#considering how he's thirsting after a literal grandpa

[lowqualitygarbage]

You know based on the show you could have it so that Lucifer, Lilith and Adams group like say sera were from before the Great War but froze themselves like well you saw the show. But Lucifer and Lilith did it separately or split off when they disagreed with their methods. Hell could even say she was pregnant with Charlie before they went on ice, Angel could make jokes Charlie’s 2 hundred years old and a cradle robber. Would add more to lucifers depression as he’s not only in a world he doesn’t recognise but lost the woman he loved. And Lilith along with stopping Adam/Sera would be trying to bring back the better parts of the old world?

In this particular AU, Lucifer and Lilith were on the run from a current-day faction before Charlie was born.

But that bit about Sera being from the pre-war era is giving me ideas...

[shorkbrian]

ASKS

Hello again, asks are compiled under the cut. Please block the tag #shorkbrian answers a lot of asks# If you’d prefer not to see these types of posts from me. If I haven’t answered your ask, it’s because I’m saving it for a thirst, drabble, or fic.

I don’t ignore asks, but sometimes getting around to them overwhelms me lol. pls accept my apologies lol k here we go

I am very glad, I legit was so scared that it was too long and that it’d be disappointing bc the smut wasn’t super IN YOUR FACE yknow? But man am I glad to hear that.

I’m looking directly @ you

Someone noticed omg!!!  A lot of times I just put whatever song I played on repeat while writing that fit, but I have a *yandere* playlist that I listen to and it gets me going. Ty for noticing!!!

I’ve considered opening them permanently but I just... idek. I’d have to start deleting or ignoring the requests I don’t vibe with and Idk how to handle that lol. But thanks for the well wishes, hope your next few months treat you well friend!

Watermelon sugar why

Srsly you’re sweet but just wait until I start to really get going with all my nasty kinks okay, then you’ll be rethinking this strategy hunty lol!

I literally stalk @.vermiliren and @.kazooli and @.seita lol. Maybe when I get my blog more cleaned up, I’ll create a list of creators that I enjoy, along with fic recs. For now, here’s a link to my AO3 bookmarks which I read one like almost every single night bc I’m a horny gremlin.

I am the shark king. Sharks are my thing bro u don’t even know. I love them so much, they're dumb and big and beautiful and yeah I wish I was a mermaid who got to swim with them. Also I changed it bc I’m trying to make my blog more *professional* and all that so I can start being taken seriously askjakjdf

Compliments suck, if I'm being down and out honest. This does not bother me at all, I’m just unsure how to respond. I think I would prefer no comments, but I’m trying really really hard to just say “thank you!” and move on before I get uncomfortable. Having to fight with someone about how I perceive my self worth is exhausting, and especially so for the poor person that was just trying to say something nice and be nice to me. 

They do make me quite uncomfortable my dear lad/lassie/lasso. Say what you wish in the tags tho ! I don’t really reply to those, so there’s no pressure on me to have to say something back. I do however, see all the tags ppl use and some of them make me laugh so hard cause they’re so spot on, and it makes my day. like “Mark me down as scared AND horny” and “Bakugou better be able to bench 165 cause imma throw my fatass in his mf lap” and it kills me.

I SCEREAMED AKDHGSYDGASJSD this is the only format I'll be taking asks in now, no compliments just a yes/no answer to if my works help u cum god bless

you used the /gen!!!!! IDK what these are called but the /S and /gen and /J save my life!!!!

Frick you’ve figured me out, I do try to put like a nail-in-the-coffin sentence at the end. A lot of times it never works right, but I cannot for the life of my figure out how to end a single post ever. If anyone knows hmu pls ty

(Also ps I checked out ur blog cause yans are my jam and it is very much Not garbage!!)

That’s very kind of you, but pls don’t stay up past midnight it’s bad for ur Brian you’ll make bad decisions bro trust me all of my stuff is written after midnight

You will lafff..... but I will tell anyways..... I was prescribed a “life coach” after I got out of the hospital, which was really just a poorly disguised softcore “make sure u don’t yeet urself” type of thing. He had me write down things I liked about myself, and when I returned the sheet of paper still blank, he wrote stuff down for me. Like five sentences of “My hair and skin are unique and special” “I like animals and enjoy being kind to them” “I am worthy of respect” etc etc. and I had to look in a mirror twice a day and say those sentences to help “boost my self worth”. It sucked so bad dude, and I like got upset about it every time it came up, until finally my therapist was like “... this aint doin this sad bitch no good” and my parents got designated for yeet watch instead.

I know, logically, that (the majority of) people are not purposefully taking time out of their day to make me feel bad. They're trying to be encouraging and loving, and I appreciate it so much. But like... what do I say? If I say thanks, it’s almost like acknowledging what they're saying as true, and I can’t live with myself thinking I’m more than I am. I’m sorry you’ve had experiences that make compliments difficult for you also, I understand bro and I hope that your future holds healing and peace for you. 

Hopefully I won’t vent as much anymore lol, I’ll try to do that on my sideblog where I reblog really trigger-y memes akjdafhkjf. But thank you for your kind words bro, they’re appreciated and put in a nice lil jar.

Ah dw! This doesn’t sound like a jab. I think all of us r so sad n depressed and feel unworthy of love, so the fantasy of a Yan coming and forcing it on us and not leaving even when we lash out is just..... so attractive my heads gonna explode

me, thinking about kiri at any given moment like:

I have the next Hybrid! Kiri fic like lined up, but I’m so demotivated be I was SO CLOSE to finishing, and then wiped my computer like an IDITO

Waso, I’m taking horseback riding lessons bc my mom went:

and my grandpa told me that one of his horses was named Awaso and I immediately thot of u fun fact. But you’re so very kind, and I enjoy seeing you in my inbox. I’m never tired of u homie. You are loved and important, and it’s not an illusion. Even random strangers on the internet can feel soft towards you bro, and dats me, I’m the random stranger that likes u.

So I took Russian for a year, my dear friend, because I wanted to see if the language myth of “Russian is the hardest, Korean is the easiest” was true. I would say yes. So instead of like translating this and typing out a coherent response, I’ve resorted to google translate I’m so sorry but Виктор мог плюнуть мне в глаз, и я бы поблагодарил его. Also, the way Vitya is written in cryllic makes my heart swell it looks so cozy idek what I mean by that but it does? I treasure you man, hope to see you around in the new year and maybe??? we be good friends

Can any year be good when Kirishima Eijirou doesn’t exist?

cryface;;sad.jpg

I just imagine anyone who comes across my stuff, sitting at their computer shocked and slightly horrified, maybe turned on like

Daddy Aizawa makes me

Wait!! I have something to aid your troubles!!

ur welcome now u can be horny whenever you’d like 

pls every time we talk about Kirishima I have to act surprised like 

LISTEN BBYGORL I have had therapist Suga in the works since *checks notes* November. I am excited for it yeahhhhhh but sadly, I don’t think I will be continuing piano teacher Suga. The story is petered out in my mind, idk where it would go. Therapist sugarbird tho? We have some thots about this. Coming soon to theaters near you

[gavillain]

So with the year about to close, I’m once again doing my annual Top Ten Villains of This Year list. My personal rule for doing this: these characters are judged solely on the merits of their 2018 appearances, and I’m not going to include any villain who has appeared on last year’s list (which you can read here), even if they would still make the cut. Also bear in mind that this is only from media that I actually saw/read/played this year, so forgive me if your favorite isn’t here because I might not have seen them. New December movies in particular slipped through my fingers.

List under the cut

10. Lotor (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Ever since Lotor first debuted, he's never been villainous enough for me. He's been positioned in villainous roles, but he never really did anything all that bad or evil. Season six, however, sees the true depth of his evil finally get revealed. His obsession with his Altean heritage and loathing of his Galra side is interesting from a psychological perspective, and his actions as the seemingly benevolent but truly vicious leader of the Altean refugees really highlight how truly sinister this guy was. He has quite a lot of blood on his hands all done to fuel his thirst for power. The final battle with him in the quintessence field was pretty cool too. I love seeing normally refined and restrained villains just totally lose it and go balls to the wall psycho and that's exactly what we got. We really finally got to see Lotor for who he was beneath all of the false masks he showed to Team Voltron and the audience, and, for that, I definitely consider him one of the year's best.

9. Barbara Kean (Gotham)

Gotham every year always has a great villain to highlight, and while I assume most Gotham fans are coming out of this year talking about the Valeska brother, I think Barbara Kean really showed her stuff this year. Barbara's had an interesting journey on the show, going from a bland love interest to a psycho ex-girlfriend to a Fish Mooney esque crime boss to this season becoming the heir of Ra's al Ghul himself. This year we saw Barbara Kean inherit Ra's al Ghul's mantel as the Demon's Head and assuming control over the League of Assassins. She proceeded to immediately put the sexist men in their place and established a lethal team of female assassins to serve her. It's fun to see Barbara taking on a new mantel and even being instrumental in taking down the original Ra's al Ghul when his schemes go too far. Her ultimately taking charge as the leader of the Gotham Sirens and declaring her turf a violently men-free-zone is a fun touch that I look forward to seeing get followed up in season five.

8. Magica DeSpell (DuckTales)

When I first heard that the DuckTales reboot was building up Magica DeSpell as some serious business Big Bad, I was definitely among those scratching my head. Magica had always just been a reoccurring funny villain with wacky hijinks rather than anyone who acted as a true Knight of Cerebus. However, 2017 DuckTales pulled it off and did so WONDERFULLY. Magica is not only a big serious villain and threat; she also maintains her same charismatic and funny personality. You see her manipulating Lena to giving up her body and unleashing ultimate darkness whilst still cracking jokes and going after Scrooge's number one dime. It's hard to balance genuine serious villainy with comedy, and it's a balancing act that the Disney villains of the 90s had down pat. And that's exactly what Magica feels like: a harkening back to that golden breed of Disney villains, and I hope to see her continue on in season two.

7. The Sanderson Sisters (Hocus Pocus: The All New Sequel)

This was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hocus Pocus, and, to celebrate, Disney released a sequel novel that included both a novelization of the original film and an all new story set years later. The Sanderson Sisters are iconic and hilarious villains who have long been among my all time faves, so seeing them return in book form was a rare treat. This time, the Sandersons are scheming to bring all of the witches back from Hell to take over the world, and it's pretty scary reading Winnie's evil literally sending innocent people to Hell to exchange for evil witches. Mary also gets a solo musical number about her relationship with Winnie that's a lot of fun and sheds a new light on her character. It's operating at about the same level as A Twisted Tale in terms of quality so it's not hitting anything out of the ballpark, but seeing the Sandersons get treated to new content coinciding with their twenty-fifth anniversary is really fun and is worth their inclusion for sure.

6. Killmonger and Klaue (Black Panther)

The biggest movie of the year also gave us two of the very BEST villains of the year in the form of Killmonger and Klaue. Klaue, as portrayed by Andy Serkis, is naturally fun as a sinister and charismatic thief and arms dealer, filling sort of the "funny villain" quotient for the film. He's enjoyable and a treat to watch every time he's on screen. He's an evil white man who is raping African of its natural resources out of his sense of greed and entitlement. Killmonger compliments that nicely by being one of the deepest and most thought provoking character in the entire MCU. Killmonger is fun because not only is he sadistic and someone who enjoys bloodshed, he's also driven by righteous anger over the way that Wakanda has turned its back on black people globally. He has a desire to turn all of that around and remake the world. He may be cold and ruthless, but you can also see where he's coming from and that makes him all the more effective.

5. Salem (RWBY)

Salem, since her debut, has been a generic evily evil who eviled for some evil evil and never really had any texture at all besides being a vague evil. All of that changed this season of RWBY. We now know Salem and Ozpin's backstory. I was enthralled and mystified the entire time during their backstory. The animation, the story telling, everything was top notch. Salem is a woman who was cursed by immortality that hardened her into someone bitter and angry. She lost the man she loved once through death and then after his reincarnation, she lost him through his own fear of what she had become. She really feels like the type of character who is a tragic figure of myth at this point, and I loved how her motivation seems to stem from a bitterness at the gods and a desire to end the world that they created. Very fun for an arch-villain.

4. Red Goblin (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Dan Slott's decade long run as head writer of the Amazing Spider-Man came to an end earlier this year with a grand finale to end all grand finales: Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, rediscovers Spider-Man's secret identity and bonds with the Carnage symbiote to form the Red Goblin. Now, on some level, I find that whole concept to be very fanwanky, but, on the other, it's REALLY fucking cool. Yeah, Spider-Man writers have a tendency to continuously try to tell the next great Norman Osborn story, and, while this doesn't really rank in my top five, it's a worthy effort. I appreciate how it shows off how vicious and relentless Norman is. Him just fire bombing random people on the street to get under Peter's skin in particular is one of those great twisted moments. I also liked seeing Norman corrupt his grandson Normie Osborn with the symbiote and getting a grandpa's little monster serving him. It's got that fun "he's an assassin and a hostage rolled into one effect. And, of course, the Red Goblin left a permanent mark on Spider-Man history by being the villain who murdered Flash Thompson, long time friend and ally of Peter.

3. Obake (Big Hero 6)

The Big Hero 6 TV show has been a slam dunk for Disney television. Bringing in the same creative minds behind Kim Possible, the show has a great "loving parody of he superhero genre" feel to it whilst still being an epic hero show in its own right, and six heroes are only as good as their villain. Voiced by Andrew Scott of Jim Moriarty fame, Obake is an evil genius mastermind who's always in control of a situation and always crafting diabolical and brilliant schemes. Obake is in many respects a dark image of what Hiro could become: a man who refuses to limit his brilliance by morals or familial ties. His brain has outright been damaged to where his conscience doesn't check him and this brain damage IS slowly killing him, but he accepts it as a reasonable price for his perspective free of morality. But in the end, his schemes were all that he had, and when he's defeated, he has no reason to live and effectively commits suicide after letting Baymax go. There's a really great tragedy to the way he ends up. And, on top of that, he's just a really interesting and charismatic villain with fun quirks, fun minions, and engaging schemes. Easily one of the very best villains to come out of Disney television. 2. Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man PS4)

One of the really smart features of Insomniac's Spider-Man game is that Octavius is actually not Doctor Octopus at all for the first half of the game. Octavius is Peter's friend and boss, and the two of them are working together on cybernetic appendages for prosthetic limbs that respond to the brain waves just like regular limbs. Octavius has a degenerative brain diseases that is causing him to slowly lose control of his motor functions. As such, when he thinks he has the solution, he's overly hasty to use it even though the cerebral interface has a dangerous impact on his personality and moods. It causes him to act upon his worth impulses, particularly his resentment and anger towards Norman Osborn. This turns him into the Doctor Octopus who we all know, much to Peter's sadness. Peter ends up struggling a lot in this game over whether Octavius is worth saving, and it tears him apart when they reach their climax. No spoilers, but it's POWERFUL writing and acting. I particularly like how this version of the characters takes a little from every single iteration of the character without ever feeling unfresh. He has that personal connection and tragic element of the Raimi Ock, he has the intelligent master criminal side of the comics version, he has a design that echoes the sort of "I may be an overweight nerd but I can still kick your ass" appeal of the Spectacular Spider-Man version, and yet they still find his own unique sweet spot of characterizations that perfectly blends with the Insomniac Spider-Man world. I particularly enjoy his use of the Sinister Six and how he gets them all under his control by using his intelligence to give them each what they want so that they're all in debt, but they all genuinely seem to enjoy and admire him. That's an excellent retelling of the Sinister Six that's far more interesting than just "We all hate Spider-Man so let's team up to fight him."

1. Venom (Venom)

This was honestly the biggest and weirdest surprise of the year for me. See, the whole idea of a Venom solo movie is a uniformly bad idea from basically the word "Go." Oh yes, let's do a movie about a villain whose entire character revolves around being a dark version of Spider-Man in a movie that completely omits Spider-Man so that the villain can be the protagonist. That won't backfire at all. Well, of course, it totally backfired into a complete mess, but it happened to create a mess that was entertaining and enjoyable and had an absolutely wonderful and fun take on the Venom character. This film leans hard into the romantic side of Eddie and the Venom symbiote's bond and sort of formats itself as a gay alien romcom. Eddie is a journalist who wants to be a hero through his reporting, but he pursues it at the expense of every meaningful relationship he has. Venom is the runt of his alien litter who on Earth suddenly finds himself as the big fish in a small pond, and he likes it that way. In Venom, Brock finds a relationship that allows him to indulge his savior complex that won't be destroyed by it, and in Brock, Venom finds someone who allows him to indulge his power trip and sense of narcissism. They complete one another. Yes, it's stupid. Yes, it's cheesy. No, it's NOT the Venom we know at all. But, yes, it's a fun and effective route to take the character in the absence of Spider-Man. The thing is that the reason why it's so fun is pretty much all Tom Hardy. Tom Hardy has a weird awful accent, but he also gives this weirdly camp performance that's just captivating and fun. It actually reminds me a bit of Jack Sparrow in a way in that it's so out there, you can't help but he enamored. The Venom symbiote has fun banter and chemistry with Hardy, and the humor is on point. You've got Venom eating gangsters as people around him under-react, and he just shrugs it off with a one-liner. It's that type of thing, and, honestly, I love it. Like when the movie is Tom Hardy and Venom being goofy murder bros together, it's fun and engaging. Eddie himself is definitely more hero than villain, but Venom absolutely counts as far as I’m concerned, even if he is restrained by Eddie’s moral code by the end of it. It's exactly the type of ridiculous villain protagonist fantasy that it needed to be, and even though Venom isn't the main antagonist of his story, he's still easily my favorite villain of 2018... I have no idea what that says about me XD

Also I have all three of Spider-Man's big archenemies on this list in the reverse order that I usually like them XD That's fun lol

[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...