jami-multimuse

[jami-multimuse]

Jamie: GOOD LORD WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THERE!?

Marilyn: Aurora Borealis?

Jamie: A-AURORA BOREALIS? AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, AT THIS TIME OF DAY, IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD, LOCALIZED ENTIRELY WITHIN THE KITCHEN?!

Marilyn: Yes.

Jamie: ...May I see it?

Marilyn: ...No.

[jami-multimuse]

Jamie: Moons above, Marilyn! What is that?

Marilyn: A smoothie.

The ostritch she was trying to lead onto the ship: o_o

Jamie: No, not that. THAT!

[jami-multimuse]

Lazarael! The starry-eyed mutated human from my Caves of Qud story, The Esper's Last Apprentice!

She is the last apprentice of the Great Esper Yyushur, the Quasar Mind, Slayer of the Rukhs of Ptoh and Sunderer of Space and Minds. Despite being apprenticed to such a powerful esper, her return to Qud will be quite the challenge - especially after the incident with the interlopers en route to Joppa...

reblog this post with the oc currently plaguing your mind and either tell me your favorite fact about them or what you think is the most important piece of their lore is :)

[jami-multimuse]

Fun fact!

Sara's mom's maiden name is Palladino.

I chose that name to honor my own mom's Italian heritage (though her last name is completely different) while also going for something with a steely vibe to it.

Palladino - depending on who you ask - could be derived from Pallas Athena, or perhaps the Latin word for "protection" (this is likely where the word "Paladin" gets its roots! You can also see it in the last name)

There are definitely other interpretations but those are the ones I'm going with.

[jami-multimuse]

"Did you try adding garlic?"

Sara taps the eraser of her pencil against her upper lip as she thinks.

"Maybe it's just a Palladino family thing... I dunno..."

When she brings up that name, her face becomes a lot more... melancholic.

"With respect, Mr. Nara, I don't understand the crabcake thing. My grandma on my mom's side would make amazing pasta every time I visited her. In my 27 years of life, I never got tired of it."

Sara pauses.

"...Probably because of all the garlic. And she had multiple different recipes for different pasta sauces."

"Trust me. This was exactly the same every time. And while they were good, I ate far too many."

Shikaku grimaced at the memory or almost being ill because of it.

"And she didn't take no for an answer."

[jami-multimuse]

Still not sure if I managed to truly capture the insane amount of chaos a high-level esper battle is.

[jami-multimuse]

The Esper's Last Apprentice. Part 5: Interlopers

A story set in the Caves of Qud universe

Previous Chapter <- -> Next Chapter

Five Rhinoxes from some otherplace appear from a rift in the aether.

"Lazarael! Run!"

Spacetime bends and warps around Yyushur as she manifests several time-clones of herself. Man-eating plants erupt from the ground, grabbing every living thing in range. The air shimmers and catches fire around one of the interlopers, but it merely charges out of the heat. Before it can smash into Yyushur, a psychic forcefield manifests, causing the rhinox to crash into it.

Spacetime boils and ruptures, causing vortices of wounded reality to wander aimlessly through the growing chaos. A many-eyed chrome creature rolls out of one, only to be engulfed by a plant and then sucked into another spacetime vortex.

Shockwaves come from nothing. The air catches fire, then freezes. The sound of the air itself shattering can be heard. The wind shrieks. The ground rumbles. Spacetime screams. The psychic aether howls. A clone of Yyushur - or perhaps Yyushur herself - is caught in a flash of light and reduced to ashes before spacetime around her twists and she reappears unharmed.

One of the rhinoxes charges toward Lazarael before all three of its heads explode and it tumbles to a stop less than a meter away from her.

Lazarael watches, frozen in terror as the battle rages for over an hour.

Suddenly, all is quiet and calm. Reality slowly reasserts itself. Yyushur is nowhere to be seen. The fight is over. The battlefield is splattered with blood and ashes. Four of the rhinoxes lay dead and the fifth on is unconscious and on death's door. Yyushur is nowhere to be seen. A red death dacca sways in the wind, its fronds slick with blood. Yyushur is nowhere to be seen.

Yyushur is nowhere to be seen.

Yyushur is...

Lazarael rushes forward to the last remaining rhinox. It's these evil creatures that took Master Yyushur from her!

"You bastard! I'll kill you for this!"

With a roar of rage, Lazarael tries to stab the beast, only for her dagger to shatter on its hard skin.

She uses her newfound abilities to try to sunder the creature's mind. It was already on death's door, so even a neophyte could wreak havoc on it.

The rhinox finally perishes. Lazarael sobs, beating her fists against the beast's corpse. She doesn't even notice the sheer amount of power she absorbed from it. All she can think of is that she is alone.

Lazarael is alone.

[jami-multimuse]

This reminds me of an old jingle I heard on the radio more than 20 years ago!

"Four four four forty-four forty-four! Just dial four 'till your fingers are sore!"

I don't remember what it was four. Haha, get it?

@ask-crappy-mista @ask-mista-and-friends @ask-mista

[jami-multimuse]

Marilyn looks at Hinata, having almost bumped into her.

"Sorry. I was just... thinkin' while I was walkin'. Reckon it ain't a good idea fer a kunoichi ta jus'... Zone out like that."

She doesn't just look zoned out. She looks melancholy. Sorrowful, even.

❝ Oh . . . hello there. Can . . . I help you? ❞

[jami-multimuse]

Reminder that I would absolutely love asks so we can RP!

Just note that Yyushur will NOT be a muse, and Lazarael will only be available as a muse after she reaches Joppa.

As for the rest, go hog wild! I love getting asks for RP! In fact, I absolutely encourage it.

[jami-multimuse]

The Esper's Last Apprentice, Part 4: Glimmer

Previous chapter <- -> Next Chapter

A story set in the Caves of Qud universe

The Great Salt Desert Moghra'yi, four parasangs south of the Six Day Stilt Jeweled Dusk of the Thirtieth Day of Uru Ux

"Master, you mentioned something called Glimmer when we left the Six Day Stilt. And once before when we were leaving the Sunderlies. What is it?"

Yyushur sips her water. Ever since the Nectar imbued Lazarael with some of its power, the apprentice has become ravenous for information.

"Glimmer is what we call how visible you are in the psychic aether. The more powerful an esper becomes, the more they glow in the psychic aether. You do not glow brightly yet. Be glad of that. Others will notice when your powers become strong."

The old esper looks back to the Six Day Stilt, four parasangs away, yet glowing like a beacon.

"Imagine this desert at night as the psychic aether. The glow of the Stilt at night would be a powerful esper like myself. You would be a mere glowsphere half-buried in the salt. Many people go toward the Stilt. Very few would notice a small glowsphere. Be glad that you are still a mere glowsphere. You will not attract the attention of those who would devour your mind."

Lazarael shudders at the thought.

The two walk together in silence. Lazarael feels a shiver down her spine.

"Do you feel that, young one?"

Lazarael halts as Yyushur speaks. She nods.

"Interlopers from outside our dimension."

The apprentice's eyes widen.

"They are here."

[jami-multimuse]

The Esper's Last Apprentice, Part 3: Stilt

Previous Chapter <- -> Next Chapter

A story set in the Caves of Qud universe

Six Day Stilt Bazaar, Outskirts Harvest Dawn of the Twenty-Seventh Day of Uru Ux

"There are so many people there, Master."

"Indeed. The Six Day Stilt is surrounded by a great bazaar that covers the entire parasang, save the Stilt itself. The largest gathering of shopkeepers in all of Qud. The many people who make the pilgrimage to the Stilt often took many days to travel here. After such a journey, some may wish to trade their goods for freshwater. Others might wish to trade their excess freshwater for goods. Thus, this bazaar slowly grew from a small tent between the Shrine of Resheph and the Stilt itself into a grand city of tents where merchants buy and sell all manner of goods."

The two look up at the Stilt as they hear the distant voices of pilgrims, merchants, guards, and various hangers-on.

"I would have preferred to avoid the bazaar for now, but these trinkets and weapons we took from the Issachari are unnecessarily heavy, and our water reserves are lower than I would like. Come, young one."

Yyushur and Lazarael continue walking toward the Stilt. Merchants shout to them, showing off what they have to sell. The chrome barrels of guns sold by a gunsmith shine ominously in the rising sun. The sunlight glints off of the metals and precious stones sold by a jeweler. Bottles and phials of various odd-looking liquids are peddled by an ichor merchant. A kipper loudly advertises his collection of exotic ingredients.

"Master, since I can't shoot lasers like you do, should I buy something from the gunsmith over there?"

"Your issachar rifle should be good enough for now."

"You! Esper! One dram of brain brine and the secrets of the universe shall be revealed to you!"

"Precious gems! Metals! Lighter than water and many times as valuable!"

"Drop of nectar! Only one left! Buy it while it's still in stock!"

Yyushur's gaze snaps toward the kipper who had mention nectar.

"Quickly, young one. Nectar is rare and powerful. It may not take, but if it does, it shall make you much stronger."

The two make haste toward the kipper. Yyushur begins haggling with him for the drop of nectar. As the two haggle, Lazarael watches the people in the market.

The many voices, the smells of different cuisines, the colors... It's all so much. Lazarael sits down in the tent, covers her ears and closes her eyes.

After a moment, she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder. Upon opening her eyes and uncovering her ears, she sees Yyushur's uncharacteristically gentle gaze.

"Too much for you, Lazarael? I understand. You have only just awoken your psychic potential, and this bazaar is very busy and loud. It must be quite overwhelming. There is a quieter rest tent just to the south of the Stilt. Let us go there. I shall make your favorite spinefruit and vinewafer porridge. Try it with the nectar I bought for you."

[jami-multimuse]

Father's Day at the Steele Household

CW: abuse, alcoholism, ptsd

Sara opens the door to her former home. She had moved out months ago. But it was Father's Day. Maybe her father had turned over a new leaf. Realized how much Sara had contributed. Perhaps stopped being so resentful of his only child.

"Back already, huh? Living alone too much for you? Get me more booze."

Sara looks at her father. Not with fear as she once did. Not with forgiveness as she had hoped. Not with the hatred that had welled up within her when she left.

She looks at him with pity. How did she ever fear this pathetic little man?

"I said, get me some booze!"

Simon Steele hurls an empty whiskey bottle at Sara's head, but she catches it in midair. Rage wells up in her once more. The pity is gone. This is why she hated him.

She crushes the bottle in her gloved hand, the shards ground to sand by the pressure of her grip and the resilience of her glove. Shards of glass tinkle to the ground as Simon stares at her with a look of shock.

"...so this is how you treat me when I come back to visit you..."

There is a deep silence in the room. All noises are mere candles in a sudden gale, snuffed out all at once. Thunder rolls in the distance. The timid girl that was under her father's thumb was dead, replaced by this woman whose shadow casts her father into darkness.

"Happy father's day, you pathetic little man."

Sara turns around and leaves, closing the door. Fear is gone. Pity is gone. Sorrow is gone. Anger is gone. Even hatred is gone. Only acceptance remains. This visit had been to either mend bridges or fully sever the chains that held her to him. It had done the latter.

She raises the hood of her raincoat and walks through the pouring rain back home.

Her father was, is, and always will be a pathetic abuser who will no longer have power over her.

...But if only that were true. Nightmares persist. Flashbacks persist. The sound of breaking glass fills her with dread. The smell of whiskey makes her uneasy.

Gone is the physical presence. But Simon Steele will never be gone from Sara's mind. Echoes of his abuse remain.

[jami-multimuse]

Just realized I already did the flex tape bit with Buggy. Ah well. I'll keep it. Marilyn is a fucking chaos gremlin sometimes.

[jami-multimuse]

Marilyn: TO SHOW YOU THE POWER OF FLEX TAPE, I CUT THIS CLOWN IN HALF!

Buggy: I did NOT agree to this!

Marilyn: Shut up, Buggy, y'all're the only person who ain't permanently hurt by this.

[jami-multimuse]

I hope y'all are enjoying the introduction story for my new character. I really enjoy writing it.

Lazarael will soon become one of my muses, and you can interact with her once she reaches Joppa in her intro story!

[jami-multimuse]

The Esper's Last Apprentice, Part 2: Issachari

Previous Chapter <- -> Next Chapter

A story set in the Caves of Qud universe

The Great Salt Desert Moghra'yi The Shallows of the Twentieth Day of Uru Ux, 1000 AR

"Master Yyushur, why do people live out in this desert if there is no freshwater and very little moisture in the air?"

Yyushur quirks an eyebrow at her apprentice.

"Tell me. What is it that you are wearing right now?"

The apprentice pauses.

"A recycling suit."

"Exactly. The Issachari wear recycling suits to preserve what moisture they have."

"But they still lose some to the air. How do their numbers not dwindle with such little water?"

"We take the water from lack-salts like you, for one..."

A group of figures burst from the dark, daggers slicing the air as they swing toward the duo. Suddenly, the apprentice felt as if she were swimming through transparent tar. The raider whose knife was almost at her throat suddenly slows to a crawl in midair. With a flash of light from Yyushur, the Issachari raider turns into a person-shaped constellation of floating ash, suspended in slow-time.

Yyushur, unaffected by the slowing effect, grabs the knife from midair and throws it at another raider. The air seems to bulge outward and rupture in the middle of a group of raiders, sending a shockwave rattling them as their charge is made sluggish by Yyushur's warping of time itself.

Time reasserts itself and movement returns to normal speed. The flying knife impacts the raider's throat. The group of raiders are thrown off their feet, knocked unconscious.

"Speak of the devil..."

"How rich, coming from the devil who slew three of our greatest in one day!"

The one raider that remained unscathed levels his desert kris at Yyushur. His magenta-streaked robe shows that he is the leader of this group.

"But today, lack-salt, I will slay you..."

He glances at the apprentice.

"And the young one as well."

The flash of rage in Yyushur's eyes is accompanied by a flash of flame around the raid-leader. But, still ablaze from the esper's pyrokinesis, the raid-leader charges. Wreathed in flame, he rushes toward the young apprentice, his kris swinging with a sickening whir.

"Lazarael, no!"

But it was too late. Not for the apprentice, but for the raid-leader. Lazarael the Apprentice had thrown a dagger she had snatched directly into the Issachari's heart.

Panting, Lazarael looks at Yyushur.

"That's... The first time... You used my name..."

"Silence."

Yyushur walks toward the unconscious but still alive Issachari raiders and takes their weapons and trinkets. She leaves the water and the clothes. Lazarael knows her mentor enough to realize that Yyushur was embarrassed.

"Perhaps with these things, we can barter for something useful at the Stilt."

The two continue their trek, bags full of trinkets and blades. As they walk, the sun rises and Lazarael ponders what happened. Something awakened in her as she landed the finishing blow on the Issachari raid-leader. A roaring in the mind. A howling inner monster that is ready to surge forward through the psychic aether and wreak havoc in the heads of her enemies. To sunder their minds.