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the-frostiest-of-flakes · 11 months ago

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Test Run

Fandom: rotbtd | Characters: Merida, Rapunzel, Hiccup, Jack Frost

Prompt(s): Merida, Favorite AU

Word count: 1851 | Warnings: None | Read on AO3

Summary: While giving her new gear a test run, Merida nearly dies and winds up meeting several budding heroes. Some more impressive than others.

Author's Note: I wrote this for the third week's prompts of the 2023 Big Four Fest, which were Merida and Favorite AUs. My favorite au is a very specific one by lucidorange on tumblr, and it's based around the larger superhero au. Unfortunately, the creator of the au deleted their tumblr account a while back, so everything I know about the au is thanks to the wayback machine and reblogs of the comic. (You can find part 1 here)

I tried to give the triplets more unique personalities while still staying in line with the au versions. I hope you enjoy!

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Merida DunBroch, daughter of the wildly successful owner and CEO of DunBroch Technologies, Fergus DunBroch, was doing her homework.

Or, that’s what she was supposed to be doing.

In reality, she was perched on a flat roof thirty stories up, the lights of the city shining like stars below her. It was beautiful, and the wind gently caressing her face only added to the serenity. Unfortunately, it was currently being ruined by multiple voices jabbering in her ear. Tuning back in, she found that they were still going on about features and safety and blah, blah, blah. Pretty much everything she didn’t care about.

“—and if you notice sparks, tell us immediately and drop the—”

“If you’re done yapping,” she interrupted, grip tightening on her bow, “I’m gonna take this gear for a spin now.”

“Be careful,” buzzed one of the three nearly identical voices in her ear. Her amazing sister-senses told her it was Hubert. “This is just a test run — we don’t know if there are any glitches with the suit or bow.”

A second voice — Hamish — piped up, “Not that there will be any, considering we made it.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Harris broke in.

Merida rose, a wolfish grin spreading across her face as she looked to the ground below. So, so far below. “When have I ever needed encouragement?”

Three matching groans reached her ears, but she barely heard them over the rush of wind as she stepped over the edge—

And started free-falling.

All she could hear was the roaring of air in her ears as it whipped strands of hair out of her ponytail and stole the breath from her lungs. Her gut was long gone, left behind on the rooftop. The city lights pulsed brighter, getting ever closer. To most this would be a nightmare. But to her…to her it was exhilarating.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Grasping an arrow from her quiver, she drew her bow, changing the setting to “Zipline” with a flick of her thumb. Ah, the beauty of having genius inventor brothers. Aiming for a nearby building, Merida fired.

And was promptly disappointed.

Yes, the arrow flew true, arching through the air with the precision only a master could give, but it did so without the intended zipline attached. Leaving Merida still falling to her doom.

Okay, so maybe she should have checked that feature before jumping off a building.

A lump of panic rose in her throat. “Uh, guys?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already broken it,” came Harris’s response.

Oh, she was never going to live this down, was she? “I, uh. Might be about to die.”

There was silence on the other end. All at once, her brothers’ voices came pouring over each other in crackling mayhem.

“It hasn’t even been five minutes—”

“—You are so irresponsible—”

“—More inheritance for me!”

Gritting her teeth, she was about to cut through their chatter when something soft and golden wrapped itself around her waist and promptly yanked her to the side. She was no longer falling, but being swung like a pendulum. Grabbing at the fabric that led away from her waist into the dark of the night, she realized it wasn’t fabric at all. It was thousands of strands of golden hair.

What in the bloody hell…?

A moment later she was dropped — surprisingly gently — onto another roof, much lower than the one she had originally been on. The hair loosened and fell away, disappearing in a flash.

“I don’t know what happened,” said a voice from the shadows, “or what you’re going through, but killing yourself isn’t the answer.”

Merida sprung to her feet, narrowed eyes scanning her surroundings. It seemed to be the roof of an apartment building, with a box-like entrance to a stairwell in one corner. And yet, no sign of whoever had— wait, there! There, in the shadows of the entrance, was a girl, parts of her golden hair somehow still managing to gleam in the dark, giving away her position.

Her hair…

Calling it long would have been an understatement. “Long” gave the impression that the hair went down to her waist, maybe a little ways past. But the mass of yellow didn’t stop there. It went to her feet, and then continued off, spilling over the edge of the building like a waterfall of spun gold.

“Are you okay?” The girl asked again, her voice just as soft as her hair had been.

“‘m fine. And I wasn’t trying to kill myself.“

The girl stepped out of the shadows, confusion making furrows in her brow. They looked out of place, and Merida had the sudden urge to smooth them out. “Then what were you doing?”

“Testing out my gear.” She motioned to herself and the bow that was still in her hand.

The girl’s green eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! You’re like me then!”

“Like you?”

“Yeah, you know. Superhero, vigilante, whatever you want to call it.” She flashed a grin, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This is so cool! I’ve been working alone for so long — well, not really alone, I mean I’m technically working alongside the police but that’s nothing like having an actual partner — not that you’re going to be my partner, I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Whoa, slow your horses!” Everything was suddenly falling into place, from the freaky hair to the large purple crown perched on the girl’s head. “You’re Swift, aren’t you? The vigilante people are claiming is running around?”

The girl — Swift — nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”

“I thought you were an urban legend!”

“Nope, I’m real.” The smile on her face grew ever wider. “And so are you! Ohhh, this is so cool!”

Despite herself, Merida could feel one of her eyebrows raising. This was…not how she had expected her first meeting with a vigilante to go. Granted, she had never really thought about it before, but Swift had a strangely innocent demeanor about her. She wasn’t remotely hardened or threatening.

Three loud beeps sounded from Swift’s pocket. She withdrew what looked to be a burner phone and grimaced at whatever was displayed on the screen. “Sorry, I gotta go. There’s a fire downtown and a…dragon?” She squinted at the screen. “I think that’s a typo.”

Merida perked up. A fire and possibly also a dragon? That would be a perfect test run for the gear! Never mind the fact that her original test run had almost ended in her own demise. “Mind if I come with you?”

The look on Swift’s face could only be described as ecstatic. “Of course! But, uh…since you’re having some issues with your equipment, would you like me to carry you? It’ll be faster that way.”

Well, she certainly didn’t want to die or get left behind. “Sure.”

Golden hair came whipping up and around her waist, and a second later she was swinging through the air again. It took all her willpower to suppress a scream. From the way the city was whizzing past below, she had been right to agree to Swift’s offer. She would have been left in the dust long ago otherwise.

Soon the sound of sirens and the sight of orange light licking the night sky reached her senses. As well as…Snow?

A moment later the two of them were safe on the ground outside a burning apartment building, above which was a dark cloud. From the cloud fell a flurry of flakes, killing the fire slowly but surely.

Swift frowned. “That’s…weird. It’s the middle of September.”

Merida’s comm piece crackled to life. “So…are you still there?” Came Hamish’s voice. “I need to know if I won the bet or not.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m here.” At Swift’s quizzical look, she gestured to her ear. “‘m talking to my brothers, sorry.”

“Dang it. Wait, are you with someone?”

“Just another hero I met. Turns out that vigilante, Swift, is real.” Merida followed said hero as she ran towards the entrance. “And now we’re gonna stop a—” she broke off at the sound of shattering glass.

The two girls skidded to a halt as a large black bundle landed in front of them. It was metallic, and as it slowly uncurled itself they realized what it was.

It was a metal dragon.

The craftsmanship was astounding. From the textured metal and leather to the glowing green lights that constituted eyes. There was an air of intelligence in them, making Merida second-guess whether it was really insentient or not.

The reason for its previous ball-like state became evident as well. Clutched between its paws — talons? — was a child. Covered in ash and smoke, Merida could barely make out where the kid’s dark skin ended and the gray smudges began.

“That’s the last of them!” Called a voice from above. A moment later a brown-haired teenage boy dressed in black and green landed a little ways away, not noticing the two heroines.

All at once, the fire went out. Instead of flickering flames, the building was now covered in layers of frost and ice.

Merida gawked at the now blue-tinted structure. Just how many super-powered people are running around in this city?!

Swift was helping the dragon move the poor girl to a safe spot for when the paramedics would arrive, acting as if this kind of thing happened every day. And hey, maybe it did. Before Merida could decide what to do to help, another boy landed next to the first, this one seeming to float down with effortless ease. His blue eyes were locked on her as he pulled down his hood, revealing a shock of white hair.

He grinned. “Hey, look at that! We’ve got an audience.”

The Brunet turned, finally noticing her. He flinched, shooting a glare at his companion. “Jack! You said we wouldn’t be noticed!”

“Actually, I said we wouldn’t get in the papers. Big difference.” He was in front of her in a flash, lifting off of the ground like a leaf on a breeze. “That’s some outfit you got there. Who are you?”

Merida pursed her lips. She certainly wasn’t giving this weirdo her name. If she was going to be a vigilante like Swift, she’d need an alias. “Atlas,” she finally answered. “And what are you two supposed to be? Dragon Boy and Frosty the Snowman?”

The brunet made a noise akin to a broken squeaky toy. Jack only smiled wider. “Close. The name’s Frost. And you can call my sidekick whatever you like.”

“I am not your sidekick!”

Merida sighed internally. These two yahoos were obviously just playing around — although the metal dragon was pretty impressive.

“Well, aren’t you Miss Popular,” Harris’s voice rang in her ear. “Just how many people have you met tonight?”

She had forgotten her comm was on during that whole exchange. Great. She turned away from Frost and his sidekick/partner/friend and whispered through clenched teeth, “Shush. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. I promise.”

“You better. We’re already making popcorn.”

#frosted words #rotbtd #bigfourfest2023 #superhero au #modern au #merida dunbroch #rapunzel #hiccup haddock #jack frost #fanfiction #ao3 link

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heart-of-dunbroch · 7 days ago

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Elinor, no surprise, was going to do nothin' about Fergus in NTO.

But that wasn't going to stop Merida.

They had already started devising a plan, having stomped away from that table and straight upstairs to their own room. They'd pulled up Google Maps and started droppin' pins of where their brothers had seen him. JD Sports. The bakery. Waterstones, in the mall-- Hallmark UK, also in the mall.

And as Mer worked, hunched over their computer, someone knocked. They glanced up-- and there was Hubert, his jaw set and his eyes bright and passionate. In just that glance, Merida knew they'd won an ally to the cause.

"Get in here," Merida said, and for the first time, Hubert didn't run in the other direction.

Now, it was a few days later and Merida and Bertie were staked out across from the bakery, waiting for the place to close early to see Fergus's next move. Would he go home or off to the next shift? They sat on a bench, caps pulled down over their eyes.

"Oi-- oi oi-- the sign's goin' up!" Merida hissed to their little brother. "It's closed. He'll be out any minute now."

@mamabear-elinor

The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon || Merida + Hubert

#para #hubert #the dunbrochs #these titles r getting out of hand what does this even mean

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angelsandarsenic · 7 months ago

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An ever after high oc?? In this economy??

Guys im having so much trouble with outfits. I have a ton I could show but idk if they're good/eah enough

It is so hard to find Scottish female voices I was about to bite the bullet and make it Kelly macdonald anywayyyyy there's a short version of their story under the cut i'm not gonna write out a whole long thing so pardon the straightforwardness

Voice claims: Lachlan—Jamie Fraser, outlander Saoirse—Laoghaire McKenzie—outlander

This story goes…a little differently.

After the events of Brave, Clan Dunbroch continued to prosper, now in closer link than ever with the other clans. Princess Merida ascended to the throne, but she never did take a lover or have children. Hamish, Hubert and Harris, all grown up, went on to find their own partners and lead their own lives. Their eldest children—Shaun of Macguffin, Ailsa and Alec Macintosh, and Lachlan of Dingwall—are now all eligible for the Dunbroch throne

Now let’s turn back time a little bit.

The ancient kingdom is crumbling. The first prince has gone on a rampage and Isla has just watched her husband turn into a massive bear.

She flees.

It takes her two days to find the witch’s cottage. By then the spell had been set in stone, and the witch can tell the woman is with child. She’s not heartless, she wants to help, but all magic comes with a price. So she does the only other thing she knows how and shepherds them through the magic circle to the realm of the faeries, where no one will ever find them.

~~~

Lachlan is certain he can win the competition for the throne. He wants it. His grandfather definitely wants it. He’s strong, skilled and fast and not afraid to knock his cousins out of the way, however close they may have been as children. Besides, he’s the Queen’s favorite—how could he lose?

The four clans have all gathered for three weeks of festivities and friendly competition before the actual games. After one too many ruthless victories, Lachlan gets in a fight with his cousins. After being scolded by his father for his behavior as well, the young prince has had enough and takes off into the woods to cool down.

He brings back a girl.

An odd girl, to be sure; her thick braids make two strange piles on her head and she won’t ever tell him where she’s from, but there are no kingdoms or settlements around here, so a girl lost in the forest needs help! She introduces herself as Saoirse before the Queen and quickly gets welcomed to stay.

Lachlan likes her at first. She’s fiery and mischievous and actually manages to beat him in combat. It’s just a sparring match, he tells himself, it doesn’t actually matter. Except it does matter. Because Saoirse is getting way too close to the Queen and she’s too good at everything for her- her existence to be natural. Lachlan's cousins loved her, meanwhile Lachlan himself was only growing more irritable and distant. Was she replacing him? What was more, there were rumors that the Queen wanted to let Saoirse, an outsider, compete for the throne! Too bad no one believed Lachlan when he tried to tell them. They all think he’s simply jealous.

And then one night there’s a bear in the castle.

Understandably, Lachlan panics and draws his sword. He’s heard the stories. What happened to his father, his brothers and the late Queen Elinor. Heard about the demon bear Mor’du. If he doesn’t slay the beast then-

But just before Lachlan calls for help, the bear disappears and a wide eyed Saoirse is standing in its place. Her hair fell loose down her shoulders, revealing furry ears atop her head.

“W-wait! It’s not- Lachlan listen-“

“Monster!”

“No!”

He had won. He had proof, right there under her hair! If he brought her before the Queen and lords, they’d probably kill her, but so what?

In a desperate flight for life, Saoirse ran through the palace as a bear to escape. The clans awoke with much clamor and the hunt was on, but the beast had disappeared into the night.

The very next morning, the clans set out again, splitting into groups to canvas the forest more thoroughly. Lachlan set off on his own--he knew just where to go.

He didn’t find the bear at the stone circle like before. He did find a wisp. A will-o-the wisp! Here to lead him to his fate, undoubtedly.

Lachlan followed the little spirits eagerly, ignoring the way the trees grew thick and dark, and stone jutted further from the ground. At first, he thought the stone archway was a cave. Inside lay the bear, curled up by a pile of rubble, asleep.

“Wake up.” Lachlan kicked it. He had more honor than to kill a sleeping enemy.

She transformed back as she startled awake. That was fine, a human was easier to drag back anyway. She was clutching a bow, a sword lay on the stone steps behind her.

“Did you steal these from the castle?!”

“No, I made them you brute!”

Lachlan scoffed. “You made them?”

“Yes. Did you think your weapons just popped out of thin air, your highness?”

“I- w- no. But you’re a beast, what the devil do you need weapons for?”

“I'm a human,” she hissed. It was then that Lachlan noticed. Stairs?? And were those carvings?

“Is this the ancient kingdom? Do you live here?”

“No. I just…come here sometimes.”

“Why?”

The look on her face made him think she might snap at him, but she kept herself in check. Instead, she said, “becoming the kingdom hero won’t make you loved, you know.”

“What? I’m loved, what are you talking about?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because you don’t act like it. Are we sure I’m the monster here?”

“Yes!”

The girl huffed. “Well, I hope you figure yourself out soon, before it’s too late. You’re really lucky you know. You have so many people who care about you. Four whole clans at your fingertips.” Her own fingers traced a withered carving on cracked stone. She muttered something about “mum told me not to come back here” and stood. Lachlan readied his weapon again, not realizing he had ever lowered it. She didn’t attack him. She simply hefted another massive rock over to her spot from the other side of the cave and laid back down. “Do it then. Go on, I’m ready.”

…

“What?”

Saoirse actually managed to look annoyed. “You’re planning to kill me right? For ‘attacking your castle’?” Her voice ridiculed him, yet she seemed completely serious. “Go on then.”

Lachlan actually dropped his weapon then. “What is wrong with you?” What was so important about the stone then that she wanted it close? “Don’t you- I mean okay, I understand being suicidal, but don’t you have someone who would miss you?”

“Nope.”

Lachlan’s heart fell. He dropped down beside her. Surely she couldn’t be serious. “Where do you live?”

A mournful frown pushed her bottom lip out like she was about to cry. “Right here. I was supposed to live here. Ages ago. But it- it got destroyed.” As if an afterthought, she added, “I was never going to hurt you, you know.”

Lachlan finally took a look at the carvings she had rolled over to lean against. The four brothers, he could recognize easily enough. He had heard the story more than enough times for a lifetime from his father and aunt. There were people with them. The king, he assumed, was one, standing in the middle with the crown. The others were three women—the fourth brother didn’t have one, but he held a little boy in front of him. All of the brothers had a family, Lachlan realized. Even the eldest, though he didn’t seem to have a child yet.

“We never learned about them,” the prince murmured.

“No, you wouldn’t have. They all died.”

“But- but this is all ancient.” She must be crazy. “You can’t live here.”

“Time moves a lot slower in the realm of the faeries.”

Now Lachlan looked at Saoirse like she was in fact crazy. Then it clicked. “The circle…”

Well, that's...kind of sad... “You’re another victim of the witch,” he surmised. He hadn’t thought they could turn into humans again but maybe she had gotten a different spell?

Saoirse snorted. “No, the witch is married to my mum now. She’s lovely, really. I’m-“

“A victim of Mor’du then? Did he kill your family?”

Saoirse cut him off with a roll of her eyes. “Mor’du was my family ya gommy nyaff.”

…

“Oh.”

~~~

All in all, they returned to the castle. Lachlan apologized and made up with his family. Saoirse, with some trials of trust, was welcomed back as well. Eventually, Lachlan does take the throne. Except there were never any competitive games. Or rather, the lead up was the competition, in a sense. The Queen wanted to test the heirs' genuine traits and familial bonds. With the ability to admit he was wrong and put family above himself, Lachlan passed with flying colors.

#ever after high oc #brave #ever after high brave #mordu #eah fanart

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thepixarau · 1 year ago

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So I keep talking about that Pixar Super Smash bros idea and I’m going to continue because I think it would be cool

So the character roster would be: Woody, Buzz, Sulley, Mike, Jessie, Flik, Mr. Incredible, WALL-E, Dory, Ember, Ian, Atta, Joy, Barley, Wade, Merida, Elastigirl, Imelda, EVE, McQueen, Joe, Syndrome, Remy, Mater, Bo Peep, Dash, Violet, Jack-Jack, Sadness, Bing-Bong, Hopper, Doc Hudson, Linguini, 22, Luca, Alberto, Giulia, Meilin, Latso, Arlo, Spot, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Harris Hubert & Hamish, Marlin, Nemo, Crush, Randal, Carl, Dug, Héctor, Miguel, Ernesto, Evelyn/Screenslaver, Ming Lee, and probably even more! Or maybe some of these would just be spirit fighters/bosses

Arena ideas: Andy’s Bedroom, Sunnyside daycare, Monsters Inc. factory, 4*Town concert arena, Ant Island, Radiator Springs, Gusteau’s restaurant/city of Paris, Portorosso, DunBroch castle, Element City, East Australian Current, Carl’s house (as it floats around buildings and clouds and eventually ends in Paradise Falls), Riley’s mind (switches between Honesty Island, Goofball Island, etc), Land of the Dead, Monsters University campus, The Great Before, a Cars’ themed racing arena, Clawtooth Mountain, Bug City, the Axiom, Pizza Planet, P Sherman’s dentist office, and many more!

Special items: the Pixar ball that you can throw at opponents, a plate of ratatouille (and other dishes from the movie) that can heal damage, an Incredibles mask that temporarily gives you one of the families’ powers, a Zurg arm-cannon that shoots tennis balls, and of course the Assist Trophy that calls another character to aid you in battle! I imagine characters from this item would be like Pepita, Rex, Kevin, Sox, Massimo, AUTO, Gale, the circus bugs, Jackson Storm, Fergus, Bruce, etc. Basically characters that had some importance in the movies’ but that I don’t think would be in the official playable roster

#why am I rambling about a game that’ll never exist? cuz I have nothing better to do that’s why lol #super smash bros #pixar #lady luxo rambles

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jomarchswritingjacket · 2 years ago

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someone reminded me that camila and eda are married and i felt bad for forgetting that so here now they’re a whole-ass family

and yes this is more nuclear family than found family because the latter has too many options to list don’t @ me i’m trying my best

#tumblr polls #shrek #puss in boots the last wish #the owl house #httyd #brave pixar #bob’s burgers #luca #encanto #the incredibles

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sosoawayrpg · 1 year ago

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Mwm?

Príncipe Phillip, Rei Tritão, Burro, North, Valete, Lebre de março, Buzz Lightyear, Xerife Woody, Pugsley Addams, Tio Chico Addams, Victor Frankenstein, Príncipe Naveen Andrews, Derek(as 12 princesas bailarinas), Lobo Mau, Jack Skellington, Zero, Facilier, Perrito, Simba, Leão, Homem de Lata, Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet, Rei Fergus, Hamish, Hubert e Harris de Dunbroch, Jonathan Harker, Hector, Príncipe Aladdin, Gênio, Rei Jafar, Homem Biscoito, Pinóquio, Geppetto, Michael Darling, Príncipe Kit... praticamente todo mundo?!

#ask respondida.#mwchars

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nerdasaurus1200 · 7 months ago

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Part 2 of the Brave pages!

#disney #disney brave #pixar brave #nerd talks #elinor dunbroch #merida dunbroch #harris dunbroch #hubert dunbroch #hamis dunbroch #fergus dunbroch

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itsmeridadunbroch · 2 years ago

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Task Eleven → Intro & Connections

merida dunbroch

Character Information*

The Basics*

FULL NAME: merida dunbroch

NICKNAME: mer, red

GENDER: female

PRONOUNS: she/her

AGE: twenty-nine

OCCUPATION: manager at the redwood hollows parks and recs department

FACECLAIM: riley keough

ORIENTATION: straight

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single

PETS: a horse called angus and a dog named mordu

The Personality*

+ Adventurous, Determined, Independent

- Rebellious, Stubborn, No-Nonsense

after arriving in redwood hollow, merida found a role in the parks and recs department. she’s spent her time restoring the town’s parks and other areas that needed a new lease of life and it brought her more happiness than home ever could. merida is adventurous and determined to be her own person which can lead to her being stubborn at times in the face of authority and can have her rebellious streak rear its head. like a true scotswoman she doesn’t take any crap from anyone.

merida is a child of the wild, she always has been. she thrives outdoors and has always been someone that bends the rules. fun is a big part of her personality and if she’s not having it then buckle up. freedom is another. merida really exercises her freedom and hates being put into a box or being bossed around and told what to do.

Additional Notes*

has a strained relationship with her mother, she hasn’t spoken to her in years

strong scottish accent present in her voice – may be hard for people to understand at times, especially when she’s angry.

has triplet younger brothers – harris, hubert & hamish

doesn’t speak bear

Wanted Connections*

friends

ex’s

neighbours

work colleagues

lover/crush

besties

hiking buddies

buds from scotland

people she met while travelling

rich people - her family are rich af and merida has likely met them at past events

Wanted Plots / Plot Ideas*

merida and ____ are friends. neither of them have had much luck with relationships so they decide to platonically begin to hookup. it’s fun to explore and get experience with each other without all the expectations and pressure. however, they both start to develop feelings over time, and both assume it’s unrequited.

here one day, gone the next - a previous international relationship where merida was travelling and lived for some time she met _____. the relationship was all consuming and full of sparks, but eventually merida had to go back to scotland a few months later. ______ wanted to try long distance but merida had called things off and was gone the next day. now she’s settled in redwood hollow and look who else is in town, it’s only _____. ((a plot about differences, a whirlwind past relationship, angst of leaving, unresolved feelings and being forced to revisit, relive and resolve said past relationship))

we’re the Old Married Couple™ but lmao no we would never date each other. right? right?????!!!?

before sunrise - strangers meet, they have a connection, but it has an expiration date

“i found your box of letters underneath my bed last night and because i’m a nosy motherfucker i decided to read them and it turns out they were all addressed to me and the last one was dated the day you moved out and i’m not quite sure why i thought this would be a good idea but here i am, standing on your doorstep, wondering why the fuck we’re not together anymore”

an arranged marriage between the dunbrochs & ______ family. but like merida’s clearly being stubborn and rebellious and fucking up because she’s upset with her parents still trying to control her life and it’s just two polar opposites but it could be super cute sometimes when she gets super drunk and he picks her up and hold her hair back when he throws up and stays up to give her a glass of water and make sure she sleeps well even though he has a huge meeting in the morning that he should be resting for, and she makes him lil packed lunches for work and has him dancing in the living room to de-stress and holds court at his works parties winning over his boss to give him that promotion but also the angst and the fights and the ‘i didnt ask for this’ and making each other jealous and sexual tension.

Taken Connections*

tbh all merida’s taken connections have now left the rp so she’s wide open for her to get on the map

Other*

One character from the open tag you would like to see taken / added to the Most Wanted page - from the most wanted page - the lost boys & from the open tag to be added to the most wanted page - sebastian clarke

One Character you want to see a bio for in relation to this specific character - more brave characters #scotlandrepresentation

#happiestplacetask #happiestplacetask11

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whitewaterpaper · 2 years ago

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“Bravely”.

Författare: Maggie Stiefvater. Publicerad: 2022. Medium: eBok/Disney.

Läses tillsammans med @kulturdasset för vår läsecirkel.

¡Oi! Spoilers, stavfel och alternativa fakta kan förekomma rakt föröver!

Delmål 1 (Kapitel Prolog+01–03).

En bra start på boken, med en introduktion av brädets ”nya” pjäser: de två gudarna. Och man får en känsla av redan här att de två gudarna ständigt är i luven på varandra. Det är dels den Cailleach i formen av en gammal kvinna hon är känd både för att spela spratt och fuska tydligen. Samt den yngre, hamnskiftande, Feradach som jag inte riktigt hittar någon information om just nu. Min första tanke var att Cailleach är häxan Merida mötte som barn.

Att det är Feradach som Merida jagar efter i vinternatten är det dock ingen fråga om. Och hon är snart indragen i de båda gudarnas spel/lek. Intressant nog nämner Cailleach att hon har intressen i Meridas familj. Det här gör mig givetvis nyfiken på vad det är som pågår i det stora hela.

Som en sidonot fick vi en chans att läsa på mer om irländsk mytologi – som består av betydligt mer än pysslingar och tir-na-nog. Alla fyra varelserna som nämns här (bogle, pooka, brag och shellycoat) erbjöd intressant läsning.

Spelet Brandubh är en irländsk variant av det nordiska spelet Hnefatafl, som även kallas ”bräde” på svenska. Dagens variant av brädspelet ”Svälta Räv” har jag aldrig varit något stort fan av.

Delmål 2 (Kapitel 4–7).

På många sätt ett bra delmål: här får vi grundintrigen utlagd för oss med Meridas två vadslagningar. Dels ett med de två gudarna vi lärde känna i prologen, dels ett mer mondänt. Det senare vadet, där slottet plötsligt invaderas av en aggressiv styrka är säkerligen något som Feradach ligger bakom i någon utsträckning.

Ärligt vet jag inte om jag helt greppar idén med det förstnämnda kanske är det två gudar som roar sig först och främst. Helt uppenbart är dock att mor och far i DunBroch stagnerat. Här är mamma Elinor än mer en rabblande papegoja än hon är i filmen. Är det anledningen till att de nu ansätts av den här nya galningen kanske?

Vi får under det här delmålet iaf lära känna familjen DunBroch närmare. Inklusive Leezie vars stundande bröllop nu ställts in av oklara anledningar. Även det kanske något som Feradach ligger bakom? Jag är lite fascinerad över hur hon nästlat sig in i familjen och tydligen lyckas undkomma att få några krav på sig. Jag lämnar det öppet för här att Leezie är någon annan än den hon utger sig för att vara.

Just nu är jag precis som Merida nyfiken kring vem Eilean Glan är. Någon från Elinors förflutna helt klart, är det så att vi kommer få lära känna Elinors rötter i denna bok.

Jag ser det dock som föga troligt att Merida förlorar något av sina vad.

Delmål 3 (Kapitel 8–11).

Hinner hända en del i det här delmålet, att DunBroch är i behov av en förändring (typ en rejäl spark i rumpan) står väldigt klart nu. En av de första saker som jag noterar i delmålet är att jag antagligen inte kommer hålla mamma Elinor särskilt högt.

Det är en märklig samling som följer Merida på vägen när hon styr kosan mot sitt första delmål: Ardbarrach. Och de verkar ha sin egen festliga variant av att ha stagnerat. Iaf för kvinnorna där schemat varje dag följer en och samma ringande klocka. Vi får tyvärr aldrig riktigt grepp om vad tanken bakom detta arrangemang är, då Merida bestämmer sig för att schappa innan de får reda på detaljerna.

Intressant nog vill Hubert stanna, han har hittat sitt kall i livet oh trivs som fisken i vattnet. Här inser man vad tanken med de tre resorna kommer utmynna i: Meridas tre bröder (aka ”trillingarna”) kommer få chansen att växa upp på varsitt håll och få chansen att ses som individer. Även om Merida nu också inser att hon kanske själv inte nödvändigtvis kommer tycka om att hennes familj förändras.

Jag är fortsatt lite fundersam kring ”Leezie” och vilken roll hon spelar. Som karaktär är hon nästan främst i vägen, och jag är fortfarande öppen för att hon är något mer än bara en vimsig människa.

Delmål 4 (Kapitel 12–15).

Dessa fyra kapitel präglas av en viss eftertänksamhet, dels att Merida själv påverkades mer av Ardbarach än hon inledningsvis trodde. Sedan dels första jämförelsen henne och Feradach mellan. Och givetvis föräldrarnas reaktion på att Hubert valde att stanna. Eller, när det gäller det sistnämnda kanske bristen på reaktion. Visst är det fullt möjligt att det är så att de ser positivt på att Hubert vill träna mer och lära sig, men det går heller inte att utesluta att låta det bero även är det smidiga och icke-konfronterande svaret.

De intressantare delarna av delmålet är dock den lilla insikt vi får i Feradach, och att hans skiftande utseende gör det svårt för honom att förstå begrepp som familj. Vi får också veta att alla hans utseenden baseras på en människa som han fördärvat. Här tycker jag även reglerna kring den här vadslagningen blir lite grumliga, Merida måste arbeta kring ”här och nu” med sina tre förändringar medan Feradach alltså kan plocka vilken som helst av sina dåd? Jag kan heller inte låta bli att känna att Feradachs insats för den förlorade byn låter lite som en ursäkt för att få sprida död och förödelse kring sig.

Delmål 5 (Kapitel 16–19).

Föga förvånande stannar Elinor hemma när det är dags för nästa resa, trots att detta går till ett välbekant mål. Jag misstänker att vi någonstans under slutet av boken kommer få reda på vad detta handlar om. Nödlögnen om att hon måste stanna hemma måste ju komma någonstans ifrån mer än att bara vilja vara hemma. Undrar om det hänger ihop med den där underliga reaktionen hon hade när ”Eilean Glan” nämndes? Är hon intrasslad i något? Någon gud som lagt sig i? Var det inte Cailleach/Feradach som sade att hen hade intressen i familjen DunBroch? Och hänger Hamish alla rädslor ihop med mamma Elinors beteende?

Merida, Hamish och pappa Fergus ger sig av mot destinationen Kinlochy; en plats som Fergus varit på tidigare och håller i kärt minne. På resan dit får vi en vinkling om vad som kommer förändra Hamish: musiken. Tydligen släpper han sina rädslor då, och musikinstrumenten man ser i Kinlochy antyder att där Hubert finner sig själv i militären så kommer Hamish hitta sitt i musiken. Kanske kommer pappa Fergus också få sig ett uppvaknande i att hjälpa Kinlochy på fötter igen? Innebär det att den tredje resan kommer involvera Elinor?

Kinlochy verkar iaf vara på ruinens brant. Skall bli intressant att se vad som kommer hända. Feradachs entré på slutet av delmålet bekräftar att det är ett kungadöme i behöv av förändring. Och vi vet att hela slottet genomsyras av apati och hopplöshet, något får mig att misstänka att lösningen kommer ha med musik att göra.

Delmål 6 (Kapitel 20–23).

Bitvis fartfyllt delmål, med Feradach som bränner ned Kinlochy till grunden och ser på medan folket där bokstavligen går upp i rök. Trots Meridas vrede mot guden i det här delmålet så har jag på känn att hon kommer motbevisas i att han är en hjärtlös ande som inte bryr sig om någon. Här antyder han att Kinlochy under flera år fallit för frestelsen i girighet och missbruk. Vilket jag tror är en av anledningarna till att pappa Fergus vid hemkomsten verkar vaknat upp och börjar rusta upp slottet. Feradachs uttryck ”jag är inte grym, jag är naturen” påminner om sagan om sköldpaddan och skorpionen. Vilket i sig givetvis är en metafor för disciplin: ja du är giftig, men det innebär inte att du måste förgifta folk bara för det eller hur?

Även Hamish verkar ha hittat hem i musiken (som förutspått), som den yngste av syskonen ger mamma Elinor med sig och låter honom satsa på musiken. Lite nyfiken blir jag på Ila, som verkar både vara på Meridas sida och ha en gåva för att medla/gjuta olja på vågorna. Till skillnad från Leezie som är en karaktär jag fortfarande inte ser poängen med.

Besöket vid brunnen är intressant, speciellt sedan Feradachs handavtryck i en sten avslöjar att denne redan varit där och utövat handpåläggning på ödet. Mötet med Cennedig är intressant, men jag lämpar lite med att se den övergripande poängen med hela intrigen i den här boken. Från att ha varit relativt intressant inledningsvis, har mitt intresse för vad som pågår minskat lite för varje delmål.

Delmål 7 (Kapitel 24–27).

Delmålet börjar med ett rätt fint kapitel där Feradach på sätt och vis försöker göra bot och bättring inför Merida genom att styra en grupp handelsresande till DunBroch så Hamish kan få sig en mer reseportabel harpa.

Elinor får ändan ur vagnen, och på sätt och vis visar varför hon rest väldigt lite. Det är lite av ett monster hon organiserat för att ta sig fram. Under den här resan talas det också en del om magi och en hel del intressant framkommer.

“She believed people came back again and again. To life. In different bodies. She heard about it from a bald man from somewhere in the south. She always said the first thing a bald man says when you meet him is always true and the last thing he says is always a lie.” (Kapitel 25).

Feradach verkar också ha påverkats en aning av Meridas vrede. Kanske beror det på att hon är den enda som ser honom som samma person hela tiden (utom då Leezie bär honom då). Antagligen påverkar det gudar lika mycket, om inte mer, att känna sig sedda? Det här delmålet är antagligen första gången som jag känner att Leezie förtjänar platsen hon tar upp i storyn. På sätt och vis finns en flagga om att Leezie kanske inte är den hon utger sig för att vara:

Her [Lezzies] hair was mussed and her eyes half-lidded with sleep; she looked, as ever, like she needed a bit of help. But her voice was wide-awake, and Merida, when she looked at Leezie, saw a little flash of the Cailleach’s green starlight in her eyes. Oh. (Kapitel 26).

Något förändras mellan Merida, dels så vet hon nu att Feradach påverkas negativt om han inte utför sina plikter, dels att även om Feradach skulle försvinna kommer en ny gud i hans ställe. Merida är nu också delvis medveten om den balans han säger sig försöka hålla.

Undrar jag om inte det här kommer sluta oavgjort? Och det var Cailleachs plan hela tiden? Det är uppenbart att Feradach och Merida båda hade/har att lära av varandra.

Delmål 8 (Kapitel 28–31).

En välkommen inblick i mamma Elinors bakgrund. Skall erkänna att jag inte riktigt visste vad jag väntade mig av besöket på Eilean Glan, men det här kom lite som en överraskning. Och ett antiklimax. För på något vis hade jag räknad med lite mer än så här. Nu blir det dit, säga hej och sedan återvända hem. Med ett möte med Dásachtach, det skall bli intressant att få veta vad han säger till Harris – helt uppenbart är att han precis som mamma Elinor fått känna förändringens vindar. Men jag vet inte riktigt om jag köper det som står i det här delmålet som den enda förklaringen till den handlingsförlamning Elinor verkar ha lidit av de senaste åren.

Leezie (det här delmålet förklarar delvis karaktären och varför hon fått en sådan inkluderande roll i familjen) verkar mer och mer glida in mot det religiösa/magi-hållet.

Delmålet knyts ihop (man skulle nästan kunna tro att jag planerade den efter snygga slut) med Feradach som ber Merida visa vad som förändrats. Vilket i sig är intressant, för det är tre (nåja, två och ett halvt iaf) delmål kvar.

Jag har fortsatt kluvna känslor för den här boken, bitvis är den intressant och bitvis kämpar jag med att se poängen med storyn.

Delmål 9 (Kapitel 32–35).

Intressant vändning att alla på DunBroch plötsligt ser Feradach på samma sätt, lite överraskande trots att vi visste att han redan påverkats av Merida på olika sätt. Kanske stämmer det som Merida sade att han inte förstod sig på fmailjer, tiden eller vad det är att existera. Var det en del i Cailleach plan?

För övrigt kan man fundera kring vad Illas kommentar till honom betyder?

“You looked a little different, I think, sir,” Ila said, and she gave Merida that private cat smile. “And I did, too. I wasn’t always this age!” “Yes, our Ila is ancient,” Elinor said.

Visst kan man tolka det som att Illa ”bara” blivit äldre, men är det så? Är det här ytterligare en vink om att Cailleach håller koll på dem? Log lite åt förvecklingen sedan där ”läraren” som föröddes i ett tidigare delmål söker sig till (tillbaka rentutav) Eilean Glan, och där hon fick plats eftersom Elinor tagit på sig en mängd flickor att fostra.

Hack i häl på Feradach dyker givetvis Dásachtachs sändebud upp och raljerar. Typiska mobbare som måste skrika, skräna och härja runt för att dölja sina tillkortakommanden. Vi får en vinkling iaf vad Dásachtach sade till Harris i förra delmålet, och tydligen var det ett försök att värva honom och det finns antydningar till att Harris är allt annat än ovillig. Så vad är det för förändring han behöver? Understödja eller underminera dessa åsikter att Dásachtach har rätt och föräldrarna fel?

Delmål 10 (Kapitel 36–39).

Man känner att det är dags att börja snöra ihop den här storyn. Att Dásachtachs försökte värva Harris lär inte komma som någon överraskning – även om jag personligen hoppats på något mer kreativt än så. Det leder iaf till att han och Merida får en chans att prata ut, och det visar sig att Harris med märkts av magi. Intressant nog får Harris vara en del av när Meridas vad med gudarna skall avgöras. Och nu fick vi äntligen reda på Leezie lyckades orma sig in i familjen, hennes mamma var tydligen jordemodern som räddade Elinor och en av trillingarna undan en säker död under förlossningen. Jag blev väl heller inte överraskad över att Ila egentligen var Cailleach i maskering.

Sedan har vi den fullständigt poänglösa upplösningen: Cailleach förkunnar med buller och bång att Merida vunnit och DunBroch förändrats tillräckligt. Men, att slottet genom Dásachtachs försorg ändå kommer läggas i ruiner. Så tar det ändå inte poängen av hela grejen med vadet? Är Cailleach ute efter mer offer? Vill vara den som kommer till undsättning? Eller är hela grejen att hon fortfarande inte lärt Feradach hela den läxa hon avsett för honom? Som det ser ut så väljer nu Feradach att bli dödlig till förmån att rädda Meridas familj och hem. Ett mirakel är med andra ord beställt, betalt och på väg att serveras.

Ännu ett delmål som avslutas med en passande Cliffhanger…

Delmål 11 (Kapitel 40–41+Epilog).

Dásachtach får lära sig den hårda vägen att lojalitet inte är något du kan tvinga fram eller ens kräva att få (visserligen fick hans armé lite hjälp på vägen med att öveerge honom, men han lär vara permanent nedmonterad nu). Cailleachs mirakel sänker sig över DunDroch och med den så faller hans armé samman för att återvända till sina familjer. Och hjälp kommer utifrån, gillar verkligen hur Ardbarrach får lite upprättelse och att den resan gav mer än att ”bara” vara en plattform för Hubert att växa upp.

Epilogen, med dess bakgrund om hur Feradach blev till är intressant och lite undrar man om hans grund som luftande i grunden var anledningen till hans skiftande utseende? Att ”Jakten på det namnlösa” skulle knyta an till Feradach kändes rätt självklart redan när det nämndes första gången.

Sammanfattning.

Det här är en trevlig bok, har ett lättillgängligt språk och jag gillar chansen att få kliva in i den irländska mytologin. Men jag måste erkänna att storyn som sådan inte riktigt tilltalade mig. Ju längre in i boken jag kom, desto mer poänglös kändes hela storyn, jag klickade aldrig riktigt med karaktärerna (eller snarare den här inkarnationen av dem) och tilltalades inte av grundintrigen med vadet mellan Merida och gudarna Cailleach och Feradach. Jag tycker den inte är dålig, men jag gillade den inte (tyvärr).

Conclusion.

This is a nice book; has an easily accessible language and I like the chance to step into Irish mythology. But I must admit that the story as such didn't really appeal to me. The further into the book I got, the more pointless the whole story felt, I never really connected with the characters (or rather, this incarnation of them) and wasn't attracted to the basic intrigue of the bet between Merida and the gods Cailleach and Feradach. I don't think it's bad, but I didn't like it (unfortunately).

Länkar.

Boken @ Goodreads.

Cailleach @ en.wikipedia.org.

Bogle @ en.wikipedia.org.

Pooka/Púka @ en.wikipedia.org.

Brag @ en.wikipedia.org.

Shellycoat @ en.wikipedia.org.

Brandubh @ ancientgames.org.

Hnefatafl @ sv.wikipedia.org

#läsning #bokcirkel #läsecirkel #böcker #maggie stiefvater #bravely #fantasy #aventure #media tie-in #pixar brave #disney #sequel #2022 #us

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