#aeoncoded

[cassynite]

9. exchanging gifts for the first time!

hhhhhhhh sorry for the late reply, I am apparently all or nothing when it comes to prompts. Endure 2000 words of the most tooth-rotting fluff imaginable

The package is wrapped in thick, plain brown paper, tied with twine, and arrives to Drezen just in time for Sparrow and Daeran's return from Nerosyan. The visit itself as well as the trip home was exhausting; even Daeran is happy to settle for a quiet dinner and an early night once they return to the citadel, though he sprinkles the evening conversation with hints that Sparrow should not make any extensive meeting plans for the next week. The new year is fast approaching, and he clearly wants to make a celebration of it; Sparrow is making a mental note to ask if he wants help preparing whatever he has planned or would prefer to do it on his own when she sees the delivery.

Any exhaustion tugging at her drowns under the sudden warm rush of excitement. Woljif had said it was possible, had even helped set up correspondence. But she hadn't believed she'd be able to get it until it actually appeared in the hands of a young runner who delivered it along with the correspondence collected during their absence. Forcing herself not to snatch it from the courier's hands, she smiles and tips him in thanks, and then heads straight to their chambers, the package tight against her thudding chest.

Daeran has already settled in when she arrives, candlelight bouncing off the glint in his golden hair as it spreads across the pillows of their bed. He stares at her as she enters and Sparrow recalls herself--she must look rather silly, rushing in like a child, but that doesn't fully pop the bubbles of giddiness. Certainly, her husband doesn't look disapproving, a smile widening as he takes her in.

"And what has you looking that way, hmm?" His gaze drops to the package in her hands. "I don't believe it," he smirks, rising from the mattress and meeting Sparrow halfway, "did you really get something for--"

"It's yours," Sparrow holds it out for him to take. "Open it. I got it for you."

"Me?" He takes it, observes the plain wrapping with a critical eye. "And what is the occasion?"

That dims the excitement, just a little. "No occasion." Was it strange, to gift something out of nowhere? Daeran had done it many times during the Crusade, his rings and wands and of course the necklace she wears around her neck, but that was when he was courting her. She would have returned the gesture in kind, but what did one get a nobleman with the money to buy anything he wanted? She'd searched for ages for an idea, and then this--"I just thought of you, I suppose."

Something in her expression makes his soften with genuine delight. He peels away the wax paper, "Well, I'll hardly say no to any gift--" He stops when he actually sees what is inside.

Sparrow bites the  her cheek as the silence seems to stretch between them. She'd pictured his reaction to be--funnier, perhaps, more dramatic. Perhaps playfully annoyed. Instead, he just continues to stare, his face blank, at the cover of The Duke's Temptations by Ophenia Thwait.

Sparrow swallows. "I--know that you have strong opinions about the author." Everyone did--the ha'penny novels of dashing romance and sweeping action capture the hearts and minds of both the working people and the fluttering young nobility in Mendev.

New Thwait books always become hot topics of discussion in certain circles for at least a fortnight after release. Daeran in particular always had something to say about them, vitriolic and derisive about the ludicrous tropes, gag-worthy saccharine in the dialogue, and the physical implausibility of the sex that occurs every other chapter.

Sparrow always noted that his complaints were terribly granular for someone who supposedly hated them enough to never touch them, and that he never denied himself the opportunity to talk about them when the subject came up. But he hasn't said anything, he's still not speaking and maybe she miscalculated, maybe this had been a terrible gift and he's trying to think of the right way to tell her he hates it.

Sparrow's hands fold in front of her, clenching like a lifeline, as a shard of ice forms under her ribcage. "I--heard about a new book coming out, and. I thought you might enjoy being the first to know about it. To read it. And...to talk about it before anyone else could. So. I reached out to see if I could get it and--I could. I did."

"This doesn't come out for another two months." Daeran doesn't sound angry, or even peeved. From another person, Sparrow would have called the tone awe. Sparrow tears her gaze away from her hands to meet Daeran's jewel-toned eyes. He's smiling in disbelief. "Thwait keeps her releases locked down tighter than an Iomadean priest keeps his virtue, exactly how did you get your hands on this?"

The warmth of his tone melts the ice in her chest, and Sparrow smiles, delighted and relieved. "Woljif helped," she demurs. "Ms. Thwait is hard to find but he knew someone who knew a contact of her publisher's, and. From what I understand, Ms. Thwait was happy to provide an advance copy when she found out who was asking."

Daeran leans in closer. "Using your status as former Commander of the Fifth Crusade to gain favors?" he murmurs. "How unbecoming. Absolutely shocking behavior."

Sparrow can't swallow back the laugh that bubbles at that back of her throat. "I am a true light in society, you know." she tells him, craning her head up as he comes close enough to touch. "An inspiration for everyone. Ms. Thwait said so herself when she wrote to me."

"A shining beacon for us all." Daeran's hand cups her cheek, fingers curling under her hair at the nape of her neck, and when his mouth finds hers, her eyes are already closed. For several minutes, there's nothing but his body against hers, holding her like she's the only person in the world. The thudding heat in her ears is almost as hot as the sweet joy his happiness has sparked. It's a good gift, and he likes it. The knowledge of it is almost like a victory.

They finally part. "You will, of course, get to hear my thoughts on the latest travesty Ophenia Thwait calls a novel before anyone else," Daeran says. "In fact, we can compare notes--no, you are absolutely reading it as well, I refuse to suffer alone. And, speaking of which--I refuse to let you be alone in gift-giving either. We shall have to make this an exchange instead."

Daeran pulls away from Sparrow's embrace to rummage through their still-unpacked valises. After a moment, he pulls out a long, thin box in shining wrapping, complete with a lace bow. He hands it to her and she stares, wrong-footed. She hadn't expected this. "What is this for?"

"I would love to also say that there is no occasion whatsoever, since that is now an appropriate gesture to make--rest assured I will take advantage of that. Expect gifts once a month moving forward, for no reason at all. Once a week, even."

"Is it for no reason if it's planned?" Sparrow pulls the bow, letting the lace ribbon slide to the floor--she'll pick it up after. "Wouldn't the giving of gifts become its own occasion in that circumstance?"

Daeran brightens at the idea. "We can mark it on our calendars--or, you can mark it on our calendars. Regardless, this is not that occasion." As Sparrow pulls the lid off the box, Daeran says, "Happy belated birthday, darling."

"Wh--" Sparrow cuts herself off, overwhelmed. How did he know about her birthday, when she's spoken of it to no one--what is this, glinting gold and orange and red almost as bright as Daeran's hair, like living fire--she grasps at the garment, feels silk as light as air, and pulls out the most vibrant dress she's ever seen. The fabric, with its bold geometric pattern, is familiar--"I've seen this."

"It's from Katapesh, I believe. The fabric was on display at Karensley's, in Nerosyan? The last time we visited? You couldn't stop staring at it, and it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to introduce some proper color into your terribly drab attire."

They'd gone for, among other things, a proper new wardrobe for the both of them, a few weeks before their marriage--"That was months ago."

Daeran shrugs. His nonchalance is abominably insincere; Sparrow's certain she's seen cats less smug. "It took about that long for the dress to be made. I'd hoped to give it to you on your birthday proper, but then of course my dear cousin decided she wished to end the year by hashing out import taxes and our presence was suddenly mandatory in the capital. Of course you weren't going to see it until next week during your party, but then you had to give such a delightful gift yourself that I had to respond in kind, so."

Sparrow struggles to parse out the words inside her, to describe how beautiful the dress was, to put a name to the bright rushing warmth that grew so large that she hurt with it, to try and encapsulate what a birthday present even meant. The last time she had a birthday, Crow was alive. Her eyes stung, and she managed to get out, "A party?"

"Ah, well. That was meant to be a surprise. My mistake." Again the feigned nonchalance. "You'll have to pretend to be shocked when we go."

Sparrow swallows. "I will do my best. I'm going to wear the dress, though." She's going to wear it every day for the rest of her life, in fact. She'll die in it; they'll have to peel of her skin to remove it. She considers kissing him again, but doing so would require her to put down the garment. "I'm going to try it on."

"Wonderful. I will torture us both with the beginning of this atrocity while you do so." He holds up The Duke's Temptations and sits back down on the bed, leaning back. When he opens the inside cover, though, he is silent; instead his eyebrows rise, and then he starts to laugh in disbelief.

Sparrow, halfway out of her shirt, pulls it back down. "What is it?"

"No, don't stop," Daeran tells her, though he sits up from the bed and swings his legs over the side. "Listen to this: In the everlasting battle against the devilish hordes of Hell, General Evelynne Khaine, right hand of the queen, fears no evil and succumbs to no temptation. But with the arrival of Duke Arendi, the queen's nephew and a notorious rake, Evelynne will have to face a carnal desire that no devil's machinations can match--" Daeran stops, unable to continue through his laughter.

"Excuse me?" Sparrow places the dress reverently on the ottoman before tearing the book out of Daeran's hands, reading the rest in a haze of mortification that teeters over into hilarity. "This is. It's..."

"Apparently," Daeran gasps, "you were very much an inspiration to Ms. Thwait."

"We were," Sparrow corrects, her mouth hanging. In two months' time, everyone in Mendev would be reading Ophenia Thwait's poorly-veiled rendition of their own relationship. "Oh, heavens. I had no idea."

"Clearly not. Give it back--I need to know what happens, now." Daeran pulls it out of her grasp, somehow even more delighted. "We will have to compare Ms. Thwait's creativity with reality. Oh! Actually, before that--" He flips to about halfway through the book. "Hm."

"What is it?"

"Oh, the first sex scene. It's always about halfway through the book." Daeran skims it. "Well. I propose we see just how physically plausible this particular arrangement is, and then we go from there."

"And by that, you mean a real-life rendition?" Sparrow steps closer to the bed between his legs. When Daeran reaches up, she leans closer under his hand.

"Hmmm. We can even do the dialogue, if you like. Perhaps the general is even wearing a lovely dress she can take off."

Sparrow laughs into the kiss, and every other one following that night.

[spyridonya]

omg! (hi this is ella formerly ourladyinshadow i remade) idk if i sent one already, but First for the micro story prompts!

MICRO STORY PROMPTS - though I broke the rules with this one. 500, words though. (Prompt - First)

"I'm a virgin."

Daeran pauses in his steps, the heel of his boot a soft click on her bedroom floor; the sound sent ice down Kadira’s back and made her tail curl, the tip twitching with the nerve of it.

The count turns his head to look over his shoulder at her, his face a curiously held mask, and impossible for her to read it.

“I’m not a virgin so much by inability as availability,” The commander felt that tense silence press on her shoulders like plate mail, the edges sharp against skin and her stomach becoming washed with cold.

“I don’t… Maybe I’m not a virgin but I don’t… I can’t remember…” She babbled, her only wish was being able to jump into the bath Daeran had prepared for her and drown, “I don’t want to think I lost my virginity there.”

In that cold, dark lab filled with fiends for company, she was alone with her rag doll which deteriorated as the decades inched by. Memories of a demon haunted world crawled across her brain like a spider’s dance.

“I don’t know if that’s attractive to you or if it’s a turn off…” The count fully turned to her then, taking in the sight before him, those too bright eyes unreadable and his full lips pressed together. Kadira almost laughed at the very thought she was making Daeran speechless. “I’m not a virgin because of any notion of proprietary or-”

“I don’t find it attractive.” Daeran said quietly, the tone so very flat and monotone.

The ice fell through Kadira’s stomach and all the way to her toes, the disappointment shocking to her veins though she already found herself seeking the silver lining. This all began due to keeping a closer eye on him, the attraction they held for each other was merely physical, wasn’t it? All those moments she had seen in Heaven’s Edge were stolen, nothing that Daeran could truly tell her, not without risking bloodbath. There’s little to believe he would even tell her, if he could.

Besides, why begin something - anything - when she couldn’t finish it?

“Nor do I find it unattractive.” He continued in the same tone and manner, placid as a pond, “Though I have to confess, there are expectations of taking another's virginity.”

“Which I don’t have and you shouldn’t have, Daeran,” It isn’t desperation that makes her speak, but defending herself, that she wasn’t simply just an ingenues, “Whatever this is, courtship or not, I am not forcing anything on you. I just… I walked into this with my eyes open,” And yet, somehow it all sounded like babbling to Kadee’s own ears, she couldn’t imagine what Daeran thought, “I wanted it to make sure you are, too. It’s only fair.”

Daeran looks at her, that mask of nobility so beautiful on his features, and never ever moving,, “Life, Kadira, isn’t often fair.”

He finishes the conversation with a half bow before he turns again, leaving her alone in silence.

[loderlied]

Ven, Eros 1, 3, 5 :)

first off sorry that this is so late; an irl thing came up unexpectedly, but here you go!

Eros 1: Is your OC romantic in the traditional sense? Do they enjoy giving or receiving gifts of flowers or confectionery? Or are there other courtship traditions from their culture of origin that are important to them?

she’s definitely not a traditional romantic, because she’s not even a romantic at all. love is something that suddenly happened to her and completely shook her world. she never really courted (in a romantic way) anyone because she expects nothing more than for them to just be a one night thing that gets rid of her boredom temporarily. so, regongar was mainly the one courting her and that’s also pretty much what happens in the game so it fits i guess. it’s still not really traditional; he invites her regularly to drinking nights/evenings/days, he pretty much glues himself to her whenever they’re traveling; meaning that they spend almost of their time together shortly after meeting. and they just get up to so much bullshit. oh my god so fucking much. dangerous bullshit? absolutely. dangerous for others? stronger absolutely. regongar wants to rob someone? ven lets him do it. they buy a massive steak at oleg’s later for both of them. regongar wants to kill someone? ven lets him do it. she laughs heartily as he makes one of his stupid lightning puns while electrocuting someone to death. yeah the only traditionally romantic thing reg does is making so many shitty puns. (he canonically does it for the baron/ess sometimes actually! don’t know if this was romance locked, but one time when i misclicked and didn’t react to his pun, the game said that he looked over at your pc to see if they’re laughing and spat on the ground when he realized they weren’t) while there’s definitely romance happening during that stuff (even if ven tries to deny it at first) it’s not traditional at all. the rest of his courting is just really. uhm. sexual. (this is all for before they actually got together, while nothing changes too much, this is already too long lol, so maybe i’ll make a part 2 to this and tag you if you want)

Eros 3: How do they feel about public displays of romantic affection? Does it make them uncomfortable? How do they feel if a romantic partner kisses them in public?

ven lives for the thrills! she doesn’t care about almost anything! she is very fine with it. reg’s a pda machine; always has an arm around her as soon as they meet, even before they get together. he kisses and touches her a lot in public (yes it’s extremely annoying for everyone else) and she does not mind. (in the game it’s even heavily implied that reg wants to fuck your character in public. sorry if you didn’t want to know this lol) but funny thing: while ven is fine with all this, she becomes very awkward in the beginning of their relationship when he tells her that he loves her in public. like it takes her 3 months after they started fucking to finally tell him that she loves him too. it’s very much reg being like “oh i want to do all of these nasty things to you” while others can hear them, and ven is like “hell yeah tell me more” but when he’s like “i love you so much baby” she’s like “OH MY GOD YOU CAN’T SAY THAT!!!!!!!” it’s very stupid. and funny. this changes after a couple years tho, when she fully embraces that she loves him.

Eros 5: How closely is their opinion of their own beauty (or lack thereof) linked to their confidence? Do they see themselves as more or less worthy of love or sex based on how attractive they feel?

ven’s relationship with her body is very complicated. i mentioned before in some post that ven basically sees everyone (before she met reg) as puppets that she toys with for her own amusement. you might think that she would be the puppeteer in this scenario, but i’d say she thinks of herself as the biggest puppet of them all. she gets into all sorts of life threatening situations for fun and doesn’t care what happens to her body. doesn’t care if she lives or dies. i think she can’t perceive herself as unattractive or attractive, because her body is nothing but another plaything for her to use and eventually self-destruct if no one intervenes (thanks regongar pfkm. being an insanely overprotective shithead is normally. y’know shit. but this time it’s actually a bit useful)

[frociaggine]

i swear every time i see the word 'lyctor' on my dash it's mispelled a little bit more. soon people are gonna be like 'litychhrz' like truly incomprehensible, thank you

It can be the new bendredick cucumberpatch. We can go wild with the spellings and we all know what it means. The lykhotrs who live in god's bone space palace, the mytrarum.

(I can spell those but I get stuck on "Drearburh" I HAVE to look it up all the time)

Also, if we're sharing gripes about the word "lyctor," my main one is that I don't vibe with the italian translation

Lyctor is from ancient greek, lysis (looseing / rupture; absolution; the unravelling of the plot of a tragedy); the Italian translation of TLT went with "littore," from the latin lictor (bodyguards to, among other authorities, roman emperors) which makes sense! it's an intuitive translation and sounds okay in Italian. But I don't like how it only picks ONE of the possible meanings and discards the others... but on the other hand, localisation

(I'm extremely nitpicky about translation choices ngl)

[bearvanhelsing]

❌💋💛 for Tyrel, 🌹🧡🌳 for Aria?

Hoo boy this one took me a really long time for what amounted to not very long answers! lol ARIA: 🌹 How easy is it for them to connect with others and make friends? On the flip side how easy is it for them to make an enemy of someone? Are they the kind of person who hangs around the food table at a party and never talks to anyone or are they the type who can talk to anyone? Even before her father's death, Aria has always had a hard time connecting with people. She was very outgoing and sweet as a little girl but was bullied by other children quite a bit on account of being Kitsune which are somewhat unusual in Absalom. After that she became much quieter, and adults often remarked on well-mannered she was. It was the first time she observed that people seem to like her more when she's not talking. As a result of this and an ever-growing sense of bitterness towards Absalom's aristocracy, she actually decided that she would become rather talkative as she grew older, and that she'd speak what's on her mind rather bluntly. She's not one to bother with pleasantries and she'll usually say exactly what she thinks of anyone as long as it's not pleasant. So, she is one to mingle at any social gathering, but she won't be very popular for it. In truth she finds her inability to get close to anyone rather frustrating, but she does it as a kind of defense mechanism and it has become very difficult for her to behave in any other way at this point. 🧡 Who is your OC’s favourite person? Why is this person the top of their list and have they actually met them (an idol or rolemodel or celeb can be someone’s favourite after all!) Aria's great grandfather, Tetsuo is sort of an idol to her. He makes it very clear that she doesn't have his approval and that what he does offer is conditional, but he is the only person Aria can really talk to. If Aria has a problem, he can make it go away, if she needs to vent, he will sit quietly and listen usually without a remark or condemnation. He thinks of her as a blunt instrument that doesn't have that much use outside of its capacity for violence, but he begrudgingly fosters loyalty in her to keep her from doing something exceedingly stupid that could damage the family's reputation. Aside from him, she currently has some rather promising blossoming friendships in the party, mainly with our Dhampir investigator Lumi and a little bit with our human oracle Marcus! She's having a girl's night with Lumi and our thaumaturge, Zuzanna so fingers crossed the girls can all become besties lmao 🌳 Compare your OC to themself from 10 years ago. How has their mental state changed since then, how have they aged and grown up? Would they say they’re in a better place than they were back then or do they need help? What advice would they give their younger self? What advice would their younger self give to them now?

Aria is only 21 so 10 years ago she was a relatively happy and carefree 11-year-old to a very cynical and bitter young woman. She's gone from being teased for her appearance to being considered something of an exotic beauty in the city, albeit one most know better than to attempt to mingle with. Aria maybe more so than any of my other characters needs help lmao Advice to her past self would probably be "you don't have to take it from them, you don't have to act the way they want you to. fight back." advice from her younger self would probably be "you don't have to be scared and angry all the time" TYREL: ❌ What kind of things would end any relationship for them? Is there a history behind why these things bother them? Could they ever take someone back despite this? If so or if not, why? As far as his relationship with Camellia goes, Tyrel is VERY lenient. You kind of have to be with her, like... he wasn't a murderer before he started dating her lmao. The only things that really come to mind are super obvious ones like cheating. Ty is very loyal to his gal so that would be very sad for him! 💋 How affectionate are they with their friends? Their family? Their romantic partner(s) (if they have any)? Are they more physical or emotional when it comes to displaying their affection? Why? Tyrel isn't very affectionate with friends! he cares about friends a lot but doesn't really feel comfortable being affectionate with them. When it comes to romantic partners and family (his with camellia) he's very affectionate. He leans more toward physical affection because he has a hard time articulating his emotions honestly. When his daughter was born he could barely ever put her down and he and Camellia are very physically intimate. He wraps his tail around her when he notices she's having a bad dream :') 💛 In general, how in control of their emotions is your OC? Do they have a good hold on them or do their emotions control them, not the other way around? What do you think is the reason behind this and is your OC ever concerned about their lack of or good control? Tyrel I'd actually describe as someone who is in very good control of his emotions. He's slow to anger, and in general, he usually lets logic rather than feeling guide his actions even though his logic might be more chaotic than his feelings. Tyrel has always had to be in control of his emotions because if he let the wrong one slip during a con, he could have landed himself in big trouble.

[dujour13]

13, 14, 24, 29 for Siavash! I'm so sorry I didn't see you had reblogged that game </3

Thanks Ella!! 😘 All done already except 29 but it's special.

29. What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

As a child the Desna was already strong in this one. His dreams were romantic fantasies of travel and adventure just like in the garbage YA crusade book series he loved so much. He never pictured himself as a crusader much less a paladin, but a freedom fighter or a Robin Hood Kel Five Knives.

Growing up it became clear he was not going to excel at anything formal, not because he was bad at it—music is the prime example, he’s immensely talented—but because he couldn’t be bothered. Could not sit still for conservatory, didn’t do his homework at school, never showed much interest in basic weapon training. Only did well in the Andoren Diplomatic Corps because he was invested in it. But that’s the key with Siavash—if you expect something from him he’s not equipped to give, he’ll let you down. But when he freely decides to commit to something he is driven, passionate, and sometimes even competent.

In a way his dream did come true. Not like he hoped, as far as being Areelu’s experiment or the plaything that gods, demon lords and archdevils squabble over, but in the long run after ascension he sets himself a new and very worthy, if reckless, goal and that dream—maybe he’ll pull it off.

[starling-illu]

Commission for @aeoncoded of Bel and Tena!!

[dmagedgoods]

Here we go. 😁 @turbulentpumpkin43, @aeoncoded

[dragonologist-phd]

Writer's Game: First Sentences

tagged by @starlightcleric! thank you!!!

Rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven't written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have.

(for multi-chapter fics, I’m using the first sentence of the latest chapter!)

1. The people of Neathholm give Maebrys and Nehaly a wide berth after their meeting with Sull. (A Light in the Darkness, PWOTR)

2. “You are hereby relieved of duty.” (Fire and Fury, PWOTR)

3. Arueshalae paces through the city all night, her wings and her heart and her mind all too aflutter to be of any real use. (Songs of Elysium, PWOTR)

4. It was supposed to be a revolution. (And So They Burned, Dragon Age)

5. The moon over Ferelden is high and bright, and it sends a weak, silver glow through the windows of Darvis’s room at The Spoiled Princess. (Of Diamonds and Dust, Dragon Age)

6. “Oh, shit!” (A Mighty Mortal Age, PWOTR)

7. Some nights, Miervaldis and Xoti stay awake long after the others have fallen asleep. (And So We Carry On, Pillars of Eternity)

8. Even if Lilith were at all welcome in the Abyss, it is truthfully the very last place she wishes to revisit. (Old Allies, New Deals, PWOTR)

9. Mercury straightens the crown atop her head, then stands back to study the image in the mirror. (The Queens of Promethium, PfKm)

10. Real beauties, these are, the knight had said when he’d come by earlier that day to inspect the order. (Through the Ashes, PWOTR)

I’ll tag @turbulentpumpkin43 @prolifeisnochoice @aeoncoded and anyone else who wants to grab a tag! no pressure of course!

[belovedblabber]

UNUSUAL OC ASSOCIATIONS

Thank youuuu for the tag @aeoncoded I had so much fun with this! Naturally I had to do Seril, she's always on my mind

(art is by miraculan-draws, colinarcartperson, and anonbeadraws)

Seasoning: Smoked paprika

Weather: Sunny bright and warm (she misses the sun terribly over here in never sunny gothic horror land)

Color: Silvery pale blue

Sky: A sunny and clear blue sky

Magic power: Gun (okay in all seriousness she recently got inexplicable magical powers and the one she’s used most is healing. She's very confused about all of that)

House plant: Any sort of flower. In-universe she is named after one of the few flowers that grows in Barovia, the seril flower, which is similar in appearance to forget-me-nots but a paler white-blue and with a silver center rather than yellow

Subject: Fiber arts (is that a subject?)

Social media: Youtube but like, a channel where she does crafting and fiber art tutorials but also crazy survivalist tutorial stuff, all with the worst camera and audio quality you’ve ever seen in your life. It’s inexplicably popular

Make-up product: She is under the impression that lipbalm is a makeup product and it's her fave

Candy: Marzipan of any kind

Fear: Failure, inability to help, not being useful, being unable to save people

Ice cube shape: Crushed and she eats it like candy

Method of long distance travel: In Barovia it's been walking. Out of Barovia she was a pirate for a long time so, ships. But when she was a solo adventurer et al. she traveled by foot or by cart and sundry

Art style: Embroidery, and also pencil/charcoal

Mythological creature: Unicorn, in that very classic delicate sort of deer-like unicorn way

Piece of stationary: sketchbook

3 emojis: 🧵☀️💖

Celestial body: the sun

[cassynite]

❌😊🍐 for Sparrow!

Aaaah thank you for the ask Ella!!! These were really good questions :)

❌ What kind of things would end any relationship for them? Is there a history behind why these things bother them? Could they ever take someone back despite this? If so or if not, why?

This is SUCH a tough question for Sparrow. One of her major character flaws is that she's so desperate for connections to others that she never really learns how to establish boundaries--she is incredibly guarded and lets very few people in, but once she DOES it's equally as hard to lose her affections. As a friend or as a lover, Sparrow is deeply loyal, but that becomes a double-edged sword if the person turns out to be unworthy of that loyalty. There are very few circumstances that would cause Sparrow to genuinely cut ties and end a relationship. The first is if her partner ends it first or otherwise indicates that any care, kindness, or consideration they gave her in the past was a lie. Another circumstance would be if the partner knowingly or unknowingly pressures her into being someone she is not; she would go along with it out of affection but if they don't consider her wants and needs, eventually it will feel too much like how she lived as Evaethi's shadow. In that case, she would feel very guilty about ending things, and would likely outright run away rather than confront her partner. Another situation would be if they did something so truly morally reprehensible that Sparrow would not be able to abide by it--mainly this would involve acts of enslavement of some kind. But even in that case, she would have to be in a good position mentally to have the strength to give up on the relationship, it would have to be something REALLY BAD, and she would probably be open to reconciliation if they made the effort to change or at least not do it again.

😊 What can make your OC smile even when they’re feeling down? What cheers them up and makes everything feel better for them? Is your OC genrally a happy person and do they enjoy making others smile? What about your OC makes others happy?

Ha, I think it won't be a surprise to learn that Sparrow is not really a happy person as a general rule. Her natural demeanor leans more melancholy. However, Daeran's jokes will always, without fail, make her at least smile if not outright laugh. This was true even before she liked him, and after they start seeing each other Daeran is always able to lift Sparrow's spirits easily with a joke or witty comment. In general, a comment or sign of affection from Daeran is often enough to help lift her spirits. Sparrow also likes to make other people happy as well, especially if she cares deeply for them. She dislikes seeing distress or sadness in the people she loves so she will often try to make people happier through comfort and direct action to the root cause of the issue. She'll be a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear, and will be deadly earnest in her attempt to help soothe or solve the problem that's plaguing her loved one. Daeran often gets blindsided by her earnest straightforwardness sometimes, because since she's rarely open about things it might feel like it comes out of nowhere.

🍐 What is your OC’s mentality? Are they overall positive? Negative? A bit of both? Describe their thought patterns and reasoning behind their choice making!

Sparrow's mentality definitely runs toward the more negative. She is always expecting the other shoe to drop when things are going well--her entire life has shown her that good periods never last, and that something will always come by to shatter it given enough time. Everything goes away, so she always prepares for the lean times so she's not hurt too bad by them. This is helpful in the Crusades, when she's making contingencies for contingencies and is rarely completely blindsided by her enemies, but lends to fraught situations in peacetime when she's trying to build her relationship with Daeran. It's that negative expectation that something will go wrong, this will end badly, that leads her to catastrophizing arguments and blowing things out of proportion.

[spyridonya]

Mirco Story: In Dreams

For @aeoncoded

The darkness does not let her go readily, however there is no one to witness the images that came to the commander.

"Ma?" She hears herself calling, feeling small as a child and yet she is still the tall young woman whose bones she grew into, "Mother?"

The figure of the woman before her has her back turned, her long dark curls almost mirror of Kadira's own, and the shoulders are held square and sure until the very last second.

"Ma!" The woman turns just in time to embrace the tiefling, regardless of if Kadira was a small girl or tall woman, and she feels the arms around her are safe and the smell of something good overwhelms Kadira as she begins to cry into the softness of caring arms, "Mother!"

Kadira feels a kind hand stroke through her curls, a whisper of an old lullaby is hummed, though Kadira can't remember who sung it to her - Inkra or Areelu, Ma or Mother. Curiosity settles over Kadira, almost allowing her to sink into the embrace that promises nothing but sweet darkness.

Kadira lifts up her head to see if it's Ma or Mother and the face is empty, startling in its blankness before the form begins to fade away, her mind forcing Kadira to banish the dreamy shadows of the demons who whisper lies in the descent into Areelu's lair.

Kadira knows, after all, neither woman would have held her in such distress, even if they had been truly there.

[loderlied]

❌🌹🌺 for Ven?

❌ What kind of things would end any relationship for them? Is there a history behind why these things bother them? Could they ever take someone back despite this? If so or if not, why?

generally boring her. ven doesn’t have many friends at all and she is super quick to drop anyone if they can’t entertain her anymore. for sexual partners it used to be catching feelings for her lol. she’d always immediately end anything as soon as the person started genuinely liking her. ven was just like. trying to not be a person as hard as possible and someone bringing in feelings for her WAS always a dealbreaker. with regongar it’s like. oh he confessed. fuck. but uhm i can’t break up with him he’s so fun! (few months later) ok it’s getting serious now i HAVE to break up with him. well. maybe just let him rail me one more night. i’m going to miss him… NO. STOP. just the sex. not him. why did i start crying. I DON’T LOVE HIM BRAIN. ok. ok. maybe i do— (cue mental breakdown) (she’s a fucking mess guys)

🌹How easy is it for them to connect with others and make friends? On the flip side how easy is it for them to make an enemy of someone? Are they the kind of person who hangs around the food table at a party and never talks to anyone or are they the type who can talk to anyone?

like i said before, she does not have many friends. her best friend is obviously reg, and she gets along with jubilost pretty decently but that’s about it. (reg/ven friendless loser duo lmao) it’s not easy for her to connect with people; it literally took several years and so many tears for her to let reg in, tell him about her past, or just. what she’s feeling in the moment. telling him that she loves him took her months and she almost puked (out of nervousness) right after.

ven doesn’t really have enemies either honestly. she doesn’t really hate any of the major villains (i don’t know how far you are into kingmaker so i don’t wanna spoil you) one of them even becomes her advisor later on! it’s sort of a me or them situation and she doesn’t care about the results, as long as she has fun. regongar often picks out their enemies for them lol. and with him it’s like. speak to her on a wrong day and he slits your throat. and ven is just going along with what he says most of the time, because she doesn’t care anyway.

at a food table she would mostly people watch. despite what it seems like, ven is actually more introverted than extroverted. (still an ambivert tho) she prefers to observe rather than be the focus at a party. most talking done at those gatherings is like personal questions and she fucking hates those. if it was a super boring party she’d absolutely start shit though. it’s just if she doesn’t have to intervene, she doesn’t.

🌺 Does your OC have any tattoos or other body art? Does their body art have any specific meaning behind it? Do they have any scars? How did they get those scars? Any birthmarks?

yup! here’s her tattoos:

they honestly don’t have any meaning besides the color (she’s a water/fire kineticist. blue + red = purple) i just think they look cool.

she has a massive scar across the back of her head because her first adoptive mom erphee tried to give her the fantasy version of a lobotomy. she desperately tries to keep it hidden at all times, but one time reg finally noticed it and spoke to her about it. he probably wasn’t even super serious, like “wow that’s sick how’d you get it?” and ven completely freaks out on him and they have their first and one of their only genuinely serious fights ever.

she has lots of birthmarks (big and small) all over her body :) (something i decided for her a short while ago, so it’s not in this months old pic) (she gets lots of kissies from reg on all of them)

[frociaggine]

re: prev anon

you know that extremely homoerotic stock image of "girl bullies"

this.

[which-star]

Writer's Game: First Sentences

tagged by @aeoncoded woooo!

Rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven't written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have.

That's a lottt of fics aghhh, let's see! All of them can be found on my ao3.

Like to Like: Sheena steps foot on Vile Island and thinks that it's the best vacation she’s ever gonna get.

a game lost is a game won: "Ever heard of patience?"

The Revised Edition of Carmen's Flirting Guide: The prologue to Carmen's personal dating guide is to not get too close—which probably comes as a surprise to absolutely no one.

You, Me, We're Vintage: Music is playing.

running away from listening: She's flying over the coast of Shanghai when she sees her.

Love Shot: This is a more private event than Julia expected.

Call Me a Hero (I want to be): Warbird holds Aero in her arms and thinks the hero might just die.

what you? (want you): Footfalls thud across the pavement as Felicia catapults over a dumpster and hits the ground running.

and we're left (not quite standing): The realization hits all too soon and all too late, as most epiphanies do.

One of Those Missions: The distraction: Seolhee.

I did not realize that 10 fics were so far back 😭

[silversiren1101]

Tagged by @aeoncoded​

their music taste:

I have literally never heard of any of these :3

Mine, which I’m sure is esoteric af too

Tagging @turbulentpumpkin43​ @dujour13​ @outeremissary​ @bearvanhelsing​ @spyridonya​ @prolifeisnochoice​

No pressure!