#very short part bc the next part is going to be longer

[firbolgfriend]

Part 4

Part 5

[lit-in-thy-heart]

if i ever give an estimated word count for a fic that i haven’t finished yet, please add at least 5k to that estimation for a more accurate result.

[clambuoyance]

[Lovesquare Au]

Part 0 || Next >>

I watched the mlb movie and caught up w the show so I got au brainrot again 💀 My first post was more silly and had smaller snippets but somehow I got carried away and ended up drawing a lot more than the first time around. I’ll post it in parts tho so I don’t overload one post 🙏

In short, Tim -> likes Conner…but is fond of Superboy? Kon -> likes Robin, but has gotten to know Tim a lot better.

And the timeline/world for this au is a big mishmash of 90s comics/ROTS movie/TT03/2000s comics and headcanons, so in summary for backstory for this post especially:

Superboy - during Superman’s death, he was created at Cadmus (w funding from Lex) and told he was Superman’s clone, even if he is a lot younger and different. Like the comics/my headcanon, he is fascinated by the celebrity life and Lex who promised him he’d be as great as Superman, assigned him Rex Leech who would be his personal agent/pr manager/etc. Lex was kind of like…his funder and sponsor that promoted him as the guy that would give new hope in Supermans absence.

Flash forward to Superman’s return, he decides to go on a world tour/become disillusioned with celebrity life until Clark comes and takes him to the farm and suggests he lives as Conner Kent to get away from the likes of people like Lex and Rex lol. So he’s not connected to them by contract anymore but he will do things out of obligation (like being a bodyguard at a party)

In this au, Lex doesn’t know Conner is Superboy either, and he hasn’t told Kon to what extent he was involved in Kon’s creation (yet…) but he’s hinted at it before

Tim - in this au, he’s also been operating as Robin for a longer time but is recently dealing with also becoming Tim Drake-Wayne and preparing to become the possible successor to Bruce Wayne’s company so that’s why he’s at this fancy party 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ I haven’t quite decided how much of his backstory to adapt to this au specifically but he becomes Robin in a similar way as his debut with becoming Robin bc he sees that Batman is lost without one and Batman needs a Robin. By the time this au starts he’s gone to different schools and I guess is going to a new one where Conner is also attending? Also his parents are now dead in this 😔 and he’s very secretive compared to Superboy and is the one that attaches more weight to a secret identity

they somehow go to the same school idk don’t worry about it i throw logic out the window in this regard for my silly lovesquare shenanigans 🫡 the World building isn’t the main focus it’s just a backdrop to their dynamic anyways . Here. Take my cringe.

[wolfiesmoon]

Hey I hope you are doing well when ever you are reading this but how do you think the 3rd year boys from twst would react to their s/o (gn reader) cuddling with a huge plush instead of them.

Like this.

Oh boy oh boy this kinda cures my writers block tbh, i have so many drafts but none of em look enticing enough to continue writing (´д｀|||)

I took out a few of the 3rd years bc its too many people for 1 fic but i might make a part 2 where i add the missing 3rd years at some point

i went with the more silly writing style again, hope that's fine by you ○( ＾皿＾)っ

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖ Malleus Draconia

He doesn't exactly get why, but he feels kinda annoyed just laying next to you while you hug a big ol plushie

This doesn't feel right🫤

But then again, you look rlly happy and satisfied so he stays quiet since if you're happy, he's happy (he desperately wants to be in the plushy's place)

When you playfully kiss the plush though, that rule no longer applies. After all, his rightful spot is in your arms🫠

He nudges you. "Put the stuffed animal away."

"You sound angry." You smirk and kiss the plush again, knowing he's probably annoyed about that

without another word, he pulls the plushy out of your hands and settles down in its place

"I am a much better than that object. Just so you know." he smiled smugly, expecting a kiss on the cheek just like you gave to the plushie earlier

you kissed him on the lips instead just to see his eyes widen and his face go red ofc 😏

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖ Leona Kingscholar

basically, it is NOT happening

"hell no." is the only thing he says before ripping the poor plushie out of your arms and chucking it across the room

like actually how DARE you try to replace him with a plushie

"Why would you do that?" You pouted at him, looking at the now discarded plushy from the bed🤕

"You know damn well why." He huffed, laying down on top of you without warning which tends to be a habit of his

"Because that's my spot, got it?" He answered for you. clearly you forgot😒

"Uhhh, right." you answered after a short pause...

"I won't remind you next time." he sounded rlly annoyed. it's kinda funny how worked up he got over a plushy replacing him 🤭

this also means he won't let you get up for like.... atleast 2 hours to atone for your sins

moral of the story: don't do this again unless you want a ripped up plushie and a pissed off lion man😠

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖ Idia Shroud

"This is so unfair. Even worse than an OP boss. " he sighed dramatically, laying down besides you and pouting at the sight og a huge plushie in your arms

"pick up the sock if you have enough energy to complain." you turned away from him, still annoyed with him

being the epic gamer he is (😎💯), he discarded one of his socks in the middle of his room and didn't feel like picking it up later even after you told him to

...which ended with you refusing to cuddle with him until he does pick up the sock

after a short while of very awkward silence...

he groaned in annoyance, begrudgingly getting up and finally picking up the sock, then leaving the room to put it in the wash

you smirked victoriously, placing the plushie away as promised and letting him hug you instead

"The things you make me do, smh." he sighed, relaxing into you 😒

"Picking up a singular sock?" you teased him, hugging him back

He didn't reply so that means it's your victory 😝

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖ Vil Schoenheit

this is an unforgivable offense, just because you had a little disagreement earlier doesn't mean you can just replace him with a plushie😠

love transcends disagreements, after all

does not help at all that the plushie's cute round face reminds him of a certain thorn in his side named Neige LeBlanche😒

he sighs, "I may have been too harsh back there."

your only reply is an annoyed huff and you hug the plushie tighter which makes one of those anime veins pop up on his face 💢

he takes a deep breath "It was not my intention to hurt your... sensibilities." he's trying babe, he's really trying

You don't reply for a moment...

"Ugh." you throw the plushie away and hug him tightly "This doesn't mean I forgive you, just for the record."

"I still stand by my opinion too, just worded less harshly." he gently puts an arm around you, stroking your back

it was only a matter of time until you gave up with your stubborn pettiness, soon you'll forgive him too, he'll make sure of that 😌

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖ Lilia Vanrouge

He's actually surprisingly chill about it i feel like

He wouldn't get annoyed or be jealous per se, he'd just get a little sad it's not him you're hugging😔

he's there, you know? there's no need for a plushie...

"Am I not satisfactory enough?" He asks half playfully half seriously

"In what sense?" you totally knew what he meant but just wanted to tease him back

"Hey, isn't this supposed to be the other way around?" he smiled at you, immediately knowing what you were playing at

"Hahaha, you know me too well." you kiss his cheek, yet you still don't let go of the plushie which makes him pout

"I see you have found yourself a new lover." his eyes travel to the plushie for a moment, the betrayal is real😔🙏🏻

"You got a problem with him?" you raised a brow 🤨

"A little." he hugged you from the back, getting comfy

"Okay fine, maybe my ex is the better one after all." you let go of the plushie and turned around to hug him back 💗

[goosefries]

hey yall! i just wanted to say thank you SO much for 16k views on my Rules AvA animatic!!!! i actually made a bet with one of my friends that if it got to 15k views i'd MAKE ANOTHER ONE!! and well. it hit 15k.

my next big becker-verse animatic probably going to take longer than this one since i've got a lot on my plate right now,

so in the meantime i thought i'd talk a bit about the animatic and share some of my favorite frames !!!

the animated segments are easily my favorite (obviously). that whole lead-up to the second chorus was SO FUN to draw. when i originally made this i didn't plan on animating any of it to the extent i did, i honestly was making it up as i went along

it turned out i added 3 entire animated segments which all sucked the life out of me (but look incredible). and also that part at the bridge GOD that was a nightmare to make

i wanna talk a bit about their designs since that's what people commented on the most:

it is completely intentional that second, chosen, and victim all have the same-ish hair shape. they all look alike cause they're all connected! dark looks so different because he's not a direct part of the victim->cho->sec line of succession. so he looks a bit out of place next to them LOL!

victim's hair is short in the beginning and grows out to this short ponytail, which changes the shape of his hair a LOT. this is bc over time there's a much larger gap between cho and vic (who look the most similar)

second is all round shapes and curls. he's soft and in his pjs and comfortable (for the most part). the only difference between sec and vic at the beginning is sharpness. if second straightened his hair he'd literally look identical to victim before he grew his hair out

cho's hair is a classic that i can never change, i'm obsessed with his horrible bangs. i forget to draw it a couple times in the animatic but after he befriending dark he gets another little hair spike bc he gets messier

dark. dark mfing lord. hate to love him, love to hate him. his design is pretty self explanatory, all sharp and pointy and rough and tumble. if he comes back this season i'd probably soften some of his shape's but we'll honestly have to see

the color gang all have their own stuff that goes into designs, but a lot of it is shaved off for the animatic just b/c of simplicity sake + at the time that AvA season 2 happened they hadn't gotten the full extent of their characterization appearing in AvM

if you've made it this far i'll give you a little hint: my next BIG becker-verse animation will very likely be for AvM. i have some concepts for AvA ones but i really want to give AvM attention too since i cry about it like every few months

lastly, here's some unused frames that didn't make the cut:

THANK YOU ALL SM FOR THE SUPPORT!! <3333

[madhattervanessa]

Caress

Summary: Life with Simon settles into a routine- but it has to end at some point.

Warnings: (Unedited filth lmao bc I didn't want to wait to post this) Simon being very casually dominant, oral (f receiving), bit of rimming, light anal, P in V, hair pulling, biting, creampie

Words: 1766

A/N: Another another another, and two more down the line. This train is bound to stop sometime soon but until then....

Requests are open as always.

Masterlist - Mobile Masterlist

prev. Part - next Part

-

Life settles into something absurdly… Normal, after.

After being after Simon had hauled all of your clothes over to his apartment because he had assembled a second dresser in his bedroom next to his own for you.

There had been glimpses of Simon looming over you in your day to day life before but now you can hardly escape the man.

Not that you would want to. 

The store clerk that usually tries to chat you up while you shop for groceries took one good look at the shadow looming over your shoulder and promptly turned the other way.

When Simon picks you up from veteran’s meetings, he always holds your hand as he drives, not even bothering to let go when he shifts gears.

The mask he wears in public doesn’t bother you. It comes off in his apartment, after all.

Or the moment he ate you out on the side of a field because you had fed him a strawberry in his car before murmuring about how you’d thought he’d deserved a reward for picking you up from work. That was enough cause for him to ruck his mask down, too.

It also made for a pleasant dream.

You smile as you open your eyes. It’s still dark outside, the wind howling as it blows through the town. You stretch your body as you rub at your eyes and hear Simon shuffle behind you. He wraps an arm around you to pull you against him. You nudge him with your foot, checking to see if he’s awake.

He grunts in response.

You lift a hand to let it ruffle his damp hair. Blonde, cropped-short.

“Are you leaving again?”

He leans into your touch when you start to put some pressure into your pets, gently massaging his head as you yawn.

“Eager to get rid of me?” His breath feels hot on your cheek, smelling a bit like stale coffee. He trails his lips over your neck until you feel the point of his crooked nose against your skin.

“Don’t know how much longer I can take you fucking me like an animal”, you sigh. He grabs your hand and presses a quick kiss to it.

“‘m set to leave at the end of the week.” Your answering hum is quickly turned into a squeal when Simon pulls you until you are lying underneath him.

His breaths hit your ear and there’s a telltale throb that answers from your legs when he asks you if you think you’ll be able to handle him until then.

You hum and it turns into a whine when he drags his teeth over your neck.

Your breath hitches when he drags the covers off of you and starts making his way down your spine.

“Simon…”

He bites into one of your asscheeks. You squeak in surprise and immediately bury your face in the pillows when you hear him chuckle.

“Spread your legs.”

You blush and hesitate but Simon’s warm hands are already parting your legs. He pushes one of them into the back of your knee, pushing it towards your chest. 

His nose nudges against the swell of your asscheek and you arch your back a little more.

“Mh. Pretty.”

“Si-”, you whine, your cheeks burning already, even though you can’t see the way Simon is staring at you. 

“Can I have a taste?” He is already letting his thumb nudge at the puffy lips of your pussy. “Yeah?”

“Mhm, yes”, you sigh.

He grunts and you jump when you feel his nose nudge against your hole as his tongue licks a broad stripe over your pussy. You sigh and bite at your lip as he repeats the motion, slowly spreading your slick over your pussy before he starts to lick your clit.

He is relentless, always hungry for you- there are already wet sounds from your pussy rubbing against his nose. His wide palms are pulling your cheeks apart as he buries himself in your pussy. When he starts suckling on your clit, he lets his thumb dip inside of your pussy, finally giving you something to clench around.

It’s the focus that turns you on the most- when Simon has sex with you, you feel like the center of the world. The way he focuses on every hitch of your breath, every jump and twitch of muscle as he works you over until he gets it perfect.

You can’t help but jump a little when he pulls your pussy open with his thumb before dragging his tongue over it.

He sits back, his thumb continuing to fuck into you as he does.

“Good girl”, he groans. The wet sounds behind you have you lifting your head from the pillows. Simon’s eyes are still fixed on your pussy as he fists his cock. 

You see his jaw work and watch as he spits onto your pussy. His thumb collects his spit and you feel his thumb travel up. Your brows furrow and you watch, equally confused and aroused, as he circles your asshole with his thumb.

When he pushes it inside a little, you let out a breathy, wet gasp. He continues stroking himself and finally, his eyes meet yours. When you don't protest, he pushes his thumb down with a little more pressure.

“Simon- fuck-... fuck me.”

He hums and slaps the tip of his cock against your pussy, making you whine into the pillow in front of you again, already bracing for him just before he pushes the tip inside of your pussy.

“Fuck love,” he groans. He is careful as he spreads your slick over his cock in shallow thrusts, splitting you apart.

His hand grips hard at your hip as he bottoms out, really making you feel the stretch before he starts to gently roll his hips. You moan and when the next thrust hits you, you go lax in his sheets, blindly trusting him to keep fucking you and keep an eye out for you.

“There you go. You like having somethin’ in your ass, too, hm?”

You just nod weakly, fully focused on the delicious drag of his thick cock in and out of your pussy. Another wet glob of spit meets your ass and he is quick to push it in with his thumb. He moans as he manages to nudge it inside you up to his first knuckle.

You feel unbelievably full, your nerves lit from your head to your toes as you let him pound into you.

“Gonna miss you”, he groans, his second hand grabbing desperately at your hip as his thrusts grow sloppy.

“Not just because of this”, he adds before molding himself to your back. He grinds into you, fucking you with his cock and his thumb as he smothers you into the sheets. His teeth scrape over your shoulder and you take a shuddering breath. 

“Simon-!” Is all you manage but he seems to know just what you need, his second hand reaching underneath you to play with your clit.

He is crushing you with his weight on you but it just feels too good to care about.

Your head swims as you feel yourself rapidly approaching an orgasm. Another pitiful moan follows and you feel the rumble of Simon’s groan as you bear down on him to ride out the sharp spikes of pleasure running through you.

He doesn’t stop. Just slows down, biting lazily into your back. You cry out as he starts to lean back, one of your hands reaching for him.

He catches your hand with his and leans down to press a kiss to it.

“Feel good, love?”, he asks, still going slow, but his deep thrusts are making your eyes cross.

“Uhuh, yeah- fuck- s’good, Si.”

"Yeah.." , he groans, the self-satisfied rumble incensing you for a moment. But then you feel him reaching over until his fingers are gliding through your hair over the back of your neck until they reach the back of your head.

A careful tug has you following his directioning upward. You arch your back and reach out to hold on to the headboard. He leans towards you until you are pressed up against his chest. He continues fucking into you and the angle makes him feel bigger, like he is bulging through your stomach.

Your mouth is hanging open as you pant, trying to keep up with his deep thrusts. You reach back to hold on to his wrist.

"P-Pull harder", you manage. Simon grunts and puts some more strength into his grip, eliciting a deep groan from you. The sharp sting is just enough to make you come again.

The reaction is instant; Simon goes rigid as you grind back against him more, a helpless curse falling from his lips as his thrusts become short and stunted.

He pulls you away from your leverage until you are pressed up entirely against him. He bites down onto your shoulder and fucks up into you, ridiculously overstimulating you, before you feel him twitch and cum inside.

He wraps his arm around your waist and carefully loosens his grip after, still panting heavily. Your head lolls against his shoulder and you feel yourself start to tremble as the tension leaves your body.

He shushes you and presses a gentle kiss to your temple. He lets himself fall back to sit on his legs, pulling you with him.

"You're okay?"

"Uhuh- I just.. I think I need some breakfast", you murmur, still feeling your legs tremble.

"If you can make it to the shower, I'll get something started for you."

He strokes over your arms, rubbing at your legs, slowly bringing you back as you melt into his touch.

"I really want a cinnamon latte. And my back will be killing me after that stunt."

"Okay, love." He presses another wet kiss to your cheek and you smile. You turn your face and catch his jaw in your hand to lead him into a soft kiss.

He hums and leans towards you, making you sway briefly as he all but dips you in the sitting position before pulling you upright.

You're undecided if the motion or the feeling inside of your chest are making your head spin. You open your eyes to find him scooting the two of you towards the edge of the bed.

He helps you get up and you stagger before finding your balance again. When you turn towards him, he slowly scans you until he arrives at your eyes, holding your gaze.

"How long will you be gone for?"

He averts his eyes.

.

[riordanness]

bad blood - [h.haddock]

8.2K wordcount

warnings: death mention, panic attack mentions

requested: no

a/n: i usually don’t do author’s notes on my fics bc i don’t think i have really anything to say lmao. however. i wanted to say a quick word about this one, as it’s a kind of old piece but one i was extremely proud of and worked really hard to complete. i loved the humorous parts i wrote, loved the character arc i gave y/n, and just in general really liked how my writing turned out. also, it’s the second longest one-shot (currently) i’ve ever written! anyways, enjoy my lovelies <3

I disliked Hiccup Haddock more than anything else in the entire world. I didn’t like him at all for a very long time, but… well, here is our story.

“Hey love.” A voice appeared next to my shoulder, and I rolled my eyes.

“Go away, Hiccup,” I demanded, refusing to look at him. I was carving a spear out of a wooden stick, so I kept my focus on my knife running back and forth along the wood.

Even without looking at him, I could tell he had a smirk on his face. “Oh love,” he whined. “I want to talk to you.”

He tugged on one of my small braids that ran down the sides of my hair. I whacked his hand away, still not looking at him. “I said go away,” I said again.

He laughed. “I know.”

“So leave me alone.”

A moment’s pause. “But why?”

“Because I hate you and don’t want you around, annoying me to death. I’m busy.”

“But you’re fun to annoy.”

I turned on him, fiercely glaring up at him. The worst thing about Hiccup was how tall he was compared to me. He wasn’t even that tall, I was just super short. Hiccup was a full head higher than me.

Hiccup had a smirk playing around his mouth. “Hey shortcake.”

I hit him. “Shut up, Hiccup.”

“Aww, c’mon sweetheart. I’m bored.”

“That’s nice.” I crossed my arms protectively. Not that Hiccup would ever actually hurt me. Honestly, if it came down to me being in danger, I was pretty sure he’d defend me. I’d known him longer than anybody else I knew.

I might hate him, but it was the truth. Hiccup was an asshole, but I knew deep down he didn’t absolutely hate me. I guess I didn’t hate him, either. He was just a total pain.

“Go ride Toothless or make a friend or do something. Just leave me alone. I don’t care to see you.”

Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his ruffled brown hair. His green eyes flickered with amusement. “Okay, love. I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He winked. “Sorry love.”

I resisted the childish urge to stamp my foot. “Hiccup!”

He held up his hands. “Okay… okay.” I almost thought he might actually be genuine, until he smirked. “I’ll stop calling you love… darling.”

I knew there was no shutting him up. I turned on my heel without a word, and stamped angrily into my cabin, slamming the door behind me.

Three seconds passed, then there was a knock on the door. I opened it. “Hiccup, go away!”

Hiccup stood there, grinning mischievously. “Fine, fine. Bye, you.”

I rolled my eyes and shut the door. I’d only just turned around when another knock sounded. I gritted my teeth. “Stupid little —“

I opened the door again and stopped short. “Oh! Stoick. Um, hi.” I swallowed. “Sorry, I, uh, I thought you were Hiccup.”

Stoick looked amused. “That’s alright, y/n.”

“Um, would you like to come in?” I offered.

Stoick nodded, and stepped inside. I suddenly felt very conscious of how messy the place was. I didn’t spend much time here, preferring to roam outside or stay at Astrid, my best friend’s house.

“How are you faring up?” Stoick asked.

I shrugged. “I’m okay. Still getting used to the fact that they’re gone, but, you know. It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Stoick nodded. “If you ever need anything, feel free to let me or Hiccup know.”

I groaned internally. “Yeah, like I’d ever ask him for help,” I muttered.

I hadn’t intended for him to hear, but Stoick chuckled softly. “He doesn’t hate you, you know.”

“Sure,” I said. “Because he thinks I’m fun to annoy.”

“That’s not it.”

I waited, but he didn’t elaborate. “O…kay…” I said slowly. “Um. Great. Well, it’s getting late, so if you don’t mind, uh…”

“Oh! Sure, sure,” Stoick said. “Have a good night, y/n.”

A long time after he left, I stood in my empty, cold house, staring at the door, wishing for something to come and fill the hole that was forming inside of me.

“Y/n, did you hear?”

I turned to my best friend. “Um. No. What happened?”

Astrid brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Stoick just told Hiccup he’s going to become chief soon.”

“Cool.” I returned to making the leather straps I’d been softening for my future dragon’s saddle.

See, the thing is, I don’t have a dragon. I know, that’s so weird, everyone in Berk has one, but I’m, well… a dragon killed my parents a few years ago. I’ve never liked them anyways, but after that, I’ve struggled a lot with my feelings about dragons. I’m sure one day I will overcome this fear inside me and own a dragon, but right now? No way.

“That’s all?” Astrid looked offended. “Y/n, that’s so much cooler than cool.” She suddenly laughed. “You know what this means?”

I frowned a little. “No..?”

“Hiccup has to choose a bride.”

I blinked. “Really? Um, so?”

Astrid rolled her eyes, elbowing me as she sat beside me on the ground. “You know you’re in love with him, y/n/n.”

I pretended to gag. “Ugh, as if! Astrid, you know I hate him. I don’t care at all about him in any way, especially not in a romantic way. I don’t care a single little bit if he has to choose a bride.”

“Sure.” Astrid smirked. “You’re secretly hoping he’ll choose you, aren’t you?”

I shot her a glare that warned her to shut up. “He’ll choose you and you know it,” I said.

Astrid wrinkled her nose. “I doubt it,” she said. “Hiccup and I literally never talk. Besides, everybody knows that me and Stormfly are a forever couple.”

I shook my head at her, but I had to smile. “Well, he won’t choose me, and I don’t care about it anyway.”

Astrid looked like she wanted to argue, but she shut her mouth when she noticed someone walking over to us. When I saw who it was, I sighed.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“Gee, you’re lovely today, darling,” Hiccup teased, plopping himself down next to us.

“Excuse me,” I pointed out. “We didn’t invite you to sit with us.”

Astrid glanced at me, a smirk playing around her mouth. Her eyes were twinkling. I glared at her. I hate you, I mouthed.

I swung one leg over the log so my back was to Hiccup. “So, Astrid,” I said, a little too loudly. “What do you want to do this afternoon?”

“I’m taking Stormfly out for a ride,” Astrid replied. “You’re welcome to join —“

“No,” I said instantly. “Uh, I mean. No thank you. I’m good.” My hands trembled ever so slightly. I coughed, swallowed, and picked up my leather strap, gripping it tightly to stop the shaking.

Hiccup poked his head over my shoulder. “You know—“

I elbowed him in the ribs so hard he tumbled off the log. “Whoa!” he yelped. “Jeez, y/n!”

“Sorry,” I apologised. “I- you startled me.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “No I didn’t. You just like hitting people.”

My mouth tightened. “No I don’t. And stop calling me a liar!”

“When did I call you a liar?” He got to his feet, one arm cradling his ribcage. “You’re violent for literally no reason.”

I glared at him. “You just said I was lying. And I didn’t even hit you that hard.”

Hiccup winced. “Uh- yeah you actually did. I think you broke a rib or something.”

I slammed my work to the ground, getting to my feet and facing the boy. “Stop avoiding the fact that you called me a liar! I never ever ever make up anything.”

My eyes glittered with unwanted tears. Involuntary memories sprang into my mind. My parents hugging me. My father’s voice in my hair, my younger voice begging them to promise to return soon. “Of course we will return, darling,” my father said. “We’ve never lied to you, have we now?”

I blinked, forcing the tears away. I hated crying in any situation, but I wouldn’t be able to stand crying in front of Hiccup. I’d never live it down.

“Whatever.” Hiccup glanced at me. His voice suddenly changed. “Want to see something amazing?”

“Yeah,” I grumbled. “The retreating back of your head would be great, thanks.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “I’m serious.”

“So am I!” I turned away from him, and only then did I realise Astrid was nowhere to be seen. She must’ve snuck away while Hiccup and I were arguing.

Hiccup’s hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. “C’mon,” he pleaded, and his voice sounded genuinely kind. “It’ll be fun.”

I rolled my eyes. “If I come with you, do you promise to leave me alone after?”

Hiccup nodded.

“Fine,” I muttered. “Where are we going?”

He grinned mischievously. “You’ll see.”

Hiccup turned, and I had no choice but to follow; partly because I was curious, and partly because I wanted him to leave me alone, and this was the only way to guarantee that.

We entered the woods that surrounded the village, and I began to get suspicious. “Hiccup?” I asked. “Where exactly are we going?”

He didn’t answer for almost a minute. “You’ll see.”

I rolled my eyes. “First, that’s not a proper answer. Two, don’t you think that you should tell me before you drag me off somewhere?”

He laughed. “C’mon. Don’t you ever do anything adventurous or risky?”

“Yes,” I answered. “I talk to you.”

“Hey!” He shot me a playful glare.

I managed a smirk. “No, but seriously. Where are you taking me?”

He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Okay. Just stay here a moment. I’ll be right back.”

I frowned, and opened my mouth to complain, but before I could say anything, Hiccup had disappeared into the trees. I had no choice but to wait where I was.

Only a few minutes later, I heard a rush of wind, and a midnight-black dragon landed in front of me. Hiccup sat astride Toothless, one hand in the air.

I yelped, taking a few quick steps backward. “I- shoot, Hiccup. Why are you…” My voice died as Toothless stared at me. A shiver ran down my spine, making me feel sick to my stomach.

“Y/n, it’s fine,” Hiccup assured. “He won’t hurt you. Will ya, bud?”

I shook my head, my throat tightening. “I- no. I can’t do this, Hiccup.” I took another step back, my entire body beginning to shake. This. This what had killed my parents. Dragons couldn’t be trusted. No matter how much Hiccup had tried to convince the village, I would never trust anyone, or anything, ever again.

Hiccup frowned. “Fine.” He leaned down and patted Toothless on the neck. “C’mon, bud. Let’s go.”

Without another word, Toothless spread his wings and they soared into the air.

I stood stock still for a whole minute before I realised I was holding my breath. I let it out all in a rush, and staggered a little. I reached out to hold onto a tree truck for support. My legs felt wobbly and unstable.

I decided it was best if I headed back for the village. I didn’t want to hang around in the woods today anymore. I had a sour taste in my mouth, and I needed some water.

I was twenty meters away from my cabin door when suddenly the ground beneath me was swept away. The village got smaller and smaller, and then I realised what was happening.

“Hiccup Haddock!” I shrieked. Toothless was holding onto my forearms, and I was suspended in the air.

“Yes, m’lady?”

“I am going to kill you!” I yelled up at him, panic temporarily pushing aside my utter agony at being defenceless against a dragon.

“Toothless, put her down,” Hiccup commanded.

Toothless flew around a huge pine tree that was significantly taller than most of the forest, and promptly dropped me onto its highest branches.

I clung to the tree truck, shaking. Tears clogged up my throat, and my legs were so trembly I thought I was going to fall and die.

“Y/n.”

At the sound of Hiccup’s voice, I slowly turned to face him. He looked almost sorry, but I knew that was impossible. The little wretch was trying to make me terrified, for what reason I could only guess. This was his biggest prank yet.

“Hiccup,” I said, trying to keep my voice level (and failing), “you will get me down from here, now.” I gripped the tree tighter. “You will take me home this instant, and you will never ever talk to me again. Do you understand?”

He blinked. “But—“

“Do you understand?!” I yelled.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Here.” He held out his hand.

I stared at it for a second, then gingerly reached out and rested my fingertips on his palm. A tingle ran up the length of my arm. He gripped my wrist, and pulled me up onto the dragon behind him.

Every part of my body that was in contact with the dragon’s felt heated up, like I could burst into flames at any moment. My head pounded in sync with my heartbeat, and my palms were getting sweaty. I was, in short, absolutely terrified.

“… let her down slowly.”

I realised Hiccup was talking. “You got that, bud?”

Toothless made an exasperated grunt, sounding more like a sarcastic teenager than a dragon. That didn’t make me feel any better.

Toothless slowly spread his wings, and for a second, I almost relaxed. Maybe he would fly down gently like Hiccup had asked.

The next second, my illusion shattered. Toothless took off so fast I almost toppled off. I was forced to grab onto the nearest thing to stay onboard (on-dragon?). Unfortunately, that thing happened to be Hiccup.

Whatever. I’d rather not die today. I gripped his shoulders so tightly my knuckles turned white. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, as if not seeing would make it better for me.

The wind whipped in my ears, blowing my dark hair all around my face. I was so scared, so worried, so distraught I felt like crying. I couldn’t, though. I wasn’t dumb enough to cry in front of Hiccup. He would never let me hear the end of it.

Suddenly, I felt the dragon beneath me twisting sideways. We started spinning, twirling in tight circles. My grip tightened on Hiccup’s shoulders.

Someone was screaming, and I was like eighty-five percent sure it was me.

“Toothless!” Hiccup yelled. “Stop this right now! You’re scaring her!”

Toothless took that as a challenge, and dove toward the ocean a hundred feet below. He showed absolutely no signs of slowing or stopping in any way. I opened my eyes, wanting to at least be able to see something in case I died because of this.

“Thanks for nothing, you useless reptile,” Hiccup muttered. I slowly began to realise that maybe Hiccup wasn’t the one at fault here. Of course. It was the dragon’s fault. Dragons weren’t to be trusted, which was exactly what I’d been thinking this whole time.

Just as we were about to hit the water, Toothless opened up his wings. We shot upward, soaring towards the sugar-spun clouds above us.

We levelled out, and my muscles lost some of their tension. Toothless floated in the air, almost flying gently now. I remembered how to breathe, and let out a long, breathless sigh.

“Hiccup,” I managed, my voice hoarse. “I am going to murder you.”

I melted into him, partly in relief that I wasn’t dead, partly in exhausted terror. My arms went around his waist, my forehead falling to rest on his back. My eyes fluttered shut, and a lone tear streaked down my cheek.

Hiccup didn’t say anything for a long while, and so neither did I. Toothless flew long and slow and level, giving me the slightest chance of not murdering him, too.

I’m not sure how long we stayed like that. All I remember is Hiccup’s voice saying softly, “Sweet dreams, love,” before I fell into the welcome arms of sleep.

I woke slowly, curled in a ball inside a warm, soft bed that didn’t feel like mine. When I finally opened my eyes, I realised why it didn’t feel familiar. I wasn’t even in my house.

I sat up, looking around, trying to work out where I was. With a start, I couldn’t even think of a time I’d been inside any other houses in the village except for Astrid’s. I had no idea whose house this was.

“Morning, m’lady,” said a deep voice from the top of the stairs.

I groaned internally. “Oh, gosh, of course it’s you.” I found myself pulling my fingers through my hair, brushing it as nearly as I could, straightening my shirt, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

I dragged myself out of the bed. I was still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, my usual top and skirt combo, with leggings underneath for warmth. My boots were lying on the floor, so I yanked them on.

I glanced up at Hiccup, who was hanging over the banisters, watching me. With a jolt, all the memories of yesterday flooded in.

Red-hot anger filled me. I clenched my fists. “Are you gonna come down here, or should I just murder you up there?”

Hiccup’s eyes widened. “I- what?”

“You heard me,” I muttered. My knife was missing from my belt, which was just great. I’d probably lost in on that horrific flight yesterday.

I stomped up the stairs, stopping on the one below the one Hiccup was standing on. He leaned against the banister, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Hey shortcake,” he whispered teasingly. “Sleep well?”

I gritted my teeth. “You are so beyond dead right now, Hiccup.”

He chuckled. “Hey. Blame Toothless, alright? There was nothing I could do!”

I wanted to roll my eyes. “Um, okay. And he’s your dragon.”

“That doesn’t mean I can control him!”

I didn’t answer, my gaze sliding away from Hiccup. I sighed, laid my palm on the cold wood banister. “I don’t ever want you to talk to me again, okay? I don’t want to see you; I don’t want to hear you. I don’t even want to know you exist.”

I felt a glistening tear streak its way down my cheek, dripping off the bottom of my chin. “Just—“ My voice broke. “Just leave me alone.”

I turned, and ran out of the house, leaving his door wide open. I headed for the only place I could think of; the woods.

I didn’t stop running until I was deep in the forest, surrounded by unfamiliar trees. I dropped to my knees in the dirt, buried my face in my hands and cried.

Hours later, I slowly rose to my feet. It was growing steadily dark, and the cold was seeping into my bone. I shivered, and wrapped my arms around myself as I walked around in a small circle.

I realised, horrified, that I was completely lost. I had no idea whatsoever where I was, which direction the village was, or what time of day it even was right now.

I eventually sat down on a rock, pulling my knees up to my chest. The darkness was growing. Soon, I didn’t think I would be able to see a thing. I began to get worried.

Who knew what things might be hiding in the shadows? My hand instinctively went to my belt, my my knife was gone. I cursed under my breath, and stood, pressing my back against a tree. I figured it would be safer than sitting on an exposed rock.

I shivered, wrapping my arms tighter around myself, my eyes turning towards the sky, hoping, for some insane reason, that someone might be out there looking for me.

Who was I kidding? Who was there that even cared about me that much? I didn’t have parents who were waiting back at home, wondering how late I was going to stay out. I didn’t have siblings who would notice my absence.

Astrid wouldn’t notice this late at night. I tended to wander during the day; she was used to that, but at night it wouldn’t even occur to her that I was anywhere but home.

Hiccup briefly crossed my mind, but I truly did not think he cared about me that much. I didn’t even want him to. I was still so mad at Hiccup, thinking about him made it hard to breathe. I hated him.

“I hate Hiccup Haddock,” I whispered under my breath, trying to make myself feel better. My breath made a wisp of steam in the cold air. I watched it as it floated into nothingness.

My vision suddenly blurred, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of exhaustion or tears. I slumped down to the ground, my legs giving way. I drew my knees close to my chest, hugging them to me. My chin rested on my knees, gazing out at the woods, though I could barely make out anything anymore. I couldn’t even see my own hand clearly, let alone anything else.

I’m not sure how long I sat there, but eventually, I slipped into a deep sleep, half-frozen, chilled to the bone, alone and crying in the darkness.

“Y/n! Y/n? Y/n/n?!”

My eyes fluttered open. I groaned in pain. I felt someone’s arms encircling me, carrying me, but I couldn’t make out anything. Everything was blurred, hazy. The person carrying me was talking, but it sounded far away and watery.

I slumped against the person’s shoulder, closing my eyes. I was tired: so, so tired. Everything ached; my head pounded and throbbed.

I don’t think I feel back asleep, but I wasn’t really aware of anything for a long while. Finally, the person slowed to a walk, and laid me down on a couch or a bed or something. A cup was held to my lips, and I gratefully accepted the water.

I blinked several times, and my eyes focused on a very familiar looking boy, who’s green eyes were staring down at me, full of concern.

“Hiccup?” I asked weakly. “What are you…?”

“I found you in the middle of the woods,” Hiccup replied, his eyes darkening slightly. “Are you okay? Do you need anything else? More water? Are-are you warm enough?”

I laid my head back, rubbing my thumb against my throbbing temple. I let out a long sigh, whether it was of annoyance or exhaustion or pain, I wasn’t sure.

“I hate you so much,” I muttered.

“Gee, thanks,” Hiccup answered. He held the back of his hand against my forehead, testing my temperature. “You don’t seem to be too sick. I think you’re going to be okay,” he said, almost to himself.

“I’m not sick at all,” I said firmly. “I don’t even know why you’re taking care of me. I don’t need you. You—“ My voice suddenly broke with emotion. “You did this to me.”

Hiccup’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Look, Y/n/n—“

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.

He blinked. “Y/n. I-I am so sorry for what happened yesterday. I, well, I thought it might make it better if you saw that dragons aren’t always vicious. Um…” He glanced down, rubbing the back of his neck. “Toothless didn’t really get the memo.”

He looked at me. “I’m really sorry, Y/n. And I hope that maybe someday you can find it in you to forgive me.” He stood, brushed off his pants, and left, closing the door gently behind him.

I lay there for a while, staring up at the ceiling. I hadn’t noticed it at first, but Hiccup had brought me home. I was in my bed, in my house. I could hear small noises from downstairs, which meant that Hiccup was still here. I wasn’t sure what he was doing down there, but I didn’t really care.

What I cared about right now was what he’d said. And what it had made happen inside of me. Was I really as mad at him as I thought I was? After all, he’d gone out and found me, brought me home, taken care of me. Maybe he’d been trying to be nice, and it really was Toothless who had been doing all those things to me. (Which just proved all my theories that dragons weren’t to be trusted).

I thought again of Hiccup’s eyes staring down at me, his sad voice asking me for forgiveness. The worry in his expression when he asked if I was okay. I hated how much I’d liked that. I hadn’t ever been in love, or even had a crush on anyone. I wasn’t sure if this even was a crush, but if it was, I didn’t like it.

I didn’t like the swirling in my stomach when I heard Hiccup’s voice. I hated how much I suddenly wanted him near me. I disliked how I kind of trusted him. I didn’t want to be in love. I didn’t want to have somebody I believed in again.

Last time I’d loved someone, trusted someone, all they’d done was break my heart and leave me forever. My parents. I wondered if part of my hatred inside was because I’d never truly forgiven them for leaving. For dying and not coming back for me like they’d sworn they would. I blinked back tears, brushing my cheeks with the back of my hand.

I swung my legs out of the bed, standing. I swayed a bit at first, but I forced myself to be steady. I yanked on my boots and slowly pushed open my bedroom door. I stepped out onto the landing, peeping over the edge of the banisters.

Hiccup was down in the kitchen. I was shocked at how much cleaner everything looked. I barely ever tidied up. Not that things got particularly dirty, as I spent little time here, but dust had certainly stocked up over the years. Hiccup had scrubbed away the five years of dirt from my home, and it was sparkling.

Something smelled good, too. It hit me like a brick wall that the fire was going, and Hiccup was cooking something over it. It looked like soup or something similar. I hadn’t had a home cooked meal for ages. I hated cooking, so I just lived on things I grew in the garden, or tidbits from friends.

I shifted slightly, and a floorboard underneath me creaked. Hiccup glanced up, and when he saw me, a slight smile flickered across his face. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I said back, not sure what else to say. I mean, I’d just yelled at him, and made it pretty clear I didn’t ever want to talk to him again. What do you say to someone who’s just cleaned your entire house and taken care of you after you told them that? “What are you making?”

Hiccup glanced down at the pot he was stirring, then back up at me. “Chicken and potato soup. Want some?”

I hesitated, but nodded, with a small shrug. “Why not.” I slowly walked down the stairs, my eyes on Hiccup the whole time. I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from him.

He noticed me staring and smiled nervously. “What? Am I in trouble?”

I found myself slowly shaking my head. “No, I don’t think so.” I allowed myself a small, watery smile. “At least not yet.”

Hiccup grinned. “Good. Now sit down and eat.”

I obeyed, setting myself down at the old dining table. I wiped my palm on the wood, expecting it to be coated it dirt, but it shone with new cleanliness. My eyes suddenly filled with tears.

“Hiccup…” was all I could manage.

Immediately, Hiccup knelt in front of me. “What’s wrong?” he asked, almost urgently, staring up into my eyes. “Are you alright?”

I swallowed. “You-you cleaned the house… you’re cooking… I- you…” I let out a broken sob.

For so long, so one had cared. Astrid cared the most, but she was busy with Stormfly and her new baby brother and life in general. She’d offered a few times to have me stay with her and her family, but I’d known that would be far too hard for them. I’d always politely told her I was just fine on my own, thank you. But I wasn’t. I knew that. I needed someone to care so badly that now that someone did, someone cared, it almost hurt.

“Hey, hey,” Hiccup said softly, grabbing me by the shoulders. I realised I was shaking.

“It’s alright,” he assured me. “Come here.” He brought me into a hug, which at first both startled and scared me, but then I melted into it. The hug felt unfamiliar, different, awkward. But nice, somehow.

But this was Hiccup. I untangled myself from him. “Uh,” I stammered, tucking my hair behind my ear, eyes flitting away. “Thanks.”

Hiccup shrugged. “It’s fine.” He stood slowly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded. “Yes. I mean, no. I-I guess? I’m not sure…” I stared up at him. “Hiccup, why are you doing this?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “What do you mean?” He gestured around. “You needed help. You need help. I am the son of the chief; soon to be the chief myself. It’s my job to help the village.”

Something inside me wilted a little. So this was just part of the job to him? The rest of me internally yelled at that bit to shut up, and that we hated Hiccup, so it doesn’t matter what he does. But why did I hate Hiccup?

Thinking back on it now, I really didn’t think he had ever done anything truly bad towards me. Yeah, sure, he’d been a total tease, but I was a rude, bitter, secluded brat to be honest. I didn’t deserve any help from him.

I blinked back unwanted tears. “Um, well, I really appreciate it,” I said. “It was really nice of you to come looking for me.”

Hiccup studied my face for a moment, then pursed his lips and nodded once. “It’s okay, Y/n/n.”

Something inside me jolted. No one had called me that in years before today, when Hiccup had started to. It was the nickname my father had given me. Hearing Hiccup use it had just opened up a deep wound inside me I hadn’t even remembered.

“Please don’t call me that,” I whispered, staring at the floorboards. My feet hung limply in the air just above the floor.

Hiccup glanced over at me from where he was standing, stirring the soup. “Um, okay. Sorry, Y/n.” He stressed my name, saying it slightly slower than the rest of his words.

There was so much tension in the air, and I realised it was all my fault. I made the room awkward and made Hiccup have to watch everything he said. I was a terrible person.

I’d even told Hiccup never to talk to me again, right after I’d woken up in his house. It hit me that he must’ve taken me there after the awful flight on Toothless. Then, I’d screamed in his face that I hated him, and gotten myself lost in the woods because I was selfish and prideful and full of hate.

Even then, Hiccup had gone out and found me. Who knew how long that had taken him? He’d brought me back here, cleaned my house, made me food, and for what? For me to be snappy, harsh, and rude.

I ran my tongue over my lower lip, staring resolutely at the floor. “Hiccup?” I managed finally.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you doing this?” I looked at him, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. “Be honest.”

Hiccup hesitated, stirring the wooden spoon listlessly around the soup. “What do you mean?” he said finally.

I sighed, sitting up straight and brushing off my skirts. “You know… helping me.” I have a little laugh. “Heavens knows you don’t need to. So why are you really doing all this?”

Hiccup chewed his lip. “Because I’m going to be the Chief of Berk pretty soon. I need to be able to protect my people.” His gaze fixed on mine. “Even when they don’t like me, or want me to.”

Under his fierce eyes, my insides crinkled. I felt exposed, as if I was being examined under a bright light. I dropped my gaze.

“I’m sorry…” I managed, the words sounding funny in my mouth. I hadn’t apologised to Hiccup, for anything, ever.

“It’s okay.” His voice sounded surprisingly even, like he wasn’t even bothered about all this. So it was just me feeling all these things, was it? He was truly just doing this out of a sense of duty. And honestly, why shouldn’t he? I’d already told myself I was a rude little brat, to be totally honest. I didn’t deserve to have people look after me, at all.

I didn’t meet Hiccup’s eyes. “Um, that’s cool. But thank you, really.”

Hiccup nodded, and handed me a steaming mug of hot soup. “Eat up,” he said. “I’ll leave you the rest… have a good night, Y/n.”

And with that, he disappeared. The house felt suddenly very small and lonely, and I shrunk into myself, staring into the fire, sipping tiny bits of soup until I was all warmed up inside.

I gazed around the cabin. It looked so different, all shining and clean. It made me feel like maybe I might be able to move on; get over them leaving me. I shook my head. That would never happen. I didn’t think I was capable of letting it go, of moving forward with my life. I was seventeen years old, and I still held a grudge against my parents for ‘abandoning’ me when I was twelve.

Thoughts whirled through my brain, at an almost dizzying rate. I left my mug on the table, and went to stand by the open window, facing out into the main road of Berk.

A few children were playing in it, kicking a round wooden ball to each other. I watched them for a minute or two, before an absurd idea struck me. I pushed open the front door. “Hey!” I yelled.

The kids turned to look at me, momentarily forgetting their game. “Can I join you guys?” I asked, feeling brave.

The oldest girl looked confused for a moment, then after a brief pause, gave me a smile and a nod. “Sure!” she called.

I grinned, and shut my door behind me, jogging over to them. Playing ball was something I hadn’t done in years, but it felt good to just relax for a while. Plus, it was amazing to see others doing an activity that didn’t revolve around dragons, so I could join in.

Dragons. I shuddered a little, remembering the awful ride on Toothless, and making my feelings around Hiccup even more complicated.

After a good long play, I collapsed to the ground in a heap, blowing up my breath. “Gosh,” I managed. “I can see why kids like playing ball. It’s fun.” I offered the girl who’d let me come play with them a small smile.

“You’re Y/n, aren’t you?” the girl asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

I hesitated. How did they know who I was? I never really talked to anyone except Astrid, Hiccup and a few other people. Certainly not the children.

“Yeah, I am,” I said slowly. “How do you know my name?”

The little girl allowed herself a smug smile. “Hiccup told us about you.” Turning, she threw the ball to one of her friends.

I was dumbfounded. “Hiccup?”

The girl nodded. “Yeah. He told us you guys used to be friends but now you’re mean to him and won’t let him be nice to you anymore. He said he misses being your friend.”

I wrinkled my nose, staring at her. “Hiccup said he misses me?” I scoffed finally. “There’s no way. You must have heard him wrong. Hiccup hurt me incredibly badly when we were six years old, and ever since then he’s teased and bothered me almost to death. I will never be his friend again.”

I stood, suddenly angry all over again. Angry about how hurt I was, how much I hated Hiccup and my parents for hurting me. I clenched my teeth. “Thank you for letting me join you. Bye.”

I turned and began the walk uphill to Astrid’s house. Right now, I really needed to see my best friend.

When Astrid opened the door, she immediately noticed something was wrong. She frowned. “Are you alright?”

I shook my head. “Everything is so hopeless, A.”

Astrid made a sympathetic face and pulled me into a tight embrace. “It’s okay,” she whispered into my shoulder. “Come on, come inside. It’s freezing.”

Maybe it was. I felt so numb I didn’t think I would’ve noticed even if it was cold enough to give me frostbite. I felt like my insides were frozen, unable to feel anything at all.

Astrid pulled me inside, sitting me down on a chair beside the roaring fire. She knelt down in front of me. “What happened?” she asked, staring into my face.

I shook my head, looking away from her. “I… I don’t even know…” I began to cry, dropping my head in my hands.

Astrid pursed her lips, hugging me again. “Is it your parents? Hiccup? Tell me.”

I took a deep breath, and slowly began to tell her the entire story, beginning yesterday, when Hiccup took me into the woods and the whole, horrible ride on Toothless began. I kept my eyes steadily fixed on the fire as I spoke, quietly recounting the flight, the fight, being lost in the woods and then Hiccup rescuing me and cleaning my house. I even told her about the awkward hug.

The only thing I couldn’t manage to admit to Astrid was how I felt about Hiccup. I couldn’t decide if I hated his guts, or if I wanted nothing more than to be in his arms again.

When I was finished, Astrid let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, babe,” she said. “But if you ask me… Hiccup wasn’t at fault for what Toothless was doing during that flight. I think he might be telling you the truth; that he just wanted you to see that dragons aren’t dangerous.”

I nodded slowly. I was beginning to believe that. Of course, that just made me hate dragons even more, but there was no point saying that aloud. Astrid knew I hated dragons even more than I hated Hiccup. I would never, ever trust a dragon.

Astrid studied me. “Do you want to know what else I think?”

I glanced at her. “By the look on your face, no. But I guess you’re going to tell me anyway, so… sure.”

Astrid suppressed a smile. “You know me too well,” she said. “But, what I think is, you don’t hate Hiccup at all. You’re just angry. At your parents mostly. But Hiccup hurt you too, years ago. You’re alone now, so you’re taking out your anger on the only person you have any sort of justification to do so to.”

I was silent. Sadly, her words rang hard and true. I could finally see that, yes, my hatred of Hiccup was really just anger at myself, and my parents. It had honestly nothing to do with Hiccup himself. He’d just been unfortunate enough to annoy me all those years ago, so now I’d decided to hate him because of it.

I shook my head in disbelief. “I’ve been so stupid,” I muttered.

“Not stupid,” Astrid said. “Kinda crazy, maybe, but not stupid.”

I looked at her. “I think… I think I should go and apologize to someone.”

She smiled. “Go.”

I jumped to my feet and ran, leaving her front door swinging open in the wind.

I didn’t stop running until I reached Hiccup’s house. I burst inside without thinking about knocking, but stopped short on the threshold.

“Stoick!” I gaped, trying to find the right words. “I, I am so sorry—“

“Y/n,” Stoick replied, getting to his feet. “What brings you here in such a hurry?” His eyes narrowed. “Are you alright?”

I nodded breathlessly. “What? Yes. Yes, I’m fine, thanks, I just —“

“Were you looking for Hiccup?”

I pursed my lips. “I might’ve been.”

Stoick chuckled. “You’ve got spirit, lass. I like that about you.”

I blinked. “Um, thank you?”

“He’s at the beach.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Chief.”

The path that ran towards the beach was thin and steep, covered in loose rocks that skidded under my shoes. More than once I almost fell off the cliff side.

When I reached the beach, I was surprised at how small it seemed. Then again, I hadn’t been here since I was little. I guess my memories of it had faded. With a start, I realised that the last time I had been here was probably with Hiccup himself, back when we were small and best friends.

I spotted Hiccup’s figure walking through the surf a few hundred meters away. I started toward him, slowly in case I scared him with a sudden approach.

The beach itself was small and rocky, round black stones instead of proper sand. The waves here were little and inconsistent, barely making a splash. Sometimes in the summer, we would have a day or two of good weather, and the waves would be bigger, but that was a pretty rare occurrence.

I reached Hiccup, who was now standing with his hands buried in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

“What do you see?” I whispered.

“Freedom,” he replied softly, turning to look at me. “When I’m riding Toothless, nothing is impossible. Me, a human, can fly on the back of a dragon. There is something magical about that, Y/n.”

I chewed my lip, considering his words. I guess there was something amazing about that fact, but still… dragons.

“Um,” I said. “I came here to apologise.”

Hiccup’s green eyes turned a darker shade. “For what?”

I dug the side of my shoe in the sand, my eyes sliding away from his. “For… everything.”

He waited, his eyes roaming my face.

I swallowed. “For not being your friend when I should have been. For hating you and your love for dragons. For being a terrible person. For hitting you and hating you and making your life miserable.” During this little speech, my voice had gotten higher and louder. Now it broke, and I felt tears brimming to my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Hiccup,” I cried.

Hiccup didn’t say anything. He stared at me for a count of five, while tears began to stream down my cheeks. What was wrong with me this week? For years, I’d barely cried at all, hiding my emotions inside. Now I was crying, again.

Hiccup did something I didn’t expect. He grabbed my face between his hands. They were tougher than I would’ve thought, calloused and hard from working with metals and wood and materials. He stared into my eyes for long enough for my tears to stop flowing. “Y/n,” he said. “It’s okay. You were forgiven years ago.”

He pulled me into a tight embrace. A week ago, I would’ve fought and hit and yelled at him, but now? I melted into Hiccup’s body, burying my face in his chest and wrapping my arms tightly around him, letting my tears flow freely.

For the first time since my parents died, I felt at peace.

For the next three weeks, I tried my hardest to start a routine. To start cleaning my house, cooking meals every day, and (the hardest part of all), going out and talking to someone each and every morning.

Sometimes I just talked to Astrid, when it got bad and I truly couldn’t get enough emotion energy to talk to anyone else. But sometimes I managed. I talked to the kids playing in the streets, to the other girls I never really talked to before, to the guys helping out in the dragon-saddle-making workshop.

But mostly, I talked to Hiccup. I talked to him as if we’d never stopped being friends, as if we were six years old again. It honestly surprised me how easy it was to get along with him now that I didn’t have an eternal grudge against him. Hiccup was still the same person he’d always been. It was me who had changed.

I made an effort to even start working. I’d never done anything like it before, really, but it was honestly alright. I had a few shifts at the dragon workshop a week, and it was kind of fun after a while. Yeah, sure, I still got terrified when someone actually brought their dragon to the shop, but for the most part it was good.

Hiccup worked there sometimes as well, and so did Stoick. Astrid didn’t, because she was a dragon trainer and didn’t really have the time. I would’ve liked it if we were able to work together, but there was no way I would be able to train dragons. At all.

But, you know, life was pretty alright. I still had scars, deep and hidden and probably incurable, but I also had friends. And hope. And maybe, just maybe, a future.

I woke up screaming. My bedsheets were clutched tight in my fists, a tangled mess around my legs. Hot tears were still rolling down my cheeks, and my chest heaved, as if I’d just run the length of the island in my sleep.

I tried to swallow, tried to even out my breathing. My mouth was so dry I could barely swallow properly. I reached for the glass of water that I always had beside my bed, and gulped it down.

I could still evision the awful images from my dreams. Hiccup, Astrid, my parents, all trapped in a circle of flaming dragons. They were screaming for me, calling my name. I couldn’t move, my legs seemingly stuck to the ground. I could do nothing but watch as the dragons slowly spread over the bodies of my loved ones, devouring them. I sank to my knees, screaming in agony.

I shivered, climbing out from under the sheets. I needed to get out of this empty house. I didn’t care if it was the middle of the night, I had to see someone.

I hurried down the stairs, bursting out into the night. Stars glittered in the sky, the night quiet and bright. The cold wind hit me like a wall, and I shuddered. I hadn’t thought of grabbing my jacket.

My feet moved faster than my mind, taking me somewhere that I didn’t even know I wanted to be. I slipped inside Hiccup’s house, tiptoeing to where I knew his room was.

Outside his door, I finally realised what I was doing. Sneaking into Hiccup’s room in the dead of night? What was I thinking? Was I crazy?

Maybe I am, I thought, slowly pushing open Hiccup’s door. I stood still on his doorway for a moment, before quietly slipping over to the side of his bed.

“Hiccup?” I breathed, almost soundlessly.

“Y/n?” Hiccup was instantly awake, sitting up in his bed. “What are you…? Why are you here? Are you okay?” His voice was hoarse from sleep, and he squinted at me.

I hesitated. What was I supposed to say? Oh, I just had a dream about you dying and it terrified me so I’m here to make sure you’re still alive? Of course I wasn’t going to say that.

“I had a nightmare.” I bit my lip, shifting from foot to foot. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

Hiccup’s dark eyes gazed into mine. He leaned back slightly, so he could see me more clearly. “Why did you come to me?” he asked quietly, his voice ragged and raspy.

I dropped my gaze. “You were the only one I thought of coming to,” I whispered. “I knew you wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course I wouldn’t mind,” Hiccup said. “Do… do you want to stay here? Or do you want me to walk you back to your house?”

I hesitated. “Could I please just stay here, with you?” I met his eyes for a brief second.

He smiled. “Anything for you.” He said it so flippantly, I might’ve missed it any other time. But my brains snagged on the words, turning them over and over in my mind. Anything for you…

“Thank you, Hiccup,” I whispered. We were both silent for a while. “Can I… can I stay with you until morning?” I asked.

Hiccup stared at me, then nodded. I slowly crawled onto his bed, leaning against the bed-head. Hiccup glanced at me, then lay back down on his pillow. After a moment, I snuggled down next to him, hyper aware of every part of my body under the sheets.

We were nose to nose. I could feel his hot breath on my face. His green eyes glittered in the darkness.

“Goodnight y/n,” he whispered groggily. “I hope you don’t have any more nightmares.” With that, he closed his eyes, and I heard no more from him.

[somehow-a-human]

Whose POV is it Anyway?

A Companion to Owls.

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Job 30:29-31 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. My skin is black upon me and my bones are burned with heat. My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

Continuing my analysis of the narrator/POV perspective of Good Omens season two with a look at the episode 2 minisode set in 2500 BC, Uz. God, I love this minisode.

For reference & context, I recommend reading these posts:

Whose POV is it Anyway? - Introduction

Lens Filters

POV "Your 'Something's Wrong' Voice"

POV a Trip to Hell and a 25 Lazarii Miracle

We open our journey into the land of Uz with Crowley giving Job's goats a speech that sounds awfully similar to his own troubled relationship with The Almighty. Crowley is alone here. The episode cold-opens and we've had no lead up to suggest otherwise, so this is Crowley's POV. His hair is short and more vibrant, I'd say this is likely the Black Diffusion FX filter.

Yes for the sake of this post I am doubling down on the fact that there are TWO SEPARATE WIGS. See more here.

Aziraphale arrives, he looks cute and silly, the permit is long, the goats are "destroyed" and they part ways.

The next scene we get is Aziraphale in heaven checking with Muriel and the Archangels that the permit Crowley has is in fact legitimate. This time, we are seeing Aziraphale's POV. Heaven is a stark white office building but the golden hue is almost overwhelming in this flashback. The Bronze Glimmer Glass filter is clearly being used here.

Aziraphale decides he's going to confront Crowley about saving the children, little does he know Crowley wouldn't harm them to begin with but regardless...

When we re-enter the minisode, we do so via a subtle zoom in on Crowley's face in modern day. We then enter the scene through Aziraphale's illustrated Bible and see Crowley asking Job where his kids are. We've again lost the golden glow of the BGG filter, moved back to the BDFX filter and into Crowley's POV. Crowley's hair is still short, Aziraphale isn't present here, he's alone, so these are his memories.

When we see Crowley walking up to the house to find the kids we have switched back to Aziraphale's POV. The scene is extremely warmly lit, it's soft and yellow, and Crowley is now in a different wig. His hair is much longer, softer and more attractive looking. In one of the X-Ray behind the Scenes videos I even caught a screenshot of the film slate from this scene and you can clearly that they've written in BGG as the filter used, so we have confirmation.

We continue through the Job minisode in Aziraphale's POV. The reveal of the goats, saving the kids, the ox rib temptation, the first conversation about loneliness, it's all from Aziraphale's POV. until after he "comes to" in the bookshop in present day.

When we revisit the minisode, and for the remainder of it we are seeing it from Crowley's POV which was an interesting thing to realize. We see Crowley and Aziraphale witness Job speaking with God, saving Jobs children, deceiving the Archangels, and having their emotionally revealing conversation overlooking the beautiful sea all from Crowley's POV. His hair remains short and more vibrant red throughout all of it, we don't see the return of his long long gingery waves. The lighting when the angels are present for the children's "resurrection" is very warm but I'm going to chalk that up to the Heavenly Hosts presence.

It makes sense that this reaction is Crowley's POV. Silly silly angel, did a good deed and thinks he's a demon?! But then he realizes how upset Aziraphale is, how scared and he comforts him. He tells him he isn't going to do anything that would hurt him, that would get him in trouble. Then, something about the fact that what follows is also from Crowley's memories, his perspective...

"That sounds..."

"Lonely? Yeah."

"But you said it wasn't."

"I'm a demon. I lied."

NEXT POV The Dirty Donkey & I think I Found a *Clue*!

[witchwrestler]

I Eat Boys

warnings // Jason being a creep but that's literally it

summary: 10 things I hate about you inspired little blurb bc I got bored

note: reblogs are appreciated and encouraged!! if you like this i will gladly do another part, this was v fun to write !!!

part 2

☆ 🎸 ☆

You'd always been what most in the small shoebox town of hawkins would call a "feminist bitch", and according to most of the men who ask you out as a joke in the hallways, you've been more rageful than usual. You had one boyfriend during your high-school career thus far. It was freshman year and the product of being told that if a boy was being mean to you, surely that means he likes you. It ended after four months, after his failed attempt at getting in your pants.

It took you much longer than you'd like to admit to heal from that fiasco, and when you had finally declared yourself happy again, you cut your hair short, bought a pair of doc martens you'd always wanted and decided you would swear men off for a while. Not to say they were even approaching you, it seems the moment you had grown into yourself and stopped caring, men wanted nothing to do with you.

That is, until a very cold and rainy saturday. You had gone to the record store across from family video to buy the new metallica 'master of puppets'. As per usual the music blaring from your beat up jeep was some form of loud aggressive feminist punk rock, and as you turned into the parking lot, what seemed like the entire hawkins cheer team parked next to you. Too fast you thought, their happy Duran Duran playing selves turned into four cheerleaders looking at you like you were deranged. You scowled back at them and walked into the record store.

You spotted the metallica immediately and walked over to the metal section.

Only you weren't the only one grabbing the cassette, right as you very nearly got your hands on it, a pair of silver-clad fingers snatched it. You looked up, shooting a glare at him. He had long curly brown hair, the sickest dio tour shirt on, a guitar pick hanging on a chain around his neck and chains hanging from his jeans. This is the first time you had felt almost upstaged by a man, you think to yourself before speaking. "I really thought I was the only one who liked metal in this shitty town, do I have competition now?" You say, leaning forward over the display separating you. He looked at you a moment, a smile on his face, "it would seem you do" you smile back at him, and grab another cassette from in front of you before walking to the front to pay.

As you leave you turn back around, finding him still standing at the metal section, his eyes meeting yours again. "I am jealous as hell of that dio shirt, by the way." You say, walking out to your car.

The rain had stopped but it was still chilly outside, so you pulled your brown leather jacket closer to keep warm. You hadn't noticed that someone was following behind you until they whistled at you. You turned on your heel, immediately angry. Jason carver and his raging case of dickface disease stood before you, walking towards you like he was entitled to you or something.

" Carver, if you don't walk away right now, I'll kick your sorry ass," you say, backing slowly towards your car and crossing your arms. "A girl? kick my ass? keep dreaming, hon." He says, inching towards you. "Look, I wouldn't mind a reason to hit you, but I doubt you're gonna wanna go tell your fucking goon squad that you got your ass beat by a woman, huh?" You say, nothing but a blank expression on your face. He gets too close for comfort, a hand brushing your thigh. "so you're a feisty one, hm?" he says, his hand now squeezing your thigh, your fist clenching at his touch. You let out a sarcastic laugh just to say, "Carver, I fucking eat boys like you for breakfast. You're all talk, no bite." a smirk paints his face as he pushes you onto the door of your car, "isn't that why you went to juvie, freak?" he says. Clearly, he thought that the freak bit would cut deep, but you weren't about to let someone like him get under your skin.

"Yeah." That wasn't true. You have never even been near a juvenile detention center. But your last straw had been pulled, and you would rather he be scared of you than have him actually figure you out. "And pathetic, mysoginistic, disrespectful boys like you were my favorite kind." You say, pushing him off of you. His eyes got big with fear, scrambling away as he ran to his car, eyes flicking to you nervously. You let out a sigh of relief "fucking, men." you mumbled under your breath, finishing the walk to your car.

☆

Little did you know, that head of curly hair and hands clad with silver, who grabbed the same album as you, had tried to catch up to you after you complimented his shirt. You hadn't noticed him watch your little scramble. And you hadn't noticed the smirk that grew on his face as he saw you scare carver off. And you didn't know that he had regretted not asking your name, and that now he feared he might never know it.

[auras-moonstone]

can i ask for shy!camp counselor ethan? like he’s great with kids but he’s very reserved around the rest of the crew. and reader is kind of extroverted. basically simp!!!! ethan

want to know you better — ethan landry

word count: 1,183

pairing: camp counselor!ethan landry x camp counselor!fem!reader

summary: after y/n defended ethan to their crew, she finally makes a conversation with him.

author’s note: this one is a bit short bc i’ve been super busy with college😫 on the bright side, part two of “august” is almost finished, so that’ll be my next post! 🫶🏻

Y/N COULDN’T RECALL ONE MOMENT IN WHICH ETHAN HAD WILLINGLY TALKED TO HER, OR ANYONE ELSE ON THE CREW FOR THE MATTER. She was very curious about him, the kids loved him and he seemed so sweet, but he always stayed silent during meetings and when the staff gathered around to eat.

“He doesn’t make conversation with us but he’s perfectly happy around kids. That’s a red flag” Vince, a staff member said while looking at Ethan, who was making the kids play by the lake.

“I wouldn’t say red flag, it’s straight up creepy” Joss replied with a laugh.

“Stop it” Y/N glared at them. “He’s not creepy, he’s just shy. Besides, I don’t blame him. You guys can be real mean sometimes.”

“Aw, does Y/N have a little crush?” Diana teased her.

“Really, Y/N? On Ethan? He’s not your type at all” Nate said.

“And how the fuck do you know if he’s my type or not?” Nate raised his hands in surrender “Whatever, I don’t have a crush on him, I’m just not a dick like you guys.”

“Come on, Y/N/N. You have to admit he’s weird” Diana scrunched her nose.

“He’s not. He doesn’t talk, so what? Have you tried to make a conversation with him?” she asked them, and they stayed silent. “Exactly my point. We haven’t been the most welcoming people.”

“I just get a weird vibe from him” Vince said, shrugging.

“Yeah, he’s giving psychopath” Nate agreed, making the rest of them laugh.

Y/N rolled her eyes “And you’re giving world’s biggest assholes” she stood up and made her way towards Ethan and the kids, ignoring how they called her name.

When the kids caught sight of her, they started jumping in excitement. “Y/N! Please help us, Ethan is being boring!”

Y/N gasped dramatically “Oh, how dare he! What do you need?”

“We want to play with the water guns” one of the kids said.

The older girl crossed her arms in front of her chest “How do you know about the water guns? They were supposed to be a secret until tomorrow. Have you been spying on our meetings?”

“No! Ethan let it slip” they replied, making the camp counselor glare at them, and muttered ‘Traitors’.

Y/N laughed and Ethan swooned. She was just so pretty, and her laugh was angelic “Wow, you snitched on him so fast, you don’t deserve Ethan’s kindness.”

“Boo, we thought you would be on our side, Y/N/N!”

“Fine, I don’t want to lose my spot as your favorite counselor, so let’s bring the water guns” she said, making the kids scream in excitement.

“We are not supposed to” Ethan said in a low tone.

Y/N stared at him, the sound of his voice surprised her. It was deep and calm, and nice to hear “Don’t worry, we can change the day of the activity. It’ll be fun. Besides, you can get your revenge on them for handing you in.” she smiled playfully.

Ethan’s smile was unlike anything Y/N had ever seen. His pearly white teeth were hypnotic and he had the most beautiful boyish laugh Y/N had ever heard. Now she really wished she’d talked to him sooner, she would have had that sight for longer.

The two counselors walked towards the supply closet to grab the water guns, fully aware of the rest of the crew’s eyes on them. She sent a dirty glare on their way.

“I’m sorry, Ethan.” Y/N said. Ethan looked at her expecting her to go on “For not talking to you earlier this summer. I know you’re too shy to make conversation, so I should’ve been the one to start it.”

Ethan shook his head “It’s okay.”

“It’s not” she quickly replied. “Even if we’re here for the job, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have fun. And you don’t deserve to spend your summer alone.”

“Thank you” Ethan smiled softly, his cheeks turning red. “I’m not sure the rest of the crew likes you talking to me.”

“I don’t care what those idiots have to say about me.” Y/N shrugged.

“Thank you for defending me earlier, by the way” he finally said. Y/N widened her eyes. “Yes, I heard. They aren’t exactly low talkers.”

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. It was awful, what they were saying.”

“A wise woman once said, I don’t care what those idiots have to say about me” Ethan said, in a weird period-drama kind of voice.

Y/N bursted out laughing and Ethan’s heart started racing “Those are some wise words indeed.”

“Can we play now or are you going to keep flirting?” the annoyed voice of a little girl said.

The two blushing messes holding the water guns shifted uncomfortably. They didn’t notice until the moment it was addressed, but they were flirting. And it felt good.

“Okay” Y/N said once everyone had their guns. “Let’s divide into groups.”

The kids exchanged smiles, and the counselors started to worry. Ethan looked at Y/N “They had schemed against us.”

“Kids…?”

“Attack!”

Before they knew it, the two authority figures were completely drenched. Y/N quickly grabbed Ethan’s hands and they started to run, the kids following their trails.

“Stop it, you monsters! You betrayed me!” Y/N yelled as she ran.

“You switched to Ethan’s side! Now you pay the consequences” they yelled back.

“Maybe… maybe we should stop” Ethan tried to catch his breath. “They’ll run out of water eventually. And I can’t breathe anymore.”

“Okay” Y/N agreed. “We surrender.”

The kids circled them once again, and they splashed them with water until their guns emptied. “Little devils” Ethan muttered as they fled the scene.

“That was fun, though” Y/N laughed.

The boy nodded “Your hair is sticking on your cheeks” Ethan laughed, putting her hair strands behind her ear. His deep brown eyes met hers and Ethan’s breath hitched. “You…” he shook his head and blushed “Never mind.”

“That’s the worst thing you can say to an over thinker. Now you have to spill it or I won’t be able to sleep until I know what you were going to say” Y/N told him, trying to ignore that she could still feel his touch on her skin.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” he sighed.

“Oh, shit. Do I have something in my face, in my teeth? Fuck, just te-” she asked embarrassed.

“I wanted to say you are beautiful.” he cut her off, not being able to meet her eyes. He glanced at his hands nervously.

Y/N took the chance to study his face. His puppy eyes were her favorite thing about him, she decided. But he also had beautiful long eyelashes, an adorable nose, and rosy cheeks to die for. His skin looked soft, and she couldn’t help but touch it. Y/N’s fingers grazed his jaw, making him look at her.

“And you’re gorgeous” Y/N said softly. “And I love how the kids seem to love you. You’re funny, and sweet and I want to know you better, if you want to.”

“I would really like that.” he nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

[bikananjarrus]

finally time for the "some of the reasons i love cassian and luthen's first meeting so much" post that got way too long lol. in short, the overarching reason is that it brilliantly sets up some of the themes of season 1, and gives us one of our first real glimpses at the reason why cassian is a spy for the rebellion later on (besides the obvious 'will do what needs to be done, even if it's dirty work' introduction we get from him in rogue one, and again at the beginning of andor).

starting with two really quick exchanges they have:

L: "are we alone?" / C: "i am." L: "is [the starpath unit] here?" / C: "is the money here?"

i love how quickly this shows that they don't trust each other (obviously) but also that cassian isn't letting luthen have the upper hand so easily (little does he know yet just how much luthen already knows about him); but he isn't willing to give more than luthen. this untrusting back and forth continues throughout the scene, with luthen saying maybe cassian is an imperial spy, and cass shooting that right back at him later saying maybe luthen is the spy. it just very quickly establishes that they are like minded people, and there's a reason luthen is seeking cassian out to recruit him.

but moving on to the real meat of their conversation and the exchange that i love SO MUCH. (iirc this was the first clip we got before the show aired, and i remember being immediately compelled by this dialogue, in particular cassian's line "[they can't imagine] that someone like me would get inside their house" but i'll get back to that).

(and since this got a bit longer than expected, i'll put the rest under a cut)

so, after luthen asks (and pays!) cassian to tell him how he stole the starpath unit:

C: "you just walk in like you belong." L: "takes more than that, doesn't it?" C: "what? to steal from the empire? what do you need? a uniform, some dirty hands, and an imperial tool kit. they're so proud of themselves, they don't even care. they're so fat and satisfied, they can't imagine it." L: "can't imagine what?" C: "that someone like me would ever get inside their house. walk their floors, spit in their food, take their gear." L (starting to smile now): "the arrogance is remarkable, isn't it? they don't even think about us." C: "us? i don't know you." L: "fair enough. but i know you. these days will end, cassian andor. the way they laugh. the way they push through a crowd. the sound of that voice telling you to stop, to go, to move. telling you to die. rings in the ear, doesn't it?" ... "but they'll think about it soon enough" ... "soon enough, they'll have something else to listen to."

to break down what i love about this whole exchange. for the first part, with cassian's answer:

i love that cassian says "you just walk in like you belong" so casually, like it's no big deal. it's an early testament in this scene to his skills as a thief and a spy. and--

it's also not the answer that luthen was expecting at all, so already we're seeing something surprise luthen; and as we have been introduced to luthen thus far, he seems very calm cool collected, and mysterious to boot. luthen knows, seemingly, everything about cassian. but asking how cassian managed to steal such a piece of tech, and having cass be almost flippant, as he scoffs that he just walked in. it's not what luthen was expecting, and of course that just intrigues him more. and i think for luthen, who's trying to play 4D chess with the empire, having cassian give him an answer that's so simple is so satisfying. bc so often, i don't think luthen is really considering what the simplest solution would be, bc he's trying to hard to stay ahead.

next, cassian's line, "[they can't imagine] that someone like me would get inside their house" i think is a really underrated line of dialogue. again, it's simple. but it says SO much about cassian, and it's a theme that not only ties into the rest of andor s1, but so much of the rebellion era of star wars as a whole:

cass saying he just walked into their house, that they're "so fat and satisfied, they can't imagine it" and luthen affirming that they're too arrogant to notice: this part of the conversation does an excellent job of introducing the pride and ego of the empire, which is one of those themes that keeps coming back around throughout the season. cassian telling nemik that the empire doesn't care about them (the exact line escapes me atm). cassian telling kino, "nobody's listening!"

this theme is present throughout rebellion era star wars; it loops all the way back around to a new hope - tarkin so sure of the power of the death star, and too arrogant to believe that a couple of measly rebel fighters could take it down, ultimately killing him on that same station. how many times throughout the OT and shows like Rebels do we see characters just acting like they belong and getting into places where the empire doesn't want them to be? where the empire doesn't think they can get to? nemik tells cassian "surprise from above is never as shocking as one from below," which sums it up nicely as well. the empire doesn't think anyone who they deem below them has the strength, the organization, the will to beat them.

(there's also the additional layer of this line being delivered by diego luna, with his mexican accent, talking about a brown man like him walking into the house of the very white, nazi/white supremacy metaphor that is the empire, but that's an additional conversation.)

i'll come back to luthen's last chunk of dialogue. but first, a little more about their interaction later into the ep, namely going back to praising cassian's skills:

i love how cassian, though he doesn't trust luthen, he trusts that luthen has experience; bc he can see that experience with his own eyes. and he immediately starts learning from luthen, and right away starts to put that knowledge into actionable steps. prime example in this ep: luthen's first lesson is to not carry anything on you that you don't control, and he smashes cassian's comm. later in the same episode, one of the first things cassian does is smash syril's comm. it's such a perfect way to show, without an additional conversation between luthen and cass, that cassian heard what luthen was saying, and put it to use.

cassian, as we see him through the eyes of other ferrix citizens, is set up to be this untrustworthy, skips-town-while-owing-you-a-lot-of-money kind of guy. he lives off favors and IOUs, and as bix tells luthen "no one really knows him". but we know how smart cassian is. he's unflinching when holding a blaster. he's incredibly observant, light on his feet, quick-thinking. and in this first scene with luthen, we start to pull that curtain back on the expert spy cassian we know he will become by rogue one. these observation skills, particularly, also continue to come back throughout the season. one particularly good example being when he suggests to taramyn and skeen that they switch marching sides because skeen is left-handed. and then he's able to rattle off everyone's dominant hand when asked.

to close, back to luthen's last bit of dialogue from the above exchange:

i mean, i still get chills when luthen says, "these days will end, cassian andor." because we, the audience, know that's true. we know the empire will be defeated. not much to say other than this is one of those perfect little tidbits of foreshadowing dialogue that i love.

the other line here that i really want to highlight, is the, "the sound of that voice telling you to stop, to go, to move. telling you to die. rings in the ear, doesn't it?" firstly, i love how this ties into the idea of rebellion, of defiance, in general. a specific example from the show, the imperial troops ordering cassian to stop as he moves to attack them after clem's death. it's moments like that - the simple act of not doing as you're told by the authority that wants to keep you down - all those moments compound on one another, and that's how you get the rebellion against the empire. and especially with cassian, that voice "telling [him] to die" that he refuses over and over (until he can no longer run from that fate, of course). but until that moment, he refuses to let the empire tell him what to do.

i also love the combination of "rings in the ear, doesn't it?" + "soon enough, they'll have something else to listen to." in combination with the industrial sounds of ferrix outside. which is then shortly followed by the actual ringing of all the pipes and whatnot from the citizens of ferrix as they alert each other to the arrival of the pre-mor officers. and to continue the domino effect of this scene just building and building, you have maarva's lines paralleling luthen's so perfectly:

"gets to you, doesn't it? that's what a reckoning sounds like. you want it to stop, but it just keeps coming. it's when it stops, that's when you'll really want to start to fret."

the empire (or rather the pre-mor security officers working for the empire) is literally experiencing that "something else to listen to" right now! a reckoning, as maarva so aptly calls it. the sound of defiance and rebellion, of everyday citizens bonded by their shared community coming together. they're flipping luthen's script on its head, putting it into action. the empire has the sounds of ferrix ringing in their ears. the empire doesn't listen (again, "nobody's listening!") but they'll be made to. and it will be the sounds of rebellion that they hear.

which then really all loops back around to the exchange jyn and cassian share in rogue one:

C: "do you think...anybody's listening?" J: "i do. someone's out there."

this whole long post to say: there is so much incredible dialogue, and so many amazing speeches in andor. but i think this first conversation between cassian and luthen sets up so much of what this show and the rebellion era are about. hope is a defiant thing, and cassian's defiance and will to fight are some of his strongest traits.

[nvrsaidiwasinurcloset]

im not sure if youre necessarily comfortable with this, so feel free to ignore this if you're not, but GOOODDD i just thought it was the cutest idea ever. possibly a series idea?

imagining reader finding out she's pregnant with ethan's baby after the costume frat party, due to quinn's suspicions bc of how sick reader was for almost two weeks then. though being unable to tell ethan, due to the whole ghostface thing pretty much ruining whatever chance she had to tell him, especially bc the group were SUPER suspicious of him and wouldn't leave him alone with her (prob bc reader told the group during the whole dinner before ethan, as gf attacked the apartment but left reader alone) but time skip a little, ethans put in a psych ward for a couple months to deal with the trauma from his dad & just being pressured into being ghostface, and he decides to go back and visit his girlfriend because he didn't really have anywhere else to go, but when he arrived at her front door, the last thing he was expecting was to see her with a small baby girl in her arms. (in this essay, i will expand more on my girldad! ethan landry age-) BUT reader doesn't necessarily trust ethan around her at first, and for good reason to, considering he literally tried to kill her and the core five (reader was apart of the woodsboro group, was possibly dating amber??) and ethan has to pretty much work his ass off to regain her trust again. just fluff, to angst to fluff again

I hope you like this!!!!!💕

Flames - Ethan Landry x Fem!Reader

This is going to be a series! It'll definitely have a lot of angst and fluff for those kind sweet souls that have been asking me for it:)

Part 2, Part 3

Warnings: Pregnancy, mentions of death, suggestion to sex(but not graphic:)

Summary: After surviving Woodsboro, attacks are happening again to your friend group in NYC.

It’d been a little over a month since the infamous Halloween frat party. That night was crazy, especially after Sam tazed some loser’s balls. When the night was cut short, you decided to go back to Ethan and Chad’s dorm while Chad was going with Tara. You hadn’t had much alone time with Ethan, so you had to take advantage of every opportunity you got.

When the condom broke that night, you went out to get a Plan B the next morning, knowing you and Ethan weren’t ready to be parents yet. What you didn’t know was that you were ovulating at the time, and that the future-saving morning after pill wouldn’t work.

When you started to get sick every day, Quinn started to pick up on it. She had her suspicions and asked you to take a test. Your heart sank when you saw the plus sign, but you had no idea how to tell Ethan. Especially when Mindy was so convinced that he was one of the prime suspects in the most recent killings happening around campus. You didn’t know what to believe, especially after your ex-girlfriend was one of the people killing off your friends in Woodsboro the year before. She even tried to kill you, but you were saved after getting stabbed four times.

As you sat at the table with your friends, you couldn’t keep your secret any longer. Quinn already knew, but you had to tell the rest of them.

As Chad started his “Core Five” speech, and Sam confessed to her fling with Danny, you decided it was the right time to let it out.

“I’m pregnant,” you blurted out, the room instantly getting silent.

Everyone exchanged glances as your cheeks turned red.

“Wait…what?” Chad asked, his shocked expression very similar to everyone else’s.

“Is that why you keep getting sick?” Sam asked, before Mindy spoke up.

“Okay, this is one of the main rules. You aren’t supposed to have sex!”

You rolled your eyes, “It’s a little too late for that advice. Shouldn’t that rule be updated, though? Everyone is sleeping with someone.”

“But you’re the one sleeping with a killer,” she smirked, “Sweet, dorky Ethan is Ghostface. Just like Amber.”

“You don’t know that,” you said, as she scoffed.

“Where is he right now?” she questioned, everyone’s eyes landing on you again.

“He’s at Econ.”

Everyone’s phones started to chime. It made you all feel uneasy, your heart pounding as you saw the picture of Ghostface with Quinn.

You all jumped up, standing outside of her bedroom door. You were hoping it was some sick prank, but after the events that happened in Woodsboro, you knew it wasn’t.

You didn’t have much time to think of a plan before the masked figure threw Quinn’s body out of the room, resting against you before she fell to the floor. When Ghostface charged out of the room, you were in the direct path, but they went around you. You noticed Chad and Tara running out the front door, following them to what would hopefully be safety. The second you made it out, the door slammed behind you, and you heard the numerous locks on the door click.

“Fuck, guys!” you yelled to Tara and Chad who were a few sets of stairs down from you. “They’re still in there! The door just got locked!”

They ran back up, the sounds of Chad’s fists banging on the door and the screaming coming from inside the apartment echoing off the walls.

“I don’t have my keys or my phone,” you panicked, tears flowing down your cheeks.

“I don’t either,” Tara said, pounding on the door and screaming for Sam.

After a few minutes, the screams became fainter. You started to lose hope, thinking that all your friends inside were dead. The three of you were crying outside of the door, before Chad spoke up.

“I need to get you two somewhere safe,” he said, nudging you and Tara towards the stairs.

When you made it outside, you bumped into Sam, Mindy and Danny. Mindy was sobbing, and Sam’s face was somber.

“Where’s Anika?” you asked, as Mindy cried harder. Your eyes went wide, “No…”

“Anika and Quinn,” was all Sam could get out before getting choked up.

You all cried as you hugged each other on the sidewalk when the cop cars pulled up. Everyone was questioned before Detective Bailey arrived. He was closest to you because you were the closest to Quinn. He treated you like a daughter, regularly taking you and Quinn out for dinner. You tried to comfort him as he cried, but you didn’t know how to. He’d already lost one of his children in a car accident, and the other was murdered in the room next to yours.

When the ambulance arrived, they kept trying to find the source of your bleeding. You started to feel faint as you tried to explain that it was Quinn’s blood on you, your vision getting spotty. You dropped to your knees, unable to keep your balance. When Sam told the paramedics that you were pregnant, they put you on the stretcher and monitored you as the sun started to rise.

“I’m okay, really,” you said, after an hour of laying there. They were in the process of giving you an IV, hoping the fluids would help with your extreme dizziness.

“The bag’s close to empty. You’re almost done,” the paramedic said, hooking you up to the machine to check your vitals for what felt like the hundredth time.

You watched Mindy get her stitches, completely unfazed. She was so heartbroken, and you just wanted to hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay. You could only imagine what it would’ve felt like if you were in her position, and Ethan was the one laying under the tarp.

As your IV was finally getting taken out, Ethan pushed through the crowd of people and lifted the caution tape to walk over towards everyone. Chad jumped up, having a heated exchange with Ethan as he shoved him against a car.

“I had Econ!” you heard him yell, his eyes scanning the friend group. “Where is she?”

“Ambulance,” Chad said, as Ethan’s eyes connected with yours. He ran towards you, before Mindy stopped him.

“Stay the fuck away from her, Ghostface,” she snapped, as Ethan looked back towards you.

“Jesus Christ, I had Econ!”

“It’s okay, Mindy,” you mumbled, as she moved so Ethan could join you in the back of the ambulance.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked, grabbing your hand. His eyes were filled with panic.

“I’m okay, I just got really dizzy earlier.”

“Thank god, I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” Mindy scoffed at his words, thinking about Anika.

After checking out the abandoned theater, and Gale getting attacked, you decided that you needed to head back to Woodsboro. You needed to be with your family, and as much as you wanted to be there for your friends, they were all supportive of you going home. You didn’t have just your own life to think about anymore, so you needed to be somewhere safe.

Ethan was really sad when you left, crying as he said goodbye to you at the airport while the rest of your friends watched. They didn’t trust you alone with him, they all had their suspicions that he was the cause for everything that was happening.

“Please be safe,” you said, hugging Tara.

“You too. Let me know how everything goes after you get back home,” she said, alluding to the current situation, not wanting Ethan to overhear and wonder what she was talking about.

“I will.” you said, “I love you guys,” you waved, walking towards security.

You couldn’t tell Ethan about the baby, even though you were terrified that something could happen to him, and he’d never know he had a child. There was this awful feeling in the pit of your stomach. It could’ve been the trauma from your relationship with Amber, but you had no idea she was behind the Woodsboro murder spree, when you thought you knew everything about her. You thought you knew Ethan, but now you weren’t so sure.

When your plane landed, it felt surreal. Woodsboro was never a safe place to be, and now it was. When you made it to the entrance of the airport, your mom was crying, so happy that you were okay. You hadn’t told her about the baby yet, not wanting to send her into shock. She wanted to take you out for dinner, which you agreed to. The lack of food over the last couple days made you feel weak.

“Do you have anything special you want to do when you get home? Do you want to watch a movie or something?” she asked as she sat across the table from you.

“No, I really just want to sleep. Maybe tomorrow,” you smiled, taking a bite of your food.

You pulled out your phone to see a few texts from your friends, all of them checking to make sure you made it back okay. Then you noticed one from Ethan.

Ethan: I love you so much, and I miss you already. I can’t wait to see you again.

You: I love you too, baby

“You okay?” your mom asked, noticing the sad expression on your face.

“I can’t stop thinking about last year…about Amber. How could I have been so wrong about her?” you sighed, your mom’s sympathetic eyes meeting yours.

“She was sick, baby. I’m not trying to downplay it, because she killed two of my friends…and I know you were devastated when Wes and Liv were killed. She just had issues and needed serious help.”

Your mom got sad every time she talked about Dewey and Judy, you did too. You hated when she mentioned Wes because that was the death you took the hardest. Liv was the one Mindy suspected last time, and she was wrong then. You wanted so badly for her to be wrong this time, too.

When you made it home, you went upstairs and crawled into your bed. You felt safe with the alarm set downstairs, and your parents close by. You were finally able to get some much-needed rest.

Your mom woke you up the next morning, wanting to make sure she told you the news before you woke up and saw it yourself. Your heart broke as you listened to her speak about the few details that had been released. You checked your phone to see a text from Tara.

Tara: We’re okay, Chad’s in the hospital…but Ethan was in on it.

[sl-ut]

reader fell first but college!abby fell harder ? ❤️‍🩹

more college!abby

no bc yes absolutely she fucking did.

as discussed in other parts, y/n and abby already ran in similar social circles, so they already sort of knew each other without really knowing each other. well, at least y/n knew abby.

when y/n joined the cheer team, abby was junior captain of the women's varsity lacrosse team and was extremely popular amongst the athletics department of their school. she saw her around a lot, and when they were both practicing at the same time, it was difficult not to take notice of abby as she charged through her teammates with supernatural speed.

she wasn't a big partier, but she always made an effort to go. she would show up, chat with her teammates, have one drink, and then leave before midnight every time. y/n would be at the same parties, eyeing her from across the room and doing her best not to drool over her as she tried to make friends, always wanting to go talk to her but never being drunk enough by midnight to actually do it.

hell, she would have had dozens of opportunities to just go up and talk to her, but abby anderson wasn't someone that you could just go up and talk to. she wasn't someone who seemed like they would be mean, nor did y/n expect her to be, but she was super intimidating and didn't seem to be the kind of person who was looking for anything at the moment.

abby's dating history was a mystery. she hadn't been in a serious relationship since her senior year of high school, and the few people who she had hooked up with since then have been few and far between; they were normally people that she knew from the gym or from class, but none have stuck around long enough to actually become anything. she was still trying to figure out her type, to be completely honest. her last partner had been owen, and since then, she had been back and forth about what kind of attraction she felt towards men. aside from that, she genuinely hadn't felt like she had met someone who offered exactly what she needed. she wasn't entirely sure what she needed either, to be fair.

so for about a year, y/n fluttered her eyelashes and twirled her hair from a distance as she fought to muster up the courage to talk to her. she was beginning to give up hope when she befriended her teammate, nora, who also happened to be good friends with abby. now at parties, y/n had an actual excuse to go over there, and got nora to introduce them officially.

abby thought y/n was very pretty, though she wasn't sure that she was entirely her type. she'd noticed her before, eyes always scanning the length of her legs beneath the short little skirts she was always wearing. like i mentioned, abby usually only went out with people who were more similar to her, and y/n was almost the exact opposite.

the next time she saw her was at the campus coffee shop, and abby was the kind of person who just couldn't walk by someone she knew without saying hi. she had to admit that she felt a bit self-conscious at how startled y/n looked when she started talking to her, but quickly melted at the sound of her voice. she was so much nicer than she had always thought she would be, and genuinely very funny as well.

y/n got a text that night from nora, informing her that abby had asked for her number. y/n quickly typed out a cool, calm, and collected response before throwing her phone across the room and screaming in excitement. by the time that she had picked up her phone again, she already had a text from an unknown number.

from this point on, y/n no longer needed to make an effort to talk to abby, because abby was already seeking her out in crowds. if her own practice ended before y/n's, she would sit and watch; at parties, she would offer to get her drinks or to drive her home afterwards; she would text her and ask to grab coffee after class or to join her at the library. abby was quickly becoming obsessed with y/n in the best way possible, and couldn't help but always want to be near her.

movie nights at her apartment would also become a regular thing. it was the only time where she could actually get her alone. abby quickly grew to hate y/n's dormmate, finding her all too nosy and all too in love with y/n for personal taste, so spending time there was a no-go. y/n would be snuggled into her side with her head on her shoulder, abby's bulging bicep draped across the back of the couch behind her while she struggled to keep her eyes on the screen. abby kissed her for the first time during one of these little dates, and that's when she knew that she was down bad.

[seastarblue]

Writemas Day Fourteen!

so for today, I think I’m gonna do something a litttttle different.

when I saw the prompts, I could not pick one specific thing to write with them. So I made three!

They’re quite short, except maybe the last one…? But anyways. Three little things! Yay :>

I think this is gonna help me get back in the writing groove heheh

so without further ado:

the prompts for today!

and down we goooooo

———

the prompt used for this one was “The joy of seeing”. It’s about Arbor, the wood golem, on gaining vision for the first time.

~~~

When I opened my eyes for the first time, I was overjoyed. So many things to see. Joy might have been the first emotion I had ever felt. And why wouldn’t it have been? The stars, winking at me as if they knew secrets I did not. The flowers, color upon color mollifying my troubles. The sunlight, the books and pens and papers and everything almost overwhelmed me that fateful day.

———

Like I said, short. This next one uses the prompt “I will let you run, because I know in the end, you’ll come back to me. Always.” (also forgot to mention the Specter here is Noha, I used he/him because they didn’t know they were enby at this point. They’re around 15-16 here)

~~~

“Go ahead and run, Specter.” The boss said, nonchalance almost palpable in his voice.

It made Specter flinch. Did he really not care whether or not his weapon left? Would this mean freedom?

He could feel himself getting giddy. Where would he run to? It didn’t matter. He’d never have to see this man’s face again. He never had to suffer under his thumb any longer. The Red Sun would be long behind Specter, and he’d be free. Hope bloomed in his chest, warm and excitable and happy. When was the last time he felt happy?

The boss’s next words shattered that hope, and warmth, and happiness into pieces.

“Go ahead and run,” he repeated, eyes boring into his assassin’s. “I will let you, because I know in the end, you’ll come back to me. Always.” He smiled, a cold, cold, smile.

Specter never thought about leaving for years after that.

———

Again, quite short. This next one’s a little longer? But still short. I used two prompts here: “The reflection in the mirror was a mockery. The perfect parts of herself had become flaws, the broken pieces seemed beautiful” and “the sharpness of broken glass” (forgot to mention again: 10-2 here is Li Hua, they are the same. 10-2 is crossed out bc she’s still trying to get behind the fact she’s free)

~~~

“Look at yourself, kid.”

10-2 Li Hua bristled at being called kid, but she supposed she was very much one compared to the elf gesturing to a mirror. Cautiously, the half-elf looked into it, gasping slightly as she did.

She was gaunt. Thin, unhealthily so. Her skin was waxen, her eyes now dead. She ran her tongue over her cracked lips, and gawked at how short her hair was. She had changed so much…

“Damned humans,” the elf spat, startling 10-2 Li Hua. “They chop off your hair, they beat you, starve you, and they make a mockery out of elfkind.” His pupils were minuscule, and his ears were bent back, a sure sign of rage. He stood up and stalked away silently, leaving Li Hua with the mirror.

He paused at the doorway, long ears loosing their rigidness, just a bit, and said “Get some rest, kid. You’re safe now.”

Then he left, leaving the half-elf with that dammed mirror.

10-2 Li Hua slumped onto the floor. She looked back at the mirror, chest filling with the rage she supposed the elf left behind. With a cry, she punched the mirror, its pieces scattering all over. She looked into it again, and stifled a sob.

The reflection was a mockery. The perfect parts of herself had become flaws, and none of it was beautiful. She missed her old self.

Heedless of the sharp glass sticking in her hands, she punched the mirror again and again and again.

———

General Writing Taglist! Lemme know if you’d like on via dm!

@bunnymermaidwrites @abiteofhoney @aalinaaaaaa @vesanal @cepheusgalaxy

@fifis-corner @urnumber1star @thebookishkiwi @sunflowerrosy @theink-stainedfolk

@threedaysgross @mundanemoongirl @satohqbanana @bamber344 @imonthemoonitsmadeofcheese

@viridis-icithus @cc-writes-stuff @anothersummerofsleep @sharkblizzardblogs

@verdant-mainframe @kittrrrr @ruvastuon @agirlandherquill (<- the host!) @annothersummerofsleep

@nczaversnick @zerotothex @oliolioxenfreewrites

yay I hope yall enjoyed :>

[heteromerous-rhyming]

just speculation, and after this i swear i'm going to write what i did appreciate in the show, but.

to me it kinda feels like riordan cast these three kids and went, these three children, they are my trio. and he should have! they're amazing - they're cast Very Well.

but then it feels like riordan assumed that because they already embodies the characters to him, that he didn't need to do characterbuilding in the actual fucking script. i get the feeling that the writers and showrunners are constantly both overestimating and underestimating walker leah and aryan. the scene with thalia? very much felt exposition dump. leah did what she could with she was a hero (and she kills her emotional moments, the parts that show annabeth's softness), but the themes came before the characters here and that for me feels a little unexcusable. annabeth is smart, we all know that, so riordan constantly forgets to show us that annabeth is smart. percy explains to annabeth how the lotus is in the air not the food. like HOW IS IT PERCY THAT FIGURES IT OUT BEFORE ANNABETH?

i think maybe grover/aryan got the best treatment out of them because of his scene with ares and the scene with the animals on the street, but even then the "betrayal" at the beginning felt slightly off. because percy never fully finished reacting to it (or if he did i don't remember which itself is not great)

which gets to another part of the writing / directing that's really getting to me. which is the relationships between characters, and how that's undermined by how short the scenes at the beginning of the show are. because more than half of the dialogue in the first two episodes ends up as (slightly unnatural or at least not in character exposition) and because the scenes (that is, however long a section before they cut to black and setting changes) are all wildly short (at least to me) there's no time for the characters to breathe. there are hardly any beats or pauses or just moments of breathing in a character's emotion or reaction.

going back to thalia's explanation, the scene ends after the exposition. going back further to luke showing percy around? all exposition. the subtle character moments are only in the scenes without dialogue and for a brief second at luke's introduction. there's no long scenes (from what i experienced) in the downtime, in the relatively quieter moments. only long scene i can think of was the fight with the minotaur.

even later, the scenes that are emotional and long? sally and poseidon. they don't allow grover's self-recrimination to breathe. they don't allow the panic after almost getting pulled into the Pit to breathe. the scene cuts, the emotion is squashed, and the next scene is more action, more traveling, more gods.

i think that this is partly why clarisse made such a big impression on me, because by design she can't be a part of the exposition. she's actively antagonistic towards percy, half of her scenes are some sort of action, and so the little characterization that we get of her (this time little is justified bc she's a side character) works really really effectively. you clock her character, her motivations immediately.

the scenes are getting longer. i think that this specific critique is one that will get fixed as the writers get used to the visual medium. but the rest? i really really hope that the writers realize that the characters just. need more space. i hope they trust their actors to play out these emotional scenes and i hope they give them more emotional scenes, more banter, more silly moments.

[villainofmyownstory]

WIP whenever

I was unexpectedly tagged by the very talented writer @pricegouge to post an updated WIP. Thank you very much! And before you check out these little thing, check out @pricegouge's stories, in particular I recommend Fatted Rabbit - a true masterpiece. <3 Let's just say that the one below is a continuation of Blurry. Unfortunately I've been very busy at work lately and haven't had time to write anything. But hopefully in about two weeks I'll get back to a normal routine and have more free time. I'll tag @ilragnotessitore , @kyletogaz and @hyperactively-me don't feel obliged, no pressure if you don't want to post anything

______________________________________________________________

It is said that falling in love comes easily. That there is such a thing as love at first sight. That soulmates can be met instantly.

Well, your first meeting with John was not what you heard about in stories of friends falling in love. Or in family stories told at your parents' next wedding anniversary.

It was completely different.

When you first met, you didn't seem nice or kind to him at all. But maybe that's what he needed. Maybe he just needed a harsh and rough tone. Maybe also a little rudeness. At that time, everyone felt sorry for him, patted him on the head or walked around him on eggshells.

And you were completely different. Years later, he always said that that spark of anger in your eyes attracted him to you from the very beginning.

Although you found it hard to believe, after all, he was your husband. Well, exactly - he was.

Another day had passed when you were in that house, every morning he asked you the same thing. Moreover, his short-term memory was problematic, but he remembered exactly what his missions were like 20 or 10 years ago.

”But what did you do yesterday Captain?"

“Oh, little dove, how could I forget a doll like you?”

Every day was the same. And you didn't cry about it anymore. Maybe it was better that way. One heart shattered into millions of pieces was enough.

Doctors said not to push, not to remind him of those worst, most difficult moments. That could have made his condition worse.

But he wasn't the same person he used to be.

He wasn't himself.

He wasn't Captain.

And even more than that, he was no longer your John.

He could look better physically, and many doctors, nurses in the hospital, tried to date him. Even the married ones. However, when it came to the story of this accident.

Well. He's stuck with three boys and you.

Despite the pain, you were unable to fully let go. Even though piece by piece you felt your heart being torn into more small, bloody fragments.

However, on the last day, when you are already sitting packed in the living room, waiting for the arrival of the person who will replace you. Someone who will take over the care. His phone rang.

And hearing his cheerful voice, you immediately knew who was calling.

His past. A person with whom he had experienced more seasons than with you. Someone he remembered. And what probably hurt you the most. His previous life came to an end long before. But it always made itself known at the least expected moments. Coming out of a dark corner, biting at ankles, pulling at shirt. Causing dark clouds to appear in your head again.

Because his previous family was still present. Even though he closed that chapter long before you were together, it still bothered you. It made you feel uncomfortable.

Now his laughter echoed in that empty big house, but it wasn't meant for you.

And you lose yourself once again in longing, in the need to be someone again. His.

“Oh, little dove, how could I forget a doll like you?”

And yet, he still didn't remember.

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

aaaannd also tag @blackhawkfanatic @who-needs-to-sleep @rafaelacallinybbay bc you ask for part 2 sorry to disappoint you but I need more time, but I'll definitely come back to it someday