#my favourite has a dragon pattern on it ^^

[onejellyfishplease]

My assumptions based on ur comics is that you're incredibly kind and wear a lot of sweaters(your writing is comforting but I get a vague junji ito vibe from some of it)

I had to look up junji ito because it sounded familiar and im terrible at names but omg thank you so much!! his comics are brilliant ^^

[adventures-in-mangaland]

Dead Boy Detectives Fic Recs Part 8

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Part 7

It's almost Christmas and I have a long train journey so have another fic rec list!

Ode to a Conversation Stuck in my Throat by Leandra

In which Charles is a terrible wingman and Edwin fucks. I love fic where Edwin explores his sexuality and gets to be confident and sexy and Charles gets hit with the old Feelings Realization and this one pulls it off so well!

to say that which cannot be said by sulfuric

Charles has a lot of feelings about Edwin and decides to say it with flowers. I absolutely love the language of flowers and, honestly, decoding messages through flower arrangements seems right up Edwin's alley. Plus he deserves nice things! This fic is super sweet, the floracle is amazing and I really like how Charles' knowledge/ intelligence and general thoughtfulness get to shine here.

The Petition by khorazir

The demons of Hell commiserate after Edwin's second escape and decide to Organize. This is glorious crack with some excellent Hell worldbuilding. Does Hell have unions?? I loved the Solidarity and demonic breakroom. And I'm always here for Edwin as the Scourge of Hell. Also has wonderful fanart!

still my heartbeat with your bare hands by laiqualaurelote

Beowulf AU! Charles is hired to kill a horrible monster. I loved this historical/fantasy setting and the little snippets of mythology. The blend of Charles-typical speech patterns, modern slang and Old English was especially fun. The Author's Note also has some really interesting background info and has finally persuaded me to actually read Beowulf.

Super Effective Against Ghost Types by RoseGanymede95

Charles and Niko bonding, my beloved! During the Case of the Two Dead Dragons, Charles interviews Niko about Brad and Hunter and Gets Reminded of his own terrible former friends... This is a Niko PoV fic and this author is fabulous at capturing her voice and bringing the feels. Also in play: a shared love of Pokémon, Charles' Mood Ring Shirt and do the girls know how the boys died?? Canon and Netflix robbed us of these two spending time together and I loved Niko being gentle with Charles as he gets hit in the face by his trauma.

Love like fools by CasiHuman

This is actually a compilation of the author's Dead Boy Detectives comics (@technically-human on tumblr). Every single one is a delight; the artist is one of my favourites of any fandom.

When you are gone away by ghostinthelibrary

On the way to rescuing Edwin from the Fae, Crystal tells Charles about all the previous times this has happened. This is the latest installment of the Ministry of Supernatural Investigations series bringing Edwin and Crystal's backstory to life. I can't get enough of this AU (supernatural secret agents, basically) and we're also treated to oblivious payneland AND oblivious palasaki.

Knockout by e_va

Edwin worries about mysterious injuries Charles refuses to explain. Despite references to domestic/intimate partner violence, this one is sweet and Edwin thirsting after Charles while he's fighting is so funny to me.

Its the love and grief that makes me whole by eunoise

One of Charles' killers comes to the agency for help after he himself is murdered. Apart from the deliciously dramatic irony of that premise, I enjoyed Charles (somewhat) processing his trauma and the client trying to (finally) do right by Charles. It's also set in the Codependency World Cup Extended Universe so Charles fraught relationship with his ex-bestie/crush Mark also gets spotlighted. Recommended!

Luna Moths by thegirlofthorns

Very cute fic about Edwin coming to understand his physical feelings for Charles. I loved the luna moths/butterflies imagery and Edwin being very Edwin about being in love. Just lovely characterisation all round.

It's part of a series also featuring Kiss Me & Repaint Me featuring Charles going all out on "fripperies" to make sure Edwin get the first time he deserves. Lovely.

practise your passion on me by junosbraindump

Niko persuades Edwin to go clubbing as part of a scheme to make Charles jealous. And guess who happens to be at the club?? Minor catwin and and the payneland is cute.

Show Me My Silver Lining by GoodFrith

Charles comes home early to find Edwin torturing himself. This one's sad and emotional and touches on grief, guilt and self-harm/destructiveness but Crystal and especially Charles are amazing friends and the hurt/comfort is excellent.

The Case of the Decade of Despair by Rizandace

In which Edwin and Charles broke up a decade pre-canon and Edwin still ends up in Hell. Sad and interesting concept featuring misunderstandings and supernatural meddling but an eventual happy ending.

A Steady Anchor in the Open Sea by Mayarenerose

Edwin wakes up in the office and doesn't know where he is. Listen, I'm weak for Temporary Amnesia, OK? And this one has an existential threat for some extra angst.

A Short History of Almost Something by dear_monday, two_ravens

Missing scene from the superb fic Wunderkammer that covers the Sex Pollen-esque Incident they Never Talk About... Intense and frustrating almost payneland.

Lucid Dream of Hands on Me by tragedy_machine

Edwin gets hit by a lust spell and refuses to let Charles help out... At first. Fuck or Die culminating in Sex With Feelings for the win!

In the Name of the Law by Hse11z5

(Regular) Police Detectives AU! DS Charles Rowland gets transferred to a precinct in the countryside just in time to join the hunt for Becky Aspen and develop a massive crush on his boss, DI Edwin Payne. Interesting to see the boys as living adults with responsibilities and workplace politics but essentially the same job? And I loved the boys getting to know each other in this one.

lovesick girls by ObsessedWithFandom

Palasaki fic! In which Niko and Crystal's first date does not go to plan... I love seeing cool, confident characters fumble with their crushes, so Crystal attempting to ask Niko out was adorable. But be warned! There's also a feels sneak attack and references to childhood neglect, but also Hurt/Comfort and sickfic.

I might do another Christmas themed rec list closer to the time if people are interested? You guys have been sharing festive fic at an impressive rate! ❤️🎄🎅🎁

@tumblerislovetumblerislife @avoiceofnerat @guardianspirits13 @shazziez @khorazir @tessaaaaa @tw0-ravens @nuttersinc @sameen-shawv @ghostinthelibrarywrites @whatthehorsedoicallthisblog @neurodivergent-fangirling @many-gay-magpies @dear-monday @extremely-eager-reader @atariakana @colourmornings @herebehunters @littlepocketuniverse @overlord-of-chaos @fairandfatalasfair @laiqualaurelote @every-moment-a-different-sound @bibliomancer7 @c-rowland @nobledragonflying @a-pale-jewel @tragedy-machine @acediscowlng

[rayroseu]

source

idk if this means something and if its intentional, but Vil overblot's markings has a similar format with Overblot Malleus, they droop on the center and has a net pattern covering their forehead, (Riddle has a similar design as these as well but his markings passes down his left eye rather than forehead), also interesting that both Vil and Malleus' overblot marks has an extreme reference to the motifs of their Disney Villain counterpart (Most of the these overblot marks are just "aesthetically designed" like with Overblot Azul and Leona unless im missing some interpretation here lol)

Obviously, Vil's markings depicts the poisoned apple, while Malleus', if I overthink about it really hard, looks like Dragon Maleficent's face being split apart in flames (if you join together the center part of his overblot flame, it kinda looks like dragon!Maleficents head silouhette) bad edit lol

Its also interesting that those vertical diamonds in the center kinda looks like they're a sword/dagger stabbing through the apple/the dragon's head.

But my favourite part is Vil's markings... the design motif there are akin to Meleanor's laces to her clothes 😭✨

This design with the curved dark lines and hollow vertical strokes inside it, is on Riddle's as well (like on the borders of his overblot heart marking), but this is a special mention bcs Meleanor and overblot!Vil is awfully similar already based on design 😭✨

additionally, "that diamond on the center" thing kind of looks like an imitation to Meleanor's crown

But now, this is making me wonder... Was Meleanor's design created with overblot motifs in mind???���💔 I remember being surprised she overblotted when that update came out, most of the assumptions about Malleus' mother's death pre-Book 7 is that she was mostly outpowered by the enemy, but rarely does it include that she overblotted too bcs pre book 7, they always emphasized that Draconia's are too powerful and based on Malleus' scenes before book 7 extremely in control of that power that they can just wield it nonchalantly (so it didnt gave off the vibe that they would overblot bcs that means they can be reckless with it (but nowadays i think this makes sense lol))

So with that said, does this mean that even from the start, like with her design, she was always meant to overblot, just like how most of the dorm leaders are the overbloters of each book?? 😭

edit.

random realization too lol but Vil and Malleus' share the same design on their skirt and their legs and maybe arms (but I feel like that design applies to all overblotters), They literally parallel with each other too 😭✨ Queens sharing fashion tips lolol

[skyfallscotland]

Things that got me a little frustrated with Onyx Storm in no particular order 💔

Please be nice, this is an addendum to my main Onyx Storm review post, and there is also a post about things I loved 🙏 I'm just a sensitive heart with superior pattern recognition (I'm mentally ill lol) and I struggle when I don't understand things—and I understood nothing.

I find it really hard to just go with the flow, I hate it when I don't understand things, and being confused just didn't make for a good reading experience for me. So here goes:

The magic system being entirely retconned.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper. I’m marked by their magic as a rider now, as their rider.

It's consistently referred to as "their" magic or "Andarna's magic" or "Tairn's magic" in the first two books, but in this one, the continent has magic and outside it, they're powerless?

Oh, except Vi for...reasons?

The marked ones all having second signets? This felt like fan service or a retcon. Why haven't any of them gone crazy? Because statistically some of them should have (and it would have at least been interesting). And if Liam could wield ice and use farsight, and that wasn't initially an error, why not wield it when Deigh was literally being chewed to death?

Continuous mentions of Xaden hearing actual fucking thoughts for god's sake that just get dropped and never picked up again? Par for the course. Don't even talk to me about it, I'm done.

Sgaeyl not talking to Xaden all book? Does she realise she would have died too, they all would have died if he hadn't done what he did? Mum pls the silent treatment sucks (this might be a personal trauma so we can probably scratch it, actually)

Andarna leaving then coming back almost immediately? I get it, she wanted to meet her shitty family, but this would have had more impact if she'd stayed when they were on the island. It felt like I got teary at her exit for nothing, like it was a ploy. I think I have whiplash.

Violet saying quite literally her most pressing need is information and then deciding no actually it's to know what her baby dragon is dreaming about in her dreamless sleep? Is this a joke? 😭

Violet is suddenly Adrian Ivashkov 💀 And what’s that got to do with who they are at their core? I’m lost! 😭

Also, those not-dreams never being explained? Like we know it's Berwyn calling him, but seriously Xaden, click on pls!

Xaden's mother showing up for...no reason? Really? Nice emotional arc, I enjoyed it, it was one of my favourite sequences, but she wasn't important to the story at all and we just?? Left?????

(I also want to punch her in the face, how dare she)

Finding out Halden's been doing...something??? At the Isles this whole time?? For Reasons, I guess??? I don't know, someone else might need to explain that to me.

(How I felt ^) Oh! And him being a twin? Basic information we could have known before—and I still don't know what happened to Alic, really. Like I want the whole story? 🥺

Violet's hair, the temple, all of that someone's going to have to explain to me like I'm five too because it's not clicking, I'm sorry. Also the temples/priestesses have magic? Their own different type of magic? And they aren't venin either? What makes a venin, a venin? My head is still spinning.

Aetos being back defying all logic (the aide to exile to in charge of everything pipeline really is something) and then he disappears entirely and is irrelevant? 😭 Why bring him back at all? What was the reason?

This is like the continuity that says Degrensi kicked Varrish out for being too torture-y and then they put him in charge of torturing kids, and then Degrensi followed Varrish's orders (even though he's below him in the chain of command and he hates him) last year to keep Xaden away from Violet all the time, but wait, now Degrensi gives no fucks about following orders???? I'm?? I just spent so much time being like wait, what?

Xaden who can literally command shadows for some reason not being able to sneak into Violet's room? And that same Xaden having zero control so they can't have sex, but then suddenly when it was time for another evenly spaced out sex scene, him being totally fine????? Is it ✨a mindset✨ ??

Violet having her memories wiped? For? Reasons???? Seriously for what purpose could the literal wedding ceremony part not have been remembered, please, that’s just mean Rebecca.

Aaric just Not telling anyone about his signet even though it would have meant more people living??? Aaric's name being CAMLAEN?????

I get that that’s a literary device, but on top of everything else I still felt like I was chasing my tail 😩

Professor Riorson teaching everyone for months, incl that signets have perfect counters, like his shadows and Violet's lightning, then sending Violet off to face the lightning/storm wielding gal while he went to face a guy he's literally incapable of killing? HELLO, should you not realise and switch?! Don’t be a dumb dumb (also a literary choice but it annoyed me so it’s here, please never battle the elite four Xaden, you’d fail).

Also oh look there's no rune on Brennan's neck like the one on his hand—sorry WHAT? are we implying that's from Naolin mending him or what? Do you know about it? Fucking say so, you sure as fuck haven't told us Vi???? It really bothers me that Violet apparently knows things and we don't. I feel like that's what third-person-POV is for, if you want to do things like that.

I still don’t know why venin can channel within the wards at all? And the wardstone was so easily altered after all that drama in IF?

Why aren't we reading Lilith's journals? Vi, sweetheart, please, give me some joy here.

Where are the other foster kids??? I still can't see how they're safe and not leverage, especially now it's looking like it will be a full-on secession bid once more.

Tyrrendor mines talladium?!

SURPRISE GRANDMA??? PLEASE!!

As you can see, I have a lot of questions—more than I had at the end of the last book, because none of those were answered, so I just have...this bigger pile of questions.

If you can read along and not think about any of these things and just not be bothered by the not knowing of it all, then I'm jealous of you. I really, really wish I could, but that's just not how my brain works and as someone with a mental illness I get tired of having to defend that to other people, it makes me feel like shit, honestly. I don’t want to think about these things, I just do. Like yeah, I hate my brain too but I have to live with it.

There were plenty of things I liked about this book, but my overall experience was that it felt messy, chaotic, and overwhelming.

Even the end—I still don't understand what happened fully, and I know that's on purpose, but after not understanding anything the whole book and having my questions from the last book go unanswered, I don't exactly appreciate it as a literary technique, I just find it frustrating 😟

In any case, these are just my out-of-pocket, personal opinions typed up late at night with zero filter, please don't come for me (lol), you don't need to agree—in fact, I know people don't, I ran a poll—this is just...how I'm feeling right now. It's a sucky feeling, but it is what it is.

I hope I can do a re-read at some point and enjoy it more, and get a better grasp on things, but for now...🖤

[monomyth-scribbles]

A Walk Would Be Nice

Zhongli × Female Reader. One Shot. Zhongli proposes that you take him on a date, but he clearly has other things in mind. Zhongli is in his chunky dragon form (inspired by my obsession with his exuvia plushie). Mostly fluff and humour, with just a hint of implied smut.

You’re nice and relaxed on the couch when you feel a soft kiss pressed against your cheek. A familiar, deep voice rumbles into your ear. “Welcome home, darling. Did you have a good day at work?” 

You turn to look into your Zhongli’s warm, amber eyes. “I did, actually. How was your day?” You return his kiss with a quick peck to his nose.

“Would’ve been better with you,” Zhongli chuckles, smooth-tongued as always. “Director Hu was a… handful, as always, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, dear. Maybe we should go on a date? Lift your spirits a bit?” You ask, taking Zhongli’s gloved hand in your own and giving it a firm squeeze. When you lift his knuckles to your lips, your heart flutters as your husband’s eyes crinkle into a smile.

“A walk would be nice,” he concedes. “Would you like to take me on a walk, darling?”

“Of course, my love. Give me five minutes to get changed, okay? Where do you want to go?”

“The stars over the harbour were exceptionally beautiful on my way home. We should see them together.” 

“Alright! Sounds like a plan. Be right back!” You make a beeline for your shared bedroom, excited for your date with Zhongli. Having been bogged down by countless commissions over the past weeks, it seems as if you’ve barely spent any time with him recently. And although your husband is an infinitely patient and gracious man, distance has only sharpened the pangs of yearning in your heart. You know that Zhongli feels the same.

You pick out an outfit that Zhongli bought for you on your third anniversary. His taste was flawless as always, the blouse and skirt ensemble effortlessly chic. He’d made sure that the outfit was made with lightweight silk in your favourite colour. But because this was Zhongli you were speaking of, the clothing was also delicately embroidered with intricate patterns, the hand-stitched threads imitating the geometric designs favoured by the former Lord of Geo. You twirl in your outfit, feeling exceptionally beautiful in your finery, giddy with excitement as you anticipate Zhongli’s approval and appreciation.

“Honey I’m ready!” You burst out of your bedroom and give another twirl. “Shall we—” You scan the room, seeking out your husband. “Zhongli…?”

A small head crowned with a magnificent mane and vivid yellow horns peeks out. You watch in stunned silence as a perfectly lap-sized dragon drapes itself along the back of the couch. “You look gorgeous, darling. Lovelier than usual, were that even possible.”

Your eyes follow the dragon’s tail as it lazily sways back and forth. “Zhongli, I thought we were going for a walk,” You manage. Finally coming to your senses, you primly seat yourself and see Zhongli’s usual robes neatly folded beside you.

Your husband’s deep voice sounds strange coming from a tiny dragon’s body. “To be precise, darling, I did ask you to take me for a walk.”

“I’m not putting you on a leash,” you interject hastily. Unhelpful memories suddenly surface in your mind and your face feels exceptionally warm. “Uh… Not today, anyway. And certainly not in public.”

“We can save the leash for another time,” Zhongli moves from his perch, curling up in your lap. “I was thinking you could carry me around the Harbour. What say you, hm?”

“What’s gotten into you today?” You huff, although you watch your own hand start to stroke his sinuous body, his scales cool to the touch. It feels… nice, you think. 

“Well,” Zhongli chuckles, pushing his head into your hand, eagerly seeking out your touch. His tail coils around your arm, the fluffy end reaching up to affectionately tickle your cheek. “When a husband misses his wife, he is allowed to make… ah, bolder requests of her, is he not?” 

“Not this bold,” you mutter. Your hand doesn’t stop its path up and down his back, carefully avoiding the amber scutes in its path. Inwardly, you curse your husband’s intimate knowledge of your weaknesses. Zhongli knows all too well that you find his miniature dragon form absolutely adorable. He knows that there is nothing you would deny him when he turns himself into a chubby noodle. The God of Contracts knows how to press his advantage, and he was never above playing a little dirty.

Zhongli rests one paw on top of your other hand, the slightly rough texture of his paw pad causing pleasant friction against your skin as he strokes you. “Nothing would make me happier than to spend time with you like this.”

“Alright… fine. Fine.” You narrow your eyes at Zhongli as he stands on his hind legs, paws reaching out for you as you move to pick him up. You sway his body from side to side, teasing him. “You are one extremely spoiled dragon, you know that?”

“My only defence is that my wife takes wonderful care of me.”

Ugh. How smug. You cradle him against your chest and depart for the harbour.

☆☆☆☆☆

Zhongli is right: the stars are marvellously bright this evening. Pinpricks of light adorn the deep blue blanket of the night sky, sparkling like the priceless gems sold at Mingxing Jewellery. You chuckle as you recall Zhongli’s fondness for all manner of precious treasures.

You take a familiar path along Feiyun Slope, your ears picking up the gentle sloshing of the water down at the harbour below. Around you, the city slowly comes alive with chatter as the heat of the late afternoon sun cools and people begin to pursue hard-earned leisure after a long day’s work. You take the steps between Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavillion, peeking over Zhongli in your arms as your feet carefully find their way down.

Every so often, Zhongli snuggles further into your chest, or nuzzles your neck. “You’re very distracting, my love.” You chide, using the palm of your hand to gently push him away from your face. “I thought you were supposed to be pretending to be a dragon plushie. You’re going to give the game away.”

Zhongli just makes a sound of contentment against you. “The city is too busy at this time of day to pay close attention to us, darling.” Then his long tongue playfully flicks your ear.

“Zhongli!” You whisper urgently, jostling him in retaliation.

Hmph! You think. You flick your dragon husband’s forehead, but all that brings you is the deep rumble of laughter. “Do that again,” he teases. “I could barely feel it through my scales.”

You’re almost at the water’s edge when you hear someone call your name. Turning, you see Hu Tao waving at you from the distance, grinning widely. Feeling just a bit disappointed at the disruption of your date, you nevertheless plaster a matching grin on your face and make your way to Hu Tao.

You don’t know the director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour too well, but she’s made your acquaintance thanks to Zhongli. He’d warned you about how… nosy his employer could be, and anticipating her prying into his private life, had introduced you early on as his wife.

“How are you doing, Director Hu?” You ask, a polite smile stiff on your face.

Hu Tao waves off your greeting. “Don’t be so formal with me! I’m not your boss, am I?” Her eyes move to rest on the fat brown lizard in your arm. “Oh my, that’s an adorable plushie isn’t it?”

You panic and take a hasty step back, clutching Zhongli even closer. “Don’t mind me, Director Hu. Zhongli just won this for me from the arcade. I’m… uh… I’m very attached to it, you see.”

Bringing up Zhongli’s name successfully diverts Hu Tao’s attention. She looks behind you, as if expecting to see your husband hiding in your shadow. “You’re here with Mr Zhongli, are you? Where is he?”

You feel Zhongli squirm in your arms, and you tighten your grip around him in warning. “Ah, he’s… gone to get us some tea. I told him I was feeling rather parched.”

Hu Tao chuckles, clearly amused at the mental image of Zhongli spoiling you. “I never knew our good consultant to be such a doting husband. He’s always so reserved and formal at work, you know? Stiff, almost.”

At Hu Tao’s words, you feel something soft brushing against your knee. You tense as you realise Zhongli’s tail is creeping up your skirt. You step closer to Hu Tao, trying to prevent her from glimpsing Zhongli’s wayward tail. She quirks an eyebrow at your proximity while you babble to distract her.

“I do apologise for my husband’s behaviour, Director Hu. He’s rather set in his ways, bless him. I hope he hasn’t caused you any trouble at—” You grit your teeth when you feel his tail lift a corner of your skirt, the thick fur at the end tickling and caressing your thigh. “—at work recently.”

“Are you alright? You’ve got such a severe frown on your face.”

“Oh, I’m alright, I just—” You bite your lip as you feel Zhongli’s tail slowly slide between your thighs, the thick fur at its end tickling and teasing you. “I just can’t believe he’s taking so long. He’s not a neglectful man. Usually. Anyway! It was nice meeting you, Director Hu! I’ll catch up with you again sometime. Please tell me if Zhongli causes you any trouble!”

You hurriedly stride away, heading for a quiet corner of the harbour and as far away from prying eyes as possible.

“Zhongli!” You hiss, holding him under his arms and lifting him away from you. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Giving my beloved wife some much-needed attention,” he responds smoothly, his tail reaching for you once again. “I must make up for my past neglect,” he adds, in a tone that feigns regret. You snort, but your hands are occupied with holding him up and can’t stop his tail from causing further mischief.

“Not in public, Zhongli!”

“Hold me closer, darling,” Zhongli purrs. “It is a cold night out… and I’ve left my garments at home.”

You grudgingly hold him close again, rolling your eyes when you feel his tail slip under your skirt again. “For the love of Celestia, Zhongli, you’re not going to make me flash the entire harbour, are you?”

“I would never,” Zhongli responds, bringing his snout close to your face. His voice is a dangerous purr: “All dragons are protective of their treasure, and I am especially protective of mine.”

Damn it, you sigh, exasperated. This is what happens when your husband has had six thousand years to practise his lines. “I wish you’d just told me you wanted to stay home.” You grumble, gripping him tightly with one hand while you try to grasp his tail with the other. A childish game ensues, with Zhongli delightedly flicking his tail out of reach as your arm flails in a futile attempt to catch him.

“I didn’t want to stay home,” Zhongli says. You can’t see his face, but you wonder if he’s pouting. “I wanted my wife to see the stars.”

“Your tail is working harder than your eyes!” You retort. You let out a sigh of relief when Zhongli finally places his tail in the palm of your hand. “Have you had enough of teasing me yet, you incorrigible beast?”

“I’ve barely teased you,” Zhongli laughs. “Were you looking forward to more? Hm?”

“I…”

“Won’t you answer me, my wife?”

This is what I get for marrying the God of Contracts, you complain to yourself. Ruthless negotiator, driver of hard bargains, all around merciless god…

But when your grip on his tail loosens, and when you allow his tail to slip under your skirt again with not a single word of complaint, Zhongli hears your answer loud and clear.

“If you’ve had enough of the stars tonight, darling…” Zhongli’s voice trails off as his tail brushes the front of your undergarments, raising goosebumps on sensitive skin. It seems your dear husband is just as distracted as you are. “You should take me home. It is so bitterly cold out, and I know just how to warm you up.”

“It’s… it’s not cold out tonight at all…” You mutter, though your mind is far, far away from boring discussions of the weather.

“Indulge me,” Zhongli whispers, snuggling even closer to you.

And you do.

[implalazz]

Asked for some yokai fusions on reddit, this is the first batch

L-R: Frostysol, Nonoko, Venyan, Lord Lie-in, Slimatina, Whisbuzz

Some thoughts on these designs under the cut

Yayyyyyy thoughts on these because I like talking, esp about my creative process

Frostysol: I WILL SAY RIGHT NOW I KNOW I FUCKED UP THE KOSODE MASSIVELY, IT DOESN’T HAVE SLEEVES & IT’S TOO BIG….. I literally only had two ideas for this desgin, one was inspired by the yuki onna segment's backgrounds from Kwaidan & the other was inspired by the spirits from Kuro Neko. The eyes in the backgrounds of yuki onna were so striking & I had just watched the movie recently so it was still fresh in my mind. I knew I wanted her to be closer to a real yuki onna rather than just a cute snow girl spirit. And in that regard Kuro Neko helped with that. I guess subconsciously I wanted her to give off vibes of an unsuspecting girl who kills you & turns out to be a yokai. I thought a kosode would make more sense historically than a random cape, but also idk if young girls wore kosode like that or if it was just adult women. Had no ideas how to incorporate pallysol so I just used him for little details. He's more prevalent in the design intentionally than physically

Nonoko: Pretty simple what do I say. Uh I thought I could do a clover for the tail rather than a heart like Bloominoko. Wanted to make him even fatter than he is cuz he's Noko x2, also made his spots clover shaped cuz what's more lucky than a four leafed clover? An eight leafed clover! Or two four leafed clovers..... Also gave him double teeth & some little wing shaped clovers on his head kinda like Dudunsparce. This one didn't have a lot of thought go into it, I just kinda did what felt natural

Venyan: The first thing I thought about was what colour to make the fur & what colour to make the hair. I decided on red hair cuz it would pop more with dark blue fur. Also made his face pattern a part of his hair cuz he doesn’t have enough room on his face for it with Venocts bangs. I wanted him to be kind of a shitty little bastard, a real cat kinda cat. A good mix of their personalities y’know. Didn’t have much going on with this design either other than I didn’t want the scarf to be all bulky with the dragons cuz Jibanyan is very squart, so I moved them to the tails. Also just because that looks cooler. Had a hell of a time drawing them, I have experience drawing dragons but I’ve always been bad at drawing them roaring or snarling, they look okay but not great.

Lord Lie-in: Also had a bit of trouble combining these two, makes sense cuz I put this one off for more than a few weeks. Didn’t wanna give him big spiky saiyan hair so he got some stray hairs in the front. Took his face framing bangs & tied them up cuz I always like that look (They’re two different pieces tied individually then tied together, so there’s two mini ponytails instead of one. Also had to deliberate on the hair colours cuz I knew I wanted him to have white fur. One of my favourites was red hair with light blue ends but I didn’t go with that one cuz his outfit is mostly red. I also DID NOT feel like giving him a whole kimono (mostly for silhouette reasons) so I just gave him Miku-like sleeves. I originally wanted to give him split leg hakama but when looking at reference I remembered “Oh yeah these things have a lot of pleats & the crotch is pretty low so that’s not great for the silhouette I have in mind.” I gave him harem-esque pants & if you look closely at the upper thigh you can see a little slit in the side of them. Underneath his waist plate & top, the pants tie together like hakama do so I guess I got the hakama in a little bit. I didn’t have any room for his arm warmers so I made them into gloves & gave him the kind of socks that I don’t know what they’re called (Catra has them & I think they’re cool). Also gave him tengu cuz they look cooler than whatever Lie-in Heart has going on. Also cuz it makes him more like “Woah what a bold guy/character!!” And don’t ask how the sword fits in that sheath, idk magic or something he’s the king of the yokai he can do whatever he wants

Slimatina (or Frostymander): Again not much going on here it’s pretty simple. Gave the lower body muscles cuz I noticed the lower body of Slimamander kind of looked like a chest & also just cuz that makes it more creepy. I gave the main body/head some hair clips resembling the patterns on the bulbs of the other heads. Also made the openings in the head look more like a woman’s mouth cuz again, makes it creepy, but also I just thought it would fit more with the Frostina part. Also gave the main heads head eyelashes that look like the openings on the other heads. Decided to give her a cape this time cuz I’m not fuckin around with another kosode. I don’t know if it comes off in the piece but I wanted her cape to be flying up like she just summoned a harsh wind. Last thing is I gave her an eye ornament on her obi & a specially tied obijime cuz I saw one tied like that on google & I thought it looked cute

Whisbuzz: YET AGAIN SAY IT WITH ME! NOT! MUCH! GOING! ON!!!!!! Uhh gave him a frown cuz he’s depressed or whatever, made the top of his hood look like Whispers…… ahoge???? Made his wings wispy on the ends. That’s about it. Fun fact before I drew that one I had another one but I scrapped it because it looked too much like a sperm cell :]

[celtigxr]

THE PINK DREAD - CH. 19 (Masterlist)

Chapter Summary: The aftermath of the Hightower dinner has brought forth a lot to think about, for both Valeana and Aemond. Rhaenyra is presented with an interesting proposition days before everyone returns from Dragonstone. Word Count: 5225 CHAPTER WARNINGS: Fatphobia, child death, description of child deformity, mother's grieving.

Series tags: Aemond x Plus size!OfC, Aegon x Plus size!OfC, Celtigar!ofc, Plot with Smut, mdni 18+, Aemond End Game, Angst, Comedy, The Dragons Don't Dance, slow burn, friends to enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers.

Credits: Lace Banner by Aquazero, pearl divider by Pommecita

Notes: At this point the chapters are gonna be a bit longer, now that there are more moving parts.

“Marry Aemond? Prince Aemond?”

Barty smiled, “Yes, my dove. Would that please you?”

Valeana looked down at her fingers, which held onto a loop, needle and thread. The damask pattern she had been weaving into a napkin was instantly forgotten. She never believed that she would have ever hear those words; only in her wildest dreams her imagination would pull her into the delusion that she and Aemond would be husband and wife. Though each morning she was reminded of the reality of her life; a noble born lady she may be, but she did not hold a significant influence that would benefit the crown, save for her dowry and position of her father. And she was aware that she was not a comely girl, as was persistently confirmed by Aegon, Jace and Luke’s relentless teasing of her body and face, often likening her to a pink pig when she got flushed and sweaty during the humid days. 

Aemond was her dearest friend, and whilst she knew that he valued their friendship, she also knew that her appearance kept him from seeing her as more than that. Even if… Even if there were times that she believed otherwise. It was difficult to discern where his heart was, particularly when they weren’t alone and were being watched by Aegon. Though when they were alone, Aemond was the sweetest boy; not afraid to hold her hand when helping her down narrow stairs or a steep hill, or tending to the needle pricks she often gave herself with a gentle kiss and a tentative diligence to clean the small wound. Sometimes he would bring her gifts, such as sweets, new fabrics and thread, pretty stones he found, or flowers to decorate her plaits with. Their conversations were effortless as well. One of her favourite things to do was to make him laugh, as serious as he was most of the time. 

Those moments of hope would shatter when others invaded their privacy. Aemond would quickly become indifferent, albeit polite and courteous, even when Jace, Luke, and Aegon collectively teased her on this and that in front of him. It hurt, naturally, but Valeana understood why. If it wasn’t her, it was him, and she would gladly bear the burden as long they did not direct their bullying onto Aemond. Because that is how much she cared about her dearest friend.

Now her father presented her with her dream come true on a golden fucking platter, and she hesitated. Valeana always pictured herself accepting in a heartbeat, but now that it actually happened, doubt and dread settled in her young heart. Is this what Aemond wanted? Did he find her worthy enough for his cloak? Did he actually care enough about her to want to get married? Perhaps not as lovers, as she wished to be, but at the very least very good friends that were comfortable and loyal to each other.

And mayhaps if he did not think her worthy of him, a prince, she could try to be. She’ll try to be worthy for him. 

“It will please me greatly, father,” Her cheeks were rosy red when she said this, but her eyes were still on her lap. “Though I wish… I wish, if you allow it, that we could be wedded in the tradition of our ancestors.” 

Taken back, Bartimos slowly sat down on an ottoman in front of his daughter, “Well, I– this is a surprise… But, if the King allows it, I do not see why not. Though in order to do so, you must learn High Valyrian… Not the bastardized Braavosi one your Grandmother speaks.”

“I will learn!” Valeana looks up, green eyes marbled in her eagerness. “It is not so different; I already know some phrases! Grandmama sometimes sends me letters in Valyrian for me to translate on my own.”

Barty chuckled, then reached out to caress the apple of her cheek, “It is still a difficult language to master, but… I suppose you do already have a head start.” He stared at her fondly, eyes roaming over her features and finding his late wife in them. Lysa also wanted to learn High Valyrian, so she could teach Clement and Valeana herself one day. Sadly, that never came to pass. 

The Lord of Claw Isle nodded, “Alright. It is settled then– I shall petition with the king once the betrothal is set in stone.”

Valeana bounced up from her seat and pounced upon her father, wrapping her little arms around his neck and burying her face in there. 

“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Anything for my little dove,” Barty pulled her into his body in a protective and loving embrace, a large smile breaking through the whiskers of his mustache. He pushed her hair behind her ear and gave her a kiss on her temple. 

“Want to know a secret, my dove?” He whispered into her ear, “You are my favourite. Shhh do not tell your sisters.”

Valeana giggled and gave her father a playful whack on her shoulder, “Don’t be silly, papa!” 

He laughed, but it didn’t reach his face this time, because it was true. Valeana was his favourite… She was the last of her; the last of Lysa, his first and truest love. 

Aegon casted a look over his shoulder as they approached the serpentine steps. He spotted his brother heading in the opposite direction once he exited the Tower of the Hand. The eldest prince grinned widely, entirely satisfied with the night’s events. Turning back around, he quickly jogged to catch up with Valeana, who kept her attention trained on the couple ahead of her. 

Daeron joined them after supper wrapped up for the night, as his lodgings were in Meagor’s Holdfast with the rest of the royal family. His cousins remained in the Tower of the Hand, and Aemond, being the gentleman that he was, left to escort Lady Maris back to the north tower. Daeron and Shyla were walking shoulder to shoulder a few leagues away, with the latter asking questions, and the former basking in the attention of it all.

Aegon hummed happily, “Look at them. I’ve never been so happy.” Valeana spared him a look, but didn’t comment, so he continued. “Daeron is never going to know what hit him.” 

She rolled her eyes with a tisk of her tongue, “You realize it won’t last.”

“As long as it is not directed back at me, I do not care.”

Shaking her head, Valeana tuts again, “Poor young Floris. She and my sister are friends, you know.”

“Should make quite a show,” Aegon dismissed with a smile. “Another Baratheon-Cletigar battle. The Storms and the Sirens. You should write a story about that.”

Val rolled her eyes at him, and his only response was that insufferably endearing cheeky smile. She huffed and looked a head as they turned around another flight of stairs. 

“Why did he bring her?”

Aegon contemplated the answer before giving it, “Well… He did not know you would be present.” She hummed in agreement. “And since he had his lips all over your tits half a day ago, if I had to take an educated guess, he is trying to put up a display.” 

“A display? You believe he is using her?”

The prince gave a shrug, “I have never seen Aemond try to court anyone, until now. Cannot be a coincidence that he chose to start under your presence.” 

Valeana gave a dejected sigh, one that turned his contented smile into a pout of concern. “I do not know. Maris is the exact type of woman Aemond would want in a bride. It’s so painstaking perfect, it just makes me want to–”

Aegon stopped walking, taking hold of her elbow when he did so she was forced to make a half spin to face him. Something unsettling was starting to take root in his bones, that made him feel cold and hot all over, at the same time.

“You are jealous,” it was a statement, not a question. One that she confirmed by not even looking him in the face, so he continued, “Because you want Aemond back.”

“It does not matter,” Val marched on and Aegon was quick to follow. “He does not want me back.”

Aegon scoffed dramatically, “The bruises on your chest say otherwise.”

They were lucky they were alone at night, with only distant guards patrolling the courtyard that could not hear a word of this conversation. Otherwise, she might have pushed him down the stairs. 

“Physical attraction is not the same, Aegon. Men have no standards when it comes to getting their cocks wet, but it is an entirely different scenario when it comes to commitment, to having someone to call wife, and then mother to their children. What happened this morning… It meant nothing.” 

“I disagree… With the ‘it meant nothing’ part. The first is a bit illuminating…” Aegon lifted his chin up as he quickly mused over what she said. Clearing his throat and ridding himself of silly daydreams, he continued. “If you weren’t so consumed with your hatred of Maris Baratheon, you would have noticed my little ploy had an effect on him.”

She blinked at him, “What do you mean?”

“Aemond is possessive,” they were arriving at the Holdfast grand doors, and he paused as the guards opened the door for them, ushering them inside. He lowered his voice then, careful to make sure it didn’t echo through the cavernous space of the antechamber before the grand staircase. “He gets territorial when his things are being touched by others.”

“I am not a thing, Aegon.”

“No, you’re much more precious than that,” his comment earned him a curious glance. “You weren’t looking, but every show of affection I gave you was met with an eye filled with such fierce contempt. He had completely forgotten to eat the food on his plate. He barely ate a thing the entire time; he was too busy glaring at me.” 

Valeana’s steps were slow as they climbed up the stairs, only stopping when they reached the half landing. She pivoted in front of Aegon, leaning her elbow on the railing and tilted her head up at him. 

“What are you saying?” 

“I am saying… He isn’t as uncaring of you as he thinks he is,” Aegon crossed his arms as he leaned against the same railing. “He hasn’t changed… refusing to admit to his weaknesses in front of people. Aemond saw you as one as children, which is why he pretended you were merely part of the wall tapestries whenever the seven of us were together. Had things been different, and I had been keen on you then, Aemond would have been all over you, staking his claim publically. ” 

Aegon watched her carefully as she looked down at the floor, her free hand moving up almost instinctively over her belly in an act of self consciousness. 

Aegon knew what he was about to suggest could be the biggest mistake of his life, but… it also meant that he would get to be closer to her. Now more than ever he realized that is what he craved most. He took her hand away from her stomach and brought her knuckles to his mouth. He dragged her fingers along the line of his bottom lip, and never wavered his eyes from hers. 

“Aemond can have his farce courtship,” the corner of his lip curled upward. “And we can have our own.”

Aemond failed to ignore the pointed leer of his grandfather when his guests left the Tower of the Hand. He disappointed him, he knew, but the prince found he lacked the capacity to care. Instead of acknowledging it with a whispered apology, he merely nodded to him and gave him a curt “good night”, his final one for his mother’s family that eve. 

The aftermath of the hydrangea debate was awkward, to say the least. Of course it was Aegon who broke the silence with an impressed laugh, and once again chose to put his hands on her.

“Oh, my darling Valeana is full of surprises, isn’t she? The mind on this one,” then Aemond had to watch his brother’s filthy hands comb back a strand of hair over her shoulder, where his fingers trailed down the length of her arm down to her elbow. 

He supposed he had to thank Aegon, though, because the sight of it softened his cock, saving him from the tension of his breeches.

The conversation took a stiff turn as Lady Sam attempted to salvage the mood by expressing her interest in the histories of Old Valyria. His previous attempt to put Valeana in her spot was quickly forgotten, but eventually Daeron did bring out his lute and played for the table. Maris decidedly remained quiet for the rest of the evening. 

Until the door to the Tower shut behind them. 

Granted she did wait until Aegon and Valeana were farther down the courtyard towards the Serpentine Steps before she opened her mouth. Aemond only half paid attention, as his eyes lingered on the long white gold train of Val’s hair that glowed under the light of the moon. He only turned away when he noticed his brother cast a look over his shoulder. 

“I cannot believe I judged her so poorly,” Maris continued to rant. “I always thought that I had a good judgement of character, though clearly I was mistaken. I should have heeded Cassandra’s warning about her… But stupid me, I shrugged it off and listened to Ellyn instead.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes, “Ellyn is the stupid one. I should have known better.” 

That statement pulled Aemond out of his reverie. He was lost in the memory of Valeana speaking in the High Valyrian tongue, which he was cautious to admit sounded like melted butter to his ear. He was lucky his leather jerkin covered him down to his thighs. 

“Your elder sister warned you about her?” He attempted to sound casual, yet conversational. “Whatever for?” 

Maris let out a sigh, and all the bravado drained out of her. She folded her arms and regarded the floor as they crossed through the courtyard. 

“That Valeana Celtigar has an ill reputation in court already, having no sense of decency for her honour by fraternizing with your brother so callously and scandalously,” every word had a bite to it, despite her low tone. Aemond tended to ignore gossip fabricated by women of the court, but it seemed that his own observations had not gone unnoticed by others. “And… Floris – Grafton, that is – she had told my sister, and she in turn told me of the history you share with Valeana.” 

Aemond pursed his lips as he hummed, tilting his head back as he did. He supposed that the story of how Aemond Tagaryen pushed a girl down the stairs was public knowledge, though he wasn’t entirely sure what kind of conjecture came out of it. 

“Valeana Celtigar and I grew up together. We did not have much of a friendship other than simply sharing a childhood,” it was a lie he was accustomed to making, so every word came out smoothly and left little room for Maris to doubt. “Though, if you are worrying about what had ended our acquaintanceship, allow me to ease your mind, Lady Maris.”  

He slowed to a stop when she turned to him, arms still crossed as she patiently waited for him to explain. Aemond’s arms were pinned behind his back, looking nonchalant as he retold the tale of the worst night of his life through liar’s teeth. 

“Valeana’s fall down the stairs was an unfortunate accident. She would not leave me alone; I suppose because she fancied me more than I did her. That day, she accosted me in the hall, where she stood precariously close to the stairs and… regrettably, I reacted too harshly to her advances. I was unaware of how close to the edge she actually was…” He turned away from Maris, swallowing thickly as his regrets bubbled in his throat. The shame for his blatant lies weighed in his chest like the crushing step of a dragon’s foot. “I paid the price with lashings, and she and her family left for Claw Isle, freeing me of her, until now. It seems she seeks out more repercussions from me, as if I committed a greater sin.” 

Maris shook her head sadly, sympathetically, “You already paid the price, and yet she still seeks out revenge for what had happened when you were children?” 

“If trying to provoke me is her way of revenge, then she will be disappointed,” Aemond turned back to the woman in front of him. “I am a man, not a child. It appears she has not grown out of that era of her life… And I am not inclined to let her ruin my happiness because she rejects her own.”

Maris smiled kindly, and took a few stops to close the distance between them. Her hand bravely finds purchase on his chest, and she craned her neck up to look at him, “You are right. You are too good for her, Aemond. Do not let her get the best of you.”

He forced himself to smile, albeit a small one. Aemond unlaced his arm from behind his back and offered it to her, “Your support is appreciated, Lady Maris.”

She took his offered arm, and wove hers around it, tucking her hand into his elbow as they continued to walk towards the north tower. 

Aemond was too preoccupied with stifling the unwelcomed shame he felt into the back of his mind to notice Maris’ head leaning on his shoulder. All he could concentrate on was reaching out for his voice of reason, the one that told him he should not feel guilty, that Valeana deserved his lies. He was merely protecting his heart, like Cole had advised. 

“She is insufferable,” Maris restarted her rant. “I can see why you never got on with her in the first place. From what Cassandra tells me, she is quite a spoiled little thing, always being doted on by her father, while poor Floris and Shyla are on the sidelines…” 

It went on like that, Maris ranting and criticizing Valeana for things that even he knew were not true. It brought him back to the times that he remained silent to her teasing. Jacaerys would point out her flaws in a heartbeat, even when she tried to desperately hide them, like the birthmark on her neck, or the frizz of her hair. Luke would pile on to it, and Aegon would always have some vicious insult flung her way that would triumph everything else. Shyla and Floris were caught in the crosshairs as well, but it was not nearly as much, since Floris often snitched on them, and Shyla was young, naive, and delusional, and so it affected her little. Valeana, though, took it with quiet resolve, pretending it was water off of a duck’s back. He always envied how she was able to take the blows, unlike him who would lash out like a cornered snake. 

Maris gave a haughty laugh suddenly, “And who is she fooling with that dress? So tightly confining, trying to hide the sad fact of her appearance. Hate to break it to you, darling, but we all know you are fat. You can put a corset on a pig, but it still a pig–”

“Maris,” Aemond halted before the shadow of the north tower. Something white hot shot through him, like a well placed lightning strike down his spine. Heat raised from his core to his face, and which felt like it had combusted in fires of fury. 

His tone clearly frightened her by the ghostly shade of her face, and the surprised gape she gave him. Aemond’s nostrils flared and his teeth grinded, a testimony to his self control, as he held back saying something he would regret. He had many things he wished to say… Many belittling insults that would be satisfying to wield, but that would mean he was defending his enemy. 

And yet… when Maris mocked Valeana’s appearance, it felt like it was an insult to his own person.

“It is not becoming of a lady to demean another’s appearance,” The volume of his voice was painfully controlled; each word was pulled from a taut jaw. It had the desired effect of intimidating her, as Maris pulled away from his arm and shrank under his scrutiny. 

“I–I only meant… Please, I apologize, my Prince,” Maris dipped into a stiff curtsey, her head bowed in shame. “I got…I got carried away.” 

Aemond turned away from her, shooting his attention to the east, but staring at ultimately nothing. The black canvas of the sky served a respite for his bristled mind, so he concentrated on it for a few beats before exhaling slowly from his nose and pursing his lips. When he returned his eye to Maris, she was holding herself and avoiding his ire by regarding her shoes peeking out from underneath her mustard skirts.

He extended his hand to her, an olive branch and a silent gesture of forgiveness, “Come on. I do not wish to anger your father by loitering too long.” 

Maris’ dark eyes met his briefly, and her small smile conveyed that she was relieved she had not angered him into completely casting her off. Though the truth of it is, she did. Whatever charm Aemond found in her had vanished. Now she was no better than everyone else… no better than Aegon, Jace, Luke or Floris. No better than himself. 

The loss of the little Princess Visenya weighed as freshly on Rhaenyra’s mind as it did the day it happened. She knew it would come eventually, since the day she was born with physical deformities that were both marred her sweet visage and impeded her ability to breathe. When the maesters saw that they were actually able to see her heartbeat through a thin layer of translucent indented skin (as if a dragon’s claw reached and plucked a chunk of her flesh and it had healed over), Rhaenyra knew her only daughter was not meant for this world. It was a miracle that Visenya lived for as long as she did, but eventually a chill caught in her lungs, and the babe was no longer strong enough to hold on.

Rhaenyra always wanted a daughter. Five pregnancies, each time she prayed to the Mother to grant her one, but the Crone decided she preferred irony and bestowed her son after son. Visenya… She chose the name of her daughter in her youth, and it was a name she kept firmly to her chest until that day could come. She wanted her daughter to be who she failed to be: a warrior, a conqueror, a queen worthy of the name. And then… When she finally got her Visenya, that dream vanished. All Rhaenyra could do was hold her for as long as she could until the inevitable day came when the Stranger would take her from her arms and escort her soul on a billow of smoke from a black pyre. 

The funeral had been held two days ago, but Rhaenyra couldn’t rid the smell of ash from beneath her nose. She spent most of her time alone in her chambers, only gracing her presence to her guests when appropriate. After the funeral, people dispersed from the island one by one, but those closer to her remained. Namely, her family, and the Celtigars, who in some respects were a dear neighbour. Granted, Bartimos was more of a friend – if you could call it that – with Daemon, and the lord of Driftmark, who was still unconscious in bed, showing no signs of recovery. 

Rhaenys at least attended the funeral, bringing Baela with her. Though the former only remained for two days, the latter remained to help console her step mother along with her twin, Rhaena. 

Baela and Rhaena, the only daughters Rhaenyra was allowed to have. While she loved them greatly, they were not a part of her like her sons were. She did not see herself in them, as she wished to see in Visenya. She looked at them and saw her goodsister, the late wife of the man she was now married to. She envied Leana for having such beautiful, strong daughters. 

Daemon came to her, interrupting her silent grieving a day after the fire finally died down to embers in the pyre. He strode to the vacant armchair across from her, and regarded her like he usually did, with violet eyes through a curtain of silver lashes as if he could read her mind. Or at least tried to. He was not good with weakness, nor emotion, but he could recognize it when he saw it. His daughter’s death pained him as much as it did Rhaenyra, but his grief took him to other places, and that is why he was incapable of knowing how to console his wife. Daemon didn’t even know how to face his own heartache. 

“Lord Bartimos spoke to me earlier,” He broke the silence at last with a tilt of his head to try to catch Rhaenyra’s eye. She was staring out the window, where Seasmoke flew in the distance, baying into the sea to express his loneliness. When she only acknowledged him with an uninterested hum, he continued. “He had an interesting proposal regarding Jacaerys.”

At the mention of her son’s name, Rhaenyra tore her eyes from the window, and acknowledged her husband’s presence. She hadn’t the capacity to show any more interest than a simple, “What about him?” 

“A betrothal between him and his eldest blood daughter, the Lady Valeana.” 

Rhaenyra inhaled deeply as she pushed herself off the back of her chair, eyes returning back to the expanse of the sea beyond the window. It annoyed her that Bartimos would bring such a matter on the week of her daughter’s death, but she also could not blame him. She, Daemon and their brood should have been in King’s Landing, and that proposal would have been brought to her. At least he had the decency to ask Daemon instead of interrupting her mourning. 

Rhaenyra remembered little Valeana. The nasty business that happened with her and her half brother had slipped her mind after all these years. Outside of that, she remembered Valeana to be a sweet girl, talented in embroidery and singing. Although a bit rotund, she had a pretty face, and delighted Rhaenyra’s company a fair amount. The Princess had many fond memories of her, as if she were one of her own kin. Valeana had distinctly beautiful hair, which Rhaenyra took pleasure in plaiting when she could. She frequently scolded her sons for picking on her, but boys would always be boys, and would never listen to their mothers. The Crown Princess pitied the girl, to be sure, especially after knowing Lysa Lannister, and her close relationship she had with Rhaenyra’s parents. Valeana’s silver-gold hair a testimony to her Valyrian heritage, and had her eyes been purple like her own, Rhaenyra wondered if her daughter would have looked like that. She vaguely recalled how her chin was similar to her own. 

But Daemon knew Bartimos more than she, despite the decade she spent on the council with him. Particularly in the recent years, when the Lord of Claw Isle was in constant business with Dragonstone, Driftmark, and Pentos across the narrow sea. Rhaenyra hasn’t seen Valeana Celtigar since she broke her leg, but she has met Clement more times than she could count. 

If Visenya had lived, if she was the first to be born, Rhaenyra could see her daughter marry the boy. Though it seemed the Crone presented her with a different alternative in uniting Celtigar, Velaryon and Targaryen blood. 

“What do you think?” Rhaenyra asked, wetting her lips when she realized how dry they were. “Have you met her?”

“Once or twice,” Daemon gave a shrug. “A melancholy girl. Barely left her chambers from the times I was at the Isle.”

“I do not blame her,” Rhaenyra shook her head sympathetically. “She nearly lost her ability to walk, all due to the cruelty of arrogant boys.” 

“Boys will be boys.”

“Boys who will be boys, grow up to be men who will continue to be boys.”

Daemon smirked, snorting silently through his nose, “I think it is a smart match. Valeana’s dowry is hefty. Largest offer I’ve heard so far, which can be useful in the future. She is of Valyrian descent, and at the ripe age for siring heirs. Jace could do worse.”

“But is she fit to be a Queen?” 

“I suppose that is a question only you can decipher in time. She is currently in King’s Landing, awaiting with the rest of the Realm for the Conclave to begin.” 

Rhaenyra looked down at her hands, where she fiddled with a hangnail on her thumb, “I do not think I’m ready to return.”

Daemon remained silent, deciding to sit with his urge to convince her to stop her weeping and move on. There was work to be done, and life did not hold still for the grieving. But, he couldn’t… This was Rhaenyra. His Rhaenyra. And she grieved for their daughter. Their little princess.

“I could go in your stead. Bring the boys with me, and Baela and Rhaena can remain with you until you are ready.” 

“If ever.” 

Daemon smiled ruefully, “You are to be Queen, Rhaenyra. Eventually your kingdom needs to see you actually care for it. If not tomorrow, then soon. And I do not believe you fully trust me to keep your sons in line.”

Rhaenyra failed to contain the curve of her smile at the last statement, “You would encourage them, no doubt.”

“As fathers do with their sons.” 

Rhaenyra rubbed her hands on her thighs, then sat upward, “It is decided then. I’ll speak with Jace, so he is not blindsighted by it. Though I wish for him to have his free will– if he, or Valeana, do not care for each other, I cannot force them to be husband and wife.”

“And what of Luke? Shall I comb through the gently bred maidens of court for a bride for him as well?”

Shaking her head, she also laughed, albeit soft and airy. “No. No, I have been thinking about proposing to Rhaenys about a marriage between him and Rhaena. They have grown close over the years, and it would please both she and Corlys to have her as Lady of Driftmark.”

Daemon gave a gentle nod in acknowledgement to her wisdom, “Is there anything else?”

Rhaenyra gnawed down on her bottom lip as she folded herself slightly over her thighs with intertwined fingers cupping one of her knees. She fiddled with her fingers, thumb continuously brushing over the hangnail, embracing the slight sting of pain to anchor herself to reality. 

“I should speak to my father. I want to hear his counsel on this.”

CHAPTER TWENTY SNEAK PEAK Bartimos lifted up his head, the weight of fatherhood weighing on his shoulders and mind as he regarded his first two children. He rested his violet eyes onto Valeana, and asked softly, contradicting the tone he was using earlier.  “Valeana, your brother has a point… Why would you agree to court a man who teased you relentlessly and ruthlessly as a child?” “We talked about that,” Val responded, in truth this time. “He apologized for it, sincerely, and… did me a selfless favour to earn my forgiveness. Princess Helaena could vouch for him, father, if that eases your doubts.”  Clement’s jaw stiffened as he and Bartimos shared a look; the former still heated with disapproval, silently urging his father not to relent. The latter looked conflicted. Finally, the silence was broken by Ursula’s placating hand on her husband’s arm.  “Dear, mayhaps now is the time to tell her.”  “Tell me what?”  Bartimos hesitated before answering, looking between her, his wife, and son. He righted himself, and slowly walked around the armchair, making his way over to Valeana.  “My dove,” Val’s eyes narrowed at the nickname, for being suspiciously used after the lectures she had to endure seconds ago. “I do not want you to court Prince Aegon.”

Notes: We all love a good fake relationship trope. Of course it needed to happen in this hot mess of a fic. Also im just so excited for you guys to read the first five chapters of the 20's. It's just...so good, I feel.

Tag: @queen-of-elves, @keylin1730, @anakilusmos, @weepingfashionwritingplaid, @sugutoad, @desireangel

( if you wish to be tagged for this story, just give me a reply! )

Please do not re post, redistribute or plagiarize my work. The only other place this story is posted on is ao3 under the same username.

[huggingtentacles]

Alright you just beat Elden Ring. Congratulations! You're now one of the cool folks who can actually beat the game, and you're not ready to put it down yet.

Maybe PvP intimidates you and you just wanna explore the world again. You may try a new build sure, but now that you know more about the game, you might wanna try something different, like a challenge run.

"huggingtentacles I am trash at the game there is no way I could do any of the cool runs, I died to Radagon a bazillion times"

Most people are good enough to beat a challange run. You can define what a challange is for yourself! There is no need to jump into something insane like a rune level 1 run or a torch only run. You can set any restriction you want, and completing the game with an additional challange is immensely more satisfying (and gives you bragging rights)

There are many different challange runs all varying in difficulty. Here are the runs that I've done personally.

Easy:

Region Lock Run — the premise is simple, you can't leave the region you are in unless you best the major boss(es) of that region. You can't go to Liurnia untill you beat Margit, you can't go to Altus untill you beat Rennala, etc. This run is fun because you can't skip over progression (like killing the Caelid dragon early with bleed to be overlevelled for Limgrave) which makes every fight feel appropriately difficult.

Starting Class Run — Only use the gear you start the game with. You can level up and upgrade your weapons and flask, but you can't use any other consumables and talismans you didn't start the game with. This run is quite flexible in difficulty because whether you choose to, say, use ashes of war or different spells or even golden seeds is ultimately up to you. All of them count.

No spirit summons — for some this is just the normal Elden Ring run, but for most it's a challange. While it can be somewhat difficult, not having spirit summons still leaves you with enough options to steamroll through the game if you need to. The challenge comes from actually learning the bosses and their patterns and engaging with combat more.

No status effects — As simple as it sounds. Perhaps you used to crutch on bleed, frost, rot or poison, now you can't. There are plenty of other very powerful damage options in the game, so the run is definitely not very hard, it only limits your arsenal somewhat.

Spells only/melee only — depending on what your previous run was. If you're used to standing behind and throwing pebbles, picking up a weapon might be a fun new challenge. And if you are used to your Big Sword, it's gonna be kinda hard to adjust to managing your FP and putting together a build.

Medium:

Spirit Summons Only — moderately difficult because it requires rather extensive knowledge of the game's mechanics. The basic premise is that you can only deal damage using spirit summons. You can restrict it to bosses only or to the whole run in general. It's an absolutely hilarious run. The AI built into the game can beat the entire game for you. Including the hardest endgame bosses like Malenia. Also playing as a support, healing and buffing your summons is really fun :)

No Crimson Flask — LISTEN. I swear it's not that hard. Yes it sucks a bit in the early game, but there are so many tools and options available to completely replace your flask with regen and heal spells. Just level up your vigor. This run is incredibly fun and it's good if you are aiming for harder runs in the future but aren't sure if you have it in you. I know you do ;)

Taunter's Tongue Run — Definitely my FAVOURITE of all of them. Its incredibly simple: you get Taunter's Tongue as soon as you get access to Roundtable Hold and you turn it on forever. Fight invaders alone or with a friend in 2v2s. If you don't have any PvP experience, this is one of the ways to learn. By the end of it, you won't be half bad at PvP, trust me (unless you just run away all the time which is also an option)

Hard:

Rune Level 1 is such a difficult run to do, but the cultural legacy of Fromsoft "no leveling up" runs makes the completion of it so desirable. Completing this run basically makes you part of the small section of people who actually know how to fight every single boss without relying on cheap tactics and cheese. You learn how to counter every move most enemies make because of how unforgiving it is.

But what's more fun is the sheer variety. Stat boosting gear is so common in this game you can literally use almost anything you want as a weapon.

Permadeath — If you die, you restart. Use any tools at your disposal to survive, play it safe, level up your vigor. But most importantly, brace for setbacks. Restarting because of a dumb mistake sucks, but that's why it's such an impressive run to complete. If you can take a loss on Elden Beast and make it to the inside of the Erdtree again, you will achieve one of the hardest challanges ER has to offer.

An easier variation of Permadeath would be "no rune loss" run. There are tools the game gives you to avoid losing runes, but it's still a very difficult run.

Torch Only Run — You pick up a standard torch from Church of Elleh and you use it to Kill God.

An easier variation would be Torches Only run which allows you to use the entire arsenal of torches. Still a very difficult run that requires a lot of skill to beat.

Impossible:

No Thinking About Kissing Malenia run — still working on this one. Can't figure it out. If you have advice please DM me

Feel free to add more challange run ideas!

[vickysaurus-art]

One paleoart for each period since the Cryogenian

Thanks to the timeline on my walls that I've been trying to fill in with my art, I have now reached the point where I've done paleoart for every single period of the Phanerozoic, plus the Ediacaran and Cryogenian! That is to say, every period of the last 700 million years. So with that milestone, I thought it'd be fun to go through those periods in order and show off one paleoart of mine for each!

Cryogenian

In the Cryogenian, the Earth completely froze over. Twice! Life wasn't much to look at yet, but I enjoyed drawing what our planet might have looked like at the time. The girdle of lakes at the left is the equator, which may have had ice-free patches.

Ediacaran

When the ice retreated, animals first began to blossom into their endless forms most beautiful. Ediacaran life was strange and quite unlike the creatures that would come later, but it was nonetheless an incredibly important chapter in life's history. Here we see the Ediacaran weirdos washing up on shore after a storm.

Cambrian

The Cambrian explosion brought much more recognisable creatures. But one thing that's easy to miss is that they were all tiny! All of them? No, Anomalocaris was, with a length of about 40 cm, the dragon of the Cambrian.

Ordovician

Life continued to diversify in the Ordovician, and among this diversity were the cephalopods. They produced the largest animals yet to exist, the orthocones, who hung vertically in the water column and decended upon their prey like a claw game.

Silurian

Although fungi and bacteria had already made forays onto the land deep in the past, things began to get busier there in the Silurian. But these horseshoe crabs, and their larger cousins the sea scorpions, have not come to the shore to stay, but to mate and lay eggs. Unfortunately for the horseshoe crabs, they have come to the very same shore.

Devonian

Our own vertebrate ancestors, like Tiktaalik, were pretty late to the party, only taking their first steps on land in the late Devonian. That's no knock against them - there was plenty to do underwater! This Tiktaalik is busy guarding his eggs while his mate is busy hunting, for example. Who has time to step on land?

Carboniferous

The end of the Carboniferous saw some quite large bugs, like these two Mazothairos chasing off an interloping Meganeura. They're representatives of a pretty interesting group of basal insects called the Palaeodictyoptera, who have a set of weird little extra wings on their thorax.

Permian

Among the many fantastic creatures of the Permian were our own cousins, the synapsids, like these lovey-dovey Moschops. As you can see, this picture and the previous one are done in coloured pencils instead of watercolour, because they're the oldest images I'm including in this post. I only very rarely used watercolours before this year. I think it means I should do some more Permian art, it's such a cool and underexposed period.

Triassic

One mass extinction later, the archosaurs are diversifying all over Triassic Pangaea. Here we have the three main groups of them: Paratypothorax, a pseudosuchian in the background; Peteinosaurus, a pterosaur on top of the cliff; and Procompsognathus, a dinosaur climbing the cliff.

Jurassic

I had three different option for Jurassic paleoart to showcase, so I picked the most experimental one. These backlit insects are not butterflies, but kalligrammatids, a group of large-winged neuroptera, some of which even mimicked maniraptoran dinosaurs like this iridescent Caihong with their patterns.

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous featured some of life's most gorgeous crescendos of diversity, like the Yixian formation, where a Psitaccosaurus wants to visit the favourite tree of a group of Sinosauropteryxes, who are having none of it. This is still one of my favourite pieces I've ever drawn.

Paleogene

The Paleogene featured some of the highest global temperatures of all time, leading to tropical climates all over the planet, including at this lake in what will one day be Messel, Germany. Darwinius, a close cousin to our own ancestors, is having a staredown with the lizard Geiseltaliellus.

Neogene

The world turned colder and dryer in the Neogene, leading to the spread of large grasslands, like these South American ones. Phorusracos, a large terror bird, has caught a Thoatherium on the edge of the forest they both live in. South America was an isolated continent for the duration of the Neogene, leading to a quite unique fauna.

Quaternary

The Quaternary, our current period, is marked by the cycle of ice ages regularly freezing the northern hemisphere. But even during the ice ages, spring would come to the mammoth steppes, and these steppe mammoths are happy to celebrate its coming with a bath in the river.

[mo-the-gremlin-dandelion]

Happy Coradrag AU - Donquixote Brothers Meet Again

I was thinking about how Doflamingo would react to knowing Rosinante is:

Alive

Has been in a loving and happy marriage for about 20 years.

Has 7 kids (Penguin, Shachi, Law, Ace, Sabo, Bepo, and Luffy).

I don't know if I'll make it to the Dressrosa Arc in this story (if I do, it'll probably be years away), but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head.

Doflamingo: *Seeing Rosinante alive 13 years later* Holy shit! You're alive?! I shot you until the clip was empty!

Rosinante: My husband saved me.

Doflamingo: You have a husband?! Who the hell would want to marry your clumsy ass?!

Rosinante: Monkey D. Dragon, we've been together for about 20 years.

Doflamingo: Ah, now I understand. Only a crazy man would want to marry you.... wait... 20 YEARS?! HOW?!

Rosinante: It's called a loving and healthy relationship. Not that you would know anything about that.

Doflamingo: I know about relationships! And love! I have romanced many a man, woman, and whoever lies between!

Rosinante: Doffy, you can't even get the guy* you've like for over 10 years to look at you. I bent my loving husband of 20 years over a table before I came here. (*He's talking about Crocodile.)

Luffy, Law, and Sabo are disgusted by the mention of their parents love life and have stopped listening at this point.

Doflamingo: You're the top?!

Rosinante: Most of the time, but sometimes we switch.

Doflamingo: *speechless until he remembers about the married part* Wait a minute... back up... when did you get married?

Rosinante: Before I went undercover.

Doflamingo: *offended* Okay so why wasn't I invited then? It was before I shot you!

Rosinante: You were still selling people, plotting to take over a country, recruiting children to join your cult, and many other fucked up things! I didn't want you anywhere near my kids!

Doflamingo: You have kids?! Wait... Monkey D. Dragon... your kid is Monkey D. Luffy?!

Rosinante: One of them.

Doflamingo: OnE oF tHeM?! How many do you have?!

Rosinante: Seven.

Doflamingo: SeVeN?!

Rosinante: Legally speaking yes. Emotionally speaking there is around 40 {straw hats + hearts + younger revolutionaries (probably more)}.

Doflamingo: *realizing he is the "loser brother"*

-

~Enjoy the shitpost below (don't take seriously - I don't judge on people's favourite characters - I like Doflamingo as a character and understand why people like him romantically, I just like his brother a lot - sorry for small writing)~

If you can't read the shitty writing (sorry):

Doflamingo:

BAD:

killed father + brother

many human rights violations

made himself a cult leader

bad fashion (the clogs + animal print)

god complex

lots of serious crimes (look at his wiki page - there's too many to list here

creep

does not support anyone unless it is for his benefit or pleasure

GOOD:

well written villain

cool powers

kind of funny

his coat

^Best he ever looked

lost it all after he shot his brother

including his hairline

---

Rosinante:

GOOD:

handsome (even with the makeup)

good fashion (no clashing patterns + colours go together nicely)

kind

protective

selfless

caring

didn't kill any family members

respectful but silly

gave up everything + risked (including his life) to save one kid

cool powers

husband + father material

BAD:

burned a couple of hospitals

kicked some kids but was to get them out of a cult

---

Conclusion:

I would marry Rosinante, but I wouldn't go near Doflamingo with a 10ft pole.

Unless it was to bash his knee caps in with the 10ft pole.

[mandg-readings]

Ten people I want to get to know better…

Thanks @starsoforionwrites for tagging me!👀

Last song: It's a Sin - Pet Shop Boys.

Favourite colour: I've always been a fan of a nice deep purple, my taste in colours are more on the gothic side of the spectrum, red, black. However, since rekindling my love of Pottah there's been a not so subtle uptick in green clothes purchases.

Last movie: Shaun of The Dead. It's a classic and one of my favourite comfort films, if you've not seen it, watch it - Edgar Wright has some stunning cinematography and almost every line of dialogue is genius.

Last TV show: Supernatural - I tend to watch things in the background while I work and am on my first re-watch of the entire series.

Last book: I'm going to name a fic - "Oh God, Not Again!" Which is about a reincarnated Harry fucking with everyone, including paying Fred and George to toss as many snowballs as possible at Quirrel.

Sweet/savoury/spicy: Sweet! Which is a massive problem with the braces, my toothbrush and I are more than well acquainted.

Last thing I googled: "How old are the characters in Ice Age?" I may have spent the entire day bed rotting yesterday and watched all five of them. The lack of aging in this kids film franchise frustrates me to no end! Oh and I feel stupid, when I was a kid, that cave painting scene led me to believe Manny was the baby mammoth, but now my one braincell has grown in size, the truth makes more sense with his depression.

Current obsession: Dramione, Podficcing...DODM? I've had a second wind with my love of Dramione after introducing my closest friend to the fandom, she has been sending me whole podcast length voice notes about her first fic - The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. I had to start her off with one of my favourites!

Looking forward to: This year continued the pattern of shite events from last year, so I'll keep it to small things that keep me going. As a massive fan of the Jurassic Park franchise, I'm excited for the new film coming out in July, as well as the live action versions of How to Train your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch. In March there's a museum sim game I've had my eye on since the announcement, and coinciding with that, I'm taking the entire month of March off work to concentrate on podficcing, relaxing, reading and hopefully, blowing the cobwebs off my WIP again. Last but never least, I'm really looking forward to recording Book 4 of Lionheart, catching up with the current chapters, continuing to share fics with my friend and watching her own podfic hobby grow.

Tagging: @serenergen @greenerteacups @chaudskis @iggygiraffe @yeuxverts00 @karmacookiereads @erin-orolin @writetimewrongmuse @papercraneaudiobooks @autumnweeen

[bardic-tales]

The following is from a Tumblr game that went on a few months ago. I found it in my Scrivener drafts under Bia's character folder.

Full Name: Bianca Moore

Age: 28 (human years)

Gender: Female

Species: Celestial-Infernal Nephilim (hybrid of angelic and demonic lineage, infused with Jenova cells and S-cells)

Sexuality: Demisexual

Appearance:

(Pre-Fall): Bianca has golden hair that frames her brown eyes with round pupils and flawless skin. She stands 5 feet tall with an hourglass figure, measuring 36-24-36, and wears a D cup. She has elongated canines with white wings.. Her eyes glow with a golden sheen when she is using her divine powers.

(Post-Fall) Bianca's appearance is marked by indigo eyes with feline-like pupils, waist-length wavy black hair styled in a half-up half-down do with a white ribbon, and porcelain skin. She has sharp fangs, a long prehensile tongue, and blood-red stiletto nails. Her wings are a mix of black and indigo feathers, embodying her corrupted celestial and demonic heritage with Jenova and S-cells.

Occupation: Published romance novelist / Self-Proclaimed Priestess of Jenova

Family Members:

Biological Father: Azrakiel (also known as Asmodeus)

Surrogate Father: David Moore

Biological Mother: Seraphine

Surrogate Mother: Sarah Moore

Daughter: Aurora (Sephiroth & Bianca’s)

Son: Lucien (Sephiroth & Bianca’s)

Spouse/Partner: Sephiroth (current), Mordecai (deceased)

Best Friends: Sephiroth (also her soulmate) Pets: None (sometimes refers to the Dark Dragon as her 'pet')

Ideal Bedroom: Bianca's room is a blend of elegance and gothic charm. Soft, ethereal lighting illuminates dark walls adorned with silver filigree patterns. A large, canopy-style bed with black silk sheets and feather pillows dominates the space, complemented by bookshelves filled with ancient tomes and romance novels. A single vase with white roses sits on her desk, next to a framed photo of Sephiroth.

Way of Speaking: Bianca speaks with a soft, sultry tone, choosing her words carefully. Her speech often carries an air of poetic eloquence, masking the sharp wit and occasional venom beneath.

Physical Characteristics: Petite yet striking, Bianca stands at 5 ft tall with a curvaceous hourglass figure. Her weight is 105 lbs (128.6 lbs with her wings). Her most distinguishing features are her indigo eyes, sharp fangs, and intricate wings.

Items in Their Bag/Purse:

A black notebook and pen for jotting down ideas

Healing salves (potions) and antidotes

A compact mirror and blood-red lipstick

Ornate silver hairpin with a ruby tip.

Hobbies:

Writing romance novels

Reading ancient texts and poetry

Practicing swordsmanship

Exploring ruins and celestial lore

Favourite Sport: Swordplay, particularly dueling

Abilities/Talents/Powers:

Abilities: Reality manipulation, shadow magic, ice spells, and casting nightmares. She can also communicate with the souls of the departed and navigate temporal and spatial rifts. Can fly

Talents: Journeyman swordswoman and an adept in manipulation and persuasion.

Powers: Her celestial powers are corrupted, allowing her to bend reality and wield destructive energy. They come at the cost of emotional and physical stability.

Relationships: Bianca is devoted to Sephiroth, sharing a deep soul bond and a history of trauma bonding. Her relationships are marked by loyalty and passion, but her past losses (Mordecai, her first husband, and other loved ones) deeply affect her trust and attachments.

Fears:

Losing Sephiroth to Asmodeus or his madness

Reliving her traumatic experiences with Shinra and Hojo

Being captured or experimented on again

Faults:

Obsessive devotion to Sephiroth, often leading to morally questionable decisions

Emotional instability due to her corrupted powers

A tendency to manipulate others to achieve her goals

Good Points:

Fierce loyalty and determination

Compassion for those she loves and considers family

A creative and strategic thinker

What They Want More Than Anything Else: To bring about a new world alongside Sephiroth, fulfilling both their destinies and securing their place as rulers of a reborn omniverse.

Theme(s):

tagging some fellow mutuals: @themaradwrites @littleshopofchaos @serenofroses @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@nightingaleflow @prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen @chickensarentcheap @prehistoric-creatures

@seastarblue

[ro-botany]

How Big are the Fell Twins?

from @elysianstars on this post:

#Sombron will get chomped and he will DESERVE it #I'm curious about how the Fell Twins' dragon forms measure against Sombron #but I think they might be limited by the fact they need to fit onto the screen as playable combat units #personally I headcanon that they're smaller because they're younger. and a dragon's true form never stops growing. just like a lobster

Well if you wanted to know the In-Game Math Answer to how big these dragons really are, you're in luck! Because ripping dragon models from fire emblems and measuring them in various ways has become one of my favourite pastimes.

The short answer is: yes, the twins are quite a lot smaller than papa Sombron!

I guess what they look like is DLC spoilers probably? So I'll stick the screenshots and exact measurements behind a read more.

---

To briefly explain how Engage's models work - most character models are lightly sculpted off a starting base, and then the game has a big table of scaling values for each character that changes the length and size of various parts of their bodies.

The fell dragon models fall into this pattern as well - all of Sombron, Nel, and Rafal's fell dragon and great fell dragon models are proportionally identical. But while Sombron's scaling values are all left to default, the twins... are 40% size!

(Fogado for scale.)

And given their identical proportions to their dad, and the math I've done previously about Sombron's size, I can tell you Nel and Rafal's measurements too!

The twins in their base form are approximately...

16.2 m (53 ft) from snout to tail tip

5.4 m (17 ft 8 in) from snout to vent

13.7 m (44 ft 10 in) from wingtip to wingtip, when their wings are fully extended

---

For the sake of completeness, Big Boy Rafal is 60% of the size of Big Boy Sombron:

Which means his measurements are approximately:

70.6 m (232 ft) from snout to tail tip

30 m (99 ft) from snout to vent

68.4 m (224 ft) from wingtip to wingtip, excluding his weird wing finger claws

---

(Of course, in a fight with Grima, all these bozos are still definitely getting chomped.)

[cider-est]

The full lineup is almost done!! (just needs some touch ups and a Chunsik design👍) FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APRECIATED!!

Design process under here (whole lot of yapping)

General thoughts: Ive given them in my previous design sheet (you can find it in my blog)(tldr: designs match characters but still childish, 8-12 years old). Only thing different here, is that these eggs were eggs who I had less of a clear idea of what I wanted to do with them (though I still really liked where I ended up!!)

Empanada: Didnt want to go for the full sweet lolita route, mostly because I thought it'd take away the "little kidness" of it all, but something that still resembles the aesthetic. She's wearing "carneirinhos" (idk the name in english) which is very cute little girl to me, and shes also a demon! Her tail resembles a frying pan!! Though I might change her fringe (it was supposed to be baby hairs but now that I think about it, her type of hair probably wouldnt have them) and put some argyle pattern in her sweater vest. I just forgor💀 to do that...I also wish I had made her shorter, but unfortunetely I drew this before the eggs did the height check (YES ITS BEEN THAT LONG).

Sunny: My beautiful baby girl. She means the world to me. I love this minecraft egg with all my heart. Shes wearing Light up sketchers and some fairy wings like Pomme, and shes actually wearing a swimsuit, she just put a tutu over it. The diamonds they're always holding are rings, they have a "terere" in their hair (idk name in english😭😭) and the beads were inspired by an artist on twt (@\BLUETOMATOSODA). Also if you are wondering why her hair looks like tentacles, its because I had originally made it puffy, but changed my mind after doing the lineart, so i had to get creative with me covering it up. Just pretend she has a fan, shes a star after all!

Pepito: Basically, he is very smoll. Chiquito even. He has strawberry hair and MASSIVE glasses that take up his entire face. Hes wearing a swimsuit aswell (dont ask how it works idk either), and has floaties since he cant swim. Hes got crocs, since flip flops hurt his toes, with a spider man charm on them! Also hes got a sunhat, mostly cause I wanted some other accessorie but didnt want to go with gas mask since it'd kinda kill the whole swimming vibe (since his model is wearing a swimsuit). sorry if its not too accurate to his character. Side note: Him, Em and Sunny all have freckles! Him and Sunny all over their bodies while Em just has on her cheeks.

Leo: Cute sporty vibe, love her shorty spiky hair. Wanted to try to make her face spiky aswell, for the whole shark dad thing. Shes got a necklace with a shark tooth (I guess she got it from Foolish??). He changes tshirts randomly, and opens and closes his attack on titan hoodie depending on the tshirt's expression (basically my version of Leo changing her player heads constantly). His trainers have dragon wings and also: whealies!!

Dapper: Im gonna be honest: did not expect to like his design THIS much. The colouring really elevated, with the long blue hair (the same colour as the ghosties!). Wanted to make them, y'know, dapper, so I had to sacrifice some of the "little kid vibes" unfortunetely, but I think it fits her still. The hat has part of the helmet that they used to wear a lot, demon horn to match Pomme, and a suit that is VERY inspired by Death the Kid from Soul Eater (very fitting for a reaper in training imo). Might be my favourite design!

Ramon: Jesus fuck you'd think designing your fav egg would be easy BUT NO. I struggled long and hard. Again, he doesnt have that much "little kid" vibe whatever man😭😭 Im just happy that I even managed to make SOMETHING. Hes got Create googles, his meathead is a massive hat that completely hides his hair. Very simple, very Ramon, though I will probably end up making a version with an ugly sweater just like he likes instead😔. I still like it but. man...

ANYWAYS IF YOU READ ALL THAT MWAH, YOURE A REAL ONE, THANKS FOR ENTERTAINING MY THOUGHTS🫶🫶🫶

[crystaltoa]

My take on the Turaga Nui, from Shauni's (@legend-as-old-as-time) WIP fic set in Rags' (@magicalgirlmascot ) KNPS AU. Snippets of the fic here and here.

In which the Turaga form a fusion in order to defeat the Rahi Nui, but their past experience with the Hordika venom results in the Turaga Nui taking on a somewhat ...unexpected form. After the battle, the Toa Mata catch up with them. Pictured here is Lewa having the appropriate reaction to finding out his six mentors have turned into some kind of weird dragon-chimera-kaiju thing.

Some design notes under the cut:

The Turaga Nui's form combines traits from the forms the Metru had as Toa Hordika, known in this universe as the Kini Nui werebeasts. So, this was my take on them individually here:

(The Metru's human forms can be seen here) I hope it's fairly self explanatory which features come from which werebeast, but a few other fun design notes...

So, in KNPS, the Toa Kaita look a lot like the Steven Universe fusions, with extra eyes and limbs. The Turaga Nui follows a similar logic but on a more bestial body layout.

The top two arms are the most humanoid, as TN signs in ASL as well as speaking aloud whenever it is practical to do so (i.e. when there is not a Toa of Air attached to their neck). The next two pairs of limbs can function either as arms or forelegs, so the digits are more paw-like.

The wings are obviously based on a snowy owl and come from Nuju's werebeast form. Male snowy owls typically have lighter coloured plumage while females have prominent black bars on their feathers. Nuju in particular would probably have been almost completely white as a werebeast given he's an ice Toa and has white hair in human form. The Turaga Nui, however, is composed of five men and one woman, so I gave them a small amount of barring on the tips of one wing while the other is plain white. (The bars also help tie it back to the badger stripes on their face from a design standpoint)

The Kaita have metallic gold or silver skin, I suggested black and white patterns for TN's colour scheme to make them visibly nonhuman but also distinct from the Kaita.

Shauni felt that there should be more accents of each element's colours, however, so we decided on the "black" scales actually having an iridescent sheen to them.

I'd already been planning to give TN spots similar to that of a newt, but didn't realise until I started doing it that white spots on black combined with the iridescent colours gives the impression of a night sky/galaxy pattern.

I had previously suggested the name "Tien" to Shauni (Turaga Nui = T.N. Said aloud it phonetically sounds like "Tien"). Turns out Shauni had the exact same thought. Furthermore, it's a name in several cultures, various meanings include "heavenly being", "celestial" and "sky" (An etymologically related name is the Chinese "Tianlong", which means "Celestial Dragon")

So, accidentally coming up with a name that means "celestial" and then accidentally making them look like a living galaxy was a fun coincidence.

Also, apparently one of Rags' favourite DBZ characters was named Tien, so that was a plus for her!

The tail has owl feathers but is structurally more similar to the tail of an aquatic newt.

The eyes are based on the Turaga's animal forms but the colours come from their eye-glow. The three eyes visible in the image are Vakama's (green), Matau's (red), and Onewa's (blue)

As previous;y mentioned, photographs of jumping ferrets helped in drawing the dragon's limbs . I also ended up referencing hairless cats to get a handle on what the paws would look like with no fur.

I did do a version that shows the full body pose, which I quite liked, but felt that the cropped composition above was better to show the character details given tumblr's scrolling format

[curium-killedthecat]

my favourite pokémon is actually flygon, which is a little cutie dragon and ground type pokémon and it is so so so cute BUT did you know it’s based on a real insect called the antlion?

both flygon and many antlions (order Neuroptera, family Myrmeleontidae) are commonly mistaken for dragonflies or even damselflies. you can distinguish an antlion from a dragonfly because of the similarly shaped wings, while dragonflies have uneven ones, and a longer hypostygmatic cell.

you can distinguish them from damselflies, which they are also commonly confused with, by the clavate antennae, while damselfly antannae are fine like hair and so small you can barely see them.

the picture is of an adult antlion, particularly the Glenarus gratus which are found throughout Florida. the adult antlions unfortunately only live for a few days as they cannot feed and rely on sustenance from when they were larvae. interestingly enough, larvae antlions do not have anuses - quite unusual for an insect! they store this waste for multiple years (until they turn adult) so they can use it for other things, like spin silk for cocoons, or rid of it as waste.

but the larvae are very interesting, and very dangerous! they dwell under the sand, so are hard to be seen. they'll make funnel-shaped pits in the sand and wait for ants to fall inside. therefore their name - a lion among ants! the family name myrmeleontidae actually translates to antlion from greek - myrmex meaning ant and leon meaning lion. antlions will shower the prey with sand, causing them to lose coordination and fall like a landslide right where the antlion has positioned its jaws! scary. these pits are affectionately refferred to as 'pits of doom' and for good reason.

in places like north america, they are also affectionately refferred to as 'doodlebugs', because of the squiggly patterns and lines made by them while they're hunting or looking for a trap site. look it up, its really cool!

and of course, they're important to the ecosystem, adult antlions eating caterpillars and pesky aphids. there is so much more i could say about antlions but i wanted to keep it short, just know they are insanely cool!!