#pray for me sister (nanna)

[voidsteffy]

Home: Chapter I

Premise: Viraj x fem!OC Ramya [Hi! Nanna] -> A comment from Viraj drives a crack through Ramya's fragile soul. Best friends to lovers trope, she fell first he fell harder trope. A bit of melodrama / quick escalation. Angsty(?) Beware, not proofread in my eagerness to finally post this.

A/N: I finally wrote!!! This one for my moots @iworshipsappho who commented on my post about this and motivated me to the moon, and @mahi-wayy and @vijayasena and @mellaga-karagani whose zeal and totally cool (hip, trend, movement whatever you wanna call their greatness) fanfics on South-Indian movie characters. @viswa-sakhi -> akkay look at what I've been upto! and @budugu -> yendi, yevanna matladande, yevaina paata padande!

« • • • »

The thing with her was that she did things for others she didn’t have to.

She didn’t have to give Viraj her first ever photoshoot as a costume designer to propel his career. She didn’t have to watch him propose to another woman. She didn’t have to spend all her time tending to his family after his wife left him.

But she did it all, because she was in love with him.

Ramya first met Viraj when they were interning at a magazine. In those days the jobs blended into each other like the days blended into nights, like sunrise did into sunset. But he made it all something memorable. Soon, chats at the office turned into talks on the sidelines, and then into long deep talks all night long.

The moment she saw him, she knew this was the man who was going to break her heart.

It’s okay, maybe that would mean she had a heart in the first place. Ramya couldn’t feel it except when it ached.

While her career as a costume designer grew, her calls with Viraj became few and far in between. Until she visited Viraj in Coonoor.

She hadn’t known about Yashna then.

Hadn’t known about just how infatuated Viraj was with Yashna, and to no fault of his. Something with them just seemed to click, and for the first time in all eternity, Ramya— someone who hadn’t felt pain in her life— ached at the love blooming before her eyes.

Ramya’s life hadn’t been easy by the least, but she refused to cry. She hadn’t cried when her parents admitted they conceived her just to have an organ bank for her ill older sister. Or when her sister collapsed and died of an aneurysm before she could help. Or when her parents disowned her out of grief.

She wasn’t about to cry now either.

Alone in that decorated hotel room, never having felt lonelier in her life, Ramya let the first sunrays of Coonoor pierce her with the warmth she sought in Viraj’s touch. She had come there in hopes of confessing her love to Viraj but it was too late.

He had given his heart to Yashna and there was no turning back from it.

“Hey…” Viraj’s voice came from the other side of the door after a knock. “It’s Viraj. Are you awake?”

Ramya didn’t answer him, all but praying he’d go away.

“I don’t know if you’re listening, you’re probably still asleep. Maybe it’s good that you’re not gonna hear this…” he sounded excited, the sound of his feet pacing echoing on the wooden panels.

She held her breath.

“Nothing…! I feel— God, I haven’t felt like this ever Ramya!”

She felt his fist lightly thump on the door, and she could feel the smile on his face, the happiness and the lightness in his throat. Ramya slid down to the floor, legs pulled to her chest and arms around herself, her back to the door as Viraj spoke on.

“I love Yashna!” he gasped as soon as the confession left his lips. “I love her so much Ramya, I just feel like I can do anything with her by my side. I’ll protect her, I want to marry her.”

Oh to be loved that way by him, she thought.

This eternity to love.

The next to be loved.

« • • • »

Ramya wasn’t married to Viraj or Yashna, but somehow she was always involved in their lives.

Convincing Yashna’s father, protecting them from her mother, arranging the wedding. Ramya did it all. She really couldn’t bear to see Viraj nor Yashna miserable.

She hadn’t realised this until the shock on Justin’s face sunk in.

“Why are you giving away this money amma! If he wants to buy a house he’ll buy it with his own money.”

“C’mon Justin. This is Viraj we’re talking about, you know he’s too proud to ask,”

“But you saved this money for your wedding.”

The money she had handed over to him didn’t matter much when compared to their happiness, she just couldn’t explain it.

“Yes, but this is their marriage. That’s more important.”

He had looked at you then, perhaps deeper than he ever had looked at a person. And after a long pause, he smiled and nodded like he knew the secret to a universal illusion.

« • • • »

Though Yashna had mentally left him long before she had physically left, her disappearance from Viraj’s arms was jarring. She had left their little baby behind, who didn’t understand anything but the fact that she had no mother.

Mahi was the first baby Ramya had picked up.

It was also the first time (in a long time) that Viraj’s daughter stopped crying.

And so a new family was formed, glued together by the needs and dreams of Mahi: just her, Ramya, dad, grandpa, Justin and Pluto. Years passed and the good-night stories grew longer. The birthdays were grander and the smiles less heavy.

In every conference call that Viraj and Ramya attended for Mahi’s cystic fibrosis treatment research, everyone assumed she was Mahi’s mother.

It wasn’t long before Viraj stopped correcting them. However, Ramya remained just a friend, his best friend. She lived in the room across from him, had the password to his accounts, his favourite menu was on her speed-dial, Mahi’s school schedule and medicine timings synched to her calendar. She still didn’t have Viraj’s love.

Not that she loved Mahi for Viraj’s love in return, or practically lived in their house and took care of them to get a love confession from her best friend.

But everytime Mahi asked that one weighted question, it left Ramya questioning her own love.

“When will I hear my mother's story?”

That night, she was worn out by the world and its noise, and Viraj wasn’t home yet. Mahi had grown especially restless with her father’s dismissal of any story with mothers. It made her act out a bit no matter who it was at.

“Sorry kanna, enough stories for tonight. It’s getting la—”

“So you’ll tell me tomorrow?”

“We’ll see Mahi, it’s Nanna’s turn for storytime tomorrow.”

Mahi grew pleading, there was an ache in her eyes. An ache that was never palatable to see in a young girl’s face. Mahi was little, she didn’t understand the concept of losing a mother, or being abandoned. To her, there had always been a mother and she was still here somewhere, but just absent from dinner tables and baking competitions and bedtime stories.

Now that she thought of it, Ramya seemed closest to a mother she’d maybe ever have.

“But he never tells me that story!”

“Mahi…” came Viraj’s stern voice from the threshold of the pink room. “Don’t trouble Ramya.”

“But nanna!”

“No buts, enough bedtime stories for tonight Mahi!”

Ramya left the room to leave father and daughter alone, but when Viraj came out at last after a heated argument, he wasn’t just tired or sad. He was angry.

He stomped up to Ramya at the kitchen platform where she was reheating dinner.

“Did you promise her you’d tell her about her mother?”

Ramya, as usual, was quick to deny. Yashna, however beautiful and ruled by her mother as she was, was the last thing Ramya wanted to broach at storytime.

“No, of course not. Did Mahi say that?”

Viraj visibly shrunk into a chair at her question, his hands twitching on the platform as he shook his head in a no. Ramya placed her own above them, making Viraj to look at her.

“You know… You have to tell her about it all one day.”

He rolls his eyes, “Not you too Ramya.” Tired to the bone, now afraid of mentioning Yashna as much as she was afraid of loud noises.

“What ‘not you too’ ? There’s a reason everybody in this house keeps begging you to rip that band-aid off Viraj. It’s one thing to start this facade, but an entirely different task to keep lying everyday about it!”

She hadn’t realised when her voice had gotten so passionate, when she had forgotten the clicking of the oven and started glaring at her best friend.

He wasn't any more pleasant.

“Oh!” he scoffed, “You think I do this for fun? Huh? You think I like not giving my daughter a mother to even imagine? You think I like being this tired overworked single father whose daughter is being raised by a stranger?”

He said the last word with such venom, a hand recklessly flying to gesture to her, that her prediction of all those years ago came true at a heavy expense.

The thunder tearing from the skies flashed across Ramya’s face, and in that moment, Viraj realised he broke her heart.

“Stranger…” she whispered.

He shook his head, shooting out of his seat to do damage control but perhaps he couldn’t ever repair the wound he caused.

“You think I’m a stranger? Stranger to who? You? Mahi?”

“I’m so sorry Ramya. I didn’t mean it like that…”

“Mahi’s first word—”

“I’m so—”

“—No!”

Viraj froze at the shake in her voice. She was inching away from him, away from years of feeling like a part of this sweet family.

“Mahi. Mahi’s first word was ‘Viraj’ because I kept calling your name whenever I was near her. Her favourite colour changes every week though she denies it every time. This week it’s Falu because she didn’t like the name ‘Maroon’. She scored such good marks in her test today. You know the first thing she asked for, after she showed me her report card? You. Her father. She wished she could ask for her mother but she’s known no one. No one!”

Every word from Ramya felt like it was coming from between the cracks of her soul. It broke something in Viraj.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Ramya sniffled, but didn’t let anything else betray her. The world was a blur, but all she cared about was getting out of the house before she’d say something she would regret. She loved Viraj, but she didn’t want to become him.

“She doesn’t know you fully because a part of you will always be with her.  She’ll never know me because I’ve given away all parts of me to you. And you call me a stranger!”

It was not everyday he heard the harsh truth from Ramya. Part of her thought Viraj knew she loved him. At the very least, she thought he respected her.

“Everyone around you is chipping away at themselves protecting a reality you created Viraj! Do you realise just how much you’re suffering because of that reality, how much you’re making us suffer?!”

Somewhere in her moisture-framed vision, Ramya knew she was gathering her keys and bag to get out of the house. But it wasn’t until the rain spatter hit her that she realised she was rushing out. Viraj was just a cry behind her, begging her to forgive him, apologising.

She saw a car pull up in the driveway, Justin’s face illuminated by the overhead lights inside before he jumped out with concern.

A pair of arms enveloped her shoulders. It had been too long since he hugged her, more so like this. Like he was afraid of losing her, afraid of her losing it.

The back of her blouse getting wet with Viraj’s warm tears, and the rain kissing the pair from all around, they slid to the ground.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry”

Justin’s shouts became closer and closer until he stood in front of them. He kept asking what happened but she was out of words to describe the sudden pain in her life. Maybe it had always been there.

If she was a stranger to Viraj, who else did she have? Maybe not even herself.

Her first cry tore out of her throat, and it agonised her more than abate her grief. She caved into herself and Viraj bent with her, on her back with his cheeks muttering the same nothings again and again.

“Justin…!” Ramya cried.

“Amma? Tell me, what happened?!”

“Justin! Please take me away.”

“What?”

Against Viraj’s protests, she stretched a hand out for Justin which he took as fast as lightning.

“Please take me away! I want to go… G-Go—”

He pulled her out of Viraj’s desperate grip into his arms. “Let’s go… Where should we go?” He took her purse, supporting her towards his car. Justin dreaded the day he’d find Ramya on Viraj’s doorstep with her heart broken and her life flashing before her eyes. He hated this.

“It’s ok, it’s going to be ok… Easy there…!”

“I want to turn back Justin!” she cried into his shoulder. His brotherly arms around kept her grounded. “I want to turn back so badly. But before I go back to him, take me away.”

“Ramya I’m so sorry!”

Viraj’s cries turned to his father-in-law at his doorstep while Justin got Ramya safely into the car. They were silhouettes marred by the elusive darkness of the night, wracked with guilt.

“Let’s go…” Justin sighed. “It’s going to be ok amma.”

“I want to go home!” she cried.

“Home?”

“Home…! I want to go home! Home! Please take me home… I want to be home!”

« • • • » stay tuned for Chapter II « • • • »

(moots, tell me if you wanna be tagged❤️)

[ginneke]

Flash Fiction Friday - #213: "Ten Years Later."

@flashfictionfridayofficial has released today's prompt and I've been ~inspired~.

—

I wrote an AU of my own AU, 'A Seed of Song', in which -- ten years after the Calamity -- a juvenile Rito tries to learn more about her Hylian dad, guided by her dead father's diary.

Told in reverse chronology. 1k words exactly in GDocs.

—

And The Time Has Flown

Characters: The Chick (A Seed of Song), Aryll, Purah (mentioned), Impa, Sidon, Revali (posthumous)

—

"The Director told me you're here. That you're healing. 

"...Are you? I'm not doubting her! But— Are you really gonna wake up? 

"...Are you really my father?

"Nobody can tell me. But if you are… Please. Come back. Come back."

—

"Hi! Um. I'm looking for Lady Purah?"

Aryll pauses and looks the little Rito girl over. She doesn't seem much taller than an eight-year-old, and her russet-and-cream feathers are in substantial disarray from a long, hard flight. 

"The Director?" 

The little girl nods. Her eyes flash with hope.

 "You want that big building up the hill, then," Aryll says, pointing the way, and tries not to smile at the flicker of dismay on the girl's face that soon turns into grim determination.

"Thanks."

"You'll have a hard time getting up there, you know," Aryll calls after the child as she starts hopping away up the path/ Her legs are only little. "It’s late. I'll be running supplies up there tomorrow morning. You're welcome to stay with..."

- us, she almost says, but that's not right anymore. It's just Aryll in that old house across the Firly, after Gramps passed away and Ma went out hunting and never came back, and Nanna didn't wake up one morning, and—

And Dad and Link both died, far away from home, when the Calamity came.

“You promise?”

The girl says it with such suspicion that Aryll has to laugh. “Promise.”

She beckons for the Rito girl to follow. As they near the bridge, she thinks to ask, “What's your name?

The girl chirps out, “I’m—"

—

"...I see."

The child fidgeted from one foot to the other. "Do you... believe me?"

Truthfully, it is quite the wild and incredulous tale. If she hadn't been an unwitting witness to some small part of the tale, she might not have believed it.

But Impa had found herself cast as a silent intermediary, letting Link's letters slip out of the castle with minimal disturbance and no eyes but her own setting sight on their contents.

Champion Revali's replies had been scarcer, and neither side had given much indication of the regard that might imply a shared parental duty, but...

Purah told her, just once, of the champion's chick. Her older sister had always enjoyed keeping secrets. It would come as no surprise if Purah knew something more.

So Impa puts her doubts aside for now, and tells the child what she knows, and sets her on the path towards Purah.

...And that evening, when the shadows fall and the village turns still, Impa walks to the island where the Goddess Statue stands and prays Link might wake and return to them soon.

For Princess Zelda's sake, and for this child who calls herself his.

—

This year, Gaddison is chosen to wield the Ceremonial Trident. Not for the first time, Prince Sidon longs to be bigger. Then he might be the one to carry it instead.

He's distracted anyway. There's a Rito perched on the cliffside the entire time, though they don't make any move to approach, watching the subdued ceremony in silence and shifting only when Laflat steps forward and sings the song that Sidon hates them singing.

By the time the festival ends, and Sidon manages to glance up at the cliffside again, the Rito has gone.

He tracks them to a pond, south of the Veiled Falls, and finds them sitting at the edge of the water, a book in their wings and a bow set within reach.

They are - she is - singing. But it's not the simple version, the way Laflat sang it: it's Mipha's version, and Queen Sela's before her, with a few unknown turns that speak of another voice that passed it on.

Sidon picks up on all of that, but he can't make sense of it. "How do you know that?"

The Rito snaps her book shut, guilty. "I — my dad sang it to me when I first hatched."

"...You're a Rito," Sidon points out.

"Um. Yeah?"

Rito don't marry Zora. Do they? Maybe there's something he doesn't know. "How was your dad a Zora?"

"They... weren't? They were Rito. And Hylian. He's the one who sang to me. My uncle said he was a knight in service to Hyrule's princess..." 

That's wrong. She's wrong. Princess Zelda only had one sworn knight. Everyone says so. And he was...

"The Hylian Champion was gonna be my sister's husband," Sidon tells her with certainty. His father says it's true, and all the councillors believe it too, even if they hate Hylians now. "You're mistaken."

It's the wrong thing to say. The Rito girl flies into a rage. "I'm not lying," she shrieks, "you're lying!" 

"You're wrong!" Sidon yells back. "Why would my sister have made him that armor if they weren't…"

Everyone says it! Mipha loved Link. Mipha wanted to marry Link. So why does this girl think she can barge in and say otherwise?

But she flies off before Sidon can say so, winging her way south, away from Zora's Domain. Well. Good riddance, Muzu would say.

...He still feels bad about it. If he sees her again, he'll try to say sorry.

—

He keeps talking about giving her a name.

No matter that I've told him she has a name, and it's only a sad quirk of his biology that he can't say it. How else would she recognise when I'm talking to her? Really. She doesn't need a Hylian name yet.

—

...Loath as I am to concede the point, he might - inadvertently - have one.

And the name he suggested wasn't that unacceptable...

I wonder if she ever felt this way when I was young. Probably not: the way people speak of her, she thought herself invincible.

I should thank her for that lesson, at least. No warrior is invincible. Any battle might be our last. I knew that, but...

It took until now for me to understand it.

Yes. That name will do. I'll tell him when we meet at Mt. Lanayru…

[allisonreader]

Was it really just a couple of weeks ago that he and Jess had been curled up on the couch, talking baby names? How things could change in an instant. He felt sick to his stomach.

He left Abby with Nanna, as luckily, she had started staying with them now that Jess had been entering her third trimester. Seven months in and she was starting to become much less mobile.

He all but raced to the hospital Jess was in. He hadn't been told much, other than she had been in a bad accident. He didn't know what he was going to be walking into. He prayed it wasn't going to be anything like her previous wreck. He went straight to the desk to inquire about Jess.

"I'm Erik Piston, I got a phone call about my wife Jessica being admitted after an accident...."

"She's in surgery right now, but you can go up to the waiting room there." He thanked her quietly before heading up to the designated waiting room.

Dread building with every step. He didn't know if his stomach could feel anymore twisted without losing the last thing he ate. It couldn't be good if Jess and in turn their unborn child were in surgery.

The waiting room had a phone, so he phoned Nanna and his father to tell them the little that he knew. After he sat down, he started fiddling with a business card he had been carrying around with him for years.

Smokey's Garage, Thomasville, Georgia.

He'd fiddle with the card for a bit before looking at the clock and going back to the card. He did that for maybe 10-15 minutes before getting up with a sigh. He still didn't know what was happening with Jess and their baby or how bad it was, but Henry should know. He should have known a long time ago where Jess was.

Card still in hand, he was back at the phone, waiting for it to ring and someone to pick up.

"Smokey's Garage, how-"

"Is this Henry?" He thought it was, but better to check for something like this.

"This is Smokey."

"Good, it's Erik Piston-"

"What do you want?" He winced at Henry's tone.

"This isn't a business call, but a personal one. Please, just, give me a moment or two to explain." He was watching the one set of doors for any sign of a doctor or nurse who might be able to tell him what was happening with Jess.

"Make it quick. I don't have time to be wasting."

"I married Jess, your sister. We're expecting our second child. I just got a call today saying Jess was in an accident. I'm at the hospital now, but all I know is that she's in surgery and haven't been told anything else."

"Hold up Piston, you're not making sense. I know I said to explain quick, but I'm gunna need more than that. What were you trying to say about my sister?"

"I'm married to her, and she's in the hospital-"

"You've said that, but it doesn't explain anything to me."

"Back in '58, I married one Jessica Erin Hudson, who wanted nothing to do with me at first. Wouldn't accept my help or anyone else's in town at first. Still occasionally suffering bad days left from her wreck-"

"Erik Piston?"

"I'm sorry, I'll have to phone you back. I might be finding something out." He didn't wait for a response before hanging up and following the doctor. He'd didn't like that he wasn't taken to Jess. He didn't want to hear that she was gone.

"Mr. Piston, we have a lot to discuss."

"My wife and child?"

"Your wife is still in surgery. She's sustained a heavy amount of injuries. Many are internal, and are taking some time to repair. We are going to have to remove her spleen, as it can't be fixed. She has multiple broken ribs, one that has punctured her lung and has nicked her heart. She's had a fair amount of internal bleeding due to that."

"What about our child? You've failed to mention anything about my baby."

"Your child was in distress. As much as we tried to save the pregnancy, it was better for both mother and child, to deliver early."

"How are they?"

"Your son is doing well for being about 30 weeks along. He'll have to be under strict supervision for the next few weeks at least. We'll take you to him, but he won't be able to be handled much at this point yet. It will be good to start getting him used to your touch."

"If Jessica- if Jessica pulls through, will she be able to breastfeed at all?"

"We'll have to see after she's out of surgery and starts recovering. We won't know until then. Here he is. I'll give you a couple moments with your son. It would be best to leave him laying there. His little lungs could have a hard time of it."

The doctor left the room, leaving him with his little son.

He couldn't be much longer than a foot and was maybe three pounds. He couldn't stop the tears from coming as he softly placed his hand on his son. He shouldn't have had to be born so soon. Or worry about Jess not pulling through.

And he knew how important breastfeeding was to Jess. How much she enjoyed that time with Abby, claiming that's what gave mothers such a special bond with their children.

He was so tiny. He carefully brushed his son's head. Jess had liked Eli Henry as a name, it seemed to fit for him. He tried his son's name out.

"Hi Eli, I'm your daddy, Emery. I go more by Erik, but your momma likes calling me Emery, or Em." He might never get to hear Jess call him either of those again.

It made him fall into the chair at the thought. It hadn't been feeling real, even as panicked as he was.

He didn't know how long the doctor was gone before he came back.

Long enough he could have a short cry, and go back to giving his son careful pets, just leaving his hand in one place. The doctor knocked before he entered.

"Mr. Piston, there is still more we have to talk about. We can talk here, so you don't have to leave your son."

"His name is Eli, Eli Henry Piston." The doctor just nodded his head before continuing on.

"It's more about your wife yet. It looks like one of her vertebra has a hairline fracture. We'll only know once she's awake if she'll have any nerve damage. And then her reproductive system is in a right mess, one of the reasons we had to deliver. She won't be able to have kids after this. Even if her reproductive system was in a healthy condition, it still wouldn't have been recommended to do so, as the stress of carrying would have been extremely taxing. We do need to talk about her medical history a bit."

He cleared his throat before speaking. "She was in a bad accident back in '54. That's when her appendix was taken out. She had some broken ribs, broken arm, I don't really remember what all she told me then."

"That's helpful though. We'll let you know when she's out of surgery and you can see her."

"Thank you."

"You can come and go as much as you want during visiting hours to see your son."

He just nodded as the doctor left the room. He probably should have asked about Eli's survival chances, but he didn't think he could stand hearing if it was low.

A nurse came in to see about feeding his newest family member and he went to phone his dad and Nanna, updating them on all that he knew.

He stayed as late as they let him, switching between Eli and Jess once she was set up in a room. He was utterly exhausted when he got home, and fell into Nanna's comforting arms before falling asleep on the couch.

Nanna and Abby came back to the hospital with him the next day. He took them to Jess first, still unconscious, before taking them to meet Eli.

"Abby, you have to be careful momma's very hurt." He showed her how to hold mom's hand and to give her a kiss.

He carried her into where Eli was. Telling her she could touch his head softly, and his little hands.

"Can I hold him?"

"Not yet love. Daddy hasn't even been allowed to hold him quite yet."

It was at lunch that he realized he never phoned Henry back. He left Abby with Nanna again, much to his little girl's displeasure.

"Don't go daddy."

"Daddy just has to make an important phone call and then he'll be right back." He hoped Henry would be at his garage again today.

"Smokey's Garage-"

"Henry?"

"Piston. I'm surprised you actually phoned back."

"I said I would. I'm sorry for just hanging up on you, but a doctor was finally giving me news. It's bad, really bad. She's still unconscious and they don't know when or if she'll wake up yet. They had to deliver our son. For both their sakes. Jess didn't want to contact anyone back east, as much as I tried to convince her otherwise. I think you should come see her. I'd appreciate it and I'll bring you and your family in. You can meet your niece and new nephew...."

"If you're bringing us in, I hope you're ready to pay for five of us. My wife our two kids and your father in law."

"Father in law?"

"That's just as complex a story as how you ended up with my sister, which you can finish explaining once we're there."

"Easier in person." They exchanged contact information, and by the end of the week the Hudson family would be here.

[harryhandstan]

while we’re on the hate train for my dad…

let’s talk about how I broke my back in December (which was the result of HIS actions) and was in the most excruciating pain I’ve ever experienced in my life and had to psych myself up before even getting out of the bed to go to the bathroom or anything involving moving my broken body, but the second this bitch has a little swelling in his foot (from a condition he refuses to believe he has or get help for because he doesn’t believe in science or doctors) he calls my aunt to bring him a fucking wheelchair

let’s go through some of the other things he did after my accident:

tried to argue with the paramedics about how to do their job when they were trying to get me off the ground, all because he was a volunteer firefighter and thought he knew better than the professionals.

called my Nanna while I was in the ambulance (knowing that I didn’t want her to know yet because I was worried she was going to try to rush to the hospital if she knew) and told her that I “just got the breath knocked out of me” when I literally was kicked by a horse and went flying 8 feet across our yard.

also yelled at my Nanna that same night and made my family think I was dying just because my sister who is no contact with him didn’t want to talk to him on the phone. he then bullied them into giving him my cell phone number, not so he could call and check on me, no, but because the insurance had run out on the cars the day before and I got kicked while he was on the phone with them (how dare I!) so he had to talk to my mom about renewing the insurance.

came into my room after I got home from the ER and asked if he could “pray for me” knowing that he and I don’t have that kind of relationship anymore and haven’t in a long time, but that I would be too in shock and out of it from the meds to say no. he then fake cried through a prayer and “apologized” to me.

exactly a week after my accident, he came into my room where my mom (who is a retired nurse) and I were and said, “I really think your mother is enjoying being a nurse and having someone to take care of again” and then laughed. when all week I had been questioning what I did to deserve what happened to me, why I survived, how I didn’t even want to live and how I might have to go back to the hospital for help with pain management because it felt unbearable even with the amount of medication I was sent home with.

didn’t ask how a single one of my 4 neurosurgeon appointments went, or how they were talking the possibility of surgery. he still doesn’t know that I have a permanently collapsed part of my spine and arthritis because of the accident and probably will have lifelong pain and disability because of what happened to me.

2 months ago he came into my room to ask me for the Hulu password and then asked me how I was. That was the first time in almost 10 months he had asked how I was and it was only after he came in there because he needed something from me, not because he actually cared or wanted to know.

[cavaliant]

If Ares becomes king of Agustria, Nanna stays in New Thracia or wherever her potential lover goes, and Diarmuid inherits leadership of a dukedom/country from his father, then they’ll all only have a short time with their cousins/sibs before being separated once again 😔

Ares was raised by mercs after his parents died and had no real fam or friends until Lene/Laylea, Nanna was constantly on the run/in hiding and her mom left to get her bro and never came back (and a lot of her possible dads are dead), and Diarmuid was lucky enough to grow up with found family but he never got a chance to get to know his blood relatives either until the war. The war is the first time the three of them get to spend together. I know obviously they can visit each other and stuff but official duties would probably keep them too busy for more than occasional visits, especially with rebuilding their countries in the aftermath of a continent-wide revolution.

Diarmuid for one would be crushed by not getting to spend the days by his family’s side but his sense of duty and desire to help would be too strong to just reject the leadership position if it was asked/expected of him, even if he’s more comfortable being a follower.

[snippychicke]

Aftermath--Two

Aftermath: An TUA fanfic

Chapter Two

Rating: Teen

Mentions of blood, slight gore, nightmares

Part One

Lorelei had to admit: Otto's pain tolerance was astonishingly high. Sure she had slipped him a couple of the stronger pain pills she had stored away, but Lorelei still expected screams and curses as she tended to the mess of his eye.

Once she realized how severe the damage was, she tried again to persuade him to let them take him to a hospital.

"No."  

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" She all but pleaded, pulling away her bloodied rag to focus on his good eye, wishing she could put her hands on her hips. "Your eye is severely damaged. I don't know what to do other than remove it, and I--"

"Remove it," he interrupted, closing his good eye as if that was the end of the conversation. Lorelei paled, and she was fairly sure Raymond, her unofficial helper, swore under his breath. 

"I've only watched that procedure a few times," she continued, stressing her words. "I am not a surgeon. I am a nurse. Do you really trust me to--"

"Yes."

The short answer floored her, making her stomach twist. Otto opened his grey-blue eye, meeting her's with absolute conviction. He didn't know her. He was about to lose his eye. And yet he seemed barely fazed. 

"Ok. Okay then. Ray, drag that chair closer. I think I have a surgical text upstairs..."

"Lei, you can't…" He protested as she stripped her gloves, muttering to herself about supplies.

"I've done worse," she admitted as she disappeared up the stairs. 

Less than an hour later, she had a surgical text propped on the coffee table to guide her through the procedure of removing the remains of his eye. She expected it not to go well considering her lack of sedatives, but the most he vocalized was a few pained grunts before catching himself and clenching his teeth. She was honestly more worried about Raymond passing out than she was her patient, seeing the dark man pale and waiver more than a few times when she spared him a glance. 

Raymond disappeared into the bathroom as soon as she admitted she didn't need his help anymore followed by the sounds of retching. Lorelei finished wrapping gauze to hold the bandaging in place, sighing once she was done. 

"I have some antibiotics I want you to take," she admitted, stripping off her gloves for the final time. "Do...do you have someone to look after you?" She paused, studying his rather expressionless face, and his blue-grey quickly looked away from her, confirming her fears. 

She offered her hand, slowly helping him sit up. "I have a spare room, so you can stay here until you get your strength back. I know my place isn't much, but it'll let me keep an eye on that too."

He nodded his head slightly, looking rather defeated. Feeling somewhat awkward, Lorelei continued as she tried to straighten up the mess. "And besides, it's like Nanna Chestnut used to say, it's not our place to judge. And, well, you already paid an eye for... whatever."

Raymond reappeared from the bathroom, and Lorelei excused herself as he waved her towards the kitchen. The kitchen was as small and worn as the rest of the house, dingy curtains covering the cracked windows. "Did I just hear you offering a bed to him?" He whispered harshly.

"Well considering I just removed the man's eye, and I'm hardly a surgeon, it seemed prudent."

"Lei, I know you’re trusting to a fault, but that man tried to kill us!"

"And yet you brought him here," she shot back. "What do you expect me to do? He already made it clear he won't go to a hospital. Do you want me to kick him out onto the street? Or do you want me to call the cops and explain that I went ahead and removed his eye and gave him meds I stole from the hospital?"

Raymond gritted his teeth, running a hand through his short hair. On the one hand, he knew she was right. Morally there was nothing else they could do. But on the other hand, he hated to leave the woman he had come to consider as a sister to fend for herself. 

She didn't have any special abilities like Allison, after all. Since childhood, he had known her, the two of them throwing a ball over the picket fence that separated her yard and his grandmother's. Knew she would rather give someone her purse than even think about fighting.

"I-I'll stay here then," he decided, stomach twisting at the thought. He didn't want to, but he had no choice.

"What? No! Go back home to Allie, I can handle myself."

"...Allie went home with her family." He admitted quietly. "I'd feel weird being there without her anyways." 

"Family? I thought she didn't have any around here?" 

"She doesn't. Look, I'd rather not talk about it right now." Not with that man--Otto--likely listening in. Raymond glanced out to the living room, only slightly relieved to see him still rather slumped on the couch. "I'm gonna run home and get a change of clothes. Then I'll be back." 

"Fine," she relented with a sigh. "If you insist."

Raymond left the kitchen, pausing at the front door to look at Otto reclining on the old couch, still unnaturally pale with sweat beading despite the chill of the late November night. "Don't you dare hurt her." He swore, though he highly doubted the man had the energy after everything. Especially when it seemed like an effort just for Otto to lift his head and open his good eye.

"Jag ska inte," he said, his words either slurred from just his accent or the pain meds Lorelei had given him. Granted, Raymond doubted it would have made any difference. He knew a little Spanish, and that was not it.

"One wrong move and I'll finish the job my wife started," Raymond continued anyways, even though he highly doubted he could be so….ruthless. 

Either Otto didn't care or didn't think he would either as he allowed his head to slump back on the back of the couch, not bothering to designate him with a response. Raymond swore under his breath, praying desperately that everything was in one piece when he returned.

                                                      --+--

Otto hadn't moved an inch when Lorelei finished washing her hands and putting things away. "Okay big man," she sighed, and Otto barely stirred in response. "Sleeping like that is not going to do you any good, so come on." She grabbed his lax hand and tugged slightly. 

With a protesting grunt, Otto shifted and did his best to stand, leaning heavily on Lorelei as the room spun. Her head barely came to his shoulder, which made it awkward, but she held on with a fair amount of strength. 

"You are not allowed to fall, understand?" She said as he wavered. "That would knock those clots loose, and I doubt you have much more blood to lose." 

He grunted in agreement (or she assumed) before taking a hesitant step. Then another, and slowly the paired shuffled towards the small bedroom adjacent to the living room. "Besides," she continued mainly to break the silence. "I doubt I'd be able to lift you up off the floor."

A small smile graced her lips as he gave a huff of what she took as laughter. Her smile remained as she helped him ease into the small twin-sized bed, kneeling down as soon as he was settled to pull off the thick leather boots, ignoring his blatant stare as she quickly undid the thin strings with practiced efficiency. 

Habits were hard to kill, after all. 

"Swing your legs over, and get some rest," she commanded as she stood. "I'll allow another dose of the stinger pills, but then it's plain old Tylenol for you."

He nodded as he collapsed back on the bed which looked even tinier with his more substantial frame laying on it. Lorelei didn't like how pale he was, or the sweat beading on his forehead. Out of habit she brushed the pale blonde hair checking for a temp and gave a sigh of relief when she found none.

Yet, at least.

                                                       --+--

Raymond half expected a blood bath to be waiting for him when he returned. Except there was only the small blood stains Lorelei was scrubbing on the splintered wood floor, Otto nowhere to be seen. 

"Did he leave?" He asked hopefully, but the dark look he received answered otherwise. 

"He's resting in my spare room," she still answered, gesturing to the partially closed door with the bristle brush. "So shush." 

Raymond groaned as he sat on the hardwood chair closest to the woman. "You brought him to me, I'm going to take care of him."

"I have a moral dilemma, okay?" He sighed. "I am allowed to have conflicted feelings about saving the life of the man who tried to kill me and my wife."

"Why didn't you call the cops, Ray?" She asked, giving up on the spot and resting on her heels to look at him. “Why didn’t you force him to a hospital or something? Why bring him here?” 

"Yes, Lei," he leaned forwards, arms resting on his knees. "I'm going to call the cops, and tell them what? That I have a vacuum salesman I thought was dead laying rolled up in my best rug with obvious bruises around his neck and missing an eye because my wife stabbed him? How is it going to look with a black man bringing a man like him into a hospital? Especially when that man is me?"

"Why don't you tell me exactly what happened?" She shifted to sit on the couch, and once he had her full attention, Raymond obliged. The craziness of seeing a cop just turn away after a simple whispered command from his wife. Learning of her secret power. Meeting Allison's rather startling brothers. Not just their personalities, but their ethnicities. 

Learning his wife, his perfect wife of an entire year, was from a lot farther than he could imagine. He could see the doubt and concern in Lorelei's face, but her lips stayed pressed together and she listened without a word as he continued his story. Even after he admitted the truly insane moment of yet another brother in law appearing in a flash of light, citing more time travel, and took his wife away. Forever.

"And that's when I brought him to your doorstep," he finished, leaning back in the chair and waited. 

Lorelei pressed her lips together in thought before giving in and asking the question pressing to the forefront: "Having you been dropping acid?"

"Lei!" He protested, jumping to his feet though mentally, he had tried to prepare for this kind of reaction. “Are you seriously asking me that?” 

"What else am I supposed to think?! Time travel? Superpowers? It sounds like science fiction!"

"This is exactly why I couldn't go to the police. Because if my own sister wouldn't believe me, there is no way they would. Lei," he walked over to the couch and sat next to her, drawing her hands into his. "You are the sister of my heart. Do you really think I could ever lie to you? Or take drugs? To ruin my people's reputation like that?"

She looked at where their hands met, her fair skin even paler in comparison with his. Nana Chestnut always called them siblings of heart, because they always understood each other. They nearly always agreed. She knew his motivations and passions as if they were her own, and vice versa.

And no, she couldn't see him lying to her. Or willingly do anything that could be used against the equal rights movement. 

She looked up and studied his face. The worst bit was: he didn't look like someone hallucinating or having any kind of psychotic break. He seemed somehow as calm and collected as always. 

"...shit."

                                                      --+--

Otto woke with a gasp, the fear from his nightmare chasing him as his hands shot to his neck, assuring he was free to gasp for air. He was already sitting on the edge of the bed before his mind fully woke up; the previous day’s events slowly untangling from the nightmare.

Not that there was much difference. 

His throat ached and burned, but it was nothing compared to his eye, or rather its remains. It was disorienting, having half of his sight gone as he studied the small room barely big enough for the bed and a chest of drawers. Early morning light streamed through threadbare curtains, allowing him to see the glass of water and the white pills sitting next to them. 

Part of him wanted to forgo medication. He had trained nearly his whole life to withstand pain. To push it down and compartmentalize it until it was merely an annoyance. 

But he also never had his eye removed either. And he had to admit whatever the woman gave him the night before had dulled his mind enough to temporarily forget feeling like his heart had been ripped from his chest. 

It wasn't Axel. He reminded himself as he carefully stood, the room spinning as he shakily took the few steps to the chest of drawers, leaning on it as he popped the medication into his mouth and drank the lukewarm water. 

They had known the woman had powers. That's why they had tried to neutralize her as quickly as possible. But they had failed. Again. Their near-perfect streak shattered by this family of oddities. 

But where did Axel go? Why had he woken up at the mercy of the woman's husband? Had his brother honestly thought him dead? And just left him? 

Axel was still alive, right? The thought made his stomach turn as much as the medications and the dizziness did as he clenched his fist.

 No, his brother had to be alive. Axel was the best of them. Their older brother (by five minutes to Otto, but even as an adult, Axel had lorded it over him). Axel had to have survived. 

He couldn't be the only one left. He had to find his brother. 

The thought gave him purpose as he pushed off from the dresser and forced his legs to work as he stumbled out of the small room into the living quarters of the house. His focus was on the front door and the light that was streaming through the small window panes. He had to leave. He had to find Axel. 

Why was the world swaying so much? 

"Woah! Hey, no!" He stumbled as his foot met a thick rug and nearly toppled over if it wasn't for the small woman from the night before, (Lori? Lee? Some odd English name) coming to help him regain his balance. "C'mon on buddy, you need to sit your ass down before you fall down."

It bruised his ego how easily she manipulated him to the nearest chair, helping him ease down into it before disappearing once more. He could only close his eyes, trying to will his heart to stop pounding and his to stop lungs burning from the short walk. 

He felt as weak as a newborn kitten. How was he supposed to do anything like this?

"Here, have some tea." A cold glass was placed in his hand, though her hand hesitated to release it until she was sure he wouldn't drop it. "You lost a lot of blood, my friend. I'm surprised you got this far without passing out." 

The drink was cold and sweet, oddly helping both his stomach as well as his head settle. "Thirsty, were we?" She teased as he finished the glass, still knelt by his side. Muddied green eyes smiled up at him softly, the same ones he remembered hazily staring into last night. 

Except then they hadn't been so cheerful. Just… determined. 

Her smile fell as he continued to stare down at her, and she reached up to brush his forehead with her wrist. "No fever, which is good," she muttered after a moment. "How are you feeling?" 

He wasn't even sure if there were words for how he was feeling, let alone what the English equivalent was. The ache of his throat. The burning pain of his eye. The infuriating absence of half his vision. 

The emotional pain in his chest that threatened to consume him.

"Well, I take it that it's not pleasant by the look on your face," she guessed as he stayed silent. "Did you take those pills I left you?"

He gave a slight nod to that, which seemed to appease her. "Good, though they could be hard on the stomach. How about I whip up a light breakfast? We can see how long it takes Mr. Overprotective there to wake up." 

He had to turn to look where she gestured, seeing Allison's husband asleep on the small cramped couch, an old quilt draped over him. 

She stood up and offered her hand, "You want to come with me to the kitchen? I have a fresh pot of coffee just made, if you're a coffee drinker. Also, not easy on the stomach, but the Lord smite me if I ever deny anyone coffee." 

He hesitated for a moment before accepting, and it was embarrassing to have help to stand and then need to lean on her smaller frame as she helped him across to the kitchen. By the time she helped him to the small kitchen table, he felt weak and shaky and all but collapsed into the chair. 

It wasn't long before she had a mug of steaming coffee set before him and a dish each of sugar and creamer. The woman continued to talk cheerfully as she busied herself with breakfast, he only partially paid attention. 

At least the coffee was strong. 

Part Three 

[alirhi]

If I wrote Loki pt 5

(Missed one? Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4)

Woo. Coming up on the end. It's been so hard to keep the same stupid storyline and just give Loki a bigger part to play (in his own motherfucking show) rather than just rewriting the whole bloody thing, but it's almost done! And trust me, guys, this has been deliberate (and painful), not a sign of lacking creativity. If I'd really written this thing, there would be no Mobius, no Sylvie, no TVA. It would have been properly about Loki and would not just be a six-hour commercial for the multiverse. Of course, it almost definitely would have also involved Loki in a poly relationship with Sigyn and Bucky if I was allowed to truly run wild 😂 so I'm not saying I'm perfect lmao

Alright. Let's get on with this, shall we?

Episode 5! Almost done! We start with the TVA side of things. Mobius is struggling to calm the other agents and keep them from killing anyone else, not an easy task when enraged, grief-stricken Sigyn is trying to kill them all. He manages to get close to her just long enough to whisper He's not dead; not yet. He slips a Tempad into her hand, winks, and then steals a weapon and prunes her. Happy now? he grumbles at his coworkers, tossing the thing (seriously, what were those called? I keep wanting to call it a melty stick, but this show isn't worthy of a Grandmaster reference XD) back to the stunned agent he'd stolen it from. We have the psycho Variant. Job well done, right? Let's get her processed.

So much for friendship, Sylvie growls at him, horrified by how casually he just murdered Sigyn. I never said I was their friend, Mobius points out, though there's a quick flash of fear and regret as he glances back at the spot where Sigyn once stood. He doesn't know her well enough to care how things go for her, but he's praying she can help Loki. There was no way he could have sent Sylvie; she's feral, she doesn't trust anyone and can't be trusted, and there's no way she and Loki can work together.

Cut to Loki appearing in the pruned dimension. Again, can't remember if it had a name. I only watched these episodes once each, which was more than enough 🤮

Anyway, he doesn't fall out of nowhere; the orange sparks that he disintegrated into on the other side are what come together to recreate him here. He meets a few other Lokis; at least two of them are his age and blue. One is wearing Jotun clothes, and he smirks at OG Loki's look of surprise. "I went straight to Jotunheim after killing Laufey. I only had my throne for a few moments before those wretched TVA people showed up, but it was still mine."

"Did it make you happy?" Loki asks, a tired, resigned smile on his face. He knows the answer before King Loki says anything, and only smiles a bit wider when he says "No. I never wanted any throne." Loki nods and picks up King Loki's train of thought: "Only ever wanted to be seen and valued. But the only thing the house of Odin values is power." They take him to the underground bunker.

His interactions with the other Lokis aren't played for laughs. There's some lighthearted stuff (I'd keep Croki and his reaction to him, because that was genuinely funny) but mostly Loki meeting other Loki variants (several of them female and no one bats an eye) is to show that he was never evil. Self-serving and a little weaselly at times, especially when he was younger, but not evil. King Loki is horrified that OG Loki tried to destroy Jotunheim. OG Loki, in turn, can't even look at Feral Loki who never deluded himself into thinking Odin would ever love him and ran away as a child. Like Old Loki, he kept himself hidden for years before he got lonely and sloppy and the TVA found him.

Each new story more heartbreaking than the last; each new Loki variant reveals more of the horrors they've suffered in service of the TVA's "sacred timeline" before being sent to this place to die. But Lokis don't die; they fight, and they survive. They're all tired. They're all a bit broken. A few have had idle passing thoughts of finding a way out, a way home, but what would be the point? After all, they'd only be sent back again. Princess Loki quietly illustrates this point by revealing that she did get out, once. She ran to her husband and wife - Baldur and Nanna; she loved Sigyn, every Loki who's ever met Sigyn has loved her, but like many of them, she never had the courage to tell her, so she latched onto the pair who would have her - and they didn't recognize her. Their connection had been erased, and her once-partners only knew her as the Trickster who'd once almost gotten Baldur killed. She was captured and sent back to this wretched place, and with nothing left to hold onto on the other side, stayed.

"Then there is a way out," is OG Loki's takeaway. He remembers the prank that had nearly killed Baldur, and he cringes a little, but quickly moves on. He needs to get out, get home. "Where is 'home', Loki?" King Loki challenges him, and that makes him pause. He'd only learned about his Jotun heritage a year ago, Asgard was slated to be eradicated... "Sigyn," he murmurs. "Sigyn is home."

"Then I suppose this is home now." Loki spins to face the source of the snarky voice behind him, and throws his arms around Sigyn, overwhelmed with joy to see her. One of the other Lokis had found her and brought her to the bunker, and all the Lokis are staring at her, missing their own connections with her, but this isn't their Sigyn, so they stay away. She smiles and backs up, holding out the Tempad. "Or we can find a new home."

He takes it, and glances at the others. "Our greatest failing is that we've always done everything alone. Look where that's brought us - all of us, no matter what path we try to take, we're all here." One of them points out that the TVA is why they're there, and he nods. "That's my point. Alone, not one of us can stop them. Our sister tried, and I brought her into their clutches." He points to Princess Loki. "She tried to escape them, but they made sure she was alone. This is not my fate. I refuse. If I can't count on myself, well..." A mocking smirk at his other "selves" turns into a fond, nervous smile as he turns to Sigyn. "I suppose I'd better start counting on someone else for help."

"There is not a single Loki that's ever existed who wouldn't die for that woman," King Loki points out, giving Sigyn a shy smile. She laughs, blushes, and turns to OG Loki, who only shrugs and nods with a sheepish smile of his own. "We can address that later," she assures him. "For now, what's the plan, Loki?"

"If Sylvie can enchant, so can I. We're twins." He grins, putting the Tempad away. "That's a handy failsafe, but I'd like to be done running. I say we enchant the guard dog outside and find out what it's guarding."

Meanwhile, Mobius and Sylvie (I'd be happy to forget about them both, but y'all like them, so...) are discovering the truth behind the "Time keepers". Finding out the whole thing was a sham, Mobius is 100% done. He and Sylvie work together to remind as many agents as they can who they once were, trying to dismantle the TVA from within. While the small army of Lokis (and the beautiful Sigyn ❤) march right up to the hungry murder cloud, Mobius and Sylvie wake up as many variants-turned-agents as they can.

Episode 6 (season 1 finale)

[intothewickedwood]

Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 4x06 Family Business

My doggy Happi’s here to watch with me! Usually this time of the week she’s at my Nanna’s, so I’ll ask her what she thinks at the end. I remember watching the first seasons for the first time with her on my lap and she loved it!

Maybe I’m biased because I’ve only got into reading books recently but I can’t believe Belle’s mum risked her life for some freaking books! Just get out of there! You can always buy new books! Or go to a freaking library! And this is why I am not a Ravenclaw. Though, it is somehow my secondary house after Hufflepuff. 

Oh God, Belle’s risking her life for books too. Like mother, like daughter.

Oh snap! They’re here! I freaking told them, didn’t I!

Oh gosh. Poor Belle. 

Aww! Snow got to see Emma as a teen! I bet she watches those videos whenever she can. And now I have made myself sad.

So if there’s a North Woods, does that mean there’s more that one wood? I always thought there was only one.

Wait, David, you tore apart her house?!

Tehe. Now I’m imagining Ingrid driving an ice cream truck. 

I wonder why Ingrid waited for Elsa’s arrival till she revealed her true colours. 

Belle, are you sure you want to know every detail of something so traumatising?

Elsa: “there doesn’t seem to be anything on Arendelle here. Do you know where to look?” Belle: “No. I’m sorry. I’m really not that familiar with Arendelle or your sister.” Belle lol. You totally just gave yourself away. She didn’t even mention her sister there. That sounds super suspicious.

I love Anna. Have I mentioned I love Anna? Because I do.

That’s a pretty big ice cream truck. At least compared to the ones I’ve seen.

I swear that is the only time Emma and Robin ever talk to each other. 

Regina: “What now? Should we question the cow she gets her milk from?” Honestly, that’s probably a good idea, considering that this is OUAT and some cows can probably talk.

No way can his hook break a padlock!

Aww. Poor Elsa’s got tears in her eyes.

Oaken is significantly smaller here. They should have gone full on Hagrid special effects with him.

I’m burning up in this heat. My cooling mat is in the wash and I miss it. I highly recommend them, especially if you have a dog or cat. They’re super cool to sleep on too (see what I did there xD?)

I could really do with some nachos right now.

I like Regina’s lipstick.

Couldn’t Roland have at least tried true loves kiss with Marian? I mean, it wouldn’t have worked ‘cause it’s not her but it seems like the logical thing to do.

Why is Gold so desperate to make a deal with Ingrid? He even threatened her if she declined.

Time for Belle’s annual Disney Princess adventure! So far she’s been on one with Mulan, Ariel and now Anna. I may be forgetting someone!

Belle and Anna seemed to get along quite quickly. I think Anna just has one of those personalities.

Lol. Anna trying to climb a mountain and just falling straight away xD!

Why did Anna take the magic hat box with her on her journey?

Anna to Belle about Rumple: “I just pray you never cross paths with that twisted man.” Oh Anna, if only you knew.

I find it so sad that Emma and Ingrid couldn’t have just been a family. If only Ingrid had not forced her in front of a moving car. They could have been happy.

Can Grandpappy read minds?

You know, Belle reminds me quite a bit of Shona from Jeopardy. I like Shona best but they have similarities.

I want one of those stones! They’re so pretty!

Aww. Anna considers Belle her friend <3

It’s kinda awful that Ingrid’s parents erased the memory of their own daughters from every book, record and the people of Arendelle. I wonder if they erased the memory from themselves. Or hang on, wasn’t it Gerda who wanted their memory erased? Gerda, I have questions.

I love this scene with the mirror and Belle. I love the idea of a mirror like that. It’s really cool!

Omg Ingrid has atmokinesis too?! She can control the weather?! Or at least make it stormy. This woman is powerful!

Aaaaaah! Oh my God! Belle! Help Anna!!

Belle! For God’s sake!!

Belle! Hurry!!

Oh no! That was a big fall!

Woah. Mirror!Belle’s eyes are trippy as hell.

This mirror really picks at Belle’s insecurities. It really gets to the root of her character. I wish more characters faced the mirror. I’d have loved to have known what each one would say. Now I need to read this au. Prompt for anyone who finds that a fun concept!

Jesus Christ! She could have cut his throat! Good job he’s immortal!

Belle: “I should have never kept a secret from you, especially ‘cause I know you’d never keep one from me.” The irony lol.

So it was Belle who made the suggestion to summon Rumple in the first place.

I guess the mirror doesn’t work on Rumple.

Why did Rumple leave that cut on his neck? He can just heal it. Oh, wait! No he can’t! The Dark One dagger can hurt him! I forgot! So, it seems he can eventually heal from a wound inflicted by the dagger, so long as it’s not fatal. He just can’t heal it magically.

So, if Ingrid has no leverage, why exactly is Rumple so desperate to make a deal with her?

Anna needs to see a doctor after a fall like that!

Oh man, Ingrid was gonna be a family with Anna and Elsa. That hurts!

I don’t think Helga looks like Emma at all.

But the prophecy was never fulfilled. Emma never became Ingrid’s sister.

It’s actually pretty heartbreaking that Ingrid just wants sisters who accept and embrace her for who she is. She had that and she’s trying desperately to get that back but it can never be the same :’(.

And what did you think Happi? I’ll let her type: c in jigyhuklg get

Honestly, same Happs! I liked this Ep! Especially the Anna parts and the mirror part!

[mwolf0epsilon]

Story on Norman catching Sammy in Joey cult ?

It's been twice now that I've written Norman's demise. Y'all really like killing people uh?

Summary: Sammy was weird in many ways, but this? This was just crazy.

---

     Back when Norman was still a little tot, his great nanna used to tell him and his brothers and sisters about their great poppop. How he'd been raised in some sort of cult that indoctrinated its disciples from birth. She related to them how, even though he'd managed to escape them, their constant drilling of ideals had never truly left him. Which was why nanna had gotten rid of him. Love him as she did, she knew he was a crazy dangerous man. Little five year old Norman had been very curious about those tales his mama begged nanna not to tell them. He especially found it curious when she described his eyes. Having a condition like the one he had, had made him a prime target for neighbourhood bullies that called him "Crazy-Eye". So hearing about someone who had actual insanity behind what most considered to be the windows to the soul... It had given him a sort of relief, because at least there was a spark of life behind his own unsynchronized peepers.   "N'aw child, don't yous go be tellin' ya mama 'bout what ol' nanna be tellin' you 'bout ya poppop, ya hear?"   "Ok nanna. Won't tell a soul."   "Yous is a clever one, boy. An' don't forget ta keep an eye out... Crazy can hide in plain sight. Sure did for poppop." Insanity could hide in plain sight. That was perhaps the most valuable lesson to take from his nanna's tales. What she could never get across was how hard it was to see someone you cared for slowly be afflicted with it.

     Sammy was a weird man. Had been from day one of Norman meeting him, and never quite changed even when he put a reign on his deplorable attitude. He wasn't a bad person per say. Misguided by a parent with that typical southern brand of white superiority complex. A man who thought his skin color made him better than all the other folk, and who taught his boy to think it was just as sacred an idea as the damn gospel he also tried to drill into Sammy's head. But Sammy was admittedly clever, and much more curious than his father had been. He asked questions and he tried to change when he realized his own crappy behaviour didn't please him all that much. But then things started getting unsettling in the studio. Little things popped up, and the world's own agenda got in the way of Joey Drew's plans. Turns out Joey wasn't about to fold for anything or anyone. Those who were drafted were the lucky ones. Those who were socially outcasts or liabilities in the military's eyes, were not so lucky. They stayed, so the wrongness affected them. The wrongness... Norman had felt something was not right for a long while, but now that he had to get acquainted with so many new hires and the such? He'd been preoccupied. So when the ones he knew suddenly started acting unlike themselves he'd been caught by surprise.   "I don't understand how Mr. Drew has no trouble with him... He's just so..." He'd found Buddy in the bathroom, trying to clean the obvious ink stains on his clothing. "Why did I think helping him would make him less nasty?"   "Sammy tends ta blow up at minor things. If it was as bad as yous say it was, then he was just freaked out from nearly drowning." He got as many paper towels as he could to help the poor kid get rid of as much of the ink as he could.   "Doesn't excuse what he says to me... Or the other Jewish employees..." Buddy murmured sadly.   "What did he say?"   "Not important... Just makes me uneasy. It's like I'm specifically not worth anything just because of my... Mr. Polk?" Buddy blinked once the projectionist dropped everything he was doing to stalk out the door.   "Yous ain't the first he's gone and played that card on. Was a long while ago but I can refresh Sammy's memory for the folks he's been barkin' at."   "Oh! Uh, you don't have to! It's not going to fix anything."   "Trust me, a hard knock on the noggin' works just fine ta sorte Sammy's bullshit." Norman smiled in passing at Dot who paused to watch him and then look at Buddy in concern once he peered out the bathroom door. "You two kids run along now. I'll see yous around." He tried not to laugh when he heard Buddy fretting over potentially getting fired for starting a fight. Kid still had a lot to learn about how Joey Drew Studios ran for all these years. Sometimes tough love was all it needed. But not this time.

     His nanna's tales rushed back to him when he'd cornered Sammy in his office. Norman didn't like roughing people up, but he'd promised the music director that if he stepped on any toes for the wrong reasons he'd give him a whooping like the one the blond had been begging for, back when he'd first harassed the projectionist. He had half a mind to start hollering until he'd caught sight of Sammy's eyes. Nanna had described insanity in great detail. The unfeeling and unfocused darkness in poppop's eyes that consumed the man she'd loved and left nothing behind. Sammy's eyes were a soft hazel, the nice flicker of green so full of the essence that made Sammy Lawrence who he was. What Norman saw instead of those pretty peepers were dark pools, a sickly grayish brown with flecks of blackness like tar. Like ink... Norman completely forgot what he was to say. He couldn't bring himself to talk when he saw the same thing that had tormented his nanna's dreams. It just wasn't right.

-

     Joey Drew was up to something, and Sammy was involved somehow. By his own volition, Norman wasn't too sure. The kid was acting mighty strange since Norman had noticed his eyes had inexplicably changed color, and whatever progress for positive change he'd made was completely gone. If anything, Sammy had become an incredibly volatile and aggressive husk. Very few people noticed, which was what was so concerning.   "It can't be a coincidence... Joey barely showin' his face 'round the departments and Sammy actin' up like the devil bit him in the ass..." He'd paced as he watched Jack drink what was likely the 5th cup of coffee he'd in the morning.   "Whatever it is, Sammy's more enthusiastic about his songs for a change..." He sounded nonchalant about it. "He complained about all the pieces Drew forced him to change... Now he's less, angry about those. Seems to love them actually."   "Those little annoying jigs? He said they was garbage!"   "And they are. Putting lyrics to those was dang awful but... Well if he's happy, I'm happy..." Jack gave a weak smile before coughing a rather wet sounding cough. He took another sip of his coffee to sooth his throat.   "You comin' down with somethin'?"   "Must be... This gross cough has been popping up a lot. And my nose is awfully stuffy. Can't smell or taste nothing, which is good considering I gotta hide away in the sewers to work..." Norman huffs. People were getting sick from being forced to do overtime with no rest. Jack getting sick wasn't entirely out of the question. But the stench of something acrid coming from his mug did give him cause for concern. Best check to see if Wally hadn't accidentally stored the coffee beans with the cleaning supplies again. A week later he forgets about it once he instead finds himself making a list of the people he stops seeing around the Studio not long after he noticed something up with Joey and Sammy.

     There's Jack, who he hadn't noticed gone at first until he'd gone poking around the sewers and not caught sight of the shorter lyricist. There was Johnny Brokehart, who's organ was completely abandoned in its little corner. No one dared touch it, in case the man returned and found so much as a pipe out of place. There was Julian Whitaker, the tall gangly cellist that often sat with the resident art critic, that Vernon fellow who liked to stare at the cartoon posters like they were masterpieces on display at a museum. Susie Campbell had gone too. Wally insisted she hadn't quit, and was awfully worried about her. Allison and Thomas had also up and split after they'd made a scene at one of them fancy parties Joey used to get investors to dump money into his lap. Shawn Flynn, Grant Cohen, Bertrum Piedmont, Lacie Benton, Emma LaMonte... People were vanishing left and right and there was no say of them being fired. Norman had a theory, and he didn't like it one bit. He tried to do his best to inform the younger hires to run before something inevitably happened to them. He told Buddy and Dot it was dangerous, in as little words he could so not to let Joey catch wind of what he did know. He prayed to whatever god was out there that no bad befell those two kids. And then he'd grabbed his light and went down, where the groaning and moaning came from.

-

     Norman ran. Ran as fast as he could, trying not to look at the things trapped in those tubes. The creatures that were tall, gangly, and vaguely humanoid. Weeping faces pressed to the glass, begging to be let out. The disgusting sludge creatures, barely holding themselves together and clawing at the glass in obvious suffering. The thing that had Sammy's voice and that was rushing after him, axe in hand and Bendy mask covering its face. Screaming at him to accept the "Lord's" blessing. He ran and dodged strikes that nicked his elbows, his legs, grazed his ankle and back... He came to a full stop before what could only be described as a throne. Horrified to find something twisted that looked like a humanoid corpse-like Bendy bound in chains. And then he was knocked onto the floor, air escaping his lungs from the sudden collision. The Sammy thing was on top of him, overjoyed to have caught him. And then all around, Joey Drew's voice filled the room... The thing on the throne shook and hissed.   "Excellent... You know what to do Prophet. Baptize this non-believer in the name of your lord."   "Anything for you my lord. Anything!" Norman tried to fight him off, knocked that silly mask off his face even. Except there was no face. Not even eyes. Windows to the soul... If he had none, then did Sammy even have a soul anymore? The axe raised, and Norman Polk didn't even have time to scream before it plunged into his chest, destroyed his ribcage, and obliterated his heart.

[fuwafuwamedb]

Like A Sister Pt 6 (Hakuno, Proto Gil, Archer Gil)

Previously: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

__

She’d set up the bed for the two of them.

A line of cushions were down the center of the bed. Along both sides, the sheets were folded back in invitation and the pillows were plumped. She’d turned on warmers, judging from the little dial remote on the nightstands showing that they were on. More than that, the bedding was fine, finer than Archer had seen Hakuno normally indulge in. The fabric was like liquid gold in color, with a dark red duvet that was overtop it. There was no doubt in his mind that, if he chose to smell the sheets, they would hold signs of being freshly cleaned.

Meanwhile, where, pray tell was Hakuno?

In the corner.

Hakuno had taken out the same kind of small futon that he had permitted her in the Moon Cell, having curled up under a single and pathetic looking white sheet. She was snoozing away, as though she had no gifted him a bed for the gods and settled herself for the average choice of a mat on the floor.

“What is she doing?”

“Hakuno has always been stubborn.”

Amazingly so. This was a new low, to think that he would simply sleep in a bed next to his young self like this; what was she thinking?

“Grab her legs,” Archer grumbled at the boy, moving to slip his hands underneath her shoulders.

They moved her from her precious lump of worn fabric and cushions, placing her properly on the bed. Glancing over Hakuno, Archer still clicked his tongue.

“The clothes must go.”

“We’re what?!”

“Shush! Do you want to wake her?”

Proto glanced over to her in worry before he shook his head. “We cannot strip her.”

“You cannot, but I will.”

He didn’t even hesitate, rather- he grabbed her waistband and yanked both the pants and panties off in one fell swoop.

His younger self flailed, all but falling to the ground in horror. He tried not to look, but those fingers were spread. He was feasting his eyes upon her lower body.

“This is wrong.”

“She is mine. Therefore, there is no problem. Get into bed if you are joining, but know that she will not be dressed this night.”

“No! No.”

Proto all but grabbed her as he managed to get Hakuno’s shirt off, his hands grabbing a thin robe from the gates. It was something more along the lines of lingerie, soft and smooth, a deep navy in color as he draped it around her shoulders and fastened it into place.

“My master deserves to be able to sleep without feeling violated,” Proto told him, his hands holding the woman close. “She is a beauty beyond all measure. A treasure beyond all treasures. Best of all, she is mine.”

A fool’s claim, but Archer merely busied himself for the moment with tossing the spare cushions off the bed. He pulled back the sheets more, motioning for the idiot to bring his Hakuno onto the bed more.

“Do not undress her again,” Proto commanded.

He would.

He’d delve under the sheets and eat her out if it suited him. The boy was lucky this night was about Hakuno.

To think she’d dare a futon when he was joining her bed. The audacity.

Proto leaned in, his hands brushing at Hakuno’s slumbering face as they lay under the covers. Archer could see the boy’s face simply soften as a small smile formed on his features.

“You are truly a wild beauty, aren’t you? Hair and eyes the color of the Ceder Forest. Skin smooth and pale like the light of Nanna on the clearest night. You would make Ishtar herself pull her hair out and weep in jealousy. You would make my mother’s steer fertile for generations to come by the mere smile that adorns your lips.”

“Your waxing will do nothing,” Archer growled.

“Silence, fool. I speak to my love and woman.”

“Pick one of them then and waste not another second of Hakuno’s subconscious hearing.” The last thing he needed was Hakuno thinking him some droning on poet.

“Do you have no love for her?”

“Hakuno is mine. This body will be one that I use for my own pleasure soon enough.”

“Nonsense.”

“You would think that. How many women have you even bed? One? Two? Do you still believe that Ishtar is some poor fool that needs you to swoop in and save her precious tree from pestilence? Did you ever wonder why the anzu birds filled her trees with their droppings?”

“I am untaken, prepared only for the one love that I will have and Ishtar knows this! She knows that I am the greatest of heroes and that there is none other like me!”

Spoken like a fool who had lost no friend and seen no men fall at the charms and spurning of Ishtar.

“Ishtar will soon bind me to my master further,” Proto insisted. “You’ll see. Hakuno shall know my spotless love for her own. I shall show her what the most powerful king in the universe can do. Perhaps I shall gift her a head as well, to show my undying support of her and her kindness.”

“You just try.”

Hakuno would kill him.

He hoped the fool did it.

[othercat2]

Trip to the Mall

Crossover between Untamed and After the Storm by Hannah Birchwood, Key Dyson and Raymond Roach a fusion au in which Wei Ying is a geneticist who rescues a family of experimental soldier mods and moves to a city of ships out in the middle of Lake Michigan.

___________________________________

It’s been a month since their arrival as refugees to the Michigan Fleet. They’re still working their way through hours and hours of “prosocial education,” that takes the form of watching a children’s program and answering questions and talking to counsellors and their social worker. 

Wei Ying has been living with Wen Qing, her brother and their little cousin Yuan. Qing has been barrelling her way through qualifications to become a medic, Ning got a job on a restaurant boat while taking psychology classes. Baby Yuan still has nightmares about the labs and the trip, but he’s recovering. Wei Ying has a job waiting for him: an “internship” working with another bio-engineer that’s mostly just a drawn out assessment period, from what the social worker says, but that’s a couple weeks away. 

Wei Ying is half asleep with Yuan in his lap. Yuan's singing along with Nanna Dog the Librarian as she teaches a lesson about sleeping things organized and neat. Wei Ying wants to object to this on grounds of dog, and also, he already had to watch several episodes that are thinly veiled and not so thinly veiled discussions of ptsd and trauma. And also dog. (Even if it's actually a puppet.) Sadly, Yuan's piping voice and tendency to actually answer questions the puppet asks out loud is adorable, so he's trapped.

He also falls asleep, only to be woken up by Wen Qing, who's nudging him. "You need to get out," she says. 

Wei Ying gives her a look of exaggerated hurt. "After all we've been too each other, Miss Wen?" He nudges Yuan, who's also fallen asleep. "Yuan, big sister is throwing me out!"

"Noooo," Yuan says sleepily, and clings like a limpet. 

"Drama queen," Qing says with a snort. "You've been mostly hanging out on the couch since we got here. The neighbors have been politely wondering what's wrong with you that you don't come out of our quarters ever." 

"So that means you're kicking me out?" Wei Ying asks, pouting. 

"Just temporarily," Qing says. "I've uploaded a shopping list. Take Yuan with you."

Wei Ying whines about it, but his protests lack force. A trip to the Mall might help him shake off the fog that had been hanging around him since they'd reached safety. (Travelling cross country, travelling through countries, bribing and lying and praying no one saw under the Wens' makeup and realized they were looking at experimental gene mods. He'd been on a hyper alert adrenaline rush and this was the crash.) 

He gets dressed in the Local Costume of sarong, sandals and a t shirt (his says in binary, "if you can read this you know binary"), gets Yuan dressed and takes one of the deck hoppers from the Sandy Button out to the Mall. The Mall was a huge former tanker, repurposed  as a trade center for not only the fleet, but also most of the American Midwest. It was permanently anchored about a mile from shore and acted as a buffer between the Fleet and the cities surrounding Lake Michigan. 

Yuan is of course immediately drawn to the toy and foodstalls. Wei Ying gets him bacon on a stick as they sightsee their way to the clothes and second hand vendors. He's working his way through the shopping list when he realizes Yuan is missing.

"The little boy who was with me, did you see where he went?!" Wei Ying asked frantically.

"Could've sworn he was here a minute ago!" a vendor says. "Should've had him in harness." The vendor tsks. 

"I'll keep that in mind," Wei Ying says while trying really hard not to think of Wen Ning walking with the chains that had been used yo restrain him dragging. On the other hand he'd seen a really cute backpack harness with Wilimina Wolf, a character that mostly showed up in Family Fleet to talk about nature, weather and ship safety.

"If he's  wearing data rings or a tracker shouldn't  be any problem for the Mall to track him," the vendor says reassuringly.

Asking the Mall to track Yuan turns out not to be necessary, though Wei Ying almost needs a medic. Yuan is back at the toy vendors, bothering what looks to be off-duty Security. The officer, a cute guy with a solemn appearance, has Yuan balanced on his hip and appears to be listening intently to whatever it is Yuan is saying. "I'm so sorry, officer," Wei Ying says, running over. "He wandered off."

"If you or your caregiver is lost, you should find Security," Yuan says in a very definite tone. The Security officer nods approvingly.

Wei Ying isn't  so sure about that. "Even if they're off-duty?"  

"I am not off-duty in the case of a lost caregiver," the officer says with a faint smile as he sets Yuan down. The kid immediately latches onto Wei Ying.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who wandered off!" Wei Ying says in mock offense. Yuan just giggles at him.

"He should have a harness," the officer says. "If it were rainy or windy there would have been a fine."

Wei Ying just barely manages to avoid snapping a childish, well it wasn't. Partly because the officer was so quietly genuine about it, partly because if he got in trouble with the police, Wen Qing would probably--no, definitely--kill him. "I promise it'll be the next thing I buy." To be friendly, he says, "How about I treat you to lunch, officer?"

"Zahn Lan," the officer says. 

"Wei Ying, or I guess Ying Wei now," Wei Ying says. And because he can't  help himself, and Zahn hadn't said anything one way or another, "so, lunch?" 

There was another faint smile. "You said the harness would be the next thing." 

"Want to make sure I follow through?" Wei Ying asks in mock offense. "Or just the right order?"

"Yes," Zahn says.

Wei Ying heads to the nearest children's clothing shop, giving a highly edited story of asylum seeking and immigration. He ends up carrying most of the conversation. Zahn seems quiet, not a talker. The kind of guy who's better at listening than talking. 

They go to lunch in one of the small diners on board the Mall. It's a bright airy place with a good view and lots of rowdy gulls vying for scraps. Yuan gets nuggets pressed into dinosaur shapes and sweet potato fries and fruit punch. ( He immediately starts making them fight.) Zahn gets a tempura plate sampler and green tea. Wei Ying gets a burger, onion rings, and without thinking about it, a beer. Zahn says nothing, but Wei Ying could almost feel the weight of disapproval. "Just one won't  hurt," Wei Ying says. "It won't even set off the alchohol detector on the deck hopper." 

"Hmn."

The drinks arrive first of course, and Wei Ying starts to take a drink. Zahn immediately reaches out, stopping him. Wei Ying can't  help the slight flinch. "Is there a problem officer?" Wei Ying asks. He tries for humor but misses.

"The lake must first be given her due," the security officer says, disapproving.

"What?" 

"Pour some of the beer out the window," Zahn said patiently. 

"For the lake," Wei Ying said blankly. 

"The lake is thirsty?" Yuan asks, brow furrowed.

"It's a custom, to pay respect to the lake," Zahn explains. "Food dropped into the lake must not be retrieved, it belongs to the lake, and one must pour a drink for the lake before drinking yourself."

Yuan frowns at his punch, looking worried. "I don't want lake-jie to be mad at me," he decides, and before Wei Ying can stop him, he tries to toss the contents of his glass into the water. Unfortunately, the glass goes out the window along with the punch.

"Yuan!" Wei says in exasperation. He feels instantly terrible about the way the little boy freezes. At the same time, he feels a spike of anxiety about the cup, stupidly out of proportion to the accident.

"No harm was done," Zahn says.

"Harm!? You're security, Fleet littering fines are ruinous and we're still under probation!"

"An accident," Zahn says. "Is hardly littering. You are fine."

"Thanks I know," Wei Ying says, and immediately regrets everything. He unthinkingly starts to take a drink, only to be stopped once more by Zahn's hand on his arm. "Seriously?!"

Zahn just stares at him. 

Wei Ying sighs, makes absolutely no comments about quaint folk religions (North America also having everything from radiation worshipping death cults to gene mods who thought they were literally gods to ancient web comic characters and saints invented by fantasy authors) and pours some his beer out. "There. Happy?"

Zahn nods. "Mn."

[markoftheasphodel]

Thoughts on the Jagen Club (FEH-centric)

So I drafted this last year, when I started playing with “Depression Meals” and then “This Could Be Us,” then sat on it for about a year. The rundown on Gharnefs compiled by @airlock inspired me to finish this up and get it out because it ain’t doing me any good sitting in my drafts, is it? This basically just served as my initial round of impressions on how FE Heroes was treating my beloved class of “veteran horsey-type knights” aka Jagens and why the Heroes representation inspired me to write crack ‘fic and less cracky explorations of the gang.

So, here goes...

Jagen: Good Grandpa

Jagen rocks. No, seriously, I love this guy and I love what Heroes did with him visually and character-wise (unit-wise... well, none of these are top-tier units and we will leave it at that). See, one gets the feeling Jagen's had a really good life up to at least late middle age. He came from a small but prosperous kingdom where life was good, he served a worthy king, and basically he's got joie de vivre animating him even in his obvious old age.

(This is one reason I kind of view Jagen as the actual ideal knight in FE. If you're a young knight and you end up like him, good on you. You end up like some of these others, my condolences. Kids like Roderick and Silas should take note.)

He's not that complex-- just a good-hearted old warhorse stomping around to prove he can keep up with the colts. My favorite line is probably the one he uses for a bad level-up, though-- a bracing shot of self-contempt: “I have dishonored my rank and my country.”  

Gunther: Bad Grandpa

He looks like Axe Jagen. Past middle age, thinks himself as a parent-figure to his liege Corrin, offers to chat over tea. But unlike Jagen, his kingdom's a mess, his life is shot through with tragedy (the scar on his face is, as usual, representative of more than skin damage), and Gunther lets it all hang out during one of his specials quotes: “I will have my revenge!” That and the line “My armor has known...so much blood” hints that there’s more to this guy than tea parties. So what’s the deal with Gunther? Uh... depends on which route(s) of Fates you played. Heroes doesn’t really pick a “side” as far as Gunther goes so IDK look up Revelation on a wiki I guess. It’s wild.

But the way he presents himself is quite engaging! Would have tea with, etc.

Titania: Team Mom

Confident and chatty Titania is the resident ray of sunshine among veteran horsey-riders. She’s happy to take up menial tasks because they gotta be done, but she’s definitely working for a cause on a level beyond “money talks” or even abstract honor. She’s into training, but for the stated reason that practice and being on top of one’s game keeps one alive, and Titania is very, very invested in everyone staying alive. Training isn’t a quirk so much as it is part of her overall practical and constructive approach to life and duty... though there are a couple of hints that Titania’s beginning to feel her age (she’s like, 30!).

And then we get her Valentine’s alt, Warm Knight Titania, who keeps the practical “money can’t buy happiness” approach to life but is very obviously all wrapped up in the feelings for her Commander that went unspoken during his lifetime... and the prospect of a second chance thanks to all these alternate timelines colliding.

Overall just as Jagen IMO represents a damn good representation of an ideal knight at the end of the road, Titania-- despite or perhaps because she quit being an actual knight-- is a beautiful integration of Duty and Training and Covert Romantic Feelings and Familial Affection without coming down too hard on any one element.

Frederick: Wacky Uncle

As a 3DS-era character there's not much surprising about Frederick for anyone who's played Awakening. Endearingly voiced by Kyle Hebert, Freddy adores his lord Chrom and hates disorder and bear meat. He’s got an alt, summoned from a beach vacation, who is obsessively cleaning up seashells and confessions to “sinning” by which he apparently means taking a break.

I admit to holding a subversive view of Frederick in that his zeal to be a great knight is undermined by all of his tics and quirks and that's part of why he and everyone else ended up dead in the original timeline-- and Heroes doesn't change my mind on that point. His fixation on clearing the garden weeds and rising early to pick up pebbles sound less like doing the menial tasks that somebody’s gotta do and more like make-work that Frederick does because something compels him to. Still, Frederick's rocking so much joie de vivre of his own that it's impossible to not like the guy. The man likes what he does, what can I say?

Still should’ve had “Pick a god and pray” in his arsenal of voiced lines somewhere.

Finn: Hot Mess #1

When Finn-- the only member of this crew whose home games never came out worldwide-- hit FEH I remember one Redditor snarking that they didn’t understand why other fans were so excited about another Frederick-style “lapdog” character. Finn indeed presents as the latest model number of “stoic and dutiful knight” on the surface... and then the trauma, debilitating melancholy, and lack of self-preservation leaks out line by line (and given two of these tell-tale lines are at 1* rarity, it’s meant to be obvious).

His identity is all wrapped up not just in some conception of being a knight but in his lance (a gift from his late lord Quan, of course)-- an object, a tool. He's at least two decades younger than Jagen (and Gunter), but whereas the old guys are determined to prove they've got life in them yet, Finn's past caring if he survives the next battle. Unlike Titania, he’s not fondly reminiscing about the happy little moments raising his adolescent liege Leif or his “daughter”/ ward Nanna. He’s not interested in pulling weeds or doing the laundry-- he’s anxious to know the layout of the castle in case it gets torched... when he’s not obsessively repairing that lance, that is. He’s got zero quotes on the value of training compared to least three indicating he's fine with ending up dead. So yeah, Finn’s basically Antimatter Titania.  Meanwhile he’s voiced to sound about twenty years older than he looks, which seems to be deliberate for both NoJ and NoA.

Finn’s more like a cautionary tale to the Rodericks and Silases of the world-- sure, you can be this guy, but who’d want to be? He sure looks pretty in his attack art though...

Seth: Hot Mess #2

Ooh, boy. Seth has what's arguably the greatest storyline scene FEH has afforded a supporting character in all of Book I... possibly in all the mainline Heroes chapters. It evokes his rebuke to Ephraim in Eph's version of Ruled By Madness and it's awesome. But the Seth we get in Heroes is a very... intriguing... look at what's underneath the shiny surface of the Silver Knight. There’s some Training stuff, a sense the man has Opinions but is struggling to stay in his place, a reference to the wound he got from Valter and an admission he’s not fun to be around. And then it gets a bit weird.

“Do not trouble yourself over my well- being. I would play the pawn gladly, would it bring us victory.“

He isn't just unattached to his own survival the way Finn is, Seth is actively advising the Summoner to keep enough distance to make it easier for them to send Seth to die. Repeatedly. Maybe the pain of his half-healed wound is driving him mad, maybe he's afraid unspoken feelings for Eirika will turn him to the dark side, but Seth is kinda messed up. And whereas honestly every iffy thing about Finn was already there in the Jugdral games and their side materials, Seth’s FEH presentation came as a shock to me and I’ve seen it flat-out called “Out of Character” elsewhere. The hint of a playful side from his support chain with Natasha, for instance, is nowhere to be found here. It’s odd and kind of compelling and yet not terribly likable, in my opinion. Frederick needs to chill and Finn needs a hug (and probably some anti-depressants), but Seth... I dunno. He needs friends, maybe? Cormag when.

“I answer destiny's call!” is a damn good line, though.

Bonus Clive and Mathilda (The Lovebirds): 

The Legendary Knight and her Idealistic boyfriend are not technically Jagens (that’s Mycen, subverting the archetype almost as soon as it was established), but they’re veteran cavalier/paladin types in their late 20s, likely of an age with Seth and Frederick at least and not many years younger than Titania and Finn. So, how do they measure up personality-wise? 

Clive and Mathilda have the advantage that their Heroes incarnations hit at virtually the same time their FE15 selves did, so there's not as much revelatory about them. Same VAs (Grant George is fantastic), consistent designs, consistent personalities. Clive struggles a bit with his dilemmas from FE15 and has a hilarious line where he’s taking care of his own horse because the Order of Heroes apparently has no staff (for the record, he says he enjoys caring for the horse). Mathilda meanwhile has a couple of quotes about her love for Clive and quite a bit about her concerns regarding Clive’s sister Clair. They’re not very extreme personalities-- even Titania, well-rounded as she is, comes across as more extreme than Clive & Mathilda thanks to her open zeal for life. I’m not quite sure how they’d come across to someone who hadn’t played FE15, as the nature of Clive’s doubts in particular are merely hinted at here. 

They’re good supporting characters but there’s a reason my Jagen-club stories don’t use them as focal points.

Not available: Mycen, Arran, Oifey, Marcus... after two damn years.

[moczothe1st]

Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 23: An Altenuous Situation

Part 22

Welcome back to another week of Let’s Tolerate Thracia.  …. I mean, let’s play Fire Emblem IV.  When we left off, we had just recruited the world’s worst hostage, and were about to send him back to save his doofus father.  Let’s check out our new kid!

So here’s Cairpre. He’s… he��s certainly around.  His Major Bragi holy blood and all those staves in his backpack should be enough to tell you he’s actually the second child of Claude and Sylvia, making him Lene’s younger brother.  How he ended up in Thracia, away from his sister and adopted by Santa Claus, will have to be a story for another time because right now we’re summarizing his unit and he’s… okay.  Basically another Claude. He starts off at level one, which is not as big a problem as it could be because he should never, ever be in combat anyway, and comes in with several long-range healing staves that will make his level shoot up fast. He’s just another healer, really. Not a bad healer, but nothing super impressive. 

He starts the long walk back to his adopted father to recruit him while Patty just keeps right on stabbing some helpless dude, like a hero.

Good job, Patty! The healer down south of her who kept patching that guy up should push her over the edge to another level, and she’ll be close to promotion.  And with him gone, other units who were busy keeping her target standing still can move to clear out Hannibal’s castle.

Mook: If you wish to claim it, you must first claim my life!

There was absolutely no need to do that. He’d have disappeared peacefully when I recruit Hannibal anyway.  I just wanted the free experience points.

Patty is learning to become a cannon lately, huh? When she promotes she’ll just wreck people.  Lana also gains a level from warping our remaining promotion candidates back to home base to pick up their new clothes, with Lene’s help. 

Your mom would be proud, sweetie. But not as proud as I will be of our four shiny new promotes!  

Oh, that’s beautiful. Tinni in particular is a standout here, because promoting to War Mage lets her use swords (which… no), Staves, and pushes her Thunder rank up to A so she can finally buy her mom’s old Thoron tome.  

And Patty is here too! Cairpre even gains his first level just from zapping the army with his Fortify staff.  A good one, too. I’m so proud-ish of him.  And from here, Seliph is finally close enough to recruit Altena…

Altena: My brother, Prince Leif, has explained the truth to me, and I can no longer oppose you. If you please, I’d like to join your ranks.

Seliph: Princess Altena?! … Ah, yes. That’s right! Prince Leif has told me everything, and we’ve both prayed you would come… He’ll be so glad to know you’ve joined us. You’ve made a difficult but wise decision.

(I like the implication that the entire drama with Altena was something Seliph knew about, but just kind of slipped his mind.)

Altena: … I can still scarcely believe this has all happened. And yet, the moment I gazed into my brother’s eyes, I understood everything.

(Platonically! She was gazing into his eyes platonically! God, I hate that I feel the need to specify that.)

Altena: His eyes revealed my father’s warm gaze…  and as clear as if it were yesterday, I felt for a split second as if I was swaddled in my mother’s gentle arms…

(PLATONICALLY!)

Seliph: I admit I’m still not entirely sure what King Travant was trying to do with you. I still cannot see what would have led him to spare you and bring you into his home after murdering your parents…

(… It was the holy spear of the gods that only she can wield. Why do so many people have trouble grasping that?!)

Altena: I’ve heard he once told my brother, Arion, that he sought to use the power of Leonster’s holy lance, Gae Bolg, as his own. For that alone, he needed me…

Seliph: You were little more than a tool to him?

Altena: I… I’m still not entirely sure. For all his cruelty, he still treated me as if I were his true daughter.

(… When?)

Seliph: Did he, now… I suppose I’ve never known much of his ways.

(That’s cool, neither did the writers.)

Altena: I must as a favor of you, milord. It’s about Arion… we need to help Prince Arion!

Seliph: Certainly! I’m hardly eager to fight a man of his fine caliber, if what I’ve heard is true. The only question is, can we convince him?

Altena: I’ll do my best to persuade him again. All I ask is a little time. Please, milord!

… and having had that dopey mess, also let Cairpre recruit Hannibal.

Cairpre: Lord Seliph freed me from Luthecia!

Hannibal: Cairpre?! Y…you’re safe!

Cairpre: Yep! Listen, Papa…. I want to join Lord Seliph’s army. Thracia’s changed so much lately…. I want to fight to help all of its people, and bring back the old Thracia!

Hannibal: Heh… you’ve grown into a splendid young man, Cairpre. Very well! I, too, shall serve Lord Seliph.

Cairpre: Yes! Thank you, Papa! First we’ll help free Thracia, and then together, we’ll challenge the Empire!

See, Altena? That was a nice normal discussion that didn’t make either of them look like total doofuses who weren’t paying attention to the war they were in. Ah, well, let’s take a look at the newbies.

So here’s Hannibal. He… well, let’s not mince words, he probably wasn’t worth the effort of recruiting him. He’s not a bad unit, inherently, being a General with Pavise, Vantage, and Adept (though with only 11 speed, it’s unlikely he’ll be activating that third one very often). It’s just that the majority of his stats are only ‘decent’ at a time in the game when many units are approaching ‘godlike’, and like Arden before him, he has a lower movement range than everyone else in a game where you’ll quickly find yourself wishing everyone would just get a horse. He’ll get a little use, but honestly most of the time he’ll be staying at our home base to make sure no random reinforcements sneak up and steal it from under us.

And after two borderline duds, we finally get our shining diamond of the map.  Altena is a monster; even unpromoted her stats are already mostly equal or better than Hannibal’s, and she’s got more levels left to gain than he does with better growth rates on top of it, thanks to coming with two different Holy Blood types, Major Nova and Minor Baldur.  She’s also a flying unit, meaning Fee no longer has to go everywhere alone, and comes into the army carrying all of Quan’s old spears, including the truly awesome Gae Bolg coming at last back to our hands after we barely got to play with it last time.  It may not be the almighty nuke that Forseti or Balmung are, but +10 each to Strength, Skill, and Defense is nothing to sneeze at.  Our two combatants can now head into nearby castles to face the Arena. I suspect… there will be slight differences in performance.

Altena: Seven wins, gained two levels: +3 HP, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +2 Defense

Hannibal: Six wins, gained one level: +1 Strength

One of these two had a better performance. Though, in fairness, Hannibal getting creamed did let Lana gain a level from healing him.

Much better!  Okay end turn.

Legion of Doom: I suppose it was unavoidable… Fortify our defensive line. Until reinforcements arrive, we must defend the castle at all costs.

Brock from Pokemon: Heh, no matter. The rebels’ little rampage ends here. Ready, men? We’re going in. The Emperor himself’s put a handsome bounty on each rebel head. We mustn’t waste a chance to claim it for ourselves!

So there’s our next issue. The invading Grannvale squad to the north is fairly nasty. Entirely composed of promoted cavalry units and packing two healers with them; they’re hard to wear down in a single turn, and if they all get a shot at the same unit they can definitely take out all but our strongest kids.  So, you know, don’t let that happen.  To the south, at Grutia castle, is almost the opposite; a veritable swarm of ballistae, so Fee and Altena can’t even really get close, and a Dark Bishop with a siege tome. Once we get close to them they’ll break like cheap glass, but getting there can be risky, to say the least.  We’re going to split up; it’s a bit tricky, but in general the ballistae are not a huge issue compared to the bishop miniboss, so anyone who goes for the southern castle mostly has to have enough resistance to take a shot from him, or enough speed and luck to reliably dodge him. I go with Seliph, Leif, Nanna, Ares, Larcei, Shannan, Julia, Arthur, and Lana.  The rest of the army will be blocking off the pass to stop the incoming cavalry. Ideally, we’ll get a situation where we can split their attack across several people and then crush them on the return trip.  A few turns over movement, and we find ourselves…

Not even close! Everyone was too far away, and that first one snuck up on me real good.  I didn’t realize I’d put Lester at the edge of someone’s movement. I was so caught off guard I didn’t screenshot the combat (he dodged. Go archery!).  So our first step right now is to back the Hell up.

…

Well, okay, second step.

That’s for swinging at my squishy horse archer, jerkass. I draw back everyone to create a battle line that’s split in the middle by the castle; this should be drawing out a big chunk of the enemy without letting them focus fire on one character. End turn!

Not bad, other than the fact I forgot to equip Finn with his big-people spear and he got a little creamed. Cairpre, care to patch the team up?

Good kid. Rest of the team, rock out!

…. I really dislike that we couldn’t kill that fucking mid-boss. He hits like a truck and he’s annoyingly fast. I… don’t want to end the turn. I see it going badly. But… *sigh*… let’s see…

…. Yeah, I knew that was gonna happen. I knew it. Dammit. Reset.

Okay. This time, we are going to be brave and run away. Once more, kill the outer layer and flee. Go, my brave cowards!

And with this, the only character in the boss’s attack range is Arthur, who is parked in the castle and wielding Forseti. Yes, I am a vindictive person.  End turn!

… That’s it?!  You didn’t even take a shot, you fucker! Fine, fine, Arthur will come to you.  

Congratulations, Musar, you managed to land a single blow.  That is more than most of the foes he slaughters can achieve.  Arthur also gets the droppable Tornado tome from this boss, meaning he can sell the Elwind he’s been using for his sister to pick up later, or maybe it can go to Lana after I get a chance to promote her, haven’t decided yet. Cairpre even gains another level after healing Arthur’s boo-boos.

Good kid! Not very bright, but talented in his own way.  Now, hey, who wants to slaughter?

*sniff* Not bad at all. All that remains of this enemy force is one healer that Patty can chew on to her heart’s content. I have Lana warp Lester back to the home base to promote, and on the next turn she can do the same to Arthur.  This army is really coming together!  To the north, I’m going to let Cairpre have most of the villages; he’ll need money to repair his staves after spamming them to gain levels on this map. Lana will too, of course, but she…

Has a booooooooooooyfriend. Ulster is rolling in cash and he’ll only be getting more, since he barely needs to spend anything these days, relying on nice normal swords instead of legendary money sinks, so I’ll just have him give Lana all his wealth next turn.

Now, to the south, it’s… *sigh*… time to wade into the Ballista Storm, I suppose. This will be annoying, so I’m just gonna smash it as quickly and brutally as I can; Ares, Leif, and Seliph, go right for the boss and kill.  Everyone’s on a horse so they should only have to spend one turn being shot at before they reach and take out the boss. Eeeeeeeend turn!

And you know what, let’s just stop there? It’s like seven more shots of just that.  I hate ballistae so much.

Judah: This world is Lord Loptyr’s to smother in darkness!

I appreciate that I somehow managed to miss the cool-looking part of the Fenrir spell and got the weird hit-flash moment where the whole screen turns randomly blue. Now then, our turn, and let’s try to end this fast.

*whistle* Leif, I always forget just how much of a monster promotion turns you into.  Up to the north, meanwhile, we still have an army.  I know, I forgot them too.  

You do you, Patty. While Patty torments a priest… again… Lene takes this time to chat with her newly-recruited and long-lost brother that she doesn’t actually know.

Lene: Wait, you’re from Darna too?

Cairpre: You’re familiar with Darna, Lene?

Lene: Yep! I grew up in the abbey there. They told me my mom was a dancer, who left me there when I was about two years old. That’s why I’m a dancer now. I was thinking that maybe, if I did the same thing as her, one day I might find her again.  It’s kind of embarrassing, but I taught myself everything I know about dancing.

Cairpre: That’s really great of you, Lene! I, er, guess I thought wrong about you…

Lene: Not a big fan of dancers, Cairpre?

Cairpre: Not really…. At least, not unti I met you, Lene.

Lene: Awww! Thanks, Cairpre!

Cairpre gains +1 Luck from this, because…. Look, you need to stop asking questions. I also choose not to zap Arthur home after all; he doesn’t need his promotion, and I want him to shut up and marry Julia already, so I’m gluing them together for now. Maybe they’ll hook up, maybe they won’t, but either way I’ll demand they sex who they are told to sex. Instead, Lana just heals someone and levels…

And Lester takes his promotion.

Not a super impressive promotion, but… a promotion. The turn ends there, and the enemy phase is a desperately sad event, with ballistae firing and missing again and again. It saddens me. I’m sad.

Look at that! Even Oifey doesn’t respect them.  

In any event, Patty finishes bullying the clergy and Cairpre zaps her…

And we dismantle some siege equipment.

And that’s that! The current section of map is over, so I take a few turns to move folks around; Cairpre starts trekking north to get his fortune, while the rest of the army splits up, most of them heading south to hook up with Seliph and co., but Patty, Ulster, Lana, Shanan, Tinni, Faval, and Altena are staying in the north to reinforce our assorted castles.  Thracians are tricky and they can fly, so you can’t leave your castles unattended for a second on this stupid map. The first time I played I actually managed to lose all of them but Meath just through sheer force of stupid.

And it is on this exciting note that I leave you for the week, gentle readers. Seliph, will you play us out?

(You may remember the previous update wherein Arion just suddenly turned into a rampaging douche. That state of events has stuck.)

Lewyn: I suppose that stubborn dracoknight pride compels him to fight to the bitter end.  I was hoping the legendary Arion of Thracia would be a wiser man than this… Seliph, I hope you understand we can’t turn back now. This last battle needs to be fought.

(Well, yeah, dude, his family has been trying to kill us for two weeks while we politely ask them to go away.)

Seliph: I don’t understand him. Why would Arion insist on fighting such a futile battle… how can he be so callous? Does he not understand the grief he’s inflicting on Altena?

… And hey, for once, Lewyn doesn’t spout some pseudo-philosophy at us! This really is a bright note to leave an update on. See y’all next week!

Total Resets: 27. I knew that boss was a bastard and I still let myself get caught off guard. For shame, me.

Part 24

[allisonreader]

💬

:D

This is an older piece that has only previously been shared with one person, but I do still love it. Technically speaking, it’s a piece of Cars fanfic, that’s actually more fanfic of my friend’s Cars fanfic. Though you don’t need that background to understand what’s happening in this piece. It’s kind of a sad one, because sad is fun to write and it’s a little long, but here it is.

🌻🌷💐

Was it really just a couple of weeks ago that he and Jess had been curled up on the couch, talking baby names? How things could change in an instant. He felt sick to his stomach.

He left Abby with Nanna, as luckily, she had started staying with them now that Jess had been entering her third trimester. Seven months in and she was starting to become much less mobile.

He all but raced to the hospital Jess was in. He hadn't been told much, other than she had been in a bad accident. He didn't know what he was going to be walking into. He prayed it wasn't going to be anything like her previous wreck. He went straight to the desk to inquire about Jess.

"I'm Erik Piston, I got a phone call about my wife Jessica being admitted after an accident...."

"She's in surgery right now, but you can go up to the waiting room there." He thanked her quietly before heading up to the designated waiting room.

Dread building with every step. He didn't know if his stomach could feel anymore twisted without losing the last thing he ate. It couldn't be good if Jess and in turn their unborn child were in surgery.

The waiting room had a phone, so he phoned Nanna and his father to tell them the little that he knew. After he sat down, he started fiddling with a business card he had been carrying around with him for years.

Smokey's Garage, Thomasville, Georgia.

He'd fiddle with the card for a bit before looking at the clock and going back to the card. He did that for maybe 10-15 minutes before getting up with a sigh. He still didn't know what was happening with Jess and their baby or how bad it was, but Henry should know. He should have known a long time ago where Jess was.

Card still in hand, he was back at the phone, waiting for it to ring and someone to pick up.

"Smokey's Garage, how-"

"Is this Henry?" He thought it was, but better to check for something like this.

"This is Smokey."

"Good, it's Erik Piston-"

"What do you want?" He winced at Henry's tone.

"This isn't a business call, but a personal one. Please, just, give me a moment or two to explain." He was watching the one set of doors for any sign of a doctor or nurse who might be able to tell him what was happening with Jess.

"Make it quick. I don't have time to be wasting."

"I married Jess, your sister. We're expecting our second child. I just got a call today saying Jess was in an accident. I'm at the hospital now, but all I know is that she's in surgery and haven't been told anything else."

"Hold up Piston, you're not making sense. I know I said to explain quick, but I'm gunna need more than that. What were you trying to say about my sister?"

"I'm married to her, and she's in the hospital-"

"You've said that, but it doesn't explain anything to me."

"Back in '58, I married one Jessica Erin Hudson, who wanted nothing to do with me at first. Wouldn't accept my help or anyone else's in town at first. Still occasionally suffering bad days left from her wreck-"

"Erik Piston?"

"I'm sorry, I'll have to phone you back. I might be finding something out." He didn't wait for a response before hanging up and following the doctor. He'd didn't like that he wasn't taken to Jess. He didn't want to hear that she was gone.

"Mr. Piston, we have a lot to discuss."

"My wife and child."

"Your wife is still in surgery. She's sustained a heavy amount of injuries. Many are internal, and are taking some time to repair. We are going to have to remove her spleen, as it can't be fixed. She has multiple broken ribs, one that has punctured her lung and has nicked her heart. She's had a fair amount of internal bleeding due to that."

"What about our child? You've failed to mention anything about my baby."

"Your child was in distress. As much as we tried to save the pregnancy, it was better for both mother and child, to deliver early."

"How are they?"

"Your son is doing well for being about 30 weeks along. He'll have to be under strict supervision for the next few weeks at least. We'll take you to him, but he won't be able to be handled much at this point yet. It will be good to start getting him used to your touch."

"If Jessica- if Jessica pulls through, will she be able to breastfeed at all?"

"We'll have to see after she's out of surgery and starts recovering. We won't know until then. Here he is. I'll give you a couple moments with your son. It would be best to leave him laying there. His little lungs could have a hard time of it."

The doctor left the room, leaving him with his little son.

He couldn't be much longer than a foot and was maybe three pounds. He couldn't stop the tears from coming as he softly placed his hand on his son. He shouldn't have had to be born so soon. Or worry about Jess not pulling through.

And he knew how important breastfeeding was to Jess. How much she enjoyed that time with Abby, claiming that's what gave mothers such a special bond with their children.

He was so tiny. He carefully brushed his son's head. Jess had liked Eli Henry as a name, it seemed to fit for him. He tried his son's name out.

"Hi Eli, I'm your daddy, Emery. I go more by Erik, but your momma likes calling me Emery, or Em." He might never get to hear Jess call him either of those again.

It made him fall into the chair at the thought. It hadn't been feeling real, even as panicked as he was.

He didn't know how long the doctor was gone before he came back.

Long enough he could have a short cry, and go back to giving his son careful pets, just leaving his hand in one place. The doctor knocked before he entered.

"Mr. Piston, there is still more we have to talk about. We can talk here, so you don't have to leave your son."

"His name is Eli, Eli Henry Piston." The doctor just nodded his head before continuing on.

"It's more about your wife yet. It looks like one of her vertebra has a hairline fracture. We'll only know once she's awake if she'll have any nerve damage. And then her reproductive system is in a right mess, one of the reasons we had to deliver. She won't be able to have kids after this. Even if her reproductive system was in a healthy condition, it still wouldn't have been recommended to do so, as the stress of carrying would have been extremely taxing. We do need to talk about her medical history a bit."

He cleared his throat before speaking. "She was in a bad accident back in '54. That's when her appendix was taken out. She had some broken ribs, broken arm, I don't really remember what all she told me then."

"That's helpful though. We'll let you know when she's out of surgery and you can see her."

"Thank you."

"You can come and go as much as you want during visiting hours to see your son."

He just nodded as the doctor left the room. He probably should have asked about Eli's survival chances, but he didn't think he could stand hearing if it was low.

A nurse came in to see about feeding his newest family member and he went to phone his dad and Nanna, updating them on all that he knew.

He stayed as late as they let him, switching between Eli and Jess once she was set up in a room. He was utterly exhausted when he got home, and fell into Nanna's comforting arms before falling asleep on the couch.

Nanna and Abby came back to the hospital with him the next day. He took them to Jess first, still unconscious, before taking them to meet Eli.

"Abby, you have to be careful momma's very hurt." He showed her how to hold mom's hand and to give her a kiss.

He carried her into where Eli was. Telling her she could touch his head softly, and his little hands.

"Can I hold him?"

"Not yet love. Daddy hasn't even been allowed to hold him quite yet."

It was at lunch that he realized he never phoned Henry back. He left Abby with Nanna again, much to his little girl's displeasure.

"Don't go daddy."

"Daddy just has to make an important phone call and then he'll be right back." He hoped Henry would be at his garage again today.

"Smokey's Garage-"

"Henry?"

"Piston. I'm surprised you actually phoned back."

"I said I would. I'm sorry for just hanging up on you, but a doctor was finally giving me news. It's bad, really bad. She's still unconscious and they don't know when or if she'll wake up yet. They had to deliver our son. For both their sakes. Jess didn't want to contact anyone back east, as much as I tried to convince her otherwise. I think you should come see her. I'd appreciate it and I'll bring you and your family in. You can meet your niece and new nephew...."

"If you're bringing us in, I hope you're ready to pay for five of us. My wife our two kids and your father in law."

"Father in law?"

"That's just as complex a story as how you ended up with my sister, which you can finish explaining once we're there."

"Easier in person." They exchanged contact information, and by the end of the week the Hudson family would be here.

[randomnameless]

Chapter 10 - Chronos to Miletos!

Welp in the last post i said Seliph ended up in Chronos, but no, he rekt’d Morrigan in Rados (even if i think you’re supposed to seize Chronos last?).

Anyways, after destroying evil people, Seliph meets his half-bro who’s playing the latest trendy game around.

But first, Seliph’s stepdad tries to do something.

Oldvis hasn’t seen Ishtar in ages! Naturally he asks how she’s doing.

kill that, it was just small talk. And, oh, surprise, Oldvis doesn’t care about the child hunts. So yes Amalda, your emperor hasn’t agreed with those things, you were right to trust him!

“i’ll tell him to go to his room and we’ll be over with this”

Oldvis uses the authority card. It’s never a good thing when one uses this card, because it means that, basically, you’re useless.

Daw, Oldvis didn’t want to bang her Julius! What do you mean by “is mine” btw? Your fiancée, your plaything, your tool?

Lil’ dastard. Oldvis pretends to be able to do something, or tries to use his big voice but Julius doesn’t care anymore.

This - Oldvis tried to banish his son, but it didn’t work. The Loptyr Sect prevented Julius from being banished? And banished where? The Empire is everywhere, unless Arvis wanted to send him to Travant. Maybe he wanted to send him to Archanea??

Oldvis looks so feeble here, it hurts. And Julius treats his dad like crap, bad Julius, bad!

:’(

That’s not a way to talk to your dad! Granted, Young!Arvis might also have been as dastardly as that to, say, Reptor so... I can’t say he earned this, but it’s also ironic.

I wonder what must happen in Oldvis’ head, is he really that beaten/broken? later we see that he is not, but here... what happened during those 7 years when Julius turned into Loptyr?

Of course you laugh, Arvis treated you like crap in chapter 5 so now you have your revenge!

Julius doesn’t join Manfroy in his Oldvis bashing. Maybe he doesn’t see the point. and OMG WHY IS HE MENTIONING JULIA???

OMFG NO DO YOU MEAN THIS USELESS CHARACTER WAS ACTUALLY THE PRINCESS OF GRANVALLE??? HOW COME NO ONE RECOGNISED HER??

I guess it was surprising, she only knew her kind and gentle brother and now he wants to kill her!

Finally we learn what happened to Deedee! Granted, Julius’ words here always make me sour.

Deedee accepted her death “to save Julia”?? It’s not like we have a kind of similar scenario in FE5, where a mother has to fight against one of children to protect another, but thanks for Nanna, Eyvel didn’t “accept her death” - and even if she had been able to use a rewarp staff to put her to safety, I doubt she’d have “accepted her death” without trying to help Mareeta. But Jugdral’s best mom has no peers in this world.

Ghoul yourself!

Yep! Do it now, we must do it now before you turn senile and decided to send her against the others, or some other shit plan like that.

Keeping this book under “the strictest lock” is a good plan indeed, if you didn’t knew where she was. 

Julius/Loptyr takes no chances, the Book is locked, yes, but without anyone to wield it then he’s sure he’s going to be fine.

Note how Julius speaks about the avatars of Naga; Seliph isn’t a major blooded Naga peep so he doesn’t count? what about linoan?

Too bad Julius, he failed you. And by sundown, really? Talk about rushing things! Besides, Julius “supposes” he is needed?

Why? He just told you getting rid of Julia is the highest priority!

Julius doesnt’ like peasants, but he doesn’t care much about Seliph. And he is right, Seliph can’t do a thing to him without Julia, the worse he can do is breed with Linoan to bring another major Naga, but bar that he is as relevant as Duke Scipio. Peasants are going to revolt because Seliph is supposedly the true heir of Granvalle, but if he can’t kill Julius, then what?

Julius doesn’t believe Seliph is his older bro - it’s nothing but superstitious nonsense! He cares more about Julia, and dragon-wise/plot-wise, we should do the same but we’re following the adventures of Seliph.

I wonder if a Ced narrative would focus more on recovering Julia if he were to learn that his dad went missing because he had to protect the only person on the continent able to get rid of Loptyr.

A threat? No, he doesn’t. And seriously Julius, I know we’re in a game where sword emblem is broken, and theoretically Seliph could kill you with the Tyrfing, but even with the Tyrfing, and lore-wise, no, he can’t possibly be much a threat.

It’s pretty darn funny that Manfroy’s master plan fails because he believes Seliph is a real treat disregarding Julia completely. Manfroy breaks the 4th wall? Seliph is the Lord thus he must die, Julia is nothing.

Yep. The greater plot, regardless of what F!Lewyn tries to hammer, doesn’t give a fig about Seliph. Loptyr only cares about Julia.

Poor Manfroy.

Go Loptyr goons , defend Miletos!

You have a better idea than the one you just ordered? Oh Julius...

Yay! Kill a rebel!

Yippie!

I know this sounds odd in regards to FE5!Ishtar who’s more nuanced, but bear in mind that her mom escaped death a few turns ago so she’d be more than likely to want to kill some rebels. But sounding so happy about it? A bit Meh.

You have good eyes OIfey!

Poor OIfey has been the one living in exile for 17 years, he was just supposed to assist Sigurd and then he was thrown in this mess. I feel bad for him.

ARDEN WHO??? But note how Oifey mentions his peers, and the young knights of Chalphy so maybe Arden wasn’t a noble to begin with? He had just been a commoner who enrolled?

every last Chalphy face was a firendly one or you had other friends who weren’t from Chalphy?

Seliph comes from everywhere, save from the land he is supposed to inherit.

Oh :’(

Don’t be like that Seliph, do you think Prince Ulster of Verdane has any right, bar his blood, to rule over the barbarians there?

:)

I’m sure some pious citizens would prefer Major Naga Empress on the throne of Granvalle, but this is only food for an AU.

Who? The citizens of Chalpy or the citizens of Granvalle? Because the Granvalle peeps were happy until Julius became mad, hell, some of them don’t even know about the child hunts etc. So you’re actually saying a lot of crap, unless you’re talking about the people of Chalphy, and if Palmark is any indication, they weren’t put to the noose as soon as Siggy kicked the bucket.

Again, we don’t see the common folk of Granvalle in FE5, but if we can compare with the randoms of Thracia, they’re not praying for the second coming of Quan, they just want to get on with their shitty lives without risking to be killed by random brigands etc. But maybe the people of Chalphy believe in Siggy the 2nd, even if, and i never stress it enough, when Siggy and pals died, they died as traitors.

Saying Siggy is a hero means saying Arvis is a dastard, and in the beginning or the Empire, Arvis was well loved, even now, in FE5, Arvis is still loved.

So really meh about this line.

I don’t know if this “fairy tale” is made up by OIfey to cheer Seliph up, or if some diehard Chalpy loyalists really think that, or if Oifey himself sees Seliph as the 2nd coming of Siggy who will avenge his dad and save the world.

Mmh. I’m not convinced.

Granted, everyone hates the child hunts, and they want them to stop. Are they all suddenly calling to the son of a traitor to help them?

Seliph has had enough of the propaganda described by OIfey, and asks about the greater plot. Maybe all the randoms don’t like Arvis, maybe some think he is Loptyr...

maybe those randoms forgot how their dark god instaured a relatively peaceful land for 10 years, or they just slander Oldvis because he is the Emperor and the Empire has turned into a shitty place.

Or maybe the people we liberated couldn’t go all Amalda like “i had faith in Arvis what happened to him” because we’re the LA and Seliph’s n°1 objective is to rekt him, so no one should express sympathy for the man?

“don’t worry, i have a pony now!”

Hahaha - the only one who can rekt the dark God isn’t even a Lord in this damn game

He looks scary?

Mmh... like what? You look into his eyes and you’re charmed or something?

Julius had a group of fangirls! How cute! Granted, i don’t know if what happened to them next could be called cute...

Fig off

What if i sacrifice you?!

Welp, Julius tries to kill the useless man his useless sister married. Kinslaying, again. Hopefully, Ulster dodged.

Seliph wanted to say hello to his brother.

Larcei cut their discussion and Julius grew bored.

what? an useless characted inheriting an useless land married to an useless woman? Ulster’s pretty happy with this life.

He won’t.

Fee finally talks to her trash dad. But trash dad has some kind of draconic circumstances to explain his behaviour.

If i were Fee i’d slap him because she had been the only one to be at her mom’s side when she died

Maybe she really slapped him then! GG Fee!

You were happy seeing him? He who abandonned you all? And returned with another child? you’re a nice person Fee.

:’(

He has never been the kindest person around, but ignoring her completely...

He knows what it is to get shunned by his own Mother though! I miss you Rahna

Constructive behaviour here, but Fee isn’t the adult so i can let it slide.

I had the same reaction. F!Lewyn is really... despicable, regardless of his nature.

Many playthoughs of FE4 came to the same conclusion, so no Fee, even if your mom married Arden, she’d still be dead.

At least he acknowldges it.

??

To this day, I still don’t understand his outburst. Did Erin met F!Lewyn and told him it was A-OK to go and do whatever with Julia to save the world, she wouldn’t tell her kids about it? Or did she know F!Lewyn wasn’t her husband anymore?

He is trying to push her away, because he knows he can’t be her dad anymore or something else? Or because he is just that awful?

The kids? What about the most important one? The one with Major Naga blood? She doesn’t even deserve a mention?

“damn those foot units”

At least we managed to be on time for those repairs to be done.

Onwards to victory

I mean - Onwards to Chalphy!

[cavaliant]

Also imagine Diarmuid and Nanna swapping places like Nanna is the older sib who grew up in Tirnanog and comes with the Beo Sword and Diarmuid is the younger sib with the Earth Sword who grew up on the run 🤔