#yes i gave him a minor redesign

[exhaslo]

Ok ok soooo what if you did like a fasion designer y/n and she is helping Miguel redesign his suit then like as she is measuring him or something she notices he is hard and like ✨smut✨

Oh, reader will take the measurements alright. Hopefully they can remember it *wink wink*

Warning: MINORS DNI, smut, p in v, oral (m receiving), slow sex, mirror sex

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"How did this happen?! I specifically remember both of us working on this suit, making it nearly impossible to tear!" You yelled towards a poor, nervous Peter.

"To be fair...It wasn't one of my villains."

"Oh? I'm sorry, I didn't know heroes could villain swap! Who the hell did you trade with? The Guardians of the Galaxy?" You scoffed, holding the destroyed suit in your hands.

"Easy, (Y/N), only I can bully them this much." Miguel said as he walked into your office, "You also have to remember, he's new."

"Which is why I helped him with the suit." You hissed lowly and tossed it back to the Peter, "You get to remake it. When done, I want to know who the hell you fought that tore the suit to shreds."

"..."

Peter kept quiet as he slowly made his way out of your office. The silence was more than enough for you to start assuming shit. Inhaling deeply, you walked over to your espresso machine and made both you and Miguel a cup of coffee.

"You know the work you do is above all," Miguel hummed as he took a seat on your couch. You gave him a pout,

"But it's never enough. How am I supposed to be helping you all make suits if they never hold up after a few fights?"

"They're not supposed too," Miguel reassured you, "Only special conditions like my original suit can withstand such events."

"But you won't let me touch the stuff."

"It's unstable for a reason." Miguel said with a heavy sigh and approached you from behind, "But, like everyone else. I need to upgrade my suit."

"Oh? No more blue and red?!" You gasped in shock, then grabbed his hands, "Ohhhhh, does this mean-"

"Yes, I'm letting you help me make a new suit."

You jumped with joy, nearly squealing at the thought of helping Miguel. The man liked to keep his toys to himself. That, and you would finally get a chance to measure him. There was a glint in your eyes as you observed him.

Miguel was a FINE man. Compared to all of the Spiders, he was definitely your type. When Miguel first approached you with the intension of making super hero suits, you nearly drooled at the thought. You loved a challenge.

And Miguel was your new target.

"So, when can I take the measurements?" You asked, handing Miguel a cup of coffee. Miguel raised a brow,

"I can have Lyla send them over-"

"Seriously? What the hell am I supposed to be here for then?" You huffed, giving Miguel a glare.

"Fine. Is tomorrow alright?"

"It's a date."

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Miguel was internally screaming as he sat in his office, staring at you on the cameras. The thoughts he had about you. The things you did to him. Miguel had a damn good reason why he never went to you for his suits. You brought out the worst of him.

Even now, the thought of you being up close to him was turning Miguel on. He was going to have to take precautionary measures in order not to lose control.

"Fuck."

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Today was the day. You had your morning coffee, your best outfit and your best panties attitude. No one was going to disturb you today. Your office was closed to everyone expect Miguel. This was the chance of a lifetime.

Getting your station and measurements ready, you just smiled from ear to ear. Your notepad was set aside, ready for you to take down Miguel's numbers.

"(Y/N)? Are you here?" Miguel asked as he entered. You hurried over and locked the door,

"The chance of a lifetime is mine. Get your ass up on my stage! We begin with your chest!" You cheered. Miguel resisted a chuckle as he took his shirt off,

"At least one of us is enjoying this."

You were giddy with glee as you approached Miguel. Your gaze against his chest as you started to take his measurements. You could not lie, being this close to him was driving you crazy. His cologne smelled so good too.

You hummed quietly to yourself as your fingers stroked his chest. Every now and then you grabbed your pencil and wrote in your small notepad. Moving down to his hips, you kept your focus. Miguel's body was just perfect.

"(Y/N)...Maybe we should take a break," Miguel grunted lowly.

"Not yet," You muttered.

Your hands rested against the rim of his pants, reading the numbers on your measuring tape. Adjusting the tape, you leaned down in front of Miguel and felt your face burn up. His hard erection was right in front of your face.

"Ah-" Your eyes widen and without thinking, "Should I measure this too?"

"If you want," Miguel whispered.

Both of you weren't thinking.

Your fingers gripped Miguel's boxers, slowly pulling them down. Your attention was focused on his large, thick cock. With a gulp, you grabbed your measuring tape and wrapped it around his meaty shaft. A shudder ran down your spine, before you checked the length.

"Is this...proper...length?" You whispered, your fingers wrapped around his dick, "Or should I-"

"You should," Miguel groaned lowly.

You could feel your heartbeat in your panties as you leaned towards Miguel's dick. Your tongue gently swirling around his tip, listening to his low groans and grunts. You glanced at the mirrors all around you, the sight turning you on more.

You were on your knees with Miguel's dick in your mouth. Inhaling through your nose, you leaned forward and started to suck his dick. Your hands resting against his hips as you bobbed your head back and forth. His thick shaft hitting the back of your throat.

Your panties grew damper as you felt Miguel's bitter precum start to go down your throat. His hands gripping onto your hair as he started to move your mouth faster. The sheer length of his dick was starting to burn your throat as you gripped his hips.

"Fuck, hn, (Y/N)!" Miguel hissed.

Tears formed in the corner of your eyes as you tried to touch yourself. Unable to handle the burning sensation anymore, you pulled away from Miguel, panting heavy. Quickly, you stood up and wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him.

Miguel was quick to follow as he nearly tore your pants, tossing them across the room. His talons ripping your panties as he started to rub his dick against your wet cunt.

"Hah~ You owe me...new underwear and pants now," You moaned, pressing your body against his. Miguel grunted as he pressed you against one of the mirrors,

"You wanted to take my measurements," He hissed, pressing his thick cock inside you.

"Hn~ Mhm~ Y-You wanted a suit,"

"I still do," Miguel hummed, sitting his dick nice and deep inside your tight velvet walls, "Do you still remember my size?"

"O-Of course!" You huffed, glancing at yourself in the mirror, "Y-You're way too big."

"Haha, but look how well you take me,"

A shiver ran down your spine as Miguel lifted your body closer to his. He spread your legs, allowing you to see his cock deep inside your dripping pussy. The sight alone was making you hot. With a slow thrust, you moaned, nearly shaking in his grip.

"Sucking me in so well," Miguel sucked against your neck as he continued his slow, yet rough thrusts, "This was why I didn't want you to measure me."

"Ah~ Ah~ Y-You should have, mhm~ let me, oh god~" You cried out, feeling yourself about to cum.

"You're right, I should have. Look at how perfect your pussy is sucking my dick in," Miguel grunted.

Turning your face to the mirror in front, you moaned as Miguel slapped his dick back inside you. Your eyes rolled back as you cam, crying out as he kept his slow thrusts. Miguel's hands gripped your breasts, pinching your nipples as he hummed against your ear,

"Do you still remember my measurements?"

"D-Deep~"

You trembled as your pussy fluttered against his dick. Miguel chuckled in response and pressed your body against the mirror, rubbing your clit as he moved even more slowly. You cried, begging for him to go faster.

"Not until you tell me my measurements."

"P-Perfect!" You cried out, moving your own hips, "S-So deep! S-So big ah~"

"Hm, good enough,"

You cried loudly as Miguel's pace finally fasten. His dick slamming against your cervix, causing you to cream and suck his cock more. Your body shaking as your juices started to stain your floor. Miguel grunted as he pulled you closer, reaching his own high.

"Want to watch me fill this pretty little pussy?" Miguel groaned. You nodded,

"Yes!"

Lifting you back up, Miguel held your legs open. His had you staring in the mirror with him, watching your own fucked out expression contort in pleasure. You gasped as Miguel pinched your clit once more, watching you cum against his cock once more.

You cried and leaned back, but Miguel kept your face towards the mirror. You gasped and moaned as he slapped himself once more inside you, filling you with his cum. Both of you took a minute to catch your breathe before Miguel set you down,

"Are you alright? Let me clean you up," Miguel said worriedly. You grabbed his hand,

"I may have forgotten your measurements."

"Oh?" Miguel said with a low chuckle. You glanced up at him, cheeks red with embarassment,

"I think I need a reminder."

"As many times as you need."

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I'll take his measurements any day. I mean hope you enjoyed!! Haha

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel o'hara smut #miguel spiderman #atsv miguel #across the spiderverse #miguel x y/n #miguel x you #miguel x reader

[miheartsedthings]

NEW NSFW Alphabet ~ Headcanon~ Billy Hargrove

Minors DNI

SO, I've taken the liberty of changing this up a bit. I've redesignated some of these letters because I think we've all seen the old ones so many times. Also, I think these changes could be more interesting for Billy in particular. Mind you not All of these are different, just some.

Enjoy

A- Aftercare (What is he like right after sex?)

Billy is attentive. He knows how rough he can be so after he's calmed down, he takes care to make sure you're okay. This can look like verbal check ins or bringing you water and towels. He'll make sure you're safe and comfortable.

B- Body Count

Billy gets around. He stopped counting after 30.

C- Cum

Billy likes it inside you. Rather that be your mouth or elsewhere, he likes the idea of the essence of himself being in you. On your chest is a close second.

D- Dirty Talk

Billy is big on dirty talk. He gets really into it and can't help telling you how good you feel and giving orders (stroke that c*ck, baby). He has no problem telling you what he plans to do to you.

E- Easy (Does he play hard to get?)

Billy is usually easy. The only exception is if you're desperate. Then, he'll tease you, making you beg and tell him how badly you want him.

F- Fight

Arguments with Billy don't typically turn into sex, believe it or not. When he's actually angry, Billy doesn't feel safe, and if he doesn't feel safe he's not getting aroused. He's much more likely to say something to embarrass you and then storm off.

G- "Good Girl"

Sex being one of the few times he can be openly affectionate, Billy showers you with praise. He's a big fan of telling you what you're good at, how nice you taste, how good you're doing. Etc.

He likes when you tell him how he's making you feel, and he LOVES to hear you say you're all his.

H- Hickey

YES, he loves giving you hickeys, all over your body but especially in places where people can see them. When you give him a hickey he wears it like a badge of honor. (Side note, this just gave me an idea for a story 😘)

I- Intimacy

Billy really enjoys intimacy and feeling loved by you, he just has trouble verbalizing it. He expresses love physically, he wants to touch and kiss and fondle you to show his affections. He's also slower to anger with you and will show up around you.

You know how cats pretend they don't care about you and then just "happen" to be in the same room as you all the time? Yeah, that's Billy. He just happens to show up to parties you're attending, even parties you're throwing that he wasn't invited to.

He crashed a wedding you attended because he heard you didn't have a plus one.

J- Jealous

Does it even need to be said? Billy will get jealous if your gaze lingers on a poster too long. He's a walking nightmare to any guy who looks your way. He's your scary dog privilege.

When he gets jealous there's a 50/50 chance that he's just as mad at you as the other person. Sometimes he views you as too innocent to notice other people lusting after you. At other times he accuses you of having a wandering eye.

It takes a long time to talk him out of his jealousy, but it always comes back to reminding him that he's good enough and you aren't going anywhere. After a jealous episode he's usually feeling vulnerable. Kisses help.

K- Kick (Something he's always kicking himself for)

Billy regrets the times you've seen him lose control of his anger. He wishes he could've been better when you met so you didn't have to see any of that and he could've avoided hurting you. Now that he's growing he just wishes he could've been a better man for you in the beginning.

L- Location

Billy is fond of car sex. He likes to get you in the backseat and put down a towel to protect the seats. He also likes to get you alone at a party with the music to cover the sounds.

M- Motivation

Billy gets turned on easily. He loves when you try to flirt with him, even if you're bad at it. If you're bad at it then he just teases you about your crumby game and watches you get flustered which he finds extremely cute.

He loves you in skirts and halter tops. He loves seeing you naked in his leather jacket. He'll pretty much f*ck you at the drop of a hat.

N- No

No scat, no golden showers, no sounding.

O- Oral

Billy is a big fan. BIG BIG fan of oral, both giving and receiving. In a way he's more proud of his skills with his tongue than with his stick. In a way it feels like more of an accomplishment to know how to use just your mouth and fingers to get someone off.

P- Position

His favorite position is cowgirl, believe it or not. (More on this later) A close second is having you flat on your stomach. He likes to have you like that with an arm around your neck, mostly because it quickly overwhelms you and he loves seeing you like that.

Q- Quickie

Billy is down for a quickie in theory. In practice he's more likely to just make you late to wherever you're supposed to be.

R- Risk

Billy likes a healthy level of risk. Like I mentioned he likes having sex at parties, but he'll also sneak into a bar or restaurant bathroom with you. Back row at a movie theater is a fun one.

S- Sloppy

Billy gets sloppy sometimes, maybe if he's drunk. He likes fingering you when you're really wet.

T- Time

Billy likes sex pretty much whenever, but his FAVORITE time is the middle of the night. If you find yourself up late with him you're going to get your cheeks clapped. This is also true if he wakes up in the middle of the night. And don't let there be a thunderstorm, Lord help you.

U- Unfair

Billy likes to tease you, fluster you, overwhelm you, make you say please, make you say exactly what you want before he gives it to you. Jerk.

V- Volume

Billy isn't shy about his sounds, he'll let you and the people next door know how he's feeling.

W- Weakness

When you ride him he falls to pieces, (see, told you we'd come back to it.) particularly when you get up on your feet and squat down on him. Combine that with a hand around his throat and he's done for.

X- Xenial (Is he hospitable?)

Billy wants you to feel safe and comfortable when you're with him. At first, he doesn't know how to go about it besides having stereotypical "girl" stuff around.

He also mistakes looking out for you and "keeping you safe" for being bossy. He'll try to tell you who to hang out with, how much to drink, and where to go because he wants to take care of you. Needless to say this causes problems.

At the end of the day, if you need anything all you have to do is ask.

Y- Yearning

Billy has a high sex drive, but it doesn't have to be penetration every time. He likes all kinds of sexual behavior and will thoroughly enjoy it every time.

Z- Zone

Billy wants above all else to just share space with you. It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing, as long as you're safe and happy it's the perfect place for him.

Thanks for reading 😘

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #stranger things #billy hargrove smut #fanfic #sea swallow me #billy hargrove 18+ #billy hargrove imagine #alphabet #headcanon

[mizzymaren]

Heya! Mizzy just got one thing to question how did you came up with the idea of Mizzery any concepts That Made you Do him? I was designing a nightmaren based of my self!

So glad you asked because Mizzy as you know her wasn’t even supposed to exist.

Not in the serious sense, at least. The original Mizzy is a character from a story I’m working on called Beyond Beyond—I just drew her as a Nightmaren for fun and brought over the concept of Mizzyland for her character. However, I ended up loving ‘Nightmaren Mizzy’ so much I ended up developing her into my Nightmaren OC!

This took a lot of design iterations, which I’m excited to share:

This little robot is the original Mizzy character. She exists separately from ‘Nightmaren Mizzy’ now.

Her first Nightmaren design was much more true to how ‘BB Mizzy’ looks. While I thought it was cute, I felt the design was getting stuck on trying to translate her different body colors. The idea for Mizzy’s dark eyes came from translating her face screen, which did stick.

When I then redesigned her my goal was to make her look more like a 1st level Nightmaren and to differentiate her from ‘BB Mizzy’. Still I thought the design didn’t flow right.

Almost there! This is the design that stuck with a few minor changes. I thought it was funny that you couldn’t tell if Reala is wearing a white bodysuit with white face paint or if that’s just his body, so I made Mizzy more ambiguous in that nature as well. Wanting to also push the bunny monster aspect of her design, I kept the ‘ear’ pattern on her horns and gave Mizzy paw hands with beans (Yes, bunnies don’t have beans, but those and her fangs come from headcanons about Nightmaren biology… and my previous lack of knowledge about bunnies not having beans). Fun fact, it wasn’t until her current design that I picked her full name, Mizzery. And if I’m being honest, the idea came from listening to Maroon 5’s ‘Misery’ and thinking how funny it would be if… Yeah, I know. It does hold significance, though! ‘Mizzery’ contrasts her cheerful personality but is spot on hinting at that joy being a mask to hide how sad and hurt she truly is inside.

Aha! Mizzy as you know her. The carousel bunny theme park clown. While the concept of her running a lil’ theme park came from the original Mizzy, her fascination with rides comes from my own special interest in roller coasters. And, yes, I do know how to operate them!

Overall I’m very happy with her design. Who knows, I may tinker further with it here and there, but I absolutely love my lil’ nightmare bnuuy🥰

#nights journey of dreams #nights into dreams #fanmaren #nightmaren oc #nightmaren #mizzy the nightmaren #sega #sonic the hedgehog #character design #design process #character development

[lizaluvsthis]

What got you to start drawing the boys do you take requests? Cause I like the cafe au

IT MIGHT SEEM CRAZY ON WHAT IM BOUT TO S-

When I said I've been a SMG4 fan for 4 years, I left the channel for i dunno how many weeks or months has it been. Then one day I saw WOTFI 2023 recommended in my youtube page and was.

"Wotfi 2023? But I thought- wait- who are these characters again?"

Turns out I forgot that Ive only seen SMG4 and SMG3's (cocomelon ass) designs during wotfi 2022 where it was both of their first redesigns from the movie. I stopped watching for a bit cuz I got busy.

Then I came back to see they were both redesigned in a better version now. Now that I thought about "where was their second redesign then?"

So I knew that I had to binge watch every single episodes from smg4's channel right after wotfi 2022

I then saw how much Three has changed ever since after the 2022th christmas episode.

If I were to be honest, watching igbp for the first time in my life even Mar10 day. I was about 85% sure that Smg3 worries too much for Smg4's sake.

They both are cosmically linked and three can feel what the other of his partner is feeling soooooo?

*circles both of my hands*

Three's gay. He looked fruity he felt fruity. During the movie and during right after he helped four's ass to get his channel back from running again.

It suddenly gave me some time for my brain to tell me "DUDE WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS COULD BE A HINT- THIS IS MAYBE AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS!" I responded to my brain like- HELL YEAH I'M NOTING THAT DOWN.

Cuz I cant just sit here and just "watch the movie without sayin nothin" I HAD to do something AND make analysis about it because thats what I do when I notice simple details!

So when smg3 confessed those feelings of his to Smg4 and even running to save his life back again and even after saying "we're friends!" This gave me a bit of a shock. Three. Did you know what you did? Did you realize how much it meant for smg4? Did you FORGET- that you said you and him werent friends during the 2020th wotfi?

So then after all of this time... that means smg3 has been the one and always a tsundere to smg4

Even after the castle disappeared, him and three's chemistry started going into an actual progress from both of their chemistry from the relationship.

Thats a dedication for me right there. I do it not only for fun, I do it for my wants, have, and needs.

I know its funny for a minor like me to do all of this dedicaded in just a simple job, I have all kinds of specialities to include my works and skills and use them for this fandom again from how I did to the past ones. (But those past fandoms are dead-)

Ahem- what was I talking about again? Oh right- 3 and 4... sorry got a little bit too chatty-

So I noticed even more about Smg3's notebook and was like- "gahd damn- three had his own personal notebook this whole time?! Whats even inside of it? I'm curious..." so yeah-

Now jumping to where I watched 2023 of wotfi again (twice now) to see its context about it- I was flabberGHASTED in after the "drawing" and also the mysterious tv guy whose also appearing on as the final antagonist in the modern era and a new one from the new era.

"Holysht. This is about to go bonkers for the fans making up stuff about those 'what-ifs' that smg4 made from the previous video back then. (The part where waluigi won or desti being alive)

I'm curious enough to see what happens and even if its about tv adware. Yes too.

(THERE. In November I started to become quite more invested from the fandom and decided to drop in my luggage and load out all of my junks called Info-Analysis?)

So- hello! (Again-) :D it was a pleasure meeting every and one of you all- I stopped in just to come back from the fandom that I never made commentary about but now I can ^^

I started with doodling and knowing basic anatomy and shapes of SMG3 and SMG4's design (the new one) so that I could start on doodling about them. But what I didnt expect for myself is that I had created a long time chapter of "Indigo Secret" that wasn't supposed to be there on purpose.

It was just supposed to be a "silly" comic about it from where ■■■■■■■■ to ■■■■■■■ about the problem and then the part in this that came into ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ from ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

*BEEP*

I took myself a big motive after my blog gained 10+ followers and more notes. I thought working here 24/7 would make me feel something more for destiny and the trip!

So- yeah. Work. :) even when I'm at school I also complete my assignments and all of the shts and after that I can continue on with continuing the pages and with some cute doodles with the boys from a scenario playing through my head.

Now you have me making all of this and that ^^

Thats whay I'm popular for :)

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2nd answer...

Thank you for liking the cafe au! It means so much to the both for me and shay from the collab to move on!

I did say from my boundaries I take free art request 1 at a time only- and I could allow a second art request if I do have the time ^^

Yes I do take art request :)

(Except for-

oc-shipping with SMG3/SMG4 cuz they're both together in the au

NSFW

Some stuff that I can't approve on-)

Ask away :)

Thanks for asking me stuffs anon I really enjoy talking ^^

#lizaluv #smg34 #smg4 #smg3 #smg4 smg3 #mario #smg3 coffee n bombs #shygirl4991

[thatguythatdrawsalot]

RWBY Redesign Critique Ask.

https://www.tumblr.com/divinecomedyproductions/734986950335938561/it-is-with-great-pleasure-i-get-to-show-you-all something to review on my redesigns which I commissioned a friend to do for my reimagined AU, he’s a great artist so if any criticism comes I feel it should be towards me since I gave him the direction

——

Sorry I took a bit long to respond and critique! I’ll talk about the redesigns in chronological order of team RWBY. You mention this as being part of an AU of sorts but I’ll just critique it as just outfits for the girls’ character.

——

Ruby Rose.

I hope you guys know when I critique designs I do my best to not sound rude. I’m only harsh/very constructive towards the artists and directors who get PAID to design characters as they’re making money off this by plastering said designs onto merchandise. A character designer who works for a show’s company is gonna have higher expectations compared to a commission piece that’s out of fun and joy- So please don’t be upset if I say something that sounds mean.

With that out of the way, Ruby’s look is cute but simple. She’s the safest design of the four. Ruby wearing silver earrings is again cute but this does remind me too much of her Volume 2 look. I obviously can’t judge since last I redesigned Ruby she was just a culmination of her Atlas and Vale look but more slate color. I’m guessing Ruby was the hardest to redesign for this one.

Her look isn’t bad but overall just a safe design.

Weiss Schnee.

Shea is giving me magical school girl vibes I don’t know why- Revolutionary Girl Utena!!!

Okay jokes aside I absolutely love how modest Weiss looks, I can’t totally see her wearing this if she ever attended Atlas instead of Beacon as her huntress attire. She has the perfect amount of red and black in where the placement of it should be, but as for the blue, maybe replace it with just white? As the blue, red, white, in this look does sometimes remind me of AMERICA FLAG!!!!!!!!!!

But if it did just get replaced with white than blue it wouldn’t look too much like her Volume 2 outfit. So don’t worry.

Blake Belladonna.

Oh my god…. YES! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Okay right off the bat, color placement is perfect, she’s got primary black with a good chunks of white and purple, plus the cute gold buttons to balance her eyes. I love it! Colored to perfection! She isn’t a black blob, she can look east to see where her limbs are if ever in combat.

With her hair back into a ponytail it doesn’t mess up her colors much anywhere like her original look almost did. I love the return of the bow now helping her show her ears than hide them, as it now pulls her hair back. I love her aesthetic as it still screams ‘a Blake outfit’ as sometimes people find it tricky to design for Blake. I always think that Blake just needs to have no sleeves in order for her outfit to work, but here is an exception. She’s my favorite of the four.

Yang Xiao Long.

Oooooh!! Okay it’s a tie cause I bias-

Yang actually looks like someone you can hang out with on a motorcycle! I love her aesthetic but what I love more is that she isn’t wearing ugly browns but instead black, making the yellows pop out so much more! Trust me if Yang just wore black instead of brown in the actual show, she’ll have a good outfit or two already in the show canon than just her Volume 2 design.

Though I think it’s too much yellow… I know you can have some purple somewhere to balance her eyes out. As for the yellow on her jacket sleeves it can just be black instead. A fourth color is definitely needed for this than just yellow, black and gold. But overall it’s so minor I’m willing to ignore it.

But I can’t really ignore the hat, it’s gonna turn into a crisp since I think hats would be in the way of Yang’s semblance, best to just ditch that part.

——

In summary, these outfits are fun. I can tell your friend really had fun designing the girls and had an actual vision to what aesthetic the girls should have. I’m still gonna encourage you play around with Ruby the most because Weiss, Blake, and Yang are absolutely stunning that just radiates their personalities and vibes well. I know they can do the same with Ruby.

#submission #rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #rwby redesign #blake belladonna

[themuskrater]

My favorite costume from each Doctor (Part 2)

In Part 1 I went over my favorite costume for each of the Classic Doctors. This is Part 2, where I'll be doing the same thing with all of the Revival Doctors

Honestly I struggled to decide where to put this, but decided to keep it in regeneration order. John Hurt wears two costumes as The War Doctor. One we briefly see in a reflection in Night of the Doctor, which is essentially just the 8th Doctor's costume with a new leather bandolier, and his iconic Day of the Doctor costume. Obviously, I chose the later. We only see this Doctor in his final moments before regenerating, but his costume tells his whole story

When Doctor Who came back in 2005, audiences were greeted with a much different Doctor. He was angry, cynical, and alone. Christopher Eccleston's costume reflects that perfectly. We only see minor changes to his costume in the form of different color shirts. They're all basically the same, but if I have to choose one, I do like the red v-neck quite a bit

Yes. I know his hair is flat, hear me out. David Tennant was another Doctor who only got subtle variations. New shirts, different ties, and two different colors of the same suit. Personally, I always liked the blue shirt and brown suit combo. So why this one over all the other nearly identical versions? The tie. Day of the Doctor gave 10 a brand new tie he's never worn before and it's personally my favorite. Yes the hair is flat, but it was also pretty flat at times in series 2 and 3 so that doesn't bother me

Can you tell I really liked the costumes in Day of the Doctor? Matt Smith was the first Doctor since Tom Baker to get a full head-to-toe redesign for series 7b. Before that, it was essentially unchanged with variations I'm the blazer, shirts, and color of bowtie, as well a green duster for a few episodes. But the 7b purple frock is my favorite. So again, why did I pick the 50th version? Well, the 7b design was originally introduced with a different vest a few variations of the bowtie. The purple waistcoat and dotted bowtie happen to be my favorite

Onto my personal favorite Doctor, Peter Capaldi rivals Jon Pertwee for sheer number of costumes worn on screen, and like Pertwee, it was nearly impossible for me to pick a favorite. I almost chose obvious standouts like the linen coat or the burgundy velvet. Instead, I landed on this look from The Magicians Apprentice for one simple reason. This is the costume he wore when I KNEW he was going to be my favorite. The dad jokes, the guitar, the sonic shades, the plaid pants. This was MY Doctor

Jodie Whittaker got very few variations in her costume. Like 9, 13 mainly just changed the color of her shirt aside from a few one-offs. Then we got Resolution. It's still a simple change, but the dark blue tee shirt was swapped out for a vibrant blue sweater. In addition, it gave her this fun rainbow scarf that I loved so much that I wish it had been a permanent change to her costume

The Fugitive Doctor or the Ruth Doctor, or whatever you want to call her, is dripped the fuck out. Jo Martin only got one costume but she didn't NEED any alternates because she just looks so damn cool. All I'll say is let her wear those sunglasses more often, they look great on her and they give her Doctor extra character and individuality

When he said he didn't want to go, what he meant was I'm not leaving. At this point, everyone knows David Tennant is returning to play the 14th Doctor. His costume seems to be a modern reimagining of his 10th Doctor look. We've only gotten to see a few seconds of footage of him as well as some promotional photos, but I love this costume. If this were a 10th Doctor returning, this would have won my favorite 10th Doctor look. I know some people are angry we didn't get to see him in Jodie's costume post-regeneration, but that doesn't bother me too much. I'm expecting it to be part of the story of the 60th

I'll post an update or maybe a part 3 when Ncuti Gatwa's costume is revealed. For now, I'll just say I'm so glad we're getting a Doctor with a mustache. It looks great on him and I hope he keeps it. Mustaches are cool

#doctor who #dr who #dw #nuwho #doctor who revival #doctor who review #david tennant #jodie whittaker #john hurt #christopher eccleston #matt smith #peter capaldi #ncuti gatwa #jo martin #the war doctor #9th doctor #10th doctor #11th doctor #12th doctor #13th doctor #14th doctor #15th doctor #the fugitive doctor #the ruth doctor #doctor who costume #costume review #doctor who costumes #costume design #day of the doctor #doctor who 60th anniversary

[somedaylazysomeday]

A Boon (Part One)

King Thranduil x fem!reader. Reader is the owner of a Lake Town tavern - the same tavern where Bard brings the King of Mirkwood for an evening. She soon catches his interest in the most incendiary way possible.

Rating: Mature. (Part Two will be explicit.) Minors DNI!

Word Count: 5,800

Warnings: alcohol references, attempted poisoning (kinda), verbal sparring, power disparity, betting, sex as terms of a bet.

Next | Masterlist

---

“Be sure the Ripple is in good shape tonight,” you mimicked, the mocking tone much higher than that of the man you were mocking. “I’ll be bringing in a special guest.”

You wiped down the rough bar centered at the front of your tavern. The Ripple had been your child from the day you had bought the space and started renovations. It had been difficult making ends meet in such a small town with such destitute citizens, but you had made do. You had a good feeling that prosperity would come soon. Now, the Ripple was popular among residents and visitors alike, and you earned more than you could have ever dreamed.

“Wait, was that supposed to be Bard?” Storr asked, distracting you from enjoying the way your fingers pressed into the familiar wood of the bar. “He’s bringing someone here?”

“Yes,” you affirmed unhappily, tossing the cleaning rag at the surface to punctuate your displeasure.

“Do you know what that means?” Storr asked excitedly.

You folded your arms. “Yes, I know exactly what it means.”

“It means he’s bringing King Thranduil here!”

At the same time, you said, “It means we have to put up with that arrogant blond prick.”

Storr’s jaw dropped at your statement, and you could hear the reprimand in his tone. “He’s a king!”

“And an arse,” you finished.

“He’s not-! Well, yes,” Storr agreed lamely. “But he’s an arse with a crown, which means he has control of a large group of elves and an even larger fortune. Rumor is that he sends artisans - fully funded artisans! - to fix up the places where Bard brings him. If he likes the owner, of course.”

“Of course,” you repeated, venom thick in your tone. “I need no help with the Ripple, thank you.”

“Not even a little redesign?”

“No.”

You glanced around your business after your flat refusal. It had been in rough shape when you bought it, but with hard work and time, you had turned the Ripple into something you were truly proud of.

The wood for the bar that ran along one side of the room had been salvaged from a shipwreck in the lake. It had taken you days to sand away the splinters and the better part of a week to wax it to a high shine. The bar stools ran heavily to barrels while patrons who looked closely at the tabletops would recognize them as crates, still bearing shipping marks that you had chosen not to remove. The glasses and alcohol had been collected eclectically, purchased off of travelers whenever you had the funds. You had chosen the brands and styles you liked, then had them specially shipped to you in bulk.

You liked to think that your piecemeal approach to interior design gave a sort of disorganized charm to the Ripple, the feel of a place that had been here forever and would continue on after its patrons had left. But, apparently, not everyone agreed with you.

"Are you attempting to tell me something, Storr?" you asked, pretending to glare at him.

"No, nothing at all," Storr claimed, holding his hands out as if to ward you off. "Certainly not that a larger business deserves a bit of updating."

You paused in pacing the familiar floor, tracing a path you had worn through the room for years. "If I decide to update the Ripple, Storr, I am perfectly capable of doing so myself."

"I know you are," Storr reassured you. "I just hate to see you spend your own earnings when some king with more money than he knows what to do with will do it for you."

You laughed at that, the sound ringing through the empty room. Storr had been the first person you hired to help at the Ripple, and he had been more loyal than you ever could have imagined.

"You make a good point," you admitted. "Fine. I won't be outright hostile to the arsehole king. Good enough?"

Storr narrowed his eyes at you. "Yes, as long as you don't call him the arsehole king to his face."

"This is becoming less worthwhile by the moment," you said, heaving a long-suffering sigh. Storr shook his head at you. You replied with a smile. "But thank you for thinking of what's best for the Ripple. I'll be as polite as I can, I promise."

Storr looked unconvinced, but that was fine. You also were unsure of how well you would handle an interaction with the famously ill-tempered King Thranduil.

Still, you had managed to talk yourself into a state of reasonable happiness by the time the door opened to admit the Ripple's first customer of the afternoon.

It was only bad luck that the first customer was King Thranduil himself.

He was beautiful. It was the first thing you noticed, but you had been expecting it. Everyone you had ever known who had met an elf spoke of how lovely they were, men and women alike. You distrusted it, of course. The most beautiful people in the world were often the worst ones.

But Thranduil's face was fine-boned and strong, his eyes bright and wise. His hair was long, streaming pale over the shoulders of his cloak. That cloak was lovely, satin fabric skillfully embroidered with patterns like the branches of a large tree, done in a silver that managed to glint like metal. It didn't look like a warm cloak, though, and you found yourself wondering if elves felt the chill of winter the same way humans did.

The elf was tall, as elves often were, wearing a sword strapped to one graceful hip. The blade was almost the length of your leg from hip to foot, but he wore it with ease. It swung gently as Thranduil made a gesture over his shoulder, commanding the two elves that followed him to wait outside as he entered the building.

"Welcome to the Ripple!" Storr greeted cheerily.

He needn't have bothered. Thranduil entered the Ripple with a disdainful look at the interior of the pub. Ignoring Storr entirely, the elf king strode across the room. The fact that he had to duck his head to avoid the heavy beams of the ceiling filled you with a savage joy, and you could only hope he would forget to duck as he left.

Preferably soon.

He continued not to earn your favor as he sat at a table. The first thing he did was swipe his fingers over the surface and inspect his fingertips like he expected to find something revolting on them. When he had finally finished deciding just how far beneath him your business was, Thranduil raised a hand and beckoned you over with an imperious wave.

"Barmaid," he called, momentarily shocking you with the deep timbre of his voice. "Bring your finest wine."

The attraction of his voice warmed your belly, but his haughty demand soured it just as quickly. "We do not have wine here."

Thranduil's face took on a martyred expression. "Of course you do not. Very well. Bring me whatever you have that will not disappoint… though you may find that a challenge for a refined palate such as mine."

"Be nice," Storr hissed under his breath before you could slip into the back room. When you sent him a desperate look, he amended, "At least, do not be rude."

"Yes, I did mean to partake in the disappointing beverage today," Thranduil said sharply from his place across the room.

You glanced back at Storr, but he only sighed, lifting his hands like he was denying all responsibility for whatever you were going to do.

And you knew exactly what you were going to do.

When you returned to the Ripple's main room, it was with a fresh, clean tankard in your hand. You crossed to Thranduil's table with quick footsteps, depositing it in front of him with a- well, not a smile, but certainly with an expression that was far more indifferent than you felt.

Before you could leave, and certainly before the king could take a sip from his tankard, Thranduil shot a look over at Storr. Your employee was watching the proceedings from behind the safety of the bar, though the set of his shoulders told you that he was clinging to the countertop with nerves.

With his rich voice lowered only a fraction, Thranduil asked, "Is the owner of this establishment daft?"

You stared at him. Royals were often cruel and uncaring toward common people, but surely some social grace would have been called for.

"The answer to that question is up for debate at the moment," you eventually managed to grit out, speaking from between clenched teeth.

"Still, if he insists on staring, the least he could do is close his mouth," Thranduil told you, giving a little toss of his head that made his pale hair shimmer like silver.

You made an unimpressed face at Storr, looking past Thranduil's head to do so - the elf was disturbingly tall even while seated. Storr went from offense to laughter in a moment, ducking into the back room to avoid suspicion.

The sight was amusing, and you decided to step away before Thranduil could misinterpret your smile as being meant for him. You had gotten no further than the next table over before Thranduil's disgusted voice stopped you in your tracks.

"What is this?"

When you glanced back over your shoulder, you found the King of Mirkwood staring down into his tankard, wearing a revolted expression.

"Water from the lake," you told him, a savage thrill filling you until you could not feel your fingertips. "I hope it does not disappoint you as much as it does the people of Lake Town."

And then you left, triumphantly strolling toward the bar. Storr's eyes were fixed behind you the entire time, watching with disbelief.

"What did you say to him?" Storr hissed.

"As little as I could manage," you answered vaguely, lowering your voice even further when some other patrons came into the Ripple. They were talking about the elf guards standing watch outside and you scowled. If that damned elf king chased off your customers… "Why?"

Storr's eyes were still locked on Thranduil, ignoring your sharpest tone. Sounding as though he was witnessing a miracle, he answered, "He smiled."

You frowned, but threw yourself into taking care of the other customers, then the ones who came in after them. As if you had planned it, the Ripple filled quickly and steadily until you were rushing just to keep up with orders. The room was filled with the sounds of conversation and laughter, the gentle lapping of the lake's waves below the floorboards soft and insistent under all of the other noise.

It was a peaceful, friendly environment, but was busy enough to feel like a gathering rather than a bunch of strangers drinking together in a room. This was something you had sought to create since the day you had taken ownership of the building, and certainly since you had opened the Ripple. You were finally succeeding.

But you could still feel Thranduil's eyes following you.

Just as you were ready to confront the irritant, Bard walked in. As some of your customers called greetings to the bowman-turned-king, you glared. Bard seemed bewildered by your ire.

"How is everything today?" he asked carefully.

"Your guest is over there," you replied simply, jerking your chin in the direction of the elf king.

To Bard's credit, he seemed to understand immediately.

"I apologize; I meant to be here before he was. I got stuck helping out a- well, it doesn't matter. Though he was a good deal earlier than he said- that does not matter, either." You just eyed Bard as he finished stumbling through his explanation. "I am sorry. Will you come with me so I can undo whatever damage has been done?"

It was a kind offer, and you weren't too terribly angry with Bard, but the thing that convinced you the most was how Bard did not assume it was Thranduil who had offended you or you who had offended Thranduil. He just offered to fix the problem. It seemed he knew both you and Thranduil better than you would have guessed.

"Fine," you eventually agreed.

You were not hopeful as you followed Bard to the table Thranduil had chosen. People in positions of power rarely liked being told they were wrong in anything they did. The fact that Thranduil's position of power was as something as undeniably important as the king of a forest realm worked against you. And when you factored in that he was an elf? A peaceful resolution would likely be impossible.

Perhaps you shouldn't have followed Bard after all. But what was your other option? To ban both of the men entirely? No. You didn't need Thranduil's charity, but being openly hostile toward a rich and powerful being was never a wise move.

When you and Bard arrived at the table, Thranduil looked up, wearing an expression of pleasant blankness on his lovely face. "Have you come to refill my lake water, maid?"

Bard openly winced beside you. He swiped Thranduil's tankard from the table and sniffed it before pulling it sharply away from his face.

With a long-suffering look at you, Bard asked, "Did you give King Thranduil lake water?"

"Yes," you admitted freely. "And I told him exactly what it was."

"Did you also mention that it can be harmful to those who consume it?" Bard's voice was softer now, but it was no use trying to speak privately with Thranduil seated so close.

Rumors of keen elven senses were evidently true, because Thranduil showed no signs that he had struggled to overhear Bard's question. "Were you attempting to poison a king, maid?"

"I most certainly was not," you told him indignantly. "I had assumed that your refined palate would warn you the water was not safe to consume."

"And why should I believe such a story?" Thranduil asked.

Bard looked grave, hissing, "Thranduil, you can't truly suspect that she was trying to poison you-"

"I can indeed," Thranduil insisted. "Maid, I must demand a reason why I should believe that you intended me no harm."

You sighed impatiently. "Because, O Great Elf King, if I were going to harm you, I would not do so in a way that would reflect so poorly on the Ripple."

"Such a loyal barmaid," Thranduil mused. "Tell me, does the owner reward that loyalty? Does he return it?"

"Owner?" Bard repeated. "Thranduil, she is the owner."

For the first time since he had walked into your tavern, Thranduil seemed to be at a loss for a reply.

When he finally summoned an answer, it was only to point over at Storr. "Then what of that youth who seems so comfortable here?"

"That's Storr," you told him, satisfaction lacing your tone. "My oldest and most loyal employee. He is comfortable here because I want my people to feel comfortable. Some of us do not emphasize making others fearful for sake of gaining power."

Thranduil's expression finally changed, and you tried to feel proud of that fact rather than concerned by how foreboding he now looked. His deep voice was icy when he spoke again. “Just what are-”

“Oh, there are a lot of customers coming in all at once,” Bard interrupted hastily. “You should probably get back to them. I shall make your apologies to King Thranduil.”

“Apologies?” you asked, disbelief thick in your voice.

Bard glared at you and you stopped speaking without further questions or excuses. Bard was an even-tempered man, hardworking with first-hand knowledge of how the common folk lived. He was still known as Bard the Bowman rather than King Bard or Bard the First, but he was a king. You had no fear for Thranduil, the king of a kingdom where you would never live, but Bard was the king of Lake Town. Your king.

You bowed your head stiffly. “I’ll send Storr with two honey meads. Let us know if you need anything more.”

“Thank you,” Bard said, sounding much more like the man you were familiar with, but you kept your gaze averted as you turned on your heel. You soon found yourself busy helping Storr handle the evening crowds at the Ripple.

To your dismay, Bard and Thranduil stayed at the Ripple during the rest of the evening. When you caught glimpses of them between the crowds, they seemed to be deep in conversation. You did not approach them again, but Storr regularly checked on their progress, providing them with new tankards of mead as necessary.

When the last of the non-royal guests had left, shortly after midnight, you and Storr went about the process of shutting the Ripple down for the night. Unfortunately, you two had been working together for so long that it took a great deal less time than you had hoped.

With the Ripple swept and the tables wiped, the tankards cleaned and the bar scrubbed in preparation for the next day, there was nothing more to do but wait for Bard and Thranduil to finish their conversation.

Storr started sending pleading looks in your direction. He had a wife and a new babe at home, and he wanted to go to them. You could sympathize. You had no one at home, and knew his time was much better spent with them than waiting in a nearly empty tavern with you.

"You can leave, Storr," you said with a reluctant sigh. You desperately did not want to be alone with the two kings without the buffer of another person, but it wouldn't be fair to him.

Storr, Fates bless him, hesitated. "Are you certain? I can stay if you'd prefer-"

"Storr," you interrupted, laughing despite the harshness in your tone. "Go home. You have better places to be than here."

You certainly didn't have to tell him again. Storr was gone before you could start truly regretting your choice. Without him there, you worked on several small projects you had been meaning to tackle, but never found the time.

Halfway through scrubbing the underside of the bar, Bard and Thranduil stood. Bard carefully pushed in his chair before doing the same for Thranduil, who had clearly intended to leave it as it was.

You fought not to roll your eyes.

As they approached the bar, Bard smiled at you. "Thank you for welcoming us to the Ripple. It is always a nice place to spend an evening."

"Yes, very nice," Thranduil echoed, casting a doubtful look around the room. "I will gladly send my people to assist you with getting back on your feet."

"I'm not off my feet," you told him frostily. It was true - Smaug's attack on Lake Town had left the Ripple largely untouched. There were many businesses that were still struggling to recover from the dragon fire, but yours could hardly be considered one of them. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine on my own."

"Surely you can think of some way your tavern could be improved," Thranduil said. "Matching furniture, perhaps? Or an atmosphere that is less… bleak."

Bard's shoulders moved in an almost unnoticeable sigh as you lifted your chin. Thranduil seemed to realize that he had offended you, because he slowly added, "If you'll forgive my bluntness."

"If you are being blunt, allow me to do the same," you bit out. "I have worked hard for my tavern and I am very proud of it. The furniture may not match and the room may lack windows, but I have no need of your help. In fact, I find that offer offensive. I wish both of you a good evening, but I need to get home if I'm going to open on time tomorrow."

Thranduil frowned, but Bard shook his head at the elven king. From the look on his face, he knew how much less tactful you could have been. So you extinguished the last of the candles and locked the Ripple's door behind you.

And that was that. Bard apologized the next time you saw him and you heard nothing more from Thranduil…

Until a few weeks later, when he appeared at the Ripple.

He was once again the first customer of the evening and you had just sent Storr out to retrieve a newly arrived shipment of ale, so you were alone in the tavern. You stood stiff behind the bar while the now-familiar form of Mirkwood’s king swept in, again leaving his guards to stand outside.

He was not emphasizing subtlety that day, standing across the bar to peer down at you. You held his gaze, uncowed by Thranduil’s height or authority. Or, at least, that was the effect you tried to give off. Whether or not you were successful was anyone’s guess.

“Why did you not introduce yourself as the owner of this tavern?” Thranduil asked.

You shrugged. “Our conversation had already been unpleasant. There was no call for me to make it even less so.”

“We had scarcely communicated,” he countered.

“Because you came in here ignoring Storr and myself, then sat down and demanded a drink we do not offer!” you told him, heatedly. “Forgive me if I did not see the need for further politeness to someone who had proven how little he values courtesy!”

“You are forgiven,” Thranduil replied easily, ignoring the way you hissed under your breath at his deliberate misunderstanding of your phrasing. “In return, I ask that you forgive me. I believe it would be more beneficial for all involved if we began our relationship anew.”

“There is no need for a relationship at all,” you denied. “I cannot claim to know whether Bard brought you here in an attempt to convince you to fix the Ripple, but-”

“I know it does not need repairs or any help from me,” Thranduil interrupted dryly. “You made that quite clear in our last meeting.”

“Yes,” you agreed faintly. Even his sarcasm was cutting in a way that managed to be attractive. Damned elves. “But that only proves my point. There is no reason for our continued communication.”

“I believe there is,” he said, tilting his head so that his silvery hair flowed, shimmering, over one broad shoulder. “Why do you not sell wine in your tavern?”

The change in conversational topics was too abrupt for you to follow, and you frowned at him. “I- What?”

“Wine,” he repeated with patience thick in his tone. “Why do you not sell it?”

You shook your head. “For the same reason we don’t offer an eel sandwich: no one is interested in buying it. Stocking wine would be a waste of my resources considering that none of the patrons would purchase it.”

“What if I were to disagree with you?”

Perhaps it was rude to answer that question with a scoff, but you felt you were justified. “You are fully able to disagree, but until you open a tavern of your own in direct competition with the Ripple, I feel that your opinion holds little weight.”

“I have no interest in tavern ownership,” Thranduil dismissed with a graceful wave of his hand. “But I do have an interest in the production and sale of wine.”

“It is a fascinating process,” you agreed slowly, trying and failing to guess where Thranduil was leading the conversation. “I cannot claim to see what that has to do with my business.”

“Allow me to explain, then,” the elf king offered. “I oversee the production of wine made from fruit that is grown in my forests. I believe that your customers, when they realize the quality of my wine, will soon come to appreciate and request it above all else, even your lovely honey mead.”

A shimmer of pride and happiness went through your stomach at his subtle praise of the honey mead. You had to order in the components, but you made the mead in-house. Batches took some time to create, but you always completely sold each batch before the next was ready.

With effort, you pulled your mind back to the current topic. “Just what are you suggesting?”

“I will provide you with two barrels of my wine,” Thranduil proposed. “I believe it will become your top-selling beverage.”

“It sounds as though you are providing the terms for a wager,” you said thoughtlessly.

Thranduil considered that for a moment before giving an accepting nod. “Very well, I agree to a wager. Set the terms.”

You fought back the urge to swear. You had not meant to issue a sort of challenge to the elf king, but it appeared that you had done so. There was no chance wine of any sort would become the best-selling beverage at the Ripple - especially since your honey mead held that spot and would likely continue to do so - but you had no idea of what to ask for when you won.

“Perhaps you should set the terms,” you offered. “I have no idea the sort of stakes you would consider acceptable.”

Thranduil smirked. “Let us just say that, no matter what boon you ask, I have the resources to provide it for you.”

“Very well,” you said sharply, eager to wipe that smirk from Thranduil’s face. “If I win, you must remove the dragon’s carcass from the lake.”

The smirk did not disappear altogether, but it did lose some of its edge. He did not ask questions, though, and that told you plainly that Bard had told him about the troubles that the carcass had caused Lake Town. Simply put, dragons were harmful for the environment as a whole. Smaug’s body in the lake was poisoning the water, killing the fish. A greater cause for concern was that the mists that rose from the lake were making the people of Lake Town sick.

“While I have the ability to remove the carcass from the lake,” Thranduil started, “I must warn you that I’ll ask a valuable boon in return. Are you prepared for that?”

“You would have to win for your request to be of any consequence, but yes, I am prepared,” you agreed, flashing him a confident smile.

Thranduil stared at you and you realized that it was the first time you had ever smiled around him. Before the expression could melt from your face, he said, “If I win, you spend a night in my bed.”

“I beg your pardon?” you asked, frowning up at him.

Thranduil’s icy blue eyes held yours as he said, “Allow me to be clear: this boon is one I only ask if you are interested as well. Or have I misunderstood?”

You started to deny him without a second thought, but you paused. You did not enjoy Thranduil's company, but he was not asking you to spend a week in his palace while he attempted to woo you. No, his meaning was plain - you would be together briefly, explore each other, then part ways once more.

But were you interested in such an arrangement? The answer, simply, was yes.

Thranduil was arrogant and cold, his loveliness belied by the way he seemed to wield it as a weapon. But you could not deny that there was an attraction of sorts present every time you sparred with him. Your verbal disagreements were heady in a way that could only happen if the two of you meshed in a way more primal than courtesy and pleasant conversations.

More importantly, you had not been brought up as a lady. Your virtue held little interest if you did not hold a title or lands. You were a tavern owner, living with the rough company of merchants and drunkards, so you had taken your pleasure where you could get it.

“Very well,” you said, having deliberated for only a moment. “I accept those terms.”

“As do I,” Thranduil agreed, holding out a hand in your direction.

You stared at it. Framed against the dark wood background of your highly polished bar, Thranduil’s hand seemed impossibly pale and graceful. His long fingers were still at the moment, but there was ever a sense of potential around him. Those hands had seen centuries, learned skills you could never fathom. Now, it was extended to you as a method of sealing the deal you had created with this immortal creature.

Feeling suddenly and utterly out of your depth, you accepted his hand.

Thranduil’s fingers wrapped around yours as you watched, surprised by the size of him. Yes, he had towered over you during every interaction - even the ones during which he had been seated - but you had not expected his hands to be so large.

You had intended to seize his hand for a quick, businesslike handshake, but the King of Mirkwood seemed to have other plans. He accepted your hand, shook it slowly with his fingers stroking gently over your skin, and angled your joined hands to deposit a kiss on the upturned back of yours.

Dumbstruck, you studied Thranduil’s expression while he did the same to yours. When you finally gathered up your scattered thoughts, it was to slowly say, “I have a final few terms to place.”

“Name them,” Thranduil invited.

You frowned and moved your gaze to the ceiling so you could avoid being distracted by the too-perfect face of the elf king as you spoke. “My next batch of honey mead will be finished fermenting in two weeks. Have your wine delivered by then and we will start the contest. The maker of the fastest selling beverage will win the bet.”

“I object to only one of those terms.”

“And that is?” you asked, only just realizing that Thranduil still held your hand as his thumb stroked lazily over the side of your palm. You yanked it away and Thranduil let you go. You pretended not to immediately miss the feeling of his touch.

“I will send no one to bring the wine,” Thranduil explained. “I will bring it myself.”

“Seems unnecessary,” you countered.

Thranduil shrugged, his grace turning the gesture into something beautiful. “Any reason is good if it allows me to see you once more.”

You scoffed and the elf king seemed to realize that he would make no more progress with you that day. He straightened, bid you farewell, and left the Ripple.

It was a mystery how you could be made so breathless with only the hint of a smile on his achingly handsome face, but you were nonetheless. You could only hope that two weeks without contact with him would increase your immunity to his strange charm.

Two weeks later, Thranduil’s effect on you had not lessened. Thankfully, he was in the tavern for only a few minutes before he needed to depart once more.

Business with merchants on the Erebor side of Lake Town kept you away from the Ripple for a few days after that. You were busy bartering for better alcohol prices, for improvements on shipping times, and other minute details that could still impact how successful the Ripple was in the long term. Unlike many other business owners in the area, you paid careful attention to those small details. And, when you sensed an opportunity to improve your deals, you attended to them personally rather than sending one of your employees to handle things.

When you returned to Lake Town, your shoulders eased slightly. It had been a difficult few days of negotiations, especially since the merchants were all male and you were… not. The fact that you were a woman was not unheard of, but it was rare enough that you struggled to be taken seriously.

The trip itself was arduous as well. The fastest route between Erebor and Lake Town took boats close to Smaug’s carcass. Unlike natural creatures that died in the water, dragon bodies did not merely bloat and stink for a few days before being eaten by creatures. No, Smaug was largely the same as he had been after the attack, except that he was slowly leeching poison into the waters. You eyed the oily film on the top of the water around his scaly form, thinking with pleasure that you had negotiated for the carcass’s removal.

You were certain that you would win your bet with Thranduil. The people of Lake Town enjoyed spirits of all kinds, but honey mead was familiar and popular. Even if they could grow to tolerate or even enjoy wine, there would be a period of slowly growing interest. Added to the fact that it came from the elves and was considered suspicious, you were confident in your victory.

As the boat docked, you could see a crowd gathered around the Ripple and your heartbeat picked up speed behind your ribs. Were they customers or an angry mob? Since the mead and the wine had both started selling during your departure, the situation could go either way.

You managed to sneak in through the back door, catching Storr’s eye after he had finished issuing instructions to one of the other employees.

“You’re back!” Storr said with a grateful smile. “Welcome to the chaos.”

“Are we popular or hated?” you asked. “Because it looks like it could be either.”

You were telling the truth. No matter how mad the scene had seemed from outside of the Ripple, it was worse inside. People both drunk and sober were pressed up against the bar, their calls joining the cacophony that filled the familiar walls.

“Popular!” Storr assured you over the din. “Though that could change quickly. In the span of two days, we’ve sold completely out of King Thranduil’s wine. People are unhappy that they cannot try it or cannot have more, depending on the person.”

Admittedly, you struggled to hear the second half of Storr’s explanation. Everything after the fact that Thranduil’s wine had been so popular was filtered through the fog of shock filling your mind. Abruptly, you were in a sour mood.

You had lost the wager.

---

A/N - Someday, I'll stop trying to fit a slow-burn story into two chapters. Unfortunately, that day isn't today.

Read Part Two here!

Thanks for reading! Find other works on my masterlist.

#the hobbit #lord of the rings #king thranduil #thranduil #thranduil x reader #thranduil x you #reader insert #mature

[vkelleyart]

Story Time: Get a load of what happened to me at Starbucks today.

There’s a running joke among people who know me personally that I unwittingly go out in public with a sign on my forehead stating “I Am Non-Threatening. Come Talk To Me.” Because if there’s a chance a bizarre conversation with a total stranger is going to happen, I’m typically the person it happens to.

Some context: I have been pretty darn sick this week. (It’s not Coronavirus, don’t worry.) Since the work in my queue for my day job is comprised entirely of audio narration right now, and I currently sound like a waterlogged Demi Moore, I haven’t been able to work these last couple of days. As a result, I’ve been using my down time to knock out as much of Manu’s redesign as possible. Today, to ensure I didn’t spend the day languishing in sinus misery, I medicated the crap out of myself and took Manu to the Starbucks down the block from my son’s day care.

I hit the bathroom, then picked an empty table, but as soon as I sat down with my venti Comfort Tea and started tweaking the inks on my iPad, I felt the eyes of the man next to me looking over my shoulder.

When I looked up, he had his phone out. “I’m sorry,” he said (in a thick accent I couldn’t place geographically), “I don’t want to disturb. I notice you art. You are artist!”

I tried to smile. “Yes, I’m... Well, I’m trying to be,” I croaked.

He leaned in, like he was sharing a secret.

“I am artist, too.”

He stuck out his hand.

I gently took it, grateful for the bathroom trip I just took in which I washed the scourge off of my fingers.

“Can I?” he asked, holding his phone up.

“Take a picture? Uh... sure,” I said. It’s not like he would be able to steal Manu out from under me or anything, I figured. The panel I was tweaking was magnified out to Guam.

“I am artist. Architect and Designer,” he clarified while he steadied his phone over my iPad. “I am Ilker. What is your name?”

“I’m Venessa” I said, trying to be polite. This, I thought warily, is precisely how I get myself into trouble. I’m too damn nice.

“You know, I come to America twenty years ago from Turkey...”

I put down my stylus. This was going to be a while.

“I like Turkey,” he explained. “I like the country and I like the people. But I am artist. I am not... religious man.”

I nodded.

“I told my wife I was going to go to America and she said, “what are you going to do? You don’t have job! You don’t have money! No Visa!” And I said, “I am artist and architect. I will paint and sell my paintings.

“So I come to America alone. To New York City. I sit outside, and I paint. And people, they liked my paintings. They bought them. This one for $30, that one for $50.

“One day, a man comes over to me and he say, “I like your painting. I see you are also architect.” And he gives me his number and asks me to go to meeting at his office. Because he wants to offer me a job. He starts to talk about a building contract.

“I tell him I don’t know anything about contracts. I have no Visa. I am not American citizen. But he says, “That’s okay. I will take care of everything. You will have nothing to worry about.” And this man, he gave me a job. $173,000 a year. And my wife, he gave her a job too. She was project assistant. I bring her and my two daughters over from Turkey.”

“Wow,” I said, not fully believing the veracity of what sounded like a full-on immigration fairy tale.

“Here,” said Ilker, unlocking his phone and opening up his Facebook app. “I show you my work.” He paused and looked up at me. “I am interrupting. You don’t mind?”

At this point, I was invested. I had to see. Because whatever he was about to show me would either prove or disprove this yarn he was spinning. “Please,” I said, gesturing for him to go ahead.

He opened his photos and my jaw dropped. His work... was UNREAL.

“This is building I designed on Madison Ave.... And this one in Chelsea...”

Holy crap. I had just been to Chelsea with my sister last month on a trip to see a broadway show. I had crossed the intersection of the building he was, at this moment, telling me he designed.

He flipped through more buildings. These, he’d designed in Washington, DC. In Bethesda. In Arlington. All beautiful, streamlined, modern structures I had visited and parked my car in front of. He told me he did much of his concept work freehand. That he worked exclusively in natural media. His preferred media was pen, ink, watercolors, and chalks.

Between photos of his wife and daughters, he went on to show me photos from the RUSSIAN EXHIBITION OF HIS ARCHITECTURE ARTWORK.

Y’all, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe the talent I was sitting next to. Scattered among these gloriously rendered images of some of the most beautiful building concepts I’d ever seen were paintings of scenes in Central Park, the National Mall, and nudes from a life-drawing session he attends from time to time.

When he was done flipping through his phone, he looked at me and smiled. “I hope you don’t mind that I interrupt you. I show you all this because what you are doing is very good. And you should be encouraged. To draw is to make beauty.”

I nodded, a lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I managed. “Your work is astonishing. I don’t even know what to say. What is your name again?”

He held out his hand once more. “Ilker Kocahan,” he said. “I am getting more coffee. Can I get you one?”

I looked at my still-full venti cup. “No thank you. But here, please take my card.”

He held my dinky business card like I’d handed him a treasure and thanked me.

Then Ilker got his coffee, and left the coffee shop.

At some point in his ramblings he talked about America as a place of dreams. How he credits this country with helping him rise to the top of his field where he is now able to sell his paintings for $800-$1000 a piece now that he’s retired. My heart ached to hear him talk about that, knowing how our leadership’s positions on immigrants have taken such a dark and horrifying turn.

Imagine the buildings and museums and public places that would never have been if a business man in the park hadn’t lifted up a Turkish painter who spoke little English.

And now that painter was paying it forward on me.

I still feel pretty darn sick. I’ve still got body aches and a nose that has taken the rest of my face hostage.

But today was a really good day. And I just wanted to share it with you in case you are looking for reasons to keep drawing/painting/dancing/writing. It all counts and it is all good.

If you would like to see Ilker Kocohan’s work, please click here.

#Immigrants. We get the job done. #Edit: I’m sorry this post is so long. I made the mistake of writing it on my cell and now I can’t put any read-mores in. ☹️

[nagirambles]

On the subject of the seven year time skip, what do you think about the post timeskip designs? Because I know that fans would argue that most of them are downgrades to the original ones.

And I absolutely agree! To begin with, most of them barely changed. Of course we have the Tenrou team, but Lamia and Blue Pegasus didn't really change either, except a little here and there like Yuka. Bisca looks exactly the same as before with more sexualised clothing, but Alzack looks like a completely different person. Plus, Mashima changes designs so often even in the main story that the minor changes we got don't feel like changes at all. All this in addition to the studio change in 2014 that gave everyone abrupt art style + design changes + same face syndrome at the same time somehow? Yeah, we're just tired.

This is strangely enough how I feel about Lucy as well. She changes her hairstyle so often (it's not a bad thing, but) when she got a new one after the 1y timeskip, it felt like just that-- a new hairstyle. It didn't feel like a timeskip where she genuinely grew up. It doesn't feel like our baby has grown up visually. I'd say the same thing to any hair that is magically turned back to default, not just Wendy, but Freed (BOFT) and Natsu (1yTS) as well. It just feels like Mashima wanted to introduce the idea but refused to commit to the bit, and thus, it became really hard to give them a real design change that feels like a growth change rather than just another Mashima impulse.

And yes, hair growing is the easiest way to show someone has grown literally-- but that's the thing. Mashima clearly loves long hair, so he vehemently refuses to do anything except make their hair long. Meredy? Juvia? Lisanna? Wendy?? Laki??? Erza Knightwalker, too! Who's going to bet Erza is getting her hair back after the conflict in 100yq is done?

So yeah, I liked some of them, I'm meh about them, but I also hated most of them. Even so, the only ones that drastically changed were all side characters, so I just don't have enough energy to muster to really rage about it. Mashima knows his weaknesses which is why he tries his best to actively not change things. It's Ash Ketchum all over again. All in all, just sloppy execution everywhere.

Some I liked: Laki, Max... Mest, I guess. Yeah that's it.

On the fence: Juvia (she's gorgeous, but her design turned generic,) Lisanna (adorable, but why? Keep the short, let girls have short hair, Mashima please stop,)

Hate: Droy (became a fat joke), Reedus (his plot relevance disappeared along with his very charming body size), Macao (went from cool old man to senile geezer), Gildarts (I get why they changed it, but he just went from looking like Shanks to looking like August. Who HE IS FIGHTING), Kinana (seriously she is unrecognisable by the end of the series because they changed it again), Romeo (why the stupid hair shape?), Meredy (she looks like pastel Sherry), Millianna (oh come on), Elfman (he's now bait for Bara fans), Alzack (give him his little emo haircut back).

If we're not just talking about timeskip-specific changes though, I rather like Bickslow's and Midnight's redesigns, Gajeel's bandanna addition, and I wish Evergreen kept her hair in the bun. The long curly hair, like Juvia's, is really beautiful! But it's also very generic for the female characters of the show, which isn't a good design variety. Mashima has done that 'she got a glow up! into my favourite long flowy hairstyle' thing so many times now, starting from Sherry. I think it's fucking beautiful but I also think he should stop.

#it's an ask #I have biases I'm sorry

[davidmann95]

So RWBY/Justice League is apparently a crossover that's actually going to happen. Of the little we know right now, how do you think that's going to pan out?

Anonymous said: Those questions about Superman and Batman in RWBY seem prescient, because I'm hearing that an official crossover is in the works

Anonymous said: Um, so there's a legit Justice League/RWBY crossover coming

Anonymous said: So, that official DC/RWBY crossover, huh?

Anonymous said: So, how about that DC/RWBY cross, eh?

Anonymous said: No more speculating how Superman would fit into RWBY when DC themselves are providing their own answer XD

The immediate thing that leaps out beyond the Kingdom Hearts* level of utterly out of nowhere berserk this premise is: while the RWBY comic had a couple minor sequel hooks, and I don’t know how it did in its original digital chapters or in trade, as a monthly periodical it was selling poorly enough that DC didn’t bother to print its last physical issue after the return from the Coronavirus shutdown, and while I thought it was great a lot of fans complained about its art and characterization throughout. I hoped for that sequel, sure, but I wasn’t expecting the book to be regarded internally as anything but a sales failure, nevermind not only continuing it but tripling down in the most extreme and bizarrely specific way possible that’s neither intuitive (unless you have special interests like me) nor surface-level ridiculous enough like Batman/Elmer Fudd that people will buy it just to see how it works. I don’t understand why this comic is happening when no one but me wanted this.

(* The Kingdom Hearts comparison is apt because they were similarly close to the top of things I’d love to see cross over with the DCU that would obviously never, ever happen because that’s too precise and random a combination of my interests. Even if this is legally possible where that isn’t, that would still be conceptually simpler.)

I was asked a couple times in the past about how Superman or Batman could make sense in RWBY’s setting, and it turns out I was closer with the latter than the former - that rather than a dimension-hopping traditional crossover, this is reverse-engineering what the assorted members of the League would look like if they had always been part of Remnant ala JLA/Planetary, some of the old DC/Marvel crossovers, or the more recent Batman/The Shadow. Which actually fits really well with the series regularly evoking assorted fairy tales and mythologies with their characters; this bunch is just one more set to be added. Though that raises several more thoughts and questions:

* The solicit refers to them as Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Diana Prince, but will they actually be referred to as such in the story, and will people comment on them not fitting with the color-based naming conventions of that world? Or will they be renamed and evoke their sources purely through iconography, ala Ruby not literally being Little Red Riding Hood?

* How much will the origins of the assorted characters be changed? Batman, Cyborg, and Aquaman would all make perfect sense within the ‘rules’ of the setting with few major alterations, but will Superman still be from Krypton and Green Lantern a space ranger, or will they simply be ordinary humans with thematically reminiscent backstories and Semblances/weapons that evoke the classic powers? I think the latter could work, but I imagine the former is more likely (even if Bennett might keep it vague on some of the details to preserve the aura of mystique and avoid changing the shape of the world too radically) simply because everyone’s surely aware that fans would complain about being ‘ripped off’ for getting the characters ‘in name only’ otherwise.

* Speaking of changes to fit the setting, between being a Faunus and the apparent low-tech traditional armor look of his suit, is Bruce Wayne in here not operating from a position of wealth? You’d just think as a given the Wayne family would be easily plopped in as business rivals to the Schnees and Alfred would be on a first name basis with Klein, but it seems Bennett might have something very different in mind. Also, little disappointing he simply has a katana rather than those collapsible batarangs that turn into swords that Ellis always gave him which would fit perfectly here. And, as so many have already asked: how miserable is he every second of every day in a world where everything is also a gun. At least this isn’t a universe where anyone’s gonna think he’s irresponsible for training teenage sidekicks.

* And if we’re going into individual characters: RWBY Barry Allen is adorable, what the hell. He just looks so dopey and hapless, I sure hope he doesn’t ever have to die to stop the Anti-Monitor. We’re definitely getting a meeting with Harriet that retcons in that he’s the other person with a speed Semblance she mentioned running into, and if he’s tapping into the Speed Force then the jokes that that’s what Harriet does are probably gonna become at least a little bit canon.

* Are the Themyscirans magic, given all magic has a very important common root in this world?

* I don’t think there’s a dud redesign in the bunch? These are all really inspired in their own ways, which is good because unlikely as it seems this is I believe the first time we’ve really gotten any sort of official interpretation of “here’s what the DCU would look like as a Shonen”. Go ahead and say the hell with it and make it Earth 28, I’ve thought before making that an anime Earth would fit with the map.

(By Ag_Nonsuch)

* Bunch of obvious ways these characters can play off of each other: Ruby is paralleled with Wonder Woman on the cover, and I’m curious how Bennett will play that, but she makes most sense next to Flash, a super-fast fan made good, or Superman, a character she so deeply if unintentionally evokes on so many levels I felt I had to make clear when describing her that I didn’t solely appreciate her as a psuedo-Superman analogue. Weiss makes sense up against Batman either as a wealthy heir or a Faunus who’s likely faced his share of pain from the Schees who either way are cold perfectionists defined by inner pain stemming from their families, or Wonder Woman/Aquaman as fellow ‘royalty’. Yang is paralleled with Superman on the cover and that makes sense with the two country bruisers with issues regarding their lost parents, though she’d also make sense with Aquaman as the ‘temperamental’ members a lot of the time of their respective teams, or Cyborg as they both deal with their relationships with their bodies after requiring prosthesis. And Blake pretty much has her pick: like Superman she uses an article of clothing to ‘pass’ and shares the commitment to justice, she and Batman are dark children of privilege (or not in this case, though in this world they’re both Faunus), she and Wonder Woman both left the island homes where their people were safe to try and make the rest of the world better, she and Aquaman are both Faunus royalty, and Green Lantern is about overcoming great fear and in Jessica Cruz’s case specifically about the guilt of running away.

* Will this be entirely flashbacks to the pre-series/Beacon years, or will those be flashbacks set from a ‘present’, and if so when? What happened between the siege of Haven and the train setting off for Argus is the most loosely-defined period in the story and is right on the heels of the end of the original RWBY mini, so I’d imagine it fitting here. And given they apparently join together “to take on a force unlike anything they've seen before” rather than purely the character work of that previous book, what might that be?

* Hey, superhero comics/superpowers as an idea already exist in this universe, will that come up?

* If we can get one single scene in this and it’s going with a “yes they’re still aliens and magic and whatnot” premise I want Clark, who hasn’t thought of being Superman yet and therefore is still at least somewhat hiding his powers, being wracked with guilt over not pursuing becoming a Huntsman and therefore not being there at the Fall of Beacon. Which is a ridiculous thing to take the blame for, but of course he would, he’s Clark, culminating in trying to apologize to JNR for Pyrrha dying he feels in part because he was a coward (when they don’t even have the faintest concept for why he would think he should have been there or could have done anything).

* Once all’s said and done, how is their presence in the world justified as not being a factor in the series proper? It’s simple if they’re ‘ordinary’ analogues who can go off to quietly have adventures elsewhere, but if not then some of them either have to be shuffled off stage or presumably left with their stories incomplete, with a little afterward of “and they went on to be the greatest heroes of all...later, after the scope of team RWBY’s main adventures so that we never have to directly address them again” to avoid them becoming unavoidable major factors in the war against Salem.

In the end, will it be DC’s best comic? No, though I imagine one of their better ones this year. Will it be among the ones I look forward to most each month? Right up there with Yang and Reis’s Batman/Superman baby, this is a miracle freak of fate and I’m gonna appreciate the universe bending over backwards to make entertainment for me and me alone while it lasts. Given I finally checked out RWBY in the first place because I was curious about Bennett’s original comic, this is a heck of a full-circle moment.

#RWBY #Justice League #Batman #Flash #Wonder Woman #Superman #Green Lantern #Aquaman #Cyborg #Barry Allen #Jessica Cruz #Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #JNPR #Marguerite Bennett #Aneke #Stephanie Pepper #Emanuela Lupacchino #Opinion

[pugh-bug]

Scott Lang x reader

Chapter 2

I apologise this is a long chapter but domesticated Avengers makes me happy. If you’re reading this it’s meant to be a slow burnnn so enjoy the burning, the Tony x reader friendship and Thor being domesticated. If you like unsmashed lamps this chapter may be hard for you to read I’m sorry.

Warnings: none. unless you count archers breaking things.

You opened your weary eyes but everything was still black. Something warm was brushing against your face. You were warm... and in bed. ‘Please tell me I’m in my own bed.’ Without moving your splitting head you had no idea who could hear you until the unmistakable voice of Thor replied ‘It’s your own.’ He sounded amused. Somehow you felt well rested and more tired than you’d felt since Scott kept you up all night showing you card tricks, all at the same time. Although out of all the occupants in Stark Tower, Parker tired you out the most. The child. He was lucky you liked him.

Groaning you rolled over and face dived into your pillow clenching your eyes closed. Of course it was your bed. No one else’s smelt this good. Unless you’d gone nose blind as that weird advert went. ‘What day is it?’ You felt ridiculous asking but wasn’t this how you were supposed to behave? Youth? because Peter was in the minority being so morally well adjusted.

‘Sunday.’ That voice woke you up. ‘Y/N we can leave if you really want to sleep for another hundred years,’ you finally opened your eyes to see a much happier Scott smiling at you. Next to him was a smiling Thor glancing outside at the blue sky like a bird and a Peter looking apprehensive. You weren’t sure what as wrong with him he didn’t have the worst hangover of all time.

‘Come on get up,’ Scott spoke to you like you were five which just made you scowl... like a five year old. Looking mockingly scared Scott raised his hands up in ‘defeat’. ‘Okay don’t get up. I’ll just eat all the delicious pancakes Thor made myself.’

Thor snapped out of his bird watching trance to grunt before nodding ‘Yes. I’m afraid they are delicious.’ What did you do to deserve such generosity? And how could you resist pancakes? Oh but bed or pancakes?

‘These are amazing!’ You exclaimed (you had chosen pancakes). Thor grinned at your compliment as you ate like a rabid dog. Scott closed all the kitchen cupboards - he was such a dad sometimes - before leaning on the worktop facing you. ‘I’m glad you like them ,’ Thor remarked before finishing his breakfast and going to presumably get a shower leaving you with your favourite ant and third wheeling spider.

‘S- so I have an assignment due next month which is gonna take forever but Mr Stark-‘ as Peter launched himself into a long winded story about homework Scott caught your eye and smirked. You felt as if you were speaking in code. He watched you listen to your friends tangled tale with as much enthusiasm as you could muster despite your hangover. It seemed to amuse him.

‘And I was thinking who do I know that knows a lot about this sort of stuff? Y/N but I didn’t know how to ask y-‘

Scott gave you his best: can-you-believe-this-shit look and chuckled quietly keeping his eyes on yours. You smiled back but tried not to laugh - not wanting to upset Peter. Scott wasn’t as used to him as you were. He must have felt ancient beside someone as young and sprightly as the kid because even you felt middle aged in comparison. Luckily Peter had the attention span of a little child so before Scott could even try and think about asking him to leave he was off. Where? Chasing butterflies and doing something you did not need to know about.

You swallowed your words before they came out once Peter had left you and Scott alone. He was washing up and you weren’t even bothering to offer to do it instead. The hangover brain was strong and you didn’t even remember drinking never mind being pissed. Just as you watched him wash the final plate Scott turned to look at you. ‘You don’t even remember what you did last night do you?’

Oh fuck. Shit. What did you do? What could you have done? How could Scott tell you didn’t know? Was he turning into a psychic because of the quantum realm? It wouldn’t surprise you. Less and less shit did since moving to Stark Tower.

‘No. How can you tell? Have you absorbed Charles Xavier’s powers?’ Thank god the panic didn’t show in your voice for a change because otherwise all those oscar worthy performances you gave in the shower would have been a waste of time. Scott’s face pulled into a smug smile as he sat down at the breakfast table you hadn’t left.

‘Oh poor Y/N,’ he pulled a mocking sad face and used his creepy high pitched voice you hated. ‘Is someone confused?’ He was revelling in having the upper hand for a change.

‘Funny. You’re funny. Now tell me what I did or didn’t do last night before I throw this plate at you.’ You both knew you would never throw a plate at his cute face. It wouldn’t be worth the lecture of Steve on manners either. Steve. What could he possibly teach you about manners - they were fucking impeccable?

‘That’s not asking nicely.’

Your stomach contracted slightly as you could almost visualise the two pathways the conversation could lead to. His eyes were burning into yours with a new intensity you’d never seen in Scott before. It made your mouth dry and you cheeks burn up slightly. You felt like you’d been shoved into an oven without warning.

‘Fine,’ he refused to break eye contact with you and it was infuriating in a way. You willed him to stop as if he could in fact mind read. ‘Please just tell me what happened.’ Normally you only took this tone with Tony, you couldn’t help but wonder if in a weird way it meant you were getting closer to Scott. Atleast more comfortable. That would help you make less of a spectacle of yourself on a daily basis (not that that wasn’t fun but- ).

He told you that it wasn’t as bad as everyone was making out but you had decided to play beer pong with Thor and lost. Badly. You’d apparently cried when Clint said he didn’t want to play just dance and stormed off like a grumpy toddler who couldn’t get her own way.

‘Jeez,’

‘I know. You’re classy.’

‘I can be classy!’

Scott snorted at your outrage, downing the last of his orange juice while you sat in mock disbelief. ‘I’ll believe that when I see it.’ Okay noted. Scott didn’t think ripped fishnets were classy. Interesting. His ex wife was classy - ah let’s not open that door.

‘I didn’t throw up did I?’ You finally asked the burning question every hungover Gen Z member had to ask. He ran his hands through his dark hair but you refused to let your eyes linger for too long. ‘No you didn’t.’ This was followed by a cat like stretch he seemed to revel in performing. You heard the bones in his wrists crack and narrowed your eyes at him because you couldn’t think of what else to say. He didn’t seem interested in speaking either, he was blank. Fuck it. You knew when to let a conversation end.

‘I’m gonna shower.’ and as you left Scott alone in the kitchen to find the bathroom empty you smiled: if Scott had been 18 he would have said ‘without me?’ and thank god he wasn’t. You liked your older men immature in some ways (the fun ways) but pick me boys you could not abide. Scott was certainly not one.

After you’d sucked any joy out of showering dry by obsessing over how sad Scott may or may not be about his ex wife (or if he wanted advice) you dried yourself. You were 18 what advice could you have for the man? Middle aged men did seem to come to you for advice despite your own doubts and lack of experience. When Steve had been left out of a mission because of another fight with Bucky you practically became his mother consoling the drama queen. Tony called it ‘hilarious’ but you had a different word for the experience. That being said you wouldn’t mind listening to all of Scott’s problems on a loop on a fucking tape but bias is bias.

The walk to Tony’s obnoxiously large living room was short from the bathroom. The sound of the cold tile against your bare feet was all you could hear for a moment before the sound of-

‘Shit. Shit!’

Clint.

You entered the crime scene cold and confused, your wet hair was dripping cold down your back making you shiver. Stood in front of the tv flaming at the nostrils was a pissed off yet guilt ridden Clint Barton looking down at his handiwork. Lay on the floor was the lamp you’d bought Tony for his birthday. Smashed.

Nat was scowling at the archer lecturing him on how to carry things like a cross teacher. Wanda, Vision, Bucky and Steve were less concerned. You weren’t concerned at all it was a fucking £10 lamp. ‘Nat it’s fine it was an accident it’s just a lamp.’ You interrupted her scolding which gained you a sympathetic smile from Clint. His eyes said thank you. Nat did not seem convinced but swallowed her pride and calmed down anyway.

You scanned the room until your eyes met Scott, which you knew you needed to stop doing so often. There they were. Pointing back at you : a mixture of humour and the sadness you couldn’t stop noticing even if no one else did. You caved first and smiled at him. It was impossible not to.

‘Are we forgetting he’s a millionaire?’ Scott laughed at his own comment.

‘Excuse me, billionaire.’ Tony revelled in correcting people on how much money he had. How many cars he owned was a fun one too or how many times he’d redesigned everything in the house because he was ‘bored.’ Nat rolled her eyes in your direction which you quickly returned.

‘Really? Billionaire?’ Scott couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His voice was so high and his eyes were so wide you just grinned at his adorable face. Bless him. He knew nothing about Tony’s empire. What no one wanted was Scott’s lack of knowledge to end in a long speech from the billionaire about his life story. No one would stay for that.

‘I bought you churros. You said I had to pay for everyone’s.’ Scott sounded as if he could cry, so naturally everyone laughed. Even Vision. You weren’t sure if you’d ever seen him laugh before, it was so sweet. ‘Well I’m sure you’ll survive.’ Tony’s signature eyebrow raise was code for I’m-better-than-you.

Once everyone got up to get drinks and choose a film Scott snaked his arm onto your shoulder startling you. Everyone was on the other side of the room and no one was looking. There was a chance Tony was to see if you made a fool of yourself but you could live with that. ‘You jump so easily,’ he was not wrong. Everything startled you. ‘Did you know how much money Tony made?’

His hand left your shoulder, making you fight the urge to sigh in disappointment from the lack of touch. He sounded genuinely curious. Why he was fixating on Tony’s money you did not know. He didn’t steal anymore.

‘Everyone does. Why are you so interested? Are you planning a heist?’

Scott’s face changed. He was stood so close to you if either one of you moved there’d be no space to breathe. You wondered if he would ever fucking notice your ‘little crush’ on him or if it would continue like this forever. Would that be so bad? No. It would make more sense.

‘If I was you could be my accomplice.’ He sounded so confident. Of course it was a joke but still .. you? A criminal?

‘Hmm ... I think Nat would be a better choice.’ He smiled down at you as his hand found its way back to your shoulder. His touch, even in a non sexual way, made you feel like putty.

‘Sure she can come too. You’d be better company though, she’s a bit scary.’ You both laughed and then he was back to the sofa with the others. It took you a moment of standing around like an idiot taking Scott’s words in before you could join them.

Better company. Better company. Better company that a Russian assassin? Did that really mean much?

Taglist: @supraveng

#marvel #marvel fandom #scott lang x reader #scott lang fluff #scott lang #ant man #marvel x reader #thor #tony stark #peter parker #the avengers #marvel fanfiction

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 9

Douxie x fem reader

Chapter 1

Masterlist in bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 8 summary: Your mom is getting healed and while things are looking up, the battle with Angie Rot is yet to come.

Warnings: Angst, death, minor injury, sad stuff in this chapter, but once we get past the sad stuff there will be happy stuff in future chapters.

A/n: I got a little carried away with the writing, so it's a long chapter. *nervous laughter* Anyways Enjoy! 💖

“The incantation, as you know, makes Barbara experience whatever trauma befalls strickler. Unfortunately breaking the binding spell will also erase her memory,” Vendel explained to you and Jim.

“What are you saying? I’m gonna forget Trollmarket? That Jim’s the Trollhunter? That Y/n can do magic?” Your mom asked and you smiled sadly, but that just meant you would have to tell her again later. Maybe you could do it properly this time.

“I’ll leave you with a moment of privacy,” Vendel muttered, pulling Strickler out of the room with him.

“Guess we’re gonna have to have this conversation again,” Jim chuckled.

“Jim, Y/n, listen to me. Promise me we will. Okay? It took all of this for you to tell me about...your other life.”

“I just didn’t want to worry you. And I know we have,” Jim said.

“Yes, yes, you have. I am worried about both of you. I’m scared. But listen to me. It is my job to worry. And it’s not your job to protect me. I want you to know something. Even before you found this amulet and you found your magic—way before all of this—you two were always my heroes. My beautiful children.”

“We love you mom,” you whispered, hugging her gently. You tried not to let any tears fall, it wasn’t like she would be gone afterwards, you would still have your mom.

“We really do,” Jim added.

“The time has come,” Vendel announced. “Place your hands upon the gemstone.”

“Barbara, I—“ Strickler started, but your mom cut him off.

“Don’t talk to me. You’re the one thing I’m looking forward to forgetting.” Strickler sighed and looked genuinely upset. You gave him a sympathetic smile, he had grown on you.

Vendel chanted some more and your mom looked at you. “Guys, promise me, After this is over, don’t keep your trollhunting a secret from me anymore. Promise me.”

You nodded as Vendel continued chanting. Your sad smile slowly slipped into one of horror as orange electricity came from the piece of Heartstone Vendel was holding. It raced up your mom and Strickler’s arms and Strickler began to scream.

Vendel continued. “Forgive me, Barbara,” Strickler gasped between wails.

Your mom didn’t look at him, instead she turned to you and Jim. “Promise me!”

~~~~

“Dr. Hammond to Radiology,” a voice over the hospital intercom announced.

“She’ll be safe here,” Jim reassured you as you paced nervously by the window.

“Jim? Y/n? What happened?” You heard your mom’s weak voice ask.

Jim turned to her. “Mom, something happened last night. Something you can't tell anyone.” You nodded to Jim, giving him a thumbs up and an encouraging smile.

“What is it? Why do you look so worried?” Your mom asked, concerned for Jim.

“Well, uh...there was… an accident. You feinted, you bumped your head and I drove you here,” Jim explained and your encouraging expression turned to one of anger. You glared at Jim and shook your head. He had promised.

“My hero.” She paused. “I know there are things going on with you, Jim. Things you don’t want to tell me.”

“There are? I mean, you do?” Jim stuttered and you rolled your eyes. Jim wasn’t that subtle, you and your mom had had plenty of worrying conversations where you had to cover for him.

“Well, sure, you’re sixteen. You have your own life. I just want you to know there’s nothing you can’t share with me. Whatever it is I can take it,” your mom said and you smiled at Jim nodding again, but he gently shook his head.

He looked back at your mom. “I know you can.”

After Jim left you were tempted, to say the least, to tell her anyways, but you held it in. You wouldn’t force Jim to come clean, there was something holding him back and you needed to find what it was.

“Y/n?” Your mom asked after Jim had been gone for a while. “Why didn’t you drive me to the hospital?”

“I wasn’t home, I was helping a friend.” The lie left a bad taste in your mouth. You hated lying to her.

“This ‘friend’ wouldn’t happen to be Douxie, would it?” She teased and you smiled. It had been awhile since the two of you were able to spend some quality time together, albeit, this wasn’t the best situation.

“We’re just friends mom,” you said, trying not to smile.

“Alright,” she relented and your smile grew. “But you do like him?”

You groaned good naturedly, “Mom!”

“What?”

“Let’s talk about something else. What about redecorating the house? I feel like it’s time for a change.”

She looked at you quizzically, a smile still shining on her face. “Okay...”

~~~~

Later that night you made your way to Trollmarket with a smile on your face. It had been great to just chat with your mom. You would cherish those memories and now you had her input on how to redesign the house after Angor Rot ruined it.

You waltzed over to Blinky’s library, a hop in your step, but you faltered when you heard Vendel. “She allowed Angor Rot to obtain a Horngazel. The very key past Trollmraket’s defenses?”

You slowly entered the room and slid over to Toby. “Sooo, what’d I miss?”

“Angor Rot stole Claire’s Horngazel,” Toby whispered back and your eyes widened. That was very bad.

“It’s not Claire’s fault it’s mine. I should have gone to the school for the incantaion. I should have faced Angor Rot. Not them,” Jim defended.

“Jim’s right, I should have gone with them,” you mumbled to Toby.

“No, you were with your mom,” Toby responded.

“It was in my purse. Toby and I were dangling off the roof. He cut it off and left,” Claire said and you looked at Toby, eyes even wider and he nodded.

“Yeah, you also might have to let the school know I have an inhaler now,” Toby whispered.

You chuckled. “I’m not even gonna ask.”

“Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Vendel asked.

“It was a great everyday purse. It went with everything,” Toby said, consoling Claire. You smiled, sure Angor Rot getting the Horngazel was bad, but at least Toby and Claire were okay.

“We might have time. Angor Rot rarely attacks during the day,” Jim pointed out, bringing the topic back to serious matters.

“Angor Rot is unpredictable at best. And if there isn’t anything to stop him from creating havoc in Trollmarket...then you have to put more than yourselves at risk,” Vendel countered.

The room settled into a thoughtful and fearful silence, however, Strickler’s voice broke it, “Trollhunter! Help!”

The five of you looked to each other and then ran out of the room. You heard Blinky yelling in the distance. “Ruffians! Who threw that?!”

“Where’s Jim? he gave me his word!” Strickler whined as you pushed through the crowd.

“What? I’m not good enough?” You asked him, jokingly.

Strickler apologized as Jim and company arrived.

“Put him down! He helped save my mother,” Jim ordered as he pushed through the crowd of trolls to stand with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh.

“He’s with us,” you added.

“He tried to release Gunmar!” Someone shouted.

“Get him out of here!” Called another troll.

“Changlings ain’t right in Trollmarket!” Bagdwella argued.

“Get rid of him!”

“It’s not going to make a difference. Angor Rot wants me too, and the protective barrier won’t stop him,” Jim announced.

“What do you mean?” Blinky asked.

Jim sighed, “He has a Horngazel.”

The trolls bagan to throw garbage, but you created an orange shield to cover him. The trash bounced off of it, harmless.

“Look, you have a right to know!” Jim said.

“Let’s throw them both out!” A Troll from the crowd roared, grabbing Jim. “It’s time the amulet called for a new Trollhunter!”

“Jimbo!” Toby called.

“It’s not his fault!” Claire added as the trolls began to chant.

“Throw him out!”

“Throw him out!”

“Throw him out!”

“When you finish throwing them out come back and throw me out, too,” Vendel announced climbing on top of your old and broken car. “Yes the boy has made grave errors. But he’s come through for more times than I give him credit for.”

You levitated onto top of your old car, showing off your magic. “Yeah, he has. And if you want my brother gone, you’ll have to say goodbye to your only sorceress as well!”

Vendel smiled at you and nodded, then he continued, “Trollmarket is in danger and our greatest defense has always been our Trollhunter. He’s earned my trust. He should have earned yours.”

“You can throw me out too,” Blinky agreed.

“And me,” Aaarrrgghh added.

“Us too, though technically, we don’t live here. I’m just sayin,’” Toby mumbled as Bagdwella stepped forward.

“Same for me. I’ve always stood with our Trollhunter!” She announced.

“Okay, yeah.” Toby scoffed and you hid a laugh as Bagdwella gave you an indignant look. However, the trolls began to consider your friends’ words and the trolls dropped Jim and Strickler.

“What now, our infallible leader?” Strickler asked.

Jim walked up the stairs and then turned around dramatically. “Now, we get ready to give Angor Rot the fight of his life!”

The crowd cheered and began to get to work. You helped out, but you eventually headed back to Blinky’s library with Jim, Claire, and Toby.

“Chomsky? No way! When did he get out?” Jim asked upon seeing the fierce yet endearing gnome.

“Wait, Chompsky’s out!” You exclaimed, clapping.

“A little while ago. We were gonna tell you, but with everything and your mom…” Claire explained.

“Why would you hold back the great news? He escaped the Darklands!” Jim laughed, but you hesitated. There was something off about the gnome’s aura. Even though Vendel had just taught you to read aura’s you had picked up the skill quickly and now you were sure something was wrong. Chompsky had a dark aura surrounding him, similar to the one Mindy had.

“What’s your definition of ‘escaped’?”—you asked, shoving your thoughts of Mindy aside and focusing on your newly returned friend.

“Y/n’s right. Technically he didn’t. Gunmar let him out to deliver a message,” Toby verified.

“Jim, Gunmar knows you killed his son,” Claire warned.

“And he promises to make a river- no, an ocean of blood from your loved ones. And he’s gonna make a throne, of with their—I think he said—bones. His words not mine.” NotEnrique spoke up, putting his hands up in surrender.

Chompsky growled at him and you gave a weak smile. Gunmar just threatened your family.

“And...And he included a list,” Toby added.

NotEnrique began to list the names, “Tobias. Claire. Barbara. Y/n. Blinkous...”

“We knew what we were getting into. After we find the last stone, we’ll find my brother and end this once and for all,” Claire promised.

You hugged your brother. “Yes, Claire’s right. Gunmar just threatened my family too. He will regret that.”

“Draal. Coach Lawrence,” NotEnrique continued in the background.

“It goes on for a while. You don’t need to listen to this.” Toby pulled Jim away.

Claire turned to him. “It’s like you said, we shouldn’t be focused on the fight tomorrow, but the fight today.”

“It’s too bad we’ve been wasting out time collecting stones to kill Gunmar and not Angor Rot,” Toby muttered.

“Or so you think,” Strickler said, walking in. “Maybe you do have a stone. Angor’s eye.”

“You’re saying he can use that in his amulet?” You asked.

Toby squealed. “Jim, you’re gonna level up again!”

“If cut with proper guidance,” Strickler cautioned.

“Show me where to cut.” Jim walked off with Strickler, but you held Claire and Toby back.

“You two have been great friends and I’m so glad that you are a part of this. We make a fantastic team, but I’m worried about Jim. He’s putting too much pressure on himself and then there’s our mom, he didn’t tell her the truth.” You took a deep breath after voicing your concerns.

“Don’t worry, Y/n/n, Jimbo’s got this and we’re here for him,” Toby reassured and you smiled.

“Don’t worry, Y/n, We just have to do our best to support Jim,” Claire added.

“Okay. Then let’s go and win this fight. Afterwards, ice cream’s on me.”

~~~~

You absolutely despised fighting golems, but you were getting the hang of slicing through them and then using your magic to crush the totems. Though the longer you used your magic, the more tired you got. You had yet to develop the stamina.

You stabbed a blue golem through the heart and it shattered. You didn’t even have a second to breath before you were taking down a pink one then an orange and after that another blue.

While you seemed to be holding up better than others, you were still growing tired. When you tried to dodge a pink golem your side was sliced by a sharp gem. You hissed in pain and almost dropped your sword.

The golem pulled its hands up to smash you, but you rolled out of the way, scraping your hands on the cold ground. You levitated yourself to your feet, but before you could get back to the fight, your golem shattered and Claire stood behind it.

A blue golem approached her from behind, ready to smash. It was too late to warn her so you basted it. The gems flew everywhere, but you managed to catch them, your orange glow surrounding the blue. Unable to hold them any longer, you redirected them into another golem. You and Claire smashed their totems and you went off to help NotEnrique who was backing away from another pink golem.

You decided to try something new, you pictured the totem nestled inside the sharp pink crystals and pulled. The totem, glowing with your orange magic, flew to your hands and you crushed it.

“Thanks,” NotEnrique called and you nodded, already moving to fight another. You moved through your various methods, destroying golem after golem. They just kept coming though, you watched as more trolls fell. Angered by their deaths you fought on.

You killed a purple golem, slicing it with your sword and throwing newly summoned daggers through another. The lifeless gems fell to the ground, revealing Blinky flying past you in your mom’s old car.

You froze and were almost cut by an orange golem, but you killed it then ran to help Blinky. Your hands glowed orange and so did Blinky as he was pulled from the wrecked car. You shattered another golem behind you as you watched Toby struggle with his hammer.

Aaarrrgghh came over to help and you felt disheartened as more trolls struggled. It seemed impossible that Angor Rot was able to bring this many totems yet here you were fighting the results of his dark magicks.

Your gaze was pulled to Angor Rot and you watched in frozen horror as the dagger flew towards Toby. You lifted your hands to send your magic to protect him in some way, in any way.

Aaarrrgghh had the same idea though and a bone chilling wail left your lips. Your magic wasn’t placed to protect Aaarrrgghh and the glowing green dagger pierced his stone.

A cold hopelessness entered your heart and you felt your blood blaze with the fire of your magic. Fire Keeper seemed a fitting nickname as your eyes glowed a fiery orange and the golems that had been creeping up on you and Blinky exploded. The pieces, dangerous sharpenal that would hurt your allies,  should have flown everywhere, but your magic stopped them. You sent them all to Angor Rot, but he hid behind a wall.

The glow in your eyes flickered out and you fell to the ground. You hadn’t realized you had levitated yourself, but Blinky was there to catch you.

“I’m going to kill you!” you heard Toby scream. You watched, exhausted as Toby failed to even land a hit on Angor.

“I destroyed your soul! Your fight is with me! Not them!” Jim growled after finishing off a golem.

“As you wish Trollhunter,” Angor hissed. Jim glanced around and turned to run, leading Angor Rot away. You managed to deal with a few more golems before Claire pulled you away.

“Master Jim!” Blinky yelled as the door to the Heroes forge fell, shutting Jim and Angor inside. Your brother was alone.

“Let us in!” Toby cried.

Claire pounded on the gate. “Jim!”

You cried as you tried to blast the doors to no avail.

“The only reason you’re alive is because you’ve let your loved ones fall in your place! Your teacher, the changling! Your mother!” Angor taunted as he sent purple blasts towards Jim.

“No! Jim!” Claire howled as Jim barely dodged.

“And now your simple friend, Aaarrrgghh, is dead!” Angor growled and you screamed, blasting the door even more with strength you didn’t even know you had.

“No!” Jim roared, fighting back.

Claire, pulled out her shadow staff. “Toby I’m gonna make a portal over Angor Rot.”

“You make sure to smash him,” you added, “for Aaarrrgghh.”

“But where are your loved ones now, hunter?” Angor raised his dagger for the killing blow and you blasted the door one last time, shattering it.

Angor looked to you, confused. His hesitation bought Jim enough time to shove Angor’s dagger back at him.

“Up here, Rot head!” Toby announced as he fell from the portal. As Angor turned to stone Toby’s hammer hit, shattering him.

“Jim!” Claire as you exclaimed, hugging him.

“Is he really gone?” Claire asked, pulling away.

“He better be,” Jim said.

“Yeah. He better be,” Toby growled.You stared at the gray stones and shivered, you had just helped kill someone. Killing goblins and golems was one thing, but Angor was different. He was almost human, albeit, a horrible human.

Then blue orbs flew from the pile they whispered to Jim, thanking him for their freedom.

“What...I mean, who are they?” Claire asked.

The blue orbs gathered into a large one and suddenly Kanjigar appeared. “These are the spirits of our fallen brethren. Trollhunters who lost both soul and life to Angor Rot. Our brothers and sisters shall take their proper place in the void and rest in peace. Thanks to you, James Lake Junior, and your friends. You were right, you are stronger together. We are in your debt. But the day will come, Trollhunter, when you must finish the fight alone.”

You frowned at the last line, but a sad smile came to your face as you saw Draal and father say goodbye. It was a bittersweet moment on a bittersweet day.

You let them be and left the arena. You had to saw goodbye too.

It was quiet in the streets of Trollmarket and piles of gems littered the ground. You shivered, it felt colder in Trollmarket than it normally did.

Eventually you came across Aaarrrgghh. You let tears fall at the sight of your friend. You couldn’t even imagine how Blinky might be feeling. You hadn’t known Aaarrrgghh for even a quarter as long as Blinky had.

Toby, Claire, and Jim soon followed.

Toby began to sob and you hugged him as Claire consoled him. “Hold onto that anger. Save it for the Darklands.”

“Jim?” Claire asked as Jim walked away. You sobbed for a while longer, mourning your fallen friend when Blinky joined you.

“I saw Master Jim heading towards the ruins of Killahead,” he panted and your eyes widened. You knew what he was going to do. Call it sister’s intuition or just straight up divination, you knew he was going to open Killahead. He was going to the Darklands, without you.

“Master Jim!” Blinky yelled as once again the doors shut in your faces.

“Dude, what are you doing?” Toby called.

“Jim, don’t! Jim, no! You promised we’d go together!” Claire screamed.

You cried. “Jim don’t do this without me.”

“The amulet chose me. I can’t lose any more of you,” Jim responded.

“Can I use my shadow staff?” Claire questioned.

“No, the room is sealed from dark magicks,” you explained sadly.

Blinky observed the door. “Maybe I can override the lock.”

“Do it, please,” you begged.

“Come on Jimbo! We’re a team! Don’t do this!” Toby pounded on the door.

“I’m sorry. I have to finish the fight. Alone,” Jim said through the door.

“We can do that together!” You wailed. “What will I tell mom?”

You and Claire screamed together. “Jim!”

“I’m sorry,” you heard Jim mutter as the doors slowly opened.

“No! Jim!” Claire and you pleaded as Jim walked into the portal. The inky hole immediately swallowed him, taking him to the Darklands.

“Jim!” Toby cried out. You ran to where the portal was only to find regular stone.

“Master Jim, what have you done?” Blinky muttered, covering his eyes.

You wailed, this wasn’t right. It wasn’t okay, Jim just left you. He was gone, he had vanished into the portal. You couldn’t believe it. Today was not turning out well. You had already lost Aaarrrgghh and now your brother, what were you going to do now.

You walked over to Toby and Claire and pulled them into a group hug. Toby, who you thought of as a little brother, was okay and so was Claire and Blinky. They were okay, but while you tried to remind yourself of these facts your thoughts always spiraled back to your brother.

“Master Jim will be fine,” Blinky reassured, but you could hear the wobble in his voice, he was close to falling apart.

“Yeah,” Toby said optimistically, “The amulet still belongs to Jim and we can just cover for him while he’s gone. It’s just like he is on a quick mission to the darklands.”

It sounded like Toby was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince you.

Claire sniffed, “Yes, Jim will get my brother back and we will do the best we can to help him.”

“That sounds like a great plan guys. We can talk more about it tomorrow, I-I just need a moment.”

You broke away from the hug and began running. You didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t go home, your mom would be home and what were you supposed to tell her? Yes, Jim was technically alive, but he was gone and if you were being honest with yourself you were terrified that he wasn’t strong enough to return.

Your emotions were changing with every minute. One second you were angry at Jim for leaving you and the next you were terrified that he wouldn’t make it back.

Everything hurt so you just ran, letting your feet carry you to wherever. You ran for what felt like minutes, but it was probably a lot longer before you found yourself exhausted in front of Douxie’s bookshop.

You were sure you looked like a mess, but you went inside anyways. What did it matter if you looked like a banshee?

“I’ll be with you in a minute!” Douxie called from upstairs and you collapsed on a chair. Archie looked at you quizzically before hopping into your lap and nuzzling you.

Normally you would have smiled at the gesture from the cat, especially after spending so much time with him and noticing how he didn’t really care for any of the shop’s other visitors. However, today you just didn’t have the energy to smile, you didn’t have any more energy.

You had fought and killed someone which was horrible and said troll had killed a good friend of yours, causing your brother to go on a dangerous mission, alone, to the most dangerous place in the world. Today was definitely not your day.

Footsteps hopped down the stairs and you heard Douxie’s voice say, “How may I hel—Y/n?! Are you alright?”

You sniffed. “I just lost...a friend and I couldn’t go home.”

Douxie pulled you to your feet and hugged you. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

****

Goodness, that was a lot of angst and it’s a crazy long chapter, 4,016 Words. I’m sorryish. I’m also sorry for the sad chapter, but it ‘twas necessary. Happy chapters will come soon, though I don't know when. Anyways, thank y'all so much for all the wonderful feedback, it makes my day when I see it. So have a safe and happy day/night. :)

Also I just watched the live action Mulan and it is amazing and so empowering! I loved it even though Mushu wasn't in it and I was very inspired by the fighting scenes.

P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.

#douxie x reader #douxie imagine #trollhunters imagine #wizards imagine #tales of arcadia imagine #toa imagine #douxie #toa douxie #wizards douxie #trollhunters douxie #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia douxie #toa #wizards

[miraculoussage]

Breaking Out part 2

Rating: General

Characters: Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir main character; lots of other characters making an appearance, lots of Plagg, Marinette/Ladybug, and Gabriel

Relationships: (Minor) Lovesquare

Other tags: Trans boy Adrien, mostly closeted trans Adrien, transphobia (no transphobic violence), mentions of a dead name but no actual use of the dead name, misgendering, mentions of Dysphoria; supportive friends, Gabriel Agreste is a soggy tissue, minor redesigns of LB and CN costumes, major redesigns of civilian Adrien bc closet trans. Use of the word queer as an identifier and not a slur. TW for police but just barely.

Part 1

♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

He ended up on Marinette’s balcony. It wasn’t uncommon for him to stop in on nights where he couldn’t come over as Adrien, but he tried to avoid visiting every single time Adrien couldn’t visit. Even with the glamour of the Miraculous, it was a suspicious situation. He made himself comfortable on a lounge chair, laying with his arms behind his head, waiting for Marinette to come up to the roof. Somehow she always knew when he was there, even if he’d been silent or he knew she wasn’t in her room when he got there. She was quick today, no snacks or drinks, no deck of cards, no sketchbook. She had her phone clutched in her hand, the screen open to a copy of Adrien’s post, and she was obviously stressed out about it.

“What’s up, princess?” He kept his tone light, but he felt guilty about making her worry like this, even if it wasn’t entirely his fault.

“My friend, uh, well.” In lieu of explaining Adrien’s gender situation, she handed her phone to Chat Noir, and he made a show of looking surprised. “He’s coming to live here. He ran away from home today after his father tried to basically imprison him for coming out. I know he didn’t want to come straight here because his father would check here first, and didn’t want to get us involved in this part. So I know he’s out of the mansion, and he says he’s safe and they won’t find him, but I’m still worried.”

“I understand that feeling. Even when there’s no Akuma and Ladybug isn’t transformed, I worry still. No one knows who she is, even me, but it’s a constant anxiety I think we both deal with. Her and I. The life of a secret superhero, right?” He grinned at Marinette. She smiled back briefly, but she sighed deeply. “Do you want me to go look for him, or do you want me to stick around with you for a bit?”

Marinette took the charm Adrien made for her out of her pocket and fiddled with the beads while she thought. “I think... I want you to stay here, for a while at least. Adrien said he was safe and I have to trust him on that, but I could use a distraction.”

“Is that all I am to you? A distraction?” he teased, happy to see her roll her eyes at his antics.

“Oh, yes, absolutely kitty. Nothing but a distraction. Wait here, I’ll go grab some actual distractions. And food?”

“Absolutely food. Bakery left overs and some fruit or veggies?” he suggested.

“Sure thing. Be right back, don’t break anything.”

He moved from the lounge chair to the small table, letting himself take some deep breaths and appreciate the warm late-spring air. Marinette was right, he didn’t want to get them pulled into the immediate situation, especially if his father decided to contact the police. He was sixteen and left of his own volition, but his father was... persuasive when he threw his name and money around. Adrien was safe, of course. Technically, Adrien didn’t exist at the moment, so no one would be able to find him anyways. Talking to Marinette was nice, but he would also love to have Plagg around right now.

Just as Marinette was coming back up through the trap door, tires screeched on the street below and a car door slammed. Great.

“Where is she??” Nathalie’s voice rang out from below, usual calm replaced with anger. Marinette rushed to the railing to look down to the street with Chat Noir at her side.

“Ugh, he didn’t even have the guts to show up himself.” It was clear that Marinette was not impressed with Gabriel; since meeting Adrien, her admiration for his work was completely overshadowed by his treatment of Adrien and literally every other human being. If you knew where to look, you could find testimonies from Gabriel’s employees, though a lot of them were buried by lawsuits and bribes. “I’ll go help my parents deal with this. Sorry, Chat...”

“I’ll meet you down there,” he said with a smile and a wink. “Superheroes protect people against villains, after all.” The small laugh he got out of her lit his heart up. As long as he could help it, Marinette would never face trouble alone.

Vaulting over the railing, Chat landed between Nathalie and the front door of the bakery. “I’m pretty sure the bakery is closed by now, you’ll have to wait for tomorrow to get a dacquoise!” He kept up a signature Chat Noir grin and casual pose leaning against the bakery door.

Nathalie, to her credit, was thrown off by one of Paris’s superheroes, anger morphing into shock for a moment before she was back on her mission. “These people are hiding a runaway minor!”

“Runaway? Hey, you’re Adrien Agreste’s babysitter, right?” He squinted as if trying to place her face.

“Babysi- Adrien?? That is not her name!” Nathalie’s fists were clenching. If Adrien didn’t know better, he would think she was about to punch him. If he had any less self control and moral obligations, he would probably punch her. “She is to come home at once and these people are enabling this tantrum!”

“The only tantrum I see is yours, madam. I think it would be best if you leave.” His smile fell, and he watched as a police car pulled up to the curb, and Roger stepped out.

“What seems to be the problem, madam?”

Nathalie rehashed everything to the officer. During her shouting, all three of the Dupain-Chengs came around the side of the building, only somewhat confused. Mostly, they looked frustrated. “Adrien isn’t here,” Marinette interrupted Nathalie’s ranting.

Before Nathalie could attack a teenager, Roger held up his hands to placate each group. “Okay, okay. Listen. I can search the building if you consent, Sabine, but otherwise there’s nothing I can do unless there’s a warrant.”

“Of course, we aren’t hiding anyone or anything. But Madmoiselle Sancouer is not invited inside, I’m sure you understand. Chat Noir, would you be a dear?” Sabine smiled at him, and he bowed dramatically in turn.

“My pleasure, Madame Cheng.” He would do anything for Sabine, even if she asked him to climb the Louvre and dance the Cotton-Eyed Joe on the top. This was no problem.

Nathalie paced on the sidewalk, scowl everpresent. The car was empty, he guessed his bodyguard was out looking elsewhere. It didn’t take long for Roger to sweep the building; Adrien obviously wasn’t there. He said as much to Nathalie. Before she could argue, Chat gestured towards her car. “Adrien isn’t here, like they said. Au revoir madmoiselle.”

When Nathalie gave in and drove away, Roger excused himself as well. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that.” Even as Chat, he had a friendly relationship with them. It wasn’t exactly odd that he’d helped them out with a personal situation. “What was that all about anyways, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well, Adrien Agreste, you must have seen his post,” Tom started, and Chat smiled at Marinette, “his father is not a good man. Adrien is coming to live with us. He isn’t here right now because he has some things to do before it’s official.” Tom rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re all worried about him, though. He lost access to his phone so we have no way to contact him, we just want to know that he’s alright.”

“I could try to find him,” he glanced at Marinette again, and she gave him a slight nod. “I’ll let him know what happened.”

“Can you bring this to him?” Sabine held out her phone. “We’d be more comfortable knowing we can reach him.”

“Sure thing. I’ll stop by some day soon to grab some snacks! Until then, stay safe, everyone.”

♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

By the time the sun was far beyond the horizon, Adrien had gotten a room at Le Grand Paris as Chat Noir, texted Tom to reassure and thank them, and laughed with Plagg about how funny it was that he was asked to check on himself.

“Adrien. I want. Cheese.”

“And I want to be at home watching a movie and eating pastries, but we can’t always get what we want, can we?” Despite his words, he was smiling and already dialing room service. “Two wheels of Camembert, extra runny, the dinner special, and a pair of scissors, please! You can leave it outside the door. Yes, thank you.”

“Only two?! You’ve been running around Paris as Chat Noir for hours, I’m hungry!” Plagg draped himself dramatically over the top of the giant TV. “How will I ever survive on such little food??”

Adrien laughed despite himself. When Plagg grinned over at him, he realized he’d fallen prey to Plagg’s plot to distract him. “You’ll get more for breakfast, you bottomless pit. Be grateful I even ordered you two, I almost decided you could just have what’s left in my bag!”

“Okay, okay, two is fine! Don’t take away my precious Camembert, I beg you! We can’t celebrate without food!” Well, Plagg’s plot was working, because Adrien hadn’t felt better in weeks.

“Celebrate? Already? Nothing is confirmed yet.”

“Maybe not, but come on, kid! Three years ago this could only be a dream, and you’re making it happen!” Plagg spun around in the air, happier than Adrien had ever seen him without Camembert. “You figured out a plan to get yourself safe and happy and you had the courage and strength to go through with it! Even in the face of all the things that could go wrong. You still took a chance! Remember your first birthday as Chat Noir?”

“Yeah, duh, the Bubbler! How could I forget?” Adrien smiled. He loved when Plagg got like this, the rare times he shared his emotions.

“It was mostly rhetorical,” Plagg joked. “I wanted you to have a chance to have fun and freedom even if it meant letting an Akuma run around for a bit. He was barely dangerous, really, I knew you and the ‘bug could take him down easy-cheesy! And all the times I complained about you going to school? You had a chance to do whatever you wanted! You picked school every time and yeah, yeah, I get it now; your friends are pretty cool for humans! When I did all that I was trying to lead you to doing something like this, something wild and freeing! Maybe not ‘run away and come out on social media’ wild, but you got the freeing part right.”

“I think you also wanted me to stay home from school because you’re lazy.”

“Touché.”

There was a knock at the door, and two minutes later, Adrien rolled the tray in. Plagg didn’t even wait for him to take the cover off the cheese platter before diving in; Adrien actually took his time with his food. It was difficult, though. He kept glancing towards the scissors, excited and nervous. “Plagg, save some for later.” Lifting the cover of the platter, he saw Plagg had already gone through the whole first wheel. “I need your help with something.”

“Yeah, yeah, c’mon,” Plagg grabbed the scissors before Adrien even told him what he wanted to do, and flew off towards the bathroom. “I can’t promise it’ll be the cleanest cut with my guidance but I can at least help you get it sort of even!”

Adrien grinned and jumped over the bed, rushing in after Plagg. He stared at himself in the mirror, took the scissors from his kwamii, and let out a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Adrien slept soundly, free of his metaphorical and almost literal shackles. Or he would have, if not for the midnight Akuma. Plagg complained the whole three seconds between the alert and Adrien transforming, and all of the time Adrien was awake after defeating the Akuma, until he got his next two wheels of Camembert in the morning.

The Akuma wasn’t particularly difficult to beat, but it took a while. The Tracker was slippery, just like her prey. It was emotionally draining too, hearing his deadname and getting misgendered for hours by Nathalie. He couldn’t say he was surprised about her being akumatized, and Ladybug didn’t seem surprised either.

“Of course she’s looking for Adrien.” Her sigh was heavy. Midnight akumas really were the worst.

“How do you know about that?” he asked. If she asked how he knew he could always tell her he heard it from Marinette. It wasn’t a lie, after all, and Ladybug knew he liked to visit the Dupain-Chengs- it wasn’t much of a secret.

“Oh, uh, I saw his post, and I know how, er, overprotective his father is of him.”

The Tracker had already gotten away twice, following a trail that led nowhere. Chat Noir had to pretend he was worried that she would find Adrien, and keeping up that act on top of everything was really draining. He couldn’t help the heavy sighs that kept working their way out of his lungs.

“Chaton, are you doing okay?” Ladybug stopped him on a roof with a gentle hand on his wrist. It caught him off guard, and she steadied him when he stumbled.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Just... well, this whole situation.” She looked around conspiratorially, but no one was around on a rooftop at midnight. “If I understand right, Adrien ran away because his father is transphobic...”

“.... Oh! Yeah, I’m fine! I’m relieved, actually. Proud! I’m glad he’s going to be out of that situation soon. My friend Marinette and her parents are helping him. It’s a situation I wouldn’t mind being in myself! Aside from the ‘being tracked down by an Akuma’ thing. Speaking of which, let’s go! We’ll have to search for the Tracker, we let her get pretty far ahead.”

He smiled when she turned her back. Her concern for him warmed his heart. He knew it wasn’t possible- their identities had to remain secret and they had to stay professional as superheroes- but he still loved her to bits.

It was only three hours later when he finally got back to the comfort of the hotel bed that he let himself relax and think. The day had been harrowing, but he had a lot of support, people who loved him. People that he loved back. Plagg, Ladybug, Tom and Sabine. Marinette. With no one around to witness it, Adrien covered his face with his hands and let out a frankly embarrassing squeal. He was going to be living WITH MARINETTE! As housemates, but still. All the additional time he could spend with her, shared breakfasts, doing chores together, arguing over which live-action Spider-man was best. (Marinette insisted it was Tom Holland, but Adrien knew the real answer was Andrew Garfield.) Maybe, just maybe, if Marinette got to be around him more often, she could... feel the same way about him as he felt about her.

♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Stick around for part 3! That’s right I’m not done yet

#remember kids: trans your gender #miraculous ladybug #trans adrien agreste #ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug au #sage writes #no gabriel agreste redemption allowed in this house we dont let abuse go unpunished #adrien agreste is now adrien graham dupain-cheng #forgot the title. thats what i get for posting so late at night

[fight-surrender]

30 Days of Carry On (At Once)

This was kinda fun, thanks @captain-aralias for doing this! 

1. Favourite major character: god I love Baz with every fibre of my being, but I think Simon is my favorite. 2. Favourite minor character: Fiona because she is who I wish I was. 3. Character you relate to the most: I answered this one earlier, but Simon, always Simon. His feelings of worthlessness resonated so viscerally, it was painful to read and still hurts all these months later. Frankly, his discovery/exploration of his sexuality was a wakeup call for me too. 4. Which character would you like to go to lunch with? Baz. I love cracking open prickly people and getting to their squshy soft side. Plus I think it would be fun to trade snipes. Granted, this would have to be a boozy lunch because in reality I’d probably freeze up and not be able to think of anything to talk about. Maybe I’ll change my answer to Simon because he’d probably be much easier to talk to? Maybe not WS Simon though. I dunno, lunch with strangers is kind of scary, actually.  5. Favourite non-Snowbaz ship: Shenelope. Fuck Micah. Penny deserves better anyway. 6. Favourite non-romantic OTP: god bless Penny & Baz. Their every interaction makes me so fucking happy. 7. Favourite Baz outfit: My knee-jerk reaction is the Gucci rose suit, but I also really love the Christmas eve dark greenish-black suit with the fucking blood pink tie. I love that visual so much. 8. How do you feel about Wayward Son? I can hardly think about it. Still. It cut me to the core

9. Favourite scene from Carry On, besides Chapter 61: I want to be your terrible boyfriend. 10. Favourite scene from Wayward Son, besides Chapter 41: I think the scene at the Hoover Dam where Blue spoke with Simon, it gave me hope. 11. Remind us about something in canon readers might have forgotten about: In Chapter 7 of CO, The Mage vows to protect Simon with his life. I think that’s why Penny’s spell & Simon’s words killed him. It was the only way to protect Simon. 12. What are your hopes and fears for Any Way the Wind Blows? All I want is for Simon & Baz to work their shit out and fucking talk. And have an actual relationship. With kissing, lots of kissing. I fear that Rainbow is going to fuck my life once again with some kind of horrible “real life” twist. 13. An unpopular/cracky opinion you hold, *whispers fearfully* So, I think CO Agatha is kind a bitch. I like her much more in WS though. 14. Something from your head fanon: Simon isn’t bumbling or awkward or dumb, he’s brilliant, just tangled up in his head. 15. Favourite quote(s) “It’s not like I’m a militant vegetarian” And just like that, Simon is ok with Baz and is ready to move on to just being his terrible boyfriend. Plus it’s funny af. 16. Favourite location other than Watford: I think it’s Baz’s house, it’s just so cleverly written, with the wraiths and gargoyles, hauntings and goat sacrifices. Not to mention the Japanese toilet. Thanks to @captain-aralias, the wraith will always be Nigel to me. 17, Favourite location in Watford. Simon & Baz’s room in Mummers House. It’s where all the magic happens. 18. What would be your favourite subject at Watford? Maybe elocution? How to use your voice to make the spells work sounds pretty interesting. 19. What would your magical implement be? My engagement ring was kind of boring, I mean, it was a nice diamond thingy (I’m not going to think about where it came from, I got it in the 90’s before I knew…) Anyway, it was never “me.” For a big anniversary a couple years ago, I had it redesigned in a more organic style with birth stones added for each family member. Now I love it so I guess it would be that. 20. Favourite magical creature. And/or invent a pun-based one. There are no unicorns in Carry On, (well aside from the edible ones in WS) but them. Always unicorns. Although my second love is Dragons. Then Merwolves. I refuse to think they’re all mean, just misunderstood. 21. Favourite canon spell. I haven’t really thought much about this, maybe “Kiss it better” for that moment in WS (you know the one) 22. What would your eighth year spell at Watford be or do? “Cheer up buttercup” which eliminates depression/anxiety. 23. Who would you want as your roommate? Baz, because he’s neat, studious and snarky. 24. Favourite item of merchandise, official or unofficial- Definitely the Baz cutout. 25. Favourite book cover design- The Kevin Wada Carry On cover. 26. Do you want a movie? If yes - any fan casts for the movie? Yes, desperately, yes. Rob Raco as Baz & and Sean Delaney as Simon. 27. If they made a movie, what scenes do you think they’d cut that you’d be furious were missing? Hm, that’s tough. Oh god, I bet they’d cut swaths of the epilogue. That would kill me. 28. If you could ask Rainbow Rowell one question, what would it be? (If you have already, you can share if you like) Not so much a question as a statement, I really, really wish she had marketed Wayward Son as part of a trilogy from the onset. Not knowing that, and reading the book thinking it was a standalone was such a sucker punch. I’ll never forget (maybe never forgive) reading WS, slogging through the pain, desperately hoping against hope for a happy ending, then getting—not that. I literally felt like I’d been punched. I preordered 5 copies of that book and feel really kind of stupid for having done it. Deceived. I really should get over this, but I’m still a little bitter. Needless to say, I’m ordering one copy of AWTWB and I’m waiting til other people read it so I know what to expect. I’m not going through that again. 29. Have you read any of Rainbow’s other books? Yes, all of them. 30. How did you get into Carry On and/or Carry On fandom? I read CO August of 2018. I fucking fell desperately in love and needed more of this world. Those boys. I reread Fangirl. Then tried to find fanfic (which I didn’t know was an actual thing) on fanfix.net (fictional!) I stumbled on to some fanart on Pinterest and noticed that a lot of it came from Tumblr (which I had no idea existed.) Then I joined Tumblr and things snowballed from there.

#30 days of carry on #carry on #wayward son

[ichigo777666]

FE3H Characters Ranked

My opinions of all the main characters in FE3H ranked from worst to best in my opinion. These are MY opinions! Spoilers ahead, obviously.

*NOTES*

This does not include any of the DLC characters. This also does not include the following characters since they have limited dialog / appearances within the game: Gwendal, Pallardo, Duke Aegir, Anna, Lambert, Ionious, Metodey, Kostas, Holst, Macuil, and Indech. Any other characters who are only mentioned by name are also not included. And Byleth is also not on this list due to being the player’s character.

Everyone else included in this list has a few interactions or mentions in multiple ending paths so they’re fair game. Not having a lot of interactions is not going to affect placement that much so don’t be surprised if some major characters wind up low on the list…

*The PIT*

Aka the worst of the worst. The characters I would throw into the void.

#54 – Leonie

I absolutely hate this character so much. Her personality is so flat and grating that she drives me up a wall. Her character can be summed up in two words “loves Jeralt” – that’s it. Just about everything about Leonie revolves around impressing Jeralt or being like Jeralt or doing this because of Jeralt ect. I don’t care if she’s useful as a playable character – every time she opens her mouth I cringe. Her support which is only available after Jeralt dies in which she berates you for “not appreciating him enough” is just the epitomny of selfishness. Then PTS she basically turns herself into a second Jeralt, replicting his outfit as best she can and giving herself his title “the blade breaker” and adds a 2. Excuse you, but is ANYONE can call themseleves that it’s Byleth, aka Jeralt’s child, not YOU. But she doesn’t care and does it anyway...

#53 – Rodrigue

Oh boy this is going to be a very unpopular opinion but in terms of a character, Rodrigue is kind shit. Rodrigue earns this spot for being the shittiest living parent in the game. His eldest son Glenn dies and his comment on that is how “he died like a true knight”. His first emotional response is pride not remorse. He never mentions how much he loved him or how he misses him: just how proud he was of him… And this pisses off poor Felix. Felix whom gets left ALONE after this happens because Rodrigue decides he’s got to be Dimitri’s mentor / guardian. So he basically straight up abandons his grieving 13 year old son to be the new father figure of the prince. Dimitri was more important to him that his own child. We can all see what the impact of this was on Felix through the game. And then, in Azure Sky, when Rodrigue joins you as a “mentor” character, he lacks all balls. Dimitri is going crazy and acting like a psychopath and Rodrigue doesn’t even really try to do anything about that – he just stands aside and comments on how he’s “changed”. I mean FRICK MAN – your were his guardian, his mentor. TALK TO HIM! But NOOOOOOO! So yeah, Rodrigue sucks!

#52 – Lord Lonato

Speaking of shit parents, here’s another for you! Yes, Lonato was kind enough to allow Ashe and his siblings to live with him, which is the oddest decision ever considering this came about after Lonato caught Ashe sneaking into his castle to steal from him. “I’ll just adopt this thief child”. Despite that act of kindness, he also chose to not tell Ashe the truth about what happened to his son Christophe; that Christophe was not involve with the Duscar incident but rather had been a part of a plot to try and kill Rhea. Lonato could not bring himself to believe that his son was wrong or had done anything wrong. Despite the fact that his son had decided, for whatever reason, to try and kill someone, Lonato thought that this was okay. He then sacrificed himself for the sake of trying to avenge his true son instead of continuing to care for the children he’d taken in. He basically took Ashe & his siblings in, giving them security for the first time in years, then chooses to follow his only wrong beliefs and thus put Ashe & his siblings back into the world again. He gave them 7 years of security and this just went “oh well, you’re on your own again”.

#51 – Gilbert /  Gustave

And rounding out the “shit parents” section of the list, we have the father that literally abandons his daughter and wife due to own depression. He’s totally alive and out there but just can’t bring himself to give a crap about either or write them any letters. Nope, he’s caught up in his head that he wasn’t there during the tragedy of Duscar, of how he “should have arrived sooner”. I mean, really? It is in now way his fault just because he’s a knight. He wasn’t supposed to be there and he’s got guilt that he wasn’t there? Seriously man?! And then when he finally does reunite with Annette all he does is push her away. Instead of letting Annette decide whatever she wants to be around him again, he chooses for her and denies her attempts to reconnect with him. Yeah, shit father…

*The Bottom of the Barrel*

These characters are bad. They’re not absolute utter garbage like the PIT characters, but they still are awful.

#50 – Dimitri

Yeah, I don’t like Dimitri. What is there to like about this guy? He was traumatized as a teenage when his dad was killed in-front of him and that changed him into a survival-guilt ridden bloodthirsty killer? Jeez, it honestly feels like someone tried to ft a whole bunch of tropes into one cohesive character and failed massively. The whole “brooding” phase in Azure Sky where he’s basically a tantrum throwing 5 year old only makes him worse. Also, I still don’t understand WHY he immediately jumped to the whole “Edelgard is the one who killed my parents” conclusion. The entire Duscar incident had nothing to do with Edelgard, unless Dimitri thinks a teenager with no power could do that. And, if he’s blaming the Empire, why does that extend to Edelgard who was just a princess at the time? I could see if something like the FE was present and that’s why he went crazy after Edelgard but I’m pretty sure the FE didn’t exist back then… so WTF? This is like “my parents were killed by a drunk driver. Hey you, unrelated person who just learned to drive this year, you are drunk therefore I HATE YOU – you killed my parents!” Really, no. NO.

#49 – Acheron

He has a minor role only but you fight him twice and you can get some background from Lorenz. He’s annoying and I guess he’s designed to be so. I don’t like him much. But he’s not as annoying as Dimitri.

#48 – Cyril

Oh Cyril. He’s such an annoying character. He’s a more toned down version of Leonie with his obsession with Rhea. He’s a bit of a jerk during his support conversations and he’s dismissive of his homeland. I think his supports with Seteth best show what Cyril’s all about: he’s devoting himself to repaying Rhea without thought for anything else, even his own future. He has no ambitions and no desires….how can a character be so bland?

#47 – Hannerman

And the obsessive one. ‘Obsession with Crests’ is just the only phrase you need to describe Hannerman. While I can understand why Hannerman as a character wants to research crests, the way he goes about it is just wrong. He hounds Lysithia w/o realizing why she’s avoiding his questions until she basically has to spell out WHY she’s uncomfortable with talking about it. He’s been hounding Seteth for 21 years about his crest and Flayn’s too. 21 fricking years of bothering someone and he can’t understand the answer “no”.

#46 – Arundel

Yeah, he’s a piece of shit but at least he’s interesting. He’s Edelgard’s uncle and yet he basically allowed her to be experimented on. Why? Who knows? He’s associated with TWSITD but why? Power? Conquest? He’s mysterious. His personality “suddenly changed” leaving the option open that he was replaced and the Arundel that exists now is a fake. He’s intriguing but he’s still a piece of crap.

#45 – Dedue

Oh Dedue. I feel like Dedue is stuck playing the “victim” card but without looking for sympathy. He’s from Duscar so everyone looks down on him...and Dedue just takes it. He doesn’t try to defend himself or say that just because he’s from Duscar doesn’t mean he’s evil. He does nothing to try and change anyone’s opinions – he’s content to just sit and take it. But then he talks about wanting to have the world move past the tragedy….so which is it Dedue? In order to have it change, you need to actually DO SOMETHING!!!!

#44 – Thales

The weakest character of the main three. The game tells you almost nothing about Thales...and then you go and read the wiki and find out he’s Arundel….yeah mind telling us that game?! So he’s higher than Arundel.

#43 – Nemesis

Another evil character with no personality or real background. Why did he start his rampage? Was he manipulated or just evil? Who knows….

#42 – Judith

Judith has such a small role unless you’re playing VW. And in VW she’s a bit of a bitch who treats Claude as a misbehaving child even after he proves himself again and again.

#41 – Nader

AKA the Alymrian general you meet briefly in VW and in CF. He’s in for less than a few minutes and he appears to be jolly/happy and has the rep of being an undefeated general. I guess he’s alright. But with no real role I can’t bring myself to feel anything for him

#40 – Annette

When I first played I was on the fence with Annette. I sorta liked her determination and her drive to reunite her family. But then her singing started...and oh boy do I hate her singing. So many of her supports center around that annoying singing! Just STOP already, please! Also WTF is that blue “tab” in her PTS redesign that’s right on her butt? It’s the only one...

#39 – Ferdinand

Ferdinand’s personality is just...annoying. From his meme’d battle line to his constant talk of “being a noble” he just grates my nerves. And why does he act like this? Because his father is not and he’s trying to not be like his father and be a “good person”….

*The Low-End*

These characters are “eh” characters. They’re aren’t too good or too bad...but they lean more towards bad than good.

#38 – Kronya / Monica

This was an interesting idea. I just wish she had been more involved or usable. Like if you’re playing BE house, she becomes a playable member. Something to endear her a bit more other than “this other random character you rescued who acts suspiciously”. Let’s face it, we all knew something was up with her. And then she’s killed off so easily and quickly...

#37 – Cornelia

Okay, she’s a bit interesting and a manipulator. They weren’t afraid to give her an “ugly face”. She’s a schemer and not afraid to flaunt her assets to give her an advantage.

#36 – Alois

Eh. Alois. Loves jokes, very loyal. I guess he’s alright but he’s not spectacular and some of the jokes and just so so so so so so bad.

#35 – Ashe

Ashe is another character that I think lacked development. I mean he just gained a slight bit of confidence and purpose but he’s not one for much change. His personality over all is a bit bland: he likes stories about knights and is worried about his siblings. Oh and he used to be a thief.

#34 – Jeritza

Bland because he’s meant to be bland. His other personality is typical “killer knight”. What saves Jeritza is his support conversations where you get background and you realize why he’s the way he is.

*The Middle Ground*

These characters are right in the middle. Not great but not awful.

#33 – Ladislava

In every ending except CF, you only get to see her once but in CF you can chat with her and learn more about her. She’s the head of Edelgard’s person guard and its heavily implied she had next to nothing before this appointment. She’s fully loyal to Edelgard, even willing to die for her cause.

#32 – Flame Emperor

I listed this character separate since FE is an enigma. I actually liked the design of the FE and the whole mystery surrounding them.

#31 – Manuela

I’m...ambivalent about Manuela. She’s a drunken whiner at time and other time she turns into something sweet and reliable. She’s so worried about her age but she’s NOT that old. It’s a bit trope-y though...to have an older character all concerned about her age.

#30 – Jeralt

Jeralt’s a good dad character albeit a flawed one too. It’s a shame they didn’t give him any support conversations to flesh him out more. As it is most of what we learn about Jeralt comes from others.

#29 – Sothis

I don’t hate Sothis like most. She’s a bit bratty, yes but look at from her way – she’s got no memories, no recollections, and has found herself somehow stuck with this person. She tries to help out Byleth best she can, even if it sometimes leads to near disaster.

#28 – Gatekeeper

A nice wholesome character who always wants to help out and be useful. He’s a nice guy but suffers from lack of characterization.

#27 – Mercedes

First off, I dislike the “breathy” quality of her voice. She’s a very nice girl and very kind...but that’s about all there is to Mercedes...

#26 – Raphael

Ah, the big guy who loves to eat. He’s overprotective but not too overprotective of his little sister. He’s strong, interested in his muscles, and in getting stronger but it’s because he’s shouldering the responsible of taking care of his sister. Still he’s a bit trope-y.

#25 – Lindhardt

Lindhardt make up your dang mind! He talks about wanting to study crests but when he’s offered by two separate people to do just that he complains about how he’s being “tied down”. Really? His laziness and sleepiness also gets tired after a while.

#24 – Ignatz

Ignatz is a character who shows a lot of growth and goes from having no confidence in what he wants to do to finding his path. However Ignatz remains a pushover who gives in to whatever anyone advises even when he knows its wrong. It takes a long, long, long time for Ignatz to learn to have any say in himself...which is why he’s down here.

#23 – Solon

The most developed of the three main TWSITD characters. I feel his reveal as Tomas was ruined by the poorly executed Monica / Kronya earlier. However he was unexpected. Who expects the librarian? It would have been better if they didn’t have him as “suspect” in the whole Flayn is missing part through.

#22 – Randolph

You only really get to know Randolph in CF although he’s got a minor part in AS where we see that he truly cares for his sister and how he feels he must do this, even if he risks dying. In CF, we get to learn more about Randolph. He’s actually a step-uncle to Caspar through his mother marrying into the family. He has no power or clout so everything he earns is done by action. It’s a shame they killed him off so early.

#21 – Caspar

Caspar is a good character in several ways. He’s not depressed about not being the heir to his house and is motivated to find his own way. He knows he’s flawed and in his supports he tries to change only to learn that he’s better off following his own path. It’s his boisterous yelling and charging headfirst into danger is what I don’t like about him.

*The High Side*

These are characters I like. They’re not the best but I like them and can understand them.

#20 – Hilda

Ah Hilda. Hilda’s one of those characters that surprise you. Hilda starts off being this lazy character who doesn’t want to battle and doesn’t want to do chores. Not because she can’t do them, but just because she’s lazy. You see her trying to get out of things in her supports only to either feel guilty or wind up helping someone learn something. But I think where Hilda shines is in VW where she acts as Claude’s “advisor” and some of Claude’s best plans come from suggestions from Hilda. By then she’s come into her own. I also enjoy Hilda’s C support with Seteth greatly where he just lists all the excuses she’s given flat out as Hilda gets more and more nervous.

#19 – Claude

Claude made it up here due to his unprediacbility. Some of his plots/schemes are downright hillarious. Claude is unashamed of who he is and where he comes from – he knows who he is and who he wants to become. And, in a game riddled with characters who struggle with that very issues, Claude’s a bit of a breath of fresh air.

#18 – Fleche

Ah Fleche. She’s a very minor character but she’s got such an impact on the story in AM – this is what path we’re going to discuss. We first meet Fleche when she’s talking with Randolph, her brother, right before Randolph heads out on a mission that will ultimately end with his death. Instead of doing the typical thing for a young girl which is to cry, Fleche goes ‘nah’ and decides to take revenge. She disguises herself as a “maiden” and goes to try and join the Kingdom Army; she’s allowed to by Dimitri. Fleche bides her time and waits until after a big battle and then straight up goes and tries to murder Dimitri. She actually stabs him once and barely fails in her task of killing him. Against Dimitri, one of the strongest characters... a little girl.. Yeah, Fleche is kinda badass.

#17 – Miklan

Okay, so here’s another good sympathetic villain character. Miklan was born with no crest so he was looked down upon by his family. He was the first child however so his family kept him...at least until his brother Sylvain was born with a crest. Then Milan became “garbage” and useless in the eyes of his family and thus was disinherited. He lashed out against his brother multiple times. With no one on his side, Milkan became the leader of a group a bandits and began taking things he wanted, things he felt he should have had, by any means necessary. He later stole the heirloom lance from his family, intent of keeping it and its power for himself. While it’s true Miklan is not a nice person at all, more like a sadist, the reason he became that way was due the treatment of his family.

#16 – Dorothea

I am in the camp of the very few who like Dorothea’s second outfit better than her first – that dress is boss. Some of her supports are downright sweet and her interactions with Ingrid in their paralogue are just adorable. I love how we get to see so many different sides of Dorothea and how she treats each of her aquantinces with the side of herself that’s most appropiate.

#15 – Shamir

The silent Shamir. Unlike so many characters who talk and talk and talk, Shamir only speaks when necessary until she gets close to someone. Her skills are top-knotch, which is showcased in her supports. Her personality is a reflection of her work and the kind of jobs she does as well as her way of protecting herself. She’s mysterious and deadly.

#14 – Rhea

Oh Rhea. I’m often torn in the way I feel about her, going from understanding to becoming frustrated with her within the span of a single conversation. Her desire to see her mother is what drives everything she does – every single thing. She is 100% committed to trying to reach her goal, no matter the cost, and she’s been at it for almost an eon. Outside of that goal, what she’s doing she truly believes is the right thing. She’s trying to guide people towards the right path and away from conflict. She lets no one truly into her innermost thoughts, not even Seteth, and her emotions are all sequested away, so much so that when they do come out it becomes obvious. I mean, for anyone who thinks she’s nuts, let’s take a look at some of the trauma she’s gone through. Her beloved mother, whom she obviously cared for more than anything, was murdered and her body was used to make a weapon. Said weapon was then used to slaughter the vast majority of her brethern who were then in turn alos turned into weapons to be used to kill. She had to then fight the man who had killed her mother to reclaim what’s left of her body and to stop any more pointless killing. Yeah, Rhea’s had it rough.

#13 – Marianne

Ah, sweet Marianne. It was great to watch her change and grow based on her supports with the other characters. Her caring nature towards the animals, espcially the horses, was lovely – she even knows the names of a few of them (the only one to refer to the horses by name). I like how her PTS outfit reflects the changes she’s overcome – even the subtly of making her hair neater.

#12 – Catherine

Badass female knight with a legendary sword. She’s brash, not lady-like, and not afraid of anything really. The way she rushes into combat w/o a though for danger, the fact that she doesn’t try and hide her past from the person whom it affects the most, and her way of testing people. Catherine’s great.

#11 – Hubert

Juts missing the top 10 is loyal Hubert. I’ll admit I didn’t like Hubert at first but he grew on me bit by bit. Hubert’s S-Support with Byleth is like the cutest thing ever – I was not expecting it at all. This is loyalty done in a good way.

*The Summit*

The best characters in the game, IMO. These are the characters I love!

#10 – Petra

I got to admit, I like her not-perfect talking. That’s so much of Petra’s charm. Adding to that is how Petra’s always trying her best and trying to advance herself. She has modest goals she wishes to reach and doesn’t try and sell herself as better than she is. She’s always willing to learn and to help others. When there’s someone with a different opinion, Petra tries to understand why they feel the weay they feel and to try and find common ground.

#9 – Lysithia

Oh poor girl. Lysithia struggles with others seeing her as a child or too childish due to the fact that she’s younger than most of the students. She’s incredibly intellegent and throws herself into her studies. Both of these things lead to others teasing her, either playfully or actually. Instead of taking it stride, this ‘teasing’ causes her temper to show and erupt. She can’t tell them WHY she’s trying so hard, why she’s so desperate to achieve cause that would reveal her secret. She’s burrying all this hurt and anger deep inside that she can’t talk about because can understand what she went through (except perhaps Edelgard). And even though she knows she’s going to likely die soon, she’s not focused on her own life: she’s doing all she’s doing to try and help her family...

#8 – Sylvain

Sylvain quickly became one of my favorite blue lion boys. At first glance he looks like this degenerate womanizer...and then you learn abut him and why Sylvain is why he is. His father views him as a studhorse and that his crest is the only good thing about him; his father literally cannot see Sylvain as an actual person, just a way to further the family. Having a father like this and a brother who hates him for having been born with a crest has greatly shaped Sylvain. In order to have some semblence of himself, Sylvain began to act out, to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING he could to not be what he was supposed to be. His father wanted a noble son; Sylvain did everything he could to not be that. This got him into trouble again and again but Sylvain didn’t care. Sylvain is willing to do things that make others look down upon him if it helps him try and escape from his life...

#7 – Bernadetta

Aw, Bernie. Bernie’s such a good girl. Based on what she went through, it’s amazing she’s even sane. Her father’s idea of parenting was tying her to a chair and forcing her to remain quiet and submissive for hours, to “teach her to be a good wife” which is the reason she turned into such a nervous wreck of shut-in. He resorted to beating to near death a boy she made friends with because he was a commoner, which terrified Bernie into not wanting to make friends at all. Bernie’s mom seemed to have a little sense and smuggled her out but this is only AFTER she allows this stuff to go on for years – YEARS. Bernie’s had years of psycological trama inflicted on her and then she gets thrust into a school surrounded by people whom she has to interact with. The poor thing. It’s a testament to her professors and friends to see how far Bernie has come; to watch her change and grow as she slowly comes around to adjusting to normality.

#6 – Ingrid

There is something incredibly entertaining about a lady knight who loves to gorge herself on food. Loving eating food is generally a character trait you see on guys (typically big guys like Raphael) so to see it on a chick is a good change of pace. Her whole no-nonsense strict attitude is a great contrast to that. She’s not girly or into very lady-like things such as dresses or makeup or tea parties. Ingrid is a guy’s soul in a girl’s body….and she’s amazing.

#5 – Felix

If you haven’t read the entry for Rodrigue (he’s #53 on this list) go read that first. After all that shit that Felix’s gone through, it’s amazing he’s even still standing and capable. He’s stewing with anger and grief that he’s never been able to work through and it manifests as anger and his stand-off attitude. Poor freaking Felix.

#4 – Flayn

Fishy Queen. I do not get the hate for Flayn. She’s been horribly oversheleted by Seteth in his attempts to protect her so it’s left Flayn a bit naive. Flayn’s usually very cheery and happy which is a bright light in the depressing war times. She’s also a quite capable mage, mainly with healing magic but she can also learn a good bit of reason magic too. Flayn is always trying her best while trying to fit in with the others – she’s over 1000 years old, mind you! It can’t be easy trying to fit in when you don’t understand and when a vast majorirty of those years were spent asleep. She was involved in an ancient battle where she was badly injured (Seteth blames it on her being too young) and requires sleep inorder to heal. Meanwhile everyone else she knew and lived with aside from Seteth was killed. She wakes up an everything she knew and just about everyone she knew is just...gone. Not only her beloved mother but any friends she had too are just gone. It’s no wonder she fears falling asleep when this is what happened. Her obession with fish? It’s Flayn’s coping mechanism for dealing with the loss of her mother. Flayn explains on numerous occassions that she spent lots of time sitting with her mother while she fished and that fish is her favorite food due “to no small part” of this pastime. Fishing and eating fish is Flayn’s way of remembering her mother and dealing with the fact that she’s no longer with her. Flayn’s supports are just great; they all develop her personality more. With Dimitri and Dedue, Flayn’s cooking is explored. Flayn can’t cook although she tries her best. With Dedue, Flayn tries to learn to cook better. With Dimitri, Flayn expresses her disdain that no one enjoys her cookings and how this wastes food, even when she tries her best. Obviously Flayn never cooked before – her mother did most of it. Now there’s no one in her family to cook so Flayn’s trying to learn to try and follow in her mom’s footsteps. With Ignatz and Manuela, Flayn’s exploring things she never has seen or done before: the opera for Manuela and paintings with Ignatz. In Claude’s and Lindhardt’s supports, Flayn sidesteps questions about her heritage and her crests. With Sylvain, we see how Flayn grows and learns to not trust the rumors others say. In Felix’s, she’s trying to help Felix find a purpose after the war ends that still allows him to use his sword. With Raphael’s it’s Flayn who’s being helped by Raphael as she tries to “grow stronger”; she even mentions how she’s frail and how this worries Seteth. And then there’s Ferdinand’s supports where it’s clear Flayn’s been starved of physical affections aside from Seteth. And their supports, between Seteth and Flayn, are a great progression between the two...Overall, I love little Flayn.

#3 – Lorenz

I like noble boy. I will admit, I hated his schooldays haircut with a burning passion...and then man on man did he become HOT pts. Winner of the best boy glow-up. A lot of Lorenz’s character flaws are the fault of his father. His father taught him that all that is important is being nobility and Lorenz ate it up, not knowing any better. His father instilled into him how he neeed to find a wife to further the family’s influence and thus how she must be a noble. This worked so well on Lorenz to the point that he willing to even give up someone he loves if they happen to be a commoner. Lorenz spends a lot of time trying to ‘interview’ girls to find his perfect noble bride, coming off as a bit on an ass – even when he’s confronted by Byleth he refuses to believe he’s done anything wrong since this is what his father taught him to do. It takes a long time until Lorenz starts seeing that he is wrong that what his father taught him is wrong. He starts using his own head and his own eyes to determine what is instead of using the opinion blasted into him by his father. He’s always trying to help other, feeling it’s his obligation as a noble to help those around him, which is a quality that he alone seems to take seriously (despite the school being filled with nobles). He originally dislikes Claude cause he believes that Claude isn’t taking his responsibility as the next Alliance head seriously since Claude is so laid back. He eventually comes to see that, despite appearances, Claude is working on the issues and is capable. His S support with Byleth where he mentions how he has "worked tirelessly to improve" "to become a man truly worthy of (Byleth)" and then is uttely shocked if Byleth tells him he already was worthy shows how dedicated he can be. With Ignatz, he instills confidence in him, seeing talent in Ignatz for art and talking about how there is more to knighthood than combat. His poetry writing comes out with Manuela’s supports and he convinces Hilda through actions to actually throw herself into battle. But I think his best supports are with Marianne. The vast majority of her supports are the others telling her to “be more confident” or “smile more” or other such things where they give her advice on how to improve...but Lorenz is the only one who comes to see that nothing needs to change. He starts by complementing her and then commenting on how she “needs polish” only to realize he was wrong and state she is “becautiful just the way she is”, accepting her fully for who she is without looking to change a thing. He is, essentially, telling her she is perfect the way she is and she doesn’t need to change at all for him to love her...which I find just so utterly sweet.

#2 – Edelgard

Edel gets a lot of hate but I honestly love her character so much. Edelgard is a doer not someone who sits by and does nothing. Due to things outside of her (and her father’s) control, she would up the victim in an experiment, a experiment that killed all of her siblings. Edelgard alone survived although at a cost. That experience forever changed her. Gone was the child and in her place rose Lady Edelgard. Unlike Lysithia who is dealing with her similar situation by trying to provide for her family before her time runs out, Edelgard isn’t. Her goal is the destruction of the circumstances that caused the experiment as well as those who caused the experiment to happen upon her so that this cannot happen again to anyone else. Since the experiment were done to give crests and since Edelgard has obviously seen how some children are treated whent hey have / do not have one, she aims to destroy all of that. Edelgard is literally stomping her foot down and saying ‘no, this isn’t a good or fair system and I’m not going to stand around and let it continue’. She’s willing to sacrifice everything to attain this goal, even if it turns her into a monster or ends in her death. Instead of waiting for the world to change, Edelgard decides to BE the change. She knows she’s going to be responsible for the deaths of a lot of people and she clearly struggles with the idea of this but in the end she decides that if she does nothing than that number will be greater so she persists. She burries her desire for friends and for love because she can’t bring herself to trust or rely on others – her father loved her but couldn’t protect her; the nobles in her father’s court are resonsible for hurting her too. They had her trust and they betrayed it. Her heart has been broken already; I don’t think she wants to risk it breaking again by trusting someone who will betray her, by making friends who can abandon her, by falling in love with someone who doesn’t understand what she’s doing. In CF when you side with Edelgard, you get to see more of that emotion slowly come out. Think on the PTS reunions: Dimitri was in disbelief and then apathetic that Byleth was alive; Claude was slightly surprised but then glad; Edelgard though broke down. Edelgard was the only one to get so emotional over Byleth’s return – someone she had trusted whom had returned that trust wasn’t dead after all; there wasn’t another corpse to add to the pile of people she cared for. And in that final animatic where Byleth falls – she’s clearly so upset. She’s crying, clearly devistated. Devistation which turns into laughter when Byleth revives because she can’t believe it. I stand by my opinion that Crimson Flower is the canon ending for FE3H. It’s the only ending where the endings song is different; all 3 other paths have the same song “Edge of Dawn” but not CF – you get something different. Add to that that EoD is sung by Edelgard. And let’s not forget the symbolism. The game is Fire Emblem. What’s a fire emblem? Crest of Flames. Who posess this crets out of the main cast: Byleth & Edelgard. And in CF you unite. Also notice the same letters. Crimson Flower (CF) & Crest of Flames (CF). That’s not a coincidence.

#1 – Seteth

I honestly could fill pages on why I love Seteth as a character but for here I’ll try and keep it shortish. I’ll start with his supports. Seteth’s supports are all about his advice to the others and him trying to guide them. For Cyril, he’s talking about how it’s great to repay debts but it is also important to consider one’s future as well; he doesn’t want to see Cyril just waste his whole life in servitude to Rhea but rather to grow into his own. With Catherine, it’s concern over her safety, over how she throws herself into battle without care for the consequences. For Manuela, it starts with a lecture over her drinking habits but turns into something far more personal when his wife and daughter get mentioned. Outside of the paralogue, this is the only time an outside person gets to learn that Seteth even had/has a wife and daughter and it’s Manuela who gets told it, implying a deeper friendship. Hannerman’s involves his investiagtion of Seteth’s crest and how Seteth is constantly refuting him, obviously trying to protect himself and Flayn from others finding out the truth. With Leonie, he teaches her how to relax while fishing while she improves his own skills in the area. For Hilda, he’s trying to improve her work ethic first by confronting her about her excuses, and then by writing a story about her laziness...which does work somewhat as it gets her to work on illustrations. For Ingrid, he’s a voice of reason about the demands of her father and he’s the one who suggests that Ingrid simply talk to him about her issues, something which she didn’t consider. For Felix, he’s trying to help Felix realize his beliefs are holding him back and that he needs to make friends. With Bernie, he helps her build some confidence in her own skills and talents. And of course we can’t forget his interactions with Flayn where he goes from overly protective, to realizing he’s a bit too overbearing, to actual apologizing for that. Seteth acts as a conduit or a spark that helps inspire change in those around him, to wake up potential, or to see things differently. He’s strict and often seems somewhat unreasonable about rules and regulations but its obvious this is his way of trying to protect people. He’s shouldering massive guilt over the events that happened in the last war. He personally blames himself for Flayn being hurt and for his wife dying. This event spurred him on to becoming overprotective of his daughter, of the only thing he had left. Seteth is doing what he’s doing to PROTECT his child (unwilling to see her to come to harm), even if he’s going about it in the incorrect way. He has literally devoted his whole life to protecting Flayn to the point that when she gets kidnapped, he falls apart at the seams and is unable to do anything at all except despair and distress. Flayn has become his whole world and just about everything Seteth does is to protect her or help her. That kind of devotion from a father is incredible, especially in a series where most of the parents kinda suck. I also adore how he breaks the typical “paper-skinned mage” trope. Let’s face it, most of us probably thought the stern chuch advisor was likely going to be a mage – and then we get a wyvern rider with a lance. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it here. Seteth is just the best character.

...this was 18 pages of writing.....

[insane-mane]

Redesigned second set of 10 (totally forgot to upload it here)! 

Cannonbolt- Cannonbolt is sort of a hard design to just completely start from scratch from, but I really like how it turned out. Reconstructing how his face and outer shell  sorta connect looks visually pleasing, and I'm def gonna have to show how I think the rest of his exoskeleton actually functions. I don't want it to be where it's like this perfect, spherical ball, but have it sorta make sense how the arms fit into it correctly and whatnot, but that'll be for a later date.

Wildvine-  Nothing too different about this one, just resized his proportions a bit, gave some minor shine to his eye/shoulder thingies, placed a few exploding seeds near his elbows to make em more interesting, and muted some of his colors a bit to better differentiate them. Overall, pleased with the pose and whatnot.

Blitzwolf-  His mouth shape is actually slightly modeled by a moon flower, which I think fits with a somewhat new concept I've been trying to play around with. Blitzwolf (yes, I changed his name ever so slightly) can hear almost ANYTHING from far away and has night vision, but now has moon-powered sonic howls that can create narcoleptic shock, incapacitating an enemy for a few minutes. Blitzwolf also absorbs the light the moon emits allowing him to create these crescent-shaped blasts that cut through nearly anything.

Snare-Oh- Snare-Oh, as scarce as he was in the series as a whole, was a semi-fave of mine. I liked his lanky-look, which is something I kinda wanted to show off here, but still have him look like a threat. I also wanted to change up his biology, making him somewhat more organic and have his physiology make a tad more sense. I did give him bones before, but now that I watched Be Afraid of the Dark, I think it would be more unique to have his "corpse" look similar to the mutated humans? Corrodium was part of the Thep Khufan culture as this powerful, radioactive mineral and worshiped it as some sort of monolith that effected their race. Its effects are different, allowing them to be immortal but breaks down their body, to the point where they "become one with the stone" and decay,causing them to need protection (bandages) to keep their form together and contained. The bandages are to be extremely resilient and stretchy, and the corrodium allows them to control them via telepathy. They can still be cut, but it would have to be something FAIRLY sharp, an average blade wouldn't cut it.

Frankenstrike-  Frankenstrike’s species were once hulking, humanoid-like creatures with electromagnetic abilities. Slaves to the Ectonurites, the Transylians were used to power large generators to keep the planet shrouded in large, dense clouds where sunlight could not effect Anur Phaetos. After a large revolt against their ghostly masters, the Ectonurites wiped them out, so to speak. They were reanimated and the Ectonurites made them mentally impotent, so they’d obey to their every whim. Due to their decaying bodies, the Ectonurites implemented mini generators and other forms of machinery into their biology, keeping them stable and enhancing their abilities. Soon their flesh became callas and rough, giving them no pain index. Since he’s a hodgepodge of body parts disconnected from the joints, Frankenstrike can disassemble his body parts and reattach them via his electromagnetism. Apart from his electrokinesis, Frankenstrike is not too bright and is very child-like. Afraid of large amounts of bright light due to his masters beating the idea into his species’ heads bright light=bad.

Upchuck-  Upchuck's powers/abilities (like a lot of other redesigns I've done) are altered a bit. Upchuck is a lot more agile and uses his squishier exterior to bounce around, allowing him to evade attacks and/or get to food quickly (adding more to his frog-like appearance). His teeth are EXTREMELY strong/resilient, able to crush the toughest of metals. And no, there's no "pocket dimension" in his stomach, just a healthy amount of potent stomach acid that converts whatever it is he ate into nutrients/explosive blasts. His three tongues are covered in a very adhesive saliva, allowing him to keep hold of anything he's managed to capture.

Ditto-  Ditto's biology is a bit different here. The sensory nodes on his shoulders help his "hive mind" know where each one is and allows them to regroup immediately. Ditto is actually now an invertebrate, so he lacks bones and allows him to be extremely flexible and stretchy, for easier cloning. This adds a bit to his more cartoony nature, having him squash and stretch (however there is a limit to how much pain he may be put through). Speaking of limits, Ditto's cloning can only go so far. He can make it up to just about 100 clones, but that may double with age.

Eye Guy-  Nothing majorly different in terms of Eye Guy's design besides the asymmetrical eyes (which, in my opinion, look cooler) also added to his legs and slightly more detail with the face. I really wanted to give him slightly irregular proportions, which may be hard to see here in this pose the more I think about it. In terms of his powers, Eye Guy's eyes move more independently, helping his 360 vision a bit more. He still has minor regeneration/healing, eye merging, and elastic eye stalks he protrudes from his body. He's much more flexible, and has outstanding hand-eye coordination. I've decided to remove his ice beams since I felt they were out of place. He still technically creates fire beams, fitting better with his optic blasts.

Way Big-  Way Big's powers and abilities are pretty much the same: He big! He still has the ability to generate cosmic blasts by forming an 'X' shape with his arms, conjuring the forces from his home world and creating a very powerful attack. Way Big's height (at age 10) is nearly 1,600 feet, exceeding the empire state building! His height grows further from that, reaching nearly, you guessed it, 10,000 feet as an adult. Convenient, huh?

Feedback-  For his design, I wanted to make him a bit more feline-like. I got a cat a while back, he's very slender and energetic, and something about him made me think of Feedback, so here we are. I wanted to have some of his copper coils and such slightly more...alien and organic but still recognizable. Added some white in there because my cat has this neat little tuft of white fur on his chest, it's a nice contrast against the black. For powers, not a whole lot is changed, he's just much more flexible, and I like to think his skeletal structure is made out of the same metal material found on his tendrils and fingers, explaining how he can redirected and boost electrical blasts in a more fun way. Feedback gives Ben a rush of energy whenever he uses him, but makes him crash hard after timing out, so turning into him is a bit strenuous. Being more cat-like, he's also a bit more impulsive than Ben normally is, so that may lead to more harm than good.

#my art #ben 10