#im flattered people like my big dragons

[serafphim]

hello!,!!! i love your art and was wondering what your process is for drawing that super cute bottom heavy body type on your characters? like how do you build it n stuff… thankyou!,!!!

honestly i can't really think of a good answer besides highlighting the basic shapes i tend to use like dis?....

my process for sketching is really disorganized and messy but i try to keep these basic shapes in mind

[dizzybevvie]

I think one of the biggest issues I have is just assuming that Im a back up friend to everyone

[just-some-random-blogger]

part 2 for my most talented hottie-cutie! 'i love your story so much i might just give it an express ticket pass' *imagine a blushing emoji* you flatter me *imagine more blushing emojis bc i'm not typing it on the phone no way-* 'i became a writer was because i disagreed/didn’t like the plot points of the fics' omg i should've knew TT hehe you're rioting, girl. it's so worthy of respect! i love it! ig a lot of ppl love it too hgjdk. you're amazing, really. andand it's really meaningless but i wanted to say that i was so amazed by caraxes TT they've showed him up close and i was screaming TT he's such a kitten TT i want to adopt him TT this pretty kitten TT omg i cried... imagine receiving vide messages with a girl screaming, crying, throwing herself on the road and calling a fucking dragon a kitten? my bestie don't even need to... what about 'maybe you should try'. 1) i'm still insecure of my english. you did comforted me and now i feel more free to communicate. but ig it's not enough to write things. especially when it's about some historical topic. i don't think i have enough grammar knowledge or vocabulary. 2) also concerns the 1 point. my narrative language is 'heavy'. that's what my english and russian (esp lol TT) languages teachers have always been telling me. and i understand why. i've been even insulted (not really but i hate that man) by the comparison with Lev Tolstoy (the worst man in russian literature). it may be a compliment in a way but not really. if you've ever read anything of his, you probably understand what it means. and 1. idk if i can write serious things with this trait of mine; 2. IDK if i can express the things in a way i want to with the 2 previous points?? 3) i used to write fics in my mother tongue and, although i still like some of them, i don't really have inspiration to write now. and probably i wouldn't find a lot of followers anyway? my fics ideas are not really popular. even talking about my asks, you have much more popular requests. (i'm really honored and flattered by the fact you like my ideas TT thank you). and i always seek for approval. i trust you and really like how you embody my thoughts. our alliance you know... if you don't mind, i'll better send anything to you and hope you'll like it. 4) tbh, it's a good idea. and i'm soso flattered by your support TT no but the fact that you said it?? got me sobbing and hugging my laptop soso tight TT i love you soso much for these kind words of yours and your sweet personality TT i'll think about this thing again, when i'm in a better mental state. i LOVELOVELOVE you so so so much!!! you have no clue how much influence you have on me and how valuable your words are TT!! now i'm going to finally prepare for that academic competition. LOVE YOU!! and your talented hands! and your big brain! and your big heart!! thank you soso much for being you!! and for your support! take care!! love you!! have a nice evening/night/morning!! <з

good morn 😌

love lettersss <3 <#

'i love your story so much i might just give it an express ticket pass' *imagine a blushing emoji* you flatter me *imagine more blushing emojis bc i'm not typing it on the phone no way-*

here let me do it for you 😳😳😳🤭🤭🤭😚😚😚😊😊😊 i think those are all the ones wish blush lol HAHHAH

'i became a writer was because i disagreed/didn’t like the plot points of the fics' omg i should've knew TT hehe you're rioting, girl. it's so worthy of respect! i love it! ig a lot of ppl love it too hgjdk. you're amazing, really.

😎😁😁thank you lover. Im so glad a lot of people agree with the brain rot in my head lol. im honored to have your respect and to have people read my works in general 🥺🥺🥺

andand it's really meaningless but i wanted to say that i was so amazed by caraxes TT they've showed him up close and i was screaming TT he's such a kitten TT i want to adopt him TT this pretty kitten TT omg i cried...

ah i see its ur first time seeing caraxes up close HAHAAH yes he is a dear. i too really love the dragons. i also especially love it when the dragons are added to fic and they are somehow personified. i love that for us.

imagine receiving vide messages with a girl screaming, crying, throwing herself on the road and calling a fucking dragon a kitten? my bestie don't even need to...

ur like me fr. i also think dragons are cutesy widdle beans <3 <3

what about 'maybe you should try'. 1) i'm still insecure of my english. you did comforted me and now i feel more free to communicate. but ig it's not enough to write things. especially when it's about some historical topic. i don't think i have enough grammar knowledge or vocabulary.

thats fine. you dont have to do anything you dont want to. though i will say i did start writing fic when i was 11 T_T so yeah the cringe is real. we all start from somewhere. we all cringe HAHAHAH

2) also concerns the 1 point. my narrative language is 'heavy'. that's what my english and russian (esp lol TT) languages teachers have always been telling me. and i understand why. i've been even insulted (not really but i hate that man) by the comparison with Lev Tolstoy (the worst man in russian literature).

💀💀💀💀 lol lev tolstoy T_T apparently (dont quote me on this) as much as a writer as he was it think, if i remember correctly, his stories are actually from his wife, like from her diary. i vaguely remember watching a vid like that.

anyway i personally used to write a lot of narratives/descriptions, because that was the kind of lit/fics i used to read, then i realized T_T i barely finish my work because of it and i like writing dialogue parts more, which is why i changed my style ig lol. i dont think theres anything wrong with being narative heavy, i personally have just deviated from it and sometimes i find it hard to read if i am not in the mood to read, ya know.

i feel it depends on the author. some have this feeling of rambling, but some write so beautifully and vividly.

it may be a compliment in a way but not really. if you've ever read anything of his, you probably understand what it means.

i have only watched anna karenina films lol

and 1. idk if i can write serious things with this trait of mine;

then dont write anything serious. i literally write crackfics AHHAAHH

2. IDK if i can express the things in a way i want to with the 2 previous points??

well you could always try organizing your thoughts through bullet point or graphic organizers

3) i used to write fics in my mother tongue and, although i still like some of them, i don't really have inspiration to write now.

ah that can be hard fr. i usually try to look for prompts or consume media (like watch tv/film listen to music read etc) sometimes you really cant force it

and probably i wouldn't find a lot of followers anyway? my fics ideas are not really popular. even talking about my asks, you have much more popular requests. (i'm really honored and flattered by the fact you like my ideas TT thank you).

first of all because of this ^^ paragraph, i went to my fic that started it all, i genuinely wrote it with no expectation and only because of my brain rot i thought i would get 10 likes in total and i was ok with that. like i purposefully posted it at night because i didnt want to wait and see if people would like it lol, cause yeah it is a bummer that your work doesn't get noticed. i was shocked to see my notifs blow up because of that fic. to be completely honest with you, most of the times many notifs on a story do not equate to it being good or bad, it just means a lot of people got to see it.

i used to prefer writing on ao3 because i got more engagement there, but ao3 lacked the message and inbox options and i tried posting some of my stuff here. this used to be the place where i read kpop fics cos, idk, kpop fics dont do so well on ao3 HAHAH or at least for me. lol i got off tangent there.

point is even i have a lot of fics were i put my heart and soul into and i get like 25 notes and im like DAMN ok, then i fart 1k crack and everyones like AHSFILAHFAS YASS and im like ????? ok ?????? so at the end of the day i tell myself its ok if only one other person likes my fic, all that matters is that that person and me like it <3 <3 <3 and thats a lot in my book lol

and i always seek for approval. i trust you and really like how you embody my thoughts. our alliance you know... if you don't mind, i'll better send anything to you and hope you'll like it.

i would be honored to go through your work if you want me to. i will say if it becomes more than... idk 5k T_T id only begrudgingly go through it because i love you. BUT itd only be begrudgingly if i dont like it, and i know your ideas and I LOVE THEM so lay it on me pal.

4) tbh, it's a good idea. and i'm soso flattered by your support TT no but the fact that you said it?? got me sobbing and hugging my laptop soso tight TT i love you soso much for these kind words of yours and your sweet personality TT i'll think about this thing again, when i'm in a better mental state.

yeah i know how great it feels to have support from someone to purse your creative endeavors or just have someone support you in general. idk my mom stopped being impressed with me when i reached a certain age T_T because T_T i guess im already excellent in her eyes which is why she doesn't go 'OMG SLAY GREAT JOB' or smth she's always like 'oh yeah thats good' aT MOST because she already expected it of me, 'ok' [CRYING] T_T my dad gives more reactions, although T_T not very excited though, but idk my relationship with my mom is different with my dad i cant explain,

MY POINT IS I GIVE PEOPLE THE REACTIONS I WANT T_T

and when i was in my last years of highschool, i went to study music arts and design and T_T my classmates and i were so likeminded and we always encouraged each other and just being in that atmosphere made me realize how important it is to surround yourself with people who get it <3 <3 <3 T_T i miss them

i LOVELOVELOVE you so so so much!!! you have no clue how much influence you have on me and how valuable your words are TT!!

thank you. im honored. truly. i know i say it so much but i mean it everytime. im humbled to have someone as sweet and smart as you look up to me like this. genuinely i love you my dear.

now i'm going to finally prepare for that academic competition.

I HOPE YOU DO AMAZING AND WIN AND SHOW EM HOW AMAZING AND COOL AND GREAT AND SMART AND SEXY AND CUTE AND FUNNY AND AMAZING AND GORGEOUS YOU ARE

LOVE YOU!! and your talented hands! and your big brain! and your big heart!! thank you soso much for being you!! and for your support! take care!! love you!! have a nice evening/night/morning!! <з

thank you T_T im luv u

xxx

[misqnon]

hi. march. slowly shortening this introduction to my posts. sorry if this is a little incoherent i woke up in the middle of the night and im getting sleepy again

i tried looking up fanfiction involving hannyabul and magellan the other day and there was almost none??? i really thought theyd be .. at least a little popular ... the dynamics... arent the dynamics similar to zosan or cavendish and bartolomeo.. dont people like that.. (i wouldnt know since ive never really been a fan of the enemies/rivals to lovers trope)

im pretty sure kidd wears a beast pirate disguise? and like .. good for him... (good for me).. hes got the titties out. i love men. i also rly enjoy the few frobin moments we get when theyre in disguise, theyre super cute!! it seems like u havent been spoiled on the Biggest Moments in wano so im very very glad to hear that. it also kind of has a mystery aspect so i think its probably way more enjoyable to go in blind. there IS a special kind of anticipation when u know what's coming but.. imo its more fun to guess how things will go rather than know and be excited about it

honestly i didnt care for the setting either. in the anime tho .. big mom's introduction is so good. theres a song that plays (its in the manga too but it's way better to hear it rather than... read lyrics) and when i started wci i was still watching the anime, so i got to listen to the song. it was stuck in my head for days. very catchy. i love how theatrical it is and it really made me excited for the arc .. and then i ended up barely enjoying it LOL. also i do actually love pudding but her age also makes me go... ewww. oda made an awful decision making her 16 . gives me kyros flashbacks.. although sanji doesnt seem to be genuinely interested in her. but still like why did oda do that... why... what is the point ... wci does pick back up a bit imo after they get sanji back (which i think is the part ur at? or a little bit after?) and i honestly think it wraps up quite nicely. and yeah.. most importantly.. katakuri is introduced in the second half. lovely guy. i heart him

robin's va did that in. one take??? that is Insane?? she genuinely channeled robin in that moment wtf

i will definitely talk abt opla if/when i watch it. even if zoro doesnt have his goofiness at least i can thirst over him. am i into mackenyu? no.. zoro? yeahs........ also i can definitely see how jacob being too hot is an issue for usopp LOL. some people just.. ooze confidence.. and are too smooth. i think ill probably enjoy his characterization anyways tho cuz i adore usopp

i cant draw women for the life of me but transfem sanji is haunting my brain and.. she made me attempt .. attempt to draw a lady. its her. shes the lady.

YOU THOUGHT OF ME??? im so flattered U have no idea aikfjshdjd. law.. i.. hes a little fucked up.. human art pieces . actually as someone who's done a bit of sculpture (but not abstract art. and it was ceramics) i can appreciate it. if he didnt use real living people in his art i would definitely appreciate it more.. but i imagine seeing a severed head on a sculpture and then they start talking to u.. i imagine that would be a Little.. scary... just a little . i think he should go to therapy probably. ur mental illness is showing law .

i think its semi canon?? theres a moment in the anime (idk if its in the manga or not) where bepo gives law.. puppy dog? eyes? but like .. polar bear version. and law is clearly weak to that. also he calls chopper a tanuki even after being asked not to bc chopper has a cute reaction (he gets mad). so i think he IS weak to cute animals. he is very similar to robin like that... they would definitely bond over choppers cuteness. and they both have weird taste.. in cute animals. its not bunnies or idk. dogs or cats. robin likes pathetic animals (the dragon that had to carry them all up to zou) and law likes . bepo. a 7 foot tall polar bear man.

THATS SUCH A STRANGE COINCIDENCE. this is my first time moving since ive lived in the same place my whole life .. so its kinda exciting and also kinda scary.

OH so u can send images but it just cant be on anon. im.. one day... one day for sure.. (soon). i grew up on twitter tho .. yeah. and before that it was youtube. i have been on the internet since the beginning of time (since i was in single digits. like 5 maybe idk, but i do remember being able to make my own youtube account at 7, and i had been using my brothers before that). my dark past. since ive been on the internet so long i just accept that theres probably a load of my personal information out there for anyone to see. and also a bunch of embarrassing things I've said from years ago. sometimes i come across a youtube comment from when i was like 9 and its always a bit shocking LOL

I HEARD WHAT HAPPENED WITH SESSHOMARU. when i found out .... it .. it .. i.... i dont have words. its so upsetting 😭. actually ive kind of been trying to get into vocaloid bc i recently (like 2 years ago) found out i had been listening to it.. and i didnt know. i didnt realize it was vocaloid

LOL, i say IT COUNTS. i dont draw in my mind cuz i have slight aphantasia. i imagine drawing in ur head is way more relaxing than actually drawing... cuz like... the struggle of anatomy.. proportions.. lighting.. colors.. yeah art is so hard.

there havent been any sbs's recently i dont think?? like they stopped at some point during wano and .. idk what happened. i miss it .. i want to ask about the giant snails that pull germa's ship... well i want someone else to ask about it really . not me. but yeah i have a lot of questions and i just hope it comes back soon 😔. maybe im just missing them somehow but i have checked multiple places. but for some reason i dont see anyone mention it.

RIGHT?? RIGHT???? dont worry the colorism stays /s. they have characters in the latest episodes that are dark skinned and they made only the girl lighter skinned. oda didnt do that. oda made them all the same in the manga. its infuriating.

an issue i have post timeskip is that i actually cannot tell the women apart half the time. they all look pretty similar in the manga, although theyre distinguishable by their clothes and hair. but there was a spread (not colored) that had the main one piece women all in different clothes and with different hair and i sat there for multiple minutes trying to figure out who was who. like i genuinely couldnt tell. i miss nami's short hair,, it had so much character.. and i also miss robins short hair.. again.. it had so much character.

even on a colored cover i had a moment where i was like "is that vivi or is it nami" because it was just a solid blue. i assumed vivi based off context clues and bc.. blue. but if i hadnt had that.. i dont think i wouldve been able to tell. i have no problem with character design changing but oda makes most of the women next to indistinguishable from one another now. its really upsetting. if they had different skin tones or even just. different eye shapes. or different figures. it wouldnt be that much of an issue. but nooo he cant do that. all women who are supposed to be attractive have to look the same.

YEAH ive seen that video!!! u show up a lot on my feed but most of the time its just... the same few posts... which is kind of funny. I ALSO LOVED THE NEWKAMA!! like wow!!! queer representation??? i feel a kinship with these characters?? bon clay literally made impel down for me. my favorite boygirl girlboy. i adore u bon clay.. i adore u.

im a big fan of fukaboshi so i think anytime he was on screen my enjoyment was elevated. also zoro fighting hody(is that who it was) underwater was so cool . like how are u better than a fishman in water??? and the moments with noah... it felt like it was setting up some rly big things and i always love stuff like that. LOL YEAH sanji was even grosser on return to sabaody. i think its just not talked about as much because it wasnt a long arc and he wasnt on screen for a lot of it

oh they for sure have some good points. i also miss the silly shenanigans of pre timeskip. but overall im enjoying post timeskip more, and i do think theyre at least a LITTLE BIT blinded by nostalgia. its hard not to be tbh. i do really miss seeing all the crew together. i dont exactly mind them splitting up but .. i feel like a lot of them end up kind of sidelined. we dont get to see (just some examples) brook or chopper or nami fight much and i. i love them.. i love them just as much as the rest of the crew. i think nami has a really interesting fighting style. and brook is just fun. and people complain (validly) that chopper has been mascotified. which i wouldnt mind so much if he got more cool moments but he doesnt!! we dont even get to see him being a doctor that often :(.

like the writing is still fantastic but yeah. i agree. oda has basically run the jokes that were already pretty tired. into the ground. sanji being the one who suffers most from it. i dont mind robin having more moments where she imagines a really gruesome thing has happened to someone, for example. because she barely did that pre timeskip, and now she only does it occasionally so its not like "oh my god STOP". its still enjoyable. but. idk if theres even a prominent example of someone's character joke being awful other than sanji. like hes the only one who has a consistently awful joke. that in my opinion has never been funny. and its been made into a huge part of his character. i still love post timeskip to death bc. look at everything thats happening!! but i have a lot . lot . lot of gripes with it.

fellow impel down and dressrosa lover 🫡. i do rly like water 7 but . i dont know why but i never enjoyed enies lobby all that much. i think thats probably super controversial LOL. oops.

oh friend... u have no idea..... i have SO many one piece thoughts ... i have paragraphs upon paragraphs of one piece thoughts... the hyperfixation is actively killing me /j

wait let me. find . some.. i send them all in my private (as in its just me and my irl best friend) discord server so its not only in chronological order from when i sent the messages but its also extremely disorganized.. hmm a lot of these are/involve huge spoilers LOL

wait. how do u feel about sanji with heterochromia. one eye is blue and the other is brown . u get the best of both worlds... i felt like i was smart for this but ur the resident sanji lover. u have the say (in my mind) of what is best for him,,,

i saw someone say usopp would get conquerers haki and i big time disagree. he has the best observation haki in the crew and i feel like him getting conquerers haki would kinda cheapen that. and it cheapens his growth. why does he need to have conquerers haki to be a brave warrior of the sea? hes doing perfectly well without it. and also i dont think it fits his character. hes cowardly, has no self confidence, runs away from battles sometimes out of fear, and definitely has a huge sense of shame. from what i know, people with conquerers haki are usually super self assured, strong in a pretty traditional sense, and dont have much self doubt. usopp is like the opposite of that. i think hes very brave because he fights despite how scared he is, but the character archetype just doesn't work imo. like usopp without those characteristics is. to me. not usopp. tell me what u think!! also im like 90% sure none of this is spoilery but if it is i am so so sorry

obviously i havent seen the live action yet but live action shanks looks too hot to me.. like hes too conventionally attractive. i want him to be.. a rat man.. greasy .. but extremely charming.. and hes NOT!! hes just regular hot!??

do all places in one piece just have extra chairs or tables that are bigger? cuz there are some characters that arent of the giant race but are huge. and yet they fit on regular chairs. do u have a 8 foot tall guy walk into ur bar and u have to say "wait a second, we need to get out the big chairs" and then drag out a chair twice ur size? is that the case EVERYWHERE? or do some places not have big chairs so if ur extremely large u just have to sit in a chair thats too small for u.. or maybe u just sit on the floor. or stand.

that scene in sabaody of usopp asking rayleigh if the one piece is real, and luffy gets mad and tells usopp that he doesnt want to know, and if he finds out he will quit right now because he wont go on an adventure that isnt any fun. luffy is such a chill, silly captain, that im sure him snapping like that must be scary. usopp looked so shocked. i love their relationship. i think moments like that. really solidify how real the characters feel. like yeah, they have strong, defined morals. and they will argue and be childish and yell for the sake of their morals. i feel like a lot of media has characters with morals but it doesn't ever show them actually disagreeing with someone. let alone a friend. idk im not wording this great but i think this moment is so good. i love the moments of childishness in one piece. its very humanizing to have immaturity in ur characters

ok thats what ill leave u with for now :)

IM GLAD THAT MADE U LAUGH!! i felt really called out by constantly seeing it bc.. yeahm.. admittedly .. cannibalism is sexy sometimes.. i recently admit this to myself...

"i think he should go to therapy probably. ur mental illness is showing law ."

i think he should go to therapy probably. ur mental illness is showing march .

*nods* march 🫡

i dont think i’ve ever actually met someone who doesn’t like enemies to lovers before?? ik its popular bc its one of my favs and im happy about that bc im always nosedeep in the content SFNKJDN. valid tho. i cant speak bc ive written two 50K+ zosan fanfics and will probably write more 🧍I’LL USE THOSE SKILLS TO WRITE HANYAGELLAN FOR YOU. HAHA JK …UNLESS

so ive only met kidd once or twice right. i met him in sabaody pre-timeskip when the worst generation got introduced and he’s had a couple small moments since then. but i just feel and know in my heart that i would be a kidd girlie. red haired angry anime men are one of those specific niches i’m like YEAAA YEAAA [CHEERING] and people are always talking about his tits in the one piece server i’m in so. DFJNVIDJ HELL YEAH IM READY FOR THAT

and frobin…hell yea…theyre so cute…my weirdo couple…

actually!! im reading the manga on tcbscans and there’s a comment section under every chapter that i like to read bc its cool seeing ppl’s reactions (as i’ve said) and in big mom’s intro chapter someone was like “if ur manga only look up her song rn its actually so good” so i did and YEA. ITS SO FUN?? AND THEATRICAL?? AND I LOVE THE MELODY?? like ok big mom go off

yea i already knew pudding was 16 bc i was all up in sanji’s business and reading about wci when i joined the fandom but I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT KYROS AND I WAS SO MAD WHEN THAT REVEAL HAPPENED!??!!? I WAS LIKE DAMN ODA HAS DONE THIS SHIT LIKE 3 TIMES NOW?? for the third one i count shirahoshi. even though she didnt have a love interest it was nasty for him to make a character so obviously meant to be so beautiful and sought-after and sexualized and then make her a teenager. plus vander decken . existed.

OOH YEA THEY JUST GOT SANJI BACK AND THEY’RE TALKING WITH BEGE ABOUT AN ALLIANCE RN. I PLAN TO READ MORE TONIGHT SO WE WILL SEE 👁️

“am i into mackenyu? no.. zoro? yeahs........” this is so real

U DREW TRANSFEM SANJI?? HAH?? HELLO?? HELLO MAY I SEE??

i have an art degree and tbh i support law and his human sculptures wholeheartedly. its very dada of him imo. but abstract art seems more up his alley. regardless i know some of my professors would have been like “live human sculpture…wow…that is so Art” very marina abromavic of him as well. but um yeah he should still go to therapy tho. yea

robin and law 🤝 “cool and collected” characters thinking fucked up weird animals are cute

i’ve moved like 9 times in my life this is just another day in the life [eyebags the size of dinner plates]

(looks at the other ask in my inbox) oh yeah…very soon

omg. i started getting on the internet in single digits but to like. get on mylittlepony.com and play facebook games. i started being more “ONLINE” around probably 10 or 11 though and i made my tumblr account when i was 12 💀 i, too, sometimes see something old i posted and just go Oh God 

and i DEF had/have too much personal info online bc of that but i’ve tried to cut it down lately in the interest of ~ internet safety ~ . i dont use my first name online as much (hence going by mont in addition to the. trans-ness) and i took all my selfies off my blog. but who knows what else i put up and have forgotten about

RUMOKI TAKAHASHI I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU ‼️‼️ RUINING BEGRUDGING FATHER/ ADOPTED DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIPS FOREVER (jk i still love it but now im always just scared of. betrayal)

I LOVE VOCALOID!! i’ve been into vocaloid basically since i started being online (although i dont keep up with a lot of CURRENT vocaloid news so im like an old man who didnt keep up with the times. i love the original crypton 6 (miku, rin, len, meiko, kaito, luka) + gumi and gakupo but until a couple years ago i was like “What The Fuck is a Fukase” jbfvhjdn

i’ve caught up to date a little bit and still consider myself currently a vocaloid fan but yea im like a genwunner of vocaloid but just bc im lazy not bc im pretentious djsnkj

i actually saw kikuo (my fav vocaloid producer) in concert in january!! my first and only vocaloid concert…(but only bc he happened to be touring with bo en. no miku hologram for me)

ur like the third person ive met with aphantasia! and. yea its much easier in my head </3 why did i major in that shit </3 

WAIT REALLY?? THEY DONT DO SBS ANYMORE?? I LOVE SBS :( I ALSO HAVE SOME ONGOING QUESTIONS I WANT ANSWERED!! (that i want someone else to ask kjvfnkfn) i looked it up and didnt see much at a cursory glance aside from the fact that sbs happens every volume instead of chapter (?) who knows but i hope they didnt stop completely…

toei feel my wrath re: the racism. oda also feel my wrath re: the sexism. and the racism (why do you use the same skin color for everyone in the colorspreads…oda PLEASE) and the worst part about the nami clone thing is that we know he can draw women differently. have u seen how he drew young big mom. she was so hot. and yet he chooses NOT TO!!

FKJNKDLS WHY AM I WHATS NEW PUSSYCATTING ON YOUR FEED. WITH THE CANNIBALISM POST TOO. I POST SO MUCH GOOD CONTENT TUMBLR WTH </3 (LYING)

YEA I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED HOW WELL DONE THE IMPEL DOWN REPRESENTATION FELT?? THAT WHEN WE GOT TO KAMABAKKA I WAS LIKE why did we go…backwards…but they cant take the impel down newkama land away from me. that scene where iva makes a speech about gender and does a little performance made me feel so seen on screen even if oda meant for it to be tokenism or something. i think he thinks we (gay ppl) are cool but doesnt quite get it. like he saw gay ppl and went “this would work with my silly art style so well. transgenderism is a thrilling character trait” and then did not attempt to understand much after that KDCKJS

FUKABOSHI MY BELOVED actually all 3 of the fishman princes…when they cheered up shirahoshi during the scene where their mom was murdered i actually cried as they danced and sang through their own tears. like wtF. AND YEA ZORO ALMOST DROWNED SO MANY TIMES THAT ARC BUT HE WAS STILL COOL AND HOT 😔 the noah was also a cool concept!! you see the noah’s arc thing come up a lot in anime for some reason?? like my d gray man loving ass was like huh…okay two nickels…

ur so right about the sidelining (its like anyone that isnt the east blue 5) and especially about chopper. aside from being mascotified i wish he wasnt baby-fied too (which stems from the mascot problem). like…he’s 17. chopper is a full ass teenager, not a child. I GET that he’s a reindeer and also very naive but imagine how cool he could have been post timeskip…horn point chopper is my fav bc i just love the design but IMAGINE IF HE LOOKED LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME!!

and he could have so much more development in terms of constantly seeing his crewmates near death and always having to fix it…or just him improving as a doctor! i dont think we get to see chopper doctor enough but we also dont get to see him struggle! (m really just over here advocating for more depression and more hardship for chopper im so sorry king)

a lot of the running jokes i can still get behind (zoro getting lost will never not be funny to me idk how it hasnt gotten old but it hasnt okay) maybe bc its so harmless?? robin’s gruesome joke i agree, its not overdone so i still like it. mean nami slapstick i’ve never liked but can get a chuckle out of me every once in a while. brook panty joke L 👎brook skull jokes would be funny but they’re always too easy 👎 and yea sanji is the worst victim. i found it somewhat funny/endearing pre thriller bark when it was mostly harmless swooning and heart eyes but nowadays uhhh [beating him to death with hammers] 

u know what i see ur point on enies lobby. for water 7 it had great new characters and an AWESOME bright and beautiful water city setting but enies lobbies is. just a bunch of white government buildings on an island. the high point is definitely just robin’s moment. and kaku saying “I LOVE GIRAFFES. GIRAFFES ARE AWESOME” 

one piece brainrot is ruining me i have MUCH IDEA !!

OKAY LISTEN . I HAVE HEARD BOTH ROBIN HETEROCHROMIA AND SANJI HETEROCHROMIA AND LIKE. I DONT THINK EITHER ARE / COULD BE CANON BUT. robin heterochromia is so fun. and sanji heterochromia although for some reason i dont feel like it fits him HAS POTENTIAL bc imagine when he comes back post timeskip with his bangs covering the other eye now and the crew is like “🤨 wait i thought you had blue eyes?” ugh i need it. ive seen a LITTLE art and like 1 fic of heterochromia sanji and its very entertaining for sure i always eat it up even tho i dont necessarily headcanon it. i am so glad i have authority on this in ur mind btw. [clanging my sanji gavel] order in the court

i agree about usopp and conqueror’s haki! like damn we already got two of them with it dont we…although i saw someone on youtube somewhere suggest he could have “conquerer’s observation” ?? idk enough about haki to understand that but it sounds cool 👍 its not spoilery so dw! although that yt comment made me think like “if there’s multiple types of conqueror’s haki it it like..all based on one guy? one original conqueror ?? and who was it…” who knows…i mean i know zoro has conqueror’s haki bc of spoils but idk how or when that happens (wano, i assume. idk how i feel about that yet bc much as i love the green guy sometimes i feel like he’s favored a bit for the op stuff) and you made some really solid points about usopp’s character too!! part of me was like “damn sanji the only monster trio member not to have conqueror’s haki…” but he could not have it for. several of the same reasons u listed for usopp lmao AND THATS OK!! THOSE THINGS ARE REASONS I LIKE THEM BOTH 

“live action shanks is too hot” ok then explain this

you know what. that is. a good question. why do they get so big btw. like humans come in all sizes but why. is it to do with the gravity of the planet cause its so huge and got so many moons…thats how i explain half of the unrealistic things in this show lmao. maybe they just stand. its more Intimidating™. sorry villains dont get to sit (although that makes me think about that time doffy was just sitting on the table in the middle of the warlord meeting?? did u see that post?? its a screenshot like why did they let him on the table like that. evil cat behavior from local bird man)

THATS A GOOD SCENE TO POINT OUT. YEA YEA YEA YUOU GET IT. i loooove the serious luffy moments. ive said it a million times but luffy is intelligence 5 wisdom 20. luffy is actually very selfish but in a way that i dont hate…he just wants to be free. and free others. and he lives so in the moment. he’s so different from so many people that he’s very fascinating as a character to watch, esp bc he DOES have moments like u mentioned that make him feel real and have boundaries. u know its funny bc luffy is like the most open accepting character that its hilarious how many times ive seen something oda has written/done and been like “luffy would never do this. the character u made up and continue to write would be more accepting than this.” like luffy is totally chill with women, doesnt see them as lesser, never even hints at this like even zoro does, luffy’s super chill about bon clay and the newkama, luffy doesnt discriminate based on characters’ races etc etc etc. and yet oda DOEs do all this its like. oda u have to see if bc u MAKE it so why cant U BE MORE LIKE THE GUY YOU MADE UP FDJVKND. i think the only moment i can think of that even vaguely implies luffy knows what a gender role is is when he’s in amazon lily and they put him in a frilly shirt and he’s like “i dont wanna wear this. this isnt my style at all” but its all about his OWN preferences and not about anyone else’s. u get me??

“cannibalism is sexy sometimes” u get it. u get it. u understand. we are kindred spirits rn. join me

and the end KJFNDKJEN ITS OKAY MARCH LET’S GO TO THERAPY TOGETHER 

to end off here are some of my one piece headcanons (some of which probably will never be canon and im okay with that)

first off sanji is a repressed bisexual and u can tear this from my cold dead hands. post kamabakka he’s gnc too he just wont admit it bc hes a scared little baby bitch. ik it was anime only but that scene were he’s fighting in a dress and caroline keeps telling him to accept himself or some shit as a flower slowly blooms metaphorically in the in-between footage was transgender as hell. also that time someone sent a message to oda in sbs saying like “i’m so glad sanji is girl crazy and not boy crazy” an oda responded “uh, totally” …like is the translation just coming off sarcastic or am i reaching-

i think zoro is gay. he just gives me that vibe ok. 2nd choice he is aroace and luffy is like his qpp or somethin ok (i dont ship zolu but i can admit those bitches got a point bc MAN they really love each other. i like it much better as friendship tho) and on that note luffy is aroace too.

nami is a lesbian. im aware all 3 of these are the popular fandom hcs but idc. this one i have actual evidence for have u seen how she latches onto every woman in each arc. she’s just as bad as sanji she’s just more chill about it /hj

FRANKY IS STRAIGHT BUT HE’S A REALLY LOUD ALLY OKAY . HE’S JUST A COOL DUDE

contrary to fandom hc i think robin and usopp are probably straight. robin would make a very dignified lesbian or bisexual but i think she’s just a weirdgirl straight who’s being a supportive ally with franky. 

brook is probably straight but i think he was also simultaneously in love with yorki a little bit and doesnt talk about it bc yorki is gone now so its not like its gonna happen ever again. soul king “im straight but i had a boyfriend one time” brook

chopper is a reindeer

god what else do i have aside form sexuality headcanons. OH !! this isnt a headcanon but i have a running theory that many of the strawhats are based on classic characters from fiction/pop culture…i keep meaning to make a post about this but im busy

zoro is inspired by zorro. okay easy next

chopper is inspired by rudolph, obviously

usopp is inspired by pinocchio but I DONT SEE THIS ONE MENTIONED AS OFTEN: CYRANO DE BERGERAC!! down to the lying and the long nose and the crush on the rich girl out of his league!!

robin is inspired by matilda in my mind. weirdgirl with mind powers abused by her caregivers and obsessed with books…like okay oda just tell us u read roald dahl

i know sanji was inspired in looks by mr. pink in reservoir dogs but i havent seen that movie so i cant speak on anything else LMAO

i feel like its possible the others were inspired by more that i just am not aware of / might be japanese pop culture and therefore harder for western fans to spot…thoughts?

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

oh you are going to regret asking me this, because i love bugs and can't resist a soapbox!

so in dragon age we have historically fought a lot of giant spiders. In one of the DA4 behind-the-scenes videos we got a few years ago, they showed a still frame that showed a very large arachnid with distressingly human hands attached to it. of course some people screamed in horror and some others of us instantly mentally became attached to this abomination bc we are broken people.

next part of post contains A LOT OF BUG PHOTOS so anyone who is arachnophobic you are gonna wanna skip this one probably. i cannot add a read more on mobile im so sorry please press 'J' to skip down your dash now

.

.

So this is (a cropped shot of) the Image In Reference:

Look at that! Eight legs plus two creepy arm-hands! And those big bulbous mouthparts are called chelicerae, and they're huge and stick straight forward rather than curving down! And the back of the body is way more flat/oblong than it is bulbous.

Compare this to the spiders in DAI and earlier, which conform to a pretty standard shape across all 3 games:

It's pedipalps (kind of pre-leg by the mouth) are raised, chelicerae curved under, big bulbous abdomen. your classic fantasy spider shape although spiders do come in a much greater variety than this. which makes deviating away from the 'standard' a pretty significant move!!

So the hands-spider, to me, WAY more closely resembles a different organism that while it is an arachnid is NOT a spider, genetically speaking. This is the solifuge!

You'll notice they have a flatter and rigged abdomen (butt) in comparison to a spider, and those extra big pointy mouthparts. It uses its pedipalps like an extra pair of legs in the front rather than for chewing/holding food... or shall we call them an extra pair of HANDS???

Taxonomically/phylogenetically speaking, they are not within the spider class. Though they are also often called sun spiders, camel spiders, or even wind scorpions (they are also not technically scorpions). I like the term 'solifuge' because it lets them be their own unique thing! Depending on where you live you may never see one, but I live in a desert so I have seen many. They can be freaky but are just one of natures many miracles you learn to appeciate, or else you will be doomed to whimper sadly on the sidewalk instead of finishing your hike.

anyway the similarities between this guy and hands-spider stood out to me instantly. even if the devs didn't know what they were basing it off of, one definitely used a reference image of these guys when building Mr Handsy. since they've announced there won't be any spiders in DA:V it is likely he was scrapped 😞 but in my heart i tell myself maybe thye just realized the taxonomic error the fanbase made, and they are simply being correct in identifying these as "not spiders" and we will see them after all in the game :) (<- delusional)

big round of applause for mr hands spider the solifugae!!! and he can even clap along!!!

im Not Looking at the achievements list or any other spoilers, but it has got me making mental lists instead of what the funniest things to get spoiled could be. like

Bothersome: you "Annoyed Solas" 1000 times!

Stop That: you tried to eat the magic rocks and got possessed by a titan

Veilwhoops: selecting the "maybe he has a point" option as Soals tries to open the veil results in game over when everyone dies in the resulting explosion

Dragonrider: your attempt to kiss a dragon resulted in total party death

Shopaholic: you spent all the Veilguard's gold on outfit upgrades

Illiterate: you refused to read any letters, codex entries, etc you found and only vaguely understand what's going on now

Bingo Night: you interacted most with those Old Men (Emmrich and Solas)

[chaos-burst]

Hey! :) I’ve wanted to play d&d for a while now, and after getting into critical role i finally decided to convince my friends to play with me. None of us have played before, so im both exited and a bit nervous since i’ll be the dm. We don’t know anyone who plays, and i’m not very comfortable with palying with strangers, so we’ll be diving right in together! Do you or your followers have any tips or good resources to recommend for new players and/or dms? Any tips would be greatly appreciated! :D

Hey there!

I’m very flattered that you would ask me for DMing tips, but I just have to preface this saying that I am a first time DM myself and I am currently on session 13 of my campaign. But I can see if I can list some things that I found useful building my first campaign :) And I totally feel you not being comfortable with strangers, I play with a group of friends and we were all first time players when we started!

Let’s start with resources! (I will put the links in a reblog bc tumblr is a dick about posts with external links in them. Sry for the hassle!)

Probably a bit redundant, but nevertheless very helpful: The core rulebooks for D&D. Which is to say The Dungeon Master Guide, The Monster Manual and The Players Handbook. Bc those are expensive as fuck, check out this lovely thing (1).

Then, depending on whether you play online or live: Roll20.net (2) You can invite your players to your campaign and make maps for encounters with minis on them, you can insert music that plays in the background and it also rolls dice for you if you have to roll a big amount of dice and don’t want to do math ;)

There is an encounter builder on kobold-fightclub (3) that can help you balance encounters according to your party’s level! I have found it quite helpful and it’s also an easy way to filter monsters for a specific terrain when you know that you’ll be running through a swamp/desert/cave etc.!

I also found this this cheat sheet very helpful, esp regarding the different conditions that I can never seem to remember.

Then, ofc, one of CR’s sponsors: dndbeyond (4). Me and my friends bought a subscription bc damn is it useful to be able to click on anything on your character sheet and see what the hell it means. It also helps you track your spellslots/HP etc. during combat. 

Something I also did was watch Matt’s videos (5) on how he DMs. Altho it bears to say: Don’t compare yourself to Matt Mercer. It will only stress you out. 

You like maps? So do I! Check these out (6/7). 

You want to keep track of your npcs and important lore and places and everything? You could try worldanvil (8)! It’s like building a wiki for your own world!

And then about tips. It is probably easier to give tips when you have specific questions than it is to give general tips, but I’ll do my best! I’m sure many experienced DMs want to chime in and add to it :)

Communication is (as with most things in life) key to everything. Get together with your players for a Session 0 and just talk about what kind of game you want to run and what kind of game they want to play. There are people who like combat more than roleplay or vice versa. There are people who want to play an evil campaign or they want a lot of political intrigue or they are soft marshmallows like I am and don’t want permanent character deaths and so on and so on. Just get together and talk about what you guys want to create. Also talk about the characters with each individual player.Ask them about triggers they have, so you can avoid topics. Ask them how they feel about an NPC flirting with their character. It goes the other way around as well! Tell them about your boundaries and your expectations. One of my friends wanted to make a character with a neutral evil alignment. I told that it’s fine, as long as there’s the prospect for the character to evolve towards a neutral or good alignment, bc I have no interest in dm-ing an “evil” campaign. 

Something that might make running a campaign easier for you is if your players’ characters already know each other before the game starts. If you’re like me you will sweat bullets thinking about how to get them to work towards a common goal. If they’re already friends/rivals/lovers/colleagues/members of the same adventuring guild you will not have that problem. And they can give you some notes on how they envision the relationships to be/how they met.

You can start your adventure with one of the official adventures that are out there if you want to! You don’t have to do a whole ton of worldbuilding like I did bc I’m a crazy person and have my whole setting homebrewed. If not, you can always make life as easy as possible for yourself and start small! Build a small town with a few key NPCs, put a small assortment of possible quests there and then only roughly sketch out what you want the “outside world” to look like. I as a player love some context when I build characters, so if you want to give your players a small introduction into the campaign setting, I think that would be helpful and also helps creating characters who fit into your setting! If you want to run a campaign that has tons of dragons and poisoned oceans that cannot be crossed by mortals it would be sad if a player came to you and gave you the character sheet for a sailor.

If you do a whole campaign, I found it helpful to have a rough idea about different factions and two or three major events that shape your world. Ideas for later quests will eventually tie into big world events when the players get higher level!

Draw yourself a map. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or anything, but at some point there will be a question about “where is the next big city, we need to buy healing potions” and you will feel much safer if you just have a piece of paper (analogue or virtual) with like... a rough outline, some landmarks and some cities on it. At least that’s how it was for me!

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Don’t beat yourself up if your first quests are “standard” stuff like “Take care of this giant rat infestation in the cellar of the tavern.” or “My purple dragoncat has been abducted, please get him back for me.”. I started my campaign with small quests before getting to a small arc and then I want to work towards bigger arcs eventually. But for new players and a new DM I found it very helpful to keep things low stakes to not stress anyone out too much. If you fuck up the giant rat infestation, the world will not end, you know? That is nice. Also works well as a tutorial for everyone! Combat is intimidating! So many rules! Take your time to figure out how stuff works with some nice, small quests and some not-too-complex-combat encounters!

You don’t have to follow every rule. There are so many rules for everything and that can be helpful but it can also be stressful. You don’t have to do everything by the book and if you notice that some rules annoy you and your players, you can always change them as you go along! (Cats have nightvision. Sometimes the rulebooks are dumb.)

Don’t get hung up on too many details. I love worldbuilding, but I get obsessive easily. Sometimes I think my world isn’t ready enough bc I tend to think like a writer who has to have everything figured out. That is not the case with d&d! Sure, It’s good if you know stuff. But d&d is not only about planning, it’s also about improvising. And the world will grow while you play in it! Before you know it you’ll go like “I want to have an encounter with this cool ice monster. I need an icy landscape.” and then you will make one. And maybe it wasn’t there before, but who cares. Your players will be excited and you can make up the lore as you move along! 

Did I mention communication? 

If you have specific questions about certain aspects of DMing or how to start, feel free to message me anytime :) I hope this helps a little bit! I’ll reblog in a second with the links!

[koiyyo]

DRV3 “modern” MC server HCS!

something something chaotic this is DRV3 im sorry for all the mishaps im a mess tonight :pensive: - mod corn -by mod irusu, mod cass, mod dragon, mod corn, mod chie and mod kiwi 

shuichi  - probably lives in the end   - in an alliance with kaede and rantaro, they vibe  - part of the hunt to find where the hell kokichi’s base is  - kinda just vibes with rantaro and kaede, mostly just there  - terrible luck with diamonds, mostly its always lapis  - kaito gives him diamonds  - tried to pet kokichi’s dogs, kokichi hit him  - fears minecraft dogs to this day

maki  - runs an assassin business with peko  - her skins just black so she can blend in with the night  - the reason why kokichi never goes out in the daylight  - literally goes feral if someone uses her crafting table/furnace in her house  - always has a totem of undying? nobody has any clue where she got it   - watches out for kaito cause he’s a clueless old man

himiko  - cannot handle caves   - tenko has to come with her at all times  - “himiko what are you doing” -loud snoring-  - the one who’s always afk  - tries to sleep in the bed in the middle of the day  - makes potions but doesn’t sell them like mikan does  - “himiko why do you have a drinkable potion of harming”

kaede  - helps out anyone who’s new to the server  - very wholesome  - makes cookies for everyone  - does the shift + looking down thing a lot   - anytime she leaves a sign it has an emoticon  - “who took my cookies i’ll kill you >w<”  - probably has a bunch of cats named after music/piano stuff

rantaro  - says gg after dying from another player  - kinda just vibes with kaede and shuichi   - helps them make a farm mostly  - goes five blocks, gets lost  - needs a map on him at all times  - “guys idk where i am”  - the only one who knows where kokichi’s secret base is because one time he accidentally stumbled upon it

kirumi  - people ask her to make them a house a lot  - she always accepts  - basically a nomad  - does whatever anyone else asks  - has only killed ryoma once by hitting him bare fisted on one heart  - still apologizes to this day   - only goes into mine shafts to get rid of the cobwebs, leaves

ryoma  - made a tennis court in his house  - cold blooded murderer  - stalks people to try and get their supplies   - feels bad and gives them back  - “kirumi stop being nice it’s a free for all”

tenko  - has a small lesbian pin on her minecraft skin that nobody knows about  - goes with himiko into mineshafts  - kills all boys on sight  - constantly asks sakura to a “martial arts” rematch  - makes pixel art maps for every flag  - likes to put gay flags on unsuspecting victims’ houses  - “LMAO look himiko a gay” “tenko we’re gay”

angie  - made a temple in the server for atua  - forces everyone to go to said temple every sunday  - terrifyingly good at pvp  - like, really good  - REALLY GOOD    - has literally all the variants of minecraft paintings in her house  - has a treehouse cause “it’s closer to atua amen”

kiyo  - summons the wither constantly and joins forces with it  - way too obsessed with enderman, literally has them in his house for anything to come in and look at  - slays the ender dragon in a matter of two minutes, everyone is afraid  - constantly whispers about dissecting everyone and making clothes out of their skin whenever he is killed in pvp  - has a cool ass house tho no cap  - lowkey wants to live in the end

gonta  - makes a massive bee themed house with help from Shuichi   - doesn’t kill anyone because gonta is gentleman  - unless someone touches his bees  - big farm, kokichi destroyed it once and gonta cried  - likes to cook things for people that stumble upon his house

miu  - has a naked women skin on and says “dam this girl is flatter than kaede”  - makes everyone uncomfortable when in her minecraft house  - makes a fuck ton of hoes and just says “GUYS I MUST BE KAITO RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IM SURROUNDED BY HOES” despite it making no sense  - walked up to kokichi with a bowl and said “hey man i found your dildo”  - framed teruteru for putting a strip pole in the music venue, but she secretly did it  - constantly spamming shift and looking up

kaito  - has a bunch of moon paintings in his house  - beats the shit out of kokichi when he burns his house down  - puts lava in his house and forgets about it, then dies from it.  - the guy who has to help rantaro out  - probably a minecraft veteran  - went in creative and tried to fly up to the stars  - chiaki set him in survival just as he reached block limit

kokichi  - chaotic evil  - has a huge hidden base hidden underground, literally nobody knows where it is  - burns people’s houses down  - really fucking bad at pvp so whenever he sees someone else he books it   - kills gontas bees constantly  - people call him “the pvp pigeon” because he basically scatters whenever you  go near him in pvp  - “if u press q with a pickaxe over lava, it gives u a secret buff”  - has essentially committed tax fraud in mc

tsumugi  - only uses naruto skins  - scarily good at minecraft mazes  - death stares kokichi when he says anything negative about her minecraft skin  - has a bunch of diamond hoes for no reason  - constantly tries to make anime statues at spawn  - kokichi always burns them

keebo  - doesn't understand how to play minecraft  - kokichi bullies him about it   - “HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO PLAY?”  - he has pet chickens and names them after miu’s favourite things  - “this is keebo, my pet chicken!”  - always forgets how to open inventory and has to get help  - kokichi told him to press q once and then stole the item keebo dropped BWAHh finally done this was rlly fun to do!! ty again to that anon for the request <3<3 - mod corn

[loversgothic]

velvet ur very kind and im flattered u like my goofy doodles (all of u really are just too nice)

i love talking abt the design process (despite not being a professional) and how i think abt clothes. but if there's anything abt fashion sketches i guess is that the process of thinking abt clothes is different for everyone and is dependent on your personal tastes and what YOU like the most in clothing. if you're unsure as to what you love abt certain garments, it's good to think abt the little details of your favorite clothes.

i kinda look at fashion all day and have an archive blog full of clothes or shoots that might inspire me and if you look at enough designers after a period of time, you start to differentiate what you like and dislike abt ensembles on runway and what you'd do differently. and it's good to look at a good range of em of different styles and eras, see which one interests you the most!!

when i do funny little designs i really do try to think abt exactly what i want unless im jusg making a ton of thumbnail sketches to elaborate upon later. if youre lost its good to get a solid concept down first, do you want something dramatic? something more toned down? something casual? elegant? glamourous? something quite the opposite? light and airy? or something a little more heavy looking? if ur designing for a character its good to think abt what would fit them, bc no garment is one size fits all *even for taste.* gabriel looks really good in ornate clothes to me and with his connections to catholicism the aesthetics of religion have a lot one can build off of. its over the top, and with him already wearing armor you can kinda already know he looks pretty good in outfits that can kinda change his silhouettes shape. his pauldrons make me think he would look good in either big sleeves or shoulder pads. :3 minos on the other hand is buttass naked and when he was alive he wasn't elaborately dressed either. he had fabric draped across his body, and so i took to draping. the biggest reason the minos sketch went the way it did was bc i was thinking abt this dragon dress i love that i can't find so i took inspo :,3 he would look good either in body hugging clothes (but not in the way it's the thing shaping him) or something loose, but definitely something sexy. also he has snakes so of course im taking advantage of that

ok now to the actual drawijg part sorry. i like to draw or think abt the silhouette first , and bc i have a tendency to draw things that hug the body tightly i try to think abt how you could transform a boring body hugging silhouette into something that stands out, like huge sleeves or hip pads. if u feel silly it's good to experiment to see Where u can place things, like draping, seamlines or other additions to really make it unique. these little things can change how a concept is read.

the details usually come last unless the concept was hinging upon its details, like if i was sketching smth and thought 'i want this to have an embroidered design and i want that to be the most important thing on it'

i dont think theres really a lot of rules to designing clothes (or more specifically a right way to do it), you just gotta think reaaal hard about how it can stay on someones body or sit on someones body at all, because its not gonna float. you can make it LOOK like its floating but you gotta think of how its even sticking to ones body.

people have different design philosophies based on how they view clothes should be. some people think that 'the clothes shouldn't wear a person, the person should be wearing the clothes' and opt to make sure the clothing cant outshine the person, other people believe the exact opposite, n thats just how it be

run free dude and design whatever da fuck. do research too, research makes designing better and you can find inspiration from anywhere, it dont even gotta be inspiration from the runway :3

also. look up references and the purposes of Princess Lines and Darts if you don't already know what those are. they are good things to know and think abt when drawing clothes

cooking something for garble i promise

[blackaquokat]

How about 15 and 8 for acting attorney? -🐈

In which I write another Married!Acting Attorney AU installment and also do the thing I swore I’d never do: mild crossover ego canons. This won’t be a regular thing, so don’t expect it again, I just couldn’t resist the cameo.

8. “I’m

never letting you go.”

15.

“Shouldn’t you be with him/her?”

Oo00oO

This won’t be the first function Mark is attending with his

attorney.

However, it will be the first time the pair of them attend a charity

function as a married couple.

It’s the first occasion where he realizes that the pair of

them will definitely have certain

things to address.

As soon as they arrive, the pair of them are surrounded by a

crowd of celebrities and politicians. Mark holds onto their arm for as long as

possible, knowing of their reluctance to dabble in the spotlight for too long,

when eventually they encourage him to go off on his own for a bit to speak to

his acquaintances.

An hour later, Mark realizes he took their words a little

too liberally when he has difficulty locating them.

“No, Mark, I haven’t seen them since you asked me five

minutes ago,” Damien groans. His hands fiddle with his cane. “Did you try the

dance floor?”

It takes considerable effort for Mark to keep his laugh

quiet. “Come on, Damien. They hate dancing in public.”

Damien’s eye flickers meaningfully to the dance floor. “Are

you sure about that?”

Mark does not like

that tone in Damien’s voice.

He follows Damien’s gaze and, sure enough, there’s his

spouse, dancing with some stranger in a bowler hat. It takes a moment to

recognize the man, but eventually Mark remembered his name. Mark talked with

this guy earlier this evening.

Quick behind his initial spike of jealousy is shame. After

all, he has been neglecting his attorney for far too long in an environment

they are so uncomfortable in. Why shouldn’t they try to enjoy themselves?

Then comes the angry determination to make this right.

“Mark, don’t do anything stupid—!”

Mark is already halfway to the attorney, out of earshot of

whatever Damien was going to say. His attorney’s dance partner catches his eye with a small smile and

that anger grows a little hotter.

“May I cut in?”

His spouse jumps at the sound of his voice, before turning

to stare at him with wide eyes.

Bowler hat man lets go of Mark’s spouse rather quickly,

hands held up defensively. He hasn’t stopped grinning. “Absolutely!” He offers the

attorney a deep bow with a flourish of his hand. “It was my pleasure!”

His attorney smiles and Mark suddenly wonders if this was a rash thing to do. “Thanks, Mr.

Jackson!”

“Oh, God no! Mr. Jackson was my Uncle. Call me JJ.”

“Oh, um…sure!”

JJ’s mustache lifts happily and he practically frolics away.

Could the man be any more of a cartoon character?

Their gaze switches back to him after Mark puts one of his hands on their waist,

but he’s staring after JJ, mouth in a straight line as he and the attorney

starts swaying to the music. One of their hands is on his shoulder and the

other holds his hand. They look like

they want to slap him.

“What’s your problem?” they demand.

Mark tries for a fake smile. “I have no idea what you’re

talking about.”

“Don’t give me that. You’ve barely said two sentences to me

all night, and then the second I’m dancing with someone who doesn’t run

screaming at the sight of me, you’re acting like he wrecked your car.”

Mark’s mouth twists. “Maybe I didn’t like the reminder that

I haven’t been with you all night. Or maybe I didn’t like seeing someone…”

He trails off, but they’re having none of his vague,

dismissive bullshit right now.

 (Not that they ever do. They’re good for him in that way, keeping him from acting passive aggressive in his anger.)

“Didn’t like seeing what? Someone else actually being nice

to me? A goddamn celebrity acting

like I’m worth talking to? Yeah, that makes sense. Besides, shouldn’t you be

with Damien? Still Schmoozing up benefactors for your next big project?”

(They don’t know this, they might never learn of it, but his

sentence would have been: “I didn’t like seeing someone else’s hands on you.”

That definitely would not go over well at

all.)

Mark’s grip tightens on their waist, and honestly, he has no

idea why they just don’t walk away.

Then he feels their thumb fiddle with their ring on his

shoulder and he remembers that it’s not just him anymore.

He’s married. To the

most important person in his life. They’re a unit now, and…nothing has changed,

not really, not at its core, but still…

Everything is different now.

“You’re right,” he eventually mutters, after a long, tense

silence. “That wasn’t fair of me.” His head ducks. “Especially when it looked

like you were enjoying yourself.”

The harsh glare in their eyes softens. They sigh and hold his hand a little tighter. “Apology accepted. And,

for the record,” they offer him a little smile, “I enjoy myself with you too.

You know that, right?”

Mark returns their smile and pulls them closer.

It should have been too close, in a place like this. The two

of them are married, yes, but crowds can still look and see two impossible

people and make awful comments.

But his attorney doesn’t say anything. And neither does he.

He’s tired of holding back how much he adores this beautiful

person especially when he’s wearing proof of that adoration on his ring finger.

He moves his hand up and down their waist in a soothing

motion. Is that for his sake or theirs? Either way, he sees the chills crawl up

their arms and grins. “But I’m sorry I haven’t been with you tonight. Believe

me, I much prefer your company to all these other drips.”

They roll their eyes. “Flatterer.”

They meet Mark’s eyes again and he’s stunned by the

intensity of the contact from those ancient eyes.

No one has ever looked at him the way they still do after

almost ten years together.

They rest their head on his shoulder. Mark feels the beat of

their pulse.

Mark moves his hand from their waist to between your

shoulder blades, keeping them close. His head leans against their and despite

the rocky start, he thinks this is very close to a perfect moment.

And they’re all his.

“I’m never letting you go,” he whispers to them. He doesn’t

know where the words came from, but they feel important.

He feels them smile into his shoulder. “There’s nowhere I’d

rather be.”

Oo00oO

@starcrossedforever87 , @dontworryaboutanything , @beereblogsstuff , @silver-owl413 , @sassy-in-glasses , @chelseareferenced , @sketchy-scribs-n-doods , @axolittle-boi , @falseroar , @intemperantiae , @memetoyoko , @soul-wolf , @marki-dumb , @withjust-a-bite , @raimeyl , @im-also-dead-inside , @timelords13 , @ur-fairy-god-dragon , @conceitedink , @unknown-maned-wolf , @ohnoimshook , @mayazen , @skyewardlight , @gabs-ink , @purple-anxiety-blog

[infini-tree]

bc i cant watch the new season bc stuff is Buggy on my side, some tpod au headcanons/concepts before i Forget Abt Them :

general stuff

hot off the heels of kfp3, the sudden displacement and sudden rushing back of qi messes up with all of china and now several bad guys are Aware and want to capitalize on this wild energy. and by several its mostly jindiao

restructuring of villain order. idk what happened in s2 so dont Spoil It but jindiao's the final big bad that needs to be dealt with but the water deer clan still appear throughout the entire "series" before then

po isnt here as a teacher. he and the five are busy with repairing the valley and essentially rebalancing all of china. youd just hear references of them. this also means that ping or cart have no reason to go to the panda village which is an Absolute Travesty

the four constellations of the jade palace are their respective teachers

zhizhu and bunnidharma are the same character

jindiao is just a bearded vulture powered by stolen qi-- none of that “actually a dragon possessing a vulture body and that isn’t Addressed”

the kids'/constellations' weapons have star motifs based on namesake, but eventually their powers evolve to have aesthetic aspects congruent to the respective kid. for instance, basically what im saying here is that jing’s healing aura does the tpod equivalent of ed alchemizing things to look Edgy As Hell

bao

drama kid that hangs out w mei mei sometimes; callback to that one panda paws short where they try to upstage each other

main character arc is learning to be less selfish and accepting help

since bei's a softshell tort the barrier would be both flatter than the canon, but more malleable/absorbs shock better

can also be a simple bubble shape

can be soundproof-- good for secret plan making and team hangouts !

other kids can give it secondary effects if they combine forces (fire barrier from fan tong/invisibility from jing/overall increase in radius from nu hai; abilities can in theory stack but it adds overall pressure on bao)

nu hai

name not literally written as "girl" here

could be lei lei, with that being her old childhood nickname that unfortunately stuck and shes trying desperately to unstick. still Hyperfocuses on kung fu/tigress and gets excited easily

technically the youngest (bao's the Alpha Twin lmao), very self conscious about it and as a result of trying to emulate tigress and the aforementioned anxiety she tries to overcompensate by bossing people around since shes the Designated Leader-- main arc involves growing past that and realizing that she should be a friend first before a leader

her ability's the hardest to really specify-- she could just keep the ranged hadouken thing to balance out the melee/tank/healer in the proverbial party with her being ranged. or just give her an actual bow and arrow

jing

“angry weird kid”; up the weird/macabre part of her personality a bit more

weird quibble but her and bao should switch clothes. the medals on her hanfu makes more sense for attention-seeking bao, while the muted colors/sporty headband thing are more appropriate for jing "this place smells like dead bodies. neat" pawsofdestiny

main character growth is being less stubborn and less-one track mind abt fighting

still has healing ability, but can just ‘heal’ to do what are essentially stat buffs

still has that whole “possessed/manipulated by jindiao” plot/arc bc that was legit the best part of the first season and i would be remiss if i took that out

fan tong

for the love of god stop with the toilet humor based cowardice. like continue being timid and scared of confrontation but please

lbr hes bullied bc of how he doesn’t get certain cues/jokes by other kids outside the group; smarter than he looks but is too timid to actually Say His Thoughts. main character arc is being confident and “being brave isnt about not being scared of stuff its doing things Despite being scared” all that stuff

still a sword boy ! his sword originally manifests as a jian (like guiying’s) but after some time it morphs into something that looks like a dadao or niuweidao as a stealthy reference to humble origins

[heyyyyadora]

I haven’t written in a while but finally I can post my Secret Santa gift to @caprisunns based off their amazing prompt image of Literal Big Furry Catra

really indulged in this one cause im a big slut for supernatural AUs

“Okay, go ahead! Coast’s clear.”

“Adora… I don’t know.”

“Come on, Catra, it’ll be fine! It’ll be awesome, actually! You deserve to have a good time.”

“I just… I don’t know, it still feels weird. Bad.”

This was Adora’s idea, of course. She knew Catra hated having to be stuck in such a feeble frame (as she put it), day-in-day-out, suppressing herself, her instincts, her self. As much as she protested she was fine, she was okay, it was just the way of things, Adora could sense her buzzing with need, the drive, to just let herself go.

She didn’t get on too well with most of the supernatural community. She’d… made kind of a name for herself. She had a couple of fae friends, maybe, but only one was more than a loose acquaintance and was kind of a bit much to deal with all-in-all.

But she still had a right to find a space that she could be who she needed to be, a safe space. And now Adora was in her life there was no way that she wasn’t going to be there for Catra, to be her support and help her find happiness and health.

“Catra, you will not be the weirdest looking girl in the house. In fact I think for once I’ll actually stick out the most of the two of us.”

“Well, you are pretty freaky lookin’…”

“Oh, you are not going to bait me into responding to that, I’m not falling for it! Now go on… I’ll look away.”

“I mean, heh… it’s not like I mind you looking.”

“Psh… just do it, okay?”

Catra sighed and nodded, and Adora turned her back to the girl to stare at the alley wall. “Just tell me when you’re ready.”

Okay, Catra. Relax. You’re like, the most confident person out of everyone you know. Not to mention the most terrifying. Not like anyone would dare to mess with you now, let alone when… ugh. Okay. She put the bag she carried down and slowly started to undress. This was… the most annoying part of it all, really, that moment where you’re all gross and fleshy and exposed. It did encourage her to get on with it, though.

Catra breathed slowly in, then out. Then, trying her best to stay relaxed, she summoned herself up from deep within.

Her hands were first. It was a tingle in her fingers that spread up the back of them, like static electricity buzzing up her arms. It took a few seconds then slowly, barely noticeably at first, a few dark hairs began to appear… then more and more. Not a second or two later the same sensation began in her feet, then at the back of her neck.

As the fur grew so, too, did the underlying flesh and bone. This went in reverse to the fur, starting from her back and shoulders, which grew longer and wider; her neck, thicker, along with her thighs. She sneezed as whiskers sprouted from the sides of her nose and, immediately after, her face followed the lead of the rest of her body, stretching out and expanding; soon her nose was a snout that extended out under her eyes. Her vision blurred a little and she had to blink a few times to focus properly; the colours of the world were changing, growing less vivid, but she could see much further in the dim evening light than was possible just a few seconds ago.

A minute later from when it began she finally exhaled the breath she’d been holding, a good foot and a half higher from the ground than before. She flexed her claws, brushed them through the mane around her neck, guided some rebellious fur out of her eyes and ears.

“I’m done.” Her voice was deeper than before, rougher. She wasn’t used to the feeling of her tongue in her mouth, but at the same time her whole body felt looser, more relaxed, more natural. This was her. This was Catra. This was how she’d be all the time if she could.

Adora turned slowly, her eyes trailing up to meet Catra’s as she broke out into a grin. Immediately she reached up and offered a gentle scratch at the fluffy fur around Catra’s neck.

“You look great.”

Catra couldn’t suppress a purr but batted the hand away with a rumble in her throat. “Don’t push it.”

Her thick tail flicked with agitation and she shifted nervously from paw to paw. “Let’s go inside, quick.”

Adora bundled Catra’s human clothes into the bag and zipped it up before taking it up on her shoulder. Still smiling she took Catra’s hand, curling her fingers around just one of hers. Then she guided Catra out of the Alley and down the steps of the club to start their night proper.

As they stepped inside immediately they were hit in the face by the usual sights and sounds of a thriving nightclub – though of course a few of the sights were not so standard at all: vampires dancing with werewolves; fairies chatting up demons; dragons and mandrakes and kelpies alike drinking each other under the tables peppered with supernatural creatures of all shapes, sizes and colours.

Catra’s eyes hurt.

“Oh! There they are!” Adora chirped up and led Catra by the paw to one of the tables where two people were sat- well, one of them was, at least. Some sort of bird or angel girl with pink, sparkling hair and fluffy white wings she was obviously struggling to stay comfortable with as they pressed into the back of her seat. The other wasn’t sat at all because, well, there was no suitable means for him to achieve it with the body of a horse. He was the first to look up and call out brightly.

“Adora! Hey!”

“Hi, Bow! Hi, Glimmer! Sorry, we had some stuff to sort out real quick.”

“It’s cool! We got drinks already.” Bow looked from Adora, to Catra, to Adora again. His grin never faltered but he was clearly waiting.

“Oh- Catra, this is Bow! Bow, this is Catra.”

“Hiiiii, Catra! So cool to meet you!”

“Hey.” Catra offered plainly. Bow’s hand hovered in front of her. She grunted and took it in a paw to shake hands, which he did far too enthusiastically.

“Aaaaand this is Glimmer!” Adora next indicated the winged glitterbomb that had been too busy looking at Catra to say anything. “Glimmer? This is Catra!”

“Ohhh, hey, yeah, hi.” She was similarly curt which ticked Catra off. They shook hands too but with much less vigor from either side.

“Sure.”

“Sooooooooo,” Bow cut through the ice like a pro, annoyingly. “How long have you been seeing each other?”

“Bow! I told you all this stuff already!” Adora huffed.

“I know, I know! But I wanna hear it from Catra too! Besides, maaaaybe there’s some stuff you left out…” He wiggled his eyebrows and Adora snorted. Catra just sighed.

“Like… a month.”

“Aaaaaand? How did you meet?”

“…I’d got my fur stuck on her fence.”

Adora sniggered but Bow didn’t – he looked delighted, actually.

“And she totally didn’t freak out because she’d already met me and Glimmer, right?”

“I guess. I figured she must have been crazy but she was super cool about it all. Took me in her place and patched up a load of my cuts. I was too… shocked, I guess, to stop her.”

“So she knew you were a fae from the start?”

“Maybe. I dunno. But it probably gave it away when she went away for a minute and came back to find a naked girl raiding her wardrobe covered in barbed wire cuts.”

Adora choked. Bow clapped his hands joyfully. Even Glimmer gurgled into her drink a little bit. Catra raised her eyebrow at Adora. “You left that part out, huh?”

“Well, yeah! For your dignity, I thought!”

“Adora. I have no dignity.”

Bow, meanwhile, was beaming at the two of them, “Awwwww, but seriously, that’s so cute! Like an actual fairytale!”

“Bow, literally everyone here is like an actual fairytale.”

“It’s so romantic though!”

Catra sniggered. “Well, it probably would be less romantic if you knew I was gonna raid one of your horses…”

“You what?” Adora’s gaze locked onto her in outrage.

“I’m a cat, Adora! And when I get a big hunger, I gotta eat something big!”

“You are staying away from my horse field.”

“Soooooo, anyway!” Bow chimed in again. “That’s kinda how Adora and I met! And Glimmer, through me. She was just so like… obsessed with some of my herd, I was kinda sorta super flattered. So I like, begged Glimmer to say I should go up to her and well… she did kinda freak out, but in a sorta…” He put on his best Horse-Freak-Adora voice. “‘Oh-my-god-you-are-amazing-is-this-real-am-I-dreaming-etcetera-etcetera…’”

Adora put a hand over her face, blushing. “I do not sound like that.”

“Yeah, you totes do.”

“Okay! Well. Now that we’re all introduced! Catra and I are going to go and get drinks!” Adora was blushing harder by the second and moved quickly away from the table. Catra shrugged and followed, a slight smirk on her face.

“Okay! Seeya guys later!” Bow cheered after them.

“Later.” Was the only word from Glimmer.

They navigated the crowd slowly, a tricky task given the added difficulty of additional limbs sprouting in front of you at the worst of times, plus having to avoid stepping on the number of patrons who were less than a foot tall at times.

“Sorry about Glimmer. She’s… usually chattier than that. I dunno what’s up with her.”

“I caught her once.”

“You…” Adora stopped and looked at Catra. “You caught her?”

“She looked like a bird.”

“You were going to eat her?”

“I let her go, duh.” Catra shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

“Wh… why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I wasn’t gonna embarrass her in front her friends, Adora.”

“But…” Adora couldn’t argue with it and she decided against it. “…Fine. Okay. That’s cool. My girlfriend tried to eat my best friend.”

“I caught her, Adora, I didn’t try to eat her. Don’t be weird about it.”

“Don’t be…!” She stopped and just gripped Catra’s paw tighter, lurching forward for the bar. “I need a drink so bad.”

“Yeah… you and me both.”

“What? What is it?”

Catra sighed. She nodded her head to a small group that was at a booth to the left of the bar. The most notable of them was the Spriggan, a tree-person who had to crouch for her head not to be reaching the ceiling. She had long, wavy vines for hair with flowers tangled into them. With her was a human man who was entirely focusing his attention on the third person… a girl with dark, leathery scaled skin and terrifyingly sharp teeth, like those of an angler-fish or other deep-sea terror. Catra’s eyes were on her and they were filled with all number of mixed emotions.

“You okay?” Adora pushed in gently, noticing her distraction.

Catra snapped out of it, looking back to her girlfriend. Her shoulders sagged for a second. “Yeah. It’s nothing, forget it.”

“Who’s that?”

“Ugh… look, I told you I’ve not got a lot of fae friends right now. She’s…” She sighed. “She’s part of that. The fish girl. She’s… my ex-girlfriend.”

“Oh, god.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Catra.” Adora took both of her paws and looked her in the eyes. Despite Adora’s entirely mundane aura, just this once they seemed to glow with an unseen fire. “You are going to have a good time with me, and Bow, and yeah Glimmer once we get past the whole thing that I’m sure she’s totally actually cool about. You don’t have anything to worry about with her, or her friends or anyone she might think she knows here. She is not going to ruin your night.”

Catra looked back at Adora and swallowed. Her heart rose up to her throat a little and she had to push it back down hard. Eventually she offered a weak little smile. “I know. Just, like…” She paused for breath again, giving only the briefest of looks over to the deep-sea girl before Adora pulled her gaze back. “…It’s not her I’m worried about. It’s me. Can you… can you promise me- promise you won’t let me ruin my night?” Adora looked at her with such pure care and sympathy she wanted to die a little. “No, seriously. She’s… she’s okay. She’s cool. I just- don’t let me start anything. Keep me away from her. Please?”

Her response was a tender little kiss to the side of her face and a brush through her mane that got a soft rumble in response.

“Yeah, of course. Come on, Catra.”

She let her wonderful girlfriend she had to fight hard to believe she deserved, take her to the bar. Their night started right here.

[magmasliveblogs]

1.07

its late but its here! the 8th chapter! to recap, last chapter erin discovered acid flies, got rid of the fish, discovered flying pterodactyls who lay eggs, stole some eggs, made pasta, and was greeted by a bug man who knocked on her door as she was about to eat pasta 

A giant insect stood in the doorway. It had large, black, bulbous eyes, a dark brown chitinous body, and a pair of swords at its sides. It also had a huge abdomen and two long pincers coming out of its mouth. And it had four arms.

Erin stared at the ant-creature. It opened its mouth and began to speak.

“Good evening, Human. I was wondering if my colleague and I could take up a moment of your time—”

Erin shut the door. Then she bolted it. Where did she put the kitchen knife?

bit of a knee jerk reaction but hey, would you do anything else? 

“You idiot. I told you that this is why I should have opened the door.”

The Goblin’s knives were on the table. She grabbed both and tried to think. Knife. Chair? There were lots of chairs.

“Maybe it was a bad time?”

Or windows. Erin looked around. Plenty of windows. She’d jump out one if she needed to.

“Move over. Let me show you how it’s done.”

Someone knocked on the door again. Erin froze, and then went back. Very slowly, she opened the door.

a different species maybe? 

A giant lizard—no, a miniature dragon that looked sort of like a human stared down at Erin. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall. His scales were light green, and he had sharp, sharp claws on each hand. When he smiled she saw his teeth. Oh, and he had a forked tongue.

“Hello Miss. Sorry if we—”

Erin shut the door, bolted it, and dragged a table in front of it. She could feel her heart pounding out of her chest as she pushed another table in the way. Knives were no good. She’d have to jump out a window after all.

ok yeah i think erin is having a bit of an over reaction but hey, shes had a tough couple of days 

“Good job not scaring her.”

“Shut up.”

Were they talking? Erin listened hard. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t hold anything.

“Now what? I do not believe breaking and entering would be appropriate at this moment.”

“What, are you crazy? Let me talk. That was just a misunderstanding caused by seeing your face. I’ll straighten all this out.”

One voice was higher than the other and had a strange clicking quality about it. Erin guessed that was the insect’s. The other, the lizardman, pronounced his words with elongated s’s. And they were both speaking in English.

“Hello? Miss? We’re not dangerous.”

welp we have an insect and a reptile at the door and erin hasnt said anything 

to the window. But she had to ask.

“…Are you a dragon?”

She heard a surprised laugh from outside the door.

“Am I a dragon? Aha. Haha. Well, that’s just—oh, bite me. I mean, do I look like one? Maybe I do. What do you think?”

“You are blushing.”

“Be quiet. I’m in a good mood now.”

The lizardman raised his voice again.

“Excuse me? I’m not a dragon, Miss Human. I’m just a lowly Drake in service to the city watch. Me and my idiot partner were on patrol when we noticed the smoke. May we come in? I promise we won’t bite.”

“Or inflict other forms of bodily or mental harm upon you.”

“Shut up. Are you trying to scare her?”

no that is not a dragon erin, but hey it seems you have flattered the reptile. also it seems the insect isnt that good at social interactions 

Erin debated. Somewhere in her mind she was trying to decide whether she should be laughing or panicking. And if she was going to laugh, would it be funny laughter or hysterics?

She couldn’t decide. So instead—

“Um. Give me a moment. I’ll open this door.”

“Thank you very much.”

Erin dragged the tables out of the way and hesitantly unlatched the door. She opened it and stared at the insect and giant lizard again. The insect just stared at her. The lizard on the other hand opened its mouth and curved its lips upward. It might have been a smile.

“…Hi.”

wonderful start erin, wonderful start 

Erin’s hand tensed on the door. The lizard guy put his hand on the door and stopped her from closing it.

“Sorry, sorry Miss. We’re not here to hurt you, I promise.”

Erin hoped that was the case. She couldn’t budge the door an inch. But this wasn’t the time for flight, right? She took a different tact.

“Want something to eat?”

The lizardman blinked.

“Um, sure.”

“Okay. That’s great.”

Erin opened the door slowly. The lizardman smiled and carefully stepped inside. The giant insect walked in too and gave her a polite nod.

“Good evening.”

“…Hi.”

it seems her new [inkeeper] instincts could be kicking in. 

“Food’s over there.”

“Ooh! Pasta! This is good stuff!”

The lizardman—Drake rubbed his hands together. The noise the scales made sounded like sandpaper. He went to sit at the table but the insect guy paused.

“I would gladly partake of nourishment if offered. However we would not wish to deprive you of your meal.”

“What? No. I’ve got lots of pasta.”

Erin pointed vaguely back to the kitchen.

“Let me just get a plate and…forks. Do you uh, want a drink? I’ve got water.”

“I’ll have a glass if that’s alright.”

“I will accept the pasta and water as well. But may I inquire if you have any bugs?”

“…No. No I do not.”

“A pity.”

a bug eating bugs, ironic 

“Here. Uh, I’ve got juice as well. Want a glass?”

“Oh, thank you. It’s…blue.”

“Yeah. I made it myself. It tastes good, really.”

“Well, I’ll gladly accept. Klbkch, you want any?”

“I will pass for the moment. We should get down to business rather than partake of food.”

“In a moment. Let’s eat first. This looks good!”

Erin stared. Here was an opportunity. She had two creatures who could not only speak English for some reason, but were also not inclined to kill her and were eating her food. There were so many questions she could ask about herself, about where she was, about everything really.

It might be her questions would decide her ultimate fate. Probably not, but they were certainly important. But before Erin could ask any of the questions, including how a ‘Drake’ and giant ant learned to use a knife and fork, she had to ask again.

“…Are you sure you’re not a dragon?”

i hope the juice isnt poisonous to these people! also business? they are presumably from that settlement, but what sort of business could they have? 

“…So someone on the walls spotted the smoke and called it in. Since it didn’t seem like a grassfire and since we knew this place was abandoned years ago the Captain decided to send someone to check it out.”

“To put in succinctly: we saw the fire and decided to investigate.”

The giant lizard turned and glared at his ant-man companion.

“That’s what I said.”

“You said it poorly. I am merely rephrasing your words for the benefit of all.”

“See, this. This is why no one else is willing to be your partner.”

“Your hurtful remarks are unnecessary. Besides which, I believe we are getting off track. We are in the presence of a member of the general public, remember.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

The lizardman cleared his throat. It sounded weird to Erin; much deeper and bassy than normal.

Actually, everything was weird to Erin at the moment. Not least were the two creatures sitting across from her. 

oooo some local guardsmen! so they are from the settlement. 

“Miss?”

Erin jumped.

“Me? Hi, yes, me.”

The lizardman gulped down some of the blue juice.

“Sorry, but can we ask you a few question about where you’re from? It’s pretty odd to find a Human out here, let alone in an abandoned place like this. Not that we mean to pry, it’s just that it’s kind of our job to ask these questions.”

“What? Oh, it’s no problem. Ask away.”

im going to skip over a bit, its just erin saying shes from earth and them being confused as to what earth is 

“Look. It’s complicated and I can’t really explain. But would you believe…magic? Like a crazy, crazy, uh, teleportation spell?”

“Oh, a teleportation spell? Was it a misfire or did someone target you?”

“Um. I didn’t see anything when it happened. I just sort of turned the corner and—look, the point is I suddenly appeared around here. And then…dragon.”

“I told you. It’s flattering, but I’m not a drag—oh.”

The ant-man leaned forward.

“Do you mean to say you found a dragon? Somewhere around this area?”

Erin blinked.

“Is uh, that a bad thing? I mean, it’s a dragon yeah, but isn’t he…?”

ooo a teleportation spell gone wrong. thats a good cover story 

“Look. It’s getting sort of embarrassing. I’m not a dragon. I’m a Drake. And yeah, we’re distantly related cousins but dragons are seriously bad news. They eat folks. You said you saw one?”

“It breathed at me. Fire. And then I was chased by little green men.”

“Goblins.”

“Right, them. And then I found a giant dino-bird—”

“A what?”

“A big…big leathery thing. With wings.”

“Oh, right. Those annoying things.”

“And there was a crab-rock, I mean, a rock-crab, and then I found blue fruits before that and…I met you two. A not-dragon and an insect. Who don’t want to eat me? Or is that after the meal?”

The lizard guy looked shocked and offended.

“Of course we wouldn’t eat you! That’s barbaric and besides, it’s illegal. I mean, okay, sure, it happens sometimes in distant villages but we wouldn’t do that. Right, Klbkch?”

oo we have a name! looks hard for a human to say. i shall be using his nickname of klb, which is what the community largely uses when referring to him 

The lizard man turned to his friend.

“Indeed. We would not violate our duty as guardsmen.”

“Your duty? You’re…guardsmen? And you…you’re K—kbch?”

The insect man raised one feeler.

“Our pardons. We have not introduced ourselves. Allow me to correct this mistake. I am Klbkch, Senior Guardsmen in employ of the city. This is my partner.”

“Relc!”

The lizardman raised his glass.

“And this blue juice tastes good!”

“Indeed. And I must apologize again, but our true intent in coming here was to ascertain the danger posed here.”

thought it was obvious from before, but yeah, guardsmen as i said earlier.

Erin looked around.

“From what? Me?”

“Not you, specifically. Really, it could be anything. We thought it might be a random fire, or a few Goblins. If there were some stupid kids on the other hand, we’d be dragging them back right now since it’s dangerous to stay here.”

Erin met his gaze in alarm. He had very yellow eyes with black pupils.

“Danger? Why danger? Is there something wrong with me staying here?”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with you staying here. Aside from dying, that is.”

“Dying?”

Relc kicked Klbkch under the table.

“It’s just a possibility. This uh, place is sort of bad. For your health.”

Erin looked blank. Klbkch cut in.

“The plague. This location was once a small community until everyone here died. Horribly.”

Erin put her head in her hands.

“So am I going to die by puking out my guts or something?”

“Actually, the plague symptoms manifest themselves as—”

Relc kicked Klbkch again.

“Why don’t you shut up and let me talk? Look, Miss Human. You’re probably not sick if you’re still walking around.”

“And not oozing.”

well now we know why the village was abandoned, and why the skeleton was in the bed upstairs! 

“Shut up. Ahem. We were just sent here to make sure no Goblins or nasty creatures started living here. We’ve got no problem with Humans. Well, at least the non-violent kind.”

“Indeed. There is no law against occupying this area.”

They both stared at her. Erin felt compelled to speak.

“Good. Thanks?”

“Right.”

“Indeed.”

“…Want another plate of pasta?”

“Oh, sure.”

“I will have another as well.”

Erin ladled noodles onto each plate. The diners were silent for a moment as each slurped down their noodles, or in the case of Klbkch, did something complex with its mouth-hole. Erin didn’t look closer.

After a while Relc put down his fork.

“This really is quite good. How’d you make this all the way out here?”

“Oh, I found some flour and butter and stuff in one of the cupboards. It had a runey…thing on the shells.”

“That would be a preservation spell. It is quite common among higher-class establishments.”

“But you cooked it, then? Do you have levels in a [Chef] class, then?”

Erin stared at Relc.

“Levels? Oh. No. I’ve got levels in uh, [Innkeeper].”

“Oh, I see, I see. That’s convenient. Did you earn them here?”

“Uh, yeah. Every time I fell asleep I kept leveling. I’m uh, level 4.”

“Not bad! Especially if you just got here a few days ago. Did the notification wake you up right as you were falling asleep? I hate that.”

yep, the system is a widespread thing. also of course those runes would be widespread, they are very useful 

once again going to skip over a bit because its just erin asking about leveling and all that 

“Hey!”

Relc’s fist smashed into the table. Every plate on the table jumped into the air and Erin nearly fell out of her chair. She looked at Relc. He was scowling, but when he glanced at her pale face he stopped and looked guilty.

“Um. Sorry about that. Really. But uh, can we talk about that name?”

“N-name?”

“Yeah. You um, called me a lizard person, right?”

“Is that wrong?”

“…Yes. Yes, it is. I’m a Drake, not one of the lizardfolk. There’s a big difference.”

“Sorry. Sorry about that.”

“Uh, don’t apologize. Look, maybe I overreacted a bit. I’m not uh, mad…”

Klbkch kicked Relc under the table.

“I believe it was my turn to do that. Apologize to the Human for your rudeness.”

“…Yeah, sorry.”

Relc bowed his head down low, until the spiny crest on his head nearly touched the tabletop. Erin waved her hands urgently.

“Oh no, no. Please don’t do that. I didn’t know it was so rude. If I’d have known I’d have never—there’s a big difference between lizard people and Drakes, right?”

“Only a few differences, but the animosity between their cultures is—”

“Shut up. I’m still sorry. But yeah, there’s a big difference. I mean, sure most Humans can’t tell us apart, but the lizardfolk live near water and can breathe underwater too, some of them. Whereas we Drakes like drier climates. We enjoy warm sun, open spaces…”

“Nice rocks to laze about upon while we should be performing our duties.”

“You’re just an overgrown ant. You be quiet. Anyways, we’re special. Those guys are just amphibians that learned to walk on two legs. We’re related to Dragons. We’ve got special powers.”

“Like what?”

“We can breathe fire. Some of us can, at least.”

Relc sat back and folded his arms with a triumphant grin. Erin and Klbkch stared at him in silence.

ah yes, this large racial thing. what they dont say now is that lizardfolk live on an entirely different continent 

“We’re still cool, right?”

Erin grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Then she winced in regret. She’d used her bad hand.

“Ooh, nasty. What happened there?”

“What, this? It’s nothing, it—”

Klbkch stood up suddenly. Erin flinched, but he raised two of his spindly arms.

“Please, I mean no harm. But your hand. May I see it?”

Erin hesitated. Then she slowly extended her hand. On the outside her bandage was grey and red with congealed blood. Some dripped to the floor.

He, if it was a he, inspected her hand carefully. Then he looked up.

“Again, apologies. But could I trouble you to remove the bandage?”

Erin hesitated. But then she slowly unwrapped her hand. And flinched. The pain that had been slumbering in her hand suddenly flared, and something dripped to the floor.

It was yellowish white pus. It dripped from her wound. And the wound itself was different. Instead of the thin red line it had changed. Parts of the injury were darker red and—Erin looked away.

Relc hissed softly. However, Klbkch made no sound. He inspected her wound for a few seconds, his antennae moving slowly and then looked at her.

“Yeah. Um, yeah.”

Erin tried to breathe. Her hand was suddenly burning.

“It—sorry, it’s a mess. I cut my hand and I guessed it just got infected, but—”

“It is not an infection.”

“What?”

“It is poison. Of a sort.”

“You sure? It doesn’t feel like—”

“There is a fish in the rivers near here. It secretes a mucus that damages the area it touches. Such as in this case. I have seen several similar afflictions as a guardsman.”

“You have? I mean, it’s not an infection?”

good to know she isnt plague infested, but it seems those fish were worse that i thought! 

“Please, do not be alarmed. This is treatable. Allow me.”

He reached down. Erin looked and saw him pull something out of a belt pouch at his waist. She blinked as he held up a bottle full of a shimmering, emerald-green liquid.

“This is a low-grade healing potion. If you pour it over your injury it should heal your affliction.”

Gently, Klbkch uncorked the bottle and held it out to Erin. She accepted it gingerly, but hesitated.

“This is—I mean, is it safe? For humans?”

Klbkch and Relc both nodded. Relc was eying his partner but the ant man was intent.

“Please, believe me. It will heal you.”

Erin stared into his eyes. They were compound eyes, large ones. Brown and fractal. Like and ant’s. And they were creepy as hell, but Erin decided she could still trust them.

She gripped the potion tightly in her left hand and poured it slowly over the open wound on her right hand. She gasped in shock.

“Are you alright?”

“It—it doesn’t hurt!”

Relc snorted gently. It sounded like a leaf blower starting up.

“Of course not. Why wound anyone make a healing potion that hurts when you use it? But look at that!”

He pointed. Erin’s eyes went down to the cut in her hand. It was closing up with amazing speed. The flesh was joining together and in an instant, the entire cut vanished. She gaped.

yay healing potions! a staple of fantasy, but still good to know they can heal this sort of injury 

Klbkch plucked the half-empty bottle from her hands before she dropped it. She was too busy poking at her hand to realize, but when he’d stoppered the bottle she turned and gave him a huge hug.

“Thank you—ow!”

“Apologies. It is unwise to hug those with exoskeletons. Please, are you hurt?”

i agree, dont hug those with hard outer shells

“I will accept gladly. But for now I am full, and I believe it is time to be going. We would not wish to intrude upon your hospitality for too long.”

Relc paused as he gulped down more blue fruit juice.

“We wouldn’t?”

“We are still on duty, if you recall. The Captain will be expecting a report. If we do return, we will have more time to socialize.”

“Or, and hear me out. Or…we could have more food and stay here longer.”

“I am sure you would prefer that. But we are being paid to work, not to enjoy ourselves. Moreover you are eating all of this Human’s dinner.”

Relc glanced at the table. He stood up immediately.

“Right. Well, let’s be going. Um, sorry about that Miss. Here, let me just pay for the food…”

Erin tried to protest but a scaly hand prized hers open gently and deposited several copper coins and two silver ones into her palm.

“I insist. That blue drink is really good by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, we’ll be off then. Good night to you.”

The two left the inn. Erin watched them go. She went to go sit down and sat on the floor. And stayed still for another hour.

probably a good way to calm down after that 

Relc and Klbkch left the inn. They began walking through the grass under the night sky. It was cool, but both moved quickly. Each one scanned the landscape as they walked and kept their hands on the spear and sword at their sides. They weren’t nervous; just wary.

After a while Relc spoke.

“What a lonely girl.”

“Is it female? I couldn’t tell.”

“I can. It’s the mammary glands.”

“Breasts, I think they’re referred to. Or maybe the word is tits.”

“Really? I thought those were birds.”

“That’s what I heard some small Humans saying once. But she’s female. And young, correct?”

“Yeah, I’d bet on it. I’m not sure why a Human would be out here anyways, let alone in that place.”

oo we get some of the guards thoughts! this should be interesting 

“Inquiring into other’s personal affairs is only a matter for the Guards while we’re on duty. Respecting another’s personal space is a principle of social interaction.”

“Shut up. She just seems lonely, that’s all. Why else would a Human female want to hang out with a Drake and an overgrown bug?”

Klbkch was silent for a while.

“Do you believe she is a lawbreaker or fearful for her life?”

“Even if she was, who’d hide there? You’d have to be mad, or maybe a mage or priest to risk that.”

“True. But at least we are certain it’s safe now. She would  be dead within the day if it were still deadly.”

“Bet she didn’t know. And her expression when we walked in—she’s never seen a Drake or an Insect before in her life.”

“I would prefer that you call my species by their proper name.”

“What do you think? I bet she’s some kind of runaway, or a child that got lost separated from her clan.”

“…”

“Fine. Antinium. Happy?”

quick retcon here, priests are gone for a reason we shall see later, so she cant be a priest. this sort of error is fixed in the $5 version on amazon 

“Her being a runaway would be most likely. I find it hard to believe any Human would wander so far into the grasslands by accident and she did not seem to be looking for directions.”

“Bastard.”

“You are correct in at least one definition of the word. But speculation is pointless in any case. We investigated the smoke and now we can make our report. She is not breaking the law in any case since the inn was abandoned nearly three years ago.”

“What about the Dragon? Do you think she made that up?”

“She was not lying, at least not intentionally. However…”

“Yeah. A Dragon? Really?”

“It seems more likely that she was hallucinating. Perhaps she ran into a fire breathing Wyvern, or lesser monster. But I doubt she would have survived meeting a true Dragon.”

“Plus, we’d know if a Dragon lived around here. They’re pretty obvious.”

“Indeed.”

“So…scared Human female? Not a threat?”

“That was my assessment.”

“Right, right. Let’s tell the Captain and get some sleep. Or rather, I’ll sleep and you do your creepy standing hibernation thing.”

“Agreed. And it is very restful. You should attempt it sometime.”

“Pass.”

yes i dont think a single human female is a threat 

The two walked in silence for quite some time. The road back to the city was long, and in any case they were still alert for potential dangers that might be sneaking up on them. Not that either had much to fear from most predators so long as they kept their eyes and earholes open, but you never knew.

After a long time Klbkch broke the silence.

“So, shall we return tomorrow?”

“Oh, definitely. Right after work?”

“We may be able to fit checking in there as part of our duties if we convince the Captain it is necessary.”

Relc slapped Klbkch on the back of his exoskeleton. “Now you’re thinking like a Drake.”

“I will endeavor not to in the future.”

“Go roast yourself.”

They walked on for another few minutes until Relc broke the silence again.

“So, a lesser healing potion of no worth, huh?”

“Would you have had me tell her the true value?”

“No, no. It’s for the best. Mind you, I think she figured it out.”

“…Perhaps.”

“How are you going to explain that to the Captain, huh?”

“I will deduct the cost from my pay. Besides which, it was used to protect a civilian.”

“You’re a regular saint, huh? Trying to level up your [Saint] class?”

“You know fully well that I have no levels in any class of the kind. I was merely being kind.”

ooo i see the antinium (funny story actually, i was spelling it as antininum for months till i read the word on its own once and realized my mistake) used a pretty expensive potion 

The two walked on in silence. Eventually Relc spoke again.

“It’s not that I’m not interested. I have an open mind! I wouldn’t mind looking. If I was offered. They’ve got nothing on good scales, but I could get over the fleshiness. Maybe.”

“Deviant.”

“Shut up.”

“She was quite nice in any case. It was pleasant talking to her.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m glad we didn’t have to kill her.”

“Indeed.”

yes, lets not kill the protagonist in the 8th chapter. this isnt game of thrones 

Erin sat against one wall. She was falling asleep. She wanted to run around screaming about lizardmen—Drakes, walking ants, and a crazy world but that was passé. Besides, she’d already done that for a few hours anyway.

Her mind was swimming. Her eyes were drooping. Erin was about to fall asleep. But her hand didn’t hurt. So she was smiling.

At last her mind finally blanked. Erin’s breathing deepened, her eyes closed. She slept.

[Innkeeper Level 5!]

[Skill – Basic Crafting obtained!]

“…Just let me sleep.”

as the drake said, thats annoying, but it seems her first time doing the job of an innkeeper got her a level! and a skill, i wonder what [basic crafting] applies to?

either way, thats the end of the chapter! will erin be able to trust these people? will erin ever go to the settlment? will these people be ordered to kill her? we shall find out next time! 

see you tomorrow! 

[yukiwrites]

A Rough Approval

Thank you for commissioning me again, @xpegasusuniverse! This was so much fun to write, I hope you like it ;D

Summary: After the war, Maribelle returns to Themis with her villager husband, Donnel, in tow. Winning her father’s acceptance won’t be easy... or will it?

Commission info HERE and HERE!

Although the Fell Dragon's demise left a bitter taste in everyone's mouths -- Robin's sacrifice was felt in every soldier's heart, after all -- life waited for no one. It was time for the Shepherds to reform; some would go back home, their duties finished alongside the war, while some would stay.

Maribelle, always a friend of the Crown, remained at the castle, by her friend Lissa's side, for a few weeks until she was sure she could go back home to pursue her own goals. Her husband, Donnel, would go back to the Themis land with her, despite the initial thought of wanting to bring HER to his village.

But she wouldn't fit in that backwater place, nuh-huh. Besides, he knew how much she wanted to become a magistrate, and, if she succeeded, the realm would give a great step towards equality. Maribelle was too precious to simply disappear in the middle of the mountains with him.

"Convincing Father will not be an easy task, darling, however I am certain that he will fall for your charms, much like myself." Maribelle commented as they rode a carriage into Themis land. She had sent a bird ahead of herself explaining the situation and expected her Father to unwelcome them.

The villager blushed deeply, gripping at his favorite pot over his legs as his curls dangled freely with the carriage's sway. "Shucks, Maribelle, what'll I do if tha' happens? I can't marry yer dad..." Nervous, he gulped.

Maribelle giggled, placing her soft hand over his rugged one. "It was a jape, darling. Do cheer up, hm? I simply know that you will get into Father's graces sooner or later. He is not the type to turn his back to raw talent, after all."

Suddenly, Donnel shot up his head. "Ya know what? Bring it on! I can't say tha' I'm gonna surprise 'im with anythin' I know, but my love for ya won't lose to anyone!" He puffed his chest with pride, loudly putting his pot back over his head.

Maribelle placed one hand over her increasingly warm cheek, flattered. "Why, Donny, what a bold declaration of love." She chuckled as he deflated in embarrassment, the pot sliding down to cover his eyes.

"T-that's- the truth, though..." He mumbled, holding her delicate hand with both of his.

The noblewoman placed her free hand over his arm, nudging it slightly. "I do so love you as well, my strong warrior." She said softly before quickly straightening her back even further. "Now! Let us leave this bubbly atmosphere and go back to revising the topics Father is most likely to ask you about! And do take this pot off, darling. I'll have someone brush your hair for you later."

"M-my pot... " He whimpered, but obeyed. "I'm not sure I can learn errything, but I sure as heck'll try!"

"That's my Donny." Maribelle hummed, taking out a thick book from the pile at the seat in front of them. "Now, I want you to recite something from this page..."

Soon they reached the outer gates from the Themis Residence, swiftly being let through the large and intricate garden. Lord Themis himself waited for them at the foot of the front staircase, his arms crossed and his nose lifted up.

He had heard from his daughter's so-called 'marriage' (surely a jest!) while the war still raged. He received a simple letter from a random priest congratulating him for the marriage of his daughter, followed by a message from Maribelle herself. She had told him that she couldn't wait to introduce this 'Donnel' person to him (was that even a name? Gods, what has his daughter done?!) and that he was the person she not only loved but wished to spend her whole life with.

Of course, Themis wasn't a terrible person. He would let his daughter marry the man she loved, of course, as long as he was worthy of her! He had made a thorough background check on that 'Donnel' person. And, of course, no nobles had such base name. No duke, no viscount, no third cousin once removed from a faraway bloodline connecting to a baron had such name. He'd asked his people to look for any 'Donnel's in the Shepherds, but surely no matches were found. It was a big army, after all.

Which only made his heart freeze more.

Did Maribelle marry a commoner? Only one would fade so much into the background it would be impossible to factually check his background. Was that the reason the beautiful handwriting of the priest who sent the letter was written over a Shepherds stamped paper? Did they marry inside the Shepherds garrison?

A commoner... How could his daughter, the most well-mannered, delicate, competent, fierce and noble person he knew marry a commoner, of all people?

The more he thought about it, the deeper was his frown. He watched as the carriage made its way to him and stopped a few meters away. The coachman hurriedly jumped out of his seat to open the door, almost feeling Lord Themis' animosity.

"As I taught you, Donny," Maribelle's voice could be faintly heard from inside, making Lord Themis' heart skip a beat. His darling daughter! "Men exit first, then give their arms to the woman."

"A-aight," a foreign and deeply accented voice left the carriage, and soon it could be attached to a face: A curly-haired, plain-looking and oddly well-dressed young man jumped out, his nervous expression turning soft as he gave his arm so Maribelle could also get off.

What a terrible mismatch!

"What is the meaning of this, Maribelle? You finally come back home after years of war and you bring... this..." he looked at Donnel in disgust, "in tow?"

"Father, where are your manners?" Maribelle lifted her chin, giving a dismissive wave of hand to the coachman so he could leave. "Are you truly so eager to embarrass yourself that you'll make a scene in front of the servants?"

"Do not talk back to me, young lady." He pointed to her, ignoring Donnel's existence completely. "Come with me." He turned on his heel to the staircase.

"Father? This is my husband, Donnel. I'm sure you are flattered to meet him." She narrowed her eyes, her father's reaction much worse than she thought.

Flustered, Donnel bowed. "It's, uh, a pleasure to meet ya, Sir! My name's Donnel an' it would be mighty kind if ya could bless our union!"

"Donnel, hush! This is not something to say while we're out in the open." Maribelle scolded, though her cheeks were under a shade of pink. Such boldness, this man she married had. "Come now, let us follow Father." She nudged on his arm, never letting go of it after exiting the carriage.

"O-oh, right!" He stumbled, not wanting to embarrass his wife. Lord Themis went on ahead without listening to Donnel's introduction.

The noblewoman didn't have the time to greet the servants after her long absence, but she made a mental note to do so after the talk with her father. They were led to a nearby study, into which tea already waited for them.

Or rather, for her. No cups were placed for Donnel.

Lord Themis faced the large window, right behind the desk. "I will not accept this union, Maribelle. Surely you already knew this would happen."

Maribelle did not sit down, not wanting to entertain the silent bullying his father had prepared for Donnel. "I do understand, Father. Believe me when I say that I truly did not expect to fall in love with a commoner of all people. A villager from so tiny a village it does not even have a name!" She placed a few of her golden curls behind her shoulder. "However, whatever assumption you have made of him is wrong, Father. He is not a simple villager, he-"

"He's the man you love, is that what you're going to tell me?" Lord Themis cut her off, turning back to face them as he looked down with almost disgust.

Maribelle narrowed her eyes, placing one hand over her hip. "Why, Father, I expected you of all people to allow others to finish saying their piece without interruption. Nevertheless, that was not what I was going to say -- Donnel is a truly gifted young man. He will not lose to whatever marriage partners you had in mind for me." She stomped her foot, then bobbed her head to the sides, remembering a small detail about her husband. "Of course, apart from owning lands and servants; but we ourselves need not benefit from such things since our land is productive by itself."

Lord Themis didn't want to marry his daughter off to someone wealthy just to increase their own wealth later on; no. He's always wanted her to marry someone of her choice, with a decent background, that would be able to lead their land once he was gone.

Surely a commoner who needed litters of lotion to cover up the smell of pig and earth coming from him would never be able to do such a feat. "You do realize that, besides supposedly marrying behind my back, you are suggesting that a villager can manage our finances." He exhaled deeply, the cold rage he felt making his fingers tremble.

"Um, I'm sorry for buttin' in, sir, but we did errything legit, that we did! We had a priest bless our union an' all!" Donnel gripped at his uncomfortable vest, missing the pot on his head to mess with.

Lord Themis grimaced at every single grammar murder the young man did, sighing so deeply he had to place both hands over the desk so as not to deflate completely. "Nothing that I cannot cover up-"

"Father! You are not proposing breaking the law simply to fit your own preconceived whims, are you?! Saved from the court's wrath you were once due to false accusations, I will not hesitate to send you back there if you truly try to bend the laws!"

Surprised and, most of all, hurt, Lord Themis lifted his disgruntled gaze to his daughter. "Threatening your own father now, are you, Maribelle? Is this whelp truly worth breaking our family apart?"

"Listen to yourself, Father!" Maribelle gesticulated, feeling increasingly upset. "You are letting your own prejudiced ideals speak before you think! Have you lost all faith in your daughter after these years of war? I told you he is a gifted man that will not bring shame to our name."

Donnel looked from father to daughter as though watching a ball game the whole time. He gulped, his chest being filled with confidence with each word his wife uttered. "I'll prove 'ta ya, Your Lordyfulness, Sir! I still have a lot ta learn, but I'm a good student, I am! Shucks, Teach Miriel gave me full marks in ev'ry subject an' said she ain't got nothin' more ta teach me so I could teach erryone back at my village!"

Used to his way of speaking, Maribelle simply nodded in accordance. "He has a terrifyingly good memory, Father. He's memorized the entire Law Code in only two weeks!" She hummed proudly, "he also has great reflexes and a keen eye for spotting AND solving trouble."

His own personal rage apart, Lord Themis knew he only needed a competent son-in-law to pass the dukedom to. But he was most of all baffled that his daughter let a childish love blind her from reality. There was absolutely no way that that unwashed whelp was fit for her and their land.

Lord Themis couldn't fathom that. "Very well, I shall play along." He crossed his arms, intent on never approving of that boy. "If you pass the tests I give you, I shall bless your union."

"R-really? Yeeehaw!" Donnel hopped, bright-eyed. He hugged his wife by reflex, but Lord Themis' animosity quickly brought him back to his senses, making him let go of her altogether.

"You will not regret this decision, Father." Maribelle gave a soft smile with an approving nod, her hand lingering by Donnel's chest. "Throw whatever you have at us and you shall not be disappointed."

Themis raised one eyebrow at the 'us', but let it slide as he once again put both hands behind his back. "A noble must, above all, have grace, poise and an imposing aura." He scrutinized Donnel with a judging eye, "clearly you lack these on your own feet, however will that change over a horse? It is demanded of a Lord to know how to ride."

Donnel's shoulders sagged visibly, and he had to gulp down a scoff lest he sounded condescending. "Horses? Shucks, ain't that test too easy? I been 'round 'em my whole life."

Lord Themis smirked, making Maribelle finally understand where he was going. He didn't mean-?!

"Clearly you've never met Bucephalus."

Immediately did the villager blush deeply. "Buceph-" He stuttered, then leaned over to Maribelle, shocked. "I-is it a common noble thang ta name yer horses after... this... kinda stuff...?" He coughed, making Maribelle immediately redden in return.

She smacked him with her parasol. "Donnel! Clearly this is not what the name means!" She cleared her throat.

"Owow-" he covered his head with both hands, "there's 'nother meanin' for it? Shucks, but I can't unhear it now."

Exhaling deeply, Themis ignored the childish display and rang a small bell to call for the butler. He then had the servant arrange for their most untamed, ferocious and unruly horse to be brought to the equestrian facility, saddled, if possible, though not exactly necessary. Only one in fifty tries succeeded in saddling that beast, after all.

Maribelle frowned the entire way as they went to the training grounds, not exactly fearing for her husband, but still apprehensive. Meanwhile, Lord Themis had a wide smirk on his face, expecting the boy to run away with his tail behind his legs after being placed face to face with that horse-shaped demon.

"Yeeehaw! Tha's a great breeze from up 'ere!"

Blinking, Lord Themis had to rub his eyes more than once to truly believe in what he was seeing: Not only did Donnel tame that demonic horse, he went through all obstacles with the utmost ease.

"I am seeing things." He mumbled. "It hasn't been two minutes yet."

Maribelle laughed loudly, "excuse me," she apologized, hiding under her open fan. "A diamond in the rough, my lord Father. A diamond in the rough." She said proudly, waving at Donnel as he galloped closer.

"This big boy 'ere's so easy ta control! My old mule could learn a thing or two from 'im."

Flabbergasted, but not about to let that show in his expression, Lord Themis cleared his throat and turned his back to them, adjusting his cravat. "A noble is not only grace, but brains as well. Join me for a game of chess, young man."

Donnel beamed, taking that as a compliment. "Ya see that, Maribelle?! I did it!"

"I never once doubted you would, darling." She hummed, welcoming him as he jumped off of the horse. "Let us go quickly before he forgets what he saw, hmm?"

Not understanding the depth of his feat, Donnel tilted his head to the side, enjoying how Maribelle wrapped her arm against his so he could lead her back to the mansion.

Once there, at the same study they were an hour previous, Donnel placed one fist over his open palm, as though finally realizing something. "Ohh, so this game's name's chess!"

Maribelle felt dread inside her chest. "D-darling, truly we went through this before? Did we not?" She placed squeezed his arm.

With an easygoing smile, Donnel sat at Lord Themis' opposing chair, humming a song or another. "Ya played with me once or twice, methinks... But I played it more with that old fox Robin!"

"Truly? I did not page Robin as an admirer of such a game." Maribelle sat on the nearest fainting couch so as to watch the match.

"He was hard as balls ta beat! I only won a coupla times." He commented absent-mindedly as he thought up the moves.

Humph, Themis scoffed mentally. I am not about to lose to a random villager with no experience in such a fine art-

"How can this be?!" He slammed both hands on the board, shaking the pieces without knocking them over. "I cannot possibly have lost to-"

"Why, Father, you were soundly beat!" Maribelle sounded as surprised as he did, getting up to squeeze her husband's shoulder. "I thought you said you only won a few times, darling?"

"Muh?" Donnel turned to his wife. "Robin was a lot tougher ta beat, though. An' his game was a tad different, too..." He said without thinking, then quickly slapped his mouth with wide eyes. "I-uh, didn't mean no disrespect, sir, uh..."

Lord Themis felt life ebbing away from the tip of his fingers. He lost? To a villager?

Unacceptable.

He still had one last card to play. That whelp would not be able to hold up to that!

"Lastly but no less important; a noble needs to manage his lands appropriately." He tried to compose himself as much as he could, but Maribelle's sneering gaze pierced holes on him as he got up. "I will now show you classified documents that only the lord of the land has access to."

"Classy documents-" Donnel started, but Maribelle elbowed him on the ribs.

"Secret, Donnel. Secret documents." She whispered gravely, not wanting her father to lose any respect Donnel might've earned.

"Owow, aight." He massaged the afflicted area, following Lord Themis to behind his desk.

"I have received these today," Themis whammed a pile of documents over the table. "They are reports from our border villages which include how much shipment we've bought or sold for them as well as the amount of taxes we are receiving from them -- or if there are any overdues. I want you to go over them and give me a solution to a problem that's clearly stated there." He lifted his chin, "I, of course, already went through them and know the answer. Do the same now."

"Father, without proper training, there is no way for a person to manage something as large as our lands in such short notice-" Maribelle walked over to the desk, gripping at her father's sleeve.

Deep in concentration, Donnel took the first paper and tilted his head to the side. "Basically ya wanna me ta fix the problem in 'ere, right?" He scratched his head.

Lord Themis smirked. "Yes, I suppose."

"Aight!" Donnel stuck out his tongue as he usually did when focused, rolling up his sleeves. "Can I sit 'ere, sir? It's a mighty fine chair so I can take these ta read on the floor-"

"You may," Themis did a dismissive wave of hand, turning his back to the young man. "Enjoy it while you can."

"Father!" Maribelle complained. "You are not being reasonable."

"S'okay, Maribelle. Compared to Teach Miriel's classes, this ain't gonna be hard." Donnel scratched the back of his head, crossing both legs over the chair, deep in thought.

"It is still unacceptable." Maribelle turned on her heel to be beside her husband. "He is being stubborn and childish simply because you've shown promise."

"Ah, I found it!" He said suddenly, raising one document up.

"Preposterous. It took me half a day to-- ahem. Do show me, boy."

"I heard 'bout this village 'ere, see? It's real close ta the border and it sells cheap wood for building. An' just cause it's cheap it don't mean it's bad, nuh-huh! Ya can save a lot of money if ya stop buyin' from this old pitch'a wood 'ere and buy from this 'ere village instead! I betcha there're lotsa muscle there to be hired too, so ya'll be makin' more jobs an' having the folks that're missin' the taxes pay 'em on time!"

Midway to Donnel's speech, Lord Themis took his handkerchief out so as to dry the cold sweat dripping down his forehead. That crude boy found a better solution to his own?! "W-who ARE you, boy? Certainly misplaced by birth or-"

"Why, Father, have I not told you? He is a diamond in the rough -- and perhaps, not to rough anymore, hmm?"

"Weh?" Not realizing he had passed every test, Donnel was still focused on the matter of the late taxes. "I was born way at the bonkers, sir, so maybe I was misplaced after all? Hehe!" He smiled brightly, making Themis lower his head.

"I give up." He said finally, feeling his blood pressure shoot up. "I give my blessings or whatever you both want." He whispered. "I... can't wait... to have you in our family... Donnel." Every word a chose to say, Themis didn't look the young man in the eye as he struggled to accept that Donnel was indeed everything Maribelle had paged him for and more.

Curse and bless him at the same time!

"Oh, Father, I knew you would come to!" Maribelle smiled brightly.

"T-that means I passed? B-but I barely did anything, sir!"

"Humble as always, darling. However, a win is a win, so do not undermine your efforts, hmm? Now come here and give me a hug as the newest heir of the Themis house!"

Lord Themis groaned, turning his face away from the scene. "We still need to polish him more." He grumbled, though feeling somewhat lighter than ever. His daughter never smiled like that in his presence, nor did she defend someone so vehemently.

Her happiness was still the first and foremost thing in his mind, after all. He would come to accept her poor choice in husband with time. Time, effort and a lot of getting used to his strange accent.

[stephicness]

Pardon, im not very well at deciphering a person's personality and I have been craving to write Ravus, it's just so hard to really figure out how he is though?? I happen to really enjoy how you interpret him and was wondering if there's any tips you have for writing him? Mercí beaucoup. Also, have a lovely day/night~ ♡

lsersljk It’s super flattering that you’re asking me for tips on how to write for him. qUq~ He’s such a fun character, and definitely one that should be shared with the world. Because who doesn’t like a grumpy butthead with a tragic end? *throws sparkles*

But HM… Let me see how I can break him down for you. :D Alot of rambling and notes, but I’mma break it down into four categories: Body Language, Though Process, Outer Persona, and Speech Pattern. Read Below, for I rambled on quite a bit!

Body Language

I like talking about body language first off because of how much personality there is in just So Ravus, as we know, is kind of an asshole in game. He appears, basically tells the empire that he’ll take care of Lunafreya, bullies Noctis, and then splats and dies before turning into a goo boy.

On the outer surface, he comes off as a very stoic man for the most part. Never smiles, tries to show-off this harden facade that makes him seem hard to read and almost bland compared to some of the other characters. But think of it this way – it’s almost physically impossible to be that emotionally desolate. There’s gotta be something underneath the surface with him, right?

So with Ravus, alot of my writing comes from being able to describe the inner personality through subtle facial expressions or descriptions of his thought process. He might just be staring into space, but he’s got something going on in his mind regardless. Usually with his face, he’s usually got a frown on him or one of those resting bitch-faces, so he’ll almost always look pissed off about something. I also don’t imagine him to really using many arm gestures when he speaks or conveys his feelings. He’s kind of a stoic stick, to be honest. But I imagine that it’s mostly because that MT arm of his is harder to use, but also, if you think about it, a person’s body language conveys the most emotion. Thus, I picture Ravus really regulating how his mannerisms are. So when you do plan on applying some sort of emotion in his body language, pick it carefully! Because the smallest gesture of him holding someone’s hand or reaching out to them is more powerful than words when it comes to Ravus’s mannerisms.

Thought Processes

So like I mentioned before, alot of his personality shines through not particularly what he says or how he says it, but more rather what he thinks in amidst the situations he finds himself faced in. As we learn with the game, Ravus often finds himself torn between his ally, Niflheim, and those of Lucis, whom he still harbors alot of hostility for. He’s a man with firm beliefs, or so he thought, so alot of his struggle comes from trying to hide his true intentions from Niflheim, but also in trying to find a reason to aid Lunafreya in her endeavors in helping Noctis. His mind is full of alot of things, but often it’s clouded with a sense of hatred and spite towards Lucis as well as the Empire that destroyed his family and home.

His thought process is one that is often intricate and more detailed, I imagine, with alot of his conflict showing in a self vs self method. Despite him trying to be resolute in his actions and beliefs, there’s something that usually lingers in the back of his mind that ultimately grants him the chance to be sympathetic to some characters as we see in the game. With Lunafreya, he’s very adamant in her continuing her duty to Noctis as he tries to protect her, but he is there to help comfort her as she weeps. With Noctis even, he appears hostile in his approach to Noctis, but he truly did have the intention of wanting to help the prince and return his father’s glaive to him at some point.

With Ravus, it’s important to think about how he goes about his approach in thinking because, despite him wanting to believe in one thing, he’s got a realist personality as he thinks. In an ideal world, he could have forgiven Niflheim and Lucis for what they did and move on, but in a realistic one, he couldn’t. Niflheim had their power over Tenebrae and the Fleuret’s lifestyle, and so he chose the realistic option in siding with Niflheim. His logic always has reason and always is well though-out, but it often isn’t the choice he wants to make. So I suggest playing with this idea of duty versus desire when it comes to Ravus, because Ravus is more inclined to pick his duty over his indulgences.

Outer Persona

It might not seem like there’s not much of a difference between an outer persona and a person’s body language, but the way I differentiate it is that your Outer Persona is what you choose to show people in terms of your being rather than what your body shows in terms of portrayal. Kind of like personality over physique, and Ravus’s personality is alot more vibrant than it initially appears versus his physical portrayal.

With Ravus, the way I go about his outer persona is that I like to portray him as an almost cocky figure – the kind of guy that you’d look at at a first glance and go ‘Wow… He looks like a prick.’ Because let’s be real, he give off an aura alone that makes you know that he’s not someone you should be messing with. A sharp gaze that’s almost always a scowl, punctuated words that kind of almost sound demeaning, and a kind of stature that just makes you feel genuinely uncomfortable around him because of how imposing he appears to be. The way Ravus handles himself is kind of like Mr. Darcy, if you’re familiar with Pride & Prejudice. He’s a dick, but with a softer side. Eventually, at least.

Speaking of Ravus being a dick, he gives off that personality even more so when he confronts Noctis and the others. Despite his words being eloquent and poetic, he essentially tells Noctis that he’s a punk-ass kid who doesn’t know what he’s getting to. He calls Gladiolus useless and basically says ‘Fight me, bro’ to prove how weak Gladiolus is. Hell, he even told Noctis outright that if Ravus were to kill him or if Noctis were to die, then PSSH. Shit happens. Ravus legitimately is a butthead towards others in terms of his outer persona, mostly to portray this feeling of pride and authority over others. After all, he is the commander. He does not serve; he commands!

But nevertheless, he’s also got a softer side that he shows to a rare few, as we see with his conversation with Lunafreya. He’s got that super prideful aura around him still, and is kind of cold in his words as well. But as I mentioned before, his actions speak louder than words, and his outer aura can change to a more sympathetic one. He still gives off that air of command to him, outwardly telling Lunafreya (not consoling her, necessarily) that she needs to work past her fears and trust herself enough to help Noctis like she wants to do. He still remains stern and kind of hard on her, but he still shows enough compassion in his body language to show a difference in his outer persona.

And then he goes back to being a poetic martyr against Iedolas. He really doesn’t let his emotional guard down for anything, and it really shows in his portrayal. That is, until he meets ‘Noctis’ before his death. But you can see why he always has such a barrier up around him.

Speech Pattern

People have mentioned before how Ravus’s speech pattern is really hard to write, and it is for me too even! I’ll admit, I have a bit of a rough time, especially when I write for both Ravus and Ignis since I use similar speech patterns for both. But the major difference between the two, I feel, is how EXTREMELY formal Ravus’s dialogue is.

Think of him as if he’s some sort of Shakespearan thespian when he speaks. He’s the kind of guy who would go ‘Nay, I prithee thee’ if he really wanted to, but since he’s in modern times (kinda), he probably tones it down a bit more. But he’s still extremely eloquent with a high vocabulary that, honestly, I doubt he really knows at the same time. To me, I find Ravus to be one of those guys who uses big words mostly to confuse people rather than to retain an air of eloquence to him. I mean, instead of telling Verstael that his idea to kill Lunafreya for the ring was a bad idea, he said ‘A moot point.’ Who the hell uses that word? He basically just said ‘That’s a questionable choice.’ More people would understand that phrasing more than they would the word ‘moot.’

But if you’re looking to simplify without having to literally delve into an entire language dynamic of Shakespeare, there’s one character that I use alot as a reference when writing for Ravus’s dialogue.

Have you heard of the character Solas from Dragon Age? What I found cool about Solas’s dialogue is that the writers for Solas had deliberately wrote in iambic pentameter for most of his dialogue. This means that it’s very rhymic, almost in sync to a person’s heartbeat. (Da DUM, Da DUM, as Wikipedia described). It’s very paced, drawn out with extra phrases to match this kind of beat in his wording, and I think it’s super neat. And with the added vocabulary, it really reminds me of Ravus’s method of speaking, though not as soft as Solas’s tone.

Think of it kind of like this way too. A regular person would probably say ‘I need to go to my room.’ Ravus would probably fill his sentence out a bit more, and with a more refined vocabulary. ‘I shall retire to my room, for sleep awaits us all.’ Like writing a poem, since, of course, Ravus has quite some poetic dialogue. Kind of like a song or, again, the iambic pentameter. (’I SHALL retire TO my room, FOR sleep AWAITS us all.’ Not as fluctuated, but it gives a bit of an idea of sentence structure.)

Also, I don’t imagine Ravus really using contractions that often. He seems to speak with more of a ‘CANNOT’ than a ‘CAN’T,’ so unfortunately, none of that Y’ALL’D’VE for him.

I hope that covered alot of things that might be useful in writing Ravus! I rambled quite a bit, but nevertheless, I hope at least a little bit of it helps. c:

[pollenprince]

EVERYONE LIVES- No one has to die in my muse’s story, be it for Better or for worse.

// okay I maaaay have gone just a liiiiiitle bit overboard with this so sorry for thatalso sorry if you wanted it to be a perfect piece of fluff because i went and made it sad and now i feel sad myself please save me

"...Ma! Ma-a-a! Unkie Tom is being weird again!"

"How interesting. What did he do now?"

"He's crying over that - ugh - that stupid dolphin! An' I tell him, she's alright, she got a tail - but! Ugh! He don' listen! An' he says she still lost her tail first, she's poor this an' poor that, an'..."

There is a loud, hearty laugh, and a large fluffy paw rests on the kid's messy hair.

"First things first, it is 'he doesn't', not 'he don't'. Remember? Now, dear", Toriel says with just a hint of irony in her honeylike voice. "As far as I remember, you shed a few tears over that story as well".

"Am a kid, Ma! An' he's a grown up." Frisk squints at her, furious at Uncle Tom's sensitivity. "An' it was an hour ago - no cryin' now!"

"Fine, fine, my child. I understand you. Yet I believe you are too hard on him. Show a little Kindness to your poor old Uncle, will you not?"

Frisk makes a sound of distress, shrugs and walks away, throwing their hands in the air in capitulation. Wind plays with their hair, and tall dry grass strokes their knees, covered in colorful patches of mismatched bandaids.

Toriel laughs again, but her laugh turns into a surprised little squeak as two hands hug her from behind rather tightly.

"What was that about?"

"Tom has been crying again", she answers, leaning back so she can briefly nuzzle noses with Asgore. Her tone is more playful than concerned, as if Tom crying is a bit of a family anecdote, which it is.

"Oh, is that really so?" Asgore says, raising his brows, and Toriel giggles in his arms. "Well, I suppose he will need a double portion of chamomilla tea today. Now, could you give me a hand with that blanket?"

"I guess you could say that would certainly come in hand-y", Toriel says solemnly, and they both smile while they lay the blanket under the tree.

***

Frisk walks across the field, hands flying up now and then in an attempt to regain their balance when their feet get tangled in the grass. The sun touches the back of their head, and it becomes burning hot very soon. They muffle their hair and snuff with a serious face.

Behind them, their friends settle down for a picnic. Asgore and Toriel busy themselves with food; Snowy, his father, mother and little sister work together to keep the drinks cold; the skeleton family is tinkering with the fireworks; the dogs are in charge of the barbeque, and Gerson watches them so they don't drop too much fur on the meat; Shyren sings along with her sister and two small shy ghosts; Undyne shouts something motivational while Alphys laughs herself breathless, long given up on attempts to stop her girlfriend, and the sound of her happy laugh rings far across the field.

Frisk keeps walking.

They climb a hill, stubbornly clenching their fists when the cheerful hum behind them becomes especially clear and loud. Their goal is there, on top of the hill, and they are determined to get there.

They get there.

"Unkie Tom?" they call out hesitantly. "Am sorry. For, uh. For saying you are weird. Cause, uh. It was a real sad story. I guess".

There is a rustle, a low drone, as if somebody has blown into a fire. Then-

"Oh, okay", a deep voice says, and it is both watery and warm. "I don't mind, really. I am a crybaby, right? I am and I know that and I am proud".

"You not - not mad at me?"

"How could I be? Now - come 'ere".

Frisk smiles uneasily and comes a step closer, and then - then a giant horned head descends to them to carefully press its nose to the top of the child's head.

"We are good?" asks the head with the same warm voice, and its green eyes watch Frisk with concern.

"Yeah". They touch the nose; it is warm and covered in soft fur. "Thanks, Unkie. Can I - can I talk to Asriel, pretty please?"

"Oh. Sure".

The beast in front of Frisk, an enormous dragon covered in white fur, shakes its head - wind whistles in its vicious horns, in its seven pairs of wings. All his fourteen eyes blink before one pair of them flies open and the others shut completely. Two mighty front paws dig into the ground a little deeper, each talon is as big as Frisk's head.

Then, the beast lowers its stare and says, "Howdy".

"Howdy", Frisk says.

"It's a nice day for a picnic", Asriel says. "I like the sun. Everybody does".

"How're they doing?"

"Oh, everything is quite well". The beast scratches its head. "Ana is mad at Terry. Again. She says they rush in too much".

"Yeah, I know", Frisk says. They pick a grass leaf and start tearing it to small pieces.

"Dina wants a grilled tomato", Asriel says thoughtfully. "I guess we will eat some, later".

"Okay".

"..." There is a momentary pause, before another familiar voice muses: "Nancy has been sleeping more and more lately. You could say it is a disturbing occurence".

"Hi, Chara".

"Greetings, Frisk". Neither their voice nor their eyes (deep, royal red) are filled with warmth. Chara doesn't like humans too much; they have grown to somewhat tolerate six people they share a body with, and now they are growing to tolerate Frisk, but it is a lengthy process. Frisk didn't have a chance to meet them in person, because Chara died in their forties from some human illness a century before Frisk fell, but they think that maybe even if Chara had lived twice and thrice their age, it wouldn't have changed much.

"I got you chocolate". They dig into their pockets, pull out a bar, get rid of the wrapper and hold it up on their palms as if feeding a horse. "Ma don' know about it".

"How interesting". Chara sounds a bit surprised, as always; but excessive treats is one (and probably only) way to get their benevolence. They bend down and take the treat with soft lips, pretty much like a horse. "It has melted".

"Kept it in ma' pocket. It's hot".

"The weather has been quite warm lately", Chara says most fashionably, and Frisk rolls their eyes at the prospect of smalltalk.

"Yeah. Um - can I get Asriel back?"

"Perhaps, if he is feeling up to it", Chara replies, and it is a clear sign they don't mind Frisk that much nowadays; a year ago they would say something like 'Don't you have anything better to do than to pester him?' Frisk shrugs and waits, and in a few seconds Asriel shakes his head and looks down at them.

"Hi again. What do you want?"

Frisk doesn't answer. Instead, they stare at the sad remains of a grass leaf in their hands.

"You're a hero", they say finally. It isn't meant to be a question or an attempt at flattering - just a calm recognition of the fact.

Asriel bends his head to one side, and his wings shiver. "Am I?"

Frisk shrugs. "They say so".

"Oh".

The last pieces of the grass leaf are dropped down. "I think I like it. That I'm not a hero. If being hero is like this".

Asriel jerks. "...Oh. Well. Okay. Well, you never had to make a choice to be one, so".

"Yeah". Frisk never had to become a hero, a savior, an angel, a last soul; that role had already been filled. When they fell down (on a large, soft heap of hay), a couple of welcoming monsters greeted them and led safely all the way to New Home. They caught a glimpse of Dina in her last days: she was very old already and didn't see much, but her cold fingers managed to curl once around Frisk's small, warm palm. A little later, she was gone, and then the Star of the Underground took her soul like he did with all the others.

Frisk has heard this story countless times. Eight human children fell into the Underground. They came, they died, but they never left, because no one could leave from under the Barrier. The very first human kid, Chara, died so soon, and there was no plan, back then - when their sibling took their soul, it was a gesture of anguish and grief, not a step towards the monsters' liberation; but in the end, the first step it was. Then the second kid came, small and sickly, who passed away the youngest; then came the children who stayed till their heads went grey and their fingers shaky, but their souls never wavered. They all lived in New Home with the royal family, until they died as well, one by one, and the Star, the Hero, the Angel, the Savior took their souls, one by one. Frisk was never meant to save anyone. But they were the first human kid to ever leave the Underground alive. The rest of them...

The rest of them are right here, all together, trapped and tied and tangled in the giant prison of a monster's body.

Frisk toys with the hem of their shirt.

"I like not being a hero", they say again. "I don' think I can be, even. Too hard. Does it hurt?"

Asriel blinks with his fourteen eyes, and it looks like a glimpse of a rainbow.

"...No. Maybe just a little. I got used to it".

"When will you - let go?"

"What?.."

"You have to let go", Frisk says. It is something they heard a lot lately and had thought about long before. "Miss Deborah said so. She said all souls have to move on. To heaven. Heaven has a lot of nice things", they add with an authoritative air. "You have to let them go there".

"No". Asriel shakes his head. "No, no, Frisk. You don't - you don't understand. You are too small".

"Am not small. Know a lot of stuff", Frisk mumbles. "See a lot, too. See how Ma and Pa look at you. I think they want that too".

"No". The beast becomes agitated; its wings shiver uncontrollably, its eight voices combine into one. "No, that won't do. That won't do. You just imagine things. It is better for us. For them".

"Chara, tell 'im!"

One voice rises over the others. "Tell him what? I think keeping this form is the best course of action. First of all, it gives the monsterkind an ultimate weapon against the humans. What is an army to a god? Second, this way Asgore and Toriel do not age. All in all, I just do not agree with your logic".

Frisk huffs and stomps. Chara often acts as a voice of reason for Asriel, but sometimes they are even more delusional than he is.

"Cannot stay like this, forever", they say stubbornly and helplessly. "Cannot".

"No. No, no, no". One final shake of the mighty head. Eight voices like bells, fourteen wings flap above. "No one has to leave. No one has to die. Isn't it better, like this? Isn't it the happy ending?"

"Are you happy, Asriel?" Frisk asks suddenly, and their voice is small and sad.

The beast falls still and silent. It stares down; its eyes open and close, as if looking at each other, and it repeats "Am I happy?" in eight echoing, reverberating voices, all at once and one by one.

"Are you?"

"Yes", eight voices say. "We are happy".

"Am speaking to Asriel".

The beast falls silent.

"What's - your favorite color?" Frisk says. No one answers. "Used ta be pink, last year. You spoke a lot more, too. Before you spoke so much. Before you took Dina, and a bit after. Now you only talk about them. About your human souls. Like you are - fading. Going away". They look up and hold their hands up, and the beast, tamed, lowers its head enough for them to touch its chin. "I don' want you to go. I don' want you to go at all".

There is a minute's silence. Then the beast closes all its eyes, and one pair of them slowly blinks open. Their color is brilliant green.

"The kiddo is right", Tom says, deep and warm and kind. "It was a nice time. I was happy to see the sun once again. But it is time for us to move on. It is time for us to let you live your life".

Green eyes close, and another pair flies open, the one of radiant yellow. "That would only be fair", Dina says. "We had our shot and we lived our lives, and we can't say those lives were too bad. We have to pay that debt now".

A spark of cyan. "I want to join my mom and dad", Nancy whispers in a thin, sleepy voice. "They have been waiting for me for too long. I don't want to try their patience too much".

Dark blue eyes shine next. "True", Moby says solemnly. "I always tried to help people around me. Being selfish would mean not being true to myself. I cannot afford it".

"Hey, I'm not that much of a coward to cover behind a kid's back!" Terry cries out, and their eyes are a blast of orange. "I want to see what is out there, after all! I bet Betsy was really off about the afterlife".

"You are a cabbagehead, but you are right", Ana says, and their eyes glow deep purple. "We have reached the end. The only thing we can do is leave. I hope my sins will still be absolved..."

"NO!" Asriel screams, and all the eyes are squeezed shut. "No, no, no! We will stay together, we have to, no one has to die, no one has to die, no one, no one, I cannot lose you, cannot lose you all, cannot, cannot..."

A large light drop falls close to Frisk's feet. Another one gets their hands wet. They sigh and press themselves to the white soft fur and let Asriel cry - a broken, remorseful, unconsollable sound.

"Why, Tom", Asgore says, walking closer with a teapot in his hand. "Are you still upset over the dolphin?.."

***

The picnic goes just fine.

After the sun sets and the monsters are done packing, Asgore, Toriel and Frisk go to say goodbye to Asriel - he is too big to fit into any house, so he lives in the country in large comfy barn, and he isn't coming to the city with them. It has been a few years after the Barrier broke down, so they had plenty of time to make the barn as glamorous as possible.

"Goodbye, everyone", says Toriel after mentioning every one of her kids personally. "Be good, will you, my children? Sleep tight".

"You are always welcome in our house", Asgore adds as he does every time. "Day and night, whenever you would need us".

Seven voices echo "Bye, mom, dad", "Goodbye, Toriel and Asgore" and every variation of the two. Frisk waits a few steps aside, and they - as well as the seven pairs of watchful eyes - see the quick, uncomfortable look Asgore and Toriel share just a moment before parting with what became of their son.

"I still think what I said", Frisk whispers in the large white ear when the beast bends down to them. "An' I will never allow you to take my soul. Never".

"Oh", Asriel says in a desperate voice. "But maybe, later you will change your mind..."

"Never. Am determined". They press their palm to their chest, looking like maybe, in another time, in another story, they could very well be a hero. "Am never gonna change".

"...Don't", Asriel says. He nuzzles the top of their head. "Don't change. Please. Don't grow". He lets out a shivery sigh. "Everyone grows. Everyone has to change, and to age, and to die, and I don't understand why".

"Okay. I won't change", Frisk says as if this is the easiest promise to keep. They press their hands to the sides of his head. "Good night, Asriel".

"Good night, Frisk", Asriel says as they walk downhill, and their shadow stretches far, far across the quiet field.

***

It is night.

The beast sits alone (and yet never truly alone) on top of the hill. It should go, it knows that, but for some reason it doesn't want to.

The stars start appearing.

Did you want to see the stars, ask seven voices in the beast's head.

No one answers, but the beast perks up, listening.

Did you use to like stars? ask the voices. Did you dream of them? Did you call upon them? Did you ever want to touch them?

The beast grows restless. It stares up and digs its talons in the grass with a whimper.

Do you like the stars? Do you want to see them? Do you want to reach them? Do you want to be a star?

The beast's wings shiver and rise, as if it is preparing to jump, to fly, to touch the stars for real -but it doesn't. After a moment, the wings are still again, and the beast sits upright, watching the night sky.

You will have to let go one day, echo the voices quietly. You will have to, or it will hold you down forever. Or you will never be able to fly.

I don't want to fly, Asriel says. His voice is weak, weak, as if it is fading away - somewhere too far to call him anymore. I don't want to fly if that is what will keep you safe.

You are not meant to stay safe. You are meant to fall into the sky and lose yourself among the stardust. You are meant to risk. You are meant to live. You are meant to move on.

There is no answer. The beast sits there all night long, looking up at the stars.

"I am happy", it whispers, watching the constellations circle."I am happy. I am. I am".

The night is the darkest night ever.

[spacebuck]

hey hey hey it's the same anon from before thank you for the encouragement!! I'd love to know more about your ocs, actually! if you don't mind that is, they just seem super interesting and im nosey aha but again thank you!! it's super interesting to hear that you started out as a reader first, I think I started that way too, but I wrote in middle school and quit after a while because idk I lost motivation but I've wanted to get back into for a long time but its difficult lol

hey!! i’m so sorry this is so late, i kinda lost the plot at the end of last week and didn’t have any sort of energy to do much of anything, if i was honest haha

my ocs:

indarion: he’s an elf in the fantasy sense, who’s priorities seem to change as often as the winds do. his clan (known as the windwalkers for their ties to the now-extinct dragons that roamed the skies) don’t have a lot of children amongst them so they put up with his ever-changing ways better than you’d expect. he is, however, fiercely loyal to his clan, and when he’s not pestering their matriarch for permission to leave their roaming grounds he’s an apprentice to one of the more laid back hunters for the clan (no one else had the patience for him). he’s a good kid though, and he means well

azrael was my mary-sue character when i was younger, but i’ve had the time and patience to tweak her into more of a normal-seeming person haha. she’s a cat shifter, and can be very high-and-mighty about a lot of things, as you’d expect of a cat. she inherited a company she didn’t really want anything to do with when her father died, and she tries to get out of as much work as possible because she has her sights set on going back to school for something completely unrelated to said business. she has really high expectations of herself, and will beat herself up a lot if she doesn’t meet them. azrael isn’t her real name, it’s an nickname a friend gave her after an interesting situation involving a death glare and a set of hairpins with crows on them.

nat is the least fleshed-out of the three. he’s a university professor in classical studies (ancient history?) with a penchant for running internship courses over summer where undergrads can basically go to whatever site he wants to study with him and learn basic internship skills as well as y’know, travelling the world. he’s always pushing to be able to take more each year because people always miss out and he wants to be able to convince as many people as possible that ancient history is something interesting and cool to study. he has a lot of opinions about modern adaptations of classical epics and not many of them are flattering. his problems start when a big movie company approaches him about being an adviser for an upcoming movie

honestly most of my writing friends started as readers, though i’m not sure how common this is as a trend overall? but anyways, it is difficult to get back into it, especially after you’ve dropped it for so long. one thing i’ve always found helpful is to look at a normal situation then say “what could happen next?” that way you get pulled into a plot without worrying about characters or relationships or worldbuilding, just that you’re walking down the street when a dog runs into you, or a helicopter lands beside you, or you see a dragon on the horizon

i hope you get back into it! it sounds like you enjoyed it! if you take things one step at a time, you’ll get to where you wanna be in no time ♥