#ashebert

[indigowallbreaker]

Hubert Rarepair Week Day 7: Coffee, Ashe/Hubert

Summary:

A knock on the glass front door makes Ashe jump. “C-Coming!” He calls, already rushing forward. He fumbles for his keys, drops them, lets out a noise not unlike a squeak as he picks them up again, and finally unlocks the door. Hubert von Vestra steps inside. “Good evening,” he says. “Thank you again for agreeing to meet so late. You likely would have preferred to get home after a full day’s work.”

Cafe AU time! Made a conscious effort to make this as different as possible from previous "Ashe runs a cafe" fics I've done. Still fluff though :D

Enjoy this final instalment of Hubert Rarepair Week 2023! Good to finally be done!

[huberts-private-counsel-archive]

Hello it's me again~ may I... Ask for a cute little one shot thing for Ashe and Hubert. I'm weak for them....

,HI!! I MEANT TO GET TO THIS A L O T SOONER SKJFHFKJ I HOPE YOU DON’T MIND HOW LONG IT TOOK ;W;

And also, Modern AU for this one!! and...a lot more (attempted) humor than I originally intended lol - as well as a switch from my usual format!! 

....aaand a lot...longer...than I thought...i know you said little but i kinda went off woops

--------------------

Hubert was going to die. That’s it. He was going to perish in just a few moments and the one person he thought would have his back was currently trying not to laugh at him.

Correction. Was laughing at him.

“Edelgard please, this is a serious matter...” Hubert grumbled, though that only succeeded in making her laugh harder...for some reason. 

“I’m sorry Hubert,” Edelgard said as she wiped away the tears in her eyes - liar, she wasn’t actually sorry, Hubert could tell - and sighed. “But truly...how could you expect me to not laugh?”

“Maybe out of respect for a childhood friend?” Hubert buried his head under his arms, trying to figure a way out of this situation while his traitor of a friend simply laughed. 

“Hubert, honestly, how did you expect me to not laugh? What you’ve told me is, pardon my bluntness, absolutely hysterical,” chuckling as she spoke. Perhaps Hubert would have to reconsider helping her get those tickets Dorothea’s new play if this was how she was going to treat him.

What was the matter, exactly? According to Edelgard, something hysterical. That something being the fact that, after what might have been a year or two of stewing in his feelings for a young man named Ashe Ubert, and decided to take the plunge and attempt to confess.

By writing him a letter. With the intent to gift it in person, since he knew that he would not be able to say the words aloud, having not bothered to sign it. And then leaving said letter in front of his dorm room because he was an idiot and a fool who panicked as soon as he knocked on the door, dropping the letter and booking it.

Do you understand Hubert’s dilemma now?

And thus he had come to Edelgard, hoping for sympathy and maybe advice on how to get the letter back if not apologize, only to be met with laughter on her end. The absolute traitor.

“In any case...I don’t believe you have any reason to worry.” Edelgard took a sip from the coffee she had been nursing when Hubert initially asked if they could meet. Thankfully the shop had been quiet when he arrived, with very few patrons aside from himself and Edelgard...

...and yet, with how much she was laughing, Hubert almost would’ve preferred if there were more patrons - if only to have some distraction from his embarrassment.

“I believe I have every reason to worry. I made a fool out of myself,” Hubert lifted his head, only to hold it in his hands. Goddess, the amount of embarrassment he felt from this whole situation was immeasurable - and it was all his own fault! He really had no one to blame here but himself.

And yet...truthfully, he couldn’t find any true regret in this situation. Well, of course he regretted leaving behind the letter, and he defnitely regretted running away like a coward even more, but he couldn’t find himself regretting falling for Ashe. In fact, he found himself struggling just trying to picture a world where he did not fall for Ashe. After all, Ashe was practically a ball of sunshine incarnated as a person - if opposites really did attract, well, that would explain quite a bit. 

There were a million and one reasons as to why and how he realized he’d fallen (including but not limited to the time Hubert had quite literally tripped into Ashe’s arms)...and apparently, he had found it fit to include it all in the letter.

Perhaps if he asked nicely enough, Edelgard’s step-brother would be willing to put him out of his misery.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Ashe hadn’t known what to expect when he first found the letter in front of his dorm room after hearing a knock on the door. He’d reached down to pick it up, but when he looked up to see who left it there, all he’d seen was a flash of black rounding the corner. Maybe he should have given chase, but at the time, he had been distracted by the letter that was now in his hands. 

So he had gone back into his dorm room, carefully opened the letter, and began to read.

And within the first few sentences, felt his entire face burn.

Whoever it was that wrote this letter - and actually wrote it, in very neat (and almost familiar) handwriting - was very, very much in love with him. And very detailed about said love. No, there wasn’t anything gross or creepy in the letter, but with how hot Ashe’s face felt, there might as well be. 

It’s just...he’s never felt so flattered in his entire life? It was almost uncomfortable, with how hot his dorm room seemed all of a sudden when they mentioned how much they adored his cooking, and the way he gushed about his favorite books, and how his eyes apparently lit up whenever getting particularly passionate, and...

Well, you get the gist. The point was, Ashe was definitely flustered. There were just a couple of problems.

First of all, whoever had written the letter had not signed their name. Sure, they had handwritten the entire letter, but Ashe didn’t think comparing the handwriting of every student on the campus would be feasible in any way (although, looking at it again, it did look rather familiar...). 

Second of all...Ashe already had someone he was in love with. So whoever had sent this letter, he was flattered, really, but his heart was already set on one person.

That person being Hubert von Vestra. Maybe it was surprising (Ashe could almost hear Sylvain’s shocked sputtering if he were to ever find out), but Ashe found himself falling head over heels with this man. Perhaps he was rather intimidating when you first meet him, and maybe he seemed far too dark and broody for someone like Ashe to fall for, but that was the thing.

Hubert was more than just some dark and broody forensic science major (though he wouldn’t blame people for thinking otherwise). At his core, Hubert was a truly kind person, despite it only being to people he deemed worthy of it. He was loyal to a fault, and just as protective - Ashe almost giggled remembering the time someone had tried to trip Ashe and ended up getting their own legs swept out from underneath them. There was also the fact that Hubert was fond of cats - Ashe had caught him, on multiple occasions, petting and even feeding the stray cats around their university.

It also didn’t hurt that Hubert was very attractive. Very, very attractive,

Look, point was, Ashe had to find whoever wrote this letter and tell them that he was awfully sorry, but his heart was already set on someone else, and he couldn’t find himself returning their feelings when he was already in love with another. That would just be cruel of him.

So he had headed out, letter in hand, hoping to maybe find Hubert and asked him if he could help him figure this out. No, this wasn’t just an ulterior motive to spend more time with Hubert - though that certainly didn’t hurt - he just knew that if anyone could figure out who wrote it, it would be Hubert. After all, Hubert was extremely smart, almost scarily so. 

Luckily, he didn’t have to look for too long. He spotted Hubert sitting with Edelgard at the university’s coffee shop - though for whatever reason, Edelgard seemed to be laughing as Hubert buried his head in his hands. Did something happen?

“Hey, Hubert!” Ashe called out as he walked over, holding the letter tight. Hubert’s head whipped around to look at him, with a strangely panicked look in his eyes as Edelgard’s simply twinkled with what Ashe guessed was amusement. 

“H-Hello Ashe,” Hubert said in a strained voice once Ashe had reached their table, with Ashe tilting his head at hearing the strained tone. 

“Are you feeling alright? If you aren’t, I can always come back later-” Ashe began saying, though he was cut off. Surprisingly enough, by Edelgard - somehow, she just didn’t seem like the type.

“No, it’s quite alright. I’m certain we would both love to hear what you had to say,” Edelgard said, giving Hubert an odd look.

“A-Alright, if you say so.” Ashe looked between them, a bit concerned, but he supposed Edelgard would know if Hubert was alright or not. “I got this letter earlier today, and I was wondering-”

Hubert suddenly seemed to choke on nothing, coughing hard. Was Edelgard sure that he was alright? Hubert was turning horribly red...although, Edelgard herself didn’t seem too concerned. In fact, she seemed almost amused.

“Well? Go on,” she prompted.

“...I was simply wondering if Hubert could maybe help me find out who wrote it,” Ashe finished almost weakly. 

Hubert’s face seemed to be warring between various shades of red and turning completely pale. He muttered something, so quietly that Ashe couldn’t hear it.

“Did you say something? I’m afraid I couldn’t quite hear you...” Ashe watched as Hubert gave an almost helpless look to Edelgard, as Edelgard simply gestured for him to go on.

Hubert coughed again, and without looking Ashe in the eyes, he spoke. “It...It was me.”

Ashe stared at him for a few moments, completely silent as his mind processed what Hubert had said.

Then...

“WHAT?!”

(Edelgard, admittedly, was having far too much fun watching the both of them stumbling over their words as they both admitted to having at least a year’s worth of feelings for one another. She was glad that they finally managed to get together, even if it was in one of the more ridiculous ways Edelgard had thought of.

Well, she’s definitely seen worse. That worse being her professor’s first attempt at romancing the dean of the school...his fault for taking Sylvain’s advice to heart. At least it worked out between them.

She almost wished she had recorded this. Dorothea would be having a field day with this entire situation.)

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2019 Megaman Valentine’s Day Contest Rules Post

It’s year number 12 of lovey dovey-buku contest art, and I’m back at it again. No secret categories, no surprise themes. These are just the two options you all voted on the most, this time around. Let’s do it!

Two categories, in which you are allowed to submit one entry for each category, if you would like. If you place in one category, you will be automatically disqualified from the other, for reasons of fairness, and to give other people a chance to win a prize.

CATEGORY 1:  The Way To A Mega Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach (Talent)

Content Requirements:

        * A pinup category focusing on Mega Man characters who are cooking, baking, eating, feeding their partner, lounging on or around supersized pieces of food,  or creatively wearing clothing that appears to be made out of aesthetically appealing food products. Basically, some sort of delectable food must be drawn along with at least one character.

        * As this is the talent category, judging will be based primarily on the overall composition of your piece and your artistic skills. How well can you bring delicious, appetizing food to life, along with your delicious, appetizing character(s)?

Who says robots can’t enjoy food? Certainly not Fully Charged Guts Man. XD

A popular proverb has long held that one can often fall deeper in love due to their partner preparing their favorite food or sharing a romantic meal with one another. There have been many instances of Mega Man characters who would likely operate in a similar fashion, due to their love for their fave dishes. Netto has his insatiable craving for curry, while his papa Yuuichirou’s palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, as he holds his fork waiting for mama’s spaghetti. Megaman Volnutt wants his sweets so badly, he’d kick a vending machine to pieces to get them, or bug the lady at Jetlag Bakery for those yummy confectioneries. Kelvin Stelar went a more healthy route and loved carrots as much as his wife’s homemade carrot gratin. And don’t forget the delicious cake waiting for Ashe or Grey in the fridge of Hunter’s Camp 4.

So, your task for this category is to draw the Mega Man character(s) of your choice tempting their Valentine with some delicious food. Some sweets for their sweetie, if you will. But the character you draw can be pretty tempting themselves, to go along with their treats. Create a tastefully seductive combo meal that will leave our mouths watering for more!

Now remember, as much as some of you out there might have first thoughts to draw some melons, bananas and glazed honey buns, this category is not meant to get explicit. No frontal nudity is allowed. So please follow tumblr brand censorship guidelines™ when creating your art, or it will be flagged, hidden from the public and not included in the competition. ;p

CATEGORY 2: Princess Sigmia Returns (Humor)

Content Requirements:

           * A Megaman character who takes the primary form of another, opposite gender Megaman character due to a magical crown/mystery tank/navigator’s headset/biometal/battle chip/etc. This character is looking for love this Valentine’s Day. How they attempt to obtain a date/partner is up to you.

           * As this is the humor category, judging will be based primarily on how funny your piece is. Consideration will also be given to a lesser degree on your creativity in combining your characters into a hybrid, and your overall design for them. But the point of this category is to make us laugh!

Following 2018’s hottest videogame art trend, that of the genderbent transformation of Bowser and crew into Princess Peach-looking alternate forms of themselves, it’s time to continue that spin with more Mega Man characters.

Looking to clean up real nice in the ultimate battle body for a night of love and romance, Princess Sigmia is ready to hit the club/restaurant/park/etc., and this time she’s brought friends.

Your goal for this category is to create the funniest romantic scenario this hybrid character can get into on Valentine’s Day. What made them use this magical, transformative item? What are the reactions of other characters to this newly made up character, who resembles someone they thought they knew? Let your imagination run wild, and draw most hilarious creation you can come up with!

There are no restrictions on what characters you merge, and no, you don’t have to stick with my combination of Sigma and Alia. You can base your transformations off of heroes or villains, minor enemies or main characters. It just has to follow the similar format of gaining the appearance of a familiar character of the opposite gender, while still retaining some characteristics of the original character. So, whether you create Mistress Ashebert, Mega Man VolBonne, Rainbow Cieldevil, Prince Praika, or Crimson Akane, the combinations are all up to you!

PRIZES:

It’s the usual, ‘get-what-you want’ option, for the top 3 artists in each category. As always, if you prefer a cash prize through Paypal, and just need the money, that’s typically the easiest and quickest option to get your reward.

But like normal, I will be flexible and work with the winners to purchase Megaman-related prizes, if there’s something you’ve really had your eye on and would like ordered. Be it a Roll Caskett 4-inch Nel, Fully Charged figures, artbook re-releases, Mastermix issues, or some other trinket. If I can find it within your prize price range and order it to be shipped straight to you, I will do all I can to make it happen!

The winners for both the Talent and Humor categories will receive the following:

          *1st Place: $100 USD or an item(s) up to that value.

          *2nd Place: $50 USD or an item(s) up to that value.

          *3rd Place: $25 USD or an item(s) up to that value.

PARTICIPATION PRIZE RAFFLE:

Since they have gone pretty well in the past, I once again will be offering participation prizes. Some might say a few of these are quite X-cellent prizes, in honor of X’s 25th anniversary this year. In order to be eligible for the participation prizes, all you need to do is enter a pic for either the Talent or Humor Category!

Like previous years, if there is a prize here you are NOT interested in, please note that when you send in your submission(s) to me. Otherwise, you will be automatically entered in the raffle for a chance at each of these items.

If you draw a pic for both the Humor and the Talent Categories, you can double your chances to win! (Odds of course, depending on how many others enter and also draw two pics.) You will be able to add your name into the drawing a second time for just 1 of these prizes.

Raffle Prize #1 – Rockman 8 Anime Cel (with Genga)

Name a more iconic Duo. I’ll wait. This cel of Duo is a tight headshot from the midgame cutscene. After waking up, Duo sees the vial of Evil Energy by Doctor Light’s computer, crushes it, and proceeds to say “HE STILL LIVES!” before screaming in this frame and blasting off through the ceiling of Light Labs.

This is almost quite certainly your last chance to win a Rockman 8 cel from me, so best of luck to all who want to take it home!

Thanks to a generous donation from @silentally, there are also 3 other pairs of raffle prizes (*pictures to be edited in and added soon):

Raffle Prize #2 – Set of Mega Man X Official Complete Works Artbook and a beaded Zero keychain

Raffle Prize #3 – Set of a framed 3D sprite art piece of X’s iconic Vile battle, as Zero comes to the rescue, and a handmade Zero plush

Raffle Prize #4 – Set of Tamashii Buddies Zero figure and a Zero emblem wristband

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

When you submit, I would prefer you to include the following information in this format, along with your entry:

•   (Your name/preferred alias) – As much as I usually know who you are, there’s always someone new or somebody who has a different preference from what their email name says.

•   (Category this entry is for) – You can either say 1 or 2, or Talent/Humor

•   (Participation Prize Eligibility) – Just write “All” if you are interested in the chance to win anything. Write: “Exclude from # __” if you do not have interest in winning a particular participation prize.

In the event you are submitting your second entry, please specify which prize # you would like your bonus chance in the raffle to be put towards.

Only submit your own work, as usual. Any character, major or minor, from any series is allowed. Pairing characters from different series is totally allowed. Same-gender pairings are completely fine. OCs are allowed, as long as your art contains at least one canon Megaman character.

As always, participants are allowed to submit from all over the world. It’s easier for me to get prizes to US entrants, because international shipping is complicated and pricey, but I’ll do what I can for you guys who aren’t in the States.

Paypal is still the preferred method for cash prize payouts. Please have a valid account to receive your winnings.

Youngin's, get your parents permission before entering.

Entries do not need to be colored, but it is preferred. The more effort put into things as always, the better chance you have!

Entries can either be e-mailed to me at rock2125[at]hotmail[dot]com, or you can just PM/note me a link to your pic.

DO NOT post your pics in this journal, your dA galleries, Twitter, tumblr blogs, other sites, etc. until the contest is over. This is the fairest way for competitive reasons. I prefer to keep them all secret until the deadline has passed.

I'll edit a confirmed entry list in this thread when I receive them. So you won't be in the dark about whether or not I've received your entry.

DEADLINE:

The deadline for this contest will be Tuesday, February 12th, 2019 by 11:59PM CST. *EXTENDED!* New deadline is Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. This gives you a little more than 5 weeks to finish your entry!

MISCELLANEOUS INFO:

As usual, If you don't plan to enter, but would like to help me judge, please let me know through DM or mention so here. Never hurts to have extra opinions on all the entries.

Bug me with questions if you have any. Please join in, and good luck to everyone who enters!

CONFIRMED ENTRIES:

Cat. 1 (Talent) - @prar-draws, @larytello, @drewblossom, @bracedshark, subzeroiceskater, @irischroma, @papillonthepirate, SockMonkii

Cat. 2 (Humor) - @drewblossom (x2), @bracedshark, subzeroiceskater, 

[huberts-private-counsel-archive]

I have grown to love Hubert so much thanks to my girlfriend roleplaying him. He can be a soft boi/man. That being said... I love him with Ashe... *Rarepair intensifies*

That is a beyond valid reason to love Hubert, I gotta say

and i swear i mean to answer these in order but i’m just,,,really tired rn but still wanna get something out and the other asks require a little too much brain power rn

ANYWAY!! HUBERT/ASHE!!! That’s definitely a new rarepair to add to the pile! XD

A couple headcanons off the top of my head...I do like to imagine one of the things they do just as a domestic bonding activity is cook. Hubert isn’t nearly as skilled as Ashe, but he does eventually learn and it becomes something they do to spend time together. In fact, it starts becoming just as common to find Hubert in the kitchen cooking with Ashe as it is to find Hubert shadowing Edelgard. 

I also like to think Hubert is the first person Ashe ends up going to whenever he makes something new. He says it’s because he would just like a second opinion, but really, it’s because Hubert skips A Lot of meals, and Ashe is just trying to make up for them all. Hubert of course realizes this early on...but he chooses not to say anything, since Ashe seems to think he’s being sneaky and Hubert doesn’t want to ruin that for him.