#Figure out which side you're on ( Astrid );

[wordsinhaled]

Charles has settled on Edwin's lap in the wingback chair in a comfortable sprawl, his knees on either side of Edwin's. He'd gone about it with a practiced ease, as though this is something he's done a million times; as though he belongs here; as though he could search out this spot in his sleep, if ghosts could sleep.

Yet Charles being so near to him, and with such deliberate and specific intent—that being their mutual enjoyment—is a relatively recent development, in the grand scheme. Edwin is... ablaze with the newness of it. He has to tip his head back just to get the full measure of Charles perched astride him, of the low lamplight diffused across Charles' face, of the fond, familiar mischief that glimmers in his eyes.

Port Townsend may have opened Edwin to his innermost desires, but if he is very, very honest he can admit that his private longing for Charles is of much older provenance. He would have given Charles an eternity to sort out the shape of his own feelings, if he needed it. And if it had meant Charles' continued happiness, he would have been content to live out their days alone in his regard, content with a cherished friendship that never included this.

By some miracle, he does not have to.

It had not taken Charles anywhere close to an eternity to figure out the rest, so to speak. What is a single year, after all, to a pair of ghosts? Falling in love, Charles had told him, felt like waking up in a strange bedroom which became, as you shook off sleep, suddenly as familiar as your own. "Oh... bit of a weird metaphor, that," he'd said, wrinkling his nose in the way Edwin privately found exceedingly endearing. Then: "Sorry, mate. I'd been building up to this, you know? What I was gonna say to you. Had it all planned in my head and now. Well. Can't get it out right, can I?"

But semantics didn't much matter, in the end.

In the end, being in love with one another had come to them as easily as it had to fall into step walking through the gates of St. Hilarion's, away from their shadowed past and towards their intertwined future.

It is dizzying to acknowledge that this is real—not a game, or a trick, or a trap. Just Charles Rowland, whom he adores, looking equally smitten as he steadies himself with his hands on Edwin's upper arms, the better to give an experimental shimmy of his hips against Edwin's. Like an anchorless ship Edwin drifts on the sweeping tide of pleasure their proximity brings. He relishes how Charles’ gaze rolls over him, terribly tender in its focus and promisingly molten.

"Charles," he says in unspooled wonder, simply because he can. Simply because happiness, in this moment, takes the shape of his best friend's name in his mouth. To his own ears he sounds strangled. Transported. Not himself whatsoever. It ought to scare him, the difference Charles can work through him so easily with the barest effort; it both does and doesn't. "I am certain you'll be the death of me."

"You're already dead, mate," says Charles, "live a little," and he actually giggles, like he's just said the funniest thing in all the world; like it pleases him immeasurably to know he can have this mad effect on Edwin. The giddy edge of his laughter vibrates through his chest, and into Edwin's. And Charles sounds breathless, even though ghosts do not need to breathe.

Edwin loves him so much, just then, that it genuinely aches. Not the agony of hell or the shocking burn of iron, but something new altogether, an incandescence that lances sharp beneath his breastbone. Something else to add to his running mental catalogue of sensations he shouldn't be able to feel, along with the beginnings of a flush spreading over his skin and the welcome heat of Charles' body through their clothes.

It is, all told, rather overwhelming.

Charles must read something of the enormity of his predicament writ plain on his face, for in the next second he reaches out to stroke careful, calloused thumbs over Edwin's burning cheeks. It's only a feather-light touch, back and forth and back again, one that might irk him were it to come from anyone else—but Charles has always been permitted certain liberties, so instead Edwin finds it... grounding. Or exhilarating. He isn't sure which. Possibly both.

"Hey," Charles says. "It's all right. It's fine. Still going slow, remember? This is brills, just this. We can st—"

"I do not wish us to stop," Edwin protests, before Charles can even finish the unthinkable suggestion. He could remain suspended in this precise millisecond for the next thirty years without complaint. "It is only that I... I can feel you. And everything. Everything we are doing. And it—you—you are so very...”

"Good?" Charles supplies, grinning Edwin’s favorite of his grins—the wide, unfettered one that shows his gums and lets a bit of his tongue peek between his teeth. He looks hopeful, impossibly bright in his joy, and just a little wicked.

“Yes,” Edwin says. "Better than good." He smiles up at Charles, some distant part of him registering that he must look utterly besotted.

Charles laughs, delighted.

And he tips forward to drop his forehead onto Edwin’s shoulder; to put his lips to Edwin’s neck, just below his ear. He presses a kiss there, so quick Edwin might think he’d imagined it, except that Charles does it a second time. And a third, this one open-mouthed and lingering, sending little shivers skittering down Edwin's spine and drawing a soft noise from his throat.

“I like this,” Charles whispers into Edwin's skin. His voice is raw-edged, confessional in a way Edwin hasn't quite heard him sound these three-odd decades. “So much. Being like this, with you. Didn't know how much I would, did I? 'Course you'd see it before me. Brilliant, you are, Edwin Payne."

[memoriamp4]

I can't stop thinking about how Astrid says to Hiccup "Figure out which side you're on", and a short while later, after bonding with Toothless, he goes to the cove with the full intent of running away with Toothless. He chose his side and it wasn't Berk or his father, it was Toothless, a dragon that he was taught to fear his entire life. It's really sad to think about the fact that Hiccup had been treated so terribly his whole life that he was going to run away with a dragon that he had known for maybe a month. And it didn't even seem like Hiccup had any difficulty choosing Toothless over Berk/Stoick

[anhttydbookfan]

Extra Rest Stop au angst: the day before Thuggory kidnaps the wrong Hiccup, the Hiccups get into a fight.

When Little Hiccup is riding with them, they spot a small group of dragons flying through a flaming x-shaped hole in the sky, exactly like what Windwalker flew through to get them there. Dragons singing the chant of the Red Rage.

They find Little Hiccup and try to kill him, but are shocked when dragonfire is met with dragonfire.

Little Hiccup tells them the War doesn't exist here. That Humans and Dragons live in harmony.

They declare the dragons of this world to be "nothing but dumb beasts" and that such a harmony cannot exist on their side, and go after him again. And are stopped again by the Dreamworks Gang.

"They won't let you kill me while i'm here." Little Hiccup says in Dragonese. He still had to be careful what he said, Other-Hiccup and Ingerman were translating right over his shoulder. "I have a lot more allies here then i do over there. I mean, everybody's trying to kill me back in the Barbaric Archipelago. If you took me back there to kill me I'm not sure i'd get out alive! But over here..."

The ensuing fight almost manages to separate Little Hiccup from the Gang and herd him through the Which Way. Astrid yoinks him off of Windwalker right before they get through. Windwalker, of course, follows. The Which Way starts to close and the Red Rage dragons fly back through it before they too get stranded there.

Cue the Gang's relief and sounds of "i can't believe you didn't figure out they were herding us"

"Well i never really did well in my herding-sheep-on-dragonback lessons"

"they were herding us?"

"Yeah! It's classic pack-hunter behavior, separate the weakest-looking one from the rest of the group and then... No offense, Rider."

"None taken."

"But it's fascinating that dragons of different species learned to work together like that. Is that normal for the dragons where you're from?"

"It's a... recent development in their behavior."

"Well lucky for us Astrid caught you when she did, right?"

"Yeah... Lucky."

Then Astrid breaks her silence with "You flew straight for that x-shaped fire in the sky as soon as they made an opening. You... wanted to go back with them, didn't you?"

And, well, It's not like Hiccup can deny it.

The core of the issue is this: Little Hiccup needs to return to find his friend and stop the war. The Gang want him to stay there and not run the risk of dying while they find his friend and try to help stop the war. The phrase "We're Vikings, aren't we? Death's an occupational hazard!" Does nothing to deter them. Wodensfang's speech about Fate and Destiny was met with a resounding "Screw Fate" and "Destiny can shove its ugly face up Mildew's--" "...OKAY Tuffnut, I think we get it." And Little Hiccup's very reasonable statement that they don't know anything about what it's like over there was met with "then tell us so we're not going in blind."

They all go to bed that night slightly miffed at each other.

Then the Alvinsmen arrive, and leave with the wrong Hiccup.

[saturnniidae]

astrid for the character ask game?

(p.s deya you are so cool)

YAYAUAY I LOVE YAMMERING ABKJT ASTRID (ALSO TYSM???)

Favorite thing about her: the way she cares so deeply for people but is bad at showing it and has the most diabolical case of cuteness aggression I fear I've ever seen. She expresses her love for her friends through actions like protecting them.

Least favorite thing: How she only has like one episode (the flighttmare episode where shes trying to regain her famliys honor. off the top of my head) dedicated solely to her, and all her other development being linked to Hiccup in some way and how she's slowly just reduced to 'supportive gf' in the later movies.

Favorite line: "Our parents war is about to become ours! Figure out which side you're on." Because it just tells you so much about her character. She's essentially a child soldier, well they all are, but the others still goof off, yknow, like kids are supposed to?? Astrid allows herself 0 moments of weakness (respite) and puts everything before herself to ensure berks safety.

BrOTP: I already talked about her and Snotlout, so how about her and Fishlegs? Like they their moments of silliness in that one rtte ep where he helped her look for a betrothal gift and her helping him protect the dramillions. It shows they have such a bond you'd think would be kind of unlikely but then it's like. Never talked about again and it makes me mad bc they're such best friends :(

(let Astrid have friends outside of Hiccup challenge: FAILED)

OTP: Her and Hiccup. Or Heather. Heathstrid is more of a 'it's cute and makes sense' ship than one I'm genuinely invested in tbh bc I don't think Heather needs a love interest, so ig hiccstrid since I'm more invested in it. (or specifically the version that lives in my head)

NOTP: idk. I saw her shipped with viggo once. That was Interesting (boo throws tomatoes👎👎)

Random headcanon:

Now knowing their war with the dragons was essentially pointless, she feels like she wasted her childhood. Had someone only realized and ended it sooner, she wouldn't have spent all her time training instead of being happy. Also she's trans <33

(Astrid child soldier Hofferson you grew up too fast. The dragon war ended only for her to be thrust into another conflict (war with viggo) shortly after but it's not like she's complaining. I feel like she spent so much time training to fight, she barely knows how to just. Be.)

Also. She keeps a little handkerchief in that pouch on her belt to wipe her hands after holding Hiccup's. Sweaty ass palms.

Also also, I feel like she has a slightly strained relationship with her parents and siblings and her uncle is her closest famliy member.

Unpopular opinion:

Sheshould get to be silly and be allowed to kind of suck sometimes. Let her be kind of a bitch with no remorse!!! let her be goofy sometimes!!!

Song I associate her with:

There's a few

Crab - Alex g (specifically her and Hiccup in the 1st movie and before it), The Wedding List - Kate Bush and The Calling - The Amazing Devil

(I've always interpreting The Calling as moving on from a desire to please and being blinded to other important aspects of life due to to one's obsession with strength, reflecting on that and starting anew which I feel fits her)

Favorite picture:

She looks so happy here it makes my chest hurt (gotnf is fhe best depiction of Astrid in all of httyd outside the first movie. I'll die in this hill)

[dragonmasterhiccup]

https://www.tumblr.com/dragonmasterhiccup/757790969864290304/httpswwwtumblrcomdragonmasterhiccup757749026?source=share

--------------------------------------------------

Astrid smiled softly and kissed his cheek "I just think what you would you say to me if I was in your 'shoe'." She joked and added "Also I know you. And knowing you is enough to learn what to say as you inspire people. You inspire me"

She then hugged him to comfort him some more.

Meanwhile in the lower docks Eret woke up and rubbed his face tired, trying to sit up despite the headache. He opened his eyes to look around, only to realize that he's not where he's supposed to be. "Oh no... This is wrong. This is-Ugh ow!" He held his head and panted "Relax, I'll fix it. Just let me fix it" he muttered as if talking to someone else in there and stood wobbly, finding the cage lock and trying to figure out which type it was.

"Okay, I got it I got it. Just wait a little longer and let me get us out. You're not supposed to be here anyway..." He muttered and after opening the lock thanks his trapper experiences, he got out and fell on his knees, holding his head in pain.

"J-just don't hurt them.... Don't hurt them and just leave. Please..."

Dragons woke up and raised their heads, hearing a clicking from below the ship and seeing a light coming from beneath the wooden planks before something burst through the side of the ship and sunk under water.

Fishlegs and Snotlout rannover "Hiccup! He's gone!"

"And the ship has a hole that takes a water in!"

Astrid looked out at the black sea, seeing how their fully changed glowing friend used his fin like wings to swim away fast, going the same direction they were but faster. Within 5 minutes he was out of sight.

"It seems that we inspire each other, don't we?" Hiccup wrapped an arm around Astrid, pulling her closer. "Thank you, Astrid."

-------------

"What? He's gone?" He stood up, hurrying to get below deck to assess the damage.

Just like they said, Eret was gone, and there was a hole in the side of the boat. He groaned in frustration, getting back to the top deck.

"Alright. Wake up the others, see if Ruffnut can get Scauldy to support the ship from below, just enough to get that hole above sea level. Fishlegs and I will see if the other dragons can help lift the ship with ropes, ease the burden from Scauldy."

"We'll make our repairs as fast as possible, but not sloppily. We don't want another leak. Toothless!" The Night Fury nodded, understanding. "Alright, let's move! Snotlout, I'll meet you below deck, we'll start on those repairs, and the twins can help bail out the water. Astrid? Keep watch, we'll work as fast as possible, but if the dragons are strained, let me know immediately."

He headed back below deck, gathering tools and wooden boards to make the repairs.

[random-thought-depository]

Final half of a teaser for a fanfic that will probably never actually be written:

Some of this is copy/pasted with modifications from Strangler In A Strange Land, which I am riffing off. I also took a little inspiration at one point from Homocadherin y.

Skipping over a bunch of stuff that would happen in the actual story...

Summary: plot would very approximately follow that of Strangler In A Strange Land with Eva in place of Amber but, of course, setting up the twist that Eva isn't the actual serial killer, her vampire mom is, and this story's version of Annabelle is a Dorley graduate whose motivation is they're understandably extremely angry about the whole forced feminization thing and who's been targeting sponsors and people who participated in abductions as revenge. Eva uses Lucie to lure Annabelle into a trap and then kill her, but in the process Lucie finds out about Eva's hyper-empathy.

"You're not really a killer, are you?" Lucie asks.

There is a long hesitation, and then Eva says, "I've killed deer and such things."

"But not people," Lucie says, "You couldn't."

Eva says nothing.

"You know the person who actually did those murders though, don't you?" Lucie says, and then "It was always your mother, wasn't it?"

There is a long, pregnant hesitation, and then Eva simply says "Yes," and then Eva tilts her head a little and smiles disturbingly and says, "Would you like to meet my mother?"

Lucie has never been able to figure out Eva's ethnicity. She guesses maybe Egyptian or something; brown skin, black hair, dark brown eyes, aquiline nose. She'd thought he was darkly handsome as Francis, and Dr. Baker did her usual excellent job, made Eva a beautiful woman - or so Lucie thinks, anyway. Insofar as Dorley's girls discuss Eva's looks, it seems to be a divisive subject; people tend to find her either darkly beguiling or creepy and off-putting.

She looks strange.

Ears a little too big. Strangely big jaw. High, sharp cheekbones, and brow ridges a little over-prominent (but the eyebrows themselves are thin). Strangely asymmetrical features; a common unkind judgment is that she looks very subtly deformed. She's wasn't that unusually big as a boy, but she's definitely quite on the tall side, well over six feet tall, and solidly built, and is strangely strong, in a way the hormones don't seem to have effected much; she's definitely got an intimidation factor going.

The most disquieting thing isn't structural; it's the way she moves and the way her eyes move; it doesn't seem quite right.

When Eva smiles and shows her teeth, her front teeth look disquietingly pointed, and her canines look disquietingly big.

Eva brandishes a heavy ring jingling with any number of keys, and after a moment’s deliberation, unlocks a smaller door set into the larger cargo entrance. Inside, the building is cavernous and filthy, if surprisingly well-lit by a row of narrow, dirt-spackled windows placed high up along one wall. Rust-caked industrial equipment hunches menacingly astride narrow concrete channels, and it’s as the women carefully pick their way across the remains of a long, ceiling-mounted rail, now fallen among the detritus littering the floor, that the place seems to snap into focus for Lucie as having once been the final destination in countless animals’ journey through life.

“Why have you brought me to an old abattoir, Eva? Lucie asks, not sure she really wants to know the answer.

Eva says only, "Follow and you'll soon see." Lucie follows. The pair skirt around an ominous steel vat wreathed in collapsed ductwork and choked with debris fallen from the high, arched warehouse roof. “This place is a wreck,” Lucie comments, somewhat unnecessarily.

“Protective camouflage,” Eva answers, from slightly ahead, her voice echoing eerily. “The renovations were confined to the lower floors. It only seemed appropriate.”

“Renovations? Isn’t this place abandoned?” Christine asks.

“Only to look at; in fact, I own it,” Eva replies lightly. “Or, well, ACR Logistics does, and through them Highline Holdings, and on and on via a whole labyrinth of companies and financial instruments until ultimately there’s me as the sole shareholder, so in effect I do.”

Lucie’s thoughts on the notion of Eva owning a mouldering abattoir occupy her for long enough that the pair arrive at a filthy, pitted steel door, half-hidden by defunct machinery yet suspiciously accessible via a cleared area of floor behind a row of pipes. Eva opens what looks from the outside like a fuse box, but the machinery inside is suspiciously computerized, suspiciously modern, and suspiciously clean.

"Only me and Mother can use this entrance," Eva says, "Won't open for anyone else. Which is why I show it to you. Other staff uses different door."

"You have other staff?" Lucie says. Eva doesn't respond, but touches her finger against a small screen in the disguised terminal. The machinery lights up, and an incongruously normal, neutral, feminine computerized voice says, "Fingerprint confirmed. Begin voiceprint identification and pass phrase sequence. Enter first pass phrase."

Eva says in a slow, clear voice, apparently to the computer, "Your son, your only son, whom you love."

The computer says, "Enter second pass phrase."

Eva says, "For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake."

The computer says, "Enter third pass phrase."

Eva says, "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.'"

The computer says, "Voiceprint confirmed. Pass phrases correct. Submit to blood leuenkephalin test."

Eva sticks a thumb into a niche. There is a raspy sound. After a few moments the computer says "Blood leuenkephalin confirmed. Identity confirmed. You may enter." A loud mechanical clangy sound issues from the door, but otherwise nothing happens.

Eva pulls the door open manually. It is, apparently, quite heavy. She grins, showing disturbingly pointy teeth, and says, "Final layer of security. Door too heavy for most humans to shift."

After Lucie passes through, Eva closes the door behind her and touches a button. Lucie hears mechanical components working; she assumes it is a locking mechanism, securing the door behind them.

She really doesn't like this, but at this point she's honestly kind of afraid to say anything.

Most humans? What an odd way to say most people.

Beyond the door there is a corridor like a giant pipe tilted at a sixty degree angle, almost circular in cross section, its circularity interrupted only by a stairway, a maze of pipes near the ceiling, and a bend at the top that creates room for a small platform. Eva leads her down the stairs with a teasing, wordless smile. It is dimly lit, dim enough that Lucie has to be careful with her footing. Eva says, "Sorry about the light. Human staff don't use this corridor much."

That odd phrasing again! Human staff!

At the bottom of the stairs begins a corridor, lined in cheap wood-effect laminate and more brightly lit by fluorescent strips, with evenly-spaced doors on either side, a place that feels at once too familiar and too strange in ways Lucie is having a little trouble putting her finger on...

The strange: an odd roundedness everywhere. An arched ceiling. Doors and doorways with curving corners instead of being the usual simple rectangles. A curving surface where the walls join the floor too. An architecture without right angles! And high ceilings and near the ceiling there's an oddly complex maze of pipes, so many that part her suspects that some of them don't actually have anything in them and are just there as, apparently, a gratuitous architectural flourish. It reminds her of a jungle gym or... Somehow a more chilling analogy suggests itself: a simulation of the dense branches of a forest, a place where something that can climb might hide and watch what's happening below and move around without being easily spotted from below. The lighting is arranged so the bottom eight feet or so of the corridors are well lit but the pipe area above it is deeply shadowed; this no doubt contributes much to the impression of a sinister, jungle-like space.

The too familiar: correct away that strangeness, remove that strangeness, adjust her mental picture of the space to what it might look like with more conventional architecture, and it starts to look a lot like...

Oh my God!

Eva apparently reads and correctly interprets Lucie's dawning horrified comprehension, because Eva spreads her arms to indicate all that lies ahead and exclaims “Welcome to Dorley Hall!”

“You built your own Dorley?” Lucie breathes, utterly appalled.

“Kind of," Eva says, “It’s mostly just the holding area, if I’m honest, and it was mostly as a cheeky in-joke. The rest is quite different. And I'm sure you've noticed we changed the design a little."

Eva shows Lucie one of the cells. It's quite similar to the ones at Dorley, except, again, for the persistent architectural insistence on roundedness, on lack of sharp angles. It extends even to the cot, toilet, and sink; all curves and rounded corners. Even the lamp is round. Even the pillows are round. Even the sheets and blankets have round corners. Some hunch makes her look under the cot, and she notices even the supporting struts under the mattress have a strange, curved, liquid-looking design.

No neat rectangular bars that could be torn out and turned into an improvised cross.

There's a common room, again eerily similar to yet different from Dorley, almost everything the same if only you correct for the persistent emphasis on roundedness and the strange, vaguely sinister jungle of shadowed pipes above and the lighting arranged to keep that jungle of pipes deeply shadowed. Again, the roundedness extends even to the furniture. And Lucie notices there is no TV, in fact no arrangement for visual media of any kind. And she notices there's a big oval gap in the wall above the door, that would... That would allow somebody to move from the hall to the common room by climbing around in the shadowed pipes, without having to come down to the floor and come in through the door.

Is it just her imagination, or does Lucie hear a soft scuttling somewhere above her?

“How was all this even built? You can’t have done it yourself,” Lucie asks. “Were there contractors or something? How would you keep them from telling anyone? Wait, you didn’t…?”

“Perish the thought, darling! Far too much fuss and mess," Eva says, "No, a couple of lazy afternoons getting a grounding in architecture were enough to draw up blueprints that could pass for a gym or some sort of training centre, and then I simply handed over enough money that nobody worried overmuch about any funny little quirks. The real trick is hiring one firm to do part of the work, then another to do the next bit, and so on. Nobody ever sees the full picture. And then, oh no, the money runs out and the work is abandoned before ever being finished. So sad, such a shame, on to the next job. No, I guarantee the people who worked on this place haven’t thought about it in years."

A horrible suspicion compels Lucie to investigate the operating theatre. It too is replicated here, though with some additional supplies and equipment the original version doesn't have. There is a large stock of antibiotics. There are things that might be related to pregnancy, child-birth, post-birth gynecological care, and pediatric medicine. And there is an unidentifiable machine poised over a seat with restraints.

Eva notices Lucie staring at that last thing and says, "In your institution we discover surprisingly effective human control system. We learn from you and copy you, but add some innovations of our own. This machine is Mother's personal invention. Dampens and disrupts certain human social modelling and self-monitoring networks. Makes humans... dream less intensely. A little more like us. Our subjects, like yours, often start socially maladjusted, high anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, scrupulosity, etcetera; are happier after we give them this adjustment. Disrupts gender identity too, so goes well with the castration and feminization. It is... most humane. Our programme is more humane than yours, I think."

Lucie backs away and accidentally hits some button, switch, or touchscreen control. A recorded voice begins issuing from some speaker. It sounds wrong, high-pitched, sing-song, the pitch range too wide, the pace wrong, sometimes too sibilant, sometimes spat with a brutal hardness that makes t's and hard c's almost click-like; it says, "In the alley, you do not resist. Only your conscious mind requires this narrative of overwhelming force..."

Eva quickly reaches past her and shuts off the recording. Too quickly. The movements are disturbingly fast; they feel almost inhumanly so.

Eva has other things she wants to show Lucie.

There's a... nursery? Something like that. A place with bunk beds and toys. There are four children there. They look like they could be Eva's relatives; they swarm around Eva, are clearly familiar with her, and Eva hands out small candies and a few toys from her expensive designer purse.

The children seem curious about Lucie too. One of them asks, "Is this a new Auntie?"

"To your question, no," Eva says.

The child sniffs at Lucie almost like a dog and says, "It smells like an Auntie!"

"She's from the other place," Eva says.

"Oh!" the child says, as if that explains everything, and to her maybe it does.

Eva doesn't exactly explain all this to Lucie, but these children are vampire/human hybrids. Mother thinks that kidnapping young men, extracting their sperm, brainwashing and castrating and feminizing them, and then impregnating herself with their stored sperm is a capital idea; it means her bloodline is now the only path their genes have to the future, and she thinks that binds them to her. Eva suspects Mother vampiromorphizes humans a bit there, but she's never been good at getting Mother to change her mind about anything.

Lucie asks if any of the "Aunties" are around right now. They are not. They're all away in Mongolia right now, digging up a particularly promising middle Eemian bone bed. Archaeology is one of the primary utilities of the "Aunties" to Mother, and it is an important part of her project.

"Mother's around though," Eva says, "She's been watching us the whole time we've been here. She'll show herself if she feels like it."

In the inverted well of darkness above, amid the shadowed pipes, something scuttles.

"Is that Mother?" Lucie says quietly, pointing upward.

"Oh no," Eva says, "Mother would never make that much noise! That's just Sasha! Remember when I retrieved my frozen sperm from your institution? Sasha's the one Mother made with that. So she's three-quarters Mother, so she's a lot more like her. She likes to hide, like Mother. Would you like to see our bone room?"

There is a lab of sorts, containing protective see-through cases in which very old-looking bones and bone fragments can be seen. Ancient vampire bones, though Eva doesn't precisely explain this to Lucie. Searching the world for vampire bones is one of the primary tasks of the "Aunties" (Eva has given them all a thorough education in the relevant fields of archaeology - Mother prefers to not have to deal with teaching humans, who are very slow, need to have things explained to them repeatedly instead of just getting everything immediately like a vampire would). Mother has been trying to extract DNA from the ancient bones; she plans to use it to clone some long-dead vampires, adding vital genetic diversity to her growing family. They have managed to scrape together more-or-less whole genomes of multiple individuals and are almost ready to create the first clone zygote; if all goes well it should be implanted in Mother within a year. Between such cloning and careful alternate inbreeding and out-crossing of the hybrids, Mother and Eva are optimistic that a viable vampire population can be established, that their family can continue.

Eva shows Lucie an oddly lumpy partial skull, indicates various parts of it with a pencil, says, "Teeth and jaws didn't preserve, but low facial symmetry dead give-away and DNA extracted from two remaining molars confirms!"

After they leave the lab Eva goes very still and quiet for a few seconds and then points up at the shadowed low-visibility area near the ceiling and says "Mother's here. Up there, with Sasha. Been following us for a while. Would you like to meet Mother and Sasha? Would you like to meet my Mum and my daughter?"

Two things that are human-shaped but a little too long-limbed and a little too tall and moving too fast descend from the shadowed space near the ceiling.

[boowhumps]

Whumptober 2023

Day 5

(@whumptober)

By - B.W

⚠TW⚠

~ Swearing

~ Mentions of Death

~ Mentions of Suicide

~ Mentions of Torture

Enjoy!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

My eyes snap open as I gasp for air, eyes darting around in desperation.

I look straight up ahead to see flames burning down the support beams of the ceiling.

I try to lift myself up only to find I can't. Burnt wood pieces pin me down to the floor. My head falls back as I breathe heavily.

I couldn't remember what happened..

I close my eyes, coughing as I inhale the smoke. I look back up to see the beams coming loose, threatening to fall on me.

I grasp at the wood on top of me and try to move them, but I have no strength.

My breath quickens as I watch the beams loosening even more.

I keep trying to push off the debris, managing to move a small piece, but not enough for me to move.

My eyes dart from the debris to the beams. Back and forth..

My breath gets caught in my throat as I watch one beam fall, barely missing me.

I grunt in frustration as I try to free myself. The flames spread quickly, not giving me a chance.

I push away another piece of debris only to fall back from exhaustion. My eyes slowly adjust to the beams, which are hanging by a thread.

I close my eyes, feeling a surge of tears behind them.

This is it.

It's the end.

I fought.. but I wasn't strong enough.

I never really was..

My thoughts wander..

My family.. what will happen to them once I'm gone..?

My husband.. my children..

Children..

Ashton..

Astrid..

...

Kaiden..

I hear the beams snap, and brace.

...

The impact never comes.

I open my eyes to see the beams above me in mid air. They float above me. I suck in a breath, eyes wide.

The beams are thrown to the side, out of view. I find my eyes closing again, but the open as I feel the pressure of the debris on me fade.

The debris is discarded along with the beams, and I turn my head to the side, as a half smile forms on my lips.

"..you came.." I manage to whisper.

The figure approaches me, and kneels down next to me.

"You called." It says.

I'm lifted off the floor, and soon the flames are far behind us.

I walk slowly, an arm around me to support me.

"Years later and your close-death experiences still surprise me." Silas says, eyes staring straight ahead.

I laugh a bit despite the pain in my ribs. "..years later and you're still saving my ass.."

He shakes his head with a smile. "I had to. That was a suicide mission what you just did in there."

"..suicide mission or not.. I still failed.. he got away.." I mumble, my memories coming back to me.

"..not exactly. We've got a tracker on him. He won't get far.." Silas tells me.

"..We.?" I ask.

"Yes, we. You're not alone in this. We're all still here." He says, turning to me.

"..how did you find me..?" I ask slowly.

"Freyja helped with that." He responds.

I stop, turning to him. "Frey..ja?"

He smiles at me. "Yes, that Freyja."

I shake my head. "..don't fuck with me like that Si-"

He stops me. "It's her, Karyme. She's alive."

I stare in shock. "..how-?"

"Turns out not all hope was lost with her." He starts explaining. "Selyna managed to revive her, although it was risky.." He sighs. "Her health is quite delicate.. but she's gotten stronger through the years."

I let out a quivering breath. "And she remembers..?"

"She does." Silas says. "..she doesn't hate you, Karyme.."

"How could she not..? I'm the reason she-" I stop myself, sighing. "..there's no way she's just.. fine after that."

"I never said she was." He sighs. "..she's been through a lot.. but it's not on you.. it was on David."

"I told him-" I say as he shushes me.

"He tortured you, Karyme. He fucked with you, and he might of won, but it's because he played dirty."

"..I sold her out-"

"And thank Selyna you did. Either way, he would've found out, and you both would've been killed then."

"I still died.."

"..you did. But, you died a.. good person.."

"..i guess I did, didn't I?"

"..would you look at that? You actually listened to me.. you really have gotten older.."

"..im not sure if that was meant as a compliment or not.."

"Take it as one. It means you've matured.. changed for the better.."

"..still stubborn though.."

"I had a feeling you still were. Can't be Karyme without the stubbornness."

I laugh, holding my ribs. "..so how's life been in Celestial.?"

He hums. "Not sure, haven't been there for a while."

I give him a look. "What do you mean.?"

"I was revived a bit after you were, Karyme."

"But you said-"

"I know.. but I thought to give life another chance."

I chuckle a bit. "..looks like you've matured too."

"Hm.. real funny, Karyme."

I look at him. "Then what have you been up to.?"

"I had a life for a while.. and I lost it. Made some good choices.. and some bad ones." He says softly.

"Oh.." I reply. "I'm.. sorry things didn't work out for you.."

"Don't be." He says, holding a hand up. "Sometimes things just aren't meant to be."

We stop walking for a minute, turning to each other.

"Tell me about you now. What's Mrs. Karyme been up to these last 21 years?" He asks with a smile.

I shake my head playfully. "It's Mrs. Santaro to you, I'm married."

He nods. "To him, right?"

"Yep, have been for 15 years now.."

"Well weren't you in a rush?"

"Oh hush.."

He laughs. "Anything else? I can't imagine you anywhere beyond marriage."

"Jokes on you, I went beyond that." I reply.

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh really now?"

"Believe it or not."

"I doubt it."

"Two."

"..two!? I didn't even expect one.."

I smile a bit. "Best things to ever happen to me.."

"I'm sure they are.."

My smile fades. "..I guess we've both had our ups and downs, huh.?"

"Seems so.." Silas answers.

"..none of this makes sense.." I mumble. "..why after so long.. why target my kids.?"

Silas places a hand on my shoulder. "Attachment is everyone's worst weakness. It's an easy thing to mess with.."

I let out a quivering breath. "..They want something from us.."

Silas frowns. "You feel it too, huh?"

I nod. "For some time now. I brushed it off until-.. well until my son was affected by it.."

Silas sighs. "There's a reason we met again, and I wish I could say it's a good thing.."

I look over to him. "It's a trap, isn't it.?"

He says nothing, just gives me a small nod.

I turn away from him, facing the harsh winds that have picked up.

"..we can't let them win.." I whisper.

A hand rest on my shoulder. "They won't."

I look over to Silas again.

"We're all here.. we can beat them again."

I sigh. "We'll need help."

"It might be a necessity." He replies, scanning the area.

I think of allies, my mind only coming to the thing I'm trying to avoid.

I frown. "..i wish I didn't.. but I know some people.."

Silas turns back to me. "..let me guess.. it's your.. friends."

"They're a large group. Trained and brave.. they may be of help.. That is if-"

"-We can convince them." We both say at the same time, making us both groan.

"Let's just go talk to them.. I can't wait to see the reason for that day-"

"Hush."

"..of course.. I knew you couldn't have changed that much.."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

[ink-and-dagger]

So I absolutely loved DWM, just all of it was fantastic. I was wondering if Jinx will ever figure out how to make the disarming/goop/grenade work?

Thank you so much sweets! 💜 And yes, she does! Here's a really rough and completely unedited brain splat of how she solves it

[Author possesses little to no scientific knowledge. Don’t look too closely k thnx.]

The solution to Jinx’s Goop Grenade continues to elude her. Astrid suggests a change of scenery might help jumpstart her brain. So Jinx takes her blueprints/notes etc and goes on a little adventure to find a new spot to work in.

The weather is nice, so she heads down to the Gorge and spots a cool looking perch high up overlooking the water. A sort of cavity type opening in the side of a building with a little lip to to sit on and these cool giant coupled contraptions whirring in the background which she finds oddly soothing.

She climbs her way up to the ledge and settles down to work.

To no avail.

No matter how hard she thinks, she cannot come up with any potential solutions that she hasn’t already tried.

Jinx is so engrossed that she doesn’t even notice the new presence who turns up behind her and peers over her shoulder at her notes. Until they speak.

“Interesting.”

Interesting indeed. What an interesting accent.

"Sophisticated mechanics," the man contemplates thoughtfully beneath his breath, "and yet such rudimentary materials."

Jinx clutches her notes possessively to her chest and scowls at the young man. Immediately on guard when she takes note of the academy uniform.

“Who you callin' rudimentary? Anyhow, I think it's pretty rude-imentary to snoop.”

“My sincerest apologies. I did not intend offence. Rather I wished to compliment you on your resourcefulness. I was not expecting to find anyone else here. It is somewhat of a, eh, haven for me.”

Jinx lowers her guard just a touch. Only a born zaunite could consider any part of the Undercity to be a safe haven. And in the man's cane, his leg brace, and the shadows beneath his eyes, she spots a kindred soul. Another who has been dealt a difficult hand by life.

The man introduces himself as Viktor, and begins to ask questions about Jinx's work.

It takes a little while longer, but eventually Jinx begins to relax. And the two end up sitting side-by-side, discussing her troublesome grenade.

"I've tried every alteration I can think of but it's no use. I can't find that gloop-sweet-spot. If the viscosity is too low then the grenade is pointless. Too high and the casing won't budge."

"Have you considered using a substance that does both?"

Jinx peers at Viktor with narrowed eyes. Confused and suspicious. But he offers no further explanation. Simply waits patiently for her to come to the conclusion herself.

It slowly dawns, and her eyes widen again as she mutters her epiphany under her breath.

"Oxidisation. A substance that thickens the second it makes contact with the air outside the casing. That's brilliant!! Has anyone ever told you that you're a genius?!!"

"Eh.” He shrugs, “It's a compliment I'm paid time to time."

Jinx scrambles to her feet and messily gathers her notes and makes to speed off to her lab to get to work. But remembers herself at the last second and slams into Viktor with an enthusiastic hug.

"Thanks Vik! I owe you a big one!"

"There are no debts between colleagues when it comes to scientific progress. Good luck, Jinx. I've no doubt our professional paths will cross again."

[ashley-jones]

Heaven Don't have a Name

Astrid Romanov is a 22 year old NXT wrestler, and is currently dating Shayna Baszler. There was a huge age gap between the two, which usually never goes well. So when Astrid is finally transfered to WWE after making her way up the charts, a certain Australian NXT wrestler is pushing between a Relationship without even truly noticing.

Warnings: Cursing, Fighting, Slight mention of injury

Chapter 1

The Dominant's girlfriend

Walking into WWE was like a dream come true for Astrid. She's worked so hard the past 6 years to get to this point, and she couldn't be happier. She was the sweet and doll like face of NXT, the sweetheart that stole the Dominant's heart with perfect flexibility and strength that she didn't look like she had.

Shayna walked beside her, watching the way her younger girlfriend was able to conversate with the reporter, without actually paying much attention to her. "There's Bianca!" Astrid suddenly spoke. Shayna rolled her eyes, remembering how close the two where in NXT. The long haired woman turned, the boss smiling and dropping her bag, the younger running and hugging her. The camera crew left allowing the girls to start getting ready.

Bianca held Astrid tightly, the taller woman smiling and flicking her long braid back ignoring the glares from Shayna. "I'm so proud of you!" the boss congratulated the younger wrestler, who smiled softly putting her head against the taller ones shoulder. "Are you seriously dating Baszler?" Bianca whispered. Astrid cocked her head nodding with a soft smile, which moved back towards Shayna who stood with her suit case leaning against her leg, and the younger females beside her.

"Oh shit.. Is that Rhea??" Astrid quietly asked. She's only met Rhea a few times behind stage. She has yet to be given the chance to go up against her, or even train with her. "Language!" Shotzi spoke up. Astrid was surrounded by people she's fought with in NXT, old friends that she hung out with in hotel rooms talking about the most random shit.

"Astrid." Shayna finally spoke. She was no longer interested in this reunion, and was ready to pull her girlfriend away. "But I wanna talk to Rhea.." Astrid mumbled. "No." Shayna sharply replied before walking away, the younger female sighing and saying goodbye to her old friends and following after the older woman.

It wasn't news to her that Shayna hated Rhea, ever since Rhea stole the NXT women's championship from her, they've hated one another. This hatred between them seems to follow out to the ring as well, brutality meeting the dominant, creating the worse nightmare of WWE.

Astrid wanted to go up against Rhea Ripley. Not to win, but just to feel that adrenaline Bianca and Shayna have described when going against the nightmare. She wanted to know how her signature riptide felt like. Yes this was a masochistic want, but she wasn't ashamed. Rhea was a badass independent woman that stood out as one of the best female wrestlers in WWE, and Astrid wanted to be one of the few people that got behind her walls. But with Shayna constantly by her side, she couldn't get close enough to even say hello to Rhea.

Dressed in her gear, makeup artists going at the eyeshadow that was glittered with white, black, and silver. An eye chain was placed at the top following the perfect cat eye liner. Her ginger red strands where tied into a high ponytail, a few strands falling loose and framing her face perfectly.

A tall figure sat down beside her, dressed in red and black leather. Astrid didn't even have to look over to know who it was, the Australian accent gave it away. "You're the new pipsqueak correct?" Rhea spoke towards the younger female. Astrid looked over towards her smiling, then looked back at the mirror. "I don't think I like pipsqueak. They tend to call me Doll." she teased.

"Well you're tiny, voice is small, and smile like a mouse. So pipsqueak seems to work." Rhea mocked. Astrid's green eyes shimmered with glitter, moving away from the makeup stylist and looking towards the woman. "You wouldn't be saying that if we where in the ring Ripley." she whispered. "I heard you wanna get in the ring with me." the Aussie spoke.

Astrid looked back towards the mirror staring at her reflection. Her skin was glistened with silver and black glitter, hair flowing down her back as her scalp screamed at the tightness from the hair tie. Her white and black skimpy gear was tight, and the hanging chain was cold against her heated skin. She was a gorgeous girl, with unbelievable doll features that made her look so innocent. Yes she was rather small, she was 5'0 being compared with towering women, but she was a badass in the ring!

"Will you give me the chance of getting in the ring with the nightmare?" she finally asked. Rhea smirked standing up walking away, allowing the younger to turn her head back towards the mirror smiling. The stylists finishing their last touches, before allowing her to get up and make her way out and to the monitor.

Shayna was currently going up against Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Becky Lynch, and the 3 horsewomen where standing there who quickly welcomed the younger wrestler. Rhea could be seen the other monitor standing in her leather gear that showed off every curve and left nothing to the imagination.

Astrid cringed when Alexa pinned Shayna, a smirk gracing her black painted lips. The zoom shadowed crowd cheered on the screens, while the ref counted and struck three. Alexa got off of her smiling cheering her own victory. Shayna sat up growling in frustration ripping her teeth guard out.

Hell in a Cell is probably one of the worst nights to start on. This was a night of brutal and frustrating tactics by every wrestler that is deemed to step into that ring. She had no clue who she was going up against, she just knew her script.

"Good luck.." Shayna growled. "Yea.. um do you know who I'm going against??" Astrid softly asked. "You weren't told? Fucking people are useless.. Ripley." Shayna mumbled. She was frustrated, so the Russian wrestler didn't ask anything else. But when she looked away a smirk formed, tongue gracing over glossed lips. "This will be fun." she whispered.

Entering that ring was one of the best moments for Astrid. Just being in WWE made her happy, and the adrenaline that comes from the loud announcers and flashing lights as her theme song blasts across the intercom.

She stood in the farthest corner, watching as 'Rhea Ripley' appeared on the screen. Her theme song blasting loudly, making Astrid's heart pound loudly in her ears. But this wasn't out of fear, the smile on her face made the judges push any fear allegations away, marking her off as confident and ready. No her heart was pounding in anticipation, with adrenaline that injected every vein her body forcing her body to regenerate and pin the taller woman down.

Astrid pulled the arm guards off and tossed them to the ground, Ripley's spiked jacket soon to follow. "Come on pipsqueak!" Rhea yelled. Astrid smiled walking around Rhea scoping her out, looking for weak points. The judged pointed out that she could be possibly teasing Rhea, making the match last longer.

When Astrid didn't make the first move, Rhea ran forward grabbing her left leg pulling it forward. Only for the younger to grab on her shoulder, jumping up and grabbing onto the ropes that sat behind her twisting Rhea causing her to fall. This allowed Astrid jump up onto the top rope and stand balancing herself before jumping down to land on top of Ripley. But Rhea moved before the females knees could collide with her stomach.

Astrid sat stunned for a few seconds, which gave Rhea an advantage. Her fingers wrap around the youngers ponytail pulling it and left her up onto her feet. Astrid's lips where parted, head lodged back from the harsh pulling and dragging from the taller woman. Rhea slammed her head into the turnbuckle. But she didn't stop there because she continued til Astrid was down and actually crawling back.

Her chest rose and fell quickly, blood was actually staining her lower lip. Her tongue snuck up licking it from the gloss. She jumped up, stumbling a bit before shaking her head and standing straight, keeping a distance from Ripley. "Not so confident now are you?!" Rhea yelled towards her. "Oh I am. I'm just waiting." Astrid spoke up. Rhea got up close and personal with the female, who stared up at her with this begging glimour in her eyes.

Astrid was a total masochist. Every hit and bang she got from Rhea she enjoyed. The pain just added to her adrenaline, and it was slowly becoming addicting. "Come on Rhea, don't go soft on me now." she whispered.

Rhea shook her head punching the girl in the stomach causing her to topple back, but she didn't go far because Rhea kicked her down and straddled her. Her left leg was lifted and shifted over the female shoulder, elbow pushing in against her collarbone, holding her down. "Not yet.." Astrid mumbled. She wrapped her leg around Rhea's neck flipping them over so she was quite literally sitting above her head.

Astrid flipped back, creating space between them, then she ran and front tuck right into Rhea's stomach. Who gagged and quickly turned over holding her stomach, feeling her stomach turn. Astrid moving opposite, no longer facing Rhea. She smiled at the camera waving before flipping back landing on Rhea once more, weakening the woman.

She turned Rhea over straddling her and pinning over there legs between hers, grabbing her leg and lifting it to her shoulder and leaning forward. Ginger hair falling forward and stroking against Rhea's chest who panted and laid weak as the count hit 3. Astrid just pushed her away like she was nothing but a toy, standing and pushing sweat covered hair out of her face.

She giggled as the ref grabbed her arm lifting it up. The. She jumped up onto the top bar against the turnbuckle lifting her arm once more, smiling happily. Flipping back and landing on the floor, Rhea now sitting up watching her closely, holding her stomach that was struck more times than she had planned.

"Astrid! Can I ask you a few questions about your first win in WWE?" a blond quickly called out. Astrid looked at the woman, before shrugging. "How does it feel to have beat one of the most dominant women of WWE?" the woman asked. "I wasn't actually expecting to win, if anything I just wanted to go against her. She's the only female I never got to go against in NXT. But the win was enjoying." Astrid simply answered.

Unknown to Astrid a certain tag team member was nearing the younger female. A kendo stick collided with the younger back. The harsh sound could be heard throughout the whole facility. Astrid stumbled and fell to one knee, not a sound left her throat but her eyes slammed shut. She dropped her arm guards, looking back towards Nikki Cross who shifted dropping the stick.

Astrid's eyes darkened, pushing herself up onto her feet. The interviewer had stepped back almost immediately. Shayna, Bianca, Shotzi, Becky, and Rhea each moved towards the sound. Droplets of blood could be seen formed across Astrid's back, but not a single care seemed to cross the 22 year old's face.

"i-im sorry.." Nikki whimpered. Astrid stepped forward grabbing the woman by her hair and ripping it forward slamming her into the metal set walls knocking the breath from her lungs. Welts forming on Astrid's skin, smearing across her angle wings tattoo, and the cross that lined her spine. Nikki laid covering her head, in fear of more coming towards her.

The younger wrestler stepped back before turning and pushing past each of the women that gathered, walking away leaving the pathetic hero to lay in fear and pain. Shayna was quick to follow along with the horsewomen. "Nikki.." Rhea spoke going towards her tag team partner helping her to her feet.

💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔⛓️💔

A sharp hiss escaped the 22 year old who leaned forward, Shayna's hand pressed into her shoulder holding her still. Her fists where clenched, stiletto nails slicing into her palms. "Ow! Fuck sake Shayna!" she growled. She stood up hissing as the rubbing alcohol ran down her back.

She shook her hands in hopes of pulling herself back so she could handle the pain better. She's been slammed into tables, smacked across the head with metal chairs, and tossed from a ladder, and has even had one of those sticks slapped across her right cheek. She should be able to handle this, but for some reason she was having trouble.

Nikki walked into the training room, flinching when Shayna's shoved past her leaving to grab more supplies for her girlfriends back. "H-Hey.." Nikki stuttered. Astrid looked back towards the Irish female. Her green eyes where dark, mainly due to the pain coursing through her veins. "L-Look I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to actually hurt you, it was in the script to do it, but I didn't really expect to do it hard enough that you'd start bleeding.." Nikki quickly apologized.

Astrid sat down rolling her shoulders, and lowering her head. "It's fine." she rasped. "Can I ask you a question?" Nikki stumbled. The younger wrestler looked up towards her nodding. "How do you hide it? The pain that you endorse.." she shyly questioned. Astrid shrugged standing up and grabbing her tank top putting it on slowly. "You get use to it. Been getting hit by those sticks for the past 5 years, had my head slammed against tables, and fell of a ladder and out of the ring more than once. After a while it starts to not phase you, actually start enjoying it after a while." Astrid answered. "Enjoying it??" Nikki quickly asked.

"I'm an adrenaline addict, and a masochist." was her only reply before walking out of the training room to watch the test of the matches on the monitor.

[h1ccvpxtccthl3ss]

astrid: figure out which side you're on.

hiccup: *goes to feed fish to a dragon*

[thornstocutyouwith]

He grinned at their reasoning, to be alone. Journey supposed that was also an option. A very good one, for the most part. He figured he could certainly do well, alone. Or at the very least, independent. The thought of complete aloneness was somehow, much sadder than that. Times of aloneness was good. Even if they were extended for long periods "Not generally, I suppose. Though some could not handle it, for it's true meaning. Utterly being alone, it's almost completely rare in these days. To be the kind of person strong enough to be completely alone." It was easy to do, but hard to maintain just going out into the woods and never being found again, he had to imagine.

Smiling gently he looked over toward them, nodding "I think it's probably, if they don't make everyone else know they are smart. They might imagine we think they are stupid, or any other sort of combination like that?" Reasoning he made a face "Maybe it's all just, we as a social species, make a lot of broad assumptions about each other, and get caught up in those, that we set challenges in our way unintentionally in an attempt to maybe disprove those inner concerns of ours." He laughed a little bit "It's probably more damaging than most realize. Imagine how many friendships have been ruined because of that mentality." Lift his left hand up, he pat it to the side of his head.

Raising his eyebrows he glanced over at them, making a almost disapproving face toward them, playfully however "Old and decrepit, huh... I take it you're not too much into the art scene, then." He laughed a bit "I've got a few, not so old and decrepit you can rate till your hearts content." Tapping a finger to his lips lightly, he stares then nods his head, sucking on the top of his finger for a moment as he listen to them "Ah, yeah. It's very terrible, perhaps very traumatic, to live on a razors edge, in such a way, right? One moment, can ruin everything." Shrugging slightly, he glances away "We are a species more complex than these singularly making these small moments, all there are to us, or others."

Hearing them comment on his Game of Thrones reference, he smirks a little bit "Well it was certainly a very interesting concept, breaking the wheel, freeing people from the status quo that'd been holding them back or whatever." He lift up his left hand, playing with a little bit of the hair on the back of his head. Then lift his head slightly at their next comment "Oh yeah, sure. I'm feeling great for now. I'll probably be alright. But i'm not going to lie, that is comforting to know we won't be dying because- I uh, pass out." Which between his heart problems and vertigo, was always a likelihood to happen especially since he had already been having issues just before getting in this accident.

"Good common sense and reliable sources, or multiple even, is a good way to get out of being accused of not knowing something, or cheating. I'd agree." Journey coughed lightly pulling his hand from his head and nodded when they spoke again "Right! Uhm. A date." Nodding to Astrid confidently. Though as they went on, he stares, processing what he was hearing from them "Do I?" Was that stranger, to be like this with someone he had only just met? Turning his head away he grinned "Well, I'm- well, I hope- I mean. It's good, right? Rather than- well, you know- feeling uncomfortable. I think, I feel the same." He told Astrid back.

He grinned as they spoke about zombies "Well, I'm definitely not going to start believing that zombies could ever actually exist. Certainly not anything from most of those media they are in. Uhm, but yeah, they'd definitely have to be mutated, I'd imagine, in some way." Journey paused, thinking this over, then gave a nod, his mortician friend would probably have a lot more to say on this subject, however. At their next question he blinked, raising his eyebrows "Oh. I figure it's because I say things that challenge their beliefs? Or, I don't know, I can be pretty insulting when I'm in a sour mood, combined with the fact that I challenge others." Shrugging a shoulder then "Everyone wants to be right. You know."

Looking away he heard their 'hm' at his reaction to their confession. But he really, couldn't begin to think of what to say to that right now "Sorry." He muttered a little awkwardly. Though as they comment on having known others in law enforcement he brought his attention back "Oh you do? It's not the worst job out there. I enjoyed it." When they hear what he said next he grinned "Don't be. It was bound to happen. I just wished it would have happened a little later." He's shrugging again "Yeah I guess, sometimes. I do go out though, to the park, stuff like that. Nothing that's going to be too stressful, though. Maybe after my surgery that's coming up soon." He pointed out his index finger on his left hand, lazily gesturing to no where in particular.

But as they are asking about what had happened to him, when he was relieved of duty, he exhales "Well-stress from the job. Getting in a fight with a guy I was arresting as they were trying to flee- Kinda was a bad combo from me on that day." He was fine up until the guy had managed to knock him down, and stomped their heel right onto his chest. Journey grimaces slightly, almost as if feeling that again as he heard Astrid's next comment "Hm? Oh. Yeah. You could have definitely said that about her- she'd make sure you respected her, very forceful. But very much a wealthy socialite type."

Moving closer to the sign in desk, he stares at the woman sat there, watching the receptionist for the moment before looking back at Astrid "No. I'm pretty sure i'd feel really bad abandoning you here." He glanced around "Seeing as it's the worst place to be stuck at." Swallowing, he smiled at them, giving a nod "I'm afraid you're stuck with me for the time being."

a calm wash of relief as they’re listening to his words, feeling better that they weren’t the only one that was lost in some . . city where people were into their groups, were selective about the ones they wanted to be around. truthfully, astrid never really understood it, considering that they’ve always been so wary of people & how they were all connected to the same people. “ yeah, something like that. or you know, you could always just –, ” a shrug, trying to find the right words that would make sense. “ be alone, there’s no harm in that, either. ” astrid hums, actually coming to terms with things : that they like being alone, however, sometimes, it was nice to let someone in. whatever it could turn into, astrid was attentive of what really was going to happen if anyone did attempt to hurt them.

“ if you ask me, that all gets annoying. there’s no reason for people to show off. & if they do, it’s become a thing. i hate that, the fact that people have to prove to others, ” head shakes in disapproval, scoffing light at the mere idea of it all. astrid knows that he’s shy, but, he really has no need to be, not anymore. they’ve lessened their anger, giving all of this another shot in the dark, that can’t be too bad, right? “ you do? i bet they look amazing. i’ve never seen any sculptures that weren’t . . you know, old & decrepit. ” chuckle slips out from their lips, a shift – just, slightly before they’re back to their old posture, keeping themselves intact of things. “ then, i can’t wait to see your artwork. i’ll even give it a rating. ” they’re joking around, wanting to keep things flowing between the pair.

astrid knows the disappointment of being around people, of choosing to give others a shot & it gives them nothing but emptiness, but hurt – that’s not what they wanted, not at all. it’s gotten to the point where they’ve gotten distant from others, disappearing in the most convenient of times, having people ask around : if only things were better for them, right? if only astrid wore nothing but rose colored glasses, ignoring the red flags people had, they’d have people around them. “ people are just like that. they find something to judge a person on & suddenly, everyone’s against you, ” they respond, speaking from experience, allowing their eyes to glance away for a moment, sucking in a breath. mentally hating themselves for mentioning light of such things. “ if only we were as smart as she was, right? things would be better. ” but, would it? would astrid feel fulfilled because the wheel of hurt was gone? or would they feel the same?

astrid takes his words well, nodding their head silently, soon going back to their normal demeanor, the one they had before subtly venting to the other. they didn’t mean to, it came out, at the wrong time. “ i’m sure we won’t get into another accident, if anything, i can put my hands on the wheel, make sure nothing bad goes on. ” they’re replying, feeling bad if they managed to get into an accident in his car, then they’d both have to be treated. “ it’s what my professors taught me. to always, always check my sources. or else it would just seem like i’m cheating or something, ” spoken in casual tones, astrid’s wanting to go back to that jovial behavior of theirs, before they were thinking too much of things.

“ a date, ” astrid repeats, obviously feeling good in their body to say it confidently, eyes shaken his way, wondering what he was thinking about. perhaps, a time to actually go over? if that were the case, any time would be most appropriate. “ i know . . i –, for some reason, you actually make me feel comforted, in a way. is that weird? i mean . . we’re strangers, but i feel close to you than i do anyone else, ” were they rambling? speaking out loud? was it going to get them into more trouble than before? “ got it. how about this weekend? i’m actually free. & we can make it a home dinner or something . . i’ll make everything, you don’t have to worry about it. ” astrid’s finding themselves in a shy demeanor, cursing internally for being so forward. “ coffee & tea, it is. ” speaking in a more calmer tone, the bundle of nerves out of their way.

astrid’s entertained by the thought of zombies, another chuckle seems to come out of their mouth at the thought of it, secretly wanting to debate with the other. “ well, the zombies we see in movies are generally, you know, like – mutated ones or whatever they do for experimentation, ” much like resident evil, they want to counter, but don’t. in terms of not wanting to seem like a goddamn smart alec, astrid places their intelligence to the side, for a while. furrowing brows at his sentence, wondering why people wanted to yell at him – was it a thing people he came across did? treated him like a punching bag? if that was the case, astrid wouldn’t do that, they wouldn’t even think to do that, in fact. “ why do people like to yell at you? ” they’re questioning, wanting to get to that part of the conversation, seeming a little bit concerned, worried, in fact. did he think they were doing that beforehand? sure, astrid was angry, but not angry enough to raise their voice at him. “ hm – ?? ” astrid goes, somewhat confused in his jumbled sentence, however, still taking note of it. did he . . think otherwise? was that too forward of them? to admit that they were openly flirting with him?

“ i know a few people in law enforcement, ” musing, completely & utterly zoned into the words explained from the man, nodding their head in reply for a moment. truth was, astrid knew a lot of people in law enforcement, though, not wanting to associate themselves with them, astrid wanted to be separate from it all, actually. “ … oh, i’m sorry. ” a downcast expression on their face, contemplating on what would make him feel better – not much, seeing how they were in the venting part of it all. a thing astrid wasn’t good at, which was why people left their life, & they don’t blame them for doing so. “ so . . you just – stay home? live your life the way it is? ” they’re not judging, they could never. astrid wants to know so much more about him, considering how they’ve gotten this far. “ what happened? if you don’t mind me asking . . ” they’re going, aching to hear everything, this wasn’t like them, however, it made them want to learn more.

“ a woman born from a high status, i can respect it. ” as they were taught, to respect their elders, no matter who they were. if it were a stranger, someone on the street – even their own family, astrid knew better than to scold someone from where they came from, if they had money or not. astrid almost feels bad for asking questions, for seeming like they were interrogating, they weren’t. this is how they were if someone truly intrigued them. “ yeah? promise you won’t drive away or something? ” another playful jab, astrid’s turning gaze to smile at him.

[the-punslinger]

Critical Role Quotes and Memorable Moments - Campaign 2 (114/?)

Veth: "Bonus action, will cast Brenatto's Voltaic Bolt at 3rd-level and charge up the bolt. Not going to use it yet, though. Instead, I don't know what they look like, but I imagine a silhouette I can figure out. So with the burning house behind Caleb, I'm going to have the silhouettes of what I imagine his mother and father to sort of look like, appear flanking him and just sort of pointing, pointing at Trent Ikithon." Travis: " Wow." Sam: "With Silent Image." Matt: "Okay. Okay." Liam: "Got me."

Matt: "As you [Caleb] have your hands on the device [Anti-mage collar], a second set of hands comes and pushes yours aside as Astrid begins to bend down. [rolls] Natural 16 plus eight. The side that you're holding, she glances over and finds one trigger that had come loose. She presses it back into place. Squeezes your hand and at once, you hit both sides of the red gem that you had embedded as the power source [makes buzzing sounds] flickers on with a buzz." Beau: "Watch your fingers." Matt: "And Trent suddenly goes like [choking noises]." Caleb [to Astrid]: "You were always better at solving problems than I was."

Caduceus: "And Clay who has been casting a spell for the last minute turns around with deep black pit eyes: 'The Matron has special destinations for people who burn temples. So why don't you put your back into this?' And I go back to having conjured a couatl to putting out the fucking fire." Eadwulf: "Mm! Fair enough." Matt: "He goes 'Mm, right.' And he begins to... what can he do?" Fjord: "'What can you do, Eadwulf?' I Control Water from the pond. 'Look what I'm doing.'"

Matt: "He looks at that, looks over at you. 'Do you have a bucket?'" Caduceus: "If they're still working, yes." Matt: "He shields himself and darts into the house which is now maybe about a third of its exterior covers in flames."

Fjord: "I'll turn and at 5th-level, I'm going to cast Create Water in a 30-foot cube above Caduceus' house, that just creates a 50 gallon torrential rain above it. And I'm going to say: 'Jester, will you come over here?'" Jester: "Oh, yeah... Oh, his hair was so gross, Fjord. [gags] Yeah, what can I do?" Fjord: "Standing in the rain, I turn to her and I say 'I love you too.' Then I kiss her." Jester: "I make sure my hands are not touching him, but I kiss him back."

Caduceus: "I have decided to take this thing that you have done to me and my family as a opportunity to teach a lesson. I don't know if you can truly understand what I'm feeling right now, if you have the imagination for how much hurt this is. But I would like you to empathize with me, and I cast Command. 'Empathize!'" Travis: "One word." Liam: "Wow." Jester: "Feel it all." Matt: "He just smiles back." Caduceus: "'Empathize!' Command again." Marisha: "Wow, I've never seen Caduceus this pissed." Caduceus: "Empathize!" Matt: "Just keeps grinning back at you..." Caduceus: "Empathize!" Matt: "How many spell slots do you have left?" Taliesin: "Let's see. That's a good question." Sam: "Day 13." Matt: "That's four 1st-level spells at least you cast. Succeeds on that one, too." Caduceus: "One, two, three, four...Empathize!" Matt: "Okay, he succeeds." Caduceus: "Empathize!" Matt: "Succeeds, natural 20." Caduceus: "I'll keep going." Fjord: "I put my hand on Caduceus' shoulder, and at 5th-level, I cast Command and say 'Empathize!'" Matt: "So what's the 5th-level one do now?" Travis: "The 5th-level save's 18." Laura: "Just again, another one. Just a higher level." Matt: "Natural 20, saves again." Beau: "He is a sick fuck." Caduceus: "Empathize!" Matt: "Saves." Caduceus: "Empathize!" Matt: "No, he succeeds." Travis: "You got to respect it, it's pretty good." Sam: " He's a dick." Liam: "Yeah, he's a piece of shit." Matt: "He succeeds." Marisha: "He's a piece of shit. Wow!" Caduceus: "Empathize!" Matt: "He's got a high..." Travis: "Energize!" Caduceus: "As he slowly falls asleep, I just want him to hear 'Well, don't worry, we can try again tomorrow.'"

[evilwriter37]

Hunted

Rated: mature

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, blood

Pairings: none

Word Count: 3,723

Summary: Instead of Toothless as the one being shot, it's Hiccup. They land on Dagur's island, and he is there to help. Hiccup is skeptical and afraid.

A/N: This was @autumndragon's idea for an alternate version of the episode Enemy of My Enemy. I just had to give it a go!

Ao3 Link

Hiccup's entire body shook. He had a hand to his side, right where the arrow had gone in, his other hand desperately gripping the handhold to Toothless' saddle.

"Toothless! That island!" he cried. They were close to one, which he figured was lucky. What was not lucky was that he'd run into a ship of Dragon Hunters, and they'd played a trick on him. He'd thought them all dead, but then they'd risen with their weapons ready, and an arrow had lodged itself in his side before he had had time to get far away. They'd been ready for him, it seemed. They knew he'd been searching out ships to find a Dragon Hunter to question on Viggo's whereabouts.

I should have taken Astrid with me, Hiccup thought, teeth gritted as pain throbbed through him. He felt stupid for ditching her and taking off before she could follow him. He wouldn't have fallen for this trick had Astrid been with him. He wouldn't have taken an arrow to the side.

His vision flitted in and out. He figured he was going into shock, which made sense. His body hadn't been prepared for something like this.

Toothless made it to the island, landing as fast and as gently as he could. Still, Hiccup cried out at the jolt that put through him.

"T-Toothless, we need to hide," Hiccup said. Certainly that ship would be following them, had seen them land. They couldn't stay here for very long, but Hiccup doubted he could make it all the way back to Dragon's Edge like this. He needed medical care. How he was going to get that alone on this island? He had no idea. The first thing they had to do though was make sure that they didn't get captured.

Toothless began searching around for a hiding place. Hiccup slumped forward in the saddle, arrow still sticking out of him quite obviously. Blood dripped down its shaft and feathers and onto the ground - a trail that the Hunters or a dragon could follow. What Hiccup and Toothless weren't aware of was the man following them, using a broom made of branches and brush to clean up the footprints and blood.

Toothless found a cave. It seemed unoccupied. It was small and dark and dusty, but would do for a hiding place. Hiccup practically fell out of the saddle when trying to get himself to dismount. The pain was mind-numbing, pulsing, burning. He released a groan, then looked towards the entrance of the cave. It was big and gaping. They'd have to cover it somehow.

But before Hiccup could take a step forward to do that, he fell to his knees, his legs buckling underneath him. Panting, he drew his hand away from the wound, looked at the blood that coated his fingers. It made him feel dizzy; his head was stuffed with cotton.

"Toothless..." Hiccup didn't even know what he was going to say, but soon, he felt the familiar scales of his friend's snout under his fingers. He rested his head against Toothless', closing his eyes for a moment. Well, he told himself it would only be a moment.

Footsteps. Hiccup's head shot up, senses now as alert as they could be in his current predicament. Was it the Dragon Hunters? Had they found him already?

Toothless put himself in front of Hiccup, wings spread to make himself look bigger, teeth out and gleaming.

Hiccup hadn’t expected who it was that entered the cave. He blinked in confusion under Toothless' wing.

"Dagur?"

"Hello, Hiccup. And, uh, Toothless." Dagur seemed uneasy, but who wouldn't be when faced with a protective dragon?

It took Hiccup longer than it should have to realize that Dagur was unarmed, and just standing there, not coming any closer. What was he waiting for?

"Dagur, if you're working with the Hunters, Toothless will-"

"I'm not with the Hunters," Dagur interrupted.

Everything in Hiccup was telling him to fight the man that stood in the entrance of the cave, but he could hardly stand on his own. Still, he got to his foot and prosthetic, leaning heavily on Toothless, who didn't draw his eyes away from Dagur.

"And how can you prove that?" Hiccup asked.

"I can't," Dagur answered. "But look: I'm unarmed. I didn't come here for a fight. I came here to help."

"Help? Why?" There were black spots in Hiccup's vision. The pain was overwhelming. He put his hand to his side again. The arrow had gotten him on the right.

"Look, can you just tell Toothless to lower his guard so we can talk?"

"We can talk just fine right now," Hiccup said. He wasn't going to have Toothless lower his guard, not around Dagur. This man had nothing but ill will towards him.

Hiccup slumped to his knees as another wave of pain hit him. He... he couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't do this. Dammit, he really should have taken Astrid with him.

Dagur approached, hands up to show he meant no harm, and Toothless growled, bared his teeth at him.

"Look, Toothless, I just want to help. Hiccup is hurt and won't be getting out of here on his own."

Toothless lowered his wings to allow access to Hiccup, but kept his teeth bared. He wasn't trusting Dagur completely, but if he was going to help Hiccup...

"Toothless..." Hiccup groaned. He didn't want his help to come from Dagur. He was frightened, his pulse throbbing like mad. His limbs were tensed to fight. They couldn't because of the pain though. He was in a body that couldn't fight at the moment. He was at Dagur's mercy, as long as Toothless allowed it.

Dagur leaned down and inspected the wound. He winced. "I'm hoping your armor kept it from going too deep," he said. He stepped closer, and Hiccup shuffled away, giving the best glare he could under the circumstances.

Dagur rolled his eyes. "Hiccup, I'm trying to help you."

"F-fine." Hiccup's teeth were beginning to chatter, a cold seeping into his body. Yep. Shock. He was only accepting Dagur's help because of the predicament he was in, not because he wanted to.

Dagur came over to Hiccup's wounded side, and that made Hiccup flinch. Dagur gave him an odd look, but didn't say anything.

"Hm..."

"What does 'hm...' mean?" Hiccup asked, scared.

"I'll have to break off the shaft," Dagur said. He looked towards the entrance of the cave. "We can't stay here forever. The Hunters will find us."

"A-and you have a b-better place to go to?" Hiccup asked skeptically.

"I do, actually."

Before Hiccup could ask for Dagur to explain, he was taking the shaft of the arrow in two hands and snapping it. Hiccup tried to yell at the pain of it, but Dagur clamped one hand over his mouth to muffle the sound.

"Hiccup, they'll find us if you're not quiet!" Dagur hissed.

Hiccup didn't have it in himself to apologize. He just moaned, vision beginning to dim. The next thing he remembered was being thrown over Dagur's shoulder and Dagur walking out of the cave with Toothless following.

He was captured. He was sure of it. This was all just some elaborate trick to have him land in Viggo's clutches. First the Hunters pretending to be dead to lure him in, and then Dagur, unarmed, as a balm. The Hunters would only pull out the arrow if it meant hurting him more. He tried to fight, but couldn't. His limbs wouldn't listen to him. And poor Toothless just going along with all of it because of Hiccup's injury! Hiccup had to get them out of this!

He came to in a cave that felt different from the one they'd been in before. Dagur had one hand on his side, a knife in his other hand.

Hiccup's eyes went wide. "Dagur, don't!"

"Relax, Hiccup. I'm just cutting off your armor."

"What? So you can torture me?" He was warm now, at least. The shock must have passed. There was a fire going nearby.

"You're too suspicious," Dagur said with a shake of his head. He looked hurt.

"There's no such thing as 'too suspicious' when you're around," Hiccup sneered. "You're with the Hunters, aren't you?"

Dagur shook his head. He began cutting away at Hiccup's armor, using the hole the arrow had made as a starting point. Hiccup wanted to move, but his limbs felt like lead.

"Actually, I left them a few months ago," he said. "Shipwrecked here and haven't found a way to leave."

"You... you left?" Hiccup asked. He wasn't so sure about this.

"Who do you think freed Heather?" Dagur questioned him. He shook his head again. "Look, Viggo was going to make me kill her, and I freed her and left instead. Once I knew I was completely expendable, that anyone was completely expendable in his eyes, I had to leave."

Hiccup snorted. "Don't expect me to think you had a change of heart."

"But I did, Hiccup," Dagur insisted. "Doesn't it matter that I'm helping you now?"

"Could be a trap." He remembered his dreams on the way here, of how Dagur had truly captured him and Toothless. Speaking of Toothless...

Hiccup looked around the cave, and found Toothless lying down beside him. He still seemed uneasy, but his teeth were no longer out. Maybe... maybe if Toothless trusted Dagur, he could as well.

But everything Dagur had ever done to him, wanted to do to him...

And yet he couldn't move, had no choice but to let him cut off his armor. Hiccup felt vulnerable once it was in pieces all around him. His side ached like he couldn't believe.

Dagur set the knife down, and Hiccup kept his fingers near it, just in case he needed it for his own protection. He hoped Dagur wouldn't get to it first.

"I have to pull the arrow out now," Dagur said. He gave Hiccup an apologetic look, and Hiccup just glared. "Don't give me that look. I'm trying to help you."

Dagur put his hand on Hiccup's torso, reached for what was left of the arrow. He took ahold of the haft, and Hiccup gritted his teeth, braced himself, curled one hand into a fist.

"One... two-"

"Just do it!" Hiccup was on edge with nerves and fear.

Dagur didn't do it gently. He yanked out the arrow in a spray of blood, and Hiccup screamed. Toothless laid his ears flat, nuzzled his nose against Hiccup's face. Hiccup turned his head towards him, rubbed his nose against his, panting.

"Okay, it wasn't that deep," Dagur said. He rubbed his arm across his forehead - he was sweating. He tossed the arrow aside, then tried reaching for the knife. Hiccup, however, had his hand near it and pulled it up first. Dagur stumbled back, hands up.

"Hiccup, I'm not going to hurt you. Put the knife down."

"What were you going to do with it?" Hiccup's voice was rife with pain.

"I have to cauterize your wound," Dagur said. "It's bleeding badly and I ran out of thread for stitches."

Hiccup swallowed hard. "Fine." He turned the knife over in his hand so that the hilt faced Dagur. "Take it."

Dagur took the knife from Hiccup, placed the blade in the fire. He then came close again and rolled up Hiccup's tunic to show the wound. Hiccup flinched at the feeling of Dagur's flesh touching his own. It was like his body recoiled. It was all completely unconscious.

Dagur seemed to notice, but said nothing of it. He reached back and pulled the knife from the fire. The blade glowed orange.

"Toothless, Dagur is going to cauterize my wound," Hiccup told his dragon. "Do not attack him." It felt strange telling his dragon not to attack Dagur, but he couldn't have his dragon jumping on and tearing apart the man that was trying to help him.

Toothless made a sad cooing noise, rested his head against Hiccup's legs. Hiccup stroked him between the ears. It was comforting, which was just what he needed.

Dagur put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, holding him down, and Hiccup tried not to attack, tried not to flee. He was helping him, not torturing him!

Without any warning, Dagur placed the hot knife on Hiccup's wound. Hiccup jolted and screamed, held onto Toothless. Toothless moaned, closed his eyes.

And then it was over. Hiccup was left gasping for breath. He tried his best not to clutch at his side and curl in on himself.

"Do you... do you have any bandages?" Hiccup asked.

"Nope." Dagur began pulling at the bottom of his own tunic, and he tore off a large piece, began wrapping it around Hiccup's torso. He had to help him sit to get it all the way around.

"A-anything for pain?" Hiccup asked once that was done.

Dagur shook his head. "How bad is it?"

Hiccup decided to be honest. "Pretty damn bad."

He sighed. "I'll go get some then. There should be willow bark around this island somewhere." He tossed the knife down beside Hiccup. "Keep that." He stood, grabbed a sword from the cave wall. He looked back at Hiccup, like he wanted to say something, but then left without a word. Now, Hiccup curled into a ball against Toothless, letting the pain assault him and make him let his guard down. The knife lay next to him, within reach.

---

Dagur was so preoccupied gathering willow bark that he didn't notice that the Hunters were there until a sword slipped under his chin. He froze, breaths shallow, willow bark still in hand. He was on his knees, his back to the Hunters. He now realized there was a group of them.

"Come with us, and we'll make it easy on you."

"What? My death? Or my torture?" Dagur asked. Hiccup was all alone in that cave of his save for Toothless, too wounded to fight for himself. He hadn't left him the knife to defend himself. No, it was there for another reason. He knew the cruelty of the Hunters, the cruelty of Viggo.

But now, Dagur had to fight. He had to fight not only to protect himself, but to protect Hiccup as well. His hand inched towards his sword, left on the ground beside him.

The Hunter with the sword to his throat saw that, kicked the weapon away. Then he was being grabbed, forced to his feet, hands yanked behind his back. He struggled, but that didn't keep the Hunters from tying him up. One punched him in the gut, and he doubled over, trying to find his breath. The knots were tied tight around his wrists.

"Move," the first Hunter said. The point of his sword tapped Dagur's back, and Dagur was forced forward. One had ahold of his wrists, was holding him just in case he tried to make a run for it. But doing so at the moment would be stupid. He had no weapon, and all the Hunters were heavily armed. He wondered where they were taking him.

They made their way through the forest. Luckily, they were nowhere near Dagur's cave, and he wouldn't give up that location even if they were going to torture and kill him. He couldn't. That's where Hiccup was, and he had to keep him safe and out of Viggo's hands.

They stopped Dagur in what appeared to be their base camp on the island, forced him down to his knees. At first, the camp didn't seem remarkable at all, but then he saw the rods sticking out of the fire.

Branding irons.

One for him and one for Hiccup. He swallowed, feeling like his mouth was going dry. He hadn't expected to be branded. That would mean he could no longer be a chief, or hold any honorable position in society. That would mean that he belonged to Viggo and the Dragon Hunters.

"Ah, he might not be as stupid as he looks," one Hunter said, noticing where his gaze was.

Dagur snorted, offended. "I'm smarter than all of you combined."

"Prove it. Tell us where the boy and the Night Fury are."

"What makes you think I know that?"

"Because they landed on this island and there were human tracks mixed with the Night Fury's."

"And? Why can't they be Hiccup's tracks?"

"Because there were two feet."

Shit. Okay, so these Hunters weren't stupid either. They knew Hiccup had a prosthetic leg. They'd probably never really seen him before today, but had been given a description of him.

He was dragged to his feet and moved towards the fire. Dagur got an idea, but it would be risky. They could just shoot him in the back if he ran. But would they? They'd have to scour this whole island for Hiccup and Toothless if they did that.

No, they needed him alive. That meant that there was the possibility of escape. Dagur held his hands over the fire, flames almost biting at his skin. But, the fire did what it was supposed to, burning his ropes enough for him to snap them. He kicked at the Hunter behind him, butted his head into the nose of the one in front. There were cries, blood. Dagur drew the sword of the one with the broken, bloody nose while he was recovering, stabbed him through the chest.

Then, before he could get into all out battle, he ran for it, sword in hand, blood trailing down the blade. It wasn't balanced for his hand, but that was fine. He could still fight with it, after all.

Dagur didn't stop until he figured he'd lost the Hunters. He hadn't gone directly to the cave, afraid that he'd just be leading them to Hiccup and the Night Fury. Instead, he'd looped around, almost leading them back to their own camp. He knew this island well, while it was their first time here. They probably hadn't even noticed.

And then he ran full tilt towards the cave. Hopefully his plan would work. Hopefully Hiccup and Toothless would work with him.

---

Hiccup turned, knife in hand, when he heard running footsteps outside. Toothless got up, spread his wings, bared his teeth, made ready for a plasma blast. Hiccup knew the blade wouldn't do much good, but at least he had a dragon with him.

"Wait, wait! It's me!" Dagur came into the cave. He bent over, hands on his knees, breathing hard.

"Dagur, what happened?" Hiccup asked. He didn't let go of the knife, but Toothless lowered his position.

"Hunters," Dagur gasped out. "They-they want you and Toothless."

Hiccup tried to stand, and Toothless helped him up, giving him something to lean on.

"Then we have to get out of here."

"You're in no shape to fight," Dagur said.

"And?" Hiccup asked. He knew that already. His plan was to flee in the other direction, despite the fact that the direction would be taking him away from the Edge.

"I can help."

"Dagur, I don't think-"

"If you let me ride Toothless."

Hiccup pursed his lips, thinking. He looked at Dagur, then at Toothless. Toothless seemed willing to trust him. And, well, he had saved their lives. Who said he couldn't do it again?

"Okay," Hiccup said. He patted Toothless, and his dragon laid down so that he could mount him. Hiccup did so with difficulty, slumped over in the saddle once he was on. He really wished he had something for pain right about now.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Hiccup asked as Dagur got on in front of him.

"Nope. Let's hope I have some beginner’s luck."

"Well, that doesn't instill me with confidence," Hiccup mumbled just loud enough for Dagur to hear. Dagur said nothing, took ahold of the saddle, and Hiccup wrapped his arms around his waist so that he wouldn't fall off. He wasn't used to flying Toothless like this.

They left the cave, made it through the waterfall in a bound, and then took to the air. Dagur screamed the entire time.

"Whoa! Whoa!"

"Yes, he's fast!" Hiccup yelled. "Keep going, Toothless!"

Toothless knew what to do. It wasn't really Dagur or Hiccup flying him at the moment. They were at the whims of the dragon, and he wanted revenge for Hiccup being shot.

The Hunter ship came into view, and Toothless twirled and shot off multiple blasts, hitting the hull and the mast. It exploded and crumbled under his power. Hiccup just held on for the ride. Dagur was still screaming.

Nets were shot at them, but Toothless dodged and twirled. He shot the net shooters as well, and some of the Hunters on the deck. He was out of shots, but now the ship and the Hunters were in ruins.

They landed on the beach, and Dagur stumbled off as soon as they hit the sand. He leaned over with one hand on his knee and the other on his stomach. Hiccup wanted to laugh, but knew that would only cause him pain.

"You all good there, Dagur?"

"That... that wasn't what I thought flying would be like." He turned, took a deep breath. "I don't know how you stomach that."

Now Hiccup did laugh - he just couldn't help it - but he quickly doubled over, hand to his side, making an exclamation of pain.

"Well, since we destroyed the ship, think you can get me off this rock?" Dagur asked, hands on his hips.

Hiccup just nodded, still trying to recover. Fire washed through him in waves. "I-I'll do the flying this time."

"That's totally fine with me." Dagur smiled at him, and once Hiccup could come up for air, he smiled as well. It might have looked more like a grimace, but that was alright. He was injured, after all.

Hiccup gestured for Dagur to come over, and so Dagur did, and he mounted Toothless behind him. He very gently put his arms around Hiccup's waist, not wanting to upset his wound. Hiccup would keep from any rough flying to keep him from holding on tighter.

"You ready?" Hiccup asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

So, Toothless took off, and the three of them were free from the island and the Hunters.

[a-swcrdandshield]

The Isle.

Toothless: I could’ve sworn you had TEETH ( Toothless );

Astrid:  Figure out which side you're on ( Astrid );

Fishlegs:If you're planning on getting eaten I'd go with the Gronckle ( Fishlegs );

Snotlout:  SNOTLOUT SNOTLOUT OI OI OI ( You know );

Ruffnut:  Oops! Now this one has blood on it. ( Ruff );

Tuffnut: Get your hands off my shield! ( Tuff );

Eret son of Eret:  Thank you for saving my life. Now let me return the favor. ( Eret );

Stoic the Vast:  It takes more than a little fire to kill me ( Stoic );

Valka:  This is what it is to be a dragon ( Valka );

Gobber:  We are Vikings! We're tough!--Most of the time. ( Gobber );

Dagur:  Two against 20? Could be worse. ( Dagur );

Heather: We'd rather die in battle than hide in shame. ( Heather );

Light Fury: It’s more like a bright fury ( Light Fury );

Skrill:  Your hair will stand on End ( Skrill );

Dragons: The world just got a whole lot bigger ( Dragons );

Berk: Pretty Much Perfect ( Berk );

Perci: Stained Red ( Perci );

[aquamanandfriends]

She lifted a brow at the thought, "I haven't really ever had someone try," she realized. "I think I would like that someone thought of me, but I prefer giving gifts to receiving them. I honestly don't think I'd be good at receiving them, not really sure why." Astrid wondered how this was the first time anyone had asked her this. Another reason Samara was drawing her in. "I really do love spoiling my girl though," she sipped her wine as she thought about the look on her ex's face when she'd gotten her such a small gift, a realization that she was paying attention, that she cared. It was really priceless.

"I'd be upset too if I thought someone was lying to me," Astrid admitted. "That's understandable," which was why she'd done her best to keep calm instead of lashing out like she wanted to in that moment, and god was she glad she had been able to keep her cool. The woman leaned forward when she confessed how much better she felt about everything now, and Astrid met her for a soft kiss. She brushed her fingers over Sarama's shoulder when she pulled back before telling her, "Just know, you weren't stupid, and I don't think you ever could be."

Astrid leaned her side against the back of the couch and let out a soft laugh then pointed to Samara, "Then I expect a very detailed list about all of the fantasies you've had," she teased, still smiling when she brought her wine glass back up to her lips. It was so nice to feel desired. She could see it in Samara's eyes, it was honest and made her feel seen.

"Mm mm," Astrid shook her head no to reassure Samara, "Don't think of it like that," she said once she swallowed her wine, "No pressure on you at all. You just need to figure out what you like and don't, and if you ever do feel pressure please tell me." Astrid insisted. "Oh, well," she really hadn't thought of that ex in a very long time, "I think we grew apart and it took us a little too long to realize it," she admitted. "She was moving in a different direction than I was, and we held on a little too long. Some people just aren't supposed to be together passed a certain point, but that doesn't make it easy to let go of them. If you don't though, you never grow." Astrid realized how vague that sounded, "I was just out of college, it was a weird time. We were together about three years? About? I proposed because that was what she wanted and I wanted to make her happy," it was a flaw and she had worked on it a lot since. "I think we both knew we needed to move on but we were so financially tied that it made it harder to separate. We were very comfortable together and I thought that's what love was, I didn't really think there was anything more than just deciding to love someone." That was what drove a lot of people to get married. "I told you, I don't think you could ever be stupid if you tried," Astrid winked.

As Samara told her about her ex husband Astrid kept her eyes on her, watching her micro expressions, how her body shifted. Towards the end of her answer Astrid placed her hand atop of Samara's which still rested on Astrid's thigh and gave it a little squeeze. "That couldn't have been easy, coming to terms with everything while being married? You're brave."

samara grinned and tilted her head. "so you like gifts and things in return as well then? you like being spoiled too?" she wondered, just so curious about this woman she was discovering.

samara held up her hand with a smile. "i am not angry about it. i never... really was, just kind of fearful that i was... being lied to or that you were putting me at risk by not communicating. and i felt a little stupid - but now i know and now i'm fine." she explained and couldn't resist leaning in and kissing her softly. "i really am. it's okay."

samara smirked and nodded: "yes, you must now fill in every queer fantasy i've ever had. a long hard road awaits you;" she teased her with a chuckle and couldn't help but stroke her thigh. she just loved to touch her.

she then listened to her date's history and chuckled: "well, you being a life-long lesbian is also a little pressure. i am still kind of bambi on ice, being with a woman." she chuckled and smiled. "but you almost got married. any particular reason you didn't?" she wondered, curious what would cause someone to break up when marriage was already somewhere on the horizon. "but so... you're still dating me and haven't left so i must be super smart." she teased.

"oh, i was together with my husband... twenty-seven years and married twenty-six. we... weren't really in love, but also not opposed to one another. the last few years of marriage were hard though, i was... discovering my queer side, he was losing interest in my aging body and we just... sort of drifted apart. we were always more friends than anything else. we should have never married." she decided and that was true. he was her best friend and now, nothing but bitterness remained. she got her four children out of thought, but it shouldn't have happened.

[marvelship-oneshots]

ITALY (STONY)

AU where Steve and Tony fall in love one summer in Italy, inspired by this beautiful fan art made by @vindemiatrix-moonpies

Tony had been left at the altar. The wedding was organised down to the very last detail, everything already paid for by Tony. Everything was perfect, everyone was there. Everyone except the bride. Mary didn't show up. Nor called, or texted. She just disappeared. Tony found out later that night that she had ran away and eloped with her lover. She could have had a perfect life with no one less than the Tony Stark, but in the end she had chosen love. 'Plenty of fish in the sea' Tony had told himself, because it was true, every single lady, and some single lads, was willing to marry Tony. Who wasn't? Mary apparently. The problem was that Tony loved Mary. He really wanted to marry her, she was not just another strategic economic move. He really thought she was the love of his life. But he wasn't hers. This was not going to stop Tony from enjoying his 3-month-long honeymoon in the sweet Italy. Tony laid on his bed the tuxedo, hoping that it wouldn't be there once he came back, he probably had to leave a note to Pepper or Happy. He definitely didn't want to see that suit ever again. He jumped into the first sweatsuit he found in his closet and, without even bothering to take his suitcase, drove to the airport.

Steve was 18 when he decided that America was not his home. As soon as he was out of High School, he took the first plane for Barcelona and went backpacking through Europe. He had always known that, eventually, he had to come back, but then he found the perfect little fishermen's town in the south of Italy, a place that he could finally call home. It was true, what the stereotypes were all about. Italian were indeed nice and friendly and welcoming and when Steve was offered to work for the son of the nice old lady who was kind enough to give him a roof over his head when he got lost in a storm, he felt like he had found his place in the world. Steve hated bad weather, after all he didn't know any fisherman that didn't hate bad weather. But that storm, that storm was a miracle, it might have put him on the wrong road, but it sure showed him the right path. Little did Steve know that he would have to thank bad weather once again.

It took Tony three days to realize that staying in his luxurious hotel room,drinking scotch and snuggling with self loathing wasn't going to take him anywhere. Eventually, he had to get back on his feet. "Stark men are made of iron" his father would say. One morning, he set the alarm way earlier than his usual. It was a nice day outside, although he could feel in his bones that a storm was arriving. The Tony of just one day before would have taken that as a sign to stay in bed, but not the new Tony. He only had 3 months to spend in what in his opinion was the most beautiful country in the world. He had his fancy breakfast, got into a nice linen shirt and drove out of the parking lot of the hotel with the beautiful red Ferrari he had rented for Maria. He drove to a nice little private beach, bought a straw hat because why not, and started walking on the shore, in search of a boat to rent. Tony eventually found one that he could rent and take out without any particular licence. Tony had never sailed a boat before, but he did drive some expensive cars, so he figured it wouldn't be that different, nor much more difficult. Also, he was a fast learner. Indeed, after listening to the renter explain how the boat worked, it wasn't that big of a deal for Tony. At least not until the big storm arrived. It started with the sky turning darker and the wind blowing harder. At that point, the waves were way too high and violent for Tony to come back. If he had had any experience sailing, he probably wouldn't have had any problem going back to the shore. But he didn't know how to face an angry sea and he panicked, which is something that every fisherman would tell you not to do.

The storm was finally over and Steve was walking on the shore, looking for possible damage caused by the storm. It was nothing out of the ordinary, storms happened in summer and that one wasn't any different. No boats were damaged, but he liked walking on the beach after the rain, the sand was humid and fresh and there was a nice breeze. He was collecting nice little seashells for his collection, he already had a handful, but he let them go as soon as he saw something laying on the sand, something that should not have been there. That something was Tony's unconscious body, dragged here by the waves. Steve needled by Tony's side trying to wake him up. He checked his vitals and looked for injuries that luckily were not present. He picked him up in bridal style and took him to his house. From there, he would decide whether he needed to go to the hospital or not.

Tony woke up in Steve's bed. He was feeling exhausted. There was a little ray of sunlight coming in from the window that was hitting him right on his face. Tony rolled over, trying to hide from the light, but fell on the floor with a loud thud. As he loudly growled, more from the frustration than for the pain, Steve ran in the room, as if he was standing right out of the door, which he was, kind of. "Hey, hey, do you hear me?" Steve asked in Italian. Tony was not sure if he understood him, but he could hear a thick American accent in his voice. Truth was, that, no matter how long Steve had been living in Italy, he could not produce an authentic Italian accent, although he knew the language like his own. "Water" Tony mumbled, closing his eyes. Steve ran away and came back with a glass of water. "Here" Tony took the glass with both hands, eagerly drinking it. "Do you know where you are?" Tony shook his head. "Do you know who you are?" Tony nodded "Anthony...Tony" Steve held out his hand. "Very nice to meet you Tony. I'm Steve" Tony shook his hand. "How are you feeling?" Tony nodded. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" "N-no I'm fine" Tony replied nodding. "Ok, let's get you something to eat, ok?" Steve got up, holding his hand out for Tony, waiting for him to take it. Tony looked around while walking to the kitchen. Steve's house was extremely small, it was all on one floor and it consisted of the bedroom, a small kitchen and what Tony could only assume was the bathroom. Tony sat at the rather small table while Steve fixed him a plate of pasta salad and sat next to him. Once he finished eating, Tony got up and reached for the door. "I-I have to go" But before Steve could reply, Tony collapsed on the floor. "It's late and dark, I think it's best if you spend the night here"

Despite wanting to leave the very first second he was conscious again, he soon realised that the quiet little fishermen's town and Steve's company were all he needed. Steve would go to work in the morning, before sunrise and would be back just in time to have breakfast with Tony and they would spend the rest of the day together. It was nice for Tony not to think about Mary for a while. But the dream had to come to an end, eventually. Tony had obligations and a multi billion dollar company to run waiting for him in New York. It was the beginning of September, the days were shorter and the nights were chiller. But it also meant that the town was quieter. Almost every last remaining tourist was leaving. In town there were only the fishermen and their families. Even they were starting to go back to their winter houses because the kids were going to start school in a few days. Soon Steve would be among the last remaining people in the town, with some old ladies. To them, Steve was a saviour, taking care of their groceries and their errands. That could only mean that it was the end of summer and, despite being the saddest time of the year for the residents, it also meant that the happiest days of the summer vacation were coming up. Every single free moment there was, was used to organise a more memorable feast than the year before. And Tony helped. Well, he mostly founded the feast, anonymously. He hadn't told Steve, nor anybody else, who he really was, he figured that, if no one recognised him, he would be nice to live like any other normal person for once. What he didn't take into consideration was the possibility that he could become attached to a certain muscular blond man.

The last night of the feast was also Tony's last night in Italy. He had already begged Pepper for more time, but she couldn't give him any more. There was live music and fresh seafood for everyone. Everyone was smiling, singing and dancing, celebrating the great summer they had. Tony was sitting at a table, a kid had just come to say goodbye. He was running out of time, and that little time he had, he wanted to spend it with Steve. "Steve" "Heeey Tony" He sounded slightly drunk. "I need to talk to you" Steve nodded and took his hand, walking him to the brickwork in front of the sea. "So, tell me" Steve was sitting facing the sea while Tony was facing the other way. "I'm leaving tomorrow" "I know" "I'm...not sure you know who I am" Steve looked at Tony. "You're Tony" "I am Tony Stark" "As in..." "Yes, as in Stark Industries" Steve sighed and looked back at the sea. "Ok" "Just ok?" Steve shook his shoulders. "Yeah, I don't care. It just explains how you could pay for everything" Tony giggled. "I don't want you to go, Tony" "Yeah, I don't want to go neither" Tony put his hand on Steve's. "Steve?" Steve hummed and slightly turned his head towards Tony. "Ithinkimfallingforyou" Steve giggled. "What?" Tony inhaled deeply. "I think I'm falling for you. Deep, like really deep" Steve smiled and caressed his hand. "I fell for you a long time ago, Tony" Steve turned to Tony, sitting astride the brick wall. He put a hand on Tony's cheek. "Can I kiss you?" Tony nodded, biting his lip. Steve put their lips together, pushing Tony back, making him lay on the wall and standing over him, while Tony threw his hands around Steve's neck. Tony mumbled. "What are we going to do?" Steve rolled his eyes "I don't know. We'll think about that tomorrow, now shut up and kiss me" Tony smiled, biting his lip again. Steve smiled and kissed Tony, trying to gain access to his mouth, that Tony kept denying. Steve bit Tony's lip and Tony gasped and Steve, catching the opportunity, slid his tongue into Tony's mouth, feeling Tony's body relax under his touch. Everything was going to be fine, the end of the summer meant the beginning of a life together.