ErwyPaintingLab

bi guy, 1998, enamored with granpa' Nurgle (and chaos in general)

[erwansiannodel]

Necron Cryptek, Sautekh Dynasty. Feel free to C&C.

[erwansiannodel]

Eldar Autarch Anniversary edition, Homebrew color scheme in slapchop. Feel free to C&C

[tyranid-online]

Primarchs Taking the Ring to Mordor

Lion El’Jonson The Lion joins the Fellowship immediately, barely says anything and keeps staring at Boromir. He just stands in the corner  watching everyone argue about the ring with the expression of a man mentally placing them into categories like useful assets, security risk and future betrayal.

He would absolutely deliver the ring stealthily if everyone else just stopped talking. Unfortunately he keeps disappearing into forests and refusing to explain where he went. Aragorn respects him but also hates him slightly because Aragorn is used to being the mysterious forest man and suddenly there is a larger and colder one. Gimli hates that he can’t win an argument with a man who simply leaves.

Fulgrim He starts in the fellowship because he thinks the ring is a masterpiece, ten minutes later he’s wearing it on a chain and posing on a ruined statue. Fulgrim is fascinated by the ring not because he wants power at first but because it’s too perfect. A small and golden jewel that has caused kings to fall, nations to burn and immortal beings to speak in hushed voices. The Eye whispers: I alone understand beauty that must rule. “Finally someone with taste.” Fulgrim whispers back. 

Perturabo Perturabo isn’t invited but shows up anyway with a complete engineering plan for bypassing every fortress, mountain and emotional conversation. He brings this up and everyone ignores him because the mood is very solemn and mythic.  Elrond says that the ring must be carried by the small and humble and Perturabo immediately hears it as his contribution not being valued. Sauron later sends one whisper, not even a good one, just ‘They never appreciated what you built’ and Perturabo is already packing. He joins because Sauron lets him redesign Mordor’s defensive infrastructure and actually uses the word 'indispensable.' Within a month Mordor has better roads, reinforced towers, improved supply chains and a volcanic logistics network, unfortunately every orc also has to attend mandatory safety briefings.

Jaghatai Jaghatai hears ‘we must take the ring to Mordor’ and he’s already at the stables before the council even finishes. He doesn’t understand why everyone is still debating. He steals a horse and somehow ends up inventing motorcycle cavalry in Middle-earth. His version of the fellowship is a speedrun without songs or scenic pauses.

The nazgul try to chase him and immediately regret it. He feints them into ravines, circles them for sport and invents psychological mounted harassment tactics previously unknown to that land.

Russ Boromir says “one does not simply walk into Mordor” and Russ immediately stands up and accepts it like a dare. He is fond of the hobbits, they are small, brave, food motivated and prone to songs, absolute excellent pack members. Merry and Pippin love him, Sam is suspicious until Russ praises his cooking then decides Russ is fundamentally decent despite being approximately the size of a barn.

Stealth is impossible with Russ since he can’t resist howling at the moon, insulting distant enemies and announcing “I smell orc filth!” eight seconds before kicking down the nearest door.

Rogal Dorn Dorn accepts the mission then immediately identifies the real issue of the fellowship having insufficient fortifications. Within three days every place they sleep has walls, trenches, watchtowers, kill zones and a gatehouse. Middle-earth slowly becomes safer because Dorn keeps accidentally leaving citadels across the map.

He overthinks the approach to mount doom and insists on securing the perimeter, then the outer perimeter, then the inner perimeter, then a permanent garrison. The quest ends in 900 years after Mordor is fully encircled.

Konrad Curze Everyone assumed he would join Sauron but he doesn't, Curze joins the fellowship because he saw a future where the Ring wins and took that personally. He is terrifyingly effective in Mordor. Orc patrols simply disappear, watchtowers go silent, graffiti appears on walls saying things like I SAW WHAT YOU DID and entire garrisons flee because something in the dark has started judging them individually.

The Nazgul don’t enjoy him since they are supposed to be the horror element there and Curze makes the vibes weird. Aragorn keeps trying to have “redemption is possible” conversations and Curze keeps responding with prophetic nightmare statements.

Sanguinius The Fellowship’s morale goes up by 400%, everyone trusts him instantly and even the ring is briefly ashamed of itself. He makes everyone better simply by being there. Boromir confesses his weakness earlier because Sanguinius looks at him once with those sad, compassionate eyes and Boromir immediately feels emotionally convicted. Frodo sleeps better, Sam trusts him instantly, Aragorn feels both inspired and slightly insecure. Legolas is starstruck. Gimli pretends not to be, fails and then asks about the wings.

The ring tries everything to corrupt him. It shows a vision of a world saved by his hand and offers him the strength to end all suffering. Sanguinius would be tempted because he wants to spare others but he resists because he understands that evil often dresses itself as mercy.

Ferrus Ferrus thinks the entire situation is ridiculous because the enemy put too much of himself into a physical object and then lost it which is strategically embarrassing. He tries to break the ring with hammers, ancient smithing techniques and things nobody should use indoors. The Ring whispers promises of power and Ferrus responds “your tolerances are sloppy.” Sauron is insulted.

Ferrus is reliable on the road, he doesn’t complain or care about ominous weather but he keeps trying to improve everyone’s weapons without asking. He would carry the Ring if needed but he would spend the entire time furious that it still exists.

Angron Angron doesn’t join the fellowship, it simply happens near him. Someone mentions that Mordor has endless armies and he walks towards it. His presence fundamentally changes the quest because every orc within twenty miles is already dead, running or pretending to be dead.

If the Ring whispers to him, Angron screams louder. Gollum takes one look at him and decides to pursue a different subplot. He wouldn’t join Sauron because he gives orders and Angron has very strong feelings about being commanded.

Guilliman Guilliman hears the mission and immediately asks for maps, numbers, local political structures, known enemy movements, supply constraints and if the Shire has a functioning quartermaster tradition. The Council of Elrond is not ready for him. He coordinates Gondor, Rohan, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Dale, Erebor and probably three farming villages that didn’t know they were relevant. 

Merry and Pippin accidentally become junior logistics officers while Sam loves him because supplies are finally being taken seriously. Aragorn appreciates him but also quietly worries that Guilliman is going to turn the restored kingdom into an administrative reform project before Aragorn even gets crowned.

Mortarion Mortarion hates Rivendell so much, it’s too much delicate immortal sadness in a single place. He looks at the elves and immediately wants to cough on their furniture. He likes Mordor because it’s honest, a landscape that hates you personally. He joins the Fellowship not because he likes anyone in particular but because Sauron is a tyrant sitting in a tower and Mortarion has opinions about that.

The Ring tempts him with liberation from overlords and a world where no one kneels, unfortunately it also speaks like a tyrant and Mortarion notices.

Magnus the Red Magnus  knows more about ancient evil artifacts than almost anyone and can communicate with half the weird powers involved, that’s exactly why he shouldn’t  be allowed near the ring. The council would say ‘don’t study it’, Magnus agrees, turns around and then immediately studies it.

He wants to know how Sauron bound himself into the ring and if it can be unmade without destroying so much history. Gandalf looks thirty years older after one conversation with him. The Ring loves him because Magnus always believes there is one more clever solution beyond the forbidden door. Sauron whispers, 'At last a mind worthy of discourse'. “I will hear him out.”

Horus Horus joins the fellowship and everyone is thrilled. He speaks to men, elves, dwarves and hobbits like each one matters. He gives one speech about using the ring against Sauron and half the fellowship starts nodding… the ring notices immediately. The ring shows him a land saved under his leadership, no more ancient grudges weakening the free peoples. It whispers ‘You would use me better than he ever could’. And Horus thinks, just for a second, ‘Yes. I would’.

Horus falls because he’s so good at imagining himself as the one who must make the hard choice. By the time he joins Sauron he has convinced himself he is preventing a greater catastrophe and is persuasive enough that other people believe him.

Lorgar Lorgar shouldn’t be allowed within five miles of the ring. He sees it and immediately understands that it isn’t just an object but a symbol. Everyone else says “this is evil” and Lorgar replies “yes, but what does it mean?” Within one day he has written a hymn, developed a theological framework and quietly gathered followers among emotionally vulnerable men who are frightened of the war.

Sauron doesn’t even need to work hard, he simply lets Lorgar perceive him as a divine presence. The Eye opens and Lorgar kneels.

Vulkan Vulkan is beloved instantly. He carries Frodo, Sam, the supplies, three wounded soldiers and probably Bill the Pony. The hobbits adore him and Sam specially trusts him because Vulkan respects simple food, simple courage and people who keep going when they are afraid. He is the one who sits with Frodo when the burden gets too heavy. 

The ring tries to tempt him with protection showing him all the homes that will burn if he fails. Vulkan replies “no, thank you, little evil circle” with such warmth that the Ring feels personally rejected.

Corvus Corax He takes the ring, disappears from the council and three weeks later Mount Doom erupts. Nobody saw him enter Mordor, nobody saw him leave, Sauron spends the last five minutes of his existence asking “where did he go?’ Tolkien loses 800 pages.

The Ring tries to tempt him with vengeance and  justice for the oppressed but Corvus only hears “become a tyrant to kill tyrants” and immediately recognizes the scam. Into the fire it goes.

(sorry, no twins! idk much about them)

[erwansiannodel]

A 3D Printed Chaos spawn, at LONG last finished. Feel free to C&C, tho i do know it's slightly over exposed with light but, eh, am fine with it.

[findingpeaceinconnection-blog]

I'm glad that my workplace has mandatory autism awareness training, but the down side of my double life is that now i'm being taught about autism. this leads to fun situations where a coworker says did you know x? and i go yes i do, in fact y. and they go wow how do you know so much about autism

my guy you work with clark kent. my most neurotypical self, when i'm at home i'm autism superman.

[erwansiannodel]

"My guy, you work with Clark Kent, my most neurotypical self. When I'm at home, I'm autism superman."

Is not a quote I would've ever thought to go THAT hard along being so relatable...

Thank you.

[ohddaniellee-blog]

Reblog this if you are literally suprised when people find you attractive.

[captainmera]

Reblog this with something from your sketchbook! 🫶💖

Never mind if you think your art is bad or good. This isn't about bad or good art (it's subjective anyway). This is about humans making real-life art and putting in the effort to create something simply because they like creating things.

Take a photo of your sketchbook, I wanna see real art. 💛

[erwansiannodel]

Not quite sketchbook, but old drawings I did nonetheless. A DnD Character and a VERY old OC

[erwansiannodel]

Quick contrast Khorne daemons "Bloodletters", bc I like them orange better than red. Feel free to C&C.

[erwansiannodel]

Quick and simple Phantom Rubric marines of the Thousand sons.

Feel free to C&C

[erwansiannodel]

Imotekh the Stormlord & the Discontinued Necron Overlord with orb of resurrection.

Feel free to C&C

[erwansiannodel]

3 "World eater" Khorne Berserkers I also had on the back burner for a while.

Feel free to C&C

[erwansiannodel]

So, since it's been a while and MHWilds knows a bit of a calm point as of right now.

I've got an Apothecary and a Scout in "Black templar" color scheme.

Feel free to C&C

[catboymoments]

But of a heavy question, since I know you...like ?... exploring those : What is Kiida / Kay El Relationship ?

I get the feeling that could go VERY wrong, bc Kiida seems the kind that'd exploit that...but also, there's some relief in Kay El's healthy relationships with his friends

Ok let’s get this outta the way: Kiida does not and will not SA Kay el, but she exploits the fact that he is a victim of SA who was deprived of genuine familial love and is touch starved.

Kiida is his boss, but she makes their relationship a lot more………… intimate? Close? Than it needs to be or should be. She knows more about him than he does about himself.

[erwansiannodel]

OH THANK GODS

I get emotional whenever you start exploring those 😭

Still fucked up, but not as much as it could've been...yet...

I think you mentioned a sorta Makima/Denji dynamic, no ?

[writing-prompt-s]

Despite being cursed into a monster and being banished by your royal parents, you were happy with your life. Your home was peaceful. You always had enough to eat. You even had friends despite your appearance, so yeah your life was great. Your non-cursed sibling's life, on the other hand

[kairaloi]

I'd never expected this.

I sat at the dining table my dwarf neighbor had built for me when I first moved to the swamp. A warm ceramic mug of tea between my large clawed hands was another gift from a neighbor.

The weather was miserable; pouring rain in white sheets and cold enough to fog breath.

Inside my stone hut, it was warm, dry, and cozy.

My sister sat across from me. She'd been engulfed by the massive wool blanket I'd wrapped her in. The mug was nearly too big and heavy for her to lift, so to avoid spilling, she rested it on the table and tilted it to sip. She'd lost all dignity at this point. In fact, she'd lost everything, or so she claimed.

Water dripped from her hair.

"How about you start from the beginning?" I asked, my voice low and rumbling.

Arabella flinched. Her small, soft voice was still hoarse from her trip through the torrential rain to my soggy domicile of exile. Probably the farthest she'd ever traveled, let alone unaccompanied. I was surprised she'd made it here without more mishap than a torn and muddy dress. "Father... is a liar," she said.

I nodded. "Yes. But I'm sure you didn't come here to tell me the obvious."

Arabella flinched again, lowering her head. "I'm sorry."

That was unexpected.

I sipped my tea. I'd learned how to make a few simple brews from the witch of the forest. In exchange, I gave her some of the meat I caught and scared off hunters that got too close to our part of the woods. Her face was hideous, but she was old, and who was I to judge?

Arabella's face twisted. "He promised that if you took the curse for the family that the rest of us would be fine. But Kyle has... He's turned to stone! Mother is sprouting feathers! Father is the only one untouched--but I know he's made a bargain. Everyone else in exchange for his life!"

I leaned my elbow on the table, chin resting in my palm. "Ah... Arabella, I've learned a few things while out here, so let me fill you in."

Her eyes lifted, wide and shining.

"The curse is permanent." I lifted a finger, releasing my mug to do so. "The curse requires consent. If you don't consent, it doesn't work. So Kyle agreed to take it on. Monica--"

"Mother."

"Monica. Agreed to turn into a chicken."

"Harpy."

My lips curved. "Ah--" I barely stopped myself from laughing.

Arabella's jaw clenched. She looked down.

"So unless you agree to take his curse... nothing can be done."

"But Kyle! He's only thirteen!"

"Oh. Wow..." I mused. I hadn't realized it had been that long. "Well, sorry. But it's like sex. Once the deed is done, you can't undo it. He agreed." I briefly wondered if our parents had even told him that he had an older sister. Probably not. Not that it mattered now anyway. Kyle was as good as dead... unless.

"Is there nothing that can be done?" Arabella screamed, her voice giving out at the end even though she'd slammed to her feet. It was hardly impressive since jumping out of the chair made her lose eight inches of height.

"Well... The Bog Hag said that curses are a lot like locks, and any lock can be picked. You just have to figure out the locking mechanism."

Arabella's eyes widened. "Like True Love's Kiss?" she asked.

"A fae demented enough to continue making deals with Allen in exchange for his family wouldn't pick something so cute."

"Father," Arabella corrected automatically, then looked down as she carefully climbed back into the chair. "What do you mean continue?"

"Loki, as he likes to be called, told me that I was taking on Allen's debt," I said with a shrug. "This leads me to believe that Allen has asked for more favors, which has incurred more debt."

"That..." her voice faded, expression changing to one of someone putting the pieces together.

"So I'm guessing the family has had quite a bit of fortune lately?" I asked, picking up my mug to finish my tea. I stood, careful not to knock anything with my tail as I went to the stove to refill my mug.

"Please help me..." Arabella asked.

I looked over my shoulder at her. "Why should I? I'm happy here."

"But you're..."

"A monster?" I grinned. "I feel more myself than I ever did in Allen's house. You can't tell me it was easy to get here with your ribs wrapped in steel and legs bound by cloth." I set my mug on the table and leaned over her, a hand on the back of the chair she sat in. "Tell me, Arabella. Were Madam Wretched's dancing lessons fun? Were Mister Wrathful's tutoring sessions enjoyable?"

My sister swallowed. She wanted to correct me on Wreath and Willson's names, but she didn't.

"Did you jump for joy when they assigned a knight to watch you day and night so you couldn't have a moment of silence without his resentful sighs interrupting?"

She flinched, hunching down in the wool blanket. "It wasn't all bad..."

"One thing," I challenged, lifting a claw near her face. "Name one thing."

Arabella opened her mouth, then closed it. She was struggling.

"All the food. All of it looked and smelled so delicious, but you weren't allowed a morsel," I offered.

She grit her teeth.

"The garden you weren't allowed in without a wide hat, parasol, and six men carrying a tent over you at all times."

"Stop..." she begged, hands covering her face.

"The man you were ordered to marry who looks like a slime and mud golem had a child," I finished.

She choked.

I put my hand on her back, gently rubbing. "Go ahead and laugh."

Arabella sobbed, laughing and crying at the same time. I knelt and put my arms around her. She gripped my thick neck, her tiny hands buried in my wild red mane. "You're right!" she admitted, voice muffled by my shoulder. "But how did you know about him?"

"People from town sometimes go to the Bog Hag for help with... problems."

"His personality is even worse than his face!"

"I could tell by the sneer they gave him in the newspaper."

Arabella sat back, wiping her face with her fingers.

I looked up at her with a sigh. "I'm still your sister," I said, resigned. She'd only been four when I was cursed, after all. She had been my little shadow, and... being thirteen at the time, I'd found her to be very annoying. Now, she was sixteen. If I'd looked up the definition of the word Princess, her picture would've been there; blonde, blue-eyed, petite, weak, soft-spoken...

Arabella stared down at me and swallowed as her eyes searched my face. "Please help me... get revenge."

My lips curled, revealing the sharp teeth my curse had blessed me with.

[writing-prompt-s]

You're a superhero who specializes exclusively in stopping disasters. The other heroes just don't understand why you need to remain neutral to the villains…

[lightningfury13]

When your power first manifested it was terrifying both to yourself and your parents. You're only thankful it was only them and you out on the boat that day and the earthquake and storm you caused had mostly disappated by the time it reached the shore. The small tidal wave only flooded a few seaside houses but there was no loss of life and the rain may have actually prevented the wildfires that year.

It was the prevention that sparked the idea. While most people with powers like yours would be a category Black. Unusable in any circumstances you chose to embrace your gift. You studied meteorology and seimosgraphy and by the time you graduated you were ready.

You took the Hero name Poseidon. Both for your love of the sea but also because Poseidon was the Earthshaker, the Stormcaller. And that's exactly what you powers let you do.

You dedicated yourself to stopping natural disasters. Granting rain to areas suffering wild fires. Letting off quakes in certain places to counteract tidal waves. Gentling earthquakes. Redirectly storms away from civilization.

Other heros had laughed originally when they'd heard your plans. Whole lot of study for not a lot of work they'd thought. But then again they didn't respond to disasters and there were a lot more than they thought. You are ridiculously busy. During hurricane and tornado season you barely get a wink of sleep.

Maybe that's why in a foggy haze you first started accepting help from anyone and everyone who showed up.

Mephisto was a firey villian with an agenda you'd never bothered to learn. But when they helped you create a firebreak you didn't really care what theiragenda was outside of stop the wild fire from reaching the town.

Aquamarench was a submarine based villian again didn't really care what their agenda was when they were fishing people out of the sea and ferrying them to safety.

The heros who did show up at disaster sites in the aftermath from time to time scaring off your villainous helpers of course took issue with this.

And in your tired state running on 1.5 hours of sleep and the high octane coffee Bubbly Brew an alchemy based villian had handed you an hour ago you were perhaps less than eloquent in your rebuttal.

"I didn't see you shiny capes guarding people from sharpnel. I didn't see you out here holding up roof tops. I Didn't See You Out Here Providing Clean Drinking Water. What did you bring? FUCKING CAMERAS. ARE YOU KIDDING? WELL HERE'S YOUR 5 MINUTES OF SEE WHAT A CARING HERO I AM BEFORE YOU FUCK OFF BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM YOU PRICKS!" You turn to the shocked cameraman. "What these people actually need are clean clothes, non perishable food, blankets, and if possible shelter until they get back on their feet. Fresh drinking water has thankfully already been managed by Bubbly Brew, a villain." That last word was spat at the shiny and uncomfortably shifting heros.

"How do you know its safe to drink?" One brave soul in the heros dared to ask.

"Certified by 3rd party rescue crews. And we've been drinking it without issue for 3 days. Any other stupid questions? No. Then fuck off. You ran off half my help and I've still got work to do."

Digging trenches to divert flood waters was dirty work but it was honestly. Avalanche a villian with about half the power and half your move set had been a literal lifesaver in that regard.

It's only 4 days later after you've slept for more than 7 hours in one go in your own bed that you find out that you've gone viral. Of course the diatribe you've delivered directly to the cameraman had been stopped by the heros from ever airing but that didn't stop dozens of social media accounts of the disaster victims from uploading the whole thing from several angles. It was accompanied by several videos of the villains helping out during the disaster.

It started a whole debate online. Were villains really that bad? What were they actually doing that was so wrong? Several of the ones helping turned out to have some very anti government anti establishment agendas or were eco terrorists.

Which...if you weren't officially registered as a hero who'd went through hero school wouldn’t you also fall into the ecoterrorist bracket. It was only because you worked with governments and establishments calling them on your way to this disaster or that that really made you different from some of them. There but by the grace of the gods go I or something like that.

The heros were outraged. Of course the villains were wrong and bad and evil. And the ones they pointed at as examples were...well...ones that had never showed up to help you. Truly evil heinous villains who just lived to hurt and cause pain.

One of those had shown up once...you was a code Black for a reason. Officially you'd never used your powers on a human. Unofficially when Bloodqueen had shown up and snatched a child out of the water and ripped its throat out with her lamprey teeth... The bottom of the ocean is a dark, deep place. It had been difficult to counter the resulting waves but you'd been so mad...

It was suggested online that their should be different categories of villains like there were different categories of heroes. Villains that showed up to help at disaster sites? Maybe they get a pass during.

Unfortunately that was still under legislation when Starlight showed up to arrest Missus Spider who was holding several boats afloat during the hurricane you are trying to redirect away from Miami.

Arrest her. Arrest someone who is providing life saving measures. So if you maybe sort of missed a wind gust that sent Starlight plumping into the Gulf who was gonna know...

The first time. The second and third time though those probably weren't excusable. However you learned something. Letting a few gusts go made the storm easier to contain over all. After it's dealt with Starlight has the audacity to try to arrest you.

"For what?"

"You did that on purpose!"

"What?"

"Used wind to send me flying into the Gulf!"

"You think I had time and attention while holding back a category 5 hurricane to send very specifically controlled gusts of wind at you? Main character syndrome much? I was a bit busy saving the lives of millions of people. What are you even doing out here? Did you come to help with rescue efforts? Because it's gonna get dark soon we could use your help searching for anyone lost at sea."

"I was here to arrest Missus Spider!"

"The lady holding all the boats afloat? You know arresting her at that moment would have caused dozens of deaths right?"

"Well- I- Turn those cameras off!" Starlight yelled at some survivors nearby holding up their phones.

"So you're not here to help with Search and Rescue?" You asked loudly.

Starlight looked back at you more than a little lost and confused. After her multiple dips in the hurricane torn Gulf her shiny costume was not so shiny anymore. Finally she threw up her hands "Yeah sure. I'm here to help with Search & Rescue."

"Awesome. Normally Twinkle Toes does But For Some Reason He's Not Here Today. I Wonder Why." Referencing a villain with nearly the same powerset as Starlight. He was great at Search and Rescue with his searching balls of light and his light feet letting him walk on water.

Starlight for some reason looked even more devastated after that.

"Coast Guard's over there."

She trudged off dejected.

There was a bit of a turning point after that.

After that and a few more incidents like that the legislation was pushed through. Villains in the act of providing relief were untouchable as long as they were first identified by a hero as such. You're completely unsurprised when all that paperwork falls in your lap.

[writing-prompt-s]

You are a villain with a long-standing rivalry with the local Magical Girl. One day, you learn that the Magical Girl has been abandoned by her parents.

[ttenaciouscollectionblurb]

I found her sitting by the old water plant, where we'd had our first battle. Out of uniform, of course. She'd dressed sensibly for the occasion, fashionable but sturdy, warm clothes... It was hard to appreciate her quick thinking though, given what forced it. She had been crying, that much was clear.

"I suspected I'd find you here." She turned towards me with a start, her hand reaching for the wand tucked into her pocket. "No need for that. I am not here to fight." I sat down a few metres from her. "We might have had our differences, but I have no quarrel with you, as such. Our interests just happen to not align. Feel free to transform if you feel unsafe though. But I'd rather speak to Madeline than Messier Rose." She started at me, horrified. "Oh, I've always known your secret identity. It's not difficult to figure out when you're not affected by the Catalogue's blanking. I just like to separate work and private life, and saw little reason not to extend the same to you."

She struggled back a sob, but spoke with that steely certainty she always showed when on the job. "What do you want, Méchain?"

"I just want to talk, mostly." "Can't- Can we do this some other day today-" her compure broke for a moment, a rare sight. "Today's not..." she trailed off.

"I know. That's... What I wanted to talk about actually. I- I heard about what happened. Do you... Have a place to stay? A friends place perhaps or-" She hesitated for just a moment, but I could tell from the look on her face as much as I had surmised: No. She quickly hid that behind her steely exterior though. "What do you want, Méchain? What's your angle? Here to gloat, or is this some new scheme to get your hands on the Catalogue-"

"Today's not about the catalogue." "Then can you just get to what it IS about? Or- Or just leave me alone!"

Her composure was cracking now. Of course, I always did this. Its so easy to half forget, even if just for a moment, that beneath it all, she is still just a child. I had to do better. "I want to help you." "You expect me to believe that? After everything, you're just going to offer your help and expect me to, what? Let my guard down so you can steal the Catalogue and take over the world?" "No. I... I hope you'll believe me, so that I can actually help you. The Catalogue can wait." "Hah. 'The catalogue can wait'! You- You expect me to belive that?" "...No, i suppose not. But I hope you do. Not to fool you, but because its true... Do you know why I want the Catalogue?" "To take over the world?" "Well, yes, but do you know WHY I want to take over the world?" "Because you're an megalomanic with a god complex?" "Well, yes, but-" "So you can reclaim your ancestors legacy and claim your rightful spot etcetera?" "No, I- Okay, well yes, but no, my reason for wanting to take over the world, is to make it a better place."

"Better? How, are you going to make everyone wear neon coloured suits and slip into monolouges at least once every half hour?"

"No, well, Okay, I would do something about the travesty that is the way people dress, not to mention the clothes the stores sell, horrid. But its about more than-" "What's wrong with letting people dress how they want?" "Have you SEEN people? Worn out sweatpants two sizes too small, shorts that cover less of the behind than they leave exposed, the worst colours imaginable, grey, beige, drab affairs, bereft of any semblance of life, colour coordination or style. Its a bland assault on the senses only matched by the concrete cubes these off-white monstrosities work at, and-" "And what, you'd actually have everyone wear neon coloured suits?" "No no, I'd not force everyone to dress like me, heavens that would be almost as drab." "Then what?" "You know, I have a long and detailed list of every rule I'd implement, we can go over it sometime, when you have an hour or two to spare, it's quite fascinating, I'm particularly fond of the one about- no, pardon me. The long and short of it is I'd make people wear clothes that fit them, went well together, and had at least SOME colour to it."

"What, you hate goths?" "No! Heavens no. While I do prefer those styling of goth that do include a bit of colour, an all black ensemble can be quite stunning, if done well, but doing so requires intentionality. And frankly, colour theory aside, black is MUCH more of a colour than beige- But we're getting side tracked. My reason for wanting to take over the world, is to make it a better place. And I mean the sincerely."

She huffed out a laugh. "The idea of a world you consider better does not exactly inspire confidence. Go on, what would you fix?" "...The list is too long, and too sad, to share with you like this... But I suppose I must share some of it... Did you know that are around two hundred thousand people in the city that do not have a stable place to sleep? There are shelters, but it is limited what can be done with just those kind of means. Systemic change is need to fix the problem, even just for that one city. To solve it for the world?.. I see no other way than the Catalogue. And that is one problem of thousands. Granted, its a big one... But there are certainly ones harder to solve in normal ways. Without the Catalogue, there is little I can do. With it, there is little I can't do." "And what, you'd just use it for good?" "No. I have several plans for it you'd hardly call good, I am honest enough to admit, and we're like to disagree on some of the goods I'd do, too. But- Once again, we're getting of topic, a bad habit of mine, that... It feels strange to say this but... I'd like to offer you a place to stay." "What?" "I can't just let someone I know sleep on the streets, especially not someone your age. Teenage life is hard enough, even with proper shelter and nutrition, I can't in good conscience just leave you to it." "What?" "My house is a bit far from your school, but not so far I can't drive you to and from each day, I have time for that, though you'd have to spend a while at the library after school, before I can pick you up. I have also looked into it, and you could take the bus, its a bit of a roundabout route, and you'd have to leave pretty early, but if you're more comfortable with that-" "Hold on- You- You want to ADOPT me?" "Well... I suppose, yes. Now, of course, we needn't call it that if you're uncomfortable with the-" "But- But you're a villain! We're ENEMIES! You- You can't just ADOPT ME!" "Now now, we are not enemies." "Not enemies??!? We've fought like, a bazillion times!" "Yes yes, we do have quite the rivalry going on, but we are not ENEMIES. Not ONCE have I tried to kill you, and neither have you tried to kill me, hardly grounds to call that 'enemies'."

"I- I don't kill people!" "A noble goal... But you DID blow up that one guy with the Spanish name. Oh, what was it..." "He turned into a giant monster and tried to destroy the city!" "Yes! Exactly! Now there is an enemy! And you vanquished him quite nicely. As one does enemies, why, surely you remember when that blasted woman pretended to work for me but then revealed she was an enemy of us both whom only wanted to steal the Catalogue for herself? Naturally, you thwarted that plan quite nicely, and I did as one does when someone makes themselves an enemy. I dealt with it. THOSE are enemies. Us? Perish the thought."

"...Alright, rivals then... But- But that doesn't mean you can just... Adopt me!" "Why not? I already have most of the paperwork ready to be signed..." "It's not... You're just going to give up on the Catalogue, just like that?" "No! Of course not!... But I would make an effort, even more than I already do, to not have our rivalry get in the way of your education or other important events. We'd not want a repeat of that fiasco last year... Keeping track of your educational schedule is quite difficult with how reluctant your school staff is to keep their online resources up to date. Being able to actually talk with you about it would simplify that greatly."

"...So you DIDN'T do that on purpose?" "HOW was I supposed to do that on purpose? It took 4 weeks of preparation, and your school pushed the event 2 weeks forwards, with no warning I ever caught wind off. I'm not the Oracle of Delphi! ...Didn't even directly notify the parents, I learned after. Really, if they try something like that with you living under my roof, I'll give them a piece of my mind, predictability is important for-" "You're serious, aren't you?" "Yes, naturally. They can't just change the schedule without warning and then-" "I meant about adopting me?" "Oh, yes. That too of course." "...This is just one of your sick plans isn't it, some scheme to-" "No! I mean, I scheme, sure! But I am not a monster! I'd not lie about something like this. No I am quite genuine. No scheme. No trap. No hidden motive... Really, what sort of villain would I be, if I let my rival hero just... Live on the street? As a CHILD? Nonono, that just won't do..." I paused, then continued, as softly and sincerely as I could manage. "It completely understandable if you don't trust me, but I really hope you do."

She let out a small laugh, paused, then started laughing, but it soon turned to crying. I tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, and within moments, she was rubbing snot into my cashmere shirt. I put an arm softly around her. "It's not fair!" she cried "No, its not." i answered softly "Th-they're supposed to be my parents and they- they just-" "Why- why is it that my parents are worse than a literal villain! Its not fair!"

She cried for a while, with a few things like that, said intermediately. I did my best to offer... compassion, though it was hard to say something that could actually help.

Eventually, she composed herself again, and we sat in silence, apart, for a while. Eventually, she started asking practical questions about what it would be like if she said yes. Often with a long silence between each question. Eventually, the questions stopped. By then she'd made it very clear, several times, that if she accepted, we'd be nothing like father and daughter, that it was just practical, and temporary and other diminishing qualifiers. A while after the questions stopped, she asked again, finally, if I was being serious about it, that it wasn't a cruel joke. And then she said yes, and allowed me to pull her into a hug.

"...I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" she said, after. "Maybe." I said, honestly.

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I stood in the library, impatiently tapping my foot, my annoyance clearly being felt by my hostages, despite my masked self.

Finally, Messier Rose arrived, looking a touch winded. "Ah! Messier Rose! How good of you to FINALLY join us." I pushed down the annoyance and worry and got into the profesionality of it. "As you can see-"

"So, young lady, care to explain how it took you over HALF AN HOUR to get to the library you were SUPPOSEDLY studying at?" "... Care to explain why you thought leaving the key with the hostages was a good idea?" "So, in hindsight, I should have left that somewhere else, yes, but you were never supposed to try to free them right away, I thought you'd first try to- No, no! I won't be distracted this time. Why weren't you at the library, hmm?" "...Well, the thing is..." "Yes?" "...So, I just... There's this movie, and well, some friends were going..." "Was one of these friends called Ramon, maybe?" "...yes..." "Now, Madeline, you know what I've said." She started blushing. "It's perfectly okay if you want to go see your boyfriend-" "Dad, he's not my boyfriend!" she was red as a beet. "Even if he does dress shabbily, you really should bring him over one day so I can give him some much-needed fashion advice-"

"Daaad!" "But I'd like to know when you do, wanting to see your boyfriend-" "He's not my boyfriend!" "is perfectly natural, but we need to have a few boundaries about this. And speaking of boundaries-" "DAAAAAD!"

[catboymoments]

oh that was confusing sorry :( I mean the kids and their parents. I don’t know which next gen I was thinking of when I wrote that though. maybe toh? That’s the only one I’m confused about mainly.

Hello anon I did these for you because 1) I needed to make an updated fankiddo guide anyway and 2) I wanted to familiarize myself w clip studio paint again so! Here’s the little guys and some extra info!