#feel free to wallop me if it doesn't

[kaizsche]

You are such an incredible writer, but you’re also an amazing gif maker! So, what’s your favourite gif set that you’ve made this year? Also, what is the fic that you’re most excited to write in the new year? Thanks for being such an incredible friend Kai 🥰

(literally me seeing your ask and am i copying q's answer to her own ask? the answer is yaaaaaaaaas.)

i don't really see myself as an AMAZING gif maker and an INCREDIBLE writer so to hear all these compliments from you is just straight up melting my goddamn heart vis. *teary-eyed emoji cos im in pc*

so to ask your... well... ask, i haven't been kind of productive this year, both in writing and editing stuff so i can't say i have a wide selection to choose from, but here's my ultimate fav gifset. like fr.

which predictably is a gifset from your fic which i've gotten so much interaction on and just having you message me about this was just... it honestly made me cry so yeah...

the freaking 'i know you have a lot of fic planned this year' just cracked me tf up. like... you and q know i go all ramble kai on anything resembling my fic ideas so you know what i already have in store next year...

first off, i am sooo excited to finally enter the spuffy writing fandom so there's that. i already have like 20+ spuffy wips in my docs rn but the most excited i am for next year are these two, i think: (and i'll be letting y'all take a lil peek of them)

sun and moon

“Who are you?” The Slayer demanded. Buffy could hear the restless fear simulating his heart and the cautious steps he took to back away from her. Smart Slayer. So he has honed his skills then? Knew she was different from the other vampires he dealt around the small town. Buffy grinned wickedly. It’ll be fun to dance with this one. “I kill your kind for sport, Slayer.” She let her words stew in the air, watched him put the pieces together—inch by agonizing inch.

spuffy dark fic (warning has possible incest!)

Joyce's heart stopped completely. Because standing at the door, a boy, her son she hadn't seen in years stood before her. Joyce had wanted to believe he changed—hair longer and tied at the back of his neck, still dressed in his boarding school's uniform but a few sizes bigger than she had first seen him—it was his eyes that gave him away.  It was cold and unfeeling. He regarded her as if she wasn't his mother, as if she was nothing to him at all. "Joyce."  "William—" She watched his gaze snap over her shoulder and at once, the piercing cold melted into warm fondness as did the trembling tension in his body. "Hello, cutie." "Will!"  Buffy barrelled past her, leaping in his arms and she wasn't afraid, she trusted him to catch her. William staggered a few feet back from the impact, wrapping one arm across her waist and the other held her bottom to prevent her from falling. "You're here. You're really here."  William held Joyce's gaze, a muscle in his jaw twitching as if to dare her to scold him—to remove him once more out of his Buffy's life.  "Never gonna happen, love. I'll be here forever. I promise."  Buffy sighed happily, enjoying the feel of his warmth, his hands on her. Joyce sighed in resignation, turning away from the challenge in his eyes.  "It's cold outside. Come in." At this, William grinned. "Thanks, mum."

last but not least, how could i forget tvd?

take my breath rewrite (kolena + klena) i mean how can i ever resist kolena theyre like my main otp. i go batshit crazy for them.

Elena gravitates towards the lake, stares at her reflection in the water. Hates her face and her blood more than she realizes. She loved her face and her body once upon a time. Now, all it ever does is haunt her every step and shadow surrounded by men who knew every crevice of her body. They knew her better than she ever did. (It is the face that launched a thousand year curse, damning the girls that carried it. Reduced to nothing but objects in a man’s eyes. Katherine was right. I am always right. She hears her taunting giggle and sees her twin’s knowing smirk. I told you so. Nothing could ever bring more joy to her evil doppelganger than proving that she was right.)

kolena roommates au (this was actually inspired by a spuffy fic i read LOL)

"Okay, 20 questions." "Go." "Who's your favorite?" "Favorite who?" Kol groaned. "Favorite Mikaelson sibling," and looked at her bashfully, like he was expecting her to… say his name? "Rebekah." He yelled out an indignant cry, "What a load of bollocks! You're telling me, after everything we've been through, I'm still—" "You are a favorite," She cut him off.  "Really?" He gaped at her, astonished.  "My least favorite." She bit hard on her tongue, seeing the sheer disappointment and anguish encroaching on his face. And somehow, his voice had gotten louder, belting out at a higher register than Mariah Carey. "I rank lower than even bloody Niklaus?!"

i do hope to be as productive as i was in 2022 when it comes to publishing fics cause i'll really wither and die if i don't manage to publish these four.

special fic mentions:

the song of wandering aengus

banish air from air

only, helen (tentative title)

and from your lips she drew the hallelujah

& special user mentions for just being there for me (listening, suggesting, reading) when i was going batshit crazy over my fic ideas. you're all wonderful ppl and i'm glad to have you in my life <3

@katherineholmes @qvnthesia @finnismyoriginalsin

thank you so much for this ask, vis <3 love ya 5ever

[movedraptor5913]

To throw my hat in the ring for anyone who wants tips on Mirror Dungeon 2 Hard Mode, this is what I've got. It's mostly anecdotal, so take it as you will:

Starter Buffs

Technically unnecessary, but in the way that airbags are "technically unnecessary" for a car to run. It'll go fine for a while, but you won't like it when something hits you.

Your mileage may vary on what to pick up in terms of buffs, but you will want buffs. My first two runs in Hard Mode were with +3 offense and +2 defense, since I wanted to maximize my clash power. Second run also had +1 max speed, which was nice to have, but it wasn't game changing from what I've noticed.

Starters

In both runs I've done so far, I used Rabbit Heathcliff, Tingtang Gang Leader Hong Lu, LCCB Ishmael, L Corp Faust and Rosespanner Meursault.

Rabbit Heath is just good, period. Tingtang HL is good at mopping up low health enemies and can clash with Shank (or Mutilate, in a pinch). L Corp Faust is a glass cannon that can clash well enough with Deep Cuts and Opportunistic Slash, though not as well as the other Sinners. LCCB Ish and Rose Salt can both clash well. Ish can inflict a few different useful debuffs, although you might need EGO gifts to get better mileage out of them. The weakest link of this bunch is definitely Meursault, but both he and Ish share the job of "getting punched in the gut and not folding in half".

You're gonna want to bring a unit or two that can tank, which most versions of Meursault can do well enough. You *will not* be able to win every clash, so you might as well have someone who can brace for the hit with Guard or Protection. Dodge still does well, but some enemies later on can attack higher than your dodge can cover. Best you can hope for is dodging most of a multi-coin attack in these cases.

Try to make sure your units are at least lvl 30 T3 before taking them in. Offense/Defense Level affects clash power, remember.

(Partly because I don't have the starting Cost boost and partly due to personal preference, I don't like running N Sinclair in the Mirror Dungeon. N Sinclair doesn't feel suited for the environment's sanity retention mechanic. That being said, a lot of people use him here anyway because he hits like a train.)

EGO

Having a wider variety of options for big hits will serve you well in not stressing over which big hit to use resources for. You'll also want to use them with discretion during standard fights, so you don't have to worry about having resources in fights you need them for.

Bodysack and Land of Illusion serve their usual roles as cheap big hit and good AoE respectively. Snagharpoon was useful for its different targeting priority in normal fights, which let me take some pressure off of units that would've been hit unopposed otherwise. Chains of Others and Representation Emitter were my panic buttons. If something was hitting too hard, I'd use Chains. If I lacked SP for clashing, I used Emitter.

The EGOs I've ended up using the most besides base ones were Roseate Desire (Hong Lu T2), Legerdemain (Gregor T3), Screwloose Wallop (Meursault T2), and Hex Nail (Faust T3). Ardor Blossom Star, Fluid Sac and Pursuance were also equipped, but they didn't see use in any meaningful capacity. Run one did also feature a fair bit of Sunshower (Outis T3) after she joined as my seventh member.

Pickup Characters

0 and 00 characters are free, so you're gonna learn to use them. Even if you don't care about anyone besides your core team, pick up some freebies for support passives.

Run one had a good start in terms of Cost, so I was able to pick up G Corp Gregor and Seven Outis early on. I didn't think to pick up any other characters until Floor 5, where I picked up base Rodion, Mariachi Sinclair and Seven Yi Sang.

Run two started with Faust and Meursault almost biting it at the end of the Floor 1 boss fight, so I picked up Mariachi Sinclair, Seven Yi Sang and Rosespanner Gregor for the team. Support from the other Sinners came later on, but Yi Sang and Meursault traded places on the team depending on the need until Meursault got healed. (In retrospect, why did I put El Jefe on my team? I didn't even remember he had Sinking at the time)

EGO Gifts

Your run's success wont hinge on getting the best EGO gifts but making the best of the options you're presented with.

You'll want to cover three bases: healing, EGO generation and damage. The specifics don't matter quite as much but try to shore up where your team feels like it's lacking, if possible. Just be smart about how you spend your Cost. A rest and a gift can be equally important.

That being said, Nebulizer has been shockingly useful for me. 4 turns/uses of crit chance on units that hit like trucks but otherwise have no crits can be quite nice if it activates. Phlebotomy Pack and Homeward have also been nice pickups when they appeared.

Some Strats I Have

Play smarter than Win Rate. It's utterly useless in focus fights and only helpful as a guide in harder normal fights. If you've played for a while, this isn't a new idea.

2. A lot of your clashes will be Neutral or worse. There are two things I look for in these: "Is my best roll worse than their best roll?" and "Is their worst roll worse than my one coin?"

If your best attack roll is worse than their best attack roll, it might be worth it to use a defense skill instead. This is especially so in human fights, as losing the clash will give the enemy higher SP, which makes further clashes riskier. Alternatively, use an EGO, if you feel it's necessary to.

Related to the above, EGOs can still lose clashes and there's not much that can be done about your odds in these situations, so keep your sanity high (or low, if you like to live dangerously) and hope for the best.

If your one coin on a multi-coin skill is better than their worst roll, it might be worthwhile to go through with the clash. This is especially true in Abnormality fights, where it's a flat 50/50 for each coin they have. (If your skill only has one coin to begin with, see the first bullet point.)

3. You can use unit speed to delay clashed attacks in focused battles. If you have multiple units that can redirect an attack and the slower unit doesn't have worse success chance, you can use the slower unit to clash to get free damage in early and potentially stagger the enemy before the clash happens.

4. If you don't like how a fight is turning out, you can withdraw from the fight before the result shows up to act like that fight didn't happen.

How my runs went

Run one had two speed bumps: Fairy Gentleman and Kromer. Fairy Gentleman took a while to fight because I didn't know the fight's mechanics. The two previous times I've fought him in normal conditions, I steamrolled him before any effects could really build up. I still don't know how he works besides "don't get everyone boosted" because he gets a clash buff against units who have morale boost.

The final fight with Kromer on the other hand, was resolved by dumping EGO into every clash I wasn't confident in. I had picked up Rusty Coin earlier on Floor 5, so while both fights took 7 turns, Kromer's took far less brainpower.

Run two was a bit more scuffed with some unlucky RNG early on that I decided to just work through instead of trying to min-max. Besides my questionable decision to bring El Jefe as my 6, the run wasn't very eventful. Floor 4 was So That No One Will Cry and Floor 5 was Shock Centipede. The talisman doll wasn't an issue because I didn't run enough debuffs I cared about for the debuff sharing to be an issue. The centipede was just calculated risk with clashes while keeping sanity up. As long as you have good sanity, you're more likely to succeed on EGO clashes. Pair this with the clash delay tactic and life gets easier.

Anyway, thanks for reading if you made it this far. I've had a good time with MD2 Hard Mode so far. I keep hearing how bad the fish and the statue are to fight, so I'm hoping I can encounter them on my next run to see how well my team holds up.

[littlechaosgremlin]

At Another Place In Time You Were Infinitely Mine

In which Buck’s coma dream bleeds into his regular dreams, he wishes that it was his reality, and Eddie can’t forget the feeling of Buck’s ribs breaking beneath his hands. *Canon divergent after the lightning strike*

Buck/Eddie. Alternating POV. Currently rated M

"Why do we keep coming back to this?" Eddie grumbled, finally giving into the urge to cross his arms. Frank shrugged lightly. "It wasn't me who came back to this. You mentioned nightmares, I asked what they were about, you said they were about Buck, so I asked what about these dreams is so distressing that you've been unable to use the coping skills you've learned." Eddie glared at a streak on the window across the room. He waffled between answering Frank's question or just pivoting to something else entirely. As tempting as the latter option was, Eddie was pretty sure he was running out of 'get out of jail free' cards for that kind of thing. "I don't know why I can't use those same skills. It's just…it's Buck! Isn't it weird to use coping skills I needed from literal war for my…for my best friend?"  "Trauma is trauma, Eddie," Frank said simply. "The brain truly doesn't know the difference between traumas. All it knows is that something triggered it to fall out of homeostasis so drastically that the lizard brain needed to take over. Be it war, or watching a friend die in front of you. Sure, the things that you need to re-regulate might be different, but it's worth trying a familiar starting point." Eddie flinched at a friend dying in front of you. Frank quirked an eyebrow and continued, "So what do you think you need in those moments? Breathing? Grounding? Distractions?"  The realization walloped Eddie directly in the chest when he thought about what Frank said for just a moment. He groaned and let his head drop to the back of the couch, his glare shifting to the ceiling. Frank waited him out until he finally said in a small voice, "in those moments…I just need him." For some reason the revelation felt equal parts like a star bursting behind his ribs and a damnation at the same time. Naturally, a panic attack had to follow.

Chapter 7 is live now! Read here.

I am honestly living for all of the comments just begging Buck and Eddie to communicate. We'll get there folks! Just a little more pining...

[rimouskis]

on a today's episode of "guess which DVD collection was on the bottom shelf at the book exchange store"...

jokes aside, I had a fantastically productive afternoon wherein I completed 6 different runabout chores in 3 hours. I also cleaned my bathroom when I returned home because my restlessness had not settled. I'm about to go update my budget after said runabout chores and then I have to set up the jumbo calendar I have for the month and then ideally work more on storybuilding that I was doing last night.

I've had such a.............. winter. Such A Winter. I am at historic adult levels of discontent (not as bad as The College Badness, thank god) and I've been very blegh this last half-year. I wonder if I sort of thought this into existence because I kept thinking often during the summer that this winter was going to wallop me in a way winters usually don't, so big thanks to Apollo for the limited gift of prophecy he offered me to try and prepare for this dark season.

I was musing the other night about how my income has changed very dramatically and how weirdly it doesn't feel like my life is all that different? I think that's part pandemic-shattering-what-my-life-was-before and part lifestyle inflation. I can control the second part so I'd like to keep a tighter fist on my purse strings. the good news is I literally have nowhere to put new decor so hopefully that stops my inability to walk past new knickknacks and go OOO what if I had that and how would it weirdly improve my life

okay time to go see if the washer and dryer are free, then it's Budget Time. sigh sigh sigh when will my season of discontent end

[cmchill]

1.

Navani. I'll be anxious and stressed for a bit at first, but I'll settle down and get to work on things or think and plan or try to talk to the guards and just do something productive to get my mind off things.

2.

Tress. Don't like it, will strenuously avoid it and try all other routes, but if I MUST punch someone in the face or wallop them with magic... They will reluctantly but determinedly go down.

3.

... Gonna have to be closer to Tress again, though realistically I'm not near as much a leader or pivotal point. I stick more to the background naturally but try to reach out a little and befriend everyone I reasonably can with my social skill level and vibes and context. Merasi??? Feel free to suggest characters that might work

4.

Rock. No further comment

5.

No irl corollary, but Siri's experience just seems much more like me and my vibes. Finding a friend in those others might not, and also just positive outcomes since I've had a pretty lucky life ig

6

Sazed. I WON'T generally read at parties because I need to pay attention and fulfill my social obligations and show care for people, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't ENJOY doing that. And if I'm with people I'm comfortable with and it's a low-key moment, I might totally pull out my scrolls. Also do a lot of it in my limited free time.

7.

Merasi. Usually do due diligence carefully, can be nervous about prepping sufficiently or not, but also sometimes wing it when I feel like it, and will jump into something unexpected and adapt with only a little hesitation when called on.

8.

Lift.

(Which does NOT mean letting those who don't SHOW sorry just have ongoing chances, or that you instantly get all trust back regarding the mess-up area, but yeah)

9.

Navani

10.

Vin

@round-hatches-are-terrifying check this out! Takes a bit but it's fun

Cosmere Characterization Scales

...I don't know how to title this. I think if you read the post, it will (hopefully) make sense!

[Spoilers throughout, but major spoilers for for Mistborn Era 1 and Stormlight, especially Oathbringer!]

1. On a scale from Kaladin to Adolin, how well are you handling prison?

Are you curled up into a small ball forgetting what light looks like or are you wearing cologne and chatting with your girlfriend?

2. On a scale from Lirin to the Blackthorn, how ready are you to use violence as your solution?

Are you a super pacifist or do you only feel alive when you're killing people?

3. On a scale from Szeth to Tress, how easily do you make friends?

Are you unaware of what this "friend" concept might be, or did you just accidentally a unionize a whole pirate ship just by being yourself?

4. On a scale from Charlie's dad to Rock, how supportive are you of your child choosing their own path in life?

You could fully support their choices even if they go against centuries of tradition...or you could ship them off to a Sorceress to die.

5. On a scale from Evi to Siri, how well did your arranged marriage to the world's scariest guy go?

On the one hand, he might be a total sweetheart with whom you read books and order late-night feasts. Or he might burn you alive.

6. On a scale from Elend to Sadeas, how much do you enjoy reading?

Are you reading at parties? Or does reading threaten to bring down your whole patriarchal social order?

7. On a scale from Wayne to Steris, how meticulously have you planned out your next move?

Are you gonna grab a hat and just see where that takes you, or is "what if" document approximately seventy-pages long?

8. One a scale from Lift to Lezian, how easily do you forgive?

Are you hugging the cop who's been hunting you to give him a change of heart, or have you devoted your whole self to killing the guy who killed you no matter the cost?

9. On a scale from Moash to Sigzil, how appropriate would Kaladin find your dramatic Bridge 4 salute?

Have you just killed a man in the middle of giving oaths while Kaladin screams, or are you fighting to save a city from extinction and remembering who you once were?

10. On a scale from Kelsier to Vin, how gracefully are you accepting your own death?

Like, are you peacefully going to be with your dead husband or are you clinging to life by your bleeding fingernails and punching god in the face?

[ace-oreos]

Headcanons for vortex?!!!! Pls!!!

ANON I am beyond excited to do this 😁 but for the sake of everyone following this blog this will be an exercise in self-restraint I promise

but what if my fingers were crossed

A Non-exhaustive Completely Unorganized Questionably Moral Conglomeration of Headcanons For Vortex

designation is Alpha-71 because I think I'm funny for having it mirror Alpha-17's

shy. shy boy. part of it is general wariness towards everyone due to his experience on Kamino (more on that later) and part of it is just his nature.

to go along with that I've started headcanoning that his voice is... surprisingly soft?? sort of a quiet, flat voice with hints of Concord Dawn underneath

but when he was a cadet Vortex 100% had a Zuko rasp and you cannot take that away from me

also, he prowls. He's very light on his feet for an Alpha ARC and he walks like a cat - wound up tension, ready to react at a moment's notice

super ticklish on his sides especially

it's ✨ Kamino time ✨

I am a horrible person

aNyWaYs

Vortex was born (or decanted, whichever you prefer) blind in his left eye

so the Kaminoans being the Kaminoans thought this was not so good but instead of terminating him they opted to use him for experimentation under the guise of studying possible genetic aberrations that could appear in later batches

so he was isolated for a lot of his childhood

some of the experimentation was for the aforementioned reason but a good portion of it was mental experimentation as well

I need to work on specifics but in short Vortex had a rough time as a cadet

one of the most distinct scars from his childhood is a jagged spiral shape just above his heart

he painted the spiral in the same spot on his armor after he left Kamino

he has a black and gold armor scheme - black for justice, gold for vengeance according to Mandalorian culture

to make up for his impaired vision he has a system set up in his helmet that essentially gives an audio cue when there's an enemy/life form approaching on his blind side

when he doesn't have his helmet on, he tends to angle his head to the left

sleeps with his good eye up unless around someone he trusts completely

he and Alpha-17 are ride or die. bffs. will wallop each other with pillows but murder for each other the next moment

uhhh they met on Kamino and uhh,, probably got assigned to overlapping missions at some time later on? I need to work on how/why Vortex trusts him so deeply but he does and Alpha is one of the few people Vortex will let his guard down with

personality-wise, Vortex is much more gentle and good-natured than people expect. A lot of his volatility comes from his time on Kamino

on the off chance he has the opportunity to get a full night's sleep it generally doesn't happen. he has a lot of nightmares about Kamino

on a lighter note, he will find a warm spot to take a nap. he's a cat.

curls up in a ball when he sleeps

specializes in covert operations and is generally deployed as an assassin

knife boi. he likes his knife.

there's a good chance that 90% of his conversations with Alpha are conducted in Mando'a. even though he was routinely pulled out of training by Kaminoans for whatever new game they'd invented he still picked up a lot of it from Jango/the other Alpha ARCs

I have a few post-Order 66 ideas for him floating around but that should probably be a separate post which I am more than willing to make if anyone is interested 👀 at least one of them is a happy ending

I love Vortex a lot for the complexity of his character (which I know I didn't talk a whole lot about here) so if anyone has questions about him PLEASE feel free to send them I am more than willing to answer them!

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Lain His Hands On Her

Summary: Written for Banned Together Bingo. Set after RttE. When a confrontation between Astrid and Spitelout turns physical, the Riders are left shaken and Hiccup is furious.

Rating: Teen and Up

Characters: Astrid, Hiccup, Spitelout, Toothless, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Words: 1 432

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Abuse of women”

Whumpee: Astrid

Author’s Notes: I had a lot of fun with this one, mainly because angry Hiccup is fun to write. And then the tending to later is also really fun.

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

Ao3

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

The sound of the back of Spitelout's hand making contact with Astrid's cheek rings out loud and clear in the Great Hall. Those present fall silent and stare in utter shock at what has just happened in front of their very eyes.

Astrid is on the floor, holding her cheek and staring up at the man who hit her. All she can do is stare, much too perplexed as she reels with the reality that someone, a man, Snotlout's father, has just hit her.

And for what? Because she made a couple of snide comments about his parenting?

Well, she's right, isn't she?

"Spitelout!" Astrid wishes she could react with that kind of anger, but it's Hiccup who gets in the man's face and gives him a wallop of a punch with his left, further surprising everyone present in the hall. After breaking free from the utter shock of watching the love of his life be hurt, that is his immediate response.

This time Spitelout is the one to stumble to the floor with a grunt, knocking over some chairs as the heir of Berk did not hold back in that blow.

"You son of a-"

"Hiccup, no!" Fishlegs is quick to hold him back, hooking his arms under his friend's and using his quite formidable strength to hold him back.

All the Riders are here and so is Toothless, who is by Astrid and growling at the Jorgenson patriarch. He shares his human's anger.

Snotlout is silent, seemingly not with them as he stares right through them all in disbelieve. Ruffnut and Tuffnut each stand by a side of his, laying their hands on him in comfort.

"Let me go, Fishlegs!" Hiccup attempts to struggle out of Fishlegs' grip, but it remains strong.

Spitelout gets up to his feet and scowls at the party of seven before him. The other Berkians present in the Hall, they stare silently, but they are unimportant to him at the moment.

As he dusts himself off, his eyes briefly lay on the reeling Astrid before going to Hiccup's, who shares his look of anger.

"Standing up for your woman, can't say I can disrespect that, but when a man disciplines a woman-" Spitelout approaches with a finger raised and Fishlegs looks uncertain, his grip on Hiccup lessening slightly.

"Disciplines-?! Do you even hear yourself, Spitelout?! You lay your hands on her again and I'll-" And Hiccup grabs him by his shirt before Fishlegs manages to tear him away from their elder.

"And you'll do what, Boy-o? Punch me in the face some more? If it's a fight you're looking for, you'll get it!" Spitelout shouts in his face, standing just inches away from him, close enough for Hiccup to nearly feel the spit from his talking on his face.

Fishlegs' hold on Hiccup tightens some more and he attempts to pull him away.

"Fishlegs, stop getting involved!"

"Dad," Snotlout's voice is soft as he forcibly tears himself out of his shock. He doesn't want them to fight, he doesn't like to see Hiccup that angry, he hates that Astrid got hurt. She's so proud and that is so demeaning.

But when his father gives him that look, he grows silent again and Ruff and Tuff hold him closer.

Spitelout scoffs at the sight he thinks pathetic and waves dismissively before turning and leaving. He stomps towards the door, not in the least bit ashamed of what he's done, he returns home.

Blood still boiling, Hiccup shouts and kicks a nearby table leg, the table audibly grinding on the stone floor.

How dare he hurt someone like that! Hurt Astrid like that! How dare he? How dare he?!

"Hiccup, it's okay! He's gone and Astrid's with us!" Fishlegs attempts to console him, but they all can see the red mark on her face and that just does not sit well with any of them.

Picking up her axe, her dignity trampled upon, Astrid gets up and leaves.

"Astrid!" Wriggling himself out of Fishlegs' hold, Hiccup runs after her. Toothless quickly follows.

Snotlout is left to stand there, remaining with Fishlegs and the twins.

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

Not long after, both out of their armor, Hiccup and Astrid sit at the former's home. Stoick isn't there yet, so they have some time to themselves.

Toothless is here, too, and sniffing Astrid's cheek. She gives him a smile and scratches him behind the ear.

A red welt has formed on her skin and Hiccup has crushed some ice with a hammer and gathered it in a cloth to press against it.

It was nice to hammer away at the block, it was good for venting. Astrid got her turn to crush it, too.

Holding the pack with ice, he's not pressing too hard, or so he hopes, and his other hand holds her jawline.

They've been mostly silent, neither really feeling like talking much with what has happened. Astrid has been petting Toothless.

"I'm so sorry for what he did." Hiccup apologizes, though he shouldn't be the one to.

"You shouldn't be, Spitelout's the one with the temper." Astrid reminds him and Hiccup wonders how that is supposed to make him feel better. Whether as the Chief's son and heir, as leader of the Dragon Riders, as her friend, or as her future husband, it doesn't matter. What matters is that it's his duty to keep everyone safe and that absolutely includes her.

So he sighs and continues to tend to her cheek, lifting the pack briefly to take a look. Spitelout isn't a weak man and Astrid's cheek is going to bruise. Hiccup's scowl deepens.

"Hey, don't."

"Don't what?"

"Let it eat you up. We both know Spitelout is a horrible man, pretty sure most of Berk knows by now." Astrid tells him and places a hand on one of his.

"Dad and I never should've let his behavior come this far." Hiccup tells her, briefly lifting the ice off her reddened cheek to take another look. Underneath all that red, it's already blue.

A light growling leaves him and Astrid replaces his hand.

"Spitelout doesn't even listen to your dad, what makes you think you could've done anything to change him or kept this from happening?" She asks and it's a valid point. They know that he has hurt his own son before, for Odin's sake. Of course, he wouldn't have any qualms about hurting someone else.

If Hiccup has any regrets so far, it's definitely that he can do nothing to help Snotlout.

"Stay of this, son. This is between Spitelout and Snotlout."

Not matter how far his father has come from old Viking customs, some just will not leave. One of those is that a man's son is his business and no one else's. That frustrates Hiccup greatly.

But should he one day become Chief, in the far, far future he's sure, that is something he looks forward to changing. No child will be hurt by their parent on his watch.

Astrid watches Hiccup carefully, practically able to read his train of thought from his expressions alone.

He is very expressive and Astrid wonders if he knows he can carry entire visible conversations with himself without ever saying a word. If he doesn't, well, she's not planning on telling him. He might stop if she does.

"Hey," She speaks up, tearing him out of his contemplation. "Thank you for defending me. That was very sweet of you."

"It's no problem, you would've done the same for me." Hiccup tells her with a shrug.

He knows Astrid can take care of herself just fine and that if the roles were reversed and Spitelout had lain his hands on him, she would've gotten in his face about it as well.

Astrid nods in agreement, knowing she would've given Spitelout a right hook of her own if she saw him hurt Hiccup. And then she'd probably enjoy watching Stoick give him one, just like she'll be watching her parents give him one once they find out.

That's the only reason why she isn't more upset, that Spitelout will still answer for this even though they can't do much to help Snotlout but provide him with a place where he can feel safe.

That and how much Hiccup cares for her. She knows she chose right when she accepted his offer of marriage.

So she supposes Spitelout can hit her as many times as he wants. If she doesn't hit him right back, she knows Hiccup will in her stead.

And maybe, someday, they can do something more for Snotlout, too.

[dootznbootz]

Yep! I know it's possible that it's a trauma bond (Before my health got stupid I was planning to go to college for psychology.), and if that is the case, then it IS a very brave thing for Odysseus to even say to Calypso.

What kind of bothers me is that...yeah...We don't know if that's the case. As Odysseus doesn't talk about his feelings while he was on Ogygia again in the Saga.

Like if there were even a small moment about Odysseus realizing "holy fuck, I AM free. I CAN go." added in Dangerous. Seeing his relief and excitement other than "I was made for danger >:3 " like buddy, you were fucking suicidal the last time we saw you. How are you doing? How you feeling? You okay?

Yes, he has so much going on that it's probably pushed into the back of his mind. (it's kind of why maybe part of his walloping on Poseidon in which he didn't hold back while Poseidon was asking him to stop, was him possibly taking out his anger on just everyone, Calypso included. Because she didn't let him go when he begged.)

I simply wish we had more time to somewhat dwell and/or hear his side. oh fuck, here's some angst: During "Would you fall in love with me again", him being worried about coming off too strong and/or forceful like Calypso was to him to Penelope. Penelope rejecting him would break him like it nearly does in the Odyssey but he would do anything and everything to make sure she never felt like he ever did.

LOVED the Vengeance saga, hated Calypso's song I'm sorry

**is being creepy and obsessive over a man who's clearly in distress and doesn't like her, as well as she ACTIVELY keeps him on her island for SEVEN YEARS against his will** "W-Well my love is just too much for you"

I get she didn't rape him in EPIC, but she was still terrible towards him and washing down to "her love was just too much for him" is a bit iffy to me :((

Honestly? I think "I'm Not Sorry For Loving You" is actually fantastic in showing HOW Manipulative and selfish she is.

She's doing a "Woe is me" with her loneliness, she is still somewhat putting the "blame" on Odysseus with her "My love being too much for you, sorry that you can't handle it", when it's straight up not taking no for an answer, she even constantly speaks over Odysseus. Yeah, she's "not sorry".

Even with her beautiful voice, (wonderful job Barbara Wangui!) and sweet melody, it's like she IS supposed to be this "perfect paradise, song, goddess, etc."

What really bothers me is Epic Odysseus' "I love you...Just not in the way you want me to".

I think there either needs to be more apprehension in his voice when he says that. Maybe even in Calypso's tangent, he realizes "oh shit, she's making the island do shit. oh think quick to calm her down." and then having to say "Not in the way you want me to." to still make it clear that he's leaving.

I hope we get an explanation from Jay for his wording here? Because while Odysseus did appreciate Calypso helping him heal and recover from being at sea without food and water for a while AND most likely injuries in general, like...He Never loved her.

In some ways, I almost wish we got a bit more of the Odyssey for his answer. As Calypso, basically mocks Penelope and "why do you wanna go back to her? She will age and I won't. this place is perfect. I am perfect."

And then Odysseus being like "...You're an immortal goddess, ofc, she can't compare to you. She will age and go old. But I will stop at nothing to get back home. I've already been through so much shit, if it means going home, I can go through more."

[...] But if you only knew, down deep, what pains you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me and be immortal. Much as you long to see your wife, the one you pine for all your days … and yet I just might claim to be nothing less than she, neither in face nor figure. Hardly right, is it, for mortal woman to rival immortal goddess? How, in build? in beauty?” “Ah great goddess,” worldly Odysseus answered, “don’t be angry with me, please. All that you say is true, how well I know. Look at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of you, your beauty, stature. She is mortal after all and you, you never age or die … Nevertheless I long—I pine, all my days— to travel home and see the dawn of my return. And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea, I can bear that too, with a spirit tempered to endure. Much have I suffered, labored long and hard by now in the waves and wars. Add this to the total— bring the trial on!”

(Book 5, Fagles)

Puttng in Fitzgerald's too because I wike it :3

"[...] If you could see it all, before you go -All the adversity you face at sea- you would stay here, and guard this house, and be immortal- though you've wanted her forever, that bride for whom you pine each day. Can I be less desirable than she is? Less interesting? Less beautiful? Can mortals compare with goddesses in grace and form?" To this the strategist Odysseus answered: "My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope-- how well I know--would seem a shade before your majesty, death and old age being unknown to you, while she must die. Yet, it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of my home. If any god has marked me out again for shipwreck, my tough heart can undergo it. What hardship have I not long since endured at sea, in battle! Let the trial come."

Even his usage of just simply defending Penelope by saying "My Wise Penelope" and how he's still saying "Yep! You are a goddess! Penelope is mortal... I'm still going home!"

This is something I find interesting with Epic Odysseus on Ogygia: After he speaks of Penelope the first few times in "Love in Paradise". He doesn't really talk about her on Ogygia again. Even at the ending of "Love in Paradise", when he's about to "close his eyes", he doesn't speak of Penelope or anything. Which is like, his one driving force for living at this point, in the Odyssey and the Musical. He's just wracked by grief, when it's mostly the fact that he's fucking TRAPPED and can't leave to go HOME.

It makes me wonder if for Epic Odysseus, he is trying to not mention Penelope as much to keep Calypso's anger at bay. Especially when you think of how in the source material, Calypso mocks Penelope and he has to carefully word things to not anger her as a goddess yet still make it clear that he will leave. He wants to leave and he doesn't care if there's more shit he has to deal with. He has to try.

Or maybe it's a spell of some sort. idk. Especially as we have Odysseus once more singing about Penelope and how much he longs for her once he's off Ogygia. Just a thought :P

I almost get this weird vibe that Epic is making Circe more of a "villain" than Calypso (which yes. Circe did coerce Odysseus in the Odyssey and was trying to in Epic. I literally wrote a whole essay about it.) But like, in comparison, Circe in Epic is not nearly as bad as Calypso in Epic. Same in the Odyssey. Like Circe DOES eventually become an "ally" after Odysseus begs her to let him leave, Calypso had to be FORCED to let him go. IN BOTH EPIC AND THE ODYSSEY.

idk. funky feelings :/

[karp-actually]

Boss Ghost OC: Eugène 'Pendulum' Powers

IN GAME:

- 300 hp, cycles through 4 main attacks

- WALLOP: His pocket watch/yo-yo grows in size and he straight up smacks Luigi with it

- SLEEP SPELL: an avoidable attack, he spins his yo-yo which sends a beam out towards Luigi. If hit he is put to sleep long enough for Eugène to smack him with a yo-yo. Luigi takes damage and wakes up

- INVERSION SPELL: Eugène does some weird hypnotist bullshit which causes your controls to be inverted (up=down, blow=suck etc) for a few seconds. This is a minor inconvenience that could leave you vulnerable to another attack. You cannot avoid this

- SWIRLY TORNADO: Eugène himself spins around and aims for Luigi. He's the only ghost that can spin like this and not get dizzy lol. You HAVE TO throw something at him while he's spinning like this to catch him off guard and be able to strobulb him to catch him. You do this 2 or 3 times u know the drill

STORY/CHARACTER WISE:

- Eugène is a stage hypnotist! He looks evil but really he's super sweet, he just wants to make others smile and entertain the world through his talents

- He saw one hypnotist show when he was younger and it was the funniest shit he ever seen basically. He wanted to make others laugh like that too, which led him down a rabbit hole of research into this stuff

- His powers only work if you're willing to play along, and he can't make you do anything that your mind doesn't want to do so adhjf dw he can't just make anyone do anything yknow that'd be mean. He could easily lull u to sleep tho.

- This mans has a major sweet tooth. He especially loves treats with swirls in them (cinnamon rolls, peppermints, etc)

- late 20's early 30's age wise? He probably also has such soothing voice,,, Most likely performs shows on the triplets floor on scheduled days of the week. Also he knows a lot of cool and epic yo-yo trick that he practices too. Also probably a pro at puppeteering a worm on a string

---

HUGE HUGE THANKS TO @bee-a-positive-bee wHO gave him his NAME, helped with fight stuff, helped find colors, and helped me find inspiration in general for him hsjsjd 💓 ok feel free to ask anything if u have questions or say hi to him or want a ticket to his show thnx