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makeste · 4 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 302: As the Todoroki Turns

Previously on BnHA:

Today on BnHA: We have a very fun chapter in which (1) Shouto grows up lonely on account of his parents being worried that his siblings will literally try to kill him, (2) Natsu and Fuyu grow up neglected on account of not being special and/or self-destructive enough to attract attention, (3) we get to revisit all of that exciting spousal abuse from chapter 39, and (4) Touya burns to death right on cue, pretty much exactly like we expected it to happen. Thankfully since this is a shounen manga, Horikoshi finds some hope in all this misery as the Todoroki family rallies together, with Shouto getting his long-overdue credit for being a perfect sweet angel who put up with all of this shit for sixteen years and somehow came out of it strong and kind and empathetic and determined. Anyway, so that flashback was a barrel of laughs. But now that it’s over, we can put all of that angst behind us, and move on to... well I guess, probably, more angst. Look, we’re short on variety at the moment. Bear with it.

ouch. we knew this was coming, but still

A+ parenting move there. “ho boy, our eldest just tried to murder our youngest, now what? hmm how about we isolate our youngest from all human contact”

though in their defense, we probably shouldn’t have expected this rabidly strength-obsessed fire man and his wife who was groomed since childhood to obey her family’s whims to have any idea of how to raise stable, well-adjusted offspring

SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS

this is a perfect example of Enji’s tragically self-revolving viewpoint right here. just because being a hero is your entire world doesn’t mean you can just excuse yourself from anything outside of that and act like it’s out of your control. “alas, all I care about is hero stuff and my son can’t be a hero, we are doomed to inhabit two different worlds” no you jackass, it’s called having more than one hobby?? figuring out how to spend some time with your son that doesn’t involve training?? the same exact thing you were telling him to do last week, while ignoring that you’ve never done that yourself in your life??

that said, yet again we have that complexity though because it’s obvious that Enji at least on some level is aware of his own flaws, even though he seems unwilling or unable to confront them. honestly, from what we’ve seen so far, Enji’s obsession with surpassing All Might might be more accurately called an addiction. he literally can’t let go of it even though he’s fully aware of how it’s slowly destroying his life. and so in the same way that a lifelong smoker or alcoholic might tell their child to stay away from cigarettes and booze, Enji tells Touya not to follow down the same path as him, even though he himself doesn’t know how to leave that path. so yes, it’s hypocritical as fuck, but there’s also an element of helplessness there as well because Enji literally doesn’t know how not to be like this

though all the same he sure could stand to put in more than just a token effort. but it is what it is, and we already know how much he’ll come to regret it

and meanwhile Baby Shouto has frozen his sleep bubble with his quirk lmao. so I guess his quirk did come in early. that’s a recipe for chaos right there

once again Shouto is ruining every single dramatic panel in this flashback

this was so dark and intense... and then I spotted the lil bubs in the corner. Horikoshi please control yourself

“some hero you are, running away” and then all of a sudden, “FIVE YEARS LATER” lol what. OKAY THEN

(ETA: love the confirmation that eight-year-old Natsu comes from the Iida school of puberty and is basically a fully grown man, and meanwhile Touya comes from the hobbit school of puberty and has been perpetually eight for the past five years.)

“HEY BIG BRO WANNA COME RECREATE AN ICONIC FLASHBACK SCENE WITH US. WE’VE GOT THE SOCCER BALL RIGHT HERE, BUT HURRY UP OR WE’LL BE TOO LATE FOR SHOUTO TO WALK ON BY AND STOP TO LOOK”

lol and that’s literally the next three panels. but Horikoshi did add this extra bit after Endeavor starts to drag Shouto away

seriously Enji what the hell did you expect was going to happen here. “Touya went nuts and tried to kill his little brother out of jealousy, so let’s make it clearer than ever that Shouto is the important child and all the other children are just rejects. this will definitely not make the problem 100x worse, and will surely lead to Touya giving up and living a happy life, having been emotionally abandoned by the person he admired more than anyone.” good for you pal you figured it all out. no need for that plan b, “we all just go to therapy”

anyway so he’s telling Shouto he can’t play because he needs more endurance training. and meanwhile Touya’s patented Todoroki Drama Genes are going through puberty as well

definitely the face of a happy, emotionally stable child who’s not still plotting to murder his younger brother in his sleep

“WELL ACTUALLY MAKESTE” lol I stand corrected??

apparently during the five year interim Touya actually stopped blaming Shouto and realized Enji was the one at fault. good for him! a bit inconsistent, given what we know happens later, but I assume we’ll get to that in good time

anyway. “yeah man I agree that dad sucks, but it’s the middle of the night and I’m only eight and you’ve been monologuing for the past two hours bro”

LMAO

the manga is making my jokes for me, only better. fine then

looks like someone’s still miffed about that disagreement he had with his baby sister back when she was like four

“Fuyu doesn’t get properly riled up like I want her to so ranting to her is annoying.” okay but having been in Fuyu’s shoes, it really is just a different way of coping, and I can guarantee she’s not as fine with the whole situation as Touya might think. but making your peace with something is often a decision that’s made for emotional self-preservation reasons. and I sure as hell don’t fault her for trying to shut out a situation that she had no control over, and trying to make the best of it, and scrape together as normal a childhood as she could manage

and now in Touya’s defense as well, that is of course easier said than done, and I’m sure if there was a “push this button and instantly get over all of the trauma in your life” switch readily available for Touya then he would have pushed it too. unfortunately it’s not always that simple

so now Rei is pleading with Touya not to go train up on his little emo hill again, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed since he was eight

I don’t think he gives two figs about being a hero; he just wants his father to look at him again with pride. fucking hell, stop doing this to me you damn Todorokis

guh, they keep telling him the same thing over and over again

even if we hadn’t already known he was gonna go melt his jawbone off soon, I wouldn’t have expected a line like that to go over well

yep. fuck

that Todoroki puberty angst, though. nothing else quite like it

“you have a part in this too, Mom” ooooooh man

okay but look, he’s not entirely wrong. like, I’m not saying any of this is Rei’s fault at all! she’s in an impossible situation where she’s afraid to stand up to Enji (who by this point has shown that he’s willing to physically attack her if things get too heated, which is terrifying), and doesn’t really have anywhere to turn for support. her parents aren’t helping much if at all, and Japan in general is just a terrible country to be in when you’re in a domestic abuse situation. everyone’s expected to put on a brave face and deal with their problems all on their own in private. Rei is basically completely isolated at this point, and she doesn’t know what else to do, and so she’s just trying to keep the situation as stable as possible for the kids

but on the other hand, “for the kids” is also where that argument starts to break down a bit, because at this point Shouto is also being physically abused by his father, and the other kids are continuing to be neglected (emotionally if not physically), as they have been for years. so the situation really isn’t stable at all for them. and as a kid, what you end up learning in that type of situation is that you can’t rely on either parent. not the abusive one, certainly, but also not the other one who can’t protect you from any of it. even if they love you and they’re trying, they’re just as helpless as you. Rei is struggling to deal with all of this with one hand tied behind her back, and I get it, and I’m not blaming her at all. but all the same, particularly given that she’s (understandably) putting almost all her focus on Shouto, the end result is that the other kids have basically been left to fend for themselves

so yeah! a shitty situation all around. and one of those cases where it’s not really anyone’s fault (aside from Enji’s), but I can understand the resentment Touya is feeling all the same. and I’m so glad Horikoshi is acknowledging this, because it’s something I probably would have been too uncomfortable to bring up otherwise. as it is it’s still an incredibly heavy subject, and one that I probably have too many personal feelings about

anyway, so once again the whole “we’ll try talking to him and then just shrug our shoulders when it doesn’t work” parenting strategy doesn’t really pan out for the Todoroki fam

sob this boy is Anakin Skywalkering before our very eyes. all that’s missing is AFO to come and start whispering in his ear. any minute now...

“anyway so then he got taller and his fire changed from red to blue”

guess we’re getting pretty close then huh. this is the part of the flashback that I really don’t want to see, but also unfortunately the part that I’m most curious about :/

oh for fuck’s --

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IGNORING HIM FOR FIVE YEARS DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM” sob. back to the drawing board I guess

I thought he got taller, why is he still only like a third of Enji’s height here

oh fuck me these are armor-piercing feels. this is the heavy artillery right here

ENJI I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE STOP AND THINK FOR ONE MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE DOING SOMETHING YOU’LL REGRET FOR THE REST OF ALL TIME. your child just told you that he still thinks beating All Might is the only thing you care about, and that he believes his existence is a mistake unless he finds some way of doing that for you. please stop for a moment to contemplate that and choose your next words with care and grace and oh who the hell am I kidding

-- OR WE COULD JUST BLAME REI

go on and blame everyone but yourself then!! that’s a great solution!! jesus christ man I know this is Endeavor at his literal worst but still this is fucking hard to watch

POOR BABY SHOUTO IS YELLING AT HIS DAD NOT TO HIT HIS MOMMY THIS LITTLE BRAVE BOY NEEDS SO MANY HUGS OH MY GOD

AND MEANWHILE THE OTHERS ARE HUDDLED IN THE NEXT ROOM TRYING NOT TO CRY AH FUCK

(ETA: Fuyu covering Natsu’s ears cuts RIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME. Horikoshi if you’re really not gonna get these kids some therapy then at least consider giving your readers some. what is this.)

you know it’s bad when you’re starting to think the part where the kid burns to death might actually be a less traumatic thing to cut to right now

holy shit, actual Rei thoughts

“I was the one who ultimately made that choice” well there we go, wonder if that’ll put that whole argument to bed at last. I doubt it, but you never know. actually who am I kidding it’s not gonna settle jack shit lol

oh thank god, they decided it was getting too intense and cut away back to the present to narrate this next (final?) part

get ready to cue up that Alicia Keys. THIS BOY IS ON FIREEEEEEE

yeah I think that’s one thing we can mostly all agree on. neither of them had any clue what the fuck they were doing pretty much at any point. though I will say that the hypocrisy of him being all “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM” followed by him IMMEDIATELY DOING THE EXACT SAME THING is a bit rich

(ETA: and he still has this problem, doesn’t he? he froze up when Ending snatched Natsuo, and again when Dabi was attacking Shouto. he’s so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he ends up not doing anything, which of course is exactly what led to Touya’s death. damn Enji I guess you’ve still got some additional character development to unlock.)

and of course neither of them could possibly have known how badly it was going to turn out. like, the consequences here were WAY disproportionate even for the shittiest of parenting. no one expects “I didn’t know how to talk to my son” to snowball into “my son burned to death and then somehow came back as a villain and murdered thirty people”

ohhhhhhhh fuck me

LITERALLY INCINERATED THE ENTIRE HILLSIDE. fuck. and I am so not ready for the scene of Enji finding the remains of his jawbone afterwards. at least we were spared anything super-graphic (for now at least)

I feel like the timeline here is off, btw?? wasn’t Touya’s death supposed to happen after Rei got hospitalized? this might be the first actual retcon of the entire flashback. although I think it makes more sense this way tbh

I do appreciate that ten years later Enji is finally reflecting on the fact that if he’d just given up his stupid obsession he could have stopped his family from crumbling apart. that probably sounds sarcastic as fuck, but it’s not. there are countless jerks out there who would have still managed to find a way to blame literally everyone and everything under the sun except for themselves. at least he finally figured out how to take responsibility, even if it came too late to stop his son from dying and being radicalized into a villain terrorist organization

and speaking of, it seems to me we’re missing a third and final part to this little tale of woe, and one which only Touya himself will be able to shed any light on. so we’ll see how that goes

oh man seeing the other kids blaming themselves even though none of it was their fault hits hard af. Rei wasn’t kidding when she said they’d been bearing that burden of guilt far longer than Enji

SHOUTO I SWEAR TO GOD IF THE NEXT PANEL IS YOU APOLOGIZING FOR BEING BORN, I WILL... WELL I’LL BE VERY SAD, I GUESS. SO DON’T DO IT

oh good he’s just being quiet. good. it absolutely is not your fault lil bean. it’s not theirs either, but feeling guilty about things that aren’t your fault is a time-honored shounen tradition

goddammit I braced myself for the angsty Shouto panel a page too early. gotta do it all over again now lol. okay here goes

;_;

well well well would you look at that

imagine that. talking things out with your child before they make a rash decision. looks like the Todorokis’ parenting skills are finally leveling up

OH MY GOD

holy shit. this is the most quintessential moment of father/son Todoroki bonding in the entire series. for me it even tops the “nice scar” scene lol. Enji sobbing at the fact that he still has a chance to set things right. and Shouto offering his hand in what is actually the most mature and selfless gesture I’ve ever seen, and being all “we’ll stop him together” to his dad who he hates, but also doesn’t really entirely hate anymore. and all of that is incredibly moving... BUT ALSO HE STILL REFUSES TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH HIM AND HE WOULD LIKE HIM TO STOP BEING SO FUCKING DRAMATIC ALREADY IF YOU DON’T MIND. “WHEN YOU’RE DONE CRYING...” fkjldsk

OH MY FUCKING LORD

(ETA: wouldn’t be a Todoroki drama fest if there wasn’t somebody listening in on the whole thing in secret just around the corner lmao.)

“you think we should have waited somewhere else?” “yeah, probably.” “are you feeling a lot of secondhand embarrassment too?” “god, you have no idea.” STFU HAWKS IT’S NOT EMBARASSING TO BE MOVED TO TEARS BY YOUR FAMILY ALL COMING TOGETHER IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR TO GIVE YOU HOPE THAT YOU PROBABLY DON’T DESERVE BUT ARE NONETHELESS INDESCRIBABLY GRATEFUL FOR

and anyway you chose these guys as your found family, bucko. too late to back out now. next time go get yourself adopted by the Iidas then

AND MEANWHILE NO WORD ON THE WHOLE “HOW DID A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD SURVIVE A FIRE THAT COVERED HIS BODY WITH HORRIFIC SCARS AND MELTED HIS JAW OFF, AND HOW DID HE SOMEHOW THEN MANAGE TO GO INTO HIDING FOR TEN WHOLE YEARS, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT INTERIM TO CHANGE HIS GOAL FROM ‘SURPASS ALL MIGHT TO IMPRESS MY DAD’ TO ‘KILL ALL HEROES TO MAKE MY DAD SUFFER’.” as if we don’t know the answer to that. but still, would it kill Horikoshi to just confirm AFO’s involvement in all of this already. at this point it’s basically just a formality

so here’s hoping next week we’ll either get that, or more Hawks action, or (DARE I EVEN SUGGEST, I’M AFRAID TO JINX IT) finally cut back to Bakugou and Deku and All Might omg. either way I’m hyped

#bnha 302 #todoroki touya #dabi #todoroki enji #endeavor #todoroki rei #todoroki shouto #todoroki natsuo #todoroki fuyumi #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #my sincerest apologies for this absurdly long recap which is barely funny at all!#THERE WAS VERY LITTLE HUMOROUS CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER #congratulations horikoshi you win this round

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dragoneyes613 · 4 years ago

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“My father told me a story once,” Hermie Bing said suddenly as her left hand fiddled with a button on her jacket.

“Hmm?” Harriet asked absentmindedly as she kept an eye on their target, resisting the urge to double-check that everyone was in position.

“My father told me a story once,” Hermie repeated. She was one of the newer additions to Harriet’s crew, but she’d never given Harriet any reason to doubt her loyalty in the six or so months since she’d joined. “I think it could help explain why she didn’t agree to join you, even for protection.”

Harriet raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

Hermie took a deep breath. “He was saying-about how they tame elephants, in the circus. Like, they’re so big and strong, how is it that the elephant doesn’t just break its thin rope tying it to the post and go?”

“How?” Harriet asked, despite herself. They were in the middle of a mission, but she knew Hermie wouldn’t interrupt her for no reason unless this was relevant. The daughter of the Ringmaster did tend to get talkative when nervous, but Harriet was the captain for a reason.

“They capture the elephant when it’s a baby,” Hermie explained. “It’s so young and weak that it can’t break the rope no matter how much it tries. So eventually, it gives up. And then even later, when it’s grown up and strong enough to break the rope, it doesn’t. Because it remembers when it couldn’t, and thinks that will never change.”

There was silence for a moment.

“I see what you meant,” Harriet finally said quietly as she watched their target, Claudine Frollo, pay a shopowner in the marketplace and leave. Unobtrusively, she and Hermie fell into step several meters behind Claudine. Harriet didn’t need to look to know that Sammy, Murph, and Jade were joining them from the sides.

Claudine had never fought back against her father.

Harriet had her own problems to deal with, yes. But at least her father wouldn’t hit her as punishment for some ridiculous thing-although Hook had his own idiosyncrasies and things that set him off, yes-and then tell her this was the only way she wouldn’t be doomed or whatever it was Frollo was telling Claudine. Harriet’s crew fenced stolen goods through the Frollos’ basement; Harriet had seen the girl covered in blood, as though she’d been fighting as violently as some of the worst pirates Harriet knew, although Claudine never fought, never started up with anyone...

Never did anything to herself.

Harriet had once offered Claudine a place on her crew. She did let them hide important things in her basement, after all. This would have included a berth on the ship, if she’d wanted-or needed. Freedom from her father.

She’d said no.

Harriet had her own problems to deal with, but she couldn’t stand by and do nothing. It was the mental aspect, too. Most parents on the Isle didn’t try to convince their children that everything was their fault. And Claudine had no siblings, no mother, nothing. Just herself and her father.

Harriet had heard the stories of Quasimodo. It would be worse for Claudine, wouldn’t it? Because Claudine was a girl, born after her father’s defeat, when Claude Frollo had been turned bitter by betrayal, still and always believing he was right, because she was smaller, slighter, weaker, than Quasimodo.

Harriet had recently gotten an invitation to Auradon (that meant she would have to thank her brother, wouldn’t it? Well, it wouldn’t stop her from grounding him-or CJ, for that matter-for disappearing on her with no warning.) for herself and her crew.

Harriet wasn’t about to refuse such a generous offer. For her entire crew? She’d have agreed to nearly any deal that offered that.

And if her crew had an extra, as-yet unwilling member taken along for her own good...well, the Auradon people wouldn’t know the difference.

#so I'm just imagining Harriet's crew kidnapping Claudine on their way to Auradon #but it's a good kidnapping #harriet hook #hermie bing #claudine frollo #claude frollo #descendants #The Isle of the Lost

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effervescentslut · 5 years ago

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how you meet | edward cullen

A/N: wowowow after being on Tumblr for 6+ years I would have NEVER imagined my first published writing to this site being Twilight dnvjdfjaskdlmfkl enjoy!! requests are open :)) I will write for Twilight (mainly the Olympic Coven, except Jasper romantically), Star Wars, and Harry Potter

Pairing: Edward Cullen x Fem!Reader

Category: Fluff

Content Warnings: Reader gets unsolicited attention from teenage boys, swear words

when you moved to forks after spring break because of your dad’s work, you’re unanimously nicknamed new girl™ by all of forks high school’s students

and consequently, you’re the new eye candy for your male peers

Forks boys are, well . . . neanderthals douchebags

the ones you’ve met are egotistical, super immature, and super HORNY

. . . you decide to keep your distance

aNyWaYs

you get smooshed into ap u.s. history

apush, baby, apush HAAAAA

the teacher points you to an empty seat next to some pale blonde dude

he gives off weird kid energy at first but then he politely speaks to you

“i’m jasper. welcome to forks” and gives you an acknowledging nod

his eyes are topaz!!!?? woooooooah that’s so cool is that like a genetic defect or smth??

aaaaand your teacher immediately assigns a PROJECT

a fuckin civil war project

you swear you see jasper’s pupils dilate

you hear a chuckle from behind you

and when you turn around you see a pale dude w a dark brown buzzcut and some blonde girl smirking beside him

you later find out that those are his siblings

his fuckin goofy ass siblings

anyways a few weeks pass

you pop in at your dad’s job @ forks hospital and see him chatting w a fellow physician

yet another pale dude with blonde hair

JESUS HOW FUCKING MANY ARE THERE

you approach them and your dad embraces you in a hug

“heeeeyyyy sweet pea! how’s it goin’!”

the doctor he was talking to looks at you fondly

“hello, i’m carlisle cullen” and offers you his hand to shake, which you do

“y/n, carlisle was just inviting us to his house later tonight for some dinner”

dr. hotpants puts his hands in his pockets and humbly grins

“my son jasper tells me you’re his classmate”

oh god he’s one of those pta dads, isn’t he??

“oh, yeah, he’s my partner in history”

he smiles, “that’s wonderful. my wife esme and i would love to have you both over as our guests. it’s not often we have company for dinner. and i’m sure the rest of my children would love to meet you, y/n”

jesus christ how many kids does this guy have?? he looks THIRTY

don’t worry, in the car your dad tells you they’re all adopted lmfao

✰✰later that night✰✰

their house is HUGE jesus fuckin christ

alice knows (well they all know) about you because of jasper

IMMEDIATELY loves you!!

“hi! i’m alice!!!”

WHOLESOME AS FUCK UGH

i’m EVAPORATING. i’m YODELLING. it’s fine :-)

you thought you weren’t gonna make any pals in forks bc of the weird horny teenage specimens but here we are ;-;

alice envelopes you into a tight hug and you, in shock, grasp her arms to acknowledge this affection

your dad’s chillin near carlisle and esme and he’s silently chuckling

oh . . . they all have black eyes now?? must be the weather

or the fluorescence

you wave at jasper, rosalie, and emmett

you notice the last sibling

he’s very handsome

to you, everything about him was attractive

his soft hair contrasted against his hardened facial features

you could tell he was socially reserved when it comes to new acquaintances, just like you

he physically isolates himself from his family once you and your dad arrived

he was standing alone near a corner away from everyone else

you make eye contact with him and his mental barrier breaks down

he loses his cool

his face contorts

his lips twist into puckered lines

he claps his hand over his mouth and vacates the room immediately, running up the stairs

everyone notices his sudden departure

his family is shocked but tbh not really

✰✰✰ eddy boy is a lil shy around girls sometimes ✰✰✰

carlisle breaks the impending doom of silence

“i apologize for edward leaving us so abruptly. he hasn’t been feeling well as of late; please excuse his absence. . .”

you awkwardly pretend like that never happened

you feel it in your gut that your presence disturbed him

and not only did you disturb him

but you disturbed him so bad that he had to leave

for why?? you don’t know

you then realize that everyone else in the room knows he left bc of you

. . . anyway you all sit down at the table but you and your dad are the only ones who have plates

your dad notices this too

“hey, aren’t you guys gonna eat too?”

esme grins warmly at him

“oh, don’t worry about us. we just wanted to welcome you to town!”

uhhh, ok ma’am

alice talks to you for almost the entire time you were eating ;-; i love her

you’re also talking to jasper, cracking some apush jokes

you, jasper, emmett, and rosalie talk shit about your classmates and teacher

“why the fuck -- *carlisle glares at emmett* -- heck did mr. whatshisface give us a project RIGHT AFTER BREAK???!!”

“and he paired y/n and jasper!! they’re civil war n e r d s!! they’re gonna get the best grade” rosalie chimes in

“not if we--”

alice ❀politely❀ tells them to stfu

you giggle

bonding with your new pals <33

allllllright so it’s a few days later

you’re walking home from school

it’s drizzling, as always, but you know that it’s gonna rain harder if you don’t get home fast enough

and some asshole

some persistent prick from your class

keeps flirting with you

he’s talking about how he hasn’t been able to take his eyes off of you since you came to forks

he’s insisting he has your phone number, that he’s gonna take you out on dates. . .

you hate it

you’re so uncomfortable but you can’t really do anything about it

s u d d e n l y

a car pulls up beside where you and the guy are walking on the sidewalk and screeches to a stop

the window is rolled down and you see a familiar face

it’s edward cullen

with one hand on the wheel, he looks at both of you and clenches his jaw

“get in”

even though he was undeniably weird a few weeks ago, you concede

you never got to speak to him, but you knew that edward was trustworthy

you practically launch yourself into his silver volvo c30™

he shoots a stone-cold glare to the jackass on the sidewalk and drives away

honestly, it wouldn’t take much for anyone (not just a mind-reading vampire) to know how uncomfortable you are after what just happened with that guy

your body language is tense

your arms are crossed tightly

your body is pointed towards the passenger window as your knees touch the door

tears are welling up in your eyes

it would be mere seconds until you fully broke down

you’re embarrassed, to say the least

you’re embarrassed that you were put in a vulnerable situation, like a damsel in distress

and of all people, the handsome and mysterious guy--

the handsome and mysterious guy you began crushing on

--who feels seemingly indifferent towards you swept you off your feet and helped you when you needed someone

that made things even more embarrassing

and the tears started streaming down your heated cheeks

edward immediately sensed your unease (hmm wonder why, but also who wouldn’t sense it???)

he’s pissed.

absolutely livid

that asshole had a d e a t h w i s h

he knew you didn’t want to address your unsolicited encounter, so . . .

*awkwardly clears throat* “are you enjoying the weather?”

you choked

you did not expect him to ask that

nor did you expect him to talk at. all.

you smile through your tears and laugh

you can’t help but laugh

he’s just so awkward and cute

his half-baked plan of indirectly distracting you definitely worked

you started to excitedly talk about the rain and how much you love gloomy, cloudy days

. . . and then the elephant in the room

the inevitable first impression from a few days ago

“i’m sorry for my behavior from our first meeting. i wasn’t feeling well, and i wouldn’t have wanted for you or your father to be affected by my illness”

you’re a little skeptical at first

buuuuut you give him the benefit of the doubt and dismiss his apology

“that’s okay. it’s allergy season, anyway. i’m glad you’re feeling better”

you have no idea how bad i wanted to make a spanish flu joke right there

a small, soft smile lifts the corners of his lips “i’m edward cullen”

you look at him and return the smile

t h e t e a s i n g e n e r g y

“i’m y/n”

the car approaches your house after time seems to have flown by

your dad looks at you both as he walks to his car to go to work

he waves at edward

edward smiles and waves back at him as he enters the car

you gratefully thank edward for the ride, careful not to dwell on the prior circumstances

as you open the passenger door, edward grabs your wrist

!!he grabs your wrist!!

he insists on being your ride to and from school from now on

you object and exit the car

but

b u t

edward smirks, leaning towards the open door

“i’ll see you in the morning, y/n”

your jaw drops

and then he closes the door and speeds off

you watch him drive away and your heartbeat becomes arrhythmic

a garden of butterflies is unleashed in your stomach

blood rushes to your cheeks once more

you smile to yourself before heading inside

secretly anticipating tomorrow morning :’)

#edward cullen #edward cullen x reader #edward cullen imagine #twilight #twilight imagine #edward cullen headcanons #twilight headcanons #edward cullen imagines #headcanons

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dream-girls-evil · 5 years ago

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Ratched: Episode 7 Reactions

Oh wait Hanover has a family??? A child?!

Ahh a classic case of a doctor married to his work

Oh no this is heartbreaking

Ahh and this is when he meets Lenore and Henry, pouring himself into this work

Huck!! The sweetest boy!!!

Ohhh does he like her?? Omg this is precious

I hope she’s honest with him about why she can’t. Cuz he’s so kind and accepting.

And this is the first time she’s really said this out loud to someone

Why couldn’t Dolly have fallen for Huck?

“Blowsy, alcoholic jazz baby” XD that is exactly what Louise is

Finally we’re back to this! Fuck is Betsy going to find out that they’re siblings?!

Oh FUCK SHE KEPT THE PRIEST’S TESTIMONY!!! YOU NEVER KEEP THE EVIDENCE!!!

Damn and Betsy not wasting any time confronting her about it! Everyone finding out her secrets!

Wait she...wants to help her? Is this gonna be actual help or like blackmail “we can benefit each other” help?

“Now I don’t know what I think he deserves” called it! Her conviction is wavering!

Betsy doesn’t think Edmund deserves the death penalty either? Now that’s a surprise. Ah well, I guess she’s got Hanover’s view on things.

Ooh was she discharged for killing that guy? Multiple men, I guess.

Betsy being so understanding is...weird. But I kinda get it? She really has seen Mildred be kind and caring and strong. She knows she’s far from a heartless killer.

Ooh Betsy has a plan? To save the hospital?

Ahh they’re trying to get full private funding, and maybe take over the hospital themselves? Remove Hanover from his position?

Oop Mildred didn’t share everything she knows about Hanover lol

Bucket’s shock is so funny XD that wasn’t on the list!!!

Make Huck head nurse!!! Give him a purpose!!!

So Mildred is definitely setting things up so that she can cut and run, with or without Edmund, when she needs to

Go Betsy go!!! I love her dismissing Hanover

“That’s why I’m letting you go” aw they kinda reconciled

He’s gonna know this is all because of Mildred tho

I bet Charlotte’s gonna regress

Yay racism

Something’s not right with Charlotte. Is she gonna die? Oh no oh no he put her in a closet. She’s gonna regress.

Oh fuuuuuuck and that’s the end of Hanover

Aw poor Charlotte. I’m glad she called Mildred. Mildred’s going to help.

This makes three patients they’ve literally just spirited away on buses or trains lol

How does Mildred know about the hospital in Mexico? I wonder if she’s planning on fleeing there herself

Getting lye for the body? Or a saw?

Oh hey lol now she can deliver his head after all

...I do have to wonder if Charlotte getting triggered and killing Hanover was the best-case scenario all along

Haha IN A HAT BOX

Lenore totally has a little bit of a thing for Mildred

Is Henry gonna kill her? He looks like he wants to kill her.

Dude literally how do you think this is going to work out for you? She’s the one who wipes your ass.

Louise must be so tired of people coming to visit Mildred 😂😂😂

Oh!! The social worker!!!

Justifiable homicide!!! GOOD.

Aw wow Mildred had been looking for him for so long

Hmm why do I feel like he’s not gonna be there when she shows up to get him?

I’m completely lost with the timeline here. How many years ago was this? Did he give her the slip to go kill the priests?

Haha we’re back to “doomed since conception”

Wait, did Mildred not know why Edmund killed the priests until now? That changes things.

Aaand here we go, Anna’s going to confirm to her that Edmund is a lost cause

Gwen’s going East. I wonder if she’ll go to Boston lol

Why the weird focus on her drinking the water? And why looking through this car window?

Okay it’s just Mildred watching from the car

Ooh they need to talk! So things are not all good between them.

Ah yeah Gwen’s pissed. And she’s right on the money. Mildred does whatever is best for Mildred.

Honey this is not time for a love confession. This is time to apologize and then let her decide how she feels.

Gwen doesn’t want a part in this!!!

Really? Cancer? Jesus.

Tbh I’m...not about this kiss?

I BET LENORE LEFT EVERYTHING TO PETUNIA HAHAHA

Lmao Mildred’s look when Betsy says she’s an example of grace

WHO NEEDS DOCTORS okay Betsy loving the confidence but also...you do. You need doctors.

Thoughts and Theories

Only one episode left to go!!! Tbh, I keep waiting to suddenly realize the meanings between the red and green lights, but it seems like they’ve abandoned the whole thing at this point, so who knows? Also, pretty sure my favorite character in this whole thing is Betsy Bucket. She’s just so delightful. I also really liked how she called Mildred out this episode, and I love that she got over Hanover and realized she deserved better and could run things on her own. And speaking of Hanover, what an ending! I feel horrible for Charlotte, but we all saw this coming. And despite everything, I really like Hanover as a character. He’s weak-willed and very idealistic and has a drug problem, but he’s a compassionate man. I think he’s a really good example of how despite the rampant corruption and abuse in psychiatric hospitals at the time, which Cuckoo’s Nest was written to comment on, there were also a lot of very well-intentioned doctors and nurses who truly did believe these treatments were what was best for their patients. They were products of their time.

On to other things, I must admit I’ve been excitedly waiting for Gwen and Mildred’s first kiss and I was...really disappointed by the whole scene. I don’t like how Gwen’s very real and reasonable objections to being in a relationship with a liar and murderer are dismissed as a tactic to make Mildred go away because Gwen is scared of dying. I don’t like how Mildred reacts in the scene either. The way keeps trying to touch Gwen even though Gwen is batting her hands away is not an okay thing to do, and she really seems to thing that everything should be fine between them and she should be forgiven because she had reasons for killing and hurting people, but that’s not a decision she gets to make for Gwen. She doesn’t really seem to acknowledge or respect that Gwen is not comfortable being with her, and in a situation like this where someone is trying to tell you “no” and trying to explain their feelings, insisting on how much you love them is not a comfort; it’s a manipulation. Idk, the friends I’ve talked to who have finished the season say that their dynamic improves in the last episode, so I’ll try to go in with an open mind, but this is not what I’d hoped for. It’s completely understandable that Mildred has some unhealthy relationship behaviors, but they need to be portrayed as such, and this kind of thing often isn’t. Gwen has always been so straightforward and insistent about being heard and respected that her giving in like this seems out of character, too.

#ratched #ratched spoilers #mildred ratched #dr hanover #betsy bucket #nurse bucket #gwendolyn briggs #all hail the queue of hell

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sleepykittypaws · 5 years ago

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Five Star Christmas

Original Air Date: November 27, 2020 (Hallmark) Where to Watch?: Hallmark will replay it multiple times this season, and for every season in perpetuity

Bethany Joy Lenz has been back on Hallmark, after a few years flirtation with Lifetime, for a while now, but Five Star Christmas is her first Hallmark Christmas movie since 2014's The Christmas Secret. Sad they didn't take the opportunity to re-team her with Andrew Walker, now that they're both firmly in the Hallmark fold, because, you know, Snowed Inn Christmas forever, but good to see Lenz back in holiday fare, none-the-less.

This is definitely at least a tiny bit different than your average Hallmark movie, focusing a bit more on humor than has been their norm, and allowing for slightly wackier family antics.

“Slightly” being the key word there, as this story of a family trying to impress an incognito bed and breakfast critic is still altogether quite safe, and I knew from the minute they latched on to the same (disgusting) sassafras-flavored candy cane that Victor Webster would be that critic, even though the family would think it was someone else, and then Lenz would inevitably find out, dooming their newfound love.

And that's…Exactly what happened. I mean, sure, I've seen a lot of these movies, but it's not exactly an unheard of premise, so don't think I'm unique in my seeing the whole journey in the first few minutes.

That having been said, the character business here made this movie. The older brother and his wife have some genuinely humorous moments, both as their over-the-top guest personas, and just being an annoying little brother to Lenz's bossy big sister role. (The whole I'm not touching you bit is a sibling classic for a reason.)

Grandma eagerly adopting a Russian grand dame persona and Grandpa as a reluctant bellhop/handy man were also a lot of fun. Though we do need an explanation for why this supposedly American family has the world's most Canadian dad.

Also, when Lenz talks poignantly about this being the "house she grew up in," I gave her a big side eye. I mean, this place is 10 years old tops, right? Even with a remodel, this isn't how homes in the 1970 and '80s were built, and while Lenz is far from old, she also wasn't an infant in 2005.

Speaking of things that makes you go, hmm…Weird how the younger daughter/budding chef had a cable at the ready to connect a 35-year-old VHS camcorder to her modern MacBook. That seems…unlikely.

Also would like to know what kind of sorcery she has that the general store owner can give her a powdered spice, and she can turn it back into its whole form to put on the ham. It’s a Christmas miracle indeed!

The idea that you'd have to spend every second with the innkeepers while on vacation sounds like my idea of a nightmare, so a review saying that the people who run the B&B make you "feel like part of the family," would be the kiss of death for me ever visiting, but to each their own, I guess.

Happy to see Hallmark putting more com back in their rom-coms, though I'm not sure the pairing here had much chemistry. (Sorry, Victor Webster.) But Lenz always elevates whatever she's in, so Hallmark is smart to hold on to her. She even made horticulture fairly fun in her last holiday movie for Lifetime, Poinsettia's For Christmas.

Honestly don't remember the last time I watched three Hallmark movies in a row—this, Christmas by Starlight and Good Morning Christmas!—that I actually quite enjoyed. The improvement in this year’s movie crop is both real, and really welcome.

Final Judgement: 3 Paws Up

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valkerymillenia · 5 years ago

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Umbrella Academy

season 2, episode 4

New episode, new post!

This was the other post I had written out that got accidently deleted so I'm writing it all again.

1993? And Lila was 4? TOO MUCH COINCIDENCE! I still stand by my theory that Lila is one of the 43.

Yes, she has a father but that could just be her mother's husband. It's just too coincidental that the show would make her exactly the same age as the Hargreeves for no reason.

Ah the red heels. Hi Handler. These heels are really pretty though, very wicked witch with the ruby slippers. Even that outfit kind of screams wicked witch meets Cruella de Vil 😏

Kill parents, adopt child. Interesting MO, Handler. Like an evil Bruce Wayne (does this make Handler Owlman? I know, I'm not funny).

Oh, Handler pulling a Reginald with Lila!

Except, you know, she actually gives Lila positive reinforcement and affection, unlike Reggie. But her training seems just as brutal and inhumane for a child (and possibly even more violent) as Reginald's...

It's curious and interesting, a nice foil. Handler succeeds where Reggie fails- creating a loyal and effective soldier will into adulthood- because she was willing to give the kid affection and compassion. Reggie saw himself as some sort of hero creating heros but he failed at the most basic and human thing that even the villain understood.

-The filmography in these training scenes is brilliant.

-Ah, that prom look is the same as half of my classmates when we graduated 🤣 down to the blue makeup.

I'm guessing Lila's "prom"/"graduation" was her first solo assassination?

Wait, Handler wants to protect Five...? What the hell is she up to now?

Talking about killing people like it's a fun hobby 🤨

Oh, so the Swedes are triplets? I suspected but I like the confirmation.

Oh, Handler is lying ~~~~ 🎶

She's definitely following her own agenda here and she's leading Lila into danger. The question is if she's going to undermine the Commission for revenge of if she wants to prove her ability to get promoted back into administrative ranks of the Commission.

Either way, this will not end well for Five.

Lila is going to end up having to choose between Diego and Handler, isn't she?

Five stays in the car to give Luther space... No matter what Five says he actually cares about his siblings' feelings, doesn't he? He's the most overprotective of them all and always has been. It's sweet.

Ah, Luther and Vanya bonding over Five being an asshole. ☺️

"very warm and cuddly father" 🤣

Of course Vanya figured out Five was sparing her feelings, because she's not dumb

Oh, thank you for the honesty, Luther! Gotta love that.

I'm actually really happy to see Luther owning up to his mistakes instead of trying to act like the flawless leader. I think he grew a lot after accepting that Reginald wasnt perfect and I'm glad to see that growth still happening as he learns how to be an independent person. I just hope his guilt doesn't turn into even more self-hatred.

"you had kind of a bad childhood" -understatement of the century, Luther!

Luther, you have pissed off the mobster, you moron. You're on big trouble now.

Dramatic wall punch! 🙄

"when you get angry shit blows up" 😂😂😂

"you're our sister and a member of the umbrella academy" - oh, now you want to include her? The irony of this is that it's the one thing Vanya wanted for the first 29 years of her life and if anyone had said it then, the apocalypse would probably have never happened.

🖕🙊🖕

"I wonder if it's too late to be un-adopted" -ah, you know you love them, Five

Honestly, Allison actually keeps her cool really well, if I went through that phone call I would have broken something.

Why the hell does Klaus want menudo first thing in the morning?? Ew...

Klaus butchering "the frog and the scorpion"... You were doing so well but ended up completely missing the point of that story, dummy.

Diego's stab wound is healing really quickly...

Wait, he's healing quickly and Allison doesn't have a neck scar... Plus Klaus is immortal... Hmm, I wonder if quick healing is an ability they all share? Though that would put Diego's scars (and maybe Ben's death) into perspective...

Does Diego wax his chest? Those pecs are real smooth for someone who spent over two months in a 60s mental institution. 😆

"we've all had the urge" 😂 and Diego's sarcastic laugh 🤣

Who's the 12th of the Magestic 12? Oh, I WONDER WHO THAT COULD BE??? Maybe a certain monocled asshole?

"Mamie pink" is Klaus's new nickname, I don't make the rules.

Klaus, you are freaking the boy out with all this new information...

Oh no, the homophobia 😡😡😡

You know what's more heartbreaking about this homophobic disaster? Dave is likely in the closet and this whole situation here and the hate his uncle is showing must be so painful to him, it would probably bury him even deeper in the closet...

Klaus... The punch... Oh, baby... 😢 Oh no, I'm going to cry 😭😭😭

Is Raymond really implying that Allison is a spy? Damn...

Just tell him the truth, Allison! How do you marry a person without telling them something so big about yourself??

Oh, so Klaus has been sober for 3 years... Interesting.

No, Klaus! Don't start self-destructing again! 😢😢😢

It must be so painful for Ben to watch this and not be able to stop it...

Oh shoot, the cult found him.

"prophet"? "holy wanderer"? Interesting.

Poor Klaus just wants peace.

They seriously couldn't get a suit for Five too? Is he not allowed to wear anything else?

Five is onto Lila 🎶

Luther, are you stress eating? Well, at least you're not going on a bender again.

Awww, Luther- Allison reunion. Cute. Please don't make it weird.

Oh God, the awkward small talk is back 😩

I'm glad Luther is being so mature about this. I like this dynamic better.

"Vanya is on a farm. And happy" and Allison finds the happy part weird. Diego in the "nuthouse" and Allison doesn't find that weird at all, even does that 'yeah, ok makes sense' face. Klaus "cult leader" and Luther isn't surprised at all, that little "eh" was so funny.

Lord, this family is mess.

"Doomsday" *awkward chuckle* -you guys are getting way too used to this.

"Diego, try not to do anything too stupid" 😆 ah, brothers.

Lila in red heels, like mommy... 😏

Reggie taught them ballroom dancing? And Handler had the same idea?

Um.... Ok, so new theories! Do Handler and Reginald know each other? Could Reginald have been in the Commission? I'm going to be thinking about this for a while...

Just let the girl lead, Diego. Stop being a little bitch.

GRACE?!

So mom!Grace is either a cyborg or she was modeled after this woman... Makes curious about Reggie's relationship with this lady.

Diego going through the universal horror every kid goes through when realizing that mommy and daddy are "together". 🤣🤣🤣 "I can't picture it on my head. That's nasty"

She didn't tell him her name was Grace but apparently it is.

Am I the only one getting weird desperate and co-dependant vibes from Sissy?

Oh no! Save the baby!

Holy shit! HOLY SHIT! Vanya's powers are incredible! The special effects in this scene are unbelievable!

Save the child!

How did his lips get blue so quickly?

THE RETURN OF THE MAGIC ALIEN LIGHTS! AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Ok, I need to pause to gather my thoughts... Ok, things I hope don't happen-please don't magically "fix" the disabled boy, and please don't make the powers transferrable (that's just lazy writing, don't rehash "Misfits").

However, other than that I'm just very curious what those lights will do to Harlan. Will they just save his life? Will he gain powers? Will he have some weird connection to Vanya now? I'm dying to find out!

Anyway, back to the ep.

Baby boy is ok!

Luther, did you think pissing off the mobster would end well?

Elliot just starting up at Luther in awe and visibly fighting not to poke him. 😆

HELL NO, LUTHER! NO DRUGS! DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE LAST TIME?? YOU GOT YOUR BROTHER KILLED!

Oh, Sissy... Poor woman.

There going to kiss, aren't they?

Melancholic music kicking in. Sad emotional talk. Sitting way too close. Yeah, they're going to kiss.

Aaaaaand there's the kiss! ☺️

But now I need to pause and digress again...

Yeah, Sissy's feelings for Vanya are not healthy at all. In fact they mirror Vanya's feelings for Leonard- she's unhappy with her life and clinging to the first person that gives her attention. She wants help, she wants to be rescued, she's touch and attention starved. She's co-dependant and emotionally manipulative.

I'm not saying Sissy is a bad person, she's not, she's a sad person stuck in an unhappy marriage, terrified of being abandoned (almost paranoid) and exhausted under a lot of pressure dealing with a disabled child. And then in comes Vanya, who is perfect with Harlan, so loving and kind and has nothing else to pour all her attention towards. Of course Sissy sees salvation in Vanya and is desperate to keep her.

I'm not saying Vanya and Sissy can't have a beautiful healthy relationship, they can, but not like this. Sissy is clinging too tight and using Vanya to make herself feel better and make her life easier. They both deserve better than that and I hope they get it.

I'm starting to think that all relationships in this season might be doomed to fail:

-Sissy and Vanya have a co-dependant and emotionally unhealthy infatuation and Sissy is married to a man that, while not great, still clearly loves her;

-Raymond and Allison have too many secrets between them that are causing a major rift, they can fix it but there's also the chance that Ray might not be able to accept the truth about her;

-Lila is a double agent using Diego to get close to Five, she seems to be developing feelings but the fact that she's lying about who she is and working for Handler is obviously toxic;

-Klaus is pining over a person that Dave has not yet become and while he only wants to save Dave's life, it's obvious there's too big an experience and culture gap between them for a relationship to flourish;

-Luther and Allison have become one-sided and less innocent and puppy-love than before, now it really is just creepy and unhealthy (whereas before it was understandable because they grew up together under an emotionally unavailable father and isolated from the real world, naturally they became attached and confused their feelings, their attachment wasn't healthy but it was justified and almost innocent... Not anymore though);

-we have no concrete proof yet, but it seems Ben MIGHT be pining over a girl that might not even see him, he's dead, it might be an interesting dynamic storywise, but it's not going to happen, it's unhealthy and unfair;

Some of these couples might still survive and become great, it's still really in the season after all, but they have a lot of growing to do before they get there.

Anyway.... Back to the episode.

Oh Klaus... Off the wagon...

Allison being a good sister and taking care of her brother. My heart ❤️

Luther, you idiot... Well, at least you're getting high in a safe environment.

Luther and Klaus are self-destructing, my poor boys.

"you are super weird" - Luther, you have no zero right to call anyone weird, have you looked in the mirror??

"the woman I love loves someone else" -the woman you love is. your. SISTER!

I really like poor Elliot, I hope nothing bad happens to him.

Jesus, that's creepy, Luther.

Didn't I say Reginald was the 12th? 😏

Roswell? Reggie probably has a vested interest in that.

Blink out of there, Five.

I love that Five's main move is always 'teleport onto their backs and go for the throat'.

Wait, why did Five's teleportation glitch???

The music!!!!

Wait, did Diego's aim just glitch too???

Could these power glitches be connected to Vanya's magic lights going into Harlan? Or could it be something about the Swedes? Or about Reginald's presence, seeing as he dodged Diego's power before? Hmm...

Oooh, Lila has to choose between Diego and her mission already? Interesting... Of course she chooses to save Five.

Badass Lila is amazing!

So she could have helped Diego after helping Five but instead she just walks away? Huh, unexpected.

Diego, you adrenaline junkie. Good moves though.

The ancient Greek is a surprise! I really want to know what Five said to Reginald!!! What did he say? I need to know!!!

Another great chapter!! Very emotional too!

I want more!!!

#tua #tua s2 #tua s2 spoilers #reactions #live blogging #theories #spoilers

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vanithesquid · 5 years ago

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💦 and 🍄 for Anne c:

💦 If you as the writer could erase one traumatic event from this OC’s life what would it be and why?

Honestly... none. Take any trauma out of Anne, and you doom quite a few other characters, Tharaêl included. Every last one of Anne's regrets are integral to her decision to help them and the ways in which she does so -- and, later, integral in her decision to destroy the Beacon. Case in point, alter anything along Jespar’s questline, or anything along the Rhalâta’s or Yerai’s, and off to be the necromancer-queen of some brave new world Anne goes.

Since the entire purpose of Anne was to be Waiting for Water's Prophet, and the entire purpose of Waiting for Water was to get Tharaêl to a mental state where he could manage to tank through the damage of the endgame, altering Anne's past would defeat the purpose.

...Hmm, perhaps one small thing: I would let Pigeons (Anne and Aud's barn cat) die of old age, presumably as Sirius and Anne's tagalong pet. That's about the only thing I can think of that might not generate too wide a cascade of side-effects.

🍄 What are your OCs favourite snacks? Their favourite comfort food which always cheers them up when they’re down? Favourite meal to make? Do they enjoy baking and cooking and are they any good in the kitchen?

Dates. Date cake, date pie, date paste, stuffed dates, fresh dates, dried dates -- you name it, Anne loves it. Dates are the food of the gods. Anne knows it. Just look at them. You don't even need to prepare them, they're fantastic and sugary and long-lasting all by themselves. They're good raw, they're good cooked, they're just plain good no matter what. It's like someone saw apples, thought "I can do even better", and bam, they made dates. Clearly the thing priests should start with when arguing for the existence and benevolence of the Lightborn.

Where “comfort food” is concerned... well, as a former forest rat turned street urchin, Anne can and will eat anything, and is very used to meals the likes of cattail root, beetles, and tree bark or pine needle soup. Any food prepared for her without effort on her part will cheer her up by default. Date cake will still get the best result, of course.

(As long as no one else intends to eat any of it, that is. Putting date cake in the vicinity of Anne and expecting it to survive for more than five minutes is a wild dream. It will disappear into her stomach. Plate and cutlery possibly included.)

If asked to prepare a full meal by herself, Anne is likely to make some sort of variation of "plate of boiled cereal or legume" + "vegetable roasted on the coals" + "egg boiled with the cereal if eggs are available". Except for breakfast -- breakfast is always raw, because she can't be arsed to cook first thing in the morning, and so tends to be composed of bread, more bread, an extra slice of bread, and fruit if she has any.

She can eat meat, but will almost never cook it, and only by boiling when she does. She cannot stand the smell of roasted meat in her house.

Anne has no idea how to bake. As a child, she was the elder sibling, and so in effect "the boy" in her father's eyes. She learned to forage and hunt, not cook; that was her sister's job, learned from their mother. She later learned basic cooking with Sirius through sheer necessity, but by then they never had enough ingredients at hand to bake anything -- and now that she is in Ark and essentially the "provider" of the family, the task has fallen to Tharaêl and Nessah. All in all, Anne can cook a large variety of individual ingredients, but will practically never take the initiative of mixing them. Give her two eggs, a piece of pork, and some mushrooms, and she will serve you grilled pork and mushrooms with two boiled eggs -- not a mushroom omelette.

(Of the marketplace household, Tharaêl is the competent cook, largely thanks to Letho's utter ineptitude with food and Sha'Gun setting him to work in the kitchen. His skills are rusty, though, as he hasn't had to prepare anything by himself since his Scion days, and has grown used to the Rhalâim custom of bland but sustaining meals interspersed by fasting.)

#endereplies #Anne the Prophet

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another-blog-bites-the-dust · 6 years ago

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Lap of the gods.

Summary: Two gods from different worlds prove that opposites really do attract.

Warnings: Some angst, some fluff, some suggestive themes.

A/N: There's only a few more parts of this series and honestly I'm going to be so sad when it's finished 😭 This chapter get a little more intense! Also see if you can spot my Shakespeare reference (cause I'm a nerd). Enjoy! 💖

Part 5.

——————

Roger's eyes were firmly on you when you arrived back in your palace. "Are you alright, Hades?" He asked in a soft tone.

"I'm fine." Your voice was tight, almost as if you were trying to rein it in from escaping your lips. Your back was facing Persephone and your eyes were looking at the floor.

"I can-" he began talking but you raised a hand and he suddenly stopped speaking.

"You would probably be a lot happier if you just left me be..." your voice was cracking and Roger desperately wanted to hold you in his arms. Cerberus whined at your tone and nuzzled one of his heads against your thigh in attempts to cheer you up. He had returned to his normal self.

"But I am happy here..." Roger said and stepped forward. "Happy with you!"

"How is everyone up there though? Hmm?" You turned and Roger's heart broke seeing a line of black down your cheek from where a tear had fell from your eye. He had never seen you so fragile before. "They're happier without me, aren't they? Those at Mount Olympus." You paced around your throne room. "My father. My mother. Everyone and everything is happier without me. You would be too!" You didn't mean to yell at him but you did. "You could spend the rest of your days up there growing and picking and eating strawberries to your hearts content and then you could go to bed at night, rest your head on a pillow and drown in brightly coloured flower petals...like some poor girl before you who wanted nothing but to be happy!" Another tear fell and it burned your skin. "So go. Be happy. Leave."

Your throne room grew silent for what felt like an eternity.

"No."

Roger's harsh, serious tone made you raise a brow, you were almost angry with him for disobeying your request. "Why not?" You gritted out.

"BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE LEFT YOU!" He screamed and closed the distance between the two of you, surprising you and hurting you with his words. He was right.

Your moment of shock was quickly overthrown. "You are not bound to me or the confides of my domain!" You snapped and turned away from him, folding your arms across your chest.

Roger let out an unamused laugh "I might not be but that doesn't mean I'm leaving you! The gods and goddesses above hurt you and I will never forgive them for that. They took you for granted!" His voice was starting to shatter and you looked over your shoulder at him, tears evident in his eyes.

You choked on a sob and slowly fell to your knees, Cerberus instantly rushed to your side. Roger kneeled down in front of you and comfortingly began to rub your arms before his hands found yours. "Why are you doing all this for me?" You whispered with your head hung low. "Why are you so kind to me?"

Persephone placed his fingers under your chin to make you look in his eyes. "I want to prove to you that I will worship you like the queen you are! I promise I will never leave you- I never want to leave you." His other hand brushed away your tear that fell, it almost brought out a blister on his hand it was so hot but he liked the sensation.

"Why?" Your voice was weak.

Roger softly sighed and leaned forward, crashing his lips to yours and his whole body felt as if it had been electrocuted and set on fire at the same time. Your skin was warm but your mouth was even warmer and it made Roger's lips pleasantly burn. You were frozen on the spot however and when you realised what was happening, you softly kissed him back. "That's why," he whispered against your lips and looked at you with half hooded eyes, his face close to yours. "Because every time I see you my heart's on fire and I never want it to burn out." His smile was infectious and you found yourself softly smiling back at him. He pecked your lips again while holding you cheeks. "Can I come back and visit you to my burning hearts content?" Roger asked with pleading eyes.

You nodded and moved back a little before standing up and motioning for him to do the same. "You can appear here like Hermes, but you do have to leave as you can only spend so long in my domain if you're from another." You explained.

"What if I try and stay longer?" He pressed.

"You'll just disappear back to Mount Olympus against your will and have to wait before you are allowed back to the realm of the dead and doomed." Roger's eyes went wide seeing you with a sharp diamond in your hand. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt me."

"What do you-" he gasped seeing you prick your finger with the precious stone, blood streamed down your hand. You pressed your finger to Roger's forehead and he shut his eyes as you whispered the words 'o thánatos tha sas kathodigísei' before pulling back. The blood was gone. Roger was flabbergasted. "What did you say?"

"'Death will guide you'." You replied "I only hope it guides you on a path you truly wish to take." You turned and fiddled with your fingers.

"Can I stay now?" He asked with a small, lopsided grin on his face.

You chuckled "In order to return to a place you must leave." You softly cupped his cheek, brushing your thumb over his cheekbone, leaving a hot mark on his skin. "And in order for the charm to work you must leave the underworld for six hours, six minutes and six seconds."

"The devils number..." Roger murmured and you nodded. "In all honestly, I'd wait a lifetime for you if I had to." You smiled, completely becoming accustomed to doing so in front of the god. "And I know I said I'd never leave you but-" you laughed out loud, your head bowing slightly. Roger's heart was fluttering in his chest at the sound.

"I understand that you didn't realise at the time," you grinned and waved away his worries. "I understand what you were meaning."

Roger took your hands in his and kissed your knuckles "Until precisely six hours, six minutes and six seconds." He closed the gap between you and kissed you once more.

"Until then." You shut your eyes and as soon as they opened, Persephone was gone.

You sighed and then called out for Hermes who appeared in front of you. "Persephone is already gone?" He raised a brow, glancing around your throne room.

"I charmed him," you tightly replied, glaring at the god. "Why did you go to Zeus when you were looking for me?"

Hermes furrowed a brow "What are you talking about? I wasn't looking for you. Even if I was, I could find you- I'd never have to go to your brothers to track you down." He explained.

Your expression turned from anger to suspicion and confusion. "What was he talking about then? He disguised himself as a crow on earth and found Persephone and I."

"You went to earth with Persephone?" Hermes' eyebrows almost flew off his face.

You nodded, a small smile forming on your face "He took me there- showed me thousands of flowers." A tear slipped down your cheek but you didn't feel it, Hermes saw the black line on your face. "I never knew earth could be so beautiful..." you admitted, your voice barely raising above a whisper. Hermes had never seen you shed a tear before.

"Sometimes earth...people...even gods," he said and your head snapped up to him "surprise you." He sent you a small smile, a sincere one. "I'm glad you had a nice time with him."

You hummed and he went to leave but you stopped him. "I have a task for you," you stood up and walked forward. You made a handful of jewels appear from thin air and placed them in Hermes' hands. "Keep an eye on my brother's and my father. Report back to me with anything. Keep a very close eye on Brian- I don't want a repeat of earth and I want to know why he really appeared." Hermes bowed and vanished in front of you eyes. You returned to your throne and looked down at Cerberus, cupping one of his three faces. "Roger will be back soon," you smiled. "As soon as he can."

•••

Hermes snuck himself into the palace when he arrived at Mount Olympus and eavesdropped in on Brian and your father behind a marble pillar. "Well?" He could hear your father ask.

"John and I are going to speak with her. We will go to the underworld and then report back to you and if Persephone is there- we will bring him back with us." Hermes brow furrowed intently as he listened.

"Good...good..." your father murmured. "We can't have him be with her. She doesn't deserve happiness...she doesn't deserve someone as pure as him!" Brian had to bite down on his tongue- he didn't like him talking about you like that. Despite everything that went on between the three of you as siblings, you did care for one another. "Do you understand why this has to be done?"

Brian nodded with a heavy heart. "I do."

"Now go and prepare yourself. If Persephone is there, she won't give him up without a fight." Your father uttered and dismissed Brian. Hermes quickly disappeared before anyone could catch him and Brian headed to meet with Roger.

When Roger arrived back, he did with a smile on his face. It fell when he realised he would have to wait to see you. Even though it was only for a few hours, to him it was already feeling like a lifetime. He heard a knock and changed out of his dark clothes in a flash. "Come in!" He called out, he assumed it would be Freddie checking up on him but Zeus entered and Roger narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here, Brian?" He snapped. "I think you've done enough damage, so unless you're here to apologise I think-"

Brian cut Roger off. "I'm here to warn you." His voice was deadly serious. "The gods- my father in particular- have been watching the two of you meet and they aren't happy."

Roger was getting madder by the minute. "Why? Why should they get to decide who we both see?!"

"If you keep seeing her she will be killed!" Brian yelled and Roger froze. "My father- he'll kill her!" Brian's voice shattered and he placed his head in his hands.

Roger slowly sat down "Why would he do that? He's her father..." Roger was sick at the thought.

Brian peered over his fingers then tiredly ran his hands down his face. "He's never considered her his flesh and blood. He thinks she doesn't deserved any happiness and he knows how pure you are. My father thinks Hades will poison you." Roger opened his mouth to defend you and himself but Brian held up a hand. "Now I know- I know you're going to say that won't happen, that it won't ever happen and a part of me wants to believe you but..." he deeply sighed. "I see the way you look at her and the way she looks at you. I've never seen her so happy before and I thank you for that. Despite what my father thinks, I think she deserves all the happiness in the universe," he quietly admitted.

"Then why won't you let her have it?" Roger asked, his voice breaking.

Brian stood up, preparing himself to leave "Because John and I care about her too much to let her die. I'd rather sacrifice her happiness than her life."

"Do you even hear yourself?!" Roger snapped, tears welling in his eyes. "No wonder she feels so alone- that she just hides away down there from everyone!" Brian shut his eyes, his heart was shattering at the thought.

Brian looked as if he was desperate for Persephone's compliance. "If you really cared about her...if you really do love her," Roger went wide-eyed "You'll cut her from your life. For good." Brian was serious. "Isn't that what you do when a flower is dead but still attached to the plant? You cut it off?" He questioned and Roger almost knew where Brian was heading with the conversation. "Because it wastes precious energy and strength...the thing is already dead inside and you can't help it any more. You cut things off in order for them to grow. The same could be applied to gods."

"I think you should leave." Roger gritted out with tears in his eyes.

Brian let out a sigh under his breath "I'm sorry it has to be this way. But if my father finds out you're with my sister, he'll kill her and her blood will be on your hands." Zeus vanished and Roger let out a whining groan.

He spent the best part of the hours waiting to see you again lying in his bed trying to devise a plan. He wanted to be with you...he needed you in his life but knowing your life could be on the line jeopardised that. When the hours, minutes and seconds were up he reappeared in your throne room. Cerberus happily barked and jumped on the god who was shroud in black again. "Quicker than you thought it would be?" You asked appearing with a smile.

Roger stopped petting your hound and rushed to you, twirling you in his arms. "Longer than you could possibly imagine." He breathed out before crashing his lips to yours. You gasped but soon melted into him, your hand found his cheek while his found yours.

He pulled back, still holding you and looking at you with half hooded eyes. "I can see myself in your eyes," you whispered and softly brushed your fingers over his skin. Your burning touch sending chills down his spine. "I've never been close enough to someone to experience that..."

Roger pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, his face remained close when his mouth left yours. "Can you see yourself in my heart?" He asked and held your hand tightly before pressing it to his chest. You could feel his beating like a drum on the pads of your fingers. A rhythmic pounding, never missing a beat. "Because if you can't, I'd rip it right out of my chest and show it to you."

You brows lightly furrowed. "Even if it killed you?"

You swore you saw tears come and go as quickly as they began to appear in his sapphire blue eyes. "My queen, you are worth dying for."

"Don't say that," you almost begged and looked away.

"Why not?"

"Because I would never let that happen." Your voice was deadly serious, as if you had made him a solemn oath right there and then.

He would never let that happen you either. Roger kissed you again, this time it was different. It wasn't soft and sweet and innocent like the kisses he had gave you before- it was tainted with passion and it was rough and sinful. He cupped your cheeks with both hands, he didn't want to let you go- he didn't want it to end. But he knew it would.

He had to keep you safe but he had to show you how much he truly loved you.

"I should have worshipped you sooner," he murmured against your lips. "Let me show you how much I want to treat you like the queen you are, my queen." He pleaded with his bottom lip pouting ever so slightly, his voice darker than the clothes he was wearing and his eyes were practically glowing with lust.

You slowly intertwined your fingers with his- like the dark ivy that was in his golden hair the first time he came down to the underworld. "Show me."

•••

Roger lazily grinned beside you and traced his fingers over your bare frame, his fingers blissfully burning at your touch. "You are so beautiful," he whispered and shifted slightly so he was leaning his head on his fist. His breath was still trying to catch up with itself and your black satin sheets were sticking to his sweat-kissed skin. His whole body was on fire, you had set him alight.

You shut your eyes and hummed feeling his lips slowly moving against your neck, his disheveled hair tickling you. "I've never felt so close to someone before..." you lowly spoke and turned to face Roger, tracing your fingers across his jaw "I'm so glad you sent the flowers." You leaned forward and captured your lips with Roger's, his hands roamed over your tender and tired body once more. You both froze when you heard Cerberus growl. "Someone's here..." Roger got off the top of you and just managed to catch a glimpse of you in nothing before you snapped your fingers and made a dress appear on you. "Stay here." You didn't want to sound like you were warning him, you didn't want Roger to worry. Cerberus was standing outside your bedroom and you shut the doors behind you, leaving Roger in your bed. "Listen to me, Cerberus," you kneeled down to his level and he looked at you with his compete attention. "You protect Persephone first. Don't worry about me just...he comes before me, alright? He's more important." Your hound whined but seemed to have understood your command.

You stood up and made your way to your throne room and found Brian and John standing there. "Y/N," John warmly smiled, albeit a nervous smile. Brian was looking at his feet.

"Well...this must be my lucky day," you sarcastically smiled and sat down on your throne. "Poseidon and Zeus...my brothers. I don't see the two of you very often down here."

You glared at Brian who eventually cracked under your piercing eyes. "We've come for Persephone." Your eyes widened slightly but you tried to remain composed- you wondered why he wanted the god so bad.

"He's not here." You coolly replied.

Brian sighed "Don't lie to us..."

"Don't lie?" You let out a dry, humourless laugh. "Oh you are such an hypocrite, Zeus!" You screamed and your two brothers flinched.

Brian bitterly sighed "Enough of this! Just bring him forward."

You looked at him as if he was ludicrous. He had no right to ask anything from you. "How dare you come and order me around in my own domain! Especially the two of you!" You growled. Roger had got out of bed and was eavesdropping in on the loud battle of words being thrown back and forth.

John blinked, he didn't want to be dragged into your spat with Brian- he was keeping his mouth shut as much as he could but that remark made him speak up. "What's that supposed to mean?!" He yelped, a little offended.

"You are my inferiors!" Brian forced a laugh, wildly throwing his head back while doing so. "I am the eldest! You two do not have the right to demand things from me!"

John sighed "Father will-"

You forced a fake grin "Well I'll call on him myself if he has such an issue with this."

"No!" They both yelled at the same time, panic and worry evident in their eyes. You wondered what they were hiding.

"We'll talk with him..." Brian said, catching a glimpse of the god peeking through the crack in the door before returning his attention to you. "We'll tell Father that Roger isn't here."

"Why would he want to be here when he stays in paradise?" John added, trying to play dumb.

"To some death is a paradise, John." You growled "I am a ruler of that paradise!"

"Don't get so bold Hades!" Brian gritted out.

You were seething with the pair of them, especially Brian. "I do not care if you're my brothers, I will get Cerberus to rip you limb from limb if you do not leave right now!" You stood up and hissed, your hands were still tightly gripping on to your throne to relieve some tension. Brian and John shared a look before leaving the underworld.

As you fell back on to your throne, you let out a shaky sigh and placed a hand on your face. "Y/N?" Roger's soft voice cut through the heavy tension that was still lingering when he called out your name. You didn't say anything, but he heard you sniffling. He slowly made his way and kneeled in front of you, taking your other hand in his and pressing a soft kiss to it. The gesture made you sob and he easily pulled you towards him and wrapped his arm around you while you cried into his chest, one of his hands was cradling your head and soothingly stroking it. Your body was trembling under him once again, only this time it was from pain inflicted from the gods above and not from the pleasure he was giving you.

"Why would they want to take you away from me?" You brokenly spoke between sobs. Roger swallowed hard and blinked away his own tears, some of which landed on your hair but he quickly kissed them away before you noticed they were there. He held you close, his chin perched on your head as he comforted you.

"I don't know," he whispered with a heavy heart. He knew the next time he visited you it would be his last. "But I won't let them. I promise you."

———————————

• Part four • Part six •

Tags- (if you'd like to be on the tag list just let me know! Also sorry if I've accidently forgot to tag you!) @rrrogah-tayluhh @rogerofmylife @phantom-fangirl-stuff @pyrotechnic789 @deacytits @mercurys-bike @happy-at-home @mhftrs @dannydelay @queenismylifenow @whitequeen-blackqueen @stateofloveandvedder @blondyfel @wolverinesbeer @11mb0 @the-tales-of-ck @mespetitestortues @dearestdeacy @wingardiumlevidonewithlife @sweetdayme4427 @maiauniversetime @the-garnet-rain @obsessedwithrogertaylor @marequeenii @gizellexxi @chromealchemist @truthdaze @xtrashmammalstefx @killerqueenbucky @trickster-may @annemanzano @mydogisthebest @makapaka11 @silvver-rose @stielchewi @hodgepodge-of-rog @fredthelegend @killerqueen-gunpowdergelatine @bowiequeen @princessleiaqueen @asgardpapi @larrryyyisinloveee @taylorroger-s

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gamerprincess13 · 8 years ago

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Fire Emblem Heroes: Even MORE Voting Gauntlet Suggestions!

Okay. I’ve seen posts about the multiplier screwing their favorite characters into the finals, especially with Lyn vs Camilla. This isn’t the first time that happened (Priscilla vs Lissa and Summer Gaius vs Summer Leo).

However, let’s take a break from the controversy and do something that should perk everyone up: MORE suggestions for the Voting Gauntlet!

...Hey! With more characters being added every two weeks, I came up with more themes!

Again, like in the past suggestions, no limited time units (unless their banner is still up by the time the gauntlet is announced), no GHB Units (RIP Xander... again...) AND NO WINNERS FROM PREVIOUS GAUNTLETS (So no Lucina, Camilla, Tharja, Elise, Summer Corrin/Kamui, and Ike). With that out of the way, let’s start!

1. Bundle of Energy: The latest Voting Gauntlet is tense, especially in the woman’s side... And the victor could probably start a fire or not... The latter since Ike won. So to ease it, let’s try and get all that positive energy back... With units known for being energetic and all around positive! The candidates will be Mae, Tana, Delthea, Nowi, Laslow, Hintata, Odin, and Arthur. Sure, more than half of them are from Awakening/Fates, but for the most part, they aren’t too polarizing (maybe Nowi?). Still, the winner could most likely be Mae as she’s the character the majority of people adore in Echoes (myself included). However, despite his performance in Heroes, Odin can give Mae a challenge since he is decently popular. And voiced by the hammy yet amazing Kaiji Tang. Whoever wins, nothing too bad will happen with these uplifting characters.

2. The Shepherds: ...More Awakening?! Sorry. But this one focuses on the characters that are in or joined the Shepherds. And to make it fair, no Lucina, Male Robin, or Chrom to spare him sharing the eventual same fate as Leo. Anyway, the candidates will be Frederick, Lissa, Stahl, Sully, Gaius, Lon’qu, Cordelia, and Cherche. The winner? Most likely Cordelia in the girls side, but Lon’qu has proven himself to be popular, alongside Gaius, so the finals will get crazy! I know people want a break from Awakening characters in the Gauntlet, but one all themed about Awakening and nothing else will be a sigh of relief. Though waifu vs husbando battles will commence...

3. Horse Emblem: Since Horse Emblem is popular and very easy to build, why not have an entire gauntlet to themselves? I sure would like to see one! ...Also, RIP Xander, Camus, and Berkut for not being able to participate in this one due to the restrictions. Anyway, the candidates will be Reinhardt, Olwen, Cecilia, Eldigan, Eliwood, Frederick, Mathilda, and Titania. No Leo to DOOM him with his possible FOURTH loss! The most likely winner: ... I’m not too sure. However, since Reinhardt is one unit most people desire due to his sheer power (and Olwen as well), he could be the winner despite coming from the hardest game in the FE series. However, Olwen can steal the title for him, commencing a sibling war in the final round. Still, it can be anyone’s game, so fire your flags away to your favorite cavalry unit!

4. Brave Heroes: No... Not the CLY Units. I meant the units that naturally have the Brave Weapons. You know, the ones that make you attack twice during player phase? So the units will be Cain, Ogma, Abel, Cordelia, Barst, Raven, Gordin, and Klein. Cordelia can easily sweep the competition since she’s pretty popular, or Raven can take it as he actually scored high in the Japanese poll of Blazing Sword (he ranked higher than Lyn; go look!). Odd choices, but it’s not too bad. Hopefully. And on the bright side, it can also double as a skill fodder banner, so pull out your wallets everyone!

5. Best Older Brother (Revised Edition): ...Wait a minute. Didn’t I just suggested it in the last edition of Voting Gauntlet Ideas (and the Livestream Prediction)? Yes, but Ike won the most recent one, and I had to cut him off from this... Which made me cut off Male Corrin, Ephraim, and Chrom from this due to wanting one side being lords and the other being from different categories. Hey, now Chrom can’t lose the third time! Anyway, the old candidates, Raven, Klein, Eldigan, and Reinhardt, are still in. The new ones to replace the lords will be Ryoma, Raigh, Saizo, and Innes. Now the winner will be a war between Ryoma or Reinhardt as they’re the most dominating units in Heroes as of now! And I bet this will pop people’s wallets open since nearly half of the candidates are powerful if set up correctly (Ryoma, Reinhardt, Klein, Raven, Eldigan, and Innes); especially Ryoma since he didn’t have a banner since the first Hero Fest banner from nearly five months.

6. Shadow Dragon: One more. So... when was the last time Marth appeared in a banner? Release date. And I kind of forget at times that some of the characters that belong to Marth’s game, were from that game (I almost forgot Gordin at one point...). To fix it, a Gauntlet all about Marth and his crew! The heroes appearing in this will be Marth, Caeda, Merric, Linde, Catria, Minerva, Jagen, and Jeorge. Sorry, Wrys. I don’t think anyone would be happy to see you... The winner? Hmm... Marth obviously would win, though Minerva and Linde would beat him due to how they preform in Heroes, though it can be anyone’s game. Whatever the case, a gauntlet with the first cast of characters without any newer characters influencing the votes is a nice change for some people.

And that’s it! Hopefully, Intelligent Systems will come up with something that will make their HQ raining Ragnells and Yatos in the sky. Or maybe someone in IS will read the list and turn it into October’s Voting Gauntlet. Maybe that’s how they got the Healer Gauntlet in June/July. Or it’s just pure coincidence.

Anyway, see you soon! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to start writing the unit reviews for the Askr trio (Anna, Alfonse, and Sharena). *walks away to get juice and food*

#fire emblem heroes #voting gauntlet #suggestions #please make it happen?

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tumblunni · 8 years ago

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Random more ideas for my Pokemon Cosmos fangame that will probably never happen because I am awful at creating things, but its fun to imagine as a distant dream to cheer me up on sad days~! And cos I talked with @summon-daze and she gave me really great suggestions! (if I missed anything you said yesterday, message me and I’ll add it here! I want everyone to hear your Fab Thoughts!)

* Maractus: sinnoh form! Its just a poor pokemon that deserved better. Giving it some sort of visual and mechanical revamp would help it step out from under cacturne’s shadow. My idea was maybe a different type of cactus, or a related plant. Like perhaps an aloe vera form that has healing moves!

* Pokemon contests replaced with EVIL MINIGAMES Like, how the Pokeathelon stats were all coloured the same as contest stats and stuff. Do a thing like that but more streamlined! Just have this one set of out-of-battle stats and use them for multiple different minigames! And since the protagonist is an evil team grunt, you coud have stuff like stealth, lockpicking, hacking, etc! Use a koffing as a smokescreen to swipe some cash!

* A possible other idea, or possibly both? Maybe THE PLAYER could have contest stats instead! Like the social stats in persona games, but for fun they could be the same interface as pokemon contests. Daze gave me some really cool suggestions like how ‘cuteness’ could mean how good you are at hiding your true intentions when the police interrogate you. I was thinking coolness could equal charisma/good at talking/whatever, so cuteness could be ‘innocence’. And like, if you just have it on its own then it might mean you actually are more of a good guy villain. But if you max out both cuteness and toughness then you become a super scary evil boss who can intimidate their minions but also manipulate people with false goodness.

* Following pokemon, but more! The cute idea of seeing other trainers having following pokemon in cutscnes sometimes, and stuff. I always really love seeing pokemon just living life around the world map, it always adds so much more worldbuilding! I loved the ride pokemon and the machamp delivery service and the various farming ranch places in different games. But what if you could just see more random lil animations of mons hanging out as npcs? Have some wild murkrow fluttering around on alleyway rooftops when it becomes nighttime. Have your rival character appear training their pokemon randomly on routes sometimes, like an actual overworld animation of it, not just battling them. Bits of supplementary visual storytelling! And I figured maybe the evil admins could have their own unique rooms, like in ORAS. But cos you’re playing as one of the team, you get to actually see them hanging around the room and stuff. See them playing with their mons while off duty! Who would have a pet bed? Who would just let their giant skuntank sleep on the foot of their own bed? Who would buy a bazillion squeaky toys? Who would spend all their time grooming thier mons for a secret Contest career on weekends? So many potential ideas! Hell, maybe just have some random events like sometimes if you open a certain cupboard a pokemon will jump out before you actually get to look in it. Tiny ghost friend is sleepe on de paperwork~ Oh, and it could be cool if following pokemon still happened even when you have a double battle partner! You get to see their pokemon too, followinmg after yours! Oh, and maybe depending on what pokemon you have, there’s a small chance of some secret animations? i was thinking maybe Cheryl’s chansey would carry small pokemon on her head.

* OH AND YEAH. Bigger role for the stat trainers! I was so happy Daze helped me figure this out, cos this totally solves so many problems I had with the early game plot and tutorial gameplay and stuff. The ‘stat trainer’ group that were sidequests in original sinnoh and partners in the battle frontier- here they could be like the supporting social links! A problem I had was that of course you cant just immediately be best friends with all the evil admins as soon as you join the team. So I was thinking I’d have to make up a bunch of new characters to carry the plot early on, but repurposing the stat trainers for this purpose would be awesome! They could be your set of ordinary friends you have while off-duty, and doing their friend routes helps train your social stats that you need to use to unlock the admin friend routes. So theyd actually literally be stat trainers!

* I’m not sure which social stats I should give to each of them though? I’m wondering at the moment about whether cheryl or mira should be ‘cuteness’. I mean, they’re both cute but who has it as more of a defining character trait? Honestly you could say either of them could work as toughness too, since cheryl is braving a haunted forest alone and mira is kicking ass in a big scary optional doom dungeon even though she’s like six years old! I can imagine mira’s route could more easily train toughness in the PLAYER though. Like, you’re inspired by seeing her being so brave and mature for her age, and you wanna try and look like a tough responsible older sibling figure to her. And hmm, cheryl’s personality was the most vague of them all, she could probably also symbolise beauty/elegance/composure if you wanna interpret it that way. Or she could be smartness, cos I dunno maybe if we looked for a reason why she was in that haunted dungeon in the first place, maybe she could be like a detective? That would be really neat if she still kept her personality and all, a very shy and humble detective that’s like ‘oh i’m not so great’ *is being great right now* Or maybe she’s not really a detective by career, but she could be like a paranormal investigator fan, or maybe she has a secret backstory that led to some reason she needs to find something in that forest, or maybe she’s not local to sinnoh and thats why she got lost, or maybe she was kidnapped by a villain and escaped but was stuck in the forest, or... well, cheryl’s vagueness has a lot of potential! Oh and Riley could also work as either smartness or beauty or coolness or... man all these undeveloped charries are just REALLY POTENTIAL in all five fundemental awesomenesses! It could work any way!

* Maybe they could have more inter-relating plots with gym leaders and other big plot figures? like how Buck is Flint’s brother. And there’s a small mention of Marley knowing Oak from kanto. I was thinking maybe cheryl and gardenia might know each other? or maybe cheryl could be related to a different grass type gym leader from another region. She just REALLY looks like she should be a grass type, but she’s all about the chanseys instead, lol! maybe she’s the black sheep of an all grass types family, and journeyed to sinnoh to start her own journey instead. So she could be like a sweet shy spoiled posh girl who maybe doesnt know entirely what she’s doing, and got wrapped up in [some sort of excuse for the forest sidequest] cos she was a little naive. But then when you team up with her you find out she’s actuallly a total badass stone wall strategist, and her relative inexperience at social situations doesnt mean she’s not a battle expert! And then maybe you could keep in touch with her while she lives at a hotel in one of the cities, and her continuing sidequests could involve you giving her tours of sinnoh and helping her send postcards back to her family. And.. like.. trying to hide the fact that she keeps getting into super dangerous situations, lol. Dear mom and dad I am completely fine and didnt beat up a bunch of villains with my bare knuckles this morning, here is my friend who absolutely didnt rescue me from forest ghosts. Oh, and maybe she could become friends with Fantina, because they could both relate to being from different regions. And fantina is just a very nice jolly person who probably does a bunch of community outreach programs in her neighbourhood and picks up litter in the hammiest way possible. i just imagine she tries to act like a mentor to anyone who even crosses her line of sight! lol, maybe her and crasher wake could even be rivals because of it? i imagine her teasing wake for getting a new student while wake is all like ‘gahhh please take this barry away, i keep telling him no’

* oh, and barry would be the unofficial sixth stat trainer. He’d still have a role in the plot as a friendly rival even though this is a perspective flip AU. I was thinking he doesnt know you’re actually one of the bad guys, so you end up being friends, and then when he finds out he tries to oppose team galactic in much the same way but now with an added plot of him believing there’s some good in you and trying to convince you to switch sides.

#pokemon cosmos ideas

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tysonrunningfox · 8 years ago

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Eret III: Chiefly Upsets

I am READY to post this guys, a lot of this has existed for like literal years. Like some of this I had to update from word 2013. I am STOKED. And it’s 7400 words, I’m sorry.

Previous Parts (Updating right now I promise)

“Is that new?” The chief asked Mom over breakfast one morning, a few days after Johann leaves, and Mom paused, staring at him blankly and weirdly. “The dress. I mean.”

“No,” Mom shook her head and turned back to Stoick, who was trying to sneak his breakfast into his pockets for extra treats at dragon training.

“Oh, it looks new.”

“It’s not,” she shrugged, glancing at him in this weird, almost embarrassed way I didn’t notice until I was looking back at the bizarre encounter.

“Ok…” The chief stared for another creepy second until I cleared my throat and brought his attention back to the treaty on the table, the same one he’s still trying to respond to.

I wouldn’t have thought about it at all if it weren’t for the even weirder moment a couple days later when the chief like, completely derailed our official business at the lumberyard because Mom walked by and he started asking about her day and offering to deal with dinner.

Then, then, I really started watching and it got weirder. My mom’s axe has a shiny, newly sharpened edge and she didn’t ask me to do it and there’s a stack of new quilts on her bed the one time I go in there to ask her something.

And today? Today takes the cake for weird and uncomfortable as soon as the chief and I get home to Mom and Aurelia out front, stringing a small bow together.

“You’ll get it,” Mom’s telling her, that same sort of stern refusal to acknowledge failure that kept me learning and keeping up with Ingrid and Arvid all those years, and she smiles when she hands an arrow to Aurelia and directs her at a makeshift target on a bale of straw outside of the barn.

The chief grins when he sees it and when Mom notices him she shrugs, “she was curious.”

“Thank you,” the chief laughs, “I’ve been saying for years if she’s not going to have a dragon with her she should really learn something.”

“I’m holding a weapon, maybe don’t do that right now,” Aurelia gripes, voice straining as she pulls the bowstring back and lets go. The arrow doesn’t go far, something about her release making it float harmlessly to the ground halfway between her and the target. She sighs and Mom pats her on the shoulder.

“Try again, you’ll get it.”

The chief is looking at her like…like he doesn’t even look at Toothless. Like…

“Do you need any help?” He asks, walking up too close to Mom for her to not shift or move away. Aurelia rolls her eyes at me, like she’s asking for help and wanting me to watch the disaster unfold all at once.

Her next arrow falls out of her hands onto her feet and she sighs.

“I think we’ve got it,” Mom tells the chief, and her blank confusion is less blank confusion and more mild interest. Like she halfway wants to know what he has to say.

“Aurelia,” he holds his hand out for the bow, “can I show you something?”

“I bet Mom showed me how do it right, Dad.”

“No, this is a trick for those of us not so…muscularly inclined,” he laughs. Mom laughs. Aurelia stares at me like she can’t believe what she’s hearing and no one else is going to understand.

“Is that a dig at me?” I ask and the chief doesn’t appear, because he’s glancing at Mom every two seconds and tinkering with either end of the bow string.

“It can’t possibly be about me so…” Aurelia flexes her arm and holds her hand out for the bow.

“Just a second…there.” He takes a second to show her how to hold the arrow differently and when she tries a third time the arrow goes far enough to broadside the target before dropping to the ground.

“Not a bad trick,” Mom takes the bow back, looking at the knots at the ends of the strings and then staring at the chief with a weird, halfway impressed expression. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Gobber. It’s a one handed trick, I guess, but it also works for those of us who have one hand worth of strength spread across two.”

Mom scoffs and punches the chief in the arm, like he’s annoying, which is true, but also like she’s not wholly annoyed by it.

Today. Yep. Today is the weirdest day. The weirdest one of all.

“I think I’m done for the day,” Aurelia excuses herself from between them, leaving the bow and walking over to me.

“Yeah. Good.” The chief waves his arm at the two of us, his focus still on Mom who’s still standing there. Not avoiding him. “You’re done too, Eret, it’s getting late.”

“And they’re getting rid of us,” Aurelia hisses under her breath as we turn and start walking back towards the village. “It’s like he’s remembering how to be human. To her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I look back over my shoulder at them and they’re still just standing there. Mom shoots an arrow and hits a little off center and the chief holds his hands out to ask for the bow and give it a try.

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“How’s chiefing?” She asks, “I haven’t heard much this week.”

“It’s…” I don’t want to tell the truth, that it’s good but not enough but I know someday it will be, that’s the kind of thing that makes it sound like at some level I’m benefitting from these bizarre circumstances, the ones shoving Mom and the chief into a conversation that’s not yelling. “It’s whatever.”

“It’s…I…” She looks back like she doesn’t want to be heard and I elbow her in the side, urging her to spit it out, “it’s not like…dragon training day in and day out, is it?”

“What? No, we’ve only been by the academy once and that was because of some structural damage.”

“Hmm.” She tucks her hands into her pockets and kicks a pebble out of the path. “And you made an ass of yourself last week. With Johann.”

“Yes, thanks for reminding me how well that went, I always know I can count on you.”

“I’m just saying.” She shrugs.

“What are you saying?”

“Mom keeps asking me why I don’t go chiefing with you guys, and I mean, barring Toothless stalking me like prey all day, I don’t…I guess I don’t really have a good answer for her.”

“You don’t need to, it’s—you’d think it was boring.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Why are you saying any of this? You don’t want to be chief, you never have.”

“Maybe I’m just a little bitter that it was cooler for him to hunt down some crazy love child than to, I don’t know, I don’t know,” she kicks another pebble out of the way. “It’s not like I was a bow and arrow prodigy, I don’t have anything to talk about.”

“No, please, continue, you…are you thinking you have some…interest in being chief?”

“I just said I don’t know.” She stops short and tentatively reaches out to touch Bang’s nose, tracing the edge of his scales with a gentle finger. He puffs on her hand and she jerks back slightly before taking a step forward and setting her hand on his head. “I just…you’re new. That’s why you’re doing it. It’s not…merit, I guess, and I’m just realizing that and it’s not really your problem but you’re supposed to be my brother so…”

“It’s not like it’s…I mean, the job isn’t just acting like your dad all the time, it’s—”

“I think I’ve seen him doing it longer than you have.” It’s not so much her snapping at me as her telling me I’m wrong and that makes me madder.

And it puts me in this awkward position where I’m supposed to argue for why I’m enjoying this, which makes it seem so ok that I’m barely talking to my Dad anymore and that Mom is…back there practically enjoying herself in the chief’s company. I…

There’s this interesting dead space between saying what I mean and avoiding fights and it seems like silence but really it’s too many words, all disagreeing with each other and flying at once.

I nod.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Maybe I’ll come along sometime.”

“You’d be bored.” I say again and she rolls her eyes.

“You don’t know what I’d be.”

00000

The chief is cleaning off the table, stacking documents on a shelf and muttering to himself. Aurelia and I are looking over a wrinkled Fuse Original Design on the floor next to the fire and the chief is trying his damndest to eavesdrop, smiling weirdly at us when Aurelia bumps her shoulder against mine and mutters under her breath that he’s being creepy. Stoick is already asleep, exhausted from his special, pre-snowstorm, morning lesson with Mom and Stormfly.

Tonight’s finally the night to meet at the forge, we’re just waiting until it’s late enough that the chief won’t ask. But he’s being weird as he has been all week and I don’t think I’ve been monitored this closely since that time I got grounded for a month for following Dad on a weeklong fishing trip.

Arvid’s probably already there. So’s Fuse. We’ll probably get there and find no forge at all, just Fuse down a few inches of singed hair and Arvid terrified and trying to pick a fight he’s going to lose.

It’s funny, in my head, but somewhere beneath that humor lies the precarious balance of this stupid, probably doomed plan.

Sometimes I wish it were just me and Fuse, honestly. It’d be less complicated, but I look at Aurelia out of the corner of my eye, fixated and eager, and I can’t take this away from her. She didn’t grow up getting grounded for stupid sibling shenanigans and it’s not like her brain is hurting the operation.

Arvid is the wild card.

This is almost absolutely the only way he’s ever going to talk to me again and maybe I’m selfish and maybe I don’t care.

The door swings open and the chief freezes, smiling in that creepy please like me way as Mom strides in from the cold, shaking snow out of her hair and glaring at the weather behind her before shutting the door tight and tucking the blanket back underneath it with her foot to stop the breeze. The chief’s door is a tighter seal than ours used to be and she hasn’t adopted to this level of mandatory luxury any better than I have.

“Hey Mom,” Aurelia folds the sketch in front of us, because she knows Mom’s more likely to ask what it is.

Not to mention the horrible truth that the chief’s about to be distracted enough for us to slip out. Which is…you know, gross and uncomfortable, but I was already being selfish so I might as well continue to capitalize on that.

“What did you get up to, milady?” The chief blurts, and I almost gag, and he looks scared as Mom turns to him, wet boot squeaking on the wood floor. Her mouth falls open and he flinches, waiting for her to rightfully clock him in the face for assuming he gets to use stupid endearments around her.

She doesn’t punch him. She deflates, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck like it’s better to pretend she didn’t hear him.

Or she doesn’t mind it as much as I want her to mind it, but that’s impossibly gross and—what would that even mean? Is she just lonely after Dad and—Gods, that’s all gross. I’m never going to eat again and that’s the last thing I need.

“I—nothing. I was just at Ruff’s.”

It comes out perfectly pleasant and the chief freezes, holding a plate he’s drying with an old cloth. He laughs before he can stop himself, and she blinks slowly and barks out a weird, bizarre laugh I’ve sure never heard before, and I’m the one who used to make her laugh. The chief smiles and swallows hard and it sounds like he’s a terror choking on a chicken wing.

Mom’s staring at him like she expects him to sprout a tail.

“How was the flight home?” The chief asks.

“Cold,” she laughs again, brushing a hunk of ice off of her shoulder. “Cold and wet.”

“Uh good…well, not good, but—I’m glad you’re home.”

She pauses for a second and I recognize that face and it makes me wish I’d eaten less. It’s the face she makes when I’m lying and she knows I’m lying but she’s waiting to call me out on it until she hears whatever ridiculous thing I’m going to say next.

“M too. It’s warm,” she says like that’s not dumb and obvious and Aurelia kicks me in the shin like there’s a chance in Hel I might not be paying perfectly close attention to this.

The chief laughs again and Mom’s struggling not to smile, picking a charcoal stick off of the table and handing it to him. Their hands glance across each other when he takes it and she jolts away, giving him some soft, hardly scary at all, glare and what the Odin fearing fuck is going on?

“Close your mouth,” Aurelia hisses, like my reaction is going to ruin her show, and they both look at us at once like they forgot we were here.

“That was weird.” I announce, tucking the sketch into my pocket and standing before offering Aurelia my hand and helping her to her feet. “We’re going to the forge to finish this.”

“In this weather?” The chief asks and I shrug, grabbing my and off of the hook by the door and handing Aurelia’s to hers.

“We’re going to the forge where it’s definitionally warm,” Aurelia rolls her eyes and laughs, grabbing a too big fur hat from the shelf and tugging it down over my head like it’ll make me forget what I just say. Or what I didn’t see. Or what doesn’t exist because how could it possibly be anything other than a sunless winter enabled hallucination.

I smile and Mom doesn’t buy it and the chief is just staring at Mom, barely looking at me, and wow, this is a textbook level of distraction to sneak out but my feet are rooted to the ground like if I move something will change again.

“We’ll be back. Thanks for the hat,” I adjust it on my head and reach for the doorknob, trusting Aurelia to drag me outside. She comes through and hooks her arm through my elbow, saying something about staying warm.

As soon as the door shuts behind us I duck down, pulling her with me and crouching below the nearby window. I can’t see, but I can hear a muffled version of the conversation inside and I press my ear to the crack at the bottom of the shutters.

“What are you doing?” Aurelia shivers, looking peeved.

“Shh,” I hold my finger to my lips and press closer to the wall, wood siding cutting into my shoulder.

I hear Mom, wedging the blanket back underneath the door with a series of quiet thuds. The chief makes some awkward hemming and hawing sound that I don’t think is Norse and I want Mom to just…disappear into the bedroom and end this.

“Is Stoick asleep?” Mom asks.

“Yeah, he was exhausted. Conked out right after dinner.”

“Right,” she pauses. “I’m going to go to bed. Still sort of freezing.”

“I’ll put a few extra logs on the fire.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she sounds irritated but not louder or harsher and I know at some level that it’s false. It’s a Mom voice I wouldn’t worry about.

“I want to.”

I can hear what I think she should say in my mind. Just one solid fuck you. She sighs.

“Thanks, Hiccup.”

I grab Aurelia’s hand and pull her to her feet and around the corner of the house right as the chief opens the door to get to the wood pile. She jogs to keep up as Bang slips out of the barn and trots to our side, nosing his way under my hand.

“What was all that about?” She huffs, stealing my hat and tugging it down over her own ears. The wind whips through my hair and I scratch my head.

“I have no idea. It doesn’t make any Thor-damned sense.”

“How did you go sixteen years without learning anything if you’re that good at eavesdropping? I couldn’t hear shit.”

“Good for you.” I snap my fingers, guiding Bang to our other side to block the wind as we turn towards the forge.

“What on Midgard did you hear?”

“Nothing,” I shrug, “everything. I don’t know. He’s still being all…nice.”

“What did he say?”

“She was like ‘I’m cold’ and he was like ‘I’ll build up the fire’ and she was like ‘you don’t have to do that’ and he said he wanted to and she didn’t stop him. And...it was in their tone.”

“Even the great you can’t hear tone through a closed shutter.”

“Since when are you Olga Optimism?” I see the wisp of smoke from the forge’s chimney cutting through the thick falling snow just ahead and speed up slightly, trudging a trail through the quick drifting snow as Aurelia falls into step behind me.

“Mom doesn’t seem so miserable anymore.”

“Hmm.”

She’s never seen Mom happy. She didn’t see the truth in the easy lie, the way that Mom got excited when she knew Dad was coming home, the way she used to hum when she didn’t think we could hear her. I don’t really trust Aurelia as any sort of happy family metric, honestly, but that’s not worth mentioning when we walk up to the forge to see Wingspark and Hotgut huddling together outside, like they don’t share their owners’ mutual loathing.

“Do you think Fuse has blown him up yet?” Aurelia scoffs, stepping ahead of me and pulling off the hat, fixing her hair before opening the door.

I roll my eyes.

“Royalty has decided to join us,” Arvid pushes himself away from the counter when we walk in, chewing on a fingernail and staring at Aurelia. She scoffs and walks over to Fuse, who’s leaning over another counter covered in little metal spheres that look like Smitelout’s and dusting them with pinkish powder that matches her hair.

She looks up at me and raises a singed eyebrow in greeting, mumbling under her breath, “they’re only royalty if you insist on bringing it up.”

“And you two were getting along so well,” I wipe my forehead and walk across the room to the fire, stoking it and pumping the billows a couple of times until the coals glow bright orange and yellow and my fingers come back to life. “How goes it, Fuse?”

“I’m miniaturizing three core bomb cells that should work wet or dry, we should use that baffle you made a couple months ago and test them out. The chief wants me blowing out the wood pile next week, I figure that’s a good time…” She trails off, exhaling slowly and closing off the sphere. It doesn’t line up quite how I would have made it and I’d offer to fix it for her if she didn’t look so sure it’s about to blow.

Aurelia is nonplussed, sitting down next to her and kicking her boots onto the counter. Fuse doesn’t look at her, setting the shell aside and finally making eye contact.

“Sounds good.”

“Took you long enough to get here.” Everything about Arvid’s voice is antagonistic in every syllable and I know I could get him to bitch about the chief with me.

I don’t know if he cares if Mom’s happy. Or not miserable, at least.

“It’s a little harder to slip out of the palace than your house,” Aurelia rolls her eyes. She’s smiling, her face pink like she’s far closer to the fire than she is.

Arvid looks her up and down, frowning slightly before going back to glaring at me.

Fuse gives me an impatient, sympathetic look and waves me over, “I’ve got cobalt salt, and…well, honestly I’m not quite sure this is but when I lit it on fire with black powder, I blew half the roof off my shed, so I think it’ll pack a more even punch in solid solution with the salt.”

“And you want me to drop these things?” Arvid’s flexing like it’s not obvious that his chest is all puffed up. I don’t check if Aurelia’s looking because I don’t want to know, because I need to learn when to eavesdrop.

“Yes, this is all an impractically elaborate assassination attempt.” Fuse assembles the next bomb more quickly, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. I rarely hear her hostile and I can’t say if it’s intimidating or deadly.

“Is that a threat—”

“No, it’s not.” Aurelia picks up a jar of Fuse’s powder, holding it to her nose and sniffing it with a grimace.

Arvid’s mouth moves wordlessly, twice, and he goes quiet, crossing his arms more tightly. He glares at me when he catches me looking at him and Gods, this is bizarre.

Fuse hands another shell to Aurelia and starts showing her how to load it and I start sifting through a pile of scrap metal in the back corner, because even if Gobber notices someone was here during the storm he’ll be glad they did something practical. There’s a dagger that doesn’t look half bad and I idly pop it into the fire, finding my old favorite hammer in Smitelout’s fantastic mess and swinging it.

I don’t feel like I’m in charge. I don’t know what being in charge is supposed to feel like.

“I’m shocked you’re here,” Arvid’s directing it at Aurelia but Fuse answers first.

“Why? Think I’d avoid you?”

“I’m not talking to you—”

“We’re all here for the same reason,” I raise my voice just enough that everyone goes quiet and looks at me, even Arvid, for half a second. “Because it’s the only thing we can think of the help the dragons. Well, the only thing we can think of that also makes sense.” I ruin that upstanding, halfway chiefly statement and everyone’s quiet for a second.

“Heard you told half the tribe about the dragons being sick,” Arvid clears his throat, “heard the chief shut you down, hard.”

“Yeah, I’m still here though, aren’t I?”

“Not helping much,” he points at the dagger I’m pulling out of the furnace and I set it on the anvil, giving it a couple of anger reducing hits before answering.

“You’re the one doing nothing.”

“Thorston won’t let me touch anything,” he shrugs, “I tried—”

“So hard, he grunted at what I was doing and then walked away.” Fuse looks at me like she wants me to laugh, glancing at the red hot dagger like she’s not sure I’m going to hurt myself or not.

“You want me to fix that?” I ask, pointing at the not quite circular shell she’s holding.

“What?” She cocks her head, braid dragging through the powder on the table and turning some odd shade of purple in the soot and orange light.

“I can fix that shell, it’s not going together right,” I swing the hammer, because it feels like something I’m doing right, “I’m all warmed up.”

“Oh my gods,” Aurelia sits forward, feet thunking to the floor as she looks at me with some weird, cryptic expression and then at Fuse, “I don’t think I’m doing this right.”

“It’s perfect,” Fuse inspects her work, “and these are fitting fine, don’t worry about it.”

“Looks fine to me,” Arvid mumbles. He’s looking at Aurelia.

“They’re looking good. Actually, as soon as we get these together, I’ve probably got to head home, the storm isn’t looking good.” Fuse helps Aurelia get the shell closed and sets it gently in a leather bag, “I got here early, I ran into Gobber actually, I told him I was locked out and he said to lock up before I left so…”

“Yeah, no, I got that.” I look at the door, shuddering slightly with the storm outside. “No problem, thanks for getting started early.”

“It wasn’t early, I could just get away first,” she glares at Arvid as she stands, “I’ll let you know when the chief wants to blow the woodpile out. He said earlier he wants it done before the snow freezes too hard so…” She shrugs and for a second I have the weird compulsion to ask her if she needs a ride home.

Obviously, she doesn’t. Hotgut is outside. She frowns at me like she notices I’m not saying something and I wave.

“Fly safe. It’s getting pretty bad out there.”

She waves back as she slips outside and Arvid gives an exaggerated, obnoxious sigh of relief.

“I might even let you fly me home,” Aurelia mutters, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t really feel like walking through this.”

“Flying would be quicker, but colder,” I keep working on the dagger, “that’s sort of making me think, we should have a final plan in place by spring. You know, because we need to do this soon but we also can’t do it while a storm like this could mess us up.”

Arvid grunts. Aurelia starts cleaning the counter. She’s looking at Arvid. I feel like I need to say something to bring this back on track.

Someone knocks on the door but doesn’t wait for me to open it.

It’s the chief, windblown, snow-covered and deeply disappointed like I should care.

“What’s up, dad?” Aurelia asks, unconvincingly bored.

“I ran into Fuse,” he looks at me and only me and I realize that being chief in training means I’m going to get blamed for everything. “She said you called a meeting at the forge. What could that possibly be about?”

“I can’t believe Thorston ratted us out,” Arvid huffs, “oh wait, yes I can.”

“She didn’t rat us out,” I snap at him and the chief is still just staring at me.

“No, she didn’t,” the chief crosses his arms, “I put this together myself thanks.” He takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and I see red.

It’s a sketch, Fuse’s wrinkled sketch of the island, the one I had tucked into my clean laundry.

“You went through my things?”

“You’re still investigating the dragon island? More than that, you’re planning to do something about it? Using tribe resources and—”

“No one’s going to starve because I repurposed some scrap metal—”

“That’s not what matters, what matters is that we agreed!” The chief makes it sound like I mortally offended his deep trust in me and I clench my fists, standing up straight like if I make my stature chiefly enough then he’ll have to listen.

“You declared, we never agreed.”

Because even now it’s like he thinks he can make my voice disappear if he’s loud enough or official enough or calls me young and stupid enough. Like if he acts like he trusts me I’ll have to behave.

Aurelia steps up beside me and I think of our conversation the other day, how she’s at some level jealous that I’m the one with all the chiefly pressure. I still think she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and I almost wished I’d pressed that further.

“It’s funny, dad, just because he’s your precious, long-lost son doesn’t mean he’s going to follow everything you say!”

“No,” I snap, “I don’t need you fighting for me, I—” I look back at the chief and force myself to deflate like Bang pulling a punch, “No. This isn’t a fight at all, I’m doing it, you can’t stop me.” It feels chiefly when I shove past him and through the door in that it feels bratty and absolute and that’s what I’m supposed to be, isn’t it?

That’s what he wants from me, that’s what Aurelia wants him to want from her.

And beyond all that, it doesn’t seem to matter who’s right or wrong, only who’s older and more famous and more willing to compromise themselves.

“Eret!” The chief follows me out and I walk faster, towards Bang, “Eret, stop. Now.”

“Is that an order from the chief?” I whirl around, pushing snow soggy hair out of my face.

“Yes.”

I stop, clapping my hands against my sides.

“So you’ll stop before treason, then, that’s the line?” He looks hurt. I don’t care. It’s not victory like it used to be but I’m not sad about it either.

“Right, because me knowing something you don’t has to be treason.”

“I’m taking you home,” he stalks past me, towards Toothless, and Bang grumbles.

“I don’t have to go with you.”

“Even if I say it’s an order from the chief?” He swings onto Toothless and points at Bang, snow falling thick on his head. It’s almost to my knees now, drifting against the wall of the forge in the wind.

“I’ll just leave again.”

“I’m still taking you home.”

“Fine.” I get onto Bang and he grudgingly follows Toothless, flying low for shelter in the trees and gliding to land in front of the chief’s house. Toothless slumps to the barn, giving Bang one last dirty look for being the current house dragon, like he couldn’t come inside too if he knew how to share.

Mom’s still awake, blanket around her shoulders in front of the fire as she sips a cup of tea.

She knows. I know that face, she knows because the chief told her and she…

She doesn’t disagree with him. I’m in trouble with her.

“He was at the forge,” the chief tells Mom because they were colluding behind my back like…

Like I don’t know. Like they’re partners in crime or they’re attempting to parent me together like that’s going to make me anything but furious because the chief has no Odin damned right to play doting dad.

“Why haven’t you told me about this?” She asks, that exhausted brand of stern that makes me want to give her a break.

I shrug.

“He wants to figure it all out himself.” The chief crosses his arms, “like that makes it mean more.”

“Neither of you care if the dragons are suffering. It’s just some stupid—you just…”

I can’t believe Mom is standing there beside the chief, arms crossed at me like I’m the problem. Like…like this entire time we’ve been a united front in the face of this shit and now we’re not and she’s shoulder to shoulder with the chief.

They used to be engaged.

There was a ‘the chief and my mom’ before there was a ‘Mom and me’ and maybe age is all that matters, sometimes.

“Of course I care about the dragons, Eret,” Mom sighs, “but I care more about you lying and scheming and—”

“Right, he’s the only one that’s allowed to do that,” I point at the chief, “it’s practically a damn myth that he hid Toothless from everyone and—”

“Yeah?” Mom shakes her head, “well, he wasn’t my son.”

“Let’s talk about this in the morning,” the chief steps between us like he’s trying to calm down the situation. Like it’s not his fault. Like he’s not the fucking flint who keeps lighting everyone else’s emotional kindling in the square.

“I don’t have to talk about anything—”

“You know what, Eret? That’s right, you don’t have to talk about anything,” Mom pours the rest of her tea out into the fireplace, a corner of the bed of coals smoking and steaming. “You just have to listen.”

She turns and walks back in the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

“Get some sleep,” the chief sighs, “I—”

“That’s not an order.”

“It’s a suggestion,” he stares at me for a moment before his eyes widen, “I’m going to go back out and get Aurelia before this gets any worse.”

“Fine.”

The chief doesn’t get it. He just…he’s stuck in some other time, when wild dragons are as common as ants on apples in summer. He won’t listen, and everything’s suddenly worse because Mom appears to be siding with him. That she won’t go after him for me because he’s annoying because he’s making her laugh and so insidiously worming his way into my life like if he gets close enough I’ll have to lie down and let him walk all over me.

I’m curled up on my stack of furs in front of the fire, leaning back against Bang’s broad side when the door opens and slams shut and Aurelia walks in, conspicuously wrapped in an almost familiar scarf and dusted with powdery snow.

“The chief’s a real dick, you know that?” I scoot, expecting her to come and sit by me like she almost always does. She prefers Bang’s tail, a little further from the teeth, and she hogs the furs as she grouses about the chief and Mom and the general injustices of the day. Aurelia makes me feel like a sunny personality, and I need that sometimes. Especially now. After…that.

She lingers by the door, hands stuffed in her pockets as she glances towards the stairs.

“What? Did you expect me to magic myself home from the forge?”

“Oh,” I stand halfway, arms held out towards her like she needs a hug or a ride. “I left you at the forge without a ride, didn’t I? We didn’t talk about that, I just…stormed out. Shit, I’m sorry, I just—”

“Threw a tantrum because I tried to defend you?” She simplifies, “and then my dad left and chased after you and I was stuck with Arvid—”

“Did he leave you there too?” It’s easier to be angrier at Arvid than to be mad at myself and I cross my arms and step over Bang’s tail towards her. “Because I’ll—”

“Shut up, you’re going to wake everyone up. Arvid gave me a ride home.”

That stops me short.

“You rode Wingspark?”

“She’s sort of sweet,” Aurelia smiles, one of those little sideways smiles, and Bang lifts his head, an offended whuff ghosting against the back of my legs.

“The chief is still out looking for you.”

“Oh,” she shrugs, eyes narrowing. “At least he didn’t forget me—”

“I didn’t forget you!” I cut her off, wracking my brain for the moment she fell out of it. “The chief wasn’t listening about the dragons, there’s less of them every day —”

“I didn’t ask you about the dragons. You forgot me.”

I pause.

“Not on purpose.”

“It…I guess that’s what families do, they forget people,” she says it with a sigh, like it exhausts her to cut so deep, and I think of her riding Wingspark with Arvid and gossiping about me. About how I don’t fit in anywhere.

I did storm out. I stormed out like the fucking chief, and I let him chase me, and I didn’t think about what I was leaving behind.

My heart pounds a little too hard, making me nauseous as I realize the million fights between my parents that I’ve come to understand over the past few months. How Mom would yell and the chief would run and here I am, doing both. In one night. And forgetting people on top of it.

“Eret, I’m sorry, that was mean—” Aurelia steps forward and puts her hand on my arm, and I wonder just how shitty I must look for her to back down from the fight. My hands are shaking when I shrug her off and fumble for the fur on top of my stack, holding it numbly in her direction.

“Here, it’s my warmest one, but I have the fire. Are you ok? I—” Thor, why the Hel do I even exist? All of this dysfunction in one human should be impossible. “And Arvid wasn’t too much of an asshole? Odin, I’m the asshole, I’m sorry—”

“What did I say to get such a rise out of you?” She laughs nervously but accepts the fur, unwrapping the thick scarf halfway around her neck and I recognize it as one of Arvid’s that Nana knit him back when we were kids. “Go to bed, you can fight Dad about dragons in the morning.”

“He’s still out looking for you.” I repeat, because none of what she’s saying makes sense and maybe she didn’t hear me. This is Aurelia, she should be yelling and screaming and making me grovel, but she’s just staring at me like I’m one of Fuse’s experiments left willy nilly on the table.

“Then it’ll be a cold night,” she smiles, and there’s a bit of her in there, tempered by the cold and probably the fact that I abandoned her at the forge in the middle of a blizzard. “He’s got Toothless, I’m sure he’s fine. Why don’t you get some sleep and we can fight about this in the morning when you’re acting less like a crazy person? Thanks for the extra blanket.”

“No. No, someone should let him know you’re home safe.”

“I wouldn’t be too upset if he came home short a couple more toes.”

“No, just because he’s an asshole doesn’t mean I have to be.” I clap my hand over her shoulder and narrow my eyes at the thick scarf still wound halfway around her. “Let me guess, I can’t borrow the scarf.”

“I told Arvid I’d get it back to him tomorrow.” She shrugs, another uncharacteristically demure smile tugging at her cheeks.

“I…ok,” I wrinkle my nose. I know, I know, I told her to go for it. I told her it was something I’d have to cope with, and it’s still true but...it hits me again, repeatedly, off and on like a Nightmare’s skin that I’m both of their blood relatives and my ick-factor is the only reasonable stumbling block besides like, taste.

They’re something else that would work perfectly if I didn’t exist.

“Ok, do you have any idea where he’d look for you?” I start pulling on my coat and patting my leg, coaxing a grumpy Bang towards the door. He looks awfully cozy, curled up in front of the fire, but I point towards the door anyway. I’m not going to be like the chief, not like this.

“The dragon barns, probably.” She rolls her eyes and looks towards the stairs again, hugging the blanket closer to her chest. “Nowhere I’d actually be.”

“Thanks for all the help,” I roll my eyes at her and soften one last time, “I’m sorry. I owe you one, but—but don’t make me cover for you and Arvid, alright? I’ve spent sixteen years covering for that asshole.”

“Nothing happened,” she shakes her head and slumps towards the stairs, “goodnight, Eret.”

“Yeah, nothing happened my ass,” I mutter under my breath as I slip into my boots. I don’t want to think of it the way I don’t want to think about Mom and the chief.

It’s colder than when I got home, one of the few times I curse Bang’s cool core and broad, quickly cooling back, but I tuck myself close to his neck and try and scan the snow for the now familiar night fury smudge.

There’s a flurry of fresher footprints outside of the forge and a strange peg-shaped puncture in the snow catches my attention. Not as inventive as the legends would say he is, it looks like the chief stopped at the forge. I land Bang on the roof and slide into a snow drift with a quiet crunch before yanking the unlocked door open. The chief is inside with Toothless, staring at my anvil, a few long, straight rods in front of him.

He turns to look at me, so different from the raging would be father figure he impersonated earlier and I speak before he can ruin the quiet.

“Aurelia is home. Arvid gave her a ride after we both left her here,” I glare at him and he pushes his snowmelt wet hair away from his face.

“Arvid did?”

“Thank the gods, look outside,” I gesture back towards the snow and pause, “I’m going to go home and sleep now, unless—”

“Can…can you step in here for a moment?”

“Why?” I freeze, “I’m not changing my mind—”

“I just want to talk for a minute,” he points towards the door. “And you’re letting all the snow in.”

I could run. I could go get on Bang and fly to some cave over on East Beach and make a fire. It’d be cold. I would be fine, probably. I grit my teeth and step into the forge, slamming it shut behind me with a little too much force. Bang coughs on the roof above us, a snow drift clomping onto the ground outside with a soft thud.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“I—there’s something weird going on with the dragons, you’re right.” He starts and I roll my eyes.

“Oh, and you can only say that in private, of course—”

“It’s the middle of winter, we don’t have resources to look into it right now. I—I want to figure out some way for us to smooth out a bit, I know that you don’t like—”

“I don’t like you sucking up to all of us like it matters.” I snap, and he purses his lips.

“I’m sorry that’s what you think I’m doing.”

“You’re not supposed to apologize, you’re supposed to be a dick.”

“I’ll re-read the script when I get home,” he smiles like he knows it’s funny and he knows I think it’s funny.

I don’t want it to be ok that the chief shattered my family because he felt like it. I don’t want anyone convincing me I’m part of some weird, important family. I bite my tongue.

“How are things going with you and Arvid?” He asks in that quiet, careful voice like he wants to care without me yelling at him.

I shrug and almost tell him that Aurelia talks to Arvid all the time now, apparently, that they’re best friends. I don’t think I’ve ever almost said this many things without anything slipping out.

“I…It’s at least partially my fault that you two aren’t talking.”

“Wow, so you aren’t actually stupid.” I snip because it’s easier than accepting the statement. The chief smiles.

“And you’re sort of funny sometimes. Wow, who knew?”

I scoff and shake my head, glancing up at him through my overgrown hair. It’s almost long enough to tie back, and still not gray, thank gods.

I hate it when he does that. I hate that I had to accept him as a person and I hate that he keeps shoving it in my face like it’s a trick I should reward him for. I hate how it makes me feel, like I’m the stubborn one when it really feels like I’m the best chance of maintaining logic against this…onslaught of stupid, decent little gestures.

I look at him and I see the worst of myself all rolled up in a sense of humor and master dragon trainer and…

And there’s got to be another way.

“I don’t have to be like you,” I stare at my feet, “I look like you and somehow—somehow without ever knowing you, I fucking act like you, but I don’t have to be like you. It was…Aurelia and I both thought it was hilarious, the idea of you wandering around all night in a blizzard looking for her but—” I clear my throat, probably too loud, and Bang shifts on the roof, like he’s worried about me. I’m worried about me. “But that’s what you’d do. You leave people, you left my mom, you left…when I was a baby, you left me. You left her here and I’m not going to be like that.”

“Eret,” he holds his hand out towards me and I shake my head.

“Can you make it home alright? Or do you want me to hold your hand?” I curl my lip and turn towards the door, “consider yourself found.”

#festerverse #eret iii #hiccstrid #imma throw that tag in here #it ain't time time but it's kinda time #arvelia #aurelia haddock #fuse thorston #the whole gang's here

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