#she knows that uhh. Claude is the same!!

[kitcats-1-braincell]

sending this ask to everyone but with different characters! what's echo's opinion of isabeau in as much detail as you can have fun with

Finally,,,,I can be evil >:3

Echos opinion on Isabeau, hm? I don’t really know what role Isabeau would be in Echos original au, so I’ll just say that Isa is the same!! (Unsure whether Claude would go with Euphie or not,,,,she probably would methinks :3)

Echo doesn’t know too much about Isabeau, only knowing that he is was Mirabelles roommate in her original au. She knew of him as a guy who wanted to change himself! She’s sure that Mira and him are were close friends, and that made her happy!! She supported him in his acts to change, and thinks of him as a good guy! Mirabelle does get annoyed at him sometimes, but she knows they both care for each other. She’s happy about that!!

In this au, however, she doesn’t know if he’s changed or not. She doesn’t know if he’s the same. She doesn’t know if he’s that same guy who wanted to change himself from being a shy kid to a reliable guy! Bonnie doesn’t talk about him, so she just. doesn’t know? He doesn’t seem to be associated with Bonnie, since they don’t talk about him much, but still.

She honestly wishes she could know hopes that one day, she could find out if he’s alright, if he’s changed, if he’s done what he wants. She hopes that even if he hasn’t changed yet in this au, he can become someone that he loves.

Thanks for the ask!! :3

[@cordysys heheee]

[nagaficat]

TOA Anniversary Monday

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Erica

Pronouns: she or whatever you feel like I do not care

Birthday (no year): May 3!

Where are you from? What is your time zone? Philly suburbs, toa official time zone

How long is your roleplay experience? Long. I think I was like 18 or 19 so like 15ish years I don't want to do that math right now

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? The Star Trek Online forums aksjdkdbd

How were you introduced to TOA? Saw it in the tags on Tumblr and was intrigued

Do you have any pets? Winston the German shepherd mix and Pipis the pisscat

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Winter probably but for sure Not Summer

What is your IRL occupation? Toddler teacher, specifically 18ish-24ish month olds

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Taking long and beautiful naps with my dog

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout is good. Nothing like super regularly 

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: grass and ground, Diglett and Dugtrio have been my favs since gen 1 for some reason

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! (Optional bonus challenge: if you filled this out last year, try not to repeat what you said back then!)

I was on the kidney transplant list but my kidneys came back to life

I have two kids and they're both so unhinged

My dog set my kitchen on fire one time

I used to have a hatman irl but he was actually the Carrot Man and he looked like the peanut butter jelly time banana except a carrot and he was a friendly sleep paralysis demon and sometimes I miss him

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I went to GameStop and was looking at the used games and I guess Awakening caught my eye. 

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Genealogy, blazing blade, scared stones, some of por, sov, awakening, fates, 3h, engage. I've at least read through all of them except the tellius games. I should get on them. 

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: first was Awakening, favorite to play is fe7

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Arvis, Travant, Finn, I really love Raphael maybe him, uhh this is hard to pick maybe Oifey. You could ask me this question tomorrow and I'll probably have a different answer

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! Frederick because I knew I was in love with him the moment I saw his face but Cynthia in a regular context 

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 You know this you know it's Arvis and Travant but I do keep thinking about Raydrick recently. Wtf is wrong with me. 

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays?

- Awakening: Frederick but I'd like to to a Priam romance someday

- Fates: I think it was Hinata but I honestly do not remember. Now idk! I don't think I've ever done the same s support twice in fates

- Three Houses: Claude but I would do a non romantic s support with Alois next time

- Engage: Saphir. Idk who I’d pick next time but it would be a different one. 

Favorite Fire Emblem class? Anything armored!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? Hmm I feel like I would probably not be playable. Some sort of healer if I was playable. A cleric. I cannot imagine myself having good stats you should bench me immediately.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Golden Deerrrrrr!!!!

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boon would be healing, bane would be gauntlets, budding talent idk maybe riding or flying

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) I think Brodia is cool but I don't think they would think I am cool

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) Tee oh ay and I take psychic damage every time I hear someone call it toah

Current TOA muses: Deirdre, Ethlyn, and Altena 

Past TOA muses? Hilda, Elise, Serra, Charlotte, Tina, Silvia, Ninian…I feel like I'm missing someone maybe

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Hilda and nah I don't think I would

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) Tragic love interests and little sisters

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? I think it would be cool to write Manuela one day but I am convinced I would be terrible at it, also any male character. For some reason I have a mental block against them and I'm not entirely sure why this is 

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I like writing dialogue! Love a good reunion also. 

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? I would literally do anything to write with an Arion.

Favorite TOA-related memories? Bruh literally all of them. Don't make me choose there have been so many amazing times here. 

Present or past tense? Past

Normal size text, small text, no preference? Normal because I'm lazy

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Nope!

[weepingmilkshakedreamer]

AS1 dial0gue but it'z my au [Act 1 aka the part 1 0f thiz thing. l0l]

i've been thinking ab0ut making z0mething like thiz z0 uhh yeah here ya g0. l0l

Bleed: Oh sweet mother of God! I've killed a dead hobo!

Alan: I'm not dead you asshole! Argh... Quickly - you have to cut me open!

Bleed: Uh... I've got a pizza cutter!

After surgery

Bleed: So uhhh who are you sir?

Alan: My name is Alan probe.

Bleed: Can you teach me that- how to do surgery?

Alan: Teach surgery? I... I couldn't. Not again...

Bleed: Why not? I've got a bunch more tools in the van. And if that pool table over there doesn't scream operation, Then I don't know what does!

Alan: And who the fuck would want to be operated on by some washed-up old tramp and a god damn pizza boy?

*CRASH!!*

--------------------------------------------------------------

Tammy: Urrrr...

Bleed: Hello miss burglar! Fall through the window trying to rob our clinic i see?

Tammy: C... clinic?

Bleed: Yep! You're in luck- today's special is glass extraction!

After surgery

Tammy: Urgh... wow. Hey- do i recognize you?

Alan: Me?! Oh no no... I'm sure you couldn't!

Tammy: There was a doctor got himself into a heap of trouble a few years back... lotsa unexplained deaths.

Tammy: Then he just disappeared...

Alan: Ok that's enough of you now! Do come again.

*Alan pushez Tammy out of the Warehouse*

Bleed: Hmm. So uhh, was it true what she said? You're a doctor?

Alan: No! I mean, I used to...

Bleed: Can you teach me how to cut- I mean, help people?

Alan: Alright, Bleed. But we may have to improvise with the tools a little since the current layout we have is shit...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Claude: Hey i heard you boys were surgeons, can you guys help out here?

Bleed: Whoa! That porcupine has a hillbilly stuck on its ass!

Claude: I went to, uh, pick-up this here prickle-pig, but i done fell on it instead.

After surgery

Claude: That was pretty alright! I'm sure you can take my gratitude as a thank you!

*Claude leaves the Warehouse*

Bleed: So are you really the renegade doctor that burglar was talking about before?

Alan: Bleed, you have some real talent. I will continue to train you if it's what you really want...

Bleed: It's what I've ALWAYS wanted!

Alan: But I will only do so on the condition that we do not talk about my fucking past! It is uneventful and uninteresting, I assure you dumbass!

Bleed: Uhh... OK! You're the boss... uh- doc!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Cletus: I heard yew guys were surgeons of a kind, care to help out a friend... *Glug-glug-glug*

Bleed: Hello... Uhm are you drinking PAINT?!

Cletus: Doesn't say I shouldn't on the can! And that means a big fat payout from the paint company! Same goes for the nailgun maker who didn't mention I shouldn't shoot myself in the chest!

Bleed: One de-nailing coming right up sir!

After surgery

Cletus: yew guys are pretty good. Here - take my Buzzsaw as a kind thanks! I'm sure a pair of makeshift surgeons such as yewrselfves could use it!

Bleed: Aw hell yeah! Hey doc, you have anything you need amputating? cause I'll gladly remove it for you! Rrrm-rrrm!

Alan: (Sigh...)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Guts: I'm gus but fols call me "Guts". I was down at the bank, robbing... Uh, I mean, making a deposit And I slipped and fell on some bullets!

Bleed: Uhh... Ok? -

Guts: And what makes it worse is that I can't eats no more! Glaaaaargh!

Bleed: OH SWEET MOTHER OF-

Alan: WHAT THE FU-

Guts: See what I means? Can you guys take a look-see?

Bleed: (shudders and almost throws up) Ok let's see what's up...

After surgery

Guts: Ahhh... Dat's better! And there's nuttin' like a good clear-out to work up an appetite! The only hospital round here closed down a few years ago. Some nasty stuff went down there...

Alan: (shudder) Well, don't let us keep you!

Bleed: yeah that was honestly disgusting!

Guts: Right! T'anks again, fellas! I'll spread the word about you guys!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Trent: Hey your the Doctors my husband was talking about! you gotta help! You see i run the junkyard downtown - body disposals and whatnot...

Bleed: Car bodies? Or...

Bleed: Never mind!

Trent: I was down at the junkyard, Dealing with some scrap metal until I slipped and fell on it instead!

Bleed: We'll see what we can do.

After surgery

Trent: You guys are great! Thanks again!

Bleed: Well that was something! Goodbye now, Trent!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jack: My nickname's "Lumbar" Jack. Partly becuase of my profession, but mainly because of my back, eh? It pains me something fearsome!

Bleed: Nurse! Anesthetic please!

Alan: Bleed I swear to god if you call me your nurse again, I will shove my foot so far up your ass you will have no idea!

Bleed: ...

Alan: ...

Bleed: Uhh... Can you at least get the Anesthetic?

Alan: (Groan...) Fine! Whatever!

After Surgery

Jack: That feels...

Jack: *CRACK!*

Jack: Oh yes! Ooh, I'll be back to wrestlin' bears and violating forests in no time!

Bleed: Right... well! Don't get the two confused! Have fun now!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jimmy: Ta daaaa! Look in your pocket! Your watch is now gone! I stole it!

Alan: Wait WHAT?! YOU MOTHER- Wait. What the hell are you supposed to be!

Jimmy: JIMMY THE SPIDER! Cat-burglar extraordinaire!

Jimmy: I must have burgled, oh, five cats so far! Ha ha ha!

Alan: ....that's just down right awful

Jimmy: No, I'm just kidding. But I am totally SPIDER-LIKE!

Alan: Uh huh sure you are... Well bleeds running late so what do you want em to do when he gets here? Remove a part of your god damn brain to cure you of this weird god forsaken behavior?

Jimmy: No way! It's just that recently, some of my SPIDER MEALS have been... repeating on me.

Alan: gross... well say "Ah"!-

Bleed: Hey Alan! Sorry I'm late I've been... AH! SPIDER!

After surgery

Jimmy: Ah - that's much better!

Bleed: (shudder) Next time, why not try eating a spider to catch the flies?

Bleed: Or would that be like i don't know... cannibalism?

Jimmy: Ha! Yeah! Sure - eat a spider! Can you imagine someone coming in with a whole bunch of spiders running around inside them?

Bleed: OK YOU CAN LEAVE NOW! BEFORE YOU MAKE ME THROW UP FROM A IMAGE I DIDNT WANNA SEE!

Jimmy: Alright but before i go, have you guys ever considered going upscale? Maybe moving to the city?

Alan: Oh hell no! I much prefer the quiet life!

Bleed: But doc! think what we could do! There'd be loads more interesting stuff in the city!

Alan: I said no, Bleed!

*Jimmy leaves the Warehouse*

Bleed: But I still need more practice! Wouldn't moving to the city-

Alan: Bleed - you are a very talented young- or more middle aged man. In fact, you remind me of someone i used to work with...

Bleed: Really? You mentioned you worked with someone before! What happened to her?

Bleed: ...or was it a HIM?!

Alan: Never mind! Listen to me Bleed - you said you wanted my help. Fine, I will help you.

Alan: But all I want is a more quiet life! Out of the way! Is that clear?

Bleed: Yes.

Alan: Ok.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Pete: Ah hello guys! I've come into some right nice organs recently.

Pete: Seeing as my own organs are failing a bit, I was hoping you could swap my old organs with a new ones, like?

Pete: In return, I'll see you get all the juicy organs a young middle-aged surgeon could need!

Pete: Look at the tubes on that! glistening, they are!

Bleed: Let's do this!

After surgery

Pete: Amazing job you two! Tell me though, a place like this hardly fitting for people like you? isn't it?

Pete: There's plenty of work in the city! haven't you heard?

Pete: Some nutjob has started running around maiming people! terrible, it is!

Bleed: Doc, did you hear what that guy said? The city needs us!

Bleed: Please doc, I don't wanna be a pizza boy forever!

Bleed: And one day I wanna have my own surgery! for real! Please...

Bleed: And what about you!? Surely you must want something better for yourself!

Alan: I... I need to think. I'm going for a walk.

Bleed: Hey! Wait... doc...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Bleed: Man, I can't believe the doc left me on my own. What if some utter headcase comes in? I-

Penny: Bonsoir. I am Penny.

Penny: You are the pizza boy who operates with a spoon?

Bleed: Uh it's a Pizza cutter, actually.

Penny: Take up your spoon, my good man! I will be most interested to see what you find within me!

After surgery

Bleed: You were full of weird bugs but I killed them all.

Penny: Did you know the brighter and more beautiful the creature, the more extravagant and excruciating its poison?

Bleed: OK! Well that's great! Off you go now!

Bleed: ...

Guy: Hey you! Yeah you! I'm looking for someone!

Bleed: (Oh... he's hot!)

Bleed: Listen, whoever it is you're looking for, I think it may be me!

Guy: Euch! I wanted the surgeon! Goodbye!

Bleed: Hey wait! Wait come back!

Bleed: Argh! Dammit! This stupid uniform! How can anyone recognize me as a master surgeon when I'm wearing this thing?

Bleed: Man, where's the doc gotten to? I hope he's not gone off on another cough syrup bender and walked out in front of a car... again...

Alan: Bleed, I've been thinking... We should go to the city.

Bleed: Ha! Great! You know, this is just my day for good news! There was a really handsome guy here just now. He was looking for "the surgeon", Ha!

Bleed: Guess he didn't realize he'd found em! Woo!

Alan: A guy? My god... No, it couldn't be...

Bleed: Never mind that now! Let's get this show on the road!

[milkshaketg]

skewbald belgian named Inksplash. palomino cream or smth.

Florence and Tuscany go the realm. feline hall. human was a bitch who “I turned out fine so they should, too.” maybe I make her too sick to be able to tell anything. black cat companion with purple eyes who can see your death.

someone who comes face to face with their killer who through time loop shenanagins it isn’t in the past it’s the current except they’re alive even though they did kill them and the killer is just like nonchalant or at least appears unbothered

like others are in a time loop and she comes back and is like what

another character just disappears and it isn’t mentioned at all until dead girl returns and is like where are they and everyone else is like who

maybe they come back somehow except not alive

au self inset w Joot in JoJo where I’m a lesbian and therefore an outcast and he and I find solidarity in that and whatnot. I yell at him for how he treats his mom.

Dollarpaw as in sand dollar

SSO Vid Ideas:

dive into SSOblr

Autumn “TroyTheBoy” after their fursona Troy

Featherbelle🥦

Nicodemus(Nico)

Griffin

Wolfgang

fear look in her eyes as the sword is about to come down on her, but is saved by someone else last minute. she doesn’t question it. she just runs. she has no idea what happened to that person.

Angela on a throne looking kinda shocked and surprised and anxious and Akuma is at her feet, all seductive n draped over her n shit and just staring at the viewer sure of herself. not smug, though. just confident.

pink haired self insert for FE3H to draw a Ashe, Catherine, fuckin uhh other pretty lady, maybe Sylvain? Felix? anyone tbh. Claude, too. ladies as well ofc.

-traumatized lady, cannot be on the battlefield or she shuts down. mayb a new crest, a special one. bc she’s special :>

-self regenerating from a big battle who lost everyone and everyone was starving then offered herself up to eat and they found out she couldn’t die by mutilation alone, eventually was captured and used as a human shield and then ofc this fucks her up real bad so they erase a ton of memories so now she’s just ditzy lady being studied except gently at the monastery. ig she can’t really work out bc regeneration.

Flayn x Dedue

someone with a pet named Cream Cheese

self insert where I’m broken and Dirk fixes me I’m a cyborg except he’s got complete control now and I become a husk just used by him to accomplish his misguided deeds. robot turns to flesh eventually even the tail n shit.

oh wait fuck he’s gay.

we don’t gotta fuck it can be platonic extremely fantastically toxic codependency

I am a pet.

this again, except I am a lesbian who forms an unhealthy codependent relationship with Sylvain. he’s chasing my friend who I have a massive crush on, so I approach him. he ofc thinks I’m going for him/his crest but is visibly taken aback when I admit I’m in love with my friend and I need him to back off. we chat a bit and become acquainted or whatevs. he does. then after the five years comes back and she’s dead, I’m heartbroken obviously. emphasis on bad disassociation too. and boom, codependence. then he’s basically backed into a corner and forced to marry so he chooses me bc he knows I’m not tryna use him for his crest. I’m literally 90% into girls thank u.

fire emblem + blorbos + desired self inserts

Canary method(if you’re gonna act like a clown I’m gonna treat you like one)

did I fuck up my circadian rhythm in middle school? because this is not a case of bad habits.

no food :(

issues at work bc girl I don’t have peripheral hearing. god I feel so fucking disabled.

Ottalie

Muse

Rush retains the same mass no matter her form, in addition to being albino.

(hey, are you alright?)(pans to me full strawberry outfit + strawberry makeup + accessories)(yeah, why?)

goth in beanie: are you okay?

strawberry: yeah, why?(HEAVY pink blush w white freckles + lashes and whatnot)(holding my stuffies)

goth in beanie: alright,,,

caption: inside you there are two wolves

me, blank expression: listening to a cat get graphically and brutally murdered and remembering how violent my favorite books as a kid were

Skyclan’s Destiny or whatever is literally just skyclan getting slowly slaughtered one by one

dark eyes of ebon

Rose looked up at Silva. She honestly looked kind of pathetic, one of her lashes hanging haphazardly and her lipstick was smudged. She had seen better days, certainly.

She looked from Silva’s hand, to her face, then back to her hand, not even seeming to register her face wasn’t all that visible. Without much hesitation she took her hand. She had no reason to even consider refusing the help. This was a safe town, no one knew who or where she was so no one would be coming for her. If she had articulated these thoughts they would have sent a pang of pain through her, but as luck would have it her brain stayed full of fluff for now.

“Thank you, appreciate it.” She allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, flashing a smile at the girl. “Now… do you happen to know where we are? Of course you do, you must if you’re out here. Could you show me to” she looked down at her unsightly appearance. She didn’t even want to know what her face looked like. “I guess going out isn’t an option, now is it? You know the direction to Fen’s stable? If you could be a gem and take me there.”

Mon: 10-3

Tue: off

Wed: 10-2

Thurs: 5-9

Fri: off

Sat: 3-7

Sun: 10-3

SpectrumSetup-B8

stealthnest127

[randomnameless]

Eh -

Seliph mainly, at the start of his adventure, fights against the Empire because they are hunting him, and also, because he wants to avenge his father and clear his name.

SS!Billy and the BESF "forgot" the events of White Clouds and Flamey, so we can't compare them to Seliph, because Seliph's reasoning (part of it) is to get revenge/make Arvis pay for what happened in the first gen.

No one is SS gives a fuck about Flamey - instead we just have the cast, legitimately, agreeing to fight against Supreme Leader because she started a war.

The SS cast would imo be closer to a "Camus" type of people who, at one point, accepted the nonsense their leader was doing only to rebel after a certain point, than Seliph who is the direct consequence, and reminds the player, of Arvis' actions and treachery in the first gen.

Also imo I think it's important to note that while Sigurd wasn't the smartest knife from the bunch, all of his actions were "authorised" by his benevolent king, Azmur.

Or at least he tought so.

When Sigurd is effectively framed as a rebel, from Chapter 4 onwards, he takes safety measures - protecting his son and cousin (or whatever Oifey was to him) - but still marches onwards, to clear his and his father's name and save the old guy, but also, take revenge at Langbalt/Reptor for having killed their liege.

Put in other words, even if Siggy is played for a fool and ultimately dies because he trusts people and is the "by text" good knight, who helps a lady who takes him under a wing, even if it means taking part in a succession crisis, and first and foremost, was branded a traitor by his country because he refused to kill a child (who was the Prince of an enemy nation, but was still a child!).

In chapter 5, Siggy still has doubts about Arvis' support, and yet chooses to trust him because he thinks they both want the same thing, to restore peace to Granvalle and stop Langobalt/Reptor's rebellion.

We know how that ends.

Tru Piss Billy becomes a yes man, even if they manage to look away when Flayn'n'Seteth escape, and it's inferred they don't reveal to Supreme Leader anything about Indech.

But they can kill Claude, Dimitri and Rhea herself. Tru Piss Billy cannot take revenge for their father - unlike Siggy - because Supreme Leader is still working with the Agarthans, and somehow, taking Rhea out because she has pointy ears is more important than, hm, revenge for Jeralt, freaking out because of the Feral Ones, and all the events that happened in White Clouds.

If protecting Supreme Leader and Shanan could be seen as similar actions in a, frankly, very superficial reading (tfw Shanan didn't try to kill Midir 15 seconds before that fateful choice) - Sigurd, still tries to do the "right" thing, he will marry Deedee because "love is stronger than superstitious nonsense" (except when it's not!), Siggy will "accidently" invade Agustria to save his friend's sister, and will do his best to spare said friend when their forces will have to clash, Siggy will assist Rhana when her brothers in law will try to kill her to take Silesse's throne.

CF!Billy? Will kill Judith, possibly Claude but definitely Hilda, and Dimitri because... Supreme Leader said so.

If Siggy's most callous actions "you invaded two sovereign lands you idiot!" can be chalked up to, uhh, his desire to help his friends and missing entirely the context, which leaves him at the mercy of more astute players, Billy ?

Just kills because they're asked to.

They're not rushing to save a friend from being seduced when they storm through Derdriu - Supreme Leader said the BESF will flatten the Alliance. Billy is not trying to save a friend from being executed when they're invading Faerghus and killing the BL gang in Tailtean, they do so because Supreme Leader wants to unite the world and asked for every enemy commander's head. Billy isn't trying to clear their name and avenge their liege when they behead Rhea, they do so because Supreme Leader said her path leads to the death of "creatures masquerading as humans" to make a world for humans.

You know, with how Houses was based on FE4… the whole conflict between the game's surface level and the finer details that challenge it can feel like it's asking players to learn from Sigurd.

Think about it, Sigurd trusted future Flame Emperor Arvis because Arvis acted honorable and helpful to him. Sigurd also didn't think too deeply about the politics around him, he just looked at things in a very black and white manner where he could solve problems through the use of force. He might have had good intentions, but those good intentions played right into the hands of those using him for their own gains.

Now look at Byleth and Edelgard, the Flame Emperor. Byleth getting close to Edelgard after she appears vulnerable to him can result in him siding with her over Rhea, who the early game made out as someone we needed to watch out for. However, the game heavily implies that Edelgard is simply trying to sway Byleth to her side, manipulating him like she does so many. It also means ignoring the worldbuilding and story events that conflicted with the idea of Edelgard being a good guy, and going around fighting everyone opposed to her annexing the entire continent. Even if you have good intentions siding with Edelgard, you played into her hands and because of you a villain is going to win the war.

Cipher put Silver Snow alongside the second half of FE4 with it's Black Eagle expansion, making fighting one Flame Emperor comparable to the other. So in that regard, the route split ultimately asks whether the player wants to be a Sigurd and be exploited by the villain, or be a Seliph and save the continent from her and the evil cult.

[raxistaicho]

All flags look the same!

Back to more Analyzer ;D

This is a claim he and Edelgard Critical in general makes pretty often. I searched through interviews myself (I had to because Analyzer never posts his sources for anything...) and the closest I found was:

And this doesn’t really mean what the Analyzer seems to think it means. Silver Snow was written first as the primary means to explore the world, but to say that just because one of the routes where you fight Edelgard was made before the others that it then means that’s the story the developers intended to represent the entire story is fallacious thinking.

The story buildup throughout White Clouds spends nearly all its time expressing why Fodlan is in a pretty shitty state and it all comes down to the Church of Seiros’s failures and Rhea’s lies. Fodlan being reunified and Rhea losing power, no matter which route she does it in, is always treated as a good thing.

Even Rhea agrees at the end of SS!

The worst Three Houses ever says of Edelgard in the routes where you fight her is that she had the right of it that Fodlan needs to change, but that her methods were too extreme. Claude and Dimitri only ever criticize her methods, not her intentions. The game never calls her a stupid little ignorant warmonger as the Analyzer does.

Yup, we all knew it was coming! LoStNiRvAnA!!! The very definition of somebody who knows nothing about Buddhism trying to analyze Buddhist symbolism. That line of argument was debunked years ago but EdelCrit isn’t exactly known for updating their talking points.

Now there’s a pretty meme, exquisite!

I assume the Analyzer is referring to this:

But as usual he never explains what he’s talking about. There’s various other designs, but they all seem to follow the same pattern.

And obviously the Silver Snow flag is:

I... don’t need to explain how the two flags look almost nothing alike, I hope?

Now if you want actual symbolism, the ending mural for Silver Snow is pretty clearly based off a painting of Pope Gregory returning the seat of the papacy from Versailles to Rome:

But obviously the Church of Seiros has nothing to do with Catholicism because not many Japanese people follow Catholicism today :)

Oh, shoot. Yeah, that’s a good one, can’t really argue with -

Sothis! Get off the throne, you gremlin, you’re ruining the symbolism!

As I said above, the lost Nirvana claim is outright nonsense, especially considering Sothis is still with Byleth, as revealed in their S support in Crimson Flower:

It’s only in Crimson Flower that Sothis is attached not to a crude object snaring Byleth’s heart, but to Byleth’s very soul. If anything, Byleth’s continued attachment to Sothis - the source of their supposed enlightenment - is only reinforced in Crimson Flower.

The point about Byleth getting called out comes from the Japanese version of Dimitri’s battle quote with Byleth at Tailltean;

Dimitri: Teacher. Why Edelgard…? You chose the path of the beast 

“Path of the beast” being a Buddhist term meaning Byleth is on the path to a lesser level in the cycle of reincarnation. So what is this? It’s the desperate ramblings of Byleth’s enemy, swearing that Byleth is damned and walking the road to hell. No different from Rhea’s constant shrieking of religion-laden threats at both Byleth and Edelgard.

And we already know from the scene in which he’s executed that, although Dimitri mostly speaks well and has both eyes, in reality he’s got more than one foot on the path to devolving into the boar at the end of Crimson Flower:

So he’s not exactly a great source from which to draw arguments.

The Analyzer then goes on to say that the devs called Edelgard a villain in one of the interviews, and I’ve hit that particular point more than enough times by now, I feel.

So what’d we learn today?

Uhh, the Analyzer is shit at analyzing Buddhist symbolism.

Happy New Years, folks!

[myearts-uwu]

Bakery AU!

Pairing: Claude x Felix

Featured characters: Claude, Athanasia, Felix, Lily (at the very end of it)

Genre: Fluff. Just... it’s pure fluff in here.

This was supposed to be a single one-shot but I somehow decided to turn it into a short fic that has... two or three parts?

It’s just an adorable AU!

"York's Bakery...," Claude read out the sign displayed above the front door of the cozy-looking bakery. He hummed in disinterest. He was not exactly a huge fan of going out to buy bread or random pastries at a random bakery, let alone a bakery that had been opened for less than three months.

However, since his daughter was the one who asked if they could visit this new bakery together one day during the weekend, he had no choice but to say yes to her favour. It warmed his cold heart when her eyes lit up before smiling at him after he said that.

Why must he be such a softie for his daughter?

"Waa..."

Upon hearing the shaky breath of awe, Claude looked down and noticed the seven-year-old girl staring at the bakery with awe. Her small and chubby hand was holding onto the pinky finger of his left hand loosely.

"You seem to be excited to come here, Athanasia," he commented nonchalantly with a stoic face. He was not the best at showing his true emotions. However, his daughter knew that he was being entertained by her. "I still don't know how you've heard about this bakery, though."

Athanasia just giggled. "Oh, I always see it every day when the driver drives me to school, papa!" she answered. Of course, he wouldn't know about that small fact considering that he had never personally driven her to school. As the CEO of Obelia's Enterprises, he had to go to his office early in the morning. "And since the driver has been to this bakery before, he told me that this bakery's pastries are to die for! Es... Especially the chocolate muffins!" she exclaimed.

"Hm, I see...," Claude mumbled before ruffling Athanasia's soft blonde hair. Compared to the colour of his hair which was a more golden colour, her's leaned more on the lighter side. "Well, let's see if what Mister Han said is true and the pastries here are indeed 'to die for'. Let's go, Athanasia. We don't want to keep standing here, do we?"

Athanasia nodded and skipped towards the front door, tugging her father by his hand. Some random passersby noticed the father-daughter duo and either smiled or chuckled at the adorable scene in front of them.

Claude was about to push the door open but his own daughter had beaten him to it. She had let go of the blond's hand for a few seconds just so she could both of her hands around the door handle. As soon as she pushed the front door open, there was the sound of a small bell ringing.

Ding!

"Welcome to York's Bakery!"

The person standing behind the counter greeted the two newcomers with enthusiasm. Claude stole a small glance at the worker and the only thing he took note of was the messy bright red hair. As well as that large grin on his face that could make anyone's heart melt.

Besides that? He didn't look all that interesting to him.

All he could give the man was a curt nod for he was not someone who enjoyed talking to people.

"Hello!" Unlike him, Athanasia was a total ball of sunshine. She smiled back at the worker and waved at him. The man just chuckled and waved back.

"Why, Hello there, young lady," the man behind the counter said. "How may I help you on this wonderful afternoon?"

Claude gave the man a warning glance and he immediately tensed up. A sign for him to not act so close around the little girl. Times like these made Claude grateful that he had a natural resting bitch face. After that, he acted as if nothing had happened and picked up a tray to put the baked goods he planned on getting on.

Besides the one worker available in the bakery, Claude noticed upon entering the building the strong aromatic scent of freshly baked bread. It tingled his nose slightly due to how heavenly the smell inside the bakery was.

"Uhh... I heard that the chocolate muffins here are to die for! And I wanted to try one!" Athanasia told the man. She walked towards the front counter and pressed her face against the glass of the display case. "Whoa... you have a lot of delicious-looking desserts here."

"Hmm... they do cater a lot of baked goods here," Claude mumbled to himself as he picked out random bread he and his daughter would eat as light snacks. Sausage rolls, croissants, baguettes, buns, egg tarts, cookies... They were really selling a wide variety of baked goods. He grabbed the pair of tongs and started to do his own business.

The worker laughed at Athanasia's adorableness. "They're all freshly made, you know? Well, except for the cakes since we usually have them chilling in the refrigerator overnight." He looked around before winking at her. "But that's a secret between us, alright?" he said in a whisper.

'Someone seems to like that counter worker,' Claude thought when he heard his daughter laughing out loud. He stood in front of a tall basket made from rattan that had baguettes in it. 'Hmm... Athanasia would most definitely eat an entire long baguette as a snack in one sitting... I'm just going to get it for her.'

"You're funny, Mister!" Athanasia exclaimed while taking her hand out towards him. "My name is Athy and that grumpy man who's picking out the baked goods there is my papa!"

"... Grumpy?" Claude turned around and looked absolutely offended by how Athanasia introduced him to a random stranger. Him? Grumpy? Sure, he was not a huge fan of social interaction but that did not mean that he was entirely grumpy.

It only made him even more annoyed when the guy was laughing with her.

"Now, Miss Athy. It's rude to call your own father grumpy," he told her before gently holding her small hand to shake it. "My name is Felix, by the way. If you were wondering about my name, that is."

"Oh, I already knew what your name is," she said before pointing on the nametag that was pinned to the beige apron Felix wore.  "It's written on that nametag thingy."

"... Oh, I actually forgot that I had my nametag on me," Felix stated in slight embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head. "You have good eyes, Miss Athy."

"Athanasia."

The girl turned around to look at her father. "Yes, papa?"

"Have you picked out everything you want yet?" Claude asked while smirking. After placing the tongs in their original place, he put his free hand on his waist. "You don't want to return home without those muffins and cupcakes and cookies you were talking about before coming here now, do you?"

"Eh?! But papa, there's just so many things that I wanna try here!" Athanasia cried out. Her eyes darted around the baked goods inside the display case. "Ahh, I really wanna try those chocolate muffins... but the chocolate chip cookies look so good... Oh, but... but look at those macarons! And- And those chocolate bars with dried up fruits..."

Felix looked down at the indecisive girl and looked up at Claude. He laughed weakly. "I assume that your daughter has a strong liking to chocolate?" he asked.

"She's addicted actually," Claude answered before placing the tray on the front counter. He was going to have to pay for all these twice if Athanasia was still deciding on what she should get. "She actually had one of her teeth pulled out at the dentist last year because of a bad cavity. She kept denying that her tooth wasn't aching... but she always teared up whenever she ate anything."

Felix snorted while Athanasia looked at her father as if he had betrayed her. Which, in a way, he did.

"Papa, you promised you won't talk about that to anyone," Athanasia whined with a cute pout. She humphed. "I'm not going to talk to papa anymore!"

"Is that so?" With a calm expression on his face, Claude pulled out his wallet. "Well, good luck paying for all those desserts, then."

"Papa!" she whined again, earning more laughter from the man behind the counter.

He may not look it, but Claude knew how to be humourous... occasionally.

"M-My, you two are quite a hilarious duo," Felix commented while wiping away a tear from laughing too much. He went to the cash register to collect the blond's payment. The girl would eventually tell them what she wanted soon enough.

Claude looked around the bakery while Felix placed the baked goods he paid for into a large paper bag. "Are you the only one working here?" he asked, trying to make some light conversation even though he was not the best when it came to starting one.

"Oh, heaven's no. I'm way too inexperienced to be left working at a bakery all alone," Felix answered with a smile. "There are more people working here, believe it or not. The owner of the bakery, Lilian, is usually working behind the scenes in the kitchen. The same goes for the other ladies working here. Since I'm not that good at baking anything, I'm in charge of the front counter. Greeting customers, making sure everyone is content with the bakery's atmosphere, making sure no one steals anything from here... the usual stuff."

Felix was indeed a talker.

"... Uh-huh," was Claude's awkward response.

"Mister Felix! Mister Felix!" Athanasia called out.

Felix and Claude looked at the little girl. "Hm? Found something you like, Miss Athy?"

"... Can I get a chocolate muffin and those chocolate chip cookies? They look really tasty?"

"Of course. Oh, one moment, Sir."

"Take your time."

Claude looked at Felix who knelt down to grab a muffin as well as scooping out the cookies before putting them in separate smaller paper bags. When Athanasia approached him, he petted her head. "I thought you'd buy the whole bakery because of how indecisive you are when it comes to food."

"But papa, if I do that, then what will they sell afterwards? I don't wanna ruin their business!" Athanasia grinned innocently.

"... Well, isn't that nice of you?" Claude responded sarcastically.

Felix couldn't help but chuckle at them. "Here're your cookies and muffin, Miss," he said as he leaned forward to give the small bags to the girl after calculating the whole price of everything with the cash register.

"Yay!" Athanasia snatched the paper bags from Felix's hand. She immediately opened the bag with the cookies and pulled one out before munching on it.

Claude sighed. "Athanasia, can't you just wait for a few more minutes?" he asked her sternly. "At least eat the cookies once I'm done paying for everything."

"But... But papa. These cookies are amazing!" Her jewel blue eyes sparkled. There were a few cookie crumbs on her lips and her chubby cheeks were puffed out after eating more of the tasty snack.

Claude's shoulders dropped. "Athanasia... You're dirtying the floor with those cookie crumbs."

Felix had to stifle his own laughter. "That's okay, Sir. I can clean that up afterwards. Besides, your daughter here is obviously enjoying those cookies immensely, right Miss Athy?"

"Mhm!" Athanasia nodded her head, mouth still full with cookies inside.

Well, it was painfully clear to Claude that this worker was already smitten with his daughter... Which he couldn't really blame him for that. Even he had to admit that his daughter was a complete natural at manipulating people with her cute looks and personality.

Claude sighed and was preparing to pull out his money. "How much does everything cost... Felix?"

"That will be... exactly 13000 won."

Claude widened his eyes slightly. "... That's a pretty low price for this much we're getting," he muttered. "Especially for how high-quality everything looks."

Felix thought he had misheard something. "Low price? I... don't mean to be rude but that is a pretty high price. Not to mention that you're buying this many baked goods at once..."

"Papa could have bought everything inside this bakery if he wants to!" Athanasia chimed in. "Because papa is a big boss at a big company! A CEO!"

... Claude had to make a mental note for himself to remind him to teach Athanasia that she should not give out random personal information about either of them to strangers once they return home.

He was expecting Felix to pry more information about him being a CEO out of either him or Athanasia.

But instead, he just acted as if he didn't hear anything.

"Well, even if your father is a CEO of a large company, if he's able to sell out the entire bakery, I'm sure my boss would pass out from shock," Felix joked before pushing the large paper bag with everything Claude bought inside. "Funny story, she actually did end up passing up from shock after we were given our first ever large cake order for a wealthy child's birthday party."

"Well, I sincerely hope she won't end up passing out if more people end up ordering cakes and other pastries from this bakery," Claude responded. "She might have to go to a hospital if that happens a lot."

... Was that supposed to be a joke or something?

Claude cleared his throat from how awkward he suddenly felt and looked down at his wallet to pull out the exact amount of money he needed to pay for everything. "I'm... not that good when it comes to making jokes," he admitted.

"... Oh, that was a joke?" Felix asked.

Athanasia shook her head in disapproval. "Papa, you're terrible at making jokes. This is why people either think you're a serious grumpy man or a socially awkward man."

'When and where did she learn to be so sassy to her own father?' Claude wondered, trying to act calm.

"... Here's the money." He tried to ignore the quiet stare from Athanasia and gave the money to Felix. When he looked at him did he realise that this was the first time they made proper eye contact with each other.

For the first time since coming here, Jewel blue eyes met up with warm grey ones face to face.

Felix froze up all of a sudden, confusing Claude. He tilted his head. "Felix, are you alright?"

A few seconds later, Felix blinked multiple times before realising that he was still at work. There was a faint blush on his face and he smiled nervously. "A-Ah! My apologies," he apologised as he accepted the money. "I was... genuinely stunned at your eyes. I'm sorry if that sounds weird."

Ah, his eyes. It was considered a rare condition and the only people who had it were people in his family. The jewel blue eyes were always associated with the people within the Obelia family. His ancestors, his father, his older brother, his niece, his daughter...

Basically, they all had jewel blue eyes. The reason why? No one had any idea.

"It's alright," Claude reassured Felix. "I'm used to people being surprised by my eye colour."

"Oh, I see... Well...," Felix's words trailed off before putting the money inside the cash register. He then gave him the receipt with a warm smile. "Well, I just thought that your eyes remind me of sapphires somehow. It's nice."

"... Okay then?"

Well, this was a bit awkward.

"Papa, papa!"

"Hm?" After noticing the hem of his shirt being tugged down, Claude looked down and saw his daughter holding out a singular chocolate cookie in front of him. "... Athanasia, you know that I don't like desserts."

"But you might like it! You never know if you hate it unless you try it, papa," Athanasia told him in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice. That sort of statement sounded really weird when it's coming from a seven-year-old child. "The cookies are so delicious! Please, papa? Just one..."

Claude stared at her blankly before looking at Felix who shrugged his shoulders.

'... At least be glad that there are no customers inside other than us,' he thought begrudgingly before going down on one knee so he could be at the same eye level as Athanasia. He opened his mouth and his daughter happily fed him the single cookie. He then stood up and slowly munched on the sickeningly sweet and crunchy snack.

...

...

...

"It tastes... alright, I guess," Claude mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by the cookie in his mouth.

"See? What did I tell you? I knew you'd like it!" Athanasia said proudly with her arms folded across her chest.

Felix smiled at the girl's energetic demeanour. It seemed to Claude that he was wondering how such a small ball of energy came from someone who looked like he'd rather stay at home all day.

"Your relationship with your daughter is adorable, sir," Felix commented.

"It's Claude."

"Pardon?"

"My name. What? Since you did give my daughter your name and my daughter gave hers to you, might as well join in to not feel so left out, right?"

"O-Oh... Mister Claude?" Felix tried to say his name.

"Just drop the 'Mister'. Judging by your appearance, I wouldn't be surprised if we're around the same age," Claude told him.

"... As you wish... Claude... Ah, I'm sorry but it does feel a bit embarrassing for me to call you so casually like that when this is our first time meeting, haha!"

'... Hm. That's weird," Claude thought while he silently stared at the red-haired man who was running his fingers through his hair. For a moment he thought his heart skipped a beat. It was most likely his own mind playing tricks on him.

"If that's the case, then feel free to add in 'Sir' before saying my name," Claude said casually. He looked at his wristwatch and knew that it was time for him and Athanasia to leave this bakery. Annoyingly for him, his older brother Anastacius and his daughter Jennette were coming over soon in the evening and he had to... mentally prepare himself in order to deal with his brother.

"Well, Felix. We'll be taking our leave for today," he said before calling out Athanasia who was looking at the desserts in the display case. "Athanasia, it's time to go. Remember, your cousin is coming over."

"Okay!" Athanasia exclaimed before rushing towards him. She almost tripped but fortunately, she managed to grab Claude's shirt in time to prevent herself from falling. Giggling, she turned around and waved at Felix. "Goodbye, Mister Felix! It was nice talking to you!"

"Bye-bye, Miss Athy." Felix waved back.

Claude pulled the front door open and was about to leave the bakery but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Felix calling him.

"Sir Claude?"

"Hm?"

Claude turned his head around and looked at Felix with a surprised expression when he smiled warmly at him. A smile that would make anyone feel comforted just by looking at it.

"I hope you have a wonderful day. And please come again!" Felix said. It was something he'd say to every single customer who'd leave the bakery.

But there was something about the way he said that made it sound like he was actually looking forward to seeing Claude again.

And for some reason, Claude felt a bit... flattered by that.

"... Of course," was all he could say before leaving the bakery with his daughter. After the door closed behind them, the father-daughter made their way to his Mercedes-Benz.

The trip to the car was quiet. Athanasia was happily munching on her chocolate muffin while Claude was deep in thought about something.

"... I suppose we can make time to visit the bakery from time to time every Saturday...," Claude mumbled, still deep in thought. 'That Felix guy is quite an amusing fellow to be around.'

"Eh?!" Athanasia looked up at her father in complete shock.

That was obviously wonderful news for the girl because she really loved the snacks there.

***

Ten minutes had passed since Claude and Athanasia left the building.

"I heard a lot of laughter coming from here," Lily said as she came out of the kitchen to check up on her employee and close friend. Felix was busy sweeping the floor with a broom to get rid of the cookie crumbs on the floor. The brunette smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "You're whistling. Did something good happen to you just now?"

Felix slowly turned his head around to look at Lily. There was a goofy smile present on his handsome face. "If you consider a pretty man coming in here with his cute daughter and he's like... really pretty that you can't stop staring at him as a good thing? Then yes, something good did happen."

"... Ah, so you're in love with a customer. That's a first."

Felix chuckled to himself. "Ahh... I really do hope that they come here more often soon."

[kikigamer]

All 25 questions for Esme 🥰

Thank you for the ask, I appreciate it🤙🏻

Who makes up your family?  How close are you to them? Father and Mother.. I have a sister but we’re not allowed to mention her. I’m very close with my papa but not so much with mama cause she’s always been strict and slightly controlling.

Who is your best friend?  Tell us about them! I currently don’t have a bestfriend anymore..

What is your favorite childhood memory? My favourite childhood memory is going to art galleries with papa and sister when we were young

What is your least favorite childhood memory? I failed one of my tests once - I got a C and mama was not happy at all.

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time? Sketch, paint.. anything arty

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do? act like I don’t miss my sister

Who do you look up to? my papa, Leonardo da Vinci and Claude Monet

What do you think had the biggest impact on you growing up? uh I’m not sure.. same as 6?

Are you a spiritual person?  If yes, what do you practice? no I’m not

Where were you born?  Where did you grow up?  Where do you live now? I was born in Ars-en-Ré, I grew up there. But now I live in NY

What is your favorite type of media (TV, movie, books, etc)?  Name some specific favorites (which shows, movies, books, etc do you like)! I really love books, but movies are also! My favourite kind of books would be ones like  Poe's Tales of Romance and Fantasy. My favourite kind of movies are fantasy/romance ones.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? (on vacation or permanently!) uhh I’m not sure, maybe, Greece?

You’re given an unlimited budget to build anything you want!  What do you build and where do you build it? I would build a massive art gallery where people could actually have art lessons for free because having a space to be creative is so important for people.

What are your favorite music genres? Oh, uhm, maybe I’m boring but pop? classical? hip hop?

Do you play any instruments?  Which ones?  How long have you been playing? I was learning violin when I was younger.. I can still play it a little..

Describe your perfect day. My perfect day would be sitting in the park having a picnic in the sun while I read or sketch

What makes you laugh? pretty much anything..

What’s the best way to cheer you up? flowers? I don’t know, just someone showing that they care and are there for me

What makes you sad? seeing animals hurt, being made to feel inadequate 

Describe your biggest pet peeve. When people stand to close to me

Describe your ideal partner. Uh, rough on the outside but with a heart of cold

What’s the easiest way to flirt with you? eye contact, compliments, I don’t know what else..

Have you ever had a crush on someone?  Do you have a crush now? I have had a crush, at the moment? not currently?

What would you consider your main love language? reassurance

Freebie!  Come up with your own question for the character to answer! “What movie title best describes your life?” The Devil Wears Prada? Mainly cause I like that movie.

[athys-obelia]

character/s: claude de alger obelia, diana of siodonna, felix robane

synopsis: it's...uhm....an empress!diana x concubine!claude crackfic 😭😭

warning/s: uhh a sprinkle of politics, the robane duchy is now siodonnan and not obelian screw canon, diana is lowkey mean to rogrog

a/n: i'm so sorry this is so bad

part one

felix's foot taps against the tiles of the empress' room impatiently. "you stayed up finalising the agreement all night, your majesty, perhaps some rest is due?"

diana spares him glance, turning sideways from her position on her bed. "what was his name again?"

  "pardon?"

  "the painter," she elaborates, pointing towards the painting on the ceiling above the bed. "i keep...i don't know, i keep finding new things the more i look at it."

  "is that so?"

the painting itself, a coronation gift from felix, depicts the goddess diana reaching out to the children of the world and vice versa. "if you look at the sky closely - remember our old siodonann classes?- 'for the people' is hidden in the stars. isn't that cool?"

the knight squints at the painting. "oh, i see it! i wonder why it's in old siodonann, though?"

  "i would guess it's because the imperial family wasn't worshipped in the old days," diana explains, "for example - right now, in some parts of the empire, my late father - bless him - and i may actually have shrines because people believe the imperial family's descent is from the gods. when the kingdom was just formed, though, kings and queens weren't allowed to ride alone in carriages as they greeted their subjects- they needed to have a slave with them at all times, who kept on repeating 'you are human' to them. 'you are human', 'we are all the same in the eyes of the true gods."

the sound of the army of maids behind the door is enough to pull felix out of his trance. "er...horatius calvus, your majesty."

  "hm?"

  "the artist, that's his name."

  "ah." diana turns to the painting once more, eyes staring at the goddess' hair that melted into the night sky. "would you be able to get in contact with him? i'd like to commission a piece."

felix bows gracefully. "as your majesty commands. oh, and - for the obelian delegates' farewell celebration tonight...has your majesty decided on an escort?"

she groans, falling back on the bed. "i've had so much free time lately, the harem is all i think about!"

  "very funny, ma'am. then...shall i prepare the usual?"

diana shakes her head. "i'll visit viscaria palace later and see for myself. the obelians brought some concubines with them as presents, it's be nice to weed through the bunch."

felix's eyes nearly pop out. "you're visiting the harem?! your majesty! did you find someone you like??"

she chucks a pillow at him before he can continue. "you weren't loud enough just now, fe, i don't think all of siodonna heard you."

  "...apologies, ma'am."

three years ago, when she had only just come into power, diana remembers being afraid of the large, gold doors between her and the council room. she remembers pausing before entering, regaining her breath, preparing her mind. projecting an image.

if there is one thing she has learnt, though, it's that only fools can be afraid of their own property. their assets. the larger-than-life doors swing at her command, allow or deny entrance with solely her permission. confidence comes easy when you act like you own the place - nevermind the fact that she did own most places.

but i have no reason to be afraid.

the obelian delegates stand at her arrival and bow like good little lords should before an empress. one of the more prominent ones stands to address her as soon as the meeting commences.

  "blessings and glory upon the sun of the great siodonnan empire," he says.

diana raises an amused eyebrow. this game, hm? "is that an obelian greeting, duke? how interesting. here, one would usually wish 'a long life to the protector of the siodonnan people'. that's all i am, after all - how could i be the sun?"

duke alpheus sputters. "er...i failed to acquaint myself with siodonnan culture appropriately, my apologies, your majesty. i shall do better next time."

how arrogant. still, she smiles, "i must confess, duke alpheus - i am slightly susceptible to praise, so i'll let you off this time."

  "thank you, ma'am."

  "although making the assumption that there will be a next time at all was quite courageous of you." diana signals the guards, who open the door to let the final participant of the meeting inside. "however -courage and bravery are traits best suited for kings and queens, duke. not lords."

the obelian delegates pale as they watch their - former - emperor, wrists bound, enter the hall with an entourage of knights.

diana glances at the newcomer. "although i suppose even for an emperor, too much of a bravado may cost a war."

anastacius de alger obelia glowers at her.

she frowns at the knights. "how come such a precious friend of mine is tied up like this? is this how we siodonnans treat our guests?"

felix bows deeply. "i apologise, ma'am - he was resisting far too much."

  "whatever the case. get a seat set up right here, beside me - after all," diana smiles at the fuming obelian, "we were dining together just a few months ago, weren't we?"

  "three months ago, to be precise," anastacius spits out, "after which you decided to switch tides and invade us like a coward."

she watches one of the knights set down a fancy chair to the left of hers, reaching out to untie the bindings on anastacius' wrist. diana frowns suddenly, waving over felix, "ah, is this the leash my brother used when he tamed his dragon?"

the former emperor flinches, staring down at it. "someone here tamed a dragon?" a light pink dusts his cheeks - did he really touch the actual leash of a dragon?

felix shakes his head with a small smirk. "this is the leash her majesty the late dowager empress used, ma'am. for her dog."

  "-ah, right, i remember now! all the ones marked with this little purple line are used for tying down senseless animals, aren't they?"

  "yes, your majesty." felix returns to his spot behind her, clear amusement swimming in his grey eyes as he watches the obelians try and maintain their composure.

diana gently lets the leash loose, a hand on the stunned anastacius' shoulder to lightly push him into the seat. "you aren't wrong - i did betray your hospitality, didn't i?"

roger alpheus winces at the sudden authority in her tone as the knights pass out a document to each of the obelian lords.

  "obelia's greeting and offer for peace was kind to me, so i must return this generosity. your country is now part of the siodonnan empire, so we should be parting on a good note. will a little present suffice?"

a brunette diana remembers to be a count speaks up, "...a gift, your majesty?"

felix moves closer to the table, watching the detailed map of siodonna carved into its centre. as he raises his hand, almost as if it were a chess piece, a small island moves to the left. its color flickers between a siodonnan purple and the obelian teal.

diana sighs. "i was planning on the island of delphine, since it not only contains a relatively large gold mine, but also much tourist attraction."

oh, she can see the stars in alpheus' eyes already. "thank you, your ma-"

  "but." he shrivels under her piercing gaze, "but, obelia doesn't need gold, does it? what you need is better foreign relations. and what better way to form an alliance..."

she eyes the map, and with a flick of felix's wrist, a small stretch of land connecting two continents switches from its original purple to a hue of blue.

diana looks up now, meeting even anastacius' shocked eyes. he eyes her suspiciously, "do you really-?"

she nods. "...consider it a gift from your sovereign. it is enough, yes?"

  "i- uh," duke alpheus blinks twice, "the isthmus of erven is...an adequate present, yes, your majesty. the people of obelia shall thrive due to your generosity."

  "it is not generosity, duke. your people are my subjects now. however, i hope you realise the isthmus isn't obelian property for obvious reasons. there is no trust between us. despite this, what i will allow is some access." diana stands, watching the foreign nobles mirror the action. "the terms and conditions of our relationship from this point onwards are in the papers before you and are, obviously, subject to change. feel free to approach me with concerns, should you have any."

  "you were firmer than i'd expected with the obelians, your majesty," felix comments.

diana recoils as his eyes light up at the sight of viscaria palace. "remember when i visited obelia for anastacius' coronation? i was only seventeen, but two years into my studies as heir - and they were all over duke renauld's son! poor cousin ronnie couldn't stop apologising."

felix snorts. "the renaulds wouldn't have dared challenge your majesty's claim, not while the late empress dowager was behind you."

  "ha! that's right, everyone was scared of mama." she grins fondly, "papa most of all."

the knight nods, murmuring a prayer.

  "i want them gone as soon as possible," diana admits, "but there's much to settle before that. i need to fix up anastacius before we can let him back, the second prince is still...what was his name, again?"

  "claude de alger obelia, ma'am."

she winces. "yes, he's an impo-"

a commotion sounds from within viscaria. felix raises an eyebrow at the shouts echoing from the beautiful building, a hand already atop his sheathed sword. "ma'am, stay back, i'll have a look- your majesty! where are you going-?!"

navigating through the decorated halls, diana halts before the entrance of the garden. the argument is between two men she doesn't recognise, as the older concubines gather to the side, amusing twinkling in their eyes.

  "attention!" felix roars, "her imperial majesty, empress diana celeste!"

the two freeze in fear.

  "disrupting my peace. how dare you?" diana demands.

one of them, dressed too finely for someone she hadn't even seen yet, steps forward. "your majesty, my name is xerre, i was only-"

she raises a hand, effectively shutting him up. tone softening, diana turns to the group crowding around the desert table. "lex?"

the group shuffles to let a young, silver haired young man forward. lex bows gracefully, laugh lines around his eyes crinkling. "yes, my lady?"

  "do you know what happened here?"

lex nods. "the monthly salary was being distributed, your majesty, and xerre - being a present from the kingdom of masur - had some trouble believing his amount was the same as a former obelian slave's. verhan stepped in to argue that your majesty was the one to decide this, and they began fighting."

  "shall i prepare for his voyage back to masur, majesty?" felix asks, as the rest of the concubines roll their eyes at his antics.

diana studies the masurian concubine, beckoning him closer. "it is common knowledge i do not generally accept gifted concubines from territories out of my own."

she watches his adam's apple rise and fall, tracing a nail over the well defined jawline. xerre shivers.

  "however, your king is new to his throne, and his queen one of my dearest friends. do you realise how our alliance will look were i to send you back?"

he nods cautiously.

  "i do not wish to withdraw support from someone i consider a brother, xerre. especially when he is engaged in armed conflict on two fronts."

  "i- i am prepared for any punishment your majesty deems appropriate."

diana sighs softly. "i would send you to work for me in the capitol, but the rules state every concubine entering must reside here for a certain amount of time. until then, bear with it. this palace, and a life of luxury, is only meant for my favorites. clear?"

  "yes, your majesty."

  "my apologies, ma'am," felix says once the crowd disperses, his head hanging. "i should've prepared for your arrival with more care."

she waves off the apology, heading to the guest hall to take a look at the new obelian  concubines.

  "vera leaves for her son's wedding for a week and we've already had an incident. honestly, felix."

  "...who's vera?"

diana pauses at the unfamiliar voice. her gaze falls on the figure sitting on the window seat, entirely immersed in the book in his hands. she blinks, stunned, watching the colourful window's filtered light paint the brilliant blonde of his hair.

felix is the first to address him, scoffing, "i believe your majesty's beauty has enchanted one of the gods - who else would dare address the empress of our nation so casually?"

diana chuckles, watching as the man stands, intrigued. she stays silent, breath hitched, as he towers over her, studying her with a curiosity that rivals hers from a moment ago. and only when he finally lowers himself to a knee does his hair part, and diana flushes at the red tinting his ears.

  "greetings to her imperial majesty, may the gods grant the protector of the siodonnan people a life long and blessed."

she offers him her hand. "rise. and tell me your name."

a beat of silence passes as he stares at her outstretched hand before hesitantly accepting. "claude, your majesty."

  "claude," diana tries, finding it rolls of her tongue deliciously.

he raises an eyebrow as she regards him. "your majesty...?"

diana smiles, her hand moving to touch the various jewellery adorning his fingers. gently, she slides off the gold ring off of his ring finger. "you must have a good reason to be donning an unauthorized magical item in my palace."

he doesn't answer, head lowered.

her hand lets go of his, raising to grip the blonde's jaw. diana tilts up his face, meeting his gaze. the dull grey eyes from before have vanished, replaced by glittering blues.

she inhales sharply. "you're...the obelian pr...the second prince of obelia."

he nods.

diana turns, more puzzled than angry. "why is he in my harem?"

  "... didn't your majesty wish for it?" felix tilts his head in confusion.

  "what? no?"

the knight frowns. "but i was so sure...your majesty said you didn't have an heir because you wanted a concubine as beautiful as me...when we took over the imperial palace, as the army swore their allegiance...your majesty said the prince was the prettiest you’ve ever seen?"

  "i- felix, i was kidding!"

  "...oh."

she turns to the prince then, "and you! you're a prince! how come you just went along with this??"

  "well...it was the most peaceful part of the palace..."

diana gapes at the two men, before finally sighing in defeat. "you're telling me i was scouring the lands for you, while you were right...?" she raises a hand to massage her temple, "...gods grant me patience."

felix cautiously steps forward, "your majesty...i understand this is shocking, but... tonight's escort..."

she glances up at the obelian prince. "allow them all to retire. i've found the perfect escort."

a/n: hmmm this was a bit empty claudiana wise, wasn't it? their development is coming though, i had to give empress!diana an intro :) also !! the situation may seem a bit confusing rn, but next chapter will clear things up! or you can just ask me for clarification <3

💕 felix is dying to find a concubine diana likes bc he really really really wants to be an uncle

💕 in siodonna, emperors/empresses are referred to by their first(diana) + middle name(celeste) and not a last name bc they technically can't belong to a house, they belong to the empire. but the middle name is important bc you have to ask for it (from someone you love and respect usually), you're never just born with one (so you could ask a parent / friend / mentor yada yada and they give you a name they believe fits best)

[allexiaah]

Claudette and Jake !

YESss god I love both of them so much! This post may get a bit long, but let's get into it.

Claudette

Favorite thing about them: GOD. Where do I start? Maybe it's just the fact that I can see so much of myself in her that makes me like her so much. I dunno. But it's a whole lot... Just one thing off the top of my head? I love how

Least favorite thing about them: ....man. I don't know. She's like... Awesome. If I had one gripe it'd be with how other people portray her or treat her character but that has nothing to do with her. Maybe how her players have a bad rep? I dunno it's claude.

Favorite line: she doesn't really HAVE any?? LOL

BROTP: Claudette and Philip! HUGE comfort pairing. Best found family siblings and very good friends. They give each other hope and encourage each other to keep going <3

OTP: uhhh I'd have to say Megdette or Claudepark! Huge sucker for OG4 lovin. Claudwight is an honorable mention

NOTP: god. A lot. Claudebilly, Doctor + Claudette and Ghostface + Claudette come to mind first. I tend to be really picky with ships as a whole, and especially for Claudette, because I headcanon her as ace and some kind of aromantic as well (not sure yet... Just that she's some kind of arospec!)

Random headcanon: Claudette has a particular nostalgic fondness for hot chocolate with candy cane bits in it. She also prefers tea over coffee.

Unpopular opinion: god I don't know if I really have any? I have uncommon ones but not really unpopular ones.. I think the closest I have to that would be the aspec headcanons haha

Song i associate with them: Quiet by Lights & Plant Life by Owl City

Favorite picture of them: as of right now this art in particular by lovely cowboy @dakota-belton-art, or one of these funny screenshots I managed to nab.

Jake

Favorite thing about them: god, all of it. His character design is pretty damn good, he has mostly solid cosmetics, and I mean.. Forest hobo crow whisperer? What's not to like? His backstory is good too.

Least favorite thing about them: if I had to pick SOMETHING, it'd be his weird tracksuit cosmetic that makes his hair a nasty yellow color.

Favorite line: Not a whole lot here for us hah

BROTP: Jake and Meg. I feel like they're definitely best friends in the realm, and I feel like they're the exact same brand of disaster bi, except Meg is more openly jokey and Jake has a different way of expressing his humor than her. They're often on the same wavelength though with jokes and things.

OTP: Parkfield! Fun fact, Parkfield was actually the first ship I really enjoyed, and the first ship I actually really cared about in fandom as a whole. DBD was my real intro into actual fandom spaces and Parkfield was sort of a little bit too, by extent. Still very fond of this pairing <3

NOTP: Jake x Doctor is all that comes to mind right now, but I think I might be forgetting a few. Just.. anything gross or power-imbalanced tends to make me just.. dislike it. It's nasty.

Random headcanon: Very dry humor and a sarcastic bastard. The other survivors love him though <3

Unpopular opinion: uhh I dunno?

Song i associate with them: dunno why, but Man of Stone by Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes

Favorite picture of them: I don't really have one rn, so take this one a friend took while in Gmod. It made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe

Ty for the ask! Love answering little things like these. <3

[legendsoffodlan]

*Rodrigue is sitting down, minding his own business when Felix walks in and chucks an unceremoniously wrapped present that has “Annette Made Me” written on it*

Rodrigue: Thank you son!

Felix: Fuck off!

-

*Flayn sits on a checkered picnic blanket on the coast, looking out on the ocean. Her hair is let loose and untied. There is the sound of crunching sand behind her and Seteth approaches, carrying a picnic basket*

Flayn: Brother!

Seteth: No. Not brother. Not here and not today.

*Flayn’s face splits into the brightest smile*

Flayn: Father.

*She wraps her arms around him in a hug*

Flayn: Happy Father’s Day papa.

Seteth: Thank you... my dear Cethleann.

-

*Nader and Claude sit in a private room, sharing a drink of Almyran whiskey.*

Claude: So, here it is. *he slides a wrapped package to Nader* Make sure father gets it.

Nader: Sure thing brat. Heh, look at me. Playing courier for a royal pup.

Claude: Oh! Before I forget. *he slides another gift across the table* Something for you.

Nader: Uhh, thanks? But... why?

Claude: I figured I should get you something for Father’s Day too.

Nader: Again... why?

Claude: I mean, the King’s my father, but he’s not my dad. You know... you’re my dad, Nader. If that makes any sense.

Nader, totally not tearing up: Heh. Typical brat.

-

*Byleth sits alone on the dock, a fishing rod in hand. They say nothing as Jeralt comes up and sits beside them*

Jeralt: They bitin’?

Byleth: Not tonight. Everthing’s quiet.

Jeralt: Heh, figures. Glad to see you’re keeping up with your practice though.

*They lapse into a comfortable silence*

Byleth: I think... I understand now.

Jeralt: Understand what kid?

Byleth: Why you hated it. That... stupid joke I used to make. “He’s a stranger to me.” *Byleth’s grip on the rod tightens* Deep down, on some level... did you think... *they begin to tremble as hot tears sting at their eyes* Did you think I didn’t love you?

*Jeralt sighsand slings his arm over Byleth’s shoulders*

Jeralt: I always knew you did kid. I just... was happy you figured out how to show it.

Byleth: I’m sorry for what it took for me to get there.

Jeralt: Don’t you ever blame yourself for that, kid. You’re my kid. Don’t you ever forget that.

Byleth, smiling and gently crying at the same time: Thank you... happy Father’s Day... dad.

*Byleth looks to Jeraltbut there is nobody there... but they don’t feel alone*

[butwhatifidothis]

Someone on the Tweeter.com is arguing that Edelgard is not quote, "a genocidal, war-hungry psychopathic maniac" with three points (through four screenshots) in her route, trying to showcase a more humane side of her.

Unfortunately those four screen shots... aren't the best for her.

Pic 1

Now this is the fight in the Holy Tomb. In BE, she says this.

She says this immediately after

And I'm sorry, saying "it's not my intent to fight you" after letting the BE follow Rhea into the Holy Tomb knowing she was going to mount an attack and then explicitly ordering the death of those who stand against her... ain't a good image chief. Actions speak louder than words.

Next two images are connected to the same point

Here she says that, because Almyra isn't influenced by the Church, she believes she can have friendly relations with them.

Well, uh

1) "blind fealty to the church" except Claude is/was an atheist (at least in the eyes of Fódlan), so following this logic she should have believed he was willing to talk with her. Instead she goes to conquer Leicester the literal second Byleth comes back, with absolutely no attempts at communication made with him at any point (unless you count her dialogue with him if you have her fight him - you know, that time when she's already decided to rule over him).

2) "openly communicate with them" and "respect the differences between our cultures" except in VW she explicitly states she believes Claude can't rule over Fódlan despite his and hers similar beliefs and ideals because he, quote, "[doesn't have] sufficient knowledge of [Fódlan's] history." See, he "doesn't know it" now, which means he can never learn it, whether from her or someone else. Such open dialogue, and from someone she herself says already has similar views as her. It's certainly a sign of good things to come when trying to communicate with an entire continent of people who might not have such similar views. Oh and this is after you've potentially killed the king and queen's son after he's stopped fighting so. Yeah.

3) None of Edelgard's endings state anything in regards to improving foreign relations, unlike the other two lords, so these words ring hollow. The closest she comes to that is Petra's own endings, where she manages to get Brigid to obtain a semblance of independence from the Empire.

The last picture, and potentially the, uhh, most questionable

She, uh, has no desire to unleash wicked atrocities upon this world.

But she's down for using her own citizens as shields to ward off the Alliance in VW

And she's okay with human experimentation to gain access to and actively use demonic beasts

And she's willing to continue to wage war after she's gotten hold of Rhea and destabilized the church, which was supposedly what she was after

Banking off the last point, she kept Rhea in decrepit conditions and slowly whittled away at her health for five years instead of just... killing her. Which would have thrown the church into irreparable damage had she just done that instead of keeping the hope for Lady Rhea's return to happen alive by keeping her locked away

And she's okay with granting a murderous man she barely knew, if she knew him at all (Jeritza), ownership of House Hrym for easy access for people to kill to keep him satisfied.

But yeah. No atrocities seen here.

... not the best moments to use when trying to defend her, ngl

[ashestospace]

Unexpected Encounter Kuroshitsuji x Demon Slayer! Reader

this is a request originally posted in my Wattpad!

Keyword to help you out for things evolving the cross over of these two animes!

Demon Slayer is Anime where humans hunt down the demon and stop them from eating a human. It's a very good anime and a very interesting concept, the reader is one of the Pillars. One of the highest ranks in the organization of the demon slayers.

[P/n]= pillar name ex. Water Pillar

character: Various

word count: 4417

Hope you enjoy ~~~

"My my my...this is such a new setting, it's truly amazing" you smile as you looked up from the crowd of people. Walking silently from the street of England you have finally arrived near the destination of your new assignment. Multiple reports have said odd behavior of people dying and disappearing without a trace has been going on in England. You were one of the Pillars; from an organization originated in Japan from centuries ago of swordsmen who hunt down Demons and protect human beings. Your Master had to assign you out of the country and hunt down the demons causing this, but something was off.

The body's left or discover were not eaten; not even one. Which was odd to say at least for a demon. Another part of you thinker with the information that was given to you. Your Master had told you once that there where demons who made contracts with humans, mutual agreements between these two until the human's desires are completed, the demon will feast on them as their part of the deal for being their servants until the end of the contract. It was a troublesome thing since the demons are under control of a human the harm that a demon Slayer can do on them is limited if a human is involved in controlling these creatures.

You sigh as you kept on walking down the road; people look so different. The atmosphere unique from anything you have gone through before, it was almost welcoming, but behind it...you could sense negative emotion ever since you step in this country. It seemed to overpower all over. How saddening you glanced up to the road, forestation started covering it. A loud squawk interrupted your thoughts, a crow flying above you before descending on your shoulder. "Y/N L/N!! Your assignment is up ahead in nearby wealthy Mansions around the area, noble families seemed to be involved! squawk locate the demon causing havoc in England and stop them!!" The Crow screams at your ear. You didn't even flinch instead, you petted its head with a finger. "Thank you for the update on information" it let out another high pitch squawk before it flew off your shoulder. "I guess there is no more time to waste now" you whisper out before jumping on a tree with ease. "Not when people are on the line.." you kept jumping between them, you looked like you were flying on air. You inhale softly as you close your eyes. Don't let them bring anymore bloodshed on the innocent y/n...

Soon enough you were faced with a Mansion, it was far larger than any of the buildings you have seen so far, it had you taken back. It looks like a castle from a scroll you have read from countries out of your own. "How beautiful..." You mumble out as you slow down your pace as you stop on a branch. Scanning around the area with curious eyes, everything seemed quiet from the outside, but the scent... The scent was so sudden that had you holding into your nose in surprise. "One..? No no two?" You mumble out to yourself as you tried getting a better scent, the aroma left different trails all around. The small scent of blood hidden around the forest. It felt like it has been there for maybe months? You squinted your eyes, the sudden sound of doors open as someone darted out. You hold onto the handle of your sword as you watch a blonde boy run out chasing after a cart. "AHH wait wait wait!!" He screams out with tears in his eyes. You blinked several times, he smelled human but something was different about the kid. You jump down in front of the cart, your hand extended as you stop it in a harsh halt. The boy crash into it by its sudden stop. "O-ow.." he pulled back as he rubbed his face. "Are you alright?" You poke your head around the cart to look at him. He had a farmer attire, he looked young as well. "Huh?" He looked startled by you before wiping his face. "I'm okay! Where did you come from? are you a guest from the young master?" He tilted his head, completely forgetting about the sudden injury in his face. You just smiled back at him, "no I'm just a traveler, I'm looking for something here, would you be kind enough to help me? It's been long since I stop to rest, do you mind if I take a breather I promise to pay back" you bowed your head at him, he seemed startled by it but you pay no mind. "Oh no! You been traveling for so long? I think Mister Sebastian won't mind if we help, follow me please!" The boy grabbed the cart with one hand and the other motion for you to follow him. "Thank you so much for your generosity"

It's odd, he's human and alive while being in the same place as the demon... either he is hiding somewhere in here and the people living don't know or.. "Finny you got the cart? I told you to watch out yes I did!" A maid said running over, her pace going slowers once she saw you. A male following behind her "who is that?" She asked confusedly. "Is she a guest from the young Lord's or did you brought a stranger in?" The male said. "Uhh well she's a traveler, she's been on the road for a long time and asked for help," Finnian said bashfully as he looked down. "Finnian!!" They both yell in a panic "the young master and Mister Sebastian will be upset especially with Trancy and lady Midford around yes they will!" The maid yell.

You got on your knees and bowed, they all got startled once more as they shut up. Your gentle calm voice had them wide-eyed. "My humble apologies, I do not which to cause you or your friend problems. But I'm at foot looking for something urgent and have not rested in a long time, I just ask for a moment to rest and I will leave as soon possible" it was a poor lie but it would be believable say at least. Your eyes winded as the sudden scent hit your nose again, it was strong...it was coming from right in front of you. The demon..he was here "Please stand up, it's cold on the floor" a new voice said, you slowly sat up, your c/e eyes meeting deep blue ones looking back at you.

It was a boy with a girl holding onto his arm. A worried and sad look on her face as she looked at you. You kept a neutral face, behind him a tall male in butler attire stood staring at you as well. Ruby-like eyes glued to you. There's one you stood up slowly before holding your hands together. "Whats y-" "are you alright?" The girl cut the boy off as she walked over to you.

"You poor thing! most have walked for such a long time! You don't look from here, where are you from? Sebastian get some tea for her! Do you want to sit down??? you are so cute!" The girl inspects you up and down before hugging you, her strength was impressive. "Elizabeth let her go she can't breath!" The boy said waving his hands. She did as told, "sorry.." she mumbles out, you rubbed your neck as you looked back at the boy and tall black-haired butler. "My Name is Y/N L/N I come from Japan, I'm in a journey to find something here in England, I been walking for around a month now and haven't rested very well I do apologise for the inconvenience of me being here" you explain briefly, so far most these people seemed completely human and oblivious to the man behind them true being. How long have you been hiding among them with such ease?

The boy nodded in acknowledgment "Nonsense a lady shouldn't apologize for such thing, I'm head of The Phantomhive estate. Accompany us for tea, it wouldn't be gentlemen of my part to let you go like these" the motion with a hand as he turns around to walk.  you took this to follow behind him, "Sebastian get us something to eat" you glanced over to the butler, his eyes locking with yours as you pass by him. Harsh Ruby-like eyes burn flames reflecting against your e/c as you walked pass by him following the younger couple. A small plastic smile dance on his lips before he bowed slightly. "Yes my lord.."

Once the boy showed you a common room, he introduced himself more properly. Learning a few things about how he has a limited staff. How the small blonde girl was his fiance and how there was another noble person in the estate staying over along with his servants. He was still asleep so the chances of you seeing him we're little still considering with how early it is still was. You hum slightly as you took in the flavor of the tea, it was awfully good. Almost perfect temperature; the sweet taste of honey lingering in your tongue.

"So tell me Miss L/N how come you're so far away from home," The boy asked sipping on his tea. "I'm looking for something" you responded quickly, but your soothing voice very much present. "With a sword in hand?" He raised a brow looking down at your hip. The handle of your sword visible even though your long kimono covers most of it. "I am a swordmen, natural for people in my field to have one" you chuckled slightly. Elizabeth had star-like eyes as she looked at it from her spot. " You a s-swordmen? But you're a girl and-and super duper pretty!" She said leaning forward on her chair.

"Gender roles aren't as a main focal point when it comes to being swordsmen in my region, most of our top ranks are females" you explain. "Most beautiful like your self as well" she smiles at your compliment. "So why is a swordsman from Japan looking for something all the way over here in England?" The boy asked forward, his chin now resting in his hand as he stares at you. "Oh I'm here to retrieve something that got out, nothing serious what so ever. So you all shouldn't worry"

"This should concern us," Sebastian said as he stood in front of Claude. The other Male pays no mind as he slowly steers the pan with food. "So one has made its way over here" Claude brought the spoon close to his pale lips before savoring a small taste of the food. "Shouldn't worry much if it's just another mortal who has come inside our web." Golden orbs stare back at Sebastian. "I suggest we get rid of her before she manages to bring more pest into here. I will like to eat without being bothered by a fly with the like of a so" Sebastian let out a sigh as he ran his gloved hand through his Raven hair already annoy by the demons comment . "She most likely has no clue that it's us, Since the lower class burn up in the Sun. The idea of us walking around this early is something not in her mind" he thought out loud. "Keeping our Masters unaware won't be that hard, those triplets and Hannah can keep a distraction while we get rid of them. That's a good enough deal for you?" Claude suggested. This was the only time when this two will ever team up, the situation must be serious if they would put their hatred to the side to get rid of you.

Music softly played in the ballroom, Elizabeth had suggested to introduce you to English customs. The soft tone kept you clapping at the rhythm of the music as she dances. Ciel sat next to you in his own Chair with the gardener standing by.

"This is very lovely Elizabeth"

"Is it? I will love for you to show me some of your own customs too!"

The loud banging of doors being forcefully open was quick to cut your attention instead of the dancing female. Another boy entered the room, awfully dramatically so to speak he wore purple clothing and uh..butty shorts you guess those where?. "Cieeell! Why didn't you wake me sooner if we had a guest over!" The boy exclaims as he walked over. Ciel sighs annoyedly at the boy. "This is the guest I was speaking about earlier..." He motion. "A proper introduction would be kinder you know!" He exclaims as he crossed his arms and looked you up and down.

"Aren't you a pretty thing" he mumbled out with a slight smile. "My lord.." Claude said from behind him. Your eyes quickly fell on him, you haven't even felt him entered behind him. His scent almost didn't hit you before you inhale softly. "What? it was just a compliment!" Alois protested. "It's alright, thank you for the compliment" she waved a hand trying to cool things down. He seemed to have rather a short temper. You kept your posture straight, both demons were behind each boy as if they were their own shadow. Their welcoming stares were sending chills down your spine.

"What's with that sword your carrying? A lady shouldn't carry a weapon like that!" He pointed out. Elizabeth pouted as she places both hands on her hips. "Alois don't be rude, Y/n is a swordsman! It's a normal and common job for women in her country" she said proudly, what a sweetheart you thought. "Huhh??" Alois said with his head tilted at the information. He huff as he crossed his arms. "If that's true why not showing us what you can do if you really are one" he proclaims as he sat down abruptly next to Ciel. The Bluenette wrinkles his nose at this. "Trancy she has no reason for her to do so, she's recovering and it's very impolite to demand s-" "okay" you cut the boy off as you stood up. Eyes followed you as make your way to the centered of the ballroom.

Your hand hovers above the handle of your sword. A deep inhale took over all your senses. Different scents abounding around the whole Manor. That to say at this moment as you close your eyes, you could sense 6 demons right inside this room. Your eyes open up again as you followed the image of the scent leading to each one of them. They all directed straight to the servants, the only humans were the nobles and the first servants you have encounter. This was bad, demons don't team up or work together. All of this looked suspicious.

But you weren't weak, you have slayed hundreds of their kind at this point in your life. You were one of the Pillars of the Demon Slayer corp. If you weren't able to get rid of them, then what was the point of having the Tittle? Questions still arise about the situation, but you stood calm as you drew out your sword. [C/s] reflecting out of your sword thanks to the Chandelier above you.

Your movements were fast but precise in every slash you threw in the air. Your body moving at the rhythm of the music in the background. Some will say it looked you were dancing, your feet sliding along the floor as you jump and did a black flip. Sword twisted as it aims behind your back. Its sharp end aiming meters away From the butler with Golden eyes in a quick movement. His Raven like hair flew back by the movement of it. His body stood still.

You looked back up at him as your body turn. "Ah, my bad I think I overdid it...didn't know you will be so close" you quietly apologize with a small smile. "Its...quite alright.." he slowly responded. "Y/n that was amazing! It looked like you were dancing!" Elizabeth exclaims as she waved her hands up and down into fist in pure astonishment. The other two boys seemed taken back as they stare at you. "I agree...it was quite the unexpected show" Ciel mumble out. "Claude you should learn some of that!" Alois added with a grin as he stares at his butler.

The butler pushes his glasses back to his nose bridge. "I will keep it in mind, my lord.." he informs, the tension increase between the demons. The triplets whisper between each other while the maid's hand clench ever so slightly. The suspense was bad, they didn't know if you already caught on and you did it to intimidate them. They didn't know if you were still oblivious and was simply putting up a show for them to see, but either way, now they were more alert than ever.

Sebastian rubbed his knuckles as his arms were resting on the bottom of his back. He wasn't going to waste any more time. Just by seeing your little performance you were already a bigger threat than he imagen. He could sense it underneath your gentle features. That it was a matter of time before it gets to night time and you took action into where the demons were. He just hopes that you haven't figured it out still. That was gonna be another problem though, if you were to be killed, it will be more likely that more of you will come to hunt them down for your disappearance. What to do what to do...

The rest of the day had gone swell surprisingly for you in the end. Even though there was clear tension between the servants as you pass them, or did little interaction in them. The triplets mainly avoided you as if you were the plague as they whisper with each other. Nighttime was approaching fast and you knew it was about the time before they strike.

"Thank you for letting me stay the night once again Lord Phatomhive" you stood in front of the boy. "No need to thank me, I couldn't let you leave with the tired state you are in," he said waving a hand dismissively. Normally he wouldn't do such thing as bringing a stranger inside to stay, but with lady Elizabeth around it was bound to happen with her kind heart. "Sebastian will show you to your room. Do rest well Miss L/N.." he turn around to leave, your eyes quickly fell down on the butler.

He looked human like the rest, it amazes you truly how good he blends in. Usually, a demon had deformities or something unnatural in them. But the ones you have seen so far in England to this day have looked nothing but breathtaking in appearance. Sebastian being one example, maybe this was a spell or his demon art if he had the ability to perform it like upper-rank demons.

"Follow me please," he said with a small smile as he guided you down a hallway. You did as instructed, now than ever your senses were alerted. This was a perfect chance to attack if they knew you were on to them. Which was the case as he brought you to down an endless corridor, You felt a scent behind you. Footsteps now matching Sebastian and yours, you came to a stop and so did he. Glancing back you saw Claude standing a few feets away from you. Golden eyes flashing bright red as they watch you.

"Ah, so I was right then..." You commented as you stood sideways to face both. Sebastian was also facing you now. "I must admit you all blend well with the crowd, but not well enough..." Sharp glares were sent to your body. "But I do wonder how in the heavens a couple of demons like you are working together" you place a hand in your chin as you thought out loud. You were playing around, you were calm even if they could leap at you at any moment.

"Who said we are? you just decided to come to where you should have never set foot" Sebastian said, sliver knives appear on his knuckles. "You aren't? Then....your fighting for your food that's it right? It's a game for you all? To play with the humans living here" You duck as silver wear was thrown near your head. Golden ones falling along as you jump back. You drew out your sword in a swift movement as you used the wall behind you as an impulse to jump towards Claude. You strike and miss him as he jumped away. It went back and forth, it was like endless knives were coming from their hands as you kept dodging and trying to get close. Each of your footsteps silent down the corridor didn't even make a sound.

"You both seemed very strong you must eaten so many innocent people" Your body bend back as you dodge Sebastian's fist. Your expression was almost reflecting emptiness for a moment but then rage overcame it. "But I have killed hundreds of you" you grip tightly on the handle of your sword as you jump back in the air as your eyes close shot as you flew in the air, time feeling like it stops. "And I will not let these people be next! Breathing technique fourth form! [P/n/m]!!" Your eyes shut back open as [p/t] overcame your sword and your surroundings. "Damn it!" Sebastian exclaim loudly, both of them were to close to you before you unleash your first real blow on them. The impact was heavy on them as it sends them flying to the floor and crash against the wall. Claude's left arm was cut off, While Sebastian grunts loudly as he held into his stomach bleeding.

Both of them badly bleeding as they tried to stand up again. You pointed your sword at them, you could hear footsteps behind you coming at full speed. You looked back at both Alois and Ciel panting heavily as they reach you. They looked mortified by the sight.

"Claude!" "Sebastian! Y/n what is the meaning of these!?"

"Stay back young Lord!" Sebastian quickly said. He stood up, you clench your sword. "I will recommend you listen, Lord Phatomhive. I apologize for the ruckus but I need to finish this" you drew your sword up towards you. "This is my mission, they are my mission. I am the [p/k] Pillar, one of the members of the Demon Slayers corps. The servants in this Manor are under the impression of humans. Reports have brought me here and to them. My job is to exterminate the demons at any cause! So please stand back so I can protect you from them!" you explain with the raise of your voice. that was the impression, that these poor kids didn't know, but dear were you wrong.

Ciel clenches his fist tightly. Claude stood up wobbly as he pushes back his glasses. His arm was generating back quickly. It was no surprise to you. "We know," Ciel said as his knuckles turn white. "You can't kill him! I could careless but we have a contract! He's been protecting me this whole time" He exclaimed as he stood in front of you. You looked down at the boy, he looked angry, upset, but worried nothing less underneath everything for his butler. The fact that someone was easily able to actually take him down along Claude? More terrifying for both young Lord's.

"You....you made a contract with a demon...?" You lower your sword, why? Why would a child ever choose something so drastic than to give their soul away to a creature like this? "I did too! So you can't touch either of them or any of my servants! You heard you, bloody witch!" Alois said infuriated, In some aspects, it was good for both butlers that both Earl's stood in front of you. They knew you wouldn't attack them, it will be against Slayer's rules to hurt humans. But they didn't know if any of this will convincing yet for you. and Aloi's screaming didn't seem so convincing to you.

You sigh as you shook your head. "I'm sorry...but this are rules.." you lifted your sword up as you jump over the boys and in front of both men. They quickly took a stand. "Wait wait! Ciel do something! That crazy bitch is going to kill my Claude! This is your fault!" Alois viciously shook the bluenette. Ciel pushed him away. "What if we made a deal?" Ciel calls out to you.

You stop In your tracks, you turn your head to look at him. He swallow dry. "I need Sebastian, I did what I did for a reason and he's the only one that can help me and the only one I trust to get me to what I want..." You raised a brow at him. "Alois has his own reason.. but I will tell you that, that demon belongs to me!" He exclaims as he holds into his chest with full demand and furry in his tone. Sebastian looked at him wide-eyed, "so I will like to suggest that we talk through this first and no one will get hurt" he added as he stood straight. His posture imitating dominance, you inhale softly as you looked at him. There were so much pain and anger underneath him.

"Hm...Alright, I will listen only this once...but make it count Earl or all these demons heads will turn to dust before sundown.." you waved a finger up. Ciel stare at you before at Sebastian. There will be a lot to discuss and they all knew. There was so escape from you.

"Then...listen clear..."

~~~~

I am alive! Surprisingly I once again lost inspo and got busy with school what a surprise? I'm sorry for the slow updates. But with full love thank you for requesting this!

Request will still be open!

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Chapter 41 - Everyday Heroes

Author’s Note: I spent so long looking into different fundraiser ideas, and then I threw a bunch together. Also, my sappiness shines through at the end. I'm really happy with this chapter though.

The next chapter is just an epilogue, and really short, so I'll be posting it tomorrow, along with the 'deleted scenes'.

Strong language warning! 'Damn'.

Chapter Summary: Chloe's nonprofit hosts its first fundraiser.

First | Previous | Last

Chloe: do you or your friends have any plans after school?

 Marinette: no y?

 Chloe: wonderful. I’ll be kidnapping you then

 Marinette: what

 Marinette shows her screen to Claude, who is sitting beside her at lunch.

“Oooh! I’ve always wanted to be kidnapped in a setting with no ill intentions!”

“Claude. Claude.” Allegra stresses his name, pointing at him with both hands pressed together. “I need you to know that that is one of the most you things you have ever said, but please give us context.”

“Or details at least. When are we being kidnapped, and for how long?”

“Who and why?”

“Chloe, but she’s being vague,” Marinette adds. “She’ll be grabbing us after school.”

“Alright then.”

---

“What’s up, Chlo’?” Adrien asks from the chair in her room where he’s sitting upside down.

“Now that we’ve been safely kidnapped, we’d love to know why!”

“Everyday Heroes will be having its first fundraising event soon, and I’d like help planning it.”

“Yesssss!!!!��� Marinette cheers. She throws her hands in the air, knocking her flower crown from her head. Allan hands it back to her. “Thanks.”

“What sort of event were you planning on?” Felix prompts.

“Uhhh…” Chloe throws her arms in the air, falling backwards onto her bed. “I don’t know!”

“Going off of Google, there’s plenty of options,” Allegra consoles.

“Let’s go! 142 million results to go through!!”

---

“Thank you all for coming here to the first fundraiser for Everyday Heroes! We have t-shirts for sale, and a scavenger hunt available both on your phones and on paper for those of you willing to make a donation of any amount. All donations will be matched by my mother’s company, so anything and everything helps!” Chloe announces over the megaphone. “Once it begins to get dark we have paper lanterns for you to launch! Our first speaker will be beginning in half an hour, and we’ll be having regular speakers from that point on! Feel free to grab a flyer if you or someone you know is being bullied, the contacts listed there can and will help! Many thanks to the local businesses who assisted in providing food and supplies for this event! I hope you all have a wonderful evening, thank you!”

The crowd gives the girl polite applause before dispersing, looking around the event. Chloe turns to her friends, who are still applauding enthusiastically.

They all have a flower crown on, courtesy of Marinette, who has been running on a seemingly endless energy supply for a while now.

“Yay!! You did great!!” Marinette hugs her tightly.

“Thank you.”

“Great job.” Allegra grabs Chloe’s hand.

“My shift selling the shirts isn’t until later so what do you guys want to do?”

“If baguettes could move-”

“Claude, after the cereal soup, we know better than to engage in your debates-”

“-then how would they move?”

“Like a snake,” Allan decides.

“That’s assuming it doesn’t have to stay rigid though,” Marinette points out, “Is the baguette alive at this point? How freely can it move?”

Allegra sighs. “Here we go.”

With that, the group’s debate begins. They wander the event, (Chloe and Allegra are holding hands, as are Adrien and Marinette).

Felix shakes his head. “If it is alive, then it would not necessarily automatically gain the ability to bend its body at will. Humans cannot do that. That is why we have joints.”

“What class would it be? Because that would change things. Would it be a vertebrate or invertebrate?” Allan asks.

“It would move like an inchworm,” Adrien argues.

“That’s ridiculous!” Chloe interjects, “If a baguette could move, it would roll on its side.”

“I’m with Chloe,” Marinette resolves. “It makes the most sense.”

“I’m not so sure-” Allegra starts, ignoring the betrayed gasps from the two girls. “I think it would be more of a waddle? Is that the right word? Like one end forward, then the other.”

“Going off past precedent with sentient food,” Sabrina begins, “It would hop. Like VeggieTales.”

“You make a good point,” Allan agrees, “However, counter point, a baguette moving like a snake.”

“True. True.” Adrien nods sagely. “Again though, it would move like an inchworm. It just makes the most sense.”

“Who gave the baguette permission to bend?” Marinette mutters, “If I were to ever run into this hypothetical baguette, I’d put it back in the oven, because clearly, it’s too doughy.”

“Actually, you make a good point. How well cooked is this baguette?” Sabrina ponders.

Felix hums. “I think, for the sake of simplicity, we should assume it is baked properly. Also, unless we plan on changing the physiology of this baguette, it would be classified as an invertebrate, as baguettes lack backbones.”

“A standard baguette then. Nothing wrong with how it’s made or nothing added to the dough.”

“I insist it would roll.”

“Oh, you dear sweet fools,” Claude finally chimes in, “If a baguette were to move, it would do so in the most baguette way it could. It would gallop.”

“Excuse me?”

“Take Sabrina’s stance and just fold it. The baguette would need to get around to its baguette events as fast as baguette-ly possible, and therefore it would gallop.”

“He does make a fair point…”

“Thank you, Adrien.”

“He only agrees because your idea is one step removed from ‘inchworm’.”

“You’re both ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!”

“Claude has brought about another interesting point. This baguette can move, but is it sentient? Is it moving by pure chance, or does it have motivations?” Felix queries.

“That’s a good point. If it is moving on pure chance, then it would most definitely remain rigid, and it would move in the simplest way possible. That would suggest that it just slides across the ground, or rolls, if we’re looking for something more exciting.”

“Dupain-Cheng, if you’re about to support the nonsense that they’ve been spewing-”

“However, if the baguette is moving because it needs to get somewhere-”

“Mari. Please.”

Marinette continues shamelessly, “-then maybe it would move in a more dramatic way.”

“Like galloping!” Claude chirps.

Felix opens his mouth, ready to make a point, then stops himself. “How did I get dragged into this debate in any form of a serious manner? This is a baguette.”

“Thank you!” Chloe cries, gesturing at Felix.

“Okay, but consider,” Adrien interrupts, “The baguette is moving because it needs to get somewhere, but it has to remain inconspicuous. How does it move then?”

Chloe, Allegra, and Felix sigh wearily, though everyone knows they’ll be joining the discussion soon enough.

---

Sabrina, Felix, Adrien, Allegra, Allan, and Claude gather near the platform where the speakers that Chloe arranged for have been addressing their listeners.

It’s beginning to get dark. That time after the sun sets when the dark blanket of night has yet to fully settle over the sky and you can still see fairly easily.

There’s one speaker left.

Chloe comes out.

“I’m privileged to be able to say that our final speaker tonight is my friend. Years ago, I never would have imagined I’d say that, and months ago I never thought I’d have that honor-”

“So that’s where they ran off to.” Allan smiles.

“I’m proud,” Allegra whispers. Everyone nods, having figured out what’s happening.

“-but she will forever surprise me with her infinite kindness. She is, in large part, the reason I decided to create this nonprofit. We were classmates for a long time, and I’m ashamed to say I bullied her relentlessly. Despite this, she never came to resent me, though I still think she should have. Instead, she showed me nothing but kindness. It is because of her that I am happier now than I have ever been before.” Chloe’s eyes shine with tears. “That’s enough from me. Everyone, please welcome Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Claude whoops. The group cheers, clapping loudly amidst the polite applause of the crowd.

Marinette blushes lightly as she walks onto the stage. She waves shyly, then smiles wide as she spots her friends, waving a little more confidently.

Chloe hugs her, hands her the mic, then walks off.

Marinette looks out at the crowd, still blushing.

“Uhh. Hey. I’m not very good at this whole-” she spins her hand, gesturing as though looking for words. “-’public speaking’ thing. Bear with me please. Um.”

She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opens them again, she stands a little straighter, face more confident.

Adrien smiles.

Their everyday Ladybug has arrived.

“In école, I was bullied. Often, and by more than just Chloe, despite what she may tell herself.” Marinette looks at the girl in question softly. “I was left to deal with it alone. My teacher and principal, as many of you may now know - due to the recent news about Dupont - did nothing. I was told that it was my job to be a good example for my peers. It was up to me to reform my tormentors.

“Obviously, that advice is nonsense. The victim of bullying is not responsible for saving themselves. Due to this environment though, I was not particularly confident. My anxiety festered. I was friendly with my classmates, but none of them did anything to help when something happened. I don’t blame them. They’d comfort me afterwards, which in the environment that my teacher created, really was all they knew to do.”

Her smile turns faintly nostalgic. “One year a new girl transferred to our school. She was strong, confident. She loved superheroes. She didn’t hesitate to stand up for me. She said, ‘all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing’. That’s what this charity is all about, at least to me. That girl became my hero, through the simple action of standing up for me, and showing me I could do the same for myself. In this time of Hawkmoth and akumas, heroes seem like a far off magical concept. I want all of you to know that being a hero doesn’t require magical jewelry or anything of the sort. Being a hero is a choice you make. When you see something wrong, do something about it. Simple as that.

“That’s not the end of my story though, because to be a hero, you have to continue to make these choices. You can’t stop fighting the evils of the world once you find something more interesting. That’s how things go wrong.”

Marinette sighs, tears in her eyes. “And go wrong they did. With my new friend, my confidence only grew. I was happy. Then, it all came crashing down. Far quicker than I ever could have guessed, I lost all my friends. Falling so far, I got worse than I ever had been before. Things weren’t looking up. I transferred school, though it was less for myself and more because my parents wanted me too, and, well, I was more focussed on not upsetting people that I still cared about, and I’d figured out that the quickest way to upset them was for them to see me. So, just a few days after everything went wrong, I started at a new school, determined to stay out of everyone’s way and be the least obnoxious ‘waste of space’ I could be. I promptly ran into someone and tripped on them.”

She laughs, clearly happy despite the darkness of this portion of her story. “With that, I had quite literally stumbled upon my new group.” She waves lightly in their direction, and they wave back, Allegra and Allan with tears in their eyes. “Despite how much effort I put into trying not to ‘waste their time with my presence’, they refused to leave me. They’re the embodiment of what being an everyday hero is. For some time, the evil they were trying to triumph were the walls I had put up around myself. I didn’t want to let anyone in, because having lost so many people all at once, I was convinced that was the only way relationships of any kind could go.

“Well, they most certainly didn’t ‘do nothing’. Far from it. They’d put effort into being with me everyday. They sat with me in the classes we shared, and they invited me to hang out with them constantly. Not in a pushy way, just letting me know the invitation was there and open for me to accept.

“It took a month before I finally accepted. To say they were excited is an understatement. The poor librarian had to put up with some happy screeching that day.” She laughs.

“No regrets.” Claude whispers smugly.

Allegra smacks his arm. “The poor librarian regrets ever letting you in.”

“She loves me.”

“Begrudgingly, but our point still stands.”

“From there, we began hanging out regularly. I was happy, though the fact that I hadn’t yet told them why I transferred stressed me to no end. Once, an akuma attack caused them to unknowingly meet my former friend. I was terrified, but even being completely in the dark they stuck with me, calming me down when they found me having a panic attack, and simply inviting me over to do something calmer.

“I did eventually have to tell them what had happened. I was,” her voice cracks, “so scared. I was certain that for one reason or another they would leave me after that. It had only been a few months, and I was - understandably - still not fully recovered. I thought they’d hate me. I’d be alone again.”

She takes a deep shuddering breath, smiling wide despite the tears trailing down her face. “They didn’t. I wasn’t. They stayed, and they've continued to stay. Since then, they, along with the friends I had remaining from before my transfer, have been absolute angels. I’m not the same person I was before this whole mess, but I am a better, stronger person. My friends are a stellar example of how everyone can be a hero. They didn’t need superpowers to be there for me and continue to be there for me. For that, they’re all my heroes. They’re amazing.” She looks at them in the crowd. “I love you guys so much. Thank you.”

With that, she hands off the microphone and hurries off the stage. There’s more applause, mostly from her friends.

It doesn’t take them long to spot her coming, and she tackles all of them in a fervid, tight embrace.

“You did great, ‘Nette.” Allan squeezes her.

Claude does the same. “How are you so precious?”

Tears stream down Allegra’s face. “That was really touching, Mari. Thank you.”

Marinette shakes her head as much as she can in the group hug. “No, thank you guys. I wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“I am certain you would have managed. You are truly an extraordinary individual,” Felix assures.

“I’m with Felix, Marinette. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for,” Sabrina chimes in.

“We all know where I stand.” Adrien grins.

“Right by her side, like the sappy little beans you are.”

Eventually they break apart, Allegra and Marinette both with tear tracks on their faces.

They turn their attention back to the stage, where Chloe is speaking again.

“-You’ve probably noticed that the lanterns have little pieces of paper attached. If you have any wish you want to launch with your lantern, then that’s the place for it. Now, before we launch, everyone should probably spread out a little more.”

While the crowd disperses, readying their own lanterns, Chloe takes the chance to scribble something onto her lantern’s note quickly.

The friend group smiles at each other, writing their own wish down and spreading out, waiting for Chloe’s cue.

“Is everyone ready?”

There’s several shouts of ‘yes!’, and Chloe nods. After waiting another moment in case of any soft-spoken stragglers, she confesses, “My wish with this lantern, is that something, somewhere, positive comes of this. I want something to reach someone who needs it, and their life is improved, even slightly by it.”

With that she releases the lantern into the air, she watches it float into the sky for a moment before leaving the stage. Everyone else follows suit.

Adrien and Marinette stare at the sky, hand in hand. She whispers, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

He moves his gaze from the lanterns to Marinette. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

She spots him staring at her and turns pink. “Adrien. Focus on the lanterns right now. What’d you wish for?”

He squeezes her hand. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to say. That's how wishes work, right?”

“I suppose.” She rests her head on his shoulder.

After a moment, he shifts to face her, cupping her face with his hand. She looks at him questioningly.

“Hey, Mari?”

“Yeah?”

He kisses her. She straightens in surprise momentarily, then has to stop herself from smiling. She squeezes his hand where their fingers are still interlaced, and his other hand - still resting on her cheek - drifts slightly to push her flyaway hairs out of her face.

Chloe has finally joined the friend group, and upon seeing Adrien and Marinette just remarks, “It’s about damn time.”

Allegra straightens, grabbing Chloe’s hand. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

Then the blonde whirls around and kisses Chloe as well.

Claude, who has been taking pictures, immediately turns and gets pictures of the two girls. “My ships are sailing, my ships are sailing, my ships are sailing. Somebody make this a national holiday right now. My ships! Are! Sailing!” He whispers excitedly.

Adrien and Marinette break apart, touching foreheads and staring into each other’s eyes for a moment, grinning identical, tender, and affectionate grins.

They finally step away from each other, both gasping in delight at Allegra and Chloe.

Adrien manages to keep his fangirl squeal from being disruptively loud, and Marinette takes a picture of her own.

“Glad you didn’t miss this.” Allan comments softly. “Three cheers for Ally, internally though, otherwise she may kill us.”

Marinette nods, then whispers, “My ship is sailing.”

“Now you sound like Claude.” Allan nods toward the taller boy who has stopped taking pictures, but remains just as exuberant. Felix snaps his fingers in front of their face, and they don’t respond. He turns toward Allan and shrugs.

Allan sighs. “We may need to reboot him.”

“Possibly.” Marinette giggles.

“Promise me you’ll remember how to breathe? That one forgot.” Allan asks as he moves towards Claude.

“I will, though I make no promises for Adrien.”

The blond boy has stopped squealing, but bounces cheerily next to Marinette.

By now, Chloe and Allegra have broken apart, and have taken in the chaos around them.

“You broke Claude.” Marinette jerks her thumb in his direction.

“I believe it was a group effort. Both his ships sailed at once,” Felix corrects, “I suppose each of you can take exactly 25% of the credit.”

“Adrikins isn’t doing much better,” Chloe observes.

“He’s a hopeless romantic, you know this.”

Chloe strides up to Adrien and flicks him in the head. That’s enough to break him from his stupor. He just hugs her happily.

She begrudgingly allows this, though they can all tell that she’s only acting.

She’s just as happy as the rest of them.

Adrien is still hugging her when an excited squeal let’s them know Allan has successfully brought Claude back to life. They rush over and hug Allegra, then Marinette, then Chloe and Adrien.

He turns to Allan enthusiastically. “Mom, all three of your daughters-who-are-interested-in-romantic-relationships at once! They grow up so fast! Look at them!” He gestures at both couples. “So beautiful! So happy! Little lovebirds! They’re darling!”

“Excuse me? When did he become my mother?” Chloe questions.

Allan waves her off. “You’re all my children. The moment I start worrying about your general health and well-being outside of when we’re together, you’re my child.”

“Which honestly doesn’t take long,” Allegra teases.

“I believe Marinette is his record,” Felix remarks. “He was worried about her the second he laid eyes on her.”

“Can you really blame him? I was a mess that first day.” Marinette sits on the grass, staring up at the sky still dotted with little glowing lights.

Adrien follows suit, laying down beside her. Marinette uses his chest as a pillow.

“I think we all were worried about Mari when she showed up.” Allegra sits as well.

“Good. She needed you.” Chloe joins her girlfriend.

“I still do! All of you are amazing, wonderful, priceless gifts to the planet!”

“So are you, Nettie,” Allan reminds her.

Soon enough, they’re all on the grass, staring up at the inky nothingness that they had filled with a glittery sprinkling of glows. Each lantern a brilliant dot representing someone’s hope for something better.

A better future, a better world.

“We made our own stars,” Marinette murmurs, awed.

“We are our own stars,” Adrien counters.

Because the lanterns may represent hope, but they’re a hope built on people.

And people are more than capable of being radiant when they need to be.

Adrien looks at the raven-haired girl on his chest. She’s staring at the sky in wonder, eyes reflecting the twinkling lights.

Some people shine just for the people around them. A dazzling gift to their friends.

He smiles, happy to have the privilege of being so close to the brightest of them all.

---

Author’s Note: Sooooo????!!!! What do you think?! I really like this chapter, and I think it works well for wrapping everything up. I'm not the best some of the aspects of it, but they were important, so I did my best to make them quality. Also, as I said, my sappiness really shines through at the end.

Claude is all of you. I'm aware of this.

What's this?? Another dumb debate??? Here's the survey!! I have another debate that I really want to do, because I truly think it'd be interesting, but I wanted to give it its own one-shot, so you get 'how would baguettes move' instead. The results are here.

Final chapter tomorrow! I can't believe I'm even saying that. Wow.I love you guys so much!!! Thank you so much for reading and staying with me!! You guys are just the sweetest, most amazing people, and you're the reason I made it this far! 💞💞💞

I look forward to seeing you guys's thoughts on this chapter! I'll be in the comment section as always!

💕❤💕❤💕

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[raxistaicho]

This twisting, rambling path

The Analyzer’s a gold mine of bad takes. Let’s keep at it :D

You DO tend to fixate on strange ideas and long-debunked notions.

No. In fact, she speaks in both versions of destroying the very system of the weak being forced down.

According to the original version of the scene, the ones she’s disregarding as “babied” are those who choose to be weak. To put it another way, the kind of person Edelgard’s discussing as spoiled are those who ignore opportunities and choose to wallow. And even then, she doesn’t discuss outright abandoning people like that, and indeed her support with Linhardt especially demonstrates Edelgard is dogged in pursuit of helping a person to unleash their potential.

Tough love is necessary for types like the person she’s discussing. But when you’re the Analyzer and you chronically misunderstand Hubert and Shez’s C support...

Now the really funny thing is it’s not even Hubert who discussed the dichotomy, it was Shez. 

Shez: So coddling the elites means the commoners end up oppressed, while hoisting commoners up only agitates the elites. Glad I’m not the one who has to rule the Empire. This whole thing sounds like a total mess.

Hubert: Heh. A mess, indeed. 

The only thing Hubert did was agree that running the Empire is a messy business. I guess the Analyzer altered this support in his head because it’s easier to imagine it means what he thinks it means if it’s Hubert - the one who actually knows what’s happening - who discussed the issue, rather than Shez guessing at it.

Heh, nope. In fact Dimitri even suggests Claude shouldn’t be so aggressive with reforms for fear that it might endanger his own life.

Also, in Scarlet Blaze, Edelgard only assisted Lonato and Rowe. While Rowe was part of Cornelia’s insurrection against Dimitri in Azure Gleam, he was NOT part of the huddle of Lords who discussed their part in the Tragedy of Discur; that was Mateus, Elidure, Gideon, and Dominic. And you kill Dominic in Scarlet Blaze, and Mateus is one of the lords you can slay if you choose not to recruit Byleth.

Remember what I said about Edelgard Critical trying to de-legitimize Dorothea’s right to hold an anti-noble opinion? The Analyzer is NASTY about her, as we’ll eventually get to. His issues with her are a lot more base than just “she’s supporting the tyrant! >:(”

Uhm, yes. Fodlan’s nobility has become rotten.

And?

I guess he’s trying to insist it’ll be the same with Edelgard’s reforms, but the main difference is nobility centralized power and opportunities unto themselves in order to produce the next generation of Fodlan’s best and brightest, but that very centralization allowed the nobility to become complacent and corrupt.

The major difference with Edelgard’s reforms is the right to become the best is not assumed by the nature of one’s birth. Cutting generational inheritance is a major first step to curtailing that corruption.

I really wish he used quotes so I have some clue where he got the “crushing those who don’t agree with her line”, but I do know it’s partially spawned off his bastardized read of

Which he was using to try to paint Edelgard as some kind of religious extremist.

And yes, rulers sometimes must use violence to maintain their rule, what of it?

And this is good, VW, not-animal (his comparison, not mine, we’ll get to that eventually, it’s a doozy) Claude using violence to help maintain Byleth’s reign!

I’m kinda surprised he didn’t go to Hubert’s paired ending with Dorothea, that’s the one they usually screech about.

Anyways!

Uhh. Yes. How dare Hubert try to help maintain order in the Empire?

I notice that rebellions are always fine when they’re against Edelgard (such as this ending) but they’re bad when they’re against Dimitri, Rhea, or not-animal (again, his comparison, not mine) Claude.

Really makes you think.

So, in summation, the Analyzer’s analysis is built stop a foundation of sand.

[thearkhound]

1998 Metal Gear Solid art commentary from Yoji Shinkawa (revised translation)

Source:http://web.archive.org/web/20050109031649/http://www.konamijpn.com:80/products/metalgear/art/index.html

The following is a translation of various artwork commentary by Metal Gear Solid illustrator Yoji Shinkawa that were posted on the game’s official Japanese website on July 9, 1998. These pages remained online until 2008, when Konami decided to relaunch the website in order to promote the digital download release of the game on the PlayStation Store.

I posted an earlier translation of these blog posts on March 8 of this year (2019) that was missing most of the illustrations being described, since the image files were not archived. I’ve since found the missing image files on another website and took the liberty of revising my translation to fix mistakes or clarify certain statements. I’ve tried to edit the original blog post, but for some reason tumblr didn’t allow me to upload any new images, so I decided to delete it and post the revision as a new blog post.

I’ve also found the images of the scratch Metal Gear REX model sculpted by Yoji Shinkawa that were uploaded on the official site, but unfortunately they were watermarked by a fansite that copied them back in the day. With that said, it’s still better than nothing, so I added them at the end of this blog poster.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t found any of the photos used on the seventh blog post, so that will still remain untranslated for the time being.

Interviewer: First of all, it’s a pleasure to talk to you Mr. Shinkawa.

Shinkawa: Please to meet you too.

Interviewer: I’ll start by asking about the game’s protagonist Solid Snake. What kind of details were you paying attention to when designing his character.

Shinkawa: Well I talked about this before in Konami Magazine Vol. 2, but there were two Metal Gear games prior to this one, so I struggled to find a balance between them. The Snake in the original Metal Gear looked like a young musclebound guy, while in Metal Gear 2 he was more of a bitter middle-aged man. This time Mr. Kojima’s image of Snake was one of having a tough and athletic body like Jean-Claude Van Damme combined with the middle-aged nature of someone like Christopher Walken. As a result, he became something of a middle ground between the two.

Interviewer: I see. What was your work after Snake’s image was decided on?

Shinkawa: The truth is I had trouble designing his costume. At the beginning I was thinking of a conventional military uniform in blue urban camo. But then I thought it might had been a bit too careless to have Snake swim underwater wearing such a uniform. Since the story takes place in the near future, he ended up wearing a costume made of leather and waterproof material.

Interviewer: It’s an amazing attention to detail that you kept in mind Snake’s infiltration route when designing his costume. So there’s a scene where Snake is underwater? What happens if the Ninja lands in a pond or something?

Shinkawa: What would happen? Huh... He would spark up and then yell something like “Water! My weakness!” (laugh) Just kidding.

Interviewer: (laughs) I guess not.

Shinkawa: It’s hard to know when it comes to Mr. Kojima though...

Interviewer: Don’t worry about it. By the way, is there any behind-the-scenes stories about the game’s development.

Shinkawa: Yes. It’s not much of an inside story, but I drew Ninja in a train.

Interviewer: During a train ride?

Shinkawa: Yes, I drew him while riding a commuter train. I was stationed at Osaka at the time. Most of the people there not friendly, so I would spent time observing the college girls.

Interviewer: That’s pretty nice.

Shinkawa:I guess so. But the friendliness here is good though. But Tokyo doesn’t have such a thing, so it feels a bit lonely. How I should say this, but there’s something that could be described as “enjoying the reaction of people watching in my direction” that could be seen not just over there, but here too.

Interviewer: So that’s how you train your sense of observation!

Shinkawa: No, that’s not what I meant. (laughs)

Interviewer: Is there a type of woman that you like?

Shinkawa: I wonder about that.

Interviewer: I’m sorry, that was such a trite question. Let me rephrase that. Is there a particular celebrity that you like?

Shinkawa: I guess I have no choice. My type would be someone like Shinobu Nakayama.

Interviewer: Is that so? Personally I’m a fan of Yuki Uchida if you’re curious to know...

Shinkawa: Yeah, she’s not bad.

Interviewer: Ah!

Shinkawa: Well, let’s put that subject aside. The truth is that the character of Mei-Ling was actually modeled after Nakayama herself. I used to watch her drama series.

Interviewer: Ah! That’s such an interesting thing to learn. Now that you say that, Mei-Ling really does resemble Nakayama looking at her closely, doesn’t she?

Shinkawa: Mei-Ling was written to be a bubbly college girl. She tends heavily to my taste, since she’s in the right age range and has my ideal image.

Interviewer: That’s nice. Having your preferences tied directly to your job.

Shinkawa: It’s not just mine. The character of Dr. Naomi Hunter was made to suit Mr. Kojima’s preferences too.

Interviewer: I see. Huh? At this rate, will you have a type for everyone?

Shinkawa: That wasn’t the intention, but... (laughs)

Interviewer: When was this drawn?

Shinkawa: I think it was around the end of last year. Huh? Around six months ago. Time sure fly quickly! I drew it for a magazine ad.

Interviewer: I heard the Ninja was your idea.

Shinkawa:That’s right. But originally there was a trio. They would say something like “Worya! Trinity Attack!” and they were going to have random kanji characters on their backs such as flame (炎) or horse (馬) without any particular significance.

Interviewer: “Fire” doesn’t seem so unreasonable, but why “horse”?

Shinkawa: I’ve mentioned “horse” as a joke, but that sort of thing happens very often, doesn’t it? When it comes to the image of Japan from a foreign perspective, while the outline is the same, the finer details differ. I like that kind of thing. The finalized design of the Ninja is and isn’t a ninja. If nobody told you he was a ninja, you wouldn’t think of him as one. But if someone points out that he must be a ninja because he has some ninja-like parts if you look at him closely, then you might think of him as one.

Interviewer: Is that so? That’s the Shinkawa magic!

Shinkawa: (laughs) What’s that?

Interviewer: I think I’ve seen this artwork a long time ago.

Shinkawa: It was first published around a year ago.

Interviewer: I see. So why did you draw it like an American comic book?

Shinkawa: Well, in reality I was going for a BD-style. Doesn’t it look like that?

Interviewer: I’m sorry, but what does BD mean?

Shinkawa: It stands for bande dessinée, which is the term for graphic novels in France. It means “sequential art”.

Interviewer: Huh, I did not know. So, is there a particular reason why you chose the BD-style?

Shinkawa: Of course! There is a reason. While talking to Mr. Kojima during the early stages, he said “Alright! Let’s turn Metal Gear into B.D” as a conceptual image. So I drew a few illustrations like that. This one was used as promotional art.

Interviewer: I see. So that’s the reason. And this one was perfect for a promotional artwork. Huh! Why is Gatse Becker [the BCPD chief from Policenauts] there?

Shinkawa: That’s not him. (laughs) It’s the Secretary of Defense [Jim Houseman]... Jeez... (While saying this, Shinkawa’s mouse keeps hovering on Mei-Ling for some reason.)

Interviewer: (nervous face) Uhh... Mei-Ling’s skirt seems awfully short... By the way, will you be able to shake the female characters’ breasts like in Policenauts?

Shinkawa:...That’s classified information!

Interviewer: Well, here’s REX. Is there anything particularly different about this Metal Gear model?

Shinkawa: The Metal Gears in the previous two games had weak legs, so this new version has a strengthened lower body. During the initial planning I came up with several illustrations and settings, but the finalized version was settled pretty quickly.

Interviewer: How so?

Shinkawa: Since it was going to be turned into a polygon model, I made it into an actual model in order to solidify its conceptual image and verify its functions.

Interviewer: Is that so? Please show the model to me.

Shinkawa: Of course! REX was designed purely as a weapon, so it’s not exactly a heroic mecha. I decided on a dinosaur-like design like this one, since it conveyed a scary and grim image.

Shinkawa: There are three types of enemy soldiers shown here. From left to right: we have the light infantry, the heavy infantry and the arctic warfare soldier (nicknamed Yukinko by the developers). There’s also a gas mask-wearing fourth type.

Interviewer: Were you given any sort of references to use?

Shinkawa: I had books and photos that were given to me by Mr. Motosada Mori (MGS’s military advisor).

Interviewer: All the enemy soldiers have their faces covered up. Was that decided because they were terrorists?

Shinkawa: That’s certainly something that could be think of, but there’s actually more important reasons.

Interviewer: Huh? Explain!

Shinkawa: Simply put, we needed to reduce the number of polygons.

Interviewer: Is that really the reason?

Shinkawa: If you want to draw faces on your characters, you have to use quite a few polygons to get them to a satisfactory level, which ends up consuming too much resources. When taking into consideration the game as a whole, you got no choice but to trim certain parts. It’s a shame, but in the end I think the finalized designs suit the enemy soldiers better.

Interviewer: It’s a matter of balancing supply and demand. By the way, I really like the helmet worm by the Heavily Armed Troops. You don’t see them often in the game though.

Shinkawa: Well that helmet is an original design. Like everything, I try to keep things intuitive for game-playing purposes. The enemy soldiers are color-coded from left to right: brown, green and white, plus yellow for the gas mask-wearing soldiers.

Interviewer: There are indeed a variety of schemes. By the way, the arctic warfare soldiers are layered with clothing. Snake spends most of the game in arctic environments, but he isn’t wearing that much. Why is that?

Shinkawa: He’s wearing a high-tech suit.

Interviewer: You said it so bluntly... (laughs) One last nitpicky question. Who does the laundry in the base?

Shinkawa: They use a laundry machine. (laughs)

Metal Gear REX Model Photos