#i cant draw villagers to save my life okay

[miximyx]

has this been done yet

[lepidopterann]

Ok our marriage is saved and also ummm I humbly request that you infodump abt them *sits patiently*

Oh Boy,

ive kinda been infodumping abt him through these bc you have so much interest in him which?? bring so much joy??? Okay so Signals whole timeline thing during mutania has kinda gone like Wakes up in weird world, fixes up a abandoned house and makes a farm, meet Plee and she moves in (within one (1) kind interaction he is ready to die for her), continues working on the farm and goes out adventuring Once with Plee (battle tower thing, idk if canon but i think its funny), they get a letter to go to a desert village and there they meet everyone else, Warkaru shows up (they are at this point kinda the antagonist), Signal get Blown Up (hence the scarring, some of which is burn scars like the stuff on his hand and right side of face and some are shrapnel scars like the neck thing and the Big One on their chest), they fucking Die and come back bleeding everywhere, Cidre and the others take him back to the Valley (which is a area Sage has set up for the waterphobes bc it has a glass roof to prevent rain from getting in), Cidre bandages em all up (they become good friends w Cidre and would die for him as well), they go home for a couple weeks/months. First minor arc ends. uhhh ill continue that later I wanna share other stuff sjgdsuifghuysd - some minor aus I have are like moth!Signal? moth signal. Hes a lot more upbeat than canon anxiety tall bitch, has antennae instead of horns, fluff neck, big ol wings and stil has normal tail, and is Very attracted to light. He carries around a lantern (and sometimes carries it on his tail bc its easier) so he doesnt get lost so easily bc signal just has a bad sense of direction in general (and this is worsened by him being attracted to All Lights, so he'll accidentally follow other lights or even the lantern on his tail suifgduigh). I love this au s o much but i dont draw it much for whatever reason. It exists solely bc Signal has some moth symbolism (one of his neos is literally moth/mothself) and also bc since Signals eyes glow bright and so do his freckles so he naturally attracts moths.

- floran!signal was also one I love (and a friend on the server Plague loved). just a whoelsome cutie who ignores all his issues, is compltely blind bc flowers and growing out of his eyes, roots for feet, and vines for a tail (and ferns on his ears). i think he and aukira (who is the son of a water dragon) were shipped together but im having a signal rn and cant remember

- modern au, he, as an adult, becomes a veterinarian or has something to do with agriculture. he goes through life and gets the therapy he needs (if canon signal remembered all that trauma, he would have never even become friends with plee or ever left his house, bc modern au has Therapy and Support). He starts out really small and scrawny and later grows to be Very Very tall when he gets into highschool. 6'7". he also becomes kinda decked?? like canon signal?? mans aint skinny and scrawny no more.

-I should talk abt the fact that Signal is literally like 3-4 feet taller than the average person and is Very Very strong and has a lot of muscle bc he has to hold up his own weight plus working on a farm consistantly, using a plow and stuff, would make you very strog. He favors using an axe bc its more familiar, since he uses it a lot on the farm. He also has a very strong but thin tail thats prrehensile. He would be Amazing for hugs, very strong and would pick you up a little or maybe would go down on one knee to get down to your level (if you are average height). Plus he'd wrap his tail around u bc he likes to keep the people he cares for close :D

- can purr and growl and stuff and his ears turn around like a cats :] (they turn towards noises, point down when upset, etc.).

- I kin him

- I've mentioned that their voiceclaim is Will Wood, but some voices I considered for them were Jack Conte and Daniel from Camp Camp. So uhh??? have fun with that info

-I mentioned earlier that he has moth symbolism, but he has other symbolisms which include : deer, centipedes, stars, and flowers/plants in general.

- He is demiromantic ace, agender, and all of his pronouns are : he/they/it/nyc/vae/bug/moth :]

uhhhh i would write more but I need to better organize my thoughts

[an-american-teen-against-crime]

Rant about ur fav superhero ready go

Okay so like I have a lot of favorite superheroes loool but thank you so so much for this Alyssa I adore you I CRI

Before we start I believe it is my civic duty to inform you that when Animated BatmanTM (aka. superior batman) walks in the batsuit the cape falls around him and he just kinda shuffles across the floor and it’s the cutest thing my eyes ever done did seen

okay so Imma pick batman cuz i was recently reading a batman comic. I feel like sometimes batman gets flack and like yeah no one is perfect but a lot of times it’s because batman is written incorrectly. But thankfully whatever version of him I don’t like I get to write off lol because superhero canon is so weird. 

I wanna do a full analysis of batman some time but I think what originally drew me to the character is that he’s like the emo dude dressed like a bat, something that I feel is normally reserved for villains? Like the darkness-coded character was the good guy. That was so cool to me. He’s an amazing detective, he is incredibly smart and resilient, and he helps people not just as Batman but also Bruce Wayne. 

What sticks out to me about Bruce is that not only does he have his strict no-kill rule (COUGH COUGH BATMAN V SUPERMAN U GOT THAT WRONG) but he also is the type of guy that genuinely cares and will try to save even villains. And like not just save them from falling, like he will try to help them get back on their feet and stop following a life of crime. 

He has like a huge heckin family because he adopted so many kids but not only is that adorable because he’s the orphan who lost his family who finds them a family but he also makes a new family for himself. He trains the robins and tries to be there for them so that they never feel the same way he did, which is kinda his whole mission.

Everyone makes jokes about his parents dying, but the thing is as an eight y.o. kid that would be extremely traumatizing, no wonder he’s so messed up. You see your parents gunned down for no reason, and then you’re all alone in the ally. Not knowing if the dude is gonna come after you next, and you cant do anything, the two people you’ve always believed would protect you from anything are dead, and you saw it happen. 

Bruce runs away from home, from his past, from Gotham. He doesn’t want to be found. But he chooses to come back. Because he doesn’t want anyone to go through what he did- he fights for those scared lonely kids left on the street alone. Side note, I also love how sweet Bruce is to kids, like here’s this big hulking shadow of a man dressed like a BAT and he’ll kneel down and try to calm some poor kid down and distract them from what they’re going through, or write that he likes some kid’s drawings of him. 

Also, Bruce is heckin dramatic . Like SO DRAMATIC I love it. He makes everything bat themed because he understands branding. He fights silently but then he will make these really dumb snarky jokes and I love him for it. Also he some how always gets the upper hand on other people, like he’s so freaking smart. Like he can genuinely freak people out and outsmarts em. And I love how he’ll appear out of nowhere and scare the crap out of people lol. Also, the dude just has PRESENCE. And if you hurt someone he’s comin for your butt.

He’s also really really bad at communicating and getting across his emotions, like he’d rather jump out a window than confess he cares about someone. Like. Which is bad cuz sometimes his kids need to hear that, but I also think that they kinda know. Bruce will literally go to the ends of the UNIVERSE for the people he cares about, and I honestly think he’s a really emotional guy he just has no clue how to express his emotions. Like he comes off super grumpy but idk. I think it’s kinda funny.  

And like always, he’s always a hoe for self sacrifice. Like Bruce. Stop. I know you have a death wish. But maybe don’t be so gun-ho about it. 

 I just love the concept of Batman. Just this dude. Runnin’ round the city. Chasing baddies. Ordered coffee where you work last week at 2am. Gave you a crazy big tip. He has like 50 children, and a really sick car. Oh also there’s this Bruce Wayne dude that is a rich orphan who also has coincidentally 50 kids, and he’s like such a himbo but you love him and sometimes he really pulls out some sick burns???

 I feel I’m missing so much but thank you for the ask, this was so much fun. Love you Alyssa <3

(included are. some short clips of why I love Bats. You will notice none of them are from the Dark Knight trilogy, and while I am grateful to those movies for getting me into batman, they do not do him justice. At all.)

Batman and Ace

(if you want them. just batman best moments on youtube itll pop up) (there’s literally so many)

ALSO THERES THIS ONE TIME THAT WONDER WOMAN TRIES TO SAVE THIS TOWN FROM LIKE A FALLING PILLAR OR SMTHN I DONT REMEMBER AND SHE LIKE GETS CRUSHED UNDER IT STOPPING IT AND BATS IS THE FIRST TO RUN OUT AND HES LIKE TRYING TO DIG AND PULL HER OUT like this dude is the weakest one of the justice league yet he’s always trying to help and somehow he always manages to keep up AND HES LIKE FRANTIC and Supes tells him they can’t get her out and he looks so freaking upset but then she lifts up the pillar thing and reveals herself to be okay and everyones so happy and she’s like :))))) “YOURE VILLAGE IS SAVED” and goes and stands by the other heroes. and . when she does. she looks down and sees Bats’ muddy gloves and smiles and he like quick hides them under his cape I just-

The Justice League animated show made me a WonderBat shipper okay and it’s never gonna go away 

okay I’m finally done thank you for the ask ILY

[n3sta]

if u hate on nesta, ur lame

nesta was 13 when they lost their home, at that point it would’ve been so hard to adapt to a complete lifestyle change. furthermore, it is said that feyre goes out into the woods at 14 because they were nearly starving, and their father hadn’t done much but beg, and carve wood or whatever. at that point, the sisters must’ve been skin and bones after 5 years of utter poverty, and it is said she watched hunters go into the woods before that, and she learnt to set snares at like 11 or whatever. i mean, that is so great!! but to expect nesta to have stepped up, to have done that instead because she was the eldest, despite still being a child is so wrong ... because that burden shouldn’t have been placed on neither child but on the parent himself. idc if he hurt his knee, if i saw my children starving i would’ve hauled ass. nesta didn’t learn to set snares, and being the age of 17 when her sister finally hunted in the woods, she lacked the skills and the lifestyle to be able to adapt to such a thing, 13 is such a pivotal age of awareness and where our routines are beginning to be set in stone or whatever... and she had that ripped out from beneath her!! a child, with no one older than her to teach her how to live this new way. so i don’t think we can blame nesta, not should rhysand hate her THAT much (omg rlly tho he needs to chill) because she didn’t have to tools to be able to hunt for her family, but feyre did.

Secondly, i understand nesta seeing if her father would help/ even try to help if he saw them starving in front of him. i always see it as her testing/wondering what runs deeper, love or cowardice. this is a man who lost all their money, and is now just letting them sink further and further into poverty nearly to the brink of death. this is someone who is supposed to protect them and is failing them, i can understand how angry she must be at him as she watched her sisters getting closer and close to death. and when feyre steps up, i can understand how angry she must feel that feyre lets her father give up and instead places it on her own shoulders. i can imagine she feels ashamed, as it’s hinted at the other books, that while they both have that fire within them to survive, that feyre had the tools to help them, and developed them. nesta is so proud, i think she would’ve let herself starve just to see whether her father would finally do something. but he doesn’t. furthermore, you can’t blame one sister and not the other. elain is sweet, innocent, yes, she bought paint, yes, but she she reminds me of their father in that way. soft. Moreover, i think nesta sees the fire in Feyre, just like herself, something elaine hasn’t got, something she’ll need to survive, and she doesn’t want that to be put out, and i think all the taunts is just for that. so feyre can handle it, so she can burn brighter, and so she can survive. i almost certainly believe that before it all, nesta would’ve married tomas, even knowing the abuse it would entail, just to ensure money for the family.

Thirdly, in acofas, i cant forgive the way everyone withdraws from nesta completely. she 100% has ptsd but no one really helps, yes they visit, but they try to help in a way they believe they would want to be helped, by being invited to a party, like they could just keep nesta company but instead they blackmail her into attending for rent, and when she takes the money to live in a world that she never wanted to live in in the first place, that makes her the villain? furthermore, no one even spoke to, except elain. feyre didn’t even buy her a present when she was the one to invite her. how awks??? and rhysand, buddy i love you buT NESTA WAS A CHILD TOO NO ONE SHOULD BE FORCED INTO THE WOODS TO HUNT. he needs to be nice oh my days,,, anyway. what i’m saying is, no one helped her ptsd. no one, from what we read, really went to keep her company, and not to ask anything of her. and feyre knew about how nesta couldn’t get into baths, but not once asked about it since? i think there were serious problems in the way they treated nesta, who can clearly see half of them don’t like her, which adds already onto the guilt she feels about the whole feyre hunting situation. how can she feel welcome in that environment? and elain who she loved for the most,,, abandoned her? imagine someone you’ve always cared for not really caring for u when u need it. and she loved feyre, went after feyre, was the only one who loved her enough to see through the glamour, and feyre... the one who held the suriels hand as he took his last breath,, is hesitant in loving nesta too?? doesn’t draw a painting of nesta in her river estate, i mean how can she feel welcome? no one really helped her in the way she needed it. AND BANISHING HER FROM VELARIS? i nearly started crying when i read that... she’s literally depressed and now she’s gunna be forced to live in those depressing illyrian mountains who have such a disrespect for women that makes me sick! i hope she will be able to find a family of her own, that she chooses, that will love as much as nesta does.

fourthly, nesta cares about humans, is the one to call out the mortal queens on their bullshit for not helping out her own village, risks her life in the battle against hybern, fully expecting to die in those last moments, willing to shield cassian from it (SAVED CASSIAN AS WELL?? wHy does rhysand insist on hating her, prick) and puts on those illyrian fighting leathers ready TO FIGHT. and then... because she’s traumatised after witnessing her own father being killed, of being shoved into that cauldron, full of the dark power and forced to live as an immortal,,, because it takes her longer than a year to deal with it people hate her ?? 🤡🤡🤡 not okay!

and i’m glad she kicked cassian in the balls, why was he so close to her like a ship nessian but pls, boundaries! ok i think i’ve cleared it up that whilst flawed, nesta doesn’t deserve the hate... and elain dear, i love u but she is not better than nesta. have i missed anything else??? Nesta deserves all the rights and i’m excited for a court of silver flames.

truly though i don’t think i’ll every forgive the inner circle for the way they have treated nesta after all she has given....

[darkdevasofdestruction]

How You Met - Akatsuki

Hoshigaki Kisame

You and your puppy went to the lake to enjoy your day off, eat some nice food your mum made for you and have a small swim in the chilly water. As you prepared your blanket and food basket on the grass, the puppy ran past you, yipping happily and jumping straight into the deep part of the lake. Now, you did know how to swim, but you were better at floating in shallow water and not the most confident swimmer either, so clearly, you were rather worried that she might drown or something. Unfortunately, she suddenly sunk under water with a yelp, and you started panicking, looking left and right, asking for help, but nobody seemed to be around when needed. Freaking out, you took off your flip flops and ran into the water, but you suddenly stopped in in fear, as you saw a menacing shark fin circling around your sweet baby.

"NO! DON'T HURT HER! P/N, COME HERE, BABY! FAST!" You were shaking and crying in fear, thinking of the brutal way your baby is going to die, when, instead of the threatening predator, out of the water, came a very tall and well-built shark-like man, holding your puppy in his grasp, protectively, walking in your direction, as she kept licking him, gratefully.

You were now crying of happiness, beaming in glee at the sight in front of him. All senses lost you, emotions overpowering you, and the only rational thing that you could do was to hug the life out of this blue stranger, and he only chuckled and ruffled your hair.

"I honestly c-can't thank you enough f-for saving her. I don't know wh-what I would without her." you said stuttering from emotion. "No need to thank me. I am just happy to help save the life of such a lovely creature." he said, grinning. "Yeah, I totally get you. I'm like that too, since it's why I decided to become a vet since very little. This baby was left abandoned in my clinic after her owners decided that a surgery would be too much time and money wasted." you said, taking her in your embrace and rubbing your head to hers, lovingly. "I hate people like that. Animals are much better than humans, and on that note, lack any evil intent." he said, sighing. "I'm happy to hear that someone else agrees with me, after all this time. People always thought I was crazy for thinking that way." you laughed, seeing his grin widen. "Likewise, I have to say. Will you be around tomorrow too?" he asked, scratching her behind her ear. "I'm not sure. I had this day off from my clinic, but I live in the village nearby, if you want to see me or p/n. I'm uh...Actually the only viable medic in these neighbour villages." you scratched the back of your neck, grinning sheepishly. "If you wouldn't mind a weird, blue shark guy walking around and scaring your patients-" "Nah, only the humans. The animals will surely love you. I have no doubt about that! Hope I'll see you around!" you cut him off, in glee. "I'll see you around, then. Take care and see you later, squiddo." he gave a side-grin and a military salute, as he left the place, leaving you and your lovely puppy enjoy the rest of your day off.

Uchiha Itachi

You were a regular visitor at the vintage bookshop cafe in town, since you absolutely loved to relax on a plush armchair on the ground, with your favourite book and the hot beverage of your choice to soothe your nerves after a long day at work. You were friends with all the employees there, knew all the regular faces and occasionally helped out with what you could. Your favourite was putting back books and arranging them by certain criteria, breathing in the mersmerising scent of coffee and tea. One lovely day, as you were reading "Da Vinci's Code" in your usual silent corner, you noticed a brunet man entering the video silently, and yet, he captured everyone's eyes with his mysterious, intriguing aura, as he walked to the belletristic section, seemingly looking for a certain book.

After reading one more chapter, you look up again and see him in the same place, still searching, so you put the vintage bookmark at the page you were at, gently put it on the table next to your tea and made your way to him, tapping him on his shoulder, smiling softly.

"Hello. I'm sorry to disturb, but you seemed to need help looking for a book. Correct me if I'm wrong, however, and I can leave." you said, trying to look at his gorgeous onyx eyes. "Thank you for your help, miss. I was looking for 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. I'd be grateful if you could help me find it." he replied, with a ghost of a smile. "Ah...Well, I believe I took the last copy of it, last week, I apologise. I can borrow it to you if you want. I'm almost always around here anyways." you said, recalling the amazing book you recently finished. "Are you not an employee here?" his eyebrow raised in confusion. "Nah, I just come around to relax and enjoy my time. I do tend to help around if I can, since they cant handle all the work, you know?" you replied, looking around in pride and content. "That sounds wonderful. Mind if I come around tomorrow to pick it up? I will return it as soon as I finish it." he said, looking grateful. "Sounds like a plan. Whenever you have time, I'll be here. That, over there, is my usual reading corner, but if you don't see me, just ask around for Y/N, okay?" you grinned, extending your hand for him to shake. "Uchiha Itachi. It was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for your help, I have to leave now. Have a lovely day." shaking your hand, he made his way out of the bookstore, waving his goodbye at you. "It was nice meeting you too, Itachi." with a side-smile on your face, you turned back to your corner, very smug at the looks the others were giving you.

Deidara

Your village was very well known for its fabulous festivals- so great that people, both ninjas and commoners, would get out of their way to attend them as often as possible, since they provided delightful food from all over the world, great games, and the best part that always comes at night- 

Fireworks!

And that is where you came from-

Since you were very little, you absolutely

LOVED

fireworks- the colours, the patterns, the noise, the smell, everything about them just made you incredibly giddy and overwhelmed with happiness, so, with time, you started creating your own fireworks, infused with elemental chakra and other tricky, secret stuff to make them even better than the common ones, which made the villagers happy to allow you to do every Firework Show, each night.

This night, however, the festival was in the same day as your birthday, which had you excited - tenfold the usual dose, if possible - and going up the hill, in your gorgeous traditional kimono that your mother gifted you, and needless you say, you put your best performance so far, incredibly satisfied at your work and the gorgeous display on the dark, starry sky.

"That was a great firework show, huh? Much more intriguing and fascinating than all the others I've seen so far. You did this, hn?" a deep voice said behind you, making you yelp in surprise and look back at the blond individual, with big, scared, fawn eyes. "Sorry if I scared you, yeah." he continued. "Just wanted to praise the artist and learn some tips from them." he grinned, confidently. "O-Oh! I'm really happy that you liked it! I did my best with this one! It's uh...A special occasion, might I say!" he smiled softly, trying to tone down your excitement. "Lemme guess, it's your birthday, hn? Special outfit for a special day, yeah." he said as he took out some clay his bag. "It is! Good guess, mate! What's this clay for?" you inquired, curiosity completely taking over you. "This! Is my art! Watch and learn, missy!" he gloated, as the mouths on his hands started shaping clay into a bird, showing it off. "Uhh~! So pretty! You're really talented!" you chirped, examining the birdy. "You think this is pretty? Look at this, yeah!" with that, he infused the clay figurine with his chakra and threw it high into the sky, then activated it by yelling "KATSU!", making it create a huge, fascinating explosion, leaving you awestruck, jumping up and down, clapping. "Art truly is an explosion, right?" you said, looking at him in admiration. "I couldn't have said it any better, missy. Glad to see there are other true art enthusiasts around, unlike my dull partner, hn! Well, gotta go now, missy!" he said, as he gave you another clay figurine. "Hope I'll see you again. After all, artists stick together, right?" you said, with a knowing smile plastered on your face. "You know it, missy! See ya around, yeah!" he waved, as he jumped on the back of a huge clay bird and flew away, leaving you look down at the little gift in your hands, smiling and blushing slightly. This sure was one hell of a birthday!

Akasuna no Sasori

Since you were  little, you've always been interested in herbal medicine and poisons, so much that you'd only research plants, both from your home and from abroad, which made you become a well-known merchant, which allowed you to travel all-over the world, practise and invent all sorts of antidotes and poisons.

You were very passionate about your hobby, and by now, you had several books in which you wrote every plant you've encountered, wrote its properties and where you saw it, and many other books for different potions, how you could make them, their effects and so on.

Obviously, you already knew everything by heart, but it was always nice to have it written down and drawn on paper, especially since drawing was also a passion of yours and it was the only way you could practise it.

You carried precious but dangerous information with you at all times, so it was little surprise when one day, when you finally found the perfect spot for new plants to document and draw, you got ambushed by a bunch of no-so-friendly looking ninjas who wanted to hurt you and take your precious notes from you, which angered you so. As soon as you found a run-down small shack, you hid in it and prepared one of your most powerful poisons so you could kill them all. The best part of this? You were completely immune to all poisons and venoms so no matter what the outcome would be, you wouldn't be injured at all. As soon as they entered the house, you raised your mask up to your nose and stealthily closed the door and with a simple jutsu and a very toxic and complex poison, you breathed out a deadly mist that engulfed the whole place, making the scums die in agony as you swiftly made your escape out of there, enjoying their screams of pain. The only problem was that as soon as you got out of there, you stretched your limbs and as you were about to take off your mask, you notice a red-haired man about your height with seemingly no emotions on his face, staring at you. Despite his stoic face, a glint of smugness was evident in his eyes.

"I heard you were good, but that was much better than expected. I can see why Leader wanted to recruit you." he said in a monotone voice. "I wasn't aware I was so famous..." you said quietly. "The day the Black Mamba won't be famous, I wouldn't be-" "Akasuna no Sasori." you chirped, cutting him. "Sorry, that was rude of me. Forgive me." "So you're aware of my title. Good. You'll be coming to the base without any struggle, then." he smirked at you with a slight patronising stare. "As long as I can continue my passions, I don't see any reason not to. Uh...Maybe the fact that you're criminals could be a strong point...But it would be much safer with than without you." you tried to speak coherently, trying not to make a fool of yourself in front of the person that became an inspiration when you were young. "Before that, uhm...Would you mind if I went home and get my things? I have a lot of important thi-" you started, but were quickly cut off by a dismissive hand. "I'm not a patient person. Go home, I'll be back to escort you to our base. Be ware, however, that I am not a patient person and my patience runs thin incredibly fast. Don't push your limits." he said, sternly. "I-I...Will keep that in mind. Thank you for giving me a chance." you said, low-key spazzic and wanting to get away from his intimidating stare. "Do not disappoint." he stated, before he left without a second word.

Well...That will proved to be a great opportunity for you to grow even further and become and even more qualified poison expert.

Pein

You were an amazing ninja, but after a horrible incident which got both your family and your team, consisted of your two best friends, killed, your village blamed and shunned you, making you be forced to go rogue and live the life of a criminal. You were scared and angry at the injustice that has fallen upon you, but there was nothing you could do, apart from living on your life the best you could. After that incident and your shunning, you became a target high in the Bingo Book's Top 10 Wanted Criminals, with a huge bounty on your head, due to your incredible stealth, tracking and mind-controlling skills, which is why, unknown to you, the Akatsuki were trying to recruit you.

Countless months passed since the incident, you managed to find a small but cozy place to live in and you got pretty comfortable with a common life, pretending to be a normal villager. You become the one to provide the small village with flowers and other city technology, so you were used to people knocking on your door, asking for commissions and other stuff to order and bring to the village store, so when a knock could be heard at your door, at first, you weren't surprised. However, that changed when, after so many years, you picked up the sense of an incredibly powerful chakra, which made you uneasy, to say the least, but if that person particularly went out of their way to find you, they were sure to know you were there, so acting anything but peaceful would not be in your favour.

Shivers ran over your body, anxious beyond belief as you quietly unlocked the door and opened it, hiding behind the door, gripping it, only peaking slightly at the stranger standing in front of me. He had short, messy orange hair, multiple piercings, the famous Rinnegan and the feared Akatsuki cloak. Biting your lip, you tried to calm your breathing and hold a decent conversation without showing your worry, since his stern glaze root you to the ground. By the way he was standing, fully composed and an air of authority around him, being here by himself, unlike the others, who seemed to always do missions with another partner.

"H-Hello. How may I help you?" you mustered, unsure of what to do. "You are Y/N L/N, am I correct?" he said in a low, monotone voice. "Y-Yes, who asks?" you clearly weren't surprised this strange knew your name, since you were a known criminal around the big villages. "My name is Pein and I am the Leader of the Akatsuki. I came here to recruit you, being one of those few people with more than average skills." he stated, not budging. "That's...Not so bad, actually. Thanks for considering me, I guess." you said, unsure of yourself, still biting your life. "I will be coming for you next week and I am expecting a definite answer by then." he said, nodding. "There's only one answer which would ensure I'll stay alive, anyways, so uh...You know the answer." you looked away, trying to escape his hypnotising stare. "Very well. Be prepared to leave next week. Also...I suggest breaking your justu. It is not going to work on me. Good day." as with that, he left you there, dumbstruck to the spot, still processing your encounter with the strongest criminal you've ever seen.

It was fun and you were looking forward to this new adventure.

Konan

All your life, you've been dealing with a lot of negativity from everyone around you, since you were the only ninja in the village and you were damned good at your job and with that, you gathered a lot of money and hate from others.

This, however, motivated you to become a better person and spread positivity in any way you could and that included telling people they are pretty, wishing them a great, sunny day and/or giving them flowers. It was, in your opinion, a very sweet way of making they day better and seeing them smile brightened up your own day as well. On the other hand, you only wished someone would one day do the same to you too.

And so, one day, you went to the market, saw some beautiful flowers, took three of them and left to walk around the city and settled for the nearby cafe. Unfortunately, it was all full, apart from one empty chair at a table for two where a gorgeous girl with blue hair was sipping tea and reading a book, which upon further inspection proved to be Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Grinning, yet still feeling shy, you went besides her table, trying to fake confidence.

"Hi! Would it be okay if I stay here? Everywhere else is full." you smiled kindly. "I don't mind." she said, barely stealing a glance at you, but gesturing for you to take a seat.

After taking a cup of hot chocolate, you took out your book from your bag, but something was urging you to talk to the girl, so that's what you tried.

"So, Mary Shelley, huh? I love her work too. She's a genius." you said, unsure. "She's amazing. This must be one of my favourite books and the perspective of ethics is very intriguing." she stated with the ghost of a smile on her face, finally looking at you.

Grinning at her, you continued talking to her about the morals and ethics of the book, the author and many other books with similar topics, until you both finished your drinks and you realised you had to go home. As a way to say goodbye, you paid the bill for the both of you, then smiled at her and handed her one of the flowers.

"It was lovely meeting you and I'm very happy that I got to meet someone as beautiful as you who also shares my tastes in books. You brightened up my whole year with this encounter and I only hope I could make you smile. I hope to see you again, if you wouldn't mind." you said with a grin on your face, gripping on your book, swinging back and forth on your spot, shyly. "I would love to. It was an honour meeting you." she smiled and you could swear the whole room lit up. "I'm Y/N. It was a pleasure meeting you too...?" you stated, hoping for her to tell you her name. "Konan. Thank you for paying for my tea as well." she said, extending her hand for you to shake. "Special people deserve special treatment. Will I be seeing you again soon?" you asked, hopeful. "You will. Farewell, Y/N. Have a bright day." she smiled at you, nodding and leaving the place.

It took you everything you had not to jump-hug her or kiss her cheek in happiness, but you managed to restrain yourself and only grinned at your success and went home, extremely proud of yourself.

Kakuzu

You were a retired ANBU ninja who decided that she's enough death in her life in a short amount of time, so you decided to take up healing and other relaxing activities, like tending to your new flower garden, crocheting and taking care of your kitten. It was all going great, so far, finally managing to get over your trauma and learning again how to relax and be happy. As you were tending to your little piece of heaven, you suddenly got startled by the sound of a tree breaking and a thud. You sighed, got up and went to investigate the annoying sound, which proved to be an unconscious, weird-looking, injured man. You checked to see if he had a pulse, which admittedly, he had, but at the same time, as you took off his mask, you immediately recognised him as one of the most mysterious and dangerous Akatsuki member, high-listed in the Bingo Book you constantly kept in your position. What was more, apart from his name and village, nobody knew anything about him, which made him all the more dangerous, since clearly, every person he encountered and fought never lived to tell the tale of his true powers...Or at least his chakra nature. Not that it mattered, anyways. You were no longer a ninja and nor were you intending to go back to that stressful life, but as soon as you finished your medical training, you swore an oath never to let any person die, if you can help (which, on the other hand, never states that I couldn't possibly maim them at least, thankfully.)

His injuries were incredibly bad and if he wasn't as weirdly, inhumanely powerful as he was, he wouldn't have survived another breathe - which now he could take with ease. Sighing after hours of healing, I stretch your arms, satisfied with your work, when suddenly, a hand grasped your neck and you see Kakuzu raised to a sitting position, his glare being ominously highlighted by his long hair, draping over his face.

"Rude...!" you gasped, trying to breathe, as you put your hands on his wrist, trying to make him stop strangling you. "I healed you!" "Not a wise decision." and although he said that, the grip on your neck became slowly softer until it completely released you. "Sheesh...Kinky. At least get me a cup of sugary coffee or something." you mumbled, rubbing your neck, looking away. "Why would you heal a criminal?"  he said, completely ignoring your previous reply. "Criminal or not, it is my duty as a healer to save people, evil or not. Can't do much about it, huh?" you stated, as a matter of fact. "You have a Bingo Book next to you and yet, you don't seem afraid. Why?" he asked, peering into your eyes. "The risk I took was calculated...But boy, am I bad at maths."you chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "Are you aware of the incredibly huge bounty on your head?" it was more like a statement than a question, as he handed you his own Bingo Book to look at. What came as a huge surprise, as you flipped through the pages you also had in your own book, was a page dedicated to yourself- Your name, your village, your chakra nature, your skills and an unimaginable sum under your picture. You whistled in shock at the page you were staring at, then you slowly and lifted your eyes, making eye-contact with the famous Bounty Hunter, as a chilled shiver took over your body

"So...You're going to kill me and hand me in for the money, huh?" you asked, unsure of his intentions. "Money runs the world and ethics nor morality do anyone a favour. It would be ridiculous not to do so." he stated, without any remorse. You gave a scared laugh, thinking about your last moments, but they never came. Kakuzu, instead of killing you, stood up, towering over your small frame "Fortunately for you, I still have an ounce of morality left. Enough so that I won't kill the healer who did me a favour, despite knowing who I was." and he left without another word, leaving you blinking in surprise. For some reason, this encounter left you with a giddy heart and not only from fear, but from a bit of admiration too.

Hidan

You weren't an actual ninja, being from a smaller village with very few actually training by going to other big village's Academies, but you and your mum learnt how to be very the best healers around, which was why the place you lived at became a small clinic for every kind of people to get treated, either for free, or make donations.

Today was significantly more boring than usual, no conflicts, fights or small 'wars' happening, so you decided to let your mother run the place while watching a movie on your laptop, as you went out to stretch your legs, enjoy some fresh air in the nearby forest, stand by the stream and take in the godly perfume of the flowers.

The birds' symphony that had you lose yourself on Cloud 9 was, however, abruptly stopped when out of nowhere, a screaming head was catapulted in your direction, at a rather fast speed. Your eye twitched at the disturbance and you merely cocked your own head to the left, in order to avoid the annoying thing projecting your way. Happy enough, it slammed into the tree close to you, which made it stop yelling...For a short while.

"Can you shut up already? Some people are trying to enjoy the peace and quite this place offers."you told the annoying talking-head next to you.

This head, apparently, had silver hair, slicked back , slightly messy from the throw, and amethyst eyes.

"The hell is your problem, bitch?! Can't you have any bit of sympathy for a decapitated man?!" he glared at you. "Can you blame me? I just wanted to have one free day to relax and instead I...You know what? This is actually hilarious. How did you end up like this?" you smirked at him, resting your jaw on your hand. "What does it matter?! Just stitch me back to my body and leave me alone!" he said, trying to roll on the ground. "And where is your body, anyways? I couldn't possibly dream of some magical way to detect your body in the middle of nowhere, right?" you chuckled at him, then grabbed him by the hair, making him look at you directly. "You're even more annoying than that asshole, Kakuzu! Argh, just wait till I see him! That way! Go, now!" he said, trying to spin to show you the direction. "Kakuzu? Is he your boyfriend, or what? Domestic fight?" you snickered, getting up and walking in the direction he was instructing. "Boyfriend?! What the hell is wrong with you, bitch?! That jerk is absolutely horrible and has no regard for my religion! Besides, who cares about relationships?! All I need is Jashin-sama's blessings and I'm good." he thundered, clearly offended by the idea of him being in a relationship. "I suppose that's why you're immortal, huh? No normal person could get decapitated in a revenge-porn acti-" "DON'T EVEN DARE CONTINUE THAT SENTENCE! Or, I swear, the first thing I do when I get back to my body is to make you into a sacrifice!" by this time, the foam forming in his mouth almost drooling down his chin in anger. "You forgot the key-point of this. I could just as simply toss you farther away, just like your partner, much smarter than you, did." you winked at him. "Here! There it is!" he yelled in slight smugness. "Ah...Poor you...You look like a fish on the land, struggling to breathe." you replied in fake sympathy, as you sat down besides his body, getting the emergency scroll from your purse and taking out your sewing kit to help the poor idiot become whole again. As soon as you finished the procedure, during which he kept continuously whining and chatting about weird stuff, he got up and rubbed his neck, stretched, clearly relieved to be back. "You know what? I think you did a much better job than that asshole! Thanks, bitch!" he said, beaming. "My name is Y/N and I'd like you to call me by my name, not some stupid nickname your boyfriend calls you." you glared at him. "You know wha-" he tried to continue the sentence, but he was cut off by a loud, angry, booming voice echoing through the forest.

                          "HIDAN!!!"

"Is...This your boyfriend?"

you cocked your head in confusion and amusement at their antics.

You waved at Hidan as he was violently dragged away by his partner.

Ah, what a happy couple~!

[zeroconnectionn]

been writing braime au drabbles on my priv acct for fun but i cant finish any of them so..... to those looking for ideas, here are some au’s that i can’t get off my mind and would love to see more of in ao3/tumblr (under the cut bc it’s so long im so sorry):

crimson peak - i mean c’mon... it’s perfect guys.....i have no idea who would play dr. alan though. maybe the hound??? but like platonic

real steel - lisTEN i couldnt stop thinking about this all day... selwyn is jaime’s former boxing coach... which makes brienne his old-and-soon-to-be-rekindled flame that practiced w him back in the day... cersei + robert are dead and there’s a custody battle over lil tommen.... jaime, his “nephew” tommen, and brienne teach Oath, the sparring robot some killer boxing moves and fight their way to robo championship, becoming a family

pacific rim - i found only one on ao3!! braime would totally be drift compatible and the best part is that cersei doesnt have to be evil here. in my drabble, jaime loses cersei and his right hand to a category 5 kaiju attack. cue angst. he retires as a pilot but decides to stay at the base to train cadets (the real reason he cant pilot anymore is because he keeps chasing after cersei in the drift, clinging onto her memory desperately ohoho). brienne is one of the cadets he trains but jaime cant stand her naivete and b/w outlook on the world (deep down tho, its because he once held the same ideals as she did that resulted in cersei’s death. he sees her as a liability to her future co-pilot) so he picks on her a lot. brienne, sick of his shit, boldly challenges him to a duel, setting the terms that if she wins, jaime has to stop picking on her but if he wins, she has to quit the jaeger programme. to NO ONE’S SURPRISE, the duels ends w a tie! i named their jaeger Ursa Maiden because... you know... 

battle: los angeles - is there enough military fics?? lance corporal tarth kicking alien ass and saving staff sergeant lannister gives me strength

harry potter - WE COULD DO SO MANY THINGS WITH THIS... brienne the halfblood hufflepuff prefect and jaime the pureblood gryffindor troublemaker. rival quidditch captains? best duelers of their respective years? eventual auror partners? all three, because destiny has fated them to be together always? also consider: jaime was said to have murdered the then minister of magic but was not sentenced to azkaban thanks to tywin pulling a few strings. and honourable, hardworking brienne, the first hufflepuff and woman to get an Outstanding in DADA for NEWTS, the first person to best jaime aka the lion of gryffindor in a duel, and the one lucky enough to be mentored by auror!Renly. also i think we can all agree jaime would say “wait til my father hears about this” to get out of trouble

the walking dead - dudes i have not been able to stop thinking about this au too, like jaime and brienne from opposing communities, meeting each other during a supply run and fighting over a jackpot supply of Useful Things but when they’re just about to kill each other over it- SURPRISE! a convenient horde appears! they become temporary allies to survive, somehow saving each others’ asses along the way, jaime getting bit on his hand trying to save her and brienne repaying the favour by chopping off his hand to stop the infection, they spend a week in an abandoned cabin in the woods to recuperate, jaime bathing in the river with her where he explains why he had to kill the twd!aerys + possible romance, confusion w where they stand w each other and whether or not they can continue this fragile alliance if they go back home, jaime selfishly telling her they could just stay here in the cabin, start a new life together and never go back to their respective communities, brienne saying she can’t bc there are people to protect back home (from his people) so she leaves, jaime leaves too because cersei’s back home but he’s worried that the next time he meets brienne, it’ll be as enemies.... do y’alls feel this

superheroes - jaime is the perfect charismatic speedster?? and brienne w super strength??? if u guys play ttrpgs, jaime would be The Legacy or The Reformed and brienne the Transformed in Masks

kingsman - brienne is lancelot and tyrion is merlin AMIRITE

dragon age - (da:o timeline) brienne, a templar from lothering saves jaime, one of the commanders of king cailan’s army and survivor of the Battle of Ostagar who was captured by howe’s men and labelled a traitor (he’d be in one of the cages like Sten!). eventually they get conscripted into the grey wardens by the Warden, becoming the Warden’s travelling companions. would be cute if the Warden wanted to save time and send them off on a treaty mission together. also how perfect would it be if the couslands were the starks... rendon howe could be littlefinger too...

mass effect - i friggin loved me3 multiplayer so i can totally see brienne as a n7 destroyer and jaime as a n7 slayer. the two of them would’ve made such a good team that they were considered instrumental to the reaper’s defeat on earth. also they totally survive the war and settle down in the citadel and adopt a bunch of alien + human orphans. maybe before the war, they were spectres who butt heads a lot bc of diff mission interests. 

the proposal - I NEED TO KNOW, HAS ANYONE DONE THIS YET??? bc if there is, i wanna read it immediately. in my head, jaime could be the jerk boss who begs brienne to marry him to avoid getting deported. but instead of going back to tarth that weekend, they go to casterly rock to meet jamie’s family. same premise as the 2009 film, but slightly different and way more fun with cersei and tyrion around. also consider: the image of gwen dancing and singing to Get Low

to all the boys i’ve loved before - okay... hear me out... lara jean is brienne, kitty is arya, and sansa is margot but younger than brienne and instead of college, she’s in paris for a highschool student exchange programme. brienne is also a step-sister to the girls, cat took her in after her parents’ deaths. MEANWHILE josh is teen!sandor who sansa broke up with before she left for paris but is still best friends with brienne, peter is jaime(!!!) who kissed her during truth or dare years ago, and lucas is of course renly!! also gen is cersei but jamie’s cousin instead of sister. this is so complicated but i find it so cute still?????

i found this au from a prompt list on tumblr and its perfect: “single parents whose children are rivals in a talent show/ sports competition”. the children are tommen and arya, but brienne is arya’s foster mum since cate and ned’s death

naruto - ok so they’re both from different villages but become allies for a dangerous mission.... or brienne is hunting jaime bc he’s a missing nin from her village (catelyn would make a great kage holy shit).... whatever it is, you could totally work in a bath house scene :)

bleach - BRIENNE IS ASSIGNED TO JAIME’S DIVISION AS HIS NEW LIEUTENANT IMAGINE THEIR DYNAMIC sometimes i lay awake thinking about how tite kubo would draw brienne and jaime. [holding a butter knife] he better not give her ginormous boobs

where rainbows end/love rosie - y’all feel this too or is it just me, like just the idea of brienne opening a beach hotel in tarth... i need more brienne by the ocean fics in my life tbh. also im such a sucker for fics made up of purely texts between the characters then ending it with them meeting ahdasdjadsjad anyway Jaime is Alex and Hyle as Greg.

I Wish I Could Write These But Should You Find It Equally Interesting To Write About, Please, By All Means, Take My Brain Juice And Make It Beautiful And Let Me Know So I Can Give You Kudos And Comments Full of Squealing and Love

[minatoiskyuubismate]

Part 4 of my rtte Dagur version Fanfic : How a dragon Will travel pt 1 and 2

Part 4 Heathers return

  Hiccups and Dagurs Relationship develops. And Dagur has a surprise for the riders.

 Some weeks had passed. Hiccup has decided he wanted to go exploring the unknown parts of the archipelago the dragon eye has showed him and he brought his wish before the council of Berk.

And with Stoiks blessing the gang left Berk. They found an island where they build an outpost the “dragon edge”.

 Meanwhile, at the ship graveyard…

“Okay, that s the last one.” Savage said as the last of the equipment was pulled up from the sunken Reaper. A lot of cages and traps were stacked on the deck.

Dagur overlooked the catch.

“Well, if we sell this as scrap metal, we may get some gold to buy more suitable equipment. Or we could sell the cages and traps to dragon hunters, it would bring more wealth, but if Hiccup would find out…”

“I know, Chief. You promised him to left the side of being evil. Well, maybe it will be better not always getting our ships destroyed and sunk by the dragon riders.” Savage said.

Dagur growled as he remembered how Hiccup and his gang had so often ruined his plans. But when Hiccups smiling face got into his mind, he took a few deep breaths and calmed down again. He can do this. For Hiccup. For his little brother. Thor, why did he adore this boy so much?

“Yeah, all the repairs and new ships always costs a fortune!-Had the men returned the treasure to the places where we found them?” he returned his attention back to Savage.

“Aye. As you told. We had done as the boy say.”

“Good. Then lets set sail.”

 On one of the trading posts Dagur was able to sell all the old metal for a good amount of gold.

When the Berserker and his crew were in a tavern to have some drinks, Savage got some usable news.

“Chief, I heard from the keeper of the Tavern, that some Outcasts wanted to sell two ships. Wouldn’t this be a good occasion to enlarge our fleet a bit?”

“Well, its no fault to take a look at it.” Dagur nodded.

“Good. I talk to the go-between, he will made contact with the sellers and then let us know where we could meet them.”

 When Hiccup got back to Berk to get some supplies, some unknown Dragon rider attacked Buckets and Mulchs Boat and nearly destroyed it. Hiccup and the gang observed the boat and found a mysterious silver Metal sting, similar to a Nadders. After research with the dragon eye and a phantom drawing from Buckets describings, they found out, that the dragon who wrecked the ship was a Razorwhip, a new species of dragon. Because he like sea slugs, the riders started to search the islands where this slugs could be found.

After a fruitless search, the spotted a campfire on a small island. Hiccup and the others parted and began to look for the mysterious rider and his Razorwhip. But one by one, Hiccups Friends were overpowered and tricked by the stranger, but Hiccup and Toothless were able after a wild chase to shoot them down.

The stranger turned out to be Heather, the girl who stranded on Berk four years ago. She was the rider of the razorwhip who she saved and trained like she learned from Hiccup and the others in the past.

She told them that her Village was attacked and destroyed and that her parents lost their lifes one year after they first met on Berk. Since then Heather was all alone till she found Windshear, her Razorwhip. Hiccup invited her to the dragon edge and told her she could stay as long as she wants.

But in the first night Hiccup discovers how Heather left the base in secret. He followed her and found her meeting with Trader Johan on his ship near a small island.

When Heather left again Hiccup forced Johann to talk what Heather was up to. So the trader told her about the home and people she lost and who the one is on which she wants to take revenge.

 “Dagur…I cant belive you did such a cruel thing!” Hiccup thought, as he followed Heathers trail. He must find the Berserker before her and get more answers. All what Trader Johann could tell was that Dagur attacked once Heathers home island and destroyed her village. And in this process her parents died. That was the reason she attacked ships and stole their fright. To help the survived people who had lost everything.

 Dagur at the moment was out in the sea, trying to come to terms with the Outcast who wanted to sell the ships. Savage handled one of the Outcasts two bags of Gold.

“Hey! That’s not the price we agreed on !”

“Well-and these ships are not as you described! So take now the Gold I offered you or –“

 Suddenly two silver stings hit the deck near Dagurs boots.

“What the hell-“ Dagur growled and looked upwards. Then he saw the circling dragon. The trader, an outcast from another tribe, shrunk and grabbed the bags with the gold.

“Ugh-okay, okay! You get this two there and we will send you three other, better ones! Is that okay?” he stammered.

“Well, that would a proper suggestion. I will send you a note where our rendez-vous-point will be.” Dagur agreed.

“G-good. –Men, let´s get out of here, before we get impaled by this Razorwhip!”

Hasty the traders returned to their boat and set sail.

“It was a pleasure to make trades with you!” Dagur called after the fleeing men. Then he looked at Savage and shrugged.

“What shall we do about this dragon?” his Second asked.

“Its Heather again! Hey! Stop your attacks and come down here! I have something to-“

Dagurs last words were interrupted by Savages warning scream: ”Chief! Watch out!”

Everyone jumped for cover when a fiery blast hit the deck.

“Okay. If you not want to hear…” Dagur growled. ”Prepare the chains! I don’t want her to ruin my new ships!”

Dagur looked at Heather with narrowed eyes.

“Okay, wait till he is in range…Now!” Dagur commands. A single chain with a grappling hook flew upwards and wrapped around Windshears tail!

“NO!” Heather thought in shock. Another chain flew up and wrapped around Windshears body. The dragon turned and tried to fly away, while Heather tried to loosen the chains.

“Good! Now reel the dragon in! But careful, we don’t want to hurt it!” Dagur ordered.

The berserkers tug on the chains.

“Stop fighting it, Heather! –Arg, this girl is deaf to my words!” the berserker chief growled. Two more chains came flying from the other ships, one misses, but the second wrapped around the girls upper body. With a scream she was slammed against Windshears neck, now unmovable trapped.

“Good! She is immobile! Now we can reel her and her dragon down.” Dagur nodded satisfied. “I will show you destroying my ships!”

 Hiccups eyes went wide when he spotted the captured Heather and the dragon who were slowly tugged down to the ships.

“Heather!”

 “Heather, for Thors sake, don’t fight it, you will only hurt yourself! As I said: ”I-only-want-to-talk!” Dagur shouted.

With a growl, Hiccup turned to Dagurs ship and floated beside it, till he spotted the Berserker chief.

“Dagur! What the hel are you doing!” he shouted angry.

“Oh, hello Hiccup! I don’t want to harm her! But she attacked us out of the blue! It’s the second time she went after one of my ships! She already destroyed and robbed two of them I newly bought! And now she want to do it with these too! I called for her to get down for a talk- but instead she always attacked us with her dragon!” Dagur answered. “I am only defending my ships!”

“Okay, Dagur! Release her! I know her and I will talk with her!” Hiccup said.

“You know her?”

“Yes, she was washed on the shores of Berk four years ago! –I tell you the story another time! -

But there must something have happened, because why else is she so upset and attacking your ships! Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“Well, it could be that I raided her village-but this was before I got imprisoned!”

Hiccup shot him a skeptical look.

“Relase her! Now!” he ordered.

“But you must go up and loosen the grappling hooks!” Dagur instructed him.

“Okay!”

 Hiccup steered Toothless upright. First he tried to shoot the chain that held Heather bound to Windshear. But the plasma blast showed no effect. The chains were dragonfire-proof.

“Okay, this doesn’t work.”

“Heather! Don’t worry! I will free you!” the Hooligan called.

With the help of Toothless Hiccup was able to loose the hooks, the chains slid from the dragon and fell back into the sea.

“Okay, now pull them back aboard!” Dagur commanded. “And get us out of here! There will be another chance to talk with her. Let Hiccup reason with her, maybe he can bring her to her senses again.”

 Heather watched the leaving ships with rising anger.

“No! He is getting away!” she roared.

“Heather! Stop it! ” Hiccup said with a stern voice.

“What?”

“Leave Dagur alone!”

Heathers eyes widened. She couldn’t belive what she have heard!

“Are you insane?! I must destroy him! For that I risk everything!” she shouted enraged.

“Even Windshears life?”

The Razorwhip whined.

Heather lowered her head and sighed.

“No, girl. I would never let you hurt again.” she said.

“Heather. It may sounds insane, but Dagur is trying to fix the mistakes he had done. That’s why he released you after I ordered him to do! He said he wants to talk with you-but you always attacked him and never listened.”

Heathers eyes went wide.

“I don’t belive you! Have you teamed up with this monster?”

“He-is –not – a-monster. Not anymore. He tries to change. And I am giving him a second chance!”

Heather growls frustrated and pulled Windshear around.

“Lets head back to the edge. And when your Anger has cooled of, we should go both and have a talk with Dagur.”

 Toothless glides alongside Windshear, as they flied back to the outpost. No words have been spoken, since they were on their way back, till Hiccup broke the silence.

 “Heather, Trader Johan told me, what happened to your village. I´m sorry for that. Was it really Dagur?”

Heathers eyes hardened.

“Yes. He attacked my village and killed the ones who raised me.” she spat. “For that he must pay!”

“Raised you?”

“I was parted from my real family when I was little and they saved me.”

“Oh, I see. Do you remember your real family?”

“Not much. I only remember my fathers hands. They were rough, but very gentle. And I remember playing with his shield. And the only thing that I carried with me when I was found was this horn.”

Heather held up a white horn with a golden tip.

“A nice token.” Hiccup smiled.

“Yeah. I can use it for drinking and when I remove the golden cap I can use it to call Windshear. I don’t know if it supposed to mean something, but whenever I look at it, I think of him and I wish I knew who he was.” Heather said and placed the horn carefully into her bag again.

“I still can´t belive that Dagur tries to change.” she said then.

“He saved my live two times since he broke out of Outcast prison. And he always calls me brother. He started with it when we had a training session at dragon island, where he was all alone to hunt dragons. And I made a big mistake there then. I did not tell him the truth about that we are not killing Dragons anymore. Oh, he was so angry and I saw the disappointment in his face, when I rejected him and to made it more worse, I threatened him openly to use our dragons on him and his tribe, if he dares to attack Berk! It was like a war declaration! But we talked it out and I said I was sorry. “

“You simply talked it out?”

“Heather, Dagur had a lot of time to think things over. Three long years….and he was tortured by Alwin, had you seen all the scars? No, he has paid enough for his past sins! He wants to be a better chief and I am giving him a chance.”

“And you wanted me to talk with Dagur too? Sorry, Hiccup, but a talk could not take the fact out of this world, that he destroyed my village and killed people!” Heather growled.

 Later, at the clubhouse on the edge.

“Sorry, for locking your dragons in, I just diddnt trust you guys would let me go after Dagur.” Heather explained.

Hiccup told Astrid to take Heather with her and keep her busy for awhile.

“She should forget her dark thoughts and see the bright sides of life.”

“Good Idea, Hiccup.” the shieldmaiden nodded. “Heather, come! Lets do some girls stuff!”

 First the two went to a quiet place to practice axe throwing. During their small competition Heather asked if there is something between her and Hiccup.

“No! We are just Friends. Nothing more! Just-Friends.” Astrid says.

“I see. But the looks you share and the way you are together…”

“Its nothing, really.”

“Okay, enough of that. What else do you do for fun around here?” Heather asked. Astrid smiled. Dagur and Heathers dark thoughts are far away at the moment.

“Come on!” the shieldmaiden called her friend and stormed off.

 While the two girls continued to have fun with their dragons, Hiccup studied a map, while Toothless sniffed curious at Heathers black leather bag, who hung from the wall near the entrance of the clubhouse where she have left it. Then he digs his snout into the satchel and start rummaging through it.

“Toothless, no! What are you doing? Leave it!” Hiccup said sternly and pulled the bag from his snout. “This is not the best way to earn her trust.”

A solid thunk caught his attention. He looked down and spotted the horn who had fell out of the satchel. The Hooligan picked it up when something engraved on it caught his attention.

“This…is my dad´s chief seal!”

Hiccup remembered Heather saying that her father gave her this horn. Could it be that….

“Toothless, lets head to Berk!”

 Heathers old camping ground was the destination where the two girls with their dragons finally landed.

“Why are we here?”

“We are looking for something.”

“For what? It would be helpful if you tell me.”

Then Astrid spotted a slight movement. She swings her axe forward and rips someone from a bush smashing a person to the hard ground.

“Trader Johann?” she asks in surprise looking down at the trembling man.

“Mistress Astrid!” Johann said and hold up his arms protectively in front of his face. “Its nice to see you again, but would you mind lowering your axe so my frightened soul could return back in my body?”

Astrid huffed and removed her foot from the chest of the trader.

“Johann!” Heather rushed to him and helped the trader to his feet.

“Mistress Heather! Thank Thor you are not dead! When the Terror with the message I send you returned, I was worried and when I arrived here and saw your camp abandoned, I feared the worst!” Johann said.

“Can someone tell me whats going on?” Astrid asked.

“Well, I have the exact location where a certain Berserker is at the moment.” the Trader begun.

“And I am the warrior who will takes care of him!” Heather finishes, giving another showing how skilled she was with her double-bladed axe.

“Dagur has purchased some new ships and they will meet here, in the sea of despair. They have powerful catapults and dragon-proof chains and winches. And I don’t need to tell you what power he will get with this new Armada..” Johann says and opens a map.

“Yeah, but I don’t think, Dagur…” Astrid began, but before she can finished her sentence, Heather thanked Johann for the map, took it and stormed off to her dragon.

 In the meantime Hiccup arrived at Berk and went straight to the great Hall, where his father held Berks gripe day and listens to the small and big problems of his tribemates.

“Father, I need to talk to you. Its urgent!” Hiccup said and lifted the horn. Stoiks eyes went wide. He recognized the gift.

“Hiccup when a chief gets a child, its common that it gets gifts from befriended or allied tribes. Remember the tiny axe I let Gobber made when you were still a baby?”

“Uh, yeah.” the Hooligan heir nodded. “Its still in my toy chest.”

 “We have to go now!” Heather shouts in the clubhouse before the gathered Riders and her dragons.” Dagur wont be out in the open for long!”

The girl clenched her fists angrily.

“Heather…Hiccup wouldn’t allow that! I know, you want revenge for your destroyed village and killed family, but he would not tolerate to go into battle against the Berserker!” Astrid said.

“Guys, I wished Hiccup and Toothless were here, trust me. But they are not and we couldn’t wait any longer! Who knows what he will do with his new armada if we not stop him now and destroyed the fleet! For what other purpose do you think did he buy the ships?!”

“It is not sure, that Dagur is planning to attack other villages. He promised Hiccup—“ Fishlegs began, but Heather cut him off.

“Promised to be not deranged anymore? Never! He is not to trust! So if we attack all at once, we can crush him and his armada!”

The riders shared skeptical looks. If they attack Dagur without reason, Hiccup will never forgive them.

He gave the Berserker a chance.

“You heard Johann. This is our last chance to get him! Tell them, Astrid!”

“Look, Heather, a revenge is the wrong way…” Astrid starts.

“So you too? just forget it, all of you. I guess all that stuff about trust and having my back was just talk. So I am on my own again!” Heather hisses, whipping around and running towards Windshear. Astrid watches her mounting her dragon and securing her axe strapped at her back.

 “Where did you get this horn?” Stoik asked.

“Its Heathers. The girl who stranded here a few years back.”

“Yes…Heather…”

“She said her father gave it to her. But it has your seal on it. Dad….could it be…that Heather is my sister?” Hiccup asked silently.

Stoik looked at the horn, then at his son and sighed.

 in the meantime on Dragons edge.

“It seems that it s only you and me, Windshear. As usual.” Heather huffed. “Okay, lets.—“

“Hey.” Astrid calls and Heather stopped her dragon from departing. She and the other riders are standing with weapons in one hand around her. “If we gonna do this this had to be a capture mission, not a kill mission, agreed? We bring Dagur here and hold a trial about what he has done! But Hiccup will have the last word about this!”

“Agreed. But how will Hiccup find us?” Heather asked.

As an answer Astrid pinned the map with the marking at the gate of the dragon stable.

“You know, where Dagurs ships are, right?” she asked.

Heather nodded.

And whats your plan?”

“Hit him when he at least expects it.”

“Then lets go!”

The riders mounted their dragons.

 Dagur sighs as he stared out towards the fog.

“When will the three new ships arriving?”

“It must be at any time, sir.” Savage said. “ I hope they are keeping their word we have already gave them the payment.”

“They will. If not-I know where their base is…” Dagur growled and stabbed one of his daggers into the mast.

 When Hiccup arrives back on Dragons edge, he found the place abandoned. Then Toothless sniffed at a map pinned at the gate of the dragon pen and warbled.

“What have you found, bud?” Hiccup asked and walked to his dragon. He ripped Astrids Dagger from the door and stared at the markings of the map. Then realization hit him.

“Oh no. Heather, please don’t make anything stupid!” he gasped. “Toothless! I am sorry, but we have to make another fast flight!”

 “There he is!” Heather shouts and pointed down at the ships. The biggest one had the Skrill banner on its sail.

“Okay. As I told you. We are using the element of surprise. You distract the Berserkers, while I and Astrid are going for Dagur.” Heather explained.

“Right.” Snotlout nodded.

 “Wha-Dragons incoming!” the man on the watch suddenly called.

“Is my brother Hiccup with them?” Dagur asked.

“I see only three.” Savage answered. Suddenly two fire blasts hit the ship.

“Hey! What in Hels name-why they are attacking us!? Whats got into them?” the second in command cried. “ We held the peace!”

“Something is strange here…prepare the grappling hooks and the bolas! Lets get one of these boys down and hope we will get some answers about this!” the Berserker answered.

Dagur couldn’t understand why three of Hiccups gang are attacking his fleet out of the blue! And Hiccup was nowhere seen!

Meanwhile Heather and Astrid scale the wood of Dagurs flag ship while Stormfly and Windshear cling to the side of the rump. The two girls pulled themselves up towards the edge of the ship and began to knock out the crewmen who spotted them. They worked quick and silently, Dagur did not notice that he had two silent intruders on board.

When Fishlegs came too near to the ships railing, Dagur was able to catch Meatlug with a chain around one of her hind legs.

“Got you! And now I want some answers!” the berserker growled as he pulled his catch closer to the ship. But suddenly Dagur was thrown forward by two hard kicks.

“What the hel-Hey!”

Before he could react his hands were bound on his back and he was roughly turned around.

“You two?” he gasped when he spotted the two girls looking down at him. “Whats the meaning of all this? Why do you attack my ships? Did Hiccup order this?”

“Quiet!” Heather snarled and showed a gag into Dagurs mouth. Now the Nadder and the Razorwhip entered the ship too. No one registered the low deep growl that rumbled under the planks of the deck.

“Now you will pay for what you have done to my village!-Windshear, finish him!” Heather snarled.

“What? No! We had decided that no one should be killed! You can´t do this! Hiccup will never forgive you if you hurt him!” Astrid shouted.

“Sorry, Astrid, but I changed my mind. “Windshear!”

The Razorwhip pointed out his spikes, ready to strike!

An evil smirk appeared on Heathers face. No, that’s not her, the shieldmaiden thought with horror. She is now acting like a….a berserker! She had lied to her that Astrid and the others helped Heather to fulfill her revenge! What have I done, the shieldmaiden gasped.

 Suddenly a guttural roar echoed over the deck and in the next moment a green big Gronkle came out of an open hatch on the deck, bounded over the planks and butted the Razorwhip away! With bared teeth and a low growl he posed himself over Dagur who was able to cut his binds and spat out the gag, Heather stuffed in his mouth.

“What in Thors name…” Astrid gasped. Fishlegs who still sat on his chained Meatlug could only stare in awe.

“Now you look, eh? Our chief has now trained a dragon for riding too!” Savage grinned, who held the chain in position.

“Shattermaster, hold it! Its okay, buddy.” he called and crept out under the dragons belly. Then he petted the massive head and got a low purr from the Gronkle.

Astrids and Heathers eyes got big.

“Is this…YOUR dragon?” the Hofferson asked baffled. “And…he is protecting you…”

“Yeah. Heather had one, you had one-why should I not?” Dagur answered unconcerned and shrugged. “Cause I cant ride Cloudstorm, I have now Shattermaster.”

 Suddenly a familiar howling sound caught every ones attention.

“Heather! Astrid! Stop it!”

The next moment Hiccup landed on the deck with Toothless.

“Oh, now my brother is here too. You came in the right moment! Your Riders attacked my ships and Heather and your furious Walkyrie wanted to kill me!” Dagur growled.

“Yeah! Like YOU killed my parents!” Heather spat.

“Heather, I wanted to talk to you about…” Dagur began, but Hiccup interfered.

“First you listen to me! Heather, this horn is a present from my father to yours for your birth. It was Oswald, the agreeable! You are his second born! And he is Dagurs father, too! And that means, Dagur is your brother! It would not be right to kill him! Not even for revenge! And-I will not allow it!”

Hiccups look was stern and he gave Heather back her horn. He was standing firm between her and Dagur, shielding him with his back.

Dagurs Eyes went wide as Hiccup spoke the last sentence.

“Is he protecting me?” he thought.

“I-I cant belive it! They are related?” Astrid gasped.

 “So its true! This is the last proof! I finally found you! Heather, you are really my little sister! - But every time we met, you attacked my ship with your dragon before we had a chance to talk! And I am only defending my fleet! -Heather look, I am sorry what happened back then and it´s your right to be mad at me! But I want to fix the things I have done, before it´s too late.-I am the only family you have left! I searched so long for you!” the berserker said. Astrid couldn’t believe what she heard. So Hiccup was right. Dagur tries to compensate some of his errors he made.

“Astrid! Tell the others to stop the attacks! Return to the edge!”

“But Hiccup…”

“Do as I say! I can solve this alone! And we will later have a talk about this! What did you think about to join Heather in her revenge for Dagur! I want that you apologize to him for your meaningless attack!”

“Uh-we did not want to kill someone, but suddenly Heathers mind changes! She really is a berserker, I saw the evil look in her eyes, as she gave Windshear the order to finish him!” Astrid told Hiccup, then she turned to the Berserker chief. “Dagur, I am sorry. We shouldn’t have followed Heathers plan.”

Dagur nodded, he acceped Astrids apologize.

The shieldmaiden mounted Stormfly and took off.

“Hey, whats going on there?” Snotlout called.

“We return the the edge!”

“WHAT? And Hiccup? And Heather? And who in Thors name is that green Gronkle?” he asked.

“Hiccup wanted to solve this alone! I will tell you all on the way back! So follow me!”

 In the meantime Savage spotted the three ships sailing towards the Berserker Fleet.

They open fire with the catapults and Stones were flying towards the dragon riders.

“The new ships for my fleet have finally arrived! But they think we are under attack.-Savage!” Dagur shouted.

“Yes, my Chief?”

“Call for all the ships to stop the attacks! The dragon riders are going to retract!”

“At once, my chief!-STOP THE ATTACKS!!” Savage bellowed and waved his arms. The call spread from ship to ship and the crews held the fire.

In the meantime Meatlugs chain was removed.

“You are free. Return with the others.” Savage told Fishlegs.

“Okay.” the rider murmured, a bit unsure. What was Hiccup up to?

 Heather stands near Windshear, her face down, lips pressed firmly together. Then she lifted her head and faced her older brother with blazing eyes.

“You attacked my village and killed my family!” she snarled. “Dou you think this could so easily forgiven?! You took everything away from me!”

“Dagur!? So it is really true?” Hiccup asked sternly.

“Yeah. It´s like my sister said. It was the tribe that raised her. A few months, before our fight for Outcast island I got a message from my source, that there was a black-haired girl named Heather living on an island. Maybe my long missing sister? So I went to this island to see this girl. But when I landed on the island and get into the village, Heather was not there. I told the villages of my search, but somehow we got into an argue and the inhabitants drove us away, they think I wanted to steal their girl. I got in rage and ordered my man to burn the village down, when we were aboard our ships again. A storm of burning arrows were send to the village…who burned down the whole houses. But I swear in Thors name, that I did not order to kill the inhabitants! But some of them died when they tried to quench the fires from falling burning wreckage. And –your foster parents where two of them. I know that I can´t bring them back from Walhalla. I can only tell you how sorry I am for this, sister.”

“But you killed them anyway! When I returned, my village was in ruins, my family dead! I will never forgive you this!” Heather snarled, jumped on Windshears back and bolted into the air. She couldn’t belive what she heard! The looks her older brother gave her. In his eyes she saw no malice –only sadness.

“Heather! No! Please forgive me!” Dagur shouted and waved his arms. Sighing he slacked and hung his head.

“Heather told us, after this she lived the last years all alone.” Hiccup said. “No girl should experience such losses. First her real family and then her foster parents.”

“Thor, what have I done? It happened when I was still this deranged teen. I let the village burn down and sailed away, because the villagers don’t wanted that I meet Heather….I was so enraged!”

“It was the wrong way to get in contact with her at that time. Now she is all mad at you. And I don’t think she will forget this so easy. She can be very unforgiving. Like Astrid some times. But I will be still behind you.”

“You still give me a chance? Brother…I thank you.”

The green big Gronkle whined and prodded his rider.

“Don’t worry, bud, I m okay.” Dagur said with a sad smile.

“Um, Dagur…who is this Gronkle?”

“Oh, this is Shattermaster.”

“Shattermaster?”

“Yeah. I have now a dragon too for riding.”

“What? How did you train him?”

“Piece of cake. I found him in a dragon hunter trap. Normally I would have killed him-but I remembered what you told and taught me. And I remember Alwin bragging around how he trained a whispering death –and old Milddew babbled a lot when I asked him how you was able to breake out of Outcast prison. The most important fact is trust, he repeated you. So I tried too. And old Shattermaster was so happy when I freed him and tended his paw that he did not want to leave anymore. You see? He is every time wagging his tail and panting like a dog when he sees me.” Dagur told with a light grin. And he protected me from Heathers dragon to finish me off. –“Yeah, buddy. This is my little brother Hiccup. Say hello to Hiccup and his dragon Toothless.”

“Oh-hi, Shattermaster.” Hiccup smiled when the green Gronkle licked his face and warbled happily. Then he began to “talk” with Toothless.

“So you are able to train dragons too. Its good to see you making progresses.”

“And don’t forget little Cloudstorm.”

“Oh yes! How is he?”

“He is back at Berserk island with my uncle. I don’t wanted him to bring with me where he could get in danger, till he is so small. He is loved by the entire tribe and he loves my uncle too.”

“I don’t thought you have still an uncle.”

“He is doing the chief thing, since I was imprisoned and I told him to continue with it, till I decided I am really ready for being a chief.”

Hiccup looked at the older man and smiled. It was good that he gave him a second chance. And he started to like him in a way he never did before.

“Its getting late…you should return to your friends.” Dagur said, watching the sun set.

“Do you mind if I stay the night with you? Toothless and I had a long flight to Berk and then back to you. He is exhausted.”

“If you want....you will always have a warm place in my bed, brother.”

“Then lets go. It was a long hard day.”

“Aye. That it was. I will join you later, I must first check the damages.”

 When Dagur returned a bit later to his cabin, Toothless was already asleep in a corner of the room near Shattermaster. And Hiccup was sitting on the soft fur blankets on the bed. He wore only his pants and had his arms rested on his bent knees.

“I see you and your dragon already made yourself comfortable.” Dagur smiled and started to strip his armor and boots.

“Are they a lot of damages? I am sorry, I don’t know what got into Astrids and the others mind to attack your ships!”

“Its nothing serious, little one. Not what my crew can fix.” Dagur said, crawled onto the bed and scooped the smaller male into his arms. This time, Hiccup snuggled closer to the bigger male and leaned his head on Dagurs shoulder. The Berserker pulled the furs over them.

“I missed your warmth.” Hiccup murmured, already half –asleep. Dagur smiled softly. There it was again. This deep content feeling. Was this the love of a caring brother?

 When Dagur awoke the next morning, Hiccup was lying on him his head resting on his chest. “You always searching for the warmest place, eh, little fishbone?” he murmured. When he started to push carefully the long bangs out of Hiccups face, the Hooligan woke up.

“Uh-oh, sorry, Dagur, I don’t want…” he stammered and his cheeks flushed red.

“Hey, no problem. Stay if you are feeling comfortable. How did you sleep?“

“Good and safe.”

“By the way, did your girlfriend warm you in the cold nights?”

Hiccup lifted his head abruptly.

“No! No… we cant yet…”

“But I think you should start to tell what you are feeling for her. Don’t wait too long, little one.-And don’t scold her too much for the attack on my ships. She don’t wanted to let my sister go alone. And for that I am grateful.”

“Dagur…” Hiccup sighed and rolled himself of the larger man and sat up at the beds edge.

In the meantime the dragons were awake too and watched as the older male got up too and sat beside the younger one.

“With you, its so simple…” Hiccup sighed and leaned against the Berserker, when he put an arm around him.

“You can always come to me, when something bothers you. I then will try to help you.”

“Thanks Dag.-Its time for me to return, the others are sure worried where I stayed the whole night.”

“But I will not let you and Toothless leave without breakfast.”

 After one hour Hiccup left Dagurs flagship and headed back to the edge.

“Ah, I forgot to ask him where his new outpost is! He talked about that they have build a base. Because the next time, I will visit him with Shattermaster.” the Berserker said when he spotted the Hooligan and the Nightfury vanishing between the clouds.

 When Hiccup returned to the edge, Heather was about to leave.

“Hiccup, where have you been the whole night?” Astrid asked.

“On Dagurs ship. Toothless was to exhausted for another flight back.”

“I see.-Look I am sorry, that we helped Heather attacking Dagurs fleet. He really wants to make peace with his sister.”

“Its okay. Dagur told me not to be angry with you and the others about this.”

Heather joined the two.

“Hiccup…I-I am sorry, I shouldn’t have pulled your friends in this. I will leave Dagur now alone.” she apologized to the Hooligan.

“Heather…Dagur really seeks for forgiving. Give him a chance-like I gave him. I have told you what happened after he saved me. He searched so long for you. “

“Maybe I will one time. But I am not trusting him yet! And for the moment I need some time alone to think over it.”

“I see. But if you need help-call us or visit us. You are always welcome.”

“Hiccup…don’t you think that he is fooling us all?”

“No. I was some days with him together and we had a lot of talks…and I saw his eyes. They have changed, Heather. And when Shattermaster trusts him and even Toothless… I believe into him too.”

Heather mounted Windshear.

“Thanks for all, Astrid. Hiccup, hold an eye on my so called “brother” on me, will you?”

The Hooligan nodded softy.

The Razorwhip leaped into the air and the two watched Heather fly off.

“I know you two got pretty close.” Hiccup said. “I am sorry you´re losing a familiar.”

“Well, Hiccup, don’t forget, I still have you.” Astrid said and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Yes… you have me…I have you.... and I have my “brother” Dagur.” Hiccup thought with a soft smile.

  to be continued…

[caredogstips]

Top 10 pas in envision books

Dads often get a raw deal in image volumes – often absent or else caricatured as the not-very-smart or the fix-it-all-with-my-toolbox papa. Here Sean Taylor picks the best well-rounded daddies in a selection of fabulous image volumes for papas day

You get more mums than dads in visualize journals. Perhaps thats intelligible. Mums still tower largest in the living conditions of numerous picture-book-aged juveniles. But perhaps it shows our world, in which absent-minded father-gods are ever more common. One route or the other, it would be good to have more papas present in the lives of children, and it would be good to have more papas in word-painting journals.

Sean Taylor with his son Rafa.

And theres something else. The pas who do appear in stories for young children can be quite restricted references. Theres the above-it-all daddy, speaking the newspaper. Theres the not-very-smart father, whos simply a pun. Theres the fix-it , daddy with his toolbox. Theres the about-to-be-absentdad , off to employment. Even the all-loving , Guess-How-Much-I-Love-You kind of dad can feel one-dimensional.

So for my top 10, Ive chosen works peculiarity father-gods who are both at the center of the tale and more alive than the caricatures. The notebooks are ordered approximately by age of reader: younger firstly, older last-place. I hope theres something new for you to find and enjoy.

1. Some Dogs Do by Jez Alborough

A special tale told( as Jez Alborough brilliantly does) in few words and with verses that read just right. A young hound announced Sid is so filled with happiness that he moves! But he cant persuade anyone that this has happened. Hes tittered at. bird-dogs dont fly it cant be done, says his teach. Dogs dont fly! reproduce his friends. This leaves Sid alone and lamentable. But his father comes by. He asks whats wrong, and it saves the day. Sids dad believes in him. He understands Sids free spirit because he shares it. And these two things( literally) lift Sid up again. Its a wonderful image of the magical a father-son alliance can do.

2. The Parent Who Had 10 Children by Bndicte Guettier

A whimsical fable, first are presented in France. The papa in question does everything for his 10 brats. He takes them to institution. He cooks their snacks. He tells them storeys. He caresses them good night. Then, requiring a crack, he constructs a secret ship. He says hell leave the children with their grandma, and sail away for a long vacation. But he cant live without his minors. Hes back soon. The ten babes connect him in the ship. Its an engaging depiction of what it is to have( or be) a affectionate mother. The ludicrous realism outline you in like a nursery rhyme. Precisely right for younger painting volume readers.

3. Petes a Pizza by William Steig

Its raining. Pete cant go out to play ball with the guys. So hes in a bad humor. His father thinks it might clap Pete up to be made into a pizza. Hes right, of course! Dad kneads him and twirls him up in the air. He disperses on cheese( actually torn up fragments of paper) and applies him in the oven( actually the sofa ). This is a celebration of the parents ruse of distracting a grouchy brat with a little bit of zany comedy.( Good maneuver in the book, as far as Im concerned .) And what a wonderfully affection, inventive, energetic father William Steig has created! Pete titters like crazy. And the sunshine comes out at the end.

4. Oscars Half Birthday by Bob Graham

One of many memorable situation volumes from a master of creating papa, mums, children and all human being.( Too fairies, in fact .) A household become strolling to a green slope in the city to celebrate newborn Oscars six-month birthday. Bob Graham covers “the worlds” as a jumble of various types of lives, done beautiful by the excitement that can come between them. And in this story, theres special attention paid to minutes of prayer that children and mothers can conjure up, if they require. I enjoy the dirty-old-town give, with its colourful graffiti. And I like the spiky-haired daddy. He realise the sandwiches. He goes on with the stuff of the family daytime. He does it with love. And hes concerned one of my favourite of all situation work completes. When the kids are asleep, he pushes back the furniture and dances with Mum

5. At the Crossroads by Rachel Isadora

A brilliant volume( who are able dare publish this today ?) by the author of the evenly brilliant Bens Trumpet. In a South African township, some infants expect their migrant-labourer parents to arrive home after 10 months “. They wait, in celebratory mood at first, but with increasing tiredness and uncertainty as the day and the night go by. They tell legends to stay awake. But a very young drops-off asleep. A truck plucks up. Its not their fathers. Then the working day sunups. And, with it, the parents arrive. Theres hardly any characterisation of the pas. They come to life through most children excitement and perseverance. So does the deep emotion of an absent-minded father returning. My boys have often choice this volume at bedtime. And they know it well enough to look up curiously when the papas arrive – to check if there are snaps of joy in my eyes. There typically are.

6. Were Off to Ogle For Aliens by Colin McNaughton

Colin McNaughton was once a prolific word-painting notebook manufacturer. His perky, colorful contact is much missed. I ever feel that there are conventional filaments in it – from pantomime, or music hall even. And you dont get those working in some cool, sharper contemporary drawing journals. Were Off to Appear For Aliens is a lovely yarn. The daddy is McNaughton, himself. The legend starts with his newly published book being delivered. He demo it to his family. And here, the second largest journal is glued into the first. The book-inside-the-book is a catchy verse anecdote about a room passage McNaughton once reached. After a cord of accidents, he fell in love with a exquisite alien girlfriend and she tripped back with him. Its another original dad: irrepressibly playful, eccentric and warm. And theres a amaze. The final spread uncovers McNaughtons wife and kids have big-hearted, overhead eyeballs and additional arms…so the whole story is genuine!

7. Dont Let Go by Jeanne Willis, is borne out by Tony Ross

A story about a father-daughter relationship told in tempo and verse. Megan wants to visit her daddy. But her father is too busy to take her. Megan recommends memorizing to go her bicycle so she knows how shape the expedition alone. Dad schools her. Hes patient and promoting. I wont “lets get going” ,/ Not until “theyre saying”. So Megan overcomes her anxieties. She announces out, Okay, you can let go now! Then shes off into the delight of a first bike go( illustrated by Tony Ross, with a magical style, as a passage past a tiger, into jungle .) Meanwhile Dad is left behind, knowing hes “lets get going” of his daughter in more ways than one. Prepare in the big-hearted, wide world of a windswept park. Lovely writing, as always, from Jeanne Willis. And another human-hearted pa, alive on the page.

8. Ted by Tony Di Terlizzi

This one is for older paint work readers. The narrator is a six- or seven-year-old boy who lives with his rather serious papa. Ted is a large, pink imaginary sidekick who shows up one day, talking about birthdays and raspberries. Antics follow, which get the narrator into deeper and deeper trouble with his father. They develop a barmy game called monopoly twister. Ted causes the boy a bad haircut. They paint the walls. Then they spate the house. Dad cant take it. NO MORE TED! Ever! he speaks. But theres a good twist. Ted tells the boy not to worry. He says he was once “his fathers” imaginary sidekick. They used to play infinite plagiarists. He even remembers where Dads atomic blaster doll is lay. When Dad visualizes his old plaything, remembrances wake up in him. The tale is about to change. And the three of them end up playing cavity pirates monopoly twister.

9. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by PJ Lynch

A longer narration, more for 5-8 year-olds. It is illustrated with great skill and thought, by PJ Lynch.( And its another one that produces tears to my sees most ages I read it !) Jonathan Toomey is a wood-carver who has moved to a village, far from where his wife and baby succumbed. So this is not a usual situation work pa. He is solitary and suffering. The widow McDowell and her son, Thomas, are newcomers to the hamlet. In their move, they have lost a treasured nativity defined. So they expect Jonathan Toomey if he will carve them a new one. The carpenter reluctantly concurs. His middle warms to both Thomas and Thomass mother. He carves a beautiful replacement nativity defined. In the realise, he faces his terrible loss. And the final, beautiful, image is of the three of them walking side by side on Christmas day with laughter in their eyes.

10. My Dads a Birdman by David Almond, is borne out by Polly Dunbar

Lizzies mum has died and her leader cant cope. In fact, hes decided hes a bird. He thinks that if he was able to make a good duo of backstages, hell fly across the River Tyne and triumph the Great Human Bird Competition. David Almonds eye for whats treasured in the human drama “were living in” stirs this a profoundly enjoyable storey. Its junior myth rather than a portrait notebook. But it does have wonderful artwork by one of best available scene book illustrators at work these days: Polly Dunbar. So Ill objective my list with this. Lizzies father is just the sort of rounded, hiring daddy Im pointing to. Hes wounded and inarticulate. But he brims with stuffs that they are able make a good leader: desire, fun, devotion, intensity. And the floor has a positive outcome, as he and Lizzie try the impossible.

Photograph: PR

Sean Taylor is the author of numerous notebooks for children of many different ages. He is also the father-god of two young sons. His new picture book, A Brave Bear( is borne out by Emily Hughes, is issued by Walker Books) is a fib of a father and a son on a red-hot day.

Read more: www.theguardian.com

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[slothcritic1]

Moana (2016)

Amazing Hair: The Movie. Moana is a tale of Hawaiian/Polynesian folklore centering around Dwayne The Maui Johnson and brand new talent (Auli'i Cravalho) as the titular character.

As someone who grew up with Toy Story, it’s funny to think about what this movie represents from a technical standpoint. Toy Story purposefully did not have an explositions or exposed liquids due to the limitations of technology at the time. And now we have a movie that takes place 90% of the time in the middle of a huge ocean.

The movie has some genuinely good songs, thanks to the singing talents of Ms Cravalho and, surprisingly, Dwayne Johnson himself. Yes, The Rock can sing, and while it’s semi-obvious that he doesn’t have the range of some other singers, he works within his means and knocks it out of the park in the song You’re Welcome

The plot structure itself is very formulaic however, which is a shame as everything else holds up so wonderfully. The focal girl has a duty to uphold, but instead decides to “follow her destiny” and choose a life of adventure over the life she’s expected to live (you know, like Brave, Frozen, Mulan, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan… you get the point). She then meets up with the wacky, street wise (or ocean wise), reluctant helper that she goads into helping on her journey. They become friends and bond, then theres the third act break up where the helper separates for no good reason, and the fourth act triumphant return at the ending climax for even less of a good reason.

With that out of the way, the movie rocks. Some people completely judge a movie only on plot, but I think it’s more about how it makes you feel. A movie is a vessel for emotion and intrigue.

Aside from the stunning visuals (which, lets face it, are now a standard practise for Disney Pixar films) and a catchy song (songs however are much easier to screw up, and this movie has a lot of good ones), the opening scene is bland. It sets up Moana to be the next village chief and her journey into leaving the island. The scene doesn’t really have anything for itself, but rather is used to carry the impact of when she actually disembarks. It’s necessary for backstory (no one ever leaves the island), exposition (Moana is the daughter of the village chief, etc) and the premise (find Maui and have him restore Heart of Te Fiti to stop a black virus from consuming all life), but doesnt do too much on its own.

The disembarkment scene however is wicked powerful. My friends thought I was alien for not crying or tearing up during it, but I will admit it did give me a good *pang* in the heart. Magical spirit stingray!

Two things should also be mentioned at this point. 1) A rooster named Hei Hei has snuck aboard Moana’s boat. It’s a very special rooster that my friends would not stop comparing to me. And B) The ocean is a sentient character of sorts, and provides some of the comedy for the movie.

Moana follows the constellation of the fish hook to where Maui is, since thats his dealio. At some point however, the lovable ocean gets triggered and decides to unleash its torrential stormy wrath upon Moana. I mean, it does get her to Maui’s island, but I’m sure there were less dickish ways of accomplishing that. Though I don’t think ocean cares since it killed Moana’s dad’s best friend. Oh, ocean, you little scamp.

Maui pops in and drops my favorite song of the movie, then steals the boat and leaves Moana to… I dunno, die? But she makes it back to Maui and explains that he needs to help her because, guess what, she’s the Disney Princess of this movie. And yes - She is. Her father is chief, which is like a king. She’s the chief’s daughter, which is like a king’s daughter, aka princess.

Maui responds by throwing the Heart of Te Fiti several miles away. This almost works out for Maui until p̶l̶o̶t̶ the ocean interferes by throwing it back, railroading him into a whole new world.

Maui however is at a disadvantage in his current state; He’s missing his hook. No hook, no powers. So when tribal coconuts show up on a HUGE ship, armed to the coconuts with poison blow darts, they’re kind of fucked, especially when they steal the Heart of Te Fiti, which is… currently inside Hei Hei.

Luckily, Moana does some badass shit while Maui handles the boat and the three of them get out fine. Next stop, Maui’s hook. But before that, Moana wants to drive the boat. Maui says no, and the ocean pricks him with a stray poison dart. Now he cant drive. But he can pee in the water just as he tells Moana to check for a “warm current”

I can get on board with that level of petty.

They arrive at Monster Island, which is where Maui’s hook is. Maui tells her to stay on the boat and do nothing like a good woman while macho man demi-dude saves the whole day. It has little success. I should also mention, this entire time they’ve been traveling from Casa de Maui to Mount Doom, Maui has just been roasting Moana for being a Disney princess. To summarize:

“Oh look at me. I’m the chosen one. I’m like 8 years old and never sailed a boat in my life, but here I am thinking the ocean chose ME, with my bleeding heart spiel and animal companion to try and save the world.”

To be fair, large bodies of water have never been good at chosing leaders - Ask Monty Python.

Regardless, Moana and Maui both climb what is basically a 90 degree incline to the top of the Dread Spire. It is at this point Maui informs Moana that the door to the monster realm can only be opened with a human sacrifice. Before Moana can protest, Maui ritually disembowels her with his own hands to appease the ancient blood gods.

Kidding. He chants a few words and the gateway opens. The two jump in, and Moana is almost eaten or killed numerous times with the first few moments of being in the realm of the monsters.

Maui’s hook is resting upon a mountain of gold. Seems innocent enough to Moana, but Maui insists she wears a bright and gaudy disguise to draw the attention of… something.

The mountain of gold rises up. Turns out thats just its back. Meet the British Crab. He sings a song about how he loves shiny things and then nearly eats Moana, until Maui reveals he retrieved his hook from the British Crab’s back.

But he’s a little rusty and it, uh, doesn’t work right. So Maui gets his shit stomped by BC. Moana saves the day by painting a rock with bioluminescent algae to make it look like the Heart of Te Fiti, which is shiny, and BC is all about the shiny.

They escape, and Maui learns to reuse his hook. Everythings looking swell until they try and take on the great evil of the story, Te Ka. He uses fireball and Maui presses E to deflect with his hook, only instead the hook gets mad cracked. It sparks like its somehow made of electricity, which I find weird. Maui is now done with life since his hook is nearly toast and he fucks off, leaving chosen girl all by herself, depressed as fuck in the middle of nowhere, ocean.

One drug trip and amazing song later, she regains her confidence and tried to take on Te Ka by herself. It surprisingly works, because now she knows how to drive a boat. Hei Hei comes in clutch and stops the Heart of Te Fiti from falling off the boat, and they make it through the border islands towards their main goal.

Te Ka is still rather pissed, being a giant lava demon and all, so he keeps trying to kill Moana. And for no real reason, here comes Maui to save the day - or at least to stall Te Ka until Moana can do the thing. His hook gets completely totalled but its okay, because he learned a valuable lesson off-screen that he’s still Maui, hook or no hook.

Moana realizes that the Heart actually goes into Te Ka. So she pulls a Moses, lets Te Ka come at her bro, and puts the Heart into her chest. This turns her from the red Lava Groot to the green Mother Nature Jemima, and everything is better forever. And hey, she gives Maui a brand new hook after he apologises for being the literal cause of ALL of this. Maui does his own thing and Moana becomes the leader of a brand new generation of voyagers.

I do have to applaud Disney for NOT having the two of them kiss at the end. Its always nice to see a platonic m/f duo in movies and the romance subplot sells so well to resist sometimes.

Overall, very stunning. I often cite “movie feel” as a reason why movies with plot/cliche/logistic problems can still make good movies, and this movie does a wonderful job of sweeping you off your feet. Though honestly, the writing on this movie is not bad. Rather, I would say its poorly structured. Think of it like a support beam a beanstalk might grow up. The characters were amazing; Full of life, personality and moderately complex emotions, the animation is so good the whole movie is like a humble brag about how awesome the DisneyTech is, a lot (i’d say 80%) of the script is bang on, and an astounding amount of the songs are really good - Songs are easy to screw up and I’d say that’s this movies second biggest strength (behind hair/water animation). It just struggles with the standard “winning formula” plot structure that was honestly ill-fitting in parts and did not impart a wholesome explanation or comprehensive rationale behind certain scenes.

I’m not a big Disney buff (unless you count the Star Wars acquisition), so I’m not qualified to say how this ranks compared to other movies (disregarding modern tech advancements and focusing more on storytelling) - However I will say that it’s better than Frozen.