#Training-Mikkel

[sombredancer]

Dark (2017-2020, Netflix)

Just rewatched Dark and I`m in love and in pain, pain, PAIN...

Beware of being heavily spoiled ahead.

The first painful question: would you save your father from sufferings, if it would mean for you to be erased from existence for good? (From this question on started my love for this show).

The second question: is it really wrong, to love someone you shouldn`t love? Will it cause the end of the world?

The desperate abduction. Oh, it was so beautiful!

The third question: will you really be happy with the truth about a time loop that you helped to build with your own hands, when you are able to see the whole picture?

At the end I felt sorry even for him. The fourth question: how does it feel, to try so hard to change your doom and save your loved ones, only to find out that you are the source of their most unbearable pain?

"You are a too good man. Always was. This world didn't deserve you." It's a story about an infinite pain of each and every character: Katharina, Ulrich, Claudia and H.G. Tannhaus, who loved their relatives too much; Hannah, who loved herself too much; Jonas, Mikkel, Martha, Hanno, Charlotte, Elisabeth, Peter, Egon and Helge, who fell victims of the time-travel paradox. It's funny that an insane love for a child launched this glitch in a matrix and another insane love for a child put it all to the end. A circle closed. Poetic.

The fifth question: would you fix the error in a matrix by self-sacrifice, if it would delete you and half of your nearest and dearest from existence but ends the never-ending circle of pain for others?

"We match perfectly. Never believe in anything else."

"The light glitched, there was a loud crack and then everything went dark. And somehow the world came to an end. There was dark and the light never came again. I had such a peculiar feeling like it was for the best. Like it was finally over. Like one was finally free from everything. Nothing to wish. Nothing to be obliged to do. An eternal dark. No yesterday. No now. No tomorrow. Nothing."

Finally, I should say that I'm very grateful to Germans for this series. I watched it in original in order to train my German AND because it was a very-very interesting show. Even when I watched it for the second time. One time is surely not enough for understanding of the plot, trust me.

[autumnleaffay]

The Lost Spirit

Chapter 1: A King, A Soilder, A Prince

People would describe Mikkel as many things. These include:

Loud, Nosy, immature and adventurous.

But sometimes he'd also get described as:

Thoughtful, Mature, Calculated and a leader.

His personality depended on the setting he was in. When he was free to do what he wanted, Mikkel had alsways been more childish. He loved going out and see the world, wanting to get to new horizons and be the adventures of his favourite books. He'd play in the sun, just as he would run around in the worst storms, while his nanny shouted at his madness.

Mikkel was generally a free spirit.

But as the only son and crown prince to the Dansen Kingdom he had no choice but to lay down his "childish acts", as his father would call them, on his sixth birthday.

As a son of a royal family he of course inherited the family gift.

All royal families held a special gift, that was unique to said family. The bloodlines were kept as pure as possible to not dilute the powers. It was said that the more powerful gifts will make the kingdoms more powerful.

Mikkel had to say that his family's gift was pretty powerful! They had the gift of Command. With one word his family could make everyone follow thier orders. He hadn't liked the gift during his early childhood. One word from his mother or a short command by his father and he was unable to resist.

"Quiet!", he could no longer talk about his day to his father.

"Sit down!", said to him by his mother during a boring church service.

"Stop!", when he wanted to throw something in frustration.

"Freeze!", when he wanted to run away.

But all that changed on his sixth birthday. The day he got the gift himself.

Mikkel's gift was stronger than his parent's. He could command full sentence rather than the one or two word commands his parents are limited to. Mikkel could easily say: "Bring me ice cream!" and the sweet dish was given to him within minutes.

Of course the power of commands can be dangerous in a child's hands. Therefore his parents made him train his gift ever since gaining it.

As well as lessons in fighting, leadership and ruling the kingdom.

This was how the young boy became more quiet, calculated.

"He is so mature for his age!"

Mikkel hated that sentence. He wasn't mature, he was just acting as his parents wanted him to act. When he was sitting in his boring lessons everyday, he was longing for the outside, for the freedom he had held.

During his eighth summer something happend, something no one had expected.

For his birthday Mikkel was given the day free of lessons and he had enjoyed it. Every single second! He got the castle workers children to play with him, knights and pirates. Kings (of course him) and his dukes.

But during one game disaster struck.

They have been playing mythical creatures. Mikkel wanted to be a dragon, he had proclaimed, a dragon with a mighty fire breath!

He had climbed a small wall, standing over the other children and the guards keeping watch. His parents in the garden looking at him with neutral unintrest.

"I am the dragon of this castle! Fear my fire!"

It was just a game, right? He was just playing. But just as he envisioned fire comming forth, actual fire erupted from his hands, shooting directly towards the other children.

Mikkel can't remeber what happend after that. He was still in shock, looking at his hands. The cries of the other children blurring in the background as a buzzing sound became louder in his ear. It was like a whisper, trying to say something to him. But Mikkel didn't understand.

He was still frozen, as he was grippedd by the shoulder and yanked to the castle.

He thought he could hear his mother and father fighting, but no words reached his ear.

Mikkel ended up being locked in his chamber for four days. Food and water appearing when ever he awoke.

During those 4 days the fire erupted out of his hands more often than Mikkel could count.

When his father opened his chamber door, he was met with a room of scorch marks, wood burned to ashes, linen draped with holes and his son sitting in the corner looking in horror at the distruction he had created.

"Son," his father started, but Mikkel did not look up at him. "This is a glorious day. You will bring greatness to this kingdom! Under you, all the northern lands will come into the Dansen's hands. You shall reign as the undeniable king of the northern lands, because none of the others will have a chance against you! Even the Svea Kingdom will cower before you!"

Mikkel raised his head, looking at his father with tears in his eyes.

He spoke no words as he nodded and stood up to follow his father into his new future.

But was that really what he wanted? Was he now destined to be feared, to control and command?

For the little boy it seemed like it.

After all, gifts like command and fire can only be meant for a villain. Will he be known as the evil king?

~~~~~

If you ask the servants of the Svea family to describe the crown prince, you would get opposite answers depending on the person you ask.

The elderly would call him sweet and caring.

The younger ones would call him scary, threatening and sinister.

But was that the true picture of Björn?

Björn has been a shy person his entire life. He avoided conflicts and rarely spoke.

He had loved the times in his early childhood, when his father, the kind king, would take him out in nature. Show him the land, the animals, the riches of nature. Björn remembers how wonderfully his father could do wood working, a block of wood turning into figurines.

But that changed quickly when Björn started to grow.

Björn had grown faster than children his age would normally have grown. His size often scaring the children around him.

His mother was very pleased with her son's rapid growth and started teaching him fighting early on.

Swords, spears, with and without shields, axes, clubs and so many more. Björn had lost the count for them. But the most persistent weapon has been the sword.

His father, the gentle king he was, did not oppose his wife. He would never dare to challange his wife's choice. He always followed, as she was the one to hold the Svea's family gift in her blood.

"Our family's gift might give you a shield, but you need to be able to fight! Fight for our land and our people!"

His mother's lessons were strict, But Björn followed the schedule created by the queen without complaining.

While this strict plan didn't leave place for a childhood, Björn wasn't angry about that. He could not scare the other children if he wouldn't play with them. Chastising himself every time he'd yearn for the normal lives of the others.

Bjrön didn't have the possibility for being normal. He was the crown prince of the Svea Kingdom. The largest of the northern kingdoms, it's borders going from the eastern border of the finnic lands to the Kievan Rus, to the western border with the Norður Kingdom and finally the southern border to the Dansen Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Svea was surrounded by enemies, so his mother has taught him during the long winter nights, while studying the maps and borders.

"You need to understand our situation in this world to understand why our gift has evolved into the way it is today. You shall not use your gift until you have learned how to protect yourself and your subjects properly without it."

Now would you still call Björn sinister and scary? After all he was raised into this role. He couldn't have any other choice, right?

But if you see the small moments when Björn was on his own, you wouldn't see the war king his mother wanted him to become, but the protector his heart wanted him to be.

You would see a 5 year old Björn sneaking out of the castle during a thunderstorm to give food and shelter for the animals, fearful of the lighting strikes.

You would see a 7 year old Björn using his shielding gift to step into a thorn bush, so he could safe the lamb stuck there.

You would see a 8 year old Björn saving a boy's life and forever changing his own.

Björn was acting with good intentions when the stable boy was about to be trampeld to death by the horses.

During that fateful day, the spring sun was warmer than usual. The horses of the royal stables where given a wash, so they'd look as noble as possible for the next state celebration. The hair was trimmed, the winter coats brushed of and new hooves given by the farrier.

"That young colt needs to learn. He still gets spooked by to many sounds. How should that horse ever ride into battle?", the queen was discussing with the stable head.

The horse in question was a young two year old black colt. He was said to be promising, due to his father being one of the best horses of the royal stable. But this horse has always been uneasy around everyone who was suposed to handle him.

Björn had taken a liking in that colt. The queen had opposed his request of getting that horse, to dangerous. To high of a risk of the crown prince getting hurt.

Björn had to swallow his comment, that he could just use his shield. The queen would surely not appreciate back talk.

Then it all happend to fast.

The farrier dropped a hammer onto the cobble stone street. The loud sound spooking the young colt. Ears pointed up, the muscles enganging, the entire horse screamed in panic. Then it bolted though the stables, scaring more and more horses in the progess. After all, horses are herd animals - if one got spooked enough, everyone would try to flee.

Ropes couldn't hold them in check anymore as one after another broke free to join the frantic run forward the exit.

Directly to where the newest young stable boy was standing.

The stable boy froze in shock. He didn't react to his elders' call for him to jump aside. The boy just stood there looking into the gallaping death before him.

But suddenly, he could see the first floor of the castle wall, not the horses.

The very ground he had stood on has been raised into the sky, with the horses parting around it. The same way the water would part for a rock.

Then all eyes turned to the prince, the one who had his fist raised up, controlling the very movement of the earth.

When the horses had ran past, he opend his hand to level the platfrom out again. The courtyard looking like nothing had happend.

But something had happened. Something that had been anticipated for years.

The first to speak a word was a young scribe, who excitedly shouted: "Your majesty, it's the earth! Your son-"

"Stop! Not a word further!" The queens face was an unshakeble one, cold and distant. "If anyone who had witnessed this day that talks about this will be found and executed. Have I been understood?"

Everyone bowed to her, agreeing with her every word. Of course no one dared to question the queen.

The next hours became a blur for Björn.

Getting dragged to the throne room, advisors left and right. Voices from all over the room, talking with and against eachother. A giant Map of the northern lands was layed out before the throne. Books and scriptures were gathered, and heated depates comparing them started.

The queen sat on her throne, unmoving, determination etched into her face. Like a statue of the old hellenic gods. A queen by rank, a warrior by heart.

Björn stood right to his mother, his father on her left, both silent. Björn had learned to be silent next to her. How could he ever even dare to question her, to go against her? This was his queen, his mother. He was suposed to love her, to see her as a protector, as the gold standard, right?

Björn stood quiet, as his future was decided for him.

He never knew anything different.

His future was decided, his path was laid.

He was to gain the contol over the northern lands.

"Your power will make the Svea triumph over the Dansen family. One day you shall be the one king on the northern throne! Your childhood ends today. From this day forward, you be trained as the one, true ruler and king. Steadfast, ruthless. You shall never show your emotions."

Björn nodded.

He was to be like a statue, cold and unmoving. He was to be like his mother and queen before him.

~~~~~~

If you would ask people about Prince Sigurd people would tell you that he was distant.

That boy never shows emotions. He is unapproachable.

He is silent, not mute, but he won't cry or shout, or throw a tantrum.

Sigurd was called an ideal child by many. A picture perfect prince.

If you'd catch Sigurd, however, during the nights, or when no one was watching, you'd see a mischievous boy. He loved to cause some chaos by creating minor annoyances, misplacing glasses, papers or ink bottles. He loved to spy on the servents, listening to the old wives talk in the kitchen of the castle.

What he liked most was sneaking out during the night.

He always had trouble sleeping, so he acted like he had fallen asleep. When the adults themselves go into their beds, those were the moments when Sigurd was most content.

He loved to walk though the castle halls, when they were empty, cold, dark and devoid of life.

Because then he could hear the Nisse doing their nightly work. He could see the stars oh so clearer in the darkest of nights.

Like a little ghost  Sigurd would wander the halls and the castle grounds. Dressed only in his night shirt. Barefooted.

The wonderful feeling of the stone and wooden flooring, to the grass and even the ice and snow outside.

The nights where the best for Sigurd.

But don't be afraid, the prince of the Norður family was never alone. The castle Nisse following him into every hall and room. Outside the Huldr, trolls and other creatures joining him.

They excitedly showed him the forest, the nature, the magic each of them hold.

They adored the little prince and Sigurd loved them back. Ever since he was born, one creature would always follow his path. When he got older, he started to speak with them.

The joy of them to finally have someone who sees them, who listens to them.

The creatures of the north have always been connected to Livets elv (river of life in NO). The holy river, as his family calls it. But this river did not belong to the humans. His family only visited the river once a year. The family gift may gave it new "light", but it was these creatures that gave the river life. The creatures that walked with Sigurd during the nights. That sang to him the most beautiful songs. That showed him magic like he had never seen. That tucked him into bed during the early hours of the day, when he finally did fall asleep, so no one would find out about the nightly adventures.

The trolls became his guardians, his friends, his family.

And they showed him how to use his gift properly. How he could use his gift and the memories to create visions, to create a guiding light. But also, how to lock memories away.

"My child, memories can do good and do harm. They hold happiness just as much as they can hold pain. Loss can be a terrible thing, but losing memories can be even worse. Don't abuse your power and never do harm to another, because you will only harm yourself."

Sigurd heeded the warning.

When his own father taught him how to use his gift in a harmful way, he merely acted like he'd follow. He acted excited about taking another person's memories by force. Or to alter them to torture someone.

"This is for your own good! You need to be able to fight against the Svea Kingdom and the Dansen kingdom. We don't have a physical strenghth, but the mind will always win in the end."

Sigurd nooded, the act of the perfect little prince still upholding.

"This is for the good of the Norður Kingdom."

He will continue to put up an act. Will be the perfect son.

Just like his father wants him to be.

~~~~~~

Sigurd sat at the edge of the wooden dock, his feet in the cold fjord.

The water following his command as he weaved patterns with his hands. Waves, shapes and even figures could be created with a flick of his hand. Sigurd loved this power.

He had been impartial to the chaos his family made of it. Especially his father.

The king had been furious. His perfect son would now need the other four elements to become king. His perfect son was now stained.

His mother on the other hand was calm as she talked with the other family members and her husband. It was clear to her that the prophecy had started, even if she didn't like it.

"Since the prophecy is about all the nothern lands, we should write to the Svea and Dansen families about it." His mother had spoken in a soft tone. His father was not amused. Sigurd still rolled his eyes at the outburst of anger from his father.

It took days of heated debates between the entire Norður family to decide the next course of action. And no, no one had asked Sigurd about his opinion. That still makes him mad.

But the choice that was made in the end was one he could agree on.

He looked at the two messengers on horseback as they disappeared into the forest. Away from his beloved fjord, riding inland to the Kingdoms of Svea and Dansen. Carrying an important letter with the royal insignia on it.

They were riding towards Sigurd's new future.

May it be good or bad.

~~~~~

To the majesty of the Svea / To the majesty of the Dansen,

Within the Norður lands we have discoverd the first child of the great prophecy.

We shall not reveal their name, occupation or power to you.

But we are inclined to arrange a meeting, if you have found other children of the prophecy.

We are sure that every single one of us will want to use the children for our own agenda and our own gain, strenghth and power. But be reminded that only together will our wars and conflicts end. And only together will the north gain an undisputed power.

We advise a ceasefire for the better. For our future.

With kind regrads,

King Ola and Queen Sigge of Norður

============

A big thank you goes to @darcymariaphoster for correcting my spelling errors and correcting grammar!

This is Chapter 1 of The lost spirit completed. Crossposting on Ao3 aswell!

Have a nice day everyone!

[brotherbandchronicles]

a couple of thoughts i've been having too many feelings about lately

now and then and mikkel and thorn (now and then i miss you? ahsdadhfsldashfjl)

knut 'he (stefan) broke your (tursgud's) heart! do i need to break his face?'

stig's 'i love you' and hal's gentle 'i know'

in contrast, the first 'i love you' directed at jesper sending him straight into panic

ansgar telling stefan that if he breaks jesper's heart, there will be consequences

erak listening to three people regarding his health - axel (wolfwind healer), svengal (sometimes) and edvin (he's got axel's clearance plus he's scary)

edvin, jesper, stef, ingvar, wulf and ulf showing up at rollond's doorstep, him opening the door and closing them immediately with a no (rollond, listen, there's quite a big chance hal will be chosen for the new oberjarl election, and we all know hallasholm will burn into the ground, if it happens)

wolves and herons friendship

stefan singing mikkel's songs

herons lying around their campfire, edvin starting picking his hands and jesper showing his leg into them not looking up from where he's opening his locks

karina leaving everything behind in araluen

hal and karina speaking araluen at home

edvin teaching ingvar how to read after hal makes him his spectacles

the reunions after the events of the ghostfaces (thorn showing up at karina's door without hal (he's walking stig home) and she being terrified for a moment her son didn't make it)

karina meeting gilan

girls gathering around stefan after herons' every return because he always got the tea (jesper leaning into his side, quietly listening)

edvin dropping a heavy book in front of the training instructors ('what's that?' 'healer manual so the poor kids have somewhere to start')

mikkel showing wee tiny hal to his crewmates for the first time

the wolfwind crew being proud of mikkel's kid every step of the way

inevitably, hal hanging thorn's shield on the wall next to mikkel's in the dead hall

[koipalm]

i know that mikkel is likely the strongest of the crew but like i need to know about everyone else.. i think that reynir and lalli are both stronger than they look what with working on a farm/having a job that makes you run all night. i think sigrun is definitely the most athletic but she might not have lalli's stamina to run for hours on end. i also think emil and sigrun are the most likely to know how to swim with sigrun's military training and emils wealthy upbringing

[forgaeven1]

even the litany of curses couldn't ease this pain.

mikkel is a hearty young lad. with a sick father and young siblings to feed, he'd boarded his first sail in hopes of bring some semblance of fortune as a deck crew. whilst, he'd imparted with the sort of excited naivety a boy age fourteen years of living would, i could go about to see the world, as well. killing two birds with one stone, hans had told him quietly right back that first night they'd spoken, while mikkel coyly nodded. again, he's a hearty lad. hardworking, good. every instructions hans laid out, the very few he could as they worked among other sailors, he'd followed well. smart, too.

it's unfortunate, is what it is, that through the throbbing of the pain from where the welts where his brother had laid his whips and tore at hans' skin, the boy has to bear witness to this as well. hans could hear him cry somewhere in the background, hurrying someone else inside their room. foolish, foolish boy ! he thinks vehemently, though he has no strength—nor attention—to genuinely scold. his back feels as though his prince brother alek had burned the flesh along with the whipping; it is searing. hans grunts, cries, and screams a guttural scream into the floors of the inn—if only, for a moment, he could direct the excruciating pain elsewhere.

mikkel is crouching besides hans now , tears stream down his face as he informs hans that he had brought in a healer. ❛⠀LEAVE ! ❜ hans screams. all— and he thinks so jaggedly, haphazardly, as though his own train of thoughts could not bear the pain long enough to have the words strung together. all he needs is some balm, he thinks with a lot of effort, some clean clothes to clean the blood, and any drinks that could let him sleep. that is all. that is all. ❛⠀i need not to be attended to. i need— i need rest. please—leave me. ❜

in the end, he begs.

for @dionidai ♡

[lovelybunchof-roses]

[ @unlessitsafarm ]

TRANSIT :  for one muse to sit next to the other on a public transport for your RED spy!! maybe they're on their way to another area and unfortunately she's stuck with him

@unlessitsafarm

The team-wide transit to a new war location was always pretty rough for Mikkel. If anything it's because she never got to go with Monika and have a more... tame transit partner. This time was no exception it appeared.

She steps to the train, giving a brief nod of acknowledgment to the conductor. Once inside, she immediately unwraps the scarf around her head, sweat sliding down the side of her face as she breathes out heavily and loosens the buttons and tie of her uniform.

"Why is it that every time we change locations it's during one of the hottest days of the season," she mutters in frustration. She held a small suitcase in her hands, just some essentials she may need for the mission, including a book she may hopefully get to read, depending on who her transit companion was. She lifts her red sunglasses up to rest on top of her head before wrapping her hand around the handle. Okay... She can do this. Her transit partner will be sane-ish, and definitely let her just read and move on.

She opens the door and what do you know?

Mikkel's luck continued. This was going to be a long train ride, she could already feel it deep in her heart. However, she offers the man a kind smile and a nod.

"Ah, so you're my companion for the trip, hm? I don't believe we've spoken much," she muses as she walks in and slides the door closed. "If you forgot, I'm Mikkel Auttenberg. A pleasure to make your acquaintance more officially."

[jules-has-notes]

The Sing-Off, s.4 ep.2 — Party Anthems

Some competitors on The Sing-Off have described the filming process as their most grueling summer camp experience ever. The audience might imagine dozens of performers doing nothing but singing and dancing together all day as one long party, but that's the magic of the performing arts. It takes a lot of hard work to make having fun look so effortless.

.

Group opener

Most party anthems aren't very complex in terms of music or lyrics, and that's kind of the point. They're intended to be simple, fun, and repetitive so the listener doesn't have to think too hard about structure or meaning. They're meant to inspire dancing, not dissertations. But when your audience is presumably sitting and watching rather than grooving along, it's smart to graft a few different songs together to make things more interesting.

Details:

title: group party anthem medley

original songs / performers: "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas; [0:48] "Die Young" by Kesha; [1:48] "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna

written by: "Let's Get It Started" by William "will.i.am" Adams, Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, Terence Yoshiaki, Michael Fratantuno, & George Pajon, Jr.; "Die Young" by Kesha Sebert, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Benjamin Levin, Nathaniel Ruess, & Henry "Cirkut" Walter; "Don't Stop the Music" by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tawanna Dabney, & Michael Jackson

arranged by: The Sing-Off arrangers

air date: 11 December 2013

My favorite bits:

DeeDee's gorgeous solo riff to kick things off

Calle Sol getting to really show off their dance training

the wonderful juxtaposition of Street Corner Renaissance singing "Die Young"

Honey and VJ's duet front and center

and, of course, Honey getting the last word

Trivia:

Tony and Geoff were probably relieved not to be in the first section. They had already sung "Let's Get It Started" plenty of times in the Beetlejuice show at Universal Studios.

On the night this episode aired, VoicePlay were livetweeting from backstage at a gig. Those fellas have stamina.

The ending section of this medley was reworked and expanded to serve as the group closing number for the 2014 Sing-Off tour.

.

Theme reveal

Does Layne want chicken strips at the party for his daughters or himself?

.

Order of performances

Vocal Rush — "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C&C Music Factory

Home Free — "Life Is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane

VoicePlay — "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry

Street Corner Renaissance — "Do You Love Me" by The Contours

Element — "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk

AcoUstiKats — "Hey Ya" by OutKast

Calle Sol — "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin

Ten — "Hot In Herre" by Nelly

The Filharmonic — "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan

.

VoicePlay performance

[Here is another version with the intro package and judges' comments.]

This is VoicePlay doing what they do best on stage — not just singing, but entertaining. From the shiny suits to the intentionally goofy dance moves to the acting, they put on a full performance. Add in the surprise of Honey spitting bars on the second verse, and it's the perfect recipe to impress the audience and the judges.

Details:

title: Play That Funky Music

original performers: Wild Cherry

written by: Rob Parissi

arranged by: VoicePlay

air date: 11 December 2013

My favorite bits:

setting the tone with their Night at the Roxbury vibes

Tony's indignance at Honey walking away and making him stumble

the rhythm section getting to sing a lead duet for the last line of the first chorus

that smooth breakdown section

the harmonies on the descending ♫ "Pla-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay" ♫

Layne's final drum fill and cymbal crash as they all fall down

the other groups in the stage-side boxes giving them wild applause

Trivia:

When they performed this song during the Nashville show on the 2014 Sing-Off tour, Geoff accidentally kicked Earl in the head as they dropped to the stage at the end. (Luckily, he was fine.)

.

Judges' choice

.

Ultimate sing-off

AcoUstiKats vs. Calle Sol — "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson

Eliminated: Calle Sol

[fantasy-and-fairfolk-hetalia]

We Are One

Prompt: Elope

World: Fantasy

Mikkel Winther. He comes from a noble family in Mavalon. At sixteen years, he'd been taken to Boltan Castle to finish his final years of training to be a physician. That's where he met Crown Prince Beck Oxenstierna. Only child of King Egino and Queen Yggdrasil. Beck also happens to look more like his mother than his father. Didn't take long for the two to become friends. Mikkel was there when Beck got together with duchess Maija Pöllönen. He was there at 19 when the duo had their first child out of wedlock. Neither of the new parents wanted to tell anyone outside the room of this, so neither would Mikkel. One day was different, however.

20-year-old Mikkel had been walking back to where he's staying while looking over some documents. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, therefore he didn't see someone standing there until he bumped headfirst into the other. Purple eyes lookup to see a slightly taller male with short blond hair. Aqua eyes hidden behind glasses look at the other.

"Sorry," he said. "No, it's ok," Mikkel said. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." "You're from the Winther family, aren't you?" The other asked. Mikkel nodded. "Yeah, I am," Mikkel said. "How'd you know?" A gentle touch to the red scarf he's wearing around his neck. "The Winther family is known for their red scarves," the other said. "Oh," Mikkel said. "Well, my name is Mikkel and I'm the royal physician." "Berwald, of the Oxenstierna family," the other said. "Can I walk you home?" A nod from Mikkel. "Sure." Without another word, Berwald took Mikkel to his place.

"You need to get married," Berwald's father said. Birger, head of the Oxenstierna family. It's been nine years since that fateful day. Aqua eyes of Berwald look at his father. "Otherwise, you'll never be head of the family," Birger said. Berwald's mother, Brynhildr, looked between the two. She sighed. Berwald squinted. "Who are you planning for me to marry?" He asked. "Natalia, if you please," Birger said. In walked a young woman with long blonde hair and purple eyes. "She's from the Arlofsky Braginskaya family." That seemed to be the tipping point for Berwald. "Not happening," Berwald said. "I'm not marrying a woman." He turned to walk away. "Berwald don't you walk away from me," Birger said. "Try me," Berwald said. Nothing could stop Berwald from walking out, not even when Birgir got hold of his shoulder. Berwald shoved his hand off. "You can keep the family name," he said. "I'm starting my own."

Berwald didn't know how long he'd been walking for, but when he stopped it was at the park. He sat down on one of the benches nearby. He watched as the kids played, both noble and even some commoners. Though the commoner children were scarce as compared to the noble ones. Many helped their parents with their business, whatever it may be. A figure sat next to Berwald. Aqua eyes look to see a familiar figure sitting there.

"Mikkel?" Berwald asked. Purple eyes look at Berwald. "Hello." That's when Mikkel noticed something seemed off. "Are you ok? You seem upset." A sigh escaped the taller blond. "My father wanted me to marry someone I have no interest in," Berwald said. "Just so I could be the next head of the family in the future." Mikkel was silent for a moment. "I take it you said no?" "Of course I," Berwald said. "I have no interest in women, either." There was another moment of silence. "There is one person I'm interested in since meeting him." "Who?" Mikkel asked. "You," Berwald said and looked at Mikkel. "I- really?" Berwald nodded and took Mikkel's hands. "Every moment we were together has been something I've always treasured. I love you more than anything. Please, would you be mine forever?" Now Mikkel's blushing. "Are you asking me to marry you?" He asked. Another nod from Berwald.

[ask-pottertalia]

Power of Love

"You have a time turner?" Erland asked, looking at his brother Garth. They're twins. Half Danish, half Swedish. Born to a surrogate and given to Berwald, Tino, and Mikkel after they were born. Garth nodded. "Professor Mahelona gave it to me because she felt I'd be responsible with it." "Haven't you ever wondered what papa, far, and isä were like when they were younger?" Erland asked. "Without having to use a pensieve or other forms of magic to see?" Garth stared at Erland for a moment.

How the two figured out how many turns to use for the time turner was anyone's guess. Yet there they went, back in time. Red eyes of Garth look around. So far nothing out of the ordinary. They just needed to keep from doing anything that would alter the past in any way. He pulled his hood over his head, Erland doing the same. Soon the blue-eyed Gryffindor was heading out the classroom door with his red eyed Hufflepuff twin in tow. Somehow, they ended up at the training grounds, where the duo spotted a group of students from every house. The youngest of them appears to be a Slytherin first year and two Hufflepuff first years.

"Expecto Patronum," a young voice said. Sounds Danish. What the two saw next was the patronus of a west highland terrier. "Isn't that fars patronus?" Garth whispered. Erland nodded. "This must be when he found out." "And where should you two be?" A female voice asked. Garth and Erland look to see it's none other than a younger Professor Lupei than the one they knew. Then again, this is the past so everything is bound to be different. "We're just making sure a couple other students end up together," Erland said. "In the future." Professor Lupei raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and made her way to the group of students as the final one was casting his rare patronus. "We need to head a bit farther into the future," Erland said. "Papa, far, and isä were still a bit young to start dating." With more turns, Garth and Erland moved forward a couple of years into the future. How they knew this was the fact that they could see a certain blond Ravenclaw staring at a blond Slytherin and a blond Hufflepuff that were talking together. The two have purple eyes while the Ravenclaw has blue ones hidden by glasses. The Ravenclaw seems to be pining for the Slytherin and the Hufflepuff. "Accio chocolate," Garth said after a few minutes of nothing happening. Sure enough, chocolate flew into Garth's hands. He then went and handed it to the Ravenclaw, saying, "Mikkel likes chocolate and any other kind of sweets. As for Tino, he likes cooking." Blue eyes of Berwald look at Garth, but nothing was said. He knew the other was trying to see his face, but it was no use. Garth then retreated back to Erland and said, "Let's head back." With that, the two headed somewhere to hide and then proceeded to head back to their time.

[ohmors]

complete backstory update, this is exactly what was written on my carrd but i want to have it here too just in case ! under a cut bc it's reasonably long.

CW: child abuse, amputation, human experimentation.

vesper mikkel argyros was born and raised in the once great nation of khaenri’ah, a little over five hundred years prior to the beginning of the game. born to native khaenri’ahns — his mother, maia, and his father, steinn — vesper was the older in a set of twin boys, caelum the younger of the two. they were inseparable, and life was calm until an acute illness caused maia’s sudden death, leaving vesper and caelum under the “care” of their father. by the age of four onward, steinn’s abusive tendencies were no longer padded by their mother’s presence, and their father began to train them in his line of work — mercenary work and assassination. as the boys grew up, steinn pitted them against each other, directly causing a deeply ingrained sibling rivalry between the twins. the abuse grew worse with every passing day, the grueling training grew increasingly difficult to handle, but they both grew stronger, faster, their intelligence and capability honed by a regimen that was designed to teach by punishment. the kids each grew to take on their own skill set, and upon recognizing that vesper relied heavily on his legs for combat, at age fifteen his father amputated both of vess’ legs mid-thigh. this was, supposedly, in an attempt to replace them with metal and make him “stronger”. in his father’s eyes, he was never strong enough.

vesper’s brother caelum was killed on a mission shortly after they turned sixteen, a mission he’d been sent on by steinn, who knew full well what the dangers were. now unable to keep both children under his control, steinn’s abuse only got more intense with vesper in the years after, pushing vesper to his physical and mental limits day after day. that is, until, just before his nineteenth birthday, vess snapped and murdered his father with his bare hands. truthfully, it felt like nothing. empathy wasn’t exactly something vesper and his now-deceased brother were ever taught. so, vess cleaned up the mess, and left everything to burn. the house, the memories, his father’s corpse, it all burned brightly as vesper turned and never looked back. off on his own, now out in a world he’d explored very little of, vess decided to take up studying his favorite subject: mechanics. long had vesper dreamed of becoming an engineer, and he spent much of his alone time deconstructing and reconstructing machines and technology of the time, anything from a small precise clock, to ruin machinery that he’d managed to corral and harvest. he spent almost a decade in education in order to learn the ins and outs of these machines, and the mathematics of engineering them. it was only as vesper was preparing to graduate that the cataclysm took khaenri’ah out from under him.

it was a staggeringly dangerous time of vesper’s life, the fall of khaenri’ah into the abyss, and the curse laid upon him and his fellow people by celestia itself. in a way, he was lucky — his curse was immortality, as a pure blooded khaenri’ahn. he watched hundreds of those around him turn to monsters, irreversible damage caused to their bodies and minds, lost to the cruelty of fate, but he stayed frozen in time, wondering why, after everything that he’d been through, he wasn’t left a mindless husk instead. vesper spent several years in the abyss; he’d fallen with khaenri’ah and was lost amidst its ruins, but he’d been trained well — the newly claimed monsters were little match for him. upon finding an exit to the overworld during his aimless travels, vess crawled his way into teyvat, leaving behind the life that had begun in the godless nation.

vess came to in sumeru, with nothing to call his own and no way to set up a comfortable life, so instead of settling there, vesper took up traveling most of teyvat to familiarize himself with the world. he came to settle down in mondstadt, a handful of decades spent doing unwanted jobs in order to work up enough mora to survive. his longest line of work was as a mortician’s assistant, and later a full mortician himself. his knowledge of human anatomy and how to handle death came easily due to the years of training under his father, and this did him a great service in finding decent work that most people would be unable to do. despite this, he grew restless in mondstadt — no new technology to keep his mind busy, to catch his fascination the way inventions across other nations had. uprooting himself, vess moved from mondstadt to snezhnaya, a new climate, in hopes of learning something new as the fatui emerged with new machinery and updated technology. in order to network himself, vesper took up work doing the same thing he’d done in mondstadt, running a mortuary, though this time he took jobs behind the scenes whenever the fatui needed cleanup. they’d been watching him for some time when a recruiter found vesper in his own workshop, a cozy little space vesper had bought out to work on his prostheses and mechanical projects in his spare time.

upon noting his skill in mechanical engineering, vess was offered a position — to work as an engineer under il dottore, a harbinger, known to be one of the strongest of the fatui thus far.

vesper spent centuries rising in the ranks, working smart and keeping to himself, until he settled into a position that reports directly to the doctor. he had no interest in getting any higher in rank, and would not enjoy being at the top of the ladder, as being a right hand man was the most comfortable space for him to take up. vess has done innumerable horrific things under the guide of the fatui, under the doctor and his experiments, and vess had a direct hand in assisting dottore in creating perfect segments of himself, living machines within which he could share his knowledge, everything accumulated over the centuries. having moved beyond that project, as dottore took it into his own hands once he had the information vesper could give, he now works primarily in designing and supplying new mechanical body parts to those experimented upon in their labs — very reminiscent of what his father did to him. despite the fact that he knows the horrendous pain and anguish that stems from having your limbs removed and replaced without your consent, vesper has felt little to nothing for the people in the fatui labs as a whole. he cannot empathize with the masses, only those he knows on an individual basis. in order to further expand his knowledge and understanding of blooming technology, vesper can be frequently found outside of snezhnaya, often in sumeru or mondstadt, learning from skilled craftsmen in their specific lines of work.

[twofoursixohjuan]

@mostlyonthefloor they're not particularly coherent but I'll do my best

All three are reasonably small for Skandians, of course. Hal is the shortest, but he's also the strongest, having inherited Karina's short and stocky build over Mikkel's taller, leaner one.

Jesper isn't that strong but his main strength is that he's very quick with the sword and on his feet.

Because of this, Hal uses his big kite shield in combat, as he's strong enough that it doesn't hamper him, while Jesper uses a smaller round shield (lighter than Hal's, much lighter than the axemen's shields) and relies on speed for defence.

Edvin isn't as fast as Jesper or as strong as Hal, and fighting isn't his main skill anyway — he's more likely to be further back from combat. He focuses on defensive fighting on the general premise that the healer is better off alive and able to do their job rather than getting killed in glorious combat, no matter how many foes they manage to take down. Thorn is in full agreement and is specifically training him in defensive combat. I like to think that at some point Thorn finds him a larger shield similar to Hal's.

Jesper and Hal are on reasonably equal footing in combat. Hal's technique is better, but Jesper thinks faster under pressure and is more likely to pull off something unexpected. If it came down to it, Hal's stamina would probably give him the edge — endurance has always been Jesper's weak point.

Hal is better tactically, able to register the flow of a battle, while Jesper has trouble seeing beyond individual opponents. This does mean that Hal is more likely to be distracted, which can be dangerous, while Jesper's focus narrows to the immediate and makes him hard to surprise.

realising I've accidentally developed a very specific string of headcanons regarding the Heron Swordguys (Hal, Edvin and Jesper) regarding physicality and fighting styles that I use when I'm plotting or writing things like axes and swords — does anyone else have anything like that? curious to hear.

[seacollectsrivers]

til that MASTERPIECE OF CINEMA Pathfinder lost best foreign language oscar to a danish film this is homophobia and transphobia frankly

[borzoidaily]

A borzoi watching soap bubbles with trainer Mikkel Becker in Seattle.

[hannahstanwald]

OMG YES

If I could choose any Dark character to get more screen time, hands down it would be Michael. He is, in my opinion, the most fascinating character in the whole show.

At first, we see him as nothing more than a ghost, a specter haunting Jonas. We know and love Mikkel, but Michael feels like a stranger to us. In the little we see of the man, as a tortured spirit in Jonas' nightmares and an unhappy, smiling man in the Kahnwald family photo, he comes off as distant and almost cold. We know that he is Mikkel grown up, but it's so damn hard for us to wrap our heads around the fact that this sweet, happy-go-lucky kid has turned into the man we see before us.

BUT THEN "An Endless Cycle" comes around and hits us like a damn train! Finally, we get to see Michael the way he really was. We get to see the love and happiness in his eyes every time he looks at his son. We get to see the mirth and humor on his face when he sneaks up on and playfully spooks Jonas. We get to see him smile shyly when his wife comes downstairs and kisses him on the cheek. We get to see the concern and paternal worry on in his face when he sees the future version of his son. And finally, when he looks up at the ceiling beam above his head, we get to see the resolve and determination he has to save his son, no matter the cost to himself.

In season one, we see Michael the way everyone else in Winden did: a loner, an outcast, a depressed recluse who never fit in. But in season two, we see him the way Jonas saw him: a person who loved his family with his whole heart.

Is Michael a man haunted and tortured by his past? Yes, but he is also so much more.

He's a ghost. He's an artist. He's a husband doing his best. He's a loving father who would do anything for his son. He is arguably the most interesting character in Dark and I wish we could have seen more of him 😭

Side note: Sebastian Rudolph is fucking brilliant in the few scenes he has. He portrays Michael, and Michael's love, joy, fear, sadness, and determination perfectly. Not to mention, for someone who has barely been in the show, he has great chemistry with Jonas, Hannah, and Mikkel. He's an amazing actor and we were blessed to have him as Michael.

It's crazy how Michael barely appears in the show. There is another version of Mikkel, but he never becomes Michael. Then he doesn't even exist in the original world. In the beginning he haunts the story from both sides. From the start of the first episode with Jonas having nightmares about his dead father to the end of the episode with Mikkel's disappearance.

Everything about Michael in Season 1 is this haunting presence for Jonas. His scenes in Season 1 are mostly just appearing covered in a black substance. We discover he's Mikkel, the little boy, but we don't know about the man he became and why he made the choices he did. Until we finally meet him again in season 2 and it all makes sense. He is really fantastic in "An Endless Cycle," which is the only episode where we really have him as Michael.

While Michael wasn't the character with the most screen time, it was a wonderful use of the same character in different times. Mikkel builds the story, we already know him when we get to Michael's part, and it feels like a perfect way to fulfill the character arc. It is just fitting and absolutely heartbreaking to see the character accept his fate because of how much he loves Jonas.

[thelastranger]

This is because @void-occupation was being genuine and thoughtful about potential Thorn/Halt interactions. Her comments got me thinking and while this post has made me incapable of genuine analysis, I can offer up Thorn/Halt horse thieves‐>fake estranged husbands so...

After stealing the Temujai horses, Halt needs a quick ship back to finally cross into Araluen. (How he's going to explain these horses to Bob and train them is another question, but one that will prevent Halt from having to encounter his semi-recent ex, Karina)

The Temujai are after him and have sent out the signal for a short Araluen man so both Temujai and merchants are vaguely on the lookout for a single short man with a bunch of horses. They can't say exactly why they are looking for him (it would be too embarassing to admit they lost all the horses and the Temujai don't want other people knowing Temujai horses are up for grabs)

Thorn is in charge of the ship and is the first person Halt meets that doesn't ask too many questions. He's perfect for Halt's purposes and is willing to stretch the truth (why yes, Thorn is a horse dealer. He's only been a horse dealer for three hours, but he's one now.)

To get past the customs and Temujai agents, Thorn and Halt fake a marriage. Obviously Araluens and Skandians wouldn't marry each other at this point and the short guy's from Clonmel. They couldn't be the horse thieves everyone is looking for.

Halt forges some marriage documents, they pretend to be husbands and the boat is allowed to go. Halt is mostly sick on the boat so Thorn has to take care of the horses and a sea-sick Halt. It's not a pretty sight. This is where Thorn develops his intense hatred of horses (although he was predisposed to it before, the exposure to a whole herd of non-trained ranger horses was too big a barrier to overcome)

Despite all this, Thorn and Halt do bond and enjoy each other's company. Maybe there's a night on deck where they both get a little tipsy and sparks fly. (Maybe some tender and sncere words are spoken. Maybe Halt ogled young Thorn's biceps as he was coiling up rope. We'll never know.) The next morning, Thorn wakes up to a horse licking his face and decides he wants a forged divorce. He had been maybe willing to see where things go or try to make things work, but the horses are a deal breaker.

Halt is dropped off in Araluen without actually having forged those divorce documents and fully expecting never to see Thorn again, who had honestly become a little frosty after one of the horses chewed on his nice, new sheepskin vest.

Every time Thorn comes to that certain port, he has to fend off questions about where his "husband" is. Mikkel thinks it's hilarious, but Thorn hates it, prompting the eventual reply of marital estrangement. He's not expecting to work his with fake ex husband's former apprentice and to find out from the apprentice that Halt dated Karina. Hal's subsequent meltdown and all the resulting drama meant Thorn has the chance to be the funniest, most dramatic man in Hallasholm upon seeing Halt again and really turn the Herons' world upside down. He's got one chance and he's not going to blow it by revealing the info too early.

According to the wiki, Karina Mikkelswife is two years older than Halt and that feels cursed somehow

[mostlyonthefloor]

BB Reread Ch13&14:

28 boys in the cohort ok

And there's normally about 16-20. This is a mine of information

"Stig was an optimist" AUGH

Hal and Rollond being bros: the start

I can FEEL Hal's embarrassment here ooohguh

Awww Sigurd and Mikkel were friends

Sigurd hating this job but being really really good at it is honestly the peak of comedy

Going to write down all the names that are called actually

Dell! My favourite character who has no traits other than a name that I have supplied with an entirely personality and backstory

Erak hurrying this whole process on by dint of just getting really pissed off

"Stefan was a clown." damn alrighty

Jesper! I feel like it's an important character trait that he doesn't steal out of malice or need, but just for the challenge. He's like an understimulated octopus in a tank that's so bored it keeps breaking out. Someone give this poor man some enrichment activities

Edvin aww here he is... been ignored this whole time poor lad

Edvin bringing the SASS

And now we go on to my favourite part of the series ... brotherband training ... I am so excited oooooo