heart-of-dunbroch

[heart-of-dunbroch]

There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Merida concept art by Carter Goodrich for Brave (2012)

[heart-of-dunbroch]

“Though the road be dark and dreary And its ending out of sight, Foot it bravely, strong or weary, Trust in God and do the right”

—

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Merida nodded, thinking much the same as Herc was-- that long and broken road back together.

Eight years ago, when Merida first chased the wisps down to Swynlake, determined to prove themself, they would have never thought it would take those eight years to return to the start. To piece the DunBrochs back together again.

But they were stronger now than ever before. And look at the life Merida had--

A job they enjoyed.

Mates, who trusted and loved them.

A mam who had accepted their gender identity and advocated for Merida fiercely, every step of the way.

And their da-- a little worse for the wear. Gentler, now. Sillier. Sweeter. He might not be the Fergus who Mer grew up with, but he had all the best parts of Mer's da. Maybe Elinor and this new Fergus would remain polite strangers, or one day friends...

There was so much journey still to be had. Mer was grateful they'd have it here though. In Swynlake, the first place to ever truly accept them.

Mer smiled at Herc, hearing him choke up. "Oh ye softie," Mer teased. "C'mon then, no reason for all that. Oi-- how about we do a bit of a race?" Mer said. "First one to the treeline wins!"

And then before Herc could protest, they squeezed Angus on the side. "Come on Angus!"

And they were off!

@kouros-herc

Epilogue || Merc

[heart-of-dunbroch]

"Aye, there was a ritual," confirmed Merida.

They glanced at Herc, their expression a mixture of amusement and perplexity. Hercules had never really been interested in magic stuff before, eh? At least, Mer hadn't noticed. He was a good ally, through and through, so Mer figured he just kept out of things he knew weren't his place.

So that was a bit unusual but Merida didn't think too much more on it.

"Like I said, we found these old battlegrounds. They were ripe with magical power. Or, I assume so-- I got a shit sense of perception but me brother, you know-- he's a medium. He said that the ground whispered with voices from the past. It wasn't just us, but our ancestors before us." Merida explained. "I'm glad I couldn't hear the ghosts either-- that'd make the whole thing creepier."

They chuckled. "But no, it....worked out. I expected it to be harder, but the hardest parts came before-- yanno, gathering my family together again."

For so long, after all, the DunBrochs had been split apart.

@kouros-herc

Epilogue || Merc

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Merida laughed. "Oh, well I can't tell ye all of it, mate. Got to keep some things secret."

Such as the Fates. There was no way creepy ladies... or spirits... demons-- who knew?-- would appreciate Merida spilling their existence.

But their eyes twinkled as they mounted Angus and they set on an easy stride onto one of the forest paths. The weather was good-- mild, but clear and pleasant. Mer could smell spring in the air.

"But aye. We had to return home, go back to the beginning where Mam was cursed in the first place. We still don't know who did it." Mer's face twitched at that. "But I guess it doesn't really matter who. It matters... why, and how, and what we can do to break it. Whoever did it, they wanted to use the strife in my family against us. Which was why we all had to come together in the end."

@kouros-herc

Epilogue || Merc

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Ah, ol Kouros. He was a softie, through and through.

But Mer-- not a hugger themself-- indulged Hercules. They grinned and let Herc wrap them up in his arms, felt the tender strength of their mate's squeeze. Mer had never doubted they'd return home. Doubt didn't exist in their vocabulary, after all. But it felt good to prove themself, even to their friends.

Once the hug broke, Mer pulled away and smiled. "Me ma's back to her old self. Well, not that she changed even with the blasted demon bear lurking about." Mer laughed. "But now she's free to nag the hell out of me and not risk gouging me head off with a paw! It was mad, Herc-- we had to go right into the heart of Inverness, to the site of these old ruins. The DunBrochs had fought there long, long ago."

They'd spilled their blood on that land, and the land remembered. It was the place where the Order had begun, and so it made sense that they had to break the curse there to finally free themselves from the shadow of it.

@kouros-herc

Epilogue || Merc

[heart-of-dunbroch]

"Oi! There you are! I was wonderin' if you'd gotten lost!"

Merida's exclamation echoed off the rafters when Hercules finally popped that ol' ginger head of his into the stables. Merida had gotten back from Scotland just the other day-- family intact and Elinor finally free from her curse. Course, the first person Mer had told was Hercules, since he was their boss and all. Had to let him know to put them back on the schedule.

Herc didn't want to wait until their next shift though. So they were doin' something new for the two of 'em (least, something they'd not done together) -- riding horses.

Mer had taken Angus down from Belle's and let him nibble at some of the carrots. Angus swished his long tail as Herc approached.

"So, ye miss me?"

@kouros-herc

Epilogue || Merc

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Elinor & Merida Dunbroch

Land of bear and land of eagle Land that gave us birth and blessing Land that called us ever homewards We will go home across the mountains We will go home, we will go home

Land of freedom land of heroes Land that gave us hope and memories Hear our singing hear our longing We will go home across the mountains We will go home, we will go home

@heart-of-dunbroch

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Merida Elinor DunBroch

Where dark woods hide secrets And mountains are fierce and bold Deep waters hold reflections Of times lost long ago

I will hear their every story Take hold of my own dream Be as strong as the seas are stormy And proud as an eagle's scream

@heart-of-dunbroch

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Pixar movies ranked by our followers 2024 Edition:

15. Brave

previous ranking: #12 (-3)

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Family.

It took them years to gather their broken pieces and start to mend so they could even come close to what they had once been. And it was an old cliche, but Merida liked to think maybe that saying about bones could apply to the likes of the DunBrochs-- you break them so they could get stronger. After all, the old DunBrochs had plenty of weak spots and old, half-healed wounds. Only now, with all their shite out in the open, could they have a real future.

Suddenly, tears touched Mer's eyes. They smiled fiercely through it, eyes shining as they nodded once as their mam, who had changed-- but perhaps had remained the most steadfast of them all.

Mer loved that about Elinor.

Mer thought, if there was something they had inherited from their mam, it was that strength.

"Aye," said Merida. Then louder, with the gusto Fergus had given her: "As DunBrochs!"

~~~

They left early, a few days later, earlier than the dawn. They took the first train and Merida watched Swynlake disappear behind them before they turned around again and set their eyes on the horizon ahead. Little by little, the sky lightened and the sun rose and the land disappeared underneath them.

It took the entire day. Twelve hours, two trains, a bus, then a car to take them to the edge of the forest that raised Merida.

The six of them stood there, staring at the thick trees. Merida tasted the air, rich with petrichor after an afternoon of rain. Their ears picked up every snapped twig, every breath the deer took as they picked their way through.

The DunBrochs all seemed to hold their breaths as well. They had their camping gear, their determination, but not much else. Until--

"There!" Merida said, lifting a finger to point.

A blue light hovered among the trees.

"A wisp!"

Another appeared behind it. Then another. Until the forest had lit a path for them, guiding them home.

@mamabear-elinor

Mend the Bond -> [Brave]

[heart-of-dunbroch]

The Highlands.

The Highlands were a vast place. A lush, beautiful, dark, and magical place, with more mysteries than answers. Merida's heart thudded to think of the first place they had truly felt at home. Long beforethey sfound her wolf, Merida had been a wild thing there-- romping through the woods, chasing rabbits, exploring each thicket, tracking animal prints.

But the instructions were still so vague. Right, they'd go up to the Highlands and then...?

Mend the bond torn by pride.

Whatever that meant.

Merida let out a breath. "I guess once we get up there...maybe there will be more signs. Maybe the wisps. They once led me to Swynlake," said Merida. As they said it, some of their confusion disappeared, peace taking its place. Yes, if Mer trusted the wisps, trusted their home, then they'd find the answer, even if it took...weeks.

Months?

Merida swallowed. "I guess we'll have to er, convince Lachlann. Though he said he'd do whatever it took to help ye," said Merida to Elinor. "And once I put in the word with the gym, we can leave."

@mamabear-elinor

Mend the Bond -> [Brave]

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Belle had warned about the blasting rhyming.

Still, Merida's instinct turned her lips down, her eyebrows into slits above her own bright, suspicious, gleaming eyes. It sounded like a riddle. It sounded like a spell that might catch them in its web and keep them there.

It also sounded a little bollocks. By the end of it, Mer's brain scrambled to remember the vague, slippery details. Mend the wha--? Where were they supposed to go?

"Is that all?" Merida blurted. "We need-- a solution, not fookin' directions! Even if I were to go to whatever forest you're talking about, what are we supposed to do--?!"

The middle Fate giggled. "Listen close, wolf of the wild. Reach within, to your inner child."

"The curse is powerful, but there is a trick."

"You can defeat it with the DunBroch Six."

Already, the Fates began to fade and flicker. The candle flames sputtered and died, leaving nothing but smoke pooling through the room, obscuring the women--

"Wait!" Merida coughed. They reached into the circle to grab one of them. Any of them. Just like Mer had always tried to grab their fate by the horns.

But their fingers only slipped through smoke.

Mer stumbled back. They looked from Elinor to Belle with watery eyes, the riddles still spinning through their mind. "I--" They coughed. "Were they tellin' us to go back to Inverness?"

@mamabear-elinor

Mend the Bond -> [Brave]

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Merida felt on edge.

They had never summoned shite before-- in fact, they'd only ever learned how to do the opposite. The Order trained its soldiers to banish and exorcise. They had stood in front of a circle like this, with drawings scrawled on their dorm floor and candles licking the air, but that had been to rip the demon from Dipper's flesh. It had been years ago too. Years and years.

Their fingers twitched by their side, desperate to grab for anything to defend themselves. Just in case.

But how did one defend against Fate, anyway?

Fate had always had its way with Merida DunBroch.

Belle's voice was soft as she chanted. At first, nothing happened. Then, the candles jumped. Merida felt the air change too, as if made of a different material. Then the shadows from every corner sucked themselves into the centre of the summoning circle and then reached upward toward the ceiling, growing, stretching, filling out--

When Fate stepped through, it greeted Merida and Elinor with laughter.

"Knock-knock, whose there? And so the bell chimes," said one high voice. A face appeared, a woman, with tumbling dark hair.

"Whatever could the mortals want this time?" sang the next.

Merida jumped back. They reached out and grabbed Elinor's wrist out of instinct.

The three women stretched and yawned. They flicked their hair. The candle flames dimmed.

"I-- we-- we need help," Merida blurted. They glanced at Belle, uncertain if they should speak, but otherwise they'd gap like a braineless goldfish. "Me mam is cursed and we don't know how to lift it. Belle said you could help."

The three women exchanged knowing glances, smirks playing across their lips, wicked as the candle flames.

@mamabear-elinor

Mend the Bond -> [Brave]

[heart-of-dunbroch]

The Fates?

Merida nearly barked. Oh, they heard of the fates-- read about them as a child, along with other myths and legends. The Order believed the truth laid in such things. But Mer was only taught to look for the roots when it came to this world's magic-- sorcery in tales of the gods, accounts of monsters like the chimera or the hydra, beasties that might still lurk in the deepest, darkest places in the globe.

They never considered the fates themselves to be more than a story.

Yet they caught their surprise because Belle was damn serious. One look at their friend's face told Mer as much. Belle knew about the fates.... had maybe even talked to them before.

A tiny puzzle piece clicked into place after years and years. Was that how Belle had managed to...come back from the dead? That particular story had just become rumour. For so long, Mer dismissed it. But maybe the truth was hiding in plain sight.

So Mer didn't bark or laugh or tell Belle not to mess with her. Clearly, Belle was serious. Which meant it might be a real option.

"Well-- if anyone is to know, it ought to be fate," said Merida. They frowned thoughtfully, glimpsing ahead. "I'll do anything if it means helping me mam and me family get back to the way things could be. So-- if you think we can, er, summon these... Fates-- I'm in."

@labellerose-acheron

High Stakes, Part 1 || Saddle Club

[heart-of-dunbroch]

Mer didn't quite smell the wolf yet, not under the thick layer of booze and sweat that permeated the club. But that was part of the reason Mer liked to hang out in places like this. With the low lights and all the activity, they nearly blended in.

Nearly.

But they'd probably catch the whiff off the bloke soon, especially as they got closer.

They scoffed. "Do I drink beer? Min, I'll drink the likes of ye under the table!" Merida cajoled, cracking a grin. "So if yer offering, might as well get started, eh? Looks like I need to catch up with ye sorry mug!"

@roland-doylebaby

Kings cup // Roland Open