#i like to fancy up my lions when possible

[doritopaw101]

Love you A

[loriache]

Butch up that Elf: my Marcille manifesto

TBQH, this came into being because the Falin "dragoness" fanart rewired my brain completely. It's sillytimes, but we're going to make a serious argument: trying out being a little butch would Fix Her.

1. Marcille Gender Discomfort

Now, Marcille LOVES feminity. She loves playing dressup, she loves elaborate gowns, she spends her free time going to the spa - the absolute last thing I want is to deny that. However, there's also a definite vibe that this isn't just a preference. Specifically, the way that she pushes Falin towards femininity suggests that she isn't comfortable with gender nonconformity in the people around her.

If this was something she was 100% confident about ("I'm doing this for myself and nobody else!") surely what other people do wouldn't be a big deal? Of course, you can read this as a little bit of solipsism; "what works for me must work for you too! I think this is so cute and would suit you - wouldn't you agree?"

But for the sake of this argument, all I'm trying to suggest is that gender nonconformity (and probably sexual nonconformity... well, frankly, any kind of sexuality at all) is unlikely to be something that's on Marcille's "radar". She hasn't tried out other ways of presenting and decided she doesn't like them. I do think she'd be a very flamboyant butch - "ouji lolita" vibes, you know? It's a whole new set of wardrobe options she could play dress-up in, even.

After the story ends, she starts dressing like her mother in all black, which makes sense - her mother was also a court magician, so she's probably emulating her in order to project confidence and authority. But I can't say I think she should stick with this. Break away and be your own person, Marcille! Try a fancy waistcoat and frilled jacket!

2. Haircut

This is another potential hard sell, I'm sure. The people she loves doing her hair is a cute symbol of their care for her, and her hair is key to her magic - so there's plenty of reason for her to keep it long. But like... think practically. Having someone do your hair every morning, for the whole of her long life, while it gets messier over the day (because she can't remember to keep it neat)... That's got to be such a pain. My hair gets messy when I put a hoodie on. And I have short hair.

It would require her to go through a change of mind, and probably a little more growth in how secure she feels in her relationships, but - the hairdo's a symbol. The more important thing is the relationships themselves. Eventually I think there might be something liberating about cutting it off, even if she might eventually decide to grow it out again.

The lion, her trauma, took something away from her which was really important to her. The people around her are able to make that easier, and make up for it, and soften that loss, but... Mithrun isn't the person he was before, you know? He's a new person. The relationship he has with his brother is new, and I don't know if it's one that the person he was before could have had. If Falin hadn't died, they wouldn't have gone on that wonderful adventure! They wouldn't have met Senshi or saved Izutsumi and Laios and Marcille wouldn't have gotten so close. So I think it's totally congruent with the themes of the story that the burning away of this part of Marcille's self might eventually create the potential for new growth in a new direction, not clinging onto the parts that are gone.

This also isn't totally out of the norm for elven mages - both Otta and Flamela have short hair. Otta is canonically butch, and potentially Flamela reads that way to elves too, but the point is it clearly is possible to be an accomplished mage without long hair.

3. Desiring (to be) a chivalrous prince

Marcille's succubus is clearly General Halleus from her favourite book series, the Daltian Clan. The fact that this is her ideal man.... it certainly plays into readings of her as Not Straight. But at least, this conveys the way her conception of sex and romance is strongly idealised, dissociated from the bodily and from physical desire.

There are many ways to interpret that, including thinking about what types of desire this fixation is obstructing because she is not comfortable with it, but I am going to focus here on what this desire does signify. She likes the trappings of courtly romance, and is clearly comfortable putting herself in the role of the princess, being taken away on a white horse by a noble (but tormented; eyepatch has "death" on it lmao) prince. (Though I think he's actually the token male lead who isn't royalty; he's a General. There's always one in Romfan, lmao. IYKYK)

A kiss on the hand - this is so chaste, I think it's clear it's more about desire to play a role in a dynamic than it is about desire in a physical sense. There is undoubtedly a big part of Marcille that wants to be a beloved and chased-after princess, but I think it isn't at all impossible that she'd also enjoy being the powerful, cool, and chivalrous "prince" to someone (a pretty girl, perhaps) who needs her protection.

This is a little silly, because it's clearly just aping the shoujo artstyle that articulates basically the same idea as her succubus, that Marcille is attached to highly abstracted and idealised romantic (and Romantic) tropes and ideas. But the imaginary "successful" Marcille from chapter 4 looks quite similar to her succubus. (Another thing I noticed is that in the fantasy she has sharp ears... like full elves have. Despite what she says, I think the cultural messaging that this trait is "attractive" and hers are inferior got to her at least a bit. 😥)

Also, the way that she treats Falin, scolding her indulgently, trying to look after her and wanting to be looked up to and respected by her... that aligns more with the "masculine" role in the trope that her succubus is referencing. "What are we going to do with you...?" I can imagine her saying this to Falin, word for word. Whereas, if anyone real started talking down to her, even affectionately, I don't think she'd like it, given the negative way she reacts when people don't respect her or her skills. Especially after canon, given the way the Winged Lion was treating her.

Her attitude to Falin is partially down to her reluctance to acknowledge Falin as an adult, who is independent and can grow beyond her and leave her behind. But I think even as they move on from that unhealthy dynamic, Marcille is still going to get pleasure from feeling capable, reliable, able to look after and protect Falin. She'd like to pull the chair out for her in a restaurant on a date, you know?

4. Conclusion

Even after the growth she goes through during the story, there are parts of Marcille's character that are very much obstructed. Romance, sexuality, and gender, feel like one of those to me. The way that her discomfort with the messy origins of food betrayed a deeper, more significant discomfort with the cycles of life and death.

Much in the same way, I'd argue that the simplified, idealistic, and safely fantastical way that she views romance, as well as her very "safe" gender presentation and tendency to push it onto others as well, suggest an underlying discomfort in her own gender and sexuality. The character growth she goes through leaves her in a place where it may be possible to safely re-evaluate her relationship with Falin, as well as her choice of clothing and hairstyle, both things that go through a change at the end of the manga. Neither, I think, reach a sustainable stopping point that we see - there will be a point when it's more servants doing her hair than friends, just out of practicality, because they're all going to be so, so busy. The black clothing to copy her mum is cute, but once she gets some more self-confidence in her own skills as a court magician, I think she'll move on from it. And... who knows what direction her relationship with Falin will develop, over the years? I'm rooting for them, anyway.

In all those cases, I think moving outside of the things she's done before, into something really different from the things that are "safe" and expected, will be the most rewarding path for her. Like in the dungeon, things that she would initially reject were actually able to sustain her and broaden her tastes. She loves dressing up, looking after people, and "princely romance". So I say: Butch Marcille! It'll be good for her!!

[darqx]

[It's going down] I'm yelling timber

Several doodles in this one!

❗️For commonly asked qs please see my BTD FAQ

Everything is similar but she wears a dress version.

Yes (after becoming a Royal) but it's more of a "formaility" as he hasn't had any reason to use it yet. There's a lot of gaps since he relies more on mobility than brute force, and he can also rapidly fill in any areas with harder ichor if need be.

He used to work for the previous King as a Collector.

I think it depends, since he's a Royal now they tend to use some variation of their demon signs as an official "signature" so it might look like the first pic. His prior signature might look something like the second (fancy cursive).

Base: [x]

Rire's ichor tentacles are directly controlled by his consciousness/sub-consciousness so yes technically they could do such things XD But that is something that would have happened more when he was a child/learning how to use the ichor powers - he has such fine control now that the likelihood of it happening anymore is negligible.

...you could kiss them if you want I suppose, he does have some feeling through them lol.

I once described Rire's ichor as existing but not existing at the same time (ah, dichotomy haha). Basically if the ichor is not connected to the manifestation point on Rire's back all trace of it will eventually disappear. So that's handy in more ways then one :d

This post goes into more detail about the ichor consistencies:

Rire was born 973 years ago and was primarily raised by his mother after both his father and then later his stepfather died when he was a child/teen.

He would raise a child similarly to how he was raised. 🤔 YMMV whether this would be considered good parenting but he does have affection towards his own parents so there's that.

Well i did draw the baby!BTD in that same picture so...however i drew them as lol XD; Thanks muchly and keep at it!

Yes the years are the same. As stated in my BTD FAQ "I don’t know if you could classify what he feels as “love” in the same definition we are used to…" :d

Short answer: no.

Long answer: if you consider real world biology it would be like this

SOME species of demons are close enough to humans that they could reproduce with them. If the offspring is viable it's usually infertile like a liger (cross between a lion and a tiger) or a mule, though sometimes/rarely it could result in fertile offspring.

This works similarly between different demon species (different ones are more compatible with certain species compared to others etc), though the likelihood of fertile offspring is greater. Also depending on the species some genes are way more dominant so a child might end up basically being more or less one species type.

[An excerpt from a World War letter. Several similar letters have been documented from both Allies and Central/Axis Powers]

My dearest, I witnessed the most peculiar scene several days ago. Honestly I am not sure if it actually happened or if my mind was playing tricks on me. I was on my evening sentry duty over No Man's land when I saw him - a man, standing alone in the fog past the razor wire and amongst those poor souls neither side had managed to retrieve. Dearest, I swear that man had not been there a second ago! At first I thought this was enemy activity, but his uniform was clearly not German and neither was it one of ours - maybe the oddness is what stayed my tongue at the time. Out of a morbid curiosity I watched as he crouched near several bodies for a long moment - perhaps to pay his respects? - before walking off and disappearing out of sight. I am honestly surprised no one had shot at him! The next day there was a large shout as a grievously injured Johnson - whom was lost in No Man's Land after a failed trench raid - was suddenly within reaching distance just over our trench walls! It was a miracle! He was delirious and had no idea how he had made it back by himself, but mentioned a "General" who had offered help in his lowest moment. Clearly he was unwell as there were no Generals around...but dearest...I can't help but wonder --

[Johnson would survive his injuries and go on to become a well decorated soldier before returning home a hero. He would die 10 years later from "idiopathic anaphylaxis" with an odd look of fear on his face.]

I'm not sure why some of you think this but to put it as clearly as I can (since this is not the first time I've been asked this):

Cain is not my character.

I would hope that you guys understand that just because someone doesnt seem to be on the internet anymore it doesnt mean their character is suddenly an adoptable/up for grabs???

No - I have enough of my own characs I dont need to actually steal someone else's. (Also see above answer)

IMO in any universe Rire and Cain are like oil and water. So, i would say yes there is a way that they could get together but it would probably involve kidnapping and criminal confinement on one of their behalfs :d

I never read Warrior Cats so I have no particular thoughts about this lol.

Demon!Strade is a Gatoverse creation XD; - meaning Gato created him and so it has no correlation with my demon types. He would probably be like a level 4 or 5 maybe (aside from being LARGE, idk about his other power sets lol) and a clear case of needing an exorcism :d

Both of them are naturally charismatic (though, Demon!Rire can dial his up to noticeably unnatural levels). Human!Rire can be considered more manipulative and subtle than the demon version since in his 'verse "real world" consequences are actually things he has to consider. He is also a bit less interested in mind games than Demon!Rire.

-...gestures at humans, which he prefers to mess with for the sheer variety of reactions-

That is not part of his skill set, no :d Also much in the same way that animals with sharp teeth don't willy nilly bite their tongues off, demons with sharp teeth are like...used to having/biologically designed to have sharp teeth.

THANKING YOU \o/

It wouldn't lol. Also if i saw Rire IRL i would immediately pretend to have NOT seen him because that would mean that I've somehow had a hand in creating a tulpa.

[wolviensabes]

NSFW Alphabet: Mane!Sabretooth

RQ: 'Can I request the NSFW Alphabet for Victor Creed/Sabertooth? Specifically Tyler Mane's version? Love your work btw! 💕' - @im-his-druidess

Warnings: Neutral as possible, the terms of good boy/girl are used and mentions of feminine/masculine bodies are used. Tried to include both while maintaining an open look so anyone of any identity can enjoy, but made it as vague as possible. Also uhh general sex talk, mentions of BDSM and stuff like that lol. Ignore grammar mistakes ty.

A/N: Yess you absolutely can. I did a SFW/NSFW Sabretooth on my other blog, but I sort of left the Sabretooth up for whatever the reader wanted to imagine. For Mane specifically, this will be fun! Mane is my favorite, has been since I saw X-Men 2000. Sooo thrilled to see him again in D&W, even if just for a moment. He looked so good and yummy. I did keep one or two things off my previous list. I hope you enjoy <3

Minors DNI below the cut. 18+

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex):

I see him as being pretty smug, he likes seeing you disheveled and breathless. He lets you lay on his larger body, he relaxes while you splay out completely spent.

He might ask you to get him a beer, even if you're exhausted, a slap to the ass as you wobble to grab one from the fridge. But when you come back he pulls you close and licks your neck. "Good boy/girl...you know how to make me happy...~" he purrs.

While by definition, he doesn't understand the full extent of what aftercare is, he sees that you need it, so he grumbles and bites his tongue, doing it regardless of his own opinion on it.

"Upsy daisy..." he grunts, lifting your exhausted body up, watching you whine. He smirks, knowing he's reduced you to a shaky form, "Ya look like a lamb tryin' to walk for the first time..." he chuckled.

He does try after seeing how badly he fucks you up. He's a big dude so...he really throws you around and you have wounds from his teeth and claws. He can't have his darling lamb all messed up...

He licks your wounds, his saliva has an antiseptic enzyme so it disinfects the wound, however you still insist on using peroxide. "Hold still...gotta clean ya."

He's not the best at it at first, but he will learn what you like and accommodate.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s):

Primal dude is insane about your body. Whether you are more feminine or masculine, he goes nuts for a good ass. He grabs and kneads and squeezes.

If you are more masculine, he likes feeling your chest and trails down your sides, feeling your narrower body.

If you have TS scars, he is gentle with them. He rubs his rough thumbpads over the scars and how they trail over your chest. He's obsessed with them. He thinks you look great, and he licks them a lot, gently and mindfully if you let him. He won't touch them if this bothers you though.

If you are more feminine, he loves your breasts and plush hips. He grips you firmly a lot and loves to see how your skin pools around his big hands and claws.

He also really likes necks, he bites there a lot so be prepared to always have his teeth somewhere on your neck.

Victor is also egotistical as hell, he thinks every inch of himself is perfect. He's proud of his lion's mane and cock size for sure, but also prides himself in his stature.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically):

Victor has an insane amount of cum inside his body, you genuinely don't know how he produces so much. He is like a faucet, just oozing it into you.

He cums like a horse and his amounts are crazy. You are full to the brim and he's still shooting the load, it comes out of you there's so much of it. He jokes about turning you into a twinkie.

He gets so pent up and he snarls a lot, he growls and groans, then when he pounds you and you feel him swell more than usual, you know he's about to release a ton.

It also gets everywhere so...you should always have sheets on standby. You can't count how many times you've lost fancy sheets because his load stains them. You don't bother buying silken bedding anymore.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs):

He doesn't keep a lot from you, simply because he has no shame.

But, he does like scents and smells a lot. He often smells your body in the morning or when you're the most natural. He memorizes it, keeps it in his memory.

He leans down and before he licks or sucks, he inhales deep breaths of your sex. Just the scent alone makes him horny as hell.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?):

He's had his way around, so he's fairly experienced. I don't think anything would surprise him or catch him off guard as 'new.'

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying):

Victor pins you down and uses his strength to fuck you. He likes looking down at you completely helpless while he thrusts his thick cock in and out of whatever hole his dick finds.

Any position where he has you on your belly with your ass in the air for him, he is all over. He likes to bite your neck and hold you down, and he gets to really thrust into you from behind.

He also likes mating press, watching you cry out as he drills the deepest parts of you.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.):

His dirty talk can be funny, or sometimes he will say something out of the blue that just makes you smile because it wasn't expected from him. But otherwise, he's not a goofball. Just the quip every so often.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.):

This guy has a lot of hair. He's insanely hairy, and come on, he's a primal. So, obviously.

He takes great pride in his hair too, he grooms himself a lot. He licks himself mostly, until you push him to a shower and he uses unscented things. He doesn't like to hide his musk.

He has a hairy chest and a happy trail leading down to his pubic hair. He's pretty hairy below too, but he does try to groom a little shorter because he notices you pull out random hairs after sucking him off.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect):

Romantic isn't really his thing. He's not used to being 'romantic' at all. He's more...let me kill something for you and bring you its corpse.

He won't change for anyone. If you can accept his...brutish love habits, then he will attempt to be...less sometimes. On a hunt he drops an animal carcass and hands you a bloody wildflower he ripped from the ground, roots and dirt still attached.

That's as good as it gets. But for him, that's a pretty big gesture.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon):

Yikes. With those claws?

I don't think he does. Not often anyway. He'd rather have you help him out when he needs something.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks):

Sabretooth is pretty damn kinky, he isn't ashamed about any of his sexual desires and is open with you about them.

He obviously loves predator/prey dynamics, he likes to pretend to hunt you in the woods and when he catches you, he fucks you into the mossy ground. It gets his instincts going and he feels like his cock is on fire when he's hunting you. Plus the sex that comes from 'hunting' you is honestly some of the best you've had. Prey pet names for sure.

Breeding is a huge kink for him. He likes making a mess, but he prefers to bury himself into you and fill you up, regardless if you can get pregnant or not. He will pound multiple loads into you and won't stop until you are squirting it out around his cock. This is also applicable if you are male, he doesn't care. As long as he buries himself into you and fills you full.

BDSM is something that's interesting to him, though not every aspect of it. He's a pretty big sadist, so his claws and teeth will definitely mark you up all bloody and you'll be bruised from his hard grip on you thanks to his strength. He'd probably be into impact play, so he'd like to spank you while he's fucking you. He prefers to let himself do the marking rather than a toy. It's more intimate to him.

I think he might find bondage fun just because you'd be completely helpless and it can tie into the whole predator/prey play too. Like a little bunny caught in a snare and he stumbles upon you, helpless to the hungry big cat.

I think he probably would have a thing for housewife type of behavior, things that aren't inherently sexual but can turn him on. So cleaning and cooking, bringing him beer or food while he sits back, I don't know I just have a weird feeling he would be into that.

I also think he'd be interested in CNC. It's something that you'd have to talk heavily about, but I think it would be something he would want to try.

Size difference!! Mane irl is 6'9, so I give Sabretooth a few more inches. Over 7' tall anyway, and he towers over you. Not to mention he's bulked out. Looking down at you, he loves how helpless and vulnerable you are compared to him.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do):

Victor will fuck you anywhere, it doesn't really matter to him.

He likes to do it in his bedroom, his scent gets rubbed into you when you're being thrown around the bed and roll on his bed. Plus, he gets to take his time and fuck the room full of the smell of sex.

He also likes to fuck in the woods. It satisfies his primal desires to take you against the moss in the middle of a thick trail.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going):

As mentioned, typical housewife behavior would turn him on. Cooking and cleaning for him, bringing him a beer while he is sitting down, or even fussing over his clothes would get him going. Seeing you in an apron and nothing else would make him completely feral.

Any kind of submissive behavior would catch his attention. He instinctively looks for anyone who submits, his need and desire to be the dominant person in every situation controls him. So if you are submissive to him, even with simple gestures like obeying an order or just lowering your head around him, it definitely gets him interested.

Submission isn't always sexual, but of course submitting in that way also gets him going.

As written on my previous list, purposefully making yourself vulnerable gets his attention. Cats expose their bellies when they trust you, so rolling on your back and showing him your belly is a big deal. Say you're on the couch and you just lay back, he is intrigued and likes this gesture a lot.

Also any kind of gesture that exposes your neck to him.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs):

Despite being fucking brutal, he wouldn't want to cause any serious harm to you. You'll definitely be wearing claw and bite marks, but nothing that will have lasting damage.

He also won't be interested in 'making love.' He will fuck you, and he'll fuck you good. He's a primal mutant so when he is intimate he goes hard.

Anyone who would try to dominate him would piss him off, and it would trigger his aggression. He would not be receptive to anything like that, especially with his natural instinct to dominate.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.):

Luckily, his tongue isn't covered in sharp spines like usual cat tongues, otherwise that would suck.

He is good with his tongue, he cleans himself all the time so naturally he can move his tongue around in all sorts of ways.

He is somewhat selfish, preferring to receive than give. But when he gives, you feel so much pleasure. His tongue laps and he sucks so good. "Good...let me hear you." he growls against you.

He lovesss seeing you choke on his cock too. "Good boy/girl, choke on it. Is it too big...? Too big for your sweet mouth?" he teases, taking pride in seeing you choke and gag. It just turns him on more.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.):

Best way to describe it is a feral man climbing on you and fucking you until your legs can't hold you up. You literally can't walk when he's done with you, and he fucking loves it.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.):

He'd rather not, just because he likes taking his precious time with you. He likes watching you unwind, watching his thick cock bury into your hole, your wide watery eyes as you cry out and mewl for him.

"That's it little lamb...watch me split you open..." he says deeply, grinning wildly as you fall apart below.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.):

Victor is chill enough to try anything once, as long as he's not the bottom or the one taking it.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?):

Forever. Victor's stamina is crazy high, he can go multiple times without stopping. Even when your body is worn and exhausted to the point of not being able to move, he could fuck you to sleep.

He lasts for a long time, though he can cum many times in one session and not soften.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?):

He doesn't own any for himself. But he has things to use on you for when you want to get more adventurous. Things for BDSM or toys to pleasure you. But he has nothing for his own pleasure.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease):

Victor will tease you until you are crying and begging. He loves to see you desperate, screaming and mewling below him while he whispers in your ear how he could make you cum right now, but he doesn't.

The damn man also gets you so so close...then stops, watching you fall apart and cry. "Shush, I will let you when I am ready...now, let's see how close we can get you..."

"More tears? Now, don't cry pretty thing...maybe if you ask nicely I will let you..."

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.):

Victor is a dirty talker. He is a growler.

He is either snarling and grunting against you, or dirty talking you to your orgasm or so desperate you don't even know what to do. His words are so crude and filthy, you can't help but react. He just has a way with you and knows exactly what you like to hear.

That 'scream for me' that he whispers, UGH. He def whispers in a calm, low voice while he's toying with you.

And when he snarls in your ear, growling in pleasure that you are providing for him, ugh you could cum right then and there.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character):

Victor 100% drinks warm milk, and he usually does after fucking you and you've fallen asleep. He doesn't want to hear your teasing.

Also goes without saying that he purrs.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes):

Victor is a BIG dude. So, obviously his dick is gonna be big. He's definitely a shower, but he grows a bit when erect.

Flaccid, his bulge is already large af, so it can look intimidating before you even get his pants off. His ego always flares up when he sees how you look at his crotch.

Erect he looks near impossible to put into you, but somehow he fits. He's anywhere between 7.5-9 inches. He is girthy too, which is really what you feel when he fucks you.

The first time you saw him erect you were so nervous, in which he found amusing. "Don't worry, sweet little lamb, I'll make it fit."

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?):

He can literally fuck anytime. His drive is super high, especially when he hunts and kills. Those feelings go hand in hand, and since he hunts daily, his sex drive spikes up.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards):

He knocks out pretty quick. A cigar and beer, then he is out. It's like warm milk.

Victor will clean up a little, just enough not to be gross and sticky. Then he sits back and demands asks you to grab him a beer. He downs it, then knocks out.

If you are wounded, aka clawed up, he will watch you while you sleep for a bit and then he will fall asleep. You usually bare new wounds, he honestly can't help it with those damn things, and he watches you limp to grab him a drink, though he will clean and tend to you as a silent apology.

His bed is very soft, it's adorned with furs, pelts, and a thin quilt as the comforter, so you tend to fall asleep fast after cleaning up. Your body needs to recover, and you are throbbing between your legs with soreness.

If you lay on him after, he will run his claws along your back lazily, making you shiver. Knowing those claws to maim and mutilate, but they only graze your skin. It's a strangely gentle gesture that you never reject.

Thanks for reading <3

Dividers by @/strangergraphics

[acewritesfics]

I want to know what love is | Eddie Munson

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader 

Request: No.

Warnings: None. F/F - Favorite flowers : F/P - Favorite Pizza : F/D - Favorite Drink. 

Word Count: 1,343

Stranger Things Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Dustin startles Eddie out of his thoughts on how his new D&D campaign is going and what direction he could take it in by dropping his lunch tray on the table and sitting in the chair to his right. He directs his scowl at the teenage boy who is rearranging his food on the tray. 

“Right now, I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner is her favorite song. F/P pizza and F/D are always a good choice. Those are her favorite food and drink. Despite her refusal to acknowledge it, she also loves F/F and loves it when someone buys them for her. She has a tendency to be a hopeless romantic but don’t bother taking her anyplace where she needs to get dressed up fancy and eat fancy food she can’t pronounce the name of. She enjoys grand gestures, despite the fact that she thinks they are incredibly cheesy. I swear she’s a walking contradiction when it comes to romance,” Dustin drones on and on about his older sister’s preferences when it comes to dating. “And as much as it pains me, she really likes you… a lot.” 

Eddie and Y/N Henderson were classmates in high school. Eddie was initially supposed to graduate the same year as she did. Despite the fact that they had not been friends, the two of them had several classes together and were sometimes paired up for assignments and projects. She was always kind and friendly towards him.  Y/N was also a bit of a nerd; she was constantly buried in a fantasy novel, with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe from The Chronicles of Narnia series being her personal favourite. When they had been paired together for projects a few times, they had bonded over their shared music and movie tastes, but they had never gone any further than classmates. 

Eddie used to have a small crush on her, but he would never admit it to anyone let alone himself at the time. She left for college for a year after graduating, while he went back to high school to repeat his his senior year.  

When Dustin started high school and joined Eddie’s Hellfire Club, the two eventually reconnected. Y/N was responsible for picking up her brother after Hellfire Club due to their mom working nights. Eddie was taken aback when he saw her again. He had no idea how it happened, but Y/N had become even more beautiful in his eyes. She was no longer the shy teenage girl he had a schoolboy crush on but a beautiful woman he fantasized about possibly having a future with. 

“What are you talking about, Henderson?” the metalhead fantasy freak questions him. He has a frustrated expression on his face and confused eyes.  

“You’re as clueless as she is,” Dustin mutters to himself, rolling his eyes. Eddie scowls at him. “My sister!” He exclaims, drawing the attention of those at the next table. “As much as I want to throw up at the thought of her dating, I would rather she be with you than some jerk who will make her miserable.”  

Eddie’s expression changes from annoyance to confusion and then to realization. “Are you giving me permission to date your sister?”  

“If you want to put it that way, sure.” He shrugs. 

“Why do you—I don’t know—You think-” He stumbles over his words until Dustin cuts him off.  

“Cut the shit, Munson. I know my sister, and I believe I know you well enough to know that you two have something special. I haven’t seen her smile, laugh, or be happy since she left for college until you two started talking again.  You can’t deny that you have feelings for her as well. When you see her, your eyes light up, you smile more, you’re nicer, and you actually let her sit in on a campaign. You would never allow non-members to do that!” 

Eddie refutes the presumptions of his younger friend. “That means absolutely nothing.”  

Although he would be overjoyed if she were interested in him, he didn’t believe that she is. He didn’t think he - a metalhead, a third-year senior, Hawkins’ freak, Hellfire club leader, and D&D fan - could make Y/N - A queen of hearts, according to him, who is smart, funny, kind, and compassionate - happy. It didn’t help his case that she enjoyed metal music, fantasy books, and movies and would make the time to come and see Corroded Coffin play at the Hide Out every Tuesday night. The voices of his fellow students taunting him served as constant reminders of who he is and where he’s at. He kept telling himself that she deserved better than him, what he could give her and the life they would have. 

“It means everything!” Dustin shouts at him.  

He starts to say something but stops himself when the others begin to join them, taking their usual seats. He gives Dustin a stern look telling him to drop it. Eddie’s most recent D&D campaign, however, was now pushed to the back of his mind as all he could think about was Y/N and Dustin’s words.  

Ten minutes go by before Eddie kicks Dustin’s chair, gaining his attention again. “Is she at home today?”  

Dustin nods, takes out a piece of paper, and writes his address and phone number on it before handing it to him. “She has the day off. She doesn’t have to go to work until tomorrow night.” 

Eddie gets up from his chair and takes the piece of paper. The other boys are left watching him with bewildered looks as he picks up his “lunchbox” and rushes out of the cafeteria. He wasn’t typically one to get up and leave mid-lunch. He takes out the few coins he has in his pocket and walks over to the payphones. He picks up the phone, dials the numbers that Dustin had written down, and then waits for someone to answer. 

After the third ring, the ringing stops, and Y/N’s sweet voice can be heard through the receiver. His sudden surge of confidence quickly fades away, his mouth goes dry, his heart racing, and his mind goes blank. This was harder than he anticipated.  

“Hello?” he hears her say a second time when he didn’t say anything.  

“It’s Eddie,” he tells her, shaking his head and mentally cussing himself for how he was acting.  

“Hey, everything all right? Is Dustin okay?” Her voice is filled with concern as she asks. Even when they paired up on school projects, Eddie had never called her. She was always the one to call before he was able to. 

When she did, he was relieved because he didn’t want to admit that the day after she had given him her number, he had lost it while cleaning his room.  

“Everything is fine,” he says, assuring her. “And Dustin is Dustin.”  

“That’s a relief. I can’t picture the day when Dustin stops being Dustin,” She quips.  

Eddie grins, “I hope he never stops being Dustin.”  

“Me too.”    

“So…” Eddie begins, regaining his confidence. “Do you have any plans for tonight?”  

“I don’t have any plans,” she tells him. 

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out without the kids,” he says, referring to the members of his club. “We don’t have to. I just thought it would be fun to watch a movie, order a pizza and get to know each other better. A certain kid won’t shut up about you.”  

“I would like that,” she agrees.  

“Good. Shall we aim for 7? I can come get you.” he offers.  

“That sounds good to me,” she says. Eddie can hear the smile in her voice. “And Dustin won’t shut up about you too.” 

“Good to know,” he says, grinning. “I have to get to class. I’ll see you at seven.”  

“See you then. Have fun.”  

“I’ll try,” he scoffs jokingly, before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. He walks back into school, unable to wipe the large grin from his face. 

[numberonetacostan]

I actually really like the idea of Taco speaking French.

I wanted to ask if you have any other headcanons for that, honestly not many people use that, I've seen here and in one fic where Taco's personality changes to her s1 self and she doesn't understand English.

The idea of Mephone watching movies with both French and British villains in them and mixing those ideas together is a interesting one.

HELLO THERE!!!!^^ WELCOME AND THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR SENDING IN AN ASK ABOUT TACO SPEAKING FRENCH. ESPECIALLY ONE ASKING FOR MY HEADCANONS ABOUT TACO SPEAKING FRENCH. I LOVE THINKING ABOUT TACO SPEAKING FRENCH <3<3<3<3 MY BILINGUAL QUEEN!!!!!!! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

Taco occasionally forgets a word in English, but can remember it in French. No one else speaks French. This leads to an impromptu game of semi-charades as she tries to mime what she's talking about while saying the French term for it over and over again. It doesn't usually work but she tries.

When Taco is speaking English, her insults are often as refined as her diction (see: vile vial for Testy, tablet tabloid for Mepad). In French, this is not the case. Her insults in French are the equivalent of derogatory terms such as "raggedy bitch" and "ass muffin", but no one else can understand them, so they assume they're just as fancy as her English insults.

I'm not sure if this one counts, since it's not really a headcanon since it's very much not able to fit in canon, but if Taco had a place of origin that wasn't Inanimate Island, like if she wasn't made by Mephone, I like to think she'd be from one of the islands in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy. Some of them are owned by France, some of them are owned by England. The English ones are significantly more populated though, so I'd say she'd be from either the Bailiwick of Jersey or the Bailiwick of Guernsey. She'd have grown up with both English and French. (And possibly Norman but that's not canon nor the point) Okay sorry onto more actual headcanons.

Someone at some point gifts her the flag of France and calls it a "French Pride Flag". If you want it to be a well-meaning misunderstanding, Goo gives it to her. If she's being mocked, it was Nickel. It could even be a joint gift from both of them, in which Goo had a nice little idea first and Nickel joined in to be a little shit.

Speaking of Goo, I think he'd find her being bilingual very cool and want to learn French himself!!! He tries, but silent letters end up deeply confusing him. Why are they there if you don't say them? Is French scrabble different from English scrabble because of this? Are the letters upset that they don't get pronounced? So many questions. Taco gives up on teaching him.

Post tacomic getting together (none of my posts are immune to propaganda sorry) Taco would say that she is Mic's little flea. "Ma puce", meaning "my flea" is a term of endearment in French that sounds a tad more... derogatory in English. Taco does not realize this and everyone agrees that she is indeed Mic's little flea.

I think shows and movies that Mephone watched while he was still at Meeple definitely influenced him making his own characters!!! As for who Taco might be based on? Hm. Well I don't watch the widest variety of things, I tend to find one thing I like and obsess over it, but maybe Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory could be one character that inspired Taco's accent? She's a little British girl who wants and will makes sure she gets. Maybe Scar from The Lion King, another liar and betrayer? Even Frollo has a British accent, there are a lot of solid villains that could have inspired her. As for the French, we could continue with older Disney stuff and say Lumière, even though he's not a villain, with his proper attitude he could work. Even Gabriel Agreste from Miraculous Ladybug could work. Although he doesn't have a French accent, he is French and a terrible father just like Cobs, so he may come to mind when Mephone is making his "evil" original character.

Before you sent this ask I'd already been planning to make a post of Mic's adventures in learning French so that will be coming soon as well!!! Thank you for this request!!! :D

[messierthanthou]

Untitled - Bottom!Billy - Rated E - 2.5k Words - Written in Honour of @aggressiveviking !! Enjoy, everyone!

If it wasn’t for Neil, Billy could and would love more. But it has all been beat out of him, scared to ever even think of the things he wants to. Daily life is a masquerade, him in a lion’s mask, the rest surrounding him those of lambs.

It was a long way to the top of the food chain, but even greater would the fall be, if it was that anyone dared threaten his role at the top of the school’s hierarchy. 

Which - perhaps unintentionally - one Steve Harrington attempts purely by existing. Those deep brown eyes that sees past the mask of the still freshly crowned king disturbs Billy on such a ground-shaking level that it is do or die, whether either of them wants to or not, a battle is brewing between the two, and Billy, no matter his pains in life, is not ready to give up.

So he finds himself in the pouring rain, standing just a few feet away from the Harrington mansion, soaked to the bone but it doesn’t cool off his heated temper nor does it calm down his pounding heart.

Billy doesn’t know exactly what he wants, but he can’t let it keep bubbling up inside him at school, because what if he loses it? Exactly what it is he could lose, he doesn’t know, but he does know that he needs to release some of the pressure burning inside him.

Without forethought as to what he’ll say or do once Steve is there, he knocks on the door and rings the bell. He’s angry, he’s nervous, he’s unsure; everything floods his senses all at once, and as soon as the door opens even an inch, he pushes it all the way and stomps inside, past a startled Harrington.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Steve erupts immediately.

“You alone?”

“Why?”

“No reason.” Billy shrugs, hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“You can’t just barge in like this, Hargrove. What are you even doing here? Get out!”

The door is still wide open.

“You’d really send me out into the rain? Cold.”

Harrington groans out in displeasure, then closes the door. Billy figured he’d be a good sport. He’s too kind, even to his nemesis, and it makes the fury in Billy boil worse.

“I’ll get you a towel.”

While Steve vanishes to go find that towel, Billy stomps around the place, dripping on the floor as he goes. He knew they were rich, Steve’s parents, but this is ridiculously fancy for Hawkins. Hell, even their family portrait in the living room is an actual painting, and not just an oversized photograph.

Harrington catches up to Billy when he’s neck deep in the fridge, looking for the cold beers that he finds.

“You can’t just-” Steve starts off with, but Billy is quick to crack open the bottle against the marble countertops. 

Then Billy yanks the towel from the brunette’s grasp and throws it over his shoulder before taking a large gulp of the beer, which tastes far better than what comes out of a keg.

“Nice castle you got here, princess.”

Steve avoids eye contact at that, looking to the side and shifting in place. “What do you want?” he asks skittishly.

Billy doesn’t answer right away as the bottle occupies his lips, and soon there’s not a drop left. “I don’t know.”

“You… you don’t know?” Steve scoffs. “You barge into my house, and you don’t know why?”

The blonde shrugs and shakes his expressionless head.

“You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

As a matter of fact, he does.

Steve then looks down at the floor. “You’re dripping everywhere, dry up for Christ's sake!”

Then Billy smirks a little, teasingly so. “Make me.”

He watches as Harrington clenches his fists before they come near his face, and Billy accepts it; the inevitable punch coming his way. It’s possibly what he deserves, he’s unsure of actually what, but a hit might be it. And yet, he doesn’t hurt, instead he feels softness caress his face, going through his hair, as Steve dries him off with the towel.

“Take off your jacket.”

“What?”

“I said take off your jacket,” Steve repeats.

“Why?”

“Because if we don’t get you dried off and warm, you’ll get sick.”

“And why do you care?”

The pretty boy takes a step back, towel still in hand. This time he’s the one to shrug, and doesn’t offer another word, lowering silence onto the two of them.

For a moment too long and quiet, Billy considers why Steve wants him out of his clothes, but perhaps the reason is simply more innocent than what Billy imagines. So he does as suggested, taking off his jacket.

“You can borrow some dry clothes, but once the rain is done you’re out, understood?” Steve sounds so certain of that.

“Sure thing, princess.”

Steve exhales hard enough for Billy to hear it, and is that a slight blush to his cheeks? Or anger at the pet name?

“Come on.”

Harrington’s bedroom is surprisingly barren in comparison to the rest of the house; nothing on the walls besides that shit ass ugly wallpaper, a few pieces of furniture around the room, curtains, and lamps. Billy’s room is a cluttered mess in comparison, but at least his got personality, and this is more like a showroom at a furniture store.

“I’m sure I got something that will fit you…” Steve starts rummaging through the dresser, and as his back is turned to Billy, the blonde starts undressing.

All of it.

And when Harrington turns around, there’s just a gentle gasp from open lips as his eyes seem to be guided like a magnet down to Billy’s limp dick. For whatever reason, Billy gets a kick out of the stare, feeling heat shoot through him to his groin.

“Billy…”

“What?” He grins wickedly. “See something you like?”

Steve looks away, but being naked in the pretty boy's bedroom, it excites Billy beyond belief, beyond understanding. Beyond common sense.

So he takes a step forward, just a small one to test the sudden tension between them. Steve tries to take a step back, but bumps against the dresser behind him.

As much as his heart is beating him into a weak pulp, Billy can’t stop walking closer after that initial tentative step. And he plans to continue till Steve says or does something to stop him. But he doesn’t, so the blonde winds up with his feet next to the other’s, too close perhaps, as he can smell Steve’s body soap and hear his elevated breathing.

They’ve been quiet for too long, so Billy says, “Steve, look at me.”

Without blinking Steve turns his head to look straight into ocean blue eyes, and their noses early touch. He looks concerned.

“What’s wrong, pretty boy, huh?” Billy whispers in a teasing way, almost sensual without intending to be, but the nearness makes it seem like something it might not be. “You wanna punch me, don’t you? Start a fight?” Billy gazes down at Steve’s plump lips, then back up to meet his stare. “Come on then, do it. Hit me. Show me with your fists how much you hate me.”

And for a second time tonight, Steve touches Billy in an unexpected way, as his mouth gently and experimentally presses a kiss against Billy’s.

Who’s stunned. Such a tender act, he doesn’t know what to do with himself, and two thoughts cause war in his head.

Kiss him back, or punch him.

The kiss wins.

But his hands don't stay idle either, as they grab the collar of Steve’s polo shirt and pull him into a far more ravenous kiss than what the brunette offered before. And it does things to Billy that he’s unsure of why it does. He’s confused, angry, furious in fact, but also undoubtedly and impossibly turned on. Never before has he gotten so hard so fast.

And when Steve grabs him by the hips he moans into their brutish kisses. It’s almost as if he can’t think any further past this moment, and yet his hands act by pulling at Harrington’s shirt till Steve takes it off. While his hands are off Billy, they go down to undo his belt and loosen the button on his jeans before the zipper runs free.

With his hands back on tan skin, he softly pushes as he guides Billy backwards and onto the bed, where they both fall together and bounce around a little with slight chuckles.

Billy can’t remember when he last laughed in earnest.

But he doesn’t linger in that moment, instead he crawls back till he meets the headboard and a couple of pillows. Then he spreads his legs for Steve, who places himself between Billy’s thighs and leans down to kiss and nibble across his waxed clean chest. The blonde moans when a tongue finds its way to a nipple, and the tip plays with the sensitive bud, hardening it before lips close around it to suck, and Billy’s sounds grow even more elated.

There are no real words uttered past hoarse curses and yes’s, yet Steve seems to understand what Billy wants as he reaches for a drawer in the side table, and brings out a bottle of lube.

The lid comes off with a clear pop, and the clear fluid pours over three of Steve’s digits. But he pauses, both of them out of breath and silent as the cold lube runs down Steve’s hand and drips onto Billy’s chest. Their eyes then meet, and he can tell that Harrington is searching for approval.

Billy’s heart is in overdrive, but so is his lusty need to feel the other inside of him, so he nods just the once, which proves to be enough for Steve to bring his hand down between them, between Billy’s thighs, between his buttocks and into his hole.

It’s not something he’s used to past a few trial runs with his own thick fingers, but Steve’s are thinner and longer, reaching deeper than Billy expected to, and it takes a moment to get used to the sensation.

And what an amazing sensation it is; Billy gets worried that the pure anticipation of getting fucked by Harrington’s cock might undo him too soon, but he resist the urge to touch himself and finish it all so quickly.

After a few thrusts he dares beg, “More.”

The thrill of a second finger makes him louder, more keen on expressing his incoherent thoughts, and when Steve continues to thrust ever so gently, Billy leaks onto his own stomach whilst gripping at the sheets.

Harrington simply stares starry eyed at the expressiveness of the blonde’s expressions of elation.

It doesn’t take long for Billy to need another finger. “Fuck, pretty boy, more…”

The stretch of the third hurts just a little bit, a slight burning sensation of his rim, but on the inside he feels like melting butter, easy and pliable in the brunette’s hands, a moaning, leaking mess of spectacular nerves coming looser and looser, til those three fingers aren’t enough anymore.

“Come on then, princess, give it all to me. Fuck me.”

It’s more uncomfortable being empty of Steve than it was getting fingered by him, but it gives Billy a moment to breathe without gasping and moaning as he watches Steve lather up his cock and guide it up to Billy’s expectant hole.

Slowly, inch by inch, he glides inside with the most tender of movements, and if Billy thought that Harrington’s fingers were long, reaching where he couldn’t himself, his prick goes past that, pushing in till Billy’s convinced it’ll fill him up completely.

It is breathtaking. 

“You okay?” Steve asks him softly once he’s completely inside of Billy.

He nods. “Yeah, I’m fine, princess.”

“Good… Good. I’m gonna start moving, just tell me if you want to stop.”

The blonde understands now why all those girls want Steve. He’s nice. Too nice maybe. Billy can’t stand looking at him, turns his head to the side and nods.

So Harrington starts, pulling out carefully before pushing in again, and Billy swears he’ll meet a swift end to this experience if he doesn’t hold back, for the feeling of getting fucked so gently is beyond excellent. Every motion, every inch, it consumes him with blinding and deafening lust, all of which he gives clear sound to by the way of moaning and gasping. 

Then Steve leans in to kiss his neck, somehow finding soft spots Billy didn’t know he had, and it helps in the worst way. 

Minutes pass this way, slow thrusts and kind kisses, so tender it might just ruin the war between the two for good, make Billy fall head first into growing a crush on Harrington, something he’s sure he doesn’t want, but doubt comes in with every near loving touch.

“Billy…” Steve mumbles and it sounds perfect coming from him.

So the blonde turns his head to meet those brown eyes gazing dearly down at him.

“Please, keep looking at me.”

Oh it brings forth buried feelings like it’s golden treasure that Billy has been trying to find for so long. Something he didn’t know he even could find within himself. So he looks at Steve as they go through this gentle time together. Billy didn’t think it possible that he and the brunette could be like this. Normally he’s so calculative, thoroughly thinking every word before saying them, practicing in the mirror for hours, but this all came so naturally once he was naked in Steve’s bedroom.

This is easier than hating and fighting him. This is it. Completeness.

“Faster,” he pleads.

And Steve complies, increasing the pace of his thrusts, and every time he bottoms out inside of Billy, the blonde calls out louder and louder, the heat in his gut building up till it engulfs him with fiery passion that can undoubtedly be heard all throughout the woods surrounding the mansion. 

“Billy, fuck!” Harrington hasn’t been completely quiet throughout, but now he’s becoming wilder with his voice, calling out the blonde’s name, telling him how amazing he feels, how incredible this is.

All the praise is what brings him to climax, his dick untouched by hands but rubbed between their stomachs proves to be enough friction, making him moan as his body tenses up and his cock empties out in the space between them.

“Don’t stop!” he calls out, riding the wave of ecstasy for a while longer than what masturbation brings him to. 

“I-I- ah!” Steve tries to speak, but is cut off as he too reaches the peak, which Billy can tell from the way his thrusts become erratic and his whole body shivers and trembles, then it stills, then collapses onto the blonde with his entire weight.

And Billy releases his grip on the sheets that he’s been choking out this entire time. Everything is peaceful and soft and he doesn’t want this moment to end, ever. 

Steve breathes out from exhaustion, and says, “How about a shower?”

Billy hopes that Steve can’t see the little secret smile he has when he responds with, “Sounds great.”

[whiteraven90]

hello, I hope you're having a good day <33 I saw your recent post on my dash and I was STUNNED at the animated scene! It's insane to me I get to see your characters animated. Feeling blessed to be alive to see it, I am not exaggerating. You know, one of these times where you wake up and things are a little bumpy in your life but there's one thing that shines brightly you didn't know it could give you so much excitement? Yeah, that kind of thing ((:

I took my time for the past hour to reminisce over your blog again. It is one of the places I really love scrolling through and reading your writing. I had a question, if you don't mind me. The way you have improved is truly admirable. I know this might not be an easy ask to say "hey, how did you learn how to paint", so I'll ask this instead: I don't know how long you've been working full-time in art, but when do you make time for studies / drawing for fun? If it's not too much to respond to, how do *you* study? I remembered your posts with your redlines and wanted to ask how do you go about those, or if you switch your routines based on your needs (sketches vs speed painting backgrounds etc). The notes there were very interesting, seeing the mental exercise.

Pretty sure you have a fKTON of stuff on your plate, so please don't feel obligated to respond quickly or even at all. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my message and for all the time you take to respond in general. Love reading your responses <3

Take care, ok? <3

I'm glad the animation made you feel better! I'll put the answer under the Keep Reading thingy.

I'm not entirely sure... I think I don't study as much as I should/could. I mostly learn as I go. Standalone studies are helpful, I'm just drawn to doing things that are more fun/satisfying to me or things that actively progress my creative goals. Imperfect illustrations for my stories, and incomplete research for worldbuilding! Many people learn faster than I, and those people do a lot more studies than I, but I have no info on whether they have more fun than I. Dopamine is rocket fuel, so it's important. :)

I'm always on the lookout for reference pictures, but I study almost only when I have a practical goal in mind, I guess. Studying is part of my job too, I think? As an indie concept artist I'm supposed to build a hoard of references and pull several new/sensible things out of them, and I think part of this process is understanding the material, and revisiting even what I already know. Illustration is similar. If I'm commissioned to draw an anthro alligator, it's time to study gators. It's not separate from work.

I mean, straightforward version: I wake up at 03:30, make coffee, and start working for myself until the paying work starts, lol. Brain is fresh before noon, and tired late in the evening just like everyone else's. It also helps that the city more or less shuts up at 4am.

The studies with the redlines... I do them when I fancy drawing characters or creatures but feel out of shape. I can get discouraged, feel like I forgot how to draw. I sketch if I plan to sketch, and paint if I plan to paint or want to study colors Drawing live models helps. Studying videos of people and things in motion. Hopping down rabbit holes about how/why things work (e.g. flintlock, Davy lamp, mansard roof). Drawing from refs. Hoarding refs. Trying different mediums (e.g. charcoal, 3D, etching). Small screenshot of one of my ref boards for the animation; I'd say I studied it a lot. How clothes move, what are good clothes, how do good clothes move, lion/tiger + human + eagle anatomy (from specific angles during specific motions if/when possible), how to dive roll, proper sprinting form, how to survive falling from a great height, spearfighting, pole vaulting, poledancing, lighting, colors, environment, kicked-up sand in motion, spear types, emu/cassowary/griffon vulture feet, etc. I didn't draw studies, unless you count the animation itself (I would).

[fumifooms]

Marcille’s dress: threads and importance

This was supposed to be part of my upcoming Marcille & Chilchuck arc analysis, since it’s all about the themes of fantasy and confrontation with reality in Marcille’s arc, her mental state and fairytale coding etc etc, but that already was long af and this is something good to have as a standalone anyways, so. Here we go.

……….. So first of all it is 12 of august and suddenly my work phones are ringing to break me the news:

So this interview came in right when I was working on this analysis again. This now confirms the main intent of what the outfit was meant to evoke. There’s definitely a looot to look into just this and we’ll be going into it, but a complete analysis of Marcille & Momcille analysis would be ideal & that’ll be for another day. We will be bringing her up often throughout all this though.

So. "Why should I care about Marcille’s outfit?" Beyond possible story importance, on a metatextual and thematic level, analyzing imagery something provokes can be valuable and compelling even if it isn’t intentional or is flawed (historically inaccurate, etc). Less narrative wise and more character development wise, the lion does say the dress was to give her courage, and as her demon his job is reading her heart and giving her what she desires. What does her outfit say about her overarching character and her current mental state? Why does it give her courage, how does it do that, what part of it does that?

Like I just implied, when talking about this sort of thing, there are two aspects: the personal meaning something holds for the character, and imagery for the audience, which may or may not align with said character’s perspective or intent. Character vs meta. Because of the meta aspect, imagery can be disconnected from the character or the wider narrative, or that disconnect can itself be a tool to show the character’s mental state, unable to recognize or reconcile how different to their intent their being comes across as. This is to say that all of the analysis angles I’ll be bringing up in this post can apply to the same analysis of Marcille’s character and psychology, even all simultaneously. The different sections here are more or less ordered from most meta angle first to most character-motivated and strictly analyses of canon last, with little interludes examining specific aspects of the outfit regardless of reading. Imagery here will be looked at as a framing device, a way to comment on the themes and her character or her arc. For fun! Forward march!!

Table of contents:

Shepherdess: guidance.

Sorceress: power.

Princess: fantasy.

Funeral gown: mourning.

Mother: emotion, balance and identity. The conclusion ⭐️ Skip to here for strictly analysis of canon intent

Shepherdess

We’re doing an iceberg but I start from the bottom and make my way up, the shepherdess reading is the most meta one but it’s also the one I’m most interested in covering. It’s the longest section and the one with the biggest (only), um, history lesson. Feel free to skim if you only want the conclusions and not the reasonings.

Marcille? A shepherd? In action and wider imagery, the links are more or less straightforward (and will be discussed), but first I want to tackle the visual aspect because it was the most striking part of it to me and it’s the most complex one to explain…

The shepherdess look has been honed into a specific image in modern consciousness. There are always the same essential elements: a curved hook staff, a hat (often a kind that curls around the head), a poofy skirt for an elegant dress (wether fancy or modest), most often with lacing down the front and some cleavage. It’s of course not anywhere close to a perfect match if you compare Marcille’s dungeon lord outfit to pictures of shepherdesses, but it is very reminiscent. Nowadays, the classic hat of shepherdesses that Toy Story’s Bo Peep is emblematic of is indeed considered mostly a child’s accessory as well, halfway between a trimmed hat and a cap, has the shapes of a bonnet, so this coincidentally also lines up with the elven earmuffs as I’ll touch on later.

What

Wether or not seeing Marcille’s dunlord outfit will have reminded you of a shepherd probably depends decently on culture? I did research to get material for this and the start was real rough let me tell you— the only things I could find were… Bo Peep from Toy Story and illustrated nursery rhymes. In modern times, the image of a shepherdess, "shepherd woman that looks ladylike", is only a vague understanding we’ve gathered from the few woman shepherds we’ve seen in media that weren’t meant to be historically accurate. Myself, without Toy Story it’d only have felt like hazy fever dream memories of illustrated nursery rhymes from my childhood. It’s impressive that this concept still persists even if it’s only perpetuated through ONE character and a niche archetype, and for the word shepherdess to have had such a strong association with this look in my mind still.

Above: concept art for Bo Peep from Toy Story by Daniela Strijleva and Jean Gillmore, herself based on the nursery rhyme Little Bo Peep whose depictions are always in this style of outfit. Top right is a depiction of Little Bo Peep in a 1913 postcard, unknown artist, but if you want you can look up for vintage picture book depictions as well.

So what the hell? Where does this very specific look for the concept of a woman shepherd come from? Where does this conception, this specific shepherdess style wear and figure originate? Well the specific term that’ll get your research results is indeed "shepherdess". Art history time let’s go.

Okay so there’s no way those people were actually shepherds, right? What’s with that? To cut to the chase, turns out it’s mostly a trend that popped up in 18th century, one most associated with rococo but also with romanticism. Yes yes, a trend. The bourgeoisie deciding from hearing about the painted selfies of other ladies that dressing as fancy versions of poor people is hip. The new hit, becoming a dainty ladylike shepherdess for a day!

Artwork credits: In order, 1: Thomas Hudson (1701–1779) / 2: Arthur Devis (1712-1787) / 3: Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1750-1752) / 4: Sir Samuel Luke Fildes (1844-1927) / 5: Léon Sault (1839-1921) / 6: T. H. Lacy (1865) Some fun extra sources: Anecdotes: "Marie-Antoinette playing shepherdess", statues by John Cheere, Essays: Extravagance in revolutionary times: ladies of rococo, cottagecore through history, haven’t read this one but focuses on the shepherdess figure in 18th century plays and scultpures

Googling "ladies dressed as shepherdess" will give you a slew of 18th century portraits of, indeed, well-off noble ladies having portraits of themselves painted while dressed as "shepherdesses", well, the romanticized version of one anyways. I also found one from the 1650s. The trend also continued onwards, albeit less so once culture moved on. The word definition itself acknowledges this, unlike its french equivalent, as far as I know women shepherds are often still just called shepherds, meanwhile the shepherdess as per the Oxford dictionary: a female shepherd, or, an idealized or romanticized rustic maiden in pastoral literature. I don’t think I can do the explanation of the phenomenon’s origin and cultural context better than the essays I linked so I’ll quote:

"During the 18th century, an artistic movement known as Romanticism spread throughout Europe, seeking to evoke an idealized world of rural simplicity in contrast to the urban, industrialized centers of the cities. This nostalgic vision of a peaceful countryside was expressed through various art forms, including oil paintings and lead garden statues. The subjects of these artworks often depicted shepherds, huntsmen, and other rural figures, presenting an idyllic way of life, particularly for urban audiences." -Vizcaya Museum

"The cottage core aesthetic that people think and strive to attain, follows the ability of the wealthy class to be able to get away and take a break from the aristocracy and city life by escaping to the country. Marie Antoinette was an example of this, “… she had an entire hameau (rustic village) built as a place of leisure: it comprised meadows, lakes, grottos, streams, a dovecote, a dairy, cottages, vineyards, fields, orchards, vegetable gardens, and pagan temples. It was a fully-operational farm, where the queen would host social events. She and her entourage would “cosplay” as farmers and shepherdesses.” Marie Antoinette shows the “pretty,” the fantasy that people want, people want an escape from their reality. Cottage core is very different from one’s life, and the lack of knowledge of the true struggles of simple living, farming, and other cottage core elements makes people imagine and create a fantasy." -ZOESTAM1 (you’re a legend ty)

"Renowned for her great interest in fashion and more notably her extreme extravagance, Marie Antoinette set this ideal of the common shepherdess or milkmaid through her enjoyment of dressing in costume. She would often don the clothing of a dairymaid, a pastime that went so far as to see her commission the building of her own personal dairy at her palace Le Petit Trianon. These Rococo versions of lower class dress feature heavily in rococo painting such as in Fragonard’s The Shepherdess (1750-52), where a middle class woman is seen wearing a highly exaggerated interpretation of the dress of a lower-class woman. However, despite complying with the details of shepherdess dress it still features the expensive fabrics that are seen in images of Madame Pompadour. This interest in the pleasures of pastoral life shows the extent of the ‘myth and fairytale, festivity and fantasy, theatre and music’ that was epitomised in the paintings of the elegant women of the Rococo. The dresses made for and worn by the ladies of the Rococo are emblematic of the changes in society. The newly found ease of life for the middle class is seen in these images through the mythical landscapes, statues that appear to come to life and through the elaborate dress of the figures that combines a sense of the élite with that of the costume of common man. Wolfgang Menzel describes the Rococo in 1859 as a time that represented ‘empty and meaningless ornamentation’, a feeling that was certainly shared by the lower classes of Paris and one that was expressed in the French Revolution in 1789. The revolution sought to punish those of a higher class, meaning that figures expressed in the paintings of Fragonard, Boucher and Watteau would be guillotined within the same century." -Gabriella Sotiriou

To be sure, there have also been depictions of shepherdesses in history that were realistic and accurate, humble, commonfolk, both before and after this movement. There’s just this… Sweep in the 18th century that forever changed the aesthetic associated with the shepherdess figure in a part of culture.

So to summarize. Rich ladies LARPing as rural peasants for fun and portraits. From there you can easily see the throughline of how this very elite vision of a shepherdess would become the model for if, say, a children’s book illustrator wanted to design a shepherdess for a nusery rhyme, books which at the time would be luxury goods, the target audience noble little girls who should aspire to look as cute, elegant and well dressed as the shepherd girl in the book. Okay! We just have to get lost in the sauce a little more before getting to a full look and conclusion.

More fun context, in english the main shepherdess nursery rhyme is Little Bo Peep, don’t ask me how it goes I have no clue. But in french I could mention many like the nursery rhyme Il était une bergère (there once was a shepherdess) that comes from the 17th century, but the most sung one and the one I knew growing up is Il pleut, il pleut, bergère (it’s raining, it’s raining, shepherdess) originally from 1780. I did not expect this when starting to fall down this whole rabbithole going "Haha dunlord Marcille kinda looks like Bo Peep", but looking at that latter song’s wikipedia page there’s a whole thing there too. It was sung right after the storming of the Bastille during the very beginning of the french revolution in 1789— In which the opening lyrics, warning the shepherdess that rain is starting and a storm is coming, to "get your sheep, go home, and take cover"(though more poetically), became more goading than the original fairy godmother energy. The shepherdess here in this revolution context became the queen Marie-Antoinette, and the rainy storm is the french revolution brewing. It is said that that the author of the song hummed it at the gallows before being executed at french authority’s decree. We see then just how much the figure of the rococo shepherdess became a symbol with hated connotations and ties to rebellions.

So! The figure of the shepherdess is hazy to most people nowadays, but historically it was associated with excess, extravagance, classism, misused unearned power and the then-queen of France. It was both the ignorant and selfishly idealistic aesthetic that the queen wished to embody and that twisted the original commoner humble conception of a shepherdess, and the infamous image embodying her faults that was then used against her in mocking resentment and revolutionist sentiment. The representation of the fantasy world she created for herself with her power, and the ironic reminder of the real world she was exploiting and ignoring to do so.

You’ll notice the shepherdesses are typically blondes, especially in Bo Peep or more modern depictions. Marcille’s name is french.

What

… But all of that was just to inform on the topic before we got to the links and parallels that can be drawn between it and the story & Marcille, and to prove I’m not making up "the shepherdess look" in the first place. I already briefly went into visual similarities and appearance-related connotations (bonnet, rounded staff, dress with cleavage, lacing like a corset, poofy skirt, elegant and formal yet promiscuous undertones) in the previous section, so now I’ll be properly going into what this comparison can mean for her and for the narrative.

I summarized this section as shepherdess: guidance, and ultimately that’s what I think this focuses on best about her.

I do a quick overlook of her mom friend tendencies here (+ here) if needed, but I think we can agree Marcille often acts motherly through canon, not only fussing over her friends and coworkers often overbearingly so but also directly caring for them like helping them bathe, enjoying being able to do that for people she cares about (washing Senshi’s beard included). But also, often deciding herself to adopt a sort of wisdom-imparting dynamic within a group or relationship where she knows what’s best for others better than the individuals concerned do, where she’ll scold or push others out of their comfort zones as if she’s doing them a favor (Chilchuck), where she’ll talk in a holier-than-thou tone about a topic (often an academic or moral one), that classic long lived race condescension as some characters put it.

So isn’t the figure of a shepherdess, one who cares after sheeps, one who directs them in a direction she chooses and watches over them grazing the grass as their protector guardian and guide fitting? Isn’t that what she figuratively wants to do, obtaining unfathomable power to shape others’ lives quite literally even to the point of changing their lifespans regardless of their thoughts on the matter, being a figure that chooses for them and keeps them safe as someone who knows better? A bundle of good intentions and genuine care, but still patronizing and robbing them of their freedom of choice. I’d argue this is a large part of her arc with Chilchuck, and even for her dynamic with Izutsumi! Looking at Marcille saying farewell to Izutsumi near the end when she thinks she’s going to prison, it’s easy to wonder about how this is the same Marcille who once refused to trust Falin’s judgement and choice to be with her brother, thought she shouldn’t be away from her and what Marcille decides to allow and not allow for Falin’s career— the same Marcille who here in tears with Izutsumi is telling her to take care of herself as she leaves to travel alone, trusting her to make choices for herself by herself and supporting her in it even through her heavy emotions and the grief and loss she’s already anticipating, but learning to accept.On a more literal parallel level, in this last arc she commands an army of monsters at her will effortlessly, making them march towards the surface and then into battle. Sending out orders through her hands, words and staff like a war general, ready to choose to change the world to fit her wishes.

As to what feelings dressing like a shepherdess could quell, I think it’s a way for her to reaffirm her goals and feel certain in them. Her friends she respects just told her that her lifelong goal of extending everyone’s lifespans is a pipe dream that could do harm as much as good, and even though she ignored her it did shake her, it is after that and just before the upcoming battle that the winged lion deems she’s in need of a morale boosting wardrobe change. Marcille feels more directionless and aimless than she should, so the winged lion gives her an outfit that reaffirms and steels her goals, examplifies her motherly and controlling instincts and validates them, encourages them. Wouldn’t a shepherdess figure make sense then?

The fakeness aspect of the shepherdess fashion also reflects how she’s not fit to be a proper dungeon lord, as that requires maintaining an ecosystem that she doesn’t have the knowledge, experience or will to manage. She’s a shepherdess in looks and has the power to command people places, but she doesn’t have the hands-on farming experience that is needed to make a dungeon lord a competent one, a good gardener so to speak. Marcille has high academia knowledge of dungeons but when it comes to basic care that’s more in line with farmer experience, she’s largely stumped. She lets herself be moved by aesthetics rather than practicality, like with her spiders and her coatl.

If we put the history of the shepherdess figure in context with her arc, she wants to mimic the look of a folk hero, while still being privileged with power she can exerce over others. It gets to a key trait and arc theme of Marcille: romancitization. Which is in big part tied to her idealism, and that idealism often makes her more resistant to accepting things, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.

(Ironically, as we’ll go over in latter sections) This can also reflect how Marcille’s mother was an elf, presumably from high elven society from her elegance, court etiquette and magical skills- (meaning she likely got a good education), but moved to a tallman region feeling its culture less stifling and more fun, prefering its food and clothes etc etc. She’s still court mage, but to elven society being part of a short lived race’s court is a downgrade from being part of elven society at all, so here the "noble willingly becoming "lower class" because they find it pleasant or fun" is fitting. (Not an actual critique of her choices or morals whatsoever, just an observation.)

Marcille is not seemingly in touch with her elven culture. The dress tallman fashion, but the earmuffs would be elven, perhaps denoting the wrong or fully romanticized usage of it. Like meshing two things together that clash— in-world in this case cultures, but here in context it’d be class, and as we’ll touch on later in another section, identities.

Marcille also grew up around in a rural region surrounded by "books and chickens", so it’s not like a rural identity or a relationship with farm animals is fully irrelevant or separate from her as a person. The chickens make the egg imagery Marcille uses to explain souls in the same body and in some art extra interesting.

Like mentioned, shepherdesses also obviously have an association to lambs and goats especially. Which is fun not only for figurative parallels like her leading the monsters and everyone like lambs to slaughter into war but also how the demon has been shown as a goat and a sheep before. In a way though, Marcille is the lamb innocent as she is and the demon is the shepherd. After all, Marcille’s dress even has some animal-like features, fur all over including her ears and even a tail. The dress is not only to make Marcille feel more confident, but to distract Marcille from having second thoughts and self-doubt that could make her think better of being a dungeon lord, like she ends up doing after talking with her party in the tower. The demon takes on forms to lure in his victims, as the adventurer’s bible puts it forms that make his victims trust him. At his very beginning, he would take on the form of food and offer himself up for eating. Similarly, I think it’s interesting to consider the dynamic between Marcille and Winged Lion as one where he presents himself as a servant, as the one guided and ordered and not the one pulling strings and walking her like a sheep to breaking him out of the dungeon. You could also mention how the sheep form the demon has taken before is when he was traumatized in a way— The time all humans died around him that made him live in loneliness for what’s implied to be quite some time, the time when he reconsiderd his whole approach from people pleasing towards cunning and control.

Tldr: - History makes it a good comparison for aesthetic-obsessed well-off people who want to play folk hero while actually being selfish or misguided, it’s a paradox of a humble station represented by unattainably expensive fancy flourish and frills. - Marcille herself is of rural origins where she interacted most with books and chickens. She has a taste for over-the-top aesthetics and dresses (not as much as the golden kingdom’s people, but enough to desire her dunlord dress) and novels, and she is a mom friend type, caring after others (in bathing and dressing and healing and comforting and guiding) - As a dungeon lord, the way she commands an army of monsters in perfect synchrony with shepherdess-like staff in hand makes the shepherdess comparison very literal. The demon having been notably a goat, a sheep and maybe even a lamb in the past also makes this imagery more compelling and fitting.

This angle shows Marcille wanting to take on the role of the shepherd, the lighthouse so to speak, the mother that guides the people whom she wants to change the life & world of for the better. They need only follow her lead and they’ll be shown how great their life could be.

Where does this imagery fall? Definitely all meta and not in-world, this is for the audience and has no in-world acknowledgement whatsoever. Again. I know this was kinda insane, this is the most wild and meta section of the post like I mentioned and like I implied I don’t even personally think it was intentional on Kui’s part honestly! But as art doesn’t exist in a vacuum, even when there’s no intent, imagery can bring an interesting and relevant framing, angle or flavor to the original text. A lot lines up well and there are small coincidences, but again I am not saying Kui intended Marcille to parallel Marie-Antoinette help. Isn’t it kinda neat though… Just a little bit…

Okayy so things are calming down from here on out we’re cruising guys

Interlude: earmuffs, elven but childish

It was important for me to get a groundwork analysis done for the earmuffs before going into the next ones. This interlude has a focus on supporting the shepherdess section with comparisons, but I want to take a moment to focus entirely on elven earmuffs, their connotations and existence as an in-world fashion accessory, and thus environmental context for how Marcille may see them.

So, if we go back on the shepherdess for a bit— The shepherdess fashion had a hat iconic enough for it to be called the bergere hat, but the type that’s more associated with them nowadays is the type that Toy Story Bo Peep wears, which is a bonnet.

To me it’s intuitive to say that elven earmuffs are very alike bonnets, even in cultural context. I recommend browsing the wikipedia link I put for the pictures. It used to be very widespread and popular headwear, and to be fair probably still is even though not fashionable much anymore. It used to be, though, fancy pretty laces and this and that were put on it and trends were made of it. A type of bonnet especially has become emblematic of the shepherdess look, like mentioned.

The elven earmuffs are subject of discourse within the fandom and the biggest reason is the age connotation they have, and I do have to say it’s less strict in practice than people like to say. Kui not only keeps herself from explaining the social perception of them in a categorical end-all be-all way, but we also see a range of earmuff designs worn by adults in the doodles. We see that adults can and do wear them even if we don’t have much coherent context for it, and perhaps more importantly we see it implied that there is a market for earmuff designs especially with the fashion of it, which solidifies there are customers and adult customers for them.

Similarly to bonnets irl, it might feel weird to see an adult or anyone wearing it, but it’s not like it’s illegal or strictly reserved to some kinds of people. Rather, it’d be embarrassing, like the elven bonnets in Dungeon Meshi. It covers ears while still looking and feeling dainty, often accessorized and designed with lace or ribbons. It’s very strongly coded with babies and was very popular across baby dolls, ads, etc, though it’s starting mostly considered vintage nowadays. Though these are associations so strong that for example in Alice in Wonderland, the original book like the 1999 movie, when the baby gets transformed into a pig, understanding that the pig is the baby and A baby remains smoothly because it keeps its bonnet. It helps sell it.

(And if we’re referencing Alice in Wonderland while talking about Dunmeshi, psst, look up the chapter cover for chapter 64, rabbits 1)

Beyond babies the traditional simple bonnet is associated with rural people especially women. I do not want to sound like a bonnet expert because I am not— but from my understanding it does make sense if in occident rural people are the majority of who still wears them to this day. One reason being that more isolated less rich regions tend to care about being trendy less, and expectations on dress differ from region to region of course— And that’s a point I want to make about elven earmuffs, because I do think especially in colder regions like Kui mentions they would be more widely used and considered commonplace for older adults like perhaps the ones in the doodles. Just like how gnome hats go in and out of fashion constantly, Kui does have a good grasp of how fashion can be treated and coded amongst people and groups. It’s earmuffs for a culture Marcille isn’t fully in touch with, so it could take part in reaffirming Marcille’s identity and belonging in it, wether or not she knows all of what it implies. Like said, in the pages we see seemingly earmuffs high fashion for adults. It’s something young teens and young adults are said to be culturally ok to do, and people do generally like to look young so, it could be part of the cute hip young woman look. Would it be thematic for her to wear childish outfit? Yes, but I honestly can’t see it bringing her "courage" much if that’s the main intent. We’ll talk about it more later though.

Some do say that historical fashion is Kui’s weakness so to speak lol, and I’m not one to disprove that. Again, I can’t claim to know what Kui intended or didn’t intend to do and where she got inspiration from consciously or not.

Sorceress

Okay okay okay my enthusiasm for explaining historical/trope meta sorta started and ended with the shepherdess let’s get this done. I am interested in laying the groundowrk that I’m not making shit up in pop culture and for that I have to build up context so we’re all on the same page, but this is just what it says on the thin. If you want a recap of tropes surrounding black magic sorceresses and how they look beyond the minimum, here’s a couple relevant tvtropes pages: Evil Wears Black, Evil Costume Switch, Evil Sorceress, skimpy villains. More interestingly, you could argue that Dungeon Lord Marcille apparents herself most to the vain sorceress, even though what she would like to be is closer to the lady of black magic akin to her mother’s demeanor, and meanwhile the regular Marcille we know and love acts most like the black magician girl. The latest I would have never guessed existed is a trope of a spunky outgoing girl deuteragonist who’s gifted in dark magic and it’s honestly really fitting, which I find a really on the nose coincidence. This is still optional, beside the points I’m about to make.

Marcille, like Chilchuck, is concerned with reputation and social perception. Beyond other examples of it, there’s how Marcille prefers to let other people believe she’s a full elf and how Thistle’s shaming affects/embarrasses her — her reason for not being upfront about her origins socially not being shame but that it’s a hassle to explain and deal with, the questions and judgement and differential treatment, but moreso!!! There’s how similarly, she’s not ashamed of her dark magic research & knowledge, but she avoids talking about it. She knows it’s a touchy topic and kept the main topic of her research a secret for 2 years of working together. It only came to light because it was absolutely necessary to save Falin. She knows the reputation of dark magic and readily fires off counterarguments to Chilchuck talking shit about it with quick practiced ease.

But now as she becomes a dungeon lord and the canaries know everything and they’re are after her, there’s no more hiding or pretending or deflecting. She embraces the reputation of dark magic and her academic identity fully with an outfit that screams "I’m a black witch" and wears it like armor.

This is more in line with what the people who don’t know Marcille were framing her as during her dungeon lord stint, Marcille’s in-world image at that time, the same way Thistle became known as the mad mage with time. Evil sorceress. Dark witch. It’s the epic villainess look. Mixing Maleficient with a D&D seductress look. It does a lot of skin especially for Marcille, off the shoulder sleeves, a line of skin showing from inbetween her breasts to her navel, a skirt cut like Rin’s dress... The deadly sin of lust in french is the word for luxury— lust is desire but it’s for as money or power as much as sexuality.

Unlike with the shepherdess there’s less specific boxes to check. The main’s color black or at least dark, there’s magic (preferably black or forbidden or cursed) and the outfit’s feminine and elegant and a dress? You got the winning recipe. Then there’s extra boxes like having a fur or feather trim, having a magic staff, long sleeves… If you want examples beyond literal Maleficient, I’d google for sexy sorceress halloween costumes lol. Google also showed me some AI art that’s exactly what I’m talking about whole looking those up and that sorta drives the point that this has become a vague but striking figure. We’re not operating with poofy skirts here, that’s for the kooky villains. But the length of the skirt and the vibe is right, and fur and especially feathers aren’t unheard of tacked onto their dresses, which ironically Maleficient both wore in her important 2014 movie, funnily enough the year Dungeon Meshi’s serialization started. Though, especially with her barefootness it also gives her a of… Lost fey witch vibes more than dark sorceress, depending on how you see it.

Oozing maturity makes you feel in control. It makes you feel adult and powerful and independence. This is also very true for the mother section later on, but here we focus on the confidence aspect and less the assurance, if the distinction makes sense— Confidence coming from within yourself and assurance coming from an external source in this case.

"Fumi you’re saying Marcille wanted to look like an evil sorceress?" No! But unconsciously or not she’s drawing on these vibes. She’s done hiding and she’s done hiding the topic of her research and what she’s ready to do to succeed, the extent of her determination, her "dark" magic, that very term she’s been fighting against. She’ll wear a dress that reflects that and gives her confidence in pursuing what she wants in plain sight. It’s relevant for this to remember that Marcille getting her dunlord makeover is soon after she had a conversation with her friends who tried to talk her out of her biggest trauma and purpose and want, even laughed at her goal, and juuust before a huge life or death battle. She laid it all out bare and told the full story and the full truth and argued a bit, and now she’s sent them away for a time while she does her dunlord thing and bam here’s your confidence dress my queen. You’re scared about the canaries? You just need a fit to remind you you’re strong and kick ass. You know, because you’re a cool mage with convictions and nothing holding you back anymore and also you’re hot and in control.

She has power now, the demon even referring to himself as it, Power, and she’s going to wield it. Feels confident in seizing and using it— momentarily.

Is this angle character or audience focused? I do think both, because yes these powerful vibes would make her feel confident like I went over and theorized, but definitely a lot relies on an audience level. It’s our official sign, to both us readers and to Laios’ party explaning their reactions lmao, that "oh she’s truly lost it". This is her dark evil wardrobe change. We see her get her goth makeover and we know she’s gone to the dark side. Jojo Siwa moment. (Sorry)

Interlude: fur, luxurious but monstrous

Ok what’s up with all the fur on her skirt and sleeves and the furry ears though. Why a poofy fur dress. We’ve never seen Marcille show interest in fur lined outfits or such before. At most, there’s her trying out the golden kingdom outfit, with its antlers and leopard pelt uhh lointcloths? Which- that is a point to make I suppose lol, gave her a taste of bold high fashion. Her dress is pretty out there as the character reactions hint. Here’s even someone from reddit comparing it to Cardi B’s 2024 met gala dress! If you go back to the earmuffs pages, there’s one ear design with something that looks like fur too. More seriously, fur has long been a way to show class and wealth, because they’re expensive, especially on garments that are meant to be not just practical but pretty.

Quoting @room-surprise : "Costume design wise, the gown just screams class and wealth and power, like as a costumer when I saw it I immediately went 'evil renaissance queen on her way to war'."

But, especially the furry ears, for a manga about monsters that feels quite on the nose right? As revealed by the official dunlord Marcille acrylic stand pictured later in the post, she even has a tail. It definitely represents that her opinion on monsters has shifted imo. Like, it could be just visuals but then that defeats the psychological look into Marcille that the outfit gives us, it could just be a nod to who’s really in control or aesthetics, but I do feel it shows how Marcille has grown less repulsed of monsters. Let’s remember what Marcille said about eating monsters in the barometz chapter, that even if it isn’t logical she has a fear that eating a monster means taking something bad into herself, that it’s dirty and corrupting. Marcille, who takes horror in knowing that fertilizer aka poop has been used to grow vegetables that she then ate. She’s always had a bit of disconnect with ecosystems and the cycle of life so to speak, foiled by Senshi, she wants to defeat death and she doesn’t know how to balance a dungeon because she has trouble tending to ecosystems unlike Falin, she sees them like math when she should see it all as organic living balance. So in the end, it can either show that her mental state is so unstable for her to have been reduced to such a state alongside her barefootness, or on its opposite that she’s accepted the important place of animals and monsters more in the world, that she doesn’t see them as dirty anymore, or even that she likens herself to them. Maybe she’s become a bit of a monster herself, after all, because the dungeon does corrupt, the dungeon devours like how its structure was once compared to a digestive system by Laios, because if the demon isn’t a shepherd and Marcille isn’t a sheep the demon is still who actually has control over everything in the dungeon including the monsters, despite wanting to make believe it’s the dungeon lords who do, because the dungeon lord is a puppet of a demon, just another one of its monsters, its creatures in its guts.

Princess : fantasy

This is it this is the moment. I reworked my post structure after the interview but this was originally going to be the last angle explored after funeral gown instead of before it, this is also the angle that’s most important to my Marcille & Chilchuck analysis. Dungeon Meshi has some fairytale and princess prince royalty knights etc etc imagery and this is a continuation of that in a way, topic for another day though.

As we know Marcille is someone who loves aesthetics, she loves novels and pretty things and idealizing and romanticizing, and this can be seen as the core of the outfit to her. If her situation feels unsettling, it can be fixed by a change in framing, by an aesthetic by an angle by a cool look. Something that inspires and makes the situation feel less alarming, positioning herself as the protagonist rather than the villain. It was given to her by the Winged Lion when she started being more anxious to the battle that is to come, it has the goal to make her more confident but in this context very pointedly the goal to make that self-doubt go away— to keep Marcille from thinking about her situation some more and realizing she may be on the wrong path, it’s to isolate her in her dungeon lord world as part of her role, it’s to keep her in that malleable unstable state and encourage her to chase fantasy and stay in her own bubble of makebelieve. Do you follow me? It’s "don’t think about the stakes, don’t rethink your goals, what you’re doing is right and you should keep going however you want to", it’s "you don’t have to face reality, I’m here and now your dreams are the reality that matters". It’s fantasy.

It’s an epic poofy dress that makes her look cute yet cool. It’s the imagery of a princess in a tower. Calling out to her from beneath a balcony, overseeing her army and her kingdom. A princess dress not unlike the one she felt embarrassed in in the Golden Kingdom, where they talked of prophecies and kings, and wanted to be complimented in, to laughter and dismissal. And even though those things feel more disconcerting in real life than it does in stories then, becoming dungeon lord is good at blurring the lines to the point you can’t tell your doppelgangers of loved ones aren’t the real thing, and the Winged Lion chose her so that has to count for something, she was chosen.

If the princess imagery is left unnoticed by Marcille herself, then I definitely think it was meant for the audience to some degree. If not the poofy dress and heroine status alone, then the tower imagery and the balcony scene. The tower and the princess, the dragon, the knight, the prophecized king, the witch, the monster army, it’s all very reminiscent of fairytales like I mentioned. The balcony thing is a classic play thing though like that is Romeo & Juliette imagery right there, calling out to her from beneath a balcony?!! Aladdin too, Rapunzel, heroes and princes climbing towers to come see and save princesses.

This is the point that is most related to her love of novels and dalclan. Romanticization may be the name of the game for the history behind the shepherdess outfit style, but then fantasy would be the princess’. It’s also about twisting your current situation into something positive despite everything, but Marcille wasn’t that far gone yet, just struggling, framing and aesthetic still subtly help sell it all though. But if there’s something that’d make Marcille feel more confident and ready to do something, hype herself up or give her a twinge of comfort outfit wise, it’d be one that makes her feel like a princess.

Interlude: black, solemn but gloomy

Short one because it’s very straightforward but black is traditionally associated with evil and death, etc etc. Because of the former it’s often associated to powerful malevolent figures like villain sorceresses, but because of the latter irl it’s widely the color of funerals. It’s also cultivated this connotation of elegance, this sleek clean look both in modern and noble contexts, it’s very much this image of cool and ushakeable composure. Interestingly, we can’t 100% tell because mangas are in black and white, but black seems to be Marcille’s mom’s color, what she always dresses in.

Funeral gown

This was the most popular reading by the fandom before the interview and with good reason. As we got the confirmation, it’s nudging towards the intended one! It argued that the dress is a funeral gown, because her mother wore dresses like it and because of its black color, meanwhile the childish earmuffs are because her mourning her father happened when she was a child, because she feels frail etc etc. In her state with her current worries she’s feeling thrown back into her childhood, not unlike Thistle’s weird ambiguity there, feeling helpless just like then except now she has power to change it and a devil on her shoulder telling her all she has to do is affirm herself and take it.

It’s externalizing her trauma and validating it in turn, offering some catharsis and reminding her of her goal, defeating death so she never has to endure loss again.

As you may notice, both their outfits here are fur-lined too, so the amplification of that in her dunlord dress may be similar overcompensation to how she made the dress very revealing.

Interlude: barefootedness, filthy but earnest

Bloodstained bare feet no less. From what I can tell this is a direct callback to her being barefoot when resurrecting Falin. Again this could be a way of reminding herself of her goal and reminding herself all she’s accomplished, but it’s notable that Falin’s resurrection is something that made her feel very guilty and indecure because of how her becoming a chimera turned out. Maybe more about reminding her of what she has to fix and that she can’t give up on her goals including Falin.

Beyond that it’s interesting too though! Prim and proper Marcille who cares about her appearance and pouts at dirt just walking everywhere barefoot like nothing can hurt or bother her. There’s a sense of her being messy as a dungeon lord, her hair isn’t in an updo and looks unbrushed, she’s in a weird uncharacteristic outfit in a questionable mental state and she’s barefoot on top of it all. It also recalls a sense of vulnerability of course, reminding again an unstable mental state or showing desperation or how naked she might feel. Inversely, it can be more about acceptance, like in the last interlude we talked about knowing your place in the ecosystem and feeling secure in accepting it. Walking barefoot is to bare your skin to the ground, to walk knowing they’ll get dirtied and not minding it. Did you know humus and humilty are from the same word root?

In the end, it gives both ethereal forest fairy vibes and also poor little orphan vibes. Victorian sick child, especially when she gets carried by the winged lion all overwhelmed too haha. Very much gives her out of touch vibes, even if the bloodstained look is powerful. She’s willing to get her feet hands dirty to do what must be done.

Mother : balance

I turned this section into an excerpt post as well, here’s a link, serves as an essier to share highlight + allows me to put in more pictures since we hit the limit here…

Kui: "I just combined [a dress like what] her mother liked and [earmuffs] which are considered a little bit childish."

See what it’s doing here? Kui combined a dress from her mother with a hat for children, adult dress vs childish hat. Adulthood vs childhood. Mother vs child. It’s also notable that the dress is tallman fashion while the earmuffs are elven. Again she’s combining those distinct things into one. It’s about emotions and maturity. Stability and instability. Growing & potential vs having grown & knowing yourself. It’s about her cultures and expectations and how can she possibly keep up with all of them, like the genius child she was portrayed as? It’s duality it’s conflict it’s being pulled in opposite directions. It’s about identity.

Marcille wants to have all the answers and wants them all already, she already acts like she has everything figured out more often than not, when it comes to ways to harvest mandrakes or her image of Falin and Chilchuck and orcs or her rigid sense of ethics, but the story does show that she had growing to do, plus her main goal beyond keeping her friends safe and near her is that pursuit of knowledge for what she doesn’t yet have answers for— rewriting the laws of life and death. But, as we’ve all been told before, death is simply a part of life and we have to make our peace with that one way or another. Like Marcille says in the last chapter, this was in large part the lesson and arc she’s had to go through. A lesson that Marcille’s mother has learned herself, one that she has accepted and tried to pass on to her daughter, which didn’t work and kickstarted Marcille’s pursuit of extending lifespans. Marcille has to settle with uncertainty, with knowing life can end at any moment and knowing this is who she is even if the world has no answers for her as to what that means, she has to come to terms with ambiguity and inbetweens.

Marcille’s relationship with her mother is very interesting because it’s shown all in very small moments and implications, but we do see that Marcille’s mom is arguably her biggest role model. She’s the one who shows up in Marcille’s nightmare about monster food early on, she’s who told Marcille she’ll have to bear loss througout her life due to her lifespan, Marcille wears a choker like she does, it’s debatable that Marcille mimics her demeanor to seem more elven and dignified, in Marcille’s true nightmare she hides behind a portrait of her, she was the only living elven role model Marcille had around. Mother, who didn’t let grief of her husband rule the rest of her life, having even remarried, mother, who’s a court mage, mother, who pursued a life she wanted even if it cost her a lot. And we do know being an elf is important to Marcille! She seeks to conform to elven beauty standards rigidly, both in gender presentation and things like facial hair, and she’s masked as one since she was enrolled in the magic academy, as far as we know her first time away from home and her first big period of social contact since she isolated herself with chickens and books when she was younger. Books like the daltian clan, with an all elven cast except for the one half-elf she deeply related to.

Marcille’s bangs are also half down and half cut. Before she had to cut some hair to make familiars, long bangs were what Marcille wore for years, meanwhile in all of Marcille’s childhood flashbacks including at the magic academy her bangs were always cut short. As we know, hair is important to elves. Her hair is elfness. Her hair is elegance. Her hair is her age. Her bangs are uneven now. It’s part of accepting her precarious weird spot in an inbetween, half up half down haircut. Acceptance on her own aging, that there’s no empiric answer for what Marcille’s equivalent age is in elf or tallman or other, maybe just a ballpark if even that. Answers which are what she’s most desperate to know. What do you mean that student over there has got an astronomic result on her dungeoneum and what do you mean she doesn’t really care for how you did it? Falin who’s thus showing her another way to be, with less self-made pressure, that you can just go with the flow- that you can just… Be.

Her hair being all down and messy as a dungeon lord is part of making the characters and audience understand that Marcille is out of it, but… Like her barefootness there’s some flexibility it implies, for Marcille who’s so rigid on appearance. Accepting her hair to be messy, a sort of shedding of who she is even as she’s overdressed and trying so hard to look like something she doesn’t feel as.

That’s why her outfit makes her feel courageous. Because it makes her feel different from who she is otherwise, because it grants her a look she feels naked without, even with barefeet and messy hair. It’s externalizing how she’s been trying to hold it all together and all her confliction and her feelings and offering some catharsis, no more hiding herself, she’s a half-elf trying to do dark magic. Clean Marcille, clean clean Marcille— Overthinking the dressing, the superficial the aesthetic, without looking enough at the body it’s covering up, the laws of the world the ecosystem of the dungeon the opinions of her friends’— what’s standing right in front of her face, the underlying thing holding up the rest of what she’s trying to change, what’s truly important. She’s back to being like with meeting Falin, overfocusing on the details and the nitpicks and the theorics while oblivious to the slimes and the bats and the balance of mana in that small cave dungeon. She has the dress and the hat but as a whole she doesn’t look like a slay queen or a princess or a cool sorceress or even like her mother, she just looks like a mess. 

Ultimately after calming down she takes the hat off. She leaves behind the grip that her childhood trauma had on her and moves forward in the dress of adulthood, with maturity and emotional intelligence and logic to deal with her current situation instead of coping mechanisms and desperate grasps for control. And then when the dungeon lord becomes Laios her dress poofs, she’s in her very plain pajamas, plain Marcille, and it’s that Marcille who goes forward to help Laios save the world and defeat the demon. Hence why post-canon she starts dressing in similar dresses to her mother as well, and starts wearing more black. Black here is a color associated with her mother. She keeps her own touch and color here and there, like her red choker instead of a black one, but it’s a stark and sudden difference. She’s matured.

And her friends aren’t afraid to say it like it is and bring back her feet to the ground instead of up in the clouds of fantasy and power where she was, her feet back on the dirt of where they are right now instead of the theorics of "when" and "then" and "forever". She’s weird, she’s unique, in some ways she doesn’t fit in with any group anywhere, and that’s ok and she’s accepted that it doesn’t mean she can’t feel belonging and joy as herself with her flawed friends in a flawed world. After all they did stick with her even after seeing her whole tantrum and embarrassing breakdown makeover. Personally I do say, slay queen.

Her dungeon lord outfit is a coming of age outfit in a very literal way. A bridge between childhood and adulthood. We see her struggle metaphorically between the past and the future, moving on or holding onto trauma. The dress, from her mother, with cleavage and low cut sleeves and a lace gap going down to her stomach and a very short risqué skirt cut, represents maturity but it was very purposefully contrasted with the earmuffs, a childish piece of accessory associated with youth. This shows her mental state, battling with her emotions, wildly fluctuating between her academic put-together powerful self and the childish emotional outbursts the pressure is causing. Time moves on too fast but she’s not growing up fast enough to keep up or make the academic breakthroughs she wants— time is always running out and she’s both too young or too old she’s pulled in both directions and she can never be up to standards. It represents her struggle with her lifespan, her struggle to fit in, to know who she should be and what she should be doing. Considering this, it’s no wonder Marcille is someone who finds ecosystems and the cycle of life unappealing and unintuitive notions, because she has to carve her own space wherever she goes.

Conclusion

Her friends are laughing because she’s doing one of those over-the-top sexy costumes with a baby bonnet and both of those are extremes uncharacteristic of her and the whiplash of Marcille out of anyone in that weirds them out. They’d take plain old marcille in her pajamas over all-powerful dungeon lord Marcille in an epic revealing goth dress any day. Marcille with messy hair is crossing the line though someone braid it please.

Marcille had a flair for the dramatic, values the grand and the novel-like, big gestures and being swept away by knights. As was discussed in this post of mine and as will be covered in my Marcille & Chil arc analysis, fantasy is something she uses to make the world more digestible, less scary, more handleable. As such, I can totally see how a gown that makes her feel larger than she is, more important or, more narratively, like a protagonist, like a sorceress and a princess, and understood and validated in her mourning, would make her feel like she can tackle things more, better in her own skin, or perhaps, giving into the delusions ever so more. She needs a dose of reality and dw her party (chilchuck) will come to give out that.

Dunmeshi prones the importance of balance for both a healthy body and a healthy mind and hope & fantasy vs logic & reality aka optimist idealism and cynical pessimism are one side of that.

"Fumi, do you really think Kui intended all of this?" To a good degree I wouldn’t be surprised, but ultimately that’s not what matters bc this is still compelling cultural context and themes to read into the text, like I mentioned at the start. Diversity of interpretations is good!! It’s a sign of a deeply rich story! I think in 15 years we’ll still have essays being written on Dungeon Meshi and I think that’s incredible and no small feat.

[dabis-azure-songbird]

Malleus with a s/o who Leona also likes nsfw

This one is far too good. How could I possibly resist? And I raise you...Two possible scenarios, depending on what you fancy. ;) One tall order of Malleus and Leona x Malleus's!S/O and simply Malleus being a possessive dragon with his S/O. And my first Malleus request! I'm so excited. I've been wanting to write for him for so long.

Pairing: Malleus x S/O, Malleus x S/O x Leona

Warning: Very NSFW, slightly demeaning/mean Mal in the first scenario and he turns you into a creampuff, prideful princes

Continue at own risk below the line. I won't warn you again.

( ＾◡＾)っ✂❤

Scenario One: Malleus is possessive and a kinky dragon because he knows Leona likes you, too.

Bright emerald eyes are well aware of the lion's matching pair also on you all throughout the class that day. And your draconic fae boyfriend is quite displeased with that fact, to be honest. How dare Kingscholar not keep such wandering glances to himself?

So Malleus suddenly finds himself watching the lion instead of you, for a drastic change and much to his displeasure. You, on the other hand, are completely oblivious, focused on reading the passage out loud that Trein has assigned. Malleus feels both pride and disappointment well up in his chest as he finally watches you a few moments again. He is so proud that you're such a hard worker and that you have taken your magical studies seriously. However, he's also a bit disappointed that you don't realize quite how much of a jewel and catch you truly are to the men of NRC.

When the bell finally rings, Malleus is rapid to his feet.

"Darling Child of Man, I'd like a moment of your time."

Oh, it is by far more than a moment. But a beautiful moment for someone of Malleus's flow of time.

"Sure, dear. Is there something wrong?"

He can feel Kingscholar's vibrant eyes on his back as he leans his chin on a hand lazily.

"I assure you, there is not, darling. However, I find myself in need of your company for a moment. There is something I wanted to ask you about humans."

Leona scoffs and rolls his eyes as Draconia guides you from the classroom gracefully with a hand on your back.

-----

"M-Mal-..."

"Silence, my sweet. Do you want our teachers or classmates to possibly see us up here?"

"N-no...ah...."

Malleus smirks darkly, hand sliding up and over your back, before around and cupping a supple breast smushed against the glass of the window of the empty classroom.

"My dear, I have been researching mundane topics. And I was quite honestly pondering if this is one of your..."kinks" or mine. I have been dying to try it since with you since the thought crossed my mind."

A particularly deep thrust has you mewling and coating his length nuzzling its way deeper inside you.

"I think I like this, Child of Man. Just imagine, if someone were to glance and gaze upon us, they would know you are most surely mine."

Malleus nuzzles into your hair lovingly and nearly moans at the way you answer him, along with your body.

"That's true...I am yours, Mal."

He steps away slightly only to lift you and hold you under the knees, back pressed firmly to his chest, so he can bounce you harder on his length.

"Then I can mark you as mine, right? Claim your body along with your heart? Yes, my dearest?"

"Y-yes, that's fine."

Inside him, Malleus feels something snap. His hips and arms work harder to slam you down to the hilt of him and your cry serves to egg him on. You had never heard the words he utters next before...

"Ohhh, my Child of Man. I'll show them how brainless of a harlot you are...only for me. There will be no question nor doubt of whose seed you were made to carry and take. Whose cock you were made for. You were made to be mine. You were made for the most potent of my markings to fill your womb."

You gasp as heat surges through your body and his fangs scrape lightly against your neck.

"My darling, Y/N, you are mine."

"A-always."

The inhumane pummeling he's put your body under has your mind quickly fogging up.

"T-Tsunotarou...please..."

He smirks as he slides home in one shot. Your legs shake in his hands and he throbs as he's completely enthralled in you. You sigh in relief and whimper slightly as he slows his thrusts to slight rolls that are electric in your sensitivity. And then he stills, gritting his teeth and groaning lowly as the warmth of his silky hot release floods you out.

He is gentle to clean you up. He is gentle to pull your panties back up for you. He is more than happy to wait a few moments as you remember to stand and walk.

The two of you step out of the room, only to run into Leona. Leona casts a knowing glance and his eyes darken at Malleus. You are completely oblivious due to how post-orgasm hazy you are. You are on cloud nine and Malleus notes that he indeed should do this more, if only to ward off Leona. Though he does love the thrill of every one of even Leona himself catching him balls deep in your depths.

"O-oh, Leona."

Leona's eyes are on you and then travel to the light fang scrapes on the side of your nape.

"Don't call to me so casually, herbivore. I'm your upperclassman, after all."

Malleus smirks, following Leona's eyes.

"Excuse the Child of Man, Kingscholar. I may have confused them with the discussion we had."

"Yeah, I bet, Lizard."

Scenario Two: A threesome with Malleus AND Leona with it quickly turning into a competition because you are Malleus's.

First of all, kudos to you, if you manage to get them to both, agree to this. Although, I can see it playing out along the lines of them trying to one-up each other, despite you already being Malleus's S/O.

"M-Mal...please.." you moan out lowly, a head with horns eagerly buried between your plush thighs.

"As you wish, my dear."

Another moan as Malleus continues his administration passionately before the door is suddenly pushed open and your body runs cold with panic.

"Oi, Lizard, what's the big idea cal-"

Leona is dumbfounded and blinks a few times at the both of you as Malleus wipes at his mouth with the back of his sleeve. You pretty much mirror Leona.

"About time, Kingscholar. Though personally, I don't mind if you are late or don't show up at all, for that matter."

You are trying to shield your body from Leona's eyes before Malleus stands up between your thighs and covers you.

"A proposition, Kingscholar, Y/N."

The both of you stare at Malleus.

"I'm not quite into sharing. Allow me to rephrase that, I don't share. I've noticed your eyes on her, Kingscholar."

"Just get to the point, Draconia."

"We should see who's better at pleasuring her. If I win, you leave her completely alone. And I will. But, if you win...well, you won't."

Leona sneers and you stare at your boyfriend in shock. Is this really happening right now?

"Besides, my dear Y/N, aren't you curious? After all, it's only natural for humans to be such curious and inquisitive creatures."

"You're on, Lizard. Let's put this debate to rest."

You didn't realize they had passed notes in class, even arguing on paper about who could best pleasure you, dear. Boys will be boys.

[emmy-dekarios-bg3]

Heart of the Weave - chapter 52 - Gale’s POV

After a long rest, we continue our journey and eventually make it to Rivington, which leads directly into the city. I didn’t expect to be back here again, especially after the traumatic events regarding the Bhaal cultists, but here we are. Not complaining, especially since the city has flourished greatly, even since the last time I visited, and actually smells delightful, like fresh bakeries, coffee shops, and the scent of various flowers growing on every corner. Jenevelle is ready to be somewhere other than outside; poor baby has been rather fussy the last few hours.

“This is much more lively than our last adventure, aye?” Wyll comments, smiling as we approach the South Span of Wyrm’s Crossing. “It’s an entirely new place, it seems. I can’t imagine what the other part of the city looks like.”

“I imagine it looks even more vibrant and inviting since last time I was here, which was when I found out I was pregnant. Even then, it looked much better than when we were on our more…brutal adventures,” Emmy adds, followed by a chuckle. We pass Sharess’s Caress and I notice the shop two buildings down I’d come to for my formal attire. Last time I was here, we came across a rather interesting fellow – Naaber, was it? – and he made the trip a little entertaining, at least for a moment.

“Mind if I stop in this shop, my love? I have to get Jenevelle some diapers. Looks like we’re running short. You all can stay outside while I go in,” I say. “I’ll be gone for only a moment.” Emmy smiles and nods, holding our exhausted baby against her chest. I kiss Emmy’s cheek then make my way into the shop, which was under a different name last time I was here. As I walk inside, I notice a familiar face: Naaber. Oh God, again.

“Excuse me?” I ask as I step inside. “Is the shopkeeper around? I need to buy a couple packs of diapers for my baby, it’s urgent.” Naaber turns around and his face lights up. He seems to be the only other adult in this building; he must own the shop now. “Naaber?”

“The one and the same! ROAR! Can you guess what animal I am?! Come on, GUESS!” Sweet Weave on Mystra’s Mantel, is it possible he got more intolerable since the last time I saw him?

“Um… I’m going to assume you’re a lion.” His jaw drops and his face looks as if he’s about to explode from the excitement.

“HOW DID YOU KNOW? Are you some kind of…wizard? You have a beard, you’re dressed all fancy… Wait, I recognize your face! It’s been AGES, but I know you from somewhere!” I sigh, but not too loudly so I don’t appear as rude, but I have never wanted to leave a human’s presence so bad in my life. He clears his throat and straightens his posture.

“Look, I apologize if I come off as rude, but my wife, baby, and two of our dearest friends are waiting outside. We have an audience with a specialist in the lower city. Are you the owner now?” Naaber’s facial expression still appears rather excited, and he nods with joy.

“Yes! My apologies, I just – I LOVE talking to people! I love being here and seeing familiar faces! Okay just real quick and I’ll ring you up: Why did the whale blush?”

“..why?”

“Because he saw the ocean’s bottom! Okay, let’s get you rang up and you can be on your way.” I laughed a little at the joke; I must admit, it was a good one. But maybe because I’m a father and learning to appreciate dad jokes, despite the fact I have an infant who will never age? Who knows. I smile nervously as I turn around to leave, but then Naaber shouts unexpectedly: “DON’T BE A STRANGER!”

At least that will be the only unsettling experience I will encounter while in Baldur’s Gate, right? I think it’s just the way that man obnoxiously approaches me with enthusiastic intent, but otherwise he’s a fine fellow.

“Off we go then, shall we?” I comment as I relax my shoulders and place the diapers in Jenevelle’s bag.

“You seem tense, Gale. Is everything alright?” Wyll asks as he observes the expression on my face. “Well, I could be reading you wrong. Bad memories from that shop?” I place my hand on Emmy’s shoulder, gently rubbing it as she begins to push the stroller.

“No, no. Uh… That Naaber fellow is just a bit too much for my liking. He’s nice and I don’t dislike him, but a friendship with him is not quite something I desire. Maybe after a few cups of coffee.” In a few short moments, we will reach the Basilisk Gate and get settled in at the Elfsong Tavern. Walking through Wyrm’s Crossing brings back more than just a few memories, most of them I wish I could forget, but the good news is I no longer have to relive the atrocious monstrosities that went down ages ago.

“We’re almost there.” Emmy’s voice appears a little shaken, as if she’s nervous, but her facial expression reads nothing short of excitement. “Tomorrow is the big day.” Karlach begins skipping enthusiastically past us, twirling with an ecstatic flow. Wyll begins to dash ahead of us to catch up with his lively wife, though she seems to be moving ahead even further. I shake my head and chuckle as I observe them.

“How are you feeling, love?” I ask Emmy, smiling as we continue to push forward. “Anything on your mind?” She looks at me briefly, her chocolate brown eyes glistening as the sun hits the right side of her face. Her plump lips curl into a smile as our eyes meet.

“Ugh, just a delicious hot meal at the tavern, followed by a hot bath and curled up under the sheets with you. It’s been so long since I’ve adventured like this. Outside of the Moonrise thing with my f— Gortash.” She cuts herself off and squints her eyes. I can’t help but wonder if she still feels guilt for his death. I study her face, trying to figure out how she’s feeling. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I lie, smiling at her and then shift my gaze toward the road ahead. “I just love to admire you.” That part wasn’t a lie — I truly do.

After a peaceful walk toward the city, we finally arrive at the Elfsong Tavern, where delicious food, music, and rest awaits us. Luckily, there’s one big room left and it’s perfect for all of us. Ah, the comfortable beds, the room service, the amount of space… Definitely preferable than camping on the outside grounds.

“It’s been ages,” Emmy murmurs, picking up Jenevelle from the stroller. “Last time we were here, we stayed at Sharess’ Carress. But the Elfsong? Now that brings memories.” Emmy begins to nurse Jenevelle while she’s plopped on one of the beds. Karlach and Wyll went down to the main floor to enjoy music and delicious food, but I’d much rather enjoy a moment of quiet with my two favorite people. I did request food to be sent up here to us, and it should be here any moment.

“Right? I can’t help but feel a sense of happiness from the nostalgia. Not the adventures of course, although I do have mixed feelings about that.” I sit down next to my beautiful wife and place a kiss on the side of her head.

“Thank you, my love, for being so supportive and wonderful to me.” Her voice is a whisper that brings chills upon the flesh. She places her free hand on top of mine while she’s holding the baby with the other. “I mean it.” Before I could say a word, a knock on the door interrupts the moment; one of the workers is here with our delicious dinner. I stand up to grab our food and set it out for Emmy and I to eat while she places Jenevelle down to sleep on the bunches of quilts next to our bed. Poor baby is exhausted from not having a decent night’s sleep and having to travel all this way.

“Oh this all smells so good,” I comment as I inhale the sweet aroma of mushroom soup, venison, and mashed potatoes. We indulge in a delightful dinner, enjoying the company of one another as the night greets us. “Also, I meant to tell you in response, that you are also wonderful to me. I don’t tell you enough, but I appreciate everything you do.” She smiles and leans in, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. The smell of fresh lavender lingers on her skin. I brush the dark brown curls from her face and gaze heavenly into her eyes, admiring every detail of her face.

Bed beckons us, so we finally curl up underneath the thick blankets, and I notice Emmy’s eyes immediately closing as our bodies touch comfortably.

“Mmmm…” Her voice is adorably sleepy, and I can’t help but fight the urge to kiss her all over the place. For now, a forehead kiss will have to suffice, so I kiss the top of her head as she drifts into a slumber.

“Goodnight baby. Sleep tight.”

It takes me awhile to fall asleep, because I can’t help but think about what tomorrow will bring. What if it’s a success and watching her grow a baby will make me wish it was ours? No, no, Gale. Stop it. You are supporting your friends. Besides, another immortal baby would be a nightmare, right? I look down at our sleeping Jenevelle, smiling at our little blessing.

After about an hour, the door opens, with Karlach and Wyll quietly stepping into the room.

“Oh hey Gale, didn’t realize you were still awake,” Karlach whispers. “Dude, it was so fun down there. I’m exhausted though and ready for some rest.” I chuckle and turn the other way to fall asleep comfortably while those two get ready for bed. “Goodnight Dekarios.”

“Ha, goodnight you two. See you bright and early.”

When the sun rises, I am woken up by Jenevelle fussing, so I get up and get her dressed for the day ahead. It isn’t long until Emmy, Wyll, and Karlach wake up; but of course I’m the first to be up. I get a pot of coffee going, and get a bottle ready for Jenevelle.

“Good morning early bird,” Emmy chimes in, stretching as she gets up from the bed. I smile, admiring her morning beauty. “Of course you’re up before everyone. I’m only jesting, my dear.”

“Jenevelle got a tad fussy, and you know me, the earliest of birds. I’m getting coffee ready, then maybe we can all go down, eat some breakfast, and then head to the druid’s building?” Karlach comes bolting toward us from across the room with an overwhelming amount of energy as Wyll is getting dressed as I speak those words out loud.

“Okay first off, good fucking morning you guys. Second, yes. I’m down with that plan. JENEVELLE!” Karlach leans down to kiss her little forehead. “Auntie Karlach’s favorite baby! Don’t tell Shadowheart and Astarion I said that. I love Asher too, of course. That kid is like, three years old now and running rampant. At least with Jenevelle she will always be small and I can ALWAYS provide the chaotic auntie snuggles.” I roll my eyes playfully and place Jenevelle in Emmy’s arms so she can feed the baby.

“I mean hey, there’s an upside to it all,” Emmy points out. “Forever loved and cherished by everyone around her.”

[volturialice]

I have a crazy stupid question: if you had to think about the Cullens and Co (or just Jasper and Alice if you'd rather) in terms of a wings!au, daemon!au and soulmate marks!au, what would you give them?? Thinking about Jasper with ragged dangerous looking sandy wings and Alice with humming bird or dove wings, Emmett with a bear familiar, Esme and Carlisle proud of their soulmate marks.... don't mind me, currently obsessed

oh funnnn. love a good AU. I myself have written a short jalice soulmate words piece, and have a (also jalice) soul scars AU in the drafts (because holy shit were they made for that scenario.)

and I happen to know that @goldeneyedgirl has written a daemon AU before! the main thing I remember from it is that Alice's daemon was unsettled into adulthood due to Trauma. I'm gonna try to forget as much as possible about the rest so I can answer without cassandra clare-ing lexie, wish me luck

daemon AU ideas

emmett - you're right, bear is a MUST. specifically a grizzly, let's be real. his daemon fights all his meals before he eats them, and everyone thinks he's a weird cannibal for it

his parents would have named his daemon a rootin tootin mountain/southern gal name. Alma or Luella or Abilene or something, idk

bella - the obvious answer is a deer but I think it would be so funny if her daemon was a sheep. the lion and the lamb!! my next idea was a pelican because of the morbid fact that they will rip off parts of their own bodies to feed their young. extremely bella-coded. I also liked that time in canon when she called herself a sloth. feels right. three-toed for sure. look at his long brown eyes

renee and charlie would have named her daemon something classic but up-and-coming for the era. bonus points if it had a vaguely italian feel, like Luca or Rafael

edward - on the flip side, I think a lion is too obvious an answer for edward, and also not an emo enough animal. his daemon should be a beetle (kafkaesque) or a new world porcupine (solitary, likes to hang out in trees.)

his daemon would have a fancy frilly old-world name, maybe roman-sounding. Priscilla or Portia or something. Faustina would be hilarious

esme - something delicate but cozy. a butterfly? a wren or mourning dove? a guinea pig or rabbit? I'm leaning rabbit. for those of you who insist on girlbossifying esme, she could maybe be a hyena—I've heard that at least one subspecies will adopt and raise orphaned cubs. can't remember if it was spotted or brown? hyena experts weigh in

esme's parents gave her an unusual name for its time and place, so her daemon would probably get the same. Jory or Ari, maybe something more french like Benoit

rosalie - could also get a hyena tbh, since they're girlbosses who are unfairly villainized in fiction. also feel like a tasmanian devil would be a cool mammal option for her. other than that, I could see her with a cool bird of prey daemon, maybe a falcon

her daemon would also get an elegant name, maybe one that hasn't aged well. Maximilian, Isidore, Clement, Reginald

carlisle - my first thought was an orangutan because their 'solitary intellectual' vibes remind me of him during his pre-family era. or maybe something else intelligent but more social, like an elephant. very compassionate guys

and I know carlisle was raised anglican, but i think it would be so funny if his daemon had like a mayflowerass pilgrim name. Temperance or Chastity the elephant

jasper - honestly just like a scarred up, one-eared doberman rescued from a dogfighting ring. I know canon compares him to a lion nearly as often as it does edward, and I guess a big cat could work too (but I wouldn't pick a lion. something more solitary, like a leopard or puma.)

and I think his parents had boring-er name taste than "jasper" suggests. maybe something nicknamey, like Hattie or Lil

alice - a tough one because there are so many possible answers. maybe some kind of flashy bird like a quetzal, or an agile small mammal like a tamarin or lemur. tbh she could just have Mort

his name would also be something vaguely classic. maybe Cecil or Marcel or Claude

(yes I realize I just gave everyone cool birds and mammals. and what about it)

wings AU ideas

you have some fun ideas there too! I'll admit I've never really written or read a wings AU. I think jasper should get some ragged buzzard wings since he's desertcore. alice could totally have hummingbird, or magpie would also be cool since they're kinda mod.

I think esme could get the dove wings, or maybe finch or bluebird. bella would obviously need something brown since that's her favorite color. emmett could get the classic red-tailed hawk coloring, carlisle maybe a barn owl. rosalie something cool like a kestrel

aaaand this post is already way long so I'll save any soulmate mark ideas for a different one. whew! thorough question there anon

[kayssweetdreams]

Love Conquers All

(A tie in story to BBU: The Ballad of Beatrice. There will be some important plot points here, so spoilers to come)

Cotton stared out into the distance of where she and Midnight settled this time. She gave a sigh. It was the anniversary of when she and Midnight first met and fell in love, but due to Midnight's...infamy, they couldn't go anywhere fancy, or even around other animals without them screaming in terror and trying to attack.

A tear rolled down Cotton's face, she still couldn't stop thinking about how their love ended up changing everything...and that terrible incident that caused them to go on the run in the first place. A gentle paw rested itself on her shoulder "Cotton dear? what troubles you?" Midnight asked, his voice bringing Cotton out of her thoughts. The pink sheep wiped her eyes "I-It's nothing, just reminiscing....that's all." she said.

Midnight wasn't fooled by her words "Cotton, my sweet treat, I know you...you never shed tears unless it's troubling thoughts in your head." he said, his paw wiping away one of the sheep's tears. Cotton sighed, she hated when Midnight saw through her. "Oh Midnight...It's just that, I'm remembering the incident. And how it caused us to be like this now..." she said, looking down to the ground.

"I sometimes wonder, if the universe is setting us up to fail. If we hadn't have met, then maybe...maybe none of this would have happened..." she weeped, more tears falling from her eyes. Midnight sighed. He couldn't help but remember that the incident was partially his fault as well, but Cotton had the luxury of walking away scott free, while he was a wanted lion...but she never left him.

He held her hooves "Well...if we never met, I would never have found the sweetest sheep in this world, nor would I have ever learned that love was possible for me...with another species." He said, cupping Cotton's face with his paw. Cotton still didn't stop "But you're wanted! We can't go anywhere without you having to wear a disguise, or hiding." She said, holding his paws

"I would have still been a wanted Lion, incident or not. No accident in the world could ever change that, nor could it ever stop me from loving you." He said, a smile visible on his muzzle. Cotton sniffed, Even though Midnight was hunted around the world, he still loved her...and she still loved him. "Oh Midnight...nothing could ever stop me from loving you either." She said clasping both his paws.

The two of them shared a loving embrace as they gazed out at where they set up shop this time: The Tree where they first fell in love. Where their paths first crossed, and where their hearts became one. "Well, Let's set everything up. Nobody is gonna come here." Midnight said, walking back inside the shop to grab a few items inside.

Moments later, the two of them were having a romantic candlelit dinner under the stars. Midnight had cooked his famous risotto (That Cotton Loves) and Cotton had gone through the trouble of sneaking a bottle of Midnight's favorite champagne into the shop when they had traveled, popping it open and pouring them both a glass.

Just as Cotton went to go and bring out her Estrella cupcakes, Midnight then asked "Remember the first night when we kissed?". Cotton smiled "I remember. We sat underneath this very tree, and you had started to sing for me." She said, setting the tray down. Her ears then perked up when she heard Midnight sing.

If happiness was a tangible thing

It would be you

If you'd have told me the feeling you'd bring

I'd think it untrue

And people search for a wonder like you

All of their lives

You still amaze me after all this time

Cotton felt the tears well up in her eyes again as Midnight bowed and held out a paw, offering a dance to the sheep.

You pull me in like some kind of wind

Mesmerized by the hold I'm in

Leave you here, I don't wanna

I wanna

The two of them waltz in the forest, the lights in the Flora providing them with enough light to see in each other's eyes as they danced through the night

Promise as one does

I, I will protect you at all costs

Keep you safe here in my arms

I, I will protect you at all costs

At all costs

Midnight sang his heart out, his eyes hidden underneath his mane, but Cotton could see love behind it, as she began to sing as well

What's pain when I look at you? No way

I could explain you, even if tried to

I'll never dream like used to do

If someone tried to hurt you, I don't

See how that could happen

I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine

Felt this, no, I haven't, I hope

It would be all right to stay right here beside you

Midnight could feel his heart soar as he heard Cotton's voice, the song that they sang, many moons ago, but their love never dwindling. The two of them sang together, their voices joining together.

And promise as one does

I, I will protect you at all costs

Keep you safe here in my arms

I, I will protect you at all costs

At all costs

The power of their voice joined together, as the two of them could feel themselves getting weightless, the world losing its gravity as their love lifted them above the trees and into the stars

If you're ever feeling like you're lost

I will come find you

Man all fronts, there's no ocean I won't swim across

To be right by you

And not just once, here and now I swear on my response

I'll remind you

This was the most carefree and happy that the couple had ever felt ever since the incident, it seemed that everything just disappeared, and it was only them that mattered...right there, right now.

And promise as one does

I, I will protect you at all costs

Keep you safe here in my arms

I, I will protect you at all costs

At all costs

Cotton and Midnight smiled as they soared above the air, the moon acting as their spotlight, and the stars their audience, as they gave each other a passionate kiss that lit up the night...

Just goes to show. True Love can conquer all...

Art done by the awesome @robinfollies

@billiebustupofficial @bbu-fan-blog

[isabel47]

Episode ideas for Noddy, Toyland Detective Season three. Episode 1: The Case of Smartysaurus‘ Missing Glasses

The intro appears with some changes, such as new characters being added and it lasts longer. Also, the series is now rated TV-7.

The toys were preparing a wedding including, the cake, the invitations, and the gifts.

The toys were happy.

Then, Deltoid arrived. “I, Deltoid can’t wait to see my wedding!!!!”

Smartysarus also arrived. “I can finally marry you after this chaos that happened last night”

(Flashbacks of what happened that night appeared) Flashback Smartysarus: “Oh no, my experiment is going crazy!!!!”

(Flashbacks end)

Smartysarus: “Well, that explains why I couldn’t marry you last night”

She and Deltoid laughed.

Smarty was going to put her wedding dress on, while his crush was putting on a fancy suit.

Everyone was wearing elegant clothes and dresses.

When they were about to go to the wedding party, they saw that Smartysarus‘ glasses were gone!!!!

Smartysarus was in panic. “Oh no, where are my glasses????”

Her crush said: “Woe is me, where are my girl’s glasses????”

Noddy was confused, and as always, he was going to investigate.

The investigation sequence appeared and just like the intro, the song included new characters that were going to be introduced in other episodes.

Noddy asked all the toys if they wanted to help him.

Deltoid and Fuse accepted.

They searched in the wedding place first.

They found nothing.

Then they saw a shadow.

Who could it possibly be?

It was a new character called Steve the Lion.

Steve told the toys about the incident and said that he saw someone passing by.

Noddy asked him where did he saw that toy.

Steve said that the toy was passing by brick-a-build.

They asked if that toy left any clues.

The lion said no.

They went to brick-a-build and saw that Fuse’s workshop was a total mess.

Fuse was worried.

“Who did this? Worried face”

Noddy would never let his friends down, so he searched everywhere in the workshop to find 3 party hats.

The three toys were looking for a trio.

They knew exactly what trio could possibly do this. The Naughtycorns!!!!

They went to the stables and saw that they weren’t there.

Then, they saw Paula the pancake, also a new character.

Paula said the she saw the Naughtycorns were visiting Pat-pat.

They went out with her and saw that the Naughtycorns were making paper butterflies.

Pat-pat said that they were there all the morning.

Noddy said that the investigation was hard.

And Fuse and Deltoid calmed him down.

Noddy would never give up!

They said that the hats could probably be from the fairies.

They searched and… they had the glasses!

The fairies said that they were sorry and that they would never steal Smartysarus’ glasses.

Noddy and the other toys gave the glasses back to Smartysarus.

She was thankful.

But when the two toys were going to get married, they saw some other toys that knew about Deltoid.

The screen went black and it said: To be continued…

The end.

[mechanicalriddle]

the moment weve all been waiting for EXALTED SECRET 2023 BIOS YAAAAAY

Heres my bios for the secret santa ! this years theme is Girls Who Rot, Have Rotted Previously, or Are Rotting Right Now

I like to provide some little details, tidbits, tone and setting ideas in my bios in case you want to draw them in like a little scene; don't feel obligated to get that fancy, though!

without further ado.

Pleione (Plin for short, she/they, roughly equivalent to early 20s) is a Marrow Aspect forged from the remnants of a young royal from a long-forgotten kingdom, resuscitated from the depths of the mausoleum in which her body was interred by (accidental) necromantic means. She's spent the past two decades quietly living on her Anchor's manse-estate, indulging in her passions for art and botany.

Plin is a big chicken who is deathly terrified of conflict and does a lot of screaming and cowering when things come to blows for someone who

Her personality is particular, peculiar, and holier-than-thou. She's got dynastic sensibilities, snobbish and disinclined to associate with 'the proles'. Get her on the subject of one of her special interests, though, and you might find each other fast friends.

Motifs- Plin has an orchid motif on account of the fact that she needs a dose of a special tea made from a (formerly) extinct orchid several times a day in order to NOT DIE. She hasn't died yet. She doesnt know she can come back give her a break. Some other motifs include glass, terrariums, spiders & fireflies; marble & porcelain, old-timey anatomical drawings, delicate floral and baroque patterns; antique-white, minty green, deep purple, and black.

Ideas- If you want to draw her doing something she is equally likely to be found reclining on a huge pile of pillows with a book or with her knees planted in the dirt rooting around in a thorny shrub. She loves to dissect and draw plants and is liable to be found at a desk or behind an easel doing one of those activities

Anima- Currently I am thinking... a grove filled with ghostly-white plants twining over enormous bones (hopefully of the animal variety, but hard to say, really) and probably features giant flowering orchids that are shaped suspiciously like skulls... Also its hard to say but the ground does look an awful lot like meat, and those stringy bits look an awful lot like connective tissue... hmm

---

Desert Fang Grim Devil Lioness (Grim for short, she/her, 36 yrs old) is a renegade Midnight caste former-warlord-turned-backwoods vampire-MILF. upgrades!

Grim was fazed a lot as a child (being pawned off by your family as a slave will do that to you) and vowed to grow up into a woman who Wouldn't Be Fazed By Anything. Having achieved this (with a few notable exceptions), she mostly gets her way by via being larger, stronger, and scarier than as many of her problems as possible. Sometimes problems don't and can't have physical largeness, though, which is annoying.

One of these problems included being counter-merc'd by one of her targets and dying of exposure under the desert sun. She didn't... quite... let this stop her, though. There are people in need of her skillsets, and dying isn't really a disqualifier for their service. She was raised as a deathknight and for several years served as one of the First and Forsaken Lion's most fearsome officers.

Another problem is... More recent. Having run off with her lunar mate and tried to start a family far, far from FAFL's stomping grounds, it turns out toughing it out in the wilds of the North can kind of suck.

Motifs- Pretty normal deathknight stuff. Black iron of the wrought variety, and soulsteel; tattered and blood-drenched fabric, rough-hewn basalt and dark masonry. Honestly got stronger canid than felid vibes, to spite the name. Black-and-red is an obvious throughline but grimy grays and natural tones complete her overall color scheme. Things that are totally inert and lifeless, and will always remain as such.

Ideas- Riding her terrifying steed (basically just a half rotting perma-permafrosted elk corpse with a broken antler), slicing something in half with her awesome reaver daiklaive, hovering over a pot of survival-stew boiling over a crude hearth, walking thru the woods in the dark covered in blood. Or maybe hanging out with her awesome baby (pictured) if youre inclined to draw something... Nicer :)

Anima- A bit stereotypical, I think like. a blasted land with bloodsoaked earth so barren and expansive that it blends with the crimson sky, as well as off in the distance banners that tower like skyscrapers which only flutter by virtue of their enormity. Not even Mela's breath will touch this forsaken place.

Grim is the current wielder of Gorgon.

---

(WHOOPS forgot the tattoos in the second thing but like hell im fixing that at this point)

Last but not least, the Gunstar Autochthonia Girl Hirudana Siithavari (Siithi for short, she/her, 32 y.o.) a No Moon ostensibly still answering to the Deliberative; at heart, a roustabout and a scallywag. She crawled deep into Authochthon's world-body on a suicide mission and then beat all odds by sheer cockroach-style stubbornness, earning her Luna's favor. Also, terrible death-sorcery (necromancy is sort of an unknown factor in our rendition of the Gunstar shard but she somehow managed to make contact with the neverborn and stumble into its practice)

she likes drinking, and gambling, and yelling, and generally being a nuisance. Sometimes a little bit of heart-of-gold shines through, and quite frankly everyone is probably better off with the secrets of necromancy in her hands rather than someone slightly less grounded in reality.

theres more pics of her in her tag if you want to poke around.

Motifs- Bronze, brass, grimy earth tones mixed with bright accent colors. Black leather, studs, needles, teeth. Tubes, pipes, gears, grates and various industrial junk. Worms, bugs, and other vermin. Dankness, darkness, the sickly shadows of Black Non. Smoke-haze and drug paraphernalia.

Ideas- Generally she spends most of her time at the bar, the gym, in her lab, or asleep. you could draw her pumping iron, or taking a toke on a decrepit sofa in her dingy weed-cave (not a literal cave though that would be kind of fun), or sitting at an industrial workbench pouring over a half-disassembled chainsaw. or corpse. or both at the same time.

Anima- Her lower-level anima is kind of gloopy like a lava lamp. Iconic is a swamp with oil for water, populated by mangroves assembled from pipes and black plastic tube-vines, with the moon reflecting brightly on its surface. Her spirit shape is a Buffalo Leech, one of the largest species of leeches (on earth at least). i'll attach a pic of her hybrid form if you wanna draw that instead!

(necessary disclaimer for these sorts of things) youre welcome to take this as an opportunity to do some experimenting but if you don't think you can passably represent a certain characters body shape i would recommend picking one of the other options. thank you!

[castlebyersafterdark]

im just chuckling imagining an adjacent corner of LPSG that's part of the forum but is actually starkly anti-sex and continuously shames the main forums for talking about finn's dick lmao

i mean tumblr isnt exclusively a sex forum but its an open format place where you can make a blog about whatever you want. and i love this cosy corner. found my freaks lol. but actually not freaks at all? i for one grew up discussing the filthiest things with my friends at sleepovers when we were at school, about the boys in class, the teachers (some of whom were 20 years older than us! gosh!). and celebrities? HELL YEAH. Literally who hasn't discussed the sexiest attributes of celebrities they fancy? Imagine CELEBRITIES being off the table for discussion? Oh, those distant figures who you're never going to meet and are never going to hear what you're talking about or thinking about? THOSE celebrities? You know, those grown ass humans who can handle the concept of other people possibly having thoughts about them?

I just want to re-centre in case anyone needs it (and especially you vinny, as you are the best host and always get in the best snacks for our sleepovers, and have the cosiest blankets and most ambient mood lighting). I just want to re-iterate how bonkers it is that some people are out here trying to claim that CHATTING ABOUT HOT ASS PEOPLE AND THEIR ASSETS WITH YOUR FRIENDS is a weird thing to do. There are genuinely some people trying to say that. I can only IMAGINE how dry their sleepovers are, punctuated with small cries of 'this is not our business! we must shush at once!' and 'heavens! i have spoken out of turn! i'll lock myself in the isolation box as punishment for daring to have a sexual thought! i never think about sex unless it is to create a child and even then i'm actually thinking about greige walls and neutral carpets!'

Yes, there are weirdos everywhere and in every fandom. But the benchmark for what exactly constitutes 'weird' behaviour would in this case be for the person of desire to decide and set a boundary for - if indeed they were aware or affected at all. Which in this case... they aren't. Unless Finn and Noah themselves are lurking on CastleByersAfterDark et al, in which case... hi guys, and sorry, you walked into the lion's den and i ain't got much advice for ya.

I can only conclude that the people being affected by our thirsting for these beautiful boys are the other fans themselves. For their own personal reasons, they are uncomfortable. That's not our business! If they are uncomfortable by something I am not even doing directly to them, that is not my business. How they feel is their business.

so byeeeeee felicia. cos i'm done feeling bad about thinking finn and noah are hot af and discussing it with my buddy vinny. peace!

This made me smile so much 😊😁 I'm really glad that you feel chill, want to keep hanging out. The vibes lately point to a continued struggle in broader spaces. Judgement. Censorship. Lack of personal curating. Not everyone can be for everybody, and that's ok. But... find your spots. Leave those alone who are just chilling in their own corner.

You're so right. It's an open forum. The risk of the internet is that you're going to find things that you don't like and you're going to find people enjoying those things. That's life. It's ok. There are going to be freaks and there's going to be people who don't want anything to do with the freaks. And you know what? Who cares. I'm proud to be off beat so the offbeat have a kind place to hang now.

I don't think there's anything wrong with harmless, contained gossip and raunchier subject matter. Gossiping with friends! You can talk about whatever you want with people! A blog on a blogging site is so much different than going onto someone's personal social media and asking questions and making statements. Never what's happening here and never should be? And I feel like people conflate the two. The entire internet is not at the same level. Agree completely with you!!

Ignore anyone who's a fun killer, we don't have time for that anymore. Just go where your like minded friends are 😉 It all goes back to my mission of reclamation of sexuality and fun and open, uncensored conversation in the current face of repression and purity and shame about indulging, well... anything. It's all connected. No thanks. It's fine.

Thank you for this. Sometimes I do worry a little... do I go too far? But, hey. This is reality. This is how the brain works. Stuff we talk about here honestly I think are all very normal, common trains of thought. We're just here talking about it together with friends - which is something that people do in reality. We're just friends at a digital location. The perpetual sleepover online.

Thanks for hanging around the Castle, friend. I'm always here, bopping around and laying out more sleeping bags and popcorn for anyone who wants to settle in and have some fun, escape from the greater world where totally human ideas are met with judgement. All friends are welcome, tapping on the sign!! 😁😁😁