#cross being grouchy but also a mentor

[zaana]

best teamup in the show

[soulmate-game]

Part 2 of the Marinette x Peter soulmate oneshot

Part 1 

—*—*—*—*—*

“And here,” the grouchy man in front of her held out a ring, making his daughter raise an eyebrow. His grey-blue eyes rolled almost to the back of his skull at the silent communication. “Using Kaalki for all your traveling is extremely inefficient. He’s eating all my sugar cubes.”

“You can just conjure up more,” Marinette countered, smirking in amusement as she took the sling ring from him. She was seventeen now, and had been visiting her father about once a month for the past few months, almost a year, since she first met him after he made a deal with Dormammu and essentially saved their entire reality.

“Relying on another living being for your teleportation is stupid,” her father argued, crossing his arms. “It delays you. You might not be the best at using a sling ring, but I made sure you can operate it reliably. This way, you always have an option for a near instantaneous escape.”

Marinette just snorted and slipped on the ring, right next to the silver one that sat on her right thumb. Her father didn’t approve of her wielding both Creation and Destruction at once, especially considering the fact that he knew firsthand how much energy it took to wield something with the power of an Infinity Stone, but she still did it regardless.

Adrien needed a break from the Miraculous after his father was arrested, and Marinette was only making sure that the two most sought after Miraculous were as safe as possible until she could find someone to trust as a new Cat. She wasn’t about to give up being Ladybug anytime soon just so she could retire the ring.

“Whatever you say, Dad,” she said cheerfully, ignoring his huff of annoyance at her dismissive response. Quickly leaning in, she pecked him on the cheek and jogged backwards. “See you next month!” She waved happily. Seeing the slight blush on her father’s cheeks and the way he stubbornly tried to pretend like he didn’t like the familial affection at all and was not at all a doting father figure who spoiled his daughter rotten (he was), made Marinette burst into laughter even as she waved goodbye to Wong and left out of the front door of the New York Sanctum.

She would get some shopping in the fashion district done first, and then use the sling ring to get back to Paris. Kaalki could use the rest, not that she would ever admit it to her dad.

She was browsing a high-end tailor, looking at the suits they had on display, when the door opened. She didn’t bother looking back to see who had entered, hoping that whatever rich client just came in would not question the little Asian teenager critically analyzing the merchandise. She had to be up to date on both male and female fashion, after all, and her suit construction could always use improvement. She was inspecting the way that a certain collar was stitched when the voices of the two people who had entered finally caught her attention.

“But I don’t need it,” a younger voice argued, sounding as if the owner of said voice was pouting. “And you shouldn’t spend that kind of money on me.”

“You should know by now that money doesn’t matter to me, kid. Besides, this is more efficient. Instead of wasting energy punching a guy in the face and possibly getting hurt, you just press this button and run. Help will be on the way, and if your aim is good then the guy’ll be tazed. Everyone wins.”

“Mister Staaaarrrrkkkk,” the younger voice, a boy Marinette realized once she looked up, whined. “You’re already getting me a probably super expensive suit because you won’t let me wear my old one to your party—“

“Your old one is a mess, no offense, and the pants are too short.”

“—That’s not the point, Mister Stark.”

“And anyone coming with me to my own party is gonna look fantastic.”

“You went to a party last year in an Iron Man t-shirt under a suit jacket and sneakers, Mister Stark.”

“Okay, but I look fantastic in anything. Have you seen me? I’m gorgeous.”

“Are you saying he doesn’t look good in anything?” Marinette chose to finally speak up, her mouth already curled up into a wide smile. They reminded her of how she acted with her father. Not even the fact that she was talking to Tony goddamned Stark could make her back down now that she had seen him acting so paternal and soft.

The famous engineer gaped at her for a second, and the boy next to him crossed his arms and smiled wickedly.

“Yeah, Mister Stark. Are you saying I’m not gorgeous?”

“What—I—this is betrayal. Ganging up on a guy is not fair play,” the billionaire protested childishly, pointing to each of them as if he expected that to be intimidating. It just came off fatherly. “You know what? Fine. Go to my gala in one of your science pun t-shirts, it’s not like I care anyway since I’ll be doing the same thing. We can even wear the exact same shirt if you want. But when Pepper kills us both, it’s your fault.”

Both teenagers laughed at the poor guy’s dramatics. The teenaged designer decided to introduce herself, walking over and holding out her hand to the boy. “I’m Marinette. I didn’t know Tony Stark had a son.”

The boy instantly went beet red, and started stammering. Marinette winced, feeling bad since she knew exactly how that felt. She was usually on the opposite end of an interaction like this, after all.

“Dad’s not my Stark. I mean Mister Dad isn’t— I mean—“

“He’s my intern,” Tony saved him, clapping a firm hand on the boy’s upper arm to try and ground him. Marinette furrowed her brows, noticing how Stark had carefully avoided touching his “intern’s” (she wasn’t buying that story for a second) shoulder. But the boy had instantly relaxed, so Marinette tried not to think too hard about it.

Finally, he took Marinette’s hand and shook it. “I’m Peter. Peter Parker. The intern.”

Marinette was about to reply, but she felt her shoulders start to tingle. Then a flash of bright light erupted, and almost blinded them. Peter and Marinette just stared at each other for a moment before movement caught their eyes, and made both of them stumble back in shock.

“You have two mini-me’s on your shoulders!” Peter cried, pointing to Marinette.

“No, you have two mini-ME’s on YOUR shoulders!” She shot back, pointing to him. Sure enough, he had a disturbingly Kwami-looking mini-Marinette hovering over one of his shoulders dressed in all blue. Over his other shoulder was an equally chibi, Kwami-looking version of Ladybug. Domino mask and all.

Marinette stumbled back a few extra steps when her own floating… things… flew in front of her face. One was clearly a mini Peter, also dressed in all blue just like the miniature version of herself that Peter had. But the other one was a mini—

“Oh my god,” she whispered, looking straight at Peter—no, at her soulmate— as her floating versions of him returned back to float over her shoulders. “You’re—“

“Shh!” He held a finger over his lips. Marinette shut her mouth, realizing a little too late that she had just been about to expose his secret identity. Big no-no, and she knew it.

“I’m sorry, but what the fuck?” Tony suddenly spoke up, looking at the both of them like they had grown second heads. “You guys just started freaking out after Peter introduced himself, and I’m confused.”

“Wait, you didn’t see that?” Peter demanded, staring at his mentor in disbelief. “The bright flash of light, the floating anime-fairy versions of ourselves floating over each other’s shoulders, you didn’t see ANY of that?”

Confusion melted away into realization, which transformed into mischief on Tony’s face. “Ohh, I see what’s going on. You’re soulmates.”

“Oh my god we’re soulmates,” Peter breathed, looking over to a still-shell shocked and frozen Marinette. “I just met my soulmate. Oh my god.”

“Mon Dieu,” Marinette couldn’t help slipping back into French. She began to ramble in her native language; “I can’t believe this. What are the floating things supposed to be anyway? I thought the marks on our shoulders were our Marks, that we could just feel extreme pain from one another. This doesn’t make sense. What does this mean? Did our Bond evolve once we met? What can we do now? Why can’t soul bonds respect secret identities? Oh Kwami I have to tell my parents and that is going to be a nightmare and—“

“Oh my god, she’s just as bad as you,” Tony remarked, impressed as he watched the little Asian girl ramble on in rapid French. Luckily, his title was Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, emphasis on Genius, and he was fluent enough to keep up with what she said.

“Relax,” he interrupted gently in the same language, shocking her into paying attention and stopping her rambling. “We can always get Peter’s suit another day, this is more important. So how about we go back to the Tower—“

Wrong thing to say.

“Avenger’s Tower? The home to all of the primary active Avengers, the headquarters for the New York branch of Stark Industries? The single most intimidating building in the whole city, THAT tower?” Marinette rambled, still in French, with absolute horror written all over her face. “I would pass out before we got inside.”

Tony glanced over at a very confused but worried Peter, who didn’t understand a word of what was being said but could clearly read the distress on his soulmate’s face. “She’s your other half, alright,” he told him in English before looking back to the girl. “Where do you want to go, then?”

Marinette opened her mouth, but the mini-Peter flew in front of her face and gave her cheek a hug. She blinked, feeling bracing coolness coming from where the pixie-creature touched her skin. It brought her back to the present, and allowed her to take a deep breath and calm down. “Thanks,” she said to the little thing, cupping her hand around it gently to try and simulate a hug of her own before looking back at the boys in front of her (because let’s be real, Stark was only a “man” half the time and a “man-child” the rest).

Finally lucid enough to switch back to English, Marinette answered Tony. “I actually came here to visit my dad. My biological father, technically. We can go to his place.”

Sure, he’d be annoyed at her at first, but once Marinette explained he would calm down. Probably.

Tony agreed, and led her out to the sports car they had taken to get over here.

“Good thing Peter talked me out of bringing a two-seater, huh?”

—*—*—*—*—*

“Don’t touch that,” Marinette warmed, leaping forward to keep Peter’s hands off of a potentially dangerous magical artifact. She would be more annoyed if Peter didn’t look suitably guilty, or have a near permanent sparkle of wonder and awe on his face from seeing everything in the Sanctum.

“This is like being in Harry Potter! I’m Hufflepuff by the way, what about you?” The hyper boy asked her, his excitement at all the magic surrounding him overruling his natural shyness. “But for real, the special effects you guys have is ridiculous. And actually putting up a three-dimensional projector outside to hide the true appearance of the building? How much money do you have?”

“For the last time, Peter,” Marinette said slowly, crossing her arms with barely disguised amusement. “No projectors. No technology. This is all legitimate magic.”

“Legitimate magic doesn’t exist,” he shot back with an eye roll. Marinette just raised her eyebrows.

“You regularly visit a tower and mentor with a guy who works with a Norse god, a literal witch, a large green buff guy, and an Android brought to life by magic.”

“...Okay, But…”

Marinette would also be a lot more annoyed at how hard Peter was to convince, if she didn’t know full well that she got the better end of the deal. Her father was the one in charge of Stark, which was undoubtedly the shorter end of the stick. Already the billionaire had activated five ancient artifacts, gotten bodily pulled away by Strange from another four, and her father had finally decided to just teleport the mechanic away when Peter wasn’t looking. Marinette didn’t want to know what her dad decided was necessary to convince Stark that magic was real and he should shut up and stop acting superior.

Her dad was a hypocrite, she knew it. She also knew he was probably having the time of his life doing to Stark what was probably done to him when he was first introduced to Sorcery.

By the time Strange had returned with a shaken up and very annoyed Tony Stark (looking like a very smug cat as even the Cloak preened on his shoulders), Marinette had already introduced Peter to the Kwami and teleported him to all of the seven wonders of the world.

For some reason, it was her ladybug transformation, of all things, that finally proved to Peter that magic was real. Something about magical girls and anime..? Marinette couldn’t completely follow his rapid rambling. She was good at English, and had mastered more vocabulary than most native speakers because of her constant reading of medical and scientific journals, but she still wasn’t great at deciphering when people spoke too quickly.

“All done, Dad?” She asked cheerfully, earning a half-hearted glare from the billionaire next to him. Her father just smirked.

“Indeed. Now, what was the reason you came back to the Sanctum without warning with two outsiders, one of which is most definitely going to give me recurring migraines?” He asked, eyes trailing over as the mechanic huffed and joined his mentee (son). Then, the sorcerer’s eyes landed on the four floating miniatures of the two teens in the room. “Oh. You have awakened your Bond.”

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed, looking over at Peter. Seeing a mini-her and mini-Ladybug just swinging their legs happily as they sat on his shoulders was surreal. Then again, his mini-selves were attracting his own, much more exasperated, attention. His mini-him was just sleeping on his stomach on Marinette’s right shoulder, while his mini-Spider-Man was doing a two-finger handstand and trying to impress the Cloak.

The Cloak clapped two of its corners in support, to which Strange pretended not to notice.

“We were, well I was anyway, hoping you could explain,” Marinette told her father. “My magic doesn’t really help with analyzing non-Miraculous things, and soulbonds are completely out of my expertise. With how I’m supposed to be back in Paris already, I figured getting a crash course from you as to what to expect would be better. Peter and I probably won’t be able to hang out in person very much until school let’s out,” she explained.

“Wait, you have magic too?” Tony asked, nose scrunched up. Meanwhile, Peter’s eyes were wide.

“You’re from Paris? What are you doing her—oh my god did you teleport? Like how you took me to see the Sphinx?!” He asked, bouncing up and down on his feet. Marinette smiled at his enthusiasm, liking how he wasn’t as opposed to magic as his father figure certainly was.

“Yes, I teleported. I visit my father every month, not that my parents know.”

“Her mother and step father only know that she calls me, and they believe that I occasionally fly over to visit her,” Stephen filled in casually as he flattened parts of his uniform and just generally moved his hands around to disguise the trembling in them as subtly as possible. They had gotten better over time, with him performing simple physical therapy exercises every day and his magic helping, but he no longer desired to get rid of the damage entirely. He knew he no longer needed to. “But they know nothing about magic, or the fact that she occasionally parades across Paris as a spotted heroine.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Tony asked, turning to his son— mentee’s— Bonded with his eyebrows raised high on his head. “Why did I never hear about a hero in Paris? Trust me, I look.”

“And I am very good at hiding,” Marinette retorted, her eye roll showing very clearly who she was related to. “The magic of the Miraculous helped. The super villain that used to plague Paris, Gabriel Agreste, used to wield the Miraculous of Transmission. The butterfly,” she told the boys easily. “His powers allowed him to control the transmission of information outside of Paris, though it was more of a… how do you say…” Marinette paused, allowing her father to chime in;

“Passive ability,” The older magic user offered up. “He didn’t want the Avengers or anyone else to interfere, so his abilities passively controlled transmission of Paris news so that it didn’t reach anyone that might bright that to pass. It helps that Marinette’s own powers include completely reversing the damage caused by a Miraculous. Every time the Eiffel Tower was knocked over or turned to ash, she brought it back as if nothing had happened,” he explained. His daughter nodded.

“So any rumors of Paris having a villain would probably have been seen as jokes,” Marinette told him gently, her smile lopsided. “Even the Ladyblog, a now defunct website that used to cover all the attacks, has received a lot of comments from international viewers about how good the special effects were or how intrigued they were by the ‘show’s premise,’” she admitted, using finger quotations for emphasis.

“But you got him, right? The bad guy?” Peter asked, looking straight into Marinette’s eyes. She giggled and nodded.

“Oh yeah. Turns out he was the father of the guy I had a crush on, so,” she made a face. “Not the best situation ever. But his son was also secretly my superhero partner the whole time, which made the situation both better and worse in several ways.”

“Oh hey, me too!” Peter said excitedly, his face also squishing into something uncomfortable. “Minus the superhero partner part. But a while back, I took down this guy, the Vulture, who turned out to be the father of this girl I liked.”

“It’s the worst, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah.” He agreed.

“Okay, back to the topic at hand,” Strange interrupted, earning a sigh of relief from the only other adult in the room.

“Thank Science, I did not want to hear another word about teenage romance,” Tony clapped his hands together. “So, what’s up with their Connection, Doc?”

After briefly closing his eyes for patience, Doctor Strange raised one slightly shaking hand and summoned up a few glowing symbols. Muttering under his breath, he walked a loose circle around the two teenagers and bathed them in the shining orange light. After about a minute of this he stepped back with a hum of thought and a single raised eyebrow. His lips quirking into a disturbingly amused smirk did not help Marinette or Peter’s nerves.

Both naturally nervous teens squirmed impatiently.

“What few people know is that the Universe actually has a name for each type of essence link, or what most people know colloquially as a soul bond,” he explained, purposefully sounding pompous to annoy Tony, who scoffed. “The name for your bond is ‘Shoulder Angels’ and I believe it is supposed to mimic the classic devil and angel on the shoulder trope,” he crossed his arms with far too much joy in his eyes. “The blue one is your civilian self, which embodies everything normal and relatively healthy. It keeps you grounded in reality and helps you through healthy pain and emotions. The red one is your hero alter ego, which represents whimsy, encourages creativity, and will help you through toxic situations. You can call it your personal hero, really. Whenever you are experiencing toxic emotions, a dangerous situation, or anything similar, it will contact your Linked partner and allow them to comfort you by astral projecting them to you or, in an extreme situation, actually teleporting them to you. Other than that and their base characteristics, they have simplified versions of your own personalities.”

“So, the drawings on our shoulders,” Marinette said slowly. “Are they still there, or did they turn into these…” she looked at the little things again. “Fairy things?”

Stephen smiled proudly. “Always asking the right questions. Yes, the symbols were just a placeholder and altogether weaker version since you had not met in person. They are gone now, and only the two of you or experienced magic users can see your essence sprites. Although, once you practice with them you will be able to show them to people you trust. But that will take time.”

“I see…” Marinette looked over at Peter. “So, uh. Hi. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and sometimes Paris’s superhero Ladybug. Want my phone number?”

—*—*—*—*—*

“Oh come on, a Churro is totally a real pastry,” Peter, currently Spider-Man, argued with the Marinette-sprite on his shoulder. The little chibi puffed out it’s cheeks and tapped it’s toe on the open air before pointing to a bakery that had good looking cookies and cupcakes in its store window. “Oh no, those are expensive and I’m broke. This might be cheap street-churro, but it’s good and I’m eating it. See?” He crunched a giant bite of his fried snack. “Mmmm.”

Mini-Bug on his other shoulder just sighed heavily in defeat.

“Wow, I didn’t know you spoke to yourself Spidey. Did ya go crazy over the weekend?” A familiar voice asked from behind him, making Spider-Man groan and shove the rest of his churro into his mouth. After he swallowed, he stood and turned to the new figure on the roof behind him.

“No, Wade. I met my soulmate, and now we have little mini-us-es on our shoulders. I have mini-hers and she has mini-me’s. Mini-her number one is trying to convince me that churros are not real pastries,” he jabbed his thumb at the one he was talking about. “Mini-her number two is just trying to get me to eat more healthy, which is not working either.”

“Oh wow, I have mini-me’s too! But they are just me, not my soulmate.”

“Do you have two bonds?” Spidey asked, tilting his head. Wade Wilson, also known as Deadpool, shook his head.

“Nah. My soulmate and I had a wound sharing bond.”

Peter opened and closed his mouth, deciding to just pull his mask back down over his mouth and ignore that statement to the best of his ability. He had seen Wade literally torn in half and shot in the head way more times than he could count, and he doubted Wade’s soulmate could heal like he could.

“So what you’re telling me,” Spidey said slowly, defaulting to his usual way of handling heavy topics. “Is that you’re just crazy.”

Wade pulled out a gun, and Spider-Man just laughed as he jumped off the side of the building to swing away. Mini-Marinette glared at him, but Mini-Ladybug was laughing right alongside him. He grinned at both of them behind his mask. Yeah, they couldn’t talk and weren’t replacements for the real thing, but it was nice having their company.

—*—*—*—*—*

That’s all I got for now. I might add a couple scenes here and there if I get inspiration, but for now this is it. Hope it’s okay.

[dovakhiindrabbles]

Howdy! While I’ve been gone I’ve been hinting at a Dragonborn character that I’ve been excited to introduce! While I showed her character earlier, she’s changed quite a bit from her initial creation! I’m super excited to write about her on this blog and elaborate on her character with you all! Rosie is one of my favorite characters I’ve made and I hope you like her just as much as I do! So, here’s her introduction and general info! Feel free to ask questions about her if you’re interested! (I’d be super excited to answer them!) 


Rosalie Sevilen Julienus-Allam 

Age: 24 years

Race: Redguard (Father’s side), Nord/Imperial (Mother’s side) 

Preferred Fighting Style: Melee, especially two-handed weaponry (Her favorite is the war-hammer!) 

Notable Family: Emeline (Mother), Adnan (Father), Tulius (Grandfather -mother’s side), Rosalie Sr. (Grandmother – mother’s side), Haanee (Grandfather – father’s side), and Ehsan (Grandmother – father’s side) Other Important Figures: Eldrims (Mentor/Grouchy old Neighbor), Paarathurnax (Mentor/Honorary Dragon Grandfather)

Personality: 

“I’m just trying to do what I can to help everyone. I never said I had a plan as to how I’d do that!” 

Having the soul of a fire-breathing beast beyond belief is an oddly accurate description of Rosalie, and it’s not for the literal fact that as the Dragonborn, she does have the soul of a dragon. Rosalie is a firecracker with a passion and zest for life unlike any other and despite her small size – is hardly intimidated by anything or anyone. However, unlike her dragon counterparts, Rosalie is a complete softie with a heart of gold. She’s extremely eager to help others and very warm, inviting, and bubbly to all that cross her path – and strives to make the world a better place for everyone (Making her an extreme opponent to Ulfric’s beliefs – they dummy hate each other) 

Nevertheless, despite her fervent attempts to make others happy and do right by those around her, Rosalie struggles a bit with her own foolhardiness.(Which is hardly helped by the revelation that she has insane powers/abilities) She’s incredibly reckless as a result of her excitement to explore the grand, wide world of Skyrim and admittedly, due to her secluded life as a child, is terribly naive. However, no matter her obstacles, Rosie is sure to leave a story wherever she goes. (Chaotic good for sure!)

Generally, Rosalie is: Earnest, Bubbly, Open-minded, Selfless, Easily-Excited, Well-Meaning, Determined, Principled, Loyal, Compassionate, Considerate, Adventurous, and Enthusiastic. However, Rosalie also is: Stubborn, Sheltered, Impulsive, and Naive

History/Family Background: 

Rosalie was raised by her two parents away in the mountains amidst the fear and uncertainty after the Great War. Closest to Solitude, her only two places she visited among her snowy cottage was Skyrim’s Capital and Cyrodil as a result of her two families! 

Speaking of families, Rosalie’s is perhaps the most diverse and unique among Skyrim. Her quiet, gentle father, Adnan’s great grandparents migrated directly from Hammerfell by special request of the then Jarl due to their famed talents in welding/metal-crafting! The offer was simply too much to refuse and admittedly, the family saw it as an attempt to mend uneasy relations between the Nords and Redguards! Thankfully, it was mostly a success and led to the sizable, if scattered population of Redgaurds in Skyrim!

On her mother’s side, snarky and spunky former soldier, Emeline, is the daughter of famed, respected General Tulius and former legate Rosalie Sr. who Rosie was named after. Years ago, Tulius and Rosalie Sr. met when Tulius was given the difficult task of keeping her out of nonsense for more than a day. She was under his command as a new, admittedly nervous captain and she was absolutely out of control. It’s a total enemies-to-friends-to lovers thing as Tulius tries to keep her from fighting anything that moves and she tries to loosen up the uptight dreamer. Ulfric and Rosalie Sr. had a... strained relationship -- initially with Ulfric placed under her command and looking up to her, and Rosalie Sr. now trying but ultimately failing to keep him from ruin.  When it came to the end of the war – Rosalie Sr. Only wanted an end to the bloodshed, a peaceful life crafted by love and family. Ulfric, in his time as a prisoner, had seen too much to want such a thing, and when they reunite it’s far from happy and ends with the death of Rosie’s grandmother. (Only further securing her hatred of Ulfric, but leads to much deeper, personal complexities rooted in their relationship)

** Rosie and her grandfather are extremely close, especially after the loss of Rosalie Sr. as Tulius finds comfort in seeing just how much of his spouse lives on in Rosie. She’s one of the few people who can still make the bitter old man laugh and he fondly has nicknamed her ‘Rosebud’. 
While not of biological relation, Eldrims Bedaleth found a great spot in Rosalie’s heart as her neighbor and first friend as a child. Fleeing from Windhelm as the stigma against Elves, Khajiit, and Argonians, grew, Eldrims was sculpted into a bitter, cold-hearted man due to the hatred he was suddenly met with in his old home of Skyrim. Thankfully, his heart of stone was soon melted after being bombarded with unwelcome visits from a curious, exhilarated child Rosie, and while he still tries to play the part of a snappy old man, he’s a complete sap for the Dragonborn.

Relationships: 

- Out of everyone else in Skyrim, Farkas is absolutely the person she trusts most and almost always has by her side – they’re practically tethered at the hip! The first person she met in Whiterun after helping against a troll, Farkas was all too excited to introduce her to the Companions and afterward, Farkas found himself not too keen to leave her side. He balances out her fierce excitement with his gentle, demeanor and she gifts him with the confidence and encouragement needed to overcome his insecurities regarding his intelligence and pain from his past. Somehow, she’s able to make the quiet giant practically chatty and throughout the years comes to understand him like no one else. Through all their adventures, however, feelings beyond friendship begin and a notoriously ridiculous case of mutual pining begins…

- Totally not bitter runner-up to the title of Rosalie’s best friend, Hadvar was in fact, the first person Rosalie met in Skyrim – even if under less than ideal circumstances. After saving her in the fiery destruction in Helgen, the months spent together in Riverwood are memories the two will truly never forget. Rosalie may or may not have had a tiny bit of a crush on the soldier, and while the window closed when Rosalie left Riverwood, it didn’t stop Hadvar from catching feelings heavy and hard – not that he’d ever admit it aloud, of course. The two write to each other very often and when together, the two are complete doofuses. 

- Someone has to keep Rosalie in check and Lydia was the perfect pick for the job. Technically housecarl, actually dear friend, Lydia is extremely watchful over little excitable Rosalie whose soft heart has gotten her into more trouble than she probably realizes. (Farkas and Lydia are proud founders of the ‘Rosalie Protection Squad’) Rosalie helps Lydia to find love with Ysolda and helps her to find comfort in domesticity and a general understanding of social behavior – gifting Lydia with kindness rarely found in the tundras of Skyrim – it’s something she never forgets. 

- While Farkas and Rosalie are just about soulmates, Rosie and Vilkas are very close to arch-enemies as one can get without outright declaring war. From the moment Rosalie defeated her first dragon in Whiterun, Vilkas has seemingly been rude and spiteful to the ‘mountain woman’ without reason. They bicker constantly, and while many saw it as a rivalry without end, Kodlak’s solution to send them to Markarth may cause the rift between them to finally be sealed…

- If Rosalie truly hates anyone, it’s Ulfric, without a single doubt, she despises him beyond belief for his treatment of non-humans and murder of her grandmother. Their interactions are almost always disastrous and full of shouting matches, and this poison between them makes the Civil War a time in the history of Skyrim nothing short of legendary. 

- Paarathurnax and Rosalie have a sweet familial history rooted in her childhood that made their reunion all the sweeter. Paarathurnax, while not quite an advisor, gives words of wisdom that stick to Rosalie for the rest of her life and her in return, has provided him a friendship he would’ve once thought impossible. (Their past is something I’m very much looking forward to elaborating on!) 

** There are more relationships with Rosalie beyond this, but these are who I’d consider of most importance to her immediate story against Alduin and overall introduction to the world of Skyrim. 

Special/Fun Facts:

- Throughout her life, Rosalie develops more draconic features, especially as her dragon soul attempts to have more and more control of her. As a result, she develops fangs and smaller, thinner pupils – amid other things as the years go by. Alongside these traits, Rosalie as well is unable to take on other forms, as a result of her soul. Meaning, she’s physically incapable of becoming a werewolf or vampire, and she tried when being inducted in the circle. It was a horrifyingly agonizing experience as her body rejected the turning. (Farkas fretted over her for days afterward – he was a mess)

*** Speaking of her Dragon soul, it’s resulted in a very painful, sorrowful revelation for Rosalie that while I won’t reveal just yet, does threaten to shatter her entire world and send her spiraling as the years pass on. 

- During her first fight against a dragon in Whiterun, in an effort to protect the soldiers within the tower as Mirmulnir attempts to send fire barreling inside Rosalie uses herself as a human shield, and while it works it causes Rosalie to have long, searing burn scars all over her back. It leaves her with extreme insecurity and a shot to her confidence but later on the revelation of her burns to Farkas leads to him opening up about his past and his own scars, giving her the strength to see the scars as not something to be ashamed of but as a reminder of her strength and what she overcame. 

- Growing up in the mountains, Rosalie knew very little of flowers. (Farthest she traveled was Cyrodil and Solitude, mainly traveling through the mountains during these treks) Subsequently, when arriving in Skyrim, she becomes obsessed with them! She adores all the different colors, shapes, and sizes they can take and has made it a life mission of hers to collect and care for them! (Her favorite are Baby’s Breath, Dogwood, and Gladiolus though she keeps quite a bit of Forget-Me-Nots – they’re Farkas’s favorite)

- Rosalie is the proud owner of a complete asshole of a horse, Enoch. He doesn’t like a single other soul but Rosalie and this poor-temper is what got Rosalie to buy him at a cheaper price. Somehow, she warmed his frigid soul, but it still terrifies Rosalie nonetheless to see her loyal steed rush in to help in a fight. 

- Rosalie’s skin is very used to cloudy weather, often hidden away from sunlight so when she reaches sunny central Skyrim she soon becomes speckled with freckles! They’re all over her cheeks, hands, and arms especially. She fondly calls them ‘sunspots’. 

- Rosalie has a very strange and extreme fear of mudcrabs. They’re just… so strange in comparison to everything else in Skyrim – she hates their legs and their claws and she’ll scream at the top of her lungs when she initially first comes around them.

- She cannot cook to save her life, though Farkas is oddly talented and has tried to teach her many, many times to no avail. (The two often end up in food-fights or in laughing messes anyways) She loves the art of cooking despite this, and is often seen watching with wide eyes whenever Farkas is preparing something. 

- Rosalie also copes extremely well in the cold, she spent most of her childhood there after all! But as a result, her body kind of freaks out in hotter climates (Which is a little ironic considering her Hammerfell origins) 

- Rosie isn’t very adept at magic but bless her heart she tries. Eldrims attempted to teach her when she was little, but she only seemed to excel with destructive magic (and Emeline wasn’t the biggest fan of her daughter accidentally blowing fireballs through the kitchen – secretly though Adnan thought it was hilarious and may or may not have secretly encouraged her to keep learning)

[sunnymoon-sunshine]

Continuing from my last post containing Feathertail, she and her brother leave RiverClan for ThunderClan after Hawkfrost (and unintentionally Leopardstar) push them out. The forest cats greet them at Sunningrocks with mixed reactions - the older cats are exasperated that Greystripe’s kits seem to think ThunderClan is some place to hide out until the storm is over. “They’ll be back when RiverClan begs for forgiveness, you mark my words.” Are words one would expect from a grouchy elder, but the senior warriors of ThunderClan are starving. They are faring much worse than RiverClan, who have been living fat and fine off the river, even with the absense of land prey.

The younger cats, however, remember Feathertail and Stormfur well from their stay in ThunderClan during the darkest days of the forest. Ashfur and Ferncloud are both warm and welcoming, though visably tired and frazzled. Ferncloud can barely produce enough milk to feed her kits. Every able warrior is scouring the forest for prey. Brambleheart and Squirrelpaw, both still plump from their journey, have thrown themselves into every patrol to help assuage their guilt. Feathertail and Stormfur join them on every one. Their pelts feel hot, their paws prickle at the stares of others, and they feel acutely out of place - yet they’re determined to stay. “We’ve no home in RiverClan anymore.” Stormfur insists to Firestar. “Not with... current events going on.”

Firestar welcomes them graciously. Not only are they his best friend’s children, but they’re hardworking warriors, and his daughter swears from the forest and back that they’re some of the best cats she knows. He has already been swayed to leave the forest - it doesn’t take much effort, considering the state of ThunderClan. It fascinates Feathertail how adamant he is that the other clans come with him, however. Greystripe also welcomes them with warm purrs and excitement - his children have decided to come to ThunderClan! It’s a surprise that’s laced with concern. What happened in RiverClan? The siblings agree, they’ll explain it all later.

Even after the missing cats are freed and Greystripe goes missing, Feathertail and Stormfur vow to stick in ThunderClan. It comes to a heartbreaking goodbye at the river, where Feathertail presses her nose to Mistyfoot’s. She’d tried to convince them to come back, but it was no use. Tehy no longer felt safe in RiverClan. Not as long as Hawkfrost was there. And they had something to prove to the ThunderClan cats - they weren’t about to run home at the first sight of danger.

Her old mentor looks ragged, tired. But there’s a certain fury contained in those fierce blue eyes that would make a weaker warrior cower in fear. But Feathertail felt nothing but warmth from it. The righteous anger eminating from Mistyfoot wasn’t a threat - it was a promise. To Feathertail and Stormfur, and to Stonefur.

“I’m going to drag both of them from one side of the camp to the other,” came Mistyfoot’s quiet hiss. Feathertail had never, not once, heard Mistyfoot speak so violently. “Questioning you, questioning your loyalty, and making Hawkfrost deputy. She’ll never learn, will she?” The blue-grey she-cat spat at the ground. She returns as RiverClan’s rightful deputy, a relief to Silverstream’s half-clan kits.

The journey is a long and hard one. Feathertail and Stormfur sway between their old RiverClan clanmates and their new ThunderClan ones. In fact, all the clans seem much more united than they once were. She never thought she’d walk next to a ShadowClan cat while she helped carry a WindClan kit, yet this was the new reality for the time being. She sticks close to Brambleheart and Squirrelpaw the most, however - in fact, all the prophecy cats find themselves drawn to each other during their second journey to the sun-drown place.

Crowpaw still has an obvious itch to talk to her, walk with her, yet Feathertail can’t bring herself to walk alone with him. He’d barely entered her thoughts for the past few weeks, and while she still carried a soft spot for him, she could never bring herself to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She keeps a careful distance between them. Especially now that she has ThunderClan’s eyes hot on her pelt. It’s hard enough for her to be seen with RiverClan cats, what would happen if she had an affair? The journey is the effective end to their budding relationship.

They go along the path of the mountains at the insistence of the prophecy cats. While there, the tribe cats take care of them. They revere Feathertail as their hero, welcome her and her clans back with warmth and gratitude. She rather thinks she’s impressed a number of cats with how fiercely the tribe cats praise her actions.

She supposes no one thought she could be a hero.

Unfortunately, this is where her brother parts. No longer feeling welcome in any clan, and basking in the warm affections of Brook, Stormfur declares he’s going to stay with the Tribe of Rushing Water. It comes as a heavy blow to Feathertail. She has no kin in any clan now, her brother and best friend is gone, Crowpaw is avoiding her now that she’s eased back on their relationship, and it seems like she’s made nothing but mistakes. But she continues to stay with ThunderClan.

To her surprise, several cats come to comfort her. A few RiverClan, a number of ThunderClan - including Ashfur, Ferncloud, and Brightheart - but some from other clans as well. They all move on, leaving the mountains - and Stormfur - behind.

The real troubles come in when Brambleheart begins trying to get to know his siblings better. Tawnypelt has struck up a decent friendship with Mothwing, though it can’t be said the two are close. He desperately wants to get to know his brother, Hawkfrost, and prove once and for all that he isn’t as bad of a cat as some cats imply he is. This manages to infuriate Feathertail more than anything else had done so far. She can handle distrustful ThunderClan cats, or comments about loyalty from RiverClan ones as well. But Hawkfrost successfully drove her out of RiverClan, using his temporary position and his influence with Leopardstar. She doesn’t forgive him, and Brambleheart’s insistence that he can’t possibly be that bad is insulting at best. She and Squirrelpaw turn their back on him, even as they reach the new territory and the clans split once again.

“He’s an idiot.” The newly named Squirrelflight grumbles, walking with her silver-furred friend. “A complete idiot. Hawkfrost can’t be trusted. He can’t! He’s way too suspicious! And he’s awful to you!”

“I think,” Feathertail says, paws shuffling on the ground as she walks, paying no mind to where she’s going, “That he’s desperate to prove he’s not his father’s son.”

“Who, Hawkfrost? Well, I think-”

“No,” Feathertail murmurs, glancing back towards the new ThunderClan camp over her shoulder. “Brambleheart.”

They continue on in silence for nearly the rest of their walk, before Squirrelflight finds something else to mutter about. Feathertail can’t blame her - they’ve all been stressed.

She also rather suspects Squirrelflight misses him, too.

Things in ThunderClan slowly improved for Feathertail, as well. If they had warmed up to her during the journey ever so slightly, their tolerance for her rose sigificantly after the clans split once again, and she followed the ThunderClan cats to their new home. They greet her as she comes in and out of camp, she’s given patrols to lead on her own, and she finds herself sharing prey with more and more cats in her new clan. In return, she gives them her all.

One day, even Mousefur gives her a somewhat nice remark - “You’re so unlike your father. You’re last to the fresh kill pile, while he’d shove his fat-”

“Language, Mousefur!” Cinderpelt calls from across the clearing.

“-tail over to the fresh kill pile first thing.” She finished, with a huff.

Relief comes as swift as a dam breaking when Hawkfrost is found dead in the lake. Feathertail finds herself letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding for moons upon moons. When the ThunderClan patrol had found them, the lake was tainted with Hawkfrost’s blood, and Brambleheart stood motionless at the smooth shore, his paws stained and his eyes wide.

Hawkfrost had tried to kill the ThunderClan leader. Brambleheart had saved him at the very last moment.

The forest felt safer, yet it came at a cost.

It was a full patrol that included both Feathertail and Leafpool that returned Hawkfrost’s body to RiverClan. Mistyfoot looked at them with a stony expression as they took him back to bury them. Leopardstar, however, tried to argue. Tried to defend Hawkfrost in some way. Swore at the ThunderClan cats. But eventually, she finally had to admit defeat. There were cats in RiverClan who would mourn tonight, and Leopardstar was one of them. Later on, Leopardstar seeks to speak with Feathertail privately during a gathering. It come as a surprise to many, especially Feathertail herself.

“I expect you’ll be wanting to rejoin RiverClan?” Her tone is flat, and her expression is unreadable. It almost felt like a lull in the storm, an offer to cross normally treacherous waters back into familiarity. She rather suspects Mistyfoot snapped at her again for her treatment of the half-clan cats in RiverClan. And for that, Feathertail is grateful. She even thinks there’s a hint of remorse in the expression on Leopardstar’s face.

And yet, she wants to purr in amusement. The entire conversation is ridiculous. “Oh, no thank you.”

“ThunderClan has been my home for a while now. I plan to stay, thank you.”

[hamaon]

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS: Final Fantasy VII

 WHO WANTS TO READ 3000+ WORDS WORTH OF THIS STUFF

Top 5 favourite characters: Cloud’s story is very impressive for a 90s JRPG protagonist, and the glimpses of personality you get over the course of the game and towards the end especially are divine;I gave my heart to AVALANCHE early on, a moment of silence for all those who died so young;the image I have of Elmyra is a lot groovier than what there actually is in the game, but I’m hanging on to it;Tifa won me over just by her battle animations, and from these modest origins it grew and grew;

Nanaki is so serious, and also a baby.

Other characters you like: The bravest pilot-in-training who could. I believe in you, little guy.

Least favourite characters: “The hidden optional characters”, is what I was going to say, but I like Yuffie much better than Vincent. I actively dislike her character design (what is even going on there), but she’s vengeful and proud. All the characters in this game are more enjoyable if you highlight their unsavory qualities.

Vincent, though, is a miss. An unfortunate combination of things that I don’t care about. His main contribution to the story is giving more insight on Hojo and Sephiroth (and the Turks, I guess), but what I’d like to know more about are things to do with Gast, the Ancients, and Aerith’s involvement, and he has nothing to do with that. Also, Shinra by itself just isn’t interesting to me, it’s their involvement with the main characters (especially in the first areas of the game) that is fun, and again Vincent misses out.

There’s also the fact that- if there’s one mythological being that I couldn’t care less about, it’s vampires, and he shares a lot of the aesthetics, and- I don’t like using him in battle. The only time I used him during my first playthrough was when the party first crosses the mountains past Nibelheim, and taking him to the boss battle at end of the dungeon was a bad idea. It liked fire, and Vincent’s monster form whatever-beast liked producing said fire, and one thing led to another.

I love his theme, I guess, but I don’t even think of it as his theme. It’s the theme of the basement of the Shinra mansion and its fantastic, creepymonsters.

Also, Aerith, but more on that later.

Otps: I’m into Cloud/Tifa, but less for the chemistry and more for narrative reasons. I just think it makes a good story? Watching them dance around their memories of their shared past is the true heart of the game, for me.

I like that it’s romantic on Tifa’s part, but when you go back to the beginning of the game, once you know what sorts of questions the characters have been holding back on… how much of it is romantic on Tifa’s part, again?

I like that it isn’t romantic on Cloud’s part… until you get to the Lifestream, and the cause of this mess and the most honest truth at the core of it all was just a little boy crushing on the popular girl next door.

I like the idea of them deciding to stick together, the two survivors, now that they can admit out loud that they never really even knew each other.

I like how, with all of his regrets and failures, Cloud never did fail her.

(And I kind of like that the underdog in the triangle got the guy, in the end.)

I used to be passionately into Aerith/Tifa, early on – her interactions with Tifa are the best I liked Aerith – but I’ve let go of it, since. It’s okay to enjoy relationships without making them romantic, past me.

Not sure whether this is is an “otp “or a “notp” thing, or something else entirely, but I‘ve become very attached to the idea of Cid/no one as of late. Maybe the plot circumstances forcing him and Shera to stay separated helps them realize that it’s healthier this way. I want Cid to be grouchy and middle-aged and difficult to deal with on his airship, with his loyal crew and no romantic interest ever again.

And honestly, I’d be all for an AU where Cloud derails the plot by running off with some random AVALANCHE member in the early Midgar portion of the game. Jessie is the best candidate. Let Cloud and Jessie elope.

Notps: Cloud/Sephiroth. Aerith/Cloud as a reciprocal thing, because I enjoy their interactions better if Aerith isn’t serious about him (Cloud -> Aerith is fine, though).

Favourite friendships: Barret and Tifa. It was framed more as “Barret supports Tifa”, but I imagine that Tifa used to babysit Marlene quite a bit when AVALANCHE was smaller, so it evens out somewhat. They have a lot of shared history between just the two of them.

Aerith and Tifa. And listen, this isn’t pretty, but I want to think that they didn’t like each other that much, at first, even if it didn’t show – because why would they be rude towardseach other? Why wouldn’t they want to rescue innocent people? Maybe Aerith is a bit dismissive towards Tifa, unconsciously. Overrules her on things, without thought. I want Tifa putting up appearances that she enjoys Aerith’s company more than she really does, when really at times she makes her uneasy in ugly, jealous ways. All of that beingsomething they are already correcting themselves on come Kalm, quietly. On the way towards the chocobo farm you can see them walking together more often than not, and it continues that way until Aerith skedaddles.

Cloud and Yuffie. I just think that the detail of the shared motion sickness is nice and genuine. And in general, Cloud is yanked around by the story so much, it’s nice that he has someone he can be a mentor figure to. Good for the both of them.

Favourite family: Cloud’s, painfully unexplored as it was. It would benefit the game if there was just a touch more about Cloud’s mother. Just one more little scene, late in the game, to underline that she was loved, and that she’s gone, and that he doesn’t want to talk about it.

Favourite episodes: The entire Lifestream sequence where player-Tifa finally gets some answers to questions that have been left hanging since the first five minutes of the game.

Actually no, the entire game starting from where Cloud starts unraveling at the Noozupooru and the title of player character bounces back between a couple of party members as you’re putting the story together, culminating in the Lifestream sequence. But especially the Lifestream sequence.

Favourite season/book/movie: Original game? I think I liked the short animation thingy, Last Order, when I saw it ~ten years ago, but I can’t be assed to rewatch it now.

Favourite quotes: Any, as long as it comes with rustic typos in it. Absolutely beautiful.

Best musical moment: “Overworld“, as I had originally written down, like Tina’s theme, is a beautiful epic that encompasses all the highs and the lows of the narrative, but having listened to it for way too long while watching my friend play the game I’m in the “can’t stand” part of my cyclical relationship with the song. So let’s talk about Cid’s theme instead!

My first exposure to Cid’s theme was in the form of a background midi on a friend’s angelfire page, and I had no idea where the song was from. The file that I eventually managed to download on my computer was named something to the effect of ff7-cid, which told me nothing. No one in my family played video games.

As I said, I downloaded song. I used some .mid-to-sheet-music converter software on our computer to make it playable and printed it out. It wasn’t made for piano (and I definitely wasn’t good enough at notation to make an arrangement of my own), so I’d just follow along the notes as I put the midi on. I never did learn to play it. I never got a group together to try to play it – there’s nothing impressive about this story.

Fast forward several years, and I played the game. At that point it had been a long time since I had listened to the original midi, but I still remembered that I had built something way more epic around the song than what actually went down in the game. Not that Cid’s quest for the skies isn’t impressive, but it had sounded like something that would play during a last stand type of scene at the end of a story. My bad.

It’s still an impressive piece.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: You lose control of the main character! That’s pretty metal?

When it really disappointed you: My introduction to the game was Advent Children, which I don’t think I had many strong feelings about? But I saw people online mourning the death of Aerith’s character (made even worse by Crisis Core) and how she was supposed to have been amazing in the game. So I played the game expecting something truly spectacular and… well, FF7 doesn’t have bad writing, I don’t think, but the characters definitely need you to meet them halfway before you can truly appreciate their potential. And Aerith mostly just hit on Cloud, so I was unwilling to even try. Disappointing, in the truest sense of the word.

I have a history of hating most Final Fantasy romance, and most of the characters doing most of the romance-inclined things. Edge hits on Rydia? Shit character. Locke hits on Celes? Shit character. Rinoa hits on Squall? Shit character (okay originally I liked her for that and only started hating her later in the game, adding her to the list here isn’t fair). Zidane hits on Garnet? Shit character. Yuna hitting on Tidus initially made me label her as a shit character as well, and I can actually pinpoint the very line of dialogue that made me stop thinking of her that way, but my main point is that in the beginning of FF10, I hated Yuna.

Anyway, I like to think that every time Aerith is hitting on Cloud, she’s joking! Because that’s what the root of my disinterest in engaging with her can be traced back to! Most of my headcanons are about Aerith, honestly. I make kind of half-hearted efforts to like her, occasionally, but I need to do it on my own terms – in order to enjoy her character, I need to be able to own her character. Otherwise I’m in a situation where I don’t care for the character much, and every time people point out some feature about them that makes them “perfect”, the bitterness increases. The “I was pretty neutral on this character, but everyone talking about how they’re the best thing ever made me loathe them” feeling. Yeah.

Saddest moment: I’m currentlythinking about the Nibelheim flashback where Cloud just plain refuses to talk about his mother and that’s a sad moment, isn’t it?

Most well done character death: Rufus went out gloriously. The whole scene with the multiple delayed laser beams whose projections you had to keep track of was magnificent, plus a corrupt corporation sacrificing everything for the greater good was pretty nice. Redemption in death.

Glad he wasn’t retconned into having survived or anything, that’d just ruin everything.

Favourite guest star: Cid had his moment in the spotlight, before slinking back into the shadows until XII?

Favourite cast member: Character, okay. Tifa, probably. A bunch of neutral to positive character traits, distinct nostalgia in the character theme, some half-assed writing, best animations in battle, a role that was fantastically spot-on in unravelling the main character’s labyrinthine headspace.

It’s less who Tifa is as a character, and more the good vibes surrounding her role in the story and some of the aesthetic decisions that went into creating the character. I mean, she’s a female monk. Just give her a version of the AC outfit that isn’t all black and stillhas the suspenders.

Character you wish was still alive: Nanaki’s mom.

One thing you hope really happens: Nanaki’s mom becomes an actual character in the remake. She completely drops out of everyone’s consciousness once it turns out that the Dad was the Important One. You have this rare heroic mother who is remembered for her feats in battle, only for her to disappear from the story completely. I’d like for Nanaki to remember them together. Wasn’t she supposed to have been something of a role model for him, before?

Most shocking twist: When the nameless Shinra grunt took off his helmet.

I keep thinking back to that gifset of that scene with the caption “that’s what Final Fantasy VII is all about, Charlie Brown“, and. Yeah.

When did you start watching/reading?: After Advent Children came out.

Best animal/creature: I have so many feelings about that one house in the Sector 7 slums. Primarily ”how“ and “why“. And “rocket launchers”.

Everything inside the sunken Gelnika is super cool, too. As is the Ruby Weapon, or however you capitalize that. Ruby WEAPON.

Favourite location: First visit to Nibelheim, if I’m being honest. Basement of Gold Saucer, if I’m not.

Trope you wish they would stop using: Will they?? Or… won’t they?? Let’s drag this love triangle shit on f o r e v e r.

Like please, FF10 was the best because they settled the will they won’t they thing pretty early on, just let this matter be resolved so we can have some development in some direction, please. Let him get on with his relationship with Tifa so we can have some real progress, let him break it off for real, just do something. As long as it isn’t ”he’s hung on Aerith forever“, because that goes directly against the development at the end of the game. Give him a new love interest, if you don’t want to piss anyone specific off, just stop beating this horse, it’s been dead for twenty years.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: That’s what Final Fantasy VII is all about, Charlie Brown.

Funniest moments: When I was playing the game with a friend, and she triggered the bug where you don’t get portable save point in your inventory, and we only noticed halfway through the final dungeon. We still beat the game without any save slots. It’s not a very difficult game.

Couple you would like to see: please just fuckign Cloud/Jessie.

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Anyway, I’d like it if there were more female characters in the party, with more varied roles. Any of the main party members besides Barret, Reeve and Vincent could have been female, I think (I like Barret as a father, and Reeve is such a late reveal that it wouldn’t serve the intended purpose. And Vincent is optional). Cid, Nanaki, someone new? Cloud? Maybe Jessie could survive?

Actually, unpopular (?) opinion time, somewhat related, hang with me here, but I don’t think Tifa being ancillary to Cloud’s story is a bad thing at all. He’s the main character, his story is the most important story of the game, and her story supplements his story beautifully. The problem is that after the first disc, she’s the only active female character of any real importance. That’s where her propping up Cloud starts becoming a problem.

More female characters.

Favourite outfit: I love Aerith’s design, it’s spectacular. At first glance all you can see is pink, but it’s super practical, and plain, too. Some of it is probably because that’s how the game is designed in general, no one is very decorated, but still, Tifa wears earrings.

A simple dress, practical shoes. A plain bow, crude metal bracelets, and some random string around her neck. It’s like she just picked one up one day and went, why the hell not? That’s actually something I do when I’m cleaning and find pieces of string or broken rubber bands. Just tie them wherever, arm, neck, around my head.

It’s my headcanon that her dress was originally white, but it was washed with something red (that seems to be her color, no?) and was accidentally dyed in the process.

The short jacket is my favorite. I like the idea that she’d go for that big-shouldered look in other outfits, too. It looks so weird. I love it.

Favourite item: All materia. The ‘all’ materia.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: Nothing official aside from the game itself. A couple of art prints. There’s one with Nanaki with his cubs looking over the ruins of Midgar that I need to get framed at some point, if I have the money.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: AVALANCHE all the way. The concept of bitter eco-terrorists is something that resonates closely with so much of my youth.

Most boring plotline: A lot of Barret’s stuff could have had better focus, unfortunately. Tying things back to Marlene & Elmyra & the working class more would have been appreciated.

Most laughably bad moment: I can’t decide between the kidnapping of Elena and Yuffie in Wutai, and the cannon-top slapdown between a corporate executive and a lifetime martial artist. It’s a horrible tie.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: So much is centered around the Nibelheim flashbacks, let’s pick something else.

Cid’s Rocket Town flashback is pretty good, it makes you feel the frustration, and it manages to humanize him at the same time. Also, it isn’t a montage info-dump flashback, which FF7 falls victim to, occasionally.

Most layered character: Much of the plot is about putting different aspects of Cloud back together, sometimes more than figuratively, so, Cloud.

Most one dimensional character: Palmer. You know, because he gets run over by a… truck…

Scariest moment: The Shinra tower, after you escape from the jail. There have been just enough uncomfortable elements shown to you beforehand. There was something unnatural in that tank earlier, but it’s gone now. The soundtrack turned Silent Hill all of a sudden. Maybe you could receive comfort from the masses, now that you are facing a shared enemy of a new, strange caliber. The tower was bustling with life just moments ago.

But where is everyone.

Grossest moment: Cid yelling at Shera. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

Best looking male: Once you get past all the associations you have with white/silver-haired men in Japanese media, and the fact that it’s Sephiroth, Sephiroth is quite pleasing to the eye. The boob window is nice. Looks strong without being overbearing.

But at the end of the day, it’s still…. Sephiroth.

Best looking female: Everyone is a pile of polygons, but in my mind’s eye I always imagine Ifalna as a breathtaking beauty.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): no.

Favourite cast moment: I don’t keep up with creator commentary. I like to live dangerously.

Favourite transportation: All chocobos are beautiful in their own way. Incidentally, nothing that came after the original game counts as canon to me, and Cloud became a chocobo rancher near Corel. He goes snowboarding with Yuffie, sometimes, when she’s visiting and he’s trying to catch rare breeds in the mountains.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): Midgar, as a whole. The dirty neon lights hiding eco-terrorists and secret flowerbeds. The ruins in the epilogue, when you end the game unsure whether most of the player characters even survived Holy. It just feels like a lot of love went into creating Midgar.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I was discussing Cid’s small pre-final dungeon Loveless monologue with The Friend Who Played Through My Copy Of Final Fantasy VII, and we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t come to a conclusion. It’s just… vague. Is it talking about dying? Who/what is supposed to work as a parallel to this play?Is it just a bad translation?

While we’re at this sort of thing, let’s talk about sequel stuff! and how Zack is what finally ties all the loose ends back together. About Cloud. About Aerith. He’s an explanation and a motivator, and from a story perspective, unimportant as a character with motivations of his own. Ultimately it doesn’t matter why he did what he did, only that he did them. He should never have been in the spotlight. In Final Fantasy VII, Zack would never have been in the spotlight.

Moreover, he’s gone. Aerith, the one who’d most benefit from having some answers, is gone. And it was fine that way.

Best promo: Uh. The FF4 flash ads with ostriches in them.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Nibelheim.

[cobrienba1a]

Character Idea Sketchbook

In my sketchbook, I have been running through ideas using shapes, silhouettes and fully developed sketches to reach my cast of characters. 

These are my silhouettes, it was hard trying to think of shapes and sizes for these pieces but I referred back to the method of creating lots of exclamation mark variations and turning those into characters. There were some designs that stood out to me which is good because I would later be making iterations of these concepts. 

I then moved onto the heads, to do this, I ripped apart coloured paper and stuck them into my sketchbook using a glue stick. Then I tried to find the face shapes on these bits of paper and see what comes to mind. I made quite a few designs for the faces and tried to be different each time so I could really explore the range of characters.

These are the bodies that I created by getting the ripped pieces of paper and combining the ones that differed the most to make interesting body shapes. It was a lot harder to figure out how to do since instead of a face, I was thinking of an entire fleshed out character, so I had to think long and hard before I stuck anything down.

Archetypes

After this, I was ready to start combing all of these ideas into character designs and iterations

This is the shadow of the story, my first design, I named him Lord Pleeb, I wanted this villain to have a comical charm to him, whilst still retaining an intimidating and evil vibe. His weakness is his true nature, a wiggly alien underneath his giant intimidating armor and if he were to lose his armor, he would most certainly perish. I gave him a very triangular shape language, with the symbols basically being his silhouette, you can see that he is just made up of triangles. 

I was going to have his arms exposed, but I decided to give him spikey feet and gloves just to give a sense that he’s really trying to hide his weakness and gives him a vulnerability that the hero is oblivious to. I then went to give him spikes on his gloves, but I thought that was a little bit ‘overkill’ so I just kept the original design for the gloves. 

I wanted the hero to rival the villain in strength, so I made him extremely muscly also. Although his mesomorphic stature resembles a triangle, I wanted to give him lots of square-like features, to give him a strong- heroic portrayal. He has broad shoulders and a big, defined chest, but I made sure to make his legs smaller so the audience pays more attention to his upper body strength to view him more as a superhero type, rather than a body-builder. 

I went through many clothing designs since I wasn’t satisfied with the complete superhero cape and suit, however I wanted to retain some of its qualities, I wanted a Sci-Fi look to him, so I still kept the superhero vibe with the posture and mask but added things like shoulder pads and a space gun to give it more of a space adventure vibe. 

His personality is very cocky, naive and very excitable. He has a Johnny Bravo crossed with Buzz Lightyear personality which will make our hero into a hulking but loveable idiot. Which is why I named him Captain Dingus. Not one to take seriously but when push comes to shove, his facial expression can change to this really intimidating anti-hero look which was inspired by Batman. This gives a dynamic shift to the character that I could keep traversing. 

The next archetypes I visited were the ally and the mentor.

The ally is meant to be an extremely emotionless, average-Joe, that was designed to ground the hero’s over-excitable nature with an extremely monotone personality which is entirely for comedic purpose. complimented with the unorthodox outfit that suggests that he is either comfortable in the suit or he drew the short straw in the costume selection process. I also wanted to make him the hero’s roommate, to give a pre-established friendship, suggesting that they care for each other, but are still very different people. He’s the introvert to the hero’s extrovert personality, always getting dragged into Captain Dingus’s shenanigans and not finding it very fun. 

He has a very non-threatening character design with his circular shape language and his lack of any anger or sharp edges which make him pose a threat. But the twist is that he is stronger than most opponents in the galaxy and given the chance, will most likely wipe the floor with Lord Pleeb, he’s just never in the same room or is leaving the fighting to the hero as he doesn’t enjoy conflict.

The mentor is there to give guidance to the hero, he aids the hero with moral choices and also in training the hero to become fit and strong. He is not a relative to the hero, but an experienced Landlord that is connected with the heroes past. Though the mentor has a very miserable and grouchy chip on his shoulder, he has a care for the hero deep down which is what motivates him to watch over him.

His name is Mr. Krank, which fits well with his personality. He’s got a triangle face to show his constant miserable ways, as well as a really bad posture caused by his oversized hands in proportion to his body, but still is very strong which helps when training an intergalactic superhero.

This is my shapeshifter/trickster character, I liked my earlier design that included a friendly fave on the end of the real characters face, sporting a hat and full suit to hide his nature. I named this character “Mr.Chief" to play on the words “mischief”. No one really knows if he has good or bad tendencies, when it seems most that he’ll pick sides based on whatever/, however, he feels on that day, he just wants to see how the scenario plays out so he could either help the heroes or betray them to serve as a catalyst.

The suit and Fedora both have a mysterious vibe to him, no one can really track him down, he just shows up. His clothing has later been developed to look like a 1920s mob boss suit, this gives intimidation and powerful vibes. He got this suit idea from observing planet earth (despite being an alien) and come to like this kind of attire. 

Overall, I feel like I have successfully created my cast of characters and believe that I would be able to create a cast model diagram to show the sizes, proportions and shape designs of all these characters. 

[agentlothcat]

I 100% agree!!

best teamup in the show

[scribble-dribble-writes]

My precious little babies 🥹

best teamup in the show

[grizabellasolo]

Just a little family walk in the woods

best teamup in the show