#and then forgot about it

[shutupdevvie]

jake

[mycupofrum]

Written for @prongsfoot-microfic for 5 Jan 2024 (darkness). Rating: T. Angst, first wizarding war. James battles with his dark side. Read here or on AO3.

**

Darkness 

He was shaking violently, unable to process what had happened. 

"James!" someone cried out. "Prongs." 

James blinked, looking up. When had he sat down on the floor? His hands were curled into tight fists, and his wand was somewhere out of sight. 

"James, you're in shock. Come on, we need to go." 

When nothing made sense, his voice was the only thing that made him move. 

James stood up, barely noticing hands supporting him, pulling him up. 

"You're alive?" 

"Of course I'm alive, you great berk," Sirius huffed in exasperation. "Come on, we need to leave now." 

** 

James Potter despised the Dark Arts, he had for his whole life. The practice of something so vile was nothing but a mad attempt to taint what should be kept pure, light, good. Energy existed in everyone and everything, but only some possessed it in such quantities that it manifested as magic. 

The war was ruthless, affecting everyone's lives. Who could tell what was good anymore? What was the point, when it could be taken away? 

The thoughts raced through his mind as he pointed his wand at the woman.  

"I'll kill you for what you did to him." 

She lay defenceless on the floor, thanks to a well-aimed Jelly-Legs Curse, leering at him, her dark eyes blazing. "You don't have it in you, itty-bitty Potter." 

James's wand shook, but having witnessed his best friend lying behind him, broken and lifeless, made him tighten his grip on his wand. 

Darkness welled up inside him, engulfing him, and where he would normally push it aside, he did the unthinkable.  

He welcomed it. 

"Crucio." 

** 

James was nestled up on the sofa against the warm, alive body. 

He felt wrong. Stained. Ruined. 

"Fuck, Pads, I…" His words trailed off. 

All he knew were those hands gripping him tightly, hands that had held on to him during a side-along Apparition, guided him to one of the Order's safehouses. Hands that had healed his cuts, wiped away the excess blood. 

"You're here. You're not dead. You're really –" James rasped. 

"I'm here, Prongs. You think it's that easy to get rid of me?" Sirius's voice vibrated in his chest beneath James's fingertips. 

James looked up from the warmth of Sirius's neck. The grey eyes met his, understanding, a storm raging beneath the calm exterior. 

"It was a trick. I was never hurt." 

"I…" James heaved a breath, disgusted with himself. "I used the Crucio on her. Bellatrix." 

"She deserved it." Sirius's voice was devoid of regret. 

"D'you think I –" 

"Killed her? I don't know, didn't exactly stick around to find out. More likely you hurt her so thoroughly she'll think twice about messing with anyone's mind again. " 

James tried not to think about the revolting image of Bellatrix lying on the floor with her eyes open, bleeding from her nose and ears. She'd looked on the brink of death, and James hadn't halted the curse until his hand shook so badly that he dropped his wand. 

He'd thought Sirius was dead, that the centre of his universe, the only thing that made sense to him in the world, was gone. She'd made it happen, using Legilimency, persuading James to come out of hiding to save Sirius in a shack where he was supposed to be held for torture. 

James had gotten there, seen a body he thought was Sirius, dead on the floor. Before he'd had time to process what he saw, he'd been greeted by her. The cousin. 

Their duel had almost destroyed the building, but she'd underestimated him, arrogant enough to believe James was easy to beat after thinking he'd suffered a great loss. 

She hadn't realised that James refused to accept living in a world where Sirius didn't exist. 

"I know a lot of ways to hurt the enemy, and I don't mind doing it to Death Eaters. But I performed an Unforgivable. That only works when…" James closed his eyes. "When you mean it." 

Sirius's hand moved to his hair, stroking it gently. "I'm sorry you were put in that position, James."  

They hadn't been able to communicate as much as usual. Lily was pregnant, and it hadn't been without its complications, so James needed to take care of her. Neither of them had envisioned having a baby in the middle of the war, but it had forced them to try to make the shambles of their relationship work. 

James drew a long breath, his trembling body eventually settling against Sirius's warmth. 

"This war fucks with all of us," Sirius added. "We all resolve to do things we wouldn't normally do." 

"The thing is," James said, shame weighing heavy on him, "I don't really find it in myself to regret it." 

He locked his eyes with Sirius, whose gaze betrayed no hint of judgement. 

"I'd do it again. For you." 

Sirius's eyes flashed with something unspoken as he wrapped his arms around James even tighter.  

After a few minutes, James fell asleep with a feeling of warm lips pressing a light kiss on his temple and barely a whisper saying something he would forget when he woke up in a few hours. 

"I'd do far worse for you, Prongs."

**

[alphabetacomics]

A lil low quality Hades animation meme

[oifaaa]

Wait new au idea what if the Robin lineage went Dick Jason Steph Duke Damian honestly I think this could work

[unholybinchicken]

the actor who plays timothy voss having @ dollydoctor as his instagram handle is the funniest thing ever

[mikudoodles]

mona!

except she’s just a floating head

[sooodonewiththis]

Most of you have moved on, i stayed here

25 x 30 cm, acrylic painting

[princessmelinoe]

I'm finally playing horizon zero dawn forbidden west

[coldgoldlazarus]

So I used to watch Ninjago when I was much younger and I saw that post you reblogged about Nya a few days back, and I didn't remember any love interest for her so I decided to google ninjago and holy shit when did this show get 15 seasons??? The last time I watched it, there were 2. Isn't crazy when you look back on old interests and see stuff like that?

Oh, huh, that's pretty funny XD

But yeah, I have been in kind of a weird spot of like, not actively following Ninjago a lot of the time, but still having a passive interest due to it being adjacent to Bionicle. Plus, like, having seen bits and pieces of it, (saw the miniseries and Serpentine season, then a later one with a tournament arc, and then one of the more recent ones, but have been meaning to go back and watch it all properly and in order) and getting a few of the sets on impulse here and there; so the current season count isn't as much of a surprise to me. (Also, part of it is a recent shift to shorter seasons coming out faster, so it jumped from like, nine to fifteen in just the past three or four years?)

But without that sort of consistent secondhand awareness, I can definitely see how that would be a shock, yeah XD

And yeah, I know there's been stuff out there that I ran into as a kid, then later found out had continued on without my knowing, and it's just kinda wild to realize, so I feel you there.

[cienie-isengardu]

@blue-mint-winter​ commented post:

Your welcome and I completely agree about TCW changing important characterizations, especially Anakin's. Also Barriss, I will never forgive that shit. They definitely did that. That's why my favourite eps were about Jar Jar LOL

I spent the whole day debating with myself should I go on and scream about the unfairness done to Barriss and Jedi as a whole or not since talking negative about TCW at times feels like opening can of worms, but my frustration with current star wars content already hit acceptable limits and is waaay past them so I decided to screw all consequences, it is time for a mini-rant. I hope you don’t mind me bringing that up as separate post (or if you don’t wish to be tagged in that post, lemme know :))

Okay. Where do I even start? Anyone who would sort posts through my blog will know that I love analyzing stuff and more often than not, I’m critical toward the Jedi Order (especially Order as the institution) and that through the years I have a lot of critical things to say about the new canon, with the emphasis on The Clone Wars.

TCW has literally been a thorn in my side for years and although the show had its good moments (storyline wise and artistic effects/music) that I want to acknowledge, the longer the show was run, the more it felt to me as the Triumph of Form over Substance. The creators needed to go from point A (post AotC/clone wars) to point B (RotS / Order 66) but as it was proved, they did not need to actually keep Legends (old canon) elements in the original form and things were used or discarded as they wanted. Some choices made more or less sense, some were turning our knowledge totally 180 degrees with various effects or fan reactions. Like I will never agree with chip in clone brains storyline (x)(x) nor implying domestic abuse toward Anakin and Padme (they were meant to be tragic, doomed lovers, not being in abusive relationship for Force’s sake) or erasing Prequels/Legends characterization of Anakin for the more common action macho idiotic one (something that creators themselves admitted to do, which is why Skywalker is more mix of Han & Luke because apparently some people aren’t capable of accepting introverted / emotional man as main hero? Riiight). At the same time, I’m willing to defend changes done to Mandalorians,  because the story has a great potential but sadly the show focused mainly at the pacifism vs. terrorism angle. Which I guess makes sense from U.S.-centric perspective, but for someone like me, whose country/nation actually lost its independence for over 123 years (1795 -1918) and then suffered through the Nazi occupation (1939-1945) and survived the communist regime (1945-1989) before finally feeling like free country again, then Death Watch, however brutal or incoherent at times, rings a different bell. It is not about nationalism itself but wanting to have your culture back despite all the damage done through the years of forced expulsion / displacement or warriors (those not fitting into New society) and be independent from Republic / Empire. And this hits me more closely as a Pole than terrorist narratives done to DW (and Bariss). 

But the thing that irritates me the most is how characters and their powers aren’t incoherent in a sensible way. They can use Force for great action and dueling, but Anakin can’t feel Obi-Wan’s presence when the man worked undercover (sorry if the show actually explained it for I do not remember it was ever addressed?).  Anakin at first was shown as a self-sacrificing type of person (e.g. Jedi Crash) but for some reasons sometimes doesn’t do anything to save clones from certain doom even if he could use Force to stop them from falling down into lava or whatever it was in Citadel? And it is not just him? Ahsoka killed clones infected by worms but didn’t kill Bariss because they were best friends or whatever? But she is the bestie with clones! She cares! She is after all the protagonist who acts smart and all while all adults suddenly lose their brains. Like Anakin, a Jedi General, does not study maps before an attack on an enemy position, but Ahsoka did and saved the day. What a hero! And whatever she will do, it is all right at the end of day. Bo-Katan willingly supported Pre Vizsla/DW who destroyed the whole village and killed an innocent girl (whose Ahsoka befriended) but does it matter? Nope. Because she is now besties with Bo-Katan, a beloved freedom fighter, a noble lady and all the jazz.Pre Vizsla? Anyone remember him? No? No wonder, a persona non grata who would drag Bo-Katan (and Ahsoka by extension) in bad light so the show and other current sources are literally erasing him from the Mandalorian storyline. Because it is better to not remember the past than face a consequence of characters (creators) choices. 

It feels like yeah, Jedi care if the episode needs it but don’t care if the show needs some shock value or feeling of danger. Mace cares for clone troopers and even offers droids a chance to surrender but isn’t somehow bothered when 12 year old Boba was put in prison for the worst ADULT criminals. Sure, it is very reasonable. Anakin cares for clones, unless the show needs a high death toll or jokes (throwing Rex off the dam without warning). Jedi will literally jeopardize an important mission just to give one of them a proper burial but will not give a shit about dying or dead clones. And so on.

I understand that the show was made for kids, but if we go into dark themes - and the show went into pretty dark stuff, mind you - then at least it should be addressed properly. Slick accused Jedi of keeping clones slaves yet it doesn’t matter. What a bad clone! Totally forgotten for the rest of the season. Bo-Katan’s past crimes don't matter since you can just erase Pre Vizsla from her narrative. Does the story need emotional impact? Create female characters (Satine, Steela, Tryla, Teckla Minnau) to kill off, so someone else (Obi-Wan, Ahsoka & Padme) could use it for either development or making political statements and either turn dead ones into some saints or forget them all. Or just kill off clones, there is so many of them anyway, who cares how competent soldiers they were or if you make them act idiotic. Jedi lead an army made of people with no legal right, but the clones *love so much them they have nightmares about order66* so everything is right. All makes sense, right?

This doesn’t just influence how fans see Anakin (turned into a typical action male lead) or how Ahsoka is literally everywhere now. The show, as I’m seeing it, did a great disservice to Jedi. And Barriss… Barriss is just the tip of the iceberg. The authors literally twisted every established clone wars storyline around a new character - Ahsoka Tano - so there was no real reason to use Barriss since they could simply introduce us to original Ahsoka’s friend. She already interacted with so many original Jedi characters but instead the team took one of the most known Legends!Jedi Healers and turned into terrorist? Killing innocent people to prove Jedi lost their ways? It really feels disrespectful, both to fans and Jedi.  

And you know what TCW did not show us? Jedi Force-healing their troopers. Something that Barriss did on various points in Legends sources. She literally worked in various Republic Mobile Surgical Units (Rimsoo) as was seen in Republic comics series & Medstar duology or helping at triage unit(s) and as Jedi healers would not abbadon the wounded during enemy attack. Like when fire spread around them and cut away from safe way to evacuate, her first worry was about the injured people (Republic #65)

I’m really supposed to believe a person with such a mindset and compassion would decide to kill innocent people to make a point about war? Really? REALLY? Even more since there was no focus on why a Jedi like her could break and do something like that in the first place? This wasn’t a development or fleshing out for character, it was just shifting the blame on someone so Ahsoka could get out of Order before RotS/Purge. Which is unfair to Barriss. 

Oh, and by the way, remember how Luminara was talking to Anakin to let it go and accept that his padawan may have died or something along the lines? The mentioned Republic #65 has Mace Windu personally searching for survivors and not leaving enemy lines without checking first if someone survives even when he was told that enemy may attack at any moment:

 This is a proper Jedi. There is a difference between accepting that you did not manage to save someone and not bothering to at least try to save. Which is just another reason why TCW Jedi strikes me more as arrogant, manipulative and uncaring than the flawed people presented in Legends. 

Good Force, it is really bad if I'm going out of my way to rant about respecting Jedi characters...

[you-expect-too-much]

I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs

[explainslowly]

I have had like two days of sniffles and being kind of sickly and now I'm fine but my good friend chronic cough is back......

[vixletserenity]

✏️ fandomless OCs

💙 crack ships

🧂 my least favorite part of the canon

Get Moon's opinion on stuff -accepting

Already answered the canon question here

I’m all for fandomless OCs interacting! Sometimes that’s just part of the fun; got a few fandomless OCs myself.

Uh…you do you as long as it’s not adultxchild and humanxpokemon

[sappholotl]

I’ve been trying to draw in different styles, so I went and drew the canal by where I live

So this is The Creature looking at me while I draw (I’m very happy with the lighting, I think The Creature is also proud but they also have no thoughts ever so it’s hard to tell sometimes)

[nct-loves-exo]

In honor of national book day, here are some of my favorite books

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales

The Long Walk by Stephen King

Songmaster by Orson Scott Card (okay, there's no gif for that, so have this)

[bimbodefender]