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acrylicscore · 6 months

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So like, I felt like doing a little “My MCSM Choices and Headcanons” post, just as a like basis for my personal canon on MCSM while also additional letting people who read my blog know what to expect from me in terms of this silly block game.

I will place my choices in “read more” so those that don’t wanna don’t gotta.

Jesse Type:

Red-Suspender Jesse.

He’s just my favourite little guy. He just seems different. Like honestly, compared to Green-Suspender Jesse (who I’ve found people view as a gruff and bulky short-stack that has the most adorable puppy eyes, and I love it), I like to view Red-Suspender Jesse as this short skinny dainty looking thing that is somehow the scar-covered hero that saved the world. Anyone who is directly looking for him is like “Oh you’re the famous Jesse? I thought you’d be tougher looking”, and then they immediately meet their fate on the floor in the Family Guy dead pose. But of course, Green-Suspender Jesse is my second choice.

Jesse Personality:

Chaotic Neutral or True Neutral

Some days he’s a sweetheart, other days he’s a little shit. There is no telling what this man’s personality could be at any given moment. There is no pattern. But he’s naturally cheeky so who knows.

Also he’s one of those people that doesn’t process his emotions too well. So for my Jesse, he’s naturally sad at heart, which results in him finding it difficult to cope with extra sadness too well, but also having a constant longing feeling for happiness or moments of pure bliss. He finds that the best way to fill that void is helping people or being in the act of helping people. If left doing nothing for too long, he gets very unstable.

He also feeds off of other people’s happiness and joy, especially his friends. He’s his happiest around people he loves. If left totally alone, he can’t cope.

Prefered Armours:

Shield of Infinity

I adore Shield of Infinity! There’s just something about it that just makes my brain happy. It have this really regal/majestic vibe to it (which is also mentioned in game), and it looks to incorporate emeralds into its patterns. Not only that but spikes on the shoulders! Also its Lapis Blue in colour.

Tooth Chipper

I just really like how simple this one is. While the Underneath’s armours don’t get much love, I would just like to say I love this one. It doesn’t feel too cluttered compared to the other armours on offer.

Favourite New Order Member:

Olivia

I just can’t describe it, but I LOVE Olivia. She’s just that vibey bestie that’s not afriad to tell you you’re an idiot in the most serious or sarcastic tone ever. She’s also like that friend that is more like a sister and will annoy the hell out of you if given the chance.

I will say though, Jesse is normally my favourite NOOTS member, but he can be shoved to the side for favouritism punishment.

Favourite Old Order Member:

Ellegaard

Omg the redstoners are my favourites, what a surprise! But seriously though, for me Ellie is just really neat. She has that “I don’t like people” charm to her. Like, she’s very awkward in conversation and seems like she doesn’t realise what she’s saying until long after she’s spoken. She’s quirky, like me-

Ivor was also shunted to the side because of favouritism punishment. He can be a family in the corner with Jesse.

Favourite Side Character:

Gill

Why do I like Gill? Fuck you, that’s why. He’s just so goofy and huggable and “I don’t know wtf i’m doing” coded. He lives in my head rent free. He just wants to vibe but Aiden wouldn’t let him.

Also I project a lot of personality and ideas onto Gill, and I specialise in pairing him with Jesse in the most dumbass situations where Jesse progressively loses more braincells the more time he spends with Gill. I just love them <3

Favourite Villain:

Cassie Rose

I prefer Cassie overall. She’s mysterious, and she’s lashing out because of cruelty done to her in her shrouded past. You don’t know why she’s angry or why she resorted to murder, but you know enough to understand why she wouldn’t simply reach out for help. Also she’s a cat person, and I simply cat pass up a cat-person coded character.

Favourite S2 Character:

Jack

Personally I don’t like the Season 2 characters, with the majority of them just completely escaping from my memory until someone mentions their name. However, I do have my preferences in Jack, Nurm and Radar; the Beacon Town bois.

Jack was the one I got attached to the most, with Nurm followed very close behind. He radiates “cool uncle” energy that makes me smile every time, especially when he’s showing off or bragging. Even if people find his bragging habit annoying, I personally love it because it’s just a simple touch of world building and fun interaction. He’s just fun.

Leave or Stay:

Stayed in Beacon Town

This choice is basically “Be Gay or Do Crime” and I chose to be gay, just not gay for Lukas.

On a reasonable note, I honestly think the reason Jesse would have stayed in Beacon Town would be from a guilty conscience. He feels he’s to blame for the destruction and disruption of both Beacon Town and Champion City, and that everything that happened is all his fault because he was the one that first lured the Admin in, even if accidentally. He wants to fix his mistakes, not abandon them.

We are now entering more-so Headcanon territory

Ships:

Jesse x Gill

It’s a stupid ship, but its my stupid ship. I will love them till the end of time.

Lukas x Olivia

They have such nice chemistry, and also they’re both nerds that just click for me.

Ivor x Harper

We all know why.

Jack x Nurm

They are husbands, your honour.

Jesse x Cassie

This isn’t a very prominent ship of mine, and often takes a more friendship-like approach anyway. This is honestly just here because of AU reasons, as for some reason if I have an AU where Jesse and Gill don’t interact (either at all or really late) then Cassie is automatically Jesse’s best friend. This is the case for Lapis Swap and Ender Child.

Despite this, this ship is either “They’re best friends” or “They are specifically romantically insterested”, which is why I’m listing it as a ship. There is only one of my AUs that’s somewhere in the middle, but other than that it’s between those two options. Although I will say, there are only a total of four AUs of mine that have Jesse and Cassie interact like this.

Other than that, I still think its funny if regular canon Jesse had an “Oh she’s cute” moment when first meeting Cassie. Basically Cassie was Jesse’s “Omg I’m not just gay” awakening but he won’t dare to admit it.

Jesse x Lukas

I don’t generally ship this one, but it’s the ship that I love reading about and viewing art for. I just love the fanfictions and art pieces I find, with pretty much everything being some of the best works I’ve encountered for any fandom. Its the ship that I just follow the fandom for, but I still have a great appreciation for.

Canon Event:

I’ve never watched Spiderverse so I’m just guessing if I’m using the term right.

In my canon of MCSM, the canon event is Jesse’s childhood home being destroyed when he was a child. Yes yes, I’m going for the “Jesse is an orphan” trope, but its fine. This event is what pushes forward a lot of my canon and also AU stories, and is altered accordingly when needed.

So info about this day; Jesse’s home is attacked by griefers when he was age 6, resulting in him fleeing from home (and dad’s death). However on this particular day there were multiple presences in the area; Sammy, Jack & Vos, who were coming to visit the family as Sammy was Jesse’s biological aunt; Ellegaard, who was heading back to Redstonia with a crew of miners who had come back from a mining expedition; and Ivor, who was travelling to collect materials to take back to his lab. Out of everyone to encounter, Jesse encounters Ivor, who then fended off any pursuing griefers to protect the child. He then takes him to the nearest town to ensure Jesse was a bit safer.

This event can be altered in many ways to suit my AU differences, like encountering Sammy’s group, or encountering Ellegaard, or simply Ivor taking care of Jesse himself. I have even changed the time that the event takes place, or removed it all together. Honestly, if I make an AU revolving around Jesse, this is the spot that I look at beforehand.

AUs (listed):

Lapis Swap AU

Ender Child AU (Son of Soren AU)

Engineer Jesse AU (Son of Ellegaard AU)

Alchemist Jesse AU (Son of Ivor AU)

Jack’s Nephew AU

Secret Elytrians AU

Origins AU

Early Daughter AU

“It Never Happened” AU

Permanent Champion AU

Admin Order AU

If there are any AUs that may intrigue you, feel free to ask. I’m always happy to chat about them and answer questions.

Little Side Idea I Wanna Share:

I’m giving Jesse a parrot.

Yes, I know Lluna exists, but she’s still technically Stella’s pet. And also yes, Jesse may not be able to fully get over Reuben, but sometimes getting another pet is the best way to move on.

Also the main reason I’m giving Jesse a parrot is due to my post-canon events. Long story short, the Order is severely injured but Jesse has it worse and is permanently out of commission. The rest of the Order healed to a reasonable health before Jesse could, so they could head back to their respective towns. Although, a couple of days before they do, Jack and Jesse find a young parrot fresh out of the nest without any feathers except one single lapis-blue tail feather. Jack recommends (forces) Jesse to take care of the bird while he was recovering, as Jack could definitely see that Jesse’s mental state wasn’t too good, but also the parrot’s lack of feathers was due to parrot depression too. While reluctant at first, after the first night he started connecting with the parrot almost immediately as the two found their similarities really quick, and helped each other into healing (physically & mentally).

Basically my whole purpose for the parrot is for the analogy and comparision for healing. Jesse is devasted that he can’t do what he loves anymore because of his injuries, so there would be every chance that he would spiral downwards, so give him the one thing he needs to prevent that from happening; company. The others, despite their efforts, are always going to have to leave, so Jesse needs someone who won’t leave. Not only that, but Jesse is someone who just feels the need to help people, to help others. So in my theory, you give him someone who won’t need his side but also someone who needs his help too. So I gave him a parrot friend.

Also the parrot’s name is Lazuli, because she has lapis blue feathers. She was named that because of the singular tail feather she had initially though before she healed.

She also acts as a messager around Beacon Town, because why the hell not.

Hope this opens up a but about my personal canon of Minecraft Story Mode. I’m quite happy with what information I’ve given about my brain, but if you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask.

Have a good day!

#score speaks #mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm au #mcsm ships #mcsm ship #mcsm headcanons #mcsm choices

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memeboi2005 · 1 year

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guess i gotta babble on about something or other, huh?

...Got it.

I’m going to be giving my opinion of every major character in MCSM, for no reason other than I feel like it.

Strap in, because this is gonna be a long one.

I really like how you have the option to make Jesse into the biggest jerkwad in the universe, and the game doesn’t really punish you at all, haha. I also like the fact that F!Jesse is more confident than M!Jesse. There’s an actual difference in the way Patton Oswalt and Catherine Taber deliver their lines, and I appreciate that. They also do a really good job when Romeo impersonates them, being capable of sayings things in a way he would, while also using their Jesse voices. Other than that, I really have no strong opinions on Jesse. They’re a perfectly servicable protagonist, but there are more interesting characters in the bunch.

Axel and Olivia really got done dirty, tbh. They’re built up as Jesse’s best friends during the Wither Storm storyline. They both have some pretty good character moments, and have actual arcs. Admitedly, they aren’t the best arcs in that particular storyline. Axel’s would’ve been better if he was written with a bit more care to make him less objectively wrong in certain situations (dude literally tried to back Lukas up into the lava lol), and Olivia doesn’t get as much focus unless you go to Redstonia (which is much less cool than Boom Town, imho) but I still liked the attempt. It was nice to see Axel become more selfless, and Olivia more confident. However, after Episode 4, they sort of fade into the background and don’t become nearly as important to the plot, which is a darn shame. I think they should’ve been involved a lot more with the Old Builder storyline. Imagine if Olivia actually got to meet PAMA, or if Axel got to interact with the gladiators at The Games. That would’ve been really fun, but sadly, it was not meant to be. That being said, I do understand their absense during most of Season 2, which ties into the themes of needing to let go of your friends and reconginzing that they have lives too. That, and at least one of them gets to work with the “hero” they idolized, so that’s cool. Overall, these characters had potential, but got shafted later on, which is upsetting, but oh well.

Petra is a bit of a mixed bag for me, personally. Her character arc in Season Two is fine in a vaccum, but when you apply it to her, it doesn’t feel quite right. Season One’s Petra was signifcantly more stoic, so it’s jarring to go from that, to someone who is very open about her need for companionship. I think it would’ve been better from a storytelling perspective, to have Petra not bring up friendship as often, and try to internalize her frustrations, leading to the scene in Episode 4 where she finally lets it all out. It would’ve been a lot more compelling and more consistent with the first season’s charaterization.

Lukas is an absolute sweetheart. In addition, he has the best arc during the Wither Storm storyline. Him coming to terms with his inital cowardice with a little help from a friend is really heartwarming, and paying it all back by bringing his OLD friends along to stop the Wither Storm is really great. He also has some really great character moments in both the Old Builder storyline and Season Two. I like him becoming an author, and his mentorship of Radar, and the return of The Ocelots. It’s really the small things with this character that make him shine, especially since he didn’t get to do much during Season Two due to the fact that Scott Porter was becoming a father during development, which itself is also pretty sweet.

Gabriel is a pretty funny character. He’s also voiced by Dave Fennoy, so, that’s a plus. I like his armor, and the amnesia plotline he gets if you don’t save him in Episode One leads to some pretty amusing moments as well. I like the dialogue he has in Episode Two, and he has his moments during Episode Three (if you save him, that is). Unfortunately, if you do save him, you have to endure a shit joke, and I don’t really like shit jokes most of the time. Sorry Gabe, but you’re outta here.

Magnus could’ve been good, if he was written as some who hates intelligence instead of someone who doesn’t have any. His optional dialgue in Episode Four is... fine, I guess, and I like the idea of him being the one to team up with Axel to distract the Witherstorm. Also, regarding ships, I understand why he’s shipped with Ellegaard, and I guess if every character needed to be shipped with someone, Magnugaard would be fine. I’m not sure why that’d need to happen, but y’know... whatever...

Elegaard is better than Magnus, but she’s not really special, and as a result is far less memorable. Her armor is the go-to choice for me in Episode Three, bc it looks sturdier, and I like the idea of Jesse using the Redstone Riot, so that they can honor her, not damage her armor and have cooler armor all at the same time. I also like the fact that Redstonia has a ball in her honor instead of anything Restone-related, and if she and Xara were to actually interact, it’d probably be really compelling. I can see why they’re shipped even though they’ve never met in canon.

I really like Soren. Not as much for anything he does while he’s on screen (though, he is a rather fun character while he gets to be there), but for all of the stuff that came after. In every subseqent episode, and the fourth one of Season Two, you find books written by Soren in areas that don’t make any sense for him to have traveled to at any point. In addition, Radar repeadetly mentions a group called The Followers of Soren during Season Two, which leads me to believe that they were actually slowly building up to his grand return in a potential Season Three before Telltale kicked the bucket, and didn’t get the rights back when it turned out that their death was greatly exagerated. I love thinking about what a Season Three would look like, and how Soren could be involved. I personally picture him as a Dr. Sheridan-esque suprise villian, who had been secretly manipulating everyone all along. Soren could be really fun as a villian, and it would tie in to all the mysterious mentions of him throughout the series. I’ll probably talk more about Soren as he was at some other point, but the main reason why I like Soren is because of his mysterious nature, and his actual characterization doesn’t interest me as much.

Ivor. Holy crap. IVOR! I love this man, you don’t understand. I’m gonna get my problems with him outta the way so I can start gushing about him for the marioplexed time of my life. It’s a bit jarring for him to go from an unrepentant asshole, to the comic relief character immediately. That’s it. That’s the only problem I have. As a villian, he’s intimidating, Paul Rueben’s vocal performance is excellent, and his inital redemption in Episode Four is good, even if the rest isn’t. As a part of the New Order, he’s consistently funny, Paul Rueben’s vocal performance is still excellent, and most impoirtantly of all: HE BECOMES A NINJA... also he gets a cool scientist gf, so that’s pretty neat, but most importantly HE’S A NINJA. A ninja who throws smoke bombs, wields a sword backwards, and is inexplicably aware of plot details that he shouldn’t be aware of, and when he’s called out on that, he simply exclaims “I’M A NINJA!” and it makes perfect sense. All of this is in addition to the fact that he’s a master alchemist, capbable of brewing and using potions to his and others’ advantage. Ivor is the chaddiest of the chad. He is whatever he needs to be, at any moment in time, and he is not only my favorite character in Minecraft Story Mode, but one of my favorite characters in fiction itself. You may think i’m joking, and you’d be wrong. I could honestly talk about him even more than I already have, but I’d be here for even longer, so maybe later.

Hoo boy. Aiden. I have a lot to say about this character, and a lot of them will be hot takes, so pepare yourself. I think that Aiden is easily the dumbest character in Minecraft Story Mode. He goes from a typical school bully, to an elventh hour cavalry member, to an actual psychopath, and then to a a completely subserviant prisoner who aspires to redeem himself and become a writer. None of this is portrayed naturally either, and the fact that he’s one of the most popular characters for shipping in the fandom (from my personal experience, at leastt) is honestly kinda insane to me. I’m not one to judge ships, especially considering one of my “OTPS” is between a disemobdied voice and a broken down fortune teller animatronic in a world inhabited by people with inanimate objects for heads, but I still find it kinda bonkers that people would think that this man would make for a good romantic partner, given how mentallty unstable he has proven to be. That being said, Mathew Mercer’s performance as him is absolutely legendary, and if he DID return for Season Three, I would’ve been very happy.

Cassie Rose AKA The White Pumpkin really deserved more screen-time. It’s a shame most of her episode was focused on the mystery and the cameos instead of the murderer herself. Roger Jackson and Ashley Burch do an amazing job as the woman with and without the mask, and her background as an Old Builder is something I wish was expanded upon. That note at the end of the Beacontown ending was clearly setting her up to be a major player during Season Three, and it’s a shame we’ll never get to see that.

Harper is pretty cool. Yvette Nicole Brown does a pretty darn good job voicing her, and the mere idea of Ivor having a love interest is so funny to me. I wish we could’ve gotten to see her offscreen adventures with Ivor because they probably also would’ve been funny. I guess that’s the main takeaway. She’s a fun character that I wish could’ve done more fun stuff.

PAMA is also pretty cool. It has things to set itself apart from the rest, and character interactions it forces upon the heroes are really great. Honestly, Episode Seven is my personal favorite from the Old Builder storyline, and I’m fairly certain the same is true for many other people.

Hadrian is by far the least interesting villian of Minecraft Story Mode. He isn’t as threatening or creative, and is honestly dissapointing for someone who was offhandedly hyped up throughout the Old Builder Storyline. I do like how he’s the weakest out of the villians, yet is still powerful enough to pose a threat through his manipulation and innate Old Builder abilities. That’s an aspect of his character that I wish was explored more. As he is, he’s okay, but he could’ve been better.

Jack is a cool dude. He can get a bit annoying at times, but I really do like his relationship with Nurm, and some of the stuff he goes through is somewhat compelling.

Radar. He had a lot of potential, as all characters in this series do, but his voice gets so annoying sometimes, and the writing only encouirges it. I like how he is a character that Jesse and Lukas get to mentor, and his journey from a heroic wannabe to his own hero is one that could have been AMAZING if only he could be a little less grating, and could get a little more focus. I honestly sorta hated him until Kwite’s playthrough gave me more perspective on the character. Stella is an interesting one. What they did with her, they did very well. But, I wish they took the character in a different direction. She has a character arc, and it’s decent enough. I just wish that maybe the writers sort of took that arc a little bit more seriously? It just doesn’t really feel genuine, it feels like Stella was forced into becoming a better person instead of actually becoming one until the very end, when you’re just about to say goodbye, and even then it just feels.. weird? Like it feels like the issues that were present with her character were kinda generalized. It’s not a complex situation, it’s “I was bad, now I’m good.” There’s no nuance. What’s funny is that If your choices make Stella an enemy, then the confrontation with her in Episode Five feels more natrual and makes more sense. If you’re nice to her, she, um, is unfunny and that’s about it. She’s unfunny and annoying througout, mind you, but I really think that this character is a victim of a lot of things. Minecraft Story Mode is a game that was aimed at younger folk, I think, and we already had a fairly complex villiaan with an arc that mirrors the main characters, who blows up eentiire cities with a single “boop”, and is genuinely repentant of his actions if he is saved, so I guess Stella had to be a bit more more comedic and less complex character to compensate. It’s dissapointing, but for the sake of what they’re trying to do, I get it.

Romeo is easily the best villian in the series, mostly because of the amount of focus the character gets in Season Two. JB Blanc does an amazing job voicing an immature individual given far too much power. He can go from genuinely menacing to laughably pathetic in a moments notice, and even when the voice filter is gone, he’s still able to potray just how guilty Romeo is over his choices in a way that feels (mostly) natural. This might be a bit of a hot take, but I think Xara is genuinely the best character in Minecraft Story Mode. She’s not my personal favorite, but she is the most competently written one, and April Stewart manages to potray her very well. The strained “Thank you” after she’s given her bed: a symbol of the hope left in the world fills me with joy. Ironically enough, I also really like the fact that she can die depending your choices. That scene where Romeo strangles her to death is honestly a lot more terrifying than the one where he boops Champion CIty into oblivion. Alright, I think that’s enough for now. Actually, it’s more than enough, but I’d rather talk more another time. See ya heckers later.

#mcsm #ramblings

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minecraftstorymode-rewritten · 2 years

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Jesse

The first character I will be discussing is the main character; Jesse. I will be going off of the wiki for information on the character in the source material, which I will be using as my base to build off of.

As stated in the mcsm wiki, Jesse's concrete personality traits are: general kindness (in most situations), loyalty to friends, and can be very emotional and tense at times. These traits will stay constant.

Now onto the actual rewrite. Jesse can be kind and is loyal to friends, but can be very emotional and tense when put under enough pressure/stress (the amount of stress required can vary depending on environmental factors). They are a very quiet person, often preferring to keep to themselves unless they are either with friends or have to. They really just want to be there for and help their friends, though has a streak of being more apathetic towards strangers or enemies.

Jesse started out in the world the same as everyone else; new to the world, they searched for a place to call home for a short time. When they found it, it was a small tree house they made for themself inside a forest a short ways away from a growing settlement called Beacon. Here they stayed as a simple but concrete part of the community of Beacon for many years, never making any concrete friendships or relationships. That is, until, they met Axel and Olivia: two new players just trying to find where they belong in the world. After their first meeting, the three soon became friends due to Axel and Olivia's friendly and persistent attitude towards Jesse. They decided to try and help the two newbies find their way through the world, helping them find what they enjoy the most and trying their best to help them achieve their goals.

Jesse's job pregame was a simple one: they were a lumberjack, helping to supply the nearby town with wood for building and crafting. They would often have a stall in the market place where they would sell their wares to the townsfolk. However, after the Witherstorm arc, they became a sort of leader and hero to the people of Beacontown. Jesse fully becomes the city mayor/leader after the portal hallway Arc, attending to all important business for Beacontown and its residents.

(I will add on some art for Jesse's design later, when I finish it.)

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm jesse #mcsm:rewritten #mcsm:rewritten:characters

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shyfogsstuff · 4 years

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#artists on tumblr #mcsm #art #traditional sketch #i i can't believe this is my first post #minecraft story mode #fanart #mcsm axel #mcsm olivia #i know it's not the best but i hope it came out well #best friend #they're so cute #brotp for life #i love this brotp

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acraftedmistake · 3 years

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A Person Who Has Never Played MCSM Writes A Story About MCSM Chp. 17

“I cannot BELIEVE you!”

“Stella, I’m really sorry that all this happened. I didn’t think--” Aiden couldn’t even finish his excuse as Stella raised her voice again.

“Didn’t think WHAT?! That our former friend--that messed up freak who used to live with us--wouldn’t try to get in and get answers?!”

“Why did Jesse even think Stella had the hat in the first place?” Maya asked, closing the front door.

She and Aiden just came back from chasing Jesse. Well, trying to chase. By the time they reached the streets, Jesse was long gone.

Jess and Olivia were in the kitchen. Only place with no windows to see them.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Stella sneered, “What do you think, Aiden?”

Everyone in the living room immediately turned to him. The color drained from his face.

“Look.” Aiden threw his hands up, “It was rather I lie or I give away Jess and Olivia are here. I did not want to take any chances.”

“But why’d ya have to use Stella?! She could’ve gotten killed!” Gill exclaimed, joining Stella’s side.

“You could’ve lied about anything--you didn’t even need to answer him!” Jess exclaimed. Everyone else looked back at Olivia and Jess, who had to sit in the kitchen now. There weren’t any windows there. It was the safest option.

“And THESE two!” Stella pointed to them, “Just where did you take them!? Why did you leave the house!? Now, thanks to you, we’re going to need check all the locks and barricade--”

“Don’t blame Aiden for that!” Olivia shouted, she shrunk when people looked back at her again. “It was my fault. I’m the one who wanted to go out. I’m sorry.”

“Aiden didn’t have to take you though, and if he really wanted to, he could’ve told one of us.” Maya folded her arms.

Aiden grit his teeth, “Oh, so suddenly I’m the bad guy for wanting to do something NICE!”

That led to an eruption of arguments. Gill, Aiden, and Maya were all yelling over each other. Stella, whose frustration had boiled over, began to cry angry tears which only fanned the flames. All Jess and Olivia could do was sit and watch from the bar table, listening and watching Aiden get torn apart.

Through all the yelling, Stella cut in, “You know, I’m not even mad you used me for that terrible lie, I’m MAD that you didn’t tell me! Gill and I could’ve been prepared, we could’ve come up with a plan to capture him, or--or slow him down, ANYTHING!”

“You were gonna get mad no matter what I did!” Aiden shot back.

“Aiden, c’mon, ya threw her under the minecart--!” Gill tried to reach out but winced when pain shot through his injured arm.

Aiden snapped, “I’m trying to make everything work out for everyone so things don’t get worse--”

“Aiden, I could’ve DIED!” Stella shouted.

“That doesn’t MATTER anymore! You’re alive. FINE. What matters is getting these two home and bringing Jesse back! That’s ALL.”

Everyone stopped.

Aiden’s face dropped as Stella stared back at him, hand on her chest, breathing heavily as more tears spilled from her eyes.

“Stella…” Aiden mumbled, stepping closer, “Stella, I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

Stella turned away, hiding her tearful face with her hair. Gill gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“We’re all stressed over Jesse breaking in, but there was no reason to say that, Aiden.” Maya growled, joining Stella’s side. “Sure, she’s alive, but this whole thing could’ve been avoided.”

Aiden could only stare at his friends before bringing his head down, not saying another word.

Stella brushed her hair aside, trying to steady her breaths, but she suddenly gasped.

“Oh Hero.” Stella’s eyes widened. She held onto Gill’s shoulder, keeping him still to get a better look at his injury, “You’ve been stabbed!”

Gill jumped and quickly put his hand over the injured shoulder, as if trying to hide it. The arrow was still sticking out, his sleeve torn and stained blood.

“It’s just one arrow! I can take it out m’self! Really! I jus’ didn’t wanna stress ya out some more.”

“Absolutely not!” Stella grabbed his hand and started marching towards the stairs, “You’re our friend. If you really think our argument is more important than your wellbeing, you’re wrong.”

As the two went up the steps, Stella looked back down.

“Maya, could you lend a hand?”

Aiden could feel Maya’s glare.

“Yeah. You got it.” She followed her friends up.

Aiden could only stand and listen as his friends grew further and further away, their voices reduced to muffles.

It was silent for a few moments. Jess and Olivia had no idea what to say, they didn’t know if there was anything they could do. Aiden hadn’t even moved from his spot yet.

Jess bit the bottom of his lip. He sat up, ready to call Aiden’s name--when Aiden finally took a step forward.

“Great.” Aiden muttered, “Juuuust great.” Aiden dragged his feet to the wooden column and punched it as hard as he could, shaking the room. He leaned against the column, “You two are stuck here, Jesse broke in, and now everyone hates me.” He sighed, “Wonder what else I’m gonna screw up.”

“Aiden, they don’t hate you.” Olivia said, “They’re your friend, but can you really blame them for being upset?”

“I know, I just--I didn’t want to put you two in danger.” Aiden hadn’t even glanced at the two yet. His eyes were still on the ground.

“Right, I get that, and as much as we appreciate it, you put your own friends in danger.” Jess got out of his seat and approached Aiden.

“Stella and Gill got seriously hurt. You need to apologize.” Jess’ brow furrowed.

Aiden hesitantly folded his arms and faced a nearby window.

“You’re right.” He mumbled. “I’m gonna do it tomorrow. I wanna give them space.” He was pretty sure the last thing his friends needed was to see his sorry face after today’s events.

“You should apologize now.” Jess put his hands on his hips.

Aiden’s nose scrunched.

“It’ll feel forced.” Aiden answered, “I’d rather take a while to give them something genuine than forced.”

Jess and Olivia exchanged concerned looks with each other. A late apology is better than no apology, right?

“How bout this.” Jess joined Olivia, “You turn in for the day, think about how you’re gonna make it up to your friends, while Olivia and I go barricade the windows.”

“That’s a great idea!” Olivia perked up.

Aiden faced them, “You sure?”

“I mean, we’re gonna be up all day, might as well do something. You okay with us moving furniture around?” asked Jess. He was already scanning around the house, making mental notes of where the windows were and what objects were nearby.

“It’d be nice to help around, and, uh…” Olivia played with a lock of her hair, “I feel terrible that we’ve been dead weight for you guys.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t say. You guys have been great.” Aiden took off his jacket, “We don’t mind the noise. Just don’t get yourselves killed.”

“Ah, we’ll be okay.” Jess waved.

“You promise us you’re going to apologize to your friends soon?” Olivia asked, now pulling on her hair.

Aiden looked into Olivia’s eyes and tugged at his collar, “Yeah. First thing tomorrow. I promise.”

“Alright, sleep well.” Jess said, watching Aiden go upstairs.

Aiden nodded, “Have a good day.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of course.

Of course out of all the days Jesse decides to leave the shrine, it’s the day he’s supposed to help Cecil with today’s work. Why, it’s not like he infuriated Brenner by leaving earlier this week, or getting Mahlon to nearly tear his hair out during the last Gathering because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Cecil’s still certain Mahlon’s planning on ripping Jesse apart after what he’s pulled. He’s never let it slide before, it won’t slide now. What a wonderful member Jesse is. Truly.

Now Cecil has to clean around the nave, prepare the materials for the next Gathering, help write the next script, and check on the progress with the other members all by himself.

Cecil grumbled about Jesse as he spread his red blanket over his bed and started tucking the corners into the mattress. He grabbed his pillows, nails digging into it, tempted to rip it in half, but he took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his light blond hair, and placed the pillow where it belonged.

No, he will not let that… That animal destroy his composure. He is a Sense, a leader, a shining beacon of leadership, balance, and loyalty. He is far better than Jesse will ever be. Jesse can only dream to be as dedicated as he is.

Jesse’s room is horrendous, Jesse never cares for himself, Jesse will leave the shrine without permission. Negligence and disloyalty. Characteristics the Awakening rightfully shuns.

Cecil? He’s wonderful. An inspiration for all members, one could say. His room is in top shape, his appearance is glorious, and he only leaves the shrine when instructed to.

Speaking of appearance…

Cecil did a quick rundown of his attire. His black shoes were polished, his wine pants and dusty yellow shirt wrinkle-free, his red cloak was smoothed out as well, and the golden button of his yellow collar was centered. Cecil had a lock of hair in his face he tried to push aside, but it fell back. Regardless of the lock, everything was perfect--

Cecil suddenly stopped and hurriedly searched inside his pants pockets. Relief came over him when he felt the torn piece of cloth inside. Good. Good. Wouldn’t want to lose that.

Cecil went over to his dark oak dresser and grabbed the notes on top. It was a small list of reminders for himself. Most of the tasks were related to the upcoming Gathering, which Cecil wouldn’t need to help with until another hour, so that gives him time to clean around the room. Dust his desk, fold his clothes, organize his sewing supplies, arrange everything neatly, small things to make it nicer.

As Cecil skimmed the list, he remembered the absolute headache he’d be getting once Jesse returns. That man will do nothing but talk back and make his work harder until the Visions put him in place.

Cecil was all too familiar with Jesse rushing out of the shrine to cause problems, but usually Jesse tries to be on his best behavior after Brenner punishes him. He’ll try to do extra work, or at the very least apologize to make the Visions content.

But to Cecil’s dismay, Jesse left. Again. Cecil wondered what motivated Jesse to leave without warning. It was certainly a bold move. Absolutely irrational, but bold.

Cecil can’t stand that man. There isn’t a single redeeming thing about him. He knows the Visions need Jesse, that they need inside information about the enemies, but he can’t wait until his use has finally worn out. Oh, how he’d love to--

“Cecil!” Brenner called. Cecil jumped.

“Yes sir?”

Brenner opened his door and walked in, a look of displeasure on his face.

“Have you seen Jesse?” Brenner asked, his deep voice carried an all too familiar tone to it. A tone that’d turn bitter if Cecil were to give the wrong answer.

“No sir! I believe he went to the nearby town.” Cecil stiffened when Brenner’s frown turned to a scowl. That wasn’t what Brenner wanted to hear, but it was all Cecil could give.

“You mean to tell me, despite given direct orders, he has gone against my word? And you did nothing to stop him?” Brenner spoke through gritted teeth.

Panic started to rise in Cecil.

“No, I--I wasn’t aware he left until--”

Brenner raised his hand, “I do not want to hear your excuses. You are meant to watch over the members in this shrine, yet you’ve failed to keep track of just one.”

“I apologize, sir.” Cecil bowed, “I am ashamed of myself. I will strive to do better next time.”

Cecil could feel Brenner’s glare pierce through him. He tried to steady his breaths. This wasn’t the first time he’s lost sight of Jesse, and given how unpredictable he can be, it won’t be the last. He can’t control when Jesse leaves, he should’ve kept a better eye on him, but he can only do so much--but he needs to do better! He didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did, and he’s at fault.

Cecil awaited for the criticism he deserved, but when he brought his head up, Brenner was already leaving his room. Cecil scrambled and followed behind.

Brenner didn’t say a word as they walked down the cold hall, the redstone torches providing specks of warmth and filling the silence with their crackling. Cecil was still waiting. Waiting for Brenner to voice his disappointment, his frustration, but he didn’t. Which made his heart beat even faster. Cecil thought of all the ways he could make it up to Brenner. He could get him some books from the library room, or polish his weapons, or he could care for Mahlon’s garden! He never minds doing extra work for the Visions! Both they and The Awakening are worth every second.

Cecil was about to ask Brenner if he needed any help, but Brenner spoke.

“Have you heard from the people who volunteered to reactivate the portals?”

“I have heard that Axel has been at the library researching different flint and steels for the portals.” Cecil replied.

Brenner didn’t react.

“One member did manage to reach the portal near the ancient mineshaft’s entrance.”

“And has there been any activity?” Brenner asked.

“None yet, sir.”

The corner of Brenner’s mouth twitched, “So there has been no progress.”

“I’m afraid not.”

The two entered the nave. The redstone torches along the walls and by the stage were unlit. Cecil could see a few belongings scattered under the benches that members had forgotten, and below the podium was the basket of money they had gathered. Cecil will need to take care of these chores soon.

Cecil glanced at Brenner, who seemed far from satisfied with the reports. He didn’t want to bring only bad news to Brenner.

“I’ve yet to hear from the member who went to the Shrine of Eyes, so there’s a chance the portal there could’ve been activated!”

“Or it is simply another failure.” Brenner didn’t even entertain the thought.

Brenner placed his hand on a nearby wall and dragged it along. He stopped once he felt the railings of the stage’s stairs, held onto it, then made his way onto the stage, “We’ll need to branch out further, it seems. As much as I hate the idea of putting our members through such long travels, we won’t get anywhere feeling sorry about ourselves.”

Cecil did recall the many shrines he had seen years ago before he became a Sense. It was when he and an old friend had to chase their enemies through numerous sights to try and stop them from ruining the Awakening’s magnificent magma beast. Forests, caves, towns, abandoned villages… Most of the shrines they found were underground, few were on the surface, and there were probably hundreds more buried beneath rubble. It took Cecil and his friend days--weeks, even--to travel across the land. If they send their members out there, they’d need to be well prepared and go with a partner.

Cecil fixed his cloak, “Where should we start--”

The doors suddenly slammed open. They hit the walls and echoed throughout the nave.

And there stood Jesse.

He leaned against a column with a large smile on his face and laughter coming out with each breath. He was panting, his sleeve was soaked with blood, but despite all that, he was smiling.

“Jesse…?” Cecil whispered. Brenner brought his head up.

“Now just where have you been?!” Cecil stomped over to him, “Did you really think you could leave without permission from the Visions and be--”

“The portal…” Jesse said through heavy breaths. Cecil stopped. Brenner drew near.

“It works.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse laid in his bed. Cecil sat beside him, holding his arm and plucking the glass out of his skin with a tweezer. His arm was starting to feel numb from Cecil holding it up for so long.

“How did this even happen?” Jesse heard Cecil complain as he carefully took out a piece of glass.

“Broke a window.”

Cecil grumbled as he placed the piece on a small, blood stained towel where the rest of the pieces sat, “If I recall, the Visions wanted you to make less of a scene, not more.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. Cecil wiped off the tweezers with a cleaner towel and brought it to Jesse’s arm again.

“Why they even give you so many chances is beyond me.” Cecil muttered, grabbing a rather large piece of glass.

“Hey, usually I come back with information or something good the Visions can use. It’s not like I mess up all the time. Could you imagine if I kept coming back empty handed? Or constantly beaten up? The Visions would never want someone as incompetent as that--OW!” Jesse yelped when Cecil tore the large chunk out of his arm. A horrible glare paired with a frustrated smile on his face.

“You’re just lucky you came in with good news, or Brenner would’ve thrown you back into that dark room where you belong.” Cecil hissed. He wiped the tweezers and placed them on Jesse’s nightstand before carefully wrapping the glass shards with the towel.

Cecil then grabbed the bandages from the stand and began unraveling it.

“Jeez, I thought you’d be a little happy I found out one of those portals worked.” Jesse turned his head away. He really wanted to move around and get into a more comfortable position, but he didn’t want to put up with Cecil’s whining while his arm was still in his hand.

“I am happy, but I’m certain I would be much happier if I was celebrating and helping the Visions with the next steps instead of wrapping up your injuries like a child!”

Jesse groaned and stared at the wall while Cecil worked on his arm. He can’t wait for blondie to leave so he can actually feel happy about his friend and the portal. Cecil just has to tear away any ounce of joy, doesn’t he?

“I spoke to Radar last time I went out.” Jesse said, looking at the symbols carved into the wall.

He waited for a reply. Nothing.

“He still doesn’t miss you.”

Cecil’s nails dug into his skin.

Jesse was hoping for more of a reaction, but it was better than nothing.

Finally, after several minutes of agonizing silence, Cecil finished.

“There. See how much faster things go when you don’t make a fuss?” Cecil said as he picked up the equipment from the nightstand. Jesse only huffed in response.

Cecil got off the bed, “Now that you’ve discovered the working portal, I’m hoping you’ll actually stay in the shrine and help.”

Jesse kept his mouth shut. He really didn’t want to listen to Cecil’s whiny voice for another minute. Jesse knew he helped plenty in and out of the shrine, the Visions had told him so before. He didn’t need Cecil’s approval to confirm that.

Jesse smiled when Cecil stepped out of his room.

“Bye Cecil! Don’t let Mahlon hit you on the way out!” He gave a little wave. Cecil shot him a vile glare before slamming the door.

Jesse chuckled and slowly laid back down, being careful not to hurt his arm.

He’d usually be much angrier at Cecil’s attitude, and he’d be much more bothered with his injured arm--especially since it’s his good arm--but he wasn’t. He couldn’t be. How could he feel so bad at a time like this? Cecil’s bickering, the pain, the fight back in Obsidian Town, all of it washed away as he thought about Olivia. That’s all that mattered to him, really. Seeing that glimpse of her filled him with joy, it brought color back to this world, it was everything he needed to see.

He shifted around on the old mattress, hugging himself as he thought of ways he’d reunite with Olivia. He needs to think of ways to help her out of Aiden’s house. They’re filling her mind with awful lies, no doubt. They’ll try to make her hate him as well.

Jesse stared at the stone ceiling, the red light from the torches flickering off the walls, and thought of how to rescue Olivia.

‘Write your thoughts down.’ A voice in Jesse’s head said. That’d be a great way to help him brainstorm, plus he didn’t have a chance to write yesterday.

Jesse rolled over to the edge of his bed and stuck his hand into the side, where he made a large hole months ago. He dug around the cushions, eyes lighting up when he felt the cover of his journal.

He pulled it out and flipped to the newest page. He turned to his nightstand to grab his pen, but it wasn’t there. It was there earlier, did Cecil steal it? It doesn’t matter, he had plenty of other pens on his desk.

Jesse got up and walked across his bedroom, stepping over torn notes, book pages, used bandages, dirty clothes, and his iron sword--which he was careful not to step on the blade.

This is the cleanest his room’s been in quite some time, honestly. Usually he was too busy helping the Visions or too exhausted to ever clean it. He never found the time--nor motivation--to ever pick it up. The most he ever did to ‘organize’ was put his clothes in a wooden basket, since he didn’t have a dresser. He didn’t really mind the basket, he never had a big wardrobe in the first place. The rest of his items were usually shoved under the bed, thrown on the floor, or piled onto his desk and chair.

Maybe he could clean around here after he wrote. He could stack his stuff against the walls to hide the marks and scratches, he could put the books on the small shelves of his desk, throw away the trash, place his valued possessions somewhere safer… He has plenty of time to clean since Brenner allowed him to take the rest of the day off. He actually wants to put in the effort for once. He remembers how much Olivia never liked a mess, despite her room always being ‘organized chaos’ as she called it.

Maybe if he cleans it well enough, there’ll be enough space for Olivia to share! It’ll be just like old times. The Visions should be okay with it.

Jesse got to his desk and started moving whatever items he had off the wooden top. It was quite a sturdy desk, considering it was holding up so many of his belongings; books, old ink bottles, shards of broken weapons. The desk was made of spruce with a drawer below the top. Behind the desk and pushed against the wall was a bookcase the same color. The shelves were disorganized, just like everything else in his room.

Anytime Jesse found a feathered pen, he’d quickly scribble on a piece of paper, then grumble when he got nothing before tossing it aside and looking for another pen.

‘There’s probably some more hiding under the books.’

Jesse started grabbing whatever books he could and placed them on the ground, making sure to be quiet. The Visions hated it when he got noisy.

Jesse would skim the titles of the books he moved. Most of them were gifted to him by the Visions, the others he’d stolen from the library. The books centered around the Hero, The Impossible Man, a few were about old crafts and creations like portals and mining mechanisms, and one book about redstone. He only ever used redstone to make torches, he didn’t know how to make any of those fancy contraptions, nor was he allowed to use much dust, but it was the only thing he had that reminded him of Olivia. Lukas’ missing poster was tucked between the pages.

He was sure to be gentle with that book.

Jesse went to grab another, but stopped when he saw the book of Awakening Weapons that Brenner had given him. This was one of his favorite books. The art on each page, the history behind each piece, and what each weapon symbolized always drew him back. He’s read this hundreds of times, and he’ll read it a hundred more.

Jesse started flipping through the pages, halting whenever he found a weapon he recognized. Most of the weapons he had seen before were found throughout his and his former-friends’ adventures. Cassie and Petra had found a couple in the Nether, and Hadrian and Mevia mounted the weapons they had on their walls or threw them into their umbrella rack.

Jesse has seen spears, hammers, tridents, even a fan, and those were only a small handful out of who knows how many undiscovered weapons.

Jesse soon found the page that had Brenner’s weapon. A sword. A brilliant sword.

He’s seen Brenner use it in the training room before. It was about the size of Jesse’s leg. It’s broad, silver blade still had an extraordinarily sharp tip. Despite its length and how heavy it seemed, Brenner swung it around with ease.

In the book, the author had mentioned that the grip and guard of the sword was a dark teal color. While Brenner’s certainly had the teal, it also had blotches of dusty red. Rust, most likely.

Jesse never had the chance to study the sword up close, Brenner wouldn’t allow it, but he knew there had to be Awakening symbols etched into it, along with speckles of the magnificent, red dust. The other weapons Jesse’s seen before had such details, Brenner’s sword wouldn’t be an exception.

The training room held a few more Awakening weapons; an axe, daggers, a shield, and another spectacular, diamond sword Jesse had his eye on. There were probably more weapons stored in the chests.

Brenner was the only one who used these weapons. Mahlon didn’t have the strength anymore. Mahlon has told him how he used to be ‘Quite the fighter’ back when he was Jesse’s age, but nowadays it seems he uses most of his energy for shouting. Cecil wasn’t allowed to use any of the weapons, Brenner forbade it, so Cecil used his own daggers. Jesse’s seen Cecil use heavier weapons in the past, so forbidding him from using them is for the best. Brenner had once mentioned that Antonin used to train with him, and their matches would last quite a while. Antonin often used the sword Jesse liked, the shield, and the daggers.

Jesse uses what’s given to him. The iron swords, bows and arrows, and sometimes one of Cecil’s daggers if he’s able to steal it for the day.

Jesse once questioned if he’d ever be able to use any Awakening weapons one day.

“These weapons have been passed down through generations of Visions and Senses. They are made for the strongest and most dedicated of members.” Brenner’s words echoed in his head.

“Are they only for the leaders?”

Jesse still remembered the way Brenner swung his sword. The determined, concentrated look in his eyes.

“There are exceptions. They may be gifted to members who have proven their loyalty towards the Awakening. Those who have risked their lives for others, who have been beside the Visions for years… They must be worthy of such weapons.”

Suddenly a long, high, quivering creek brought Jesse back to reality. That sounded like Mahlon’s door.

Jesse stood in his room and stared at the book in his hands.

He wasn’t getting any writing done.

He still needs to find a way to save Olivia.

He should get to it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brenner stepped into Mahlon’s room, “Sir?”

“Now, now, you know you don’t need to call me that.” Mahlon replied from his desk. Brenner could hear the scratching of pen against paper, and the sound of redstone torches snapping. “Is all well? I heard you speaking with Jesse.”

“Yes. He had gone to town for a few moments.”

“And I’m hoping he hasn’t caused another scene?” Mahlon carefully closed his bottle of ink and placed it on the top left shelf of his desk, where he kept the rest of his writing supplies. His right shelves had the more sentimental items; photos, small jewelry, his favorite books.

Brenner came closer, the smell of old books and wet soil of Mahlon’s plants became stronger.

“No, however…”

Mahlon’s grip on his pen tightened as he prepared for the worse.

“... He has discovered a successful portal in one of the abandoned shrines.”

Mahlon froze.

His pen fell to the floor.

“How…” Mahlon whispered, his heart pounding in his chest, “How is he so sure?”

“He’s stated to have found his once-dead friend in the nearby town. She appeared mere days after the Shrine of Eyes had been activated, I find it hard to believe this is a coincidence. I also doubt Jesse would lie about such a thing. We should start focusing on--!” Brenner was suddenly pulled closer by Mahlon.

Mahlon’s joyful laughter filled the room as he spun and danced around, hands locked with Brenner’s.

“Oh this is wonderful! This is fantastic!” Mahlon cheered. It’s been ages since he’s been so happy, so joyous, so full of energy! This is what they’ve been needing for so long. It’s what they’ve been looking for for so long! Hope. Even the tiniest speck of it was enough to light up the entire shrine.

Brenner moved along with Mahlon, his ‘dancing’ more like rigid steps as he focused on making sure Mahlon didn’t stumble over the rug or collide with any of the furniture.

Mahlon thanked the Hero as they danced. He thanked the Hero for blessing them, for giving those who have passed a second chance, for making such miracles possible.

“It is wonderful news, isn’t it?” Brenner said, no trace of enthusiasm in his voice.

Mahlon slowed, “Aren’t you happy? Excited?”

“I am.” Brenner let go of Mahlon’s hands, “But I will save my energy for later.”

Brenner stepped away and placed his hands behind his back, “Please don’t let me stop you from celebrating. I’ve a lot on my mind on what our next steps should be.”

“Oh dear, you’re right. We have to figure out the portal’s materials, how to prepare the vault below, and--and we need to tell the members of this news as well!” Mahlon couldn’t stay still. He rushed back to his desk and grabbed a clean sheet of paper; he needs to write this down!

“Exactly.” Brenner lifted his head, “We have much to prepare for.”

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm aiden #mcsm jesse #mcsm stella #mcsm maya #mcsm gill #mcsm olivia #mcsm oc #mcsm cecil #mcsm brenner #mcsm mahlon #fic #hope u enjoy!!!!!!#had fun writin this sucker hehe

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firepokerart · 3 years

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my favourite mcsm characters but make them

Part of my AU

I just wanted an excuse to draw them really,,

Like the others I’ll write a bit about them.

Since i’m salty about Jesse forgiving Romeo but not Cassie in this AU Jesse helps her to become a better person by letting her join the adventure

Jesse learned how to sew a while after Romeo was defeated. He sewed little pigs and Reuben's name into many shirts/pants to honour him.

(I kinda made this up just now so it's not on the Radar drawing post) Radar makes little things out of clay so him and Jesse made little Reuben faces out of clay, Jesse then made them into charms by following a youtube tutorial (one on his jeans)

Jesse became a much more confident person after the events of Romeo.

Jesse forgave Romeo, and he's a massive fan of Romeo's band, taking the position as his number one fan.

Jesse stays in contact with Axel and Olivia over phone calls, the three often play video games together. Petra sometimes joins if she's not busy adventuring or visiting Beacon Town for the weekend.

Cassie never actually left her mansion, she didn't feel it was right, even after staring at the portal. Her actions weighed too heavily on her and she decided to stay put.

She also destroyed anything relating to the white pumpkin, not wishing to remember it.

Her hobby of painting picked up a ton, her basement filling with small paintings of her cats or scenery.

Cassie debated starting a painting business but decided against it due to everyone in town knowing what she did.

She tries her best throughout the story to make it up to Jesse, Lukas, Petra, and Ivor. Her and Jesse become quite good friends afterwards.

I'll make a seperate post if I end up adding anything to this?

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm au #mcsm male jesse #mcsm jesse #mcsm cassie rose #mcsm cassie #cassie rose

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romeothebigredtwink · 4 years

Text

MCSM Twins AU

b Instead of just male Jesse or female Jesse there's both. They’re twins. They both do the exact same stuff as each other and it’s really hard for them to make separate decisions at the beginning of the games, but eventually they both learn to make their own decisions independently.

Some headcannons for y’all:

Female Jesse:

Incredibly confident, headstrong, rash, and very protective.

She HATES when people are rude to her, and she has been known to throw cusses at people that upset her. (Her brother helps her calm down though)

She disliked Lukas at the beginning, but she gave him a chance. Now he’s the coolest dude ever, according to her.

She’s very protective of Radar. She sees him in the same light as Ruben, and constantly fears for his life. Scared of losing him and being helpless to stop his fate, as she was when she watched Ruben die.

Thinks of Ivor as her dad. She and her brother were starved of a father figure, and she was absolutely overjoyed to be reunited with him as a ninja.

Quite attached to her brother. She mostly found it hard to make her own decisions without his reasonable inserts.

Loves to fight more than to craft.

She’s a lesbian, and very much in love with Petra.

“Romeo is a bitchass motherfucker”

She decided to leave Beacontown to run away with her girlfriend. She still misses her friends and family though.

Her best friend is Axel.

Would basically give her life for Petra.

Male Jesse:

Kind, gentle, chill, a little absent-minded at times

Very calm in stressful situations, and usually ends up having to calm his sister down a lot

He was kinda intimidated by Petra at the start.

He’s the matchmaker of the group. He loves to ship his friends with each other, and others often come to him for relationship advice, especially when it comes to his adoptive dad, Ivor.

He looks up to Harper, and he loves to call her ‘Mum’ (much to the embarrassment of Ivor)

He loves his sister and would go to the ends of the earth to protect her.

He misses Ruben dearly. He was the one who would always insist that he follows them everywhere. And every day, no matter where they are, he takes the time to honor his fallen companion.

Quite a skilled crafter, and he dislikes fighting.

“Jack why are you holding him like that” “He’s my son too, Ivor”

He’s very much Gay, and he coddles his boyfriend, Lukas, with all the love in the world.

“Romeo’s kinda hot ngl”

He was the one to convince his sister to rescue Romeo.

He found it hard to seperate from his sister for a while, but he knew that it was better for both of them.

He lives with Lukas in a house in Beacontown now.

His best friend is Olivia

Extras:

Both of them heavily disliked Aiden for his actions, but when they finally had him cornered, M! Jesse convinced his sister to let him live.

Jack loves them both equally as his “children,” and Ivor gets grumpy when he does this

F! Jesse proudly confessed her feelings for Petra, whilst M! Jesse was a bit shyer.

They both wear necklaces that have each other's faces on it.

F! Jesse is a Dog person, M! Jesse is a Cat person.

Both emphasized and felt terrible for Xara.

Petra refers to them as the “chaotic dumbass twins”

The trip to find Mangus and Elleguard was the first time the twins separated. They were both absolutely terrified that the other was in danger, and they basically wept like toddlers when they were reunited (much to the amusement and concern of everyone else)

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mythical-song-wolf · 4 years

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MCSM: My Warrior’s Tale 1

Note: Basically this is my personal canon of Minecraft: Story Mode with my own variation of Jesse which is just my main OC edited into the context of MCSM because I’m uncreative

I made all the parts for episode 1 at night when I was Tired and Fixating Part 2

Nothing built can last forever, Jesse knows this intimately. And every legend, no matter how great, fades with time, whittled down by years and years till nothing is left but half-truths and myths. In essence, lies. And yet, in all known universes between here to the Far Lands, the legend of the Order of the Stone persists on unchanged.

The Order of the Stone themselves are quite young, barely in their forties by now. But the legends of amazing heroes, all types of builders and people, coming together to slay a mighty beast known as the Ender Dragon has always had its hold on the worlds.

The Order of the Stone was the name of a far off legend and fairy tale, now it's the name of a group of heroes who turned fiction into reality.

Only truly troubled lands have a need for heroes, and it seems that this one was of them. Lucky are they to have four heroes to have made their lies and myths into truths.

Gabriel the Warrior, Ellegaard the Redstone Engineer, Magnus the Rogue, and Soren the Architect.

They defeated the dragon and finally gave everyone a solid name and face to the legends of old, cementing their names in history.

“Would you rather fight a hundred chicken-sized zombies or ten zombie-sized chickens?” Olivia curiously asks.

“Hm, I guess the zombie-sized chickens? Because seeing one that big would be pretty interesting. Fighting wise? I’d say fifty-fifty on that. The chickens won’t try to hurt me but the zombies would, but a startled chicken is a pecky chicken. Really depends on the mood, really,” Jesse replies as she flips to the next page of her book, while Olivia sets up a nightlight for Reuben, “He’s coming with us.”

“Really?”

She puts down her book to look at Olivia, “Of course he is, why wouldn’t he?”

“Okay, okay, I’m not saying that he shouldn’t come but don’t you think it’s a little weird that you take him with you everywhere you go?”

“Reuben’s my best friend along with you and Axel. I’m not leaving him behind.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it—”

“I know, I know, you don’t want to give everyone another reason to call us losers. But when we win this year’s building competition, they’ll have less reason to do that!”

“Okay, that’s fair.”

Axel pops out from the ladder and startles the three of them, earning a reflexive punch from Jesse.

“Ow,” Axel groans, taking off the mask and rubbing his nose.

“Not funny Axel!” Olivia chides, while Reuben tries to tackle him.

“I could tell,” He grumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose, “That was some punch Jesse, where’d you learn to hit so hard?”

Lie.

“Thanks, I’ve been working on my combat skill lately,” She brushes off with a smile, “Did you bring the fireworks?”

“Of course I did, I also brought something for the little guy.” He brings out an Ender Dragon costume and puts in on Reuben, who happily parades around the room in it.

A few moments later Olivia and Axel head down while Jesse grabs a few more things. Shears, Flint & Steel, and double checks the durability on her stone sword.

Really should upgrade this to an iron one, I have a feeling I’ll need it for some reason... Huh... Warrior’s intuition?... I’ll bring some iron just in case.

~~~~~

They decide on building an Enderman along with their firework show.

(“Get it? Enderman at Endercon with an Ender Dragon pig.”

“I regret suggesting an Enderman.”

“A Creeper would’ve been cooler.”)

Their team name is the Order of the Pigs, and they get onto prepping... Until Axel and Olivia get side-tracked by what the Ocelots are doing.

“C’mon guys don’t get distracted by what the other teams are doing and focus on our own build.”

“They have a freakin’ beacon!” Axel repeats, more exasperated than the last time.

“They’re not just making a beacon. They’re making a rainbow beacon!” Olivia adds, panic lacing her tone at its edge.

“Relax, we’ve got this,” Jesse tries to assure.

“Who are we kidding?” Olivia retorts anxiously, “We’ve got nothing.”

“We have a plan, each other, annnd a cute mascot. Now let’s stop ogling the competition and get to work!” She announces with a clap as she turns to her friends.

Gill laughs at them as him and Maya approach Aiden, “Look, it’s the Order of the Losers. Again.”

“Don’t mind us,” Jesse tries but her voice is drowned out by Olivia’s.

“We were just looking.”

Aiden, that snarky bastard, replies with an arrogant surety of the Ocelots’ victory that she brushes off, but then he has the gall to call Reuben food.

“Shut up asshole.”

“What was that?” Aiden says, cold and serious in an attempt to be threatening. If he was a bit more unhinged it would maybe scare her, but that he is not.

“She—”

“I said, ‘shut up asshole’ or is your hearing as defective as your brain?”

“Why you—”

“Stop wasting time you three,” Lukas orders, “We’ve got work to do.”

“Hey guys,” Petra greets the two groups, “How’s the build going?”

“Only time will tell, but we’re optimistic,” Axel replies, with Olivia and Jesse nodding along.

Lukas smiles and approaches Petra (and in turn the Order of the Pigs), “Hey Petra, I forgot to thank you for that Nether Star.”

“Hey, no problem Lukas.”

Jesse and her team, with a lot of prodding from their leader, continue getting ready as Lukas and Petra banter for a bit before she leaves.

“Hey,” Lukas calls out, causing them to turn to him, “No hard feelings guys. If you’re cool with Petra, you’re cool with us.”

Jesse smiles, “Of course, let’s focus on making this about how awesome our builds will be, yeah?”

“Yeah, and may the best team win.”

Lukas and his team turn and walk away before Jesse replies with, “Be careful what you wish for.” The Ocelots pause for a moment, before Lukas smirks and chuckles but continues on.

~~~~~

They spend the whole afternoon making the Enderman alongside the rest of the builders with their own structures. Aiden tries to get a rise out of them again but Jesse pays him no mind so the others don’t either.

When they finish their build and the fireworks go off, all eyes are on them in awe. For once, everyone’s looking at her and her friends like they’re actually capable of something.

Aiden, in his fit of petty jealousy, breaks a block that was blocking off some lava which sets Reuben’s costume on fire and risking their build.

A switch flicks and Jesse’s off the Enderman and running after him while shouting some orders to her team.

“You two block off the lava while I get Reuben!”

“You got it Jesse! We’ll meet up with you at Endercon!”

If Aiden is suddenly knocked down and has a broken nose after she passes by, she won’t say it wasn’t her.

#mcsm #fanfic #fanfiction #minecraft story mode #my flavour of jesse #canon divergence where it matters #and canon compliant where it also matters #my canon

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grovyrosegirl · 4 years

Note

Jesse from MCSM!

Send me a character name and I’ll tell you my OTP for them, Brotp, Notp, and my favorite/least favorite thing about them

My OTP for them: *glances at all my Lukesse/Jesskas nonsense sitting in the back of my blog* Uhhhh…

Jokes aside, I still love Jesse with Lukas! There’s such a nice dynamic between the two of them. The fact that they’re so supportive and caring with each other (I mean, unless you go down the “Jerk Jesse” route, then things get a bit messy) just warms up my little heart.

My Brotp for them: Axel and Olivia! (I guess this is a Brot3? But whatever, I’m doing it anyway). I always loved their interactions in season one. You can tell they’re a close knit trio of friends and I love them. Also they have the best jokes during season one.

My Notp for them: I’ve stated this many, many, many, many times before. I don’t have a problem with people shipping Jesse with Romeo. It’s just not my cup of tea. Honestly, I’m typically not a fan of most Hero x Former Villain ships. I’m all for redemption arcs, of course, but I think former villains need to earn that trust before they can really engage in healthy relationships. Romeo is a mess of issues and terrible choices. He’s got a long way to go before he can be in a healthy relationship, especially with Jesse, someone who’s he hurt and tormented multiple times. I mean the guy crushed Reuben’s memorial and pretended to be a dead guy. He’s kind of terrible, to put it lightly. Still though, as long as it’s written well enough, enjoy your ship.

My Favorite Thing About Them: Jesse is one determined person. No matter what, they always fight for what they think is right. Frankly, I think the world could use more Jesse’s.

My Least Favorite Thing About Them: Eehhh…honestly, it’s kind of hard for me to pick anything. Jesse as a character is a blank slate, their personality is determined by the player and by headcanons. So because there’s just so many different Jesse’s out there, I can’t really pinpoint anything I strongly dislike about them.

#rose talks #ask memes #mcsm #mcsm jesse #Minecraft Story Mode

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howlingcliffs · 4 years

Note

Axel mcsm 😳😳😳

HEHE MY BOYF RIEND

favorite thing about them:

HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE GAME, BY FAR. hes such a dick early on but as the series progresses he kinda mellows out and becomes this chill funny dude and i love him so much

least favorite thing about them:

mostly how he's aggressive with lukas in the beginning :-(

favorite line:

WHEN HE GOES "Isn't it weird how dispensers are carved to look like spooky little faces? What do you dispense, little guy?" BECAUSE MY GAYDAR FUCKING SKYROCKETS ITS SO CUTE AND HES SO CUTE AND I LOVE HIM

brotp:

him, jesse, and olivia!! theyre all best friends in the game and i cant see them any other way

otp:

nothing in canon but........if we're going with fan characters here.........crexel canon king 😳😳

notp:

him and olivia bc i see them as best friends and mlm/wlw soldarity

random headcanon:

he has adhd and isnt too good at dealing with negative emotions!! which is why in misfit mania (mcsm "fanfic" that @/dibonz and i made together) late s1/s2 he bottles up his feelings abt creek dying and eventually he has a really bad meltdown in front of magnus bc of it :-(

unpopular opinion:

i feel like a lot of people just dont like him?? or don't really delve into why he's so aggressive or anything and ive always taken a shine to "aggressive" characters (him and aiden, crowfeather from wc, etc) because i can connect with that and i like to think of why they act that way. for axel he mentions in the beginning of the game that olivia and jesse are his only friends and he's pretty aggressive with lukas (mostly due to their clashing personalities, axels a greifer and lukas is a builder) but like. he was probably worried that lukas would try something because their friend groups didn't really get along at the start of the game (axel saying "Oh, look, it's Lukas and The Ocelots." in such a grumpy tone sets the stage for that). but like? i feel like i don't see a lot of people liking him too much kgsgsfkdvk

song i associate with them:

"Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons or "Little Fang" by Avey Tare!

favorite picture of them:

this one bc he just looks so lost. he just doesn't know whats going on help him

#mcsm tag #axel mcsm #axel tag

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lukasmcsbr · 5 years

Text

MCSM Season 3 Chapter 8:The Quiet One

Please Share,@final-gift,@grayscaleocelot ,@silversilence14 , @atarimarque and @mulberrycheeseburger

With Jesse and Aiden separated from their friends,they decide to keep searching for the temple where the Ender Pearl of Hatred is stored without the rest of the New Order of The Stone,so they walk through the vast jungle,cutting down the vines in their way using their swords,while talking:

Aiden:Do you really think it's possible?To bring someone back?

Jesse:I've seen a lot of things in my life,at first i didn't,but now...i'm not so sure...but if they really bring Romeo back...the thing that scares me the most is_

Aiden:He won't be the man you'd recognize?

Jesse:(nods)I had Beacontown's greatest villain as Romeo,we had an...unusual relationship,but as much as we fought,i still miss him,he sacrificed himself for us,and all he wanted was have some friends

Aiden:He wans't the greatest villain

Jesse:No?Oh,you probably think it was Cassie,or the Wither Storm,oh,don't tell me,Ivor!

Aiden:No!Uh,it's the one you never knew it was there in the first place,the one who gets away!

Jesse:The Quiet One...

As they keep walking,a strange giant creature emerges from the lake besides them,and runs after them

Unknow Creature:[roars in rage]

Jesse and Aiden:AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Jesse:Run!

The creature almost catches them,Jesse tries to attack it with his iron sword,but the sword easily breaks at the creature's claws

Jesse:There goes a very good sword...

Aiden:[spots a lake]We'll lose it there!

They jump in what they believe to be an lake,but it turns out it was a waterfall,but they only realize this when they have already jump

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the ship,the New Order of the Stone is trying contact with Jesse and Aiden,but they aren't succesful

Petra:Ugh,we'll never find them if we just stay here!

Olivia:But we need to stay here and guard the ship,who knows what's inside that forest?

Radar:Petra's right!We should be looking for them out there!

Ivor:It's best we stay here!There are things in this island that doens't give value to OUR lives!

They hear a monstruous roar,followed by what appear to be two males screaming

Lukas:Jesse and Aiden...

Jack:We better finish these repairs before they turn into monster food

Ivor:Guys,i've just finished my investigations!

Olivia:Investigations of what?

Ivor:To find out The Quiet One's identity!

They hear an loud giggle,realizing the Blaze Rods are in the island

Gill:Look!There's a ship in the beach!

Maya:[spots the ship]Um,this is gonna be fun,hahaha

BR Biker #1:Hum...it's just...

Gill:What is it?

BR Biker #1:What about the others who went here and never came back?

BR Biker #2:And the legends about the sea monster?

Gill:And what do you think the Quiet One will do to you,hum?

BR Biker #1:uh...

Maya:It will be worse then whatever we find in this island,i promisse you!

Gill:Let's keep moving!

They keep heading towards their enemies,but they stop in a cliff with no bridge

Gill:Why are stopping?

Maya:Because i don't fly!(points at cliff)

Gill:Why Fly?When you have THIS![he reveals the Ender Pearl of Deception,and places in his right arm]

Gill's eyes start to glow orange,the spot where he placed the pearl(his arm)begin to liberate what appears to be some sort of orange energy,wich almost covers his right arm ,then,Gill gains telekinetic powers,allowing him to move a pile of rocks to form a bridge so that the Blaze Rods could cross with their bikes,and he evily laughs with a demonic voice given by the pearl while doing so

Gill:HAHAHAHAAHAAAHAHHAHA!!!![he takes the pearl off and returns to his bike]

Maya:Now let's go!Yeyeyeyeyeyaaaaaaaa[she giggles]

They head to the New Order of the Stone,who are talking about Ivor's discovery

Olivia:So you know who the Quiet One is?

Ivor:Yes,i've been investigating for a while,but then i realized he's been under our noses all this time!

Everyone:...

Ivor:Ugh,people come on,it's so obvious,only one person could possess such hatred in Jesse,to form an evil biker organization to ressurrect his worst enemy!

Olivia:Wait!I get it!In the palace,the only known person that was out of there to warn the Blaze Rods and set those explosions was...

Everyone frezzes with the shocking realization

Lukas:Aiden is The Quiet One!

They all look at eachother,shocked by the news that they were being tricked all this time

Olivia:We must warn Jesse!Immediately!

Lukas runs to the ship's wheel,but before he could bring the ship back to the beach,Maya blocks his hand from the wheel with one of her sais

Maya:Ah-Ah-Ah,I woudn't do that if i were you!

The Blaze Rods climb in the ship and surprise them,evily laughing

Maya:The Quiet One wouldn't like that!

The bikers then attack the New Order of The Stone with swords and biker knifes

Blaze Rods:[yelling as they attack the New Order of The Stone]YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Since the Order was out numbered,they coudn't fight for long,even if they were all trained in martial arts[Ivor taught them],they were able to draw their respective weapons and hold back for a minute,all they were able to do was throw the bikers away from the ship,kicking and clashing swords with them,but when Lukas clashes his spear with Maya's sai,Gill reveals the Ender Pearl of Deception to them and uses it,while The White Pumpkin shows out of nowhere and uses the Ender Pearl of Vengeance to gain four arms and four axes,it was there that the New Order of The Stone realized they are surrounded and captured by the Blaze Rods!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesse and Aiden emerge from the river they fell early and swim to land

Jesse:Arf,Arf..Aiden...we made it!

Aiden:Yeah,barely

Jesse:No,i mean,to the temple,we found the temple!

They see the temple were the Ender Pearl of Hatred is stored,behind the waterfall they just fell,while Jesse is looking at it,smiling,Aiden is behind him,making an evil smile.

~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~

Please share and like✌

#mcsm #fancic #fancition #season 3 idea #season 3 #mcsm jesse #mcsm aiden #blaze rods #the quiet one #chapter 8 #please share #and like👍

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shielddrake · 6 years

Text

July 3: Hogwarts AU

A/N: Okay, so I’m not 100% happy with this. This is really long and there’s way too much going on for one “chapter.” This is why I don’t normally write one-shots. This should definitely be at least three separate chapters. If I do ever get around to writing a proper MCSM Hogwarts AU, I’d probably rewrite this to add more detail and slow the pace down a bit.

Also, lame title is lame.

Regardless, I hope readers enjoy!

A Minecraftian Day at Hogwarts

Owls are not the best choice for delivering post.

At least, that’s what any Muggle would say. After all, owls are nocturnal, so they’re not awake when a person would need them. They can’t carry heavy objects, so what they could deliver would be restricted by weight. They also tend to be solitary birds, so they wouldn’t work well in groups.

This, of course, doesn’t take into account that some owls have an affinity towards magic. These special owls could find any witch or wizard within a reasonable distance and they could carry demanding loads. They were still nocturnal for the most part, but that actually worked in the wizarding world’s favor. Owls could deliver post at night so the receiver would get it first thing in the morning. Owls, therefore, made excellent delivery animals for pretty much any witch or wizard.

They would still get annoyed when they were crammed together in one place though. Luckily for Calvin, the Hogwarts Owlery had more than enough space to accommodate both the school owls and the students’ owls. He had no problem flying to and from the Daily Prophet every night so he could deliver the paper to his human’s breakfast plate.

The great grey owl dodged to and fro between the other owls before diving through the open windows of Hogwart’s Great Hall. It didn’t take long to find Calvin’s owner, as she always sat in the same place. Ever since she was sorted into Ravenclaw, Olivia sat at the far end of the long table, as close to the exit as possible.

Calvin dropped the copy of the Daily Prophet next to her food, barely avoiding her pumpkin juice, before landing in the center of the table. He snatched up a bit of Olivia’s bacon and hooted happily.

“Hey, Calvin,” Olivia greeted with a somber tone. She took the paper and unfolded it.

“Anything worth reading?” Jesse asked. She had again quit the Hufflepuff table in favor of sitting with her best friend instead.

“Not really. Just the usual stuff.” Olivia shuffled the parchment as she turned the page. “There are some reports of Muggles seeing magical creatures, and warnings to keep all Kneazles away from non-magical cats. Some witch says she’s created another anti-pimple cream, once that actually works. And that International Wizards’ Dueling Competition is apparently still on track. Oh, and my horoscope says there’s going to be love in my life this month.”

“So, the Ministry is still denying that wizards and witches are going missing?” Jesse asked as she buttered her toast.

“Pretty much. Just one of the many rumors going around, they say.” Olivia paused and smirked. “Well, that’s a surprise.”

“What is it?”

“Take a look!”

Jesse took the offered paper and scanned the page. She sputtered in laughter, almost spitting her toast out of her mouth.

“Zombies Versus Chickens: The Debate of Size Against Numbers. An opinion piece by Olivia Loring.” She shook her head, despite her smile. “You actually wrote an essay for the Prophet over the summer holidays? And they actually accepted it?”

“Well, we’re in fifth year now!” Olivia declared. “With O.W.L.s finally coming up, we’re going to be studying like mad! When would I have another chance to write something like that?”

“To answer the ultimate question of a hundred chicken-sized zombies or ten zombie-sized chickens,” Jesse read. She paused to take a sip of her juice. “You could always ask Professor Soren. He’s probably dealt with zombies a lot.”

“Is a zombie a dark magical creature though?” Olivia wondered aloud. “Wouldn’t asking the DADA professor be a better idea?”

“Whoever that ends up being this year,” Jesse added.

“I won’t have a chance to ask Professor Soren anyway,” the Ravenclaw mentioned. “I’m not taking Care of Magical Creatures this year.”

This made Jesse’s head jerk up. “You dropped it?”

“Mom wasn’t very happy with my grades last year,” Olivia explained. “I decided it would be better to focus on my other classes. I’m more likely to earn O.W.L.s that way.”

“Guess that’s a fair point,” Jesse said with a shrug. “You were taking five electives last year.”

“Yeah, I’ve narrowed it down to four now,” Olivia replied. “So I’ve still got a full schedule.”

“I’m sticking with Care of Magical Creatures,” Jesse declared. “I’m good with animals.”

“Sorry, Jesse, but Reuben doesn’t count as a magical creature.” There was an insulted snort that came from Jesse’s side, and Olivia smiled at the little pig sitting next to her. “I don’t mean anything by it. Pigs are just thoroughly non-magical.”

Jesse put her hands over Reuben’s ears. “Don’t listen to her, Reuben. We both know you’re the most magical creature here.”

Reuben oinked in satisfaction, gave Olivia one last little glare, and then turned back to his plate of carrots Jesse has prepared for him.

“It is a little weird that he seems to understand everything you say,” Olivia commented. “And he follows you everywhere.”

“He’s my wing-man,” Jesse protested. “He’s no ordinary pig.”

“I’ve always wondered why Headmistress Lydia let you bring a pig instead of an owl, a cat or a toad like every other student.”

Almost on cue, Calvin finished off Olivia’s bacon with one more swallow. He then took off with a flap of his silent wings, heading for a well-deserved rest in the Owlery.

“So, what classes are you taking this year?” Olivia asked, desiring to change the subject.

The two fifth years pulled out their schedules and sat them next to one another for comparison. Their eyes quickly scanned the parchments.

“Cool!” Jesse pronounced. “We have Potions, Herbology, Divination, and Ancient Runes together!”

Olivia looked like she was about to say something, but a strange groaning sound in the air interrupted her. The two students and pig glanced around. Other than the rumblings of the other students finishing breakfast, there was nothing there. Jesse raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe it’s one of the ghosts playing a joke—”

There was a sudden scream, and the three of them jumped in shock. Olivia stubbed her toe on the bench and hiss at the pain. Jesse tripped as she tried to stand and ended up falling on her rear on the floor instead. Reuben squealed as he tumbled from his seat as well.

Everyone else in the Great Hall turned to see what the commotion was. Appearing in nothing more than a ripple of light was Axel, dusting off his yellow Hufflepuff robes as he held his belly from laughter. Seeing that it was only the outcasts being themselves, everyone in the hall returned to their food.

Axel continued to chuckle at his scheme. “You guys totally freaked out!”

Reuben, however, was not amused as he looked up from his spot under the bench, where he had been hiding. He charged his head into the Hufflepuff’s stomach, and Axel let out an oomph.

“Aww, Reuben! I thought we were buddies!”

“Axel, what’s the matter with you!” Olivia reprimanded once she caught her own breath.

“Yeah, you scared us half to death!” Jesse agreed.

“Nothing is fun is you’re not scared half to death,” he debated.

“What was that anyway?” Jesse asked. “A Disillusionment Charm? Or something like it? Where did you learn it?”

“We haven’t learned Disillusionment in Charms yet,” Olivia said.

“Yeah! I taught myself over the summer,” Axel described. “I thought it’d be a good way to show Professor Magnus I’m really serious about learning Charms this year. The scaring you out of your skin bit was just an added bonus.”

“Charms has always been your thing,” Jesse complimented her housemate. “Professor Magnus knows that.”

“Yeah, but this is our OWL year,” he answered. “I really got to step it up, you know?”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Olivia conceded. He glanced to the floor as the gang got up from the table to head to class. “It’s not like I’ve done anything that would impress Professor Ellegaard.”

“You’re great at Transfiguration, Olivia.” Jesse gave her a pat on her shoulder. “All you have to do is study hard, like you always do. She’s seen that since we started here.”

“I just need to prove myself, you know?”

“How about this? Axel and I have Transfiguration first thing this morning,” Jesse explained. She was able to lower her voice a bit once they were in the hall, since most of the students were still eating breakfast and out of earshot. “I’ll give you a head’s up on what she’s teaching first so you can prep ahead of time. Okay?”

Olivia looked at her for a moment. “Yeah, okay.”

“What’s on your schedule this morning?” Axel asked.

“Defense Against the Dark Arts,” the Ravenclaw responded. “Guess I’ll get to see what our new teacher’s like.”

“Kind of annoying we have a new one every year,” he moaned.

“That’s what we get for having a cursed teaching position,” Jesse concurred. She and Axel headed down one hall, while Olivia headed for the staircase. Reuben, meanwhile, made his way back to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Familiars weren’t allowed in the classrooms unless invited after all. “See you in Potions!”

“See ya!”

Transfiguration was a pretty standard affair. Professor Ellegaard, in her usual stoic and proud manner, lectured on Vanishing Charms. She hinted very strongly that they would be on the O.W.L. exam at the end of the year. She wasn’t very encouraging to the students who were having a bit of trouble with it, Axel included. Jesse made a note to warn Olivia about this later on.

“I don’t think I’m going to N.E.W.T. Transfig next year,” Axel stated once the bell rang.

“Don’t say that,” Jesse comforted him. “I’m sure you’ll get an O.W.L.”

“Don’t know,” he muttered. “Even if I do, I don’t know if I want to keep going in it. I don’t know what Olivia sees in Professor Ellegaard, to be honest.”

“What’s up next?” Jesse pulled out her schedule to check. “Double Potions.”

Axel let out a long groan, dropping to his knees with his hands in the air. Jesse chuckled and shook her head.

“At least it’s with the Ravenclaws, so Olivia will be there.”

The Potions classroom in the dungeon was empty when the two arrived, but it didn’t take long for some of the other students to start trickling in. Strangely, it was the Ravenclaws that came in last. Normally, the studious ravens would be the first to arrive to class, to maximize their time to learn, but today was different. Olivia herself only managed to slide into her seat next to Jesse moments before the break period was over.

“Hey, Olivia,” Jesse greeted. “Just wanted to let you know we went over Vanishing Spells—”

“When do you have DADA?” Olivia was still panting a bit from her run across the castle.

“Huh?”

“DADA. When do you have it?”

Jesse paused. “Double period after lunch. Why?”

“The new teacher! He’s awesome!” The dark-haired girl declared, throwing her arms up in excitement. “He’s got so many cool stories! He’s been everywhere and fought dark wizards and faced dark creatures and saved people and—”

“Whoa! Slow down!” Axel said. “You need to give yourself time to breathe, you know?”

Olivia shook her head to break out of her shock. “Sorry! But just wait until you meet him!”

Jesse was sure Olivia had a whole lot more to say about the new DADA professor, but any opportunity to do so was lost when Professor Ivor entered the classroom. Everyone’s conversations immediately stopped as he walked up to the front of the room.

Ivor wasn’t necessarily a strict professor, but he was someone who had an annoying tendency to assign extra homework. He did this in particular to those who didn’t pay attention during his lectures. And by extra homework, it would usually be on some topic with scarce information about it, making it much more difficult to complete.

It would seem that today was one of those days.

“Good morning, class. Welcome to fifth-year Potions.” Ivor glanced around at the wide eyes of the Hufflepuffs and the ready quills of the Ravenclaws. “Before we get started on our first lecture, I have an announcement to make. I will be assigning you a special project on a complex potion that could very well be on your O.W.L. exam at the end of the year.”

And here it comes already, Jesse moaned to herself. It’s only the first day of class!

“The project will be in two parts,” Ivor continued. “The report half will need to be four rolls of parchment. It must include the history of the potion, the various ingredients, details on how to brew it, complications of brewing, and counter potions, if there are any.”

“Well, he’s not pulling any punches, is he?” Axel whispered.

“The second half will be a practical exam, where you will correctly brew the potion you are assigned.” Ivor smiled and steepled his hands. “The practical will take place just before the winter holidays. The whole project will be worth half your final grade.”

There was an echo of groans that flew threw the classroom. Ivor waited until the commotion died down before continuing.

“I will assign you into pairs with members of the opposite house. The potions will be assigned randomly.” There was another round of grumbles, but Ivor threw his hands up in surrender. “Don’t blame me. Blame the curriculum.”

“Doesn’t he design the curriculum?” Olivia uttered, and Jesse had to suppress a snort.

“Please pair me with Olivia,” Axel pled into his hands. “Please pair me with Olivia.”

“So glad to know Axel loves me for my brains,” Olivia said in a deadpan tone.

Ivor took out a sheet of parchment and began to list off the pairs. Axel’s prayers were answered that day, and he and Olivia were assigned to research the Oculus Potion. Jesse waited to see who she would be partnered with. She didn’t know a lot of people in Ravenclaw other than Olivia, so it was a bit of luck in terms of who her partner was going to be.

Or bad luck, as it were.

“Jesse Taber and Lukas Porter, Invigorating Draught.”

She slammed her head down on the wooden desk.

Oh, great.

Ivor finished naming the pairs before passing out parchment with the actual assignment details. He then turned his attention to the lesson for the day, but honestly, Jesse couldn’t bring herself to pay attention to it.

Why him? She thought. Of all the people I could’ve been partnered with!

Jesse glanced across the room at the blond Ravenclaw, her annoyance growing at the sight of the Prefect badge pinned to his robes. He was one of the last people she wanted to be partnered with, and for such an important project as well.

To say that Jesse and Lukas didn’t get along was a bit of an understatement. They had bad chemistry basically from the start. It was ever since they had a fight on the Hogwarts Express on their way to school their first year, before they had even been sorted into their houses. To Jesse, Lukas was an arrogant jerk who thought he needed to show everyone how to do everything, since everyone else did everything wrong. To Lukas, however, Jesse was a stubborn brat who didn’t take constructive criticism and needed to learn to listen. It didn’t help that this grudge only continued into their second, third and fourth years. Why should fifth year be any different?

Then again, there did seem to be something different about him this year. He didn’t tease or harass her on the Hogwarts Express that year. In fact, he took one look at her, tried to smile and wave, and then ducked into a compartment without so much as a word. That was definitely not normal Lukas behavior.

Maybe he was feeling ill on the train?

Lukas finished his notes and turned his attention away from the blackboard, spotting Jesse watching him. He raised his eyebrows at her, but otherwise had no expression on his face.

She snapped her face back to Ivor as he explained the process of crushing lacewing flies for a Polyjuice Potion.

“It could be worse,” Axel whispered to her.

Jesse quirked an eyebrow. “How?”

“We could have this class with Slytherin,” he answered. “Would you rather get partnered with Aiden or Stella?”

She suppressed the shiver going down her spine. Okay, perhaps Lukas wasn’t sounding that bad after all.

Class continued. One lecture and two melted cauldrons later, Ivor dismissed the students so they may go to lunch. The gang packed up their books, quills, parchment, and caldrons quickly, wanting to make their way to the Great Hall for their next meal. Jesse had just thrown her satchel strap over her shoulder when she turned and bumped into a solid form.

Thinking it was Axel at first, she looked up to say sorry. Her mouth dried up when she saw unfamiliar blue eyes instead.

“Hey Jesse.” Lukas’ voice was a little quiet, almost like he was trying to hold his voice steady. “I was wondering if we could—”

Jesse didn’t listen to what he was trying to say. She swung around him in a breeze, bypassing Lukas entirely as she rushed to catch up with Axel and Olivia. If she had bothered to look behind her, she might have seen the disappointed look on his face.

But she didn’t.

How the professors manage to arrange all the classes for the seven different years at Hogwarts was a mystery. They probably had some spell or magical quill and parchment that figured out how to arrange it so the professors didn’t have to be in two or more places at once to teach. It wasn’t like they had time-turners to use instead.

However they did it, they made sure that all the students received three full meals, and good meals at that. Even during regular days, without the mountains of cuisine normally seen at the feasts, there was still plenty of fare to feed a small army. Of course, the Hogwarts student body itself could be considered a small army.

Especially Axel. He alone could polish off a few of the serving plates. He could make the excuse that he was a growing boy all he wanted. Not even Reuben kept up with the amount of food, but that might have been either from his smaller frame or because Jesse always fed him healthy food.

That didn’t mean Reuben didn’t get food he enjoyed. Carrots were his favorite, and Jesse smiled as the little pig chomped away at the orange vegetables.

“You are so cute, Reuben,” she complimented, and Reuben oinked in thanks but didn’t look up from his food.

“Can you believe Ivor?” Axel complained between bites. “Giving us an assignment like that?”

“Actually I can,” Olivia said. “He’s always gotten some strange gratification from making us miserable.”

“Well, at least we’re partnered for it,” Axel recalled, giving his friend a grin. “I know I’m not the sharpest quill in the pouch, but you know I’ll sure try my best.”

Olivia returned his smile. “I know that, Axel. Thanks.”

“This isn’t going to be so bad,” he said.

“Don’t rub it in.” Jesse’s tone dropped from playful to gloom. She pushed her food around on her plate with her fork. “I’m stuck with jerk Lukas.”

“What about Lukas?” Petra asked, dropping into a seat next to Axel and grabbing a sandwich.

“Forget it,” Jesse muttered. For some reason, the Gryffindor actually got along with Lukas, and Jesse wasn’t in the mood to hear Petra defend him. “How are your classes so far, Petra?”

The redhead shrugged. “Only had one so far. I don’t have as many as last year, but N.E.W.T. classes are supposed to be really tough.”

“But you get more free periods,” Axel said after a swallow. “That’s good, right?”

“Except I’ll be spending them studying a lot,” Petra corrected him. “I still need to do well if I want to be a Hit Witch.”

“I thought you only needed five O.W.L.s for that job?” Jesse inquired.

“Yeah, and especially DADA,” she confirmed. “But I want to maximize my chances of getting in, and a N.E.W.T. would really help.”

“Speaking of DADA!” Olivia jumped to attention. “I was telling you before about the new professor!”

“Oh yeah! Professor Jack!” Petra proclaimed. “It was his class I had this morning! He’s awesome, isn’t he?”

“Totally awesome!” Olivia announced. “I’ve never heard of someone doing all the things he has!”

“Still don’t know what the big deal is,” Axel said.

“Yeah, I’ve missed the plot,” Jesse concurred.

“You guys honestly don’t know Jack Tatasciore?” Petra asked. At their bewildered looks, she slammed her palm against her forehead. “He’s only one of the greatest treasure hunters in the whole world! He was an Auror, explorer, and artifact expert. He was one of the divers that rediscovered the lost Lighthouse of Alexandria!”

“He told our class he helped in the restoration of a Mayan temple in Honduras,” Olivia reported. “That they were going to tear it down, and he supported the natives when they protested.”

“Do you think he actually did all those things?” Jesse questioned. “Or did he make them all up?”

Both Olivia and Petra stared at her with open mouths for several minutes until Jesse held up her hands in surrender.

“Okay! Okay!” She said with a teasing tone. “I believe you guys.”

“Just wait until you have his class,” Petra stated. “Then you’ll see what an amazing wizard he is. Seriously, I can’t believe he’s actually here to teach us!”

“I think Petra’s got a crush,” Axel taunted, elbowing her gently. Petra gave his shoulder a strong punch in response, causing him to drop his apple and rub the injured spot. “Ow! Hey!”

“Oh hush, ya wimp,” she said. “That didn’t hurt.”

“Petra doesn’t know her own strength, does she?” Jesse joked. She took a sip of her pumpkin juice and then piled more carrots onto Reuben’s plate. “Axel and I have DADA after lunch, so I guess we’ll see for ourselves.”

“Oh, you will!” Olivia replied. “You will!”

“If Professor Jack’s as cool as you say, that’ll make up for having to do that stupid project with Lukas.”

Petra raised an eyebrow at Jesse’s moaning. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned Lukas and this project thing.”

“Professor Ivor partnered us up for a big Potions project that’s worth half our grade,” Olivia described. “Jesse’s partnered with Lukas.”

“Oh yeah, I remember doing that with Em last year,” Petra said. “Look, I know you and Lukas had a rocky start—”

“That’s an understatement,” Jesse interrupted. “And it hasn’t just been the start. It’s been our entire time at Hogwarts.”

Petra gave her a persistent stare before continuing. “But Lukas knows a lot about magic, and he’s good at Potions.”

“He’s pretty smart too,” Olivia added. “He was in my Arithmancy class the last two years, and I think he’s taking it again for O.W.L.s.”

“I guess he got into Ravenclaw for a reason,” Jesse admitted with a growl.

“All I’m saying is, you should give him a chance,” Petra suggested. “Get to know him a little better. It’s always useful to have a guy like him around, no matter what you think of him personally.”

“I’m not interested in getting to know him,” the Hufflepuff witch said, finally turning her attention back to her baked potatoes. “I don’t trust him.”

“Me neither,” Axel agreed. “We don’t need him hanging around.”

Petra rolled her eyes as the bell for the end of lunch rang. She grabbed her books and stood.

“I got to run. I’ve got Herbology next, and it’s a bit of a walk down to the greenhouses. See you guys at dinner.”

“Later, Petra!” Axel called.

“I better go too,” Olivia said as Petra left the Great Hall. “I have Transfiguration next and I want to show up early.”

“Remember, Ellegaard’s going over Vanishing Spells,” Jesse reminded her after a swallow.

“Right. Thanks again.” She took a deep breath. “I just hope I don’t screw them up in front of the professor.”

Olivia took one more gulp of her drink before rushing out of the Hall. Axel stuffed a few apples into his satchel while Jesse finished off her meal. She gave Reuben a few pats on his head.

“Stay out of trouble, okay?”

Reuben oinked in response, giving her a toothy grin with a few chunks of carrots stuck between his teeth. Jesse shook her head at him and stood.

Axel was already out the door, and Jesse rushed to catch up. As she was making her way to the hallway adjoining the Great Hall, she found herself stopped by a form in blue-lined robes. She couldn’t help but blush at the wide shoulders at her eye level, but that quickly cooled down when she looked up and saw Lukas there.

The blond cleared his throat. “Hey, Jesse. Can we talk?”

“Can’t right now,” she answered. “Got class. Later.”

She pushed her way past Lukas and ran down the hall. She dodged and weaved between the younger students as she made her way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The classroom was the same one Jesse had attended all her DADA classes in the previous four years. Rows of desks and chairs sat all facing the front of the classroom, away from the door. Most were already occupied by Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students. Its tall ceiling allowed for the skeleton of whatever dark magical creature they were going over that week. At the back of the classroom was a small flight of stairs to another door that Jesse knew from personal experience led into the teacher’s office.

That day, the classroom was not only filled with students. Atop several pedestals were items, some of which Jesse recognized and some she didn’t. Quite a few of them were preserved body parts of various dark creatures. She could have sworn there was an acromantula eye in a jar on one of them.

I wonder if we’re going to go over dark creatures first, she wondered.

There were colorful banners of various organizations hung along the walls, replacing the usual curtains of the room. Next to the exit was a suit of armor that almost looked like it could be made of diamond.

The murmuring students all quieted when the office door opened to reveal a man with light brown hair that might be described as “majestic.” He stood with his arm against the doorframe, partially leaning to one side. He faced away from the class, allowing them to see only his dark blue robes. They were more like the armored variety that Aurors wore, although theirs were deep brown.

Didn’t Petra say he used to be an Auror? Jesse recalled.

“Looks like quite a crowd has come to my class today,” he said in a deep, somewhat raspy voice. “Bunch of brave students you are.”

“Dude, mysterious,” Axel whispered to Jesse.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “Not sure how brave it is. We’re supposed to be in this class.”

The man let out a short guffaw. “There are a lot of things you’re supposed to do. The question is whether or not you have the nerves to actually do them.”

Jesse didn’t know what the other students thought, but she glanced at Axel in bewilderment. He blinked at the man several times before looking at Jesse with furrowed brows.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” he said. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Jesse turned her attention back to the professor, but he was gone. He had vanished from his spot at the stop of the short flight of stairs. Jesse startled and let out a gasp. Axel simply blinked again and looked around, trying to find him. There was more muttering from the other students, telling Jesse that everyone else was as confused as she was.

Did he Apparate? Jesse jerked her head. No way. No one can Apparate inside Hogwarts.

She turned her head to the exit into the hallway when she heard the man speak again.

“The Warriors of the Whispering Mountain call me ‘The Stab-Walker’,” he announced in the same tone. “The Air Giants of the East call me ‘He Who Slashes Like Thunder’.”

As long as you’re not called You-Know-Who, Jesse joked to herself, but she managed to keep her laughter down.

“But you may call me…Jack.” The man turned around, allowing the whole class to see his grizzled beard and heterochromic eyes. His right one was so dark it might as well be black, while his left eye was a faded gray. Jack walked down the aisle between the desks back to the front of the classroom. “Really. Just call me Jack. None of this ‘Professor’ business. Makes me feel old.”

The entire class couldn’t help but chuckle. Jack gave them all a satisfied look as he took in all the students. His gaze fell on Jesse for a longer moment, but he otherwise moved on without pause.

“So, whether you want to learn about Defense or feel like you have to,” he said. “I’m glad to have you all here. The Dark Arts are no laughing matter. While there are people who claim that despite being called ‘dark’ it is not necessarily evil, but that doesn’t mean the Dark Arts aren’t dangerous. My job this year is to prepare you as much as possible to defend yourselves against this danger.”

Jesse readied her quill, eager to write down notes at a moment’s notice.

“As I’m sure you know by now, the Dark Arts come in many forms, from spells to creatures to locations to items. It can show up where you least expect it,” Jack continued. “For example, one time I was tracking a dark wizard through Denmark. He was trading around chimaera eggs and I was trying to cut him off on one of his routes. What I didn’t know was this wizard was also a Necromancer.”

Axel whistled. “That couldn’t have been good.”

“No, young man. It wasn’t.” Jack gave Axel a smile. “For those of you who don’t know, Necromancy is the Dark Art of raising the dead. It doesn’t bring people back from the dead – nothing can really do that – but one thing it can do is create an undead monster called an Inferius.”

There were gasps from a few of the students and whispering to one another from a few others. Jesse’s eyes widened, her quill pausing in her note taking. Jack chuckled.

“I take it at least a few of you have heard of zombies, and maybe even of Inferi,” he said with his arms pumped up. “We’ll go over the difference between the two later on, but for the purposes of this story, just know that Inferi are reanimated dead bodies. The witch or wizard who creates them can command them to do basically anything they want.”

A hand was raised. “Professor, I thought Inferi don’t have brains or will. How can they do anything?”

Jack blew a raspberry. “That’s a fair point. What’s your name?”

“Dan Middleton.”

“Take five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Middleton,” Jack replied. “Because you’re right, Inferi don’t have any free will of their own and no brains to speak of. So, it’s not accurate for me to say the commanding wizard can make them do anything. But they can command the Inferi to attack someone. That was the problem I had in Denmark. This dark wizard guarded his illegal trade route with Inferi. Does anyone know the big problem with fighting Inferi?”

Another Gryffindor raised her hand. “Since they aren’t alive, they don’t feel any pain, so normal offensive spells don’t stop or slow them down.”

“Very good…” He trailed off at the girl with long, pink hair.

“Elizabeth Dwyer.”

“Miss Dwyer. Another five for Gryffindor.” Jack walked up and down the center aisle. “Inferi are dead, so they don’t feel pain, need to eat or drink, or drown. Common defensive spells like Stunners don’t affect them. Does anyone know what is effective against Inferi?”

There were no raised hands this time for several seconds. Finally, Jesse watched in surprise as Axel slowly raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr…”

“Axel Posehn.”

“I swear I will learn your names eventually. Go on.”

“They really don’t like fire. Something like the Firestorm charm works great.”

“Exactly! Five points to Hufflepuff.”

Axel’s chest puffed in pride. Jesse gave him a smile. It wasn’t often that Axel knew the answer to a question in class.

“How’d you know that?” Jesse whispered to him.

“It’s a really destructive fire spell,” he answered her. “And you know how I love destruction.”

“Funny you should mention the Firestorm charm, since that’s exactly what I ended up using against the Inferi in Denmark.” Jack whipped his wand out, and for a moment Jesse thought he was going to demonstrate. Instead, Jack produced a small flame using a simple Incendio. “I summoned up the Firestorm charm and whipped it around, burning the Inferi to a crisp. They all crumbled to the ground like burned bacon! From there, I was able to stun the dark wizard and bring him back to Britain for trial.”

Jesse hadn’t realized that she was sitting on the edge of her seat, and she backed into it again. Jack smiled at the class.

“That was a good day to be an Auror,” he concluded.

Jesse decided to raise her hand. “Weren’t you afraid at all? I mean, Inferi are really dangerous, like you said. They didn't scare you?”

Jack took a breath, but his smile didn’t diminish. Jesse did notice the spark in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly though, and suddenly wished she hadn’t asked the question.

“In order to be courageous, you have to be afraid to begin with, so it would be against my nature to say I wasn’t scared,” Jack explained. “But that’s sometimes easier said than done. Danger can come from anywhere, so you have to be prepared. That includes Dark Arts.”

The entire class jumped when the bell rang. Jack’s story had them interested enough to make the time pass by without them even noticing. Jesse glanced down at her parchment. She hadn’t taken very many notes. She had been too distracted by the tale of fighting Inferi to write anything down. Jesse bit her lip.

That went by so fast! Better not let myself get distracted like that again, she thought. But I can see what Olivia and Petra meant.

“For next class, we’ll go over Inferi in more detail. Please read the chapter on Inferi in your textbooks.” Jack paused. “I forget which chapter that is, but you know what I mean.”

The class laughed as they gathered their things and left the classroom. Jack waited until everyone was gone before heading into his office. Jesse watched him go, wondering what his concerned expression was about when she asked him her question.

“I hope I didn’t ask something too personal,” she said to herself.

Of course, Axel was right next to her as they walked out of the room. “Don’t think so. He didn’t seem to take it bad.”

“But my question obviously bothered him,” she debated.

“You can’t be the only one who asked him about that,” her housemate insisted. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I guess…”

The two spent the next few hours going over the first day of classes in the Hufflepuff Common Room. They compared notes and organized their homework that would be due the next period. This was mostly on the part of Jesse, as she was the one who helped Axel keep on track with his studies. It wasn’t that Axel was stupid or anything. He just had trouble focusing sometimes. The topic at hand had to interest him enough for him to remain concentrated on it. The fact that he taught himself the Disillusionment Charm over the summer showed that he could learn, but it had to be something he cared about.

At dinner, the gang ate together as they did at lunch. Since first year, Jesse, Olivia, Axel and Reuben would sit with each other, despite Olivia being in a different house. By second year, Petra had joined them, having become friends with the trio of slightly younger students.

It was a little odd to see two Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw, a Gryffindor and a pig hanging out together. The other students, for the most part, stayed in their separate Hogwarts tables. This might have been because they were considered outcasts in their own houses. Jesse was considered weird for having a pig as a familiar, Axel was treated as too stupid to even be a wizard, Olivia was considered a know-it-all, and Petra was a lone wolf. They had gravitated towards each other in search of companionship, and they easily got it from one another.

However, it didn’t help that Aiden from Slytherin had constantly teased them throughout the years. This year was also even worse with Stella flashing her Slytherin Prefect badge in Jesse’s face everywhere she went.

This didn’t mean that none of the other students liked the gang. There were a couple that at least got along with them as acquaintances, but they wouldn’t be seen eating with them during a meal.

…Well, all except for one.

“Hey, Jesse,” Petra said. “Your shadow’s back.”

Jesse glimpsed towards the Great Hall doorway, where a pair of dark eyes behind a pair of even darker glasses watched from behind the Great Hall doors. The bright yellow Hufflepuff robes and tie did not camouflage him in the darkness of the hallway in any way. When he realized that Jesse was looking in his direction, he squeaked and ducked out of sight.

Olivia giggled behind her hand. “Aww, he is just adorable.”

“Looks like he plans to follow you around this year too,” Petra joked. “Just like last year.”

“He follows you everywhere he can, doesn’t he?” Axel commented.

Jesse shook her head at her friend before turning back to the second-year and waving him over.

“You don’t have to hide, Radar!” she hollered. “Come on out!”

Radar slowly stepped out from his hiding place, wringing his hands together as he walked forward.

“Oh, gosh. Wow. I didn’t know all of you would be in here,” he said with a nervous smile. “So sorry to interrupt everyone’s meal.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not a big deal,” Jesse said. “Want to eat with us?”

The young man startled. “Would that be all right?”

“Of course. We’ve all go to eat, and that includes you too.”

“Shadow is right,” Axel whispered to Petra with a smirk as Radar sat down on the bench next to Jesse.

“Well, it’s just, you know, some of the upper classmen don’t like it when us younger students eat with them,” Radar reasoned. He didn’t take a plate, perhaps in reservation should Jesse decide to push him away.

“Well, we’re not like them.” Jesse dumped a bowl of mushroom stew and a plate filled with cookies in front of him. “You can relax around us.”

“Thanks, Jesse.” Radar’s tanned skin turned a little pink. “Man, I am just the luckiest!”

Olivia chuckled again. “So freaking cute!”

Dinner proceeded as it normally did. The gang talked about their summer breaks, classes, homework, gossip, magical theory, and hobbies. It was a pretty normal evening for the gang, all things considered. They worried for their O.W.L.s (or N.E.W.T.s, for Petra), which made Radar want to start studying for them now. Jesse told him he really didn’t need to worry about them yet since it was only his second year at Hogwarts. Olivia said she was happy to help him study if he wanted, and Radar was quick to accept.

As the dinner hour came to a close and the students finished their meals, Jesse was interrupted by the sound of a clearing throat. She glanced up to see Lukas standing behind her again. His cat, Dewey, balanced on his shoulders almost like a parrot. The felid’s spotted coat pattern and bright green eyes reminded her of an ocelot, and the intelligence Dewey displayed often made Jesse wonder if he was part Kneazle. Of course, if the cat was so smart, it begged the question of why he decided to be such a loyal pet to a jerk like Lukas, but that was a question for another day.

“What do you want, Lukas?” she asked, barely able to keep a snide tone out of her voice. Petra stepped on her toe, making Jesse wince.

“Can I just talk to you?” he inquired. “In private?”

She paused. Her immediate instinct told her not to agree, but Petra’s stare as well as Lukas’ begging eyes finally cracked through her walls. She sighed and stood.

“Fine. Let’s go into the hall.”

“You’re not going alone,” Axel said, standing up to join them. “Not with him.”

Lukas gave Axel a glare, while Petra grabbed the Hufflepuff’s arm and tugged.

“Leave it,” she said.

“But—”

“I’ll be fine, Axel.” Jesse pulled out her wand, twirled it for a moment, and then tucked it away in her sleeve. “It’s not like I’m helpless.”

Axel grumbled in annoyance as Jesse and Lukas left the Great Hall and into the adjoining hallway. Reuben seemed to have completely disregarded the idea of Jesse going by herself and joined them. Dewey dropped from Lukas’ shoulders and sat next to his owner, eyeing the pig with curiosity.

The blond glanced around, and once he was sure there was no one else around (except for the third years whispering to each other as they passed) he turned his attention to Jesse. She put one hand on her hip.

“All right, you got me here,” she said. “What is it?”

“I’ve been trying to talk to you about the Potions assignment,” he said. He gave her a small smile. “At least you didn’t run into me this time.”

Jesse didn’t laugh at the joke, and Lukas glanced away for a moment. He took a deep breath, puffed his cheeks, and slowly released it. He put his hands on his hips.

“Jesse, listen. I’m not going to beat around the bush here. I know we’ve had our differences since first year and…well, everything,” he began. Jesse raised an eyebrow. He clearly didn’t want to bring up all the things they had said to each other over the years. “But we need to work together if we want to do well in Potions and, well, I want to patch things up. I feel like we should be done with the arguing and fighting all the time, so…think we can agree to get along from now on?”

Jesse blinked a few times and stared. Was Lukas Porter – Lukas Porter – actually trying to make up with her? Given the way he had acted towards her since they first met, this was one of the last things she expected to happen in her fifth year at Hogwarts.

Got to admit, he’s got a point, she thought. Maybe Petra’s right. I can at least meet him halfway.

Lukas looked at her with expectant eyes as she gave out her own sigh.

“All right. At least as far as classes go,” she conceded. “Truce?”

“Truce.” Lukas stuck out his hand, and Jesse took it with a solid shake. He smiled, showing off his perfect white teeth. “Thanks, Jesse. That means a lot.”

She couldn’t help but grin back at him. She broke eye contact to see Dewey sniffing Reuben’s dark spot on his back. Reuben just watched him with a raised eyebrow and occasionally oinked. Wow, even their familiars were getting along better than they normally did.

“I, ub, guess I’ll see you in class tomorrow?” Lukas asked.

“Yeah. I think we’ve got Herbology together.”

“Herbology. Right. See you then.”

“See you later, Lukas.”

“Come on, Dewey.”

The speckled cat looked up from Reuben’s snout and trotted along to catch up with his wizard. Jesse watched him go, her eyebrow still raised in curiosity. Several moments passed before Reuben oinked to get her attention.

“What are you looking at?”

Reuben’s snort clearly indicated he was just as confused as she was.

“Yeah, Lukas usually isn’t that nice,” she admitted. “Hopefully he’s not up to something. I need that project to go well.”

Reuben oinked in agreement, before turning his head and squealing in surprise.

“What is it, boy?”

Jesse followed his line of sight to see a flash of green robes dashing around the stone corner. It wasn’t a normal shade of green either, and certainly not the green used by the Slytherin banners. It was a sort of light lime green that had more yellow it in. It was a color she was very familiar with.

“Wonder what Professor Otto’s doing out here,” Jesse wondered aloud as she followed the Head of Hufflepuff House. “I thought he’d be eating in the Great Hall.”

She was about to turn the corner to say hello to her Head when she spotted him talking to another man. Jesse gasped and jumped back, hiding herself behind cover. Reuben stayed behind her as she peeked around to get a better look.

The man’s most noticeable trait was his bright red hair. It was much more vibrant than Gryffindor red, almost the hue Jesse would expect from blood. It was a huge contrast to his dark skin, which Jesse could only see on his face. His long, red and black robes covered his entire body, even including the gloves on his hands. He was facing towards Jesse, so she made sure to only use one eye to look at the pair as they conversed.

“It’s been a while, Otto,” the man said. His voice seemed to echo throughout the hallway. “What’s it been? A year? Two?”

“Four, in fact,” Otto replied. His tone did not have the same resounding quality. “Time flies, does it not?”

“That’s right,” the man recalled. “You weren’t around when the Headmistress refused me the DADA post this year.”

“This guy wanted to teach DADA?” Jesse whispered to Reuben.

“I’m surprised that Jack of all people was chosen to teach these impressionable students,” the redhead continued. “I would have been much better suited to the job.”

“Questioning Headmistress Lydia’s judgment is what brought you to where you are now, Romeo,” Otto proclaimed. “It’s where it brought both of us.”

“Which reminds me, you’ve been missed by my forces,” the man, Romeo, continued, ignoring Otto’s jibe. “Especially Hadrian and Mevia. They’ve asked after you several times.”

“I’m sure they have.” Otto’s tone sounded a little sad.

“How does Professor Otto know this Romeo?” Jesse wondered out loud. “Or these other guys? What forces is he talking about?”

“I’m no longer interested in what you’re doing, Romeo,” the Head of Hufflepuff House resumed. “Or what Hadrian and Mevia think.”

“That’s too bad. I would think you would be very interested.” Romeo’s eyes twitched slightly to the right, towards Jesse. “But enough about that. Tell me, Otto. Who is that young witch skulking around that corner?”

Jesse jumped again and hid behind the corner, pulling Reuben with her. She was about to make a run for it when Otto spoke again.

“A student, perhaps?” he said. “It’s not important.”

“You don’t need to hide. Come on out.”

It was more than a little unnerving to hear the same words Jesse herself had called to Radar a little while earlier, but Romeo’s voice was both compelling and commanding. Jesse felt it was probably better to admit she was eavesdropping than to just run away. She peeked around the corner again to see the two older wizards watching and waiting for her. Otto was clearly not happy to see her there, but Romeo looked intrigued, giving her an amused smirk. He waved a hand to beckon her over, and after giving Reuben a nervous glance, Jesse sauntered over to them.

“Sorry, Professor,” she said to Otto. “I heard talking and was just curious.”

Otto shook his head. “I can’t fault your curiosity, Jesse, but it’s not polite. You should be in the Great Hall, having dinner.”

“Sorry again.”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Otto,” Romeo commented, his smile still on her. “I can sense she’s a powerful witch, despite her age. Your name is Jesse?”

She swallowed. “Yes sir. Jesse Taber.”

Recognition flashed his in deep red eyes. “I should’ve known. I’ve heard about you in my circles. You’ve drawn the attention of quite a few of my followers.”

Jesse wasn’t quite sure what to think of that. Followers? Who’s heard of me? Who is this guy?

“Jesse is one of my best students,” Otto complimented her, looking at her rather pointedly. “One of the brightest in her year.”

Bright enough to catch when you don’t want me to listen to someone, Jesse thought, noticing the glint in her mentor’s eye.

“But it would seem she was not made a Prefect,” Romeo argued, glancing at her robes, where a Prefect Badge would normally be pinned. “She is a good student, but not good enough to be a Prefect?”

“Being a Prefect is not the only path of a good student, Romeo,” Otto debated.

“I don’t need to be a Prefect, sir,” Jesse answered with a shrug, speaking for the first time since her introduction.

“You deserve much better treatment than this,” Romeo said as he took a step towards her. He leaned down over her, forcing her neck to bend backwards. “Being the capable witch you clearly are.”

“I’m good right where I am. Thanks.” Jesse looked up into his eyes, not breaking eye contact as she said this.

Romeo didn’t have a direct answer to that statement. His eyebrows rose and fell, and his smirk twitched into a frown for a split second. He gave one shake of his head and pulled away, giving Jesse her personal space back. She didn’t let it show, but Jesse mentally let out a big sigh of relief. Unfortunately, her reprieve was short-lived.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Jesse.”

Romeo gave her one last creepy smile before turning away in a flurry of red and black robes. His steps were almost silent as he strolled through the stone Hogwarts halls. Jesse and Reuben watched him go until the man was out of sight, and then she allowed herself to breathe again.

Who in the world was that?

“Jesse?” She turned to see Otto giving her a kind but stern look. “Don’t worry about him, all right? Nothing bad can happen to you at Hogwarts.”

“So I should be worried about something bad happening with that Romeo guy?”

Otto chuckled at her sass. “Just stay focused on your studies and your friends. This is an important year for you after all.”

Reuben gave an indignant oink, causing Jesse to hide her laughter behind her hand. Otto bent down and gave the little pig a pet.

“And you too, Reuben,” he said. He straightened up and gave the Hufflepuff witch one more smile. “Now go back to your friends, Jesse. I’ll see you later in the Common Room.”

Otto patted her on the shoulder before making his way down the hall in the opposite direction from Romeo’s path. Reuben nuzzled her hand with a string of oinks, and Jesse scratched him behind his ear. She couldn’t stop the grin that emerged on her face.

“Guess this is going to be an interesting year, huh, Reuben?”

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