#i love how striking toothless’s eyes are

[loonarmuunar]

Been thinkin about httyd

[danikamariewrites]

Peace

Eris x reader

Summary: A look into a normal day in the new Vanserra household

Warnings: none

A/n: HAPPY DAY 1 OF ERIS WEEK!!!! I’m so excited to share this fic with you guys. And thank you to @erisweek2023 for making this happen, you guys are awesome🧡

Once the last of Eris’ advisors left the throne room he relaxed into the chair. He needed a break. He rubbed the tiredness from his eyes and heard the door open. If the advisors were already back he was going to kill someone.

He opened his eyes and saw you walking toward him. Eris perked up smiling at the sight of you and the babe in your arms.

Your youngest daughter, Bruna, was always so content and smiley, it was just infectious. At only seven months old Bruna knew how to make her papa happy.

“My sweet girls.” Eris holds his arms open ready to embrace you both. He kisses you and looks at the babbling babe as you hand her to him. Eris bounces Bruna in his arms earning giggles from her, giving him a toothless grin.

You smile at them. They were already thick as thieves like he was with your oldest, Orla. You send a wave of love down the bond and Eris looks up at you. His face glowing with happiness.

“Where is my other sweet girl?” As if her ears were burning, your oldest, Orla, pushed into the throne room. Dressed in her training gear with her sword strapped to her back she stops in front of you and Eris. Sketching a bow to you both she breaks into a wide grin laying eyes on her sister. “Hello little sap.”

When you were pregnant Orla called Bruna a little sapling. When she was new to the world and learning her family's voices Bruna always smiled at her nickname. Orla takes her sister from her fathers arms and the girls giggle. Like they knew a secret you and Eris weren’t in on.

Eris wraps an arm around your shoulder as you look at your children. They love each other so much already it makes you both so happy. You know this puts Eris at ease as well. He’s a good father unlike Beron. Eris encouraged love, not competition and hatred, between his two girls.

Orla hands the little sapling to you and turns to her father. “I’m ready when you are papa.” Eris walks back to his throne and pulls his sword from behind the chair. “Let’s go then.” They walk away in sync as Eris straps his sword to his hip.

Orla is 17 now and Eris thought he should attend her combat training. Take the time to teach his daughter everything he knows, not just in politics but in battle. It frightens you to think your girls might one day face a war like you and Eris have seen. You pray to the Mother your children never have to fight.

Cradling Bruna, she pulls at the ends of your hair with her chubby fists. You smile at your babe and coo at her, “Should we go watch Orla and papa, huh?”

You go to stand on the balcony overlooking the courtyard where Eris and Orla train. At the sight of the pair walking out Bruna lets out a high pitched babble. Happy to have her sister and papa within eyesight again.

~~

Eris draws his sword from its sheath, checking its glint in the afternoon sunlight. Orla stretches out her arms in a warm up the weapons master has walked her through everyday.

He smiled at his daughter. She was becoming a formidable warrior and he wanted to be there with her on this journey.

“So,” Eris started, taking up a fighting stance, “shall we begin?” Orla grinned and took up a mirroring stance as she and her father began circling each other.

Eris noted her foot work was good, but there’s room for improvement.

Orla lunged, striking first. Their swords clashing and sliding off each other. “Good. You saw an opening and took it.” Eris swung and Orla dropped, rolling behind him and kicking the backs of his knees.

He stood, facing Orla, backing up quickly and started circling his first born again. “Do you know why I wanted you to start training?” Orla shook her head still keeping her eyes on her father, watching his every move.

“You are the oldest. Meaning you are a protector. You are your sister's protector.” Orla nodded in agreement. “Do you remember the stories about your grandfather and uncles?” “Yes papa.” The pair continue to circle.

“Then you know why it’s important for you to do this.” Eris moves to strike but Orla blocks quickly. They have a good volley going until Orla spins out, back to the edge of the makeshift ring and paces back and forth.

“Grandfather seemed like a monster.” A breathy laugh escaped Eris as he backed away. If Orla was anything, it was honest. “He’s the reason I’m doing things…differently. You and Bruna are everything to me. I want to be sure you’re both safe and loved.”

They continued their conversations and sparring for hours. You eventually went in to feed Bruna and put her down for a nap. When the pair came back to the family living quarters Eris had his arm around Orla, laughing about something that happened during training.

“Alright you, go clean up. You still have tutoring later.” Orla groaned and headed to her chambers. Once her door shut Eris plopped himself on the couch next to you.

You immediately rest your head on his shoulder, bringing your fingers to trace patterns across his clothed chest.

“Don’t you still have work to do, High Lord?” You ask teasingly. Eris chuckles and rested his head on yours. “Oh my High Lady, I can do whatever I like. And what I'd like to do is spend time with my family.”

Eris leaned back and closed his eyes. You felt him relax, his breathing soft and small smile on his face. You silently reached out to his side of the bond. Eris felt peaceful. You hadn’t felt him this peaceful in years.

You could feel his happiness. The pride he felt for his daughters and you. Leaning up on your knees you peck his cheek and rub your nose against his. “I love you, Er.” Eris pulled you into a tight embrace, taking in your calming scent. “I love you more, y/n. Thank you for everything you’ve given me.” You hug him back tighter until you hear Bruna stirring in her bassinet. You move to go comfort your daughter before she starts crying but Eris puts a hand on your shoulder. “I’ll get her, fox. You relax.”

As Eris picks up the babe he smiles and coos at her, gently rocking her against his chest. You loved moments like these with your family. They were so rare at the beginning for just you and Eris. Everything happened so fast when Beron passed, then Orla came along a few years later and finally things settled.

You and Eris had found peace together. And if you had to go through all of the hard times to get to right now again, you would.

[aclowntiny]

hii I was rereading your work and i was wondering if you could do a Seonghwa + firsts when ur free!!!

thankksss

Heck yes! He was next up in my head too bestie 😌 now we’ve only got one man left!

Seonghwa + Firsts

First Date: This man is going to ruin men for you with this romance novel date. He brings you to a farm where you choose and cut flowers yourself make bouquets at the end of the day with them! It’s so cute how wide with wonder Seonghwa’s eyes are, soaking up the rainbows of flowers and your own gazes of shock and joy. You’re sure you looks like he does, filled with the most joyous wonder, but no matter what his infectious happiness is enough. When you finish, he asks if you’d like to exchange your bouquets, and with your heart thumping, you agree. He hands it gently it to you and you realize he picked almost all flowers in your favorite color, a few extras as accents to it, and it strikes you how much thought he put in!

First Time Holding Hands: Honestly, I think he’d do that the moment he first confesses to you. He takes your hand and looks deeply into your eyes as he tells you he really likes you, would you be interested in spending more time together?

First Kiss: It’s a few dates in. You’re not in a rush, and you know he’s a gentleman, which you appreciate because it means you’ve got a sweet guy who isn’t with you to get in your pants- not by a long shot! The moment is so classic it feels like something from a movie. You’re alone together just enjoying being in each other’s company, the feeling of the night breeze. Seonghwa asks permission, reaches over to get something out of your hair…but when his fingers leave it they trace along your jawline and suddenly he’s pulling you softly into his lips.

First ‘I Love You’: You enter the dorms and Seonghwa standing there with a smile, all your favorites laid out for dinner and a vase of your favorite flowers in the middle of it all. He knows it’s been a long day, he tells you, he wanted to do something for you. It wasn’t only that he couldn’t wait to see you. He has something to tell you, too, something to do with the fact that euphoric is the only way to describe how he feels around you. How light he feels every time you show him your caring heart. It means the world just to see you smile like you do when you walk in the door, tell him it’s amazing, and falter before both of you speak the words simultaneously: “I love you.”

First Fight: It’s more like a snip fest with him, like it starts with something kind of petty but you get ticked when he complains that you leave things a mess because it wasn’t that bad, you just lost one thing he came over to get and your home wasn’t a disaster. Then because he had an especially bad day, he replies passive aggressively and you end up icing him out for a bit. The afternoon passes like that, both of you just taking some much-needed space, and you come back together cooled off and ready to apologize.

First Anniversary: A true romantic, Seonghwa one hundred percent considers your hundred days an important celebration. He stays classic with the gift of flowers and matching couple rings for you, taking you out on a boat ride where he gifts them to you on the calm, sparkling water! He tells you then that he can’t wait to hit one thousand days with you.

First Pet: Ok, so Seonghwa really loves furry animals, right? But we all know his true favorite animal! You come home with a surprise, telling him he has his very own dragon now. His eyes light up and a smile spreads across his face as Seonghwa makes the assumption you’ve gotten him a plushie or a lego dragon. Wrong! What you have is a little tank for a bearded dragon lizard all set up with the cutest little decoration you could find- ok, fine, it was supposed to be for a fish tank, but shhh! Seonghwa can’t help but laugh and shake his head, but he also immediately coos and picks up the little guy gently in his hands. Your new baby’s name? Toothless, of course!

[spacenintendogs]

modern au ask. What are the gangs personal clothing styles ?

ooooo.... i'm not very fashionable nor am i rlly confident abt my knowledge of styles & stuff so i'm sorry if it's not as creative as it could be :')

hiccup i see a lot of layers, similar to how he dresses in the dreamworks franchise. as he gets older there's more leather since he does a lot of motorcycle riding. flannels, graphic tees, baggier cargo pants & shorts & sneakers are his general go-to. has a nice pair of chucks he brings out once in a while. no piercings but he has a tattoo of toothless' strike class silhouette on one of his shoulder blades.

astrid dresses practically. usually in a pair of jeans or leggings. when she dresses more casually it's basketball shorts with a jersey of some kind. she wears jerseys relatively often too. also shirts she can easily move & breathe in. i think she'd like horizontal stripes for shirts but i might be projecting lol. she's got multiple ear piercings on both ears tho. she also loves her headbands!!! gets a specially made one from tuff & snot with stormfly's spines on it!! steel toed boots.

fishlegs dresses like a hipster. have u seen his moustache in httyd 3?? he's a hipster & he fucking rocks it. also rocks a lot of street styles he's one of the most fashionable of the gang & he is proud of it. he looks great always. gets the tattoos on his arms like he has in httyd 3. he also likes wearing rings!! has a wooden bead bracelet he wears from his older sister. uses stuff like beard oil & is super into skincare. u will catch him with a face mask & cucumbers over his eyes.

snotlout prob goes through the biggest style shift. when he's younger he dresses like the usual high school douchebag, backwards cap & everything. once he's a senior & after he graduates he's more biker style (he does become a biker dude after all). super tight t-shirts that show his boobs lmao. he gets his ears pierced & gets a labret piercing. tattoo sleeve on his right arm of monstrous nightmares entangling around each other. old habits die hard tho so sometimes u catch him with his backwards cap. heeled boots bc he likes to be tall.

ruffnut is so fucking cool u guys. she dresses in a variety of styles, sometimes vastly different day to day but she pulls them all off flawlessly. strong fashion is actually how she & fishlegs bond sometimes (or argue lmao). she's got so many ear piercings & switches out what she has by the day. she does her hair the most elaborately out of the gang, when it's long or short. loves long necklaces & layers them. has her nose pierced too. she has a tattoo of barf going down her calf (tuff has the other half so if they stand next to each other it completes the zippleback!!). her fave pair of shoes tho are her sketchers hiking sandals. let the dogs out!!!

tuff is also so fucking cool, though in a more laid back way compared to ruff. more grungy. ripped jeans from falling off his longboard. old sneakers that have been everywhere. shirts he's had since middle school that may be repurposed to have ripped sleeves or become crop tops. that ugly dress u saw at a thrift store? he's wearing it & fucking looks great. he has his septum pierced and multiple ear piercings (like httyd 3). i also think he'd get snake bites. when he's younger he wears beanies a lot but once he's older he puts his hair up in more elaborate "viking" styles with how he braids. also enjoys tank tops & more frayed looks to shirts in general. has belch tattooed down his calf (ruff has the other half, as stated above).

[kitmon]

And a Half-Elf in a Pine Tree | Eddie Munson x SingleMom!Reader

Summary: There's not much time for holiday festivities over at the Munson residence, so when you ask Eddie to help set up your Christmas tree, he's quick to agree, never one to pass up an opportunity to hang out with his beautiful neighbor and her adorable daughter.

Pairing: Eddie Munson (Stranger Things, 2022) x SingleMom!Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Tags: fluff, cursing, mentions and allusions to impoverished living, it's always implied in my fics that the reader is Latina and in my head she is but I never include physical description so this is accessible to all, she speaks like two words in Spanish

Author’s Note: Some Christmas content! I love Christmas, mostly because it's very close to my birthday but also just because I love the ambiance, it's very comforting and I tried to emulate that with this fic. First time ever writing SingleMom!Reader but I definitely enjoyed it. I loved writing the dynamic between reader and her daughter and I'd love to write more if it was asked for (but it'd probably take me a while since I'm incredibly backed up with school)! And, of course, my lovely darling @queenimmadolla beta read this and did a lovely job as usual! I love you, bae! Anyways, please enjoy and happy holidays!

“Eddie!” You scold, though it’s lessened by the amusement that sugars your voice. “Why did you buy the biggest tree you could find?”

You lift your hand to try and conceal your giggling and the telltale sign of your uninhibited smile as Eddie grunts and whines, struggling to pull the bulky pine through the small opening of your doorway. 

“It’s not big!” He exclaims in a huff, losing his grip on the trunk as the tree slides the few treads down your front steps, miffing the minimal progress he had made. He sighs and plants his gloved hands on his knees as he attempts to catch his breath, “It’s full!”

“Yeah, Mama!” The chirpy voice gathers your attention as your daughter bounds forward, sliding off the couch and tossing the action figure and the dress-up doll she’d been making conversation with to the side. She crashes into the back of your leg and wraps her arms around your thigh as a bright toothless smile presses her chubby cheeks. “It’s foo!”

Your lips tick up as you look down at her, still dressed in her bulky snowsuit overalls and a Mickey Mouse jumper, her midnight curls a wild fray of flyaways and loose strands, even when kept in two pigtails. You pat her bangs out of her eyes and tuck her untamed eartails behind the shell of her ear. 

Eddie’s gone back to playing tug of war with the evergreen and, though you’d never say it to his face, he was losing horribly.

“Sheena gets it,” he calls out, puffing his cheeks and cinching his brows as he puts all his weight into leaning back on his heels. “It’s a beautiful tree,” his strained voice insists.

“That’s besides the point.” As your eye’s rake over the pine, baffled by the sheer size of it, something finally strikes you. “And I only gave you 30 dollars! How did you pay for this?” Eddie’s body seizes and his ministrations cease for a moment as he rolls his lips in towards his teeth and focuses his gaze on the ground, chancing a peripheral glance your way before shyly refocusing his efforts on the tree, muttering, “Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

You sigh through your nose as you shake your head, an entertained smile painting your lips. 

“Alright,” you wave your hand and raise your voice, taking a step forward as Sheena’s hands slip from where she held you, “this obviously isn’t working and watching your pride be tested by a fir is bringing down my holiday spirit.”

He stands and props his hands on his lower back, watching as you walk past and begin toeing on your soiled once-white Keds, now painted with years of wear. He licks his lips before he dejectedly corrects you, “It’s a pine tree.” Your eyebrows tick up and you lift your deadpan gaze to meet his eyes as you slip your heel into the sneaker. “Not a fir.”

“Just pull the damn tree, Munson,” you instruct as you sidestep your way out the door.

“Yup, yeah. Got it,” he obeys, pursing his lips.

You ready yourself at the back, crouching down and pressing your fingers into the thick bulk of the tree while Eddie tries to find you, peeking over the dense growth of needles and branches, only managing to identify a few wisps of your hair. 

“Okay, on ‘three,’ you pull and I push, got that?” You instruct, shouting to be heard even through the barrier of green and over the rabble of the radio that blares Christmas classics inside.

“Got it,” Eddie calls back.

“One.” Your knees bend and you try to be mindful of the ice that’s scattered, hidden beneath mud-sullied snow.

“Two.” Eddie’s readjusting his grip on the sap-sticky, crumbly trunk.

“Three!” Progress stalls for a second before you’re climbing up the stairs in uncoordinated, hurried steps, Eddie tripping over his feet as he falls back, suddenly half-crushed by the plant as you fall past the threshold and land in an itchy, prodding heap.

You groan a bit, Sheena’s laughter the first sound that registers as you lift your head and find her cackling a gasping unhinged hyena’s laugh, clapping her hands and bouncing on her calves as she makes a spectacle out of you and Eddie.

“What are you laughing at?” You upbraid with an exasperated smile, your hair roused as pine needles infiltrate the wool of your sweater. Sheena sits and uses both her hands to poorly disguise her snickering, her glowing eyes crinkling as she stares at the two of you. “Not even gonna help Mama?” You chide, “What are you good for?”

Your laugh filters through the air as Eddie comes to; a dazed, tired voice announcing, “Can’t wait ‘till after New Years when we get to do this all again.”

You smack the thicket of foliage at the base of the tree away with your hand so you can see his addled face. “I hate you,” you speak with a smile that betrays the harsh nature of your words.

He lifts his head to counter, “That’s not what Sheena tells me, sweetheart.”

You release a cheated gasp, directing your stare towards your daughter. “What have you been telling him, you traitor?” 

She titters a maniacal sound as she hops off the couch and runs into her room to assuredly hide under the safety of her comforters and quilts. You begin steadying yourself over the uneven plane of tree parts, accidentally stepping over Eddie once or twice, wincing a hurried apology before you’re free and chasing after your two-timing child.

“Hey! Where are you going?” He calls after the two of you but as it becomes clear that you’ve both disappeared down the hall, he lets his head fall against your shag carpet.

After Sheena was thoroughly tickled, the layers of her bedding wrinkled and jumbled with your combined writhing, you lift her up high, her fingers almost able to graze the low ceiling of your trailer, before bringing her back down to your chest where she clings to you like a gracious monkey. You carry her with you back into the den where Eddie’s barely disentangled himself from the burden of the tree, shaking his arms and shoulders, patting down the front of his pants to remove the needles and the debris that’s been transferred onto him. You approach him mildly, bringing your hand that was splayed over Sheena’s back to pick and comb through Eddie’s tresses, extracting the twigs that he missed and flicking them to the ground along with the unpleasant mess of other tree bits that you dread having to clean later.

“Sorry for abandoning you,” you apologize while removing another sprig from his curls. “Had to teach the little one what happens to renegadas pequeñas.” You emphasize your words with a scrunched nose that you bring close to nudge against her own button one, a flurry of fingers that you tease her with, ready to attack with a jab at her side at any moment.

He smiles at the two of you and can’t find it in him to be upset, “Don’t worry about it. You did what had to be done, Captain.” He delivers a faux salute and you shake your head at him.

“Your head doing okay, though?” You ask while reaching your hand out to caress just below his crown where he’d knocked his head a few moments ago. “That tree got you good,” you tease.

“Yeah, m’doing fine,” he assures, taking your wrist into his hand and rubbing the soft, tendon-stretched skin of it with his thumb. “Might just need to lay in the snow for a few minutes to help the swelling go down,” he jests with a cocky smile.

You roll your eyes at him before turning to place Sheena back on the couch, snatching her Care Bear from where it’s fallen on the floor to wave it in front of her. Her eyes light up at the mint-green bear and she reaches for it, yourself handing the plush over to her gladly. She cuddles the bear for a moment before reaching her other hand out for the He-Man figure that Eddie so generously donated to her toy box. She speaks gibberish to the doll before turning it to her bear where she speaks more unintelligible English and shakes her two toys to simulate their conversation. You smile at her and lean down to land a peck over her bang-curtained forehead which she hardly pays any mind to now that she has her very important business to attend to.

When you turn back to Eddie he’s already stood up the tree and closed your front door, finally allowing your three space heaters to garner just a smidgen of heat in your tiny home, the heater having been busted since June, there being hardly any time (or money) to fix it. You help him in securing the plant in its stand, the both of you standing back with a puff of your chests and an earned sigh. Eddie turns to you, his hands slumped against his hips as he sends a cocksure grin your way. You counterback with an unimpressed tilt of your head.

“Don’t look too happy, Einstein,” you warn, pointing up to where the pointed crown of the tree is folded, forced to bow with how short your ceiling is. “It doesn’t fit.”

“Minor setback,” he assures with a trill of his lips and a wave of his hand. He jogs towards the step ladder you’ve propped up near the front door (just in case you’d need it for decorating) and carries it to the tree. He unfolds it with some difficulty and begins climbing it to where he can reach the top. He takes the trunk in his grasp and starts to wrestle with the bush, attempting to break the young, moist fibers.

“What are you doing?” You ask, your voice laced with placidness as you stare up at him.

“I’m making room,” he grunts, twisting and tugging, “for the star.”

Sheena hugs her Care Bear and He-Man close, nuzzling her color-blotted cheek into the, admittedly, stained acrylic fibers of Bedtime Bear as she simpers and dimples her cheeks with an impish grin. She lifts her head then and figures she’s going to offer moral support, clapping her hands and bouncing on her knees as she shouts, “Go, Teddy! Go!”

“It’s ‘Eddie,’ baby.” You turn to look over your shoulder at her, trying to reinstill it in her mind.

“Teddy!” She shouts, a puerile smile that ruches her nose. You can't find it in you to correct her again.

Eddie shouts a triumphant ‘hurrah’ as he breaks the tree away,  holding his prize as he pants a bit and displays a haughty smile.

He hops down from the ladder, bypassing you—but not before poking your side with the mini-pine—and approaches Sheena.

“I like Teddy,” he construes, beaming down at her as he plops down heavy on the cushion beside her own, sending her into a little jump from the quick weight transfer. “You don’t gotta keep correcting her.” He wiggles the tree in her face, tickling the tip of her nose with the needles at the end. She squeals, shaking her head to fend off his attack before reaching her chubby hands out to grab at the branches and tug on them a little.

“She’s never gonna learn your name.” You take slow steps towards the pair, crouching to be at eye level with your baby. You scratch your index finger over her layered belly, covered by cotton and thick, pillowy trousers but she yelps and captures your hand anyway, playing with your fingers, fascinated by the bendy ligaments.

“I can be Teddy forever.” He grins down at you, a lazy, all too attractive smile that you have to turn away from before it shows stupidly clear on your face all that it does to you.

“You’re both so stubborn,” you sigh as you lift yourself back into a standing position, pulling your hand away from Sheena as she pouts momentarily before rediscovering her stuffie. You cross your arms and walk over to the green storage box stuffed near your record cabinet, ‘X-MAS DECORATIONS’ scrawled across the lid. Eddie smirks after you as you pop the lid off and begin rifling through the jumbled mess of lights, ribbons, and tinsel.

He turns back to Sheena. “You wanna hold onto this for me, little lady?” He shakes the short shrub near her and she nods her head, making room in her occupied arms for the tree, hugging it close despite the irritant of the needles. You watch as you try to neatly wrap the bundle of multi-colored Christmas lights together, the trapping having been tossed crudely into the box last year from your holiday-induced exhaustion, groaning internally as you wonder just how much sap she’ll collect by the end of the night. 

You drop the now orderly ball of lights and reach for a roll of ribbon along with your’s and Sheena’s popcorn-cranberry garland that you stitched together last year (though it was mostly you considering she was hardly comfortable walking at the time let alone handling sharp, easily droppable objects but she ate a lot of popcorn and wrinkled her nose after chewing on a cranberry you offered her and that was enough participation for you to consider it a joint effort).

Now Sheena’s taking her yellow blanket, the one with the satin trimming, and wrapping the stalk of her tree up, tucking it in to “keep it waum.”

While she’s distracted, Eddie stands and stuffs his hands into his back pockets.

Something of yours catches his eye and he asks, “Do you mind if I…?” His words trail off as he points to your cheap acoustic guitar, amateurly propped up against your sound system.

“Not at all,” you encourage as you sift through the reflective strands of tinsel you’ve been searching for, jutting your jaw out to urge him forward as you sport a clement smile.

He bites his tongue cheekily as he swipes the neck and brings it towards Sheena, who’s preening the branches of her pet tree and cooing gentle, unconnected syllables at it. He sits down and situates the guitar over his knee so it’s comfortable, plucking the strings and twisting the keys to produce the chimes of standard tuning.

“Wanna hear a song, pretty girl?” He asks, twisting the key of the little e string.

She nods her head ‘yes’ and scoots closer to Eddie so her knee is touching his thigh.

He strums the strings open, demonstrating the tuned capability of the instrument before clapping his hands over them and halting their vibrations. He’s quick to resituate himself as he begins playing the chords to a familiar Christmas tune.

“I’ll uh-have a-uh blue christmas without you,” he sings with an exaggerated Elvis impression, deepening his voice and adding an indiscernible sort of twang.

You become disinterested in your task for a moment as you turn to find Sheena beaming up at Eddie while he plays. You diffidently fiddle with the shiny material in your hand, looking away to hide the smitten smile you harbor as you begin separating bits of silver, placing them over each branch individually. 

“I’ll be so blue just thinking a-huh-about you.” She giggles that youthful melody and reaches her stubby fingers out to strum the strings to follow Eddie. The notes ring discordantly but he doesn’t mind, only watches her mesmerized face at the way his fingers switch simply up and down the fretboard. “Sing it, baby,” he encourages.

He skips to the chorus and Sheena does her best to follow, “I have a bwoo, bwoo, bwoo, bwoo Chwis’mas.”

She laughs, the sound uncharacteristically timid as Eddie praises her singing chops with an inflated expression of awe, letting his face drop to his usual smile as he continues.

“You’ll be doing alright, with your Christmas of white, but I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas.” His voice peals genuinely as he leans close to Sheena, his smile glowing. She mirrors it and places her hands along the apples of his rosy cheeks, tinted from exertion and the warmth that’s cumulated in your cozy space. He melts under her soft, baby’s touch, eyelids floating shut as he plays the final chord.

She tee-hees a pleasant, delighted noise before tapping her palms over Eddie’s cheeks, causing his face to squinch up as he accepts her tender compliments. She crawls onto her feet and wraps her shortened arms around Eddie’s neck. Her bear’s limb is held snugly in her hand as the toy cascades down his back, the downy material contrasting dulcetly with the worn leather of his coat he hasn’t taken the time to shed. He reciprocates immediately and hugs her tiny frame close with the added difficulty of the guitar between them.

“My little cuddlebug,” he whispers into her ringlets as he sways them a bit.

His features are content as he squeezes her a little tighter, rubbing her back before releasing her.

Eddie can feel the incessant tingle of your stare before he turns and finds you, touched expression and all as you tuck your tinsel-filled fists close to your chest. But, having been caught, you startle and turn back to your work, pretending to have been occupying yourself with the tree the whole time. He chuckles in his throat before turning back to Sheena.

“Wanna go help your Mama with the tree?” He asks, nodding towards you.

“Yes!” She bellows, dismissing him quickly. She hops down from the couch, catching herself as best as she can with one free hand when her knees buckle before running to your side. She tugs at the seam of your pants and opens and closes her fist, asking for some of your frills. You murmur something to her about saying ‘please’ but hand her a decent clump of silver string anyways, her tiny voice complying as she speaks, “P’ease.”

She inspects the decoration and fiddles with it in her tiny palm, abstractedly saying, “‘Ank you.”

“No problem, babe.” You smile down at her before attempting to instruct her on how to lay the plastic on the branches. She nods her head, mouth agape, seeming to be listening intently until you watch her grab a few too many strands and throw them at the tree. You simper at her and shake your head, coming to terms with the fact that you’ll be tidying up her areas later. 

Eddie stands, his joints creaking as he comes up behind you, making a pit stop at the radio as he adjusts the volume, letting the music warm the room.

“You know? I think you’re her favorite person,” you note, noncommittally turning your head to acknowledge him.

He walks up beside you and you hand over his share of the tinsel. He starts laying the strands over the branches above your head. 

“The feeling’s mutual,” he expresses with a suave smile sent your way. 

As you dress the tree in sterling, the three of you bask in a natural silence, Nat King Cole serenading your trio as he speaks of roasted chestnuts and Jack Frost.

The tree is dazzling, the branches adorned in glittering metals and dissimilar holiday ornaments that clash yet somehow combine to create a charming medley that shouts ‘You and Sheena.’ Eddie’s addition of a hand painted half-elf, one he named “Sheena the Bitchin,’” hangs near the top and adds his name to that melange: a medley of ‘You, Sheena, and just a dash of Eddie.’ The lights bathe the room in a pastiche glow of scarlet, sapphire, emerald, and auburn, the tinsel catching the light and throwing it somewhere else as it twinkles and winks, popcorn garland and popsicle stick ornaments hanging rustically against the kitschy glitz. All that’s missing is the star.

“Here you go, baby.” You hand her the fragile, stained glass christmas star, a family heirloom, and she cradles it close to her body, the garnish almost the size of her torso.

“Alright, up ya go.” Eddie hooks his hands under her armpits and lifts her high to reach the crest. She laughs on the ride up, kicking her feet at the spectacle before concentrating as best as she can, reaching her arms out to steady the star over the stump that Eddie left behind. When she releases it, it sits a tad crooked and as Eddie pulls her away, you stand on the tips of your toes to flick it into place.

You step back and away to admire your work. Eddie coddles Sheena close and she rests her head over his shoulder while you place your hand over the other and lay your temple there. 

“Good job, girly,” he whispers to her before landing a kiss over the messy part in her hair.

You turn to look at her and caress your nails over her forehead to smooth over her bangs and pet her hair out of her eyes as they lazily flutter open and closed.

“Looks like someone’s sleepy,” you tease. She defiantly shakes her head but the slow way in which she does it gives her position away as her eyelids fall and her fingers go limp against Eddie’s chest.

You chuckle as you reach out for her, “Alright, say goodnight to Eddie.” She gives easily as he passes her fading body to you. She snuggles into the soft, warm skin of your neck and huffs short even breaths against your pulse. You rub her back and press your cheek to her ear, bouncing her as you watch Eddie search for his gloves and his hat. He meets you at the door, situating his cap as you speak.

“Thank you for helping us.” Your eyes plant a jitter in his knees that nearly makes him tumble over at just the sight, him offering a bashful twitch of his lips in response. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he assures with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It’s nice to do this kind of thing. And, I don’t think you realize just how much I care about you guys,” he illuminates, quirking his brow up as he studies you for a moment before focusing back on Sheena, patting his gloved hand over her curls.

At the contact, her eyes slip open again and she mumbles, “‘night Teddy,” before slipping back into her deep slumber.

“Goodnight, punk,” he responds, a beguiled expression smothering his face as his hand falls to his thigh, clapping the shredded denim there.

You take a step closer and falter before deciding on your plan of action, placing a careful hand over his stubbly cheek and urging his head to the side to give you access to the other. You place a chaste, swift kiss and step away with a pleased smile.

“Goodnight, Teddy.”

[thescribeoflostmemories]

The Hunter becomes the hunted

Yandere! Capitano x huntress(?) Reader 

Uh… I don't know what I was going for with this (not accurate, so I have to kinda go and just make it since this thing's rotting in my brain since my economics exam along with a few other fanfic/fic blogs to write, this'll be the last one and I'll make a bit more original ones in-between (probably..?) took heavy liberties so uh, might delete this when Natlan comes out or something.

Tw: graphic stuff, trying to murder, implied sexual themes at the end. And uh yeah if I miss anything just comment so I'll fix it., IDK if I should put 18+ warning here so better be safe than sorry folks!

Also, y'all are crazy. 100+ notes, wish I could hug you guys. 😘

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

Arte, that's what they call you. Sure, you're not as strong as the title given to you but there's no denying your prowess of such skill with the bow and arrow. Being the youngest in the family, it's easier to overlook your talents and place you on the sidelines.

You've enjoyed a quiet hunt by yourself. Your family knows of this and tries to encourage you to be stronger like your siblings… your parents, grandparents, well you get it. 

Rumors started around when you saved your sister from being wed to someone she didn't love, and she lacked the courage to brandish her blade to defend herself. So of course you've donned your garb, mask and weapons to 'eliminate' the suitor in a duel for her hand. Her lover too is at the side ready to swap places with you so pretend they’re 'Arte', then it was your brother's turn…  followed by distant relatives, countless people tried to ask for your help in avoiding their inevitable marriage to mess up their courting competition to every eligible adult available and swap out with the person the client intends to marry at the last second. Everyone's happy with it, afterall who would question the winner?

Well, that would be the case, except. Everyone's having their own competition for your hand in marriage, not knowing that you were the one foiling other's initial plans. So imagine the shock on their faces when you tell them you'll fight for your own freedom and expect Arte to show up and sweep you off your feet. There were multiple rounds, and each battle you came out victorious. Half of the suitors had fled once they realized how much of a beast a spouse you'd be.

You had fallen in love with a hydro vision holder, a law enforcer from Fountaine. Not a person of war but a master of the quill. Their words could bend mountains and find the undeniable speck of truth. 

With the finals closing in, your opponent turned out to be a gnarly man, his body riddled in battle scars. Toothless and bald even! It disgusts you to think of what he'll do to you if he wins.

The man favors raw strength, while you on the other hand are in need of swift and more tactical skills. And all it takes is to tire him out and strike where it hurts after numerous twists and turns and occasional cuts at his leg. Unknowing to the dark and cold eyes that are trained on your nimble body. 

You have to thank Murata that she had given you strength and wisdom to overcome the brainless suitor. "If this is the kind of suitors that people expect me to marry, I might as well wed to myself!" Grinning as you came out nearly unscathed, victory is in your grasp! 

"It would be rude to not include me, young miss." A person in armor announced his arrival. You are well aware of this person, if you are given a chance to give a description of the word abyss. It would surely be him by definition.

"Your timing is rather poor, sir knight. Unfortunately for you, I have won my own hand in marriage." You faced him, face determined to not be conquered by anyone.

" As long as there's still a suitor left, the competition for your hand is still available. Isn't that right?" It irked you that he's right, now that he's here your own victory is nulled.

"I am honored that one such as myself is considered someone of your status, however." Pointed your fletching at him. " It is unethical to participate in this time. Tomorrow dawn, sir knight." 

And that was the first vow made, the last hurdle to challenge your fate. It was night, you were praying feverishly for every archon to help guide you in your journey as a last ditch in assurance. That man is not to be trifled with, who has the strength of probably more than ten. And you know this, you may only have a sliver of a chance to get out of this. But you swore to yourself that you will be unconquered and unrelenting as the howls of the fearsome storms that haunt the calm and still-ly days of yore.

At the same location, early dawn. The skies merely darken, fitting for a time of battle. In this location, you have prepared all obstacles to merely disable him and strike to end all of this charade. Legs furtively ran through nature in hopes to catch the black knight off guard. Arrows flew in all directions, in an effort to slow him down. 

One mighty swing of his claymore to cut the futile attempt at harming him. You only cursed yourself at your lack of preparations. The rain's pitter patter turned heavy and made your clothes clung to your body. 

The gallant man slowly closed in on you, seemingly to take a moment to savor what view he could. For a man with few words, it sickens you for feeling his eyes undressing you, yet it was hard to read his thoughts with his helmet on. 

His claymore clashed against your steel bow, it doesn't feel like he's taking you seriously. More like toying with you that's for sure! The skirmish lasted for who knows how long. Heavy breaths from you and the sound of metal on metal can be heard for miles. He's enjoying it, every second of it.

A flash of light had taken you in a daze with how bright it was and he managed to scratch your eye. The searing pain caused you to scream, writhing in pain, thunder howls along with you. It was the first time you had been injured during the 'hunt'. Blood seeps out of its fleshy prison and down to your cheek, staining the ground.

You snarled at him as you disregard the weapons on hand, a flash of light signaled for the clap of thunder. Feeling the electricity coursing through you, and threw your fist at his helm as vengeance. Causing him to collapse to the ground from the shocking experience. 

Time felt like it stood still. No movement was made, you won. You finally won, laughing freely at your new found freedom. Facing away from the stunned man and at the skies thanking them, the archons. Especially Murata, your beloved pyro archon and the Electro archon for their assistance in your road to freedom. Head got lighter from the blood loss, but you didn't care for that anymore. Standing a few feet away from him, relishing this greatest victory for you. At your feet is the electro vision, a prize that would forever change you. 

Indeed, it is. The long, black haired man grabs your leg, forcing you to the ground clawing the earth as it leaves trails of resistance. He forced you to look at him, back against the cold ground, your hands pinned above your head.  "You.. lost!" Anger seethed through your teeth.

He's so titanous compared to you. " That's what you wanted, but only a child could win so prematurely." He taunted with his baritone voice, laughing at your silly notion of winning.

" You sly bastard, unhand me!" You yelled, trying to wiggle your way out under him, his leg preventing you from moving. It only excites him, gaining a soft chuckle from the one topping you. 

"You're quite adorable like this." With his free hand, ignoring the blood he smeared, caressing your cheek so lovingly, as if he had been dreaming of this moment long ago. "I finally have you within my reach…" he was saying something but with the amount of blood having spilled from your eye similarly to a tear continuously falling. A weak, pitiful cry left your lips as you kept thrashing under him. The pulsating pain filled your head, lulling you to sleep, loud ringing in your ear and as the world blurs into one all you saw is him, your soon to be husband. 

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

Capitano had been obsessing on you since his first witness to a 'contest' from one of your recent clients. He had an agent gather information about you to at first recruit you for your finesse. Next thing he knew, he's falling for you. You don't know how delighted he is when he finds out a contest is being held for your hand. He nearly had everything planned out. Well almost perfectly… 

Once pristine face, now scarred by him. A mark that no doubt you’ll wear proudly on of these days. No one had the guts to help you, even when you aided them when they needed it. So here you are after the ceremony in your cold, dreary, shared chamber with your monstrous husband. Not many people attended the wedding, or perhaps they were warned to stay away from you. 

Your older brother tried to take you back. But was given seven scars, one scar for each time he tried to get you back by your menacing fiancé for going against the rules. None would want to summon the ire of the harbinger of the cryo archon so they left you be, knowing how strong you are. 

"My dear dove." He called out, slowly getting closer. When he's leaning in, merely a shy away. Holding tightly on to the ceremonial dagger tucked between the folds of the garb. Obliging him in a kiss, his tongue forcefully went past your lips abusing and possibly bruising your small mouth. His hand caught yours that was about to strike him at the back. Deepening his kiss until your back touches the king size mattress. 

Capitano pulls away, after leaving you breathless, "It should be the other way around, are you that eager?" He teased, taking in the moment before enjoying you on your first night together. 

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

Part 1 complete!

Part 2:

[astridhoff03]

Siege & Storms - chapter 2 Astrid & Hiccup

-However, before Astrid could close the door behind her, Valka raised her voice. “Astrid, if you want to talk. I’m always here.” Astrid smiled, brushing a strand of her long hair out of her face. "Thanks, Valka."

The stone was cold and wet beneath her bare feet, icy rain wet her heated skin and let the thin fabric of the tunic stick to her skin, exposing her nipples. Her gaze slid to the sky, which was covered in thick black clouds. The raindrops flowed down her chin like a small torrent. "Oh, Hiccup, where are you?" Raindrops continually rolled off her glowing skin, she closed her eyes, her hands clenched into steel fists. Her heart burned with desire and longing. He was alive, he was alive, she continued to tell herself in her mind, fighting the urge to burst into tears. Astrid saw something blue come into her field of vision out of the corner of her eye and suddenly the rain above her stopped. Stormfly's golden gaze collided with hers, a faint smile playing on Astrid's lips as she stroked her nadder's lower jaw. "Thank you." Her pulse calmed again and the tears in her eyes dried up. She was a warrior, a general for Thor's sake. Hiccup was alive, she knew it, deep in her heart. It was enough for her. She would look for him alone and not rest until she found him. "Come on, Stormfly, let's go." Astrid ran back into the house, threw on her clothes and grabbed her axe. She also packed a bag with water, provisions, bandages and fresh clothes. She left a note at the dinner table for Valka. Saddled up, Stormfly was already waiting impatiently for them in the pouring rain when Astrid closed the door behind her. With quick movements, Astrid secured her ax and bag to the saddle before she sat down. Cold wind mixed with icy raindrops fell on her face as they took off and flew away from Berk.

The waves surged like high mountains over the sunken city, lightning broke through the night. The massive shadow of the Phantomfin glided majestically like a great cloud of black smoke over a hidden grotto in the ruins. Toothless grumbled and snuggled against the legs of his best friend, the person who had never given up on him despite the unforgivable act he had committed. Hiccup gently stroked his dragon's smooth scales on his head, which glowed silver in the light of each lightning strike. His chest rose and fell with every heartbeat. He heard the blood rushing in his veins with every wave that surged, with every drop that fell from the onyx-colored rocks of the cave, with every heavy step that echoed off the cave walls. He was there immediately. It could only be a matter of seconds. Hiccup looked into his best friend's big green eyes, which reflected his own fear. “Don’t worry, Toothless, we won’t die today. We won't die today. We will fight for our people, for our friends, my mother, my father." He paused briefly at the painful memory of his father's dead body, who had sacrificed himself for him and Toothless. Hiccup gritted his teeth, trying to push away the memory, the thought that he was about to come face to face with the man who was the real reason his father had to die. "Hiccup, you're much stronger than you think," he suddenly heard a very familiar voice in his head. The memory of his father instantly blurred with the sound of love in Astrid's voice. She stood in front of him, her delicate, soft fingers sliding over his chest. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a loose braid that evening, Berk was still in ice and destruction, his childhood home was one of the few that had been spared. He looked down at her, how could she stay so strong while the house she grew up in was in ruins again and her own father had only escaped death with serious injuries. He took her hand and kissed her palm. "Astrid, how do you manage to stay so strong all the damn time?" A sad smile played on her beautiful lips. "Hiccup, I'm not always strong either and you know that. Should I tell you a secret, sometimes I scream inside because I don't allow myself to cry, I don't allow myself to deviate from the ideal that I'm supposed to represent in my clan, my family . I am strong Yes, but I am not invulnerable. And do you know what has kept me alive in every single battle we have fought so far?” Tears gathered in her fathomless eyes. "You. Hiccup, you are my gravity, the driving force that drives me forward in every battle. Never in my life did I think that I would love someone as much as I love you. I love you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, with all your flaws and the qualities that make you so special. I love you." "I love you too, very much," he whispered back, his finger wiping the one tear from her cheek. “And I thank you for always being there for me, my rock, my partner not only in battle but also in my life, for choosing me of all. And I promise you, you can cry at me, scream at me, kick as much as you want. I will never love you less because of it.” “We stay strong for each other,” Astrid finished, her voice broken. He would fight to get back home to the woman he loved and desired more than anything. Hiccup looked down into Toothless' green eyes and he would fight for his best friend. A deep voice snapped Hiccup out of this wondrous memory, he jumped when the shadow of Drago Bludvist appeared on the cave wall. "Hiccup, come out and finally fight like a real man."

[oseytorvan]

I know

The Lost Moment of Hiccstrid (httyd 3) -- Hiccup and Astrid fly into the Hidden World.

***

“You gave him his freedom, Hiccup. What were you expecting?..”

“What do you think Grimmel will do with Ruffnut?” asked Astrid, shifting uncomfortably in the saddle. Half an hour of silence and concentrated staring at the sea made her voice hoarse. 

“It's much more important what she does to Grimmel,” Hiccup chuckled coolly – Astrid noticed how nervously his palms fluttered on her waist. 

The silence was broken only by the sound of the wind and the shrill cries of Stormfly. Astrid pursed her lips. She could feel the tension building up between them on her back, and she couldn't take it anymore. 

“You know that's not what I meant,” it was supposed to sound soft and guilty, but a harsh note seeped into Astrid's words. 

“What are you talking about?”

“I don't think Toothless will leave you for the Light Fury.” 

“Oh...” she heard Hiccup's tired sigh. “Listen, I don't want to discuss this.”

Strands of hair fluttered annoyingly against her cheeks–Astrid removed them from her face with a slap. There was something heavy in her stomach, and it made her inexplicably angry. 

“I love Toothless. And you know it. He would never do that to you.”

“I know, Astrid. Don't make excuses.”

“Make excuses?” Astrid turned sharply to Hiccup, allowing Stormfly to take full control of the flight. The young chief's face was unreadable. “I'm not… I never… I have nothing to justify myself for!”

“I know.”

“I'm not an idiot, Hiccup!”

“I know.”

“I can see that you're mad at me! And, by Thor, if you say “I know” one more time...”

“And what will you do? Will you throw me off the saddle?” interrupted Hiccup in a cold tone. “I said I don't want to discuss it”

“But...”

“Listen, it's so windy here, you probably can't hear well. I repeat for the third time: I don't want to discuss this.”

Angry tears glistened in Astrid's eyes as she returned to vigilantly watching the waves, but her thoughts were far away. She had to admit that the rage burning inside wasn't directed at Hiccup at all, but at her. 

It sounded so stupid, so inappropriate, so wrong… How could she, his most loyal supporter and authoritative viking, have distorted her own thoughts so much? Strike at the Chief's most vulnerable spots in front of his tribe?..  

Astrid always knew when to defend her opinion and when to shut up, and often scolded the gang for inappropriate statements. And now she was holding back her self-hatred by force, not understanding what was wrong with her.  

She failed Hiccup. She failed herself. Тhe thought made Astrid's arms go weak. 

She shuddered involuntarily when she felt the warmth on her waist – Hiccup's hands slipped her sides and locked on her stomach. 

“Hey. Thanks for still helping me find him,” undeservedly soft voice of Hiccup sounded right in her ear. “I don't know what I would do without you.”

“You're welcome,” Astrid shrugged, sincerely hoping that he didn't hear her voice tremble. “That jerk Hoark will gape when he sees that the Dragon Master and his Night Fury are back in line again and have hit Grimmel!”

“Oh, we'll gape when we find out that Ruffnut did it for us!” joked Hiccup in response, and both burst out laughing. 

Hearing him laugh, Astrid felt the heaviness cease to bind her shoulders. 

“I'm sorry,” – she put her palm over the plexus of his hands. 

“I know,” – he pulled her closer.

[winterpinetrees]

Robbing a bank is easier than conversation (The Gap Years part 14)

June 22nd 2019

Las Vegas, NV

I don’t love this one. However, I want to write this chronologically and literally no one cares if it’s bad. Huzzah for tumblr.

…………

When Marin says that the human race doesn’t stand a chance against his world, he isn’t trying to be rude. It’s just the truth. Marin and Zerada steal a million dollars from a secret Vegas vault with all the difficulty of tired parents walking into a pillow fort. Between her mind control and his illusions, no one notices when two striking young adults follow a staff member into the vault and start shoving money into the voidspace within his messenger bag. They follow the same staff member back out, leaving absolutely no evidence other than a stolen hundred dollar bill slipped into his belt. (Zerada has lived for nearly a decade by manipulating wild humans, but she has standards).

That being said, Marin still has a lot to learn about the human world. He’d thought that just recruiting rich humans as his companions would cover the issue of capitalism, but it turns out that money is complicated! Just because the adult Brackens and Shepards are rich enough to buy entire nations doesn’t mean that their kids have access to much of it, and apparently money can be tracked by those freaky computers. So he and his companions have been limited to using a non-suspicous amount of money for non-suspcious purposes in non-suspicious locations. They still have more cash than any kids taking a gap year should, but it’s not enough to take them across the country and into restricted areas. It’s not enough to buy power. So Zerada led him by the arm on a bank heist, something she has down to a science.

Zerada grabs him again and shoves him behind a huge stone pillar. Marin checks himself, but his illusion is still up and stable. Why are they hiding?

Zerada whispers “Two Eight-Points ahead. I know them, but they’ll report you”.

The indigo auroch is the symbol of Genus Mercuralis, but their whole aligned faction are represented by an eight-pointed star. They were the allies who fought back when Lazarus Sondaica tried to take over the world. He won.

“Why are they here?” he asks desperately. Hadn’t she said they would be safe here?

“Can’t say. Stay down. I can handle it”.

And with that Zerada sizes up the two elves with a glowing orange stare. They have no vambraces, and their eyes glow muted colors. They’re probably commoners who just work for the nobility. He imagines Ishtar and her allies spending years gathering supporters. How had his mother not heard anything? (Had Marin been raised as an heir, he would know how every coup in history gathered its soldiers. He was not raised as an heir.)

“I’ve already robbed these wilders blind. Go find someone else to bother unless you want them waking up”. She speaks English, not Lazarin, and her voice is full of malice.

The commoners look at each other and they look at her. They say toothless insults, that Zerada is lucky to be alive or that she’s a drunkard who’s only free because nothing in this damn desert matters.

She smiles “It’s good to have somewhere for the deadweights. Keeps them from bringing down the gene pool, yes?”.

One commoner stutters and the other elbows him in the side. “This whole city is going to rot, Vixen. You’ll rot with it”. Then they’re walking a bit too fast past her and into the deeper parts of the building.

“It’s the dirt or the void, Ulric!” She waves at the commoners as they leave.

Marin blinks. “Oh, you knew them, knew them”.

“He tried to fight me. It was right after the coup and I guess he didn’t get that the Auroch wanted to keep us alive.”

That has been strange to him. “The casualty list was so short. I can’t stop wondering what she wants”.

“She had a son with a spark, Mari. She’s as much of a reformer as Lazarus was. Probably wants to sway us to her side as a show of progress”. She shifts her shoulders back. “I beat him soundly”.

“How’d you get the list?”

“From Ulric. After I beat him soundly”.

They walk in silence back to Zerada’s massive suite in one of the hotels. The two elves draw looks on the street from passers-by. Neither of them bother with illusions to hide their ears here, but its the rest of their appearances that draw attention. Well, her appearance. Marin is a graceful boy with long black locs, but that isn’t anything too special. The woman who seems to be his girlfriend is a statuesque goddess with bright amber eyes and the perpetual sense that all of this is beneath her. It is, of course. These are her gap years. In five years she’ll be at the Conservatory with the best and brightest of their world, and for all Marin knows, she might win.

The humans of the city (prey animals, though they won’t admit it) flow around the pair. Zerada clearly loves this city, the glamour and the power and every sort of vice, but Marin is feeling a bit sick. The whole place is artificial to its irradiated bones. His mother brought him to the human world a lot when he was young. There was a music festival in a park, a carnival somewhere further south, some huge gathering in their capital city that Emer had watched, invisibly, from the roof of a monument. That felt different though. The music was foreign and the people were strange, but he wasn’t in a city of plastic trees. Marin remembers the descriptions of the void and how a mind stranded inside might manifest an entire imagined world. These painted skies and windowless halls are just as disorienting as the place outside of time and reality. Also the smoke is going to give him cancer.

Detour to the humans’ room first. Zerada plants a foot on a chair and dumps the bag of money onto the table. A deck of cards and a few pens also tumble out of the void space. Brian picks up a stack of hundred dollar bills. Clay folds his arms and glares through his glasses.

“You robbed a bank?” Sierra asks cautiously.

Zerada sits on the bar with her arms behind her. “Sure did”.

Sierra looks back to the boys for reassurance. The deep red magic in her veins has started to creep down her shoulder. The tremors have gotten worse. Zerada is strong enough to break the spell, but she doesn’t know what it is. Countering unknown magic can be dangerous for the victim. Clay begins counting the money, and Brian fidgets with a rubber band. She rolls her eyes and turns back.

“Alright. You robbed a bank. What do we do now?” Clay says.

That’s a great question, and Marin doesn’t know. They should figure out what happened to Sierra. They should find more allies. They should learn why there’s so many elves with strong political leanings in the city.

The always-skeptical human sighs “You don’t have a plan, do you?”

Marin shakes his head “Honestly, I didn’t think I’d get this far”.

Zerada actually laughs at that. “Mari, you can’t say that”.

“Then you make the plan!” She raises her eyebrows. “Fine. Well. We need to figure out why there’s so many elves here who actually care about noble politics,” he decides.

The nobility live and die for their bloodlines and their honor, but commoners rarely care. Vegas especially should be full of elves who couldn’t care less about a coup as long as they’re allowed to stay in the city. For Zerada to see Ulric and his friend, and for them to both immediately try to kill her, is pretty strange.

Brian has balanced several hundred thousand dollars in a neat stack on the table. “The last time we went into an elf town, Sierra got cursed, and the time before that, Clay got brainwashed. We need a better plan”.

“You only had Marin then. Now you have me,” Zerada adds. “My suggestion is that Marin, Brian, and I go exploring, while the two of you stay back”.

Brian blushes red. “Why me? Clay’s better… at talking to people”.

“Yes, but you act less suspicious.”

“I was the reason the whole car chase even happened! I tried to defend Marin and got brainwashed!”

“It was my fault,” says Sierra. “I was staring at the soldier. You were just…obviously human”.

“And I am still obviously human!”

Zerada raises her voice. There’s magic in it, but Marin isn’t sure if the humans can tell. “Brian, elves here travel with human escorts. Clay is too skittish and Sierra is cursed. You are the best option”.

Brian looks like a trapped animal. She smiles at him. “If someone tries to charm you, I will stop them. All you need to do-“

“Is sit there and look good. I get it! I’ve been doing that my whole life,” he snaps, but stands up from his chair. The stack of money falls over.

“I’ll go put on a suit”.

…….

The suit isn’t tailored right. Marin’s seen styles change over the decades, but Brian’s pale gray jacket is a little too tight over the shoulders. It has to be deliberate, like how the Eburos wear their clothes loose to not damage them when they rage. Did he make that choice? If not, then why bring it on the trip? Is that really all he has? Marin is the son of the Apex. He’s a link in a four thousand year long chain, and that was supposed to be it. He’ll mess around for a decade, attend the Conservatory without making a fool out of himself, and then have a few kids with Zerada who might actually make a mark on history.

Marin adjusts his tie and sits down at the bar. He wears a subtle illusion, but it’s simple enough that his glowing irises are hardly noticeable. He’s changed Brian’s appearance too, just to make sure that his family doesn't find out about this. The boy is essentially bait. Brian is the sort of broad and strong that elves never are. He’s more attractive to elves than he is to human society, and that’s saying something. His job is to play decent blackjack and flirt with elves. Brian doesn’t have any reason to worry though! An individual can only be charmed by one person at once, and Zerada is more than strong enough to break any opposing spells.

There’s far more elves here than there should be, and few of the elves milling around the casino floor look like the Vegas type. They’re put together and dignified, with cheap formal wear or the faint shimmer of clothes created by illusions. The elves seem more like businessmen stopping by the city for an evening than elves that have devoted their lives to the game. Conversations go silent as Zerada, high elf prodigy, moves from table to table. She casts the entire room into her shadow.

She confirms his suspicions. “I’ve been in Vegas four months now. There were not this many elves when I arrived”.

“Were there this many before the coup?”

She shakes her head, then continues looking around the room. “I think most of them are shift workers too”.

Elves live for centuries. They have humans to do the undesirable work and live on a planet that has been all but mastered over ten thousand years. The concept of a “work week” hasn’t been the elven norm in millenia. But sometimes things have to happen on a schedule, and that means that civil servants and a few types of workers punch in and out like humans do. Conveniently, it is the elven weekend at the moment.

“I’d been thinking that, but…”

Zerada gets a short glass of something furiously alcoholic from the bartender. Another very human thing to do. “But you didn’t want to insult me by implying that I’m a lazy slacker?” She lifts her glass for emphasis. “I know, and I am”.

“But why would civil servants come here?”

They both notice at the same time that Brian has wandered off. Thankfully, the boy’s pale jacket stands out from the crowd. He’s at a different table, playing cards against a few humans and a too-pale elf in a suit. Brian’s eyes are a normal, uncharmed, shade of blue, which means that either everything is fine or that the elf is much better at magic than he thought. Does Brian know what he’s talking to? Marin stalks closer.

Brian laughs after his turn. The human boy says that he could never handle organic chemistry, “bio-chem majors are insane”, whatever that is supposed to mean. The elf he’s speaking with looks like a human in his early twenties, so Brian asks where he went to college. Marin stands nearby and hopes that he isn’t being suspicious. The other elf is so pale that he can easily see the veins under his skin, and his eyes are a haunting, pallid green.

The elf says a name that means nothing to Marin, “I’m actually working in Vegas this summer. Lab work”.

“I didn’t know there was lab work happening in Vegas” Brian replies. Marin suspects that he does know he’s talking to an elf, because Brian backs away from the question, “I don’t know much about the city though. I’m just passing through”.

The elf smiles. “There’s so much more to the world than you know”.

Marin looks over at Zerada. Lab workers certainly would work on a schedule, and he can guess the details from there. The list of casualties blamed a few on Gullin Eburos, lord of Genus Eburos and the face of the endless war against genetic mutations and antibiotic-resistant disease. Nuclear bombs were tested here once, but no one would be monstrous enough to use those for conquest, even if elves are resistant to radiation. Ishtar Mercuralis needs a new weapon, and like his mother before her, she has chosen plague.

…he should probably grab Brian.

………

An elven week is nine days long. Six for work and then a three day weekend. The nobility love the number nine.

“Pallid green” is my little riff on the greek word khlōros (χλωρός) which is often translated as pale, but can also mean ashen or yellowish-green. It is also the color of Death’s horse in the original Greek description of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. pretty neat!

[alkalinefrog]

MAN so i was thinking about how you draw Hijack, but it used to be Death Note, but now all I can think about is the idea of an Inuyasha-type au, like a portal between worlds kind of vibe.

This just appeared in my brain and I needed to share with someone who enjoys both Hijack and anime, I hope you don't mind haha. Feel free to ignore if you want to!! :)

I tried to think of a DN au for Hijack just now but neither of them are horrible enough people to fit into the DN world LMAO

YOU KNOW WHERE THEY WOULD FIT THO??? NARUTO.

Just as there was a sort of expectation put on Tobirama and Naruto to lead due to lineage, Hiccup would be assumed as next in line to be Hokage in the Land of Fire after his father Stoic (dude like even in the second movie they carve his head into a mountain on Berk it’s perfect). All the villagers are super skeptical of this scrawny book-smart academy student who can barely throw a shuriken straight and gets his ass handed to him during spars.

But lo and behold, when the academy does an intro-to-summoning jutsu class, little Hiccup surprises them all — he’s the first ninja in three hundred years who can summon DRAGONS. At least, we think it’s dragons, the first one he summoned was this tiny black lizard looking thing with no teeth.

Years later, Hiccup has grown into a fine young jounin with his go-to summoning companion, Toothless the dragon. The pair of them dubbed the “Night Furies of the Leaf”! But disaster strikes, and Stoic gives his life to save the village from their invaders. Hiccup steps up as the youngest Hokage in history at just eighteen years old.

So at this point you can guess how wary the village would be to any outsiders — and how unwelcoming they are to this blue-eyed, white-haired refugee from the Land of Water stumbling to their gates.

It hasn’t even been a week after the attack when Jack, the last known descendant of the Yuki Clan, known for their famous ice-release technique, comes fleeing with like ten bounty hunters in tow. Every village he’s run to has turned him away, fearing the “curse” his bloodline brings. The border guards are about to deny him when Hiccup and Toothless swoop in and fold those ten guys like a ninja-lawn chair.

Despite everyone’s protests, Hiccup welcomes Jack to join their village and even offers him rank as a chunin ninja. Everyone’s like wtf dawg and shun the outsider, ignoring Jack and pretending he doesn’t exist.

Jack’s used to this since his clan was ostracized long before he was born, and plays pranks on people just so that they notice him. The last straw is some rather “inspired” graffiti on Stoic’s mountain face, and Hiccup assigns him to be an academy teacher to keep him in line. However, to everyone’s (except Hiccup because he’s always believed in Jack) surprise, Jack takes to the job like a duck to water — he LOVES kids!! All the students flourish under his gentle guidance and have so much more fun going to school! Slowly but surely the village warms up to him.

Eventually he gets promoted to jounin given his talents and assigned his own team of genin (you bet Jamie’s in there) because of how great a teacher he is.

However, he gets very reckless when it comes to protecting his students, and ends up in the hospital a lot for overdoing it on missions. Hiccup reprimands him constantly and definitely only visits him in the hospital to make sure he’s learned his lesson and not because he’s fun to talk to and is genuinely so kind and has really pretty eyes and wait what was he talking about, he lost track.

ALL THAT IS TO SAY yes I enjoy Hijack and anime, thank you for swinging by with the fun ask I hijacked (hehe)

[owilder]

Now, as I foray into editing the final three chapters of Book the First of my YA scifi/fantasy series, here is an excerpt from my most recently finished chapter tentatively titled An Oasis of Melted Snow:

The room was dark, lit only by a sliver of sunlight streaming through the curtain panels drawn over the windows and the soft glow of the television that Dieter sometimes snuck into the room to watch while his grandmother slept. He liked Bernd das Brot a lot and, as he grew older, he often wondered if his grandmother had kept the television tuned to KiKa just so he could sneak in and watch him. The television was muted now. Though Bernd’s lips were moving, no sound came out. It was as though the stillness and staleness of the room had stolen his voice. Standing in the doorway, coming up only to his father’s knees, little Dieter stared across the room at his grandmother, propped up against a mountain of pillows, staring back at him. He thought she looked like death, like a corpse, ghoulish with her wispy white hair, missing in some places, glassy eyes, and bony frame. Her teeth were sunk to the bottom of a glass of water beside the bed, drowned. His father held him by the shoulders and steered him forward towards the bed and the ghastly, ghostly figure bound to it. She smiled a grim, weak, toothless smile and, although her eyes held all the tenderness and love in the world, Dieter could focus only on that horrible smile until the levee of his terror broke, and his eyes overflowed with tears. How he ended up outside her room he could not remember. He doubted that he had run away, for his father’s hands had gripped his shoulders far too tightly for him to break free. Perhaps his father had carried him out. What Dieter did remember, distinctly, was the sound of his grandmother’s cooing sympathy and her appeal to his father not to be too harsh on a child so small – just before the back of his father’s hand crashed against the right side of his face. His father’s breath was hot against his ear as he hissed, “Do you see what you made me do? You stop your crying this instant, or I’ll give you something to cry about.”

        Dieter slid down to the ground. Why that specific memory had revisited him now, he could not say. Perhaps it was what Braham had said earlier about having no choice but to strike Dieter? He gazed up at the sky through the weblike fracture in the ceiling of the rock wall. The only other memory he had of his grandmother was her unwrapping a butterscotch and giving it to him, though he could not remember whether he had requested the butterscotch or not. Not long after he had burst into tears at his grandmother’s bedside, he recalled his mother holding him in her arms in a cemetery and all the mirrors in the house being covered; then no one ever mentioned his grandmother again, and the door to her room stayed closed, and Dieter no longer snuck in late at night to watch Bernd das Brot. That was eight years ago, Dieter knew. He remembered the date on the headstone.

- Part the Second, Chapter the Nineteenth, An Oasis of Melted Snow (C.R. Book the First: A New World)

(These sentences and all work related to it are copyright O. Wilder and are timestamped to prove ownership. Do not repost.)

[one-strugling-bean]

Random thoughts on HTTYD RttE S3 (Ep8-13)

Ep8 - Yayy, cousins on a mission

God, Snotlout is like, a whole head shorter than Hiccup, why do I keep noticing these things??

Oh nooo, they're gonna make Toothless participate in the dragon fights! At least that's what I'm predicting

I'm gonna take the twins messing with Snotlout then as their way to calm him down - he really looks worried

Why would you trap those two together?

The difference between Fishlegs and Heather asking where Toothless was taken

That hunter must be so confused

Snotlout is actually really serious for a change

That exchange with "the business was fun

Also, Astrid my girl!!

I swear the Gronkles are so freaking cute

You know, it would be pretty funny if Toothless just made friends with the Razorwhip

God, I love the twins

Triple Strike looks totally like a Pokémon

Yayy, Toothless made friends with the Pokémon!

Guessing Toothless' mercy was a callback to HTTYD1

Snotlout and Fishlegs are pissed, as they should

Sleuther is sho cute, good for him

Ep9- I really don't wanna go over another "Snotlout being an idiot with girls" moment, please don't do that again

Awwww, he's so cute!!

Please, someone shut Snotlout up, I love you boy, but there's a limit

A bunch of time from this episode is being dedicated to Chicken, and I'm okay with it

This is the second time someone sings a lullaby to a baby dragon, and I'm kinda surprised to know Snotlout was the other one

God, Astrid please punch Snotlout, he's been asking for it all day

Oh yes are they all singing, that is so cool!

Garff riding on Hookfang's head looked so sweet

Wow, so we actually get to see how he got all of his gadgets from HTTYD2

Astrid, your jokes are awesome

The Deathsongs are so prettyyyy

They're all singing together that's so cool!

Ep10 - Sooo, today Ruff and Tuff are stylists?

No reason in particular, but I really liked that Heather cut their sails like that

I mean, I get the confusion since these are Hunter boats, but marble is usually a very precious rock, so it wouldn't be too surprising for the sailors to protect the cargo so fiercely

Pink and blue Nadders are so pretty

"I regret nothiiiing!" "I regret everythiiing!" the twins always get the funniest lines

Nuuu, poor Barf&Belch

Sometimes I forget Monstrous Nightmares are supposed to be like, super powerful and scary and all that

Weren't there three guards tied up? where'd the other two go?

That is so messed up, poor Quakens...

"Oh, no, he did not." My reaction, exactly

God, he's even posing and everything

Today is not Barf&Belch's day

Yes, Fishlegs showing how competent he is, I'm into it

Of course, Tuff would have a cousin in Stockholm who related better to their captor's cruelty than to an outsider's help

Aww, they made him an eye patch!

Why haven't they taken the hammer from the hunters?

I'm gonna start a petition for Dreamworks to make a new show about the riders where Fishlegs has a hammer like that - he looks so cool and it fits him pretty well

I can just imagine Snotlout, in all his bi glory, drooling over Fishlegs with that hammer - you cannot tell me he wouldn't

Oh, it's on, biatch

Ep11 - I love Dagur, his character is so fun to watch interact with others - and his VA did a really good job with his voice

Yikes, so who's gonna tell him?

Not sure keeping him a secret is a good idea Hiccup

Shattermaster is an awesome name, and it was given to the cutest Gronkle ever, my god, he looks so sweet

I'm guessing Snotlout appearing on that one shot where the riders catch Dagur is a continuity error

Toothless is cool with Dagur now, it seems

The peeps are actually teaching him, wow

Whenever they want to point out what not to do while Dragon riding, they use Snotlout as an example, it's a funny joke

He would get along well with Tuffnut

Like, I guess it's easier for me to forgive Dagur because i havent seen even half the stuff he's done, but I really feel bad for him

Also, he's got the makings of a himbo, doesn't he? Just thought of this

Why would you trap them together? That feels remarkably dumb

Ha, he used their tricks against him

How many daggers does he keep on him?

Wait, whaaaaa- how? This was a really sudden death scene

Yeah, I refuse to believe he's dead, sorry

Ep12 - I really like Johann acting with the Riders

You wanna send in Snotlout disguised? Uhm, not sure about that myself

Wow, Stoick has zero confidence in Snotlout

He's blond! Doesn't look too bad on him, but I gotta say I prefer his original color

Yayy, Gobber!

Hookfang doesn't look like he's with the rest of the dragons, what's up with that?

No way Viggo doesn't know what's going on

Snotlout is really loving his part

Wait, so this is how he meets Grump?? Nice

Nice improvising skills there Snotlout

Uhm, Ruff, Tuff? Why did you hold onto the cages?

Everyone got caught, wow

I feel like I say this about every single dragon, but, Grump is so cute

"Is he ever going to learn?" "None of them will" Nice words

Fishlegs deserves the clapping

Man, I love Gobber, he's my favorite adult, he is so badass but also such a great father figure - I'd even dare saying the best father figure in the franchise

I mean, losing all of Berk's gold is kiiiind of an issue, but sure

Ep13 - Not best girl Meatlug!!

Did they all look kinda guilty raising their hand or is it just me?

"He needs to go to a seminar." I'm sorry if this sounds repetitive but, I love the twins - this whole conversation was super funny

I am curious about this

"I accept your surrender." Ha, that was good

So, basically what Viggo is proposing is a treaty akin to the real-life Treaty of Tordesillas signed between Portugal and Spain on the 15h century

Random little history class for you guys

We're meeting a whole new dragon-friendly group, that's fun

Uhm, okay, Throk

Ohhhh, she's pretty!!!

And her voice!!! And accent!!!

I'm in love

The little glance between Toothless and Hookfang

Pffft, I love Hookfang

Okayyyy, now she's scaring me

"He's been on trial more than anyone in Berk... Of course, he's also been convicted more than anyone Berk. But who cares?"

Ruffnut's little comments in the background while Tuff's talking make thr scene for me

This trial does bring an interesting issue though - like, sure they give their dragons a choice and they take care of them, and love them, but they do use them to do their bidding and make their own life easier

I'm surprised Toothless and the gang haven't broken free to rescue their partners yet

I'm hoping that will happen at some point

"You're betting all our lives on it." Fair point, Astrid

Wait, didn't you guys bond with a speed-stinger last season? Even Snotlout grew a soft spot for him and all

"Thankyouverymuch-"

Still not sure how I feel about this alliance

"What? You don't even like flowers!" I love their dynamic so much

To be fair, the twins did warn you

Well, that's a nice cliffhanger to wrap up the season!

[tenebrius-excellium]

How To Twist A Dragon’s Tale Reaction Part 2

- LOVE the part where Hiccup sits with Old Wrinkly in his hole and wonders how he’s gonna have a conversation with someone who has taken a vow of silence... and watching the beautiful realization dawn on him that he doesn’t really need an answer from his Grandfather, he just needed to talk his thoughts out to someone and presto, he came up with a solution to the problem himself

- The Meeting Of The Thing is just a huge, uncoordinated football game but hey, “democracy” huh. LOVE the message to kids that even adults’ clubs can feel like kindergarten and they haven’t got it all figured out when voting for a strategy

- this book had. too. much. singing. Oh deeeear. I highly suspect it would have been better experiencing it in written form than listening to David Tennant. My guy overdid it juuust a little bit this time.

- Hiccup choosing to break out in song as he was about to be butchered, that just doesn’t sit right with me. I know it can be a very strong move to have a character do this, but Hiccup...just...doesn’t strike me as the type. Thoughts?

- Also the names. Why don’t the dragons have names anymore. I was dying to find out the Windwalker’s and the white dragon’s name but they haven’t any!?

- Ok but anyway, the battle on top of the erupting volcano has so many Race To The Edge Season 4 vibes and I’m loving it!!! AAAAAhhhhhh....just... the Alvin = Viggo references, the whole “holding someone hostage while the earth is breaking away beneath your feet” thing, and the Firestone being the books’ equivalent to the Dragon Eye... those memories are EVERYTHING to me.

- Now I wish they had used something like this canonically in the movies!

- Also the Fire dragon = Inspiration for the Monstrous Nightmare??? 

- HICCUP SURFING THE LAVA ON THE WINDWALKER’S BACK AAAAHHH WOW; NOW THAT WAS THE MOST EPIC MOMENT OF ALL

- TOOTHLESS IS FINALLY BRAVE AND HEROIC YASS BOIII YOU ROCK AND I’M SO PROUD OF THE ANNOYING LITTLE GREMLIN DRAGON

- Humongous was irritating as heck tbh and I hope he will never be seen again... sorry... Remember One-Eye? He was much more entertaining. But perhaps that’s the entire point of Humongously Hotshot The Hero. To be undesirable as hero material because being a hero should not mean “perfection”. 

- If I’m entirely honest, Valhallarama’s fate at the end touched me more than the entire rest of the book. It was a very good ending to an otherwise...mediocre story. I think this is the first book that I effectively disliked. The first three were fresh and creative with a few stunning, truly wonderful surprises, Book 4 was BRILLIANT, it wound its way right into my heart... and now... this. Uh. Nope. Humongous and David Tennant’s singing are what blew this for me. Hey, I hope the next one will be better! :)

[wormboytrav]

light fury design analysis

hi! i'm an artist and i grew up loving httyd, so i'd like to make a post describing my reactions and thoughts on the light fury's design. in no way am i trying to hate on anyone, this is purely sourced from my views. that being said, let me know what you think!!!

okay. first off, to put down a baseline for httyd character designs in general, let's talk about toothless's httyd 1 design

the thing that i love about this design is how much character they really fit into it! they made sure to humanize him just enough to be likable while still emphasizing that he's, you know, a dragon. additionally, if someone were to ask you "what animal does this look like (besides a dragon)?" you'd probably say cat! they use a lot of body language and structure to make him very feline, which not only shows a lot of personality right off the bat but makes him more familiar and likeable to the audience.

as you can see in the picture, toothless has some markings. this highly suggests that he could have been based, specifically, on black panthers

see the similarities?? both are muscularly-built felines with light colored eyes and a dark base color with faint patterns. however, httyd made it subtle enough that he's definitely a dragon. no doubt about that, from all the little details like his spines and tail fins! he definitely looks like he could be a naturally occuring animal, which makes him fit in really well with the world. his body makes sense.

httyd uses the trick of basing dragons off of other animals a lot actually! albeit, usually with the more main dragons of the series.

take stormfly, whose body composition and coloring make her look like a tropical bird. additionally, her crest and tail spines are very feathery, and she makes bird-like noises! hell, she has a beak. this is indicitive of her speed and intelligence among dragons.

another good (but more subtle) example is the bewilderbeast. those shapes of tusks are only really seen on this dragon, just like in real life they're only really seen on elephants. that and this dragon's immense size and gray coloring make it very reminiscent of an elephant, cementing the nature of wisdom and gentleness it has (therefore making drago's bewilderbeast's behavior even more unsettling).

so. we've established how httyd makes memorable dragon designs. now let's get to business with httyd 3 and the light fury.

here's toothless's httyd 3 design. what strikes me first is how he is much more humanized - honestly, if this was a movie where dragons talked, that'd be great! but it isn't. the main reasons for this is that his face became flatter in the front and they also gave him...eyebrows? because dreamworks just loves eyebrows. also, his pupils aren't even vaguely slit shaped anymore, which makes him look more dog than cat. this kind of unravels a lot of his previous design. he's more of a human-dog-lizard thing than a feline dragon to me.

also, speaking of his eyes, they're much bigger. which, as he's supposed to look more mature and adult-like in this film, is strange - big eyes are characteristic in young animals.

anyway. so httyd 3 character design is already off to a bad start. now let's look at the light fury.

here she is! this dragon already has a huge amount of differences from toothless. she's a whole lot smoother, and her features are all made to be more "feminine" (bigger eyes, smaller nose, smaller size and smaller fins). Also, she's sparkly. For...no reason. Altogether, if you showed me this dragon, I'd say she's aquatic. I mean, if we go with the trend of modeling dragons after real life animals, you have the dolphin!

both the colors and the general smoothness of dolphins really correspond to the light fury, and the tails also have a resemblance. they could've used this to symbolise her being intelligent or playful as well!

but...no. they didn't base her off dolphins. they based her off of 2 animals - the snow leopard and the axolotl.

the snow leopard makes huge sense! after all, toothless resemble's a black panther, which is closely related.

but look at the snow leopard. this looks nothing like the light fury, who is very slim and smooth. she has markings, but they're virtually invisible in most shots. and correct me if i'm wrong, but even albino leopards have markings. so...that's out of the question.

now here's an axolotl! that also looks a lot like toothless, right? and right off the bat, i see the similarities. they're both smooth, white, and have that continuous ridge going down their backs, and they're keeping with the first impression of an aquatic animal. however...the light fury is lacking those characteristic fronds around the face. it doesn't make any sense for these to be slimmed down "because she's a girl," either. night furies use those for echolocation. do light furies not need to navigate in the dark?????

i'm going to be completely honest with you. the light fury design looks like it was made to be easy to produce as toys. they slapped together a bunch of stereotypes (slim, pinkish undertones, sparkles?!) and smoothed down her figure. the excuse "but she's female!! female animals look like this!!" doesn't hold water because A. she's missing body parts that don't rely on gender (echolocation ears) and B. look at meatlug

they didn't give this dragon tits or make her hot pink! they just called her a girl! what makes this argument even stronger is that everyone thought meatlug was male at first, proving that httyd dragons don't have many obvious differences between gender. also, if anything, while the light fury supposed to be a symbol of toothless's maturity, she looks younger than him. which is gross! httyd has always been pretty good about treating female characters the same as male ones, so the light fury came as a huge shock to me.

now let's look at her concept art

sweet thor in a thunderstorm!!! this is awesome! yeah, i know! what i see here is a successful combination of axolotl and snow leopard traits - while keeping that draconic twist! there's more fronds generally everywhere (even the wings!), and it looks like she has markings as well. in all, she looks sturdy, realistic, and mature. this is not a baby dragon, she effectively looks older than toothless! also, she doesn't sparkle, and seems to even have misty powers if you look at her mouth closely (more fitting than the light fury's canon invisibility but with the same function, if you ask me).

the main reason this specific design was scrapped was that it would be too hard to animate. and, i get it. i've animated things myself. but honestly? they could handle the two-headed zippleback! they could handle the red death and the bewilderbeasts! they couldn't handle a few more fronds and a tail change? even with two movies under their belt and a ton of funding? what i think is that they wanted to make her design more generic, and as i mentioned earlier, more manufacturable. it's sad. capitalism is killing creativity.

that's all i got, folks! let me know what you think, and if you want me to make any more in-depth posts like this (and show me your light fury art while you're at it!!) thanks!

[meganskane]

Dad Duties (dad!spencer)

masterlist

summary: the one where spencer takes care of his colicky baby.

warnings: none

word count: 0.8k

pairing; spencer reid x fem!reader

There was no amount of reading spencer could have done that would have prepared him to take care of a baby. Once he got a taste of parenthood, it caused him to grow an immense amount of appreciation for other parents. Single parents, co-parents, married parents, etc.

He’d heard about it all, the diapers, the lack of sleep, the crying, the spit-up, and the consistent fear that you’re doing something wrong. They say that it's all worth it when you’re entirely exhausted and delirious, and they stare right into your eyes and smile with a toothless grin.

The familiar loud ear-piercing cry woke spencer from his sleep. His eyes slowly adjusted before allowing himself to sit up from bed, he glanced over toward your side of the bed noticing how you had still been asleep. A small smile spread across his face, as he heard the soft snores slip past your lips.

He carefully lifted the duvet as he carefully stood up from your bed doing his best to avoid disturbing your sleep. He quickly lowered the volume of the monitor before heading toward your daughter's nursery.

The cries proceeded and began to become louder the closer he got, slowly breaking his heart.

“Hey pumpkin” he softly cooed carefully swaddling her with a nearby blanket. His eyes scanned around the room, ‘where did y/n leave the binky’ he thought to himself.

Aurora’s cries began to grow louder causing spencer to panic as he strived for multiple ways to cause the crying to come to a halt. Nothing seemed to be working, he began to try and memorize the numerous amounts of ways to calm a colicky baby. He was desperate at this point, he wanted nothing more than to have her happy.

“Is this what you wanted? Some of your mommy's milk?” he pleaded, waving the small bottle of breastmilk in front of her, he placed the nipple in her mouth only for it to be quickly denied. A weary sigh left his lips before setting the bottle down.

“Seriously? Not even milk?” he grumbled.

“What if daddy asked really nicely?” the cries continued, Spencer himself felt like he too would start crying.

“Not even with that? Geez you're one tough woman to please” he chuckled bouncing around the room softly.

He then found himself crawling into the crib and placing her on his chest, one hand running soothing circles against her bareback while the other softly tapped her bottom, his final attempt to calm her.

A small yawn fell from his mouth, waiting for her cries to stop.

He felt a smug smile fall onto his face as the cries began to grow quiet. He won this round. He let out a small giggle,

“This is how I get your mom to fall asleep too. I'm going to have the both of you spoiled, aren't I?”

“Like mother, like daughter” he mumbled before feeling himself drift off.

The shrill sound of your alarm woke you, a loud groan slipped past your lips.

“Bub, can you turn that off?” you mumbled. You rolled your eyes as the sound continued. Your eyes opened adjusting to the warm sunlight filling the room.

You glared at the clock reading the red lights, 7:15 it read. You threw your hand over to feel for your husband's warmth, only to be met with the cool bed sheets. Instinctively you sat up and looked around the room for him.

Where the hell was he?

You stood up turning the alarm off and heading toward aurora’s nursery. A small chuckle leaving your lips as you admired the sight in front of you.

Spencer’s long legs hung outside of the small crib with Aurora tightly held against his chest fast asleep. you stared at their faces in awe, noticing the striking resemblance between the two. The way their lips fell open as they slept, weak snores falling from their lips, and the occasional nose scrunch.

Like father, like daughter, you thought.

You rushed toward your bedroom for your phone and snapped a picture of the two. You knew spencer had to leave for work soon but, you hadn't had the heart to wake him. It was obvious that he’d been up for most of the night with your daughter.

You ran your thumb along his cheek softly before placing a single kiss on both of their heads.

“Spencer, my love?” you called softly, only to earn a whine in reply. He soon met your gaze,

“What time is it?” he asked, his face scrunching together before letting himself to stretch.

“Last I checked it was fifteen after seven” he furrowed his eyebrows,

“Wake me up in another fifteen minutes, please?” he puckered his lips waiting for you to meet him halfway. You leaned down placing a tender peck on his lips.

“Will do, you get some rest, my love” he nodded before closing his eyes once more with some snores that followed immediately after.

An additional fifteen wouldn't hurt, especially if it was another fifteen of staring at the people you love the most.

[frustrated-writer-skyeknight]

HiJack AU - Rise of the Guardians Plotbunnies

(Context: Before Hiccup returns to HQ when the Guardian signal came up, he was spending time with Jack, as per usual. When the signal came up, he had to go. Jack looked disappointed, because Hiccup had just arrived a bare ten minutes ago. It was the quickest the Aide of Hope had to leave. Hiccup was in a rush to leave, since it was the first time in a long time that the urgent signal was put up to assemble all guardians at the same time, the last time was to report about what had happened to Kozmotis. In his rush, he wasn't thinking, and accidentally kissed Jack on the cheek in a parting kiss.

They were both shock.

Before Jack could collect himself to make a respond, Hiccup dashed off, all the while thinking "Shit shit shit shit shit what did I just DO?!)

More details added to the Answer (an ask from @hamish-fanfic-fangirl )already mentioned here

The Guardians love children, as they are the Guardians of Childhood. They can't, however, have children. With the exception of Kozmotis and Anastasia's relationship, as they were created together at the same time by Manny.

Manny formed Pitch to safeguard chaos energy that would strike fears in children and leave them traumatize, impeding a healthy and happy development of growing up. Anastasia was formed at the same time, because children, and to an extent people, need to live in a harmonize environment, right?

The Guardians do consider themselves, as what humans coined nowadays, as 'Found family.' Addition to that, they think if they could have kids, they would be like and be treated like their aides.

They joke about it sometimes; North fits the role of a dad, as leader of the Guardians, Thiana being like the mother, with Aster, Sandy, and Kozmotis like uncles. Sandy's the "cool" uncle with a lot of stories to tell (or show). Kozmotis is the "chill" uncle who leaves you be but offers sage wisdom whether or not you ask for them. Aster is the one who nags a lot, sometimes more than the parents but is exciting to spend time with because of all his cool tricks.

Jamie and Astrid found it awkward, but Thiana was being playful and pretending to be like a parent and giving Jamie 'the shovel talk', when Astrid and Jamie got together, as she heard a story told to her by North, from Jim.

She was sweet about it though, going on about how they should be caring of each other and how lovely it all was so Jim made a remark later that he didn't think the guardian of memories got the point of a 'Shovel talk'

Even to the aides that aren't their own, the Guardians do feel rather paternal/maternal towards them.

Dialogue

North: Sandy, thank you for coming.

Sandy descends from the plane and floats to the ground. He joins North, Bunny and Tooth as they walk through the Globe Room. Sand glyphs appear above Sandy's head communicating

Jamie: He says that he is busy and has a lot of work to do.

North: I understand, you work ‘round the clock, da, But I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious.

North, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy reach the center of the room. Tooth does her best to shush her mini-fairies.

North: Kozmotis as the Boogeyman was here at the Pole. *points to the globe. The everyone turns to look.*

Astrid: *shocked* Sir Kozmotis? Here? After all this time...

Jamie: Jim, did you really see...

Jim: Well, I didn't but sir North had. I think, I... Wait. *frowning as he looked around in concern* Where's Dimitri?

Tooth: But... Pitch Black? Was it really him?

North: Yes! There was black sand covering the globe.

Aster: What, what...what do you mean black sand?

North: And then a shadow!                                                

Aster: Hold on, hold on, I thought you said you saw Pitch.

North: Well, ah, not exactly...

Aster: Not exactly? Can you believe this guy?

Bunny turns to Sandy, who shrugs while forming a Dreamsand question mark above his head....

Aster: Yeah, you said it, Sandy.

Bunny goes back to painting one of his Easter eggs.

North: Look, he is up to something very bad. *gropes his gut* I feel it, in my belly.

Aster: *eyes narrow* Hang on, hang on, you mean to say, you summoned me here THREE DAYS BEFORE EASTER - because of your? Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas-

Tooth (to her fairies): Argentina. Priority alert! A batch of bicuspids in Buenos Aires.  Weather advisory, Astrid?

Astrid: *Pauses* Fair, all of them. Snowstorm warning in Moscow.

Jamie: Maybe that's where Jack is now.

Jim: And maybe Hic too; would explain why he's running late... Now Dimitri...           

North grabs Bunny's painted egg, casually juggling it in his          hand as he walks off. Meanwhile Sandy, who is being served          eggnog by a yeti, suddenly notices something high above.         

North: Please. Bunny. Easter is not Christmas.

Aster: *sarcastic laugh* Here we go... North, I, I don't have time for           this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up.

The moon rises into view, high up in the ceiling; its rays of light begin to shine brightly through as they cascade down the walls of the globe room.

North: No matter how much you paint, is still egg!

Sandy points to the moon unsuccessfully to get the others' attention. Even Jamie is distracted with Jim and Astrid, talking about whether one of them (Jim) should go and get Dimitri. Their guardians are distracted and they didn't want to interrupt them...

Aster: Look, mate, I'm dealing with perishables. Right. You've got all year to prepare.                                                

Tooth (to her fairies): Pittsburg, boy eight, two molars. Saltwater taffy.

Sandy puts his fingers in his mouth to whistle, a silent musical note forming above his head.                                                

North (to Aster): Why are rabbits always so nervous.

Aster: And why are you always such a blowhard!                                  

Tooth (to her fairies): Ontario, sector nine: five canines, two molars, and fourteen incisors. Is that all in one house?

Sandy waves a sand flag above his head, pointing and jumping and down as the moonlight continues to fill the room.

North: Tooth! Can't you see we're trying to argue.

Tooth: *Good naturedly* Sorry, not all of us get to work one night a year. Am I right, Sandy?

Sandy tries to signal with a golden arrow, pointing toward the ceiling, but to no avail as the others continue their bickering. Sandy thinks Tooth has noticed for a split second, but then-    

Tooth (to her fairies): San Diego, sector two! Five incisors, a bicuspid and a really loose molar on stand-by.

North: I know it was him. We have serious situation!

Aster: Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs.

Tooth: Hey, I hate to interrupt the, "We work so hard once a year club" but could we concentrate on the matter-

A silhouette comes out from a black spot of a shadow in the middle of the room, and Dimitri comes up and stumbles out from it. The aide of the former Guardian of Chaos seemed recovering from injuries. Even with his quick healing, it's taking some time...

Jim: Dimitri!

Jim rushes to help support him...

Tooth: Oh dear!

Astrid: Is he okay?

Dimitri: Sorry... The darkness is more restless than ever for some reasons. I had to defeat about a dozen minions before securing and leaving the base.

Jim: Wha- so if Pitch is really back, why hadn't he showed up here yet?

North: He did lad!

Jim: All due respect sir, you said it was a shadow.

North: Shadows are his thing!

Dimitri: I don't think that was Pitch yet, but a harbinger, maybe? If he had awoken, I think I would be the first to know.

Aster: Hah!

Sandy can't take it anymore, grabs an elf by his hat, and vigorously shakes it's bell. The other Guardians are finally silenced and all turn to look at Sandy, who points up, a sand crescent moon forming above his head. The dizzy elf staggers away. Finally the others turn to see the shaft of moonlight as it concentrates on the circle between them as Manny starts beaming down into the room...

North: Aah! Man in Moon! Sandy, why didn't you say something?

Sandy gives him a deadpan stare, Dream sand smoke shoots out his ears.                                                

North (to Man in Moon as he finally appears, with Anastasia by his side) : It's been a long time old friend! Madam Mother Nature *bows curtly*

Manny: Likewise.

Anastasia: A pleasure as always, North.

North: So... What is big news?

Manny: Before I get that, there is one thing I need to address first...

Everyone looks to the center of the room where Manny manipulates moonlight to shine down intensely, the light ebbs away, leaving a dark spot ---- which resolves into the shadowed silhouette of Pitch. The Guardians look on, stunned.                                                

Aster: It is Pitch.                                  

North pats his belly and gives Bunny a look...

North: Manny... what must we do?

Manny: The matter I mentioned needing to be addressed...

The shadow of Pitch disappears and the circle of moonlight intensifies and shrinks, concentrating further luminating an ornate symbol on the floor, at the center of their circle. The symbol rises out of the ground revealing a large gem at the head of a pillar.                                                

Tooth: Ah, guys, you know what this means?

The moons light suddenly refracts through the gem casting          light all over the chamber.                                                

North: He's choosing an aide for himself.

Aster: What?! You never needed one before, why now?

North: Must be big deal! Manny thinks we all need help!

Aster: We have our help. *Gestures to all aides present* Now if my own would show up too...                                               

Tooth: I wonder who it's gonna be?

Then a bright flash, a rush of wind- and a FIGURE resolves over the central pillar: slight, hooded, bearing a familiar  hooked staff.                                                

North:

North: Jack Frost.

The Mini-Teeth all sigh and swoon as the Guardians stand there, stunned.                                                

Jim: Well then, at least Hiccup's going to be happy

Astrid: *Shrugs, and idly shifts her axe from one hand to another* Well, as long as he does his part in caring for the children…

Tooth: And Hiccup’s going to be motivated more than ever now too.

Aster: Jack Frost!? He doesn't care about children! All he does is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts. Right? He's an irresponsible, selfish...                                                

Manny: Aide.                            

Aster: I can tell you that Jack Frost is a lot of things, but he's--

Hiccup finally flies in with Toothless

Hiccup: I'm sorry I'm late! *He jumps down from Toothless* Snow storm in Moscow delayed me... Er, among other things...

Everyone looks at him

North: Perfect timing Hiccup! We need you to find Jack and bring him here.

Hiccup, remembering his final moments with Jack before leaving, looked mortified...

Hiccup: Do you guys hate me or something?