#she did have a small fanbase in the black community

[befuddled-calico-whump]

What was Overkast like?

honestly kind of a dick.

He was the star of his team, the only one who was ever really in the spotlight due to his looks, charisma, and flashy powers. Pretty cocky and self-centered, as well as impulsive and short-tempered, but cared enough about what the public thought of him to mostly keep that under wraps.

Overkast wasn't one of the superstar, highly-commercialized heroes (marketing, reality show, action figures, the whole shebang), but that was something he strived for. He had a pretty moderate fanbase due to, again, his flashy powers and good looks, but also his loose-cannon nature.

Initially, Corp overlooked his flaws, but as time went on he started to push his boundaries more and more. Going off alone when it was supposed to be a team mission, turning off his comms in the middle of a fight, etc. Titanium couldn't go too far with any disciplinary action either, because he had enough of a fanbase that it would raise unwanted questions from the public if he was decommissioned, especially if he raised a fuss about it. (Which he was likely to do).

Alexei was the final straw, though. He blatantly ignored the order to incapacitate and went right for dismemberment, while several civilian witnesses were present. Titanium set up an under the table "disposal" for him a few months after that.

[ventismacchiato]

40 behind the lens — paper rings !

scaramouche x g!n reader

⇢ ˗ˏˋ time skip of three years ࿐ྂ

˗ˏˋ headcanons ´ˎ˗

✰ you and kuni graduate at the top of your respected classes and have been dating for almost five years now, known properly as the campus it couple

✰ neither of you moved in together until last year when everyone else started moving out of the shared content houses

✰ first xiaoae move out together, then childe, then heikazu, albenari, then ayaka going back home and venti living on his own

✰ living in the houses on your own was essentially a waste of money and space so jean ended your leases and you guys finally moved in together

✰ and after graduation, with jean’s help, you’re able to slide into the industry pretty easily with your large fanbases

✰ you start off as side characters that grow in popularity since your fans watch the shows and movies you star in just for you both

✰ i like to think kuni double majored in child psych along with film in case acting didn’t work out in his favor so he’s pretty and smart

✰ but since this is fiction it did work out for him cus dreams come true #livelaughlove

✰ id like to think star/you would also act but probably dials it down to direct full time instead

✰ you preferred to direct compared to acting so eventually you started to fund your own projects with kuni on your cast which helped you grow

✰ you try not to cast kuni in every one of your movies because then it’ll look like favoritism but he prefers to star in ones you direct

✰ you also get your friends to be extras a lot, most of the time it’s childe who begs you to let him be in the back for movies

✰ you guys probably don’t get engaged for a while despite living together, blaming it on scara’s commitment issues and the fact that your careers are your main focus

✰ alongside luna, your previous black cat, you probably adopt another white one alongside scara

✰ as for actor!scara headcanons imagine scara on hot ones, that one show on youtube, and he has a straight face the entire time as he eats the hottest wings and answers questions about you

✰i think he’d have a lot of fun on shows like that, example would be eat it or spill it by jimmy fallon, he would annihilate them

✰ he probably does all his own stunts, always giving you a heart attack as you see him falling from heights on harnesses, sometimes he convinces the staff to fool you into thinking he actually got hurt due to a broken rope as he plummets to the ground

✰ he does it so much that there’s enough content for ‘scara pretending to die in front of yn for ten minutes straight’ compilations

✰ you guys probably stream when you can but not as much with your jobs, i think star doing behind the scenes vlogs of you and scara together would be so cute though

˗ˏˋ headcanons ´ˎ˗

✰ was a communications major so he’s the PR manager for scara and you after graduating

✰ yes i know technically jean could do this but she has enough on her plate! i’m just thoughtful like that #feminist

✰ constantly trying to prevent you guys from getting into scandals, which is hard when scara cannot keep his opinions to himself

✰ aether probably has a heart attack everytime scara goes off to do interviews since scara always ignores the pre written answers and goes on tangents, which his fans love but twitter not so much

✰ xiao as an animator wud be so sexy guys. like walk with me here imagine an operation true love anime after the drama and webtoon are a hit so he gets to animate for the anime and storyboards with albedo

✰ i’m tryna intertwine all of them even after they graduate can you tell

✰ as for him and aether they probably tie the knot a little while after graduating, small wedding with just close friends and family

✰ xiao would edit one of those pretty wedding videos that youtubers do

✰ but they don’t film the entire wedding for their channels cus they gotta gatekeep

✰ id say xiao probably still streams but he mainly just draws with music in the background or works on his stardew town with aether

✰ xiao probably strains his wrist a lot from all the work he does so at promotion events he’s always wearing a brace on his hand

˗ˏˋ headcanons ´ˎ˗

✰ okay in this au let’s all pretend he’s the creator of operation true love cus rmbr he’s a writing major and a huge romantic

✰ like how sexy is that, obviously it does well cus all his fans all read it and so it gets turned into a drama

✰ directed by you of course starring kuni as eunhyuk

✰ he’s still head over heels and throwing up in love with heizou, they probably adopt a cat together when they move in together

✰ i imagine if kazuha ever wrote a murder mystery novel he’d have heizou read it to decipher if the culprit was too easy to figure out

✰ nothing really exciting about heizou’s major in this au, he probably just becomes a detective and streams on the side, known as kazuha’s partner in the entertainment industry and attends all the events when he can

˗ˏˋ headcanons ´ˎ˗

✰ obviously goes into the art industry, works on a lot of graphic novels and novel covers and sometimes album covers

✰ when kazuha’s work gets turned into mangas or graphic novels he always does the art for it

✰ he probably paints nari’s favorite flowers for him and they adorn their house’s walls

✰ i’d say he doesn’t stream as much anymore but if he does it’s probably just him doing commissions with music in the background

✰ nari’s major is also not exciting in this au, probably becomes a forest ranger or a college professor

✰ albedo builds him a greenhouse in the back of their house for him

✰ the type to bring hurt animals home and fosters them back to health

˗ˏˋ headcanons ´ˎ˗

childe

✰ stealing from my pookie mrbeast for inspo

✰ he probably does stuff like has a whole business for his videos and side hustles like merch and a food company

✰ like maybe he and diluc collab to make an energy drink or something

✰i mentioned he fancies diluc like once in a previous chapter so that’s why he’s with diluc who streams a little

✰ they probably met properly at another twitch con or creator event

✰ very wow factor oriented like he does more than just stream games, he prefers to work on big challenge videos and loves giving away money

✰ like he would host those extreme hide-and-seek challenges with all his youtuber/streamer friends in weird locations and get them to do weird dares with him

✰ i think heizou would win those types of videos most of the time, whereas scara barely tries and still seems to almost win

✰ diluc probably does one stream a month because it’s not his entire focus, probably also a business major and just appears in childe’s videos once in a while

✰ how cute would it be if childe was always at his 110% in videos and extra hyper to make them more entertaining but when diluc joins him he’s more calm and cute

venti

✰ his streaming fanbase gives him a jumpstart in his music career yk how it is

✰ does a bunch of osts for shows and movies. still streams but also is a popular musician

✰ not an idol 😍🤞 has to be a little different than jptp but does start out by opening for tours and makes it on billboard

✰ i do think he’d eventually do a world tour though on his own and stray away from streaming to focus on his music, would probably just upload vlogs if anything

✰ does the operation true love ost so everyone is working tgt and he’s single in this au cus #singlerep

ayaka

✰ honestly i don’t care what happens to ayaka she’s just there ig

✰ keep doing what ur doing queen! i’ll support you from all the way over here!

behind the lens !

masterlist — prev | next

yes i’m using yeonjun as scaras face 🤞

also sorry if this isn’t as in depth as the jptp one i’m just tryna wrap this fic up ☠️

author’s notes — just like jptp i just wanted to do a bunch of headcanons :] this is how i envision their future and if u don’t agree talk to the wall cus idc 😊

synopsis — you, better known as STARDUST, and BALLADEER have always been in competition for the top streamer spot on twitch, which is especially impressive since the two of you have never shown your faces. you’ve never been on good terms, constantly one-upping each other in matches and getting into petty arguments on twitter, causing your fans to also dislike each other. that’s until BALLADEER does a face reveal that breaks the internet with his good looks…which makes you realize it’s the same guy you went on a date with last night. the type of date that made you crave to see him again. the only problem was he didn’t know you were STARDUST and he was way different behind the lens than he portrayed himself online to you. should you keep your identity a secret to salvage the relationship or just let him go?

taglist is closed — @captainzep @elysiumarchieve @plinkuro @sakkakuu-squared @eliqusgenma @vuvulia @kunikuzushiit @ins4nebish @stxrgxzxr @lilacponds @uma-umie @mitsukifilms @caesars-bubbles @wheneverthesunrise @its-like-twilight @kazuhalvrr @erosdevil @thenightsflower @p1utto @noodleshark420 @lxry-chxn @court-jester-stuff @lauragalliart @veyu002 @kaeyas-eyepatch-69 @leathernourishingshoepolish @satowaluverr @lexlapis @drunkwithfever @exhaustedcommunist @vincanzu @ainlaw @ovaliz @kitsuvil @whatamidoing89 @celestair @kunihaver @kazioli @xiaosoneandonly @cridtiins @cherrybeomgyu @asukahiriko @moon-320 @orionicchaos @cartierfiles [1/3]

[mollyrolls]

stop the clock 𖦹 matsukawa i. x reader

introductions: cloud 20 + kumonoue market

pinterest

taglist: open! fill out here

mlist. / next

ln yn

𖦹 yn is a recent art school dropout, working at the shop to pay rent. been there for about 6 months, is no longer the baby of the group. 𖦹 her dream job is to be a cartoonist or animator of some kind. she has a somewhat popular strip called lost planet. her fanbase is niche and small but they would die for her. 𖦹 heavily inspired by krazy kat's art style, calvin and hobbes' humor, and cul-de-sac's eclectic characters. 𖦹 she drew the short end of the stick and works graveyards a lot, so she draws a lot of her stuff during work. ukai doesn't care. 𖦹 is a satin black regular despite the obvious canonical problems. shes one of omis very few clients.

nishinoya yu

𖦹 got hired at kumonoue a week before yn did, so he was never really considered the baby. he contributes the most to the newbie jokes though, which makes yn so mad. 𖦹 he doesn't really have a reason for working here, he just needed a job and they were hiring. he likes it though, because there's always something to do or someone to watch. 𖦹 noya and yn are the definition of opposites attract. they cling to each other like parasites. he's floated the idea of splitting an apartment and once yns rent is up she is absolutely taking him up on that. 𖦹 he is lost planet's biggest fan, and has a bottle of very cheap champagne waiting for the day she gets a deal. one of the only people that gets to see yns personal comics.

akaashi keiji

𖦹 doing an unpaid internship at an editing company, so he got this job so that he wouldn't have to live with his parents. he lives with bokuto because they are canon in every universe. 𖦹 been working at kumonoue for a year and a half. he's been there the longest and is technically a manager. he loves the job but CAN'T STAND BEING MANAGER. 𖦹 he edits lost planet! they have a mutual exchange; she doesnt pay him for his work but he gets to use it in his portfolio (he would have done it anyways because he truly believes in her talent and wants to see her succeed).

hinata shoyo

𖦹 works here because ukai was complaining that he needed more workers during a practice one day. hinata took that as volun-telling, so he applied that night. 𖦹 he's the only part time worker, full time during the off-seasons. he doesnt really need the job but he loves the cloud 20 group so even if he did quit nothing would really change. 𖦹 he desperately wants the group to hang out outside of work events or in the group chat. he's getting very close to wearing them all down!

bodega cat

𖦹 kumonoue has an adopted cat. yn loves the cat. no one else likes the cat. the cats name is bodega cat. they do not work at a bodega. 𖦹 yn had a bad day once and got bodega cat a collar with a tag. the contact for if bodega cat goes missing is akaashi. he does not know this.

ukai kenshin & kumonoue market

𖦹 is the owner of kumonoue, but he's barely there. he trusts them all enough to not burn it down, so he spends his time at other locations or coaching.

fun facts!

𖦹 ukai's store in canon is named sakanoshita, which means 'under the slope'. kumonoue means 'above the clouds'.

𖦹 this is how the cloud 20 gc got their name. yn asked if ukai smokes cigarettes or joints, which lead to a joke about naming the store while on cloud 9. noya elevated that to cloud 10, but hinata didn't think that was dramatic enough so he made it 20.

𖦹 they have several jars for the counter. swear jar, stupid customer jar, failed flirting jar, bodega cat knocking over the jars jar. you name it, they've had it.

𖦹 despite the sometimes intimidating workers, kumonoue has a really great reputation in their community and a lot of lovely regulars. yn is the best at remembering orders and can ring people up before they approach.

mlist. / next

an: yes i will be using yn as a vessel for me to spout my ENDLESS NERD KNOWLEDGE about old newspaper comics. i am not sorry about it in the slightest.

comic art used in this chapter: krazy kat by George Herriman.

taglist: open! fill out here.

@bakingcuriosity, @nobodybutnnoorr, @ciderscape, @lilchubbyyy, @soulfullystarry,

@interstellarz, @wakashudou, @myromanempiree, @notverymarley, @froyaoya,

@lllaw, @eggyrocks, @cnnmairoll, @cosmiicdust, @reignsaway,

@wyrcan, @garfieldissocool

[silent-raven13]

Build-A-Hobie?

Billie gawks at the store in front of her wearing her puffy jacket. "WOOW!" Her eyes sparkles at one of her favorite stores.

"Build-A-Bear?" Hobie read the store's name with a questioning tone. He wore a long black thick winter coat with his band shirt, plaided pants and boots all topped with accessories for his style.

Miles wore his own yellow puffer jacket with a scarf and beanie to keep from the cold. This winter there's been so many snow that there was so many blizzards, he can say this season has been cold than the last. He wanted to take his little sister to get a toy. "It's a shop where you make your own teddy bear." He took his boyfriend's hand pulling him into the shop while Billie runs inside with joy.

"Miles, I want this one!" She happily points at one colorful teddy bear with a dream like pastel tie dye design. "This one is gonna be me!" Happy to have her own collection at home.

Miles smiles, "Alright!" He gave her a small high five, "Your gonna give her a cute tutu?"

"Yeah and a princess crown because she's a princess like me." Billie happily said.

Miles giggles for the moment before turning to his boyfriend, he blinks at the way his boyfriend stare at the new limited edition set. "Luv?"

"Hmph?" He hums with a small smile on his face. "Yeah, bae?"

Hobie squints at the set, "What are these?" He points the limited edition set pointing out a specific Spider-man.

Miles giggles, "You mean, the Spider-men set?" It's a whole set of all the Spider-men and Spider-women that appeared in his world. So far, Miguel's, Pavitr, Gwen's, Peter's, his Peter (1610), Ben's, Peni's, Margo's, Noir's, Jess' and his own are all on there. Especially a specific Spider-punk being front in certain. "Or you mean Spider-Punk?" His honey-brown eyes on the Build-A-Bear teddy bear design as a Spider-Punk with it's punk outfit and fake guitar.

"Yeah, why? How?"

"You guys come here pretty often, so it's no surprise people see you guys and starts liking ya'll. I think Gwen has a big fanbases from the LGBT Plus community. I think a lot of single girls have a thing for Miguel... hmmm Oh Pavitr and you got a massive fanbase for being so different." Miles points out.

"So they are monopolizing me?" Hobie holds the Spider-Punk Teddy Bear seeing the price, it's thirty four American Dollars. "Thirty four dollars for a Spider Punk?"

"You should see these fun figures called Funko Pops. You're basically famous." His Sunflower giggles.

"Meaning?" Hobie trails off.

His boyfriend giggles, "Companies creating merchandising for their own pocket."

"Damn you capitalism!" Hobie said being dramatic as he fall to his knees in the middle of the store. Many people around them turn their heads being freaked out by the random outburst.

One of the retail worker came by to ask if there was something wrong, Miles quickly said, "No, no. He's just being dramatic. He's a huge fan of Spider-man."

"Oh, well I do recommend him getting Spider-punk or the Spider-man that look like panther since those sell out way too fast. And OG Spider-man had been restocked, too. But I noticed the Spider-man with the Jordans, what do we call him? Oh, Tony what do we call this Spider-man?" She holds the black and red Spider-man with the Jordans teddy bear.

"I think Spin or Newbie." Tony, a retail worker giving a shrug as he restock some more teddy bears fabric.

"Yeah, a lot of children been buying him off. " The female retail said, "I think when he came out as Puerto Rican, a lot of Latinos love him."

"Yup!" Tony hums in agreement.

Miles being giddy about his own Spider-man being popular, "Billie, did you hear? They love this Spider-man, too." He holds the Spider-man with Jordans.

Little Billie' eyes gleam at her brother's Spider-man, then took it. "Mmm." She hugs it. Then pulls away seeing the two to pick. "Ummm, mmm. Dis one or dis one?" She wanted to get her brother as Spider-man but she wants of her to complete her family collection. Decisions, decisions!

Miles got to her level, "Awe, boo-boo. How about you get yours? Next time, we'll get Spider-man next time."

"Awe," She nodded.

"I promise, we'll get him next time."

"Okay!" She happily jumps as her brother took the store's teddy bear display before helping her get her own teddy bear fabric.

"Bae, are you done cursing at Capitalism, yet? Because you still need to pick one?" Miles asked.

The punker frowns looking at his Sunflower's Spider-man then the Spider-Punk looks tempted." He huffs taking his Sunflower's Spider-man, "Yeah, I got mine."

"Awe, you're not gonna get Spider-Punk." Miles giggles.

"Luv, you know I rather pick him over that guy," Hobie rolled his Spider-man's name. He never understood why they called his Spider-punk. "Labels are always ruining it."

"Oh yeah?" Miles took his own teddy bear showing a fully stuffed Spider-Punk, "Even if I pick him?" Shyly showing a small smile on his face.

Hobie felt his heart throbbing by such cuteness, "You pick me."

"Mmhmm." His boyfriend happily hug the teddy bear, "He's my bae after all."

His punker leans over to kiss him on the cheek, "Your too cute, Sunflower."

Billie calls them over so she can get her Teddy bear filled with heart, and items for it. Miles happily went over to help and taught his boyfriend how to do it. "Here, you give them a cute heart. Make a wish bae for the bear." He hums at his punker.

Hobie took the small heart then give a kiss, "My heart for my Sunflower." He happily said making Miles flustered as he put the heart inside the bear.

Billie holds her teddy bear as she looks at the cute clothes, "Hmm..."

Miles squat to her level, "You want her to have a pretty dress or a ballerina? Or-Or that cute Strawberry dress?" He pointed at the dresses.

Billie took moment until her eyes lit up finding the perfect outfit for her teddy bear, "That one!" She pointed.

Her brother looks up seeing a cute jean overall with one strap undone, OG Air 1 Jordans and a black shirt with Miles' Spider-man logo. "Awe, boo-boo. You want Spider-man?"

"Huh uh!" Billie happily giggles as her big brother looked so touched by her being his number one fan. "My number one hero!"

"Awwweee, I love you, too." Miles happily hugs and nuzzle his little sister, she's so adorable.

"Hehe!" Billie leans over at Hobie giving a smug grin.

Hobie eyed her, "Alright, bet." He went over to give a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek, "Suuu-uunn-floo-wweer!" He happily sang with his own Miles' Spider-man teddy bear wearing a cute punker shirt of Spider-punk with a hoodie, and jeans with some Jordans. "Lookie."

"Awe, he's adorable, bae!" His boyfriend look flustered at his own Spider-man teddy bear design by his man, "I like the shirt."

"I know, it's Spider-punk." He leans in to give him another kiss on the cheek. "Should he have a happily charming mischievous boyfriend?" He holds the Spider-man in from of his Sunflower waiting for his answer.

"Maybe, but this punker," Miles holds Spider-Punker teddy bear in a full punker jeans, boots, guitar and shirt of Miles' Spider-man logo, "prefers to be known an Anarchist." He playfully let his Spider-punk Teddy bear tap its nose against Hobie's teddy bear, "Mwah!"

"I love how you know me so well." Hobie's heart flutter.

"Hehehe." His Sunflower giggles with his teeth showing off.

Billie happily got her new Teddy bear in her new outfit, "She's boot-tee-full!"

"Yeah, she is. Are you excited to play with her at home, boo-boo." Her big brother asked after they walk out of the store with their new teddy bears.

"YUS! I'ma put it next to mommy and daddy." Billie happily smiles.

Hobie chuckles when they walk out of the mall snow started to fall. "Opp, careful, luvs. You catch a death of cold." He fixes his Sunflower's scarf making sure it covers part of his face. "I'll carry the lass."

"Are you sure?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, the least I can do." The punker picks up Billie so she doesn't need to walk through the slippery parts of the sidewalks.

When they arrived at the Morales' home, Billie happily ran inside kicking her snow boots off. She took her teddy bear out of the plastic bag to go into her room to set her new friend in her new collection.

The other two met the Morales' home being covered with Christmas decorations, and having a Christmas tree in the living room. Rio came out of the kitchen wiping her hands with a damp kitchen towel. "You guys, are home? I saw Billie running by without a hi to me."

"She got a new Teddy bear." Miles took off his coat to put on the hook on the wall.

"Ahh, she must be introducing her new toy to her other Teddy bears." Rio giggles finding it cute, then she saw Miles holding a bag, "You bought one, too."

"Heh, maybe." Miles hums as he took his boyfriend's hand to show him Billie's collection. "Come, bae."

"Hola, mamí Morales." Hobie greeted Rio.

"Hola, Hobie. How was Build-A-Bear?" She saw him carrying a bag, too.

"Fun. I thought it was a bit cheeky marketing off me and Sunflower!" Hobie began.

Rio laughs being amused, "Well, that's what happens when companies want to be greedy!"

Hobie groans, "Terrible, innit?" Before being dragged to check on Billie.

When he went into Billie's room, its a small pink room with butterflies and glow in the dark stars stickers. The room shows toys on the floor, a dresser, closet, bed, everything a five year old needs and wants. Billie stood by a small desk where her Teddy Bears are side by side like a family. She gently strokes the top of her new Teddy bear's head before fixing the overall, "There. Now, you are Billie Bear! You get to meet Daddy Bear and Mommy Bear, they are your parents!" She puts them all together being so happy.

Miles smiles at the way his sister just sat and watch the teddy bears being together. "Awe, are they happy, boo-boo?"

"Huh uh! Daddy Bear and Mommy Bear are so happy to have Billie Bear!" Billie said, "Umm... but-but I hope I can get big brother Bear soon!" She tap her fingers together wanting her big brother to be part of her collection.

"Awe, we can wait for a little bit." Miles snuggles her, "For right now, we can pretend he's Spider-man!"

"But they are sad because he's not home yet." Billie pouts.

Hobie leans at the doorway as he watches the three bears looking a bit bum. Did he see that right? So he dug into his white plastic bag.

Billie and Miles look at the stuffed bears with a warm smile until Hobie put his Teddy Bear in front of Billie, "Here, lass."

"For me?" Billie asked being confused, she took the Teddy bear dressed in her brother's Spider-man suit.

Miles looked up, "Really?"

"Yeah, lil Blu needed a Miles Bear, right? Besides, where will I put mine?" Hobie asked his boyfriend, "Sunflower, I know you only took me to enjoy the process of making the toy and living my childhood. I love every minute of it, but my teddy will get awfully lonely. Don't you think?"

His Sunflower nodded with a small smile on his face, "Right, bae." He leans over to Billie, "Mira, Boo-boo. Hobie gave you a Miles Bear. Do you accept him into your collection?"

"Huh uh!" The five year old girl got up to hug Hobie, "Gracias, Hobie. I luv it!"

"Awe, lass. You're welcome." Hobie hugs her back before letting her go.

"Miles Bear, welcome home!" She tightly hugs her new gift before placing it next to family of bears. "Now, I need an Obie bear!" She looks at her big brother.

Hobie felt touched. Miles giggles, "I see. Of course, he can live here, Boo-boo." He went into his own plastic bag to give Billie his Spider-punk Teddy bear.

She happily hugs the bear and her brother, "Thank you! Because Obie bear will get sad without Miles Bear!"

"That is so true. Hobie Bear is clingy like my Hobie." Miles casually said.

"Sunflower, all have you know I am the most clingiest out of all the Hobies." His punker huffs.

Billies places the Spider-punk bear next to Miles bear. Now the Morales Bear Family is finally completed. "It's boo-teee-full! They look so happy!" She went to Hobie as he picked her up.

The three look at the family of bears seeing a warm ambiance, like they are seeing those Teddy bears smiled. They are complete and filled with love being together.

"Awe, look at that." Rio walks in seeing the complete collection, "They look so happy."

Jeff follows in wanting to see his daughter's collection, "Is it me or are they smiling?"

"They are, papá! They are!" Billie giggles.

"You think there's a universe of us being toy bears?" Miles quietly asked his boyfriend.

"I like to think so." His punker said, "Another us, being happily together." That made his Sunflower smile even wider.

"Yeah, so very happy." Miles lay his head on his boyfriend shoulder. "I love you, Hobie."

"Me too, Sunflower."

Billie bud in, "Me three! I love Miles! And I luv Obie!"

"Awe!" Miles kisses Billie's right cheek while Hobie kisses her left cheek. "We love you, too!" This made the little girl giggling with joy.

[magicalwarriorbattleroyale]

TY FOR TAKING PART :D

this was really fun for me, I know that the cast gets a good amount of votes on other polls but I also have seen quite a few people who voted solely based on things like "well Clover IS purple… AND has a hammer!" or "IDK who Val is but she's cute and black so" So I ddidn't know for sure how much ppl will participate lol. Plus I know the MWDH fanbase is still pretty small all things considered, and despite how arrogant I might act, inside my expectations are often a lot lower than I show on the outside lol. So seeing even more than like a hundred votes is always really cool.

Some of the battles were really surprising. I picked the round one match-ups on a mix of randomization and my better judgement on which characters I thought would be a fair match against. Although with less Crystal Warriors on the bracket, it did make it difficult to chose who Valerie would go up against LOL. I said a few times on my personal accounts that I wanted a final match up to be Clover up against Valerie or Zacharie. I felt that Zacharie is one of the more beloved characters and the possibility existed that they'd make it. I didn't think Zacharie actually would to be honest... I wasn't confident they could get past Val lol. But I really didn't expect her to sweep so HARD lmaooo. I also briefly forgot what kind of community I have been fostering, namely you people are GOOFY AS HELL!!! I did NAWT expect the frog to get as far as it did, And I thought Liam would at least die with dignity lmao. and I kind of feel bad for Ethan now. his second match was mean 😭... I 100% didn't think Liam would make it to the finals but since Liam vs Clover is the true rivals duo, i had to make sure the opportunity existed. They wouldn't want it any other way. If I had been 100% sure Alex was getting in, I'd have matched him with Liam instead at the start, but during the matching I had Alex's spot listed as "reserved" in case I ended up having Diana in his plac.

I feel like Val's mom against Clover in round 1 might seem silly to some but Val's mom is like, surprisingly popular lol. She had a fair shot imo, and honestly? She did pretty well. it's not like she was totally demolished. And I definitely made the correct choice to put Val opposite to Clover, I think if anyone would be a fair match it would be them for the finals. I think maybe the frog was the only other one who coulda done it, because you people are jokesters.

Anyways ill do more polls here since there are characters that didnt get in, and I'm sure the results will change as more episodes will release lmao. I'll also just use this as a general poll account so I can keep the main mwdh account clean, and I might post other magical girl polls here bc this is my account and I can do that :p

[qnewsau]

Crime comedy Deadloch filming season two in Queensland

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/crime-comedy-deadloch-filming-season-two-in-queensland/

Crime comedy Deadloch filming season two in Queensland

Australian black comedy murder mystery series Deadloch will be returning for a second season.

Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan co-created, wrote and produced the series, which was a big hit for Prime Video last year.

Deadloch stars out actors Kate Box and Madeleine Sami as two very different detectives forced to work together on a murder case in an eccentric small Tasmanian town.

Prime Video has confirmed the show will return, this time around heading to Australia’s sweltering Top End.

Kate Box and Madeleine Sami will return as Dulcie Collins and Eddie Redcliffe.

For season two, the detective duo are in Darwin investigating the death of Eddie’s former policing partner, Bushy.

When the bodies of two Top End icons are discovered in a remote town, the two women have a new sweatier, stickier investigation.

Kate and Madeleine both got Logie nominations for their roles in Deadloch. Also back for season two are Nina Oyama and Alicia Gardiner, who did great work as Abby Matsuda and Cath York, Dulcie’s wife, respectively.

“We are so excited to head to the Top End for a sticky, sweaty and filthy season two,” Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan said in a joint statement.

“Both of us are thrilled to be teaming up again with comedy angels Kate Box, Madeleine Sami, Nina Oyama and Alicia Gardiner.

“We can’t wait to work with a new bunch of cast members and some massive f__king crocodiles.”

Deadloch filming season two in the NT and Brisbane

Later this year, the six-part second season will film in both the Northern Territory and at Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane, and on the city’s waterways.

Amazon MGM Studios senior development executive Sarah Christie said they’re all in on Deadloch‘s “unique blend of Australian humour and gripping mystery.”

“The success of the first season, which has become a critical darling and cultivated a passionate fanbase, is a testament to the brilliant creative force of Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan,” she said.

“It’s wonderful to be continuing our collaboration with them [and] to bring back our outstanding cast.

“We can’t wait to share more from the world of Deadloch with fans around the world.”

Production on Deadloch‘s second season will start later in the year and eventually arrive on Prime Video.

Deadloch season one is streaming now, so do yourself a favour if you haven’t seen it.

More on Aussie queer TV:

Kate Box and Madeleine Sami up for Logies for Deadloch roles

The Two Kates talk marrying comedy and drama in Deadloch

Kate Box and Danielle Cormack get kinky in new SBS drama

Heartbreak High star Ayesha Madon comes out as bisexual

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[chil2de]

hi yes the benimaru fic i mentioned earlier— fire force fandom will you let me in please??🥺🥺 i don’t know what i’m dealing with fanbase wise mmfldjfj sometimes it feels like i’m head over heels for bens by myself so... i’ll drop this here for now.. see how it goes and i’ll continue w/ a second part if ff isn’t dead

nsfw themes throughout, so please read my disclaimer if you’re new. enjoy :)

w.c: 1.7k, characters: 9.6k (incl spaces)

-

there’s a certain sluggish quality that plagues your movements. it’s not fatigue or incompetence. or so benimaru would hope.

his mix matched gaze glosses over your unnecessary movements. that extra exhale you hiss, the additional bat of your eyelashes and the excessive perspiration that drips onto the earth below.

“stop.” he commands, tone low and stern as it pierces through the open air.

“huh? captain shinmon, i’m fine. we can keep going.” you huff through laboured breaths, pausing to gasp and drink in the plentiful oxygen around you.

“it’s one thing if you’re overworking your muscles. it’s another if you’re running a fever. go inside.”

“b-but captain-“

benimaru shoots you a dead stare, keeping his statement rooted deep where he stands.

judging by the bruises that adorn your knees, you know better than to disobey the captain.

“waka! have you seen (l/n)?” konro lingers in the doorframe of the main communal area, gaze scanning for one of his colleagues.

“she’s in her room. why?”

“her room? she has a few errands to run. is she feeling okay?”

“she’s running a fever.” benimaru exhales, shifting to get up from the table. he lightly scratches the back of his neck, adorning that usual aloof facial expression.

“in the middle of summer? how’d that happen?” konro chuckles through a small glimpse of bewilderment. of course he’d be concerned for one of his best recruits.

“hell if i know. what do we need? i’ll head out.”

if anything, benimaru is probably the sole reason why you’re running a fever. why he subjected to railing you underneath water that felt like it was nearing sub-zero was beyond you. it’s not like he’s about to admit he enjoys fucking his special little fire soldier. how he relishes and engrains the sight of your fucked out facial expression deep into his head, burning the image into his retinas. shit, you wouldn’t be surprised if the reason why he sometimes spaces out is because of you.

it’s always been blatantly obvious that you’re the captain’s favourite, no matter how much he denies it and how many glares he shoots at the people from other companies. you’re always left apologising for his behaviour, attempting to keep a straight face.

for the one time you dragged him out to patrol with you, and the amount of incessant whining, complaints and bribes you offered your captain, after a full month of lovely slow burn he decided to come along with you. he just up and left, had the audacity to turn around and ask you why you’re still standing there. benimaru always kept his distance to yours close, in fact the separation was almost minimal. you could feel his shoulders ghost over you.

every time he noticed someone staring at your figure for a little bit too long to be deemed appropriate, he hissed a scoff of distaste. at around the third or fourth person, you were already forced to deal with his short temper.

“what the hell are you gawking at? mind your damn business.”

but sure. apparently you’re not his favourite.

he can scoff and complain all he wants, but that won’t stop him even now from lazily snaking his hand around to his favourite baby girl’s waist. to him, this seems like the most normal thing.

“how else is she going to stand upright? she’s all stick and bones, the wind will knock her right over.”

okay, benimaru. you keep telling yourself that. even when his fingers feel an itch every time they’re not touching a part of your skin. he tends to get a whole lot more mouthy and irritable every time you’re not around, too.

hell, even his own townsfolk pick up on the fact that he’s out and about more. rounds that he always left to the lesser important underlings became more commonplace, especially with you by his side.

but the things that go on behind closed doors?

his peppermint red eyes that haunt your mind, infiltrating your very thoughts. you could be minding your business, going on about your day until you get an abrupt flicker of his mundane tic-tac-toe gaze staring up at you from in between your thighs.

you could be taking care of hinata and hikage, entertaining their antics when you feel the weight of benimaru’s stare burn holes into your uniform.

you could be doing your daily sparring with the captain. in the zone, breath held and blood stream steady until you remember the feel of his hot tongue trailing along the side of your neck. for someone who seems to be stuck in a perpetual state of sadness, you always catch the arrogant smirk that pulls at his lips.

“thinking of something?” he’ll cock his eyebrows, using the distraction to take a jab to your gut.

you groan, stirring around in your bed. you hate him, hate that stupid half lidded gaze of his. you hate how soft his wavy jet black locks are. the way the strands tug and bend whenever you try to yank his face away from your cunt. you run your fingers through your hair in a valiant yet futile attempt to free your thoughts from your captain. it’s only three o’clock in the afternoon, and you haven’t done anything but reminisce about your lover for the past hour and a half.

a meek and uneven sigh hisses from your lips. your eyes screw open and you flinch at the hard sunlight that pours in from the window. as you use the inner portion of your elbow to shield your gaze, you catch glimpse of a very familiar figure in the doorway.

“captain shinmon?” you inquire, propping yourself up onto your elbows. he closes the door behind him. you’re certain that you looked like a loyal dog sat panting and wagging its tail upon discovering the return of their owner.

“excited to see me?” he remarks in a flat tone, opening the grocery bag he’s carrying before setting a few things down onto your nightstand. it’s mostly medicine, though he snags a few of your favourite snacks and drinks. there’s also one of those fascinating green tea bottles that you buy at the vending machines, except they’re served piping hot.

“how’re you feeling?”

“i told you i was going to get sick if we had the water that cold.” you huff, averting your gaze in a fit.

“not my problem you can’t take a little temperature difference”

“a little? that shit was freezing! how the hell can you take water that cold?”

“how can you not?”

you chuckle a little, shifting to stare up at the ceiling.

“don’t you have paperwork to do?”

“you know i don’t do paperwork. sure as hell not gonna start doing it now.” benimaru huffs, kicking his boots off by the door. you can hear his clothes rustling and your head snaps to face him. he shoots you a glare, as though to scold you. it’s dripping on his face. ‘really? you’re so eager.’

“move up.” he cocks his head to the side, motioning for you to move over. you shift up, room spinning a little too much for your tastes. the mattress dips with his weight and his right arm (our left) reflexively hangs in the air for you to dip your head into the crook of where his shoulder and collarbone meet. he discards his navy kimono, the article of clothing hangs on one of the hooks at the back of your door. it’s probably not much comfort for him to be relaxing in a bed with half of his uniform still on.

you squish your face against his hard chest, head rising and falling in time with his breathing. the said arm relaxes and his hand rests against your shoulder. subsequently, you realise this is the first time you’ve seen him fully without his kimono on. at the very least, he’d still have the other sleeve on.

benimaru notices your blatant staring at his other arm. he can’t comprehend why you’d gawk at it now, since he’s used it plenty of times to choke you.

he hums a small ‘hm’ in question, asking you what you’re so fascinated about. you can feel his voice thrum and rock against his chest, it sends small shivers licking your body that he doesn’t miss.

“you look so funny without your kimono on. why don’t you wear it like this more often?” you drag your nails softly against his biceps. there’s a small groan that hisses from him. as you await his response, you outline a large vein that runs from his upper arm and trails down all the way to his wrist.

“i get cold easily.”

“then why did you take a shower with me?”

“are you hearing yourself?”

surely a little bit of his body temperature was enough to sacrifice. even if it meant he was sneezing a little bit and shivering afterwards.

“seriously? you can take a tranquiliser but you can’t stand a little cold?”

“you’ll make a shitty wife if you can’t even keep me warm.”

“beni!” you hiss at benimaru in appaul, craning your face up to guffaw at him. the manners on him sometimes are despicable.

you pout, shifting your upper weight to flick benimaru in between his eyebrows. he screws his face in mutiny, lips curled into a scowl.

you and him both know that if it were anyone else flicking him like that, they’d be sent crashing through six different blocks of houses down the street.

“oi.” he warns you, tutting.

“konro come by and work some voodoo magic bullshit on you? ‘cause you’re testing your luck by pissing me off. you’re such a menace when you’re sick, it’s unbelievable.”

you hum in awe, inching your face closer towards his. there’s a wave of mockery that paints your face green and you can only laugh at the unrest that swirls in benimaru’s eyes.

he won’t have his pet talking down to him like that. no, no. that just won’t do.

“oh? really? you want me to do it again?” you flash him a cocky smirk, digits curled into a flicking position. you rest the bridge of your middle finger against benimaru’s forehead, slicking some of his charcoal stained locks out the way.

his left hand flies to catch your hand in an instant. with just two of his fingers, he can wrap himself around your wrist. his touch is assertive, firm. he can drag you the fuck away from him as he pleases, but there’s no real malice or force behind him just yet.

“yeah? try me.” he barks, peering down at you through his lashes.

you just might.

[honeycomb-cinammonroll]

YOU WISH - S. B

SUMMARY: (Y/N) bowed to never fall for Sirius Black, he however bowed to convince her into going out with him, one of them was going to have to give up at any moment.

PAIRING: Sirius Black x fem!reader. (She/her) pronouns.

WORD COUNT: 1.2k

WARNINGS: Fluff. A happy ending. Dorlene. Jily vibes.

REQUEST: can u write a young sirius x reader based on this tiktok i feel like u’d write it so good https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSJvAqPqB/ ☺️

A/N: Hello Anon! So, I am very sorry this took so long, but I hope it meets your expectations. Enjoy!

“Hello (Y/N), Fancy meeting you here,” Sirius Black did not consider himself much of a relationship kind of guy. Sure, he had one or two partners before, but nothing you could call serious. (Pun intended) Still, when he first saw you, he was intrigued. But years of flirting taught him that you weren't interested. Yet. “In the class we've taken together for six years? Yes, what a coincidence.”

Behind him, Sirius could hear the laughter of James echoing across the potions classroom. He sent a deadly glare to Prongs before sitting down next to you, and all you could do was roll your eyes. “Is there anything I can help you with, Black?”

He wore that smirk that drove everyone into a blushing mess, you included, of course he was charming, he was Sirius fucking Black for Merlin’s sake! But physical beauty wasn't enough to grab your attention. “Go out with me, (Y/N)”

For a second, Sirius thought that you would say yes, there was a small smile playing on your lips, but once your eyes met his, he knew what your answer would be. “Lovely offer, but I’ll pass.”

You grabbed your notebooks along with the potions book and got up from your seat, leaving Sirius alone while James was cracking up in the background. “Shut up, prongs!”

✧✧✧

Your favorite place in Hogwarts was an abandoned classroom that you and your friends had turned into a sanctuary, it was decorated with Christmas lights, warm blankets and a comfortable couch. As well as protected with a simple charm so that no other students stumbled upon it.

Marlene and Dorcas were both sharing a love seat, they kept chatting while you just sat there, reading a new chapter of the book you were currently obsessed with.

There was a knock in the door. knock…knock…knock… You knew it was Lily, so happily you ran to the door and opened it. “Lily! …and Potter?”

She shot you a look that said I’ll explain later. So, you opened the door, only to find the four marauders waiting, they rapidly got in, and closed the door behind them just in time for you to hear the screams of the professor they had pranked.

“Why are you helping them?” You asked, trying to calm your tone of voice even if you were furious with Lily for showing them your secret spot. She threw you an apologetic smile, but it was James that answered. “Because, she agreed to go on a date with me and I couldn’t be stuck in detention.”

He wrapped his arm around her and you huffed, Traitor. You hated Sirius and she hated James, you were supposed to hate them together, but the look of happiness in her eyes made you smile. After all, you just wanted your friend to be happy.

“(Y/N) any plans for the weekend?” Asked Peter, you could see him sending a knowing look to Sirius, but you chose to ignore it and sat down next to Remus and Peter, just in front of the grey eyed boy who couldn’t take his eyes off you.

“Well, Marlene and Dorcas are going on a date and I was planning on spending the day with Lily, but since she’s going to abandon me for Potter, I guess I’ll just wander around Hogsmeade.” You smiled kindly at Peter and Remus, and tried to continue on with your reading.

Your smile disappeared the moment Sirius appeared next to you, that signature smirk plastered on his face. “So,” oh, no. “Fancy a trip to Hogsmeade? Maybe we could do a double date!”

You tried your hardest not to smile, and looked him dead in the eyes. “How about…No. I’m sure any other girl in Hogwarts would be honored though.”

You grabbed your book along with your backpack and left the room. Sirius Black was a player, he just needed someone else to fool around with. But you knew that if you allowed yourself to fall for him, the only result would be heartbreak.

✧✧✧

Hogsmeade during the winter was your favorite place in the world. It was magical in every way possible, one of the few places where the magical community could just be themselves.

You walked through the small town, buying new quills and some sweets at Honeydukes, you even visited the pet store and played with some Nifflers. All of that left you exhausted, so after a few hours, you decided a butterbeer wasn't the worst idea.

That's how you found yourself at the Three Broomsticks, Butterbeer in hand while you leaned against the bar, observing the people walking by. You could see Lily and James, both of them geekingly nervous, Marlene and Dorcas on the other hand were at the stage in their relationship where they didn’t care who saw them making out.

Your eyes landed on him, and a frown made its way onto your face. Sirius Black was surrounded by a group of girls, some of them you recognized from Quidditch practice or Herbology class. They were clearly flirting with him, but the fact that he was looking at you and not them made you feel butterflies in your stomach.

He was walking towards you, butterbeer in hand, leaving all of them speechless. “Black, I see you're enjoying your evening.” You raised your eyebrows, thinking that by then he had realized you weren't interested and could move on. “I don't get it. We could've had a great time together, and you turned me down to spend the day alone.”

You had gathered your purse and your jacket, walking towards the door, however, Sirius was right behind you. “I quite like to be alone, I don't need a fanbase that follows me around.”

He got a hold of your hand, and turned you around, the look in his eyes showed you he was being serious. “Is that what this is about? Are you jealous?”

“You wish!” A bitter laugh escaped your lips. “I just don’t understand why you keep asking me out and then flirting with any other living girl in Hogwarts, maybe even Myrtle.” He was getting closer and closer, your cheeks were flushed red, and it wasn't because of the cold, but because of the close proximity.

“I don't pay attention to any of them, all I want is a chance to show you that I'm not half as bad as you think I am.” You could feel his breath hitting against your neck, you could only hope he didn't notice your shaky breathing, although you could feel that smirk from a mile away. “Just one date, (Y/N)”

You took a second to try and think clearly, but your answer surprised the both of you. “Okay, one date. Not my fault if you blow it.” He smiled, and for the first time in forever, you smiled at him as well. “Great, how about tomorrow, or maybe we could…”

Before he carried on, you place your hand in his mouth, causing him to sound muffled. “No, Black. We are going to have that date now, and we're going to start by going to Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop and make fun of every couple there.”

Sirius smirk was plastered on his face, he got a hold of your hand and laughed. “Oh, you are perfect.” As you walked through the frozen path of Hogsmeade, you couldn't help but wish that this was the first of many dates together.

[thestraggletag]

Roll for Initiative, a Rumbelle D&D Fic

Summary: Tales of the Enchanted Forest was the hottest online D&D game, in part for its charismatic players, in part for the twisted turns of the DM's mind and in part because of the outrageous chemistry between its greatest OTP, the party's beautiful bard and the Dark One, an anti-hero side-character who is there to provide information and uncomfortable levels of UST. Mr Gold thinks it's a harmless flirtation that could never become anything else, just like his silly little crush on the town librarian, Belle French.

He's wrong.

Rating: Explicit.

Author’s Note: Surprise, @argoslight​, it is I, your Gifter! Sorry to make you wait till near the end but I just had way more banter to write in me than I thought. I hope you enjoy your gift. I’m so sorry to not be able to add more D&D elements but since I don’t play I don’t have a lot of idea of what could be done. Also I apologise for any mistakes! And thanks so much to @little-inkstone for her help and D&D knowledge.

The castle was quiet when she entered, her steps echoing against the stone. It was gloomy inside, curtains obscured and decor sparse and sombre, the castle living up to its name. But there were flowers on the table, moon lilies, her favourite flower. They bloomed only in the Eastern Mountains past the Old Wall, but she had long since suspected he grew some on one of his enchanted hothouses, with the excuse of using them for potions. 

“Where’s the rest of your pretty little troop of do-gooders, dearie?”

The voice came out of nowhere, echoing around the empty halls of the castle. Thankfully she did not need directions, knowing exactly when to turn and where to go. Soon she found herself in a vast room, with a table on the centre and curios filled with oddities and the like. Some others were displayed on pedestals, including a rather fearsome sword and a nasty-looking crown made of thorns. None of the artefacts were what she sought, but she was not there to bargain for an item, but rather for information.

“Off on their own quests, taking care of other things that need doing.”

The voice tsked, seeming not to approve.

“They let you enter the lair of the beast alone? Some heroes.”

The woman lowered the hood of her cloak and walked towards the unlit chimney. Immediately a fire blazed to life, as if the castle itself was trying to cater to her comfort. The fire provided much-needed light as well, revealing the profile of a man in the shadows. Or something that looked like a man, at least, if not for the reflective scales that covered his body and its strange eyes: gold irises around catlike pupils.

“I asked to come alone. I felt like we could talk more openly this way.”

She removed her cloak, ostensibly to drape it across a chair near the fire and let it dry. The creature, however, seemed to read more into the gesture, tsking again.

“You come here all alone, a pretty little lamb, and take off the only real bit of protection you have. Reckless, dearie, most reckless.”

 The creature stood up, walking slowly towards the light, revealing more of its form as it approached her. Leather pants and a long, reptilian-looking vest and coat. It wasn’t particularly tall but power emanated from it in suffocating waves. She closed her eyes, finding his cloying presence strangely comforting. Then again, she had always been odd. 

“Once again your pitiful little party of friends needs my help. How they weigh you down, Beauty.”

He stepped fully into the light then, revealing a being more creature than man, the reptilian skin and claws as off-putting as his unnatural eyes. She should’ve taken a step back, should’ve gone for her blade or the dagger tucked into her left boot, but she didn’t. As much as she knew she shouldn't, she felt at ease in his presence. Well, perhaps not quite. She certainly felt a strange sort of anxiousness in his presence, a fluttery sort of feeling that she attributed to being particularly attuned to his magic. None of the other members of her party felt that way. If anything, he repulsed them, which wasn’t something she could understand. To her he was… magnetic.

“Are you in the mood for dealing or not? I can trade for information.”

He snorted.

“With what? Your little band of misfits is dirt poor. That idiotic paladin of yours ruined your last mission. You really should think about ditching the man. All brawn, no brains. At least your rogue is a smart woman.”

His gaze left her briefly, running down the length of her clothing: sturdy black boots, a nicely-cut dress that stopped around the knees and a sturdy belt with a few pockets for her spells. But the clothing, as well-made as it was, was dated, old. Looked worn and was signed and stained in places, and it left a lot of her frail human skin exposed. She had not been able to afford an upgrade in a while, preferring to spend her coin in what could benefit the group.

His moue of distaste disappeared once his eyes fell on her cloak. Well, his cloak, since he had been the one to make it. It was a lovely thing in varied shades of green, shot through with golden thread, his trademark. She had bought it off him a long time ago, a simple thing to keep her warm during cold nights and dry when it rained. Miraculously, though, it also did not sustain damage, looking exactly the same as when she had first put it on.

“I’m glad at least my protection is serving you well.”

He ran a claw along the seams of the cloak, making it glitter, like to like, magic calling for its own. He looked smug, as if pleased she was wearing something he had made.

“It does more than we bargained for. I’ve been blasted with magic strong enough to burn through most fabric but it has not even frayed. How strange of you, Rumplestiltskin, to lose out on a deal.”

He shivered when she said his name, walking behind her to the safety of the shadow she cast next to the fire.

“Can’t help it if my magic is just that powerful, my dear. I’m glad you are a happy customer. Always thought that cloak was a nice bit of magic. Can’t fault you for always wearing it.”

She felt him close in on her from behind, to the point that it almost felt like they were touching.

“It smells like you. That’s why I wear it all the time.”

The noise he made behind her was inhuman, a cross between a whimper and a growl. His claws scrapped against the back of her dress, the feeling muted by her stays, but she could feel his breath against the back of her neck and that alone was-

“Hey, this is a decent stream! Keep it PG for the kids, you weirdos.”

“Damn it, Grumpy, I wanted to see how long it would take them to snap out of it!”

“Sorry, Snow, but I ate a big dinner and I aim to keep it down.”

The messages in the chatroom wheezed by, mostly disgruntled complaints about their OTP never catching a break. The other participants in the stream were mostly silent, their mics muted likely to hide the amused snickers. There was no video feed on any of the members of the party, all of them represented instead by artwork to preserve their anonymity. Once upon a time that had been a fanciful choice, and perhaps a way to stay safe when interacting with strangers on the internet. Now it was mostly to keep their private lives from being overtaken by the popularity of their stream. “Tales of the Enchanted Forest” was shaping up to be one of the hottest D&D online streaming shows, already on its third campaign and counting.

“Beauty is just trying to get us some answers, Grumpy. We can’t just go stumbling about hoping to run into some fairy wand by chance.”

“Oh, it’s that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“Enough! Can we get back to the campaign already? It took me weeks to plan and it kinda hinges a bit on the Dark One helping, which needs to happen today.”

“Fine by me, dearie, if the dwarf can curtail his temper.”

The party was composed of five characters, a paladin, a cleric, a bard, a rogue and a thief, which along with the Dungeon Master made up the regular cast of every weekly stream. But given the popularity of the show, and the amount of time they had been playing, they had managed to amass a good amount of side-characters, guests invited every now and then to help the campaign move along and keep the interest of the audience. And by far the most popular of those guests was the Dark One, a wizard of unknown lineage and tremendous power that served both as an antagonist and a pseudo-ally depending on the situation. 

His presence was likely the reason why the livestream’s numbers looked so robust. He had amassed quite a fanbase, due in part to the commitment the player put on the character (the voice-acting was above and beyond what anyone could’ve expected from an amateur performer, and the backstory was quite complex, revealed in bits and pieces fans had meticulously assembled together) and in part to the chemistry he had managed to develop with the group’s bard, a half-human named Beauty.

“Okay, let’s all go back to what we were doing.” The DM’s voice was authoritative, though also more than a bit pissed off. “Okay, Beauty, you were about to try and cajole the Dark One to sell you the information you needed in return for a vial of water from Lake Nostos. Though the water is valuable, it’s not guaranteed to be enough to tempt the wizard. You have to roll at least a 13 in persuasion to make the trade. Roll when you’re ready.”

...

Rumford Gold stretched within the confines of the small backroom of his shop, where he had his computer stuff set up. Initially he’d bought the computer to better conduct his online business. His laptop at home wasn’t cutting it and it was better to photograph the antiques, update the website and handle the deliveries from his place of business. He had bought a good camera, some light fixtures and, on a whim, a microphone, for instances where he might need to virtually communicate with clients. It was something that was happening more and more, especially because a lot of his clientele was European. The internet had truly turned his antiquing- more of a hobby than a profession originally- into a profitable business.

He had gotten into watching D&D while waiting late at night for a client to become available in Austria. He had played as a lad, one of the few happy moments he could remember from his childhood in Glasgow, but had given it up once he had met Milah. And after they were over he had been too involved in making something of himself to remember past childhood enjoyments. But apparently D&D had evolved with the times and he had gotten into the habit of searching for and watching online D&D campaigns in his spare time. From that to actually being a side-character in one of them took almost no time. It was frightfully easy to go back to that frame of mind of playing make-believe, only now he had a distaste for the clean-cut heroic types and more of an affinity for the morally-grey, shady characters.

So he had auditioned for the role of evil-wizard when there had been an opening for a side-character in his favourite D&D stream, The Enchanted Forest. And though the DM had written what he considered to be a very flat, uninteresting character, he had been able to give it his own spin. He knew the DM hated him for it, hated when he deviated from what was expected of him, but people loved him. It was half the fun, pissing the DM off.

The other half, he had to admit, was Beauty. The one with the brains in the group, clearly, a half-human, half-fairy bard with an uncanny ability to think ahead, and arm herself with knowledge. Most of the other members of her party were more apt to try and decapitate something than negotiate with it, or even befriend it. Beauty prided herself on more of a gentle approach, which sometimes got her treated as the “fragile” one. He thought it just made her all the more interesting.

Their flirting had just kinda happened. He was half into it before he realised it had begun at all and by the time he had grown conscious- and self-conscious- of it fans were lapping it up and loving it. Even the DM, as loath as he was to admit it, found the banter engaging, even as if stole the spotlight from his story and where he wanted it to go. So every now and then he got invited into a stream, sometimes to interact with the whole party and sometimes, like the session he had just finished, to speak only to Beauty. And what was supposed to be a brief conversation before the party moved to greener pastures became a whole session, with the chatroom full of engagement and the view count off the charts.

But the DM had had a short tolerance span tonight, and had nipped things in the bud much sooner than usual. He felt… unfulfilled. Unsatisfied. Itchy, almost, in a way. So he was more than happy when he received an email from Beauty, who seemed to share his dislike of how the session had played out. They had started doing that more often, sharing emails after a session, even when he did not participate in it. It was harmless, he thought. Just an innocent online flirtation that could never realistically turn into anything. Not that his more in-person romantic overtures could ever pan out. He was in his third year of being completely smitten by the local town librarian, and in his second year of being able to put two words together in front of her without the help from Scotch, something he was perhaps a bit too proud of. And though he had decided very early on that the whole thing was utterly hopeless he had not been able to steer his thoughts or affections away. Realistically he was perhaps more in love with the idea of Belle French than the reality itself, given how little he had personally interacted with the woman. But he knew just enough to fill in the blanks and create a beautiful picture of how he imagined her to be: bookish- an easy assumption given how many times he had caught her in public places absorbed in a book-, kind, generous and delightfully able to hold a grudge and enact revenge when the time came. A bit reckless, and sometimes quick to form opinions, but also quick to revise them. A tactile person, with a great sense of fashion and a carelessness about what was expected of her.

He saw her in his head as clear as day, but little of that image was based on any personal knowledge of her. So, perhaps, he had found in Beauty a fictional substitute, someone he could talk to, and flirt with, without consequences, adopting the persona of someone more confident, more at ease with that sort of thing. The Dark One was comfortable in his skin in a way that he could only pretend to be sometimes. All the money and power he had accumulated over the years had helped him evolve from the spineless, cowardly lad he had once been, but when it came to certain situations, especially those that necessitated a level of vulnerability, he was still hopeless.

Perhaps, he wondered, it was better to think about his online liaison with Beauty as the real thing. They wrote to each other often, in and out of character, and over the course of their correspondence he had confided in her more than he had in any other person alive. Small things at first, every day peeves and details. Nothing that could identify them, certainly, but surprisingly intimate nevertheless. And over time it had grown to stuttering confessions and barings of the soul on both sides. She had told him of her teenage years in a mental asylum, the product of an overwrought widowed father trying to do right by his grieving daughter. He had had a few choice words to say about that, uncharitable thoughts about her father prompting his own willing sharing of the sad story of his childhood, neglectful father and all. It had felt nice, to confide in someone, someone he trusted.

He glanced at her email, where she lamented how their scene had not been as long or as satisfying as she had wanted, and saw she was proposing to meet later in a private stream to finish it the way they had both wanted. She had proposed something similar once or twice before and he had politely declined but now he wondered why not take her up on her offer. What was stopping him? His imaginary idea of Belle French, who in reality had never given him more than a polite smile in passing? Too young, too good, too beautiful to ever see him as anything other than an old cripple? Whatever he had built with Beauty felt infinitely more real, and attainable. A relationship without ever meeting in person seemed ideal in many aspects and, perhaps, if and when it came to meeting in the real world, his physical shortcomings would not be relevant, nor would it his rather uncharitable reputation.

He sent her a quick reply to arrange a meeting, feeling like a bit of roleplaying was, in the end, quite harmless. And if it were to lead to something a bit more meaningful, well, perhaps it was about time.

…

“Water from Lake Nostos. A key ingredient in most powerful potions and even some spells. I’m sure it could prove useful to you.”

The bard showed him the glowing crystal vial hanging from a long chain around her neck, with the glowing milky-white water from the cursed lake in it. He made a move to get closer to inspect it but the woman took a step back, tucking the vial back inside her bodice. The wizard’s eyes lingered there, hiz gaze growing intense. The bard felt her skin flush in response, something that felt a bit like fear but wasn’t running down her spine.

“And I’m sure a new wardrobe could prove useful to you, dearie. You’re practically wearing rags.” Rumplestiltskin made a show of running his eyes up and down her form with just enough disgust in his face to make it seem as if he was only noticing the rather sad state of her dress. 

“It’s my best gown, I’d thank you not to insult it.”

He made a moue of disapproval, shaking his head for good measure.

“You’re far from your days as a princess. I hope seeing the world is worth putting up with your band of idiots that waste most of the gold they earn with your wit in pointless goose chases that you know will lead nowhere.”

Beauty didn’t respond. There was nothing she could say to contradict what he thought of her party, none of which was charitable to say the least. And she also knew that he was aware that all of it was worth the freedom she had won when she had left her life in her father’s castle behind. She did miss one or two things, perhaps. Her mother’s vast library being one and, perhaps, some of the fashions. Not so much the silhouettes- she had never liked how the sea of petticoats she was always forced to wear restricted her movement- but the fabrics and colours, certainly. And the shoes.

“I’m here to make a deal, Dark One. Are you doing business today or not?”

Lesser creatures would’ve rather bitten off their tongues that throw cheek at the Dark One, but Beauty did not even bat an eye, lips curling in a defiant little smile that had the wizard smirking, something like admiration blooming in his chest. It’s what he loved most about his little bard, her spine of steel. And perhaps her blue eyes, but that was neither here nor there.

“I don’t do business with raggedy urchins, dearie. If you want to sit down and negotiate you’ll need a bath.” He made a face, as if he could smell her across the room. “And a change of dress, while I put your current outfit to wash… Or set it on fire, I haven’t decided yet.”

She could tell that he was pulling his punches, that he was playing at being repulsed by her state of dress and hygiene just bad enough that she would see he did not really mean it, not in any real way. She would’ve been able to tell either way, but it was nice that he thought it important to spare her feelings. And she couldn’t deny that a bath sounded heavenly after so many weeks on the road, sleeping out in the open and washing in freezing-cold creeks whenever possible.

“Well, if you insist…”

He took her to a well-lit and spacious bathing chamber, with the biggest copper tub she had ever seen, already filled with warm, soapy water that smelled of vanilla. She wasted no time after the door closed behind him, stripping quickly, careless of her worn and mended garments, and slipping into the tub. It was heaven on her tired muscles, and her dirty skin, and though she would’ve stayed there for hours she knew that every minute spent bathing was a minute less with the Dark One. Their time was limited. If she didn’t return to camp in the morning her party would venture into the castle, likely thinking the most dreadful scenarios. She could picture Charming attempting to kick the front gate open and getting hurt for his troubles. She could not let them worry for her, or risk the rapport she had developed with the Dark One by coming in unannounced. 

She got out of the tub with only a bit of reluctance and found a towel that she was convinced was enchanted to dry her faster than possible. She found clothing laid out in the adjoining dressing room, the undergarments soft and made of pale cream fabric and the dress of a lovely velvety, forest-green fabric, with a belt embroidered in small pearls that matched the detail about the neckline. She put it on gladly, twisting every which way to lace it up at her back. Living a less princessy life had made her acquire a number of small skills, including the ability to dress up mostly by herself even in gowns that did not lace up at the front, like most of her travelling clothes.

She did not spot her mauve travelling dress or her boots, but she was sure that Rumplestiltskin had whisked them away and would subtly mend them with magic, though she was sure he would deny it if she were to point it out. The green dress was accompanied by matching slippers, butter-soft and silent as they touched the stone floor. She made sure to dry her hair out, noticing how it shone red-gold in the flattering light of the candles, and took her time brushing it and styling it out of her face, so it fell flatteringly down her back. Her neck and most of her upper torso was bare but for the chain keeping the vial of water tucked safely against her breasts, the wide neckline of the dress dipping low enough to leave her collarbones bare, but she didn’t mind it. She was inside the Dark Castle, with the Dark One. She was safe there. On the road she always had to think about not attracting unwanted male attention. Here she rather felt like the opposite.

It was a silly infatuation, and many would argue any interest or desire on her part was due to the wizard’s power, which some would say was an aphrodisiac potent enough to make some look past the Dark One’s rather unfortunate exterior. No one would ever believe her if she confessed she rather… liked his appearance. The green-gold skin, the wild hair, the talons, but also the exquisitely-tailored pants and vests, the frothy cravats, the slim coats. A beast and a gentleman. A rather enticing combination, she had found.

She went downstairs into the trophy room once more, where two massive chairs were pulled up next to the roaring fireplace, the main source of light. The Dark One was sitting in one of them, a snifter gingerly held by a clawed hand, containing some sort of brown-gold liquid. He glanced at her the moment she entered the room, unwilling or unable to hide his appreciation for what he saw. He had removed his coat, leaving only his high-collared vest and one of his open shirts to cover his upper body, no forty cravat in sight. He seemed less guarded, more adventurous than he usually was when it came to matters of intimacy.

“You clean up well, dearie. Wish I could say the same for your dress. A wash will only do so much for it, but I refrained from throwing it into the fireplace. You’re welcome.”

“Good, as it’s not your property to destroy.” Beauty sat down, with a poise that betrayed her royal upbringing, and primly crossed her legs at the ankles. “So, Dark One, are you prepared to deal with me now?”

She had dealt with him dozens of times before, she had no idea why it all sounded so much like innuendo now. She couldn’t say she minded it.

“Of course, my dear. I’ve had time to think about our deal whilst you were splashing about in the tub.” His sing-songy voice broke, getting suddenly deeper for a second or two, as if he was struggling to retain his composure. “The vial is certainly a good start, but perhaps not quite enough. Now, I’m prepared to be generous given our long and fruitful history of dealmaking together, but I must also keep up certain appearances. So I thought I would also demand… an evening of your time.”

He tried to make it sound sinister, but she was past getting scared of him. At least in the traditional way. She raised an eyebrow, adopting a rather coquettish expression.

“And what would an evening of my time entail exactly?”

“Oh, well, you know. Companionship, perhaps a game of chess, some good wine, conversation and the like.”

She made a show of thinking it over before offering her hand, which he shook without delay.

“It’s a deal.”

Several hours later she had won two games of chess, one game of checkers, and was sipping from her third coupe of sparkling wine as she listened intently to a story about a deal the Dark One had once made with a king from a distant land. He was a gifted storyteller, engaging and funny, knowing exactly when to pause or gesticulate to keep the flow of the story just right. The king in his tale was rather unfortunate, in the sense that his hubris and arrogance had led him to make a deal with the Dark One that he did not understand. Most of Rumplestiltskin’s deals seemed to be like that, Beauty thought. And when he came to collect people dared be indignant that he demanded what they promised in the first place.

“The king was furious. Never let go of the grudge. Hired several assassins to try and kill me. A waste of gold, of course.”

He let out a trilling laugh, which soon proved to be contagious. Somehow, over time, it felt like their chairs had moved closer, because if she stretched out a hand she could easily touch him. Odd.

“Serves him right, for making such an open-ended deal. What a rookie mistake.”

She didn’t recall removing her slippers but she must have, because her feet were enjoying being pressed against the soft cushion of the chair. He made a gesture for her to lean close, which was a bit of a balancing feat, but she managed. Her heart skipped a bit when he leaned close too, almost pressing his mouth against her ear.

“You have no room to talk, sweet. You struck a very vague deal yourself, committing to an evening of conversation, chess ‘and the like’. That little turn of phrase is an invitation to all manner of sins, even the darkest and most decadent of debaucheries.”

He hissed the last part, making her shiver. Not content with letting him have the upper hand she turned her head so their lips were inches apart.

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

She could tell she had shocked him into inaction. Cocky Dark One, always in control of the conversation, always one step ahead of everyone else. It was nice to see him floundering, to catch him unprepared. Finally he gulped and put a little distance between them.

“Aren’t you the bravest little poppet.”

“My mother always said ‘Do the brave thing and bravery will follow.’ I’m a firm believer of the principle.”

Slowly, almost painfully so, both his hands clutched at the armrests of her chair, effectively pinning her to it. She knew she was supposed to be scared but she felt nothing but excitement, a buzzing just beneath the skin that made her strangely needy for something. Touch, perhaps, or more. The feeling was so overwhelming she did not realise at first that the laces of her dress were coming undone, as if invisible hands were painstakingly pulling them loose. She tried to make eye contact, but he ducked his head, pressing his face against the base of her neck, where it met her shoulder. She sighed, noticing how gentle he was, his touch feather-light, and discovering that she would not mind a rougher treatment. He was restraining himself, she realised, trying to be a gentleman. Sweet, but not what she wanted from him at that moment. Feeling bold Beauty carded a hand through his hair, pressing his face more firmly against her skin.

“Please, Rumple.”

Those two words seemed to have a magic of their own, producing a sudden and radical change in him. He moved too fast for her to see, wrapping her up in his arms and depositing her on the long dining table on the other side of the room. She did not know whether he used magic or simply moved inhumanly fast, but either possibility excited her, reminded her of the power of the creature looming over her, claws tugging at the unlaced bodice of her dress, dragging the velvet down to expose her undergarments. She was wearing the underbust corset he had provided over the snowy linen shift he had also left for her, so it was easy for him to simply tug the shift down a bit to expose her breasts. He leaned forward, nuzzling the space between her breasts, making a sort of satisfied purring noise as he sniffed up her clavicles and down her throat. Then, once he was happy with the level of squirming she was doing, he finally gave her what she wanted, closing his mouth, with all of its sharp teeth, around one of her rosy nipples. It was a strange feeling at first, more unfamiliar than pleasant, but when he began to suck it changed completely, little shocks of pleasure running from her nipple to between her legs. It was amazing, more than she had ever achieved with her own hands whenever she could get some privacy at night, and the feeling doubled when he grasped her untouched breast, his long claws estimulating the other nipple.

She sunk both her hands in his hair, fisting it in an effort to keep herself from squirming too much, feeling both aroused and impatient. She kept waiting for him to tire of her chest and move further down but when he was finally done sucking her nipples his head moved north, his lips blinding searching for hers till they were kissing. It wasn’t anything like any kiss she had experienced before, not even the unpleasant smack her former fiance had forced on her. Though it was just as forceful there was a wild quality to it, one she had never associated with the affectionate gesture. It was heavenly, the release of passion, far from cooling her down, setting her on fire, stoking her need for him till it felt like she would explode if he didn’t give her relief. 

He must have sensed it, her desperation calling to him like a siren song, because at some point he let go of her mouth to travel south, past her aching chest, and velvet-covered belly to where the skirts of her long gown kept her modestly covered. He wasted no time dragging the heavy fabric up, letting it pool around her hips along with the white linen of her shift. She did not have any other undergarments, having not been provided with any, so she was completely exposed to his gaze, from her milky things to her round hips. She squirmed, trying to picture what he must be looking at, the trim thatch of chestnut curls at the apex of her legs, obscenely drenched by this point and making a poor show of trying to hide the pink, glistening flesh beneath.

“What a lovely cunt you have.” His voice was dark, guttural, a monster trying to speak like a man. It thrilled her. “Let me drink from it, precious.”

He didn’t wait for her reply, choosing instead to simply bury his head against her flesh, his tongue rough and wide as it lapped at her field parting them to seek out the bundle of nerves that was throwing for attention. She arched her back, feeling like it was only her firm grip on her thigh and hip what kept her anchored to the table. She fell into a rhythm of sorts, her body seeking out something she could not find but his mouth striving to compensate, to give her what she needed. It was heavenly and seemed to last an eternity, the sensations building up till everything but them faded away, all sensations muted. She felt him move to, thrusting his hips against the edge of the table, making it rattle in a way that spoke of his sheer brute force. It was heady to have someone like Rumplestiltskin, who had always strived to don the mask of a gentleman around her, be so unhinged, so animalistic. More than anything it was that complete loss of control what drove her over the edge. She cried out, feeling her inner muscles coil and her senses spiral out of control, her orgasm leaving her dizzy. It seemed to last forever and not nearly long enough. She laid there for a while after the feeling passed, feeling satisfied and wanting at the same time. A few seconds later he also keened, slumping against her still-parted legs, his hair tickling the soft skin of her inner thighs.

They lay that way for what seemed like ages, while they scrambled to try and collect themselves. The afterglow did not feel awkward or uncomfortable, and it loosened up her tongue enough to venture out that she had hoped for an even more intimate act, a joining that was even deeper than what they had done.

 “A deal for such a prize would have to involve all my deepest secrets, my most valuable truths.” He paused, pressing his forehead against the silky inside of her thigh, like a penitent would. “One day, perhaps.”

...

“Do you want to meet? I think it’s time.”

The orgasm had mellowed him out, otherwise he was sure he would’ve at least panicked a little bit. But in the afterglow of what they had just shared, albeit virtually, a meeting did not seem like such a bad idea. In hushed voices they arranged the time and place, tomorrow at a café and bistro in Boston. Nice and public, for both their safety. They knew both lived near Boston, so it seemed natural to pick the city. The drive wasn’t too bad, and he hoped it wasn’t a great inconvenience to her either.

Reluctantly they said their goodbyes, both trying to prolong the moment a bit more till they were both close to nodding off. With a final, reluctant goodbye they both disconnected, leaving Gold to clean himself up and make his way home. With his rumpled suit, disheveled hair and five o’clock shadow it must have looked like the walk of shame. It certainly didn’t feel that way.

...

He woke up in a happy mood, perhaps the best in a long time. Far from feeling stupid or embarrassed about his little bit of roleplaying-turned-porn-session he felt smug, empowered by the notion that he had made a smart, desirable woman come with only his voice and imagination. He felt like he was on the brink of something, as if an exciting possibility was opening up for him. 

He went about his day with a bit of a spring in his step, though most citizens of Storybrooke would be pressed to notice. It was only when he saw the book on gardening he was due to return to the library that afternoon- his two Moth orchids had developed small water-soaked spots on the leaves and he had wanted to consult some verified sources instead of relying exclusively on Google search results- that his mood dampened somewhat. As nice as last night had been- bloody fantastic rather- it did make him sad, somewhat, to give up his crush on Belle French. However unattainable it was still nice to have it, that bit of feeling that did not need to be reciprocated to be real. It had been nice to feel something for someone for a change, to look forward to each smile and each small conversation. But it wouldn’t be right, and what he had now was more valuable in any case. Perhaps, with time, he would grow out of his infatuation with the librarian and they could be friends. That would be rather lovely.

He crossed the street towards the library around three o’clock, wanting to beat the rush caused by children being let off school, a busy time for one of the only kid-friendly places in Storybrooke. There were some patrons about, and the afternoon light made the library look truly beautiful. Miss French truly worked miracles with her limited budget.

He found her easily, shelving a few books in the poetry section, and tried not to preen when she smiled widely at him.

“Mr Gold, hi! Always a pleasure. Here to return a book?”

The librarian was always sunny and welcoming, but she looked even happier that day, an excited sort of energy practically rolling off of her in waves. Thank goodness he had decided to give up on his silly little crush, otherwise he might have buckled under the power of her brightness. 

“Yes. And you look particularly happy today, Miss French, if I might say so.”

The librarian smiled even more, if possible, and leaned close, as if to tell him a secret.

“I have a date tonight.”

It hurt, the slightest bit, the shock making him take a step back, but less than it would have yesterday. And perhaps, he reasoned, this would be good. This would put them both in the path of becoming friends, allowing him to leave his crush behind much faster. He forced himself to enquire politely after the lucky man, listening as she talked about someone she had been flirting with for a long time now, and it seemed like the relationship was finally ready for the next step.

“I’m really happy. And very nervous. It feels like such a risk, after all this time building something that could easily fizzle out with a first date. But I’ve always believed in doing the brave thing, and bravery will follow. It’s what my mother always said.”

She had turned back to shelve a book as she finished the last sentence, so thankfully she did not see his jaw drop and his eyes widen, his surprise so visible no one could’ve missed it. His heart lurched in his chest, sheer and sudden panic making it difficult to breathe. Fuck. Fuck. It wasn’t possible. Belle was Beauty. Belle was Beauty. He tried to contradict the notion in his head but he had known Beauty’s British accent was passable but fake, and it made sense for him not to have identified her voice when she usually spoke with her natural Australian drawl, something he associated so closely with her. Everything else he had ever found out about Beauty, in and out of the D&D setting, coincided with what he knew, or thought he knew, about the librarian, one of the reasons why he had developed a crush on her in the first place.

The initial shock was followed by a spike of elation and then a sinking feeling of dread. He needed to cancel. She would be disappointed, but more disappointed if he didn’t and she realised her crush was a man a good deal older than her that was known for being the town monster. It would be awkward and she would not be able to escape him after it, both doomed to meet each other often, given the small size of the town. He could not put her through that.

He stopped himself then, noticing the familiar dark turn of his thoughts, dipped in so much self-loathing it was almost stifling. And he wondered if he really was thinking about Belle or about himself. Being a coward, taking the easy way out. He thought about how he had woken up, the world full of promise and the future bright with the possibility of something great on the horizon. And how he had felt brave last night, to leap into something that had been so worth it. Perhaps it was time to be brave more often. Do something, however small. Put the ball in her court, somehow.

“I wish you the best of luck, then. Perhaps some other time, if you’re not too busy, you could pop into my shop. I have a few antique books I feel you would appreciate.”

It was a nice recovery, and he was happy to see her smile, apparently welcoming the proposition. Everyone knew Mr Gold’s shop was only to be entered when making deals. He didn’t really allow idle perusal of his stock and no one had the money or interest to buy his antiques. His business was conducted mostly with people from major cities on the East Coast.

“Wow, an open invitation to traipse into Mr Gold’s shop, that’s not something one sees everyday. What do you want in return? I hear only deals can grant you access to the shop.”

She made sure to make it clear she was joking, something he appreciated. Feeling emboldened by her kind gesture he adopted a slightly higher pitch and replied:

“Oh, nothing much. Companionship, perhaps a game of chess, some good wine, conversation and the like.”

Being close enough he got to see as it dawned on her, as her brain quickly processed what he had said and where she had heard it before. And he knew, knew because of the way she looked at him, as if she did not recognise him, as if he was a brand new person to her, that she understood the implication, what he had meant to tell her without actually telling her. 

“Hope to see you soon, then. Good luck with the date.”

He turned around before he could second-guess himself, feeling terrified by what he had exposed but satisfied at the same time. This way it was Belle’s choice to show up. For all she knew he had no idea that she was Beauty. She could make up an excuse and simply not meet her, and their worlds would never merge. If she did not want to pursue anything between them all she had to do is cancel the date, or not show up. He would respect her decision and never push for anything, or acknowledge their online relationship in the real world.

He sent her an email just as he was about to get into his car, letting her know that he understood that this meeting was a bit of a risk and he would understand if she backed out at the last minute. There were other things he could do in Boston, and he was not adverse to having dinner by himself. And they could still be friends, no matter what she decided. He was halfway to Boston when he heard his cell phone ping, letting him know he had a new email. As he expected, it was from Beauty:

“I’m on my way. Can’t wait to meet you! See you soon.”

He smiled.

[chocopvffz]

My Problems with Fandom

It’s been a while since I’ve kinda just let out my thoughts and feelings on this stale hell site. It’s just now more than ever I’m having the weirdest realizations while I’m participating in any Fanbase. This topic may piss ppl off. But to that, I say fuck it, I’m gonna do it.

Around 2 years ago I took a backseat to actively participating in fandom. So I’d be more of an onlooker rather than someone who contributed. Just reblogging stuff rather than making my own content. Usually in fandom, things are said in the heat of the moment, with little thought and more emotions. Taking a step back I started to realize that while that’s fine in and of itself, You’re entitled to what you like and what’s interesting to you, but I’ve realized that people kinda settle for the bare minimum. Especially now that representation for marginalized groups is becoming the norm. Which is great, but there are still problems that plague us as a community.

I just finished watching Unicorn of War’s video on RWBY, and they delved into the absolutely garbage writing that surrounded The White Fang subplot. I highly recommend you watch the video, it’s about the bad representation of minority oppression and how it relates to RWBY as a whole. While this post doesn’t stem from that in particular. what did was though is how UoW confessed that they were guilty of completely ignoring how harmful the writing was for pocs, as well as downright silencing and downplaying poc that had a problem with the writing. Unicorn of War is not racist, the fact that they realized the type of systemic racism they’ve been inadvertently spreading is so harmful is a a step in the right direction. Here is where the problem lies. UoW said that they were a perpetrator of this because they were to focused on the representation the show did give the fans. They said that they lumped all of the genuine criticism of the problems with homophobes and bigots because they didn’t want to hear any of the criticism at all. RWBY has some pretty shit representation in ever field. UoW said that they were settling for the stuff they did get because they get so little, and their whiteness blinded them to listening and trying to understand why so man poc had an issue with the show.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that, a lot of the time In Fandom, ppl would rather settle for what they do have and what caters to them, rather than criticize a product of its faults and ask for more.

I’ve been scared to talk about She-Ra because the fandom is pretty scary. I liked the show. To me it wasn’t anything special. But it was a fine show, and I can’t wait for what the crew does next. But here’s where a lot of the issues come from for me. There are some problems both w/ the show, and the representation. Catra and Adora have been queercoded up until the very end where it does get revealed that they are in fact lesbians. Which is great and all but at the end of the day. They kiss at the very end of the last episode, nothing was explicit before then. But the thing is that Catra is an abusive manipulative person, that kinda just gets a pat on the back, and all is forgiven when she realizes she’s alone(both in the fandom and the show). I mean glimmer got more hate than Catra. The point I’m trying to make is that I’ve seen way to many ppl ignore the fact that they side stepped the development of Catra and Adora, and kinda get mad at the ppl that criticize that we could have gotten better rep. For a lot of the fans, at least from what I’ve seen, yall are okay with the problems the show has as long as you get some form of rep. Which is valid, but when that complacency spills over into silencing ppl with criticisms. This usually happens when someone has had another experience with the show where the thing that represents them isnt done as well. it rubs me the wrong way. Someone could see Catra’s behavior, liken her to a toxic person they knew, criticize how the show kinda ignores that. I can bet that some ppl would tell this person that they’re wrong, because she ended up where she did at the end.

This brings me to my last example, during my watch of Infinity Train, I started getting a little bit more involved in the fandom; reblogging, commenting. During the show I noticed a small amount (larger than I would have liked) making passive aggressive remarks toward Grace (the only black girl and protagonist of the season). They were all in regard to her having a redmeption arc. At first I was kinda in denial. Like most ppl are immediately after suffering an injustice, cuz despite her being an awful person at first. She gets better. And there are so little black women that are protagonists. I felt represented. But then I’d see ppl demeaning her in order to make her friend Simon (basically the antagonist) more sympathetic. Mind you he’s white. And after the show ended I had a weird encounter. There were many posts about how enthralling it was that Grace, a black women, telling Simon, a white man, that his problems were his own, and she doesn’t have to be the one to fix them. Most of the ppl that made these posts were woc. The show isn’t about race, but the fact that the character is black resonated with a lot of ppl.

Under ever single one of these posts, I saw multiple people, getting weirdly angry at them. Like “this has nothing to do with race, why are you bringing it up here.” Which I guess is fair, but no one says it as much to ppl when the post is about sexuality. So getting fed up, I responded to one of these ppl explaining how odd it is that the characters that get really popular are always of the same archetype. White Sad Boys, it’s the same with ships. Instead of critiquing the show or anything I wanted to call attention to subconscious biases in fandom. The person accuses me of calling them racist, tells me that race isn’t an issue in fandom, and tried to gaslight me into thinking that what I was talking about doesnt apply to how ppl choose who their favorite character is.

This issue here isn’t about the race, or the actual content in the show. It was about the person telling me that the empowerment I and other woc experienced while watching infinity train s3, doesn’t exist and we shouldn’t criticize ppl putting her down in order to uplift the antagonist.

Which leads back to the point I’m trying to make. So many ppl in fandom settle for whats there instead of trying to make things more representative of everyone. Representation can always get better, we just have to stop fighting ppl that give constructive criticism to the things we like.

And I’m completely guilty of this too, that’s why I took a step back. I don’t like silencing ppl when they try to criticize something that resonates with me. So I try to sit back and let them tell me what can be done better based on their experiences. I’m still struggling. I’m pretty sure I was ultra defensive with the person telling me that race doesn’t matter.

This happens a lot more with white ppl than it does with people of color. And this isn’t a dig on any white person at all. It’s just that white have a vastly different experience than a poc. A white LGBT person is going to have a completely different experience than a black lgbt person. Just like a cishet white person is going to have from a poc cishet person. And since we have different experiences, there are aspects of my life you won’t understand and vice versa. An abuse survivor is going to be more equip to tell us what works better than other things in a story that tackles those subjects. You see what I mean.

I just want everyone to take a step back and consider the criticism that is being made. And try to understand why this person may see it that way.

TLDR; We need to stop silencing marginalized ppl just because they criticize things we relate to, especially when it pertains to their experiences. It’s settling for the bare minimum when we deserve better. Just because we’ve got a gay character doesnt mean the show is perfect. It happens way more than we think. Especially now more than ever.

Sorry this is so long, and full of typos. I just needed to rant.

[firelord-frowny]

I’ve talked a little bit about how at least one ~negative aspect~ of white supremacy/racism that impacts white people is that it can be SO DIFFICULT to avoid being Accidentally Racist over something that really shouldn’t have been that deep, and WOULDN’T have been that deep if not for the pervasiveness of white supremacy in america, and this bit about the lil country band Lady Antebellum and the controversy surrounding their name illustrates that pretty well, I think:

The band members have always said that the band's name was chosen arbitrarily, complaining about the difficulty of choosing a name. Inspired by the "country" style nostalgia of a photo shoot at a mansion from the Antebellum South, they said, "one of us said the word and we all kind of stopped and said, man, that could be a name"[40] and "Man that's a beautiful Antebellum house, and that's cool, maybe there's a haunted ghost or something in there like Lady Antebellum."[41] Haywood concluded, "[We] had a lady in the group, obviously, and threw Lady in the front of it for no reason. I wish we had a great resounding story to remember for the name, but it stuck ever since."[40] The name was always controversial, with a critic in Ms. Magazine writing in 2011 that the band's name "seems to me an example of the way we still — nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War, nearly 50 years after the Civil Rights Act; and in a supposedly post-racial country led by a biracial president — glorify a culture that was based on the violent oppression of people of color".[41][42]

On June 11, 2020, joining widespread commercial response to the George Floyd protests,[41] the band announced it would abbreviate its name to its existing nickname "Lady A"[43] in an attempt to blunt the name's racist connotations.[1] The band members stated on social media that, never having previously sought the dictionary definition of the word "antebellum", they now consulted their "closest black friends and colleagues" so that their "eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases black women and men have always faced and continue to face every day. Now, blind spots we didn't even know existed have been revealed."[44] Fan response was mixed, with many decrying virtue signaling or even disparaging the protests.[41]American Songwriter said, "Given that the world knows what that A stands for, to many this change does little more than add extra insult to this ongoing injury."[45]

The next day, it was widely reported that the name "Lady A" had already been in use for more than 20 years by Seattle-based African American activist and blues, soul, funk, and gospel singer Anita White. The band again admitted ignorance of any prior use, which White called "pure privilege". Interviewed by Rolling Stone, White described the band's token acknowledgement of racism while blithely appropriating an African American artist's name: "They're using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time. If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before. It shouldn't have taken George Floyd to die for them to realize that their name had a slave reference to it. It's an opportunity for them to pretend they're not racist". A veteran music industry lawyer observed that such name clashes are uncommon due to the existence of the Internet.[46][47] The band members contacted White the next week to apologize for having inadvertently co-opted and dominated her name,[48] saying that the Black Lives Matter movement had inspired them to a collaborative attitude. They nonetheless required retaining the same name, though she believed dual-naming is inherently impossible.[49]She said "We talked about attempting to co-exist but didn't discuss what that would look like"[48] because the band members would not directly respond to that explicit question three times during the conversation or in two contract drafts. She soon submitted a counteroffer that either the band would be renamed, or that her act would be renamed for a $5 million fee plus a $5 million donation to be split between Seattle charities, a nationwide legal defense fund for independent artists, and Black Lives Matter.[49]

On July 8, 2020, the band filed a lawsuit against White, asking a Nashville court to affirm its longstanding trademark of the name. The press release read: "Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended. She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years."[50]

On September 15, 2020, White filed a counter-suit asserting her claim to the Lady A trademark and rejecting the notion that both artists could operate in the same industry under the same brand identity. She is seeking damages for lost sales and a weakened brand, along with royalties from any income the band receives under the Lady A moniker.[51][52]

Like????????? this REALLY didn’t need to be a thing. 

And one thing I think black folks and other poc need to chill out with is dismissing any white person’s attempt at Being Better in how they move through a white supremacist world in a way that seeks to undo or at least not exacerbate white supremacy. I can TOTALLY believe that, in their white ignorant bliss, this band really did choose their name without realizing for a moment that it might leave a fucked up taste in some people’s mouths. Honestly like... antebellum IS a cool sounding word lmfao and if it wasn’t so heavily associated with slavery-era america, i’d wanna name something antebellum, too! 

And like, yes, it’s true that it ~shouldn’t have taken george floyd’s death~ for anyone at all to suddenly decide that they want to go a little bit out of their way to denounce or at least not seem to promote racism in some small way. But it did. And it does. And every fucking time there’s a gross act of violence and injustice acted out on a person of color in front of the world, there’s always going to be a brand new white person out there who Sees The Light for the very first time. That doesn’t mean their new perspective isn’t genuine, and it doesn’t mean it happened All Of A Sudden. If anything, it was something they’d been thinking about for a long time, but didn’t know how to address it, or what to say, or who to say it to, or how to talk about it in their own community. OBVIOUSLY that problem is WAY LESS BAD than, ya know, actually experiencing racism, but it’s still a real thing that some white folks go through, and being mad about it isn’t going to make it NOT a real thing. it shouldn’t have taken george floyd’s death. it shouldn’t have taken trayvon martin’s death. it shouldn’t have taken the instatement of one of the most vile human beings to ever assault the face of the earth for This Person or That Person to finally want to make a positive and public change, BUT IT DID. It always does. That, unfortunately, is How It Works. 

And so, this band adjusts it’s name in an effort to not seem hostile. OBVIOUSLY it’s not a grand show of solidarity. OBVIOUSLY it’s not meant to convince anyone that they’re Super Amazing White People Who Will Stop At Nothing For Racial Equality. It was literally just a small, simple gesture. They’re just modifying their image, because they were no longer comfortable with knowing how that word makes a lot of people feel. Bc like... let’s be real: probably a solid ZERO of their fanbase would have given a shit if they’d just left the name as it was. Nobody who’s going to a Lady Antebellum concert was pouting about the name. And if anything, they prolly stood a better chance of LOSING fans for ~being politically correct~ than gaining fans for changing their name to something less annoying. 

And it JUST SO HAPPENS that the slight lil adjustment they made to their name steps on the toes of an existing artist, and it JUST SO HAPPENS that this artist is black, and is also an ACTIVIST in social and racial justice. 

Oops. 

And so, obviously people don’t interpret it as an honest mistake. Instead, it’s a result of white privilege. And I mean like??? ok, maybe it is. But I ALSO had never heard of Anita White until I read this fucking wiki page lmfao. So like... my ignorance isn’t due to no white privilege on my part. Maybe it’s a consequence of a white supremacist culture that wouldn’t glorify her and celebrate her and put her name everywhere... but that’s a different thing from privilege. 

So now not only are the bands efforts to adjust to a world that’s becoming more aware of racial injustice being dismissed as disingenuous or too-little-too-late, but now they’re ALSO being accused of Using Their White Privilege to trample all over an artist they’d never heard of. 

i DO think that after finding out the name was already taken, and after talking with her about it and determining that she wasn’t interested in sharing - as is her right - they should have just said “ok, sorry, thanks for talking with us about it” and picked something different. i think it’s kinda ridiculous that they think they should sue her and i think she’s HELLA right for suing their asses right back, and I hope she gets her damn money. 

But I’m also cognizant of how emotionally/psychologically upsetting it can feel to have to just Change Your Name after so many years of living with it. It makes sense that despite their desire to adapt and choose a new name that doesn’t make people cringe, they still want to try to hold on to the feeling that THEY associated with their own name. “Lady A” seemed like a happy medium: They can remain Who They Are while also showing that Who They Are is someone who’s not trying to glorify a disgusting era of history. But if “Lady A” isn’t an option... what’s left? What else could they call themselves that wouldn’t feel like a totally new, alien identity?? 

So, I understand how, on an emotional level, they want to fight to keep it. 

But uh. They really need to just Be Sad about it and let it go. Just consider it one of the small, upsetting sacrifices that white folks may sometimes have to make as we ALL struggle and stumble through this fuckin long-ass road of Making The World Less Terrible For People Of Color, and move on. 

But yeah, like. 

It’s fucking ridiculous that this was even an issue, and it was only an issue because of racism!!!!! If white supremacists didn’t manufacture a culture that oppresses people of color and glorifies the pre-civil-war era SPECIFICALLY for the good ol slavery, then perhaps people could wax poetic about the artistic and environmental aesthetic of that era without it being assumed that they Must Be Racist. Bc like??? idk if yall know this lmfao but i LOVE????? colonial american music. like, the kind of stuff with that Ashokan Farewell vibe. I think it sounds beautiful. And i really fuckin love the black spiritual music that was developed in that time. and i think so much of the architecture and fashion was so???? Nice. Just pleasant! But I can’t even get myself to fully enjoy it because of all the fuckin connotations that have been stuck to it. 

A band should be able to name theirself a name without it being such a goddamn fucking cultural crisis. 

But they can’t! And it is! 

Thanks, White Supremacy! 

[lewlthea]

The Actual Thing Going On With Edelgard Von Hresvelg.

 Spoilers: It’s not fascism, nor racism (at least not in the way people think). Also, actual spoilers for the game.

If there has been a controversial character in Fire Emblem Three Houses, it’s Edelgard Von Hresvelg, one of the game’s main three lords, the house leader of the Black Eagles, the princess and sole heir of the Adrestian Empire, and an antagonist in every single route but hers. She has been a polarizing figure within the community: Some people think she’s an irredeemable monster, others think she’s a misunderstood leader. When it comes to Edelgard, theres hardly a grey opinion towards her; She’s either black or white. Today, I wanna talk about Edelgard’s actions towards the 4 routes, what they actually portray, and how and why the entire discourse towards her was caused deliberately by Intelligent System’s incredible mishandling and mistreatment of the character.

I remember Nintendo’s 2018 E3 conference quite well. I was at with a group of friends, watching at one of them’s house because he had a bigger TV. I remember making jokes about how “there was going to be a new Fire Emblem” because loving Fire Emblem when Intelligent Systems is Like That is a living nightmare.

And then this happens.

Words could not express the joy I felt when the trailer was over. It wasn’t just a new Fire Emblem game: We were going to have another lady lord, and an axe-wielding one at that - something the fanbase had been desperately craving since the recent surge in Hector’s popularity - and for once, it was like when I first found out that there would be a new female character in Shadows Of Valentia with Faye, and it was the tipping point for me to finally buy a Nintendo Switch.

Of course, just like Faye, things weren’t that simple.

Because some months before E3 2019, which promised to reveal more info on Fire Emblem 3 Houses, Reddit exploded. All because of someone who goes by the username Thanibomb, who claimed to have leaked info on the game, saying a lot of information about all the characters, some of them very questionable (With things such as Lysithea would die due to her crest complications, and it would cause the major 5-year war, and other things like Claude being the one who shot Dimitri’s eye off), while other info being oddly specific. A part of it that made me particularly chuckle was when such user said that Dimitri would have lost an eye, and would cover it with an eyepatch. I found it so silly and, along with some friends, claimed it to be fake and carried on.

And then E3 2019 happened.

And Dimitri had an eyepatch. 

And still, even after Thanibomb, things remained optimistic. All lords looked nice, they seemed to have their own ideals, their own paths, and no fights were breaking out within the fanbase yet. But then early copies were sent to reviewers. And then 4chan got a hold of one of those. And then the main leaks started. And by the time the game got released, it was too late. The amount of hate comments towards the character was so overwhelming; some calling Edelgard a fascist, others claiming that she was racist, others even saying that she gives racist remarks towards Claude ingame (a blatant lie). A personal favorite comment of mine was how Hubert and Edelgard looked like the perfect alt-right couple. 

(Should I remark that these kinds of comments stopped as soon as they found out that Hubert could A-support Ferdinand, and most of them moved on to fetishize the relationship between the two of them instead. Ironically, before that happened people despised Hubert in general solely because of his unusual appearance and shady behavior, but that was soon seen as ‘nuanced’ the moment he could be paired off with another man.)

And so, a fight between the fanbase begun: (Mostly) Blue Lion fans bashing Edelgard’s character, Black Eagle fans defending her vehemently, and Golden Deer fans between either on any of those sides or just making memes for Joe Zieja’s rally campaign for the GD. Mostly the latter. But that’s beside the point.

A (Kinda) Brief Summary of Edelgard’s Presence In Azure Moon, Verdant Wind, And Silver Snow.

Throughout the game’s second part, unless you’re playing the Crimson Flower Route, Edelgard will always be an antagonist who cannot be spared, and she cannot survive unless it’s in her own route. However, the way she is percieved changes depending on each route you are making, with each route leaving small fragments depicting Edelgard’s past and shaping her character in full scale. 

In Verdant Wind/Silver Snow, Edelgard isn’t the final boss. She is one of the bosses before the big fight. (Nemesis in Claude’s case, Rhea in Seteth’s). She’s one of the obstacles, but not the main one, therefore there is not much insight on her character; However, there is still one element present in those routes that is curiously omitted from Azure Moon that is the reason why she doesn’t really have too much focus, that being Hubert’s final letter.

In both routes, Hubert seems to highly respect Seteth/Claude’s prowess in the war and their cunning mind. (Especially Claude; Throughout both Verdant Wind and Crimson Flower, he commends Claude’s tactics and strategies multiple times). In the letter, he gives the location of where Rhea is confined and asks them to eliminate Those Who Slither in the Dark, the game’s true villains and the ones behind most, if not all the game’s tragic events. Even more curiously, though, is the fact that the letter does exist on the Crimson Flower route, and can be seen briefly on Hubert’s B support with Ferdinand, being the reason of their argument throughout the conversation. Not a single mention of the letter exists in the Azure Moon Route. (Of course it would not make sense for it to exist gameplay-wise due to the player having already murdered Arundel/Thales earlier in the game but. It’s still something to be accounted for).

Speaking of Azure Moon, this is a much more trickier route to talk about. Not only due to the fact that Edelgard is this route’s final boss, but also because all of the things we discover about Edelgard within it are never mentioned in any other route, only brief mentions about the time she spent in the Kingdom; nothing more. 

In here, her time spent on the Kingdom is expanded: Both Edelgard, her mom Patricia and Arundel were sent off to Faerghus due to exile, with Patricia being set off to marry King Lambert. There, she meets Dimitri, and they both become fast friends. By the time she has to leave, Dimitri gifts her with a dagger (Which, in Faeghus, are important gifts that mean ‘to cut a path towards a better future’), and she returns to Adrestia. Some time after she leaves the Tragedy of Duscurr happens, caused by Those Who Slither in the Dark. However, due to a misunderstanding caused by eavesdropping on a conversation between Thales and the Flame Emperor, Dimitri mistakenly believes that the Flame Emperor was behind it all, and once the Flame Emperor’s identity is finally revealed to be Edelgard, she is instantly demonized and called a ‘witch’, even though she openly declares how she had nothing to do with it. This goes on until Rodrigue’s death and Cornelia’s reveal that Patricia was the one behind the Duscurr Tragedy so she could return to the Empire and “reunite with her daughter”. (We never find out about what happened to her and she is not mentioned during the Crimson Flower). Dimitri tries to talk Edelgard off their final confrontation, but Edelgard insists that it is far too late for her to back down for their ideals are far too different, and she refuses to live in a world where the Church of Seiros exists. Dimitri then hands back her dagger (Which she accidentally dropped before the timeskip), and they both retreat to prepare for the final battle.

This route’s final boss is an Edelgard who was absorbed direct power from Those Who Slither in the Dark, and adquires a grotesque, corrupted form. No other character in the canon possess such a thing, and only Edelgard can assume such form. Once she is defeated, Dimitri tries once again to spare her, only for Edelgard to stab him with the dagger, making Dimitri realize that she would never give up on her dream, and finally kills her.

An Even More Brief Explanation of What Does All of This Means.

Okay, all of that info was nice, fun, good, yadda yadda. What does this mean and why was it needed.

Well, for starters, let’s ask ourselves a question: After reading the summary, can you say that you know what drives her to seek out the destruction of the church?

What is her reasoning behind the unification of Fodlan?

Do we get anything out of her other than “Scary dictator” or “An obstacle that had to be sadly removed” or “Under better circumstances... We could’ve been Allies (tm)”?

We don’t. Because Intelligent Systems did not bother to show Edelgard’s motivations, despite her being the villain in almost all the routes.

During Verdant Wind and Silver Snow, Edelgard herself does not matter: she’s solely important because she is threatening the church, she is your scary big bad dictator that you have to beat in order to rescue Rhea, only to find out that in reality she was just a stepping stone to the real villains, Those Who Slither in the Dark. (In game it is said that Hubert came up with this name. In my humble opinion Hubert can go fuck himself because this is the shittiest name I have ever seen and I am tired of having to type this five word long thing every paragraph or so). As soon as you read the letter, suddenly Edelgard, the Empire, and all the questions you had as to why she Did It dissappear because now you have another objective, another goal. 

This is even more offensive during Azure Moon because she is the focus, the final boss, but it doesn’t matter why she did all of this nor what her ideals actually are despite them being the reason why she cannot be spared. The game would rather focus on getting reactions out of the player when the intimidating big meanie does something that makes Dimitri go angry than actually focusing on the clashing of Dimitri and Edelgard’s ideals, why they cannot go back to what it once was, what happened to her to change this way, why did ‘El’ actually die. All you have is a dictator in red which does things for no reason other than “I will destroy the Church and unify Fodlan so I can govern over all of it”. Nothing more, nothing less.

....Of course, you do realize that I have avoided to talk about a certain thing.

So, About That Crimson Flower Route...

If there is a way to truly understand a villain, one must walk on such person’s footsteps. Most people criticizing Edelgard were the ones who hadn’t played her route yet, or had only played Azure Moon and was led to believe that all of Edelgard’s actions are unwarranted or pure nonsense. 

There is a reason why people sing their tune differently as soon as they experience the Crimson Flower.

For starters, to be able to fight for Edelgard, you have to first have her support up to C+, go with her to Enbarr once she asks of you, and then defend her from Rhea at the Holy Tomb. The reasoning behind that is so that you fully understand what Edelgard has gone through and the reason why she cannot agree with the existence of the Church.

The Azure Moon route tells you of Edelgard before she returned to the Empire.

It never tells you what caused her to change after she went back.

Edelgard was part of the crest experimentations caused by Those Who Slither in the Dark, alongside all her siblings. Her father, the emperor, was unable to do anything about it, as the real people in control of the Empire were Arundel/Thales and Duke Aegir. Being the sole survivor of such things to return to society and see how everything is defined by whether you have a crest or not and finding out that the Church, who instead of breaking down such system to favor equality would rather turn the creatures who run it into figures to be worshipped is. Something.

There’s another reason for Edelgard’s sudden betrayal, a more sinister one, and why she feels like everything needs to be done in a quick pace. In her C+ you find out she has a second crest, The Crest of Flames, just like the player. People who bear two crests have a shortened lifespam, however.

When Edelgard declares war against the Church, and to unite Fódlan, it’s not solely because ‘Church bad’: She declares war against the unfair crest system, against the hypocrisy of Rhea’s dragon entourage, and of course, to destroy Those Who Slither in the Dark later on the road.

  However.

Just because Edelgard’s behavior is justified, does not mean she is 100% in the right. She herself admits that the path she follows is one drenched in blood. But there are several times in the game that makes you stop and think for a second that she can still make bad decisions, and that sometimes her decisions might have horrible consequences. One of them is for example to never take away Brigid’s status as a vassal to the Empire and return it back to it’s former glory as an actual country, which shows how the entire Brigid kerfuffle is something akin to colonization. We should also point out that when she unifies Fodlan, in some endings she remains the Emperor, completely missing the point of what she fought for.

Another case that shows one of Edelgard’s biggest flaws is with the Silver Maiden incident.

Edelgard had just conquered Arianrhod, the Silver Maiden, and due to murdering Cornelia, enrages Ariandel/Thales, whom causes the situation above out of a show of power. She knows it was Those Who Slither in the Dark, but she needs to give explanations fast and she can’t reveal their identity or else they would slip away and it would be impossible to locate them and destroy them. So what does she do?

She says it was Rhea who did it, actively lying to her closest allies, one of them being the Prime Minister of the Empire.

For Edelgard, the ends justifies the means, and as long as she gets the results she wants, she will do what it takes. Even by alienation. And that’s a dangerous way to go on.

...So, where do I want to go from here? Who is to blame for the hatefest Edelgard is receiving?

Intelligent Systems Kind of Didn’t Know What To Do With Edelgard.

Now hold on. That sounds a bit too harsh, don’t you think? She was the first lord shown in the E3 2018 trailer, they have placed a very big emphasis on Edelgard everywhere hell the game’s main theme is about her, why would you claim that??

Well, first and foremost, I should start by saying that Crimson Flower is the game’s shortest route, with the total of 18 chapters. From those 18 chapters, there is only one cutscene, with most of the route’s major events being shown with either the game’s basic models or still images.

For comparison, Verdant Wind has the total of 8 cutscenes, counting the final one before the timeskip, with 3 of them being unique to its route.

Azure Moon has the total of 5 cutscenes, 3 of them being unique to its route. 

Silver Snow has 4 cutscenes, having 2 unique ones to its route.

The other two main lords have several support options with people outside of their respective houses; Edelgard only has one.

Remember when I said that one of Edelgard’s main enemies are Those Who Slither in the Dark? The game never lets her deal with them personally. You never truly fight them during Crimson Flower.

In a way, the game feels as if while Edelgard is the focus, you shouldn’t side with her. It really makes it feel as if someone at Intelligent Systems just snickered and said ‘Hey wouldn’t it be cool if we could let our players side with/date our villain?’ without even considering or respecting such villain’s motivations, her ideals, and what truly makes a character unique.

In the end, all they truly cared for was if Edelgard was romanceable enough for the player, not if she made sense or was appealing as a character, whether as a villain or a savior.

And considering how the fanbase is behaving towards Edelgard, they succeeded. 

[venmomejoy]

The Lucky Ones

Idk if this has been done before but it's an actors au! All characters and relative plot belong to Nora Sakavic!!

Read it on Ao3 here

part two / part three / part four

Neil would never get used to the attention. The small amount of fame afforded to him as the lead character in the small town's production of Hamlet was stifling.

For him, it was instinctive to duck, to hide, to run at the first sign of recognition. Making himself unnoticeable was a habit beaten into him in childhood, his mother's fists compelling him into inconspicuousness when her warnings could not. Her lessons lingered in his mind even months after her death, urging him to grab the first ride away from here he can find and run every time he stepped onto the stage. He could almost hear her screaming at him, almost feel her phantom fists as she punished him for disobeying her. She had made him promise he would never act again, and he had broken his word. 

If this even counted as acting. Theater was fine, but Neil longed for the screen. He had tasted screen acting as a child and fallen in love with it, and no matter how she tried, his mother could never entirely curb his craving. She would beat him black and blue every time she caught him taking a second look at a poster for a new movie or lingering when he heard people discussing a favorite show, but he could not help himself. 

He hadn't planned on acting again, but when his mother died, he had felt stranded. He didn't know how to go on without her. Through all the years of running, of moving to a new city every few weeks, of fake names and boxes of hair dye, she had at least always been with him. Now that she was gone, he was entirely alone, and he did not know how to do it by himself. He found this town, got a new ID, and let himself drift. He knew it was stupid and reckless and all kinds of dangerous, but the acting was the only thing that felt real. So he let himself stay here for a few months, let himself audition for the play, let himself stand in front of the crowd and be seen. He promised himself he would be gone as soon as the show closed.

He hadn't anticipated that day coming so quickly. Despair started to creep in; he wasn't sure he was ready to let go of Neil Josten quite yet, although it seemed he had no choice. Tonight was the final showing, and all of the seats were full, although there couldn't have been more than fifty. Neil knew that most people in the audience had probably already seen the show- nearly all of them came to see family members perform or to "support the community"- but it still didn't lessen his nerves. He scanned the crowd for the tenth time, checking for any familiar faces, any sign he needed to bolt to the nearest exit. His father and his men hadn't caught up to him since they killed his mother, but that doesn't mean he is in the clear, especially since he's stayed here far too long. Yes, a move was overdue. 

Neil let himself get lost in the performance, immersing himself in someone else's life, someone else's story. His eyes still constantly flicked to the wings, to the crowd, to the catwalks, anywhere someone could be concealed, waiting to catch him off guard, but he let his brain shut off beyond the basic actions to confirm his safety, so customary they hardly took a second thought. Adrenaline thrums through his veins as he recites his lines, as he contorts his features into rage and despair and grief. He morphs himself into his character, allowing himself a reprieve from existing inside his own mind for a few hours. 

The performance ends far too soon. As Neil runs out for his bow, the cheers rise to screams. He knows he is a good actor, if a little out of practice. He smiles, taking it all in for the last time. He knows he won't be acting again. He already took too big of a risk by staying here this long.

Neil can't bear to see the set torn down, the theater cleaned and closed, so instead he sits in the dressing room, waiting for everyone else to leave so he can change out of his costume. The brutal scars marring his chest would draw too much concern, so every night he waited until the cast cleared out before changing into his street clothes. Some of his castmates tried to make idle conversation with him, but most knew he was not much of a talker and leave him alone. He watches them all leave, a couple inviting him to some sort of afterparty, which he promptly declines. If going up on stage was stupid, going to an unfamiliar location and getting engulfed in a large crowd was even stupider.

When his last castmate left, Neil basked in the silence as he quickly changed and then waited for the crew to finish as well. He needed to shower and brush his teeth before he went back to the house he was squatting in, but he did not need anyone to know he was utilizing the theater's facilities. It would raise too many questions. 

The sound of the door swinging open had Neil raising his head, eyes tracking his director's movements closely as he strode over to him. 

"That was a great performance Neil, one of the best I've seen from you." He took a seat on the couch next to Neil, causing every muscle in his body to tense. His director was one of the most even-tempered people Neil had ever met, but he'd seen enough aggression from middle-aged men to not trust a seemingly calm demeanor. 

"Thank you, Mr. Hernandez," he replied stiffly.

"Your talent is promising. Would you ever consider making a career in the arts?"

 Neil just shrugged, casting his gaze to the floor. Telling Hernandez that acting was not an option for him would open up a can of worms that Neil could not afford. He couldn't tell him that he would be leaving first thing tomorrow, taking his meager belongings and heading to another state, becoming another person, so his best option was indifference. 

"Well, maybe this will help you make up your mind. There's someone here who wants to talk to you."

Neil's eyes shot to Hernandez, alarm bells sounding in his head. This was his worst nightmare. He had been found, he had been found, he had been found-

He pulled his duffel bag over his shoulder as he stood, already making his way towards the nearest exit when someone cleared their throat loudly from behind him. It was too late. 

Neil turned around, hands still gripping his bag as he stood poised to run, and met the eyes of the stranger. The man was tall, likely in his late thirties or early forties, with honed muscle visible where his arms were crossed over his chest. His face was hard, but his eyes were searching as he scanned Neil from head to toe. He was unfamiliar, but that didn't mean he was harmless. Perhaps his father had gotten a new lackey. "Who are you?" Neil asked. 

"He's a director, Neil. He wants to recruit you," Hernandez said. 

Neil scoffed. "Please, the population of this town is barely five hundred. No one recruits here."

"He sent out an open call, looking for someone to cast in his show. You fit the description pretty well, so I sent him some videos of you during rehearsals. He came to watch you tonight, to see if you were good enough for the show. I didn't mention it to you because I wasn't sure anything would come of it."

Neil couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't even seen anyone take any videos of him during rehearsals. His panic was steadily rising. "What?"

The man stepped forward, and Neil unconsciously stepped back. He noticed, his gaze hardening as he looked Neil over again, searching for something different this time. "I don't have time for this," the stranger said. "We start filming in three weeks, and the actor we had set up for this role fell through. You have talent, kid. All you have to do is sign the contract and your set for two seasons with us. If we get renewed again, likely more."

Neil did not know what to say, so he just stared at the man, assessing the sincerity of his offer. The director just stared back, unfazed by Neil's blatant scrutinization. 

After moments of silence, the man sighed. "Look kid, The Foxes is a incredibly popular show. Signing with us could jumpstart your career.”

Deafening silence rings through Neil’s head as that name hit him. He thinks his heart has stopped beating. "You direct The Foxes." 

The man- who he now recognizes as David Wymack- only nodded. Neil knew all about The Foxes. The first season of the show was a hot mess, barely scrounging up enough support to get renewed for a second season. But it did. And when esteemed actor Kevin Day joined the cast, the show started rising in popularity. 

Kevin had been raised in Hollywood, adopted at a young age into the Moriyama family, one of the most powerful names in filmmaking. Tetsuji Moriyama was arguably the most famous director on the scene, so when he took in Kevin and his nephew Riko, he raised them to be formidable actors. The two were as close as brothers. Tetsuji gave Kevin and Riko small roles in his productions when they were children, and as they grew older, the two starred in almost all of his work. Most notably, the two were costars on Evermore, an immensely popular fantasy show. Riko played a young boy who was adapting to his new life as a vampire, while Kevin played his best friend, still a human, who helped him adjust. The show had a huge fanbase- it was easily the most popular show on television right now. But in the middle of filming the fourth season, Kevin and Riko vanished from the public eye. No one knew what had happened to them, what they were doing, but when they resurfaced, it was discovered that Kevin had shattered his hand in a stunt gone wrong. Tetsuji decided the show could not halt production to wait for Kevin to heal, and instead wrote him out of the rest of the season, saying he would return for the fifth season when he was fully recovered. Kevin all but disappeared, not saying or doing anything while he recovered. Until Kevin decided not to renew his contract. Two months ago, Kevin had announced that he would not be returning to Evermore, and was instead signing with Wymack on The Foxes. His fans were devastated. Many were angry at him, feeling betrayed at his leaving. Others were intrigued by this new project, his first apart from Riko. Either way, the move brought a lot of attention to The Foxes. Kevin not only brought a fanbase with him when he began the show, but he pushed his costars to work harder and hone their acting skills, making the following of the show grow exponentially. 

Neil hadn't seen Kevin since he was ten years old. Neil had started acting lessons when he was four, had even been in a few small productions in his childhood. He assumed it was his father's attempt at getting him out of the house while he did his business, and Neil was happy to go- every time he was present during his father's dealings he ended up with a beating. One day, his father took him to rehearse with some kids. He had never met Kevin and Riko before, but Neil was happy to make some friends. He had never really been allowed to have any friends, so he was excited to finally have some kids to interact with. With the help of an older man who guided them, the three spent a few hours going over scenes, trying the lines with different emotions and figuring out how they all worked together on-screen. But their rehearsal was cut short when they were forced to watch Neil's father tear a man to ribbons. His mother had taken him and left the next morning.

There was no conceivable way Neil could accept Wymack's proposal. He had garnered too much attention as it is performing in a small town's theater production. The last thing he needed was his face to be broadcasted all over television, his name tacked on to a credit list. Beyond that, the media is up The Foxes's ass, what with Kevin on the cast. He cannot afford that kind of notoriety. His father would find him in an instant. And if Kevin recognized him? He could not risk Kevin giving him away.

"Please leave me alone," Neil said. 

"We need to fly you out tomorrow if you're going to be halfway prepared when we start production. It would be best if you sign tonight," Wymack pushed.

"I'm not signing anything. I'm not working with you."

"Why?”

"I won't work with Kevin."

"Aw, hear that, Kev? The rookie doesn't like you," a sardonic voice drawled from behind him. 

Every bone in his body seized at the implication of that statement. If Kevin was here-

He whirled around to meet the dark green eyes of Kevin Day. He was significantly taller than Neil, at least six-foot to his five-three, with a good fifty pounds of muscle over him. And he was blocking the only other exit. Neil had not noticed Hernandez leave the room until now, acutely aware of his compromised position. There was no way for him to escape. Neil just stared at his old friend, barely breathing as he waited for recognition to kick in, for the realization to dawn on him. But nothing came. Could it be possible Kevin didn't recognize him?

It made sense, he supposed. Neil had seen Kevin grow up, his face plastered on every magazine and television screen he saw, but Kevin had not seen Neil since he was a child. That, coupled with the brown hair dye and the brown colored contacts he wore may have been enough to slip under Kevin's radar.

"Jesus, Andrew, can't you be polite for ten minutes? We're trying to sign this kid and you're going to scare him off," Wymack's incensed voice sounded from behind him.

"Oh, come on, Wymack, he doesn't look like the type to be scared of little old me now does he?" Neil broke his stare with Kevin to look at his companion, only to find Andrew Minyard's eyes already boring into his own, a manic smile plastered on his face. He would have recognized the blond actor anywhere; he had made quite a stir in Hollywood. 

Andrew was the first person to turn down a role with the Moriyama's. Riko and Kevin had found him, had seen his work in other projects and knew he had potential. When they approached him with a part on Evermore and a chance to join their little clique, they had never even considered he would say no. Working with Tetsuji was a straight shot to stardom. But Andrew instead signed a contract with Wymack, who had agreed to cast his twin brother Aaron and his cousin Nicky as well. 

Neil turned back to Wymack. "I'm not signing anything. I'm leaving now."

"I'm going to let you reconsider." The first words Kevin spoke to Neil in eight years sent chills down his spine. 

Neil turned towards him again. "I've already given you an answer."

"Why won't you sign?" Wymack questioned. "From what your directer said, you've got nothing keeping you here. In the three months he's known you, he said he's seen no friends, no family. Said your parents never answer his calls, something about them having a long commute to work, that they barely even see you. Why not join The Foxes?"

Neil couldn't very well tell him the truth, so he told him the first plausible lie his mind provided. "I'm not near good enough to work with Kevin. And I'm only used to stage acting, I don't know how to perform for television." 

The first lie would have been reason enough, but the second one needed to be thrown in to keep his story believable. He had told Hernandez he had only done a few plays previously, not wanting to raise any suspicion. If Wymack had spoken to his director about him, he had likely been told this. And anyone who had only done a few plays would be concerned about switching to screen acting, so Neil played the part. 

"Both unimportant," Kevin said. At Neil's surprised look he continued, "You may be inexperienced, but we saw your performance tonight. You have talent. Now stop wasting our time and sign the contract."

How had he missed Kevin Day in the audience? He must have been hiding in the back, trying to avoid being recognized by any fans. Still, the misstep unnerved Neil. "There are plenty of actors with talent who would be thrilled at this offer. Why not ask them?"

"Like I said, we've seen you perform. We knew you had talent from the videos your director sent us, but it's not just raw ability. You throw yourself into your role like it's all you have left. You don't just channel the emotions, you become the character. Actors with that kind of passion are rare, and are the only kind worth bothering with."

Neil couldn't stop the pull in his chest, begging him to accept, no matter how foolish an idea it was. He was not ready to give up acting, but pursuing it would bring him closer to the man he had spent his entire life running from. Signing with Wymack was as good as signing his death sentence. But it was a shot at living, at truly living for the first time in years. The acting was the only thing that felt solid now that his mother was gone, and he wasn't sure if he could survive without a tether. 

If Kevin didn't recognize him, perhaps he could indulge himself, just for a little while. He didn't have to stay for the full two seasons; at the first sign of trouble, he'd run. Perhaps he could base his plan off of Kevin- at soon as Kevin started remembering, started asking questions, Neil would know it was time to go. Because if Kevin remembered, if he started digging into Neil's past, he would clue in the whole host of people after Neil on his whereabouts. If they didn't discover them on their own. 

"An answer tonight, Josten." Wymack clicked the pen, holding it out to Neil in offering. Neil stared at the pen, every ounce of self-preservation screaming at him to be smart, to take his bag and get the hell out of this town, to blend back into the shadows. But another voice, a voice he had been repressing for far too long, was making itself heard: desire. Desire to act, desire to be settled somewhere, desire to be real. 

He could always run. That's what he told himself as he took the pen from his new directors proffered hand. That what he told himself as he signed his name along the dotted line, the name of a person who didn't really exist, but was going to try to for as long as he could. That's what he told himself as he felt his throat closing in as he realized how he had disregarded everything his mother had worked for, died for, with the quick stroke of a pen. 

"Perfect," Wymack said. "We'll pick you up here tomorrow so we can fly to L.A. and get started." Neil couldn't think of anything to say, so he stayed silent.

Kevin handed him a thick stack of paper with "The Foxes: season three, episode one" printed across the front. The script. "Start reading it now. We have a lot of catching up to do if you're going to be ready by the beginning of production."

With that, he strode from the room. Andrew followed him, stopping only to flash Neil that same grin, raising his hand in a two-fingered salute. Neil couldn't contain his eye roll.

After the two actors had left the room, Wymack held back for a moment. "You made the right choice, kid." 

Neil almost laughed. If only he knew how wrong he was.

Notes: Hello everyone!! I’m not completely happy with this but I'm publishing it anyways because bad writing is better than no writing, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself :) I’m going to write more chapters on this fic, so I hope that someone likes it!!

[diamondnokouzai]

talking abt the visual novel characters under the cut <3

mayhart player character. red-haired human commoner, youngest child of her family, last child born of her mother before mother died and father remarried. shorter than average (5′2″ as female, 5′5″ as male) named mayhart because she was born on the fourth of may. wild & uncontrollable, bearing a rage that she herself doesn’t even understand. grew up a commoner alongside her childhood friend yerick. widely rumored in town to be a changeling- she doesn’t act the way a normal human should, never knowing when to leave well enough alone or how to calm down and settle for her lot in life (the number of times when she, accompanied with yerick, has been chased back to town by some beast she provoked in the woods is uncountable). was recently conscripted into the army and adopted by the duchess koballe after her latent magic appeared. one of very few people who can use offensive magic and not purely reconnaissance/traveling magic. finally has an outlet for her rage, and somewhat hates the things she does. wears standard military uniform but badly- doesnt entirely understand how all the straps & bindings work and will not learn :) as the player character, she can be male or female. as a male, his rage turns inward, and as a result he is less open with his own emotions and keeps all his feelings hidden within himself. openly contemptuous of the war, but far more polite than his female counterpart. neither version holds any respect for anyone who hurts the weak. neither can hold their liquor either. 21 in human years

demavieve eldest princess of the draconic realm- as such, the future sovereign. the draconic realm is the only country allied with perine in this war which makes several people very nervous (its like if the us allied with luxembourg in a war against belgium france germany & the uk excep the us was the only country with nukes). demavieve has a very strong sense of honor though so constrains herself to a human form along with swordplay. this is less dangerous than it seems because if demavieves human form dies then she just turns back into her draconic form. her human form also has red hair, but its far more tameable than mayhart’s. she wears it tied back in a ponytail in general. she wears a perine knight’s uniform with vestments from the draconic realm to signify that she is (a) a foreign-lent soldier and (b) a commander. her human form is muscular and about 6′6″. hot and well aware of it.arrogant but also very friendly about it- ‘you love me? haha, of course you are! you seem great too!’. kind of sees this whole thing as a game- dragons live a lot longer than humans, and something like this is just a blip on her radar. very low empathy until someone she cares about is hurt at which point everything goes out the window (and she cares about pretty much all the perine soldiers- not in a very respectful way, but she loves them all and she goes apeshit sometimes). very friendly with serenina. can absolutely hold her liquor. only romanceable as f!mayhart. 23 in human years, ~150 in real time.

serenina the only princess of the former emperor and empress. i spoke about her in more detail in another post so this is gonna mostly be glossed over. wears her hair in afropuffs cause she does her own hair and shes proud of it. temporal (reconnaissance) magic. desperate to please. legally only friends with demavieve, although also friendly with yerick. about 5′0″ although she desperately wants to grow taller (unlikely). her eyes look like theyre black but if you look closely (which she probably wont let you do) theyre actually purple/indigo. is completely out of touch with the rest of the world because shes a princess but she is also very sincere and tries her best to be helpful when she can. very expressionless and sensible. not very well-liked as the former princess of the warmongering emperor and empress. actually very touch starved. does not wear standard military uniform outside of mage’s robes, which she wears over tea dresses (which is another reason some soldiers dislike her) is kept away from alcohol as much as grayson can and as such will get drunk off half a cup of wine. sleepy drunk. 18 in human years.

grayson the bastard son of the former emperor, sereninas older half-brother. grew up as a commoner in the same area as serenina & yerick until he was brought into the royal castle at age 9. fiercely protective of serenina. faux affable- you know the ‘expressionless smile’ princes from otome games/manga always have? thats graysons face pretty much always. legally not eligible to the crown (due to some religious issues with committing patricide & stepmatricide) but like. like hes already doing everything? yk how it is. highest commander of his troops attempting to broker peace with the other countries perine was at war with (most noticeably alloue, nawolem, & farik in order to attack caledonia, which was the puppeteer behind the former reign) but is not above underhanded methods/tactics including attacking noncombatant targets (they dont even have geneva). very intelligent & very calculating- consistently calculates highest reward/lowest risk maneuvers and has them executed flawlessly. his own cunning scares him on occasion, but he mostly locks that away- theres no time for those kinds of feelings in war. a foil to f!mayhart- she is wild, he is restrained; she shows her true feelings regardless, he always acts at a happy neutral; mayhart confronts her uncomfortable feelings, grayson hides them from everyone. about 5′11″, has long dreads that he keeps tied back. dressed in perfect military regalia, including commander’s cape & military crown (basically just a circlet). also cant hold his liquor- hes nearly as bad as serenina. 25 in human years.

izyn the son of count dau claire, the only noble house in perine that has been loyal to grayson since before the deaths of the former emperor and empress. very quiet because he has social anxiety. completely brainless. very friendly but his height (6′4″) and imposing aura (he gets nervous) means that the only people who can easily communicate with him are yerick and grayson. black hair, cropped short, and green eyes. skilled swordsman, mid-commander. will get trapped in an unwinnable situation which yerick needs to save him from. wears his military uniform right but...........not really? he wears the base uniform right but always forgets his commander’s cape. has a dedicated fanbase that came about when he did his training shirtless. literally doesnt think that any of his problems are that deep (honestly doesnt think anything is that deep). suffice to say, theres a reason why count dau claire never shows up and doesnt seem to be involved in any of the decision making of the count’s matters. very protective of yerick (younger brother). is the most visibly affected by the war- as the one who is usually in the center of the violence and doesnt have a survival cheat like demavieve, he has pretty bad ptsd which coupled with his anxiety issues make him a hot mess. his hobbies include hiding in dark rooms that have been reinforced to the point where literally only yerick can get in. despite his size he gets drunk very easily- not as bad as grayson & serenina, but 1-2 mugs of beer puts him out. 26 in human years. only romanceable as m!mayhart

yerick adopted son of count dau clarie. childhood friend of mayhart. born an orphan, an old woman took care of him til he was 4 and she died. stuck around mayharts town cause their family would give him food whenever he stopped by. still ended up fairly malnourished. small but vicious- hes screamed at mayhart lots of times for the stupid shit they would get him into and is not afraid to smack some sense into them. however he is not a good fighter because hes physically very weak- most of his energy in developing went to his magical capabilities, which came to fruition when he was 6. about a year after that (with a great deal more shunning from the townsfolk besides mayhart), he was adopted by count dau claire. was sealed with a subordination seal (used in order to ensure compliance with reasonable requests as long as a reasonable argument is made) for a year to ensure that he wouldnt run away. izyn liked him right away, but it took about 18 months for yerick to not be completely vicious whenever he was approached. as of the modern day of the vn, yerick is as protective over izyn as izyn is him- yerick has seen some of the worst of the world, and in his opinion izyn has not (this is despite the fact that izyn helped overthrow the royal family at age 15 but in fairness to him izyn told yerick none of this) so he wants to make sure his big brother stays happy. yerick holds absolutely no loyalty towards count dau claire or even to grayson- he is loyal to his own needs first, with a decent second being izyn and an even further distant third being mayhart & their family. very prickly & well acquainted with the fact that most people are inherently selfish and would turn away from an orphan on the streets. abandonment issues. his spatial magic is mostly used on rescue ops (mostly mostly getting izyn out of situations where hes surrounded by enemy soldiers but this extends to other perine soldiers). wears his uniform properly, including mage’s robes & commander’s cape over the standard perine uniform. hates to ever appear weak ever, so when he has to go to the medical tent izyn has to either force him there or pretend to be tsundere and throw bandages at him. izyn desperately wants to dote on him but that is one of yericks Hard Boundaries. theres like ONE time when yerick falls asleep because of arcane overexertion and izyn piggybacks him back to camp and yerick acts like its the most shameful secret in the world. foil to m!mayhart- very open with his anger & feelings and shows when he is angry and accepts that part of himself, open with his loyalties and doesnt give a fuck about it, doesnt like the war but does respect it. despite his size, it takes easily 3 barrels of alcohol to even get him tipsy, izyns lack of alcohol tolerance pisses him off cause he has to walk him back to his tent. 5′4″ and wants to grow taller but has accepted his fate. 19 in human years.

eliya legally not a combatant. former princess of caledonia, was discovered at 12 to hold the power of the divine will and so was sent away from her mother and father (who she perceived as loving) to be raised within the church as a holy sacrifice (those who hold the power of the divine will release a huge psychic shockwave when theyre killed, so she was basically raised to be a holy tyke bomb). has a lot of religious obsession, prays 3x a day and has been brainwashed into believing in the power of holy judgement- essentially, her church handler (aka the deacon of the church where she was raised) has raised her to believe that if she commits a sin she’ll be killed so she has a LOT of anxiety over doing the right thing.at the same time shes been brainwashed into believing that doing anything in the service of the throne of caledonia is morally & theologically correct. shes also had occasional contact with her parents (like a yearly dinner or smth) and so still has a lot of loyalty to them due to how they manipulated her and her relationship with her little siblings (7 yrs younger x 2, 2 yrs younger, 13 yrs younger). completely devoted to her church, would gladly martyr herself for them (however this wouldnt trigger the shockwave needed by the army). is loyal to her parents, the deacon, and then the church. is captured by the perine army after a raid on a noncombatant area and spends a lot of time figuring herself out. foil to serenina (esp in terms of loyalty & parents/siblings, emotions (eliya has a lot of them and shows them, serenina is the opposite), their royal treatment, their relationship with trust (serenina doesnt, eliya does and worringly easily). long golden hair, light blue eyes. wears neither a military uniform nor a priests’ uniform, instead wears a one-piece white ‘dress’ (really more a tunic/oversized shirt) & is barefoot. desperate for attention, praise, love, etc. widely disliked due to her POW status but she really thinks shes making all these friends. has quite literally not been able to make her own choices since she was 12 years old. above average alcohol tolerance but nowhere near yerick. 19 in human years.

[starlite-sin]

Of Demons and Devils

I got a new story out!! I’ll be continuing To Be Discovered I just need to break the writer’s block. It’s not as stupid as it sounds, really. Also if anyone’s seeing this in tags, its this is just a chapter. 

TW: Minor Blood warning

Shots rang out as the two men fell to the concrete. The tallest quickly shoved his friend into a narrow alleyway. A girl was thrown across the opening. Jack reached out and, with Mark’s help, was able to pull her into the alley. She seemed to be unconscious, with blood seeping out of her helmet. The helmet itself was cracked and broken from the landing. “Shit,” was all that was said, and the duo ducked as a bullet ricocheted off the wall behind them. Mark was trying to find some way to use their sleeves as bandages. Before long, however, the shooting stopped. Three people ran to the alley, all pointing their guns at them, who held their hands up. The new group was wearing the same black armor that the still out girl was wearing, only slightly more bloodstained.

“How did you get here?” The tallest asked, his voice muffled by his helmet. “We don’t know,” Mark answered. “We were at my house, and then we fell through the floor and landed here.” “Likely story,” the man said, raising his gun again. The person next to him held up a small, beeping device. They scanned Jack and Mark with it, and it didn’t change. “They’re clear. Not Dark or Anti,” she stated. “Anti? What’s he got to do with this?” Jack asked. “Quite a lot, actually,” she said. “We should get Kat back to base.” Her partners agreed and they lifted the girl into a van on the other side of the alley. The ride to the base was quiet, as the group was checking on their friend and making sure she was breathing. They drove maybe an hour out of town before stopping at what looked to be an abandoned factory. As they stepped inside the factory people made way for them. Many were staring at Jack and Mark; some with fear, others with anger, and still others with pure, unbridled hatred. It made them both uncomfortable. “What did we do?” Mark whispered to Jack, who just shrugged and kept his head down. The group took off their helmets, revealing a dark skinned man with short, braided hair, an Asian girl with different colored eyes, and a red haired girl with a ton of freckles. The redhead motioned for the pair to follow them. A group of medics took the last girl, who was just starting to wake up. They walked into a medium sized conference room. The man took a seat at the front and the girls beside him. “First off, I’m Alex. This is Andi,” he gestured to the Asian girl next to him. “And Kirsten,” he motioned to the other girl. “Jack and Mark,” Jack said, gesturing between the two. “What’s going on?” “The Actor is what’s going on,” Andi answered. “The Actor? He doesn’t exist. I created him,” Mark questioned. “So did our Mark. However, he was able to become real. He was able to create the other egos, except for the Septic ones, they were made by our Jack,” Alex said. “This doesn’t make any sense,” Jack said. “Okay, I’ll start from the beginning. Originally, our Mark and Jack were just entertainers online, along with hundreds of others. Mark created the Actor. We accidentally brought him to life. Another creator, Rosanna Pannsino, held a party and let anyone in the area attend, so we thought. While we were there, the Actor, Host, and Author all attacked the place for seemingly no reason. They killed a ton of people. He was able to take control of the city. They held the ‘party’ as a way to get as many people there as possible,” Kirsten explained. Jack and Mark glanced at each other nervously. “Including our versions of you two. Or we believe. We never found your bodies. They used Ro as a means to get there and from what we were told, killed her directly afterwards. Brian Hanby and Nogla were able to gather the survivors and take them here. How they were in town is beyond me, but they were. Most of their crew either died or were captured in the attack. For a long time, they were the leaders of this revolution. When they were killed, shit started to go down.” “We were able to gain abilities, each relating to how we contributed in the fanbase communities in the past,” Andi stated. “Or we thought we gained them. Turns out we already had them, and they were starting to get noticed.” “What are they?” Jack asked. “Fanfiction writers, Fan artists, cosplayers, and fan artists. Fanfiction writers and fan artists are two of the most powerful, they can change reality. Fan artists can do it for longer but once something gains a lot of attention, whatever the writers put out stays out. Hence the Actor, Host, and Author,” she answered. “They don’t like us because we can fix whatever damage they’ve done, even for a bit, it’s enough to change someone’s mind. Almost everyone else in the city’s either enslaved or brainwashed. Cosplayers can disguise themselves, it’s a bit more complicated than that, and fan editors can rearrange reality. Making things go faster, slower, or in a whole separate timeline. It’s fucking weird.” Kirsten looked offended by that. “Is that how Anti and Dark came around?” Mark inquired. “No. We don’t know how these two came to be, as they aren’t going by anyone’s rules, not even the canon ones,” Alex said. “There are plenty of rumors, including that they were originally you two, since they appeared a year after the initial attack, but they can’t be proven. We do have created characters, like Natemare and Phantom, but since Nate was killed just a month ago, they’ve been losing grasp here.” “Holy shit,” Jack sighed, running a hand down his face. This was all too much. Mark had a sick feeling in his stomach. So many people, so many of his friends, died because of his characters. “What can we do to help?”  He asked quietly. “Can you fight? Have medical training? Know how to use guns?” Alex asked. “I’m first aid certified, and I think Mark can do hand-to-hand,” Jack answered. “Very basic hand-to-hand,” Mark corrected him. Alex looked somewhat satisfied with that answer. “We’ll get you trained. For now, that will work. Jack, you’ll be with the medics. Mark, you’ll be with us,” Alex said. The boys nodded. “Right. Kirsten, can you check on Kat? Take Jack with you,” Kirsten nodded and motioned for Jack to follow her. They stopped as someone shoved the door open. “We’ve got a series of problems. Host’s been leading attacks all over the place, Yancy and Illinois just showed up, and Mare’s losing grips on his powers,” he reported. “Yancy and Illinois? What are they doing here?” Andi asked. “Dunno. We’ve got them in the interrogation room if you wanna ask.” “More importantly, how did they find us?” Alex said, heading out of the room. Kirsten and Jack continued to the medical bay, Mark followed Alex and the other guy down a series of rooms. They passed several offices and people; all were doing double takes at Mark and some were whispering. Alex entered a room and Mark stood by his friend. Inside the room were two familiar people, an Indiana Jones knock-off and a man in prison attire. They were both sitting silently, although Yancy looked more nervous than Illinois, who had his arrogance façade on. Alex sat in front of both of them and started the recording. “Alright, you two. Who wants to start?”

[rebelminxy]

Cosplay Surprise

Pairing: Jared Padalecki x PlusSize!Reader

Trope: Slutty Costume

Word Count: 2458

Rating: Mature for the design of the costume

Summary: There is a Halloween party going on at one of the conventions, and this will be the first time everyone from set sees the reader in their element when it comes to costumes. Might even reveal a secret she’s been hiding for a while. 

A/N: In this piece, Jared isn’t married to Gen. This is purely written for fictional use and in no way meant to disrespect the Padalecki family. I send them my best regards and love.  This was written for @supernaturaltropecelebration​ Halloween Edition.  Pictures are not mine, found on Pinterest.

     (Y/N) stood in front of her full-length mirror, debating if she should really go through with this costume or go with plan B, which was a simple Catwoman costume. She took in a deep breath and reminded herself that she promised Jessica Nigri that she would join her and the girls in the cosplay. It wasn’t the fact that she was a big, curvy girl that made her nervous, she was used to dressing the way she was for the camera. Her issue was the brand new relationship she was in with the very well known TV star Jared Padalecki and how this side of her was something she never expected to reveal to him, let alone what she did before her job on set as a special effects artist. 

     Before getting her dream job, (Y/N) used to model. It wasn’t the typical, run of the mill modeling, walking down runways. No, what she would do is create sexy, barely covering the important parts, cosplay outfits and take pictures of herself in different poses. She would then post one or two on her Instagram page and the rest would be sold via a Patreon page she had, where she had different memberships and each member had a different value of packaging. And yes, there were online trolls that called her and her friends, like Jessica, sluts and attention whores. But she ignored them because she loved being able to create all these costumes by hand. She even would purchase cosplay items or outfits from different creators just to give them a shout out and help them with their business, hoping the community could grow. She would even auction off certain costumes or accessories and donate that money to a charity of her fanbase’s choice. Simply put, if she hadn’t gotten her dream job, she would have continued doing what she loved.

      (Y/N) took in a second deep breath and decided to stick to her costume. She did put a lot of work into it like she always did to every cosplay she had made herself. She just hoped Jared would be ok with it. They were currently at a Supernatural convention and Jared wanted to use this event to announce their relationship to the fandom. They had been dating for a couple of months, only coworkers and very close friends knowing about their relationship. But when Jared asked her to be his girlfriend officially, the first thing that worried her was the fandom’s reaction. Danneel assured (Y/N) that everything would be fine, but (Y/N) wasn’t so sure about that.

     The ride to the convention hall where the party was at was a long one, (Y/N) making sure her costume was perfect. Even with the fear of Jared judging her after tonight, she still didn’t want to let her online fans down. The car stopped at the back entrance where everyone was told to go through and (Y/N) was so happy to see Jessica standing by the door, phone in hand. (Y/N) climbed out of the car and when she shut the door, Jessica looked up and smiled widely at her. 

“Wow, woman!” Jessica exclaimed as she stood up straight, watching (Y/N) climb the stairs. “You still got it, girl! I still can’t understand why you stopped doing the cosplays and closing your Patreon.”

“I couldn’t do that AND work on a tv show set without someone finding out about that life,” (Y/N) responded quietly.

“Didn’t the guy that hired you said he wanted you because to the cosplay work you’ve done?” Jessica asked as she opened the door for both of them to enter.

“Yeah but that information stayed between us and the two other heads of the makeup department.”

“It’s not like you were doing porn or something,” Jessica shrugged as she walked a bit ahead.

“It’s borderline and you know it woman,” (Y/N) huffed in annoyance. “Plus, it's not something you throw on a resume.”

“You got your dream job because of it.”

“Yeah, and now I’m dating one of the faces of the show and I’ve told you how the fandom can get,” (Y/N) said angrily, pulling Jessica by the arm to stop and face her. “Do you remember what happened to that actress that played the character Lisa on the show? And that was just a character!”

     (Y/N) let Jessica go and turned away from her, pulling out her phone to call a cab.

“This was a mistake, I should have just gone with the cat woman costume and hoped no one would recognize me. I’m heading back to the hotel to change.”

“No, you’re not!” Jessica exclaimed, grabbing (Y/N)’s phone. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of your talent. Not only can you make a costume from scratch but your makeup and special effects skills are flawless. Top it off with one sexy body and a great personality, and Jared can call himself one lucky son of a bitch.”

“He won’t once he finds out about my old Patreon and sees the pictures. You know what some people call us for doing those pictures. It’s one thing to see an online troll say it, it’s another when there could be a big possibility that the man that I’m falling for will think the same thing.”

“(Y/N), the man adores you!” Jessica exclaimed as she caressed her friend's cheek. “Just go in there with me and you will see. Yeah, it will be a surprise for him to find out his hot girlfriend used to pose half-naked in sexy cosplay outfits for paying fans, but he won’t judge you for it.”

     (Y/N) looked at Jessica and smiled weakly. She nodded her head and hugged Jessica, the silent thank you being made. Jessica pulled (Y/N) by the hand and guided her down the hall to the main door where the party was being held. There were two guards there and when both girls showed their invites, the guards opened the doors.

“Ready, babe?” Jessica asked, holding (Y/N)’s hand tightly.

“Ready as I'll ever be,” (Y/N) responded, standing straight and shaking herself mentally.

     Jessica walked in first with (Y/N) right behind. The girls strutted their way through the crowd over to their other friends who were jumping where they stood in excitement. (Y/N) smiled widely at them but froze when she heard a voice call out to her. She could suddenly feel his presence right behind her, causing her to turn around to see Jared standing there in his Nightwing costume. Jensen, his wife Danneel, and Misha were with him as well. All four friends eyed (Y/N) up, especially Jared. Once his eyes landed on hers, his face went serious, making (Y/N) cringe internally, ready for any outburst.

“What are you wearing, baby?” Jared asked slowly.

     (Y/N) looked down at herself once more to make sure everything was perfect. She and the girls decided to cosplay as the group K/DA, her character being Akali. But instead of the outfit Akali wore in the music video, she went with her usual twist. She wore a black push up bra that lifted her breasts up, white cloth sewn in the front to look like the top Akali wears in the video. The leather jacket she wore was an exact replica from the music video but she wore it off her shoulders, revealing the lines of paint on her skin. She wore a pair of skin-tight black leather pants with a white belt around her waist. The pants were cut like the video, one normal length leg and another cut short, but instead of the smaller cut starting at the top of her thigh, she cut it smaller as if it were underwear, which barely covered her buttcheek. She wore a black knee-high stocking on the leg that wasn’t covered by the pants, and her shoes were a pair of all-black six-inch converse heels she got specially made for the costume, which had a gold and white buckle at the very top and white laces. She wore a long purple wig styled up in Akali’s signature ponytail in the video and the signature black cap with gold K/DA sewn into it. To top the entire look, she had a black face mask with the scary demon mouth painted on the cloth, which she had hanging from her neck, and her exposed skin had the same designs Akali had painted on her when she glowed in the dark.

“It’s my costume. Jessica and the girls have been planning this cosplay with me for a couple of months now and since I was coming here…..” (Y/N) slightly stuttered before suddenly being pulled by Jared through the crowd and out the party room. 

     He didn’t stop until he found an empty hallway, letting her hand go. (Y/N) leaned against a wall, dreading what he was going to say. But he stayed silent, so she spoke up.

“This isn’t new for me, you know. I used to wear this kind of stuff before my job on Supernatural,” she mumbled before standing straight and facing his back, ready for what she was going to say. “I mean, this is what I used to do for work. I would create costumes like this and get pictures taken to sell to my fanbase, on my Patreon. That’s how Jessica and I met. She helped me grow by inviting me to join her panels at cons she would do and do photoshoots with her.”

     Jared still didn’t turn around to look at her, so she continued.

“I loved it, Jare. Still, do and, if it wasn’t for my job on Supernatural, I would probably still do it. I love being creative. I love that, somehow, I helped and motivated some girls to be comfortable in their own skin and be able to admit how sexy they can be, no matter what society deems sexy. I loved it, not for the attention, but for the small changes I was able to do and put my work out there.”

“I already knew about all that,” Jared mumbled as he turned around to face (Y/N). 

“You did,” (Y/N) gasped, taking a step back in surprise.

“Obviously, this isn't something you could hide forever. To be honest, I knew the first day you joined us on set.”

“You WHAT?”

“Yeah, umm,” Jared chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “A cousin of mine was one of your Patreon members and he had shown me the last set of pictures you sent out. He was sad you quit. You looked so different but I could still see it was you. The glasses and baggy clothes, plus you never mentioned that stuff to anyone so I assumed you didn’t want people to know.”

“Yet, you asked me out, knowing those pictures were out there?!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

“(Y/N), that doesn’t matter to me. What you did before we met won’t change how I feel about you. Plus, I had my moments of pride knowing that everyone’s dream girl was actually with me.”

     They both laughed at his last statement, (Y/N) holding her stomach from the pain of laughter. Jared then pulled her into a tight hug, placing a kiss on her shoulder. 

“I love you for you. What took me by surprise was seeing you like this. It’s one thing to see you in pictures, another in person.”

“I love you too, Jare,” (Y/N) whispered back. They stood in silence for a moment before (Y/N) spoke up. “So, does it bother you people out there have pictures of me in revealing positions?”

“To be honest, no. They have pictures, I have the real thing,” Jared responded with a wide smile before leaning down to kiss her deeply. 

     (Y/N) moaned into the kiss, her arms reaching around his neck to pull him as close as humanly possible, mentally admiring the man. Jared ended the kiss too quickly for (Y/N)’s taste, but what Jared said next made her almost drop to the floor in laughter.

“I did have to take every single picture of yours from my cousin, though. I don’t mind complete strangers but my cousin, it just seemed weird. Bet he will have a heart attack once he finds out who you are and that you are my girlfriend.”

     Jared laughed along with (Y/N), walking back to the party hand in hand. Before they went inside, (Y/N) pulled at Jared’s hand and looked up at him, the worry written on her face yet again.

“What about the fandom?” she asked softly. “How will they take it all once we tell them about us?”

“I doubt they will judge you,” Jared answered, placing a hand against her cheek. “They will love you and hey, maybe they will want a few pointers when it comes to costume design and makeup if they see your pictures.”

     They both giggled and (Y/N) leaned up for a chaste kiss before they moved to go back inside. Once they were inside, Jessica and the girls, Jensen, Danneel and Misha crowded around them. Danneel admired (Y/N)’s costume while Misha and Jensen secretly congratulated Jared on his lucky catch. Even other cast members and crew that were at the party came up to (Y/N) admiring and applauding her costume. After an hour in, Jessica came over to (Y/N) and whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head fast and kissed Jared on the cheek, telling him to get as close to the stage as possible, before following Jessica.

     Both girls went behind the stage, their two other friends waiting behind the black curtain that was behind the DJ. They all got into position and (Y/N) shook her arms and legs from nerves. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to the side to see Jessica smiling, giving her a wink and a thumbs-up, silently letting her know she had this. None of them could sing, but they did lip-sync and dance to the song once at a convention, costumes provided to them.

     That’s when she heard the DJ present them to the crowd and the curtain raised. (Y/N) looked into the crowd and saw Jared standing right in front with a big smile on his face, causing her to smile right back. She lifted her mask over her mouth just as the song “POP/STARS” started to play, ready to show her new friends exactly what she was made of.