#cannon complaint marauders

[littleolfandomblog]

AO3 FIC REC OF THE WEEK: WEEK 4

Fic Name: Choices

Fandom: Marauders/Jegulus/Harry Potter

Author: MesserMoon (i can't for the life of me find their tumblr account. i feel like they have one but maybe ive just finally gone insane)

Word Count: ~624k

Chapters: 56

Summary: People make mistakes, but they also make choices. It’s important to James, that difference. He does his best not to confuse the two.

Personal Thoughts: I knew what is was getting into when I started a cannon compliant jegulus fic, but what the actually fuck. Truly the ugliest cry of my life. It's so beautifully written I can't stop myself from rereading it. This fic is like a curse. But also please read it because it's amazing and theres so much depth to all of the characters and it makes me so happy

[jedipoodoo]

i want your midnights (Tech x Reader)

I've had these in my drafts for a year and I'm just now getting to them with three hours until midnight. Happy New Year and happy season two, everyone!

Notes: No warnings, just fluff. New Year's Kiss! this one draws inspiration from Chinese New Year traditions.

You grumbled at the mess that covered the floor of the Marauder. You had just gotten the whole place cleaned, but the Bad Batch didn't seem to know any other way to party aside from explosions of confetti and food everywhere. At least Omega was enjoying herself. With how scarce food and free time were for the lot of you, how could you keep them from enjoying themselves?

Tech's helmet had been replaced with a party hat, and several streamers from Wrecker's homemade confetti cannons were draped across his shoulders.

"Here," You plucked some pieces of scrap paper from his hairline with a chuckle.

"Thank you, darling," he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, "Are you tired yet?"

"Grumpy, mostly," You admitted.

"A common symptom of fatigue," He nodded, "I can make them be quiet if you would prefer to get some rest?"

You shook your head, wrapping your arms around his chest, "they're all having so much fun." Omega was picking up stray pieces of confetti from the floor, trying to convince Wrecker that there was enough to make another cannon. Hunter was counting down the seconds until midnight, and Echo was guarding the scanty snack station.

Tech bent down to whisper in your ear, "Would you like me to help you clean up after the festivities?"

As touching as it was, you shook your head, "You're not supposed to clean up for the first week after the new year begins, it gets rid of all the good luck the new year brings."

"Well, we could certainly use that," Tech agreed. He squinted at the navicomputer and Hunter's comm.

"Do you think you could keep them occupied for a moment for me?"

You raised one eyebrow at him. What was he thinking?

"Uh....Who wants to play truth or dare?" You asked.

"I DO!" Omega cried.

"I'm in!" Echo's chair spun towards you.

As you organized yourselves into a circle, Tech somehow wound up with his datapad in hand. He winked at you, and you asked Wrecker when he had last done the laundry.

Hunter was dared to do one of his knife tricks with Wrecker's vibroblade, and Echo was asked about his most embarrassing moment in training.

"Okay, truth or dare?" Omega asked you.

"Uh, dare."

Omega grinned, "I dare you to kiss Tech at midnight!"

Wrecker groaned, "That's not a real dare!"

You had no complaints, "Done. Who's next?"

Tech nudged you gently, "I apologize for interrupting, but it would appear that the time for you to complete your dare is imminent." He nodded to the navicomputer, which displayed the time of 23:59:30.

"Wow, that went by quick!" Hunter jumped to his feet.

"Wrecker! The cannons!" Omega climbed over you to get to the last two confetti cannons.

"Make this one count, kid!" Wrecker grinned.

You sighed to yourself, but let Tech pull you to your feet.

"You ready?" you asked.

"For you? I'm never ready," Tech sighed happily, cradling your cheek in his hand.

Together, you counted down to the new year with the others. Omega and Wrecker sprayed you and Tech with the confetti as you kissed. You laughed against his lips, and Tech dipped you into the kiss.

"Well, Happy new year," you said to the others.

"Happy New Year!" Wrecker whooped.

Echo grinned, "Happy New Year."

"Okay Omega, we had a deal. Time for bed now," Hunter said.

"Okay," She sighed, trudging through the trails of confetti.

Wrecker yawned and stretched before excusing himself to the bunks to rest. Echo agreed, and finished off his bottle of cider before joining the others.

"I should turn in too," you stretched your aching limbs, but Tech was doing something with his datapad. The navicomputer screen glitched, then displayed a new time. 23:32:03.

"What?" You blinked.

Tech grinned and set aside his datapad, "I knew they wouldn't go to bed unless it were after midnight, so I just had to make it look that way. Now we have time to clean before the new year."

You threw your arms around your boyfriend, covering his face in kisses. Before he could respond, you had already grabbed the trash bag and begun picking up the trash. Tech laughed to himself, then carefully stored the food and snacks away for safekeeping.

All signs of New Year's Celebrating had been cleaned away with minutes to spare. The Marauder was clean once more, and you could finally relax, sinking into the chair at the navicomputer.

"Feeling better?" Tech asked, coming to stand by the chair.

You wrapped your arms around his waist, "Much better. Thank you so much."

The navicomputer chimed again, displaying digital fireworks as you officially reached midnight. There were no raucous cheers, no confetti cannons this time, just you and your lover.

"You know, you still have to complete the dare that Omega gave you," Tech said, pulling you to your feet.

"I suppose I do," You giggled.

Tech's lips met yours in a gentle and chaste kiss. His arms wrapped around your waist, and yours wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

"Thank you, Tech," You murmured again. He smiled softly at you.

"Happy New Year, darling."

"Happy New Year, Tech."

[soup-of-the-daisies]

I think that the mauraders Fandom is annoying as hell sometimes. They act like the have a superiority over other hp fans cause they proudly state they throw cannon in the garbage. They flood every comment section that's not about them so they can talk about Mauraders which is weird considering that they have so much content they don't need more.

With remus it's crazy cause they treat fanon like its cannon and will talk about how he smokes cigarettes and wears doc martens as if he robbed sirius closet. They also refuse to admit remus does any wrong and treat it like a cardinal sin if you mention one of his cannon flaws.

we are annoying 😭 sometimes i get really bad secondhand embarrassment looking at comment sections of like a tiktok about fandom the marauders stans fill the damn thing up to the brim. the comments under a post being like, slightly critical of a characterisation are sometimes okay (provided it reaches the right audience) but if remus/sirius gets disliked? or james/regulus? the homophobia accusations are EVERYWHERE. then the tumblr complaints about “we don’t talk enough about this ship” or “we don’t talk enough about that character”, like they’ve never had the experience of enjoying a rarepair. i don’t frequent marauders twitter (if it all), but i know through the grapevine that it’s one of the worst.

the remus re-characterisation is so intriguing. a specific, really impressive fic that i have not read is partially “to blame” for this, though the author acknowledged that remus’ background was not canon compliant and the changes affected his character, but now it’s treated as canon and he’s snowballed into this cool, suave, snarky and disinterested ‘bad boy’-type who’s so tall he has to bend to fit through doorways and has lots of muscle under his temu t-shirt. i tend to make remus a smoker (mainly because smoking was common for many people in the 70s, 80s and 90s) but by god, that man is NOT cool.

he has many flaws in this characterisation (because he’s, simply put, a humongous and vile asshole to literally everybody, specifically his supposed soulmate sirius) but they’re not treated as flaws—just parts of his cool personality. they make him poc, partially for rep, but then they make him aggressive and harsh. i don’t see why he can’t be poc as well as a shy, fearful, tea-drinking and sweater-wearing dork whose flaws are mainly running away from “problems” and making up issues in his head that he’s terrified of coming true.

bringing up canon in anyway gets rebutted with a “we don’t care about canon because it’s sucks”. which is fine, really, but why are you in the fandom then? these characters (at least by name, and their parents, and their family background and their role in society and maybe their hogwarts house, house house, future deaths, which side of the war they were on, hints of their personality) were canonical. like, i can’t stress this enough—they’re part of canon. at least mentioned in them, sometimes only by last name but sometimes also by their entire name. hogwarts, the magic spells, diagon alley and knockturn alley and gringotts, the invisibility cloak, the families… voldemort and his death eaters, dumbledore and his order, the aurors, that’s ALL the potterverse. they think canon sucks but they still use it. please just… go to a different fandom, maybe? another one with a magic school and society?

[tiredangrydyke]

Marauders Fic recs-

Fame au-

red carpet by moony71,

(Haven’t read yet but others recommend)

pink lemonade by moonysbookshelf,

(Haven’t read yet but others recommend)

yeah my boyfriends pretty cool (but he’s not as cool as me) by paintmegrey,

(Haven’t read yet but others recommend)

honeywood by strbri

(Jegulus band au)

Cannon Complaint-

A lovers arms by I_Am_Mars

(Halloween 1981 from Lily’s perspective

Of magic, monsters and mild Misfortune by americanrealism

(Haven’t read yet but others recommend)

Sport and muggle au-

Sweather Weather by Lumosinlove

(Hockey wolfstar AU)

Beekeeping in the daylight by halicitus

(Wolfstar and Jily muggle au)

The problem with eggnog, uncommon thoughts and sharing a bed with Sirius black by Xylodemon

(Wolfstar and Jily muggle au)

Balaclava by Kealice

(Dorlene quidditch AU)

[monocytogenes]

Done!

I've seen folks on Reddit do story rankings, so here's mine (spoilers obv):

IMPERIAL AGENT MY BELOVED. This story really hit that sweet spot of "complex moral landscape where you have to make difficult decisions" for me, and was one (along with trooper) where I could tell that Bioware understands politics and bureaucracy delightfully well. I know a game like this is good when I have to sit back and think for a minute about what choice my character would make at a pivotal moment, and I absolutely had to do that at the end of Chapter 1. I also normally hate mind control stuff as a plot device, but they handled it very well (and traumatically)--killing Kothe, and later Hunter, was such delicious catharsis. I also still hold that the Minister was probably the most realistic-feeling authority figure to me out of any such person in the class stories, and I also have deep affection for Shara and Vector. I wanted so much more of all of them, haha. Just a great experience all around.

Sith Warrior. Also a story where I was given a surprisingly great range of options in terms of ethical decision-making, and while the plot was more of a straightforward heroic journey, the characters really made it for me. I loved Vette, Quinn (despite the clumsy writing; having a romance where the usual gendered power dynamics were reversed was fantastic) and Pierce in particular, and I loved getting to play a morally gray patriot and how the game supported me in that. (For instance, the moment where my chick let Yonlach face death on his own terms and knelt in respect to his corpse just. Beautiful. Chef's kiss.) It was also probably my favorite in terms of the actual combat mechanics; I've played as a Marauder and a Jugg, and both are just such fun.

Trooper. SPEAKING OF COMPLEX MORAL LANDSCAPES. From the start, running around on Ord Mantell and encountering everything from war profiteering to mistreatment of prisoners to child soldiers, I knew I was in for a time. Like, this is insane, but my single favorite thing in this storyline was Jorgan's personal quest and how he went through the five stages of institutional disillusionment afterward. I loved Bioware's willingness to portray the Republic as a flawed state with bureaucratic infighting and active discrimination (e.g. poor Elara's defection story)--but still clearly not as bad as the 'has state-sponsored slavery' and 'is an oligarchy run by maniacs' Empire. I didn't get super attached to my own OC, but I am intending to run the expansion content with him just because I liked his dynamics with Jorgan and the authorities so much.

Jedi Consular. I know this is one of those stories people love to hate, and I wouldn't say it was the strongest for me, but I liked it! The politics of it were fun for me, and I got pretty attached to Yuon, thought Qyzen's whole cultural background was cool, and was frankly super disappointed I couldn't romance "ethically questionable guy with an assload of PTSD" Zenith. My main complaint was that my range of choices didn't seem as nuanced as some of the other characters--a lot of options were strictly "good guy" vs. "bloodthirsty maniac". I also did like the play style quite a bit--the glass cannon dynamic was pretty satisfying.

Smuggler: This was actually the first storyline I played, and it was alright. I felt the whole hunt for Skavak was really strong, and I liked the twist with Darmas, but the latter half of the story kind of dragged. Also felt like the romances really strongarmed you--I played a guy who ended up kissing Risha simply because I picked nice dialogue options with her, and I've heard that Corso's flirtations are kind of obnoxious on a female smugg. Overall, though, I loved the criminal underworld stuff, the quippy lines, the varying degrees of unethical I was permitted to be, and the combat style (I did gunslinger, and had a great time with that!)

Sith Inquisitor: The more fantastical, force magic stuff tends not to compel me, but this story was alright, namely because it was balls-to-the-wall insane and that was kind of acknowledged in universe (like, the sheer 'this might as well happen' energy of a lot of the dialogue was pretty funny.) I did feel as though I had less leeway than on Warrior to occupy a nuanced moral space; it felt like the writing was really encouraging me to be a scenery-chewing sadist, which I didn't care for as much. The companions were alright; I thought Andronikos was cool, and Ashara seemed a better-handled Jaesa (albeit one I didn't romance on a male inq because she coded really young to me and it creeped me out.) So yeah, just. Firmly 'okay.'

Bounty Hunter: I'm not sure why I didn't care for this story--I love the crime stuff in Star Wars, I could make questionable decisions, there were some politics involved--all of that was there. I think it just didn't have an emotional core for me. With Smuggler we were really off to the races on a vengeance quest when my ship got stolen; with Consular i got attached to Yuon and was motivated to help her; with Bounty Hunter Jory and Braden got killed before their deaths could really mean much to me and poor Mako (unlike Corso) seemed pretty unequipped to deal with the challenges we were going through. I did like Torian and got attached to him--the whole situation with his dad was feels--but yeah, I just felt unmotivated through much of it. It was disappointing too to get strongarmed into accepting Gault as a companion, as I really liked him in the expansion content; it just was one of those situations where I couldn't fathom why my character would let such a liability onto her ship.

Jedi Knight: I can tell this story was supposed to really be the main event of the game, but honestly? If the agent story was cake, this was white bread. If Agent was a published novel, this was wattpad fanfic. I was actively bored. As previously mentioned, I'm not super into the fantastical force magic stuff that much in general, and most of this story was that--the rest of it felt like sweeping up after the Republic's bullshit decisions without much political context (who the hell thought these superweapons were a good idea, anyway?) Like Consular, I felt like I had little nuance available to me in my choices, and many of the characters either straight up didn't feel like actual people or it seemed like I didn't have much time to get to know them (like, I was genuinely interested in Rusk's trauma and mindset and felt like I had little opportunity to explore that with him.) I got slightly attached to Orgus as a mentor figure, and then--well, we know what happened to him. I played a Shadow and was frankly glad I did because stealthing made it easier to get through the story quicker. Sigh.

[ao3feed-snape]

What's in a name?

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/vIQOjok

by SIMPly_magical

Warning:Contains some really dark stuff like drugs and child abuse sa and what not, not really cannon complaint I don’t wanna kill anyone yet but I’m not sure of that so we shall see, my goals to make you cry though. There’s also alot of personal headcannons in this (such as regulus being a vampire and vampires work differently) so read at ur own discretion.

Words: 852, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Regulus Black, Pandora Lovegood, Barty Crouch Jr., Evan Rosier, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, Mary Macdonald (Harry Potter), Marlene McKinnon, Lily Evans Potter, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Severus Snape

Relationships: Regulus Black/James Potter, Barty Crouch Jr./Evan Rosier, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Regulus Black & Barty Crouch Jr. & Pandora Lovegood & Dorcas Meadowes & Evan Rosier

Additional Tags: Marauders Era (Harry Potter)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/vIQOjok

[ao3feed-jily]

Say You Won't Let Go

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3rb6uhS

by elder_millenial_trash

Marauders era fic starting with their summer after 5th year/the prank (with flashbacks to their earlier years at Hogwarts) spanning through OOTP. Cannon complaint. WIP

Words: 5572, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape

Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter

Additional Tags: Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3rb6uhS

[thephantomofthelibrary]

Perigny, a royal official, on the Great Fear

“Sir, the flames are sweeping through Anjou and Maine. The comte de Laurencin read out to us yesterday the terrible events suffered by Madame, his sister, at two chateaux in Dauphine: papers burnt, the chateaux pillaged and roofs removed if they were not burnt. They were not even left with the means of gathering and securing their harvest.

At the end of her letter, M. de Laurencin’s sister says that she is in despair because she was not killed by the first shot which reached her room; she has been hounded through the two chateaux and then to a friend’s house, and with her was her young and beautiful unmarried daughter. The two of them, with her husband, were pursued for thirty-five hours without respite.

The monks at Cluny were more clever and more fortunate. The inhabitants of that small town have become so attached to them, through their good deeds and the renunciation of their rights and dues, that under the leadership of one of the monks, the townsfolk wiped out the whole gang of marauders. The citizens of Cluny hid themselves, well armed, in the abbey, they concealed two cannon in a shed facing the main road into the town.

The brigands had thought to take the abbey and the townsfolk by surprise; the inhabitants let them all come in, closed the gates of the town while at the same instant they uncovered the two cannon loaded with shot, and all fired at the same time. Not a single outlaw escaped. They were all killed or taken off to the royal prisons. They were found to be carrying printed papers ‘On the king’s orders’. These documents encouraged the burning of abbeys and chateaux, on the pretence that the nobles and abbots hoarded supplies of grain and poisoned wells, and intended to reduce the people, the king’s subjects, to the direst misery.

In Alsace the inhabitants destroyed the superb forests at Bitche and Hagueneau, destroyed the fine glass-making establishments at Baccarat, and the king’s own magnificent ironworks. They are at work now in the forest of St-Germain, cutting down the finest trees.

It is impossible to be sure now, and for the immediate future, where to live in France, or who can preserve their wealth. The king is in a state of despondency and in reply to complaints, says that there is nothing he can do.

Signed, Perigny August 13th 1789”

[crimsonrevolt]

Congratulations Arya you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Marlene McKinnon!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

Wow -- let me tell you that it was a struggle figuring out the right Marlene for us -- given that we had some amazing applications for her. But ultimately yours won us over because we could feel you breathing life into Marlene with every word you wrote about her. Every section of your application was so well-crafted, with new information scattered around everywhere until we got a grasp on exactly how you saw her and were planning to write her in this roleplay. We’re so excited to see her on the dash and for you to explore all of the various complications and imperfections that make her Marlene! She’s going to be an amazing addition to our roleplay and we’re so excited to see you write her! *your faceclaim change has been accepted

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

Hey I’m Arya and I’m 21. I live in beautiful California so I’m from the PST timezone. My preferred pronouns are she/her.

ACTIVITY

I’d say I’m a solid 8. I work about 30 hours a week and when the school year starts again I will be a full time student, but I’m still on my computer for a few hours a day.

TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

Stalking the tags for a new rp.

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

Ugh, okay, so my dad used to read me the books every night and I remember falling in love with Hermione. I know, so did everyone else, but I was so thrilled to see a bookworm who loved being a bookworm and didn’t really care what anyone else thought. I also loved Luna, but I didn’t really identify with her much. Towards the end of the series I started identifying and sympathizing with Draco and how he was always trying to keep up with his family’s expectations for how he should be. I definitely got that same vibe from my family so seeing a character struggle with it was great.

ANYTHING ELSE?

This app contains some triggers, namely addiction and PTSD. Please read with caution, health always comes first.  

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

full name : Marlene Audie McKinnon 
Marlene - A mix of Maria and Magdaline, which mean “Star of the Sea” and “of Magdala”. Marlene has always been a little unimpressed with the lack of deep meaning in her name unlike like the Black’s constellations or the Carrow’s mythology. Even Lily has her flowers. Marlene has never really been a fan of her plain name. When she went to Hogwarts and people started calling her Marls and Marly, she fell in love with the nicknames.

Audie - Meaning “Of noble strength”

McKinnon - Meaning “Fair born” or “love”. She’s also been called McKitten, McKnockers and McKnickers. Most warrant a slap.

FACE CLAIM

Freya Mavor is my preferred FC, but that’s totally negotiable. For alternates I’d say Candice Accola or Teresa Palmer

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

Story time: I first applied for a Marlene character about two years ago for my first time in the Marauders fandom. Her traits were something along the lines of being wild and passionate and a bit aggressive which is right up my alley. So I got accepted and on a whim went to look for some aesthetic things and was absolutely horrified because her name came up. I didn’t know she was actually a cannon character and thought the admins had stolen her from another RP. I freaked out to a friend because I thought I was playing a stolen character and he finally told me that she existed and had just gathered a fan base on tumblr. Brilliant.

Since then I’ve fallen in love with Marlene as a character. Because she’s a canon character that there’s very little known about, it’s easy to have her plot lines go in all different directions and I love the amount of versatility I get. It means that every RP has a different vibe. Either she’s in a different house, or a different blood purity, or has family conflicts or different friend groups. I adore every aspect of it. Playing out so many different possibilities makes everything extremely unique and bring out different development aspects from the character.

Admittedly, there are certain Marlene skeletons I don’t really vibe with. I’m not a fan of playing her as a stone cold bitch or some sort of ice queen, it’s just not my preferred portrayal, though I still think it’s really cool she can be played in so many different ways. Personally, I’ve always played her more as a bubbly, sarcastic bitch when she wants to be, who doesn’t really recognize she’s upsetting others until they’ve drifted away. She’s hyperactive and passionate about everything in her life with an intense devotion for her friends, family and the causes she believes in. Overall, I’m just a huge Marlene fan.

Mini rant time: I know some people in the fandom don’t really like the character of Marlene because they see her as a cheap romantic partner for Sirius or a fifth Marauder that never was (these are the most common complaints I’ve heard). I understand how that can become frustrating, but it also breaks my heart a little. A lot. I don’t think it does justice to most Marlene players and their characterization choices. I firmly believe she can and should be played in a way that is inclusive and balanced with as many ups as she has downs. End rant.

Speaking of downs, she sure as heck has some. I love that she has an addictive personality, kind of a “I’ll try anything once” gone wrong. She’s the kind of girl to take a handout at a party, not caring what’s in it as long as she’ll be having a good time. She rejects authority unless the authority works in her benefit. Having a wild child character who is equal parts bold and terrified, extroverted and insecure, comforting yet comforted by substance, and supportive but envious is my dream character and I’ve been able to find that in Marlene.

I also love her stance on the war. Marlene is obviously fighting the war, passionate about rejecting the mentality of the Death Eaters. However, Marlene hates the war and hates the fact they have to fight it in the first place. She doesn’t want to be a child soldier, doesn’t want to see her friends being picked off. As someone who believes in the good in everyone, she’s often tried to sway Death Eaters away from their side, but often the conversations end up frustrating both parties to the point where it just turns into a fight. If she was any less emotional, I could see Marlene being a neutral party, someone trying to get both sides to just chill and love everyone. However, because that’s not possible, she’s gone in full force to defend people’s ability to exist how they want.

Being a character that embodies happiness and compassion, but struggles with the cruelty of the world and her own intensity, I’ve fallen in love with Marlene and totally dug her skeleton, so here I am, babble-writing about why I think she’s an incredible character. Marlene’s a force of nature and if nothing else, is willing to tear the world down while sweeping up and bringing everyone around her into the chaos.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

Alright, I’m about to go in because I have some pretty strong opinions on this one. To state it simply, I play Marlene as pansexual and demiromantic. She’s cisgender and uses she/her pronouns.

I’ve always seen Marlene as an extremely affectionate character, especially when it comes to her friends. She’s that one who’s going to be sitting on laps because she feels like it, giving cheek kisses to say goodnight or insisting on piggy back rides. Part of this is because she’s a very physical person so it’s a physical outlet for her to show her affection and love for her friends. Another part is it makes her feel validated, wanted. She needs that affirmation

Romantically, Marlene struggles. She doesn’t like the thought of being contained to just one person she’s allowed to be affectionate towards. Additionally, she struggles with coming to terms with romantic feelings and rather than working them out, just shoves them down and ignores them, preferring to stick to herself. She hates the culture of “Grow up, get married, have kids, live happily ever after”. Admittedly, some of this stems from her fear she’d make a terrible wife and mother. Okay, a lot of this stems from that fear. Especially as she’s watching her friends coupling off one-by-one, Marlene feels like she’s being left behind, which only makes her more resentful of relationships.

Sexually, Marlene is adventurous. She doesn’t care who you are or how you identify, if she finds you attractive, that’s all there is too it. Marlene sees sex as just another form of intimacy and doesn’t quite understand why people shame casual hookups. Of course, she’d never consider shagging someone like James, he’s like her brother and that would be gross. But Dorcas? Remus? Sure, if they wanted too, she’d be interested. That doesn’t mean she has romantic feelings for them (clearly, given the above paragraph), it’s just fun.

In terms of ships, I’ve never really had a particular ship for Marlene, considering I do play her heavily disliking romance. I have been interested in testing the waters with ships like Marlene/Fabian or Gideon, Marlene/Dorcas and I have a guilty pleasure (but not really guilty) for Marlene/Death Eaters. It’s still always been weird to ship Marlene for me since her attitude eventually seems to turn most people off anyway.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

-A MOODBOARD

Tagged on this blog as { Miss Moody } http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com/tagged/{ Miss Moody }

-AN AESTHETIC

Tagged on this blog as { Aesthetic } http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com/tagged/{ Aesthetic }

-A MOCKBLOG

http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com (the account this is send from) is my mock/muse blog for Marlene. Some of the content is inconsistent, but it overall encompasses my characterization. The tag { Thoughts Can Consume } is general muse stuff and { Delve Deeper } has more to do with character development.

-A PLAYLIST

Tagged on this blog as { Chained to the Rhythm } or Playlist. http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com/tagged/{ Chained to the Rhythm }

-EXPAND ON TRAITS

✓ Open-minded: Marlene falls in and out of love with everyone she meets. People are fascinating. Their energy, their flaws, Marlene wants to learn everything she can about people without looking down at them. Not everyone shares the same beliefs and she’s okay with that, to an extent of course. She believes that the world is constantly changing and people should be willing to change along with it. Never one to make judgments on how others choose to live their lives, she seeks to learn from the differences she sees in others rather than reject them. Perhaps the slight exception would be the mentalities of Death Eaters. Marlene hates prejudice, but she hates it because it shows exactly how close minded people are. However, she’s tried to understand them, to find out where their hatred comes from. When she came up with nothing, she’s decided to firmly reject their discriminatory mentality.

✓ Eager: For adventure, for a rush, to learn, to fight. Marlene is always looking towards the future with excitement. She’s a bundle of energy and can’t stand to simply be sitting around and doing nothing. Rather, she’s always looking for the next big thing, whatever is waiting over the hill or around the corner. Always grinning, bouncing from person and person, she wants to experience everything she can. Life is short and with the war, she’s almost certain her life will be short as well, so she might as well do everything she can while she’s still here. If she can pull a few others along with her as she goes, even better. There’s always something waiting ahead and Marlene wants to be the first one to find it.

✓ Forgiving: Marlene believes in the power of honesty. When she was a child, her parents told her it was kind to always accept apologies when they were given and that mentality has remained with her. However, Marlene is not one to say she accepts apologies, but does not trust other after they’ve crossed her. Instead, Marlene forgives others wholeheartedly and accepts them back into her life without a second thought. Though to many it may seem a weakness, to Marlene it is one of her greatest strengths. People deserve second chances and she is more than happy to give them out to those who seem to genuinely seek them.

✓ Intelligent: Though an outsider would never make the assumption, Marlene has always been exceptionally intelligent. She would’ve made a great Ravenclaw like the rest of her family, but shaped her intelligence into something different. Rather than simply reading and becoming book smart, Marlene learned how to be clever, to wiggle in and out of situations, to manipulate. It’s a subtlety, something that has become naturally ingrained into the blonde. She left behind the idea that intelligence existed in black and white and has devoted her time into developing her own kind of brilliance.

✕ Aggressive: Fists first, talk later. Marlene got into her first fight when she was in her second year at Hogwarts when a kid taunted her family during an argument. Since then, getting into verbal and physical fights became a norm for her. Going hand in hand with being too emotional, Marlene is extremely aggressive. She doesn’t like to talk out what she’s feeling, most people don’t understand and don’t want to, so she pushes it into her attitude. Snappish, competitive and willing to fight her way out of any situation, it often is misconstrued for her being a mean person. Marlene’s far from mean, she’s just intense and doesn’t know how to manage her anger.

✕ Emotional: Marlene feels too much of everything. There is no such thing as experiencing emotions half way for her. She is ruled entirely by her heart rather than her head. However, Marlene rarely sees this as a negative (despite the fact it almost always is). In her mind, she’d rather be every emotion bundled into one person that barely be able to feel anything at all. However, given exactly how ruled by her emotions she is, it’s a source of conflict for her in many of her relationships. If she’s angry, she’s complete fury and rage. If she’s upset, it’s as if the world has fallen apart and slipped through her fingers. Managing someone with such intense emotional reactions is a daunting task for any of her friends.  

✕ Clingy: It’s ironic, given how easily she pushes people away with her brashness. Marlene doesn’t like to let go of people, nor does she like to ever be alone. If she likes the people around her, Marlene attaches and does everything she can to keep them in her life. It makes her overbearing, obnoxious and frustrating to deal with when she feels like she’s being rejected. Being alone is boring and brings forth the fear of being alone permanently, one of her greatest fears. In an attempt to counter it, she’s desperate for attention and doesn’t let go of people easily.

✕ Self-deprecating: Despite her cheery demeanor, Marlene has deep seated insecurities. Some stem from her family, specifically the constant competition between her brother and her. She often feels second best, leading to her believing that she’s the problem. Then, there comes the people around her. Pushing people out of her life was a common occurrence, but one she has always despised herself for. Again, she takes this all internally, knowing she’s the issue behind it, but unable to change her attitude. For someone who puts on a convincing front of being carefree and confident, internally she’s constantly battling herself and her insecurities. Any sort of failure weighs heavily on her mind and it’s not easy for her to let them go.

-A FEW HEADCANONS

Marlene makes her first kill when she’s 21. On a mission for the order, her group ended up separating from each other and being ambushed by death eaters. With the command to immediately fall back if something went wrong, she found herself stuck in a duel with another. After being injured severely, she speaks the killing curse for the first time before apparating away. Since that day she constantly wakes up with nightmares of what she did and until her own death, was never able to entirely get over the guilt, though she goes on to kill several others.

Since she was young, Marlene has felt that she existed in her brother’s shadow. He was perfect, everything any sensible parent would want from their child. Marlene was anything but. Despite being a naturally intelligent person, at school she was constantly compared to her brother academically, so she learned how to hide her intelligence. In her opinion, no one cared to notice anyway so there was no point to her bothering with putting in work for school. In her mind, she was always going to be second best and despite having a close relationship, there has always been strain in their family because of it. All Marlene has ever wanted to be was individual, but an individual who was recognized for who they were, not who their family was. As a kid, it’s why she acted out as much as she did. Now, as she’s grown older, she’s begun to internalize the belief that she is the “second best”. It’s one of her largest insecurities and something she regularly berates herself over.

When Marlene watched the kidnapping of the Minister of Magic, she was fascinated. Initially, she joined the Order to be a fighter, make a difference in this war. But they seemed to be stagnant, always held back by some idea of what proper justice was. Aversio was different, they acted boldly and apologetically. Immediately, she knew she had to find a way to join them in their cause. Of course she loved being in the Order, it was where her mates were and they acted with a high standard of morality. However, she needed something more than that, needed to make progress rather than just talk about it. Consequentially, she found her way into the folds of Aversio and hasn’t looked back since.

Marlene loves cats. The little shits have an attitude similar to her own and she identifies with them. Cats and Marlene are aloof, keeping to themselves most of the time, but not opposed to a friend or two joining them. They’re only sweet when they want to be and half the time it’s fake. If they like you, they’ll let you pet them, though they’re still prone to swipe you with a paw. If they don’t like you, they hiss and spit until they’re left alone.

As an affectionate person, Marlene always wondered what it would be like to have a normal life after the war. Growing up, she’d rejected the thought of getting married or starting a family. However, as she gets older, the desire to settle down like so many of her friends only grows. Convinced she would be a terrible wife and mother, Marlene is never able to bring herself to get married, or even entirely entertain the idea.

Marlene is a baker. Much to the surprise of her friends, the hurricane of a girl loves being in the kitchen, particularly if she’s making sweets. It started when she was younger. The kitchen was where she and her mother had their own time and place. She grew up preparing family meals by hand, rather than using magic, and continued to do so throughout her time in the order. Some home cooked food might provide comfort to the war ridden, or so she hoped.

She’s always been smart for her age. Most people would consider Marlene a bit of an airhead with a ditsy grin, but you don’t wiggle your way out of as many situations as she has without being exceptionally intelligent. When she was younger, it was easy to see she was nearly as gifted intellectually as her brother was. However, as she got older and made strides towards becoming her own person, she pushed down her “book smart” side. Instead, she applies her intelligence through being clever, manipulating conversations and people without them knowing she’s aware of what she’s doing.

When she was sorted into Hufflepuff, Marlene was thrilled. Most of her family was Ravenclaw and they had some Slytherins and Gryffindors in the mix, but Marlene was the only Hufflepuff. It fit her, she was a bubbly bundle of energy who fell in and out of love with everyone she met. They were loyal and so was Marlene, as long as you could tolerate her ups as much as you could the downs. Everyone praised the snakes and lions, but have you ever met a badger? Sure they’re cute, but they’ll rip your face off the second you try to mess with them or their family.

Marlene is currently a barmaid. Initially, she wanted to be an auror, someone who can openly fight for justice. However, her grades were too low to get her into the auror program, despite her tenacity and constant pleading with ministry officials. Rather than simply take another ministry desk job instead, Marlene went to one of her favorite bars and begged them to hire her. Fortunately, the owner eventually agreed after taking her up on one of her offers to make him a drink. Though it’s far from her dream job, Marlene is content enough in the position for now. There she’s able to work as she pleases, make enough tips for her to get by and meet fascinating people. Since joining the order, it’s also become an amazing opportunity for her to gather intel.

On the MBTI test Marlene is an ESTP. ESTPs are outgoing, enthusiastic and excitable. Blunt, straight-forward risk-takers, they are willing to plunge right into things and get their hands dirty. ESTPs have an uncanny ability to perceive people’s attitudes and motivations.  ESTPs use this ability to get what they want out of a situation. Rules and laws are seen as guidelines for behavior, rather than mandates. However, the ESTP tends to have their own strong belief in what’s right and what’s wrong, and will doggedly stick to their principles. The Rules of the Establishment may hold little value to the ESTP, but their own integrity mandates that they will not under any circumstances do something which they feel to be wrong. They typically make things up as they go along, rather than following a plan. They love to have fun, and are fun people to be around. They can sometimes be hurtful to others without being aware of it, as they generally do not know and may not care about the effect their words have on others. It’s not that they don’t care about people, it’s that their decision-making process does not involve taking people’s feelings into account. The ESTP often has trouble in school, especially higher education. The ESTP gets bored with classes in which they feel they gain no useful material which can be used to get things done. The ESTP may be brilliantly intelligent, but school will be a difficult chore for them. ESTPs have a natural abundance of energy and enthusiasm, they get very excited about things, and have the ability to motivate others to excitement and action. They are not usually so good at following through, and might leave those tasks to others.

Marlene is a whopping 5′1″. She’s always been petite and stopped growing around her fourth year. As her friends became long and lean, she remained…well, little. A source of teasing from others and a hidden insecurity, she let her personality speak louder than her size and embodies the idea of “tiny but mighty”. Still, it bothers her more than it should that she has to look up at most people if she wants to look them in the eyes.  

Despite her love for them, Marlene’s boggart is not her friends or family dying. Instead, it’s a reflection of herself, all appearance of happiness gone from her face and on her forearm sits the dark mark. It’s worse than death. Beyond anything else, Marlene is terrified of turning her back on her family. She’s always been loyal, it was a trait she carried with pride. The thought, or image rather, of her so blatantly betraying everyone she loved is her greatest fear. On top of the horror, it means she disappointed them, that she went against everything she’d spent years fighting to defend.

-A FEW POTENTIAL PLOT POINTS

Sugar We’re Going Down Swinging - Oh my gosh I’m in love. Before the Marlene skeleton was posted, I knew that if she wasn’t already in it I was going to request she be a member of Aversio. A group that wasn’t seeing progress quickly enough so they decided to go in harder than ever? Yes. Right up Marlene’s alley. I’m incredibly excited to see what her activities in the group cause in her character development, especially if they come in conflict with the Order. Considering the mess of Aversio attacking the Death Eaters attacking the Order all together, being on more than one side makes things complicated and interesting.

I Got Issues, But You’ve Got ‘Em Too. So Give Them All To Me - I’ve always headcanoned that Marlene is linked to some of the death eaters as she grew up a pureblood. While she certainly doesn’t believe that people are inherently good, she does think she can sway the side of the war they’re on. Playing out her relationships with characters that follow the Dark Lord is one of my favorite things to do because, really, Marlene just wants to stop the hate. She doesn’t necessarily want to kill everyone involved (although she will if she has to).

One Hit, Bad For Me, But I Give In So Easily - Addiction is rough. Marlene has always had an addictive personality, meaning she slips into very real, dangerous addiction easily. Especially given her trauma (as indicated below), I see Marlene slipping more quickly into legitimate substance abuse beyond just drinking or taking a handout at a party. Obviously, being as stubborn as she is, she’d try to hide it or insist she was in control. But no one is in control of addiction. It consumes the user and their loved ones without giving anything in return.

I’m At An All Time Low - As someone who suffers from PTSD myself, I’d love to explore that side of Marlene after her kidnapping experience. I imagine her doing her best to shove the trauma down and act as though it doesn’t exist. However, ignoring your emotions doesn’t stop random panic attacks from happening or eliminate night terrors. It’s also a misconception to say individuals suffering from PTSD become victims. Instead, some decide that they’re going to do everything in their power to tear down whatever it was that tried to hurt them.

Not Ready To Make Nice - In general, exploring how Marlene tries to find balance in her life during war is fun. She’s a fighter to the core, but also wants to be a positive light while dealing with an ever-darkening world. Exploring her struggle to maintain her drive for the cause while her friends and family are disappearing around her is always a good time (not for the character, but for me). She’s desperately trying to maintain her positive demeanor, despite her struggles.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

The following section should be looked at like a survey for your character. Answer them in character and feel free to use gifs. Or, if you’d rather, answer them in third person or OOC without gifs. Answers do not have to be extremely lengthy.

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

“A spell that lets you talk to creatures.” There was no hesitation when Marlene answered. “I’d use it to talk to animals, obviously. Don’t underestimate it’s significance,” Crossing her arms over her chest defensively, she pursed her lips. “Think about the uses! You could have a cat just hanging out picking up information for you if you give ‘em some milk after. Or being able to talk to dragons!” Leaning forward with wide eyes and a grin to match, she rambled on.

“Can you imagine being able to talk to dragons? They seem angry all the time, but maybe you could make friends with one and they’d let you ride ‘em. No one I’ve ever heard of had a dragon animagus.” Then, she sat back. “It’s not fair that only one in a trillion people are able to talk to snakes and animagi don’t count cause they just become one animal. With this, you could talk to any animal you wanted and they’d be able to talk back. Best spell ever, honestly. I’d name it…fuck. Um. Maybe animustalkus. Something like that. Or someone who’s better with Latin can name it for me.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“Can I pick alone? I’d love to go it alone. Tried during school but the groundskeepers were always one step ahead.” There was a ring of bitterness in her voice when Marlene spoke of the groundskeepers, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. “I can’t? Well that’s no fun. Not Marcus, he’d be too insistent on going back to the school with a stick up his ass the whole time. Maybe Caradoc or Dirk, they’re alright blokes. Or maybe,” Suddenly, her head snapped up.

“Dorcas. I’d bring Dorcas along. We’d kick so much ass in that forest together. As for an item,” She trailed off for a moment, her eyes going to the ceiling while twirling a curl around her finger. When she focused again, she was grinning. “A muggle record player, so we could listen to rock while we explored. Can you imagine it? Someone should make a movie or write a book about this.” Clearing her throat, she did her best radio voice, “Two women go into the forest alone at night. The forest…is forbidden. With them they only have a wand and a record player. It may get messy but one thing is certain: they’re going to have a blast.” She finished, before breaking into a fit of giggles at her own shit humor.

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“Uhmm,” Chewing on her bottom lip, the blonde’s brows furrowed and she stared down at her hands. “Well, everyone’s always saying I don’t think before I do stuff, so I don’t make that many decisions in the first place.” She said with a laugh, ruffling a hand through her hair. “But, I guess if you were to ask something like ‘if you had to save your mum or dad, who would you choose’, that’d be a tough decision. I don’t think I could make it.”

The crease between her brows disappeared as she straightened up and grinned. “So, that. Choices to do with family. Those are really hard to make. I don’t want to upset them, y’know? I mean, I do, but never on purpose…okay, rarely on purpose.” Her grin faded away, the line between her brows reappearing. It was an expression she was becoming more familiar with as of late: worry. “I wouldn’t want to make any decisions that’d hurt my family.”

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

Rolling her eyes, Marlene leaned back in her chair. “Nothing. Honestly, if you spend your life worrying about what people might say about you, you’re never going to have the chance to live.” She chided with a shake of her head. “I don’t care. Let them say what they’d like. If it’s the truth, that’s that. If not, who cares?”

Marlene would never want to be called a traitor, even in jest. It’s too real of a possibility and something she’s still insecure about. She’s loyal, that’s her Hufflepuff thing and she takes great pride in it. Since the war begun, she’s seen how easy it is for people to turn their backs on friends and family. Marlene never wants to be like those people and would loathe for someone to ever refer to her as such. Unless they’re calling her a blood traitor, that she’s entirely fine with.

WRITING SAMPLE

Note: This is actually a drabble from an ask meme “A situation where our characters kiss” from a past RP. I think it sums up a lot of Marlene and how I portray her and is one of my favorite pieces. If you’d prefer something tailored specifically to this RP, please let me know and I’d be more than happy to write something up.

Marlene absolutely positively with all of her heart and soul hated this. Her family had “broken away” from the other pureblood beliefs and yet there she sat, right in the middle of what must have been two dozen pure blood families. She wanted to scream, to rip her hair out and thrash the stupid mansion they had decided to hold the bloody cult gathering in. Most of the adults, and especially their children, glowered at where she was seated, half under the table with her arms tightly across her chest. And she scowled right back, meeting them eye for eye until they broke away to go spew shit at someone else who treated their words like gold.

She hadn’t realized she was literally snarling under her breath until the shuffling of clothing sounded from next to her when someone sat down. Like hell Marlene was going to spend the rest of her night breathing in the fumes from some rotten perfume or cologne. Her stance should have been enough message that she didn’t want company. Whipping her head around, more than ready to give them a piece of her mind, Marlene stopped herself before a sound could escape when she met Peter Pettigrew smiling meekly back at her. Letting out a sigh of pure relief, Marlene dropped back with a groan and rolled her head onto his shoulder.

“Oh thank the gods you’re here, do you want to bail with me? Please tell me you want to bail with me.” She breathed out quickly, looking up at him with her best impression of puppy dog eyes. When he nodded in response, Marlene was standing in a heartbeat, not giving Peter any chance speak before she was trying to pull him through the crowd of people. Freedom. She would finally be able to breathe air that wasn’t choked full of egocentricity and narcissism. As melodramatic as it would have sounded, the thought of getting away was pure paradise for Marlene and they were so close, so close to escaping when a thin figure stepped in their path.

Marlene could have sworn she felt Peter laughing at her choked back sob. She didn’t even remember who this woman was or why she was asking how their year was going and even more so, Marlene didn’t care. It was a miracle she hadn’t run off already. She was trying to be good. But from the corner of her eye, she caught her father’s gaze and the message in his expression was as clear as day. Behave. And who would Marlene McKinnon be if she did anything but the exact opposite. “Is anything new with you, dears?” Who did she think she was, their grandmother? Sure as hell looked like it. Smiling, Marlene shrugged her shoulders lightly and reached back to take Peter’s hand in hers, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

“Well, we’re expecting our first born next year, so we’re quite thrilled about that, aren’t we love?” Marlene could have sworn Peter gagged on his own spit as the woman before them very clearly did with her glass of wine. Batting her eyelashes up at him, Marlene waited for her friend, her one ally in the room, to either back out now or play along with the blonde’s games. Much to her enjoyment, he did the latter, though it was a barely-managed nod rather than full affirmation. But it was good enough. It seemed that Sirius and James really were wearing off on him. “But other than that, the doctor recommended I take it easy and you know my Petey, he’s just been like a mother hen. And here I thought I was the one giving birth.”

Every move Marlene made was exaggerated, making it clear that she was supposed to be telling a joke she thought was brilliant, and she died a little with joy when the woman tried playing along with a broken laugh of her own. “I’m sorry, but we were just headed outside due to a stomach ache. I guess those glasses of wine weren’t such a great idea after all! Now if you’d excuse us, I’d hate to ruin your shoes. But please, feel free to pass along the good news for us!” Marlene chimed, slipping around the woman, her hand tightly clasped with Peter’s while she basked in the look of horror on the stranger’s face.

Not bothering to look back, Marlene finally let out a laugh when they stepped out into a massive garden. Even walking side by side, Marlene didn’t bother releasing his hand, but began to swing it between them, giggling under her breath. “Your family is going to kill me.” Marlene rolled her eyes at that, but caught the edge of humor in the words and grinned up at Peter, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter though, they’ll forgive it. That’s what families do. Put up with the bratty kids and try to focus on the good ones.” She chimed, coming to a stop at a bench.

While Peter took a seat where any rationally minded person would, on the actual bench, Marlene plopped straight down onto his lap and threw her arms around his neck. Without warning, Marlene took his lips with her own, light and slow. Really, it was a habit most of her friends were probably used to. She liked kissing, liked being physically close to others. There was nothing sexual about it, not to her. It wasn’t about getting the other riled up or turned on, it was just comforting, one of the few ways the blonde found to relax. She needed the affirmation.

And bless his heart, Peter must have felt like indulging her erratic behavior that day. Marlene could have cheered when there was no refusal or rejection to be found in the other. For all she knew they could have been out there for minutes or hours, occasionally breaking into light conversation before their lips would find rhythm with one another again and Marlene let herself sink into the warmth of the hands on her waist and figure far broader than her own before her. Though it was rare, there were times like this when Marlene just let herself be. The hurricane of a girl found her clam in the touch of others.

But all good things must have come to an end for her sooner or later and she groaned when they were interrupted by an intentionally too-loud clearing of a throat from behind her. With a scowl on her face once more, Marlene leaned back from her spot in Peter’s lap and twisted her head until she could smile sarcastically at her brother. “Yes, hello, can I help you or are you just determined to ruin every shred of happiness I can grasp in this cold, cold world?” She drawled, blinking blankly at him. “We’re leaving.” He spoke back and Marlene was half tempted to just cling to Peter and declare that she was never going to leave. Instead, she stood with a dramatic flourish of her dress and stomped over to him before dropping like a dead weight.

Luckily, as much as she wished he didn’t, her brother had good reflexes and grabbed her before hauling her up over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Reaching out dramatically, she called back to Peter while her brother carried her off. “My love! I’ll care for our child until we meet again! Remember me, even in your darkest hours!” From behind some bushes, Marlene could hear Peter’s laugh ring out. It was fine, it was okay. Even stuck in the middle of a quickly brewing war, that made the night worth it.

[littleolfandomblog]

ao3 fic rec of the week: Week 8

Fic Name: All The Young Dudes

Fandom: Marauders/Harry Potter

Author: MsKingBean89

Word Count: ~527k

Chapters: 188

Summary: LONG fic charting the marauders' time at Hogwarts (and beyond) from Remus' PoV - diversion from canon in that Remus's father died and he was raised in a children's home, and is a bit rough around the edges. Otherwise canon-compliant. 1971 - 1995

Personal Thoughts: the classic, obviously most people already know this one, but its a great place to start if you're new to the fandom or curious. This is canon compliant, so you know how it ends, but I swear its worth it. tbh i havent read this one in forever, because i love Regulus too much. Remus is such a fascinating character and i love reading his story

[theodorebennas]

Memories- The Battle of the Pit

Mood music

The sound of crashing steel resounded through the evening air as Iron Horde axes collided with Stormwind steel shields. As the mighty orcish war cries and the shouts of the brave men and women of the Alliance rang out through the Pit, the thunderous boom of artillery shells flying through the air signaled the beginning of the Battle of the Pit.

The shell hit its mark near the front ranks of the Alliance troops yet their morale had not wavered. The discipline of the Stormwind footmen was legendary among the fighting forces of Azeorth and their display was living up to that reputation. The banners of Stormwind, Ironforge, and the other factions of the Alliance danced in the wind alongside that of the 9th “Oathsworn” Vanguard and most specifically that of the proud Gnomish Brigade.

Two rows of fighting men back, Private Shorena Salos was disconcerted, however. The saboteurs should have taken out the artillery beforehand. She pondered to herself. We were told that we would be clear to proceed without fear of enemy bombardment. She quickly shook the thought from her mind and pressed forward along with her brothers and sisters in arms. It made no difference, she reassured herself. Field Marshal Thundermar and her finest men and women had been dispatched to see the matter dealt with personally. It would only be a matter of time. Even the orcs were beginning to fall back. The Alliance’s forces began to push deeper and deeper into the Pit. The entirety of the Alliance force had entered the crater without significant resistance. For the moment, it seemed like the beginning of a quick and decisive Alliance victory that would decimate the Iron Horde’s war effort. But things were rarely that simple.

Unbeknownst to the Private, however, this was exactly the plan. As the last of Alliance forces had made their way into the Pit, whole squads of Iron Horde orcs descended from the crags above and slammed into the flanks and rear of the Vanguard and their allies. The echoing boom of Iron Horde cannon fire rang out once and then twice as the various cannons in the orcs’ possession fired in near unison. Their deadly payloads struck home in the massed infantry in the center of the crater.

Despite this overwhelming firepower and the surprise orc assault upon their rear and flanks, the Alliance’s fighting spirit remained firm for the moment. This moment was not to last however. As the bombardments continued with no signs of stopping, the flanks of the footmen began to falter and fail.

A crescendo of screams erupted as the orcs, led by the fierce Daminka, shattered the defenses of the right flank and a wave of the Iron Horde’s fiercest assailed the shaken survivors who now desperately sought a means of escape. Even as the valiant men and women of Azeroth beat back one wave of orcs, there was always another to take their place.

Though the flanks had endured great strain, the center of the formation was spared no such experience. The Alliance soldiers had now entered the range of the Iron Horde’s rifles. A hail of bullets peppered the Stormwind troopers. For many, their hardened, round breastplates and well-forged steel provided all the protection that was needed. But many others were not counted among the lucky. The marksmen of Ironforge and Gilneas responded with a volley of their own but to little avail. The orcs were far too numerous. The cannon barrages came repeatedly as if to further crush the morale of the wavering, haggard troopers. Then the center began to buckle and then it broke in the face of yet another rush of orcish valor.

It began first with the well-worn flanks and then spread even to the center ranks. The legendary discipline of Stormwind’s standing footmen had met their match. Screams and shrieks echoed through the battlefield as the sons and daughters of Stormwind, now numbering less than half the number of men and women they had entered the Pit with, turned tail and began to flee.

The soldiers of the Vanguard’s units however balked at the prospect of fleeing the field. They had known their role in battle and many of them feared not death but their Colonel Paaine. However, as their less zealous sister units took to flight, it became apparent that remaining would only lead to a needless waste of life.  

It was as the Alliance fled, however, that the true slaughter began.

A hunting horn echoed throughout the Pit as orcs mounted on slavering wolves gave chase to the fleeing troopers. Their superior speed closed the distance between themselves and their prey easily and they could lunge upon their quarry with impunity.

Shorena continued to sprint as she evaluated the situation. She could not simply allow her comrades to be butchered wholesale without reprisal. Nor could she allow the deaths of her brothers and sisters to go unpunished. Spying the Stormwind banner beside one of the fallen standard bearers, she knew what she must do.

“Who among you will fight for Lady Thundermar?” She cried out as she waved the banner in the wind, “Are there not brave men and women who will fight for King Varian? How many among you will fight for our fallen brothers and sisters? So that others may live?” Amid the sounds of clanging steel, cannon bombardment, and the screams of failing men, her voice carried.

The response was immediate, “I will fight for her.” came the voice of an aged gnomish sergeant-major.

“As will I!” A dwarven rifleman called out.

In moments, a chorus of voices, guided by the banner of Stormwind, bursts into battle cries as the rallied men and women of the Vanguard along with the scattered remnants of the other units took up arms once more. Their resolve was hardened steel. Their mission was to ensure that some of their brethren would survive to fight again. Flying next to the banner of Stormwind was the black and white of the Vanguard.

—————————-

Overlord Ojore Bladebreaker smirked as he observed the Private’s defiance, “Even faced with the maw of a hungry wolf, your soldiers will not run. You’ve trained them well, Integra,” He led her to the edge to look at the broken Alliance soldiers and their rallied counterparts before looking to the defeated Field Marshal he held by the neck. Integra Thundermar. The Lioness of Shadowmoon, the orcs had referred to her as. It was a title well earned. The Overlord thought to himself as his attention shifted to the carnage he and his personal retainers had caused.

The corpses of the Vanguard’s fiercest splayed across the ridge beside them. A fierce draenei markswoman, a valiant warrior and his brave markswoman of a daughter, a draenei vindicator, and the human major, that zealous paladin.

“We… are a Vanguard unit. We’re the first in, and the last out. I don’t tolerate insubordination, nor cowardice, nor-” she was interrupted by painfully coughing up blood. Gulping, the Field Marshal looked to the bottom of the Pit, “… They’ve died for nothing… save your concept of honor and valor…”

Ojore shook his head, rather displeased with her response. “They died for the ideals that they carried. The ideals of your people and the ideals of mine. Your men and women are dead. Their corpses will be burnt before nightfall. And that will be the end of your Vanguard. But I am unsure it should be the end of you. Should you live to face me another day, I am certain it would make for a better song.” He whispered gruffly into her ear, “Two generals with two banners, facing each other at the heart of world.” He paused, "But that is not to say I will make this easy on you, Thundermar.” He dug his knife into the defeated priestess’ stomach and raked it against her flesh, “Your eyes shine with a fire I have not seen before. Most of the Iron Horde will think you dead but I know you will survive this. Now prove me right and prove them wrong.” He hurled her to the ground beside him.

Integra struck the ground harshly, gagging and curdling up blood from the lung puncture from her previous conflict with the Overlord. As one of her hands grasped at the ground, she stared up at Ojore with defiant rage, even as her breath was beginning to become more shallow and more sporadic. This defiance was much to the Overlord’s amusement and pleasure as he called to his retainers in the native Warsong dialect. Without a complaint, the two orcs mounted their wolves and rode off to leave the main force as they finished off the last Alliance holdouts. As they left, the dying woman watched with labored breaths. Her thoughts drifted to her long-dead husband Engus and then rest.

But for the Field Marshal, it was not to be her end nor the end of those who had followed her up that ridge.

————–

Shorena pointed forward with her sword as she warned her fellows of another orcish charge. Their numbers were thinning while the orcish forces, who had suffered from the fighting, still seemed ready and able to launch offensive after offensive. She met this wave with vigor despite her great weariness. One hand kept the banner raised high while the other fought. A rush of adrenaline flooded her body as she drove her blade through the unprotected throat of a Blackrock before turning to confront yet another marauder along her lines.

In time, the assaults slowed and then stopped much to her relief. As her mind began to clear, she felt a sudden pain at her side. Her hand slid to investigate only to discover the wicked blow she had been struck. She looked to her left and right to see her hard fighting companions beside her. Greatly diminished in number but fearless nonetheless. She looked behind her and with a smile, realized that the ones she had sought to defend had at least made it out of the Pit. With a grimace, she looked forward.

As if in a pain-fueled daze, she could scarcely stop herself from thinking about her family back home. Her mother and father. Goldshire, the town she grew up in and loved. As the Iron Horde cannons fired upon her, she could scarcely think of anything she would like to do more than return home and sleep in her own bed.

((I've wanted to write out this post for a while but never got around to it! The section with Inte and Ojore actually comes from an RP I did with Inte))

[virovac]

ATOM Create A Kaiju Contest Entry 1: Artilleron

Aliases: Old fancy soldier (For the fact it has the coloration of an antique supergun)

Place of origin: Sanctuary Cavern

Notable Stomping Grounds: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland

Date of Discovery: October 13, 1956

Height: 150 ft

Length: 170 ft

Powers:

Artilleron has the standard kaiju power set, along with his unique defense mechanism

Super strength

An enhanced healing factor

Immunity to radiation

High speed gastrolith regurgitation

Biology: The Cretaceous South Pole was one of the few places in the Mesozoic where retrosaurs did not reign unchallenged. Bipedal and horned goliaths could not live year round and migrated out of the area in the dark season; with true Tyrants following the herds. Flying tyrants and tiny tyrants were almost completely displaced by their primitive birds competitors who could be active year-round. In the colder epochs in which amphibians dominated the waterways rather than less cold resistant reptiles, some birds even grew to larger sizes and competed for the niches of true tyrants and duck goliaths. Still, some retrosaurs managed to make their home year round during some epochs, filling themselves in the warmer times and entering a more lethargic state in the winter; though they had to be covered head to toe in armor so they were not eaten by endotherms while brumating. 

At least one yamaneon cavern preserved kaiju from polar Gondwanan ecosystems, in the part of Gondwana that would break off and become Austrailia. This mostly isolated cavern in the Australian state of Victoria would be among the several yamaneon caverns opened by yamaneon chain reactions instigated by the Maralinga nuclear testings in 1956, beginning the period of alternating military brilliance and setbacks coined early on by the press as the Kaiju War, named after the disastrous Emu War. One of the first to emerge from this remnant of the pole (christened Sanctuary Cavern) was Artilleron.

A strange goliath, it is possibly a transitional form between the long-necked goliaths and the horned goliaths; though it may also be descended from a branch off of the missing link between primitive herbivorous retrosaurs and the long necked goliaths, a possibility indicated by its front legs being adapted for digging. Its has a relatively short neck (for a long necked goliath, and is even more heavily armored than Bronton. Most of its body is covered in durable rectangular plates the color of color of darkened rusted bronze. However, its pillar-like yet oddly limber legs are steel-grey. Bizarrely, it has a dome upon its head like that of helmeted goliath; giving the impression of a soldier’s helmet. Black facial marking even give the impression of a chinstrap.

Artilleron’s relatively short, broad tail acts mainly as a counterweight for its unique ranged capability.Like many prehistoric goliaths, part of its digestive system uses gastroliths, stones swallowed to help grind against and break down plant matter. Uniquely though, this kaiju has shown the ability to weaponize the objects it has swallowed through regurgitation.

Its human-like forward facing eyes would give it precision fire if it's gastrointestinal ammunition did not often go wild. It has no control over what type of  projectile it fires; it could end up a smooth polished stone, a buckshot stream of wet gravel, or at least several other possibilities. While none of these give a finishing blow in battle, they can keep a foe off balance, allowing  to to charge forward at a battering ram or step on toes. Once its attacker is down it will start targeting limbs.While it does not intentionally kill, the sense of vengeance common to many prey animals, combined with the fact it cannot quickly flee, drive it to injure an enemy at its mercy until it is no longer in any state to follow it. For maximum power, it must hold its neck straight.To assist it in aiming, like several horned and armored goliaths in the fossil record it possesses the ability to switch freely between a sprawling  or erect postures. More surprisingly, it is capable of sitting on its rear end, allowing it to fire in an arc. 

While not as damaging as stranger kaiju range attacks, its gastroliths can used much more often than the fire breath or lasers of other kaiju. Some military types have been inspired by the beast and have proposed giant musket-like ammunition be deployed against kaiju.

While not a burrower, its front limbs are quite capable of digging holes and manipulating the ground. Its digging abilities are  one area where the kaiju shows itself to be quite clever, often purposely making the terrain difficult to navigate for jeeps and even tanks.

To the dismay of the Australian and U.K. governments, unlike Bronton, it does not spend most of its time sleeping. It is incredibly active, not even sleeping in a  conventional sense, but entering resting states more similar to that of delphinidae. Still, when not upturning the terrain to defend itself, its wandering nature make it less disruptive to the environment than many other herbivorous Australian kaiju (which have to be continually pestered so they don’t stay too long in one area and overgraze.)

Personality

If the Beyonder invasion had succeeded, it is likely this kaiju would have been quite a prize for how easily trained it is. While not a marauding warbeast; it is an easily commanded living artillery piece.Several more intelligent and aggressive kaiju have successfully trained it to fire upon command or stand in place until a signal is given; giving themselves an ally providing long range support Its reptilian patience, and the fact it does not sleep make it a reliable protector, standing guard without complaint or boredom. While not a malicious monster, it has no care for the damage it causes when performing its “party trick” at the command of a friend or tormentor. Among kaiju it is a follower, not a leader, leaving the thinking to others and willing to follow nearly any kaiju that is patient enough to learn how to communicate orders to in; and is willing to graze with any herbivorous kaiju that don’t bother it.

Oddly enough, Artilleron appears to have an intrinsic wariness of flightless birds, similar to the myth of elephants being afraid of mice. Unbeknownst to kaijuologist due to Mesozoic Australian paleontology still being in its infancy, this may be an instinctual holdover from to the fact that as Southernmost Gondwana cooled, primitive birds took over much of the niches occupied by tyrants in other parts of the world, though rarely growing to the size of the larger tyrants. Around kaiju sized flightless birds, it is downright wary, only relaxing if it sees them eat vegetation rather than meat. However, Artilleron will happily tolerate any non-avian carnivores that do not attack it.

Meta

It's a living cannon. I feel like it’s quite fitting as an Australian kaiju given the fact that its like something out of a Tokusatsu show, and there was an Australian produced Ultraman show.

The idea of the retrosaur inhabitants of the south pole poles being armored so they aren’t eaten in their sleep based of some nasty pictures I’ve seen in children's books concerning the extinction of the dinosaurs in the face of cooling climate. While in real life most giant monster movies in Austrailia have been giant animals (often invasive species hilariously enough), I figured there should be some prehistoric monsters in the mix.

I imagine many paleontologists are still convinced of the “backwardness” of retrosaurs, and see the polar ecosystem of the Cretaceous as foretelling the future dominance of mammals and birds with the ice age.

If anyone who wants to contribute the to idea of a “Kaiju War” in Austrailia with their own entries to do so, I myself sadly have no further ideas of my own for native australian kaiju at this point, but I do have an idea for one who sort of “vacations” there away from a polar island as a sort of “mercenary” to other kaiju. I had it begin 1956, since while there were previous atomic testings in Austrailian they  either were on islands or occurred before the Age of Monster began in Tyrantisterror’s timeline. While previous testings could have made kaiju, I like to think of 1956 as the year when the excrement hit the fan.But it should be remembered that the Emu War was a disaster not due to incompetence, but because of animal unpredictability and events conspiring against soldiers, and many animals can cause massive damage without even being intentionally hostile (see : the Kea birds of New Zealand).In fact look up the Emu War anyway, it's hilarious. Nearly all animal monster movies produced or taken place in Australia involve animals not native to the continent, a possible commentary on invasive species. To  play on that theme, I imagine that there are probably a few kaiju that are a threat to the Australian ecosystem. Australians are unlikely to see many kaiju as defenders of nature like they come to be viewed in other parts of the world, but instead monuments to the collective sins of humanity that they must fix, starting with the neutralization (death or relocation) of the more damaging kaiju

@tyrantisterror

[littleolfandomblog]

ao3 fic rec of the week: Week 2

Fic Name: just lovers (like we were supposed to be)

Fandom: Marauders/Harry Potter/Jegulus

Author: @mayzarbewithyou

Word Count: ~321k

Chapters: 24

Summary: The one in which James Potter wants to prove he'd be a good boyfriend to Lily Evans and comes up with the brilliant plan to fake date Regulus Black his way into falling in love. It doesn't quite go as anyone expects. Task failed...successfully?

Personal Thoughts: I've read this fic so many times at this point. It's a classic but you gotta start with the classics when it comes to fic recs. Not cannon compliant so all angst is fake dating adjacent. Literally so adorable, I have no complaints. Also no Lily bashing which is a plus.

[ao3feed-snape]

Say You Won't Let Go

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/3rb6uhS

by elder_millenial_trash

Marauders era fic starting with their summer after 5th year/the prank (with flashbacks to their earlier years at Hogwarts) spanning through OOTP. Cannon complaint. WIP

Words: 5572, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape

Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter

Additional Tags: Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3rb6uhS

[ao3feed-snape]

Boogaloo Dudes

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/3mhImrt

by Dooreann, Sockywocky13

James Potter is a naïve troublemaker. He becomes friends with three young boys at Hogwarts and gets into all sorts of trouble. This is written from James Potter's point of view and follows him as he navigates through his years at Hogwarts, learning about girls, friendship and war. He falls head first for Lily Evans and makes it his life's mission to impress her, often times leaving him embarrassed and his friends laughing. Disclaimer: I do not support JK Rowling. This starts at first year and is not complete. New chapter every day. Do not copy to Wattpad.

Words: 1272, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marauder Era - Fandom, Marauders Era - Fandom, Marauders - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, Severus Snape, Marlene McKinnon, Mary McDonald, Dorcas Meadowes, Minerva McGonagall, Fleamont Potter, Euphemia Potter, Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Walburga Black, Madame Pomfrey, Albus Dumbledore

Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, James Potter & Sirius Black, James Potter & Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, James Potter & Remus Lupin

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Romance, Best Friends, wolfstar, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Character Death, Crushes, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Death Eaters, Friendship, Family, School, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love, Unrequited Love, Requited Love, Enemies, Unhealthy Relationships, Animagus, Shapeshifting, teenage years, War, Cannon Complaint

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3mhImrt

[ao3feed-snape]

Saving the Knight

read it on AO3 at http://bit.ly/2V7vXak

by Ill_be_a_knight, Schildpadje1

Hufflepuff Erica and Slytherin Severus are teamed up in Potions, they find they get on rather well.

Sirius wants what Severus has.

Words: 5175, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Severicey

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/M

Characters: Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Original Female Character(s), Remus Lupin, Mulciber Jr. (Harry Potter)

Relationships: Severus Snape & Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Kissing, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Swearing, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, No Sex, Hufflepuff & Slytherin Inter-House Friendships, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, No Fluff, No Smut, Young Severus Snape, POV Severus Snape, POV Original Female Character, POV Original Character, Slytherin has an awesome bathroom, Dark Sirius Black, Non cannon complaint, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Snape mellows

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2V7vXak