#about deepwood

[yostresswritinggirl]

Kunikuzushi and the Spirit of the Cherry Tree

Removed scenes, extras, and explanation of the fic Kintsugi; Scaramouche/Wanderer x First Puppet Reader, heavy spoilers if you haven't read the fic, of course

Shorter Version of the Intro

The dead grass fold and shrivel on the wake of his footsteps, the crunch of old leaves the only accompaniment in this dead town.

He has heard of this town with the sakura tree in old tales, from a bladesmith friend that talked about a statue unearthed by said tree for bedtime stories.

A version where it is a ghost instead, lingering around the tree, awaiting an unknown lover.

And another variation, the one that brought him here, spoken by the old man he's tailing. The guardian of eternal slumber, a puppet that rests between the roots of the beautiful tree who opens its eyes to those worthy of its divine gaze, blessing those with worthy offerings.

Shouki no Kami

"And here I thought I'd finally have some peace."

The Traveler thought he was prepared for the sight of his huge opponent, one of which he had seen a glimpse in the short time he had transferred consciousness with the lesser lord, prepared to fight for his life against a newly born god.

But this? The unexpected sight had him hesitating a bit, had him staring after making sure that Paimon and Nahida were okay from the wind that swept them away.

Inside the constructed form stood the Balladeer, and a figure he had not seen before resting, sleeping in his arms. Even from this distance he could see the gentleness of his hold, a gentleness he never knew Scaramouche was capable of.

"I suppose this arrangement is also acceptable." Leaning down to the unconscious puppet, Scaramouche would close his eyes as he rests his head on top of yours, "When you awaken, there will be no further interruptions as you gaze upon the new world I create."

Only when Scaramouche removed the puppet string attached to your back did the Traveler notice it, their small group silently watching the hand of the Shouki no Kami reach with its palm up in command, and there Scaramouche reaches out to lay you gently.

"What... was that? Who was that?" Paimon finally spoke as the mechanical robot placed your still resting body on one of the elevators, tucking you away from the incoming battle, where he was sure you'd be safe. "Maybe we could -"

"No. That would be unwise." Nahida reasoned as she closed her eyes, hands close to her chest. "We should not stoop so low to use the same tactics as the Fatui, especially someone so innocent. And besides..."

Focusing back on Scaramouche, his gaze on them is full of malice at the realization that they had stared at the direction of where he hid you.

"I can't fathom what terrible calamity he might bring to Sumeru if they were to be harmed."

Mother...?

You watched the intimate moment quietly and a respectable distance away, smiling softly at the sight of Kunikuzushi sharing a heartfelt embrace with the electro archon. Whispers and mumbles you were not privy to were shared with each other.

"I am relieved to see that you have matured in your freedom."

"Don't - " But the puppet pulled away with a measured grimace, stepping back as he gestured an arm towards you. "Do not just forget about (Y/N), why do you not acknowledge them, mama?"

"Kunikuzushi, there's no need for - "

"(Y/N)?" Her wondered gaze looked at you whole, but you can only lower your stare with a slight frown. "I see. It looks like you've found your answers, at least."

"Ma-" You felt your throat tighten as the truth hits you. "You are not my mother." At this, the puppet clad in blue directed his bewildered stare at you, missing the melancholic gaze of Ei.

"Indeed, I am not Makoto." Yet your hand still shook as you gripped the petal close to your chest. "However, I am consoled with the fact that I didn't lose you with her."

Feeling an arm wrap around your shoulder, you turn to find that it was Kunikuzushi by your side, a worried look and a sad smile adorning his beautiful face. The tension leaves your shoulders as you look back at Ei.

"Welcome home, you two."

You two will be all right.

500 years ago

"As expected of my own child."

"Mama? Where are you going?"

Turning away from the red sky, you watch as the electro archon turns to face you, eyes softening at the sight of your yukata for bed. There is a smile on her face as she walks over, adjusting the haori that you seemed to have haphazardly worn to catch up to her.

You must have noticed her presence leaving.

Perhaps, you had also been blessed with visions of soon to be's.

"I am simply fulfilling my duty as the archon, my dear. You should go back to rest."

"Am I not allowed to come with you?" Her giggles were as soft as the wind that brushes past the sakura blooms, as soft as the petal that flutters to her reaching palm, as soft as her hand that cradles your own as she places the blossom on your grip.

"Fate has plans for you, my dear, and it does not end here." The kiss on the crease between your brows coaxes your eyes to close in slumber. "May your future shine as bright as a water moon, my (Y/N)."

The darkness that greets you brings fear in your incoherent mind, stumbling out of the unfamiliar estate in search of her, of your mother.

Her name spills out of your lips desperately as you trip on unfamiliar roots, and yet, she is still not here to wipe the tears away as she always does.

Where is she? Where are you?

Scared and alone, you curl up against the roots of the sakura tree, the lone petal in your hand being your only comfort.

The sky is not red anymore, so why is she not back still?

Bad Ending

"I simply facilitated a long overdue reunion, you can see it for yourself."

And he finds himself where he had been longing to go for years, finally, finally where he had always dreamed every night.

Holding his hat as he descended back to solid ground, Kunikuzushi almost stumbled in his haste to close the distance, hand pressed against the smoking ice to make sure.

Encased in a bed of ice together with the electro gnosis, despite your frozen state, Kuni breathed a sigh of relief. That energy, that connection you two shared is still brimming with life.

You're alive.

"Let's get you out of this uncomfortable place, then." Summoning the winds of his vision, he carefully aimed the slashes to carve away the ice like a sculptor, making sure that he wouldn't accidentally nick you.

Yet before he could make the final cut, cracks appeared on the ice until it exploded in a blizzard, forcing him to step back to shield himself. The cold air would have sent a chill down his spine.

"You're finally awake." He watched as you slowly straightened your form with obvious stiffness to your movements. The cold had always been cruel to you. "I'm here -"

A flash of purple light lit up the room, and the next thing he knew his left sleeve was singed and blown off, missing his body by mere inches. Following the scorched marks on the floor, the root ends on the tip of your sword still pointed at him.

"... Hah. I knew this would happen." If it were the old you, you would have noticed the solemnity in his laugh. But you stared at him with the same coldness he had been subjected to the day he met you in that village. As cold as the ice forming by your feet. "I suppose this is due punishment for all the things I've done, huh?"

"You are trespassing, leave at once. Or else." Your brows furrowed when he took a step closer.

"Or else what?"

A second slash this time chipped at his hip, but he didn't seem bothered by the damage at all. "I end you right where you stand."

You grit your teeth at the sound of his condescending laugh once more, watching him hold his hat down as he almost doubled over in laughter. The empty room filled with nothing but his bitter chuckles, so hollow even as he stopped.

"End me, huh?" Kunikuzushi lifts his head up to reveal a smile, framed by a cascade of tears that seems to never end. "It would be the greatest honor."

The sound of a bell warns the next move, as a slash to your shoulder forces you to stumble back. And the room would glow with bittersweet fury of violets and blues.

"Traveler, I think I found the Wanderer..."

The Traveler and his entourage filed in the room in dreaded silence, taking in the scene in front of them.

Cracks and parts chipped away and falling apart. It was a battle, lacking of blood but still just as gruesome, meant to be fought until the end. Yet it was clear there would be no victor.

But in the face of his demise, Kunikuzushi had a rare smile on his once porcelain face, his exquisite hat discarded as he's slumped forward.

And there on his lap cradled by his broken hands, a puppet lays what's left of its head to rest. Half of its face pulverized in the clash, yet even with the cracks of outlined gold falling apart, your face only reflects what seems to be a dreamer in peace.

At least here, it looks like the both of you had finally escaped your strings.

Details:

This section is focused on some easter eggs and clarifications of the original fic, which you may have already guessed from the scenes written on this post.

First and foremost, yes, you are created by Makoto thousands of years ago. In the second scene in Kintsugi (I), the conversation is between Ei and Makoto during the end of the Archon War. Makoto created you as proof of concept, to test whether she could create life after Ei insisted that she dies so that Makoto could take the throne of the electro archon.

Because of this, you are kept alive by Makoto's essence/consciousness/will, which translates to archonic essence/residue. This is also the reason why the sakura blossom you had throughout the story (from the 500 years ago scene) didn't wilt until you were separated from it. Sandrone and Dottore are the only ones who suspected something is up with you, the latter verifying it during the repairing scene in part 2.

During the lightning strikes, a failsafe of invoking the archon essence inside of you triggers whenever there is potential harm aimed towards you.

So why don't you remember the time between the Archon War and the Cataclysm then? Simple answer: a lil thing called Erosion :) which was showcased in the Bad Ending scene here.

Seeing as Scara/Kuni doesn't know who Makoto was, he believed you were also discarded by Ei, while you thought that the mother/creator/electro archon he was talking about was Makoto.

I also wanted to reflect Makoto and Ei's roles in Scara/Kuni and Reader's story, with how Reader carries the beliefs of Makoto and Scara/Kuni takes on the role of Ei being the shadow/fighter of the twins.

And the "I'm here" dialogues of Scaramouche repeating was actually unintentional at first but I kept it, it looked like a nice way to show the connection he feels between you. It's his way of assuring you that you're not alone, and reinforcing that he would be there for you for eternity.

The title of this post is actually from a play in the Kabuki theatre, Kunikuzushi vs the Spirit of the Cherry Tree (Barrier Gate) which I only found out after writing Kintsugi (I). Ironically, the name of the Kunikuzushi in that play is named Kuronushi, which is Scara's corresponding five kasen image. The coincidence is absolutely uncanny.

I also only remembered about the Dream Sakura (the petal in the dividers) while writing Kintsugi (II) haha.

Immerse yourself with the atmosphere of Kintsugi by listening to this song! It's what I had on loop while writing the fic, together with Scaramouche's boss theme lmao

Some other scene ideas that got scrapped: Scaramouche visiting his friend's funeral before the lightning incident, Columbina's singing reminding Reader of Makoto's lullaby, meeting Albedo in Unreconciled Stars, meeting Dorian/Rubedo, Irodori Festival (originally the timeline of the lightning incident), Dottore check up scene mentioned jn Kintsugi

Thank you again for reading my work, honestly I didn't at all expect the reception of that silly drabble from two months ago but here we are :')) It's such an enjoyable experience, more so your amazing comments and reception upon reading the whole thing <33

The fic was initially meant to end by the kintsugi scene, but I added the ending part after realizing it might be a bad cliffhanger as well as the fact that we got to learn more about him in 3.2 and his drip marketing!

@deepdinosaurwizard @local-mr-frog @angryhope @rowielol @shoujishu @notyuki @asteriacos @willburzone @crystalcosplays @hxqlou @rolo-at-midnight @ireallylikehamsters @crxwned-mxnarch @reveltica @seddiepilled

[tobestik]

do you guys know how much money i would pay to see the argument between stope and quint re: leaving twig for the 3rd time

[c6jpg]

no peace and love on planet earth until the gilded domain gives me a fucking EM sands

[rubys-domain]

i'm so glad there's a weekly boss i can use him to fight, as underbuilt as he is rn

[nameification]

Al-Haitham isn't even out yet and already I am debating what artifacts I should give him

[thefreelanceangel]

What is your character(s) relationship like with their family? It doesn't have to be blood-related - whoever they would consider closest to the mantle of family counts. Do they get along well or is their relationship strained? Do they enjoy seeing each other or are reunions reserved for mandatory holidays where they pretend to get along?

Raised by the pixies of Il Mheg--although the nu mou did most of the actual child care involved--meant being raised in a family that combines love, antagonism, support, excitement and dreams. Summer--or Iala Kenn to her family--absolutely adores her family. All of the pixies are mother-father-sibling-cousin-friend; she knows them all by name and who to go to for what help she may need.

And they respond in kind, teaching her their particular mastery of magic, guarding her One True Love, Kona, giving her a home and enthusiastically participating in plotting out her overwrought romance novels. When the fae need help defending the sanctity of Il Mheg, Summer (and Kona) jump in immediately because they are, after all, members of the extended, confounding family.

Summer actively chooses to live in Il Mheg, to stay as close to her family as possible, and wouldn't live anywhere else if she could possibly help it. And while her lover Kona prefers the Rak'tika Greatwood to Il Mheg itself, he's also begun developing relationships with individual pixies.

...and with the fuath, which Summer finds particularly delightful.

[twig---verginix]

Okay I’m looking at the edge chronicles playlist I’ve been plugging away at since high school and dammit I need more artist variety I CAN’T just keep putting Radical Face songs in here

and yet,

[baeshijima]

when he when he he when he when when he does when heuiowhwe

[snowshinobi]

yeah uh DPS Nahida is ... utterly devastating

[yostresswritinggirl]

<- Navigation × × × 2021 Masterlist ->

House of Exiled Library '22

Multiple Characters Masterlist

𔓘Wise Men and Their Foolish Love (Sumeru Men story teasers for then-upcoming fics - ft. Cyno, Tighnari, Alhaitham) [MIXED]

𔓘Chase the Mirage Relationship Alphabet (Poly Relationship between Cyno, Tighnari and Adventurer!Reader) [MIXED]

𔓘What do you mean I'm the new Grand Sage?! (Appointed as the next grand sage by Nahida out of the blue, what do the Sumeru men think of you? - ft. Alhaitham, Cyno, Tighnari, Kaveh) [FLUFF/CRACK]

𔓘That Loud House (Poly Relationship between Kaveh, Alhaitham, and Reader all living in the same roof) [MOSTLY CRACK]

Specific Characters Masterlist

A L H A I T H A M

Scenarios : 10/09 10/11 𔓘10/27 10/28

𔓘Seeing Red (Cyno x Reader x Alhaitham drabble) [FLUFF/CRACK]

𔓘Tied Down (Alhaitham with an Unhinged Reader) [CRACK]

𔓘Flower Fall (After touching a flower gifted to you that paralyzed your body, Alhaitham made it his mission to join you in your road to recovery) [ANGST]

𔓘Finances (TLH scenario where Alhaitham tests you and Kaveh by saying you ran out of money) [CRACK]

+

C Y N O

Scenarios : 10/15 (more in old masterlist)

𔓘Blood Blossom (An unsuspecting flower gifted to you turns out to be more harm than good, how does your boyfriend assist you after this attempt?) [ANGST]

𔓘Seeing Red (Cyno x Reader x Alhaitham drabble) [FLUFF/CRACK]

What The Heart Offers (The story of how Cyno, blinded by infatuation, received his wolf spirit in exchange of keeping you alive) [ANGST]

𔓘Fall Into Place (Instead of being afraid of him, somehow you ended up becoming closer to the General that almost threw you in jail twice now) [FLUFF]

𔓘Tied Down (Cyno with an Unhinged Reader) [CRACK]

+

D O T T O R E

𔓘Tied Down (Dottore with an Unhinged Reader) [CRACK]

+

K A V E H

Scenarios : 𔓘10/27

𔓘Finances (TLH scenario where Alhaitham tests you and Kaveh by saying you ran out of money) [CRACK]

+

N I L O U

Universe Reversal Drabble (Reader as a Genshin Impact Game Character and how Modern!AU Nilou simps for you) [FLUFF]

Tighnari x Nilou headcanons (Set after the 3.2 archon quest) [FLUFF]

+

S C A R A M O U C H E

Scenarios : 𔓘9/29

𔓘Unnamed Drabble

𔓘Kintsugi 𔓘Part 2 Extras (Being the first puppet and your journey together in a world that discarded you both) (Loosely based on the unnamed drabble) [ANGST]

Pagtingin (The Wanderer hesitating to confess to a reader who he met before gaining his memories) #2022gixrsecretsanta [FLUFF]

+

T I G H N A R I

Scenarios : 10/19

Komorebi - the vague emotion, the innocence, the memory (Pining series of Tighnari with a Kshahrewar scholar Reader)

𔓘Tied Down (Tighnari with an Unhinged Reader) [CRACK]

Tighnari x Nilou headcanons (Set after the 3.2 archon quest) [FLUFF]

𔓘4 Stills of the one that can't keep his Heart Still (To think that the Kamera the Traveler gifted Tighnari would be filled with pictures of you) [FLUFF] #fluffvember 2022

Do not use any of the headers in this post. Do not republish, translate, or steal my works. All works are gender neutral unless specified. XXVI.

bookworms : @ireallylikehamsters @maehemthemisfit

safeforworms: @chuusposts

[nicohischier]

.

[c6jpg]

I give up on the new artifact domain scara is just gonna have to make do with this 2pc/2pc set bc I can't beat it's stats with the crap this domain is giving me and I'm actually quite okay with his current damage anyways. also I'm behind on my gilded/deepwood farming and I kinda rather be doing that instead lol

[relto]

man my shinobu currently does 13k hyperblooms (at level 70 bc the machine snake annoys me) so i wanted to see how much it would be at level 90. and i cant explain the 13k in the first place.

[jackoshadows]

A tale of two marriages.

The vast difference in how Jon Snow deals with the marriages of Arya and Sansa Stark has already been mentioned. However, I noticed there are also other differences in the overall narrative as well.

First, two Kings - Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon - refer to and use Sansa’s marriage to Tyrion to affirm that Sansa will never get Winterfell while positing that Jon Snow should be Lord of Winterfell.

“Young, and a king,” he said. “A king must have an heir.  If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. By law Sansa is next in line of succession, so Winterfell and the north  would pass to her.” His mouth tightened. “To her, and her lord husband. Tyrion Lannister. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that. That dwarf must never have the north.” - Robb Stark, ASoS

"By right Winterfell should go to my sister Sansa."

"Lady Lannister, you mean? Are you so eager to see the Imp perched on your father's seat? I promise you, that will not happen whilst I live, Lord Snow." - Stannis Baratheon, ADwD

In contrast, two Kings - Mance Rayder and Stannis Baratheon - are trying to save Arya Stark from her marriage to Ramsay Bolton for Jon Snow.

He glanced at the letter again. I will save your sister if I can. A surprisingly tender sentiment from Stannis - Jon, ADwD

Bring her home, Mance. I saved your son from Melisandre, and now I am about to save four thousand of your free folk. You owe me this one little girl. - Jon, ADwD

It’s interesting that Stannis has this ‘tender sentiment’ while vowing that Sansa will never get Winterfell considering that Arya too is married to his enemy Ramsay Bolton. Maybe he intends for Ramsay Bolton to be dead soon which would free Arya to make other alliances. Or maybe he hates the Lannisters more than the Boltons.

Additionally there is no other mention of the Sansa/Tyrion marriage in the Northern context, no Northern houses or lords who bring it up, no secret plotting that revolves around this marriage. In contrast Arya’s marriage to Ramsay is mentioned in the four corners of the North, from the Wall to Winterfell, from Deepwood Motte to White Harbor and is a driving force for many of the characters’ actions and plotting. It’s more important in terms of ‘The North Remembers’ and Northern uprising against the Lannisters in King’s Landing, the Freys and the Boltons considering it revolves around Lady Arya Stark present in Winterfell.

This is why - as GRRM has pointed out in interviews - Arya’s marriage to Ramsay is a necessary and important book plot.

Unintentionally. A little change in a long narrative can have big changes further on. You know, when we remove Jeyne Poole from season one, then you don’t have Jeyne Poole to be the fake Arya, as happens in the book. So what do you do then? The butterfly effect has done that.

It’s not Jeyne Poole’s marriage to Ramsay Bolton that is driving all these mini subplots in the North.Yes, it’s sad that no one would care if Ramsay married Jeyne just like no one cared that Jeyne got send off to the brothels while Sansa was a high value hostage of the Lannisters. Just like no one cared about Jeyne’s story in the books until the show replaced her with Sansa and suddenly there were discussions about rape in the series.

GRRM: I was trying to set up Jeyne for her future role as the false Arya.   The real Arya has escaped and is presumed dead.  But this girl has been in Littlefinger's control for years, and he's been training her.  She knows Winterfell, has the proper northern accent, and can pose as Arya. Who the hell knows what a little girl you met two years ago looks like?  When your a lord visiting Winterfell, are you going to pay attention to the little kids running around?  So she can pull off the impersonation.  Not having Jeyne, they used Sansa for that.  Is that better or worse?  You can make your decision there.  Oddly, I never got pushback for that in the book because nobody cared about Jeyne Poole that much.  They care about Sansa.

In the books, it’s Arya marriage that has two kings trying to save her, the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch breaking sworn oaths, the Mountain clans and Northern houses marching with Stannis for the Ned’s precious little girl. They all think that’s Arya Stark in Winterfell. Arya may not be physically there, but it’s the marriage of Arya Stark in Winterfell in front of the Heart Tree, being given away by kin, Theon Greyjoy, that’s being used to hold the North and lend legitimacy to Ramsay Bolton as Lord of Winterfell.

[pearlcatcher-problems]

back to working on art of my own beans -- this time Mir gets some love, about time since I've been spoiling his little brother ogi with so much attention.

He's a serpentine spiral that is indifferent to most other dragons and very proud of the work he does as a guardian to the deepwoods. He's able to track visitor's movement through his third eye if they tread through the blanket of lichen covering the floor of the woods ( which covers 80% of the entire forest ) and as such keeps is main eyes covered to keep complete focus on motion within his borders instead.

He often marks dead trees with his tusks, carving runes and markers into the wood for his own reference. Or little goodies for ogi to find and translate. He tends to avoid Birch like the plague, apparently the two had something in the past that he won't expand on.

[mylordshesacactus]

How I Run Wildshape

Listen, "wildshape rules are fucking stupid" is not a fresh or hot take. Level 3: You can transform twice a day. Level 19: You can still transform twice a day! But now you can stay transformed for longer.

(Because as we all know, "eight-hour strategy commitments" are the core of how most people play D&D.)

And then of course: Level 20: INFINITE WILDSHAPES! You go from "2 per day" to "UNLIMITED! YOU GET A SQUIRREL AND YOU GET A SQUIRREL AND YOU GET A SQUIRREL, EVERYBODY GETS A SQUIRREL" and that's insane.

Tl;dr: The core appeal to me of playing druid at all is the shapeshifting. I would, genuinely, prefer it if the druid class was a half-caster that focused heavily on the shapeshifting mechanic--and before you all pile onto me in the notes, I know there's barbarian subclasses that bring in some shifter flavor, but that's not really what I'm talking about. I want to play a druidic shapeshifter.

So here's how I house-rule Wildshapes at my table (if, of course, the player is interested--I'm not out here forcing OTHER people to play THEIR characters the way I prefer, come on now) and then, just for fun, a couple of wildshape variants I've thought up but never had the chance to really play with, that DMs might offer as optional druidic feats.

If anyone with more experience and skill than me at putting together subclasses ever wants to yoink these, please do. Please. Someone fix this.

Core Wildshape

The no-frills replacement to RAW wildshape, just a 1:1 replacement.

You have a number of Wildshape charges equal to half your Druid level, rounded up.

Each Wildshape charge allows you to take one animal form, with restrictions as listed on the Beast Shapes table, for up to one hour.

There are no "partial charges," so transforming for five minutes uses the full charge just as if you'd transformed for a full hour.

Charges can be chained together seamlessly; if you choose to remain transformed past the first hour, you simply expend another Wildshape charge. You can also move directly from one Wildshape form to another by expending a new Wildshape charge. (This isn't Animorphs; you don't have to "re-transform" between charges.)

Wildshape Variants

Variant: Feral

(Prerequisite: Druid level 8)

Your communion with nature has made you as comfortable in the form of animals as in your own skin--if not more so.

You have a number of Wildshape charges equal to your Druid level. Beginning at level 12, your Wildshape forms can have a CR equal to 1/3 your Druid level, rounded down.

Variant: Druidic Avatar

You have achieved deep congruence with one of your animal forms, such that it has become tightly associated with you. Choose one wildshape form of size Small, Medium, or Large as your avatar.

While in this form, you can cast spells as normal, replacing verbal components with appropriate animal noises, as long as any necessary material components are physically present (being absorbed into your wildshape form when you transformed counts).

You can choose to alter your avatar when you take a long rest. Once you have done this, you cannot alter it again until one month has passed.

Variant: Deepwoods Shifter

Your travels in the wildest and most remote woodlands have given you a deep understanding of many forms of life beyond simple beasts--forms of life that are, to you, no less natural.

You have a short list of Deepwoods forms. Choose one non-humanoid creature, of no higher than CR 1, of a type other than Beast, to begin this list. Every time you are given the option of an ability score improvement (applied retroactively), you may choose another non-Beast, non-humanoid creature form with a CR of 1/3 your Druid level, rounded down, to add to your list.

These choices can be altered whenever a new form is added to the list.