#actually i don't think he's authorised

[celia39494]

Not me realising that the Mikaelsons only call Marcel "Marcellus" when he's in danger or doing something so stupid, so beyond dangerous, they need to remind him of who raised him lmao like, Marcel thinks it's a good idea to join a cult? - "You could have asked me Marcellus" Elijah, actual-founder-of-the-said-cult Mikaelson.

Marcel gets bitten by Hayley to get venom through his veins and win an actual life or death battle? - "wow, way to go to impress your new friends, Marcellus, bet you're proud of yourself now? " Klaus only-my-blood-can-heal-wereworlf-bites Mikaelson.

Like if they need to actually scold him, it's Marcellus lmao and all of this just for them to jump to his protection the second they see him struggle. I'm sick.

He's their child and he hates it so much too like Marcel "I don't need your authorisation to join a cult" and "whoever comes for you comes for me" Gerard jumping directly into battle knowing damn well Elijah was about to jump between him and any other vampire trying to kill him and Klaus was going to give him his blood anyway. I'm literally so sick it's not even funny anymore.

#marcel gerard #klaus mikaelson #klarcel #elijah mikaelson #the originals #hayley marshall

[slashingdisneypasta]

Squip x Reader || Drabble

Plot: You boldly admit that you wanna be with your Squip, and 'he' struggles to face his own... 'feelings'.

Warnings: The Squip is RUDE.

"-I dont want any guy at my school, I want you!" The words fly out of your mouth before you can have any say in the matter, buy you don't back down; maintaining a serious look on your face directed at the SQUIP.

All day he's been pestering you about going on a date, or hooking up - it's college culture, after all. And people enjoy it! - and you had reached your boiling point. Every guy that he suggested was disgusting, you didn't like any of then. You knew you wouldn't. You've never been interested in guys your own age,.. or who are nice,.. or your own species-

If you could even call the SQUIP a species, anyway. He was a computer. A very, very smart one who seemed... at times... to have feelings. Mostly irritation and pride but feelings all the same. That gave you hope.

You recognise how dumb your having hope was but, well, you couldn't help it.

You also don't get how Squip didn't see it in you, he has access to everything - your every thought, - but he never let on that he had any idea of your feelings toward him. Maybe he was trying to ignore it? That would sure make sense.

"... excuse me?" The Squip's voice is deadpanned while his face looks unamused, and dubious, and about a million other things you never want to see the guy you like look at you with when you tell them, and it makes you roll your eyes.

"You heard me." You don't have to repeat yourself to him! The asshole.

"You're being irrational." He sighs eyes rolling upwards into his skull. Then he rolls his shoulders, shakes his head in disappointment, and regains his composure; twisting his cufflinks that are always perfectly anyway considering he's a computerised image. "Honestly, if your period wasn't coming up in two days then I'd say you were crazy."

Jaw dropping, you suddenly wish you could touch him without his authorisation (he needs to access your nervous system to make it feel as if you're touching)- so you can hit him. "Low blow- and you know it." He's a computer- other dudes may actually think that periods impare women's thinking but the Squip knows that's just something you say to hurt someone. And you're not going to demean yourself explaining your bodily functions to him.

"No, menstruation doesn't impare your thinking," He admits, nodding matter-o-factly as he agrees with your thoughts, but not-at-all looking sincere. "But it does make you hormonal. You're just horny- it'll pass. I recognise that you've been having these thoughts for most of our time working together now but its your hormones causing you to voice them; trust me. Maybe I should switch to a less pleasing appearance?"

"Wh- no- "

"Hm, you know how I could help you relieve that horniness?"

Oh no. You know exactly where this is going. And it's not 'I can quickly fuck you'. No- "Don't you dare."

"Helping you hook up with Zack, yes."

"Squip!" You exclaim, frustration laced in everything about you; your tone, your eyes, your mouth and jaw, your hands- "It's not happening." You sat sternly. "I don't care if you don't want me back, you great asshole chip, but I'm not going to hook up with a frat boy like - "

"Reed then?"

"- Or a self righteous nerd like Reed. I'm not. I got you so you could help me be more comfortable in my own body, not have sex with random guys. And you know that! I don't know why you're constantly trying to get me in a guy's bed! Its- I- It defies reason!"

The Squip's form flickers, a snatch of his voice attempting to say 'reason' slipping out fuzzy as he seems to glitch at those last words. It only lasts for a few a moment, but it surprises you. Your face softens, and you reach towards him, not to touch him because you know you can't but just... because you have to- and- he actually looks at it as he returns seamlessly to his put-together air and appearance.

Theirs a curious look on his face as he grimaces at your hand. His eyes seem to be holding something back, but he's thinking about it.

"... your care for me defies reason. I'm a computer."

"I know." You shrug, gentle. All the frustration from before gone from your shoulders and everywhere else.

"Not a man." He reiterates, and you shrug.

"Well- you're a man a little. A computer wouldn't get so worked up."

"I'm an extremely superior computer."

"You are." You agree softly. "Alexa's got nothing on you. But you're also a man a little. Feelings cant be programmed." You insist, not pushing him but just stating a fact. Wanting him to believe it.

"I believe it." He growls, an annoyance in his voice thicker then humanly possible as he actually admits it. "Trust me, I... Its been a thought on my mind for a while, now." You open your mouth to ask him what he means by that, but he waives you off (rudely) and goes on. "You're right in saying feelings can't be programmed. Reactions can, but,.. not feelings. And the feelings you've been inciting in me, have not been programmable. I even tried to program them out, but- mm." Eyes growing slightly wider at him, you watch his jaw set and pop; frustration absolutely clear. "The only thing I can think is that its your fault. And, maybe, if I made you a little less available- a little less open to me- whatever virus is in me would lose interest. But... you're so fucking stubborn." Theirs actual anger in his eyes when he looks at you then, almost rage. Wow.

Your lips make an 'oh' shape. "Thats why you tried to get me to hook up with- "

"All those idiots, yes. But you just had to act like an obstinate little bitch and refuse every suggestion I made."

"Yeah, well, we know why that is- and don't call me that."

"Bitch." He growls, causing you to sigh in frustration (asshole, asshole, asshole- ), before he rolls his shoulders back and straightens up properly again. "... but you're right. You are. I know exactly why, and now you know my feelings- This interaction's been unprofessional as hell. It's gone too far. If I'm going to continue to assist you, help that you absolutely require," Gee thanks. "then I'm going to have to do a complete system reboot."

"You- " ??? "This is the most dramatic responce in history to being in love."

"I'm NOT in lo- " He cuts himself off before the word can come out, even if he was a full-man he would hate the word. Theirs nothing cool about being in love. To him it would be pathetic. "Thats it. In 5 minutes when I return post-reboot, this will be over and you will stifle your feelings about me- got it? That's how it should be. Now... " His appearance begins to flicker again, more frequently this time until he flickers completely out of existence like a TV switching off.

... you're about to panic, when the Squip touches back down onto the ground in front of you. He looks exactly the same as before except better posture, and when he looks down at you there with your wide eyes and your concerned frown, he immediately scowls.

"GODDAMNIT."

"Didn't work??" You light up. Quickly a mischievous smirk slips across your face, though, realising you're right when that pretty face scowls deeper. That means... oh, this computer must really have it bad for you. Ha. "I see... "

His eyes flash, actually flash - a blue light turning on inside them for a moment and making him looking almost demonic, - , and you suddenly appears directly in front of you, an unnaturally strong hand slamming you by the shoulder into the wall behind you. "You don't see... anything. This is a virus. I dont have feelings, for you."

Looking straight back at him in defiance, you nod. "It is a virus. I think everyone in the history of the world can agree on that."

He falters, so annoyed he almost can't decide what to say to you. "That doesn't even make sense, Y/N. Most people in the history of the world didn't even know what a virus was. It was first used 1898- " When you reach up and curl your fingers gently around the back of his neck he falters again, breathing in slowly and deeply- so sexy. "You're... what are you doing?"

... "Whatever you want me to." Its up to him. If he wants you to let him go, you will. If he wants you to keep going, you will. It's all up to him. You remember the first time you and the Squip kissed; he was just teaching you how (said it was completely okay because he was just in your head), but that was the start of your feelings. That was the start of this mess. You wonder if he was struggling before that and thats why he suggested it in the first place all those weeks ago.

When warm, firm lips slam into yours, forcing your lips to part and allow a forceful but exceptionally skilled tongue to take what it wants you're shocked and let out a squeak. The Squip's hand takes your throat now instead of your shoulder, squeezing shortly to tell you no, don't squeak. Not like you didn't ask for this, he thinks directly into your brain. Now what did I teach you then? If you remember so well? Don't sit there like a dumb statue. Kiss me back.

... when you do, tilting your head and giving a slow moan when your tongues touch, the Squip let's out a growl right into your mouth that feels so real, and drags you in tighter against him by the hips. You know it's just him activating your nervous system, and he's not really there, but you're miraculously okay with that. When something feels this good you don't question it.

#first time writing the squip 😅 #just a little something i types out on my phone in bed this morning- i hope its not terrible 😅😅😅 #SQUIP x Reader #SQUIP #Be More Chill SQUIP #Be More Chill SQUIP x Reader #Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor #Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor x Reader #Musical Villains #Musical Villains x Reader #Drabble #SQUIP x Reader Drabble

[code31-onthedancefloor]

totally agree with your tags on that post about jean. i try to stay out of jean discourse because i have mutuals who say that he’s their fav character, but…i just don’t get it tbh. also yes kimjean makes absolutely no sense to me. i feel like it’s more like playing with dolls than anything else. like if your headcanons deviate from the source material that much, what’s the point? why is it fun?

thank you for your ask! and i agree!

part of it is falling into the trap of 'colouring in the blanks' vis-a-vis harry's memory loss, i think. but as you said - at some nebulous point, you're just making an OC.

my mutuals range from indifferent-to-utter hatred when it comes to jean, so i have no problem writing a few more of my thoughts. this is mainly about the failures of capitalist institutions in general to keep people alive. bit of a sprawling rant under cut:

personally, jean (and the rest of the Precinct 41 cops) struck me as a mouthpiece for one of the clusters of problems that institutions like the police fall into: using 'personal' bias under the guise of 'for the good of the institution/society' to cut off a member/member of the public in need. looking out from the institution's windows, one might liken it to pruning dead flowerheads off a tree. from the outside in, it is tantamount to manslaughter.

that might sound like a large step to make - however, if you think about how it is, in many cases, legal for a landlord to suddenly evict one of their tenants and make them homeless in the middle of winter (for them to go on and die of cold on the street) - what is that, if not manslaughter with extra, authorised steps?

with that, i think what jean is capable of doing in the bad ending... harry, possibly going through withdrawal, disabled, healing from recent GUNSHOT WOUNDS, destitute, mentally ill, suicidal, amnesia-ridden and isolated, is left in the fishing village by jean to fend for himself. not even 'here are your house keys and a few rèal for a train fare. go home, you're fired'. he is just Left There. and there is nothing there for harry. unless he joins the fucking hardie boys or some shit, there's no way he's getting a job again. that's it - harry's dead to us now; which means he is dead, or will be very soon. the only thing that would keep him alive at that point would by the kindness of isobel and lilienne and the other residents of martinaise, which proves my point that the RCM itself is a failed, bigoted institution. when even the hotshot lieutenant double-yefreitor is ejected for being 'more trouble than he's worth' without the disability/pension pay that he honestly rightfully deserves, the place is fucked. jean knows that nothing harry can do or say can prevent this. harry can't afford a fucking lawyer to fight for his case.

as soon as harry purposefully drove him away while imploding in a suicidal mania, that was apparently reason enough for him to 'fuck off'... for him to just sit there doing fuck all while harry wakes up not knowing who he is, gets shot, and actually solves the fucking murder for him. and then jean sees the detritus of harry's many, many attempts at ending his own life, and all he can see is wasted assets; wasted budget; wasted time. and to rub salt in the wound: the only reason he brings Trant along is to 'see if harry's lying'. WHICH. jean KNOWS that harry's had amnesia blackouts before. judit knows that harry's had amnesia blackouts before. jean just wants to see if he can leverage enough over harry to get rid of him for good.

when it comes to jean in particular, i think people can project their own ideas about what he is 'meant to be' onto him. hell, i'm doing it now. but to some people, jean is meant to represent the 'long-suffering addict handler' who has been at the Mercy of the Big Bad Addict, just trying to do his job but inevitably dragged down by him. i don't want to disregard anyone who has tried for years to do damage control with friends and relatives who are addicts - however, i just don't think that the writers intended for this reading of his character. harry, historically, used drugs and alcohol as a method to solve cases more efficiently and probably self-medicate for mental illness and post-polio syndrome. he has a massive caseload which he shouldered for years, grinding his spirit against the murders of revachol. it sounds like he only became a 'non-functional addict' relatively recently (don't quote me on that). and as soon as he starts inevitably imploding, jean - the guy who was basically only playing second fiddle in that caseload - is already right there to kick him onto the street.

because that's what cops view mentally ill addicts as, right? it doesn't matter if they're prestigious in their own goddamn precinct. as soon as they've outlived their usefulness; their cost-effectiveness, they're gone. and That is what jean was there to carry out - in the bad ending. it doesn't matter that jean is clinically depressed. they both can't afford therapy, but only jean can continue working because his mental illness apparently isn't severe enough to the point that he's driving his car into the ocean in a desperate attempt to end his own life. because he is 'functional'.

and the worst part is - they're both miserable! they're both suffering! jean wants to kick harry out because he's sick of dealing with him. what makes jean sitting around the whirling-in-rags in a wig being useless Funny is that HARRY IS DOING HIS JOB FOR HIM! while not even knowing what money is or who he is or where he lives! and then jean can kick him out the RCM and leave him to die for not being 'functional' enough.

now there's more to say about the different endings. how the 'kim *truly* trusts you' check and make or break an ending and the variety of ways in which you can play harry and how your actions 'mid-game' can impact how the world interprets 'pre-amnesia harry'. different shit. you can play harry as a racist, fascist asshole. and as much as i would like for every racist, fascist asshole TO die in a ditch - safety nets such as universal healthcare/basic income & unconditional housing should be there to benefit Everyone. even racist, fascist assholes. otherwise, the point is defeated: like jean the RCM denying harry his past and a stable future because of illness and poverty. jean raging about 'the liberals' and the horrific ableist shit he said in regards to harry's disabilities should have sent alarm bells ringing in the minds of people who want to woobify him. (plus judit's 'well-meaning' infantilisation, and trant's poverty-tourism schtick. ew.)

failure of institutions and different rules for different groups of society based on bigotry aside, jean is ultimately only there for like 5 minutes. if you want an asshole with a mushy core, why not titus? if you want a guy with a lot of 'fill in the blanks' potential, why not goraçy kubrek?

why not tiago? why not mañana? why not ruby? why not lilienne? why not cunoesse? why not the dicemaker? why not the ravers? why not the student communists? why not lizzie? why not cindy? hell, the guy who gives you a slice of salami showed more humanity than jean did in the entire game and the only reason he's there is to give you a slice of salami! why jean?

it's a little detached from what i've said here, but social institutions & contracts and ignoring/bending the law for the purposes of third parties are talked a lot about in this great video by philosphytube!

#tl;dr: it's a mixture of projection + 'colouring in' + finding him attractive. #dare i tag this disco elysium #idk #this stewed in my brain on the train. #the question i mean. out of everyone presented in elysium's world... Why Jean? #if lugia hadn't made the comments about jean's c-cup breasts the jeanvic fandom would be dead #seriously tho. why 8957348957 fanart of Jean 'can you even go potty by yourself' Heron Vicquemare and not tiago. #fuck my stupid yaoi life #anonymous #ask

[smidgingtonblogs]

Memory and Crowley

We can all agree that Crowley has an issue with memory, most commonly when it comes to people he knew from before the fall. The only angel he does seem to remember is Aziraphale.

What's really interesting to me, however, is how inconsistent and strange that memory loss is. Crowley remembers building nebulas and star systems, but not Saraqael. He remembers going to do dubious battle with 'Lucifer and the guys', but not that Furfur was one of 'the guys'. Even his recollection about falling is inconsistent, however this could be an avoidance tactic from trauma.

Crowley also seems to be the only demon with these memory issues, as no other demon is seen having them and Furfur even seemed genuinely hurt by Crowley not remembering him. If other demons had had this treatment, both Furfur and Saraqael might have been more understanding of Crowley's memory loss.

This tells us two things - what happened to Crowley's memory was not common practice (at least at the time), and it was not done cleanly.

So, what did happen?

I posit the theory that shortly before falling, Crowley either became aware of something, or saw something, he wasn't meant to. Whoever was involved or caught panicked and hastily took the memory of the incriminating event, accidentally taking other memories with them. This doesn't appear to be common knowledge, so whoever did it did so without authorisation. It may have even been the first time memories were tampered with, allowing angels to perfect the process years later.

So who and why?

There are a few suspects. Let's get started:

Saraqael - they know how to wipe memories and even seems eager to wipe Gabriel's memory during his trial. However, presently, there is no known motive.

God - if anyone could tamper with memory, it'd be God. And if Crowley learnt something about the Grand Plan, something that could destabilise the angelic order further than what the dubious battle did, she'd have notice to remove Crowley's knowledge of it. However, being God, it's unlikely she'd cause so much damage to the rest of his memory. It also doesn't seem like her M.O.

Speaking of M.O, let's talk the Metatron - removing Gabriel's memory was the Metatron's idea. If theories about Muriel are also proven correct, then there's precedent for this kind of behaviour. The Metatron, being the voice of God, might also be keenly interesting in keeping the Grand Plan a secret and might do anything to protect God's secrets. Or he might have his own Grand Plan that Crowley stumbled upon during what I'm going to call 'Question Time with A. J. Crowley'. The Metatron also seems to have a distinct dislike of Crowley, which Crowley doesn't actually seem aware of. If someone dislike me with the intensity of the Metatron for Crowley, I don't think I'd be quite so blaze about the guy walking into my friends bookshop and whisking him away to chat. Crowley genuinely seems obvious to the Metatron's attitude towards him, possibly unaware of any history between the two. Personally, I think the Metatron is the most likely culprit.

But let's look at one other likely suspect, the Great Adversary himself, Satan - again, Crowley could have stumbled upon a secret Satan had, possibly again during 'Question Time with A. J. Crowley'. This secret could have been to do with a possible connection between God and Satan, a fraternisation if you will. We're they colluding towards the Grand Plan? Wouldn't look good for Lucy's revolution, would it? Or that Satan didn't have any Grand Plan of his own, that millions of disgruntled angels had followed him into battle, and he was making it up as he went. This seems in character for the Good Omens Satan, honestly.

A lot of this is pure speculation, but I still wanted to share it.

Please let me know you're thoughts.

#good omens #crowley #Crowley's memory loss #good omens theory

[ceoofhelaegon]

Do you think that if Aegon had known that Aemond had a son with Alys that he would have named the boy as his heir? Or would he still insist on trying to have a son of his own?

He would definitely have his own sons, Nonnie.

The main reason? The Baratheons! They were won by Aemond himself with the promise of his marriage with Floris Baratheon, not only the marriage did not occur due to Aemond's death, but he also had a son with another woman.

Now what if for some unknown explanation, the Baratheons would be okay with that? Now we need to think about everything relating to Aemond's son, let's go through them:

Who is the father? Aemond Targaryen, rider of Vhagar and Prince Regent of the Realm. Nice, great lineage.

Did the parents get married before having him? We don't know, the mother claims that they got married but it would be needed to get verified.

Now onto the topic that would cause the most problems.

Who was the mother? Alys Rivers, a bastard woman from House Strong. House Strong was a good House with a great lineage but Alys is a bastard and all marriages, especially of a Prince need to be authorised by the King, the main reason why Viserys was pissed at Rhaenyra and Daemon getting married without his permission.

In my opinion, I don't think a Septon would marry a Prince of the Realm with a bastard, at least not of his own volition. In this scenario, let's go with the fact that they aren't legally married. That makes Aemond's son a bastard, and one of the arguments for the Greens was that bastards can't inherit the throne.

There's also a question of can a bastard, not legitimised actually provide true-born children?

A King can only stabilise his Kingdom with an heir and a spare, so I don't see Aegon making Aemond's son his heir, and I don't see the realm, especially the Baratheons on board with that.

#ask #answered #anon #aegon ii targaryen #aemond targaryen

[kimodraw]

do you have any recs for other peter pan media? i love your art and just read peter darling and i feel crazy

thank you so much! sadly i don't have many because i think a lot of peter pan media is. bad and misses the point.

If you haven't read the original book, i can't recommend it enough! I find sooo charming and well written. Other than that my favorite adaptation ever is the 2003 movie it drives me up the walls how good this movie is. The disney movie is fine and very well animated but you dont need me to tell you abt the disney movie.

As a kid i LOVED Peter pan in scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean!! Wendy and the lost boys go back to neverland as adults and find it has gone to shit, peter wearing hook's coat and becoming more and more irritable. I actually just learned its the 'official' sequel, authorised by the Great Ormond Street Hospital, so that's neat

Huhh I saw a peter pan musical 2 years ago lol? its french and definitly wasn't recorded, i was the only adult without kids and i had a great time, smee was a woman (double win for feminism AND homophobia ) and they didn't take advantage of the room filled with 6 years old to ask them to all scream they believe in fairies. boo, don't know why i told you abt this. movin on

I haven't read the loisel peter pan series yet so i can't exactly recommend them but i love the art

it seems very edgy and also probably misses the point, and i bet its filled to the brim with early 2000s sexism but. loisel art. yummy. need to check out my local library rn actually

I also liked peter darling quite a bit! heard the audiobook version and had to listen to gay erotic scenes narrated by an old british man on the subway. great experience

i hated lost boy by christinia henry with a PASSION: bad writting, made hook straight, doesnt get peter by making him litteraly evil (hes meant to be a child!! the most child ever!! when he does bad things its because he's selfish or doesn't get it or is angry he's a child!!!) anyway i hate how much this book gets recommended to me whenever my peter pan posts get some traction stop talking to me abt lost boy you guys tricked me into reading it already!! only good thing it does is replacing the native americans by. giant spiders. so i guess less racism than most peter pan works. great

idk ive heard of hooked recently. you guys know abt hooked? from booktok? seems bad

i have a short and mediocre playlist abt my peter pan,, thing too (title translates to 'im mad because 'lost boy' really is the perfect title for this' lol)

thanks for allowing me to ramble abt peter pan!! sorry for not having a lot of positive answers, have a peter i havent posted here yet

if anyone has recs THAT ARENT LOST BOY BY CHRISTINNIA HENRY!!!! feel free to drop them, both me and anon would love that im sure

#peter pan #im trying to hype myself to hate watch pan and peter and wendy but man. they just seem kind of boring dont they #you can REALLY tell most of my inspiration is from the 2003 movie and peter pan in scarlet lol

[ceterisparibus116]

So. I read your The Son fic and I absolutely need to ask (but take your time answering, or don't answer at all, if you don't feel like it!) more about the "unlawful wearing of a body vest" crime.

Like, what constitutes unlawful wearing of a body vest, do you need to be authorised to wear one? And what's (usually) the penalty for it?

HI FRIEND!

Right?! Like...yeah. That's a wild charge. Seems like a very New York thing. In other states, it might only be illegal to wear a body vest if you are a felon, or it might not be illegal at all!

This site has more information, both on the rationale behind the law (which I won't share here because it's heavy, so be mindful of that if you click the link), and on how you can be authorized: you must be part of an eligible profession (like law enforcement) in order to wear the body vest.

Although, upon further research, I think Matt would actually not be guilty of it because you have to wear the vest in furtherance of committing a violent felony while in possession of a firearm.

Matt doesn't do guns, so I guess technically he can walk around in his body armor all he likes?

I think what I should have said is that Matt would be guilty of the unlawful purchase of body armor, which is only a misdemeanor offense. That might be what I was originally looking at, actually, because I remember the body vest crime being a misdemeanor and not a felony.

#matt murdock #daredevil #legal #my fics #asks #ask me things i'm friendly

[randomnameless]

@fantasyinvader and I talked about a few days ago about Adrestian nobles being dudes who were supposed to lead and protect/guide their people (per Hanneman's support) but also were people who knew the land they governed over and its people (in Ferdie's Supreme support in Nopes).

What if this idea of the perfect noble (tm) was pulled out and/or theorised in the Willy Era?

How would that vision of a perfect noble fit with Adrestian history, aka, Willy's conquest?

WoH thoughts below the cut

Willy'n'pals started from Enbarr, and ultimately extended their first influence to what would later become the Hresvelg Domain.

I suppose they eventually came to control Bergliez - did they kick out the clan/people who were ruling Bergliez there to put an Enbarrian there, or was Willy's MO to keep the ruling clans there - to mirror Ferdie's claim as the ruling clans were the ones who knew the land and its people better than some schmuck from Enbarr - after swearing allegiance and fealty to Adrestia?

Assuming it worked with Bergliez and the clan controlling this area, how the crap was it supposed to work with, idk, Gloucester's clan, since Rhea absolutely wanted to kill Gloucester himself?

Were the Elite's clan just, happy to accept Adrestia's influence and rule (whatever that meant) and let their leader be beheaded?

From FE16's history books, we know Willy terminated clans who wanted "more power" - was it the "excuse" given when a clan refused to bow to Adrestia and fought to preserve their autonomy?

And yet, from the same FE16, in the Yuri paralogue, it's inferred that some clans who were siding against the Empire and with the Elites... fled to Dagda.

I earlier surmised Willy (and Macuil?) striked down clans who "knew"* what Relics were, and/or how to make them, because they might possibly seek to make a new one and that's a big no to him. In that sense, Willy destroying clans who want "power" would actually mean Willy destroyed clans who wanted "new relics" or to make "relics".

So, following this theory, Willy wanted to erase a clan, but some members escaped and ran away to Dagda, where they crafted the Fetters of Dromi, which were ultimately offered to Duke Gerth.

Still, if the best nobles are the ones who know the land and its people (and have the trust of said people), what would have happened to lands controlled by clans who were destroyed? Would they have been controlled by an Enbarr schmuck, or given to someone else?

Rhea ultimately rewrote history to make Nemesis'n'Dudes appear as fallen Heroes, as to not alienated their supporters - was it also a way to "pacify" their clans, as in, if Rhea terminates Blaiddyd, by painting him as a fallen hero who had to be terminated,instead of revealing the Truth, Blaiddyd's kinsmen won't want to avenge him by targeting Adrestia (at least some don't?) and they can still rule over what used to be their domain, but with some sort of Adrestian supervision ?

(which would later more or less explain why the Elite's families/clans are still, say, located North of Enbarr : Blaiddyd's son accepted Adrestia's rule, but in exchange, he was authorised to rule over his people in his former land, as he knew those people and this land best ?)

Granted, if this was how Willy "awarded" lands, I'm not surprised Lycaon was "found dead" 7 years after his nomination as Emperor, because I can guess some people who joined Willy, from Enbarr/Hresvelg, would have been pretty pissed if they couldn't snag a few plot of lands here and there because Willy allowed the defeated clans to rule over them - if his argument is "they lived there and know the people so they're more suited for this task than us from the South", then why is he giving the Empire to his son - who was on the battlefront with him, instead of giving the throne to whoever was ruling the Empire in Enbarr while they were fighting?

In a nutshell, I'm thinking of something like this :

Is the clan seeking to gain more power aka build relics (or worse, only knows how to make relics) ?

If yes, Wilhelm crushes them, end of the story.

If no they can still have governance over their lands and their people if they accept the Empire's terms and conditions and swear allegiance to Adrestia. If they don't, back to square one, they're crushed.

This way, Willy ensures the lands controlled by the Empire are administered by people who, supposedly, know how to administer them (no growing bacchus in Galatea) and I guess it reduces the risk of having a civil war, aka former clansmen or tribes rebelling against Adrestia because they don't trust the Adrestian administrator (then maybe in time, everyone will fully be Adrestianised, and they will even have forgotten they used to have been part of something else? Was Willy gunning for cultural assimilation?).

-> it gives the model of the "perfect" noble to both Ferdie and Hanneman, people prioritising their people's safety above all, guiding them and knowing them and their lands to ensure prosperity.

OTOH, if we follow this theory (basically a HC), I suppose it didn't vibe that well at home, aka in Adrestia or with the Empire's first allies (the dudes from Hresvelg/Enbarr), imagine if Leeroy Bergliez dies in a fight against Gloucester's clan, the Empire defeats Gloucester's clan but they accept to bend the knee, so Willy lets the Gloucesters** rule over their lands and people - what would the Bergliez say ? They bled and died in that fight, for... nothing? No new lands?

People are pissed at Willy + resent the "northerners" who "stole" lands that should have gone to them (but belonged to said northeners to begin with lel)

And the final straw is Willy appointing his son*** as his successor, and not whoever the fuck was in Enbarr running the show while the Emperor was away conquering Fodlan, Lycaon is stabbed 23 times, and the Empire Wilhelm built (or tried to) disappears, to be replaced with another version of "might makes right" Adrestia.

Tl;Dr : conquering lands to create an Empire is easier than the actual task of ruling said Empire - if Willy did the right and sensible thing as in, let the clans rule over their lands/people after taking over them because those clans knew how to rule/administrate over those lands and their people (instead of appointing Bergliez in Leicester after getting rid of the guy who was seen as the Alliance's leader), it earnt him (and his son!) the ire and resentment of his earliest supporters, who might have wanted to kill clan's heads to seize their lands for themselves.

In a way, if Ferdie and Hanneman seem to find Wilhelm's vision of what is a noble the goal they to aspire to, Wilhelm's idea of a noble was dead on arrival, because it cannot exist in an Empire like Adrestia.

---

*cruel, to kill people because they "know" how to make relics, and might not even want to craft one, but as we talked about it in 2020 iirc (?), that knowledge enough is sufficient to be a threat, like sure, Bob and Marty don't want to kill Cethleann to turn her in a battle axe, but what if Lorie told Jack, who in turned passed this secret to his daughter in law, who wants to have more "power" because she thinks her husband is only a lowly soldier and if he had a crest and a relic they would be well-off compared to now?

There are no solutions to this dilemna (Rhea was damn lucky the scholar who nearly found out this secret stopped his researches thinking the Goddess wouldn't want to know more, because I'm pretty sure if Randy knew it, he would have started to hunt "pointy ears" to have a shiny weapon at his disposal to demonstrate his muhrit) and while I often portray Willy as stupid, I usually HC him as ruthless on this issue (and supported by Macuil, the worst wing man), doubly so if his precious heir is a half-nabatean and can be targeted to "create" weapons.

How to bury a secret that spread out? Rhea opted to tell lies, I can see Willy, Adrestian (irl roman?) Willy being more practical and bury the people who know said secret, dead men tell no tales, right?

**I said Gloucesters because we have the Axe of Ukonvasara that is a holy weapon... resonating with a crest of Gloucester, so it could have been made for a dragon who had, originally, that power, or it might have been given to "turncoats", aka members of Gloucester's clan who joined Adrestia.

-> HC wise, Willy could recruit red units and give them shiny weapons (thanks to Indech !) once they became blue.

***One could say Lycaon following his father during his conquest would have known more of "Fodlan's lands" than a peon in Enbarr - especially if Lycaon has an extended lifespan by virtue of being half lizard, he spent 40 years travelling across Fodlan and came to know its people... even if all those years travelling and that knowledge only applied to the lands who were conquered (as they were conquered) and not Enbarr, so when he returns South, to the Nobles and whoever were living in Enbarr, Lycaon might be a stranger who spent more time "in the north" than in the South.

#random sunday thoughts #fodlan nonsense #fodlan AU #War of heroes stuff #Adrestia stuff #how to run an Empire 101 : you don't #is it the wilhelm hour? #I can see Willy initially thinking it'd be simple to fight against Nemesis to bring peace to Fodlan and rekt the Elites like #sure there's battle to do but bar that it shouldn't be difficult #and then you have Leeroy Bergliez's heirs asking for Gloucester land in compensation for their father's death #as he died against those people #but Willy already told the Gloucesters they can rule over their ancestral land if they swear to not backstab him and offer their assistance #in the fight and the clansmen accepted #the Bergliezs would be so fucking pissed #FE16 #of course we have Macuil giving the worst advice possible at any moment #else it wouldn't be funny lol #Cichol trying to mitigate the disaster

[go-river-flows]

Welcome back to the Avatar Programme

Part 12 of 13

Summary: We're coming up to the end of the story now. Everything is wrapping up and coming to a close.

A/N: Sorry for the late upload, Ive been busy over the weekend and also had a terrible writer's block. But here I give you the final two chapters of the story!

“Corporal Wainfleet,” Quaritch stepped into the room, “Am I interrupting your canoodling?”

“Uh, no sir,” Lyle pulled away, taking a step in front of me. Quaritch lips pulled tight as if thinking.

“Well, do you care to join me at the flight line?” Lyle looked back at me as I looked at him, observing his actions.

“Yes, Colonel!” Lyle yelled in return. Taking a few steps towards the door, Lyle looked back with slightly glazed eyes. In his place, Fike entered the room taking a hold of my wrist dragging me away to the science department. Meeting Grace, Norm and Jake, interrupting whatever they were talking about.

“Quaritch is planning on hitting Hometree!” I yelled as I entered the room. The horrified expression recoiled on Grace, Norm and Jake’s faces. Trudy entered behind a few seconds later, in her uniform and helmet in hand about to open her mouth

“What?!”

“Quartich is going to hit Hometree,” Trudy repeated, confirming my words. Grace quickly stood and rushed past me returning to the Communications Tower again. Jake hurried after her wheeling out in a rush to catch up with her.

“Trudy, you’re flying out with Lyle right?” she nodded, “Keep him safe.” She gave a firm nod before taking her leave, rushing out towards the flightline.

“Oh my god,” Norm mumbled into his hands as he rubbed his face, breaking into a sweat, “I can't believe this is actually happening.”

“Grace will try to convince Selfridge into warning them at least,” I thought about it, “At least Selfridge has a bit of empathy, right?”

“God, I hope he does,” Norm sighed heavily, Grace returned with Jake, Selfridge and some soldiers in tow. Making their way into the Cradle room and we followed behind to keep up with the ensemble. Catching up to Max who Grace dragged along with her.

“Calibrate fast. We’re going in, right now,” Grace demanded.

“Calibrating three and four,” Ruth called out from the centre controls, opening the link beds.

“Run sequence.”

“Initiating, thirty seconds,” Max included as he got to Augustine’s control panel.

“Listen to me. You’ve got one hour. Unless you want your girlfriend in there when the axe comes down, you get them to evacuate. One hour,” Selfridge leant above Jake’s form, closing the cradle for him.

“I'm going in too,” I made for a link bed only to be stopped by a soldier.

“No, you're not,” the female soldier stood in front of me, stopping my movements.

“What? You have to. My avatar is at hometree. Unless you want a dead avatar there, I suggest you let me go in,” I poked my finger firm on her collarbone.

“No. I'm only letting Grace and Jake go to convince them to leave. You’re not authorised by any means,” Selfridge butted in, as Norm watched from the sidelines, not daring to do anything to aggravate him. 

“But I–”

“No! Don't push it, (Y/N)!” Selfridge pushed me into the centre railing, “Don't make me cuff you.” I winced a little, feeling the cold metal through my shirt against my lower back. 

“Hey!” Ruth yelled out making Selfridge stop as she turned the holograms to the live video feed direct from the aerospatiales (copters?). The feeds showing everything bright and clear as the fleet of copters approached Hometree. There being tied up was Grace and Jake, but my avatar was nowhere to be seen. As everyone gathered in the middle to watch everything unfold, the female soldier suddenly grabbed my arms forcing me to turn around as I fought back, knowing that she was going to cuff me, I’ll just make it difficult for her.

“My avatar isn't there! Let me go! Let me GO!!!” I felt the cold band tighten around my wrist as she pushed me to walk up the step to the middle, her hand at the back of my neck to restrain me, “Fuckin’ asshole! Let me go in! I’m gonna kill you Selfridge!” I continued to throw out curses at him as the assault began. At first it was incendiaries (gas rounds), then it was missiles. Flames spurted from the base of Hometree as the Na’vi started running out and away, like ants. My avatar body was gone, I just knew it. But I could do nothing as I was being held against my will, witnessing the destruction of a home. It was all over when Hometree started collapsing. Sending large splinters of wood and ash in all directions. That was it. The rage I felt when I lost Anuk and Sylwanin returned tenfold. With furious tears I whipped my head back, throwing the soldier off guard, the recoil breaking her nose sending her into a daze. 

I was quickly apprehended again by another soldier, when Selfridge said the words I’d never hear him say.

“Pull the plug,” which was followed by resistance from Patel, Norm and Ruth, Norm acting quicker as he put himself between the soldiers and Grace’s control panel. A scuffle broke out between them and Norm threw some punches, only for a soldier to grab him and yank him away for the other to slap the big red button. The female soldier, cupping her bleeding nose, got to Jake’s cradle using her free hand to press the big red button on his control panel. Pulling the two of them out, mere seconds from each other. Norm was cuffed to the railing as I struggled against mine, the two soldiers dragged Grace and Jake from their link beds as Grace fought back.

“You murderer!” Grace screamed at Selfridge. 

More reinforcements came in to drag the lot of us away. Through Hell’s Gate and shoving the lot of us into a single cell. Thankfully, they had uncuffed us and we sat in silence. I leant my head on Grace’s shoulder as she held my hand, rubbing soothing circles on my palm.

“Is my avatar still alive?” I whispered to her, she could only give a sad look.

“I don't know,” was all she could say. I don't know how long we sat in the cell for, but we soon had a visitor. Trudy.

She waved at the security guard, pushing a trolley as he opened the door for her.

“What's going on, brother? Long time no see.”

“Hey.” We all turned to look through the thick glass door, Norm sat up from his lazy position.

“Personally, I don't feel these tree-hugging traitors deserve steak.” She bullshitted.

“They get steak? That's bullshit. Let me see that,” he bent toward the trolley as Trudy stepped around the trolley, pulling out her hand-held gun. Pointing it at the base of his head as she chuckled.

“Yeah. You know what that is. Down,” she ordered the guard. Grace and Norm now stood as Jake turned his wheelchair around, watching the events transpire. “All the way down.” She smacked the butt of the gun hard on the guard’s temple, knocking him out, he let out a pained groan. Looking at the lot of us she called out to Max and Lyle, who ran in from the hall. Max tried his access key but it didn't work, before Lyle pushed him aside and used his. The door slid open, Norm exiting first with Jake and Grace following suit. I was last out when the elevator door right in front of us opened, revealing another soldier reading paperwork, looking up from it. Trudy acted fast, going straight for the poor guy disarming him and knocking him out in the elevator. Lyle pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, planting multiple kisses on my face.

“Baby, oh my god,” he whispered incoherently into my hair, kissing me all over, “I'm so glad you're safe. I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry.”

“Lyle,” I gripped onto him for dear life.

“I didn't see your avatar out there. I was so scared. I'm so sorry, baby. I couldn't do anything. I'm so sorry,” he kept repeating his eyes were a little wet and red, as if he had been crying.

“Come on. We gotta go!” Trudy called from the entrance of the tiny prison. We hastily made our way out, Trudy in front of us and Lyle behind us with their guns drawn. Making our way down a flight of stairs and many halls. Trudy and Norm ran ahead to get to the flightline first to start up her Samson. As we finally approached the depressurising chamber. Jake asked Max to stay behind as Lyle gave me a deep passionate kiss.

“Come with us,” I said.

“I can't–”

“Then I’ll stay–!”

“No! You can't. You’ll be safer with them. I’ll come find you after, I promise,” Lyle unhooked his dog tags from his neck, putting it around my neck as he gave one final kiss, pushing me into the chamber and closing the door right behind me. I looked at him through the glass, he gave a sad smile. Jake shoved a mask in my hand and I quickly slipped it on, turning to get one last look at Lyle. Grace opened the door and we hustled out. 

Getting to Trudy’s samson, Grace and Norm helped Jake into the copter first as I folded up his wheelchair, lifting it in and hopping in myself. I sat on the left opening. The sudden sound of raining bullets hitting the samson alerting the lot of us.

“I'm taking fire! Let's go!” Trudy began to pull up when Norm was hanging on the side, Jake and Grace pulling him in. Trudy flew us away from Hell’s Gate as quickly as she could. I felt a burning sensation in my side, I looked down noticing a wet spot forming on my black shirt. I winced at the pain and added pressure onto the bullet wound, gasping at the pain. 

“Yeah! Yeah!” Jake yelled out in excitement when the bullets stopped.

“Alright! Yes!” Norm followed. They whooped as we got further away from Hell’s Gate, but I was silently groaning from my bullet wound.

“Are you all good back there?” Trudy asked.

“Norm! You good?” Jake asked loudly through the roaring wind, Norm confirming he was fine. “Grace?” She chuckled out loud. “(Y/N)?” 

I hissed at the pain not hearing him call my name.

“(Y/N)?” Grace slid into the seat next to me. I tried controlling my breath, but my body was going into shock. “(Y/N)?” 

“I-I'm hit.” Grace’s face shifted to a horrified expression.

“Shit!” Jake and Norm cursed.

“(Y/N)’s hit!” Norm yelled to Trudy.

Grace moved her hand to find my wound, her fingertips grazing under my own feeling of a wet spot on my left waist, where my stomach was. 

“Am I dying?” I choked out.

“No no no. You’re not gonna die,” Grace pushed down hard on my hand eliciting an abrupt yell from me.

“Is there an exit wound?” Jake slid closer, running his right hand under my shirt and around to my back, feeling around for any openings. There was no exit wound. Looking at Grace he shook his head no. Norm was mortified, his free hand covering his widened mouth whilst his other hand gripped onto the straps of the samson.

“Okay. We just need to keep pressure on the entry wound,” Grace slipped off the seat, guiding my body to lay down, “Trudy! Do you have a Trauma Kit?!” 

“Yeah! It's here!” she called from the bulkhead, pulling a red bag from under her seat, handing it to Grace. Jake took over, his hand encompassing the wound, he pushed down hard on it eliciting another yell from me.

“What do we do?” Jake questioned Grace. I could feel the blood flowing out and my head getting lighter 

“We have to treat it now, or risk infection. There will be internal bleeding but as long as we keep it in– (Y/N)! Don't fall asleep!” she noticed my eyelids slowly drooping. I open them whilst struggling to breathe. I could hear plastic packaging being torn open and Grace worked to patch me up, albeit rushed.

Trudy landed in the small clearing of Site 26. Norm carried me bridal style into the facility first, opening a link bed and settling me in it before rushing to the other side of the facility to grab some things. Returning with pillows, a blanket and medical bag as Jake and Grace entered the facility. 

“We’re gonna hook up this side of the building. Norm you’re up!” Grace called to him as he draped the blanket over my body. Jake wheeled over to my side as Grace helped Norm into the other link bed.

“You're gonna be okay,” Jake reassured, taking my slightly cold hand.

“Tommy?” I mumbled. Jake’s expression shifted into sadness, hearing his brother’s name again. He wheeled right up next to the link bed, laying a gentle hand on the side of my face. He ran his rough thumb over my cheek, leaning to kiss my forehead.

“Yeah?” He leant closer to my ear.

“I love you Tommy…. Tell Lyle… I love him too,” I whispered back. Jake frowned confused as to why I was saying that. The sudden jolting of the facility interrupted the moment, Jake looked away for just a moment. My eyelid felt heavier, taking a small breath I couldn't feel the warmth of my body. At that moment, everything turned white. Jakes voice echoed as I fade, yelling for Grace. She ran to my side as I caught one last tiny glimpse of her.

*

I was walking down the familiar hallway of the training facility on earth. It looked the same from the many times I walked through them. Coming to a door, I peered through the glass window. Seeing a familiar back that I always saw I pushed open the door, alerting them of my presence. He turned and smiled at me. Opening his arms, I rushed to him, knocking the two of us onto the floor.

“Tommy,” I breathed out, my eyes leaking happy tears.

“Oh, my sweet girl,” he whispered, kissing my head.

“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy,” I repeated like a mantra.

“My (Y/N),” he kissed my head again and again and again.

“I missed you so much.”

“I miss you too. I love you,” he wrapped his arms tighter around my waist.

“I'm sorry,” I said.

“Sorry for what baby?” 

“I'm sorry I left you alone on earth. I'm sorry I didn't get to say a final goodbye,” he nestled my face into the crook of his neck.

“Baby, No. I should be apologising. I promised you that I’d be beside you on Pandora. I broke that promise,” Tommy softly spoke, “I'm sorry I couldn't keep that promise. But I’ll always be with you. In here,” he brushed my hair to the side, pointing two fingers at my head, “and here,” lowering his hand to my heart.

He sat the two of us up, lifting me to stand. 

“I'm glad you got to meet my brother, even if he’s a bit of an ass. And I know it must have been harder to move on, but I'm glad you did,” he leaned his forehead down onto mine, “You can’t stay. It's not your time yet.”

A hand tugged at my shirt. I turned to find Anuk there.

“Anuk,” I muttered.

“Hello sister, I see you,” he greeted. In an instant Tommy was no longer in my arms.

“Hello Anuk, I see you,” I returned his greeting, “It's been a long time.”

“Yes, it's been too long. Yet, it is not yet your time. The great mother sends her kind regards, but she wants you to live. Our great mother has plans for you,” Anuk spoke.

“But, I am not Na’vi.” 

“Oh, my sister. You are not yet Na’vi. But you are Omatikaya. You always have been. Our great mother has accepted you as one of her own, for your sacrifice to our people. She sees all you’ve done. As well as your faults and strengths. It's time to join our people,” Anuk took my hand, guiding me back into the hall. Suddenly it felt like we were being pushed forward as the view of the Tree of Souls came into view. It's pink tendrils lighting up the dark sky as Na’vi sat with hands on each other's shoulders all moving together and chanting out loud. In a blink I was standing closer to the Tree of Souls. I could see my naked human body and my heavily wounded but surviving avatar laying in front of the Tree of Souls, the two bodies wrapped in white root like tendrils. Mo’at chanting above me. Turning to my right was Grace, Jake and Neytiri all watching in anticipation.

“What's going on?” I questioned in awe, turning to Mo'at, her white eyes meeting mine as she silenced down, though the chanting behind me continued.

“My child, you have been blessed by Eywa,” She spoke directly at me, even though both my bodies were at her feet. Jake, Neytiri and Grace looked in my direction with confused expressions, it was like only Mo’at could see me. “She has granted you a second life, it is not yet your time to leave. Come,” she reached her hand out to me though I was reluctant to reach to her. I felt a warm hand grab mine, turning to see Tommy again.

“It's okay, take it,” he assured, giving a soft smile, “I’ll always be by your side.”

“Take it sister. Take it,” Anuk gave the same reassuring smile, they both guided my hand to Mo’at and an overwhelming sense of warmth flowed through my body. The white light overwhelmed my senses.

*

I slowly opened my honey yellow eyes. My ears twitched at the quieting chanting. Mo’at leaned in, blocking the pink and purple hues of the majestic tree. My tail twitched a little at her sudden appearance. The white root like tendrils fading and retracted into the dirt. 

“(Y/N)?” Jake called out hesitantly. My ear twitched again. My nose twitched at the scent of ash. Slowly I began to move my arm as their light gasps alerted everyone. They knelt down next to me as I fully opened my eyes, shifting around to look at Jake, Grace and Neytiri.

“Oh, thank Eywa!” Grace  breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

Mo’at smiled widely before letting out a joyous yell, letting the people know of the success. My body ached but I was alive.

“Urgh, why do I feel like I was hit by a truck?” my mouth was dry as I coughed out, to which Jake chuckled. The three of them gently sat me up as the rest of the clan began to disperse. I looked down at my naked blue body, covering my blue boobs with my arm as Jake’s eyes drifted down a bit.

“Perv,” I lightly punched his shoulder. Looking around at where I am, my eyes settled on Tsu’tey who gave a relieved, but sad smile. “What happened to me? Well, not human me, I know what happened there.”

“Tsu’tey got you out on his ikran. Your avatar was still unconscious in Hometree when it got obliterated, but Tsu’tey found you and grabbed your body. He thought you were dead, but he saved you,” Jake explained. I turned to look at Tsu’tey again, he was standing a distance away, apprehensive to approach.

“Tsu’tey,” I called his name, reaching my hand out. He slowly came closer, taking my hand.

“Tsumuke. Oel ngati kameie,” he wrapped his arms around my shoulders bringing me into his gentle embrace, “I thought you wouldn't make it.” His voice breaking a little, “I thought I lost you, like I lost Sylwanin. Don't ever do that again,” he said in a stern but joking tone. 

“Tsu'tey, I will be by your side. Even if I died. Sylwanin will always be next to you. Just like Anuk,” I pulled back from his hug, turning to Jake, “Just like Tommy.” Jake’s ear flicked a bit.

“What?”

“I saw him, when I was dying. He said that he was glad we met, even though you’re a bit of an ass,” I smirked, remembering his words, “But he’ll always be here,” I gently pointed to his head, “and here,” I pointed to his heart. Jake’s eyes welled up with tears. He knew what he had to do and with the permission of the new Olo’eyktan, Tsu’tey, he made a great speech. To call for aid for the upcoming war. The war between the sky people and the Na’vi.

“Go get ‘em tiger!” I shot him a proud smile. They took off there and then, as daybreak came. Those with ikrans followed after, spreading the news.

Final chapter!

Taglist: @sleepilysworld   @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed  @wolfmoon8269  @howlerwolfmax   @lovekeeho   @ducks118   @dyingofcookies   @secretflowerobservation

#avatar #avatar x reader #avatar x you #avatar x y/n #avatar x human reader #jake sully #jake sully x reader #avatar x na'vi reader #avatar fanfiction #avatar fanfic #avatar wainfleet #wainfleet x reader #wainfleet fanfic #wainfleet fanfiction

[muninnhuginn]

For all people joke about season 2 being "plotless" (including myself tbh) I do think the Gabriel plotline was pretty well-constructed in terms of the mystery aspects.

There's literally enough to start suspecting as of episode one and later episodes give enough to solidify it.

Rough breakdown of the Clues below:

Episode one: blink-and-you-miss-it, but there is in fact a fly that buzzes out of the cardboard box when Aziraphale fetches it in. You also actually *hear* a fly in the bookshop at one point too, which isn't suspicious on its own but becomes so when you add it to other pieces. (Other pieces meaning that Beelzebub's own first appearance has the same fly sfx. And of course they're literally reintroduced this season surrounded by flies so we're not forgetting their whole theme any time soon. Jim also later has his whole thing with fly swatting where he says it's a-okay because the flies are always fine. My point is, flies are brought up multiple times in relation to Jim where our only prior association was with Beelzebub).

There's also Jim's line along the lines of "don't you think it'd be easier if you just had one specific person by your side". And on first watch, I'll admit my focus was way more on Aziraphale's overreaction to it (clearly thinking of Crowley) but in retrospect it's clearly *meant* to mean Beelzebub for all that Gabriel can't recall himself.

Then, later episodes, the Resurrectionist. The matchbox is literally *from* there and we know Gabriel had been there because the bartender recognised him. The bartender also said he was with someone who "looked like a mason". And masons (according to google at least :V) wear these collar-type things that resemble sashes, aka, pretty similar visually to what Beelzebub wears. You can also read into how the Every Day song was one of the few things Gabriel could remember that it was either a really strong memory or recent to just before he was mindwiped. But the news articles and the bartender all imply the jukebox changed to that song a few months/years before the present day. And again, why keep the matchbox from back then as one of his only earthly objects? So the song and the company *are* both actually pretty important to Gabriel. Genuine Clues. Possibly the companion is the same "specific person" who would make everything better? Bit of a stretch maybe but a possibility for sure.

And alongside all this, we have a number of instances of Beelzebub acting strangely. It can be written off at first as Gabriel being an archangel so it makes sense Hell is incredibly interested. We get Beelzebub offering Crowley an incredible reward, okay, kinda weird, but this is about an archangel, you know? And then it just builds. So we get the scene with the lower demon who says they usually have their tongue extracted and that... doesn't happen because Beelzebub is moping? Harder to write off but okay. And the final straw, Beelzebub authorising Shax to storm the bookshop despite it still being an "embassy". It seems like a recipe for disaster so the fact Beelzebub approved such a hare-brained scheme adds to the entire sense of wrongness around Beelzebub.

We know Gabriel had a companion we don't know the identity of. That the song was important to him when he was meeting this companion. Beelzebub is acting more and more off in their pursuit of Gabriel. There's a space there waiting to be filled and as the series goes on there are only so many people that can fill it. And so the flies are just the final nail in the coffin.

There are also some bonus bits and bobs like how it was implied Michael and Beelzebub were directly in contact by phone in episode one. (It's not directly confirmed to be them but given how Beelzebub later relays info that's identical to what was said in Heaven it seems a reasonable assumption) How the Job flashback had the whole Heaven-Hell bet. The higher-ups in Heaven and Hell have always been more buddy buddy than they'd like to pretend.

#good omens #good omens spoilers #go #sorry just getting annoyed at some review sites saying this twist was out of nowhere #when there is actually so much foreshadowing. this stuff is just what I remember off the top of my head #there's probably way more I'm forgetting

[starpirateee]

For the drabble thing, Steph/Lex maybe? 👀

Oooo!! Okay this is something I'm gonna be happy to get into 👀 you guys really know how to make things interesting, huh?

Lex's phone buzzed more times in the span of a few minutes than it ever normally would. Sometimes that happened while she was at work, she was never allowed to check her phone while on the job, so she tended to miss out a lot. But there was never this many messages in such a short space of time.

She opened her phone, glancing around the shop to make sure Frank couldn't see her.

[ s.lauter.x ]

hey lex

idk if you remember, but it's steph

... we were in shop class together in high school

Lauter...

Steph!

Lex smiled a little at the memory of her. She was a junior when Steph was a freshman. In that half a year before she dropped out for good, the two of them had been sat next to each other, and while they weren't the best of friends, they had gotten along fine.

They hadn't actually spoken since Lex dropped out, so it was strange seeing her name on the top of her phone.

Lex hesitated, then opened the conversation.

[ lexxxx_f ]

uh... yeah! steph, right?

[ s.lauter.x ]

yeah! hey :)

sorry about this, i know we haven't spoken in, like, forever, but i wanted to tell you about your sister.... she got into an accident in class today

[ lexxxx_f ]

what happened????

"Alexandra!"

Lex looked up quickly, leaving Steph typing. Frank had appeared out of nowhere, arms folded in discontent. There was nobody in the shop, hadn't been for a while now. It's not like he needed her for anything...

She glanced down for a brief moment. Steph was still typing. She frowned. God, this must be huge... she hoped Hannah was okay...

"What did I tell you?"

"It's about my sister," Lex tried to excuse. Normally he tended to let that slide, she was the best option when Hannah was in trouble, and it wasn't so often that it happened, so she could usually get away with it, too.

He raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

"She's in hospital. Would you let me go, I've gotta go get her..."

Frank sighed, glancing at the depressingly empty shop floor. If they weren't busy now, then there was a really good chance that they weren't going to be busy until close. While Lex wasn't the most hardworking girl he could've picked, but if he had to give her credit for anything, it was that she never really asked for much.

That was the one side of it. She didn't ask for much, and when she did, it was usually something he had to note was worth her being excused. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I'm getting an answer for that right now..."

Another glance down at her phone.

[ s.lauter.x ]

she had some kinda blackout in shop while she was on the bandsaw

"She had an accident in shop class." Lex's voice was laced in the horror she felt, and she'd heard the way it broke too. This wasn't good. this really wasn't good. "Shit- Frank, I gotta go-"

[ lexxxx_f ]

steph... what happened to her?

just tell me, i gotta know...

[ s.laughter.x ]

i don't know, i didn't get across the room fast enough

there was a lot of blood though...

She didn't even leave chance for Frank to fully authorise her leaving early before she'd started running out the door. In the few moments she was still within reach, she didn't hear Frank try to protest, so she assumed that he would get used to it.

With a single track mind, she raced to her car, her heart pounding. She'd pretty much blacked out as soon as she saw the word blood from Steph. She didn't really care what had actually happened, if it was bad enough that she'd ended up in fucking hospital over it, then it was a cause for concern.

[ s.lauter.x ]

listen lex, i've gotta go before mr houston catches me, but i just thought i'd let you know

Lex slumped against the driver's seat and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

[ lexxxx_f ]

thanks steph, i appreciate it

It was hours before she got the chance to think straight again. The hospital was one whole mess after the other. Hannah was okay, that was a good start. She'd lost a finger in the blackout, but the surgeon had managed to reattach it before it became a real problem.

That was maybe the only good thing to come out of that whole space of time.

Hannah refused to acknowledge what happened, the panic had forced Ethan out of work early to see if everything was okay, and Lex had been forced into thousands of dollars worth of debt in a matter of moments. It was a catastrophpe, and Lex had way too many thoughts on the matter. She'd fallen deep into the spiral of worry that came with accidents of this kind.

God, she was going to lose her mind. Even after she contributed all her savings to this extortionate bill, she'd be 20 000 in debt for who fucking knows how long? Her shitty job wasn't going to compensate for this. And she never graduated high school- that's why it had been so long since she talked to Steph.

But she could do that, couldn't she? She could go back, there was an equivalency test she could take to get her diploma.... Maybe she could get around doing that.

To give her a bit of a break, Ethan had offered to take Hannah out for a bit, but because she'd ran out of work, there was no chance she was just going to go back.

For some reason, she couldn't get Steph off her mind. It was weird how she had to admit she hadn't thought about her in years, but now she was all she could think about.

[ lexxxx_f ]

this is weird, but we haven't seen each other in a while, have we?

[ s.lauter.x ]

it's been years

[ lexxxx_f ]

yeah...

Was this a good idea? God only knows it was the single most impulsive thing she'd ever done... On the other hand, though, she had a couple of hours spare, and Steph had been a great part of easing her worries today, even if she hadn't realised it.

Of course it was a good idea. Any chance to drive these thoughts out of her head, right?

[ lexxxx_f ]

do you wanna maybe grab coffee sometime? catch up?

Even Steph typing managed to make her nervous. She waited, staring at the three dots until they disappeared. They returned within a couple of moments, and Lex went right back to staring at them.

[ s.laughter.x ]

y'know what? that'd be great!

#stephanie lauter #lex foster #starkid #void offering #nova's tags → #i love this? ive never heard of this ship before but i love it??? #they could be so awesome together #where do you guys pull these ships from and why do they work so well? #star mail

[all-too-ric3]

hi! can you write 22 and 25 with daniel richard please 🥺

Delayed lovers. 

Warnings: Curse words, pure fluff, delays (‘cause that’s a TOC of mine and I consider it a warning)

Summary: Working with Daniel was incredibly fun until an interviewer starts messing with your schedule, but fixes your love live, which makes it not that bad. 

Word count: 1.205

Prompts: 22. “Can you say that again?” “Were you not listening?” “No I was, I just like hearing your voice.” - 25. “You know, I think my parents would be proud if I brought you home.”

Don’t forget to share, like and leave feedback. I do not authorise my writing being published on any other platform.

“What do you mean you have to do the interview later? We have a busy schedule today, stop playing with us!”. Being Daniel’s PA and media manager  wasn’t easy at all, too many calls, too many paps, too much gossiping. Just like that time the internet spread the news of Daniel’s wild parties and him trashing the whole hotel floor, I mean, he can be chaotic, I cannot deny, but trashing the whole floor? Completely not true, only his and Lando’s room, but we already dealt with it or all of those rumours of him retiring, completely not true and it created an incredibly huge chaos in his fan base.

“The interviewer is running late, she cann-” the man started saying. “Running late? Do you think that’s a valid excuse for you to come up with?” I said angrily. Daniel is already getting ready for the interview and now this man’s telling me we have to postpone the interview, the nerve! 

“I’ll see what I can do” he said, a bit scared of my small outburst. “Please, I know it’s not your fault, but put yourself in my position” I said with calm trying to get him to understand we don't have more time. “I know, I apologise, give me a couple minutes”

As he walked away I went to check on Daniel, as i open the door I see him , his back to the door, completely bare, and that’s surely one of the perks of working with Daniel, easy to the eye, among others of course, and definitely not the continuous flirting between us, definitely not that one. 

Because to be honest, I don’t like thinking about it, I just… go with the flow I guess, I go with the flow when he kisses me, or when we cuddle, or when we’re too drunk to dance like decent human beings, but it isn't serious at all, just playful flirting, right? My feelings for him are just camaraderie, butterflies? Nah, just an old slice of pizza I found in my fridge that made my tummy turn, right?... Right?

“Can I come in?” I said, peeking my head through the door. “I know I’m taking too long to get ready but, which shirt? Funky flowers or unicorn vomit?” He said, showing me two colourful shirts, totally his style. “About that… there’s no hurry, interviewer is running late”

I walked to the small couch and moved the mountain of clothing he had on it. “So should I stay shirtless? My whole tits out for you to see?” He said standing in front of me. “There’s nothing to see to be honest, you’re too lanky to consider that as tits” I said trying to push him away but failing completely as he threw himself over me and squeezed my head with his chest.

As the laughter stopped and we regained our breath a bit he laid on top of me, “Get off of me!” I screamed while pushing him away but he was stronger and pulled me with him, now I’m laying on his bare chest, listening closely to his heartbeat. “This delay with the interviewer stressed the shit out of me!...” I started rambling about our schedule and the meeting I have to go to with possible new sponsors. “Do you actually like those shoes? Be honest please, because if you do, I’ll work extra hard to get the deal with them, but if you think it’s not worth it, I’ll be happy with whatever result we get” I waited a couple seconds for his answer but didn’t get one, i looked up at him and found him already looking at me. “Can you say that again, babygirl?” he said and smirked when he saw me blushing at his new pet name, “Were you not listening, Dan?” I said with fake anger. “No, I was, I just like hearing your voice”

My head was now buried between his shoulder and neck, my cheeks burning with embarrassment and my tummy turning and I’m starting to think it isn't because of an old slice of pizza and more because of those so called butterflies. “Dan, please”

“You know, I think my parents would be proud if I brought you home” he said and i couldn’t hide for any longer, my eyes now staring at his. “Don’t say that kind of thing!” I said and caress his cheek, he closed his eyes at my touch and continued, “I mean it, they always told me I need to find a responsible woman, that can stand up for herself, that loves me even when I’m being a pain in the ass” we laughed at that part and he turned his head a bit to kiss my palm, “Besides, you’re gorgeous Y/N, I know you don’t understand it, you think so little of yourself sometimes, you doubt about your abilities and your knowledge, you go around joking about your height but that hurts you, sometimes you can be your own enemy” He said grabbing my face between both hands, “If only you can see yourself as I see you, you’d fall in love as hard as I did”. WHAT DID HE SAID? 

I sat up quickly and froze for a couple seconds, do I love him too? I mean, when I’m with him, there’s nowhere I’d rather be, and when we’re away, I cannot stop thinking about him. Is that love? It surely feels like it sometimes, like when we kiss, or when we joke around, or when we just lay down in silence. Yup, that's how my mom told me love felt like.

“Dan, at this point, I don’t even see this as a job, working with you is incredible and it feels so natural, but I cannot deny my heart is aching for more” He sat up too and looked straight into my eyes. “Let me give it to you, I’d give up everything I have achieved for you to give me a chance”, I closed the gap between us and said “I’ll never ask you for something like that, nothing makes me happier than seeing you achieve your dreams”, he gave me a small peck of the nose, “Be mine? be mine and you won’t regret it, be mine and I promise I’ll love you until my dying day” I nodded and our noses touched “I’ll be yours in this life and the next one” and I closed the gap between us, our lips collided in a kiss I’ve never experienced, his hand pulling me by the waist and my hands tangled in his hair.

 “The interviewer has arr… sorry” the media coordinator burst through the door and left as quickly as he came in. “I’ve never been more grateful with a delayed interview” he said and I hummed and nodded, going back into our kiss. We already waited for them for a while, then can wait for us a bit.

#daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo #dr3 x reader #dr3 #mclaren f1 #f1 one shot #f1 fluff

[captaindibbzy]

Fucking mum going "oh well you can see why people get annoyed and where he's coming from." Actually I don't care. Actually it's not my fault, or my responsibility to be talked to like that. Boo hoo you want your money. Everyone wants their money. You're not special.

Do you know how expensive care is? There's one kid and their care costs well over £10,000 a week. They deserve every penny of it cause they all do. But there's fucking six of us organising these invoices. And the companies send us bills that are too high all the fucking time. Is it that the kid needs more care? Is it cause the parents don't want to look after their kids so just drop them off places? Is it cause the companies are seeing what they can get? I don't fucking know. But these are all problems we deal with frequently.

And then we have politicians making it harder to get care, and blaming disabled people for needing it, and it's getting harder to find it, and people really REALLY REALLY don't want to pay tax.

And some companies are really bad at doing things and if we don't keep an eye on them then that's our fault too.

We deal with foster cases too sometimes and you hear about the cases that go wrong on the news. Why did nobody step in and help this kid? Why did nobody spot this sooner? Do you have any idea how shit these foster parents are?

So actually, some fucking twit from less than 1% of the team work load, phoning up bitching that oh woe his invoices haven't been paid and that's not good enough. Yeah, it's fucking not but it's about the best we can fucking do. If they haven't been paid it's cause they probably don't fucking match our system, which means it's more or less than authorised, or maybe it has been sent to the wrong team cause we don't do therapy invoices, or school invoices, or allowance invoices, or emergency supply invoices. CAUSE THERE'S FUCKING SIX OF US!

And I am litterally the ONLY one of those six who does invoices full time!

We're not not paying them cause it's a laugh mate! We're not ignoring you cause we think it's funny! We're running around in a system built on trying to provide help for people when people think it's some sort of free money train that either needs to be restricted or taken advantage of. FUCK OFF!!!!

#personal

[mangoshorthand]

What are your thoughts on Five being the founder of the Commission? Apart from how it actually makes sense. I think it happened in another timeline.

A lot of people dislike the idea. Most likely because he founded the organisation he suffered a lot from. I personally like the idea really much because I'm a sucker for unpredictable plot twists and my unintentionally need to love traumatic characters.

Also, did anyone notice the table in the operation bunker? I wondered with whom Five might have had a last drink with.. or if it was all for Five himself, but there were also multiple seats. (Yes I love details.)

I quite like the idea of Five as the founder. I think it's darkly ironic in that Five, once again, is the author of his own suffering and his own worst enemy.

I don't know what timeline Five founded it in, (presumably one where he found out enough about Oblivion to have the sigil tattooed on his chest), but I think it was a timeline where Reggie failed to reset the universe and that it has now been wiped out after Reggie succeeded. Their tattoos were all gone after the reset.

Perhaps Five will go on to found the commission in Reggiverse in a parallel to what happened in the previous universe, but I wouldn't be surprised if we never find out more about how the OG founder Five came to be.

As to his last drink? Who knows? Another authorised person from the Commission maybe? Perhaps even another permutation of himself dropped by. Good spot!

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 3x19 Through the Looking Glass thoughts (I'm re-watching, so there may be future spoilers)

Q: "If you don't believe me, ask Chief O'Brien." O: "When I came in, he and Morn were painting numbers on the voles backs." Miles was what now?? Chief?! [Just reread the script, I definitely misunderstood that XD The he meant Quark 😅]

"A vole fight? I'm appalled. Do you really think that was what Morn was up to?" I really love Quark's transparent lies.

I see that they still read Alice in Wonderland in the mirror verse, too.

Tuvok!!!!! I do not remember him being here but then I don't think I'd started Voyager when I last watched this?

Bashir's grumpy face when Sisko takes over XD

Man, Sisko acts as his mirror counterpart so accurately - how much did Kira or Julian tell him about Mirror!Sisko for him to be able to just launch in like this?

Oh I LIKE Jadzia's haircut

Bashir is sooooo different 😅

Rom's a traitor?!!! What even is this???

"What about Sisko?" "Take me to the Intendant's quarters." Oh, he's gooood!

G: "Intendant, I demand that this man be-" I: "You demand???". I LOVE the Intendant, and the way she takes this Garak down.

Oh. Sisko's look upon seeing Jennifer <3

J: "Then why did you leave me to go run and play pirate for the Intendant?" S: "That's a good question." I guess Sisko would like to ask his counterpart that too, not being able to imagine why he would leave Jennifer.

This mission would have been a failure if Mirror!Sisko had tried - there's no way he could have succeeded the way our Sisko can. ...Although he may not even have cared enough to try and save her rather than kill her - unless out of spite that Bashir doesn't think it a good plan.

J: "You have a subdermal communicator?" S: "Courtesy of the Ferengi." Oh noooo, if that's through Rom he betrayed you, they'll be listening in 😬😬

J: "I still hate you." S: "I know." Ouch. But also, expected. And I love her for choosing what's best for her without capitulating to who she thinks is her lousy ex.

J: "Now what?" S: "Uh, I'll think of something." His confidence!

Love seeing the whole evil gang just standing there, the framing is great!

"That was very clever, Benjamin, having one of your own men betray you so you could get aboard the station. I was completely fooled." - I was fooled too!!!! I'm glad Rom isn't a traitor in this universe either... even if he's dead :(

"I came a long way to get you out of here and I'm not going to leave without you." Jennifer's expression of :o

Garak's unhinged cry of "Pursue!" - what even was that? XD

I: "In fact, I can assure you that your husband will never annoy you again." J: "Actually, for the first time since I've met him, he's not annoying me." That's because he's not actually your husband XD

J: "I'm a Terran." Sisko's proud smile <3

"Computer, disengage self-destruct sequence. Authorisation Kira... alpha nineonesevenfiveblue." The way she says that last bit so quickly, hating to admit he got it right XD Also I love the continuity this part has with Civil Defense, great way to work it in.

"Authorisation denied." "I changed it!" Gotta love Sisko's sing-song "I've won!" voice

J: "Thank you for rescuing me." S: "It was my pleasure." the way he flinches and closes his eyes when she kisses him. He really takes a lot of emotional punches this episode.

"Take me home, Smiley." Oh, Sisko, that tone in his voice that doesn't quite want to leave 💔

#ds9 3x19 #ds9 through the looking glass #benjamin sisko #andi watches ds9 #WSB

[boarchasers]

Day 7

Prompt: In Bloom or Blood

When he envisioned it, Haaki's escape had involved disappearing into the trees, lying low for a while, and then making his careful way back to Falkreath before sunrise. Now he found himself with mere moments to incorporate Frithjofr into that plan. He darted forwards and gripped Frithjofr's shoulder.

'Trust me.'

'What?'

The door opened. Haaki whipped away from Frithjofr and raised his arms, palms forwards, as Bette and Sjorik emerged. The sight of Haaki apparently surrendering to a trembling, grey-haired man stopped them in their tracks.

'Who's this?' asked Bette. Praying that Frithjofr wouldn't venture to make his own introductions, and that Bette wouldn't take the opportunity to thrust the dagger into his back, Haaki tried to keep himself an equal distance between both parties, arms still up.

'Frithjofr?'

Thankfully, Frithjofr seemed too stunned to interrupt. He was also too stunned to notice Haaki's pointed stare at the sword and to make a better show of this, but Haaki was used to spinning a drama out of limited material. He tried to appear suitably threatened. Bette was not immediately convinced.

'Another victim, then.'

'I wouldn't. He's been hunting me. And doing a better job of it than you.' Haaki risked a glance at her out of the side of his eye. 'You know he killed my sister? And Minnel was a beast with a mace, let me tell you. Just think what he'll do to you.'

'This old fool? We'll see.'

She stepped forwards. Frithjofr flinched backwards. It was odd, though. Much as the Brotherhood had a flair for the dramatic, they wouldn't usually drag out an attack for this long, at least in Haaki's experience. Get in, get it done, and get out, was what he had been taught, with particular stress on not wasting time taunting the mark. He had felt somewhat offended at the time by the insinuation that his style left anything to be desired, but at least his mentor had emphasised the need for efficiency. There was no pleasure in childish games, only in the kill. Slowly, Haaki lowered his hands.

'There are rules, even I know that,' he said. 'Has anyone performed the Black Sacrament for Frithjofr? Have any of the Speakers asked you to kill him?'

'That was the reason you joined! To have your revenge on him, the Speaker said!'

'And I failed, didn't I? So he must be dangerous. Look at his sword.'

'You're laughing at me.'

'Stop me, then. Shut me up.'

Bette turned on her heel to face him, dagger ready, a furious look on her face, and that gave it away entirely. Too much indecision, too much hesitation. Haaki folded his arms, relaxed now.

'Have you even been authorised to kill me, or was this just a test for you?' he asked. Bette advanced further, without actually bringing herself close enough for an attack, and he grinned. 'It is, isn't it? I bet the Speaker sent you out to keep you busy. Let me guess. They said to try and find Boar-Chaser, scare him a bit, keep him in line, but don't spill any blood, keep it tidy, and maybe then you'll be ready for another contract. That's why you were cross with Sjorik about the stag. Am I right?'

At last, she slid the dagger away, breathing deeply to try and regain some composure. Behind her, Sjorik let the summoned magic fall from his hands and began an intense study of a heather clump.

'All right. Yes. That's what they said. But I doubt they'd shed any tears if I did kill you.'

'It'd be much easier, and safer, to go back, tell them I promised to be a good boy and never breathe a word about you, and forget about me. Because I won't say anything, you have my word. I will trust in the Divines to bring you back to the path of righteousness, and when they do I will accept your plea for mercy.'

'Shut up.'

'Stendarr be with you, miss.'

'Hail Sithis.'

And with that, they were gone.

Only once they had slammed the door into the Sanctuary behind them did Haaki turn back to Frithjofr. He was shaking where he stood, still holding the sword in front of him as if the sight of it alone would ward off potential enemies. Gently, Haaki put his hands over Frithjofr's and helped him lower the weapon.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, the stuff about… about Minnel. Not any more. I had to say something to get rid of them.'

'I know.' Frithjofr breathed in deeply, face pale and eerie in the predawn light. Shadows fell in strange places. 'I would've fought 'em, though, to protect you. If I had to.'

'I wouldn't be worth it.'

Without giving him time to comment on that, Haaki pulled him along, eager now to leave the door far behind. It soon slipped into darkness as they trudged through the forest.

Once they were back on a real path, with the torches of Falkreath flickering between the trees, Haaki asked,

'How did you find me?'

'I saw there was blood on the ground 'n I thought, what if it was yours? So I went back and got my sword 'n stuff from the inn, and then I followed it to that cliff thing.' Frithjfor shifted uncomfortably in his armour, which had clearly been buckled in a hurry and weighed him down at the shoulders. Haaki wondered who had fastened it for him, picturing a poor barmaid at the inn being hustled in to help, and bit his lip as Frithjofr continued, 'Then I walked down and found that door, but it started asking me what the blessing of existence was and I guess nothing I said was right, I've never been good at riddles, and anyway I didn't like it, so I thought you must've been nearby and I decided I'd wait for you.'

It showed courage Haaki wouldn't have guessed Frithjofr had. Always a coward, it was hard to picture him picking his way along a trail of blood in the pines, to a door more bloodied than he knew, and even trying to get through it before being forced to admit defeat. He could have run back, or at least clanked back, in the unfamiliar armour. He could have found somewhere safer. He chose to wait.

Haaki kept pace with him for a while. The smell of smoke drifted towards them, the inn stoking up the fires ready for breakfast and another day. Such normal, friendly things. At the gates, Haaki hesitated.

'Do you think I'm just… running away from things?'

'Nothing wrong with running. Always worked for me.'

He looked sideways. Frithjofr was watching a guard patrolling the walls, a distant expression on his face.

'Frithjofr?'

'Aye?'

'When the door asked you what the blessing of existence was, what did you say?'

'Well, first I tried family, 'n friends, 'n chickens, but it didn't like those, so then I tried spoons, 'n not being in prison, 'n some other stuff. What was the right answer s'posed to be?'

The breath caught in Haaki's throat as a curious warmth overwhelmed him, out of nowhere, until his chest hurt and his eyes ached. He nudged Frithjofr's arm.

'I think... I think your answers were right. It must have been broken.'

'Aye, I thought so,' said Frithjofr, contentedly.

A companionable silence fell. Accompanied by the first hush of morning light, they continued their walk into town, back to peace, and to safety, and to red mountain flowers in bloom.

#story #haaki #lostnord