended her arm and took only one step closer to the Hippogriff. It looked like she was waiting for him to respond. The creature was just looking at her rather peacefully.

She bowed her head even lower and again only made one step. She waited again and she did this until she was only a step away from the Hippogriff. I couldn't help but admire her. She was so amazing. She saw how we all failed before her and she decided to take a slower, improvised approach.

I almost missed the part when the Hippogriff took a step backward and bowed to Nova. I was staring at her as if she was the centerpiece of an exhibition. When the creature bowed to her, I snapped from my daydreaming, feeling my cheeks burn red. Which was happening a lot lately, whenever Nova did something amazing. I was in awe that she managed to befriend the Hippogriff.

“10 points to Ravenclaw! Now look at it and offer your hand and perhaps he will let you touch him.” Kettleburn was as proud as ever and he was having just as much fun as we were which made the class even better.

Nova took another deep breath, bowed again still not looking the creature in his eyes, and extended her arm, approaching him. The Hippogriff bowed his head and not much to my surprise let Nova touch his beak. I could see that she wanted to jump from excitement but she knew she shouldn't make any sudden movements. She looked as if from a fairytale, petting Chestnut. Her long hair was moving with the wind and she was so graceful standing next to the creature.

I couldn't take my eyes off her and I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to call her my best friend. She was an amazing Quidditch player, she understood my stupid jokes, she loved animals and she was crazy enough to save me from an Acromantula last year. I felt my cheeks burning when Professor Kettleburn snapped me out of it, announcing the end of the lesson.

“Did you see that? Did you see it, Charlie!” Nova jumped to me, clapping her hands, her smile from one of her ears to the other one.

“I did! I am so jealous! How did you manage to do it?” I wanted to know her secret.

“There's this trick my aunt taught me. If you have to approach an Abraxan and you see he is not having it, you should do the same but slowly and listen to the creature's response.” She said proudly. “And since nobody managed to do it the Kettleburn way, I decided that it couldn't hurt if I try the method on the Hippogriff and it worked Char! How awesome am I?” She explained as we were walking back to school, shaking my arm while doing so.

“The most awesome.” I smiled, my cheeks turning pink again.

We decided to go to the Lake as that was our last class of the day and see who did better at predicting which animals were inside the Reserve. We were tied as Nova's list contained a Salamander, a Fairy, a Doxy, and a Niffler, and mine had a Kneazle, a Porlock, a Mountain Troll, which I really thought I wasn't going to get right and a Dragon. Even though Professor Kettleburn didn't explicitly say that there are Dragons in the Reserve, Nova allowed me to get a point for it anyway.

The next day Nova and I decided to introduce Barnaby to Hagrid as we knew he would like him as much as we do. We then spent the entire afternoon looking through the list Barnaby made predicting the creatures in the Reserve as well, saying that he had a little birdie that told him about it last year, and as Nova and I exchanged looks, we knew we made a new friend.

[mad-madam-m]

How do you see next season of Tiger & Bunny? What do you think should happen?

OH MAN LET’S TALK BECAUSE I HAVE IDEAS, OKAY.

A friend of mine did ask me about this before and I had a whole long response to it (all of which still applies, BTW), but hey, you gave me half a chance to talk about this show so I’m gonna take it.

This got SUPER long, which I feel isn’t too surprising because I crammed in literally everything I could think of that I want to happen and I’m sure I’m still missing things.

But yes, God, talk to me about what you want from the next season of this show because I could go on for literal HOURS about it. Possibly days. I have a problem.

Series spoilers below, fairly be ye warned!

Seriously, the thing I want to see more than almost anything else is dealing more with the fact that Barnaby had his memories manipulated for twenty years and there is a non-zero chance that he may know more about Ouroboros than even he knows. Like I am 100% dead serious, I have been thinking about this for months, lemme tell you about it.

So this is after The Rising, so probably what, 2-3 years since the end of the series? And my headcanon has always been that the longer Maverick is dead, the more his powers start to fade, so anybody who had their memories altered that hasn’t already broken the block is starting to get back the memories of what really happened.

And whose memories did Maverick fuck with the most? Barnaby’s!

And who was Maverick working with for 20-30 years before he died? Ouroboros! *jazz hands*

Let’s say Maverick was having a meeting with people from Ouroboros in his house a couple of years after he took bb!Barnaby in and bb!Barnaby walks in and overhears some of their plans. No big deal, Maverick just wipes his memory and puts him upstairs in bed, and assures everybody else that the kid won’t remember a thing and they’re all good to go.

Now, decades later, Ouroboros is moving one of their people into a political position, like they’re running for mayor or governor or they’ve been named the new chief of police. Doesn’t matter. And one of them—could be a fixer-type figure, could be the person actually being moved into the position of power, again, doesn’t matter—finds out these memory manipulations are fading and that people are remembering things they shouldn’t remember. 

And the person who is moving into the position of power is one of the people who was at that Ouroboros meeting with Maverick that Barnaby walked in on all those years ago. So they realize that if Maverick’s power is fading, they have a Big Problem because the McFucking King of Heroes and Media Darling, Barnaby Brooks Jr., knows about their involvement in this organization and if he reveals that, they’re kind of screwed.

So they’ve got someone low-key keeping an eye on Barnaby to see if he is remembering anything, and they find out yes, he is. Probably something like remembering a birthday dinner that he thought Maverick took him out for when he was young but it turns out it was Aunt Samantha. And so Ouroboros realizes it’s only a matter of time before he remembers them and they set out to fix this.

And by “fix” I mean “blow up Barnaby’s apartment with him in it.”

So the heroes are sent to the site of the explosion to help evacuate other people from the apartment building while the fire department is trying to control the fire, and Kotetsu knows when he hears the address that that’s Bunny’s building, but it’s not until Agnes tells him privately that he finds out the bomb was actually in Bunny’s apartment and Bunny hasn’t been responding to his communicator.

He handles this news slightly better than Barnaby would have if their positions were reversed, but not by much.

They get to the building, Kotetsu goes after Bunny and finds him unconscious and buried under rubble in his apartment, but he’s alive. He gets him out of the building and down to an ambulance and is torn between going with Bunny (because it’s Bunny) and staying to help out the others (because he’s a hero and he’s supposed to be helping people right now).

And of course all of his friends yell at him to go with his partner, to trust them, they’ve got this; besides, Barnaby is going to need him.

So Barnaby wakes up in the hospital twelve hours later to see Kotetsu passed the fuck out in one of those hospital chairs in what looks like the most uncomfortable position ever. And then he wakes up and he’s like BUNNY! and scrambles upright and they do That Look, you know the one, the soft goddamn “I miss you/I love you” look they have:

(I literally can’t even with this show, I can’t. THESE WEREN’T EVEN MY ONLY OPTIONS FOR SCREENSHOTS.)

ANYWAY the other heroes are also there by this time, Barnaby tells them all what he remembers about the apartment exploding and they figure out that someone probably wants Barnaby dead, although they have no idea who and why. And initially Barnaby’s like “I’ll just get a hotel room,” Kotetsu is like “NO. You should not be staying alone right now. You should be staying with one of us until we figure out who’s trying to kill you.”

And Barnaby thinks about it for 2.5 seconds and goes “Then I guess I can stay with you.”

And that’s how Barnaby ends up moving in with Kotetsu because if this damn show gave me accidental baby acquisition, amnesia, single dad, enemies to lovers, and breakup/makeup (TWICE), then by God, they can give me roommates and forced bed sharing.

(Does Kotetsu go back to the exploded apartment and rescue everything that he can that he knows is important to Barnaby? Of fucking course he does, which is how Barnaby ends up with a box containing the Christmas tree pin, the picture of his parents, the robot toy, and the singed stuffed rabbit.)

So the entire big storyline is Kotetsu, Barnaby, and the other heroes trying to figure out who wants Barnaby dead and why, while Ouroboros is moving forward with their own plans without the heroes’ knowledge.

And throughout all this, Barnaby and Kotetsu are trying to figure out how to live with each other in Kotetsu’s little apartment, when Barnaby’s never had a roommate and it’s been close to 10 years since Kotetsu was sharing his space with anybody (let alone someone who’s as compulsively clean as Barnaby is), and Barnaby is dealing with random memories resurfacing at inconvenient times.

I still have not decided if I want Kotetsu’s powers to start fading again, because on the one hand fuck no, but on the other hand, it does make for some delicious angst and pushes him back to that question of “what do I do if I lose my powers completely?” (And who knows, maybe this time around he would actually talk to Barnaby about it instead of hiding it for months on end.)

OTHER THINGS the series would include, if I had anything to say about it:

- A Rock Bison episode, which would also involve flashbacks to high school with how Kotetsu and Antonio met, plus teenage Tomoe and some more very unsubtle parallels between her and Barnaby and how Kotetsu has A Type.

- A Sky High episode with A HAPPY ENDING YOU ASSHOLES, GIVE KEITH A ROMANTIC PARTNER AND 50 DOGS *slams fists on table*

- Kotetsu dealing with the fact that Kaede is a teenager now (probably 14-15, depending on timeline), who’s probably learning how to drive and is looking seriously at what she wants to do when she finishes high school. Probably at least one somewhat heart-wrenching conversation between him and his mom where she talks about how it felt for her when Kotetsu was that age and possibly a little bit about his father. (Give me some more goddamn Kaburagi family feels, okay, Sunrise, just fuck me up with them.)

- A subplot that is Barnaby and the other heroes doing their level best to get Kotetsu enough points to be King of Heroes at the end of the season, without Kotetsu or Agnes figuring out what they’re doing.

- Kotetsu going to the orphanage with Barnaby and helping out with the kids there.

- KOTETSU BIRTHDAY EPISODE. Please please give me an episode that’s the reverse of episode 5, where it’s Barnaby low-key freaking out over what to get Kotetsu for a gift because it has to be perfect and he’s got nothing.

- I literally just finished reading Sakakibara’s manga last night, so maybe an episode or a mini-arc dealing with some of the anti-NEXT sentiment. We got some of that in the first series, but it would be interesting to see it brought out a little bit more and seeing the heroes having to deal more with that (and maybe some non-hero NEXTs as well).

- A flashback episode showing how all the main heroes became heroes.

- Kotetsu and Barnaby cooking fried rice together please I am begging.

- Barnaby going with Kotetsu to Oriental Town to visit his family when they’ve got a few days off (or maybe they’re told to get out of town for a few days because of all the Ouroboros stuff), with Barnaby learning more about Tomoe and being quietly supportive of Kotetsu the way that Kotetsu has always been supportive of him.

- I would love to see more of Barnaby and Kaede interacting because I really think they would get along swimmingly.

- A girls’ night out/guys’ night out episode split between Fire Emblem, Dragon Kid, Barnaby, and Blue Rose and Origami Cyclone, Sky High, Rock Bison, and Kotetsu. (Conversely, this could happen while Barnaby and Kotetsu are out of town, and just focus on the other heroes, but I would really like to see Barnaby being friends and doing stuff with the others, not just Kotetsu.)

- I don’t know how everything would shake out, but it would end with Barnaby just…staying in Kotetsu’s apartment rather than moving back out, his picture of his parents joining the row of photos Kotetsu has on his shelves, and them drinking champagne together on the front steps of the apartment building, side-by-side.

- Okay I mean obviously my shipper heart wants it to end with a kiss and a marriage proposal but I feel like the previous point is more likely.

Seriously I just want everything from this series. Throw the kitchen sink at me, Sunrise, my body is ready.

[lunasilvermorny]

End of year 4

(I know I’m not done with season 1 of the Quidditch story, but it seems like it’ll take a while, so in the meantime, I want to actually progress the story.)

Wait, he hasn’t came back yet? The hell is he doing?

Aww, she looks so proud.

That’s the look of- “At least it’s not Slytherin.”

(Unless you’re playing as one, but I’m not, so it works.)

Such a plot twist...

Yeah, you were only a 1,000+ points ahead. No big deal.

Me: Finally, I got to year 5!

Everyone who’s been through it:

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

Conclusions:

(This is going to be a long one...)

In general:

I think year 4 was overall a good one. I liked the pace of the story (a bit slow sometimes, but never enough to make me completely disinterested.) and the fact that it was longer than the previous years made it better to really get invested in the plot.

Now for a deeper dive (with obvious spoilers):

The main plot:

I think the plot of year 4 is the most interesting we had so far. It was darker, but no too much to break the immersion. There were actual plot twists (the whole thing with Ben was very well executed.) and the new characters they introduced were really well made.

However, even though I thought the plot was pretty good, there were some really boring parts. For exampe - the part with sickleworth. I was really looking forward to it, but it was just tedious.

Let’s go search the arrowhead here. Oh, it’s not here? Let’s go there instead. No? Then let’s try this place...

Mind-numbingly boring and a waste of time.

New characters:

Rakepick:

As much as I think she’s a manipulative prick, she’s a great addition to the story. Her problematic methods are in perfect contrast to the other professors and I think it adds a lot to have an irresponsible adult around to enable MC’s behavior, when it comes to furthering the plot in a believable direction.

I don’t like the way she manipulates Merula into doing her dirty work, but again, it makes perfect sense that they would take this direction in order to keep Merula relevant as the antagonist.

Professor Kettleburn:

What more can I say? They nailed it. I love everything that has to do with him. I truly believe they made him justice the way they’ve portrait him. I went over the stuff that JKR wrote about him and they were very faithful to the source material. I think they’re way better at adapting characters that had no presence in the HP books and movies.

So yeah - great job, JC. Honestly.

Charlie Weasley:

Supported by my last statement about the way they adapt characters - Charlie is wonderful. I know that a lot of people find his obsessive talk about dragons annoying and one-dimensional, but in a game where most characters are not explored to a very deep level, I think it was smart to keep a simple and coherent character arc.

I like how calm and easy going he is and I just found myself enjoying almost every interaction MC had with him.

I really liked the fact that he was a huge part of the main story and that he automatically joined us in all the important parts, just like Tulip and Barnaby in year 3. His adventurous nature was very uplifting at times and he just made everything 10 times more interesting.

I can understand why he’s such a fan favorite. Again, great job, JC.

Andre Egwu:

I know that we technically already met him in year 3, but his presence was almost non-existent until year 4, so I consider him a new addition.

Anyway, like the rest of the new characters, I really like Andre.

At the beginning he was a bit annoying, but my impression on him changed very quickly once he had more screen time.

Proving that he’s more than a sassy background character, he showed that he’s a true friend in the main plot and the SQs. The fact that he’s our fashion-guy that always happy to help is already good enough, but his supportive nature in the main plot (giving MC his broom, join her to the forbidden forest) just made it so much better.

Liz Tuttle:

Even thought she’s still not our friend, she was in the background of a few SQ and was introduced in the Polyjuice Potion SQ. The problem is that... that’s it.

Anyone who’s been in my blog more than 10 minutes knows how much I like Liz and how her big of a presence she has in the headcanon, but she’s barely anywhere in the game and it’s such a shame.

I’d like to know her character better and I feel like there’s a missed opportunity. I adore her love and dedication for creatures and animals, and hope they wouldn’t just use it as a joke like- “look at that weird girl that cares way too much about animals” instead of showing it in a positive light.

Old characters:

Ben - I think I like the most what they've done with Ben. The fact that he was the masked “dark wizard” was a true plot twist and even though I suspected it, it still got me.

Rowan - I didn’t like the fact that Rowan was a judgemental arse and that in the end he was right, even though he had no proof and based his suspicions on gut feeling. That’s extremely out of character of him and I hated it.

Side quests:

There were many. Some were just brilliant (the Celestial Ball SQ and the First Date SQ), and some weren’t. (like the Nearly-Headless Nick one and.. I can barely remember, because they were so dull.)

But here’s a very quick recap (because I said all I had to say in the SQs posts):

Nearly-Headless Nick - So damn boring!

Unleash Your Patronus - Disappointing, but not a complete failure.

Polyjuice Potion - I wouldn’t have liked it nearly as much if Liz wasn’t in it... but she were, so I can’t say I hated it.

Celestial Ball - Brilliant! 10/10. Loved it. By far the best.

Rita Returns - Boring.

First Date - Amazing!

Become a Prefect - a bit boring at times, but in general it was a nice little SQ.

Magical Creatures Everywhere - Nice premise, I enjoyed all the creatures and characters involved, but it was just a fetch quest without anything too interesting. No stakes, very basic story. Not the best, but we had worst.

Also, I need to point out that I changed my opinion on Penny based on the SQs. (not only in this specific year.) They put her way too much in placed that she wasn’t belong and it left me more annoyed with her than anything. She was one of my favorite characters and now I just want to skip any dialogue with her, because I’m so tired of her.

The Vault:

This part was very disappointing. The build-up was promising, but there was barely a pay-off. It wasn’t nearly as interesting as the vault from year 3, even though I think it had greater potential.

Also, I hated the fact we had to fight the Acromantula instead of choosing between a fight and a conversation, like Kettleburn advised us.

Oher stuff:

Chimaera - I guess we’ll see it through next year? It felt more like a running gag than anything, but it’s a freaking Chimaera that’s running loose! There’s no way we’re not going to encounter it at some point. Anyway, I thought it was amusing as a background plot to show Kettleburn’s recklessness.

Studying - I know that most of the time it was to learn about things that have to do with the vault, but I still liked to see them sit and study, especially MC with Rowan. It’s a school after all.

Snape and Rakepiclk’s rivalry - it wasn’t written in the best way, but the presence of their rivalry was very much appreciated as a part of the plot. I like how Snape’s view of her stand in contrast to everything she did “to help” them and I think it adds a bit more depth to both of their characters.

The Weasleys - I loved all of their background plots. Such a wholesome addition.

Joking about Rakepick - it’s a very small thing, but I loved every mention of their fear that Rakepick is going to kill them. Very amusing.

Dumbledore’s absence - it just felt too convenient, so MC’d be able to do more things without supervision. It didn’t sit well with me and just felt like a cop-out.

Detention - Even though it was a shame that MC didn’t get her usual 100 house points at the end of the year, I do appreciate the fact that Dumbledore finally punished her bad behavior. Took him long enough, but it’s a start.

Quidditch:

I know it’s technically supposed to be in the second year, but since it’s started when MC was already in her 4th year, I treat it as if it’s part this year.

I think this addition improves the game significantly. The mechanics are fun and the plot is okay.

Penny’s role is very out of place and like I said before, it makes me love her character less and less. The new characters, however, are really interesting. I feel like each brings a new thing that no other character has brought before.

Skye - Although she left a very bad first impression, I think overall she’s okay. Her backstory is interesting and she makes the player want to win, for themselves and for her.

McNully - I think he’s great. Talk too much? Sure, but that’s part of his charm. He’s funny and interesting, and by far contributed the most to get MC in the team.

Orion - Again, it took me a while to like him, but his bs attitude became very comforting at times and I grew to like his weird dialogues.

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

Final thoughts:

This year was interesting and much more than the previous ones, in almost any aspect. It wasn’t perfect, but if I take everything into consideration, I think it was a successful year and my new favorite.

I know year 5 is way messier and incoherent, so I don’t have a lot of expectations. I’m just glad that we got this far and the story was still interesting enough to keep me going.

[asmund-scion-of-ice]

The Grave

The Blind Eternities. The chaotic swirls of indigo and violet gently brushing past, yet violently bursting around me. My destination was far from the center of the multiverse, and even farther from Ravnica. I strained to keep my concentration as I was buffeted by the aether between worlds.

And then I was there. I flapped my wings to maintain my altitude. Airborne, I surveyed the ground below. It was a surprisingly warm night, the temperature only twenty below freezing. I slowly spiraled down, tears streaking my face and turning to ice as they flew off into the quiet night.

Two familiar mountains greeted me, ugly patches of boulders and rock staring up at me. A great, black wall spread across Herenshem Pass, built there over a hundred years ago and still standing. A cobble road lay at the bottom of the valley below, empty save for some snow drifts. At the tops of Fjall Virding and Fjall Blot rest two great obelisks of white stone, glowing in the bright moonlight. 

I landed first on Fjall Virding, to the east of the wall into Herenshem. Two guards, a kobold and a dwarf, snapped to attention, their heavily furred and cloaked bodies rigid even in the cold wind. They smartly salute, then nodded as I dipped my head in their direction.

The two stepped off into the night, north towards their home, and their guard shack. The two quietly stepped in and shut the door; with my keen night vision, I could see them looking through a low window. I ignored them, and turned to the obelisk, taller even than I, standing at 100 feet tall. There was an engraving mounted facing west, toward Fjall Blot.

“We honor the fallen dead. We honor their great deeds. We honor their lives. We honor their sacrifice. May they forever be honored and drink in Dolg’s Great Mead Hall.”

I stayed there, my head bowed. Tears fell to the broken, desecrated mountain rock. The only holy thing about this place was the obelisk. None were buried on the mountain top. Even three hundred years later, bones, armor, and weapons were being discovered in the valley below. 

I sat back on my haunches and concentrated, pulling moisture from the air. I formed a bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley, their icy stems and petals never to wither, never to melt. I placed them by the 356 others encircling the monument, ensuring the plaque was still visible. 

May the Valkyries guide you ever onward, my brave warriors.

I slowly walked to the edge of the mountain, facing west. A sheer cliff, not nearly as tall as it used to be, stood below me. I did not jump, I did not launch myself. I fell. The wind whistled in my ears as I fell. One thousand. Two thousand. Three thousand. With a roar, my wings snapped open, and I aimed to the top of Fjall Blot.

I landed, startling one of the guards. The other, an older looking tengu, stood smartly and saluted, smacking his unprofessional shieldmate with the butt of his spear. The startled guard, a young human woman, scrambled to gather her senses, and salute. I harumphed, and flicked my tail in her direction.

She squeaked, and swung her spear at my tail, slapping it down into the crumbling rock. Her eyes went incredibly wide, her flowing chestnut hair blowing in the wind from under her helmet, framing a scar across her nose. I squint at the two, causing the black feathered tangu to pull his charge into the nearby guard hut, where I could hear frantic, high pitched whispering.

I sighed, and turned to this monument. It was identical to the other, save for the plaque. It’s base was also surrounded by lilies-of-the-valley, all of ice, 356 in all. I sat for a moment, reading the plaque, facing east toward Fjall Virding.

“They sacrificed their lives. They sacrificed their hopes. They sacrificed their dreams. Their families sacrificed. Their friends sacrificed. Their nation sacrificed. May they forever by honored and blessed by Svass, living ever in her light.”

I again created another ice flower, this time pulling from the snow on the mountaintop. As I was shaping the flower, the frantic whispering grew to angry squawking. The Shield Maiden strode out of the guard hut, walking directly to me.

“My Lord Baron,” she began, bowing in half, visibly shaking, unarmed save for a short sword at her side, “I have always wanted to ask you something.” I sat silently as her shieldmate approached, looking absolutely mortified.

He began, “Please, Ula, leave Baron Frostwing be!” The tengu reminded me very much of Barnaby, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as he continued, “I am so very sorry, Baron. She’s young and fierce, and doesn’t-”

Ula cut him off, “I very much know what I’m doing!” She huffed, ignoring her superior. “My Baron, why are you here? Did you truly care for these folk? Weren’t they just your fodder?” I recoiled slightly in surprise as my anger began to mount. How could she possibly know? What did she know of hardship, of strife? I built this nation to be prosperous, with none wanting!

“My Baron,” Ula continued, “this nation is yours to command, but how could you have done this? You killed hundreds of thousands! You killed many of my ancestors!” Her shouts echoed in the quiet night, carrying into the valley below and to the wall. The tengu looked incredibly fearful, stepping back and doing his best to bow. Tears fell from Ula’s eyes.

I reached out to swat away this insolence. This battlefield would gain another corpse. Yet, I could not bring myself to do it. There was no reason to. Why was I so angry? I sighed and snaked my neck down to the woman, “What are you truly angry about, young Ula?”

Startled, she stepped back, only a single step, turning it into a battle stance, unsheathing her short sword. She lowered it, and then dropped it, tears streaking down her pocked face, “My b-brother. He was s-stationed h-here just a year a-ago. He d-died up here! In the cold you so carefully keep around the mountains!” She stepped forward, punching me in the snout. It hurt, but I didn’t move as she began pummeling my face, “H-how DARE you!? You m-make us watch out for the e-e-enemy, when you conjure such storms as to throw my brother to his death!!” She was screeching now. The tengu had disappeared into the guard hut, most likely trying to magically hail his supervisor. I let Ula continue, her scar helping warp her face into a mask of pain and anger.

She continued screaming her brother’s name, Faas, over and over. Reinforcements arrived for the poor guard after perhaps fifteen minutes, a number of dwarves and humans armed to the teeth, ready to take Ula away. I waved them off with a wing as the young woman slowed and then stopped, panting in the cold.

“I understand your pain, young one,” I sighed, pulling her into a strange snout embrace with my wing. “I lost all of my brothers and sisters when I was young. It was unfair, and painful.” My breathing began to slow, trying to calm the both of us down. “Your brother was an honorable man. Faas Shieldbreaker, a good name. I shall add him to the List of Remembered.” Ula pulled away, her light, amber eyes somehow even wider; closer now, I could see her scar looked like that of a blade, from below one eye to below the other. It looked oddly familiar.

“Really? You would... you would do s-such a thing?” She was incredulous.

“Faas will be remembered alongside the names of the honored dead. He sacrificed his life for his nation and his Baron. He deserves remembrance.” I stood to my full height, reaching out to Ula. The ice lily-of-the-valley was gripped between two talons, “Take this, young Shield Maiden. In it are the memories of all those who have died for me. Faas honorably sacrificed for me, for you, for your family.” Being Remembered would mean his family, and she, would receive a state pension higher than that of those lost in non-combat duties. That, and, it was believed, he would have a better chance of entering Dolg’s Great Mead Hall.

Her chestnut hair flowing from under her helm, the young woman took the flower of frost and collapsed, crying again. I spoke quietly, “I only have one request. On this day, every year, come back to this spot, on or off duty. I will be here, and we will pray to Svass for her warmth, and Dolg for glory. What say you?” The young woman could only nod.

I swiftly created another flower, and placed it at the monument, melancholy filling my mind. Ignoring the rest of the guards, I prepared to leave. Yet, I heard harsh, heavy breathing struggling its way to the scene. I turned, only to see the guards, now only angry from the climb, split to allow a man through. A young, handsome man, wearing extremely expensive robes and the seal of my government, finally stepped forward, a blonde goatee and wispy hair flying from under his hood. 

“My Lord Baron, may I take this woman away? I heard tale of what she’s done. She’s disgraced her family, and the title of Shield Maiden. Please, let me exile her!” The retainer had an evil glint in his eyes, a sly, unwelcoming smile across his blue lips; he was accustomed to power, and clearly enjoyed exercising it. He shivered as he moved to grab Ula and remove the flower from her hand.

“STOP!” I roared. The guards didn’t move, nor did Ula. The retainer fell backward. “Who are you, boy?” I snarled, showing him my teeth.

“I am M-Mayor Taavi Oathkeeper’s son, Tad,” he began, standing and straightening his robes. “I will take this weakling from your sight, clearly she has angered--” 

He yelped as I pounced forward, my talons tearing his robes, “SHE, ANGERED ME?! HOW DARE YOU!? YOU KNOW NOTHING OF SACRIFICE! HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THIS MOUNTAINTOP!?” I roared, nearly blasting his head apart with the sheer volume of my anger. I quickly quieted, a menacing tone overcoming me, “Tell your father that you will be relieved of whatever position you have here. You are hereby conscripted to guard this post until you learn the meaning of sacrifice. You will purchase your own gear, and you will begin training in the morning.” I looked up to the gathered crowd, breathlessly watching the spectacle unfolding. “Is that understood, boy?”

I let him up as he frantically nod, watching him practically sprint from the mountain. The extra guard contingent followed the young man down the rocky steps. I sighed, turning to Ula, drawing mana into my body.

“Ula, you who have sacrificed, you who have honored, you who have stood for your beliefs, I grant you my boon: your sword will be that of ice, your voice of thunder. Use this gift wisely, and help others so that we will never see the day we have to erect another monument such as this.” I pushed white and blue mana into the woman, forming the enchantment around her soul. 

Shakily, she replied, “Thank you, My Lord Baron.” Her knees weak from her exertions and the magic I just poured into her, she used her discarded sword as a crutch. Her tengu guardian grabbed her.

“Thank you, My Lord Baron. May you always have honor and glory.” He turned tail and nearly ran with Ula to the hut. I watched them and took to the skies, heading to the capital. I had some thinking to do.

[urbanwronski]

Barnaby bunny blinks in the spotlight centre stage in our national political show, this week, as our Deputy PM shrewdly plays the victim in his marriage break-up while he muffs his special pleading self-defence for begging his Tamworth mogul pal, Greg Maguire, to be allowed to crash for six months at his millionaire mate’s luxury pad at mates’ rates.

So wrong; so unfair, Joyce pleads, leading his supporters in hand-wringing over how his private life is his own business, hoping the rest of us will miss bigger issues such as alleged abuses of public funds for travel and accommodation.  He’s also punting on our confusing workplace exploitation and his abuse of power with an innocent, mutual, private affair.

It’s a captivating performance which helps divert the nation from the Turnbull government’s response to the Closing the Gap steering committee’s finding that the programme, launched after Kevin Rudd’s apology was effectively killed when Abbott ripped over half a billion in funding out of it in 2004- and cancelled an Aboriginal housing programme.

The policy, they report, has been “effectively abandoned” by extensive budget cuts since 2014.  Turnbull’s response echoes his initial response to Don Dale; he fobs off the nation with another select joint committee inquiry which will seek how to “refresh the policy”; while holding a new inquiry into the issue of constitutional recognition.

As Jack Waterford, former editor of The Canberra Times writes, “The government has never narrowed the gap. At present rates, Aboriginals will remain the poorest, sickest, least employed and least educated group in the community 80 years from now – and still without a plan, as opposed to a vague hope and intention, to make it different.”

Happily for the PM, there is a distraction. Poor, rich, white, boy, Barnaby, a lad who enjoyed a privileged upbringing, a St Ignatius College Riverview private school boy, – one of Sydney’s most expensive schools – who at home could roam Rutherglen an 1821 hectare farm estate, a New England University accountancy graduate who loves to play the battler from the bush is now acting hard done by. It’s all about soliciting free accommodation; favours from a mate.

Not only is BJ the victim of a marriage break-up, he hasn’t broken any rules, he wails. He didn’t ask to be put up free, he claims, contradicting the story his millionaire mate Greg has given The Daily Telegraph and put about the town.

Ex-wife Natalie dents BJ’s victimhood a tad revealing to Miranda Devine that her former husband is a serial philanderer. Whilst he may be “a hard pooch to keep on the porch“, to quote Hillary Clinton, he “always comes back”. Worse, he told the nation of his separation four days before he could face his wife. And he has to tell her Vikki is expecting a boy.

Not all of Joyce’s mail is from fans either. “Somebody sent this letter to my office today,” he guffaws to Fairfax’s David Robson last year. “It ran like this: ‘I don’t know who’s a bigger c…, you or Trump. But I think you win.’ And that was it!”

Nat’s no longer a fan either. Neither are many Nationals, including Veteran Affairs Minister, Michael McCormack  who may have a crack at the leadership himself at Monday week’s party room meeting. Iain Macdonald, The Nationals’ attack dog, in senate committees an easy rival for Joyce’s fan mail award, tells Barnaby to take a back-bench seat.

Liberals call for Joyce to resign, while Labor’s leader, Bill Shorten, says neither Joyce nor Turnbull are fit to hold power.

“One way or another, Barnaby’s cactus. It’s just a matter of when.” says a senior National who tells The Saturday Paper‘s Karen Middleton that traditional National Party supporters are likely to be “extremely unhappy” – especially women.

A third of those who backed Joyce in December’s by-election no longer support him, according to a ReachTel poll last Tuesday night; fifty per cent believe that he should resign either from parliament or go to the back bench. A petition to demand his removal from his New England seat has received almost 7000 votes in five days, says The Herald Sun.

Happily, despite polls which suggest his electoral popularity is now down from 65% of the primary vote to 43%, a quarter say they’d be more likely to support him after his affair. Clearly, Barnaby still has a few mates left around the place.

Mates? ‘Mates don’t pay for things when they’re helping other mates out,’ Barney gargles in Question time. And they return favours. In a moving mateship tribute, the nation learns that Greg also does very well out of putting up public servants as Pork-barrel Barnaby moves a whole government department to New England  to boost his local vote.

In true Nationals’ fashion, a mob of rugged if not roughshod individuals, whose contempt for bureaucracy matches its war with science and the environment, Barnaby decided to relocate the Australian Pests and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) from Canberra to Tamworth. It’s a cheap pork-barrel at a mere $26 million when you compare it with $10 billion for Joyce’s Inland Rail boondoggle which will never turn a profit either but which is also a nifty source of pork.

Joyce’s plan lacks cost-benefit analysis and is entirely off his own bat. Most of his work is like that. The Inland Rail, is really not that much of an exception.  It’s all going brilliantly, of course, apart from those who work in the APVMA, including scientists who can’t or won’t leave Canberra. One in five positions are still unfilled.

Twenty regulatory scientists plus 28 staff members, with a total of 204 years’ service, left the agency between July and February, Fairfax reports in a staff exodus which has halved the authority’s approval rate for new products meeting. “Required timeframes” plummeted from 83 per cent in the September quarter to 42 per cent in March 2017.

It’s the worst rate in history says Monsanto pesticide industry leader, CropLife’s CEO, Matthew Cossey who warns of billions of dollars of lost farming revenue. He urges a return to Canberra. But he’s just a key corporate stake-holder.

At least APVMA boffins can count on food and shelter. Enter Barney’s flash mate Greg with his modestly named Quality Hotel Powerhouse, a pub which gratefully receives $14,700 spent by the APVMA relocation fund, money it controls to accommodate the wayfaring strangers whose business will help turn Tamworth’s (and Greg’s) fortunes around.

The APVMA invites an advisory committee of 20 odd to stay, reports ABC Saturday AM. Of course, as public servants, all are parched and on the tooth and primed for wining and dining. My, how they enjoy a welcome dinner of prawns with kimchi, truffle oil risotto, New England lamb and sticky date sponge; great value at $80 per head. Our shout.

The APVMA won’t divulge the total bill. Could it be an on water into wine matter? Greg’s joint is only one of several Armidale accommodation providers used by the regulator, a APVMA spokesman sniffs. “We don’t have a preferred provider”. The Neoliberal “provider” tag went feral long ago; instead of community support we buy and sell each other.

In a reverse planning move akin to putting the wings on an aircraft as it taxies down the runway, the committee, made up of APVMA and department of agriculture staff, as well as peak industry bodies, meet to work on the relocation plan.

The mad monk, Tony Abbott once buttered up Barnaby as “a great retail politician”, an MP who ranted about $100 lamb roasts resulting from a price on carbon. The term means a politician whose strength lies in cultivating his own popularity with his electorate. Coming from fellow egomaniac and walking three-word slogan, it means nothing but, alas, it’s stuck.

Every talked-up populist-capitalist running dog has his day, however, and Turnbull almost steals Barnaby’s thunder in a show-stopping finger-wagging in a new role as parliament’s head prefect or moral policeman on Thursday. The PM holds a special presser to scold Barnaby for leading a fluffy young bunny astray and to ask him to consider his position.

During intermission, Turnbull censors the ABC again – but no biggie. Happens all the time. The Guardian Australia reports “ABC News management has been in crisis meetings for two days” after the PM courageously attacks the articles in question time before getting Fifield and Morrison to join him in penning formal letters of complaint to management.

The Ayatollah, as he was mocked at Goldman Sachs, the PM succeeds in suppressing Chief Economics Correspondent Emma Alberici’s heretical analysis of how tax cuts to business don’t stimulate jobs or growth.  One in five don’t pay tax for the past three years at least. Those who do, moreover, pay a seventeen per cent tax rate, on average.

Naturally, Qantas CEO, the silver-tongued leprechaun, Alan Joyce, is quick to grab ABC Radio’s ruling class megaphone to defend his company’s non-payment of corporate tax for nine years. He argues it is legitimate under rules that allowed it to carry forward losses from previous years. His words immensely cheer our aged pensioners on $671 a fortnight.

Workers on the minimum wage of $18.29 per hour are also heartened to learn that they’ve helped QANTAS to clock up its tenth tax-free year while Joyce’s salary nearly doubled in one year to reach $24.6 million in 2017. Can we afford the $65 billion, Alberici asks cheekily. Or could it be better spent on health, education and pensions?

She dare not mention raising the minimum wage or putting some of the money back into Aboriginal housing.

Above all, Alberici joins other economics writers in putting the lie to Treasurer’s Scott Morrison’s hoax that lowering tax rates makes us more internationally competitive when it comes to attracting investment. Now he and Matthias Cormann are promoting the falsehood that company taxes have to be cut or workers won’t get wage rises.

Before Trump cut US corporate tax earlier this year, the rate was 5 to 9 percentage points higher than our own. Yet Australian companies still preferred to invest in the US rather than Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is less than half ours (12.5 per cent), or Singapore (17 per cent). The truth is that many factors beyond tax rates guide investment.

Alberici’s piece is pulled because ABC management says it doesn’t meet editorial standards. Whilst ABC finds no inaccuracies in the articles, in the opinion of Director of News, Gaven Morris, “it sounds too much like opinion”.

Did Morris miss Chris Uhlmann’s opinionated reporting of SA’s power blackouts, wrongly blaming the Labor government’s reliance on renewables? The same lie is reprised this week in ABC previews of its SA election coverage.

All of Uhlmann’s factually incorrect SA blackout articles remain up, moreover, but, amazingly, it takes the ABC only 48 hours to remove accurate and factually correct reporting because it is unpalatable to the government of the day.

Alberici’s views are in line with leading economists including at The Australia Institute and at Treasury. Greg Jericho in The Guardian protests that she’s said nothing that many other writers haven’t been saying regularly. But as Mal’s new pal Donald Trump would say, a leader doesn’t need fake news or expert opinion to spoil his policy-making.

A calculated strategy of funding cuts, a constant stream of derogatory remarks from Liberal attack dogs, has crippled the ABC’s independence. Lest we forget, these attacks include Home Affairs Protector, Peter Dutton, and his “one down many to go” gibe at ABC presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s dismissal.

Gibes and taunts add to the pressure of direct protests whenever The ABC holds government too much to account. Now Turnbull’s virtual appointment to Managing Director of pal Michelle Guthrie, who says her former 14 years career with Rupert Murdoch does not maker her a hatchet woman, the national broadcaster has become a Liberal trumpet.

Soon we will have a tabloid ABC with commercials, devoted to car crashes, stabbings, how hot or how cold the weather is for the year and endless relaying of superficial USA political news and shootings, which can then be knocked down to the highest bidder as requested by the Liberal Party’s key think tank and policy unit, The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA).

Turnbull, like his predecessor, aims his performances to the tabloid media. We saw Turnbull play huckster and shyster early. Now he adds his strait-laced Presbyterian minister routine knowing it will get full coverage in The Daily Telegraph. The moralising, holier-than-thou Reverend Mal (Turnbull 2.0) emerges this week in the midst of the Barnaby barn dance.

Thursday, Mal swoops right after Barnaby’s Aint nobody’s business to ban all Canberra office Rock ‘n Roll, along with jiving and swiving. Canute-like, he vetoes all sideways samba, jazz or jelly roll; sex between all ministers and staffers.

“Turnbull bans sex”, MSM wags say. No more fornicating, fraternising or horizontal folk-dancing between ministers of the crown and their underlings. Loins are to be girded at all times. To show he’s serious about ending the funny business, he’s put his bonking prohibition into the Ministerial Code of Conduct, every Cabinet Minister’s bible.

It’s risible but then it’s meant as a show of authority. Nobody in Canberra believes that the Code of Conduct carries any weight. Shorten says it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. Perhaps it will work if staffers keep it between their knees.

Fawning is still in, of course, as is flattery and obsequious devotion; essential to any staffer’s tenure. These are transferrable skills. Moguls, miners, anything in uniform, bankers, think tankers and lobbyists are still to be lusted after.

Equally, business big and small -like the US Alliance- is there to be serviced. But ministers and minions must, at once, stop bonking each other, especially “that stubborn bastard with rhinoceros hide”, as a senior Liberal calls Barnaby.

“If you want to be in power, you can’t afford to fuck around,” is how a real PM once put it. Sadly, Mal is no PJ Keating.

Compounding his ludicrous finger-wagging, the PM makes himself look even more inept, ineffectual, absurd, by calling out Joyce publicly for his predatory behaviour as well as his poor decision-making in his affair with Vikki Campion, his staffer.  Worse, the lubricious leader of The Nationals, “the family values party” has got Ms Campion in the family way.

By Thursday, after trying a Kamasutra of new positions on the Joyce affair, Turnbull turns chaos into catastrophe when he blasts Barnaby with both barrels in a public bollocking of his own deputy, unique in Australian politics.

After the” private matter” position; the even trickier “not his partner” defence. Not his partner?

Women across the nation, including Campion, who is carrying Joyce’s fifth child, are cheered to hear her status reduced to a casual shag, a quick roll in the hay; as meaningless and ephemeral as a politician’s promise. Even Playboy bunnies had contracts. But what “those women” of Australia will hear from the PM on Thursday is even more alarming.

“My wife ironed my shirts this week… does that make her staff?” responds deep Andrew Broad, Nationals MP for Mallee.

Vikki and Barney are split up because of their madly passionate affair and she is promoted out of his office, twice, but they were not partners because they were not living together. Turnbull expects us to accept that?

Ducking and weaving, a desperate PM channels his inner Bill Clinton, (aka Slick Willie), to redefine a dangerous liaison to save his own bacon. Barnaby, he argues, did not have a partnership with that woman, his former staffer, Vikki Campion.

The PM needs to dodge responsibility for breaking the Ministerial Code of Conduct in promoting Campion, Joyce’s paramour to a couple of plum jobs to get her out of Joyce’s office to hide a rapidly all-consuming scandal.

Someone clearly thought a tricky definition was a winner. At least the Joyce debacle has helped expose the process by which Ministerial assistants are appointed and promoted out of fealty, fear and favour rather than any qualification for the job. Advisers are thus both partisan and beholden to their bosses. You see it in the quality of their advice.

Monday’s circus establishes a catchy reality TV show format: “So you think you’re a partner?” Will Team Malcolm’s cunning plan to unhook Vikki and Barney get the PM and his government off the hook? By Thursday, Newspoll will need something stronger. Cue strong leader, moral guardian of the national flock: Turnbull lowers the boom.

“Barnaby made a shocking error of judgement in having an affair with a young woman working in his office,” the PM scolds. “In doing so he has set off a world of woe for those women, and appalled all of us. Our hearts go out to them,” 

So sayeth The Reverend Mal, at a special Barnaby-barrelling press conference, Coalition shot-gun divorce combo.

The PM’s excoriating sermon; his moralising, judgemental excommunication is too little, too late and too low.  He stops short of dismissing him as deputy which ABC News 24 reminds us is something he cannot do. Secret agreement stuff.

At least Joyce’s had his bat and ball taken off him before he’s sent home. Barnaby won’t be acting PM when Turnbull treats coal-mining, non-tax-paying – at least for the last ten years – CEO of multinational Glencore to a five-day junket to the US. Joyce will take a week’s leave “to consider his position”.

Considering her position also will be Julie Bishop who is abroad at the moment but who has sent messages letting it be known that she could fly home at once if need be. Perhaps she could console Barnaby; coach Cormann by emoji?

Hearts do go out but not all, like the PM’s, appear to be worn on sleeves. Consternation erupts. Mark Kenny and other Turnbull toadies rush to praise the new, resolute and decisive PM but even Kenny concedes Mal’s ban is empty.

Barnaby Joyce calls an extraordinary conference to call out his boss for his “inept and unnecessary” attack on Friday.

Unnecessary? Paul Bongiorno notes, wryly, the PM gifts Joyce with a unique opportunity to show who is truly in charge.

Turnbull’s public rebuke and call for Barnaby to resign helps highlight the Nationals’ power. The Turnbull government’s subservience, if not its impotence, lie in its 2015 secret Coalition Agreement, whereby Turnbull secured the Prime Ministership by capitulating his own political ideals in favour of Joyce’s right-wing Abbott political agenda.

Others sniff hypocrisy. Others deplore the public blaming and shaming. Imagine if Goldman Sachs were to call out Turnbull for the $500 million it is reported to have cost the banking firm to settle out of court in 2009 after HIH collapsed taking many small investors with it after buying an overvalued FAI due in no small part to Turnbull’s dud advice.

Some may even ask is Turnbull still has no knowledge of logging when he was chairman of a company in the early 1990s whose Solomon Islands’ subsidiary was described as having some of the worst logging practices in the world.

Turnbull flits to Tasmania; seeks the high moral ground by going to water. He appears later on ABC energetically talking up the twelve great projects of the Tamar Estuary Water Management Task Force. Pity BJ is no longer water minister.

A nation is caught on the hop. For three years, our carefree, sun-drenched continental island home has thrilled to the rhythms of Flash Mal ‘n Barnaby bull-dust’s bush-bash band. They do all the old Tony Abbott standards as laid down in their secret coalition agreement but, suddenly, something’s up. Mal thinks he can pick a fight with Bulldust and win?

Is the band breaking up just over Barney’s latest dancing partner, Vikki? Slugging wildly at each other out the back of the outback country hall that is our national parliament, Mal and Barney our two Coalition band-leaders trade haymakers.  Neither is in what you could call tip-top condition. Neither could fight his way out of wet paper bag.

The stoush lasts three days. Then a press release of a kiss and make-up saturates media mid-Saturday. Ominously, Scott Morrison, who couldn’t tell the truth about Reza Berati’s 2014 murder on Manus Island is sent on to ABC Insiders, Sunday to proclaim a “frank” clearing of the air but the PM has not walked away from his earlier comments. Nor has Barnaby Joyce who is quoted later in media reports saying he has nothing to apologise for.

Why the big bust up? The boys got the band back together in Tamworth only last December. New hats and boots, too. Will Barnaby Joyce survive a Nationals’ leadership spill. The signs are ominous. Yet, even worse are the portents for a Turnbull government which has been unable to deal with a matter it knew was coming at least six months ago.

The spectacle of the public spat; the utterly inept handling of Joyce’s affair with a staffer and of Turnbull’s moral denunciation and his patently impractical ban on sex between minister and staffer can only serve to highlight how rapidly his government is unravelling.

The PM is taking twenty Aussie tycoons to the US for five days. They can talk rich man’s stuff; Cayman Islands; investment portfolios; things he’s really into. Not politics; certainly not people. Perhaps they will also form a cheer squad while he begs Rupert Murdoch to give him one more chance. One thing is certain. The Barnaby brouhaha will not have died down on his return and the damage it has caused will be permanent.

One way or another Barnaby’s cactus. The Turnbull government may be, too. Barnaby bunny blinks in the spotlight centre stage in our national political show, this week, as our Deputy PM shrewdly plays the victim in his marriage break-up while he muffs his special pleading self-defence for begging his Tamworth mogul pal, Greg Maguire, to be allowed to crash for six months at his millionaire mate's luxury pad at mates' rates.

[mad-madam-m]

And some more in-depth thoughts on T&B episodes 7, 8, and 9:

- Hey so let’s just start off with the look on Kotetsu’s face when Barnaby tells him that his parents were murdered by Ouroboros:

List of things Kotetsu was expecting: not that.

- The whole beginning of this episode is just...heartwrenching. Barnaby losing it on Kotetsu because he’s lost his first lead in years. Fire Emblem bringing Kotetsu the article about Barnaby’s parents and Kotetsu realizing it’s probably not something Barnaby wants people to know--and Kotetsu would know about keeping private things private. The fact that he can’t get ahold of Barnaby and does his best to distract Lloyds so that Barnaby won’t be in trouble whenever he gets back. Kotetsu is genuinely concerned about Barnaby, but he’s also very aware that Barnaby won’t accept any overt expression of that right now. And he just...tries to find ways to help him out, but not so much that Barnaby feels pressured by it? He’s trying so goddamn hard to be thoughtful and I think Barnaby starts to really recognize that.

- I also think a lot about the fact that Kotetsu probably lost his father when he was very young and then his wife died when Kaede was only four, and so he knows how this feels. I think he’d be thoughtful anyway because he’s naturally a very caring person, but I think it also hits closer to home with him because he knows what it’s like to lose people close to you.

- God, the entire church scene is just killer. Kotetsu runs right for the people they were supposed to be arresting a few moments before because now they’re in trouble and heroes save people. And he doesn’t hesitate for a moment before making that decision. It illustrates one of the things I love most about him: how much he values life and how quick he is to put himself in danger to protect someone else. Other people might hold back because hey, they’re criminals, but that doesn’t even cross Kotetsu’s mind. They’re people, they need saving, he’s going to save them.  And he’s genuinely upset when they can’t. He’s got one of the strongest moral compasses in the series and I love it.

- The big saving moment is in the next episode, but there’s a smaller one here as well. Barnaby’s chased Lunatic all over the city, he’s out of power and Lunatic’s fast enough that he can’t dodge the firebolt without it. And yet: 

Kotetsu gets there in time to knock the crossbow out of Lunatic’s hand and yank him away from Barnaby. Even if they’re not really friends yet, Kotetsu takes this partner thing seriously. He’s going to be there to back Barnaby up. And Barnaby’s slowly realizing that he isn’t alone, that he’s got a partner he can count on.

- The hero academy I cannot even with this episode. Kotetsu, Barnaby, and Origami Cyclone all teaching different classes with their different approaches (Focus on points! Focus on protecting people! Focus on pleasing your sponsors!). All the weird powers the students demonstrate for Kotetsu. The freaking chalkboard:

LOOK AT THIS. After the last episode we needed something that was a little bit lighter, and even though there is serious stuff that happens here, a lot of it is just...ridiculous and fun.

- And this is another one of the “Kotetsu dads the younger heroes” episodes, this time with Origami Cyclone (Ivan). He’s a hero we really haven’t seen a lot of up until now, and he’s...very negative and down on himself. It’s understandable why, given what happened with Edward, but I’m also wondering what, exactly, they’re learning at this school that Ivan didn’t know how freaking awesome shapeshifting is.

- I kind of adore the talking-to Kotetsu gives him after Edward shows back up. Basically, are you going to make the same mistake again? Are you going to let him hurt people? And it inspires Ivan to just...do what he can, even if he isn’t 100% sure what that is right then. Even though Ivan’s never going to be super happy and positive--it’s not in his nature--it’s clear that he has a bit more confidence in himself and his ability to contribute something as a hero after this.

- There’s a somewhat special irony that Kotetsu is the one yelling at Barnaby to wait, while Barnaby is the one rushing into trouble without thinking things through. And Kotetsu jumps in front of him to protect him from the firebolt because that’s what he does. He puts his own life on the line to protect others, but I don’t think Barnaby ever considered that Kotetsu would do that for him.

- Kotetsu also lands a punch on Lunatic--the second time he’s hit him (I’m counting the wire from the previous episode) when Barnaby’s never been able to touch him.

For all that Barnaby is more popular and more obviously badass, Kotetsu’s no slouch. He holds his own in a lot of rough situations, and this is after he’s been in this job for 10 years. Lots of people underestimate him because he’s a goofball and he racks up damage fines like they’re candy. But he’s smart, he’s strong, he’s a good fighter, and he can withstand a lot of punishment.

- I really like how they emphasize throughout the series and even the second movie that Lunatic and Kotetsu have a lot of similarities. They both have a strong moral core and a dedicated idea of justice, but Lunatic’s version of justice involves killing and Kotetsu’s never does. Lunatic feels Kotetsu’s idea of justice is weak; Kotetsu maintains what Lunatic does isn’t justice, it’s murder.

- What I like even more is that the story bears out, time and again, that Kotetsu is right. A lot of times you’ll see shows come down on the side of “some people need killing” and the characters who believe otherwise are proved wrong in some way, but that doesn’t happen here. Kotetsu is the one who’s right, and even if other people in the show think he’s naive for it, the story shows them coming around to the way he thinks, rather than the other way around. And that’s beautiful.

- I cannot even express how much I love this:

Kotetsu’s getting wheeled off to an ambulance and Barnaby is anxiously walking beside him because he wants to make sure Kotetsu is okay. And what does Kotetsu do? Ask how Barnaby’s handling knowing that Lunatic isn’t involved with Ouroboros. Because of course he’s more worried about Barnaby than he is about himself. That’s how he is. And Barnaby has...absolutely no idea how to handle the fact that someone cares about him that much.

- The babysitting episode is a goddamn delight all the way around. Easily one of my favorites of the entire series. Watching the heroes--apparently none of whom have spent any significant time around babies in close to a decade--attempt to deal with a screaming baby was hilarious. Plus, it was probably the only episode where I wasn’t really worried for the heroes. XD When the villains decide to pick on a telekinetic baby and a girl who controls lightning, it’s not going to end well for them.

- And this is Dragon Kid’s episode! I was really excited about that because she’s so much younger than all the other heroes, so it was cool to see how she’d gotten to be a hero and I thought it was really sweet the way she interacts with her sponsor.

- I can’t get over the fact that Kotetsu’s been a hero for ten years, he’s probably been working with most of these people for at least half that, and Antonio--the person he’s known since high school--is the only one who knew that he was married and has a daughter. Like, I know he’s private, but you’d think some of them would have noticed the wedding ring at the very least. And I wonder if finding that out--knowing that Kotetsu’s wife died from an illness--helps Barnaby with his decision to open up about his own stuff later in the episode.

- Barnaby and Kotetsu HAVE A HEART TO HEART. Kotetsu asks him questions, but it’s also pretty clear by the questions he won’t press if Barnaby doesn’t want to answer. Instead, Barnaby opens up and talks about what he’s been doing for the past 20 years. And Kotetsu acknowledges how hard that is, to be totally alone and searching for answers with almost nothing to go on. He’s just so...casually supportive of what Barnaby’s doing and cautions him to take care of himself and assures him that he’ll find whoever killed his parents. And I don’t think Barnaby’s ever had anyone do that for him. I will never ever be over this look:

Even though he swore up and down just two episodes ago that he would never ask Kotetsu for help on this, he’s realizing that maybe, just maybe, he can rely on him more than he thought he could.