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fardell24b · 5 months

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The Engineer and the Time Lady - Arendelle in Trouble

Arendelle in Trouble

Kristoff grew exhasperated as the Trolls continued to try to pair him with Anna. (Although some were also looking at Lena.) “Can we please just stop talking about this? We've got a real, actual problem here.”

They just ignored him.

“Where is Grand Pabbie?” Lena asked.

Anna then collapsed as the Troll priest was about to marry her to Kristoff.

“Anna!” Kristoff called out as she collapsed. He grabbed her. “She's as cold as ice!”

Grand Pabbie then came up to the two of them. “There is strange magic here,” he said.

“Grand Pabbie!” Kristoff called out.

“Come, come, bring her to me,” Grand Pabbie said. “Anna, your life is in danger. There is ice in your heart, put there by your sister. If not removed, to solid ice will you freeze, forever.”

“What? No?” Anna said in disbelief.

“But you can remove it, right?” Kristoff asked.

Grand Pabbie shook his head. “I cannot. I'm sorry, Kristoff. If it was her head that would be easy, but only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.”

“An act of true love?”

“A true love's kiss, perhaps?” Bulba, the first Troll, asked.

“Anna, we've got to get you back to Hans,” Kristoff said.

“Hans,” Anna said weakly.

“Wait!” Lena said.

“We can't wait,” Kristoff said. He turned to his reindeer, Sven. “Pull us out, Sven.”

“True love can mean familial love, right?” Lena asked.

“That's true,” Grand Pabbie admitted.

“But the Queen doesn't seem to be a mood to help,” Kristoff said. “And she was the one who did this to her.”

Lena remained silent as Kristoff, Anna and Olaf left.

“What is important is that you tried,” Grand Pabbie said.

“What?” Lena asked.

“I know that you're from another world and are trying to help.”

“How?” Leonard asked.

“You can say that it's by magic.”

“Right,” Lena said.

“I have no idea of how to get you and your ship home,” Grand Pabbie said.

“At the moment?” Lena asked.

“That's true.”

“But more pertinent,” Leonard added. “How bad is this situation going to get?”

Grand Pabbie breathed deeply. “That is up to Elsa.”

Lena and Leonard looked at each other with concern. “But she's not letting anyone talk to her.”

“I know.”

Hernandez and Lu approached Elsa's ice castle. “Reading one human life sign inside,” Hernandez reported.

“But how are we going to get inside? And where are Andersen and Albert?” Lu asked.

“No idea, but we have to do something.”

“We'll knock on the door.”

However, they then saw a group approaching. One of them was talking.

“We are here to find Princess Anna,” Hans explained to the Duke's men. “Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the Queen.” He dismounted from his horse. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wait!” A woman said nearby.

“Who are you?” Hans asked.

“We're a couple of travellers who were at the Coronation,” the woman said. She had a similar accent to the Duke.

“So, you want to talk to the Queen too?” Hans asked.

“Yes,” the other woman said. She looked like she came from the far east.

“I see,” Hans said.

“Arendelle is in serious trouble,” the first woman said.

“I know that. That's why I want to talk to the Queen,” Hans responded.

Elsa looked through the castle door in response to Marshmellow's roar. She saw that said snowman bouncer was fighting Hans and two women.

“Up there!” Two men called out. They chased her...

Hernandez didn't like this Hans. There was something in his demenour that reminded her of Bond. She was more anxious as a result. She and Lu helped him overcome the large snowman, and then followed him into the castle.

“Queen Elsa! Don't be the monster they fear you are!” Hans called out.

There was a brief scuffle in which the Queen was nearly knocked out by a falling ice chandelier, but she was knocked out.

“What do you plan to do?” Lu asked Hans.

“We'll take her back to Arendelle,” Hans answered.

“You're going to lock her up, aren't you?” Hernandez asked.

“She is a danger, and Princess Anna put me in charge,” Hans shot back.

“I'm sure putting her in a cell will make things worse!” Hernandez groused.

“Careful, or you might join her,” Hans said.

Hernandez froze. She was reminded more of Bond. But at least he did what he did for his version of Britain. She was sure that Hans didn't care about Arendelle, only for himself!

“She has a point,” Lu said.

“I don't have to listen to you. Princess Anna put me in charge!”

“Still, imprisoning Queen Elsa will certainly make things worse!” Lu said.

“Seize them!” Hans ordered.

The soldiers moved to obey Hans.

Lu ran off, but Hernandez froze and got captured.

Back on Baffin, they saw that more of Europe was being affected by the unnatural winter.

“Report on the extent.”

“Most of Denmark, and the eastern shore of England are now frozen,” Janal reported. “Storm activity has spread over all of the British Isles, most of France, all of the Low Countries, most of Germany and most of Sweden.”

That certainly wasn't good news.

Lena and Leonard had left the Trolls and followed Kristoff and Anna back to Arendelle...

“It's worse than before!” Lena said when they reached the fjord. The city was covered in ice!

“There may not be much time,” Leonard stated.

Kristoff, Anna and Sven entered Arendelle. The city was indeed entirely frozen. They galloped up to the Castle. “Its' Princess Anna!” a guard proclaimed.

Kristoff jumped off Sven with Anna in his arms.

“Are you going to be OK?” Anna asked.

“Don't worry about me,” Kristoff said.

A few maids rushed forwards. “Anna! Oh, you had us worried sick,” one said.

“My lady!” another said as they took Anna from Kristoff.

“Get her warm and find Prince Hans, immediately,” Kristoff said.

Anna looked back at him before he turned away.

Lena and Leonard entered the city and jumped off the reindeer the Trolls had loaned them. They ran to the Castle.

Hans saw Anna being carried in.

“He's in here, Prince Hans.”

“Anna!” Hans said as he took Anna into her arms. “You're so cold!”

“Hans, you have to kiss me.”

“What?”

“Now! Now!” Anna pleaded.

“Woah! Slow down.”

“We'll give you some privacy,” one of the maids said before leaving.

“What happened out there?” Hans asked.

“Elsa struck me with her powers.”

“You said she'd never hurt you.”

“I was wrong,” Anna said as she doubled over in pain.

“Anna?” Hans said as he lead her to a couch and sat next to her.

“She froze my heart and only an act of true love can save me.”

Hans moved as to kiss her but stopped. He pulled away with a menacing grin. “Oh, Anna. If only there was someone out there who loved you.”

Anna didn't believe what she just heard. “What? You said you did.”

Hans got up the closed the curtains. “As thirteenth in line in my own kingdom, I didn't stand a chance. I knew I'd have to marry into the throne somewhere.”

“But...what are you talking about?”

“As heir, Elsa was preferable, of course, but no one was getting anywhere with her. But you...”

“Hans?”

“You were so desperate for love, you were willing to marry me, just like that! I figured, after we married, I'd have to stage a little accident for Elsa.” He went over and put out the fire.

Anna fell to the floor. “Hans, no stop!”

“But then she doomed herself, and you were dumb enough to go after her.”

“Please!”

“All that's left now is to kill Elsa and bring back summer.”

“You're no match for Elsa.”

Hans cupped Anna's chin in his hand. “No, you're no match for Elsa. I, on the other hand, am the hero who is going to save Arendelle from destruction.” He turned and went to the door.

“You won't get away with this!” Anna said.

“Oh, I already have,” Hans said as he left.

#fanfic #frozen #grand pabbie #kristoff #prince hans of the southern isles #princess anna #princess elsa #star trek

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stahlop · 2 years

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Once Upon a Time 4x01 “A Tale of Two Sisters” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13 1x14 1x15 1x16 1x17 1x18 1x19 1x20 1x21 1x22 2x01 2x02 2x03 2x04 2x05 2x06 2x07 2x08 2x09 2x10 2x11 2x12 2x13 2x14 2x15 2x16 2x17 2x18 2x19 2x20 2x21 2x22 3x01 3x02 3x03 3x04 3x05 3x06 3x07 3x08 3x09 3x10 3x11 3x12 3x13 3x14 3x15 3x16 3x17 3x18 3x19 3x20 3x21 3x22

So we are officially in the Frozen arc this season. To be fair, I hadn’t watched Frozen until I saw that Once was going to be doing this arc at the season 3 finale. My daughter was about 15 months old when that came out, and let me tell you, that became the favored movie that summer. I was not a huge fan of this arc the first time around, but when I binge watched it a few years back, I enjoyed it much more. I do not like how we’re immediately plunged into their backstory with nary a thought to our current characters. It almost feels like the Storybrooke crew are an afterthought at the moment. I guess we’ll see how I feel about it this time around.

Summary: We meet Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff from Arendelle and start to unravel the mystery of what happened to their parents. In Storybrooke, Elsa unleashes a snow monster which the rest of the citizens attempt to fight, and finds something in Gold’s shop that she thinks will help her find her sister.

Opening: Snowflakes

New Characters:

Elsa/Anna/Kristoff: So before we meet any of these characters we see Anna and Elsa’s parents die in a shipwreck, but Elsa’s mother is insisting on writing a note to send off in a bottle for Anna and Elsa. They must know the truth, she insists. Then we skip to five years later, so two years after the events of the Frozen movie. Our sisters are immediately recognizable because two years later Elsa is still wearing her signature blue dress and Anna is wearing her same outfit from the movie, just in case you weren’t sure who they were. They are visiting their parent’s graves. Elsa tells Anna she has a surprise for her wedding. It’s their mother’s wedding dress! She also gives her a snowflake necklace that she apparently made? I’m still not sure how Elsa’s ice powers make things like dresses and jewelry. Anna blabbers on about Sven, Kristoff, and the wedding while trying on the dress. Elsa, meanwhile, discovers a diary entry from her mother that makes her blame herself for her parents' deaths. She runs off in a flurry (literally, she has a flurry of snow around her because, emotions). Anna finds her in the woods, still in her mother’s wedding dress. For someone who was worried about only having clear liquids at her wedding two seconds ago, I don’t think traipsing around in the woods is the best idea. Elsa has Anna read from the diary that they left to find a way to stop Elsa’s magic. Elsa is devastated, but Anna is sure they’re reading it wrong. Anna takes Elsa to the Rock Trolls for more insight. Grand Pabbie doesn’t give much information, but he does tell them their parents were headed for Misthaven. Anna wants to go to get information, but Elsa is too worried that something will happen to Anna like it did to their parents. The next day, Anna and Kristoff’s wedding day, Elsa is looking for Anna in the stables with Kristoff and Sven. Elsa should know something’s wrong right off the bat considering Kristoff isn’t even dressed for getting married. He delays Elsa enough so that Anna can slip off onto a ship heading for Misthaven. But honestly, Sven the reindeer is the best part of this scene. Elsa sees the ship Anna is on in the distance and she lays into Kristoff for letting her go alone. Kristoff reminds her she is the queen and needed to stay there, and he stayed behind because Anna didn’t want Elsa to be alone. Awww. Elsa wonders why she’s never heard of Misthaven and Kristoff informs her the inhabitants call it the Enchanted Forest!!

Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, Elsa has left the barn we last saw her in and is walking down the road when she sees a Storybrooke sign. And despite it being a completely different language than the nordic symbols we see her reading later on, she can read it just fine (does the curse on Storybrooke have a translator like the TARDIS in Doctor Who?). And she gets so upset or angry the sign gets frost on it? A car driven by Sleepy is careening down the road and almost hits Elsa, except she freezes it, knocking out Leroy who was also in the van. Now it’s morning and Elsa is walking down the main street with ice trailing behind her. She is barely in control of her magic because every little sound sets her off. Elsa has decided to hide in a warehouse? I don’t know if she heard Leroy telling Emma and Hook about their ice adventure the night before, because otherwise I have no idea why she’s all of a sudden freaked out and hiding from everyone when she was just walking down Main Street in broad daylight moments before. Emma and Hook go looking for whatever is making the trail of ice through town and Elsa conjures up a snow monster (Hi Marshmallow!) to get them off her trail. A bunch of newspapers start blowing around in the warehouse and one blows right to Elsa that happens to have an engagement announcement for Gold and Belle at the shop, and a picture of the necklace Elsa had given to Anna for her wedding! How convenient. The town is in chaos and Grumpy is yelling about a monster being on the loose. He’s talking about Marshmallow, but Elsa is internalizing it as if he’s talking about her. Elsa sees Gold’s shop and breaks in later that night by freezing the lock? I don’t know how that would make the door open, but, whatever, plot reasons. She picks up the necklace and tells Anna she will find her.

Character Observations:

Emma and Hook: We start off where we left off in season 3 at Granny’s. Emma goes to talk to Regina after discovering she brought back Robin’s ‘dead’ wife. Regina is upset and blames Emma for all this, which, she’s not wrong. Emma tries to defend herself by saying she was just trying to save her life. Regina thinks maybe she deserved to die and Emma says she would know since she saved her from the Evil Queen. Regina tells Emma she’s changed and Emma thinks things could still work out with her and Robin despite the dead wife situation. After a confrontation with Marian, Regina walks off. Emma wants to go after her, but Hook convinces her that Regina needs space. Emma tries to comfort Henry who’s afraid Regina will go evil again. The Charming family is out walking baby Neal in his stroller. Emma is still trying to reach Regina to no avail. Henry thinks maybe it’s just Emma she doesn’t want to hear from and tries to call her. Mary Margaret and Emma discuss Henry’s feelings in all this, and the fact that Emma and Regina both have new men in their lives is brought up. Emma doesn’t know what she and Hook are, and Hook shows up right then, as he does. He accuses her of avoiding him, she claims to just be going through ‘stuff’ and that they’re in a crisis. He tells her that she needs to live her life between crises or she won’t have one (sounds like David’s advice to her in The New Neverland when he tells her to look for the moments). And, of course, that’s when Leroy interrupts them telling them they’re under attack. He tells them about their van being frozen and that’s when Emma notices the ice trail going through town. They follow the trail to a warehouse and then a giant snow monster appears. Emma is, once again, in shock, whereas Hook just looks amused. Their expressions are hilarious. Emma attempts to reason with the snow monster, but it blasts them down with its breath (?) and Emma drops her gun and it ends up shooting the monster, which makes it madder. She and Hook run for it. And we have another giant running through Storybrooke. At least this time it seems to be avoiding the cars, but still manages to get caught up in the electrical wires. Leroy starts yelling about the evil snowman and Emma just rolls her eyes as if asking ‘What is my life?’ All the screaming of the people of Storybrooke is actually scaring the giant snow monster, and he heads off towards the forest. Somehow, Emma, Hook, and David manage to get ahead of it and run into Robin, Little John, and Marian in the forest. I’m gonna assume Roland is asleep in the tent. The snow monster starts heading toward them and Little John immediately hits it with an arrow, Hook telling him too late that it only attacks when it feels threatened. David and Hook finally remember that Emma has magic that she can use against it, so she does, and then the snow monster grows ice spikes and knocks Emma down and blasts the rest of them into unconsciousness. Regina ends up saving them, and Emma tries to talk to her, but she just poofs off. Emma makes a joke to Hook about going home to watch Netflix (and chill?), which he doesn’t understand, but agrees to, and she pulls away. He again accuses her of avoiding him and she admits to it this time. She says she feels guilty about what happened with Regina, but Hook isn’t completely buying it. She kisses him (and I find this such an awkward kiss, I don’t know why) and tells him to be patient with her. He says he has all the time in the world until another monster appears and kills him. Again, he’s not wrong. Emma goes to see Regina at her office and talks to her through the door since Regina won’t let her in. She reminds her that Henry brought her to Storybrooke to bring back the happy endings and that includes Regina (um, actually, I don’t think it does include the person who cursed everyone not to get their happy endings).

Regina: Oh boy. She does about three 180s in this episode. We start with her complaining to Emma that it’s her fault that Marian is back and ruined her relationship with Robin. Which, true. She’s mad because Marian sees her as a villain even though she isn’t anymore. When Regina tells Emma that whatever Marian did she deserved to die, Emma tells her that the Evil Queen was the one who was going to kill her. Regina reminds her that she worked very hard to change who she was and build a future, and no she didn’t. She cursed an entire population to another realm to get her ‘happy ending’, which she got bored with after three days. Then she waivered back and forth about being good (therapy with Archie) and being evil (Cora came back), then told Pan she had no regrets when she was tied to the Thinking Tree, met Robin and fell for him despite the fact that she apparently had his wife killed, and basically got a blast of light magic because she loved Henry enough to True Love kiss him to break the curse. Anyway, Robin tries to make Marian see how Regina is changed, but she freaks out because of the way he touches Regina and infers they were having a relationship. She freaks out even more when the Charmings come and defend Regina. Marian calls her a monster and Regina has to reign in a fireball. Instead, she walks off to clear her head. Robin goes to talk to Regina the next day. He apologizes for Marian, though Regina reminds him that nothing she said was untrue. Robin reminds her that the Evil Queen is not the woman he knows, and like him, she’s left her past in the past. He confirms that what they had was definitely real and his feelings still are real, but he’s going to stay with Marian because he made a vow and he can’t break that. Ok, here are my thoughts on this. Marian died. She was dead for at least three years before the bubble curse came. Then at least another year after the curse was broken and before coming to Storybrooke. Now, I know Robin and Regina have only been together for like, a month, but it’s been at least four years for Robin since Marian died. And while she may be the same person she was all those years ago, Robin certainly isn’t. I can see him trying to help Marian adjust to being in Storybrooke, but he has no obligation to be with her now. What if he was married with kids to someone else? Would he leave his wife because he felt obligated to Marian? Regina is not happy that Robin has chosen Marian. Regina channels her anger through magic and ends up breaking a mirror, which gives her an idea. She heads to the psych ward and frees Sidney from the prison she’s kept him in so he can help her get rid of Marian. Regina goes on about the book giving Marian her happy ending, which, no. The book is a record of what happened, not the whims of whoever wrote it. Sidney goes on about Regina keeping him alive and not forgetting about him so he could help her with her dastardly plan, and by Regina’s expression, you can tell she hadn’t remembered he was even still in Storybrooke until she broke the mirror. Nice job, Regina. Sidney thinks Regina wants him to murder Marian, but she doesn’t want to murder her currently, she wants to go back in time and murder her before Emma can save her. And also, she doesn’t remember sentencing Marian to death, so she puts Sidney back in the mirror so he can show her how it happened. Poor Sidney, from one prison to another. He is way too blinded by his love for Regina. We see an extended scene of Marian being taken by the Evil Queen’s guards with Marian telling Regina she wouldn’t do this if she had a family and that she’s a monster. But instead of making Regina hate her, you can tell Marian’s words really get to her. In the forest, Regina appears at Robin’s camp when all but Marian have been knocked out by Marshmallow. It looks like Regina is going to let the snow monster kill her, but then throws a fireball at it, killing it. Marian is grateful, and Regina poofs off before Emma can talk to her. Regina hides out in her office in a gorgeous scene between her and Emma. Emma’s speech about her finding her happy ending inspires her in another way. She wants to find the writer of the book and force him to change it so she can get her happy ending. Again, Regina, sweetie, the book is what already happened. It’s basically a history. Nothing the author does is going to change what happened in the past. Sigh.

Gold and Belle: Oh, lord, where to even start with this. Gold visits Neal’s grave and basically gives us a synopsis of him switching out the real dagger for the fake one he gave to Belle (for those viewers that may have forgotten over the break). He says he only did it to avenge Neal’s death, and now he’s going to switch them back because Belle is his second chance and he’s not going to start their marriage with a lie (well, too late for that). He pledges to Baelfire that he will be the man that died for him. Meanwhile, Belle has found a house that is seemingly not owned by anyone, but randomly came over in the last curse (did new housing come over for the new people who came over? How does that work?). They decide to use it for their honeymoon since they can’t actually leave Storybrooke. Gold immediately freezes Belle as she goes on and on about the house to trade daggers, so at least he’s making good on his promise to Baelfire. Belle goes to show Gold something, and he notices a circular box sitting on the table. He seems slightly scared of it. She shows him a ballroom, and with a snap of his fingers, Belle and Gold are dressed like their Disney counterparts and the gramophone is playing Beauty and the Beast for them to dance to. Later, Belle is asleep and Gold gets the real dagger out again. He waves it over the box and a galaxy appears inside what looks like the Sorcerer’s hat from Disney’s Fantasia. An evil smirk comes over his face. I can see his vow to Baelfire and Belle isn’t going to last very long.

Questions:

How does Anna and Elsa’s mother know her message in a bottle will get to her girls? She’s literally in the middle of the ocean in the middle of a storm.

Why does Storybrooke need a sign saying who maintains their roads? No one from outside of Storybrooke can come in.

Since when does Regina call Emma ‘Swan’? She usually calls her Miss Swan, sometimes Emma, but never ‘Swan’. ‘Swan’ is what Hook calls her.

Whose idea was it to make Sleepy the designated driver?

Anna’s wedding is the next day and she’s just getting a wedding dress? What was she going to wear if Elsa hadn’t found their mother’s gown?

Did Robin really just compare him being a thief that robbed from the rich and gave to the poor to Regina being the Evil Queen in terms of their pasts?

Why is Belle carrying the dagger around instead of keeping it locked up somewhere safe?

Does Elsa not realize she’s making an ice trail?

How does Emma not even get a scratch after Marshmallow hits her with ice spikes?

Exactly how did Regina plan to go back in time to kill Marian? Emma and Killian managed to go back by a fluke with Zelena’s spell. Was Regina going to kidnap the Charming’s baby and get all the magical items Zelena had previously procured to redo her spell?

Why has Gold not gotten some sort of alarm system for his shop? Even a magical one would make sense with the amount of people who have broken in at this point.

Where is the strong Elsa that we saw at the end of the original Frozen movie? This one is worried about everything all the time.

Observations:

The Queen of Arendelle’s wedding dress is in pristine condition considering Anna didn’t even know where it was until now, and I doubt it had been hiding in that closet.

Houses that come over in the second curse are still furnished even though no one has claimed them.

The code to the psych ward is 815.

We haven’t seen Sidney in Storybrooke since season 1. He’s in the psych ward because he took the fall for kidnapping Kathryn.

Baby Neal was born two days ago and Mary Margaret is already walking him through Storybrooke in a stroller. Nope. Don’t buy it. Unless Regina magically healed her, she would be in way too much pain. I had a normal child birth and it took me two weeks before I could walk around the block, let alone through the whole neighborhood.

The headline of the Storybrooke Mirror that Elsa picks up says “Mr. Gold to Marry Belle French”. Other headlines are “Volunteers help to rebuild Heritage Trail” and “Storybrooke Priory’s ‘laughing’ gargoyle has been vandalized”.

The music playing when Gold brings up the Sorcerer’s hat is an off-key version of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice from Fantasia.

So, I feel like we got the beginnings of a lot of storylines, but I’m not really sure where everything is going quite yet. The only solid thing we really got is that Regina wants to change the stories in the book, which, unless she goes back in time like Emma and Hook did, doesn’t seem like something she can do at this point in time. So far, I could care less about the Frozen arc. Had I not seen the movie, I wouldn’t know what the hell was going on, and it’s not like Frozen was a well known fairy tale previously. It was supposed to be based on The Snow Queen and then Elsa got too likable. We’ll see what happens. Welcome to season 4.

Please leave comments and reblog! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future reviews.

@searchingwardrobes @thisonesatellite @justbecauseyoubelievesomething @laschatzi @profdanglaisstuff @mariakov81 @lfh1226-linda

#Once upon a time review #once upon a time rewatch #once upon a time 4x01 #once upon a time a tale of two sisters #once upon a time

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loonysama · 1 year

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Hello! T for the fandom meme ask game please?

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything).

Kristoff is bisexual. He just is. End of story. And I am prepared to die on that hill.

Also, he knows about Anna’s curse the whole time because he saw Grand Pabbie wipe the magic from her memory. That's why he knows what Elsa’s magic did to her in the ice palace. And to take her to Grand Pabbie.

#ask game #asked and answered #frozen #kristoff

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harrowing-dump · 2 months

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Happy Easter! I'll load a few chapters on here today, then probably more tomorrow. I'm actually up to chapter 11 on AO3, so feel free to read through them all.

Chapter 6: Advisers

Excerpt -

Hel huffs and paces the hall. Ganglöt, Modgud, and Ganglati look at each other and share a question: who could take this responsibility off Hel’s shoulders? Certainly not them, though they have comparatively more experience than she in, well, most things. She’s a child. She’s their student while also their queen. They don’t have the right to pluck this duty out of her hands. But what will happen if they can’t steer her and this realm properly?

If they knew, they might be surprised that Hel is having similar thoughts. Frustrating as this all is, she doesn’t wish to give up. She and her guardians have been putting together the laws and overseeing the housing across the realm. Things are progressing. But this question of her authority, her right to rule, keeps turning up snags. There’s so much to learn. Regardless of her age and lack of experience, she must be the queen, as Odin has dictated. Yet she wants to be queen on the merits of capability, not simply because Odin has given her the reins. For all she knows, Odin wants her to make a mess of it. Maybe that’s what he expects of a child of Loki.

Pabby … what does her father think of this? Anything at all? Will she ever see him again? What would he do if he were here? She can’t picture him being a king. She can’t picture him other than a special guest at her mother’s house, full of jokes and games and half-baked promises. Maybe he’s different in Asgard, with his other family. She’s figured out who those boys Narfi and Vali are. How interesting that Odin didn’t make either of them the ruler of the dead. He must expect more from them since they are children of the Æsir, too.

Or maybe it could be the opposite. Maybe Odin saw something promising in her. But to think that, to give Odin any credit for believing in her, feels like a betrayal of herself and her family.

No, neither Odin nor her father can figure into her reasons. She will be a good queen because … well, she just ought to be, right? But what does it mean to be a good queen? Give the people more power to govern themselves, at the risk of making herself weaker and letting their foibles lead to problems? Or should she keep a firm grip on her authority and prove to the people that she can be trusted to govern them, at the risk of never pleasing them, leaving the door open for revolts?

She deliberates on this with more pacing. Her companions silently deliberate, too. Finally, she directs a question to Ganglati and Ganglöt. “When you had children, were you stricter with them in the beginning?”

“Naturally,” answers Ganglöt.

“You have to be when they’re little,” Ganglati adds. “As they grow up, you trust them with more responsibilities while keeping them accountable when they make mistakes or don’t listen.”

“And that was hardly easy.”

“You think it’s better that I trust the people more,” Hel says with a frown.

“Well, they’re not children, mostly,” Ganglöt says.

“But the elders act like children sometimes. No, I need to be entirely in charge right now. Once they get used to how I want things to be, I might trust more of them to rule themselves. I’m already letting some of their elders make a council so they can tell me their problems and solve disputes. But for trials, it should be me who decides guilt or innocence.”

Uneasiness slowly stifles the room.

“Well,” Modgud hesitantly interjects, “I don’t think you’ll have long to wait to prove yourself.”

#norse mythology #hel #hel lokisdottir #helheim #niflheim

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81scorp · 3 months

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Constructive criticism: Frozen 1 and 2 (and a bonus)

Ah yes, Frozen 1 and 2. In 1844 Hans Christian Andersen wrote Snedronningen ("The Snow Queen"), a fairytale centering on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai. Unlike Andersen's other stories, The Snow Queen was written in a novel-styled narrative, being divided into seven chapters. In the 2000s, Disney, the IP devouring mega company, no stranger to adapting public domain fairytales and milking as much money from them as possible, saw money, I mean animated musical potential, in The Snow Queen and gave it the old Disney treatment. There were some problems with coming up with a story that would work, but after a while in development hell the writers found a way. in 2013, "Frozen", the one-word titled movie adaptation of Andersens fairytale premiered and was a big hit at the box office. It was good but also a bit overrated, overhyped and, because of this, also overhated. Criticism caused by overexposure to supercatchy songs aside, the movie had a few shortcomings caused by it being written in the eleventh hour. The backstory was a little rushed. Most of the songs were used up in the first act leaving us with only three in the second act, and only one of those three songs helped move the plot forward (The reprise of "For the first time in forever") the two others were just musical deadweight. Elsa and Annas relationship was the most interesting part of the movie but more screentime was spent on Anna and her journey with Kristoff who, while still likable, was not as interesting as Elsa. Because Frozen made a ridiculous amount of money a sequel was made, and it too made a ridiculous amount of money. Personally I like the second more than the first one. Wouldnt call it better than the first, but I wouldnt call it worse either. Like the first one it was carried mostly by its musical numbers and this time it didnt use up all its best songs in the first act. And like the first it had a few shortcomings in the story department. Now, Ive talked about Frozen before and even given it a little constructive criticism in my editorial "More thoughts on Frozen" (A few things that I said in that one are repeated here). But in this editorial I have a few more things to say, not only about the first Frozen, but also its sequel. (Something you probably could have guessed from the title.) So now, without further ado, if I could wish upon a star that I could travel back in time before this movie was made and tweak the script a little, heres how I would change it.

Frozen Any explanation for Elsas ice powers Im not one of those who felt that Elsas ice powers needed to be explained in the first movie. However, in Frozen 2, when they explained the origin of her powers there, it just felt like an afterthought. Frozen 2 felt more like it was about Elsa and Anna cleaning up their grandfathers mess than any examination of what gave Elsa her powers. So I would explain her ice powers in the first movie, and I would do it like this: When Pabbie asks Agnarr and Idunna: "Born with it or cursed with it?" and they answer that she was born with, it the other trolls gasps and whisper among eachother: "A frostborn!" Now, lets jump forward to the part where Anna tries to convince Elsa to bring back summer. Elsa sings: "I cant" and accidentally ices Anna in the heart. Kristoff runs into the room to check on Anna, sees Elsa, gasps and says "A frostborn!" Jump forward to the part where Kristoff is taking Anna to see the trolls. Anna talks to Kristoff and asks. "What was it that you called my sister earlier?" And Kristoff tells her what a frostborn is. Once every hundred years the planets are aligned on the wintersolstice, and if a child is born on that day, at midnight, it becomes a frostborn. Someone with powers of ice and snow. Hes heard the stories (from the trolls), but he never thought he would see one in real life.

Conceal dont feel/ Elsas childhood* In a way I defended this earlier (mostly because I couldnt come up with a better idea myself) but I think I have an idea now on how it could have been done differently. The whole "Conceal dont feel" could be something that Elsa herself came up with in her grown up years. Her parents could try to teach her to use it responsibly instead of bottling it all up. In the scene where Elsa is given her gloves they could first be lying on a book called "The magic feather" (a subtle reference to Dumbo, hinting that the gloves are just placebos) And then later in "Do you want to build a snowman": The King is looking out through a window, rubbing his hand as if it is hurt, worrying about Elsa. The Queen is looking through a book and reacts as if shes found the answer. She shows the book to the king. Both of them have expressions of joy in their faces. (She found the solution to Elsas problem in an ancient text in the book, which leads to them going away on a travel to find it which leads to their ship capsizing in the storm). Later in the movie, before she wakes up in her cell in Arendelle, Elsa has a flashback to a day where she was 12-years old. Her father is touching the palm of her hand with his own as a form of trust exercise. Ice starts forming on his hand. He keeps holding on as a way to say: "Its just ice, theres nothing wrong with your gift, its not evil." Elsa allows herself to smile. Then she has a moment of doubt, her ice gets colder, its hurting her father but he refuses to let go and says in a calm voice: "Its OK Elsa, dont be afraid. You can control it". But the cold becomes too strong and he pulls back his hand in pain. The Queen wants to comfort Elsa but Elsa is afraid and distances herself from her, fearing that shell hurt her. Still wanting to comfort her daughter the Queen tells Elsa: "Its not your fault." But Elsa is too afraid, too afraid of her own powers and backs into the shadows (figuratively AND literally). Their parents dying may be sad but seeing them trying their hardest to help her, and their struggles leading to their own death would be even sadder. It would help make us emotionally invested in the characters and through them, the movie itself. Yes, I know, this was retroactively added in the sequel. But it would have helped the plot of the first movie if it had been revealed earlier.

Fixer upper At one point Kristoff tells Anna that you cant get engaged to someone you just met and she asks him if hes some kind of love-expert. Kristoff replies that he knows some love-experts. So we can assume that the trolls taught him that you cant get engaged to someone you just met. When they meet the trolls, what is the first thing they do? They tell Anna that she should get engaged to this guy she just met. Thats a problem I have with this song, it contradicts what Kristoff told us that they taught him. And also: its a little too upbeat and not a very good 11 o'clock number. (11 o'clock number is a theatre term for a big, show-stopping song that occurs late in the second act of a two-act musical, in which a major character, often the protagonist, comes to an important realization. Examples include "So Long Dearie" from Hello Dolly and "Cabaret" from Cabaret. It was so named because in the days when musical performances would start at 8:30 p.m., this song would occur around 11:00 p.m.) Source: Wikipedia What I would do: At first Anna and Kristoff talks to the trolls about Elsa and her powers, which leads to the trolls starting to sing. The song is about Elsa (who should have gotten a little more screentime) and about how she is right now at a crossroad. She could stay good, she could turn evil, they dont know, it`s up to her. The song should be similar in style and tone to "The Misty mountains cold" from the Hobbit. And then Anna grabs her chest in pain. Pabbie tells them that "only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart" and you know how the rest goes.

On the fence: Lack of music in the last part* Someone I know pointed out that there was no more musical numbers in the last quarter of the movie. Aladdin ended with a short reprise of "A whole new world", Beauty and the beast ended with a short reprise of "Beauty and the beast". This movie could have ended with Elsa and Anna singing a short reprise of "For the first time in forever" as they are ice skating around together. Just sayin`.

Frozen 2

Water having memory

Water doesn`t actually have memory, but let`s say that it does in the Frozen universe.

It`s still not a good idea for the plot because of the super-expositional ice sculptures that telegraphs important plot points miles in advance.

Lose the "water having memory" bit.

Plot

The plot would still be mostly the same but with a few differences.

When Elsa goes outside while singing "Into the unknown" she goes down to the ocean, freezes the water`s surface and walks on the ocean while singing. After the song ends she reaches her goal and finds what the mysterious voice wanted to show her: On a beach lies what`s left of an Arendellian ship. At closer inspection she realizes that it`s her parents ship. She finds the waterproof log that reveals that her parents were trying to find Ahtohallan. Elsa gets ready for her journey, Anna finds out about her journey and convinces Elsa to let her join, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf are dragged in as well and the next morning they leave Arendelle.

(Note that in this version Arendelle has not been evacuated, the people are still in the city.)

Then things happen pretty much the same way they did in the movie, they reach the magic forest, meet the Northuldra etc, etc. The Northuldras call Elsa a "Frostborn", most of (if not all) the previous frostborns were Northuldras. Elsa is the first to not be one.

When Kristoff sees the dam he does not say that if it broke it would be the end of Arendelle. (I don`t want him to put that thought in Anna`s head.)

In the scene where Elsa talks to Honeymaren she (Honeymaren) says that the old songs mentioned something about a fifth spirit and "a sacrifice" but she`s not clear on the details. "Only Ahtohallan knows."

Later Elsa, Anna and Olaf head north while Kristoff and Sven stay behind with Ryder and the rest of the Northuldra. Instead of finding their parents ship (since Elsa already found it in the first act) Elsa, Anna and Olaf reach the stormy sea that they have to cross to reach Ahtohallan. Elsa, fearing for Anna`s safety sends her and Olaf away in an ice boat. (It was her plan to send them to a lake that they passed on the way to the ocean, but Anna makes the boat miss the lake and land in the river with the sleeping rock giants. They later end up in the cave.)

Elsa tames the Nokk, crosses the ocean, finds Ahtohallan, sings "Show yourself" with a vision of her mother and all that, but she doesn`t turn into the fifth spirit... yet. She enters the room with the memories and sees things that happened and people who lived in the past. (In this version however, the memories are not made of snow, they are ordinary, transparent, blue-ish ghosts.) She sees Anna and Olaf and where they were a few minutes ago. She goes too far into Ahtohallan, sees her grandfather killing the Northuldra leader and starts to sink through the floor (instead of freezing to ice).

(Remember what the song said? "But not too far or you’ll be drowned.")

Elsa tries to escape but can`t, she sends a message to the place where she knows that Olaf and Anna were a few minutes ago. Anna and Olaf get her message, Olaf gets weaker, they realize something must have happened to Elsa, Anna has one final warm hug with Olaf, sings "The next right thing" and prepares herself for what she must do.

She wakes up the ice giants, gets them to chase her and throw big rocks at the dam. Mattias tries to stop her but she can`t hear him over the sound of the destruction. When the dam is destroyed Mattias tells Anna that he tried to warn her that the river leads to Arendelle. (Remember what I said earlier, in this version Arendelle has not been evacuated.)

Meanwhile at Ahtohallan: Remember what Honeymaren said earlier: something about the fifth spirit and "a sacrifice". Because of Elsa`s sacrifice, Ahtohallan has deemed her worthy to be the fifth spirit. She comes back to life, gets her fifth spirit outfit, emerges out of the floor, and rides on the Nokk to save Arendelle.

At Arendelle the people hear the flood coming nearer, they start to evacuate but the flood is coming too fast. Fortunately Elsa arrives in time and saves the people. Anna is reunited with Elsa, Kristoff finally, properly, proposes to Anna and Elsa recreates Olaf.

Olaf: "Hi, I`m Olaf! And I like warm hugs!"

Anna: "Olaf!"

Olaf: "Do I know you?"

Anna: "Olaf. It`s me!"

Olaf: "Aha! ... and you are...?"

Anna: "..."

Anna realizes that this is not the old Olaf. He`s new, with none of the old Olaf`s memories.

Anna: "I`m... Anna. And this is Elsa, Kristoff and Sven."

Olaf: "Nice to meet you all!"

Anna becomes the new Queen of Arendelle, Elsa abdicates and lives in the forest with the Northuldra, Lieutenant Mattias returns to Arendelle and is promoted to General under Anna. A statue is unveiled of a younger Agnarr and Iduna to honor their memory and the new unity between Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest. Anna sends a message to Elsa via Gale, inviting her to come visit them. After recieving and reading the message, Elsa gets up on the Nokk and rides towards Arendelle.

I changed the source of Elsa`s power because, as I said earlier, tying the origin of her ice powers to Ahtohallan and the four elements felt like an afterthought. Also: notice that I wrote that if a child is born at midnight on the winter solstice once every 100 years.

You probably wonder: but what if a child is not born under those particular cirumstances?

Then I guess they`ll just have to wait for the next time the planets align. It`s not like there have to be a frostborn every 100 years, it`s not like it`s part of a great plan. Being a frostborn is not a requirement for being the fifth spirit (but it is an advantage).

What I`m saying here is that I`m not a big fan of the chosen one narrative. (Don`t hate it but I don`t like it either.) It just feels like it lowers the stakes.

This movie`s theme was about change, so it feels a little weak that they kill Olaf but then bring him back again exactly as he was before, once again, it has really low stakes.

"But it`s a kids movie" some might say. Yes, but kids movies can, and have, dealt with serious issues like death in the past and handled it in a mature way.

Of course I understand that Disney would never kill off a marketable character from one of their most profitable cash-cows, atleast not permanently. That`s why I suggest that they do like Marvel did with Groot and Gamorra, kill them, then bring them back, but not the same as they were before.

This would of course mean that there would be no post-credits scene where Olaf retells the story to Marshmallow and the snowgies, since:

A: Olaf wouldn`t remember anything that happened before his resurrection

and

B: Marsh and the snowgies would have disappeared just like Olaf did when Elsa temporarily died.

But if I had to put in a post-credits scene then it could show... I don´t know... Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf sitting around a table eating shawarma.

*Yes, this is something that I copy pasted from my old editorial: "More thoughts on Frozen"

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) Now, I have to confess, I haven`t actually seen this movie, but I have seen several videos on youtube describing the plot and there are two things that I have some opinions about.

Gadget and Zipper having kids together Gadget and Zipper? Im not feeling it. Id lose that.

Peter Pan as the villain Didnt like what they did with Peter Pan for two reasons.

1: Because of what happened to Bobby Driscoll, and many other child stars in showbiz.

2: Not aging is not just a Peter Pan thing but a toon thing in general. How come Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, is the only toon that ages when no other toon does? Im sure the writers thought they were very clever when they wrote that, but besides the whole Bobby Driscoll (and many other child stars) thing it just doesnt make sense. Not even in this movies universe. My solution: Make Smee the bad guy. It works because A: Hes a pirate so it fits the whole piracy thing.

B: I can easily see Smee being the kind of henchman whos more clever and dangerous than he appears and who could totally lead a criminal organisation. And just like Judge Doom in "Who framed Roger Rabbit?" he could disguise himself as a live-action human, maybe as a woman? (Super-realistic mtf mask disguises usually make movies better, or at least memorable.

And that`s how I would do it.

My original plan was to make one big editorial where I give constructive criticism to not only these three movies, but also Raya and the last Dragon, Scoob, Space Jam: A new legacy and Wish but I felt that it would be hell of a lot to write in one editorial. So I decided to divide it up. Space Jam 2 and Scoob gets to share one editorial, as do Raya and Wish. So now you know what to expect from me, when it comes to literature, for the next couple of weeks (or more likely, months).

It is of course very easy for me to write these because I have the luxury of hindsight. And unlike the filmmakers I don`t have a movie studio breathing down my neck, forcing in unnecessary changes and pressuring me to get it made before a deadline.

Why do I write these? For several reasons. Im nitpicky, sometimes the movies I criticize arent bad, I just like my own ideas better, sometimes the movies I critize are bad, I care about good storytelling and it`s a fun excerize in creativity and script doctoring. But also because I have a lot of of free time.

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Started writing this 2024-02-21

Comments are not necessary but appreciated.

Other movies on my Constructive Criticism list that you can look forward to

Supergirl (1984) Jonah Hex (2010) Dragonball evolution The Spirit (2008) The Dark Knight trilogy

And as usual: English is not my first language, so if my writing doesn`t seem to flow naturally, you know why.

#constructive criticism #written stuff #editorial #literature #frozen #frozen 2 #chip and dale #81scorp

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the-blue-fairie · 3 years

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Elsa’s scars are because of a complex interplay between the pain of the accident AND the pain of her upbringing thereafter.

I talk about the ways in which the trolls’, Agnarr’s, and Iduna’s choices negatively impact Elsa and Anna a great deal. It’s a complex subject to discuss - and I feel like I’m always returning to it because the fandom often tries to reduce it to black and white.

On the one hand, there are people in the fandom who vehemently dislike Agnarr and Iduna and portray them very negatively.

On the other hand, there are people who love Agnarr and Iduna and try to defend their every action, even when their actions hurt their daughters.

And... the trolls don’t usually get brought up at all. I mean, there are definitely folks who point out that the trolls are to blame for stoking the whole royal family’s fears... but I don’t think people can see their pain as easily in the abstract magical characters’ actions, so they just don’t dwell on them as much.

In my opinion, both extremes are approaching the matter in the wrong way. I don’t agree with people who hate Agnarr and Iduna. I don’t agree with people who paint them simply as abusive parents. In both the first film and the second, Agnarr and Iduna are good people trying to do their best in a painful situation. BUT, at the same time, their parents’ actions and the trolls’ actions hurt both of the sisters - and I feel like, when people bend over backwards to defend their actions, people ignore the hurt they caused.

AND, in some ways, I feel like the second film encourages this black and white thinking. The second film WANTS viewers to ignore the negative ramifications of the trolls’ and the parents’ actions. That’s why the film proper never discusses Agnarr’s and Iduna’s or the trolls’ actions while the sisters were children - opting instead for the tie-in book Dangerous Secrets to discuss those events... a tie-in book that, however well-written, will only reach a select audience while the films will reach a far wider audience.

This bothers me because it usually means I see people ignoring many of the external forces that caused Elsa to grow into who she is as a character.

In some cases, these are people who simply treat Elsa like a bad person because they ignore all the context that informs why she behaves like she does.

BUT, at the same time, I have friends who are deeply sympathetic to Elsa... but can’t seem to process how deeply Elsa’s upbringing informed who she grew up to be.

Like, I’ve had long discussions with friends who have told me that, if Elsa was raised differently, she would still grow up the same because her trauma comes from the accident.

I feel this represents a gross misunderstanding of how child development works.

Yes, Elsa was devastated by the accident. But consider her actions and body language immediately thereafter:

Her first instinct is to run to Anna and hold her in her arms. Even after her parents coming rushing in and her father asks what she has done, she defends herself, saying, “It was an accident. I’m sorry, Anna.” She still holds Anna close:

Elsa has to be taught to recoil, to shrink away, to keep her distance from Anna.

Elsa’s fear is learned. We only see her truly starting the pattern of shrinking away, of curling inside herself with fear of herself after Pabbie shows her an ominous vision, telling her there is “danger” in her powers.

A fear of herself that continues thereafter, after she has processed that she is and so begins to see herself as a danger:

Yes, the accident itself scarred Elsa. But to say that, “If Elsa was raised differently, things would have turned out the same because her trauma emerges from the accident” is simply wrong.

Elsa was a child being influenced by adult authority figures who ultimately failed her.

Pabbie igniting a vague and fiery vision of danger before an impressionable child influenced her, helped to cement the idea in Elsa that she is naturally dangerous.

Agnarr and Iduna separating the sisters reinforces to Elsa that there is something wrong in her - something she has to repress.

Keep in mind, I’m NOT saying this to demonize Agnarr and Iduna. As this moment shows, they are heartbroken the more Elsa shrinks from them. They love their daughter, and hate to see her hurting like this:

BUT that doesn’t change the fact that their actions helped to hurt her. Inadvertently, I know. But they still did.

To ignore the influence of the adult authority figures on who Elsa became is to ignore the complexity of how children interact with the world, how they respond to elders who are in positions of power. Elsa trusts the signals given by the adults around her. When Pabbie tells her there is “great danger” in her powers, she believes him. When her parents tell her that it is a necessity that she isolate herself and conceal herself, she trusts them.

Sometimes, certain people make much of the nuances of Pabbie’s words or Agnarr’s words. They point out that Pabbie also says there is beauty in Elsa’s powers and that “Fear will be your enemy” also refers to Elsa’s inner fear of herself. They comment that “Conceal it, don’t feel it” is not the same as “Conceal, don’t feel.”

The thing is, these readings put the blame on Elsa for misunderstanding - instead of putting the blame on the adults for inadvertently imparting hurtful messages to a child.

It shouldn’t be placed on the shoulders of a child to decipher a cryptically worded aphorism. It should be on the adult figure, especially when this adult figure is an ancient and wise being.

And really, for all the distinctions between “Conceal it, don’t feel it” and “Conceal, don’t feel,” their essence is still the same. The misguidedness of concealment, of not feeling something that is a part of you, is still rooted in the words regardless of which version we choose.

Elsa, as a child, was still told by the adults around her that she should keep her distance from others for their protection and so, as she grew older, she took that more and more to heart. She grew into what she had been taught - even though the teaching initially came from a good-hearted place.

Sometimes, I’ve had my friends ask me, “But by putting all this focus on Elsa’s influences growing up, are you sure you’re not losing focus on the pain Elsa feels because of the accident itself?” And... no, I’m not. That’s why the title of my post is, “Elsa’s scars are because of a complex interplay between the pain of the accident AND the pain of her upbringing thereafter.” Because I WANT this post to be a nuanced reflection.

But... if Pabbie hadn’t shown a vague and terrifying vision to and impressionable child and her frightened family... you can’t tell me things would have been the same.

If Iduna and Agnarr hadn’t limited Elsa’s contact with people, you can’t tell me things would have been the same.

A friend once pointed to the trail of ice Elsa makes on the journey to the Valley of the Living Rock, arguing that this shows Elsa’s loss of control and panic before Pabbie stresses that she is dangerous - and therefore arguing that this highlights that things would still turn out the same for Elsa growing up even if the trolls and her parents made different choices because she fears what she can do:

I feel my friend’s reading here is... a bit of a stretch. Elsa is scared, yes, but the self-hatred that defines her as an adult? That comes later. That, she has to learn. And it is that self-hatred and fear of herself that paralyzes her.

And I’ve had friends point out, “But Elsa WAS dangerous! She DID hurt Anna, and that’s tied into her stress with wanting to protect her, and that was before the trolls or her parents had any involvement...”

I don’t like this take because it seems to put an impossible amount of weight on Elsa as a child. It asks Elsa as a child to be perfectly composed. To not be scared for her sister’s safety. To... not feel.

It’s a take that follows the misguided logic the film ultimately refutes while defending the mistakes that caused that misguided logic to do so much harm.

And, yeah. Sure. Elsa becomes scared. In the ballroom and riding through the forest. She’s a tiny child.

That doesn’t justify teaching her to fear herself, actions that only make the problem far, far worse.

And you can say, “Well, the adults didn’t MEAN to teach Elsa that-” I know they didn’t mean to do it.

But showing a terrifying light-show to a little girl will impact her, regardless of what Pabbie meant. Especially when he does not clarify.

But slamming the gates shut will have a powerful psychological effect on both Elsa and Anna, regardless of what their parents meant.

Elsa was a child.

Children learn from their surroundings. They respond to the actions of adults they trust, adults they love. While the accident itself impacted Elsa, we cannot ignore that the way she was brought up thereafter also had a profound effect on the way she saw the world, the way she responded to the world.

Elsa was a child being influenced by adult authority figures who ultimately failed her - and the fact people are so willing to put the weight of that on a child instead of the adults surrounding her is troubling to me.

The fact that the second film kind of tacitly puts the weight of that on Elsa’s shoulders by only making abstract references to “fear” - instead of openly talking about the complex circumstances Elsa and her parents found themselves in - is troubling to me as well. It allows viewers to disregard the more complicated elements of Elsa’s relationship with her parents and only focus on the positives the second film puts on display.

(Keep in mind, I DON’T intend this post to be anti Agnarr and Iduna. I love them as characters - ESPECIALLY Iduna, with the backstory F2 offers. Agnarr and Iduna are good people. They are loving parents. They were put in a horribly complicated position... and ultimately their actions - for all their good intentions - had negative consequences.)

#frozen #frozen 2 #elsa #bigfrozensix

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true--north · 2 years

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It may have been discussed in the fandom earlier, but I think that Pabbie had to remove the memories of magic from Anna's mind not by accident, but it's important. She was struck in the head with magic, and therefore it was needed to remove the idea of magic from her mind – only then she came to her senses.

Pabbie said "You're lucky it wasn't her heart. The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded. I recommend to remove all magic, even the memories of magic. To be safe. But don't worry, I leave the fun." He changes Anna's memories, then touches her forehead and she smiles weakly – before that she was numb.

I assume that if there were no trolls, then Anna would not have died, because the heart is the most hard to heal. I think she would have gone into some kind of eternal sleep.

So, we can see that the very fact of removing the spell with something bigger than it was important. (Later, an act of true love will remove the ice from her heart.)

Brain ➡Memories. Heart ➡Love.

It seems, it was important that Anna should not remember the magic. I think this, along with Elsa's loss of control and the Arendelle people's attitude to magic, was one of the reasons to keep everything a secret: what if Anna saw magic again soon after healing, the memories of the hit in her head would come back to her, and it would harm her? This is my headcanon that explains things for me.

It was not discussed in the film, but maybe, only after some time Anna was able to see magic again without risk for her safety. For example, the classic fairytale term of 3 or 7 years. Also it can explain the amount of Elsa's fear to hurt her younger sister again – with just one sight at magic. By they didn't know about the term, plus Elsa couldn't get the control of her emotions, and when the term had ended it was late.

In the book "Memory and Magic" by Erica David it is said that Anna's memories were removed because no one was supposed to know about magic, but it seems to me that this is not the whole truth.

#frozen #anna

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mehphoobia · 3 years

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AROMA

Pairing- Sebastian Stan(ceo) x reader(café owner)

Summary- Funny how a complete stranger is enough to add a little aroma to your life...

Warnings- I think there are none but if you fall for a soft Seb then❤

REQUEST OPEN

____________________________🤍_____________________________

"Write it down..two bags of Arabica, 500 gms of cinnamon sticks and .."

you placed your monthly order over phone and after you were done a female voice from the other side of the phone repeated your order to confirm. "Is that all it?" the voice enquired. "Yes that will be all for now and please Danielle send me two bags only. You know what trouble you had put me through when you sent me twenty bags of coffee."

Oh how could you forget, three weeks..it took three weeks to get over that problem when Danielle has messed up the order. Anyways that was around four months ago but would stop rubbing her nose on it? Definitely not. "Oh would you stop already please? The new head of the facility is pretty hot." expressed Danielle.

"Excuse me did you say hot?" you repeated the sentence as you chuckled. "I-I m-mean hot tempered. There is no room for any mistakes." she corrected.

Danielle, who happened to be your best friend worked in SIPHON the best facility which stored coffee which was imported and exported from and all around the world. When your grandfather had opened this café, he wanted nothing less than the best quality of coffee for his customers and SIPHON was the best place to choose from.

"Well isn't that satisfactory." you smiled as you thanked her and cut the call, to receive a notification from SIPHON that your order was confirmed and will be arriving in four days.

You sighed as you looked at the sky which appeared to be shy around you as it was changing its colors from a soft blue to a shade of orange marking the end of the day. As the sun was setting, the natural light ran along the walls giving life to all of the photographs that hung. "Are you happy pabby?" you asked the question to your grandfather's picture, wishing for it to answer. But as always it stayed quiet as it did for the past three years when you had taken over the café to keep your grandfather's dream alive.

It was a Sunday, the one day where you could open up your café a little late than usual. You groaned as you crawled from your bed and freshened up. Unlike every Sunday, you bought flower bouquets and headed towards the orphanage.

"Sister Amelia?" you stood near the gate and waited. "Y/N, oh!" Sister Amelia exclaimed you could feel the restlessness in her voice. Upon questioning she mentioned that some wealthy guy had come to talk to the children at the orphanage. It was not the number of people that scared Sister Amelia, it was the children. The sudden intrusion scared the children.

"Where is he?" you questioned as you handed over the bouquet. "Inside..but be careful" Sister Amelia warned as you stepped inside. You couldn't see the man at first but when he stood up from his crouched position, you were overwhelmed by his aura. His beautiful face was tensed up in confusion and awkwardness. You couldn't help but smile at his demeanor. He was dressed in a three piece suit stood like a child being punished as he was trying to get the children comfortable around him. It was so endearing and so was he.

"Sister y/n?" exclaimed Miguel, a five year old boy, as he came running to you. All the children seemed to have let go of their agony when they saw your face and hurdled around you. Funny what miracles a comforting smile from a person you know can do.

The man's tension disappeared when you walked the children towards him and introduced every single one of them. He spent around an hour with them before he finally spoke to you.

"Thank you" you flinched at his heavy voice. "What for?" you asked innocently. "Thank you for getting them comfortable. Its not a very usual sight to see. Anyways, my name is Sebastian Stan." he said as he extended his hands towards you. "Well its a shame that people find you intimidating Mr.Stan. My name is Y/L/N" you said as you accepted his greeting.

"Please call me Sebastian, Ms.Y/N" he said as both of you started walking down the stairs. "Please call me Y/N." The sudden mimicry caused him to laugh and you chuckled. It was a small town and almost everyone knew about one another. It was nice to talk to someone new like him.

"So Sebastian, what business do you have here?" you asked him as the both of you decided to sit on one of the stairs. He whipped his head in your direction when you said his name but you couldn't see that as the children and their playful laughter had attracted your attention. He looked at how beautifully the sun rays decorated your skin and how the shadow of the leaves hid your skin from the sun rays. How beautiful your eyes looked every time you smiled. It made him smile too.

The sudden silence shifted your attention back to Sebastian and you caught him staring at you. He realized that the question was left attended for, "I took over the facility here. SIPHON" he cleared his throat. "So you are the new head?" you asked causing him to frown.

"How did.." he questioned.

"Oh I have a café and all my coffee based orders are from SIPHON" you explained to which he nodded. You talked about how you took over the café and about your grandfather. He heard everything silently, how passionately you talked about your work and your family.

"You must really like your job, I mean taking over an entire facility..its a great deal" you spoke to which he lowered his glance. "Its complicated, I was forced to take over the facility. I thought maybe if I make myself familiar to the surroundings, I would like this place so we visited the orphanage" he said looking at the children. "To be honest I know my business but its just business for me, its not something that I like to do. I can't even differentiate between different types of coffees and here I am running an entire facility." the way his face fell while he expressed about his situation, you knew he didn't want this kind of life. His earlier sentence of people being uncomfortable around him made sense. He never let him be himself around people because he was forced and he was afraid.

Both of you got up and walked down the remaining stairs and reached the gate. He thanked you for your gesture and sat in his car and just then, "You know what, every kind of coffee is unique and has different characteristics but the main difference comes from the aroma. So the next time you look at a coffee bag, observe the aroma" you spoke. He sighed and looked at your reassuring smile. You started walking away after bidding him goodbye and he looked at your figure getting smaller as you walked away from him.

"Sir may we leave for the facility?" his secretary questioned him from the front sit.

"Yes and also please keep me updated about Ms. Y/N" he said your name with a smile plastered on his face as his car made its way towards the facility.

Finally you received your delivery from SIPHON and the correct number of bags made you chuckle. But there happened to be a letter on top of the cinnamon packet which was beautifully decorated in the colors of white and gold. As you picked up the letter and began reading it, you smiled.

"You were right, the aromas are different and so are you." it read.

____________________________🤍_____________________________

A/N: Hey guys this is my one first Sebastian Stan fanfic. I hope you all like this one. This plot has been one my mind for couple of days and I found this very pure and simple and I thought Sebastian Stan would be perfect for it cause he has this aura I absolutely love.

My requests are open so you can go ahead and send me your plots and please do go and check out my other fanfictions as well.

REQUEST OPEN

Love yourself...you are worth it❣❣

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bandgeek4life8 · 3 years

Text

Guardians - chapter two the lost city of atlantis

Chapter 1

WC: 3, 453

Season 1, Episode 2: The Lost City of Atlantis

Previously on Guardian in Jim's POV "The Nightmares have emerged once more." Pabbie told everyone.

"GREAT GRONKA MORKA!!" Blinky exclaimed.

"And they attend to assimilate an army. They already have the witch Gothel, the bogeyman Pitch Black, the dragon tamer Drago Bludvist with his mother of dragons Red Death, the prince Hans of Southern Isles and Duke of Weselton, the cursed bear Mor'du, the Pirate "Captain Hook" Killian James, and the Boggan Mandrake. And I have a list of who they want. From my visions. But only two people I wish to say it to: Vendel and... James Lake Jr. Because she wishes it."

"Who wishes for me to know?" I asked him.

"Starling."

Some people are chosen for this life and have no choice but to accept its transgressions. Others spend their life completely in the dark about this life we lead. Some, like me, choose to live this life. It is a lot of work for anybody. Not just anybody can get into this life and survive its trials and tribulations. But we were born for this. To become guardians. But I'm not a guardian yet. I'm just an apprentice.

|{[INSERT_OPENING_SEQUENCE]}|

"Welcome to the first meeting of the Druidia Order." I announced.

"Did you have to name us after a planet in your favorite Star Wars movie?" asked the raven-haired time-traveller Wilbur Robinson.

"Spaceballs is not a Star Wars movie, Wilbur." Currently undercover spy, Walter Beckett told him.

Wilbur rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Did your dad teach you anything about Star Wars?" asked blonde enpath/ hockey-player from Wisconsin, Riley Anderson.

"Only that he hated the sequels, he loves the originals, and respects what the prequels tried to do." Wilbur said.

"Can we please get to the topic at hand please?" I asked everyone.

Everyone in the room grumbled out a yes and we continued with the precedings. Wow. That sounds way too formal for me.

"Well what can we do? We already made allies with the Arendelle trolls via Elsa and Anna. We had Grand Pabbie alert the Trollhunter of the Nightmares." said Ted Wiggins.

"Which means a group of you have to go find the essence stones." Megamind appeared with a plate of, "who wants cookies?"

"Are you growing soft on us, Meg?" Megamind basically growled at Wilbur for the nickname he used.

"I am trying to babysit Gru's oldest daughter and her friends." Megamind told him looking the kid dead in the eye.

"What do you know of the essence stones?" I asked him, ignoring the intense staredown happening between the two makes.

Megamind turned his attention away from Wilbur only for the time-traveller to blow a raspberry at him and Megamind to turn back and glare at him I rolled my eyes. The same old stupid antics. "I know where you can find the essence stone of the ocean."

"If you tell me we have to befriend Poseidon or-."

"It's in Atlantis." Megamind said.

"Or that." I facepalmed. "And how would you know that?"

"Because I have an evil underwater lair in the city of Atlantis." Cue another facepalm from me.

"And why...? You know what? I don't want to know. So how are we getting there?" I asked.

"It's not a matter of how we, but rather how who is getting there." Megamind said.

"That makes no sense whatsoever, dude." Hiro said as he walked into the room followed by Lucy Tuchi.

"Some of us will go on the mission while the rest research the rest of the essence stones." Megamind suggested.

"You know... your ideas are normally terrible. But this one is actually a good idea." Wilbur told him.

The alien growled. "Easy now, Megamind. When we heading out? And who is coming along for the ride?"

"You, Rayla, Ezran, Callum, Sisu, Hiccup, Jack, Light Furry, Walter, and Toothless." Megamind told us. "And you will leave tomorrow. After school."

"Alright. Before we do anymore planning, I need pizza." I walked over to where Hiro plopped the pizza on.

|{[INSERT_COMMERCIAL HERE]}| "

I cannot believe he has the audacity for this! He knows we're not on the best of terms, and yet he does this." I sighed.

"I'm sure he has a reason." said Hiro.

"It's Megamind. It's a stupid-ass reason." I told him.

Hiro sighed. "But you miss hanging out with Toby and Jim. And you-."

"Don't even finish that sentence. I know what you were going to say." Hiro gapped at me. "I know what you were going to say. Only three people know it. And one betrayed me."

My phone vibrated in my hoodie's pocket and I opened it up to see a text from my grandmother, Margaret. "Is that Marge? What she said?"

"She's wondering about the you-know-what with the you-know-who." I told him. She wants to know about James Lake Jr being the Trollhunter. Grandpa would not be pleased with this anyway. But he's dead. And he doesn't matter.

"You have gym next block right?" I groaned. Of course I forgot. And why of all days did we have to do the Pacer test today!

"And we're doing the pacer test today too!" I would have banged my head on a locker if we weren't coming from History. "Kill me now! Woe is me!"

"Stop being overdramatic. And I'm off my way to Robotics." Hiro said once we got to the hall where we would part ways.

"Don't take over the world of robotics without your team first." I called out to gim.

"Yeah, yeah. Just focus on making chemistry after gym, but preferably during." the smart-ass called back.

I'm gonna kill him one of these days. Just you wait, Hiro Hamada. I grumbled and continued on my way to the ends of the earth. Also known as gym. Because I lack the athletic ability of a worm. My arms are basically noodles before submerged in H20. I got dressed in my PE clothes and walked outside to the bleachers where I plopped myself down on. Gym. The one class I don't have my safety net to catch me. The one block where I feel alone. Completely and helplessly alone.

"Hey, [Y/N]. Mind if we sit here?" asked Toby.

It was just him and Jim. What on Earth are they up to? I scooted some ways away from my spot and patted the spot beside me. Jim took the spot beside me while Toby took the bench in front of us.

"We haven't hung out just the three of us in awhile, huh?" Toby remarked.

"You both seem busy since the semester started. I can't blame you for that one." I told them. The pair shrugged at me, but it was a lying shrug. I would know. I do the same ones. "Anyway, what are we doing for our History Project, Jamie?" I looked over at him.

"I don't know. Wanna brainstorm some ideas after school?" Jim asked me.

"Can't. I have a family thing." Lying to them has gotten harder since I found out. Hopefully they don't catch. But they're idiots. They won't catch on... I hope. "I can come over tomorrow after school if you want."

"That... Th-th-th-that'll be gr-gr-gr-great." What's with the stammer? It's weird. "Oh, don't forget about Pig Zombies on Saturday."

"Don't worry. I have it all set in my calendar. So, what time is the movie?" I asked them.

Toby and Jim shared a look. Oh that is never good. "We don't actually know."

"Then, what are we going to do about Saturday?" I asked them.

"We're more of idea men." Like they're any close to being men. "Creating a plan is someone else's problem." Of course.

"You two haven't changed at all, have you? I'll get to work on that sometime this evening. You guys still have email, righr?" I asked them.

"Who still uses e-mail anymore?" Toby inquired.

"Good point. I'll just have Lucy drive us to the theater anyway." I replied. "So, how are you and Claire going, Jamie?"

"O-o-o-oh, m-m-me and Claire?" stammered Jim. That's strange.

"Yes, you and Claire. You two are dating, aren't you?" I asked him.

"Oh, y-y-yeah. We're g-g-g-good." Hmm. Peculiar. But Jim's always been like this when pertaining to Claire. Nothing suspicious about that.

I hope.

|{[INSERT_COMMERCIAL_HERE]}|

Jim

"So, you have a study date with [Y/N] tomorrow huh?" Claire teased me while we walked to Blinky's library.

"What-. Wait! You told her!" I exclaimed to Toby who was on my left side.

"Of course, I did. Dude, you've been hopelessly obliviously in love with this girl since she stole your first kiss on the monkey bars when we were nine. And she-."

"She clearly has feelings for you, but she's not gonna act upon them since you know we're fake dating and all that jazz." Claire said.

I sighed. "You're the smart one. Couldn't you have come up with something... um... better?"

"What? Because a wuss like you was going to ask her out if I didn't say we were dating?" Claire asked him, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

I sighed once more. She clearly had a point. And Tobes seemed to catch it too. "He tried to ask her if she wanted to go see Pig Zombie 6 for her sixteenth birthday, but dragged me along with them because he wussed out of calling it a date."

Claire tapped her chin in thought. I do not understand girls. Then, she did the thing where you smack your fist against your hand in an aha! idea moment. Which is what transpired next. "I have a perfect idea for your movie date on Saturday."

"Am I going to regret this?" I asked her.

"I hope not. I'm helping you whether you want me to or not." Yea me! Internal frown.

We made it Blinky's library in which the four arm troll was talking animatedly to Vendell. About Essence Stones? What the fuzz buckets are those?

"Um, what are the Essence Stones?" I piped up.

"The Essence Stones are the only thing that can combat the Oncoming Storm." Vendel explained.

"Which is why we should be looking for them! We already know where one is! The Sea Stone!" Blinky told him.

"I already told you the Starling has this under control. This is her fight. Not ours. We shouldn't-."

"But then why have Pabbie tell us about the resurgence anyways?!" Blinky cut him off. I don't think Blinky has ever interrupted Vendel before. This is a first.

"Because to warn us of an even greater danger, Blinkous!! One that we have to face on our own! As Trolls!" the elder roared.

I never saw a look of fear as intense as the look that crossed Blinky's face when Vendel told him that. A greater danger? Even Aaarrrggghh! and Draal had the same look as Blinky. What did it all mean? Vendel left the library.

"I don't care what the goat says. We're getting the Sea Stone." Blinky told us.

"And how do we acquire it?" asked Claire.

"Hate Gyre." Aaarrrgghh! cried. Oh.

"And where would we find the Sea Stone?" Toby asked. "It's underwater right? And we can't breathe in water? So is it in an aquarium? Washed up on a beach?"

"I'll tell you where when we get to the Gyre." Claire, Toby, and I shared a look before shrugging our shoulders and following Blinky to the Gyre.

When we got there, we reached the Gyre and hopped in. "So, where are we going?"

"Under the sea. In an underwater palace where there is no water inside located in what you humans refer to as The Bermuda Triangle. Get ready for Atlantis." And before the three of us could protest, Blinky put in the coordinates and we zipped off towards... did he really say Atlantis? And the Bermuda Triangle?

But I didn't have time to question it as we arrived in a palace? And our clothes were soaking wet. But we never submerged in water? You know what? I shouldn't question it. Me and my friends huddled for warmth. It'll be awhile before we're dry. But why isn't- you know what? Never mind. I don't care.

"Okay, so where do we go first?" asked Toby.

"We head for the treasure room. The Jewel of Atlantis is the Sea Stone." Blinky told us.

"Why are we wet, but you aren't?" asked Claire.

"No clue." Blinky shrugged his shoulders.

The three of us grumbled but followed after Blinky with Aaarrrgghh! and Draal taking the rear. This is going to be a long evening. Our little group trudged, our squeaky footprints giving our location to anyone who would be here. And I think someone was here. Because a familiar ball of silver and blue was charging at us. Not us. Me. Followed by a march larger greenish-blue dragon.

"Hi, Azymondias." I said to the baby dragon when he jumped into my arms.

"I see you humans have already met the Prince. Starling's Zym seems to like you Mr Lake." the green-ish blue dragon said. Um... do dragons normally...

"YOU TALK?!?!" Thanks for that, Tobes.

"Of course, I do. I'm Sisu. Starling sent me after Little Azymondias to make sure he stayed out of trouble." Why aren't Blinky, Aarrrgghh!, and Draal freaking out about there being another dragon? And the elf being here?

"You six, now-seven, looking for the Treasure Room?" asked Sisu.

I shivered as a breeze went by. Why was there a breeze? We're in a dry castle underwater! This is just too weird.

"We were headed that way right now!" Blinky told the dragon.

Azymondias coughed. Or sneezed? I don't know. But he zapped me and I yelped and I'm... dry? Well alot dryer than before. Uh, thank you. Living dryer thay could kill me at any given moment. But you're still cute. So you're forgiven if you do.

"Well I wouldn't go that way! That's where Meg put his evil lair at." Sisu told us.

"Lair?" "Meg?"

"Meg is what the time-traveler calls Megamind. And he placed a lair here when he was going through his 'evil' phase." I did not know Dragons did air quotes.

"Time Traveler? Like the Doctor? Or Loki?" askes Toby.

"Looks like a mix of Matt Smith and Loki as a tween with too much hair gel. Alright, kids follow me." Sisu told us.

Zym appeared on my shoulder, wrapping his small body around on my shoulder and we followed the hopping dragon towards the treasure room. We had reached the treasure room, avoiding all the traps (that was on the ceiling for some strange reason). We arrived there. And Sisu peered inside before letting us enter. Strange.

But I couldn't help peering over Sisu's sboulder "Are you really angry that the Trollhunter keeps unknowingly stealing your pet?" That sounded like... no it can't be.

"Azymondias is not my pet. My pet sounds like I chose to take care of him. The bundle of zappy madness chose me to take care of him. So if anything, I'm his pet." Please tell me that's not who I think it is. But the-I'm guessing- Startouch Elf looks nothing like her. Not one bit. Well maybe except for the nose. And the eyes.

"You make absolutely no sense. And yet you love him anyway." the other voice said. A male with slick-back hair. This must be the time-traveler Wow. Sisu was spot on.

"Kids, easy now. We wouldn't want this to get into the wrong hands. Not this close to the Cotillion." A brunette male that appeared to be the oldest of the group. Why does he look so familiar to me?

"I have a question for you, pig snout. Meg said you wouldn't be here. Why the hell are you here? And why are you even here?" the elf asked.

"I stowed away because none of you are smart." the time-traveller said.

"Says the royal dumbass." the female elf sighed. "I'm so young and yet I feel so old." she emphasized. I was half expecting her to do a dramatic fall like they always seem to do in soap operas notthatIwatchsoapoperasinthefirstplacethat'sabsurd.

"I already knew that, dumbass." time-traveler said.

"Go on, Trollhunter." Sisu used her tail to push me toward the elf's group to retrieve the essence stone. "Introduce yourself."

And suddenly I stumbled upon the room making the group's attention turn to me. "Um...hi." Cue the awkward wave. "I'm... James Lake Jr? I'm the... Trollhunter." I held out the Amulet of Merlin. I could practically sense Toby and Claire facepalming at this.

"Starling, I think this one is for you to handle." I now noticed the brunette boy that stood beside the other elf. Is that... Callum Schlott?? Um... I hope if that is him, he doesn't tell [Y/N] about this.

"I am the one they refer to as Starling as you must know. And we don't need you here. To help us." The girl's hand were running up and down a strand of her waist length periwinkle hair. [Y/N] did the same thing when she had long hair. Not the time Jim.

"I think we do. Because the Seastone is missing if you've forgotten." the other elf said. She sounds like Rayla. And sort of looks like her too.

"THE SEASTONE IS GONE!?!?!?" Blinky exclaimed.

"Unfortunately so. Now, one advantage turns out to be a setback." I didn't notice the other brunette who had a black dragon that was acting like a cat by his feet.

"Do you have any leads?" asked Claire as she stepped forward.

"Just a Roman Penny. No clue from where though." Starling told us. "Now, I think it's time you kids return to California. Don'tyouthink."

|{[INSERT_COMMERCIAL_HERE]}|

"So Atlantis was a flopp?" I had already told Draal about the whole atlantis situation.

Luckily mom had another night shift at the hospital, so Draal could walk around freely while I made dinner for myself. Elbow Pasta and Meat Sauce it appears to be.

"Yes, it was, Draal." I turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels to find the one I wanted. "At least, I met Starling. She was not what I was expecting."

"Most elves aren't. You humans expect them to be small and cute because of the Claus, but they aren't." Draal told me.

"Actually, I think," I found what I was looking for. The French food competition show the World's Greatest Chef Competiton. "she was the exact opposite of what all of you were saying. Sure she was a tad harsh to us, but I think she didn't want to involve us in the Essence Stones. Like she didn't want anymore added help. I don't know." A knock sounded on the door.

"Were you expecting anyone?" asked Draal.

"Not that I know. Toby and Claire wouldn't knock. They'll just barge on in." I told him.

And before I got to the door, the door opened to reveal a boy with white hair, incredibly pale skin wearing a blue sweatshirt and brown trousers. "Don't be such a pussy, Hiccup." That was Sisu.

"Yeah, we're only here since Zym wants the trollhunter to be his dragon rider and to train him how to combat magic." white hair said.

"Um... what are you doing at my house?" I asked them as I held my wooden spoon in my hand, ready to strike them if necessary.

"You and Punzie would be great friends, squirt." The platinum blonde ruffled my brown hair to make it messy. My hair now looks like the dragon boy's hair.

"We're here to train you. I'm Hiccup. And this is Jack. Jack Frost." Wait. What? I'm lost. "I live over in Berk Manor. And you have wandered in a den where you cannot get out of." the brunnette introduced.

"Which is why Starling didn't want you to get involved. By trying to help us with the Seastone, you and your friends have put a target on your back. Starling didn't want that. But now we have to help you. To train you. Hiccup here is a Dragon Rider. And even though Azymondias isn't big enough to be ridden. He will be. I suspect sooner than you think, so he's going to train you to ride him. And I and many others are going come here to help you train against magic. Since the people who will come after you to kill you will have magic." Jack Frost told me. Now I'm really lost.

"So let's begin."

@trollhuntersfanatic

#trollhunters #tales of arcadia #trollhunters x reader #onward trollspies #rise of the brave tangled dragons #the futuristic four #x-villains #miraculous ladybug x tales of arcadia #jim lake x reader #jim #jim lake #jim x reader #jim lake jr x reader #tales of arcadia x reader

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lukin08 · 3 years

Text

All Summer Long

Here is my submission for the Summer Lovin @frozines. A big thanks to @punkpoemprose for putting this together. Amazing, as always

Rating: T

Words: 5261

Also available on AO3

The bell dinged over the door as Anna pulled it open. She took pause at the sound and looked around. At first glance, the store looked exactly as it had from her childhood. Knotty pine planks lined the walls and ceilings matching the cedar siding on the outside of the building. T-shirts ran across the top of the long back wall, all beckoning tourists to purchase them. The racks leading over to the checkout were full of snacks and hats for anyone unfortunate to have forgotten their own. Anna walked over reading all the fronts of the baseball caps. She had to use all her self-control to not grab the pink and black one that read ‘Boat Waves, Sun Rays and Torch Lake Days’.

After closer inspection, much had changed to Pabbie’s. New floors, a quick serve area that had about every grab and go food you could think of, and most importantly, a bakery and ice cream counter all filled out the large space.

She was flipping through a rack of sweatshirts when a voice called out. “On your left, Red.”

Anna jumped out of the way as a man passed her quickly carrying two large boxes over his shoulder.

“Sven!” A middle-aged woman called, following quickly behind him.

“Gotta go. We’re on fire today!”

“You tell him I need his order today before 5.”

“I’ll try.”

“Do it or you’ll be out of luck next weekend! No pilfering from the store when you run out of supplies anymore. It’s messing up my books!”

“Love you too, Bulda!” He said, flashing her a grin then disappearing out the front door.

The woman stopped next to Anna, put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Those two will be the death of me, I swear.”

“Everything ok?”

The woman looked at Anna and smiled. “It gets busier earlier every summer. Used to be until the third week of June when the water got warm when the crowds started, but we’ve been running full steam since before Memorial Day.”

“Wow. That early?”

“Who would have thought? Guess we aren’t the best kept secret of Michigan anymore.” The woman took a long look at Anna. “Anything I can help you with?”

Anna glanced out the window at the marina. “I actually had a question about an installation for a dock. Do I need to go next door?”

The woman waved her hand. “No need for that. Follow me.”

Anna followed her over to a counter at the other end of the room. The sign above it on the wall read ‘Torch Lake Marina’. There was all sorts of literature on boat rentals and storage and marine services on the counter.

“I didn’t realize the marina was part of Pabbie’s. I had to double check the address when saw it.”

“We purchased it a few years ago. Now what can I do for you?”

“I need to schedule a dock installation.”

Anna gave her the information and after a few minutes she had a time for the next week for the Marina to come out.

“Arendelle. Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in years. There was a family that had a place on Cherry Road named Arendelle. Are you any relation to them?”

“Yes. That’s me… I mean that’s my family. My parents owned the house. We used to come up here a long time ago.”

“I remember your father. He was in here all the time with the boat in the summers. Got along well with my father. How is your family doing?”

That was all it took. One simple question and Anna was off, spilling her guts to a stranger. She explained her parents' passing five years prior and the over ten-year absence due to her parent’s intense focus on her sister’s health. But Anna was back with a vision for the house and being up at the lake this summer was just what she needed. Internally she was screaming at herself to just stop talking. But Bulda kept asking her questions and seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying that Anna just couldn’t stop.

“That all sounds amazing, dear. You must keep me updated with how things are going. Can I give you one piece of advice?”

“Sure.”

“Make sure to take a minute to breathe now and then. You can blink and the entire summer will be over.”

“I will. Some friends from home are coming up tomorrow. I think we are going to head over to the sandbar. It should be fun!”

“Or at least entertaining. The sandbar on the weekend is always good for that.”

-------

This wasn’t what Anna had envisioned for a day out on the water. The morning had started fine. Anna was thrilled to be back out on the water again. To understand the depths of Torch Lake’s beauty and appreciate its deep aqua and turquoise colors, you really had to take it in with your own eyes on the lake. It was even fun at first when they anchored at the sandbar. But things took a turn for the worse as the day went on.

They anchored with a group of boats and the faces were all familiar. The uppity groups she remembered from school, all in the same social circles her family were in hadn’t changed a bit. They played their music too loud, drank too much and Anna quickly remembered why she left Ann Arbor as soon as she could. As much as she was trying to rekindle old relationships, perhaps some of them were better left as old friends.

Fending wanting to check out more of the sandbar, Anna decided to venture away from the group. It was easy getting around. Barring the occasional deep spot, the water wasn’t more than up to her thighs most of the time and in some stretches it was only at her ankles. There was over two miles to walk if she wanted, but Anna was on a mission.

Rumor was there was a pontoon that served food on the sandbar. She didn’t really believe it, but she was intrigued enough to go in search of it. After a few questions and only getting turned around twice between all the boats she looked up at the large yellow and black sign that read ‘Burger Barge’ stretched across the pontoon.

After spotting what looked like the area to order, Anna went up the side of the boat. As soon as the person in front of her was handed the foil wrapped sandwich, she stepped up closer. “I’ll have a burger. That’s all you have, right? Or is there something else?”

The man up at the boat was in front of the grill. He didn’t bother to look up. “A little busy here.”

“I can wait. How long do you think?”

He pointed his spatula down to the end of the boat. “Order in the back, princess. Just like everyone else.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I saw you hand a burger to someone. I thought-“

“Does it look like I take orders here?” he snapped. “Do you see the prices anywhere? You think I’m going to handle everyone’s money and cook all the food at the same time?”

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Do I know you?” He had stopped what he was doing and was staring at her now.

“Excuse me?” Anna tried to make out his features, but his blond bangs hung over a wide bandana covering his forehead and sunglasses obscured his eyes.

“Do I know you,” he said slower, dropping his sunglasses down to get a better look. His brown eyes glared over at her.

Anna crossed her arms in front of her, annoyed at the tone he was taking with her. “You most certainly do not!”

He grinned, which only infuriated Anna. “Good. Line’s at the back of the boat. Get moving.” He pointed again and went back to flipping the food on the grill.

“Well maybe I don’t want to eat here anymore.”

“Suit yourself. Good luck finding something else to eat out here.”

“Rude,” Anna said under her breath. She went to walk away because he did not deserve her business. But her stomach rumbled in protest and what other option did she have?

The line was long and snaked behind a few other boats. It only gave Anna time to stew on the conversation and what an absolute ass the cook had been.

“Hey, Red! From Pabbie’s right?”

Anna was almost taken back at the smiling face in front of her. “Yes. Sven? Did I get that right? I think that’s what the owner called you.”

“You got it. I’m always having someone chase me down calling my name. What can I get you?”

Anna bit her bottom lip looking at the choices. “What do you recommend- the chicken sandwich or the burger?”

“You can’t go wrong with anything, but,” Sven leaned forward. “We’ve got the best burgers on the lake. Trust me, I know the cook.”

“Oh, him.”

Sven glanced behind him then back at Anna. “From here or…somewhere else?”

“A few minutes ago.”

Sven’s face relaxed and he smiled again. “Don’t mind Kris. His bark is worse than his bite.”

“I don’t plan on talking to him again, but thanks.”

“Stick with me Red this summer at the Burger Barge. I won’t steer you wrong.” Sven handed her the burger and a canned drink. “The Coke’s on me. For your pain and suffering.” He winked at her before turning away to take the next customer’s order.

------

The truck pulled onto the driveway, the long trailer behind it making a metallic rattle against the sections of dock it was carrying. Anna got up from her chair on the beach and threw on a shirt over her bikini top, not bothering to button it up. Old shorts and cover up seemed appropriate enough to meet with the dock installers. She was halfway back to the house when two men got out of the truck.

“I don’t know. Go ring the doorbell.”

The voice that got out of the passenger side was familiar, but he was turned away from Anna. She jogged over, waving her hand. “No need. I’m here.”

“Red!” Sven turned and grinned. “We keep running into each other!”

“Hi Sven. And it’s Anna. Anna Arendelle.”

Sven tipped his hat. “Pleased to meet you, Anna…officially that is. How was the burger?”

“Best one I’ve had in years.”

Sven laughed. “I knew it!” He pointed across the truck. “I think you’ve met my business partner.”

Anna looked through the windows of the truck and recognized him immediately. He was standing there with his head down, clearly not happy. “Oh no.”

Sven bumped Anna’s shoulder. “Relax. If it makes you feel any better, he’s probably freaking out right now.”

Anna giggled as she looked through the window again and saw the man take a deep breath and go to walk around the truck.

“Anna, Kristoff,” Sven said as he introduced them.

“Ma’am,” Kristoff said.

There was a part of Anna that was pleased with how nervous he looked, but she decided to let him off the hook. “Just Anna please.”

Kristoff nodded. “Anna, could you show us where you want the dock?”

A few minutes later, Sven and Kristoff were rolling the sections of the dock down to the beach. Anna took her place back on the beach and picked up her notebook. Sven made small talk with Anna as she went through her plans for the house. Kristoff, on the other hand, kept his words short and only talked to Sven about what they were working on. Still, Anna found herself drawn to Kristoff, watching him from behind her sunglasses. He was easy to keep an eye on, watching him work in the water with just his swim trunks on, the muscles in his back flexing against the weight of the dock. A girl could get used to a view like that.

“Pay no attention to my rude friend,” Sven said as he leveled the two closest sections of the dock together. “He doesn’t like talking to anyone who isn’t a local.”

“I’m a local.”

Kristoff barked a sharp laugh. “For what, five minutes?”

“Ok. Then how long until I’m considered local.”

“Make it past Labor Day and we’ll talk.”

A little later Sven ran back to the marina to pick up extra posts, leaving Anna and Kristoff alone. Anna watched as Kristoff looked like he was mulling something over. After a few minutes he took a deep breath.

“I’d like to apologize for how I talked to you on Saturday. It was rude and unprofessional, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“No you shouldn’t have.”

“The guy in front of you was trying to scam me for a free burger. Said the order was wrong. It wasn’t. What a crook.”

Anna laughed remembering the scowl on Kristoff’s face. “Apology accepted.”

“Thanks.”

“So, you aren’t just the Burger Barge’s master chef, I see,” Anna said as she watched Kristoff work.

“That’s just a weekend gig Sven and I came up with to make extra money when we were in college. It just took off and we haven’t stopped. I run the marina most of the time.”

“So that’s connected to Pabbies?”

Kristoff nodded. “Family business. It was my grandfather’s. My mom and dad took it over when I was kid and have been running it for years now. We bought the marina when I came on full time after school.”

“We used to go there all the time. It’s one of the good memories I have of my childhood. Spending time on the lake and going over to Pabbies to get a snack was the highlight of my summers. I was so sad when we stopped coming up to the lake.”

Kristoff was leaning against one of the posts now, watching Anna. “So, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Its just you in this giant house by yourself? Seems like a waste.”

“My sister didn’t want to deal with it anymore. It's all part of her freeing herself from worldly possessions process she’s going through. I couldn’t bear the idea of selling it and I needed a fresh start, so I bought out her half from her.”

“So, you’re just here with no plans?”

“If you must know, I do have plans. I’m updating the house and turning it into a bed and breakfast. And I’m going to run it.”

“Great. For more rich tourists to find the lake.”

Anna shook her head. “No. I want it to be affordable. I want people to bring their families and get to enjoy the lake like I did as a child. I want them to have those memories. As many people as possible. There’s so much land on the property, I was thinking of eventually expanding if it goes well. Maybe even hosting weddings. This house was built to be filled with joy and laughter of many people. I feel it in my bones.”

Kristoff went back to anchoring one of the posts. “Sounds ambitious.” Anna was about to argue with him when he added. “But nice. We need more of that around here.”

-----

Anna wasn’t exactly sure why she was nervous, but she was pacing up and down the landing outside of Pabbie’s waiting for Kristoff. They had struck up a bit of a working relationship, with Kristoff working on several smaller outdoor projects on the house as the main work inside was being done. She looked forward every day when he strolled onto the property after his work at the marina, often staying for dinner when she absolutely insisted. He seemed less and less resistant to stay every time she asked. Today was the most excited she’d been all summer. Her boat had arrived at the marina and Kristoff called her that morning saying it was ready for her to pick up. Now she was waiting for her to bring it around and take it out for a test run.

“Need a lift?”

Anna spun around only to see Kristoff pulling up along the landing with a big grin on his face. He put the boat in neutral and waved at her to come over to the edge. In one strong movement, Kristoff lifted her at the waist and into the boat. Anna let out a small squeak when he put her down, breathless at how effortless Kristoff made that look. He went slowly out of the marina area and past the no wake zone of the sand bar. As soon as they were past the buoy, he turned to Anna. “I’ll take it out then show you where everything is. Then it’s all yours.”

“Sounds great!”

“Where to?”

“Anywhere.”

“Want me to open it up? This baby goes fast.”

“Yes! I love to go fast!”

Kristoff gave her another grin and let open the throttle.

-----

They were out in the middle of the lake where Anna had stopped the boat. She was laying on the back of the boat without a care in the world. The water had been too tempting, and she couldn’t resist jumping in. Safely that is, Kristoff insisted on her wearing her life jacket out in the open water. Now she was laying on the towel, stretched out enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun. Anna felt Kristoff’s eyes on her, but she didn’t dare look over.

Kristoff leaned back on the seat, stretching his legs out. “We’ll get the boatlift put in tomorrow then I’ll bring the boat over.”

“Sounds like a plan. Hey, I need an opinion.”

“Ok.”

“How many boats do you think I should have for next summer? I want the guests to be able to go out on the lake and enjoy it. I was thinking about one pontoon, but is that enough?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Duh. That’s why I asked you?”

“None.”

Anna lifted her head and looked at Kristoff. “Wait, what? None?”

“You heard me. Boats are a lot of work and you already have one. What you need is kayaks and paddle boards, a couple canoes and maybe a raft for swimming. That’s all. Keep it non-motorized.”

“But don’t you think I should have something?”

“Not everyone will want to use them. Plus, the expense of keeping them up and the insurance is only going to force you to keep your rates higher.”

“Mmm, suppose you’re right…for once.”

“Watch it.”

Anna pondered her options for a few minutes before sitting up, stretching and wrapping the towel around her. “I’ll just have to recommend Torch Lake Marina as our exclusive source for rentals.”

“I think we may be able to work a deal out with…wait, have you come up with a name for the B&B yet?”

“Working on it.” Anna looked up at the afternoon sun, wishing the day could last longer. “I suppose we should head back. I’ve kept you out too long.”

“I didn’t mind. It was nice spending the time with you. Let’s just hope Sven Actually did some work while I was gone.”

Anna tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “It was nice today, wasn’t it?”

“Hey Anna?”

“Mmm?”

“I won’t be able to come out to the house for a few days.”

She sat down in one of the seats, feeling a sense of disappointment that she wouldn’t be seeing Kristoff, but also that he hadn’t asked her something different.

“Of course. Is everything alright?”

“Just gearing up for the 4th. It’s going to be hectic. Sven and I are going to be out on the boat at the sandbar all week. I wish we could both grow an extra set of arms its going to be so busy. But I’ll see you for the fireworks if you still want to go.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Oh wait! I just had the best idea!”

“What?”

“Do you trust me?”

------

“Who thought this was a good idea?” Kristoff was tapping on the wheel of the pontoon waiting at the landing at Pabbie’s.

“This was all you, my friend,” Sven said with a laugh. “Relax. Anna will be fine, and we need all the help we can get this week.”

“She’s late. We should have left by now.”

“Five minutes isn’t going to change anything.”

“Have you seen the boats out there already?”

Sven rolled his eyes then pointed to the parking lot. “There she is.”

“What the hell is she carrying?”

“I’m here!” Anna yelled walking as fast as she could with the large cardboard box. As soon as she got to the boat, Sven grabbed the box and helped her step on. Kristoff was already in the process of untying the ropes and started moving before Anna sat down.

“Don’t mind him, Red,” Sven said. “He’ll calm down once we get anchored in a good spot. What did you bring?”

Anna smiled. “I’ll show you as soon as we get set up.”

She took the short time it took to ferry out to the sandbar to relax. Anna wasn’t sure what Kristoff’s reaction was going to be with the surprise, but she hoped he was open to it.

“Absolutely not.” Kristoff shook his head when Anna showed him the t-shirts that read ‘Burger Barge Torch Lake’ on them with a silhouette of the pontoon.

“Why?” Anna and Sven whined simultaneously.

“How are we going to sell those and the food? And I don’t have the money to pay you for those, Anna.”

“Relax. You have me to help and I promise I won’t sell a single shirt that gets in the way of the food orders.”

“No one’s going to want those.”

“Wanna bet? You take care of the burgers and I’ll stay out of your way and help sell these. You can pay me back out of the profits from the shirt sales. If they don’t sell, I’ll eat the cost.” Sven and Anna stood there holding their breaths. Finally, Kristoff relented, his face softening. “Ok, but the food is a priority.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

“Don’t start.”

-----

The fire was soothing as Anna sat near it on the double swing. She was bone tired from working these last few days on the pontoon and staying up for the fireworks tonight. But it was a good tired. An ache from an honest day’s work and pure satisfaction. Kristoff came over and sat next to her. He handed her a stack of bills.

“What’s this?”

“Your cut from the week.”

“I don’t need-“

“You earned it. We made more than ever, even splitting it three ways. There’s also the money for the shirts.”

Anna gave Kristoff an impish grin. “I already placed another order. Told you we’d sell out.”

“You were right, and I was wrong.”

“Mmm say that again.”

Kristoff nudged Anna. “Seriously. Thank you for helping us.”

“Anytime.” She rested her head on Kristoff’s shoulder. “How do you do this all the time.”

“You get used to it. Its only for a few weeks in the summer then it quiets down.

“Still impressive.” Anna looked over at the property’s dock and noted the flags flying. “So, who’s the Michigan State fan?”

“Oh that? It’s where I went to school.”

Anna chuckled. “My dad would not be happy with you.”

“University of Michigan alum?”

“Worse, he was the president of the school.”

“The president? Let me guess. You and your sister followed suit.”

“My sister went full ivy league. I pushed back against every expectation and went to Ohio State.”

“Ohio State?! That’s treason. I’d tell you to fly that flag at your place, but it would be like putting a target on your back.”

“Guess I should fly the Michigan State flag then.”

“Nope. Not allowed unless you have someone that lives there.”

“Maybe one day,” Anna said through a yawn as her eyes closed.

The next thing she remembered were warm strong arms carrying her back to the truck to take her home.

-------

“I can’t believe how much nicer it is on the sandbar today!” Anna looked around. There were people, but the masses were gone. There were places to move and not a drunken party every ten feet.

Kristoff was sitting on the back platform of Anna’s boat, legs hanging in the water. “Sven, tell Anna the rules of the sandbars for the locals. Since she isn’t one, she needs to know.”

Sven came over to the group and hopped up on the platform. “Rule 1!” He called out. “Never go to the sandbar on the weekend!” Everyone raised their drinks and cheered. “Rule 2. Stay away from the west side. Only tourists go there! Rule 3. Don’t act like an asshole! And Rule 4. The most important of them all. Don’t engage with the tourists!” Everyone cheered. “Here’s to making it through August everyone. One more week and the summer season is officially done.”

They all clinked their glasses together in solidarity.

The rest of the day was a blast. Anna spent her time talking to everyone, playing games and even making plans to meet up with a few of the girls the next week. It had taken all summer, but Anna felt that she was finally starting to feel at home. She found herself walking with Kristoff later. She also found herself being a little flirtier than usually, a little more playful than normal. Maybe it was her comfort level, maybe it was their seclusion away from the group. Whatever it was, Kristoff didn’t seem to mind.

“I bet I can.”

“No way.”

“Three tries.”

“Three. That’s it. Then you have to admit you can’t do it.’

“Deal,” Anna said in agreement. “Now hold your hands out like that. Remember if you take a step, then I win.”

“And what do you win?” The grin on Kristoff felt dangerous. Anna didn’t want him to stop.

“I’ll tell you after I win.”

She squared herself up to Kristoff, lined her hands up with his, pulled them back and then pushed as hard as she could, contacting his palms. Kristoff stumbled back, surprised at Anna’s force. But then he took another step back, losing his balance as he stumbled and fell into a deep spot on the sandbar.

Anna was doubled over in laughter when he came out of the water soaked and hair flattened down past his eyebrows. “You think that’s funny?” he said, brushing his hair back with his hands.

“N-no, no!” Anna said, trying to talk and laugh at the same time. “I got you. I totally got you!”

“I’ll show you something funny!”

Anna didn’t stand a chance. She screamed in laughter as Kristoff scooped her up and ran. “Kristoff, put me down!”

“Oh, you want down?”

“Yes!”

“Ok.”

Kristoff unceremoniously threw Anna off the edge of the sandbar. Anna screamed, hitting the water. She didn’t stay under long, a strong arm grabbing her, bringing her up. Kristoff was standing just where Anna couldn’t touch the bottom. He held her tight, his hands wrapped around her bare waist.

“You dirty rat. I won.”

“Yeah, what are you going to do about it?”

They didn’t move, locked close together. Anna’s breath hitched at the way Kristoff was looking at her with a want in his eyes. She gave into it too, closing her eyes, leaning in ever so.

“Kris! Anna! Where are you? Time to go! We’re heading out!”

Anna broke away from Kristoff, the moment lost. “We should head back,” she said, walking back to the boat without waiting for him.

-----

“Oh hi, dear.” Bulda was restocking the shelves with shirts. “Anything you need?”

“I was actually looking for Kristoff. Is he over at the marina?”

“He took off early to do some work over at my house for me.”

“How’s he been?” Anna was following Bulda around as she went to clean up the counter near the bakery section.

“Fine. A little quiet. But nothing unusual. Why? Is there something I should be concerned with?”

“No. I just haven’t seen him since before Labor Day and I was wondering how he was.” Anna looked down, wringing her hands. “Bulda, can I ask you a question?”

“Anytime dear.”

“Have you ever tried to do something that you wanted to do, I mean really want to, but then miss your opportunity? And then make it worse because you doubt yourself and over analyze everything. Then make it weird and even more worse by avoiding it all together?”

Bulda stopped what she was working on to listen to Anna. “I don’t know about anything that specific, but I will say that holding something back never helps. Best to just get out what you need to do and move along. Otherwise, it festers.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Anna turned to look across the street at the home on the lake. “So next door?”

Bulda nodded. “In the backyard.”

She knew he saw her, pretending not to notice, then giving in and walking over to the swing.

“Hey.”

Anna patted the seat. “Sit with me.”

He sat, dropping the weight of his body the last few inches with a weary sigh. Neither of them said anything at first as they slowly swayed back and forth.

“Anna, I'm sorry.”

“Kris, there’s nothing to be sorry about."

“But there is. I’m sorry if I read something wrong and made you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.”

“Then why have you been ignoring me?”

Anna turned to face Kristoff. “The house is finished and the permits came this week. I think I can start having guests this fall. I just need to get the staff up and running and the marketing done.”

“That’s great. But I don’t understand what that has anything to do with what we’re talking about.”

“It does. The house. The project. It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to do something truly for myself. Where I can say this was my idea. This is what I want to do. Do you know how scary that can be?”

“I guess.” Kristoff was leaning forward, elbows on his thighs, clearly concerned with the conversation. When Anna placed her hand on his thigh, he looked up at her.

“There’s other things that I want too. But that’s just as frightening sometimes to trust my feelings.” Anna took Kristoff’s hand and led him to sit back up and face her. “I’m the one who’s sorry. For ignoring you and for ever doubting what I want. Because I know. I truly know there’s nothing more I want right now than you.”

Anna felt Kristoff's whole body go from rigid and defensive to relaxed. He grinned at her, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. “You know I have a rule,” he said resting his head against the back of the swing.

“Still won’t consider me a local. Ridiculous.”

“Well, you did make it past Labor Day, so I guess you are officially a local now.”

“Would you stop talking and kiss me?”

“Gladly.”

His hand cupped Anna’s cheek pulling her into a soft kiss. Anna closed her eyes, grinning through the kiss as she savored the moment, never wanting it to end. A cool breeze blew in from the lake. Kristoff wrapped Anna tighter in his arms as she shivered. It was a reminder of how quickly things could change and this time Anna welcomed it with arms wide open.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I finally have a name for the B&B.”

“What’s that?”

“The Toasted Marshmallow.”

Kristoff let out a hearty laugh.

“You like it?”

Kristoff leaned down lips brushing Annas. “I absolutely love it,” he said before kissing her again.

#All Summer Long #Edin what did you write #Frozine #Summer Lovin Frozine #Torch Lake

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hafanforever · 3 years

Photo

Hello, Goodbye Dolly

In Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, audiences were briefly introduced to Sir JorgenBjorgen, a stuffed knitted puffin doll that was a toy Elsa owned in her childhood and kept as her companion during the years she and Anna were kept apart. Then when Elsa grew up, Sir JorgenBjorgen was stored away in her trunk, which was later placed in the attic.

When the prequel novel Dangerous Secrets was released in November 2020, it was revealed that Sir JorgenBjorgen had been around a lot longer than fans had thought. Over 40 years earlier, the doll was created by Queen Rita as a toy for her baby son, Prince Agnarr. Sir JorgenBjorgen was Agnarr’s favorite toy and always brought a smile to his face. When Rita fled the kingdom after having her memories wiped by Pabbie, Runeard locked up all of her belongings and anything that reminded him of her. However, he did not know about Sir JorgenBjorgen, and Gerda secretly saved it and hid it from him, waiting for the chance to return it to Agnarr one day.

Ever since I read Dangerous Secrets and learned that this doll originally came from Rita and belonged to Agnarr, I got to thinking about what Runeard would have done with it had he known about it. Firstly, if he discovered Sir JorgenBjorgen when Agnarr played with it as a child, and with this, I mean before Rita left, I have a strong hunch would have disapproved of the doll, and enough so that he would have taken it away from Agnarr.

Why? Because I get the impression that Runeard would have thought that dolls, regardless of dolls being depicted as male or female, were only for girls, not boys. Therefore, I think he would have been outraged by the idea of his own son playing with a doll. Heck, Runeard probably also would have thought that boys who do or once did play with dolls are weak and inept, and thus are not or never would be real men. If he had truly hoped to mold Agnarr into the same cold, ruthless man/king he was, then I have no doubt Runeard would have seen Agnarr as weak for owning and playing with a doll, and taken Sir JorgenBjorgen away from him.

But there’s more to it than just that; as mentioned by a line in the prologue of the Frozen II novelization and an almost verbatim line quote by Agnarr in Dangerous Secrets, during the gathering in the Enchanted Forest, Agnarr knows that his father wanted him to act like a royal figure instead of a boy. In other words, even though Agnarr was 14 and still legally a child, Runeard only saw his son as a prince rather than as a person, and always wanted him to act royally only. He did not want him to act or behave like a normal person, meaning he never wanted Agnarr to act like a non-monarch, and thus, like a child, ever.

Therefore, Runeard additionally wouldn’t have wanted Agnarr to have Sir JorgenBjorgen because he would think that owning a doll is childish and Agnarr was not supposed to behave like a child even when he was one.

However, if Runeard discovered Sir JorgenBjorgen after Rita left, I don't think he would have simply hid it away with everything else; I think he would have burned it or permanently disposed of it through some other means.

Now why do I think Runeard would go such an extreme measure, you may ask? Because it would have been a guaranteed way for him to completely deny Agnarr any memories of Rita and sever anything that tied him to her. Agnarr had said that after his mother disappeared, his father constantly scolded and shouted at him for crying and being sad about her absence. This shows that Runeard had a total lack of sympathy for his son’s sadness (just as he did for Rita when she became so depressed over missing her home) and a ruthless determination, if not obsession, to get Agnarr to completely forget about Rita.

I feel it's one thing for Runeard to have locked away all the things that belonged to or reminded him of Rita so he could forget about her himself, and another for him to immediately banish anyone who spoke her name so that his people would attempt to forget her, too. But if he discovered anything that linked her to their son? Again, based on how he coldly chastised Agnarr for wallowing in sadness over Rita when she was gone, it is crystal clear to me that Runeard wanted Agnarr to forget her, too. Therefore, he would have had Sir JorgenBjorgen destroyed just so that Agnarr would have absolutely nothing left of her.

But luckily, Runeard never knew about Sir JorgenBjorgen, and Gerda successfully hid it from him before returning it to Agnarr when he was an adult.

And then years later, Agnarr gave the doll to Elsa to keep her company during her separation from Anna.

While we have yet to know what Rita was like, what she looked like, or what became of her when she fled the kingdom, at least we know there is still a keepsake and reminder of her in Arendelle Castle. And even though Elsa is no longer the queen of Arendelle, I am hoping that Sir JorgenBjorgen will become a childhood toy for one or more Anna’s children and any other future descendants of the former queen of Arendelle.

While Runeard won’t be fondly remembered by his family due to the revelation of his betrayal to the Northuldra, what little they know about Rita will be forever cherished through Sir JorgenBjorgen. 😄😉

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punkpoemprose · 3 years

Text

December 14th- A Convenient Arrangement Part 6

Universe: Canonverse Arranged Marriage AU Rating:T Length: 6083 Words A/N: Dear reader, there is only one bed. And a lot of feelings before there is only one bed. More feelings about there being only one bed in the following chapter which will probably come soon?

Thanks for hanging in here with me. Everyone who reblogs, messages, leaves comments or tags gets a star sticker and a hug because the feedback keeps me writing and I love it!

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

Kristoff watched cautiously as Anna sat on a small stone near Pabbie’s home and listened to the old troll tell her the same information that had been shared with him earlier in the day. It had been confusing to him at first, particularly because he scarcely remembered anything about his early years with the trolls and the time of his life he spent without them. Anna had been even younger than he had been when their paths had first crossed, and she was having difficulty remembering it to the point that Kristoff wondered whether it had really happened at all.

The trolls didn’t lie, but they had also been alive for several human lifespans, and sometimes they forgot details or transposed dates, and it certainly wasn’t something that Kristoff could ever hold against them. They knew more about the history of the land than he could ever imagine learning, not to mention all the information they knew about magic and nature that he was certain no human could ever hope to understand with such mastery.

What if I just dragged her here to be confused and scared instead of comforted and informed?

He almost wanted to take her to the side and apologize when Pabbie looked at her with a serious gaze, like he wasn’t quite sure what had gone wrong. He wanted to tell her that he had only meant to comfort her the way he’d been comforted earlier in the day, and that he wanted her to feel safe with him and his family. He wanted to ask what she needed and give it to her.

I want to take care of her.

He realized in that moment that there was something he could do to that end, signaling for one of his uncles to come to his side.

“Can you bring a message to the city for me?” he asked as Anna continued, not too far off, to talk in quiet but confused tones with Pabbie.

“Of course. I just hope the Queen will remember us better than her sister.”

He sighed. He wanted to chide the troll for the tone of confusion. He wanted to tell him to cut Anna some slack for not remembering, because he wasn’t even sure it had been her at all. At least he knew that the Queen must know of the treaties between the crown and the trolls, or that at least one magic wielder might understand another.

The trolls usually tried not to leave their valley, particularly because they didn’t need to do so, but they were capable of it. He’d noticed them sometimes out of the corner of his eye, hiding in parts of the city at night when they were curious enough to explore. He knew that some of the people knew of them well enough to leave them alone, while others knew enough of them to be frightened by them, which was of course little to nothing as anyone who knew more than what to call them knew they were harmless.

“Please just tell the Queen that… well you’re my family and that her sister is safe and well. Tell her we got caught up talking and that we’ll be staying the night in the mountains and returning in the morning.”

The troll smiled, “Oh, staying the night is she? Do you want me to send some of your aunts and sisters over to make up that little cabin of yours?”

The wink the troll gave him was exaggerated, and Kristoff couldn’t help but feel grateful that Anna was too busy speaking with Pabbie to notice. He wasn’t meaning to be crass, but Kristoff couldn’t help but give him an annoyed look as she shook his head and sighed.

“No. Just let the Queen know please. I’d rather not be beheaded first thing in the morning when the palace guards get sent out in search of the Princess and think I’ve kidnapped her.”

The troll laughed, and Kristoff couldn’t tell if he understood that he was being serious or not. He hadn’t really thought much about Anna leaving the castle with him that morning. He’d always come and gone places as he liked in his life. It had never struck him to think for a moment about how his wife wasn’t allowed to do the same until they’d left the castle gates and she’d been so rapt with attention and focused on every detail of the town and the wood beyond the castle gates.

He’d shown her the places she’d never known existed before. There were natural hot springs, overlooks, waterfalls, and groves of apple trees she’d never seen. He’d stopped and slowed to let her see them as they rode along, and while they’d made good time on their trip into the mountains, he’d never wanted to avoid a stop that might interest her.

Is that what love feels like?

He shook off the thought and watched as the troll, still laughing at him and shaking his head, set off toward the edge of the clearing. Once there he started to quickly roll down the path that Kristoff knew was the quickest way to get to the capitol city from the mountains. He took comfort in the fact that as quick as the trolls could move the trip was not likely to take long, and that soon enough Anna’s sister would know that she was safe.

Hopefully she’ll take the word of a troll.

He turned his attention back to Anna and his grandfather. It seemed, as he walked back to their space, that there had not been any major breakthroughs on getting her to remember the moment that their paths crossed as children. It was odd to him that she wouldn’t remember anything that had happened to her. Though, when he thought about it a bit harder, he felt like he could remember the little red haired girl, the one that Pabbie thought was Anna, being asleep through the whole interaction.

“Pabbie?” he interrupted, wondering if perhaps the revelation might prove useful, or at least allow Anna some respite.

He could see that she was tired. It had been a long day, and having the same information thrown at him earlier in the day with a better memory of the events had been exhausting enough. He could tell she was frustrated and trying her best not to show it. It was written all over her posture, the way her fists were balled up on her knees, and the way her head was hung a little low so that she wasn’t quite making eye contact.

The old troll looked at him, but Kristoff’s focus was much more on Anna when she looked up at him. He saw that there was a shine to her eye, that she was frustrated to the point of tears.

You shouldn’t have brought her here.

He stepped closer and kneeled down at her side, offering her his hand. He felt relieved when she took it, and then warm when she used it to beckon him closer, leaning on him a bit when he complied to the physical request. They’d broken more unspoken cautionary boundaries today than they had on the wedding night.

Even their wedding kiss didn’t feel as intimate as her seeking his touch and support felt. He could almost fool himself into believing that what she felt for him was growing from partner in a bad situation to friend, to maybe something more like an actual spouse. He wanted to be that for her.

“I was just thinking… the girl… Anna, if it was her. She was asleep the whole time. How could she remember if her eyes weren’t open.”

The old troll looked thoughtful for a moment, and then Kristoff watched as he started piecing together the memories of the night that had been the subject of Kristoff’s thoughts for the entire evening. It was the day that the trolls had adopted him as their own, the day he’d followed a trail of ice to their valley and watched what he’d been told was the royal family meet with his grandfather.

He supposed that it had to have been them, unless of course ice powers and looking like the royal family were much more common traits than he had been lead to believe. It was what he rationalized bringing her to the trolls with. Somehow their whole situation felt a little bit better if the trolls were right and the early events of her life were tied to his.

Fate might be real, or it might be a load of crap, but either way it’s something to believe in and that feels good.

“You might be onto something Kristoff,” the old troll said, and then after another moment of silence he added, “Of course… Anna, do you remember your sister having powers when you were young?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment as Kristoff turned his head to look at her where she was leaned against his side. Her brow scrunched and she squeezed his fingers where they were interlaced with hers. She looked off into the distance, and he watched her space out as she thought about her younger years.

He was worried that they’d hit another roadblock when she shook her head.

“No, I was surprised as anyone when she froze the fountain… I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything but just the two of us playing.”

“I did a good job then,” the old troll said with a smile.

He made a broad gesture then with his hands, sweeping them through the air like something hung in it that only he could see. He swirled his hands in it, gathering something that Kristoff realized was becoming visible, glowing and glittering along his fingertips.

With an abrupt shift, that made them both jump, the old troll leaned forward and settled his hand on Anna’s forehead, the light settling into her skin as he eyes fluttered shut.

***

She was small and she was building a snowman. His name was olaf, and he was very cold, but he loved warm hugs. She hugged him, her little arms unable to span his snow body, but the love she felt for him was bigger than she was. Elsa giggled from behind the snowman, carefree, in a way she hadn’t seen her in years.

Then Elsa was with her again, this time making a sled of ice for them to slip down an icy hill on. Anna hadn’t recalled it not being a wooden sled before, but it made sense. No wooden sled wooshed the way they did on the ice. No wooden sled felt so cool under her.

She saw them again, Elsa making little snow dolls for her to play with, even though it was bedtime. Anna made them smooch because she always liked it when her toys were in a story about true love and marriage. It made her sad, for a moment, to remember that.

Then, she felt a knot grow in her stomach as she recalled a night long since forgotten. Elsa was building her little snow hills, and she was jumping quickly from one to another. She was jumping higher and higher and higher, but then there wasn’t another column below her, and she started to fall. She saw Elsa try to help, saw the flash of her sister’s ice come towards her, and then everything after was dark and cold.

She tried to push through it, to remember more, but not more memories would come, because they had never been formed.

I was asleep.

She felt a warmth at her side, and she let herself take a deep breath before opening her eyes. The old troll had been right of course. The night she couldn’t remember had likely been the very same night Kristoff came to the valley, following the ice from her wound and from Elsa’s anxious inability to control her powers.

When she opened her eyes Kristoff was staring down at her. She’d been pulled into his lap, and she thought, for a moment, about closing her eyes and staying there for a moment.

Her head hurt. There was a sort of congested soreness behind her eyes that radiated out to her temples as more memories, little ones about snowball fights and flurries and ice skating filtered back into her thoughts. Kristoff put his hand against her forehead, as if he were checking her temperature, and Anna noticed some of the pain fall away.

It was no magic that helped her feel better of course, just the warmth of his hand and the gentleness of the gesture that made her feel like all of this truly had been fate.

She looked up at him, and then above him, to the clear and cloudless night that had come on as she talked to Pabbie. She wondered if she looked hard enough, whether she could see herself and Kristoff written in the stars like any of the other constellations.

She’d had a tutor once who’d told her that constellations were just stars, a million miles away, that weren’t rigid structures so much that they were interpolated shapes, lines that humans drew in the ocean of stars above to tell themselves a story. She stared up at them, past Kristoff’s concerned features, and picked a handful that she thought looked a bit like interlocking circles, give or take a few stars.

That’s us.

Two circles crossing over each other, linked by fate. And by a wedding. And maybe by more.

The stars twinkled as she gazed upon them, and she thought that maybe they too were a sign. She hoped that they were telling her that everything would be alright.

Kristoff’s thumb moved a bit of hair away from her eyes, swiping it away easily as he held her in his lap, against him, against his arm. The almost brain freeze-like pain faded away the longer his hand rested against her forehead, and she let her eyes drift back closed.

***

Kristoff had been worried that she had been injured. He trusted Pabbie of course, but when she’d slumped a bit at his side and had stayed weak and slumped for a while after her memories had been returned, he had been afraid that something had gone wrong.

She’d come out of the shock of it a few short minutes later though, and he’d held her in his lap for a long while before she’d sat up on her own. They’d talked to Pabbie a bit more after, about how Kristoff had only found his family because of her family’s accident. It felt strange to think that they’d met before, her and the trolls, and that Kristoff had seen her that night.

She hadn’t remembered it because she’d been asleep, and she hadn’t remembered anything before that because the memories had been taken from her. That hurt to think about, that there were all these wonderful memories of her sister being her authentic self that were gone to her for so long.

The old troll had explained the need to remove the memories, the fact that with her being so young, Elsa’s magic might have done worse than just changed her hair if the memory of it had been left there. She knew that of course, having been struck again with her sister’s cold fairly recently and almost dying because of it. It had only been her own urge to protect Elsa that had saved her life.

She looked over to Kristoff, as they broke into the clearing where his small home sat. He had a thoughtful look on his face that she could scarcely read in the dim light provided by the moon and stars above them. He’d wrapped his arm around her for the walk back, steadying her on the path as they walked through shadows and she thought that maybe he was also trying to warm her.

The summer night was not particularly cold per say, but still she shivered.

She wondered what he would do when she told him about being struck with her sister’s ice for a second time. She wasn’t sure if he would understand, and she didn’t want his pity. She didn’t think she needed to warn him about it either. It was just something she thought he might like to know.

I just want someone to know.

Plenty of people knew, really. The royal council, Elsa, some of the staff, but no one had talked with her about it. No one asked how it had felt, how she’d felt her life ending and knew that she was powerless to stop anything but the end for her sister as well. It had been a miracle that they’d both survived, but there had been no time to breathe after.

“I sent someone to tell your sister you’d be staying,” he said quietly, “Hopefully she wasn’t too worried about how long we’ve been gone.”

Anna flushed. She’d forgotten about making sure Elsa knew they were alright. She still wasn’t sure if her sister had even gotten the note that she’d left for her.

In hindsight she could have probably handled the whole situation better, but she had just wanted to leave the castle, to be alone with her new husband for a while. Elsa, she knew, was still uncomfortable and fearful about the whole situation. Anna was as well, but she’d spent at least a little time with Kristoff and knew that he was the sort of person who would close off around others. If she really wanted to get to know him, it wasn’t something that could be done with the trailing guards Elsa would have insisted on.

She could already imagine the speech she was going to get from her sister when she arrived home. The air around her felt colder even thinking about it.

“Anna?”

He’d said something while she was thinking, but she hadn’t heard him. She still couldn’t completely see his face due to the dimness of the light around them, but she thought that maybe he was smiling. He probably realized she had spaced out, and she appreciated that he didn’t seem to get annoyed or upset with her when she did so.

If he did it would be a long and frustrating marriage.

She hoped that it would, of course, be a long one.

“I’m sorry, I was thinking about something.”

He nodded and extended a hand to her, offering her assistance to enter the cabin. She took the offered hand, but didn’t move, awaiting a repeat of what he’d just said.

“It’s alright, I was just letting you know there’s a tinderbox and a lantern inside. I already brought in the food you packed earlier. I suppose it’s a good thing we brought along extra. I had food here, but you probably wouldn’t have cared for it.”

Her heart started to pound. He made it sound like he was leaving her alone, and that was the last thing she wanted. Their walk back from the valley where the trolls resided had been a quiet one, and she felt like there was so much to say.

I don’t like to be alone.

She couldn’t say that though.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

He shrugged, “I thought I’d stay the night in the stable. You’d be more comfortable without me I’m sure.”

“I would not. You will not,” she said, the response instant and a bit rude, but she couldn’t help it.

She’d spoken the words like a command, but really she didn’t want to put him out. She would never expect him to be put into an uncomfortable position for her, especially not at his own home. More than that, she wanted him to stay with her. They’d been together all day and he hadn’t stepped even a toe out of the line they’d made together on their wedding night. He’d kept her safe, and he’d introduced her to his family. It was more than she’d ever dreamed their trip would be, and he’d, in a roundabout way, given her back her memories. She couldn’t possibly ever thank him enough for that. The least she could do was ensure he spent the night in his own bed.

“Please,” she said, this time a bit more controlled, “Stay.”

His jaw clenched, and she could feel the tension in him, even with the darkness between them she knew he was uncomfortable. She’d put him into a situation where he needed to make a choice, and while she took comfort in the fact that this time she had, in fact, afforded him the option of choice, she still felt a bit bad about acting as if she had any right to demand anything of him.

Her free hand raised up slowly, and before she could talk herself out of it, she cupped his cheek in her palm. The light stubble there scratched at her palm, and she wondered, for a moment, how it might feel to press a kiss there.

She flushed at the thought, grateful for the cover of darkness.

She felt his head tip, ever so slightly, into the touch. Her fingers tingled at the encouragement of the contact, and she let her thumb run across the top of his cheekbone, watching as he closed his eyes.

He sighed. It was a soft and quiet thing. She thought maybe even a relenting sound.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I’ll stay here with you tonight.”

***

He wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to her demand that he stay the night with her. Really it wasn’t a demand per say. It had seemed like one at first, but then she’d pleaded, and touched him so gently, and he couldn’t say no. It had been hard to see her expression in the dark, but he had been able to feel the need heavy in the air between them.

He never really knew what was proper. She was his wife, but she was in many ways, still a stranger. Spending the night in the same space as her didn’t feel right to his conscious.

You did stay the night with her on your wedding night.

He tried to tell himself that it was different, because they’d fallen asleep together by accident, and this was an act with intention. He tried to sooth his concerns with the promise that he’d sleep on the floor and leave the bed to her, but he already had the feeling that she wouldn’t stand for it.

His bed was so small though. He wasn’t sure that they would both fit in it without being so tight together that she would surely be uncomfortable.

She wasn’t uncomfortable touching your cheek. She wasn’t uncomfortable in your lap.

He closed the door of the stable behind him, thinking of it as the point of no return as he walked back towards his home. The light from the lantern in his hand flickered gently in a light breeze that buffeted the dark grass below his feet. In the window of the cabin he saw the outline of Anna, his wife, watching him return.

A nearly identical lamp sat in the windowsill before her, and he watched as it danced in return. Her hair looked even redder than normal, lit only by firelight.

He’d never thought about the type of woman he’d marry, but now that he was wedded to Anna, he couldn’t help but be charmed by her. She had bright eyes and a soft smile. Her personality was pure sunshine, dulled only by moments of deep melancholy that he was unsure if he could yet ask her about. He wanted to know her better, in a variety of ways. But seeing her now, waiting for him in just her underclothes, red hair like flames loose around her shoulders, he thought that he might want to know her in one very specific way.

He hoped that she couldn’t see his flush as he tried to think about anything but how easy it would be to slip her chemise from her shoulders. She’d already rid herself of her corset.

You’ve barely known her three days.

He huffed a sigh and tried to regain control of his thoughts.

She’s three years younger than you. She’s young and beautiful and stuck with you. Don’t think of impossible things.

Instead he forced himself to walk towards the front door with no intentions beyond maybe some conversation if she’d like, and sleeping.

And maybe hugging her goodnight.

He thought that maybe she’d like that.

***

Anna’s heart raced as he returned indoors and quietly and quickly removed his boots, his vest, his socks, and then nothing else. He grabbed a spare quilt from the end of his bed, passing her as he went, but saying nothing as he set it on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

He looked at her, and she noticed that he was flushed. She wasn’t certain of why, but she assumed that it was because she’d caught him in the act of something she wouldn’t approve of. She wouldn’t disapprove of much at the moment, save for him trying to sleep in the stables again, or perhaps on the floor.

“Getting ready for bed.”

The answer was a quiet one, simple. He gave her no more information than she asked for. It made her want to stomp over to him and drag him across the room, to the bed and keep him there all night.

“On the floor?”

He shrugged and she frowned. She could feel a wall building between them, one that hadn’t been there before dinner or before he’d gone out to take care of Sven for the night. It was frustrating, the feeling that they’d finally come to some kind of middle ground, where they were opening up to each other and then to watch it slip out of reach again.

“The bed’s not big enough for the both of us.”

“I think you might be surprised,” she said, glancing between him and the bed, “You’ll find I can take up very little space if the situation requires.”

I spent my whole childhood virtually invisible. You’ll see how small I can be.

“You won’t be comfortable with me there… I’m just trying to do the right thing Anna.”

“Don’t I get a say in what the right thing is?”

She felt something in her stomach tangle into knots. It had been a long day, and now she was fighting with him over something that shouldn’t matter at all. It was just that she wasn’t ready to be alone yet, even if it was just a few feet away. She wanted him closer.

I just want to pretend, just for tonight, that this is a real marriage.

I just want to be wanted.

Hot tears stung at her eyes, not for the first time that day. She did her best to hold them back, but she was feeling conflicted and frustrated and embarrassed. They were strangers, and she wanted him in bed with her. She knew that she should feel worse about it, that she should stop arguing and just go to sleep because he was being a good man to her and she couldn’t demand that he change his views on their union, but she couldn’t tell herself that her feelings weren’t real and she couldn’t pretend anymore that she wasn’t feeling something for him, even three days into their marriage of convenience.

He stared at her, and she thought that she saw a flare of frustration in his eyes. She couldn’t call it anger though. He was still a stranger, but he was her husband and as much as she knew of him, she already understood that he wasn’t going to be angry with her. Not over being upset after a long day, so for the first time in a long time she decided just to let loose.

“Do you know when the last time anyone asked me what I thought was right for me? The last time that anyone asked me to make any decisions about my life that mattered? Because the answer is never. I can see that clearly now that I have all my early memories back, which, you know, my parents consented to having removed and never replaced until now when, thankfully, I ended up married to the one man in the world that had a connection that let me get them back. No one has ever let me decide what was right for me a day in my life Kristoff and fighting back against that nearly got me and my sister killed. It’s the reason why we’re married, because I tried to make a choice, screwed up my one and only shot at it, and people I barely know convinced my sister they knew what was best for me. You don’t have to change your decisions because I want to be free to make mine, but I would appreciate it if I could be included in the conversation over whether something involving me is right or wrong.”

She was shouting, but her throat felt tight. She knew that the heat on her cheeks was from tears, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away.

You sound like a petulant child.

It was true. She did, but she refused to feel bad about it. She’d been unable to throw a good fit since she was very small, and somehow despite probably alienating her husband in the process, it felt good to just let some of the frustration and rage escape. Of course she still knew that her memories being taken from her was a necessity, but it was just another broken straw in the wake of how her parents had raised her, how her family had paved the road to her current hell with nothing but good intentions and no willingness to see past the end of their noses to ask her what she needed.

“I’m…”

She couldn’t say she was sorry.

I’m angry. I’m frustrated. I’m lonely and confused and I need someone.

She heard him approaching her, but she couldn’t look up to meet his eye. She still wasn’t sorry, but she was embarrassed.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, warm and solid.

She wrapped her arms around him in return, bringing herself into his space as much as possible until she was crying into his shirt and melting into his frame while his hands ran up and down her back. There was a nervousness and uncertainty to the slow and stuttering way he touched her, as if he was afraid of letting his hands move too quickly, or too low.

It was comforting nevertheless, and she let herself breathe through it. When one hand found her hair, she squeezed him a bit tighter, encouraging the touch. No one had ever just touched her hair before. Or at least not since she was very young.

When he carded his fingers through it gently, fingertips smoothing over the ripples her braids had left, she focused on the feeling of the strands being lifted and shifted. It was easier to breathe when she made him her focus. Every time she’d broken down over the last three days, he’d been there to help her through it. While there were people in her life that loved her dearly, she’d never had anyone care so much about how she was feeling minute by minute.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently when her hiccupping breaths had evened out, “You’re right. I should have asked you what you wanted, or at least told you why I didn’t want to share the bed with you. I’m not used to my decisions affecting other people.”

She let herself lean away from his now dampened shirt front, but his arms didn’t lift from her, his hand shifting from her hair back down to the center of her back where the other hand already rested. She didn’t let him go either but loosened her grip slightly so that they could create enough space between them for her to see his face.

He looked worried, but the frustration in his features was gone, replaced again by a softness she was beginning to regard as a look he reserved for her. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but imagining that he was warming up to her, that their closeness today meant as much to him as it meant to her. Imagining it brought her some comfort.

“I didn’t mean to unload on you,” she said, sniffling a bit as she regained control over her breathing fully and worked to dislodge the feeling of tightness in her throat.

“I think that’s part of what being married is,” he replied, “Listening to the other person when they need to get something off their chest.”

As much as she’d thought about weddings and being married as a kid, she’d never really thought much about what it meant to be married. She liked the idea that he would listen to her when she needed to vent, and she thought that maybe she could do that for him too.

“Do you have anything you need to say to me… I think I’m a good listener.”

As long as I’m not distracted.

He pulled her back into the hug a little tighter and she squeezed him in return.

“Sure, but it’s not urgent.” He replied, his voice low and warm. Calming.

“I think you might have some more to say first? I’m not going to pry, but I didn’t know what was going to happen with my family, and I think that if what just happened to you happened to me, I’d need to talk about it. You don’t have to. I just thought you might want to.”

She nodded. She had five years’ worth of memories to unpack, to disentangle from lies she’d believed for thirteen years. Having someone to listen sounded nice.

“But maybe bed first?” he asked, sounding uncertain.

***

He’d done his best to explain to her why he’d tried to take up residence on the floor without her, leaving her in the bed. He hadn’t wanted to make her uncomfortable in either the physical or mental sense. He hadn’t wanted to assume that being married promised him a spot at her side, even if it was in his bed. He hadn’t wanted her to sleep on the floor either.

Now though he was starting to realize that Anna’s idea of what was right for their relationship was certainly feeling right to him.

He was shirtless, her tears had soaked his shirt and it had been her insistence that he’d removed it. At the time he’d thought that he’d seen her eyes linger on his bare torso, and while it was probably just his overactive imagination, he thought that she’d appeared to be enjoying what she was seeing.

I want my wife to be attracted to me. I think I do at least. I know I’m attracted to her.

She was sleeping, her head rested on his bare chest like a pillow, curled up at his side in a way that he was certain would cause a crick in her neck in the morning. He didn’t want to move an inch, his arm was draped over her, a thin quilt and her chemise all that separated them.

She’d told him so much about her life, what it was like to grow up in the castle. Even with her memories returned to her, which she’d described as uncomfortable but not the worst thing she’d ever been through, she couldn’t recall much of what life had been like before the gates had been closed. It made sense to him, as he couldn’t remember much about his life before the trolls took him in, and he’d been eight at the time.

She’d exhausted herself describing the details of what it was like to grow up the way she had, and he hadn’t argued when she’d pulled him to bed with her. He understood that she didn’t want to be alone, and he couldn’t deny how good it felt to hold her in his arms.

He already liked her, and as she nuzzled into his chest and let out a little snore, he realized, with a barely contained chuckle, that he was looking forward to loving her.

He closed his eyes and tried his best to fall asleep as she had, holding her tight to his side.

#kristannaadvent2020 #A Convenient Arrangement #Kristanna #Frozen Fanfiction #arranged marriage au

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