#uh i also have Thoughts on the role of Knight

[byrdffv]

The kirby fanfiction rec list for people on the r/kirby discord server because i mentioned i wanted to make one and people said i should

(technically a repost from a google doc i made to share there but i figured tumblr might appreciate it too)

Alright kirbros, let’s get into it.

These are in no particular order; you should give all of these fics a read IMO.

First up, let’s get the easy ones out of the way,

Kirby on the flipside by ProminenceFlare is the most popular Kirby fanfiction on ao3. Ok technichally that spot is taken by some dumb MHA fanfic that doesn't even have a single Kirby character in it but thats not the point; KotFs is THE Kirby fanfic. Theres plenty of game/anime crossovers out there but this one takes the cake. Its 300 thousand words long for christs sake, and it’s a GREAT 300 thousand words. If you haven't read KotFs, you haven't read much Kirby fanfiction i imagine. It does not disappoint. Theres also a sequel fic in the works although currently it’s on a break, but it is also just as good as the original.

Second of all is actually a series, Heart and soul by post_it_notes7. This is another game/anime crossover but in an interesting twist. The premise is that Meta Knight, long before the events of Krbay, sought to fight galacta knight in order to become stronger and hopefully defeat nightmare. He does this, and galacta is resealed. Now in the present, nightmare has been defeated by Kirby, and all is good and well, right? NOPE, galacta knight has escaped his seal and is out to reclaim his title as the strongest warrior in the galaxy. Its technichally NOT a metagala fic, it instead focuses more on a friendship between the two. Im not really a shipping person so i actually really enjoy this, their personalities clash well and they get plenty of banter. The full series combined as of now just barely beats Kirby on the flipside (not counting KotFs's sequel, Kirby's dream trials) at 310 thousand words.

Okay, chances are if youre into Kirby fanfiction you’ve already read those two, however a series you may not have seen is PinkestMenace's Planet of Possibilities, Special Treats and Rest (haha get it it spells popstar).

Now I would suggest reading most of these, but if you don’t want to read all of them theres a few key ones that are my favourites.

Control halt delete goes into meta knight’s role in Kirby planet robobot, it’s a fun, somewhat angsty fic recounting the uh, ‘modifications’ star dream and Susie put him through. Its good.

Let the games begin! Is another good one, its quite short, but a fun read.

Do Starry Knights Dream of Eternal Sleep? is a much more angsty fic, focusing on that old “meta knight is a creation of nightmare” headcanon from the anime fandom. It is a very good fic but I will warn you its got some more harsh content in it including some self-harm/loathing-adjacent moments, and as with all fanfiction I recommend reading the tags before reading. If you are comfortable with that though, it’s a great read!

Rocks Fall, Everyone Flies is by far my favourite fic in this series, its got some great character interactions and storyline. The story is reminiscent of the Kirby novels, if the Kirby novels were not childrens books and were instead horror novels. I jest, but this story does have some good spooky content and moments. Its gives good attention to all four of the dream land gang and is another great read.

Alright that’s all for the POPSTAR series, there are other fics in that series but those are the ones Im interested in, I would suggest checking out the rest of their fics however if you are interested!

Where Were the meta-knights? By purblegaymer Is one of my absolute favourites, up there with Heart and Soul. It’s a ‘missing scene’ fic, going into where the meta knights were in those episodes where they were missing, as well as giving us a look at meta knights dumb internal thoughts throughout certain episodes. It’s a long but very good read, going into meta knight’s thoughts and personality in the anime. It’s a very good read, would absolutely recommend to any anime fans.

That’s been a lot of meta knight adjacent fics, eh? Don’t worry, I’ve got other character-centric fics. For example…

Stuck With The Lor by Azzie_Tangerine Focuses on magolor after he escapes from another dimension and tries to live in the dream kingdom. However the Lor, missing its captain, decides to show up and lock magolor in his ship so it can give the poor cat some therapy. Okay that’s not ENTIRELY how it goes but it is the basic premise. The fic goes more into magolor’s guilt and experience with the master crown, creates some fun lore for the uh, Lor, and is a good exploration into how the two’s relationship. Would definitely recommend this one for any magolor fans, 100%.

How King Dedede founded Christmas by NWTGMR is both hilarious and heartwarming. I think this fic might have one of the best portrayals of dededes personality in fan content I’ve seen, with the perfect mix between big soft man and petty jerk. I would definitely recommend giving this one a read, even if it’s not Christmas you will enjoy it.

Half Blind Date by Azzie_Tangerine (again, they’ve got some good fics) is the sole reason why I ship taransusie, which is funny because as I said earlier im not very big on shipping, but this one is too good to refuse. Taransusie is kind of a rarepair in the scope of Kirby ships (definitely not the rarest, but its not too common either), but this fic is very fun nonetheless! Please don’t take a drinking game at how many times ive said the word ‘fun’ in this list so far. Anyway, very good read, would recommend if youre a fan of either taranza or Susie!

Oh, actually, while we’re here, why not recommend Books Are Stupid, Anyways!, also by Azzie_tangerine. It’s a Kirby and prince fluff fic. Very cute, nuff’ said.

Youth by katrinasis is a pre-canon story recounting how king dedede and meta knight met, its cute and pretty fun. Good read even if youre not really into metadede.

He May Even Dream Again by voidknight is a fic that focuses on… Gooey of all characters! Yeah, gooey isn’t really the star of many fics, but this one gives him the spotlight! Mostly focuses on gooey’s relationship to dark matter, its in second person but somehow manages to make it work. Its fun, its cool, perhaps its even ‘neat’. Give it a read, if you want.

The List of Things Dark Meta Knight is Forbidden To Do by WarioCart Is… a fic (I say this positively). Based on that one Scp story I think, TLoTDMKiFTD is both a mouthful to say and a great fic. Its got some good humour, and just in general really funny. If youre too bummed out by angsty fic id recommend this one.

And… That’s about it, really. There are plenty of good Kirby fanfiction out there, but that’s all I really can think of (and have time for) today.

Wait actually, before I go, I should recommend The Olde Switcheroo by TripleMK, its another game/anime crossover but it focuses on dedede, its currently in the works but has updated recently. It’s a good one!

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Can i request the react to mc wearing the knight armor outfit they have? It just has so much comedic value it would be a CRIME not to wear it. Especially during poppys dragon quest that would be hilarious. Better if MC is a gryffindor as well since the chivalry thing. The outift has so much potential unexplored.

A/N: lmao I love this

HLC REACT TO MC WEARING A FULL SUIT OF ARMOR

!!CLANKCLANKCLANKCLANK!! MC rushed to meet their friend, sliding to a stop in front of them. The visor has fallen in front of their face and they flip it back up after two failed attempts. They hold a pose then do a spin to show off the dull old armor they found. MC just knows they'll be impressed.

SEBASTIAN SALLOW: He watches them the whole time they're running up to him. They nearly trip over their own feet and go face first into the dirt. He blinks slowly and shakes his head, maybe he was seeing things. There's no way they were going to pull off a stealth mission in that. "Mental..." Is all he can manage to say out loud.

OMINIS GAUNT: "What is that God awful racket??" He stands perplexed in front of the suit of armor that seemingly just came to life and started walking around. His face was fully contorted in confusion as MC struggled to open the visor. "What are you-...just, what!?"

ANNE SALLOW: Okay, when she admitted that she was actually into the whole "knight in shining armor" trope, she wasn't implying to them to take it seriously. Now they just look silly. Silly enough to make her smile, but silly nonetheless. "You're not actually going out in that, are you?"

IMELDA REYES: She doesn't want to give MC the satisfaction of making her laugh at their goofiness, but watching them try to mount a broom in armor is the funniest thing she's seen in a while. They're so off balance that they look like a new born deer trying to walk over a fence, while also covered in metal. They keep falling into a heap on the ground and she is struggling to keep it together.

NATSAI ONAI: "Oh wow, you can wear the metal suits in the halls? I thought they were just for show. Can I wear one?" Whatever shenanigans MC is up to, she wants in. If MC gives her one, she'll proudly go stomping around the grounds with them.

GARRETH WEASLEY: He quirks his eyebrows and chuckles. "Come on, the explosion wasn't that bad last time. But since you're here, and well protected, care to test my latest brew? I call it Baba Yaga's Bombastic Buttersnipes! It'll be a hit at the Halloween festival this year, I just know it! ...As long as I can figure out how to keep the splash range to less than ten feet." He says the last sentence under his breath.

LEANDER PREWETT: He covers his mouth as he examines MC's choice of wardrobe. He takes his hand away and opens his mouth to say something but words fail him. He covers a sneaking laugh with a cough and covers his mouth again. "Well uh....good on you for really, uh...committing to the whole Gryffindor...pride, yeah...pfff!" He turns away, turning red from holding his laughter.

AMIT THAKKAR: His confusion turns to laughter as MC fights the visor to stay up. "You're really committed to the 'hero' role, aren't you? Got a suit of, somewhat, shining armor and everything. You look like you just stepped out of a story book." He giggles to himself as MC gives him a thumbs up and proudly marches on.

EVERETT CLOPTON: He laughs so hard, he snorts. He covers his face in embarrassment but can't stop laughing. His sides hurt. He's tearing up. MC needs to walk away so he can catch his breath.

POPPY SWEETING: She looks them up and down for maybe a second before doubling over in laughter. "Well I don't think the dragon will have any trouble spotting you!" She wipes a tear from her eye. "I hope you're more agile than you look or you're going to be roasted alive in that."

ELEAZAR FIG: He thought he was used to MC's unusual fashion sense by now. Turns out they can still surprise him. He doesn't say anything of it, just gives them a concerned side eye. Where did they even find a full suit of unenchanted armor that fit? Maybe he should start asking more questions...but life is easier to manage if he doesn't.

[pumpkinstrawbrew]

𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱, 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲'𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔬𝔬 𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔢. 𝔖𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔣𝔬𝔬𝔩 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲. 🥀

...

(this is prob the most girliest thing i drawn so far. but i always had an inkling for classic fairy tales set ups. less for the story itself, more for the aesthetics. an’ i’m also weak for armour an’ knights / medieval related stuff on main. everything during that era looked so pretty, even if it wasn’t super practical. 

i was thinking about various arts / figures, that depict bruce dressed in actual knight's armor, an’ thought about his an’ crane’s situation in arkhamverse. comparison between a pretty princess, who needs a savior cannot be further away from who jonathan is, but at the same time, there are some interesting lil parallels to such stories an’ his narrative. as jon’s mantra in arkhamverse was literally related to this. ‘no more savior. no more hope. no more batman.’ he wasn’t even secretive about it or anything. all those 3 things are intertwined an’ related inside his mind. all of those things make an outline of who the bat was for him. 

i thought about the time, jon had crawled out from the sewers. mangled an’ shocked, an’ in pain. the anger came after. at first, there was a need to do basic things first. to treat the wounds. he’s bleeding pretty badly an’ his leg hurts. his face….i imagine, that it wasn’t pleasant to see in the mirror what became of it. those days are probably hazy for him. he mostly sleeps an’ tends to his re-opening injuries. then, once his mind is clear enough an’ pain is numbers down by meds, he thinks about what happened. how it happened. an' at this point, comes a disbelief that the bat just…let this happen to him. that he just left him to die an’ drown. that he did nothing to prevent this from happening.

crane would doubt this at first. maybe, he just remembers it wrong? but he looks at himself, feeling how he can barely move his leg, how his face is barely a face anymore. an’ no, there is no doubt. the bat had turned away from him, refusing to save him *that’s how he imagines it was, at least* jonathan never realized how much he idealized the bat, how much he relied on him coming to his rescue. with rage, enters a brief grief too. that’s the end of the line, bc if the bat won’t deem him worthy of saving, if he won’t save him anymore, won’t bring jon even a sliver of hope, then he should no longer be batman at all. 

this was basically the concept behind the first art. an encapsulated moment of jon’s hope breaking for the last time. things as intense as they are bleak. the plan is being formed. their mutual un-happy ending creeps near. but in that moment, it's just kinda painful. being abandoned by the only person, who seemed to care enough to at least not let him die.

the second art is more heavily connected with the song itself. in a way, this is an AU concept of them being the prince, who is also a dark knight in secret an’ the lonely, wicked alchemist. the main idea is the same as their story in arkhamverse. jonathan gets to know the knight an’ becomes somewhat dependent on their ‘shared roles’, feeling betrayed an’ scornful, when the knight fails to save him from uh. a dragon. so he returns with a scheme to destroy his once savior, in the end finding out that his failed knight was prince all along. i suppose, the only big difference in this AU be that jon’s ft needle glove is similar to needle in sleeping beauty story, an’ once you get a ‘taste’ of it, you fell into nightmares, but like, literally fall asleep. it’s pretty much similar to what happened to him in the actual arkhamverse as he appeared to be borderline unfunctional in the end. 

but since in this AU they have a bit more time to themselves vs just plot, plot, plot. bruce actually has a chance to grasp jon’s emotions a tad better. having a more clear idea why he was so viciously upset with him. it won’t fix anything, knowing the reason when it’s too late. nothing can be undone with a kiss here. bruce was revealed as brooding prince, who took the persona of mysterious knight an’ jon is in a kind of slumber, that prob cannot be broken.

no happy ending here, either. but it’s a bit softer in nature. as there are just two of them in the ivory tower. the dawn comes, but doesn’t manage to bring any comfort nor break the spell.

at first, i drawn bruce’s mask similar to what a knight’s helmet might look like, but i thought that i actually like it more, when it’s unclear if he’s in the mask or not. when it's hard to tell who he is in the moment, when he looks down at jon. the fallen knight or broken prince. i also like how in arkham knight jonathan saw maskless bruce in his batman attire still, so it's a bit of a call back to this too.

like, this is one version of what happening there. i suppose, this also can be some sort of fever dream, that either *or both of them* have. in the end, it’s free for interpretations. i just wanted to draw smth kinda 'poetic', even if sad for them. i do appreciate all the gloom misery in arkhamverse, but i also like more sappy-ish an’ beautiful things too. esp bc with villains like crane or mysterio, it feels kinda wrong to not use tropes, that they might be familiar with via books / movies. an' that they hiliriously enough often fits into, despite being bitter, twisted middle aged men.

aaaan' that’s about it. 2 takes on arkhamverse canonical events. one is more grounded, the other one is flew off the rails lol. regardless, i actually really like these 2 drawings! i was messing around with colors, trying to use the shades an’ tones, that i usually avoiding. at some point, both of arts were greenish, but it was just such a wrong mood. an' i guess, otp holding each other in their arms is like one of my fav poses ever. it's just so precious to me.)

[magknightidv]

Richard sterling x prince (hunter) reader. I really like the classics 😒. I also think it would be a cute dynamic

Uh, one second while I just- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH.

Alr thank you for your time I'll get to writing now :3 I'm going out on a limb and guessing you want a male reader and not a gender neutral reader, but lmk if you want me to rewrite it for that.

Disobedience.

(Was written before I gained better understanding of his character so he may be ooc)

Masterlist

Warnings: Nothing you wouldn't expect of an Idv fanfic ig. Swearing, Mentions of aggression. (They kinda hate eachother through the first bit but trust the process), Fluff :3

Info: I originally intended to go for headcanons and then short little drabbles.. but ig this is what you get when you're hit with horrific brainrot for one character. [WRITTEN BEFORE HIS OFFICIAL RELEASE, I DONT REMEMBER IF PEOPLE LEAKED HIS ABILITIES SO IM KEEPING THAT DESCRIPTION MINIMAL]

Richard Sterling x Male! Hunter! Prince! Reader

---

This Manor isn't to my liking. Too small. Compact. Nobody listens to me either. Disrespectful little rats. Have they no idea who I am?

Have I really been forgotten by the world that quickly? Surely not. Sister would not have let that happen, I'm sure. Of the entire family, she loved me. She saw me. She saw me as I am, not as the misconceptions they've had of me since the day I was born.

My eyelids finally force themselves open as the curtains of the room I've been placed in are pushed open by an unremarkable face I will likely never remember. Nobody of importance, however, the woman bows and makes a swift exit as she meets my eyes. She had quickly muttered something along the lines of "Breakfast is ready to be served."

Hm. Food didn't seem to even get a rise out of me anymore. The thought having lost its appeal after my incident. Court of fools. Court of shrivelled cocks and frog faced women. Neither appealing yet praised as though they are Gods greatest gifts. Can't even protect their prince from something as simple-minded as poisons in his meals. I suppose I should make an appearance before my "games" today, see who I am to be matched against to begin with.

The newest survivors are often who I am matched with as I am a new hunter. The Lady Nightingale, as I have learned to refer to her as, has insisted that it is the best way for us to adapt to our situation. The Fire Investigator seems particularly taken by the poor burnt Puppet man. Ms Mora, although sometimes able to fool me, often lacks the correct facilities to correctly defend herself against me. However, the role that catches my eye upon the list of survivors I am to play against is The "Knight". A name not seen by the other hunters, according to Mr Desaulnier. He claims to have heard whispers amongst the staff attending to us all but he merely thought it to be just rumours and gossip. Of all the Hunters, Joseph Desaulnier has been the best example of what a friend is in this sort of situation. He has been respectful and taught me the ropes all he asks in return is my reciprocated respect.

My eyes scan over the heads of the survivors currently nearby, all familiar faces in a sense. Although I have not been here long, I am aware of the majority of the survivors present in the manor and their general styles. Nothing out of the ordinary, I suppose.

♡♡♡

I have vague memories of a handful of matches I've played in this place. The Red Church. Lots of walls and the main church building is rather open, often a cipher placed on there making the chase for the survivors slightly harder if they do not get enough distance in time. My goal for this match, however, is not to find my usual survivors. I understand them, I wish to study the new puzzling enigma that is the "Knight".

An odd sort of sight is given to us hunters that allows us to see the machines being worked on. Slight shakes on multiple at once, its only a matter of figuring out which would be best to go to. Church it is. Whoever is there, regardless of it being the one I want or not will likely try to pass off the kite to another as there was a sudden switch of the journalist to the composer. I am more likely to find one of their decoders but one can only hope to be so lucky.

As I make my way to the church an odd figure is there to greet me. He looks up from the machine in shock and takes a defensive stance, this allows me to get a better view of the man. His hair is long and perhaps considered unneat but in a charming sort of way. He wears an outfit that exudes the very concept of nobility to a high level most of my fathers court could not even pull off. His face is angular and a beauty mark sits below his lips to his right side. He regains his composure as he realises I am not here to attack him. The church is quiet as a cipher is finished most likely by the composer in the far corner. Aside from the large popping noise it makes nothing is said between us, not until he decides to open his lips.

"Are you not the one sent to hunt us all? I am I truly so intimidating that you have become incomplete." Stern words, harsh even but it does not bother me as it is the sort of taunting I have received many times through my time. His eyes narrow viciously. Two colours? I would not have noticed had I not taken this time to study him, his left eye a stony blue colour and his right, a deep brown with green tints in both. At this point to have been able to see this I have since gotten closer subconsciously. As though drawn to his prescense. I catch myself before i get too caught up in it all however.

"I am the Prince. Your Prince. Show more respect, if you truly deem yourself to be an honourable knight." He seems to smirk at my title and his confidence only appears to double.

"So a spoiled brat, demanding obedience as though all around are his new pet puppy dogs?" He's trying to get a reaction. His arrogance is almost reflective of my own however he must have a means to be doing this or is it simply for his own pleasure, as my reason had been to observe. "How rude. You are no Prince of mine, not until you prove it. So, shall we dance, Your Grace?"

My composure slips at the words and I feel the angered snear take over my features, my stance becomes more offensive and I begin to hastily move towards the cocky man. "Speak not of being a brat. You're disobedience will get you nowhere but a chair back to the manor."

The chase was not as long as I was expecting, I suppose he truly was arrogant in his abilities today. Time will tell if he masters his skills. A tie was all I could manage with the hinderance the Knights and my initial meeting gave me. I am forever grateful that the Faro Lady believes she can be a rescuer with her ability, a terrorshock is all it takes.

The Knight appears to want to become my antithesis. So that is all he shall be. An idea abstracted from my own and strange.

☆☆☆

- After the first meeting they appear to be forced together through consistent matches against one another or rumors spreading that the two knew eachother prior to the manor.

- False rumors but you suppose it is not completely unreasonable that a prince and a knight, or so his name claims him to be, to be closer than other roles within the manor.

- He says little to others, and when he does it is often sickeningly sweet words. Sugarcoated truths made to seem like the words are kinder than they are just to draw others in.

- few had fallen for it so he had abandoned such a tactic in favour of bothering you in some form.

- be it in matches, his improvement in the way he moves through each map having improved significantly. Easily gliding past obstacles and dodging your skills. A real pest.

- Tension seems to continuously rise with no seeming resolve in sight. That is until one day you walk past the music room.

- Expecting the violinist on the other side of the door as the melody continues on, only to be met with the closed eyes of the Knight as he plays a somber tune.

- You go unnoticed until the end of the song, a smile forming on your face. His eyes flash open as though some otherworldly being made him aware of your presence.

- A silent understanding forms between the two of you. As though no words were ever needed between the two of you, simply because you both understood.

- The tension dissipates within seconds.

- You and the "Knight" seem to find a deeper understanding of eachother over time. He learns of your past and attempts to sympathise with your unjust demise, while he shares stories of his past before the loss of his family.

- He wishes to find his 'sister' but as time passes he finds himself drawn to you, wishing never to leave your side.

- That is exactly what he does. He takes the role of a true Knight that protects his master, although he still has a tongue as sharp as a blade and swift wit that goes completely unmatched by most others in the manor.

- He cannot seem to ever truly listen to your commands, but suppose it is the thought that counts.

---- fin.

OKAY I LOWKEY FELT I WAS WAFFLING ON AND FORGOT WHAT I WAS WRITING, I DIDNT EVEN ADD SOME OF THE STUFF I WANTED TO CAUSE MY TIMES FOR WRITING WERE SO CLUNKY BUT HEY I GOT IT DONE EVENTUALLY!!

(Not proof read, I'll go back and get that done lol)

[yelling-space]

CELESTE APPRECIATION post

I raerly see anyone mention her but i love her sm yes this is mostly like 98% hc shes only got like 5 lines in hole game what more do u want from me

anyways, my sweet sweet barely domesticated celeste :

-"Why did my husband come back with a child ,a dog ,a living skeleton, a man who can throw him around like he weights nothing and a knight(derogatory)" -Cahara's so wiped 4 her and honesty i would to if that was my wife, she def pegs him 2 btw i mean just look at him, my point exactly.

-gets along with Enki the most 2 everyone's surprise, there paper wight besties. & share a worrie for Cahara they will never verbalise as well a dislike for D'arc- i mean knights.

-celeste is d'arces first (and only) female friend, much to clestes own dismay.

-d'arce thought she was a gold digger at first, as you can tell they had a grate first impression of each other

-only trusts people about as far as she can throw them (rip rag , he can still man handle the group whore with ease tho so good for him)

-can not hold a convo with a child 2 save her life , the length of her mertanl intents extend to bringing the child 2 Cahara .

-she is not mother material but for some reason they're trying to keep a baby with a high infant mortality rate its funny

i think celeste probably didn't have great parents or a good role model, deadbeat drunkard parents that kicked her out and kind of left her to fend for herself & close of to the world and that's why she has such a disillusioned take on parenthood + where her own approach to children comes from but uh oh !! cahara wormed his way into her heart ! and who's to say his clear and utter devotion to this little girl cant win her over either i dont think either her or Cahara were going out of their way to get pregnant - it's like an unfortunate by-product of the nature of Celeste's career, and Cahara's love for her being what led to him being so willing to step up. i don't think either of them ever really thought about having kids, or at least didn't think they'd be good parents, but celeste getting pregnant or cahara bringing back a child is just the way life ended up going. it's the renaissance era, abortion methods are on par with childbirth in terms of deadliness anyway. she's just not going to have to keep risking her life via pregnancy if cahara goes out, gets enough coin to support them both, she's not going to be like every other peasant woman who's forced to become a broodmare because every 1 in 2 children fucking die before they turn 5. clesest being pregnant is just what ended up happening. the love in that is to do with their RELATIONSHIP, not their love for some idealistic family life. i think cahara wanting to give it a try is something celeste would think is really sweet and admirable, but she'd probly keep a lot of her more cynical thoughts to herself on the matter.

saying that i think they both have a lot of cynical thoughts about it really, but i cahara goes so quickly into "this is my wife, this is our future baby" because otherwise what's the point in taking on such a risky mission in the first place ? but if he's got a noble cause, then it might seem worth it, right ? it's that extra push of encouragement for him, even if it comes with a lot of scary things like the responsibility, being a parent, maybe settling down witch is a scary thought for someone whos always so used 2 being on the move

as for celeste ; she doesn't even know if she's going to make it through the pregnancy, or if the baby will. it's just another mouth to feed at the end of the day. she doesn't care about carrying on a legacy, or raising a child into greatness like so many others beg and plead of god to bestow upon their children. she knows she'd be a shit mom and she's hardly a loyal partner at the moment. but she loves cahara, and seeing that fear in his eyes when she told him, but also that spark of light, that little bit of joy, made it at least worth holding on for.

celeste: it's probably not going to make it anyway, i either risk death in childbirth or death in abortion methods, so. celeste: its getting me enough bank rn to keep myself healthy so we'll just see what happens i guess celeste watching cahara bring home an entire child:

okay cringe time over. i wont go into 2much detail about her relationship with the others though i think its a very slow process of her learning to tolerate get along with the creatures friends cahara brought back -as soon as celeste meets d'arce her mild suspicion and distaste for ragnvaldr will be replaced with her disgust for d'arce -think celeste would be pissed she wouldn't be able 2 pull cahara out of ragnvaldrs grip unless she stabbed him or something, witch shes both angry about it but also relieved since it probably kept cahara out of trouble in the dungeon (because lord knows her husband is a magnet for trouble) inside me there are 2 wolfs ; one is mmm hot stong wife carry cahara like a sack of pataos , the other is screaming at me that this is the 1600 and she would be starving and poor. so to compromise with myself im going 2 say : - physical speaking celsest is probly stronger then most women in her profession and could probly drag an unconscious cahara around then againg i also think cahras way ligher then someone of his build&carear should be shes stronger then enki (then againg who isnt) but cant match d'arces physical strength. saying that modern au Celeste would beat d'arce in an arm wrestle.

in-refence 2 my last post; celest is a child darkness, she has a barbie killer husband,there for. she deserves to be as much hater as she likes d'arce: you two are the healthiest couple i know who still have an avid sex life cahara: ASSUMPTIONS ! celeste: we're the only couple you know.

acholic wise i think celeste could out drink d'arce (and at least keep up with ragnvaldr for a little bit)

celeste: d'arce is a pain in the ass cahara: :confustion: :stress_smile: she means well babe cmon celeste: im gonna beat her with a stick cahara: ,, babe,,

cleseste is not payed enough 2 be d'arces therpist or help d'arce figure out she likes women (shes not payed at all actuly,she is simply trying 2 tolrate her husbands new freinds becuse she loves him but also only has so meny braincells she can lose in a day and conversing with d'arce seems 2 kill all of them)

celeste hears d'arce talk about jeanne once and instantly starts going "wow you loved a girl wow that girl who was like you in every way wow that girl who like. shared your morals. or something. wow tell me more about that girl" (stab stab stab metaphorically stab stab stab)

(about cahara getting arrsed and taken by the police) rag: you lack of concern,,, concerns me. are you not worried ? celeste: dogs always find their way back home.

- d'arce and cahara make the same enamoured and light-blush expression whenever celeste rages btw - celeste :handshake: enki taking the piss out of knights + a generally more cynical outlook on life & being cold bitches that secretly care about cahara a lot

(first time they all stayed the night) enki learning hes the favorite for once and he thinks its just the most hilarious thing to fucking happen local woman-lover put out by being rejected by hot scary wife, local berserker intimidated by what scary wife might do if she finds out what he did to her precious boytoy local shadow wizard ? on the floor ugly laughing because scary wife reluctantly asked if he wanted the guest bedroom.

celeste: YOURE NOT STAYING HERE PERMANENTLY. but youre allowed to stay overnight. enki: is this (gags) kindness ? oh my god. revolting. celeste: is that a yes or not you fucking worm enki: yesplease

[ghosttoastx]

Hi yes I know I’m late but

I would absolutely love to hear more about your isat x hollow knight idea (< has been looking at isat stuff for days + is listening to Broken Vessel 1 hour long Man on the Internet cover)

Hello hi!!! Sorry it took me a bit to get your ask I’ve been a little busy, but I would love to babble hehehe :3

For the Isat Hollow Knight au thingy I’m still note sure if I want to still have the Isat party as. Well. A party, or if I wanna do it the way Hollow Knight does with with the NPCs and have them Isat characters just be other bugs you meet on your journey.

Still working on the designs of the other characters, but I’m had the idea of having Mirabelle be some sort of butterfly. Though, I’ve also had the idea of Mirabelle taking over Hornet’s role floating around too.

For Odile I’ve been thinking maybe she’s based either on a mantis or possibly a jellyfish type thingy, but I’m still not sure yet.

For Isabeau, I thought maybe he could be based on one of those really big, really annoying guard type bugs in the City of Tears. You know the ones. It fits pretty well considering his role as a defender in Isat.

I am. Still struggling with where to put Bonnie. Believe it or not, it’s kinda hard to fit a child into the world of Hollow Knight due to the. Uh. Horrors. Ya know?

Another idea I had was to have Euphrasie take the role of the White Lady. Don’t have much of an idea here yet.

Same with the King. I’ve thought about just having him be the Pale King soooooo. I dunno.

I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about the Dreamers, still working that out.

For Loop, I’ve thought about having them be THK but also the possibility of them being just a charm you have but can never remove and just kinda floats around like some of the other charms that give you babies and stuff.

Okokok, lots of words. I would love to answer more stuff about this au. Also, was thinking about calling the au the ‘Hollowed Stars au’ <-(literally just came up with that right now). Like I said, I’d love to answer stuff about this au as well as hear any ideas anyone may have :3

[fractualized]

hi randomly picking your brain here! (imagine a literal batjokes brain picking situation though...)

I really like stories with a villain/hero ship, but I feel like they're always in favor of the hero -- tons of aus and potential with reformed joker (AND I LOVE THEM!!!)

but also, I personally love corruption AUs, and I love the idea of the villain reforming the hero. pulling the hero to the allure of the dark side and finally accepting some of the appeal that villainy brings to the table. being able to foster their love in an environment where their desire is no longer focused on others but themselves... and I know some of that happens with the batman who laughs, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on joker successfully corrupting batman?

maybe it would be a fundamental crack in their foundation and wouldn't work in some iterations, but I love a challenge! maybe joker could convince Bruce that joker+batman on the same side of evil is less damage, more control, and more fun than batmanvs.joker on opposing sides. maybe less death would happen if Batman would play by jokers rules for a while! I feel like Bruce would at least explore the potential for that in his own head, even if he may not agree in canon, typically... even if it's just to play the long game and come back out again a stronger hero.

what do you think? 🫀

I haven't toyed around much with the idea of Joker corrupting Bruce. I've written Bruce doing shady/awful things, but they stem from his own issues and are usually, uh, bad for Joker.

The Batman Who Laughs basically illustrates why the idea's never grabbed me. Joker has built his life around acting in opposition to Batman. That's what he thinks is fun, getting under Bruce's skin. If Batman joined him in pure destruction, the challenge between them is gone. It's not their roles. It's why Joker considers TBWL an offense to the natural order. And more simply than that, I think Joker would get bored. It's the same as when he succeeds at killing Batman: yay, he did it! And… now what? It's easier to see Joker being reformed— or "reformed"— because there's still lots of ways he can start shit. 😂

Plus on Bruce's part, I can't think of a reason he would take that kind of turn that doesn't feel like a stretch, other than having his brain chemistry altered as in the case of TBWL. Like I did have the idea once of doing an inverted Halfway Across, in which Bruce gives up and joins Joker— but part of the inverse is that this story is a comedy and Bruce is just really bad at being evil. He'd drive Joker nuts by only stealing what they really need, giving people a chance to escape traps, freeing animals Joker tries to test on, etc. Which gets at the "less damage" aspect you mentioned, but I could still never think of a great reason Bruce would cross over to start with, even a goofy comedy reason.

But then again, that assessment is based on more modern takes on the characters. I could see it more with earlier versions, when Joker is obsessed with Batman but his crimes revolve around getting money or jewelry or funsies. Bruce is goofier too, and he hasn't, you know, dealt with any dead children.

And of course there are AUs, like in Telltale, where John starts out wanting Bruce's approval so it's easier to see him compromising with Bruce than your standard Joker. So you could have a universe where Bruce isn't as stringent about his principles— but then it feels less like corruption, and you lose the fun!

Hmmm, there is Omega in Last Knight on Earth. Joker was not a fan, but maybe we take a similar scenario. There's an utter catastrophe, and Bruce is broken, and when he has the choice to rally his usual worldview like he always does, Joker is there and convinces him otherwise. But then I still come back to: would Joker get bored? Maybe that's just part of the story. Joker is entertained by guiding Evil Novice Bruce for a while, but inevitably turns on him, mocking him for abandoning the principles that made him such a great nemesis. And then Bruce realizes he's truly lost everything! 🙃

[seastarblue]

Tender Tuesday

“They… they believe I murdered my own family…” the noblewoman said, lips quivering. She took a breath, voice shaking as she continued, “and I know you think the same. Why else would you be so tense near me…?”

The guard stationed near her gave a short pause, thinking about what to say. “I don’t think you killed them, my lady.” she replied with finality.

“There is no need to lie, Madame.”

“I’m not lying, my lady. There’s no evidence against you, and besides—“ the taller woman gently brushed a stray tear off Evangeline’s cheek, “—the guilty wouldn’t grieve like this. I believe you. You’re innocent.”

“If that is what you truly believe, then… thank you, Madame.”

“It’s the truth, simple as that. And you can call me Mehri, my lady, I don’t mind.”

“…You are quite kind, Ma—Mehri.”

The guard chuckled at this. “Really? I do try to be!”

“You are,” Evangeline replied with a slight smile. “Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome, my lady.”

———

For today’s Tender Tuesday—courtesy of the @creators-club — I’m going to share Evangeline (who I shared yesterday) and Mehri’s dynamic!

as always, let’s begin with the basics: their relationship ends up romantic, but it’s a bit of a slow burn. Mehri is 24, Evie is 23, they’re both lesbians, though Mehri uses she/they and is also ace.

They’re very much the Sunshine x Moonlight trope, and I love them very much <3

Okay so Now…. Time for a

💖Meet Cute!💖

So, Evangeline is currently under house arrest in her estate, under suspicion of killing her family to gain power. This isn’t true, and she’s very upset about a) her family being DEAD and b) being accused of causing their deaths.

Mehri, on the other hand, is living their best life! Until uh. Plot. Which causes them to get thrown into prison. Which leads to Mehri (and a few others) getting plucked out of jail to work off their sentence by… catching the people that did murder the Pierce family.

So, Mehri and Co. are stationed near the Pierce Estate, and they occasionally stand guard there, as Eves struck a deal with the prosecutors: she can come and go as she pleases so long as she has a knight (basically an officer) with her. The others fill in this role, switching every once in a while.

ta daaaa!

The context for this lil snippet is basically: Eves had a bad day, she comes back to her office to a slightly nervous Mehri, she thinks the guard is nervous because of her, she nearly cries right there, Mehri asks what’s wrong, then the snippet.

and yeah! they’re relatively newer characters, and I admit I haven’t thought much about them, but that’s why I’m talking about them here!

hm… what else to add… oh wait! their opinions on each other? in their own words ✌️😙

“Oh, Lady Pierce? She is… well she seems very sad all the time. I’d like to help with that sadness, so I figured I’d better try my best to catch the people that… killed her family.”

“Madame Mehri is… very sweet. I am glad she is here by my side. That is all.” (It is NOT all trust)

———

I think I’ll end it there! Thank you for reading this far if ya have ✨

Picrew is ElenaA’s KissCrew!

[aeoki]

White Brim - Battle Royal: Chapter 1

Location: Villa Characters: Touri, Tsukasa, Eichi & Hiyori Season: Winter Writer: Akira

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< End of February. At a certain villa owned by the Tenshouin family. >

Touri: Anzu~! Why are you stuck to the corner of the room like that?

If you’re confused about social etiquette, I don’t mind teaching you everything you need to know. Ehehe, it’s repayment for always looking after me ♪

Tsukasa: Anzu Onee-sama! You look pale. Perhaps it’s because you’re hungry as you haven’t eaten anything?

There’s no need to worry. I shall bring a basket of snacks for you! I’m doing this specially for you, Onee-sama – I wouldn’t usually do this sort of thing normally ♪

Touri: Grrr…

Tsukasa: Hmm?

Touri: Oh, look who it is~ Tsukasa’s here. So you came too, huh? Your whole presence is so unsightly that I thought it was some random person who had wandered in!

Tsukasa: What was that? Oh, isn’t that Touri-kun? My apologies, you’re so small you could barely fit in my field of vision – I couldn’t tell who you were!

Touri: You’re just someone poor whose only pride is your lineage…!

Tsukasa: You’re just a bean painted in gold…!

Hiyori: Alright now, you two! Could you both stop with the unfriendly atmosphere at such a lovely place? What foul weather!

Tsukasa: Huh? Uh, okay…?

Touri: Hiyori-sama! You decided to attend this time? That’s rare!

Hiyori: Indeed ♪ If anything, it’s only appropriate as the carefree second son of my family to indulge myself in parties and other pleasures, no?

I’d feel bad if I were to get in my older brother’s way, so I’d usually just decline and stay home, though.

He’s flooded with work this year and it’s uncertain whether or not he’d be able to attend.

Besides, this is a party to celebrate the establishment of ES – a large undertaking from the Tenshouin family – and the huge success of the largest event there, “SS”.

I was also the “general leader” of the “White Team” more or less, so of course I had to attend. After all, I’m sure the public sees me as one of the many players who played a large role in the competition.

Naturally, that goes for all of you as well. They’re all itching to hear about our stories of ES and “SS”.

In the financial world, ES has grown into a large entity that the world can no longer ignore.

Tsukasa: “SS”...

Touri: …………

Hiyori: Hm? It was a shame that Touri-kun didn’t feel well during the “SS” main battle, but putting that aside, why do you look so down, Tsukasa-kun?

I think “Knights” earned themselves a rather favourable position in the main battle, though?

Tsukasa: Thank you… It’s an honour, Hiyori-sama.

It’s true “Knights” performed in quite a magnificent manner.

We shared that day’s stage with “Trickstar”, who we had spent a long time practising with, so it’s all thanks to them that we were perfectly in-sync…

I’m proud of us for being able to perform and show the world that “Knights” exists.

However, the fact that we lost completely to “Crazy:B” during the qualifying round has left me feeling quite ashamed…

It’s difficult for me to let go of those feelings and be overjoyed that everything ended well.

Hiyori: Hehe. There couldn’t have been a unit that didn’t struggle from beginning to end.

“Eden” isn’t an exception, either. Things ended up being forcibly left unsettled and the “White Team” was experiencing defeat after defeat…

It felt as though our dignity as the ones who acted like the overwhelming champions was wounded.

As if they were thinking we were all bark and no bite.

Tsukasa: I don’t think that’s true.

Touri: Yeah. In our eyes, “Eden” has always been a unit that’s shining brightly in a faraway place – a unit that we’re no match for.

Tsukasa: That’s right. But to be honest, I was busy worrying about ourselves during “SS”, so…

I didn’t have the time to care about the other units or the public’s reaction.

Despite that, I was bombarded left and right with work, so I didn’t have any time to organise my thoughts, either. And while I was forcibly returned to my busy work…

It felt as if “SS” and everything that happened dissipated like a dream.

Touri: I know what you mean~ It felt like we were inside a dream the entire time, huh.

Hiyori: Ahaha. If anything, we should be getting our heads out of “SS” as quickly as we can in order to return to our daily lives. “SS” was an ephemeral dream – a slice out of the ordinary.

If we continued to be prisoner to that, then it would hinder our everyday life.

And this is also a party to forget all those things. We’ll blow away our fatigue by enjoying ourselves and indulging in some delicious food.

It’s all to provide the strength that will allow us to continue doing our best as idols in the future.

And in your case, Anzu-chan, as a “producer”. That’s probably why you’ve been invited despite not being nobility, no? Just a guess, though.

Eichi: You’re right.

Hehe. You’re always the one who understands me most, Hiyori-kun.

Hiyori: Oh, you’re here, Eichi-kun? I didn’t see you around, so I thought you had died in a ditch somewhere.

Eichi: …You always say those sorts of things with a smile on your face, but do you truly wish me dead?

Hiyori: Hm? Why, that would make me a very thick-skinned person indeed – I couldn’t care less whether you���re dead or alive!

Touri: …Huh? What’s wrong, Anzu? Why are you laughing?

What? Me, Tsukasa, Eichi-sama and Hiyori-sama all give off similar vibes? What do you mean?

I don’t really understand but I’m glad you’re laughing, Anzu~ I was worried since you looked so “dispirited”.

Hm? That’s your line, you say?

Hmm… I’d like to be able to smile and laugh innocently like I always have.

But that’s still hard for me to do right now.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNext Chapter →

[george228732]

Fylass Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Four - Windows of Remembrance

The knights were leading the gang towards the exit with ease, although Twilight Knight in particular was feeling pretty happy to see them again; Fylass really acknowledged how much he loved them, but sadly, Twilight’s position as a knight didn’t allow him to go with them, even with Dolly’s peaceful kingdom at hand.

Fylass wanted to have a small talk with them, so they silently told the rest of the group to wait for them outside the castle; they agreed, and left them alone with Twilight.

"Hey… How are you?" Twilight spoke up first.

"I am… alright. How are you, too?" Fylass spoke up next.

"Things around here have been pretty nice ever since you… well… you know. I am sorry for not being able to help you back then. I would’ve been devastated to see your head resting on a bloody basket." Fylass remembered what happened back then the last time at the Card Castle, with their head resting on the guillotine, shrouded with fear and hopelessness; sure, they knew this was a dream they had, but that feeling that they might not wake up was still on their mind. 

If they didn’t wake up, what would happen to their friends and family? They would be heartbroken for sure, seeing a Fylass that has stopped breathing, and suddenly having to be buried 6 feet under, and maybe even eventually, forgotten. They felt horrible to let that possibility be true, for they thought they were selfish, for that, for this, and for the things they think they did before. 

"It’s o-okay. Don’t worry about me, I am not mad at all…!" Fylass stopped with that train of thought, to make a reply to the one that they considered their older brother back in the real world.

"U-Uh, sorry. I don’t know why I am acting like this. We’ve only talked a few sentences back then, and yet, I feel like we’ve met for a long time. It’s weird, I know…" 

Fylass was a bit startled by that, but quickly pondered about it; this Twilight Knight was only an effigy of the one Fylass knows pretty well, and even then, it seemed like it was more than that. Was he something else, or was he only the version Fylass wants Twilight to be? They were taking on that "role" perfectly in Fylass’ eyes, but it seemed like this version was taking on that role in a more literal way. 

What could be said about the rest? 

"...Oddly enough, I feel the same way." That wasn’t really a lie, they loved TK with no limits after all.

"Guess I am not weird then, haha…" Twilight chuckled. "Ah, thank you. Here, take this." The knight took out some tickets from behind his cape. "These are some tickets to the Memory Lane Cinema! Dolly gave us quite a lot of them, so I have many more to give, so I thought it would be good to give some of them to a wonderful person like you!" 

"...Wow. Uh… Thank you." Fylass took the tickets with them; they didn’t really know where to use them, but they were happy with them giving off these gifts. It felt real, and that’s what mattered to the kid.

"Hey, uh, I must leave, sorry. Thank you for the gifts, though! I promise to visit you when this is over, okay?" 

"O-Oh! Alrighty! See you, Club- I mean, Fylass!" 

That felt good, although they also felt sad to have to be reassured that things are okay. Things are okay, right?

Fylass walked out of the castle to meet up with the rest of the group.

"So… are we going?" Mikuto said to Fylass.

"Yeah, let’s go."

"Well, FINALLY! Let’s better find a way out!" Banshee spoke up next.

"...Wasn’t your plan to be sent here to avoid responsibility, or did I understand it wrong?" Unicorn remarked in a snarky tone. 

"Oh, shut it!"

The whole group had figured out at this point that these new members wouldn’t be able to comply, or at least, it was sure that Banshee would. Fylass on the other hand, was wondering what did Unicorn mean by that statement, although they weren’t going to ask that question since they thought it would be rude.

"Wait, what’s that in your hand?" Ades asked with curiosity. 

"Oh! Twilight Knight gave me these tickets for the "Memory Lane Cinema". I don’t know where that place is, but either way, that’s surely not important."

"Wait, the Memory Lane Cinema?! That place is amazing! You should visit it one of these days! Besides, I am pretty sure that the place we’re going to is right after it, so, win-win!" Damian spoke.

Fylass was interested in that place, and if what Damian said was true, the kid could take advantage of that. They looked at the rest of their friends, and they noticed that Lucid was pretty interested in that place too. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt too much to do something before sending Lucid to his home, right?

"Maybe we could take a short trip there if that’s the case…" Lucid spoke up.

"Well, if you say so…"

"Ugh, come on. This is just making things slower! We might as well leave you guys so me and Unicorn can find the way out faster!" 

"I am sure that won’t work. The last time we were alone in this world you tried to kill one of the inhabitants of this world because you thought they were a beast. These people surely know how to lead us to an exit, so we can’t lose this chance."

"FINE! But right after we find the exit, you won’t see my face around here!"

"Not if we would want to see you around…" Kurabe murmured under her own breath, although it was loud enough that everyone could hear it. 

"...Wait, what do you mean, find the exit out of this world? You aren’t from Wonderland?" Fylass questioned.

"Uh, no, we aren’t part of this bizarre land." Banshee answered. Fylass tried to rub it off as they meant that they came from another realm, just like Lucid. Maybe Underland too, perhaps? 

"Alright, we’ll try to help you go home too. Promise."

"Thank you. You are pretty noble." Unicorn said.

Fylass felt something; a sense of guilt and regret. They nodded silently, and tried to hide that feeling towards the rest.

"...Are you feeling okay?" Lucid said.

"Yeah, don’t worry. I am fine… Let’s just get going, okay?" 

The group started to walk towards their location, and they ended up having to cross the circus again to get there. The place was just as before, which wouldn’t be surprising on its own, but Fylass had to be wary; even though the place was calm and happy, in Wonderland, everything could happen.

"Heeeeeeeeyyyy!" A voice was heard in the distance, putting some of the cast on edge. They looked behind, and they saw an individual that seemed like Dark Matter, wearing a nutcracker outfit. 

"Oh! Erebus!" Damian spoke up first; Fylass remembered seeing her when hanging out with Damian one of those days; she was quite interesting for sure, a bit scary and somewhat manic, yes, but she didn’t try to kill Fylass or any of their friends, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Guess that Fylass placed her on their head too.

"Why, it isn’t the funny bookworm, Damian!" She snickered as she pulled out a whip just for fun. "Whaddya doin’ around here?"

"Oh! Just trying to help some friends out. We’re trying to get to Underland for a fella right here!" 

"Pfft. That sounds cool, shame that I can’t accompany you since I have to be working to pay in terms of work because apparently "murder isn’t fun". It’s a miracle that I am not in the dungeon!"

"If you keep doing it, I’ll make sure that you will." Ades said with a threatening voice. 

"Oh, woe is me!~ I am soooooo scared!~" She didn’t seem to care that she was talking like that towards three of the four Suit Bearers in the same place; she really was the same as how Fylass remembered her.

Ades sighed. "Let’s just go to the Memory Lane Cinema." Some of the members of the group were moving forward, although some decided to stop. 

"Er, well, excuse me but I think I will stop here!" Selene said with glee. "I am not really that interested in this journey, and considering that the circus reopened, I just want to have some fun with Wisp and the rest of the cats!"

"Oh, sure! No problem. Although, where are they?" Everyone looked in the distance, only to see Wisp trying to chase down Casey and Artemeta, who were terrorizing the visitors thanks to Artemeta’s new appearance.

"...Yeeeeeeah, I better get going. See ya, heehee!" Selene left the group, although no one was sure that she was going to stop them, or join them in mischief.

"Gee, great. Let’s just go." Banshee was losing patience about this, but Fylass tried to walk as fast as possible to their destination, and Lucid was about to smack him down, but only stopped to avoid more discussion; the least he could want at this point was to cause more ruckus, specially with Chaos’ recent attitude; it was strange, as if he remembered something he shouldn’t.

Soon enough, they reached Ades’ domains, which seemed much prettier than before, with the smell of flowers around the area, and a tune resembling jazz echoing through; even though it was pretty, both Ades and Fylass felt a sense of melancholy by only looking at the outside, and both didn’t seem to understand the reason of such, and only being able to keep going to their destination.

"Soooooooo, where do you guys live?" Mikuto asked both Unicorn and Banshee.

"Oh, us? We live in the Saddrac World, although SOMEONE thought that it was a good idea to send us to a random place just to avoid doing their job, and now we are here."

"Well, excuuuuuuuse me for trying to find a way to stop defeating enemies day by day! Things get tiring, you know?!"

"That isn’t an excuse!" 

"...Alllriiiiiiiiighty." Mikuto said, trying to end the conversation."

More and more steps were taken further into the land, until all of them noticed something was off; there was a new path that Fylass knew wasn't there before.

"This path should be it, for sure…"

The way was seemingly quiet, with the music gone, and only the sound of birds chirping was being heard; the surroundings wouldn’t be ones of dread, but rather, ones of a warning, and Fylass had the idea that something was, indeed, wrong.

"...Are you okay, kid?" Lucid asked.

"Oh, I am just… thinking."

"If you need help with something, you can ask us, okay? Just saying."

"...Alright."

It was a surprise seeing that the path of dirt leading our group to their destination was slowly starting to resemble a red carpet, and golden fences started to appear in place, and that’s where they saw it; a black building resembling of a cinema and a skyscraper, with the words "Memory Lane Cinema" embedded on that same carpet; its doors were huge, reaching an entire story when looking correctly.

"...Wow…"

"Weeeelcome!" Another voice had spoken, right next to the entrance, and as Fylass approached it, they could see some of their characteristics; a small dragon of blue ice colors, dark blue spikes and kind, black eyes; this description alone could make it seem like a terrifying foe, but he actually looked pretty friendly, although Lucid seem pretty nervous by his mere presence.

"Oh, hi there…!" Fylass said to them. They realized this person was wearing a suit that resembled one of a rich man, and also resembled a uniform for people working in movie theaters. 

"Welcome to the Memory Lane Cinema! Can I have your tickets, please?" Fylass remembered the tickets they had in hand, and showed them off to the mister. 

"Great! So, all of you can enter. Let me be your guide! My name is Klax, nice to meet you!"

"...N-Nice to meet you too…" Lucid said, stuttering.

The cast decided to enter the movie theater, with Klax as their guide. 

The inside was nothing ordinary in the slightest; it practically resembled a mansion, more than an actual movie theater, with lots of hallways on the sides, with the same red carpet on the floor; walls made from a checkerboard pattern of blue and cyan, and movie posters resembling actual curtains; the posters seemed to be slight alters of ones that Fylass had seen in the real world, some were funny looking, others were slightly disturbing.

"Here, we have an insight on all of the movies you are able to watch endlessly, since they never leave your side! Right there, there’s a counter where you can order popcorn and drinks, from tea, to many more!" Klax remarked, as Chaos, Lucid, Kurabe and Fettuccine felt shivers down their spines; they didn’t want to hear anything related to tea.

"...Well… thinking about my last statement…" Banshee spoke up.

"No. We are not staying here for you to watch some movies. I thought that your main goal was to get out, was it?"

"Oh, come on! Let me have some fun!"

"You’ll have your "fun" when we find out our way out."

"...Fiiiiiiine."

Fylass was even more interested in taking a peek at these films, but that interest peaked when they heard Klax’s new statement.

"Also, down that hallway, is the Memory Lane! A set of rooms where you can watch your closest memories in moving pictures! Those happy memories can be watched again, as long as you enter these rooms! Right there, you can find the exit taking the form of the backdoor!" 

"...What?! That’s possible?! Well, excuse me, I am leaving to see my movie!" Banshee said as he sprinted towards the hallway to find his room, as Unicorn grumbled, sighed, and went towards him in silence.

"...Would that be true? In that case… I think we can take a little break from going to Underland. I need to see something first." Lucid said. 

Fylass nodded in response, as he left. Quickly, the rest of the group left out of curiosity to see their memory rooms; Chaos seemed the most interested though. When Fylass was left alone, they did the same; maybe it was a good idea to take a break, and look at their memory lane. The kid went to the counter, got some popcorn for free, surprisingly, and went towards the same hallway.

Fylass quickly realized this hallway was segmented into many more hallways that seemed to be organized from A-Z, so they figured out that their memory lane would be on F. The kid quickly found it, although, before entering, they were curious about the others’ memory lanes. Klax didn’t state that you weren’t allowed to see memory rooms that aren’t yours, right?

They went towards their hallway to find Fettuccine’s memory room, and they opened the door slightly to see what was inside; the room resembled one of a cinema from the 80’s, and the film was a moment where Fetty was proposed marriage by Meta. Fettuccine was there, silently sobbing tears of joy; she was happy, and so, Fylass was happy.

Afterwards, Fylass went towards Banshee’s memory room; this time, the film was playing a scenario where Banshee was exploring a labyrinth with Unicorn and some other people Fylass didn’t seem to know; Banshee seemed happy, and so, Fylass was happy.

Next, it came to Chaos' room. This time, the film was off, and foggy, only projecting one single image; it was a man, dressed in dark gray clothing, with a golden orb on his chest; the mouth seemingly was moving, but there were no words coming out from it. Chaos was confused, and so, Fylass was too.

Trying to ignore what they just saw, went towards Lucid’s room. The film seemed much older, and it also projected one image; it was Lucid, or well, Shard, making a hat, and next to him, was someone that Fylass didn’t seem to recognize, due to having their face scratched out. Lucid was sad though, and so, Fylass was sad.

Many more rooms came into place, but after a while, Fylass saw most of them, leaving their own room. Fylass entered in it, and sat down in a seat seemingly made for them. 

This film seemed much newer than the rest, and it was a collection of snippets of memories that Fylass had with their friends and family. That time when Archie got them their purple PJ’s, that time when Selene, Dolly, TK and Ades got them a plushie, or that time when Dero and them did a friendly fight with Verin, Ava and Damian cheering them on in the background. Fylass was happy.

They were about to leave the room to reunite with the rest, but before they opened the door, a clicking sound was heard from inside the TV film, and they realized the movie had changed. 

Fylass was having a different outfit, the one they had when being with their father, Cosmounse, but was covered in blackened blood; they were having a cleaver on hand, and they used it to swing it towards Cosmounse’s face, as Fylass laughed and mocked him, as they said "THAT’S WHAT YOU GET." over and over; the room on the film was starting to be filled with that same blackened blood, and after a deafening scream, the movie ended.

"..." Fylass was tearing up. "Why…? Why am I getting reminded of that, even after all of that time? Why?" Fylass was sobbing, but they quickly hid those tears as they left the room. 

Walking down the hallway, they saw the group again, seemingly walking with curiosity.

"Oh! Kid, we’ve been looking for you. Are you alright?" Lucid said again.

"Y-Yeah, I am! Are you okay?"

"Indeed, I am too. Let’s just leave and find that cabin." Fylass nodded as they heard that, and left towards the backdoor exit, although they saw someone else walking down the hallway, Dero. 

"Oh, greetings. I should have expected to see you here." He spoke up to the group.

"Hi…" Said Lucid with a death stare looking at Dero. "What are you doing here?"

"Revisiting some memories, although I am about to leave and go towards the Card Castle."

"Alright then! G-Good luck with that!" Fylass said, trying to hide the fact that they were somewhat hurt by what they saw. Dero was about to leave, although he stopped and looked back.

"Pleiades, can I ask you a favor?"

"Hm?"

"Could you go with me towards the Card Castle? As the Diamond, I need to discuss some… matters with you."

"Oh. Sure, although, it better be quick…"

"Wonderful. Fylass, could you go with me as well, when you are done with your journey? You are the Club, and I need your help as well discussing these topics."

"...No problem. I can do that."

"Thank you. Now, Ades, let’s go." Dero said, as Ades left with Dero towards their new destination, and the rest went towards the backdoor exit. 

It was pretty, with trees around and around, gray flowers, and a big space that seemed that it could fit a house in that. Fylass used the clock to turn it to 11:59 again, and sure enough, the supposed cabin appeared out of thin air. A gray cabin with rotting wood.

"...This is it, perhaps?" 

"We need to figure it out."

Lucid opened the door, revealing a dusty inside, with no furniture, but a table with a chessboard on top, sliced in half, and one of the halves missing was replaced by a checkerboard; both were seemingly stuck together with glue, and at one of the lateral sides leaving the same distance between both sides of the board, was a minute hand from a clock pierced through it; all of the pieces of both sides were there, but the bishop on the chess board was missing.

The interesting part of the inside though, was a giant silver framed mirror that has a sign on top with the words "Looking Glass".

"...Why do I feel attracted to that mirror?" Chaos said.

"Like, in love, or something?" Fetty said, trying to joke with the situation, although she knew exactly what he was referring to. Fylass went closer to the mirror and touched it, revealing that it was crossable like water.

"What the-..." 

"Wait, let me try this!" Banshee said, trying to cross the mirror, only to find out that he wasn’t able to. "Oh, come on!"

Chaos was the next to try, and surprisingly, he was able to cross the mirror too.  "Guess that only Suit Bearers can cross it. Oh well…"

"...This must be the entrance to Underland… Are you ready Lucid? Grab my hand guys, so we can all cross this mirror together." Everyone nodded, and grabbed Fylass hand, and step by step, everyone crossed the mirror.

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

"My Queen, I have news to tell you."

"Hm? What is it?"

"...The Bishop is back."

"...What?"

"The plan needs to start. Now."

"...Are you sure this can help me get both thrones?"

"Yes, I am sure, Queen Majaway."

"...Okay, I trust you…"

"Mister Cosmounse."

--------

@that-fanperson-meg

@theflutteringdreameater

@galakianexplosion

@ilikesillythingswooo

@loaflovesdoodling

@lostsoulau-ask

@kachikirby

@kirby-universe-4162

@monsterhatdoodles

@moon-mage

@den-of-the-blue-dragon

@mossyriverrocks

@the-chaos-axolotl

@avathestarwarrior

@wyverewings

[theythem-vylad-supremacy]

hello! sorry if this has been asked before, but i just finished reading up to the latest chapter of the shadow knights in mystreet fic and have a question if that's alright!

is cadenza going to show up at some point? i'm mainly just curious cuz i wanna see how you'd imagine laurance's reaction to seeing her since it'd be interesting to see. it's alright if you can't answer!! again i was just curious ^^;

and also!!!! i really really really love the fic so far!!! it's definitely one of the best ones i've read and i've scoured through a decent amount of aphmau fics but this one has stuck with me the most! i love the way the characters are written; they feel closer to how they were supposed to be if that makes sense, more natural and alive! i especially love how nana was written, her pov is probably my favorite cuz it's so interesting and matches her so well!! the way her thought process is mostly her grasping onto her act is something that pulled me in really fast cuz it really does feel like how she'd think and i love it!!! and the shadow knights are also written really well! it's like they're still similar from back in the diaries time period but they've also changed and with how they're written it feels really natural for them and it's really cool!!! i'm excited to see what's next!!

sorry if what i'm saying doesn't make much sense i binged the second half of the fic in one sitting and now it's 3 am as i'm writing this so uh...yea ^^;

have a flower! :D 🌼

Never apologize for asking questions! I’m always happy to answer any questions, even if they’ve been asked before.

As for the question about Cadenza, I am currently planning to have her show up eventually. She won’t have a really major role though, and will probably only show up in 1 or 2 chapters. And it will be at a point where Laurance is a bit more emotionally stable, at least compared to how he is at the current at the current point in the fic.

I’m really happy you’ve enjoyed how I’m writing the cast! I’m especially happy you’ve enjoyed the direction I’m taking Nana in writing wise, since I really wanted to give her an arc early on (relatively speaking) and making it clear that her entire “Kawaii~Chan” persona is an act and how she feels about it is a really important part of that, so I’m happy her pov is interesting to read.

and I’m also super glad you think the Shadow Knights are well written. I really wanted to make it clear that they are absolutely the same people from MCD, but still show that they’ve changed due to time and circumstances. It feels like a fine line, but I feel like I’ve walked it well.

[andro-dino]

fuckin uh. zero g fantasy au. this has been brewing around in my head for a while and I’ve been meaning to draw it but I suck ass at designing and drawing fantasy outfits so I’m gonna share the thoughts I’ve had about it publicly in writing instead!!

Basically this all started when I was thinking about the sheer volume of zyronobu’s knight and princeisms and then I was like. what if they actually were a knight and a prince. ****epic autism explosion**** So essentially, Shinobu is a prince who is kinda bored and stuck doing basically nothing a lot of the time, just generally kinda cooped up in the palace. Zyro serves as his personal bodyguard, but is also kinda the head knight of the castle and has a lot of his own responsibilities, and the two of them are both crushing on each other SOOOOOO hard.

- one scenario I enjoy is Shinobu spending a lot of time on a particular balcony that overlooks the knights’ training area and he not-so-subtly frequently watches Zyro do his thing.

- In this au, Ren is also knight in training and takes a sort of apprentice/partner role with Zyro. There has been more than one occasion where Zyro has gotten distracted upon noticing Shinobu watching them/waving back to Shinobu while he and Ren are sparring and she gets really heated at him for not paying attention.

- Because they don’t really get to spend a lot of time together bc they have separate stuff going on, Shinobu ends up contriving a lot of reasons why he needs to go out and have Zyro accompany him. Zyro is entirely oblivious to Shinobu’s scheming but he is very happy every opportunity he gets.

For other thoughts I’ve had, Kite is like an alchemist/scholar and spends a lot of time in the castle library. Because he has nothing better to do, Shinobu also spends a lot of time in the castle library and bugs Kite. Kite hates this. One interaction I’ve had in my mind with them is kite being like “my prince, if you don’t mind me asking, WHY DO YOU KEEP COMING HERE AND BOTHERING ME????” and Shinobu’s like “because I have nothing better to do and you’re one of the only people on this palace who is willing to talk to me like that and treat me like a real person.” and kites just like. gfdi. He hates it (he really doesn’t but don’t tell him that he wouldn’t like it) (they’re besties don’t let them try to convince you otherwise).

I haven’t thought a ton abt eight and maru in this au but they are also there. Eight just hangs around kite per usual and perhaps causes mischief around the castle. Perhaps Madoka is a blacksmith who works closely with the royal family and Maru is her apprentice who hangs around the royal guard a lot.

There’s also a digivalen subplot because I will insert digivalen into any and every au I create. Kite one day goes out for supplies or whatever and encounters a mysterious traveling merchant. They present themself as any other merchant would, but kite can tell there’s something more too them. He senses that they may be a magic user, and a strong one at that, but he can’t get them to reveal anything to him. He’s intrigued though, and after their first interaction, kite just can’t stop thinking about her.

Another thought I’ve had with this au is how the main gang all kinda come together as an adventuring party. Shinobu once again asks Zyro to accompany him as he needs to go run some errands out in town, but Ren tags along, insisting Zyro’s been ditching her too much lately and she needs more experience. Kite also catches word of this, and since they’re gonna be out, insists upon tagging along so he may have an opportunity to meet with that merchant again, and eight naturally follows along wherever kite goes. Maru, seeing such an interesting group all together naturally tags along wherever her heart deems may be intriguing, and suddenly this is a whole group outing when Shinobu just wanted another excuse to go on a date with his cute knight.

The other og cast can also be here n there wherever you see fit. Benkei owns a popular local tavern in town, but he’s also a well renowned knight trainer. While Zyro serves as something of a captain of the guard, all of them, including him, answer to Benkei and he oversees all of their training and is their highest mentor. He’s also formally been a mentor to Kenta, the legendary knight of flame. Gingka too is a legendary knight, now on his own solo journey, and was originally the one to gift Zyro his sword and inspire him to become who he is now.

Tsubasa’s. probably around there somewhere. I guess king would fit as far as his role in the story goes but King Tsubasa just sounds wrong to me.

BUT WAIT, THERES MORE. Another subplot, because my favs are very special and get their own whole side story.

For many years across the land, there’s been a legend passed around, only heard about through rumors and hushed whispers. The details of it aren’t exactly clear, and the story is told differently by every person who tells it, but all anyone knows for sure is that there’s a dragon, a prince, a tower, and a curse.

Naturally, Takanosuke Shishiya, a scrappy young knight in training who’s looking for a mentor has taken from the legend that somewhere out there, there’s a prince who’s been cursed to reside in a tower guarded by a dragon, and he’s determined to rescue this prince in hopes of him potentially being able to help Takanosuke in his search for a mentor. You can imagine Takanosuke’s surprise when he believes he’s found the tower of the legend, only to find it with a giant hole blown through it, claw marks trailing down its sides with scorch marks around the destruction and in the land around it, which he notices create a path trailing beyond the tower.

Okay, perhaps a different adventure than Takanosuke had expected, but he still opts to follow the trail of burns in hopes of still finding the prince.

Eventually, he actually does, discovering Sakyo Kurayami, the cursed prince who as he declares, bears the curse of the jet black dragon. He is, as far as he knows, the only surviving member of his kingdom, as the curse overwhelmed everyone else, including his own family. The last person who was ever able to control the curse was the legendary dragon emperor, who no one knows the real fate of. Some say he died in battle, others say he just disappeared, but all anyone knows is that no one has seen or heard of him in years, and Sakyo has somehow inherited his blade. Now, Sakyo has set about on his own quest, trying to follow in the footsteps of the dragon emperor to try to learn how to control the curse (and maybe perhaps create his own future after a little more character development). Takanosuke insists upon tagging along with him, hoping the two can become stronger together, and while the adventure is off to a rocky start, fate always works in mysterious ways.

[jurakan]

Fun facts about the Crusades?

Today You Learned about Frederick Barbarossa.

I wasn't planning to use his profile pic from Wikipedia, but I just thought it looked kind of funny.

Born in 1122, Friederich I, nicknamed 'Barbarossa' because of his red beard, was the Holy Roman Emperor. This dude has a reputation as a badass. See, the Holy Roman Empire (not the same as the Roman Empire you probably think of) wasn't quite as awesome as it had been in the past, so Friedrich wanted to fix that. Upon ascension to the throne, he solidified his power base, did international politicking like a pro, made friends with the Pope (though his relationship with the Papacy later turned sour), and proceeded to wage several major campaigns in northern Italy to re-establish Holy Roman presence there.

He grabbed the relics of the Three Magi and put them in Cologne, Germany, where they're kept to this day. He worked hard to get Charlemagne canonized--which kind of happened, by an antipope though, so it doesn't actually count for us Catholics. He built a friendly rapport with the Byzantines. And then he built tons of family connections by getting kids hitched to Italian nobles.

Also! Fun fact: while he later put a tax on the Jewish population of his kingdom, he also passed laws protecting them, and punishing anyone who would preach against or harm them. Which in this point of history is mind-blowing.

Dude didn't have a spotless record, but he was a certified badass and experienced statesman.

And then the Third Crusade happened.

After a sermon pitching another Crusade, Freddy Barbarossa asked an assembly if he should take the Cross. The crowd overwhelmingly cheered for it, and so he did, making preparations to go East and free the Holy Land. And this Crusade was going to be AWESOME, right? Three Kings on Crusade: Frederick Barbarossa, Philip II of France, and... some guy from some island people hardly cared about.

[That last one's an exaggeration, but I'm doing it for dramatic effect so stick with me.]

Philip and the other guy decided to sail. Friederich went over land, with an army a hundred thousand strong, with tens of thousands of knights. This was THE SHIZ, man, he was going all out. They had some opposition on the way, because some kingdoms don't like it when you march an army through them! But they pushed through, and this was going to be the Most Awesomest Crusade Evah. Saladin was quaking in his boots.

So, uh... yeah, he stopped somewhere on the way there, and uh... drowned.

Goshdarnit, Friederich.

There are conflicting accounts as to how that happened. Some say he went swimming across the river and drowned in unexpectedly strong currents. One account says he got thrown from his horse and drowned because he was in his armor. Some (including some Saracens) declared it was God's punishment.

Regardless of exactly what happened, we still had a dead Holy Roman Emperor. A lot of his army just packed up and went home. Philip of France saw that the biggest guns for this operation were gone, and decided he's also turn around. Without Frederick Barbarossa, it was going to be a bust.

And so that third guy, that nobody from a backwater? He decided not to go home. He decided, "Screw it! Frederick's dead, and the French are leaving! I'll do this Crusade on my own!" And he did; it made his career (and arguably bankrupted his country). For his role in the Third Crusade, Richard, the last guy standing, was later known as "King Richard the Lion-Hearted".

[Okay, so England wasn't exactly a backwater no one cared about, but it wasn't considered as important as France or the Holy Roman Empire. Richard helped make them more noticeable on the medieval world stage.]

For whatever reason, some people decided that it was difficult to believe that Frederick got himself killed so lamely. So there's a popular German legend that came up in the Middle Ages claiming that he's not dead, he's just sleeping under a mountain somewhere, and will pop back up when he's needed.

Of course, given German history, you can probably guess what unsavory sorts co-opted this story, or the imagery of Frederick as the great warrior king, while also forgetting that he put up historic protections for the Jewish people. The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union was titled "Operation Barbarossa" after this guy.

Nazis suck and they lie about history. What else is new?

Putting the 'fun' back in 'Fun Fact', Barbarossa's death is also a major Plot Point in the novel Baudolino by (the notably anti-fascist) Umberto Eco, where it's turned into a bit of a mystery. Also there's a lot of weird stuff in that book, and Barbarossa's death is maybe the least weird thing going on.

Hope this was an enlightening Fun Fact for you!

[lilyrealm]

i simply think it is so fun to imagine a world where a company makes a bunch of androids to assist people and provide companionship so they give the androids stories and release them in certain themes or lines and those androids are the genshin characters. credit to @yandere-daydreams for the idea. i love it so much. yes we all want x character to be our boyfriend or girlfriend and we have sex with them yes but i think its fun to imagine their roles when theyre not being yandere...

also the read more is very long i just went off about my ideas for most of the mondstadt characters. nothing wrong with me

if this is set in teyvats world imagine amber being like a gliding instructor in mondstadt. good engineer too, maybe the first bot that can fix other bots/have intricate knowledge of them (because she made baron bunny).

for human injuries theres barbara and jean, but with different temperaments for different patients. or if we're still set in teyvat, then jean (and the rest of the favonius knights characters) are actually android assistants to the actual human knights. basically the androids replace vision holders??

but yeah kaeya would also be a knight assistant, noelles story is she trains super hard but still isnt a knight (because shes made to help actual trainees!). lisa of course manages the library. yeah sorry thats it. makes tea

and i had the idea (this is all stolen from my own twitter thread from *checks* last year? anyway) that they would tease the release of bots like diluc, rosaria and razor through voicelines from kaeya, barbara and lisa. really like the idea of razor originally being some sort of surveillance android for wolvendom/integrating with them in some way for research and sort of became a guide for people who get lost in wolvendom.

diona and diluc are two different types of bartenders, one is good against people who cant say no to a cute (angry) kitty and the others... are those require some intimidation.

VENTI. god, i think itd be cool if they had prototype models for the seven archons and actual venti bots now definitely play into the "broke bard who plays for alcohol" thing. but of course anyone with eyes knows that his original model was the barbatos android.

oh!! and bennett and fischl being adventurers buddies. bennett is "unlucky" but hes actually like, wired to be hypervigilant and take hits for you while he shrugs it off. and fischl comes with oz if you need some chuuni speech translated, but you can disable that if you want to go full rp with her.

*looks at my thread* oh yeah "Albedo is made for the alchemists in the Knights, and he was meant to be released with Klee, but there was a delay because his ai kept experimenting on its own copies (Flowerfell Albedo?)" ngl i didnt play the albedo event and never bothered to watch a video so i dont know the full extent of his lore here. oh right and i added "sucrose is made to keep an eye on him in the labs" lmao

klee is. i suppose made for the knights. a cute energetic girl to keep morale up, whos fireproof and thus able to scout dangerous areas/bomb them if you so wish.

oh yeah i wrote that the church was not happy about the rosaria bots being made so they relegated her to guarding dragonspine against foolish adventurers. as to why she keeps appearing in bars, well, uh. No comment — Celestia Inc.

the lawrence clan wanted in on this business and sponsored a representative of their family, but mondstadts opinion of them is less than friendly, so the knights compromise and make eula, a lawrence knight.

whew okay for some reason i was able to churn out a lot for mondstadt and then everyone else i was like uh yeah. they exist and do things similar to what they do in game like xiangling being a cook's aide. yep. idk why the mondstadt worldbuilding gripped me so hard like that.

also my last thought is that maybe the hilichurls are just the verryyy alpha version of their bots, the khaenri'ah line (i think daydream mentioned this) and maybe just broke down and went rogue/abandoned. so now they make better bots to fight them and keep people safe. go figure. earns them a ton of cash though. lol imagine if getting them was a lottery too....

[pepperf]

Hi me again:3 ( hopefully I'm not annoying you-) I just am wondering out of all the characters who do you think would make a good/funny Grimsly(the butler/knight/servant guy to ericc) bc I just wanted to know your thoughts(totally not because Idk myself bc there's to many chaarcters)

lol! No, no, ask away, this is fun! I mean, Pogo seems like the obvious choice in that he's already a butler, but I don't feel like he and Diego had much of a relationship and it's not that interesting a combo to me - so I'd be tempted, in a Little Mermaid story, to put Luther in there. Partly because IIRC Grimsby is pretty much the only person we see Eric talking to, and Luther is kind of Diego's bff in the show. And partly because it would be fun to switch the Leader and Subordinate roles up for once, see what comes out of that.

Alternatively, Herb would be great in that role. It'd be fun to have Diego as the big, dumb hero, and Herb as his smarter but less brave sidekick - and I love their relationship in the show, in a mere two or three scenes they really hit it off, and I wish they'd had more of that in later seasons.

(Also I just saw your tags on that nervous dentist/patient one and lollllll, yeah, that one was totally me struggling to come up with ideas! But I have loads more still to come, I am just shuffling the, uh, less fleshed-out ones, let's say, with the good ones!)

[josefavomjaaga]

Marshal Ney in Galicia

In 1902, an author named comte de la Bédoyère (I do not know if and how related to the la Bédoyère executed in 1815) wrote a book about Marshal Michel Ney, mostly about his trial and execution. But the appendix also contains several other documents, among them excerpts from the memoirs of a certain general Béchet, Ney's aide-de-camp. The part I translated is about the first months of 1809, Ney's time in Galicia, after Napoleon in January 1809 had quit Spain for France and had left the task of conquering Portugal to his subordinates.

Marshal Soult was put in charge of this operation, in which he was to be assisted by Marshal Ney. The Marshal had sent me to Marshal Soult to discuss with him the positions which the troops of our corps would occupy as his troops moved towards Portugal. I found him near the place of Ferrol, which had not yet been surrendered (it was surrendered the next day). He didn't receive me too well, not because he resented me or even knew me, but because he wasn't on very good terms with my patron. I thought I would starve to death in that unfortunate town of Ferrol, where I had great difficulty in getting a bite to eat, as Marshal Soult had not invited me to dine with his officers.

Bad Soult! Don't kill the messenger (or in this case, don't let him starve) just because it's a messenger from Ney...

I'm unsure what the two marshals had agreed upon with regards to the placement of Ney's troops, who, as Béchet says himself, had the task to support and thus to stay in contact with Soult's corps in Portugal. However, given the two marshals were "not on very good terms" with each other, Ney probably followed a primal instinct and tried to get as much distance between himself and Soult as possible, in going north to La Coruna, while Soult went south into Portugal. Communications soon were interrupted not only with Soult's expedition corps but also with Madrid. But it seems Ney & C. did not mind too much:

Our stay in this town was not without its pleasures. Sometimes we played whist at the marshal's house at one napoleon a card. One evening I lost twenty cards, I didn't have such a large sum with me and I asked the Marshal to give me credit; he sometimes demanded them back from me in jest, I replied in the same tone, and I ended up not paying him. The Marshal, who had only rare relations with King Joseph because the roads were interrupted by the guerillas, was regarded by the Spaniards as the viceroy of the province and had all the powers.

To which I have two remarks: 1) Some people were accused of wanting to make themselves king whenever they found themselves in a similar position. Just saying. And 2) Ney and his aides were not alone in regarding the interruption of communication by guerillas as a given, and to pay little attention to it. Joseph and Jourdan in Madrid, too, waited for an explicit order from an exasperated Napoleon before sending Kellermann to reopen communications with Ney in Galicia (with Soult in Portugal there was no contact at all).

And now comes a rather ... interesting story about what "viceroy" Ney was up to in this new domain of his:

He had the idea of visiting all the women's convents, and there were many, and of telling the nuns and novices that all those who had entered them against their will could leave if they wished. It was playing the role of the tempter, but such was the spirit of the time, and we thought we were doing a meritorious work by acting in this way.

I'm sure you did, you little prick...

In a convent where the nuns had the reputation of being very fanatical, a young novice, with a charming face, threw herself crying at the feet of the Marshal and addressed him in Spanish in a speech that we still only barely understood. Our hearts went out to her, and already more than one gallant knight was offering her his services, ...

Uh-huh...

... but our interpreter told us that, on the contrary, she announced to the Marshal that the Virgin had appeared to her that night, and warned her that that very day she would obtain the dispensation of age necessary to make her vows, and that she had no doubt that the Marshal was the envoy from heaven who had come to grant her the grace she was seeking. The Marshal replied that it did not depend on him, but that he would write to the court. So much for our tender feelings. In fact, I seem to recall that only one of these ladies took advantage of the freedom offered to her; she left the convent to marry an officer who took her back to France with him.

Must have been quite a blow to the self-esteem of all those "gallant knights" trying to free poor enslaved women, for utterly unselfish reasons, of course.