DH Skies

November 23, 2018 7:02 PM
 
Subthreads:
0 DH Skies Fast and Furious threads here! (nm) 26 DH Skies 1 5

Victor Callahan

November 24, 2018 5:03 AM
Victor was officially Not Very Pleased with the world in general. Some evil spirit - and here he was inclined to blame the professors - had decided that Victor Callahan and Kir McLeod should do their prefect patrols together.

McLeod was, on the whole, a pretty problematic person. Pretty as in very, not as in attractive - McLeod wasn't attractive in any way, Victor was sure, even if Victor had been attracted to boys in the first place. Which he wasn't, for the record.

The main problem with McLeod was that he didn't seem to understand the limits of normal human behaviour. He went around inciting teachers to start talking nonsense, wearing nail varnish, corrupting the librarian, being ridiculously tall (that was a particularly sore point), and generally subverting the accepted way of life. Normal was normal for a reason, and McLeod seemed hell-bent on ruining everyone's chances of living a normal life.

Winston and Simon were in agreement with this too, so Victor knew his opinion was definitely right here. He was only glad that McLeod was in his year because it meant that McLeod wasn't in Jehan's year. Little Jehan was much more easily led than Victor, and as a big brother it was Victor's role to stop Jehan making the kind of mistakes that talking to McLeod would be.

Still, at least prefect patrol weren't every night. Victor could get through this, theoretically, and he was determined not to do or say anything that might jeopardise his status as prefect. That probably meant not initating conversation with McLeod, as that would increase the risk of McLeod saying something irritating. Strategy decided, Victor walked along the corridors in silence, trying to ignore McLeod's presence.
9 Victor Callahan Prefect duty [tag Kir] 368 Victor Callahan 0 5

Kir McLeod

November 24, 2018 5:18 AM
OOC - notes on saying good evening approved by Victor. I am also assuming prefect patrol partners change and this their first date.

IC

The universe seemed to like him. Kir had been looking for an excuse to talk to Victor Callahan. These were not easy to come by, seeing as the entirety of the Gentlemen's Club seemed pretty determined to not acknowledge that Kir in any way existed. But they were both prefects and now they had prefect duty together.

So far, it was going well. They had exchanged the words 'good evening.' This might not exactly have seemed like a great social interaction, but he wouldn't have put it past Winston to make some smart arse remark like 'Well, not any more it isn't' or just to continue to stare right through him.

His mission, with Victor, was to try to subtly judge how much of a homophobic butthole he was. And/or impart some useful seeds of wisdom on how there were alternatives to being like that. Kir had witnessed Jehan asking Luke Powell to the ball and it... concerned him. Still, there were probably a lot of steps between the frosty 'good evening' they had exchanged and anything approaching a useful conversation. Kir searched for some subject of small talk that they might actually be able to keep going for more than a single breath.

"So... Have you ever had to actually use your prefect powers on anyone?" he asked.
13 Kir McLeod Aren't you a little ray of sunshine? 366 Kir McLeod 0 5

Victor

November 24, 2018 5:27 AM
Oh, great. McLeod didn't seem to have got the message that silence was the order of the day. Victor presumed he was trying to make small talk, rather than gleaning information on how to prefect. Even McLeod had to know what their duties involved.

Victor couldn't really ignore McLeod now. It would be rude, and Mother had always told him that, if he was rude, he was no better than anyone else. Plus prefecting was pretty boring. Even small talk with McLeod could spice things up a bit, and who said he couldn't have some fun?

"Yeah, I came across two second years out after curfew the other day," he replied. "It wasn't that exciting, though. I just gave them a slap and sent them on my way, then reported them to a professor so they'd get their canings."
9 Victor How did you guess my nickname? 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 24, 2018 5:34 AM
"You-" did what?! The end of the sentence never got uttered. The mention of getting the professor to cane students was over-egging it. Victor could be a douchebag all he wanted but Kir knew none of the teachers would cane students. He doubted Victor had really slapped anyone whilst on prefect duty, though the fact that that was his idea of a joke... "Haha," he said flatly.
13 Kir It's just so guessable from your lovely demeanour 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 24, 2018 5:39 AM
Victor chuckled - it most definitely wasn't a giggle - as McLeod reacted to his joke, seeming horrified for a second before realising that Victor was having him on. Honestly, was the kid so uptight that he couldn't even find a joke funny?

"Calm down, McLeod, of course I didn't really mean it," he replied, still highly amused. "I might be a Crotalus, but we're not all the anti-fun monsters you seem to think we are."
9 Victor Well, you seem to be enjoying it 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 24, 2018 5:52 AM
Not an anti-fun monster. Hm. So, you won't have any objections to finding your brother making out with boys then? Probably a bit blunt. And he had no desire whatsoever to out Jehan.

I don't have any particular house stereotypes. That sounded smug and sanctimonious even in his own head. And Victor had more than enough of that to go around (just because Teppenpaw tact forbid him from saying catty things didn't mean he couldn't think them. Sometimes, mentally throwing shade was the only way to get through a day).

"So, what do you do for fun then?" he asked, figuring that was a neutral enough topic.
13 Kir How about if I call you my sunshine? Would you enjoy that? 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 24, 2018 6:02 AM
Oh dear, this really was entering into small talk territory. Part of Victor felt that telling McLeod about his hobbies could be akin to selling your soul to the devil, but then again what harm could it do? He didn't have to tell McLeod his secrets or anything, not that Victor really thought he had many secrets. Apart from the fact that he actually quite liked Jehan's hugs, of course, although he was sure Jehan knew that, so it wasn't really a secret. He couldn't have his peers finding out about that one, though.

"Erm, I'm quite into broomstick racing," he offered, aiming for a neutral tone of voice. He didn't want to be too friendly and encouraging, of course, but it would be hypocritical to answer the question but sound like a jerk. "I don't play much Quidditch, though, that's just boring in comparison. What...what about you?"

Dislike of McLeod was fighting with ingrained politeness there, and sadly Victor conceeded that politeness had to win. He couldn't consider himself better than McLeod if he, well, wasn't.
9 Victor Oo-err, that's getting a little too racy for my taste 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 24, 2018 6:21 AM
"Cool," Kir replied in a neutral tone. Honestly, Victor could basically have said any words at all, and - so long as it wasn't violent, disgusting, or surprisingly kinky - got the same reaction.

What did Kir do for fun. Other boys was a tempting answer, even if not strictly true, just to see the look on Victor's face. As was the actually true answer of Dressing up like a girl and lipsynching incredibly cheesy pop songs. But he was trying to be civil, not push Victor's buttons, even though the latter would be so much easier to achieve... And, of course, to push the gay agenda.

"I'm in a gaming group here at school," he replied. He knew Victor would have no clue what Dungeons and Dragons was and would also care too little to ask. "At home, I help my parents out a lot. They run a charity," he explained. He suspected that most Purebloods hadn't heard of exactly what they did. Enough to know that they were terrible blood traitors, and possibly that they went around ripping families apart with their liberal nonsense, if they had been told anything. But mostly he suspected they weren't acknowledged at all. Why let your kids know they have options when your whole aim is to dominate and control their behaviour? "It's... kind of an anti-bullying thing. Amongst other areas. Family counselling. That kind of thing."
13 Kir You are my sunshine, my only sunshine 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 24, 2018 6:43 AM
McLeod's gaming group sounded...well Victor didn't actually know anything about it, but it was probably pretty boring. Besides, they were all a bit old for games now, weren't they?

He was also suspicious about the charity McLeod was involved with. Anyone who was anyone knew that the McLeods weren't good people, so, whilst the charity's aims sounded worthwhile, Victor knew better than to take them at face-value. That was probably how they lured people in, pretending to be nice before revealing their ulterior motives. McLeod's answer seemed to be a bit illogical too, and Victor decided to call him out on it.

"Anti-bullying doesn't seem particularly related to family counselling," he replied, feeling quite proud to not have been taken in by what was obviously nowhere near a whole truth.
9 Victor Please take my sunshine awaaaay 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 24, 2018 7:04 AM
"It is if it's the family doing the bullying," Kir replied. "It's a gay rights charity," he stated bluntly. Thanks to their little lesson in Defence class, he felt spared the need to check that Victor knew what that meant. "Certain kinds of families aren't very tolerant of that sort of thing," he said, carefully not saying 'Pureblood,' carefully not saying 'families like yours.' "We give people a place to go if it's not safe for them at home. Or help the family members who want to accept and support them. We try to make sure they aren't bullied in school either."
13 Kir I thought Jehan was your sunshine. And I happily will. 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 24, 2018 8:49 AM
Well. There it was. McLeod's family's charity was some attempt to undermine pureblood values and to split up families.

"I think you'll find that most families just want what's best for their children," replied Victor icily. "And as for school bullying, that's what professors are for, and they've got a lot more power to help than just one student."

Who did McLeod think he was? Other families' relationships were none of his business, and he obviously thought highly of himself if he thought he had more control over school affairs than the professors. The whole thing was ridiculous, and obviously poorly thought out, given McLeod's words on homosexuality.
9 Victor You keep your socially uneducated hands off my Jehan. 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 24, 2018 9:03 AM
"The best for someone is letting them be themselves. The best should not include violence or coercion. You think it'd be best for someone to stay in a home where someone's threatening or hurting them? No one deserves that, do they?"
13 Kir So, socially educated types can get as touchy as they want? 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 24, 2018 4:40 PM
"Well of course no one should be hurt or threatened!" This was just getting insulting, now. Did McLeod really think Victor would be on-board with all of that?

"But that doesn't mean people should just be themselves, there have to be limits! What if being myself meant I wanted to run around naked or something? Would your charity support that? Not everything works in such extremes as you're trying to paint it!"
9 Victor No, everyone should keep their hands off Jehan! 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 24, 2018 9:02 PM
No one should be harmed or threatened. Good. That was reassuring. Rational human decency, one point.

But being yourself bad, random spurious comparison to something that wasn't relevant... Score one for the other side.

The charity no, though personally I'd be in favour. Bet you look dead good with your kit off, Vic. Would that be so terrible to say? It was a compliment. Everyone liked a compliment, right? He was sure there even had to be something in Victor's fancy etiquette books about paying compliments.

"Is falling in love 'extreme' now? As far as I'm aware, there aren't any laws against that, whereas there are public decency laws that prevent you running around naked, fun as I'm sure that would be. If you streaked down the corridor, you'd lose your prefect badge, possibly get suspended... Those are the reasons you don't do it. If someone falls in love with someone else, there isn't any reason for them not to be with that person - and at least we agree that fear and the threat of violence aren't suitable tools for keeping them in check."
13 Kir What if he doesn't keep his hands to himself? 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 25, 2018 5:02 AM
"You can't help who you fall in love with," Victor conceeded. "But that doesn't mean you should act on it. There are certain rules in society, and they have to be followed. If I fell in love with a Muggle, for example - not that I would -, I'd know I couldn't marry her."

This was the problem with not being brought up in society's. McLeod was just so stupidly idealistic, and the real world didn't work as perfectly as he seemed to expect.
9 Victor Yeah, well, that's my business, not yours 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 25, 2018 9:32 AM
"I never really understood that... You're all so pro-magic - being magical, it's strength, it's the best thing there is. There's a few things you can't do with magic. Bring back the dead, and synthesise love. It's too powerful. True love is the strongest magic there is... And what do you all want to do? Stop it dead if it doesn't fit this narrow little set of rules. You'd rather marry for political gain than love, all the while trying to argue that you're in favour of preserving and promoting magic. Doesn't stopping people from loving freely fly in the face of wanting to promote a magical society?"

Of course, people had a long, long history of running scared from the forces they could not control. That was why Purebloods didn't like true love. It was a force bigger than their own magic, one they could never really fight. All the rules they had... It was their attempt to control and defeat a power greater than their own.

"Fighting love doesn't exactly sound like a fight you can win. Hence the concern, that... someone might get hurt if you try."
13 Kir Depends. 366 Kir 0 5


Anonymous

November 25, 2018 9:42 AM
Wow. Okay, McLeod was either on another planet, or mad, or a fairytale story created in human form with an extra dose of annoying. Either way, why wasn't he in Aladren?

"Umm..." began Victor, slightly disconcerted and unsure what to even say in reply to the stream of concern he'd been presented with.

"Well, firstly, being in love can't get you anywhere. It's all about one person, and life's about so much more than that. And it's not exactly magic, you can't do anything with it. And fitting in with society's rules isn't just about political gain. Sure, it's about politics and power, but it's also about friends and family, about looking after them and providing for them and ensuring the best for them. If you fall in love with someone you can marry, then that's great, but if not, you can't throw away your entire life for one person. Magical society is about realising that the world is bigger than just you. It's not about fighting love, it's about not being selfish."
0 Anonymous Re: Depends. 0 Anonymous 0 5

Kir

November 25, 2018 9:52 AM
"You admit that love isn't something that someone can help. And that no one deserves to be punished for it," thank Merlin. "And love can't be controlled by magic. Anyone who tells you they can change who someone loves is... basically just going to do their best to hurt that person until they break their spirit. Which, you agreed was wrong.

"So what's your solution? If someone falls in love with the 'wrong person'," he asked, giving the term the sarcastic air quotes it deserved. "Just... ask them not to? That also seems pretty selfish."
13 Kir Good argument 366 Kir 0 5


Anonymous

November 25, 2018 10:05 AM
"I don't f****** know the solution," replied Victor, exasperated at this entire conversation now. He wanted to say that he shouldn't know, that he wasn't an adult, but that seemed a little hypocritical, given that he'd spent the last 14 years of his life trying to ensure that adult solutions for things didn't come anywhere near Jehan.

"All I know is that some things are more important than love, and sometimes you have to be prepared to give things up, that sometimes it's in your best interests to do so."
0 Anonymous Re: Good argument 0 Anonymous 0 5

Kir

November 25, 2018 10:15 AM
Victor was swearing. For someone who valued control, he wasn't showing a lot of it. So, clearly what Kir said was striking some kind of nerve. Kir knew he was annoying. At least to the likes of Victor. But Victor's tone suggested more than mere annoyance, he thought. And something about his choice of words suggested there was a definite problem. One he didn't know the answer to.

Kir was in no way certain enough of his guess to bring the subject out into the open, and he was pretty sure that was the wrong thing to do. But Victor... Victor gave him reason to be hopeful. He wasn't just talking about crushing people down until their inconvenient feelings went away.

"Mm. I think we might... agree and disagree there. Sometimes, you have to give up something. Sometimes it is in your best interests to do so. No one's saying life's easy. But I'd always make sacrifices for love rather than of it. If anyone asked me to do the opposite, they'd lost my trust pretty quickly.

"And, if you ever feel like you're out of solutions, out of ideas... You know where to find me."
13 Kir I think I hit a nerve 366 Kir 0 5

Victor

November 25, 2018 10:21 AM
Oh Merlin, Victor had definitely indulged McLeod too far here if McLeod thought they agreed on something. He didn't agree with people like McLeod, McLeod was wrong and just didn't understand what life should be like!

"Yeah, thanks but no thanks," he replied, reverting back to a more detached tone. "I don't even have any problems, there no way I'd need the help of you or your charity."
9 Victor Aaand lets not get ahead of ourselves here 368 Victor 0 5

Kir

November 25, 2018 10:29 AM
Aaand they were back. Kir shrugged his shoulders lightly. Victor did not want to admit to anything. Fine. Kir had got what he came for. Victor knew he existed and, more or less, what he did. He probably had a somewhat twisted view of it still, but the seed was planted.

And Kir knew a little more about Victor. He still wasn't sure what to make of him. Not totally. He seemed... non-violent. Admittedly, that was a low bar but it was a start. He had acknowledged some of Kir's points as valid, almost.

And maybe Victor would never seek his help. Maybe he wouldn't be on the side that wanted to. Maybe his pride would stop him. But at least the option existed, much more than it had before.

"You never know," Kir shrugged, wanting to make sure that door was left open, even if only a crack.

"I've never really had to do anything prefectly except chase Aladrens out of the library," he added, in a pointedly different tone. One that jumped back to the lighthearted small talk that they had, step by step, drifted away from. "Remind them that it's not actually an extension of their common room..."

13 Kir Mischief Managed 366 Kir 0 5