#interactions: henriette

[moe-broey]

THE MILFS ARE FIIIIIIIIIGHTINGGGGGGGGGG

[classiqals]

closed starter -> @succiducus {abdullah}

setting -> late night, around the private library

insomnia often led to wandering feet, an anxious mind, and a rumbling belly - but the kitchens were quite far from the madagascar apartments, as were the main literary hall, leaving henriette feeling a bit confined to the restriction of the opposite wing. until now, she'd worried of leaving her chambers this late, for having arrived under intense circumstances, henri was the last to want to rock any more boats. and yet... oh, the boredom of staring up at her ceiling under flickering candlelight called her from her attempts at rest. pulling a light robe around herself, the princess found herself padding quietly in the direction of the library, but to her dismay, found it locked as she tried to pull the doors open. giving a disappointed grunt, she pulled harder at the door as if it may give, and turned just in time to see a set of eyes in the poorly lit hall blinking back at her. " sacré bleu! " henriette squeaked out, falling back against the doors in her fright, and dropping her candle dangerously close to the curtain over the arched window nearest her. realizing her mistake, she wasted not a moment to grab a potted plant with sitting water in it's vase, and dropped it down upon the slight flicker of threatening fire - putting to rest both it... and the decorative ceramic, now in several pieces at her feet. with guilt, she slowly lifted her eyes to them, and cleared her throat uncomfortably. what does a princess even say in this situation?

[classiqals]

as a lover of both nature && the sciences herself, henri had been out in the wet marshes already, fetching what she could find in a new place, and gleaning from the books in the massive library to direct her hand as she tried to concoct new herbal remedies, and understand their properties. unfortunately, her efforts for knowledge had manifested painfully, and her nose was red at the tip from the sniffles, and her throat raw. fingers busy creating smaller bundles of the mint and licorice root to hang and dry, henriette looked towards the other, and could immediately smell the beneficial steeping of the tea, and smiled beneath the sniffles. " oh, please yes, if you can truly spare it. if you were willing to share yours now, i would share mine with you later. "

with  endless  downpour  comes  the  potential  for  a  slew  of  new  afflictions  .  and  although  there's  doubt  cast  over  ethiopia  and  its  associates'  innocence  ,  isra  continues  her  solemn  duty  as  an  apothecary  .  it  is  ,  after  all  ,  just  as  she  told  emine  not  too  long  ago  ;  she  has  a  desire  to  help  ,  regardless  of  affiliation  .  she  gazes  out  the  window  ,  with  steam  from  hot  tea  swirling  about  her  ,  when  a  sniff  catches  her  attention  .  her  head  swivels  ,  eyes  landing  on  a  figure  nearby  .  "  i  have  a  blend  here  to  treat  catarrh  ,    "  the  sniffling  ,  or  a  '  cold  ,  '  as  some  are  wont  to  call  it  .  "  there  is  enough  for  one  more  cup  ,  if  you  would  like  some  .    it's  quite  an  inconvenient  ailment  to  have  ,  especially  with  the  weather  as  it  is  .  "

[thebrightestlodge]

More thoughts on Old Hunter Henriett and Vicar Amelia. My city now, my city of "women being strange about their interactions". Henriett makes it her personal job to make sure someone takes care of Amelia. Amelia doesn't understand why her sole friend cares so much, especially considering she treats her like a person now

[iamdarkness]

About Brave Alfonse!

People I am so happy about Brave Alfonse!! He is everything I hoped and dreamed of and even more. Not only the art is gorgeous but the chosen attire is the best they could have gone with.  And his voice!

But what what is even more important to me is what it means for his mental health. Alfonse has finally healed his father and that makes me so happy for him. They even gave us the material to see for ourselves  not only in his lines but in the forging bonds. Especially the one with Lif, because Lif being who he is has yet to come to terms with that problem. Well he does have a lot more issues than Alfonse and no one to help him with them.  I am so glad as someone who still have this problem to solve and not much support to see that my boy had the support and help he needed. I wanted to make this post after I saw all of his lines first and separate my own feelings and traumas to canalize his growth.

  Alfonse has spent years healing his father and has come a long way. I remember when Gustav was introduced how Alfonse would nit call his parents “father” or “mother”. The respect he had for them was not familial but that one that comes from the relationship any noble would have towards their leaders. At least it looked that way to me. Alfonse felt cold in his respect but admired their work with the kingdom. After all Gustav and Henriette are great leaders and Askr is prosperous because of their continuos work. It all changed when Gustav gave his life to save Alfonse. Although one could argue that Gustav did this because he himself was sick and about to die any way. You have to see the evidence as well. Gustav was a sentimentally constipated man and a workaholic too, but it does not mean he did not love his children. He did of course, in fact he loves them so much he gave his life for Alfonse. Gustav could have gone on as king not caring if his son died and just chosen Sharena who is a more obedient child as heir.  

  Gustav did give Alfonse a hard time but remember that Gustav and Henriette are not normal parents to begin with and they live in a place and time where royalty and nobles did not even take care of the children themselves. This is important because Alfonse and Sharena have lived in a circle of nobles that find it normal to not interact with their children. Sadly the children living this way may not form a familial bond with their parents but at least the trauma of seeing other children with their parents as a norm will not let them think that their parents do not love only  them. What I mean is that our trauma of hearing other kids talking about how they interact with their parents and our parents no doing the same ( the norm) for us or with us is not going to affect them the same.

Alfonse is also a rebel and it grated on the relationship he had with his father which was already weak. Alfonse tell us himself he does not behave like a prince should and that he went against some people’s wishes to get into the Order. I am pretty sure those were his parent.  

 In later forging bonds where parents and children happen to cross we can see a change. Gustav’s death could have made Alfonse fall because of gilt but it helped him understand his father. Perhaps not in a “ He loved me so much” way but in a “ Now I understand why he  did not want me to be in danger” and a “ Now that I am next to rule I understand my responsibility towards the line.” This leads him to see the responsibility his parents have and the sacrifices they have had to do to serve the people of Askr. Alfonse interact more with Henriette and starts calling her “Mother” and while talking about Gustav he starts calling him “father” instead of “the King”.

In his forging bonds with Anna we see that he has been training with the axe not only as a weapon to use in memory of his father but as he said, it is because he wants to understand him better. As he says in his line to Lif :“ Father’s ax is very heavy, it is more so for the burden it represents..” (My game is in Spanish and some of his line may sound different as I translate them) This means that now he understand why his father did what he did. He had a great burden to carry and he was sick to boot. Gustav had ( like many parents) to sacrifice time to do more for the better good. Some people are just bad at time management and it does not mean they do not love their kids.

 Anna has been  not only his teacher but his support in this journey. And Anna has not been the only support he has had to help him heal his parents as we can see in the forging bonds with fallen Lumera and Henriette; but with his line  “The trust and the  support the heroes have given me have forged the person I am today.” lets us see all the help he has had and how far he has gone from “I don’t want to get close to the heroes” to “ They have helped me and supported me.”

But  it is one of the last lines he has told his dark side Lif that gives you the best proof. “ My father told me once that…’ A king has to harden his heart when when he has to make decisions for the good of the Kingdom of Askr’ but  I will not harden my heart to the point of ABANDONING those who suffer before my eyes.” With this he is telling Lif and us that he understands his father did what he did for the kingdom and that he ( Alfonse) will do better.

Any way. Al our pal has grown in many ways and he seems happy and strong and nothing would make me happier than that. At least this is my humble opinion.

[myfandomprompts]

𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭 | 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝟔)

Summary: You're approaching the Free Zone, but you have to do a stop first.

Previous part - Masterlist

Tags:Mention of dead parents, fluff, fire, injuries

French spoken -> italics

Tom doesn’t let go of your hand until you are safely standing outside of the ditch, and when his hands are finally free he feels cold, now aware of the sweat adorning his skin. He believes that he is as shaken as you are, looking at you as you dust your clothes off and go fetch the bags left behind on the road, trembling slightly. He takes a deep breath before doing the same.

“They’ve been terrorising people from the skies since they got through the line…” he hears Giulia say as they resume their march. “Used to shoot civilians that fled on the roads, to slow down the military… Guess they don’t do that anymore, but want to make sure to keep us afraid.”

Nobody replies, too preoccupied with trying to settle their racing heartbeats and looking ahead where people are pushing their carts and bikes, like they’ve grown accustomed to this sort of occurrence.

It’s frightening.

He can’t help but glance at you every once in a while as you cross village after village, like drawn to a light he needs to know is still there, right behind him. Your expression is blank, but the rare times your eyes meet they briefly light up, and Tom makes a point to check on you behind him when he can. Mainly he keeps to his thoughts, barely acknowledging Giulia next to him.

His fingers are still tingling from where you held him, palm against his own when you smiled so softly at him. At that moment in the ditch he had recalled the beach, soldiers running around on the sand and ducking while the Stukas were diving on them, the revival of the memory hitting him like a wave. His instincts had kicked in and he felt like running, the stinging pain on his shoulder return and blood running in his veins like fire, until he felt you.

You’d manage to take him out of that stupor, to pull him out of the memory so easily, untying the knot in his stomach like it had never been there, far from harm’s way. Even now he could still feel the sensation coursing through his body, the soft glow of your touch that soothed him, making every cell of his body relax but somehow tense at the same time. 

It was a new sensation, something he had never experienced before and he wondered if this was how his dad felt when he had one of his episodes and his mother used to hold his hand. When Josie Bennett was still alive, he witnessed the anguish fade from his father’s eyes when she smiled at him; Tom was only a boy and fascinated by the interaction. Lois had taken this role after her death, but the look in Douglas’s eyes had never been the same.

Were you that for him? The Josie to his Douglas? Could only your touch be able to soothe him the way it did in that ditch?

Logic wanted him to say no, that the compassion in your eyes and the way he focused on you could be found in anyone else that would have tried. But somehow he didn’t believe it, because the intense connection he felt in that moment had been too intense to be trivial, his senses awakened at your touch, all his fear forgotten in a blink of an eye, all of this because you held his hand.

The heart often outweighed logic, or so he’s been told.

His heart aches when he thinks that you will have to part ways in a few days again, but he tries to shut out that pain, for he knew he would carry your absence inside of him for a very long while, like a hollowness he would never be able to fill again.

“I can see it, you know.”

You cast a confused glance at Henriette at your side, brows furrowed. “See what?”

“You two,” she tilts her head towards Tom walking in front of you.

You instantly lower your head, rather looking at the ground than at Tom’s back. “There is nothing to see…”

“I disagree. When I realised he was the one that you… I mean, the man you’ve been sweet on over there, I was surprised. But now I understand. It’s genuine.”

You scowl and fumble in your bag to take your bottle out, taking a long sip to avoid answering right away, the liquid coursing through your dry throat.

You wished that it was stronger than water. “It doesn’t matter. In a few days, he’ll be on the road and we’ll be at my aunts with my parents, both trying to survive away from home, unlikely to see each other again.”

The lump in your throat doesn’t disappear as you swallow the warm liquid and clasp the bottle cap thoroughly, bitterly.

Henriette gives you a sad look, glancing between you and Tom who choses this moment to glance back at you again and gives you a smirk. When he turns back, like he always does, you lose the smile much more quickly.

“Have you… told him?” your friend asks softly after a while, careful and unsure to speak.

Your heart drops in your chest, and you feel a familiar ache low in your stomach, that rapidly transforms into emptiness.

“No… It’s… It doesn’t matter anymore, and I have no idea-” you swallow again, this time your throat burns. “I have no idea how he would react. It would be cruel.”

Henriette nods gently, feeling your ill at ease and reporting her gaze on the road to leave you space.

However, you refuse to let your emotions take hold of you further, considering the scare of the day enough misery to bear.

“Here we are,” announces Giulia when the night starts to settle around them several hours later. Tom was covered in sweat and could not feel his feet anymore ; they were standing in front of some sort of old factory. “Our lodgings for the night.”

The place was crowded with camps installed around fires as people came in and out of the heavy red doors that marked the entrance of the two stories building. The factory was offset enough from the town to be allowed enough space for refugees, and light could be seen filtering through the windows.

“We shouldn’t be here,” he croaks out as families pass by them, bags on their shoulders, and exhaling satisfyingly at the smoky smell of meat. It’s too crowded to be safe, isn’t it?

“The important thing is that they serve food. I don’t like it either, but at least we will be less likely to be noticed among others.”

As they stroll among the makeshift camps, Tom observes the many faces there, from children to men his own age, laying down on frail blankets and eating directly out of cans, for those who don’t have a fire or a stove. There is an elation that wasn’t present on the road, and he feels like he entered another world completely. His stomach grumbles at the sight of a few sausages being grilled in some rare corners. He must admit that a meal would be nice, even if he had to stay silent to have it.

He isn’t sure if speaking English would bode well for him here, and he was too tired to think about it anyway.

You’re at his side, observing every settlement and every face, careful not to step on anything, but the paleness of your skin makes him worry about you. Your lips are tight, tense, eyes glancing around at a quick pace and one of your hands is clutching your elbow, grazing it like you’re not even aware of it. He reaches the small of your back without thinking, flattening his palm there softly as he helps you move forwards upon the grass. The glance you give him is brief, like a deer in headlights but you quickly find your composure again, looking ahead and he knows you feel grounded by this gesture, exactly like he had been from yours.

At least, it’s what he hopes.

You don’t really look at him, but you don’t complain either, and he lets go of you only when you both come to stand still in the waiting line inside the factory, the high ceiling making the voices of the refugees echo through the walls and he can barely hear his heart beating. As he looks upwards, he understands that most of the sleeping areas are on the first floor, beyond the stairs filled with people discussing as volunteers distribute food at the end of the line he is currently standing in. One of them is arguing over the quantity given with an upset-looking woman, and Tom wonders what it looked like, when the exodus was at its highest.

Giulia is standing a few metres from them, Henriette right behind him as you look right in front of you, still determined not to look back at him, but he sees the rosiness of your cheeks and the stillness of your posture. It’s not that hot in here, he thinks.

Many thoughts cross his mind but only one comes through, and it’s his will to lighten the intensity of the situation.

“Feel like I’m back at the ship,” he leans into you, and you jolt a bit. “Could mistake it for the low deck, with my old mates fighting over a piece of bread,” he continues, looking at the front of the line where the woman had angrily taken her ration. "Just missing the seagulls, really.”

You make a movement he thinks is a comprehensive nod as you still look right ahead, but it’s your smile that makes him grin, the pink of your cheek still there for him to admire. “Careful, it sounds like you miss it.”

“Not the seagulls, I don’t.”

You laugh this time and his chest swells with pride as you keep your gaze straight ahead. He scans your features, hoping to meet your eyes at one point but you don’t turn, so he is left with observing his surroundings.

His gaze is immediately drawn to a brown pair of eyes, watching him from the distance and Tom feels like he was being watched for quite some time already, the back of his neck tingling with discomfort. The brown eyes belong to a man, roughly his age if not older, brown hair as well and an entire minute passes before he realises that it's not him he is staring at, but at you.

Tom instinctively moves his body closer to you, hiding you from the lurker as irritation grows within him. He doesn't bother to conceal his uninviting expression to the man who doesn’t look unsettled in the slightest by it, but even moves along with him so he can still stare at you, making Tom growl in annoyance. The man's eyes narrows into slits as he steps closer and closer and Tom places a protective hand on the small of your back in order to pull you to him further.

You look at him with confusion almost immediately, but Tom is too busy staring darkly at the advancing man to notice.

“Y/N?”

You detach your gaze from Tom at the calling of your name and the next moment you're out of his grasp and into the stranger’s arms. “Oh mon dieu, Albert?!”

Tom is barely able to understand a word you exchange as he watches you giggle and hug the man with all of your might, and he feels helpless, like something is rooting him to the ground.

The happy commotion draws Giulia’s and Henriette's attention who come to stand next to him. When you turn to talk, the glow on your face unmistakable. “C’est mon frère, Albert! Albert voici Henriette, Giulia et Tom.”

The man smiles and eagerly shakes hands with Henriette and Giulia while Tom stays still, the uneasy feeling at the back of his neck unwilling to disappear.

When the man turns, he pauses when Tom doesn’t move. “Tom, this is my brother, Albert,” you speak softly, and your voice sounds like an echo in his mind.

Your brother. He is your brother.

Oh.

Tom cracks a smile and finally shakes the man’s hand, the uneasy feeling going away but quickly replaced by something he can’t really define at the moment.

Albert lets go of his hand rather quickly and turns towards the nurse. “The famous Henriette… Heard a lot about you! Y/N’s good friend, is it?”

Henriette smiles gently, glancing warmly at you. Then Albert turns to Giulia.

“You, on the other hand…”

His gaze is curious, warm, and Giulia seems shy under it all of a sudden if not for the small curve of her lips.

“She is… part of a group that helps people escape. Wanted people… Like Tom here,” you clarify, and Tom tilts his head towards you at the mention of his name.

“Right, and you are?” your brother asks, like he hadn’t forgotten how he’d tried to hide you from him seconds ago.

“He… doesn't speak French,” you interpose, fumbling with your hands. “He is… uh, he is from Manchester,” you continue when you’re sure no one is listening to you. “I lived with his family when I was there. He was in the navy.”

“Ah…” Albert nods in understanding, considering Tom slowly as he searches for words in English. “Good to… meet you.”

Tom raises a surprised brow at the rough accent and smiles, uncomfortable. “Same for me, mate, same for me,” he replies back, the sentence coming out strangely, like a loud whisper.

You then proceed to speak in French with animation due to your reunion with your brother and he is left to witness it.

Half an hour later, you sit in a circle around a small fire outside, a box of food cans firmly put on the ground between all of you. The stars have become clearer in the night sky, people are eating and talking among themselves as insects fly around in the humidity.

Being reunited with your brother feels like destiny, placed upon your path like an inevitable encounter, exactly like meeting Tom and leaving Paris. All seems to fall into place and you almost manage to forget about being on the longest walk of your life across fields, with two fleeing individuals at your sides and an end to the journey. 

You are seated next to Tom who is silent and staring at the flames aimlessly, feeling him more excluded than usual and you can’t help but wanting to be close to him, be there for him. Opposite to you, your brother is recounting his own journey for your group.

 “Was at the Meuse since… February? When we understood that the Germans had already raced to the Channel, closing in on us we stayed put for a while, not really knowing what to do,” Albert spoke in a rough voice, one of his travelling companions, still in his army boots nodding beside him. “We were cut off from the command base, you know. It all went so fast… There was nothing left to fight, so we decided to come back on foot, take our chances."

You whisper the translation rapidly to Tom who lifts his head, now looking at your brother with genuine interest. 

“You walked from the Maginot Line? You didn’t encounter any of them?” asked Henriette, playing anxiously with the pendant at her neck. 

“Oh, we did. We lost some of our comrades trying to escape them. Once, we stayed two entire days hidden in an attic, unable to move. Those bastards were enjoying the food and wine of the house we’d found to rest, and we knew that if we moved or made a single sound… we were dead. We found civilian clothes shortly after that, and tried to mingle. We made quite the detour…”

The man next to him sniffs in disgust, Emile you think his name was, staring darkly at the fire at the remembrance. You feel your heart beating in fear for them as Giulia translates to Tom, lost in thoughts of his own.

You’re just so glad you've found your brother again in one piece. “And him? What happened to him?” he asks next, nodding towards Tom.

As if on cue, the man next to you raises his head and you give him a sad smile before turning to your brother. It was a shame he did not take English class as seriously as you when you were children. 

“He joined the navy, back in September," you explain, looking at Tom rather than your brother while trying to think of what to say in his stead. “He was on the cruiser that went after the Graff Spree.”

“Why join so soon? Military man?”

You hesitate, unwilling to say the real reason Tom joined up. It wasn't your place. 

“Something like that,” you end up saying, looking at the bottom of your can and avoiding Tom's curious gaze at the exchange.

Albert seems content on the other hand, turning to Tom. “Your father, do war? First?”

Tom blinks at the few awfully spoken English words, realising that the conversation had seriously taken a turn around him. “Yeah. Came back shell-shocked.”

As translation is given to him, Albert is quick to nod comprehensively. “My and… Y/N, father,” Albert continues, fingers pointing between the two of you, “Shell shock too.”

Tom turns fully to you, brows furrowed over his blue eyes. “You’ve never told me this.”

You shake your head, stumbling over your words before his betrayed expression. “He was but… not as serious as Douglas, he quickly recovered. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

Tom keeps staring at you intensely while the others agree on sleeping arrangements, Albert and his companion giving the bunks they had managed to secure earlier inside to you and the girls while they’d sleep outside on blankets, in the cool air of the summer night.

Tom was confident he would find sleep rather quickly due to his exhaustion, but the restless state of his body forbids him to do so, slumber not coming as easily as he had thought. Around him, nothing seems like it's ever really quiet, people whispering, sounds of them moving here and there or sometimes a child crying in its mother’s arms. His eyes observe the night sky like he would find solace there, and his body gradually relaxes.

He believes that he had fallen asleep at some point, because at some unknown time of the night he feels snapped out of his drowsiness by a strong scent of smoke and a disturbing stir around him. He lifts his head in concern, his eyes blinking when a soft glow from the building reaches him amidst the dark, and he takes a few seconds to comprehend that the light comes from the first floor of the factory, flames licking one of the windows as smoke comes out of it.

A fire.

He gets to his feet with everyone else at once who watches the orange glow dance over their heads, expecting the roof to flare up as well but the flames look contained only within a single room, more smoke than fire. Next to him, Albert had come to a stand, watching the people that were inside slowly coming out of the building beckoned by well-intentioned souls, turning to see what had caused their awakening once outside.

Tom and Albert’s gaze meet. “Y/N? The others?”

Albert only shakes his head, and Tom doesn’t waste a second before sprinting towards the building, your brother hot on his heels while he scans every face he crosses paths with for yours. Walking against the flowing waves of people coming out slows his advancement, but once inside it worsens, people converging towards the exit in palpable growing panic. They are now aware that a fire is threatening them, but their ignorance of its location had them acting irrationally, pushing each other as they aim for the doors. Tom has to make his way forcefully in order to progress amidst the chaos.

But then he spots you, coming down the stairs with careful steps with Henriette and Giulia some metres behind you, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His lungs work properly anew and he is now fully able to smell the acrid scent of the smoke that is sticking to the ceiling, not quite filling the room. He goes to turn away with Albert right behind him, but right before he is able to a man pushes you roughly, evidently in a rush to exit and you are violently shoved on the side. He sees you fall, taking in with you a little girl that happened to be right next to you and you do what you can to shield her, both your forms disappearing briefly from view as you hit the railing. Tom hears a sharp cry among the distraught madness and he is surging into action, pushing his way towards the stairs.

Henriette and Giulia are still behind when Tom reaches you, evidently in pain and trying to prop yourself up on the steps as people keep passing beside you in mild concern. Albert gets to you first, Tom helping the little girl up gently before her mother quickly grabs her and takes her outside without a word.

“Y/N, ça va?” Albert immediately asks, wide-eyed as his body shields you from the flooding of people that keeps getting thinner as they exit.

You grunt in response, eyes briefly closing in pain before nodding weakly, Henriette now reaching your side.

“Alright, let’s get you up, we have to get out of here.”

On these words Albert takes hold of your arm to hoist you up but as soon as he pulls, you wail in pain, Tom feeling his stomach tightened in awful knots at the sound while you lumpily fall back down. Henriette crouches down to your side.

“Something is wrong with her arm,” she concludes, looking up at Albert.

He nods, resolute. “Alright.”

Without hesitation he snakes one arm under your knees and at your waist and lifts you up, carrying you out while you hiss under your breath. “I can walk…” you whisper as you’re taken outside.

Once in the fresh air Tom is quick to catch up, Giulia coming to stand right next to your brother who is depositing you gently on the ground while people are starting to pump water and form a chain to the first floor, buckets in hand.

“Bordel, Y/N, you’re bleeding,” Albert remarks with concern, drawing Tom’s attention on your head where red smudges your skin right above your temple.

Your only response is a weak sound of acknowledgment while Henriette examines your wounds and arm. “Shoulder luxation. You must have fallen pretty hard, but it’s pretty minor. I’ll fix it, d’accord?”

“What’s wrong with her?” asks Tom who grows more and more concerned at the way you wince in pain.

“She dislocated her shoulder, nothing serious apparently,” Giulia reassures him before starting to translate everything, as if she had been reminded that Tom was here and completely lost in the French of it all.

“Prête?” asks Henriette while grabbing your hand and pressing over your rib.

Ready?

You nod, closing your eyes and bowing your head in anticipation right before Henriette pulls and you let out a long wail that fades in your throat.

“You’re alright?” Albert asks while Tom is scanning your expression, unable to speak, eager to hear your voice.

“Brilliant,” you wince, bringing a hand to your head only for it to be snapped away by Henriette to let her examine it more closely.

Tom feels his body relax when you meet his eyes and gives him a weak reassuring smile, pain diminishing over your features. But this instant of peace is short-lived as Tom spots the man who had pushed you over your shoulder, his body instantly tensing and blood running hot in his veins and he feels his hands clench into fists.

His expression shifts completely, his legs moving on its own, barely hearing Giulia call him while he takes rapid and angry steps towards the man, fury clouding his mind and unable to see anything other than his pathetic face. When he closes in on him, all the tension of his body unleashes.

“You fucker!” he yells, grabbing the man’s collar and swirling him around. “You could have seriously injured her!” he seethes, shaking him. “You wanted to save yourself, eh? Save your own arse? Well, guess what mate, you’re not fucking alone!”

He pushes him with force, wanting to provoke him, not caring about the way his eyes widen in incomprehension and his obliviousness only wants to make Tom break his nose. 

But a hand comes to press on his chest, stopping him from getting back at him. “Wow, wow, calm down!” Albert hollers, positioning himself between the both of them. “What the hell are you doing?”

Tom doesn’t need to speak French to understand the appalled expression on your brother's face while he struggles to escape his grip, calling out in rage, “Push- Poussé Y/N, that wanker-!”

Albert doesn’t let him go, still firmly holding him back but his body stiffens, slowly turning to look at the man as his expression turns dark, threatening.

“What the fuck is wrong with your friend, man?” the man exclaims, pointing at Tom accusingly. “He is crazy! And what is a rosbif doing here anyway? Run back to your country, like you all did in Dunkirk, coward!”

“Ferme ta gueule,” Albert says suddenly, boiling and his hold on Tom loosen. “My sister is bleeding because of your bullshit, so you better shut it before I get angry. Then it’s not a skinny Brit like him you’ll have to worry about, understand?”

Tom sees the man’s face turn pale and he feels almost satisfied, his expression decomposing as his punchable face finds nothing to retort. With a last dark look, Albert turns around and drags Tom away angrily before he can say or do anything else, bringing them back to where you are still seated, clutching your arm.

Tom's irritation lingers when he sees some red scratches on your hands. He deserved more than just a dark look.

"What was that?" enquiries Giulia, unhappy about the commotion that had almost gone unnoticed in the chaos.

“Nothin’,” Tom shakes his head, his look drawn at the linen Henriette is applying on your forehead. “You ok?”

You nod again, clutching your arm tighter as you cast suspicious glances from where Tom and your brother came from.

Henriette laughs softly, focused on her tending. “She’s a little fuzzy from the blow, but she’ll be alright. At least it’s less blood than last time.”

“What last time?” Tom asks at once, seeing the smile die on Henriette’s features when you give her a frightened glance.

“It’s not the first time you get hurt like that? What happened?” joins Giulia while she translates to Albert.

“It wasn’t serious, I’m fine,” you blurt out exhaustingly, taking your face in your hands in weariness. 

“Act like I didn’t say anything,” Henriette smiles at the others and lingering on Tom, uncomfortable.

“If my sister was unwell at some point, I��m entitled to know!”

“You don’t want to know,” you breathe out, pinching the bridge of your nose in exasperation and trying to escape the conversation.

“Oh but I do, what was it? Henriette, tell me-”

“Oh, I really shouldn’t-”

“C’était une fausse-couche!” you suddenly say, earning an instant silence around you, hands trembling slightly over your face, and the next words you utter are only whispered brokenly. “C’était une fausse couche, d’accord ?”

Tom stares helplessly as everybody falls into sorrowful quietness, unable to truly discern what had been said, but not liking the depressed faces that surround you one bit.

“Well?” he presses, looking at Giulia for the translation.

She looks baffled, and when she speaks her voice is strained, low, and you are unable to stop her words in time. “She uh… miscarriage,” she finally blurts out.

His heart drops in his chest, tasting blood on his tongue and then he meets your eyes, gleaming from the slight tears that are forming there. “... What? When…?”

You shake your head in denial while Henriette gives him a sad look. “It was really early on, it’s fine. Henriette was there, it’s over now.”

Something breaks in him while you look at him with guilt, like frightened by how he would react, and he doesn’t need anything else to know the truth. He can feel it in his guts.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You bite your lips, words apparently so difficult to come out of them. “I… I don’t know. I feel like it wasn’t real, never have been. What was the point, you know?”

Tom feels like he can feel your pain and he desperately wants you to share it with him instead of putting on a brave face. His throat feels dry as he stares at your eyes like it’s the only thing he can hold on to, reaching for your hands softly so you can feel him, right there with you. “I’m sorry.”

A small smile cracks over your features and you escape his gaze to look at your hands, feeling your anguish disappear through them as he grazes your skin.

“I knew it…” Giulia whispers under her breath, making Albert frown at her words and start looking at your entwined hands with narrowed eyes. His jaw drops as realisation comes to him but he closes it almost immediately, now busy darting back and forth between you and Tom, the latter feeling the intensity of his gaze burn the side of his face.

But he doesn’t care, the way you stroke his palm with your thumb is more important than your brother’s look or the hollow in his chest and when you smile at him, your eyes are still hooded, like you are seeing him in a daze. There is still blood in your hair and he wants to reach out and wipe it out in affection. 

“We should move,” Giulia announces, looking at the fire above them being gradually extinguished as black smoke escapes into the dark sky. “Even though it was a little fire, it will certainly draw the Germans, and I don’t think we want to be there when that happens.”

“Can you give her two bloody minutes? She just hit her head!” snaps Tom, looking at his guide with irritation while still clutching your hand under Albert’s tensed gaze.

“I’m fine,” you say next to his ear, and the next moment he is helping you up, gathering your belongings with Henriette’s help.

“Excellent. Let’s go.”

A/N: Thank you @enchantingcupcakecollectionfan & @babyblue711 for beta reading. I am not a doctor/have not an extended knowledge in medicine, thus my descriptions of wounds and their recovery are highly prone to be inaccurate. If ever you are bothered by it, feel free to reach out, I'll be happy to learn more!

"Ferme ta gueule" -> Shut the fuck up

@chainsawsangel@mischiefmanaged71@depressedperson88@enchantingcupcakecollectionfan@yentroucnagol@tssf-imagines@omgkatherine01@nightdiamond8663@r0segard3n@lauraneedstochill@lauftivy@unleashthelion

Part 7

[imustbenuts]

ouggh could you please elaborate on your criticism of brave Alfonse ...I like hearing your thoughts (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

alright. so this is just a messy sloppy thought vomit essay again im so sorry in advance.

and i am salty overall about this.

in 2 words: traditional conservatism

in many many words:

ALFONSE. OPEN UP YOUR WAY CARVE YOUR OWN PATH WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGG IF YOU ARE SAYING HE HAS POTENTIAL JUST. FUCKING. COMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU COWARDS! HAAAAAAAAAAAUGHHHHHHHHHHHHG learn from your dad's ruling policy yes but don't become your dad and carve for the affection you cannot have jfc

IN MORE WORDS

gustav is. objectively speaking, not a good father in the emotional growth department. I've mentioned and maintained by him looking like an Asian tiger parent from my pov. even if he does lay out proper foundations and maybe good hc adjacent policy for country ruling, his approach of parenting is questionable at best.

I get him operating under pressure and sickness with a limited time left to raise his son in a manner befitting of the throne but like. All sink and no swim? No proper explicit guidance? You can't just be "I want my child to meet expectations and dispense no love", that's just straight up neglect my guy. hes very much the 2 faced proud big important parent person.

realistic, but yuck.

i dont think they even have a father son moment probably ever. Henriette and Gustav have a more functional relationship bc they actually dated and had proper human interaction, but it's likely given cultural asian and high expectations context irl, his kids were treated more like objects and successors. Despite everything he might have felt and expressed behind the scenes. again, the affection is not expressed and conveyed directly enough to his kids, and alfonse being his successor means. alfonse has major daddy issues and anxiety about succeeding the throne.

So now, brave alfonse, having lost this dad and understandably craving for fatherly affection and going through it in the plot, is. you know. in the process of redefining himself. arguably is always, but now, its either he's the successor of, King Gustav the Great II or The Next King of Askr. his role as with many many other of his type are to be a signifier of a new era. thats the whole point of successors!

hes even all "ILL OPEN THE WAY". implying that something before wasnt working out and a new path must be blasted open for a better future. thats the whole theme.

But the effect of Alfonse donning his fathers armor in this case is not respect, it reeks of insecurity! again, does alfonse know his father as Gustav The Person to a reasonable degreee? if by that we mean a neglecful parent but a decent king, okay. but why is there a need to repeat this cycle by wearing from head to toe, from body language to skill 1:1 of his dad. howis this a good thing...

dude. what the hell is intsys doing. do i need to call their parents or what the hell is this conservative traditional filial pathetic nonsense. what the hell happened to all of the other fire emblems who are 5 steps more progressive than this

(granted i do find FE to be very conservative on the whole now that ive stewed in the pot of it all but thats a me thing. it could also be dependant on the writer but idk them well enough to know who does what)

and heres my ideal fucking scenario, right. not very hard. id argue just picking up gustav's mantle OR axe and then working it into a new outfit that is explicit alfonse's would be miles better and what i would want. a signifier that alfonse the character knows himself and wants to walk his own path while honoring the good parts of gustav and discarding the bad.

not this. reanimation method of almost wanting to wear his fathers' skin. as if he cant move on and stand on his feet. as if hes unsure. as if they dont want him to commit (at least not yet bc we gonna milk FEH for as much as we can). despite. all the things that have been happening.

instead of rolling with the punches the armor feels like him not doing that. it might have been an easy alt to decide on, but character wise, i dislike it a lot.

[katyspersonal]

Alright, go crazy, go stupid ✌️

48. What’s your favorite physical/design feature for this character?

For the Bloodborne girl cast!

uhhh, Maria, Doll, Annalise, Henriett, Gratia, Queen Yharnam, Ebrietas, Rom, Flora, Kos, Arianna, Adella, Eileen, white church doctor, black church doctor, Fausefka, Iosefka, Old Lady lol, Viola, Gascoigne’s daughters, Mergo’s Wet Nurse, Vicar Amelia, Witches of Hemwick, uhhhhhhh, Yurie, Bell Women, Cainhurst portrait women, Dores, Adeline,…..uhhhh….well….dammit if I have forgotten someone very important then I apologize to all women.

(Ask from this ( x ) meme) Ohhhh boy, look who heard out my wish to discuss the design features!! Thank you very much!

48) What’s your favorite physical/design feature for this character?

ATTENTION: for some of these characters I might use my own headcanons on their appearances as an answer!

Maria and Doll: their lovely super pale eyelashes! As usual, common Fromsoft W putting effort into a detail that is hard to notice by normal means!

As for the distinct design elements (which in their case their clothes), for Maria I love the cute smaller broches by either side of her main one, and for the Doll I love her cute floral-patterned gloves!

Annalise: I love her big forehead. I am worried that I miss out this feature on accident sometimes in my drawings of her (just need more art skill), but I am mindful about it!

Henriett: I love that she either 1) is implied to wear a makeup (gotta stay class no matter what) or 2) just has naturally different color for brows and eyelashes? Common Fromsoft W on details no sane person would detect yet AGAIN. Close second is her awesome top hat that no one wears like her.

Gratia: I love her red hair so much. She has the most red hair in the setting. I love this so much. Hers is more red than Cainhurst red, even.

(From this ( x ) page with datamined corpse models, some of the following ones will also be from here)

Queen Yharnam: This is exclusive for her pregnant/boss variant, the one we interact with peacefully doesn't have them. But I love cute rose-themed decorations around her gown! Adorable detail!

Ebrietas: Her big anime girl green eyes, what else I can say? x) The very distinct feature, and they look like there are green cosmic nebulas shining inside them!

Rom: This is hard to choose because this IS the perfect female body, I think her existence alone should prove how useless beauty standards are dhfsdh I will never be her 😔 Her adorable tails is the close second, but I love that she is a forest. What grows on her back is more resembling of tree branches with glowing buds! This is not lumenweed, this is lumenWOOD! XD

Flora: The small wings. Of the 'skinny' type and not birdlike type, same as Ebrietas' and celestial children, but kinda damaged, or undeveloped? These wings tell a story. Feels similar to how Amygdalae have just lump of flesh in the place of wings, but their Kin, Gardens of Eyes, do have beautiful butterfly wings! It feels like a theme of needing humanity (?) to be truly fulfilled. Jealous Moon, eh?

Kos: I love her fins, especially the fin on her back! Well, it doesn't look very fin-like anymore, and there is clearly better look at it on the concept art! Just...... fish

Arianna: I love her purple eyes! Really stands out! I was really excited to find out she had such unusual feature!

Adella: Similarly to Henriett, I love how her brows and eyelashes color has a contrast with her hair color! Hers is paler!

Eileen: The only truly notable feature about her design is her unique mask, as Bloody Crow wears the same garb, and I feel like it won't really say anything.. The girl doesn't even have canon face data! So let me pull my own out uhhh..

I am quite happy with her beak! x) I needed the resemblance of 'crow' in her visual design, you don't understand! My initial idea for her design, though, was making her blonde in earlier life and then have silver, basically white hair in her old age, while still having skin dark because contrast is so good. It would be to symbolise a change, from "sunshine" to "moonlight".. I got discouraged when I was told it was 'unrealistic' feature for dark skinned people (and should not have listened, because Bloodborne already has two characters canonically who are blondes with dark skin). If I ever backtrack on that idea for her, consider the beautiful white hair and how it contrasts to be the answer!

White Church Doctor: In this case I will go for the obvious answer. This is her cute mole! I am so happy when other people notice it too!! When someone draws this character and does feature the mole, I am so happy ;-;

Black Church Doctor: I love the shape of her eyes! Interestingly though, she uses the same sliders as female preset hunter (in initial character creation), and her eyes are green like Brador's and have a similar shape, also her eyelashes are same color as his. Both Brador and Paleblood Hunter come from the same foreign land as their clothes lore suggest, so... same country? Or even relation to Brador? Hello....?

Fauxsefka and Iosefka: Eyelashes. Eyelashes. They use the especially long variant of eyelashes. I always enjoy drawing them, especially Fauxsefka's!

Lonely Old Dear: This is the hardest one yet, because there is nothing particular to point out. There are no other distinct old female characters we are shown in the game, nor her outfit is unique as there are many corpses in this outfit in Yahar'gul (and one in the woods). I do like the cute setting-appropriate hat, but I think a more fair one is to say that they bothered showing her eyes condition!

Viola: I love her red brooch! ...that we never do see on her in the game. But I think it is a really good detail for her design, and the best color to contrast with both her hair and clothes!

Older Daughter: This is an interpretation liberty, since this can and likely is a blood drop, but I like to think she has a spot on her forehead!

Younger daughter: Another case where I gotta use my own design! I like how her appearance mixes that of both parents rather than resembling one or another x) Gascoigne used to have auburn hair and green eyes, so hers mix those colors with Viola's blonde hair and blue eyes!

Mergo's Wet Nurse: Uhhhhh everything?? She is so incredibly stylish? fdsjfdshfd I fucking LOVE the absurd amount of heavily detalized trinkets all over her body! Get it.... because crows love shinies...... haha....

(Take a closer look at all her glory in wiki's gallery ( x ))

Amelia: Her very tiny tail. :3

Witches of Hemwick 1 and 2: The fact that!!!!! the eyes are all different colors??? How sick is this??? Look at this! Some also have iris whitening, same as what happened with Djura's eyes, and others have fully enlargened pupil!

Witch of Hemwick 3: Okay, you absolutely saw this one coming lol. I love how wide is her nasal bridge! Very distinct feature! (Also coming clear with my skill issue, as I do not give a justice to her eyes; in reality they're smaller and located wider from each other!)

Yurie: I really like her lips shape, actually! Very full, very smoochable.

Bell-Ringing Women: I love the decoration circling around their cape! This really adds to the design, it looks so much better this way than if it was just plain cape as is!

Cainhurst portrait women: Damn, they are all so beautiful! I guess as for Bell-Ringer resembling one, the previous point applies! Though she looks like she could be mother of Iosefka and Fauxsefka? And the knight woman has a very distinct nose shape! With Annalise's mother (I am not sure who else would wear a crown on portrait whereas not being Annalise..), I of course love how long her neck is x) Her posture is so regal, and this emphasises it!

Similar feature shared with the one who wears silver variant of the Noble Dress (basically Arianna's dress, and even identical shoes, but a bit more detailed in a couple of places). I'm gonna say though, I do love the silver variant more than burgundy one, especially with Forsaken Castle Ghosts whose hair became platinum! And the old lady has not only the necklaces, but also earrings and the bracelet which are quite modest and harder to see, but they are here! I love this attention to small details!

Dores: As iconic as her wearing a scalp of Pthumerian face like a mask is, but my favourite bit is, actually, the ungodly amount of tools dangling from her belt! My Mico in his Research Hall surgeon era can only dream about the same level of unsettling x)

Adeline: Again, she has the appearance of a Research Hall patient with the exception of larger amount of belts (she is feral!) and unique bandana around her neck! It feels unfair to point out either of these, because... yeah, sure. They just make her distinct. So I'll refer to my version of her and say that I love her hair buns and want to squeeze them every time I draw her. x) The bandana IS precious, though!

______________________

Okay that was WILD, thank you for letting me go mad dfhahds You HAVE forgotten Hemwick Gravewomen, Evil Labyrinth Spirits, Snail/Slug Women, Mergo's Chief Attendants and female Beast Patients though XD I've met Tumblr images limit so I have to combine into one image.

But, Hemwick Gravewomen have strangely elongated skulls, and I love this bit. Considering the bandage over their forehead, perhaps, they've found their own way to place eyes on their brain? With statue behind Memory Altar and in the dungeons featuring a stitch over forehead and Rune Tool being found in Hemwick, would not be surprising. And with Evil Labyrinth Spirits, I guess I love the cool feature that is only in the concept art, but didn't make it into the actual model?? The evil red spirits erupting from her belly area are so badass??

With Slug Women, I guess the only thing I can tell is which variant I like more... And it is the shell one, of course x) Or simply red eyes with female Beast Patients! But with Chief Attendants, the plate on their bellies features upturned wings, and this is my favourite detail! They could represent wings of Wet Nurse or Flora! I love the mystery hidden on the plain sight so much!! Why could not Bloodborne give us a way to farm armour from mobs so we could read the description that would explain... ;-;

Okay, now my brain is OFFICIALLY fried (in a good way), and this post definitely will help me as a good self-reference! This is, however, now one of my favourite posts by myself, because.. many women.

[endlessly-cursed]

merry christmas and happy new year to guzma, persie, nikki and jd !

brunhilda x lachlann x mathilde ( @hphmmatthewluther @camillejeaneshphm )

lennox x loverboi ( @gcldensnitch )

henriette x frederick ( @that-scouse-wizard )

Guzma: Ever since we truly interacted last year, this year has been a bit better thanks to you. getting to know you, talk to you about anything and goof around made my day. you've grown to be one of my closest friend here and I hope we can have more fun and adventures here. Merry Christmas, you goof ❤🫶🏻

Persie: Despite not having talked much because of our timezones and schedules, I hold you dear and I'm glad that we can be upfront about one another, and I'm always learning with you. I'm glad that you're my friend and hopefully, this 2024 will be more merciful to you and your youth. Joyeux Noel, cherie ❤🫶🏻

Nikki: Even if this year you were mostly gone, the time we've talked was fun, uplifting and made my day and night. You were the first one to talk to me here, and after all these years, we can still talk about anything and you've become like family to me here. Thank you for the gift of Loverboi and hopefully this 24' we can get up to mischief. Merry Christmas, babe ❤🫶🏻

JD: This year, although busy for us, has been a blast nevertheless, and having the gift of frediette has been the best a girl could ask for. You're always such an insightful, funny and wise man, and I always have a blast when talking to you about anything. To more years of this! ✨

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

CHARACTER ASK GAME!!!

Emma: 2, 4, 14, 24

Loki: 5, 15, 16, 25

Tony: 7, 11, 19, 22

Goodness! So many asks! YAY!

Emma Frost:

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

She's highly intelligent and incredibly snarky. She knows who she is, she knows what she wants, and at least by now (I hope), she's not going to let another person treat her like a consolation prize/second choice.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Well, she's been in a movie by a fantastic actress to play her, but the writers were shit and decided that they were just going to treat her like eye candy fluff instead of the beautiful badass that she is. I'd like to see her in a movie again, but I'm not sure how much I trust the MCU (Disney) with her portrayal - and she wouldn't get to interact with some of my favorite characters for her to interact with because the MCU killed those characters off or sent them back in time to 'dance' with the handsy, red-flag giving person who brought Hydra into S.H.I.E.L.D. Emma would probably be better utilized in a book where the powers of her snark and sass and mind aren't hinging on some screenplay writer's/director's shitty sexist agenda.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Expensive Parisian Runway in the Streets, Comfy Borrowing Her Boyfriend's T-shirts in the Sheets.

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Lagertha from Vikings. Maybe a little bit Bedelia du Maurier from Hannibal but without Bedelia's petty jealousy in Season 3. Maybe a blending of Montespan, Palatine, and Henriette from Versailles.

Loki:

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Nature Boy by Nat King Cole

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

Tony Stark. Runners up: Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Emma Frost, Justin Hammer. Following those four: Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Fandral.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

Thor and the Grandmaster.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Okay my first-first impression of Loki as a Marvel character was that he looked fucking stupid and how could they disrespect my beloved deity that way. (My ex showed me the 80s comics he had, and I had this view of Loki from the first shot - nevermind that I don't mind the look now with Richard E. Grant because it served a fun purpose, a Glorious Purpose, as it were. But I mean, my ex also showed me Logan in those same/year comics, and I thought he looked stupid af, too.) Now I think they do better to portray a good look for Loki as well as his not-evil morally gray sass, but also I love him in the series as well because it shows a versatility to the character as is meant to be in a trickster and not just some one-mood (brooding/dark) that so much of his fans in fandom seem to cling to.

Tony Stark:

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

When fandom pays attention to his PTSD and lets other characters actually notice his PTSD and try to help him rather than mock or try to humiliate/denigrate him for it. When fandom highlights Tony's big loving heart and his love languages with other characters.

11. Would you date this character?

Without hesitation.

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Pepper Potts. I love them as friends, I do not love them as a romantic relationship because she's too dismissive of his PTSD and all the good he's trying to do. I'm also not partial to his relationships with Janet Van Dyne and Patsy (Trish) Walker (comics).

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

Like: Kind of a repeat of the #7 question above, but also I love when writers perfectly capture Tony's sass and sarcasm. I love the extent that writers (including myself) will go to in order to come up with Tony's nicknames for other characters.

Don't Like: When writers imagine Tony as utterly selfish and spoiled and deliberately cruel. When they make his failures that he learns from and gets back up and does better the next time as some sort of unforgivable crime.

Thanks for all the asks! Don't be afraid, y'all! Give me more asks and other characters and fandoms if you like! These are a blast!

Character Ask Game.

[classiqals]

closed starter -> @tormxntum

setting -> in a thick patch of woods some ways from the lal qila palace, as night begins to darken, the further reaches of the property considered to the sharma's, probably the edge of guard detail or such

having finally drawn up the courage to venture out beyond sight of the palace, despite having initially been perturbed by the fact her arrival was greeted with an arrest, henriette had been enjoying her long trek through the undeveloped woods that sprawled behind the farm fields behind the lal qila palace. until her horse bolted. thunder sounded in the far distance, and to her dismay ( and sore knee, stickying the fine fabrics of her petticoat with blood and muck from the thawing ground ) henriette was beginning to doubt her ability to walk the miles back to the palace before the rain would hit. she'd never feared the dark back home, nor felt at risk of being lost.

everything felt different here; even the air itself were unfriendly. the trees loomed too in too close like they had eyes desperate to pry, and the animal tracks that she tried to follow were unfamiliar. child of the wild, indeed. henri was beginning to doubt this moniker, so heartwarmingly given by the townsfolk back home.

and yet - she felt at home, with her riding boots now hanging by their laces haphazardly in tow, feet bare against the cold ground and stockings shoved into a slight slit of her skirts, from the tumblr off her horse. should it rain and pour, as the evening sky threatened, henriette fancied herself a tree to scale, to shelter under the branches. a princess not, did the woman appear, as she trekked the tedious horse's path back towards her lodging. when an echo of hoofbeats came against the rocky outcrop, she froze - frightful, naturally, of another accusation of being an intruder, and nearly bolted to hide behind the nearest large anything to avoid another capture. but she moved too slow, and was more of a deer in headlights when the silhouette approached from the path ahead. " i am not an intruder! " henriette announced confidently to them, putting on the practiced voice of a princess, she'd taken the better part of a decade to master. " so do not detain me, sir, for i have already served my time. " a slight sniff of indignation, despite her slight wild appearance that could suggest otherwise. " i am a princess of madagascar, and before you ask, no. i am not lost. just perhaps... a bit left behind. " the explanation was concluded with her holding up her other hand, the one free of her boots, to show the broken bridal from the horse she'd been previously riding.

[variousqueerthings]

If you've watched both Doctor Who and Black Sails this frame alone can kill you dead (sincerely, someone who has also been losing their mind over Casanova)

oh yeah it was very fun seeing rupert penry-jones in this!

I've seen him in quite a few things -- spooks (back in the day we watched all of spooks for richard armitage... I was one hell of a completionist back then, I've mellowed since, but it did introduce me to rupert penry-jones, alexander siddig is briefly in it, raza jaffrey who's barely in anything gets a truly thankless arc etc... I'm digressing about the no-good-awful-propaganda show that is spooks, let's stop me here), whitechapel, cambridge spies, one iteration of persuasion, the strain, and of course black sails

I always enjoy him, he seems to turn up in in the 18th and 19th centuries now and again, enough that I associate his face with those kinds of periods, although he's solidly a 20th and 21st century face as well, I'm like "no, get back into the eras you belong in!"

and now a little tangent on the casanova and grimani scenes: something I found very interesting was that casanova was portrayed as straight but also... kind of not? they'd show scenes of him insisting he very much wasn't into sex with guys and then there'd be a sort of "but this exception perhaps" almost tacked on at the end (including, of course, with bellino, but there's a get out of jail freecard there in that bellino is neither a cis man, nor a trans man, nor intersex, but genuinely a cis woman in disguise -- I have some thoughts on how that was done just based on my partner's reading of the wikipedia of the real bellino)

I'd always had a sense that casanova did have sex with men, but I'll have to wait on that one until I've read the diaries -- with grimani very early on I jokingly said "well this is a hateship" and then it seems that rtd very much wrote it that way on purpose, with the you want to kiss me so badly right now line, casanova attempting to insert himself into the marriage bed by offering grimani to give him advice (jabbingly, but you'd think he would do it) and the framing of grimani/henriette/casanova as a cursed threesome, especially in grimani's and casanova's last interaction with one another

to the point that I almost thought grimani's confession wasn't going to be that he genuinely loved henriette, but that he's a closeted gay man, which, in hindsight, somewhat based on true events, I presume grimani's sexuality was neither here nor there in the actual diaries

but yeah, am gonna be turning over the grimani/casanova scenes in my head and what they all meant by having these particular framings -- I do feel like rtd operates in a way that when I read queer text it's because he put it there on purpose -- this across doctor who, including, gratifyingly, the bigeneration in the giggle, and all the doctor/master stuff, and of course in everything he did that's just very very gay in your face. which I think is why I was surprised that casanova as character wasn't written as more bisexual, considering queer as folk + bob&rose already existed by this point. but then also why I was wondering why he'd played with the idea of him being a bit more bisexual than the man doth protest -- perhaps there really isn't anything definitive in the texts, but rtd had a feeling and so just left the viewers with the same feeling, rather than making a choice either way, which is interesting, considering of course that a biopic is allowed some (many) liberties

on the whole this show left a lot of imprints of Stuff, without fully being able to dig into any of it as much as I'd want it to, but really that's just the nature of biopics -- either they narrow themselves down to a very particular Moment in time, or they give you various ideas across a life. with casanova there's a bunch of diaries to fill in the blanks

[leaf-storm-lurking]

FEH OCs Part 3 out of ???

Disclaimer: I'm going off memory for all of these, so I will get things wrong or forget several important details.

Gustav: A dad in a Fire Emblem game... You all know what happens, poor dude. My feelings on him are mixed, he's a harsh dad towards Alfonse, but if his forging bond accessory is anything to go by, he cares for his son. And I don't think he has ever interacted with Sharena.

Henriette: It's the lady who gives us the mission that kicks off every book. Although, her valentine's quotes make me think that she's hiding some sort of power. I wonder if she's a dragon or something.

Eir: Often considered the best FEH OC and I can see why, her design is nice, and she had an arc where she betrayed her "mother" thanks to friendship. Not sure if I like her regular or ascended outfit more.

Lif: RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH, ONLY WANT ONE FUTURE- When I first heard that Lif was the name of Askr's founder I was like, "Cool, we're going to fight dead characters." I wasn't wrong, just unaware of the multi-verse. Being an unhinged dead Alfonse is pretty cool, and last we heard he's working for Thor or planning to attack the gods. Either way, I hope we see him in the main story again.

Thrasir: Similar to Lif, but with Veronica. She also hasn't gotten as much compared to her partner in crime. Although, how old are Thrasir and Lif compared to Veronica and Alfonse? I'd say several years, but did they age up after they started working for Hel or during their war with her.

Hel: Scary bone lady, killed Alfonse's dad and grandfather (Don't quote me on that one), making Alfonse (and Sharena) a true FE lord. My main complaint is that she didn't use any dead characters outside of Gustav. It would've been cool to fight Laegjarn, Helbindi, Sutr, or Gunnthra. It's also odd that she is one of the few gods that isn't a beast or dragon unit.

Ymir: Holy shit I love her design. Lady screams LIFE, despite being dead... (What is it with feh and killing gods?) Although I find it funny that the goddess of life, kills someone.

Ganglot: Ganglot answers a very important question, who's in charge of Hel after Hel's death? Ganglot is, till Ymir and Eir kill her. So who is in charge now?

[hphmmatthewluther]

The Vaulties!

Day 2 - Era That Caused the Most Brainrot

This one simply had to go to the Founders’ Era, seeing as it’s inspired me to write a multi-chapter story that is sure to be longer than anything else i’ve written for my ocs before! I just love how the setting is far-removed from the wizarding world  of the future, and yet interactions can be had between eras thanks to these characters showing up in History of Magic lessons!

Characters shown here:

Lachlann Doherty

Sovereign Betwixt

Rowena Ravenclaw (co-owned with @endlessly-cursed​  ) Henriette of Wessex ( @endlessly-cursed​ )

Mathilde of Coventry ( @camillejeaneshphm​ )

“It really goes to show how important knowing your history is! It’s also one of my favourite parts of History of Magic, it’s way more interesting than a lot of other portions which sum up to “and then the wizards tricked all the muggles and everyone went home.” So congratulations! Not sure how we can send the Vaultie back a thousand years to them though...” Jane Luther

[saint-jussy]

Saint-Just's interactions with women after meeting Robespierre -

Therese: *escapes from her husband and runs to Paris just to find him*

SJ: I DON'T KNOW HER!!

Henriette: marry me pls it would be so perfect 🥺

SJ: UHHHHH YOU CHEW TOBACCO THAT'S DEALBREAKER BYE

[harleyacoincidence]

Just realized that I never did an actual writeblr introduction. Whoops. Anyway!

No idea how to format this, but we're here now and there's no time like the present.

Hello writeblr, I've been with you for almost a year now (I think). You can call me Harley, and I've been writing as long as I can remember. While the stories I wrote back in elementary school aren't the best, I am still proud of how much I've improved since starting out. I've kept a few WIPs I worked on in high school (those are being finished and edited), as well as a few others I started in the past few years.

Speaking of which, here are some original WIPs you might find featured on here (whether as part of tag games, asks, or random snippets):

Tales of the Unfortunate Summoner - Demons, humans, and trauma galore! Yes, I finally named the WIP with the niece-uncle relationship between a human (Henriette) and demon (Hadeon), featuring nobody's favourite former Shakespeare demon, Blaise. If you enjoy more modern fantasy, this might be the one for you. Once I finish writing and editing it so it's up to standard, of course.

Love Corrupts Fresh Lilies (often shortened to LCFL, due to laziness) - Ah yes, another instance of "idiot protagonist messes up and now everything's destroyed"! Meet Rafflesia, the poor mistreated girl who finds herself lost in some bizarre world after escaping her cousin, Jacob. She soon becomes corrupted and ends up a machine of mass destruction. Well, that's the plan, if I ever finish it. If you enjoy dark fantasy and dark romance, you might enjoy this.

The Devoted Musician - Wow! An analog horror series based on other horror media, how original! Well, it's been seven years in the making and I'm hoping it turns out alright. If you enjoy graphic horror media, ghosts, curses, and comic relief brought to you by deceased teenagers, this is something you might be interested in. It will be available on YouTube (with the next episode coming out VERY soon), and I will post the links to the videos on here as well.

Undying Service - I've barely outlined this WIP, due to focusing on my larger projects (see items 2 and 3 on this list), but here's the gist: altar server dies and is buried in a church, which they haunt to annoy members of the clergy as well as other religious folk. They might fix the occasional thing, but this is a mystery/satire, so we can't have too much of that.

Organized Obsession - This WIP has a better outline than Undying Service (at this point, literally anything does), as well as some characters. If you saw the poll that involved "fandom discourse but turned up to 11", that's this one. This WIP has some dystopian elements to it, but is also a satire (taken more seriously, unfortunately). I don't want to spoil too much, but in this world, taking sides is a must if you want to survive.

I'm going to be releasing a WIP crash course soon (along with the next episode of The Devoted Musician, which will have a bit more substance), so stay tuned!

I hope to meet more mutuals and people to follow, and the ones that I have are the best writers I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with. If you have questions about any of my WIPs, feel free to send me an ask or tag me in a game! I try my best to respond to those as soon as I can.

(Also, obviously I have more things planned, such as smaller WIPs, possibly sharing completed works, ARGs, and even a game...but those are stories for another time.)