#fun fact: only the bottom image is canon

[yoggybloggy]

born to girlsloppy forced into years of self-imposed exile in an abandoned cave as a metaphor for my deep and terrible repression

[pruneunfair]

Ranking every manhwa villainess and white lotus I could find.

Keep in mind these are all opinion based.

#22: At the very bottom of the list is Sumin Jeong from Marry my husband

Now, like almost everyone else on this list, Sumin is kept a level that is below the FL Jiwon so she can never best the hero. However unlike the others here, Sumin has not once been shown to be anything other than a dumb and evil bimbo who talks like elmo even before Jiwon regressed, her reasons for wanting everything Jiwon has make no sense and she has no flavor to her, no backstory that makes sense, no real charm since it's lost as soon as possible, all she has going for her is a distinct design.

#21: Charlotte-the villainess maker

Honestly, Charlotte is about as forgettable as the comic she's from. She doesn't do much, just basic bland white lotus tropes over and over. She is portrayed as a sweet heart but she's secretly a jealous vindictive mean girl, she loses everything to the FL because she's too basic for the not-like-other-girls readers, nothing really revolutionary about her, but this could be chalked up to the story shes from canonically being an abysmal mess written by the FL when she was 14, Sorry Charlotte.

#20: Iris Van Conrad-Today the villainess has fun again.

A step up from Sumin when it comes to backstories, still not the greatest but it makes a little more sense. She's more passive aggressive since her actual plots are destoryed in nanoseconds by the plot, she gets dunked on so much I wonder if she's supposed to the Villainess or a discount Meg Griffin. Considering the fact to that Reilynn is pedo coded, Iris is less of the two evils.

#19: Aisha Selir-divorcing my tyrant husband.

Shes okay, But like Charlotte, Aisha isn't very noteworthy, as usual, any attempts she makes to best or outsmart Robelia are met with utter failure, she could be something really great if she were just allowed to make a mark on the plot. Like actually have Alexandros take responsibility instead of blaming her for her existence. Her design before the art shift was pretty enough and I'm pretty sure she's being possessed by a vindictive soul so that might explain why Aisha suddenly became a villain when she's described as being dainty, sweet, and a general damsel and saintess in the story within DMTH.

18: Fonta Magnus:the tyrants only perfumer

Fonta is the type of antagonist that would be adored as a isekaied protagonist. She doesn't really do much though since she gets defeated over and over with the same plan of copying Ariels ideas (how original, no pun intended) I like her though just because her design reminds me of cartoon goth girls, specially Gwen from total drama island.

#17: Benela Verdi- the princesses jewels

I don't care if she seduced Ariannas father or killed her brother, Arianna was out there acting like she wouldn't do the same just to get with a sexy man. Benela may suffer from the same problems every other villainess does but if ranked them based on that then almost all of them would be on the bottom. This image of her drinking her stress away is accurate to how I felt reading this one.

#16: Claudine von Brandt-Cry or better yet beg

I absolutely adore Claudine and she's not really a villain but unfortunately the narrative says she's a so she'll have to count. It's why she's this low since she's just a woman who gets in the way of the main ship

As you can probably guess, her only crimes are being condescending to Layla and valuing superficial values such as wealth and status, crimes that somehow make her worse than Matthias in the narratives eyes. Justice for my girl Claudine ✊️

now we are moving up to the middle tier

#15: Diana-for my derelict favorite

This girl has more protagonist material then Hestia ever will. Sorry but Hestias entire thing is just being a rich girlboss, simping for Cael and damning any woman who broke his heart including Diana, who is the saintess that opposes murder, Wow! Who would have guessed that the saintess woman wouldn't endorse literal murder! Could she have communicated better? Yes, was she always in the right? Hell no. But she's got more character in her pinky toe then everyone else in their entire bodies to I salute to her.

#14: Irene/Aileen Hascator- I didn't mean to seduce the male lead

I have a weird relationship with her. One minute I'm impressed because she actually does manipulation pretty well at first with making the lives of those who won't swear loyalty her unbearable in very smart ways, she'll buy all her friends expensive dresses so she can stand out in a simpler one, she'll defend the black sheep and make her into her friend to keep up her sweetheart facade, unfortunately it's all so she can get with a boy where she goes nuts on anyone who gets near him.

#13: Freya van Furiana- how to get my husband on my side

I really loved this manhwa, almost all of the characters are complex and 3 dimensional with a great commentary on abuse, ED, and family dynamics, with that said I was a little disappointed seeing Freya as another basic white lotus who only wants Izek for herself, it won't take much even a little more character traits would help because Freya isn't just some random girl who became the ogfl, she was the childhood friend of Izek and Ellen, so we should've gotten to see a little more too her then what we got

#12: Mielle Roscente- the villainess turns the hourglass.

Beautiful design, basic but rather solid goals, a charming personality, Mielle has all of that in the bag. She secretly wants Aria and her mother out of her life since they aren't of noble blood (before the terrible Arias a noble plot twist) and she's really entertaining. However I'll never understand how she managed to destroy Aria in the first timeline if she's such an idiot now. The first timeline also takes the blame off of Arias shitty actions with "Mielle tricked her into being evil!" It ruins the charm since Aria, as a villainess should be allowed to suffer the consequences while not wanting to quit.. since you know, she's not meant to be a good person.

#11: Isabella de Mare-sister I am the queen in this life

NOT YOU!

THIS is the Isabella I'm talking about

Absolute genius, she knows that Ceasre is a bastard and not just in the literal sense, she doesn't even love him and just wants that sweet sweet power and wealth. Fooled Ariande for years that she was on her side and as a bonus she can easily say she wanted revenge for Alfonso to the public if they ever found out she was behind it all. But the best part about first timeline Isabella is her villain monolog that women mean nothing to men, putting your life in their hands is a fatal mistake and if you want to make it to the top, you gotta crush the opponents. But alas we never see this version of Isabella after Ariande goes back in time

Higher tier now, the best of the best who managed to make it this far

#10: Rhyse/Lise Sinclair- not your typical reincarnation story

Yeah shes technically being controlled by the author or hell maybe she is the author I have yet to finish this one but for once we get a comic that doesn't immediately pit two women against eachother and actually gives a solid reason for her to be at odds with Edith. When something doesn't go her way, Rhyse doesn't throw a fit and turn on the water works no no no. She stands there, awkwardly, almost like the real Rhyse is wondering why she feels so jealous and angry with Edith for stealing the spotlight. She's incredibly ominous too when that purple mist surrounds her to force the other characters back into place. All while she's making friends with Edith in a possibly geninue friendship.

#9: Isis Frederick- the villainess reverses the hourglass

I'm pretty sure most of us can agree she's the real villain of TVRTHG since she basically started and encouraged the whole operation to begin with from afar, the puppeteer if you will. Killer design, a great fear factor and an evil sister done better. Wish she had more time to shine.

#8: Diane Poitier- I abdicate my title as empress

What already sets her apart from other evil concubines is that she was there before Adelaide so her reasons for being upset that another woman is showing up to marry the Emperor is reasonable, obviously her actions aren't but I still felt bad for her since no one in that palace gave a damn about her, Diane got ruthlessly belittled and ignored for not being useful to their liking or simply being too desperate and when Adelaide tries to not make an enemy out of her, Diane is looking for anyone to direct her anger on but the redemption arc as short as it is, makes up for it.

#7: Leila- villains are destined to die

My favorite ogfl turned villain. Leila is pure evil no questions asked. She steals the body of Yvonne which played a part in taking the latters reputation to a degree in the fandom and starts brainwashing everyone around her. That's what makes her so terrifying, one minute you could be at your highest and you feel like you rule the world, and next minute it all comes crashing down when the face of your long lost sibling arrives with fake tears in her eyes, ready to destroy everything you hold dear.

#6: Soleia Elard- seducing the villains father

I can't believe I'm saying this but a classic black magic witch is a unique villain in the manhwa world. During her introduction she's already causing mayhem by trying to kill Yerenica with black magic, and at first you'd think she's another "I want my hubbies affection!" Chick but no, she just wants to marry Erudian to have his child and use said child to avenge her family and destroy everything, characters are all frightened by her because she actually gets shit done instead of failing every minute of the day, and even after all that, she's allowed the privilege of life by getting a redemption arc.

#5: Cosette Weinberg- I was the real one.

She deserved so much better!! 😭 Cosette, my baby, you were set up to be such an amazing villain with high intelligence and well thought out plans, why did they have to give you the good old plot induced lobotomy! Girly wasn't just smart but there were actually times I could get behind Cosette. When Keira gave a maid 100 lashes after she insulted and wished death on Keira, it was Cosette who took advantage of an actual truth with only a little bit of exaggeration, they were both evil but only one of them was rightfully called out for it. Honestly just read the novel, the manhwa did it dirty.

#4: Marianne Edenverre- into the light again.

Nah someone get this baby to a church and give her the aggressive baptism 10 times over, I'll always be wondering how the hell did that 10 year old get her hands on a demon in the first place, the fact that the family never found her hiding behind a door or closet staring into their soul like a paralysis demon is surprising cause I imagine she would do that and be like "it's just me sillies, I would never mean to scare you 😛" she's a well written villainess who I wish would have a little bit more screentime but her powers and what she can do honestly confuses me (like that whole body-swap thing)

Final 3 everybody, you ready for this?

#🥉: the 3rd place medal goes to Dodolea Castor from My in laws are obsessed with me

Another real villainess, putting everyone off guard with her initial gacha life brat persona only to be hit in the face with disturbing levels of cruelty that can only match a psychopath, she looks straight out of an uncanny mr incredible meme with that light skin stare shes got. Straight up laughs at Therdeos trauma while being well aware that she tried to SA him and how it affected the poor guy and later proceeds to attempt to kill and later kidnaps his wife. There's no remorse, no regrets, just the souls of innocents behind those huge eyes.

#🥈 : the second place medal goes to Verta Alberhart from depths of malice.

She isn't even the antagonist, no that's the protagonist! And honestly, the only white lotus in the main lead spot I've ever read so far. And while she has a messed up backstory that explains why she's so bitter, she still full on embraces it. Vertas way of being granted a second chance isn't even because of some goddess or divine power, she just snatches the body of a suicidal noblewoman and wreaks havoc on all of the disgusting noblemen in her path. She cries on the court trial of her fiances murder while secretly laughing knowing she set the whole thing up and slowly ruins the life of anyone who fucked around and found out.

At long last, we reached #🏅, and the crown goes to none other than...

Rashta Ishka from the remarried empress!

Hear me out now, this isn't just me being biased. Rashta earns first place because even though she is rendered an idiot who's only use is being worse so everyone else can look good, she still managed to do something unfathomable. She earned the respect of a fandom that initially hated her with all the fiber of their being and now she has a growing fanbase of real people, not fictional characters, actual fans. People are literally turning on one of the most popular manhwas that started it all for its treatment of Rashta (because who would guess that people are uncomfortable with the fact that a former slave is the ultimate evil and not the guy who tortures people just for shit talking the FL) and even though there is still a big part of the fandom who despises her, she still lives in everyone's head rent free. The trashta meme is more well known than Navier as a character and her character arc will always be superior and far more interesting than everything else in the story, after all remarried empress did start to decline after her death.

Jesus christ this took so long, I had to do so much rereading and fact checking but it was worth it.

[egg-emperor]

Does Eggman go after big burly men/monsters because he enjoys the thrill of making them submit or is it possible that in very rare instances he's fine with temporarily letting someone else be in control long as his own pleasure comes first?

I like to imagine it's both. For just big burly men in general, I imagine he was "fascinated" like all his life but didn't want to outright admit it to himself for a while besides his statues on the Egg Carrier but he could create various, still very gay, excuses for having them lol. But he'd finally get experience with big strong guys for real like Zavok (or Bowser but non canon) and he wouldn't be able to deny it any longer when he just has to jump on that 👀

As for the monsters, it started as just loving the thrill of making them submit for sure, since he primarily gets involved with them for his plans, feeling they'll be useful. Then through it he realizes he's really into the process of making them submit and serve and not just in his typical desire for control and domination way, he realizes it's a full on kink and it goes to very interesting places

The best example is Eggman with the Deadly Six in Lost World, ESPECIALLY Zavok. He had way too much fun bringing them to their knees in submission and was clearly really getting his kicks out of the sadistic aspect of the pain too. He's so playing up the master and slave dynamic here and Zavok doesn't understand that even if he only sarcastically calls him master, he's setting up the perfect opportunity for him to put him in his place and enjoy it

Making him bow at his feet, wagging his finger at him. Yeahhh 🥴

And the way he finds even the smallest reasons to punish them (though it's due to his very high standards too of course) and takes every opportunity to force them to obey with the conch

And the prequel comic made it even more blatantly kinky it was gold

Like hello he literally steps on him and tilts his chin with the conch shajgsnjgksng god me next pls

It's literally canon that he's into it in some form, I don't even have to exaggerate, I mean look at that sadistic smile on his face the two times he does it

The second smirk being quick and sneaky because he wants to appear serious and threatening yet smiles for a split second like he just can't contain himself hehe I love it

All I'm doing is speculating that he gets another kind of excitement from it too lol

And Zavok being a muscle monster dude and how he repeatedly goes after monsters and his hall of muscular guy statues in Hot Shelter, it all checks out. Zavok was the jackpot and best of both in one for him

While the rest doesn't have such confirmation lol, I like to think he discovered he also very secretly likes to be on the receiving end. Typically he'll stay dominant through it first, being the one to order and control them. I can see him always starting with a more dominant power bottom position, where he's still in control and likes to use it in a way to demean them some more, by treating them as not just a tool for his plans but also his personal pleasure

But there'll be temptation to be a little more submissive and when he finally is, he looks at it as being the one being serviced, it's for his own pleasure that comes first rather than what they get. It makes a lot of sense for him to want to just take, in fact it makes a lot of sense for him to not give at all. He has a great case for being a total pillow princess with his entire personality so viewing it through that lense, there is kinda official stuff to support it and it's just *gestures to his entire character* XD

When he is practically just giving himself to them, he constantly has this inner conflict of "why am I letting this happen, if this got out it'd ruin my image" but he likes it too much. It feels nice to just give up control for a little while, relax and have fun. And to feel like the one that's the full center of attention and priority as he lets them work on pleasing him, as it's still always in pursuit of his own pleasure and always his only priority, of course! He'll make sure they still know he's the real dominant one in control after and just enjoy it for now ;)

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 6

Link for Season 1  Link for Season 2 Link for Season 3 Link for Season 4 Link for Season 5

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable)  and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you’re a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already! No season has a clearer narrative structure than season 6, which is reflected both by my choice of images and the fact that almost none of them are considered to be filler. What might be new for some of you, is the correct order, since I listed this one in production order, so don't say "Jared has Aides" is the season premiere, because it isn't. "Freak Strike" is the season premiere, and I'll ask you to follow this order if you're a first-time viewer. S6E1 Freak Strike is CANON

Because the first scene exists to remind viewers of S5E13 and its long-term consequences with a trick reveal. If you watched it in TV and saw another episode as the season premiere, you missed out on this joke. The episode otherwise cements Butters' place in the group. S6E2 Jared has Aides is CANON

Some of what the boys do to Butters has to be canon, since his later villain arc is based on his experiences of being bullied by his "friends". S6E3 Asspen is CANON

The Stotch's get really friendly with the Marshes and the Broflovskis, which bonds will stay alive and sometimes Butters gets included because of this, even after he is ceremoniously kicked out of the friend group. S6E4 The Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer is LORE

More bullying Butters shenanigans. Butters will mention events from this one and the next one, and in-series they add to his breaking point, but these two episodes can be omitted if we're looking at this list rationally. S6E5 Fun with Veal is LORE

This whole arc is really a journey of self-discovery for the boys, however this one is not for the long-term consequences. S6E6 Professor Chaos is CANON

They had it with Butters and Butters had it with them. Diane dies, Tweek gets into the group, Butters gets a new persona. S6E7 The Simpsons Already Did It is CANON

Basically every arc from Professor Chaos continues. S6E8 Red Hot Chatolic Love is LORE

I really hate to say it, because this episode is really fun, but other than giving Tweek the same amount of screen presence as Butters, this is pretty much a nonexistent thread in an already jam-packed season. But it shows how much they care about the idea of replacing Butters with Tweek. S6E9 Free Hat is LORE

Again, it's one of those episodes that show the boys' commitment to the fourth friend replacement bit. S6E10 Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society is LORE

Again, even further commitment to the bit. S6E11 Child Abduction is Not Funny is CANON

This is the last main Tweek episode, and we have to include AT LEAST one. And this one features both Randy's emergence and a plot with an intruiging side character, Dr. Janus. S6E12 A Ladder to Heaven is CANON

Another major change happens, when Eric drinks Kenny's ashes and his soul. This is a big part of the Kenny rebirth storyline. S6E13 The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers is LORE

This one doesn't make sense without the context (Kenny's soul in Eric's body) but doesn't provide further context, except that the costumes will be reused later. S6E14 The Death Camp of Tolerance is CANON

Herbert Garrison's triumphant return as the fourth grade teacher is finally here! Also an interesting bit is both Tweek and Butters being present in the episode's beginning, but only Butters stays relevant to the story. S6E15 The Biggest Douche in the Universe is CANON

Kenny's spirit moves on from Eric to Rob Schneider and then dies again. Big events. S6E16 My Future Self n' Me is CANON

Stan learns about Professor Chaos, we see the first glimpses into Eric's possible future and not plot-related, but we have to give props for this episode incorporating the first sighting of Craig's gang! S6E17 Red Sleigh Down is CANON

Kyle helps Eric, while Kyle 2 helps Mr. Hankey. Jesus sacrifices himself and Kenny is resurrected in his place as a christmas miracle, finishing the season and the 'Kenny Dies' arc.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not. S6E1 Freak Strike is CANON S6E2 Jared has Aides is CANON S6E3 Asspen is CANON S6E4 The Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer is LORE* S6E5 Fun with Veal is LORE* S6E6 Professor Chaos is CANON S6E7 The Simpsons Already Did It is CANON S6E8 Red Hot Chatolic Love is LORE** S6E9 Free Hat is LORE** S6E10 Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society is LORE** S6E11 Child Abduction is Not Funny is CANON S6E12 A Ladder to Heaven is CANON S6E13 The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers is LORE*** S6E14 The Death Camp of Tolerance is CANON S6E15 The Biggest Douche in the Universe is CANON S6E16 My Future Self n' Me is CANON S6E17 Red Sleigh Down is CANON *If you need more context of Butters being the fourth friend **If you need more content of Tweek being the fourth friend ***If you need more content of Eric sharing his body with Kenny

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13 S2: 3 out of 18 S3: 6 out of 18 S4: 10 out of 17 S5: 8 out of 14 S6: 11 out of 17 Overall: 47 out of 97 Personal notes: My favorite season ever, I'd honestly recommend watching it all without any episode skipped, the whole thing carries on so nicely. Possibly the most plot-heavy season out of the first 18 seasons anyway.

[anonbinaryweirdo]

im rambling about me n devons ocsssss

for the deaths part, there's suicide mention(s) and mention(s) of fire !!

let m see if can remember deaths;

starting with the royales—

Jeremy was Michael Afton'ed (he got his insides ripped out basically)

Lucy got into... a car accident??? @deeplyinlovewithstars help

I think they said Diana got kidnapped? unsure

Dilon hung himself at a young age (the range was 5-12?? I think. I just know he was the first to die)

Derek was shot in the head at 15

Delilah got caught in a fire (I forget how old she was)

as for the mantovans—

Shamora got pushed off a building (I think she was the last to die.)

Alexandra was shot on her 16th birthday

misc characters—

Josh was deliberately drowned when he was twelve

Ash, same case scenario as Delilah, when he was younger

Haru (i forgot. but this just reminded me that HE was the last to die, not shamora)

and I'm sure that there are more, I just can't think of anyone else important

okay, now present canon ships !!!!! >:D (exes and current partners)

Josmora (Josh x Shamora; married)

Dilexru (this is an improvised ship name for Dilon x Alexandra x Haru; married)

Derash (Derek x Ash; married)

Jerelucy (Jeremy x Lucy; married)

Alarchie (Alexandra x Archie; exes)

Dereseph??? (Derek x Joseph; exes)

that's all I can remember

other relationships—

Diana, Dilon, Derek, Delilah (oldest-youngest; siblings)

Shamora, Alexandra (siblings)

Alexandra, Derek (best friends; in-laws)

Shamora, Delilah/Dilon (best friends; in-laws)

Delilah, Joshua/Ash (best friends; in-laws? Ash is her in law, not sure about Josh)

Shamora, Dilory (enemies. Dilory fucking killed her bye)

Every main OC, Joseph (they would all kill him on the spot)

probably some more

HEADCANONS + FACTS YAYYY

oh God where to begin

let's get. let's get Dilon out of the way. we hced a few months ago that he would NNNOT bail his spouses out of prison. oh, shamoras in jail? bailed. Josh is in jail? bailed. Lucy is in jail? bailed. Alex and Haru? keep them in there until their sentence is up. (/hj). don't get him wrong, he LOVES his spouses. but holy shit.

everyone has daddy issues. except ash. he's an orphan he doesn't get issues (jkjk but I THINK he had mommy issues??)

fun fact; the ONLY OC who has kept her personality throughout the years, was Lucy. she's perfect. I cringe every time I read back on old roleplays and see old screenshots. shamora would NOT act like this KILL IT

another fun fact; we would always argue over whether or not Jeremy was a top or bottom. this bitch recently revealed that he is a SWITCH (as Jeremy is their oc)

ANOTHER fun fact; during the starting days of our roleplays, Jeremy was like. Lucifer and Lucy was like Lillith. I'm so positive that this HAS changed. a lot. it probably isn't even canon anymore js

I think that Derek and Haru get along well, and yes it is because Joseph is Haru's brother as well as Derek's ex, BUT! Haru does NOT, and WILL not condone the type of abuse Joseph put Derek through EVER. he does not condone his brother's actions whatsoever, and always sided with Derek after he found out about everything.

adding onto Derek and Haru; Derek probably freaked out the first few times he saw Haru, given that him and Joseph look alike, if you don't count Haru's heterochromia

everyone lives together !! well, there's this one mansion that EVERYONE lives in, but they all have their separate homes for privacy (this is actually canon)

I'd like to think that Alex dyed her hair because she doesn't like thinking back on her birthday, aka the day she died. she's originally brunette, like shamora, but dyed her hair blue as to rid that image from her conscious. sometimes she forgets what she used to look like, until she somehow comes across an older picture, which sends her into a spiral

despite their coldness and stoicness, I would like to think that, if not anything else, Shamora and Dilon are passionate when it comes to their lovers !!

Dilon is the second oldest out of like five kids, affection was probably a frequent thing given how deprived of it they were when they were kids.. so if Alex were to fall victim to a panic attack, or if Haru just wasn't having a good day, Dilon would know, and go about dealing with it in his own ways. as I said earlier, he absolutely loves his spouses, even if he flat out refuses to acknowledge it most of the time. this only happens behind closed doors !! and I don't think they would tease him for it. this is rare, and he means well, so they'd accept it with lots of love !! plus they don't really feel like getting hit in the head with a pot like. ever.

and, unlike Dilon, Shamora initiates affection herself, even when she knows that Josh doesn't need it in that moment. her sister was clingy growing up, so she hardly minds Josh's clinginess. in fact, she'll start to get worried if he isn't holding onto her shirt somehow. there are times where she'll just sit with him and scratch behind his ears, or she'll grab his hand and tug him along with her if she knows she's going somewhere—knowing that Josh has to be trailing behind her, or he'll get lost and spiral if she isn't back within ten twenty minutes. she's quiet when affection is initiated from either of them, and mostly sticks to her actions doing all the talking for her. if Josh starts to get insecure about his place in the relationship, she'll know before hand and talk to him about it—one of the rare times she's actually verbal during any sort of affection.

I saw Devon say this in a hc channel; but Haru is definitely the mom friend !! skddkjdj my brain is running at 999mph thinking about them forgive me

I'm gonna stop here because 🧍🏽who tfs gonna read this besides Devon I am RAMBLING (I still have lots to say too. a lot more 💔)

[quinfamy]

MY   PERSONAL   RANKING   OF   SOME   OF   HARLEY'S   DESIGNS   /   COSTUMES   FROM   OVER   THE   YEARS  .

as we all know  ,  harley's cycled through a lot of different outfits over the years  —  some good  ,  some bad  ,  some downright criminal .   since i'm home sick from work today  ,  i figured it'd be fun to post my thoughts on some of them .   it's by no means an exhaustive ranking  ,  some designs have been skipped because i'm entirely neutral on them while others i left out because it just didn't feel necessary to include them .   that being said  ,  i've included all the ones you'd expect .   for ease  ,  it's broken it down into three sections  (  comics  ,  video games  &  live action  )  and because some pretty large images are involved  ,  i've popped it under the cut .

FIRST  UP  :  VIDEO  GAMES .

tied for first place , we have suicide squad : kill the justice league and injustice 2 . i absolutely love both of these designs . you'll see in this post that i'm a big fan of harley in trousers , which both of these designs have . i'd argue these are the two least sexualised / male gaze-y of the video game designs i've included and that's definitely another reason i favour them .

next up is arkham knight . as we go through this post , you'll see i don't necessarily have a lot to say on some of the designs . some of them really are just a case of ' i like this design more than that one ' . this is one of those designs .

moving to the bottom row we have arkham city and arkham asylum . these ones definitely feel more tailored for a male audience to me , especially arkham asylum . i don't dislike these costumes , but i don't love them either .

last is from injustice 1 , the only design here i actively dislike . it is just ... not good . take away the red and nothing about this screams harley to me . i also just don't care for harley's skimpier outfits the majority of the time .

NEXT  :  COMICS .

did you really expect me to put anything other than harley's classic jester costume first ? nothing is ever going to top this for me . this is harley . it's playful , it's fun , it's timeless . 10/10 no notes .

i actually love harley's most recent comics design , the hair especially . it's a lot of fun , i love the trousers and overall i really think it works as an updated take on her character .

next up is a neat little design by enrico marini from batman : the dark prince charming . gonna be real with you , 95% of the reason i included this one was just to shout out how much fun the hair is . while this design is certainly impractical for ... well , almost any activity , it's cute .

next we have rebirth and new 52 harley . these designs just don't really do much for me  —  i don't hate them , in fact i enjoy the roller derby vibe , but i much prefer harley in other outfits . i'm also not a fan of canons where harley's skin has been bleached white in the same fashion as the joker's ( and this is not something i incorporate into the canon of this blog ) , i much prefer her wearing white make - up . i'm giving rebirth the edge over new 52 here because i'm always going to prefer harley blonde .

last up is harley's suicide squad outfit from the new 52 era . i really don't like this one , the corset especially .

LASTLY  :  LIVE ACTION .

taking first place we have harley's first outfit from the suicide squad . it's very similar to her injustice 2 look , so it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise that i like it so much .

next is the red dress from the suicide squad . this one i think is less about the dress itself and more that i love watching her be this complete force to be reckoned with , taking her enemies out with such brutality and skill , all while wearing this extremely girly princess garment .

now for her birds of prey outfits ! gosh , her wardrobe is so much fun in this movie . i don't necessarily love each outfit but i love the vibes . harley is bold and vibrant and will wear ' tacky ' things and this movie didn't shy away from that .

last place , unsurprisingly , goes to suicide squad . i hate pretty much everything about this design , from the daddy's lil monster slogan to ' property of joker ' to her array of terrible tattoos .

[kiris-veggie-blog]

Goodness! It’s been literal years since I posted anything here! That being said, I can’t think of a better place to put these old concept sketches that I did for my fanmade Princess Lobelia “episode” project that I never finished.

Since I had originally meant for it to be a flora-themed fairytale style story, I wanted to include some VT characters that were only ever seen once in canon episodes as well.

The main premise was that Petunia would be starring as Princess Lobelia; the spoiled, vain and snobby protagonist that scorns the wrong outsider. The Bad Apple makes an appearance as the story's tritagonist; a forest witch who places a curse upon Lobelia (Petunia) via a poisonous cosmetic that slowly changes her [the end result is the fourth image on the bottom left]. (Fun fact: I actually based the appearance of the "cursed" version of Lobelia off of a real rhubarb.)

The story has a few other canon characters that I, unfortunately, couldn't find the concept sketches of QQ. Except for the one I did for the deuteragonist of the story, Viola (as played by Esther) [the fifth picture on the bottom right], is the palace bard who is also Lobelia's closest friends.

Uuuuugh.... I wish I still had the concept sketches of Madame Blueberry playing as Queen Rosa, and Nebby playing as King Lilium. Sadly, those are lost in the void by now... R.I.P.

Maybe someday, I'll come back to this project. I even had a song in mind that would've made the PERFECT animatic for Bad Apple's "villain" song as the forest witch.

[from-mars-to-venus]

I think a lot of people overlook the simple fact that AI art's percieved longevity only goes as far as grifters think they can incorporate it into their grift. If you're an actual artist, generative images and text is largely antithetical to the creative process and ergo is not going to be a frequent tool of many artists. If you're an uncreative person, generative tools are going to, at best, be a fun toy to periodically pick up and put down. For grifters, it's an opportunity to try and come up with the most ghoulishly half-assed children's book you can pump out, or something similarly bland of the like. The bottom line is: no lasting value.

Generative models are expensive to build, more expensive still to train and re-train, and they haven't created sustainable added market value for basically anyone working with them right now. OpenAI is nosediving its way to bankruptcy. BING, who is certainly pushing AI art with DALL-E, has seen their market value slightly *shrink* this year. I think the quality decay of Stable Diffusion's output over the last few months is testament to what we can expect for even the best generators in the game right now. Silicon Valley is not primed for creating anything of lasting value for anyone barring, like, the most porn-addicted twenty-three year olds alive. Generative “art” is a hell of a glass canon and it will remain culturally relevant only for as long as our attention spans are fixated on it, which is a crushing Achilles Heel to have right now.

[aomine-in-gensokyo]

Hey guys, Daiki Aomine here

Hey Midorima, I'm curious, what was the fortune Oha Asa told you about this match up? According to Satsuki, your opponent, Raine, is far more fitting in this bracket than you. Even my basketball instincts are telling me this is a tough match up for you. Well, do your best out there Midorima.

===

I am VERY proud that Midorima has made it to round 1! As @catonatrain mentioned, Midorima is a rather unlucky boy when it comes to polls... I've seen him get defeated so many times it's kinda funny. But I guess that's just how he is in canon, always the unluckiest guy on the block, needing lucky items and other beliefs to offset his natural unluck! So Midorima, while you probably will not advance to the next round, be proud that you made it this far! (Like I have no qualms about him losing here Raine is just the superior candidate)

[Image ID: A picture of Midorima looking at a black cat across the road. The black cat is looking at Midorima, which makes him nervous, because of the superstition that black cats are a sign of bad luck. He is afraid because he has just seen this cat right after he walked out the door, where a minute ago, he heard that his horoscope sign would be extremely unlucky today. End ID]

So who is Midorima as a character? Well, when we first meet him, he's a pretty cold guy. He's kinda got this air of arrogance to him (a common trait most of the Generation of Miracles share). Basically, when you see him, you kinda think he's sorta a jerk!

So why is he so cool then? Well, as mentioned by others, his reliance on lucky items, horoscopes, and other superstitions really contrasts his strict and serious personality. He's serious about EVERYTHING. So while on the outside you have this standoffish guy, once you get to know him, he arguably becomes one of the funniest characters in the series BECAUSE of his astrology addiction!

[Image ID: A picture of (from left to right) MidorimaShintaro (green hair), Takao Kazunari (black hair), Kagami Taiga (red hair), Kuroko Tetsuya (blue hair). They are all at a fast food joint, each of them holding a tray of food. Midorima's tray consists of a bowling pin, a bowl, and a cup. Takao's tray has a burger, fries, and a drink. Kagami's tray is partially obscured by Takao and Kuroko, but it is clear that there are over 6 burgers stacked on his plate. Kuroko's tray has only a single drink, presumably a milkshake (his favorite). End ID]

LOOK AT HIM IN THAT PICTURE!! He's so serious but he's perfectly okay bringing a BOWLING PIN wherever he goes because its the day's lucky item!!

Oh and of course, his other teammates do not put up with his attitude (except for Takao, but that's a long story for another time). While in middle school, Midorima may have been able to get away with his coldish attitude because in the basketball team, he and the other Generation of Miracles were like untouchable gods of basketball. However, in high school, he gets humbled by his upperclassmen! Midorima may still be the best player on his team, but his teammates are there to remind Midorima that basketball is in fact a TEAM sport, and not one he can play by himself!

[Image ID: A picture of 3 members of the Shutoku basketball team making fun of Midorima. On the left are the heads of 3 who are doing the teasing. On the top is Takao Kazunari, on the left is Shinsuke Kimura, and on the bottom is Kiyoshi Miyaji. The 3 of them are all holding in their laughter. In the center is a flip phone recording of Midorima saying, "I will draw them to me and pass" (this text is shown at the top). The others find this funny because Midorima has never insisted on passing before now, and so they had to save the moment forever. Hiding behind the phone is the team's captain, Taisuke Otsubo, and below him is their coach, Masaaki Nakatani. On the right is the head of an extremely agitated Midorima. End ID]

So ultimately, the beauty of Midorima is that as we see him throughout the series, we learn he's more than just an arrogant jerk, but a real guy with real redeeming qualities!

And despite everything I've said, I still think that Raine is still far more pronouns than Midorima, so I really don't think Midorima is gonna be making it past this round!! And that's okay!!! If we can at least keep the gap as it is right now, then that's more than enough for me!

Daiki Aomine heading out

The Green Hair and Pronouns Tumblr Tournament, Round 2 Match 12

[arecaceae175]

Linked Universe Character Guide

I made this LU character guide for my friends and I thought it might be useful for any new LU fans out there! And also for anyone else who wants to info dump to friends about LU. So here you go :D

These characters are of course based on @linkeduniverse by Jojo! But, disclaimer, this does include some non-canon stuff (primarily the fandom nicknames and some War of Ages things) that’s common in fanfiction :). I made this for fun and for my friends so it includes my favorite tropes, canon and fanon.

Edit 4/4/23: Alt text and image descriptions added. Alt text only describes the official character art image (descriptions of all the images were too long for alt text and they were being cut off by my screen). Image text and other image descriptions are at the bottom of the post.

(key at the bottom)

Key:

Image text:

Hero of Time – Time – Old Man, Ancestor (by Twilight), Sprite (by Warriors)     |     Zelda: Lullaby

Games: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask

Character Traits:

Oldest of the Links

Mental age unknown, physical age is probably 30s

Leader of the group, also group Dad

Very decisive and stoic when he’s being leader

Youthful sense of humor

Views the Master Sword as a curse/burden

Twilight’s mentor – Animated skeleton in the Twilight Princess game called Hero’s Shade

Loves his wife Malon so so so much

Important Game Facts and Items:

Majora’s Mask was a 3-day time loop basically, Time was the one to control the movement of time though

He has masks that give the wearer powers

His facial markings come from the Fierce Diety Mask, which gives him god-like fighting power, but he can’t always tell friend from foe

Had a fairy companion named Navi in Ocarina of Time

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Time is holding up Wild's version of Majora's Mask even with his face. His injured eye is open slightly and is completely white, and his facial markings are in focus. His text box says "Besides, with a legend like that, I'd be more afraid of what destroyed the demon."

Image 2: Time has his arm around Malon and is smiling happily. Malon is a middle aged white woman with long red hair. She is wearing a farming dress. She is smiling back at Time.

Image 3: Text above the image says "Post-Games, Pre-LU Time." It is a black and white sketch of Time when he was a young man. His hair is long and braided over his shoulder with fringe coming down around his face. He is wearing a simple undershirt.

Image 4: Time is smirking mischievously. He is seen shoulder-up.

Image 5: Time is smiling talking to Wind. Wind is putting his sword back in his sheath. Time's text box says "In every battle, you have a little more of the look of a hero." Wind is smiling sheepishly and his text box says "…"

Image 6: Time is scowling. He is holding his sword with both hands out to the side as if he was just attacking. There is smoke and debris in the background. End descriptions.

Hero of Twilight – Twilight �� Twi, Pup (by Time), Rancher, Ordonian, Wolfie     |     Zelda: Dusk

Game: Twilight Princess                                                          

Character Traits:

Started his journey as an older teen/adult, now early 20s

Good sword skill & marksmanship, best on horseback, animal whisperer

Physically strongest Link

Grew up in a small town, Ordon Village, on a ranch

Brother bickering relationship with Warriors

Big Brother of the group

One of the most emotionally mature Links

He often comforts the others as Wolfie

Wild’s mentor (because Wolf Link can show up in Breath of the Wild)

Mentored by Time (Hero’s Shade) and Time’s blood descendant

Important Game Facts and Items:

One of the only ones to start his journey as an older teen/adult

Was cursed with Shadow Magic and can now turn into a wolf at will using the artifact he wears as a necklace (Shadow Crystal)

His horse Epona sometimes accompanies the group

Had a companion named Midna that he loved but can never see again

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Twilight is scowling and has his arms crossed.

Image 2: Twilight is in his wolf form. The wolf is large and primarily black, with grey fur on his chest, paws, and face. He has the same forehead markings as Hylian Twilight, but they are grey instead of black. Wolfie has his eyes closed but his head up and is laying on the ground. Wild is asleep on his back with one arm draped across him.

Image 3: Twilight as Wolfie at the end of his transformation. There are black cubes surrounding him, signaling the transformation. Wolfie has a metal shackle on his left front leg. His hackles raised and he is growling.

Image 4: Twilight has his shield at the ready. His brows are furrowed in concentration. Light is shining from the upper left corner and it makes his hair look more blonde than usual.

Image 5: Image from Wild's Sheikah Slate. Twilight is wearing his undertunic and none of his other usual clothes. He is smiling at the camera. In the background there is a lake with light shimmering on the water.

Image 6: Twilight is grinning widely. He is holding a staff diagonally in front of him. End descriptions.

Hero of Warriors – Warriors – Wars, Captain, Pretty Boy (by Legend)     |     Zelda: Artemis/Athena

Game: Hyrule Warriors

Character Traits:

War of Ages started when he was an older teen/adult, now mid 20s

Military man, but the good kind, Captain in the Hyrulean Army

Weird relationship with Time- Time is team dad, but during the War of Ages Warriors was his big brother figure

Wind’s mentor

Looks are important to him

Prefers to be in groups, good at communication

Best at strategizing and battle plans and such

Doesn’t trust easily because a lot of his soldiers betrayed him

Emotionally mature

Loves to bicker with Legend

Most likely to have actual field medic training

Important Game Facts and Items

War of Ages

Time and Wind were technically present

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Warriors is showing off the burn scar on his left arm. It covers his hand and forearm. He is sitting next to Wind and Warriors' scarf is over both their shoulders. Wind is holding a mug. He is leaning forward and looking at Warriors' scar in shock.

Image 2: Warriors during battle. The art shows lines from the swing of his sword, but the sword is not in the frame. He is mid-swing. His scarf is billowed out behind him.

Image 3: Warriors is smirking and shrugging. There is a text box, but it is cut off and unreadable.

Image 4: Warriors is speaking, but the text box is cut off and unreadable. The image is zoomed in on his upper body.

Image 5: Warriors during battle. He is crouched down and his shoulders are pointing towards the viewer but he is looking to the side. His sword and shield are both up. His sword is pointing in the same direction as he is looking.

Image 6: Warriors is holding out a cloth covered in black blood. He has a cut above his left eyebrow that is bleeding. There is a text box but it is cut off and the only visible word is "creature." End descriptions.

\Hero of the Four Sword – Four – Smithy, Little One (by Time)     |     Zelda: Dot

Games: Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, Minish Cap

Character Traits:

Smallest but not the youngest, probably mid teen age now

Only one in the group with a functioning braincell

Very skilled blacksmith

Confident, quiet, calm

Often strategizes with Time and Warriors

Important Game Facts and Items

Friends with Minish, which are a race of small mouse-y creatures that can only be seen by children

Wields the Four Sword, which can split him into four versions of himself: Red, Green, Blue, Vio

Each color displays an aspect of Four’s personality

Keeps this a secret and in LU canon just recently revealed it to Wild. Time also knows

Never wielded the Master Sword, doesn’t have the Triforce of Courage

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Four is split into his four colors: Vio, Red, Green, and Blue. They are standing in a semi-circle and looking at something outside the image. Vio looks contemplative, Red looks upset, Green looks surprised, and Blue looks angry.

Image 2: Four is blacksmithing. He is sitting in front of the forge. He is holding a hammer in his left hand and tongs in his right hand. Both hands have thick leather gloves. In the tongs, he is holding up a horseshoe to inspect.

Image 3: Four is standing next to time with his arms crossed and brows furrowed. Wild's legs are in the frame, and he is on the ground in front of them recovering from an injury. Four's text box says "You think this is gonna (read: going to) be a pattern?"

Image 4: Four during battle. He is leaping backwards out of the way of an axe. He is holding his sword in his left hand and his shield in his right hand. His eyebrows are furrowed. His hair is flying forward as he jumps backward.

Image 5: Four is laughing as he stands next to the Master Sword. Sky is holding the Master Sword with the tip on the ground. The Master Sword is only a few inches shorter than Four. Wind's hand is above Four's head measuring the height difference. End descriptions.

Hero of the Winds – Wind – Sailor     |     Zelda: Tetra

Game: Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks (?)

Character Traits:

Youngest Link, started his journey at 12, now almost 14

Very fun personality and very expressive

Good at stealth and navigation

Is a pirate

Has a little sister named Aryll

The others look out for him since he’s the youngest, but he wants to be able to prove himself as a capable hero

Likes joking and pulling pranks

Important Game Facts and Items

He can control the wind with his Wind Waker, though this has never been used in LU canon

Started his journey because his sister was kidnapped

Was not originally gifted with the Hero’s Spirit of Courage, he assembled the Triforce during his journey

Killed Ganon at age 12 by stabbing him in the face

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Wind during battle. He is holding a huge two-handed sword and it mid-swing. His eyebrows are furrowed and his mouth is open like he's yelling.

Image 2: Wind is grinning widely and watching a fairy fly. He is holding a bottle in one hand and pulling the cork out of the bottle with his other hand.

Image 3: A full body image of Wind. He is standing like the standing man emoji meme. He is scowling and his frown is squiggly.

Image 4: Wind is gasping in surprise. His eyes are very wide.

Image 5: Ain image of Wind from the side. He is leaning back sightly. He is holding a shield. He looks very much like a child in the image.

Image 6: Wind is grinning widely. He is leaning toward the viewer and his eyes are focused on something off screen. He has one hand curled against his chest. End descriptions.

Hero of the Wild – Wild – Cub (by Twilight and Time), Cook, Champion     |     Zelda: Flora

Games: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom

Character Traits:

117 (17 physically)

Survivalist, best archer, crazy good stamina

Only Link that is actually good at cooking

Very prone to injury, a bit reckless, breaks his weapons a lot

Has insecurities about being the only Link that ‘failed’ their mission (this is obviously not true)

Lost his memories when he died, still getting them back

Used to be a knight pre-Calamity Ganon

Mentored by Twilight

He and Hyrule often run off and get lost together

Important Game Facts and Items

Has the Shiekah Slate, the inventory works, bombs and stasis are the only runes still functional. Technically in LU canon he has an enchanted bag, but in fanfics his storage is usually the slate

Scars are from when he died during the Calamity. Shrine of Resurrection fully healed his body internally

Wolf Link (older version of Twilight) helped him on parts of his journey

Image desriptions:

Image 1: Wild is holding his bag tightly with one hand and a soup ladle in the other hand. There are lines on the art implying he was just swinging the ladle. He is scowling. The phrase "grrr" is above his head.

Image 2: Wild is frowning and is very anger. The lines on the image imply he just stood up very quickly. The scars on his face, ear, and neck are purposefully in focus.

Image 3: Wild during battle. He is leaping through the air and his hair is flying behind him. He is holding a sword in one hand and the Sheikah Slate out in front of him with his other hand.

Image 4: Wild is shrugging, grinning, and his eyes are very wide. His expression is very comical. His text box says "SO?"

Image 5: Wild is sitting in a chair in front of a Time and Malon's dining table. He has one hand gently braced on the table. He is smiling sheepishly at something off-screen.

Image 6: Wild is holding his bow with one hand. With the other hand he has three arrows at once nocked on the bow's string.

Image 7: Wild is shrugging and grinning widely at something off screen. There is a text box but it is cut off and unreadable. End descriptions.

The Hero of Legend – Legend – Veteran, Vet     |     Zelda: Fable

Games: A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes

Character Traits:

Older teen age

Most experienced Link, but chooses not to be a leader

Closest to Hyrule and Warriors, bickering relationship with Warriors

Very magically inclined

Mature for his age, very reliable

Very snarky, tries to act emotionally unaffected by his adventures

Truly loves adventuring and travelling

But likes to do things the right way and know where he’s going

Important Game Facts and Items:

One of his adventures may not have been real (Koholint), and he has a lot of issues surrounding that and the woman he fell in love with during it

Has so many items, has a tool for everything (bit of a hoarder)

Can turn into a pink rabbit sometimes

Ravio is his counterpart from Lorule, they live together

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Legend in his bunny form. It is a very cute pink rabbit and he is still wearing his red sleeveless tunic in bunny form.

Image 2: Legend is smirking and in the middle of telling a story. He has his hands out in front of them as if he is using them to portray his story. There is a text box and it has a lot of words but they are cut off and unreadable. His hair is primarily pink.

Image 3: Legend is smirking and elbowing Wind. Wind is mostly cut off of the frame.

Image 4: Legend is pointing at the viewer and yelling in surprise. His hair is mostly pink, but his roots are growing out blonde. His text box has extra pointed edges to show he is yelling but the words are cut off and unreadable.

Image 5: Legend has a confused look on his face. He is holding his shield but it is resting by his side. His text box is cut out of frame.

Image 6: Legend mid battle. The lines in the art imply he is running toward the viewer. His shield is hooked to his back and he is holding his sword with both hands. His sword has a blue hilt and a red blade.

Image 7: Legend has his chin pointed up and out and looks contemplative. The image has a regal vibe. His text box is cut out of frame. End descriptions.

Hero of Hyrule – Hyrule – Traveler, Rule, Roolie     |     Zelda: Aurora & Dawn

Game: The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: Adventures of Link

Character Traits:

Mid-teen age

Soft-spoken, kind, just a humble traveler

Doesn’t think he’s as much of a hero or warrior as the others

Handles himself well in battle despite having no formal training

Never gives up

Very magically inclined, and has healing magic

Looks up to Legend since he is Legend’s successor

Loves exploring with Wild

Grew up in a cave

Important Game Facts and Items

Original two Zelda games

His world is kind of a wasteland

Monsters in his world want to use his blood to resurrect Ganon

Never used the Master Sword

Has the entire Triforce

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Hyrule is looking down on the viewer and his hands are glowing with his healing magic. His eyes are closed in concentration. In the bottom of the frame, there are bandages on Twilight's chest.

Image 2: Hyrule is grinning widely and has one arm locked with Wild's. Wild is cut out of the frame. Hyrule is pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. The text is cut off, but the readable part says "curiosity sure doesn't!"

Image 3: Hyrule is standing in the center of the frame. The lighting and his stance make him look very young. Both his arms are extended out of the frame, and on one side there is a sliver of his shield visible.

Image 4: Hyrule during battle. He is running at something out of frame and yelling. There are scratches and dirt smudges on his face. He is holding his sword with both hands and it is on fire.

Image 5: Hyrule shoulders and head are centered. The lines in the art imply he quickly turned his head. His text box says "?" and he looks confused.

Image 6: Hyrule is grinning mischievously. His shoulders are facing away but his head is turned towards the viewer. He is snapping his fingers, there is a "SNAP" written next to his fingers, and there is lightning coming from his fingers. He is holding his sword with his other hand and his shield is strapped to his back. End descriptions.

The Chosen Hero – Sky     |     Zelda: Sun

Game: Skyward Sword

Character Traits:

Started his journey in mid-teens, now early 20s

Best swordsman- don’t get on his bad side

Skyloftian Knight

Kind, joyful, bashful, emotionally mature

Loves cuddles, loves comforting the others and making them smile

Very low stamina, needs more resting time, loves sleep

Very very in love with his Zelda

Friends with the soul of the Master Sword (Fi) and view the Master Sword as a blessing

Important Game Facts and Items:

Chronologically the first hero

Grew up on a floating island called Skyloft

He and his Zelda are rebuilding the Surface, and their kingdom will one day become Hyrule

Never actually fought Ganon- fought Demise, who cursed the hero’s spirit to be tied to his own

Image descriptions:

Image 1: Sky during battle. Sky's back is to the viewer and he is looking over his shoulder. His text box says "?!" He is holding his sword with one hand and his shield with the other. His shield has a very ornate metal design. His sailcloth is flowing behind him like a cape. There is black debris in the background.

Image 2: Sky is smiling kindly. His textbox says "Well I think it's neat."

Image 3: Sky during battle. He is holding the Master Sword above his head in the position for the Skyward Strike from his game and the sword is glowing brightly. His brows are furrowed in anger. He is holding his shield in his other hand.

Image 4: Sky is smiling bashfully and blushing. He has his head resting on a hand and is looking towards the Sky. There are hearts surrounding his head.

Image 5: Image from Wild's Sheikah Slate. Sky is asleep against a tree and there are hands in the image stacking sticks on his head.

Image 6: Sky is smiling up at the sun. Sun says are shining down on him. His hair looks especially fluffy. End descriptions.

[anime-grimmy-art]

What do you do when there’s not much to an AU? You make up your own stuff, ofc. And as is per usual when I make Character Designs, I make up a shit ton of lore too.

The ramblings under the cut, but what I’m really interested in, is what you guys think. Do you guys have any headcanons/ideas for this AU? Let me hear them! Also, if you don’t wanna read on tumblr, here’s the Google Docs link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/151yshHxnb_--P6eMKkwkI2dee9xC_Llb/view?usp=sharing

Before I get into the characters’ roles, here’s some general facts and backstory of their town:

- Basically, it’s Undertale meets Harvest Moon / Stardew Valley. Well, kinda. I at least used that approach for coming up for the jobs for the characters. You know, how there’s always a general store, a doctor, a smithy, etc.

- The usual story of a HM game is that you come to a town that’s way past its glory days and you, as the player/farmer, help them get back to that. The “backstory” of the town is that that already kinda happened. I’ll get into it more in the character description, but basically when Asgore was still mayor, the town got really popular. Then yadda yadda, a certain tragedy happened, two kids died, and the town suddenly got very bad publicity. There was a lot of stuff going on back then, bad reputation being spread and also a lot of law stuff, cos, you know, supposed child murder ‘n all, so Asgore made the decision to shut off the town to ppl from outside. This was in the interest of most monsters living there, because as fun as it is to have a lot of people coming there, most just wanted to live a quiet life. Not everyone was happy with that though, so many moved away from town and some others are trying to get the town back on its feet. But more on that later.

On to the characters:

I’m just gonna start with the skelebros, cos it’s their fault in the first place I got so invested.

Basically, they are what the player is in hm/sdv. They just showed up one day, took over the abandoned farmhouse and began their life there. The two came to town way after it was “closed” and since then a new mayor has opened the possibility for new residents to move in. Their farm helps the economy of the town a lot and the mayor, like usually in hm games, is trying to use that to make the town more known again. The skelebros aren’t really working towards that goal however.

So, now a bit more detail on them individually.

Papyrus:

- The design is mostly based on what’s “canon” in this au.

- He works mostly on the fields and is in charge of the crops. Their fields aren’t spectacularly big, but still big enough to plant a few dozen rows of veggies. 

- Paps also helps out a lot in town when he has the time. He helps Asgore with his plants, he goes fishing with Undyne, helps Toriel carry crates around and so on. This is inspired by the part-time job mechanic in HM ToT.

- Unbelievably, in this AU Pap is not an absolutely awful cook. Since he helps out at Muffet’s and Grillby’s a lot, they tend to show him some tricks to cooking. Even though Pap’s not a big fan of the greasy or overly sweet cooking those two do, he picks up a lot.

Sans:

- Again, design mostly based on the “canon” look. Maybe a bit more baggy.

- This is finally an AU this dude gets to rest. Since there are no resets and he doesn’t have to see his bro die again and again, for once in his life, he’s not a sad ball of depression. He’s just a chill and lazy dude that loves to make puns. Though, since he’s not too experienced with the feelings of loss, helplessness or grieving, he still tends to hide behind puns and fakes smiles if he does feel bad.

- Sans is in charge of the animals on the farm. Papyrus begrudgingly gave him that role since Pap’s loud demeanour and hectic movements usually scare the animals. Sans’ relaxed attitude draws the animals to him naturally and even if Pap mostly finds him sleep against a tree, in a stack of hay or on one of the sheep, the animals are always fed, healthy and relaxed, so Sans seems to be doing his job.

- Sans always has a small chic sit inside his hoodie or hat. Is it always the same one? Who knows, maybe.

- Sans also, somehow, can produce eggs out of thin air. Grab into his hoodie pocket, in his pants pocket, in his hat, in his slipper, there’s suddenly always an egg there. On good days he can even make butter or cheese appear. 

Gaster:

- He’s literally just a scarecrow in this. Though, if you ask any of the bros why they designed their scarecrow that way, they won’t have an answer.

Frisk&Toriel:

- Frisk is mostly based on what I wore myself as a kid in summer. Just a loose shirt with a cappy. Toriel basically has her ut gown, just with an apron on top.

- Frisk just appeared outside the “magical” forest one day. Napstablook and his cousin found them and brought them to Toriel, who has been taking care of them since.

- Toriel runs the general store in town, but also often takes care of the few kids that still live there.

- Frisk usually helps out in Toriels store, plays with the other kids or sits around at Asgore’s. They’re notorious for nabbing small snacks, mostly from Asgore’s plants. You’ll always find them munching on something. 

- Frisk was in town before the skelebros. Since they’d moved in, Frisk often went to spy on their farm. After a small incident with angry chicken, Frisk got to know the two better and now they see them as something between brothers and uncles.

- But Frisk honestly gets along with everyone. Just like in UT, they’ve not only been adopted by Toriel but literally everyone.

- Toriel and Asgore’s relationship is not as bad as in the main game, since, you know, Asgore didn’t kill literal children, but there’s still tension between them. Back when Asriel and Chara died and the whole thing with the bad rep for the town began, Toriel felt betrayed by Asgore focusing more on the town than giving their deceased kids the grieving they deserved. They’re not divorced, but Toriel still moved out and said needed space to think. Now that Frisk is in the picture though, the both of them are slowly coming to even ground and may even be able to talk things out and clear up the uncertainty of their decisions.

Asgore:

-Asgore has his UT Ending / Deltarune clothes, just with a gardener’s belt.

- He’s the previous mayor of the town, but after all the crap that happened, he stepped down from the position. Now he has his own little shop and sells seeds, saplings, homegrown veggies and fertilizer. So, basically what e.g. the Marimba Farm is in HM AP

- His main customer is Papyrus and they’re on friendly terms. Asgore is worried about how much and how hard Pap works, so he often gives him a discount. 

- Since his family’s past tragedy, Asgore is kind of nervous around kids. So, when he first met Frisk, he hoped they’d not visit him too often. But to his chagrin, Frisk took an instant liking to him and spends a lot of time at his shop (and steals eats the fresh grown veggies). Now, he’s really grateful for that, because for one, he loves Frisk as dearly as he had his own children, and also because now the tension and mistrust between him and Toriel seem to grow smaller day by day.

Undyne&Alphys:

- I gave Undyne a pretty basic fisher’s outfit. Alphys basically has Elli from HM’s outfit, just a bit more doctory stuff added. She still has her canon lab coat too.

- In essence, Undyne and Alphys have 2 completely different jobs. Alphys is the resident doctor and Undyne runs the fish market.

Two things. Yes, I know Alphys is more a mechanic than a doctor, she fits the aesthetic though, so she’s the doc now. And no, Undyne being a fisherwoman is not cannibalism, think of it more as a shark hunting smaller fish.

- The reason I lump them together is because they act as the local “smithy”. Alphys is still really tech savvy in this (I mean, Mettaton is still part of this AU), so she takes on most problems with electronics and stuff. For Undyne, I didn’t want to lose her Royal Guard’s Captain image, so she’s really good at handling tools (and weapons, but Al doesn’t let her make them anymore). So basically, if there’s a broken tool, you can be sure that either Undyne or Alphys can fix it.

- As for relationships, those two are still an item. Alphys is still really shy and a shut-off, but since Undyne and Pap become best friends, she gets to know the skelebros better. She and Sans especially get along well, since most of the time Undyne and Papyrus are let loose, they sit back and talk about science-y stuff. (no, Sans doesn’t have a background in science but he’s still into sci-fi)

- Alphys has a bit of a strained relationship with both Asgore and Mettaton.

Back when Chara and Asriel died, it was because of “illness” (maybe poisoning?). Alphys feels awful because with her back then limited knowledge on medicine she couldn’t help the two. Asgore doesn’t hold anything against her but Alphys can’t help but feel guilty.

Alphys still built Mettaton’s body in this one. The two had a really big disagreement, because Mettaton hated the fact the town was going to close, and he couldn’t understand how Alphys could feel otherwise, even more so endorse the idea.

Mettaton, Napstablook, Mad Dummy/Mew Mew:

- Napsta and Dummy are pretty self-explanatory, they got straw hats. Mettaton’s outfit is a bit of a joke cos it’s a play on “work at the top and party at the bottom”. The tie has two different sides, one with the yellow red pattern, the other completely red. His “top part” is the business part, because when he’s on tv or in the mayors’ office, you don’t usually see his feet. The bottom is his party/dance part, cos his dancing/entertainment channels mostly feature his legs. 

- Mettaton, still a robot, Napstablook and Mad Dummy are all still cousins in this AU.

- Originally, they all lived and worked at the Blook Farm, the Animal Farm of this AU. Mettaton, however, despised that simple live and after befriending Alphys and her building him a body, he left the Farm to pursue bigger things. 

- Mettaton runs the local tv network. From weather to game shows, he does it all. He also runs the tailor shop in town that sells his designer clothes and merchandise. After Asgore stepped down, Mettaton also took over the role of town’s mayor and now works towards making the place more known again. Not everybody is happy with him doing that though.

- One of those people is the Mad Dummy. He can’t stand people anyways and he always claims that history would just repeat itself.

- Since the whole family is made of ghosts, they have different dummies and scarecrows they can use to take care of the animals. To mock Mettaton and kinda get back at Alphys for giving MTT such an opportunity, Mad Dummy found the blueprints for the Mew Mew robot and now modelled one of their scarecrows after it. 

- Napstablook isn’t fond of taking over obejcts like his cousins do, so he mostly takes care of the snails. Somehow, he can interact with them even when incorporeal. 

Muffet&Grillby:

- The two of them run the Inn together. Muffet cooks in the daytime and makes desserts, Grillby manages the bar in the evening. 

- The two still can’t really stand each other but working together like this benefits them both because their rivalry just spurs them on more.

- Even though Grillby is a patient person, somehow Muffet is the only person who riles him up enough to retaliate. (Well, maybe except for Sans, he’s a strong second).

So, basically everything between those two is a challenge in some way. Even if Papyrus doesn’t notice, even his cooking lessons are a challenge for them. 

- Even though they’re constantly bickering, after working together for so many years, there’s a strange level of respect and trust between them. Even if back when they first started this business, they’d pour salt into an already open wound, nowadays they’d know better and just take a step back from the other or even comfort the other (on very rare occasions only). 

Asriel&Chara:

- They be dead. Kinda.

Some Characters that’d live in that town too but that I haven’t made designs for:

- Gerson is the original smithy of the town. He’d grown up in a family of smiths, but he’d always had an appreciation for the sea. That’s why, when the town became more deserted and Undyne had a good enough skill level as smith, he took up the Captains hat and now mostly spends his days out on sea. He also ferries people to places if they need him to. Oh, and just like in canon, Undyne learned most of her skills from him.

- Burgerpants is a poor dude Mettaton basically kidnapped when he was trying to get fame in the city. Now Burgerpants works wherever MTT needs him to, be that as cameraman for the tv shows, cashier in his tailor shop or his slave secretary in the mayor’s office.

- MK is Frisk’s best kid friend. MK’s parents are in charge of shipping the goods out of town and paying the individual people. MK’s the one that usually collects the goods at the end of the day.

- Other than that, there are only a few people in town. I’d imagine the older folks or the really young families stayed in town after it was closed. I think the librarby dude would still run the library. Some Snowdin residents like the stone family or the dogs also might still live there. 

[faintvibes]

Historical Hetalia Day Five: 1800 - 1945

Day 5: 1800 - 1945 // Shadows @historical-hetalia-week

When making this piece, I'd been having Thoughts about the potential relationship dynamics between Nyo!Prussia and Germany. Then I happened to stumble upon a glorious mess of a German dress, and this happened. My only regret is making Germany so damn young when (judging by canon, vaguely) he's prooooobably an adult at this point.

More of an explanation is under the cut!

Let's start with Prussia, since the idea for this piece only began to be truly conceptualised upon finding that goddamn dress. Here it is, by the way:

It's from the book "Ein Hauch von Eleganz: 200 Jahre Mode in Bremen" (A Breath of Elegance: 200 Years of Fashion in Bremen)- which appears to have been created on behalf of the Bremen Museum of Art and Cultural History (you'll have to forgive me if that's incorrect- my German is still a work in progress!)

The moment I laid eyes on this, I knew for a fact Prussia would wear this. The dress is tacky, bewildering, and absolutely delightful.

It's dated to 1885, so take that as a loose setting (beyond just '1800s') for this piece. However, the dress is likely the only sure piece of proof you'll find of this. For one, Prussia's hair (nevermind that it hasn't been styled) does not fit the fashionable cut of the time. Women tended to cut their hair short at the front, and then curl those bangs. However, I have a headcanon relating to N!Prussia's hair/general sense of identity (a very long story, that I'd rather save for its own post... maybe... someday... than shove in here!) that makes me think she'd not be so inclined as to cut it. While here, in the privacy of her residence, she doesn't bother to even style here hair- though this is likely a different case in public.

As for what she's doing? Probably preaching about her awesomeness!

At the time of making this, I'd just recently discovered a 3 part series focusing on Prussia's life (uploaded to Youtube by rano) originally from Bilibili (here's part one). I'd adored a fair few of the outfits throughout the series, but two of little Germany's stood out to me:

I'd asked my parents to vote on which one they liked better, and they picked the one you now see! Fun fact: in the video's rendition of the outfit, all those little specks on the vest are tiny patterns. Prussia's dress was enough for me y'all, no way was I gonna be able to draw those on too (｀Д´)

The background is inspired by this image of a room in Sanssouci Palace, built by Frederick the Great of Prussia:

I didn't want to overload the piece with red, so I changed up that colour- but the patterns below the bench Prussia and Germany are sat on are based on the patterns bordering the bottom of the walls.

And yeah! From here I'm pretty sure the explanations are going to be shorter than the first few days :) But thanks for reading, if you've made it this far! That's pretty cool of you

[nevermindirah]

Yitzhak!

is a character! who Gregadiah What-Is-Math Rucka gave us almost no information about!

I've gone through Tales Through Time #6: The Bear and #1: My Mother's Axe with several magnifying glasses and done a lot of googling and taken my copy of the Tanakh off my shelf for the first time since (well, since the last time I needed to read Torah for TOG reasons, which I think was Booker Passover headcanons) and here's the best I can come up with.

In The Bear we meet someone who goes by the name Isaac Blue:

Read on for a lot of comic panel analysis and historical research and Jewish flailing!

So what do we know about this Isaac Blue person?

He's Lorge, he's got curly hair, he's basically a taller version of Joe as drawn by Leandro Fernández (ie an antisemitic stereotype why the fuck did they approve this character design?? and then why did they double down and copy-paste it to Yitzhak??):

He's got a mezuzah on the doorpost of his house in Alaska!

I screamed about the mezuzah way back in January in this post where I (very reasonably) assumed this character was Joe and spun myself a tale about how Booker is still Joe's brother so the mezuzah stays up even though Booker isn't welcome in that house for a century. Bottom line: the mezuzah is a tradition with origins in the commandment from Deuteronomy 6:9 to "write the words of G-d on the gates and doorposts of your house" and evolved over the course of the Rabbinic period into the modern mezuzah we see here.

I did unnecessary levels of google image search to glean absolutely no useful information about Yitzhak’s origins from this panel:

I've decided the variant cover of TTT 6 is Yitzhak because of a panel in My Mother’s Axe, shown here, and what's likely an unnecessarily deep reading of Exodus, discussed further down:

The person at the right of the bottom panel is wearing the same clothes as in the TTT 6 variant cover and has the same shoulder-length curly hair and hairy forearms.

Left to right, the people in this panel are Lykon (I'll never get used to him being white in the comics), Andy, Noriko (I think? why doesn't Andy mention her by name here?), and Yitzhak. Andy's robe has a stereotypically Greek design on the sleeve cuff, and I had to stop myself 10 minutes into a Wikipedia rabbit hole because Gregorforth doesn't think that deep about this shit. The solid clues as to timeline that we get in this panel are:

Andy's iron axe

the presence of Lykon, who Andy first met in 331 BCE

So all we know is that Yitzhak is an immortal, he was a contemporary of Lykon, and he's Jewish.

Isaac is the most common Anglicization of Yitzhak (which in turn is the most common Anglophone transliteration of יִצְחָק‎), and Greg always uses the (transliterated) Hebrew when he refers to this character. Yitzhak is the long-awaited child of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, the child who G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice but spared at the last minute. I see what you did there, Gregory.

Why Isaac Blue? This is where I pulled out my Tanakh. According to the New JPS translation, blue is the first of three colors of yarn listed in Exodus 35:6 among the gifts requested of the Israelites to construct the priestly garments for the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Then in Numbers 15:38 the Israelites are commanded to "make themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner."

And now for sandbox timelines party! Gregadiah gave us ALMOST NOTHING to go on, so I'm gonna make my own fun.

I, like many modern Jews, think the stories in the Tanakh are foundational mythology that are valuable because of how they've shaped our people but that contain some fucked-up shit and either way aren't meant to be a record of historical facts. Modern scholarship generally agrees that the community we now call Jews emerged as a distinct group of Canaanites sometime in the late Bronze Age (cw this video's host says the Name of G-d aloud despite being a religious studies scholar who knows that is not a name anyone but the Temple priests are allowed to say). The first non-Biblical written record of the people Israel is from an Egyptian source c. 1200 BCE, and the Biblical kingdom of David and Solomon was probably an exaggeration of whatever really happened during the Bronze Age Collapse. We start getting into historical-fact territory a few centuries into the Iron Age:

588 BCE Solomon's Temple destroyed, Babylonian exile begins

538 BCE Cyrus of Persia allows Jews to return to Jerusalem

515 BCE Second Temple construction complete

332 BCE Alexander the Great At Something I Guess conquered Judea, beginning the Hellenistic period of Jewish history — 331 BCE Andy & Lykon find each other

167 BCE another jerkface Greek king desecrated the Temple and basically outlawed Judaism

164 BCE recapture of Jerusalem and Temple rededication during the Maccabean Revolt

70 CE destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, beginning of the Rabbinic period of Jewish history that we're still in now

What if... and hear me out... what if immortals come in pairs, and the pairs are:

Andy & Quynh

Joe & Nicky

Booker & Nile

LYKON & YITZHAK

What if Yitzhak was a priest of the Second Temple? What if he and Lykon killed each other just like Joe and Nicky would in the same city around 1300 years later, but instead of enemies-to-lovers speedrun with an absurdly long happily-ever-after, when Lykon died permanently Yitzhak decided to separate from Andy and Noriko and become the hermit we later see in Alaska?

We don't know how old Yitzhak is compared to the others, only that he was a contemporary of Lykon at a time when Andy was using an Iron Age version of her mother's axe. Other plausible origins for him:

a Jew of the early Rabbinic period, maybe a child or grandchild of people who were still alive before the Second Temple was destroyed

a Judean of the Second Temple era under the Romans or Greeks or Persians, maybe a priest, maybe not

an exilee in Babylon, maybe of the generation who got to return, maybe of the generation who was exiled (he doesn't look like he was 50 at his first death but who knows, he could've been mortal for both)

an Israelite of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, maybe a priest of Solomon's Temple or again maybe not

an Israelite wandering in the desert with Moses

THEE Yitzhak, ben Avraham v'Sarah, our patriarch who was brought up for sacrifice and then spared, and then spared again, and then spared again, and again, and again...

or! he could also be a Canaanite or other Levantine who predates the people Israel, who at some point in his very long life chose to join our mixed multitude, who like Andromache before him (and like Avram and Sarai would in this case do after him) took a new name to reflect the magnitude of influence this people has had on him

Why do I keep saying Yitzhak might have been a priest? It's thanks to the one detail in the artwork I could plausibly connect to solid research without getting a PhD real quick. Take a look at the gorgeous detail on the opening of his robe in the TTT 6 cover. He's dressed in rags, holes and dirt everywhere, rough stitches probably from hasty repair work — except for the neck opening. Compare that to this description from Exodus 39:23 of the construction of the priestly garments for the Tabernacle: "The opening of the robe, in the middle of it, was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around the opening, so that it would not tear."

The next verses describe the intricate designs for the hem of the priestly garment. Yitzhak's ragged garment looks like the hem was torn off entirely.

Am I overthinking this? Yes I am! You're welcome!

My friend and historical research hero @lady-writes​ is in a Discord server with Gregadiah and asked the man himself some questions about all this. He clearly thinks he's being sneaky?? No shit Yitzhak is Jewish, dude, I want DETAILS!

I will not be giving up my Jewish Booker headcanon, I've put too much thought into it by now, the internalized shame of antisemitism explains Booker's depression too well for me, and it just adds so much richness to Booker/Nile both being children of forced diasporas. Fortunately (for him, not me, bc I'd do it anyway!) Gregothy supports fan headcanons even when they're not in line with his own:

One last thing before I close like 100 research tabs and go back to writing historical fantasy and/or porn! I love that, despite that atrocious caricature of a face design, our canon Jew and our fanon Jew are both Lorge and Soft and Kind, flying the face of the antisemitic stereotype of Ashkenazi Jewish men as small and weak, but also not falling into the New Jew / Muscle Jew stereotype that Zionism created. (I am trying SO HARD not to talk about Israel/Palestine for once ughhhhhhhhhh) Anyway here's a (US-centric but very good) primer on both these stereotypes of Jewish masculinity. Is this why I'm forever projecting my transmasc diasporist feels onto Jewish Booker the service sub? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I’ll reblog a second version of this with full image descriptions so that there’s a version accessible for folks who need IDs as well as a version accessible for folks who get overwhelmed by walls of text.

[accio-slytherout]

Mischief Managed

Concept by @helliontherapscallion

Pairings: p!sbi x reader, p!dreamXD x reader, c!Philza x reader (could be taken as platonic/romantic)

characters: TommyInnit, Ph1lza Minecraft, Wilbur, Technoblade, Captain Puffy

mentioned characters: Fundy

Warnings: Fighting, blood, swearing, pranks, trickery (?), shouting (tell me if I missed anything!)

in game dsmp!au

summary: Reader is the god of mischief and trickery. After catching up with their old friend and his family, they got into a fight with the god of the server, dreamXD.

Not proofread

note: reader does not act like peeves! sorry in advance! i really liked this concept, i just had to write it. i put more effort into this than i did on my social studies essay. was fun to write :D straying from canon lore! I was not sure how to write dreamXD's text, so i wrote it in normal text! i am not very good and pranking, and not that creative or smart on those kind of things, so I will not really specify what is going on in the pranking.

flachbacks in italic

masterpost

------

(Y/N) was just skipping around the forest, looking for flowers to make some dye when they stumbled upon a boy that was picking some red flowers.

"WHAT THE F*CK" he shouted with a strong British accent. "Who the f*ck are you?" he continued. "Well who are you child?" they retorted.

"WHAT THE- IM NOT- THE FU- IM NOT A F*CKING CHILD IM A BIG MAN" the 'Big Man' as he called himself retorted, stumbling over his words. He heard a very mischievous laughter come out of the random person he stumbled upon, and he chose to put up the angriest face he could and crossed his arms.

"The name's (Y/N). How about you, big man?" they finally replied with a slight mocking tone. "Tommy. What are you doing here? I've never seen you around before." answered Tommy.

"I'm looking for some dye, so I can dye Fundy's fur" they replied, rather mischievously? Well, point is, Tommy's eyes lit up at the mention of pranking the fox. "Could I maybe help you?" he replied with an equally mischievous tone.

Thats how a friendhip started. They caused pure havoc around the server. Pranking the first person they thought of. They were laughing their butts off on the bench.

"TOMMYINNIT YOU STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Panic rose in their chests as they slowly swallowed and turned around. There stood Captain Puffy looking very angry... with bright pink covering her entire body. They tried their best to hold in their laughter, as she did not look very intimidating.

Yet, Tommy could not help but to start laughing loudly. That pushed (Y/N) over the edge and started laughing hysterically, and they swore they saw Puffy crack a smile at the sight.

"Im- sor- sorry-" he said inbetween his laughter. They both tried their best to stop laughing, and after a while, they did.

Puffy let out a sigh, and said "Tommy, I will get you back. I am warning you." with a glint of amusement in her eyes. Tommy seemed to have sobered up at the thought and looked scared. Puffy left with a wave and headed to her home to probably clean up.

"That was funny though." he said out of the blue. That started another round of laughter to go throught them.

"Say, (Y/N), how old are you?" Tommy asked after they have both calmed down. "I'm the god of mischief and trickery. I'm and immortal being. I am centuries old, kid." they answered.

"Really? That's quite pog! Did you know my father is also immortal? You might know him, name's Philza, Angel of Death. Does that ring a bell?" he rambled, ignoring the fact that they had just called him kid.

(Y/N) was ecstatic at the idea of being able to meet with their old friend again, but decided to say "HECK YEAH! I GET TO MESS WITH HIM AGAIN!" as to hide their feelings. They were the god of trickery after all. They had an image to uphold.

Tommy decided to go take them to Phil. Bad idea. As they reached the door of Phil's cottage, Tommy just burst into the house without knocking.

"Phil~ I'm baack~" Tommy called in a sing-song tone. Phil just said "Welcome back" in a monotone voice from the kitchen without looking.

As he was preparing supper, he heard Techno shout from the living room "TOMMY WHO ON EARTH IS THAT?!". Millions of thoughts start rushing through his head. Who could Tommy have brought with him? He ran out of the kitchen and went to see for himself who it was.

The scene in front of him just made him want to be buried 6 feet under the ground. There it was, His two oldest sons looking at the door from the bottom of the stairs and his youngest son, standing next to the person he hated the most. (Y/N).

They were walking through the forest. Phil felt something touch his shoulder. He turned around, raising his sword as he was startled. There they were, (Y/N), making the weirdest face possible.

"For f*ck's sake (Y/N)! stop it!". That only made them laugh more. "You should have seen your face!" they said inbetween laughter.

The man loathed them. He just wanted to leave them there, in the middle of nowhere, for this was not the only thing they have done in the past hour of adventuring. He, however decided to ignore them, for his heart could not bear the idea of leaving his companion alone.

"Long time no see, Philza." they said with a smirk. "Kill me already" he groaned. That was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

After Phil had supper with his family and the devil- sorry, unexpected guest, he went to clean up as his sons sat in the living room with (Y/N).

"So you're immortal?" said the oldest boy that they learnt was called Wilbur. They nodded as a reply, and he just said "Thats so cool!"

"I have read about you before, however, seeing you, I don't think the book described you correctly. Could you, possibly tell me more about your tricks and stuff?" Technoblade's monotone voice had a slight tone of curiosity and amusement while asking the question.

So they did. They told the boys about their stories. As they finished, they realised that Wilbur and Tommy had fallen asleep and Techno was half paying attention to them.

"You should go to sleep. Both of you. It's quite late already." A voice said behind her. "I'm a god, Phil. I don't need sleep." they retorted as they turned around, looking at the man.

"Suit yourself." he shrugged. He opened his mouth to tell his son to go to sleep, but he realised that his son, in fact was already asleep. He shook his head and got some blankets to lay above his sons. "I guess you can stay the night. It's late anyways" he spoke before (Y/N) could say anything and he left to go to his room. Huge mistake.

Philza minecraft was having a good sleep, when he heard a scream from the living room. He panicked, as his mind made up the worst scenarios possible. As he rushed downstairs, he saw Wilbur with bright pink hair, Tommy with a very bold red hair and hands, along with a half asleep Techno raising his sword.

Only then did he remember, that his least favourite person was at his house. Right as he thought about that, he heard giggling coming from the living room.

"(Y/N)!" he shouted along with Wilbur and Tommy. "Yes?" they batted their eyelashes innocently. Phil watched with amusement at the scene unfolding before him. Tommy and Wilbur shouting at (Y/N) and Techno lowering his sword and laying back down on the couch, sensing no danger.

"Boys, enough. (Y/N), will these dyes wash away?" he finally said in a stern tone that had a hint of amusedment in it. "Ofcourse father of minecraft. Run water through them and they will be gone" they said with such innocence that he would have believed it was not her had he not known it was their doing.

Wilbur and tommy quickly rushed to the bathroom to wash their hair out, and Phil swore the doors of the bathroom would fall off its hinges from the amount of force that was put into opening it.

"I must say, that was pretty funny, (N/N)." Phil said with amusement as he went to prepare some breakfast. (Y/N) smiled proudly from the compliment, as he was always telling her off after pranking.

Phil now remembers why he always asked them to accompany him on adventures. They were fun, and entertaining. Sometimes, they're even smart and helpful. The thought of his adventures with them brought a smile to his face.

A week in their visit, they heard a knock on the door. Phil, thinking it was just (Y/N), thought nothing of it. So he just calmly walks to the door and answers it. What he didn't expect however, was DreamXD at the door, floating in a menacing stance.

"You all give me your youngest son, or you all are dead. You have 24 hours. If you do not hive him by them, you are all dead." DreamXD said in a demonic sound.

As DreamXD turned around, Phil saw a cloud of something covering his sight, he felt... flour? he cleared the flour from his face and saw DreamXD covered in flour and (Y/N) on the roof looking rather sheepishly at DreamXD.

"Sorry, I thought you were Philza" they said sarcastically. "Not sorry, actually." they continued as they cracked an egg and poured it along with some sugar on to DreamXD's head.

DreamXD suddenly whips something out and slapped (Y/N) off the roof. As (Y/N) was used to falling from high places, they landed on the ground with nothing but a few scratches.

DreamXD stabs them with a sword, and blood splattered from their waist. (Y/N), being the god of mischief, had ofcourse had lots of experience on pranking, but wasnt strong. However, they are very witty, as they always find creative ways to prank people.

(Y/N) somehow found a way to make DreamXD retreat, but Phil could not see how. All he saw was smoke, DreamXD leaving and (Y/N) lying on the floor, with blood gushing out of their side making a puddle on the ground.

They let out a chuckle and turned to face Phil. "Your lives are safe, Phil. And what can I say? Mischief... managed." they trailed off as their eyes closed. Phil rushed to bandage them up and put them in a spare bedroom.

A week.

That was how long it was.

One singular week. Seven days. Yet it felt like seven years they had been unconscious. The house felt empty. No chaos. Everyone was worried about them.

Phil let out a sigh. He closed the door and sat down next to where (Y/N) was laying. He traced his index finger over the palm of their hand that he was holding, and whispered "I don't think you know this.. but you really are a great friend, (N/N). I love your personality.. Who am I kidding, I love you."

Phil then thought, they were unconcious. He let out a chuckle at the thought. "Look at me.. talking to someone unconscious." he said out loud, closing his eyes and resting his head on the palm of his hand that was propped up on the bed. Little did he know, they were fully awake, and pretending to be unconscious.

"Aww, thanks Phil. I love you too." he suddenly heard. He whipped his head around to their direction and saw that their head was turned to his direction. He hugged them, minding their injuries and whispered in their ear that he was thankful that they were fine over and over again.

Phil then felt their body shaking and heard gentle sobs coming out of them. He pulled away from the hug and cupped their face in his hands and wiped their tears away.

"What's wrong, (N/N)?" he calmly asked. They just cried more and gave him a hug. They told him that they have never felt accepted, and that the only person that has ever tolerated them was him. They told him that they were happy that he cared for them. They told him how much they cared for him and how great of a friend he was. They told him how much they loved him.

After their little heart to heart session, Phil went to go and prepare lunch for everyone in the house. He told the boys that (Y/N) was awake now. Everyone was glad and relieved that they were awake again. And (Y/N) was glad, that they now had a family that cared for them.

--------

end.

[yeenybeanies]

Pieces of the Puzzle

continuation of my first gtms piece!! gtms belongs to unicornofgt, which you can (& should) read here!! (note!! this is just fan-work & not part of the canon!! i just think it’s a neat world & wanted to have some fun with it!!) gt mech suits (ocs) | samson rosales & ricky salem 3,460 words language & mentions of death warnings thanks for reading!! reblogs > likes!!

“Jesus Christ… You seein’ this shit, Condori?”

“Considering the fact that I’m standing right next to you, yes. I see it, Tellier.”

“Don’t be a smartass.” The mech’s head turned to look up at the other one towering over his crouched form. That mech shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, but there was a stiffness to his movements.

Condori wanted to say “Better than being a dumbass.” That was what he would usually say. Right now, though, he couldn’t muster that much smartassery. He sighed, the sound ringing through his mech’s speakers. He stared down into the canyon. They both did, overlooking the scene below. Scattered in the bloody dirt at the bottom were pieces of mech armor plating, looking like it had been ripped off.

“Think the monster did this?” He asked, though he was skeptical of it himself. From up here, the plating looked pretty dinged up, but it didn’t look like how he would think that it would if a monster were pulling it off. It was also strange that there weren’t any support structures amongst the debris, or any internal machinery that he’d expect to see in a giant robot.

There was also the fact that the rest of the mech was missing, and its pilot, Kruger, wasn’t answering their hails.

“Probably,” Tillier answered. They didn’t sound nearly as skeptical. “Let’s check it out.” He pushed off of the ledge and slid down the wall, into the canyon. Condori followed closely behind. Together, the two of them started picking through the wreckage.

Condori’s suspicions only grew. He examined a pauldron, turning it over in his hands––or rather, in his mech’s hands. Its underside was smooth, and lacked attachments in any logical places. It also lacked significant clawing and chewing. The dead monster up the canyon didn’t look like it had the hands to wrench machinery off like this.

“Ho-ly shit,” came Tillier’s voice. “Condori, come look at this.” They held up what looked like the head of a mech, albeit with a smashed-in faceplate. Condori dropped the pauldron and took a knee next to Tillier to better inspect the find. He furrowed his brows as he zoomed in. The head was hollow. Condori was no engineer, but he was finding the apparent construction of these mechs to be increasingly odd.

Tillier pointed to the cavity in the faceplate. “This… doesn’t look good.” Blood and viscera coated the exposed cockpit, and dripped down the front. It wasn’t completely dry yet.

“That’s too much blood to lose,” Condori said, more to himself than to his partner. Kruger was dead. No one could have survived… whatever this was. Monster attack. Condori averted his gaze from the grizzly image, feeling a wave of grief rush in for his lost comrade. For just a moment, it managed to drown out his confusion with the situation, but it wasn’t a long moment. Something else caught his attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a patch of earth that looked out of place. It was a mound of dirt, freshly churned.

Condori knew a grave when he saw one.

He reached over and pushed his mech’s fingers into the dirt, gently brushing it aside. Underneath about a foot of loose soil was a solid shape. A body. Kruger’s body. Condori hissed through his teeth. His mangled corpse certainly matched the mess in the head.

“Found him,” he said grimly. He lifted the body from the dirt. Just behind him, Tillier whistled.

“Shit… that monster got him good,” he muttered.

“Monster? You still think a monster did this?” Condori stood up, cradling Kruger’s body. He didn’t want to damage it further.

“I mean... what else could do this?”

“He was buried. Monsters… they don’t do that. And the mech… where could it have gone without a pilot?”

It was Tillier’s turn to shrug. “I dunno. Maybe some rogues happened upon the scene before us and did him the courtesy. Maybe another monster came along and dragged the mech away.”

Before they got here? This fight couldn’t have taken place too long before they arrived. Everything was still so fresh. He wasn’t convinced of Tillier’s theory about the mech’s disappearance either. Condori frowned, but didn’t voice his doubt. He glanced up at the sky, noting the changing colors.

“We should get going,” he said with a sigh. They’d have to track down Kruger’s mech later. It wasn’t safe to be out at night, even with the two of them in their mechs.

“Yeah… Poor guy,” Tillier mused. “Hopefully monsters don’t mess the mech up too much before we find it. Or scavengers don’t completely strip out the machinery. These things are expensive, I imagine.”

Condori didn’t respond. He started walking, but paused when something else caught his eye. Footprints. Huge footprints. Mech-sized impressions.

Did the mech… walk away? How? There’s no way––

No. Not tonight. They needed to get Kruger back to base. He deserved a proper burial. His loved ones deserved to know about his death. The mech could wait.

***

Once she felt like she was a safe distance away, Ricky ducked behind a group of rocks jutting out from the ground. Her heart was pounding. She pressed her back to the rocks, only distantly thinking about the scorpions and snakes that might be hiding in the cracks.

Truth be told, a couple of mechs probably wouldn’t pay a lone human any mind, but, given Ricky’s history with the Alliance, she didn’t care to take any chances. On the off chance that one of the pilots recognized her, they could easily reduce her to another stain in the dirt. And if they didn’t, her presence at the scene of a mech fight could still be called into question.

Regardless of the numerous ways it could play out, Ricky didn’t want to be present to find out.

When the rumbling footsteps stopped, Ricky dared to peek out from behind her cover. One of the mechs had crossed the canyon, so they both now stood on the far side, looking down at the space where the giant man had been. Hopefully he’d taken off like she’d told him too. Judging by the lack of any reaction from the two mechs, she assumed he had.

Ricky couldn’t help but stare at the mechs. She watched how they moved. She’d never noticed before how… uncanny their movements were. Until today, she’d never even considered the possibility that giant… people might be encased inside those metal titans.

What the hell was the Alliance doing to these people? Did people volunteer to become these things?

The giant man had seemed so lost…

It left Ricky with a feeling of terror.

One of the mechs dropped down into the canyon, out of view, and the other followed. Ricky propped herself up a little higher and pursed her lips. Her eyes drifted along the canyon ledge, towards where the giant man likely would have run.

She shouldn’t get involved. She really shouldn’t. Her brain was telling her that this had nothing to do with her. Ricky leaned her head back and ran a hand through her braids, exasperated.

“Fucking––!” Shit. After a few moments of internal arguing, she stood up, bag secured, and started jogging.

If she found the giant man, she rationalized, and she helped him, then maybe he could help her out too. He could certainly provide some excellent protection against the monsters out here. How many people could say that they had their own personal giant bodyguard?

Yeah. That made sense. That could be a good reason to get involved.

***

Nothing was making any sense. Rosales stumbled. He planted one hand against the canyon wall for balance, and scrubbed the other through his hair. He pulled at a fistful of the salt-and-pepper strands, as if it might help jog his memory.

What did he know so far?

He knew his name. Rosales. He was wearing some sort of mechanical suit. There were others in these suits, too––or so he assumed.

There were tiny people. One was inside the helmet he’d been wearing. For reasons unknown, he’d felt the need to bury the little man. And then there was the little woman. She’d warned him about the… the “mechs.” She’d told him to run.

Rosales looked to his surroundings, to the rocks and the sun-baked vegetation. Everything looked so small.

Or maybe… he was big. Maybe those tiny people weren’t tiny at all; Rosales was the big one here.

A dull pain bloomed just behind his eyes. He grimaced and pressed his knuckles to his brow. Behind him, in the not-far-enough distance, he could hear more chatter between the two mechs. He needed to keep moving. He pushed off of the wall and continued on, doing his best to ignore the growing headache.

The sun was nearly set by the time he came to a stop. Breath heavy, he allowed himself to fall to his knees––which he instantly regretted. Not only did his still-armored legs make a horribly loud CLANG that echoed through the canyon, but the sheer force of his weight coming down on his aching joints sent a jolt of pain through his muscles and bones. Rosales growled, teeth gritted, and bowed his head. The adrenaline in his veins was waning, taking with it the pain and exhaustion suppression. Rosales scanned the endless rock around him. He felt exposed. Shelter would be nice, if he could find some place big enough to sequester himself into.

But then… what the hell was he going to do after? Where would he go next?

With a heavy sigh, Rosales pushed himself back up to his feet. Several pops and cracks accompanied the motion; he wasn’t sure if they came from his joints, or from the machinery still clinging to his body. He hadn’t been able to take much of it off before he was forced to flee. Now, Rosales looked down at the armor with disdain. He hooked his thumbs under gaps in the chest plate and pulled, pulled, pulled, until it gave away. He tossed it to the ground without a second thought, and moved on to the next piece. Bit by bit, he tore metal from his person. He paused at his forearm, finally noticing the bayonet-like instrument mounted there. Something told him that it could be useful. He did his best to be delicate in removing it, and set it aside.

Piece by piece, Rosales stripped himself of metal. The sun had long since sank when he pulled the heavy boots off, thus ridding him of the last of it. He stood tall and looked down at himself, now only wearing a tight, black bodysuit. He felt much lighter, much more free. With his newfound mobility, Rosales stretched his aching body. Every movement came with a symphony of crackles, thus answering his unspoken question from earlier. He rolled his shoulders, tugged his neck this way and that, twisted his back––

“––Ghh!” Fuck! Pain shot up his spine, hot and electric, enough to make his eyes water. His legs trembled and slowly gave under him, leaving him to collapse awkwardly to his knees. His breath came in gasps as he tried to get a grip on himself. It took a few minutes for the pain to dull, but it wasn’t going away fully. Rosales pressed his fingers to his eyes, a heavy sigh leaving his lungs. This was going to be a problem. He knew without needing to try that even standing would be miserable, let alone walking. He peeked between his fingers, aimlessly scanning the canyon walls and floor, the discarded armor, when his eyes landed on the pieces that had covered his abdomen and back.

A lightbulb flicked on in his head.

Teeth gritted through the pain, he leaned forward and gathered the pieces. He held the back piece in place with one hand, and manipulated the front piece until their clasps came together with a click! The relief was instant. It didn’t fully alleviate the pain, but it made it bearable, dulled it down to blend in with the rest of the aches he felt. He could work with that.

Rosales leaned back against the rock wall, head tipped up, and breathed. He studied the skies, the stars, absentmindedly tracing patterns in his mind.

Stars…

He couldn’t pinpoint why, but staring at the stars filled him with a sense of longing.

Best not to dwell on it right now. He should keep moving, find shelter. Rosales tentatively stood up, testing out his makeshift back brace. Satisfied that it would work for now, he grabbed the bayonet, and started off again through the canyon.

Shelter came to him in the form of an overhang. It was low and cramped, but it left him feeling slightly less exposed. Rosales settled himself beneath the rock, warily eyeing it with thoughts of whether or not it would collapse.

Sleep did not come easily, nor did it stay peacefully.

The sky was pink when rocks skittered down the wall, bouncing off of his overhang. The noise startled Rosales awake. He breathed in sharply and scrambled to his hands and knees. His heart thudded in his chest, anticipating an unknown danger. More rocks tumbled down, now to the side of his shelter. His first thought was that the mechs had found him, but then he would expect much more of an avalanche under such titans. No, whatever––whoever––this was, they couldn’t be very big. Rosales watched the cascade, guarded, nose crinkled in the beginnings of a snarl, waiting for the unknown being to come into view.

When they did, he, surprisingly, recognized them. It was the woman from yesterday. She wore a hood and shawl that he didn’t remember her having, but it was unmistakably her face peeking out from the fabric. Their eyes locked, Rosales’ bewilderment meeting her startle. She stumbled with a yelp, nearly losing her footing on the loose rock.

“––Fuck, dude!” she shouted. She muttered to herself things that he couldn’t quite pick up as she made her way down to the canyon floor, then took a moment to dust herself off. “You gonna say something?” she asked, glancing up at Rosales.

He lifted a brow, but did not respond.

“Strong silent type. Got it. I know you can speak, though. You did yesterday.” The woman finished her dusting and set her hands on her hips. She looked up at him, far more confident than Rosales would expect. He was sure he wouldn’t be this bold if he were facing a being so much bigger than him.

“Well!” she continued, “nice little… shelter-thing you’ve got going on here. Looks cozy. I’m Ricky. Ricky Salem. Nice to meet––” she held out her hand as if she were offering a handshake, but paused when she realized just how ridiculous that was. Her hand went back to her hip. “––Er… nice to meet you. Got a name?”

A name. Yes. He’d been clinging to it all night, a part of him afraid that he might forget it. It was one of the few things he remembered.

“Rosales,” he said. His voice came out raspy and low, still very unusual to him. When he spoke, Ricky’s demeanor changed, if only for a moment, to show some of her nervousness, but she quickly corrected it.

“Just… Rosales?” she asked, looking skeptical. He nodded. “Really? That sounds like a last name. No first name, big guy?”

He… didn’t know. There was so much missing from his mind. When he didn’t answer, Ricky moved on.

“Okay, Rosales it is then.” She shrugged. “So, you’re––you were––one of the alliance mechs, hunh? I didn’t know that they put… giants into those things.” She gestured to Rosales, making him glance down at himself.

Well, that solidified his theory that he was the big one.

Was he even human anymore? Had he ever been human?

“How’d you get to be so, erm, big, anyway? The Alliance do that to you? Did you volunteer for it?”

He didn’t know. He didn’t know. Frustration bubbled in his chest.

“What do you want?” He said, cutting off Ricky’s questioning. He regarded her with a hard stare.

She swallowed before answering. “Um… to help you.” Her tone suggested confusion, as if her intentions were obvious. Rosales didn’t trust it.

“Why?” His eyes narrowed.

Ricky shifted her footing, but to her credit, she held her ground. She didn’t shrink back under his scrutiny, didn’t break eye contact.

“Because you look like you need it.”

Rosales’ nose crinkled further.

“...Because––because the Alliance and I have some rocky history. Because no one knows that their ‘mechs’––” she made air quote gestures with her fingers, “––are actually people. We all just thought they––you––were machines they built to fight the monsters. But you’re not.”

“‘We’?”

“Humanity. What still survives, at least.” Ricky pressed her lips together and breathed out through her nose. “Do you… do you not know what’s going on? What’s happened?”

Rosales tightened his jaw. He’d gone over in his head a thousand times what he did know, but there were still so many unanswered questions.

“The Start? The portals? The monsters? The collapse of civilization?” Ricky tried, but nothing was jogging his memory. He shook his head slowly. She slouched, dejected. “Damn… they must have done a number on you. Do you remember who you are, at least?”

Rosales abstained to answer, but that in itself answered her question.

***

Talking to the big guy was like pulling teeth. Giant, deep-rooted, impossible-to-remove teeth. He clearly didn’t trust her. That was evident in the way that he looked at her.

And boy, if looks could kill.

It wasn't malice in his eyes, but his stare still triggered her fight-or-flight instincts. It was all Ricky could do to hold her nerve under his gaze.

And his voice. There was an inherent, underlying growl in every word he spoke. It rumbled in her marrow.

She’d already slipped up a little bit, which she berated herself for, but she was determined to get through to this guy. He was more lost than she’d initially thought. He didn’t even know his own first name, let alone current events.

“Do you know how long you were in that suit?” She figured she should stick to present matters, and press on more personal information later, once he warmed up to her.

Rosales shook his head.

He really wasn’t giving her much to work with. Hell, it didn’t seem like he had much to offer her. Ricky sighed and scratched at her head. The poor guy was fucked.

Rosales moved, making Ricky backpedal a few steps. Dammit. She kicked herself again for flinching, but corrected her brave face and watched the giant. He’d grabbed what looked like a mech’s arm bayonet, and was scooting out from under his overhang.

“Woah, woah, hey––!” She ran forward a few steps, and followed his retreat, though she was careful to keep out of his immediate reach. “Where are you going?”

“Away,” he said flatly.

“Yeah, but where?” Ricky paused when Rosales stood. His joints popped, sounding like cracks of thunder. Her heart skipped a beat or two. From up above, he’d already looked huge. Staring at him now from down below, Rosales was just massive. There weren’t enough words to describe just how overwhelming his presence was. So caught up was she that she almost missed his answer.

“Don’t know. Just away.” He turned on his heel and took a step. Ricky swallowed her fear, suppressed the thoughts telling her that this was stupid, and ran after him.

“Wait! Hey!” She shouted, waving her hands. Rosales’ piercing gaze fell on her again. “Big guy! I’m trying to help!”

“I don’t need help,” he growled. Christ, how was she not shitting her pants right now?

“You definitely do! You don’t know what the world’s like! What’s out there! I do!” Ricky sprinted forward and stopped in his path. He paused, much to her relief.

“Go away,” he said, eyes narrowed.

“Come on, man! I helped you once already! Warned you about the other mechs. And there are monsters out here!” She said, breathless.

Rosales lifted a brow, looking like he was considering it, then lifted his foot. Ricky couldn’t stop herself from shrinking back and covering her head as it sailed over her. It touched down several yards behind her, sending tremors through the ground.

Her chance at a giant bodyguard was walking away.

He did need her help. She knew he did. He just didn’t want it. So she had to convince him.

Undeterred, Ricky adjusted her satchel across her chest and followed. She couldn’t keep pace with him, but she could track his giant footprints. He would have to stop eventually.

Hopefully before she did.

[the-scandalorian]

Tempered Glass: Chapter 3

Pairing: Din Djarin x Female Reader Rating: M (will become explicit) Word Count: 6.3k Warnings: slow burn, canon rewrite, canon-typical violence, cursing Summary: You and Mando choose Sorgan as your place to lay low, only to get wrangled into a risky job. Notes: In my head, Cara Dune is Katy O’Brian.. Yes, I’m ignoring the fact that she plays one of Moff Gideon’s officers lol Taglist: @bbdoyouloveme​​ @beskarhearts​​ @dincrypt​​ @honey-hi​​ @just-me-and-my-obsessions00​​ @red-leaders​​ @zoemariefit​​

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Image from The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian

The three of you sat in the cockpit—Mando piloting the ship, you in the copilot seat behind him, and the kid perched on the console. He had slipped out of his own seat, waddled to the front of the cockpit, and managed to grasp the edge of the console with his tiny hands and scrabble his legs against the front of it to shimmy all the way up there. Honestly, it was an impressive feat for such a small being. Mando pretended not to notice, keeping his visor trained on the viewport.

You’d been sitting in silence for a while, watching the stars streak by. It was a fairly comfortable silence, considering you were complete strangers and still trying to feel out the limits of your tenuous alliance.

Looking at the back of Mando’s helmet, the surface of which reflected the bands of hyperspace that surged around the Crest, you thought again about how challenging it was to read him: there was so little to go on. No facial expressions, no significant looks, and very few gestures—even the cadence of his breathing was largely disguised by the helmet and modulator.

That was definitely part of his appeal: the mystery. He was an almost blank canvass where others were open books. Because your survival had hinged on your ability to read people, you had gotten so good at it that the task lost its fun rather quickly. Mando was an interesting new game.

In some ways, the armor forced the Mandalorian to be much more straightforward. Because it obscured his features, he had to ask for what he wanted outright—unless it was from a bounty. He could easily communicate threat with just his stance. Anything else, though, he had to verbalize. You were interested to see how this would play out in his interactions with you. You weren’t a job or his enemy, and you were really hoping that meant he’d eventually be slightly less withholding with you.

The baby, looking around, cooed quietly and reached over to flick a random switch on the panel to his right. Mando disregarded the action, pressing a few buttons in front of him. You stifled a chuckle.

The kid, clearly testing his boundaries, leaned over to flick another switch. It turned green when he activated it, and the sound of a machine whirring kicked in.

“Stop touching things,” snapped Mando, frustrated, turning to look at him. You couldn’t help the grin that spread across your face, grateful that Mando couldn’t see you.

The child lowered his ears and trilled sadly in response to the admonishment but recovered quickly: his ears pricked back up, and keeping his eyes trained on Mando in what seemed like a purposeful act of open rebellion, he leaned over slowly to flick yet another switch. This one turned red, and the ship rattled in response. You let out a sharp bark of laughter, slapping a hand over your mouth to smother the rest of your reaction.

This time, Mando pushed one large gloved hand past the baby to deactivate the switch and picked him up to set him on his lap. You smiled again, knowing this was likely what the kid was trying to achieve anyways. He wanted attention.

“Do you know his name?” you asked. You assumed he didn’t because he always called him “the kid”...but it also wouldn’t be a surprise if Mando did know his name and just chose to call him that instead.

“No,” he replied. “You ready to pick a planet?” Mando changed the subject abruptly as he reclined to look at you over his shoulder.

“Sure,” you agreed, standing to lean over the back of his chair so you could see the screen in front of him.

After some discussion and research, toggling through the nearby planets on the nav, you decided on Sorgan as your place to lay low. It was a rural planet, sparsely inhabited and undeveloped. Mando described it as “a real backwater skughole.” But there were some small settlements, so there would be food and fuel.

Your stomach gurgled loudly.

“I’m going to go eat,” you said, standing to leave the cockpit.

Mando, still holding the baby, stood to follow.

You moved toward the door just as Mando did the same, both attempting to walk through it together. He paused and stepped back, pressing himself against the wall as far as he could to let you by, gesturing you forward with his free hand.

Without thinking, you touched his arm lightly as you slipped past him in the tight doorway, and he flinched away, wrenching his arm back. You withdrew your hand quickly and looked up at him.

“Sorry,” he explained gruffly, visor tilted down at you. “Reflex.”

“I get it.”

He twitched his hand forward like he was considering reaching for you then decided against it, clenching it into a fist by his side.

You stood in the confined space for a moment, pinned by the mesmerizing void of his visor. Inches from your chest, he was so tall and imposing, somehow equally menacing and alluring as he towered over you. It was hard to ignore his intoxicating magnetism when you were this close to him.

He cocked his head the tiniest bit, and you realized, with a rush of embarrassment, that he was waiting for you to move.

Flustered, you turned and climbed down the ladder to find your pack. Mando followed and sat across the hull from you, after settling the kid into a makeshift crib—a storage box lined with blankets—on the floor beside his feet. He busied himself adjusting something on the complicated armor that covered his forearm, as you ate one of your ration packs.

You studied him as he worked. As far as you could tell—with the glaring exception of the presence of the child—Mando was the definition of a bounty hunter. He worked alone, and all he did was work.

He was clearly not used to casual, nonthreatening human contact, aside from that of the child.

You felt a deep, cutting sadness when you really pondered the solitude of his existence. The bulk of his interactions were violent confrontations. He had the child, but for how long? He seemed a recent acquisition. Did Mando have friends? When was the last time he felt at ease around another adult person?

When was the last time someone touched him, other than a bounty during a fight?

You’d been on the run for years and, at times, it had almost killed you—not the running itself, but the loneliness. No matter how much time you had to adjust, it remained a draining existence. You maintained only loose contacts and casual, fleeting relationships. How long had his life been exactly the same? Decades? Had he ever known anything different?

You looked down at the baby. The presence of the child spoke to the possibility that he at least wanted something different for himself.

The kid seemed to feel your gaze and turned his head to train his huge eyes on you. You smiled at him. He grabbed the edge of the box with his tiny three-fingered hands to haul himself over the side and toddled his way over to where you sat. He hugged your calf, looking up at you expectantly.

Mando was busy fiddling with the controls on his vambrace and didn’t notice.

“Can I?” You gestured down at the kid. Mando’s head flicked up.

“I guess,” he acquiesced hesitantly. He watched as you reached down to pick up the kid.

The baby settled happily into your lap, looking up to reach a hand toward your face. You met his hand with your own, and he was content to latch his little fingers around your much larger one and sit back. He babbled and wiggled the tiny green toes that poked out of the bottom of his outfit, which appeared to be made out of the altered sleeve of an old beige flight jacket.

Despite the fact that the child was more than happy cuddled in your arms, Mando was visibly uncomfortable. Abandoning his task completely, he sat forward with his elbows propped on his knees and watched you tensely.

He didn’t relax until you set the baby back down, turning him toward Mando, and he toddled his way back across the floor. Mando took the kid with him into his bunk when he disappeared to eat.

***

From the ship, Sorgan looked inviting: lush greens and blues, the landscape broken up by winding rivers. Clouds swirled across the atmosphere. Mando touched the Razor Crest down in a clearing of a pristine forest.

Mando wasn’t about to leave you behind with the kid—or with the ship, for that matter—so he informed you that the two of you would set out to the nearest village to find lodging, and he would leave the child behind. You understood that he didn’t have a lot of options, but leaving a toddler alone on a ship seemed like a terrible idea. You decided not to question it for the moment.

It was abundantly clear that Mando was accustomed to running the show and operating alone. He was used to making unilateral decisions...and that was going to have to change if the two of you were ever going to get to a place of easy coexistence. As someone who was also used to making unilateral decisions, you didn’t take well to being told what to do without even being consulted. You figured you’d give him some time to adjust to your presence before bringing this to his attention. You reminded yourself that this was a temporary arrangement.

Before leaving, Mando gave the baby a very serious, very stern talking-to about not touching anything and staying put. This was another instance that made it clear that he hadn’t been in charge of this kid (or any kid) for very long. You tried your best to conceal your amusement while Mando lectured the child. When he started to wag his finger dramatically to punctuate his points, you coughed to cover a laugh that escaped your lips.

As you both gathered what you needed in the hull, you asked, “How effective are your lectures usually?”

He let out a tired sigh, shoulders dropping slightly: “Not very.”

You laughed.

Sure enough, the baby shuffled up behind the two of you as the ramp of the ship lowered.

Mando looked down and sighed heavily.

“Oh, what the hell? Come on.” He strode forward decisively without a backwards glance.

You bent down to scoop up the child, not sure how Mando expected this tiny creature to keep up with his long strides, and followed Mando into the verdant forest.

***

The village was made up of a collection of circular wooden structures with pointed roofs. You ducked after Mando into the public house, the largest building in the small cluster. Good-natured conversation and the smell of something delicious permeated the air. You set the baby down on the floor to walk beside you.

A lothcat curled underneath a table hissed loudly at him as he waddled by, and he cowered in fear. You scowled at Mando, who didn’t react besides tilting his helmet down, and picked the child back up, patting him lightly.

“It’s okay, buddy,” you murmured reassuringly. Mando paused to watch you comfort the kid. You waited for him to pull the baby from your arms or say something to discourage you, but he didn’t. When you looked up at him, he continued forward to find an empty table.

Mando scanned the room carefully as he strode between the tables. You noticed an intimidating woman surveying him as he passed. You seated yourselves, and a woman in an apron approached with a friendly smile on her face.

“Welcome, travelers. Can I interest you in anything?”

“Bone broth for the little one,” requested Mando. Then he turned to look at you.

“One for me too, please.”

“Very well,” replied the woman.

Jerking his head towards the intimidating woman, Mando asked, “That one, over there—when did she arrive?”

The woman hesitated, and then said, “Uh, I’ve seen her here for the last week or so.”

“What’s her business here?”

You studied the woman in question, noting her piecemeal armor and tattoos. She looked like a war-hardened soldier.

“Oh, well there’s not much business in Sorgan, so I can’t say,” the server responded noncommittally. “She doesn’t strike me as a log runner.”

Mando reached into his belt and threw some credits toward her on the table. She brightened.

“Well, thank you, sir. I will get those broths to you as soon as possible, and I will throw in a flagon of spotchka for good measure. I will be right back with that.”

The server left, and the unobstructed view revealed that the woman he’d been asking about had disappeared.

Mando stood quickly.

“Stay with the kid?” he asked, looking down at you.

You hummed your assent, but he watched you for a long moment, as if assessing whether or not this was a safe idea. He was weighing the risk of leaving the kid with you against the risk of not neutralizing the possible threat of this stranger.

“I’m not going anywhere. We agreed to stick together for the time being, remember? Relax,” you assured him. It wasn’t much of a commitment, but what else could you say?

He nodded decisively and turned on his heel.

You and the kid watched him leave. The baby made a small whimpering sound as Mando disappeared through the curtain that hung over the exit.

You considered the baby as you waited for your food. He looked around, curiously taking in his surroundings.

What species is he? You’d never encountered anyone like him. Despite the fact that he was clearly a toddler, he looked a bit like an old man. And a tortoise? And maybe a frog? Whatever he looked like, he was really damn cute. Those big eyes and huge, expressive ears were undeniably adorable. You’d never felt a maternal instinct in your life, but in that moment, you wanted to pick him up and snuggle him again. You resisted the urge.

The server returned with two steaming bowls of broth and a flagon of electric blue liquor. The child immediately reached out for the broth, letting out a string of gibberish.

“It’s too hot. Let’s let it cool.”

He narrowed his eyes at you and let out a disapproving huff.

Despite his protests, you waited until the broth cooled a bit before setting it in front of him. He picked up the bowl and slurped happily.

You didn’t start to worry about Mando until you’d finished your own broth and the drink—you’d figured Mando wasn’t about to drink spotchka—and he still hadn’t come back. You scooped up the kid, who was still holding his little wooden bowl of soup, and slipped out the exit to look for Mando.

The loud sounds of a brawl made it easy to locate him.

He was locked in an intense hand-to-hand fight with the woman. They were both on the ground, Mando on top of her briefly until she used her strong legs to launch him over her body onto his back. He landed with a thud.

Ouch.

You set the baby down on the ground, but neither Mando nor the woman noticed. The two of them seemed fairly equally matched. To be safe, though, you eased your blaster out of its holster and held it loosely by your side.

Before you’d decided whether or not to intervene, the fight ended in a stalemate, both of them flat on their backs, having drawn their blasters simultaneously.

They panted on the ground, until Mando lolled his head to the side and saw you and the kid watching them, the baby slurping his broth loudly.

“You want some soup?” Mando deadpanned, looking up at the woman. You let out a sharp laugh at the unexpected question.

The tension dissolved, and they both brought their blasters back down to their sides.

You sheathed your blaster and offered Mando a hand, and—to your surprise—he took it without hesitation.

“Thanks for jumping in to help,” Mando grunted as he got to his feet slowly and dropped your hand to dust himself off.

“Hey, I was ready to step in,” you held out your blaster pointedly. “I probably wouldn’t have let her kill you.”

The woman chuckled as she straightened up then turned to walk back to the public house.

“Good to know,” retorted Mando, fixing you with an exasperated head tilt.

***

The four of you sat down together and talked for a while, sipping broth. Mando introduced himself to the woman, ignoring you and the kid. His manners seemed to come and go.

The woman shared that her name was Cara Dune.

“And who is this?” Cara inquired, eyebrows raised, looking from you and the baby to Mando.

Interested to hear how he’d explain your presence, you waited to see what Mando would say before answering.

“Long story,” replied Mando. Yep, that seems about right.

You introduced yourself, offering a fake name and sticking out a hand to shake Cara’s hand.

Mando’s head snapped to you: “You didn’t tell me your name.”

“You never asked,” you shrugged.

If Cara was confused that Mando didn’t know your name, she didn’t say anything about it. She shared that she had been a shock trooper in the Alliance, but she was trying to make a new life for herself, away from all that.

When she inquired, you shared a carefully curated set of details about yourself: born on Naboo, studied on Coruscant, now a freelance programmer with a diverse set of clientele and therefore stayed off the grid as a rule, with Mando at the moment to get from one place to the next and find more work—Sorgan was a temporary stopover.

You figured Mando didn’t love the idea of being described as a glorified taxi service, but it was better than disclosing the truth.

Mando leaned forward slightly and fixed you with his unwavering gaze while you spoke but questioned nothing. You knew he likely recognized the gaping holes in your story, considering he’d witnessed firsthand how well you could hold your own in a fight.

He shared little about himself, aside from the fact that he was in the Guild but not currently in pursuit of a bounty. Cara explained that she’d thought Mando was hunting her and that was why she reacted so defensively.

Understandable. That’s a much more reasonable reaction to his attention than flirting with him from afar liked I’d done in Nevarro. Whoops.

Finally, Cara stood: “Well, this has been a real treat, but unless you want to go another round, Mando, either you or I are gonna have to move on, and I was here first.” She turned to you and added: “You, on the other hand, are welcome to stay.” She winked at you and sauntered away.

You let out a surprised laugh, and Mando swiveled his head from Cara to you so fast, he probably tweaked his neck.

You couldn’t decide if it was hilarious or frustrating (probably both) that Cara had warmed to you over the course of a twenty-minute conversation while Mando remained aloof after more than twenty-four hours together.

Mando shook his head like he was willing away an unwelcome thought and leaned an elbow on the table: “Well, looks like this planet is taken.”

“Technically, that only applies to you.”

“You want to stay here?” There was a hint of unease in his otherwise even voice.

“No, Mando. You’re stuck with me for now, remember?”

“Right.”

You leaned forward and placed both your palms on the table: “But before we leave, I would like it on the record that I watched the kid for a full ten minutes without running away or harming a single hair on his wrinkly head.” You reached over to rub one of the child’s ears briefly, and he cooed up at you. “And I am electing not to ditch you and stay here with Cara even though she seems much more fun than you.”

A sound that might have been a laugh crackled through the modulator.

“So maybe you don’t have to breathe down my neck every second when we’re on the Crest?”

“You did almost let Cara kill me.”

You leaned back and laughed. “So, you admit it—you needed help.”

“No—I...That’s not the point.” You enjoyed how easy it was to agitate Mando.

“You’re right, it’s not. The point is that if I’m going to stick around for a while, you’re going to have to give me the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise, this doesn’t make sense.”

He hummed noncommittally and rested a hand on the tabletop, gloved fingers tapping out an erratic rhythm.

“I could have abducted the kid and stolen the Crest while Cara took her time kicking your ass, but I didn’t.”

“It sounds like you considered it.”

You rolled your eyes at him. “Mando.” 

You fixed him with an impatient stare, and he met your look with his impassive visor.

You huffed, and letting the levity fall away, so he knew you meant it, you asked, “Maybe it would just be easier for me to find some other way out of here?”

His fingers stilled. “No.”

“Okay... so, you’ll lighten up?”

In a well-timed interruption, the kid quirked his head at Mando and let out a string of nonsense that had the upward cadence of a question.

“He’s wondering the same thing.”

The child stretched his arms out toward Mando and wiggled his fingers. “He just wants to be picked up.” Mando scooped him up and tucked him under his arm. “But, point taken. Let’s get out of here,” he said, lifting his hand to flag down the server.

Mando seemed surprised when you reached into your bag and pulled out a small pouch of credits to pay for the food. In reality, it was one of three that you had on you at the moment.

You were a professional at disappearing. You always had a blaster at your back, a knife on your belt, another knife strapped to your ankle, and plenty of credits on your person. Plus, the roughly hewn necklace tucked under your shirt looked unassuming but was worth a small fortune—though, you’d have to be in a really tough spot to ever consider selling it. You were used to leaving places at a moment’s notice. Being prepared for anything was your default state.

Mando should understand that better than anyone.

***

When you returned to the Crest, Mando mumbled something about routine maintenance and disappeared outside with a heavy metal toolbox in hand. The kid was asleep in Mando’s bunk, and you were sitting in the hull, reading about potential planets on your datapad, when you heard strange voices approaching.

Setting down your datapad, you stood and walked down the slope of the ramp at the back of the ship quietly. You peeked your head around the side, staying out of sight, and watched two men speaking to Mando’s back as he continued working at an open panel on the side of the Crest.

The men didn’t look threatening, and Mando was clearly unconcerned. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding.

“Our whole village chipped in,” explained one of the men, a touch of desperation in his voice. The other man, who had longer hair, held up a pouch of credits.

Mando turned to face them. “It’s not enough,” he answered simply.

“Are you sure? You don’t even know what the job is?” the man with short, curly hair continued.

“I know it’s not enough. Good luck.”

Rude.

The men were insistent, pleading. Mando’s harsh rebuff surprised you. He seemed to flip flop between being decidedly cold and cautiously warm with strangers, and right now he was the former. You weren’t fooled though. With a little more prodding, you were sure they’d convince him—well, you hoped they’d convince him to take the job and stay.

“This is everything we have. We’ll give you more after the next harvest,” promised the second man.

The side door of the Crest hissed loudly as it opened, and the two men jumped back in surprise. They looked at each other, resigned, when Mando walked up the ramp, ignoring them.

“Come on, let’s head back.”

No, don’t give up yet. He’s secretly soft. He adopts stray babies, protects complete strangers, and offers soup to people who have just thrown him on his ass!

They turned to leave, mumbling sadly to each other. You hurried back up the ramp to meet Mando in the hull. You stopped, settling your hands on your hips.

“What?”

“I mean... we were looking for a reason to stay, and they just gave us one. We were looking for a place to stay middle of nowhere... they just happen to live in the middle of nowhere...”

“Cara—,” he started.

“She seems like a reasonable enough person.”

He let out a long, dramatic sigh then turned to lean out the open side of the ship. “Where do you live?” Mando called after the retreating men.

One of them called, “On a farm. Weren’t you listening? We’re farmers.”

“You have lodging?” Mando clarified.

“Yeah, absolutely!”

“Come up and help,” he said to the men.

The two men paused when they saw you.

“Hi,” you greeted, turning to pull on your boots and grab your bag.

“Hello,” they both replied tentatively.

“She comes too,” Mando stated, jerking his head in your direction, as he began to pack up a chest of weaponry.

“Sure, that’s fine,” one of the men responded.

“And we have to make a stop.”

***

You waited with the two men—they introduced themselves as Caben and Stoke—at their speeder while Mando took the kid and tracked down Cara. They shared that they were krill farmers and needed help because Klatooinian raiders had been terrorizing their settlement.

Mando located Cara quickly, and they met you at the speeder, the back of which was full of weapons. You scooted over to make space for them as the speeder stuttered to life. It was cramped and when everyone was seated, your side was pressed into Mando, the kid settled on his lap.

Mando and Cara talked quietly while you laid your head back to watch the stars. You looked down when you felt something gently press on your thigh. The kid had climbed off of Mando’s lap and was looking up expectantly at you, as if asking permission to crawl into your lap.

You smiled at him and looked up at Mando, posing a silent question.

He nodded once, and you pulled the kid onto your lap. The baby cooed happily, wiggled around to get comfortable, and closed his eyes. You rested your head back again and let the movement of the speeder lull you into a light sleep.

Before you were totally out, you felt Mando adjust beside you, leaning back and stretching an arm over your head. Instinctively, you lifted your head so he could settle his arm down behind you, and you relaxed back so your cheek rested on his cold shoulder.

In a sleepy haze, you decided to capitalize on this opening and let your hand rest on the beskar plate covering his thigh.

***

You woke up when the speeder stuttered to a stop and opened your eyes, rubbing them in the brightness of the morning. You sat up and Mando did the same beside you, moving his arm from where it had been supporting your back. He hadn’t moved all night.

The scene before you was nothing if not idyllic: green and peaceful. Wind whispered through the tall grasses that lined the village, forming a natural buffer between the settlement and the forest. Circular wooden structures, the same pointed shape as the public house, were clustered at the middle of the clearing. Villagers, catching flopping blue krill in flat baskets, waded through square ponds that encircled the small community. Children giggled and called out, running toward the speeder.

“Well, looks like they’re happy to see us,” observed Mando.

“Looks like,” agreed Cara.

The children flocked toward you to see the baby in your arms, and you hopped down to greet them.

***

You spent the morning meeting people, learning the layout of the tiny village. The children took to the kid immediately, following you wherever you carried him. Apparently, Mando had accepted the fact that the child was safe with you because he didn’t object.

The gaggle of children showed you around excitedly, even demonstrating how to expertly sift krill from the ponds. They brought you to the long hall where food—stew and spotchka—was served. You sat on the ground outside, eating and enjoying the sun, with the children and the kid. They watched in enthusiastic disgust as the child caught and ate a live frog.

That afternoon, you and Mando followed the woman who introduced herself as Omera to your lodging. Though there did not seem to be an official leader of the small community, Omera clearly garnered respect. You watched as she gave easy instruction to those around her, and they complied reflexively.

She led you to one of the wooden buildings on the edges of the settlement. You noticed the way Mando stopped in the doorway to admire Omera as she raised a window covering and the afternoon light illuminated her beautiful face.

“Please, come in,” Omera invited warmly. 

You set the baby on the ground, and he waddled a few steps before plopping down to lean against a crate, his eyelids heavy after a full morning of play.

“I hope this is comfortable for the three of you,” Omera continued. “Sorry that all we have is the barn. There is a spare crib for the child.” She gestured at a well-made looking crib. You wondered when the last time the child had slept in a proper bed was.

You picked him up from where he sat dozing on the floor and settled him into the crib.

You looked around the open space of the barn. It was clearly used for storage: it was lined with baskets, furniture, crates, fishing equipment, and more, but a large space in the center of the room was clear. You hadn’t considered until this moment that you might be sharing one room with Mando. Neither of you would be comfortable in these close quarters.

“Oh, we’re not—,” you started.

“This will do fine,” confirmed Mando, cutting you off mid-sentence. You looked at him out of the corner of your eye, surprised that he seemed okay with this sleeping arrangement.

“I stacked some blankets over here,” Omera pointed to a stack of quilts in the corner.

“Thank you. That’s very kind,” replied Mando as he turned to unstrap his rifle from his back.

A little girl crept up to the open doorway, looking down at her feet with her hands clasped behind her back. You recognized her from the gaggle of children. She was one of the quieter, shyer kids.

Mando, who was facing the back of the room, whipped around defensively at her movement. His hand hovered threateningly over his blaster.

The little girl gasped and jumped back, disappearing from view. Omera turned to follow her out the door.

You stepped toward Mando and put a steadying hand on his elbow in the space between his armor, drawing his arm away from his weapon. He looked down at where your hand gripped his arm.

“Are you okay?” you asked, under your breath.

He gave you a curt nod and exhaled loudly through the modulator.

You dropped your hand to your side when Omera returned, the little girl hugged tightly to her.

“This is my daughter, Winta,” she explained in her dulcet voice. “We don’t get a lot of visitors around here. She’s not used to strangers.”

Neither is Mando.

Mando stood awkwardly and said nothing.

“It’s nice to meet you, Winta,” you greeted gently. She smiled timidly against her mother’s stomach.

“These people are going to help protect us from the bad ones,” Omera said.

“Thank you,” replied Winta quietly.

“Come on, Winta. Let’s give our guests some room.” Omera took Winta’s hand and lead her away.

As soon as the two of you and the baby were alone, you turned to Mando. “How are we both going to sleep in here? You can’t sleep in your helmet.”

Mando stood frozen, staring at the doorway. He seemed not to have registered that you said anything.

“Mando?”

He turned to you. “I—uh, it’s fine. I didn’t want to inconvenience them any more.”

“But how is this going to work?”

“I can sleep in my helmet.”

“No way, that’s ridiculous. I’ll ask if I can stay with Cara.” You took a step toward the door.

He looked down at the floor. “I’d rather you stay here.”

“Ah...okay. I thought we were past the stage where you felt the need to babysit me,” you joked, hoping that wasn’t the reason for this.

“No. That’s not...” he started to explain but trailed off.

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, and, despite the prickle of irritation you felt at the confirmation of his mistrust, you felt compelled to fill the uneasy silence that followed.

Avoiding his gaze, you looked over to where the kid was snoozing in the crib. “It’s fine. I’m going to go out for a bit if you want to take it off now. I’ll let you know before I come back in.”

“Thank you.”

You dropped your bag onto a crate and slipped out of the room and into the soft sunlight that shone through the sparse clouds.

Unwittingly, Mando seemed to know how to give you just enough reassurance to keep you around and just enough doubt to keep you guessing about why you were here with him. He was holding you at arm’s length, but not letting you go.

The potential between you was as enticing as it was confusing.

The more time you spent with Mando, the more of a paradox he seemed to be. He was constantly torn between a need to be hard and his instinct to be soft. You had an inkling that at heart, he was soft through and through. How else could you explain the presence of the baby?

His literal and metaphorical armor were clearly worn out of necessity—for several reasons, you guessed: to be successful in a brutal profession, probably as a result of past trauma, and simply because life is just fucking hard. You barely knew him, but you couldn’t help but want to be someone with whom he felt comfortable letting his guard down.

You pushed these thoughts from your mind as you stepped into the dappled light that filtered through the canopy of the forest. You were happy to explore the woods on your own, enjoying the serene atmosphere and natural beauty. It had been a while since you’d been on such a lovely planet. It reminded you of home.

***

When you returned a few hours later, all the villagers were gathering around the barn where Mando and Cara stood on the porch. You walked up to join the crowd and Mando’s visor followed your movement. You smiled at him, and he looked away abruptly, turning to Cara. They exchanged a few words then Mando stepped forward to address everyone.

“Bad news. You can’t live here anymore,” Mando announced. He declared this in an infuriatingly neutral, straightforward way, the same way you’d tell someone there was going to be rain.

They must have seen the same tracks in the forest that I saw.

The villagers broke out in surprised chatter: “What?” “Why?”

Cara and Mando muttered to each other. You couldn’t hear what they were saying, but you hoped Cara was explaining how callous he’d sounded.

Cara started forward, “I know this isn’t the news you wanted to hear, but there are no other options.”

Despite her slightly better manner, the villagers broke out in angry protests again.

“You took the job!” Caben cried.

“That was before we knew about the AT-ST!” exclaimed Cara.

Your stomach dropped. You had hoped you were somehow wrong about what those tracks belonged to. It would take serious preparation to successfully take on a band of raiders and an Imperial walker.

“What is that?” asked Caben.

“The armored walker with two enormous guns that you knew about and didn’t mention,” said Cara indignantly.

That is a pretty important piece of information they had chosen to leave out.

More protests erupted. The villagers shouted pleas over one another. Mando was surveying the desperate villagers, saying nothing. You had a feeling that despite his initial refusal and these adverse circumstances, he would elect to help them anyways. Eventually one of the many heartfelt appeals was likely to sway him—listening to their pleading voices, you knew you would find it hard to refuse them.

Omera’s plaintive voice broke over the crowd, and you suspected she’d be the one to convince him.

“We have nowhere to go,” she entreated.

Mando met your gaze, where you stood silently at the back of the crowd. He cocked his head, and you knew what he was asking. You gave him an understanding smile, nodding your agreement. He bowed his head slightly in response.

You turned and walked away, not needing to hear the rest of the conversation to know that Mando had already decided to stay.

***

Chapter 4