Disclaimer: The concept of OFU belongs to Miss Cam, and is used with Permission. 'Brave' belongs to Dreamworks and Pixar.

Summary: Bad Spelling, Failed Plots and Cringe-Worthy writing. Hope in the form of a snarky Co-Ordinator and some annoyed characters. Mini-Mor'dus and a real-life experience. The Official Fanfiction University of Brave is here.

CHAPTER ONE

The castle of Dun Broch stood proud against the backdrop of the Scottish Highland mountains.

A few hills away was a smaller building, looking suspiciously more like a tower fortress than a castle. In a small room near the top, regally ignoring the narrative obligation, Queen Elinor sat across from a tall woman in a grey kirtle, looking over piles of paper that had somehow been missed until the last minute.

Finally, the Queen folded up the last of the papers and stood. In a gesture of respect for royalty, the other woman also rose to her feet. Queen Elinor waved for her to sit down again. "Will you be all right to organize collecting the students? Merida and I are going riding to try to find my crown again."

It would be the third such ride, and actually Merida's idea, now that mother and daughter were getting along so much better. The other woman nodded, patting a bear the size of a dog. "I'll be fine. I'm sending the Woodcarver Witch to hand out enrolment forms, and the Dingwall Giant as back-up."

Queen Elinor gave a rare laugh and left.

Leaning back in her chair, Miss Mairi stretched and tried to remember if she had forgotten anything. Curriculum and teachers sorted out, yes. Young MacIntosh coaxed out of hiding after he had discovered his popularity among modern fangirls and Wee Dingwall persuaded not to go Berzerk at the first Glomp (the Minis would take care of that), yes. Mini-Mor'dus trained… well, mostly. Enrolment forms prepared and enchanted to not turn the students into bears during transit, yes.

A Graduate of OFUR and applicant of OFUM (denied because there was already an overflow of students), Miss Mairi was well aware that most OFU students really did deserve to be there, and couldn't help a smile.

Let the school year begin.

Eva, better known to the Internet and Fanfiction world as 'BraveGurl21', put the final touches on her latest fanfic, hoping that the trolls who had called the last several chapters 'an abomination and a blight on literature' would have caught onto the fact that she was ignoring them and paying no attention to their 'Advice'.

Who needed to remember to spellcheck, anyway, especially when it would take a whole five extra minutes to post the chapter? So what if she had borrowed a few phrases from other fics and sources and forgotten to give credit? Did it really matter that someone from several centuries ago would almost certainly not even know the meaning of the slang 'woot' much less use it in conversation?

Eva's sulky thoughts were interrupted by a loud cackle from behind her, nearly making her fall off her chair as she spun around to see a hunched old woman in peasent clothes and a huge man in a kilt.

The old woman bustled over to look at Eva's computer screen, making a tutting sound that reminded Eva of her old grandmother when she disapproved of Eva's clothing choice. What did 'ringbarked' even mean? "Oh, my, you're certainly coming, dearie. Fill this out and sign at the bottom."

Eva took the paper thrust at her in a daze. It was longer than she would have thought as she started reading, filling the form out as she went.

Dear Fanfiction Writer,

You have been selected to attend the Official Fanfiction University of Brave.

If you ever want to write fanfiction again, this is not optional. Protests can be made in person and will be given the consideration that they deserve. We look forward to receiving you upon completion of your enrolment form.

Name and/or Title you wish to be known by: Eva was a boring name, but her pen-name probably wouldn't work, either. Hmm, what was something that would grab attention? 'Abagail, Lady of the Glen'.

Gender: Male/Female [delete which is inappropriate] Female, obviously. She crossed out 'Male'.

Species: Human/Other [please specify] 'Other'? Best to stick with 'Human', just in case.

Age: 15

Brief description of yourself [appearance, personality, exploitable weakness]: Eva hated these things. It wasn't her fault that she hadn't grown into her body yet! Blonde hair, brown eyes, average height, and she didn't like camping.

Which Character(s) do you lust after: Young MacIntosh. He already had fans in the movie, so no-one could complain about her liking him.

Who is your favourite Character? Why? Merida, of course! She was the Heroine, and a Princess, and she could do what she wanted.

Who is your least favourite Character? Why? Queen Elinor. She was so overbearing! It was all 'do this' and 'do that' and she attacked Merida and Fergus while she was a bear!

Weapon: Yes/No [If yes, please specify] Eva didn't have the first clue about fighting, but it would be cool if she could shoot like Merida, and how hard could that be? She underlined 'yes' and wrote down 'Bow and Arrows'.

Rank: Warrior/Noble/Commoner [delete which is inappropriate] Well, it would be nice to be a warrior, but they didn't seem to really do anything except guard, and being a Noble would get her closer to Young MacIntosh. She crossed out Warrior and Commoner.

Have you ever written a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu? Of course not! Her OC wasn't a Mary-Sue. Just because she could out-shoot Merida and was stronger than Fergus while still being thin and wasn't scared of Mor'du and was better at magic than the Witch didn't make her a Mary-Sue. Lady Abagail was scared of Lions, and didn't like getting her dress dirty, so she had flaws.

What kind of fanfiction do you most commonly write? Well, stories, Eva supposed. She didn't like writing poetry, so what else was there?

Have you ever been to an OFU before? If yes, which one? Until five minutes ago, Eva hadn't even known that there was any such thing as an Official Fanfiction University. No, she hadn't been to one before.

We await your arrival on as soon as possible.

Signed: Miss Mairi, Course Co-Ordinatior

X

Student Signature.

Wondering if it was all just an elaborate dream, Eva looked up at the old woman, who was smirking nastily. She cackled, and Eva suddenly had a very bad feeling. "Get some rest, dearie. You'll need it."

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A/N: If I offend anyone with this, please be assured that it was unintentional. If you want to enrol, copy-and-paste the form and fill it out. I don't know if you are allowed to put it in a review, so feel free to PM it.

For anyone who cares, 'ringbarked' is a less-than-complimentary term for an outfit that leaves a bare midriff, often used by disapproving older generations who feel it shows a lack of self-respect on the part of the wearer. My Grandfather explained it to me when I asked why my youngest sister always got called ringbarked and I didn't.

Thanks,

Nat