#maybe i'll even talk about dimitri.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Okay I don't do this normally but out of curiosity, I looked at that guys' posts and yeah they're going around sealioning anyone who likes Dimitri being all like "how can you say Dimitri/AM is your favorite when you didn't play all the routes". Buddy it's called having preferences, subjectivity and opinion. I'm sure if we twist their behavior around back at them, they'll be like stop bothering us for liking Edel cause double standards is their bread and butter.

Yeah, I had taken a brief scroll through their blog the first time I saw them argue with Random about Claude because I had a pretty strong feeling that they were just another stan running around around against Rhea and Dimitri fans because I knew that person didn't follow Random when they started pulling the bad faith Claude takes.

I scrolled through a few posts before I was like yeah I'm not even gonna bother looking further because I could see all they were doing was arguing with people whose names I recognized, and the only people who ever do that are the stans. They also have absolutely nothing else but discourse on their blog.

It's crazy to me too, because I've seen those same Dimitri fans try to talk about anything else FE related and yet they still get pulled back into discourse. Like, I'm at the point where I believe everyone in that immediate group is just actively being stalked by the stans (and I recall one of them mentioning they are being stalked by them, but my guess is if one of them is, all of them are).

Also, the stans tend to pull the "you didn't play xyz route" when I'm quite certain most if not all of the Dimitri fans on Tumblr have at the very bare minimum watched the full route on YouTube of anything they didn't play. All these people have the information they need to know where they stand opinion-wise, and like you said, it's just... having an opinion. The stans have their opinions, we don't agree with them, and we don't engage with them unless they engage with us first.

Something I've noticed about the group of Dimitri fans that gets stans going after them is that it's always the stans who start it. They always respond to asks sent to those people. In other words they go onto those people's blogs, look at their posts/their replies to their anons, and start arguing at them over literally anything they say in thsoe ask responses.

Every single time I see a post reach my dashboard from any of those people (you might know the Faerghus/Dimitri group I'm talking about), it's always a stan going after them when they were just answering one of their own anons and posting something on their own blog. I'm sure there are people who think they engage in discourse too much, but they don't even start it. They get harassed and can't just blog in peace.

Unfortunately those same stans have been targeting Random as of late (and I've noticed it's more and more different ones so they're probably going after someone as soon as they notice their buddies are doing so) so it's not that surprising that they've taken notice of me since she and I interact regularly. They basically go through the chain of who interacts with who and try to start shit.

Oh nonnie honey, you better believe if even a single Dimitri fan did to them what they do to us, they'd be all over that and whining about it and posting callouts and shit.

I just want to be able to post whatever my feelings are about Dimitri without worrying that people will try to tear it down because "it's not about Edel-chan and it portrays Dimitri in a good light".

I've blocked every Edelstan I've come across but more of them keep popping up, so... I guess the blocking never ends. My block list is basically just Edelstans and bots at this point with few exceptions.

Funny how the stans don't block Dimitri fans who hate Edelgard to avoid seeing them (it's because they don't actually want to, because they want to argue), even though we're all over here trying to block them, but some of them block evade to keep going. Literally like Dimitri fans have tried to block them and move on, but they persistently find ways to keep harassing. And like I said, they go down the line, so eventually they'll just find every active Dimitri lover who posts about him and whine at them.

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam Ch 14

I feel sad knowing this route is almost over :(

NARRATION

As much as Claude is annoying me right now, it's cool to see Faerghus, the Alliance, and the church all team up.

So it looks like we're fighting Caspar and Bergliez again. It's so much easier on me to kill the Empire characters lol.

It's so funny that all the Empire characters know something is weird with Edelgard, but are like "I'm still fighting anyways."

Is there any explanation of what happened to her? Or is this just a cope out so the war keeps going without making her into a flat-out evil.

Bergliez tells Caspar to run away. He's not though. And honestly, I don't want him. Not Hopes!Caspar at least. Brgliez keeps trying though, which guess he gets some dad points? Maybe? I like him more than Holst.

He compares what they're doing to captains that go down with their ship. So needless death. Ship captains have no choice, but they do and they keep fighting. Poor taste.

They're heading for the monastery. Shocking. I know. /s

I love how in the other routes, I protect Aegir. In this one, I'm sure I'll get to kill him. Feels good.

They talk strategy.

I honestly appreciate that this games goes a bit more into strategy. It's not super detailed, but more than Fire Emblem usually does lol.

Arval is like, ok, it's my turn. The suggestion is to just strike everyone all at once.

She's like, we've got the stronger army, let's act like it. I like that kind of thinking.

Felix calls Shez a boar lol. Says we have too boars in this army.

SIDE BATTLES/MAP

Shez tried to sympathize with Linhardt about possibly fighting Caspar and he's like "it doesn't really bother me" lol.

Felix admires Berlgeiz however the fuck you spell his name because he finds the sense of duty to the Empire despite it being a giant fuck up right now admirable. Coming from Felix, that's hysterical. I wish Shez had the option to tease Felix about it lol.

A scholar just said Dimitri appreciates their input (calculating how much food and raw materials is needed etc) unlike many other leaders. Happy to see more Dimitri praise in this game.

Petra once knocked Duke Aegir on his ass for insulting her father. I wonder if you get to learn this amazing piece of Petra lore in other routes or if this is an AG exclusive badassery.

Ok, so some random church NPC talked about how killing Edelgard would end the Emperor bloodline because there's rumors all her siblings are dead. Her backstory is really so weird. How would people not know about a bunch of dead princes and princesses?

Yuri is religious? He says he has a habit of praying before a big event, something he does because his mother did. I like it when characters add something unexpected to them that the usual stereotype of that character doesn't usually have.

If Hubert came up with "those who slither in the dark" as a nickname, how come everyone uses it? Even people who wouldn't know Hubert at all like Flayn?

Lorenz was just talking up how smart Claude is and all I can think is that GW!Claude isn't smart enough to find his way out of a wet paper bag.

I just got all of Shez's Blue Lions supports unlocked. Now I need to still get Flayn, Seteth, Catherine, Jeralt, and Byleth. I'm not sure I have enough time. But I'm going to try.

Duke Aegir is Thales' puppet. So TWSITD is ruling the Empire.

Edelgard just mindlessly listens to Aegir and Thales.

This lady turned on the Empire big time. Dimitri says he's still throwing her into a cell, lol.

Dimitri believes what she said though. He brings up the evidence he discovered while investigating in White Clouds. And also uses the Tomas situation as more evidence.

Dimitri now knows that his father, the knights, and the citizens of Duscur would all be alive without those mages.

He says they have the right to seek justice in the way they see fit. I love it. Not apologizing for defending themselves, but owning taking the initiative against TWSITD.

And there's a lot of people in the Blue Lions who has a personal beef with TWSITD.

I can finally give Dimitri the merc whistle! He also had a second set of dialogue on the map this chapter. It was about some Empire general we captured.

SHEZ & FELIX A

This one starts on a battlefield instead of training. Still very Felix.

And they're complimenting each other. Felix is complimenting someone. But it's their swordfighting so . . .

Shez is beginning to understanding Felix, saying he assigns a role to himself and carries it out. Which, she's not wrong.

Felix credits Rodrigue for his skill, lol. He also just complimented Rodrigue. Good for Felix.

His style is passed down in Fraldarius for generations. Because they're so tight. Man, the Dimitri/Felix yaoi writes itself.

Shez calls him indispensable to Dimitri and everyone. Felix is the lance and shield. Shez is the projectile like an arrow or stone.

She tells him to be more direct with compliments, Felix gets annoyed, but then says Shez is important to the army too.

Felix says Shez can't stay focused in battle - like she has someone talking to her in her head. More proof on how perceptive Felix is.

Also kudos to Byleth for Felix never noticing the same, which, imo, is perfectly in character for Byleth and Shez.

Shez is actually happy to know that Felix knows her so well that she spotted it. Since she gets sappy, Felix goes tsundere is like "I'm never complimenting you again!" Congrats, Shez, it means you're one of his people now if he's that emotionally fickle with you lamo.

This support was mostly just Shez and Felix gushing over how good the other is at fighting and how important they are to the group as a whole. I loved it. AG!Shez must be so much happier and more grounded than poor SB!Shez.

SHEZ & DIMITRI A

Dimitri is on break, but also depressed. Shez is concerned. Of course, it's because Dimitri can't relax. Other people are working, so he feels bad that he's not.

Shez asks why Dimitri is so insistent on it. Dimitri says it's the only way he knows how to be. That his life has never belonged to him because of his birthright.

Aaaaand of course the tragedy comes up, saying that makes him feel responsible too. So it's rooted partly in trauma :(

I can disagree or sympathize with him. Not sure which. I think I'm going to disagree, that it's not all his responsibility.

Ohh, Shez says he needs to trust people who wants to help.

Dimitri wants to ease the pain of the dead and living. That he'll have to make sacrifices to reach that goal, but doesn't want anyone else to suffer because of his goals. So he must carry the burden alone.

Shez is like, what about you're suffering and pain. That he can't care for others if he doesn't care for himself first.

Dimitri's like, I don't know how to respond to that - but like earnestly doesn't know. He doesn't know how to take care of his own pain nor what happiness would look like for him.

(God, this support is just making me love AM even more in retrospect, knowing that Dimitri gets to learn all of this, an my God wouldn't it be awesome if there was some kind of AG/AM blend that included this support somewhere in the middle)

Shez is like, how can you not know that? Asks what makes him smile? Like defeating a rival or a banquet.

Dimitri doesn't think he has the right to such happiness.

Good, God, Dimitri. He says he can only think of his death and leaving happy citizens and a peaceful kingdom behind.

Lord, nobody knows how much I love this. Like, not for Dimitri, boy needs therapy asap, and I want him to just be happy.

But, as a avid anime/manga and fantasy fan, do you know how many snot-nosed spoiled chosen ones and royalty and nobles I've come across who bitch and moan endlessly about their privileges lives because it comes with responsibilities and how they want to be a commoner with NO FUCKING IDEA what it's like to work day in and day out for someone who doesn't really care about you and will just replace you if convenient but your entire livelihood is dependent on spending most of your able-bodies life slaving away for them? Not to mention - back then - it would likely be some backbreaking work with shitty working conditions and no modern medicine or workers rights? It's so infuriating. Sometime they have a point, like pressure or whatever, but the older I get, the less I sympathize with their whining.

But Dimitri is like the exact opposite. He can't even be an individual away from his role at a leader because he's thrown too much of himself into it with no complaining at all. It's just so refreshing to see something the exact opposite of how this usually plays out, and is so much more interesting to explore than the same old for the xnth time.

Shez is like, you're dismal sometimes, she's not wrong. And is like why is death what makes me happy. Dimitri sounds like he doesn't even get that it sounded dismal while saying it.

She's like, what about partying with friends! Dimitri's like, wasted on me. But he says seeing his friends smile does make him happy.

Shez is annoyed with him lol. And is like, k, I'll just have to work twice as hard.

"You're going to take a break. And by the goddess, you're going to like it." I actually laughed. God, I love Shez.

She's like, you need to leave the office, bud. Dimitri says no words can express his gratitude.

I love their friendship so much. Like, I honestly don't think I ship it? I think they're just really tight friends, which Dimitri is such a shipping magnet, it's nice to see something as just pure friendship.

This is by far my favorite lord/Shez dynamic. Though, I think I ship Shez most with Byleth and I haven't even seen their supports yet.

ASHE & RAPHAEL C

Raphael is eating a lot. Shocking.

Raphael opened an inn??? And he's the cook. But he never gets compliments on his cooking, which makes him think his food tastes bad. He confesses that he doesn't know how to cook.

Ashe volunteers to teach Raphael how to cook.

Ashe thinks one of the best feelings in the world is when someone likes the food you cook.

Ashe test tries Raphael's food, which is just a pile of meat lol. Raphael doesn't understand why people would want anything else.

He describes Raphael's food like bacon wrapped around a salt lick lamo.

Unlike the Empire which won't eat their veggies like a bunch of spoiled brats, Ashe is promoting healthy veggie eating and understands food is best when you match complimentary flavors, including veggies, those Empire heathens.

Poor Raphael gets confused. Ashe talks about seasoning, and Raphael thinks like spring, summer, etc . . . and not like garlic.

Ashe is determined to help though.

Fairly wholesome support.

ASHE & INGRID B

They only got 1 support :(

Ingrid's troubled. Ashe notices. But she denies it.

Ashe encourages Ingrid to talk to him.

Ingrid's amazed by how fertile the lands are. And it's Faerghus lands. It's because of lack of snow and lots of fields.

Both Ashe and Ingrid notice things like the wheat fields.

Ingrid basically lives on rocks. So, hard to grow food.

Ashe thinks the effort will pay off later, even if Ingrid doesn't live long enough to see the results.

Ashe was quoting King Loog. Ingrid notices, lol. They start geeking out a bit. I love Ashe and Ingrid geeking out.

Dagda apparently also has soil issues. They have a crop they can grow despite that, but can't remember the name, but thinks Shamir might know. So Ingrid has hope she can learn it.

Ashe says he's just helping her as a friend, not a knight.

He can relate to being hungry because he grew up poor.

INGRID & ANNETTE B

Annette is trying to convince herself to grab something and run. Ingrid accidentally scares her. It's dark outside, so Annette's likely afraid of ghosts or something lol.

Of course, Annette wants a book she left in the mess hall. A woman after my own heart, braving fear because of love of a book.

Ingrid was heading there too. Annette's like this is destiny.

It's so dark even Ingrid gets spooked, but not as much as Annette. Who runs into a pile of crates lol.

Ingrid asks Annette if she's afraid of the dark. And poor Annette is, but really wishes she wasn't.

Ingrid, though, isn't afraid of the dark or ghosts. Annette is fascinated how Ingrid isn't afraid of ghosts.

Ingrid's brothers used to tell her those stories, but Ingrid thinks it's proof ghosts isn't real because you'd run into them more.

Ingrid actually wishes ghosts were real, because then she'd be able to talk to the dead still. But accepts that the dead are dead.

Annette circles that back to living while you're still alive.

Annette decides to walk back by herself to conquer her fears.

Ingrid is impressed with Annette's attitude.

INGRID & DEDUE A

This is a support I'm very curious about. It's their only one, but it's A. Plus, this game has handled Ingrid and Duscur much better.

Dedue has "brought substance" - it's just a cream puff lol.

Ingrid is happy with the timing. She's writing reports on their last fight in the Duscur region. And thinks it'll be a while until things stabilize.

Both Ingrid and Dedue agree that the Kingdom and Duscur have good and bad people. Ingrid gets upset over the innocent people getting lumped into the bad ones.

Dedue says he used to hate Faerghus, but meeting the nice people like Dimitri and others has made him expand his views.

People used to throw stones at Dedue - and Dimitri too :(

Ingrid says she would've remained gnorant about Duscur if she'd never meant Dedue.

Dedue says he finds Ingrid's willingness to change admirable. Ingrid admits she has a long way to go still.

She invites Dedue to go get a snack together and suggests an inn that Dimitri suggested with good food, owned by someone from Duscur. Pretty sure that was mentioned in her support with him.

Dedue is just pissed that Dimitri went wandering around town with only just Ingrid, seeing it as reckless, lamo.

I love all the Blue Lions, man.

YURI & SETETH A

Yuri fell for a trap. Because it was his "second worst" brush with death, Seteth is curious about the first. It was the plague that wrecked Faerghus (and killed Dimitri's mother). Yuri survived without a doctor's help.

An old man saved him. They found some old man on the road, took him in, and then later he saved Yuri. But is dead by now.

Seteth seems to know who it is.

There's a legend that one of the Ten Elites got sick and got healthy after getting a crest from a Saint.

So Seteth thinks Yuri got his rare crest from the actual saint? Or close descendant of.

So that explains why Yuri's hinted at living longer than average, and has a super rare crest.

Seteth is happy to learn one of his old friends may have found peace in his final moments because he got to save a child's life.

I don't know if his House's supports tells you about this lore, but it's cool to learn it here.

It's also nice to see Yuri talk to someone without picking a fight. He was so chill, almost friendly to Seteth rather than sounding a bit like a fanfic edgelord initially (like, I like Yuri, but some of him reeks of baby's first fanfic OC).

SHEZ & FLAYN A

Flayn's upset with Seteth, who told her no about something.

Man, Seteth and Flayn's relationship would be creepy as fuck if they were really siblings. Like, Seteth is extremely controlling of Flayn, and often it looks like the typical icky "my woman must remain pure!!!" Like, not only do they treat the women in their family like possessions, not people, but seem especially interested in owning their genitals and sexuality. It's so extremely weird and gross, and why I pretty much can't stand Holst anymore (he seemed alright at first, but some supports are so ick).

But learning that their father-daughter helps (it's still gross, but less weird because at least he's a legit authority figure in her life and not her . . . brother), but knowing it's actually because TWSITD want to torture Flayn to death, that his people got genocided and turned into super weapons, and that she healed so many people she nearly died too (which would leave him with no family) makes it not offputting. It's actually a pretty smart way of using tropes that seems set up to make us dislike him (over controlling father) and then a big "ohhhhh" once you learn the WHY isn't the typical creepy "my girl is not a whore!" obsession wayyyyy too many men have.

OK, back to the support now.

Seteth is trying to block Flayn from going out entirely. Poor Flayn. But with TWSITD on the move, it does make sense.

Shez is very concerned with Flayn. I love how empathetic Shez is while still being realistically distant enough to be a merc and pretty straight forward. I actually REALLY like Shez. Esp F!Shez.

Flayn is going to listen to Seteth because she doesn't want to make it hard on him.

After the war, they plan on going out together again.

Flayn is grateful it's F!Shez and not M!Shez bc a woman is less sus to Seteth than a man. I wonder how the M!Shez one goes.

Haha, Shez can offer to help Flayn sneak out, or talk her out of it. I totally offered to help her sneak out lol.

MAIN BATTLE

Do we ever learn what happened to Edelgard? Or did she get yeeted from the plot?

She's missing this battle. Aegir lost her. What an idiot. He looks so funny in that armor. I'm glad in this route at least, I get to kick his ass, not save his ass (unlike the other 2 routes).

I do not understand the hype around Caspar's dad. He folds like a twig when I fight him.

Killed Aegis. Such a tragedy. /s

OMG. I beat that chapter in like 4 minutes. Dimitri is so overleveled and stupidly strong. He just kills so fast. It's hilarious and fun. But I also miss S rank because I didn't kill enough. He kills too fast.

They still can't find Edelgard.

It'll be weird if we don't get a monastery chapter.

Byleth insists on looking for Edelgard more because he feels she's nearby.

Byleth and Shez look for Edelgard together. Which makes me hope we get dialogue between them.

Unless this is the start of the special chapter? Ok switching to the next post now.

xxxx

[edns]

for the writing game 21!!!! (chosen very randomly and has nothing to do with any of my ocs btw......)

Also i hope you're doing ok, have a nice day <33

Hiii! So sorry this took a second, I've been very tired and busy and to be fair I wasn't sure how to incorporate the prompt or make a writing idea out of it that wasn't just. Net zero information. I guess it kind of still is... again, not my best work, but I am doing these requests to get more comfy with posting my less polished and perfected writing so here goes! P.S. Thank you for asking how I've been! Not at my best right now but I believe I'll be okay :') P.P.S. Cyrus's view on the Church of Seir0s do not reflect my opinions about any of this it's just what he thinks. As a character

21. amber

The cathedral of the Garreg Mach monastery was bathed in sunlight as the dawn was breaking. A lonely figure sat up on the bench, his white hair making him look like he was glowing. Cyrus found his own snow-white hair more annoying than he did beautiful or endearing.

As his mind woke itself up, a sense of urgency crept up on him. Right… Before he gave in to the sleep deprivation, Cyrus remembered watching Dimitri stand by the destroyed statue of the Goddess. Cyrus had seen him do this so many times, and, even after talking to Dimitri as much as he did, he never understood what the prince hoped to accomplish with praying to the Goddess. Both of them were nothing but toys in her wicked game, after all. Or that was how Cyrus saw it.

Looking up at the spot where Dimitri should’ve been, he saw nobody. Cyrus raised an eyebrow — where could he have gone off to? Dimitri barely left this spot before. Cyrus had to wonder if the man was safe now, as he remembered his tendencies to get himself in danger.

“Cyrus.” A familiar deep voice made Cyrus turn his head and finally look away from the statue ruins, before his thoughts could consume him. The familiar sound of armor clanking with each footstep gave Dimitri away.

“Your Highness?” Cyrus’s voice was still hoarse with sleepiness.

“You mustn’t sleep here. It is cold,” Dimitri said in a harsh, strict voice, his eye yet again set on the ruins of the statue. However, Cyrus could spot something in his hand — it was shining with a yellow glimmer, and was familiar to Cyrus for some reason. That made him look down on his cravat that always had been pinned by a shiny amber jewel… Only to find it gone.

“It seems you’ve lost this.” Looking away, Dimitri extended his hand to give the jewel to Cyrus; indeed, it was his amber jewel that used to be attached to the pin.

“Thank you.” Cyrus took it with hesitation.

In response, Dimitri groaned and looked away. “Think nothing of it.”

“Where were you during the night?” Cyrus insisted on talking to Dimitri, who appeared to be vexed, but actually wasn’t.

“While you were asleep, I noticed that you lost this,” Dimitri said, his voice somber. “So I went looking for it.”

Cyrus’s bright eyes widened, the curls of his hair bouncing slightly as he tilted his head, confused. He wanted to ask why, but didn’t want to sound ungrateful. Still, Dimitri picked up on it:

“Maybe you would leave me alone if I did something like this,” he said, his brow furrowed. “There, I did something kind to you. Will you leave me be?”

Heaving a sigh, Cyrus smiled as he looked down on the jewel. It had a dried blood stain on it. He shook his head slowly, and Dimitri’s eye widened with surprise.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that, Your Highness.”

[another-clive-blog]

I know that I already sent an ask earlier but I haven't decided on a request then. I have an request of a fanfic being about Clive and co hanging out at the bookstore. Like maybe Clive and Luke are looking at some puzzle books together as a way to see who could solve the most.

Thank you so much !! That's such a great idea too !!! The siblings ever ;^;

Alright so this one is longer than usual ! It starts with light-hearted fun, then gets a bit angsty, and then a bit fluffy at the very end. Featuring Clive, Luke and Flora having a puzzle competition and talking a bit about emotions !! (Yes Clive does try. He's less mean here than I usually write him ahah)

It takes place at the library in Chinatown. Layton, Clive, Flora and Luke take a break there before heading to the towering pagoda =)

"This has been nice, but we should go back to our investigation now," Big Luke said politely, although these distractions were starting to be quite the bother. Could you blame him ? All of them were wasting precious time with people and activities that didn't matter, unlike his plan- which was exactly why they should focus on the investigation and quit running around in that stupid library.

"Stop being such a partypooper," Little Luke pouted, "you're giving me a bad name."

Big Luke almost choked. A partypooper ? Him ?? "I beg your pardon ?"

"Well, you're me." Little Luke explained, as if this was somehow the concept Big Luke was failing to grasp.

"That's not-"

"Which means," Little Luke added with a smile, "that I know you love libraries. Because I do ! And the professor said that we could stay here for a few more minutes, so we should take a look and have fun !"

Of course the professor had said so. He was probably busy borrowing hundreds of books he would never be able to return.

Apparently, Little Luke had decided to be annoying today. "Well, that's what I'm gonna do anyway. If you want to stop looking so miserable, you can always join me." He didn't wait for an answer, quickly leaving with a wide grin.

"Wh- miserable ?!" Big Luke- scratch that, Clive was offended. He was not miserable : he was just... standing right outside the store. With his arms crossed. And a frown on his face.

Because they were all annoying !! Not because he was a partypooper. And he would prove it to that brat ! "Alright, you asked for it. Hey Little Luke, I have a fun idea !"

Luke's face brightened with joy when he saw his future self join him among the rows of books. "Yeah ? What is it !"

Oh, Clive would absolutely wipe that excited smile off his face. "Let's see if we can find a book about puzzles. Maybe we could have a competition !"

Luke was practically jumping up and down now. "I'll look in this pile of books !!" He said before immediately diving in.

Wow, the kid was... really into puzzles, uh ? And here Clive thought that he was following the professor around solely for the title of apprentice : maybe there was more to it than a kid trying to feel important.

It- eh, it didn't matter. He was absolutely going to beat the brat at his own game.

Big Luke started looking among the books right in front of him. He didn't know any of these books- he didn't even know if there was a book about puzzles here. He had only supervised the city's construction : he had asked for a library, not what was inside. Who had decided on that ? Dimitri ? The books were mostly about science, so Dimitri probably had-

"What are you looking for ?"

Big Luke almost screamed, but he didn't. He was a twenty three-year-old man, a criminal, a gentleman, and most importantly- he was in a library. "Can't you keep your voice down and behave a little ?!"

Flora giggled. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was just too tempting, but you're right. I shouldn't have surprised you like that."

Clive took a deep breath and pushed away the seven first replies that came to mind. "No, it's quite alright. I'm sorry too. What was your question ?" Big Luke asked with a barely strained smile. Why were they all testing his patience today ? They -purposefully ?- made it incredibly hard to keep up the act.

"It's fine !" Flora smiled. "I was wondering what you were doing. Little Luke seemed very excited, and he only ever acts like this when the professor gives him an especially difficult puzzle."

He... did ? "Uh. We were- we were looking for a book about puzzles. To have a puzzle competition." Big Luke stammered like an idiot. Very uncharacteristic, she was definitely about to call out his bluff now.

"Really ?! Can I join you two ?" Flora's voice was maybe a bit loud, but Clive decided to let it go.

Big Luke smiled serenely. "Sure, why not ! But we have to find that book first."

Flora enthusiastically nodded, a delighted smile on her lips. "I'll go look this way !!" And with that, she left a confused Big Luke behind.

Alright, that was... weird. Either these kids loved puzzles to a concerning amount, or... or what ?

Maybe this was a trap. They were trying to get him to slip up, reveal too much by acting so weird around him. Maybe they were glad he gave them a way to figure out if he really was Luke, because there was no way these kids weren't going to beat him- they were basically fed puzzles since birth. He was going to get absolutely destroyed.

Well, it was too late to back down now. All he could do was try his best at the puzzles and not act suspicious : and if this whole thing turned sour, he could always escape and get to the mecha first. He knew this town better than they did, knew all of its secrets.

Alright, alright, get it together. It didn't have to come to that. Maybe they wouldn't find the book before the break was over. Maybe there wasn't even a book to start with-

"I found it !" Luke yelled from the other side of the story and quickly apologized when gently hushed by Layton, busy reading a huge encyclopedia.

Oh, great.

-_-_-_-

"Yes ! Another win for me !!" Flora celebrated, and Luke shot her a nasty look, trying his hardest not to pout. With this victory, Flora and Little Luke were back to a tie.

And Big Luke was one puzzle behind.

It wasn't catastrophic. His opponents had far more experience and the greatest mentor anyone could have asked for, while Clive had none of that. He was doing pretty well, given the context.

But he needed to do better.

"Alright, that was well played," Little Luke finally smiled. Flora's joy was contagious, and he was having fun anyway. This puzzle competition was a great idea !

"Thank you," Flora said before turning to Big Luke with a grin. "Your turn !! Here is your puzzle, Big Luke..."

Clive frowned, staring at the page. It wasn't an easy one- of course it wasn't. They had deliberately chosen the hardest section of the book, these little brats. 'So that we get a bit of a challenge,' according to them.

Clive was already dealing with far too many challenges- for example, him pretending to be Big Luke. That one was going just great. What were they going to think, if he couldn't solve that puzzle ?

Because he couldn't, despite how much he tried. None of his attempts worked, none of the hints helped. He was going to fail. What should he do now ? Maybe-

Little Luke and Flora shared a concerned glance, before Luke suddenly closed the book.

Big Luke startled, looking at him in confusion. "I wasn't done," he pointed out.

Little Luke didn't say anything, only avoiding his gaze, so Flora did. "You're not having fun," she simply explained.

"What ?" Oh, he was done for. Luke loved puzzles, Luke wouldn't stop a puzzle competition because he wasn't having fun. "Of course I am. I-"

Flora held her hands up, interrupting him. "It's fine ! With Luke, we thought that... erm..."

"You're really struggling," Luke finished. "...It's because of the Professor of the future, isn't it ? You don't like puzzles anymore."

Clive just stared.

"It's hard not to notice differences between you and Little Luke," Flora gently explained. "But you seem... less enthusiastic. About puzzles. And... us, too. So we thought..." She got quieter and quieter, before she stopped speaking entirely.

Something finally clicked in Clive's mind. "Oh no- no no no ! It's not- I'm not- It's okay."

"Is it ?" Little Luke asked in a small voice. "You don't look okay."

"Things have been-"

"Are you okay ?"

Clive fell silent. Why were they asking him that ? They truly believed he was Big Luke, which meant that he didn't matter to them. The narrative here was that they were trying to keep this future from worsening and then they would go back to their own time. Big Luke was supposed to disappear, one way or another.

Maybe... maybe that's what scared them. The idea that things would disappear, that change was unavoidable- that familiar and pleasant things would become a source of pain. It was- it was a lot for a child, Clive realized.

He remembered things being a lot as a child.

"You will be," Clive gently told him.

"You didn't answer," Flora pointed out. Now that he really looked for it, Clive noticed that she sounded quite unhappy too.

They really were worried and scared.

Clive didn't know how to handle this. He wasn't really big on emotions and feelings or whatever, and why would he be ? It's not like stupid Dimitri and him would talk about their lives around a nice cup of tea.

But he couldn't just brush them off. "Listen," he sighed, "I don't know. Things are a bit crazy right now, so it's hard to say. We'll know in a few hours, I guess."

The kids still looked sad, but nodded nonetheless. Great, so his job was done. "How are you two doing ?" Clive asked, for some reason, although he had decided he was done.

Probably to make his whole Big Luke lie more believable.

"I'm... a bit scared," Flora admitted. "Well, not scared- I know the professor will fix everything. But things here are still... concerning. And sad."

Clive nodded before staring at Little Luke : the latter kept his head down. "I'm not scared. We're going to fix everything here."

Well, that sure sounded familiar.

He was supposed to answer, wasn't he ? What would someone who wasn't him say ? "It's... okay to be scared. It's a lot to deal with, and no one expects you to fix it all on your own," Clive said. Constance... used to tell him that. Why was he only remembering these words now ? "But whatever happens, you'll be okay. My life kinda sucks, but yours don't have to. Change the things you can change, learn from people's mistakes, talk to others, I don't know. Just don't let it end that way." Well, that part was not Constance's.

Flora laughed. "You're still very bad at comforting people."

"Hey !"

Clive smiled. "Some things never change."

"I'm very good at comforting people !" Little Luke protested. "I can prove it ! Bring me someone who's feeling bad !!"

"I'm good," Flora said, and she sounded genuinely happier.

"Well, Big Luke ?" Little Luke stared at him. "You did say that your life... uh..."

Clive scoffed. "I'm not asking a 13 years old for advice."

"You're just scared I'll be better than you, again," Little Luke smirked.

Clive crossed his arms, mocking his friend. "No, I'm not. And you know what ? Let's redo this puzzle competition. I'm going to beat you this time."

Flora hesitated. "Are you sure ? The professor-"

"The professor is busy," Clive replied. "What, are you two scared of losing ? That's pathetic, truly-"

Little Luke was already opening the book, looking for a new puzzle. "Alright, but you asked for it. If the professor wants to ground someone, I'm not the one who started this thing." He seemed even more excited than the first time.

"This is so much fun !!" Flora clapped her hands, waiting for the first puzzle.

Surprisingly, Clive found himself agreeing with her.

[theeeveetamer]

Mitri Appreciation (Birthday Edition)!

Strap in everyone, we're talking about Three Hopes!

One of my favorite things about Three Hopes is how it brings Dimitri’s care and consideration for the people of Duscur to the forefront of his character. This was something that got really overlooked in Three Houses, mostly because the entire Duscur storyline got really overlooked in the writing of Three Houses, but I think it was always intended to be part of Dimitri's overall character

Now, there's the obvious stuff he does for the people of Duscur in Hopes, like actively working to return the land to the Duscur people, punishing the people responsible for the tragedy, and improving relations between the people of Faerghus and the people of Duscur. That's not all I'm going to talk about here, though, because there's a lot more and some of it is much more subtle

Throughout Azure Gleam, we can also see Duscur NPCs around the camp, and slowly over the course of the game the Faerghus and Duscur characters grow to trust each other more and more. This is at least in part due to Dimitri's concentrated efforts to try and repair the relationship between Faerghus and Duscur. For a more direct example of Dimitri doing this, Dimitri also has a conversation with Ingrid to try and clear up her misunderstandings and encourage her to get more comfortable around their Duscur allies.

At no point does Dimitri deem the people of Duscur as not trustworthy, not worthy of respect, or not integral to the army. To my memory, there is never any conversation about whether or not they deserve to be there, and he carefully considers how best to integrate Faerghus and Duscur soldiers to minimize complications.

Also, Dimitri never treats Faerghus's relationship with Duscur as though they should be anything but equals. Let's be clear here: Dimitri realistically does have all of the power over them. Were he to renege on his promises to them, there's realistically nothing they could do to stop him. Faerghus is bigger, stronger, and it would actually be much easier for him to tell Duscur to get bent, considering half the civil war problem he's facing happens because he and his father before him tried having good relations with an independent Duscur. He could use that to exert pressure on them at any time (e.g. demand more troops, more supplies, get them to make concessions in negotiations, etc.), but he never even entertains the idea of using it. He never views their relationship as transactional (i.e. "help me win my war and maybe I'll give you independence"). He never views Duscur reparations as something he is magnanimously bestowing upon them. He genuinely believes that a great injustice has been done and it needs to be set right. There is no threat that they won't get their land back if they don't fight for Faerghus in the war, for example. They fight on the side of Faerghus because they genuinely believe in Dimitri and they genuinely believe he will deliver on his promises. It just demonstrates Dimitri's integrity and his respect for the people of Duscur.

Another point to demonstrate his respect; he's also extremely respectful of their language and culture. Dimitri and Dedue's B support and Dedue's C support with Petra both reveal that he is fluent in the language, at least fluent enough to be able to draft letters to their leadership without any assistance from Dedue. Which I have to assume would be "very fluent". Additionally, when he communicates with the members of Duscur's leadership he does so in their native tongue, rather than expecting them to speak his native tongue. He became fluent in an entire second language, rather than arrogantly expect them to learn his language.

Not only that, he dedicated a lot of time to ensuring Dedue could become fluent in the language of Fodlan as well! Petra notes that Dedue is almost indistinguishable from a native speaker, and Dedue credits that to Dimitri. Not only did Dimitri teach him the language, he was always there with Dedue to correct him, help him be understood by those around him, and presumably shut up anyone who would mock him for speaking strangely. And Dimitri did not balk at the idea of learning Dedue's language, or treat Dedue as if it was expected of him to learn the language of Fodlan for them to be able to communicate. Dimitri quite literally did everything in his power to make Dedue feel welcome, including learning Dedue's language to ensure they could communicate properly.

And you know, this isn't exactly assumed behavior in this universe. This is in stark contrast to Petra's treatment at the hands of the imperial nobility and royalty. She was literally left to fend for herself entirely, and mocked mercilessly when she even tried. As far as I'm aware, there is no Fodlan character who fluently speaks her native tongue, nor are there any who are interested in trying to learn.

I think all of this paints a really clear picture of the kind of character Dimitri is supposed to be. He is someone who acknowledges injustice and tries to set it right on the terms of the people who have been wronged. He is someone who will go out of his way to ensure people feel comfortable and safe. Honestly, I'd play an entire spinoff that's just Dimitri trying to navigate restoring Duscur without some pesky continental war threatening to conquer Faerghus the whole time. Who knows, they might even finally let us have snow in that game!

[jmars-fanart]

2024 Exciting Update in Everything

It’s been a month! omg… When you start to be in a flow in doing everything, time flies and you wouldn’t even notice. I was like in a time machine again.

I remember it was the golden week, and when I was back to work, there were tons of task waiting to be done. And then my arm hurt and I didn’t know why. Luckily I had gotten my current work all done, so I decided to take some rest for my arm while I was to improve my productivity system and update everything for my art pages.

And it’s a month that has passed. I feel better with my arm now! And with the improved system, I feel like I can start to get more things done!

I've updated my Kofi goal and revamped my commission board and page! Prices unchanged and there will be a supporter discount and discount offer for Pokémon SV characters requests this summer! No new types added yet, but I’m exploring chibi style, sketch collage, and character design—

Especially character design, it’s the comms type I’ve always wanted to do! Just like concept designs I did for my original characters! I think I will open this type someday after I've posted and shared some art of my original characters! Stay tuned if you like my style for the concept designs or are interested in this comms type! I’ll make a pinned blog about my comms and things later!

Speaking of OCs, I’m planning more original content on my art pages, sharing what I’ve drawn for them and making new pieces about them. I’ve been talking about it but now I feel it’s time. Really excited and can’t wait for you to meet them! I didn’t really draw them all so this will go with some concept design process update, it must be fun to share!

Also, I decide to open a new blog for my original work! Actually, that was what I was doing with this blog at the beginning, though it ends up becoming a fanart-focused blog now. I will make this blog remain fanart-focused, sharing mine and rebloging others', and my fanfics will also be shared here.

Then I have to mention my King Mettaton story. I haven't given it up despite translation challenges and everything. I’m starting to think maybe I should share the fic even if it’s still untranslated. The translation softwares can help readers nowadays. After all, if I don't start sharing the story, no one will ever read and know the story. I finally got over my perfectionism I guess… I’ll urge myself that translating at least one sentence a day and call it still a progress, so someday I will eventually complete the fanfic translation. I will stick with the plan that sharing the story on Tumblr. But maybe also on Ao3? I’ve heard that is the site where most people share their fanfics, perhaps I could open an account there for my KMTT story and other fanfics too.

Lastly, I’m launching my Patreon! Some supportors suggested it, and I think it’s a good timing to make another fresh start for my artist journey, after I’ve made this far. Updates on Patreon will sync with Kofi, so you can support me on your preferred platform. I'm exploring more content and offer too!

Life gets busy, but connecting with you all and sharing art bring me joy! I just can’t imagine a life without all of these, so even though I’d be busy sometimes, I will always manage to come back no matter what happened! I’ll keep up the pace and be more active on here!

Stay tuned and thank you all for your support! 💖✨ As always, I'll give a shoutout to people who have financially supported me ☕️ You have my eternal gratitude for being part of my journey!

🌻 BridgeWowDah

🌻 Shell

🌻 Quinlynn Hayner

🌻 kazzyrus

🌻 v

🌻 Sophtopus

🌻 Ko‑fi Supporter

🌻 Timothy

🌻 MagicPenguin

🌻 Michelle

🌻 Dimitri

🌻 Amber "Blackjack" B.

If any other new ideas for the plan for my pages, I will keep updating this post!

[lidensword]

About that ask game post you reblogged a while ago (if you want to, no pressure though !) :

💼 - Jean Héras Lebol (post-WWI)

🎹 - Piotr and Vasily

🎯 - Clément

🥊 - J'en ai ras-le-bol... Oups, I mean Jean Héras Lebol :>

❤️ - Sergeï and Andrey

✂️ - Étienne

🍀 - Natasha and Dimitri

🧠 - Nikolaï

💀 - Clément and Vasily

🍩 - Nikolaï (I want to know !👀)

Also, I'm not asking the 💎question because I know far too well you do it at nearly any time you can...

Why did you have to ask all that?? 😅

Anyway, thanks for asking! I'll try to answer the best I can (although I don't have an answer for all of them)

💼 - What does [Jean] do for a living?

I still have no idea :')

🎹 - Do [Vasily and Pyotr] have any hobbies?

(I'm considering modern times)

Pyotr: He loves reading and he writes poems under pseudonyms. Vasily: He enjoys horse riding.

🎯 - What does [Clément] do best?

Talk. (he's a very good and pleasant company)

🥊 - What does [Jean] love to do? What does he hate to do?

He loves to take care of his nephews and their friends (he pretends he doesn't, but he truly loves it) as well as gardening or having a well-deserved nap in the tranquility of a summer afternoon. He hates to please people by being fake. He prefers to be frank even if it hurts someone.

❤️ - What is one of [Sergei and Andrey] best memories?

(I'm considering as Streltsy, back to the 16th century)

Sergei: The night he met the Streltsy (whom he then joined) and saw in them a new family. Andrey: the good time he spent with his younger sister (Natasha) in his grandparents' modest house.

✂️ - What is one of [Étienne] worst memories?

(I'm considering as a soldier of the Grande Armée)

During the retreat from Moscow, watching Clément slowly fade away as the cold freezes his body and the gangrene devours him.

🍀 - What originally inspired [Natasha and Dimitri]?

Natasha: In a way, Andrey. And maybe Merida (from Brave)?? Dimitri: For the physical look, it was Nicholas II. For the personality, I put a bit of myself :]

🧠 - What do you like most about [Nikolai]?

His loyalty, his sense of justice, his elegant and serious posture and his intimidating gaze.

💀 - Do [Clément and Vasily] have any phobias?

Clément: He's afraid of the dark. Vasily: Nop

🍩 -Who is [Nikolai] arch-nemesis or rival?

He doesn't really have one (for now??)

What? Me?? Killing my characters? 😇

[oneforthemunny]

So you know that tiktok trend of the fake voice-mail of Dimitri..

Well, what if you really got a voicemail like that. How would our Eddie's react to hearing it?

oooohhhh god.

ok well I'll go ahead and start with the obvious.

mafia!eddie just listens very calm, but you can tell he's furious. "who sent you this? gimme that. I'm gonna have gareth run this call. I'll take care of it."

older!dilf!eddie would be so fucking confused. "who the fuck is calling you and saying this?" even after you told him it was a joke, he'd insist on picking you up and dropping you off at work, scanning and looking for anyone who was talking to you.

rockstar!eddie goes nuclear. tries to call the guy back, doesn't believe when you say its a joke, it ready to kill the guy. god help either one of you if you meet someone named dimitri.

janitor!eddie is more upset for you that someone did this. he's like "who is this guy? where did you meet him at? has he bothered you? maybe we should go to hopper."

modern!eddie is furious. he's a little insecure that this guy is messaging you but also the fact that his lil mean girl showed up to him like someone's bothering her and she didn't take care of it??? he's gonna ride out for her.

bouncer!eddie also goes nuclear but in a he's taking his time at the bar checking every single id, even people who don't need it to read their names. even if you told him it was a joke, if someone has the name dimitri, he's throwing them on the pavement.

cowboy!eddie... I don't think you'd get very far with it because he's got kinda a bad temper at times and he's about to go insane so you show him it's a joke. he's glad honestly because he would probably lasso a rope around his neck and pull him behind his horse lol.

[frustrated-writer-skyeknight]

A Tale of Chiefs (The Lion King AU)

First of, they are not lions. Someday, I may write a re-do of my friend's old fic A Viking's Pride. At first, I wanted to write an ending for her work but I can never find the muse enough to do it. Maybe I'll figure it out by doing this. For this story, I may or may not do it. If not, then this is here for anyone who wants to use it too.

An Awkward Scion (The Lion King!AU)

Stoick is the proud chief of Berk, recently made a father to what their people would consider a hiccup. Regardless, he had fate that his son would grow to a fine chief someday. A few years later, his son grew and the people still think it's a little less then evident that he would be expected to become as fine a chief that Stoick currently was. Still, Stoick and Valka knew the time would come that their son would grow into the role. A hidden foe intends to stir up trouble. However, it may just be what would be necessary for the young man to grow into his destined role.

Drago wants to become the ultimate chieftain. To do that, he intends to wipe out all the scions of each island; Hiccup, Jack, Rapunzel, and Merida.

The Rebellious Scion (Simba's Pride!AU)

Years after Hiccup was made chief of Berk, he becomes the proud father to a young boy. Jim's part Viking and another part mageborn, everyone expects him to be the most powerful chief to be yet. Jim thinks it would be much more fun to become a normal person, without any obligation to take care of a whole village. Meanwhile, Dimitri is an orphan and bought as a slave warrior. He works for Viggo and Ryker, later becoming the key to a plan to take down all the chiefs of Berk, Crescentia, Corona, and Dun Broch.

Except nobody expected a chance encounter of two youngsters to interfere with the plan.

An Awkward Scion characters

Stoick - Mufasa Valka - Serabi Hiccup - Simba Jack - Nala Nightlight - as himself Timon and Pumba - Gobber and Aster Zazu - North Pitch - Rafiki Scar - Drago

The Rebellious Scion characters

Hiccup - Simba Jack - Nala Jim - Kiara Kovu - Dimitri Vitani - Viggo Nuka - Ryker Zeera - Rasputin

AU Lore

Berk is only one of the important islands. The others are Crescentia, the island of Mageborns. Corona island, ruled by chief Frederic and lady Arianna. Dunbroch island, ruled by chief Fergus and lady Elinor.

Drago, similar to Httyd 2, tries getting all the chief to turn to him and acknowledge him to become a supreme chieftain. Of course, they refused. For a while, he was never seen again after an attempt to kill them all.

The four islands were once at war with each other. But when dragons arrived, they worked together to fend them off.

Dialogue ideas

Stoick: Look at the people, Hiccup. They are yours; someday, you will become a fine chief worthy of leading them. Hiccup: But... All of them? They all look... Much strongew and bravew than me. 'm just... Tiny. Valka: Of course you are, you're but a babe, love. *hugs him tightly* Hiccup, giggling: But Snotlout's 'bout my age... But he's already bigger than me. Valka: Maybe, but you know, there's more to strength than by just how big you are. Hiccup: Huh? Stoick: Don't worry about it now, son. When you're ready... You'll understand.

Jack: So how do we ditch the big guy? Hiccup: I'm thinkin'... You could distract him, then I'll go on ahead and wait for you there. Jack: Wha... How? Hiccup: I don't know, you come up with a plan for that yourself. Jack: C'mon Hic, you can think of a plan better than that...

Gobber: One day you two are going to be married! Jack: Uh, ew... Hiccup: Gross! I can't marry him; he's my friend, and a guy! Jack: What he said. Aster: Sorry to burst it to ya, but it's been arranged. Aster: Besides Jack, that isn't an issue with our kind. With mageborns being as scarce a race as we are, even guys adapted to copulate and produce offsprings. Jack: A what? Gobber, nudging the man: Uh, too early for that talk, don't ya think? Aster: You're the one who brought up bloody marriage. Hiccup: THERE'S BLOOD IN MARRIAGE?! Jack: That's it, I'm never getting married.

Nightlight: You have to go Jack. Jack: No! I'm not leaving you. Nightlight: If Crescentia and our neighboring islands are to have a future, you must. Nightlight: And I still have some magic in me, so don't you count your brother out just yet. Jack: Please... Don't ask me to leave you, I can help! Nightlight: You can. But it's not by staying, you need to find Hiccup. Jack: Hiccup?! But... He's been dead for years! Nightlight: It seems like not everything is what it appeared...

Hiccup: Wait, no Jack! Stop, stop! Jack: What?! How do you know my name?! Hiccup: How do I... Oh, sorry. Mask. *takes of his mask* It's me, Hiccup! Jack, widening his eyes: Stars above, Hiccup! *rushes towards him* Hiccup: *opening his arms and getting ready for a hug* Jack: *punches him at the shoulder* Hiccup: OW! Jack: Serves you right, have you any idea how I felt when I thought you died?! *hugs Hiccup tightly* Gods, I missed you. Hiccup: *hugging Jack back* Next time, maybe just go for the hug? Jack: What happened to you? Hiccup: It's... A long story. Jack, narrowing his eyes and pinching Hiccup by the ear: Hiccup: Again, ow, ow, ow! Jack: Uh, yeah, I've been grieving for years. It's a long story? I fucking deserve to hear it then.

A growl is then heard, making Jack jerk away and he sees a dragon charging towards him. He screams, and pulls his staff out

Hiccup: No, no, no! *charges at Jack and makes him drop the staff before blocking Toothless' way* It's okay! He's a friend. Jack, staring at them incredulously: Holy moon... Hiccup: You just scared him. Jack: I scared... Wait, him? Hiccup: Uh... Long story? Jack: Ohhh, you are definitely telling me this story.

Jim: What if I don't wanna be chief of Berk? Jack: Does that mean you want to fight your cousin and try to become the chief of Crescentia? Jim: NO! Don't wanna be chief at all! Hiccup: Well, what do you want then? Jim: I dunno... Anything else! Maybe... Fly to the moon! Hiccup: Well, Berk has dragons now. You can do that! Jack: Way to miss the metaphor, Hic.

Jim: Aster! I'm bored! Aster: Okay, I can show you how to throw a boomerang again. Jim: Nah... Let's go exploring! Aster: What did you dad and papa tell you? Jim: Not to leave home. Aster: So, what makes you think I'm going to let you? Jim: Because you once told papa he's not the boss of you anymore. Aster: Aster: I didn't mean it that way, and you know it. Jim: So... You were lying? Aster: Jim: Dad says it's bad to lie.

Dimitri: What the hell are you doing? Jim: Watching my back, duh! Dad told me never to leave it open to an enemy! Dimitri: And I betcha always listen to what daddy says. Jim: Don't you? Dimitri: Don't have any. So, I get to do whatever I want when I want to. Jim, beaming: Really?! Cool! Dimitri, caught off guard with the smile: Huh?

Rasputin: And at the final battle, we take no one alive. They're all to be killed. Ryker: Can we keep the mate of Berk's chief though? Rasputin: What? Ryker: I think he's pretty. Viggo, face palming: Odin's beard, Ryker... They need to be killed to be re-summoned for the undead army. Ryker: But he won't look pretty anymore as an undead. Rasputin: Rasputin: I'm surrounded by idiots...

Jim: Hey, uh, thanks for saving me earlier. Dimitri: Well, anyone can make mistakes. Jim: I'm sorry? Dimitri: I mean, was probably pointless doing so. I saved you, I'm still at the stocks. Talk about gratitude, right? And you're probably going to get in trouble again, which means saving you would be for nothing since I see that you haven't learned how to pick your fights more carefully. Jim: Hey, like I said, I had everything under control. Dimitri: Didn't look like it. You should really work on your hunting skills. Jim: Oh, and I suppose you're such an expert you could show me how it's done? Dimitri: Definitely. It's a date then. Jim: Wait, what? Dimitri: What? Do you or don't you want to become a better fighter? Jim: Uh, I want to... Fight better? Dimitri: All right then, just name the time and place, puppy. Jim: I'm not a pup! I'm a mighty mageborn Viking! Dimitri: Pup it is then.

[randomnameless]

Same anon who sent the ask about the western church and the holy sites in the kingdom.

If I recall correctly the holy sites are under the central churchs control and the noble who controls the territory that the holy sites are located in wants to be on good terms with the central church... so I'm going to assume Rhea Seteth and co shouldn't have much issues going there whenever they want.

That said I think there were complaints from others (not central church?) who found the noble controlling this territory annoying because anyone who wants to visit this holy site would probably need to pay a toll or something just to get there. This is all from memory though !

Ok so totally different topic but in regards to your other post I think the reason why Wilhelm took so long to unify Fodlan was because he and Seiros had to actually put in the work to unify Fodlan and create a national identity.

Edelgard has it waaay easier because she's not doing this from scratch like they did. She's merely building on top of the foundation Willy and Rhea already built.

Ooh!

I'll need to wait for PK to add the rest of the Nopes's script lol!

But yeah, even if the world and Nopes in general is against Nabateans, at least the Kingdom is constant (save for Zahras) as a neutral/allied state, aka they're not dicks to Nabateans and the Central Church for no reason like Adrestia and Nopes!Leicester. But if the noble in charge of those territories change and is, imagine, Lonato, it'd create more difficulties...

I know tolls and taxes don't make for a compelling game, but this tidbit about the local noble collecting tolls to go to those sites for pilgrims could be a point of discordance between the Kingdom and the Central Church - nowhere do we learn (iirc?) that Garreg Mach's entry needs a fee, so I don't think the Central Church wants people to pay tolls to access to their holy sites, maybe it'd annoy them to see a noble, in their mind, abusing the situation to make money out of something that's supposed to be free ? And the Noble could say he needs that money as some sort of "rent" the Church has to give him because their sites are in his territory, or pretend those tolls are used for maintenance or safeguarding the sites, idk....

As for the Willy conquest...

IDK if they built a real identity or something, given how later around Adrestia fodders northerners to beasts but yeah, maybe they wanted to make sure the newly conquered lands became "part of Adrestia" before moving forward - as opposed to Supreme Leader walking in Leicester, removing Clout, appointing Leopold "I never use my brain!" von Bergliez as the "governor" of that place and moving up north.

We know Supreme Leader's real armor is her plot armor, but somehow we're supposed to believe while "Uncle made her" execute Dimitri, no one from Leicester moved up to get rid of Leopold and march on Enbarr from the Alliance?

TBH I wouldn't say Supreme Leader is building on what Willy did, since Leicester and Faerghus since the WoH became independant states and built, I suppose, their own culture and national identity, but she's supposedly using this to fold them all back into Adrestia, and everyone is happy and sings kumbaya.

OTOH, I think post SS!Billy is in the same shoes, there's no one so they'll unify Fodlan, but contrary to the WoH, Billy isn't supposed to wage war to unify the continent - Supreme Leader already did that - and it's more of a "by default" thing (at least the game sells it like this, but I've already talked about the game's unification boner and how it sucks).

[glassautomaton]

Top 5 favorite story tropes? :]

I'm sorry I've spent so long sitting on this ask, but I really had to think about this one. Spoilers for Xenoblade below because this is me we're talking about. Also, I'm sorry if the specific examples I bring up somehow ruin your opinion of me, but I wouldn't mention anything I don't recommend.

This is the big one. I love characters that are outwardly stoic to the point of being inhuman. Maybe they buried their emotions deep down, maybe they convinced themselves they never had them in the first place, maybe they never truly did. Oh man. I love seeing them start to really feel, and rationalize it away, only for it to get harder day by day. Maybe they accept it in a quiet moment, accepting the kindness of another for the first time, or maybe it's an explosive culmination of a life not truly lived. There are so many ways to take it, and there are tropes within this trope, but whenever I see a character who's so stoic and unemotive as to be described as a life-sized doll, to whom insults and complements fall off like water against steel, I rub my greasy little hands together. Notable examples off the top of my head include, of course, Violet Evergarden, the titular character in one of two series I own on DVD just because I love it so much. Vivy from Fluorite Eye's Song also goes here, the main character in, you guessed it, the only other series I have on DVD (at great expense I mean come on Funimation it wasn't even a nice box set like Violet Evergarden). Recently, Alice Kuonji has been a character that scratches this itch for me, as I've been reading Mahoyo and just finished Chapter 10. Fuck, man.

Characters who are just so consumed by a task that they start to forget who they are. Bonus points if the task is violent. Always fun to see a character gradually lose the light behind their eyes [citation needed]. Everyone loves to see someone have something ripped away from them and try to fill that void with something that utterly consumes them until there's nothing left of what they were trying to hold onto in the first place. I'll bundle a character coming back from this brink in with this as well, with yet more bonus points if the character gets a warm hand to the cheek, the first kind gesture in years, and some variation of "You must be so tired." The Boar Boy, Dimitri Fire Emblem, is, of course, a fine example, but NieR: Automata is the prime example for me. Having two characters go about this arc in more or less opposite directions to end with "That's all there needs to be for us to kill each other" is just. *Chef's kiss*

This might be a pretty simple, tried-and-true trope, but magic swords of destiny are great when pulled off well. There are a few ways to do this, be it something the hero must go on a great quest for or something that only appears to those deemed worthy in one way or another. Recovering the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom is such a spectacle, on top of the story behind the blade's restoration, that I think it'll be a prime example of this trope done well even if it might be early to tell. Xenoblade also fucking whips when it comes to this trope. I mean, it's in the name. Shulk seizing his destiny to create a world with no gods, and wielding the Ontos Monado? Rex finally taking on the fear Pyra and Mythra carry and helping to shoulder their burden in a way even Addam failed to, and awakening Pneuma? Noah, finally accepting that if the world holds the lives of the people of Aionios back, he must end it, and unlocking the power of the Sword of the End? Peak. The Eclipse Homecoming/everything at the Ascension Grounds is probably going to be the top sequence of at least this console generation for me.

Who doesn't love a good breakdown? More specifically, when a normally put-together character has a breakdown, well-kempt hair falling into their face as they stagger around, cursing the sheer injustice of their situation. We love to see someone throwing their arms around, absolutely shrieking. Granted, these can easily feel forced or hammy if not built up to, but when a well-developed internal conflict finally reaches such an explosive and satisfying climax, or when a character has a beloved thing or unimpeachable ideal ripped away from them, seeing a satisfying blowup can get you excited for what comes next for the character like nothing else. I don't have that many examples off the top of my head, but even though I mentioned Xenoblade 3 already it's worth mentioning the most cucked man in all of fiction. I have a video of him screaming saved on my phone and the dialogue in each scene memorized.

This one is kind of odd, and I'm not even sure if it's really a trope so much as an emotion, but things that leave me just feeling hollow after I finish them are special. I can't really go into things looking for this, but when it hits, it hits like nothing else. Not sad, just empty. Utterly hopeless. Questioning what the point was. I won't give any specifics, but after I beat Signalis, an amazing horror game, I just laid awake in bed until like 4:30 that night. I wasn't even particularly scared, it just left that much of an impact on me. What a special, special game.

I ended up leaving some stuff out as they were too broad and/or overlapped significantly with things I listed. I love stories about androids, but the search for 'humanity,' in whatever form it may take, is a major appeal that's also covered by my first point. Violet Evergarden is basically an android show, as nobody who I've show the show to can tell if Violet is a human for a good four episodes. Alice is pretty different than the other examples I listed, and doesn't quite fit into that trope as cleanly, though the magecraft equivalent to androids, Homunculi like Irisviel von Einzbern, do a better job of displaying their emotions (bisexuality) than Alice. Similarly, I left out redemption/corruption arcs as I sort of touched on those in the second point.

If you have any questions/additions/recommendations about anything, feel free to send them in. This was a great ask, and really fun to type up.

[another-clive-blog]

clive has pica and he eats dirt

SILLY CLIVE AND DIMITRI FIC !!!! CLAP YOUR HANDS IF YOU'RE EXCITED FOR THE CRACK FIC ABOUT MY FAVOURITE PLATONIC COMEDY DUO !!!!

No TW for this one !! It is a crack fic but the humor comes from Clive and Dimitri's personalities clashing, not the dirt eating (it's mostly just mentionned here). Dimitri is just trying SO HARD to understand the situation/context and Clive is NOT helping lol x) Without further ado, the fic !

"Clive. What are you eating ?"

Clive sighed. Leaning back on his chair, he put the dirt back in its box. "Cocoa powder, obviously."

Dimitri narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced, and Clive closed the box nonchalantly, as if this conversation was over- as if Dimitri had not just witnessed his colleague eating dirt.

Clive groaned as Dimitri walked up to the table, and the younger man instinctively held the box closer to his chest.

"Can I have some ?" Dimitri asked in a disinterested tone.

"No, you can't," Clive snapped. "Go buy your own with the money I'm giving you."

"They don't really sell cocoa powder down there," Dimitri pointed out. "Where did you find some anyway ?"

"I built this town, Dimitri. I could create a cocoa shop if I wanted to. I'm going to do that actually. I'll get everyone to work on it so that it'll be done in, what, ten minutes, and in ten minutes you'll leave me alone and go bother someone else."

"Alright," Dimitri calmly nodded, answering this rant with the blankest face in the underground game, "In the meantime, explain to me why you're eating dirt."

Clive pressed the box against his chest : he looked frankly annoyed, groaning at his colleague's perseverance. "I'm not."

"There are leaves in there, Clive."

"It's called aromatic plants. These bring flavour, not that you know anything about good taste."

"The rocks bring flavour too ?"

"Can't you ever let it go ?!" Clive suddenly stood up, making his chair fell to the ground. Dimitri didn't move as Clive smashed the box on the table, spreading its content everywhere. "There ! You're happy now ? Got your little dumb hypothesis proven right, hurray ?!"

Dimitri only stared. "There's dirt on the table."

"There's going to be dirt on your face-"

"Wait," Dimitri sighed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose when dirt landed on his white coat. "Why are you even eating dirt- would you stop that."

Clive threw a fourth handful of dirt before reluctantly stopping. "Leave," he commanded, "I'm not talking to you, you're annoying, we're not sharing secrets like two middle schoolers."

Dimitri wiped the dirt off. Well, this was going to leave a stain. "I'm not a middle schooler, but I do need to know why you would even eat dirt."

"Why ? You don't care about my well-being."

"We're associates. You're paying me to work on this project. You're the one who has control over the clock shop. I would be pretty impacted by your sudden and predictable death."

Clive rolled his eyes, scooping a handful of dirt. "I'm not dying. I've been doing this for years now and I'm fine."

Dimitri narrowed his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," Clive added, eating some more.

This time, Dimitri looked more puzzled than anything. "Isn't this bad for you ? You should be getting sick, right ?"

Clive shrugged. "Well, sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not, you know how it goes. I haven't died yet so it's fine."

Dimitri took a deep breath, trying to wrap his head around whatever had just happened. His associate ate dirt. It sometimes made him sick. He'd been doing it for a long time now.

Well, he couldn't just... keep him from doing it. Even if he tried to, Clive would still find a way to do as he pleased : he was weird and annoying like that, always making his life harder just because he could. It was maybe best to just... let him do his thing. He was... handling it, somehow, and disrupting this inconceivable harmony would just cause more problems for Dimitri.

Problems that Clive would deliberately inflict on him, and these would be far more upsetting than this guy sometimes eating dirt.

"I just need to know," Dimitri insisted, staring at Clive who had quite literally cleaned the whole table. "Why do you do that ?"

That question was an admission of defeat, and they both knew that.

Clive smiled smugly, that same insufferable expression which always caused Dimitri to look away in irritation : he was so so glad and proud of himself that Dimitri almost decided to leave without an answer. He didn't care about it that much, to be honest, and it would spare him this infuriating demonstration of 'I have won' that Clive would most certainly top with some irritating remark.

Before he could turn away, though, Clive opened his mouth. "I don't know. Why do you keep working on this time machine ?"

[colorisbyshe]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Thank you for asking!!!!! Love a chance to talk about myself.

The way I got this ask and like IMMEDIATELY forgot any piece of media I have ever consumed?? If I forgot any of my faves... sorry to them!!

Also, a running theme for most of my faves is that they have overcome being otherized and/or trauma and came out being pettier and more self righteous, lol.

Uchiha Sasuke from Naruto. Pettiest bitch alive and he DESERVES IT! Should be pettier.

Wei Wuxian from MDZS/The Untamed. Went through hell, kinda literally, and did awful things but still chose to do the right thing, every single fucking time.

Fenris from Dragon Age. Watching him emerge from such an awful place and learn to let people in, while remaining sooo rough around the edges, was lovely.

Spock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From both TOS and AOS, less so from Disco/SNW, because he's just so fucking funny and also watching him be so repressed and then be forced out of that repression is fun. I love him. Baby boy.

Joy from EEAAO. Loved watching her anger, loved watching her creativity, and I loved watching her anger make her mother change. I love that she was able to give up the anger because she was finally seen and her hurt was legitimized.

***** ****** from ******* ******** because *runs away*

NGL.... it's still my boy Edward Elric. In many ways, I should let him go. But he was my first rep of atheism in literally the funniest fucking way ("Yeah I've seen God but... nah.") and I still enjoyed his journey, even if I now have major issues with the narrative and apologism and recognize Scar as a far more compelling character than Edward. Sorry to everyone but when I saw Edward at age.... 13, I did not realize what war crime apologism looked like. At least I let go of stanning Mustang. Cause I wanted that man carnally for a long time.

Sook-hee from The Handmaiden. Watching her fuck shit up was cathartic.

I need to finish my watch through (bingewatching two seasons in a week was mentally taxing, tbh) but Flint and Max from Black Sails. Again... love a selfish character who has felt left behind by the world and so they take what they can from the world. They deserve it!

Recency bias I guess but I'm REALLY loving Frieren from... Frieren. Watching her learn to value other people while going around with her lil :3 face is nice.

I feel like this list is leaving a lot of faves out--my lovely Sailor Jupiter who I imprinted on like a baby duck and have carried in my heart ever since, Dimitri Fire Emblem, Qifrey, and probably so many more. The characters that I love just for horny reasons (Yae Miko, Kaveh, Tighnari my beloveds). Characters I love for their potential (Finn, Poe, and Rey from Star Wars)(Also Cassian but I guess I could love him more if I watched Andor but I will not be watching Disney+ shows.) Characters who I love now (Louis, Lestat, Claudia from IWTV the show) but haven't finished their arcs yet, so idk how I'll feel int he future. Etc etc.

I will also say that this list feels a biiiiiit swayed by characters who I have experienced more in fandom. There are characters from one off books, video games, comics that I CONNECT with more, maybe idolized more, but engage with less often because there's no fandom, so they come to mind less immediately. And they've been butchered less by fanon, so I don't project onto them as much. Like they are FULLER vessels, which means they have less room for me to go "Oh, yeah, we are exactly the same. Let me into your brain."

This list is mainly of characters I love to play with like bratz dolls in my brain and is less about like... maybe heavily fucking with them while consuming their media and then being able to let them go when I'm done.

[unxpctedlygreat]

Three parts of a wip I'll probably never finish for dmlx week 💔

Day 7, Another Time and Place, it's time for Golden Deer Felix 💛🦌

(1)

"Ah," Byleth starts when he sees him approaching, "finally decided to join our house?"

Byleth's voice remains flat as ever, but Felix is pretty sure he is joking. He certainly hopes for him that he was.

"I've already told you," Felix still replies, just in case, "I have no intention of leaving the Golden Deer." The professor has the gall to look disappointed at that. Felix tsks. "Don't make that face. You knew my answer before you even asked."

Prince Dimitri, who had been talking to Byleth until Felix interrupted them, chuckles lightly.

"Can you blame the Professor? Your skills and knowledge would be a formidable addition to our class. In all honesty, if I thought I had a chance of convincing you, I would be asking you the same."

The earnestness with which he says it makes Felix's heart treacherously skip a beat.

(2)

Felix doesn't usually join in the celebrations after the missions. It never feels right when he's just here as an aid and not part of the class. Today more than ever, he feels a pang of loneliness. The Golden Deer would also be all over each other, and Claude and Hilda would be forcing him to join regardless of how he felt about it.

"You should be there, as well," Dimitri eventually replies.

"I don't belong there," Felix says, deciding to be honest for once. He expects the prince to tell him he does, to maybe reiterate that he'd love for Felix to join their class; it just sounds like the sort of thing he could say.

Instead, the prince surprises him.

"I feel the same." A bittersweet smile. It turns a little more genuine when he asks, "Maybe we could comfort each other? As people who don't belong."

Felix feels his cheeks burning. What kind of nonsense is Dimitri spouting?

(3)

Sylvain comes to find him when he's training with Claude and Hilda. Though 'training' is a generous way to put it, when Claude is trying his best to not have to fight, and Hilda watches from the sidelines.

"Your brother's nuts," Sylvain says in lieu of greeting. He's sporting a wide grin, but Felix can see it's not entirely genuine. It often isn't, to be honest.

Without missing a beat, he, Claude and Hilda answer in one voice, "Yeah."

It seems to take Sylvain by surprise, making him blink at them for a moment. He lets out a laugh.

"Huh. So that's common knowledge, then?"

"What did he do now?" Felix asks. Glenn's foolishness is rather well-known across the Alliance.

Sylvain takes a purposefully laid-back stance. Felix narrows his eyes, expecting the worst.

"He's taking Miklan under his wing."

[throwaway-yandere]

(Nutjob anon)

Everyone simping after Tighnari or Haitham, and then there's me, going feral because FELIXFELIXFELIXFELIX MY BELOVED FELIX SNFJEJJEVGRRRRRR this chapter's insults were endorsed by Felix. Not a lot of boars, but the vibe was there so it's a win for me! I would nominate him as possible next underboss... but we both know that that's a bad idea lmao.

And since you are adding 3h characters, ai have a feeling Childe and Sylvain could be good friends! ... Only for them to talk trash behind the other's back ("I swear! His personality is so fake. How come you can stand him?")

And I'll also like to raise you: Linhardt and Tighnari being friends: Green, sassy, doesn't care for titles and only his research? Yes, they'd be very good friends.

I am also getting Lysithea vibes from the capo: wanting to do a lot but little time, and everyone needs to give them a vibe check for that attitude lol I hope Barbara can smack some sense into them, because I can't help but think that capo is also operating under the "there's nothing more terrifying than a man who has nothing left to lose". Yes, they are fighting for their men, but they personally don't care about what might happen to them, so we better watch out that sanity meter, or else the capo will turn into the real hazard all along the way.

And dunno Ansy, I know you want to help us with hinting that bringing Cyno is bad, but the one that I don't trust is Haitham lmao Cyno said it himself: don't kill Tighnari. Even if what he did makes his blood boil, at least he is conscious enough to first get the cure. But Haitham is quite prideful, so maybe he'll come with some shit that he is the only one we need and he can always steal what Tighnari have done and finish it. After all, the main point is to cure you, right? Anything else is expendable. And maybe having Cyno there might help him clarify some questions he might have.

I don't like how autorithive Haitham is, with ordering us to leave (even if it was good for us). That means he has no reservations in misleading us if what we are doing doesn't go with his agenda. So with Tighnari, someone who is... somewhat on the same ground as him in terms of research, he might not think as your underboss but as an academic rival when acting.

Anyways, angst hurts me but boy that I will spin that death wheel with gusto 😎

HDIAOAOAK I TRY MY BEST TO MAKE THE FE:TH CHARACTERS SUBTLE HERE (that very much failed with dimitri cause first off I'm a simp and second it's weird if the reader doesn't grieve for at least one chapter lol) SO I CAN'T MAKE FELIX THE UNDERBOSS EVEN IF I WANT TO 😭😭 (i actually added him in cuz I thought of you lolol)

(kazuha was almost the underboss tho but Alhaitham won lol)

I think not a lot of genshin players are major FE:TH fans so I gotta be real sneaky with the characters lol... But that sylvain idea 🤔🤔🤔 considering childe's whole comical side story with lumine rn I could invite mister steal your girl for some dumb sht lol. Lindhart is a rather european name so I could have him as another one of Focalor's people ehe, though he'd probably ask for Tighnari to do his job for him cause he's too lazy–

AND YES LYSITHEA AND CAPO WOULD HAVE BEEN BESTIES 😭😭😭 THEY'D UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND THEY'D PROBABLY FEEL LESS ALONE USIAOWO THESE POOR PEOPLE– the difference between the two of them is that lysithea always feels like she's being looked down on like a kid while the capo feels like they have too many burdens to bear– making these two vent to one another would probably be therapeutic for them ;;----;;;

My two au's right now both have nothing left to lose vibes, although capo!reader has that a lot less than our unhinged hyshum!reader. The only thing holding them back is that some of their men are still alive. They do care, it's just that they don't want to overthink:

These men have families, wives, husbands, children– what would become of them if they recklessly charged for revenge? There's no need to drag these people into nonsensical slaughter. It's your problem Capo, it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. And it's selfish to make them die for you when they have a better reason for living.

Their conscience won't allow it.

These type of thoughts just pull them back. It's all true, of course, their reasoning is sound but it is suffocating. Hence, most of their inner turmoil are repressed.

Oh and don't get me wrong! I respect your choices for bringing Cyno along– I love the chaos. I'm just tryina warn those certain simps that "something bad is about to happen to you and you should definitely question what happens of one of them dies-"

Or you know, I may be misleading everyone because I want a bad ending.

: )

Since when was I known for writing happy endings for my fics? Ehehehehehehehehehhehehehehheheheehehehehhehehehehhe–

And oh my darling nutjob anon...

Both Cyno and Alhaitham want to take credit for your cure. That's one of the many things that made these three idiot's truce work.

Alhaitham is authoritative, no doubt about that, but he respects you a ton. He could've done something stupid like kidnap you or try to remove you from being a Capo– but he'd rather spend some (very limited) time with you as someone you won't forget this time, (N/n).

You can consider Cyno the one with the "hidden agenda" because he's loyal to the church. He considers it his personal blessing that he was the one assigned to monitor you. Cyno is a very lonely person here. He is very prone to making idealized versions of you that fits his imaginations, and fortunately for him the Cardinals acknowledge his devotion to his missionary works.

And then there's our used-to-be-Innamorati-Familia's-informant, Professor Tighnari.

"The main point is to cure you, everything else is expendable." is exactly the dangerous mindset he is on. We'll get to him soon! It's about time he sees his Capo again!

[omgkalyppso]

📓📓📓ooo spill!!!

A fic I will either write in a frenzy or never write is a single parent au for my fe3h ot5.

Lorenz is father to Lorencia and Baldovin (Vinnie), a widower. Hilda is mother to Halvard, divorced from Caspar (exes affectionate). Claude is father to Nader, divorced from Ingrid (exes derogatory). Fae is parent to Geralt, situation [redacted]. Avery is childless.

Here's A Lot of blocked dialogue:

[at the park the faerghus four frequent with their kids. DimiMari, FeLys, Ingrid as Claude’s ex, Sylvain hanging on (eventual Sylgrid), school year soon to start] Claude: Hey. Group: Hey. Dimitri: It's good to see you again. Marianne: Good evening. Lysithea: Hi Claude. Felix: Mm. Sylvain: It's been a while. Claude: [commenting on the # of children in the park] Busy day. Ingrid: They need to enjoy the sun while they can. Claude: Couldn't agree more. Sylvain: Plans for the weekend? Claude: Nothing out of the ordinary, not leaving town. Ingrid: What's that supposed to mean? Claude: Dinner with my parents. Sara and her family are visiting on their way up north. Whale watching. Marianne: Oh, that's lovely, I hope they have a good time. Claude: I'll share the well wishes. FeLys kid: Ned, Ned, look what we found. Felix: What's that? No, hey. This has gotta be cleaned before you can play with this. [action figure in the sand] Claude: Ned? Ingrid: It's a nickname. Some of his friends were having trouble with Nader. Claude: Did you talk to them about it? Ingrid: No, it seemed harmless. Claude: It's not— It's not his name. Blythe: Ned! Claude: Are you calling him that? [other parents disperse, Marianne’s phone rings] Ingrid: Of course not. I wasn't having trouble with my son's name. Claude: It's important. Ingrid: I know it is. What do you want me to do, about it, exactly? Claude: The next time his friends are over, just, bring it up. Ingrid: Alright. Claude: [hopeful] Yeah? Ingrid: Yeah, okay. Claude: Thank you. Ingrid: [hopeful] You're not going to leave yet are you? Claude: No, I— I won't interrupt. Ingrid: Good. Just a few more minutes. Claude: Yeah.

[in claude’s car] Claude: Did you have a good day, champ? Nader: Yeah, [description of day's events]. What about you Baba, did you have a nice day? Claude: You know it. Found a solution to a hard problem at work, got to see my friends, and now we're going to have a wonderful evening together, aren't we?

[after a movie on a couch in claude’s apartment] Claude: D'j'you like that? Nader: Mmhm. The [themes or characters a child would like]. Claude: Right. Hey Nader? Nader: Mm? Claude: Did you ask your friends to start calling you Ned? I'm not angry, I'm just curious. Nader: It just happened, and Ned is like, a smart name? So I don't mind being Ned sometimes. Claude: You know, I think Nader's a pretty smart name. Nader: [clearly trying not to laugh] No. Claude: [scoffed, bringing Nader from couch to bed] Yeah, I do. Don't you think grandpa's smart? Nader: Sometimes. Claude: [amused] Oh, sometimes. Maybe. But I wouldn't have called you Nader if I didn't think he was smart, and brave, and honorable. [sincere] You know even if you're not, you're my Nader, and I don't want you to forget that, you know? I love you. Nader: I love you too. Claude: Good. Sweet dreams, Nader. Nader: Night night. Claude: Night night.

[text conversation from Claude’s bed] Avery, much earlier: Hey Claude: Sorry, busy night Avery: Date? Claude: Noooo. I have more class than that Avery: Mmm. Well, it's late, but it's Friday, you hitting me up? Claude: Reminder that you messaged me first, and no, I can't tonight Avery: Alright. Well, when works for you Claude: Tuesday? Avery: Tuesday? I could have a fiance by Tuesday Claude: Ooo. Menage a trois Avery: I'll text Claude: I'll answer Avery: Later Claude: Night

[previous day in a parking lot] Halvard: Dad! Caspar: Heya, buddy! Rawr!!! You got everything? Look at the size of these bags. Halvard: Mhmm. Caspar: There's a good boy. Why don't you say hi to Annie? Hilda: Hi Caspar. Caspar: Hey Hilda. Hilda: He's been looking forward to this. Caspar: Bet you have too? Some time to relax. Hilda: [suppressing tears] No, I'm… I'm just going to miss him. Caspar: [plaintive] It's only for a week— Hilda: I know. Still, you'll have him call me? Caspar: Of course. Hilda: Good. Then have fun. Don't worry about me. Caspar: You'll like it. Find a party, like you used to. Hilda: [annoyed] Cas— Caspar: Or something else. Just try to enjoy it. Hilda: Halvard. Have a good time, okay? Halvard: Yeah! Hilda: Call me if you need me? Halvard: I'm sorry you can't come, Mom. (framed like she doesn't have time) Hilda: That's alright. Maybe next time. [to Annie] Come here and hug me too before you go. Annette: Thank you, Hilda. Hilda: Of course. Travel safely. Good luck with the boys.

[phone conversation from hilda’s parked car] Marianne: Hi Hilda. Hilda: Hi Marianne. You were right, I cried again. Marianne: That's alright. That's normal. That's healthy! Hilda: Thanks, sweetie. Ugh. It's just so hard. Marianne: I know it is. You handle the situation so well, I know Caspar appreciates it, and that Hal will, someday. Hilda: I hope so. Thank you. Marianne: Any time, Hilda. And you called in time to pull me away from Claude's mess. We're all at the park and … well, you know how it is. Hilda: [less tears, more embarrassed] Yeah. Yeah, I do. Marianne: Sorry, I— Hilda: No, it's fine. I— I think I'm going to go though. Say hi to Dimitri and Blythe, and everyone. Marianne: I will. Hilda: All my love. Marianne: Love you too Hilda. Bye. Hilda: Bye.

[sometime during the weekend, at the park near claude’s apartment; nader hangs from monkey bars and geralt hangs from nader’s feet] Fae: Gerry. Gerry, you can't do that. Nader: It's okay. I'm very strong. Fae: I'm sure that's true, and so is Geralt, isn't that right? [lifting their son off the unknown child and down into sand] Which means he could hurt your back or your ankles, or you could fall on his head. So can we take the bars one at a time in the future, please? Geralt: Yes, Renny. Nader: Yeah. Fae: Thank you. What's your name? Nader: Nader. Fae: Oh, Nader, what a lovely name you have. Has Geralt introduced himself? Nader: Yeah, a little. Fae: Alright. I'll leave you alone for a little longer. Come find me if you want juice. Geralt: Thank you, Renny.

Claude: Hey. Fae: Hi. Nader must be yours? Claude: That he is. He behaving himself? Fae: Nothing serious. He and my son Geralt were just risking injury for fun. Claude: Renny, is it? Fae: Oh, no. That's just what my son calls me. I'm Fae. Claude: Claude. [amused] How does he get Renny from Fae. Fae: Oh, well, Ren comes from parent, and then Renny is like Mommy. [embarrassed] Convoluted. Claude: [sincere] It's sweet. Fae: Thank you. I really appreciate how adventurous Nader is. Oftentimes Geralt will play alone, and I expected it to be worse after the move. Claude: Oh, when was that? Fae: A few weeks ago. Claude: That's recent. Fae: Mm. Are you local? Any tips for the neighborhood? Claude: Nader spends week days with his mother, but weekends are spent out here with me. He likes the natural history museum when we have time to go, besides the dinosaur bones, they have these wooden dinosaur structures out front for the kids to climb on. Fae: That sounds cool. Claude: It is. Closer than that there's [restaurant, elaboration]. And there's [ice cream parlor] on [street name], if you like gelato or soft serve. Fae: Gosh, I should write this down. [Claude, by force of habit, produces first a pen and then paper, while Fae was readying the notepad on their phone. He inquires about school board, explains that he gets two weekends and then two weeks (Mon-Fri) with Nader, because he didn’t want to just be a weekend dad, and this way each he and Ingrid get a whole seven days with their son sometimes. He doesn’t know why he’d be so forward about that with someone he just met. Something about the tone of the conversation has Claude suspecting Fae’s also parenting without a second pair of hands] Claude: Is it just the two of you, that moved out this way? Fae: Yeah… Yeah, it's— [weighing the insecurity of telling a man that there’s no one waiting for them at home] Yeah. It's always been just the two of us. Claude: [surprised] Oh. That must be hard. Fae: We manage. Claude: Do we want to leave meeting to chance? Might see us in the park again sometimes, or you could take my number? Fae: [skeptical] Can’t guarantee I’ll call. Claude: I’ll try not to take it personally.

[fae will actually lose claude’s number, or tuck it into a drawer to be rediscovered at a later time; if anything they’ll be getting closer to lorenz first. But when they actually seem to be getting close, fae will lean in for a kiss and lorenz will lean away out of fear and uncertainty (reminder he is a widower in this au), and fae will feel rejected, putting a temporary rift between them]