#dimitri can never disappoint

[ariella-has-lost-her-mind]

i need you guys to watch Anastasia so i can finally have someone to literally swoon over the og enemies-to-lovers couple 🤌🤌🤌

[thedeviltohisangel]

All The Things I Did (Modern Era): You'd Have to Stop the World Just to Stop the Feeling

a/n: when I said my brain couldn't stop thinking of AUs...I kind of like the idea that Cass/John's souls reincarnate across time because they are always meant to be together. This is one example of that. It's been rattling in my brain for a little while and I've gotten it on paper and hope you fall just as deeply in love with this version as you have the original. Let me know your thoughts on this era and anything specific you might wish to see. love you xoxo

She felt absolutely miserable. The satin of her champagne colored dress was itchy against her skin and the halter felt like it was choking her and if the Russian Ambassador looked at her bare back like it was a lost wonder of the world one more time she was going to have her forearm against his windpipe in an instant. There was also the absolutely offensive paper weight of a diamond ring on her left hand. She thinks if she threw it hard enough, it could break through the wall of the Embassy’s reception room like a bullet. 

“My, my, Miss Cooper. You are looking particularly diplomatic tonight.” 

“Dimitri. I asked the bartender to throw away all the vodka so you wouldn’t bother me over here.” She fully knew he was SVR and she assumed he was tracking her State Department cover as loosely intact. 

“Come now, my little eagle. I’ve spent all night waiting for you to come flirt with me like you always do. You’ve really kept me waiting.” 

“If that’s flirting, things must be very bleak in Russia.” Originally, she had thought she’d try her hand at developing him. He had tried to develop her right back. She dropped her official pursuit of him but the back and forth kept her busy at the stuffy cocktail hours she had to attend. Cass would have preferred to be out in the local villages and talking to the people and the families and the culture she was falling in love with. 

“Eh maybe our flirting isn’t great but that new American soldier is looking at you like he wants you in a way us Russian men are very familiar with.” She didn’t have to look to know it was John. His arrival a few days ago had rocked her to the very core and she had done everything in her power to avoid him since. “He the one who put that ring on your finger?”

“If you were half as good as you want me to believe, Dimitri, you’d know. Enjoy your night.” Cass finished off her drink and turned to leave when his hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist. “Let go of me.”

“Miss Cooper, I’m not-”

“She asked you politely. I won’t offer the same courtesy.” A lump lodged in her throat as she felt John’s presence behind her. Her arm was dropped in an instant and she crossed it against her chest. 

“Good night, my little eagle.” Dimitir looked at her like he had gotten the exact answer he wanted. She itched to slap the victorious smirk off his face as he walked away. 

“You okay? He hurt you?” John touched her wrist tenderly, lovingly, all the things she hadn’t felt against her skin since she fled North Carolina a few months ago. 

“I was handling it. He did it on purpose to see how you’d react.” He dropped her arm as the glint of a diamond caught his eye. Took a step back to physically distance himself from the object.

“Sorry to disappoint.” He thought about tacking on an again but thought better of it. If she wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, maybe she never would be, then he wasn’t going to broach down the pathway.

“Not it’s…there’s no way you would have known.” She looked at him, for the first time since they said goodbye bathed in the moonlight on the beaches of Hatteras Island, and he felt his world shift back into place under her gaze. “Thank you.” 

“Can I at least get you a refill?” It felt like dipping her toes back in those North Carolina waters. A place she had told herself was too dangerous to go back to. He looked too good in his blues to turn down.

“Yes.” His hand on the small of her back guided her closer to the bar and it felt so warm she could lose herself in it.

“Two of whatever the lady was having.” 

“It’s just Coke in a rocks glass, Major.” She smiled as he took a long and satisfying sip either way. 

“Still delicious,” he laughed. “You been out here awhile?” Her eyes found the corner of her cocktail napkin much more interesting all of a sudden.

“Since…since around the last time I saw you.” He nodded around the last of his soda. Wished it was full of rum. 

“You could have just told me the truth. I would have understood.” Cass shook her head.

“No, you would have fought for me and told me we would find a way to make it work.” She distinctly remembered the look in his eyes on the beach that night. The frustration at her secrecy. The distress at her leaving when he had spent the whole summer learning how to love her. The anger that she acted like the truck bed nights and T6 flights and long weekends spent in bed could be tucked back into a box. He had wanted to scream that he was in love with her. Scream that he knew what was between them was meant to last a lifetime and he would fight for her until the ends of the earth. Scream that this war had already taken so much from so many and they shouldn’t let it take this from them. 

“Would it have worked? Clearly, you had something else lined up anyways.” Instead, John had felt defeated. Had heard the words that she was leaving and couldn’t tell him where or why and it was better to leave this summer exactly where they were standing. “My sister sent me the photos of you and him at some Newport mansion.” 

“It’s not real. You have to believe me.” Cass would have rather died than know John had seen the staged engagement photos. But the point of a PR campaign was for people to see the evidence. 

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Cass.” He turned toward the calling of his name from his fellow pilots. They had been joined by a group of young women who all looked eager to head back to their housing units for the after party. 

“Looks like you have a fun night ahead of you.” Pilots were always a hot commodity no matter where they went. And John was tall and handsome and pilot and goofy and…there was nothing wrong with him that she could come up with besides his love for her. 

“Are you done for the night? I can walk you back.” She nodded, something about the gaggle of girls waiting for him making her chest ache. “I’ll get your coat.”

They walked in silence at a safe distance. Both of them were walking slower than usual. They didn’t want the fact that they were back in each other’s presence to end. Her housing complex came into view all too quickly. “Nice housing for an alleged entry level econ analyst.”

“Guess I’m just special,” she remarked. He looked at her with a smile while she glanced up at the moon. “He’s running for Congress. Landry. He offered to help my sister fix a problem if I agreed to pretend to be with him for the campaign.” 

“Why’re you telling me?” He took a tentative step closer to her. 

“Because you asked earlier if it would’ve worked. And it would have. I wanted to tell you the truth about Afghanistan and my job. But my sister made a mistake and there was a way for me to protect her from the consequences and I had to take it.” She fiddled with the buttons of his jacket as tears trickled down her cheeks. “It killed me to say those things to you. I didn’t mean any of it. Those few months we shared together were the best of my life and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything and I’m sorry I got in the way of the things we dreamt about under the stars every night.” 

“Give me your hand, Cass.” With a furrowed brow, she offered him her left hand and he locked his eyes onto hers. He slid the ring off her finger and her breath caught in her throat as he held it up between them. “I’ll make sure this is hand delivered to Mr. Landry.” The ring dropped into his pocket.

“Will you kiss me now, John Egan?”

“Only because you asked so nicely, Cassandra Cooper.” It felt like coming home when his lips touched hers. It felt like the first warm day after a dull winter. Like seeing your favorite movie again. Like the first bite of the food you’ve been craving. 

He had thought about trying to track her down. Thought about paying off an intel officer or sweet talking the personnel lady on the fifth floor into looking her up but had always been struck by the look in her eyes when she had left him that night. Begging him to just let it be. Begging him to let her go. Begging him to spare her the pain of his words because the solemn emptiness of her soul was the only thing that would allow her to turn around and leave him behind. 

She hadn’t been able to think about him. Not if she wanted to survive. Not when she needed to shut down and smile and pretend to fall in love with the weasel of man that had cunningly offered to help her sister. Cass hadn’t been able to say no. Her only regret was that she hadn’t been able to tell him herself. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, please forgive me.” But she would never be able to forgive herself for taking away all the time they could have had together. 

“Already forgiven, Cass, I promise.” It was easy to forgive the people you loved. Less so to forget. Less so to heal from the wounds they inflicted on you. She had hurt him so deeply. Eroded all the trust he had in her. Eroded the trust he had for his own gut instinct. Kissing it better was one thing. Picking where they had left off was something else entirely.

“I want to try, John. I want to start over and I want to do this the right way. Even if it’s hard.” 

“I’ll choose us every goddamn day, Cass.” She kept her hands on his cheeks as she dropped back down from her toes. “You look stunning tonight. I didn’t get the chance to tell you.” John began to lead her in a dance that could only be heard between the matching, racing beats of their hearts. 

“Thank you but anything is going to look more stunning than the camis you saw me in all summer.” He kissed her with a laugh. 

“You looked stunning in those too.” Lest she forget that was exactly how he had fallen in love with her in the first place. Low bun and camo pants and rolling her eyes every time a pilot tried to flirt with her. She had beaten a particularly persistent one in a pull up contest to prove her point. “Cass?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow?” She looked around at the mountains and desert. At the bland buildings and miscellaneous pods of gym equipment. 

“I suppose.” Their original first date had been to a seafood shack where they broke down their own crabs and were covered in Old Bay and laughed as they walked along the pier and he had kissed her senseless while the sun set over the water. It was the most perfect memory. “Though I doubt you can top our first first date.” John smiled and traced the tip of his nose up and down the side of her cheek. 

“I just want to be with you, Cass. Make you feel special. Remind us both that there is still good in this world worth fighting for.” 

“I like the way that sounds,” she whispered as she pressed a kiss to his jaw. “You’ll find me when your day is over?” 

You’ll always find me?

I’ll always find you. In this life, or any other. 

When two souls are meant to tangle together across the universe there is no timeline that can halt them. There would be time apart and forces who tried to keep them that way but none would succeed. You cannot prevent the inevitable. 

Two stars colliding into a supernova with no limit in sight. There was no before. There was no after. Only them.

“Yes, Cass. I’ll find you.”

[artianaiolanthe]

Vampire academy ramblings under the cut cause this was stream of consciousness while I was going on an hour of sleep on airplane; Frostbite edition

All the times Rose has to say "it's not like I wanted to sleep with Lissa" while being intensely jealous of Christian will live rent free in my head

Also again. Will never not be disappointed we lost Tasha and Rose genuine friendship because of Dimitri fucking Belikov. HE'S JUST SOME GUY YOU BOTH CAN DO BETTER

Adrian, light of my life, balm to my soul, you're the only one in this cruel world that brings me joy

Also damn they brought up just moving up guardian graduations earlier than I remembered. This is Book Two.

Also shout-out to the guy who was like "well why can't we all live in private cut off areas for protection year round" because if the Strigoi and humans don't get you than I feel like one of y'all is going to go all Jonestown on the others. Fucking weirdo.

Back to the cult dynamic note I picked up earlier where the idea of acting in their own offense is so foreign to most Moroi that they believe a very reasonable suggestion is collusion for extinction. I wanna believe they're just lazy but I think everyone needs deprogramming so badly

"Suddenly Mason seemed like a child" YES HE IS ROSEMARIE AND SO THE FUCK ARE YOU. And the age gap talk isn't helping your case either.

"Blood Whore" "Strigoi Lover" can we all just be normal about the people in the closest proximity to some of the worst suffering in this world? No? Fuck me I guess.

I know it wasn't like that but I feel like Adrian was feeling out of Rose was also a person of culture (Bi or Pan). At least to confirm Lissa isn't a romantic roval

I forgot Moroi like. Used actual spells. I thought they just element bent like they did in Avatar. Don't they???

First Adrian and Dimitri interaction is hysterical knowing they're cousins. Like on some level deep in his psyche Dimitri just looked at Adrian and his monkey brain decided "this bitch sucks" because of the resemblance. How do I cope with this?

Dimitri you can't just be calling them young girls, that makes You look like the weirdo.

I need a safe adult where's a safe adult I miss Janine--

"The Guardian Council and the Moroi Government" interesting distinction y'all got there! Not one unified government and not even a sovereign government for the Dhampirs. Fun, cool, classy.

Mason I love you but you sure know how to torch the mood.

Drinking game, take a shot every time "they come first" fucks over a plan in these books. Or don't. Alcohol poisoning is no joke

Do they not. Ask if someone wants to get molnija marks. I get it they're supposed to be an "honour" but are we ignoring the very traumatic events for the sake of a tradition.

Did no one get this bitch into therapy after this until she started hallucinating?!

[welldonekhushi]

Vasili in Black Ops 6 (PRE-LORE)

EDITED: 27/10/2024, As per Black Ops 6 release, with updated lore as per context!

For Black Ops 6, Bell's allegiance to the campaign might hold much significance in framing Adler as the traitor. Under a heavy price.. and here's the story.

After the events of Cold War, Vasili who was said to be "dead" had actually survived the bullet, that almost reached his heart but through successful surgery, he had recovered. As we're talking about a clandestine force which framed Russell Adler as a traitor, Vasili might take that very opportunity to enact revenge on the man who ruined his very life.

On the other hand, Vasili didn't have his hands clean either. While Adler was targeted by the CIA, Vasili was targeted by the KGB — the very organisation he used to work with, turned against him. Because following the events of the previous game, General Anton Charkov was murdered and all of the blame shifted to Vasili, whose claims suggested that he did this because Charkov kicked him out of the KGB. When the truth was.. Dimitri Belikov was the culprit.

Vasili would be spending days inside of his new safehouse, with Dimitri by his side. Dimitri Belikov was actually Vasili's old friend, who worked with him along in the KGB, as well. Little to Vasya's knowledge, Dimitri sure kept him safe from the CIA, but he was also keeping him safe for the KGB, who gave him an order to keep an eye on Vasili Sokolov. Dimitri was on a tight rope, either to stay truthful and loyal to his best friend, or do whatever the KGB says.

Vasili only had one goal. To see Adler fall. To pay for what he's done. But, it's a disappointment that Vasili never got to realise that someone else was also waiting behind to backstab him. And let out a painful truth, that always reminded Vasili that he was never supposed to achieve justice in the first place.

But, when the truth came out, that Dimitri was working as a mole for the CIA, and he pushed the blame to Vasili in the fear that he would be called a traitor too, shattered Vasili to the core. Dima was ashamed. He felt guilty that he could do such a thing, much to the ex-KGB agent's dismay and anger of betraying him, as well.

No one was good at this point. Everyone did worse things behind each other's backs, but it seems like Vasili had his breaking point — that very moment which made him feel completely alone.

Surrounded by the KGB agents, who had an order to capture "Crow" or kill him off if he escapes. But, Dimitri couldn't hold onto it anymore, and also turned his back against the KGB, getting into a fight. Vasili defended himself and was also fending off with the rest, but he saw Dimitri getting shot on every part of his body, and passed out. Vasili got out of his hiding spot to hold onto Dimitri's body, as the wounded man asks for forgiveness.. for what he did to his beloved friend.

Dimitri wanted to pay for his actions too, for being a traitor, and with that, he deserved all of this. Vasili broke down, seeing his friend die but Dima couldn't hold it any longer, and died in his arms.

Vasili stared at his friend's dead body, and saw the agents had surrounded him. A burning rage grew inside Vasili, as if he had enough. At this point, he'd burn the whole world. And with that.. he'll get to Adler. No matter what.

And a few days after Belikov's death, Vasili got an unknown phone call from some unknown organisation, who knew who he was, and wanted to recruit him so he can pursue his revenge further. They too were behind framing Russell Adler as a traitor to the country, something which he made him want to align with them, not because of their ideologies.. but for that one similar interest. Russell Adler.

Leading you all, to have Vasili be a part of the Black Ops 6 campaign.

[randomnameless]

Unlocking the rapport convo between Ramona'n'Yunifee where they tackle the "mom by adoption" thing after Yunifee says that they're not really parent and child (apologising for accidently calling her mom!) and ultimately acknowledging and accepting their feelings for each other :

I couldn't help but compare how heavy-handed Fe Fodlan, even if it's more lampshaded in FEH, tries to sell the "uwu Lonato is Ashe's adopted son", or Ashe sees him as such.

Because it has no fall out or no acknowledgment from Ashe in AM, when Lonato basically goes :

"You stand against me and disagree with the nonsense I'm sprouting? I won't try to reason you, but I will "put an end to this" "

Which is even more lampshaded in Dimitri's battle convo :

Your Highness... I cannot stop here. For my child, and for the people of Fódlan.

Lonato cannot stop fighting for his child... even if it means to kill his other child (or adopted son, he sees Ashe as "lesser" than Christophe because Ashe isn't his blood son?).

I know FEH is allergic to having Fodlan characters react to the events that happen through the course of the game(s) save for 2 notable characters (and even then, I don't remember if Pre TS Dimitri talks or even muses about Boar!Mitri) but can you imagine someone who only plays FEH, who is hammered with Ashe's "wow Lonato is so great he adopted me when I was someone who stole from him I want to be a great knight just like he was!", play FE16 and not be disappointed with Ashe's lack of comments/consideration/realisation that his "oh so awesome" father figure... was willing to cut him down to avenge "his child"'s memory?

Morad feels like shit in UO after having tried to attack his adopted daughter/sister Yunifee while being berserked, and the devs designed a "bad" ending by implying berserk!Morad/Ramona kill Yunifee if Alain doesn't liberate Bastorias so there is a pay-off to the "those people share an important bond!" in the story, even if it's not a blood-bond.

In Fodlan ? Even in the post TS, when you had him fight against the dude who was in to "avenge his child", Ashe will never comment on Lonato not seeing him as "his child" despite him considering him to be his adopted father, to the point of seeing his life as expendable if it meant fighting for Christophe's sake.

Hell, we have some instances where he mentions he wants to become a "great" knight like Lonato which is... Yeah :/

I'd say we could blame FE Fodlan (FE16 in this case) for not giving mandatory conversations/deployment and all, but, idk, after this exchange, it feels like Nino post-Sonia's defeat, is still harping around on how "great" of a mother she was.

FFS, in FE5/9/10 we had special interactions when children were supposed to fight against their parents, either they don't fight, kid switches sides and joins their parent on the opposite side and becomes a red unit, or the parents becomes a punching ball and never retaliates against the blue unit kid.

In Fodlan, Nino will never realise that Sonia never loved her.

But we're sold a version of Ashe that still believes Sonia was the bestest knight ever, and wants to emulate her.

[lapinbunwrites]

Artwork by Kore! And Kore's IG!

Title: The Dish That Went Wrong

Ratings: Gen

Warnings: None

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses

Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Mercedes von Martritz, Mercedes von Martritz & Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Annette Fantine Dominic & Ingrid Brandl Galatea

Characters: Annette Fantine Dominic, Mercedes von Martritz, Ingrid Brandl Galatea

Additional Tags: During Canon, Fluff

Words: 2,665

Ao3 Link

For as long as Mercedes could remember, she was in the kitchen baking. Every time she made something, it always brought back fond memories of when she was a child—baking with her mother and brother always gave her a nice warm feeling in her chest. She wished she could go back to those times, but she knew that it was never going to happen. Mercedes learned to live with that fact and moved on—but, she was able to make new friends and meet new baking partners.

Baking with Ingrid and Annette was a trial and a half. Annette, in her own sweet but scatterbrained way, set multiple fires and destroyed many cookware supplies. Ingrid on the other hand, tended to get too excited for food and miss her steps, often combining multiple steps at once, or would stop to eat in the middle of the baking session. Needless to say, they ruined many dishes they intended to make, but Mercedes was still happy that they were spending time with her baking sweets together. If there was one trait that Mercedes inherited from her mother, it was patience. She needed a lot of it when she baked with those two.

“Let’s see,” Mercedes whispered to herself. She checked over the list of ingredients that she needed. “I have flour, two different sugars, butter, and—”

“There you are Mercie!” Annette chirped, walking over to her.

Mercedes was distracted as her friend talked when she looked over her list, concentrating on it to confirm that she had everything to make a cheesecake.

“Mercie,” Annette asked, shaking Mercedes.

“Oh!” Mercedes yelped, turning to her friend. “Sorry, Annie. I was lost in thought.”

“You seemed really entranced,” Annette noted, letting go of her.

“I was so focused on counting I didn’t even hear you.” Mercedes gave her a soft smile. “Was there something that you needed?”

“Ingrid and I were planning on going shopping,” Annette smiled. “We were wondering if you wanted to come along.”

“Oh, I wish I could,” Mercedes frowned.

“Why is that?” Annette asked. “Something going on?”

“I promised Dimitri that I would bake a treat for everyone,” Mercedes replied, putting her basket of ingredients on the counter.

“Oh!” Annette said, excitedly. “Let me go get Ingrid and we both can help!”

“It’s alright,” Mercedes started as she watched Annette rushing off.

Mercedes shook her head and smiled to herself. As she waited for Annette to get Ingrid, she took the ingredients out of her basket and placed them all on the counter. She began to think of all of the steps, or everything her mother did, to make the cheesecake. Without realizing it, she began to crush down the graham crackers to start the crust. With all the stress she had recently, dealing with the war, training, and checking up on everyone, it was very therapeutic. The recipe and steps instantly began to come back to her.

“Mm,” Ingrid said, walking into the kitchen with Annette, interrupting Mercedes’ silent baking. “It smells so good.”

“Heh I just melted down some butter and combined it with the graham crackers,” Mercedes chuckled.

“It looks very tasty,” Ingrid said, salivating.

“Really?” Mercedes teased, grabbing a pan. “It’s just a bowl of crackers and butter.”

“Yes,” Ingrid reassured her. “I would still eat that by itself.”

“You really shouldn’t,” Mercedes reminded her, dumping the concoction into a round pan.

“I am more than happy to help to get it done!” Ingrid insisted, joyfully tapping the counter.

“Very well, but you must go step by step,” Mercedes said, hesitating for a few seconds.

“Of course! I will not disappoint!” Ingrid smiled.

“You can start by flattening out the crust on the bottom and pushing it up the sides just a little,” Mercedes instructed as she watched her friend carefully.

“Oh!” What can I do Mercie?” Annette chimed in with sparkles in her eyes.

“Hm,” Mercedes murmured, placing her finger on her chin. “Let’s start putting the dry ingredients in a bowl.”

“That sounds way too simple and boring,” Annette pouted.

“Annette’s right,” Ingrid agreed, wiping her hands clean of the crumbs. “We should be able to combine some of these steps.”

“If we do that, we risk messing with the taste of the cheesecake and how it bakes,” Mercedes reminded them. “We need to do the simple things first, as they are still very important.”

“Fiiine,” Annette sighed, slumping. “So what do I combine?”

Mercedes placed all of the dry ingredients in front of Annette. “These all go into a bowl and need to be whisked together.”

“Why are you making cheesecake?” Ingrid asked, distracting Mercedes from Annette.

“Dimitri asked me to make something for everyone to help lift up spirits during the war,” Mercedes explained, looking back over to Annette. She giggled as she stared at her friend who was covered in flour and sugar. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Annette coughed. “I was mixing one second, and the next I got it all over me.”

Mercedes chuckled as she handed Annette a towel. While Annette was cleaning herself off, Mercedes put the cracker crust into the oven.

“Ingrid, do you mind watching the crust?” Mercedes asked. “It shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.”

“Of course,” Ingrid agreed, looking attentively at the oven.

Mercedes looked over the ingredients and she realized that she was missing one item.

“Is everything alright, Mercie?” Annette asked.

“Oh, yes,” Mercedes reassured her. “I’m just trying to remember the recipe correctly.”

“You don’t have this written down anywhere?”Annette asked, tapping the counter and humming.

“No,” Mercedes sighed. “When my mother and I were living in House Bartels, my stepfather didn’t give us much peace.”

“Mercie,” Ingrid said, taking her eyes off the oven. She walked over to Mercedes, placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“When my stepfather left us alone, my mother would make me happy by taking me into the kitchen,” Mercedes said, faintly smiling. “She would teach me how to bake and tell me how to make the treats. She has an amazing memory, she remembers every recipe she ever learned. She could remember anything really.”

“Heh, only if you had that kind of memory outside of baking,” Ingrid teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Mercedes somberly laughed at her friend’s statement.

“Oh, Mercie,” Ingrid paused. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Mercedes reassured Ingrid, walking over to the oven. “I know I can’t go back to those days standing in the kitchen with my mother and brother, but I have you two now—and we can bake whenever we get the chance.”

“Yes!” Annette agreed. “We can even make new and happy memories.”

“That’s right!” Ingrid nodded.

“Anyways, what should we do next since the crust is out of the oven?” Annette took a whiff of it.

“Mmm! This smells good,” Ingrid agreed.

“We make the filling,” Mercedes faintly smiled as the conversation turned.

“So what do we do first?” Annette chirped.

“We take a bowl,” Mercedes replied, taking out a large bowl. “Mix in cream cheese and granulated sugar.”

“Awesome!” Annette said as she unpackaged the cream cheese with Ingrid.

Mercedes quietly watched the two putting the ingredients together. Mercedes quietly watched the two putting the ingredients together. It was hard for her to focus on the other two when all of her thoughts were stuck on her family. She wanted to be with them again, but at least she had Ingrid and Annette. She took one deep sigh, trying her best not to show her shaking hand, as she stopped Ingrid from dumping too much sugar into the bowl. She watched intently as Annette put all her strength into creaming the ingredients together.

“Is everything okay?” Ingrid asked, watching Mercedes walk off.

“Oh, yes,” Mercedes reassured her. “I just need to get some fresh air.”

“Oh, okay.” Ingrid nodded. “Is there anything specific you want us to do?”

“You just need to beat in the eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch until it’s combined,” Mercedes instructed. “Once that’s done, mix in sour cream.”

Ingrid and Annette looked at each other, making sure that they didn’t hear her wrong. By the time they looked back to Mercedes, she was already walking out the door.

Mercedes took one deep breath and exhaled. The stress of this war was starting to get to her; even her friend’s well-intentioned help was getting to her. She had to tell herself not to complain about it, she was still lucky to be alive and able to have the peace and down time that she currently had. Not everyone was lucky enough to have it. She had seen many soldiers lose their lives, she had seen Dimitri and Byleth run around their camp sites in a frenzy to make everything perfect, she had seen the amount of training Felix, Dedue, Ashe, and Sylvain put in. All of it was so stressful, even for her to watch.

It was hard for her to take her mind off of it. Even the cheesecake that she was trying to make was to help those who needed a morale boost. Mercedes took one long sigh as she heard a crash in the kitchen.

“Are you alright, Annie?” Mercedes asked, rushing over to her.

“Yes, I’m fine!” Annette reassured her, getting up from the floor.

Seeing all the ingredients all over the floor and all over Annette, Mercedes laughed from deep in her stomach.

“Mercie?” Annette asked, wiping herself clean with the help of Ingrid.

“Hahaha,” Mercedes laughed as she helped out. “I’m sorry, Annie! It’s a little funny that you were able to get the mixture all over yourself.”

“Mercie!” Annette pouted. “It’s not funny.”

“I know, I know,” Mercedes said, her laugh dying down. She took a little lick of the mixture off of her finger. “Hmm, this is a bit off.”

“Mercedes?” Ingrid asked, trying to get her friend’s attention.

“Sorry, sorry,” Mercedes said, heading back over to the counter. She looked into the bowl and breathed a sigh of relief. “Luckily, we still have enough to make.”

Mercedes smiled as the other two excitedly watched her pour the batter into the pan as if she was a professional chocolatier. She made sure to even out the pan before chucking it into the hot oven.

“What do we do now?” Ingrid asked, looking over to Mercedes.

“We wait,” Mercedes replied.

“How long do we wait?” Annette asked.

“Hm,” Mercedes hummed out, looking at her fingers to count how long. “About two hours.”

“That is so long,” Annette complained.

“It’s alright,” Mercedes smiled. “We can always do something while we wait.”

“Yes,” Ingrid nodded. “We can always train. The stronger we get, the faster we can end this war.”

“We can do something more fun than that,” Annette suggested. “We can go shopping like we originally planned.”

“That sounds lovely,” Mercedes agreed, clapping her hands together. “We still do deserve time to relax.”

“Fine, but not for long,” Ingrid pressured. “We still need to get this out of the oven.”

“Of course!” Mercedes and Annette said in unison.

The three of them gathered a few of their things before walking into town. They stopped into the various shops, grabbing a few things that they wanted. They teased each other on the spoils that they got. Mercedes with her fabrics and sewing needles she was going to use to mend clothes for everyone. Annette with the many plushies she bought for her closest friends. And Ingrid with her new weapons.

“Here,” Ingrid said, handing both of them a knife.

“Ingrid?” Annette asked, biting her lip.

“Ingrid!” Mercedes gasped.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Ingrid reassured them. “An old friend of mine told me about knives and their meanings. He told me about the meaning of knives in the Alliance and how they are a symbol of friendship. So I’m giving you each one.”

“Hehe,” Mercedes laughed, clutching it tightly. “Wouldn’t it be better to give each other white roses instead? They are a sign of friendship.”

“I, uh,” Ingrid mumbled. “Did not think about that.”

“It’s alright. There is a flower shop right over there,” Annette laughed.

Mercedes nodded as Annette dragged them over to the shop. She bought a small bouquet of white roses, giving a few to the other two before leaving.

“Whaaa!” Annette screamed.

“Is everything alright?” Ingrid asked, very concerned.

“It’s been over two hours and we forgot about the cheesecake!” Annette said, rushing towards Garreg Mach.

“Oh!” Ingrid said as she rushed right behind her.

Mercedes chuckled, knowing full well she was not going to run. That was too much work for her to do and she knew that the two of them could handle a fire. Better yet, she knew Ingrid knew how to deal with a fire.

“I’m so sorry Mercie,” Annette apologized profusely, holding up the very burnt cream cheesecake. “I don’t know how this happened!”

“It’s alright,” Mercedes reassured her, walking into the kitchen, smelling the burnt air.

“I’m still willing to eat that,” Ingrid said, taking the pan from Annette. She stabbed a fork into the confection. “Mm, not bad. I can still taste the bitterness of it, but it’s still sweet enough to eat.”

“This reminds me of a basque cheesecake my mother would treat me and my brother,” Mercedes laughed.

“Ah, so it’s still good!” Annette cheered.

“Yes, but I still wouldn’t take Ingrid’s words for it. Her taste buds are still very much different than ours,” Mercedes teased.

“Heh. That’s true,” Annette laughed, taking a fork herself. “Hm, it still does taste good!”

“Right?” Ingrid agreed. “Though we shouldn’t serve this. I don’t think anybody would be too happy.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Mercedes said, looking through the cabinets to see what they had.

“I have picked up a few things, Mercedes,” Ingrid said, handing a baked good to Annette.

“Really?” Mercedes said, looking over to Ingrid.

“Yes,” Ingrid said, holding her basket full of a few goodies. “I got them just in case.”

“How did I not notice that,” Mercedes said, walking over to her friend.

“You are a bit ditzy, so I didn’t expect you to,” Ingrid teased.

Mercedes chuckled as she shuffled through her basket full of ingredients. She smiled as she realized the confection she could do, chocolate chip cookies. While Annette and Ingrid devoured the cheesecake, she quickly made the batter for the cookies. Mercedes was able to make many batches of the cookies before they were able to finish the cheesecake.

“Mm, that smells so good!” Annette chirped, reaching over for a cookie.

“It does!” Ingrid agreed, following suit.

“Thank you!” Mercedes said, taking the last of the cookies out of the oven. “That is the last of them.”

“Hooray!” Ingrid and Annette cheered.

“Well, I better get these wrapped and handed out,” Mercedes said, wrapping the cool cookies up.

“Oh right, I forgot about that,” Annette said.

“Would you like any help handing them out?” Ingrid asked.

“Oh, that’s alright,” Mercedes replied. “I like the long walks around the monastery. It’s very soothing.”

“If you wish,” Ingrid nodded.

Mercedes smiled at them both, waving them goodbye before leaving. She walked around the monastery, handing out the cookies to everyone. Seeing their enlightened faces, was easing the stress off of her shoulders. It was nice to see everyone in good spirits again during this trying time. Just seeing their smiles gave her warmth in her heart.

When she got back to her room, she felt the warmth becoming warmer when she saw her things safe and sound. Her smile grew bigger when she saw that Annette and Ingrid put the white roses she had into a vase on her windowsill with the knife and lion plush toy next to it. Thinking about it, Mercedes was grateful that Annette and Ingrid were in her life and that they still helped her with making the confections with her.

It was a great sense of relief having them both with her during this war.

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

I got to be apart of a lovely Blue Lion's Ladies centric project that was so much fun! This is the piece I made for it! Just little shenanigans with each other. Hope you enjoy!

Also leftovers are currently open! You can your copy here!

[journalsouppe]

UNWOUND FUTURE RAAHHHHHHHH!!! What an AMAZING trilogy conclusion with such a perfect setup for future sequels. I cannot recommend playing Professor Layton enough.

All of the Professor Layton stickers are from @jordydrawsmerch which can be found here and here. Every other sticker is from Daiso!

All the writing is typed below!

Rating: 9.3 Played: Fa 2023 Port: HD mobile (iPad) Favorite? Y Replayable? Y Recommend? Y

Comments:

the way the PM walked T^T

LMFAO STACHENSCARFEN

Layton’s about to be beat up bc of his top hat (skull emoji)

Getting major DGS 2-3 vibes

FAMILY GOON

An arc arcade? You’re speaking my language

I LOVE THE BLOCK HAT PUZZLE PIECES SPELLING LAYTON IN JAPANESE!!!

FLORA STICKER

BABY LAYTON BLUSHING IM SCREAMING

I really love the picture book and its music

THE DEVIL IN THE TOP HAT NOO

Luke always takes the opportunity to roast the Laytonmobile (skull emoji)

THEYRE JUST SHOOTING AT EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING

THE ORIGINS OF LAYTONS HAT IM GONNA CRY T^T

I love that bi Luke has his own puzzle solving sequence

Where the fuck did you take us future Luke

The battle of wits was so fun omg

I cant get over evil Layton

BIG LUKE AND LITTLE LUKE

Omg Hershel in the background

Based p. Layton newspaper conversation

LMFAO Hershel trespassing and Luke stressed

The bee???? T^T

FLORA PUZZLE SOLVED SEQUENCE T^T!!!!

GO OFF FLORA!!!!

Ooo pretty Chinese arc

Hershel i swear

Hmmm young sir… who is big Luke?

NOT AVOGADRO

Did all the scientists piss their pants?

I have a lot of questions

Love the design and music of the pagoda

Where tf did Hershel go (skull emoji)

Omg Luke’s a Sherlock fan

I feel like Layton was replaced with evil Layton

I swear Dimitri had a mustache??

THE BARS

WHERE IS FLORA

DON PAOLO LMAO

THE LUKE MOBING SCENE MAKES ME WANT TO CRY

How many secret hideouts are there T_T

NOOO FLORA

The barkeep is v sketch

Chad laytonmobile

I can see how this game inspired dgs

THE KAZUMA AND CLIVE PARALLELS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY

BEASLY AND PUZZLETTE HOLY SHIT

“That’s funny” :[

Ive been side eyeing some of these designs the past 2 games but yeah bostro’s design is def racist

DON PAOLO TURNIGN EVIL BC OF CLAIRE LOVING HERSHEL LMAO T-T and the running into the river omfg

Working with don paolo has been fun

I DIDNT THINK LAYTON WOULD ACTUALLY CUT THE ROPE

Where did Layton learn all this about Clive??

Summary:

WHAT A PHENOMENAL GAME!!! Truly what a great “conclusion” to the main trilogy. You learn so much about Layton, Luke, flora, and many other characters like don paolo. The ending reveal of Clive was CRAZY. It really reminded me of movies like howls moving castle/the iron giant. I also just love how complex Clive is. He was driven to violence because of how the government treated him and his family, but he never truly wanted to hurt people. He was without any hope and thought mass destruction would finally bring some change to the government, but he also made sure to include Layton in his plans because he so desperately wanted someone to stop him. It’s tragic and terrorism definitely wasn’t the way to go but at least this is a fictional story and that death machine looked kinda sick Ngl. The story of Layton and Claire was also so tragic yet so healing. Layton could finally take off his hat without feeling grief, you never would’ve known he was hurting that much. I loved Claire, she seemed like such an amazing person and I’m glad Layton wasn’t swayed to try to bring her back, although he did falter when he had to say goodbye again. Although I highly enjoyed the game, I am slightly disappointed there was no actual evil Layton. How fun would a game with evil Layton be omg. The whole game constantly caught me by surprise, even by small scenes like Beasly and PUZZLETTE. I’m still a littel confused about the lab experiments with Gumbo and subject 3, I’m not quire sure why they added that plot (and have no resolution) but I liked Gumbo fine. My favorite coin animal will always be hot dog though. I cannot recommend this series enough, I am having the time of my life. I can also see how DGS was heavily inspired by these games and im so glad about it bc dgs was game changing. I can’t believe there was a 26 year wait in between UF and NWOS but im glad to be a Layton fan :’) so fucking glad!!!!

[isan0rt]

Good Lord. Okay. Listen. We all agree that pre-timeskip Houses Dedue is not doing so great in the mental health department. We all agree on that. My guy needs therapy about his survivor's guilt and his PTSD and we're all agreed his self deprecation is Intense but like.

Listen. You can't…address that without also acknowledging he's like that because people have been Fucking Racist To Him Constantly for the Last Four Years of his Goddamn Life. And not like, just ‘microaggressions at the workplace’ racist, though also that too. Like, ‘somebody might fucking murder him’ kind of racist. He's not just insecure or whatever. This man is trying not to get hate-crimed.

It's rational, actually, for Dedue to assume that Any Given Faerghan is gonna be racist to him, because before going to Garreg Mach every given Faerghan except Dimitri HAS BEEN super mega turbo racist to him everywhere he goddamn goes. There's no reason for him to believe his classmates are gonna be different. Like, he doesn't know Mercedes is from the Empire! He has no reason to believe Chivalrous Knight Fanboy Ashe doesn't hate Duscur and everyone from there for regicide. Annette is the only one with a pass and only because Dedue respected Gustave until he went out for cigarettes and never came back, abandoning not only Dimitri but also Dedue in the process. The safest thing is to assume people are gonna come at him hot and preemptively deescalate the situation.

Like, he suffers from the “you can get C and B supports after the time skip” weirdness for sure, but even in his C supports, even if you get them before the skip, he is fully willing to tell Felix where to stick his fucking grapes, and he's willing to tell Ingrid she can be as big of a bitch about it as she wants but he's still going to do his job on the battlefield even if that means keeping her alive. He's consistently assertive of his boundaries with Dimitri in all their supports, including when Dimitri wishes that he did not have a particular boundary (using Dimitri's name and calling each other friends, things it's actually physically not safe for pre timeskip Dedue to do).

Because he is confident Dimitri isn't gonna fucking lose his mind at Dedue about it. He's also confident Felix, Ingrid, and Sylvain won't do a hate crime at him if he's acting in capacity of Dimitri's Vassal because of their fundamental loyalty to Dimitri, so he can safely tell them to shove it also. He tells Gustave he's a disappointment to Gustave’s face in their support!! Dedue isn't just a shrinking violet or whatever, he's just judicious about what shit he's gonna start, and how likely it is that talking shit is gonna get him hit.

(Also, yes he's a quiet guy... But also he's interacting with all these people in his second language, which he has no formal training in and which he learned from Dimitri. He really has to think about what he's going to say before he says anything because there is very little margin for error for him to misspeak without consequences and he knows it.)

Honestly unpopular opinion because like while I'm under no illusions that they did clearly fake out killing him for reasons other than his personal growth, I actually think it was in Dedue's personal best interest that he spent the timeskip in Duscur. This man hates Faerghus, he says that to Dimitri in their supports, but he's been stuck with them and having to just put up with it because he had nowhere else to go (even aside from the fact that Dimitri is literally the only living person in the world who loves him and he's terrified of losing that).

He's very clearly much more self-actualized when he returns, and in a much more relaxed and self-assured emotional place after the timeskip. Probably because he wasn't the one and only Highly Visible Do A Racism Here target and instead was with his own community, where he could actually unpack all that shit safely. Dedue needed that time outside the Racist Aggression Bubble of Faerghus to deal with his survivor's guilt properly.

You really can't address Dedue's self-image issues without also digging into the way dealing with constant racism reinforces those issues. You super cannot. Race and racism and how he deals with it is critical to the character. Is it always handled gracefully by the narrative?? No, absolutely it's not, but it is in fact in the narrative and you HAVE to engage with it if you're going to engage with Why Dedue is Like That.

[artist-issues]

Hello! What is your opinion and analysis of the animated film Anastasia (1997)?

Hello! I hate to disappoint you: I never liked Anastasia. But! To be intensely fair, the last time I watched it was before the Lord got my wheels turning on “critical analysis,” and before my Formal Education.

I remember that the music was enchanting, but the animation left something to be desired. I don’t mean technically—technically the animation is flawless, because it’s Don Bluth. I mean, it was missing a good deal of appeal.

I never feel like Anastasia is actually looking at me. That’s the most visceral way I can put it. I think what I mean is, she’s so technically well animated (and so is her grandmother, and Dimitri) that moments where her facial expression could benefit from extremes or exaggeration to make me connect with her get completely lost. There’s moments like THIS:

Where I should feel the emotion coming through, she’s doing something so girlish and fun and wondrous…I should like her, and feel like I could be standing in her shoes, feeling the same emotion of looking for the magic in her surroundings because it echoes in her memories, etc…. But I don’t feel that way. I know logically that that’s what the filmmakers want me to feel—partly because the music is so good, and partly because of the context—but I don’t feel it.

And I think it’s because Anastasia is standing there with her head tilted back, her chin dawn in perfect perspective, her movements so in-proportion, that that part of my brain that animation is supposed to tap so beautifully into is just…bored. Disconnected. I can’t see her face, I can’t see her emotion, and it doesn’t linger artfully enough for me to connect with it. I mean, contrast it with this moment:

I can see Ariel’s whole face, particularly those windows-to-the-soul we call EYES, and the facial expression, though dramatic, lingers, holds it, draws it out, so that I have time to not only register the emotion but almost savor it?? Feel it myself. If that makes sense. Not to get too dramatic about it. I don’t know if I’m describing it accurately, but that’s my main problem.

I’d have to go back and watch it again to analyze it further, or even more fairly, because like I said, I haven’t seen it since the ol’ brain got quickened. How about this, I promise I’ll rewatch it with an open mind and make a post later!

[crevassier]

Dimitri found himself looking into his bag and grimacing, sighing a bit at the approach of footsteps.

"I know it's you Sylvain," he murmured, taking the helmet off fully and shaking out his hair before turning to face his friend. "Apologies, I don't want to be... I promised your father that I would attempt to be more spirited, but..."

He didn't know how exactly to vocalize his frustrations, glancing about the space surreptitiously. "I knew what the premise of the game was - we were told this - and yet I still cannot...I cannot help but be disappointed."

In whom, he didn't say, merely shaking his head again. "Did you...fare well?"

The first round of their gathering of candy has come and gone, and with it the issue at hand finally made itself known. While most were simply trying to have fun and get some sweet treats for their troubles, others seemed far too keen on using less than honorable means to get a headstart without putting in the effort. The idea itself was already pathetic to begin with, but the fact he had been affected by it only further annoyed the Gautier heir.

So, one of the people he had hung out with was a devil, huh. 

He already had some ideas in mind as to who he could’ve brushed shoulders with deserving of that title, but before he could further think about it a familiar voice in an…uncomfortably familiar scolding tone reached his ears, his heart already skipping a beat to prepare for the lecture. But what he saw was perhaps even worse, because instead of a Dimitri-brand ear pull it was a Dimitri-brand Look of Disappointment, which burned into his psyche far more. “Whoa there, Your Highness! Look, I know my track record’s in the gutter, but I promise you that this time I’m completely innocent.”

Ignoring the uncomfortable sting that came with the distrust of a friend, he shook his head. “I myself got only two candies with me, if anything I was about to start hunting for the culprit. Besides��come on Dimitri, not only my father would have my head if I were to ever do anything that could put you at a disadvantage, but I would never forgive myself for it either. I’d never do this sort of thing with you, because you’re my prince…and one of my only friends.”

“My reputation’s not good at all but…you know what I’m really like, and that I’d rather share with you what I have than to hoard everything like a bear. So, please believe just this once.” Sylvan wasn’t one to beg for others to believe him as more often than not it was lined with lies, but exceptions existed.

“I have some suspicions on my end as to who it could’ve been, at least out of the people I met. We can work together to try to figure something out. What do you say?”

[teaveetamer]

i read through a lot of your analyses and i still can't tell what some of your stances are, but i just wanted to know how much you agree with my own stances on edelgard and dimitri/3H.

3H is obviously not a well thought-out political treatise on the ramifications of war and different styles of political change. it just isn't. it ends far too quickly and is too simplistic to ever be anything similar.

what 3H is incredible at is character writing. this is why i simply don't understand why people "hate" edelgard OR dimitri. neither of these people are saints. they've both done horrific things. but they both portray trauma in such fascinating and complex ways that you rarely see in videogames. the parallels they have and the way they see the world are just so compelling to me that i actually avoid finishing CF/SS/AM because it always leaves me feeling so emotional afterward and sometimes i just want a nice comfort game.

that being said, i do take issue with the way dimitri's arc resolves. i think it's extremely unrealistic how he just "snapped out" of his intense mental problems. as someone who has also struggled with mental health, it's a very slow process and often it feels like one step forward, two steps back. i wish that they had left his recovery a lot more incomplete, or that the game had lasted longer so his recovery felt more organic.

this is why i prefer edelgard purely as a character because i think the way she represses her emotions completely and is slowly corrupted by her inability to trust or love herself is a story that makes a lot more sense to me.

I'm not sure in which respects my stances are unclear, but I'm always happy to clarify if you just ask! Keep in mind that this blog is like three years old at this point so if you go back far enough you'll probably find contradicting things, as my opinions have developed and changed over the years. So if that's the problem just assume the most recent stuff is the most accurate.

I will say that while 3H can have some very good character moments, I also think it's incredibly disappointing in a lot of ways. The plot, writing, and worldbuilding being so messy just doesn't give the characters a good foundation to stand on, so character moments often come across extremely hollow to me.

I could name countless examples but I think the most obvious one that everyone picks up on is Gronder Field. First, we're told that this is extremely sad and difficult for all of the characters involved, despite never or almost never seeing the students from different houses interact with each other at any point during the main story. If you don't recruit then it's entirely possible to go the entire Academy portion of the game without seeing a single cross-house interaction beyond the house leaders.

They all point to the feast they had after the battle of Eagle and Lion in the Academy part, but that happens entirely off screen. It's not even really described beyond "it was fun" and "we were all sitting together". Emblem Claude in Engage gives a better idea of what happened there than 3H ever does. A piece of DLC for a completely different game in the series describes what is supposed to be a key interaction better than the game it was actually from!

And then you actually get there and it's contrived AF. There's literally no reason for the BL and GD to be fighting each other at any point but they all kill each other anyway. There's no fog of war. Characters will even recognize each other before they fight and then continue fighting each other anyways despite having absolutely no reason to?

And then it just ends and we're all told to feel very sad about it, but why should we? It's not earned. These characters don't know each other or care about each other, most of them weren't even on opposite sides. It comes across as feeling dumb and unearned, which makes the characters reacting to it completely 100% straight as if it were this huge but unavoidable tragedy come off as confusing and overwrought.

Edelgard's writing as an entire other can of worms that I've gotten into too many times to count, so I'll try to keep this short.

I'll preface this by saying I don't have a problem with people liking or relating to Edelgard in any way. Also, just because something has problems doesn't mean you can't have found meaning in it. I can tell you really enjoy the character anon, and that's great! I wouldn't want to take that away from you.

Buuuuuut since I'm giving my opinion here... I don't agree with her being a well written depiction of trauma. I feel like, especially now, the fandom tends to engage with the Edelgard we all wanted instead of the one we actually got.

Again I'll use a specific example (well actually two) to illustrate my point.

It's hard to take her trauma seriously when it's immediately undercut by her doodling pictures of her crush, getting embarrassed about it, and getting teased. This happens twice. They do this twice! Once in the explore section immediately after Ladislava and Randolph literally die right in front of her, and once after you could have potentially killed Claude and she's talking about being locked in a fucking dungeon!

Like it blows my mind that more people don't talk about this, especially the latter example. You have just potentially killed someone. She's sitting there. Talking about being locked in a dungeon, tortured, and experimented on. And then your character's reaction is to tease her for doodling a picture of you. And they did this two times, so it's not like it was an accident!

So like how am I supposed to read this, exactly? Either the entire scene is bunk and you're not really meant to take the trauma portion seriously, it's all just a big joke, or... or you're supposed to find teasing someone going through a genuine trauma response endearing and enjoyable..? It's just. I've been looking at this scene and the numerous other Edelgard scenes like it and I just don't get there. I don't understand how to read this in a way that isn't incredibly belittling or sexist or SEVERELY undercutting what should be a serious character moment.

But people want it to be this serious, well-written character moment for her. I don't blame anyone for that, because that's what I would have wanted too! But it's just... it's so crazy disrespectful on every level, to treat a female character's trauma like it's a funny quirk or an opportunity to flirt/tease? I can damn well guarantee that no male character would be treated with that amount of disrespect, and we know that because Dimitri exists and at no point is his trauma ever played for a joke or undercut like this! It's not perfectly written, but it's written with respect to the subject and the character.

There's an absurd degree of sexism baked into the writing of 3H that just doesn't get addressed by the fandom at large, so I kind of find it frustrating.

And worse, sometimes when you try to engage with that and critique it you're shouted down or treated as if you are the problem, like I somehow spoke the sexism of the game into existence just by pointing it out.

I could go on but I'll cut myself off here

[indigowallbreaker]

Dimiashe Week Day 6: Snowed In

My final instalment for this event is also another short one! Enjoy the post-canon snowy time snuggles <3

--

The snow storm that had been predicted to blow itself out by midnight continued into dawn. Instead of getting an early start for his journey back to Castle Fhirdiad, Dimitri stood in the doorway of Ashe’s inn, contemplating the waist-high pile of snow that covered the front walk and beyond. Though he was dressed for travel, a biting wind smacked into him and Dimitri found himself shivering. That did it. Dimitri shut the door and began to take off his outer layers. 

Ashe’s inn was, in a word, cozy. The bottom floor held a welcoming fireplace with several chairs and couches set before it, tilted in a way that encouraged conversation. Tables had been shoved against the wall for the night but Dimitri knew they normally overflowed with good food and drink. A plush rug by the front door instantly warmed any guests seeking shelter from the elements.

Dimitri visited Ashe and this inn as often as he could, for as long as he could. Which never felt like enough. The place just felt like home in a way a drafty castle couldn’t— and Ashe’s love permeated every inch. As annoying as it was to have the weather stall his plans, Dimitri had a hard time pretending to be disappointed at getting to spend more time here. He hung his coat and furs by the door, swiped some snowflakes from his pants, and headed back upstairs. 

It was early. Even Ashe’s head chef was still asleep. All the guest rooms were silent as Dimitri made his way across the creaky floorboards towards the farthest bedroom. He had every intention of waking Ashe to warn him about the storm outside, perhaps offer his help in shoring up the roof or clearing a path towards the main road. 

But then Dimitri opened the door and saw Ashe, and all those thoughts ground to a halt. 

Ashe was curled up on his side nearly exactly as Dimitri had left him. He had pulled the quilt tighter around himself, but his hair was still strewn across the pillow, his mouth was still slack with sleep, and his lax face still caused Dimitri’s heart to clench with affection. Sights like this made Dimitri want to throw away his crown and take up permanent residency in Ashe’s bed. He would give up the whole of Fódlan for Ashe, and he would do it gladly.

Undoing the laces, Dimitri popped his boots off and gingerly climbed back into bed. It was all too easy to slide into place against Ashe’s back. Dimitri wrapped an arm around his torso, burying his face in Ashe’s neck and breathing deep. Any lingering desire to leave the inn vanished as Ashe let out a soft hum. Dimitri slipped a hand under Ashe’s shirt and drew soothing circles on his abdomen.

Ashe relaxed against him even as his eyes opened a sliver. “‘Mitri?” He slurred.

“Mhm.”

“Thought you’d be gone…”

“Snowed in,” Dimitri stated simply, shutting his eyes and hoping that would be answer enough.

Ashe sighed, long and regretful. “I need to check on the roof. Over the kitchen especially. Might be a good idea to start the lounge fire…”  

Dimitri tightened his hold. “Not yet.”

“If I don’t—”

“You have a solid home, beloved.” Dimitri kissed behind Ashe’s ear. “It will hold for an hour or so more.”

Ashe considered these words. Dimitri continued making circles until Ashe locked their ankles together and settled into him once more. “As you wish, your majesty.”

“Ashe—”

“One hour, Dimitri,” Ashe said lightly, a balm to Dimitri’s old pet peeve. He lay a hand over Dimitri’s and laced their fingers together. 

Dimitri grinned against Ashe’s neck. “One hour. I will even stay the day to help with anything you require. If that pleases you.”

This time, Ashe’s sigh was one that caused him to melt further into the bed, submitting himself to Dimitri’s embrace. “It pleases me more than I can say.”

Soon enough, Ashe’s breathing evened out. Dimitri felt sleep tugging him back under as well. His last thoughts were how fortunate it was to rule a land so prone to snow storms.

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

Whumpril 2023 - Day 5

Hmm yes! This is fun, I like exploring Luis!

TWs: heavy gore, burns, knives, use of knives on burns, torture, abuse of power, creepy comfort

Defiance | Dragged | Stifled Scream

Mariano didn't ever think his arms could hurt so much. He'd been given a choice, this time, when Luis had led him to their training room. Which did he value more, his arms or his legs? He'd chosen his legs--escape wouldn't be possible without them. He'd be bed-bound, and have to regain so much more lost muscle, which wasted more time. Luis had praised the practicality of his decision.

He'd promised Mariano he wouldn't touch his legs.

Luis circled him now, fingers tapping along the surface of the blowtorch he carried. Mariano's forehead rested on the metal table his wrists were strapped to, and his knees ached as the dozens of minutes of kneeling on the concrete floor wore on. "Let's see if you've figured it out yet."

It clicked on, the whoosh of the flame setting Mariano's heart racing faster. His breathing picked up speed, coming in shallower, making his spine rise and fall that much quicker as he hunched over the table. He couldn't stop the tension from crawling up his arms as the terrible heat drifted closer to his already-blistering skin.

Luis hummed. Was that a smile that Mariano heard? Something in the note tilted up. Was that what he'd wanted?

Did Luis want him to lose his composure? Did he just want to put him through his paces? Did he want to know if Mariano was too weak? If he couldn't handle some simple pain?

The fire touched Mariano's skin. He shuddered, arms tensing against the leather that held him in place. Even the table between his arms was starting to grow too warm, the sensitive undersides of his arms prickling.

This time when the flame left and Mariano was left shaking against the metal, dragging in deep breaths, Luis stepped away. Where was he going? Was he disappointed? Did Mariano not figure out whatever he was supposed to figure out? Panic began to devour him, starting in his stomach.

A sharp, icy agony ripped through his arms, pulling a closed-mouth scream from his throat. Mariano curled against the table further, his forehead pressing harder into the metal. Luis laughed, soft and warm. "There it is, that's it."

One gentle hand came to rest on Mariano's upper back as Luis' favorite knife dragged along the tops of Mariano's arms again. It crossed along the mess of burns, opening them further. "You figured it out, Marito." Luis' words curled around Mariano like a blanket, reassuring him that this was what his leader wanted from him.

The knife tore through him again, ruining his skin even further. Blood began to drip freely onto the metal. Mariano didn't know when exactly he'd started quietly crying, but Luis seemed to like that too. His head started to spin--from pain? Blood loss? It didn't seem like he'd been bleeding for that long.

He did know that Luis kept telling him he was doing well, though. "Good job, Mariano, brave Marito. You take this as well as Dimitri does." Each one felt like a lifeline, as Luis danced the blade along his skin. "We're almost done, I just need a little more from you."

Mariano shuddered. "I--I can't...I--"

"You can." Luis said, close to his ear. "You've been strong this long. Dig deep. You can be this strong for just a little longer. Imagine that one of us needs you to buy time. We need you to keep their attention."

Mariano nodded, letting out a breaking, muffled scream as the blade pressed in again. He had to gasp to even hope to talk. "Please, it--hurts...!" There was nothing faked about the plea. The hand on Mariano's back never left, even as the knife dug into his arms deeper than it had before. As blood began to pool on the table, the smile never left Luis' voice. Mariano clung to it like the gasps of air he got during water training.

"That was perfect, my brave Marito."

Even when Luis released his wrists and told him that the door was unlocked, Mariano held onto Luis' praise. It got him to his feet and out the door. It got him through finding the first aid kit, and getting their knife and burn training supplies out. Even as he couldn't remember the rest of his day, or some of the next, Mariano remembered Luis telling him that he'd done perfectly.

[just-1other-nerd]

I'm reading The Lives of Saints right now and it was pretty much confirmed in King of Scars and Rule of Wolves that most, if not all Saints of the Grishaverse were Grisha, so now I'll list them and tell you what order I think they were in. Also Spoilers for the Grishaverse

- Sankta Margaretha: Durast because she works with solid materials like metal and gem stones

- Sankta Anastasia: Healer because her blood healing people is pretty obvious

- Sankt Kho: Tailor because he works with solid materials like metal (which is a Durast thing) thing but also with flesh and bones (which is a Corporalki thing especially a Corpse witch thing) and Genya explains at some point in the first book that a Tailors powers are kind of in between those two

- Sankta Neyar: Durast because she is the Saint of the black smiths and made her own sword

- Sankt Juris: a confirmed Etherealnik, his animal is the dragon

- Sankta Vasilka: Fabrikator because she works with threads and colours (btw I'm convinced that Leigh chose this name cause it's got "silk" in it, you know like a pun), her animal is the firebird

- Sankt Nikolai: I acutally have no clue (maybe an Alkemi???) even though it seems like this little boy didn't do the wonder himself he deserves to be a Saint because he is so nice to everyone and wants to share with the people also I think his animal is definitely the reindeer

- Sankta Lizabeta: a confirmed Fabrikator, her animals are the bees (btw I'm disappointed that we didn't get a picture of her like the one described in the Grisha trilogy you know where that bitch is brutally quartered)

- Sankta Maradi: Etherealnik most likely a Squaller

- Sankt Demyan: Fabrikator most likely a Durast

- Sankta Marya: Durast because she manipulates solid materials (rocks)

- Sankt Emerens: no clue (maybe a Fabrikator???), his animals were most likely the rats. Damn he deserved better than drowning in grain because he wanted to do something good like that's such a cruel death and then they didn't even bury him in the cemetery

- Sankt Vladimir: Tidemaker because my boy is holding back the ocean all alone for a whole month

- Sankt Grigori: confirmed Corporalnik Healer, his animal is the bear

- Sankt Valentin: powers no clue, animal is a snake, the book doesn't tell how he became a Saint and I'm curious but it told us a wonder he did just like in the Juris chapter but there the "defeating the dragon made him a Saint" was at least mentioned

- Sankt Petyr: powers no clue, I don't think the demon could be his animal

- Sankta Yeryin: Fabrikator because maybe she used her powers to move millstones to make the flour

- Sankt Feliks: most likely a Materialnik like the monks in the end of RoW, animal is the falcon

- Sankt Lukin: I'd guess Corporalnik because he survives something he shouldn't and because making people sleep before they die is a very heartrender thing

- Sankta Magda: the birth help and the suddenly looks younger part sound Healer-like but the healing potions and elixars and whatever sound more like a Alchemi thing so it's gotta be one of those

- Sankt Egmond: Durast, he works with stone, metal, glass etc can it be more obvious?

- Sankt Ilya: he is Morozova, the Bone Smith, a Fabrikator who used Mezost, even though he created the 3 Amplifiers those never were his animals but Alinas

- Sankta Ursula: Etherealnik, Tidemaker the wave was pretty obvious

- Sankt Mattheus: no clue, he just tamed wolves, so I guess they'd be his animals

- Sankt Dimitri: no clue

- Sankt Gerasim: Fabrikator most likely an Alchemi, because he works with paint and powders

- Sankta Alina: confirmed Sun Summoner, her animals are the stag, the sea whip and Mal I guess

- Starless Saint: confirmed Shadow Summoner

[randomnameless]

Re about Cat :

In Nopes she complains because her dad asks her to lend CoS troops, instead of asking Dimitri or Rhea herself...

But unless Count Charon is as dumb as Leopold, he knows pretty well Cat isn't the one who can lend him Church soldiers.

Of course Fodlan dgaf about non students characters, especially if they are affiliated to the Church, but I wondered, maybe Count Charon didn't want to ask Rhea herself to lend him some troops because he has a strange relationship with her -

Rhea is, after all, the one who welcomed his daughter when she was hunted by the Kingdom and the reason she's alive, Dad!Charon, whatever was his position during the "Cassandra hunt" wasn't the one who protected his daughter, Rhea was.

Maybe he feels already to indebted to her to even ask her, in person, for more soldiers?

As for Dimitri...

I always found it disappointing how both game never explored more Cat's backstory, ffs if Faerghus was "feudal uwu", the Crown (even if it was during Rufus' regency) ordered Cat's death, she was branded a traitor and someone who commited regicide ffs.

What was happening with House Charon at that time, were they happily going to give their daughter to the crown, when Catherine was the presumptive major crested heir, to have her executed? When the entire Kingdom branded her a traitor and had her name besmirched, was House Charon totes okay with, you know, the accusations that their precious heir participated in the plot to kill Lambert?

Lonato throws a fit because Christophe was executed by the Church, but Lonato is only Rowe's bannerman - Charon is one of the major Houses in the Kingdom, wouldn't they have thrown a "larger" fit if the crown wanted to execute their heir??

Or maybe that could fell in the larger "the Kingdom was in chaos" thing - House Charon might have been "this" close to rebel against the Crown ?

In a way, it might explain why Garreg Mach wasn't visited by the Kingdom's forces asking Rhea to hand Cassandra over if the crown's forces had to cross Charon territory to reach Garreg Mach...

So in with this BG, it would make perfect sense why Count Charon wouldn't ask Dimitri for more soldiers (granted we're talking about Church soldiers?) - Charon is still a loyal bannerman who fights for Faerghus, but his trust in the crown would have been severed, and it's up to Dimitri to rebuild that bond.

[lapinbunwrites]

Title: Dedue's Home

Ratings: Gen

Warnings: None

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three House

Relationships: Dedue Molinaro/Ashe Ubert

Characters: Dedue Molinaro, Ashe Ubert

Additional Tags: Fluff, Angst, Post-Canon, Post-Azure Moon | Blue Lion's Route, Azure Moon | Blue Lion's Route, My Version of a QPR

Word Count: 1,497

Ao3 Link

Dedue clutched his bedsheets in his fist as he woke up. It had been a long time since he had seen Ashe; he was a little disappointed that he wasn’t back from Castle Gaspard. He knew it would take a lot of time to get everything in order to give his title to his younger sister, but he didn’t think it would take this long. Nonetheless, Dedue was still heartbroken that he had to face another morning without Ashe.

He let out a sigh as he shuffled out of bed, stretching out his arms and shaking his legs. He didn’t have much of a day today: Dimitri forced him to take the day off. If Dedue had a say in it, he would be working. It wasn’t a great feeling for him, especially with Ashe being gone. He tried not to lament on his thoughts as he figured out how to pass the time. He went through a mental list of chores that needed doing, and the only thing that came to mind was grocery shopping.

Dedue quickly changed into something casual, keeping his blue scarf on, before going to the kitchen. He rustled through cabinets, pantry, and icebox, taking a mental note of everything he needed to buy. Before leaving the kitchen, he grabbed a spare basket and left for the town market.

When he arrived into town, he sighed with relief. There weren’t many people today—he could easily buy what he needed and get back home. One of the most frustrating things about the day was finding a good fish, especially trying to find some at a good price.

“Oh,” Dedue said softly, bumping into someone walking towards another merchant.

When he looked down to see who it was, he was shocked. It was Ashe. A smile slowly started to take place on his face. It was short lived; he soon repressed his smile when he realized that Ashe was truly back. Dedue felt his heart sink. Ashe wasn’t supposed to be back yet.

“I’m sorry, Ashe,” Dedue said, coldly.

“Hello, Dedue! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Ashe said cheerfully. His expression slowly changed when he saw Dedue’s face. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“It’s nice to see you back in Fhirdiad,” Dedue nodded, deadpan. “Did everything back in Gaspard territory go well?”

“Not as well I was hoping,” Ashe sighed, looking intently at Dedue’s face.

“How so?” Dedue asked as he began to walk.

“The amount of paperwork that I was given to change successors was absurd,” Ashe said, walking along with him. “With all the bickering between the other nobles, employees, and my siblings, it became exhausting. We were stuck at a standstill for weeks. I just wish my sister could take over—she’s better equipped for this than I will ever be.”

“I can see how that would be frustrating,” Dedue said plainly.

“I don’t want to bore you with the specifics,” Ashe said, quickly changing the subject. “How are you feeling?”

“I am fine,” Dedue lied, his voice growing lower.

Ashe sighed, stopping him so he could look at his boyfriend. “Dedue,” he said softly.

“Hm?” Dedue asked, stopping in his tracks.

“I know you’re lying,” Ashe scowled, putting his hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

“Ashe, I am fine,” Dedue reassured him, deciding to walk to another vendor.

Ashe sighed and didn’t press further, only following him.

Their walk was quiet, only speaking to merchants when needed. It felt odd to Dedue that Ashe was back. Maybe it was because Ashe had never told him he was going to arrive back in Fhirdiad. Maybe it was because he never received any word from him in the past couple of months. He couldn’t figure it out, but that didn’t stop the betrayal and pain that were stirring inside of him.

“So,” Ashe murmured out. “What are you planning on making with everything?”

“Sweet and salty whitefish sauté,” Dedue said as he picked up some tomatoes. He looked over at Ashe’s face and tried to repress his smile at how cute he was. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay mad at him. “I thought it would be nice to eat today.”

“Really?! I’m so happy I was able to make it here just in time to eat it,” Ashe said, his smile broadening. “Let’s see what we have. We have tomatoes, salt, some spices, hmm…”

Dedue said nothing as Ashe mumbled to himself.

“Oh! We need the whitefish!” Ashe said, snapping his fingers. “I know the perfect person to get fresh fish for a really good price!”

Dedue frowned as Ashe began to walk away.

“Dedue?” Ashe asked, seeing Dedue’s expression. He held his hand out towards him. “Are you coming?”

“Yes,” Dedue replied, taking his hand.

Dedue followed Ashe through town, realizing that Ashe’s perfect fish vendor was Anna. He perused her selection and Ashe was right: all of them were recently caught, and the price wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great.

“That’ll be 200 gold for those whitefish,” Anna laughed.

“That’s a lot of money for two fish,” Dedue said, furrowing his brow.

“Not for whitefish it isn’t,” Anna told him, her gaze sharpening and her smirk growing bigger.

“I have to disagree,” Ashe chimed in. “These are common fish around here so it doesn’t cost a fortune.”

“Maybe, but not for fresh whitefish,” Anna said, her voice becoming harder.

Dedue stayed out of the conversation and listened to the two bicker about prices. It was terrifying when he heard Ashe’s and Anna’s words exchanged. He was in awe of Ashe’s ability to cut the price of the fish down to something reasonable. How Ashe was able to haggle anyone, Anna no less, was a mystery to him. Not that he minded too much—he got good prices on food.

“Ugh,” Anna sighed, dejectedly. “You really drive a hard bargain, kid.”

“Heh,” Ashe smiled and laughed as Anna wrapped up the fish. “I just know how the game works.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Anna groaned, handing Ashe the parcel. “I hope you enjoy your fish.”

Dedue smiled as he took the fish from Ashe and placed it into the basket.

“Well, now that we have everything, we can go back to Fhirdiad castle and make the food!” Ashe exclaimed, setting off in the direction of their home.

Dedue nodded as he followed. He felt his stomach churn as they walked. He didn't know if Ashe had picked up on his feelings, or if he was ignoring it. Either way, he was still upset, though he made sure his emotions never crossed his face.

As soon as they returned to the castle, they headed straight to the kitchen. Nothing much was said between the two when they cooked. Dedue began fileting the fish as Ashe was preparing the tomatoes.

“Dedue,” Ashe softly murmured as he placed down his knife.

“Hm?” Dedue asked, coating the fish in a spice rub.

“I know something has been bugging you, and I don’t know what,” Ashe said, looking up at him. “I didn’t tell you I was coming back today because I wanted to surprise you.”

“You know I don’t like any kind of surprises,” Dedue reminded him as he coated the fish in his spice rub.

“I know,” Ashe sighed.

“Truthfully, I feel a little neglected,” Dedue added, placing the cut up fish onto a baking pan.

“I am truly sorry that I made you feel like that,” Ashe sighed out, placing his hands on Dedue’s arms to make him stop cooking. He tenderly squeezed Dedue’s arm as he moved closer to him. “I never meant to do that to you. I wanted to surprise you so I could see your lovely smile. I’m sorry, I should have sent you a letter saying that I was coming home early.”

“It would have been nice to see you home, cooking breakfast in the morning after these past couple of weeks,” Dedue reminisced, looking at Ashe’s face. “Even getting one letter from you would have been nice.”

“I’m sorry, Dedue.” Ashe’s face dulled.

“Ashe, I’m sorry,” Dedue apologized. “I didn’t mean to make things strange between us. I wanted to see you and I made it awkward.”

“It’s alright,” Ashe laughed a little. “I should have communicated with you about this. But nonetheless, I’m happy to be home.”

“As am I,” Dedue smiled.

“So, can I have my trademark Dedue bear ‘welcome home’ hug?” Ashe laughed.

Dedue smiled, wrapping his arms around Ashe’s body and feeling his warmth. “Now, let’s get back to making dinner.”

“Of course,” Ashe agreed.

At the end of the night, after they had finished dinner, they cuddled up into bed with each other. Dedue gave a big smile, his heart becoming warmer, when Ashe latched his arms around Dedue’s waist. He let out a little sigh of relief before drifting off into his own slumber. He was truly happy that Ashe was home.

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

I can now finally post this up! I got to write a piece for @asheduecookbook a little bit ago and I wrote about a little domestic life between Ashe and Dedue. Yet another ship of mine that falls under being a QPR for me. I have many, and one of them is AsheDue.