#i like to imagine that this is pre battle like just seconds before

[leavemetoplaythesims]

another fantasy villain au edit because i like it

before:

[junowritings]

Could I request pre-romanced but interested Astarion (spawn), Gale, Halsin, and Rolan each reacting to Tav, in a moment of desperation, transforming into a silver dragon to save him from death. The kicker? Tav did not remember that they were a true dragon due to the tadpole wrecking their memory and is just as caught off guard by this revelation as he is.

Oh now this was too much fun to write! I ended up trying to generate a different scenario for each of them bc it was fun to imagine the context for each of them! :D

Astarion

♡ What a foolish thing; to let your guard down. Astarion knows better than most that nothing good would come of doing something so utterly stupid, no matter how safe. And yet he makes that very same pitfall after a battle with gnolls goes awry. Most of the beasts had been knocked off the nearby cliff-face, an underhanded tactic but he knew well to make use of the terrain even at the cost of any worthwhile loot. The rest had been picked off easily, and when Astarion buries his dagger into the gnoll prone beneath him the tension in the air finally seems to ease - the battle is over, for now.

♡ He’s still picking bits of viscera from his clothes, bemoaning the effort it’s going to take to pluck the gore from the decals when he spots you across the battlefield. You’re helping Karlach pry her axe free from getting a bit too gung-ho on an enemy’s skull, and he watches your face scrunch up from the effort with a snort. You catch his gaze when you look up, returning his fanged grin with an unamused huff of your own. It’s a sweet sight, even marred by blood and dirt, and Astarion makes a move to rise to his feet intending to amble over and watch you either succeed or count the axe as a loss. That was the plan-

♡ Until the carcass beneath him lurches, a screaming mass that in its death rattle bowls them both straight over the edge. And in the blink of an eye he’s in freefall, barely catching the look of horror on your face before he slips from sight.

♡ It’s nowhere near as graceful as the tales make believe. The wind bites at Astarion’s face and whips around him hard enough that his ears ring as hands try to grapple for purchase against the wall of the cliff. Nothing catches, only grabbing fistfuls of dirt and catching on rocks that crumble away beneath his fingers. No, no, no this was not how he was going to die; but there’s nothing to hold, nothing to see but the vast expanse of sky above his head as though taunting his very fate-

♡ And something else. Something large and scaled and burning silver as wings fan out enough to block out the sun as it appears practically out of thin air.

♡ A dragon. As if things couldn’t get worse?! Astarion’s cursing just about every force in the universe that he can think of as the beast plummets to close the distance. It’s there in seconds, a rippling wave of silver that swelters the very air as a taloned hand shoots out and catches him around the midsection. He expects to be eaten, maybe plucked to pieces right there and then; instead the dragon’s body rolls mid flight, curling close around the vampire spawn like a protective shield as the ground rushes to meet them. 

♡ The landing isn’t gentle, having been too close to the ground to take flight. Both hit the earth but it isn’t the fatal fall it could have been. At one point he slips from the dragon’s talons, and by the time he’s wormed his way free he’s marred by dirt and spitting leaves alongside the plethora of curses in his vocabulary. But he’s alive.

♡ He certainly wasn’t complaining about that, but his head is still spinning with the ‘why’ of it all - where had that beast come from? Why  hadn’t it killed him when it had the chance? He’s already looking for his dagger that had been lost in the fall as he scrambles to his feet, whipping around to face the dragon as he hears it stir. But he doesn’t find it. No, instead he finds-

♡ You. The last of the draconic visage crumbles like burned parchment, and you slump to your knees in the gouge your previous form had carved into the earth. Your hands tremble as you bring them up to your face, inspecting them like you’re checking that they’re truly there before your head shoots up to look at the vampire spawn you’d just saved. There’s a wild look in your eyes, confusion evident as you mirror his own slack jawed expression and trip over yourself to get back onto your feet with a scream of “What was that?!”

♡ At first he doesn’t believe your pleas of ignorance, and doesn’t get why you’re trying to protest so hard that you didn’t know. It’s not as though he hasn’t kept secrets from the group before - it’s not as though he willingly shared he was a spawn holding hands around the campfire like a jolly old fellow, did he? He’s not going to fault you for keeping your secrets so long as it’s not getting him killed. 

♡ But then he catches you pacing later that night back at camp, muttering to yourself of how you could forget and mulling over what else you’d lost with the tadpole. That kind of panic isn’t easy to fake, and you aren’t even aware of the audience to fake it. Has that tadpole altered your memories that thoroughly? A disturbing thought.

♡ Of course he’ll be the first person to encourage you to use this ‘new’ form of yours to your advantage - why wouldn’t you? It’s not everyday that someone finds out that they can turn into a hulking magical creature at the drop of a hat, so why not make the most of it? Not to mention it will be excellent for both combat and persuading anyone who makes the mistake of thinking that you’re easy prey.

♡ Of course that brings the whole other question of - why the hells did you jump after him?! Did you think your little friend in the artifact would somehow save the two of you again?! You hadn't even hesitated to reach for him; to protect him…Astarion doesn’t know whether to throttle you over your own self sacrificing logic, or kiss your damned face until any thought of risking your life like that again goes out of the window.

♡ Perhaps he’ll do both - he hasn’t decided yet.

♡ Plus, he’ll never admit it, but the camp feels a little safer knowing that it’s got a fire breathing, flying scaled powerhouse for a leader - might move his tent just a little closer to your own after that realization. 

Gale

♡ Wizards and close combat rarely mix well together. It has been somewhat of a running gag between the pair of you since the first tussle back at the grove when he nearly went sailing off the rocks he’d been casting from when a sword got far too close to his flank for his liking. You’d been there to save him, of course, biting back a teasing comment on his ‘graceful trip’ and trying not to chuckle as you’d helped the man back to his feet when it was all over. Gale naturally had been just as quick to remind you that even with his lack of tact for fisticuffs he was just as capable at keeping you as safe as you kept him. As he’d proved with a well timed magic missile not even one fight later,.

♡ The understanding was mutual - he’d protect you with all of the magic at his disposal, and you would do what you can to shield him on the battlefront. As you got closer, and the wizard got the opportunity to know you better, that protection evolved to something deeper. Something more than just having one another’s back out of necessity; the thought of any harm coming to you in the first place had been a sour notion, but now it was downright unthinkable. You took every blow meant for him without hesitation; pushed back any blade or arrow meant for him even if it led to adding a few more scars to your repertoire. And gods if you didn’t look absolutely stunning doing it.

♡ This time is no different. The sounds of battle ring in his ears, the clashing of weapons striking drowned out only by the roars of a group thrust into combat. Considering just how many unique faces make up their party (with a githyanki warrior, a renowned hero of the coast, and an excitable yet combustible tiefling - to name a few) Gale is surprised that bandits would even try their luck against this gaggle of adventurers. But where your group has skill, theirs has numbers, and this fight has been going on long enough that everyone is exhausted, frayed and running out of steam.

♡ He watches you on the other side of the battlefield, weapon clutched tightly in clenched fists and eyes burning with the fire of combat as you call out to your companions. You’re trying to pinpoint everyone's locations, caught up in the fighting as your weapon comes down on a bandit’s head. Multiple voices call out to you and Gale opens his mouth to join them, the air around crackling as he rears back to cast another spell. But the words barely get past his lips before he feels a solid blow to the back of the head and for just a second his world goes white. There’s a kick to his back and the world topples before he hands on him. 

♡There is a fist wrapped up in his hair and a blade so close to his gut to breathe is a risk. One of the bandits - how had they gotten so close without him noticing? Had he gotten complacent thinking he was safe from his vantage point? A knee digs into him and the wheeze he lets out is pained as he attempts to throw the bandit off. But Gale’s not a fighter, and it’s getting harder to think straight when another hard yank knocks his head against the ground with a harsh crack. Magic pulses at his fingertips as they rake up dirt, the words forming in his mouth hoping to get them out before that blade decides to get familiar with his insides. If only he could just-

♡ What comes next happens suddenly. A rush of air, an unrelenting wave of heat and the weight suffocating him is gone. The bandit’s body is hoisted up in a cushing jaw, only able to get out little more than a scream before they’re essentially ragdolled across the field. The threat of an imminent gutting is gone, but Gale finds himself unable to breathe once again as he realizes what exactly has descended upon him.

♡ Multiple times his size with several layers of thick silver hide, and adorned with thick leathery wings, a dragon prowls overhead. Slitted eyes scan across the battlefield, taking in the carnage and what remains of the stragglers that Gale’s companions haven’t taken down with a surprisingly clarity. It’s…looking for something? No, someone - your companions. He watches the creatures head tilt, letting out something akin to a billowing rumble before setting its sights back on the wizard still very much pinned beneath it. 

♡ The dragon’s head leans down, a huff of air feeling sweltering against his face as he comes face to snout with the creature that could easily turn him into wizard-chow with but a bite of that wall of teeth in its maw. But it doesn’t; instead it lets out another huff and there’s a ripple that seems to shake every single scale on its body before it’s shifting. It shrinks, morphs, changes into someone all too familiar as you drop down to your knees. Poor Gale almost gets a limb to the gut again as you slump down beside him, shaking off some sort of daze as you come back to your senses. It’s you - that dragon was you?

♡Gale doesn’t realize he’s shouting till he hears your own voice shouting along with him just as confused and panicked. Surely the pair of you must look like fools, unable to get out any kind of coherent word as your brains catch up to. You end up having to cover his mouth with your hand so that there’s enough quiet to actually process what has just happened, but Gale doesn’t miss how utterly lost you look about the whole ordeal - clearly this is as much news to you as it is to him.

♡ Once things have calmed down (and he’s checked to make sure he didn’t infact get punctured by a stray talon on the way down) Gale is absolutely fascinated. Nothing short of a kid in a candy store, this man is enthralled by the implications of your transformation. He knows you’re shaken of course, and he gives you time to do whatever you need to to ground yourself before he thinks to act upon any of his burning questions. He hopes to shed some light on things by working through these questions with you, hoping that they’ll spark some recollection you couldn’t remember before. 

♡ He’s tactful, tries to be subtle but you can tell that he’s clearly excited to learn about the origins of this ability. Is it related to your bloodline? Or were you perhaps cursed? Could this be some kind of advanced wildshape unbefore discovered? It doesn’t hurt you, does it? The last question gives the wizard pause, and he can’t quite relax till you assure him that the process doesn’t cause you pain.

♡ Depending on if your memories came back after your first transformation, you’ll only be able to give him so many answers. Feel free to practice your abilities around him though. At first he keeps a safe, out of the line of fire-distance, but it doesn’t take long before he inches closer until he’s close enough to run a hand along your flank if you allow him. There is an almost reverent touch alongside his curiosity as he marvels at the sight of you - breathtaking, is the only word he can find to describe it as you extend a wing for him to examine. 

Halsin

♡ Halsin has lived long enough to see many beings, experience many things. But he’s not fool enough to simply assume that he’s seen all that this world has to offer. There are still plenty of things to discover, many days and events he has yet to live amongst these new companions that have stumbled their way into the druid’s life.

♡Every moment with you has been a shining example of that fact - from the tadpole in your skull that you somehow manage to resist with each passing day, to the very way you approach the world around you. You somehow always managed to leave Halsin guessing, trying to wrap his head around the impossibility of you - regardless of you background, regardless of your creed or the life you lived before the tadpole, you remained a walking anomaly. Once which kept him on his toes, wondering what facet of you that you would reveal to him next.

♡ Of course he had done the same for you - you’d just about knocked your whole team over when he’d transformed after you’d first rescued the druid; recalled to you events and moments in his life that had anyone else told you, you would have called bullshit. It was a mutual exchange - you were open to him, and so he would do the same for you. He trusted you after all, and hoped you felt the same for him.

♡ That trust extended to the battlefield as well. Halsin’s desire to protect extended to the entirety of your party, naturally, but you were under a watchful eye with this man. Your penchant for the disregard of your own safety left much to be desired in the ways of keeping you safe; the needs of others or obtaining what you want often put above your own safety in the throes of a fight. Your habits of getting into trouble were something he grows far used to by now, so Halsin willingly takes the mantle of your protector, if only to save you from all of the scratches and scars that you’ll no doubt earn yourself down the road with your current mindset.

♡ Such as now. Within a wildshape, Halsin acts as a defensive shield for the other companions in a fight against a stray goblin raiding party. The leftover dregs of the ones from back at the temple that were set on hunting the party down long after the fall of the cultist once housed there. Teeth and claws rip and tear into goblin flesh and bone with ease, the bear acting as an utter powerhouse shrugging off each and every hit as though he was being poked with sticks and not swords. Things look to be over swiftly, as alongside the attacks of yourself and your other companions the goblin’s ranks are quickly dwindling - having either been felled by your defense or fled once they realize it was not a fight so easily won. With luck, you’ll all be back at camp before sundown.

♡ It is you who warns him that that’s not the case. He hears your voice, hears your scream of his name and Halsin cranes his head in an attempt to seek you out worried that something had happened to you when he wasn’t looking.

♡ But then a blinding light bursts against his side and he roars, loud and anguished at the sudden pain that washes over - some kind of explosive, brutal and all too effective against the druid. It’s enough for him to drop, barely still clinging to his wildshaped form as he braces against the earth in a bid to get back to his feet. What’s left of the goblins swarm, threatening to overwhelm him in his vulnerability and Halsin prepares himself for the approaching onslaught that closes in on him.

♡ Then something slams overhead, the squeals and cries of the goblins drowned out by a blinding roar that rings in the air like a toll as something impossibly large lands above Halsin and the goblins barricading them from their assault behind the wall of its body. A thick sweltering heat takes over, emanating from scales that glint like fine silver as the large body of a dragon settles overhead, and the area around them becomes alive with noise and chaos in its wake. 

♡ The very ground trembles under thick clawed footfalls - the trees groaning barely avoiding the wrath of this dragon as it rises to its full height and lunges for the attackers. The goblins never stand a chance - whichever ones weren’t smart enough to scarper before are taken out with little more than a snap of jaws and the swipe of a tail. Large claws break into the earth below, digging deep as though to ensure the dragon doesn’t move an inch from the druid’s side even as the last of the goblins are reduced to shreds. 

♡ When it is all over the creature visibly loses its hostility as it rounds once again upon Halsin. A firm nudge to his side, as gentle as a beast of this size can be and Halsin manages to push himself back to his feet, shedding the form of his barely clinging wildshape as exhaustion settles heavily upon his shoulders. By this point he knows that it means no harm, head pressed to his side until he’s firm in his stance before slinking away and circling around the druid as though appraising, checking for more damage. When none is found there’s a twitch, a shift in its tail that works its way up to its skull as though its very being is unraveling before Halsin’s eyes - and that’s exactly what happens.

♡ Scales and talons shift and rend, giving way to familiar flesh and a face the druid has all but committed to memory. This time he is the one to offer support, large hands coming up to brace upon your shoulders as you stumble over yourself looking about with a bewildered expression. “That was…what did I…?” Your words are met with a gentle assurance that that can be tackled in due time - it’s better to tackle those questions with a clearer head after nursing your injuries. And he’ll be right there will you, even guiding you back to camp till you practically insist that you’ll be fine on your own.

♡ Halsin has heard of many species and many abilities, but nothing that’s quite like a dragon shifter. At least, not one like you seem to be. You seem just as distraught by that knowledge, alongside the fact that this appears. Yet another thing that the tadpole has taken from you, if your belief to have had this ability before is true. It isn’t much different than using wildshape, as you learn once you talk through the experience with Halsin - what you were feeling before, what you were thinking. You admit that the only thing on your mind had been protecting him when you’d turned, horrified at the sight of him hurt and just out of your reach to save. The look of momentary surprise on Halsin’s face melts into something far softer at the revelation, a gentle praise at your own thoughtfulness to protect others that may leave you feeling bashful.

♡ Halsin actively encourages you to shift whenever you feel the desire to do so. Learn more about this form and what it means to you; refamiliarize yourself with a part of you that you’ve been separated from for such a time. He’ll talk you through it should you express any need for support, but he knows that you’re more than capable of controlling this aspect of yourself just as you have before. Of course he’ll also be admiring you the whole time, nothing but honest praise about the power of your form and the beauty of this other part of you.

Rolan

♡ It was a mistake to have ever come to the shadowlands - now Rolan is losing everything. Cal, Lia, his very own life; all of it is going to be snuffed out by the oppressive darkness which has defiled every inch of this place, and he’s powerless to do anything to stop it. All he had wanted to do was to make a life for his family, to make Rolan a name that they and others could be proud of. But every good deed seemed to only make things worse in the end - hells had even that one act of kindness saving those damned kids been rewarded like this? Not even his attempt to save his siblings had worked and now he was facing perishing in a land where death was never kind, as though the world was giving him one final kick when he was down to remind him of his own shortcomings. 

♡ Shadows circle in, lured in by the dwindling embers of his torch which is the only thing barely keeping him alive in this forsaken wasteland. But that is not enough; they claw at the edges of his light, ripping and tearing at the hem of his robes and grasping for his ankles, hoping to get a foothold on the tiefling long enough to drag him off into the darkness to never be seen again. Panic unfurls in his gut, burning brighter than the useless glorified stick clenched between sharp nails as he wrenches himself free of their grasp and stumbles over himself trying in vain to make some distance.

♡ He’s got minutes at the most, moments at the least; and those creatures writhing in shadow and dark have the luxury of biding their time waiting out his final seconds. He’s going to die here - without ever seeing his siblings again. What had he ever done to deserve such a cruel ending?

♡ But it doesn’t end - at least, not here.

♡ A roar breaks through the sound of his pulse pounding in his ears, and every hair on the back of his neck stands up as a chill shoots down his spine like a shot of ice. What, had some worse creature come to finish him off? As if being torn to shreds within the shadowlands wasn’t bad enough, now he’s got to contend with something bigger. And gods, is it bigger. Even through the thick smog of the shadowlands it stands out like a beacon of silver, its very scales giving off a faint glow within the darkness as though the shadows themselves are reviled by its presence alone. A feeling sinks within the pit of his chest the moment that he realizes what manner of creature is stalking towards him.  A dragon - gods, why did it have to be a dragon?!

♡ The beast is huge, a rippling wall of impenetrable flesh that cuts through the space between them in little more than a few bounds. Wings stretch wide, an impressively intimidating display as taloned hands slam down on where the shadows persist. The shadows dissipate easily beneath its claws but their shriek in indignation warbles uselessly, clearly not expecting the sudden attack in their bid for new prey. What the shadows have in number the dragon compensates for in size, easily swiping down a handful before attempting to latch onto another with its sizable maw.

♡ Rolan can’t tell if it’s doing any damage, but whatever perceived slight this dragon has on the shadows Rolan isn’t going to question. The shadows have their attention turned to the beast; if he has any intention of making it out alive he reasons he needs to get out of here now. But that’s easier said than done when one wrong move could have him meeting the business end of a stray swipe or the lingering shadow taking the opportunity to pounce. He’s going nowhere - not while the fight persists.

♡ Eventually the shadows must decide that facing a dragon isn’t worth the trouble just for making the meal out of the tiefling, and no sooner had Rolan been surrounded, the shadowy figures slink back into the deepest recesses of the darkness. A wave of relief warms his bones at the realization that they’ve slithered back to whatever domain formed them - he’s alive.

♡ But then those slitted eyes land back on him, and Rolan decides his chances may have been better dealing with those shadows. His attempts to escape are thwarted, the dragon rounding on him in a manner far slower than the frantic thrashing of before. No, it’s watching him, and the tiefling is rendered frozen at the curious way it tilts its head as though it recognizes something familiar.. 

♡ Almost jumps out of his own skin when it nudges him, a quick bump of its head that almost knocks him flat. Rolan barks out a curse, but the winged creature insists on pushing him till he finally takes the hint and moves to where it’s clearly wanting him to go. Gods, this is unnerving and he doesn’t know what it wants until the nudging finally stops and he finds himself staring down at the lump of belongings haphazardly discarded at his feet. And he tenses. 

♡ This pack - that lantern - he knows who they belong to at a glance. And no sooner has he put the pieces together that there’s a ripple of energy, a shift in the very air as the dragon before him begins to change. It molds into something else, taking on a form far more familiar - the last face he’d thought to see, but perhaps the one he should have expected.

♡ You just about keel over, clutching your knees and shaking bad enough to match his own as you let out a wheeze. You’re not worse for wear aside from the general health risks of being out in a land so tainted by dark magic, but even as you dust yourself off and look over at Rolan, you once again leave him speechless with a quick quip of “So…that was new.”

♡New? NEW?! You mean you just suddenly discovered your shifting abilities, like some twisted epiphany?! The pair of you must be a right sight, huddled around the moon lantern with him slack jawed and you looking more confused than you have any right to be after that stunt. It’s too much to process, and he’s still reeling from the near death experience and everything that has happened in such a short amount of time. Doesn’t put up nearly as much of a fight as he would have in his right mind when you urge him to go back to the inn - you’re grateful for that, or he might have insisted on coming with you even more.

♡ He doesn’t get to grill you on your abilities until everyone is finally safe. Many are enjoying what little respite they can get before they move on to the next place away from here, and he catches you finishing up your own business at the inn hoping for answers before you leave. Like Astarion, he has doubts that you didn’t know. Really? Not even an inkling to the draconic blood in your veins or where it had come from. Tries not to be frustrated at the shrug you offer in response, having to remind himself that this is a new development for you - he’s not going to pry you with questions when you’re likely still struggling to wrap your head around the prospect yourself.

♡ Once Rolan realizes what had triggered your transformation he goes uncharacteristically quiet, staring hard at your face as though trying to gauge your bluff. When he finds none his voice breaks with his gratitude, hiding the shake behind a cleared throat as he breaks eye contact suddenly struggling to meet the sincerity in your gaze. That was…perhaps he needed to rethink what exactly that - he - meant to you another time; in a place where there’s not always life or death on the line.

[ashessonfire]

Okay so I have a fic idea and I’m a bit obsessed with it so hope you like it too!!

I was imagining that the reader is part of the crows and they do a job where the reader and Jesper get cursed or poisoned where they just stay in a coma like state.

The crows try everything to wake them up but nothing works and one day Wylan kisses Jesper and Jesper wakes up so they realise the cure is TRUE LOVES KISS!

Kaz is obviously in denial about his feelings and thinks the reader can’t possibly love him back so he doesn’t even try and the other crows start getting really mad at him and basically force him to kiss the reader and she obviously wakes up too!

I was thinking lots of angst and worrying and pining before the kiss because I love pain haha

I would absolutely love you forever as ever if you could write this! ❤️

'Fairytale' - Kaz Brekker x Reader

Prompt: Kaz sends you and Jesper on a heist, which results in the pair on the brink of death. Can Kaz face his trauma and save the person he loves most? - Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Reader (pre-relationship) - Warnings: Mentions of asphyxiation (gas poison like season 2), Jesper and reader fall into a coma like state, descriptions of Kaz's trauma, nothing too graphic i dont think?? Angst, angst, angst

A/N: Anon i just have to say i love you, this request is EVERYTHING. Its a long one but i just couldn't stop writing! Please keep requests coming, you guys have incredible ideas!!! P.S Thank you all for 5000 notes already <3

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The second the words ‘Jesper’ and ‘Y/N’ coincided with the word ‘heist’, fits of laughter and screeches of excitement escaped the pair in question. It was rare that the friends could spend a mission entirely alone, obviously working diligently, but stopping by for drinks afterwards, unbeknownst to their boss.

Kaz rolled his eyes, fixing a dull look at the two, lip curling up in what may have appeared to be disgust. However, you caught the playful glint in his eye, just illuminated by the club’s oil lanterns for you to notice. Giving the pair of you the meticulously laid out plan, Kaz offered a tight nod before watching you disappear into the crowd of pigeons, and out into the cool breeze infiltrating Ketterdam’s night air.  

A pair of eyes lingered on your back, until you were far enough away that the raucous customers drowned out your angelic laugh, riding high above the crowd and penetrating the heart of the man you had just turned from. Clutching his cane fiercely, Kaz pushed all thoughts of you aside, burying deep the anxiety rising into his throat, and limping swiftly back up to his office.

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“Come on Y/N, we’re early anyway. Surely a tiny drink won’t hurt, I mean Kaz isn’t,” Jesper started playfully, but you cut him off with a look that could only be replicated with enough study of your boss’s face.

Jesper burst out laughing, infecting your chest with bubbles of joy, bursting out of you in a fit of giggles which set your partner off further. “Sorry Jes, Kaz’s orders. Plus, the sooner this is over, the more we can drink later,” you replied, your voice weakening at the end of the phrase as you suppressed a further attack of laughter.

Once the pair had battled through the biting conditions, gusts of wind cutting at their exposed skin like needles, the heist had run smoothly. Jesper successfully distracted the guards outside the small outlet, resorting to booming gunfire when even his charm had displayed no effect. You dissolved into the shadows, slipping through the doorway to the room that Kaz had suggested held the jewel, something, you supposed, worth far more than its underwhelmingly ragged appearance displayed.

The sound of guns clicking against their holsters alerted you, a shiver of anticipation creeping up your spine, however it dissipated as quickly as it came, once an outline of a ridiculously tall hat appeared on the floorboards. Within moments, Jesper joined you at the entrance of the room, eyes alight with adrenaline, practically buzzing next to you as his body twitched from the excitement of using his guns.

“Right then, lets go get this thing,” Jesper stated dramatically before striding forward with determined steps. Yet the strangled warning and the missed grasp on his wrist came too late, as a floorboard shifted under the sharp-shooter’s weight, concealing the entrance and your only chance of escape.

A soft light emanated from a half-burnt candle on the other side of the cage they now stood in, yet it was enough to catch a flash of regret seize Jesper’s face as he turned towards you.

“Uhmm, I’m guessing that wasn’t supposed to happen, right?” Jesper said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the trap he had triggered. A sigh escaped you, the previous joy from the early evening seeping from you fast, replaced with ice flooding your veins, heart hammering savagely against your chest. As you formulated a response to both calm you down, and relieve Jesper, a hissing sound disrupted the thickening silence.

The sound multiplied, surrounding the pair as they frantically searched for the source of the noise, like as snake threatening its victim before injecting its most lethal venom into its prey. Before the analogy of the snake could panic you further, something caught your eye, forcing you to strain your sight to make out the red shape slithering around on the floorboards. The candle flickered and dimmed, leaving the lightest of red glistens to illuminate the room.

“Jesper,” you choked out, finally comprehending what shape inching towards you was. Yet there was no need for a reply, as a sharp scent infiltrated your nostrils, forcing you to cough violently as the smoke burned your lungs, ripping apart your flesh from the inside out.

Jesper was forcing your name through his lips as he staggered towards you, gripping you tightly in his embrace as his lungs constricted. The pair crashed to the floor as each limb felt severed from the rest, the flickering candle now smothered by the red smoke.

Black filled both crow’s visions, as the gloom consumed them, relieving the burning sensation as their lungs gave out.

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There were truly very few things that could render Kaz Brekker speechless, however the sight of his two closest companions lying lifeless and frigid had utterly shattered him. Inej had shadowed the pair on their mission, under the command of their boss. “Just in case,” he had said to the wraith, but it was evident to her that he was simply worried for the both of you.

The crash of the city clock startled Inej into panic, leading her to the room where she discovered the pair, limbs tangled together and Jesper’s arms encircling your frame.

Dragging both of your limp bodies to a dreg’s owned carriage, Inej rushed you back to the slat, praying frantically to every Saint she could think of. The only sense of relief keeping her sane was the faint breaths emitting from you occasionally.

Now, you were both encased in warmth, the thickest blankets the crows could locate wrapping you up as you laid unmoving on makeshift beds in Kaz’s office. Nina insisted on you being together, allowing her to monitor your heart rates efficiently, the dread that your breathing could cease momentarily consuming the crows.

Wylan sat unmoving from Jesper’s side, constantly tending to him, bringing cool cloths to reduce his fever, or forcing sips of water down his throat, anxiety ripping into him each time he was made to leave.

The boy sat curled up next to his boyfriend, barely speaking apart from breathy rasps of thanks to Nina and Inej for food, or the occasional whispers to Jesper. It was unmistakeable from the minute Inej revealed your unconscious bodies that you had been poisoned, thrusting you into a border between life and death.

Kaz’s reaction differed vastly from the rest of his crows, his initial thoughts not moving to sadness, or worry for your conditions. All he could see was Jordie’s dead body, frigid and ashen, the feel of his clammy skin slipping underneath the fingertips of the younger Rietveld brother. The waves signalled no warning, violently crushing the air from Kaz’s lungs, forcing him to stagger blindly out into the alley behind the slat.

From that moment onwards, Kaz refused to see you. Not out of spite, or callousness, but simply because he couldn’t face it. Perhaps if it were only Jesper, he could summon the courage to venture into his office, maybe even remain for longer than a minute. But you?

It would kill him to see you in that sate again.

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Sleep drastically evaded Kaz, the lack of your warm presence during the early hours caused the bastard’s mind to saturate his thoughts with every shade of terror.

Images of your lifeless body crossed over with his brother’s, the picture burning into his eyelids each time he closed his eyes. Since that night, almost a week ago by now, Kaz had not slept more than an hour at a time, and his presence had not been noted once by any of the other crows.

They tried desperately to construct a solution to the venom flowing through your veins, trying the most expensive of doctors, a team of Grisha healers, even antidotes concocted in the slat’s kitchen, yet nothing woke you. Each day unnerved the crows further, the chilling stillness of your bodies showing no sign of regeneration. The lack of activity settling a deeply rooted static into the crows lives.

That was, until Inej burst into his office to break to him the news.

Snatching his cane, Kaz bolted past her, forcefully striking the floor with each heavy step he took as he ascended the stairs. Crashing through the door, Kaz swiftly wove his way past your bed, eyes locked only on Jesper, the sight of your body in his nightmares plaguing him so torturously that he could not bear to even glance at you. As he shouldered past a gaping Nina, the sight before him confirmed the heart-wrenching cries from Wylan, the boy sobbing uncontrollably, his fists grasping at the material on his partners shirt.

Kaz’s gaze lifted to his crow’s eyes, his heart hammering in his ears when a mischievous pair glinted back at him, a weak but lopsided grin painted onto the sharpshooter’s face at the evident concern seizing Kaz’s features. The relief was short lived however, as his veins froze over, the stillness of your body flooding his mind once again with overwhelming anxiety.

“How,” was all Kaz could breathe out, voice low and throaty as emotion took hold of him.

“Whilst Inej and I were downstairs fetching new sheets for them, Wylan stayed up here. He decided at some point he needed some air, so he gave Jesper a kiss before going. But it seemed to have woken him up, and, well, here he is?” Nina offered, the weeps still wracking Wylan, words unable to creep out through the tears that submerged him.

The information buzzed through the air, sinking slowly into Kaz’s consciousness, before his heart plummeted.

The expectant gazes of the others stabbed at him, each knowing glance wrenching at his heart.

What were they all looking at? Surely, they didn’t expect him to be the one to save you?  What sort of fool would reciprocate feelings for the ‘bastard of the barrel’? Thousands of questions swarmed Kaz, constricting his lungs once more, as he exited the room as quickly as he had entered.

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Days had passed without a single interaction between the crows and their boss, no matter the begging they resorted to outside his door. Each sob, scream, or plead was met with a resounding silence, resulting in a chilling slash to their resolve.

Reality had escaped Kaz, his conscious and unconscious hours blurring into one, the chill of Ketterdam infiltrating his body, worsening the horrors that taunted him. Everything he touched became the decaying of rotting flesh, each shadow a haunting figure bearing either yours or his brothers features. At some points, Kaz could muster the strength to imagine something else, something he had pictured frequently even before the mission had failed.

Your eyes glowing from the gentle moonlight glistening through the window, lips slightly parted as your breath quickens at the proximity. Warmth enveloping the pair of you as Kaz reaches down to caress your cheeks, the heat radiating from them enough to seep through his gloves.

He leans into you, the waves calming at your presence, receding until they gently lapped at his feet. Your lips meet and streams of love radiate between the two of you, creating the only peace Kaz has felt since the fire-pox had plagued the city and stolen his family from him.

However, each vision of you was cut short just as he was finally kissing you, your eyes would gloss over, and your lifeless body would be pressed directly against his. Panic attacks always ensued, but Kaz was unsure of how long this could continue for. His body was weakening with lack of use, bones weighing him down with every movement.

By now the others were gathering downstairs to eat dinner, the sound of Jesper’s laugh signaling his recovery was flowing smoothly. Before his mind could register his bodies actions, he hauled himself up, grabbed his cane, and discreetly made his way up to his office.

To see you.

Every nerve in his body set alight at the sight of you, frozen in time as your chest barely rose with each shallow breath. Yet Kaz pushed through the terror threatening to root him to the floor, forcing himself to pull a chair close to you, knuckles whitening as he clutched his cane to ground himself.

When you didn’t start morphing into Jordie, his mind declared that it was safe enough to remain where he was, albeit on the very edge of his seat, waves smashing into his chest with each breath.

In order to stay with you, he needed to focus on the signs that you were at least somewhat there. Scanning your body, he fixated on the whisps of air escaping your parted lips, the rise and fall of the blankets which engulfed you, the tint on your cheeks from the fire glowing nearby.

You were alive, and it was enough reason for Kaz to stay.

For a long while, he sat silently, an undecipherable gaze glued to your form, thoughts racing through his mind but his body frozen. It was evident enough that the crows thought he could be the one to wake you up, in the same way Wylan had done for Jesper. The thought alone made Kaz outwardly scoff, not only was the idea of a ‘fairy-tale’ kiss as the sole remedy absurd, but the fact they believed you could love him enough for it to work.

Yes, you spent hours helping him through mountains of paperwork, bringing him sustenance when forgets to eat, clearing up his room when he is too engrossed in his work to notice, or even keeping him company with a book so he can rest peacefully. But you were kind, too kind for the Barrels harsh realities he thought, although it only rarely stole your spark. Your extra care for Kaz was likely due to concern, how could it be out of anything like love?

The evening drew closer, light fading as twilight enshrouded the city, the chatter from downstairs becoming quieter as the group parted ways to rest. Knowing his time was running out, Kaz Brekker did something he never thought he could.

Kaz Brekker lent down and kissed you.

Immediately sparks ignited within him, lighting him on fire in a way he had never experienced before, however the flames were extinguished quickly, as the freezing waves crashed against him.

They rose exceedingly swiftly, signaling him to retreat into his isolation, awkwardly stumbling out of the office and slamming the door to his room, body shaking violently at the action he had accomplished.

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The moment the door to his office shut, your eyes fluttered open, light scorching them from lack of use, head throbbing but the sensation of being conscious offering you some relief. Your lips tingled, a phantom feeling of something brushing against them consuming your thoughts.

Although you were slipping from the waking world constantly, the sight of your weeping friends and their grateful smiles in the intervals where you awoke granted you enough strength to recover quickly.

One face was unsurprisingly absent throughout your healing, the cold façade of the boss only gracing you once the others were gone, keeping you company in a strange but not unwelcomed silence. With each day you regained your radiant energy, even walking short distances with the aid of Kaz’s cane.

Once you had fully returned, you grew curious as to how you had awoken, startled at the revelation that Wylan saved Jesper with his love. There was no way the person you held affections for would ever do the same.

Could he?

Throwing a sly grin towards you, Nina stated, “Well we don’t truly know what brought you back, but I did catch a certain gang leader looking ever so shaky as he fled from the room. It just so happened that when I saw you next you were awake. What an odd thing,” using a dramatically exasperated tone, the mischievous spark in her eye confirming your suspicions.

Turning every shade of red, you buried your face in your hands, only peeking out from a small gap between your fingers. Just as a compass finds its bearings, your gaze gravitated straight towards Kaz.

As you peered up, you noticed he was positioned directly opposite on the far side of the Crow club, noting the pink tint that dusted his cheeks, just illuminated enough for you to catch. His gaze was unreadable but uncommonly gentle, and moments passed before you recognised what he was staring at.

He was fixated on you

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Kaz Brekker taglist: @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @ell0ra-br3kk3r @swhisperer @sleepynightchild @atlasiiae @kaiinohh @sannunah28 @at-the-chateau @withbeautyandragendrage @animalistic00 @whos6claire @any-corrie (please comment if you would like to be added to the Kaz Brekker taglist)

[elizabethwydevilles]

Padme, during RotS development

One thing to understand is that for the first several months of pre-production, George Lucas is still writing the script (pre-production started roughly around late April of 2002, with the first draft of the script finished in late January 2003. To quote Paul Duncan: 'before the script was written, the design team were given the freedom to imagine possible scenarios', and Rick McCallum: 'usually no one would go off and spend millions of dollars without understanding what the very foundation of the film they're making is, but we break that very rule of film production'.

Sources for this post are The Art of Revenge of the Sith by J. W. Rinzler (2005), The Making of Revenge of the Sith by J. W. Rinzler (2005) and The Star Wars Archives, 1999-2005 by Paul Duncan (2020).

It's also going to be a long ass post, so see under the cut.

June 7-21 2002(?): Ryan Church painted a battle scene: 'What if a bunch of bad guys were attacking Padme and the clones who were trying to get back to their ship?'

August 2002: While revieving costume designs, GLucas indicated that Padme will need senatorial, casual and action wear.

October 12th, 2002: 'For the first time, it is rumoured that Padmé might die in this film. She might be seen last on Alderaan.'

October 25th-31st, 2002: In response to GLucas requesting a new locale for a Padme and Anakin 'love scene', Erik Tiemens designed several Naboo sceneries. Upon viewing them, GLucas moved the scene to Coruscant; some design elements are used for Kashyyyk.

October, 2002: Iain McCaig designed costumes for Padme. Note the bird of prey.

October 2002: While designing the world of Kashyyyk, Erik Tiemens painted a scene of Padme walking with wookies. (Note: Image is a cropped version of the full art work)

November 1st-8th, 2002: Iain McCaig: 'George said there might be a scene where Padme's doubled over in agony and Yoda is there unable to help her'.

November 22nd, 2022: Erik Tiemens designed a set of new locations for Padme and Anakin 'love scene' on Coruscant.

December 19th, 2002: Erik Tiemens: 'I was brainstorming with Iain [McCaig] and he thought that Padme might have a dagger in her hand'.

December 20th, 2002: Derek Thompson illustrated his idea of having Vader find Padme and the children, who are being protected by Jedi.

January 31st 2003: GLucas delivered the first rough draft to his producer Rick McCallum. The outline given in the book is brief, but Padme's basic storyline in the 55 page script appears no different. However, Anakin's nightmare about Padme features her consumed by flames, and Padme goes to Mustafar with her handmaidens and Captain Typho - who are gunned down by clones on arrival.

February 6th, 2003: Erik Tiemens designed a piece of concept art for Padme's funeral procession.

April 12th/13th 2003: GLucas presented the first official draft of the movie script. It's 111 pages long. Padmé and her entourage are still attacked on their arrival on Mustafar, but this time by droids whom Anakin defeats. In regards to Padme's death, Palpatine tells Vader that a Jedi murdered her.

May 5th, 2003: Iain McCaig's designed Padme's funeral outfit.

May 24th, 2003: Erik Tiemens illustrated Padme and Anakin's farewell before he leaves for Mustafar.

May 29th, 2003: Erik Tiemens illustrated Padme watching the Jedi temple burn.

June 13th 2003: GLucas presented the second official draft of the movie script. It's 135 pages long. Anakin's nightmare of Padmé is changed from her being consumed by flames, to her dying in childbirth. There is now a scene where Palpatine suggests to Anakin that Obi-Wan is meeting with Padmé secretly. In regards to Padme's actual death, Palpatine tells Vader that he [Vader] murdered her, just as in the movie. Just like the finished movie, it is noted that Padme dies of a broken heart. Padme's final smile at Leia is noted to be the smile that Leia remembers in RotJ.

June 26th, 2003: The fourth draft of the script is completed, consisting of 129 pages. Padme is no longer accompanied to Mustafar by Typho and her handmaidens.

June 30th, 2003: Principal photography begins.

July 2nd, 2003: First Padme scenes are shot, both located in her apartment (Her and Obi-Wan discussing Anakin, and Padme with the other senators).

July 3rd, 2003: Revised script for the scene in which Obi-Wan tells Padme he knows about her and Anakin.

August 12th, 2003: Last day of principal shooting for Natalie Portman.

September 17th, 2003: Principal shooting finishes.

December 21st, 2003: Iain McCaig designed a practical costume for Padme.

March 9th, 2004: All but the last ('thunderous applause') of Padme's political scenes have now been cut from the final film.

August 23rd - September 3rd 2004: Reshoots

August 23rd, 2004: Additional scene scripted for reshoot the following day.

January 31st, 2005: One last day of filming for Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen.

Script excerpt (unknown date)

Art (unsure dates)

Padme's apartment layout and colours

[buttercupshands]

New MHUI LoV event stuff

first of all - if you follow the news on the new characters even a little - a new UR Shigaraki Tomura came out today (16th of June) he came with a LoV event as they usually do and this one is basically a filler for the time before Star and Stripe arc happened but after Tomura got his mix-match outfit of his own and AFO's choices

and while it is Tomura-centric event it's heavy on stuff with Spinner. He's basically like a second main character of this short thing

The filler answers question on what was LoV doing while Izuku left UA and it uses manga side material as help, because it was stated that Skeptic helped LoV to get new clothes for the Final arc as well as weapons.

A story of event is basically "someone tries to rob us we neew to stop them" while Spinner is questioning if they are really dealing with Tomura anymore, with some interesting localization choises Spinner noticed the Ore vs. Boku thing while Tomura was talking

As it is a turn for a short event we get like 3 parts with Tomura easily defeating the guys who tried to rob that one place

And it's nothing really if you don't count the way Tomura speaks which is really creepy to hear his gaming words while he's also clearly doesn't understand anything anymore what made Tomura Tomura

It's basically what if those chapters before Star and Stripe made Tomura lose it were a story on their own with Tomura still unsure on who he is, but LoV is literally there and they talk about it more than we ever saw them in the manga for... reasons that manga doesn't have filler. At all.

At least not with LoV involved

At the end of it while Spinner is still concerned it all ends with AFOmura or whatever this guy should be called at that point of the story stops questioning it and just agrees with Spinner's question

If you're a manga reader it's worse than just a talk

It also has an interesting point, but sadly as it's a pre-Star and Stripe arc Tomura anything he says doesn't really matter as much

Everything else are basically details, I recommend this event tho, it's not that hard to get all of the story, it's worth having in the MHUI archives

As for other things, more or less harmless - there's an event SR Memory with Toga and Machia and a cards set, the same one Tomura had mostly in the anime

Recruit is standart with a UR Memory for the new character and a SR Memory which is helpful in the event

As for the less neutral stuff I got into the event as soon as I noticed it began and the first thing was to go into the recruit for the new Tomura

got him right away so it was fun and with this my Tomura collection is once again is one off, his first UR is still absent on my account, but 5 characters make a team

Didn't have a motivation to play the event with SR Tomura as my game had an error with dialogue, but I got him at least

Tried playing with him while clearing the event, he has a new battle star animation, battle end animation and of course his own ult animation

He's fun to play with, and that actually got me back into MHA as I was slowly losing my will to still do anything connected to it aside from this game

A small thing that I found interesting was that his recruit voiceline is Tomura's speech from back in 222

Interesting choice as none of old ones had something connected to this chapter

Other than that his Base talks are the same and his reactions in Trust menu are the same too

As usual MHUI LoV events are the best in delivering events with stories that belong in canon and it's easy to imagine them there

[streets-in-paradise]

Third Fate - Achilles x Fiancee!Reader

Requested by Anon

" Hey, I found your tumblr and I'm loving what you do here, mostly troy. I don't know if you're getting requests, but if you are, you can make one for Achilles based on that scene where he's told he can go and win glory in battle and have his name spoken for centuries or he can stay and be loved, have children, wife? I would love to see Achilles receive more love, with a wife and children. Feel free to make any changes you want, thank you very much in advance."

Hi, anon! I got this way sooner than what i expected because I was really in the mood to write it. The bittersweet mix of angst and fluff was exactly what I wanted to get into this week. Hope you will enjoy it :)

For a lenght concern i kept it in a pre war, pre marriage discussion of the prophecy. If once you read it you happen to like what i wrote here let me know and I can post a continuation showing what happens next ( i originally planned to do so, but it became too long so i prefer to save that for a second part)

Word Count 3.200

Warnings: Standard Achilles sexyness ( no smut, but if you watched the film you understand what I mean with this.) Some aspects of both, the canon of the film and the source material it is based on, were changed to fit the request in my envision of the story.

Summary: Terrible news disrupt the eve of your engagement to Achilles. He is called to fight in Troy and the spectacular war that the gossip foretells seems to be the destiny of greatness he had always dreamed with, but the price he has to pay for it is his happiness with you. The three days ultimatum Odysseus gave him is his moment to decide, but he won't do it without you.

Note: Inspired by two prompts by @creativepromptsforwriting

Prompt 1014 - " Well, the prophecy was a bit unclear about this part."

Prompt 1010 - " Let's not worry about the future. Let's just take this one kiss at a time."

"I like how that sounds."

Tags: @mysticaldeanvoidhorse @helie-brain

There was no easy way for him to explain to you what he had just found out. After Odysseus arrived bringing the news of the war in Asia you were already sad thinking of the distance that would keep your fiancé far away from you for an uncertain amount of time, but the real hardships surpassed your expectations. The whispers of fame claimed the conflict escalated enough to become the greatest war your world had ever seen, but you still imagined it as one war like many others he fought before. No matter the challenges found in battle, Achilles would always return to you. 

Except that he wouldn’t,not from Troy. His mother told him of an old prophecy announced before his birth assuring that war would be the peak of his consecration as a hero, but the price for this glorification was his death. From this fact fate allowed him only two options of choice. He could either stay in Greece and be loved during his lifetime knowing history would forget him, or go to Troy to make his name immortal facing his doom. 

To the end of his tale all you could do was cry, convinced that you were losing him forever. All your plans faded in just one instant, the life you dreamed together was gone. 

“ I’m not dead yet, look at me.” He sweetly mocked you. “ How can you be so sure already that I’m here to tell you I’m abandoning you to get myself killed?” 

You could tell he was trying, but that wasn’t making it any better. 

“ If you don’t go, you will regret it. “ Was your dry comeback. “I know you, Achilles. You live to fight, staying away from the battlefield feels to you like a punishment. I can never keep you for long, not even when war calls you to fight other greeks. Why would it be different this time? You were born for this war, not to labrate the fields and raise goats. If Troy is the fate of greatness that you deserve, I can’t ask you to abandon this life purpose for the sake of our wedding.” 

Despite how much he loved to see people worshiping as a hero, he was very aware to be a man in your eyes. Your approach was realistic and showed how well you knew him, much better than some of the men bleeding with him in war. If you fell for him, you did it knowing what to expect. Begging him to change his nature to fit the requirements of peaceful domesticity was never in your plans and you wouldn’t try it even if you were desperate. 

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to surprise you on occasions, exactly as he did when he proposed to you freshly arrived from the victory against King Triopas and his giant Boagrius. 

“ Do you think I wouldn’t give it all away for you? Then I guess you don’t know me as well as you claim. “ He teased you with insistence. “ I can do well raising horses, I have some magnificent ones already. Do you know that horses are one of the most remarkable exportations of the trojans? If their city gets sacked by greeks and I manage to buy a few of theirs to mix with mine we would get an excellent rare breed. “ 

You cleaned your face and warned him against the mockery. 

“ Don’t play with me! With the memories of your proposal still fresh, fate demands me to let you go. Being your wife is my dream, but I can’t have you knowing I would be destroying everything you worked so hard for. The immortality of your name is a cause bigger than me, the happy marriage we could have had or the children I could have given you. It can’t be a coincidence that this war gets unleashed precisely now, just as we are taking the first step to formalize our union.” 

“ They are pressuring me to choose, it’s true, but the load of this decision lies in the fact that I want both more than anything.” 

Achilles interrupted himself to take your hand, inviting you to abandon the distance you were forcing ever since he began to explain the situation. 

“ I need you by my side, it’s the only vulnerability I have ever allowed myself. A glorifying death doesn’t scare me, but surviving far enough without you would be torture.” 

Your lips parted in sincere amazement for that confession, so unusual of him. 

“ A slow agony. If the war doesn’t kill me first, lovesickness will.” He continued. “ The comfort of lonely men fighting in foreign lands is dreaming with their distant wives at night, the hope of returning to them makes life bearable. I would not have this, from the moment I would board my ship I will be aware you are lost to me. All I would have is the wound of my pierced heart still bleeding love for you and plenty of time to wonder how wonderful it would have been to make you mine… Sooner or later I would lose my mind. Knowing glorious death would be the only comfort already promised to me, I would roam the battlefield searching for it. It’s most likely I would perform incredible acts worthy of being remembered, but I would do it as the insane man who is desperately looking for the warrior meant to kill him. The poets would write for centuries about the madness of Achilles.” 

“ Aren’t they singing that already? Many people have described you as a madman.” You teased him, unsure of how to comfort him. “ Not that I mind, but that is a fact.” 

“ They have no idea, unfulfilled passion would consume me in such an incredible way that Paris would feel a reasonable man hearing about me.” 

He dragged you even closer so he could hold you in his arms and you fell for his touch chuckling sweetly. 

“ Would you be competing against both princes at once while fighting the trojans?” 

“ The warrior prince and the lover boy wish they could compare to me, I win in each one of their expertise areas. “ He followed your provocation, then whispered at you. “ I fight as fiercely as I love. “ 

You bit your bottom lip to avoid an audible response, but your flustered face was speaking for you. For an instant you felt as if nothing had changed between you and you have never heard the terrible omens. 

“... Maybe that’s why no woman is meant to have you, the great goddesses would be jealous. “ You theorized out loud while caressing his cheek. “ It’s too much, like Icharus flying too close to the sun… Although I would be lying if I deny I would gladly burn and fall for you.” 

Achilles stopped the flow of words taking your breath away with kisses that numb your senses, but not your mind. He had the habit of expressing important things in short, ambiguous phrases or not saying anything at all. When the hungry kissing began to escalate and you felt his hands roaming the sides of your body you understood that was his answer. If he would be saying goodbye, he would at least try to keep himself distant to make it easier for both of you. Given that his involvement on the war would ruin your chances to formalize, he would be encouraging you to find someone else. 

 He was pulling up your skirt slowly, evidently searching for the heat underneath. The opposite of what you would need from him if he would be about to leave you, so you stopped him right away because you realized what that meant. 

" This isn't the time to act impulsively. I know you love me as strongly as i love you, but you have to choose what truly matters the most to you. If you decide to stay, others will be making history and maybe the pleasures of the thalamus will not be enough to cure the resentment for what you will be missing. Think carefully, hearts can change and the future wife you adore now can one day become the load that brought you down. " 

Although a sensical objection, that didn't seem to preoccupy him much. 

" Never, you were made for me. The omens were very clear, staying grants me a blissful life with you for the price of letting my name fade. I have only two options: be loved and forgotten or waste my life following the fool's orders until death will reward me with immortal glory. Between spending the rest of my life with you or with Agamemnon, I think it's clear where I would rather be. "

The sacrifice was too great, ultimate proof of his love for you. Behind that relaxed phrasing Achilles attempted to de-dramatize giving up his biggest personal dream for the one you shared, what you still considered wasn’t fair. 

Responding with an equal offer was not only what your heart began to crave, but an alternative solution neither of you had considered. 

“ There has to be another way, your mother never said what I must do in all of this.” 

He wasn’t sure of where you wanted to point, but began to suspect it. 

“ Well, the prophecy was a bit unclear about this part.” 

The mischievous happiness renewed in your eyes let him know you had just found hope in the most insane of places. 

“ Don’t give me that look, this is what happens for leaving you a while alone with Odysseus! Now you think you can outsmart destiny and find me a third end.” 

You smirked with pride before presenting your idea. 

“ I can’t interfere with yours, only my own. If no part is clearly stated for me in this sacred command sent to you, then nothing stops me from choosing one. Instead of having you abandon your dream to stay with me, I’ll follow it with you.” 

His eyes were wide open staring at you, disbelief making him feel you were then playing with him. 

“ Are you telling me we could just get married and board the ship to Troy the morning after our wedding night? What kind of honorable nuptials would that be? When all the wives of the country would be giving their farewell to their husbands, would you follow me like slaves are meant to? War holds no virtuous position for a woman to occupy, it would be a stain to your reputation your parents would curse me for. “ 

“ If your baby cousin can go, so can I.” You justified yourself.” To stop me you will have to stop Patroclus and we know that is not going to happen.” 

The exactitude of your threat made him feel frustrated. Not because he wouldn’t love having you with him, but since he was refusing to publicly humiliate you like that. All Greece would know you were going to be the only wife following her husband to Troy for unexplainable reasons and they could judge your morals. Decent wives were meant to wait for their husbands and take care of their homes, not let passion distract them from their social duties. War camps were masculine places meant to be despised by the women, since their only female presence was typically in a state of degradation. Besides, Helen had already caused a moral breach shaming the greek concept of marriage and that was the reason pushing the fight. People would be judgemental of your relationship, they would question you for immorality and him for lacking authority to make you stay like a normal wife should. 

He wasn’t thinking about him anymore, of protecting his name and the weight of his masculine prestige. He was extremely worried about you and the consequences it could bring when he wouldn’t be there to protect you. 

“ Do you sincerely want to go to Troy and watch me die?” 

“ It’s still better than watching you sail knowing you will never come back.” You terminated in response . “ I have heard the city is built to withstand a ten year siege, enough time for us to have a life together before destiny will reclaim you.” 

Arguing with you was hard, even if the idea was insane you would find ways to make it sound logical. 

“ A camp on the trojan beach is no place to start a family. “ He replicated softly, just letting you know he was trying to make you understand you couldn’t ask that. “ What are we going to do when the children come? Because they will, eventually. If you become my wife no omen of death is going to stop me from making love to you.” 

You smirked innocently, ready to deliver a justification. 

“ I'm not naive, Achilles! Do you think I don’t know what happens in those camps? Captives get pregnant all the time, so it's not impossible to go through it there. It may not be ideal, but I can make it. If you would leave me here and break our relationship to protect me from your fate, you could still put a baby inside your finest war trophy girl.” 

“ And who said I’m leaving?” He questioned you. “ I’m not doing it and I am not breaking up with you. Now stop with this nonsense, my wife can’t be giving birth surrounded by death.” 

“ But trojan women can? Because births aren’t going to stop there. “ You insisted, sitting near and acting as if you were two civil parts on a trial. “ Hector has a baby boy, if he can be a father in this mess so can you.” 

The provocation made him hold a groan, but he turned back and kicked the nearest surface as a frustration release outlet. 

“ It’s different for him, his wife is a princess and they have a city to defend. “ He tried to articulate in fast speaking, doing all he could to not show signs of anger growing because of your stubbornness. “ I don’t want you to have the life of a war captive, to denigrate yourself for me.” 

It was very sweet, you were feeling his pain but he had to understand yours too. 

“ As long as you are still breathing I will not accept a life without you. When the time comes I will embrace grief, but I’ll cry for you as your widow. In the meantime I don't want no one else, I’ll have the ground of your tent as thalamus and I’ll have your children.” 

He gave a few steps towards you, presenting one more solid concern. 

“ What will be of all of you when I'm gone?” 

That should have been a strong preoccupation making you desist, but it didn’t. 

“ We will be alright. They will inherit your share of the sacking, we know your death is linked to the fall of Troy so I can assume we will win something. Given that the House of Aeacus would possess fresh new heirs to renew the bloodline, I may even be able to bargain with Agamemnon the throne of Phthia for one of them. He hates you, but he would not be politically capable to refuse if you become the maximum fallen hero of the war he just won.” 

At that point he felt true powerlessness because he just couldn’t convince you out of it for your own good. 

“ They can’t grow in a warzone, think of the ruthless people they will become.  Those kids would not know any better until it would be too late for them. I don’t want a soulless soldier as heir, people saying Achilles’ son has surpassed the brutality of the father.” 

“ Let our little monsters run free through the camp, they will turn out fine if we guide them right. “ You imagined out loud, not scared at all by the dark warning. “ I can’t wait to see them messing around, you will be in tears the first time one of them will grab a wooden sword trying to copy their father.” 

Illusion was starting to make his negative stance harder to maintain, he loved what you were saying. It sounded so wonderful that he couldn’t help find some sensical feeling in it. There was only one detail you haven’t solved for his resistance to fall completely. 

“ How would I fight the enemy worried for you? You will be the only married woman around thousands of men and although I'm terrifying to most of them, I can’t keep control at all times. Some of those men will not be myrmidons, they will not know who you are.” 

“ That’s the best part: I’ll keep Patroclus bussy.” You announced with excitement, knowing well he wouldn’t resist it. “ I know you don’t trust him in an open battleground yet, but he would not accept being left behind so you have to take him or he would never forgive you. With me on board you have a safe mission to give him that would keep him away from combat but still make him feel a hero. By the time you will judge him ready to charge into battle my presence will be naturalized and his vigilant eye won’t be needed anymore.” 

Hope was truly hitting him because he started to feel as if the crazy plan could work if you all would make it work out. Most of the persons he loved the most could be with him for the rest of his lifetime, making the surviving gap before the consecration worth living. His little cousin, his best friend and his wife along with his future children all gathered like some warrior family. 

A taste of happiness before the end, walk the two roads simultaneously into a third fate. 

“ Blessed be your stubbornness, you wonderful woman! “ He praised you, surprise making his attitude switch as he rushed towards you. “ How can you be in every detail? You are insane, but I love you. I don’t deserve you, I can’t believe this.” 

He made you smile and by that point you knew you were about to win. 

“What exactly? My incredible ingeniousness, my gorgeous looks?” 

“ That you love me so much, '' He admitted, then picked you up bridal style. “ That you will be my wife and I will brag about having you to both greeks and trojans. I will not rest until you will be the most honored person in that camp alongside me, your sacrifice will be part of my legend and maybe that will be my start to repay you. “ 

His immense gratitude was making you chuckle due to the unusual intensity, but he wouldn’t stop. 

“ I’ll love you to my last breath, I promise you that.” 

You were all smiles while caressing the strands of hair falling at the sides of his face. 

“That’s all I want. No other payment you can offer matters to me because my will for sacrifice comes from love, just like yours.” You purred blissfully. “ Let’s not worry about the future, let’s just take this one kiss at a time.” 

Mesmerized as he was, he replied against your lips. 

“ I like how that sounds.” 

[gojoest]

hey so imagine being watching a movie with Satoru- and laying a bit too close for things to really be “just friends” but you’re not about to make the first move. And a scene comes on screen of a couple making out and he laughs a little resting his cheek on your head and says “oh! We should do that! Just for fun ahah” and you know what? Sounds like a great plan. “Bet.” “Bet?” “Bet, pretty, move over.”

I know that man tries to keep a smug ish grin on his face but when you’re climbing into his lap like that and rubbing your hands through his hair it’s getting a little harder to keep that up and something else down. And there’s this brief moment where you think ‘am I really going to do this?’

But then you think ‘fuck it we ball only gonna get one shot’ and crash your mouth onto his. It takes him off guard a little how good you are- who else have you kissed like this? The juxtaposition of how hard you kiss him compared to the agonisingly gentle way you grind on him is mind spinning but he’ll be fucked if he doesn’t enjoy it. There’s no ‘battle for dominance’ with you- he just gives into you willingly like a well trained dog. The inside of his mouth tastes sweet the sugar coats your tongue as you curl it around his. His hands don’t know where to go- they flit from your waist to your hips to your thighs before eventually landing on the fat of your ass to pull you closer.

The movies long forgotten and he’s panting into your mouth and eagerly swallowing the little noises you make. He feels feral. Almost high. And then you’re pulling away and sliding off of him and it would take a stronger man than him (and there isn’t one) to hold back the whimper he made at the loss of you. “Just for fun, right?”

Suddenly he doesn’t want things to just be fun anymore and the pre staining the inside of his boxers agrees wholeheartedly

ur killing me jskjdjs the way he’s so casual and ballsy about it at first even when you straddle him bc he thinks you’re going to chicken out and he’ll have more material to fluster you with later on but then just freezes bc you actually do it, like he literally stops moving and breathing. the first few seconds his eyes are unblinking staring at you, mouth open as yours softly tugs at his lower lip, you slide your tongue in poking at his and waiting for some sort of reaction but he’s dead in his tracks, suddenly doesn’t remember how kissing works he’s pretty sure he’s forgotten how the human body breathes too just zero thought in his otherwise wrinkly brain jsiejsjks but then he gets hard sooo quickly when you start to hump him the blood starts moving again. he responds to the kiss but completely surrenders to you, wraps his hands around your waist to help you as you grind on him, to put more pressure on your movements as you drag yourself along the length of his clothed cock ……. you might pull away from the kiss but he’s keeping you steady on his lap, try and slip away if you can while he holds you still by the hips with those massive hands. like you poked the bear and the bear isn’t very friendly with you anymore, the bear has other plans

[bthump]

i was wondering and am curious about your opinion - we know guts is important enough for griffith to risk his life for repeatedly, made him forget his dream etc. etc. but do you think (pre-eclipse, pre-torture, pre- guts leaving ofc) griffith would *give* his life for him?

*risking* it still gives at least some chance of survival, but in a hypothetical gun-to-the-head situation where his own death for the price of guts's life would be certain, a situation that would allow him a little time to really consider it, not just an impulsive decision in the heat of the battle etc. - would he choose himself and his dream over guts, or would the guarantee of his own death, and thus no soul-shattering concept of continuing to live the rest of his life without the slightest chance of achieving the dream, be enough to for him to take that 'risking his life' a step further and fully sacrifice himself for guts's sake?

alternatively, if guts offered his own life for griffith's (i believe he would, but maybe you have a different opinion?), would griffith accept it?

lol this was a lot of fun to think about, ty!

Honestly I think my opinion is that Griffith wouldn't trade his life for Guts' if he had a chance to really consider it (and couldn't impulsively change his mind at the last second.) I think during the Golden Age, like before Guts leaves, Griffith's feelings for him are more subconscious - he knows he likes him and wants him to stay by his side, but he doesn't know that Guts is more important to him than his dream, and I think he'd consider that a personal failing if he did. I mean he kind of does in canon, imo.

And imo Griffith meant it when he said he has no friends among the Hawks - not because it's true, but because it's his way of trying to keep himself emotionally distanced. So he doesn't consciously think of Guts as his bff.

I also think that Griffith, when he's not actively deluding himself about the philosophical importance of having a dream lol, sees pursuing the dream as like, a duty he owes to everyone who died for it. In addition, he also feels like there's no point to living if he's not pursuing his dream. This is pretty headcanon-y, but I think it makes sense for Griffith to lowkey have some like, suicidal ideation going on. Dying would almost be a relief from the pressure of his dream, but it would also be a failure. Not to detract from the significance of Griffith sacrifcing himself for Guts - imo the fact that he's risking his dream for him in those moments makes it even more significant than just risking his life.

So like basically if someone had a sword to Guts' throat and said 'you or him' I think Griffith would want to give his life for Guts, both because he loves him and can't stand to see him die and because it would be an escape from his dream, but he wouldn't allow himself to, basically. He would tell himself that as a Hawk Guts is supposed to die for him and it's just a pebble on the path yadda yadda yadda and then he'd never be happy again lol.

On the other hand, if Guts offered his own life for Griffith's (I also believe he would btw), I don't think Griffith would accept. To me this falls more in line with impulsive decisions, without a real chance to think about it, and Guts wins those. If Griffith had a sword to his throat, and Guts was like 'nooo kill me instead' (in a scenario where this somehow makes sense) Griffith's automatic response would be 'absolutely not' and he'd probably slit his own throat.

Plus choosing to trade Guts' life for his own is more active a choice than simply not chosing to save Guts by stepping in and sacrificing himself, and the more active a role he has to play in Guts' death, the less he's able to do it. He can sacrifice him during the Eclipse in that moment of true despair, but even as Femto he can't actually kill him himself. I can't really imagine human Griffith choosing to let Guts die in his place.

I'm glad your question split that particular hair between Griffith sacrificing himself and Guts sacrificing himself lol because yeah I do think there's a difference.

[holylulusworld]

Hello, sweet Lulu!

I’ve been thinking of Goddess and Captain lately- I just love the humor but also the sweetness in their story!

Do you have any thoughts on how Captain would react if one of the first times he was nice to Goddess it momentarily glitched her brain and she ended up getting injured in a battle? Would he save her? Would he nurse her back to health himself? Would he feel absolutely awful and shower her in affection? 🥺

Hi lovely. Thank you so much for loving these two idiots in love...

A/N: I imagine this is (pre-) Worst minions ever.

It's another ordinary day for our favorite villain.

Damn, you feel good. And the new costume you got with the help of Carl, your most trusted minion, feels like a second skin.

You are ready to bring Captain America down today.

Enough of playing around with your nemesis. His good looks and smile won't save him today.

"Goddess," Steve dodges another attack. You just threw a car at him just for fun (and to help him stay in shape. Because you love America's ass.) "You look beautiful today, doll. Is that a new costume?"

"What?" You stop in your tracks. Did Captain America just compliment you? Wait...no. He wouldn't compliment you. Right?

"Watch out!" Steve screams your name. He threw his shield at you, believing you'd simply send it back or catch it like you did a hundred times before.

Not this time. This time the shield hit you in the chest. You end up on the ground, wincing in pain. "No...Doll!"

Steve is by your side in the blink of an eye. He looks you all over, praying he didn't hurt you too much.

"Whoa...you have a hallow, Captain Sassypants." You grin up at him. "But...why are there two of you? I can only handle one sassy Captain."

"Doll, can you hear me? Where does it hurt?"

Your head lolls back, and Steve fears the worst. "No. I didn't want to hurt you. Come on, Goddess." He carefully picks you up, running toward the tower to get help.

"HELP! I need medical help!"

"Capsicle, calm down," Tony grunts. "You know the meaning of the word enemy. Right? Why do you care so much about someone who regularly tries to kill you?"

Steve sighs deeply. "She's not a villain. If she wanted to kill me, I'd be dead for years. Goddess loves to fight against me, but she never tried to hurt me for real."

"This is sickeningly sweet."

"How is she? Can I visit her?" Steve walks past Tony to enter the hospital room at the medical bay to annoy the doctor checking on your condition. "Doctor?"

"She's got a concussion and two broken ribs. I'm a little worried about her mental state. She's talking about someone called Captain Sassypants all the time."

Steve grins. "Uh-I've got this. I'll take care of her..."

That's how you became his prisoner in his home. Even though he calls you a guest and pretends to nurse you back to health, you know Captain Sassypants tries to settle the score...

Not that you do not enjoy his attention, and the fact that he lets you sleep in his bed...

[skeletonpunching]

Buddy Daddies music composer interview

Interview with Kitagawa Katsutoshi (music composer)

Interviewer: How did you first come to work on the music for this series, "Buddy Daddies"?

Kitagawa: Since it was a story about assassins, they were looking for music with a prominent horn section and a jazzy feeling to it. They told me that was why they brought me in, and I was like, "Gotcha." (laughs) That's how it started out. At first, I imagined the main theme, "Buddy Daddies Theme", as a cool, fast-paced jazz piece - something that would go with car chases and other action scenes.

Interviewer: What sort of requests were made for the background music?

Kitagawa: I received a slate of requests from the audio director, and had some briefings with the production staff, but there were already dozens of songs on the music list - it felt like an incredibly detailed instruction manual. So I really just followed that list and threw myself into the work. And I didn't just create songs inspired by the series - there were also cellphone ringtones, videogame music, songs for sports day, and so on.

Interviewer: The songs used in episode 9, for the sports day at (Unasaka) Miri's daycare?

Kitagawa: From their entrance music, to the song for the tug-of-war, to the music for the foot race - I came up with about six pieces for that episode alone. And what's more, they were all sports day exclusives; they'll never play anywhere outside that episode. (laughs) During the briefing sessions, I thought it'd be easy enough to conceive of all this, but when I realised how many songs there were in total, I was like, "Wait, hold up." I was seriously at a loss at first - it seemed like it was going to be an endless undertaking - but it turned out like running a marathon. I made steady progress on it every day, starting with whatever ideas came to me.

Interviewer: Was there anything you were particularly focused on, when it came to the main theme?

Kitagawa: The main theme is playing all the time, so it's absolutely vital. I was told to make it a cool jazz piece, but so-called "jazz" has a pretty broad definition. And if I just wrote the type of jazz I personally like... Well, it was pretty tough finding a middle ground. I didn't want it to feel like something from a straightforward detective drama; I wanted something cooler, more stylish... But focusing on stylishness was tricky too. I'm afraid I kept everyone waiting for a while, before I finally hit on something that made me go, "This is it!" Once the main theme was settled, I used that melody to branch out into various different versions, like ones with a slightly comedic vibe, or melancholy piano-only pieces.

Interviewer: Which songs were composed with the specific elements and premise of the series in mind?

Kitagawa: Miri's mother's song. It's a sad song, but it ends up being a key plot point in the series, so the staff and I had a lot of back-and-forth in order to nail it down. This one also has multiple versions with different arrangements. Miri hums the tune in the show, but without the chorus; she's only humming the intro. I had no idea about that until I actually saw the broadcast on TV - I thought, "That's where they're singing it?!" (laughs)

Interviewer: Out of the songs you composed for this series, which would be your favourite, if you had to choose...?

Kitagawa: Probably "Mission Complete ~ Theme of a Mission Concluded", which is basically used as a secondary theme. It features a band and horn section, and also contains strings; I think it's kind of stylish, and pretty fun. At first I thought this might end up being the main theme, but we ended up going with the current main theme because it had a more exciting vibe. But I'm very fond of this song as it is. And then there's "Battle of Spanish Joint".

Interviewer: That song is also used in the pre-broadcast trailer.

Kitagawa: I was initially picturing something with a breezier feel, but as we progress into the second half, the rhythm changes, and the scatting gets into a nice groove - it suddenly turns into a rock song. I liked being able to incorporate that too. Anyway, I was requested to make it more forceful overall. They asked me not to water down the performance and the vibes, so I figured I'd go for something aggressive - so aggressive they might get mad at me instead! And so it steadily got heavier and denser. (laughs)

There's also "Commence Operation", which is kind of like free jazz. The recording of this song was basically improvised; the score was just a few chords I'd dashed off really quickly, and then it was like "One, two!" and we were off. I was recording with performers I know very well, so that worked out, but since they had no idea what each other would be playing, there was a constant sense of danger that fit the scenes even better than expected. It turned out to be an incredibly cool song.

Interviewer: The songs with vocals, like scatting and choruses, are also very memorable.

Kitagawa: One of the songs with a cute chorus is "Watermelon Woman", which is kind of sensual. When those girls appear in episode 1, it's playing at their place, and I was like... well, if it's ever gonna play, it'll have to be there. (laughs) The chorus was also composed with that in mind. I was requested to give it a sexy vibe, but without being crude, so I played around with some Latin music I personally like.

And there's one song which I did the chorus for myself, and I think it's pretty neat - "Jolly Tutti". This also has Latin influence, and uses a type of drum called cuíca... You can hear it in the interlude; it sounds kind of like "ooho-ooho-ho". I wanted to include that, and the performers kindly fulfilled my request. I quite like upbeat Latin songs that include choruses and scatting, and make use of this sort of percussion.

Interviewer: Taking a look at the tracklist, there is also a song used in Miri's scenes.

Kitagawa: Oh, you mean "Franny! Rudolph! Francesco!" That's the theme song for the kids' TV programme Miri watches, but I had no idea what the specific footage would be like, so I went off my own image of "a ten-minute-long puppet show with three characters", and wrote the opening song and lyrics based on that. I decided the characters' names were Franny, Rudolph, and Francesco; there's a small one, a skinny one, and an enormous one. They're all puppets. (laugh) That's the premise I arbitrarily came up with for their great adventure TV show.

Interviewer: Looking back on the music composition for this series, what did you find the most memorable?

Kitagawa: Usually, I don't do that much background music, but this time I was told, "We want something in Kitagawa-san's typical style", and it felt like a privilege getting to do that. So I tackled the composition, putting in my trademark flourishes all over the place. There really were a lot of songs, so I worked on it regularly every day, chipping away bit by bit. This is the first time I've ever worked that way; it was really eye-opening to discover that I was even capable of doing this.

Also, I normally work with a variety of people, and I was delighted that so many people who've helped me out in the past could all come together for this recording. For example, Murata Yoichi-san in the horn section, Misawa Mataro-san on the percussion, and Kinbara Chieko-san for strings. These seniors were lending me their strength for the first time in a while, and that was kind of nervewracking but also refreshing. It felt like a nice dose of nostalgia. After putting together a lineup like this, I was sure it would be an amazing project, but the recording took place over two days, so there really wasn't much time to savour it. It felt like we were racing through it all at once, which was pretty rough. But it was fun.

Interviewer: Please tell us what you think are the selling points of this series "Buddy Daddies".

Kitagawa: All I can say is "the music". (laughs) Just a while ago, I was working on the mastering for the CD compilation; it was the first time in ages I'd listened to it all the way through in a proper studio environment. That was when it really sank in just how many good songs I'd made. So I do think the music is a selling point after all.

Interviewer: Finally, please give a message to everyone who is enjoying this series.

Kitagawa: Please do check out the music I composed based on the premise of "Buddy Daddies". The worldview might not be immediately apparent, but I do think that if you listen carefully, you'll be able to enjoy it while imagining the series.

[author-main]

Tell me about the character design for Wild, Shad and Twi.

Let’s just do one character per ask. You’ll see why. This is gonna be for the baby, Wild.

Note: Wild’s current pronouns are they/them. Some stuff from 2020 use he/him for Wild, but Dec 2020 onward, Wild’s pronouns have changed. There may be a time in the future where they use she/her or something else.

GENERAL

I should start off with the original idea for Wild back in 2020. Due to my own artistic limitations, Wild and the other Links were a lot thinner back then. They also looked very similar to each other. Now I make it a point to have the Links look as different from each other as I can. That way when they do look similar in some way, it’s on purpose and not because of any skill issues.

At the time I started Ask-LU-Wild, I was still very new to the fandom. But I had written a fanfic series before the Ask blog that I call Poe!Wild. So my original idea of ALUW Wild came from what I imagined Poe!Wild looked like, but with a completely different personality. 

When they first met the chain, their hair was heavily singed and their eyebags? Bad. Their scars were also pretty different, along with the length and look of their ears. But everyone’s ears have changed drastically since 2020, that’s an artistic preference turned into actual world building. All of these things have changed over time. Their hair will always change length and look. It’s very fun giving them different styles to wear. Ever since I’ve changed my original brush, I’ve had a hard time figuring out how I want to draw Wild’s eyebags, but they’re still pretty terrible. Their scar pattern has changed and I sadly can’t add the amount of detail to them that I used to without making Wild’s face look cluttered. I'll talk more about their features later.

It was on purpose that Wild looked older than they actually were. Back in the day, I remember Wild acting as if they were an old man, because they kind of feel like one despite being 17. Not only are they 100 years older than they look but Wild IS in a lot of physical pain and is very tired too. But ever since Checking Courage, they’ve looked much younger. Style changes + character development, I suppose.

QUICK NOTES

Wild is the median height of the Links, 4’10 (147.32 cm). They’re very muscular, but also very light.

Straight, thick, blonde hair with white streaks, azure blue eyes, pale. Roundish face. Very sharp teeth.

They have second-third degree burn scars all over their body, mostly on their left side. These are guardian blast scars and have a completely different texture to other burn scars. Their left ear is almost completely black and barely hangs on.

They also have a big scar on their right side caused by a lynel. Malice entered that wound.

There are 2 burn scars on their left shoulder caused by a flame blade

Cautery wound on their right leg

Rough soles and palms, and chipped nails from climbing and running.

Diamond motif, sheikah motif

COLOR SCHEME, THOUGHTS ON THEIR COLORS

I won’t ever use #000000 or #FFFFFF for a character unless they are meant to look uncanny.

Wild’s main colors are blues and yellows, with some white. This is mainly because I wanted Wild to have an aesthetic similar to Sheikah Technology. Their champion’s tunic helps with this, along with the hylian trousers as they are mainly composed of blues, whites, and browns. But they of course wear other clothes so… yeah

Their skin used to be a lot peachier pre-calamity than it is now. This is something that they share with Wars. I decided it was because they both lost their battles against Ganon/Ganondorf and it changed them physically. 

Something I added to Wild’s character design during the Checking Courage arc: White streaks in their hair. I think this is a good time to mention that WIld’s middle name Punica means something and was chosen based on things from BotW.

THE HERO’S CLOTHES Full of Greens, Browns, and Reds. They fit in a lot with the other Links visually with it on. I decided that most/all heroes will have a Farore symbol on their hero clothes, and that started with the Set of the Wild (SotW). Most of them are on the back, close to the collar.

The SotW was a reward from the sheikah monks after completing all 120 shrines. Therefore, there are some sheikah tech symbols on the fabric and leathers. And a metal sheikah eye hangs on the top of the hood. Cap was turned into a hooded cape with braided tassels. Farosh is embroidered on the back. There’s a triforce pin that holds the cape together.

The tunic is made up of several layers: Brown long tunic, green shawl (?), leather breastplate, dark green sleeves, leather arm braces. Their belt has a pouch design for the sheikah slate.

For the pants, they’re just brown shorts. Wilds normally wear bandages on their legs because they chafe. The boots were fun to draw and actually look pretty comfortable to wear?

The set of the wild has to be one of my favorite side projects related to ALUW.

WILD'S FAMILY Wild is the only Link with a thought-through family history. I’ll just draw them all here.

Note: These portraits are obviously not contemporary. -Caeras: 29 -Sonya: 39 -Misko: 22 -Wild: 17 -Milo: 66 -Liliaz: 65 -Lucy: 34 -Othinn: 70

[ridiasfangirlings]

A funny Fushimi and Mikoto interaction just popped into my head and I’d like to share!

So Fushimi’s a lot more comfortable around Mikoto to do this but I thought of the two developing their own inside joke where, Homra days. Fushmi is explaining something for a mission, or what have you, and Mikoto makes some mildly sarcastic comment and Fushmi just deadpan flips Mikoto off 🤣 that’s Mikoto’s type of humor, bc he’s chill like that, and actually laughs and it’s makes Fushmi even more at ease and maybe a little proud

Please imagine Fushmi doing the middle finger while pushing up his glasses too 💀

Mikoto’s the one who’ll usually initiate the joke from there and only occasionally Fushmi will follow-through, if he doesn’t just roll his eyes and tongue click

Homra members are obviously dumbstruck/gob smacked/flabbergasted when they witness this “the disrespect!” But because Mikoto will ether laugh or smirk and roll his eyes everyone is just left utterly confused on how to react because it dose feel like something they’re not in on so they shouldn’t comment on it

Except Kusanagi and Totsuka of course! They’re both like “ohhh somebody else gets his humor” and Yata asks about it later but Fushmi will just deflect with a taunt

This permeates when Fushmi leaves for scepter 4. At the end of a battle or joint mission if the two see each

We’re gonna take a nosedive down to angst now because I also thought of Fushmi and Mikoto running into each other pre-canon and getting to do this one last time before s*it hits the fan 😭 and after Mikoto dies and Fushmi loses his Homra mark, in the cold snowy atmosphere his head drops and says “f**k you, Mikoto”

I like the idea that this is not so much a joke that they’ve formally decided on as it is a Thing That Keeps Happening and the two of them are just rolling with it. Like normally Fushimi is too uncomfortable to actually say anything that he means to Mikoto but then he has this one moment of letting the mask slip and Mikoto is so amused by it that he’s fine trying to get the kid to do it again. Like say Homra is planning to attack some gang filled with Strains and so they need a plan, unfortunately Kusanagi happens to be sick and isn’t really up to making plans. The rival gang is planning to move some drugs that night though so they can’t wait, and Fushimi ends up getting stuck in the position of needing to think up a strategy. He’s clearly annoyed but also nervous about the whole thing which is making him more snappish than usual, like to most of the Homra guys it looks like Fushimi is just being a confident asshole but really mentally he’s just thinking about what happens if this plan fails and he fails. Mikoto can see the nervousness coming off of him and thinks Fushimi could do with some calming down, which is why he makes some sarcastic comment to something Fushimi says. Fushimi is so focused on his plan that he doesn’t actually register that Mikoto was the one who said it at first, that realization doesn’t come until a moment after Fushimi’s spat out ‘fuck you’ and flipped him off.

Yata and the Homra guys are immediately like hey wait a second and Fushimi is obviously off balance because while he absolutely did mean every bit of that he didn’t think he was doing it to Mikoto. Mikoto just grins widely though, Fushimi coughs and pushes up his glasses as he’s like ‘so as I was saying…,’ ignoring the protesting Homra members. Fushimi doesn’t really intend for this to become a running gag but Mikoto thinks it’s a good thing if Fushimi learns to say what he feels openly so he has no trouble goading Fushimi when he feels like it. At first Fushimi just glares but then imagine one day he clicks his tongue and pushes his glasses up very pointedly with his middle finger. None of the Homra guys notice but Mikoto does and he just laughs. Kusanagi and Totsuka both noticed as well and imagine Kusanagi groaning quietly, he gets what Mikoto is doing but also remember Anna’s here, she’ll pick up bad habits. Totsuka thinks it’s nice that Fushimi and King have found a common ground. 

Even after he leaves Homra the whole thing keeps going, Fushimi is probably more bold about it now since he wants to show off how much he hates Homra and doesn’t respect Mikoto. Mikoto doesn’t particularly care when Fushimi does it just to show off badly in front of Yata though, like imagine he’ll have no reaction at all when Fushimi openly mocks him in front of Yata’s face. Once the clans are done with their usual fights though and separating Mikoto will make some sidelong comment about Fushimi’s attitude and Fushimi will just flip him off without even bothering to look and see if Yata’s watching and that’s when Mikoto finally smiles. Munakata notices the whole exchange and makes a comment about how nice it is that Fushimi has maintained a good relationship with the Red King and Fushimi grumbles that how was what he just did a sign of a good relationship.

Then at the end of season one imagine this with the King and the Traitor short story, as Mikoto sends Fushimi away he wonders if Fushimi isn’t going to flip him off. Fushimi clicks his tongue and grumbles that he doesn’t even want to hear that from Mikoto. Afterward when Mikoto breaks out of prison he gives Fushimi the briefest look, as Fushimi sits there in front of Awashima unable to even draw his sword, and Mikoto gives him a small smile and then flips him off before walking away. Eventually Mikoto dies and Fushimi is lagging behind the rest of S4 on the bridge, watching as the lights in the sky start to fade. He starts to scratch at his burn scar and there’s the smallest glow of red under his fingertips. He moves his hand away and sees that the tattoo has returned, the tattoo that he thought for a moment was gone for good. It still burns slightly under his hand and Fushimi’s teeth clench, slicing his nails across the tattoo that pulses like a heartbeat beneath them as he murmurs ‘fuck you, Mikoto.’

[roxannarambles]

title: tesoro

ship: nemona x juliana (fluff, pre-romance)

summary: mr. jacq’s students give their final reports on their treasure hunt

notes: edited the story, tweaked a few things, I like it better now! (also, it’s in second-person POV now. apologies if second person isn’t your thing. but I kept accidentally slipping into that pov a zillion times so I just went with it)

It was time for the class to give their oral reports on the Treasure Hunt, and you were nervous as heck.

Yes, the time spent during your independent study had been incredible, but it did come with one downside. It was still technically part of your class curriculum, so every student was expected to write and submit a paper about their experiences, as well as deliver an oral report to the class. Honestly, it wasn't particularly difficult. Most students simply went up there and rambled a bit about whatever they spent the past six months doing.

A lot of students talked about trying out the gym circuit, or about the different towns they'd visited, or about a really cool and rare pokemon they'd stumbled across while out hiking, or what-have-you. One student loved fishing so they talked about all the different places they'd fished, another student was obsessed with hunting shiny pokemon, another student had researched the historical ruins scattered throughout Paldea. It was actually kind of fun hearing about everyone's experiences.

Or at least, it would have been, if you could have focused at all. But you were too busy feeling anxious about your own presentation. Giving talks in front of a class had never been one of your strong suits. Your stomach was tied up in knots, and you were trying very hard to ignore your nausea. Beside you, Nemona gave a sympathetic smile and patted your shoulder. In a quiet voice, she said,

"It's gonna be fine, Jules. Just imagine it's like a pokemon battle! You don't get nervous when everyone's watching you battle, right?"

You gave her a weak smile.

"Actually, that makes me kinda nervous too."

Nemona's eyes widened a little.

"Wait, seriously? No way. I had no idea. You always seem so calm and collected."

"Mmm," you mumbled, closing your eyes. Nemona patted you again, reassuring you,

"You'll do maravillosa, I know it."

You hadn't been paying any attention to the student currently talking, but they must have finished their report, because the class abruptly launched into polite applause. You snapped your eyes open and politely applauded along with everyone else, watching the student return to their seat as Mr. Jacq praised their efforts.

"Thanks again, Lorenzo, for such an engaging review of the restaurants of the west province. I definitely learned of some new places to try when I'm in the area! Now, let's see . . ."

The professor glanced down briefly at the clipboard in his hand.

"Ah! Yes, it looks like it's Juliana's turn next. Wonderful!"

You felt her heart give a sudden lurch and you swallowed, feeling the eyes of the class drawn to you. Ok, well, at least you're finally getting this over with, right? Timidly, you stood from your seat and brought over the little flash drive that had the slides for your presentation. It only took you a minute or so to plug into the computer and launch the file, but you had to focus to try and keep your hands from looking jittery.

Once the first slide appeared on the overhead projector, you turned and gave the class a nervous smile. You forced out,

"H-hi everybody . . . my name's Juliana. As. Most of you already know."

Well, yeah. You'd all spent the entire semester together by now. Not to mention you were the youngest Champion in all of Paldea, too, that kinda had been announced to the whole school.

You coughed, stammering out,

"A-anyway! Eheheh, this, is my report on my Treasure Hunt!"

From the middle of the room, Nemona gave a spirited,

"Whoo!"

There was an awkward silence. You laughed nervously before changing the slide.

"R-right, anyway . . ."

You did your best to just focus on your notes and get through the material you'd prepared. You started by talking about all the gyms you had visited and challenged, and the things you'd learned from your successive battles, each of the gym leaders offering interesting new perspectives on pokemon battling and on life in general. The same was true of the Elite Four and the Top Champion. Then you delved a little into your adventures with Arven, tracking down and battling the massive Titan pokemon and locating their secret dens with rare, exotic herbs. The battles themselves were noteworthy, but you also talked about the stuff you learned about backpacking across the wilderness and roughing it in the wild, as well as getting to know Arven better. You dedicated a portion of your talk to Koraidon, as well, because he was your precious baby boy and you loved him more than anything (well, your whole team was dear to you, too, of course). You also talked about the experience of finding and helping out the members of Team Star. It took time to earn their trust, but eventually you learned about them and about the history of Naranja Academy, both the good and the unpleasant. Eventually, you were able to help the members of Team Star gather the courage to face their pasts and return to school, mending the bridges they had thought had been burned and unmendable.

The events that had transpired in Area Zero had to be omitted from your talk, of course, but even glossing over all that, there was plenty to talk about. It had been a very, very busy six months, packed to the brim with adventure and excitement. And to your relief, the report went fairly smoothly. Once you'd gotten into things, it had become much easier to just focus on what you wanted to say and get through the talk you'd carefully practiced.

However, the main portion of the talk wasn't really the thing that had caused you the most anxiety. It was the ending of the speech that truly worried you. The ending that was now rapidly approaching.

You flipped the slide, struggling to keep your cool. You glanced at the bullet points on your slide and continued talking.

"So, ah, as I've been explaining, a lot happened during my independent study! And there are a lot of things I found that I would call my treasure. Like, for instance, my friends. I met so many new friends on this journey and they've all been so amazing. Also, my pokemon. I've raised these little guys from the itty bitty babies I found toddling around in the wild and . . . honestly, I'd do anything for them. We've been through so much. And, of course, all the experiences I had. The big exciting moments, but also all the calm, soft ones. Just having picnics out in the South Province, or walking on the beach, or seeing the sunsets from Levincia, all that stuff. I treasure all of those things. I've been really lucky."

All right, here it comes. You pulled in a nervous breath and hesitated, glancing around at your audience. Were you really doing this? Truthfully, it was probably gonna be fine. You were probably worried about nothing. It's not like there was anything weird about what you wanted to say or anything. But, well, part of you was still scared it might come off as too . . . too sappy or something.

Urgh. You just needed to quit second-guessing yourself and just do it.

Clearing your throat, you say,

"B-but, uhm, when I asked myself what my greatest treasure was, uh, there was something that . . . did come to mind. That's not to devalue any of the other things I've mentioned, of course! They are all deeply important to me. But there is something that makes me feel the most excited, that feels . . . that feels the most precious to me."

Ah, jeez. As the students watched you with intent curiosity, you could feel your heart picking up speed and a blush began to creep onto your face. Okay yeah maybe this was too sappy, but it was too late now, oh god.

You forced yourself to reach over to the laptop and hit the button, changing the slide, and a large photo of Nemona appeared, her auburn eyes bright and her grin positively jubilant, as usual. Doing your very best to speak in a normal voice, you squeaked,

"A-and t-that's my friend Nemona!"

You tried very hard to not make eye contact with anyone in the classroom and just stay focused on your report, although you couldn't help but hear a startled little gasp from somewhere in the middle of the room, which definitely sounded exactly like Nemona.

Okayjustfocusjustkeeptalking

You opened your mouth and forged ahead, the words tumbling out.

"T-the truth is, I've had a lot of difficulties in my life with anxiety and, other mental health issues. Most people don't know that, probably none of you do, I don't really talk about it. But yeah, when I first moved here, Nemona was so welcoming the moment I arrived, and she, she was . . . willing to get to know me and see me for who I am, I guess is the best way of putting it. And she actually liked that person she found? And it meant so much to me, and she became my best friend, but to be honest, she was also my first friend, the first one I was close to,  I mean-- like, truly close to. And I can't even begin to say how special that is to me."

You paused to suck in a breath, the thoughts swirling in your head, and continued ardently,

"And she's such a wonderful person. She's full of so much love for life, so much contagious energy, you know? She reminds me of the important things in life, of the stuff that matters most-- which is going after the things that you love, the stuff that makes you feel alive, and pursuing it no matter what! I feel like I'm a better person around her, like she brings out the best in me. And I admire her so much."

You had no idea if your thoughts were coming out coherently or not, but you could only hope so.

"That's not even going over how she re-ignited my interest in pokemon battles and a bunch of other stuff, but I don't wanna ramble or anything, heh . . . I just, uh . . . well, knowing that we're always gonna be there for each other, it's . . . it's the best feeling in the whole world."

You cleared your throat and glanced to the floor, adding quietly,

"S-so, um, yeah. She's. My greatest treasure."

There was a pause, the room completely silent, and you felt like you could hardly breathe. You turned and smacked the button on the computer, flipping to your end slide, and blurted quickly,

"Anyway that's my presentation, the end, thanks everyone, okay bye!"

You were about to just bail, but a smiling Mr. Jacq stepped in the way before you could, so you remained rooted to the spot.

"Thank you, Juliana! That was wonderful! Such an insightful and heartfelt report. Wouldn't you agree, class?"

There was an enthusiastic smattering of applause from the class, and you ducked her head, embarrassed but relieved at the same time. Your teacher continued to praise you for a bit, and you took the first opportunity to quickly return to your seat and exit the spotlight.

Although, returning to your seat was certainly a little awkward, considering you were returning to sit beside Nemona. You didn't have the guts to look at her during the presentation, but you could now see Nemona was blushing quite the intense shade of pink, her eyes glued to her desk, while the students around you casted glances and giggled. You sat down, feeling terrified you may have upset your friend. Did you embarrass her too much? Or . . . god, you should have asked her first if she'd be okay with this, damn it, damn it. Feeling awful, you turned to Nemona and stammered quietly,

"S-sorry if that was embarrassing, I uhh I was just, well, I was trying not to ramble or anything but I just, w-wanted to-- I'm sorry, I should have asked if you--"

Nemona's eyes darted up to yours, wide and disbelieving, and she quickly cut you off.

"Don't say sorry, Jules, that was, it was-- so sweet, I-I-- nobody's ever said anything that nice about me before! Don't you dare apologize for that, that was incredible!"

Nemona's voice had sounded so raw, and she looked nearly on the verge of tears. The fear gripping you immediately evaporated, and you released a breath. With a shy smile, you stammered,

"Oh, o-okay, good! I'm-- I'm glad you liked it . . ."

Nemona huffed, grabbing your arm and leaning in close, muttering so the class couldn't overhear;

"You're lucky I have the self-restraint to not make a big ole' scene in the middle of class, cos I am going to hug the stuffing out of you the second I get the chance, you know that? I'll be sobbing and it's gonna be sooo embarrassing."

You felt a grin edging onto your face.

"I mean, if you wanna make a scene right here, I wouldn't exactly mind . . ."

You hesitated, and then the words slipped out softly,

". . . mi tesoro."

Nemona's pretty auburn eyes went completely wide, her fingers tightening around your arm, and her entire being seemed to positively shake from the force of trying to keep quiet. Her voice was rough and squeaky when she uttered,

"Wh-what-- Jules, I-I--"

You felt worried Nemona was going to break down right then and there; her eyes were watering and she looked as though she was seriously considering picking you up and carrying you right out of the classroom, but a voice suddenly interrupted the moment, causing you both to jump.

"A-hem, now, class, I know you're excited to talk about these wonderful presentations, but I'll need to remind you to save most of that for the end of class, okay?"

You turned to see Mr. Jacq was side-eyeing you both with an amused expression.

"Y-yessir," you say, while Nemona nodded mutely. Slowly, as if it was physically painful to do so, Nemona detached herself from you. She looked so sad, like an excitable puppy that had been scolded for jumping up on someone.

Mr. Jacq had already moved on, checking his clipboard.

"I believe that Isabella is next? Do you have everything ready to go, Isabella?"

"The second after class, Jules," Nemona's whisper in your ear was so terse it practically sounded like a threat, although with the way she was struggling to maintain composure, it was a very emotional one. You suddenly felt very bad for flustering her so much, but the truth was you hadn't really intended to. Unfortunately, there were still like ten or so students left to give their reports, so you both had to keep quiet and behave for just a while longer.

Although you weren't gonna lie, you couldn't focus much. Nemona maintained a facade of listening to your fellow classmates, but she kept shooting you lingering glances, her warm eyes full of such soft adoration, and it was honestly really distracting, because you felt like your heart was melting into goo. You were pretty sure you did not absorb a single thing the presenters were saying, and boy it felt like they were taking forever.

The funniest part was, Nemona had yet to give her presentation. Which you had completely forgot. Until Mr. Jacq checked his clipboard and announced,

"And it's finally time for our last student! Nemona, are you ready?"

Nemona bounced up from her seat faster than you'd ever seen her move, as if struck by a live wire. She gave an exuberant,

"You bet I am!"

Some of the class laughed and you struggled to quash your startled expression, because how in the heck did you forget Nemona hadn't gone yet? You'd been the one to help her work on her rough drafts for weeks, jeez!

Now you felt especially bad for distracting Nemona so much before her big talk. However, as it turned out, it didn't seem to be a problem. As Nemona bounded to the front of the class, she seemed perfectly focused on giving her report. She quickly fired up her slideshow, eyes gleaming.

You felt a flash of admiration at her ability to focus so sharply. Perhaps it was all of her experience with pokemon battles. It would make sense, honestly.

Nemona proceeded to launch into her talk, positively brimming with energy.

"All right, class, time to strap in! Because we're about to take a trip on the Nemona Roller Coaster, guaranteed to be full of the biggest ups and downs and shocking turnabouts you've ever seen on a Pokemon Gym circuit since 2021! (That was my first time to complete the gym challenge) It all started when I met Jules and Director Clavell gave me Sprigatito, to build a new team from scratch! As you'll see from this slide, here are little Spriggy's stats, and here's his nature, which is Jolly. Now, Jolly's a great nature for this pokemon, especially if you take a look at these IVs. . ."

You glanced around at the rest of class, amused by their mixed responses. Some students looked excited and interested while others were clearly mentally checking out already. Nemona had a reputation of getting down into the nitty-gritty details of pokemon battling, including some rather lengthy blow-by-blows of her battles and strategies, which some students found to be intensely boring. However, she also was very good at making the battles seem very dramatic and exciting, so plenty of other students seemed to really enjoy it when she had the spotlight. You didn't care whether Nemona was recounting an especially pivotal moment of a match or presenting spreadsheets on her EV training; whatever she was discussing, she did with a passion that was peerless, and you could listen to her for hours. And even though you'd already seen most of this presentation content while helping her out, you still enjoyed seeing her recite it for the class, covering an incredible amount of material packed into such a short timeframe. Nemona's focus was her journey re-challenging all the gyms, although she highlighted other significant battles along the way, too, including especially feisty trainers she'd met at random or her battles with you, of course.

You knew what the pièce de résistance, the crowning jewel of Nemona's talk was. She had built her presentation's narrative carefully, to climax with the battle that the two of you had shared in the middle of the Mesagoza square; the very first time Nemona had gone at you with everything she had. During this portion of the talk, Nemona dropped most of her technical analyses, opting instead to focus more on the drama and the feelings elicited by the battle, which managed to draw in even the most bored of students in class. Nemona was practically vibrating as she recounted things, and you couldn't help feeling swept up again in the memories, the way your heart pounded, the way your hands shook when you took the pokeballs from your belt, the way your chest squeezed when you saw the fire burning in Nemona's eyes as bright as a Volcarona from across the battlefield.

When the last pokemon in Nemona's story had been felled, she rolled into her final slide, providing a conclusion that was short but sweet.

"And that's when I realized; I'd found my greatest treasure. A true rival. I'd gotten so used to holding back whenever I battled, because I was so worried about making sure people were having fun, and making sure people actually wanted to keep battling me. But it was never really satisfying, deep down. And now, I've finally found someone who can meet me exactly at where I am, an equal. Someone who really gets me!"

She looked across the classroom at you, beaming. With absolute convinction, she said,

"A battle partner for life. Mi tesorita. That's Juliana."

You blushed at her words, glancing away from her intensity. Aughhh, she was trying to kill you, you should have seen this coming.

The students began to clap enthusiastically at the report's completion, but Nemona's voice piped up over the applause.

"But wait wait wait, that's what I put in my report, that's how I ended it, but Juliana's talk, she made me realize my report isn't entirely complete!"

The class quieted down again and you watched as Nemona stepped forward, ignoring her slides and speaking off the cuff.

"Yes, I'd finally found my rival, that's true, and that's fantastic! But it's more then that. Juliana's not just an amazing rival, she's someone I trust more than anything and someone who makes me stronger, makes me better! And she always keeps me on my toes and is always surprising me, no matter how much I get to know her! And she's someone who shares my burning passion, and she makes me laugh, and she makes my heart race, even when we're not battling! Heck, just being around her is exciting, it kind of reminds me of that one time I was exploring the Alfornada cave and I had a team of like level 20's but I accidentally ran into a level SIXTY Garchomp, and it terastallized and I was shaking and--"

At this point, quite a number of students where giggling and whispering, shooting you glances, and you were quietly trying to sink into the desk, face hot and cheeks red, but Nemona kind of had a hard time noticing social cues, so she remained blissfully ignorant of her classmates. Fortunately, Professor Jacq was more perceptive in that area and coughed, stepping in.

"R-right, well, we're running a bit short on time, but thank you, Nemona, for such a beautiful talk! Class, let's thank Nemona for her incredible effort and the perfect conclusion to our Treasure Hunt reports!"

You kept your head down as the class dissolved into applause; a few moments later, the school bell chimed. Shouting over the suddenly rowdy noise of the students eager to leave, Mr. Jacq called,

"All right, class, that'll be it for today, but don't forget Monday's reflection paper, due at the start of class! Check the website if you need a reminder of the guidelines. And have a great weekend!"

Nemona returned to her desk like a streak of light, grabbing up her backpack and then seizing your hand.

"You're coming with me, tesorita. I think if I gotta wait any longer to hug you I'm gonna actually die."

You grab your backpack as she pulls you along, your heart fluttering, and you answer,

"O-okay, haha, Nemona, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Your classmates kept shooting you both glances as Nemona hauled you quickly down the halls, and you knew they were gossiping, but you couldn't seem to bring yourself to really care.

The moment you step outside, she swings you into the promised hug with such force she actually lifts you into the air a bit, and you can't help but dissolve into laughter. She squeezes you tight, so tight it almost hurt, but it's lovely and it's fierce and you don't want it to stop, but eventually you have to beg her to let you breathe again.

She released her death-grip, but switched to kissing the top of your head, over and over, and you squirmed and laughed. She eventually paused to say,

"That's for using the most adorable nickname on me in the history of ever in the middle of class! You're terrible, you know that?"

You grin up at her, and it's like gazing into the sun, her energy always filling you entirely whenever she was around, almost too bright to handle. You answer,

"To be fair, I think you managed to get pretty decent revenge during your report."

Nemona laughed, shifting into a satisfied smirk.

"True! I think I did a pretty good job, considering how hard you were trying to distract me."

Your mind echoed back the tangent that Nemona had gone on at the end of her report, and you felt a blush threatening to return at the thought of it. Before you could think the better of it, you blurt,

"U-uh, about that . . . stuff you said at the end, about the Garchomp and everything . . ."

She lit up with a smile.

"Oh, you wanna hear more about it, yeah? Of course! So, it all started when I was visiting Alfornada, and I heard people talking about a nearby cave with really strong pokemon--"

"N-no, not that," you interrupt, feeling mildly exasperated, because of course that's the part she'd focus on.

"I meant, um, the part when you said that . . . uh . . . being around me felt like facing down the level 60 Garchomp?"

You felt embarrassed repeating it, because maybe you misunderstood, maybe you were just making a fool of yourself-- but her expression shifted, just a little bit, and she hesitated for a half-second.

"Y-yeah! Well, you know! It's always an adventure with you around. You and me, we can take anything on when we work together, and it makes me so jazzed. You know what I mean, right?"

And then she was back to normal. It had been so subtle, just the briefest of hesitations, the slightest waver in her voice, it was entirely possible you'd just imagined it.

You nodded,

"Yeah, of course."

You had a funny, prickly feeling, then, like someone was watching you, and you glanced around. Almost immediately, you spotted some of your classmates, who had probably exited the building around the same time as you. They were loitering suspiciously nearby and looking kinda entertained.

Oh, right. Forgot about them. It seemed Nemona's efforts to not make a scene may not have entirely worked out. To be fair, she did tackle you the second you left the building, pretty much right in the central path everyone took, so. Um.

You quickly suggest,

"Maybe we could continue this conversation somewhere else?"

Nemona was unconcerned with your classmates (or perhaps unaware), but still seemed to love the idea.

"Sure! Y'wanna grab some ice cream? We can go hang out on the rooftops!"

That sounded perfect, so you agreed. 

She grabbed your hand and you were off, to enjoy the rest of your Friday afternoon, and to make some more treasured memories.

[queenlucythevaliant]

I noticed that in some of your fanworks on the Pevensies, you imply a deviation from canon where they reign to old age before returning to earth through the wardrobe, and I think that's really neat! I also realize that that would probably mean they would spend more time with Cor and Corin in that alternate scenario and I also find that really neat.

You don't know this, my dear, but you've just gotten me up on my soapbox ;)

So you know how the Tolkien Legendarium has a sort of tiered canon where a given text is considered more or less legitimate with reference to what we understand of JRRT's final intentions? Like LotR and The Hobbit > published Silmarillion > Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, Fall of Gondolin > HoME > Unfinished Tales, etc? Star Wars used to do something similar, back before the Disney buy-out.

Well, I say Jack's timeline is second-tier canon and should be treated as such. The fifteen-year Golden Age, in particular, is all but contradicted by the actual text of LWW: "Long and happy was their reign." (Emphasis mine).

The list of things they're supposed to have done also doesn't fit into fifteen years terribly neatly. We're told the Pevensies (1) finished stamping out the Witch's army (2) drove back the Northern Giants in a series of wars (3) entered into friendships and alliances with countries beyond the sea (4) became tight enough with Lune that he trusts them to manage Corin, his only remaining son, in a hostile country and in battle even after Cor's abduction (5) saw new construction on Cair Paravel (6) build up a Narnian navy and made them a "seafaring people" (7) had enough peaceful leisure time for hunts and tourneys and balls and whatnot, and (8) forgot about England. They were also pre-teens when they took the throne and, presumably, needed to be educated. I honestly do not believe that Jack intended a fifteen-year reign for the Pevensies when he wrote LWW.

Also, consider that a Golden Age has to be long enough to actually, ya know, be considered an age. It would be another matter entirely if we were told that the Pevensies' reign was the start of Narnia's Golden Age, but no. Doctor Cornelius says "Their reign was the Golden Age in Narnia and the land has never forgotten them." Would we call QE1's reign over England a Golden Age if she had reigned for fifteen years rather than forty-five?

So yeah. I tend to imagine between forty and fifty years for the Golden Age. The timeline, and with it the fifteen-year Golden Age, is second-tier canon and doesn't overrule what Jack put in the actual text of his books.

[houndfaker]

how come you’re so crazy about kikuno? asking as someone who only knows her from arena

honestly anon a good 50% of it is “i literally don’t know”. maybe it’s the fact that she’s so underrated that kind of stokes my obsession a little? the other half of it is well. not even so much just her roles in each story she’s involved in but just general stuff about her as a character beyond that. i’ll give my general reasonings

(beneath a cut because wow i started rambling really hard)

im a sucker for the general trope of an utterly devoted character that serves under another, potentially to the point of viewing themselves as a tool. combine that with the general aesthetic of a battle maid and im pretty much sold.

further combine that with a devotion so sincere that it corrupts, and you have me acting up. kikuno being so hellbent on setting mitsuru free of her family’s burdens that she is willing to sacrifice the entirety of sees for it, that she goes as far as drugging her so she might sleep through it all, was just insanely interesting to me. kikuno clearly despises takedera, thinks lowly of him, but joins forces with him for the good of providing peace to the person dearest to her, even at the risk of being hated by her.

she also technically falls under that other trope i like where she has a history of being a lab experiment. which i sorely wish they would’ve done more with! the horrifying implications of a child that was sold to ergo research!! a survivor of that dark hour experimentation that’s effect is typically known only through strega (and eventually sho by extension). takedera threatening her with returning to those experiments is a genuine hair raising moment to me. she’s the type of character you imagine would have a persona, but she never seems to awaken to one, only having the potential to interact with the dark hour.

shes also outright a cool addition to exploring more of mitsuru’s backstory and home life. the drama cd in general gives insight to mitsuru as a child and i came away feeling even more fondness for a character i already love intensely. (seriously, kikuno describing their first meeting and how much of a little shit mitsuru was about trying to make friends with a withdrawn and bitter kikuno…so sweet)

i just really get the sense that the writers have a fondness for her. she almost feels like someone’s oc. she’s practically a main character in the drama cd she originates from, she briefly cameos in a later drama cd promoting the movies (and has a brief appearance in the movies!!!!), then goes from loose mention in the first arena game to a fully visually implemented character in ultimax with portraits and voicework, and later she’s portrayed in the stageplay based on ultimax. surely you could chalk a ton of this up to needing a plot-furthering character and kikuno as a pre-existing concept would more often than not fit the bill but i like to imagine she’s just a Well Loved side character. i sincerely hope that love persists into reload. im DYING to see her again, even if it’s just a brief moment.

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH HER. in the second scene shes in she tells the limo driver escorting her and mitsuru to the manor to run over a crowd. shes like an angry attack dog for the first half of new moon that mitsuru needs to tell to relax. she fucking pretends to break a ring that normal people use to access the dark hour, acts like she loses all of her memories in the past 6 years to takedera AND TO MITSURU BEFORE BEING LIKE OH LOL IM FINE BTW. IVE ALWAYS HAD ACCESS TO THE DARK HOUR I JUST PRETENDED TO USE THE RING AND NEVER TOLD YOU ABOUT IT. she blows up the iwatodai dorm kitchen because she impulsively came over to help bake something as an apology to mitsuru, and doesn’t tell anyone that she’s never cooked before until after there is a fire. when mitsuru requests a beach-related activity for the senpai squad to partake in she sends an entire cruise ship to them. in arena she intentionally leaves the top open on the artificial dark hour-inducing box so that the police investigators handling the materials snoop into it, trigger it, and get attacked. she stays On Site in a damaged helicopter during ultimax so she can shoot down and blow up shadows and smiles and winks while she does it like she’s having the time of her life.

its not anything New i guess but the way she carries herself does kill me. woman who behaves so put together but is so not. she wants to commit unspeakable violence. shes smug and cunning. also she can be incredibly fucking stupid and i chalk that up to having grown up somewhat sheltered in the same manner as mitsuru. the perfect woman i think

gay ass homosexual woman. if a relationship in p3 is paralleled with junpei and chidori it’s so over that’s them telling you something gay is happening. you cannot refer to somebody as “the one destined for you” and be not gay about it. it does not help that she then compares herself to yukari who is also ridiculously gay with mitsuru. it’s also like why are you as a woman revolving your life’s work around providing comfort and peace to another woman. she’s ridiculous get me out of here.

her arena design is like catnip for me. what is she so dykey for!? her fucking chest harness....

another thing is like just generally the Potential she holds as a character. i would've liked to see her directly encounter more members of sees beyond her first appearance. i think her and yukari's dynamic in particular is really funny just based on the last bit of dialogue between them in nm/fm. something about the kinda one-sided like. kinship kikuno appears to have with her and like i wanted to see how yukari would further deal with her and her antics but they dont really interact on character developing-based terms in ultimax....i like to think about them anyways. ive also manifested the concept of strega being loosely aware of her from their time as child experiments under the kirijo group, particularly ive been wanting to try writing or drawing something grounded in the dynamic between her and chidori consisting of how differently the two ended up and how that might create further tension than what we got in their brief canon interaction...im just Rambling at this point but its genuinely a big part of her appeal to me.

well while im here. i feel like there might be this impression that i ship kikuno with either yukari or mitsuru but like generally speaking i find it hard to put into words what the deal is. i dont really consider either of them in a romantic relationship with her and yet there is some kind of psuedo-polycule shit going on there in my brain. i dont pair them but theyre doing gay stuff n proximity to each other. do you get it. its like two married women and the maid that they do yuri shit with

she sucks a little bit and also shes so awesome. im her biggest fan. thats all

addendum: PLEASE, one p3 fan to another, do yourself a favor and either listen along to or read the scripts for the drama cds she appears in. (and the whole p3 drama cd catalogue in general because honestly its made up of really great stuff between sincere lore shit and just characters goofing off during daily life.) i'll link the specific ones below for ease of access also.

New Moon (Youtube) (Script) Full Moon (Youtube) (Script)

[treepan0]

August lore dump because why not?

August is actually the most detailed of my ocs, starting off with my own surprise about an unpopular choice in the dragonball fandom. August has multiple different outcomes, mainly because of her complexity as a character. but for the most part her pre-series, classic, Z, super, and introduction lore is consistant. keep in mind she is a mutated Tuffle oc, with life as her main theme and that does affect her lore. under read more for obvious reasons.

~Pre series, introduction & classic

August doesn't remember much of life before the saiyan-tuffle war, as she was only five when it broke out. she and her mom stayed on the run for seven years, before she decided to face things head on, rather than running away. unfortunately during a fight a year later, her life would change forever.

this fight resulted in her mutation, and the first presumption of her death. the second would happen five years later, she was hit by a blast causing her ability to teleport her away, and stay in a dream like state for a long time. due to her ability however, the passage of time was like nothing to her.

I imagine her introduction a bit different then most; during one of Goku's dragon ball searches with Bulma is when they first meet, reasonably August is scared, and Goku is confused. August fearing for her life, attacks out of self defence, and is defeated pretty easily. however out of a desire to fight her again, she was spared leading to her genuine respect for Goku.

her arc in dragon ball would be about starting to move on from the past, and letting go of grudges against those who never deserved her wrath.

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~DBZ lore~

Z is where things interesthing; you know I mentioned she was hit by a blast? well it was a ki blast that went straight through her diaphragm, kick starting the first more interesting detail about her. August despite everything felt horror when learning of Raditz' death, because in a way she knew long ago that could have been her. while it doesn't destroy her relationship with Goku, it does change her views on him significantly.

leading up to Vegeta and Nappa's arrival, she would train as she believes the only way to maintain the life she worked for, is to fight for it. in the end however it didn't matter, as vegeta was strong enough to make her ability unable to protect her. so she's kind of stuck dead, until the end of the Frieza to be revived alongside everyone else.

the time spent between the Frieza and android sagas, is spent a bit more relaxed like everyone else, but she doesn't give up training. she never does really, since it's also one of her coping mechanisms, and Vegeta sure does upset her. Despite that fact, I can still see her baking cookies to help cheer everyone up. (she lets Bulma save some for Vegeta, but they never get eaten and just go stale due to his distrust.)

there isn't much special I could see for the android saga, she's really just another fighter there. In the Cell saga however I can see her body creating a poison for imperfect Cell in its compounds, since her ability is adapting for survival. This reasonably angers Cell, but it's not enough to kill him, just repel him like a mosquito.

in the Buu saga August still doesn't fully get along with Vegeta, but she puts it aside mainly for Trunks and Goten. She barely escapes being absorbed, but still ends up exploding with everyone else. afterwards I can see her baking treats, and sending them to Mr.Satan since it's already something she likes to do, and she now has someone to enjoy the baked goods so they never go to waste.

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~Super~

I'm doing super first since GT has branching timelines.

during battle of gods, I don't see many interactions except for one: remembering August bakes as a hobby, and is really good at it Vegeta tries to get her to help please Beerus. August is well aware that the GoD could kill her easily, but she sees a pretty obvious problem and asks him: "Bake? with what ingredients, tools and supplies?" Unfortunately Vegeta forgot you can't bake sweets from thin air. at least she tries to help settle Buu down when the two fight over the pudding cups.

resurrection F has very few special interactions, she does however promise to make Beerus some cookies as their first direct interaction. August follows through with her promise during a filler arc, and is simply a spectator in the 6 & 7 tournament.

I can see most of her super interactions being related to Baking, fighting, the reality of what she is and just generally being kind to Beerus and Whis, since most of super doesn't have many interactions that would need her less flattering side.

regardless her absence in the universe tournament is contributed by her mutated status, most of her abilities would disqualify her realistically in her eyes, so she decided better safe than sorry. thankfully this gave her the chance to realize just how much she despises Frieza, as he's deceptive and takes lives without a care.

outside of that I've only seen the anime and movies, due to a limited budget so the last additional detail notes will be simple. August would likely have a soft spot for Broly, just as I could see her having for Goku, Gohan, Goten and Trunks as it's mainly caused by her choice to be kind, and what remains of her instincts before her mutation.

and the only thing from the manga that I will bring up, is I can see her having a bit of an almost sisterly relationship with Granola, mainly due to what they have in common more than anything else.

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~Base GT/Canon compliant GT timeline~

August never leaves with Goku, Pan and Trunks in any of the GT timelines. She helps distract Baby, but that's about it. She's horrified and disgusted by his actions. how could another Tuffle do such a thing? she hates him so much, he's hurt her friends, and the children she promised to look after. if it wasn't for her fear of Vegeta, she would break his nose, and wipe that smug grin off his face.

in the end she dies alone much later, her body finally wearing down enough so she can rest in peace within the grass.

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~GT 'B' timeline~

Baby has defeated Goku, out of desperation she dashes into Baby. She hopes the result will take after her more, giving up both their existence in hopes to save everyone she ever loved. this is the timeline that resulted in my Xenoverse 1 character Auggy, who started off as a what if.

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~GT 'G' timeline~

Baby is redeemed, and August lets him bunk at her place. they still dislike each other at first, but due to having somewhat similar goals, and quite a bit in common they end up surprisingly close. admittedly however Baby had to take the first step, so I am not exaggerating when I say slow burn enemies to lovers timeline.

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~Legends~

due to the desperation the timeline tournament has brought her to, and the fact vegeta has pushed her away for many years, leaving her pretty much unable to team up with any of her friends, August ends up on a team with Cooler and Baby.

August is the mediator and medic. Cooler is the more strict of the three, the one who makes sure to enforce things, and is more of the leader if anything. Baby is definitely more childish compared to the other two, but his ability to hide in the shadows so well makes him a great scout and rogue, in combination with his abilities and skills he helps provide information so the three can form plans together.

no one ends up showing interest in each other, due to not spending nearly enough time to feel such feelings.

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~Xenoverse~

Outside of the GT Bad timeline another version of August is a Conton city resenant, who mainly ends up there due to being one of Auggy's components. this version of August feels the most content, since in Conton city she would have; a husband and two adopted kids (three if you count Auggy), what she wanted.

And yes those adopted kids are Kamin and Oren, because I couldn't unsee it with her personality.