#Singed living his best life happily with his daughter after making everyone else's lives worse

[vebees]

I can't believe Singed is the true winner of Arcane

[actuallysaiyan]

The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize-PART I(Naruto Uzumaki x Reader)

Word count: 1,682

Pairings: Naruto Uzumaki x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Fluff, abuse, slight smut, slight violence, pregnancy

Summary: Reader has lived in Konoha her whole life, despite the fact that her parents despise ninjas. She’s led to believe the same, until she meets a certain shinobi who catches her eye...and holds her heart. When she ends up pregnant with his baby, her parents decide to send her away when they find out she’s been seeing a ninja...

A/N: This a new series! It may have one or two more parts, but it could have more if it becomes popular! This is inspired by the song The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize by DEVO, which the lyrics always reminded me of a man singing about his pregnant lover who gets sent away but she gets better enough to send him a letter to tell him she’s doing fine...

Your whole life, you’ve been taught to see shinobi as the worst people possible. Your parents told you that they were the kinds of people who brought violence and war upon themselves and others. They weren’t there to defend the weak or fight for justice; they were there to fight people and become cruel assassins and hurt people. They wouldn’t be able to help you in a situation, they would leave you there to die.

For years, you believed your parents. You would see shinobi and think about how unlucky and cruel they were. How they would only bring misfortune and death with them everywhere they went. 

Then, you met someone. A shinobi. He changed your opinion on shinobi forever.

It was just a fleeting crush at first, but as it grew, you found yourself wanting to train and become a kunoichi. You wanted to have the strength and defend others.

Yet, you still had to hide all of this from your parents. It was very tough to do something like this, seeing as even after everything happened in the village and how most of the fighting between the villages seemed to calm down, your parents still couldn’t trust any ninja. They didn’t see the way they truly were. They still saw the old ways.

Your mother, a dressmaker, was way too preoccupied with keeping up with the Jones’ to even think about sending you to the academy when you were a child. She would have died of embarrassment if you had shown any kind of interest in fighting or using genjutsu. 

Your father, the one who owned the dress shop and who came from money, would have told you otherwise if you even dared show interest in ninjutsu or fighting. He would have argued and told you that it was wrong and you would just be cursing the family for generations to come.

But when you met Naruto, everything changed.

You met him at Ichiraku ramen. It was one of your favourite places to go, but you did your best to go there alone when it wasn’t very populated. You knew it was a popular spot for ninjas, so you didn’t want to go when they were frequenting it. You were embarrassed that your parents had these thoughts and you didn’t want to be known as the daughter of the people who hated ninjas in a village full of ninjas.

But Naruto was so different. He was warm, friendly and very cute. You could get lost in his eyes for hours, just listening to him go on and on about his training. He was so charming, you couldn’t help but start to fall in love with him.

Your first kiss was under a tree in the forest, very far away from your home. Naruto knew about your parents, but he still wanted to show you how ninjas were good people. He loved you and didn’t want to let you go.

You and Naruto fell for each other very fast. It was so quick and so passionate. You had to meet up at odd times of the day in very secluded places, but you’d never trade these dates for anything. Naruto would show you different fighting techniques and would try to train you as best as he could, although you didn’t even know the first thing about being a ninja.

Naruto was a bit of a hothead, but he had so much patience for you. He would praise you to no end, and would always be very supportive. Most of your time would be spent either training, or it would be spent making out and enjoying your short time together. You barely had enough time to do both things. Oftentimes, you would have to run home in the middle of a training session without giving him a single kiss. It was getting harder and harder to meet up, but you couldn’t stop. Your heart wouldn’t let you give up on Naruto…

The days would go by in a blur. You’d spend most of your time with Naruto when your parents didn’t think too much of it. They would ask you from time to time what you were doing at the odd times of the night, but you would just tell them you were going for walks to clear your head. They bought every excuse you gave them, not thinking you would ever dare fraternize with a ninja.

Little did they know, you were head over heels in love with Naruto. You often fantasized about telling your parents that you were going to marry him and that he was going to be there for you forever and that they would have to just deal with it. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide it from them, but you didn’t care if you got caught anymore.

One night, you snuck out of your room and made your way towards Naruto’s place. You had been planning this outing for a little while, and you knew it had to go perfectly. You were going to show Naruto exactly how much he meant to you, and there was only one way to truly show him that.

Naruto was very surprised when he saw you at the door. He was half-asleep but very happy to invite you in. You were dressed up in one of the dresses your mother made for you, which made you feel a little guilty about the whole situation.

“What are you doing here this late, y/n? Not that I’m unhappy to see you, because I’m very happily surprised, dattebayo!” Naruto asked.

“I needed to see you. I love you Naruto, and I’m tired of having to hide this from everyone,” you pushed him up against the wall and kissed him heatedly. Naruto chuckled nervously when you pulled away.

“I love you too, y/n.” he looked deeply into your eyes, seeing the love and understanding exactly what was happening.

He was gentle and loving while he undressed you, watching your body as you climbed onto his bed and gave him a sultry pout. Naruto put your pleasure first as he made love to you, making sure you wouldn’t cry or feel discomfort. You loved him and kissed him and as the night ended, you found yourself falling asleep in his arms.

The next day, you felt different. You didn’t care about your parents finding out, yet you couldn’t help but think about how it would hurt them to find out that you were with a shinobi. So you tiptoed out of Naruto’s place and you decided you would give it some time before you saw him again…

Until you found out your period was late. You were cursing yourself in the bathroom, hoping your parents wouldn’t hear you crying and swearing. You needed to go see a doctor without arousing your parents' suspicion.

Unfortunately for you, one of your mother’s friends saw you at the doctor’s office. She couldn’t help herself and stuck her nose in your business, spying on you as you sat on the exam table. Tears streamed down your cheeks as the doctor told you the news…

You were a month pregnant, incidentally, that was the amount of time you had spent away from Naruto. There was no question about it, Naruto had gotten you pregnant. That night had been filled with so much love and passion that you both had forgotten to protect against this kind of situation. You wanted to do something about it, but the doctor told you to wait on it and talk to the father before making any rash decisions.

Even worse was the fact that your parents had been told by their friend about what they witnessed at the doctor’s office. Your father was furious but your mother couldn’t stop crying. It wasn’t like you were a child anymore, but you weren’t in any position to raise a child on your own.

“Who is the father?” your mother asked through her tears.

You didn’t want to say. You feared that they would take you away from Naruto, or even worse, that your father would pay someone to hunt him down or something along those lines. Your father was yelling at you, but you didn’t tell them who it was.

“It was probably those scum of the earth shinobi! Were you raped and this is why you won’t say who the father is? Is it because you don’t know who it is?” Your father barked, and your mother howled at the idea of you being raped.

“I wasn’t raped! Shinobi aren’t bad people, dad. They are good people, just like anybody else. They’ve got their faults, but…” you barely could finish what you were saying before your father slapped you across the face.

“I knew she was sneaking off to see a ninja. This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t have been so lenient with her!” Your father yelled at your mother, but she didn’t want to hear this.

The next few days were filled with your parents making arrangements to send you away. They had heard from a friend of a friend that in the Hidden Sand Village, there was a woman who would take care of your little problem. She could make everything better.

In the dark of the night, they sent you off with two escorts. You could barely understand why you were letting this happen, yet you were so weak. You felt like you didn’t have any more fight left in you. If only you had trained more with Naruto, you could have defended yourself against your father.

But now, you were being shipped off to someone in the Sand Village. You didn’t even know how this was legal. Leave it to your parents to find a way to send you away and to just sweep all these problems under the rug.

Your heart ached for Naruto. You didn’t want to stay away from him for a whole month, and now you wouldn’t even be able to tell him that you loved him...or that you were carrying his baby.

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 215:  The Curse of Boredom

"You're different now," Bae commented from his seat, his skinned knee bleeding as he cleaned it. "You see it, don't you? You hurt people all the time."

Hurt people all the time? Was that really what it was? He thought he was being clever, that he was teaching lessons, and sparing them stupidity. But was this curse doing something else? Was he really hurting people? How could Baelfire think that after all the good he'd done? It was good. He was in control! Wasn't he?

"I created a truce in the Ogres War, Bae. I walked into the field of battle, and I made it stop. I led the children home. Surely, a man who's saved a thousand lives-"

"Is done!" Bae interrupted. "A man who's saved a thousand lives can be done with it. You can stop doing things."

Be done? Stop doing magic? Spinning gold and making deals, creating a name and persona for himself…could he really be done? When there was so much to do, so many advantages to living this way, could he ever put it all aside?

Tending to Bae's skin, he uncorked the bottle of green liquid to help it heal faster and was about to push a bit of his own magic into it, but didn't. He let it pour a bit over the wound on Bae's leg, and his son let out a howl he hardly heard. He marveled at the liquid before him, at the magic that the liquid held without his magic involved at all. With his magic Bae would heal, he could be healed in a flash, but with this, he would heal too. Maybe not in a second, but he'd be whole again.

Was Baelfire right? Could he be done? Was he different? Was it Baelfire who didn't understand the call of the magic inside of him, or was he the only one who saw it clearly? From where he stood, he could see no wrongdoing, and he knew from previous Dark Ones this was frequently the case. Many closest to the Dark One couldn't see it the way they did. But to go back to the way he was…to be human again and accept the magic around him in the world, to not have a hand in effecting it anymore…

"I don't know if I can give it up, Bae. I don't know if I'm strong enough without it," he reasoned, ignoring the voices in his head hissing at him to shut the hell up! Power. It was seductive. It made everything he was experiencing with Baelfire possible. It made their life better; at least he thought it did! And if he were to lose that power and go back to being a Spinner, remove the protection spells he'd cast on this house against Pan…how could he even consider such a thing. "I need more power so I can protect you."

"I wouldn't need protecting if you didn't have power!" Baelfire shouted at him.

He wouldn't need protecting if he didn't have power. Yes…yes, he was right. This…all this had happened because he'd been the Dark One. He'd been separated from Baelfire because he'd been the Dark One, and Bae had tried to protect himself. If he could just give it up, commit himself to working with his son, the one person he trusted, they might stand a chance at living the rest of their life out in peace. Bae would get married. He'd have grandchildren. He'd be able to see them every day and teach them how to spin. Their future would be so much more normal, so much brighter without magic in it! They'd be together. He couldn't let what lay in their future come to pass.

"You're right, Bae," he muttered, feeling suddenly strong.

Baelfire perked up. His eyes twinkled with hopefulness as he watched him. "I am?"

"Yes. You're right," he answered, sitting down beside him on the table. "This power that I have; it's only going to lead to death, to destruction, and it'll tear us apart. You're all I have left, son, and I don't want that. I don't want us to be apart."

"Papa, neither do I!" he sighed happily.

"Then let's fix it, Bae, you and me! We'll search the lands, all the realms if we have to, for a way to be free of this, to get me human again! Whatever it takes."

Suddenly Baelfire launched himself into his arms and held onto him tight. "I love you, Papa!" he murmured into his cloak.

"I love you too, son," he choked out, holding him even tighter. "For you…I'll do anything."

It was a nice fantasy, thinking that he might have given into Baelfire's requests if he could have seen what was coming, but it was also entirely untrue. That was what fantasies were. Lies. Things wished for. Because the truth was that he knew he'd changed. He'd changed from who he was all those years ago to who he was now. Even if he'd had the Seer in his head back then instead of just the Dark Ones, he wouldn't have given up his power. He'd have probably locked Bae in a tower, done everything in his power to keep him in this world. And he still would have failed. Somehow Bae would have escaped; somehow, he'd have gone. The future wasn't always set in stone, but he knew that somethings were simply fated to happen. That was one of them.

So was this.

Something was going on. Some kind of curse, he suspected. He could feel the static of magic in the air, but it was weak in this cell. Not weak enough to keep the magic from him, but he could feel it better when he stretched his hands outside of the bars of his cell. It was his curse that spared him from it. Weakened as he was, this was one of those immunities he'd kept as the Dark One. There was Light Magic at play. He wouldn't be affected. And he was grateful to be spared when he observed the consequences of it.

Everyone was singing.

He thought it was nothing at first. When he'd first noticed it, he'd heard one of his guards whistling when they delivered food, but then he'd noticed that they were actually singing while they talked. They were singing their conversation, and they were shocked by it, asking questions, wondering why this was happening! And to make matters worse, they'd danced too. They broke into some choreographed number as if they were on stage performing a show for royals somewhere. And then they looked at him, belted out a few lines about how they assumed it was a curse he'd placed on them, and tore out of the room, leaving him alone.

It was times like this that he wished he'd had his crystal ball or his cauldron or a spellbook or hell, he would take Belle's favorite book just to get his mind off of what was around him! When the guards left, and it went quiet again, he was ecstatic to live in his dreams. Until it all went quiet, and he suddenly sensed more magic-Dark Magic.

The door to his cell opened and closed, and he could see someone cross from the door to the opposite wall. They…glittered…sort of. A camouflage spell. One that was either poorly cast or cast by someone who didn't realize they were in a place where magic was dulled.

Regina.

"Show yourself, dearie!" he called out into the empty hall. "The Queen! The Queen, the Queen, the Queen!" he rejoiced as she revealed herself and stepped toward him. He wouldn't show it, but he'd never been so happy to see Cora's daughter. He was dying for something to break up the boredom. A visit from Regina wasn't exactly at the top of his list, but it would have to do.

"It's the Charmings," she drawled. "They cast a spell so everyone breaks into song."

"Mmm…" So that was what was going on. Someone had cast a spell, but he doubted it was the Charmings. They couldn't cast a thing. Though it was something like what they would do. Try and cast a spell that came out cheery instead of effective.

"They plan to use it to stop my curse...the curse you gave me."

"Ah…"

"Which means you're going to tell me how to stop them…now sing!"

Sing…not on his life. But it was adorable that she thought he could or would. He cleared his throat dramatically, then stepped back from the bars, circled in a deceptive step, flourished his arm…and burst into laughter as he grabbed the bars once more.

"Sorry, dearie," he cackled as her eyes widened. "Do you think the Dark One sings? I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty fork. And I didn't choose you to cast my Curse so you could come crying to me at every itty-bitty sign of trouble!" he criticized. He had to. Because she was here for answers which he didn't have, not from here, not with his limited magic and resources. He had to focus her without having all the information. Otherwise, she might catch on.

"Oh, please!" she drawled. "I'm the best student who ever walked through your door."

He smiled, recalling her sister, the sister she knew nothing of. Oh…had he mentioned there had been a choice? Slip of the tongue…

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means if you want to prove I chose the right witch, go fix it!"

She left in a huff, which he was pleased with even if he longed for her to stay longer so that she could tell him more about what was going on out there in the world. Instead, he grabbed the blank bit of parchment from its hiding place and looked it over as he lowered himself down to the floor of his cell. There was nothing on it, not yet…but he had every confidence it was coming.

He couldn't know everything, not from here. But he was hopeful that soon he wouldn't have to do either.

[imagine-this-fandom]

The Little Human~ Merman! Eridan x reader part 7

She brought him to a private inlet of beach she had discovered and laid him in the water up to his shoulders. She sat in the water beside him, examining him for any injuries. She gave a grateful smile as John jogged over from the entrance to the secret cove to join her by the unconscious merman. She couldn't help but worry that she had gotten him too late. "Is he.. dead?" (Y/n) asked timidly, watching john examine the mer prince. John lifted one of his arms , letting it go and watching it thump back in the water. "It's hard to say." He put his ear against the prince's stomach, a look of dismay crossing his face the longer he listened."Oh, I - I can't make out a heartbeat." (Y/n) was concerned for a moment before noticing a steady rise and fall from eridan's chest. She broke out in a smile, bringing his head to rest on her knees. "No, look! He's breathing! He's so, beautiful." She gently brushed the loose strands of hair from his face, smiling tenderly down at him, fingers lightly resting on his cheeks. John watched her with a small smile of his own as she began singing, voice soft and sweet. "What would I give To live where you are? What would I pay To stay here beside you? What would I do to see you Smiling at me?" Where would we swim? Where would we dive? And we'll live the best of our lives Just you and me Under the sea Part of your world" While she was distracted, john noticed figures in the water nearby and rapidly tugged her up to her feet just as the prince started to wake up. She took one last wistful look at him before bolting with john up the beach and out of view. Eridan sat up in the water, looking around in confusion for the mysterious girl he had just heard. It was so beautiful. He yelped as he was yanked into deeper water. "Eridan, you idiot!  You take sick pleasure in these bouts of anxiety you give me, don't you?" Sollux asked glaring at the violet merman while checking for injuries. But the prince's attention was elsewhere. "A girl- rescued me. . . . She was - singing . . . she had the most beautiful voice." His voice was awed as he looked around the water, hoping to see the flick of a colored fin or bubbles or some sign that she was nearby. Sollux gave him an exasperated look, already done with the idea of this mystery goddess. "Oh Eridan. I think you bumped your head pretty hard on the side of that boat. Cmon, we need to get back to the palace. " (Y/n) watched the mer folk swim away as she hid behind a rock, karkat, John, and Tavros nearby. Karkat was pacing, face pale with worry. "We just gotta forget this whole thing ever ******* happened. Dad will never know. You won't tell him, I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece." His sister paid him no mind, eyes fixed on the retreating violet form in the water. "I don't know when I don't know how But I know something's starting right now Watch and you'll see Some day I'll be Part of your world" Unbeknownst to the smitten girl and her exasperated friends, they were being watched. Two large tarantulas surveyed the group, their eyes glowing as they relayed their findings to their mistress. In a cave, hidden away by the waterside was a witch. Well, she preferred to be called an enchantress. Witch just didn't sound as badass. Her lips twisted up in an amused sneer as she watched the beach through her minions eyes "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I can't stand it - it's too easy. The brat's in love with a merman. And not just any merman - a prince! Her daddy'll LOVE that. King Signless' headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my little colony." She chuckled to herself, the idea of how to take advantage of this tantalizing opportunity already taking shape. "Oh signless, you should have known better than to imprison mother. Now it's my turn to get back at you." Her eight spotted eye glowed, the rustling of spiders growing louder. Sweet humming rose from the bath chambers of the princess. Servants smiled in curiosity as they went about their business, catching the tail end of romantic ballads and sweet summer love songs. Her personal maid, Aradia, knocked on the door, not in the mood for whimsical attitude, especially after being abandoned the day before. "(y/n)! Time to come out. You've been in there all morning!" (Y/n) emerged a few moments later, expression dreamy and mind clearly elsewhere. She barely acknowledged Aradia on her way out, strolling past her to the balcony. Aradia tutted and shook her head, starting to work on her hair as signless entered her chambers. His amused expression was met with annoyance from Aradia as he came to stand beside her. "Good morning Aradia, (y/n). Fine day, is it not?" (Y/n) smiled and handed him a flower. "Good morning Daddy" she said, before she was off again, her walk almost bordering on a dance as she walked away from her confused father. Aradia shook her head, exasperation fading into amusement. "Oh, she's got it bad." "What? What has she got?" Signless asked, confused by this mystery ailment affecting his daughter. The maid shook her head "Isn't it obvious, my king? (Y/n)'s in love." He paused to consider this statement, rolling the stem of the flower between his fingers as he pondered this new information, a smile creeping onto his face. (Y/n) ? In love?" Out in the gardens, an entirely different kind of reaction was happening. Karkat paced along the stone path between the flowers, muttering irritably to himself, his sister happily laying on a bench, plucking petals off a daisy. "Ok, So far, so good. I don't think the king knows. But it won't ******* easy to keep something like this a secret for long." The prince mused, sitting on the bench beside her. (Y/n) kept on with her task, Picking petals off a flower while repeating "He loves me . . . hmmm, he loves me not. . . . He loves me! I knew it!" She cried out in joy, holding that last petal close to her heart. Karkat resisted the urge to shove her off the bench. "stop talking crazy. You saltwater lunatic!" She sat up, a determined gleam in her eyes. "I gotta see him again - tonight! John knows where he lives..." Karkat looked at her like she was nuts, which he was considering might actually be true. " Will you get your ******* head out of the clouds and back on the shore where it belongs?" She stood up, doing some pacing of her own as she started to formulate a plan. "I'll swim up to his castle. The Tavros will make some noise to get his attention and then with -" Karkat was done. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit down again. "UP HERE is your home! listen to me. The ocean world - it's a mess. Life above the sea is better than anything they got down" The seaweed is always greener In somebody else's lake But your dream about going down there Well, that is a big mistake Just look at the world around you Right here on the ocean's shore Such wonderful things surround you What more are you lookin' for? Over the sea Over the sea Idiot it's better Nearly red letter Far from the sea! Up on the shore we work and play Enjoying our sun and lovely day While they are floating Boredom worth noting Under the sea Up here everyone is happy As off through the town they stroll The person off the land ain't happy They sad 'cause they in trouble But the person off land is lucky They're in for a monster fate One day when the mer  get hungry Guess who's going to be on their plate Under the sea Under the sea Merfolk will beat us Dice and eat us With their sharp teeth We're what the merfolk love to kill Over the sea we can just chill We've got no worries No need for hurries Over the sea Over the sea Since life is sweet here We got the beat here Naturally Celebrate with me in our ways There are better ways to spend your days Without the ocean Kingdom's devotion Over the sea The world it is vast The emotions are fast The gardens are great The ocean can wait Why keep up this dream They're worse than they seem Just stay on the shore and safe (Yeah) Mers far away In the sand we play Safe and sound No danger to be found The fearsome dark sharks their teeth will leave marks and oh the danger grows! Under the sea Under the sea When the drowning takes your your breath away you'll long to be safe What do they got? A lot of fun? you won't be thinking  that when you run Each little creature danger's its feature Under the sea Each little slug here Cuttin' a rug here Under the sea all of the mer there fighting is not rare That's why it's slaughter Under the water Ya we in luck here sorry, you're stuck here far from the sea! unbeknownst to the passionate young man who was ranting, his sister and her friend had snuck away sometime during his tirade. He faced where she had been sitting, face blank before filling with frustration. "(Y/N)? Oh . . . somebody's got to nail that girl's feet to the floor." His thoughts were interrupted by a messenger from the palace. your highness, your highness!, I've been looking all over for you. I've got an urgent message from the king!" The prince paled, possible topics swirling in his head. "He wants to see you right away - something about (Y/N)." karkat waved the messenger away, a growing lump of dread settling in his stomach. This could not be happening. They were so dead! "He knows!" karkat said, tone hushed and terrified.

[jloves-pp]

Merida and Hiccup’s wedding day-part 5

Charpter 5

"I've won" Merida cried as she and Angus reached the castle first. Hiccup and Toothless followed right behind them, he looked at his new wife grinning from ear to ear "ok but we would of won if we had made the turn past those barrel and some sheep"

"Excuses, excuses" the redhead remarked playfully. "I nearly hit a large tree branch and you don't hear me complaining ". Hiccup just simply smiled at this as he got off Toothless and walk up to her.

"May I milady" The prince offered with his arms out to his princess. Merida reached out and put her arms around him and he help her to the ground. They then rubbed their noses together. "Do you want to check out the hall before anyone else show up"

"Aya, I never got a chance to see it" she admitted. They linked arms snugly and entered the great hall. They were both awestruck by the decoration; the walls had garlands filled with white and purple flowers covering them all around the walls. There were candles dotted around on stands and on the tables, on each table, there were long tartan runners.

"I can't think of the last time I've ever seen it so beautiful" The bride said in ore" remind me to say thank you to my mum and the servets for the amazing job"

After the couple had a good look around the hall Hiccup suggested checking out the wedding presents they had receive from their guests. The gifts were all placed in a separate room, the two opened the doors and all they could say was "wow"

The room was full with boxes filled with gold and jewels, large goblets and drinking horns. As well as homemade shortbread, whisky cake and buckets of apples. Swords, axes and other weapons as well and ornate shield that has been laid out in a fancy display. An elegantly decorated box with brushes, combs and hair accessories (which Merida probably wouldn't use) There were quills and tools that were for Hiccup. Handmade scarfs, cloths, gloves and blankets made out of wool or fabric. Colourful paintings and tapestries and even a deer head made out of patchwork.

"Tell me again how many people have come" the groom asked his wife. He know they met and helped a lot of people but he never thought so many people liked and appreciated them.

"I expect more than a hundred guest" Merida replied as she had a slice of shortbread and then offered one to Hiccup which he happily took. They read some of labels on the gifts, they both knew that some where from their friends who couldn't come, like Eret, son of Eret who they came across on a trip to Berk. He and other Vikings couldn't come just incase trouble would occured but they gave the couple their best wishes. Another friend of theirs was Heather, even though at the time she was made by the Outcast to spy on the dragon rides and find out their secrets Heather become their friend, she had even join the dragon riders for a while. Heather said she would love to come but she was off travelling and wouldn't be able to made it, although she had found time to send them a wedding gift, which was a pairs of scissors made of scales off her dragon named "Windshear"

Then they noticed three gift on a table, each one had a tartan ribbon around it. They both recognise the colours of Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwell. MacGuffin's gift was a shining cauldron, the gift that Macintosh gave was a lyre which was beautifully carved and as for Dingwell's present well it was a simple rock, a big rock but still a rock.

"I still don't understand the rock" the groom admitted to his wife.

"No one really knows why a rock is the Dingwell's symbol, I don't even think they know" Merida replied.

They took their time looking at their gifts. It wasn't until Merida spotted a small wooden box that was amongst the others. She picked it up and found a note.

"Hiccup, look at this"

He came over and read it over his wife's shoulder.

"Dear Princess and Prince,

congratulations on your marriage. I would've loved to be there but the annual witches festival happens to be on the same week as your wedding. Sorry but I did send you this gift, it took nearly a week to make.

I hope you two appreciate it.

From the Witch. P.s I thought about sending some blessing potions but I couldn't find any sea-goats livers.

"Sea-goats livers?" Hiccup finally said after they read the note.

"Well maybe we luckily, it could have been worse. I don't want to have something with sea-goat livers in it" Merida said with a shrug.

"Let's see what she sent us"

"Hopefully it's not a cake"

The Redhead let out a small laugh. When she first met the witch she asked for a spell (the same spell that turned her mum into a bear) which came in the form of a cake. So now she and everyone joke about it if someone offered cake to someone else.

Merida opening the box but to their surprise there was no cake but two wooden figures. One of a bear and one of a dragon. The bass that the figures stood on started to move clockwise and play a soft tune.

"Wow, I never seen anything like it" Hiccup said looking at the details on the figures.

"I think I know this song" Merida said softly before humming along with it. Hiccup couldn't help but smile, Merida wasn't a singer and would never perform public but Hiccup found that she had rather a nice voice. Merida didn't feel uncomfortable singing when she was around him, and Hiccup had a good singing voice himself.

"I think I know it too, it's my partners song" there was a moment when only the music box was playing. The groom glances at his bride, she look as if she wanted to say something."what's wrong"

After Merida let out a sigh she said " I couldn't help but think about your dad. I remember your mum and dad dancing to this song, I also remember how happy you were...and them" Merida stopped, she didn't want upset him.

The first few week after Stoick death was really difficult for Hiccup, he didn't leave his room and Merida had heard sobbing. She felt helpless, she was told to give him time and space to heal but soon Merida became sick. When Hiccup heard this, he rushed to her side. He apologise for not being around but Merida said it was ok, lost of a loved one is a terrible thing to go thought. She told him to remember only the good memories and try to live life again, that what his dad would want him to do. The Princess got better physically and Hiccup got better emotionally and he even started flying again.

"I know, I still thinking about him everyday. He's watching over us so I know he's alway with me" Hiccup said,

This came as a surprised to Mer but she gave a warm smile "I like to think that too" Merida added. Hiccup returned her a smile as he then held the music box together.

As the music stopped they kissed a long lingering kiss. It felt like a long time until they pulled away looking at each other. They both jumped a little as they heard someone clearing their throat behind them, they turned to see Elinor standing by the door.

"Mum, how long have you be there?" Merida asked nervously.

"I've just arrived" the queen replied "the guests are headed to the game field for lunch, I thought I'd check on you two" she continued as she walk up to the couple.

"The great hall looks wonderful mum, you and the staff did a amazing job, thank you" Merida thanked her mum and hugged her close.

"I'm so happy to know you love it" The mother and daughter shared in this moment before Elinor turned to Hiccup. "And I brought something for Hiccup" the queen then pulled a large box from a cupboard.

"Is this our wedding gift?" Hiccup asked politely to his new mother-in-law.

"No it is made especially for you" Elinor replied and revealed to them a crown. It was similar to Merida's but had square points and red and green gems around it.

"Is that for me?" The Viking questioned even thought he knew the answer.

"Of course. now as prince of DunBroch, you'll be responsible for the care of DunBroch and help Merida with royal duties now and when she is queen" Elinor explained.

"And would that make me King. To be honest I'm.."

"I know your worried about being King but I and anyone else believe's you can and I'm proud to know Merida has someone who is gentle and smart that will help her take care of our home"

As she spoke, Merida took Hiccup's helmet off and gave a confused Hiccup an innocent grin. Mer knew what going to happen next.

"I couldn't have picked anyone better" the queen finished. Hiccup bowed his head, Elinor place the crown on his head, the Viking prince stared up, Merida and Elinor both thought the crown suited him.

"It feels a bit heavy" Hiccup commented as he touch his crown.

"It's supposed to symbolise the weight of the kingdom, to serve the people and protect them or something like that" his wife explained.

Hearing this, Elinor chuckled to herself. "Well before you two have lunch. I want to show you my gift".

"OK which one?" Merida asked looking at their gifts, wondering which one could be her mother's.

"Oh it's not here" Elinor said.

The young couple looked at each other, then back to Elinor "where is it then?" Hiccup asked

"I'll show you" the Queen answered. Merida and Hiccup followed the Queen through some hallways, still thinking what this present was. Just before Merida was about to ask her mum..."here it is" Elinor suddenly said holding her arm up, pointing around the corner.

With their fingers intertwined, Hiccup and Merida went around the corner and ended up stopping in their tracks for what they saw. On the wall was a large dark green tapestry, on the left was a image of DunBroch castle. There was Elinor and Furgus on the top of the castle and the the triplets on the ground, there was the forest near the castle and a trail of Willow of the wisps that seemed to lead into the forest. On the right showed Berk. It showed Stoick the Vast standing on a cliff edge; it also had two Vikings riding dragons and a long boat on the sea. In the middle of a tapestry was a circle, on the top was a black dragon that was definitely supposed to be Toothless and on the bottom was a black bear that looked like Elinor when she was a bear. And in the circle was both Merida and Hiccup, holding hands and looked at each other.

The Queen could see her daughter and son-in-law's faces, they like it she was even more sure when Merida wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you" she heard Merida say, Elinor returned to hug.

"How long did it take to make this" Hiccup asked after Merida and Elinor finish their hug.

"Well I started it a few months before your proposal. So it took a good while and a bit of unpicking along the way to make it perfect but finally got there" the queen explained.

"Hey look at detail on the dragons. You got it dead on" Hiccup pointed to the Berk side. The Queen watched the wedded couple chatting about her tapestry before backing away, she wanted to give them sometime alone. she leaves them with their arms around each other. Elinor turned and disappeared around the corner and smiled softly when she heard...

"I love you Mer"

"I love you too Hic"

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 79)

Weiss was in her dreamworld, sitting on the side of her bed in her old room in Manor Schnee—before it had been vaporized by Tinmen with shotguns, at least.

The door opened, Weiss looked up and frowned.

Jacques Schnee sucked in a deep breath, and sighed. “Well, I do hope you’re happy now...” he said as he strode in, his hands behind his back, the disappointment clear on his face.

Weiss didn’t reply.

“How is this new life treating you, Weiss?” Jacques asked. “Enjoying your ‘freedom’? Literally living in the very swamp of civilization, forced to muck about in the dirt, sharing space with these animals?”

Weiss scowled as she looked up. “Those ‘animals’ are my friends, and have been treating me far better than you ever had!”

Jacques scowled. “Really, Weiss?

“All I have ever done, it was for your own good—I feed you, I clothe you, I educate you, I protect you, I go out of my way to provide you every single comfort and luxury you could ever want or need, I introduce you to the best possible connections and try to bring you into the company of success, talent, and genius, whilst keeping you away from the rabble you insist on associating with...

“… And then there’s the romances you’ve attempted.”

Weiss looked back down.

“First, there was your fencing instructor. What a scandal that would have been, had it not been to our mutual fortune that she would agree to settle this quietly and gracefully! I paid for every single session of that damned therapist believing she could tame your worst impulses, kill those naive dreams of true love, and teach you the reality of relationships.

“As you seem so keen on forgetting in spite of all my reminders: it’s a transaction, an arrangement, business, convenience, and practicality when it was invented in the Old World, and still is in spite of all the pomp, the irrationality, and misguided spirituality they’ve infused in it over the millenia.

“If I hadn’t been here to bail you out every singe time those ventures of yours failed, you would have long been bankrupt, pining for your lost loves in the squalor of one of those dwellings for the ‘unfortunate’--though I’m sure your sister would happily jeopardize her own life to coddle you like she had with the Queensguard.”

Jacques let out another heavy sigh. “Did you really think it would be different this time, Weiss?

“Did you really think that because this ‘Ruby’ is not even human, that the differences between you, this alien deathtrap you chose to live in, the questionable and worrying circumstances this ‘relationship’ arose from, that somehow those would invalidate those problems that sunk every other ‘romance’ you’ve attempted?

“Did you really think, that after everything she has shown herself to be, the grand manipulations of these ‘Fae,’ the suspicious coincidences and exceptions given to you, that there wasn’t some ulterior motive in all of this?”

“Do you really think that animal loves you...?”

Weiss balled her fists. “SHUT UP!”

Jacques blinked, before his face contorted in a rage. “What did you just say to me, young lady?!”

“I SAID: SHUT UP!” Weiss said as she shot up out of her bed and stormed up to him, frost pouring out of her hands. “Shut the fuck up, before I am forced to permanently shut it for you!”

Jacques was unfazed. “Threats, Weiss? Really...?”

“Don’t test me, father...” Weiss growled. “I’m not a helpless little kid anymore!”

“And what exactly do you call this temper tantrum?!”

“Standing up for herself, is what!” Nick cried.

Jacques whirled around, found himself facing the barrel of Nick’s lucky plasma pistol, a fresh clip in the barrel, the sides of it glowing bright.

Jacques mirrored the scowl on Nick’s face. “I thought you said you’d never use threats...” he growled.

“That’s because someone using force to get what they want tends to be a real good indicator of someone who shouldn’t have power in the first place, and dead bodies tend to cause more problems than they solve.

“Now scram before I have to throw your dead ass off the balcony.

Jacques pressed his forehead up to the barrel.

“Are you really sure you want to find out if I’ll pull the trigger, Jacques?” Nick asked coolly.

“Like you would actually do it...” Jacques growled.

Fzzshh!

Thud.

“As a matter of fact: I would!” Nick said as he knelt down and pressed the barrel to the back of Jacques’ head. “Since unlike you, I actually follow through on what I say I’d do—‘I’ll take good care of your daughter, your grandchildren, and your legacy’ my ass!”

Fzzshh!

Nick stood up, and waved his gun in the air to disperse the excess energy lingering around the barrel, before he holstered it in his back pocket. He stepped over Jacques’ corpse and to Weiss’ side. “You okay, sweetheart?” he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder.

“No!” Weiss cried. “I wanted to kill him!”

Nick frowned and patted her on the shoulder. “Sorry, sweetheart. Think you can stomach bringing him back to life?”

Weiss debated it. “I think I’ll just watch you throw him off my balcony, thanks.”

Nick nodded as he hoisted Jacques’ corpse over his shoulder. “Frozen or fresh?” he asked as he and Weiss walked over out to one of her balconies. “Whether he splats or cracks, I’ll be happy to see him where he belongs—in the ground.”

“Frozen,” Weiss replied as Nick stood him up by the edge. “I want to preserve that stupid look on his face,” she said as she readied her magic.

Granddaughter and grandfather spent a moment admiring the frozen corpse of Jacques Schnee, permanently caught surprised in death, before Nick threw him off the edge. They leaned over and watched it fall several stories down to a patch of Acropolis bedrock floating in the middle of a sea of white.

Crash!

They both smiled. “Thanks, Grandpa,” Weiss said as she and Nick waltzed back into her room. “I needed that.”

“Any time, sweetheart!” Nick said as he warmed his chilly hands.

“Where’s Grandma?”

“’Somewhere around here in the recesses of your psyche, being repressed as part of this rather strange and frankly questionable coping mechanism/paranormal phenomenon’ as she’d say,” Nick said. “You could call her in if you’d like, but I think you and I both know there’s a reason you only called me over this time.”

Weiss nodded as she sat down on her bed. Nick sat down beside her, the mattress sank and Weiss slid right into his side. He put a muscular, gigantic arm around her shoulders, one that easily dwarfed her small figure like it did with Freya.

“What do I do, Grandpa…?” Weiss asked.

“Well, if you want to go by my example: I’d say try out the ill-advised, unorthodox-to-say-the-least romantic relationship, and see if it’ll work out fine eventually. It’s not like terrible, ill-advised romantic decisions made in even worse circumstances isn’t fucking genetic on my side, judging by Snowie, you, and Winter!”

Weiss nodded. “What made you sure you wanted to confess to Grandma?” she asked.

“Nothing, that’s what!” Nick replied. “I wasn’t sure of shit, just like I wasn’t sure that my little project to go find something to help us humans un-fuck ourselves over, but hell, I figured if the odds of dying horribly out in the Country and coming back with fuck-all didn’t stop me from assembling the original crew, then I shouldn’t let that stop me from telling Frosty I had the hots for her.”

“When did you realize you were in love with her?”

Nick chuckled. “Cliche as it sounds, since the day I met her. Always did have a thing for the older, intellectual types who’ve been around long enough to know that they ain’t taking anyone’s bullshit. Besides, there was something real sexy about a lady that always made sure to ‘properly enunciate’ her four letter words.”

“But didn’t you keep writing about how much you hated her, and how you only kept her on because she could help keep you all from dying of dehydration?”

Nick chuckled. “It’s not impossible to feel both sides of the coin about something at the same time, aint’ it?”

Weiss sighed. “True… but weren’t you worried about the consequences? What if she left?”

“That’s why I tried to find so many ways to try and purify water without Frosty’s fancy techniques and machines.

“For one thing, I didn’t like the idea of not dying of thirst to rely on the saltiest bitch I have ever met in my entire life, for both the risk of losing her and her having that kind of leverage over us; for another, the prototypes could be salvaged and integrated into all the other hodgepodge tech we built like my blaster”--he patted his pistol--”and for a third, I was damned sure she was going to find out eventually, so I may as well prepare for the inevitable.

“I’m pretty sure she wasn’t joking when she said she worked with a secret intelligence agency once—would go a long way to explaining why Frosty just loved herself her secrets and those ridiculous ‘Pythian prophecies.’”

Weiss nodded. “Was it worth all the diarrhea though…?”

Nick frowned. “That… that I really can’t say, considering those shits were horrifying. What did end up happening though was that Frosty was tired of having to stick needles in me to pump rehydration solutions to keep me alive twice or thrice a week, so she asked me:

“’Nicholas, why the fuck are you trying to make all of these crappy water purifiers of yours? Don’t my creations work well enough for the all of us? Or is a doctor of Environmental Science, specializing in Water Management not good enough for you...?’

“So I told her I wanted to talk to her—alone, far away from the rest of the camp, preferably with the same tricks she used to disappear on us when it was convenient.”

“What did Grandma think…?”

“She said she thought I’d finally reached the end of my rope, and she was finally going to see me use a threat for the first time since she met me, if she just didn’t decide to throw me off that cliff outright—she and everyone else knew I could pick her up and throw her one-handed, easily.”

“So what did you say to her?”

Nick took a deep breath. “I said: ‘Freya, I love you.’”

Weiss blinked. “And…?”

“And, that was it! I’ll be the first one to say that I’ve opened my mouth when I shouldn’t way more than when I should have just kept it shut, but in that moment, I decided that it’d just be best to get straight to the point, skip the explanations as to why I got there.

“Like she said, she thought I was joking. But it wasn’t funny to her. Not funny at all.”

Weiss frowned. “What happened…?”

“Much the same like you, actually: she freaked the fuck out. Unlike you, Frosty got physical and verbal, started tearing at me with the fury of people four times her size and six times her weight, so much I damn near fell off that cliff!”

“How did you survive? The journal for that day was corrupted past that point.”

Nick shrugged. “Guess I managed to catch my footing, or Frosty found the leverage to pull someone like me back. Piper knows it wasn’t my first dodge by pure luck, nor the first miracle she’d pulled off with all her science, smarts, and fancy degrees and doctorates.”

Weiss sighed. “And here I thought you could fill in the blanks in your stories from beyond the grave.”

Nick patted her. “Sorry, kid, but it looks like that’s a point for Subconscious Sock Puppets.”

Weiss grumbled. “So was it worth it, trying to make things work with Grandma?”

Nick smiled. “Hell yes. And before you ask: it’s up to you to decide, if you want to try and make things work with Ruby. Sure, me and Frosty were different as can be—about as close to a real world example of the old Fire and Ice analogy as you can get—and we still made it work!

“But, we didn’t have the fate of all of Avalon depending on us popping out some badass babies to kill whatever the fuck it is the Fae is trying to keep out of the walls of the Bastion but still inside the Valley.”

Weiss looked down. “How do I know if Ruby’s worth it?”

“Do what I did: try it out, see for yourself. But also like I did: think long and hard about how you’re going to do that, when you’re going to do it, and maybe go see if there’s anyone else that tried the same thing and see how it worked out for them.

“It’s why we pay so much damn attention to those reviews and ratings on the Info-Grid, don’t we?”

Weiss nodded. “Right. Who, though?”

“Aside from the obvious choice of Taiyang, try asking Abner. Sounds like he and Ily were pretty close, and he’s probably stayed close with all the other Keepers for the past 500 years. Could be a good source of info on Ruby, too.”

Weiss hummed. “I’ll make a note of it.” She hugged Nick’s side, her arms barely capable of wrapping around him for how large and muscular he was. “Thanks for everything, Grandpa—even if you are just probably a sign that this Valley’s driven me insane.”

Nick hugged her back, completely engulfing Weiss in his grip, careful not to squeeze too hard. “Anytime, Weiss, anytime...”

Weiss pulled away. “Can you please leave, and give me some time to think now?”

Nick let go of her and got up. “Sure thing—love ya, Weiss,” he said, saluting her goodbye.

Weiss waved goodbye. “I love you too, Grandpa.”

Nick went to the door, opened it, and left.

Weiss looked around at her old room in Manor Schnee, and frowned; it began to dissolve around her, rapidly replaced by the now familiar mud and dirt of the training grounds, her meditation fountain burbling quietly.

She smiled. “Much better.”

She sat down underneath the fountain, and began to meditate.

Weiss woke up to the sight of a magic-proof box that had been teleported into her cell while she was asleep. She opened it up, found her newly modified gauntlet inside, along with canisters of mana-water and some more colourful and appetizing looking versions of nutriblocks.

Abner’s notes beside it assured her that his “special mix tastes vastly better!” though Weiss found it was like halfway-decent granola bars.

“Better than cardboard and wood chips, though,” she thought as she ate.

She put her glove back on, flinched as she felt her magic muted like Myrtenaster during the Eve of the Ether. The leather hadn’t gotten any thicker, but the metals and crystals had been carved with intricate runes, plus a new switch-like mechanism—the “safety” for her powers.

Weiss tried to cast a puff of frost with the safety on. She felt herself putting in effort to produce it, fighting against the glove doing its damndest to absorb and stop everything.

Then, she turned it off, saw the new carvings light up and heard them hum, and tried again.

Swoosh!

Weiss’ eyes widened, pulling back from the blast of hail she had produced. She sighed as she flipped the safety back on, unconsciously wincing from the sensation—probably what a dog felt like when it was muzzled.

“Looks like the Eve still has some surprises up its sleeve...” she muttered.

She practiced by dispelling the ice around her, before she called for someone to let her out. It turned out to be one of Abner’s golems, dressed up like an Old World London police officer complete with the ridiculous hat.

“Where’s Abner and the others?” she asked.

A holo popped out of its chest, Nivian text explaining that most everyone had gone home to Keeper’s Hollow or back to the hospital, while Penny and Abner had stayed to properly test Winter’s magical capabilities, and were currently at the Raucous Room, seeing them in action.

Weiss asked it to take her there, down came the barrier, and off they went. She wondered just how exactly Winter’s powers were going to manifest, given what she knew of all the many different branches and specializations of Weavers...

[sueboohscorner]

#Outlander S5, Ep4 – “The Company We Keep” Recap

“The Company We Keep” finds Jamie and Claire helping another damsel in distress.  Let’s recap #The Company We Keep! 

In this episode, Roger demonstrates once again that he is a fish out of water when confronted with an angry mob and he and Jamie’s men arrive in Brownsville ahead of Jamie and Claire to recruit more men for the militia. 

As the men enter town, Roger calls out “hello the house” and is shocked when gunshots ring out!  Someone is shooting at them! The men take cover as Roger tries to figure out what he should do. 

Mr. Brown tells Roger that one of Roger’s men, Isaiah Morton, has “shamed” his daughter, Alicia.  Just then Alicia runs out of the house when she realizes that Isaiah is back.  But the girl is dragged back into the cabin before she reaches Isaiah.  Roger doesn’t know what he should do so he decides to give Mr. Brown what he wants, and Roger turns Isaiah Morton over to the Browns.  

Back at Fraser’s Ridge, Brianna returns from a shopping trip and as she unloads the buggy, she finds a silver coin in her basket.  She recognizes the coin as one that she has seen Stephen Bonnet play with.  Bree is terrified when Mrs. Bug tells her that a very nice Irish gentleman ruffled Jemmy’s hair and gave him the coin.  The man also asked if the baby looked like his mother or father.  Of course, we all assume as does Brianna that the man was Stephen Bonnet.  Brianna decides to move everyone into Jamie and Claire’s home while they are gone. 

In Brownsville, Roger is doing his best to defuse the situation with a keg of Irish Whiskey which at least gets Mr. Brown to explain what Morton has done.  It seems that the Browns had arranged a marriage for Alicia with Elijah Ford.  It was a good match but when Alicia told Mr. Ford that she was in love with Isaiah and had slept with him, the marriage was called off.   Mr. Brown swore that if he ever saw Isaiah Morton, he would kill him.  So, Brown tells Roger that Morton must face his fate in Brownsville and will not be allowed to continue with the militia. 

Jamie and Claire make their way to Brownsville with Fanny’s baby.  Jamie watches Claire as she cradles the baby and realizes how much he missed being able to watch Claire raise Brianna.  Claire tells Jamie that they have to find someone to nurse the baby because she can’t survive much longer on just goats’ milk.

Roger is desperately trying to keep the peace in Brownsville, but things are made worse when Fergus tells Roger that several of the men left the militia because Roger turned in one of their own men.  Roger knows Jamie will be furious about the loss of men, but he doesn’t know what he could have done differently. 

Jamie and Claire arrive in town and are greeted by young Josiah and Keziah.  The Fraser’s tell the boys they have their contracts and are now free!  Josiah can’t believe it!  He immediately tells Jamie that he wants to join the militia, but Jamie says he is too young and asks him to return to the Ridge to hunt and provide food for the settlement. 

As Jamie and Claire approach the Brown’s cabin, they hear Roger singing to the group, so Jamie and Claire think that everything is going well.  As Claire goes to find someone to nurse the baby, Roger tells Jamie the whole story.  As expected, Jamie is furious.  He tells Jamie feels that he did a good job keeping the situation from escalating into violence by handing Isaiah over to Mr. Brown, but Jamie tells Roger he has disgraced the title of Captain by dishonoring the men that put their trust in him.  Now it’s Jamie who must do what he can to undo the damage caused by Roger’s inexperience. 

Jamie’s solution is to have Isaiah marry Alicia, but Morton tells Jamie and Roger that he is already married.  Isaiah explains that he truly loves Alicia and that his marriage was arranged but that he and his wife do not live together as man and wife.  Left with no other option, Jamie frees Morton but tells him that he can never see Alicia again. 

Meanwhile, Claire finds Mrs. Brown who upon finding out that the baby needs to be properly nursed, takes Claire to her daughter, Lucinda, who had just given birth to nurse Fanny’s baby.  Lucinda happily agrees but Claire is concerned that she will not leave enough milk for her to nurse her own baby, but Lucinda simply replies that it won’t be a problem and feeds the baby.  

As Claire chats with the ladies, she sees a pamphlet sitting next to her.  She notices that there is an article from Dr. Rawlings and is shocked to see that it is her notes that were published!  How is this possible?  Jamie and Claire talk to Fergus about the note he took to the printer.  Could there have been something else written on the paper?  Fergus says yes, there could have.  The printer saw Claire’s notes and decided to publish them too.  Claire is worried that this will be trouble but for now Jamie is not concerned and is a little bit amused.  I must believe though that at some point, this will indeed be a more serious issue.  Again, I haven’t gotten this far in the books yet so you all may know more about how this will play out.    

The men of Brownsville learn that Isaiah Morgan is gone, and the scene turns ugly.  As the angry men confront Jamie, Richard Brown rides into town stating that he could not persuade Elijah Ford to change his mind.  This news really incites the men and both sides draw their guns. 

Jamie once again handles the situation warning the men that any harm done to Isaiah Morton would constitute a crime against the militia and their loyalty to the Crown.  The men do not want to get on the bad side of Governor Tyron, so they agree to join the militia answering to Richard Brown.   Jamie, unfazed by Richard Brown, tells Brown that the men may answer to him, but Richard Brown answers to Jamie. 

Back at Fraser’s Ridge, Brianna has moved everyone back to the big house for their safety.  She is terrified because she feels that Stephen Bonnet is near.  As she is tending to the fire, she watches Jemmy and his cousins quietly playing.  She runs out to get more wood and when she returns, Jemmy is not there!  A frantic Brianna calls for Jemmy, but he is nowhere to be found!  Marsali finds a hysterical Bree convinced that Bonnet has taken the baby.  Fortunately, Marsali keeps a cool head and Jemmy is found playing just outside the door.  Marsali pours she and Brianna a drink hoping to calm Bree and tries to find out what’s going on.  Bree does not confide in Marsali about Bonnet, but the women have a bonding moment when Marsali tells her that she killed her father.  She tells Bree that her father was abusive and many nights she prayed that he would die.  The man was eventually sent to prison and died there and Marsali thought she had killed her father. 

Brianna assures Marsali that she did not kill her father and it turns out that Marsali’s story was fiction, but Bree gets the message that thoughts can’t harm someone and that she shouldn’t worry so much about what she can’t control.  I love Marsali!  Later, Brianna goes through her drawings and burns those she made of Bonnet. 

Heading back to Brownsville, Roger is taking the names of all the men (all named Brown) who are joining the militia while Mrs. Brown leads Claire to the room she’ll share with Jamie for the night.  Mrs. Brown tells Claire that her daughter, Lucinda gave birth to a baby girl, but the baby was born too early and did not survive.  She tells Claire that if she were to leave the baby with her family, they would love her and raise her as their own.   Alicia, also in the room, helps Claire make the bed.  Claire tells Alicia that Isaiah is already married so there is no future for the two of them.  Alicia admits to Claire that she is pregnant with Isaiah’s baby. 

As the men of the militia set up their camp, Claire notices that Keziah looks feverish.  She looks down Kezzy’s throat and is shocked to find that both he and Josiah need their tonsils out.  Claire tells Jamie that she can’t do the surgery here, she needs to take the boys home.  Jamie tells Roger that he is to escort Claire and the boys back home.  Roger feels like this task proves that Jamie doesn’t trust him.  Claire tells Roger that if it’s true that Jamie doesn’t have faith in him, he wouldn’t have entrusted him with the responsibility of seeing Claire, the thing Jamie loves most, home to the Ridge.   With the decision made that Claire will return to Fraser’s Ridge, they join the party in Brownsville.  The Brown’s daughter, Lucinda, and her husband approach Claire again to say how much they’d love to keep the baby.  Claire returns to the party where the alcohol is flowing and some of the men attempt to do the Scottish jig but Jamie steps in to show them how it’s done.  

Later, the Fraser’s, a little bit drunk, take a stroll in the woods.  Jamie tells Claire that if she wants to keep the baby, he’s all in.  Claire tells Jamie that she believes what is best for the baby is to leave her with the Browns.  She tells Jamie that she loves their life together and doesn’t need to raise another child.  They chuckle and joke about Fergus and Marsali being all they need to populate Fraser’s Ridge!  Suddenly, a gunshot!  They run towards it to find Alicia Brown, who meant to kill herself because she sees no other way out of her situation.  Fortunately, Alicia missed, and the bullet only grazes her arm.  Claire takes Alicia back to her room where Claire cleans and dresses the wound to her arm.  As Claire is counseling Alicia, Jamie is outside when who shows up at camp but Isaiah Morton!  He explains to Jamie that he loves Alicia and that his marriage is a sham.  Jamie tells Morton that Alicia is pregnant and take Isaiah to see Alicia.  Isaiah professes his love for Alicia. 

Claire, Jamie and Roger decide to help them escape.  Claire watches worriedly from the window as Jamie and Roger quietly lead the couple away from Brownsville and on to a new life together.  Roger lets all the horses loose as a distraction to lead the men in the opposite direction running after the horses. 

I really enjoyed this episode as I have the first three!  I especially loved the levity of Jamie and Claire’s stroll through the woods and Jamie’s jig.  I loved the bonding moment between Marsali and Brianna and hope that leads to a beautiful friendship.  I wonder if there will be any consequences to Claire’s notes mistakenly published.  I read another recap of this episode in which the writer suggested that more hard times are coming for Roger.  Hmm.  I wish I were farther along in the books to know what this means! 

Can you believe we’re at episode 5 already?  “Perpetual Adoration” airs Sunday, March 15 on STARZ.  Visitor www.sueboohscorner.com for my recap and the recaps, news etc., for all your favorite shows! 

[goaskmeanthingthings-blog]

‘The Arrangements’: A Work of Fiction

By CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIEJUNE 28, 2016

 The New York Times Book Review asked the acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to write a short story about the American election. A second work of election fiction — by a different writer — will follow this fall.

Melania decided she would order the flowers herself. Donald was too busy now anyway to call Alessandra’s as usual and ask for “something amazing.” Once, in the early years, before she fully understood him, she had asked what his favorite flowers were.

“I use the best florists in the city, they’re terrific,” he replied, and she realized that taste, for him, was something to be determined by somebody else, and then flaunted.

At first, she wished he would not keep asking their guests, “How do you like these great flowers?” and that he would not be so nakedly in need of their praise, but now she felt a small tug of annoyance if a guest did not gush as Donald expected. The florists were indeed good, their peonies delicate as tissue, even if a little boring, and the interior decorators Donald had brought in — all the top guys used them, he said — were good, too, even if all that gold yellowness bordered on staleness, and so she did not disagree because Donald disliked dissent, and he only wanted the best for them, and she had what she really needed, this luxurious peace. But today, she would order herself. It was her dinner party to celebrate her parents’ anniversary. Unusual orchids, maybe. Her mother loved uncommon things.

Her Pilates instructor, Janelle, would arrive in half an hour. She had just enough time to order the flowers and complete her morning skin routine. She would use a different florist, she decided, where Donald did not have an account, and pay by herself. Donald might like that; he always liked the small efforts she made. Do the little things, don’t ask for big things and he will give them to you, her mother advised her, after she first met Donald. She gently patted three different serums on her face and then, with her fingertips, applied an eye cream and ­sunscreen.

Continue reading the main story

What a bright morning. Summer sunlight raised her spirits. And Tiffany was leaving today. It felt good. The girl had been staying for the past week, and came and went, mostly staying out of her way. Still, it felt good. Yesterday she had taken Tiffany to lunch, so that she could tell Donald that she had taken Tiffany to lunch.

“She adores all my kids, it’s amazing,” Donald once told a reporter — he was happily blind to the strangeness in the air whenever she was with his children.

To keep the lunch short, she had told Tiffany that she had an afternoon meeting with the Chinese company that produced her jewelry — even though she had no plans. Tiffany had cheerily forked spinach salad into her mouth, her California voice too pleasant, too fey. Her wrists looked fragile and breakable. She talked about how much she loved Ivanka’s new collection; she talked about a vegan recipe, reciting details of berries and seaweed, as though Melania would actually ever make it. She played a recording of her singing and said: “It’s not there yet but I’m working on it. You think Dad will like it?” Melania said, “Of course.”

Now she found herself warming to Tiffany, perhaps more because the girl was leaving today. Tiffany was nice. Tiffany courted her. Tiffany acknowledged her power. Tiffany was different from that Czech woman’s children — she never disputed, with her manner, the primacy of Melania’s place in Donald’s life.

Not like Ivanka. Melania breathed deeply. Even just thinking of Ivanka brought an exquisite, slow-burning irritation. That letter Ivanka wrote to Donald after their engagement. She would never forget it. Congratulations, Dad. At least your ex-wife was pure. It lay carelessly on the desk, as most of Donald’s papers did, and Melania had read it over and over, and later, unable to control herself, had shown it to Donald. What does she mean by this? Donald laughed it off. Ivanka gets moody and jealous, he said. I am here! Melania had wanted to shout once at the girl, golden-haired and indulged by Donald, one summer when Ivanka joined them for breakfast in Palm Beach and did not once glance at Melania.

“Melania looks great, but we have to think about how to make her more relatable for the convention, maybe less contour makeup and her smiling and not squinting so much,” Ivanka said just two days earlier, at a meeting with Donald’s campaign team. Melania was seated there, next to Donald and part of the meeting, and yet Ivanka spoke of her as though she were invisible.

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Donald said. He always agreed with Ivanka. Ivanka who spoke in eloquent streams of words that meant nothing but still impressed everyone, Ivanka whom Donald showed off like a glowing modern toy that he did not know how to operate.

Remember, only praise for his daughter when he is there, her mother told her whenever Melania complained.

Her phone chimed; a text from Donald. I’m leading in the latest poll. National! Nice!

It was probably what he had tweeted as well. He copied and pasted his tweets to her in text messages. Once she had suggested he hold back on a tweet and he replied that he had already tweeted it. He showed her his tweets after he had sent them, not before.

That is so great! she texted back.

She sagged suddenly with terror, imagining what would happen if Donald actually won. Everything would change. Her contentment would crack into pieces. The relentless intrusions into their lives; those horrible media people who never gave Donald any credit would get even worse. She had never questioned Donald’s dreams because they did not collide with her need for peace. Only once, when he was angry about something to do with his TV show, and abruptly decided to leave her and Barron in Paris and go back to New York, she had asked him quietly, “When will it be enough?” She had been rubbing her caviar cream on Barron’s cheeks — he was about 6 then — and Donald ignored her question and said, “Keep doing that and you’ll turn that kid into a sissy.”

She forced herself to stop thinking of Donald winning. There was this evening to look forward to, with Donald and her parents and a few friends, food and flowers, the butler’s creaseless service, and the magnanimous ease of it all.

Barron had told her last night that he would not join them at dinner. “Too boring, Mom,” he had said in Slovenian. She missed his delicious younger days, when he was pliable and happy to go everywhere with her, when she would brush his hair and hold his perfect little body close and feel it almost one with hers. Now, he had an individual self, separate and wise, with knowledge of golf and video games; when she kissed him he twisted away. At least she had persuaded him to come down and say hello to the guests after they arrived.

She had asked the chef for a menu that was both “old and new,” and he suggested steak and watercress and quinoa and lobster and something else she did not remember. Her mother would like it. When she was growing up, her mother used the French or English terms for the food she cooked, as if the Slovenian would make them unforgivingly ordinary. She would serve a ragout for dinner, after a long day at the textile factory, her lips still carefully rouged, her waist tightly cinched, always striving, always trying to escape the familiar. A woman had to hold herself together, her mother said, or end up looking like a wide middle-aged Russian.

◆

The butler called her bedroom. “Miss Tiffany would like to say goodbye, Mrs. Trump.”

“Yes, thank you,” Melania said, and waited for Tiffany to knock on her door.

“I’m so sorry, didn’t want to bother you,” Tiffany said. Her blond hair extensions were distracting; too long and doll-like.

“No, no problem,” Melania said. “You look nice.”

“Thank you so much for everything! See you in Cleveland next week!” Tiffany said, hugging her.

“Take care.”

At the door, Tiffany turned back and said, “Ivanka donates to Hillary.”

“What?”

“I saw it on her laptop when I went over there last night. She uses a fake name. It’s the same fake name she uses to order stuff online. I thought you should know.”

Melania swallowed her surprise. Why was Tiffany telling her this? Around Ivanka, Tiffany was like an eager insecure puppy, as though she would not truly be part of the family but for Ivanka’s good grace — a grace that needed to be fed with loyalty and adulation.

So why tell her this? And could it be true? Tiffany was watching, waiting for a reaction. She was determined to say nothing, just in case Tiffany was reporting back to someone. She always suspected intrigue among Donald’s children — and she would not tell Donald about this, not yet; she would first discuss it with her mother. Whether it was true or not, this was a morsel to be saved, molded, used in the best way.

“I must get ready for my Pilates, Tiffany,” she said firmly. “See you in Cleveland.”

Donald called just after she ordered the orchids. He had some meetings, but his big event of the day was a luncheon organized by the Republican National Committee.

“How is it going?” she asked.

“Great. Did you see the polls, honey? Can you believe this?” His voice had an ebullient pitch. He still did not entirely believe this was happening — his lead in the polls, the new veneer of being taken seriously. She could tell from the disbelieving urgency of his actions, and from the way he flipped through cable channels and scanned newspapers for his name.

“Remember I told you: You will win,” she said.

She always tried to sound casually believing, as if the polls were merely incidental, and her faith had conjured his victory. But she was as startled by his rise as he was.

When she had first told him “you will win,” that balmy day in Florida last year, drinking Diet Coke in tennis whites, she had meant he would win at what he wanted: the publicity, the ego polish. It would help his TV show, and impress those business associates tickled by fame. But she had never meant he would actually win the Republican primary, nor had she expected the frenzy of media coverage he received. Americans were so emotionally young, so fascinated by what Europeans knew to be world-weary realities. They were drawn to Donald’s brashness and bluster and bullying, his harsh words, even the amoral ease with which untruths slid out of his mouth. She viewed these with a shrug — he was human, and he had his good points, and did Americans truly not know that human beings told lies? But they had followed him from the beginning, breathlessly and childishly. There were days when every television channel she switched to had his image on the screen. They did not understand that what he found unbearable was to be ignored, and for this she was grateful, because being in the news brought Donald the closest he could be to contentment. He would never be a truly content person, she knew this, because of that primal restlessness that thrummed in him, the compulsion to prove something to himself that he feared he never would. It moved her, made her feel protective. Even the way he nursed his grudges, almost lovingly, unleashing in great detail slights from 20 years ago, made her protective of him. She often felt, despite the age gap of more than two decades, that she was older than Donald. Her response to his agitations was a curated series of soothing murmurs. Be a little calmer, she told him often. In bed, she had learned to gauge Donald and know when he expected her to gasp. On nights when she did not have the mental energy to act, she would tell Donald, “It is not a good night today,” and he would kiss her cheek and leave, because he liked her air of delicate mystery.

◆

The butler knocked and brought her lemon water on a tray. “Janelle is here, Mrs. Trump.”

He did his characteristic almost-bow. He liked her, mostly because of how little she said, and how she encouraged an air of enigmatic formality.

“Thank you,” she said.

She applied concealer and lip gloss and highlighter, checked herself in the mirror. She had not worn makeup with Amy, her last instructor, but Janelle made her want to look attractive. After Amy moved to Los Angeles and recommended Janelle, Donald saw her — he was home on Janelle’s first day and said: “Really? I didn’t think they did that Pilates stuff. It’s not like Pilates is hip-hop or whatever.” She, too, was taken aback when she first saw Janelle, sinuous and small, skin the color of earth, locs pulled up in a bun. She’s professional and discreet, Amy had said. Now, weeks in, Melania wished that Janelle were not so professional, so singularly focused on straightening Melania’s feet, flattening Melania’s belly, and never saying anything personal.

“Hi, Mrs. Trump. Ready for the warm-up?” Janelle asked, her face, as usual, a pleasant mask scrubbed of expression.

“Yes,” Melania said.

Janelle was beside her on the mat, legs aloft. She smelled of grapefruit. Melania wanted to reach out and taste her — the smooth skin of her arm, her full, ­brownish-pink lips. She followed Janelle’s lead and wondered about Janelle’s life. Was there a boyfriend? Someone like her, dignified and quiet? Each time the Pilates session ended, she considered asking Janelle to stay for lunch, or just a glass of juice, but she feared that Janelle would say no.

“Oh, I must get a massage, for my thighs,” Melania said, tentative, desperate to say something personal and yet safe.

“A warm bath should help,” Janelle said. “Have a good day, Mrs. Trump.”

Melania felt deflated. Had she expected Janelle to offer to give her a massage? It was so silly of her. Had Janelle meant anything more by “warm bath”? She was trying to read what was not there. But she would not allow herself to be sad. There was the evening to look forward to.

◆

Her phone chimed. Another text from Donald.

Hope says fashion people are asking what you’ll wear to convention. Has to be a big name. An American designer. Have you decided?

I have three and will choose tomorrow, she texted back.

Donald had never taken much interest in what she wore. Not like Tomaz, her ex, who had picked out her clothes and liked the smell of her sweat. Why had she suddenly thought of Tomaz? Tomaz smoked thin cigarettes and walked the world in an existential haze of disapproval. After she was interviewed in a French magazine some years ago, Tomaz had sent her an email through her sister Ines. Now you have what you always wanted, you have forgotten Ljubljana? It had annoyed her and of course she did not reply. Unlike Tomaz, Donald was not a sensual man. But it was what had attracted her to Donald in the beginning: He was not a man who traded in complexities. After brooding, Sartre-quoting Tomaz, Donald came as a relief.

She checked the time. Donald would be done with his luncheon. She would call, to remind him to be back on time. He sometimes forgot himself at these things.

“The dinner party?” he said. “Of course I’ll be home.”

“You want me to wear those first diamonds?” she asked, light and teasing. It was their joke; the first time they made love, she had worn nothing but those earrings. It had also been his first gift to her, in a pretty black box, and he asked her to open it, humming with a need for her gratitude. He was not eager to please her, she realized, he was keen to be pleased by her pleasure. And so she gave in, thanking him, wreathing her face with delight, even though she wished the diamonds were bigger.

“Yes, wear them. I bet those beauties have tripled in value,” he said. “I have to go, honey, I’m meeting with the top five guys of the committee. They’re all dying to talk to me.”

She undressed and examined herself in the mirror. There was a new dimple in her thigh. Donald would say something if he noticed it. “You need to get these fixed soon,” he had said a few months back, cupping her breasts, and when he got up from bed, she looked at his pale, slack belly, and the sprinkle of bristly hair on his back.

◆

In the bath, sunk into scented foam, Melania settled down to read the latest coverage of Donald. There was a story about his money; they kept saying he did not have as much as he claimed to have. What did it matter? He had a lot. She glanced at the comments at the end of the article and the name “Janelle” caught her eye. The commenter wrote: Trump needs to modernize those ill-fitting suits, throw away the bottle of orange tan, get fake teeth that actually look like teeth and let himself go bald like God intended. How many Janelles were there in America? Of course it could not be her Janelle. Still, seeing the name excited her. It was unfair that people made fun of Donald’s hair but she could not help smiling, reading it, imagining her Janelle writing it.

There was a story about some of his angry supporters, displaying swastikas on their trucks, and she cringed reading it. Extremes of anything discomfited her. The day Donald announced he would run for president, she had been filled with light on their glorious descent in the escalator, eyes and cameras on them, and everything dazzling. Afterward, she escaped to the cool white of her bedroom, and lay still for a long time, and then looked online at the coverage. She loved the way her smoky eyes popped in the photographs. A heady sense of accomplishment suffused her. But she did not want too many more of those moments, because they shifted her balance, left her spirit vaguely disjointed.

She Googled herself and enlarged some of the photos. Why did some news sites choose the most unflattering images? It was deliberate. She was scrupulous about presenting the best angles of her face to the cameras, practicing the tilt to her neck that ensured a slim silhouette. Yet some photo editors were determined to use the few bad shots. They were jealous of Donald; nothing else could explain it.

She hoped Donald would not open her bedroom door tonight; this was the kind of day that he would come, exuberant and expansive from victory. It had been almost two months. The last time, he kissed her, eager and dramatic and sweaty as he often was — he hated her initiating things, “aggressive women make me think I’m with a transsexual,” he’d told her years ago — and then fumbled and shifted and suddenly got up and said he had a phone call to make. Only then did she understand what had happened. They did not talk about it, but for a few days he had sulked and snapped, as though it were her fault.

◆

Donald came home red-faced, his lips a snarl of rage. He ignored the butler’s greeting. Melania kissed him hello and braced herself.

“Can you believe these losers? They’re talking about 2020,” he said. He flung his jacket down on the living room floor and she picked it up.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Reince pulled me aside after the meeting. He’s a great guy, always nice to me. He said all the top guys at the R.N.C. have decided to focus on 2020, and put very little money and effort into my campaign. Like I don’t even have a chance at all!”

“It makes no sense what they want to do. You have many votes. Look at the polls. People love you.”

She knew how easily mollified he was by praise, but he barely seemed to hear her, consumed as he was, typing furiously on his phone. She hoped he would not hurl the phone at the wall, as he had done after a newspaper wrote about Trump University, after which he stayed up all night writing hasty, flagrant letters to journalists.

The doorbell rang and there was Ivanka, her face dewy as though she had not had a long day at work, lips crimson. Too crimson; Melania herself favored nude lipsticks. She imagined Ivanka sending money to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, using a fake name. Could it be true? What name did she use? Thinking of a fake name made her think of Janelle.

“Hey!” Ivanka said. A general greeting, but she was looking at her father.

“Ivanka. What a surprise,” Melania said.

“Ivanka wanted to come over to discuss this,” Donald said, glancing up from his phone. He was only telling her now. He would expect her to ask Ivanka to dinner and she would have to endure Ivanka’s polished voice, that fulsome surface that shielded cold metal.

“Oh, what gorgeous flowers,” Ivanka said. “Are they from Alessandra’s, Dad?”

“No. I used another florist,” Melania said. Ivanka’s admiration pleased her, and she resented Ivanka for it.

“Can you just believe these losers?” Donald said testily, impatient with talk of flowers. “They want to sabotage me!”

 Donald admired in his daughter qualities he would not abide in a wife. Not that Melania minded, she told herself, watching them. Ivanka moved like him, loose-limbed. Like him, she was comfortable with display. Like him, she was always selling something. The difference was that you knew what Donald was selling; Ivanka left you wondering.

“It’s utter sabotage and unacceptable,” Ivanka said.

“I’ve got to hit back at these guys.”

“You do have to hit back, totally,” Ivanka said. “We have to figure out the best way.”

Why did she not calm him down? Melania was annoyed. Her evening would be ruined, Donald’s churlish mood would darken her dinner, and he would probably leave after the main course, without apology. He had done it the day after Cruz beat him at a primary, and they had been with guests that he had invited.

“I’m leaving the Republican Party. That’s it. If they’re going to treat me this way. It’s not nice. That’s it,” Donald said.

“But you need the party,” Melania said.

“This isn’t Europe, honey. You don’t know anything about this,” Donald said and turned back to Ivanka.

She would not be annoyed, not with Ivanka to witness it. Donald used “Europe” to belittle her sometimes, but he also used “European” as Americans did, like an aspirational word. European chocolates. European bread. European style.

“Can we set up a three-way with Paul and Hope in the study, Dad?” Ivanka said, looking amused. “Is Barron in his room? I’ll just go say a quick hi.”

Melania felt an unreasonable urge to get up and drag Ivanka back. You do not go to my son’s room without my permission!

If only Barron didn’t like her. It was Ivanka with whom he discussed tennis and golf.

“Look, honey, can we do this dinner another time?” Donald said after Ivanka left. “I need to think about this. These losers can’t do this to me. Your parents will be fine. They’re here most of the time anyway, and I can fly them back in if they want to. . . .”

He was still speaking, but she could no longer understand. A tightness had gripped her temples, her hands shook. “Donald, I want this,” she said. “We have not hosted my parents. It is 50 years of marriage for them. Their friends are coming. I have planned for one week. I want this today.”

Donald looked up astonished from his phone. She dug her nails in her palm and stared back at him.

“O.K., O.K.,” Donald said sighing. “Just give me some time to talk to Ivanka.”

He went inside, and a new elation settled in Melania’s bones.

They emerged half an hour later, Donald’s face relaxed, Ivanka laughing, pushing her hair away from her face, fondly indulgent of her beloved man-child father.

“We can’t keep letting them think you’re going to be Caligula when you become president, Dad,” Ivanka said.

“Whatever,” Donald said with a grin. He turned to Melania. “Honey, we have a plan. I announce two days before the convention that I’m done with the party. My supporters don’t care about the party anyway. It’s Trump they want. If I’m an independent they’ll still come to me. So that leaves the R.N.C. with one day to try and fix things. I’ll give them a list of my conditions, they need to show me plans and figures for how they’ll support my campaign, otherwise no deal. It’ll knock them down. Let’s see what they do with that!” He sounded gleeful.

Melania was startled. How could Ivanka have agreed to this? It would only lose him votes. His supporters were already with him, but what about the people who would vote for him only because of the Republican Party? Would that not turn them off? She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it. Ivanka had the smallest of triumphant smiles on her face. A well-oiled smile. Melania remembered that smooth smile at other times, when Donald insulted John McCain, when Donald boycotted a Republican debate. Ivanka always egged him on, never dissuaded him; she stirred the pot with her fulsome words.

But Donald was calmer and her evening would go well and her mother would be happy.

After dinner, she would ask Donald to come to her room, and she would be soft and subtle, and wear the jasmine scent he liked, and tell him Tiffany had come to her this morning, upset and crying, because she had discovered that Ivanka was supporting Hillary Clinton. She would suggest that Donald do and say nothing about it, hopefully none of the dishonest media people would find out, because of course it would be terrible if he had to publicly denounce his daughter, and Ivanka was so wonderful really, even though she was always telling the press how she didn’t agree with all of her father’s policies.

“Ivanka, will you join us for dinner?” Melania asked, knowing Ivanka would decline.

“Thanks, but I have to get back to the kids,” Ivanka said.

Melania smiled sagely. “Of course. Say hello to the family.”

The doorbell rang. Her guests had arrived.

[kitliveblogs]

so this is basically a long-ass rant disguised as a review of Little Mermaid II that I originally posted on a different blog. maybe someday I'll actually get back to that blog, but for right now the theme is broken and I can't read anything on it anymore.

so for now, this will live right here instead c:

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Everyone's already taken their shots at the notoriously bad Disney sequels made in the late 90s and early 2000s. They're basically a walking punch line just by existing. But really, not all of them are completely worthless, and a couple of them are even pretty enjoyable, in a hilarious "I can't believe they actually made this" sort of way.

But I'm here to talk about only the most heinous of cinematic disasters. And let me make one thing perfectly clear: this isn't just Kit being a bitter and cranky old fogy with a chip on her shoulder because the shitty sequel ruined her childhood. I mean, I am bitter and cranky, but The Little Mermaid II couldn't possibly lower my opinion of the original -- there's not really anything lower than rock bottom. (yeah I hate The Little Mermaid fight me)

This movie is just flat out that bad.

word count: 3070

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I'm just gonna get one thing out of the way right now: nothing about this movie frustrates me more than the cast. This cast is made up of particularly well-known voice actors, and it's heartbreaking that they all got wrangled into doing this shit. Jodi Benson (Ariel), Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), Kenneth Mars (King Triton), and Buddy Hackett (Scuttle) all return to reprise their roles from the first movie, and Pat Carroll who played Ursula is here to play Morgana, the main villain and Ursula's conveniently-never-before-mentioned sister. Yeah. They're doing that. And on top of getting so much of the original cast, they also roped in:

Rob Paulsen (Eric)

Tara Strong (Melody)

Clancy Brown (Undertow)

Cam Clarke (Flounder)

Rene freaking Auberjonois as Chef Louis

and one my favorite VAs Stephen Furst as Dash, one half of the Timon and Pumbaa knock-offs for the film.

When just looking at the cast list pisses me off this much... I don't think this is going to be much fun.

A quick recap for those who have been living under a rock since the late 70s: The Little Mermaid is the story of Ariel, daughter of the ruler of Atlantica, who at the completely world-wise age of 16 decides she's had enough of life under the sea and wants to live with the humans on land. She turns to the sea-witch Ursula for help, and in exchange for her voice is given a pair of legs and a deadline: kiss the man of her dreams within three days or join the shriveled legion of Ursula's previous victims. Naturally the witch doesn't play fair and Ariel fails, and King Triton offers himself in exchange for his daughter, thus sacrificing his washboard abs and obscenely powerful trident to Ursula. One climactic battle later, Ursula's dead, Triton turns Ariel into a human, and she and Prince Eric live happily ever after.

Until the sequel, of course, where Ariel and Eric have a baby girl, Melody, which makes me question the exact biology of this bizarre offspring. I mean just look at this thing:

She was just born but she's got a full head of hair and disturbingly large blue eyes. It's freakish. But anyway, this is where movie number 2 begins.

And we're off to a good start: smacked in the face with a terrible music number. I would say get used to those, but there aren't really enough in the movie to warrant it -- which is pretty bad when you consider this is supposed to be a musical. Also, "listen to Ariel's Melody"? That's... wow. I can't even say that's cute in a sarcastic way that's just terrible.

But oh no! The party is interrupted by Morgana, who is, as Sebastian so eloquently puts it:

Oh good. I can see we'll be dealing with truly ingenious writing here.

So after stealing the baby Melody, ranting and raving about being better than her sister Ursula, and attempting to feed the baby to a shark (all while Ariel, Eric, and Triton stand there doing absolutely nothing), Morgana flees to the arctic. Wait, the arctic? Well, alright, you need to escape pursuit to a barren wasteland, that's fair. I won't linger on this for now, as the geography problems will get a lot worse later.

One of the main MacGuffins of the movie is a gold locket with Melody's name inscribed on it, that projects an image of Atlantica and plays a lullaby when opened. King Triton was giving it to the baby before Morgana came onto the scene, and after failing to find her in a massive search of the sea, Triton drops it in the water and leaves. This strikes me as odd. Wouldn't you want to hang onto it? As a keepsake of your family? Or at the very least dispose of it more properly, just in case Melody might one day, oh I dunno, find it and realize her mother and father had been lying to her her entire life? Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine.

Fast forward 12 years. A giant wall has been built on the shore to keep Melody and the ocean apart, but being a tenacious kid she naturally figured out a way around it. Or rather, under it. Which raises the question: if this child could figure out a way out, why couldn't Morgana figure a way in? It would have been a simple matter to slip under the wall, scale the outside of the tower with her suction cup-riddled tentacles, and kidnap the baby to hold for ransom. Why was it so imperative to wait until Melody found the locket before enacting her plan to steal the trident?

Oh, yeah, that thing I mentioned before about her finding it? Lo and behold, she discovered the damn thing on one of her jaunts to collect seashells (which are comically huge by the way). If only Triton had done literally anything else with it, this whole mess might have been avoided.

But no time to worry about that now; there's a birthday party to attend!

Through a convoluted mess of trying to hide her seashells and pretend she'd been in her room the entire time, Melody accidentally ties Sebastian into the dorky bow on the back of her party dress. I'm sure this will have no consequences down the line at all--

Huh. Didn't see that one coming. This leads to a ridiculous scene of Chef Louis chasing Sebastian around the ballroom like some sort of crazed lunatic. I know this was a thing from the first movie, but this guy is out of his fucking gourd; why do they keep him around? Ultimately, Melody runs off to her room out of embarrassment.

I really don't want to linger on anything for too long since this movie doesn't deserve that much energy, but there's two things about this scene I need to address. One: so basically if Sebastian had just remained calm and waited it out... none of this would have happened? I think the blame for this one falls on him. And two: why the hell are all these other children making fun of Melody? I know she's ~weird~ and all, but she's the freaking princess. Don't you think they'd know better than exclude the princess of the entire kingdom? I would want to stay on her good side is all I'm saying.

Anyway. Melody finally takes a good look at the locket and realizes something's up, confronting her mother about Atlantica. Okay, Ariel, here's your chance. If you just explain the situation, she'll understand and maybe you could even take her to Atlantica under heavy guard or something so she can finally meet her damn grandfather.

Or you could just get mad. Getting mad is good too.

Naturally after that Melody decides to take off, rowing a rather conveniently placed boat out to sea to try and figure it all out for herself. While she meets Undertow and agrees to follow him to Morgana, Sebastian is back at the castle psyching himself up to tell Ariel that Melody ran away.

WAIT. YOU DIDN'T KNOW? IT'S BEEN TWELVE YEARS AND YOU HAD NO IDEA SEBASTIAN WAS KEEPING AN EYE ON MELODY??

So in the end, a) Ariel is the least observant person in the world, b) Sebastian never once told her about Melody's excursions beyond the wall (remember that for later), and c) Triton didn't bother to let Ariel know he'd assigned Sebastian the job, continuing the family cycle of not communicating with each other. In hindsight all this bullshit family drama isn't that surprising.

Back to Melody and Morgana (yes, somehow Undertow and the manta ray minions hauled the boat to the arctic in just a couple of hours), Morgana is doing what she does best: whining about Ursula. Honey, I don't think your mother favored her because she was the oldest; I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that Ursula was actually competent and managed to accomplish her goals. Plus her magic is clearly more powerful than yours, since you have to use one of her potions to turn Melody into a mermaid.

OH MY GOD A SONG. I forgot this movie was supposed to have those. It's an upbeat little tune about learning to swim with her new tail, which quickly evolves into a duet with her mother and finding their "worlds:" Melody finding a place she belongs underwater, and Ariel keeping Melody safe. It's boring, but at least Tara Strong can sing well, and Jodi Benson can still belt it out like she could twenty years ago.

Morgana tells Melody that the spell will only last for two days, and that in order to make it permanent, she'll need the "powerful trident that was stolen from her." I'm sure you're as shocked as I was when it was revealed that she didn't just want a puppy and someone to make her pie. So off Melody goes with naught but determination and a map carved into a block of ice. Wait. That seems... poorly designed.

There aren't even words on it. Now I'm no cartographer, but that seems like a pretty major flaw for a map.

Meanwhile, Ariel has joined the search for Melody as a mermaid again, because apparently, according to Eric, "You should go. You know these waters -- and you know our daughter." Um. I'm not even sure where to begin with that one. Let's just say I agree with half that statement; I'll give you one guess which half.

Back in the arctic-- Stop. Okay look. I liked Timon and Pumbaa well enough. Timon had his moments of obnoxiousness, but Nathan Lane was likable enough to always bring it back, and Pumbaa is still my favorite character from The Lion King. But lemme tell ya, I HATE what Timon and Pumbaa did to Disney for a while. They wanted quirky, amiable sidekicks that would keep the kids entertained and distract from the lion sex happening in the background. I can understand that. But when every kid walked away singing Hakuna Matata and the Disney execs realized what they'd stumbled on, every movie afterward that was bound to fail miserably tried to shoehorn in a pair that would have the same appeal to sell more merch. Timon and Pumbaa themselves wound up with their own movie and a SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON SHOW. YEAH. THAT REALLY HAPPENED.

Why do I bring it up? Do you really have to ask?

Meet Tip and Dash, your knock-offs for the evening.

They are, as they put it, "adventurers slash explorers." That might have actually been a good way of setting them apart from the lackadaisical Timon and Pumbaa -- except that in their very first scene they attempt to save a baby penguin from a shark and completely botch the whole thing by being complete cowards. And then when the penguin family gets upset and berates them for their piss-poor job, the movie has the audacity to frame this like we should feel sorry for them. Movie, I refuse to sympathize with them when all the criticism against them is CORRECT. Also sharks don't live in the arctic. Neither do walruses. Just throwing that out there.

From there they bump into Melody, and she convinces them to take her to Atlantica, since Morgana was an idiot for carving the map into an easily-breakable piece of ice. By the way, for the record, Dash is the only likable character in this entire movie, but even then that's not saying much when you consider I'm biased because of his VA. He's the one that actually agrees to help Melody because she's "a damsel in distress," and doesn't care that she's actually a human-turned-mermaid. Come to think of it, this could have been a really good analogy for trans youth, but that probably would have been way too complicated a subject for a shitty Disney sequel.

Also I was gonna skip this part but it's stuck in my head so I'd like to introduce you to the CATCHIEST AND MOST OBNOXIOUS SONG IN ANY MOVIE EVER. Like damn! That would be an accomplishment if it wasn't so terrible. And I'm not exaggerating; I'm completely immune to It's A Small World, but THIS? This garbage sticks to me like glue. (and if you decided to skip the song you now have It's A Small World in your head so either way you have to SUFFER WITH ME)

Ahem. Moving on.

The Three Stooges here finally make it to Atlantica, just barely missing Ariel, Triton, and Flounder going the other way. Flounder, in the past twelve years, has had about five annoying kids and developed a dad belly. It's not really relevant to anything but it's just hilarious to me that even fish can have dad bellies. But there's only a half hour of this turd left, so let's keep chugging along.

On their way into the palace they bump into a piece of-- what? Fish jailbait? Jail fish bait? Eh, whatever. THEY BUMP INTO THIS KID:

Yes, as a matter of fact it was. Even though Atlantica is clearly in tropical waters. Starfish, sea urchins, and crabs all live in tropical waters, whereas penguins live in colder climates. This geography is seriously messed up. I don't think anyone on the creative team even bothered to so much as glance at a map while making this -- which would also explain the terrible ice map, I suppose.

Melody swipes the trident and heads back to Morgana's lair. Cloak and Dagger, the two manta ray minions (I know, subtle), follow behind, and Ariel catches sight of them. She and Flounder in turn follow them, discovering the witch's hiding place in the arctic. Personally my first thought was "So, we've looked everywhere actually means except there because it's cold as balls and nobody wanted to?" but Ariel's a bit more focused than I was by this point.

Ariel tries to send Flounder back, to let Triton know where they are, but Flounder, being an idiot, says he won't let her go in there alone. DUDE. GO GET HELP. Who does, in fact, go to get help? Why Scuttle, of course!

And it's all your fault, bro.

Ariel rushes in in the nick of time to stop Melody from handing over the trident, but naturally the two of them get into the argument that puts the final nail in coffin. Melody actually says "You knew how much I loved the sea!" but I'd like to refer you back to the facts. Melody and Ariel never had an honest and open conversation about, well, anything. The closest evidence we have to support this statement is that Melody thought Atlantica was just an old fish tale, which means at some point Ariel told her stories about it and the mermaids. Otherwise there's just genetics: your mother's a mermaid so you must love the sea too. That's an awfully big leap. And there's the fact that Sebastian never told Ariel about Melody's adventures outside the wall. She had zero idea about any of it. So how could she have possibly known how much Melody loved the ocean, outside of sheer guesswork?

Oh, but "you know our daughter." Well if you SAY it it MUST be true!

By the by, Melody's little realization here of "I have made a horrible mistake" when she gives Morgana the trident is just priceless.

De-licious.

Finally we've reached the big battle. Morgana builds herself a big fuck-off tower of ice, and we're ready for action.

Scuttle, in a rare moment of non-stupidity, comes soaring in, tailed by Prince Eric's ship. Before blasting it to pieces Morgana asks, "Come to join the party?" and I have to agree; where the hell have you been for the last 40 minutes, anyway, Eric? ALSO

And I present you the only funny line in the movie:

...If it feels like I'm rushing through this it's only because I am.

After getting the trident, Morgana had sealed Melody and Flounder into an ice cavern. Unfortunately for her, Melody's two days are now up, and she turns back into a human in a chamber full of water. Tip and Dash rush in to save her, and come face-to-face with a full-sized Undertow. Through a not-at-all suspenseful sequence of the shark chasing them around, they manage to trick him into ramming the ice wall trapping Melody and Flounder, and get her back up to the surface. Where she just. wakes up. No coughing water or dizziness or trouble breathing. NOPE. Her eyes open as soon as she hits air and she's good to go.

Disney: showing the lighter side of almost drowning.

As Morgana fulfills her power fantasy of getting everyone to bow down to her and shrieking "WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE NOW, MA" (yeah I'm pretty sure it's still Ursula), Melody scales the ice tower in an attempt to retrieve the trident. If nothing else, this movie shows a very inaccurate portrayal of trying to walk on ice. Unsurprisingly, Melody succeeds and tosses the trident back to Triton, who seals Morgana in a block of ice to rest forever at the bottom of the sea.

So Ursula was literally stabbed through the chest with an entire boat and died but Morgana gets punked out in a block of ice? Weak.

The family reconciles, Melody takes the whole "grandfather" thing a little too well, and the movie ends with them tearing down the wall so the humans and merpeople can interact freely from now on.

I only have two questions before I finally shut up about this stupid stupid movie:

1. So does the whole kingdom just sort of take it in stride that a) merpeople exist and b) the prince married one? 2. How can a movie that's only an hour and ten minutes long sans credits feel SO MUCH LONGER

This whole thing was ridiculous from the jump. Who was demanding a sequel to the Little Mermaid of all freaking things? Who really wanted to see sequels to any of the movies from the Disney Renaissance? And there are quite a few of them. Like I said, some of them can be pretty enjoyable if you like cheesiness. But most of them are just terrible like this one, and if you're wondering whether you'll be seeing more of the Dark Age of Disney, don't worry. Their days will come.

[jloves-pp]

Merida and Hiccup’s wedding day-part 5

Charpter 5

"I've won" Merida cried at she and Angus reached the castle first. Hiccup and Toothless followed right behind them, he looked at his new wife grinning from ear to ear "ok but we would of won if we make the turn past those barrel and some sheep"

"Excuses, excuses" the redhead remarked playfully. "I nearly hit a large tree branch and you don't hear me complaining ". Hiccup just simply smiled at this as he got off Toothless and walk up to her.

"May I milady" The prince offered with his arms out to his princess. Merida reached out and put her arms around him and he help her to the ground. They then rubbed their noses together. "Do you want to check out the hall before anyone else show up"

"Aya, I never got a a chance to see it" she admitted. They linked arms snugly and entered the great hall. They were both awestruck by the decoration; the walls had garlands filled with white and purple flowers covering them all around the walls. There were candles dotted around on stands and on the tables, on each table,there were long tartans runnier.

"I can't think of the last time I've even seen it so beautiful" The bride said in all " remained me to say thank you to my mum and the servets for the amazing job"

After the couple had a good look around the hall Hiccup suggested checking out the wedding presents they had receive from their guests. The gifts were all placed in a separate room, the two opened the doors and all they could say was "wow"

The room was full with boxes filled with gold and jewels,large goblets and drinking horns. As well as homemade shortbread, whisky cake and buckets of apples. Swords, axes and other weapons as well and ornate shield has been laid out in a fancy display. An elegantly decorated box with brushes,combs and hair accessories(which Merida probably wouldn't use) There were quills and tools that were for Hiccup. Handmade scarfs, cloths, gloves and blankets made out of wool or fabric. Colourful paintings and taspsteys and even a deer head made out of patchwork.

"Tell me again how many people have come" the groom asked his wife. He know they met and helped a lot of people but he never thought so many people liked and appreciated them.

"I expect more than a hundred guest" Merida repeated as she have a slice of shortbread and then offered one to Hiccup which he happily took. They read some of labels on the gifts, they both knew that some from their friends who couldn't come, like Eret, son of Eret who they came across on a trip to Berk. He and other Vikings were couldn't come just incase trouble would occured but they gave the couple their best wishes. Another friend of theirs was Heather, even though at the time she was make by the Outcast to spy on the dragon rides and find out their secrets Heather become their friend, she had even join the dragon riders for a while. Heather said she would love to come but she was off travelling and wouldn't be able to made it, although she had found time to send them a wedding gift, which was two pair of scissors made of scales of her dragon Windshear.

Then they noticed three gift on a table, each one had a tartan ribbon around it. They both recognise the colours of Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwell. MacGuffin's gift was a shining cauldron, the gift that Macintosh gave was a lyre which was beautifully carved and as for Dingwell's present well it was a simple rock, a big rock but still a rock.

"I still don't understand the rock" the groom admitted to his wife.

"No one really knows why a rock is the Dingwell's symbol,I don't even think they know" Merida replied.

They took their time looking at their gifts. It wasn't until Merida spotted a small wooden box that was and amongst the others. She picked it up and found a note.

"Hiccup, look at this"

He came over and read it over his wife's shoulder.

"Dear Princess and Prince,

congratulations on your marriage. I would've loved to be there but the annual witches festival happens to be on the same week as your wedding. Sorry but I did send you this gift, it took nearly a week to made.

I hope you two appreciate it.

From the Witch. P.s i thought about sending some blessing potions but I couldn't find any sea-goats livers.

"Sea-goats liveries?" Hiccup finally said after they read the note.

"Well maybe we luckily, it could have been worse. I don't want to have something with sea-goat livers in it" Merida said with a shrug.

"Let's see what she sent us"

"Hopefully it's not a cake"

The Redhead let out a small laugh. When she first met the witch she asked for a spell(the same spell that turn her mum into a bear) which came in the form of a cake. So now she and everyone joke about it if someone offered cake to someone else.

Merida opening the box but to their surprise there was no cake but two wooden figures. One of a bear and one of a dragon. The bass that the figures stood on started to move clockwise and play a soft tune.

"Wow, I never seen anything like it" Hiccup said looking at the details on the figures.

"I think I know this song" Merida said softly before humming along with it. Hiccup couldn't help but smile, Merida wouldn't a singer and would never perform public but Hiccup found that she had rather a nice voice. Merida didn't feel uncomfortable singing when she was around him and Hiccup had a good singing voice himself.

"I think I know it too, it's my partners song" there was a moment when only the music box was playing. The groom glances at his bride, she look as if she wanted to say something."what's wrong"

After Merida let out a sigh she said " I couldn't help but think about your dad. I remember your mum and dad dancing to this song, I also remember how happy you were...and then" Merida stopped, she didn't want upset him.

The first week after Stoick death was really difficult for Hiccup, he didn't leave his room and Merida had heard sobbing. She felt helpless, she was told to give him time and space to heal but soon Merida became sink. When Hiccup heard this, he rushed to her side. He apologise for not being around but Merida said it was ok, lost of a loved one is terrible thing to go thought. She told him to remember only the good memories and try to live life again, that what his dad would want him to do. The Princess got better physically and Hiccup got better emotionally and he even started flying again.

"I know, I still thinking about him everyday. He's watching over us so I know he's alway with me" Hiccup said,

This came as a surprised to Mer but she gave a warm smile "I like to think that too" Merida added. Hiccup returned her a smile as he then held the music box together.

As the music stopped they kissed a long lingering kiss. It felt like a long time until they pulled away looking at each other. They both jumped a little as they heard someone clearing their throat behind them, they turned to see Elinor standing by the door.

"Mum, how long have you be there?" Merida asked nervously.

"I've just arrived" the queen replied "the guests are headed to the game field from lunch,I thought I'd check of you two" she continued as she walk up to the couple.

"The great hall looks wonderful mum, you and the staff did a amazing job, thank you" Merida thanked her mum and hugged her close.

"I'm so happy to know you love it" The mother and daughter shared in this moment before Elinor turned to Hiccup. "And I brought something for Hiccup" the queen then pulled a large box from a cupboard.

"This is our wedding gift?" Hiccup asked politely to his new mother-in-law.

"No it is made especially for you" Elinor replied and revealed to them a crown. It was similar to Merida's but had square points and red and green gems around it.

"It that for me?" The Viking questioned even know thought he knew the answer.

"Of course. now as prince of DunBroch, you'll be responsible for the care of DunBroch and help Merida with royal duties now and when she is queen" Elinor explained.

"And would that make me King. To be honest I'm.."

"I know your worried about being King but I and anyone else believe you can and I'm proud to know Merida has someone who is gentle and smart that will help her take care of our home"

As she spoek, Merida took Hiccup's helmet off and gave a confused Hiccup an innocent grin. Mer knew what going to happen next.

"I couldn't have picked anyone better" the queen finished. Hiccup bowed his head, Elinor place the crown on his head, the Viking prince stared up, Merida and Elinor both thought the crown suited him.

"It feels a bit heavy" Hiccup commented as he touch his crown.

"It's supposed to symbolise the weight of the kingdom, to serve the people and protect them or something like that" his wife explained.

Hearing this, Elinor chuckled to herself. "Well before you two have lunch. I want to show you my gift".

"OK which one?" Merida asked looking at their gifts, wondering which one could be her mother's.

"Oh it's not here" Elinor said.

The young couple looked at each other, then back to Elinor "where is it then?" Hiccup asked

"I'll show you" the Queen answered. Merida and Hiccup followed the Queen through some hallways, still thinking what this present was. Just before Merida was about to ask her mum..."here it is" Elinor suddenly said holding her arm up, pointing around the corner.

With their fingers intertwined, Hiccup and Merida went around the corner and ended up stopping in their tracks for what they saw. On the wall was a large dark green tapestry, on the left was a image of DunBroch castle. There was Elinor and Furgus on the top of the castle and the the triplets on the ground, there was the forest near the castle and a trail of Willow of the wisps that seemed to lead into the forest. On the right showed Berk. It showed Stoick the Vast standing on a cliff edge; it also had two Vikings riding dragons and a long boat on the sea. In the middle of a tapestry was a circle, on the top was a black dragon that was definitely supposed to be Toothless and on the bottom was a black bear that looked like Elinor when she was a bear. And in the circle was both Merida and Hiccup, holding hands and looked at each other.

The Queen could see her daughter and son-in-law's faces, they like it and was even more sure when Merida wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you" she heard Merida say, Elinor returned to hug.

"How long did it take to make this" Hiccup asked after Merida and Elinor finish their hug.

"Well I started it a few months before your proposal. So it took a good while and a bit of unpicking along the way to make it perfect but finally got there" the queen explained.

"Hey look at detail on the dragons. You got it dead on" Hiccup pointed to the Berk side. The Queen watched the wedded couple chatting about her tapestry before backing away, she wanted to give them sometime alone. she leave them with their arms around one another each other. Elinor turned and disappeared around the corner and smiled softly when she heard...

"I love you Mer"

"I love you too Hic"